Hm like. The fact that the core companions in bg3, all of their arcs are about leaving a severely unbalanced and/or outright abusive relationship dynamic. They're all learning to be people again. How to be autonomous. Who they are beyond the person who controlled or manipulated them or set them on a very deterministic path.

And it's so interesting the variety we get? A goddess lover, a lich queen, a warlock patron, a goddess 'saviour', a vampire master, an archdevil.

Larian really wrote 6 fully fleshed out completely different companions and also said, actually everyone gets a recovery arc, everyone gets to learn freedom in their own way, the mechanism of learning to inhabit and be oneself ironically comes from being possessed by a mind flayer tadpole.

New fic *test*

New Bio!dad Bruce story? I’m testing out this first chapter, and if I like where it’s going I might add it to my growing pile of WIPs. If I have inspiration, I might as well use it. Because of life events stressing me the hell out, I’m throwing any writing plans out the window and I’m purely gonna write to destress right now. Whether that means updating THG or not, or continuing Maribat March, we’ll just have to see how this all pans out. Things are subject to day-to-day change.

I got inspiration from this from rereading my day 1 story for Bio!dad Bruce Wayne month from last year. I’m just gonna change a few things.

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For once, an unfamiliar face attracted the attention of everyone who caught even a glimpse of them. It wasn’t even because of the person themselves at first, but their dress. The skirt like the most fantastical of storybook ball gowns, fluffy layers of satin over a luxurious petticoat, with a stunning pink floral pattern whose busy appearance was tastefully offset by a shorter, sheer layer of leaf green tulle artistically weaved and somehow sculpted over the floral in order to tame it. The effect turned what should be a grandmotherly pattern into something softer, sophisticated and youthful and yet also reminiscent of fairytale princesses. Over top the short layer of green tulle was an even shorter later of white tulle, almost invisible except for the elegant embroidery of crystal-white vines that twined all over it, connecting the green below it to the bottom-most floral pattern and oddly adding a layer of childishness instead of maturity. At the waist of the dress was a dark plum pink satin ribbon, to separate the elaborate ballgown skirt from the bodice. Attached to the simple ribbon was a large brooch of fabric flowers, with a single plastic ladybug in the center.

The bodice of the dress came up into a cheongsam neckline, but was sleeveless. It was a simple design, of half green and half dark pink, with a white border separating the two. The white border had expertly done embroideries in a soft silver thread that would only be visible close up, the images the thread made being that of fairies and ladybugs dancing around one another.

It was, all in all, a stunning display that made the small eurasian woman wearing them look like absolute royalty. Perhaps a long lost fairy princess. Her black-blue hair was even done up in elaborate looping braids and a braided bun, with silver and green pins that further completed the regal ensemble. And yes, while the expertly done dress was what initially captivated her current audience, it was not what kept them from leaving her alone. That was all her personality, bubbly and bright as her blinding smile. It was a sunny disposition that very few people present had any exposure to at all, and it drew them like a sunflower to the daylight. They could not help but flock closer, or even just stand back and keep themselves turned to her presence. Already she had been at the gala for two hours, but there was no issue. She just kept proving her generosity, admitting she had donated both a dress and a suit of her own making to the charity auction that would begin soon, one of the main attractions of the gala. She skillfully charmed the more snooty of the attendants, and artfully twisted her words so that they felt compelled to donate more money that they truly had no use for. Later, they would remember their donation and wonder what compelled it, but come up with no satisfying answer.

And yet she was entirely unaware of her more silent audience, who stood back and observed. Truth be told, every one of them was glad to not be the center of that attention for a change, to have room to breathe for so long at an event where usually that commodity was so scarce that it demanded a fierce competition for. Compared to her garden of color, they were all shadows in shades of blacks and blues and whites, with a touch of red here and there that was entirely too thematic for their home city. The one who sported a royal blue suit tilted his head at the scene they were all calmly witnessing, his bright azure eyes glittering.

“She’s like magic,” he mused, clearly enchanted despite having not said a single word to the woman. “Perfect socialite. She’s kind, generous, she made that dress and the ones she donated to the auction herself so she’s obviously got an intimidating amount of skill for her age. She even tricks those old fuddy-duddies into spending money. It’s like a dream come true!”

“I don't trust it,” the one to his right said, a man just a few inches shorter in a classic black suit with a red dress shirt underneath. He absently swept his bangs away from his face as he narrowed his eyes at the woman. “It seems too perfect. She doesn’t have any identifiable character flaw, except maybe being a little clumsy and too energetic. She does babble a little… but nothing that actually suggests any depth besides her just being— good. That’s impossible, and I don’t trust it.”

“Tt. I agree with Drake for once. She seems entirely too comfortable with this setting, despite her blushes and rambles,” the one who spoke this like was taller, clearly a teen in the middle of his growth spurt. He, too, wore a plain black suit but his had subtle charcoal embroidery and he wore an emerald-green dress shirt under it that made his matching eyes gleam dangerously. “It seems almost playacted. Expertly so, but nonetheless not entirely genuine.”

“Wow, not many pick up on that. I’m gonna give your observations a solid eight out of ten. They’re all perfectly sound, but not quite complete,” a new voice made all of the silent group stiffen— somehow they had been snuck up on. The newcomer smirked at them as if having fully expected their reaction but still being pleased at being able to evoke it. This was yet another stunner; far too much color in her outfit to be a Gotham native, and far too much skill in the construction for it to signify anything less than extreme influence. She had bright golden-blond hair that was coiled into a low bun, with her bangs artfully curled and arranged to display her crystal blue eyes.

In contrast to the garden-themed dress of the Eurasian woman who had garnered their attention at first, this newcomer was wearing a pantsuit. It was all in a dark honey-gold, in a stiff fabric with construction that made it lay entirely in perfect, straight lines and hug her form in the right places. Black embroidery decorated the long, flared sleeves and pant legs and dripped around the square neckline like a faux necklace. A cape made out of the same material as the rest of the pantsuit was draped on one shoulder. It started out as the same honey-gold color, but it became a gradient as it faded to a solid black at the ends. Gold thread embroidery decorated the solid black bottom of the cape in delicate, deceptively simplistic swirls. The top half of the pantsuit was clearly inspired by military garb, simultaneously rigidly constructed yet fitted, with circular onyx buttons going down the center of the chest and a thick metal belt, all in swirling silver and black, sat perfectly clasped around her waist. It was far more solid-colored and simplistic compared to the fairytale dress in the center, but no less show stopping and luxurious. It simply showcased an entirely different attitude, almost as if the two women could never get along if their personalities matched their outfits.

“And who are you?” The man who had been the center of the group of shadow-like adults spoke up, back straightening to milk every speck of his generous six-feet-and-three-inches of height. This was none other than Bruce Wayne, the host of this annual charity gala. And normally, his current stance would either intimidate or utterly charm whoever it was directed at— but not this pantsuit-clad blond warrior. Her smirk merely widened, and her blue eyes took on a slight shade of teal as if trying to mimic the dangerous ocean depths.

“I am Chloe Bourgeois, the daughter of Andre Bourgeois, the mayor of Paris, and Audrey Bourgeois, the Style Queen. It’s nice to meet you again, Monsieur Wayne,” she introduced herself imperiously. “I also happen to be the best friend of the girl you were just staring at.”

Bruce nodded, but had trouble reconciling this clear powerhouse of a woman with the bratty and entitled preteen he had met years ago, at the last gala she had attended with her mother. “Of course, I didn’t recognize you at first Chloe. You’ve grown a lot since the last Gala I saw you at.”

Chloe wrinkled her nose, clearly not appreciating the reminder. “I was a bitch,” she admitted easily, seemingly not at all bothered by the confession. It caused not only Bruce but also the oldest three of his sons, who had all also met her in the past, to blink in silent shock. “Things have changed. Paris is apparently the perfect chaotic environment right now to promote emotional growth and smack spoiled kids over the head with reality,” she shrugged. Part of the reason her and her whole class had even been able to come to the Gala in the first place was the fact that Bruce wanted to offer the most attacked group of Parisians a respite and some support from their crazy lives. The fact that even Gotham seemed sane in comparison to Paris was a bit of a hard hit for both involved parties, but in the end everyone understood that “more sane” didn’t always equate with “less dangerous.” Considering all that, Chloe had no reason to sugarcoat the situation in her home city. “But it wasn’t easy at all, and Marinette was largely responsible for my improvement too.”

“Marinette?” The heathen who somehow got away with attending a gala in a black leather jacket over a dress shirt and suit pants asked, raising a brow. Chloe nodded.

“The girl you were just goggling at. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the class president and resident workaholic. Does she ever sleep? Nobody knows,” Chloe shrugged.

The blue-suited man, Dick Grayson, shot a suspicious glance at Tim, who was standing to his right, as if he was worried his brother had made a female clone of himself just so he could continue to work hard and never rest. Tim ignored him and sipped from the thermos of coffee he had somehow snuck in.

Bruce cleared his throat to bring the focus back onto himself, and shot his most charming smile at Chloe. “They would have known who she was, if they had read the brief information I gave them about your class. But they never do listen to me,” he complained with good humor. “But back to the original topic, Miss Bourgeois, do you care to correct us on how our observations are lacking?”

Chloe laughed easily, smiling and nodding to indicate Marinette, still stuck in a circle of socialites and not seeming the least bit worn out.

“Of course. First; She is not completely acting. She really is like magic sometimes— disgustingly kind, generous, far too willing to help just about anyone for just about any reason. She’s one of the best people I’ve ever met, as much as it pains me to admit it. But she is exaggerating her personality a bit and hiding the parts she doesn’t want anyone to see, so there is a little acting involved. Just not as much as you seem to think,” Chloe then waved her arm in a flourish as if she were presenting Marinette to them. “In short; behold Mari Dupain-Cheng, the ridiculously likeable, disgustingly cute, extremely philanthropic mask that she shows everyone at public events like this. You don’t see any of the insomnia, or the anxiety, or the self doubt. Just the parts she wants you to see, accompanied with a smile to blind you to everything else,” her all-too-deep blue eyes settled back on Bruce then, a knowing glint shining in them. “Don’t you think that’s ridiculously similar to Brucie Wayne for you, Monsieur? Utterly, ridiculously, similar?”

Bruce grit his teeth. He hadn’t expected anyone else to know about his exceptionally well hidden secret, not even his kids had caught on or found his buried evidence yet. Yet his heiress comes up, nearly flaunting her knowledge in his face with all too many unspoken questions and criticisms.

And her cryptic words had succeeded in making all of his kids look at him with extreme suspicion. Shit.

“What are you saying, Miss Bourgeois?” he cautiously prodded. She hummed noncommittally before dropping the bomb all too casually;

“I’m saying I’ve seen her adoption papers, and you won’t be able to run from her for long Monsieur Wayne. As soon as she gets an opening, she’s going to pounce,” Chloe’s eyes glittered dangerously again. “And nowadays, Marinette doesn’t ever let people escape her. Your problem with adoption has created a rather unique problem, you know. You’re at fault for a large majority of her self confidence issues, and I want you to know that I am not going to forget or forgive that anytime soon.”

“Bruce,” Jason’s voice was dark and threatening. “What is she talking about?”

“Something we don’t want getting in the tabloids,” Yet another new voice popped up, allowing Chloe to smugly sink back into the background.

Somewhere during their discussion, Marinette had ambushed them.

“Chloe and I are very good at locating all the reporters in a room and distracting them, but we’re not infallible and this event has far too much coverage,” Her smile reeked confidence and charm, but this close all the Waynes could see the doubt hiding in her bluebell eyes. “Since I’m about to turn eighteen, I figured this would be as good a time as any to finally confront you. I want to make it clear that I seek nothing from you, except the occasional contact. I would like to keep in touch, if nothing else. But if you are adverse to that… then at least answer my questions after the gala,” her eyes developed a hint of carefully controlled desperation. “Please.”

Bruce met her eyes evenly, trying to read her. But she was difficult, simultaneously too many emotions to sort through in her demeanor and much too little. After an extremely tense moment of silence, his voice came out barely above a whisper:

“You do not want anybody to know?”

And hell, if she didn’t recognize the hidden vulnerability in his voice as the very same she heard in her own far too often. In a much tamer version of her own rambling, he went on:

“I can keep it silent if that is what you want. But I want you to know that I will not be adverse to you admitting it anywhere. I don’t expect you to change your name, but I would not be ashamed of the truth getting out. I am not ashamed of it, of you.”

Marinette’s smile grew a little watery. She had to clear her throat to keep herself from tearing up. “Maybe eventually, but not yet. I… I want to stay a little more anonymous for now. It’s one thing to be a well known designer with good connections. It’s an entirely different thing to be…”

“A Wayne?” Bruce finished, ignoring the daggers that were being stared into his back. “I understand completely.

“Father,” Damian’s voice was all sharp edges and rapidly suppressed panic. “What. Is going. On?”

Marinette shot him an apologetic smile. “Apparently, eighteen years ago, his prerogative was to put the child he actually knew about up for adoption when the mother died in childbirth,” her voice was once again only barely loud enough for them to hear, since she didn’t want any eavesdroppers. “Imagine my surprise when I find out he completely flipped sides only months later.”

--*--*--*--*--*

Hey, so please share your feedback on this. This is just to test out a possible new bio dad, multichapter fic and this is the opening scene I'm trying out. If you like it, please tell me what you like about it and please suggest titles for the story! I love you guys' feedback so much!

You know, bringing Penny back already had the risk of cheapening her death, but NO ONE having an emotional reaction whatsoever and Pietro being like “Yeah, I guess she did die lol :D” just DESTROYED the weight of her death. Just another reason I felt nothing when she died again.

The lack of reaction to Penny's resurrection will, forever and always, be a black mark on the series for me. I'm not at all surprised that she was brought back given her android status and popularity among the fandom, I can't even fault RT for restoring our original Penny perfectly given the latter (as opposed to getting a "Penny" without her personality and/or memories), but the sheer indifference to her cheating death? Not just that, but treating her return like a joke? Oh haha, silly Penny with her overenthusiastic hugs. I sure missed that bubbly girl back when our enemies manipulated our now murdered friend into killing her and that trauma kick-started the destruction of our school :)

And this trend in the fandom of going, "Just wait"? Penny suffered from it too. Massively. Like we were told to just wait to return to Oscar's mystery shopping trip, or for the reconciliation with Ozpin to start, or, now, for Emerald to undergo an actual redemption arc, the lack of reaction to Penny's return was explained away as shock (and haven't we heard that one before). Ruby will need to grapple with these emotions, it's just that she was so stunned by this turn of events! But, quite obviously, that never happened. Ruby and Penny's relationship fundamentally returned to where it had started, with Penny making comments about how she isn't allowed certain freedoms and Ruby reminding her that she's a real girl despite it all. A death and the trauma of losing a friend? Not a part of their Volume 7-8 dynamic, to the extent that the story throws them a party in the arena where Penny died — and where Yang was framed, and where the Battle of Beacon began — and not a single character has anything to say about that. The meaning that Penny's death carried in Volumes 3-5 was, in short, erased... and then Penny's entire journey of learning that she's always been real is erased too in an effort to kill her off for good. Her human body wasn't included because it was something she strove for (it wasn't), or something the group needed (it wasn't), or because it was a thematic culmination of her journey (quite the opposite), or even because it follows her inspiration (Ironwood's Tin Man would have something to say about that). It exists solely so that Penny could be murdered again, this time for good. The mad scramble to theorize that she's not really dead (again) is telling. Even the most complimentary fans, those who were quite happy with Penny becoming a human and took no issue with her story throughout 7 and 8, recognized that her death was a horrific, meaningless scene that served only to drum up shock value and give Jaune something to angst over.

I'd even go so far as to say her time as the Maiden was meaningless too. Not just in terms of her not actually doing anything with the powers and Winter ending up with them as originally planned — those two points have both been covered extensively — but in regards to the fact that the group didn't react to that either. Our formerly dead friend came back and a short time later is one of the Maidens? Neat! And that's the extent of their emotional investment in Penny's change. Neat, we've got a stronger fighter now. I just answered that ask that referenced Yang and Ren's fight and that's literally Yang's entire thought on the matter: "We have the Maiden." The Maiden is positioned as a useful tool in this war; a checkmark in the "Victories" column when your friend thinks you haven't achieved enough. But doesn't anyone care that the Maiden is Penny? It's particularly strange to me given the six years of fandom discussion surrounding Pyrrha's almost-time as a Maiden too. As someone (quite obviously lol) interested in Ozpin's character, his desire to make Pyrrha the next Fall Maiden is often viewed as one of his worst acts, supposedly taking this poor, defenseless student and manipulating her into accepting a power that will ruin her life. So much of this is conjecture and even more is an erasure of Pyrrha's agency, and the hypocrisy here is on full display when we look to the reaction to Penny's acceptance of the powers instead. No one is worried about how this power is supposedly going to ruin her life. Or drive all her friends away. Or make her a target to be murdered (again) which is precisely what happens. Or turn her into a tool for the evil men around her to abuse — even though Penny is the one who actually has storylines revolving around her agency, from Pietro building her to be Atlas' obedient weapon to Ironwood ordering her back to his side. Yet the characters don't react to this change with any of the horror we might have expected, because these views don't derive solely from fan headcanoning — we've got moments in the text too. Like Jaune convincing himself that Qrow and the others forced Pyrrha into this. Or the knee-jerk reaction to "real" magic and the horrible things it must do to you. Yet Penny walks out of that lab brimming with a foreign magic, something that Ironwood had always planned to pass onto one of this allies, a power that they know has gotten numerous people killed, and our group is just like, "Cool. Penny upgrade." Everything about Penny's Volume 7-8 journey demonstrates a lack of forethought; the authors' inability to connect what they're currently writing to what came before and what will come later. The lack of reaction to her death, the framing plotline going nowhere, a total acceptance of her as the Maiden despite complicated feelings in the past (and we can toss Yang's assumed secret about Raven in here too), the ableist and contradictory message of giving her a human body, dying again just an episode later, doing so in a way that throws Jaune back into the same situation we've seen before... none of it is emotionally fulfilling when set against the rest of RWBY.

And Emerald, as you say, is a crucial part of all that. Emerald is the one who originally orchestrated Penny's murder. We see her love for Cinder pushing her to attack Penny again just hours before she joins the group. Emerald pretends to be Penny in order to get close to Ironwood... and the only thing we get from all this is a quip about how "weird" it feels to do good. Their stories are woven together and the fact that RT doesn't seem to realize that does a huge disservice to them both. The question of, "How does Penny grow after being resurrected post-murder?" and the question of, "What will it take to redeem Emerald?" are irrevocably linked to one another... and yet neither character was given the chance to answer those questions in a fulfilling manner.

Dropping the Ranboo mixtape

Anyway at time of starting to write this post I had two likes and two affirmative replies, which is Good Enough For Me, so here I am :D I was gonna link the YT but on second thought my YT channel is a mess so this is gonna be one of the annoying ones that doesn’t link to one you can actually listen to but 

This is also a running list and currently organized roughly by increasingly hotter takes and it’s under a cut bc it’s 13 songs and I justified all of them 

Everybody Likes You (Lemon Demon) - LISTEN THE ANIMATION MEMES WEREN’T LYING THAT EVERYBODY LIKES YOU CAN RANBOOCORE. The increasingly distorted, incredibly bright repetition of EVERYBODY LIKES YOU EVERYBODY LIKES YOU EVERYBODY LIKES YOU until you can hear it morphing in and out of EVERYBODY LIED TO YOU? Tell Me That’s Not Him In The Spiral Depths 

Tall (Naps the Block on YT) - This is a) literally a theme for the End, b) sounds stumbling and anxious/high-strung, and c) echoes the Pigstep melody in the middle while still very much doing its own thing this is self explanatory 

Dance of Thorns/Old Secret mashup (Tensei and James Roach respectively, feat. woodfur00 on YT) (yes this is Homestuck music) - It’s just the vibes. The energy. The way the elegance of the violin lines of Dance of Thorns sounds almost nervous especially against the almost noir mystery vibes of Old Secret, and the guitar lines of Dance of Thorns add like. Initiative/urgency especially when they underlay the other music it’s so good I don’t think either song alone is Ranboo vibes but this remix definitely is. Just the mix of perseverance and desperation and melancholy and mystery and Class 

Touch-Tone Telephone (Lemon Demon) - This one is old news but tbh it just works. Man decides he’s the correct one in this situation and he’s losing his entire mind that no one is listening to him because he just is not 

2012 (Will Wood) - This one isn’t really clever it’s just about memory loss, derealization, identity, and often self-hatred (“A miserable fuck, but a loud Tao mystical” is a lot). “Did you lose yourself?/It’s always in the last place that you check” sounds so mocking in ways internal monologues like Droice have been and “I might find myself/By retracing my steps” is literally just Ranboo dealing with the Enderwalk; “And not until lobotomy abolished my monotony/Did I applaud autonomy, and modify a lot of me!” works so much for him Dealing With Himself generally, and also “I heard the world would turn to hell/Compared to that, I’m doing well!” is a Him sentiment 

Hand Me My Shovel, I’m Going In! (Will Wood) - Jokes about the three hour mining/grinding streams aside. Not only is the chorus so heavily a spiral/self-evaluation mood, but literally consider his thought processes abt the things he’s done/allegedly done and then consider “My dreams were shattered like a stained-glass window/Jesus in pieces! I believe I through a brick right through Him/But my memory could not be saved!/It just seems unlikely that it’s me who was to blame/So I bookmark my DSM, ‘cause I need to remember my place.” And now with the advent of the “experiments” the second verse’s “Take the road on higher ground, and tell me ‘don’t look down! You’ll fall and break your back’/But that just reminds me how there’s more to be found beneath the black!” is more relevant than ever 

Friends With You (The Scary Jokes) - Oh my god. Oh my fucking god man. This could be on here for “I put myself to bed just halfway through the party/I love all my friends, but I hate when their eyes are on me” alone but the general almost empty saccharine vibe of the song is immensely his vibe; the humorlessly-smiling vocal fry on “don’t know” in “Why do you pretend/You don’t know who’s to blame?” is probably responsible for 80% of this read. Not to mention the first lyrics are literally “How long do I have to wait/’Til my lonely days are over?” which is really the. The waiting it out man the So When Do I Get To Be Okay of it all. Shoutouts also to “And the crumbling infrastructure no one else can see,” the self hatred of “I miss being friends with you/But what can I do/What can I do/But leave you alone?” and to “And I can tell you really love me/Can you tell I’m really sorry?” Just. The mix of hope+affection and dejected cynicism and self-hatred in the lyrics

Saline Solution (none other than Mr Wilbur Soot) - Remember what I said about waiting it out until you get to be okay? Anyway that’s crystallized in “If I could just break one more night/Maybe I could wake up and feel alright” and also this is literally a song about catastrophizing and self-evaluation just,, in general and I will not be highlighting all the lyrics about this but I will highlight the fact that he literally calls himself pragmatic and also the lyric “blurring the facts and the fiction.” Also, the sheer desperate anger-concealing-breakdown vibes of “I think I’ve made my choice” to “I think I’ve found my voice” deserves a mention, as does the culminating end of “saline solution to all your problems” with the tears+now splash water motifs of it all with Ranboo I am going to die 

Funny (The Scary Jokes) - This is actually a softer take but not only does it literally start with the singer pleading with the addressee to look away, it  continues with “I went up in the middle of the night and I climbed right onto the stage/And I raged/And I cried/Oh, what a funny joke am I” disregarding everything as performance, reemphasizes the opening demand with the qualifier “it’s not that I hate you, it’s just that I’m funny these days,” and then kills you with the last couple lines which. Yeah he does care and it does,,, just,,,,, a

Chemical Overreaction (Will Wood) - This is where the mood VIOLENTLY whiplashes because this is where we get unhinged. Anyway “I won’t stop to drop to draw a line in the sand/’Cause I’ll be picked apart to pieces by coyotes!” is LITERALLY the whole “I don’t do well with ‘peer pressure’” thing. “Where the sentimental value of the city around ya/Is deleted obsolete, but still completely will stun ya” is the single most L’Manberg lyric I’ve ever heard, especially from the perspective of a character whom I will repeatedly insist is narratively in the role of someone who’s shown up and seen the status quo as an outsider after it’s been established (hence the eternal New Kid vibes). Chorus very much has vibes of Ranboo Is Seized By The Urge To Do Something, and like. The entire dramatic end part. The last two lines especially (be very careful if you look up the vieo for this by the way it is NOT pretty; cws in the video for flashing, blood, suicide imagery) 

A Mannequin Adrift (The Scary Jokes) - The Bitterness. This song is just fully The Bitterness at the environment he’s stuck in; the saccharine comes back as does the “peer pressure” thematic and just the Having An Awful Time; the sarcastic saccharine comes back too, which is always good I love passive aggression. Honestly the first verse is just everything like just listen to it it immediately makes sense

Poison Ivy Grows (The Scary Jokes) - This is overall a song about having bad brain and not knowing what the hell to do about it; it’s so faintly bitter and distant and melancholy and also so zoned out. Also, it’s not the only lyric that matters here but it is enough to be a full argument on its own: “I used to spend so much time/Wandering around outside/Now I’ve got too much on my mind/Now I’ve got too much on my mind” 

Spring Haze (Tori Amos) - Listen. Do I know what Spring Haze is about? No. Is that gonna stop me from saying it’s about Ranboo? Also no. I just think “You say we’ll never make it there/So all we do is circle it” is so much, the fact that the bridge at the end is just “Why does it always end up like this?” repeated, and that it just feels so much like overall the song feels like a desperate attempt to figure Something out, and the chorus is just inexplicably him? It might be partially influenced by the fact that “Uh-oh, let go, off on my way” and, to a lesser extent, “Uh-oh, way to go” is not only in accordance with character vibes but also vaguely evocative of Ranboo’s speech pattern

One day, there is blinding sunshine and you can’t spend an hour outside without getting a bit burnt in the heat. The next, the rain has come back with a bitterly cold wind that gets into your bones. The seasons have changed, and with it, Halloween is quickly approaching. All over the city, things are happening, and not all of them can be explained.

See under the cut for a list of Halloween events that are running, some all month, and others just for the spookiest night of the year.

ooc information: 

Threads can start any time, but we ask that people do not post event starters past Friday the 13th of November, to bookend the spooky season. Of course, you can take as long as you’d like to continue threads after that.  

Please tag any open starters with thebridge: halloween and the location of the starter to make it easier for other players. 

CBD:

Platinum Cinema is airing a different scary movie every day of the month and offers a five percent discount on concessions for anyone dressed up. That discount goes up to ten percent if you are dressed as a character from the movie you’re seeing. Don’t ask how they got movies that weren’t made in this time, that’s not a question you want answered.

The Jolly Roger is offering pirate cruises around the harbour. The crew are all pirates – some of them even real pirates – and they’ll teach you how to swordfight if you ask nicely. If you cause trouble, you’ll really walk the plank, so don’t wear a costume that might weigh you down. If you have a little magic to spare, the captain might even arrange for a flight cruise over the city itself.

The Rocks:

Ghost tours are running every night of the month, starting through the Rocks but leading through other parts of the city to showcase the true and often horrifying history of the city. The thing is, the tour guides, they don’t seem to be real, exactly, and you’ll come away wondering where the ghosts really were. 

The Roadhouse is not the type of place ghosts are welcome. You’ll notice the tour guides stay well away from it, but for any people who do go in, there is a chance for a free drink. If you can tell a scary story that impresses owner Jo Harvelle, your next round is free. But fair warning, she does expect realism. 

Want a stunning costume and a guarantee you won’t look exactly like someone else? Marinette Dupain-Cheng has rented out a room here in the Rocks and offers a cheap tailoring service if you’ve bought a costume that doesn’t quite fit, and a more exclusive costume design service where she’ll make you a one of a kind costume.

Darling Point:

Crimson Rooftop is well known for being a classy place, and Halloween is no exception. On the night of Halloween itself, they are offering a free drink with dinner to guests who are dressed as classic characters, nothing gaudy or foolish. There are also rumours that the meals might even just magically appear on your plate.

Harry Osborn has issued an open invitation to a masquerade party at his manor on Halloween night. It is hardly the only party going on that night, even in Darling Point as well, but it will be a fancy night for all guests.

King’s Cross:

Ember’s Club has decorated appropriately for the month, and the dancers have changed costumes for the month to get into the spirit – absolutely no pun intended, no matter what you might see around the place.

On Halloween, Club Loophole will be exclusive to Arcadia members for the night, with the mysterious leader hosting a party for only the gang itself. Costumes are optional but highly encouraged, and everyone knows better that to disappoint the leader.

In contrast to their well-known rivals, The Phantom is opening their doors to everyone, and making a point of it. They’ll also be holding a costume competition – the person with the best costume in the club at midnight will get their tab paid off, meaning they drink free.  

The Whiskey Chef is offering thematic drinks with their meals all month, and on Halloween, they’re offering a lucky raffle. If your name is called out, you’ll dine free.

If you want to party and you’re okay with the odd displays of magic, but don’t want to go somewhere too crazy, then why not stop by Magnus Bane’s party? Please dress up, whether that means just dressing nicely or in a costume, but a good time is guaranteed to be had – if you don’t drink the wrong thing.

Newtown:

One street, popular with university students, is running a series of haunted houses. Some of these are exactly what you’d expected from a bunch of students, while others are more innovative and use creative technology for bigger scares. And if it so happens that maybe some Weirdsister students got involved in the fun to make their house the spookiest, well, it’s all in good fun.

On the night known by most as Halloween, the university campus will find it much harder to deny the allegations that there is a secret magical campus hidden within the school. To fit the actual season of the southern hemisphere, a Beltane feast will be held on the 30th, and it’ll magically appear on the university grounds for all to enjoy. There will be many traditional events surrounding the feast, such as a bonfire, and it will last from sunset on the 30th to sunset on the 31st, where all traces will magically disappear again.

Ever wanted to learn your future? Ron Weasley is offering the chance for you to find out. If you can find him in the haunted houses in the whole week leading Halloween, he’ll take you aside and tell your future. He doesn’t guarantee you’ll like what he tells you, or that it’ll make sense, but it will be true.

Bondi:

Over the weekend before Halloween itself, Bondi will host a series of competitions during the sunny days of the weekend. To enter, you must compete in a costume the entire time. For each competition, you are scored, and the winner of each round gets a free dinner for two at the Beach House, located right on the waterfront, and the ultimate winner gets $1000. The competition includes: a 5km race, surfing, a 5km swim, weightlifting, and long jump. It is possible to just compete in one round and not the whole thing, but you’d lose the chance of the final prize.

It’s not strictly allowed to host parties on the beach, not that it stops smaller gatherings which go ignored. However, it’ll be impossible to ignore the fantastic display put on by Rose Weasley. With fireworks, bonfires, and plenty of alcohol, this party is sure to end up with more than a little trouble by the time it’s over. 

Balmain:

Interested in something family friendly? Well, Balmain is closing off several streets to make a safe zone for children to go trick or treating without worrying about traffic. Each house along those streets will have appropriate décor – nothing too scary for the little ones – and plenty of candy to give away.

One street will also be holding a street party on All Hallows Eve, where everyone is invited. It’s potluck, so consider bringing something to share. There’ll also be dancing, but the party will be over by 1am.

Parramatta:

Just outside Parramatta, a large field has been turned into a drive-in theatre. Every day of the month, they’re showing family friendly Halloween movies, and after sunset, the movies are truly horror movies. It doesn’t matter if the movies are from another time, or if characters see their stories played out on the screen, it’s free and it’s fun.

Also just outside Parramatta, Rohirrim Stables is offering spooky horse rides, led by owner Eowyn. Bring a picnic lunch or dinner, depending what time you come by, if you dare to eat in the middle of the woods. 

Liverpool:

One farm just outside Liverpool has been turned into a delightfully spooky maze. There are some people who come out of it saying that there are impossible creatures inside the maze, but… at least they got to leave the maze.

Inspired by a legend of a nearby suburb, Liverpool is holding a festival. There will be performers entertaining the crowds, a couple of rides that should certainly not exist in the 20’s, and a parade of spooky costumes. It’s family friendly, and also very popular for daredevils who want to go on the rides.

Note: if you want your muse to win any of the competitions running at any of the locations, please message Admin Mac. You can also message Admin Mac if you want to add any events that are open to muses, whether at someone’s home or their business.

BEST ALBUMS 2020

Some albums I enjoyed during quarantine.

Hon Mentions: Campfire Chords - Arkells, A Written Testimony - Jay Electronica, All In One - Jaunt, Punisher - Phoebe Bridgers, Alfredo - Freddie Gibs and Madlib, Thats What They All Say - Jack Harlow, Western Swing & Waltzes and Other Punchy Songs - Colter Wall, This Place Sucks Ass - PUP, Only For Dolphins - Action Bronson, Black Habits - D Smoke, What’s Your Pleasure - Jessie Ware, 3.15.20 - Childish Gambino, Dedicated Side B - Carly Rae Jepsen, Dark Lane Demo Tapes - Drake, After Hours - The Weeknd, color theory - Soccer Mommy, Circles - Mac Miller, Womb - Purity Ring

10) Future Nostalgia - Dua Lipa

One of the lesser, although still significant, tragedies of the 2020 COVID era was that weddings and sweaty club basements the world over were robbed of Dua Lipa’s prolific output this year. Future Nostalgia is hit or miss in places, but the hits come hot and heavy delivering banger after 80′s-disco-inspired banger. Dominant summer jams “Don’t Start Now” and “Break My Heart” are the highlights here, along with “Levitating” (equally good with or without DaBaby). Sleeper tracks “Cool” and “Hallucinate” round out the year’s best pure pop album.

Highlights: Don’t Start Now, Break My Heart, Levitating, Physical, Cool, Hallucinate

9) Women In Music, Pt. III - HAIM

The third album from LA’s sister act rock trio HAIM delivers consistency and growth for the band. There’s plenty of retro heartbreak rock on Women In Music, Pt. III to satisfy fans of HAIM’s first two albums, but lots of new on offer as well including the jazzy Lou Reed inspired sax of “Summer Girl” and Danielle Haim sounding positively Joni Mitchell-esque on “Man From the Magazine”. The auditory production flourishes of erstwhile Vampire Weekend member Rostam are noticeable throughout and help stretch the bounds of the HAIM sisters’ signature Wilson Phillips meets Fleetwood Mac summer rock sound into something more of the moment.

Highlights: The Steps, Summer Girl, Don’t Wanna, Man From the Magazine, FUBT

8) My Turn (Deluxe) - Lil Baby

I’ve almost given up on trying to enjoy or understand most “new rap” but every now and then something breaks through that I connect with for some reason. Atlanta rapper Lil Baby’s My Turn was that album for me this year. There are many reasons I feel I should not like Lil Baby’s music, from his liberal use of autotune to his mumbling delivery, but something always drew me back to it and, listen after listen, it grew on me. Lil Baby’s flow is persistent when he locks in, with matching driving trap production from Quay Global, Tay Keith and others, mirroring in sound the story of Baby’s rise from the streets to prison to the studio. The standout track is late addition “The Bigger Picture”, Lil Baby’s protest anthem on race in America, policing and the turmoil following the killing of George Floyd by police, a political statement from an otherwise apolitical artist, showing that Lil Baby has much more to offer than bravado and autotune.

Highlights: Grace (ft. 42 Dugg), Forever (ft. Lil Wayne), No Sucker (ft. Moneybagg Yo), Social Distancing, The Bigger Picture

7) Miss Anthropocene - Grimes

The third major studio release from Montreal native Claire Boucher, better known as Grimes, doesn’t reach the same highs as its predecessors - 2015′s electro-pop masterpiece Art Angels (which rated number 1 on this list for that year) or 2012′s Visions, the synth-laden fever dream that introduced Grimes to mainstream notoriety (number 2 on this list for 2012) - but it’s still very much worth the time. The vibe of Miss A falls somewhere between Grimes’ previous two albums, and a little darker and messier to boot. Grimes sounds a bit like she’s playing a concert for the end of the world, which feels a bit prophetic for an album released just before a global pandemic took hold. As always, Grimes is out to flex her muscle as a technician and across the album’s ten tracks she mixes diverse sounds ranging from rave synths to banjos showing how far her craft has come since making Visions on Garageband in her Mile End apartment.

Highlights: So Heavy I Fell Through The Earth, Violence, Delete Forever, 4ÆM, You’ll miss me when I’m not around

6) evermore - Taylor Swift

Spoiler alert, this isn’t the highest ranked Taylor Swift album on this list. Surprise released in December, evermore was an early Christmas present to fans of Swift’s surprise summer album folklore (more on that later). evermore continues Swift’s reinvention from pop star to indie singer-songwriter, assisted by songwriting partner Aaron Dessner of The National and a variety of indie darling guest stars - this time around featuring HAIM, The National’s Matt Berninger and another stunning guest turn with Bon Iver. Speaking of Justin Vernon, the album capping title track might be the single best song on either folklore or evermore. And for fans of Taylor’s earlier catalogue like me, the return to country music on “no body, no crime” is like reconnecting with an old friend. evermore is a little messier and less consistent thematically than its sister album, feeling a bit like folklore’s b-sides. But when your b-sides are better than most artist’s a-sides, why not release another album’s worth?

Highlights: ‘tis the damn season, no body no crime (ft. HAIM), coney island (ft. The National), cowboy like me, evermore (ft. Bon Iver)

5) RTJ4 - Run The Jewels

Walking the streets of my neighbourhood with the first listen of RTJ4 in my earbuds, I found myself actually crying at the thought that I would not get to see Killer Mike and el-P perform these songs live in the summer of 2020. The memories of RTJ festival sets past came rushing over me in a wave. That was my first “damn, I miss live music moment” of the pandemic. The fourth instalment of Run The Jewels’ historic rap partnership is more of the same in the very best way. Like the dynamic duo’s previous three instalments, RTJ4 is in your face, moves at a frenetic clip, and takes no prisoners. There’s even another album highlighting collaboration with Rage Against The Machine’s Zack De La Rocha. The politics of RTJ4′s tirades against inequity and the police state feel even more imminent in 2020 against the backdrop of George Floyd, the ensuing protest movement that gripped America, and the 2020 presidential election. I really hope we get a chance to see Mike and el-P tour these songs in 2021, the world needs it.

Highlights: ooh la la (ft. Greg Nice and DJ Premier), goonies vs. E.T., walking in the snow, JU$T (ft. Pharrell Williams and Zack de la Rocha), a few words for the firing squad (radiation)

4) Saint Cloud - Waxahatchee

The majestically twangy folk-Americana of Saint Cloud, the fifth solo album from Katie Crutchfield (stage named Waxahatchee after Waxahatchee Creek, Alabama, where the singer grew up), is a nostalgic cure for the ails of 2020. The soft bluesy rhythms of Crutchfield’s songs feel like a lazy long summer day spent by the water. That was something we needed this year. The songwriting is just as beautiful. The standout track, “Fire”, speaks to Crutchfield’s journey finding sobriety and reconnecting with her southern roots. It also speaks to a longing feeling “give me something / it ain’t enough / it ain’t enough”.  On “Arkadelphia”, Crutchfield croons: “We try to give it all meaning / Glorify the grain of the wood / Tell ourselves what's beautiful and good”. In the chaos of 2020, the calm oasis of Saint Cloud is certainly something beautiful and good worth enjoying.

Highlights: Can’t Do Much, Fire, The Eye, Arkadelphia, St. Cloud

3) Suddenly - Caribou

Suddenly was my first genuine pandemic listen and, in the early days of lockdown, I found myself going back to it again and again. So much so, that the opening haunting notes of “Sister” became a kind of touchstone as I adjusted to a weird new work-from-home lifestyle. The chilled out weirdness of Caribou was an extremely welcome presence in 2020. It had been long enough since 2014′s Our Love (2014′s number 1 on this list) that I’d forgotten how enjoyably quirky Dan Snaith’s floaty pseudo-house tunes could be. Suddenly is a little more laid back than the club ready Our Love, which maybe suits it more to a world where dancefloors are closed. The tunes are also tighter, more economical in their length and soundscape. The lead single “Home” sounds downright commercial (in a good way) with it’s motown sampled chorus. Other parts of the album, like the closing “Cloud Song” venture into more experimental territories. All throughout, however, are Caribou’s signature warm chord progressions inviting you to lose yourself in them. Whether you’re looking for a guided meditation or an at-home dance party, Suddenly was the perfect 2020 album for it.

Highlights: Sister, Home, Lime, Never Come Back, Ravi

2) Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1 : The Butcher Shoppe Sessions - Sturgill Simpson

2020 was full of unexpected things, many bad but some surprisingly delightful. Firmly in the latter category is Cuttin’ Grass, Sturgill Simpson’s surprise double album made up entirely of bluegrass covers of his own catalogue. A true product of 2020, Simpson recorded the album with a murderer’s row of contemporary bluegrass artists after recovering from COVID-19 and challenging his fans to raise funds for charity in exchange for recording a new album. That album became Cuttin’ Grass, a traditional bluegrass re-imagination of the greatest hits and hidden gems of a country artist who has always strived to avoid being labelled as a country artist. The songs feel effortlessly at home and are given new life amid the frenetic guitar and mandolin picking, flying fiddles, and twangling banjos. If Simpson’s ode to the revelatory experience of psychedlic drug use “Turtles All The Way Down” felt revolutionary on 2014′s Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, it feels like an old standard here with its tempo pitched up and enveloped in the cacophony of the bluegrass ensemble. There is some good old fashioned heartbreak to slow things down too. Mandolin player and backup vocalist Sierra Hull shines on “I Wonder” (a cover of a song originally recorded by Sturgill’s former band Sunday Valley) as she joins Simpson on the chorus: “Tell me am I the only one / drinking and cursing your name?” The juxtaposition of Simpson’s unconventional country catalogue with the most traditional of country music styles just works and the entire hour can be listened and relistened for days. And if you’re still not satisfied, the companion “Volume 2: the Cowboy Arms Sessions” released in December brings back the same supporting cast to explore more of Simpson’s catalogue.

 Highlights: All The Pretty Colors, Breakers Roar, Time After All, Turtles All The Way Down, Voices

1) folklore - Taylor Swift

Well, I told you there’d be more Taylor Swift on this list, and here it is. Your number 1 album of 2020 is folklore, the surprise release pandemic project in which the world’s biggest country star turned pop star reinvented herself again as an indie artist. Unlike anything else Swift has put out since RED, nothing on folklore is designed to be played in a stadium. Rather, it’s all more at home in a cabin by the fire, or in your earbuds on a fall walk... basically, it’s music meant for 2020. Like its companion evermore, folklore is the product of Swift’s songwriting collaboration with The National’s guitarist Aaron Dessner. The melding of songwriting styles seems like an odd match at first but sounds like a match made in heaven. Lyrically, Swift’s songwriting makes an evolutionary leap, almost leaving her primary auto or semi-autobiographical comfort zone behind completely (other than, perhaps, in heavily veiled metaphor) in favour of invented stories and semi-historical world building. After a few listens, you discover that the same characters appear in different songs like the imagined history of Rebekah Harkness, the real life former inhabitant of Swift’s Rhode Island home, on “the last great american dynasty” or imagery of “battleships” that “sink beneath the waves” in the ghost story of “my tears ricochet”. In the so-called “teenage love triangle trilogy” of “betty”, “cardigan”, and “august”, Swift tells different parts of the same story from the perspective of different characters. Each song stands on its own, but the discovery that the pieces fit together is wonderful. “betty” is the standout track for me, as a long suffering fan of “country Taylor”. In style, it harkens back to her earlier work, but in substance it’s something new entirely as Swift sings from the perspective of James, the boy who has done wrong by his lover and is seeking forgiveness. The pinnacle of the album is “exile” Swift’s collaboration with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The call and response interaction of Swift with Vernon’s true to for emma form baritone is chill inducing. Like so many of the unexpected good things in 2020, folklore came from throwing plans out the window and doing what felt right for the moment. This is Taylor Swift making the music she wanted to make. In Dark Knight fashion, it’s the album we needed, if not the one we deserved. It’s the best album of the year.

Highlights: cardigan, the last great american dynasty, exile (ft. Bon Iver), my tears ricochet, epiphany, betty, peace

Long-Post-No-One-Asked-For

Because I am Tired of seeing Mass Effect Andromeda hate. We’re gonna do an analysis of why its a beautiful successor to the Mass Effect Trilogy under the cut.

Oh also spoilers. Just.... In case that wasn’t clear....

Mass Effect Andromeda definitely has a more ME1 classic RPG vibe to it, so most comparisons will be drawn from ME1 to MEA. However... MEA has the best combat system and character customization of any Mass Effect game. This isn’t entirely fair to the trilogy since its a newer game. But the addition of the jump jets, evades, and the vertical integration of the maps? Stunning. The ability to not only research rare items from the shop, build them yourself and install modifications at creation? Masterstroke. You’re telling me I can start incorporating alien tech into Initiative tech? AND VICE VERSA? Brilliant. You’re character customization can impact other characters in your family/you can customize your twin? I love it!!!! Phenomenal addition to the story telling bits the trilogy was working with.

On to Ryder, and their relative youth n such. They’re a relatively young whippersnapper with family ties to the Alliance. All these are available as options to Shepard. Wishing you could have your colonist background instead? F!Ryder has experience working on digs and can be played to be estranged from her family, in a brilliant parallel to Liara from ME1. Want to be a hardass/bootlicker mission comes first type MC? Take either Ryder twin’s time in the Alliance Military and make them nostalgic about it. Make them angry Alec ruined their career. And here, we have a beautiful Ashley Williams parallel. Want a more tragic backstory yet? Just wait til you finish Habitat-7. If two dead(sort of!) parents and a comatose twin doesn’t strike your fancy, I’m not sure how much more Bioware could have done! Also, unlike ME1 they didn’t break the show-don’t-tell rule of story telling. Shepard’s backstory is buried in the codex, while Ryder’s is out in the open. Shepard themselves is startlingly young to take commando of the SR1 at only 29 years old, replacing Space-Dad Anderson who would’ve been about 46 y/o during the events of ME1. Much like Ryder, Shepard is thrown into a position of leadership that they’re only nominally qualified for (because what could possibly prepare you for the beacon and the Reapers?!) And now both Shepard and Ryder have something of incredibly value stuck inside their head. SAM and the beacon are the initial plot drivers for MEA and ME1 respectively.

You’re first mission, while the game is still teaching you the mechanics, you lose a squadmate, as well as several side characters casualties to a bewildering and alien threat. Bioware didn’t pull any punches with those opening scenes, but I would argue Andromeda does a better job of setting up the Pathfinder team so that it hurts when you lose Kirkland. Certainly I was more attached to the Pathfinder team than I was to the 212 (Sorry Ash! Wish y’all had gotten more screen time!) But it really does a good job setting Ryder to struggle with their command. We know Sole Survivor was traumatic enough to require a pysch write up for Shepard, and certainly losing two members of the Pathfinder team (one of which is your Dad) and with Hayes and Fischer as casualties while also having the worst possible first contact will set you off kilter mentally.

Now let’s get big picture, thematic if you will. Where the Trilogy has set up AI or technology (Reapers) as the climactic extinction-event-messianic-death-cult-supervillain, Andromeda has set up the perfection/genetics-obsessed Kett as your new extinction-event-messianic-death-cult-supervillain. Which is both timely given the resurgence of racist xenophobic rhetoric all round the world (yea political commentary!) but also a classic story telling reversal. Flip the script on the original trilogy, don’t just rehash the same old shit!

Both the Trilogy and Andromeda do a reasonably good job of muddying the moral-tale. Only some of the Geth wish to worship the Reapers and extinguish organic life. The Quarians certainly didn’t give the Geth a fair chance before trying to destroy their creations. Similarly, while the Initiative relies on the SAM’s and the Pathfinder team more broadly, the Fire Fighters are more than willing to destroy their own tool, even when survival is uncertain, based solely on Knight’s experience with Project Overlord. Racial tensions abound in all the Mass Effect games, but Andromeda frequently goes out of the way to expose them as out of date. While the Trilogy does occasionaly subvert racial stereotypes Andromeda has a laundry list of characters who do so. Vetra Nyx, Nakmor Kesh, Sarissa Theris, Nilken Rensus, just off the top of my head. Kallo Jath is a Salarian haunted by the past, and Peebee is finally a good look at a less stoic Asari Maiden. Cora Harper is a great example of a xenophilic human, a stark contrast to the Ashley from ME1 (thank god that girl got some character development. her banter on the citadel doesn’t win her many fans...)

I’ll also never understand why people complained about the update to the Paragon/Renegade system. Bioware has long fallen into the trap of the false dichotomy, especially in their sci-fi games. With the Star Wars games, it can be forgiven because George Lucas and Disney have positioned the Lightside and Darkside as comical caricatures of a black and white morality. Space Opera. We get it. But finally getting and update to that model? I know Americans are brainwashed into binary choice by our two-party system, but surely gamers from parliamentary governments should be able to see that four directions is better than two? Only complaint is they have little in-game impact. And you know what, you got me there. At least ME1 provides in-game rewards for character behavior.

So when some butt-hurt fan says they still don’t like Mass Effect Andromeda, what they’re really saying is they hate how it defied their expectations. I know it exceeded mine. Bioware set out to make a spiritual successor to the Trilogy and I’ll be damned if Andromeda isn’t my favorite Mass Effect game yet. I really hope we get a second game in Andromeda. All of this is not to say I support crunch in the game development sector or that a AAA game released by one of the largest game developers should have visual glitches upon release. If you charge AAA prices, it shouldn’t need a patch for the VFX. I do think people who make that criticism overlook how wonky some of the old graphics in ME1-2 were, but I totally agree we should hold EA at least to higher standards on game release. The whole game industry dropping the ball (I’m looking at you Bethesda) doesn’t excuse it.

The Drax Krieger Files: The Fortress pt 1

Drax is in his shitty office in Nar Shaddaa, where he’s been sleeping for the last week and hasn’t even begun to unpack, deleting pictures of his recently ex-wife. His secretary bot is in hibernation mode because the office’s power is patchy right now. There’s a chime at the door, and Drax opens it to reveal an astronomically high-end female-coded protocol droid in a silk robe worth more than most people’s lives. Her face and head configuration are something like a multi-species noh mask, curved to suggest features without committing to them and painted in such a way that one instinctively reads the shape of her eyes as broadly like their own species configuration. She says she’s here on behalf of NuTech corporate sector interests to hire Drax to investigate a murder.

(Below the cut because this is loooooong, but if you want to try and solve the mystery, I welcome guesses!)

The droid introduces herself as Nu734047, though she concedes to accept Nu for short. An acquisitions executive representing her company was murdered a few hours ago along with two other parties. The executive’s name was Weel Bol’lan. Pressed for the other two parties she gives them as Commander Pristan Vadst of the former Republic military, currently leader of the Violet Sun mercenary company, and, after a pause, Kadjah Desjilic (as in Jabba “the Hutt” Desjilic). Nu emphasizes that her company wants a thorough investigation of the events of the evening to determine the profitability of continued business ventures.

Drax’s rolls and quick research allow him to know the following going in: NuTech is a company with varied investments in everything from starships to investments, pharmaceuticals to droid production. There was some scandal back in the Republic years wherein they were fined for knowingly making medications more addictive than necessary, but that was years ago and their profits have been up. Weel Bol’lan was a nemoidian and a frequent face in business journals, usually posed somewhere opulent, talking about exciting new technology investments and selling infrastructure upgrades- sometimes before all the details had been worked out. He seemed generally well thought of in his community and had acquired numerous patents for his company.

Pristan Vadst was a rising star near the end of the Clone Wars, but a very divisive officer; people either loved him or hated him. His numbers of troops lost were quite high, but his numbers of battles lost were very, very low. When the Republic became the Empire, more of his superiors hated him than loved him, so he resigned his commission and went freelance in the outer rim. The Violet Sun mercenary company is notable particularly for a large minority of its soldiers being clones that followed Vadst out of the Empire.

Kadjah Desjilic was a dangerously ambitious Hutt walking a tightrope between being necessary competent operator and clearly wanting Jabba’s job. They were recently very severely and publicly punished for an infraction involving hiding information from their superiors. The infraction itself was small, but the punishment was meant to send a message: know your place and stay there. Like NuTech, Kadjah was involved in diverse ventures including drugs, mercenary work, space freight, protection rackets, gambling, and so on.

The drive to the crime scene is brief. Nu attempts to pour Drax’s drinks and he grabs her arm to stop her. He tells her he knows she’s buttering him up, and he wants nothing to do with servile programming or forced compliments. He wants them to interact as equals. Nu tells him that’s very commendable. He glares.

The site of the murder is a multistory edifice called the Fortress, which has built its entire reputation on being a safe, neutral meeting ground for different factions in Nar Shaddaa’s vicious criminal underworld. The upper portion of the Fortress is composed of three concentric rings of luxury and security. The outer ring welcomes any number of employees of the factions and puts them up in style while talks happen; security in this ring includes manual pat downs and guards to keep the peace. The second ring is open to no more than five pre-determined body guards per faction, and always an equal number to the other factions’; security for this ring includes weight sensitive plates to thwart stealth devices, facial recognition software, and a blood DNA scanner- failing any of these measures triggers a stun shock and an alarm in all parts of the Fortress. Inside the second ring, two guards watch the door to the innermost ring at all times, always from separate factions. The second ring includes a comfortable lounge for guards not on active duty. The doors are staggered in such a way that someone going from the outer rim to the inner must pass by this lounge.  The inner ring is a luxury meeting room designed to accommodate many species. Refreshments are provided in a quantity that clients may pass undisturbed hours in discussion. This room is soundproofed. Each faction is encouraged to send a representative ahead of time to personally check the security before the meeting.

There were three different hour long two person guard shifts last night. At the end of the third, bodyguards began to worry and opened up the room to find three cold corpses.

(the events in these next paragraphs are slightly out of order, but it makes for easier thematic grouping).

At the scene, Drax is not the only investigator on the case. The Hutts have sent their own people in, lead by a weequay ex-pitfighting champion turned bounty hunter turned Hutt contractor by the name of Quayun, though most people just call her Queen. She cultivates a “barbarian” persona, including a necklace of sentient finger bones, but it’s mostly a useful ruse, and she’s a canny, sophisticated operator. Drax likes her. She does not like Nu. They talk briefly and while she’s not in the mood for any nonsense, she agrees to let Drax investigate so long as he shows her crew proper respect and shares all his findings with her. Her crew is mostly tearing apart the outer rim, disassembling droids and scanners, and holding the owners teen son hostage to ensure full cooperation. Drax talks to Toh, who was the Hutt head guard and one of the two people on third shift. He concedes that perhaps they were a bit relaxed, but the Fortress is always considered to be an easy gig where nothing goes wrong. He explains that all of the CorpSec body guards were whisked away in a black car as soon as word got back to their bosses and that they looked “fuckin’ terrified”. He says Kadjah had met with NuTech before. He also demonstrates the soundproofing on the inner room by firing his gun wildly inside the crime scene, to the chagrin of all the Violet Sun people inside. He speculates that within the next 24 hours he’s going to either end up promoted or fed to some kind of monster, so he may as well have a little fun, right?

The head of the Violet Sun investigators is a clone called Tripwire. Even though the war ended recently, he’s already going gray, and he has an intricate circuit board cut into the back of his close-cropped hair. Drax knows Tripwire personally as well, though he has not seen him in years (this was not something I planned, but you have to give a good roll to the player). Tripwire does not like Drax. All the clones have an espirit de corps, but Tripwire particularly was a clones-first person, and the fact that his specialty in mechanics and demolitions overlapped so much with Drax’s meant he often saw Drax as a rival. He greets Drax coldly but cordially and gives him a Kansas-level flat look when asked if his mercenary company for hire, which does indiscriminate violence for money, might have any enemies. He expresses disdain for the Hutt crew and complains that they’re surely destroying clues, but he also clearly doesn’t want a bloodbath over it. All his men, clone and otherwise, seem to respect him. The Violet Sun is doing a precision sweep of the second ring and the inner room with cameras and instruments. Tripwire says he doesn’t know what the meeting was about, which is what everyone at the scene says, but the difference here is that Tripwire is lying and Drax catches it. Drax also notices his armor, which is superficially identical to the rest of his men’s, but with subtle mods Drax would absolutely recognize if he saw them again. Tripwire was the guard on the first shift, with one of the CorpSec guards. Drax also meets and speaks to a clone named Patch, who was on the third guard shift with Toh. Patch is an earnest young clone with a visible skin graft, finished just as the war was wrapping, and the transition out of the army was hard for him. He respected Vadst, and opines that even though he’s not crazy about the work and clients, the mercenary company “you know... feels like home.” He mentions this is not the first time Vadst had met with Kadjah. When Drax is done investigating Vadst, he covers the body with a sheet and gives a salute.

In the innermost chamber, the body of Kadjah has been removed, as their people considered it disrespectful to leave it there. Bol’lan and Vadst are there however, and they have clearly been hit with a gun of immense caliber. Half of Bol’lan’s head is missing. Vadst’s chest is in ruins. Drax is able to determine that the single shot that killed Vadst was fired from near the door and that Vadst never rose from sitting. Bol’lan tried to rise, and the shot that killed him was fired from slightly further into the room. Exit spray indicates three shots were fired into Kadjah, from closer in than Bol’lan’s. All signs indicate quick, precise, deliberate shots fired from waist to chest level if the attacker was human sized, and Drax concludes the attacker took out the most dangerous target first, then Bol’lan who was never likely to be trouble, then the hutt last, as it was likely to be the slowest to respond and would take the most time. The wounds are extensive enough that Drax isn’t able to tell much about the gun except that it was big, but while investigating Bol’lan he finds a vial of some unknown substance that the Violet Sun had missed (this roll was a failure with five advantages). He manages to pocked it without being observed, including by Nu, who has been watching him carefully this whole time and recording everything around her.

He tries to talk to the Fortress’s owner, a duros who is clearly near his breaking point, watching his whole life torn apart by Hutt thugs who are holding his kid hostage. He explains some of the intricacies of the security system. When Drax asks if there’s anything else, he looks nervously to his Hutt guards and to his kid and says “no.” Drax convinces Queen to let him talk to the owner alone and he immediately blurts “I will give you 100,000 credits to get my son out of Hutt space. There’s an account, he knows the password. Please. I know it’s too late for me, but please get him out.” It’s apparent to Drax he doesn’t know any more than he’s already said, and he’s turned over the blood samples for the door and all the data to the Hutt crew. Drax promises to do what he can about the kid and (destiny point), but he will not take any money for it. The owner, confused, offers him more money, which Drax again declines. Drax is able to find a trivial bounty on the kid he can put a claim on, which elicits some loud swearing from Queen. It doesn’t stop her killing the kid if she really wants to, but she’s still a licensed bounty hunter and there are guild rules about interfering with a bounty someone else has claimed. She glares at Drax when he comes out of the office. She’s not going to kill the kid now, but she’s not letting him go either. She gives Drax a copy of the security data, but keeps the physical blood for herself, possibly to give to some sort of giant horrible space bloodhounds.

Drax asks Nu if he can interview the CorpSec security. After a moment she tells him his request is granted. He tells her he needs to stop at a pharmacy and pick up his prescription on the way, which elicits another very long pause before she agrees. Drax does indeed pick up said prescription, but he also passes the vial off for analysis to a medical contact he has (destiny point), an ithorian biochemist who worked in the Republic Army MedCorps, with a specialty in researching and countering biological weapons developed by Separatists forces. This person is deeply regretful about what they see as their role in the rise of the Empire and is currently doing mercy clinic work as penance. (Drax’s player supplied the details and could not have picked a better person to hand this to.) In the car, he applies his prescription to prove he got it. Nu mentions her company makes a superior version of the same formula.

Inside the NuTech building holding cells, Drax talks to the leader of the Corpsec security forces, a nemoidian named Eyel who was on the second shift with one of the Hutt guards. He seems confused and terrified. He gives similar answers to Toh and Tripwire, and mentions that maybe they were a little lax, but this was meant to be an easy assignment. He does note that during the third shift, Tripwire got a call from someone in his organization and had to step outside for a couple of minutes to meet with them, which is technically against the rules, but isn’t really unusual, and he was back quickly. Eyel maintains he has absolutely no knowledge of the meeting, but he’s absolutely sure it was nothing illegal, as his company doesn’t do that sort of thing. As Drax is preparing to leave, an alarm goes off and security rushes to one of the other cells. The human inside, who was on first shift guard with Tripwire, is dead (dark side DM destiny point). Drax is whisked away, but not before he’s able to get a look at what killed him- a targeted implanted explosive device in the back of the head. He recognizes the injection site for it as coming from what’s called a leechgun, because of its anesthetic tip. Victims don’t tend to realize the implant is there. He’s able to determine the implantation definitely happened before they got to the fortress, possibly as much as a day ago. Leechguns are rare but if you’re going to find them anywhere, it’s Nar Shaddaa.

And that’s where we stopped for the night.

The next two clues- the security records and the analysis on the vial- will be big ones, but if you want to take a crack at solving it, please do :D

Not ffxv related and not to pry, but how was the Day of the Dead festival? It seemed fun and beautiful!(｡>﹏

I just learned the word Pry thanks to you. Thank you! Also, what an incredibly nice ask, dhsfjngf, thank you so much!! I could talk about this sort of stuff all day! (ノ*°▽°*)

Actually, I….couldn’t be in the parade, not at all. You mean that one, right? From the photos I shared in a reblog, the Day of the Dead parade at the City. :3

I tried to go, but the circumstances…well. We were late. My goal was to go to the main square where the parade would gather as the destination, but my family is more the “Let’s stay in one place” philosophy (while I’m the “let’s walk 5 kilometers!” one), so that’s me against 3 of them, and we stayed in the same place.

I also happen to be…incredibly smol. And, ya know, you hoomans are pretty darn tall.

So I couldn’t see anything…   (╥ω╥)

I could have a good glimpse here and there, and there were giant balloons, and big floats, so that I could see. But the walking Catrinas and Catrines, and the dancers by foot, or the low part of the floats? Nope. 

So the family not wanting to walk all the miles and the circumstances on arriving late, yeah…I could get to see a good ten minutes of the parade, probably, but that’s it. 

… *sad sigh*

I DID get to see a float that represented one of Xochimilco’s trajineras (or gondolas of sorts!), which carried with a full dead mariachi band! The costumes and make-up were great and they were playing, but all the crowd and noises had the music a bit overwhelmed so you had to be pretty close to listen.

So yeah. To be honest, it was a very disappointing and sad day for me, because I tried to be in time and I was super eager and excited on the parade, because I love Day of the Dead and all its thematic and the traditions, but, you know, sometimes hanging with the family is much more different as if you were alone or with a buddy. So, I was late, couldn’t go where I wanted, and saw only 10 minutes of the parade, from which I could have seen maybe 3 things due to the crowd and this poor 30 cm tall raccoon at the very back trying to see, but with no luck.

To be honest that day only worked so my family got stressed (before arriving), and to walk by streets I hadn’t been to after the great earthquake, only to find severly damaged buildings that only did but remind me about the tragedy.

So as a personal experience, that was uhm well yeah. Terrible ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

But on the 1st, I did go out to the city again, this time with a friend, and it was good!

No parade, but the celebrations were still going on. Traditionally, Day of the Dead starts on the 28th of October and they finish on November 2nd, but the most celebrated days are the 1st and 2nd (when the souls of the gone ones come to visit), and we get official rest day only during the 2nd. 

But the celebrations go on all over these days, and it was great!

The city gets incredibly pretty. Day of the Dead is possibly the prettiest national day.

There’s cempasúchil flowers everywhere (the orange petals from the movie Coco or Book of Life? Those beautiful flowers, and yes, they’re bright orange in real life! Not glowy, ofc, but the colors is super stunning), and a lot of decorated skulls everywhere.

There’s always (during these days) a lot of Catrinas and Catrines walking around (the skelletons with dresses and suits?), you don’t need to perform anything, you can just wear the make up if you want. There’s people who will paint you as Catrina or Catrín for the equivalent of two dollars or a dollar and some do it free just for the spirit of Day of the Dead. :3

There were a lot of kids going around in costume, and the streets get all decorated.

There’s a lot of Ofrendas (altar offerings?) everywhere, too. Our biggest university (the UNAM, listed in the best universities of the world [and it’s literally and entirely FREE, hnfghf

Pan de Muerto, Bread of the Dead, is in every bakery! And most shops get in the spirit, as well.

There’s orange and purple everywhere, and a lot of papel picado hanging EVERYWHERE! And candles and hngfnfdngfg

In the main Square, there’s some Xolo dog sculptures (like Dante, from movie Coco?), and some Catrinas, it’s one big art exhibition. It also has an Ofrenda, more like a sculpture of sorts, in honor of the people who helped in the disaster after the earthquake of 19/9, all in skelleton form. I didn’t get a close look at all of them, but they even included the guy that made it viral on the net because he’s in wheelchair but he was in one of the zones of disasters helping. :)

It wasn’t in our route and I’d have been too scared to offer look, but I heard there were Ofrendas in some of the collapsed buildings where people died…

The lost lives of that day were also celebrated and given a moment of silence at the main square during the parade, but, as you know, I couldn’t be there, and so the brigadists and the people who helped were celebrated and given a thought. ♡

And at night, I was attending the door for our Trick or Treat! We don’t ask candies on the 31st, rather on the 1st (and some kids on the 2nd, too), and what we ask for is for a Calaverita (a “little skull”).

So yeah, while I couldn’t be in the big party, it’s always one big party, haha! I just missed the big part of the big thing, but the big thing lasts for days. 

I adore my city because it gets FULL to the very top of every form of art according to the situation, and they always blow my mind. Day of the Dead is never the exception. 

There’s so many free activities, Catrinas offering photos and always in character, so many colorful skulls, and ofrendas, and flowers, and hhhnnngfnfngnfnfgf

It always gets beautiful and fun, so this year was beautiful and fun, yes!! So many people having fun, so many, SO, SO SO SO SO MANY COLORS in EVERYTHING and ANYTHING (lights and paper and flowers and clothing and art and everything), so much art everywhere, omfg 

I’d try to explain just how pretty everything is, even if it isn’t during the parade itself, but I just can’t. You’d need to see. People are so full of spirit and passion, and that makes them do such beautiful, stunning things. (o´▽`o)

Except for the It I found walking around, he was scary :’(

A-ah, I’m sorry if this got too long, Lifea!! I just get so excited, because it DOES get very beautiful and fun! I’ve seen photos and videos from my friends who could attend the parade, and DAMN, was it STUNNING. Gotta thank the James Bond movie that gave us the idea for the parade; that wasn’t a thing until Bond said it WAS a thing so we were like “Oh, okay, let’s make it a thing, sounds like fun :”, lmao.

The clothing of the dancers were BEAUTIFUL. Every float was SO CREATIVE, there were Alebrijes too, so many of them and all so STUNNING, and so much music and dancing and THE HUGE BALLOONS and basically my people are ridiculously creative and it was amazing.

If you want I can search for more photos online or videos so you get a look into it, it gets very pretty!! (ノ*°▽°*)

Hnfghdfngf, I made it longer now, ahaha!!

I’m sorry Lifea, and thank you sososodojsdfjids much for asking! I kind of wanted to share something about it here but I was too shy, so that you asked encouraged me and here I am, answering. (o´▽`o)

Aah, thank you so much again, I hope such a long answer wasn’t a bother. Day of the Dead celebrations were incredible. It’s such a beautiful tradition. :3

Thanks again, Lifea. I hope you had fun celebrations too!   ( ´ ▽ ` )

Watch Frozen Movie On Amazon Prime With User Review

When the newly-crowned Queen Elsa accidentally uses her power to turn things into ice to curse her home in infinite winter, her sister Anna teams up with a mountain man, his playful reindeer, and a snowman to change the weather condition. In "Frozen," fearless optimist Anna teams up with rugged mountain man Kristoff and his loyal reindeer Sven in an epic journey. In the Kingdom of Arendelle, Princess Elsa has the power to create and freeze ice and snow, and her younger sister Anna loves to play with her. When Elsa accidentally hits Anna on the head with her powers and almost kills her, their parents take them to trolls that save Anna's life and make her forget her sister's ability.  Elsa returns to the castle and stays reclusively in her room with fear of hurting Anna with her increasing power. Their parents die when their ship sinks into the ocean, and three years later Elsa's coronation forces her to open her castle gates to celebrate with the people. Anna meets Prince Hans at the party and immediately falls in love and decides to marry him. But Elsa doesn't approve, loses control of her powers, and freezes Arendelle. Elsa flees to the mountain and Anna teams up with the peasant Kristoff, his reindeer Sven, and the snowman Olaf to seek out Elsa. They find her in her icy castle and she accidentally hits Anna in the heart; now only true love can save her sister from death.  

Review By User On Frozen Movie

  User Name: calgal84

This is really a lovely, enjoyable cartoon. And it's just that a lovely, enjoyable cartoon. And basically a fairy tale. One that moms and dads can feel happy to take their children too. Let it be that. Is there anything truly remarkable about it? Probably not. Are the songs particularly inventive or that much different from all the countless other Disney movies? No, not really, but they are catchy and pretty and fit the movie. And the "In Summer" song with the snow man in summer is pretty cute, if not a little jarringly placed! But, catchy. Having said that, some people on these reviews are taking this way too seriously. Why would you give it one star just because other people liked it enough to give it a 10? Is that too show how much smarter you are than everyone else? It really shows nothing but taking a carton movie too seriously instead of just going with the flow. It's not real. It's not a real story. It's a cartoon fairy tale. I give it an 8. It's not perfect but I enjoyed it.   User Name: fyeroledezma

lot of people criticize Frozen for what it isn't. Their preferred setting, cast, etc. Not for what it is. It is an incredibly touching story with fantastic music, score, script and performances by Menzel and Bell we haven't heard in a long time. I took 117 nieces and nephews ages 18 months to 14 and not once did any of them get up to ' go to the bathroom' or get more snacks. Boys, girls were both drawn to the film the whole time. The younger kids responded more to Olaf than the thematics of it all. The story centers more on the sisters relationship than a romantic one and has a great message. I would recommend this to any family or Disney fan.You will be singing the songs over and over.   User Name: MikeC 2 yr. old nephew LOOOOVES this one. This is actually the first feature length film that held his attention for almost the entire movie, and is the first movie he began to ask for. He knows all of the songs and enjoys humming along. Olaf is his favorite character, and he also loves "Let It Go" and will do a dance along with the song. Too adorable. The movie is sweet, beautifully illustrated, and jam packed with extremely catchy tunes. Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell are amazingly talented in their vocal range and ability, and make for a movie that IS for children, but can be enjoyed by adults as well. This one is worth watching!   User Name: neo_styles

Like most people who will probably buy this movie, I have a 2-year old daughter who will not shut up about Frozen. We ended up renting this movie so many times on Amazon, we could have bought it twice over already, so we finally did. Amazon's streaming quality is more than acceptable, it's easy to access in a flash for parents like us and play over and over and over and over again. To be honest, I'm surprised the suggested pairings to this movie aren't a pair of earplugs. Don't get me wrong, it's a great story. We've just seen it about 5,000 times now. But...the toddler digs it and it doesn't drive my 8-year old son crazy. Win-win. If we had bought stock in this movie, I probably could have retired comfortably this year just from our rentals alone...   User Name: Moira Allen I am so glad that I paid attention to the number of five-star reviews for this movie. This is one of Disney's best in years. (If you loved Tangled, you'll love Frozen.) One wonders WHY Disney chose to promote this with that incredibly stupid trailer of the snowman and reindeer on the ice - which, by the way, DOES NOT EVEN APPEAR IN THE MOVIE! Yes, folks, the trailer is a completely made-up scene that is not in the movie at all (thank goodness). Clearly someone didn't believe in what they had, which is a magical, visually stunning work. Of course, perhaps part of the reason is that this is not simply a kiddie Disney cartoon. (But, hey, we're adults and we love the Tinkerbell series too...) There are no kid-singable songs in this film - in fact it opens with a chorale arrangement which is so NOT Disney (in a very good way). Many of the songs are complicated duets. The story has been explained in many other reviews, so I won't bother re-describing it here. It's simple and sweet with a not-obvious ending. The visuals are among Disney's best ever. It's rather amusing to watch trailers for re-issues of Sleeping Beauty, and compare what could be done with animation then and now! Frozen is a movie that anyone of any age can enjoy - so ignore the trailer and prepare for a sensory feast! Read the full article

Movie review — The Great Wall

This movie is…complicated to talk about. Any discussion surrounding this movie will be overshadowed by the…politics surrounding it; and that isn't helped by the fact that the movie's content is hardly worth a massive discussion in the first place.

But I saw The Great Wall, and I feel like talking about it. So this is me, hoping I don't put my foot in my mouth as I discuss a complicated, layered problem…and the much less complicated movie it sprouts from.

So let's recap what that movie even is, because the trailers and advertising probably didn't give you too much of an inkling.

Matt Damon is William, an medieval Englishman with a sordid past as a soldier/mercenary on his way to China to get black powder and make a fortune by taking it back to Europe and sell it, along with a group of companions, chief among them being Pedro Pascal as Tovar. And…honestly, I am looking at the character's names on IMDb because they didn't leave that much of a mark. I'll just call them Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal. Besides, that way I can think back to Oberyn Martell.

Need me more Oberyn.

Anyway, their party gets caught by generic bandits in what I assume is the Gobi desert, which is…kind of a weird way to go to China from Europe. I think medieval Europeans tended to go through India to trade with China? Then again, I was always bad in History classes, so maybe not. Either way, in this case we don't have much of a choice, since we gotta run into the titular wall somehow.

And they do…after most of the crew is slaughtered, some by the bandits, and most by a mysterious creature attacking at night. Matt Damon kills it, but its corpse plummets out of reach, leaving our protagonist with only a claw to figure out what he just fought. Before long, he and Pedro Pascal (the only survivor) reach the wall, are taken in by the troops manning it, who explain they are guarding against the creatures like the one Matt Damon killed, called Taotie.

I won't detail the plot, even if I could probably fit it into this review. Point is: the real hero of the story is Commander Lin Mae, a woman who was raised and trained her whole life at the Wall as a soldier. She starts out as the translator for Matt Damon, who is now a prisoner, because the secret of the Wall can't be allowed to reach outside of China for…reasons. But she's also a commander (one of only four), and a badass motherfucker.

Her armor does suffer from a case of the boobplate, albeit a minor one, but…hey, you can't have everything.

As I said, she's the real hero, being the one who ultimately (after becoming General of the army at the wall) leads the battle, kills the monster queen, saves the world, et cetera. Yes, saving the world does become our ultimate stake and there's a monster queen that you have to kill to stop all the other monsters. The movie is not very original as far as how it plays out.

So now we get to the controversial part. This movie has been accused of whitewashing, and, by a smaller, less vocal amount of people, of white savior. The former is definitely incorrect: there's only two white characters in the movie at all, and one is a minor villain. The latter…is a lot more up for debate, and I'll try to present both sides of said debate, but keep in mind that I'm a white European guy, so do take everything I say with a grain of salt.

See, the elements of the white savior are there…but there's also not executed to their full extent. I already mentioned that Lin Mae is the true hero of the story, but that doesn't mean Matt Damon is a "decoy" protagonist as some people have argued. It's a little more complicated than that, and I think the best comparison I can draw is Mad Max: Fury Road. To quote Lindsay Ellis on that movie:

"We all know it's Furiosa's story, but Max is the point of view character and his growth defines the structure of the story, and therefore, he is the protagonist."

Yeah, it's something similar here. The story's key moments are defined by Matt Damon's character development from a greedy mercenary who can't wait to sneak away with black powder, to a hero willing to give it all up to help Lin Mae save the day (which he does—help her, that is). And that growth plays into the movie's overarching theme of the "greed of men", which is what created the Taotie in the first place.

So while he's not a "savior" in terms of story importance. His only acts of "savioring" are ending up in the right place at the right time to discover the Taotie's weakness—and even then, he doesn't do the figuring out—and rescuing Lin Mae during a battle that she could arguably have gotten out of some other way. And it's not like Lin doesn't get her own arc that could have worked to make her the protagonist. If not for the framing, Matt Damon could have been a supporting character without a debate. But…well, there is that framing. It forces us to consider him as the protagonist

The complexities don't end there. The movie features an overwhelming majority of Chinese characters (including the story's actual hero), and has a Chinese director (Zhang Yimou, who not only is a pretty big deal but also makes this movie a gorgeous thing to look at). It draws from Chinese culture and myth (the Taotie are a real myth, albeit changed for the movie, and it is tied to greed). But a good chunk of the crew behind the scene (far bigger than I'd originally expected) are not themselves Chinese, and…well, the actors are a very small part of the storytelling machine in a movie. With that in mind, the focus of the framing makes a lot more sense in a way I'm not entirely comfortable with.

So you end up having to choose one or the other: did the movie pick a white guy as figurehead in order to look more palatable to American audiences, or was the choice born out of a more malicious "it won't work without a white protagonist", an unconscious desire by the crew (especially producers) to put someone like them front and center, or an even more ostentatious display of racism? And regardless of which it is, does it matter? After all, there's a line past which playing the "racism game" to get butts in seats is indistinguishable from being actually racist.

I think the movie meant well. Hell, they were at least self-conscious enough not to force a romance between the two leads, which the movie did not have room for. There was definitely an attempt, which is why I'm more tempted to say it was using Matt Damon as a figurehead. I'm just not sure that it's good enough to have a white protagonist "ironically", so to speak.

But really, far be it from me to assume I can really answer these questions about race. And the movie's a bomb anyway, so now, all we can hope (against hope) is that Hollywood sees it as a sign that it needs to stop focusing on white stories so much, and not…you know, that a story rooted in Chinese culture just can't work.

Because I'm sure it could have worked without the white protagonist. His connection to the Taotie is purely thematic (namely, greed, which isn't directed at the Taotie or anything related to them but at black powder), which could have been woven into the narrative differently. The movie is visually stunning, and removing the unnecessary white protagonist would probably have given it more room to improve on the story. The potential was there, basically.

But we'll see if Hollywood learns the right lesson; In any case, I'd say The Great Wall is a decent movie, even as it is. It's a beautiful blockbuster with a cool female protagonist. Just…you know, don't expect to be blown away.

Ha ha.

What About Them Ethics?

Kimi’s idealism in this chapter stuns me with how short shortsighted and binary it is. I almost was glad that Nishiki seemed to actually be rejecting that she worked with Kanou, until this... weirdness somehow got through to him. 

It’s not about ships, or even about Kimi but rather once again he astonishing lack of priorities in her actions. That Kimi does not seem to grasp or be that troubled by what she’s done to achieve rather selfish ends. Also, that the story does not acknowledge it as such. It’s almost conspicuous, considering the language used here, and the parallels it has to the past. More elaboration under the cut->

Dragon has specifically been compared to a bomb, specifically the atom bomb not once but twice. First in the Oggai that shared the foundation with Dragon, and then by Kimi’s interpretation of Kanou’s methodology, to release a bomb of new information on the world.

Remember though, that even the person who helped create the atom bomb had this to say about it.

We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hinduscripture, the Bhagavad-Gita... "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

Something which sounds like Seidou’s, an outsider’s summation of the situation and realization of the destructive potential it might cause.

However, we have Kimi who is the closest to the situation, framing it like this can somehow become a good thing.

Kimi talks about Kanou’s actions as if they were Kanou’s alone, while acknowledging at the same time that she walked straight up to his door and asked to be a part of it.

That she could just walk in and out with her hands still being clean, only having gained knowledge from the experience. That because it was Kanou who came up with this plan, that it was Kanou’s directive that the methods were his, and she was only interested in his knowledge. However, Kimi is forgetting about complicity in this situation. By choosing to cooperate with Kanou, by tolerating and assisting his actions, Kimi is indistuingishable from Kanou’s methods. Kanou’s methods are now her methods. 

The Nuremberg principles were a set of guidelines for determining what constitutes a war crime. The document was created by the International Law Commission of the United Nations to codify the legal principles underlying the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi party members following World War II. (I’m not making a nazi comparison here... X Men Fallacy X Men Fallacy X Men Fallacy, I’m just setting out to define complicity). 

Principle VII

"Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law."

My point in invoking Nuremberg is that we have decided in international treaties for almost 100 years, that being complicit in a crime, even if you are not the main perpetrator is still guilt of a crime. 

Which means Kimi by supporting Kanou, even if she was not the one who held the blade itself was complicit in this:

In this: 

In this:

In this:

In this:

In this:

In this:

In this:

In this:

In this:

In this:

Have I made my point clear? 

Let’s not even get into the Kaneki situation, Kimi’s plan for creating a world where ghouls and humans could find peace and she could once again stand peacefully by Nishiki’s side was to... create a force of soldiers that was so effective they killed 90% of the ghouls in several districts. 

Then sacrifice that force of ghoul investigators to Kaneki in order to create an even bigger more destructive monster that  killed the entire population of several city blocks. 

This seems obvious but I feel like asking it anyway, what exactly would she have done if Nishiki was one of the victim of the Oggai? What if he was eaten by Kaneki when Kaneki turned into dragon form? It seems pure coincidence at this point that Nishiki wasn’t. 

Which is where we get to Ui’s question. Thematically, if what Ui did was wrong, if choosing to let the vicitmization and exploitation of children go in order to save his loved ones, in placing his personal relationships over his ethics was wrong. If he was not rewarded for this. Then why exactly are Amon and Marude still alive, but Hairu and Arima it was impossible for them to come back from the start.

It seems almost arbitrary at this point. In a manga about hardline consequences that Kimi sort of just letting go the fact that her cooperation in Kanou’s plan involved the death of 100 children, and that those deaths are essentially forgotten. 

She could at least you know... feel a little bad about it. It’s not that she didn’t have alternatives either, there was literally the great wheel act dedicated to that same kind of research and founded by Kimi. THey were cooperating with Goat, Ie, the people who Nishiki the person Kimi was doing all of this for was also associated.

Kimi had a choice. Also in the choice she made, she specifically chose to work with a man who was exploiting the lowest parts of society. Orphans, the children, and ghouls bred in breeding gardens like Rize who had no place in society at all. Kimi wanted to transcend society’s oppression, but in the process she ends up recreating the exact same exploitation of marginalized classes of people on a smaller scale. 

100 children, and 100 orphans at that. Kimi and Kanou delbierately chose to make those their consenting test subjects, specifically because they wouldn’t be missed and it would be easier to gather them and mass produce them. 

If Aogiri is wrong because it recreated the same oppression of ghouls that the CCG did in order to fight the CCG, then Kimi should be wrong here too. 

There are some times you have to use violent means to achieve a better end, but all along the way why didn’t Kimi actually think of targetting the people who were actually causing this oppression? Why did she just continue to target the victims of that same oppression? 

Even with good intentions in mind, the manga has already shown us what unscrupulous means achieve even when they’re applied to lofty and idealistic goals. What kind of peace is built on the bodies of 100 children?

So yes, this was done by a man. However, this scenario wasn’t entirely Kaneki’s choice. Kaneki would never had been able to accomplish his slaughter if another man Kanou did not decide to sew a ghoul’s organs into him. Everybody still has their individual choices in this scenario. 

BEST OF 2016: TOP 10 SONGS

HONORABLE MENTIONS: (in no order) “I Hope My Life” by James Blake, “Those Were the Days” by Angel Olsen, “The Vapours” by Anna Meredith, “I Can’t Give Everything Away” by David Bowie, “Landcruisin’” by A.K. Paul, “N****s” by Kamaiyah, “Josie’s Past” by Xiu Xiu, “Generation Why” by Weyes Blood, “Keep Your Name” by Dirty Projectors

10. “NO WOMAN” by WHITNEY

“I might never be sure”

It isn’t just those falsetto vocals that convey such loneliness, or its effortless orchestration that evokes an early 70′s folk vibe that is inescapably Californian, that moves me every time I listen to this song. I think it has much more to do with its themes of relocation as a kind of rebirth, or even escape- specifically, to Los Angeles. I moved myself across the country- to L.A.- this year, and it has continually felt at once tremendously exciting and kind of selfish. Like our speaker, I might never be sure of whether or not it was the best move. To be quite honest, I’m not at all sure what Julian Ehrlich means when he croons the titular phrase “no woman,” but whatever it is, I feel it.

9. “YOUR BEST AMERICAN GIRL” by MITSKI

“Your mother wouldn’t approve of how my mother raised me, but I do- I think I do.”

Mitski crafts a remarkably succinct expression of the frustration of not feeling American enough, or participating in a relationship with someone you really like without compromising your identity or agency, exemplified by her gorgeous, soft alto voice that works in perfect harmony with the charged distortion of her guitar, evoking a mid 90′s alternative vibe that transcends that genre’s thematic simplicity. A marvel. 

8. “BEST TO YOU” by BLOOD ORANGE

“I can’t be the girl you want, but I can be the thing you throw away.”

Dev Hynes’ music is intensely personal- a reflection of his thoughts, beliefs, and experiences that make more sense to him than it ever could to a listener. At the same time, this specificity often makes the music more universal, inviting the listener to see themselves in it. When I listen to “Best to You,” I think of the straight boy that I was madly in love with in high school, who I knew could never reciprocate that to me. “I can’t be the girl you want, but I can be the thing you throw away” was a genuine sentiment of mine. Hynes is so gifted at exemplifying these raw emotions with grooves and rhythms that suggest this sadness or inadequateness is universal.   

7. “IT MEANS I LOVE YOU” by JESSY LANZA

“If you want it, come and find my love.”

“It Means I Love You” is nothing short of hypnotic, experimenting with genre and rhythm in fascinating ways that feel like the purest example of what Lanza set out to do with this fabulous record. Kaleidoscopic and disorienting, just like its accompanying video, the collision of beats and Lanza’s almost childlike vocals transcend genre to create something truly exciting; a jubilant dance track that’s downright bizarre. 

6. “30 HOURS” by KANYE WEST

“You wasn’t mine though- but I still drove 30 hours to you.”

“30 Hours” is full of contradictions. It sees Kanye at his most reflective, looking back to his long distance relationship with Sumeke Rainey just after he moved to L.A. for his career when he would regularly drive across the country to visit her. It’s almost shocking to hear West speak so candidly about his much more modest beginnings when his recent work, even other parts of this same song, seem to be a celebration of financial excess and a fundamental misunderstanding of the real world. It reassures the listener that Kanye is still Kanye, aware of his humble past and his persona of late, speaking almost fondly of simpler times. But at the same time, “30 Hours” sees Kanye at his most outlandish- taking phone calls mid-song, rambling about Mos Def, and referencing the Madison Square Garden listening party that was meant to have been the album’s premiere, only to have the track listing drastically change at least twice before the album would officially drop. It’s indicative of the many fascinating inconstancies of The Life of Pablo, and the duality of Kanye West; talented, perceptive Chicago kid and crazy, out of touch mega celebrity. 

5. "WORK” by RIHANNA

“If you had a twin, I would still choose you”

I think one of my favorite things about “Work” is that I don’t really know what she’s talking about. A close reading of the lyrics reveal a story of creative and professional ambition hindering a romantic relationship, and a rich utilization of Jamaican patois. Rihanna has always embraced the dancehall sounds that shaped her, but here she modernizes it and makes it entirely her own with shocking ease. “Work” is a meticulously constructed master class in pop that feels effortless. There’s a reason we lived our lives to it this past spring and well into the summer (or all year and for the rest of our lives) ; it’s sultry, captivating and joyous. 

4. “EXECUTION” by ANOHNI

“It’s an American dream.”

I always dance to “Execution” and wonder if it’s appropriate. Its stellar, infectious beat, underscored by dissonant, droning chords compliment its slyly scathing critique of capital punishment perfectly, but also make for an almost perfect pop dance anthem in its own right. At times, Anohni even sounds like Cher, further contributing to the song’s pop conventionality, at times sounding radio-ready. But then she coos “like the Chinese,” and its immensely clear that this is something decidedly more subversive. It’s a song that you can get entirely swept away with on the dance floor while never forgetting the anger in Anohni’s voice as she pleads for mercy. 

3. “CRANES IN THE SKY” by SOLANGE

“I traveled 70 states…”

The beauty of “Cranes in the Sky” is how simultaneously specific and universal it is. I listened to it the weekend my grandmother died. I listened to it again the morning after the election. It speaks to the pervasiveness of sadness, loneliness, grief, or anything else one foolishly tries to chase away before we’re ready to part with it. At the same time, I’m sure Solange had something more specific in mind when writing it. And I’m sure it evokes other feelings in other people who listen to it. Those melancholy strings understand something intrinsic to sadness, but somehow, the song remains jubilant in its promise of self-discovery for both Solange as an artist, and the listener in their everyday life.

2. “FORMATION” by BEYONCÉ

“When he fuck me good, I take his ass to Red Lobster.”

Beyoncé is more committed than ever to formal experimentation, to honoring her identity as a black woman, to being serious, to being funny, and to changing the game. When the video for “Formation” dropped and she hit that chord on “Texas Bama!” I literally gasped, and by the time she got around to “when he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster,” I had to pick myself up off the floor. Beyoncé changes the definition of what a pop song can be with unorthodox chords and song structure, fun, loving and honest lyrics that celebrate the black experience in America and Black Panther imagery. While Lemonade didn’t become quite the straightforward Womanist opus “Formation” suggested it might be (the film is closer to it,) it remains a truly iconic love letter to Blackness. 

1. “FUTURA FREE” by FRANK OCEAN

“How far is a lightyear?”

A one of a kind stunner in two acts. Absurd imagery and phrases have never been so moving or slyly funny, and the way that Ocean utilizes them to craft a singular statement on fame and success that sounds something like his version of Janis Ian’s “Stars” is, for lack of a better word, genius. Those gentle piano chords make a stunning contrast to the lyrics (”murder me like Selena,” or “don’t let em’ find Tupaaaaaac!”) and that meticulous distortion (is that “Beyonce” that he keeps repeating?) By the time the first act gives way to an equally bizarre interview conducted by his younger brother Ryan, calling back to the album’s recurring theme of nostalgia, it’s clear there isn’t a better way to close out this wildly ambitious and strange opus of a song and album. 

ok session recap! this is actually a recap from the past 3 sessions but not a ton happened in them for various reasons (like our ranger + druid being absent for one, and our rogue having technical difficulties in another). with this I will be all caught up 😌

Fon!Salem piloted a sub, Roanoke punched a shark in the face, went treasure hunting and found an alchemy jug that was full of mayo

while our rogue was having technical difficulties fon-as-salem rode around on roa’s shoulders, embalmed a corpse using prestidigitation, and then they sat on the docks watching the sunset together (my DM asked us to roll a charisma check and people around us were stunned by how beautiful we were in this picturesque scenery)

we went to a mausoleum to find the stone of golorr only to find the entire place ransacked - bodies, bones, and all, then got ambushed by a rival gang outside (xanathar’s crew)

we accidentally killed a person in broad daylight but got away with murder (again) by negotiating with the guards since they didnt see someone stealing an entire mausoleum’s worth of bodies

we had some downtime while getting our only clue inspected and so Roanoke ordered a custom suit of heavy armor (glamoured to look like a suit). he didn’t have enough money though so the way it happened was that he kabedon’d Fon-as-Salem and the conversation went something like: “I need something from you.” “Oya? It must be important if you’re being this direct...” “It’s embarrassing, so could you just-” [the implication being have this conversation telepathically] “No, no, you’re not getting out of this that easy. I want the words to come from your own lips.” “I need.... *whispering* 600 GP.” “Oh my, you don’t have enough?” “No, it’s *lowers voice again* 1600 GP. I need you for this.” “Ah,  I’ll give it to you no matter what since you asked, but I am curious...” “It’s for a new suit of armor. So I can protect you better *grumbling* since you’re starting to do reckless shit like runnin’ into mobs by yourself”

the rest of the party: *laughing* oh my god ya’ll are too much 😂😂😂

in the meantime we also went to a bar  because our bard got a faction quest to investigate this....... paladin (? i forget) who’s been acting sus. while at the bar Fon!Salem and Roa also get another faction quest from the Zhentarim. They’re also the only ones to realize said paladin is like....... definitely possessed or some shit and his axe is sentient.

They make up a gameplan to deal with the dude, telepathically, AND EVEN THOUGH WE CAN HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS WHILE DOING OTHER THINGS, my DM canonizes their telepathic conversations as: “Salem and Roanoke look intensely into each others’ eyes for about 3 minutes. (me interjecting: it’s not suspicious or anything!!!!! we can be doing other things while having this convo!) No, this is how it is. It’s kinda weird, but to be fair they do this a lot, so natch.”

The paladin invites us into the sewers to take down a demon. We agree (if only to try and deal with him out of the public’s eye). We get attacked by tentacle monsters. The encounter goes something like this - Roanoke: *gets bound by tentacles* Fon!Salem: Looking good, Roa! *IMMEDIATELY GETS BOUND BY TWO TENTACLE MONSTERS* Roanoke: *breaks free from tentacle monster* Fon!Salem: *fails to break free from tentacles* *weakly, whining* t-tasukete brother...

we get through that encounter, fight the demon, end up having to fight the paladin bc he’s FUCKING POSSESSED, complete our bard’s faction quest even though she isn’t even here

Fon!Salem & Roanoke look into our Zhent faction quest which involves finding a guy. The people he’s associating with are a gang of were-rats. Roanoke almost gets into a fistfight with them in the middle of an alleyway. Fon!Salem is able to diffuse the situation and they tell us to meet them on the docks next evening. Fon!Salem absolutely expects to get jumped.

we get updated on the clue and go to another guy who’s supposed to be able to tell us where the clue leads to - but he doesn’t wanna tell us for free. the party REALLY doesn’t wanna spend money since we’ve been spending a lot already

Fon!Salem (to Roa): “Take off your shirt, brother.” DM: “For reference, because it’s heavy armor now, it’ll take 3 minutes to take off.” Fon!Salem: “What if I help him?” DM: “It’ll take 1 1/2 minutes.” Fon!Salem: “Okay, I strip off my own shirt then help Roa out of his.” DM: “Yeah, okay. You strip your brother. Roll a charisma check.” me: *rolls a 23* DM “Oh shit, yeah okay. This dude is fucking enamored by your pecs.” NPC: “Jesus your abs.... I could wash clothes on those things..... Holy shit......” Fon!Salem: “So can you tell us now?” NPC: “W-Well, customer confidentiality and all... Maybe if you sweeten the deal....” Fon!Salem: “So do you wanna get tag-teamed by us or do you want to watch us make-out with each other?” Roanoke: “If you want more than that, you’ll have to pay good coin.” The rest of the party: “OH MY GOD *incomprehensible squealing noises*” NPC, trying to hold onto a shred of dignity: “N-No what I meant was either funding or ideas for my inventions...” DM: “I do need to clarify that he’s still staring holes into Salem and Roanoke’s naked torsos” Fon!Salem: “What if we sell you the rights to our likeness so you can make anatomically accurate sexbots of us?” DM, choking: “ROLL PERSUASION” Our Ranger: “PLEASE ROLL HIGH OMG I NEED THIS TO HAPPEN”

we did not roll high. I asked our ranger if she intended to buy one to which she responded “No comment.” I then asked her OOC if she intended to and, in-between laughing hysterically, still answered “I dont wanna answer that”

we were able to get the info just bc Fon!Salem 1. needed to silver their dagger in preparation for getting jumped by the were-rats. 2. bought a parachute backpack for a handy dandy escape 3. asked the NPC inventor to discreetly implement a grappling hook gun disguised as a telescope onto the turret that attaches to the twins’ room (just in case Fon!Salem & Roa ever need to backstab the party and set the whole bar on fire and make a quick escape, you know?) and the NPC inventor decided that was enough coin to get him to talk

we go to get jumped by the were-rats. we successfully incapacitated them which is where the last session ended and Fon is gonna wake the leader up and interrogate them straight mafia style next session.

Fon!Salem also got bitten by one of them and failed the con save and so got afflicted by the curse of lycanthropy. HOWEVER, there’s almost no downside to this as it means that Fon is impervious to most damage that isn’t magical or done by a silvered weapon AND because they are a changeling, even physical symptoms can be suppressed. so they might just keep it for now (our evil paladin friend might be able to dispel the curse?)

This is extra delicious thematically bc Roanoke, as a priest of Selune, is trained to hunt (evil) lycanthropes

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