#figaro meta

[staying-elive]

I so wish Figaro had been in TFATWS. Would've been so easy even if Hollywood doesn't like working with animals.

I can imagine it though.

Figaro chilling in the kitchen as Sam and Sarah talk...

Sam could've given him a cute little boop or a little forehead kissy kiss like he does to the boat. 🥹

Speaking of the boat, Figaro could've been chilling in the background while Sam worked by himself...

*bonus points if he gets another little kiss boop after Sam kisses the engine. (He's so cute 🥹😭)

(I'm just imagining him sleeping on that shelf in front of the window)

Figaro chilling while watching Sam and Bucky work...

(This would be his audition process for future fellow Cat Dad Bucky 😆)

Bucky waking up and Figaro's just chilling on top of him...

('Congratulations, human, you've made it through to the next stage.')

Basically, Figaro would be all of us! 🥰🥰🥰

Also, sets up nicely Bucky going... "Yeah, I want one of these too. This is nice." (Enter Alpine!)

Seriously though, from a more meta angle, Sam being a cat dad would've been a subtle hint to him not being the extrovert open book many people mistake him for. He doesn't open up easily until the time and effort is taken for him to trust someone. Plus I've always headcanoned that Sam adopted Figaro after he left the air force and Riley died. Like he became a support animal that helped Sam get up in the morning and take care of himself because he had a little buddy to also take care of.

Because I also imagine Figaro chilling in the background of Sam's CAWS home...

(Of course Nat would trust Sam right away. He's a Cat Dad! 😁)

And then during Endgame, Nat could've had Figaro with her! (Maybe Sam's neighbour who'd looked after him after Sam was a fugitive also got blipped and Figaro was sent to the Avengers Compound...)

Especially since this scene between Nat and Steve reflects on the people they've lost. i.e. SAM! The missing third person of their fugitive trio 😭😭

Basically what I'm saying is... I want more Figaro! Everywhere. He represents love and grief but also healing.

Love is stored in the Cat. Thank you.

#figaro #figaro meta #sam wilson meta #sam wilson #sambucky #sambucky meta #tfatws #sorry for all the gifs i just like envisioning a cute little cat in every scene #this got more angsty then intended #but still #give Sam his cat! #i'm gonna go give my own cat a little kissy kiss and a boop #sam wilson headcanons

[daily-rayless]

Sabin!

Oooo, that's a good one! Sabin's a character I never thought much about when I was younger, but I've come to appreciate him. I think it helps I've come across a lot of great fan art of him, so he's become a surprisingly big presence in my reblogs.

Favorite thing about him:

Just as a surface thing, he seems like such a good guy -- down to earth, passionate, ready and willing to fight for his loved ones. I love his big beefy design. He has some seriousness in his backstory that's there for exploring, but there's also this very fun silliness to him -- holding up the corner of a burning house, diving into a river after Ultros, and of course suplexing the train. I think if I have to cite one favorite thing, it's the potential for humor, how he can do these very extreme off-the-wall things which seem to feel perfectly normal to him.

Least favorite thing about him:

He feels underutilized in the story, especially given he's one of your core party members in the second half of the game. It feels like, character-wise, he has less going on than Celes, Edgar, or Setzer.

Favorite line:

I can't think of any off the top of my head, but his laughing graphic is really cute.

brOTP:

The contrast between him and Edgar is enjoyable. Honestly, I feel like Sabin's bluff straightforwardness could play well with a lot of the party members; someone could write an interesting story about him and, say, Setzer on a mission/heist together, and have no end of fun contrasting them. But I'm going to go with Celes -- she's cold and stern, he's warm and cuddly, but I think they could meet in the middle and have some great character moments -- especially given how they both abandoned the lives other people had planned for them.

OTP:

I don't have one for Sabin. I think, at least at this point in his life, he's not looking for anything big, so if he did get with someone it would be pretty casual. Like with the previous answer, I think he has a lot of potential for fun and humor in any pairing, especially with a strongly contrasting personality, but there's also enough seriousness in his backstory to allow for some deeper, more emotional moments. I've seen some people float the idea of SabinTerra, and that definitely has possibilities -- Terra has very little concept of human love on any level, and Sabin would be able to relate to her as both a friend and a love interest. Plus, you just know he gives good hugs.

nOTP:

None that's a very interesting hot take -- I wouldn't go with Edgar? -- like I said, I haven't put too much thought into Sabin's love life. Even though Sabin's very warm and friendly, I think it might be difficult to write him in some pairings, at least believably.

Random Headcanon:

Oh, I'll have to think of something right now. Okay. Sometimes he misses the ghost that accompanied him on the ghost train. They didn't talk much, but he liked the ghost.

Unpopular Opinion:

Do people have polarizing opinions on Sabin? Hm. I think it's equally valid to draw him with a scruffy beard or without. How's that for controversy?

Song I associate with them:

I thought about this, and I came up with "I'm on My Way" by the Proclaimers. It's very upbeat, a little goofy and bouncy, a little forceful but in a jocular way. I can imagine Sabin singing this under his breath as he mountain climbs (or furiously paddles down the river after Ultros).

Favorite picture of them:

The first one that popped into my brain was this gem:

There he is, covered in who knows what, hauling a whatever-that-is over his shoulder, in the floofiest yellow pants he could buy. He looks absolutely feral, but at the same time, you can see the resemblance to Edgar. I also really like his expression -- gazing off into the distance, something gentle and happy about the set of his mouth. His life isn't for everyone, but it's right for him.

Thank you for the ask!

Meme taken from here.

#sabin rene figaro #final fantasy #final fantasy 6 #sweet-suzume #meta

[eastofakkala]

The Figaro Brothers from Final Fantasy VI remind me a little of the Nie Brothers from The Untamed, but are kind of mirror images of one another

Both sibling sets include one who on the surface is silly and who loves art and culture but in reality is very smart and subversive, and one who is strong with a similarly strong moral code. Obviously I’m really simplifying things here. 

Both sibling sets are ride-or-die for each other and have done a major deception for the sake of the other at least once (Huaisang lying about Mingjue killing the disciples in Fatal Journey, Edgar using the double-headed coin)

Huh...it’s the smart, cultured bro both times. Anyway. 

Both brothers are split between loyalty to their people and their own interests, with one pursuing the former and the other pursuing the latter. 

Both Edgar and Nie Mingjue are major war leaders who participate in rebellion against a much stronger power (Edgar as a member of the Returners, Nie Mingjue being one of the major commanders of the Sunshot Campaign)

Both brothers probably had their fathers murdered by abovementioned much stronger power (the previous king of Figaro was probably poisoned by the Gestahlian Empire

However, in the Figaro Brothers’ case, it’s Smart, Cultured One who is the leader, while in the Nie Brothers’ case it’s Strong, Principled One. 

#edgar roni figaro #sabin rene figaro #Nie Mingjue #And NOW I know why I love the Nie Brothers #Nie Huaisang #Well that and a lot of other stuff #But I really like the Figaro Brothers so #FFVI #CQL #FFVI Meta #CQL Meta

[mariacallous]

“Now, how long will this take? The Ukrainians behave like charlatans and we continue to pay,” reads a quote in French next to a picture of Taylor Swift on what looks like a promotional poster for an upcoming tour. “That is not right.”

“Every time the Ukrainians get money, everything goes wrong,” reads another quote in German next to a picture of Selena Gomez on what appears to be a page taken from a fashion magazine.

"It's just disappointing how the Ukrainians use our help,” a quote, also in German, reads next to a picture of Kim Kardashian speaking on stage. “Someone needs to stop this, seriously."

Though the images make it look like these quotes were said by Swift, Gomez, and Kardashian, they weren’t. They were the product of a pro-Russian network of fake Facebook and X accounts that created and disseminated an ad campaign suggesting that some of the most famous people in the world back Russia and detest Ukraine. Among the celebrities included are Beyoncé, Oprah, Gigi Hadid, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Cristiano Ronaldo. “Supporting Ukrainians is unacceptable,” reads a quote next to a photo of Oprah. “Their actions destroy lives and societies.”

The disinformation campaign, which was launched in November, reached at least 7.6 million people on Facebook alone, according to a database of the ads reviewed by WIRED and collected by Reset, a nonprofit that provides grants to those tackling disinformation. It’s still in progress, and two separate groups of disinformation researchers believe the campaign is run by a notorious Russian influence operation dubbed Doppelganger that has in the past been linked to the Kremlin. New information shared exclusively with WIRED suggests the campaign has links to Russia’s GRU military spy agency.

At the beginning of November, researchers at Reset discovered what they described as a “blitz campaign” by two networks of fake Facebook pages. Over the course of a week, the researchers saw at least 560 Facebook ads that feature images of celebrities alongside pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian quotes. While some of the ads reached only thousands of users, others spread far more widely. One featuring Cristiano Ronaldo reached over 115,000 people before it was deactivated. Alongside the image of Ronaldo was the quote “It's frustrating to see how the Ukrainians use our aid. Someone needs to stop this, seriously.”

Researchers at Reset believe that the campaign “exploits loopholes in Facebook’s ad verification and content moderation systems to foster hostility against Ukrainians and undermine EU support for Kyiv.” Including fake quotes from celebrities within images makes it harder for Facebook to spot a coordinated campaign, they added. The campaign, which specifically targeted people in France and Germany, also removed any links or additional text in the ads, making it harder for Meta to track it.

Doppelganger has been actively spreading disinformation on both Facebook and X for some time. The organization was unmasked in September 2022 by EU DisinfoLab, a nonprofit working to combat disinformation against the EU, but it had been operating since at least May 2022. The group used clones of media websites, including The Guardian and Bild, to spread disinformation, filling the fake sites with articles, videos, and polls designed to push pro-Kremlin talking points about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Facebook first announced action against Doppelganger in September 2022, and said it was removing pages and accounts associated with the campaign.

In June 2023, another campaign targeting major French websites including Le Parisien, 20 Minutes, Le Monde, and Le Figaro was exposed by the French government. “French Minister supports the murder of Russian soldiers in Ukraine,” read one fake headline on a page that looked like Le Monde during that campaign.

Despite being repeatedly found out, the operators of Doppelganger have managed to continue their work: They also created fake versions of Fox News and other news websites to seed chaos and confusion during the Israel-Hamas war.

While Doppelganger campaigns in the past have been linked to the Kremlin in some media reports, new information from researchers tracking the disinformation campaign shows a link to Russia’s GRU.

A network of bot accounts on X, which in the past have been used to push Doppelganger’s fake websites, has also been used to push people to websites with direct links to Russia’s military spy agency. “Doppelganger bots promoted two sites recently, which both have strong connections to GRU,” researchers at Antibot4Navalny, a Russian anti-disinformation research group that has been closely tracking Doppelganger activity on X, tell WIRED. The researchers did not want to be identified due to security concerns.

The first site promoted by the Doppelganger bots was ObservateurContinental.fr. The Whois data, a public record of information related to the registration of a website, for this site shows that it is connected to InfoRos, a news agency previously linked to the GRU that operates hundreds of websites to push Kremlin propaganda. InfoRos was first reported to be a front organization for GRU Unit 54777 by The Washington Post in 2018. At the time, the group was said to have been active as far back as 2014 to spread disinformation about Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

The second site pushed by Doppelganger bots targeted Germans. In October 2022, an investigation by the German newspaper Die Welt found that the author of content on the EuroBRICS site was being paid directly by InfoRos, which is registered as the operator of the EuroBRICs website by the German domain registrar.

Many of the same images from Doppelganger’s campaign, along with others targeting an English-speaking audience, were also shared on X by the same network of bots that have previously shared links to the Doppelganger campaigns.

“We collected a whopping 75-plus fake quotes by celebrities from the US and EU, all massively posted recently by bots of Doppelganger, the pro-Kremlin influence campaign,” one of the researchers at Antibot4Navalny tells WIRED.

The campaign on X, which coincided with the Facebook campaign, used over 10,000 bot accounts, according to the researchers. In the space of one eight-hour period, the bots posted over 27,000 messages. At one point, the bot accounts were posting 120 messages every minute.

The posts on X are identical to those posted as ads on Facebook identified by Reset, except that some of these posts were in English. The X campaign also featured mocked-up versions of celebrities’ verified Instagram accounts, making it seem as if screenshots of celebrity Instagram accounts, using similar anti-Ukraine quotes, were being shared.

X did not respond to a request for comment from WIRED about the Doppelganger campaign. Since Elon Musk took control of the platform in October 2022, he has eliminated most of the company’s trust and safety team, and disinformation has flourished on the site, especially around breaking news events like the recent Israel-Hamas war.

One of Reset’s researchers, who did not want to be identified to protect their privacy, tells WIRED that, in recent days, researchers have seen Doppelganger’s celebrity-based campaign evolve. Some ads on Facebook now, like the ones on X, feature screenshots that appear to show verified Instagram accounts of the same celebrities, adding a further layer of authenticity to the campaign. In one case, a screenshot of a fake Instagram post from the entrepreneur Richard Branson suggests that he believes America was behind the Nord Stream explosion.

The researcher also found video ads that feature real footage of celebrities with fake audio dubbed over the top, which they say have been created with text-to-speech apps. The researchers at Reset were unable to identify which app was being used to automate the creation of the videos. One example reviewed by WIRED showed footage of German filmmaker Wim Wenders speaking in English about his own films, dubbed to make it appear as if he was speaking in French about how “the Ukrainians are ruined.” The ad was posted to Facebook on November 25 and was seen by up to 3,000 people before it was removed for failing to have the “required disclaimer,” according to Facebook’s ad library.

While Facebook has taken down the majority of the pages, some of them remain active, and the campaign shows glaring gaps in Meta’s ability to deal with disinformation on this scale.

Meta declined to respond on the record to WIRED’s request for comment about the campaign and the network of fake accounts created to disseminate the false ads. In a report from August, however, Meta acknowledged that Doppelganger was the “largest and most aggressively persistent covert influence operation from Russia that we’ve seen since 2017.”

The automated creation of accounts on Facebook is a well-known problem, and Meta has deployed a variety of artificial intelligence systems to combat efforts to mass-create fake pages and accounts. By its own admission, Facebook deletes millions, and sometimes billions, of fake pages every quarter, sometimes within minutes of their creation. Meta claims that around 5 percent of its monthly average users are fake, but outside experts say that figure is substantially higher.

While the Doppelganger group ran the campaign, the fake Facebook pages it used were purchased from an agency that specializes in creating massive networks of inauthentic pages on Facebook, according to Reset. They are still investigating who created these initial networks, but the researchers say this campaign was pushed out by two separate networks they identified containing 52,000 and 25,000 pages respectively. In October, Reset published a report identifying even larger networks of inauthentic Facebook pages, including one that had over 340,000 inauthentic pages. Despite having been identified publicly, these networks are still operating today.

With a number of major elections taking place in 2024, experts are again concerned about Meta’s ability to reign in disinformation.

“Meta’s sloppy product safety is a security liability for both Europe and the US as we approach next year’s elections,” Felix Kartte, EU director at Reset claims to WIRED. “Threat actors will continue exploiting loopholes in Facebook’s advertising systems to target deceptive and inflammatory content at millions of voters in the world’s biggest democracies.”

[tuttocenere]

Happy Birthday to the best and only opera of all time Don Giovanni

Fun facts / stories about the Don Giovanni premiere (some of these disputed, regrettably I was not there):

Mozart had traveled to Prague because his previous opera Nozze di Figaro was a massive hit there, much more popular than it had been in Vienna. So Don Giovanni was written as a sort of sequel to please the Nozze fans.

Also there: Giacomo Casanova, a famous seducer in real life. He got involved in writing the opera, but as far as we know none of his suggestions made it in.

The premiere was delayed more than once because Mozart took his sweet time writing the music. The overture had to be sight-read because Mozart didn't write it down until the night before.

The singer who played Don Giovanni was 22 years old and known for his skill at imitating other singers which explains the masquerade in the second act.

Plays about bad people going to hell were old hat at the time, the trending aesthetic was realistic stories with no religious elements.

Ah che piatto saporito was probably a meta joke relating to the singer of Donna Anna being named Teresa Saporiti.

And there's reason to believe a lot of other things in the lead-up to the second finale were some sort of in-joke, alas we can't reconstruct most of the context.

Also at time of writing the English Wikipedia article for Don Giovanni contains this adorable sentence: The final scene's chorus of demons after the Commendatore's exit gives the singer time for a costume change before entering as Masetto for the sextet, though not much time.

To celebrate the anniversary, I'll be rerunning all the Don Giovanni posts I made that I still like. Enjoy.

#hbd don giovanni #about this blog

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: EVERY MF DOOM ALBUM (1)

And if you can believe it, it's Doomsday once again. MF DOOM has been at the top as one of my all time favorite rappers, but I've admittedly never really delved into his discography beyond the occasional single I vibed with. So for this month this year, that changes as I marathoned most of the Metalface's career. We're only doing the solo and main collab albums this year. No EPs, remix albums or compilations, we're doing that along with KMD's works next time. Also don't expect detailed analyses of these, I'm both not a Monkey of musical expertise or actually researching anything for more than 3 minutes. We're going in chronological order, let's hit it.

OPERATION: DOOMSDAY (1999)

Prod: MF DOOM Absolute Banger Track: 'The Finest' Surprise MVP: 'Gas Drawls'

This is how you do a debut; exhibiting the best strength of DOOM's full throttle approach to verse and defining his new character as well as King Geedorah in certain tracks. It is weird hearing Dumile through the years where this and his time in KMD are when he sounds vocally younger. It's an overall consistent turn-of-the-century bop that you can feel the emcee's fire being made into this.

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER (JUNE '03)

Prod: Metal Fingered Villain, E.Mason Absolute Banger Track: 'Krazy World' ft. Gigan Surprise MVP: 'Fazers'

I'll be real, Geedorah is the weakest link persona and it doesn't help that this album, while consistent, didn't strike a chord with me. Maybe it's because I'm not a big kaijuu fan, maybe because the distinction lacks here compared to the next persona in the universe. Overall, it's still good, continuing on rampaging energy founded from the previous, but it's not one I could get into as much as I would've hoped.

VAUDEVILLE VILLAIN (SEPTEMBER '03)

Prod.: King Honey, Heat Sensor, Max Bill, RJD2, Mr Ten Absolute Banger Track: 'Vaudeville Villain' Surprise MVP: 'Open Mic Pt. 1 & 2 (Skit)'

If Geedorah showed that DOOM was more than a fluke emcee, Viktor Vaughn reset the meta and laughed maniacally while doing it. The power in this came from the story it told, more explicit than the previous, and it was a consistent banger throughout. The Viktor alias feels like a prototype for what's to come; a nasty Stagolee type that'd spit in your direction and songs like Lickupon and Raedawn reflect that. Especially loved the open mic skits cuz that was a rare time I laughed listening to music.

MADVILLAINY (MARCH '04)

Prod.: Madlib, MF DOOM Absolute Banger Track: 'Figaro'/'Accordion' Surprise MVP: 'Rainbows'

I always heard about how this was one of the greatest MF DOOM album ever, if not the GOAT of rap period. And they weren't lying, this album is fucking powerful. It is flawless? To me, no. The only real critiques I have is that '3.214' in Madvillainy 2 was 'Great Day' done better and I couldn't vibe 'Rhinestone Cowboy's instrumental. Otherwise, the synergy and nonstop lyrical power of DOOM & Madlib here is actual peak. It's I say on par with Kendrick Lamar's TPAB where every track speaks of the MC at his most motivated. I'll say if Vaudeville Villain worked with him at his nastiest, this is him at his most imposing if that makes sense. This is where I felt they were having a grand old time making this, especially considering the story surrounding its production.

VV:2 (AUGUST '04)

Prod.: System D-128, Diplo, DiViNCi, Swamburger, Session 31, DJ I.N.C., Dub-L, The Analears Absolute Banger Track: 'Fall Back/Titty Fat' Surprise MVP: 'R.A.P. G.A.M.E.' ft. Manchild, Iz-Real

I think it's no surprise to say this is the weakest album in the timeline. This definitely has an air of diminishing returns where it not only felt like Viktor was barely in it, it's like he didn't want to be in this. It doesn't help that for all the producers you see, you get a 30 minute album that feels like Viktor was in it for a third of that. The monologues feel scattershot and with more guests than favorable that barely left an impression. Dumile is good as usual, it's everything else that really bogged this down.

MM..FOOD (NOVEMBER '04)

Prod.: MF DOOM, Madlib, Count Bass D, PNS Absolute Banger Track: 'Rapp Snitch Knishes' ft. Mr. Fantastik Surprise MVP: 'Guinnesses' ft. Angelika & 4ize

When it comes to DOOM's peak, Madvillainy is the strongest album while Mm..Food is the most memorable. This is a consistently bop where the concept theme makes for a more memorable vibe. I mean if Rapp Snitch Knishes wasn't on here, I would have a hard time picking the absolute best single. One day, it's Hoe Cakes. No, Beef Rapp. No, Deep Fried Frenz. Nevermind, it'd be One Beer. Mm..Food is that album where most of the songs stick with you and that's barely getting into the fun interludes using the old Spider-Man and Fantastic Four cartoons. This feels like the flipside of Vaudeville Villain where the atmosphere's uplifting and everyone's enjoying themselves. Plus again, it has Rapp Snitch Knishes, one of the all time greatest rap songs. Need I say more?

THE MOUSE AND THE MASK (2005)

Prod.: Danger Mouse Absolute Banger Track: 'Old School' ft. Talib Kweli Surprise MVP: 'Mince Meat'

If Madvillainy was the strongest hitting, Mm..Food being the consistent bop, Mouse and the Mask I consider the most fun. This has notably been labeled the "Adult Swim album" and frankly, if it combined with Occult Hymn was all we got for a thematic soundtrack for the channel, I would've been more than satisfied. Danger Doom is great if you're familiar with early era AS and if you're not, then this'll all probably feel annoying. Otherwise, this is the most fun knowing the references and hearing many of the classic characters like Aqua Teen and Brak. I'm in a way thankful this was their only collab with Adult Swim because I don't want to imagine MF DOOM trying to make bars for Rick & Morty; that... would wound my soul.

Now I said this marathon would be chronological, but I feel I had to jump ahead to the remaining collaborative albums since I wanna save DOOM's final solo for last...

KEY TO THE KUFFS (2012)

Prod.: Jneiro Jarel Absolute Banger Track: 'Winter Blues' ft. Indigo Surprise MVP: 'Banished'

Honestly, I know now how old Gorillaz fans felt when the band went shifted to synth pop post Plastic Beach. Thanks to youtuber Absurd Existence, shoutout to them, I decided to listen to the Butter version. It did not help because I could not vibe with the more techno sounds from JJ; the beats don't have the comical fun like Mouse or the consistent DJ power that Madlib brought. Key to the Kuffs isn't bad, but while DOOM doesn't falter in the least here, it's not as strong as I hoped.

NEHRUVIANDOOM (2014)

Prod.: MF DOOM Absolute Banger Track: 'Caskets' ft. DOOM Surprise MVP: 'Om'

I mean... never think you can appreciate a king rapper until you hear from an amateur. Don't get me wrong, it must've been great getting to collab with the villain himself, DOOM taking the backseat for a possible protege, but the emcee's bars felt very basic and inexperienced to me. It doesn't help that it felt like DOOM pulled random tracks from a Special Herb volume; nothing for this had as impactful a flow as it could have while I could understand the theme thanks to the interludes. Hell the absolute banger track is the only one of nine there I really enjoyed because DOOM is featured in it and Bishop was able to keep up and it felt like his moment too. I don't hold it against Bishop, as if he was too good to work with Dumile. The album's not bad, but I was just not into most of this whether or not DOOM was producing.

CZARFACE MEETS METAL FACE (2018)

Prod.: 7L, Jeremy Page, Todd Spafadore Absolute Banger Track: 'Meddle with Metal' Surprise MVP: 'Captain Crunch'

This marks the last full album Dumile would do before his death and it feels like a match made in heaven. It's a great throwback to 90s underground and Czarface is THE go-to for nerdcore rap. Then again, this admittedly didn't have the same highs as Mouse and the Mask even when there barely exists an actual bad track on this. There were a couple I noticed done better with a remixed beat that I came across way before listening but I can't spoil here. I guess my overall beef was that I couldn't vibe as much with Czarface and the runtime doesn't help admittedly. I recognize the strengths of Czar, but it's an album I'm not as much in a rush to replay.

SUPER WHAT? (2021)

Prod.: The Czar-keys Absolute Banger Track: 'Break Into Action' Surprise MVP: 'The King and Eye' ft. DMC / 'DOOM Unto Others'

I'll say this album was just what the world needed regarding any posthumous work from the villain. I think it works better than their previous LP not only because the runtime, but the beats I enjoyed better here because it's a more upbeat bop. Just saying, The King and Eye is one of my favorite openers to an album and it's emblematic to this feeling like a celebration of sorts while still having meaningful dark themes behind the tracks, especially when it was around COVID's stronger period. I recommend this if you want to get an more digestible feel of Czarface's music because I honestly prefer it over Czar Meets Metal.

BORN LIKE THIS (2009)

Prod.: DOOM, Mr. Chop, J Dilla, Madlib, Jake One Absolute Banger Track: 'Gazzillion Ear' Surprise MVP: 'That's That'

Consider it a theory, but this felt like Dumile's genuine final solo record whether or not he was gonna live longer; a tonal inverse of Operation Doomsday where he wanted to immortalize how far he came as an emcee and producer with the album having a loop with the end and beginning. Speaking of tone, this really feels like the darkest album with DOOM at his gruffest popping off for minutes on end. I mean it has ''Batty Boyz" making this instantly nastier than I expected. The use of Bukowski's "Dinosauria, We" and taking the "MF" out his name really shows that he was serious about his skill here and this was him taking a bow in a way. An imperfect but hardknocking album to close this marathon.

Next to Kendrick Lamar, I have seen very rare artists manage to be as consistently versatile and great as Dumile. He was basically a king of underground hip-hop and I wouldn't have done this if I thought his legacy wasn't worth remembering. Not every album is flawless, but every album showcases the greatness of not just Metal Fingers but the many he's worked with. This is by no means a ranking, don't want to downplay any of them in spite of my criticisms, but I recommend the tracks I've listed for newcomers to get a feel of each album.Of course this wasn't every album, but for next year. In the meantime conclusion, MF DOOM is forever the GOAT and may he continue to rest. Thanks for reading.

#MF DOOM #Viktor Vaughn #King Geedorah #Madvillain #hip hop #rap #music #underground hip hop #reviews #Good Stuff #Long live the villain

[elfyourmother]

Last night I finally completed the foyer of Château Greystone, the royal estate. As back story, Parliament actually voted to establish a royal residence for Aymeric way back in SB, but debated where it should go for ages.

The House of Lords insisted it should be located within the Pillars for reasons of obvious self-interest, but Aymeric felt it would send the wrong message about why he restored the throne. As the self-professed People’s King, he insisted he should live among the commons.

The Firmament was the perfect solution, as a potent symbol of Ishgard’s rebirth and new, egalitarian, forward-looking future, spearheaded by Prince Stephanivien’s house. The royal family living there—the heroes who ended the war and made it possible—would make folk flock to it, thus contributing to its growth and allow it to flourish. So construction began when the area was complete. “Greystone” was chosen as its name by Gisele, not only to honor Prince Haurchefant, but as a powerful rebuke to the prejudices that irrevocably shaped his life and Aymeric’s.

Its actual location is in the heart of the Firmament, on the plateau overlooking Snowsoak; the FC Medium I got in Empyreum is a placeholder since I’ll never get the equivalent Large plot. But here’s a tour nonetheless.

Prince Haurchefant's portrait offers a friendly greeting immediately on the left, as a nod to him being the first to welcome Gisele to Coerthas.

His Majesty is ofc directly at the far end, surrounded by blue flowers. Aymeric is a botanist well versed in the Ishgardian language of flowers and all of the plants in the manor were selected by him to send subtle messages. The orange trees in the antechamber convey joy and mirth to put guests at ease, for example. The roses beneath the royal portraits all correspond to their signature colors.

Prince Estinien has dragons flanking him, ofc. Those statues were a gift from Hien.

Around the corner there's a small antechamber that serves as a reception area for guests to relax while they await an audience or are otherwise welcomed. A trick bookshelf hides the entrance leading to Prince Stephanivien's workshop. (Meta: the FC chamber door. I decided the FC workshop is canon, but it’s Stephanivien’s tinkering cave) Speaking of which: he went nuts designing fortifications and defensive mechanisms for the estate. If he activates a specific series of levers, the entire visible upper part of the manor can pull in on itself and submerge entirely underground, the whole estate sinking several levels deeper with it (bearing in mind Ishgardian manors are built down). Just like Figaro Castle.

Hades helped with designing some of the architectural details, which is why there’s a subtle Amaurotine vibe (all the pillars, mainly). Construction on the manor didnt start until after the Firmament was complete since that’s where it’s located, so he was back by then.

But there’s a lot of subtle nods to the entire elfpile throughout this area. There's a Fortemps chandelier, roses are Gisele's signature ofc but are also to honor House Haillenarte, as is the wall decor in Haillenarte Green. The halberds near the fireplace are for Estinien. The moogle fountain* for Ysayle. XD

*A note on the fountain: is silly ofc and Estinien's portrait faces it because Ysayle thinks it's hilarious. But it's also an easter egg for me. The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World has a fountain w Mary Poppins penguins as you enter the foyer of the original DVC building, fancy & whimsical at the same time:

#gisele surana #the elfpile #chateau greystone

[grailfinders]

Grailfinders Viewers' Choice: Loser's Bracket Edition

sometimes, competition on these polls is stiff. a koyanskaya or an oberon shows up, and now your favorite character has 0 chance of winning. but just because someone's from a series that isn't popular in the fate fandom, or isn't a meta-warping five star powerhouse, doesn't mean they don't deserve their time in the spotlight.

with that in mind, this month's poll is bringing back the last place contenders of all the viewers' choice polls up to this point, aside from Tai Gong Wang since he's a canon servant and is guaranteed a build eventually.

with all that out of the way, here are your nominees!

Wei Wuxian is the titular Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, the ability to use the energy of the restless dead to perform magic. He's also clever, charismatic, good at math, and he's able to hear spirits and view their memories. he's got a lot going for him, definitely earned that title.

next up is Akuma from Street Fighter. he's a terrifying powerhouse of martial arts, he split the planet apart that one time, and his fists can apparently sense your sins and adjust themselves accordingly. kind of disturbed about what that implies about the rest of the cast, but moving on!

Edgar Figaro is the elder of the Figaro Brothers and king of Figaro castle in Final Fantasy 6. He's an artificer to a T, with auto-loading crossbows, chainsaws, poison gasses, and even a castle that can burrow under the desert! I'm not sure if I can get that last one into a build, but god that would be cool, right?

Riesbyfe Stridberg is the girl with the weird nicknames (Great Teacher Cranberry???? really?) from Tsukihime and Melty Blood, where she gives Mash a run for her money by being just as much as a shielder, but also being super strong, able to resist possession, and she doesn't visibly age. fun!

Jiang Ziya is a contemporary of Nezha from the Investiture of the Gods, and they even have matching movies in a recent cinematic universe! more on-topic, the story goes he escaped from Tamamo's court and hid in the countryside for most of his life before being hired by a local king and becoming a famous strategist, whose cunning allowed the Zhou Dynasty to rule over all of China. also, his teachings are the same six secret teachings that Kiichi Hogen has! it all comes full circle!

also also, according to wikipedia he went by a ton of different names... including Tai Gong Wang... well then. hey, everyone made it after all!

#fgo #dnd 5e #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #Street Fighter #Final Fantasy 6 #Tsukihime #Investiture of the Gods

[radicarian]

For that fic meme: L, R, S, W.

Behind a cut 'cause I picked way too long of a scene to DVD-comment about.

L. Is there a trope you haven’t written yet but really want to?

Characters Must Solve A Murder.

I think it'd also be fun to write more Fantasy Politicking but I do not believe I am sufficiently well-read for that kind of thing.

R. What is a line/scene you’re really proud of? Give us the DVD commentary for that scene.

Chapter 3 of "Grounded" is, to date, the piece of writing I'm most satisfied with in terms of accomplishing what I meant it to do. So... some notes on the art gallery scene!

I wanted to keep the canonical clue to the Phoenix Cave's location in Gestahl's portrait. I also wanted to build in various parallels between Locke's solo chapter and Edgar's, and I hadn't planned much of Edgar's at the time, but I knew that Gerad Shenanigans were a given. Ergo, Locke also gets to try on a fake identity and get his questions answered through crime!

(And they both end up doing shitty and unflattering impressions of each other. The concept amused me.)

This was written in late 2020. Earlier in the year I had reread the Gentleman Bastards books. I am pretty sure, in this scene in particular, I got my Locke Cole cross-contaminated with some Locke Lamora. I'm not sorry about it! The circle is complete! Anyway, I don't think I borrowed anything that's not a reasonable extrapolation from Locke Finalfantasy's in-game characterization, and I do think this is a valid take on how that guy would bullshit his way into a rich-people party and cause trouble.

Also... this was written in late 2020. During lockdowns, Rich People at my workplace had been saying shit like "oh noooo the pandemic caught us in our European house as opposed to any of our three other houses, and we have been TRYING to pull strings with the local government to let us get on a plane and leave this house for a more different house, but these guys are acting weirdly insistent that the rules actually apply and things that happen in the world are relevant to us??? Even US?????" That's it. That's the vibe of this scene. How lucky it was exactly what I needed for a story; I'd hate to have endured that for nothing.

Some additional Tasteless-Rich-People-Art takes were probably influenced by McMansion Hell.

The "rustic breakfast" that Locke is so scathing about... is this. Delicious.

At the time of writing, my favorite couple of lines were:

There was always this moment, right before things went off the rails, right as the game changed on you: this moment of clarity where you realized, Okay, the time for careful maneuvers is over, I'm about to start some shit. Like hanging, just for an instant, in midair.

...But I'm no longer sold on that second sentence; early in the drafting process I was like "heh heh heh, I bet people falling from a great height, e.g. in an airship crash, is something that smashes Locke right in the Dead Girlfriend Trauma," but as things went on I forgot to do much with that motif. I was distracted by the bird motif. So the falling/not-falling thing doesn't quite... ... land.

Overall, though, I wanted this whole chapter to be "Locke does cool stuff, while also being a giant mess. He's making progress in pursuit of a goal, but the goal is objectively wack." And I think it is that!

S. Who is the easiest/hardest character for you to write about? Why?

Easiest is probably Best Boy Sabin Figaro. He's straightforward, while still having enough going on to be interesting - and his voice, in narrative or in dialogue, is really forgiving of weird or infelicitous phrasing. He just says stuff and does stuff and doesn't obsess about it, and considering that a lot of my other go-to characters are on 2-6 layers of meta at any given time, he is SO REFRESHING.

Hardest, of characters I have actually attempted writing more than once... ...Johannes Cabal. Not because it's particularly difficult to get into his head; IMO just thinking "peevish nerd" is 75% of the way there. Rather, the logic by which his universe operates is hard for me to get a handle on. And without getting that right, it's difficult to strike the correct balance between him being 1) very smart and cold-blooded and dangerous, 2) an extremely uncool pathetic weirdo. He doesn't quite work without a properly calibrated narrative voice of "we like this guy, but also, hahaha screw this guy." I haven't totally ruled out writing about him again, but it's a tricky needle to thread.

W. If you had to remix one of your own fics, which would it be and how would you remix it?

I've never done a fic remix but I think "The Echoing World," a little exchange fic I wrote with OoT!Zelda in the world of Majora's Mask, has potential that-a-way. I was doing some structural weirdness with it already - sort of smash-cutting between Zelda encountering various Termina weirdos, with these main scenes being in past-tense, and a sprinkling of present-tense drabbles (Yes They Are 100 Words Precisely, This Was Important, For Reasons) where she's trying a bit harder to reconcile where she is, what's going on, and how time even works here. I could easily imagine flipping that around to foreground the spooky vibes a bit more... maybe especially dialing in on that bit where Zelda's not sure whether she's Zelda or Sheik. She is trying to solve an ontological mystery here but also this dream world is so weird it's making her doubt the reality of the real world?

#ask meme

[ascendedheavenly6]

Introduction Post…!

Name: Helios.

Speaks of: Character Analysis, half-meta of symbolism, very insane.

Frequent Character: Shion (No.6)

Favorite Characters: Shion (No.6), Sougo Osaka (Idolish7), Figaro Garcia + Nero Turner (Mahoyaku), Eichi Tenshouin + Leo Tsukinaga + Wataru Hibiki + Rei Sakuma + Izumi Sena (Enstars) + Reo Mikage (Blue Lock)

“The ones that are a beacon of light but is kept in the darkness.. then there’s the one that keeps chasing that ray of light…”

— My Favorite Dynamic…

#//personal #//helios

[holybridget]

Le commissaire divisionnaire de Nice, Rabah Souchi, s'est défaussé sur un de ses hommes dans les blessures de la «gilet jaune» Geneviève Legay.

«Gilets jaunes» : un commissaire jugé ce jeudi pour la charge de Geneviève Legay à Nice en 2019.

(Le Figaro).

[freyayuki]

Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia Dorgann Klauser and Celes Chere Banner

The Guardian of the Crystals event just started in the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO) mobile game. This event came with 1 banner.

Guardian of the Crystals Banner

The Guardian of the Crystals banner features the following chars and their weapons:

Celes Chere from Final Fantasy VI - Burst or BT only

Dorgann Klauser from Final Fantasy V - 15cp, 35cp, Ex, LD, and Force or FR

Galuf Halm Baldesion from Final Fantasy V - 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD

Lyse Hext from Final Fantasy XIV - 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD

Have everything on this banner except for Dorgann’s weapons. Dorgann is the latest playable char to be introduced in DFFOO so have nothing for him.

Thoughts about Dorgann Klauser from Final Fantasy V

I like Dorgann Klauser from Final Fantasy V (#ad) well enough, I suppose, although definitely wouldn’t call him a fave or anything.

It might be more accurate to say that my feelings towards him are neutral. I neither like nor dislike him. Don’t really know much about him.

Dorgann’s pretty good but I don’t think he’s meta or all that necessary. I mean, I don’t think I really need to pull for him.

He’s a pretty good wind elemental DPS who deals decent enough damage. He also has this gimmick of doing a follow-up attack every time a char breaks an enemy.

Because of this, he has pretty good synergy with Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII. That’s because one of the effects of Seph’s BT+ is that it will set the BRV of all enemies to 1 for 4 turns.

Sephiroth is actually the main reason why I’m interested in Dorgann. I talk more about this in other posts, but I’ve been using Sephiroth for Lufenia (level 200), Lufenia+ (level 250), and Shinryu (level 300) quests basically ever since I got his LD and BT.

My Sephiroth is as fully built and maxed out as he can possibly be. He is Level 90 and Crystal Level 90. His 15cp, 35cp, Ex, LD, and BT are fully MLB. His Ex is at Ex+ 3/3 or Purple. His Burst weapon has been upgraded to BT+ 3/3 or Green.

Seph’s currently equipped with a Level 5 of 5 Greatsword Ultima Weapon. His High Armor’s been upgraded to Blue. His Summon Boards, Character Enhancement Boards, and Force Enhancements have been completed. He has his Bloom Stone.

Sephi has 3 Attack 108 with Max Brave 330 Artifacts and 3 Attack 108 with One-Winged Angel Boost★★ (Raises INT BRV, MAX BRV, ATK, DEF by 5% if HP is MAX at start of last wave) Artifacts.

Sephiroth is equipped with the following real A Spheres:

Edgar Roni Figaro’s (from Final Fantasy VI) Debuff Power

Increases BRV damage dealt by 10% while an enemy is debuffed

Cloud Strife’s (from Final Fantasy VII) Critical Power

Raises BRV damage dealt with critical hits by 10%

Vayne Carudas Solidor’s (from Final Fantasy XII) Broken Power

When attacking target afflicted with Break: • Increases BRV damage dealt by 10%

Sadly, it’s been a while since Sephi last got updated so he’s been kinda powercrept by now. He still works well enough, and I have been able to keep on bringing him to endgame content but still.

He could definitely use another rework and upgrade. Heck, he doesn’t even have a Force weapon yet, not even in the Japanese version of Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia.

Really looking forward to the time wherein he’ll finally get his own FR. I hope he gets a good one.

Anyway, I was thinking about pulling for Dorgann so I can use him with Sephiroth.

But I don’t know if I really want to spend the resources needed to build Dorgann. I don’t know if it’ll be worth it to do so.

Ahh, if these resources weren’t so scarce, I’d readily build and max out all my chars in this game. As it is, really have to be selective in who to build.

Guardian of the Crystals Banner Free First Multi-Draw Results

As part of the Black Friday campaign, we get a free multi-draw on the Guardian of the Crystals banner.

Wasn’t really expecting to get anything good from the free pull. I thought I’d just end up with a dupe or 2. So imagine my surprise when a Burst orb actually showed up.

OMFG! Totally wasn’t expecting this at all. Didn’t think I’d actually get a Burst orb from this free draw. Wow! This is great!

I’m pretty sure this isn’t the first Burst weapon I ever got from a free pull. But at the moment, can’t remember which BT I got for free and when such an incident happened.

I’m pleased to see this Burst orb and Celes’s BT. It’s just that - well, it’s just too bad that I already have a copy of Celes’s Burst so the one I got just now was nothing more than a dupe.

Ah, well. At least dupe Bursts can be sold for 5 BT Tokens. You can then use 50 Tokens to exchange for a Burst weapon of your choice.

Anyway, this was still a really good free draw. Aside from Celes’s BT, this pull also gave me a dupe of Lyse’s 15cp.

Guardian of the Crystals Banner Tickets Pulls Results

Still not sure if I want to fully build Dorgann or not. For now, decided to see if I can get all of his weapons using my tickets. Don’t want to gem this banner since I’m not even sure if I’ll bother to max out Dorgann even if I get all of his gear.

Currently have 219 tickets on hand.

Aside from the usual bronze and silver trash, including 10-draws with not a single gold, and 15cp and 35cp gold dupes, also got the following:

2/10, came from a gold orb - dupes of Lyse’s Ex and Galuf’s 15cp

To my surprise, it wasn’t long before a Force orb showed up. Nice.

Super pleased to have gotten my very first copy of Dorgann’s FR.

This is the first weapon I ever got for Dorgann since I decided to pull on the Guardian of the Crystals banner first before playing through the story event that came with this banner.

So getting this weapon also automatically recruited Dorgann and added him to my chars or allies list.

As if getting Dorgann’s FR from this 10-draw wasn’t already more than enough, this pull also gave me my very first copy of his LD.

Hell, yes! Awesome pull is awesome. Now I just need Dorgann’s Ex then I can be done with this banner.

We’ll get a free copy of Dorgann’s 15cp just by playing through his event. Then I can just use my Weapon Tokens to exchange for a copy of Dorgann’s 35cp.

Was down to 199 tickets when Dorgann’s FR and LD came home.

1/10, came from a gold orb - dupe of Galuf’s LD

Meh. Wish that had been a dupe of Dorgann’s LD instead so I could have used it to limit break the copy I already have.

Also got 10-draws that gave me copies of Dorgann’s 15cp. Have yet to see his 35cp or Ex though.

4/10, came from a gold orb - dupes of Lyse’s 15cp, Dorgann’s 15cp, Lyse’s Ex, and Dorgann’s 15cp

2/10, came from a gold orb - dupes of Galuf’s Ex and Lyse’s 15cp

Ugh. Wish that Galuf Ex had been Dorgann’s instead so I can be done with this banner already. Dorgann Ex, doko da?

As my ticket count started dwindling, I began to lose hope of ever seeing Dorgann’s Ex.

Thankfully, Dorgann’s Ex eventually showed up. It came from a gold orb.

Really pleased to see this weapon. Now I can finally be done with this banner. Still don’t have Dorgann’s 35cp but it’s fine. I’ll just Token it.

This 10-draw also gave me a dupe of Lyse’s 35cp.

Was down to 89 tickets when Dorgann’s LD came home. So glad I was able to get Dorgann’s EX, LD, and FR before running out of tickets.

Dorgann Klauser from Final Fantasy V

Had enough dupes of Dorgann’s 15cp to be able to fully MLB my first copy without having to use a single Power Stone.

Haven’t even played through the Guardian of the Crystals story event yet so still haven’t gotten the free Dorgann 15cp.

Have 1473 Weapon Tokens or Power Tokens, so I readily spent the 100 I needed in order to get 4 copies of Dorgann’s 35cp. This way, wouldn’t need to spend a single Power Stone in order to MLB said weapon.

After limit breaking Dorgann’s 15cp and 35cp, I eyed the rest of his weapons, wondering if I should go ahead and spend the resources needed to fully MLB them.

After thinking about it some more, I spent the 12 Power Stones needed to MLB Dorgann’s LD.

Then I spent 12 more Power Stones to MLB his Ex. Also spent the Book and 3 Ingots needed to Purple Dorgann’s Ex or get it to Ex+ 3/3.

I equipped Dorgann with his Force weapon but couldn’t bring myself to spend the High Power Stones needed to fully MLB it. At least not yet and not right now. Still need to think about this some more.

I got all of Dorgann’s armors and spent the resources needed to MLB all of them. Also got his High Armor and spent the Book needed to Realize it to 0/3. For now, opted not to Blue his High Armor.

Got Dorgann to Level 90 and Crystal Level 90. Bought his Bloom Stone. Completed all of his Summon Boards but didn’t get any of his Force Enhancements yet.

Unlocked parts of his Character Enhancement Boards, particularly the tiles that would give me his LD extension passive.

Equipped Dorgann with the following RF Spheres: Seven’s (from Final Fantasy Type-0) RF A Sphere, Edgar Roni Figaro’s (from Final Fantasy VI) RF A Sphere, and Seymour Guado’s (from Final Fantasy X) RF E Sphere.

Started farming for Dorgann’s Artifacts but I’m having trouble getting him triple of his preferred Arts which is 3 ATK 108 with Warrior Protecting the Seal Up★★ (While With Precious Memories active: raises own MAX BRV, ATK by 5%).

I keep getting crappy and useless Arts. Also somehow ended up with a few ATK 108 with MAX BRV 330 and MAX BRV 330 with Warrior Protecting the Seal Up★★ Artifacts.

Well, the Guardian of the Crystals event is still ongoing so gonna keep on farming the co-op quest so I can get more of Dorgann’s Eidojas. Hopefully, I can get his perfect Artifacts soon.

In the meanwhile, also need to think about what I’m gonna do about Dorgann. Should I max him out and fully build him? Doing so is gonna cost me a lot.

I’m not even sure how useful he’s gonna be. I mean, I know he comboes well with Sephiroth but right now I already have other chars that I’m using with Sephi, and these chars are really freaking good.

I’m talking about Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII and Rinoa Heartilly from Final Fantasy VIII. They’re my current main DPS. I just switch between the 2 depending on what the fight needs or who I feel like using.

So my team is usually either Tifa or Rinoa, Sephiroth, and the third is almost always a support like Aeris or Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII or Lunafreya Nox Fleuret from Final Fantasy XV.

This kind of team works pretty well. Yeah, I wouldn’t say that Sephiroth has much synergy with Tifa or Rinoa. In fact, Tifa and Rinoa would do even better if I dropped Sephi and brought in another support char or a char who can deal off-turn or counter damage or something.

But still. Even if Seph’s the weak link in this team, said team still works well enough. This team can get the job done.

And actually Sephiroth’s damage isn’t that bad since aside from being fully built and maxed out, he’s also wielding a Level 5 of 5 Ultima Weapon. This really helps to boost his damage output, and he gets to deal respectable enough damage.

It’s just that Tifa and Rinoa are so meta that they easily outdamage him. It doesn’t help that my Tifa and Rinoa are also fully built and maxed out. They already have their Force weapons. And they’re carrying their own Level 5 of 5 Ultima Weapon.

Anyway, the point is, I’m not sure about adding Dorgann to my team. I mean, who am I gonna drop so I can make use of Dorgann?

Obviously, I can’t drop Sephi. So I suppose it’s between my DPS and support but - yeah, I don’t know.

Dorgann doesn’t even have a Burst weapon of his own yet so I don’t think he’s gonna be able to hit harder than either Tifa or Rinoa.

Just took Dorgann to a battle and you know what? He is pretty good. Well, it was an easy quest but still. His playstyle’s pretty interesting.

Seeing him doing his follow-up attacks every time a char breaks an enemy had me seriously considering fully building him.

I started looking up videos of Dorgann in action. Found a lot that showcased him fighting against the boss in his own event’s Shinryu quest. There were lots of vids that included Sephiroth too.

But I couldn’t seem to find much of other videos that showed Dorgann in other Shinryu quests.

After trying to search for more information about Dorgann, I found out that he’s apparently gonna be resisted in a lot of the upcoming Shinryu quests after his event. I suppose that’s the reason why I hardly saw any videos about him that weren’t about his own event’s Shinryu fight.

When I saw that info about Dorgann being resisted for a lot of upcoming Shinryu fights, I lost all interest in fully building him. Now I’m fine with just leaving him like this.

I don’t regret Purpling Dorgann’s Ex or fully limit breaking his 15cp, 35cp, Ex, and LD but that’s all I’m gonna do for him for now. Not gonna bother to spend any more resources on him. If I’m not gonna be able to use him anyway, then what’s the point?

Update: continued farming for Dorgann’s Artifacts. Must have fused hundreds of Dorgann’s Artifacts by now but have yet to get a single ATK 108 with Warrior Protecting the Seal Up★★.

Instead I just keep getting crap and more crap. Also somehow ended up getting  more copies of MAX BRV 330 with Warrior Protecting the Seal Up★★ to the point wherein I eventually managed to get 3 that only cost 5 CP each.

After what felt like forever, I finally got 1 of Dorgann’s perfect Artifacts. Thankfully, it didn’t take long before I got more copies. Even managed to get 2 perfect Artifacts at once.

One of them costs 15 CP though. At least I didn’t need to keep this one since I also managed to get another ATK 108 with Warrior Protecting the Seal Up★★ that has a lower CP cost.

So glad to finally have triple of Dorgann’s perfect Artifacts. Now I can finally stop farming this event’s co-op quest. Already got all the items I want from the Guardian of the Crystals event exchange shop so have no more reason to farm this co-op.

Conclusion

So, what about you? Did you pull on the Guardian of the Crystals banner? What do you think about Celes Chere, Dorgann Klauser, and all the other chars featured on this banner? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging or replying to this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia game account

#dissidia final fantasy opera omnia #pulls for these chars: #celes chere #dorgann klauser #galuf halm baldesion #lyse hext #final fantasy 6 #final fantasy 5 #final fantasy 14 #gacha games #games #dffoo ticket pulls #dffoo free pulls #dffoo banner pulls #dffoo

[wikinews-in]

EU Users Find Ways to Download Meta’s Unavailable Threads App

European football teams, media like Le Monde and Agence France-Presse and other organizations on the continent have found a way to get Meta Platforms Inc.’s new Threads app, even though the company hasn’t launched it in the European Union.  Verified accounts for French media companies Le Figaro and Liberation were posting on the app the day it went live on Thursday as well as left wing French…

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[actu24hp]

Meta ferme des comptes d’influenceurs soupçonnés d’abus

Par Le Figaro avec AFP Publié hier à 18:20, Mis à jour hier à 18:25 Les plaignants estiment avoir été arnaqués à hauteur d’un total de 6,3 millions d’euros. ROBYN BECK / AFP Laurent Correia ou encore le couple Marc et Nadé Blata sont notamment visés par une action collective pour une vaste arnaque présumée. Meta, la maison-mère de Facebook et Instagram, a annoncé vendredi la suppression d’une…

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[nablah]

talking about intersectionality in stories and in opera w @madmozarteanfelinefantasy (this is for u) always leads to good ideas

anyway, filipino le nozze di figaro a.k.a. Ang Kasal ni Figaro, if anyone attempted a translation + local production

[ID: 5 sketches. First is a sketch of all the singing characters in Le Nozze in my idea of a local adaptation.

Second is a closeup of the Almavivas. Almaviva is a thin sickly Spanish man wearing a military uniform with a tragic moustache and two arrows pointing at him saying "Almaviva, encomiendero/peninsulares de Hacienda Almaviva" and "stupid ass official". Rosina Almaviva is a sickly looking woman in a baro't saya. She has brown skin but a white face. An arrow points at her saying "Rosina Almaviva, mestiza de español".

Third is a closeup of Basilio, Cherubino, Barbarina, and Antonio. Basilio is a white man in a Spanish priest's habit and holding a conductor's stick. An arrow points at him saying "Fray Basilio dominican frayle, asshole". Cherubino is a filipino person wearing a striped barong and a playful smirk. An arrow pointing at them says "Cherubino, mestizo de español, bakla". Barbarina is a Filipino person wearing a simpler baro't saya. An arrow pointing at them says "Barbarina, indio, tomboy". Antonio is a filipino man wearing a barong and holding a straw hat, facing the side. An arrow pointing at him says "Antonio, indio, better dad than bartolo imo".

Fourth is a closeup sketch of Bartolo and Marcellina. Bartolo is a spanish man with a frowny face wearing an ill fitting barong. An arrow pointing at him says "Dr. Bartolo, criollo, doesnt know how to wear a barong". Marcellina is a filipino chinese woman wearing an all black baro't saya. An arrow pointing at her says "Marcellina mestiza de sangley, knows math".

Fifth is a closeup sketch of Figaro and Susanna. Figaro is a mestizo man wearing a barong and who looks a lot like Marcellina. He is tilting his head and smiling slightly. An arrow pointing at him says "Figaro, mestizo???". Susanna is a filipino woman wearing a simple baro. She is smiling widely and leaning slightly on figaro. An arrow pointing at her says "Susanna, indio". /end ID]

OK SO THAT DONE. anyway i added hc's for race because thats how socioeconomic classification was done here during that time and these are stuff youd take notice of. Pls note that if you arent filipino, you cannot use indio. if you arent chinese filipino you cannot use sangley. Also cherubino and barbarina are bakla and tomboy (Filipino third genders) which is the best take ive ever done.

more under the cut on the idea and its implications during the Spanish colonial era

The Almavivas and Bartolo are part of the principales class of people, reserved for the peninsulares (born in spain) insulares/criollos (born in other spanish colonies). Rosina being a mestiza de español (filipino spanish) would have racial power and some money, plus a marriage to a Peninsulares would have elevated her status. I tried to give her a doña victorina (novel character who had internalized racism) vibe by making her cover up her brown skin on her face. i think Almaviva would be a part of the real audiencia or an encomiendero but be really shit at it.

Basilio is a dominican frayle which i hate also because they started my uni. The PH was sometimes more a frailocracy than an actual governed body, and the dominicans held a lot of power. Basically its don basilio but with way more power.

Marcellina is a mestiza de sangley (filipino chinese) and that put her below mestizos de español since chinese/sangley were near the bottom, even lower than the indio sometimes. While they had economic power they were social outcasts and seen lower as filipinos sometimes (which i think gives Susanna some reason for her anger in act 1 duet since it means theyre essentially the same strata). Just thoughts on thoughts om marcellina as a mestiza de sangley woman. i literally love marcellina i am projecting all my issues on being mestizo de sangley onto her. Bartolo is a senile doctor who cant do math. as an insulares he would have more power than rosina at first but not as much as almaviva.

CHERUBINO IS A BAKLA. That's a third gender that means anything from gay man to gay woman to effeminate straight man to non man to non woman. so. there. BARBARINA IS A TOMBOY. Which is a third gender (not the tomboy term of the USA) which means anything from gay man to gay woman to masculine straight woman to non man to non woman. a generalization would be effeminate non cishet man and masculine non cishet woman. Both these genders are not trans woman / trans man equivalents. Both are native filipino genders which both can reclaim. There is some conflict between a mestizo de español and an indio relationship but theyre kids so bye.

Antonio is not the drunkard in operas these days but the head farmer in the hacienda (plot of land where farmers work for food and lodging instead of money). Almaviva would have trusted him a lot in this case which would lead to some conflict as an indio.

FINALLY

Figaro is an mestizo/tornatras (filipino of spanish and chinese and filipino descent). Who knows what is in his blood (i tried to give that kind of loneliness that happens where youre so mixed youre just ostracized by everyone. hmm. anyway!). He looks like Marcellina and got his name after hearing about this opera playing somewhere in Manila and the main character having his own barbershop (META META META). Susanna is an indio/full blooded filipino and honestly she's the realest character here. feminism is an ongoing fight here but not so much as race so its intesresting how that will play out with Rosina. Also no droit de sagneur but it is mighty easy to take advantage of the servants in the philippines. just dont do it so much or else theyll revolt 👀. ALSO it gives a whole new meaning to sei tu mio servo o no because typical courtship would have the man serving in the woman's household before marrying. early filipino society had women in equal or elevated places and that continued in some filipino families. so she tops. im done.

#opera #le nozze di figaro #meta #sort of #philippines

[alynnl]

Ancient Castle Theory (FF VI)

Now can I can sit down and type this out, get ready for another meta post for FF VI, whether you want it or not!

So, the Ancient Castle.  It’s one of the remnants of the War of the Magi, showing the actual, physical scars that were left by magic.

I have a few theories that it is connected to the Kingdom of Figaro somehow since the only way you can reach it is through its underground tunnels.

Theory 1: Edgar and Sabin are actually descendants of the Queen and Odin. Since they’d be at least ten, or maybe more generations down the line, they don’t have “magic abilities” per se.  But Edgar’s skills with machines and Sabin’s ridiculously powerful martial arts could come from Odin’s sharp (atom edge) genes.  This assumes that the Queen gave birth to hers and Odin’s child before the attack that left them both petrified by the sorcerer, and some of her guards escaped with the heir, and would build a new castle, with a different royal family name.  Any ties to Odin and his kingdom couldn’t be mentioned, because they were hiding who they were.

Theory 2: The ancient Figaro Kingdom were actually the conquerors.  Edgar and Sabin’s distant ancestors weren’t as nice as they are, and had magicite at their fingertips.  From what we saw of Kefka and Gestahl, we see how power-drunk the higher magics can make people.  The Figaro ancestor was either the mage who battled Odin, or perhaps the mage was the King’s most trusted out of all the others.  When their opponents just wouldn’t give up, the Petrify spell was the last resort, and it took the Court Mage’s life.  The victorious King Figaro and all his men wouldn’t stay in their newly conquered castle though, because of the ghosts of all those who fell in battle haunting the place. They turned and fled, and erased any record of the battle from history, claiming that there was nothing in the desert but a mirage, and that their army attacked itself by mistake.

Theory 3: The Figaro brothers are descendants of the civilians who fled the battle between Odin’s forces and their opponents.  The people were able to escape in tunnels underground, because of one bright mage’s mastery of the earth element.  For a while, they made a home for themselves in an underground cave, with a few earth mages and elementals going to the surface every few years to see if it was safe.  Over time they would go to the surface, and build a castle of their own in the desert.  Using machines, they would draw all their water from an underground aquifer and experience untold prosperity until Emperor Gestahl had one of his men poison Edgar and Sabin’s father, King Stewart.

Which one do you think is the best?

I personally like theory three, but the other two are intriguing!

#FF VI #Final Fantasy VI #the Ancient Castle #Figaro Castle #Figaro Kingdom origins #I've connected the two dots #I really have connected them! #FF VI meta