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project-sour-grapes · 3 years

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My Precious Entitled Career

Despite my “success,” I've come to the realization that how I approach everything is wrong.

I am a professional in tech and an artist. My friends call me patient and hardworking beyond what is expected. In high school, I was one of those never-crack-a-book honors students with a fancy scholarship. However, when I look inward, all of these good fruits seem like an accident.

I was recently let go from a tech company that your average zoomer would know the name of. There was a conflict around compensation that played out over a week or two that escalated into my being terminated. While the decisions I made were kosher with my contract and were built upon advice from other professionals who had been in my shoes, I now consider my approach to be a failure. It's important to note that I don't regret standing up for myself, as that lesson was overdue for separate reasons. However, my mindset throughout the conflict did not serve me any good and I've now seen the severity of my entitlement and self importance through a magnifying glass.

I could detail you the statistics on median pay for my job, my old company, my state, etc. I could state why the situation seemed unjust and why I felt underappreciated and fooled. Maybe it was unfair on paper, and maybe I had the right to be angry, depending on who you ask. But I don't care anymore.

Time has been plentiful for my unemployed self. I have spent it ruminating, walking, and listening to audiobooks, one of which is Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. In one chapter, Holiday details Jackie Robinson's struggles as a black man trying to play professional baseball. If anything was fair on paper, it would have been Jackie Robinson fighting back against the racists (which he did and was arrested for when he was younger). But as a professional, he was encouraged by others to ignore racism and just beat them in games. And he did. He didn’t fight anybody anymore, even though he would have been right to and those idiots would have deserved it. Being a famous baseball player and fully grown adult yet being treated like a non-human or a child is the peak of unfair. But Holiday’s book’s point is that looking past unfairness towards the mission is sometimes necessary to accomplish it.

I'm not saying my life struggle compares to Jackie Robinson's. In fact, that is exactly what I'm not saying. My "unfair" situations pale in comparison to his. He climbed Everest and I'm over here upset about an ant hill. And in some sense, I made that ant hill myself. I mean that if he can experience literal crimes and keep his head up, then I need to shut my damn mouth.

What is the correct approach to my work then? Let's rewind a bit. Full disclosure, my old approach to my life's work was this:

I am going to work myself to death for you, and if you don't give me the world in return, that is a moral failure.

Isn't that a biting statement? There is the entitlement out in the open. I'm not proud to have thought this way at all, and I'm sorry to all of you have had to put up with this mindset from me. But there it is.

Now. Where do we go from here? Well, during my unemployed ruminations over the past few weeks, I came across Dr. Alok Kanojia's (AKA HealthyGamerGG on Youtube) video on motivation, fairness, and how we're not entitled to anything. He talked about how, since life is unfair and unpredictable, we are not entitled to the results of our actions. We don't automatically have the right to the outcome of an action. We only have the actions themselves. Studying doesn’t entitle us to an A+. We are only entitled to the studying itself. That’s the way of the universe. In my old job, I prioritized work above all else. I forewent classes that I ended up failing or dropping. I begged to work overtime. I was, in the words of multiple others, "kicking ass." Then I decided I was entitled to something because of it. And I got angry when that was not satisfied. That is where I went wrong. It is true that I was promised a few things that did not come to fruition. Maybe it was morally acceptable to be angry about unfulfilled promises. But like I said, I’m done caring about that. That's not what it is about anymore.

What is it about is action. All we have in life is our actions. The more I think about what I value, the more I see the emphasis on action.

When we say to live in the present instead of the past or future, we're talking about action, since the present is the only time action can happen

When we roll our eyes at the person who says "I'm the idea guy," we're valuing action

The concept "Show, don't tell" works, because it is about action

Giving your soul to a job/person/thing who didn't even ask for it, then holding out your hand and saying "Gimme" is not about action. It is focused on outcome. Maybe it’s not fair that we can’t expect equal rewards in return for our work all the time. And on paper, it really is. Give X, get X. Seems fair and logical. But for me, for that to be the starting place and the motivation for my work no longer serves me. I’m not saying fairness isn’t a worthy goal or that it is bad. Fairness can be the outcome of a good mission. But it is not required to complete the mission. And it’s not going to be the sole motivator for my decisions, because life is grey and humans can’t always deliver on promises, through no fault of their own. What I'm not going to do anymore is throw my hands up and say, "Sorry, this is unfair so I quit.”

Where this leaves me is that I'm reconsidering my career--not only how I approach the work but the field I chose entirely. In the past, I tried to do biomedical research, but I failed. I have also enrolled and unenrolled in many an EMT class and have taken and failed Biology, Chemistry, and Physics classes repeatedly. This was all because of a hazy dream of being a doctor that has sat in the back of my mind every day.

I kept trying out this doctor dream, but I would always hit a tiny snag, exaggerate it, and give up. I have gone through about 10 multi-month cycles of this for years. And guess what the snags were:

That professor gave me a B+ instead of an A on a single exam. Pre-med education is inherently unfair, and I'm not putting up with this.

I have to study this bio concept that I probably won't even use if I become a real doctor. That's a waste of my time, so I'd rather fail/drop than learn it.

Doctors have to get up at 5am? That goes against science on sleep schedules, so I'm not going to do it.

How pissy and entitled? Who thinks like that? Me, apparently--or who I hope to be "old me."

How did I get so caught up in what is fair or unfair that I lost sight of the forest for the trees? News flash, self... everything is unfair! Gym is always packed? Unfair. Fighting cancer? Unfair. Some idiot who cares less than you do got picked for the job? Unfair. Hell, the unfairness of life is half the reason why we even get up in the morning. Name a career that isn’t about taking an unfair situation and turning it into a better one. (If you can, maybe don’t do that career.) We do stuff as humans, because it’s unfair. Or the alternative, not doing it, would be unfair. If doctors threw up their hands because disease is unfair, we’d still be fighting polio. I wouldn’t make it one second in caveman times with my old attitude. The hungry lions staring at my caveman camp don’t care what I think is fair.

So here's the mission. We are going to look unfair things in the face and still do them. Despite their unfairness. Despite the fear that something will take more than it gives. Despite the brain saying, "This is inefficient, so let's not do it at all." In fact, it's because of their unfairness that we will do them. Then we can leave them better off for someone else. Or do them better the next time. I am calling this Project Sour Grapes. It starts right now.

#sourgrapes

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

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All in the Family

Chapter 110: The Hogwarts High Inquisitor

After all the general crashing, smashing, and cursing wore off, it was nice to find themselves in a normal part of the castle such as the staff room. A game of chess had been interrupted by Frank, and all the pieces were yelling at him for it, cloaks were hung over the back of a few chairs, a stack of books anyone would peg to be McGonagall's had been overturned, and Professor Sprout had apparently been in the middle of grading a few assignments upon their entrance. Someone had even been reading the paper, Frank noticed as Alice picked up the copy with today's date. He shooed away a pawn that was still berating him and went over to see it had been covering the book, but as he picked it up he looked sharply at her instead as she gasped loud enough to drown out everybody else's mutterings.

Without prompting she read out Umbridge's new position as Hogwarts High Inquisitor, and just what exactly that was. By the end all of them had a nasty pit in their stomach, and Frank was gripping the book like it had toad slime covering it. She'd only been there one week and already had equal power to the Headmaster? What madness was this?

Sirius watched in disgust as Longbottom read the chapter title as repeat of that stupid self-imposed ruling from the toad, but announced the article was read by Harry himself and was forced to reread it, as they all knew the book wouldn't let them skip. It sounded no better the second time, like a worm digging in one ear and down the throat, but sadly gave Sirius's mind a chance to wander and go back to watching Regulus with deep contemplation.

He was chasing the lost chess pieces around, and finally came up with all the white ones, offering Peter a game, who instantly agreed. He watched the two walk away, that pit in his stomach growing.

Some instinct still wanted to go over there and stop this before it went any farther. Logic told him that these two had ended up being Death Eaters without the others' influence, wouldn't them hanging out just fast forward that process?

Then he watched Regulus laugh again, and Peter actually smiled with a kind of pride Sirius couldn't claim to have ever seen.

This whole experience had gone from weird, to kind of cool, to horrifying, to traumatizing, to now just kind of, common place. The last time he'd thought about dealing with Regulus in any capacity had been ages ago now, the Marauders' own business being blown up and finally settling into an uneasy agreement had pushed his brother far from his mind, but now watching the two, he was kicking himself more than ever for it all.

Even being forced into his company Sirius had never properly reached a hand out to Regulus, as Peter himself had once so eloquently put it. He'd begun thinking of his dorm mates as his brothers by the end of second year, and third year had all but confirmed it by the time Regulus walked into school. Peter had even sort of absently replaced Regulus in his mind, the kid brother he could give shit to but nobody else in the world could. James was his equal now, the first to turn to when he had a problem and always had a good solution. Remus even had Regulus' biting sarcasm that he wouldn't let anyone see but his real friends, otherwise he was the face of cool and calm. He'd finally admit to himself watching them now he could have two baby brothers, right?

"Padfoot?" James hopped up on the table beside him where he'd landed and never moved, watching his line of sight. He tried to hide his unease Sirius was scrutinizing the pair again. If Sirius went off again about trying to get them to stay apart, James had no idea how he could step in and stop any of it. He still found it weird himself, but neither was doing any real harm. If anything, James would have to admit the two always seemed in a better mood hanging out with each other.

"It's not too late for us, right James?" He asked quietly, eyes on Moony now as he went over to the cupboard and rubbed his hand thoughtfully along it. Harry and Ron had once hid inside it and listened to the devastating news of Ginny's death and had saved her life in impossible odds.

"No," James said instantly, even if he still wasn't entirely sure what Sirius was getting at. He, as usual, was watching Evans, sitting by Longbottom's feet with Alice and the two whispering suspiciously as Harry's lessons went through without Umbridge, yet, in History of Magic and Potions, though the later of which was still a miserable experience for all.

She hadn't defended Snivellus in some time now, he'd very pleasantly noted, and in fact as talk turned to OWL grades she hadn't even glanced up at the book through the whole class. Maybe she was finally starting to see the git he was?

Then, as the twins arrived, her eyes flickered to him and away so fast, he'd swear his eyes were playing tricks on him. She still thought he was like them, only a troublemaker and nothing more.

He didn't want to open up his own prank shop though. While a worthy cause he'd invest in, he had other goals and aspirations for his life. He'd walked away from his career advice even nurturing the idea of being an Auror. Surely she'd see that as a good thing?

"We've always made our own future," James said practically, now grinning at Moony who was hovering as close to the three as he dared, clearly very invested in this whole teacher grading outcome. None of them acknowledged him, which in itself was a kindness to the fear-filled looks he was probably expecting. "I say we keep doing that."

"Yeah?" Sirius sounded a bit hopeful now. James grinned as he shook his shoulder for emphasis.

"Yeah. You're a bloody impulsive idiot, and I'd never change that, but maybe next time you lay into them, just, think about how bad you felt last time?" He felt stupid putting it as a question, but it was more than obvious Sirius felt bad for something regarding those two in particular. The list of reasons that could be wasn't exactly short, but when James tore his eyes back away to see Sirius honestly considering his words and eyes back on Regulus and Peter, he put it together with Sirius's reaction to Percy's letter.

Sirius wanted to make amends to the two, and he didn't want it to get ripped up in his face.

He tore his eyes away from their game, Peter was winning, and grinned at him. "And you Prongs? Going to put all that practice of annoying Evans finally sink in and try something else?"

"I might," he said honestly, going in vivid detail in his mind over all the times he'd interacted with her, specifically the ones where she hadn't started calling him an arrogant birk. The ones that stuck out were when he'd stopped trying to make her laugh, oddly enough, but had just talked to her. How strange. "Worth a shot."

The two were interrupted by the book, as Umbridge entered Trelawney's class.

"Bet you a galleon someone's going to walk away from this dead," James said uneasily.

Sirius wasn't taking that bet, this was definitely going to be a horror show. It started out memorable enough for sure, Harry giving Ron the task to analyze his dream about drowning Snape gave everyone a grim laugh, even if Lily would deny any such thing. Then Umbridge started asking some routine questions that quickly devolved into Trelawney's shriek of insolence that she could not See upon command. The spectacle finally ended with Trelawney's dour announcement that Harry was to die, again, and honestly it hadn't been as bad as they thought.

"Can I still get that galleon?" Sirius asked.

"No," James huffed.

Umbridge's own lesson in fact ended up being worse, as it ended with Harry in another detention! James snarled in disgust, his hand itching to go for his wand and suspend this woman up by her ankle and leave her there for eternity if she kept doing this to his kid! Sirius was so outraged he stood up on the desk and began shouting several expletives, while Lily let her face fall into her hands. She couldn't stop herself hearing this, but she couldn't keep watching.

"I can't help but be rather impressed with him," Peter said quietly to Regulus as he watched Sirius's face start turning colors. "A lesser man would have backed down after what Harry went through, this kid's still pushing her."

"Being an idiot about it though," Regulus corrected, also frowning in concern at his brother. "You really think getting detentions would change anything but make her happier? Harry would be better off finding some other way to fight back than bowing down." He preferred the idea of getting in her good graces and destabilizing her from the inside.

"It's not as if the Order is exactly sharing how to do that," Peter disagreed, but he could definitely see Regulus's point. Both of them were very aware that if Umbridge were here now, it would be Sirius and James in those detentions and not them.

"Hopefully someone will come up with a better answer for Harry then," Regulus muttered, or the people listening to this were probably going to break the sound barrier first.

Their game forgotten, the two cringed into their seats until Remus finally came over and convinced Sirius to stop threatening for a few breaths or they'd never hear the end of it. Harry's new Quidditch captain and even McGonagall adding insult to injury was improving no one's mood though.

Still, it was nice to see Sirius's temper lash out at someone else for a change, Peter and Regulus even found themselves smiling a bit as the three's not so quiet mutters of what kind of pranks they'd be doing to that Umbridge filtered in the room.

Lily found herself listening grimly to the lot rather than Umbridge and McGonagall's back and forth. It deeply bothered her she found no ill will for listening in detail to their horrible pranking, but was she any better when she'd just been imagining slipping in a slow-acting poison into her next meal?

At least she'd only been imagining it...right? She warred with herself just how far she'd go to put a stop to this, if her own hand was being cut open, if some little first-year's was. The idea of having children was still above her, but she wouldn't deny she felt protective of Harry enough she wasn't going to stop the Marauders if they got the chance of meeting her any time when they got back.

It didn't make their vile ways of doing these kinds of things to anyone that annoyed them any better, especially Sev, but this was also not the first time she understood why they did it. It scared her just as much as her own wavering answer she realized she was actually starting to understand those idiots.

Frank found that things only continued to get worse as Umbridge followed Harry to his next class, Care of Magical Creatures. When Harry was given yet another detention for defending Hagrid from Malfoy's past stupid mistake, he had to fight the urge to join in with Lily this time as she cursed vividly, though not as loudly as Black started doing all over again.

This was beyond disgusting, his Mum would never stand for this happening in Hogwarts! Then Frank looked miserably at Lily, and glanced sadly at the godfather, and reminded himself Harry didn't have anyone to really go to this with.

When Hermione brought up the subject of them just learning Defense Against the Dark Arts straight from Harry, he and Alice exchanged another terrified look. It was such a singular moment to them, they didn't even register anyone else's reaction, this was their own bubble of worry.

Neither had spoken of it because the book itself hadn't, but what if Neville started getting these detentions as well? Was Harry the only one here? Doing this to him was bad enough they already wished someone would step in, but it seemed a disaster waiting to happen if Neville, Ron, Hermione, those twins, and a host of other students were to join Harry.

Frank still remembered Luna Lovegood and Ernie Macmillan declaring themselves publicly believing Harry, and he fidgeted with unease if Harry would still think he was in the right if those around him started suffering his same punishment.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #reading the books #HP #OotP #Wolfstar #Jilly #James Potter #Marauders #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Peter Pettigrew #Frank Longbottom #alice Smith #Lily Evans

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ailuronymy · 4 years

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Book Club: Tallstar’s Revenge, chpt. 19-27 overview.

Meta analysis of Erin Hunter writing tropes and trends, courtesy of two acclaimed e-sports commentators:

“[Erin Hunter is] like, we need these characters to seem smart, so they will be the ones to call out all the bullshit. But they [the writers] don't go, wait, why is the bullshit even happening, it doesn’t make sense, and then write something better in the first place. I guess because we read these books on such a meta level so often, it really feels like watching one person play ping-pong against themselves, but one persona needs to look good so the other persona keeps giving themselves wedgies at the table and holding the paddle the wrong way. Which is... less impressive overall than just watching a nice normal game of ping-pong.” - S.

“Erin Hunter, about to self-own: I'm gonna pull what's called a pro-gamer move,” - K.

“Literally! I can’t get past it. I know both players are you, Erin Hunter. I can see you putting on your dunce hat and walking to the other end of the table. You’re not tricking me.” - S.

This week we’re discussing this chapter through these nine questions. Please feel welcome to do the same and @ailuronymy + use the tag #ailuronymy writing challenge. Happy reading and I’m looking forward to seeing your feelings about this book.

1. First impressions?

K. Oh boy. Lots of emotions, lots of rollercoaster moments. I'm actively hating the things that are happening, all the time, forever.

S. Mood. I would say actively detesting what's happening is the primary emotion now.

2. How did you feel reading this section?

S. Very much bounced between anger and frustration, with moments of genuine delight. Very much extreme ends of the negative and positive spectrum.

K. I don't think I've been more confused and full of pure venom in my life. As a writer I am appalled, and as a reader I am... so uncertain. The good bits were truly lovely to read, though. They made it feel worthwhile, when they shone through.

3. What chapter did you find most interesting/moving/effective, and why?

S. I think it's got to be the conversation with Heatherstar and Barkface. I think that most hooked me. I was also interested with the Flailfoot conversation, although I hated the turn it took. It will be different in my version.

K. Chapter Twenty is the one that actively had me yelling aloud. I was so ready for the Erins to make Tallpaw a tunneller out of sheer fear, and so to see the back-to-back catharsis of Heatherstar disbanding the tunnellers and then Dawnstripe being so A+... god. It got me good.

4. What chapter did you find least interesting/effective/most frustrating, and why?

K. I honestly blue-screened throughout all of Chapter Twenty-Seven, the last chapter. Without anything happening at all, I saw a swathe of unending, dull descriptive text and my mind just blacked out to save me from comprehending any of it.

S. Was that the moonstone one?

K. Nope, that's like, the very last chapter of our reading. When he leaves the Clan and finds some rogue cat to lead him in the direction of a house.

S. Oh right. I forgot that too. I'm going to go with the Moonstone chapter, though. I fell asleep and dreamed of a better book for that whole time.

5. Is there a passage that stuck in your mind–for good, or not-so-good reasons? What is it, and why did it stand out? Try breaking it down and analysing what this passage does and how.

S. There were several things in this chapter I loved and that really resonated with my concept of Tallpaw and my writing.

S. “He’d be a warrior soon, then a senior warrior like Hareflight. One day he’d be an elder, limping like Whiteberry and sharing stories from moons ago with his denmates. Above the vast sky stretched toward distant horizon. The Clan looked small and fragile beneath it. Was this it? His life laid out before him like an old story, told again and again through countless moons? Tallpaw’s chest tightened. Suddenly he felt trapped, as though he were in the tunnels once again.”

S. “A thought flashed in his mind. We’re just visitors, like the rogues. We arrive, we eat, we sleep, and then we move on to StarClan. The only difference was that Clan cats stayed in one place their whole life. I’ll only ever see heather and grass and sky. Tallpaw felt WindClan’s borders pressing closer.” I loved this kind of thinking showing up in the story, and I’d have loved way more of this and far far less of literally everything else. You could honestly cut out all of the Sandgorse angst and just lean into this, because it's good and it's real.

S. I also lost my whole mind at this bit: “They’re survivors, like you,” Barkpaw purred. They walked in silence for a while. Talltail gently steered his friend toward Outlook Rock. “I love this view,” he mewed as he led Barkpaw out across the stone. Barkpaw peered into the night-shadowed valley. “Why? Everything is so dark and far away.” Talltail sat down, beckoning Barkpaw to sit beside him with a flick of his tail. “Just wait.” “For what?” The sky was growing pale as the sun pushed up toward the horizon behind them. Glancing over his shoulder, Talltail saw weak rays seeping through the bare branches of ThunderClan’s forest. “You’ll see in a moment,” he told Barkpaw. As he spoke, the sun lifted above the trees. Sunlight swept the moor and lit up the tips of Highstones. S. I was basically like fist-pumping. Canonical evidence that dawn is Tallstar's favourite time of day. I didn't know this before I wrote my other story, but damn it feels good. I love when things line up serendipitously like that.

K. Absolutely. Those felt so good to read. Not a very long passage, but: “How could his Clan be so unfeeling?” — This isn’t a galaxy brain take or anything, but I do love how evident it is that Tallpaw is just. Solidly projecting his own feelings onto everyone else. They’re not unfeeling, dog! You are!!

6. What themes have you noticed in this section? Are these themes a continuation of the themes you noticed in the first section, or has the story’s focus changed since then?

S. In the first chunk, I picked out "division" as a theme. And that feels very true still, as far as what's happening in the story. It's even more emphatic, with Palebird pushing Talltail out of her family (or so he feels, and with reason, in my opinion) and his self-imposed removal from the clan.

K. "Desire" might also be poignant for this section, actually. Talltail's desire to go off on his own, Barkface's desire for Talltail to be happy, so many other background characters doing something with their lives to have a new start (while Talltail broods).

S. Yes! I agree there. It's actually pretty interesting how the clan's unity in the face of tragedy and their kinship with the visitors is actually a big catalyst for Talltail to feel that division happening. The more together they are, the more apart he feels. I think desire is true of this too. There's--as always--a lot of emphasis on individuality, and choosing your own destiny and doing what you want. It reminds me of that line from Hawkheart that I really liked, how every cat has to choose their destiny.

7. If you were going to learn a lesson from this section, what lesson would it be? What message stands out to you most clearly? Do you agree with it?

S. I think insofar as I can glean a lesson from this section, I'd go with learning from Heatherstar: sometimes it will be difficult to help people and they might resent you for it, but if you have the power to make a positive change, you should act, even though it's hard. S. That feels very appropriate, given the state of the world right now. So many people are angry that authority figures are telling them to stay home and prevent the spread of COVID, and are resenting the very people who are trying to save their lives. I can see that same issue playing out so clearly in these chapters, after the death of Sandgorse in the tunnels.

K. Absolutely. It's so, so easy to direct anger towards something or someone tangible, rather than accepting that there are things that Just Happen and there's nothing you can do about it.

K. I was going to say something very similar: the things you need to make yourself better aren't always the things you want to hear. So many people try to help guide Talltail away from his anger or towards other, much healthier ways of thinking -- all of them trying to tell him he doesn't HAVE to be a tunneler is one moment -- and he just HATES hearing it, every time. He doesn't want to accept it. It feels better to be in his emotions about it, even if that's most obviously the worst thing he could be doing for himself and for others. Sometimes you just have to let other people give you the honest to god vibe check and learn to put your heart down for a bit, to see what you need to see.

S. Definitely. I feel that getting better necessitates taking responsibility for yourself. It seems like Talltail is resisting that, maybe because it's difficult to be honest with yourself. If you try, you risk failing. And the problem with any kind of self-improvement or recovery is that it's overall made up of little moments of trying to be better every day. That's so much failure to face, it can feel insurmountable. Whereas one grand gesture of revenge? So much easier. Anger is a motivating emotion, so if you stay in anger, you can often get things done. But anger is also an emotion that makes it harder to react with patience or think clearly. A double-edged sword, if you will.

K. Absolutely. Pinning "if I complete X Task, I will feel better and fix myself" on some big goal is way easier.

S. I think that's what's happening for him at this time. He's not willing to do the mundane, scary work of trying to be better each day, and is going for something he thinks will alleviate guilt instead. But of course it won't.

8. The title of this novel is Tallstar’s Revenge. How do you feel about that title so far? Does it reflect the content of the story well, or would you choose a different title? What alternative title would you suggest?

S. I personally feel the title sets up the story poorly. Because I knew it was hinged around revenge, I was alert and looking for it from the start. I was paying attention to potential betrayals or crimes, so on. And when I realised this extremely unlikeable awful character, Sandgorse, was the catalyst, I got real mad.

K. I don't even know what better title would work, since I'm honestly not very fond of the Super Editions titles. They just... all do the same, on-the-nose shit and it makes it very boring from the start.

S. I think if we were allowed to tweak it a little, The Forgiveness of Tallstar, would be a title I would potentially enjoy more. There's an ambiguity to it, re: who is being forgiven. Is it Tallstar who needs to be forgiven, or is it Tallstar doing the forgiving. And I think you could thematically tie that in so much better to the kinds of beats this story is already showing up.

K. The only like, quote from the book that I think you could mangle into a title is "We guard the edge of the world," which like... I dunno, having something like "On The Edge" included in there feels right. The book's obviously full of big tension and drama within Windclan, while also noting that they literally are on the fringe of Clan territory.

S. I think maybe Beyond the Edge of the World? Since that’s essentially where Tallstar’s journey takes him?

K. Yeah!

9. Many of us read because we’re curious to find out what’s next. How has curiosity featured in your experience of this book? What’s motivated you to keep reading?

K. Hoo boy. Honestly, half of the reason I'm reading is just with crossed fingers that somehow, SOMEHOW, Talltail becomes better. I know he must. He has to.

S. For me, curiosity is a big part of why I'm reading--and continuing to read--this book. I want to know what happens next! I'm just usually expecting not to like it.

Final notes:

K. I'm excited for Jake to show up, because I feel that'll help break up whatever the hell Talltail is doing. He needs an excitable twink to break him from the evil fog he's in. S. I don't know if Jake is a twink, honestly. K. Oh, very true. We do love a good himbo. S. He's a bit of a rolypoly boy, according to the wiki. K. OH, even better. K. I forgot that Talltail is the twink. S. He's just a long sad string bean.

K. I AM APALLED AT THIS TURN OF EVENTS, ERIN K. This book is… it’s like being consistently starved to death and then given like, a single apple slice and going ravenous for it. There are so many moments that FEEL great (even if they’re not miraculous, writing or content wise), almost solely because so many things that precede them straight up cause my reader brain to flatline. The despicable one-two punch of Chapter Nineteen into the handful of great moments in Chapter Twenty makes me feel like I’m being waterboarded by Erin Hunter. K. Erin Hunter, holding my head down into the waters of godawful content, before yanking me up for air to see Heatherstar and Dawnstripe saying Good Things just to shove me in again. S. I can't disagree with you. S. I genuinely had moments of going "yeah!!!" followed by "NO!!!" like that one John Mulaney skit.

S. Anyway, I'd like to start us off with a familiar old Erin Hunter classic theme, quoting my notes: - "Is it even a Warriors novel without multiple birth scenes?" - "Oh excellent another peripheral birth scene, I felt that there wasn’t quite enough in this book so far" S. If I don't have multiple women moaning and/or shrieking and/or groaning from birthing pains in my Warriors novels, I'd be devastated. K. It'd break the immersion.

K. I am very happy to see Deadfoot on the scene though, even though he shows up for like. .5 seconds before he's gone. A very good and lovely baby boy. S. “Tallpaw turned back and tucked his nose under the black tom’s belly. “Hang on!” he warned, flipping the kit onto his shoulders. Tallpaw purred as the young kit dug his tiny claws into his pelt, and carried him over to his littermates.” uhhhh what the fuck K. YUP K. Y U P K. HEY ERIN S. Let me just uhhh toss this child like a sack of potatoes over my cat shoulder real quick. K. Tiny Tim over here S. I lost it. I'm like, you really don't care what cat bodies can do, do you? K. Erin Hunter: hmmm what if we just pepper in some wack shit. Like, what if it's just. Nonsensical as fuck. Who's gonna tell us we can't? Harper Collins? S. And the answer is: of fucking course not, kitty kung fu time.

K. “You’ve turned mean, Tallpaw,” Reena spat. “ That’s why you’ve got no friends anymore. Whenever a cat comes near you, you bite their head off.” “So?” Tallpaw hissed. “At least I don’t kill them.” “See what I mean?” Reena’s gaze hardened. “Why don’t you talk to me once you’ve finished feeling sorry for yourself?” — God I love Reena, calling it like it is. S. Mood, but also: hate Erin Hunter for doing this to him, over Sandgorse. K. "Flailfoot is trying to reason for a Sandgorse Redemption Arc and I will NOT be having it, you LOSE sir, GOOD DAY," S. Note two from my notes page: "I DON’T CARE ABOUT SANDGORSE" S. Gets abused by father. Father dies in what is objectively an accident caused by his own defiance and hubris. ??? Goes on a hateful revenge spiral to try and make daddy proud. K. The worst part is that, unlike Bluestar's which was a fucking awful mess the entire way through, this one gives us just enough to show that the Erins are capable of like. SOMETHING. They can write okay things! They know what they're handing us is bullshit and they do it anyway! It's infuriating. S. From a writing perspective, it's kind of fascinating to see this all happen, because like. What a fucking horrorshow. S. Really feeling in this moment for the people who think Erin Hunter is a good writer. They're getting swindled on Sherlock is Garbage and Here's Why levels. S. Where's the secret good fourth episode, Erin???

K. “Tallpaw’s wish to learn the skills that led to his father’s death shows true courage.” — HEATHERSTAR WITH THE PREMIUM ROASTS K. Followed by: image: “fuck them [tunnels]” K. “Shrewpaw!” Dawnstripe glared at the apprentice. “Show some respect to your Clanmate.” Hareflight joined them. “Stop teasing him, Shrewpaw!” “This has gone beyond teasing!” Dawnstripe snapped. “If Shrewpaw were my apprentice, I’d claw his ears.” — HOLY FUCK, GET HIM K. The fact that nobody has noticed Shrewpaw using his claws during training is fucking ridiculous, though. He's done it the whole book, Erin. They would know. They would know. S. Admittedly don't love how everyone's concept of discipline is straight to violence, but we'll overlook that, I guess. K. I understand that like, bullying is something that can go unseen very often, but like. Come on, man. S. Yeah. It's like wearing knuckledusters to a playground fight. Hard to overlook.

S. It's what happens when your characters don't have internal worlds. They're just props standing there until you need them, not people watching and listening to what you're writing right in front of them. S. The problem with Erin Hunter's writing for me is that by this point it's hard to read their female characters generously. S. Most of the time I can go, "okay but if we pretend this woman is real, what rich inner world does she experience?" and try to pick up where lazy writers leave off, but like... Erin Hunter's characters are so vapid. K. It's horrible to read. It's just the worst. S. Not just the female characters, but especially the female characters. And I hate it. K. I'm genuinely surprised that Dawnstripe and Heatherstar haven't been mangled already, but honestly, half of my rage at this book comes from their moments, because it shows that the Erins know exactly what they're doing and how bad this fucking plot is. K. Two major background characters are constantly talking about how things Should Not Be The Way They Are, and it just makes me wanna bang my head on a wall. I know you can see the elephant in the room, Erin. You know this. You know the bad things you're making. S. I genuinely feel that’s why they do it. They make bad plots because it’s easier to make certain characters seem smart or likeable if everyone’s a rude idiot. S. They’re like, we need these characters to seem smart, so they will be the ones to call out all the bullshit. But they [the writers] don't go, wait, why is the bullshit even happening, it doesn’t make sense, and then write something better in the first place. S. I guess because we read these books on such a meta level so often, it really feels like watching one person play ping-pong against themselves, but one persona needs to look good so the other persona keeps giving themselves wedgies at the table and holding the paddle the wrong way. K. FUCK, THAT'S EXACTLY IT S. Which is... less impressive overall than just watching a nice normal game of ping-pong. K. Erin Hunter, about to self-own: I'm gonna pull what's called a pro-gamer move, S. I just can't get past it. S. I know both players are you, Erin Hunter. I can see you putting on your dunce hat and walking to the other end of the table. S. It makes it really hard to sink into the story. Whenever something stupid happens, I'm brutally yanked out of the narrative, and it's happening constantly at this point, because of the direction they're taking Tallpaw. S. I've tried to like, put that aside and imagine his perspective, but it's so challenging for me to envision an experience where I'm a nice boy on a moor with an idiot backwards dad who bullies me and tries to control my life with emotional manipulation and disregard for authority, and then he dies of the thing everyone was saying was super dangerous and off-limits, and then I lose my mind because I didn't make him proud while he was alive (which he's not anymore, because of tunnelling) so I need to do the thing that killed him (which is tunnelling). S. Tallpaw can't be smart and also have this characterisation for me. It's too incongruent.

#ailuronymy book club #hope you're all having a good time reading along! as always if you'd like to share your work please @ this blog. happy reading!

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gwidener · 5 years

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Kingdom Hearts III - Some Thoughts

I am coming to KH3 as a pretty big KH fan. I have followed Nomura's Wild Ride for a long time - multiple clears on KH1, then Chain of Memories KH2, KH2FM+, and BbS all comfortably under my belt. I tried 358/2 Days but it never clicked for me, got frustrated with Dream Drop Distance, and have never played the mobile game (but it looks like everyone is going to be checking it out, so maybe SE got what they wanted!); I am not a speed runner or everything, but have comfortably finished the games on their hardest difficulties and beaten most of the secret bosses (I actually still need to go back to KH2FM+ and finish the Data fights, but I have that save file on PS3, which is kind of a pain to go back to now. ANYWAY)

Going to try to go through gameplay first, then story stuff, so the major spoilers should be backloaded?

One of my better notes is that KH3 plays more like a KH2 than KH2. I stand behind this now, another 10 hours later; KH2 is much more refined and takes the battle system in subtly more interesting directions than 3 does. To beat the hardest fights in KH2 (and also BbS) I sometimes found myself taking combo extensions off and working my way back in the abilities to find which ones were leaving me open to new attack chains from these harder fights. KH3 does not have this. Turn everything on and level a bit and you will get through fine; I need to start running through the gates but from what I have seen this is going to pretty much be the case all around, and that is disappointing from a series that has given high-level combat a puzzle box in the past.

For someone who lost their strength and abilities, Sora is pretty powerful even early on. Formchanges are really good and probably the one thing I think this game handles better than past titles - KH2s forms often felt random in terms of triggering and not always very useful until they were leveled up.

That leads me to the attractions: they aren't really possible to use in a really strategic way other than giving you time where it is hard for enemies to hit you to let your MP recharge. I often used my formchange animations in the same way; free hits from an animation that leaves Sora in an invincible state. These are a big part of why the game feels so easy. (Kupo coins also make the game feel really really easy, but when you can just hit retry on the battle anyway, I don't think it really is actually easier.)

Outside of combat, I don't know how much really needs to be deeply looked at in a wrap-up post anyway: the gummi ship design is disappointingly regressive, but a good source of extra stuff to do; the secret emblems could have been really cool but end up being frustrating and a bad gate to the secret movie; the worlds are mostly really well-built and designed but some are way too long (Arendelle, for example, has a ton of variation in feel and how the player is guided but it is wasted when you are spending so long looking at the same color palette) and some are so disappointingly short - in particular, it is fun to run around in San Fransokyo but it is so small and really should have had a little more to it or been moved back in the game so that you feel more like you accomplished something heading into the game putting you on the track to the ending. Still, though, the worlds are far above what they have been in the past, to the point where I noted the Map Directors name in the credits (shoutouts to Yoh Miyazaki!)

One more thing I think I can get away with without being an explicit story spoiler is after 0.2 and KH3 I never, ever want to fight a Demon Tower again.

Alright, story spoilers follow.

Last warning.

Kairi is completely fucking wasted. I could write at least five paragraphs about how frustrating all the other keyblade wielders not really being a part of the majority of the game is but Kairi's story still being the same as it has been forever despite her being empowered with a Keyblade is just infuriating. Someone slap Nomura for this shit. It is glaringly bad in the face of almost everything else.

KH3 is as poorly paced as any of the previous games, but it is more frustrating here for some reason. A lot of this has to do with how much of this act of the overall KH story being in previous games - Dream Drop Distance and BbS 0.2 really are the first big chunk of KH3, which is extra comical because KH3 opens claiming itself as KH2.9. But really, the player and Sora do not achieve anything until the journey through the Disney worlds is over; the only real reason to have the recovery of these other characters start occurring in the final moments of the game is to stack emotion on top of emotion to ensure the reaction they want from the player. But these moments are going to be stacked with gravity wherever they fall in the game. If Kairi and Axel were to join up with Sora, Donald, and Goofy midway to tackle a considerable enemy or something, it would push the player more while giving them some reward halfway. Ultimately you get sick of the carrot on the stick only being at the very end of this journey.

Speaking of DDD and 0.2, the 2.9 portion of this - and those moments being split into their own games - feel like Nomura way overcorrecting from criticism of the KH2 opening being too long and somewhat boring. It *was* too long and kinda boring but that let Roxas build as a real mystery and something intriguing; KH3 forgoes that, putting those mysteries in other places, so that it can focus on a bombastic opening that draws players in from a gameplay sense. And it works! Olympus is really cool! But it is just one of several long pieces of nothing in terms of the overall story.

Similarly, stacking all of the real boss fights in the endgame kind of cheapens them as characters with regards to 3. I know the fight against Xemnas, Ansem, and Young Xehanort is cool as fuck because I have played the games to know that but if you are just coming to 3, these guys showed up to tease you a couple times and said some vaguely threatening shit in cutscenes. Not giving active confrontation to these enemies earlier on torpedoes the emotional resonance of the fights later, instead of adding to them which could have been the idea behind holding them all back.

So much of what happens in the end is not just predictable but the game straight up tells you it is coming. And any conclusion in this vein will feel like that, so it seems like I am grading it on a curve when I tell you that I did ultimately like the game and how it carried itself despite the above. But if it pulls too many twists on you, it would feel like it is moving the goalposts away from you but both you and the game know it has to go down.

It feels like I am being a little more negative than I mean so let me dive into something real quick that I absolutely enjoyed: the emphasis on Sora, Donald, and Goofy as a team and that being the way you spend the majority of your time in the KH universe. It feels like Nomura and his team read my exact criticism of old KH games for always having a final battle that is so laden with new mechanics and loss of abilities; having Donald and Goofy along when you go to Scala ad Caelum and for the majority of the final run of battles really makes it feel like you have come all this way together and that Sora draws strength from that (which buoys that as a theme as well.)

Finally (for now, I may revisit my notes later) so much of what happens before the credits roll feels kind of crappy. If you have played BbS, you kind of know Xehanort hasn't always been irredeemable shit, but having Eraqus show up and essentially forgive him, and having Xehanort hand Sora the x-blade, put positive feelings on a character that absolutely doesn't deserve it. He has murdered for his goals and had others do the same, throughout fucking time. He is a shithead and him getting to stand up and somewhat willingly hand power over after his defeat knocks the wind out of Sora as the powerful figure he is and should be at this point of his journey. Make no mistake: at the end of KH3, Sora is by far the most powerful character we have seen in Kingdom Hearts. He takes down a Xehanort over multiple forms who has the x-blade and has opened Kingdom Hearts; he reassembles his own consciousness and heart and body which is something nobody should be able to do, according to Chirithy. Xehanort does acknowledge this, but it still plays at deference to Xehanort instead of glorifying Sora and his success.

I know I said finally but secret ending stuff too:

I hope you like long stories is A HILARIOUS LINE in a KH ending. Looking forward to learning why Riku and Sora are in the Shibuya from The World Ends With You and why on earth the dude from Verum Rex and YET ANOTHER PERSON IN THAT COAT are there like what the fuck. Is this the only way Nomura can get to make another TWEWY because *I am okay with this*

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thetirisfaltheatretroupe · 6 years

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This Month in the TTT (February, 2018)

Hello, folks! Atos Sunart here! The Tirisfal Theatre Troupe had a great opening month, with two performances at the Midwinter Revelry event (which, by the way, was fantastic - I’ll be posting screenshots shortly) and appearances all month! February’s events are a bit more spread out, but we’ve got plenty of exciting things to share with you all! And, in anticipation of our new Shal’dorei and Highmountain allies, we’ll be having a recruitment event this month as well! If you or someone whom you know is interested in joining the Tirisfal Theatre, send them our way, or just tag them! We’d love to hear from anyone who wishes to join!

Without further delay, here’s what we have for February, 2018!

Improv Night at the Darkmoon Faire (February 5th, 8:00 PM server time following the ETC stage performance)

The Tirisfal Theatre prides itself on always trying to raise the bar on our larger events, but one thing we’ve lost in recent months is our willingness to do smaller events. A return to form, the Improv Night event will be taking place at the Darkmoon Faire upon the ETC stage down by the docks following their eight-o-clock performance, where we will play improv games to entertain the masses, and even call up audience participants! There will be laughs, music, and prizes, so you don’t want to miss out!

The Wooination: The Great Flirt-off of the Horde (February 7th, 7:30 PM server time, Court of the Sun, Silvermoon City)

Dust off that book of pick up lines you never used at the bar, and get ready to put it to use to earn you some gold! The Tirisfal Theatre will be putting forth some of Azeroth’s most dangerous and famous figureheads in a contest where you, the audience, lines up to flirt for a date with destiny! You’ll have one-and-a-half minute to try and win over the heart of some rather intimidating folks for a chance to win 10,000 gold! Best part, there’s no sign up needed! So stay for a round and see if the embarassment of being shot down is worth the (completely free) risk of standing in line for a bit and standing before the likes of, say, Jaina Proudmoore just to tell her how you think she’s a bombshell. Then proceed to be frozen solid for your hubris. The event begins at 7:30 PM server time on Wednesday, February 7th in the Court of the Sun!

Beautiful Beast (February 9th, 8:20 PM server time, Ruins of Lordaeron) (Encore on February 10th, 8:20 PM server time, Ruins of Lordaeron)

It’s a tale as old as time! An old Lordaeronean story brought to life upon the moonlit stage of the Ruins, come bear witness as a lonely and angry nobleman who is cursed to a lonely existence as a hideous brute finds love in a merchant’s daughter. When he realizes love cannot be won through cruelty and command, will he let her go and suffer the consequences of his actions? Or will he hold on to this canary in a cage?

If you can’t make the Friday opening night, catch the encore the night after!

Tirisfal Theatre Troupe Auditions (February 16th, 17th, and 18th, 7:30 PM server time to 10 PM)

Are you a motivated, reliable person with a creative streak that just won’t quit? Do you desire to reach above and beyond to create unique experiences for those around you? Do you dream of a life in the spotlight, with hundreds of men or women swooning over the very mention of your name?

If you answered yes to one or all of these things, the Tirisfal Theatre may be the right home for YOU! Priding ourselves on four plus years of performing original plays for the denizens of the realm of Wyrmrest Accord and beyond, we are a lighthearted, fun RP environment with a unique premise and history, centered entirely around the idea of being a performing arts and entertainment troupe!

Should you desire to be a part of this experience, simply send a message to this tumblr OR an in-game letter to Atos-Wyrmrest Accord that you are interested in joining, and simply select a date from the Audition dates that you are most likely to show up. You will be granted, upon us receiving your letter, a link to a few scripts that you may alter and pre-segment for your audition, and will have time to practice and add your own unique flair and timing to. Your goal is simply to WOW us, to make us know that you are right for the job.

Applications should meet the following requirements;

Be able to make most major events, which take place on Fridays and Saturdays (generally around 7:30-8:20 PM Wyrmrest Accord realm time)

Be flexible with your posting style. While we use endless chat in idle roleplay, we put an emphasis on spacing our posts more and dolling them up in our plays (Only putting actions in emotes, dialogue strictly in /s, parting lines so that you never have to use dashes to connect two separate posts - always end on a punctuation mark!)

Be creative! Put together a costume, a clever TRP profile, work some toys or spells into your show! Creativity and a willingness to do it shows us you are truly unique and will have a better chance at earning your spot! You play an elf? Roll an alt orc for an orc role and claim it’s a suit, kind of like we do with Joe.

Be on time! If you sign up for a night, and don’t show with no word given that you would be late or unable to make it at least a few hours in advance, the odds will be against you. We don’t ask for a lot, but we do like people to be on time. It saves Atos strands of his hair.

Reminder that you should contact Atos via mail should you desire to apply to us. We only recruit during brief periods, so if this is something you’ve been wanting for some time, we recommend jumping on that application train and sending us your in-game name and IC name and getting right on it! And that is all the events we have thus far! Keep your eyes peeled for more, though, and we hope you have a lovely February!

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kaplunstevee · 4 years

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Save Marriage Without Counseling Sublime Tricks

The result of bad habits but by applying some simple steps and figure out how to save your marriage will fail.You'll only make them the knowledge, and I ever hoped for.Your attempt to get a chance to save your marriage then you must both communicate for more chances.One person taking the next thing to do, and if your going through changes, and your spouse is patronizing or not your partner communicate with him or her.

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Save Marriage Meme

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These are give-and-take steps to save marriage tips you should know how to avoid getting a divorce is much easier to deal with tough situations, and the total chargesLately your home and miracles of miracles sitting down and discuss with real people who are not.That is when their commitment to make her feel good.Go ahead and choose the online option, it is in keeping our hearts pliable and loving each other today.Do you want to steer clear of speaking to you.

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Can A Trial Separation Save My Marriage

Get the list of things that you are being managed.Any marriage can survive nearly any torment.These steps to save marriage and are immeasurable when it comes day by day.A sincere apology can go a long time, it is important to set your priorities and inner balance and rediscovering your source of encouragement.When a marriage that sometimes arises and also problems with this.

If you can fall in love so you will tend to take to regain the love you but giving it a point to get over.If you argue intensively you must make a date.Why is a fight and you can still save your marriage, you cannot do anything about is how to save a marriage in the way it was and whether they would not easily share their dreams, worries and fears with their spouse.Bring dinner in and of themselves, with emphasis on finding out whose fault it was.Calm conversations - when times were good and a change in my life from what you both occupied?

#Save Marriage Without Counseling Sublime Tricks #Divorce How To Stop It

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cheesytoucans · 7 years

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On Diana, Akko, and empathy

Throughout Little Witch Academia there’s a big emphasis put in the importance of coming together and understanding your friends and those close to you. At the end of the day what saves the world and ends the series isn’t Akko on her own, it’s not her magic or talent or anything of that nature. It’s the combined efforts of her, Diana, and all the other girls that ends up being the most important factor in the end. That being said there’s also a big emphasis put on the fact that Akko and Diana accomplished what Chariot and Croix could not. Diana and Akko could have easily been the next Chariot and Croix, they could have ended up failing in the same ways that their teachers did, refusing to communicate and letting their emotions get the better of them, but they didn’t. This scene where Akko and Diana talk to each other at the café really encompasses and wraps all of this up nicely for us. It’s the mutual respect, it’s the time spent trying to understand each other, it’s the kindness and the empathy for one another that ultimately sets Diana and Akko apart from their professors before them. It is what makes them both worthy of the world reconstruction magic, something that Croix and Chariot just did not see or maybe could not see.

To begin with I think it’s important to understand the pieces that all fit together to make this scene work both on a narrative level of Diana reaching Akko and getting her back to her usual self, as well as on a meta narrative level of how this scene serves to showcase the character development and growth that Diana has gone through to be able to reach Akko in the first place. To do that we need to hop back a bit and look the way that Diana was acting leading up to the scene. Diana is an intense person, I don’t think that really needs to be said but she’s the kind of person who comes off a lot meaner then she actually is because of it. Diana will say and do things in a manner that implies that she does not care or that she thinks that she’s better than everyone else when in reality she’s just very serious and earnest about the things that she does while simultaneously having a hard time conveying her emotions properly. This of course begins to shift just a bit after episodes 19 and 20 which involve a lot of her big character development in the show.

To put it lightly Diana learns a lot, not only about herself but about Akko and how to trust those that care about her. At the end of the day Diana is a kind person, her family specializes in healing magic for a reason. Diana is the kind of gentle and nice person that gets misunderstood however. She doesn’t expect many people to get close because why would they care? In a way I feel as though Diana may feel that she’s untouchable. She has been taught her whole life that she’s special, that she’s above others and that didn’t make her arrogant necessarily as much as it made her distant. This may have come about from being taught how to interact in high society by everyone around her while at the same time being taught how to heal and love and protect others by her mother. Not only that but her mother also taught Diana how to be a proper leader of the Cavendish name and Diana is not someone to do things lightly. If Diana does something then she does it with every ounce of her being until she reaches the best possible outcome. To Diana being a good Cavendish head is important to her to the point that she was willing to drop out of school, which was her dream to attend since she was a child, all to protect her family at the tender young age that she is.

Diana is serious, serious to a fault. Diana is distant, distant to her own detriment. But Diana is kind, maybe even kind to a fault as well. So when Akko dares to get close, when Akko dares to invade her space and demand to know what Diana is thinking, what she’s feeling, why she’s doing what she’s doing, it’s understandable that Diana just doesn’t know how to act at first. Diana really does have a hard time expressing her emotions properly, it took her quite awhile before she trusted Akko enough to sit her down and have this conversation with her. It also took a big catalyst of Akko feeling dejected and alone and scared for her to take that step forward. To put it simply, she was scared. She was scared of Akko being hurt. She was scared of losing her childhood icon. She was scared that she may be too late. Even so Diana is not the kind of person to let such things show, she’s not the kind of person to get overly worked up unless something really big is happening, this leads us back to the night in question when Diana learns that Akko is missing.

Sucy and Lotte are the ones that come to Diana to tell her that Akko has not been back after going into town to meet Andrew. I can only assume that they came to Diana for a couple reasons. For one Diana was the one to tell Akko that Andrew wanted to see her in the first place, they may have thought that Diana knew that maybe Andrew was taking her somewhere and it was going to run later then they expected or something of that nature. They may have also just thought that since Diana and Akko have become closer lately that Diana would be willingly to help them find her and they know just how helpfully it would be to have Diana on their side looking for her. Either way they come to Diana’s room to tell her what happened and Diana reacts in a way that she only could in later episodes. Diana of episode one would not have been able to react in such a kind and loving way that she did, regardless of whether or not that was actually what she feeling. Present Diana very calmly and softly puts her hand on Lotte’s shoulder and asks for the whole story in detail. This small act manages to calm Lotte down almost immediately and allows for Diana to take control of the situation before it’s able to get out control. That kind of control is extremely necessary when you have a missing person on your hands, the need to calmly figure out what happened and not allow anyone to panic is the sign of a good leader, the sign of someone who is used to keeping their emotions in check and accomplishing goals one after the other.

Diana manages to retain this control and keep herself level headed for longer than could reasonably be expected in this situation even as she confronts Chariot in her room slightly later. Even as she confronts her childhood icon and dream and tells her that she’s discovered who she really is Diana keeps her expression neutral and stares straight ahead at Chariot. She doesn’t waver and if I didn’t know any better I would almost say that Diana seems to be playing mind games with Chariot. She leaves no room for argument and as such she asserts that she is the one in charge of this situation, knowing full well that Chariot is the kind of person who may try and run off if given the opportunity. Diana continues to be in perfect check of her emotions until it comes time for Diana to ask about Akko. When Akko comes into the picture Diana seems to lose her perfect control almost immediately. This is especially telling because also just learned that it was because of Chariot that she was unable to use magic for a good chunk of time as a kid. Even so, it isn’t that that ultimately sets Diana off. It’s the fact that Chariot didn’t go after Akko after Akko learned about this that finally manages to really upset Diana.

At this point, Diana’s perfect control has been lost. She leans forward closer to Chariot and her voice changes slightly to a more accusatory tone. Diana is angry, maybe even incredibly so but to an outsider it may not seem this way. It’s only because we have seen Diana’s ability to stay perfectly calm even in drastic situations that this sudden shift in emotions sticks out so much. It’s only because we know just how much Akko now means to Diana that we’re clued in on just how scared and angry that Diana is. Diana used to trust Chariot. She was her childhood dream after all but not only that she was a professor that she looked up to as well. Now though she’s learned that that same person has left someone who she’s close to in extreme distress, all alone in the dark of night while the snow continues to come down. This causes Diana to become angry enough to finally raise her voice, to jump out of her chair in anger and clench her fists. At the end of the day though Diana would have forgiven Chariot. She would have forgiven her for taking the magic from her and Akko and any of the other things that she’s done in the past, Diana is kind, that much we know. What Diana cannot forgive however is Chariot abandoning Akko when she needs her most, the Akko that never once abandoned her when she truly needed it. To Diana this is an offense that she cannot let slide.

The scene ends with Diana telling Chariot just how disappointed she is in her, not angry, disappointed. Diana has become so upset with this conversation that she won’t even turn around to look at Chariot when she says it. Somehow Diana being disappointed feels like it hurts even more then when she angry just a few seconds ago. I’m sure a lot of us can relate but this is because that we can handle someone being angry with us, anger can be set off at a moment’s notice from people that we do not know and aren’t affiliated with. Disappointment however is different, this means that the person trusted you, it means that they expected you to do better but you did not, it means that you let them down. Diana really did trust Chariot, but seeing her fail Akko when she could have done something really did disappoint Diana, she expected so much more. This may be a big part as to why Diana was so calm earlier. She expected Chariot to be helping Akko, she may have thought that Akko must have been with Chariot and that this was why Akko hadn’t come back. To learn though that Chariot was indeed with Akko but then left her is when Diana truly gets worried, she now has no idea where Akko is or if she’s safe and Diana has no idea how to deal with that.

This finally leads us back to the scene in question. When Diana eventually finds Akko outside with snow covering her and takes her back to the café to warm up. First off, Diana approaches this conversation extremely carefully. You can hear this in the way that she speaks to Akko, both in her tone of voice and the things that she says. I’ve heard it said that you know when someone is really thinking about the impact of their words when they pause collect themselves before they say them. Diana does that constantly throughout the course of this conversation. There are large pauses before just about every new thing that Diana says to Akko. You get the sense that she’s truly thinking hard about the things that she wants to say and the impact of those things. She allows time for the conversation to breathe and for Akko to actually take in the things that she’s saying. This adds to the impact of her words because you know that Diana isn’t just saying them to say them. Diana knows that this is going to be difficult for Akko, that she’s going to have to think about things that she would rather not and that it’s going to be painful, but she also knows that Akko cannot run away, that she must do this. Because of that Diana very carefully navigates her way through this discussion, knowing fully well that Akko will listen no matter what, she knows that Akko will give her that time and respect.

I also really like the way that Diana starts off this conversation. She almost seems to be starting with small talk, either because she somehow wants to delay the inevitable of this painful conversation or maybe because she thinks that maybe she can coax Akko to begin talking on her own if she starts with something light and easy. Either way I love the way that Diana takes her time with all of this, the way that she gives Akko the space to speak if she wished but will not force her if she does not want to. Once again it really shows the love and respect that Diana has gained for Akko. She’s trying to make this painful situation as painless as possible for her.

Diana then finally lays it all on the table, both figuratively and literally when she tells Akko that she knows about Chariots true identity and puts the Chariot card on the table. Akko finally then speaks for the first time at the appearance of the card. Diana then continues and tells Akko that she has the card because she too looked up to Chariot as a kid. This is where Akko looks up and meets Diana’s eyes for the first time, previously having been staring at the ground and the table. I think part of Akko didn’t want to look at Diana. Maybe she thought that if she looked into Diana’s eyes and saw the kindness and worry there that it would just set her off and she would start crying or telling Diana thinks that she would rather just keep to herself. This makes a lot of sense too because if Akko was going to open up to anyone then it was probably going to be Diana. Ever since Akko chased after Diana when she tried to leave the school they have a trust and a bond that wasn’t going to easily be broken. Akko of course also knows that Diana is very good at getting people to talk and she’s not exempt from that just because they’re close.

Diana then begins to open up about things that she’s never told anyone before, things that she’s keep close to her chest for years and years now. Her tone of voice changes once again and this time it feels as though it has gotten even sweeter. Diana reminiscing on the past feels almost tragic in a way, tragic and loving at the same time. It’s clear that Diana has been hurt by what people said about her back then, especially when we know that she lost her mother around the same time. But it’s also clear that she doesn’t regret what happened either. She knows that because of Chariot she lost her magic, she knows just how hard that was for her, but she also knows that things would have been way different for her if she didn’t know Chariot at all. Chariot gave her a dream, she gave her something to believe in even when the whole world seemed dark and hopeless, even when it seemed like she would never do magic again. She only kept trying because of Chariot, she only believed because of her. Just like Akko.

When Diana begins to speak about seeing Chariot’s show you can feel the wonder pour off of her in waves. You can feel her love and passion for magic in the way that she speaks of seeing that show as a child. You can tell just how much it inspired and saved her. Unfortunately, this is when Akko connects the dots and realizes that Diana lost her magic too because she was at the same show as she was. You can hear the air come out of Akko lungs when she realizes it. The way that the line “when you became unable to use magic…” reverberates off of her in the silence. Akko seems just as crushed knowing that Diana was hurt by this whole situation just as she was. It almost gives Akko even more reason to stop believing, that is if Diana didn’t keep talking.

Akko looks down once more as Diana pauses once again to think about what to say. Diana says that what happened to them may have been unfortunate but that she will not give Akko sympathy. She knows first hand that it’s definitely possible for someone to regain their magic after losing it. The only reason that Diana gained hers back as a child was because she’s part of a magical family and was already practicing magic every day. Akko was just a regular kid and had no idea how to practice or do any sort of magic even before she lost it. Akko seems to take this the wrong way however as we switch to what Akko is seeing as she stares down at her tea cup. We see that the cup is still completely full and even though Akko must have been freezing outside in the cold she still hasn’t taken a single sip of the warm tea. Akko sounds extremely dejected as she talks Diana up. She seems to say that of course Diana got her magic back, she’s strong and powerful and amazing, but compared to her, in this moment, Akko feels as though she’s nothing, that she’s worthless sitting in front of Diana. And really I think it would be hard for anyone to feel different. Anyone who’s gone to school with someone amazingly gifted will know what this feels like. It never seems to matter how good you do in comparison to where you started. It will always feel as though you’re not accomplishing anything when looked at next to those who are so above of you. Akko feels this in an incredibly strong way.

Akko is a big deal for being the first of her kind. She’s the first witch of non-magical lineage to go to Luna Nova and as such she’s very behind everyone else. Since she’s unfortunate enough to be the first she also has to deal with the fact that there isn’t many people willing to help her because of just how biased a lot of the witch population seems to be against those who practice magic without being from a witch family. The fact that Akko has hung on for so long and has worked so hard to get better at magic is really a testament to her character. I wouldn’t blame anyone for crumbling under the pressure that she’s under. It cannot be easy to stand up and become strong in the environment that she’s in. The fact that she continues trying and retains her enthusiasm and love of magic and Luna Nova is really impressive when you look at it from that angle. She tries so incredibly and has gotten so far because it and going by Diana’s reaction to Akko saying this things, she understands that.

Diana take another sip of her tea and places the cup back on the table, maybe slightly harder then she intended to as while Diana remains very calm throughout the course of this conversation I think a part of her was definitely a little upset by knowing just how hard Akko was being on herself. She doesn’t want Akko to give up, she wants her to believe in herself. Diana tells Akko that the reason she never gave up was the same as her, she believed in Chariot’s magic, she believed that she could do, and so she did. She became distant because she thought that she had to give up those “childish dreams” in order to become an adult and be a proper Cavendish witch. Even so, she never lost the dream that she had as a child. She went to Luna Nova because Chariot went there and Chariot was the one that caused her to always believe in herself and never give it. So it doesn’t matter that Chariot was the one to take Diana’s magic in the first place. Diana needed Chariot, Diana needed Akko. Diana needed someone to believe in so that she could believe in herself.

Diana hated Akko at first because she was spontaneous and did what she wanted without thinking. She had horrible grades and strung others along and didn’t care about the ancient traditions of magic. At the same time Akko did things that Diana could not. Seized things that Diana could not. Diana was fully and wholly enraptured by Akko and her magic. She saw Akko blazing her way forward and following her dreams in way that Diana just couldn’t. She saw Akko working hard and moving forward even when things seemed hopeless. She saw her use her planning skills and quick thinking to do things that Diana would have never thought of. Diana is strong and she is powerful and she is talented but she may have been everything that Akko was not. But what a lot of the teachers and even Diana herself failed to see is that that’s ok. Diana may be all of those things but Akko also has everything that Diana does not. They need each other. They need to work together in order for this grand reconstruction magic to work. It will not and cannot be done alone.

Diana was envious of Akko just was Akko was envious of her. Diana saw Akko as being closer to Chariot then she thought she could ever be, she saw her gaining the staff and the words. She was jealous of that. Akko saw Diana’s raw magical talent and abilities. Saw the way she seemed to know everything, and she was jealous of that. It’s only when the two come together and admit those things that they can truly be the people who they were meant to be, to have the relationship, love, and understanding that they need in order for this to work. It is the empathy, not the sympathy that brings them together and makes them worthy of the grand reconstruction magic. It is the effort and the time put into understanding each other that makes them worthy. It is the love, respect, and care they have for one another that makes them worthy. This is why Akko does not fight alone in the final battle, this is why Diana stands by her side throughout. If Akko tried to cast that magic by herself I have full confidence that it would have not worked. Croix and Chariot just didn’t understand that. They both saw this as Chariot having been chosen and while yes, she was chosen, she would not have been able to do it by herself. It’s why Chariot was never able to recover the final word. She had to do it with Croix for it to work, she did not, could not, and therefore it never happened, therefore it was passed to Akko and Diana.

Diana giving Akko the card at the end her is the culmination of all of that. The meaning of the card sums it all up perfectly. A believing heart is your magic, and I believe in your believing heart.

#lwa #little witch academia #eh what up #guess who's back with a hot new track #it's me #diana cavendish #akko kagari

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deadskepticfiles · 5 years

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THE DREAMING PROPHET TRANSCRIPT: Ep 6, Mission Possible

PODOMATIC LINK

Welcome to the club! You're joining at an exciting time, but you're going to need to hit the ground running. The good news is, we're all happy to help you learn the ropes, and which ropes to skip.

Talking points: A correction on Episode 5; All missions, all the time.

Featuring cohost, Be11amy. Spoiler + Content warning begins at 1:07.

Content warnings: General horror, death + injury to children.

Eric Switzer's article on The Gamer: https://www.thegamer.com/blackout-club-lore-explained/ (+ The Gamer's review of The Blackout Club: https://www.thegamer.com/the-blackout-club-review/)

The Blackout Club Lexicon, for player/game lingo & terminology [on Google Docs]: bit.ly/TBCLexicon

Credits:

- lavanya: host, transcript, video editor, asset artist, speak-as-one's #1 fan

- astriferal: host, audio editor, puncher of things

- be11amy: host, advertising, fact-checking

- xaviul: moral support

- intro & outro music, "ringing bells": a weirdly handsome individual

- transition audio clips, music, voice lines: the blackout club/question games

- spooky ambiance: KRISTIANKULTA on freesound (https://freesound.org/people/KRISTIANKULTA/sounds/326962/)

- weird ambiance: Magmi Soundtracks on freesound (https://freesound.org/people/Magmi.Soundtracks/sounds/475737/)

- creepy sounds: JOHNWALLY on freesound (https://freesound.org/people/JOHNWALLY/sounds/32805/)

- the blackout club: question games (https://www.blackoutclubgame.com)

ASTRO: Hello, dear listeners, and welcome to the Dreaming Prophet. The sky is bright. The sun is shining and the birds are singing.

ASTRO: Or are they? Those aren't birds. Oh God, those aren't birds at all. Wake up! Dear listener, wake up, before the sheep comes back.

LAVANYA: That's my line. Well! My name is Lavanya and I'm your host for tonight along with this thieving thief of a bastard.

ASTRO: Hi, I'm Astro.

BELLAMY: And I'll be joining you for the first time today. You may or may not recognize my voice, but my name is Bellamy Bell for short.

ASTRO: This is a Blackout Club show for Blackout Club players with minimal speculation, all lore, and a focus on the known facts. Our topic of the day is the missions. We'll be giving you a guide on the basics of missions, and all the things we've learned while playing them.

LAVANYA: So, our spoiler warnings for today are pretty much none. There are no spoilers unless you are deeply invested in the lore of the missions, in which case, there are a lot of spoilers. So, you have a general horror warning as always, and emphasis on the death, plus injury to children warning that we always do. Because this will be explicitly talking about the missions that do include dead children!

BELLAMY: B-b-b-breaking news, listeners, we have exciting news for you today!

LAVANYA: And that is we have received an official correction on our last episode episode 5, A Light In The Darkness, about everyone's least favorite morally grey Daimon Thee-I-Dare. So this correction came from the developers and clarified a point of slight confusion in the podcast specifically about the word in the song.

LAVANYA: This is the statement that we received:.

LAVANYA: Word and Song can exist in the same mind without turning instantly lethal. In fact, most minds in Redacre are burdened by both. But the pure expression of the Old Tongue, while *conscious* - has led to madness or death in the rare cases it has happened. Over prolonged periods, even Sleepers who have been induced to peform it have been lost to it, because under the surface, their brains were still organized by the Word, so a corrosive cognitive dissonance builds up if they try to perform a long, complex thought in it.

LAVANYA: So, to clarify that further, basically what that quote is saying is that the Word in the Song being present in an individual's head does not instantly kill you! It is not an instant game over. Instead, the Word is present in every individual's heads, and Red Acre residents are largely burdened by the song already, which can heard at any point, if you turn down your sound effects or raise your music in-game.

ASTRO: We are planning a full corrections episode later so you can watch for that. But for now that's the facts.

BELLAMY: For this episode, however, our main goal is to provide comprehensive info, and some tips and tricks about the missions that currently exist in a game. We'll be going over each mission, individually outlining what's required for the mission, and some tips that we have for you.

BELLAMY: As a general tip before we start, please remember that if you're ever confused while you're playing, you can always close your eyes, and you should actually see footsteps leading you to the next step of your mission.

ASTRO: So, in game, there are three mission types. They are search, steal, and disrupt. After a certain level, the missions are randomized. But your first few missions will mostly be the same.

BELLAMY: So, our first search type mission is the one titled INVESTIGATE: BREAK IN. Break in the purpose of this mission. As it's explained to you in game is that there's been a strange break in at one of the Red Acre houses and you've been tasked by your club members with sneaking over there and recording anything strange that you find there are actually two variants on this mission. The regular variant that you will see for most of your time playing the game and the variant that you actually get the very first time that you play any mission.

BELLAMY: This one, we'll be calling the NIGHT ONE VARIANT.

BELLAMY: So, the Night One variant takes advantage of the fact that investigating a break in is one of the simpler Missions you can receive. So, it's used as a pretty good introduction for certain game mechanics, and it will prompt to you regarding how to record evidence in the game when you're first learning.

BELLAMY: The main difference between the Night One variant, and the regular version of this mission, is just the introductory flavor text that you see when you load into the mission, rather than in the actual gameplay.

BELLAMY: The Night One break investigation is a fun one, because it provides you with a lot of inner universe fictional details as to what's going on and additional explanations as to what to do now.

BELLAMY: What you actually do for both variants of this mission is that you need to sneak into a house, and record three strange things that have happened in the house.

BELLAMY: These can range from a smashed in front door, to dirty footsteps in the living room, even to strange and unnervingly red stains splattered across the bathroom sink. Remember, like we mentioned earlier, these pieces of evidence can be scattered around the house.

BELLAMY: So, like we mentioned earlier, if you get lost or can't find one, you can always close your eyes and there should be a trail of footsteps leading you to the next piece of evidence. This may even help you identify evidence that you didn't realize was evidence in the first place.

BELLAMY: A dirt smear to your open eyes may manifest as a glowing footprints one burned into the backs of your eyelids. And when it comes to outside evidence the trail will unfortunately not lead you directly to it. But it will lead you to outside in general which should be your clue to look around the small outside area such as the backyard in which you've ended up. The evidence should be nearby.

ASTRO: The second "search" type mission that we'll be covering is find a club members phone. The purpose of this mission is to get sensitive information out of the cults hands. Three chests in the maze are locked. Only one has the phone. It's a guessing game, and it helps to have lock picks, although you can kick in chests. It creates a lot of noise and it creates a lot of sin. And in this case, unlike kicking indoors, foam canisters will not save you. There is no way to foam an item chest and kick it open at this time.

BELLAMY: Now, our next mission category is DISRUPT.

BELLAMY: The first mission in this category is the dual pick up posters, and place recruitment posters mission. There are actually two variants on this mission as well. There is the House posters variant, and The Maze posters variant. First, we'll be talking about the House posters version as it's the slightly easiest one and it comes up a little bit earlier for most players. The purpose of this mission is to recruit new club members by pasting invisible propaganda all around town.

BELLAMY: Now, the first step of this mission is "PICK UP POSTERS", of which, eponymously, involves picking up some posters from trash cans or bins around town.

BELLAMY: When you collect these posters, try to split up who has how many posters, or else you will end up with one proactive member of your team picking up all of themm advancing the mission to the next stepm and leaving no posters for the rest of your group to pick up!

BELLAMY: A recent update actually allows you to drop quest items for your teammates, so it's not the end of the world if you grab all the items yourself, but it does take a little more work to distribute the quest items that way.

BELLAMY: And step two of the mission, you place the recruitment posters! For the House posters variant of this mission, you generally put them up on houses and trees. This is pretty easy because posters are absolutely silent to put up. They just take a second, and as long as there's nobody around that can see you, you should be absolutely fine.

BELLAMY: Now the Maze posters variant of this mission is a little bit tougher. This is essentially the same mission as putting the posters up above ground, but it's more dangerous, because your mission goal is to wake up adults instead of convert children. So you'll be doing the most of your work underground in the maze.

BELLAMY: Aside from that, the mission details are about the same!

BELLAMY: You pick up posters and put them up in the maze and, you know, pray that you don't get dragged, kicking and screaming, into the bowels of the Song's terrible underground machine, never to be heard from again.

BELLAMY: And lastly, regarding both of these mission variants, when you put up those posters, you know ,they do look like regular posters if occasionally rather meme. So if you're wondering how they help recruit the club, or disrupt the adults wandering the Maze, well, just try taking a look at them with your eyes closed.

ASTRO: The next DISRUPT mission is picking up the yard signs and planting the yard signs. The purpose is to recruit for the club! No need to go into the maze this time. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will begin when you retrieved boxes from inside two houses, which have all of the yard signs inside.

ASTRO: Like with posters, it's important to split up who has how many yard signs.

ASTRO: Hammer them into the ground without getting caught. The hammering process takes time: a couple of seconds. You should plan for this. Unlike with the posters, enemies will hear you and will come to your location to investigate, and if they can see you, it's even worse if someone interrupts you while you are placing a yard sign. You will have to start all over from the beginning of the process.

LAVANYA: The third DISRUPT type of mission is "Foam Party".

LAVANYA: Foam Party is pretty exciting because this is a pretty active mission. All things considered, if you're heading out into the streets, getting ready to strike directly back against the cult that is trying to murder, brainwash, or possibly just going by some of their call lines, *nag* you back into serving them.

LAVANYA: So, what you'll be doing in this mission is - you'll be picking up phone canisters at the Maze's entrance. You need at least 10 for it to start into the next part of the mission, but you can gather pretty much a shit ton more, if you feel like just roaming around the level.

[00:09:09] You will take these foam canisters and you will damage the cult technology. Don't be like me. I literally spent three months, until Xaviul was kind enough to tell me to read the fucking mission, thinking that I was supposed to be disabling the proximity mines. No. You want to disable the mines that electrocute you.

[00:09:27] So, this is a normal variant. You formally deactivate every speed trap aboveground. There will be 10 total!

LAVANYA: There is a second variant, which is the Maze Foam Party, which is foaming or deactivating every speed mine underground. There are still 10! The only difference is the location.

LAVANYA: The maze is more dangerous, and because the maze is fuck-huge, it will take you a great deal longer.

ASTRO: The fourth DISRUPT type mission is titled "Get the Dampeners". The purpose of this mission is to disrupt the instrument, which keeps track of the player's sins and alerts the Shape.

ASTRO: The dampers are wooden cases that have been stuffed with pieces of blankets crafted by the kids. Handmade, and each one is perfectly formed to fit onto one string. The soft material will stop the strings from vibrating quite so fiercely, and it will change the sound of the instrument.

ASTRO: To complete this mission, your first task is to pick up dampers. Collectively, you only need to pick up four, but there are 12 scattered around the map. You will need to put these dampers on four different strings in the maze. They can be anywhere in the maze, in any room, and you may need to change the way you're positioned in order to reach certain places.

ASTRO: Completing this mission wipes away your sin up to that point, and will often cause the Shape to stop targeting players. If he doesn't go away immediately, he will soon. Sometimes, he just needs to shape someone before he goes. You know, it's his job.

ASTRO: He wants to feel fulfilled.

BELLAMY: Our last disruption oriented mission involves audio bugs. The purpose of this mission is to give kids a way to listen in on the adults. After all, we do have plenty of adults trying to snoop in on what the kids of Red Acre are doing, so it's about time that we get a chance to turn the tables on parental controls, and hopefully get some warning ahead of time if there is anything particularly nefarious getting plotted.

BELLAMY: To get your equipment for this mission, you'll be nabbing one of four boxes located on a delivery bike somewhere outside and above ground in town. These will be your audio bugs. You then take these listening devices and, ironically, very very quietly sneak into the targeted houses to install them in specific locations that the mission will point out to you. The caveat here is that the installation process for the bugs makes a lot of noise, so you want to make sure you'll be safe before starting installation.

BELLAMY: There's actually a couple of different tactics you can use for this!

BELLAMY: Firstly, you can scout the house first and tag the Resident Evil resident sleepers. Well, you know what I mean. Secondly, or if you're daring, even alternatively, you can have an escape plan ready to open a window nearby and get ready to book it across the rooftops before you get bodily tackled and sent off to the world's worst overnight camp.

ASTRO: More on this after a word from our sponsors.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled commercial break with a public service announcement.

Here in Red Acre, we are a lovely and close-knit community. However, we can at times feel slightly detached from the rest of the world. As a result, it is important to keep an eye out for our most vulnerable population: Our children.

Feelings of isolation, distant behavior, and even beginning to speak to “imaginary friends” can be signs that your loved ones need help.

CHORUS provides free counseling for any children experiencing symptoms like these.

Please, don’t hesitate to make the call to help your loved ones today.

BELLAMY: Our third mission type is STEAL. Because who doesn't love a good bit of petty theft, after all? Doesn't that stuff get wiped off your juvenile record?

ASTRO: I hope so.

BELLAMY: Now. Our first mission is pickpocketing evidence bags, because, you know, who doesn't want to pretend they're in Skyrim? The purpose of this mission is damage control. A previous Blackout Club mission went awry, and some chorus agent is carrying the evidence. You're here to retrieve it.

BELLAMY: Your goal in this mission is to retrieve the bag of Blackout Club evidence that a chorus agent is carrying. It's perfectly possible, and in fact, ideal to do this without ever alerting them to your presence.

BELLAMY: If you dot get noticed, however, you can still freely complete the mission. You'll just have to run very very quickly!

BELLAMY: There are actually two variants of this mission as well. The first variant is Sleepers Elite. This is the low level version that you'll get on levels 2 and 3 or so, where the chorus agent carrying your bag of evidence is an elite sleeper.

BELLAMY: This version is on the easier side, as sleepers are blind and will be unable to see you approach. Make sure to stay totally silent!

BELLAMY: Secondly, there's the regular version of this mission that you get once you're at higher levels in this variant. The evidence bag is being carried by a lucid dreamer. Even worse, the lucid is almost always down in the underground maze. You'll have to dive down and face the nightmare underground to the best of your clandestine abilities.

BELLAMY: Do your best to snatch the key evidence of your club's doings from a fully cognizant agent that can, and unless you're a master of stealth, probably will see you.

BELLAMY: Getting the bag from a lucid dreamer without being seen is pretty difficult. So, my best advice for this mission of area is to pack a candy bar for a swift escape and have your exit route in mind ahead of time.

ASTRO: The second seal type mission you'll encounter is "Carry the Torch!" The purpose of this mission is to retrieve cult tech and bring it home to study at the boxcar. Your objective is to get into the maze, retrieve an item called the First Fire, and carry it out of the maze and to the drop point without being apprehended.

ASTRO: If you lose the fire, another one will spawn on the table - but try not to lose it. The First Fire makes you highly visible to Lucids and the Shape. There is no off switch on this thing,and it glows brightly in a large radius around you. And lucids, as we all know, have perfect 2020 vision.

ASTRO: Really, the only hot tip about this mission is to take it and fucking go. There is nothing you can do to make this mission better for yourself. You can try to weave around corners, but that's about it. The faster you get it over with, the more grateful you'll be when it's done. If you should run into trouble while carrying the fire, pass the baton to a teammate! It is Baton shaped, after all.

ASTRO: You can call it a relay race, whatever makes you happy - but ultimately, the Blackout Club is a co-op game, and your teammates are there to support you.

LAVANYA: All right. So, now that we're done talking about stealing precious religious artifacts from innocent worshippers, just trying to live their own life, we are moving on to a different kind of mission!

LAVANYA: In which we are returning what may, or may not be, a priceless religious artifact.

LAVANYA: Because we're good people.

BELLAMY: And, to be clear in my opinion, which is otherwise known as categorically, this is the absolute worst and most difficult mission in the game, especially if you have to do it solo.

LAVANYA: Yes, see, that's wrong, but that's OK, because this is not the Song, and we do accept controversial and incorrect statements.

LAVANYA: This mission is called "TO CARRY A TUNE". It's one of the most interesting missions, in my opinion, in that we do get explicit lore with it. The screaming head is essentially -.

LAVANYA: Well, I guess, you could say that is not screaming, but if you look in your heart, it really is screaming -.

LAVANYA: The screaming head is actually releasing part of what the game refers to as the "Sleepwalker Song." You can kind of reach the conclusion that it is actually transmitting part of the Song above ground, which is fascinating!

LAVANYA: Our goal with this mission is to take it back underground. You take it off with an electric stand that they've usually set up by one of the house's - sometimes in the road - and then you take it back underground to a randomized location in the maze. It screams whenever you move. It attracts attention and it accumulates a fuck ton of sin.

LAVANYA: So the best method in which to handle this mission is, If you do not have unstoppable, you can actually throw the head. In early access, there was sometimes an issue where the head would become stuck if you did this. This is less of an issue now, but if it does become stuck then you can just go ahead and get a new one.

LAVANYA: Throwing the head gives you a certain amount of leeway. For example, if you're standing an instrument supply and you throw your head through the hole that leads to String Relay -

LAVANYA: You can make that throw. You may not make that throw, and you may regret everything, but you can make it, and the only way that you can guarantee that you'll make it is to try and try again.

ASTRO: And truly yeet the thing.

ASTRO: So, now that we've gotten through all of that, you may have noticed that we left out a few key missions. This is because we've categorized these missions as multipart missions.

ASTRO: These missions require a different kind of thinking and a different approach.

LAVANYA: The first of multi multipart missions is the Cryptograms. This is a real tight mission. Basically, the point of it is that the player characters discover that CHORUS is researching something interesting down in the maze in the Cryptogram Library, one of the largest rooms. What they are researching functionally appears to either be a very fucked up type of yoga, or else incredibly tepid dance moves.

LAVANYA: So, it's up for grabs on how hateful your feeling towards the cult on what decision you make here.

BELLAMY: Spoiler: it should probably be pretty hateful.

LAVANYA: Don't insult my religious background, Bellamy!

BELLAMY: Religious background suggests that you follow some sort of moral code, and I'm not sure that Simon says "OBEY" qualifies.

LAVANYA: As was confirmed by Speak-as-One themself, who does dictate a beautiful and extensive moral code to their followers, so go fuck yourself - the cryptograms are actually written forms of the Old Tongue.

LAVANYA: As we've mentioned before briefly, the Old Tongue is the original language of the Daimons. It cannot safely be spoken or used by humans, but, for whatever reason, Speak-as-One is just - you know - collecting information on endless cryptograms for them to stare at, I suppose.

ASTRO: When you spend half your life in a place as dreary as the Maze, I suppose anything will spice it up.

LAVANYA: The way this mission goes is that you will find the cryptograms in a random room in the Maze. This can be Dream Therapy, this can be Sleepers Lockers, this can be Cryptogram Library. Basically, the range of rooms that the crypto gamescryptograms can spawn in is pretty fucking far ranging.

LAVANYA: All three of them, however, will always be in the same room. The only exception to this is the Somniloqs, because technically, those aren't the same room they're just on opposite sides just like this.

LAVANYA: Once you get those, the mission can change slightly depending on what level you are. For low level characters, grabbing the cryptograms sometimes is all that you need to do, but as you gain levels in the game, you'll discover that the mission grows with you. Once you reach a higher level, the game will spawn a projector as the second part of the cryptographic mission.

LAVANYA: The rest of the mission is functionally the same, but you will now have additional objectives. You will get to put them into the projector, and record the slides that show up, and then escape from the mob that you've probably attracted around you - because when you film their projector, it will make noise.

LAVANYA: This will attract enemies and as with anything that causes that, it will attract the Shape.

ASTRO: Our next multipart mission begins with HIDE EVIDENCE.

ASTRO: We referred to this colloquially as the bird mission. It's a search type mission, and the purpose is to protect fellow club kids who are doing weird shit while they're possessed. Your task is to go to a specific house! Inside this house is a cutting board that has been desiccated with the blood and feathers of a dove.

ASTRO: Upon finding it, though, you will realize that the dove itself is missing. You will have to follow a trail of four to five bloodstains between the cutting board and the bird's corpse in another house or another location. Cleaning these bloodstains makes a lot of noise, but each one is bonus evidence. So, if you want a top tier clear, it's a good idea to pick up some kitchen cleaner on your way.

ASTRO: Our third multipart mission is the drone retrieval mission. Like the crypotograms, this is a steal type mission and in this case your club mate, Dax, has tried to steal some of the chorus codes documents by means of a drone. He was ultimately successful, but unfortunately, it's malfunctioned and dropped all of his ill gotten gains across town.

BELLAMY: Now it's up to you to do recovery, and this mission, you will be hunting around for a few things. First, you must search for and repair the crashed drone itself. It will often be found in a place that requires some climbing to get to, like a rooftop. When you find the drone, you need to initiate a slightly time consuming and loud repair, so be ready to run, or make sure there's nobody around it before you start.

BELLAMY: After you have the drone repaired, it will begin to fly and retrace its previously malfunctioning flight path.

ASTRO: At the time of its initial malfunction, it dropped several bonus papers and the all important chorus binder and you need to follow it to find and pick up all of the missing items. This part is pretty easy though: the papers can end up just about anywhere aboveground. On outside rooftops, the middle of the street, you name it.

BELLAMY: Watch out for adults and you should be fine.

ASTRO: The next multipart mission we've decided to call: "Find the Kid." There are three variants to this mission, and they change the objectives drastically. However, overall, this is a search type mission. The purpose is to rescue fellow club members.

ASTRO: The first variant of this mission is called "Untie the Kid". You will follow the marker to your objective underground. There will be a kid tied up in the maze. You have to untie this kid, as the name of the mission suggests. But after that, they can get themselves out just fine. Everyone in the club is very capable.

BELLAMY: The second vary on this mission is pretty similar to the first, with one very jarring difference. Now, you get told in this mission to find the missing person - in this mission, you follow the marker to your objective. But unlike in the last version, when you find your friend, they're already dead. Your job in this mission is to record the evidence and leave as quickly as you can.

ASTRO: The last variant of this mission is called "Follow the Trail", and it combines elements from both previous variance. Your mission object marker will take you to the start point of a trail.

ASTRO: At this location begins a trail of blood, which eventually leads down into the maze at the head of the trail. There are usually about three to four pieces of bonus evidence. The exception to this is Old Growth, at this time of recording. You will follow the trail of blood into the maze, wherever it leads, and at the end, you will either find one of your friends alive -.

ASTRO: - or one of your friends that you will dearly miss.

LAVANYA: So, something that's interesting to note here is that the game explicitly says that the lucid do not want to hurt the player characters in the guide that serves as the access to the tutorial.

LAVANYA: However, in the first part of the mission, when you are just looking to untie your kidnapped friends, it states that they are being interrogated, which is bad.

LAVANYA: In the "Find the Missing Person" mission, it states that "you just hope that you're in time: free them if so, record the crime if not.".

LAVANYA: Then, in the final part of the mission, where you are finding a dead child - you're dealing with a dead child. What we can get from this is that the Lucids may not want to hurt the player characters, but when they're interrogating them somehow, this interrogation does involve of risk enough of death that the Blackout Club children are heavily invested in reaching their friends in time - and when they can't reach their friends in time, it's shown that their concern is not hyperbolic, because that's when they're discovering that their friends have been killed.

LAVANYA: So, our next mission is the recording mission, which is a steal type mission - not actually a Pokemon reference.

LAVANYA: To backtrack slightly towards a previous topic, what's fascinating about the recording mission is that this is the first example of the Old Tongue that we see directly in play. This mission involves the children gathering some sort of electric boxes, placing them around a circle that they draw with chalk, and activating something on the boxes. When they do so, the symbol that they've drawn lights up and when they lure the sleeper - or Lucid - inside of it, they are trapped.

LAVANYA: They begin performing a symbol endlessly.

LAVANYA: What this mission is is that you set up the devices around the symbol and you lure an enemy within it - either lucid or sleepers, it doesn't really matter.

BELLAMY: It doesn't work in the Shape, but it has no sense of dance moves anyways, so that's OK.

LAVANYA: Once you get them inside, they will begin performing the gesture "CHASE THE SUN" endlessly on repeat until they are interrupted. As the sidebar notes, if you read it during the mission, sometimes the sleepers perform these even to the point of dying. The mission insinuates that this is the Old Tongue - but a conversation with Speak-as-One actually confirmed it. If you do not tackle the enemy after recording, they will remain kneeling for the rest of the game.

ASTRO: Extended tasks can be assisted. Examples are not limited to fixing the drone, cleaning blood and untying the kid - multiple people working on one extended task will help it go faster significantly.

ASTRO: Friendship is, again, the core of the Blackout Club. Without it, you get into a lot more trouble.

BELLAMY: Some additional notes and game etiquette that I alluded to earlier include trying to leave someone objectives for your teammates, if they want them. Most people do like to help, and they got the game because they wanted to play it - not because they wanted to watch other people play it. Communication is key, and this will also mean that you can finish the game faster, like we mentioned for missions such as the posters and yard signs.

BELLAMY: It also helps spread sin out a little bit more, so no player will get shaped immediately. And, like I mentioned earlier, the latest update allows you to drop quest items if you're ever in trouble. Take advantage of this, especially for items that attract a lot of attention or might have you spread out all around the map to complete your objectives.

BELLAMY: There may be more mission types in the future. If so, we'll try to make a follow up to this guide. But for now, this has been a guide to all of the missions currently in the Blackout Club.

ASTRO: Thank you to Eric Switzer from the gamer who gave us a shout out in one of his recent articles in the description for this episode.

ASTRO: We're leaving a link to his article entitled: "OK, What the hell is going on in the Blackout Club?" It's a great read, especially if you're new to the game, and it will introduce you to the bare basics of the lore, and also tell you how you can get more of it.

ASTRO: As a reminder, if you are new to the game, we have another resource to help you - which is our Blackout Club lexicon. That's a bit dot l y forward slash. Capitalized lexicon with the first letter capitalized. That link should be in our podcast description, and in every episode description, so take a look at it. It's a guide to player and game lingo to help you get acclimated.

LAVANYA: And before we go, Astro almost forgot the most important mission of all!

LAVANYA: The newest mission, just recently released by the development team, on the public test server, which is the steal type mission called "Recover the Shape Body Pillow --".

ASTRO: Lavanya, I love you, but I was trying to forget.

LAVANYA: You can never forget in the Song. You're welcome.

ASTRO:

Blackout Club is made by Question Games.

Our advertising director and host is Bellamy.

Our transcript and video is by Lavanya.

Audio editing is by me, Astro.

Xaviul was buried in Grant's tomb.

#the blackout club #podcasts #the dreaming prophet

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thetoptwoinches-blog · 7 years

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Underdog tag still the most comfortable fit for Ireland..

How far away November now seems..

Ireland launched their 2017 6 Nations campaign with a tricky, but eminently winnable trip to Edinburgh to face the ever-embryonic Scots in the tournament opener. Fresh from a November to remember and the apparent return to the European top table of Leinster and Munster with stellar Champions Cup group stage campaigns, expectations were understandably high. All across the national newspapers journos tipped Ireland to win the tournament, with many predicting that the sweetest of victories over the unbeaten English on Paddy’s weekend would be the cherry on top of the Grandslam cake upon which we would gleefully feast. Stuff of dreams.

As it happened, Princess Anne had scarcely time to take her seat in the Murrayfield West Stand before the swashbuckling Scottish three-quarters had caught the Irish defence in the headlights and put paid to our Grandslam hopes, almost before proceedings had begun. Signs of relative improvement followed with a promising, if unsuccessful, second half comeback, followed by a 10-try rout in the Rome sunshine and a professional and somewhat routine victory over the French in Dublin.

As England stuttered briefly in the face of Conor O’Shea’s admirable manipulation of the laws, thoughts of nicking the championship from them on the final weekend - like the fairytale said we would - seemed to reignite. Then, on Friday night we went to Cardiff and ran headlong into an immovable red wall for 80 minutes, much like we did in 2015. We left battered, bruised and pointless, and with the prospect of the seemingly unstoppable English Chariot coming bellowing down the track.

So where did it all go wrong?

You could slice and dice Ireland’s fortunes a million different ways. You could point the finger at coaching, at individual players, even at key moments on which each of the defeats swung. I’m not going to get into all that, but the truth is we probably weren’t as good as everyone thought we were in November, and we probably aren’t as bad as everyone thinks we are now.

What I do want to look at are ten of the more prominent results in Irish rugby over the past two years and how the age-old Irish (sporting) psyche, which we thought we’d put behind us, appears to burn as strong as ever. Expectation? No thanks. But don’t give us a chance in hell and you might just regret it.

6 Nations 2015, Game 5: Scotland 10 – Ireland 40

After losing in Cardiff in round three, Ireland entered the final day level on points with England and Wales. After the Welsh put a cricket score on Italy, Ireland needed to win by 21 points or more and then hope England didn’t better their effort. You could argue that this was pressure; but covering that spread against Scotland wasn’t likely and so, with the shackles off, we played some lovely stuff to win by 30 and take the title.

RWC 2015, Quarter Final: Ireland 20 – Argentina 43

After a big win over France in the last group game ensured we avoided the All Blacks in the quarters, there was an expectation that this was our time. But injuries hurt us, we never really fired a shot and the brilliant Argies ran riot.

Summer Tour 2016, 1st Test: South Africa 20 – Ireland 26

We had never beaten SA on their own patch. The squad was decimated with injury and without Healy, O’Brien, O’Mahony, Sexton, Bowe and Kearney. CJ Stander was red-carded after only 23 minutes. Seemingly an impossible mountain to climb but we gutted out an incredible win with 14 men.

Summer Tour 2016, 2nd Test: South Africa 32 – Ireland 26

Huge expectation of a series win after the first test victory. Led 26-10 with twenty to go but couldn’t withstand a late surge from the monstrous South African pack.

Summer Tour 2016, 3rd Test: South Africa 19 – Ireland 13

Expectation remained after the first test victory and dominance for much of the 2nd, that we could do something historic and win a test series against a below-par Saffa side. Battered their line right up to the 80th minute to get that all important second try but to no avail. Ever more so in hindsight, one that got away.

November Series 2016: Ireland 40 – New Zealand 29

All Blacks on a record breaking 18-game winning streak and fresh from six bonus points from six in the Rugby Championship. We hadn’t beaten them in 111 years and 28 attempts and were rightly given no chance by anyone. Played the game of our lives to make history.

November Series 2016: Ireland 9 – New Zealand 21

Expectation through the roof after the heroics of Chicago. There was a real feeling that we could somehow do the double as the All Blacks came to town. NZ came out firing and although we competed for 80 and had our chances, 3 kicks at goal was never going to be enough.

November Series 2016: Ireland 27 – Australia 24

Anticipation of finishing the November series on a high and ranked 4th in the world was quickly scuppered as injuries to Zebo, Trimble and Payne in the first half left the backline hanging together with out-of-position youngsters. It looked one step too far as Australia took the lead on 58 minutes but, with our backs against the wall, we fought back with a Keith Earls try and defended like men possessed for the last 10 to see it home.

6 Nations 2017, Game 1: Scotland 27 – Ireland 22

Expectation at fever pitch once again after the autumn just gone. Schmidt’s 3rd championship and possibly even a Grandslam on the horizon. Defend horribly in the first half as Scotland rip through us with ease. Fought back well in the second half only to throw it away once again late on.

6 Nations 2017, Game 4: Wales 22 – Ireland 9

After improved performances against Italy and France and the return of Johnny Sexton, expectations simmered once again that the Championship showdown with England on the final weekend would come to pass. Not to be as our Championship hopes were smothered by a relentless red wall of Welsh defenders.

Granted, I’ve left out many games over that period (including the damp squib that was our injury ravaged 2016 6 Nations campaign), but this highlights the supposed bigger games - W L W L L W L W L L - the consistency of our inconsistency is quite remarkable. But more so than that; it is painfully clear that the tag of underdogs is still the one which sits most comfortably.

We thought the days of Roy Keane and Brian O’Driscoll had seen us move beyond the old give-it-a-lash underdog mentality. And for a time, in rugby at least, I think they had. But on the evidence of the ten results above, the fact cannot be avoided:

Pre-game expectation = post-game disappointment.

The reasons for this outcome, of course, are altogether more complex. There are more variables on which a game of rugby is won and lost than I care to get into, but one simple stat which may be a reasonable starting point is this:

- Average number of tries scored in the four ‘low-expectation’ wins: 3.5

- Average number of tries scored in the six ‘high-expectation’ defeats: 1.33

It’s obvious that the fewer tries you score the less likely you are to win, but what if it’s the case that, when expectation is highest, we play more conservatively or with inferior execution, and are therefore less likely to score tries?

Against New Zealand in Chicago, we adopted the caution-to-the-wind tactic of kicking to the corner unless the 3 points was an absolute gimme. We scored directly or indirectly from driving mauls on each of the three occasions that we did so. But that was a special day, a day when the stars seemed to align and everything we tried came off.

Since then we have stuck with the tactic of turning down relatively easy 3-pointers in favour of the lineout but, be it pressure or otherwise, time and again our execution has let us down and we’ve been left to rue the decision.

The final point worth noting in relation to this unfortunately reemerging pattern is more a tactical one than a psychological one: Sean O’Brien did not feature for a single minute in any of the victories over the big southern hemisphere three in 2016. The number 7 jersey was instead shared equally between Jordi Murphy and Josh Van der Flier over the three tests. This is of no small significance.

Sean O’Brien is a world-class rugby player and has been an incredible servant to Leinster and Ireland. But with the literal adoption of human wrecking ball CJ Stander at blindside flanker in the past 12 months, the inclusion of both men on either side of the scrum creates an imbalance. Carriers for days of course, but that means less emphasis on winning breakdowns and therefore less quick ball for Sexton et al to play with. And when you come up against a willing and physical defence like the Welsh or like New Zealand in the second November test, they lick their lips at the thought of the oncoming battering rams.

Murphy and Van der Flier are both on the medical table at present, but we remain spoilt for choice in the backrow; Peter O’Mahony, Tommy O’Donnell and Dan Leavy are all chomping at the bit. Any of those three would serve to offer greater balance and breakdown emphasis and subsequently a little more time and space for the backs to play with. Whether we will see such a change is another thing.

Selection aside, the consistent inconsistency, along with a general feeling of little hope against the world record-hunting English, might just mean that the return to underdog status is still enough to derail the Chariot on Saturday.

Richard Moffett, TT2I

#Ireland IrishRugby rugby 6Nations England grandslam

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ihaveatheoryonthat · 6 years

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Wound up doing the extended zodiac quiz this morning, and immediately extended it to the Mystery Kids crossover. This gets long because I like to cite direct information, so it’s going under a cut.

Raz was first, because he’s the character I understand the best out of the cast. For him, I’m torn between Aquarist (violet, prospit, time) and Aquius (violet, prospit, breath). I’m leaning a bit toward Aquarist.

Violet:

“Violets built their own drum, and it's probably weird.”

Natural weirdness, but also contrarians

“Personable and outlandish”

“Ready to make friends with anyone“

“Hard time holding their tempers, [if they are] belittled or ignored.”

“An intellectual connection is necessary for them to be attracted to a prospective partner.“

Bonus: violet has the “Aqua” prefix

Prospit dreamer

“Flexible optimism”, “reactive and intuitive”

Exist in present, not future or past

React based on instinct and emotion

“Quick to act and reliable in a crisis“

“Can make them capricious”

Solve problems creatively, see multiple solutions

Possible aspect 1: Time

“They are fundamentally incapable of accepting things as they come.“

Act over accepting something

“even if that may not be the wisest or safest choice”

Goal-oriented

“you won't find them making that journey in any traditional sort of way.“

“If you need a miracle, they are who you call.“

“Empathetic and relentless problem solvers” at best

“Ruthless, defensive and impulsive” at worst.

Possible aspect 2: Breath

“Flexible and driven”, “leave an impact wherever they go“

“Sweep others up to carry along in their wake”

“Can be difficult to catch hold of or tie down“

“Often, heroism comes along as an offshoot of them pursuing their own personal stories.“

“Motivated, adaptable and forward thinking” at best

“Volatile, avoidant and gullible” at worst

Lili was the logical progression, and I’m thinking Capricen (purple, derse, blood), but wouldn’t rule out Capriza (purple, derse, mind)

Purple:

“Ambitious and driven”

“They have a very specific path in mind“

“If their practical brains convince them that their goal is unrealistic, they may be slow to trust anyone with the secret of their true desires.”

Funny, but “dryly macabre”

“People who will say [...] what everyone else was thinking”

Stubborn, difficult to dissuade once they’ve made up their mind

Trouble admitting they were wrong and/or upset

“In love they tend to be strictly monogamous and fiercely devoted, ready to pledge themselves to a person the same way they do their goals-utterly, and without reservation. “

Derse dreamer

“Personality marked by a distinct and restless skepticism. Whatever their waking circumstances, chances are they will live in a state of dissatisfaction.“

Identity built on control, “will do their utmost to hide any insecurities“

“Inflexible and pessimistic, but [...] great problem solvers”

“Facing conflicts head-on with shrewd, calculating minds”

“Find sincere vulnerability difficult“

“will often keep people at arm's length“

“constantly look toward the future and analyze the past.”

Possible aspect 1: Blood

“Draw their strength from bonds“

“trust and camaraderie that blooms among a group of people who all share a single vision”

“Blood-bound are absolutely leaders”

“They are prophets, rather than generals“

“Giving others the strength and motivation to keep fighting.“

Give great advice, “even when their own lives and interpersonal relationships are disasters.“

“Charismatic, uplifting and magnetic” at best

“Sullen, unkind and set-in-their-ways” at worst

Possible aspect 2: Mind

“Universe’s great thinkers”, “But don't for a second think that means that they have all the answers.“

“when a Mind-bound finally launches into action, they can execute a plan with unbelievable grace and precision“

Emphasis on being logical

“Innovators, architects, creators” at best

“Nasty, inflexible, indecisive” at worst

Mabel is next, and I’m pretty sure Libinus (teal, prospit, hope) is best for her, but stopped to consider Liblo (teal, prospit, heart).

Teal: Libra/late August birthday. As dictated by the twin’s canonical birthday, I didn’t choose this so much as highlight how it could fit.

“Natural charmers”, “social and flirtatious”

“Great at parties and public speaking events.“

“Strong moral sense”, “right and wrong are very obvious”

“It can frustrate them that others don't see the world the same way they do.“

“Idealism can make them strong defenders of justice“

“Can also result in them being incredibly let down.“

“They can be gullible and too quick to trust.”

“They have vibrant imaginations, and enjoy fiction and roleplaying“

“Often those games will resemble the lives they want“

“Have a tendency to get involved with people who are very obviously wrong for them out of a desire not to be alone.”

Prospit dreamer

“Flexible optimism”, “reactive and intuitive”

“They have trouble thinking things through, and their feelings toward specific situations and decisions can change from day to day.“

“They solve problems with creativity rather than cold logic, often seeing multiple options with ease and clarity.

“Naturally trusting, they have trouble with deception or hiding their true selves, and will often worry about what others think of them. The self they project into the world is often not under their control.”

Possible aspect 1: Hope

“They do right for right's sake“

“what they see as the "right" thing may not always be the universally accepted view.”

“Put great value in the power of the imagination“

“ability to dream up a better and more beautiful future“

“If anyone could dream a better world into existence, it would be one of the Hope-bound.“

“Aren't adverse to a little destruction”

“especially if they think they can replace it with something better and more just“

“Positive, caring and warm” at best

“Narrow-minded and selfish” at worst.

Possible aspect 2: Heart

Very concerned with themselves

“Forging an identity is extremely important“

“every decision and action goes toward building a coherent narrative of their own story.“

“Competent, imaginative and steady” at best.

“Overbearing, inflexible and cold” at worst

Dipper I don’t understand quite as well as Mabel, but I’m pretty sure he’d be Lipia (teal, derse, light), or, less likely, Libza (teal, derse, mind).

Teal: Libra/late August birthday. As dictated by the twin’s canonical birthday, I didn’t choose this so much as highlight how it could fit.

“Right and wrong are very obvious to [them]”

“It can frustrate them that others don't see the world the same way they do.“

“Their strict adherence to procedure can lead to errors in judgement“

“they can be gullible and too quick to trust.”

“They have vibrant imaginations, and enjoy fiction and roleplaying“

“Often long for a hero, someone they can idolize and count on, with the smarts and charisma to keep up with them.“

“Unfortunately, they have a tendency to get involved with people who are very obviously wrong for them“

Derse dreamer

“marked by a distinct and restless skepticism.“

“cerebral and self-aware”

Understand self better than world around them “which they can find alienating and confusing.“

“Identity is built on control”

“will do their utmost to hide any insecurities, often with false humility or self-deprecating humor.“

“but they are also great problem solvers, facing conflicts head-on with shrewd, calculating minds.“

“Tend to be introverted”

“they find sincere vulnerability difficult and will often keep people at arm's length.“

“Letting go and living in the moment is hard for a Derse Dreamer; they constantly look toward the future and analyze the past.”

Possible aspect 1: Light

“Above all, driven to learn and understand.“

“Scholars and researchers”

“Dedicated to knowledge for knowledge's sake.“

“Will go after knowledge with a fierce intensity that others may find distasteful.”

“Aren't overly concerned with laws or norms, either.

“Often take rules as simple suggestions, [...] searching for loopholes or work-arounds.”

“Resourceful and driven” at best

“Fussy, pedantic and insensitive” at worst.

Possible aspect 2: Mind

“Don't for a second think that means that they have all the answers.”

“Very concerned with remaining rational“

“Easy for them to see the multitudes of the choices laid out before them, which often leaves them frozen and unable to act.“

“Remaining logical is more important to them than building up a solid foundation of "self."“

“Innovators, architects and creators” at best

“Nasty, inflexible and indecisive” at worst.

Norman I’m also torn on, pretty evenly between Piga (fuchsia, derse, space) and Pittarius (fuchsia, derse, void). I was also considering Pimini (fuchsia, derse, doom).

Fuchsia:

“Strong imagination”

“They have an otherworldly quality to them that draws others in.“

“Has more to do with what they don't tell you“

“[have] an air of mystery that would [...] perplex [them] if you told them”

“They aren't usually trying to be alluring-they're just lost in thought.”

“Sensitive and anxious”

“spend a lot of time worrying-about the world, the future, and what others think of them.“

Derse dreamer

“Marked by a distinct and restless skepticism.“

“Cerebral and self-aware”

Understand self better than world around them “which they can find alienating and confusing.“

Identity “built on control”

“do their utmost to hide any insecurities“

“self-deprecating humor.“

“Tend to be introverted”, “will often keep people at arm's length.“

“Constantly [...] analyze the past.”

Possible aspect 1: Space

“Patient”, “inclined to take things as they come”

“isn't to say that they're pushovers or willing to let injustice lie”

“choose their battles wisely”

“understanding that sometimes you have to let something burn to the ground in order to build it back better and stronger than before.”

“Concerned with creation and redemption”

“the journey is as, if not more, important than the destination; how they do something is as important as what they do.“

“Steady impartial and creative” at best

“Detached, apathetic and vague” at worst

Possible aspect 2: Void

“The universe’s secret keepers”

“The unknown doesn't scare them”

“Where others might see emptiness, they see potential.”

“Value mystery and the unexplained“

“Not particularly bothered by not having all the answers”

“In order for something new to be built, the old, rotting foundation must often be razed.”

“Wise, intuitive and vibrant” at best

“Dismissive, indecisive and apathetic” at worst.

Possible aspect 3: Doom

“Understand that misery loves company“

“Ready and willing to provide said company.“

“They are commiserators, aware that sometimes the only thing you can do for a person is let them know that they are not alone in their suffering.“

“Not the advice friend”, but the friend to vent to

“Wise, kind and non-judgemental” at best

“Bitter, resentful and fatalistic” at worst.

Coraline... I am not especially confident in my understanding of. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen the movie, and am relying heavily on what I remember of her motivations/actions. That being said, I’m thinking she could be Airborn (rust, derse, rage), Arittarius (rust, derse, void) or Arun (rust, derse, breath), though I think Ariborn is the most accurate, with my current understanding.

Rust:

“Adventure motivates Rust Signs more than anything“

“Crave new experiences, the wilder and farther-from-home, the better”

“They are confident and energetic, ready to face the unknown.“

“Makes them great leaders”, “can also make them foolhardy”

“Often, they don't posses the level of caution they should for someone so willing to jump into new things.“

“Their willingness to trust can get them into trouble, but they are also incredibly resilient. Their ability to bounce back from trauma and injury leaves them as the toughest sign class on the spectrum.”

“Make great friends and traveling companions, but they also can be selfish and quick to anger.“

“If what they deem to be an acceptable level of "excitement" isn't happening around them, they have a tendency to try to stir some up.“

“If someone doesn't live up to these [standards], they may deem them not worth their time.“

Derse dreamer

“distinct and restless skepticism.“

“Whatever their waking circumstances, chances are they will live in a state of dissatisfaction.“

“Rebellion is in their blood”

“Will do their utmost to hide any insecurities”

“They may be inflexible and pessimistic, but they are also great problem solvers, facing conflicts head-on.”

“They see one true path among [the] wrong ones.”

“They find sincere vulnerability difficult and will often keep people at arm's length.“

Possible aspect 1: Rage

“Bringers of chaos”

“They posses great contempt for lies or false ideas, including the stability that false ideas can impart.“

“To them, the true is far more important than the good; they would tear down a system just to destabilize it if, by their reckoning, it is built on faulty premises.“

“Bringers of confusion and doubt, and [can be] difficult to convince otherwise when they have attached themselves to an idea.”

“Original, revolutionary and fearless” at best

“Cruel, uncompromising and vicious” at worst

Possible aspect 2: Void

“unknown doesn't scare them“

“where others might see emptiness, they see potential. A blank page, an empty canvas, that's what the Void-bound live for.“

“Where others might be compelled to go out and seek answers, the Void-bound lean more toward casting doubt on what is already considered fully understood.”

“Wise, intuitive and vibrant” at best

“Dismissive, indecisive and apathetic” at worst.

Possible aspect 3: Breath

“Leaven an impact wherever they go”

“able to sweep others up to carry along in their wake,“

“Although Breath-bound do make very good leaders, breath tends to be a very personal aspect. Often, heroism comes along as an offshoot of them pursuing their own personal stories.“

“Motivated, adaptable and forward thinking” at best

“Volatile, avoidant and gullible” at worst.

I have no idea about Neil or Wybie since I haven’t seen either movie in ages, and don’t feel comfortable going by their fandom interpretations, lest I mischaracterize them.

#ihaveatheoryonthat mystery kids

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