#Fortune 24 live another day review | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

webnewsify1 · 1 year

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foundation for oily skin long lasting 2023 | Honest Reviews

When it comes to foundation for oily skin, the key is finding a product that can control excess oil while also lasting throughout the day. Look for oil-free formulas with matte finishes that can help to minimize shine and blur the appearance of pores. Long-wearing options that can withstand heat and humidity are also important, as they can prevent the foundation from melting or sliding off the skin. Setting the foundation with a powder or spray can also help to lock it in place and extend its wear time. With the right foundation for oily skin, you can achieve a flawless, shine-free complexion that lasts all day. As someone with oily skin, finding the perfect foundation can be a daunting task. Not only do you want a product that can control excess oil, but you also need one that will last throughout the day. Fortunately, Amazon in the USA offers a wide selection of long-lasting foundations that cater specifically to those with oily skin. Here are the top 12 foundations for oily skin long-lasting from Amazon.

Source: Freepik 1. Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Liquid Foundation Makeup, Oil-Free Foundation This oil-free foundation promises a matte finish and pore-minimizing effect that can help to control shine and blur the appearance of pores. The lightweight formula is easy to blend and build coverage, and the wide shade range ensures that there is an option for every skin tone. Review of Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation: Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Liquid Foundation Makeup is a popular product among beauty enthusiasts for its oil-free formula, which promises a matte finish and pore-minimizing effect. The Natural Beige shade is designed for medium skin tones with warm undertones. One of the notable aspects of this foundation is its lightweight texture, which makes it easy to blend and build coverage without feeling heavy or cakey. It also provides a smooth, airbrushed appearance that can help to blur imperfections and reduce shine. Many users report that it does a good job of controlling oil throughout the day, keeping skin looking fresh and matte. Another advantage of this foundation is its wide shade range, which offers options for a variety of skin tones and undertones. The packaging is also practical, with a pump dispenser that helps to prevent waste and mess.

However, some users with dry or combination skin may find that this foundation can emphasize dry patches or settle into fine lines. Additionally, the pore-minimizing effect may not be as noticeable on deeper skin tones. Overall, Maybelline Fit Me Matte + Poreless Liquid Foundation Makeup in Natural Beige is a solid choice for those looking for a lightweight, oil-free foundation with a matte finish and pore-blurring effect. Its affordable price point and wide shade range make it accessible to a wide range of consumers. Buy Now! 2. L'Oreal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte Liquid Longwear Foundation This foundation claims to provide up to 24 hours of coverage while also controlling oil and minimizing the appearance of pores. The demi-matte finish gives skin a natural-looking glow without looking shiny or greasy, and the formula is transfer-resistant and waterproof. Review of L'Oreal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte Liquid Longwear Foundation: The L'Oreal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte Liquid Longwear Foundation is a game-changer for those with oily skin. This foundation claims to provide up to 24 hours of coverage while also controlling oil and minimizing the appearance of pores. I found that this foundation truly lives up to its claims - it stays put all day and keeps my skin looking matte without feeling heavy or cakey. The demi-matte finish gives my skin a natural-looking glow without looking shiny or greasy. Plus, the transfer-resistant and waterproof formula ensures that the foundation won't budge or smear, even on hot and humid days. The shade range is also impressive, making it easy to find a perfect match for any skin tone. Overall, I highly recommend the L'Oreal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte Liquid Longwear Foundation for anyone with oily skin who wants a long-lasting and flawless complexion. The foundation has a lightweight texture that blends easily into the skin. It didn't feel heavy or cakey, even after building up the coverage in areas where needed it. The formula is also oil-free, which is a big plus for those with oily skin. Well, one of the users of this foundation says " I have struggled to find a foundation that controls my oil production without leaving my skin looking dry or dull, but this foundation did the trick." In terms of coverage, it is medium to full. It did a great job of hiding imperfections and blemishes without looking too heavy or obvious. The demi-matte finish also gave my skin a natural-looking glow.

The longevity of this foundation is impressive. it stays without any touch-ups needed. Even in hot and humid weather, the foundation did not budge or smear. Overall, The L'Oreal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte Liquid Longwear Foundation is a great option for anyone with oily skin who wants a long-lasting, flawless complexion. The formula is lightweight, oil-free, and transfer-resistant, and the shade range makes it easy to find a perfect match for your skin tone. Buy Now! 3. Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation This high-end foundation boasts 24-hour wear and a matte finish that can help to control oil and resist sweat and humidity. The Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation is a cult classic for a reason. This foundation claims to provide 24-hour wear and a flawless, natural-looking finish, and it truly lives up to those claims. The formula is oil-free and transfer-resistant, making it a great choice for those with oily skin. The coverage is medium to full and buildable, making it easy to customize to your desired level of coverage. The finish is matte but not flat, giving skin a natural-looking glow. One of the standout features of this foundation is how well it stays put - worn it through long workdays and even workouts, and it will not budge or smudge. The shade range is also impressive, with options for a wide range of skin tones. Review of The Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation As someone with oily skin, it can be challenging to find a foundation that doesn't leave me looking shiny or greasy by mid-day. This foundation does a great job of controlling oil and keeping skin looking matte without looking flat or dry. The coverage is also impressive. It's buildable, so you can easily customize the level of coverage to your liking. A little goes a long way, so you don't need to use too much product to get great coverage. Even with a full coverage look, the skin still looks natural and not too heavy or cakey.

One thing that really sets this foundation apart is its staying power. wore it for a full day (over 12 hours) and it stayed put without any touch-ups needed. It didn't smudge or transfer, even when sweating during a workout. It truly lives up to its claim of being 24-hour wear. The finish is also worth mentioning. It's matte but not flat, so the skin had a natural-looking glow without looking shiny. It also didn't settle into fine lines or pores, which is something experienced with other long-wear foundations. Overall, The Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-in-Place Foundation is for anyone looking for a long-lasting and flawless complexion. The oil-free formula, buildable coverage, impressive staying power, and great shade range make it a standout foundation. Click here to buy Buy Now! 4. Revlon ColorStay Liquid Foundation This foundation offers up to 24 hours of wear and a matte finish that can help to control oil without looking cakey. The Revlon ColorStay Liquid Foundation is a great option for anyone with combination or oily skin. This foundation claims to provide longwear, medium to full coverage with a matte finish, and it delivers on those promises. The formula is lightweight and easy to blend, making it a breeze to apply. I appreciate that it contains SPF 15, which is always a plus. The coverage is buildable, so you can customize it to your liking, and it did a great job of covering imperfections without looking too heavy or cakey.

One of the standout features of this foundation is how well it controls oil. Worn it through long workdays and it will keep skin looking matte without any touch-ups needed. The matte finish is also really nice - it's not too flat or dry-looking, but still provides a natural-looking glow. The shade range is also impressive. I found a perfect match for my skin tone with Sand Beige (180). I appreciate that there are both warm and cool undertones available, making it easy to find a shade that works for your skin tone. Overall, I highly recommend the Revlon ColorStay Liquid Foundation for anyone with combination or oily skin who wants a long-lasting, flawless complexion. The lightweight formula, matte finish, oil control, and great shade range make it a standout foundation. Click here to buy! 5. COVERGIRL Clean Matte Liquid Foundation This foundation provides a shine-free finish and controls oil for up to 12 hours. The COVERGIRL TruBlend Matte Made Liquid Foundation in Warm Tawny is a great option for anyone looking for a long-lasting, matte finish foundation. The formula is lightweight and easy to blend, making it simple to apply with either a brush or a sponge. I love that it provides full coverage without feeling heavy or cakey.

One of the standout features of this foundation is how well it controls oil. It kept skin looking matte and shine-free all day, even in areas where I tend to get oily like my T-zone. The finish is also really nice - it's not too flat or dry-looking, but still provides a natural-looking glow. In terms of longevity, I found that it lasted well throughout the day without any fading or patchiness. It stayed put even during a hot summer day, which is always a plus. I also appreciate that it didn't settle into my fine lines or pores. The shade range is also impressive. Warm Tawny is a great match for my skin tone, but there are plenty of other shades available with both warm and cool undertones. Overall, I highly recommend the COVERGIRL TruBlend Matte Made Liquid Foundation for anyone looking for a full coverage, long-lasting, matte finish foundation. The lightweight formula, oil control, impressive shade range, and great staying power make it a standout foundation. Click here to buy! When shopping for a foundation for oily skin, look for products that are oil-free, have a matte finish Read the full article

#foundation makeup longlasting 2023 review honestreview skin oilfreeskin pores webnewsify

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topvaporizerstorenearme · 1 year

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Buying Vape Products Online

Buying vape products can be daunting, especially if you're new to the scene. It can take a lot of research to find the best products for your needs and budget. Fortunately, there are several ways to do so, including the usual brick and mortar stores, and more convenient methods such as buying from an online retailer.

One of the most convenient ways to buy vape products is to visit an online store. This is not only convenient, but it may also be a cheaper alternative. Since online retailers buy in bulk, they can offer more affordable prices. Another perk of shopping online is the convenience of being able to browse through various vape products at home. This can be a godsend for those living in rural areas. Check out this resource for more about this vape products.

Online stores are also known to have shipping services, which can offset the cost of buying vape products at a brick and mortar store. Aside from having a huge selection of products, online retailers are also known to have better customer service. They're also likely to have robust return policies. This makes them a good place to start if you're on the hunt for new vape accessories.

When you're shopping online, you can also find the best e-liquids, vaporizers, and other vaping accessories. For example, one of the best ways to find a good e-liquid is to read reviews. A good site will also be easy to navigate, and will feature an easily identifiable search bar.

For those looking to buy vape products for the first time, it's always a good idea to learn as much as you can before hand. This includes a thorough knowledge of what's available, and what the different products do. You'll also want to take a look at the quality of the product you're considering. Cheaper vape products are more likely to catch fire, or contain toxic additives. Buying a quality product is the best way to ensure your safety and your health. Check out more about this post here: https://joostvapor.com/locations/grand-haven/.

Although buying vape products at an online retailer may seem like the cheapest option, it's also the most convenient. You can do a lot of research, and can even get some advice from other consumers. Most sites also have contact information, and will be able to help you with your questions. You may even be able to switch your shipping address.

The best part about shopping for vape products online is that you're able to browse through a wide selection. This makes it easy to find the best e-liquids for your needs, and will also save you time. There are also many online vape stores that are open 24 hours a day, allowing you to browse at your convenience. Buying vape products online can also save you money, since most retailers offer free shipping.

There's no one right way to buy vape products, but it's wise to take advantage of all of the options available. By doing your homework, you can find the best e-liquids for you at the best price. Education is a never ending process, so continue reading here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vape_shop.

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ossward · 2 years

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HauSafe Cam HD Reviews – Best Security Camera Yet?

If you live in a bad neighborhood, it’s advisable to take proactive measures to keep your home and loved ones as safe as possible. Get this security camera which goes by the name of HauSafe Cam HD after reading our review.

According to police data, installing a video surveillance system in your home can reduce the chances of a break-in by over 50%.

So, what’s the hitch? Standard home security systems cost a fortune! From installation charges to video storage fees, home security contracts are likely to leave your bank balance looking less than rosy.

But what if we told you that there was a way to deter intruders without being ripped off by big companies? We’re talking about HauSafe Cam HD, the home security device you’ve been waiting for.

What is HauSafe Cam HD?

Hausafe is a high-definition security camera with a simple design suitable for the modern homeowner. The camera features a small footprint and no external wires or removable pieces for easy installation. The Hausafe HD camera is ideal for use both indoors and outdoors.

It is maintained by a smartphone app, which may be controlled, and any security updates are sent. The Hausafe security camera looks like a regular bulb and may be plugged directly into a bulb holder. It does not rely on batteries.

Features

Full-Color Night Vision: 1080P High Definition resolution so you can see more clearly. Highly accurate motion detection, once abnormal motion is detected, you receive notifications directly from the application on your iOS/Android device.

No More Worries: You needn’t worry about the danger breaking into your house with our alert notification and alarm system.

P & APP: This WiFi camera can provide you with a clear field of view (Full HD 1080p resolution) at any time. You can control the camera angle through the app to realize 360-degree blind areas for free viewing.

Easy to Install: This wireless camera works by connecting to WiFi. It can be installed without complicated installation steps with an ordinary lamp holder, which is convenient and practical.

How to Operate Hausafe Cam HD?

The Hausafe cam HD is controlled by a mobile app, which you must first install before using the camera. The smartphone app contains all of the controls and receives real-time camera notifications. It works with both iOS and Android devices.

The camera’s power connectors mimic a standard bulb and can immediately connect to a bulb holder.

According to its description, each unit comes with a 64GB memory card, sufficient to store security footage for 24 hours of monitoring.

Benefits

Alarm Kit: Protect your home and your bank balance.

Night Vision: This camera comes fully equipped with night vision to keep you protected round the clock.

Super Bright LED Light: It may be a security camera, but it also has a powerful LED bulb to illuminate every inch of your property. 64 GB card included.

No Cables or Batteries: This camera runs on electricity from the light socket, so it will never shut down.

Transportable: Take it anywhere. Take it on your travels or simply move it from one room to another.

Why you must get HauSafe Cam HD installed?

A U.S. home is broken into every 20 seconds. That’s over 4,500 break-ins every day. HauSafe Cam HD is fast becoming the most widely used security device on the planet. Hardly surprising given the soaring global crime rates, right?

It features an ultra-sharp 1080P lens, 360° rotating panoramic infrared camera, night vision, two-way audio, alarms to scare intruders away, and an automatic tracking function designed to protect your home from any unwanted visitors. But what really makes it stand out from the crowd is its price, its ultra-compact design, and the fact that it’s 100% wireless.

This small, compact and discreet security camera is guaranteed to keep your home, office, or storage facility safe without breaking the bank. Protect what matters most at the touch of a button. We’re not joking when we say that this surveillance system is one of the best on the market!

For starters, there’s an integrated motion detection sensor and tracking system that send real-time alerts to your cell phone. Did we mention the two-way audio that lets you talk and listen via the app whenever and wherever you want?

And that’s not all! Its top-notch audio system allows you to record video streams 24 hours a day via the SD card slot. All you need is a light bulb socket.

Specifications

Product Type: Bulb Camera

Color: White

Resolution: 1080p

Night Mode: Infrared night vision

Intercom Mode: Two-way voice intercom

Video Recording Mode: Continuous video recording, anomaly detection video recording

Lamp Cap: Power supply E27 lamp cap

Pixel: 2 million

Product Size Stereo: About 156.5cm,5.92.6inch

Alarm: Automatic tracking of movement detection

Rotation Angle: 355 ° left and right, 90 ° up and down

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years

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Debts that can't be paid, won't be paid

It’s been just over a year since the death of activist, writer and anthropologist Gavid Graeber — a brilliant speaker, writer and thinker who helped give us Occupy, “we are the 99%” and “Bullshit Jobs.”

On the anniversary of David’s death, his widow Nika Dubrovsky convened the first “Art Project” discussion, a fascinating debate between Thomas Piketty and Michael Hudson, a pair of political economists whose work is neatly bridged by Graeber’s own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWT0uvBLDbo

Piketty, of course, is the bestselling French economist whose 2013 Capital in the 21st Century was an unlikely, 700+ page viral hit, describing with rare lucidity the macroeconomics that drive capitalism towards cruel and destabilizing inequality

https://memex.craphound.com/2014/06/24/thomas-pikettys-capital-in-the-21st-century/

Hudson, meanwhile, is the debt-historian and economist whose haunting phrase “Debts that can’t be paid, won’t be paid,” is a perfect and irrefutable summation of the inevitable downfall of any system that relies on household debt to drive consumption.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/24/grandparents-optional-party/#jubilee

Like Hudson, Graeber was obsessed with the history and politics of debt. His 2012 book “Debt: The First 5,000 years” influenced not just Piketty’s work, but the work of many non-economists, including a large group of science fiction writers.

https://www.tor.com/2012/04/16/the-best-science-fiction-ideas-in-any-non-fiction-ever-david-graebers-debt-the-first-five-thousand-years/

Like Piketty, Graeber was capable of writing extremely long books that were so engaging that people actually read them, absorbing complex and nuanced subjects. DEBT clocked in at 534 pages, and not a dud among them.

And like both Hudson and Piketty, Graeber was obsessed with long timescales and the ways that history is pressed into service to assert that various political situations are inevitable products of human nature, meaning that there’s no point in asking for a fairer system.

In Debt, Graeber reaches back 5,000 years to question (among other things), the “money story” that money was created by individuals who wanted to make barter more efficient, settling on coins as a way to make change for someone who wants a cow but only has chickens to trade.

Graeber shows the “confluence of needs” theory of money to be a fairy tale, something that orthodox economists literally made up as the “most likely” source of money, without ever asking historians about what the record tells us about the origins of money.

Which is a pity, because historians know a lot about this stuff! For example, they can tell you about the Babylonian use of ledgers to record the issuance and redemption of debt in the largely agricultural economy of the day.

This early money would be recognizable to farmers today: during planting season, a share of the eventual harvest is promised in exchange for the inputs needed to plant, nurture and reap the crops.

Like Graeber, Hudson also treats Babylonian policy as key to economics — specifically, the Babylonian understanding that “debts that can’t be paid, won’t be paid,” which is why the state would periodically declare a jubilee in which all debts were declared void.

Without these periodic jubilees, the entire productive economy is swallowed up by debt service — every poor harvest or other unforseeable circumstance drives producers (who are also debtors) further into debt, whose interest creates an inescapable gravity.

Without some way to escape debt’s gravity, all productive labor becomes oriented toward debt-service, and the economy grinds to a halt. If this sounds familiar, you’re probably paying attention to today’s political economy:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/19/zombie-debt/#damnation

Piketty also works in long timescales, though his historical analysis is an order of magnitude more recent that Hudston or Graeber’s. At Capital XXI’s core is a data-set, painstakingly assembled by Piketty and his grad students over more than a decade.

That data-set traces “capital flows” (the distribution of wealth and income) for 300+ years, rigorously traced and normalized, so that we can understand things like the relative degree of inequality in different societies over centuries.

Famously, Piketty concludes that no matter how fast an economy is growing — no matter how productive its makers are — that wealth grows faster, making the takers who financed growth even richer than the people whose work is propelling the economy.

This fundamental truth (expressed in economic notation as r > g, or “return on capital is greater than economic growth”) means that “meritocracy” is a lie: the richest people in a market economy aren’t the people who do the best work, it’s the people who started off rich.

Like Hudson, Piketty’s work looks at the relationship between inequality and instability: Piketty uses his data to show that inequality crises trigger political crises, and that high degrees of inequality precede upheavals like the French Revolution and the World Wars.

Given all that, a discussion between Piketty and Hudson, convened in Graeber’s memory, is bound to be fascinating, and they don’t disappoint (if you prefer text to video, check out Naked Capitalism’s transcript):

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2021/09/michael-hudson-and-thomas-piketty-debate-inequality-debt-and-reform.html

Here’s my highlight reel of the discussion, with commentary. Hudson opens with a skeptical take on Piketty’s conclusion to Capital XXI, in which he proposes a global wealth tax. Such a tax is nearly impossible to enforce, says Hudson — unlike a jubilee.

Hudson says the source of today’s global vast fortunes is not earnings or income — rather, it’s central banks’ subsidy of the value of stocks and bonds, through rock-bottom interest rates, bond guarantees, etc. These fuel speculative bear markets that run up asset prices.

These state-subsidized fortunes are pumped into the financial markets, becoming the loans that everyone else has to pay debt on, just to survive. As in ancient times, the finance sector eventually swallows the productive economy whole. Without jubilee, you get collapse.

This is true within rich economies, but it’s even more pronounced in the relations between poor debtor countries who were coerced into taking on massive debts by the IMF, who are going to pay an ever-larger share of their GDP to offshore creditors as the economy slows.

The only way for poor countries to service those debts is by imposing crushing austerity, which means starving domestic producers of investment, education and health services, reducing productivity, requiring more austerity — until the whole thing collapses.

Remember: debts that can’t be paid, won’t be paid. It’s an iron law, and cannot be repealed — not by austerity, not by “better management,” not by “living within your means.” Can’t be paid = won’t be paid.

Piketty doesn’t dispute any of this, saying that he’s reconsidered some of the solutions in Capital XXI in light of subsequent events, like the pathetically inadequate global minimum corporate tax of 15%, which only rich countries’ treasuries will get to participate in.

Piketty points to his followup to Capital XXI, the even weightier (and sadly less influential) Capital and Ideology for his more up-to-date thinking on the way to address inequality and instability.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/19/capital-and-ideology-by-thomas-piketty-review-if-inequality-is-illegitimate-why-not-reduce-it

He reiterates his thesis that inequality self-corrects, thanks to the instability it engenders. Left on their own, market economies collapse, torn apart by the bill for guards to defend lenders’ fortunes, the bill for interest payments that enrich lenders.

Impose sufficient austerity and brutality on a society and the cost of defending it exceeds the wealth its productive sector manages to produce, and boom — French Revolution, the World Wars, etc.

Piketty proposes that mounting “catastrophic climate change” might precipitate the next crisis, which is certainly a safe bet, though of course, the question is whether that crisis will come after the point of no return for a habitable planet.

Hudson has ideas about how we might hasten transformative change without risking civilizational collapse. He points out that Piketty’s work identifies inherited wealth as inequality’s wellspring and points out that estate taxes are much more enforceable than wealth taxes.

Certainly, inherited wealth is a live issue today. The latest installment of Propublica’s essential IRS Papers reporting shows how the richest Americans abuse a bizarre loophole to avoid ANY tax on indescribably vast estates:

https://www.propublica.org/article/more-than-half-of-americas-100-richest-people-exploit-special-trusts-to-avoid-estate-taxes

No one knows exactly how much tax avoidance grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs) drive, because they are shrouded in secrecy. In 2013, the lawyer who created GRATs said they’d allowed the ultra-wealthy to evade $100b in taxes. Their use has increased since then.

Another lever for reducing inequality is political competition. Hudson points out that during the Cold War, capitalist states took steps to prevent runaway inequality in a bid to show that market economies were more stable than centralized, planned economies.

Hudson suggests that competition with China might serve that function today. Without forgiving China for its autocracy and human rights abuses, he gives favorable marks to its economic planners for reining in the finance sector.

It’s true that China intervened heavily in credit markets during the covid crisis, to prevent rentiers from destroying productive businesses that couldn’t service their debts during lockdown, preserving larges swathes of otherwise vulnerable productive firms.

He reminds us that the original meaning of “free market” was “a market free from rents,” where unproductive creditors were not allowed to lay a private tax on productive manufacturers.

https://locusmag.com/2021/03/cory-doctorow-free-markets/

Today, the meaning has been reversed — a market is “free” if creditors face no limits on rent-extraction.

But there’s good reason to be skeptical of claims that China’s economy is being well-managed, as Anne Stevenson-Yang writes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/annestevenson-yang/2021/09/25/chairman-xi-chinas-looming-crisis-and-the-myth-of-infallibility/

Stevenson-Yang paints a picture of chaotic state management of the Chinese economy, hidden by state-owned media and its rosy outlook. Watchwords like “common prosperity” are empty buzzwords, used to paper over self-interested, corrupt business practices.

State initiatives measure progress through short-term, easily gamed KPIs, something she says is documented in Red Roulette: “a new book written by a disaffected property developer named Desmond Shum.”

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Red-Roulette/Desmond-Shum/9781982156152

Now, I’m willing to stipulate that for investors and property developers “corruption” or “incompetence” might be indistinguishable from what the rest of us would call good governance, but some of Stevenson-Yang’s charges seem factual and well-made.

42I found the discussion between Piketty and Hudson fascinating, and if there was anything more that I’d add, it would be a dose of technopolitics (unsurprisingly). After all, technology has a huge bearing on the timing and nature of the shifts that both economists study.

For Piketty, inequality-driven instability collapses when the cost of guard-labor rises too high to bear — other words, eventually, a society gets so unequal that it costs more to stave off guillotines than even the ultrarich can afford.

For Hudson, debt-driven instability collapses when debtors begin to default because they have no ability to service their debts.

Technology changes the nature of both of these collapses. Take guard labor: mass surveillance and technological controls make it cheaper than at any time in history to isolate and neutralize political threats to elite rule.

How much cheaper? Well, in 1989, the Stasi employed one in sixty East Germans to spy on the whole nation.

Today, the NSA spies on the whole world, at a spy:subject ratio that’s more like 1:10,000 — two orders of magnitude more efficient than the spies of a generation ago. That’s a huge productivity gain, and it’s all thanks to digital technology.

When it comes to debtor default, the tension is between coercion and ability to pay. Yes, “debts that can’t be paid, won’t be paid,” but “can’t be aid” is not a hard limit — it turns on how much the debtor is willing to hurt themselves and their loved ones to make payments.

Every mafia armbreaker knows this. When someone can’t pay their debts, you can break their arm and they’ll cash in their kids’ college fund and secretly remortgage their house to make the next payment.

When that runs out, if you threaten to break their legs, the debtor will start breaking into cars. Eventually, this comes to an end, when the debtor goes to prison for 25 years. But in the meantime, coercive force can wring a fair amount of blood from the stone.

Debtor coercion has been transformed by digital technology, from an artisanal, retail handicraft to a scaled up, industrial practice.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/02/innovation-unlocks-markets/#digital-arm-breakers

We don’t need the threat of repo men to keep you paying your car note — miss a Tesla payment and your car will phone home and lock its doors. When the tow arrives, it will flash its lights, honk its horn and back out of its parking space for repossession.

The ability to digitally repossess, or partially repossess (as in India, where loan-shark cellphone companies disable your most-used apps if you miss a payment) the tools you rely on for life and livelihood makes it cost-effective to apply coercion at scale.

Cheap guard-labor and cheap coercion mean that crisis can be deferred for ever-longer timescales. Thus, societies up the only kind of debt that really matters: policy debt. Lives are ruined, productive capacity tanked, the planet poisoned.

Add tech to Piketty or Hudson’s analysis and things start to look a lot less self-correcting, and the odds tilt against our civilization, our species and our planet. If a correction only comes after the point of no return, we’re in very deep shit indeed.

#pluralistic

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nomadinia · 3 years

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Chronicles of an unfortunate athlete (part 1)

I waited a long time to write this review because I wanted to make sure I had all the facts. I was originally going to give CareAxis a 1 star rating, but the physiotherapist I met with was beyond amazing, hence the only reason for my 2 star rating. Note, this review is more about my experience as an athlete with one of the doctors running this program than the program itself.

There is so much to say that I don't really know where to begin, but let me start by saying that dealing with the CareAxis neurosurgeon's office was one of the most frustrating medical experiences I have ever had. Since my situation is quite peculiar, I have dealt with my fair share of unhelpful doctors, but this neurosurgeon in particular is the epitome of medical nonchalance in my eyes.

This has been a 5 years odyssey, so I’ll try to be as concise as I can throughout this review.

I am a former competitive varsity athlete and some of my teammates have gone on to become Olympians. Needless to say, my body has endured some grueling training. I trained at a competitive level from the age of 18 to 23, and one thing about grueling training is that it makes one very attuned to their body, so I’ve always known automatically when something was up with mine. I always wanted to continue my competitive career at a professional level, but unfortunately due to debilitating back and shin pain and incontinence (keep that in mind), I had to retire from competitive athletics at 24. Fitness and competitive athletics were everything to me, I had a fitness blog with over 62,000 followers, I was about to start a fitness channel, and I was putting in the hard work towards becoming a professional runner.

My deteriorating physical health took a huge toll on me mentally, but despite my early retirement, I still clung to my dreams of returning to competitive athletics. So for 3 years, I had endless appointments with my family doctor to try to find the cause of my symptoms. However, at 27, I was tired of getting nowhere, so I started pushing for diagnostic tests. I am fortunate to have a family doctor who understands my drive and doesn't mind sending me for diagnostic tests as long as I pay for them.

In June 2020, I had a full body MRI and that's when we discovered that I had moderate to severe congenital lumbar spinal stenosis (L4-L5-S1). Thinking it was the source of my ailments, my doctor and I were ecstatic. I was even more ecstatic knowing that there were still hopes of qualifying for Boston 2022 if I could get surgery in 2020. Since I knew how ridiculously long the wait time for a neurosurgeon is in Quebec, I searched the Internet for private neurosurgeons in Quebec. I was very happy to CareAxis initiative and thought it was really great after reading about it. Besides, because the program included an orthopedic surgeon, I was even more excited, thinking, "let's kill two birds with one stone - we can find a solution to my back pain and also to my shin pain”. All in all, I had so much high hopes.

One thing leading to another, I self-referred myself to the program, met with a physiotherapist (to whom I gave a copy of my MRI report and a flash drive containing the images thinking that would be sent to the neurosurgeon (keep that in mind). I have to commend CareAxis because I was contacted fairly quickly after my assessment with the physiotherapist (2-3 days). Unfortunately, I couldn't make it to the appointment because I live 2 hours away from Montreal and I'm a public servant, so I can't just give a 2 day notice to my manager. I opted for a phone consultation.

Now that's where the whole debacle begins...

1) At our first consultation, the neurosurgeon did not have my MRI report or MRI imaging study. I was baffled because (a) this information had been provided to the physiotherapist, and (b) I distinctly remember leaving a voicemail for one of his receptionists with the information of the clinic where I had my MRI.

I was so excited for our first phone consultation, but it really turned out to be unfruitful. Side note, he is very punctual in terms of his phone consultations. I was very disappointed though since our first consultation lasted less than 15 min if I remember correctly. Although disappointed, I was not mad because it was more of an administrative error. I couldn't really blame the neurosurgeon, but it should have been a red flag call to the many communication flaws in this program. Before ending our phone call, he asked me to send him a copy of the MRI images and the report and I did so promptly.

2) Since the clinic where I had my MRI did not provide me with a CD, as patients have access to an online portal, I downloaded the images onto a flash drive and sent it to the neurosurgeon. On our first phone call, I mentioned this and made sure that sending the flash drive was okay. He confirmed that it was ok. Everything was sent by express mail, so I knew he would receive it within a week.

I waited a whole week and no phone call.... Knowing how busy neurosurgeons are, I let the time pass (a WHOLE month) because I figured he had a lot to do. Besides, no one likes to be seen as a clingy patient... Of course, after a whole month of no response, I finally called his clinic and to my surprise, his secretary informed me that he had not been able to open the USB drive... Internally, I was very annoyed because this meant that if I hadn't called his clinic, no one would have informed me of the problem. Once again, I brushed off the issue and told his secretary that I would contact the Vancouver clinic to have the CD sent to them.

3) I contacted the Vancouver clinic and had the CD sent to the neurosurgeon’s office. I think it was sent to him fairly quickly. Unfortunately, he was once again unable to see my images as his clinic did not have the necessary technology and once again nobody informed me of the problem. Again, I wasn't really mad because the technology used in Vancouver to perform my MRI required a specific type of software (DICOM).

I found it strange though that a hospital could not open a DICOM file given that (a) I was able to see the images on my computer after downloading a DICOM software and (b) other clinics were also able to open the images. Anyhow, I was not too bothered by this problem, what irritated me was once again the lack of communication from neurosurgeon’s office.

4) Since the neurosurgeon could not open my MRI images, he scheduled me for an MRI and, yes, you guessed it, again, no one called to inform me. It was a total shock to me when on Christmas Eve (December 24) I received a letter in the mail informing me of an MRI scheduled for December 26. I live in the National Capital Region, which meant a two-hour drive that I didn't mind, but for God's sake, it was the holidays and people make plans at this time of year. Of course, when I tried to call the radiology division to tell them I couldn't make it, I was greeted with an auto message saying they were closed, so of course I couldn't talk to anyone. That's when I started to get more than a little annoyed.

Fast forward, I ended up getting the MRI he ordered. While I really despise many aspects of his program, I have to give credit where it is due – the MRI rescheduling was done pretty quickly (February 2021). Now we are getting to the part that really was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Because of all the shenanigan going on, it took the neurosurgeon about six months to tell me that it was not my spinal stenosis that was causing my shin pain and incontinence. I don't mind him not knowing what was causing my shin pain and incontinence, but the fact that the whole process took six months is unacceptable!

From the time I referred myself to CareAxis (September 2020) to the time the neurosurgeon was finally able to get an MRI of my spine (February 2021), six months elapsed. For many people, 6 months may not seem like much, but for a high-performance athlete who wants to return to their sport, it's half a year. In the world of sports, especially high performance sports, so much can be accomplished in six months, especially in terms of training or rehabilitation... Keep in mind that since I was out of my sport for such a long period of time, I could have really used some of that time to reacclimate my body to a high and demanding level of physical training. Those six months of shenanigans really could have been cut in half if only there had been ongoing communication with the patient (i.e., myself). I could have been proactive on so many aspects throughout the process.

Since the neurosurgeon was quite baffled by my situation, he decided to make an appointment for an in-person consultation to better evaluate me (in May 2021). However, I remember having a strange feeling during our last phone call - as I explained my symptoms to him, I could sense the disinterest in his voice. At that point, I realized that he is the type of doctor who won't do much to help an athlete get back into their sport.

After our last phone conversation, I fell into a depression because I was disappointed that my spinal stenosis wasn't the cause of my shin pain and incontinence. I was really at my wits end with all the diagnostic tests and medical appointments. Eventually, I picked myself back up and, because I didn't want my judgment to be clouded, I cancelled the in-person consultation with the neurosurgeon and decided it would be best if I did some research on my own. I also asked my doctor at the time to refer me to a sports medicine doctor.

Long story short, after doing extensive research, I felt confident enough to meet with the neurosurgeon. So I called his clinic to make an appointment - his office never returned my call (it's been 7 months now). Dr. Santaguida never sent notes to my doctor either and didn't even try to refer me to anyone else. He simply forgot about me. Fortunately, I was always proactive, and during those 7 months, I had asked my doctor for a referral to another neurosurgeon, but more importantly, I sought recommendations from experts. I contacted a Norwegian MSK rehabilitation and injuries specialist who reviewed my MRI images and recommended the right spine surgery. Furthermore, I obtained a second opinion from Sandford University, Jefferson University, UC San Diego, and the Global neurosciences institute. And we were able to shed some light on the incontinence.

With a proper physical exam and detailed sports history, we could have easily shed light on most of my ailments. Moreover, I could have had the necessary additional tests quickly and been on my way back to a very physical lifestyle. It turned out that in addition to spinal stenosis, I have chronic exertional compartment syndrome – CECS (shin pain) and a sports hernia (Gilmore's groin, athletic pubalgia, whatever you want to call it) in my right groin that causes the urological symptoms (incontinence). And to top it all off, I have PCOS.

Imagine having PCOS along with moderate to severe spinal stenosis, CECS and a sports hernia that irritates the bladder. Life was certainly not joyful... While the chances of the CareAxis neurosurgeon suspecting CECS and athletic pubalgia would have been very slim, he worked with an orthopedic surgeon who could have given him excellent advice on how to manage a former athlete... This neurosurgeon could have even referred me or suggested that I see a sport doctor. I went through many extra hurdles that could have been avoided.

While I can't fault the neurosurgeon for not knowing about CECS and sports hernias, as these are occult sports injuries that only a sports physician or team of experts would suspect, I am definitely irritated that I had to endure unnecessary pain and that proper treatment was delayed.

#me

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josefavomjaaga · 3 years

Photo

Caroline Murat and her daughter Letizia, who accompanied her mother on the trip to Munich in 1805.

***

@joachimnapoleon, because she's cool like that, has dug up the letters that Caroline Murat sent to her (at the time) BFF Hortense de Beauharnais in Paris. As the letters were published in a French paper, and as I'm very unsure about French copyright, I do not want to translate them in full. But I hope it will be okay to quote one passage from it, as I think this might illustrate quite nicely all the misunderstandings and misconceptions existing between the »startup« Imperial court of the Bonaparte family and the small German "ancient" courts.

Caroline describes a visit to Electress Karoline, in presence of Caroline’s two ladies-in-waiting Madame La Grange and Madame Lambert. She had arrived in Munich on December 20th after a rather desastrous 3-days-journey that included a road accident. She wished to be lodged not in the electoral residence but in her own palace, and as she had not brought many servants (apparently, she and Murat had some financial problems at the time), she was waited upon by servants of the electoral family.

I have already written a little about Electress Karoline's first impressions of Empress Josephine here. So, now for Caroline’s impressions of the electress:

Munich, December 24, 1805 [if this isn’t a mistake in the publication, then apparently she already uses the old calendar that Napoleon will only officially reintroduce on January 1st]

[…] The Court is extremely boring. The Elector is a very good man, in the style of the Elector Archchancellor [Dalberg, who had been in Paris for the Sacre], except that he is not so witty.

I received yesterday from noon till six o'clock the foreign ministers, their wives, Prince Hohenzollern, one hundred and fifty ladies of the town, the whole household of the Elector and all the gentlemen of the town, and at the end the Electress, who saw Letitia, whom she found charming. I have done so many reverences that I am in bed with a dreadful ache.

The day before yesterday I went to the theatre, where it was colder than at the coronation; I was afraid it would hurt me.

When we go to the Elector's, a table is brought in, and Princess Augusta sits down and makes tea for everyone. Don't fancy the Court too high; they are all like good bourgeois. Nothing is funnier than to see the Elector making conversation with the Empress's maitre d`hotel. […]

Madame Beauharnois makes little of an effect. Madame Lambert makes no effect at all; as she only knows how to be silly and as I do not allow her to be silly, she is nothing. Madame La Grange makes an extraordinary effect; the elector always talks about her, because he knew her father and her whole family very well. Monsieur Daligre, though a fool, also makes an impression, because of his name and his fortune; the elector has often dined at his father's house and knows all his family well. If you come to this country, bring people who have a name, because they do not see the others, I will give you an example.

Yesterday, everyone was wondering what Mrs Lambert was, who her father was, who her husband was... So the electress approached her and said that she was very happy to return to her what her parents had done for the elector in Paris and that her name was not unknown to her, because she had heard a lot about the La Grange family; I then saw Mme Lambert blush, very embarrassed; I stepped forward and told her that she had been mistaken and that this woman was called Lambert. Then she wanted to know what she was; the questions embarrassed me, and I answered that she was the wife of one of our principal inspectors of reviews and that she had a very considerable fortune. Then her glances fell more slowly on her, and she told her that she was well pleased to make her acquaintance. While chatting with another lady, I observed Mme Lambert, who was in conversation with the electress, and I was annoyed to see that she always had an air of embarrassment and of a little girl. I am telling you all this nonsense to make you aware of what is liked here.

Except that I don’t think she really understood »what was liked« at the Bavarian court at all. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I think her own expectations really got in the way. What she writes seems to me like an amazing mixture of condescension - "Don't imagine too much, they live like good citizens here, the princess personally makes tea for everyone!", disappointment at not making enough of an impression (why would she even try to achieve that?), and the tacit assumption of not being taken seriously by her hosts. She immediately assumes that the electoral family occupies themselves with some of her companions more than with others because those have »a name«. Whereas Max Joseph - remember, this is the guy who walked around his capital on foot and who, in his palace, strangers liked to mistake for one of his servants - just immediately pounced on anyone whose name reminded him of his youth in Paris.

As for the scene with Madame Lambert, it's actually the Bavarian Karoline who makes a mistake and confuses the two ladies-in-waiting. Which Caroline Murat seems to think is some kind of ruse so she has an excuse to inquire about Madame Lambert's family background? I think Karoline really did address the wrong lady by mistake; she is twenty years younger than her husband, to my knowledge has never been to Paris, and probably only knows the names from Max Josef's nostalgic descriptions. She is presumably at least as embarrassed as poor Madame Lambert. Especially as she apparently continues to talk to the lady she has mistakenly addressed for quite a while, observed by Caroline Murat, despite the fact that Caroline knew nothing more to tell about her lady-in-waiting than that her husband has a pile of money.

So, plenty of misunderstandings. Caroline Murat has come to Munich to see a »real« court - and what she gets is tea served by the elector’s daughter. At the same time, she expected to meet with rejection and secret contempt, and now saw these in incidents that in themselves may have been quite harmless.

The author of the article, Paul Le Brethon, juxtaposes these letters from 1805 with a few lines from another letter written from Munich by Caroline, on her way to pick up Napoleon's new Empress Marie Louise, in March 1810 to her husband Joachim Murat:

My friend, I always feel very comfortable with the King and Queen of Bavaria; they enjoy a calm and perfect happiness in their home; their young family is very interesting [they had five daughters at the time, among them twice twins]; these children remind me of my own, and my eyes are filled with tears every time they look at them.

I think by then, Caroline had understood the difference.

#caroline murat #joachim murat #max joseph #karoline von bayern #auguste von bayern #eugene's marriage #munich 1805 #munich residence #napoleon

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cyraptor · 2 years

Text

Top 20 Zelda games of 2021

As many of you may or may not know, I spent roughly the first nine months of 2021 playing (or replaying in many cases) every single main series Zelda game. Since I don’t think I played more than maybe one game that actually came out in 2021 I couldn’t very well do a Top 10 for the year, but I’ve been wanting to rank the Zeldas for a while so people would yell at me about putting LTTP so low, so this is how I have decided to spend the last day of the worst year of my life. I did not proofread this. Enjoy!

#20: Link’s Crossbow Training Okay obviously this one doesn’t really count but you can’t have a “Top 19” list. It’s actually pretty decent for what it is, which is a peripheral pack-in that reuses all of its assets from Twilight Princess, but it’s still, y’know… that.

#19: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link Here is my actual least favorite Zelda game. Utterly miserable “Nintendo hard” bullshit with extremely little to make up for it. Having both lives AND a leveling system is idiotic; it’s too hard to survive long enough to get enough XP to level up after a certain point in the game. Also the wretched swordfighting system becomes completely untenable with some of the later enemies and it feels like you’re engaging in a damage race guessing game. Maybe I’m just uniquely bad at this game? I dunno. I guess I appreciate that they were trying to do something different from the first game, but, like Castlevania II, I think it’s an abject failure. Maybe the only Zelda game I think is truly BAD.

#18: Four Swords (first time playing) Four Swords, like Link’s Crossbow Training, ends up low on the list not so much because it’s bad but because it’s just a nothingness. It’s essentially just a bonus multiplayer mode included with the GBA version of LTTP. You just run around a semi-procedurally-generated (I think?) map collecting Rupees and occasionally there’ll be some enemies or mild puzzles to solve to progress. There’s very little else to it, although the very nice pixel art presages Minish Cap’s. The hook here is the multiplayer facet, which I experienced by mapping two Links to the left and right sides of a single controller and controlling both simultaneously myself. It was a very unique way to experience a game, and fortunately very little in it requires both Links to move/act in concert. It made the bosses pretty hard though!

#17: Four Swords Adventures (first time playing) Something you’re going to see a lot in this list is me factoring a game’s aesthetics into its ranking a disproportionately high amount, and FSA easily takes the biggest hit from this. This feels for all the world like a fangame to me. It uses the Link sprites from Four Swords (good), but lifts most of the rest of its graphics from LTTP (bad). There’s some new spritework that ranges from fine to terrible, and then there’s a handful of digitized Wind Waker models which look spectacularly out of place. The end result is a gross, amateurish hodgepodge of a game that feels devoid of any sense of a unique identity. The actual gameplay is a linear, level-based pastiche of the Zelda formula, which isn’t the worst experience in the world but strips out a lot of the series’ exploratory appeal. Maybe it’s more fun in multiplayer, even though it seems to utilize the multi-Link mechanics more sparingly than the other multi-Link games.

#16: Tri Force Heroes (first time playing) Yet another multiple-Link game that’s probably not primarily designed to be experienced in single-player, but that’s how I played it and that’s how I’m going to review it. This is a lot closer to the original Four Swords in gameplay than Adventures, except that it has actually properly designed stages with real puzzles and obstacles and is much better off for it. That said, it’s still pretty shallow and requires you to sink an enormous amount of time playing the same stages over and over in order to 100% it (not to mention the 24-hour-cooldown gacha stuff that makes it feel like a mobile game you can’t throw money at to speed up). The story (really just a premise) is also extremely dumb and low-stakes and may as well not exist.

#15: Spirit Tracks (first time playing) I will address most of my problems with Spirit Tracks in my entry for Phantom Hourglass, as they all apply to this one as well. Having said that, Spirit Tracks is a mild improvement over its predecessor in most respects: a more unique premise, better story, better dungeons. It’s also one of the only Zelda games to feature Zelda as an active protagonist as opposed to being damseled or just being a non-presence for most of the game for one reason or another, which is nice I guess. Having said that, it’s completely brought down by the titular train mechanic. It takes goddamn forever to travel from one place to another, which this game requires a lot of, and you have to be paying attention for the duration of a trip because you need to kill enemies or remove obstacles from the track constantly or else you have to start over. And unlike pretty much every other Zelda game with an overworld, you never unlock any sort of warp/fast-travel ability to get around quicker - there ARE teleports you can activate on the tracks that warp you from point-to-point, but they are literally never in places that would ever be useful. One of the most tedious Zelda games out there.

#14: Phantom Hourglass Phantom Hourglass’s biggest downfall is that it was designed for the DS. First of all, it looks like shit, like all 3D DS titles do, with the low-res textures deforming around the low-poly models in the most aesthetically unpleasing way possible. And of course, the controls are nonsense - having to use the stylus for general movement control adds nothing and never feels good. The game also suffers for trying to recreate Wind Waker on a smaller scale and, as a result, inviting negative comparison to its far superior predecessor. Also, much has been said of having to do the Temple of the Ocean King or whatever it’s called like 5 or 6 times over the course of the game, and while there’s ways to make that experience slightly less tedious on repeat visits, even in the best of circumstances it’s still extremely obnoxious and was a bad idea.

#13: A Link to the Past Okay, this is the one I know I’m going to catch the most shit for. Let me preface this by saying there is a pretty wide gulf between Phantom Hourglass (which is in the “bad third” of the list) and LTTP (which is in the “decent third”). The thing about LTTP is that I never played it as a kid. I didn’t sit down and give it a serious chance until like 2007, when I had played most of the 3D Zeldas released up to that point. At the time of its release I’m sure it was a massive revelation and a huge improvement over Zelda 1, and influential to games that came later, and I know it’s a lot of people’s childhood Zelda. But to me, with no nostalgia for it and with the perspective of the current day, it’s just like, the absolute baseline Zelda experience that is perfectly fine but doesn’t really excel at any one thing. There’s virtually no narrative, the spritework has the same jank that many early-SNES first party games did (I think the environments are quite nice though), it’s too dungeon-heavy, and the Dark World, while decent in concept, feels kind of half-baked. The game just kind of feels like a slog to me and every time I revisit it I struggle to get all the way through it without losing interest. I dunno what else to say. Sorry!!!

#12: The Legend of Zelda Once in a while I can enjoy sitting down and cracking the “puzzle” of an abstruse game - usually an older one - by doing stuff like mapping out the whole world and writing down all the in-game clues (had a good time doing this with Dragon Quest 1 and MSX Metal Gear in recent memory, and the Souls series has a modern twist on a similar vibe too). Zelda’s a pretty good game for it, especially with the manual on hand to gradually ease yourself into that mindset through the early stages, and that’s why it’s more enjoyable than LTTP for me, even if the later game is an objective improvement on pretty much all fronts. The second quest with its obtuse progression and hordes of Darknuts, Wizzrobes and sword-stealing Bubbles can fuck off though.

#11: Twilight Princess Twilight Princess had to have been the most anticipated Zelda game ever, right? Many sad people didn’t enjoy Wind Waker’s more lighthearted tone and art style and wanted “another” “serious” “edgy” Zelda game like OOT, and there was like a 4-year buildup to its release. And when it finally arrived, that’s exactly what TP turned out to be: Ocarina of Time, again. I feel like it was kind of a damned if you do/damned if you don’t situation for Nintendo, and the end result is by no means a bad game, but undeniably a cynical and uninspired one. It has a very similar map and follows a very similar progression to OOT, with a few new wrinkles that keep it just barely fresh enough to make it feel like its own thing. I felt this way about it at the time and it didn’t really change my mind on replaying it. If it’d been the only Zelda game I’d ever played I could see loving it… but it’s not. Also: it’s very ugly!

#10: Oracle of Ages The Oracle games are fairly inextricable from each other, so most of what I have to say about them will probably be said in the Seasons entry, but of the two I enjoyed Ages less. The dungeon puzzles were far more obtuse, to the point where I needed to reference guides multiple times. The time travel/parallel overworlds gimmick had also already been done better in previous games. Ages also takes the award for Zelda game I played the most times in 2021, with a total of three consecutive playthroughs (a “100%” Oracle experience requires 2 playthroughs of each, but I decided I wanted to play the unlinked version of Ages before the linked one for some reason. Not recommended).

#9: Oracle of Seasons Jeez I don’t even know what to say about the Oracle games, it’s all a blur now. Seasons was a way smoother ride than Ages, I do remember that. I like the season-changing gimmick more than the past/present one - at its core, it’s just yet another “parallel overworld” situation, but the puzzle-solving aspect of it felt smaller-scale and easier to grasp than Ages. Speaking to the duology as a whole, the linking aspect is kind of a neat idea and worth doing once (if only for the “true ending”), but I don’t know if it’s really worth playing it “both ways” like I did - the changes in the second game aren’t significant enough to warrant a revisit. The ring system is a theoretically fun mechanic that becomes murderously tedious if you’re a completionist (and technically impossible without cheating if you’re not playing on GBA - yes, you get a special ring for playing this GBC cart on a Game Boy Advance, and can’t get it on Virtual Console). All in all I see the Oracle games as nice followups to Link’s Awakening that are a little too bogged down with ambition to supersede the simple joy of their predecessor.

#8: Link’s Awakening It’s hard to say why I rate Link’s Awakening as highly as I do when I have no nostalgia for it and so many caveats about liking it. It’s very bad about holding the player’s hand (especially at the beginning), with multiple bosses explicitly describing how to defeat them. The one dungeon where you have to carry the big ball and smash the pillars is very obtuse and annoying. It’s the first Zelda game to contain a trading sequence and (I believe?) the only one in which it’s mandatory to complete the game. But something about it - the tropical island setting, the goofy characters, the overworld map that doesn’t waste a single screen - just delights the hell out of me. The Switch remake, despite its inscrutably inconsistent performance, is very pretty and adheres shockingly close to the original game. Its dungeon-building mode was a nice idea but kind of lame in practice.

#7: A Link Between Worlds A Link Between Worlds skirts the line between remake and sequel, but boy howdy do I like it so much more than LTTP. Part of it’s just the 20+ years of quality of life improvements made to the series being applied to the already-solid foundation of the original game, but there’s also a ton of new items and elements added to the game to give the dungeons a bit more variety and personality than they once had. The item rental system is interesting but flawed since although it allows you to play the dungeons in any order, it also means the dungeons didn’t have anything in them besides the boss and they also have to stick to a similar difficulty level. But I don’t play games to be challenged, I play them so I can fill in cells in a spreadsheet no one else will ever see. Also I thought the wall-merging gimmick was cool without feeling like too much of a crutch, and the Lorule/Dark World aspect was executed better than in the original. Sorry!!!

#6: Skyward Sword (first time playing) I’ve spent the last decade hearing how horrible Skyward Sword is, so I was very excited when they announced the Switch port (whose release coincidentally lined up perfect with my replay project) so I could play it and be a big contrarian by saying how much I loved it. And here we are! Seriously though, maybe it’s precisely because I was expecting to hate it that I was so pleasantly surprised by it, but I honestly really enjoyed my time with it. I can’t speak for the original version and how much (if at all) the remaster improved on its flaws, but I found the mapping-the-sword-to-the-right-stick solution to be perfectly serviceable (with the sole exception of now needing to hold a shoulder button to move the camera with the stick, rather than them just reprogramming the camera to move automatically to mitigate needing to do so). The sword gimmickry is sort of integral to the game’s mechanics so they really couldn’t have removed it entirely, but I think it’s kind of fun anyway! It’s certainly more engaging than mashing a single attack button like I usually do in Zelda games. Skyloft, like the Great Sea, is a fun twist on the typical Zelda overworld formula, although it does feel a bit empty out there. The hub town and its characters feel fun and fleshed out in the same way that Wind Waker, Minish Cap, and Majora’s Mask’s do, there’s just… not much else. It’s maybe the prettiest of the 3D Zeldas though and has the best girl Zelda.

#5: The Minish Cap (first time playing) I wasn’t really sure what to expect from The Minish Cap. It’s a game that tons of people apparently played but never held particularly strong opinions about, good or bad, which is weird for a Zelda game. What I got was one of the most surprising and delightful entries on this list. Minish Cap is a pretty small game - well, literally, in that you frequently shrink down to the size of a little mouse guy (an idea I have found very enchanting since the days of playing Micro Machines on Genesis) - but also in that it’s basically just a hub town, with a fairly small overworld surrounding it and only like four dungeons in the entire game. What it may lack in quantity it more than makes up for in quality, with charm oozing out of every square inch. Its Kinstone fusion mechanic makes interactions with NPCs feel a little like Majora’s Mask-lite (although the rewards are frequently completely pointless), and the few dungeons and their associated items have some of the most innovative ideas ever seen in the series. On top of everything, Minish Cap is one of the most exquisite looking 2D games I have ever laid eyes on. This has some of the best spritework and especially tilework I’ve ever seen. I forgot to mention Capcom when I was discussing the Oracle games, but who cares, THIS is their crowning achievement in the Zeldasphere.

#4: Breath of the Wild (first time playing) I haven’t actually finished this one yet but I spent basically my entire 2-week summer vacation playing it so I feel pretty qualified including it on this list. Breath of the Wild is a game that has been so hyped up to me for years that I thought there was no way that it could meet my expectations, yet it pretty much did. I thought I knew how big the game was and it’s so, so much larger than I ever could have believed Nintendo capable of. It makes Skyrim look like Bob-omb Battlefield. It takes the exploration factor of Zelda games like the original and Wind Waker and cranks it up 1000%. It’s an incredible experience for someone like me who relishes just exploring a big, natural-feeling world in a video game. It’s not perfect though! I think the hundreds of barely distinct weapons and shields could have been pared way down, and the degradation aspect doesn’t add much to the game besides inconvenience. I think the cooking system is okay in theory, but again, the ingredients list could have been whittled way down. Conversely, the enemy variety is bizarrely thin considering the scale of the rest of the game and I would like to have seen a larger bestiary. And while the shrines and Divine Beasts are fun and creative, they don’t really make up for a complete lack of proper dungeons. At the end of the day, though, Nintendo took some uncharacteristically huge risks with this game and they almost categorically paid off, so these minor protests doesn’t necessarily bring down the game as a whole for me, and hopefully can be addressed in the sequel.

#3: The Wind Waker I like the ocean and I like exploration in video games and The Wind Waker is a Zelda game about exploring the ocean. It also got me through a particularly rough spring semester my first year of college. But on top of that I also think it’s just a good game on its own merits. It’s probably to date still one of the most unique settings of a Zelda game, but it anchors (pun) itself to the series lore without feeling overly dependent on it. Even though its lighthearted tone and cartoony art style were its biggest point of criticism at release (less so now thankfully), I think it’s one of Wind Waker’s biggest strengths. The worst thing about it is probably the fact that you’re railroaded along the main storyline for a shockingly long time before you’re allowed to explore freely, and that the first dungeon is a terrible stealth mission. I don’t think I enjoyed it as much on revisit as I did my original time through (this year’s being the Wii U HD version, whose “upgrades” I don’t think make it look especially better than the original), but it still holds a special place in my heart.

#2: Majora’s Mask I got the N64 version of Majora’s Mask on release and bounced off it so, so many times before finally giving it a second (or technically like fifth) chance when the 3DS remake came out. Some people dog on the remake, saying it changed too much, but I think it’s all for the better. N64 MM is ROUGH. It was way too ambitious for that console, and even with the expansion pack it struggled to run and looked like shit. The 3DS version is an incredible visual upgrade, and the various quality of life improvements it also makes are what finally got me to break through its rough starting hours, so to me it’s good. The game itself is incredibly expansive and deep but you’re not forced to engage with all of the sidequests and stuff if you just want to experience the main story. You can put as little or as much as you want into this game and you will be rewarded for it in kind. It has probably the richest cast of characters of any Zelda game and it’s a challenge and a delight to see some of their stories through to the end. This is, understandably and justifiably, the most polarizing Zelda game, I think. It’s probably the toughest to get into but it also feels like the most fulfilling.

#1: Ocarina of Time Look. I know OOT has received something of a critical reevaluation in recent times after years of being considered the best game of all time by pretty much everyone. But I was ahead of the curve on that shit. OOT was my first Zelda game in 2000 and I don’t think it’d be too much of an overexaggeration to say it’s one of the games that most changed my life. I still love it dearly. I understand it’s maybe not as revelatory in the modern day as it was at release, but it did codify or invent a lot of the stuff that might make it seem passé now. I think this may be a reverse LTTP situation where my opinion is tainted by nostalgia, but this is MY list. Also, the 3DS remake is incredibly good in a “this is the way you remember this game looking but it actually looked way worse” way, and changes much less about the game than the MM remaster did. That’s all thanks for reading

(Note to Tumblr followers: this blog is still dead I just needed someplace to post a huge wall of text. Follow me on twitter @cyraptor where I am actually active(ish). Transformers Legacy is not coming back please don’t ask me about it. Thank you)

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skullsandwineglasses · 3 years

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My Best Friend’s Story (2020) Final Review

I’ve written two first impressions of this drama here (first episode impression) and here (episodes 1-7 impression). Beyond the first 7 episodes, I continued to enjoy the drama until episode 24 or so. But when Jiang Nansun returned from Italy, that’s when the drama started to go downhill for me. One good thing that I appreciated in this drama is that the personalities of the characters stayed relatively consistent, which is an accomplishment for cdramas. However, my gripe was with how the ambitions of the characters changed. Even though the plot was quite simplistic in the first half of the drama, it felt like Nansun and Suosuo were actively moving the plot forward. They had agency over their own growth. But in the second half, they were striving for things they didn’t want. Rather, they were coping with life stressors and making compromises. It might sound like a realistic depiction of the unpredictability of life struggles, but what was frustrating about the plot progression was that both Nansun and Suosuo made things harder than they had to be.

Jiang Nansun

I actually really liked Nansun’s character development. She didn’t just grow for the sake of growing, but we see her potential of becoming someone competent and independent early on. This means that sooner or later, she would become a mature woman over time, but her father’s suicide triggered this growth sooner than expected.

Despite having an opposite upbringing from Suosuo, Nansun and Suosuo are actually quite similar in terms of their outlook on life and their judgments of people. That’s why they’ve managed to stay best friends for so many years. What’s different between them is that Suosuo has had to stand up and protect herself more often. This means that she’s used to being confrontation.

Nansun is a bit more reserved. She does things more underhandedly. She’s more of a schemer. When you see how she handled things with Yuan Yuan, we see how she’s not above lying and bribery to safekeep her sense of security. Even Suosuo was shocked about how cleverly and calmly Nansun was able to figure out the truth of her boyfriend’s past with Yuan Yuan.

But, we also see that Nansun is also capable of being just as spoken as Suosuo. She openly bickers with Wang Yongzeng. She never hesitates to stand up to her dad. When you look at the women in Nansun’s life, you can see where she gets her gumption from. Her aunt is a level-headed, well-traveled business woman. Her mom is a self-aware but oppressed housewife. Her grandmother is an overbearing traditionalist. All three women are resilient, if flawed. Nansun may have had a privileged upbringing, but she’s capable of facing adversity and adapting to changing circumstances. It’s also because of these three women that forced Nansun to have to think for herself.

I think what a lot of people had issue with is how Nansun handled her father’s outstanding debts. She kept it a secret, refusing to tell anyone about it because she was afraid of burdening them. So, she took it all on herself. As a result, her aunt and her boyfriend misunderstood her and was disappointed that she would choose earning fast money over pursuing her passion. I’m still trying to figure out whether this decision makes sense for her character. Nansun justifies the decision by saying that she doesn’t want to worry and burden her loved ones like her father did. Nansun also said that telling Wang Yongzeng about her problems would just ruin his current passionate and carefree approach to life.

But one of the reasons why she broke up with Zhang Anren was because he refused to help her in her time of need because he didn’t want to be associated with her dad’s gambling habits. You would think that after having such as a selfish and unreliable boyfriend, she would expect her next boyfriend to be more supportive and compassionate. They writers even set up WYZ to be more compassionate. When he heard the news that Nansun’s dad came to the university to ask Zhang Anren for money, he called all the way from Italy to ask if he could help. So I thought that WYZ would be more involved when Nansun encounters another problem. But no. Instead, Nansun doesn’t even give him a chance to help her because she wanted to protect him from her reality and her struggles.

We then see a third love interest appear: Li yifan. He’s like a more genuine version of Zhang Anren. He plans everything to the T. He has a clear plan for the future. He’s reliable, dependable, and will guarantee a sense of security. He sees marriage as a contractual partnership, and romantic gestures are superficial. They’re just fantasies that you dreams about when you’re young, but they’re hollow and unsustainable. You know that if you marry him, you won’t have to worry about him being unfaithful and that you’ll always be provided for. He’s direct, transparent, to-the-point, and no nonsense. His ex-wife tells Nansun it’s important to find a man who’s is emotional calm and stable. He seems like a perfect marriage partner. I’ve seen lot of comments saying that he’s better suited for Nansun than WYZ is.

The thing is, while you can’t go wrong if you chose Li yifan, he doesn’t offer anything that Nansun can’t provide for herself. Back in grad school, Nansun liked Zhang Anren because he pampered her, and love and attention was something that she lacked from her family at home. But now, Nansun has learned to love herself and provide for herself. She’s able to give herself a sense of security, and she no longer needs a man to provide it for her. Instead, she wants a partner who is able to emotionally and intellectually stimulate her, and WYZ can provide this. He’s able to show her a different side of life. She’s able to have fun with him. He helps her grow and draws her out of her comfort zone.

Nansun likes WYZ not because of what he can give her, but because of who he is. That’s why even though he doesn’t help her overcome her obstacles (because she didn’t let him), she still loves him. She likes his personality, his values, his free spirit, his humour. She’s able to provide her own noodles, but he offers the spice.

The conversation that Nansun has with her aunt also becomes important. Her aunt says that marriage is just a confirmational contract, but it’s not the foundation of a relationship. That’s why her aunt doesn’t feel a need to remarry and is perfectly happy with just dating.

So in the voiceover during the final scene, Nansun says that she and Susuo continued to live together for the next 5-6 years, implying that she and WYZ didn’t get married. WYZ also mentioned a few episodes ago that marriage and starting a family wasn’t on his agenda. So we as the audience are left to assume that Nansun is following in her aunt’s footsteps and isn’t in a rush to get married or start a family. Just as long as she’s happy spending time with the one she loves, that’s all that matters. She’s finally broken out of her family’s traditionalist values after all and is career-driven.

Another note is that the library scene during Nansun and WYZ’s reconciliation in the finale was pretty romantic. In fact, I thought their whole relationship arc was cute and really enjoyed seeing it unfold. The chemistry just wasn’t quite there, but most couples in this drama lacked chemistry.

Zhu Suosuo

Suosuo had an anticlimactic character arc, but she was a pitiful character and arguably the emotional core of the drama.

She starts off ambitious, headstrong, but naive. She’s the Cinderella character: she’s stuck in her uncle’s judgmental home, dreaming of one day moving out and having her own family and being independent and successful. She’s tricked by a man, but it’s a blessing in disguise because it also puts her on the path of entering the Jinyan company. She finds quick (but shortlived) success as a real estate agent, and gains a reputation at the company. We see her gain momentum as she climbs up the ladder, getting closer to realizing her dream. But it all stagnates when she’s re-assigned to be Jinyan’s assistant.

She’s no longer running from client to client to try to recruit sales. Instead, she’s now stuck at the office, slowly falling in love with her boss who’s old enough to be her father. She doesn’t really do anything anymore but swoon over Ye Jinyan. And it gets cringey because she begins to assume that he likes her back and begins to act out of line, like questioning his decisions for the company and for his employees. When he scolds her for thinking too highly of herself and her influence in the company when she’s nothing more than just an assistant, she quits.

This points to a larger problem of the drama. What kind of lesson is the drama peddling? So far, for both Nansun and Suosuo’s storylines, it seems as though the drama is saying that as long as you’re young, pretty, and have rich connections, you’ll be fine. Most of Nansun and Suosuo’s problems have been solved by someone rich (usually Ye Jinyan). It’s unrealistic how fortunate and privileged they are. They knows so many influential people who are ready and eager to help them.

Another problem is how the drama villainizes people from the country and depicts people from the city as being morally superior. The prime example is Yuan Yuan. She’s portrayed as the greedy, scheming, love rival who wants to get in the way of all of Nansun’s relationships. At first, I was annoyed at how lazy it was to bring her back to try to steal WYZ. But on second thought, it was interesting to see how differently Nansun reacts to Yuan Yuan compared to a year ago, and how uninterested WYZ is in her compared to Zhang Anren. It shows that Nansun has matured. She’s no longer jealous of Yuan Yuan because she’s confident and secure in her relationship with WYZ, and she trusts him in a way that she couldn’t trust Zhang Anren. And that’s because WYZ’s behaviour makes him worthy of being trusted.

Yuan Yuan’s appearance also gives Suosuo a chance to show her rage and protective side. It was really satisfying seeing Suosuo call out Yuan Yuan’s intentions.

I lost interest in watching Suosuo’s relationship with Jinyan. By that point in the drama, Suosuo seemed to have lost her drive to further her career. So while she’s still as headstrong, outspoken, and flirty as ever, her ambitions have changed. I’m also trying to understand why Suosuo fell for Jinyan. Is it the idea of being liked by the most powerful man in the company? Is it because he’s aloof hard to get? She wants a home and family, things that he is unlikely to give. And yet, she’s drawn to him. Not Yang Ke who’s smart and not Xie hong zu who worships her.

What’s more curious is Jinyan’s side of the relationship. At first it’s ambiguous. He cares for her, but doesn’t show it outright. You then learn that it’s because Suosuo has the exact same birthday as his daughter who committed suicide, and he still blames himself for being an absent father. So he’s trying to repent by doing his best to protect and love Suosuo, whom he treats as a stand-on for his deceased daughter. But then there are moments that make you question that line of reasoning. He reminisces the time he spends with Suosuo. He accidentally calls his secretary by her name. He drinks to try to numb the pain of her absence. He’s enraged when she quits. He cries when gets she married (and it’s not the kind of happy crying that a parent would have, but it looks like a kind of regretful crying where he turns his back to the camera, takes off his sunglasses, and blinks the tears away). Or maybe it is a kind of worried parental crying because he knows that she won’t have a happy marriage with Xie hong zhu. It’s all very hard to tell. Does he love her platonically is romantically? Maybe a bit of both. He’s probably unsure himself.

Suosuo seemed to jump into marriage with Xie hong zhu too quickly. She admits that it’s partly out of spite from being rejected by Jinyan, but it’s also because she realizes that Xie hong zhu is probably her best choice now. Suosuo and Nansun’s lives seemed to have switched: at the beginning of the drama, Nansun was the one who dreamed of romance and marriage, while Suosuo dreamed of freedom of success. Now, Suosuo is the one who’s eager to find a romantic partner, while Nansun is trying to find a foothold in her profession. But when you think about it, that’s who’ve they been all along. Even though Suosuo said that romance is a lie and an unreliable fantasy, a part of her still hopes to find happiness with someone who truly loves her. Nansun starts off having a seemingly devoted boyfriend, so romance was never something she thought she lacked, which was why in the end, she was able to figure out what she really wanted out of her love live. My mom always tells me to find someone who loves me more than I love them. Suosuo seemed to have taken this route. I think that you should love someone because of who they are, even if they might not love you back. Nansun was lucky to have found someone she loves who loves her back. Suosuo wasn’t as lucky.

After a long and bumpy road, Suosuo finally returned to basics and is working in sales again. But I was just disappointed at how they stunted her career growth just as she was rising.

Nansun and Suosuo’s relationship

My initial criticism was that they weren’t really involved in each other’s lives. But that changed when Suosuo leaves her uncle’s place and is taken in by Nansun’s family. And then Nansun’s family falls into financial ruin and Suosuo takes them in her new place. And then Nansun’s father dies and her mother leaves, leaving only Nansun and her grandmother, whom Suosuo treats as her own grandmother. And they get even closer when Suosuo has a baby. So we see how they get closer and closer through all the problems they face together. But it’s obvious and predictable how devoted they are to each other. So whenever one makes a sacrifice for the other, it’s never a surprise. It’s very sweet and comforting to watch though, and the drama is worth watching for their friendship dynamic alone.

A lot of people criticize Liu Shishi’s acting, and while I also don’t find her to be a strong actor, I think she has good chemistry with Ni Ni. They balance each other out. They both have so much grace and composure. I also really like how evenly split their storylines were. Soulmate and Last Romance seemed to be biased towards the bubbly character more (i.e., Zhou dongyu and Cherrie Chung respectively), but in this drama, no lead had more screen time or priority than the other.

The male leads

Nothing needs to be said about Chen Dao Ming. He’s untouchable. I’m not even qualified to talk about him. Dong Zi Yan did the best with the script he was given. He was childish, immature, lovesick, hurt, conflicted, remorseful. You felt sorry for him even though he was an unlikable character. Tony Yang had a flat character, so he wasn’t given much to work with, but his Taiwanese accent was distracting, and I’m not even a fluent mandarin speaker, I’m cantonese. So it must have been more annoying for native speaker. A lot of people complained about him, but I think he looks good in modern day clothes, and he fits the role of a casual, laid back, handsome architect well. He looked terrible and sleazy in The Rebel Princess though.

Supporting characters

Fan Jin Gang, Yang ke, and Xia Qian (the aunt) are definitely people you want to have in your life. They are infinitely wise and compassionate, but very blunt. Yuan Quan definitely embodies the worldly aunt stereotype. You wish you could be her when you grow up.

Overall, I would say that this is a good drama. Probably a 7.5/10. It’s really slow, but I didn’t skip any scenes. I started watching it for Liu Shishi and Ni Ni, and then I watched it for the relationships, and then I watched it for the conversations that the characters had. There are a lot of good life advice in this drama, and it makes you reflect on your own relationships with friends and family. It’s a thoughtful story.

The OST was great, the cinematography tried too hard to be nostalgic, and the outfits were fashionable. When they went to “Italy” you could tell that they just chose a European-style neighbourhood in China and then put in clips from Europe. The drama used the long, overhead drone shot that slowly pans out in the last scene of the finale. It’s such an overused shot. Off the top of my head, I remember that Lost Romance does this, and so does Ashes of Love, The Rebel Princess, and My Girlfriend is an Alien. While cheesy, I do find these drone shots pretty impressive, especially when you wonder where the rest of the crew is hiding. But I feel like this drama would have been better off ending with a montage of their lives 5 years later. After all, this is a drama about personal growth and the passage of time, so it only makes sense to see how much has changed in 5 years instead of being told in a voiceover. I know they wanted the last shot to be of Nansun and Suosuo standing together, but I think it might be more impactful to see them separated, but still staying strong despite the distance.

I could probably go on and an about this drama. You could go into a deep dive analysis about every character.

Ni Ni outfit appreciation:

Here are the brands of some of the outfits.

#my best friend's story #流金岁月 #cdrama #倪妮 #刘诗诗 #ni ni #liu shi shi #cdrama review #cdramaedit #cdramanet

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dangcommaannie · 2 years

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I posted 9,294 times in 2021

148 posts created (2%)

9146 posts reblogged (98%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 61.8 posts.

I added 3,124 tags in 2021

#leverage - 1071 posts

#leverage redemption - 473 posts

#darling - 441 posts

#leverage redemption spoilers - 415 posts

#fs - 242 posts

#eurovision - 106 posts

#annie watches eurovision - 103 posts

#yuzuru hanyu - 97 posts

#lupin - 88 posts

#lupin netflix - 88 posts

Longest Tag: 122 characters

#i've known of parents who will even consult fortune tellers and naming experts because they want the name to be just right

My Top Posts in 2021

Leverage moments I would like everyone to appreciate:

When Eliot and Hardison are hiding under the desk in the Top Hat Job and Hardison has to sit hunched over, while Eliot looks like he’s lounging on his couch at home and about to fall asleep while watching tv

365 notes • Posted 2021-06-26 00:26:54 GMT

I saw someone mention recently that they noticed how in the First David Job, when they’re running from the museum, Sophie takes the time to remove her heels, but I was just rewatching the Reunion Job and when Sophie and Nikki/Miranda/the assassin sent to kill Duberman get into a fight, both of them remove their shoes in that scene too and once again, it would’ve been easy for another show or movie to be like, “Yeah, women fight in heels, right?” but just that little detail really separates Leverage from other shows or movies.

Assassin or not, fighting in heels is tough and can lead to potential injuries, and Leverage isn’t about to keep them heels in so they can look nice while fighting.

464 notes • Posted 2021-02-07 03:43:16 GMT

Small detail that is likely coincidental because any random number could’ve been chosen, but in the Homecoming Job, when Nate and Sophie are pretending to be lost tourists who are arguing, Sophie mentions them having three kids and I’m not saying Sophie considers Eliot, Hardison, and Parker to be her three kids after only two episodes, but I’m also saying that Sophie considers Eliot, Hardison, and Parker to be her three kids after only two episodes

497 notes • Posted 2021-03-20 00:24:45 GMT

Sometimes I think about the immediate shift in Eliot’s mood in the Experimental Job when Nate tells him that Hardison is missing.

Like, before that, he’s moody and grumpy because he’s literally been locked up in a cell, psychologically tortured, and interrogated for days, while Hardison was off living his best college life. So when Nate calls and tells him to hurry up and leave, he’s still angry because he’s been in there for days, so there better be a good reason for him to have to go through this shit and then suddenly get told to just leave.

But once Nate drops the fact that Hardison is missing, we see the mood shift from irritated to full-blown furious because this all happens after the Grave Danger Job. Eliot has had to save and protect all of them from certain danger before, but Hardison getting buried alive was probably the closet he came to actually losing one of them and probably the moment he realized how much he really cared about all of them. So hearing Nate tell him that Hardison is missing again, there’s no doubt in my mind that Eliot immediately thought back to that moment and how there was no way in hell he was going to let the situation get that bad again and how he was going to do whatever it takes to find Hardison.

So yeah, I think about this sometimes.

1006 notes • Posted 2021-02-13 18:24:56 GMT

If it’s not obvious, when July comes around, I will 100% not shut up about Leverage. Thank you for your time.

1105 notes • Posted 2021-05-04 01:15:06 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#my 2021 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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blessed-but-distressed · 4 years

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#FindEmmaSwanAFriend

Feeling left behind by her more successful, settled friends, Emma Swan moves to Scotland on a whim. Sure, she’s winning at Instagram, but something is still missing from her new life. Fortunately, her friends back home are on it. #FindEmmaSwanAFriend goes viral. Enter Killian Jones, reluctant columnist, who is on the hunt for his newest subject, and may just have found her. CS AU

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also on ff.net and ao3

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Tagging: @katie-dub , @wholockgal , @kat2609 , @whovianlunatic, @optomisticgirl, @ladyciaramiggles, @the-lady-of-misthaven, @emmaswanchoosesyou, @ilovemesomekillianjones, @biancaros3, @cigarettes-and-scotch-whisky, @ms-babs-gordon @ab-normality, @andiirivera, @fangirl-till-it-hurts, @onceuponaprincessworld , @natascha-remi-ronin, @kiwistreetswan and whoever else asks me.

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A/N: Part 2 of 2. Surprise, bitch. Bet you thought you’d seen the last of me!

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Killian

How do you feel about improv? ES

Trepidatious. KJ

What if I told you some random just gave me last minute tickets to a Jane Austen inspired improv drag show, and I have a spare? ES

Curiosity alone compels me to say yes. Pleasance? KJ

George Square. ES

Thank fuck. I forgot my umbrella. KJ

If Killian had any sense, he'd approach the month of August the same way Robin did every year. Which mostly amounted to renting his house out to a troupe of Hungarian acrobats for extortionate sums of money and taking off for the south of France, thus avoiding the whole sorry spectacle.

A privilege reserved for those not living out of their older brother's spare room. Nor stuck writing Fringe reviews for his ailing periodical.

He thought his latest was his best yet.

Do you value your time? Your money? Your life? Then walk, don't run, as far from this act as you can. No one this incompetent should be wielding chainsaws, let alone juggling them. I may have been the only one-handed man at the preview, but with this shambolic spectacle set to run for the rest of the week, I expect I won't be the last. 0 stars.

Liam had accused him of being deliberately cruel, but he hadn't seen the show firsthand. The phrase 'culpable and reckless conduct' came to mind. His review went up online, unchallenged.

To his great surprise, his favourite show so far had been the improv show Emma had dragged him along to. It had all the subtle snark and invariable romance of Austen's classic novels, with the added benefit of Emma nearly passing out from laughing so hard. That alone would have justified his five star review, but the cherry on the cake had been when the man dressed as the elderley Dowager had picked August out from the crowd, and made him part of the act.

Killian generally condemned the casual cruelty of audience participation. Indeed, he lived in constant fear of it at every show he reviewed. But when it came for a certain novelist, he found his views on the matter suddenly rather... fluid.

Try as he might, he couldn't see what Emma saw in the man. What hidden virtues he possessed that had provoked such a ferocious loyalty. Killian wasn't stupid enough to voice such thoughts, of course, but that hadn't stopped him trying to figure it out.

The opportunity to continue this study was surely the only reason he'd opened an unsolicited DM from the man himself, when he should have been watching a Swedish comedy troupe send up classic films in a series of skits.

We have a mutual friend in need. How's your schedule looking uhhh… now?

Killian looked back to the stage. He couldn't be sure, but he thought the red streamers might signify blood. They were either up to Carrie or Jaws.

Trouble? Killian typed back.

Emma. The next message read.

We're in a bar in Leith and things have gotten a little… messy.

Killian checked the time. Barely past one in the afternoon. And fucking Leith? That didn't bode well. But at the same time, his review of the show was supposed to be online within the hour.

With a growing sense of unease, he typed out his reply. Which pub?

***

Stepping into The Marksman on Duke Street was not unlike stepping back in time. More precisely, to somewhere smack dab in middle of the Thatcher era, when Leith was a byword for deprivation and whatever comes after heroin chic. It was charmless, grimy and depressing, and Killian might've never understood the appeal until he caught the sign in the window. It opened at 6am.

Trying to avoid the abject stares of the locals, Killian found his quarry sat at the end of the bar on mismatching stools. Emma slumped forward, her face hidden, but August turned around swiftly at his approach, the alarm in his eyes quickly giving way to recognition.

"Oh thank god." August swept off his barstool, his relief so palpable that Killian thought he might hug him. He didn't look well. Thoroughly debauched, if one might say so, and in desperate need of a bath.

"Nice place," Killian remarked drily. "A bit off the beaten path…"

August pinched the bridge of his nose, looking weary. Or… wearier. "It's been a long night. And morning." He glanced back to where Emma sat propped by the bar, apparently still completely unaware of his absence, and drew closer, his voice lowering.

"You know that Graham guy?"

Killian couldn't explain it, but something inside his chest caught. Like flint striking steel. "Aye," he growled, not liking where this was headed.

"Married," August supplied, without preamble. "She didn't know. No one knew. She ran into them holding hands in the Tron. Matching wedding bands. The whole bit. So she threw her beer in his face and called it a day, right? But this morning, no, yesterday morning, the wife showed up. At the apartment. Emma's apartment."

Killian's fist clenched by his side.

"Yeeaah. It got pretty heated. Long story short, it's been a day and a half. I don't even remember how we got here. I'm not sure I even know exactly where here is. I have to be on a train at 4 to King's Cross or my publisher is going to sue my ass. Now, I can trust you? To get her home safely? You look at her like you're half a drink away from belting out Jessie's Girl at any given moment. I didn't imagine that, did I?"

Of all the places to grudgingly admit his feelings, not least in confidence to this man he wasn't sure he even liked, The Marksman was not the venue he would have chosen. And yet.

"There's very little I wouldn't do for that woman."

He was caught by surprise when the man launched forward and kissed him on the cheek, more still when he went back for the other cheek. August grinned enormously, grasping Killian by the shoulders. "Welcome to the family! Please don't fuck it up." And then consulting his phone, "I really need to go."

August made short work of the rest of his goodbyes, pulling Emma into fierce hug from behind, whispering something into her ear as he let her go. Then, with a wink in Killian's direction and a kiss blown at the nearest crusty Leither, he picked up his messenger bag and fled onto the street.

Steeling himself after that prologue, Killian turned back to where Emma sat by the bar, unseeing reddened eyes peeking out from under a tangle of blonde hair. He pulled out August's vacated stool, and took a seat.

"Swan," he began, with an imaginary tip of his cap.

"Jones," she replied, her voice flatter than he'd ever heard it.

"Of all the gin joints…"

She grimaced. Though her frown was so pronounced already, it didn't make much of a change. "We don't talk about the gin."

"At least tell me it was the good stuff."

She tried to smile, but the action seemed to cause her pain. "Don't do that. Don't be nice to me right now."

"Why not? You're not the villain in this story."

A small noise escaped her, half laugh, half sob. "Sure feels like it."

"No, that's the supermarket gin talking. We've talked about this. Nothing good ever came from a clear spirit at 35p a measure."

She sank further forward in her seat, her forehead resting against the bar top. "Don't be cute. Please just leave me alone to die," she mumbled.

He couldn't resist tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, making sure she could see him. "I'm not going to do that. I have a duty of care."

"Why? Because you'd have to find someone else to write a column about?"

"No," he replied levelly. "Because you're my best friend."

That had her lifting her head off the bar, albeit wincing as she did so. "I thought Robin was your best friend?"

He tapped his chin. "No, it's definitely you."

She considered that. Though how much of her internal brain processes had survived the pickling process over the last 24 hours, Killian couldn't be certain.

Of course, it was at that moment their bartender appeared, a middle aged woman with an ill-fitting polo shirt and bright green acrylic nails she drummed against the bar top. "Another top up, hen?" She didn't even glance at Killian.

He put his hand over Emma's glass. "Actually, I'm afraid we're on our way out."

Their server didn't much like that, a hand finding her hip. "Well that's up for the lass to decide, no?"

"It's okay, Tracy," Emma said, managing a consoling smile. "He's a friend. Are we all settled up?"

"We are." She gave Killian a cool once over. "Friend, you say? Mind you keep it that way. Looks like nothing but trouble to me. And you still raw after the last one. Liars and cheats, the lot of them."

Killian thought to take offence, but Emma already had him by the arm, pulling him off his stool. "Thanks, Tracy. Can you call me a cab?"

***

Getting her into the cab took some doing, not least because she had to pause twice to throw up in the gutter, and the first guy had driven off. Fair play to him. Thankfully by the time the second cab arrived Emma's stomach had settled, and she spent the drive curled harmlessly against Killian's side.

"Your lassie alright?" the cabbie asked, as Killian half lifted, half dragged her from the backseat out onto the gravel driveway. "You need a hand?"

It was a testament to how preoccupied he was that Killian didn't even stop to consider that might've been a crack about his prosthetic until Emma was already inside and passed out on his bed.

He texted Elsa first. A simple heads up.

There's an unconscious woman in the house. Don't freak out. KJ

It went about as well as you'd expect.

At least he had sisterly back up when he broke the news to Liam that he wasn't getting his review.

Needless to say, by the time Emma raised her groggy head from his pillow, the house was no longer silent, and it was no longer still. Elsa had insisted on rushing home, and boyish shrieks permeated the air, punctuated by the usual crashing and banging.

Killian sat in his one armchair, an ugly monstrosity of purple velvet which had been forbidden from the rest of the house, sipping his tea as she came awake. It took some time. One eyelid slithered open. Then the other. Never both at the same time.

"Do I want to know why someone is screaming in the next room?" Her voice was scratchy, and he motioned towards the glass of water by the bedside.

"Nephews," Killian said by way of explanation, as she crawled forward to grasp the glass in both hands, shaking with the effort.

She took a long draught, surveying her surroundings. He wondered how much she remembered from the last two days, if anything. If she even remembered his arrival at The Marksman, or August's leaving. She examined the ornate cornices, and floating beams. The collection of spent paperbacks stacked by the bed and the shabby, unmatched furniture.

"Your house. Your room?"

"My room," he confirmed. "We have guest rooms, but they're upstairs. And quite frankly, just getting you this far was nightmare enough. You're heavier than you look."

He earned a pillow to the face for that remark. It still smelled of her, which in her current state, wasn't much of a testimonial.

"Shower?" he ventured.

"Please," she said, rolling over until she could place both feet on the floor.

"Second door on the right. Elsa left some things out. Towels. Fancy shampoo. Paracetamol," he added with a waggle of his eyebrows. "Should be a set of clothes too."

She cringed. "Elsa knows I'm here?"

"Sorry. It's a new house rule of theirs. Radical honesty. Elsa knows you're having a rough time of it, and are convalescing. But that is the extent of her knowledge. Whether that remains the case, is entirely up to you."

"Right."

"Oh," he said, smacking his forehead. He scrabbled around on top of his dresser, before presenting her with a wooden triangle.

She took it automatically, seeming annoyed at herself for doing so. "Uh, thanks?"

"The bathroom door doesn't have a lock on it. Best wedge it under the door. Trust me when I say, you don't want Lachie walking in on you in the altogether. It's stressful for all involved."

"Good tip," she said, with a ghost of a smile.

She edged past him awkwardly to the door, her bare feet silent on the carpet. She'd already slipped into the hallway when her head appeared back around the door.

"Killian?"

"Aye?"

"I'm horrendously hungover so you probably can't tell, but I appreciate, uh…" she waved the wedge around vaguely. "All this."

"Swan?"

"Yeah?"

"I mean this in the nicest possible way, but please do shut up," he said with a wink. "Also, you're taking me out for pancakes after, so don't be too long."

Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, am I just?"

"You are indeed. Best thing for a gin hangover, in my limited experience. And it was very generous of you to offer."

"Very generous," she agreed, dubiously. "And Killian?

"Aye?"

"You're so full of shit. But... I do love pancakes. And one more thing?"

"Hmm?"

She kicked a toe into the carpet, eyes evasive. "You're sort of my best friend, too." Then she disappeared back behind the door, leaving Killian slack jawed.

***

He'd nearly finished two chapters of his book by the time Emma returned from her trip to the bathroom, shower soft and minty fresh.

"Better?" he asked, putting the novel aside.

"Much," she agreed. "Though full disclosure, I think I just used a $300 tube of lotion, and I kinda smell like a baby Porsche."

"The very best kind of Porsche," Killian assured her, offering her his prosthetic to take. "They're terrors once they hit the teenage years. Shall we?"

They crossed Bruntsfield Links just after sunset, the sky still streaked with pink and orange. He'd always loved summers in Scotland, that neverending twilight. It almost made shivering through six months of winter worthwhile. He was so busy admiring the scene, he nearly missed it when Emma detached herself from his arm, stopping in her tracks.

"Emma?"

She was standing entirely still, her eyes shut.

"Are you alright, love?"

Her eyes flickered open, almost surprised to see him still standing there. "Sorry, just… cataloguing."

"Cataloguing," Killian repeated, deadpan.

"Yeah, smartass," she said, walking forward to loop her arm under his again. "Cataloguing. Sometimes I forget, but this-" she indicated the kaleidoscope sky, the green-gold expanse of grass disappearing into the distant smudge that was Arthur's Seat, the group of laughing teenagers nearby trying to finish their mini golf game before they lost the light, "-Sometimes I still have to pinch myself."

She didn't elaborate, and Killian found himself oddly lost for words. He just reached over to squeeze her hand, and led her back towards the city lights.

For the time of year, they got lucky. The line was short, and it wasn't long before they were led to a red vinyl booth, complete with its very own mini jukebox. They both stared at it for a good minute before Emma fished a spare pound out of her pocket, and dropped it onto the table between them. "Your call. I'm going to the bathroom. Anything but Don't Stop Believin'."

Lord help him, but he thought he might love her.

He settled for a less foreboding tune, which morphed into another, then another, before he was fishing out his own coins to keep the party going. If he didn't know her any better, he might've thought she'd done a runner on him. Fortunately, he did know her better. Or at least, he was starting to.

She came back just in time for the guitar solo in The Chain, her I'm-bearing-up smile indicating she was doing nothing of the sort.

"Ruby texted," she explained, taking her seat opposite him. "About twenty times. She wouldn't stop until I FaceTimed her. I miss anything?"

"Just side one of Rumours. And your drink order." He indicated the glass of fizzy orange liquid in front of her.

She wrinkled her nose. "Fanta?"

"Irn-Bru. Best hangover cure there is."

She cast him a doubtful look.

"I'm serious. There's been studies."

"Oh well, if there's been studies." She slid the glass minutely closer, but didn't partake. Instead she watched as Killian lifted his own glass, and made a face.

He lowered his glass. "What?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about how I'm never drinking again. I didn't even know they served beer here."

"They do, but this is Dry Ginger."

She raised an eyebrow. "Ginger ale? You?"

Killian shrugged. "It's something I'm trying. Like a cleanse. But instead of drinking juice and doing yoga, I drink post-mix dry ginger and be less of a twat."

"Sobriety." Emma slapped her hand against the table. "I wish I'd thought of that. But I've barely seen you, when did you decide this?"

"Roughly…" he counted back the days, "43 days ago." When I thought I'd lost your friendship forever. But he didn't have to say it. From the look on her face, she already knew the significance.

"Huh." Emma sat back in her seat, absorbing that. But if she was planning on expanding on that thought, she was saved by the arrival of their waitress, who was all too eager to expound on the daily specials.

By the time they were alone again, Emma had cracked and was halfway through her Irn-Bru.

"I mean, it's not repellent…" she offered, by way of grudging approval.

"Trust me, it works." And then because he felt like they'd danced around it long enough, "So do you want to talk about it?"

She set down her glass, letting her fingers trace along the edge of the table top. "Nope. But somehow I feel like we're going to anyway."

"It was only about eight hours ago you wanted me to leave you to die in Leith's most depressing pub. I feel like it warrants at least a conversation."

She grimaced at the memory. Or perhaps where the memories ought to have been. It was hard for him to be sure.

"I fell in love with a married woman once. If you're worried about my judgement, you needn't be."

He wasn't quite sure where it had come from. This sudden urge to talk about Milah. But it was how they'd always operated, wasn't it? If he wanted Emma to take down her walls, he had to offer up a few bricks from his own. Well, this was more of a boulder, really, but at least he had her attention.

She snorted. "I wasn't in love with Graham."

"So what's the problem?"

"Because," she reasoned, tears springing into her eyes. "It's just so fucking mortifying. To be played for a fool, again. I thought I was smarter than that. I thought I could just, I don't know, flirt with a cute, intelligent guy and feel good about myself for five fucking seconds without it ending with his wife beating down my door demanding to know if I'd fucked her husband!"

She'd gotten a little loud towards the end there, with more than a few wary eyes glancing their way. Killian quickly stood up, and made his way over to her side of the booth, slipping in beside her. It was a tight fit, but it did succeed in sheltering her from most of the stares.

"Alright, so he's a tosser."

Another snort.

"Liam's bookie knows a guy. I could make a few calls?"

She shot him a sideways glance. "Don't tempt me right now. I just feel so stupid. But like, in an angry way."

"You're not stupid for being taken in by him. It's not a weakness to want to see the best in people, Emma. In fact, considering how many people in your life have disappointed you, myself included, I'd say it's pretty bloody brave."

Emma shook her head. "Is it though? I saw red flags. Even from the start he was kind of flaky. I wasn't even sure if I really liked him. It just appealed to my vanity, that he seemed to like me. So don't I deserve this? Just a little?"

"No." Killian wasn't sure where the vehemence came from, but he could feel it, welling up. "No, you don't deserve to be lied to, and dragged into the middle of someone else's messed up marriage without your knowledge or consent. No, you don't deserve being made to feel like the side-piece. You're not the side-piece. You're the heroine. And he's just a fucking wanker. What you deserve..." He looked up to see their server approaching the table, platters piled high with maple syrup topped goodness. He shot Emma a smile. "What you deserve, is pancakes."

***

It would've been remiss of him not to foot the bill, after his earlier declaration about her deserving pancakes, so there'd been a little bit of an argument about that as they wended their way down Clerk Street in the growing darkness. That Emma could argue about not paying for the pancakes he'd goaded her into in the first place, was a testament to the healing powers of Irn-Bru and a triple stack. No truly hungover person would have committed to such a futile battle.

But when they arrived at the beginning of her street, Emma stopped arguing and grabbed a hold of Killian's arm, pulling him up short.

She was shaking her hands out, like she was fighting off an attack of nerves, and Killian was instantly on the defensive. "Swan?"

She stopped when he said her name, plastering on what seemed to him a rather brittle smile. "Hey. Sorry. I'm just wondering, would you do me a favour?"

He had to chuckle at that. "Swan, if the last twelve hours have proven anything, it's that yes, I am available for favours. Unless of course they involve you paying me back for the pancakes. Because I'm afraid I'm rather immovable on that front."

"Great. So umm… Ruby has this theory."

"Ruby has a theory?" he repeated, hoping at some point, things would start making sense. "What manner of… theory?"

"Oh, god this is so stupid," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I'm just going to say it. I'm just going to come right out and say it: I want you to kiss me."

Something very violent was happening inside Killian's chest, a feeling which was neither happiness, nor disappointment, but a crushing combination of the two. He felt hot and cold. He felt light-headed.

"You want-" he started.

Emma's eyes were screwed shut, as if bracing for a blow. Or in this case, the fallout. She already had regrets. And more than that, it had been Ruby's idea. But why would Ruby…?

Of course.

The best way to get over a man, was to get under a new one. Wasn't that the old adage?

It wasn't about him. It wasn't about them.

No, she'd been clear. I want you to kiss me. She'd chosen him. She trusted him to be the one to soothe her wounded pride. Maybe she'd hoped it would be him. Maybe he was just the most convenient option. In any case, the wondering would certainly kill him.

But not as much as going through with it.

He reached out and took her hand, waiting until she opened her eyes. By Christ, people weren't supposed to look so beautiful by yellow street light. It wasn't scientific. And yet.

"No."

Now it was her turn to look like someone had punched her in the stomach.

"Oh." She made to release her hand from his, but he held firm. In fact, he pulled her closer, just a little.

"No, I'm not going to kiss your bruised pride back into place. Because I promise you, it's going to heal just fine on its own. You don't need a kiss from me or anyone to remind you what you're worth. You never have. It's one of my favourite things about you. Understand?"

Her reply was a little choked up when it came. "Got it."

She gravitated closer, her eyes shining, and he felt like he was losing his mind. He was certainly losing his nerve. He settled instead for raising her hand to his lips, brushing a soft kiss across her knuckles.

"That's one for the road."

He released her then, though nearly every part of his was screaming at him to do the opposite. Thankfully, she looked just as shaken as he felt. He nearly twisted his ankle in a gutter trying to put a little distance between them. And then he had one perfect surge of stupid confidence, and turned back to face her. She was still standing under the streetlight where he'd left her, looking oddly incomplete.

"Will you do me a favour, Swan?" he called out.

She held up her hands in a helpless shrug. "Sure."

"When the time is right, ask me again."

Then with his heart hammering a million miles a minute, he turned away and slipped into the adjoining street, and back into the night.

#cs ff #cs au #findemmaswanafriend #the emotional return #been a while...

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disneydeb1928 · 4 years

Text

One Piece Theories: The Truth of the D. Clan

- The Void Century Theories, Part 3

This is the third part of my Void Century Theories Series. This one is a long one (I apologize).

The D. Clan

So, first I think we should review, what exactly has been mentioned, in canon, on this topic:

1) It is first brought up by Kureha, on Drum Island, when she revealed that the true name of the late Pirate King was “Gol D. Roger” and told Dolton that Chopper had joined up with a very “dangerous man” (Ch. 154)

After stating Chopper has joined up with a “dangerous man”, she then smiles and says, “D’s will is still alive?”

2) In chapter 594, which takes place after Marineford, the Gorosei are discussing the possible connection between Rayleigh and Luffy when one of them says, “The ‘D.’s are always the troublemakers… especially Portgas… it seems his name has been a little too visible lately.”

3) Law actually talks about the D. Clan twice. The first time, is right before the timeskip, in chapter 729. After leaving Amazon Lily with Luffy in Rayleigh’s care he says “Still, I wonder what the Dark King’s [Rayleigh] is up to… the ‘D.’ will always bring a storm without fail… heheh…”. Later, during the Dressrosa arc, Doflamingo questions Law about why he would trust the Straw Hat Pirates as much as he does. Law replies “Because I know the ‘D.’ will blow up a storm again!”. However, both of these statements are merely echoing what Rosinante told him as a child.

Rosinante refers to where “I come from”, which must be referring to Mary Goise, the home of the Celestial Dragons. He says that will someone “with the name of ‘D.’ begins to make a name for themselves in the world… all the elders all groan and mutter… that ‘D.’ will surely bring with them another storm…”. We know that this is true based off the comments the Gorosei made (see above). He also says that it is a name that people have “secretly” been inheriting throughout history. This is highlighted by the fact that, just a chapter prior, when Law revealed his true name to Baby 5, he said “the ‘D.’ is a secret’ (Ch. 763). Rosinante then states that, in Mary Goise, the “’Family of D.’” is know as “God’s Natural Enemy”. Of course, many have taken this to mean ‘the Celestial Dragons natural enemy’ since the Celestial Dragons see themselves as gods.

When Law demands to know if that makes him a monster, Rosinante admits that “no one knows the actual truth”. However, we know that’s not true. This sentence is important because of a connection it has to the conversation between Law and Sengoku in Episode 743. Sengoku says,

“At least, I know Rosinante had no idea [about the meaning of that ‘D’]. So that wasn’t the reason he saved you.”

While it was a beautiful moment, it should be noted that Sengoku seems to be implying that had Rosinante have known about the true meaning behind the ‘D.’, it might have played a role in why he saved Law (even though we all know Rosinante was a big softy). Sengoku almost seems relieved to hear Rosinante didn’t know the truth. Then, he thinks,

“So he is one, too. The people with the name “D.” always lead a checkered life.”

The dictionary defines ‘checkered’ as: marked by periods of varied fortune or discreditable incidents. It at least implies that Sengoku knows something about the D. Clan.

Now, let’s review the people who appear to know something about the ‘D.’ (at least part of it) and the implications that could have:

1.) Dr. Kureha – (See Explanation Above)

Implications: Kureha aas born on September 8th, 1383. To put this into perspective, that makes her older than every known ‘D.’-bearer we’ve been introduced to in the story so far. In fact, that makes her 141 years old. As mentioned before, she is one of the people who knows Gold Roger’s real name. We know that Roger began to complain about the papers calling him that when he met with Whitebeard (around August) in 1500, so it is very plausible that she simply remembers what he used to be called before the propaganda began. However, her last comment, “D’s will is still alive?” is something of interest.

Grammatically, structuring the sentence as “D’s will” would give the same meaning as “Will of D.”. Both are describing a possessive condition. So we know that she is specifically referring to the Will of D. in this sentence. When she says this, she is smiling, implying that she is pleased with this fact. My question is, why would she have reason to believe that it wasn’t alive. I understand that some families with the ‘D.’ in their name have gone about hiding it, but there is still Monkey D. Garp, who is very public with his name. It’s possible that she’s been living a secluded life for a long time, but if she knew about Roger how had she not known of Garp? Also, I would stipulate, that her reaction makes me believe that there is an emotional connection to the “Will of D.”. It is absolutely possible, that her sentiment could more general, in that she’s happy to see that the World Government wasn’t able to extinguish another token of the past. Or it could imply something else. I think a lot of people wouldn’t be surprised if Kureha had met Roger in the past. He was a sick man and she was a genius doctor, capable of amazing advances in medicine. I think it is also possible that she knew others bearing that initial.

2.) Roger and some of the Roger Pirates – (As mentioned during my discussion on Joy Boy’s treasure, they discovered the true meaning at Laugh Tale)

Implications: While Roger appeared put out by the idea that the newspaper was covering up his name, he didn’t seem too beat up about it. In fact, we honestly can’t garner much from Roger’s reactions to anything. He, much like Luffy, didn’t seem to let things bother him.

However, I would like to take a look at his last words before his execution. There are two main versions I have seen floating around, but I am sure, due to translations, that there are many more. They are:

· “Inherited will, the swelling of the changing times, and the dreams of people. These are things that cannot be stopped. As long as people seek the answer to freedom, these will never cease to be!”

· “Inherited Will, The Destiny of the Age, The Dreams of its People. As long as people continue to pursue the meaning of Freedom, these things will never cease!”

Of course, the first person who springs to mind when I read this, is Luffy, who talks about freedom being a large reason in why he wanted to become a pirate. What I believe Roger is saying, is that as long as people are not content with oppression, and instead chose freedom (which can taken many forms), then people’s dreams and will (Joy Boy’s, Roger’s, Ace’s) can never fully be extinguished (which parallels to what Whitebeard said during Marineford).

Now, freedom mean many things, to different people. Luffy sees freedom as becoming a pirate; Zoro sees it as becoming the world’s greatest swordsman; Koby sees it as becoming a Marine. If you notice, despite having a dislike at the idea of becoming a Marine, Luffy never does anything but encourage Koby (in his own way). Because ‘freedom’ in this sense, is more about following your ambitions – your heart’s desires – reaching for the stars.

3.) Whitebeard – Roger informs Whitebeard the true meaning of the “D.” during their last meeting before turning himself in. In fact, Whitebeard has enough understanding on the subject that he can confidently say that Blackbeard is not the man that Roger is waiting for [to find the One Piece]

Implications: After Roger complains about his name change, WB asked him this,

“Now and then I come across some people with the name “D.”. Even in my own crew, there’s Teach. Just what is ‘D.’?”

So, Whitebeard is admitting that “now and then” he comes across ‘D.’-bearers. He doesn’t specify how often or even how many bearers he’s come across during his time (at this point WB is 50). However, we know that by 1500, the only ‘D.’-bearers that we know (currently) existed were:

· Jaguar D. Saul (born March 6, 1397)

· Monkey D. Garp (born May 2, 1446)

· Rocks D. Xebec

· Gol D. Roger (born December 31, 1447)

· Monkey D. Dragon (born 1469)

· Portrgas D. Rouge

· Marshall D. Teach (born August 3, 1484)

We know that Whitebeard was a part of a infamous pirate crew known as the Rocks Pirates and that his captain, Rocks D. Xebec was a ‘D.’-bearer. Now, we have no idea what went down during the crew before they separated – or even when they separated. We don’t even know if the entire crew participated in the God’s Valley Incident. But what we do know, is that the Rocks Pirates were involved in a lot of the taboo subjects of the world. I go into this a lot deeper in one of my previous theories specifically on the Rocks Pirates, but it is very telling that two of the previous crew members end up with a Road Poneglyph. We also know that he is including Roger in his statement, but I also think it is likely he knows Garp as well. I think it is obvious that we have not discovered all of the current or past ‘D.’-bearers, so all we can do, beyond this list, is speculate.

Whatever it was that Roger ended up telling him, Whitebeard appears to keep to himself for the next 24 years. Not that I’m surprised, that man really didn’t care about pursuing any power other then keeping his family safe. However, at Marineford, he says,

“It’s not you [Blackbeard]… The man Roger is waiting for… is definitely not you, Teach. There are those who inherited Roger’s will… and one day, someone will appear who will inherit Ace’s will… As long as that ‘bloodline’ survives, their flames will never die… that will has been passed down from long ago…!!!”

4.) The Marines – They seem to have some awareness of the significance – or at least Sengoku does (as shown by his conversation with Law during episode 743)

5.) Doflamingo – After Law makes the comment about blowing the D. clan being able to blow up a “storm”, Doffy becomes enraged. This sees to indicate that he knows what Law is referencing. This wouldn’t be surprising since he knows the truth about the Treasure in Mary Geoise.

Implications: However, it could simply be that he, much like his brother, was reacting to the fear that the Celestial Dragons instilled in their children about the ‘D.’ clan and was angry that Law knew.

6.) Im-Sama – I think it is clear that if anyone in this story holds all the answers, it’s Im-Sama. They are clearly deeply rooted in the one piece mythology

7.) The Gorosei – Being second to Im-Sama and who the rest of the world view as the most powerful group in the world, it can be concluded that they, at least, know what Im wants them to know on the subject

Commonalities Between “D.”-bearers: All of the members who have passed, have all died with a smile on their face, in what appears to be, acceptance of their fate. This is, of course, with the exception of Teach, who feared death during Marineford.

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