#than 2 be executed without trial

[decolonize-the-left]

GENERAL STRIKE TIME BABEY. READ THE WHOLE POST.

While we're all mad at government sending money to Israel that police budgets are so inflated because of how often they pay settlements.

And also that it's a verified fact that our police train with Israeli soldiers. Remember when they were black bagging people in PDX? It reminded me of this ex-Israeli soldier talking about how they'd do the same thing to innocent Palestinians just to terrorize them and their neighbors. It was intentional terrorism when they did it.

Police budgets pay for all that.

Correction, we pay.

To put it more bluntly,

We pay for them to kill and terrorize people.

Just as our taxes pay for the deaths of Black and Brown people all over the world from Turtle Island to Sudan and Palestine.

In Dec. 2022, Louisville Metro Government agreed to pay Walker $2 million to settle lawsuits against the city. Metro government previously paid a $12 million settlement to Taylor’s family in Sept. 2020

We paid for Breonna Taylor's death.

And her murderers were never arrested btw. Not that there aren't still people trying to arrest them of course. But our money paid for their lawyers and wouldn't you know it, no charges have stuck.

Four years to the day after Breonna Taylor’s death, federal prosecutors are moving forward with a re-trial of one of the officers involved in the botched raid that ended her life. At a status conference Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings scheduled Brett Hankison’s final pre-trial hearing for September 13th. His re-trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 15. In November of last year, Hankinson was tried for violating the Constitutional rights of Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend, and three neighbors when he fired through two covered windows during the raid. Prosecutors argued he used excessive force when he shot into the apartment complex blindly. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, had fired at officers executing the search, claiming he thought they were intruders.

And Myles Cosgrove?

Yeah we're paying him to terrorize more people. He got a job as a fucking sheriff's deputy.

Myles Cosgrove, the former Louisville police officer, who was fired for fatally shooting Breonna Taylor in a botched 2020 police raid and hired earlier this year as a sheriff’s deputy in Carroll County, rammed a resident’s truck with his cruiser Monday and then pointed a gun at the owner and several bystanders, witnesses said.

Witnesses told The Courier Journal that Cosgrove barreled into Happy Hollow Private Resort Park trailer park at a high rate of speed without his emergency lights on, then struck William Joshua Short’s pickup truck with such force that it sent the vehicle flying into a building, breaking off two cinder blocks.

And Johnathan Mattingly wrote a fucking book about it to make money off of his role in her murder. $15 on Amazon.

He also wanted to sue Kenneth Walker, Breonna's boyfriend. You know why? For damages and injuries he sustained while killing Breonna Taylor.

WE PAID FOR ALL THAT. ALL OF IT.

Our power is in our dollar.

American politics and officials don't care for our lives. It's why they're content to watch us protest for months. Because we're still going to work. We are the worker ants simply fulfilling our duty, receiving the bare minimum to survive for our labor.

We're still building their bombs. Paying our taxes, so much that hardly any of us could afford more than rent.

We are just drones fulfilling our purpose to the upper class who doesn't give a shit about us beyond what we do for them and how little we will do it for.

If we want change we're gonna have to stop working. We're going to have to deprive them of products they sell, of our taxes, of our low cost labor.

And the strike that UAW is planning in May 2028 has inspired a lot of others to start looking at the opportunity to join in.

If you haven't heard of it yet, a strike is when workers organize and stop showing up for work. And a general strike is a mass strike across various industries around similar demands or bargaining positions.

There have been multiple calls for a general strike since then, predominantly from individuals and groups on social media, which has often resulted in confusion about what a general strike would actually look like. To be clear, a general strike is not a protest or a rally, a single picket line, or a boycott. It is, as I’ve previously defined, “a labor action in which a significant number of workers from a number of different industries who comprise a majority of the total labor force within a particular city, region, or country come together to take collective action.”

Throughout history, workers have used this tactic as a nuclear option to shut down entire cities when needed, including Philadelphia in 1835, Seattle in 1919, and beyond.[...]

If even four or five of the unions representing the workers mentioned above banded together in a nationwide general strike, the entire country would grind to a halt. When Shawn Fain asks his fellow unions to set the timer for May 2028, what he’s really saying is, get ready to shut sh*t down and level the playing field between bosses and workers once and for all.

JOIN A UNION. AND TALK ABOUT THIS.

And make one of the demands out to be an end of American support to countries participating in apartheid and genocide.

End the taxes for police budgets and settlements. If they want police departments so bad then they should FIND funding for themselves like the government makes USPS do.

One of the biggest pushbacks we hear is that there is never any official backing for calls to a general strike. Well here it is! Make sure you tell EVERYONE

This could be a global strike if other countries choose to participate on the same date

No, I don't think Palestine has 3 years so in the mean time join a union, keep protesting, start rioting, answer Every call to action coming from a Palestine and Sudan and the DRC and sign this strike card

#workers rights #workers party #general strike #strike #leftist #communist #anarchist #end the occupation #end the genocide #abolish the police #class war #no war but class war #2028 #UAW strike #united auto workers #may 2028 #may day #solidarity #classism #capitalism #biden #current events #new

[soberscientistlife]

One of the saddest chapters in history.

George Stinney Jr. was the youngest person sentenced to death in the United States. He was only 14 when he was executed by electric chair in 1944.

During his trial, until the day of his execution, he always carried a Bible in his hands, claiming for innocence. He was accused of killing two white girls, Betty of 11-years-old and Mary of 7, the bodies were found near the house where the boy resided with his parents.

At that time, all the jurors were white. The trial lasted only 2 hours and the sentence was handed down 10 minutes later. The boy’s parents were not allowed in the court room, and was subsequently expelled from that city after the trial.

Before the execution, George spent 81 days in prison without being able to see his parents, he was held in solitary 80 miles from the city, he was held alone without anybody to talk to. He was heard alone without the presence of his parents or a lawyer.

He was electrocuted with 5,380 volts in the head.

70 years later, his innocence was finally proven by a judge in South Carolina. The beam with which the two girls were killed, weighed more than 19.07 kilograms. Therefore, it was impossible for Stinney to be able to lift it, let alone be able to hit hard enough to kill the two girls.

Stephen King was inspired by this case to write his book The Green Mile, which was taken to theaters in 1999

May his innocent soul rest in peace.

So damn sad, my heart hurts.

[nekoashiii]

Hi there, hope you have a wonderful day.

I would like to request Focalors with prompt 3 from your new event, if that’s not a problem. It can be fem or gn reader. What ever you like better. Thanks in advance.

”I’m allowed to do as I wish with you, I’m your wife/husband”

Warnings: Use of focalors real name (spoilers). Dark content (not really). Mentions of executions.

[the requests for the event is now closed!]

How many days has it passed since you last had peaceful sleep, or when you could spend your time alone without any worries. Without the worries of a pair of judgmental eyes on you.

[Name?] [Nameee!] A voice called out in the grand halls.

Ah dang it, where are you? The whiney voice continued to echo and trail in the rooms and hallways of the palace.

'Click' 'Click' ... Aha! There you are!

'Sigh' what is it Furina, I thought you had a court trial to judge this morning? don't tell me you ditched that as well, 'You said as you continued to brush your hair in front of the big mirror, fitting both you and Focalors in the frame'

Is this the way you treat your lover? 'She asked as she placed her gloved hands on her hips'

Here she goes again. 'You thought as you closed your eyes and stood up'

Ah~ 'she let out a dramatic sigh' how cruel of you [name], I expected a more thrilling reaction out of you! But nonetheless you are very entertaining, way better than sitting in a crowded courtroom, watching a stupid person get sentenced to an even stupider amount of time. I mean, when will we ever see a real twist in these cases for once! 'Furina rambled as she placed the back of her palm on her forehead, her face showing grimace as she stood in a dramatic and dynamic posture.'

Okay okay, you can stop. I understand.

'Furina's smile dropped as she opened one eye, looking at you for a solid 50 seconds before she continued with a sigh' Mmm, boring, boring... but...

Have you ever thought of putting on...those clothes that other mortals from Fontaine wear? 'Before you could answer she cut you off' Your answer aside, I have a very exciting Revelation, 'she said as she turned away'

I hired the best hairstylists, makeup artists and tailors to make us the perfect matching outfit, I also bought us first row tickets to an execution event that will start in 2 days! After so long, an entertaining event will happen beside those slimy, dry soap operas! bleh!

...

...

'Furina said with a small smile and raised eyebrows, waiting for your reaction as silence filled the room'

Furina what! I thought you promised to pass a new law to stop public executions! Not only that, why do you always do things with my involvement and never say a word to me until It's just-

'Your words were cut by her again' blah blah blah, come on [name] you can be better than this. I'm not the biggest fan of this type of drama! I mean come on now, I’m allowed to do as I wish with you, I’m your wife! Furthermore, I can decide for you and change your future as I like.

#genshin x reader #fontaine x reader #yandere x reader #x reader #focalors x reader #furina x reader #genshin impact x reader

[burst-of-iridescent]

i’ve gone back and forth a lot on whether to respond to this because the last thing i want is more discourse, but since you seem absolutely determined to put me on some sort of trial, anon, i might as well get my two cents in.

so let's talk.

one, i have said over and over again that i am more than willing to talk to anyone i may have unwittingly hurt or offended, if they came to me directly and off-anon. despite the fact that you surely knew that, since you evidently stalk my blog, you did not do so. instead, you continued to yell at me and accuse me of racism anonymously, rather than actually engaging with me. what this tells me right off the bat is you're not interested in a productive conversation. you're interested in harassing me.

two, i've talked to indigenous zutara shippers. i'm friends with indigenous zutara shippers. i've read what many native and indigenous shippers in this fandom have to say. i know shippers who like the fire lady katara trope, shippers who are indifferent, shippers who dislike it. what makes your opinion any more important than any of theirs? and conversely, what makes their opinion any more important than yours? no singular person can ever claim to speak for their entire community, because people of colour aren't one monolithic entity.

as a desi girl, katara's relationship with aang makes me uncomfortable because it is characterized by patterns of imbalanced emotional labour and misogyny that i frequently see within my own community. and it is my prerogative to dislike the ship because of that, just as it is for any other woc. but it is not my prerogative to say that no one else is allowed to ship kat.aang, or is racist or misogynistic just for shipping kat.aang (and indeed i know women of colour who do ship kat.aang! because our cultural background doesn't mean that we're automatically going to have the same experiences and perspectives, and that's valid).

so am i really supposed to listen to indigenous voices, anon, or am i simply supposed to listen to those that agree with you?

three, i won't deny that the fire lady katara trope can be racist. i've seen it executed in ways that make me profoundly uncomfortable, and which i will never support. but more often than not in zutara fandom and content, "fire lady" is simply the name chosen for the fire lord's female consort, one that denotes katara as zuko's equal and a powerful world leader in her own right with her own title. if the trope is executed problematically, that fault lies with the person who wrote it and their own ignorance/malice/racism - not with the trope itself.

personally, as someone whose people were colonized by the british, and whose home was subjected to japanese imperialism, i completely understand why it can feel extremely empowering and wish fulfilling to have woc in positions of power within the systems that oppressed them. if i saw a desi girl on the throne of england, you can bet i'd be the first to celebrate.

but of course that's just my opinion, so if any indigenous or native shippers have thoughts on the trope, i would love to hear what you have to say, and discuss further.

four, despite your alleged care for katara and indigenous women, anon, you have never once engaged with my criticisms of the show for its depiction of kat.aang: a relationship where katara's partner is visibly disgusted at her cultural food, acts disrespectfully towards her cultural artifacts, attempts to dissuade her from finding justice for her mother (a victim of imperialist aggression), and tries to impose his own cultural/religious beliefs upon her without considering that she a) has no obligation to follow those beliefs and b) her own culture's beliefs are vastly different. all of which, by the way, he is never shown to apologize for or learn from. add to that the fact that 2/3 of katara's children show absolutely no connection to her culture and, in fact, seem to heavily prioritize their father's instead - to the extent that all of her grandchildren seem solely air nomad instead of paying respect to both sides of their heritage - and a very troubling picture is painted.

keep in mind that this isn't some fanon trope or problematic fic created by a small subset of shippers within the fandom on an internet space meant primarily for adults; it's a canonical depiction of a romantic relationship with a woc on a show written by two white men and broadcasted to an audience of millions, targeted primarily at young, impressionable children. what are the messages being sent here, and to whom, about interracial relationships featuring indigenous women, and the role said women are expected to fulfil within those relationships?

but instead of criticizing the white creators who did that, you chose to take out your anger on me, a fellow poc descended from colonized peoples, because... i'm an easier target? because i'm accessible, and they're not? because maybe, just maybe, this isn't actually about indigenous people at all?

five, being a shipper (or an anti) isn't the same as being an activist. it just isn't. people can read and write and enjoy things in fiction that they would never support in real life (though ofc sometimes people just suck and that bleeds through into what they consume and create - but my point is that you absolutely cannot decide by their taste in fiction alone whether they are bigoted or not) because if our fictional takes translated to real life, most of us would probably be mass murderers by now. the only thing you can really judge anyone on is what they say and do and how they treat others in real life.

and you made that abundantly clear with this ask you sent me after i reblogged posts spreading awareness of the fires in hawai'i and sharing links to donate:

so just to clarify here, you would prefer that i don't use my platform to try and help actual indigenous people, people who have lost their homes and families, who are actually suffering, who actually require assistance and money and resources... because you don't like my headcanon for a fictional indigenous-coded person?

(yeah, i'm sure you'll understand why i'm skeptical about this entire crusade being in any way about the welfare of indigenous people.)

ultimately, i know none of this is going to change your mind. if you ever intended to genuinely speak out for indigenous issues, or make me see what i was doing wrong, you would have messaged me personally and stood by what you had to say. but that was never your real aim, and you know that as well as i do, so i'm certain i'll see you in my inbox again tomorrow talking about my racism or lack of accountability or whatever else you can find to disparage me.

i wish you the best. have a good day.

#the discourse #again #anti kataang

[akwolfgrl]

How sweet it is to be loved by them part 2

"Something told me to make extra this morning, and I'm glad I did. How many eggs would like?” Sanji asked, reaching into a jar filled with cloudy water and eggs.

“One is fine thank you,” Koby was so polite Makino would like him, she would visit to try and teach him and his brothers manners.

“Hmm five!” That would be a good start.

“All right,” Sanji began to cook.

“Were did you work before? You said you were a traveling chef,” Koby asked

“I pirmalily worked at the Baratie,”

“Is it the fish shaped ship?” Luffy asked, the name was familer.

“Yup have you ever been?” Sanji asked cutting up tomatoes.

“Nah, but my gramps goes thire,” Luffy told him licking his lips in atisapsion.

“What's his name?” Sanji asked.

“Garp,” Luffy informed him.

“Ohhh I know who that is, he’s the one the old geezer has a weird flirty thing going on. They talk seductively about meat,” Sanji told him, scooping meat stew onto the bread. “He eats a ton and falls asleep, good tipper respects the rules about not capturing any pirates who come as customers,”

“Yup!” Luffy laughed. That sounded just like his gramps.

“Wait Garp as in Monkey D. Garp hero of the Marines!” Koby sqeekd.

“Yah him,” Luffy confirmed, he really didn't get what the big deal was, he was just his grandpa no need for Koby to freaking out as much as he was.

“Brekasfast is served,” Sanji placed a large serving plate of food in front him and smaller plate in front Koby. Luffy dug in happily, it was even better than he remembered.

***

Luffy searched back patting his full belly after a few rounds of breakfast. It had to be one of the best meals he ever had. He couldn't wait to eat like this every day!

“Sanji!!”

“Yah?” The blonde omega turned to him from the sink, a trial of cigarette smoke above his head.

“Be my chef! I'm gonna be King of the pirates! The king of the pirates needs the best chef!” Luffy exclaimed, reaching his long stretchy limbs towards Sanji. Luffy wanted to say be my mate, but it was to soon for that. Gramps and Shankes made it clear to him that you don't blurt out that kinda stuff.

“Hmm tempting offer but I can't leave my husband,”

“Bring him to!” Luffy was sure he'd be a great idition, anything to get such a great cook!

“That shitty swordsman is a bit tied up at the moment,” Sanji explained. “The marine who controls this town let's his son do whatever the fuck he wants. He had a vicious animal as a pet that he let loose on the town. It almost tore into a little girl, I happen to be working for her mother right now. Zoro stepped in and sliced it. Mr. Assface decided that Zoro had been tied to the stocks for a month without food or water or else he'd execute the little girl and her mother. I slip I'm at night to give him a bit of food and water,”

“Zoro? Ronora Zoro!? That's great. I was looking for him!” Luffy couldn't believe his luck. “I'll kick, Mr. Assfaces ass and then you'll both join me!”

#one piece #fanfic #alpha beta omega #roronoa zoro #sanji #vinsmoke sanji #zoro #black leg sanji #zoro x sanji #zosan #married zosan #lusan #zolu #luffy x sanji #monkey d luffy #luffy #luffy x zoro #zolusan #alpha zoro #alpha luffy #omega sanji #koby one piece #How sweet it is to be loved by them

[styrmwb]

I beat Chrono Trigger

And I beat it like, nearly entirely unspoiled too. For the longest time Chrono Trigger was "The most Styrm game Styrm has never played" and I felt silly cause my super cool ADHD brain never decided it was gonna decide to play it until now (I also had to get it done before FFVII rebirth or it was NEVER gonna happen lmfao) So like, what are my onions?

The game's so fucking good, it stands up so incredibly well that I regret not getting to it sooner. The music, the story, the gameplay, the art (backgrounds and spritework), every single part of this game I absolutely adored. I can MAYBE think of like 2 things I would have changed about the game but they're so minor.

Characters

I loved every single party member. The ones with character felt so alive and enjoyable, and the ones that didn't really have much character were super fun to use in battle. Crono MIGHT be one of the most broken JRPG protags I've played as; I gave him a counter item for the whole game and he would constantly attack with high crits. Marle is one of my favorite characters; being all adventurous and shit, rejecting the stuffiness of royal society but like, not NOT caring? I like it. Plus she was instrumental in having me not die lmfao. Lucca had a really great character arc with Robo and her mother, and blowing shit up was super fun. Speaking of, Robo deserves the entire world; I would die for him. Unfortunately he didn't get as much use in my playthrough as I would have wanted, but I still dearly care for him. Ayla was a powerhouse even though i completely neglected her thief mechanic, and despite her caveman speak and relative lack of goal compared to the cast, I really appreciated her presence as I almost felt like she was a pillar For the rest of the cast. Magus was hype. I'll describe thoughts later down the list, but for his gameplay his magic annihilated battles, and the dude pretty much solo'd the Lavos boss rush. Finally; Frog. The absolute best character in the game. His design? Creative. His story? Heartbreaking yet heroic. His gameplay? Essential. I loved Frog from the moment I saw him and he was with me through thick and thin. Something I really appreciated was that HE got Masamune rather than Crono. Sure, Crono is the main character, but Frog is the hero. I love my amphibious mans.

Lavos is super cool to me. It's not really a character (but kinda is?) and more like a force of nature. I also think it's kinda conceptually funny that the main villain of this classic game is the meteor that killed the dinosaurs. I don't think I FULLY understood what it truly was, but it's a concept that I very much enjoyed.

Overall, all of the characters in this game are great. Everyone has a role, everyone is enjoyable in their own way, and I really love seeing how the time travel aspect would let you see fates of characters and their role in history.

Gameplay

I loved the lack of random battles. Every battle felt planned and like its own individual puzzle, especially with the positioning gimmick; what enemies get hit by what abilities, how do I avoid hitting this enemy with the element that heals them with my super strong AoE ability. The idea of dual and triple techs enhanced this further: am I gonna use individual turns for heals or am I gonna just have Crono and Ayla fuckin decimate the entire area?

The aspect of time travel felt overall very well used. Past experiences affecting the future, but things in the future not affecting backwards; it feels like it should be obvious it works that way but it just felt like, well executed. this paragraph proves i need to get better at writing cause ultimately I just said I liked it

I also feel like the whole beginning section with the fair leading to the trial really makes you think harder about what to pay attention to and what matters: it teaches well without shoving it in your face. Might just be because I play a lot of RPGs and this is an older one, but I was able to discern the knowledge i needed easily.

Story

So to clarify here, I know there are multiple endings, but I got two; the Die To Lavos Ending not sure why i got this one nope and the real ending; I tried to do everything that I possibly could, so that was my experience.

It's great. I kinda loved how it was less a "party vs a bad time man" and more of a "party vs a natural calamity": I feel like that's not done often in games, there's usually a big bad (which I don't hate!) but it was a nice change of pace. I absolutely loved how each timeline had its own individual struggles, and the nature of time travel made them flow together very well in small ways (like defeating Magus makes Ozzie the worshipped one). Being able to go into it unspoiled really improved the huge moments, like Magus and Crono's big events (not gonna say in case there's someone like me out there), and I very much enjoyed guessing what would be next and what would affect what.

The Only Major issue I have is the 3 party limit, and character dialogue being locked to who you have. I feel like there would have been some really cool moments had everyone been there, like the campfire scene where everyone got their time.

Music

I mean, it's peak. I've already heard some of Mitsuda's work in later games, but hearing him here do (pretty much) the whole soundtrack was just a treat to my ears. The main theme is stuck playing in my head daily. The overworld and cutscene songs I think are where it shines, although I did really like the battle songs as well. and as always shoutouts to Uematsu we love that man.

Art

Again, a short section, but this game is beautiful, and I could tell that a lot of the techniques they used felt advanced for the time, like the time travel effect, or the car race; the spritework felt bouncy and alive, the backgrounds were beautifully detailed (Like Magus's Castle holy shit), and the entire game was a joy to look at.

Unspoiled

So yeah, I beat this game unspoiled somehow. I knew a couple characters like Crono and Lavos (the fact that they Existed), I've seen some backdrops like the campfire and Masamune in its sheath, and I've heard some songs; but other than that, I didn't know anything!

(warning for spoilers if you are like me and have gotten unspoiled don't read this)

Like I said in the story, it was really fun to figure out how things would be affected by the nature of time travel, naturally figuring out side quests like Fiona, and being hit by moments that I never would have expected. I didn't think my actions at the fair would affect anything until I saw the trial which made me question everything (I'm sorry old man for eating your lunch) (twice). I remember getting what i thought was the full party cause that's what the box art was, until I noticed what I thought was a 7th party member slot, leading me to wonder when this person would join and who it is; discovering Antiquity (also a surprise to me) convinced me that the person was here, and then that said person was Boy with cat that said I was gonna die, and lo and behold I was right! But not in the way that I thought. Seeing Magus be the final member was incredibly rewarding, and I probably wouldn't have gotten him if I didn't get reality checked by my actions mattering in the trial (although I do wish he had some more party interactions and dialogue). Also close to this: I did not know Crono STRAIGHT UP dies. Like, OBVIOUSLY he was gonna come back, right? But to have that happen to your main character? Felt revolutionary for the time. Didn't think Lavos was gonna be like, a humanoid creature, and I ESPECIALLY didn't think it was gonna have a phase 2.

(ok spoilers over)

Final

I could not be happier with my experience for this game. I can absolutely see why it is considered a masterpiece, and it's clearly going to stick with me for a good long while, the rest of my life, even. My negatives are incredibly minor, really only wanting more party dialogue and interactions (and to remove Golem FUCK that fight lmfao), and for that, I can probably consider it one of my favorite RPGs.

10/10, thanks for reading my ramblings if you did.

#chrono trigger #textpost #games I beat in 2024 #jared's game ramblings

[guess-that-ship]

S8 Round 1

Sing me to sleep

cw: major spoilers, murder

A and B are childhood best friends who, after A dropped out of college, start a band together and become roommates. But one day, after coming home, A inherits new powers and is thrust into a new world filled with other beings with godlike powers. A, due to the inheritance of her new powers, is planned to be executed, but after some bargaining, A is given one week to clear her name of a crime she didn't commit.

She immediately goes to B, and tells her everything. Though B doesn't believe her at first, when she is shown proof of her friend's new powers, she is quick to help her out in any way she can. Together, they go around the new magical realm they now know of and have access to, talking to suspects and following leads. But they get too close to the truth. While investigating, A and B end up in a sticky situation, and with no other way out, B ends up sacrificing her life in order for A to survive.

Desperate to bring B back, A ventures to the underworld with the help of an ally. There, she finds B, who tells A that she must go on without her, but A refuses, and gives her powers to B, in an attempt to bring her back, which works. B is slightly frustrated with A, having been at peace with her decision and not prepared to have so much power and pressure forced upon her. B then confesses that the reason she sacrificed herself was because she was in love with A and had been for a long time, to which A then reciprocates, saying that she also has loved B for a long time. B laments over how, after her death, they aren't the same, and how she's afraid that as her powers grow, and they both change more and more, they'll stop loving each other, and how she wishes they both knew of their reciprocated feelings beforehand.

A ends up going to her trial. B comes in and stands by A's side, and using her newfound powers, helps A in clearing her name. Afterwards, B tells A that she needs more time to accept everything. 2 months later, B has had enough time to get used to her new powers, and the two give each other a chance (plus, making the decision to finally go somewhere with their band and go on tour).

March meets December, full of Joy

March is a depressed young man, whose wealthy socialite mother only really cares about the illusion of giving two shits about him, rather than actually caring about him. Here March, free car! Now go be respectable. In retaliation, his primary hobby is faking his suicide in increasingly over the top tableaus, though he also enjoys going to funerals for strangers.

At one of these funerals, he meets December, a hippy dippy counter cultural type, an anti-cop old lady who lives in a lively little decommissioned boxcar. She is able to show March a certain joy de vivre, far removed from his dreary shallow life, as they get into hijinx like when they find a tree struggling to live on a concrete sidewalk, they dig it up and steal it and a cop's motorcycle at the same time to go plant it in forest. They plot to make sure March's mother's plan to make him join the military fails as well, putting March's death-faking skills to good use with a fake murder in front of his military uncle who deems him too unstable.

Eventually, March tells December about why he started the suicide thing (there's a specific incident, alongside general parental neglect) and she shows him the sunset whilst he sees her tattoo of numbers on her arm, heavily implying she's a holocaust survivor. She teaches him to want to live and he falls for her, but she knows she is old and dying. He plans on marrying her, but she has planned her own death. When she does pass, March throws his hearse off the highway and into the sea, with him not inside. The last we see of him is walking away from the cliffs, colorfully dressed, and playing music on his banjo as he faces away from the wreckage.

#s8 #tournament poll #s8 round 1 #spoilers

[atopvisenyashill]

What the hound had not intervened, and the mountain had killed Loras Tyrell at the Hand's tourney?

i thought i’d answer this one quick off the cuff but then i was thinking about everything gregor affects and started spiraling lmao. bc for a minor, not very deep character, this man is instrumental in the mess of the riverlands, in beric’s undead journey, in tyrion’s downfall, AND in the dornish plot.

first you’ve got the fallout of killing loras bc - Mace and Renly are coming for that fuckers HEAD and Ned is gonna have a political crisis on his hands .2 seconds after showing up (besides the other 20 big ones). Considering Mace’s heir was permanently disabled by a tourney before and nothing happened to Oberyn (bc it wasn't Oberyn's fault, it was Mace's, and everyone knew it including Willas, while this one would definitely be fully on Gregor), Mace is gonna PUSH that his shining glory of a knight Loras is avenged in some way. While Robert might not want to step on his wife’s toes - and more specifically the toes of her powerful father - if Renly is pushing for a punishment for Gregor, and Mace starts making threats about it as well, Robert has a pretty good reason to throw Gregor to the wolves (or well, the wolf lol because I'm sure Ned is gonna be pissed off too). Even if Robert doesn’t want to execute Gregor, Gregor is probably in the cells by the time the rest of the plot happens, which means the Riverlands looks WILDLY different bc Gregor and his gang aren’t raping and reaving after Cat steals away with Tyrion, only Amory is, which tbf IS bad enough on its own to get Ned to send Beric, Thoros, Harwin, and the rest but that might also mean the Brotherhood is luckier in stopping some of the Lannister looting going on in the Riverlands. That definitely impacts the war effort, don't ask me how, beyond "maybe things look better in the Riverlands but maybe not."

There's also the fact that if Tywin isn't willing to give up Loras' killer, does Mace even decide to throw his lot in with the Lannisters after Renly is killed? Does he go for the Starks, maybe fancying himself as King of the Reach or tempting Robb with a "give up that Frey girl for my daughter and I'll fund your whole kingdom" offer? Does he go to Stannis, maybe offering Willas up for Shireen (she's only 3 years younger than Sansa, and marriages with bigger age gaps have happened)? Mace is certainly ambitious enough to overlook massive logistical problems (see: not even suspecting that Garlan and Olenna are trying to kill Joffrey to protect Loras from pulling a Jaime to defend Margaery when Joffrey inevitably loses his temper with her) but Loras is his pride and joy and I do wonder if cozying up with Loras' killer is too much to overlook for him.

But beyond "can Ned and Mace get this dude WHACKED without causing yet another political crisis" I would say Gregor being potentially executed or sent to the Wall (which, he's not even gonna make it to the Wall bc Yoren doesn't make it and he might recognize Arya anyway which completely fucks up her storyline) is gonna be a big issue for Dorne. For one, there’s no easy ish target for Oberyn's rage when he shows up in asos because both Amory and Gregor are dead, which only leaves the man who gave the order as an outlet for his anger. That is a political CRISIS. There's also no one to fight against Tyrion in the trial that is any sort of match for Oberyn - like we think Boros Blount is gonna defeat him? We think Meryn Trant is gonna take on The Viper? Fucking Osmund Kettleback? I don't think so.

AND THEN without Ser Robert Strong - well, not to say Cersei is fucked because Qyburn I'm sure would be more than happy to re-animate anyone's corpse but it certainly throws a wrench in her trial.

Anyways, what's that trope, Boss Disguised As Mook or something? That's Gregor. He's not the final boss but he's a boss battle you don't fully expect and he winds up impacting the plot a lot more than I expected.

#valyrianscrolls #gregor clegane #mace tyrell #loras tyrell #getting on my soap box #i'm sorry i'm never consistent in capitalizing. when i'm on a desktop i capitalize when i'm on my phone i don't #also if anyone wants to chime in feel free. this one was kinda a thinker i wasn't expecting that

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Alright, so if we filter out Plutarch and Suetonius' more dubious claims, what was Caesar up to during his early career? How did he go from "running from Sulla's death squads" to "elected praetor and pontifex maximus in the same year"?

Here's what Robert Morstein-Marx thinks he did, up till 63 BCE:

Military service in Asia Minor, during which Caesar won the corona civica - sort of like a Roman medal of honor for courage.

Got appointed to the college of pontifices in absentia, thanks to family connections on his mother's side. (Notably, this also indicates the Sullan-dominated college didn't see him as a threat for being related to Marius and Cinna.)

Prosecuted those dudes from the Sullan death squads - and so did many other senators, including Cato, who wanted to make a name for themselves. Prosecuting corruption in general was a popular tactic for newbie politicians.

Got himself elected as military tribune, then quaestor, then aedile. Although it's true Caesar spent a lot of money as aedile, and probably went into debt, this wasn't unusual for a Roman senator, and several other aediles are known to have out-spent him.

Restored Marius' monuments - and pissed off his pontifex colleague Catulus in the process. Catulus loathed Marius, but by the time of Caesar's aedileship most of the Senate and People favored moving on, and didn't see Caesar's actions as seditious.

Allied himself with Pompey - as did many others like Cicero and Gabinius. Caesar did support bills in favor of granting Pompey new commands, but he probably wasn't a notable voice at this time.

Prosecuted C. Calpurnius Piso, proconsul of Cisalpine Gaul, for allegedly violating a Roman citizen's rights. Piso was declared innocent, but this did set two patterns: 1) Caesar's support for the residents of Cisalpine Gaul, and 2) Caesar's ability to really piss off the wrong people.

Got elected praetor and pontifex maximus in the same year. This was his first really unusual success, although not without historical precedent. It also made Catulus hate Caesar for beating him in the election. Oops.

Opposed executing the Catilinarians. This was his first break with Cicero (who got over it) and Cato (who didn't). The enmity entrenched here with Cato, Catulus, Piso and Bibulus would carry on for the rest of Caesar's career.

And here's what Caesar probably didn't do:

He wasn't involved in the so-called "first" Catiline conspiracy, which appears to have never existed, either with or without Crassus as a co-conspirator.

He almost certainly wasn't involved in the real Catiline conspiracy, either. In fact, Caesar actually helped Cicero investigate it, and the accusations originated from Catulus and Piso - the same two senators who held a grudge against him. Plus, less than 3% of all senators were involved, and as an incoming praetor Caesar had no incentive to overthrow a government he would be part of.

He was not involved in the Rullan land reform bill or debt relief bill in 63 BCE, two of the more controversial popularis causes that year.

He probably wasn't the instigator for the trial of Rabirius in the same year. Although he and his cousin did serve as judges for said trial, Cicero doesn't even mention Caesar in the defense speech. Nor does the trial seem to hold much significance for Caesar's political image if, like most scholars, you believe it predates Catiline's flight from Rome. Morstein-Marx argues that it's more likely the prosecutor Labienus was acting independently, both as revenge for Rabirius' involvement in the death of Labienus' uncle, and to further his own career - remember, prosecutions were a common tool for new senators to get attention.

He probably didn't bribe his way to electoral victory. The election format of the pontifex maximus office in particular made bribery very difficult, and Caesar's opponents had plenty of motive and resources to prosecute him for it if they could form a case. Caesar's victory is better explained by his methods stated above for gaining popular support, by the fact that he'd just won the praetorship (and was fresh in people's minds), and that the other two candidates probably split the "traditionalist" vote between them.

(Robert Morstein-Marx, Julius Caesar and the Roman People, pp. 58-82.)

#jlrrt reads #julius caesar #robert morstein-marx #julius caesar and the roman people #caesarhell #quintus lutatius catulus #gaius calpurnius piso #jlrrt essays

[josefavomjaaga]

Marshal Ney in Galicia

In 1902, an author named comte de la Bédoyère (I do not know if and how related to the la Bédoyère executed in 1815) wrote a book about Marshal Michel Ney, mostly about his trial and execution. But the appendix also contains several other documents, among them excerpts from the memoirs of a certain general Béchet, Ney's aide-de-camp. The part I translated is about the first months of 1809, Ney's time in Galicia, after Napoleon in January 1809 had quit Spain for France and had left the task of conquering Portugal to his subordinates.

Marshal Soult was put in charge of this operation, in which he was to be assisted by Marshal Ney. The Marshal had sent me to Marshal Soult to discuss with him the positions which the troops of our corps would occupy as his troops moved towards Portugal. I found him near the place of Ferrol, which had not yet been surrendered (it was surrendered the next day). He didn't receive me too well, not because he resented me or even knew me, but because he wasn't on very good terms with my patron. I thought I would starve to death in that unfortunate town of Ferrol, where I had great difficulty in getting a bite to eat, as Marshal Soult had not invited me to dine with his officers.

Bad Soult! Don't kill the messenger (or in this case, don't let him starve) just because it's a messenger from Ney...

I'm unsure what the two marshals had agreed upon with regards to the placement of Ney's troops, who, as Béchet says himself, had the task to support and thus to stay in contact with Soult's corps in Portugal. However, given the two marshals were "not on very good terms" with each other, Ney probably followed a primal instinct and tried to get as much distance between himself and Soult as possible, in going north to La Coruna, while Soult went south into Portugal. Communications soon were interrupted not only with Soult's expedition corps but also with Madrid. But it seems Ney & C. did not mind too much:

Our stay in this town was not without its pleasures. Sometimes we played whist at the marshal's house at one napoleon a card. One evening I lost twenty cards, I didn't have such a large sum with me and I asked the Marshal to give me credit; he sometimes demanded them back from me in jest, I replied in the same tone, and I ended up not paying him. The Marshal, who had only rare relations with King Joseph because the roads were interrupted by the guerillas, was regarded by the Spaniards as the viceroy of the province and had all the powers.

To which I have two remarks: 1) Some people were accused of wanting to make themselves king whenever they found themselves in a similar position. Just saying. And 2) Ney and his aides were not alone in regarding the interruption of communication by guerillas as a given, and to pay little attention to it. Joseph and Jourdan in Madrid, too, waited for an explicit order from an exasperated Napoleon before sending Kellermann to reopen communications with Ney in Galicia (with Soult in Portugal there was no contact at all).

And now comes a rather ... interesting story about what "viceroy" Ney was up to in this new domain of his:

He had the idea of visiting all the women's convents, and there were many, and of telling the nuns and novices that all those who had entered them against their will could leave if they wished. It was playing the role of the tempter, but such was the spirit of the time, and we thought we were doing a meritorious work by acting in this way.

I'm sure you did, you little prick...

In a convent where the nuns had the reputation of being very fanatical, a young novice, with a charming face, threw herself crying at the feet of the Marshal and addressed him in Spanish in a speech that we still only barely understood. Our hearts went out to her, and already more than one gallant knight was offering her his services, ...

Uh-huh...

... but our interpreter told us that, on the contrary, she announced to the Marshal that the Virgin had appeared to her that night, and warned her that that very day she would obtain the dispensation of age necessary to make her vows, and that she had no doubt that the Marshal was the envoy from heaven who had come to grant her the grace she was seeking. The Marshal replied that it did not depend on him, but that he would write to the court. So much for our tender feelings. In fact, I seem to recall that only one of these ladies took advantage of the freedom offered to her; she left the convent to marry an officer who took her back to France with him.

Must have been quite a blow to the self-esteem of all those "gallant knights" trying to free poor enslaved women, for utterly unselfish reasons, of course.

#napoleon's marshals #michel ney #peninsular war #jean de dieu soult #those two again #Coruna 1809 #Galicia 1809 #chercher la femme I guess?

[d3sire-97]

Rating Every Danganronpa Trial (That I've Played.)

Please keep in mind I've only played THH and SDR2 and I am kind of biased lol. Also, this is a long rant so buckle your seatbelts... or something.

Last Place:

"CELESTIA LUDENBURG GODDAMIT!"

THH Trial 3: I hated this chapter. The search was too long, Robo-Justice plot was annoying af, I hate that Hifumi believed Celeste about Ishimaru, Kiyondo was a useless plotline (I still love his character tho) and Kiyotaka could've had kick-ass character development like Fuyuhiko got in SDR2. Instead he just... died. I hated that Celeste lost her cool, the trial was annoying, and I hated it. 1/10.

"Kyoko's a ghost!!!"

THH Trial 5: I hated this dumb plot. Shortest trial in all of Danganronpa, and yet it felt like it went the longest. Don't care about the victim, debated whether Kyoko was a ghost for... a good 15 minutes? People are dumb, the investigation kind of annoys me. The only good thing was Owada's "Crazy Diamond" pick-axe in the shed. I wouldn't re-play it at all. Boring. 2/10.

"None of us know what happened to the world, but maybe she knows..."

SDR2 Trial 6: This trial was decent, but probably not as re-playable as it could be. I liked Hajime in this trial, but I feel like we needed a bit more to go off of, playing it I didn't understand that everybody was alive. Junko fanservice was bad. Felt really dragged on, but important points were not included enough (E.G: Kamakura) I don't get Junkos' motive this time but the remnant thing was pretty cool. I would replay it, definitely not my favourite. 5/10.

"We're all remnants..."

THH Trial 6: This was also an alright trial. A bit too much Junko fanservice but I liked Genocider Syo in this trial, she was funny. I liked Junko's plan but she was quite a bland mastermind. I would've rathered Togami or Kyoko but that wouldn't make sense for the plot. Hiro did nothing in the trial again... I kind of enjoyed this one, but last trials are known to be bad so this could've been a bit higher if Enoshima could've had a better motive than "Despair, despair, I'm bored, kill my sister." Re-playable by a slim amount. 5.3/10

"I did it all... for my beloved!"

SDR2 Trial 3: Chapter three trials are known to be worse than Chp.6 because the culprit doesn't need to kill two people, but they do, they get caught, and they spam F in the chat and scream about "stupid, not fair, because, apologise" etc. I find this trial isn't as bad as everybody says, the search was confusing, Hiyoko dying was funny, and I laughed. Mikan couldn't possibly set up her locked-room murder in time and then meet Hajime in the Music Venue car park. This chapter had so many loopholes (E.G: How did Hiyoko even die?) but I liked it more than the other ones. Weak execution, but great Despair Disease motive. Might reluctantly re-play for nostalgia. 5.5/10.

"You.... all killed her! You pushed Sakura into a corner! She died because of you!"

THH Trial 4: I'm going to get hate for this one... but... I'm not a big fan of this trial. I am biased, yes, but everybody is, and this is my respectable opinion. The investigation was decent, and so was the discovery. I find that Aoi trying to kill everybody was smart but dumb at the same time, if that makes sense. I kind of got bored after THH after a certain trial (no spoilers for the rest of this list) I loved the Alter-Ego twist, and Sakura's note was great. Junko messing with the suicide note was not cool though. I would replay it but it still isn't my favourite. 6.3/10

"Hey! You can't say that without any evidence! This is bullshit! You're stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

"Heh, I guess I just have pretty good intuition!"

THH Trial 1: Okay, I LOVE THIS TRIAL- I really love this trial. When somebody says "Danganronpa" THIS is the trial I think of. It isn't the best, and it's a very short chapter compared to SDR2 Chapter 5, but oh my gosh. I love it. I liked Sayaka a lot, and I also loved "Fake Junko" before I knew she was Mukuro. I thought that Leon was really cool too. I liked the introductory trials a lot, and this one is amazing! The series starts with a bang, and you realise "Oh shit this isn't as colourful and fun as I thought." The only reason this trial isn't higher is because it was obvious and easy. When I first played THH, I admit I didn't even notice 11037 on the wall and was stuck on the investigation for like... an hour... *disappointed sigh from me* but upon re-play it's easier than I remember. I know it's for Japanese speaking users who wouldn't know Leon/11037 in English. Highly re-playable, good twists, good introductory trial. 7/10

"Good bye my four dark devas of destruction..."

SDR2 Trial 4: I'm also probably going to get backlash for this opinion, but I still LOVE this chapter. I love the island, I love the motive, I love the strawberry and grape houses, and the elevator. I love the Hajime octagon meme! But, the trial was just DIFFICULT. I actually had a laptop infront of me the whole time with the answers up- I loved Mechamaru and the Sakura statue. I love Gundham and his hampsters. A great execution, a great trial room. Silly Fuyuhiko was the only reason Gundham got caught. I like that we got to switch between Nagito and Hajime's POVs and the Russian-Roulette scene. My only issue is that I'm dumb. That's it. 8/10, very re-playable.

"P-please Peko! Don't go! I NEED YOU! Don't leave me!"

SDR2 Trial 2: Okay, we are up to the final 4 in trials, and this one takes 4th place! I love it so much! I have ALMOST nothing bad to say about this trial at all! The relationship between Fuyuhiko and Peko was shown to beautifully during this trial. The execution was amazing, the music was absolutely a banger (as always) and oh my gosh. This trial made me so sad and emotional. Very smartly set out murder plan. Enough on the trial until a little bit later, my thoughts on the island are great. It's probably my favourite island in the game. The only thing bringing this chapter down a rank is the fanservice... THE DINER SCENE. If you've played you know what I mean... anyway, the only other thing bringing this chapter down is the motive. Twilight Murder Syndrome was a game I didn't care about. I didn't care about Sato or Natsumi. I didn't care about Girls A through E or Guy F. It got too confusing and annoying and I had to write down who each character was because they kept reffering to Mikan as Girl A. It got annoying, but I enjoyed this chapter and would replay it more than once. 8.5/10

In third place we have...

"AVRIL LAVIIIIINNNNGGGGGEEEE"

SDR2 Trial 1: Uh... even I'm surprised that a guy calling us "Avril Lavinge" got third place, but here we are. I don't care much for Teruteru or Imposter/Fake Byakuya, and the execution was a little bit silly. I loved this chapter, we got introduced to the characters and their aspects much better than in THH in the man hall, it helped us explore the island and learn the new locations/controls as well as hitting us with nostalgia. I have nothing bad to say about this chapter at all. I liked that Byakuya strangely tried to take charge (which was unlike what he did in THH) and I think that his dying resulted in Hajime realising he had to get his shit together and step up. Loved the references to the first game. Great humane motive, great chapter, great fun, not too hard not too easy. I loved this trial and chapter alot. 9/10.

In second place we have...

"Yep! You got it right!. I'm just going to confess, I'm the traitor."

SDR2 Trial 5: Yeah uh... I'M SO BIASED THAT THIS ISN'T FIRST, BECAUSE THIS IS TRULY THE BEST TRIAL OUT OF THE FIRST GAMES BUT WHATEVER THIS IS MY OPINION AND MY POLL HERE WE GO!

I loved this trial. Nothing bad to say. The chapter was amazing, the new island was great, the bomb thing. Awesome! The traitor being revealed? Awesome! I cried! NAGITO DYING SO BRUTALLY? AWESOME!!! I have nothing bad to say, and I loved this trial SO SO SO much! Hajime and the others in denial about Chiaki being the traitor was such a strong plot. I wish that the last trial of SDR2 was as good as this one, but it isn't :(. Let's start with Nagito COOKING. He absolutely ate, fire, luck, the whole plan was amazing! I don't know how he or the DR2 team came up with that, but whoever did NEEDS a raise bro! I think about this trial so much, I'm so dam passionate about it. The most brutal body discovery? Check! The saddest execution? Check! The best execution music? Check! The craziest body search and evidence search? CHECK! I loved this trial so so so so so so so much, and it deserves to be number one. Fully replayable, amazing, elite! I have no issues with it. 9.5/10

And... first place... omfg-

I love this trial so much. I can't even describe. When somebody says Danganronpa, THIS is the line I think of.

"JUST SHUT UP YOU SON OF A BITCH! SAY THAT AGAIN, I DARE YOU!"

"I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise. From one man to another..."

Peak Danganronpa (In my opinion). I agree, THH is the weakest of all the Danganronpa games in characters and visually. But if every trial cooked like this one, goddamit I WISH-

THH Trial 2.

I CAN'T EVEN DESCRIBE HOW MUCH I LOVE THIS CHAPTER!

Let's start: The motive, amazing. I loved it. Imagine your most embarrassing secret. "Nobody would kill over that" you'd be surprised. I loved the bromance between Ishimaru and Owada, and the sauna scene was just hilarious. The chapter body discovery was amazing, Byakuya framing Toko for no reason JUST to get her secret out was amazing (asshole move, but amazing) Celeste not mentioning the track-jacket colour... the emotion in their voices. The body search was fun! The new floor was fun! The free time events I chose were fun! I love Mondo, I love Kiyotaka, I love Chihiro. Another humane motive. I got chills hearing Kiyotaka's voice acting. CHILLS. Even though the execution story is terrible, and a bit goofy, just imagine being liquified... your body turns to mush, your internal organs fail you... your body eats itself and crushes itself, bones and all. GODDAMIT IT'S AMAZING. I also loved Syo in this trial. Who gave Byakuya the right to be such an ass though? I love it so much, I have nothing bad to say about it. I will replay it OVER AND OVER AND OVER I LOVE IT SO MUCH! 10/10

Anyway, sorry for this long-ass shit-post. Hope you enjoyed reading my opinions. I'm bored so I'm going to rank executions next, with shorter paragraphs. This includes the executions in V3, for those of you who love Strand of Agony and Der Flohwalzer!

#danganronpa #video games #god i love this game #games #i love this game #game of all time #sdrv2 #sdr2 #danganronpa 2 #chiaki nanami #hajime hinata #nagito komaeda #danganronpa goodbye despair #sdr2 komaeda #danganronpa sdr2 #sdr2 nagito #sdr2 goodbye despair #thh #leon kuwata #drthh #celestia ludenberg #dr1 #danganronpa thh #dr thh #dr1 thh

[tobiasdrake]

AA4-2, Investigation Day 1, is such a unique investigation day. One thing the Ace Attorney brand has always excelled at is shaking things up with introductions to its cases.

Sometimes it's simple. Someone comes to the office and goes, "Hey man there's a murder will you defend" and the attorney goes "Yeah man I got you" and then we're off to conduct our trial preparations.

But other case introductions are more... unconventional. Given the circumstances, 4-2 has no choice but to be an oddball.

The Wright & Co. Law Offices don't exist anymore and, having just successfully sent his boss to prison for murder, Apollo is obviously fucking fired from Gavin & Co. So. Even though Apollo is licensed to practice law, there is no law office for a prospective client to walk into.

Which means we gotta get creative with three odd jobs in place of a typical crime investigation.

Three seemingly unrelated requests that all seem more like police work than attorney business. This sure is a weird way to introduce the second chapter of a lawyer game. The first time I played this, I was very confused and spent much of the chapter wondering when the lawyering was going to kick in. Much like how Apollo feels.

This chapter's introduction is very off-putting. Intentionally so, but I do wonder if the extremely unconventional nature of this setup is part of what alienated the player base.

Guy Eldoon, incidentally, is a pretty significant piece of Ace Attorney lore that doesn't quite come across in the American version. In the original Japanese, Maya's "burger" obsession was an obsession with "ramen". They localized it into burgers to try and make the game American back in AA1.

The series has been paying the price for the decision to localize ever since, as it's had to wind itself increasingly in knots to try and explain away how aggressively Japanese many parts of it are. One of the consequences of that decision is that Guy Eldoon loses his punch.

The reason Eldoon's Noodles is such a big deal is because this is the noodle vendor that Maya was getting all that ramen from. Her burger supplier, if you will. This man's family legacy of noodle stands is a critical piece of Ace Attorney lore, but he and his stand are also so obviously noodle-designed that it'd be impossible to try and call it a burger grill. So the bit just. Broke.

Without that vital piece of context, funny jokes like this simply don't land.

HA! It's funny because Maya is fucking obsessed with burgers ramen so of course Phoenix had a tab back in his attorney days!

Meanwhile, not to be left out, Trucy's here with the references to the good ol' days as well.

She is absolutely Phoenix's kid. She's absorbed his talent at being pedantic incorrectly on the topic of ladders.

In any case, these three seemingly unrelated events are fairly trivial to solve, but they begin to weave together the complicated tale of a bizarre and inscrutable crime spree last night that sees even the local yakuza family hit.

What makes this investigation really interesting from a creative standpoint is that all of these seemingly unrelated errands come together in the end to paint a picture of a single crime.

But. What makes it frustrating from a player standpoint is that until you become aware of that, it just feels like you're running around doing pointless errands. Ultimately, I like the idea of this case introduction more than its execution.

It ultimately becomes a huge relief when an actual client finally makes themselves known. Courtesy of Trucy having shrewd yet amoral business sense.

Trucy do not sell our services to the yakuza thank you

Too late. We're mob lawyers now. Now we get to defend this dipshit.

I particularly love Bad Badger there on his shirt. This wannabe gangster is running around wearing a cartoon mascot of a stereotypical Crime Dude as depicted in police propaganda. That's like self-identifying as the archnemesis of McGruff the Crime Dog.

I genuinely can't decide if he's trying too hard or just the right amount of hard. It's such a perfect combination of gangster edge and childish dipshit. I love his shirt so much.

In any case, once the hurdle of the opening errands is cleared, we pick up our two new additions to the game's principle cast. First being our rival prosecutor Klavier Gavin.

Gavin's intro is a little gross, gotta say. I like Gavin's role in the plot, but they're going for this suave rockstar aesthetic. He's both the "rockstar" of the court who vanquished legendary attorney Phoenix Wright seven years ago and literally a rockstar.

To that end, we see him (24) flirt with Apollo (22)...

...which is fine. But he also does it with Trucy (15).

Gross thing to call a minor, dude. Godot was a weird creep too but at least he didn't hit on underage girls. So this isn't a great first impression to the game's main plot-important rival.

Fortunately, it's quickly followed up by the triumphant return of Ema Skye, who was retconned into existence just two years before Apollo Justice's release to tease her presence in the new status quo. She immediately endears herself by being equally grossed out by Gavin.

The thing I really like about All Grow'd Up Ema is that her personality's changed from the girl we knew in Rise From the Ashes. She's still Ema where it counts.

(Hahahahaha look at it! That's it! That is the burger joint! Serving ramen, ramen, ramen, and rice ball! I bet you Maya's favorite was probably the ramen, medium grilled with tomatoes and lettuce.)

Still a determined forensic analyst at heart. But it's been nine years since last time we saw her, and she was only 16 years old when we knew her before. People change a lot between 16 and 25, so it'd be weird if she was still the same ol' Ema through and through.

Ema's here to be our new Detective Gumshoe. But the wide-eyed optimism of youth has been replaced by jaded bitterness at a career path that hasn't been so glamorous as she once imagined.

And one that has driven her to a newfound snacking habit. This is a character trait I adore. It reflects the classic stereotype of the whiskey-addicted detective worn down by life and with no more fucks to give, except her drug of choice is chocolate.

Incidentally, I had to take so many pictures of this woman eating to get that one frame where she pops the Snackoo into her mouth that now I feel like a total creep so let's move on.

Point is, Ema's new disgruntled attitude is a lot of fun, and makes for a sharp contrast against the easygoing and carefree nature of Dick Gumshoe. Though she becomes less hostile and combative with Apollo and Trucy once she learns who they are....

And though her attitude improves tremendously any chance she gets to whip out her forensic tools....

Her demeanor towards her actual job remains sour. Though we do get some explanation as to why.

With Gumshoe, the joke was always just dunking on his salary for fun. Haha, Gumshoe screwed up and now the prosecutor's angrily cutting his salary! He has to subsist on cup ramen! LOL

Which can be aggravating as a "running joke" if you know what it is to be poor.

That's not to say there wasn't more to Gumshoe's character. He was a good-natured nice guy with a tendency to miss subtle details. He liked giving his all for his "team" even though the prosecutors rarely appreciated him, but he also respected the defense and even put himself into physical danger to protect them from violence multiple times.

Gumshoe was a great character, and he will be missed.

Ema's point of friction with her job is a lot more character-driven. Because we had time to get to know her back when she was wide-eyed and optimistic, we can feel it when she expresses that this is a waste of her talents. She should be in a lab doing DNA analysis on a bloodstained knife, not picking it out of dirt and putting it in a bag for the prosecutors' office.

Ema is a welcome addition to this new cast.

With all that sorted out, there's just two characters left for the investigation day to introduce. Since we're mob lawyers now, thanks Trucy, we gotta meet the mob. We met Little Plum and her sword-concealing sweeping broom earlier. But we also need to meet the head of the yakuza with a distinctive Godfather look about him.

And our client, the ever-rebellious Wocky Kitaki desperate to make a criminal name for himself.

Though our time with them is brief, it quickly becomes apparent what our biggest conflict of this trial is going to be: Our dumbass client wants to go down for murder, because he is a child of a criminal culture who feels like he has something to prove - despite his family's efforts to convince him otherwise.

Wocky reminds me a lot of Ron DeLite. This is hardly our first time at the defense stand having to battle our own stupid client who's all too eager to confess - Something that, in actual case law, wouldn't be a thing? Like. If your client wants to plead guilty, you can't stop them. But Ace Attorney takes extreme artistic liberties with the law.

(Remember that one time when Phoenix's client fired him in the middle of a case, and for no clear reason he was allowed to remain in the courtroom and continue defending her anyway? Good times. Also, hi, Ema!)

But the difference is that Ron was a gentleman thief and Wocky's a teenage wannabe gangster, so the difference in temperament is palpable.

All in all, this investigation is... meandering. While a fun idea in theory, chasing down all these errands can easily leave the player just... waiting for the plot to start. There's a lot of busywork here, right down to Ema making you leave the crime scene to go talk to Phoenix so that you can come back and talk to Ema only this time she's cooperative.

The Kitaki family are a fun set of characters once they're introduced. Eldoon's Noodles is a significant piece of Ace Attorney lore if you're familiar enough with the non-localized version to catch it. Ema's return is a lot of fun. Trucy's charming and likable. But the connective tissue between all these things needed work, I think.

#ace attorney #ace attorney apollo justice #revisiting aa4

[brainfilehasstoppedworking]

so the core thing about it is that Taka's survival in 1-3 would both benefit the case from a mystery perspective and would help out the wider story in general

a huge thing about 1-3 that makes it suck is that it is far far too obvious. I'm not going to complain about an obvious mystery if it is compelling or is an opening mystery; I think 1-1 is a great case even despite the obvious culprit, because it has a lot of narrative weight to it, and even if it is obvious, it's the first chapter

1-3 is so obvious that almost everyone will catch on to who it is. (Funnily enough I think it's the inverse of the issue 1-2 has: that mystery is nearly unsolvable until the game spoonfeeds it via Kyoko forcing Mondo to reveal it)

Having Taka survive changes that; it goes from only one true suspect (Celeste) to two or more (Celeste, Taka, and maybe Yasuhiro too.). Additionally, having him be knocked out instead of outright killed gives him an unreliable alibi, and his unhealthy coping mechanism kicking in during the trial would cause information to get muddled

Of course, the huge reason I advocate for his survival is him in 1-4. He'd be back to a somewhat normal state on the surface, but it's clear that he's still hurting. But he seems fine, so he's gotta be, right?

At the end of 1-4, Alter Ego is executed. And that utterly devastates Taka. To the point that he's unable to speak. Not just for 1-5, but for the rest of the game. He barely speaks a word, devastated by loss.

And then, 1-6's final Nonstop Debate happens. The one where Makoto gives hope to everyone. And at that moment, that's when he lets it all out, all his anguish, his grief, his pain, his sorrow, he releases it all, but he vows to keep fighting, for the memory of his friends, for Mondo, for Chihiro, for all those lost not just in the Killing Game, but in the Tragedy as a whole

It'd be so, so impactful I think. Taka used to be my favorite DR1 character (he's now 3rd behind Chihiro and Aoi) and I still believe wholeheartedly the game benefits more from his survival than without it

YESSSS!!! YOU'RE SO RIGHT, THOUGH!!!

Like. Yeah, that gives him more pain, but it WORKS! And with Makoto re-lighting the Hope in him is just what he needs. And like. WOULD'VE BEEN SO MUCH BETTER!!! He should've been a survivor. (<- Biased.) But it'd just work perfectly.

DANGANRONPA DEVS WHYYYYY!!! WHY DID YOU KILL OFF AN AMAZING CHARACTER??? THERE WAS SO MUCH YOU COULD'VE DONE!!! AAAA

#sam's talky talks #Thanks for that! Now I'm gonna think about this as I continue to draw Kiyondo #danganronpa #danganronpa trigger happy havoc #kiyotaka ishimaru

[rosehipfield]

I know 4 death games and all of them are unique in terms of necessity to harm others and general atmosphere:

(may contain minor spoilers concerning organisation of each death game)

Danganronpa is a killing game, however, there is a choice for potential blackened whether to kill or not to kill. Responsibility, while shared with kidnappers, lies heavily on murderers' shoulders (with some exceptions), because usually it's their conscious decision to off somebody and they often even do the dirty work. What Monokuma does is he phycologically pressures students and executes the blackened. The atmoshpere is scary and distrust is thriving despite more-or-less comfortable conditions. But technically, everybody could live together without bloodshed.

In Yttd somebody will die no matter what, at least two people each main game. I feel like while participants did influence or outright choose who's turn to die came, it was simply because they had no other option. If it's not them, it's somebody else. And choosing between "somebody else 1" and "somebody else 2" is compulsory. Plus, there are plenty of dangers beside people: first trials, death attractions, traps and so on. I'd say their situation was horrible both phycologically and physically (they didn't even get to shower until Ranger permitted, as far as I remember).

In Zero escape 999 technically it would be beneficial to work together, solving puzzles and escaping through number 9 door, so I would say that these guys have the least number of reasons to be distrustful toward one another inicially as they don't exactly have to kill... On the other hand, at first choice of who gets to move forward it seems the ones left behind are doomed. They have time pressing on them, Zero explained that there were bombs inside them that can blow up under certain conditions, plus some rooms are quite dangerous. Thus, potential poor choices are consequences of both kidnappers' actions and selfish decisions of captives. And to be honest, situation is too complicated to be described because the reasons for poor choices can be too individual in comparison to other games here.

In Exit/corners kidnapper simply states that the goal is to leave the hotel, but characters are named Contestants for some reason, which gives rise to questions. What are they competing for? Do they have to be the last one standing? As they have to get out of hotel they have some basic comfort, but there wasn't enough time to truly relax. Solving puzzles seems not lethal at first but some rooms may be more perilous than others. They also have time limit of 24 hours and something else is going on with at least one of them...

#danganronpa #your turn to die #zero escape 999 #exit/corners #So many drafts to publish and this is one of them #I return with exit/corners propaganda. No I won't elaborate further what's going on there so please play the game #It's been a long time since I have written this so I forgot many details so I may be wrong somewhere

[officialyourdailyinspiration]

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

Christ’s Trial before Pilate (Mark 15:1-15)

We speak of Christ’s trial before Pilate. But really, it is Pilate’s trial before Christ that is described in our Scripture. The narrative holds up the Roman governor in such a blaze of light, that all the world can see him. The story of this trial begins in the early morning, when Jesus was led to Pilate. During the night, the religious rulers had informally condemned Him to death but they could not carry out their own sentence without bringing their prisoner to the Roman governor. This was one of the humiliating conditions of their subjection to the Romans. Meanwhile Jesus had been kept under guard during the morning hours, and had been cruelly mocked by the soldiers.

It was during this time that Peter’s denial occurred, and the pain of the disciples’ words as they fell upon Christ’s ears was more severe than all the mockeries of the heathen soldiers.

As the first streaks of dawn appeared in the east, the members of the Sanhedrin were together again to hasten the formalities, so as to get Jesus on the cross at the earliest possible moment.

When Jesus was taken to Pilate, He was bound. The rulers supposed that their cords would hold Him. Knowing as we do who this Prisoner was, we are sure that no chains of earth could have held him, if He had put forth His power, and therefore, that their bonds were useless. We understand also that this quiet submitting to be seized and led away was entirely voluntary. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, not resisting, exerting no power in His own defense, though omnipotence was His because he was laying down His life for us.

But what a strange picture this is the Son of God bound, manacled as a common prisoner, and led away under arrest! What humiliation! But did they shackle the arms of His power with their chains? Did they stain the radiance of His glory with the shame they put upon His name that day? We know that while He Himself wore chains, submitting to them He is able to break our bonds and set us free.

The rulers had told Pilate, that Jesus claimed to be a king. They thus sought to secure Pilate’s consent to His execution, as one who was disloyal to Rome. “Are You the King of the Jews?” asked the governor, referring to what His accusers had charged. Jesus did not look much like a king as He stood there, His hands tied and a cord about His neck. Pilate’s question sounds like ridicule. Yet Jesus answered calmly, “Yes, it is as you say.” Where was His kingly power ? Where was His throne ? Where did His kingdom lie? These questions are not hard to answer today. Millions now bow to Him and worship Him as King of their souls. In heaven He is honored and adored as King of kings. On earth, too, His sway is felt even where He is not acknowledged. His influence has permeated all lands. Righteousness, truth, love, and grace are the characteristics of his reign, and these qualities are entering more and more into the life of all the world.

When the chief priest accused Jesus before Pilate, Jesus made no reply. Pilate could not understand His silence, and so endeavored to induce Him to speak. “Behold how many things they witness against You.” But still He was silent. “Jesus made no reply,” the record says. We cannot too often remind ourselves of the wisdom of silence under false accusation .

It is told of one in the olden times, that when most grievously and falsely accused by enemies, he refused to give even one word of denial or to offer any proof whatever of innocence, saying that God knew all about it, and that if it was God’s will that he should live under the shame, he would do it in silence, like his Master on his trial. This is what a Christian should usually do when falsely accused, perhaps not even offering explanation.

Jesus at least answered nothing but “committed Himself to Him that judges righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). That is, He left His name, His life, and the whole matter of His vindication to His Heavenly Father. There is no spot now on His name, though He died as a malefactor. So we may trust ourselves in God’s hands when we are wrongly accused, answering nothing but committing the whole matter to Him who judge us righteously.

Pilate was aware from the beginning, that the rulers really had no case against Jesus. If he had been courageous and just, he would have delivered Him out of the hands of His enemies. But he could not forget his own personal interests, and tried in various ways to circumvent the question of decision. He saw clearly the motive of the rulers. “For he knew that the chief priest had delivered him out of ENVY.” The rulers were envious of the influence of Jesus with the people. Envy has led many to a crime. It was envy that led Cain to slay his brother Abel. It was envy that caused Joseph’s brothers to hate him and to sell him as a slave, to get him out of their way. In many a school a bright scholar is disliked and even persecuted in many ways, because of the envy of his schoolmates. In business the successful man is followed by the envy and the enmity of rivals. In society a popular young person is often assailed by those who are outshone. Many a good name is blackened by envy. We should be on our guard continually against this sinful tendency in our hearts.

One of the expedients to which Pilate resorted in his effort to release Jesus indirectly, without exerting his own authority, was to get the people to choose Him as the one prisoner to be set free at that Passover. But the rulers, determined on the death of Jesus, insisted upon the release of Barabbas, a noted criminal. “Jesus or Barabbas?” was now the question. Barabbas was a robber and murderer. He had been engaged in an insurrection against the Romans, probably was chief in the band. His condemnation was just. Jesus never had done anything, but bless men and do them good. No enemy could say a word against Him. No witness had testified that ever He had done the least unkindness to any human being. Yet the people did not hesitate in their choice. They chose the guilty, blood-stained criminal for friendly recognition and freedom and sent the pure, holy, and gentle Jesus to dishonor and death! Every one of us has to make a similar choice between Jesus, the holy, blessed, living glorious One and sin. Which are we choosing?

This determined choice of Barabbas for freedom, still left Jesus on Pilate’s hands. He was disappointed. He had hoped to get clear of deciding in His case. He was compelled now to do something, either to assert his power and set Him free or yield to the people’s clamor and send Him to the cross. “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews ?” Pilate’s question is a question which every one of us must answer we must do something with Jesus. We take Him to our hearts, to the highest place of love and honor or we must reject Him. What shall we do with Him? Before every one of us He stands waiting at our door, and we must ask and answer this very question, “What shall I do with Jesus?” He comes to us in every gentle and gracious way to be our Savior, our Friend, our Lord, our Guide and we must either accept Him or reject Him. We may postpone our answer but delay does not rid us of the question it only pushes it forward, and when we go on a little we shall meet it again. The question must be answered either by our acceptance, or by our rejection of Christ. Not accepting, is really rejecting; and, therefore, while we think we have not answered the question, we really have answered it. We should think seriously what the rejection of Christ involves. We know what it involved for Pilate. What will it involve for us? Would we crucify Him afresh?

At length Pilate yielded to the pressure of the rulers and gave sentence that Jesus should be crucified. He did it, we are told, wishing to calm the multitude. That was Pilate’s opportunity. He was the one man in all the world, who could send Jesus to the cross. No other one could do it. It was a fatal and terrible distinction that was his, among men. Whether Jesus should have justice and be set free or should die innocently, he had to settle. The Jews could not touch Jesus without Pilate’s consent.

We know what he did with his opportunity. He had not the courage to be true, to be just to protect the innocent, to maintain right. He knew well that Jesus had done nothing worthy of punishment. He struggled feebly for a time with his conscience, and then gave way, sentencing to death as a malefactor, a man he knew to be without sin or fault! Thus he lost his opportunity to do justice and to win for himself an immortality of honor. He went through the farce of washing his hands before the rulers, saying that he was not responsible. But the stain upon his soul no water could wash off; the brand of dishonor marks his name with an immortality of shame. The lesson is for us. We have our opportunity to stand for truth and right. What shall we do with Jesus, who is called the Christ?

[the-whumping-hour]

Day 2 - Solitary Confinement

@febuwhump DAY TWO ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

CW: Lab whump, isolation, vague depressive thoughts, it as a dehumanizing pronoun, threat of forced medical coma, implied revenge murder, mention of electrowhump, mention of execution, mention of starvation as a torture tactic

Notes: Welcome to the AMF! This one honestly made me insanely fucking sad. Ayeli uses she/they pronouns. Dr. Haley Chavis-Sakye is Ayeli’s personal researcher, essentially, and “Dr. Garcia”... well, let’s just say he’s a pretty important guy.

***

Really, right now, all Ayeli wants is a watch.

It’s been five days now, she thinks, if she’s been counting the meals right. It’s hard to when it’s all the same: instant mashed potatoes and cold scrambled eggs and applesauce with a new single set of plastic silverware each time. Maybe that’s a small mercy, if anything is; if not, she would’ve had to melt her restraints again to grab the spoon from the floor every time she dropped it, and who knows how many volts that would’ve cost her.

But they think they’ve had twelve meals so far, and they know they’ve eaten all but two of them– like hell were they eating without that spoon– and if the timing’s right their restraints should be opening any minute to let them go to their tiny bathroom and change their robe and kick at the walls for a few minutes and throw things at the one ceiling tile above their cot that looks a bit more fake than all the others. They know they’re being watched. They should at least get to put on a show. 

She doesn’t even know what she did. She really doesn’t. At least not anything that she hadn’t done before, with the refusal to speak and the energy surges that broke their intercom for several weeks last time. One too many times, apparently. And now she’s here.

If they stare at the light long enough, they start seeing Marcy in the afterimage. 

Three minutes later, as expected, the restraints pop open, and as expected another white robe is on the bathroom hook. She doesn’t know who’s coming in, or from where. At least they have the decency to knock her out on semi-routine intervals. In her usual room, they never have that courtesy; the moment the lights start flickering, everyone’s out with their tranqs and she’s out cold for as long as they feel the need for her to be. Here, she can’t hurt anyone. Here, the walls don’t yield when she kicks at them. She does it once, twice. It doesn’t change much.

Or, wait. There’s a hum coming from the ceiling.

It’s very faint, barely perceptible, and Ayeli realizes it must’ve started during their kicking, or before it, because nothing they ever do prompts a response anymore. Not when they tried to break the faucet off the wall yesterday, or when they screamed at the top of their lungs for ten minutes straight two days before that. No, this is a change. 

Rarely a good thing with the esteemed Alexus Metanatural Foundation.

“Ayeli Astian,” the voice is a familiar one crackling over the intercom, soaring and terrifying and every emotion at once as her leg freezes before another kick. Dr. Haley never bothers to come when she’s done something wrong. “I’ve been making your plea deal. They’ll get you out of here by Sunday.”

They can’t help it, they laugh. Alone in a white sterile room with nothing but the off-putting fake ceiling tile above them. “When the fuck is Sunday?”

There’s no answer. As expected. “There is a condition, though.” Fuck. There’s something serious here, something bad. Haley always sounds hesitant when it’s something bad.

 “They’re putting you out for three weeks.”

“...what?” 

“I'm sure this is hard for you, it’s just… Dr. Garcia needs an unconscious subject for several trials, and I… the team agreed to do this. I hope you understand. At least you’re not… aware of it. It’ll be nothing, Ayeli.”

Nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

Everything is nothing at this point.

The intercom clicks off, and Ayeli sees red. There’s no reason to scream. And they all think there’s no reason for her to do anything. Nothing but be a fake dead body.

And they think it’s bullshit.

And that’s the last thing she thinks, in fact, before something cracks, and the walls splinter with heat as the lights go out, and the ceiling tiles pop into ash.

—

“Sir, please, if I could just explain–”

“Your project just killed five people, Chavis. I’m not sure what there is to explain.”

“Listen, it’s… it’s got issues, I know, it gets scared when it’s alone, it gets scared to go to sleep–”

“Chavis, we are talking about the largest institutional threat in years. This is not a sales pitch.”

“If we could just up the power control, anything, I know you still want them as a subject…”

“No, Chavis, you know who wants it? Copán wants it. Herrets wants it. Best case, we put them on a boat and never see them again.”

“Sir, please,”

“Would you like the worst case instead?”

“Dr. Garcia, I…”

“No. Right now, it gets no energy, nothing for a week. And then we discuss action going forward.”

#febuwhump #febuwhumpday2 #solitary confinement #lab whump #medical whump #dehumanization tw #depression tw #whump #whump community #whump challenge #ayeli astian #cyres garcia #haley chavis-sakye #original writing