should i have gone to sleep? yep. did i instead read imogen obviously in one sitting (lying in my bed)? you bet.

Hello, Hamliet.... is it true that the Bible said homosexuals should be punish in new testament? If I'm not wrong remembered (yes, I'm from christian household) is it not that king david have 'special feelings' for jonathan?

My mother has really strong belief in religion (christianity) and she is an anti-LGBTQ+. But do you believe that her brother (my uncle) who is definitely a queer (wear make up, dresses really feminely, and sometimes called himself as she, never married until he's in sixties), my mother said he is normal ?????

That's why I want to know more about LGBTQ+ (eventhough in my country it is still a taboo topic).

Do you think it's weird Hamliet, if I prefer to read mlm & wlw instead of het romance? I just felt fed up with reading or watching het romance (wlm)....

Thanks to you Hamliet, I know more about myself, eventhough there are still a bit if feeling guilty every time I read or watch LGBTQ+ contents....

No, it doesn't say it should be punished in the New Testament.

It does get mentioned once, arguably three times, but really for certain once, and that context has nothing to do with punishment.

I'm going to give a very bare bones explanation of my understanding of it below! There are also lots of theology papers on it and I'm like, skimming the surface here.

The arguable ones lists a word that is often translated as "homosexuality" in a list of sins that "won't inherit the kingdom of God." However, the two words that get translated as such need more looking at.

One is always translated literally as "softness," but is always used in reference to prostitution. Most likely (given the letters it appears to and the communities they were a part of and the prevalence of temple prostitution there) temple prostitution (which should not be thought of as largely consensual in this context, either). There are also some fair arguments based on the words used and the known history of these cities that it's referring to ritual p*do abuse of children.

The other of the Greek words that gets translated as such is extremely unusual. So unusual that it's never seen elsewhere.

Yeah. It's a made-up word.

Now, the word arsenokoitēs certainly had meaning to the specific community to which the letter it appears in is addressed, but it's not like a word that can be translated with 100% certainty. What we do know for certain is that parts of the word are taken from words that refer to "men" and "bed/sex." So I see why people translate it that way. The thing is, though, it occurs in two lists, and these lists consist of issues concerning idolatry and slave dealers. Hence, the context strongly indicates that it's condemning some form of exploitation involving men who have sex with males.

The larger historical/cultural context also indicates this. If you read ancient Greek texts, like, say, Plato's Symposium, you'll get a very distinct view of exactly which same-sex relationships were normalized in those days, and you'll also be somewhat horrified. Basically the idea was that mentors (adult men) would mentor teenager boys, and the teen boys would be receptive to the adult man having sex with them. Does it sound creepy and exploitative? Because it is!

Yes, even for the time period. It isn't unique. Julius Caesar--yes, THE Julius Caesar--had to deal with rumors that he was one of those boys to an older mentee (Nicomedes). Because clearly, being on the receiving end of male-male sex means that you're actually a woman, which as everyone knows is the WORST thing you could possibly be (sarcastic). Anyways, this type of exploitative bs was extremely common, and even back in those days, it was known to be somewhat, y'know, f*cked up.

The other time it's talked about in the NT is in Romans 1, during which the main theme of the passage is that giving yourself over to lust is a bad thing. Paul cites women having sex with women and men with men as examples of overabundance of lust. I think most Christians, even sex-positive ones like myself, would agree that being consumed with lust (or with anything) to where it controls you and you start losing control of your life is unhealthy.

Now, that said, you can make an argument that Paul's view seems to be that homosexual tendencies stem from over abundance. But we know that's not true nowadays. And that gets into how you read the Bible as a whole.

I love the Bible. I see it as God's word to humanity, divinely inspired. I also think that to truly see it as God's word, you have to acknowledge what it is.

It's literature.

That doesn't mean it's fiction or whatever. It just means that God chose literature as a means to communicate with human beings, and that means that God knew that the whole point of literature is that people wrestle with the concepts and debate the themes. It enhances my respect of Scripture and my love of God to do precisely this, to dig into the text and its historical context and discover the timeless themes. To call it "inerrant" where every word can be taken out of context and seen as a command does a disservice to the writers God used to craft poetry, histories, stories, measurements, and letters to friends. To view the Bible as God when the Bible itself says that Jesus is the Word of God personified misses the forest for the trees, the spirit of the law for the letter.

The other really cool thing that genuinely excites me about Christianity is that God works with human beings. Individuals, yes, but also communities. He works within cultures, too. Despite modern evangelicals claiming "No Compromise!" Scripture is FULL of God compromising with humans, bargaining with them, accepting that they are flawed and working with us. He worked within human limits so much he became one to save us from death; it's kinda the premise!

So, God working to deliver his very message to us through human writers of literature is kind of amazing to me, awe-inspiring. But that also means human beings are limited by what we know and our own time periods, our own cultures. And, that's okay. Yes, keep working to do better, but it means that we can have grace for ourselves and one another. Even now, when we know a lot more about the world as a whole, we are still very limited by our own experiences, cultures, and time period. There's this attitude that modernity has reached the stage of ultimate enlightenment and boy have we not.

Hence, yeah, Paul's writing in Romans 1 especially might be kinda homophobic by today's standards. The ultimate premise--don't let yourself be under anything else's control--is a good one, but him using homosexuality as an example as if potentially all of it emerges from lust is not exactly woke, but also not necessarily abnormal for his time period and his culture. He's a flawed human being, after all, but God himself still worked with him to do some pretty great stuff, and to write some pretty cool letters that still have beautiful resonance today (the love passage in Corinthians? That's him!)

(Also, funnily enough, people--even the strictest evangelicals--actually do accept this about Paul and culture when he's writing about slavery. Because Paul doesn't endorse slavery and instructs masters to be kind to their slaves and treat them well, but he doesn't outright say "you're sinning by owning slaves" whereas today we'd definitely think that. Funny how that doesn't apply to gay people though.)

Lastly, your mom sounds like my mom. She claims she thinks it's a sin because she believes the Bible says so, but she genuinely is happy for friends who are gay and happily married and wishes them well. It's like she feels she has to believe it, not that she actually does in her core. And of course that's not an excuse, and I would never tell a gay person they should not be upset with her. Even within our modern cultures, it can be hard to unlearn things too especially if you grew up in such environments.

But reading mlm or wlw stories is actually a great tool for helping people empathize with others. Fiction absolutely helped me leave the cult I was raised in. I don't think it's inherently weird at all; curiosity exists, empathy exists, good stories exist, and also there's something to be said about people who exist in cultures that are very non-accepting seeing themselves in stories where a relationship that might often be condemned is accepted. Even if the person is straight and cis, they might have parts of themselves they see as something society would hate, and so they see themselves in the characters.

Oh actually, the real last lastly. Jonathan and David. Er... yeah. I mean, yes, people do have extremely close, extremely intimate, brotherly platonic friendships, even between men. But their relationship is certainly up for interpretation considering they literally refer to each other as having love for them that is "better than that of women." The words and phrasing used mirror those used in like, the Iliad to describe Achilles and Patroclus, and Gilgamesh between Gilgamesh and Enkidu.

David also married Jonathan's sister and didn't treat her very well, but did go out of his way to protect Jonathan's own children. Also, there are several other passages where the ancient Hebrew used could contain sexual nuances, although it doesn't necessarily have to. You can't definitively state either way what it is--the writers clearly wrote in plausible deniability. Still, there's enough to raise eyebrows even within that old ancient context that, whether or not it was ever physical, Jonathan and David were not platonic.

(Personally? David invented the Disaster Bisexual archetype.)

with percabeth already established and being a cute b-plot romance, the only other ship in hoo should've been valgrace, i will die on this hill. frazel could be amazing platonically (or qpr 👀?) and piper's arc could've been exploring her relationship to culture and femininity as a daughter of aphrodite more than the mediocreness of tlh, anyway i salute you valgrace bestie 🫡

yeah exactly!!

also i never thought of frazel as a qpr that's such a good idea omg (I would have been fine with the romance if hazel was everybody else's age like 16 or smth and if it was developed more)

percy and annabeth already had a whole series for themselves we should have seen more of reyna, frank and hazel tbh.. like that one scene in boo where frank meets his ancestors, we see it from piper's pov where she's thinking of jason and stuff.. like what happened to frank and his family's full circle thing? I wanted to see more of that. and when Mars told frank that percy had a huge decision and frank would have to intervene? it was foreshadowed so well yet very anti climatic in boo

i will die on that hill with you bc valgrace is THE ship, I love them your honour. and I also wish that we had more of the reyna/hylla, reyna/thalia dynamic (can you tell that reyna is one of my favorite characters)

and rick what the actual fuck were you thinking when you compared piper and hazel's skin to FOOD. just bc their woc doesn't mean they need to have unique eyes they could've had normal eyes of their culture. and you're so right piper's arc should've been about embracing her culture and feminity as a daughter of aphrodite, even if she was a tomboy it would have been fine but the problem was her not like other girls attitude and scoffing at her other girly siblings

so this got a little long 😭 but tldr we needed more frank, hazel, reyna and valgrace along with A LOT of character development for everyone

Hello! For the imodna prompts, could you please write something with early morning cuddles?

Imogen is the first to wake up as the early rays of dawn creep in through the window. Normally Laudna wakes before her, gets up and prepares breakfast if Zhudanna hasn’t gotten to it first, but this morning she’s still soundly asleep next to Imogen.

It’s quiet. Peaceful, like it always seems to be here. They’d have things to do today, but for now Imogen just lies still facing Laudna and watches her sleep. She tries to tell herself it’s not a strange thing to do, that everyone takes any opportunity they can get to trace their eyes over the details of their friends’ features, but she knows it’s not normal.

Not that it matters. She hadn’t been normal for a long while anyway, and who could blame her for staring at Laudna? She’s so unique, and she’s one of the most beautiful people Imogen has ever seen. Never mind the hollow cheeks and sallow skin; her features are elegant and refined, and when she’s awake, there’s her bright eyes and cheerful smile…Imogen has thought about kissing the beauty mark under her eye more than once, and she’s thought about kissing her lips even more.

Imogen is still staring when Laudna shifts and opens her eyes, and she quickly looks away as heat spreads across her face. “Good mornin’,” she mumbles, hoping Laudna hadn’t noticed.

“Oh,” Laudna says. “You’re awake! I’m sorry, darling; did I oversleep?”

“No, it’s still early,” Imogen says. “I just—I didn’t feel like getting up yet.”

“Well, that’s all right. You could always use some extra rest.”

“Tell that to the errands we gotta run,” Imogen chuckles. “But I guess they can wait a bit longer. I mean, if it’s all right with you.”

Laudna smiles and turns onto her side to curl up closer to Imogen, their faces so close that Imogen can feel Laudna’s breath.

“Of course,” Laudna says. “I’m not feeling particularly ready to greet the day, either. Being in bed is just so comfortable.”

Laudna’s smile is infectious, and Imogen’s lips curve upward too. “Sure is,” she agrees.

“No bad dreams last night?”

“No,” Imogen says. It’s just like Laudna to worry about her even after a restful night’s sleep. “Had some nice ones, actually.”

“Oh, good. What were they about? I haven’t had any dreams in such a long time.”

“Well…” Imogen can feel herself beginning to blush again. “Nothing special. My dad used to lie in bed with me sometimes and cuddle me when I didn’t feel good. You know, before…” She glances down at the marks on her arms. “Anyway, it was just that.”

“Oh,” Laudna says. She falls silent for a moment, then, “I could do that for you, if you like. I know I’m not exactly warm and cozy, but…”

Imogen’s blush grows, and at this point she’s sure it must be visible, but Laudna doesn’t seem to notice. She just looks at Imogen with gentle care in her eyes and a slight, almost sad divot in her brow.

“I’d like that a lot,” Imogen says. “Warm and cozy is overrated, anyway.”

She doesn’t anticipate it when Laudna immediately scoots closer to wrap her arm around Imogen, gently guiding her head into the crook of her neck and running her hand down the long purple locks of her hair. It’s so sudden that Imogen doesn’t process it for a moment before melting into Laudna’s touch. Her cool body feels good against the heat of Imogen’s own flushed skin, and she hadn’t felt held like this in a very long time. She buries her face in Laudna’s neck and breathes in her sweet, musky scent.

“This does feel very nice,” Laudna says. “I’ve never actually cuddled before. Am I doing it right? Is this comfortable for you?”

Imogen laughs, her voice muffled in Laudna’s blouse. “Yeah, Laud. This is perfect.”

You have no idea, Imogen thought, and for a moment doubt creeps into her head. Is it wrong to do this when Laudna has no idea how badly she’s wanted it for so long? Is she taking advantage of her friend?

But the doubts fade away as Laudna tucks her chin and kisses the top of Imogen’s head, her lips lingering in her hair. She doesn’t dare to hope that Laudna feels the same way, but maybe it doesn’t matter. Laudna loves her regardless, with her whole heart, and in that moment Imogen feels like the luckiest person alive for it.

Hey big fan. How tall do you think the androids in DL are?

Not gonna lie, it's always a bit shocking to hear one has made anything to earn a 'big fan', but thank you very much nonetheless!

As for your actual question, though, I think they're roughly about human height, judging by art? Of course I've gone over how art sometimes varied wildly in height, but as mentioned in that post if you have seen that, Dragalia did seem to try and keep a 'comparison heights' straight, at least. They might not have kept straight if Euden was 4'11 or 5'9 but he was shorter than Ranzal and Luca, etc.

And what we see in the wyrmprints, they seem consistently human in size:

(Well, these are both with sylvans, but sylvans are human in height as well, ears notwithstanding, so the point stands).

As funny as it might have been if every android was big or really tiny, I think it probably makes sense that, being created and wished for them to be 'humans' by Maestro, they resemble humanity as much as possible.

Now, just because Laxi, Mascula, and the androids from their era are human sized, others might not be.

They're a recreation of the older models in another case of Dragalia's humans trying to resurrect older tech, the same tech that made the dragons Very Displeased 1k years ago.

Now, Eireene and Finni, who unfortunately have among my personal least favorite designs in Dragalia, don't really give any indication either of being a wildly different size than Laxi or Mascula. Like this art here, where they are about the same size as Laxi and in a similar 'dwarfed by Ranzal' category most everyone falls into to varying degrees.

That doesn't mean there aren't standouts.

Anassa, for example, seems to carry a much bigger presence in her art. Being something of a commander and command center for the 1k year old model androids, it stands to reason she might have more weapons built in, more data processors, or other things in greater quantity. While we don't have a model or comparative art to truly say for certain that she is bigger, she certainly looks it.

(Does she even have legs??? Is she a roomba that would be foiled by anything over a 15° incline or a sudden height change, ex, stairs??? I mean yeah, doesn't she fly and drop down the one time, but even then, there's any number of environments that might make it awkward or impossible to use it to navigate a hazard.)

Ahem. Anyways, the point is that the general androids, be it Maestro's recreations or their elder Nier:Dragalia -er, Ex Machina, a part of the Humanoid Liberation Agency/the ones living in the sky, seem to be human sized. But there might be a few special model ones out there like Anassa who serve a unique and important purpose to justify the time, energy, and resources designing and creating them to fulfill their goal.

Now, admittedly, androids in Dragalia would be a weak point in my general knowledge since they never really quite struck a chord with me enough to inspire a fixation on them, but yeah, as far as I can tell, they're human-sized with perhaps some rare exceptions. The most I can say that might not be wholly normal is their apparent tendency towards a sort of gaunt build, which, to be fair, it's not exactly as if they can build muscle to change that.

Hopefully that answered your question satisfactorily!

i read your wip and i cant help but feel.... pity, for penclosa. for choosing to do this, choosing the most harmful, horrible path. of course. of course he is. of course Jonathan is like catnip to her- but that doesnt mean she has to do This Bullshit in another, kinder world, perhaps she decided to be less of an Absolute Bastard about things and found love and caring and respect in some other heart, and genuinely Just Did Therapy On Jonathan. at least her persona, the face she puts on, seems to be a genuinely Cool Lady. it is a shame she has chosen this most awful cruelest path because she has the power to. i pity her because i feel like she could make a Different Choice where this story has a far happier course and ending for everyone- but, of course, she didn't. and now mina is going to fucking Get Her. as she should

You hit a lot of nails on their heads, Anon.

The tragedy of 'You Didn't Have to Do This, You Could Have Been Our Friend,' hits much more truthfully and so much more sourly when it's with this cast of characters versus Miss Penclosa's original story. In, "The Parasite," we can see the foundation of her plans for Austin Gilroy almost from the outset. Even if she wasn't thinking of enslaving him from day one, she still made her move after only a week of interaction with the man, pouncing on the very first occasion when she got to mesmerize him while the two were alone.

One week. Just one week with Gilroy, in which I imagine he was only ever anything but professional with her--especially as his thoughts on her are made hideously clear even before she started tightening the mental collar. (Ick, she's over 40. Ick, she's 'deformed' for having a bad leg. Nothing like his sweet young Agatha. Never mind that he's in his thirties. But moving on.) Gilroy gave her only the barest amount of regard in that period.

But the opportunity was there. Her want was there. Her loneliness. Her power.

Why not, Helen? You have your hooks in now. You have him. Why not? You can make it real. You can make him love you. And what does a pretty young bauble of a girl like Agatha need him for anyway? She'll get another, girls like her always can. Go on, Helen. He's yours for the taking. He will love you in time, with enough prompting...

I stand by some personal theories about why she goes the route she does. Potential bleak origins come into it that I'll try to flesh out in the story, but the most important factor is what her goal is in the present. Because really, opting for coerced affection rather than literally anything else she might wring out of a victim is telling. Hypnotism is notorious in fiction for being used to carry out thefts and sundry violent dirty work and, as with Dracula and the Brides' victims, a paralytic allowance to have themselves be preyed on. But the uniquely intimate (and so uniquely dread-inducing) decision to try and puppeteer someone into being your personal paramour is special in the worst way.

Love is the highest priority in Miss Penclosa's hierarchy of needs. She wants to have a partner (puppet) who will adore her and tell her so and be as smitten with her as she (thinks she) is with him. And, as seen in "The Parasite," she also likes it when that trapped puppet-lover verbally agrees with her that his actual fiancée is dull and worthy of insult. She wants to be the only one for her beloved and wants him to disparage all others. Interesting results to come on that front with Mr. Harker. Anyway.

Now we come back to the problem of the Harkers. In the case of Austin Gilroy, her original unhappy 'beau,' we had a protagonist who wasn't exactly a prince. Loyal and loving to his Agatha, true, and suitably horrified at being forced to follow Penclosa's orders (and she does order something quite nasty as a parting shot)...but he's also a bit nasty on his own. He insults people who believe in clairvoyance or the supernatural, he's snide about Penclosa's looks in the extreme, and is generally not that great a guy to anyone but his fiancée and close friends.

But Jonathan Harker? Sweetheart supreme? Him walking into the picture is like Penclosa being starved and just now seeing she'd been scrabbling after stale crumbs this whole time when a five-tier wedding cake existed for the taking all along.

The catch is that the Harkers are far, far, far more endearing than Gilroy ever was. One of their best friends is an old professor whose guest they are at the party. They owe a debt of more than gratitude to at least two older women, Sister Agatha and the unnamed lady who gifted Jonathan her own crucifix as protection. Both of them have suffered ailments beyond mortal ken, and only escaped them by the charity and heroism of others. These are the least judgmental young people in all of England. Though both were understandably skittish about her kind of mesmerism, they were still open to her, still prepared to be outright friends.

You could have been their friend, Helen. You could have. This one weakness, this one obsession, is the only thing between you and a companionship that is natural, organic, untainted by the conditions of being a circus performer for your friend's husband and his precious study. Real friends, Helen. All of them would be.

He would be.

...But that isn't enough.

Of course it isn't. Jonathan Harker is the romantic daydream come true. He is not the man a woman settles for--he's the beloved prince every girl dreams of when she's still young enough to believe romance exists outside of books and stage plays. He's real, Helen. He's right there for the taking. And who can stop you but you?

Helen Penclosa wants what she wants. And if the means are there, if the prize she had thought all this time was only a fantasy is sitting in front of her, if this is her one chance--well. Why would she settle for mere friendship? Why feign happiness with a freely given slice when she can run off with the whole cake?

It is a tragedy in the making. Because Miss Penclosa is a woman of depth, a woman of character, a woman who is canny and witty and wise, a woman who could so easily have been a friend for life if she had just given her help and done no more. But she is also a woman whose vices are sequestered in the greedy pit of her heart. And that pit's needs come first.

Anime Arguments Pt 2

Deku: Hey! Has anyone seen the sixth season of my show?

Senku: No.

Eren: Meh.

Naruto: There's a sixth season?!

Deku: It's wayyyyy better now. There's action and everything!

Naruto: Did you break your arms?

Deku: Why does it matter?

Naruto: Did you break your arms?

Deku: …yes

Naruto: Then you're irrelevant.

Senku: Anyway…I have another season now.

Naruto: Your anime is boring!

Senku: Only to people who don't have the brain capacity to understand.

Naruto: Big words blah blah blah

Sebastian: How immature.

Naurto: Look! It's another boring anime.

Sebastian: How exactly do you define boring?

Deku: Which isn't the sixth season of my anime.

Tanjiro: Stop self promoting.

Tadano: Hello? Would any of you be interested in being Komi's friend?

Tanjiro: Who's Komi?

Senku: No. I have a world to rebuild.

Sebastian: I have a master to serve.

Deku: I have to stop society from collasping.

Tadano: Jeez forget I asked.

Naruto: It's funny how we all have these super important goals, and your show just wants some girl to have friends.

Tadano: At least I wasn't rejected by one.

Senku: You're all so sentimental.

Tadano: You wouldn't make good friends anyway.

Tadano has left the chat.

Naruto: The nerve of some people.

Luffy has join the chat.

Naruto: On no. Don't look now, but it's one of the longest running animes to exist.

Luffy: What is this? Do you have meat?

Tanjiro: No, but you can help me slay demons!

Luffy: Eh? No thanks. I wanna be-

Naruto: King of the pirate. We know.

Luffy: Hee hee

Naruto: Anyway, last time we were debating over the best anime to exist.

Tanjiro: It's mine!

Senku: Not this again.

Luffy: It's mine.

Light has joined the chat.

Light: It's mine, and you can't prove otherwise. Not only does my anime have complex and interesting characters, but the plot is solid with a balance of action. Nothing compares to-

Senku: There's nothing complex about a college kid killing people to become a tyrant. You are literally one of the worst characters ever.

Light: Which is why my show is so popular. People are tried of seeing the same "I want to save everyone" trope. It's repeitive!   Senku: If it's done in a unique and different manner, it can really be good, unlike your show.   Naruto: Don't piss him off. He might write your name in his diary.

Light: Make fun all you want, but my show is easily the best one to date.

Tanjiro: All that and you still lost to L.

Light: I didn't lose!

Saitama: You totally did.

Deku: Not this unfinished show

Sebastian: I was rooting for Garou the entire time.

Tanjiro: I wish I had power like Saitama. I could kill Michael- I mean Muzan

Luffy: So is there meat here or-

Naruto: No! My anime is the best end of story.

Saiki: I bet to differ.

Deku: If it isn't Mr. Cliffhanger

Luffy: Couldn't stop a volcano, but he's here to claim the top spot.

Naruto: OMG LOL SO FUNNY HHAHAHAHA LMAO

Senku: Tf. Saiki: I fail to see how it was that funny. Naruto: Can we all agree that we're all better than Komi Can't Communicate? Sebastian: Certainly Luffy: Yeah! Tanjiro: I kinda like it. Tanjiro has been kicked. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MHA has taken a turn and Saiki is a really good anime. Komi Can't Communicate is fine except that one character cough Yamai cough

So, initial SotO thoughts.

tl;dr: Liked it, not my favourite release.

More details below.

It's a little hard to compare to anything we had before since it's not quite an expansion but also a bit bigger than a regular LS release. Somewhere in between.

I liked it overall. I had fun (I don't think I ever didn't have fun with any release in this game). I do however have many smaller gripes that add up a little. Let's actually start with the biggest one:

The new maps

Well, obviously I loved the inclusion of chak on the new maps and seeing the little critters in a new shiny form was very exciting, but let's take the rose-tinted chak glasses off for a moment.

I like the fractal concept of the first map. It's interesting as an idea but I feel like it fell a little flat in execution. Rata Novus is probably the place that differs the most from the actual-Tyria version, and all the other fractals are just kinda... barely different? Like the Crystal Desert taken over by forged is just..... well, it's desert with forged in it. Like it already is in PoF anyway. And the Kaineng section kinda feels like that too, we have enough hostile jade bots in EoD anyway so... yea I don't know. Didn't do super much for me.

I wish NPCs were a bit more interactive. You can't really talk to many people at all. Core maps had so many random guys just standing around giving you little tidbits of dialogue. Especially the first map just feels very... barren.

Visually a great map nonetheless. Same goes for the second (non-hub) map we got, which is really unique in terms of architecture. We haven't really seen anything quite like it in the game before, so that's cool.

Exploration wise... ...yeah. I mean. Basically exactly what I had feared became true, no real exploration depth and at the very least on the first map you're pretty much expected to just skyscale to every point. Which goes really fast too, despite the whopping 50(or so?) POIs. I wish they had at least made some of the new masteries mandatory for reaching certain spots, but nope. Completed entirely without a single mastery leveled. Feels kinda pointless to introduce movement masteries if they aren't at the very least obligatory for certain events or map exploration. The second map makes the updrafts a little more useful since reaching some of the higher places can be a bit more tricky without it, but... yea I don't know.

I'm not exactly disappointed since that's pretty much what I expected to happen, but still I wish there were a few more interesting ways to get around places other than just straight up flying there. I guess I want more hidden stuff. Secrets. A jumping puzzle that spans half the map like in Draconis Mons. Well, for all I know they are there and I just haven't found them yet.

So yea, overall... visually beautiful; I'm glad about Rata Novus being a clownfest of snobs; I think if chak weren't in this I'd feel extremely lukewarm about those maps. That said, Amnytas has some of the highest quality grass I've ever seen in this game. Seriously what the hell is that grass.

Story and characters

I was worried about this for a bit while playing but the ending thankfully took the immediate worries from me for now.

It felt very... prologue-y. Which, in the end, it was. And I'm glad about that. I was so scared we were in another Gyala Delve situation of "here's an entire story that has absolutely no time to unfold and we'll abruptly end it pretending there was a conclusion". But thank god the epilogue made it clear that this was just the beginning to the storyline. (unless anet is preparing some clown make up)

So now that we had this introduction to the setting and first look into a new cast of characters I'm intrigued to see where all of this is going. I hope everyone we've met gets more screentime in the future and maybe some of them will tag along with us for the next adventures? The whole cast felt like it had a lot of potential. I want to see more of Gladium and Galrath. Isgarren seems interesting, I liked his dialogue. Sad about Mabon. Hoped Peitha would be a non-humanoid creature. Narcisse is cute. I like how they handled Zojja so far.

Didn't care much for the whole wizard tower story before SotO released, I'm decently interested now at least.

Gameplay-wise the player 2 experience was pretty miserable once again (Why exactly did I have to be a blue orb during the entire first flesh fortress instance? Why can I pick up and carry keys in the wizard's tower but then can't interact with the object they need to be used on? Seriously.) but that's nothing new.

As mentioned in another post, the German translation was a trainwreck of contextually wrong mistranslations, English sayings/proverbs translated literally into German when that is absolutely not how that works, misgendering (Zojja wasn't the only one with male pronouns - Yao was also back to that again) and entire chunks of voice lines randomly missing on several occasions. Seriously I don't know what went wrong here but please pay your localization team better. Or at least give them more context to work with.

Music

The few new songs I heard were nice. Lacking a bit in identity, but I guess it would be delusional to expect an EoD, HoT or IBS soundtrack here. GW2 music tends to be extremely high quality so I'm nitpicking on a high level with this one.

There is one battle theme that was really cool, though severely overused. I think it's the one that plays during rift events. Or like, during most of the release in general.

I can't quite explain why but I had several instances that made me think "this is what the PoF combat themes should have sounded like". The music as a whole somehow is very reminiscent of PoF. Like if someone took PoF battle music and went "chill a bit, please."

Was also nice to hear that one new ambient track that echoes the TD main theme and the Rata Novus theme.

Metas

They're okay. First map's meta drags on a little. Though I like collecting the essences. That one phase with the coloured bars is severely stressful. Second map meta is pretty neat. Was a little overwhelmed by it since it started literally 2 minutes after I got onto the map for the first time and I had no idea where anything was and just frantically followed the squad to find a giant squid bug demon on top of a huge tower. Seriously man give me a break. Fun experience though. Did it again on another day on an overflow map without a comm and we managed, though barely. Difficulty seems appropriate.

All in all...

Didn't completely blow me away. I liked it as a setup to something larger. Doesn't compare to any of the big expansions (though I do think the storyline in itself is at least more interesting than PoF, though it obviously lacks the polish of the expansion). If compared to LS seasons I'd say I had a better time with most of LS3 and LS4, and also large chunks of the Icebrood Saga.

I think how well SotO does in the long run largely depends on what gets added to it next. I'm excited to see more, and especially to get more context to all the new characters. Don't pull another Gyala Delve on me. Please.

And also.

Finally rid of the Commander title. Wayfinder is so much better.

hello maue I have very fascinationing question.

How do you visual convey someone strength and power?

for example beerus destroy half a planet which is less impressive than frieza destroy planet namek. It’s funny beerus is way more powerful than frieza yet did which comes a bit weak than what came before.

how you showcase beerus strength than everyone else in dragon ball? Or least characters in general?

Honestly, the way the Dragon Ball series handles power (at least from what I've seen) is part of the reason I never got into it. Everything just had to be this arms race of whichever character could be the most ULTIMATE. After destroying one planet, what's next? Destroying multiple planets at once? Destroying a solar system? A galaxy? The entire universe? It just gets repetitive unless the writing gives us a reason to care. Like I know the whole thing's just a power fantasy aimed at preteen boys, but that sure didn't stop me and my sister from making fun of DBZ when we were six or seven, lol.

So I guess the real question is how to showcase strength in a more interesting way that heightens the tension rather than becoming stale. For example, there's a difference between what a character can do when they're actually trying, and what they can do when they're barely lifting a finger. If they can cause earthquakes just by flicking the ground, imagine the damage a punch would do.

Or maybe, if a character can't be the most powerful being, they've found a way to control the most powerful being. This still makes them intimidating, but through their brains rather than brawn.

Also, displays of power don't always have to come from destroying things. If a character used their powers to create things, but their unsettling personality lets everyone know they could wreak havoc if they wanted, that creates some interesting tension that could build over time.

Maybe this is less about measuring all characters with the exact same metrics of strength, and more about understanding the unique strengths each character has. I don't know the full context of Beerus destroying half a planet, but if it went exactly according to his plan, I might consider that even more impressive than just destroying the whole thing. Anyone can blow up a ball with explosives, but it takes skill to blow up half of that ball while leaving the other half intact.

Anyway, I found this neat video that talks more about what happens when characters are overpowered and their abilities are inconsistent. A lot of the problem seems to stem from giving them way too much power way too early, meaning the writer has to nerf them later on to make them more relatable. Hope that all makes sense.

HOW YOU GET THE GIRL — CHP 02, PART3

previous part

contents: light cursing, your first name is KIWO—Y/N is a placeholder for your middle name or last, its your choice, gn!reader (so they/them prns)

CHILDES POV

“My god, Furi. Is it this one?” I say through the call, picking up a random book with an identical title.

Anyone who knows me can already tell I don’t have the patience for this kind of thing. The smell of bookshops are nice—but actually spending hours in this place makes me a bit annoyed.

I mean, you should atleast have a way to get the book you want immediately, right?

“No, no no. This can’t do… Quick, check the fiction area! There still might be a copy in the stands.” Furina panics, I can already imagine her pacing around the hotel room.

“Fine, but this is the last one. If we still can’t find it then i’m sorry—we’ll go tomorrow, okay?”

“Alright, deal. But if its out of stock i’m blaming you.”

“Whatever,” I roll my eyes. I head over to the fiction section, phone still in hand.

“This one?” I flip the camera so she can see it, her voice immediately lights up.

“That! Exactly that one. Get it, I order you!” She squeals.

“Yeah, yeah I already am… Stop screaming, everyone can hear you!”

“Uh—excuse me please.” A voice says, right beside me.

“Oh, yeah sure. Sorry.” I back off immediately, going to the corner of the shelf.

Their hair is covering their face, purposely hiding their identity in a way. I don’t mean to be rude anyway. They steal glances from time to time, as if trying to make sure of something.

I realize that maybe what im wearing might be strange. All denim, ripped cloth, it’s not really their fashion here in Fontaine. Either way, its not that big of a deal. I get stares all the time.

“Thank you,” they whisper and I start to turn the other way. They reach for the fiction isle I was just in. “Have you seen any books on this table by any chance?”

They look at me. For a long time.

It makes me a little nervous.

“Um, yeah. You mean this right?” I show the book in-hand. Furina says something about not giving it away, but I dont listen and hang up the call immediately.

“Yeah. That one.” They say, looking back at the table and realizing there are no other copies left.

“Is this like a popular book or something? Everyone seems to be getting it.” I scan the book for any details why—I mean the cover isnt anything interesting at all. Just a fancy white and gold mask with feathers.

A chill R&B song plays in the shop’s speakers, filling the atmosphere with something playful.

“I mean a newspaper just recently covered it. This is just the collectors edition, so anyone who really liked the book or likes to collect would buy this.” They point at the book. “The unique thing about is that there are only a total of 500 prints. It makes that really rare.”

“So you must really want this, then?”

They nod once more.

“One of my favorite books of all time.”

“I see… Well you know my friend, Furi, she really wants this book and I—I didn’t know you needed this too.” I try to explain, “I mean im just assuming you want to buy it?”

“No, its okay. She can have it, I don’t mind.” They wave their arms, no.

Oh.

“Are you sure? Like, really?” I stutter.

I could just give it to them, I mean Furina wouldn’t mind—we’ll find another copy elsewhere.

“I swear, it’s really okay.”

“Im just, gonna go pay for this then. See you around…” I wait for them to say their name.

“Oh—well my name is Kiwo, or Y/N. I don’t mind which one you use.”

“Okay. See you then, Kiwo.”

I thought about saying my name, but that might just cause a problem for my managers.

So we settle for Kiwo instead.

What a pretty name though, Y/N.

I have been sort of sitting on this subject because it would be so easy for it to get taken out of context. I hope I can explain myself so that doesn’t happen and I’d like to hear your thoughts. Basically I feel like part of what made Feyre’s character special is what makes her beautiful and I think it gets lost between all the sister anti bs arguments. I do think everyone is allowed to imagine all the characters however they want but I feel like if you go by canon what makes Feyre different that her sisters beauty is her personality. I find it a bit bothersome when I see takes like -certain archeron sister is the prettiest- because canon, physically, Elain is beautiful and Nesta is stunning but what sets Feyre apart is that those that fell into an attraction for her was only after having gotten to know her. I notice Nesta and Elain have this attraction from males almost at first sight and so I think the part that Feyre doesn’t get this sort of story line was what made her unique and I really liked that. In my opinion I think all 3 sisters are attractive in their respective ways- Elain an innocent pure sort of beauty, Nesta has sexy and angry, while Feyre has a mature and quiet beauty. The last part is my opinion, everyone can imagine them how ever but I do think canon sort of gave me the impression about what stands out about Feyre and I feel like it gets lost in the whole mess that is pitting the sisters against each other that is this fandom

hello, anon! sorry for taking so long to respond to this.

this was a very sweet ask! i can see what you mean about feyre being unique in her own ways. personally, i have a preference for the person feyre was in the first book, but i can totally understand you, and many others, enjoying the character she became post-acotar. i love who nesta is as a character because i feel i relate to her more than the others, but feyre's willingness and bravery to stand up for what she believed in, in book 1 was something i admired about her character. and elain's gentle demeanor and clear progression as a character by the time we reach book 2 is something i hope is expanded on more.

i would love if you'd elaborate a bit more on your point of view, as well as if this ask if targeted at a specific post of mine (?) because i'm not exactly an account that's very pro feyre (though i don't hold anything against people who do like her). do you think that i'm a part of the group that fans the flames of the competition between the sisters? in fairness, i can see how my posts could be interpreted that way.

anyway, on some level, i do agree that this fandom has a tendency to vilify and pit the sisters against each other for the sake of their faves. i have seen some absolutely horrid takes on all sides of the aisle, justifying things their fav sister has done and putting down the other sisters in favor of blatantly flat characterizations of them in order to make their anger seem more justified.

but i also think this is a symptom of canon itself being willing to pit them against each other, rather than portraying their flaws and complex relationships in a manner that gives a clear impression that none of them are all good or all bad, but rather flawed and interesting individuals. instead of creating a poignant story on the power of sisterhood, sjm decided it would be better to pit them against each other. this isn't necessarily a bad thing. of all the people in the world, i am the last one that is opposed to drama in books lol, but the way it was done has made things... complicated.

all in all, i think the process of pitting the sisters against each other is a very mixed bag because, on one hand, the archeron sisters' being in constant competition with each other in the fandom is partially due to fans of the specific sisters, but it's also due to the inability of canon to portray a complicated dynamic between them. also, their characterizations can be all over the place. i don't think the feyre we saw in book 1 would've allowed what happened to nesta in book 3, nor would she have condoned the treatment of her sisters even as early as book 2. this could be credited to her evolution as a character, perhaps growing in confidence and vilifying her sisters because of it, but i don't see the sister who felt guilty about leaving them behind when she was forcefully taken from her home as the same sister that let the blatant disrespect of them stretch on from book 2 through book 5. this isn't just with feyre though, as i think the characterization of nesta and elain is also quite finicky and so up to interpretation by the fans.

are you guys asking if im gonna rewatch new gen ultra bc. you wanna see my thoughts through a liveblog or something? well to go for it briefly:-

Ginga: Not as huge into this as others but I REALLY liked what it was going for and in retrospect how different it was to other Ultra productions and stands out as very memorable and distinct because of that. Everyone always talks about how this is back when they had no budget but literally I never noticed aside from the re-used Kaiju suits (which is a thing in every New Gen Ultra anyway). And uh that one goofy Dark Zagi sequence in da movie. Otherwise it's very visually stunning between Ginga himself and the consistent nature-based sets. Taro sequence in the last episode is the best thing ever made. Solid series, highly recommend!

Ginga S: Find it a little bit lame because it's very clearly made in response to fan complaints that Ginga wasn't like every other Ultraman (I especially don't like Hikaru becoming a military boy and that defining him in every re-appearance) but there's still a lot to love here and there's definitely some standout episodes like Gan-Q. Would find this one of the hardest Ultra series to recommend of the ones I've seen, but if you're already interested then yeah sure it's pretty harmless

X: BEST BEST BEST BEST SHIT EVER. WATCH THIS FUCKING SHOW. Maybe the funniest thing for me to say when it's not even top 3 for me but god if it doesn't feel like it sometimes, this is basically THE way to do a modern update of Ultraman and keeps a very strong balance between episodic plots, interesting character development & focus and a serialised plot and themes. Cannot recommend enough if you're interested in Ultraman

Orb: My first Ultraman so I've got a bit of a soft spot... like Ginga I'm not as into this as others but it's ultimately a very good show, and quite unique among Ultraman in how it sets up its characters (we basically never see the defence team outside of one representative; the main character is a distanced loner). It also has Juggler in it which, like, yeah; Juggler! Definitely recommend this one

Geed: BEST BEST BEST BEST SHIT EVER. WATCH THIS FUCKING SHOW. If your sensibilities are more attuned to Kamen Rider stories when it comes to Toku then this will be right up your alley as it shares in common a similar backstory for the hero's powers and is in general much more on the superhero side of things than the sci-fi anthology that Ultraman usually is. It's hard to get into exactly why without major spoilers but it's a wonderful series with a very charming cast that you can't take your eyes off. I was very excited for this one when I started Ultraman and I definitely wasn't disappointed. Highly recommend

R/B: Fucking fantastic! This one I feel gets overlooked quite a bit and gets treated as a bit of an oddball, but it's wonderfully weird and has so much going for it. It's a much more comedic take on Ultraman and very meta on the entire idea of what it means to be Ultraman, all wrapped around a very lovely focus of family and an honestly pretty fun plot as well. The first arc's villain is Kuroto Dan if he was toned down to be a lot more bearable and then the second half's can be a bit slow but has a fair bit to say. Just super recommend

Taiga: I unfortunately couldn't get into this one. Definitely a lot I think it wants to say about the nature of aliens integrating with humans and all the dynamics that contains but I just never found any of the characters terribly compelling enough to get into it... I fully admit I might have been giving it a harder time than it deserved though, and @biomic has recently had a LOT of good to say about it in their liveblog and I recommend you go to them if you want to know its strengths. Not one I can recommend personally, but it's one of those shows that seems to either hit hard for you or doesn't; so I can't say to avoid it or anything like that

Z: BEST BEST BEST BEST BEST SHIT IN THE WORLD WATCH THIS FUCKING SHOW GO TO YOUTUBE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!!! My experience with this one might have a bit of bias due to enjoying it along with everyone due to the simulcast but MAN what a fucking good time with all the strengths of X and more. Really went from a show that was pretty fun but due to unfortunate things behind the scenes could have gone so wrong but absolutely kept things steady to be a consistently great show with a lot to say. Can't recommend enough watch this thing right now it's literally officially subbed on youtube for free

Trigger: Did not like this show at all unfortunately, I find this easily the weakest of all the Ultraman shows I've seen and it definitely doesn't seem like there's a lot of people willing to stick up for it. It's one of those shows that's difficult to find anything to enjoy and you're left just scrounging for SOMETHING to like which you'll forget the moment the show is over. Really wants to be Profound and hit in a similar way that the show it's imitating - Tiga - did but can barely even dream of succeeding. Absolutely can't recommend this show for a second

Decker - It's only been three episodes but I'm finding it surprisingly solid stuff, and can certainly recommend you watch along too! Just a decent Ultraman show with a solid cast at this point. It's literally only been three episodes so I can't say anything more but it's hard to see this going terribly wrong and that at minimum it'll be decent. Recommend, it's on youtube officially with subs for free!

Watch Party Watch: Zardoz (1974)

Watched:  01/20/2023

Format:  Amazon Watch Party

Viewing:  First

Director:  John Boorman

So, my college pal, Robb, was a big fan of this movie, which really set the bar for me.  He's the same guy who would pitch a Saturday as "let's watch Stalker and then Bullit".   Circa 1999 or so, my brother, Steanso, and myself decided to give Zardoz (1974) a whirl, and I think we made it twenty minutes in before giving up and watching Xena or Cleopatra 2525.  

I will not say I hated or even disliked Zardoz, while acknowledging - this is not a movie for everyone.  The film contains a million concepts and ideas all crammed into one movie.  I don't think it really succeeds (for me) as story, commentary or entertainment, but it is absolutely a thing to watch for its tremendous ambition, low-budget-swing-for-the-fences approach, and unique visuals.  It's trying to do some Very Important Stuff via sci-fi, and I can't say it fails, exactly.  The ideas are interesting enough.  It's just not a movie that is amazingly fun to watch (sober).

Also, it was probably a mistake to watch Zardoz for the first time in mixed company, especially as the moderator - it has multiple acts that require trigger warnings, from murder to rape to just general weirdness - but that does happen from time to time as we try new things.  I mean, the "guns good/ penis bad" speech of a giant, flying stone head was probably my first indication this was going to go sideways.  

Anyway - there is a plot, which is slow to reveal itself, about a world of the future with lower and upper castes, only the lower castes are unaware of the existence of the upper.  Meanwhile, the upper are a fe hundred years into achieving the possibility of immortality/ agelessness, and some ill-defined psychic powers, and it is not going super well.  Things have gotten a little fascisty in the upper-class colony, and they've manipulated portions of the lower cast to essentially try to wipe out the "savages" still wandering the landscape outside their invisible domes.

In addition to things getting culty for the eternal upper class, they've basically forgotten what sex is (they don't need to procreate, and began to see sex as brutal).  So, yeah, there's a lot of stuff about dicks.  

At the center of this story is a Brutal named Zed (Sean f'ing Connery) who has stowed away in the giant stone head, and his arrival in the lands of the upper class throws everything utterly out of balance, even as they treat him like a pet or research animal.  

There's a million more ideas, things get exponentially weirder in that UK-Sci-Fi way where plot and points to a story matter less than mad ideas, and if you reference enough things, that's like making a point through a more coherent narrative.  It's *interesting*, but I'm not sure I think it's exactly my cup of tea.  Mostly because I'm trained as an American to look for allegories and whatnot in sci-fi, or at least more clear allegories, and I think this movie is more interested in leaning into them when they make sense in the moment, and then just keeps moving.  Boorman's drugs must have been something else.

Anyway, I'm glad I punched that one off the list!  Now I can not and know what people are talking about, because most of my adult life people have just *assumed* I've seen Zardoz and started talking about it, and I was like "sure, my man" and let life keep happening without correcting them.  No more lying by omission!  

https://ift.tt/SkFaLcy

from The Signal Watch https://ift.tt/R9xqi4M

“tumblr is the only place to be anymore, it won’t ever die”

oh, yeah? you can’t post hardcore stuff on here anymore and heaven help you if you’re a sex worker who got fucked over by the nsfw ban. bots are everywhere. you post art and you’ll get 3 notes if you’re lucky—if you get upwards of a thousand, 900 of them will be likes guaranteed. you post fanfic on here and it’ll be buried in that monster tag. everything is either memes or nonsense. this place fucking SUCKS now if you’re an artist, like i’m surprised i’m seeing people tell those who jumped ship from reddit that reblogs are lifeblood here because artists are lucky to be reblogged even a couple of times on here anymore. this place is dead if you’re any kind of creative person.

“everyone is faceless on tumblr, there’s no brands or celebrities here”

okay, first of all, what’s your definition of a celebrity? the kardashians? okay, now what if i said that someone with a thousand followers is a celebrity? if they’re known amongst a thousand people i’d say they’re well known, which is what “celebrity” means. next, you guys need to stop it with this “brand = evil” thing, because you know what’s a brand? nat geo. prismacolor. copic usa. scientific american. you can’t get news on here. you guys screenshot from brands on twitter all the time anyway with accounts like “funny-tweets” and what have you, like shit or get off the pot. besides, i follow artists, musicians, art stuff, nat geo, and a few friends on there, stuff i have been itching for on here and stuff i couldn’t get on twitter for years. and the “everyone is faceless” thing is nonsense if you’ve been on here longer than 5 years.

“tumblr is the only place where content creators can be”

lol, no. like i said, unless you are pre-established somewhere else, forget it on here. the tags are a mess, everything looks exactly the same with absolutely no room for anything unique or innovative, and there are so many bells and whistles to this place now that it’s quite literally two bad updates away from being virtually unusable. all of you are like “think twice”, yeah, well, i’m gonna think twice before i listen to you jerks. (by the way, right out the gate over on threads, people made it known that they’re fed up with the whole “influencer” thing. wolf van halen made fun of it. several artists i follow made fun of it. we loathe it as much as anyone else. so, please. get off your high horse.)

“tumblr doesn’t scrape your data”

the hell it does. did you know that if you live in california, they actually give you the option “do not sell my information” on here? that’s right, they make it optional. oh, and the ads on here are an eyesore. i thought they were kind of funny at first but they make scrolling impossible and they’re the most ridiculous things i’ve ever seen (and apparently adblock is starting to give some leeway on this)

“how do you work threads”

it’s actually really easy to figure out, almost too easy. now, if you follow someone new, you get the accounts they follow in your feed (which i think is weird, but i actually get the logic because they might follow something you’ll like), but if you hide it or straight up ignore it, you won’t see it again. there’s no hashtags on there, either (at least not at the moment), which… i kind of like? hashtags are so abused at this point—looking at you, tumblr—that it’s rather relieving to not see that. so, if you see something you like, you “repost” it (which is like retweeting or reblogging). you guys hate something that uses a mechanism that was once tumblr’s lifeblood and has taken a back seat to the goddamn like button. i… have no words.

“threads isn’t available in the eu, it’s probably full of privacy issues”

okay, two things. number one: when you sign up for it, you are immediately given the option for a public account or a private account. of course, that doesn’t really do much to keep you away from zuckerberg’s reddened eyes (as those of us who have been around facebook will tell you), but all of us who signed up on wednesday were well aware of what we’re getting into with it. we were all like “this is good*” * meaning “for now that is”. it’s so fucking obvious that you don’t need to state it and put words in our mouths (how did we exactly come to this conclusion, anyway? that “not available to europe = privacy out the window”? i’m not in the eu, so help me out here) number two: and i cannot emphasize this more, USE YOUR HEAD. i looked into it immediately after i saw the announcement a couple of months ago and came to the conclusion that i probably needed it. it’s meant to accompany instagram, too—hence why you need an ig to get it and why you need to delete your instagram to rid of it; which tells me the bad reaction to this on here has been a major case of knee-jerk reactions without reading into it first. i’ve been in need of a place like that, a place that’s sort of twitter-ish but is a more user-friendly (and it is! it took me three days to gain 20 followers on threads; twitter, it took me a month; tumblr, it took me two months). if i was a sex worker, i wouldn’t touch the place with a ten-foot pole (and i sure as fuck wouldn’t link my personal facebook to my business instagram, like… i stopped doing that in 2012 with facebook and twitter because i thought it looked bad. really, who does that, especially if you’re a sex worker?) people on here are utterly abysmal when it comes to critical thinking and the fact so many on here are bitching about this tells me no one thought it out and instead ironically took the cowards’ way out. and this is a corollary of that but… if you got nothing to hide, stop worrying about this. really. some of you going all lecture-y about this probably don’t remember the patriot act after 9/11, how we had our privacy invaded with wire-tapping and checking the mail. hell, roe v. wade, at its core, was about a right to privacy. we all have a right to privacy, but violations of it have been going on for decades and truly getting it back has been such a tall order that it’s nearly impossible. plus, all of you saying that it’s an invasion of privacy will always make me laugh because you guys are the same generation letting technology rule your lives and letting a harebrained app like tiktok completely destroy your brain, heart, and attention span, like it’s so ironic.

and just like with american elections, it really comes down to the lesser of two evils. i don’t like zuck or elon, but i’ll take the former because at least i know what i’m getting myself into there; elon has just destroyed everything in his wake to the point of no return (so weird to think that in 2018, i thought he was going to save us all, too). but i promise if you’re in north america, and if you have your location turned off on the instagram app in settings, you’ll be fine.

A Checkpoint with Zinnia

"So, you're that version of Lacey that's an Arceus, huh?" Zinnia was on her phone. "Here, let me finish up this text to Hilda. She's double-checkin' with me about someone to add to our chat."

"I don't mind waiting." Arceus shook her head. 

"Alright. Let… them… in… and… bee… are… bee…" Zinnia finished pressing a few buttons and put her phone away. "Thanks for waitin'. Was letting them know that I'm down for adding Nemona to our group since Leaf is. Anyway, you got my full attention. Surprised that you took so long to get to me."

Arceus chuckled nervously. "Sorry. Wanted to make sure I don't get on Heidi's bad side too soon, you know? Anyway, let's have a chat." She lifted her hand and snapped her finger.

--- 

Zinnia and Arceus found themselves in a park sitting in front of a bench. Upon looking around, Zinnia could tell that it resembled Johto's National Park. Even the tall grass and fountain in the middle looked like it. However, the place seemed… a little empty to be the one that she's familiar with.

"I simply replicated the park, if you're wondering. If you want, you can send out your Pokémon to play while we chat."

Zinnia nodded and took out four of her Pokéballs and tossed them. Out came Salamence, Goodra, Noivern, and Altaria.

"...no Shiro today?"

Zinnia shook her head. "Shiro wanted to spend some time with Gigalith, Tyrantrum, and Tyranitar." She then turned to her partners. "Hey! Go have some fun, alright? Don't get in too much trouble, y'hear?"

Everyone made a cry and then went to play in the grass. Now, Zinnia was alone with Arceus. 

"So, ya mind if I call you Lacey?" Zinnia turned to Arceus.

"Huh? You sure?"

"Uh-huh! Since you're another version of Lacey, then you're Lacey to me! I'm sure there are big differences, but, if you're Lacey, then it doesn't matter what version I'm talking to, honestly." She laughed.

Arceus laughed in return. "You have a fair point. Then, I guess you can call me Lacey."

Zinnia nodded.

The two looked out and took a whiff of the nice breeze. Zinnia had her eyes on Salamence and Altaria, who were having the most fun of the four of them.

"I know that Lacey -- your Lacey I mean -- hasn't talked much about me to you, but I've seen a lot of worlds in my days, both as a Creator and as a visitor. I've seen so many versions of people, yet they all seem so unique and fresh every time."

"Oh, yeah?" Zinnia chuckled. "I'm sure other versions of me are probably a lot more interesting than me, then."

Arceus shook her head in disagreement. "No, I think you're just as interesting in many of the others, but in different ways than them. You seem to more often than not find yourself having an eventful life." She giggled.

"Eventful is one way to put it." Zinnia joined in the giggling. "Hell, if you told me several years ago when I first met Lacey that my life would continue to have as many twists and turns as it did before I left to Unova, I wouldn't've believed ya. Yet, here we are." Zinnia shrugged. "Now, I'm sittin' here in a park as a Hero of Ideals alongside a version of Lacey that's always been an Arceus. This is the shit they put in fairytales, you know?"

Arceus laughed.

"Exactly! You get what I mean!" Zinnia continued laughing. Then, eventually she stopped and returned to the subject. "I don't regret it, though. Rayquaza and I have met so many people… made so many friends… and we got to share so many memories with those friends, too. Sure, we all got together because the world was at risk, and we lost Lady Arceus in the process, but I think it was all worth it in the end, you know?"

Arceus nodded. "Yeah. I think so, too. Honestly, I'm proud of you, Zinnia. I'm sure that your Lacey is, too."

Zinnia rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. Don't get sappy with me jus' 'cause I let up a little bit! My Lacey already tries to act like my mom sometimes. I don't need you to be like that, too!"

Arceus chuckled. "But it's the truth! I am proud of you! You've been so nice to all of the Pokémon that you've met. Without you, none of this would have been really possible! You should give yourself some credit."

"Alright, alright! I'll give myself a little credit, then."

"There you go! See, you're special, after all."

"Okay, little miss Arceus. I'm not goin' that far, 'specially compared to you or your counterpart."

The two giggled together.

When they calmed down, Zinnia went to continue. "Hey… Lacey?"

"Yes, Zinnia?"

"Can I ask for advice about somethin'? I think I may have mentioned it to my Lacey a while ago, but she wasn't sure."

"You can ask me anything."

Zinnia started to explain. "I've been havin' weird dreams on occasion. Dreams of me gettin' up and, some way or another, findin' out that--"

"--I've turned into a Latias."

"Sometimes it's through lookin' at the bathroom mirror. Other times it's because of a fall. Once it was even through talking with dad and seein' my reflection in the water. Every time, though, right when I start to scream, I wake up abruptly screamin'."

"Oh? And how long has that been happening?"

"Uh… probably since Lacey left, really." Zinnia crossed her arms. "It's not every night, but it's consistent enough that I'm tryna better understand it, really."

"Well, let's talk about it." Arceus nodded. "How would you feel about being turned into a Latias?"

"Huh? Well…" Zinnia looked away. "I… don't know what to feel, really. I know that I come off as this wild child of a woman… that my dragon wrestling and my style of fighting makes me seem like a wild Pokémon, but well… I'm just a human, you know… and I kinda like that. Sure, I'm a little crazy and am surrounded by all of these Legendary Pokémon, but I like having aspirations of being just… a girl at times. It's nice to hang out with my human friends and kinda be on their level a bit… or to spend time with Leaf without worryin' that I'd maybe one day outlive her by thousands or millions of years. If I were to wake up tomorrow as a Latias, sure a part of me would be excited to try out all of the shit that I could do or know that I can protect this world more directly, but… I'd feel like a part of me would be lost."

"I see…" 

"Yeah… I know it's weird to say that a part of me would be lost or sad at what I lost, especially considering how it would probably be an honor to many others, but… I just really like my life as it is and what I've made of it so far. I like the future that I'm working for myself. Just feel like all the cards would be coming down."

"Mmm. I understand." Arceus closed her eyes and nodded.

"...though, if it were any Legendary Pokémon, Latias wouldn't be that bad of a choice, really." Zinnia diverted a little to lighten the mood. "Considerin' I'm basically Lati's big sis and that I'm around so many Latias, I'd say I'm an honorary Latias in some regard."

Arceus smiled. "Being a Latias is a nice life… well, when you're not out for war for 700 years like your Lacey at least."

"Fair point! I'll pass on that much war for once, thanks~" 

The two laughed together. Then, when Arceus calmed down, she looked over at Zinnia's playing Pokémon to see how they were doing. They were still having fun, though now Noivern was having most of the fun.

"Well, if you ask me, considering that you started having the dream after your Lacey left, maybe it's your brain thinking about other ways that your life could change in an instant from a change. After all, look at your Lacey. She's doing better now but becoming Arceus caused her to divorce your father and separate from much of the family she cherished so closely. She's probably thinking about and missing you now. Perhaps your brain thought to itself, 'what other ways could this happen, but to me?' It is as you said… it would turn your life upside-down. You'd not be a human anymore, but a Legendary Pokémon like Tor or Rayquaza or me… and that's not necessarily the life that you want right now."

Zinnia nodded somberly. "Yeah… somethin' like that."

"It's an understandable feeling to have, Zinnia -- a very human feeling -- if I may."

Zinnia rolled her eyes. "Alright, dad." She snickered.

"Either way, I'm sure that all will go well for you. I cannot predict the future for you, but if there's anyone that I would have faith in to handle anything that they can come across, even if some strange dream becomes a stranger reality, then it would be you, Zinnia. You've given Heidi enough heart attacks and came out on top for me to say that."

Zinnia laughed again. "Alright, Lacey. Bet my Lacey told you to say that."

"No, but she definitely would have said it exactly as I did."

The two chuckled and talked for a while. It was a fun time for both of them.

Experience Tonga Toast at Disney World's Kona Cafe

I didn’t mean to do two breakfast recipes this week… And I didn’t mean to do yet another recipe from Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort… Yet, here we are. I can’t help it. I love that resort and I adore their food options. What other place has more classic dining experiences under one roof than Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort? Dole Whips, chicken wings, welcome bread… It’s all amazing!  But what food-related profile of Disney’ Polynesian Village Resort would be complete without mentioning possibly the most famous, the most sought after, the most coveted breakfast of all? More Delicious Recipes You Will Love: - Tie-dye Cheesecake – Disney’s Pop Century Resort - Tostadas De Tinga – San Angel Inn - Wolfgang Puck Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf – Wolfgang Puck Express   That’s right…  Tonga toast. Oh, Tonga toast… Let’s talk about the fanatical, devoted fanbase that people have for Tonga pineapple pancakes and Tonga toast. You wake up to that smell every morning? You just have to have it. You can’t blame them for being practically obsessed with it. And the people not at the Polynesian? Let’s just say I’ve seen some insane daily plans from people, plans that involve getting up super early, taking multiple buses, or walking a mile just so they can get to the Polynesian to have their slice of Tonga toast.  It’s no joke people… Tonga toast is a big thing.toast. The Run Disney runners are obsessed with it because it’s a bounty of perfect race foods…  Bananas, carb-loaded toast, heaping piles of sugar. I think Kona Cafe becomes on par with Be Our Guest during race weekends in terms of how hard it is to get a reservation. Runners want their Tonga toast. Guests at Disney’s Polynesian Village resort are equally as obsessed with the stuff. How can they not be? Every morning the only smell that hits you in the lobby is I didn’t get the magic of the Tonga toast until I stayed at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort for the second time. On our last day, my mom had ordered it at Kona and I tried a bite. That one bite left me hooked. It was sweet banana heaven on a plate (my mom didn’t like it… She’s not a fan of French toast… I know, she’s crazy). I very nearly regretted ordering the pineapple pancakes instead. Nearly…  I’m obsessed with pineapple. Anyway, this is like an eggless banana-stuffed french toast meets sweet Monte Cristo sandwich. Banana is stuffed in bread, deep fried until golden, drenched with sugar and cinnamon and served warm, sometimes with syrup, sometimes without. Occasionally people get a strawberry puree drizzle on top and I’ve seen one strange soul claim that ketchup (?!) on it is the bomb. This recipe made my mouth and my tummy so happy (then immediately made it sad again because I’m on a diet for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon and sugar coated toast isn’t part of the training plan). This tastes exactly, to the smallest detail, exactly like what they serve at Kona Cafe. Sweet, warm, banana so warm it’s gooey, crunchy, and just plain good. It smells like heaven, it tastes like heaven. Put a blindfold on me and turn on some tropical music and I’d tell you I was sitting in a gorgeous tropical-themed lobby of one of my favorite resorts getting ready to grab a monoral for a day at EPCOT. The morning before the half marathon in November, I have a breakfast scheduled at Kona for 7:30. I’m going to go, load up my plate, and eat this like I’m about to run 13.1 miles and not regret a bite of it.  I can’t remember a recipe that’s made me this antsy to get back to Walt Disney World as this one has. In addition to the delicious food and recipes, Disney World is also known for its unique dining experiences, such as character dining and themed restaurants. Whether you want to have breakfast with Mickey Mouse, dine in a replica of a sci-fi drive-in theater at Hollywood Studios, or enjoy a meal with an ocean view at the Coral Reef Restaurant in Epcot, there's something for everyone. And with the help of Recipes Today and the How to Make category, you can even recreate some of these magical dining experiences in your own home. So why not start planning your next Disney-inspired meal or dining experience today? Read the full article