#i get why that assumption was made! but the evidence doesn't bear it out

[knowlesian]

like the research nerd i am, i decided to get together all the evidence (aka: all the scenes where izzy and ed talk about death, stede’s or otherwise, since you always need the whole data set on this kind of thing to sort out the answer) to try to suss out if the text tells us whether izzy knows about ed’s fine line on killing.

just to make it easy on myself, i’ll start with breaking down the scenes first, in order from e3-6.

e3 - 

- izzy asks if “we” should attack/kill/feed to the sharks stede and co; this could imply ed would take part, but it could also mean the rest of the crew sans ed, so inconclusive.

e4 - 

- the talking tough way ed mentions the spaniards dying seems a bit odd if izzy knows ed never kills directly/feels morally weird about the subject, but also inconclusive.

- “what’s the plan”/“the ushze” conversation about the revenge’s crew is again on the ambiguous end; it doesn’t really give us much on who would be doing the executing.

- until a little later! when izzy casually orders ivan and fang to kill the crew for him. this doesn’t give us much re: ed, but it does show izzy offloads his own killing as well and isn’t the Ship Executioner as a matter of course.

- during their first conversation about stealing stede’s identity ed implies he’ll be doing the killing, and izzy doesn’t appear to assume otherwise/show any surprise or shock ed would break a decades-long rule.

(which to me is the first potentially slam dunk piece of evidence: the natural response to finding out something like that would be anything but easy acceptance, if izzy was aware this would be the severest of breaks in pattern for ed. it’s like... we all have that one friend who orders the same thing every single time they go to a restaurant, and if they ever switch it up people go OH SHIT, THO. this is more than that— this is like a lifelong vegan ordering a whole rack of ribs without warning. essentially: when you know somebody’s rock-solid established patterns and they up and break one, you don’t go yeah sure okay. i have no shock.)

e5 -

- ed tells fang to kill the french captain for him and again there’s no shock or indication this is unusual, so it’s definitely not just izzy doing ed’s killing either way.

e6- 

- opens with izzy’s internal monologue that after two weeks of spending 24/7 living up each other’s assholes he’s “beginning to suspect” ed himself isn’t going to kill stede. which seems odd, if izzy has any idea ed doesn’t kill— why would he be surprised ed’s getting cold feet at all? and if it took him two weeks to be like, wait. ed’s maybe NOT gonna kill this guy??? even though he knew killing was a line for ed, that seems a weird way to say that/approach this situation. 

(on a formatting note: the fact that this is the single moment of internal thoughts given as voiceover/monologue on the series— eta, forgot about mary! overall point stands, but accuracy!!! refining arguments is always best. this is also interesting since stede’s narration is given via his narration to lucius in-world which makes mary and izzy the unreliable/reliable no in-world explanation for the monologuing pair, anyway back to the action— and worth thinking deeper about. the writers made sure to establish even in the privacy of his own head, izzy isn’t thinking to himself anything but ‘huh. maybe ed... isn’t going to do it????’ and that it took him literally two weeks to suss out ed’s flirting, not getting ready to do a murder. 

they also juxtapose the monologue with ed being obviously flirty and enjoying himself— so obviously that Fang and Ivan can see it—  so on the emotional intelligence/reading the room and seeing things he doesn’t want to see side: if izzy’s been with ed for years and it took him two weeks to notice ed was playing footsie vs plotting murder, that’s another mark against the idea that he can read ed like a book.)

- then we get a direct line into the scene where izzy tells ivan and fang ed is for sure gonna kill stede, he promised. so unless we’re meant to take away that izzy is aware this would be huge for ed and is simultaneously not running cover/setting up things to pressure ed before he ever offers to do it himself (or even thinks he’ll have to!) this feels like more evidence he has no idea. (because the use of internal monologue just told us izzy isn’t lying to ivan and fang here: he 100% expects ed to do it, and not that he’ll want or need izzy to step in.)

- which leads into izzy bringing ivan and fang in to push ed. (and being a bit of an unreliable narrator once again, as he speaks for ivan and fang despite the earlier scene where they push back on him and don’t agree with his desire move ed along.) if we read in that izzy knows ed doesn’t kill, this positions izzy as the kind of skilled manipulator that just doesn’t scan with the rest of what we see from him. the kind of sneaky/fucked up you have to be to know ed’s line here and only implicitly threaten that image while also bringing in fang to remind ed about the dog doesn’t fit with izzy’s blaring sirens/neon sign mode of persuasion. izzy sort of just says FUCKIN DO THE FUCKIN THING I WANT! FUCK!!! he’s not a sneak around corners dude. if izzy 100% thinks ed kills people then this is a scene of him getting more and more impatient about annoying foot dragging.

- then we get to: “i’ll happily end it.” / “no, it’s my mess. i’ll do it.” izzy only volunteers to kill stede for ed after two weeks of waiting and after pulling in ivan and fang and still getting nothing, and again he expresses no surprise or doubt at ed’s continued promises he doesn't need the assist, either verbally or physically. 

(this is also the only time izzy offers to kill for edward, in the entire run of the show, outside “you’re not doing this. so i must” before the duel begins. izzy says over and over he absolutely expects ed to kill and isn’t assuming it would be hard or a break from pattern, and only once in ten whole episodes offers to do it for him. these are very careful writers: i can’t imagine this is a mistake.)

- this is immediately followed in the same conversation by izzy saying “send him to doggy heaven” as a followup to the offer which... again, as ever, makes me die laughing. but also shows us: izzy still has zero real doubts ed himself is gonna do this, and has once again not acted like somebody who thinks this is hard for ed, or a change in pattern. he offered, but by the end of the conversation izzy is back to: yeah, of course ed will do it.

so, my baseline argument: just given what we see in the text, it seems far more likely izzy doesn’t know ed doesn’t kill. 

it’s either that or he’s somehow aware but not in any way confused/shocked/even vaguely suspicious that ed is changing this long-held rule out of nowhere, and is comfortable using it against ed despite knowing in a way that positions him as more of a manipulator and not just a guy trying to hurry ed along and get rid of stede, already. 

beyond that izzy never mentions ed’s choice not to directly kill a single time, even in his own brain or when telling ed he wishes he was dead in the finale; it seems a huge writing oversight to leave that out, if izzy is trying to provoke ed and/or prove his worth while enforcing what he assumes is ed’s natural state. if izzy understands ed is not actually that legend and in fact uses the legend to keep people from noticing what’s behind it on a practical level, shoving the legend in his face and saying it’s all ed is doesn’t scan.

and what’s more, we know ed has put on a good pirate show. he’s cut off toes before, he's maimed people, and he takes parts in raids just like everybody else: to be blunt, there are a hell of a lot of ways to hurt people reeeeeal bad without directly killing them. if you shoot or stab or whack somebody real hard and leave them there and they die like, twenty minutes later when you’re already gone, that suits ed’s definition of not killing just fine. there’s a lot of hard to notice ground between ‘leaves to die’ and ‘doesn’t kill’.

which leads me into the human nature argument, and the fact that the show establishes ed is the kind of person who thinks about how to conjure and use fear to control people, and thus needs to understand people in order to accurately assess their fears. on ed’s side, if you make yourself known to be the sort of man who cuts off poor bastards’ toes for a laugh or sets ships aflame and all that, people don’t ask themselves: wait, does this guy kill people though? 

it’s part of why we have the whole ‘but he seemed like such a nice/quiet/etc guy!’ trope whenever somebody does some fucked up shit. most people don’t notice a lot happening around them, because they aren’t looking for it and don’t expect to see it. people fail to notice things on the scale from infidelity to a serial murder habit in their intimate circles alllll the time.

and then on izzy’s side, we are shown a real lack of emotional intelligence and/or social observational skills over and over. it takes him two whole weeks to even begin to suspect ed doesn’t want to kill stede at all, he can’t really improvise or adapt to any sort of situation that breaks with his expectations of how things should go, he can’t manage the crew the second ed isn’t around (pre-canon and in canon) or tell a mutiny is brewing even though everyone but pete disappears to go plan it, he can’t stop said mutiny once in progress, etc etc etc.

he’s also built up an image of ed that isn’t about who ed actually is, and then built his own career and image around being Blackbeard’s First Mate. we really have to think of things from izzy’s perspective: blackbeard is a legendary pirate, izzy came into his service when he was already a legend, and izzy’s concepts of the world do not seem to include “it’s cool if you don’t like to kill people”. we are given absolutely zero evidence izzy would consider that anything but a sign of horrifying weakness, and lots of evidence he thinks ed is someone who does kill.

given all the evidence, everything we know of izzy’s character and how he processes the world/ed, and the fact that these are very good writers who know human nature and how to craft a story, i would say with a fair amount of certainty it’s more likely izzy has no idea ed draws that line.

#ofmd spoilers #my ofmd meta #(ish) #from a writer pov that bathtub scene is weird if ed's verbalized this before #and izzy is not... like this man cannot read ed #ed can read izzy! not so much the other way around #if izzy knows ed doesn't kill his shit with fang and ivan and not expecting ed to ask him is weird and/or terrible #i just do not see it #also if izzy knows: why not throw it in his face when he's willing to say 'i should havelet them kill you' #and why have so many versions of izzy expecting ed to kill with no reservations #and one single offer? #i feel like people are missing the forest for one single tree on this one ngl #i get why that assumption was made! but the evidence doesn't bear it out #even in the privacy of his own head izzy assumes ed will kill with ease #and if he knows ed doesn't kill... that just doesn't scan

[summercreolefanfictioner]

Well, I can understand how's that Jigokuraku anime-only watchers jump into the assumption that Gabimaru and Sagiri would end up together. I mean, their dynamics are strongly exposed episodes to episodes. In the current episode, they seems already understanding each other. Meanwhile Yui only appears in Gabi's memory. Although Gabimaru still mentioning his wife like always, it gave the "okay, something isn't right with our MC that he's overly obsessed to his wife, there must be something fishy about his wife" vibes. Moreover, in the opening theme we saw a scene where Yui is bowing and multiple doors slam right before her. Also that scene where Yui and Gabimaru are standing face to face, then suddenly Yui is replaced with Sagiri. That's dragging people to conclusion "so the wife is going to disappear?" "Ohhh sure they will get seperated". It must be spend years to get all the episodes animated. I hope people would take their time to read the manga since it worth reading (and remove their bad thought about Yui's existence).

(tbh I agree with you on the last part since I would love if people would just read the manga but alas some of them have no patience)

in my honest opinion, I like both ships (gabiyui and gabisagi). it's just that I don't ship sagiri and gabimaru romantically and I know well they won't develop any romantic feelings for one another (I have canon evidence for this). and even if I didn't read the manga, I would be aware that gabimaru is fixated on being with yui as soon as possible and this is evidenced by episode 1 up until episode 6 (I am writing this in a time where episode 6 is the latest ep)

episode 1 already hinted abt yui being closed off from the public after gabimaru was arrested. she doesn't talk to anyone. she doesn't eat the meals prepared for her. she is basically locked up in the house she shared with gabimaru in iwagakure, waiting for his return bcos she knows he will return to her. remember, they already had this one convo that if ever he wanted to leave the village and stop killing, she will stay and follow him.

and gabimaru, realizing that she was still out there waiting for him (as per sagiri in episode 1), decided to embark on this whole shinsenkyo journey. hence why this toasted marshmallow of a guy (huhu I am sorry) is like "let's go find the elixir" "I can't waste more time" "I need to return to my wife" to the point of almost killing sagiri bcos he has to get the elixir before the other iwagakure ninjas make landfall. in short, as much as possible, gabimaru wanted this shinsenkyo trip to end quickly (as evidenced in episode 6). the only time he made a stop on rushing their journey is when sagiri fainted due to her injuries and inhaling poison (w/c was gabimaru's fault so yeah nothing romantic there)

and I don't think there's anything suspicious abt gabimaru thinking or mentioning his wife or something. dude has nothing after all other than yui. remember, the only good thing in iwagakure that gabimaru has is his wife and with her, he learned a lot of things (like saying thanks, praying to gods, cooking like a normal couple, emotions called love and hatred and weakness).

as for sagiri, well she has a lot on her plate given how men always look down on her being a samurai and that she should just be a woman and go home and bear children from the next yamada head. hence why she was always in a constant "I am a samurai and I will not back down just bcos you see me as a woman" thing. but hey episode 6 has highlighted her in a new light so yeah I am glad people are now changing their opinions abt sagiri bcos she ain't weak as what they deemed her to be. plus given how she's has not been sent off to the battlefield before shinsenkyo, it makes sense why some people look down on her.

I know there's a lot of emotional development and learnings gabimaru and sagiri have with each other throughout the series, but I don't think it's something that will turn romantic (even Mappa emphasized in the ending song abt sagiri's wish for gabimaru and yui to be reunited and this also speaks abt the song). one thing abt Hell's Paradise that I like is that they make all romantic ships SO OBVIOUS AND STRAIGHTFORWARD. like viewers won't have to think "I think this person will fall for this person" or "there's sexual tension" bcos the show will let you know if there is romance blooming.

besides, just bcos two people develop emotionally together, doesn't mean there has to be something romantic between them. you can grow emotionally through a reliable mentor, a close friend, a stranger, a scene from a movie or drama. in short: NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO DO WITH ROMANCE.

plus I take Hell's Paradise as gabimaru's redemption arc but also sagiri's new beginning arc. bcos after this trip, gabimaru will finally have his happy ending while sagiri will embark on her own journey (they just met in the middle to teach each other an important lesson)

and I didn't know people take the opening like that hehe. tbh yui bowing with the doors closing kinda signifies gabi's journey in kotaku tho. like there are 3 sliding doors and kotaku has like 3 areas??? that they all need to bypass before getting the elixir. and getting the elixir means getting the pardon which is equal to being free and being with yui. that also seems to be the case with yui being replaced by sagiri like he has to face this trip first before meeting her. again this is MY TAKE on the opening.

maybe we should just ask Mappa why they animated it that way so we won't have further assumptions.

bottom line: while I do get annoyed at gabisagi shippers who think of the pair romantically, I get uhh 'sadder' than 'annoyed' bcos some of them tend to romanticize stuff just bcos a guy saved a girl or they comforted each other. the thing is, if people always romanticize every interaction between gabimaru and sagiri, then they are missing the whole point of these two characters' self journey.

(but if you still ship gabimaru and sagiri romantically without accepting canon evidence and basing everything on all your delusional beliefs, then uhh idk bout that)

#jigokuraku #hell's paradise #gabimaru #gabimaru the hollow #yui jigokuraku #yui hell's paradise #yamada asaemon sagiri #sagiri #gabiyui #admin summer #gabimaru x yui #gabimaru and yui

[blackstarchanx3new]

Creations AU FNAF 4, But I obnoxiously over explain it PT 1

Pages 0-29

Holy shit remember when I said there were "Side comics"

Lmfao yeah they go more in depth.

We're starting with FNAF 4 because as of rn it's the first in the timeline of comics I've made. SL will be next and imo has the shittiest art because I was hurting myself with every page of that damn thing.

Content warnings I guess: bad things happen to fictional kids because this is fnaf lmfao.

I forgot wtf the faded words say but I'm pretty sure they're all written from William except one which is from Josh. Fuck if I remember which tho XDDDDDD

They're all talking vaguely about the incident.

So I'm going off the bold assumption you've seen the over explains for the main AU and will be talking about FNAF 4 from that perspective: Honestly the biggest hurdles in the Creations AU over explained is just how much I dump about the games, the AU as a whole, spoilers what to AVOID spoiling ex.

(Like...What I FEEL should be common knowledge I sometimes say, but then I realized: Holy fuck most of my current tumblr followers are ZELDA people who might just be reading cause they like my stuff in general and have ZERO Fnaf knowledge lmfao I'm very sorry if I don't always communicate things from the games specifically well.)

If you're here from the Creations AU MAIN comic over explained:

We are all to aware Elizabeth is dead and Cody has SEEN said incident, which gives a lot of insight into his character going forward in this comic.

This is based on the fan theory crying child saw Elizabeth die. I honestly dunno how much merit that actually has in CANNON but it's a fun story idea for Creations at least lol.

Circus Baby, the animatronic pictured was the one that did the deed.

So funny story: I actually like Josh as a character MORE after drawing FNAF 4 X'D and I will get into why. He's been the butt of the "I hate this character" joke for a long time but now the script has flipped because I actually like him a lot from a character standpoint but the audience couldn't stand his ass. (Reasonably he's awful lmfao) I didn't HATE him in SL I mostly hyped up how much I "Disliked" him If I hated him, I wouldn't draw him lmfao but I find he's 100xs more interesting as a person in FNAF 4 because he's WAY more flawed and his vulnerabilities are on full ass display here.

So dialogue wise: Josh goes on an absolute anger filled tirade on Cody merely taking a look into his presumed dead sister's room.

Their mother is out of the house under false pretenses, and beats Josh. She doesn't do this to Cody apparently which is clearly causing resentment. We can already make some assumptions about Josh's behavior due to his mother's abuse. Being, he repeats said cycle of abuse onto his younger brother.

He's a bad person lmfao and I won't justify his shit but I can completely understand why he's acting this way. Bro should not be in this situation.

William's "Checked out". Presumably not emotionally available or even physically considering Josh is looking after his brother.

He's being FORCED to basically parent his younger sibling who he dislikes STRONGLY, which uh. Makes older siblings carry a LOT of baggage later in life and in the moment is clearly doing NO ONE favors. He's also VERY CLEARLY not emotionally capable of dealing with a child. Which is just irresponsible as hell on his parents ends. That is a recipe for a complete trainwreck as we will very soon see.

Oh. The bear talks.

Hide and seek with high stakes. I got nothing much to say about the scenes directly tied/based to the minigames as they mostly speak for themselves.

Josh is a dick, that's evident.

Some of yall might not like it but I'm going on both Josh and Cody's perspectives here lmao. Deal with it

I would also lose my patience with a screaming child throwing an absolute tantrum. But on Cody's end, I wouldn't wanna go to Freddy's/Fredbear's either considering HE SAW HIS SISTER DIE THERE.

Josh's reasoning for bringing Cody makes sense though: Their dad is here and he can spend time with his friends. Josh's friend Lucas points out they're technically "Banned" from Freddy's. And she's cheating. According to Josh. Which just makes her leaving her son with his abusive older brother to cheat even more insulting/disgusting. Oliver Blondie with the green shirt is disturbed by Josh trauma dumping lmao. Richard cracks jokes about Josh's mom's affairs. Josh like Michael and William are British which Richard not so elegantly makes fun of. You'll notice a significant LACK of Michael here. More details: All four of these boys indulge in bad habits. Like smoking.

I WONDER WHY. Sarcasm aside, it's almost like abusing your kids results in them lashing out in horrible ways, mostly self destructive...

As we know Richard's dad is a freak who sleeps with married women and Josh's mother's known for infidelity. And all four smoke except Lucas apparently.

The "Josh you of all people would know I don't smoke" line is a play on the fact they're in a relationship and kiss, because Lucas and Josh's relationship is not subtle at all.

I find it amusing they all blame each other for Richard's stolen cigarettes as it's clear Josh and Oliver are behind it but MOSTLY Josh.

Well, he did the bare minimum of leaving him in a place he THINKS is safe, with a way to get back to the house?

Josh this is still shitty as hell. X'D

Lucas continues to be the only one in this friend group with a brain, also I do like how he nags his boyfriend and his shitty parenting choices for his brother lmfao.

He won't DO anything about it but he'll point it out.

Fredbear we can see this.

HAH SCARY.

Haha trauma.

Not now son Daddy's helping people into fur suits.

Yeah closing the door doesn't help this situation. Poor kiddo.

My bro wanted him to fall lmao. That would have been funny but nah.

Josh is playing on a 3DS because it's funny.

He at least fed his brother. Bare minimum parenting there buddy.

Not Josh getting annoyed because Cody says something scary he didn't personally tell him. X'D

He gives a half hearted attempt at advice...? Comfort? idk what you'd call that lmao.

And okay fr from Josh's perspective his brother is just acting like a ungrateful cowardly brat. X'D That doesn't make what he does right but like: Would YOU Believe him if he told you he "Saw" someone get eaten by a robot lmfao????

Children lie or misunderstand things. And Josh is old enough to know how these things work. He knows they're people in costumes or just lifeless things on the stage. Or at least they're SUPOSED to be.

Josh amusingly telling Cody he can walk is funny when you think he carried him TO Fredbear's last time.

Because Josh is a dick.

I don't have a lot to say about Cody's behavior because it's self explanatory. He saw his sister die here, his fear is justified and has an obvious reason. He's failed by the people around him ESPECIALLY his parents.

This is just more NPC dialogue in the minigames. Not much to say.

#fnaf 4 #creations au comic #creations au #fnaf au #fnaf #five nights at freddys #five nights at freddy's #fnaf comic #fnaf crying child #fnaf 4 comic #fnaf 4 cc #fnaf 4 afton #fnaf 4 bullies #fnaf 4 brother #circus baby #fnaf circus baby

[n0t-1nt3r3st1ng]

Vulture!Wednesday AU Part - 8

Enid paced around their 6 feet by 8 feet cell in Jericho's police department, glancing worriedly at the sleeping officer at the desk. "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad," she muttered.

"There's no need to be afraid, Enid," Wednesday reassured her from the only available seat.

"You're only gonna get tired," Wednesday continued calmly.

"Do you have any idea what we just did?" Enid stopped and stared at her, frustration evident in her eyes.

"I believe you mean what I did," Wednesday replied, confidence in her voice. "You merely came to my defense. A noble gesture, but pointless."

"Pointless? The guy was about to knock your head off!" Enid retorted.

"Rest assured, a simple punch wouldn't even register on my pain scale," Wednesday said with assurance.

"You're unbelievable," Enid shook her head and sat down, feeling defeated.

"You worry too much; once I get my phone call, I'll simply contact my father and have him release us. There won't be any blemish on your records nor need for your parents to know," Wednesday said.

"You think that's what I'm worried about?" Enid replied, exasperated.

"It is not?" Wednesday tilted her head, curious.

"No, I mean yes, of course, I don't want my mum to find out!"

"Then I don't see what the problem is," Wednesday shrugged.

"The problem is we inj-" Wednesday covered her mouth, gesturing at the 'sleeping' officer.

Enid turned to see the deputy rise to his feet; he gave Wednesday a mean look before exiting the room.

"How did you know?" She asked, removing Wednesday's hand from her mouth.

"You didn't?" Wednesday asked surprised. "I thought you were too caught in the moment and forgot about it."

Enid sighed and buried her head in her hands.

"Why do you think what I did is so bad?" Wednesday asked gently.

"It didn't have to go that way, you didn't have to hurt them like that," Enid replied, showing her emotions.

"So it's a matter of the extent, not the motive," Wednesday summarized.

"I could've scared them away," Enid turned to face Wednesday.

"Enid, as impressive as you are, those fools would've only understood who they were against after you had displayed your abilities. Until you spoke, they were there simply to hurt Tyler, you were an unexpected bonus," Wednesday explained.

"And breaking bones is different how?"

"Anyone can break a bone with enough motivation. Had you used your claws, you'd outed yourself as a 'non-human' entity. In that case, you would have become the villain in the eyes of the Normies, regardless of your lack of guilt," Wednesday replied.

"I don't need you to enlighten me about my own kind, Wednesday. I'm fully aware," Enid retorted, her tone filled with anger. "I still could've made them leave."

"They were there to provoke pain, Enid. Your involvement or mine wouldn't have made a difference. Whatever guilt you might feel is unwarranted."

"And how are you so sure?"

Wednesday studied Enid's face for a moment before speaking. "It was the week after Halloween. I was six years old. I took my pet scorpion, Nero, out for his afternoon stroll, and we were ambushed. A trio of bullies, not unlike the ones we faced today. They made me watch as they ran over him, over and over again, until he died."

"Oh, I'm, I'm sorry, Wednesday," Enid replied, shocked. Her tone became softer. "But what does it have to do with those three?"

"I learned two things from my encounter: One, tears don't fix anything, so I stopped wasting my time. Two, while there are certainly darker and greater kinds of evil, it's most common it remains the same: they hurt because they can. Age, race, economic position, it doesn't matter. They can, so they do, and they do so under the assumption that their action would bear no consequence. Only by being the consequence do they understand we aren't to be trifled with."

"So you're the consequence, screw the rules and it's fine if you get hurt." Enid deadpanned.

"If the alternative is to be a victim, yes." Wednesday replied. "But just to be clear, they are the ones who break the rules, their social constructs. I didn't go looking for them, they went looking for Tyler and then you got in the way. And again, don't worry about me being hurt, it doesn't happen."

"So why do all that for me? And what do you mean you don't get hurt?" Enid asked, her face showing a mixture of doubt and intrigue.

Wednesday found herself at a loss for a proper answer. Because I saw you die? Because I know what the inside of your chest cavity looks like? Nobody would ever accuse her of having bedside manners or empathy, yet it seemed wrong to shatter Enid's future in such a manner. So she decided to shift the conversation.

"That's the first lie you've ever told me." She observed, noting the surprise in Enid's widening eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Enid replied, attempting to keep her cheeks from blushing.

"And there's the second." Wednesday almost smiled. "You're many things, Enid. A liar isn't one of them, but curious is. You must've asked Yoko the moment I left the club the first time we met. That, along with what the nurse told the group, must've been enough of a clue. Only an Addams can kill an Addams – the blunt force was a joke on her part."

"Yes, I asked Yoko." Enid admitted. "Your family is... famous."

"So you know." Wednesday shrugged. "Like I said: noble yet pointless."

"Oh, come on." Enid huffed as she stood, staring down at Wednesday.

"What?"

"You know what!"

"I assure you I don't."

"You're gonna tell me all those stories, ALL of them, are real?" Enid crossed her arms.

"Your skepticism is understandable. Word of mouth tends to distort the truth, yet its core remains the same. We accomplish our goals and don't die at the hands of our enemies." Wednesday replied.

"So you're essentially immortal, is that it?"

"Last summer, my uncle Fester was thrown into a woodchipper while he camped by a lake." Enid's eyes widened, and she immediately clamped her hand over her mouth. "A case of mistaken identity, it happens more often than you'd think. He called it the most relaxing massage he ever had. Had I not been so occupied with a... project, I'd have gone through the same thing myself. As for the immortal part, no. We can die, just not at the hands of our enemies. Some family members often buried themselves alive."

"Why!?" Enid asked, shocked.

"Because there's nothing more to do, nothing to keep them interested. So, every year they get to return for Dia de los Muertos and partake in whichever activity they deem interesting. Or if we're having a ball, some family members are known for never missing a party."

Enid sat back, impressed.

"And what about the other stuff?" She finally asked. Wednesday leaned over and whispered into her ear.

"My earliest ancestor, Mamoud Khali Pasha Ādam, stole the entire contents of the Library of Alexandria, burned its foundation to cover their tracks and let the Romans take the blame."

"You're making that up." Enid whispered, shocked.

"We still possess the scrolls and books," Wednesday's voice hushed, and the werewolf was captivated by her words. "A séance could be organized, giving you the chance to meet him in the spirit."

The creaking doors brought respite, as the tension gradually faded away. A man dressed in a scruffy, well-worn sheriff uniform entered, projecting an air of unwavering authority through every step he took. Wednesday saw he had blue eyes and gray hair. A few shots of color here and there told her it had been brown in his youth.

"As the saying goes, 'like father, like son'... or daughter," The sheriff said, his eyes staring into Wednesday's.

"If your next statement isn't 'You can have your phone call,' this conversation is over," Wednesday retorted.

"You have no idea just how lucky you are." The sheriff replied, standing one step away from the cell.

"Sheriff, I assure you, this is all a misunderstanding," Enid pleaded, her words rushing out in a desperate attempt to explain. But the sheriff silenced her with a simple gesture, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"We have enough evidence as it is," the sheriff replied firmly. Wednesday noticed Enid shrinking with fear at the man's words. With each passing moment, Wednesday's dislike for the sheriff grew stronger.

"The girl who called the police and her two friends just finished their statements. Not to mention the video that's been circulating online, and the fact that your three 'victims' all have a record. You can go."

The man opened the cell door, and Enid hurriedly made her way to the exit. However, when Wednesday attempted to follow, the sheriff stepped in her path, blocking her exit. Their eyes met in a slow, tense gaze.

"You helped my boy." The sheriff said in a threatening tone. "That's the only reason I don't put you in the trunk of my car, drive you to the city limits and kick you out. So you better behave because next time you don't get any sympathy."

"As long as the others don't endanger my well-being, consider this our final interaction," Wednesday stated.

The sheriff's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything more. Instead, he stepped aside, allowing Wednesday to leave the cell. She walked out with her head held high, not showing any sign of fear or intimidation.

Wednesday made her way to reclaim her items, confident that no one other than her would find her hidden knives. Enid was already there, filling out the form as fast as her wrist could manage. Wednesday, on the other hand, filled out the form with the ease of someone who had done it many times before, learning how to avoid capture.

As they waited for the clerk to retrieve their items, an uncomfortable silence enveloped them. Enid couldn't contain her worry and finally broke the silence, her voice trembling, "What did he say? Are we free to go?"

"We are," Wednesday replied calmly, "but he made it clear that it's because I helped his son."

"Tyler?" Enid responded, clearly surprised.

"I take it you didn't know, then?"

"No, he never said anything to anyone, at least not to me or Yoko."

"It doesn't matter; his motives are his own. However, he warned me not to cause any trouble in his town, or there won't be any leniency next time," Wednesday explained.

"Well, that's a good thing because there won't be a next time, right?" Enid asked hopefully.

"It all depends. Are you going to put yourself in danger again?" Wednesday replied, her tone serious.

"Wednesday, I'm serious. We got lucky this time. If Weems hears about this..."

"I already have." Weems' icy voice sounded from the side.

Startled, the pair turned to see the headmaster in a white suit along with a long white coat. Behind her stood Yoko, wearing a guilty smile.

"I can explain." Enid said, panicking.

"Miss Tanaka, please take Miss Sinclair back to the academy, there's an alley nearby that you can use." Weems ordered Yoko, her eyes glued on Wednesday. "Miss Addams, with me."

Enid gave Wednesday a concerned look before sprinting to her friend. The pair left without saying a word. 

Weem, on her part, had pivoted and started striding towards a sleek, modern car painted in silver. Without a moment's hesitation, she hopped inside, leaving Wednesday to catch up on her own.

As Wednesday neared the vehicle, the air was filled with the sound of hundreds of tiny wings flapping together. She turned to witness a swarm of bats taking flight into the sky. Amidst the flurry, Enid's form could barely be discerned, ascending into the darkened heavens.

Weem's engine roared but Wednesday ignored it. She followed the swarm as it lost in the distance on its way to Nevermore. Only then did she enter the car.

"Do you know where the Weathervane is or do you need directions?" Wednesday asked while she put on the seatbelt.

Weems drove in silence in the general direction of the coffee shop. Wednesday remained calm, seeing Weem's arms tense up, her grip on the steering wheel hardening to the point she could hear it squearm.

"You have no idea the damage you've caused, Wednesday." Weems whispered, furious. "No idea at all."

"The sheriff might disagree with you. In his eyes at least, I prevented his son from being attacked by a pack of miscreants. Why does a city need a sheriff anyway?" Wednesday replied.

"The sheriff's position in Jericho is one inherited from its days as a small town," Weems clarified, her features stoically composed. "Back then, Jericho was situated in the middle of nowhere, struggling financially year after year. It was a place in desperate need of an infusion of cash and, in turn, willing to turn a blind eye to certain matters. It provided an opportunity for Outcasts to rise to positions of power, granting them a foothold without upsetting the Normies. This delicate balance persisted for years, until a millionaire decided to invest in development, disrupting everything we had painstakingly achieved after enduring years of persecution."

" Needler Development." Wednesday said and Weems nodded.

"We're running out of cities in this country where our kind can find solace, and now this one will be lost to us too. Unless, of course, we manage to adapt with the changing times. To demonstrate camaraderie and work alongside the Normies," Weems said, her voice rising with conviction. "That doesn't mean attacking or insulting them."

"Would you have preferred if I did nothing and allowed them to assault one of their own and an Outcast too?" Wednesday retorted, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Weems parked the car near the coffee shop.

"Wednesday, I understand it might be challenging for someone with an Addams' perspective, but try to see it from the same angle as the rest of us. Yes, we managed to acquire some buildings from the old town, but the city now belongs to Needler Development, giving them the legal right to ban us from entering their stores and using their services. We're on the verge of being expelled, of losing everything our ancestors fought so hard to create for us. The castle itself was built on land taken by one of your ancestors. All of it will vanish if we're not careful."

"So, your solution is for us to behave like good little Outcasts, harmless to the Normies. Perhaps you'd rather we perform a trick or two at parties and celebrations?" Wednesday accused bitterly. "It won't work; you can't expect us to guide our every action by some impossible code while smiling and enduring everything the Normies throw at us."

"You're young, and you have yet to see the world and what it has to offer us," Weems replied. "For them, we are the monsters of old. Centuries of stories have painted us as prey, encouraging them to hunt us down and kill us. Now these new 'Enhanced' individuals are emerging like heroes of old, and sooner or later, they'll set their sights on us. It's already begun in some places. The world is about to become even smaller than it already was, and no one, not even an Addams, will survive it. You were lucky this time; Miss Tanaka was able to alter the video she took with her cellphone, but it won't always be this way. Consider this your only warning, Wednesday."

With those words, Weems took off, leaving Wednesday to contemplate the uncertain future before her.

#wenclair #spider!enid #vulture!wednesday #wednesday #wednesday au

[darkmarkets]

The Horrors of Commerce

If you haven't heard already, Random House made so much money with its ex-fanfic insta-classic 50 Shades of Grey��that the publishing giant was able to give every one of its American employees a $5,000 holiday bonus. 

That's a lot of eggnog.

The arrival of such news—especially when compared to the publishing world's usual we're-all-going-broke moaning—compels this blogger to abandon all the how-to write advice of the past, chuck my Elements of Style out the window, and abandon all hope of a steady writer income unless I can positively answer one question:

Am I writing porn?

Now, I have nothing against porn. I believe it's a viable art form. I've made much of my steady writer income writing for a sex-positive magazine, so it's evident I bear no ill will against written depictions of knockin' boots. (I do, however, have a blind hatred of fan fiction, but that's a topic for another post.) I also have nothing against genre fiction, romance or sci fi or horror (obviously!), or any of those other forms of storytelling that are readily consumed by the masses.

But, news that Random House is paying its secretaries more money in one month than I will ever see for that novel I worked on for two years...well, it gives me pause. It makes me ask myself, why am I even doing this?

Am I writing in hopes to make money? Or am I writing just to make money?

This debate of Art versus Commerce is not a new one. In capitalist societies, art tends to become a consumable; a price is laid upon it, and market forces have to be appeased in order to sell it. Before I get too academic on the subject, I'll just break it down like this: to sell your work, you've got to write something people want to buy. And that something people want may or may not fall in line with your artistic vision. So, what do you do? Do you write the rambling pile of dark stream-of-consciousness nonsense that speaks to your soul, or do you follow genre conventions so that someone, somewhere, may actually read your work?

It's not an easy question. Every writer must decide this for themselves. But, in hopes of aiding my fellow writer's in their discussions with themselves, I will bring up one point.

Reward for your writing does not have to come in cash.

We tend to forget that the things we do have rewards other than a check at the end of the month. And this is especially so with fiction. In publishing, the competition's fierce, the pool is large, and the paychecks are usually slim for everyone except the big Grey dog at the top. This isn't unique to publishing. You'll see this everywhere for any industry that's not curing cancer or taking out the trash. Art, sports, music, theater...it's all the same. So, what happens is, the race is so frantic that newcomers often find themselves dashing blindly for that finish line, the one that says "You Made It!" and is complete with a golden trophy spilling over with coins. In environments like this, we can easily make the assumption that Well Paid = Valuable.

Such is not the case.

Well Paid = Marketable. Something that's marketable can also be valuable, but the two are not necessarily joined at the hip.

Many of us struggle with writing because we think "If I'm not getting hella paid, I must be awful." We think the only way we will have value as writers is if someone downs us in piles of royalties. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The fancy pants literature world thrives on throngs of highly-talented people who write transcendent fiction for little to no money at all. Do a Duotrope search for general Literary magazines and you get 1669 results, only 43 of those pay pro rates. That's like 2%! And, surely, you may say, "But nobody reads those magazines." and you may be right. The traditionally held convention is that art-important literature has smaller audiences than commercial fiction. But that still doesn't stop thousands of writers every day trying to pour their soul out on a page that might reach someone, somewhere.

Why? Because they see the rewards that come from writing outside of commercial success. (Or they're beholden to a certain publishing model that requires them to write noncommercial fiction for free forever until they've bled enough sweat and tears to reach Franzen-levels of high-paying literary fame. But that's also the topic of another blog post.)

Anyway, let's talk about some of these other rewards.

Firstly, it's rewarding to write something you love. It's surprising to hear, in this publishing climate, that it's worth it to write something that pleases you, the writer, even if no one else likes it. If you write something you are proud of, then marvelous! Screw everyone else. I'm dead serious. This is an easy thing to say but, I can assure you, I've done it before and it's awesome. I've written stories that I know are completely unpublishable—I wouldn't submit them if someone begged me to but, believe me no one will ever beg me to—but because I love those stories of mine, I feel a grand sense of accomplishment and worth. It's a really great thing; I suggest everyone try it at least once.

Secondly, it's rewarding to write something one other person loves. Again, not the kind of build-your-audience kind of talk we're used to seeing. But, if you write something that one person loves, you again get that feeling of accomplishment and worth that we tend to equate only with big-name publishing. Try a friend or a relative or a random stranger on some forum somewhere—pick someone you think might love your work. They might love it! If one person loves your work, then you've done the thing that writing is really meant to do—connect people to people, share ideas about life and the world. Or, in our case as horror writers, utterly gross someone out. It's totally worth doing on the small scale.

After that, the rewards just keep coming. It may be that writing is good therapy for you, or just a fun way to spend a weekend. It may be writing is a great way for you and your friends to connect over coffeehouse conversations. It may be that, for one glorious moment, at three-o-clock in the morning with that empty highball glass in one hand and that cigarette in the other, you feel like a real goddamn writer, dammit. It may be the sound of keys clicking is a cool noise. And, maybe you just like having all those typewriters in your house. There are piles of reasons to write aside from money—and, while I don't necessarily advocate all of us give up our dreams of being cash-hound publishing celebrities, it's important that money not be the only reason we write.

If money is the only reason you're writing, then I suggest you ask yourself: Am I writing porn?

Cuz if you're not, you'd better start. The typing pool needs more eggnog.

Lorna D Keach

#The Horrors of Horror Writing

[ruinestagehouse]

[[CW: I don't know how to tag this, I'm not in a good state because I've set off a system member in the process of this. So, for content warnings, I talk about displacement, racism, being ripped away from culture, forceful socialization into another culture, evidently the s* slur, cultural rejection, and that fact that I didn't think this would hurt as much as it did. This came about from a discussion I just had where perhaps I didn't word my support as well as I wanted, and the person brought race into it, do not harass or bother the person if you find out who he is. Please. I am actually begging you. Do not show him my vent, either. I have him blocked and I want no contact with him, and he wants none with me. If you try to act like a racist twat towards natives on this post, I'm blocking you. I don't care who you are.]]

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I have, very painfully remembered why Ryan hates it when either Eris or I have to bring up the fact we were forcefully disconnect from the fact we're native.

It's easier to just say we're white because no one believes us otherwise. Mom is pasty as the damn sun, and we got that from her. She has us so disconnected from our dad's side of the family, and any semblance of a culture he has, that I don't even know what we are anymore. She made sure to muddle that too. Ryan says it was Blackfoot. I trust him on that.

But when I have to tell someone that they've just completely missed a point I made and they just continue making assumptions, even when I have to come out and tell them, "I'm not white. I'm not the exact same as you but even if we were I am carrying hidden damned trauma from being ripped away from anything that could have been shared by an actually racist mother,"

"White people ripping themselves a new asshole to make me look like the bad guy."

Christ, you were just looking for a bad guy you twat.

Damnit, I know I will never belong! I will never bloody fucking be able to. I will never reconnect with a culture I was robbed of and I certainly can't do it here where it isn't safe. But to know that even if I tried I'd just be some white kid who you called racist for typing out "savage," which wasn't even aimed at you it was quite literally quoted from your message as you accused me of treating you like one in a post supporting you, in which I didn't even know you were native when I wrote the damned thing, a word I have damn well been trying not to be called out of fear (I use I here to denote the system as a whole, but this trauma is mostly Ryan's. Ryan is the one who bore the brunt of this) because God knows being what I am already is at risk of getting me raped in a state where that is a death sentence due to disability and the fact I'm trans, to bear a child would kill me outright, utterly fuck you for clinging to a victim card because you found an easy target.

This entire typing style, did you think I was from fucking England?

Damnit, I live in Ohio. I type and speak like this because none of my damned friends are American. None of the media my parents showed me was American. I have to consciously stop myself from using the spellings of other countries for words like color. This is how I was socialized. This is how I was raised. The furthest from what I actually bloody fucking am.

I'm tired of this. I even went to walk away and he just could not fucking relent. He didn't even read what I said. He just kept calling me white and then called me a racist.

Ryan, I'm sorry. I didn't know any of that was a trigger, but Christ that was horrid. Christ, I give up on this. I really will only ever be some white twat to the people I'm supposed to be a part of. I can't escape my socialization. I can't escape my mother. But evidently, I'm alone no matter what I do.

I don't talk about this for a reason, and I never want to talk about it again, because it doesn't matter. If anyone asks, as I always say, I'm Irish/Scottish.

It's just fucking easier to pretend.

#stagehouse rambles #vent post #cw rape mention #cw racism #cw parental abuse #Do not reblog #Do not Comment #I don't want replies to this.

[prompt-master]

The student slams their hands down on her podium.

"I'm telling you, they didn't eat that fucking grilled cheese willingly!" She shouts. "Prom hates mayonnaise!! I know that for a fact!!"

A collective groan sounds through the trial room. This discussion has gone on for far too long. People are starting to get tired. Suspicious even. The student won't let it go, and though there's no way to really prove them wrong, everyone just wants her to shut up about it. You can't just ask a dead body about their condiment preferences. The whole conversation seems completely pointless.

Even Monokuma looks bored. You can't help but relate to him a little, ignoring how much that thought disgusts you. The trial had been really, really uneventful. Accusations without evidence thrown about like confetti, trains of thought that end up shoved off the rails before they can even leave the station, leads that go nowhere, pointless arguments over the most trivial of topics, and throughout the whole nine hours of debate, that robotic bear grew more and more restless, even calling recesses for us to investigate more.

Even the detective is starting to get irritated. They didn't find anything condemning on the body, and even after interrogating the other students, nothing shocking or revealing came up.

You didn't find anything good either. In fact, you haven't spoken for most of the trial. There was just nothing to say that hadn't already been said.

The victim got up sometime before the nighttime announcement, after the group agreed to tuck in early. Monokuma, bored with how little progress we were making, confirmed the fact that the victim had planned to grab a snack before heading back to their room, before the doors to the dining hall were locked.

Obviously, they didn't make it.

One student kept saying the toxic grilled cheese had been force-fed to them. They kept saying the victim would never eat mayonnaise willingly, and since that was the main source of poison (It was also, like, everywhere. If the victim hated it, they wouldn't have put so much on), it made her statement kind of difficult to believe.

There was one thing that kind of supported her theory. The tainted jar in question had no label, nor did it have a prominent scent. It was only identified as mayonnaise by one of the other students who had a very well-developed sense of smell, and was able to get past the sweet maple-syrup scent of the antifreeze. It was possible the victim mistook the mayonnaise for something else, but even then, it would be unlikely. Mayonnaise has a very distinct taste, even with heaps of poison added, so if they really hated it they would have spat it out immediately. Only a tired idiot would keep eating something they despised of their own free will.

Monokuma let out a very dramatic sigh.

"You know, I'm getting reeeal tired of this. If you kiddies don't find anything interesting soon, I might just execute one of you as compensation." He growled in that annoying voice of his. "This trial is taking wayy too long!"

Those words got us on edge. Some of the others started accusing the student while she went on about her theory. One student yelled at Monokuma for being unfair. You and the detective shared a look. This wasn't good.

One student, who'd been quiet the whole time, suddenly cleared their throat.

"I may be going out on a limb here, but...." They waited for the others to calm down before continuing. "Do you think the victim ate the mayonnaise without knowing it was mayonnaise? Antifreeze has a very sweet taste and smell. They could have mistook it for something else."

"And you are..?" You ask.

"Ultimate Auto Racer." They reply. "I work with antifreeze. I don't know about arsenic, but I do know you can easily eat antifreeze without knowing it's toxic."

The detective crosses their arms in thought. Monokuma perks up and leans out of his slumped position, almost as if electrified.

"Even so, why would they put something sweet on a grilled cheese? That's kind of an acquired taste." You say. "If we're going off the assumption they don't like mayonnaise."

Everyone is thinking now. The accusations aren't thrown around anymore. The whole trial room is quiet.

"Maybe...maybe they're right." One student pipes up quietly. "Maybe Prom thought it was something else. Maybe they didn't taste it before they put it on the sandwich."

They looked around the room timidly, shrinking under everyone else's gaze. They obviously didn't like attention.

"I-I mean, what if they thought it was butter? L-Like the jar wasn't that big, and mayo k-kind of looks like butter spread...." The student shoved out quickly. "With no label they wouldn't know, right..?"

"That's.... actually a valid point." The detective says approvingly. The student offers a small smile in response, but doesn't say anything else. Speaking up must not be their strong suit.

"It was late, right?" Another student cuts in. "We were all tired. The last execution left us all drained, since it kind of.....went wrong near the end. The victim could have been super out of it and wanted food to keep the off their mind."

"Like stress eating, but to cope with something? I do that myself, so it's not unbelievable. The victim could be like that, for all we know." Yet another adds.

"What if it wasn't intended for Prom? Like, someone else here probably really likes mayo, maybe they messed with it in hopes of killing them instead!"

"You saying the victim was a tired idiot then?"

"Do you know them enough to say otherwise?"

"Gad, this whole trial is confusing... We don't even know the victim that well, how are supposed to their killer? There's no drama to work with!"

"Maybe they grabbed the mayo thinking it was butter." The detective mused. "And when they tasted it, it probably didn't taste too much like mayo, with all that antifreeze added to it. Maybe they were too tired to remake it. The victim was on a time limit after all."

You furrow your brow in thought. The others a kind of making sense, but it's not much to go off of. You still don't know who poisoned the mayonnaise in the first place.

"Let's say that did happen. We still don't know who poisoned it." A new speaker scoffs, practically reading your thoughts exactly. "All this talk won't get us anywhere if we don't have a real suspect."

The miniscule amount of energy in the room dissolved. They were right, everyone knew it, but it'd been nice to think we were going somewhere.

The quiet student from before clears their throat. Anyone who isn't talking or spouting theories turns to look at them again.

"If, um, it's any consolation, I just remembered something...."

The detective holds up a hand to shut up the person next to them. You do the same. Eventually the trial room calms down enough for the student to talk. Monokuma giggles.

They take a deep breath, like whatever's on their mind is really hard to say. "I....I did see someone mucking around in the storage closet."

A truly riveting murder trial and I hope after playing it people discourse about my character simply because they hated it and people argue over whether or not i was a good person and the answer to that question is a mysterious wink

#ask #prom is talking #long post #eventually everyone just straight up forgets i died #and ghost prom is like 'damn yall rude af thats hilarious'

[oumakokichi]

I don't know if you already talked about it, or I just couldn't find it, but I heard that Gonta's translation/localization wasn't really accurate and he doesn't talked in "hulk speech" in the original, so I wonder how did he talked then? there it is much difference?

Gonta’s localization definitely wasn’t very accurate to theoriginal Japanese. It’s… oh boy, how to put it. From the moment that it wasrevealed in the first trailer NISA released for ndrv3, I and a lot of othertranslators felt that it was perhaps thesingle worst decision taken in the entire game. I believe toning down Gonta’sdialogue to be “Tarzan speech” or “Hulk speech” skewed many things about hischaracter.

After having finished the localization, I still stand bythat opinion. Of all the mistakes or errors in the localization, I feel thatGonta’s “Tarzan speech” is still the worst, even moreso because it wasdeliberate, rather than accidental. Intentionally choosing to omit or alterthings about his character in a way that makes him seem considerably differentfrom his original counterpart in the Japanese version of the game just doesn’tsit well with me. It feels to me as though Gonta’s translator simply wantedGonta to “match” what they perceived his character as, rather than translatingwhat was actually there directly.

The most important thing to note is that in the originalversion of the game, Gonta does not talk in any noticeably “stupider” fashionthan his classmates. He is certainly naïve and trusting, prone to fall forothers’ lies; he’s also unfamiliar with many terms related to technology orelectronic advancements, because he grew up in the forest removed from societyfor such a long time. But his Japanese is perfectly fine, very much in linewith what you would expect from a typical high schooler of his age. Thisreflects something very central to his character—that he’s not nearly asunintelligent or dumb as others, and even he himself, perceive him to be.

In the original, Gonta refers to himself exclusively in thethird-person, which I think is perhaps one reason the translator thought itwould be comparable to change his speech to “Tarzan/Hulk speech” (i.e. “Hulkangry!! Hulk smash!!”). But that’s hardly a fair decision, considering bothAngie and Tenko also exclusively refer to themselves using third-person. WhileTenko’s speech is perhaps a bit more polite than the other two, all three ofthem nonetheless talk in a generally similar fashion, so using the “third-person”excuse as a reason to change only Gonta’s dialogue makes no sense.

Referring to oneself in the third-person is, in fact, muchmore common in Japanese than it is in English. It’s even common for some peopleto switch between referring to themselves in the third-person, and byfirst-person pronouns. All in all, it’s far less strange of a practice thanmany English-speakers would think, and it typically has no bearing on acharacter’s intelligence.

Also worth noting is the fact that Gonta’s grammar, tense,and general vocabulary are all completely unaffected. He doesn’t talksimplistically, nor does he struggle to string his sentences together in theoriginal version of the game. If that had been the case, then I could’veunderstood deciding to localize his speech in a comparable way—but in fact,Gonta is pretty polite and well-spoken, which fits his overall image ofbecoming a “gentleman,” even if he feels his physical size and backstory don’t.

The localization of Gonta’s speech does his character a lotof harm for pretty much the entire game, but I feel like the chapter where itdid the most damage was the chapter where Gonta himself gets the mostscreentime: Chapter 4. Chapter 4 subverts both the players’ and othercharacters’ perception of Gonta as someone who was well-intentioned and sweetbut ultimately “not very useful.”

The reveals that Gonta is not only smarter and moreperceptive than anyone, even himself, gives him credit for, but also moredesperate to contribute to the overall group, are much harder to grasp in thelocalization, as pretty much all of his dialogue tones down how smart heactually is. In the end, most of the reason why the players are tricked intothinking that Gonta “isn’t very smart” is because the other characters andGonta sort of gradually lead you to that assumption, by calling him an “idiot”or asking why he’s “so dumb.”

But whereas there were plenty of hints in the originalJapanese proving that Gonta was, in fact, quite knowledgeable in his own areaof expertise and in practical, hands-on experience, the original plays up the “dumbTarzan-man who grew up in the woods” routine so much that it’s nearlyimpossible to discard it. It makes it very hard, in my opinion, to realize justhow much he actually contributes to the class trials or how perceptive heactually is, because the translation itself treats him as though he’s an idiot.By comparison, the original dialogue only ever has Gonta call himself stupid,rather than ever acting as such.

In hindsight, it’s easy to see what I mean about Gonta beingfairly perceptive. Due to his eyesight, he notices the “tiny bugs” around thecampus quicker than anyone. He also comments on the state of the stars outsideafter the Chapter 2 trial, noting that they must be “very far away” from hishome, since he doesn’t recognize any of the constellations. Clearly he’sfamiliar not only with entomology, but also has a firm grasp of astronomy and avariety of other skills, all due to his experiences.

He also arguably contributes more solutions to the classtrials than major characters like Momota or Himiko. In Chapter 2, for instance,Gonta was the first person to catch on to the way the ropeway could’ve beencreated; his suggestion about tying the two ropes together was perfectly on-point.In Chapter 3 again, he was incredibly knowledgeable about the state of thefloorboards in the empty rooms and the way in which the see-saw trick might’vebeen carried out. These things clearly show that he’s not stupid, but rather naïve and simply unfamiliar with some of thethings his classmates treat as normal (like technology).

In the localization, though, even these contributions to theclass trials are hard to take note of. Gonta’s speech is simplified so much tothe point that even when he’s talking about very rational, understandablethings that are easy to make sense of, he still comes across as unintelligent. Itjust feels like such a break from his original character, where there were somany signs that he was trying to participate in group discussions and beingleft out only because other characters’ perception of him, as well as his ownself-perception. His problem was never that he was actually an idiot, butrather that everyone, including himself, thought of him that way.

This is precisely why the other characters have so muchtrouble believing that Gonta could possibly have been the culprit in Chapter 4.Not only do they think he was too nice to ever hurt someone, but they also allemphasize that he “wasn’t smart enough.” But the Chapter 4 post-trial makes itemphatically clear that while Ouma led Gonta to the flashback light and showedhim “the truth of the outside world,” Gonta himself willingly went alongwith  Ouma’s plan and made the conscious decisionto kill another person. It’s something the AI Gonta accepts full responsibilityfor, and it’s a pivotal point of his character—that despite the fact that therest of the group didn’t think him capable of it or smart enough to do so, hewas fully capable of making his own decisions.

The localization makes it much, much harder to come to termswith this reveal, though. In the original version of the game, it’s certainlydifficult to reconcile the idea that someone as kind and compassionate as Gontawould ever kill someone else, but it becomes evident through the sincerity andemotion in the post-trial (both with regular Gonta and with AI Gonta) that he’stelling the truth, especially about the “truth of the outside world.”

The localization’s “Tarzan-speech,” by contrast, takes almostall the sincerity and emotion out of those speeches. It’s very hard to takeGonta’s claims of responsibility in the localization seriously when histranslation makes it seem as though he’s barely even capable of takingaccountability for his own actions. It’s infantilizing, and in my opinion itcompletely misses the point of everything about his character that was used tosubvert people’s expectations in Chapter 4.

Gonta is as kind, caring, and generous as it gets. He’sperhaps not the brightest—but he’s certainly not dumb. His problems manifestfrom a lack of self-confidence, reinforced by how other people perceive him. Hedidn’t grow up in society like a normal person, so he’s unfamiliar with thingsthat everyone else takes for granted, and his eagerness to please means that he’snaïve and quick to fall for other people’s schemes. But in the original versionof the game, it was so much easier to pick up on the fact that he was neveractually “stupid” or “useless,” while the localization treats him… well, prettymuch like a pet.

It’s sad, really; Gonta doesn’t get a lot of time to shineoutside of Chapter 4 and what little time he did get was pretty hard to enjoydue to those bad localization decisions. There are plenty of other decisions inthe localization I don’t agree with or would’ve changed personally, but I stillfeel that Gonta’s is the worst simply because it ruins the point of his entirecharacter and it’s a decision that is used consistently throughout 4 out of 6chapters. No other decisions in the entire game ruined a character sothoroughly, so I really, really wish they had translated his speech properlyand shown more of what he was actually like rather than just trying to play upthe Tarzan tropes.

I hope I was able to clear up your questions, anon! I’vewanted to talk about Gonta’s localization for a while too, so thank you forgiving me a chance to do so.

#ndrv3 #drv3 #new danganronpa v3 #gonta gokuhara #gokuhara gonta #ndrv3 spoilers // #my meta #okay to reblog #anonymous

[sagebodisattva]

Free Will and Determinism: The Concept and Object of Reality

So the difficulty in discerning between the object of reality and the concept of reality. Returning to the metaphor of existence as a film, the object of reality in this example is the actual film strip. The concept of reality in this example is all the abstractions we dream up while watching the film. But, no concept about reality is gonna change the raw facts of that film strip. All the abstractions in the world will not alter the course of any image on any frame. All of the frames are already determined. So no, it isn't movie plot that decides or changes anything; and all the characters in the film don't have any choice but to behave how they behave. They have no other alternative. Let us not confuse the narrative of cause and effect with the tangible object of cause and effect.

And yes, I would think that the neurological experiments do effectively reinforce determinism. The experiments show that the subconscious has already made a decision before the conscious is even aware of it. The evidence from the experiments institutes a standard to work with, and from this standard, it is evident where the burden of proof becomes established. The facts point towards actions being predetermined to any cognitive function, and 'communication', is definitely a cognitive function. Hence, suggestions of otherwise bear the burden here.

Communication effects the brain? - Unfounded assumption that bears the burden of proof.

A response from an object is indicative of communication? - Unfounded assumption that bears the burden of proof.

Thoughts and feelings have the ability to cause events and effect objects? - Unfounded assumption that bears the burden of proof.

If you are ever able to successfully reify these things you are calling 'thoughts, feelings and communication', then maybe we can get them into the laboratory and run some experiments that might bolster some of those declarations. Until then, we have to stick to raw material facts that can be observed and measured.

Explanations involving thoughts and feelings aren’t succinct. To say something is meant to happen (what I said), isn't the same thing as saying something should happen. (what I didn't say.) Asserting something was "meant to happen", means that the hard facts point to the truth that the objects were pre-situated in such a way so as to lead to a specific condition. Asserting something "should happen", means one thinks that feelings, thoughts and intentions can guide circumstances to a specific condition. They are two completely different denotations. Me saying that a material configuration need not be judged isn't related to the idea of agency whatsoever, and is consistent to a scientific process. The objects interact with each other in a determined fashion, hence there is no need to judge this process with a subjective opinion. This is more in line with my premise. Wherein do you find any hint of a "should"? And rewinding the film and watching it again, and seeing the FACT that the configuration plays out a certain way, hence showing that the process was meant to play out this way objectively, and then simply pointing out this fact, isn't at all referential to an intention.

The implication of an egoic free will implies that people can't use determinism as a guide on how to act, but I see no reason why not. People can do this very easily, as determinism is just an idea, and from ideas come ideologies. Whether or not anyone actually does this is negligible; for if someone is doing this, it's due to them being caused to do so by some material configuration... and while true that determinism can't literally provide instructions, as determinism is just a concept; the concept of determinism can, nevertheless, still be considered objectively. Determinism can't be considered from the outside because why? Who decided that there's a law dictating that a concept cannot be considered with metacognition? The concept of determinism can be considered from the outside, because determinism itself is just an abstraction about a material phenomena. Any concept can be considered from an objective standpoint. Yet, even with all that said, it's not yet proven that any cognitive function will play a role in the interaction of objects. Whether or not one believes cognition plays a role in this or not, and decides to modify their behavior based on this, or not, doesn't change anything. The facts are the facts. How anyone feels about the facts is another issue entirely.

“But Sage, people making judgments and acting in response to predictions of what should and shouldn't happen is part of what determines what WILL happen."...

Wait a minute. People MAKE judgements now? This sure sounds a lot like agency. No. More like: circumstances determine people's judgements, and the machine keeps on chugging regardless...

And, "people acting in response to predictions of what should and shouldn't happen being apart of what determines will happen"...

That isn't proven, for reasons previously stated... and contains a lot of 'shoulds', which have no place in the equation. This assertion holds the implication of intention playing a role somewhere.

So any objections to what I’m saying, highlights a difficulty in discerning between a concept and an object. As previously stated, there is no evidence to back up any claims that: brains effect other brains, that different concepts about reality are indicative of different brain functions, or that thoughts intentionally correspond to actions.

And don’t bring up evolution, because if evolution shows us anything, it's that lifeforms operated for billions of years without the benefit of higher cognitive processing. In fact, for most of existence life didn't think at all, but ran on pure instinct; which is probably why all actions are initiated prior to conscious function. The advent of thinking has only been around for about 200,000 years, versus about 3.7 billion years of instinct. And so far, most research reinforces this, and points towards the conscious thinking process as being a mere reactionary novelty that emerges after the fact, and nothing more. So any claims about abstractions having the ability to cause and effect objects needs some solid evidence that can be verified and falsified. This is what I meant when I said: Let us not confuse the narrative of cause and effect with the tangible object of cause and effect.

And to clarify, I never said that determinism means performing an action is futile. I said determinism makes subjectively judging anything within the process of determinism pointless and futile. If you know every event is the result of causation, judging any event implies you think the outcome of the event had some other option. There is no other option. Why should another option even be considered? Because of more abstractions? No. Opinions are not facts. You having an opinion might be a fact, but the fact of your opinion doesn't reify the opinion into a fact. This is why abstractions are not part of the equation. The object and action can be measured and verified. The thoughts and feelings about the object and action cannot; hence thoughts and feelings are mostly irrelevant to a scientific methodology concerning determinism and causality.

So to recap, I first put forth that all actions are determined prior to conscious function, and then pointedly declared communication to be a cognitive function; instituting a standard to work with, hence demanding that any suggestion of otherwise will bear the burden of proof.

I don't think there's any need to prove that thoughts and feelings are experienced, for, as you pointed out, the evidence of the experience is firsthand... yet, no one is asking anyone to prove the experience of them. No one is asking for proof that the brain manifests thoughts either. What needs to be proven is that thoughts, feelings and communication have the ability to cause or effect objects. This is the claim that is unsubstantiated and bears the burden...

And the fact that the results of the neurological experiments communicate information isn't evidence that communication affects objects, especially since the information communicated implies that movement and actions, the proven facilitators of cause and effect, are operating prior to consciousness. To this I say: prove that the data gleaned from this experiment effected an object in any way, without reliance on just abstractions for explanations. What material evidence can be produced to bolster this assumption, other then a subjective opinion that it is so?

So that about wraps it up for free will and determinism for now. The contradictions and faulty reasoning espoused in this soft boiled determinism; this apparently speciality version of determinism, has not been accounted for. It is malformed philosophy. Yet, I understand the motives behind it's design: It is derived from the desire to have a position that appears aligned to a very objective scientific methodology, yet still wants to leave room for all this touchy feely subjective crap... and of course, still leave tons of room for all the blaming, guilt, castigation, vitriol, and various methods of personal attack, so loved by the fans of this type of dishonest trollish philosophy.”

"But Sage, I have a massive amount of evidence!”

“There is a massive amount of evidence of...”

Yet, you will never make a single solitary citation to any of it, other then repeating your own unfounded claims with your own assertions as the reference. This doesn't cut it. You have to cite hard scientific data... and appeals to popularity or authority are not examples of citing scientific data...

"But Sage, determinism is not "just an idea", it's a DESCRIPTION of how the universe functions."

This is the main reason why dialogue with a soft boiled determinist is futile; as, not only can they not tell the difference between a concept and an object, they can’t even tell the difference between different forms of concepts. Calling it a "description" doesn't make it any less of a concept. Explanations, descriptions, suppositions, theories, and conclusions, are all different varieties of the exact same thing: abstractions.

Knowing this basic fundamental is an elementary prerequisite for engaging in philosophical discourse.