#give me money so I can justify the time and effort I put into these things
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Ironmouse: Part of the reason why I love this server so much is because everybody's so nice. Everyone! Like, every single person is super nice! And it's like- it's like, genuine nice, it's not like fake niceness. [...] I've literally talked to almost everybody at least once like outside of the QSMP. We've talked on Discord, people regularly check in on me, we get in group chats and we play games like outside of the server... You don't really find that sort of connection all the time with people.
Ironmouse recently talked about her experience on QSMP, and how kind all the members are. I'm posting the entire conversation instead of cutting it up like I usually would because I really enjoyed hearing her thoughts on the server.
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Ironmouse: Honestly, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if I did. He's so nice, he's so- he's always been super nice to me. He's been so nice, I– part of the reason why I- I love this server so much is because everybody's so nice. Everyone! Like, every single person is super nice! And it's like- it's like, genuine nice, it's not like fake niceness. You know how sometimes like– you always hear like, "Oh yeah, you know–" when–
Ironmouse: Whenever you like, join like a new thing, right? Whenever you like join like a new thing, you always worry, 'cuz you always think: "Oh, are the people gonna like me? Are they gonna be nice to me? What if- What if- you know, what if this, what if that?" But everybody like genuinely was nice when I first came by, and everybody has been so nice to me– not just in the game, but outside of the game, and–
Ironmouse: Something special about the QSMP is like... People wanna be your friend like outside of the game? Like, I've literally talked to ev– almost– almost everybody at least once like outside of the QSMP, like... We've talked on Discord, people like regularly check in on me, and like we get in group chats and like we- we play games like outside of the server, and it's just like... You don't really find that sort of connection all the time with people? You know what I mean? It's very– it's very not common when you go on like, a content creator-like server or stuff like that, you know? You'll get like one or two people that you get close to and stuff, but like... Everybody is SO nice, and everybody's been so nice to me, and I can't tell you how many people like, wished me– not just like wished me happy birthday, or like wished- said, "Oh, you know, hap- Merry Christmas!" dadadada, it's like genuinely like... Asked how I'm doing, and like talk to me, and like... Just like– I dunno, it's just like so- so- it's so wonderful.
Ironmouse: Like, I get that with VShojo a lot, like– we're all like besties, and we all like talk all the time, but I feel like it's different, 'cuz like VShojo– we're VShojo, we're like– we're our own group, but this is like... You know... You don't expect this sorta thing when you get invited to like be on some- be a part of something, you know? And it's- and it's been so– it's been so wonderful and everybody's been so GENUINELY nice to me, and I- I appreciate everybody on the server so much, and they're just some of the nicest people that I've ever met ever, and it's just–
Ironmouse: It just warms my heart, and I'm just really– really like, thankful to be a part of something so great, and something so positive! Because like, everybody's so supportive! Like– the time when like, I didn't like– I- I- I had a moment where it's like I– do you guys remember in December when I- I was not around a lot? And like, I had to take breaks and all this stuff and it turns out it was like the concert stuff? They all like would message me regularly, like, we would all keep up with each other, and we would all talk. And I remember telling them about like, how much stress I was under, and like all the- all the pressures of the concert and stuff, and– and they were cheering, and- and- and they were just so... so kind to me, it was just so– so sweet, and- and you know, I was in a group chat with a- with a few people, and they were all just so excited and- and- just super nice, and- and very- very sweet, and it's just– and it's just very– I'm sorry if I'm rambling! It's just...
Ironmouse: I dunno! I- I- I just enjoy being here, and I enjoy hanging out with everybody, and... it's just nice to meet really good people. You don't really find that. You don't find that sort of thing all the time. Don't get me wrong– it's not like I haven't met a lot of good people, like– I just feel like this whole like, my whole like– Ever, like– My streaming journey, I've just been nothing but surprised at the goodness of people? Don't get me wrong– I've met assholes and sht like that, and I've met- I've encountered some people that are NOT so nice. I'll never like, talk about it or whatever because that's their thing, and I'm just gonna do my thing and I don't wanna like, you know, spread any type of stupid drama or whatever the fck, but like... I'm just always surprised about how– how incredibly nice people are, and how genuine a lot of people are, and it's... It- it's just nice, especially since like– You're used to coming from like, a certain background and a certain like, environment where it's like, you've met a lot of like fcked up mean people in your life, and you've just been around a lot of like fckery, you know? So when- when you're around stuff that's NOT fcked, it's just like, "Woah, this is crazy! Is this- is this how life is supposed to be?!" And it's just- it's just really... it's really- it's really nice. It's very nice.
Ironmouse: Yeah, it's very refreshing, that's why I- I enjoy hanging out on here, everybody's just so nice to me. And it's not just like being nice just to be on-stream, it's nice off-stream, on-stream, friendship on-stream, off-stream, it's- it's just- it's just so- it's- it's- it's wonderful. It's wonderful. And I just have to say like... man, I'm just really thankful that like... it's crazy that like I got invited to be on here and I'm just really thankful that, you know... Quackity like, reached out to me and he's- he's just been nothing but nice, everybody- everybody's just so kind. Everybody's so nice. This is something truly special.
#QSMP#Ironmouse#February 11 2024#Subtitles#*clenches fist* You don't want to know how long it took me to transcribe and subtitle this thing#anyways I saw people sharing a Twitter thread where Mouse talked about this#and I was like ''hey that thread cut some bits out''#so. here I am. posting the entire thing. and subtitling + transcribing it for some reason#anyways I'm shocked Tumblr let me upload this#I did lower the video quality a little bit (reluctantly) because the length + quality made the file size a smidge too big for Tumblr#but it's still pretty good quality imo. yeah?#I'm 100% applying to be a video editor the next time Quackity Studios is looking to hire folks again.#give me money so I can justify the time and effort I put into these things#Edit: Yeah I might make a shorter version of this too#just so I can direct people to this longer version as well#EDIT: LMAO I FORGOT TO POST THIS#Edited
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This is stupid, but you know those new LO hoodies the Webtoon shop has? I know the font they're using. It's Eckmannpsych which is an Adobe font.
That's not the stupid part though. The dumb part is the capital H and G in the Eckmannpsych font do not match what is on the hoodies, which would obviously be on the hoodies that have Hera or Goddess on them. So, Rachel looks to have taken the time to hand draw her own H and G to match the font style for those hoodies but did not take any time to make new, better art for the merch, but instead reused ugly panels from the comic. Talk about a strange look into her priorities. She doesn't like how the G and H look on a font? She will remake those to fit what she wants. Rachel when the assignment gives her the chance to make specialized, better designs for those same merch? She can't be bothered to even try. WTF!
for the love of god-
I'm assuming and hoping they had the commercial rights to that font LMAOO But it did kind of make me go 🤨 because while I didn't know the font EXACTLY off the top of my head it still felt... weirdly out of place for something like LO? Why are these hoodies being stylized like they're from Austin Powers LOL
On another note tho, the LO merch is just like... disappointing in how bad it is for what's supposed to be WT's #1 series, which is, btw, a series with so much unique stylization that it shouldn't even be this hard to make merch for it! it just feels very "first attempt at redbubble merch", but unlike genuine first attempts at making merch (which is obviously a learning curve that I wouldn't judge anyone for being new to) this is a company that's sunk shitloads of money into LO so I don't know why they can't get better merch made?? so much of it is just the default drawings taken and slapped onto a tote bag or t-shirt, which like, yeah cool fine you're using art that's recognizable and considering the art is already made, it stands to reason that they should use it for more than just the comic. It's just disappointing to see how lazy it often is and how little effort is put into translating it onto a t-shirt/tote bag/etc. like we can't even have ONE exclusive t-shirt with a unique design that isn't just poorly copy pasted from the comic?
Case in point, those t-shirts that Rachel was advertising a while ago that were actually straight up falsely advertised. I can't find the post about it on my Tumblr (I'm pretty sure I talked about it here) so here's the IG story rundown I did on it ages ago:
Again I'd really like to have benefit of the doubt here that Rachel isn't the one making these designs, usually that's not how the merchandising process goes in these types of deals, so I'm not gonna point the finger at her. But it's just so odd to me that it happened in the first place. And this goes for a lot of LO's merch, so much of it feels cheaply made and rushed off a conveyor belt for the point of making money without much expense. Which yeah, that's a business model for sure, the goal is to profit, but like this?
You can't even argue that it's like people criticizing LO the comic because like, as much as I'll justify what I spend my time doing here in my free time, it's true that at the end of the day I don't have to pay for LO, so really the only thing I'm doing is inflicting psychic damage to myself, it's not like my actual money is on the line LMAO That's why I stopped paying for LO ages ago and only do it when I have a specific episode I need to review (such as the midseason hiatus review series I did). At the very least, if I really want to keep reading LO but don't want to pay for it, I can just avoid FastPassing it and read it for free so I can save the coins for other series I'd rather read. The Webtoons' FP system is very fair that way.
But this is merch explicitly made to generate revenue. It is a product, front to back. You can vote with your money by not buying the thing you don't like, absolutely, but the fact that it's this poorly to begin with is just so indicative of Webtoons' business practices and so shitty for the people who genuinely enjoy this comic and are being advertised and sold shoddy merchandise that doesn't even come looking the same way it's advertised. It's really not a good look for Webtoons, Rachel, or LO that this is what they're selling to people.
Especially for what they're charging, good lord-
Like, okay, they're hoodies and they're gonna be expensive to print and ship so the higher overhead cost makes sense, but jesus christ, with the kind of merch Webtoons has already given the stamp of approval on, would it even show up in decent condition? How bright are those colors gonna be? Are they gonna strip off as soon as I throw it in the wash? I'm half-tempted to buy a hoodie for myself just to do a review on it but I can't justify dropping $75 CAD on a hoodie that only has art on the back. Maybe it's just me living in the hellish lands of Canada where we play with toy money that's the problem, but it's just not a gamble I wanna take LOL If I bought one it would probably be the Hecate or Hermes ones because they're the only ones that are at least somewhat legible and have decent character art that isn't a character looking like they need to poop LMAO
(these are literally the two worst drawings they could have chosen of these two i stg lol the only thing that would have made this worse/funnier is if it was Handsome Hades and Persephone Kidnapping a Baby LMAO)
It has me worried about what the LO figures are gonna look like when they release. Are they gonna have some creative liberty with making them chibi-fied (like a Nendoroid?) or are they gonna try and replicate the art style exactly and wind up making literal blow-up sex doll Persephone? 😭
NGL, if the figures are done well enough and don't cost an arm and a leg, I might consider buying one just for the shelf collection, but again, it depends. If Webtoons released a tarot deck with really good panels from LO (like the Tower 4 scene or Persephone sitting on the rooftop with her comb or Eros flying down into the Mortal Realm) I would buy the shit out of that. I would even just take the Major Arcana if 78 cards was too much to ask :'0 I'm not against Webtoons/Rachel trying to profit off LO merch at all, I just wish it was BETTER- (╥﹏╥)
#lore olympus critical#lo critical#anti lore olympus#ask me anything#ama#anon ama#anon ask me anything
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Birthday Celebration | Valo x Gn reader
Characters: Chamber, Gekko, Yoru and Sova
Warnings: fluff, celebrating reader's birthday, gender neutral reader, maybe ooc, haven't written for Valorant in a while, English isn't my first language
A/n: Guess whose birthday it is today (March 13th), still can't believe that another year is over. I wrote a few Birthday related things for different fandoms and I will post them over the next couple days. But we are starting with a few Valorant headcanons
Comments, likes and reblogs are always appreciated and really motivate me to write more <3
Chamber
For your birthday, he would definitely consider your preferences.
If you're more introverted and prefer an intimate moment together, he would probably cook you an amazing, very fancy dinner with candles all around.
If you're more into socializing, he would likely prepare a small party with you and your close friends.
He will ensure that his schedule is cleared for you on your birthday and devote the entire day to making you feel special, ensuring you have his full attention.
He cherishes being able to spend your birthday together with you and would carefully pick out your gift.
It would probably be something more expensive that you had your eye on but never bought because you couldn't justify spending that kind of money.
He would like to make it perfect and ensure the gift is unique to you.
He would probably congratulate you first thing in the morning while serving you breakfast in bed and come to you with a bouquet of your favorite flowers.
Also, expect kisses throughout the day and generally a lot of affection.
He doesn't often have the entire day to spend with you, so he wants to fully exploit his this day.
Gekko
He would put a lot of thought and effort into planning your birthday party.
Before planning anything, he would subtly ask you about all your preferences to ensure your day is special and truly enjoyable.
He would probably throw a smaller party for you so you can spend quality time with the people most important to you.
Gekko would gift you something thoughtful and sentimental rather than extravagant.
Maybe he makes something himself and will also probably write you a handwritten letter expressing his feelings for you.
Or he would go in the direction of gifting you something that you both can enjoy together or that holds meaning for your relationship.
He would wake you up sweetly, probably with something from your favorite breakfast spot, and also a lot of cuddling.
In his birthday wishes, he would include his gratitude for having you in his life.
Gekko might also plan a surprise activity during the day that aligns with your hobbies or interests, adding just something extra
Yoru
He would definitely throw you a big surprise party, aiming for a fun and memorable celebration.
Unlike Gekko, he probably wants to invite as many people as possible to fill your day with excitement and energy.
If you don't want a big party, he'll take you out for a cool outing.
Yoru would probably gift you something unexpected and unconventional, wanting to think out of the box for you.
Despite his playfulness, he would ensure you feel loved and appreciated on your day, giving more compliments than usual and showing a softer side when it really counts.
Sova
Sova is thoughtful when it comes to you, wanting your birthday to be meaningful and special.
Rather than an extravagant party, he would plan a more personal celebration, prioritizing spending time together and creating new memories.
He might also plan a surprise outing to a place you've always wanted to visit or organize a cozy picnic in a beautiful location
He would put a lot of thought into your present, aiming for something that reflects your interests, like a handmade item or a meaningful keepsake.
His birthday wishes would be heartfelt, expressing appreciation for you and the joy you bring into his life.
He might share personal moments you've spent together and express his gratitude.
He would make you feel loved and appreciated, showing kindness and affection throughout the day, not allowing you to lift a finger to show his love through his gestures.
Divider: @saradika-graphics
#gn reader#gender neutral#x reader#fluff#valorant headcanons#valorant x reader#headcanons#valo#fanfic#fanfiction#valorant sova#valorant#sova valorant#sova#valorant chamber x reader#chamber x reader#chamber#gekko fluff#gekko x reader#gekko#gekko valorant#valorant gekko#gekko headcanons#valorant yoru x reader#valorant yoru#yoru x reader#yoru x you#yoru fluff#yoru headcanons#sova headcanons
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Who cares wins Part 5/5
What is the cost of caring?
Jesus tells the Parable of the Good Samaritan in
Luke 10:29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
What is the Cost of Caring? It may cost you time, or effort, or money plus commitment, inconvenience, and you might get covered in blood etc!
Jesus was willing to pay the price for caring for you and me!
Hebrews 12:2 And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
So who is your neighbour at work, at home and in other areas of life?
We might not meet someone who is physically beaten, but what about in other ways?
How can you show a duty of care to your family, church family, work colleagues, strangers etc?
What is the cost of not caring?
Dare to care!
Jesus says to you and me today “Go and do likewise.”
Prayer; Lord give us hearts that are willing to care and to share like you and make us willing to go the extra mile to show your care to those in need who become our neighbours.
Amen
#christianity#bible study#bibletruth#blog post#blessings#psalmonesermons#faith#victory#devotional#who cares wins#the good samaritan#go and do thou likewise
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GIFT-GIVING TIPS AND REMINDERS NO ONE ASKED FOR
Hello, my name is Caro and I fuckin' love giving people gifts. This year, we're all doing the "shit shit money is tight oh no" thing, a lot of us have to buy things for people we don't know super well, etc. so here are a few ways to make cheap/generic/last-minute gifts a little more special!
WRAP THE GIFT
I know this might seem obvious, but you'd be surprised. Get some cheap wrapping paper and scotch tape and wrap it up! Or, if you're like me and hate wrapping gifts, grab a gift bag AND TISSUE PAPER. Don't just throw the thing in the bag and call it a day, a little puff of tissue paper makes it look like you gave a shit. Plus, the gift wrap is a great way to add a personal touch - you can use someone's favorite color, it can be cute or pretty or funny, whatever you want it to be. There are all sorts of creative ways to wrap gifts, too - I've seen part of the gift itself used as the wrapper, like when I received a book wrapped in a scarf and tied with a hair wrap!
REMOVE THE PRICE TAG
Either cut the price tag off or, if it's printed directly onto the gift in any way, scratch it out with a pen or sharpie. It's not entirely about hiding what something costs (though there are reasons to do that) so much as it's about making it seem like you put any effort whatsoever into this. I've received $5 bargain bin gifts that were thoughtful and wonderful! But when you receive a $5 bargain bin gift that has the big red sticker on it and is unwrapped, it kinda feels like a "fuck you". I've also received expensive gifts and felt guilty/inadequate when I saw the price tag. That's not the energy you want when you're giving a gift.
PERSONALIZE IT
Even if you're giving something generic, you can personalize it at least a little most of the time. I'll use bath stuff as an example - we often think of that as a general "buy this for whoever" kind of thing, and it totally can be, but it's also easy to make bath stuff thoughtful! If I'm buying for my mom vs. my best friend, the vibes will be very different. My mom is more of a sunshiney organicy type, so she'd get light floral/herbal/citrus scents in colors like pink, light green, cream, etc. My best friend is basically if Morticia Addams and Tia Dalma had a baby, so she's getting things in purple, black, gold, forest green, with heavier scents like you'd associate with incense and the woods. They're both getting a candle, a bar of soap, and a sheet mask, but those items are personalized to their tastes and vibes.
IT'S OKAY TO ASK
If you honestly don't know what to get someone, you can ask! And you don't have to phrase it like "what do you want me to buy for you" because that might make them feel weird! A more tactful way to ask what someone might want as a gift that doesn't make them feel as pressured to have the "right" answer is to ask them "is there anything you've had your eye on that you haven't been able to justify getting for yourself", or "is there anything I can help you replenish that you might need", or "what sort of things are you trying to keep on hand these days", or something along those lines. Ask them what they're watching or listening to these days, ask them what they're enjoying as hobbies, ask them where they like eating, etc. All of these questions can spark a ton of ideas!
IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU
Some people really struggle when the person they're shopping for just wants practical or "boring" stuff, but remember: giving a gift is about giving a gift, not about receiving points. If someone says all they want is socks and a grocery store gift card, give them those things. If someone is overloaded with stuff, consider gifting them an experience or a subscription (I'm giving both my parents the gift of "pick a night, pick a theme, I'm your personal chef, you get to hang out and watch movies while I continue to hand you food until you say stop" this year). Don't buy loud stuff for little kids unless the parents are okay with it. Consider the person you're shopping for rather than how the gift will make you appear. If you're really hung up on the whole "paying your electricity bill for a month isn't a gift", "cleaning supplies aren't a gift", "underwear isn't a gift" thing, get them something indulgent in addition to the thing they're asking for.
GO ONE STEP FURTHER
I have a friend who is BIG into Pokemon. I don't know a dingdang thing about Pokemon. I could very easily give him a Pikachu plushie and call it a day, and he'd be delighted by it, but you know what's a little more creative and fun? Doing some research and finding something a little more out of the box and unexpected. Which is how I stumbled across a bunch of Pokemon-themed cocktail recipes, and how I stumbled across the idea of making little cocktail kits in small mason jars with dried fruit and sugar cubes and stuff like that and pairing them with airplane bottles of liquor, which is how I gave that friend a gift that made him go "BITCH THIS IS SO CUTE, I'M GONNA MAKE THESE JIGGLYPUFF JELLO SHOTS TONIGHT" at the top of his lungs one year. Plus, he still has and still uses those jars after about a decade! It didn't cost me a ton of money, I was able to DIY most of it, and it was cute and personal. There are a lot of ways to do something a little unexpected and create a gift that's not going to set you back a ton but that has a ton of heart and love put into it.
CONSIDER A BUNCH OF TINY THINGS
I...love tiny things. I love knickknacks. I love stuff and tchotchkes. I love opening a box or a bag and finding SO MANY LITTLE THINGS IN THERE. If you know someone like that, oh my god, shop for them like that, trust me, it's so much fun. Sometimes it's hard to come up with one big concrete item to give someone, so maybe...don't! One of the nicest gifts I ever got was literally a box of a bunch of little things that reflected me as a person. There was a mini bottle of a bourbon, a couple of jars of spices, a pair of fingerless gloves, some stickers, a box of shabbos candles (I am forever forgetting to replenish my supply and having to light random candles on Fridays), all sorts of random but personal stuff. Each item on its own was inexpensive and simple, but when it was all put together, it added up to an incredibly thoughtful mixture of practical, indulgent, and just plain fun!
YOU CAN REGIFT BUT YOU GOTTA BE CAREFUL ABOUT IT, BUDDY
Look...it happens. We receive a thing we can't use/don't like/already own. Someone else might like it. We give it away. But please, please, please be strategic about regifting. I've regifted things plenty of times, but the trick is to keep it outside the circle so the person who originally gave it to you doesn't see you blatantly passing it along. There's honestly nothing inherently bad or wrong about regifting, in my opinion, but there can be hurt feelings attached to it for many people, so it's a good idea to try and avoid that. Also, if the item is personalized in any way...most of the time, regifting is not gonna work. Use your head here!
This is all I can think of at the moment but if y'all have other advice please feel free to add. Gifts don't have to be a "feed the capitalist machine" thing - they can be (and should be) an opportunity to give a loved one a tangible reminder that they are cared for, a chance to give someone a little treat to make their day and by extension their life better and happier. Gifts also should not be something that causes you stress and shame and frustration! Gifts should be JOYFUL for everyone involved. Now go out there and don't forget to buy tissue paper.
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Sorry if I'm bothering you. I came across your blog and it's rare for me to find someone critical of idw (I feel the same). Can you tell some of the problems you have with them? It's okay if you don't want to. Just happy to know I'm not the only one (My friends are huge fans of idw).
Hello, kindred spirit! I'm sorry that I'm not answering the question so quickly!
Well, it's nice to know that someone is also unhappy with IDW and wants to know more about it! Get ready, this will be the opening of Pandora's Box.
Out of a million of my claims, I will try to build a constructive list.
1. IDW does not build lore of the universe. They didn't have enough for this for 17 years or whatever they wrote comics. What kind of innovations, adequately embedded in lore, do we have? What lore did we get? No, we don't really know anything, neither the origin of transformers, nor what's going on in the universe, the rules change at the click of your fingers.
A couple of egregious examples.
Explanation of female transformers. Experienced IDW authors for 3 or about as many retcons could not explain it all, which is why the whole fandom got mad, tired and asks not to explain anything at all, so as not to see idiocy anymore. That is, they give the authors the right to be lazy, but more on that later.
You can say that it's really "everything is complicated and explanations are not needed, female characters have the right to exist!". They have, that's not the point.
This problem is solved simply — there is no need to explain the female characters, you need to explain why Cybertronians, in principle, have a humanoid form. That's all, any explanation from this point justifies both female and male, and androgynous, and any other, as well as all kinds of genders. As an example, Primus has seen enough of the variety of organics and made his creations roughly similar. All. I had to sit for 10 minutes to come up with this, and this is not the most brilliant idea. The IDW authors had 17 years, they didn't come up with anything.
Another example is Conjunx Endura. I understand perfectly well that the authors of the comics wanted to appeal to the fan base writing fanfiction. But you need to be able to do it correctly. You can't just take a phenomenon invented by fans and shove it into an official work without any explanation of this phenomenon inside the lore. Especially since many fanfiction writers do it! You can find works with such beautiful and logical explanations that it seems ingenious. But the IDW authors are above any explanation. And yes, there are not always explanations in fanfiction, but we compare non-professional writers who post their works on the Internet for free with experienced authors of an official work that is sold for money. Who should put more effort into their work?
I'll just explain. For us humans, romantic love seems obvious, but it's not a particularly common evolutionary invention. If an intelligent species evolved from some elephants or killer whales, then the priority would not be a pair, but a kinship relationship. There are a bunch of animal species that don't create pairs at all. So how and for what purposes does such a phenomenon as Conjunx Endura exist in the society of transformers? They do not breed in pairs, they do not have any very harsh living conditions where a partner can help with survival. Something from Primus? Some kind of "power of love"? Who knows, the authors don't care, the fans of couples are happy and draw tons of art and write tons of fanfiction, and they don't need more. And I understand that in the original very first cartoon we were shown that Cybertronians know how to love. But this is a cartoon for children, of course there will be no details, these comics are designed for an older audience who can understand complex explanations.
Age-related burnout is something like a disease ending the life of a transformer. What do we know about it? After what time does it come? For what reason? What is it like? And why should the reader know this, it is there and that's it.
Similarly, for all IDW's love of violent scenes and cutting transformers into pieces, we don't really have a single image that normally shows the anatomical structure of a Cybertronian. They didn't even bother to come up with names for body parts. When I needed to find names for the most basic body parts, I found about 10 fan interpretations for each and 0 official ones! I'll repeat it. THEY HAD 17 YEARS TO DO IT!
About changing bodies and genders to more suitable ones. Again, it is too directly written off from humans, although we are talking about alien robots. Humans have biological and socio-cultural reasons for this. How does it work for transformers? Different types of sparks were canceled by the retcon, so it is impossible to talk about some kind of accordance. Just fashion or aesthetic preferences? Well, that's something. But why, according to this logic, we were not shown examples where transformers change their alt-mod, because they felt that it would be right? No, it's too difficult, because the reader is too stupid and will not understand the allegories or signs of alien psychology of another intelligent species. Again, I'm not against it, but while it's clear how it works for humans, everything here works on the principle of "because".
And these are the biggest examples, but with the little things and everything else, it's about the same. These comics don't build the world, you don't want to dive into it, because almost nothing is known about it, except for a short period before and during the war. It's unclear how it works.
2. The authors obviously like Decepticons and don't particularly like Autobots. And they try very hard to hide it behind the so-called "gray morality". The authors tried so hard to suggest that the Decepticons are not so bad, but at the same time, because of the rule of coolness, they left their actions far beyond the point of no return, when the arch of redemption can no longer work in the work.
I will explain this with the most striking examples.
Megatron. How the authors protected him with all their might. The fact is that the authors adored Megatron so much that they tried to give him everything at once. Megatron must be a cool destroyer who staged genocide on Cybertron and on other planets. But at the same time, he should personify a "misunderstood hero who fought for a just cause." Megatron throws from extreme to extreme. Then he orders to kill all living beings in the universe, and then he changes on the move and decides not to kill anyone at all, doing absolutely nothing to save his comrades. (Time of MTMTE and Lost Light events). He defected to the Autobots only out of self-hatred, and not because of regrets about his actions. He never says that he feels sorry for the murdered Cybertronians or the inhabitants of other planets.
And the authors are trying to emphasize this, then through Rodimus, who almost licked him and promoted the point of view that Megatron (the leader of the Decepticons) is not responsible for everything that has happened in the last 4 million years. Or through Whirl, who began to blame himself that it was because of him that Megatron started all this, as if Megatron could not think on his own.
But apparently the authors didn't have enough of that, so they introduced a Functionist Universe to show how bad it would be for Cybertronians without a revolution. After all, screens instead of heads are much worse than the genocide of their own kind and the deaths of countless living beings on other planets.
I am sure that even the authors introduced Holomatter technology to draw a hot humanization of Megatron. You just compare his drawing and the drawing of others.
The authors had 2 options — not to make Megatron a monster so that it all worked, or not to follow the path of his justification. For such an image that turned out, the only redemption is death, any textbook of screenwriting skill will say that. What did we get? An inarticulate, unsatisfying ending where we don't even know if he was executed or not for all his crimes that he didn't really atone for. In general, it is very interesting to send a galactic criminal essentially on a cruise initially instead of a normal punishment. The inhabitants of the affected worlds especially liked it, I'm sure.
Starscream. Of course, they could not ignore the audience's favorite. How not to give your beloved Starscream the crown and the status of ruler. Despite the fact that before that we were shown him as an incompetent leader who brought the Decepticons to an incomprehensible extent in the absence of Megatron, but no one on the planet remembered this when he became ruler. No one in the galaxy was unhappy that the second in command and accomplice of the intergalactic genocide became the ruler. Because the authors wanted a Starscream in the crown, which in the end did nothing but argue with Windblade, and then in the end unexpectedly committed a heroic act during the fight with Unicron. What led to this? Nothing really, it's just that the authors love Starscream, why explain.
It's about the same with Soundwave.
Thundercracker. The kindest Decepticon. Who was not happy with Megatron's actions, but still obeyed them, whined to himself, and only at some point the authors remembered that they needed to make him good. And one act was enough to declare him so. And even humans accepted his residence on Earth, which should not be, since his one act is not enough for everyone to take and forget who he served and what he did before. But add a dog, and everyone will stop paying attention to it, because it's all so cute.
Well, just look at all the "positive decepticons" who still hate organics, who do not particularly repent for their actions, but the authors present them to us as "good guys".
And what about the Autobots? And now they are partly defenders of an unfair regime.
About what was done with Prowl and Star Saber (here is my post about it) I can only keep silent. As far as I know, the comic book author at least hated Star Saber, so he made him like this.
It would seem that here it is grayness, there are no good and bad. But, as we have seen, the "good" Decepticons are not as gray and good as they are presented. But they showed us good Autobots, right? We'll see.
Tailgate is at first a good autobot, who, because of his strength, has become some kind of hysterical, driven by momentary inadequate emotions.
Rewind is a good one, we won't pay attention to the fact that he used Chromedome as a tool, in fact he didn't love him, chasing after his previous partner, but we will perceive these two as a good couple. Yes, by the way, the beloved fan couple and the representation proudly called by the authors do not really demonstrate a bit of a good relationship, only use and disrespect for the feelings of the partner.
Rodimus is a good one, although he is an infantile egoist who, after a moment of enlightenment, returned to his previous behavior, and treated everyone badly except our beloved Megatron.
And really good characters like Skids can be killed and forget about their existence.
But we have a bad Getaway, which could be an excellent example of gray morality, since he was initially right, but the authors could not allow this, so they turned him into a caricature villain and killed him.
I really can't think of a single character that was enjoyable. Not necessarily morally clean, but at least not disgusted. Maybe this is just my opinion, but I hate almost everyone in this line of comics.
3. Authors hate human characters. It's simple, the whole storyline is on the Earth. Humans are stupid and evil bastards who thoughtlessly fell for the Decepticons' trick, fought against the Autobots and tortured them. Yes, humans can do terrible things and most likely would have done something about it, but it feels like there was no place for humans in the vaunted "gray morality". Even if the authors have a teenager's brain with all this "humans suck!", they could try to make a good story. What did Spike do to deserve such a character portrayal? By being annoying in a cartoon? That's not an excuse.
4. Terribly boring MTMTE and Lost Light, a soap opera at its worst. Most of this sprawling plot could be spent on really interesting things.
5. The ending. No comments. The only plus is that it's finally over.
6. Reboot is just boring.
7. Shattered Glass — thanks them for remembering, but it doesn't even match the original, either in the image of the characters or in the plot. The plot is so-so.
8. Last Bot Standing is just some nonsense with an incomprehensible morality, an incomprehensible premise and some crazy image of random characters.
And all this is only a small part of my claims, which I was able to quickly recall.
You can say, and many will say, that this is unfair, because other works on transformers are no better and suffer from the same problems. And I will agree. But there is one detail.
Most fans do not put other works on the pedestal of the best media on transformers. Therefore, I have no complaints about other comics from Marvel or Dreamwave, because they are treated adequately. But there is such a rush around IDW that I'm tired of seeing endless proposing to put every character and every solution from these comics into new comics/cartoons/movies/games. I understand that compared to other works, these comics seem cool, but they have a lot of problems that should not be repeated. You need to come to something new, and not take the most popular and think that this is the key to success. Earthspark is going down this path, and it doesn't look good anymore. But if everything is covered with a sad Megatron and blue flowers, then everything is fine. And this is not so.
Perhaps not everything was bad, the beginning was promising and even interesting, but all this quickly turned into some kind of nonsense, fanservice and fulfillment of the wishes of the authors. In the end, I'm glad that their license was taken away from them, and I hope that the following authors will not rely on these comics in the future.
I don't like IDW for the reasons outlined above, but I hate these comics for the way the fandom treats them.
Thank you for wanting to hear me and perhaps listening to what I would like to convey.
#transformers#maccadam#idw tf#transformers idw#IDW#Megatron#idw megatron#Earthspark#answered ask#IDW sucks and I won't back down from my opinion#Please stop proposing to repeat everything after IDW#I do not know try to read other comics#Other comics had better ideas just demanded better execution
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I am considering dropping Miracle Box as a project.
I am very sorry to say that, especially since recently it’s been gaining more attention now that the first book is complete. And especially since I just posted the first chapter of the New York special, but I feel like maybe it is not the best idea to peruse such a project that gives nothing in reward.
I wish I had just wrapped up the story in the first fic but I hadn’t planned on it and purposely left loose ends to branch into the future fics following it. But I didn’t.
Now for those of you who care I figure I ought to explain why this is a thought going through my head:
Miracle Box was something I was passionate about but it was always fueled by anger for the show and as it went on it started feeling less like an mlb rewrite and more like a angry pit of violence and conflict and angst because I was just putting EVERYTHING into it. It is a hefty project that would have four books if you count the New York special, and even an additional fifth one if I did the Shang Hai one too. But I am not getting paid to write this. Book one on its own was 40k words longer than the book I wrote that I’m supposed to actually make money for.
Fanfiction for me has always been about practicing my writing skills before I put them into something real. But the style of writing I had to use for miracle box followed a storyline as if being told by a TV series, as that would fit it. I am fully capable of doing that, in fact, that’s what I’m majoring in. But as a book? It just looks sloppy. And what I mean by this is having scenes told by characters who aren’t the main characters, perspectives switching in the middle or abruptly after a scene, pacing focusing strictly on one or two characters who aren’t the main protagonists (in this case my Alya arc), having flashbacks told by no one simply to just show them for the reader, etc. That works for building comics and TV series and movies. Not for a book written the way I write. It feels like I’m ripping myself apart when I do that and that was for a majority of Miracle Box.
MLB as a show is just a mess. I can’t even get through season five it is painful to watch. I’m cringing at everything and the scenes people fantasize over are giving me second hand embarrassment for some reason. I don’t connect to the fandom that well and it’s so much easier for me to talk about literally anything else. My blog is centered on miraculous but in reality, mlb is like… one of my least favorite pieces of media, I can’t stand it, I don’t understand it. I would rather be able to have my blog focus on marvel or Atla or anime or literally anything BUT miraculous.
And lastly, this is more private but I feel like I need to share it to justify wanting to skimp out on this project, I’m dealing with a considerable amount of physical pain right now. I don’t want to explain what’s going on but just know that doing things like sitting up for over 30 minutes causes me way too much physical distress. I power through it all the time anyways but if I’m going to be writing I don’t want to waist my efforts on a fanfiction but rather finish editing my second book so I can get it published.
Basically I’m depressed :’)
I don’t know what to do with Miracke Box it kinda feels like I’m abandoning a child on the street. So to serve it Justice I might make a series of videos talking about how the story was going to go and the lore of all the things I created because there is still SO MUCH to unpack with it.
Anyways. This post was only for my followers but I doubt many people will find it who isn’t a follower anyways but if you are that stranger, what’s up, you should buy my book, Land of Armonia, on Amazon.
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The Fazbear Frights graphic novels are bad and you shouldn't buy them. Click the read more to learn why.
Recently I learned that my local library has some more of the graphic novel adaptations of the Five Nights at Freddy's: Fazbear Frights books. (I read the first of these adaptations earlier this year, also thanks to the local library. Shoutout to libraries for letting me read FNaF books without worrying about giving Scott Cawthon my money) I read the original stories when they were first published a couple years ago, which already made me curious as to how they were continuing to be adapted into comic form.
My other reason for checking out the second and third graphic novel adaptations was because of the fact I'd read the first. It was BAD.
For context, I've also read the graphic novel adaptation of the novel trilogy (also thanks to my local library). That adaptation also has its artistic quirks and faults, but even the adaptation of the first book The Silver Eyes (which I consider the worst) is still decent. The art style improves from the second to the third books, which gave me the expectation that this would continue with the Fazbear Frights adaptations.
Nope. Nope it doesn't. I don't have any pictures of the first FF adaptation, but trust me: it's shoddy. It's not horrendous, and they use different art styles in each of the three stories, but they're neither good comics nor good adaptations. My best theory is that these books have to be rushed out with little communication between the different stages of development.
My proof? Evidence from the second book.
All of the stories in the second book have some form of wonky art through them, just like the first. I won't dwell too much on this aspect, but will show one example for context.
Look at those ARMS. THE HANDS.
There are so many more examples than just this that we don't have time for. (Also, I returned the book) Panels have weird and unusual framing, there are word bubble inconsistencies, weird looking background characters, inappropriate expressions for the character's emotions...
Like. Stylistic freedom aside, seeing multiple aspects of this in a book that I was supposed to have paid $15 for (again, thank you local library) doesn't feel right. I would totally accept this from an amateur webcomic, one that was either free or "low-cost" (I'd still appreciate the time and effort put into it), but from a professionally published book for a popular franchise? I feel justified in asking for better quality.
*
But now we move onto something else... directly going against clearly stated story details.
This is an example from the second story in volume 2, "Room for One More." As you can see here, the character asks for a specific breakfast order. And this detail is important to the character and story. But what we see next is...
A totally different breakfast being made. Ok, maybe this is just a weird time passing panel, I thought. Until...
If you look at his plate, it's the breakfast from the stove! And yet the dialogue shows he's supposed to be eating his original order.
Here's an example from the third story, "The New Kid."
Big red pickup truck, he says. You won't be able to miss it, he says.
I THINK YOU COULD MISS IT.
This lack of attention to detail isn't even confined to the art. Here's a picture of the back cover blurb:
That first sentence about Oscar? That's not from the first story in this volume, "Fetch." That sentence is for "Out of Stock," the third story in the first volume of the FF graphic novels.
As I've mentioned before, my reluctance to give Scott Cawthon my money has kept me from truly engaging with the FNaF franchise like I used to. But I'm still surprised that there are this many mistakes in an aspect of the franchise like this. This is a franchise built on detail. In the games, novel series, and short story books, details are CRUCIAL, especially for fans. Fans depend on detail to tell what the hell is going on in the lore. Details are FNaF's bread and butter.
I almost wish there was a way to see these errors as intentional. That there's meaning being the apparent lack of consistency and effort. Sadly, I think this is merely due to quickly churning out more books for profit, at the expense of the time and communication between the different artists involved.
Anyway, rant over. Enjoy your lives and don't buy these graphic novels!
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I've been seeing a lott of discourse recently around adopt your pet vs shop from responsable breeders and I won't rest my head until I give my two cents on it-
First, this obviously excludes people who need their animal for their job or in their life, in which said animal has to perform a set of very specific tasks (herding dogs, police dogs, service animals, etc). I'm only talking about pets.
I see a lot of people defending buying from reputable breeders as a better option to adoption because they don't want to put up with the unpredicted beheavour that might come with an adopted pet, or that they dont find in shelters the kind of animal that would suit their household and while I undersstand wanting to find an animal that suits your household these arguments irk me in a very specific way.
Like these people think of getting an animal as a right, as if they needed to get an animal to justify being picky. Sometimes its just aesthetics sometimes it's beheavours, I don't care, I think is about time people stop feeling entittled to have pets. Maybe if you cant find a good suit for your household in a shelter then you should also consider that it might not be the right time for you to have an animal.
And this goes for any situation, even people that defend "I'm alergic to dogs so I NEED a portuguese water dog because theyre hypoallergenic" I get that!!!! but as heartbreaking as it is you don't NEED it you WANT IT!!! there's a difference!! you'll be fine not owning a dog if you aren't in a situation to own a dog!!!!!! It gets to a point in which it is lowkey ridiculous the lenghts people will go to justify their selfish desire to own a certain kind of dog.
I won't go after anybody who decide to buy (from responsible breeders) if they so desire to do that, you do you, if you're ok with it then so be it but I think it is about time we start calling things for what they are, nobody needs a pet bad enough to justify not even wanting to give a chance to shelters first.
I can't bring myself to justify buying, even less buying without even giving a chance to shelters, however I understand this is my personal choice and as long as people is responsible I have nothing to saay about it. But I'd like more people to consider owning animals is NOT and will NEVER be something you need bad enough to justify being so nitpicky about their characteristics unless youre in a field of work that requires working animals or need a service animal with you for medical reasons.
So now that it is clear that it isnt a need,it is a want, a desire, I hope thats enough to make people understand that theres no excuse, no possible excuse, not the money, the time, the effort, the energy, nothing justifies doing less than everything you can to ensure youre obtaining that animal from the most ethical place possible. And that might not always be a shelter, because I am aware not every animal is "adoptable", theres a lot of animals, fish, reptiles, birds, that aren't adoptable but it still isnt an excuse to not do everything you can to ensure youre getting that animal from an ethical place. Because you'll be fine wothout it. You dont need to run. It isn't your "only option". Do your research. Check yourself. Consider option 2, 3, 4, 5. Nothing justifies cutting corners.
Hopefully this will make sense, idk!
Thats all I wanted to say really
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The Positives of Parenthood That I Won't Miss, Part 1: Vicariously Feeding My Inner Child
There is a lot of content out there about the negatives of parenthood and things that put people off of parenthood. I think this gives people outside the community the wrong idea that all of our aversion is circumstantial. In reality for people who are inherently childfree by choice, it's not just about not wanting the negatives but also having no interest in the positives.
This is a series of positive aspects of parenthood that are of no interest to me as an inherently childfree person.
One aspect of parenthood that parents seem to find enjoyable as the ability to live vicariously through their children and doing things that they miss from their own childhood such as buying/playing with toys, watching cartoons and putting effort into celebrating national holidays such as Halloween or Christmas.
Whilst I don't doubt that watching someone go through life stages that you have left behind can bring back nostalgia, I don't personally believe that becoming an adult means having to give up all the colour from life.
As a society we expect that adults will give up everything that has previously made them happy in favour of work and new age-appropriate hobbies. Spending hundreds on a Lego set is seen as a waste whereas at one point in time spending your wages every night at the pub after work instead was seen as a regular adult activity. I believe this mindset comes from the circumstances in which many of our predecessors came into adulthood: war, economic depression, political unrest and poverty, and for many people these issues are still a reality in our modern day. In circumstances like this it's hard to justify "frivolity" or "happiness for happiness' sake". Why would you spend your money collecting merchandise from your favourite film series when your family doesn't have enough to eat? How could you waste hours rewatching old cartoons when you have to work eight or more hours a day to keep your dependents alive? There is also the question as well of evolving taste, the possibility that many adults simply and truly don't enjoy their childhood hobbies anymore, and when someone has been through trauma this too can dramatically shift someone's personality and perception of the world. In a way, many people may find that having children allows them to shamelessly revisit their inner child who was lost and potentially even heal them.
However, as a childfree by choice person who lives in relatively comfortable circumstances, I don't feel I will miss out on this because I am not actively denying myself or my inner child the chance to enjoy things and heal. I watch shows that I enjoy regardless of age rating, I have more disposable income to spend on things that make me happy, regardless of if they have a functional purpose in my life and doing the work to heal my inner child before having children has allowed me to see that having children just to be able to give them everything I never had, is not a healthy reason to be a parent. Nor is doing those things so you can inadvertently give yourself those things too.
Instead of using a child as a means for your own healing and happiness, I think we should all first try and undo this societal conditioning that tells us that being an adult is inherently about seriousness and suffering. It is possible to find a balance between the responsibilities that come with age and fulfilling the mental and emotional needs we have as human beings.
Use the link to check out our Instagram page!!
https://www.instagram.com/theletmeliveproject/
#childfree by choice#childfree#childless#children#kids#parenting#parenthood#adulthood#adulting#childhood#childhood memories#childhood nostalgia#nostalgic#childfree not by choice#parents#families#family
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had a falling out with a friend yesterday over her continuous shitting on cis people (among other things). supposedly they are the enemy and are oppressing us simply by existing. yes, even those who are just living their lives and minding their own business - cuz if you're not directly helping an oppressed group, you're participating in their oppression indirectly somehow (???). it's cishets and cishets only who came up with all things queerphobic in the first place; if one of our own perpetuates that crap, it's still the cishets' fault, the poor dear is just traumatized and lashing out. as for cis allies who do put their lives on the line for us - their efforts don't mean shit, because they're an outlier, and cis people "as a class" are still the oppressor anyway, so her hatred is justified.
and when i point out to her that appointing a broad, diverse group of people as the enemy helps no one, least of all herself, that's just me being purposefully obtuse and/or a traitor to my own people. and if i keep disagreeing with her, it's only to piss her off and to attack her.
and she's a radfem, so i knew what i was getting into from the start, but this is still just so frustrating. she's such a bright, passionate young woman. how can she be such an ass.
we had both legally transitioned at nearly the same time, pretty much in parallel but in different directions, and we supported each other as we navigated that whole ordeal. it hurts because i understand why she's so angry and why she's so scared, but she just. won't. listen. living with this hatred is hurting her, but she clings to it like a it's a damn lifeline. because being a hateful little gremlin and an anxious mess is the only appropriate/possible response to the current situation, i suppose. silly old me, what do i know.
i got it into my head that i have to help her because she's younger than me, and she's trying to do good for the community, and she's broke and hurt and has suicidal tendencies, but fff. i just can't do this anymore. i feel like crap almost every time we talk. the hatred and the fear just keep spilling out of her to land onto my head. it's like i'm a dumping ground or a fuckin outhouse or something. "oh, men are at the root of all evil, they just suck fundamentally because they're men - not trans men tho, and def not you, you're cool :)", "am i passing??? fuck, i have so much internalized transphobia. how's my woman voice??? i feel like i'm never gonna be a "real" woman, i need this and this surgery", "all sex work is rape, are you in support of rape???", "it's been five whole minutes, why aren't you answering me, i feel like we barely talk anymore :(", "i'm anxious, i'm terrified, i can't get out of the house. i'm taking a break from arguing with terrible people on the internet, it's been taking a toll on me - oh wait, nevermind, i'm back to arguing with terrible people on the internet, because SOMEONE HAS TO", she keeps telling me, day after day and week after week, nothing seems to change, "i want to kill myself right now - what do i want you to do with this information? i don't know, i guess i just want some support", "i remember you told me you feel like you're being used for your money and it makes you feel like crap, i feel so bad about this, but could you lend me some money???", and after i had just told her that i was kinda struggling financially at the moment - "oh, you're so boujee, you should give me money, hehehe :P", "i know this comes off as manipulative and i feel so bad about this, but i'm gonna do/say it anyway, please forgive me", and she begins to cry. "i got it into my head that you will save me - can you please save me?" - springing that shit on me in a public place, during a smoke break at a support group we both regularly attend, girl, wtf. how am i even supposed to respond to that. "let's drop the g and the l, this is a gay exclusionary support group - hehehe, jk, i just mean the cis gays of course :P i'm just mirroring the shit that gays say about us, it's fine", and now she's a moderator of said support group. just great.
AND forwarding me a bunch of articles and videos of trans people getting bashed (including one such video of herself), with no warning, because she's been gathering evidence to make her case for immigration, and she thought she should get it all in one place, that one place being my dms - i got so upset i was close to tears, i walked around in a daze for a week. AND THEN a week or so later forwarding me a bunch of transphobic death threats she's been getting, with, again, zero warning??? not the kind of light recreational reading i've been looking for, fuck you very much.
and again, this is frustrating because she's not a bad person, but damn. she's toxic. it feels like i'm a shitty friend, abandoning her for being inconvenient, but. fuck. i can't anymore. fuck it.
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NWN2 cut content: The Rattlebag Inverted #11
In my last post, we met various characters who might have joined us at Crossroad Keep had not the jealous game development gods decreed otherwise. Zohan and Kralwok the Uthgardt, Iriana the Ruathym barbarian, Melia the unwilling assassin, and an astounding number of gnomes; someone at Obsidian must have been running a gnome-based D&D game. (“Go on, Feargus, just one more, I’ve got this mad cool gnome PC that loves experimenting with vampirism and beetroot-based cocktails!” "No, no more gnomes! Stop putting gnomes everywhere - aaargh!! )
And we’re still not finished. Well, we are finished with the gnomes you will be happy (?) to hear. But we still have more people to pack into Crossroad Keep.
ULFANG
Ulfang would have been a gruff but competent and reliable dwarf recruited from Clan Ironfist.
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Torio: The Ironfist Clan has recently moved back into their old clanhold in Old Owl Well, and one of them, Ulfang, I believe, has a talent for finding minerals and making use of them.
Khelgar: {Reluctantly agreeing} Ulfang does have a nose for precious metals. {Beat, suspicious} What, you think you're going to drag him here?
Torio: If you are in need of armor or weapon upgrades, or if you need someone to supply minerals and ore to your blacksmiths, I think Ulfang may be of use... although you may need your dwarven companion to persuade him.
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Sadly, neither the recruitment conversation nor Ulfang’s appearance are retrievable. The image at the top of this post shows Revorax, the smith at the reconquered Ironfist base.
Kana finds she can’t use Ulfang like a normal sergeant, but his talents emerge when he’s allowed to do his own thing:
Kana: {exasperated, but lighthearted} I've never dealt with a more stubborn dwarf. Ulfang told me in no uncertain terms that he refuses to recruit, train men, run patrols, or go on special assignments. Since he arrived, he's taken it upon himself to critically examine our defenses and survey our mining efforts.
Ulfang’s arrival:
Ulfang: And this is your Keep, eh? Looks like it had hard times not too long ago. {Gruff} Fair to middling work for humans. Still your Master Veedle seems a shrewd one.
And some more of Kana being stunned:
Kana: {uncertain} Ulfang has given me... a list of his recommendations for how to best utilize him. He is interested in hunting for minerals, smithing weapons and armor, and helping to fortify our walls.
His confidence in his own abilities is justified. Edario’s really impressed by him:
Edario: {He's a bit awed by Ulfang} Ulfang came by and he said working together we could make some fine armor - better than anything I could ever make, that's for sure.
Assigned to smithing, he’s able to help Edario and Jacoby produce enchanted metal weapons and armour. (Naevan the druid would have made enchanted leather armour had he not been cut). This gives rise to a small quest –marked B priority – where you retrieve cinder coal for Ulfang from Mount Galardrym. As side quests go, it doesn’t feel like much of a loss. ‘Long live the Knight Captain of Crossroad Keep, shard-bearer, dragon-slayer, fetcher of slightly unusual fossil fuels!’ Uh, no.
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TEELAH AND JAZREN
We’ve known Teelah for ages – well, since we gained access to the Merchant Quarter in Act 1. She’s the chatty dancer in The Moonstone Mask who wants to save money so that she can train in Waterdeep. After Ammon’s attack, when she’s feeling traumatised and less than keen on staying on, you can recruit her:
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Teelah: I just... wanted to thank you. Nobody else tried anything to stop that madman, or to save the girls upstairs.
PC: I could use a dancer at my keep
Teelah: Milord/Milady, I'd be honored. Ophala won't mind, there's plenty of girls willing to dance at the Mask. Even in the common room.
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Then at the Phoenix Tail – and this dialogue is in the toolset:
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Teelah: | One-time only, if player previously met her | Oh... it's you! I hope you don't mind that I'm here. It's just that they were evacuating the city... and I didn't want to be a burden on Ophala or the other girls...
PC: | Good Response | It's all right. You're welcome to stay.
Teelah: Thank you, Captain! A year at the Mask, and I've learned to entertain almost any crowd, no matter their mood. Rustic jigs, elven interpretive dance, gnomish waltz...
Teelah: I even know a dwarven dance. It takes a false beard, though, and hardly any clothes. Well, you're supposed wear the beard in place of clothes, and twirl it about provocatively...
Teelah: Maybe... you shouldn't tell anyone that I know that dance, actually.
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Apart from dwarven dances, she’s a cheerleader for your PC:
Teelah: |Post-Siege|Your name is on every singer's lips, Captain... the Hero of Crossroad Keep!
Ahem. Just of Crossroad Keep? We are saving the world here, you know!
So Teelah comes to dance in the Phoenix Tail Inn, and an unknown character, Jazren, apparently comes with her.
The above image isn’t a mock-up. I opened up the Phoenix Tail Inn in the toolset, and there they were. Teelah (blonde) is on the right; Jazren (dark-haired) is on the left.
Teelah’s in-game description:
This fine-featured Tethyrian woman throws her body into the dance with gusto. Whenever your eyes meet, she smiles at you briefly.
And a cut description from dialog.tlk:
Teelah is a pretty young woman who can always be found near her best friend Jazren.
Jazren’s dialog.tlk character description:
Jazren is a common presence in the Phoenix Tail Inn. She is very flirtatious and sometimes dances to amuse the soldiers. Because she spends so much time at the Inn, Sal jokes that he should start paying her.
Jazren has an earthier attitude than Teelah. Whoever she’s meant to be, she didn’t learn her stuff by sucking up to nobles and rich people at The Moonstone Mask. She’s got no substantial dialogue left, but her reactions to events do survive:
Last place I danced had a dirt floor, an' half the patrons were wanted men. I've learned so much from watching Teelah...
Me an' Teelah draw quite a crowd. The music helps, too.
The Keep is bustling, Captain. War or no war, Teelah and me are stayin' here.
King of Shadows, my arse. Doesn't even fight his own battles, does he?
It would be good to know more about her, but unfortunately I can’t find a trace of the dialogue where she introduces herself and explains why she’s hanging round in a castle with an ex-high-society dancer.
I don’t really get why Jazren and Teelah were cut. Joy, the aasamir sister of Light-of-the-Heavens, does come and dance in the Phoenix Tail, but she seems like a less interesting/relevant character to include. Teelah has a story: aspiring artist goes through horrible traumatic experience but bounces back with your PC’s help. Joy is so flat in comparison. (Seriously, one of her script prompts is “tinkling laugh”. Don’t you just want to throw a crocodile at her?)
It’s possible that one of the writers decided there was no way that Teelah would hang around in Crossroad Keep once Ammon arrives, but that seems unlikely given that no one else is allowed to bugger off to Waterdeep at the start of Act III. Besides, why miss the opportunity to add in some angry dialogue? That wouldn't be very Obsidian. My guess is that there was a small bug with Teelah and Jazren, and given the time pressures the devs decided that cutting the pair of them would be the quickest way to solve the problem.
That said, Joy is in the finished game. Was she written to replace Teelah and Jazren? But that would suggest that time pressures weren’t the reason for the cut. Hmm.
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IVARR AND LORD GRANFEN
Build the church dedicated to Tyr instead of the Temple of the Sun Soul, and it comes with the dwarf priest Ivarr the Blessed. “Ivarr's eyes shine with wisdom and compassion. His strong devotion to Tyr has made him somewhat resemble the god.” In the playable game, he can give you a small quest. Well, not that small – it’s to kill the red dragon Tholapsyx, though since most PCs end up doing that anyway, it feels like a bit of a cheat.
However, another quest was meant to exist which you could only get from Ivarr. It would have been called ‘Justice’s Arm’.
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Ivarr: There is one important matter you could attend to. {Warning that the explanation may take awhile} The goal is simple - the reasons may take some explanation.
PC: Tell me the full story.
Ivarr: During the Luskan War the enemy had... many advantages - golems, the Arcane Brotherhood, and siege equipment. But to make matters much worse - there was a highly placed {said with venom} traitor. His name was Lord Granfen - and he served with the Nine on the military council.
He was a general of no small skill. Why he turned traitor is not known, probably gold or greed. But he opened the northern gate and let the Luskans enter. Amidst this chaos - the Hero of Neverwinter managed to rally our forces. Granfen's betrayal was not discovered until after the war had ended.
Before he could be brought to justice he fled with men that were loyal to him. The church of Tyr has hunted this notorious criminal for years. Recently, we heard rumors that the King of Shadows wants to make a deal with him. This cannot happen. His head holds too many deadly secrets about Neverwinter's defenses. I've been tracking him for years - but I must stay here.
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Ivarr appears to really despise Granfen. He works himself up into a fury over him, which is odd for a priest who’s on the more laid-back side of the spectrum.
Ivarr: He's in the Wood. Search for his men. Bring him here - dead or alive would serve in equal measure. The church of Tyr has placed a generous bounty on his head. And I will personally contribute more. {Each word pronounced with emphasis} He must be stopped!
Neverwinter does seem to have had a real profusion of aristocratic turncoats in the recent war. Lord Dalren, Lord Brennick and apparently this Granfen chap too.
At least we have a good idea why the quest was cut: he’s in Neverwinter Wood. As you may recall, a whole section of the game based around Neverwinter Wood was dropped. Granfen is probably a late-game casualty of the missing areas.
No dialogue survives from the PC’s confrontation with Granfen. However, based on Ivarr’s surviving dialogue, it’s clear that when you find him, Granfen claims he’s innocent. Then you can either let him go or kill him.
If you kill him, Ivarr’s happy about it and gives you an item from his reliquary in personal thanks. The item would have been something customised to the PC’s class.
If you let Granfen go, Ivarr is not a happy bunny.
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Ivarr: {Excitement and hope} Do you bring word of Lord Granfen? Has he been dispatched?
PC: After talking with him, I'm not convinced he was guilty. I let him go.
Ivarr: {Outrage - then mad at himself shortly after} You what? But... But... Curse me for a fool, this is not the first time he's talked his way out of justice.
Ivarr: {Some derision} What man bound for the gallows confesses his guilt? The {like "jails"} gaols are filled with innocent men.
PC: And there's no possibility of his innocence?
Ivarr: {Knee-jerk reaction} None... {Beat, considers - he's honest enough to consider his own reaction} Well, perhaps a small one.{Admits - bitingly} Only the gods know for certain the guilt of any man - as their servants we just do our best. But there was a trial - many witnesses talked of his actions. Lord Nasher himself pronounced the sentence. {Pondering} Tell me - why did you spare him?
PC: | Major Law| He shouldn't be executed without a fair trial.
Ivarr: {Sighs} A worthy sentiment. {Slight doubt - convincing himself, "As fair as any trial could be at that time subtext"} His trial was fair, though.{A little weary - doubtful at the end} We are done with this matter then - hopefully the King of Shadows won't enlist him.
PC: Was this hunt personal?
Ivarr: {Truthful} Granfen's betrayal is personal to every man, woman, and child of Neverwinter. I spent years looking for him - trekking through the wilds for clues. I am a disciple of Tyr - and it pains us all that such a notorious criminal walked free.
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It could have been a nice, knotty little quest. It offered plenty of scope for PC roleplay – apart from your unknown dialogue with Granfen, the surviving content shows that you can let him go and lie about it to Ivarr, let Granfen go out of compassion, let Granfen go because of a bribe, think Granfen’s innocent and kill him anyway etc. Plus, the companions could have got entertainingly worked up about it. (My guess is the Casavir, Grobnar, Monk! Khelgar and Elanee would have tended towards letting him go; Bishop, Ammon, Fighter!Khelgar, and Qara would be in favour of killing him; Sand and Zhjaeve would have demurred; the Construct’s opinion is sadly unknowable, and I’m not sure about Neeshka).
And to close this post and perhaps also the series, depending on whether I can dig up something about MotB, here are my top writers' notes to the voice actors. Yes, I'm sad and yes, I'm sure I would enjoy creating a longer list:
Neeshka, when the PC asks her about her background:
{She's actually pleased to be telling her miserable story, but the punchline is that she's going to list a bunch of terrible things and be excited by it} This is so exciting... wow, where to begin.
2. Ammon being himself: {Slight irritation, like a strict teacher - "don't point a gun at your sister, ever!"} One should never summon anything without purpose, especially from the Lower Planes.
3. Shandra meeting Kistrel:
{Horrified, but morbidly curious as stares at spider they just fed} It looks... happy. Gods, those fangs are huge. And it's... still got insect bits on them.
4. And bonus prompt from Qara’s plot:
Grobnar: {A spectral assassin has just appeared} Why, it looks like we have a visitor! Hello there!
5. And when it returns:
Grobnar: {A spectral assassin has just appeared, oblivious to danger} It's the same elemental as before! Why, it must be tracking our party so it can kill us - how fascinating!
Goodnight :)
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Please tell me ur hair routine !!
(i babble on way too much about hair in this, my deepest condolences i don't expect anyone to read all that smh)
i'm not good with like Disciplined routines in any sense like whether it's hair care or skin care or working or anything i need a lot of flexibility and it needs to be intuitive, ie my actions are dependent on how i'm feeling and what it feels like my hair needs at that time rather than any kind of strict regimen.
i also dislike the idea of using a million different products, i've tried those complicated curly hair routines and i find that for my hair specifically the difference between my hair when ive followed a routine really closely vs when i don't isn't significant enough to justify the money and effort. my hair is also very fine, i have a lot of hair but it's fine so it's easily weighed down by products so the less i put in my hair the better and the less often i have to wash it with shampoo lol
- i use a sulfate free, gentle shampoo meant for curly hair (nothing expensive) and use only enough to clean my scalp and let the shampoo clean my ends as i rinse it out
- i then use a Lot of conditioner (a super moisturizing one that's also silicone free and meant for curly hair), like enough that my hair feels completely soaked through with conditioner and greasy, and let that soak for a few minutes. when I wash it out i don't rinse it really intensely, just a light rinse so some of it stays in my hair for moisture
- sometimes i'll put a dollop of strong curly hair gel on my hair while it's still completely wet in the shower and massage it into my hair, sometimes i dont. depends if i care that much or i feel like my hair needs it (really depends on the humidity in the air, in dry winter months i'll use gel to give it a boost but in the humid summer i don't bother) putting it in my hair when it's completely wet helps with getting an even coverage, avoiding crunchy hair, and the water dilutes it
- i don't use towels on my hair, just cotton t-shirts and i'm careful to scrunch my curls with the towel rather than rub my hair really aggressively. sometimes i'll leave it wrapped in the t-shirt for a bit it doesn't matter
- i don't really brush my hair, just finger comb it especially when wet. i'll use a comb or brush to lightly brush my ends or the under part of my hair or fix my part, but i avoid brushing as much as i can. my hair looks and feels better without it. i just let my hair air dry, i don't use a diffuser i can't be fucked tbh and my hair is healthier that way. i have a mousse for curly hair, i use it occasionally but like the gel it's more of a winter thing
- i only wash my hair every 3-4 days, depending on the pollution in the air and sweat and how my hair looks and feels (i shower daily lol sometimes more bc of brain reasons, but i dont wash my hair nearly as often. this is what I mean by intuitive, i wash my hair as often as it feels necessary based on how my hair feels and looks, not on a schedule)
- sometimes i'll give my hair a boost between washes by co-washing a few days after i washed it, and then i only have to use shampoo like once a week. i find a few days after i wash my hair it gets frizzy and not oily, it needs more moisture, so co-washing helps and that way i use less shampoo. i used to have dry scalp all the time and my scalp feels a lot better now and i don't have flakes at all anymore and my hair feels so much better. i go through a lot more bottles of conditioner than shampoo though
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i'm not good at putting my thoughts into words, so this post may be incomprehensible, or come off the wrong way. if it seems like what i'm saying is horrendously evil, please understand that i'm probably just really sucky at words. some of these thoughts are incomplete, some of these thoughts are fluid and my opinion changes with the wind. i could also just be flat-out wrong, i guess. just try to go into it with an open mind i suppose
i feel like, even without "religion", everyone has a set of strong personal convictions that don't actually have logic behind them, certain feelings about the way the world is supposed to be. like, oh, you can't change your gender because uh, you just can't, it's not the way it works! or you can't just hand out free money to poor people because they have to work for it! or you can't wipe away the student debt, it's unfair to the people who have suffered from it prior! i feel like more than any religion or ideology, this is what drives people in power to do the things they do. i've wondered this for a long time. people in power want more power - sure, but why? what for? they make it so that everyone has to do what they want them to do... and what do they do with that? what's the end goal? and i feel like i've found my answer.
to make things the way they feel it should be. use religion to justify what doesn't have logic behind it. the way they usually think it "should be" is how it was when they grew up - as they grew up they became aware of the wider world out there and the problems it has, but came to the conclusion that it must be because of the things that weren't there before, back when there weren't any problems. all these socioeconomic problems only happened when gay people started existed, they didn't exist when i was a kid! stuff like that. i hope that made sense. my mother would have explained it better.
This came to me at school last year while trying to figure out what the heck this one kid's problem was. He was so angry all the time at so many little things, and I came to the conclusion that he has more strong feelings about the way the world works than other. like, people who don't want to participate in the activity for phys ed can't just walk laps, they have to participate because it's phys ed. it's an infallible loop of logic inside your own brain that's incredibly hard to break, especially when other people validate it.
i have some too but i keep quiet because i know i'm in the wrong so i just choose to be a respectful person anyway. it's not easy. i'm constantly trying to expel the harmful mindsets in my head but they've latched on tight. thinking someone is "cringe" just for liking a certain thing or acting a certain way. i'm not going to give other examples because people would miss the point and make a callout post about how i'm bad because i have this opinion despite my efforts to not have that opinion.
i'm glad to be able to try to improve myself. even if in all my years i can never change my thinking, i think the important thing is that i knew what was flawed, and tried to improve it, and didn't let it make me act negatively towards people. i think we can all feel a little bit better about ourselves if we do that and realize that we are doing it.
ok i'm bored of writing now. i hope this made sense and was also correct 👍
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I heard that FF7RR didn't perform as well as Remake and at first I was sad but then I starting thinking about it. The PS4 came out and not enough units were made but eventually they caught up and everyone seemed to have one but this generation, the same thing happened, that's their own fault, they underestimated on purpose and it got a reputation again that it's a scalped console.
While certainly desirable, a lot of people couldn't find these and when they finally became available, they shrugged at the price. PS4 was 400, PS5 is 500, it's a hundred dollar difference and yet we're still here 3, wait, it's been almost 4 now, 4 years since it's launch! It's more than half way through its life cycle if we go by PS4 dates. 6 is pretty standard. Not to mention, after the first three years, Sony is known for coming out with a revision to their console.
The PS4 Pro, the PS2 and PS3 slims, it's expected and with the coming of those, there were price drops, first 50 after the first 2 years then 100 when it actually released and it took the spot of how much that initial console cost. We're already past that point now so I suppose the decision between a digital and physical version is considered the different version right at the get-go. People wait for these things to go on sale. They wait for a game that they really want.
Me? Spider-Man 2 and FF7R2 just dropped within the past 6 months and those are the two games that I'd get. There's a ton of games that I'd try but those are two that I was really looking forward to, does that justify uh, 500+70+70=640 plus tax?
I for one have waited so long that I decided to wait until the PS6. And Sony must know that the PS5 sales didn't go as planned, I mean, it's three years in and they release the brand new Resident Evil 4 remake on both consoles. 50 million consoles sold is huge but when you have over double that with PS4 which was still had higher sales at the landmark the PS5 is at right now.
I support new consoles, new technology but absurdly priced technology just doesn't cut it for me, I don't normally give in and I want FF7RR more than any other game right now because it looks like KH4 is out of reach for the time being and I know a lot of people are the same way, "I want to play it but I don't have a PS5". There's certainly a demand for that game, but one factor is that some people wanted the idea of a remake but got a franchise (which I personally don't mind but still)
I'm not always blaming the industry because the price of everything is up right now and really, that puts a damper on absolutely everything, nobody can go out and have fun. I make it a point to only go out maybe one day of the week and do something because any more than that is spending too much money. It's sad and it's stupid. My siblings are growing up in this, first covid then the economy which when I ask them what they want to do, they have no idea what they 'can' do because they don't know what's out there. Then when I decide for them, they don't know how to act, they don't know how to treat an arcade because we can't afford to go to them all the time, let alone find one. They're indecisive about getting a toy because for one, they see the price, which they shouldn't have to worry about but when they ask for something expensive and all they know is the excuse that it's too much then they start being conscious of it and then they don't know how to treat it because they know that may be the one big thing they get and aren't sure whether to use that ticket. Then me, I go into stores and don't buy anything, I gawk "Oh, that's new" because I spent the money to drive here but everything I see is overpriced and or a lot of effort to get aka I have to stand in line for 20 minutes because they don't have self checkout and they don't pay enough employees to have more than two registers open at a time and by the time I get there, I change my mind and regret my potential purchase.
The middle class has been eliminated and a majority of its people have been pushed into being poor. Sidetracked. It's not the game, it's the console, it's not the console, it's the price. And the games also cost more. Ok, bye.
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SS Finals - Epilogue 6
Location: SS Stage (Eden)
Characters: Hiyori, Jun, Nagisa & Ibara
Jun: But even if Hidaka-sensei was able to predict the future, he’s not a god so it’s not like he can do anything about it.
So he must have taken preemptive measures with his own assassination in mind.
The documents he left Kagehira-san and I had detailed information about “Priest”.
If someone with power publicly announced that information, then his existence would come to light at the very least.
Even if “Priest” appeared as Akehoshi-san’s father, people could point out that he’s a fake. At the very least, the public would grow suspicious.
Nagisa: …Yeah. I’m sure Hidaka-sensei couldn’t have forgiven him for trying to stand in for himself or someone he loves.
…At the same time, Sensei told me several ways to see through “Priest’s” disguise.
…He also gave me a device that would disable the disguise he wore using the latest “SSVRS” technology.
…Sensei has been in this industry for a long time, so he must have known about “Priest” and the tricks that he would use. His advice was useful and very precise.
Jun: Indeed. I asked Sensei to tell you if he could.
I think Sensei also had a hunch that you would fight “Priest” behind the scenes.
Nagisa: …He truly is a terrifying individual. It’s almost as if he can see everything that happens.
…But I’m sure “Priest” would have also known that it would be difficult to assassinate such a man.
…I took into account that we would protect Touri-kun and chose another method in order to prevent that.
…Everyone would have been suspicious of us, but we told the “Red Team” that we had kidnapped Touri-kun and made them hate us.
…That way, the “Red Team” would have a justifiable reason to defeat the “White Team” and they could give us a beating as much as they liked.
…Saying it was all under the name of divine punishment for kidnapping such an endearing child.
…My position would also gradually worsen. Just as I had expected.
…The source of it all lies at the leader of the defeated army. That was the person I became.
…The one who set that in stone was “Crazy:B”, who mentioned there was a possibility that the voting system was rigged.
…Everyone pointed their fingers at me, saying that I was the culprit behind the scandal.
Hiyori: There’s no way you would have actually been the culprit, though. Was the voting system actually rigged?
Nagisa: …I thought it was suspicious. I don’t think it was true.
…Because if it was actually rigged, people would suspect the “SS” Administration Committee as they’re the one who managed the votes.
…They were under ”Priest’s” arch-enemy’s control. There is no way “Gatekeeper” would turn a blind eye if “Priest” was doing things that benefitted himself.
…If it’s true that the system was rigged, then “Priest” would have made it so that the “White Team”, who he had planned on making an appearance as “Lucifer”, would win.
…That would be best for him. Or rather, things would be easier that way.
…In that situation, he’ll just need to randomly kill someone from the “White Team” and appear as the “Support Idol” to fill in those shoes.
…That way, “Priest” would be able to obtain glory as the winner without having to put in the effort.
…He would have also gained the large sum of money and the position of the hero who saved the “White Team” from the predicament of missing a team member.
…But the “White Team” lost for the sake of the “oracles” I issued.
…That wasn’t how the “Priest” wanted things to turn out. In that aspect, I suspect that he couldn’t have done anything to the voting system itself.
…It wasn’t rigged.
…But the truth doesn’t matter. In “Crazy:B’s” eyes, they just wanted to destroy the structure of the performance battles and the voting system.
…That’s the sort of unit they are. They’re a group of terrorists who destroy everything that goes against their ideals.
…Since Rinne Amagi-kun was acting alone, I’m sure it was because he didn’t want to drag the “Crazy:B” comrades he loves so dearly into it.
…He also intended on shouldering everything by himself. Just like how he tried to do so back in the summer.
Jun: Doesn’t look like he feels sorry for any of the things he’s done.
Ibara: He may not regret his actions, but he’s making progress. In a revolting manner. He was able to carry out his goal precisely this time.
Frankly, I don’t know what he’s trying to do, though. I would have thought he would welcome those sorts of performance battles, where you could turn the tables around in a single move, though.
Jun: I wonder if he just wanted to break the system itself.
Ibara: What’s wrong with that troublesome monster…? The winners of this year’s “SS” Finals are supposed to be able to have the reward all to themselves, so maybe he couldn’t let that “inequality” happen.
Every idol has value. Perhaps he couldn’t tolerate the structure that allowed only the strong idols to earn money.
Nagisa: …Yeah. That’s precisely why he was the only one who could accurately understand my intentions, since I also had similar resolutions.
…That’s why he said I was the culprit behind rigging the voting system. Thanks to him, I was able to make my ultimate move.
…And “Priest” finally moved after that. He caught the bait.
…He had planned on eliminating me after blaming everything on me and appearing as “Lucifer”.
…He would then stand at the top of the idol industry – with an expression that says he has done nothing wrong.
…He would stand there like the saviour who defeated the villain and put an end to the entire tragedy.
…I’m sure he would have most likely wanted to confess and expose the sins my father had committed and claim that I, his “son”, was also a bad person.
…He would make up a villain that was easy for the public to understand, act like he’s on the side of justice and gain their trust.
…He’ll become the best idol praised by everyone.
…He would be able to stand on high by looking down on others. That’s the same thing the CosPro higher-ups did during last year’s “SS”.
…I’m glad the same thing didn’t happen this year.
…I’m really glad the bad things could have been stopped in the critical moments.
…Even now, I see the expression Subaru-kun had last year in my dreams.
…At the very least, I didn’t want to make him bear the same expression this year.
Ibara: Hmph. It wasn’t an outcome Akehoshi-san would have jumped up and down in glee for. There was no truth behind the suggestion that his father was alive.
It was all an evil conspiracy.
But you also saw the battle between “Trickstar” and “Knights” earlier, didn’t you?
Akehoshi-san had a horrid, sparkling smile plastered on his face the entire time.
If his face would ever be clouded, the comrades around him and the rivals he respects would continue to emit a dazzling aura.
Those rays will reflect back at him and he’ll shine once more. He’ll shine like the sun – as if blowing away all of the sorrow.
I don’t think we’re in any way inferior to “Trickstar”, but when I see that smile, I can’t help but think we’re no match for them.
No. I end up hoping that we, too, can smile just like that.
Nagisa: …That’s definitely not a pipe dream that can never come true, Ibara.
…The opportunity is always around us.
…Let’s head towards the stage with that joy.
…It seems the time for me to be crushed and rendered immobile by the weight of my sins has yet to come.
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