so about the header that proceeded today's statement:
Viability as agent: Low
Viability as subject: None
Viability as catalyst: Medium
i didn't know what to think of this part of the entry at first, but the longer the statement went on... was the institute in this universe trying to manufacture avatars?
the dice can't do anything without someone to use them, they can't be an "agent" by themselves, but might be capable of manipulation, so in that aspect their viability is "low."
the dice could be a "subject" in the sense that they could use further studying, but the statement itself was a very thorough investigation of their workings, so in that aspect their viability is "none."
the dice seem to influence their holder to roll them, or at least find more victims to roll them, and could therefore be described as a "catalyst" for someone's becoming. but, as seen in the statement, their owner can give the dice to someone else (albeit not without consequences), so in that aspect their viability is only "medium."
so what about the line following all this, what does "Recommend referral to Catalytics for Enrichment applicability assessment" mean? if we go by this interpretation, i'd say it could mean the institute wanted to find a way to make the dice even more potent as an artifact, maybe even remove that pesky ability for their owner to reject them.
imho all of this this brings a whole new level of context to the events of episode seven, of unknown violent agents going after an influx of objects that seemed straight out of artifact storage. was that the nature of the titular "magnus protocol" first mentioned in episode four, the one that involved the starkwall group? containing or destroying potential artifacts before the institute could get their hands on them?
it also makes their "gifted kids program," and sam's link to it as one of the kids being studied, all the more horrifying to think about. was it not just avatars in general they were after, but child avatars specifically? no wonder gertrude got so defensive over the possibility of sam and celia dragging gerry back into the institute's business last episode, we all picked up on her clearly knowing more than she's letting on but now we might know the shape of that information a bit better.
and one final bit of food for thought... this statement had a lot of familiar themes, didn't it? free will or the illusion of it, gambling and not-so-random chance, the statement giver being done in by one final hit from what feels like a bit of an addition... all hallmarks of a certain mother of puppets. doesn't it seem fitting that "chester" would use this kind of statement to warn sam about what harm pursuing the magnus institute could bring to him, considering the one his voice might draw from? and doesn't it seem so painfully ironic that his warning seems to have only driven sam further into that web?
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Seeing Twitter users recommending the People Make Games documentary as a good way to get insight on the issue is so….
I know, I’m always extremely disappointed whenever I come across someone who thinks it’s the end all be all explanations regarding the Studio ZA/UM situation.
Recommending that video always comes with a heavy caveat from me that the person needs to stop around the 40 minute mark since the interviewer shows a very clear bias that’s unbecoming of a journalist.
Regardless, now that more people are finding out about these layoffs, which might take out members of the studio that have been there since the beginning, it could finally help smack some sense into those Twitter users that actually thought, FOR SOME REASON, Rostov, Kurvitz, and Hindpere were lying for shits and giggles rather than seeing what's ACTUALLY going on which is that the investors have a very obvious agenda against the real wronged party. Hopefully this'll also open their eyes to how the People Make Games video fed into this twisted narrative that Kurvitz was somehow at fault/responsible for the theft of his own IP, but that might be asking too much from their concrete brains. Here's hoping though!
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im loving the fact that tommy is an established character with established relationships with the 118, just like karen, just like athena, just like maddie, because that was a huge thing that made it a part of why i think it was so hard to like bucks previous love interests.
like, yes. abby and taylor tried to gel with them, ali kinda knew OF them, but natalia was completely seperate and lucy wasnt even really a love interest. neither of the main 2 (abby and taylor) actually had any link to anyone other than buck. taylor was the closest (but she fucked that up badly lmao).
im so hyped to see whether we get more of tommy and the 118, because he has history with all of them, except eddie (who he's now good friends with), and buck (who he is now dating).
if you look at all the other 'partners', they are all a part of the 118 family, and pretty linked together: athena is besties with hen and married to bobby, karen lived across from and was good friends with chimney and is now married to hen, maddie is bucks brother and is married to chimney, etc.
i feel like bucks other love interests were only ever linked to him, and he always worried about losing them, because he didnt think he was good enough.
but this time with tommy the difference is (tommy actually cares about buck) that hes known by his family and hes safe and hes confident and caring and patient, plus the rest of the 118 all think hes a good guy, and also tommy saved bathena and chimney and hes friends with eddie, and christopher likes him, etc.
everybody that matters to buck, except maddie, likes and knows tommy.
(and who is he going to introduce tommy to next episode? maddie.)
maybe buck doesnt have to worry so much about him leaving, like abby did, or worry how to introduce tommy to his family and not have him run for the hills from the complex parts of his life, like natalia or ali did
because tommys already halfway in it yknow?
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hey there i'd like to request one (1) sampo eating a burger jerma style thank you so much
anon, from the bottom of my heart, tysm for this request. i hope you enjoy this cursed image you have inspired.
1 sampo eating a whopper coming right up!!
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Saiki hating Takahashi because he reminds him of Akechi’s main bully is so insane to me. What do you mean the silly gag that’s been present since nearly the beginning is trauma-based. What do you mean it wasn’t just a joke. What do you mean Kusuo couldn’t consciously remember what happened with Akechi but still feels it’s effects years later, when he sees some random teenager and just can’t explain why he hates him.
I wonder how he felt when he realized. It’s living with a survival-based coping mechanism for so long that it seems entirely normal—then suddenly remembering something and realizing “This is the moment it happened. This is why I do that. I wasn’t like this before.”
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