#3059

[max-the-many]

It was really hard not to laugh when Jamie tried to act like this pouncer-type guy...

[sleepsucks]

[mostbelovedwrestlertournament]

Most Beloved Wrestler Tournament

#3059

Kenny Omega

Nick Jackson

Voting ended onMay 2

[thewertsearch]

AG: Tavros, you give confidence a 8ad name. I gave you all the chances in the world to earn it, to earn REAL confidence, and you failed.

Pictured: Vriska giving Tavros 'a chance to earn real confidence'.

AG: You couldn't even do the one little thing I asked you to! The one thing that would have made you man up once and for all.

'Man up' is a funny idiom for a troll to use. We've occasionally seen trolls fall into human gender stereotypes, but it's quite rare, and always sticks out like a sore thumb.

There's an interesting conversation to be had about troll genders. With a reproductive cycle so different to ours, their gender framework will inevitably be different as well. Yes, there are male and female trolls - but what do male and female actually mean to a troll?

On Earth, your assigned gender carries cultural baggage which simply wouldn't exist on Alternia. Assigned gender plays no role in reproduction, nor does it influence household division of labor, since trolls don't have households.

Gender aside, do trolls have a concept of masculine and feminine? Beyond a few stray idioms, the only evidence I can find is their clothing styles. We haven't seen any male trolls rocking a skirt - not yet, at least.

tl;dr: 'Man up' is a cultural can of worms. I think that was probably unintentional, though, and I think we're supposed to interpret that line as if a human spoke it. Vriska's calling Tavros a wimp, which is business as usual.

AG: So instead you flew away and cried, and decided to sleep away your sorrow for the rest of the adventure.

Tavros already alluded to this incident during his conversation with Jade. I guessed that Vriska would be involved, but that was a bit of a no-brainer.

Vriska's trying to frame Tavros as pathetic, but it sounds like he actually put his foot down, flat-out refusing to participate in whatever she had planned. Much like the FLARP incident, this sounds like a victory for Tavros, even if she's convinced him otherwise.

AG: Do you have any idea how sick that made me? Everything a8out you makes me sick.

He rejects your advice. He rejects your advances. His lusus cared for him. He was allowed to be kind, and accepts kindness from others. He doesn't care about winning, but he never lets you win. No matter how much you torment him, he refuses to get any stronger, which means your mindset might be wrong.

'Sick' would be an understatement.

AG: Your plan to control her lusus really wasn't a 8ad idea! AG: And using your a8ility to "save her life" (lol) was a pretty good way to test how effective your powers are across sessions. [...] AG: Practicing your a8ilities is important, so when it comes down to using them for something that really matters, you know you're ready for prime time. AG: I know this first hand. AG: I got lots and lots and LOTS of practice with your little guinea pig friend. ::::D

So that's why Jade was constantly napping? That can't have been good for her brain.

AG: The catch is it's not going to work! [...] AG: You couldn't sic the guardian on Noir even if you were inclined. Not even if I were to MAKE you inclined! :::;)

Like I said before, it's really Vriska who can control First Guardians.

AG: 8ecause you are dealing with a pro here. I already thought of that. AG: I thought of everything! AG: The guardian is not going to attack the agents who engineered him in the first place. AG: Or who I should say were "encouraged" (lol) to engineer him.

Why the fuck would you do this?

When Vriska prototyped Bec, she explained that the event was mandated by the Alpha Timeline, so she didn't make anything worse by causing it. I don't agree with her argument, but I do understand her logic.

This is different. Up until now, there has been no evidence that Bec can't harm Agents. Vriska had no prophecy to fulfil, and no reason to believe that this was required to preserve the timeline. Yes, now we know it's baked into the timeline, but only because Vriska wanted it.

Having Bec help with Jack was a really good idea, and removing the option to do so helps no one. Where's the benefit?

AT: wHY WOULD YOU DO THAT, AG: Tavros, at this point it should 8e o8vious. AG: I am the unseen hand 8ehind every major event in their session, and to some extent, their whole lives. AG: At least those events not happening 8y the volition of their own natural incompetence! AG: Don't you think this is how it should 8e? Shouldn't the greatest player leave her fingerprints on every step of the rise to power of her ultim8 nemesis?

I know Vriska likes to feel in control, but this is ridiculous.

Inserting yourself into Alpha loops is one thing, but nerfing Bec when you don't have to is straight-up sabotage. Couldn't she just stick to micromanaging John's outfits?

AG: I have every angle covered already. The human session is on full Serket lockdown. Any effort you make to disrupt my plans will 8e laugha8le, just like everything you have ever done in your life. AG: The only thing left to do now is prepare to kill Jack myself, and save everyone's ungrateful asses.

Oh my god, I think I've cracked it.

Vriska thinks she's the only one with the right to kill Jack.

She describes him as her ultimate nemesis, which reeks of main character syndrome. Bec isn't important enough to kill Jack, so she eliminated him as an option. It has to be her, the most powerful Player, who's gained all the levels, because that is how these things are done.

It's not just ego, either - there's a deeper motivation at play. If Vriska doesn't beat Jack, she doesn't win - and if she doesn't win, then what was all that abuse were all those challenges for? What was the point?

In Vriska's head, Jack needs to be her nemesis. She needs to be destined to kill him - because if she is, then everything she went through was justified. She'll have secured her position as the most powerful Player of all, and she'll never have to be jealous of anyone again - least of all that wimp with his sweet little fairy lusus. They're all weak, and she's strong.

If she doesn't kill Jack, she's a loser.

And losers may as well be dead.

[chris-tarrant-official]

Question 156

A

B

C

D

Voting ended onAug 4, 2024

[gr8writingtips]

writing tip #3059:

if your protagonist doesn't badly need a heckin' vibe check, is their story worth telling?

[tylerknott]

PLEASE READ…My friends, I’m at a crossroads and I’m excited at where the road is aiming. For a long time here on social medias, I’ve been feeling worn out, irritated, and saddened. I grew this community from nothing to something, and in the process connected with so many of you beautiful humans. I shared art, hope, light, and then watched all of those things slowly be changed and controlled by outside forces. Now, the art I make barely reaches any of you, some algorithm by some corporation that aims only at making more money, decides who sees the things I make, decides who gets to connect, interact, and stay in this community. On top of this, Covid swooped in and stole an entire year and a half of work from my lovely wife and I, and to be fully transparent here, we’ve not made a single real paycheck since February. Not one. Alas, it’s time something shifted, and I want to go backwards. . I have decided to create an email newsletter, and in doing so, re-create a community in which WE have the power to decide what we see, and how we see it. I’ll still post my Haiku on Life and the seed lines of my Typewriter Series, but the full poetry will be moved exclusively to the newsletter, and for the first time ever, I’m offering subscription based memberships where you get direct access to all the art, extras, typewriter poetry, and writing prompts, and to a community of like-minded people that can interact directly with one another far from the eyes of some algorithm. Click here: tylerknott.substack.com to sign up, and I so very much hope you do. It’s less money a month than a sugary Frappuccino and you’ll get so much more. Also, you’ll be helping support me in creating all the art I’ve been creating for the last decade. I am so excited for what’s to come, and I hope you’ll join me. I think it’s time we say damn the man, and we reconnect with one another on a REAL level. . Here is the seed line for today’s poem, Typewriter Series #3059. Subscribe today and read the whole darn thing. I love you, all. See you soon. (at Helena, Montana) https://www.instagram.com/p/CG05oKvlgYy/?igshid=123c8yzw7nxom

[nicholassabalos]

Introducing....

     ....the USS Constellation (FFG 62)-class guided-missile frigate....

          .....with up to 20 versatile warships planned....

               .....by the United States Navy and Congress....

The USS Constellation (FFG-62)-class frigate program, previously known as the FFG(X) program, is a Navy initiative to build a class of 20 guided-missile frigates (FFGs).

The United States Congress funded the procurement of the first FFG-62 class ship in FY2020 at a cost of $1.3 billion. The Navy’s proposed FY2021 budget requests $1.1 billion for the procurement of the second FFG-62 class ship. The Navy estimates that subsequent ships in the class will cost roughly $940 million each.

The versatile frigates will be able to operate independently or as part of an aircraft carrier strike group. It’s a multi-mission small surface combatant designed to conduct anti-air warfare (AAW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), anti-submarine warfare (ASW), and electromagnetic warfare (EMW) operations.

The ships are expected to begin entering the active Fleet in the late 2020s....and throughout the 2030s. These small, but very capable, warships will fill an important gap as the somewhat star-crossed Independence-class and Freedom-class littoral combat ships are phased out from Fleet service.

                                            ____________________

>>Top image: artist’s conception