i only learned about this recently in my 'lern 2 rite more better' readings
Filter words =/= filler words. Filter words are small things that put a bit of distance between the reader anda sensation, making us more aware that we are reading. Taking them out creates immediacy, which is not to say things will happen faster, it just means the same lines will hit harder if you remove one (1) word. You might even find that removing the filter requires or inspires you to add a few words!
I will use examples of my own chapter that I've yet to try removing them from:
It felt like a barricade between them.
The filter here is 'felt' and removing it makes it a stronger statement. Let's lose 'like' as well - it doesn't feel like a barrier, it is one. This seems like a subtle disctinction to be making and I could get away with the original wording for sure, but if I keep doing it can create distance and make everything less visceral for a reader. I'll remove that word if I end up using this line, because it does read better to me without it.
(Obviously you might want that kind of distance, in which case you should also be aware of filter words so you can check if you'd prefer to add more.)
However, this one:
No wonder he had always felt hall-full.
'Felt' works here because we are indeed talking about how something felt and while I could phrase it as 'he had always been half-full' that does not - to me - work in the context that I've not provided you with. So you won't always be cutting these.
In the circumstances it felt anticlimactic.
I'll cut that and say it was anticlimactic. If it feels that way to our protagonist then it is that way to him, and I have to ask myself if I really think he'd stop and think around this feeling at the time. Is this an unrealistic way for him to be introspecting, or does it work? It does not mean he's not feeling anything - he's still feeling but you as the reader are not now being reminded that he's a fictional character whose thoughts are filtered through the words I, the writer, have chosen. Of course they are! But this is a game, this is about illusions. I am lying to you and I would prefer to lie convincingly and make you believe it.
He saw Eduardo's hand shake
This one I'll probably keep because the distance works for this part of the story, where observing events and not being the one making things happen is part of the moment. However, in another context it'd probably be better to say 'his hand shook'.
Made up example, which is a better one:
He saw a goat in the field.
Okay, why? Is it better to say 'a goat stood in the field'? It might not be, but it's best to think about it.
Here's a slightly mean-sounding bit but I offer it because I think it's a genuine issue for some people: sometimes the more verbose of us can lose track of the importance of a single word (or its absence). Editing to reword something shorter might not be your aim but making yourself consider it is almost always worthwhile because either you can now justify your choice or you might decide to reword it better but not shorter.
This is why people recommend drabbles as a writing exercise no matter what length you're aiming for - nothing will teach you how much difference one word can make as quickly being forced to add or remove one to complete the seemingly simple task of "write a story of 100 words." It is a common complaint among drabble writers that getting to exactly 100 can often take much more time than getting to 97 or 102 did.
I, who tend to feel bad about low wordcounts, am exactly the sort of person who should get mad about being told to cut filter words, but I recognise the value of it in polishing up what I've written. It is entirely possible that if you have a check for them you won't have any in the first place, or you'll only have a few. I found I didn't have many when I starting looking for them, but I've since learned to avoid them even more. They're a little "Stop. Think. What is this word doing here?" cue when you find them. If you are violently opposed to losing even a single word of your genius prose then you can leave them where they are, but for many people removing them does improve what they wrote. And if it doesn't, then at least they can explain why it doesn't. Intentionality is the key, as it always is in writing.
ik bill was going crazy over "to put your hand in fire and not get burned... this is a feeling like no other." day 1 of ford being a henchmaniac woulda been giving him pyrokinesis
This is beautiful, not just because of the lyrics, harmonies and relatable message, but also because Cinderella (Brandy), One of the Hercules Muses (Roz Ryan) , and Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis) are singing it. Like we have been blessed.
The thing is, even if you were lucky and your parents taught you how to clean, they probably didn't teach you how to clean the stuff you clean stuff with, like brushes, mops, sponges, rags, and so on. Or how to clean your cleaning appliances, like a dish washer, clothes washing machine, and clothes dryer and its ducts (if you have a ducted dryer), or a carpet cleaner, vacuum, Or how to clean up clean messes, like spilled bleach or detergent.
My parents threw away all of these things (even the vacuum cleaners and the dryer) when they got too dirty to function, because no one even told them THAT they could be cleaned. Cost them thousands of dollars over the years.
All I'm saying is that cleaning is not intuitive, and not knowing how to clean is not a moral failing, but it is something you can learn.
I'm going to reblog this post with resources for learning how to clean things and how to clean cleaning things (I'm not at my desk at the moment). If you have any favorites, please feel free to add them in too!
I like this video because it does a great job of introducing the basic foundations of house cleaning (and because he doesn't use bleach, which is a common allergy in addition to being awful to inhale). He also talks a little about how to clean a vacuum. And why you shouldn't put grease from your pots and pans down the sink drain. I also love that he mentions that different houses and different people have different needs and different versions of what clean and cleaning looks like.
He doesn't mention though that the toilet seat comes off. I take my toilet seat off to clean under the hinges and clean the seat more thoroughly once a quarter.
This is another video from the same guy about cleaning and depression. This advice, especially at the beginning, can feel really really difficult and oppressive to hear. However, I find that it's generally pretty solid. But I'm autistic and so is he, so that gets a massive Your Mileage May Vary stamp on it.
I have a favorite part of this video. It's from 10:52 to 12:36. I think we could all use to hear that. There's a HEFTY pause after that one. I promise the narration does come back.
I'm also going to recommend KC Davis' book "How To Keep House While Drowning"
This is a pair of videos about how to correctly load and use a dish washer.
The first one is a quick 1 minute 30 second overview on loading. I can't find the exact video I'm looking for, so consider this a substitute for that. If I can find the one I'm looking for, I'll swap it in.
The second is a half hour deep dive on dishwashers and detergents. The short form of that is you shouldn't need to pre-rinse anything, detergent pods are overpriced and can cause problems, some dishwashers have a filter in the bottom that needs to be cleaned (but most don't), run your sink until the water is HOT before starting your dish washer, and put a little detergent in the pre-rinse dispenser when you're washing extra dirty dishes (or on the inside of the door if your dishwasher doesn't have a pre-rinse dispenser).
How to clean a front load washer (with bleach). This should be done monthly or every time you wash really soiled clothes.
With expert tips and tricks for all types of washers.
How to clean a top loader (without the removable agitator thing). This should be done every 1-3 months depending on you unit, or every time you wash really soiled clothes.
Regular cleaning of a top-load washing machine will prolong the life of the appliance and leave your laundry cleaner and brighter.
How to clean a top loader (with the removable agitator thing). This should be done every month, or every time you wash really soiled clothes.
These carpet brushes are a LIFE SAVER if you have dogs. This thing allows me to go from vacuuming about 4 square feet before my vacuum is full to vacuuming half the living room (I don't vacuum often enough. You should vacuum weekly, and I just can't.). I have to unclog the vacuum less often. It fluffs up some of the flat spots in the carpet. And I also use the brush to shampoo my rugs in the spring.
A spot cleaner (or a carpet cleaner with a spot cleaner attachment) is another life saver, ESPECIALLY if you can afford to splurge on a heated one. I see them at Goodwill or at yard sales occasionally, and they're worth picking up. The shark one in the video is great too.
This channel is gold. There's tutorials for cleaning EVERYTHING on there. Just go subscribe!
Gonna throw another potential resource at the end of this very long list, which may be potentially helpful for others like me who loathe videos. It's... the weirdest thing that has genuinely been helpful to me in housekeeping. Absolutely full of useful advice, and bizarrely still relevant in large part. (Though, caveat, research ANYTHING to do with chemicals or cleaning products more complicated than vinegar + lemon + water for modern information.)
It's America's Housekeeping Book (1941). Available for free download on the Internet Archive. (Large PDF file at the link here).
The LISTS y'all. The step by step lists. The emphasis on efficiency and arranging spaces for the least resistance possible. The basic concept of "take a tray or basket into a room when you are tidying up so you can put things that belong elsewhere on it and take them out LATER in ONE GO".
*small warning, this analysis ended being quite ORV-coded, because I still haven't and will never recover from having kdj broken through my 4th wall. Still, I believe that under that veneer I have touched upon some very interesting insights about TBHX's themes and possible narrative direction.
This rather long set of rambling is a product of me going a tad insane at the end of ep24. Yelling to myself as the episode ends, "What do you mean DEFY FATE?!? What is your plan X?! TF do you meaning clocking out!?! Don’t you dare go away without explaining things!! . And wondering why the hell Fate bothers with this guy, besides cruel irony, when he’s so clearly unwilling. This then lead me to ponder on what kind of ending this show is aiming for.
The following text is quite long, so find yourself a comfortable seat & perhaps a fresh cup of tea, and enjoy the ride!
Part 1: Conditions under which defying Fate is feasible and thematically reasonable.
Even if X tries to loose the upcoming tournament, I don’t think he can, or I at least not in a meaningful way.
Notable example: [The Bar fight, all he had to do was throw a coin and stuff happened that ensured his safety. Reality bent over backwards to let him both have his drink and put out of order his assassins]. X isn’t doomed to fail, he’s doomed to win.
I think Fate just won’t let him lose that easily in the tourney (as in fake losing a ranking match or him giving his title) and could arrange circumstances that would force him into the spotlight (I don’t think X would be the kind of person that lets innocent people be in danger if he’s the only one who can do something about it) or circumstances that would leave him as the only valid candidate that the public could support.
[Note 1] It is also quite possible that the other top 10 have received orders to kill X in the tournament if possible, though I’m not 100% certain sure the commission would have taken the risk of causing a wave of fear by basically having a very public execution over the risk of X becoming another Zero. If they attack, he's gonna have to either defend himself (by constantly dodging or making a counter-attack) or teleport away.
[Note 2] I’m not sure X can lose by just giving away his title. If giving the title is even possible, (accepted by the public and authorities). And if so, is it a true victory for the inheritor if they just get it hand over to them? That just reinforces the idea that X is unbeatable and is the one with the authority to choose who X is, basically changing him from king to a kingmaker. I'm also not sure his trust value would actually drop from him giving the title (it could actually rise), and an interview with LHO about Ah Sheng’s situation implies that you don’t have to win the tourney to become X, as much you have be the person with the most trust value (though winning the tourney most likely gives the winner an immense trust boost, as everyone has to acknowledge that your are the strongest hero). Therefore, X not being X but still being alive doesn't solve any of the problems X has with the commision and as he still is a lingering threat even if he drops in ranking, because in the mind of the public he can always make a return and seize back the title in the blink of an eye like he during his first Victory.
Though I will admit that doing such a thing could contribute to making the title of X irrelevant, which maybe could go into X's plans to defy fate ?? (I just don't fully see how)
[Note 3] X revealing his civilian identity very publicly actually goes against the idea of him stepping away from his status as a hero. Aside from taking away the leverage the HAC has against him (which would allow them to "make him disappear" without a trace if nobody else knows who X is), X is quite literally burning down any chance he has as a normal life. The whole world knows who he is, are they really gonna leave him alone because they now know what he looks like? No, he won’t be able to go anywhere without people recognizing him, without reporters, paparazzi and envious heroes hounding him down. Even in his civ form, when someone meets him for the first time, they will think of Hero X first, not his civilian identity. His apartment is destroyed, I doubt he will be able to keep his FOMO job (not without signing a contract), everyone knows his face. Frankly, when we clearly see how much he enjoys normalcy, this is, incredibly sad. The "clocking out" scene is a hollow victory, a last gotcha before X, as a person not as a hero, is at his most vulnerable. This is as statement to how much Fate is pushing him into a corner, trying to ravage his personal life and so only the hero persona is remains.
[Note 4] It certainly seems possible for the top 10 to unify against a common physical enemy, which could represent Fate and becomes a big metaphor for breaking the cycle of exploitation and violence (with heroes choosing to uplift each other instead of fighting for the throne). However, while surely an important moment, I don’t think this would be the true endpoint of the story, the true cathartic heart of the narrative. Because, unfortunately, punching your problems away does not fix systemic issues. The uniting would be more a result of everyone achieving a healthier state of mind than the other way around. Furthermore, if the problem is purely physical, why would the top 10 need each other, especially X? Unless we are dealing with an issue of overwhelming numbers (and even then we all saw how the X’s fight against phobiaclone went), a lot of the top ten heroes could manage alone. A core issue that ruins the lives of heroes (and tbhx citizens) is that everyone contributes and suffers from the Trust/Fear system, nobody is truly innocent and they are all also trapped in a world that tramples upon those who try to uphold true heroism.
As my tbhx bestie said * Basically, what they need to defeat to achieve freedom from the system is therapy ~Dat*
For similar reasons, I don’t think things would be fully resolved by having a fight due to Rock semi-succeeding in making a half-baked Zero simulacra. I also don’t really expect Zero to actually be resurrected and become the "final boss", because first, Zero was very much the result of society not the core problem and second, defeating him would only reset things to post-Dawnfall state, which sucks for everyone as s1 has shown.
[Conclusion] So. How do you defy an unstoppable force? By being an immovable object? At best, this creates a tie, a war of attrition that ends ups with Fate winning or X dying (not playing the game only works so long if non-players get to live and I don’t think X is too keen on dying, especially if it just risks Fate restarting over with someone else). And, can you brute force something that is as intangible as Fate, as the domino effect ? -> The best course of action to defy Fate might not be fighting it, but convincing it to change course. To kickstart your own domino effect and hope Fate picks it up.
Part 2: How come X is able to defy Fate and what does Fate want, actually?
Now, let’s try to answer a crucial question. Why does X have a shot at defying fate? What is, concretely, so special about him that he has the potential to rewrite destiny?
(Of course, there’s the real possibility that X, no matter what he wants or believes, does not have the power to defy fate, but let’s push aside the possibility of this being the worst most tragic timeline for the sake of making an actual theory instead of having to write an obituary).
I think that one of the reason X can defy Fate is related to the specifics of his power. Not just the literal "reality warping" definition of his power, but a focus on the fact that the core of his skillset is never about brute strength, it’s about changes in perspectives and transposing them into reality, to create an overwhelming environmental advantage. Going from 2D to 3D and vice-versa, manipulating and skipping along the xyz axis (even moving along the time axis), flattening or giving volume to things, making things that appear smaller or bigger actually so (ex: a coin in front of one’s eye becomes a shield) & creating a additional "fourth wall" and using it to "take a step back" to edit/constrain reality (aka paper boy treatment).
Shifts in Perception are not only a key theme in X’s powers, but also regarding his character. X’s is the most known unknown figure in the public eye, nobody knows is true self, down to his name (we didn’t even get to see Smile or his coworkers use it, if they ever knew it) and the brackets of his personal timeline (not knowing his birth year means he could have been involved at any point in the timeline, though I doubt he was alive before Dawnfall or that he intentionally intervened in heroes affairs before 35 AC). There’s also the reversal of expectations that changed him from a powerful mastermind to a guy who wants to quit being a hero (and who probably became Fate’s unlucky lucky champion by pure chance). Also, X has an uncanny thing about looking at the camera (including the viewers), notable example being him reaching out to the screen to adjust the camera in the smartwatch ad, and perceiving when he’s being followed/attacked without physically looking.
Furthermore, the show’s themes also play on the concepts of truths, lies and perception, i.e the whole Trust system and the hero manufacture that feeds of it.
[First Conclusion] Perception being a crucial theme overall, the idea is, X is the one who can defy Fate because he’s one of the only ones who can perceive Fate (There is a high chance Tarot Girl also can, perhaps even to a greater extent, but X also has the capabilities to make a grab for power). X he can see Fate’s movements and perhaps the one(s) who is(are) enacting them. Even if he might not be able to directly change Fate’s movements, he might be able to influence the direction Fate desires to go. Perception control (notable example: X’s double life and him possibly actively erasing footage of himself from his character teaser) and knowledge is a main reason why X is free from the agencies/commission’s control (+ the fact that he can teleport and change his looks)and those might also be a key to X’s plan to defy Fate.
Why does X has such power?
Is it just because X is Fate’s favorite little blorbo and it "doting" on him accidentally gave him the skills necessary to defy it? Is it just for the thematic irony of a plain nobody being elevated to the status of world destroying god, karmic punishment for this world’s greed and lack of self-responsibility? Did X just get plain lucky in his bad luck? Does Fate’s design need specifically a powerful reality warper, somehow? Maybe all of those reasons form a nexus that inevitably ends up in our X being twice chosen as the protagonist of Fate’s story and in the story of Humanity against Fate.
…All these speculation highlight a key question, a critical bit of information we are missing. What is Fate trying to achieve? What does Fate want, for it to make X its champion? Why, of all heroes to give the crown to, choose the one that happens to be best suited to defy it? Does one need the power to rewrite reality to achieve Fate’s goal? Is it because X powers couldn’t have occurred in another person, and that power set makes the best shot at holding the X title long enough to become a God? But why not focus on Queen then? Her powers are the most similar and she’s the most capable and motivated to become X. Or Dragon Boy or E-Soul? We’ve got Rock literally begging on his knees for Fate’s favor. Why the hell did Fate choose the most unmotivated guy in the whole cast? What kind of self-sabotage is this??? Unless…
A possible answer: Fate isn’t looking to create a God or end Humanity, those things are just a byproduct of Fate’s true design … and Humanity’s unfortunate tendency to trapped themselves in misery and exploitation at the sight of any kind of power system that doesn’t have proper rigorous checks and balances.
What could Fate want? A compelling story. An ENTERTAINING story. Gripping twists, dramatic backstories and lovable characters, "Heroes" to root for. The Ups and Downs of engaging and thrilling storytelling. A great enemy to be deafeated in a cathartic manner! Thing is though… most readers don’t want their favorite story to end. So Fate allows the rise of the Trust/Fear system, made to constantly uplift and cause the downfall of heroes, an unending cycle of heroes fighting for the public’s attention. Give this to modern society, let it amplify, abstract into reality, its best and worst qualities and your neverending hero adventures are good to go! But the faith of the audience is fickle and to keep the spectators engaged (both in and out of universe), you have to continuously push for bigger and bolder narratives, causing a domino effect that inadvertently leads to the creation of another Zero, a world ending dragon. Then the cycle restarts, but human lives aren’t a game and crashing & rebooting human society could very well lead to its permanent end.
Maybe there are a plethora of realities where X isn’t Fate’s chosen. Those alternate realities just… happen to not last very long, humanity wiping itself out in a kaleidoscope of whimpering bangs. And this would go against Fate’s desire, because a dead world is a story that’s over. In this sense, X wouldn’t be the chosen one, just the one where reality happens to survive a little longer, for now.
[Second Conclusion] But not all good stories have to be bleak and edgy narratives and X’s plan might be to offer an alternate script, to propose a thrilling narrative where the protagonist fights fate itself, a fight against the Story itself, the pinnacle of all stories. And the downfall of the Trust-Fear system would be the reward. To allow the dawn of an era where heroes are a little happier and truer to themselves, while still leaving space for moving narratives. For I don’t think tbhx advocates for the fall of heroism, as much stands against its commodification and restriction in the hands of the powerful. A New type of heroism where everyone can be the hero of their own stories.
Part 3: Fate, the Audience and the Trust system in both reality
Why insist on such a strong link between Fate and Storytelling? Because in and out of universe Belief has been linked to narrative control and the power the audience has in shaping the story/characters. In-universe, it is quite obvious with the Trust system, with every citizen being at the mercy of society’s perception of them and their worth (along with self-perception, which modulates how belief affects you, how resistant your ego is and how well you can channel what other deem valuable about you) and with the media and business corporations heavily influencing the flow of trust (controlling news coverage, restricting opportunities to marketable heroes, literal assassination plots) even if the power of Belief rest in the average citizen’s hands. For heroes, narrative is everything.
Out-universe, in our universe, beside the fact that the tbhx celebrity and social media culture is basically the same as ours without the superpowers, we can draw a more direct connection by looking at the link between the writers, the audience and the characters polls.
First, in a real 4th wall breaking way, Fate is the writers’ script. Every events, every tragedy, the origin story of each hero, has been penned and sealed long before the show ever aired. Additionally, Fate is shaped by the Audience (Us) perception of the story. First with the polls having a real effect on the direction of the story and what info is revealed (unlocking pvs and such), second with our engagement in social media. The story is after all only truly given life through those who witness it (which can also include the writers) and the story expands beyond what a single individual can imagine through the fandom space. Even more, the fans’ beliefs have also affected minor, but concrete things; like the fact that X’s height used to be 180cm briefly before changing to 190cm and it’s implication that it was because of fans claiming everything that said he was under 190 cm should be ignored as not canon. Furthermore, like the citizens being influenced by the hero agencies and HAC through information control, the Audience (we) opinion on the characters heavily influenced the marketing and writing of the show. aka the polls are obviously rigged in X’s favor, the guy having a 2 years head starts on the other characters, a notable example amount many many others. On an even more meta note, the writers also influence what we think is true, what the viewers assume is and isn’t possible, simply through the lens of storytelling. A story is never told with a true omniscient viewpoint, things are always filtered out, otherwise it wouldn’t be a story, the narrative drowned under the amount of pure facts.
Hence, it is possible to say that the citizens, the authorities (agencies/HAC), and the Trust/Fear system directly mirror the relationship between the Writers, the Audience and fandom engagement with the Heroes/Characters as a connecting point. Is it such a stretch to hypothesized that Fate, this overwhelming force that orchestrates events toward an unknown destination, is from our world and the result of the viewers expectations guided by the writers' pen?
If Fate is us, the Audience, then a lot of things about X’s entwinement with Fate start to make sense. How did his trust values shot up so quickly when he was a nobody (as we see in his new inertia mv)? Because he had the backing of millions who saw his concept movie and he won the first poll (and is well on his way to win the second by a landslide). How come he was the one who happened to meet Lucky Cyan at the exact point in time where she would see his donation as life-changing? Maybe it’s because we all decided that the one who gave the coin had to be X. Why is Fate fixated on him? Because we were told in all but words that he is the protagonist (while the show has many main characters, X is the one driving the whole story). Because ironically him not wanting to be a hero and being an average person behind all the mysterious persona makes him an incredibly compelling protagonist. People are gonna root for that (points at the polls stats where X has consistently gotten at least twice as much new votes than LL for WEEKS).
If so, this also fits with what was theorized earlier about Fate’s goal. What do viewers want, above everything else? To be told a good story, to see their faves triumph in face of adversity, to be entertained. While this is fertile ground for the cycle of exploitations that we see in the show, it does imply the possibility that within the right conditions, Fate could be convinced to change course, if the argument, the story, is compelling enough.
I think X might be betting on this volatile side of belief, because while viewers cannot stray too much from the writers script, they are the ones who have full authority to imagine what happens to the characters after last scene ends.
[Conclusion] Fate is the Audience (that follows the path carved by the show’s writers, yes in a way LH0 was the villain all along XD).
Part 4: What X wants to tell the Audience and the Ending
Now that we have established the connection between our world and Fate’s role in tbhx, what does it mean for X’s plan to defy it?
First, based on ep24 domino montage, the second trailer (where we see X in the void snapping with concentration as we see glimpses of the other top ten backstories) and the fact that the animation changes at critical points during s1 (especially the fight between Wreck and LL and the death match between the two Esouls), there’s a strong possibility that the events of S1, or at least a good portion of them, represent X investigating the other top10 in order to understand Fate’s involvement in everything that lead to the Smile incident, Nice’s suicide and his own personal situation regarding the 41 AC tournament. This probably leads him to come to terms with the fact that the current system isn’t sustainable (probably supported by prior experiences with Nine and Tarot girl, who would have respectively given some insights into the manipulations of the agencies/HAC and into the existence of Fate), that things are bound to implode very soon and that he will be forced to play a major role no matter if he wants to or not. So he sets out to act under his own terms (similar to how he reveals his identity before the HAC does, functionnally destroying his civilian life before the HAC can use it as leverage against him).
If Fate is indeed a product of our world’s intervention, what can X really do against the individual the will of millions, against the hands that wrote his very existence? Come to our world and slaughter each person that has watched tbhx? Crash into LH0’s office and demand compensation at swordpoint? Inefficient, crude, bothersome, and unlikely to succeed without dire consequences, we can safely say that this isn’t gonna happen. I believe X’s plan might be to convince the audience to believe in a world where Trust Value doesn’t exist (or has been drastically modified). To watch the top 10, love them, cheer for them and earnestly believe they would be happier if they were A) allowed to be normal flawed people instead of idols on a pedestal of perfection B) part of an alternative system that allowed for healthy self-expression.
The point is, S1, which heavily focuses on the other top10 (with X, barely appearing, possibly dodging the « cameras of the story » cuz he’s the only one who can see them) might have been X’s Introduction to his thesis (S2) on why the rules of his world need to change and what is the alternative he is proposing. Though this heavily depends on how much our viewing experience is influenced by the writers or by X breaking the fourth wall (which are also not mutually exclusive!).
It is possible that X, after winning his fourth tournament (or even before), has gained enough trust value, in & out universe, to take down the Trust/Fear system and replace it with something else, but that the change won’t be permanent unless Fate accepts it as reality. The number 4, related to death, could represent the « death of an era » which could foreshadow gaining enough power to remake anew reality, or be a death flag for X, possibly both.
Perhaps he aims to isolate individual perspectives in a manner that you can only be affected by your personal fear and trust (which could or could not mean the end of superpowered people, though knowing LH0 hopes to create a well-known IP that gives a platform for lesser known studios, there’s a slightly higher possibility that superpowers will remain in some form at the end of the show). To create a world where everyone can be Hero x, because only yourself can be the judge of your own worth. Which would be the a callback to the title (To Be Hero X, with belief anyone can be a hero), to the lyrics from Inertia which we know is from X’s pov (« didn’t you know it’s enough, just to deserve that love, without a crowd, without a stage, You’re still a real hero »), to the whole Kontinuum ending vid (which has X bringing back individual colors and all the superhero merch disappearing after his snap) and to, funnily enough, the X smartwatch ad (which starts with the words « What X can be » and ends with « X to be everything »).
X « Clocking out » at the start of the 41st tournament could also be a be linked with the idea of destroying the pedestal heroes are put on. By making the public realize that X isn’t an out of reach God, but a very normal guy (undoing the myth that people have to be inherently extraordinary to earn the right to become a hero; X didn’t to anything special, he was kind to a little girl and got lucky).
[Sidebar] All of this doesn’t mean that their won’t be a big fight against a being that represent Fate, but moreso that this opponent could be a plot device that is a stand in for the will or the writers/audience, in the meta sense. Maybe that Fate is also a character that achieves freedom from the narrative, even if that freedom means its demise. And perhaps X is planning to deceive the audience by convincing them that he can beat a being called Fate, without the audience realizing that it is them he is talking about.
[Conclusion] X’s plan might be to convince the audience that a world without the Trust/Fear system would make for a better story, for a better happy ending for their beloved characters. Specifically a world where it becomes undeniable that anyone & everyone can be a hero.
Part 5: X, the free hero and the shackled character
X is free in his universe, but is he really free in ours?
In our reality, X’s character is the most restrained by the needs of the story. Every appearance in the show carefully calculated so he doesn’t upset the balance of the narrative, yet he haunts the narrative because he represents the goal that every other hero is trying to achieve. When we learn the other characters backstories, goals and motivations we learn what drives them to participate in the hero tournament.
Furthermore, X is the face, the mascot of the show. Exemplified by how he was conceptualized and marketed years before the other heroes. Not only does he have his theme song like the other characters; Inertia, Kontinuum and some might even argue Jeopardy (though I think this one could apply to most heroes in general), were also clearly made with him in mind. His name is even in the freaking show title!
Before the airing of ep 21, the Smile incident, (the only event that we know of where X was personally, emotionally, involved), we never got a close look at X’s “true self", his civilian self. Inside the the show, that is. However, we did see plenty of his civilian side, in the promo material for the show (ex: the show concept movie, both of his characters teaser mv, the Mizone soda ad, both inertia openings). In our world, X is LHO’s favorite doll that he dresses up whenever he needs to promote the show, when he needs to create engagement and hype for the story.
Everything about X’s character design (and powers) is meant to generate interest for the show and his story. He is visually appealing, has banger music, is full of mysteries and the nexus of other characters motivations. He both has a cool & confident attitude, with also a dorky tired everyman side. And then, his powers are absolute visual masterpieces, made to be rewatched over and over.
X might have been known to none in his universe, but he was known to all of us before he even made his first official appearance in the show.
Even if X achieves his victory against Fate, wouldn’t that just be submitting to the show’s destined "true" ending? In the same manner, is a fourth wall breaking really such if it is instigated by the writers? Can a character break free from the shackles of its creators, when such bindings are what creates the boundaries of its being? Maybe freedom, if it exists, only lies between the lines of the writers’ script, in the margins of the unsaid. But even that is vulnerable to the whims of the viewers’ imagination.
[Possible relevant sidebar] Furthermore, in the first minute of the new Inertia opening, which is supposed to represent X’s backstory, only X, Tarot Girl and Nine’s faces are visually clear (this is especially notable when Tarot Girl chases after X at the beginning). Which could very well be a stylistic choice or a way of signalling that the glasses trio is more defined/perceivable in our reality in a different manner than the other citizens are.
[Conclusion] X might be the epitome of freedom in his world, but he is deeply embedded in the narrative in our world. Considering that the story implies the creation of a reality free from such force, this begs the question whether X will be forced fo stay behind (like at the end of the Kontinuum ending or the new Inertia could imply) or have to pay the price of his identity to usher in this new era.
Part 6: What X doesn’t tell the audience and the Epilogue
Without going through the list of the many death flags that are stuck on X’s back, we can imagine that things are looking a bit bleak regarding his fate at the end of the story. Even if I’m wrong about the specifics of his plan, I think that if X future actions involve the rises of a new system form the ashes of the old one and/or the separation of our worlds influence on the world of tbhx, it could end up in some sort of alienation of X’s character from this new reality. The hypothetical authority needed to change Fate, even if X ends up only influencing destiny instead of outright killing it (the latter which Kontinuum outright states « Kill this destiny that’s trying to tell you what you should be »), implies occupying an important position at the heart of reality, which doesn’t bode well when the plan seems to hinge upon it’s destruction (even if only metaphorical).
Furthermore, TBHX isn’t a show where characters get to walk away from their actions, to act without consequences. Defying Fate will have consequences, a price to pay, something to fuel this change. It makes sense that the main instigator of this change would be the one the backlash ends up focusing one.
However, they may yet be a ray of hope. TBHX has judiciously kept two crucial point X’s identity hidden: his birth name and year of birth. (let me also raise the possibility that his birthday isn't his real birthday, but the day he became known as a Hero) While it is no doubt that this is related to his mysterious persona and the idea that anyone can be a hero, could this be a secret backdoor that allows X to avoid the worse of the consequences (either his doing or the writers’), because he has yet to have a fixed identity? Would it be possible that the final lesson of tbhx to it’s viewers is to learn to learn to let go of well-crafted narratives, to stop idolising celebrities, step away from the screen and meet people equal-to-equal, human-to-human? That no matter how inspiring stories are, you have to apply those ideas to yourself through your actions in irl for them to mean anything. The idea that if your truly love something, you have let it fly away and love it no matter if it comes back to you or not. That the only way X can be free from fate, can escape from the story’s pages, is if the audience accepts that they can never know him fully, or at least not within the context of a scripted story, nor the inherent power imbalance of the Trust system. Maybe there will be a final poll, before the last episode airs, asking if the viewers if they want to unveil everything about X’s identity and we will have to make a choice that either dooms him or saves him, at the price of our own curiosity and letting him walk where we cannot follow.
...and that's the end of this deep dive in the themes of Fate & Endings!
Here is my thesis for the tbhx PhD, I can move on happily now- -Wait, No actually I need to see Nine have actual screentime with plenty of voice lines & cool scenes and for him, Tarot girl and X to have a happily ever after where they have weekly meetups at a café and banter about who’s going to pay for drinks, without having to worry about Fate.
when jorge luis borges wrote in a copy of beowulf that he was working on translating, “beyond my anxiety, beyond this writing, the universe waits, inexhaustible, inviting.”
here’s the full poem! it’s so. something so transcendent something so inevitable and real and conceptually like looking into the abyss and hearing a choir sing your humanity back to you
genuinely wild to me when I go to someone's house and we watch TV or listen to music or something and there are ads. I haven't seen an ad in my home since 2005. what do you mean you haven't set up multiple layers of digital infrastructure to banish corporate messaging to oblivion before it manifests? listen, this is important. this is the 21st century version of carving sigils on the wall to deny entry to demons or wearing bells to ward off the Unseelie. come on give me your router admin password and I'll show you how to cast a protective spell of Get Thee Tae Fuck, Capital
Okay, here we go! I'm gonna try and put this in order from least to most technical knowledge required. I'm not responsible if you accidentally create SkyNet etc.
Level 1: browser extensions
This one is basically impossible to get wrong, or at least to get wrong badly enough that it causes any problems.
Get Firefox, or a Firefox fork like Waterfox. If you use a fork, make sure it's one that will let you use add-ons. On a PC, pretty much any Firefox fork will take add-ons, but on mobile devices, many don't. Iceraven is one that does.
Get the add-ons uBlock Origin, YouTube Sponsorblock (if you use YouTube), and FBCleaner (if you use Facebook).
uBlock Origin comes with a built-in list of filters to block ads and trackers, but you can add your own filters to block any specific element of a website you don't like. You know those goddamn floating frames on fandom.com sites that block half the screen? Now you can zap 'em.
Sponsorblock uses crowdsourced timestamps to automatically skip sponsor spots and self-promotion in YouTube videos. Never listen to anyone say "hit like and subscribe" or "Raid Shadow Legends" again.
FBCleaner hides all content from your feed except posts from people, groups, and pages you've actually chosen to follow.
Level 2: leaving enshittified services
The software that's become standard over the years in a lot of fields is steadily selling more of your data, showing you more ads, and pushing you to buy more expensive subscriptions. Time to tell them to get fucked.
Dump Adobe apps for Affinity or Krita. Drop Microsoft for LibreOffice. Change your default search engine from Google to DuckDuckGo or Qwant. Use OpenStreetMaps instead of Google or Apple Maps.
Level 3: network-level DNS fuckery
DNS, or Domain Name Service, is the thing that tells your computer where www.website.com is actually located. By hacking your network's DNS you can force it to tell your devices that ad-hosting domains don't exist at all. Some of the steps on this one can get pretty technical, but because you're doing all the difficult stuff on a dedicated device, you can't really fuck up anything that seriously.
Get yourself a Raspberry Pi (a cheap older one like a model 3B will work just fine for this purpose), and follow a guide like this one to get it set up running AdGuard Home. AdGuard, like uBlock, has built-in filter lists, but you can also add your own if there are specific domains you want to block.
Once it's up and running, you'll need to change the DNS settings on your router to point to your AdGuard service. This is different for every router but will always start with logging into the admin panel with a password printed on a little sticker somewhere on the router.
With that done, every time a device on your home network looks for ads.website.com, it'll get back a message that says "sorry, can't find it", so it won't be able to load any ads.
Level 4: Android-specific DNS fuckery
Because AdGuard runs on your home network, it can't block ads on your phone when you're away from home - and what's worse, your phone will sometimes remember the addresses it got when you were out and about, and ads will get past your AdGuard wall even when you're home.
To avoid this, get AdAway for DNS-based ad-blocking directly on your phone. The easy, but less seamless, way of using AdAway is the "local VPN mode", which doesn't require you to do any mucking about with your phone's operating system.
Level 5: automated media piracy
The best way to stop seeing ads on all your streaming services is to stop using streaming services. There are loads of ways to do this, but the best ones involve setting up what's called an "arr stack" (Google that for setup guides) along with nzbget and a usenet account. Most of the time you'll want to set this stuff up on a dedicated device - an old laptop gathering dust in the closet is a great option, or you can grab something used from a charity shop or a local electronics recycler.
The great thing about usenet is that unlike with torrents, you don't have to do any sharing from your computer, so you're in a lot less legal jeopardy - legally speaking, distributing pirated content is waaayyy more serious than accessing it. I pay about £3 a month for a secure, high-bandwidth usenet service.
Once you start getting your own collection of media on your own computer, use the open-source media library manager Jellyfin to browse and play things from basically any device.
Oh, and don't be a dick. Pirate all you want from big corporations, but please pay independent small-time creators for their work.
Level 6: fucking with Android
Android phones are a lot more locked-down than they used to be, but depending on the device you own you can still do a lot of messing around under the hood. Note that if you get something wrong while doing this, there is always the possibility that it will turn your device into a paperweight.
Before you buy a device, check where it sits on the Bootloader Unlock Wall of Shame. Once you've bought it, check the xda-developer forums for guides on how to unlock it and "root" it (gain admin access) with Magisk.
Once Magisk is installed, you can add modules to do all sorts of cool stuff, including using AdAway in "root mode" which makes it basically invisible.
You can also install YouTube ReVanced, which will do all the ad- and sponsor blocking stuff we took care of in your Windows browser a few paragraphs ago. Be careful: there are a lot of fake sites out there pretending they're associated with the ReVanced project which might be injecting malware into their downloads. This Reddit post has the official instructions and links.
Also, try out the modded version of Facebook from APKmoddone, which will block most of the same shit as the FBcleaner add-on from earlier. There's always a possibility that modified apps like this are doing something dodgy, but I've never had any issues with this one personally.
Level 7: fucking with Windows
This one is scary because it can seriously fuck up your shit if something goes wrong, but some really cool people have actually made it very simple to strip all the bloat, ads, and spyware out of Windows. The tool I use is ReviOS. Start reading at https://www.revi.cc/docs. Basically, you'll need to download a tool called AME Wizard and the ReviOS "playbook" that tells AME what to do. Read the documentation before you do any of this.
Level 8: switching to Linux
I'm not going to pretend this is an option for everyone. Half the software I use on a weekly basis isn't available on Linux. But if you can switch? Do it. These days, Ubuntu - one of the most popular flavours of Linux - is built with people switching from Windows in mind, and a lot of things will be pretty intuitive. It also has great documentation and a huge community you can go to for help if you're confused about stuff.
And that, friends, is a comprehensive approach to banishing the demons of capitalism from your home!
Hi. Yeah I’m not sure if I’m gonna finish this BUT
I do think in the early days (before the world really began to crush their shoulders) the virtues would have time to actually hang out together, which inevitably lead to Salt doing their hair.
Look, maybe the reason why the Kala namak knights have braids is because Salt grew a sort of tradition out of with the other virtues which then accidentally carried over.
As time went on and they all got busier and busier, meetings like these sort of faded out. Perhaps it began with Salt saying that he couldn’t make it one day, and then two days, and then three. Maybe the other four tried to meet without him, but without any real active party trying to tie them all together it just… slipped their mind, eventually.
Salt probably noticed, but took it as a sign that the others had began to grow more independent from each other. Perhaps they had even grown close to regular mortal cookies— like how he did with the knights.
In a sense; I think that as time went on, Salt became more and more mortal. But, with the other virtues, as time went on, they only grew more isolated, more “god” like.
something about how solidarity was the last to fall, but the virtues had already been estranged when the first four fell. something about how their isolation contributed to their falls, how each of them carrying these immense burdens alone was what inevitably led to them buckling under the weight of it. something about how the other four failed to bring the virtues they were meant to embody to the rest of cookiekind, but silent salt failed to bring bring solidarity to the other virtues.
been thinking a lot about how deceit was the first we see to directly aim a shot at the virtue of solidarity, the first to stoke the fire against silent salt. thinking about the fount of knowledge, who decayed in loneliness, isolated from cookiekind by the very knowledge that was the reason he was MADE, by truths no one wanted to hear. shadow milk falling into corruption, and then seeking to undermine the virtue that was meant to embody solidarity.
thinking about how, from his point of view, it might've seemed like the salt of solidarity, champion of the forsaken and suffering, had forsaken him when he was suffering most. it just screams of bitterness; a kind of "where were you, then? you supposedly represent a united front, you claim to stand with the hurt and abandoned—so where were you? how dare you still call yourself solidarity, how dare you stand there unfallen, acting like you haven't already failed?"
because he DID fail to uphold solidarity, even before his corruption proper. he stood in solidarity with the weaker cookies he swore to protect, the knights who followed him, until the very end, but the other virtues, who by all rights were ALSO his comrades originally, were so removed from him that he had no IDEA they'd corrupted until it was all far too late, and all he could hold for them was resentment and fury
something about how he lashed out at the other fallen virtues upon learning the truth—how HE was the one to first call them beasts—how the sealing was a furious opposition, a betrayal, even, of who were meant to be, and probably once WERE his closest allies. the final nail in the coffin, so to speak—the ultimate abandonment of solidarity.
and its really not his fault—he was doomed by the impossibility of the purpose imposed upon him just as all the other virtues were, even if it manifested in different ways. after all, how is he supposed to stand with everyone at once? how is he meant to BE everywhere at once? he cannot help everyone, he cannot journey to save cookies in need and be there for his fellow virtues. its always been impossible for a single cookie, which really highlights the innate fallacy in how the divine emissaries were created. the fact that a singular cookie was supposed to somehow embody the concept of many people standing together shows that the plan was already intrinsically flawed, if ever it was truly meant to succeed.
the final act of sealing the beasts, in particular, was a choice he was driven into by the other four—a result where it was impossible to stand in solidarity with everyone he "should" have. to support the beasts, he would have to turn his back on all the rest of cookiekind—and he was bound by his duty just as the others were once. he HAD to choose cookiekind—but in doing so, it would he impossible not to betray his old companions. it was literally impossible for him to BE his virtue in that moment, not for everyone.
and i think maybe that's what shadow milk wanted, when he first started to level rumours against saltidarity (lol) and his followers. i think to shadow milk (childish, self-centered, painfully lonely), silent salt's first priority, his greatest allegiance, should have been to THEM before the rest of cookiekind. when the others abandoned their original purposes, yet solidarity still stood with cookiekind, it became clear that it wasnt, and shadow milk couldnt forgive him for it. its the kind of revenge a hurt child would devise: you let me fall, so ill make sure you fall, too. if I dont get to share in your solidarity, then I'll make sure no one else gets to, either.
there's just something so so fun to me about the cyclical nature of it!!! without realizing it, salt hurts shmilk, letting him feel alone—so shmilk hurts him in turn, attacking him for still upholding his values, making it impossible to not face the same fall as he did—so salt punishes all of them, sealing them within the tree
Ok so here’s a little head canon post about the beasts (I drew them in pre-corrupt form, btw)
While I do think they all were actually baked around the same time I have decided that I don’t care + as someone who has siblings it’s almost painfully obvious what the age differences are
Silent Salt
- Oldest and really does give off the “eldest daughter” vibes purely because since the witches fucked off after creating them, I’d imagine he, as the virtue of solidarity, probably helped the others settle into their duties even while he was struggling with his own.
- Makes the whole silver tree seal like putting all your younger siblings into time out except incredibly fucked up and emotionally distressing. I’m pretty sure they all physically died. What the fuck.
- Actually started as a disembodied flame head before slowly transforming into something more cookie shaped upon forming the Kala Namak Knights, which is where he gets his braids from.
- Really wants to hate all the other beasts but after the rage from his knight orders genocide wore off I’m pretty sure a fair bit of it morphed into self-loathing. He couldn’t keep it together and now he has lost not one, but two families. Im sure that Silent Salt does want to kill them but at the same time even just the idea of them dying makes the last piece of solidarity in him want to revolt or cry or whatever.
- His head flame is a much better indicator of his emotions than his actual facial features. You know when he gets real mad and the eye holes in his helmet turns white? Yeah that’s just all flame baby.
- Oh god he’s an extrovert. You saw Elder Faerie’s comment on his smooth talking. Motherfucker was a diplomat and now he’s rotting in isolation. He’s not an introvert guys don’t even.
Burning Spice
- Second oldest
- I have no basis for this one besides absorbing other people’s head canons of what he was like as the herald of change… which is pretty nice, actually
- Probably not that strict compared to Silent Salt considering he isn’t duty bound to be responsible for everyone in the same way. HOWEVER, as the herald of change, he’s pretty worldly and experienced. More so than the others, at least
- I’m not going to lie how he fell into beast hood is the most compelling to me. I think he really cares about the other beasts because they are genuinely the only cookies he can not worry about losing. Tragic. Anyway
Shadow Milk
- MOTHER FUCKER IS A MIDDLE CHILDDDDDDDDDD
- Look. He’s ignored by the other beasts or even down right hated. I think even before they all fell he wasn’t popular for his “know it all” attitude which later gave way to people pleasing and then lies and then-
- I wonder if he wouldn’t have gotten this bad if at least one person said that they liked his bluntness/didn’t make him feel annoying.
Mystic Flour
- Second Youngest
- I believe she was sooooooo fucking stubborn before corruption. Like, she was unbelievably kind and would NOT back down on that. Which really makes her current state of affairs really sad???
- Fakest idgafer I’ve ever seen. Look even though she’s trying to wipe out all of cookie kind it’s also coming from a new and very twisted ideal. This girl is literally chasing a goal with single minded intent how tf is that apathy?? No amount of aurafarming is covering that up I’m afraid
Eternal Sugar
- Youngest
- Her inability to understand what true happiness is just feels young to me. Not childish but young. Like a very naive misunderstanding that has horrific implications due to her power
- Her interactions with the other beasts, specifically Mystic Flour, don’t really help her case because they treat her like they would their youngest it’s not even funny.
Ive ranted to my wife about this i will rant here now.
While we dont have much to characterize silent salt after his corruption, I feel like he isnt really bad. As in like. He isnt corrupted like the other beasts.
Yes, he no longer holds the soul jam of solidarity. Yes he now believes in silence and doesn't give the benefit of the doubt to cookiekind. But he isnt like the others. He doesn't seem to seek out to destroy, or lie or imprison. Unlike the others, his corruption wasnt his choice.
Yes the others had their reasons. They were tormented for years by their virtues and the need of other cookies. But it was by their hand they change and started to go against their virtue. Silent salt however, in the face of cookies distrusting him and not accepting his help, didnt falter (hehe). He kept trying. And when his kingdom was attacked he fought back for the people that led the attackers there in the first place.
Him killing everyone, destroying everything, was an accident. We can see in his lines after that he is guilty. That he would never purposely betray his virture, his purpose. And even after his corruption, he sealed himself and the others away. So they couldnt hurt others anymore. Even after his corruption, he gave his life and his friendships up for cookies.
I believe that the guilt is what drives him to do wrong. He feels guilty about what his hands did. He doesn't feel like he deserves to be good anymore, to be someone people look up to. But I dont think he has it in him to be truely bad either. It goes against his nature and everything hes shown so far. He hasn't deliberately hurt a single cookie that we've seen (expect of course, those trying to hurt his people).
Not to mention, in the recent cookie run video, we kind of see it as well. Yes the silly little videos with the beasts doing stupid things is meant to be a joke. And not canon. But I still think its a good show of his personality. And as funny as the bit with him getting phished by strawberry cookie was, it kind of proves he hasn't let go of his viture. He states he used to be the cookie of solidarity. Yet the second he thinks strawberry cookie is in the need of aid for her "fishing" hobby, he gladly wants to help.
Of course, I could be completely wrong and episode 12 shows up and hes just. Gone insane from his time in the tree. But I think my characterization is pretty good. Especially considering white lily has roughly the same, guilty from a past and corruption backstory. Except she held her freedom and kept pushing for her ideals, with her friends by her side. Silent salt was caged with people who betrayed him and let his ideals fade into nothing but a dream.
Since I already spent 10+ hours drawing him I might as well spill my own take on Silent Salt.
(This is gonna be a long one, so there is a summary down further if you like.)
First; I genuinely think he’s a good person (cookie, I dunno). Second; he also definitely committed genocide, which, no matter how justified the crash out, likely killed thousands of innocent lives.
Beyond that though I can not understand anything else Silent Salt could or even should be blamed for. I’m noticing a lot of people either praising him to the high heavens (which I am victim of) or backlashing to the overly positive reception of his character combined with the demonization of the other four beasts.
The main and, personally, most confusing take I’ve seen growing in some corners of the fandom is that Silent Salt, as the virtue of solidarity, is at least indirectly responsible for the others beasts fall. While I haven’t really been invested in the crk storyline (until now) it was certainly implied that he had TRIED to contact the other beasts.
While it is pretty evident that his attempts weren’t enough, that also does not somehow mean he is now suddenly a hypocrite who gave solidarity to ordinary cookie and yet not his other virtues. He is ONE cookie, with ONE knight order, who had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of giving aid to an entire continent burdened with injustice.
There is no way he could’ve always been there at the right time to help the other beasts. The only way he could’ve known is through the connection between their virtues, but even that doesn’t seem able to inform him about their emotional state.
In other words, even saying he had an indirect hand in their fall is like saying that he pisses on the poor. What could he have possibly even done than basically barge into their territories and search for them, all the while leaving his own knight order alone?
We all know how that would’ve turned out because it already happened.
SUMMARY HERE:
IF you don’t like Silent Salt being portrayed as a perfect saint, then you should really focus on the fact that he committed genocide instead of making new sins up for him.
While I get that may seem even less reasonable considering that it was the #1 most justified crash out in history, please remember that the group of cookies he was protecting is not just that ONE cookie who ratted the Kala Namak Knights out. There were likely children.
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