honestly Din giving Bo the Darksaber using his diplomatic skills (understanding group rules and using its own interior logic) to wield a technicality is perfect not only because A) love Din who apparently only knows two other languages (one badly) but is such a natural cultural mediator, but because B) the Darksaber doesn't ACTUALLY mean shit. it's just a lightsaber. only the story is important, and the story only mattered to those people (Axe and the suspiciously-human-centric fleet) in this specific moment.

obviously Din's clan, including the Armorer, didn't give two shits about the Darksaber and what it's "supposed" to mean. even Bo wasn't looking at him as Mandalor.

Din didn't want it, and Bo didn't want to spill more Mandalorian blood by fighting Din for it. better to treat it as exactly what it is. a symbol is only important to the people who acknowledge its symbolism.

I know F1 people is mad about the track limits and all that. But fuck of. Gravel traps? Do you the Red Bull Ring it’s a shared track? Do you know how dangerous are those for the riders?

So if you are feed up with all the problems with the track limits just pick another track. The Red Bull Ring is already dangerous enough for MotoGP guys to add more gravel on it.

And I don’t care that the track could allow to put and take out the ravel trap for F1 or before a MotoGP event because we all know they won’t do it.

So for once, just do something that won’t drag or kill riders and put displays on those fancy and fucking expensive car. Or kill switches to kill the engine. We don’t need to get more riders injured because those fucking cars can’t be keep inside the track limits.

For once in your life, remember you are not the only one using the track and just move around with what other series have

You can choose three riders as your team mates to survive the zombie apocalypse. Who do you choose to max out your chances? Which three means a certain death?

i'm writing this list starting from the assumption that no one is joel miller and they will all probably perish on the first day. here we go.

valentino rossi - he is unhinged enough to find a way out of it. but if i get eaten by a zombie at least i ll look at vale's pretty eyes while being devoured.

jack miller - i feel like he knows what to do in a zombie apocalypse so i trust him. if he can survive the creatures of Australia, he can survive anything

marc marquez - he is a fighter and he has ambition (i mean he got better after those crashes and injuries) so he will fight for this + he will be in competition with vale for who can outlive the other so it's a win-win situation for me. i need entertainment while living in that sad world

certain death team aka the himbo team

fabio quartararo - he is pretty, but unless he has tom with him, his survival skills are zero probably

luca marini

jorge martin (im sorry)

A bit of a rant/analysis below. Nothing super detailed I think but if you’re interested

Ok, so the benefit of looking at stuff tha’ts not quite as good as actually good is that you get to see what works and doesn’t by the mechanics of it, especially when they don’t quite match up.

In and of itself that’s fine and probably good practice

But I’m struggling to put into words WHAT exactly is the difference here between Kicked out of the A Rank party and Beast Master Blahblahblah.

They share similar overall shape (Capable character is kicked out of high ranking party, reveals that they’re actually quite skilled and powerful in their own right, gain attention of cute girls who join together with them as a team and they kick ass)

Easy straight forward.

Chapter lengths are also similar, being about 15 pages or so, a bit on the short side.

Genre is overall the same (fantasy, adventure guilds, monsters, etc)

Main characters have many similarities in this regard, and while I didn’t get super far in Beast Master, (I could only manage 10 chapters before my attention fell off entirely) there’s some pretty pointd differences there too which I’ll get to in a sec. Design Wise, Despite being similarly black haired stock LN dude, I favor A Rank’s a bit more, despite beast master being technically a bit more original looking (He hs brown hair as I recall)

Cute girls, as seen, are also pretty similar. Not super deep characterization, but nobody in this does really so that’s not really the biggest issue but there are differences as well so. Designs are also, similarly, pretty basic from what I’ve seen, although here to I favor A Rank over Beast Master.

Plots are, near as I can tell, about the same. Adventure, See weird stuff, continue. Beast master from what I’ve seen DOES get more complicated, and maybe my issues with it later get worked around.

And then the general magic systems don’t seem to be quite as different as they could be either…

So what’s the differences then?

The first and most obvious in my mind is that the Main Character in A Rank definitively has a Spine. There’s a small but critical difference of him actively leaving the party that he was a part of, because they were being shit heads. Compare Beast Master, who get’s kicked out.

In both cases, the parties do not recognize the amount of stuff they’re doing for them, but A-Rank’s hero (Yoke) saying hey you fuckers are undervaluing me And actually actively telling them to fuck off gives a stronger impression overall compared to Rain who is actually undervaluing themselves.

A further point in A-Rank’s favor for main characters, is that Yoke (despite being yet another example of stock MC uber badass in certain respects) also demonstrably is actively expanding his skills and abilities. While there’s definitely a certain point where it probably leans too far into hyper competence, there’s also the ready and actually completely reasonable excuse that This Man Was On A High Ranking Party. Of course he should know all this stuff, he’s been at it for years. Him expanding his range of skills makes sense, and the fact that the seems to actively go out of his way to do paints him in a better light.

By comparison, Rain, protag of beast master….Doesn’t seem to be doing that. He’s already very strong in a lot of ways, ut I think the thing that absolutely kills it is that he seemingly has no experience with OTHER normal beast masters (it’s made abundantly and explicitly clear early on in the few chapters I read that he has not met ANY other beast masters. Just no one else in his trade at all, despite being a high ranker). This undervalues his skills by a large amount, and rather than serving to be impressive, it just comes off as fellating the main character “Look how good they are!��� rather than just being a build up of their skills.

Again, It’s not like Yoke’s a hyper well built up character either, but the fact that he IS aware of what he’s worth, the fact that he does seem to go out of his way to build up his skills, and the fact that the story ad setting in general DOES make it a point to show why some of his thoughts and drives for this make sense.

That is to say,Red Mages (Yokes class and power set) seems to be built around buffing and debuffing (and the debuffs seem pretty legit actually) but there’s a general devaluation of the class and skills, which seems weird at first, until the story encounters the first Big Name Monster and it’s pointed out “Oh yeah, these debuffs Stop Working Well against the big horrible monsters” and you suddenly get it, Oh That’s why they’re devalued. Yes he has a range of buffs that help out, but it’s made clear that LITERALLY all of the buffs can be handled with items, and while carrying them around is a problem, the questionable utility of a specific buffer debuffer when there’s items that can do the job just as well is a fair one to ask. It’s not necessarily a sensible decision, but it’s one that I could understand.

By comparison, Rain’s class of beast tamer is, in universe, seemingly pretty bleh at best, but again I didn’t get super far. But it IS made clear the differences between Rain and others is SPECIAL PROTAG RIGHTS more than Homie Worked his Ass Off and Doesn’t know it. Again, everyone who knows even a bit is constantly surprised at his antics, which get’s old fast.

And ok, in both cases, there’s the party that they get kicked out of. Let’s take a look at them.

Generally speaing, from both cases, both are scumbags. Like Unambiguously so, but there is the difference of Rain’s Party Being Righteous Scumbags (We’re the Hero Party!) vs just Greedy Dickheads (ala Yoke) which does give each a different feel. Not to mention, that while both parties are played as incompetent with their base knowledge, the degree of it for both comes across as wildy different.

In Rain’s Case, again from my limited read I might go back again to see whats up if it changes a touch, there seems to be a genuinely lack of skill, guts and so on, which makes their dismissal come off as well, they’re huge dumbasses. There’s a shallowness to their shallowness if you get me. By comparison Yokes party are SIMILIARLY dumb as a sack of hammers, and you do have to wonder why and how they got as far as they did, but you can at least understand that with the amount that Yoke was doing and he was doing a frankly freakish amount. Yes there’s the oh man look at how competent our hero is thing, but when you see his party go “Oh wait yeah that makes sense we should also do that” and then they do, you kinda start to realize that it’s less Yokes a Freak, and more Yokes the only one with common sense on that party. But in doing so, you can at least understand WHY it is that they’re lacking that knowledge, because they themselves actively undervalued that knowledge that Yoke himself had and made use of.

Like they’re serving the same fucking purpose as dumbasses who don’t know what they lost, but the difference of how it’s demonstrated makes a huge difference there.

Then there’s the element of the girls. Which, hey, it’s what the manga’s about fundamentally. Self insert dude with cute bevy of girls with him, haremy shenanigans, blahblhablah. There’s ways you can play that and be fun so I’m cool with it (and cute girls are cute, it must be said) but the difference of it is..

Again, I only got so far, but it’s made clear that the while neither party has particular depth, the catgirl vs the trio of adventurers who Yoke joins up with have…well…

It’s again a competence thing. Kanade (the catgirl) shows up needing to be rescued from a situation that to all indications is straight up her fault. Explicitly, she’s superhumanly strong, so there shouldn’t be a reason she’s not able to procure some food, even if it is the case that she needs to eat CONSIDERABLY more than a baseline person to keep herself running. Like yes starvation happens, I get it, but it feels like a you dumbass moment rather than a preventable fuck up. Even having her being actively harried by something she couldn’t actually handle would at least make it make sense, but at least in the manga she handles the creature on dregs pretty casually (even if it’s a single blow) so it’s a big ????

By comparison, the Adventurer Girls (Silk, Rain, Marina) are introduced in a considerably lower stakes situation, and more to the point it’s a social situation that by all indications they have…Not under control, but within their ability to handle. As a unit, their competence never actually get’s called into question, and in fact they’re sold as actually VERY talented rookies by our Much More Experienced Protag. They just need more experience and they’ll be golden, which in subsequent big monster fights you can actually see! They handle a monster WAY out of their league by ranking pretty handily (if with injuries) the first time we see it and also get to see our protag flex off his credentials, and the NEXT big monster they similarly get to flex against mostly by themselves and Successfully for the most part.

And individual characterization wise, they’re all simple characters, boy the A Rank and Beast Tamer, but there’s differences in how they’re handled that makes the difference. By introducing them (a rank) as a group, you get to see them bounce off differing characters sooner as compared beast tamer hwo only has the bland Rain to bounce off, and when you introduce Yoke to the mix, there’s an additional dynamic added to the vibe, which makes the simplicity charming rather than bland.

And I guess the last major point is the Romance angle, because of course there is it’s basic middle of the road stuff here, but the general vibe of it and how it’s developed actually feels well…A rank Explicitly has Yoke be an ex teacher of their, and he hasn’t seen them in years, which makes the dynamic of respect and admiration and school girl crushes feel well..Earned I guess. We know how competent Yoke is, he taught them, and they’re good at their jobs by all indications, and they remember that. You can get how that infatuation would develop and it’s cute. Not to mention that they’re on a more even playing field here both setting wise and position wise (he’s out a job, they have an opening, they know he’s skilled everyone wins) but I think critically, for A Rank, is that while it’s clear the girls are smitten with him, they’re also not like…It’s not a big deal? Like they playfully tease him here and there, and he get’s it and a lot of his vibe in regard to it is along the lines of “C’mon really? I mean you know me so I get it, but please be a bit more careful, what if I wasn’t as good a guy as you think I am?” which at once feels like oh yeah duh, but also we see that they DO actually have that common sense and clarity so it comes off as him being well…understandably dense, but also not updating his mental model that they’re young women instead of young girls now if you follow (and one of them is the same age he is, which alright sure whatever, this is not that serious a show and it’s not like they’re doing that annoying shit where it’s like oh they’re 14 or some shit)

Not to mention, for A rank yet again, the romance drama seems to be well…None. They’re all actively into him, and since polygamy is apparently just legal in their country they’ve just kinda seemingly settled into a polycule (which, given the general closeness the girls had already prior to meeting dude, not that I’m expecting anything in the manga to touch on this, does kinda give this vibe of them already being in one of some sort? Or else being close enough that the idea has been broached before which is…A weird consideration but feels right for them which is weird now that I think on it)

Meanwhile, and again, only so far in, There’s the basic rescue for Kanade and that’s…It and she’s already catching feels. She can just sense it you know? And sure fine, but at the same time it feels hollow and threadbare, and since we only have the two to bounce off it doesn’t really rate how good a read she has on things actually (and we, the readers, of course know that Rain is a goody goody sweet nice boy with no inner flaws or whatever)

There’s also just some panelling weakness in general but that’s getting into other issues I don’t particularly want to worry about since I’m looking more at the story telling of the characters than anything, but it’s…

I think I get why A rank hit’s better for me now at least. There’s a level of actual activeness going on for everyone, and while the characters are simple, they’re being allowed to interact with more people at once allowing edges of their personalities to be shown off more. None of the competencies rate as actually abnormal so much as yeah this dude is a skillmonkey in a setting where if you’re a top rank you REALLY should be or else have the aid of one. The setting actually set’s up the importance of this relatively early on, and the main character actually valuing himself set’s him up as being aware of things in a way that makes him immediately likable and personable, even if he is again very simple.

Meanwhile beastmaster things fall flat immediately because mc despite being DEMONSTRABLY a monster in skill and power, also doesn’t seem to realize this, and is more of a passive player in his own story early on. I will actually add here as an additional thing, with the protag being overpowered thing that infects this range of stories, that the difference in how they acquired that and how it’s demonstrated in story makes SUCH a huge difference in the feel of it, even if mechanically it plays out the same. It’s not like you can have I’m just built different as a starting point and it always plays out bad, but given the rest it’s flaccid in support.

Rain knows TOO little about his setting despite the fact that he should know more, and he’s a bit too passive in how he get’s his power (and the fact that his power is one of those ones that makes very clear that he’s going to be overpowered as hell in short order especially given the romance/harem premise just…sucks the tension out of things quick like)

Hi! This is really random but may I know why you don't like Domi? I mean on the rare occasion I watch motoE I don't really vibe with him but I just thought it's because I prefer Eric. Is there any specific reason why?

other than being a massive creep he’s done some pretty unsportsmanlike things during races. at the 2021 motoe finale he and jordi torres were fighting for the championship and he pulled a dodgy move that took jordi out, meaning domi won the championship but he ended up getting a time penalty that was the equivalent of a ride through which meant he lost the championship, then he went on social media and effectively declared himself the moral and true champion (which is bullshit anyways and if he’d not been so desperate he might even have won it fair and square) and then this season in wssp he was involved in a crash, that he didn’t cause he was just collateral damage, and basically faked a concussion to try and get a red flag brought out so he could restart the race, he admitted to doing this the next day and got banned from taking part in race 2 because of it ! finally, and this is just personally, but his fan club just weird me out they’re like a cult almost and apparently only something like ~200 people are allowed to join it’s all very weird and :/

the oc x canon ive allowed myself in the rebornverse is rejuv mc and ren. they're so cute :']]]]]]]]]] to me,,,,, mona just BARELY gets a crush by like karma files though and ren feels Nothing though sooooo lmaoooooo they're doomed as soon as i created them. well ok not Nothing he cares for Mona a lot, just not as like,,,,,, the extent of affection??? if that makes sense. the whole gang's a bit held up with the xenpurge and he's one of the Centers of it i don't think he has the time or thought rlly. for my fav rejuv character and my special lil guy. dorky teenagers in world apocalypse. who are so so doomed.

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is there an outfit that can’t be improved by a moto jacket or am i just too bisexual to function?

hey dolli i have never come on here before but I just want to let go of some pent up feelings I’ve been surprising for about a month now. I’m feeling very insecure about entering the void. I feel this method is something that’s better for me because it is just like sleeping but also I can wake up with my desires instantly. Before I was confident about entering because I entered before even twice but ever since I haven’t been able to enter. I’ve been reading success stories to keep me moto busted but I stopped because it made me feel useless and like a failure💀 because if they can do it why can’t I? No but seriously I’m confused why I can’t enter or wake up in it anymore. I’ve been persisting in affirming and listening to tapes but today I just feel like an idiot. The closest I’ve been to entering was the night before yesterday which was the 6 dec and I could feel myself being lifted up but then I went back down again. I tried again but then I went back down again even though I decided to focus on my affirmations. I can’t help but feel I’m not meant to have my desires and I’m just supposed to stay here and deal with it. I’m sorry I just wanted to vent because I feel so defeated today.

HELLO THERE LOVE 💗

it's completely alright to let your feelings out, I definitely understand how you feel

The fact you mentioned you feel like you could "enter" before but can't do it now?

Sometimes, overconsumption can affect us hard, when you take took much information about it, the more you do, the more you make it sound complicated for you

just imagine! It's simply nothing, nothing special at all, it's a state where you just feel floaty, which we always get in it every night!

AND IM SO HAPPY FOR YOU THAT YOU COULD FEEL INTENSE SYMPTOMS

Believe me, I'm not saying this only to cheer you up, I'm actually being serious, you're literally so so close, but the only obstacles holding you back is insecurities

Which is completely fine, honestly I might suggest you staying away from them Tumblr for a short while if you could? Don't read anything about it too much, but also don't force yourself NOT to think about it too much

Simply act like it's something that's always with you, it's nothing special as it is, putting it on a pedestal is something hard for you

And yes you're absolutely right, if others can then why not you? Because you can, you most definitely can, in fact, these success stories are those same individual who had the exact same feelings and phase as yours

They felt useless on the fact that they can't enter, when now you're reading their success stories? You can see most of them say: ("I swear it's so easy, I don't know how I made it so complicated! - I can't believe I could tap in any night and I made it so complicated for myself - I thought it was fake because of how I couldn't enter but I did!")

You see? This feeling you are having is nothing more than a mere obstacle, because I swear you're literally so close, THE FACT IS, ITS LIKE A SWITCH, ON AND OFF

all you need to do is to simply toggle it

anyways! I suggest you stay away from Tumblr or any social media for a bit and recharge yourself and your confidence, even though it's not necessary but I highly suggest it, to help your confidence sky rocket

In these days of no Tumblr and overconsumption, work on you and yourself, rant about how everything comes in your favor, tell yourself on and on how you love yourself and all the work you did, tell yourself you're going to make it and you trust yourself to make it, in short, love yourself

Find happiness in even smallest things, whenever you get reminded that "you can't enter" laugh about this thought, genuinely think it's nothing more than a intrusive thought, gently push it away, because it's simply not true

In short, detox yourself and your subconscious, do anything you like to detox yourself, simply charge yourself, listen to a subliminal if you want to! Suggesting a self concept one

I swear once you work on your self concept, everything will follow easily, and honestly self concept is so much fun to take the stress away! It's simply loving yourself and telling yourself everything is to your favor because you love yourself

Believe me love, you're not useless, at least everyone had this feeling when trying to enter, you're not a failure in it, because it's simply in every human, accessing it is like nothing more special that it seems, why do you think I say the void isn't special? Because you are special, being blessed by the knowledge of the void, you can most definitely do it, love, take a small break and love yourself, don't be too harsh on yourself 💗

Some (more) Sebastian HCs | part 2

Has an extremely hard time showing his emotions, usually out of necessity due to not wanting to get close to anyone else. Solomon having instilled a sense of worthlessness within him.

Knows when he needs to stop but it's never actually when he needs to stop. Will fight with you till he says something he shouldn't, usually never actually apologizing.

Pushes past boundaries without mercy. If there's something he's looking to achieve, he will by any means.

Sits too close. Tends to touch shoulders with whoever he's sitting next to, probably due to being raised with a twin and them being attached at the hip for most of their life.

Not jealous but overly observant. He'll know if you've spent more time with someone then usual, most likely won't bring it up to you but will rant about it to Ominis just to get the obsession out of his head.

Love language is acts of service. Holding the moto of "you can say I love you all day long, but it won't be real till you show you love them" to heart. Something he learned from his mother.

Knows how to dance, well. He tries to keep up with the skill as well, stating that it's a big reason why he finds dueling so effortless.

I see so many happy or sweet versions of him on my dash and I realized I never made a list of semi-bad HCs for the boy :)

"Why did Din mansplain manipulate malewife his way into giving Bo the Darksaber when he wouldn't give it to Paz?" 1) Paz Vizsla—who up to that point had solely been presented by the narrative as a loyal Mandalorian and Professional Din Djarin Hater (we love him for it)—rolled up to my man Din like "maybe you suck at the Darksaber because it belongs to me because my ancestor made it." (tBoBF, S1E5.) Then he directly challenged Din to a duel. If you think Din wouldn't respond to that with "hell yes let's fucking go," then you don't understand Din.

2) Bo-Katan had already refused to accept the Darksaber from Din and did NOT challenge Din to duel for it even though she had ample opportunities to do so. She could've challenged Din in her own throne room. It certainly would've helped her get her squad back so she could retake Mandalore! But she'd given up. She lost faith.

3) By the time Din and Bo are before Axe and the fleet, Bo has proven herself a capable leader many times over. She's had a genuine come-to-Mythosaur moment, she rescued Din, she's performed the highest of Mandalorian services by rescuing a child, AND she's been honored by the covert's leader (Din's leader) to work to bring other Mandalorians back to the Way. Also she was literally trained as a leader from birth (not JUST born to it, which Mandalorians *SHOULD not care about.)

4) Din cares about two things: Grogu, and being a good Mandalorian. Being a good Mandalorian in that instance meant following his alor's word and ensuring that Bo-Katan be successful in her appointed mission to bring Mandalorians together. It didn't matter to him up until that point because the Darksaber ONLY matters to the people who believe it matters. "Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government!"

5) So my boy (who demonstrated throughout that episode—and even before—that he's very good at sussing out the reasoning methods of an individual/group and utilizing those methods to further his own goals,) thought about it for 5 seconds and figured out a way to convince Axe and the others (and Bo, for that matter) that, actually, this stupid shit I mean super important symbol belongs to Bo. He used the group's own programming (lol droids) against them.

6) "But using that logic it would ACKCHULEE belong to—" Great, you've figured out how stupid the Darksaber bylaws are. That's the whole point.

*There are some Mandalorians who do care about bloodlines but they suck and it goes against OG Mandalorian culture.

I've always been curious to ask you if there's a particular reason you don't like Aegerter or you just don't vibe with him 🤔😅 Maybe you said that somewhere but I don't remember 😅

I don't think I ever told anyone why I dislike Aegerter, so don't worry, you didn't miss it. I also apology because this is more of a ranting than anything else and I apologize if I upset anyone.

The short answer is that he wins too much, and my DNA is to cheer for the underdogs.

The long answer is that he wins got much, he is too damn aggressive and the disrespect he showed towards WSSP last year. At first, I like him, as I tend to like riders that are aggressive and by aggressive I don't mean dangerous (Darryn Binder is the exception, he is my fucking exception). I like riders that are able to overtake, riders that are able to go from the mid of the pack to the top, that's why I'm in love with Suzuki, their drivers and Brad. So, when I saw him at the start of last year I was like 'okay, I like him'.

As the season progressed, he was at the podium nearly every weekend. In MotoE he 4 got out of 7. In one race, he was 4th 0.5 behind the leaders, in another he finished 18th after a crash and in the last race he ended in P7 (if my maths don't let me down) after causing a collision with Jordi Torres while he was fighting for the championship. He then got a 38s penalty as they would have given him a ride-through. This penalty is the one that made him lose the championship.

In WSSP he finished on the podium 18 out of 23 races (technically 21 as he decided to miss 2 races to be able to "win the MotoE"). He actually had such a big gap to the others that he literally could miss the 2 races and when he came back, he was still the championship leader. (He also was lucky that his rivals had a terrible result).

The way he is risking so much and doing some overtakes that are so at the limit (he openly admitted it after Race 1 this Round) it does not sit well with me. He always goes to the limit and potentially can be dangerous Don't get me wrong, he is not a dirty or dangerous rider per se, but toying with the limit it's a dangerous weapon in itself. Actually, I think I saw a couple of riders having to pick their bike when Aegerter is overtaking them, so I don't think this is the way to go, especially with someone who has been racing for so long.

I think this makes 0 sense. To sump it up, the reason that I don't like him is that I don't want to see his face every time a race has ended. I want so fair competition, and he kinda scares me.

cpfs are getting a Lot of hate rn bc of the banners at the airport

thoughts?

What are my thoughts? 🙃

I think people should stay in their own damn lane, both the solos who are whining about what turtles are doing, and the turtles who are whining about what the solos think/say about turtles.

And if you're talking about Twitter, where some turtles are falling all over each other bitch other turtles out the loudest and seem the most blameless... the same applies. Keep Twitter toxicity where it belongs. Don't bring it here. Most of us are here to get away from that garbage.

As for the light banners, it's pretty convenient for solos to continually say that turtles should only bring green to events. They hate BXG, so of course they're going to want to eliminate our fandom color from any event. But the idea that we should show up in solo colors is absurd and totally offensive.

I have said this before, turtles have absolutely every right to show their support to GG and DD. They have absolutely every right to show their colors at events. The problem isn't the colors, it's fan behavior that can be a problem. People showing fandom colors should behave in ways that present the fandom in a positive light.

As far as I could see, the people crowding DD and his team out at the airport were not wearing any fandom color, and were just individuals making bad choices (many could quite possibly have been shishengs, paps and daipai such as those who did similar at the airport when GG was leaving for Europe). The fans tend to be well-behaved. It's those others who are unscrupulous and will do anything for a shot.

Even still, when it comes to fans behaving badly - those are their mistakes to make. I'm not going to get invested in their behavior beyond being concerned for DD and his comfort/safety. Frankly his security should have been better provided for in that situation, even if it was to call ahead and get a team there for when he landed to ensure things didn't get out of hand.

People who think that turtles showing up in green would stop us from being attacked or would prevent fan wars are deluding themselves. Motos would just move on to the next complaint - the content of the banners, the dolls, or 'shipping', or whatever other issues they have with turtles - until turtles were basically motos and the world was indistinguishable from a world without turtles.

Solos continually try to stamp out any positive fan support turtles show. They even do it with the charitable works that are done in Boxiao's name. Catering to motos won't get anyone anywhere. Of course we should not go to war, but we also should not be afraid to exist and show our support.

LIVE AND LET LIVE. There's never any excuse for fighting and arguing. I also feel there's never any need to berate other fans in lengthy threads such as the ones I've seen on Twitter over the past couple of days. It's just sanctimonious posturing. Are the actual people complained about even reading the post? Unlikely.

And this is something I see in fandom all the time and that I have a whole other rant about in another post in my drafts... people making a huge scene and stirring up a lot of drama around something they think someone else is doing, and then pointing to that same drama they just brought and saying "See! Look at all the drama that person is causing!"

If fans don't want drama about these things then they should just stop bringing it. Block and ignore, and report when appropriate. The world becomes very peaceful when we curate our online experience.

If people find the behavior of others so troubling they should just cut it out of their lives in the exact same way.

I would like to remind any solos who freak out about turtles and our behavior, there are only two people on the planet with the power to shut turtles down, and those boys have remained remarkably silent about us, and if anything have continued to feed us. Solos should reflect on that, sit down and be humble.

VG: Shouting Match - PART 2

A horrific, unending ringing occupied Vitani's head for hours. Whatever external natural ambience such as crickets and hornbill calls were not only muffled, but drowned out by the awful new frequency. She hoped it wouldn't be forever, as she loved the sounds of twilight. ____ Meanwhile, the rest of the Guard shared this same misery as they surveyed Mekundu Cliffs until dusk. Kelele hadn't been found, and being unable to listen for her presence was no help. Imara shook her head. This wolf's power was so new to everyone. Her very own leader found herself in trouble trying to counteract it. Despite watching Vitani meet her match, Imara wished her friend hadn't left so soon...

____ Vitani retreated to a secluded spot far in the outskirts of the Pridelands. There, she struck a stick against a flammable rock, and tossed the newly-made torch in front of herself. Vitani took a breath, feeling the voices of the past within her chest. With a clear, confident voice, she bellowed: "Roho ya Moto!"

The fire from the torch twisted in a slight current as it grew. Suddenly, a bright, orange flash filled the site. Vitani flinched. There was Nuka, seemingly in the middle of a song he'd been humming. Turning around, he shrieked at his living sister standing before him. "Ugh, can't a ghost get some beauty sleep around here? Sheesh!" "Nuka, this isn't the time for lounging about in the great beyond. I need your help." Vitani deadpanned. "But-" "You promised me I could summon you any time I needed to. Was that not what you said?" "Ohh, alright, alright..." Nuka pouted, "Whaddya need, termite?" "I need your help against this... creature with this weird power. She makes this loud noise that makes the ground shake, knocks everyone down." "That doesn't sound too different from what you do..." "Exactly!" Vitani clenched her paw, "Just... that but incredibly overwhelming! I need to do something different from her. "Soo... why are you asking me?" Nuka squinted, "Why not ask those old guys for help?" "Like Askari, or something? I don't have time to learn everything in one go, let alone waltz back and forth to the Cikha Escarpment, are you crazy?!" "Oh..." Vitani growled, "We gotta come up with something quickly! Some way to cheat..." As Nuka hummed in thought, whispers brushed past his ears. He listened for them. "Hmm? Ooh, yeah. But... wouldn't that hurt? Oh... okay... worth a try..." Nuka muttered to the voices. "What do they say?" Vitani piped. "I promise it won't hurt." Nuka smiled. "What won't-" Vitani's heart raced, "...Nuka -- whoa, whoa, whoa -- WHAT?!" Before Vitani could cower, Nuka's ghastly form launched itself towards Vitani. Nuka's spirit had possessed Vitani's body! Through symbiosis, Vitani and Nuka had duel thoughts and memories, and most importantly; a new power the Roar was now capable of. Feeling an immense burning in her chest, despite her flesh receiving no damage from it, Vitani unhinged her mouth and let out a huge cloud of fire as she roared in agony and pure shock. ____ As Vitani trained with her new fire powers, a kidnapping had taken place while none of the adults were looking... Sauti was staying behind from the royals as they'd discussed amongst themselves about the pup's place in the Pridelands, feeling out-of-place being the only painted dog, and only dog that was really around in the Pridelands. Beginning to stray from the pride, he eventually stumbled across a stranger, a canine like him who claimed she would volunteer as Sauti's adoptee, but it had all been a trick... As Kelele snatched Sauti up, she ranted and raved that the pup could very well signify the return of the Lightning Cry, a power allegedly wielded by the legendary Sikio, a fellow painted dog like Sauti. She couldn't wait to train the boy to awaken a dormant power, and to someday challenge her. If she could defeat the Roar-Wielder, the Lightning-Wielder would be next on her record. The pup was confused. He didn't know of such a legend, nor of such a power. All he knew to do was yell for help. ____ As Vitani exited the secluded area where she'd trained, her ears -- despite still being damaged -- picked up on commotion nearby. She'd rushed to Pride Rock to find that the royals were demanding that Kelele put Sauti down unharmed. The Guard had also tried to subdue her to no avail, Kelele warning that if they dared touch her, she would kill the boy right then. The sight of a crazed woman putting the life of a young boy on the line triggered bitter memories in Vitani of her very own mother's behavior of bargaining with Kovu's life. Overall, Vitani did not take kindly to the sight of children being in danger. Enraged, fire began to build up from Vitani's chest as she told everyone to get behind her. Kelele merely smiled in amusement, awaiting yet another pathetic, predictable attempt to send her flying. Suddenly, flames erupted from Vitani's throat, accompanied by a garbled, pained roar. Kelele dropped Sauti in shock. Luckily, the pup scrambled over to the royals to get out of the way of Vitani's new, hazardous move. "These lands ain't big enough for two power-wielders, Kelele..." Vitani scowled. Unsure how to calculate her moves against fire, a terrifying element she didn't foresee, and now felt blazing the end of her tail, Kelele cowered and scurried away, revealing herself to be a rather poor sport. Vitani heaved as she felt Nuka's spirit leave her body, as Nuka's time to guide his sister had been up once again. The Fire Roar was uncomfortable, but she appeared to have won with it. She slowly turned to see everyone's shocked faces. She walked up to everyone, and looked down at the little newcomer to the Pridelands, and gave a polite nod of approval. ____ ((Author's Note: Vitani discovers how to use fire with her Roar! Long ago, inspiration from this post led me into coming up with fire as a possible element controlled by the Roar, and something unique to Vitani as leader of the Guard. I eventually figured that since Nuka returned as a Fire Spirit, I thought I'd combine the two concepts by having Vitani and Nuka's spirits fuse in a symbiosis/possession-like way. Their fusion is temporary, just as Nuka's time to give Vitani advice is. Since the showdown scene is a trope borrowed from decades of cartoons reenacting the climactic scene in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, I guess this makes Vitani the Good, Kelele the Bad, and... Nuka... the Ugly? He always gets the short end of the stick huh))

Hey! Journeying over from rereading your fics to ask you some Poirot questions! : ) Had you already liked Poirot prior to 2017’s Murder on the Orient Express? And did you immediately fall in love with Bouc in the first film or did it take until Death on the Nile?

Hi!! I love talking about Poirot!! Buckle up😂😂

First off I would like to say that it made my day to see that not only did you read my fics but you reread them!! And then you actually came here to talk to me!! You’re the first person who’s actually done that so it really made my day. 

Also: I apologize in advance. When I start talking about Poirot I tend to launch into rants and I… may have done that here so I will say now in case you don’t make it to the end that I would love to hear your thoughts about the movies or anything else Poirot related! Did you know about Poirot before the movie? What are your thoughts about Bouc?

To answer your questions, I guess I could say that technically I liked Poirot before watching the movie. I actually had never heard about Poirot until the movie came out, and one of my sister’s friends took her to see it and then leant her the book. I stole it and read it in almost one night and ever since then have been absolutely enthralled by Agatha Christie! I own almost all of the Poirot books and have been trying to branch out and sample her other writings, but I keep coming back to Poirot. 

By the time Death on the Nile came out I forgot the Bouc was a character who existed because I hadn’t seen MotOE since it came out in 2017. When I saw him, I did remember that he’d been in the last movie, and was absolutely delighted that they were going to turn him into the Hastings of the movies (especially because he was so happy and full of life😭) which of course we all know what happened with that and now that I’ve recovered from my shock and denial I can take a step back and acknowledge it was a FANTASTIC choice to kill him, and to do it in such a shocking way—but also, I’m also not a a fan of how much Kenneth Branagh deviated from the source material by doing that. 

Adding Bouc to the movie was a choice that made sense, if Kenneth Branagh is going for a Poirot Cinematic Universe. People expect a sidekick, and in stories where the cast has to change every movie, it’s nice for the audience to have a familiar face other than the main detective. However, I also think Kenneth Branagh shot himself in the foot by shooting Bouc in the neck, because he went out of his way to add and establish Bouc as a reoccurring character, just to kill him off in the second movie. I think the audience will now have more difficulty connecting with the side characters in the future since they’ve had two movies with the same character, as a opposed to already being used to the characters changing every movie. But then again, I’m still in denial. Along with this, it’s setting up the next movie to have a distinctly dark tone.

Well, now I’ve gotten started on the topic of Poirot and I can’t stop😂😂😂 Enjoy my decent into madness.

Another way that dear Kenny boy shot himself in the foot is with the iconic mustache. His mustaches in MotOE were luscious and beautiful, despite the critic they received. Branagh understood that Poirot has impressive mustaches that are quite a spectacle to behold, even if the rest of the world can only picture the measly little mustache that David Suchet displays in his version of Poirot (don’t get me wrong I love those adaptations but just… the mustache is all wrong. And David Suchet Poirot is a subject for a different time or we’ll be here forever😂😂). In DotN, for some reason he felt the need to give the mustaches a tragic backstory????? Narratively, I guess it’s a nice bookend and theme to the movie as a whole. BUT HE FELT THE NEED TO GIVE THE MUSTACHES A TRAGIC BACKSTORY????????????? Despite the fact that in DotN the mustaches aren’t actually long enough anymore to cover up the scaring shown at the beginning, HAIR DOESNT GROW ON SCAR TISSUE!!!! It just doesn’t make sense😭 Along with that, now he’s destroyed the main characteristic of Poirot, his trademark. Poirot is quite vain about his mustaches and even when he wears a fake one in Curtain (for reasons that I won’t spoil but if you know you know) Hastings only finds out at the end of the book, and Poirot’s manservant treats the subject with delicacy since the mustaches were such a sensitive subject to Poirot. 

While I’m STILL talking about Poirot (forgive my rant I can’t stop) I’m going to take the opportunity to mention the stark difference in quality between MotOE and DotN. I’ve now seen both of these movies multiple times and back to back. Overall, I think MotOE is much better. DotN uses a lot of green screen, and it’s pretty obvious and creates for some flat feeling backgrounds. For MotOE, they took shots of the mountains and overlayed the train on, instead of all CGI. Now, I don’t know for sure how much of each movie and which parts use CGI; it could be that MotOE uses more CGI and I just have a bad eye for spotting it. It was just my impression that the backgrounds in DotN were severely lacking. 

And let’s talk about the music. MotOE delivers and excellent score that makes you feel a wide variety of emotions, and they use the theme of repetition well in The Armstrong Case. For me, it had just reached the point in the movie where the theme could have started to be annoying; but the. they used it magnificently when Poirot was explaining the murder, and the simple and relentless, already melancholy melody turned into something truly heartbreaking, turning a scene of twelve people stabbing a man to death into something poetic. 10/10 one of the best uses of music and one of the best scenes ever, in my opinion. DotN, besides the songs sung by the talented Sophie Okonedo as Salome Otterbourne, has no notable music to take away from the movie, besides the absolutely grating (I don’t know what it’s called but it goes like. DUN DUN. DUUUN! DUN DUN. DUUUN! I think if you search Death on the Nile on YouTube you’ll find the song titled the same by Patrick Doyle). I got tired of hearing that by the third time it played, and my annoyance with it was one of the main things that I took away from the movie. 

AND ANOTHER THING both movies took creative liberties with the stories, but one of the creative liberties I did not like about DotN was how explicit they made it. Between that dance floor scene and the scene at the tomb… when I go to see a movie that’s rated PG-13 I like to feel comfortable seeing it with my father and not feel the need to slam my hands over my little sister’s ears. Especially when I want to slam them over my ears instead😭

All this being said I’m 100% going to go see a Haunting in Venice, but not because I’m expecting it to be good. I’d just like more fuel for my rants. I didn’t even get touch upon what an amazing actor Tom Bateman is and how I’m mad that he only plays serial killer roles outside of Bouc. 

Anyways I hope that answers your questions😅 thank you for your ask, and congratulations if you made it this far. It did truly make my day to see the phrase “rereading” in association with my fics, and I feel as if you were some curious passerby on the street who I started passionately and somewhat aggressively ranting at. I apologize. Also I took a break from ranting to check out your blog and you’ve got a great curation of posts. Good luck getting rid of me now. Prepare to see me in your notifications. Sorry for the essay.

free space for u to rant about sm entertainment if needed

it's sad/frustrating to see recurrence of the same issue SM faced in the past. did they really believe that no one would stand up again? im optimistic that this time the outcome will be better and lead to meaningful changes (considering SM is not in their prime years anymore, this could have a substantial impact on them, i hope). for outcome i wish to see resolution that not only addresses the problem at hand but also brings change in the management and decision-makers within the company. "let's remove these inhumane individuals responsible for making such contracts and prioritize the well-being and creative freedom of our artist." - i hope this becomes new moto of SM and their 3.0 Kwangya thingy