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#the only thing that matters in this whole review is that I got the funny number
i-am-beckyu · 1 year
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I posted 534 times in 2022
That's 534 more posts than 2021!
108 posts created (20%)
426 posts reblogged (80%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@brick-a-doodle-do
@orchid-harmony
@squishys-soft-stories
@colossal-red
@poprockpanda
I tagged 169 of my posts in 2022
#nmw - 42 posts
#mcyt g/t - 28 posts
#mcyt gt - 21 posts
#g/t - 19 posts
#g/t community - 15 posts
#beckyu answers - 14 posts
#beckyu arts - 13 posts
#gt community - 13 posts
#brick my beloved <3 - 13 posts
#gt inktober - 12 posts
Longest Tag: 132 characters
#i have literally never tired art in this style nor in g/t so i'm actually flippen proud of myself for how well this came out asdfghj
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Don’t forget to mention that...
Well I never expected this to be the first finished bit of writing I posted here. I promise I’m still writing that other one I’ve hinted at, I just want it to be perfect!! I actually wrote this back in August and was re-reading it and thought: huh its not bad so edited it a bit and here we are. (this is literally the 2nd fanfic I’ve ever written as well as g/t piece and I haven’t even finished the first so please be kind qwq)  This was inspired by an artwork that @dingbatnix created! Original post here  I hope you like it ❤️
cw: mcyt g/t, soft, slight panic, mention of death man I hope that’s right
word count:  2375
“A nap in the sun would be nice right about now.” George said as he made his way to the top of a big red toadstool. Winter was fast approaching and the time for napping in the sun would soon be over while the cold months of snow and ice overtake the world. George didn’t mind the thought of snow though. I mean, when you’re 2 inches tall, snow isn’t exactly your friend when even a light powder can have you buried and frozen alive. It was going to be tougher to find food and shelter soon too. Part of him wishes he hadn’t left the colony; that he had stayed with his own kind rather than travel the vast world. But he had lost his parents long ago and had never made any real friends back home, so what real attachment did he have in staying? So George had instead chosen a life of adventure. He’d been wandering the forest and plains for a few years now. Learning about its hidden wonders and knowledge unknown. While he wasn’t exactly born for magic, he had certainly picked up the odd spell or two. He had once befriended a size-shifting fire-born demon named Sapnap, that he had spent the winters with in the past and learnt some basic spells anyone with enough practice could use. Although he had never actually seen his friend's bigger form, he missed Sapnap dearly. He had left to go meet with an old friend of his for a while and George had decided he wanted to continue to explore. But whilst George was curious and loved discovering new things, he tended to stay away from anything larger than a bush. Or if he was being more specific; Humans. When you live in a world that’s 100x bigger than you, sentient beings 100x bigger with it are terrifying. He’d seen the destruction beings of such caliber could cause. If they wanted to, they could tear through trees with massive iron blades, light fires and cause havoc in an instant. But at worst? They’d stamp out life in a heartbeat. And while you think they may only be stories told to young children to keep them within the safety of the colony walls, George had seen it first hand. His parents had hidden him in a small grotto before leading the monsters away. And because of that, he’d never actually encountered a human in person. That was definitely something he could be grateful for. He’d only seen a little of what had happened to his parents before they had passed and he had opted to drown out the sounds of destruction rather than watch it in horror. Who knew it would be the last time he would ever see them. He missed them dearly but was thankful that in all his time traveling, he’d never seen a human and hopefully never would. Hope might have been an understatement….
George placed his little toadstool hat to the side of him as he removed his satchel from over his shoulder. He brushed over it lightly, a small smile gracing his face as he reminisced in fondness. He had fought with Sapnap over how to do smaller stitches rather than big uneven ones that left room for holes, rambling on how his attention to detail was just George being picky similar to his other friend. George then smoothed out his moss cloak to lie on and laid back onto the toadstool, resting on his back using one hand to cushion his head. His other hand fiddling idly  with his light blue shirt. He adjusted his white rimmed goggles on his face with delicate care and closed his eyes as the warmth of the evening sun shone upon him. It’s ray’s practically dancing along his skin as it warmed each cell of his very being. It was nice. On rare occasions he would find himself being able to enjoy the sun like this. Too often this world was out to get him and yet somehow he would find the odd times that he could let himself drift away in bliss. Drift away…. Maybe to sleep? Yeah, that sounded nice. 
George continued to keep his eyes closed and began to focus on the sounds around him. Despite his loud and rowdy personality, Sapnap had shown him how to enjoy moments like these. He missed him dearly. Perhaps their paths would cross again during the winter? It was unlikely since he could size shift and had said his friend traveled around a lot, but George was happy for him. A small part of George wished he had stayed with him. Sapnap had even offered for George to accompany him and meet his friend, always saying how he thought they would get along so well and how much he knew they would just love George. But the fact that Sapnap was a size shifter implied that his friend was also one and that scared George. He wasn’t ready for that no matter how much Sapnap insisted that they wouldn’t harm him. George shook away those thoughts for now though, because he was going to drift away. Just for a bit… 
The sounds of rustling leaves in the breeze began to get fainter as George felt himself lulling off to sleep, the sun continuing to blanket him in its warmth. He was almost asleep when he suddenly felt the surface beneath him move. ‘Probably the wind’ he thought. Then it moved again. ‘Okay maybe there’s a deer nearby. That’s ok.’ And again. George opened his eyes slowly. “So close to a nap” he grumbled. The toadstool shook again. George’s mind quickly came back to reality. He could hear the steady sound of massive footsteps approaching as his world began to shake over and over. “Ok, maybe not a deer.” George said out loud as he slung his satchel back on and his hat. Whatever was coming was big and that was never good. The footsteps continued to come closer and the shaking worsened. The steps were timed and even, something that animals rarely did. Whatever this was wasn’t an animal. “Oh no.” George said as the realization dawned on him. “Please don’t be that. Oh please anything but that.”
George raced to slide off the top of the toadstool. He was practically exposed if he didn’t get off there fast enough! He managed to make it off the top and landed to the ground with a thud as the sound of tree branches parted. The sound of footsteps ceased right in front of where George was hidden beneath the toadstool. Not a single sound followed. Carefully, George peered his head around the side of the Toadstool and let out a small gasp. In front of him mere inches away was a giant boot. Starring up and up at the giant being before him was his worst nightmare. A human. The man wore a bright green hoodie, blonde hair just in view peeking out from behind a white smiley face mask that covered most of his face from view. But the most terrifying thing about this being was the black shiny purple axe he held in his hand. He’d seen weapons like that before. It was an enchanted netherite axe: one of the most dangerous weapons in existence, and it was held by a human. 
“Hello? Is someone there?” It said.
George slapped himself in the face as he clasped his hands over his mouth. What a fool he was. He was trapped with the only cover being the toadstool. The next closest cover was too far away to run too without being exposed and even if he ran, the human would probably reach him within seconds. He stayed perfectly still. It felt as if he moved even slightly the toadstool would disappear and he’d be discovered. The human had yet to move. George could only imagine it was scanning the area searching for something. Someone. Him. Carefully he peered out from under the toadstool, trying to get a better idea of what the human was doing. Said human had its back turned to where George was and as predicted was scanning the area looking and listening intently. He watched as the human turned its head slowly as it scanned the area once more. As it began to get closer to looking in his direction, George ducked back out of view. His breathing picked up a little as he did so but he focused on the matter at hand. There’s no way the human saw him right? Right?!? Without warning, the toadstool was suddenly yanked up out of the ground and into the air. George shrieked, eyes wide as his only cover was ripped away leaving him completely exposed and at the mercy of the human. The human and George suddenly fell deathly still, shocked by each other’s presence. Even though the human wore a mask, George could still feel the human's eyes burning a hole through his soul. It had found him. What was he going to do now?
“Wow.” The human whispered in amazement. “Look at you.” Well George didn’t care how amazed the human sounded, his words were enough to snap him out of his frozen state and make a dash for cover. “WAIT! NO! Come back!” The human yelled as he suddenly made a move for him. George ran for the closest bush he could find. He didn’t care where he hid, anything was better than being in the open at the humans mercy. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it far before a large hand gripped itself around his body. He wasn’t held overly tight but it still felt suffocating. It was too warm, too big, too strong! All it would take is one good squeeze and the human could pop George’s head off! 
George tried kicking and thrashing in the Humans hand. His arms were pinned to his body so he was limited but anything was better than nothing in hopes of getting the human to let him go. He felt gravity shift as the human lifted him up higher and higher from the ground. Sapnap had tried to take him flying on a bird once and he had not enjoyed it being up so high. Finally, the grasp loosened around George and he found himself sitting cupped in both the humans massive hands. The human still wore the mask but while he couldn’t make out the human's eyes, he now felt as if it was studying him over. Taking in every last detail of his appearance and it was terrifying. “You’re actually real.” The human said as he poked him with a finger. George hugged his legs to his chest and curled in on himself, willing himself to just disappear. “Please let me go.” He whispered out. He could feel tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. He didn’t want to meet the same gruesome fate his parents had. Maybe if he was obedient it would show him mercy? “I’ll do whatever you want, please just let me go!
“Hurt you?? Oh no, is that what you think I’m going to do?” The human said the sound of disbelief coating his voice. “I just can’t believe you’re actually real. I thought all this time he was just making you up.” George dared to open his eyes. The human still had its mask on but somehow he looked calmer, gentler. “But still, he never said just how small you were. You barely even fit in the palm of my hand.” 
Now it was George’s turn to be in a state of disbelief. This human was speaking as if it knew George but couldn’t believe he existed. That someone had told him about himself. “What do you mean ‘He’ was making me up? Who on earth are you talking about??” George asked. “Oh Sapnap did. He kept going on about how he met this tiny person called George and that you used to live together.” The human replied. “He always goes on about how much we’d get along and how much I’d like you.”
Sapnap? SAPNAP?!?! This was the friend he was always talking about?!?!?! A human friend. How had Sapnap failed to mention the one most important detail that his friend was a human? Sure he’d said that his friend wouldn’t hurt him but never once had he mentioned or implied that his friend was Human. George began to fume. “I’m going to murder him first chance I get!” George yelled. “He never said you were a human! He always said the same thing to me too about how great you were and that we could be like some dumb Dream Team!” George said steaming.
“Really? I rather like the name Dream Team.” The human said, laughing a bit at the end. “Then again, I’m biased with my name literally being Dream.”
“Wait, your name is Dream???” George said as he stared up at Dream, the apparent human. “Wait he didn’t tell you my name? Oh Sapnap’s an idiot I swear.” George laughed in response. “Oh don’t I know it.” They both laughed for a bit at the dumbness of their friend. “Well it’s nice to meet you then Dream. I’m George, but I’m guessing you already knew that huh?” George said as he began to relax. Dream shifted George into his left hand as he grabbed his mask with the right and lifted his mask. A face dotted with Freckles adorned with a mischievous grin and bright green eyes looked back into his own brown and blue eyes. “Yeah I knew and man I’m gonna mess around with Sapnap for not telling you more about me when we get back.” Dream said as he turned and started to make his way out of the Forest.
And as the two trekked back to where Dream and Sapnap had set up camp, George couldn’t help but be at ease. Even though Dream was a human, he couldn’t help but feel safe in the human's grasp thanks to Sapnap and all those stories he had shared. Even if he’s never told him once that his friend was a human, he knew he could trust Sapnap and that was enough. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I actually finished a story. I never thought this day would come T-T. I really hope everyone enjoyed this it was a lot of fun to write and I’m glad I did get around to finishing it. Thank you @squishys-soft-stories for reading the draft ❤️ Stay tuned for the first fic I’ve been writing tho!!! I’m dying at not just sharing it now but its not far off being done!! I promise its going to be worth the wait! Thanks all again if you read to the end ❤️❤️❤️
60 notes - Posted October 30, 2022
#4
Crimeboys it is.
And would you know it, it be a fluffy Crimeboys prompt with an instinct driven Giant Wilbur and a human Gremlin Tommy.
The prompt starts with Wilbur not letting Tommy go as he woke up with instinct begging for him to take Tommy everywhere he goes.
Tommy tries to bite Wilbur's fingers so he can put him down but Wilbur ain't buggin anytime soon.
Anywhere Wilbur goes, Tommy is right there since Wilbur isn't letting him go.
Like you can have Wilbur be at work and he still brings Tommy with him as an example.
Just make it as fluffy as you can, you can add anything you want.
If you're up to make this prompt then pog, that is if you want to do it.
Also, if you wanna send me a random g/t prompt that u have, go for it.
Quack
This has been in my inbox since I joined Tumblr.
Orchid gorgeous!!!!!!!!! I've rewritten this twice!!!! It took me awhile as I got stuck at one point BUT! I had a new idea today so while its short, I'm very happy with it! I hope I did the prompt justice and you like it!!!
Mine to hold close
cw: mcyt g/t , soft, fluffy, tiny tiny death mention. Words: 607 [One shot]
“Can you put me down you prick?! I’m not gonna freeze I swear!!!” Tommy said with huff as Wilbur scooped him up.
“After the last time it snowed? I don’t think so.” Wilbur responded as he tucked the little human close to his chest. 
“But Wiiiiiiilllll!! I’m not even outside this time!” The giant always tended to get extra clingy around this time of year. His instincts in high gear and on Tommy the second he was awake, worried that Tommy wasn’t warm enough. Tommy didn’t blame him though. Not when he literally met Wilbur in the midst of a snow storm. He hadn’t meant to lose the trail and get stranded in Giant territory, but stuff like that always seemed to follow the Great Tommy Danger Kraken Innit! He’s just lucky that the giant had found him in the snow before he became a frozen popsicle. And even luckier that this Giant didn’t eat humans. So yes, Tommy understood that Wilbur was going to be a little extra cautious about him almost dying of Hypothermia again. But he didn’t have to be so damn cuddly and touchy all the f***** time!!
“Wilbur I’m fine! I’m not gonna get cold! The fires going and keeping everything nice and toasty warm, so stop being a d*** and put me down!!” Tommy said as he squirmed in Wilbur’s hold.
“Tommy. You are literally the most chaotic little gremlin I’ve ever seen. If I put you down, I guarantee you’ll be screaming for help in less than five minutes trying not to freeze your a** off!!” In retaliation, Tommy started biting and scratching at Wilbur’s hand. It didn’t hurt of course, but Wilbur found it cute watching the attempt at escape. He loved Tommy like a brother and ever since he found him had sworn to protect him no matter what, his instincts often being a little overbearing at keeping the chaotic child safe. And if that meant holding onto him for hours at a time, then he’d happily oblige. So what if he had to do his work with one less hand? He’d take holding Tommy any day. That and his instincts kept screaming at him to keep the human close.
After a few minutes Tommy eventually resigned himself to his fate and just chilled in Wilbur’s hand. Though he’d never admit it, he secretly loved it when Wilbur would hold him. He felt safe knowing nothing could hurt him when he was with the giant. He didn’t have to worry about anything and could just be content with his pseudo brother. Staying with the giant being the best decision of his life after their first initial meeting. 
Tommy stayed in Wilbur’s hand all day. They chatted while Wilbur did his chores, Wilbur singing songs to Tommy, Tommy sharing wacky insane ideas with Wilbur, all the while the giant's instincts to keep the human close not faltering once. As day turned to dusk and dusk turned to night, Tommy eventually curled up in Wilbur’s hand. Snuggling in as he fell asleep, hugging one of Wil’s fingers close. Wilbur had to resist the urge to coo at the small sleeping human in his hand. Tommy was so small, so fragile but you’d never guess he had such a boisterous personality and was as lively as what he is. Slowly and carefully, Wilbur made his way to bed, getting in and tucking the human close to his heart. He sighed contently knowing nothing could hurt his brother, his instincts finally satisfied. 
“Good night Tommy.” Wilbur whispered quietly as he drifted off to sleep. The brothers comfortable in each other’s warm embrace.\
WOOOOOOOOOOOOO I MADE ANOTHER FIC!!!!! THAT'S 2/3 POSTED!!!!!
I swear I'm still writing the other fic! I swear! I swear! I swear!!! It's gonna be worth the time its taking! PROMISE
64 notes - Posted November 13, 2022
#3
I finally did it!!!!! I got one of these miniature sets!!!! I know people have done them before but this one’s mine with a few personal touches as I didn’t quite do it ‘By the Book’!! That and my silly brain also won’t allow me to glue any of it down either because it’s like: But what if you meet a tiny person? Then they can’t move anything 😭!!!!! So yeah I’m happy!!!
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72 notes - Posted August 6, 2022
#2
Day 5 and 6 of @aaytaro-gt gt Inktober!!!!!
Yes I missed the day to post 5. but anyways we have Dance and Jar!!
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Jar also features one of my fav people @a-tiny-frog-girl love ya Froggie 💚
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75 notes - Posted October 6, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
So I have found another thing to give a shot in amongst everything else I’m doing this month! I’m going to take part in g/t InkTober using @aaytaro-gt prompt list! I want to take the opportunity to practice drawing certain positions and I’ve never really tried to draw gt art before so here’s to hoping I stick to it and make some improvements 😊 might switch between traditional and digital art who know.
Day 1. Acorn
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85 notes - Posted October 1, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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tealclover · 3 months
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This Way Out
So, Tails slipped up. Not only did he manage to get himself snagged, but he dragged Belle into this with him. To make matters worse, Starline was unbearably smug about the whole thing. Yeah, yeah, he got the Sonic the Hedgehog’s sidekick. Whoop-de-friggin-doo.
Just when Tails was starting to prove himself again. Ugh. How embarrassing. 
Well, enough of that. He promised Sonic he’d be fine, and he intended to keep his word. All he had to do was find a way to get Belle and himself out safely. … But who exactly were those two Mobians hanging around the facility?
(Alternate ending to Sonic IDW Issue #36, featuring a snarky fox. Some angst, some crack.)
Even before fully regaining consciousness, Tails knew he was in for a headache. And not just literally, though the pulsing in his temple was certainly noteworthy.
For starters, before even opening his eyes, he was lying stiffly on his back of all places. Tails never slept on his back if he could help it – his namesakes made resting much more reasonable on his side or belly. Sleeping on his tails was both uncomfortable and impractical. Impractical because it left his belly and other more vulnerable parts exposed. Uncomfortable due to the cold and the fact that his namesakes trapped underneath him, occasionally numb from lack of bloodflow. Which they were. But so were his arms and his legs, and, oh, he couldn’t move at all actually. 
It was probably too much to hope that that beeping indicated that he’d spent the last fifteen hours on a stone-hard hospital bed, seeing how his last waking recollection involved him and Belle separating, tons of snow, and…
Starline. Who wanted to kidnap him. For supposedly scientific purposes.
Ugh.
With no small amount of trepidation, the fox bleerily opened his eyes. He was immediately rewarded for his efforts with too much light why couldn’t he live like the nocturnal creatures foxes were meant to be and a sinister chuckle that grated on his nerves.
“Ah, Young Master Prower. I see you are awake.”
Yup. And he wished he wasn’t.
“Starline.” Oof. Voice crack. That wasn’t doing his credibility any favors. How long had he been out? He coughed, trying to get his voice back before roughly continuing: “I hope you’ve got a five star meal on the way; otherwise I’m going to have to give this stay a poor review. Don’t tell me this is a hospital bed,” he grimaced at the surface he was strapped to, arms, tails, and all. He was trapped for the time being, but appeared to be intact, at least. If the bindings were ignored, he could have passed for a patient – the presence of the finger pulse oximeter amongst other diagnostic tools were certainly intriguing, if not concerning. Were those vials of blood his? “Or do. Cause I’m not sure there’s much I can do for you if you think it’s acceptable to let your guests sleep on tables.”
The platypus stared at him for a few seconds, like he hadn’t expected the witty response. It was actually kind of funny to watch him visibly reboot and reassess the fox. Finally, he sighed. “I suppose you were raised by Sonic. It makes sense that you would share his poor taste in humor.”
“It clearly beats your taste in decor,” Tails sniped back. Starline hummed at that.
“Public perception of you paints you to be a polite boy genius. It seems that isn’t entirely true.”
Tails shrugged. Or tried to, anyway. “The general population wouldn’t consider strapping me to an examination table. Care to explain that, by the way?”
Starline smiled a sweet-sick smile. “Oh, you’re curious, are you? To be quite frank, I want to see if you can find out. Why don’t you and Miss Belle take a moment to catch up?”
Tails froze. “Belle?”
“I'm here, Tails…” the voice came from his left. He peered over as far as he could to see the robotic marionette on a second table a short distance away. She wouldn’t meet his eyes, but from what he could see of her… she looked distraught. Not fearful, necessarily, but despairing, which was somehow even more worrisome. 
“Belle, are you okay?” He asked gently. She sniffled, ducking her head into her chest as best as she could. Were those… tear tracks on her cheeks? She could cry? Why was she crying? He took a second to shoot a gleeful Starline a sharp glare before refocusing on his newest companion. “Belle, are you hurt?” 
“... No,” she whispered.
Tails didn’t know if he believed that, but he didn’t know how to press the issue with the correct amount of sensitivity, especially with Starline hovering over them. What a creep. Couldn’t he leave? “Okay… okay. It’s going to be alright, I promise.” He waited for Belle’s tiny nod before continuing. “How long have you been active?”
“About… twenty minutes. I’ve been offline s-since the avalanche. I… I’m sorry, Tails. You came back for me and now-”
“I’m not worried about that, Belle,” he told her, firmly but not unkindly. “We’ll figure it out. Can you tell me what you remember?”
“I…” She made a strangled sound, but forced herself to continue. “My d-d… my creator was Mr. Tinker.” Tails gut sank. He wasn’t surprised, not with their matching attire, but it was still a sad confirmation to hear. “That… that jerk figured it out. He, he told me-” she hiccuped again. “It’s his fault Mr. Tinker is gone. He changed him into Eggman.”
“... I’m sorry, Belle.” What could he say to that? This wasn’t something he could fix with a wrench and a bit of mechanical know-how. Belle was a robot, but her feelings were hardly artificial. After Emerl, Gamma, and their successors, Tails was very well aware of that. She was just as much of a person as anyone organic; something that was clear to him from the moment they met. He couldn’t just reprogram her to feel better. Or, well, maybe he could, but that wouldn’t be right. To do so would likely be robbing her memories and cheapening her experiences, changing who she was in the process. It wouldn’t truly fix anything; frankly, it would likely lead to an identity crisis later on.
And so, all he had to offer her was kindness, and time to recover once they escaped.
“I… don’t know how to help with Mr. Tinker, but my friends and I would be happy to have you, if you want. I have space for you back at my workshop, and the Restoration accepts anyone who wants to to have a part of it. If you want a home, we’ll give you one. We can try to figure out the rest in time.”
Belle was quiet. Finally, she tearfully confessed, “That would be nice.”
He offered her a smile even though she still wasn’t looking. “I’m glad you think so. We’ll do our best to make it worth your while.” He hesitantly continued. “Did Starline do anything else?”
She shook her head. “He just… listened to me talk a-about Dad. About home, Windmill Village, and how the villagers kicked me out after the Metal Virus cleared up. I got so mad, but it didn’t matter. He didn’t care. He doesn’t care at all about what he did. He only wanted the code.”
“Code…?” At that, Tails shot another glance in their captor’s direction, though the platypus had since turned his attention to the monitor at Tails’ side, turned so that the fox couldn’t read any of the details. Were Belle’s readings stashed away in that device? … No. At least, it wasn’t just her information. Starline was gathering his vitals as well. But why? From the sounds of things, he was trying to get a reaction out of Belle earlier, and now, he was… testing Tails? Did he truly want him to uncover the motivations behind their kidnappings or was he simply fishing for another set of reactions from a different subject? He wouldn’t put it past Starline to have something of a sadistic streak – most villains lately did – but not one without purpose. If that was all he did, there had to have been some sort of incentive, something to be gained…
Why him? Why Belle? Her thoughts and feelings, and his-
Was he trying to record them both?
Was Starline in his head right now? 
A delighted laugh at his side told him that yes, he probably was.
“Positively remarkable, young Master Prower! You are truly one of a kind.” The platypus’ hands clapped together. “It is no wonder Sonic has prevailed for so long! He is powerful on his own, but you, you can keep pace with him, you adapt to his spontaneity and can plan in the heat of the moment so that he is successful in his every endeavor, no matter how foolish or impossible.  It is little wonder that the two of you alone keep Doctor Eggman on his toes, despite his armies, his keen intellect, and his prowess…” He stood to approach Tails again, looking down upon him with glee. “You truly are the greatest of combinations.”
That would have been a heart-warming compliment, had it not come from the mouth of a madman. As it stood, the fox had to resist the urge to squirm under that predatory gaze. He would not give Belle another reason to be afraid. 
“And, in spite of knowing all of that,” Tails mildly remarked, “you brought me straight to your base.”
Starline was likely to overestimate himself. In his eyes, he had a useful enemy at his mercy. He was less likely to seriously consider the fact that, in the process, he had invited that very foe into his base, to say nothing of the others that would come knocking down his door later.
… Let him read those thoughts.
“Is that a threat?” The doctor mockingly inquired, unfazed and clearly quite confident. “You hardly have the advantage, fox.”
“I've gotten out of stickier situations.” This wasn't even the first time somebody thought to make a labrat of him, his first encounter with the Deadly Six coming to mind. … Hopefully, this wasn't going to become a trend. 
“Perhaps, but I've taken precautions. Escape won't come easily for you.” The villain adjusted his glove with a self-assured smirk. “You are now quite the valuable asset to my plans.”
“Which are…?” Tails pressed, earning him a condescending pat on the head that made his skin crawl.
“All in due time, little specimen. As it stands, I've already shared too much with you, and I really must get back to work. You have such fascinating insights; it’s a pity we won’t be discussing this further, seeing how you will have no recollection of this conversation,” he coolly lamented, hand shifting from his bangs to his eyes.
“Now, it is time for you to go back to sleep.”
So... yup! Here's a glimpse of a brainworm I've had for a little while regarding Issue #36. It's a little rough and is absolutely a WIP (the end is particularly prone to change), but I felt like sharing a bit of it! Hope whoever finds it likes it! :)
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heart4reigns · 11 months
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HIDE AND SEEK, roman reigns.
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warnings: alcohol, confessions, both are insanely in love with each other, implied sexual activities, situationship
tags: drink carefully kids!!! woohoo girl-code!
summary: a little game of hide and seek won’t hurt anyone, right?
“HONESTLY, i love you.” the words from last night’s dinner kept you up. the scene kept replaying inside your head as you remembered your reaction. it caught you off-guard, obviously. you were in love with him too, but you didn’t know what to do. so you got up from your seat and excused yourself, leaving him hanging. that was the biggest mistake you have ever made in your entire life.
the sound of your alarm was the last thing you wanted to hear today. you wanted to sleep more but you knew you had responsibilities such as driving your best friends (and coworkers) to work and gym since it was your turn. it took you a couple of minutes to gain consciousness, dragging your body to the bathroom.
you honked your car, indicating your presence. "alright calm down!” you heard jimmy’s voice. “hurry up, i don’t have all day here. gotta pick up jey too.” you complained. “damn, you’re picking up the whole block.” “and whose fault is that? not mine. stupid schedules, you’re a grown man. you can drive on your own.” you joked. “i know you love me and jey.” you only chuckled in response, driving to jey’s house, only to see him standing in front of the door. “about damn time!”
"you coming tomorrow night right?" you finished your session. right now, the three of you were sitting in a coffee shop, reviewing your schedule. "i can't... i have physics due monday?" you immediately blurted out, not thinking about what you just said. "you're insane and you're coming. come on man, you never bailed on any party! especially seth’s birthday.”
your best friends knew what was happening. "just say you've been avoiding roman." you couldn't help but to nod. "yeah, as a matter of fact, i am avoiding him." you said, waiting for their reactions. "yeah girl, i already know the story. he told me about it." a sheer panic was plastered on your face. "what did he say?" you asked. "it's a secret." jimmy snickered. "tell me or i will actually drive your ass to the retirement home." you joked. "nah, he didn't tell anything. i was just messing with you." you clenched your jaw in annoyance.
"i just don't understand," jey paused for a second, taking the time to drink his coffee. "why didn’t you say it back?" you sighed in response. "he confessed last night and i didn't know what to say." he furrowed his brows. "so you ghosted him?" "yes i did." you ghosted the roman reigns.
the reason? you were scared. you had been single for a few years and getting in a relationship right now scared the shit out of you. "that's so fucking funny." jimmy laughed. "you? ghosting the man? dude, everyone wants him. but he only wants you." your face reddened as he finished his sentence. "shut up, you know i’m a pussy. besides, i think he hates me now.” jey pulled out his phone, showing you messages from the family groupchat. "at 9.54 am, 'has anyone talked to (y/n) she's not answering me'. at 10.11, 'should i call her?' and then jimmy only replied with a dog pic." jey narrated the conversation. "well, i'm sorry." you apologized.
"you know, he really loves you. you shouldn't really be scared, (y/n)." jimmy added. you knew that too, but you were still afraid to own up to your own feelings. "let's just go to work." you stood up from your seat, practically dragging them back to the car. you had to face work with an anxious state, you really didn't want to meet roman today, but at this point–it was inevitable.
the ride to the arena was filled with laughter and jokes, obviously, riding with the twins was something you look forward to. they were sweethearts, always trying to cheer you up, despite the stressful environment of the industry. "you're not going to our locker room today?" you shook your head. "bro, i am literally avoiding your locker room leader." you defended yourself. "boo, loser." jimmy ruffled your hair. "see you!" you practically skipped to the female locker room, hoping you wouldn't encounter a certain male wrestler. to your luck, you saw him near his locker room. "fuck." you muttered once again.
you squat under a table, waiting for him to go away. he saw someone in the corner of his eyes, so he looked your way to no avail. roman furrowed his brows, completely confused. he shrugged it off, entering the locker room on his own. you sighed in relief, standing up on your feet. "what the fuck are you doing?" a voice came behind you, startling you. "god, seth! you scared the shit out of me." your eyes widened in fear. "who are you hiding from?" the wrestler asked. "n- no one, actually, need to change! see you!" you skipped your way to the locker room.
"has anyone seen (y/n)?" roman asked the entire locker room. jimmy and jey froze, they didn't know what to do. "nah." "nope." "oh, saw her earlier!" the last sentence came from seth. "where is she?" roman continued his question. "she went to her locker room, i supposed. quite funny that i found her ducking behind a table." something clicked inside roman, he was avoiding you. he looked at his cousins, raising an eyebrow. "you know anything?" the twins shook their heads in unison. they might be great actors on stage, but they were bad liars.
roman was confused. he was confused with your behavior. last night, he confessed that he wanted to take your current situationship seriously, but you didn't respond after that. it was obvious that you loved him back; all those dates, all those 'sleepovers', it was a situationship. he wanted to make it official. the two of you were grown adults, sooner or later you had to talk it out.
you were already in your gear, ready to face the night with whatever was thrown to you. the women's locker room was filled with chatters, everyone was getting ready for showtime. you heard a knock on the door, expecting it to be one of the crews. "hey it's roman, is (y/n) there?" the locker room looked at you, waiting for your answer. "no. no, tell him i'm not here" you mouthed at bayley, who was in front of the door. "she's not here!" bayley opened the door, you ducked behind one of the lockers. "oh. if you see her, can you tell her i'm looking for her?"
"damn, (y/n). relationship problems?" right after bayley closed the door, the entire locker room was curious about your situation. "fuck, it's nothing." you tied your boots. "it's definitely not nothing, are you okay, girl?" zelina asked. "yeah, yeah. don't worry about it guys. i'm okay." "if you need anything, we're here okay?"
the backstage went chaotic when showtime started, everyone was doing their job. you were ready to walk out as your music started playing. "(y/n), (y/n)!" roman was at the end of the hallway, practically running to get you before you went out. your eyes widened in in surprise as you quickly walked out of the backstage, trying to avoid him.
it was clear that you were ignoring him. he could only see you on the monitor, all smiles as if nothing was wrong. roman crossed his arms, still studying you on the screen. "what's with that pout, man?" jey nudged him. "i'm just so confused with (y/n)." he replied. "did she say anything to you? did i do something wrong?" jey shook his head. "nah man, maybe she needs time? probably overwhelmed with the love you gave her." he continued. "why would she be overwhelmed?" jey shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to spill all the information to his cousin. "maybe that's for you to figure out on your own."
your match ended, meaning you had to go backstage. roman was up next, so it was really your lucky day. you could go back home without interacting with roman. so there you were, in the locker room, still out of breath. you looked at the monitor, seeing roman standing tough with his entire bloodline by his side. "i don't know what happened between you two, but i need you to stop playing hide and seek." bayley said. "right, it's weird seeing you on your own. you'd be with him by now."
it was true, everyone thought it was weird seeing you on your own. but once again, you were still scared of acknowledging your own feelings. "get home safely, (y/n)." you clocked out of work, your entire body feeling sore. you looked carefully in the hallways, not wanting to be spotted by a certain black-haired wrestler. "(y/n)." what a fucking lucky day, you thought. you ignored him and immediately walked away from your spot. before roman could catch you, started the car–leaving him in a confused state.
as soon as you got home, your phone rang. it was roman calling, but you chose to ignore it.
roman: hello?
roman: are you okay?
roman: did i do something wrong?
roman: i hope things are okay, see you at seth's tomorrow
you were literally playing a game of hide and seek as soon as you arrived at seth and becky's house. "hi, happy birthday champ." you hugged seth, giving him his birthday present. "AW THANKS (Y/N)!" his loud and cheery voice filled the room. "where's roman?" seth asked, not seeing your male counterpart with you. "oh, he's on his own." seth brushed it off, not wanting to intervene in your relationship problems. becky passed you a cup filled with alcohol. "you look like you need a drink." “i really do.”
the black-haired man got out of his car, carrying seth's birthday gift. he didn't know if you were already there, but he was hoping that he could have a talk with you. "hey, happy birthday bro." roman hugged the man. "thanks! thought you'd come with (y/n) tho." seth returned the gesture. "is she here?" seth nodded. "she's talking to sami outside." seth pointed at you, laughing your ass off.
"here comes the tribal chief." sami announced, making you choke on your drink. "fuck!" your eyes widened in fear as you excused yourself from the conversation you were having. he was walking towards you, to your luck, someone greeted him, sparing you time to get away from the crime scene. you went back inside, only to be greeted by jey's dumbass smile. "hide and seek?" you nodded, taking a shot of whatever alcohol was inside your cup.
"wait, where is (y/n)? she was just here." roman said to sami. "yeah, i lost her too. she shouldn't be far from here though." he replied. roman had to admit that you had good hiding skills, you were in the same house but yet, he couldn't find you. maybe it was a mistake that he confessed to you. maybe you didn't want him? all those questions roamed inside his mind.
seeing him not enjoying the party bothered you a bit. it was all your doings. you sighed, still not wanting to deal with confrontation. "you know you can't really ignore him forever." you took yet, another shot. "damn girl, calm down." "i'm gonna need more drinks if i'm gonna talk to him tonight." your head was already fuzzy from the alcohol. "whatever you say, (y/n)." jimmy rolled his eyes.
it was the alcohol inside your veins that made you feel like you were ready to face your current situationship. you didn't avoid him, in fact, you were waiting for him to talk to you. but as soon as he saw you, you immediately walked away, hiding in the kitchen. it was empty, thankfully. you breathed out, trying to calm yourself down.
"you know, you have nowhere to go now."
there he was, holding a red cup. it was now or never, you thought. "hiiiiii." your words were dragged down. "and you're drunk." you shook your head. "i'm perfectly fine!" you smiled, feeling nervous. "are you sure?" he raised an eyebrow. "no, i'm just feeling a bit fuzzy. but i'm good, what's up?" he chuckled at your sentence. "what's up?" he repeated. "you've been ignoring me, (y/n)." you took another shot of your drink, only to have him take away your cup. "hey, i was drinking it." you pouted.
"we need to talk." here we go, you thought. "why are you ignoring me?" he asked. "uh... i am not?" you didn't know what to do. "you don't reply to my texts, you didn't answer my call, and we've been playing hide and seek... did i do something wrong?" you immediately shook your head. "no, no. you didn't do anything wrong." you continued to shake your head. "then what happened?"
you sighed. "i'm sorry." you apologized. "i don't need your apology, i just want to know what happened." he admitted, leaning on the counter. "i'm just scared? i like you too, god, i love you. but i'm just scared about this." his eyes flashed with pity. of course you were scared, you were not used to being in love with someone. you were just scared with your own feelings. "oh." was all that came out from his mouth.
"so... is this over?" he asked. you didn't want to end it, you wanted him. was it gonna end like this? he thought. all those memories came rushing in as he waited for your answer. if you didn’t want him, he would respect your choice and fuck off to somewhere and cry about it. he was so in love with you, that the thought of you leaving made him sick.
on the other hand, you too, were so in love with him. right now, you couldn’t think about anything but him. it was truly love at first sight when you first encountered him backstage. so, maybe, it wasn’t over. you had to push all your fears behind for him. you knew he’d make you happy.
"you know what? fuck it." you paused for a second, stealing the drink in his hands. "i fucking love you." with that, you kissed him, leaving him in a state of shock. of course, he returned the gesture. "you're my boyfriend now." you said to him, earning the biggest smile you have ever seen plastered on his face. "okay," he replied, still feeling in cloud 9. "please don't ignore me ever again, god. what would i do without you?"
a/n: 100 FOLLOWERS SPECIAL WITH SOME HIDE AND SEEK!!! hope u enjoyed it <33 bc i did woohoo
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aerequets · 1 year
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Hello again!
I was wondering if you had any spy x family fic recs that are twiyor centric? AUs? I’m having trouble finding ones that are what I’m looking for. Ratings don’t matter. Anything from G to E would be appreciated! Thank you!!
boy oh BOY do i have twiyor fic recs !!!! it's like basically all i read LMAO and i am always on a hunt for more. i feel like i have read through a good chunk of what's on ao3 and i still feel starved. there's always my bookmarks you can sift through for twiyor fics, but for some more curated recommendations (and this is not gonna include all the ones i've lost my mind over, that's far too many, this is just what i can remember off the top of my head):
the living blues by @nire-the-mithridatist
GOD it would be such an understatement to say i am a huge fan of not only this work but EVERY WORK by this author because SHE HAS A WAY WITH WORDS OKAY. i avoid angst like the plague but i saw the happy ending tag to this fic and IT DIDN'T DISAPPOINT (chapter 6 is gonna be an epilogue)!!!!!!! AUGHHH this isnt even a good review im just yelling but yeah this is really good and also pretty much everything else by this author, i'll say it now so this list doesn't have numerous fics by the same person just do yourself a favor and read through what she's got if you haven't already
rated T, 5/6 chapters, currently 14k words
(edit: completed!)
With Kid Gloves by crownofrosegold on ao3
4 words: Mr Darcy Hand Flex
rated G, 1/2 chapters, currently 2.5k words
(edit: completed!)
the most yearning, pining, longing fic ever with the least physical touch ever. loid traces yor's gloves in his pocket with his thumb and its somehow intimate. yeah
it's been a hot minute since it's updated but the first chap can kinda be read as a standalone (to me) which is why i rec, even though i personally only go after finished fics for my own sanity :^) also its just too darn cute how can i not
How to Be a Supportive Husband by @nemaliwrites
rated T, 1/1 chapters, 910 words
short and sweet drabble of the most simpiest loid post reveal. what more could you want
MISSION: Bottom Feeder by SilverSupa on ao3
rated T, 2/4 chapters, currently 9.5k words
this one is just too good and funny LMAOO yor and loid are Peak Stupid and also Peak Attracted To Each Other so it's just. mm good mix. this one's also been a hot second since it's last update but i love it too much so its on this list
even when we're not together (will you stay with me?) by JaMills on ao3
rated T, 1/1 chapters, 4.5k words
gosh this is another one of those super good reads that make you sit and think after you're done. soulmate AU where they swap bodies as children until they meet. personally i'm not the most dedicated reader of aus where yor and loid meet as kids, but the way its handled here is just so good and adds to the story. it's also part of a series and the next installment is equally as good. this is another one of those authors that has a lot of quality stuff (although there's a good dash of angst which i keep my distance from JKFHISDH) so look through their page!
Enough by Frotu on ao3
rated T, 1/1 chapters, 4k words
EHEHE THIS ONE HAS ME GIGGLING AND KICKING MY FEET FR it is soooo cute. typical thing of yors coworkers getting into her head, she asks loid if what they have is enough, and... well.... you can read what happens from there ;] (spoiler: it's very cute)
a dream in charmeuse by selfetish (@selfetishizing ) on ao3
rated T, 2/2 chapters, 12k words
oh gosh, the prose in this is just?? so insanely good??? its such a pretty read. this is twiyor, yes, but it's also a deep dive into femininity and yor's understanding/rediscovery of it. i remember the first time i read it the opening scene of the first chapter was just so GOOD to me, i was like OMG i am not gonna forget this this is so iconic AND IT IS!!!!! i love me a good yor centric fic. we usually get more of twilight contemplation (i mean he has got the whole mission thing going on and hes our resident overthinker so, understandable) but this was such a nice look into yor's..,, like, fundamental building blocks?? if that makes sense?? its just good ok read it
"The Five Times Loid Forger Went Topless In Front of His Wife and the One Time She Reciprocated" Or “Bare-Chested in Berlint” by Talik_Sanis on ao3
rated M, 6/6 chapters, 17.5k words
that title should tell you all you need to know right LMAOOO it's just yor being incredibly horny, like embarrassingly so. she lacks a grip
again this is just 8 fics, where my bookmarks list are over 200 (yeesh) so feel free to look through those. i've also got some fics, most of which are twiyor lmao (brainrot i told you). and don't forget to show these awesome authors some love!
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adobe-outdesign · 1 month
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please can you review tuskaninnies?
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Tuskaninnies, unironically, don't have tusks, and are honestly more seal than walrus all around. They're also pretty literally just seals without a whole lot else going on with them, minus a white muzzle and fingers, plus a tuft of fur on their heads.
I'm not gonna lie, I don't really like the fur—I once heard someone say Tuskaninnys look like 50-year-old balding men, and yeah, that's really the vibe they give off. The reason is that while seals have short fur, adding a big clump of it to the head makes the rest of the body look naked by comparison. (The muzzle looking vaguely like a 5 o'clock shadow does not help matters.) Maybe if the hair was just a little zig-zag in front instead of a separate piece and the same color as their body fur it would help. I also kind of wish there was white somewhere else on their bodies, maybe on their underbellies or something.
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Tuskaninnies haven't changed much with customization, other than being forced to sit upright more.
Favorite Colours:
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Spotted: Nothing fancy, but you really can't go wrong with a leopard seal. The colors and spots are lovely, and the addition of the underbelly really highlights what I was saying about the species as a whole needing the muzzle color over more of their body.
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Royal Boy: Maybe it is just that balding middle aged man look, but the royal boy Tuskaninny being Henry VIII is both really funny and way too fitting for whatever reason. It also looks pretty good, sporting a nice purple and red palette with just the right amount of detail. Only complaint is that the beard wrapping around the muzzle really doesn't look right; it should be under the 3 part directly.
The only con is that the royal girl doesn't look half as good. They could've modeled it after one of Henry VIII's many, many wives or something to keep with the concept. But even putting that aside, the bright turquoise base looks really out of place and there's too much pink in the design, which blends into the hair color. The only thing I do like is that the dress wraps over the tail to form a bustle.
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Faerie: The faerie Tuskaninny mostly gets a spot because instead of just having generic butterfly wings, it instead has more fin-like wings that feel appropriate for a seal—which in turn makes it resemble a flying fish a bit, which is pretty neat. I also like the warm color palette and the additional hair on the UC/styled version, which feels less out-of-place than usual. The UC/styled pose is great, but the converted is pretty accurate.
My only complaint is that I wish there was more of that red-orange color on the rest of the body, as the bulk of it is a bit too plain. It feels like the tail tip should be the darkest orange on the wings, and then there should be another layer of lighter orange running up the entire tail to balance the colors and to match the wings.
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BONUS: Hey look, a Tuskaninny that actually has tusks! This mutant is pretty fun, having a more walrus-like look with a shriveled up tail and an anglerfish light for good measure. It's got a great personality to it as well.
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cookieblobber · 8 months
Text
The Defense of Steven Universe’s (OG Show) Ending
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(This is basically a post where I put everything I said in a large Twitter thread so it’s more easily readable, with maybe a few changes and additions.
Spoilers BTW)
So I’ve been drawing a lot of stuff lately and in doing so, I’ve been rewatching a lot of old shows I used to watch and finishing whatever I missed out on. Steven Universe was an interesting one, as I recall having some form of obsession with it as a kid on Google+, however I barely remembered watching a lot of it or if I even watched it on TV or on websites like Kisscartoon. And after doing so,
I barely see the hate for it that it’s gotten for years.
It has its flaws, and issues that have plagued the show outside of what’s within it, but it’s no doubt memorable with a great cast of characters and very unique and fascinating lore and story telling. Now, I don’t wanna really get into a whole deep dive review on the whole show, as even though I’ve made a couple of essays lately (mainly on Sonic the Hedgehog), I don’t think I’m that experienced to go over an entire 5 seasons explaining each and every episode’s strengths and weaknesses and allat (though maybe I might discuss the amazing character development of each crystal gem in the future, who knows?), rather I want to discuss something that is partially why I started watching this show again: The Ending - Change Your Mind (S5E29).
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Now, the ending is understandably mixed, I understand the critiques of it being weird and anticlimactic and all and how it doesn’t feel like the diamonds’ actions on gem history was fully acknowledged and been punished for it. I completely get the criticism here and I don’t want to drive away people from making actual critiques on the show and where it could’ve improved upon.
What I mainly want to focus on is the notion that the ending can be summed up to, “Steven forgave Gem Hitler”
That is very incorrect.
See, the whole reason why White Diamond (the “Gem Hitler”) was involved with the story was because after Steven was able to prove to Blue and Yellow Diamond that he’s Pink Diamond, he takes the opportunity to use their stronger powers to restore one of the corrupted gems (Centipede). This works…for a moment, as they’re only restored once all 3 put their healing powers to use, but upon letting go of the gem, they reform back into their corrupted version. With Steven technically being part of the Diamond Authroity, he thinks maybe he can take advantage of his position to be able to speak to White Diamond, the highest gem in the patriarchy, and convince her to come to Earth to help the corrupted gems.
Throughout these last episodes, it’s clear this is all for a demand to help gems that were stuck on Earth. While Steven wanted to just try and talk to White, and convinced Blue and Yellow to express how they feel about how White has handled their civilization, there’s never a point where he’s all like “look inside your heart, please you have so much good in you I can feel it” or whatever. Considering how he had to fuse with the Crystal Gems and team up with others who showed up to be able to fight her mech and barely reach to the top of it to meet her, this whole plan wasn’t really as pacifist as many have made it out to be.
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Sorry to stray off a little but, funny thing is, as much as people make fun of Steven Universe for being a show where characters just talk their feelings out and suddenly everything is good, they acknowledge in one of the episodes that not every gem has this deep trauma or pain they try to hold in.
In the episode, “Stuck Together” he and Lars get caught by Aquamarine and Topaz, they both open up to each other about how no matter what happens, they got each other. This leads Topaz who throughout her introduction has been mute and serious and who has them held hostage, to start crying and vent about how much emotional pain she’s been holding in so much because it’s her job. When Aquamarine finds out she’s trying to help them escape, they desperately start trying to convince her that she’s allowed to open up about whatever she feels, that they’re here to listen and talk.
This is was her reaction.
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And I have yet to watch Future right now, but from what I’m reading, even after a lot has changed since the original show and tons of gems live peacefully with Beach City, she shows up again to get her revenge.
At no point is she ever redeemed in any way.
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Anyways, the only reason why Steven was able to convince White to do something to corrupted gems on Earth was because he bested her and she couldn’t do anything about it.
Her whole ordeal was how she wants to have this flawless world where nothing goes out of line, even if it means having to mind control them so they act just like her. She views herself as being the perfect gem of all time who knows what’s best for everyone. However, due to how she’s acted with Steven, being an adult gem constantly picking on a literal child because she refuses to accept he’s not Pink Diamond or is part human; how it’s all just a disguise and Pink Diamond is just lying to herself, she’s embarrassed and realizes she indeed does have a flaw. She’s shaken up with guilt over how petty and childish she’s been acting, being exactly what she’s been criticizing Pink Diamond, to the point where she questions who she is. If she’s not this flawless perfect gem who knows what’s best, then what is she? What should she be since throughout her whole life she’s been obsessed with perfection? She can’t be leader of a whole gem civilization trying to make everyone flawless if she herself is flawed. What further solidified it was how she was unable to control Pink Steven no matter how much she tried, and once she started blushing and feeling embarrassed, she lost control on the other gems she had brainwashed. Blue and Yellow even react in disgust/fear seeing her become “off-color” due to her blush, basically for a moment them losing respect for her.
Steven goes up to her and tries to tell her to just, let people be who they are, without trying to “fix” them, and maybe she can be whoever she wants to be. White is still in distraught, wanting to be someone who knows better, be better, and wanting to make everything better, which Steven offers her a way to do so (which is coming to Earth to help the corrupted gems), but first needing to leave your own head - literally and figuratively.
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At no point throughout the ending is White crying about trauma or begging for forgiveness to Steven and having him go “it’s ok we all make mistakes 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰”, all that happens is Steven sees her essentially having an identity crisis now that she cracked and realized she isn’t as perfect as she thought she was, and being the good natured kid he is, offers to show her how she can be a better person, taking the opportunity to make her do what he set out to demand from her. To say they should’ve shattered her would’ve defeated the whole point as to why Steven even went back to Homeworld to begin with, cuz he needed White’s help. Plus, still haven’t watched Future but,
There is a scene where Steven actually attempts to SHATTER White Diamond upon taking control of her body for everything she has done to him, he CLEARLY doesn’t find her to be in the clear of everything she’s done.
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TL;DR They can’t just shatter her cuz she’s the big bad villain, the whole point of the final episodes was Steven needing her in order to restore all the corrupted gems they’ve saved throughout the show. No matter what it took, he was going to find a way to do it. While I do agree that there could’ve been better acknowledgment on everything that she’s done to Homeworld and all, same goes for Blue and Yellow, as they’re immediately relegated to out of touch aunts, to make the massive stretch that this is supposed to be Steven forgiving Hitler or proof that Rebecca Sugar (a Jewish person) is a Nazi apologist…come on bro.
EDIT: I really recommend btw watching this video I recently just viewed discussing the show’s ending and really diving in about the topic of Steven’s identity and White’s identity. It’s informative summarizing a lot of what’s been hinted at and led up to the final episode and goes over stuff I could never even attempt to bring to light with how amateurish I am at this sorta junk 💀
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And even if with everything being said, you still believe in the notion that “Steven forgave Gen Hitler” or whatever, I’m about to bring up an argument so earth shattering that it will make you re-evaluate everything you know about the show. So, here it goes:
IT’S A FUCKING PG CARTOON SHOW
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Listen, I know it’s very cliche to use the, “it’s a kids show it’s not that deep!!” argument or whatever idiots say to avoid people from discussing further about their favorite things, especially in an era where many are pushing the “Animation is Cinema” phrase and proving its not just kiddie shit only babies like, but what I mean is
At what point is it crossing the line when making comparisons from a thing in fiction to something in real life?
What makes a great story is how it’s able to draw connections to realistic issues or problems many face with unique metaphors and analogies and all of that, Steven Universe is no different. However, at what point are the metaphors or references to real life supposed to stop? At what point does it become stretching really hard? I can understand how people have had ideas that “fusion is a metaphor for sex” or whatever to some degree.
But going as far as to compare this obviously over the top dictator to the world’s worst man to have ever lived on planet earth who is responsible for the death of millions just because he so happens to also be a dictator, doesn’t that seem so…psychotic to even try to relate when it’s obvious that was never the intention? I mean look at this whole world of the show, it’s a futuristic jewelry space civilization filled with advanced technology and bright colors, how do you look at all of this and first thing that comes to mind is Nazi Germany? How do you look at a giant voluptuous white woman who’s existed for millenniums and think “yea that’s Hitler right there”, all because she’s simply a textbook definition of a dictator?
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Trying to make her whole country this flawless world where no one goes out of line and disallows any form of diversity? Like any typical villain? Is that really all it takes to be considered as “animated Hitler”?
Does that mean the abandoned flawed gems in the abandoned Kindergarten that Steven and Lars met at the very bottom of Homeworld are supposed to be a reference to Anne Frank’s family hiding from nazis? One would say that’s a massive stretch to make and they’d be right, cuz it is…just like what people say about White Diamond.
These kinds of massive stretches and comparisons have been made in the past constantly, and for what? To gang up on a show that just wanted to teach kids the values of showing love and positivity, being there for your friends and families and trying to accept people’s flaws or differences in how they live? To make excuses to be blatantly anti-semetic towards the Jewish person who created this show? All because over shit like the fanbase was infamous at one point for how they treated each other and the show producers or because the ending wasn’t how many wanted it to be or how it debatably pushes the idea of positivity way too much in places where it shouldn’t try to?
At what point do people who criticize this show for it’s apparent farfetched ideologies of being kind to everyone, start sounding farfetched themselves for making these insane leaps in logic to make a blatantly slanderous argument and label on the show? If something like “White Diamond is supposed to be Gem Hitler” is something many easily gave into believing, what kind of fucked up comparisons would people make next about the entirety of Homeworld or gems as a species till these start to sound like psychotic conspiracy theories?
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Steven Universe is no doubt a flawed show, I won’t deny that, will never deny that. As much as I defend the ending and go against how people have slandered the show, I can admit stuff could’ve been done better. However, like I’ve said at the beginning, I fail to see how all the hate the show’s gotten for years has ever been deserved or warrented. It’s clear that even with its flaws in storytelling, pacing, (sometimes animation), there is still so much to love about this show. It’s characters, it’s music, it’s themes, it’s lore, etc. There’s good reason as to why people love and still fondly remember it and consider it to be just as important as the other shows that brought in this renaissance era for Cartoon Network (Gumball, Regular Show, and Adventure Time).
After all, just like what the ending taught people, things aren’t always going to be perfect, and that’s ok. Flaws make things what they are, and unless said flaws actively have negative effects on things, there’s no reason to fight against them so excruciatingly. We may strive hard for perfection and flawlessness, to be considered perfect or for a thing we like to be considered perfect, but at some point, trying to do so much just to achieve said perfection will down the road start to become an issue and affect ourselves and the ones around us, the ones we love.
When you think about it, a lot of what has happened within the fanbase and the critics of the show mimic similar attitude to White Diamond. This want for perfection, for nothing to be going out of line, but all it’s done is damage the show’s reputation to many.
Fans on here long ago harassing an artist for the way they drew one of the characters of the show as she wasn’t in this “perfect” body shape they wanted her in. Or harassing producers of the show for how they’d handle things like (iirc) Lapis and Peridot’s “relationship” because it didn’t match their “perfect” connection between the two, and more.
On the other side, critics like the infamous Lily Orchard blasting the show for not being this “perfectly” told story and going out of her way to make these insane comparisons to have some leverage in this giant attack on the show and what it stands for.
These wild and out of pocket attempts to make everything perfect for the show, and what has it done? It heavily soured how people view the show, making people want to stay away from getting into it as from the POV of the outside looking in, it’s a whole rabbit hole they probably shouldn’t get into…for their sake of their mental health. This mindset to be caught up in selfish outlandish views of what’s deemed as being perfect has only made things worse for everyone on every side of discussion on this show. And while as of lately things seem to be recovering, as more people are giving the show a second chance and realizing how messed up people like Lily Orchard were, still the effects of what happened back in the mid-late 2010s are noticeable in some areas.
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If it gets to a point where we’re fighting a flaw that barely affects anyone, is it really a flaw that is that important or even a flaw at all to begin with? We can strive to be better people and learn from mistakes, but a perfect person who can do no wrong is just impossible.
Flaws are what help make everything feel unique in it’s own right. That’s not to say some flaws can’t be acknowledged and called out, but as for flaws that sum up to “someone/something is different from what I expected”, it seems over the top to go so hard to fight against it, as we’d be fighting against having diversity among each and every one of us.
If every pork-chop were perfect, we wouldn’t have hot dogs.
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saintescuderia · 2 months
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How To Become A Writer?
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Responses will vary. They all won’t answer you.
It happened when I started working full-time.
It’s interesting that — as soon as Teams calls and spreadsheets became a reality, the adjoining tabs open would have Google searches on how to become a writer. 
The very question: how to become a writer? It’s funny to think that Google could’ve provided an answer to something writers themselves has been struggling to answer for the longest time. Every single Paris Review Interview provides a different response — albeit they all share the same trait of being philosophical, artistic and not at all straightforward. 
The only straightforward thing I could find on how to become a writer was the Google-sponsored website of Medium. It seemed like this was the updated version of early 2000s blogging and Wordpress. 
I had tried Wordpress. I had also given up on Wordpress. 
And so I tried Medium. I shortly gave up on Medium. 
It wasn’t due to the same reasons, though. Wordpress was confusing and isolating. Medium was easier and you already had articles to read before you noticed the little button to write your own. However, therein lay the problem: Medium gave me nowhere to hide. Was I fully ready to embrace it? Was I ready for my life to change? Eevery word I put out there has to be perfectly selected and crafted in my own original way that I am changing lives with each paragraph. No matter the fact that I don’t even know what I’m doing or why I’m doing it. I just know that I need to do it. 
The imposter syndrome got to me. No matter the inherent desire to do this — something existing since the days of waking up 5am before school to write fanfiction — I just couldn’t stay consistent. 
During my brief Medium interlude last time, I did see a trend. People would try to build their following through writing consistently for 30 days. 90 days. It didn’t really matter. They ahd set a goal and wrote — and posted — consistently for that alloted amount of days. 
I read some of those posts. They weren’t all life-changing. They weren’t philosophical or even artistic. But they were straightforward. They were here, I did it. It’s not great, but I showed up and did it anyway. If I think about what is missing from this, it’s that very thing. To get just get over myself and write badly because bad writing is inevitable. 
So, here is my own 30 day challenge. I'm documenting this not just on Medium but also on the website that has had my back since the inception of my personality as a whole. Tumblr.
It may be odd to think that I am using Tumblr as a means to post my work and start to build up a portfolio, if you will. Tumblr's day has passed and it gave the likes of Rupi Kaur her platform back in 2010s - we've moved past that!
Sure. Neil Gaiman is still on here.
Also, unlike Wordpress or Wix or any of those other sites, the 10+ years I've spent on this forbidden 'hell-site' means I actually know how to use the damn thing. If we're going to embark on the journey of writing everyday, at least give me the past of least resistance. I know Tumblr.
Because, really, this is all so I can get out of the ivory tower that is every writer’s self-doubts and insecurities. Who knows, maybe I’ll start to figure out just what it is to be a writer. 
(It also helps that F1 is back. That may or may not be a coincidence.)
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magnorious · 4 months
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A Lightning Thief Retrospective, 16 Years Later
Good grief, I am old. *Spoilers ahead*
In the spirit of the resurgence of appreciation for this series, I’m doing a retrospective on the books that single-handedly got me to love reading. No matter how old I get, Percy and co will always hold a special place on my bookshelf and in my soul. 16 years later and I have my own books to show for it.
*Disclaimer, I have read the books multiple times in the interim, but I first got my hands on it, and first fell in love with it, in 2008.
So: The Lightning Thief
The Greek-verse isn’t Riordan’s only series to open with a fourth-wall-breaking element, nor is it the only series to open with a “if you’re reading this, be warned” narrative (Maximum Ride comes to mind) but, at least in the paperback edition circa 2006, the last lines on the first page read:
Am I a troubled kid?Yeah, you could say that.
And I just… it’s so Percy. It’s perfect. You have no idea what it really means on your first read through but sixteen years later after growing up with these books, that line just makes me grin like the little kid that’s still inside.
As I kept reading, I tried my best to remove my “victim of the hellish IB Program, literary analyst” hat. This book spoon feeds you exposition in a really palatable way. We’ve seen the museum scene adapted twice now and while older me thinks that’s really convenient timing, it does a lot of legwork while also being short enough to keep the attention of its intended audience. It is also very, very good at foreshadowing, and setting up major payoffs, for events later in this book and beyond.
“Mr. Brunner” looking at the stele of the unnamed hero like he’d been to her funeral
Luke’s scar in the firelight making him look evil
Percy’s affinity for water and the sea, peeking into Cabin 3 before it’s his
The Fates’ electric-blue (remind you of anyone’s eyes?) string
“Someone summoned it,” Chiron said. “Someone inside the camp.”Luke came over….
Ares’ curse on Percy
Speaking of foreshadowing – prophecies. Since all five books have them, I’m dedicating a section in each review to each one.
You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.
The whole point of these things is to drive you crazy trying to figure out what they mean before they play out, making you rotten suspicious and paranoid. The book does go line by line in the end and explains how each element was resolved. It’s both very deceptive, on purpose, but easy to grasp for younger readers. I think the prophecies in Titans Curse and Battle of the Labyrinth are superior, but it does its job well.
The whole book, likely intentionally so, with an ADHD protagonist, isn’t filled with fluffy narrative. There’s a ton of one-sentence paragraphs and Percy’s personality always shines through, even from page one, a la Holden Caulfield. Even when it’s an exposition-heavy scene, or just traveling while on their quest, nothing ever *lingers*.
Percy is direct in his observations and his narration jumps about from thinking about some random comment another character made that’s poignant in the moment to funny descriptions of the mythic world, to pitching his two-cents on the matter, expressing his annoyances with Annabeth, etc, all in a snappy and easy to keep up with manner. He doesn’t wax poetic, that’s not who he is and that’s not the story this book is telling.
For anyone intimidated by chapter books (re: me at that age) this book is endlessly approachable. He doesn’t have *too much* personality to be distracting, but he has enough to be more than a reader-insert everyman.
I don’t necessarily believe he’s twelve, but he does have that childish immaturity with his narrating and I forget if it ages with him. Since I brought up Maximum Ride earlier, she’s a child protagonist who does not read like a 14 year old girl, she reads like a quirky caricature written by a middle-aged dude.
**Side note, upon my re-read, it came to my attention that the Disney show inexplicably skipped the cutting of the thread with the Fates scene that is like, foreshadowing for the entire series**
*Side side note, Percy isn’t the one who came up with Wise Girl, it was Clarisse. Chapter 6**
I also forgot just how big a temper Percy has. He contemplates kicking Smelly Gabe in the balls for being mean to Sally, with zero care for the consequences. Not to mention the whole “Gabe would love to give away free appliances” schtick. He’s such a little sh*t and we love him.
For a book that’s largely action adventure, it balances the slower moments with the fight scenes smoother than butter. Percy’s demigod-ness gives him quite a bit of plot armor and excuse to survive these fights as a mostly-untrained twelve-year old without making him unrealistically over-competent.
The world building, at least in my opinion, feels like it looked at Harry Potter and went “I can fix that”. There’s not one cabin of demigods rudely and unfairly and problematically labeled Wizard Nazis, (except Grover insinuating that Hades’ kids were actual Nazis in WWII…. Hmm). The Mist exists to hand-wave away everything mortals aren’t supposed to see. It gets really creative with modernizing these myths and making them more child-friendly, and does a good job at urbanizing it, for lack of a better term. The concept of mapping Ancient Greece onto the US is neat, for American readers, and the explanation of “traveling Western Civilization” makes sense. The Underworld having traffic and toll booths was funny.
It treads the razor-thin line of “paganism is real” as well as it can, I think. It focuses less on “creation of the universe was definitely this” and more “the forces of nature have names and faces,” and sidesteps the giant sinkhole of Christianity and Christian readers with “we shan’t deal with the metaphysical,” and says nothing more about it, or demigods who grew up religious, or the other pantheons (yet). Beyond a throwaway dead preacher who Grover argues likely sees the underworld through his Christian kaleidoscope.
The series also doesn’t suffer egregious plot holes, only some continuity errors (like Blackjack). One that comes to mind in TLT is that if Camp contacted Sally about watching over Percy, Sally knew his dad was Poseideon. So how did the whole “I want to watch over your son cause he’s interesting, hm, can’t put my finger on why. Say, who’s his dad?” never lead anywhere? But it doesn’t break the immersion, certainly not for young readers.
It’s interesting how, looking back after knowing the entire story, how the seeds of doubt are right there, in your face, from the moment Percy learns the gods are real. It’s almost a meta self-fulfilling prophecy how things go so wrong for these characters, it’s so obvious.
SInce it is an adventure, the places they go are all wildly and entertainingly different. The garden gnome emporium, St. Louis Arch, Waterland, the Lotus casino, Crusty’s waterbed store. Each provides their own challenges and take full advantage of “mythology is real”.
Let’s talk about the villains, and how Hades was not done dirty this time. I’m going to presume that it’s bias on part of the characters for the whole “Hades’ kids were Nazis” and it’s absolutely on Chiron for insisting that Hades is the culprit when he sends Percy on his quest. Nowadays, especially with the staggering popularity of Nico, Hades has been pretty well redeemed in the eyes of a casual reader. But I think, at the time it was written, making Hades not the villain here was fantastic. He’s still a god, still a jerk, still dangerous, but he’s not the Devil. He drew the short straw and is an introvert written by salty extroverts.
Luke, for a twist villain (read my post here for a deeper analysis) and Ares as a tool of Kronos worked really well. If anyone got the Slytherin treatment, I guess it would have been the Ares cabin, but… he’s a jerk. His kids got his temperament, thus they are jerks. But even then – Ares was just a tool, a crude hammer swung alarmingly well.
Setting up your series-defining villain as a disembodied voice pulling strings is nothing new, but it comes with the benefit of two thousand years of real-world mythology backing up this entity’s power. Kronos is basically a non-entity in this book, but what he does is effective, and kudos for making readers’ skin crawl with the near-tragedy at the edge of Tartarus (foreshadowing!!!!!).
Something else the book does well is having a very well-written and uniquely motivated reluctant chosen one. Yeah, we’d all rather be demigods than Tributes, but being a demigod has drawbacks that being a wizard doesn’t. They don’t shy away from the risk of kids getting skewered and mauled, even if you don’t actually see it happening. This is dangerous work.
And, Percy calls it out – he exists to be used. That’s all demigods are worth to the Olympians. So, he’s going to use this quest to rescue his mom. He doesn’t give a damn about his dad, he doesn’t care about the looming civil war, doesn’t think it’s even the right thing to do, except to prevent the nuclear fallout that said war would cause.
He’s not one of those whiny “I just want to be normal” protagonists like no child in the history of ever has dreamed of if they were in their hero’s shoes. He’s also not pumped and jazzed and excited about being a demigod. They’re the victims of abusive and absent parents and, for a kids series, I still think such a sobering subject was handled really, really well.
You want to be a hero like Percy. You’re rooting for him from the first page. Discovering all his new powers is fun, daydreaming getting claimed right along with him. It isn’t dated with pop culture references and most of the humor lands (a novel experience that does not last forever, unfortunately). He’s sassy and sarcastic and his in-character ignorance and naivety opens the door for plenty of smooth exposition and letting the reader discover the world through his eyes, without feeling lifeless.
Speaking of personality, his rapport with Annabeth grows pretty decently over the course of the book, from being super catty to getting embarrassed on the tunnel of love ride, as if anyone would really care. They have their spats, but the budding friendship is realistic and she doesn’t feel at all like the girl hastily written in because the author forgot to include one.
She has her faults, but that’s the point. She’s also a victim of godly propaganda, and twelve, and literally burdened with hubris. All three of them bounce off each other well, each bringing different strengths and weaknesses to the trio, building each other up and bickering to tear each other down because, you know – twelve.
I read somewhere that the first five books all pay homage to some of the most famous Greek myths. Lightning Thief’s myth is that of the original Perseus with these familiar beats shared by both:
Murdering Medusa via reflective surface
Wrongfully convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and punished by Zeus
Hermes’ winged shoes
Hades’ missing war helm
Obtaining a cool new sword
Rescuing his mom from the Bad Guy
Not dying tragically
Princess Andromeda (the more famous Perseus myth adapted by Wrath and Clash of the Titans) does make an appearance in Sea of Monsters.
The joke people used to make about the fans of the series is that reading PJO does not make a mythology expert, but that isn’t the point. The books opened the door to further research at your own pace and maybe fostered love of a subject and culture you’d go on to study later in life.
This review is about the book, not the show, but it is a disservice to the book to cram nearly ten entire chapters of content, out of twenty-two (156 pages in the ‘06 paperback) into two episodes both less than an hour long. No wonder the premier felt, night and day, far inferior to episode 3. Episode 3 wasn’t sprinting the entire time.
Overall, the missing-persons-turned-possible-child-terrorist subplot stayed its welcome exactly as long as it needed to and every time I think about this book I forget it’s even part of the story. The payoff is really at the end with the free appliances and, of course, Gabe’s just desserts.
The book is absolutely, transparently, the first leg of a relay race, not one of those “I wrote this and it was successful now I have to come up with a sequel” stories and all the seeds of development for the series at large were expertly scattered.
The worst I have to say about the book is this: The constant “Thalia, daughter of Zeus.” There’s at least seven of them across the book and the whole title almost every time she’s mentioned reads a bit strange.
It’s paced excellently, with a few slow beats for good character development in between locations. The foundations of our heroes are solid, all the twists and turns with the true villains and the real meaning of the prophecy was well done. For the book that began a multi-series world of interconnected pantheons with new publications still coming out today, it’s humble and smart and, for a “children's” book, anyone can enjoy it, no nostalgia required.
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Hxh ch 396-397 review
WHY DID EVERYBODY FLOCK TO MY CHAPTER 395 REVIEW FOUNDING PART ONE OK??????
Anyways yeah I didnt do reviews for the past couple of weeks because Things happened and I got busy and it got me out of my groove so.
I have been reading of course because who am I .
I’ll do an overview of the rest of the flashbacks because those Messed Me Up actually and I have art and things to say about it.
Spoilers, obviously . (Warning for Child Abduction and death)
Chapter 396: Founding part 2
Sadly I dont have viz screenshots because of it only being the recent 3 lol so I’ll be using an unofficial translation
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There he is again with some weird Popcorn Cauliflower lookin things and ooh nooo
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Hi Uvogin!
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Also hi Phinks with the walnut hair. At this point I’ve adjusted to how wonky it looks though but
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SARASA *50 crying emojis*
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I actually love Sarasa a lot. She’s adorable and confident and fearless... I really hope nothing BAD HAPPENS TO THIS CHARACTER. auughgggggg
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I also really like Sheila. Even though they didn’t end up being actual phantom troupe members Sarasa and Sheila matter to me and I really want to know what Togashi has in mind by bringing her back into the plot. But aside from that we also get another moment of exposition for Pakunoda and Chrollos relationship. Im Not Crying Youare.
I love to think that while a lot of other people call him ‘Little bro’, Pakunoda is the closest to being his actual “big sister”  
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Power cleaners moment. I actually slipped up and call them Power Rangers sometimes or like for example “Ranger red” instead of Clean up red. Whats funny is that I didn’t even watch power rangers as a kid this is just how it is
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Look at all those sillies
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I really really want to know what this sounded like because Im not gonna say that it’s really bad just because they’re kids, but I think it would be very funny if they were sugar coating it not even on purpose because of how young and silly they are.
Chrollo is actually 11 you learn in 397 so I’m guessing that would mean Paku is 10, Sarasa is like 8-9 or something since she’s the youngest, and Sheila is somewhere inbetween them all.
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I love how out of context he sounds like a victorian child whos about to make an important announcement.
“Father, may I have the mic?” I never thought I would hear those words but knowing that it comes from baby Chrollo makes it all make sense.
Also look theres Nobunaga!! Wow!! He’s finally in his own flashback!
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I like the composition of this panel because This chapter is supposed to be a highlight on Uvos progression and his relationship with Chrollo and the fact that Chrollo is straight ahead of him really drives that home.
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IM CRYING THIS PANEL
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To be honest you gotta love this because you really just see how sincere he is in just wanting to make all the other kids happy here, and they are ecstatic
With Chrollo doing all the same lines though just imagine theres this kid and he just has crazy vocal range for no reason and hes talking to himself in 7 different voices
omfg is he Jerma985. .
.....
..i mean  i did make this one thing
Anyways
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HOLY CRAP JEDSURS
I bet he put his entire freakin heart into that line like no holding back
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I love how everybodys like stunned and then theres just Nobu who is there
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HELLO??????????? JFC
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ALSO IS THIS A SAIKI K REFERENCE BECAUSE I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED IF TOGASHI JUST SLIPPED THAT IN THERE... (In some volume extras I think of vol 35 he put references in random panels and replaced the text and there was a saiki k reference in one. Fun fact)
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Scrungly Sarasa and Sheila only ever
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I also really like the composition of these panels.. Its also very centric on Uvo and Chrollo which I appreciate. Also I can see it being animated a lot for no reason like its so easy to imagine with this format.
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When the Sarasa are Scurngly and adorble
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Im just gonna put this whole page here and then talk abt it I love it so so so so so omuch and tears are definitely not in my eyes right now because of it.
So first of all, I read this translation first, and I think the lines they put here are better than what they put in the VIZ one. I don’t remember what they were, but the top panels lines here are just so raw and “That was me dubbing you!” Flows well. Sometimes unofficial translations can be wonky, but they did great on this page.
I love Love Love the way this page was drawn too. The way that Uvo and Chrollo just look shocked and are shown side by side is great, and I love the focus and detail on Sarasa and also even though it’s a still picture, her hair has so much motion and i i i i
Everybody’s reactions are nice too. I’m just thinking. No wonder Togashi had to take all that time off especially for these chapters. Drawing this many people is not easy at all...
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IM M MLITERALLY CRYIGN HH hh  G HHhhhhh UE h fhf hh n SNIFF
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I like Uvo and Machi’s dynamic lol. They seemed to already be friends which is just really funny since she’s just this tiny little child and then Uvo is like. Already like 6 foot 2 or something idk. (He grows to be 8′5.)
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This is so funny because when you think of the Phantom Troupe you think of incredibly twisted people, but no, their original original name came from them trying to make a company name for their little dubbing thing.
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Im Crying again haha. I mean I guess in the end he did become a villain, so wish fulfilled!
This line is so relevant to so many things involving Uvogin, even having to do with his character in the yorknew arc
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NO NO NO NO NO NO NO ONO NO ON NO NON ONON ONO OOOHHH NOOOO SARASA. COMMUNICATION IS KEY SARASA. JUST TELL THEM THAT THERE WAS A BUNCH OF TAPES THERE. SARASA. SARASA NO STOP RUNNING COME BACK
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NO!!!!!!!!!! YOU CANT DO THAT
Chapter 397: Founding Part 3
at least this time I can take fro m the viz official translation.. Ha ha
Are you ready guys? This is going to be a wild ride! (Warning for Child Abduction and death especially here)
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So they finally notice that Sarasa’s not here and there Might be Something wrong! WHY DID I HAVE TO BE RIGHT ABOUT THIS IN MY CHAPTER 395 REVIEW.
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This is Depressing but I love the attention to detail with how he’s gripping his shorts. I just wanted to point that out
Oh and haha he’s blaming himself for something only somewhat inside his control as a young child... Hmm.. That sounds familiar...
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Dont you love when you start having a little more hope for something again...
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Oh haha look at them on the bike Oh look everybodys doing their own part in the search!!!......
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Oh god....
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....And then everything just plummets....
Seriously when I read this part I felt my heart drop. SO much so that I made a whole redraw of it for chapter 357!
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I love Hunter x Hunter.
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THIS WAS THE TREE. THE TREE. TOGASHI WHY. I TRUSTED YOU WITH THE TREE. WHYYYYYY
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mmm I hate this I hate this I hate this I hate this
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Currently completely Fine right now actually ignore everything I just said.
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NEVERMIND. IM NOT SHOWING THE PANELS WHERE IT HAS WHATS IN THE BAG FOR OBVIOUS REASONS BUT LIKE. THERE WAS A NOTE. ON HER AND IT HAD A FREAKING SMILEY FACE ON IT
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A SMILE FACE....
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My exact reaction
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GEEEZZZ!!!!!
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GEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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IM NOT OK WITH THIS AT ALL OK OH MY GOD NEXT PAGE NOW PLEASE NEXT
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Thank You.
I feel like the flowers on her head would be little orange roses.. Because well for one, the orange cleaner, and also orange roses are a symbol for Joy I think and that’s perfect for her
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Im so glad that Togashi decided to make this little scene because I wouldn’t be able to handle what just happened before without this closure and Im pretty sure that was done on purpose because That was like one of the most horrific scenes in Hunter x Hunter in my opinion.
You could feel how everybody was panicking and the grief and anguish and it was just aaahhhhhhggghghhgh.......
Anyways. Onto another thing that is helping me process all of this lol
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NEN!!
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LITTLE MACHI AND NEN!! EVEN BETTER!
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This is another line that I liked better in the unofficial translation
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JUST. JUST. “Those pretty eyes of yours make my skin crawl.” ESPECIALLY IN THE CONTEXT OF MACHI IS SUCH A COOL LINE!!! anyways :)
I like nen so This is also very relieving. We are getting lore....
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THIS GUYS LIKE 11 AND HES ALREADY DOING STUFF TO FIX METEOR CITY. SO IS CHROLLO THE REASON WHY METEOR CITY HAS TO DO WITH THE MAFIA???? PROBABLY.
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Add Predicts the technological revolution to baby Chrollo’s achievement list. This kid Hunter x Hunter children are insane for a fact
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He would do great in my English 10 Honors class with all that evidence and reasoning there
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hey guys its Shalnark here  and today I’m going to explain chrollos Nefarious plot  
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Hes so happy that he didnt have to do 3 paragraphs of more explaining! ..also
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Jus dont even ask why I made this but I sure did I also made a video but idk how to put videos on tumblr other than have them be at the top which is not what I want so you just get this
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I kind of wish we got more of younger Shalnark because we got focus on Paku and Uvo who are both... decreased  and you know...  
oh god I just realized
All the phantom troupe characters that are commonly nicknamed are Dead. Quick everybody stop saying Nobu for Nobunaga
Anyways
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At least he gets a little bit of a moment here
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I feel so bad for Sheila little sheila talk here
Like man her best friend just got Murdered and she can not do this. I bet part of her does not want to be involved with the troupe anymore because they have the most to do with her death, and maybe she even counts them responsible for them not caring, and with that she probably blames herself too.
I really want to see her again she is such a character and there’s no way that Togashi’s just gonna bring her back here and not have her be plot relevant. Was she for or against the kurta massacre!??!?!?!? wha????
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Top ten ways to become a mass murderer
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lets play a game. Is this a quote from Kurapika or Chrollo?
Look at all these parallels and foreshadowing... Putting that in perspective, that means that Chrollo became the very person he sought to destroy as a child, and I wonder if he realizes that, especially now in his current mental and emotional condition. But at the same time, he may have been expecting that. He should know that the Troupe has all the right to be persecuted with the amount of carnage that they’ve caused.
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THIS OUT OF CONTEXT.
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I think the whole thing with the Villain and this panel is a callback to Uvo’s line about being the worlds greatest villain, and maybe Chrollo was thinking that he would fit as leader because of that but...
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Get pranked! Also notice how Paku is also gripping the end of her dress. Since I’m an empath, I can tell that Paku is having mixed feelings and is nervous about this /s
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In 3 years he shed his old pair of eyes and then regrew Strange Eyes. Hold on.
This is extremely important and like one of the best things Ive ever made.
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He has Strange Eyes HE GOT HIS STRANGE EYES LETS GOOOOOO
I decided I wanted to do math So their reunion happens around 7 years before the Kurta massacre, and that’s when Chrollo is 21.. so 10 years after sarasa’s death is when the Kurta massacre takes place.
Ok were finally to the end of this fun fun fun Chapter! I have 2 questions.
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1. Where is Phinks?
2. Shalnark What has he the Hair and Outfit? What? Ok well technically he’s in style since this is like the mid-late 80′s then but he looks a little bit like a Flamboyant Pop star from that era and then everybody else is just regular for their character. Then there’s just Shalnark with his fluffy mullet and the oversized suit and the collar
And also if that was his style when and why did he change? We could have had a totally different Shalnark tbh but I’m happy with the one we have.
Anyways
Hope you enjoyed this absolute behemoth  of a post and I may do another one with the next two chapters some time
In the meantime, who knows, just keep doing what you do & make sure you drink enough water so that your pee looks like light pineapple juice or lemonade (that means youre healthy)
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sasusakucoded · 9 months
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Sarada just came home from a mission. She went straight to the kitchen where Sakura was preparing their breakfast.
Sarada: Good morning, Mama!
Sakura: Good morning. How are you? Aren't you sleepy?
Sarada: I am. But I'm also hungry, so I'll eat first.. *sees her Papa walk into kitchen* Good morning, Papa! *yawns*
Sasuke: Good morning, sleepyhead.
Sakura: Anata, here's your newspaper. *hands it to him* I'll make you a cup of coffee.
Sasuke: Thank you, Sakura. *goes to the living room to read*
---
Sarada: Mama.. Is it true.. *hesitates*
Sakura: What is it, dear?
Sarada: *whispers* That Rock Lee-San had a crush on you? Even Lord Seventh?
Sakura: Who told you? And why the sudden question, Sarada? *laughs it off*
Sasuke stopped reading and was listening attentively at this point.
Sarada: We were talking during our idle time.. It was brought up that Papa had the whole village girls adoring him..
Sakura: That's true.. Sasuke-kun was so cool.. and strong.. He's simply the most handsome boy ever. Up to this day, I haven't seen a better looking man than him.
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Sasuke: *smirks*
Sarada: But, someone said you also had your fair share of boys who liked you. Yuck, I hate that sentence.
Sakura: That was long ago..
Sasuke: /thinks/ Yeah but there are pests everywhere who try to hit on you *remembers the prisoners of Redaku*
Sarada: So it's true?
Sakura: Not so many.. It's not like everyone liked me. Your Papa for one didn't like me back then.. He thought I was annoying.
Sasuke: /thinks/ You were, Sakura.. But I wanted you to annoy me only.. Now I remember that annoying guy who tired to flirt with you— what's his name? Mario? Marino? Morino? I don't know. All I know is I hate his face!
Sarada: I can't believe Lord Seventh had a crush on you though..
Sakura: Maybe because we were in the same team..
Sasuke: /thinks/ Yeah. Also, you're pretty cute back then. I must admit *reminisces*
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Sarada: Didn't you like him back ever?
Sasuke: /thinks/ Never!
Sakura: Only as a friend.. I like him as a brother.. Sarada, I was just a childhood crush. *tries to brush it off*
Sarada: I thought it was something deeper..
Sasuke: /thinks/ It was.. I think he really liked Sakura.. Even loved her at one point.
Sakura: Maybe.. I remember back then I made some silly decisions thinking I would've changed things.. I lied about my feelings and it failed miserably.
Sarada: Lied? What lies?
Sasuke: /thinks/ Your mom is selfless.. I still regret my actions prior to that incident. Maybe she didn't have to lie if I was in my right mind.
Sakura: Ah, forget it! Your Papa and I talked about that when we traveled together for the first time. It's a funny memory now.
Sarada: Mama, I got more confused..
Sakura: Just know that if you love a person, nothing matters other than that person's feelings. Your Papa is the only person I've loved. He's my crush back then, he's still my crush until now.. But crushes may change.. Love won't.
Sasuke: /thinks/ The point is.. She's mine from the beginning.. Sakura is very loyal and I'm very lucky.
Sarada: Right!
Sakura: *gets the last egg from the pan* Go get your Papa. Tell him the breakfast is ready.
---
Sarada: Papa, let's eat! *smiles*
Sasuke: *whispers* You're so kawaii just like your Mama.
Sarada: Papa!
Sasuke: Can you find the green scroll from the shelf real quick? I need to review that.
Sarada: On it!
---
Sasuke: *goes near Sakura*
Sakura: Anata—
Sasuke: *whispers* You're mine.
Sakura: *blushes* Anata!
Sarada: Papa, I found it!
Sasuke: Thank you, Sarada. *sits down beside Sarada and winks at Sakura across the table*
Sakura: *hides her face*
Sarada: What again? You guys are so annoying.
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mariacallous · 5 months
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It only took a jury four hours to decide that former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried had committed large-scale fraud—and that included their dinner break. Leading politicians, investors, and observers, not to mention a number of high-profile journalists, in contrast, managed to stay oblivious to it for years. Two recent books illustrate how and why he got away with it, at least for a while.
The first one, Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon by Michael Lewis, illustrates it by example. Early reviews alerted me that the book took a charitable view of SBF and his enterprise, and yet I still struggled to believe what I was reading as I started making my way through it. The preface is a flashback to 2021. Interesting, I thought—Lewis is taking us back to the day when he fell for SBF’s narrative of crypto-fueled do-goodery. That assessment was overly optimistic.
The first real chapter of the book is a litany of examples of Bankman-Fried behaving like an unbearable, childish jackass who lies a lot … written in the manner of a hagiography. “The funny thing about these situations was that Sam never really meant to cause them.” Lewis writes. “He didn’t mean to be rude. He didn’t mean to cause chaos in other people’s lives. … With him it was never personal. If he stood you up, it was never on a whim, or the result of thoughtlessness. It was because he’d some math in his head that proved that you weren’t worth the time.”
It does not improve much from there. Somehow, the villain of his book is John Ray, the current FTX CEO, who was appointed after the crypto exchange’s bankruptcy, and whose filings suggest that he has made significant progress in recovering missing customer funds.
The second book, Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud by Ben McKenzie with Jacob Silverman, illustrates Bankman-Fried’s rise and fall by painting a picture of the whole crypto industry as a hive of scams and villainy. Its basic argument runs as follows. Loose monetary policy after the global financial crisis of 2007-09 and bailouts of chunks of the financial industry produced a context of distrust that facilitated the creation of cryptocurrencies as an alternative to sovereign money.
A new wave of easing was set loose when the COVID-19 pandemic triggered an economic crisis and led to a situation where asset bubbles were more likely. The main bubble that flourished was crypto, and with bubbles come fraudulent schemes—or so the story goes.
The juxtaposition of the two stories highlights an interesting aspect of SBF’s rise and fall: the class markers that convinced those around him that he was a genius, not a spoiled con artist. Sure, macroeconomic conditions mattered. In response to concerns about currency debasement and expansionary monetary policy as drivers of cryptomania, I would make note of the generous U.S. fiscal response to the pandemic that gave households plenty of cash to speculate with, as well as the boredom of especially the first months of the pandemic. I ended up watching all of the films Jeanne Dielman and Sátántangó for the first time; far be it from me to blame people for turning to drinking or gambling.
But macroeconomic conditions alone do not account for Lewis’s sympathetic approach to SBF. Lewis wrote The Big Short! The heroes of that story are the likes of Steve Eisman and Meredith Whitney, not Joseph Cassano and Howie Hubler: the people who saw through the bubble, not the people who gambled and lost. A Going Infinite­-style account of the global financial crisis would find a man who behaved obnoxiously while assigning incorrect ratings to collateralized debt obligations and treat him sympathetically, if not admiringly. And that’s even before we get to the fraud that Bankman-Fried so clearly committed.
While the macroeconomic context may offer a partial explanation for the crypto bubble, it does not explain why Lewis and many others admired SBF the way they did. Nor do the regular features of every bubble—the fact that lots of money is involved, or that riding a bubble until (just before) it bursts can be very profitable, while shorting one is difficult.
A number of idiosyncratic characteristics of the crypto bubble, and of SBF and his firm, may better explain their appeal. First, there is the nature of the technology—can we say of the securities?—itself. While the underlying assets in the global financial crisis were tangible, cryptocurrencies, with their reliance on algorithms and distributed consensus and proof-of-work or proof-of-stake mechanisms, are very much unlike real estate. Who are we to doubt those who know magic?
There was a deep conviction among those who didn’t understand crypto that there must be something to making money out of thin air, even as skeptics pointed out that it was, in fact, just as stupid as it sounded.
All that was happening was large-scale gambling: Will the price of Dogecoin, featuring the face of a Shiba Inu dog, continue to go up? Will the official cryptocurrency of the Cameroonian separatist entity of Ambazonia appreciate further? What will this non-fungible token representing Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s first tweet sell for tomorrow? Nothing but a continued inflow of speculative cash could keep these bets afloat; no value or income was being generated by the underlying technologies.
Then there was the ideological edge of the movement. While the housing bubble was aligned with a political push to promote homeownership and a broader ownership society, those ideas never inspired the kind of commitment that crypto does among its biggest fans. That commitment is fueled by skepticism of government-issued currencies and an appreciation of some level of privacy (or an even more hard-line libertarian attraction to the ability to pay for illegal goods and services, or to evade taxes).
McKenzie highlights a related aspect of the crypto craze: its cultlike nature. The loss of trust in traditional financial institutions that he diagnoses created a desire for community that manifested itself in the creation of multilevel marketing (MLM) dynamics of enthused individuals spreading the gospel of the new currencies. The get-togethers and online communities that he describes in the fourth chapter of his book highlight how this works in practice—a world where “being scammed is a necessary educational experience in order to be reborn in the community of the free.”
For a more recent illustration of the bizarre groupings forming around blockchain technology, I refer you to a Bored Ape Yacht Club event that took place in Hong Kong earlier this month, where attendees who had paid thousands of dollars to say they owned digital art of an ape gathered to accidentally get blinded, reportedly by shoddy ultraviolet lights. Cryptocurrencies and related technologies are better suited for MLM schemes, because unlike mortgage derivatives, retail investors can easily access this gambling technology.
But to some extent, all of that was for the rubes, and SBF was playing at a very different level—one where he was able to con people as smart as Lewis. The cult-like scene most important to SBF’s appeal to intellectuals was a different one: the world of so-called effective altruism.
This is a movement focused, at least in theory, on doing good effectively and efficiently. It is associated with ideas ranging from the purely altruistic—such as kidney donations—and the relatively uncontroversial—cost-benefit analysis: dollar for dollar, do mosquito nets save more lives than water sanitation projects?—to more speculative ones, such as an emphasis on long-term catastrophic risk and “earning to give.”
Assessments of existential risk often come down to calculations involving small, hard-to-estimate probabilities, as well as difficult decisions around modeling uncertainty and the relative value of benefits enjoyed by future generations. This leaves a lot of room for rigging the numbers—especially when science-fiction fantasies about the impact on future generations come into play. Why eradicate malaria today when you could save billions of lives in the future from the threat of super-intelligent artificial intelligence—by investing in a buddy’s project?
That suspicion was not alleviated by the calculations a prominent effective altruist produced to show that donating $50 million to his buddy’s congressional campaign would serve humanity better than donating it to various charitable purposes. Earning to give, which SBF claimed to engage in, is the idea that instead of working directly toward one’s cause, one should maximize one’s earnings and use the proceeds for good.
This should, of course, trigger at least two concerns. One, how do you commit to using the proceeds that way as opposed to channeling them to your relatives? Two, once you place yourself at a remove from the good works, what constraints remain? Does consequentialism force you to violate rules, norms, and basic accounting standards?
Effective altruism is important to the story of FTX both directly—Bankman-Fried recruited a good number of self-described effective altruists to work for his firm, and he used the network to raise money for his crypto exchange—and for our purpose of figuring out why SBF was and remains so appealing to at least some outside observers.
A few examples: In May 2022, commentator Matthew Yglesias wrote a piece titled “Understanding Effective Altruism’s move into politics” with the subheading “SBF is for real,” a judgment based, among other things, on the academic work of Bankman-Fried’s mother: “SBF was raised by a leading consequentialist moral theorist.”
Writing for the New Yorker, Gideon Lewis-Kraus argued earlier this month that “one can’t help but feel like the existence of the trial, as necessary as it is, seems a little arbitrary” because Bankman-Fried might well have gotten away with his crimes. Perhaps long-termism, taken to an extreme, leads one to think that of life as a mere game of probabilities without real stakes, not unlike the video games that he so obnoxiously used to play (not very well) during video calls.
Either way, effective altruism gave SBF, and crypto with it, a veneer of respectability that it might not have had otherwise. The alternatives, like the argument that the purpose of our large-scale gambling is to give the unbanked access to financial services, were not an easy sell.
The effective altruism connection does not matter solely because of the ideas and human resources it brought SBF. The movement is one with close ties to elite academia, associated with academics such as Will MacAskill at the University of Oxford, who served on the board of a grantmaking operation funded by FTX and was a close SBF associate, or Peter Singer at Princeton University. Bankman-Fried’s father is a professor at Stanford Law School, though he also worked for FTX for 11 months. His mother is a professor emeritus at Stanford Law School, where she specialized in the field of legal ethics, such as it is.
These connections—and these are certainly not the only ones—may explain some of the sway that SBF had over America’s intellectuals. “None of what the Bankman-Frieds did was for show; they weren’t that kind of people,” writes Michael Lewis.
FTX’s post-bankruptcy lawyers allege that the couple enriched themselves by accepting $26.4 million from their son. Surely our kind of people wouldn’t do such a thing.
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gwynndolin · 2 months
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Jiminy by Bear Ghost has been on repeat for me frequently since it released last fall!
Wow, I genuinely was not expecting to like this as much as I did. When I first started listening I was kind of like "Ahh, this kinda sounds like something that would get pretty big as a Tiktok sound for a hot second because someone made a Hazbin Hotel shipping fancam". Kinda got some Will Wood stuff, some Jukebox The Ghost stuff (specifically around the Off To The Races era where they really embraced the Queen comparisons), and I was like, okay i'll probably pretty well enjoy this but nothing especially spectacular here. Then I got to the end of the first song, After Me, The Flood and it had that big glitched out part into Heavy News and I was like. Ohhhhh... OKAY....
I still stand by what I said absolutely though, like especially with Will Wood comparison, specifically like the sort of showtune-like aspects to a lot of the individual tracks on the records, which is probably where the "Tiktok shipping fancam" feeling comes from (see Peas & Love, I feel like that song was carefully designed in a lab to have a bouncy, exciting, decent to well edited video of two characters that hate each other and want each other to die but the fandom desperately needs them to have a moment). It's pretty clear this album wants to be like, somewhat culture critical about the current state of some parts of society, but honestly a lot of the lyrics really fall short of necessarily saying anything particularly interesting about the matter and just come off as pretty juvenile in that regard. Like, Rivers is a Vampire is clearly about high society and excess and sucking out the life from everything and its a great song for sure but its also just like. Yeah you sure did the rich people vampire metaphor again! Which is also another point towards it being very Tiktok consumable. That being said I'm only kind of using "tiktok consumable" as a pejorative here, but it is why I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much.
Anyway this album has a pretty clear tonal voice here, like the songs do not really dip out of that same, bright, showtune-like quality, so there's not really many moments where the album slows down and takes a break from how hyper it is, which maybe as a full album is not such a good thing, but a lot of these songs individually would be a really great playlist spot.
I'm realizing now that most of this review has sounded like, extremely negative about the whole album, which is funny because so far this is like the most fun I've had listening and catching up with these music asks, I've already listened to the album through like 2 or 3 times and skipped around and re-listened to my fave tracks so. I don't really know what that means for my long term feelings about this album, but as it stands,
I'm feeling a really good 8/10 on this one
if I was pretty drunk and in a great mood I'm sure this album would've hit like 9/10 for me. I'm really into it, I might check out some of Bear Ghost's earlier stuff and see if I'd like it as much.
Fave songs: After Me, The Flood, Heavy News, Rivers is a Vampire, Big Town Banky Blaine’s Rockabilly BBQ, The Mario Cliché, When I’m Dead, Vulture
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dirtreally · 4 months
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playing through every fuckinggg vvideo game with gay bitches in it to try and salvage the last 2 weeks of my break. effortpost incoming
potionomics:
kind of insane how high effort the presentation is. the past ten years have been leading up to a kind of cultural dominance of Matte 3D (spiderverse, borderlands, arcane, and every work trying to cop the vibe of any of these three things) so even though this is literally the thing that Matte 3D was supposed to be a break from it still feels refreshing to see an incredibly high effort well-arted-out Shiny 3D thing that splits the difference between "looks like anime" and "looks like a western thingy tryna be anime" really well. of course with shit like The Super Dope And Viral Digital Circus becoming skibidi level popular i can only assume that we're gonna get ten years of Shiny 3D coming up and the ouroboros devours its own tail but right now it still feels fresh in the moment
that being said mannnnnnnnnnn fuck all the stupid ass characters in this game. the writing in this game has the unenviable task of like. trying to sound Whoalsome (cuz it has to market itself that way) while being not as annoying as like when cartoons and games and shit do le quirky dialogue (cuz if you do that now people yell at you on twitter) and for the most part it succeeds but it kind of doesnt matter when every single fuckinggggggg social link conversation is about like your adventurer friend telling you how they feel imposter syndrome about being in a fantasy rpg guild before asking you Okay But Really Though How Can I Contribute To Woke Capitalism While Prompting Reform As A Budding Small Business Owner In Dragontown❓ Awful. you can be gay and have one of several epic girlfriends in this but even after all that they only talk about how they are choosing to work with small clients with their marketing firm (not a joke) fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuc kkkkkk. they dont even show up when you win the fucking potionomics tournament so who cares.
half the steam reviews are bitching about the day limit thing which is fucking insane to me. the game is extremely generous with your time and the day limit at least sets your ass on fire a little bit which is the only uncomplicated positive emotion thsi game gave me. you might fuck up the first 10-day cycle once or twice but if you can clear that you can do the whole game. i maxed out all the social links and ccleared everything and It Was Fine. also there's a really scary egyptian stereotype character.
summon night swordcraft story:
i played this shit because i saw hazel talk about it being surprisingly gay ina video then i play it and if you do the personality quiz at the start of the game good your summonable creature is just straight up a woman who wants to fuck you. so then i watch the hazel video again and she didnt even get or mention that character. crazy.
anyway the summonable woman thing is kind of fucking epic especially with how played straight it is b ut also really funny to think about. every single other character summons like a cute stage 1 digimon type creature to help them out in battle and the creatures all fuck off when they're not fighting but your thing is a human woman with her tits out who just walks around with you all the time who wants you to fuck her (ESPECIALLY IF YOURE A WOMAN!!!!!!) all the time. i want to imagine that all the other ccharacters are like either incredibly mad or uncomfortable about this but just choose not to say anything about it.
i played this shit on a gba emulator on my phone while chilling on my bed and straight up if i got a steam deck and could play video games on my bed or while lying down it would bef ucking over for me. i would never get up. i think at this point its kind of essential for me that video games require the suck ass task of sitting on an ikea chair to be able to be played. either way its incredibly mechanically and textually light so its kind of perefect to be played while dicking around On Da Phone. the story is extremely standard jrpg but it is a little sweet that for the protagonist, becoming stronger is directly conflated with becoming kinder to other people and learning more about her world. again not the craziest thing in the world but its sweet
apparently da sequel is also gay but i kind of cannot be bothered to wwant to play it because the protag isn't as sauced up as this fucking girl. complete perfect harmony of artstyle and character design and the gba making all the art crunchy
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ITS FUCKING PRATTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i usually do the thing of naming every rpg protag with my name whenever i play these things b ut this bitch has so much personality just thru her portrait and vibes alone that i stuck w the default name. idk i am extremely charmed by her shapes
crymachina
this shit looks soooo fucking good what the fuckkkkkk. i posted before about how it looks like the renders they used to have on the boxes of graphics cards but it really is Like That. most of it is still filtered through the lens of extremely NIS-america/JAST japanese enthusiast B-game jank but still. the prerendered cutscenes in this are straight up my favourite part of the game they are straight up gorgeous. god tier anime girl 3d artism
the aesthetic and story are both kind of insane hi-concept sci-fi bullshit to the point where i kind of have to salute it no matter what just for swinging that hard and high. extremely weird pacing and it feels like it got truncated at some point and a bunch of the stuff that was meant to be in the game got put inside some of the stupid ass nier-weapon-story-type things this game has. for the record i hate when any video game does thiis cuz eevery single weapon story is like. okay i spent 10 minutes looking for it but there's a meme with a nier weapon story screen and its like
Weapon story 1:
Girl:I am having heart surgery
Boy: I know... I love you
Weapon story 2:
After surgery when the girl woke up, with only her father next to her
Weapon Story 3:
Girl: Where is he???
Weapon story 4:
Father: who do you think gave you the heart?????
it's completely fucking insane to me that people will make fun of fallout skeletons and skyrim journals and shit like that as if this isn't on the exact same level
anyway its pretty good and like. blatantly about being a gay bitch on e very thematic level its kind of crazy. really fun game to think about. i don't like one of the artistic decisions made regarding one of the late-game twists but whatever. The way you unlock the final ending is one of the most fun ways to do it ive ever seen and i was incredibly pleased when i figured it out. the gameplay in every other aspect is extremely perfunctory but the way you unlock the final ending is kidn of just incredibly pog-worthy in a way that you can't really feel if you just watch a video or read a description of it, especially if you figure it out yourself.
THATTTTTTTTTTT BEING SAIDDDDDDDDDDDDD i think the ending is just Fine. I think i have a built in brain immunity or something to like. specifically sci fi video games cuz i saw this had the same thing as nier automata where a lot of people were going on about Auuuuuuu Fuckkkk I Cried At The Endddd So Crazyyyy but when i hit the final end i was just like Hruh That's It??? and spent like 10 minutes making sure if that was the final final for realsies ending. idunno man.
but also overall i still really liked this game and i still think it is extremely bold for what it does so if youve read this far and have 60-ish dollars to throw around you should absolutely buy it at its stupid ass japanesegameonsteam price cuz i wanna see more crap in the Cry_____ vein (crymachina was made after crystar which like. shares loose Vibe Associations but as far as i can tell is otherwise completely unrelated) and just more games that make as many crazy ass aesthetic decisions as this one. either way im definitely gonna keep an eye on what furyu puts out after this
ok thats it. im gonna try mary skelter 2 now hopefully i dont die
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numetalpuppygirl · 9 months
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sos
my number one skill is never shutting the fuck up ever and indeed in many circumstances it's more of a curse than a blessing because i genuinely can't control it for the most part but it does come in handy including throughout the entirety of my academic experience as well as just about every desk job i've ever had because it means i can fill a lot of space with a vast quantity of words that scan with a great deal of clarity and cohesion despite ultimately saying very little over the course of that volume. the result of this is that those who are reviewing my writing, which are usually people with varying degrees of power over my continued success, scan the content i've generated and deem it to be of high quality because everything seems well-thought out and competently composed and so they give it an instant pass, at least as long as they aren't paying too much attention, which - spoiler alert! - pretty much nobody ever is. they've all got their own shit to worry about, things that matter far more to them than whether or not you ended a sentence with a preposition in your 10-page report for a course that they're already sick of. now, what i did just there was a little trick where i actually violated my own natural cadence and patterns of writing in order to include a little gag! in the sentence where i mention the concept of ending a sentence with a preposition, i did just that; the sentence ended with "of." but for me, i normally would have phrased that sentence as follows: "they've all got their own shit to worry about, things that matter far more to them than whether or not you ended a sentence with a preposition in your 10-page report for a course that they're already sick of teaching." if this were actually a report with a word count minimum, obviously i would include that final word at the end of the sentence, because getting all cute and meta with the way i phrase things isn't worth losing that extra word of length. but in projects where the minimum requirements are more lax, i find it's helpful for my motivation to allow myself to have a little bit of genuine fun with it and liven the place up some. of course, that only applies if you're like me and you're a massive nerd who has fun doing that sort of thing, but i would say that there's a pretty decent chance that is true about you, seeing as how you're on tumblr dot com, a website that has an observably quite high population of huge nerds, and also you're presumably following me, which means you've identified with my nerd self enough to choose to see more of my blog. for what it's worth to you, my external keyboard seemingly ran out of battery several sentences ago, which is really kind of funny when you think about it. what an ironic time for that to happen, as i'm discussing and demonstrating my ability to type forever and ever! this is the first time i've had the battery in this keyboard die, so it must have had fresh ones in at the time i got it. i wouldn't know for sure, because i got it secondhand from someone i know who was clearing out some old inventory from their workplace's office building. that's where i got my big external monitor, as well. i really like tech appliances but honestly i really don't know much about them, that was never my area of expertise. as is likely obvious from this post alone, my passions have always remained more with the humanities. good god i have to stop now before i give you my whole fucking autobiography but i think by now i've sufficiently proven my point - i could easily do this until the end of time.
i have to create a new block now because of tumblr's character-per-block limitation. the one last thing i'll tell you is that, since i'm now typing on my laptop's keyboard which is at a somewhat awkward angle from me, my wrists are in danger of mucking with the trackpad, and just a few moments ago i accidentally selected the entire wall of text i've typed here and replaced it with what i was continuing to type. so thank goodness for the tumblr post editor's ability to undo, or else nobody ever would have seen this very intellectual and not at all frivolous and annoying post that i've generated here. if you actually read all of this, you're a huge freak and i'm proposing to you right now.
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misswiener · 6 months
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Review- Life skills outside the curriculum
Life skills outside the curriculum- Endrina (63k, E) *spoiler warning*
People don't talk about this fic as much and it is criminal. If you haven't read it, save this review for AFTER you read it! Harry doesn't end up going to Hogwarts. That's because he runs away from the Dursley's before receiving his letter.
I have never read an AU like this and I wish there are more. Harry's a street boy, and his story is sublime, his feelings are intricate, his actions are justifiable. He's got me rooting for him no matter what he does! His character in this fic was portrayed beautifully and I binged the whole thing in one sitting.
One thing I hate about some fanfics is how sudden the Drarry relationship is. However, in this one, it's sweet and believable. Draco runs away from home after a few years in Hogwarts because of his unhappy homelife recently. His parents are kissing at a noseless madman's toes and he's to take the Dark Mark. After fighting for his life on the streets of London, he stumbles upon professional survivor Mort (Harry's alias) and eventually they improvise, adapt and overcome their way through life. It's very interesting and domestic and I'm all for it. The relationship progresses gradually and the hints of romance is there.
Harry also has trauma from the Dursleys, which makes complete sense and I don't know why some writers just gloss over it like it didn't affect his whole childhood. The Malfoys are also great, but that could just be biased as I like the "Malfoys are good parents but not people" troupe.
Now come the complaints. I HATED the ending. It was awkward, rushed and out of the blue. Harry and Draco get kidnapped by Werewolf Death Eaters after an epic chase sequence. It was so stressful it got me with my head in my hands. They get taken to Malfoy Manor where crap goes down. Finally, Harry deals the punch of the century to Voldemort's nonexistent nose and they escape via broomstick. This is where it goes downhill.
We get a whole chapter on Voldemort's perspective of his return, of how he did it, of who and what helped him. It was a neat chapter. I just found it funny how he had a whole "life flashed before his eyes" moment after the lethal punch from Harry.
The thing is, Voldemort was never defeated in the main story. After fleeing Voldemort's grasp, the pair meet up with the Order of the Phoenix through Remus, who was previously in touch with Draco if they needed help. Harry has a verbal altercation with Dumbledore and they leave Grimmauld. They then join up with the main duo Hermione and Ron, followed by the Silver Trio and Blaise. They move into a delapitated unused home. They thrift for furniture, Neville grows a deadly houseplant, it's crazy in here. Finally, Harry had a place to call home. The end. The... End???
At the beginning, Harry treated Draco with caution and suspicion, as that's what had to be done to survive. He literally only told Draco his real name AFTER they started dating, which was gnarly. How could Harry Potter, the boy who lived on the streets, suddenly trust these bunch of people who he's never met in his life? Hell, it's not even like Draco was friends with them, they were acquaintances at best (minus Blaise). The fact he could suddenly call their base home and its inhabitants "home" was outrageous. The ending felt lackluster and ingenuine. I was so disappointed. The epilogue was even more convoluted, but just thinking about it triggers a headache.
I love this fic. Looking past its flaws, it's still a fic worth reading. Everything apart from the ending was flawlessly written. A high 8/10, points bumped down due to its dogarse conclusion.
This one was long, sorry! Thanks for reading :D
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tiffanypooh · 6 months
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I finally wait till this day to watch Inside Llewyn Davis for the very first time and oh boy, I love it!💜
Not only the actors’ performances (Oscar!!✨) but how they interpret the ups and downs (mostly downs) of an artist and the emotions and psychological aspects of the character. It’s brilliant and not to mention the music! The music is typically the soul of the film. As I pretty enjoy folk music, this film is absolutely amazing to me. Introducing me to so many good songs.
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Here’s my little thought/ review of the film:
First of all, the film perfectly (maybe not perfectly but almost) depicts the life of a frustrated/dejected musician struggling to get to the top of the music industry. I am no expert in the music/creative industry, but I think the theme itself and what they've shown on screen could definitely resonate with the general public. Even though the film is set in the 1960s, I reckon that lots of artists sometimes can feel the same frustration as Llewyn Davis feels when he's rejected by others for his music. So it doesn't matter what kind of era or industry you're in, the same circumstances can happen to anyone at any time.
Apart from that, Llewyn is an interesting character. He gets that artist's stubbornness, persistence and temperament and sometimes is even a bit selfish regarding what he's done to his friends and family in the film. But he doesn't seem to recognise that himself or he does recognise but doesn't try to improve.
I think most part of his anger and frustration towards others and his current situation, is mostly triggered by the death of his partner, Mike. He’s still grieving over the loss of his partner and friend. However, I do think a small part of it is also because of his personality. He seems like someone who’s hard to take other's advice. It’s really difficult for him to let go of his music career even when his life is in a miserable condition because it’s the one thing that he’s genuinely love, his love and soul.
Another thing is that he constantly gets himself into a situation where the opportunities are just right around the corner but constantly misses them. For instance, he gives away royalties for the song Please Mr. Kennedy session for a quick check. I would say his life is full of unlucky times and always leads him to some fuck up situations. Though he keeps trying and continue to find his place in the industry but no luck. I would say that’s his love for music makes him get through all these hardships.
That's why in the end, it happens to be the same circumstance, he's singing at the Gaslight like in the opening of the film. It's almost like a time loop. Nothing's changed even though we've seen many things happen during the film like him knowing he's got a secret child, hitchhikes to Chicago to find the manager but getting rejected. All things show that he’s a person who’s not in the right place at the right time.
Anyway, the whole film is awesome. I found it’s pretty funny for some of the scenes and made me laugh even though the protagonist is in a miserable state (and I shouldn’t). And Oscar? Brilliant as always. I love the way he showed the character’s struggles in life and how he’s actually still grieving over his partner in some of the little scenes through his emotions and acts. Overall, I’m just glad that I’d resisted the temptation to watch it online and wait till the movie day. 😆
P.S. Giving you a pretty Oscar and a cutie little cat. 🥰
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