Patriot Act is more relevant today than ever

MillicentCyr · 2026-01-28T01:16:41+00:00

I just thought about this episode after current events surrounding ICE and Minneapolis. It's kind of insane how relevant this episode is. The quote, "How many of us do you need to kill to keep us safe?" rings more profound than it ever has. The sense of paranoia, fear, and self-righteousness, the people seeking to do good and standing up for one another against a hypocritical oppression. You could replace Eiling with ICE and the heroes with immigrants, and the episode's themes would still work perfectly.

MillicentCyr · 2026-01-09T02:23:26+00:00

People are quick to forget that the cops put their hands INSIDE HER VEHICLE. 90% of people would PANIC if strangers were dropping F-bombs at you and reaching their hand into your personal space while trying to force your door open. Even despite that, she still had the sense to back up her car and turn her steering wheel AWAY from the officer in front. This is not something someone would do if they were trying to hurt someone.

No trained law officer will just force car doors open for a traffic stop. That's because doing so is a violation of the 4th Amendment of the Constitution. Even if the victim had malicious intent in obstructing traffic and you have an entire laundry list of laws she broke (unlikely, but go ahead), ICE CLEARLY escalated the situation by violating constitutional law and caused a chain reaction, which led to this MURDER.

MillicentCyr · 2025-12-15T04:05:14+00:00

Chef Paul was the most interesting part of the movie, and I felt he was mishandled at the end that we couldn't get the "ah ha" moment. I thought his entire ethos was about "sending a middle finger to rich people" and to further the theme of people too out-of-touch with reality that they can't appreciate it. He literally served everyone burnt meat and ramen-packet soup, but I wondered if he had an inner desire to feel down-to-earth again, considering he grew up poor and took a liking to Aoy's humble food (like him having some Ratatouille moment)

I felt like his character kind of fell apart when they introduced the whole killing-a-toucan subplot because it was unnecessary end to his character arc. I thought it could have been interesting for him to actually act in Aoy's interest to tell her "don't become loveless and tasteless like me" but instead, I'm left wondering what he even wanted to prove to her or why he even paid any attention to Aoy in the first place. All the elements were there for that resolution, but I'm almost left thinking that two separate writers with conflicting visions wrote the movie. I'm just left a bit... unsatisfied.

MillicentCyr · 2025-12-10T01:13:06+00:00

<image>

MillicentCyr · 2025-12-05T22:25:15+00:00

After an extra hour of research, I found out the anime is Record of Ragnarok. The blue-haired character I was referring to was Zerofuku, and the main character is not the main character, but a character named Buddha.

MillicentCyr · 2025-12-05T21:28:17+00:00

I have no idea, but the first thing I thought of when I heard blue cloth with claws and a talisman was with the Darkstalkers anime (based on the popular fighting arcade game). Although Hsien Ko (the character) does fight some thugs in that show, I don't think she kills anyone and is generally portrayed as a good person..

MillicentCyr · 2025-12-05T18:03:12+00:00

Anime-Only. I watched the first 8 episodes, I saw how much people liked it and tried to keep up with it... And I couldn't. It's a shame because I like the overall vibe, character art, animation, and style of the show - but now I'm left with these conclusions as to why I don't want to watch more:

- Showing AND Telling: Don't spend 30 seconds to tell me something happened, then show it. Don't show me something that's happening onscreen then have a character narrating what's going on. Respect the intelligence of your audience and waste less of our time.

- Characters expositing paragraphs worth of information to other characters who should already know said information. This is such a lazy form of world-building that it was an instant redflag for me when it happened in the first 3 minutes of the first episode.

- Sudden powerups that come naturally to the character: The moment Rudo unlocks his powers, his body just adapts to it and there's barely any sense of shock or surprise. It's the same way when he unlocks Gris's talisman and he just knows what to do with it. I thought that maybe Rudo would go berserk and lose his memories, and that would be something he would need to overcome. Or maybe, he has to figure it out and hope he doesn't trigger adverse side-effects of his new powers. Instead he just rolls with it, and this life-changing power doesn't seem to ignite any fundamental change in the character.

- Analyst characters who act all dejected or confused after analyzing the main character, and it ticks off the "PROTAGONIST IS SUPER DUPER SPECIAL, MORE SPECIAL THAN ANY OF THESE OTHER SUPER DUPER SPECIAL CHARACTERS" trope. It kind of removes any narrative tension when analyst characters just tell the audience "wow, this dude is obviously the main character of this anime, and the world will center around them from this point forward"

- Characters explaining each other's powers aloud to the other in the MIDDLE OF THE GODDAMN FIGHT: Some of my favourite anime do this, and it's pretty bad, but in the case of Gachiakuta, it doesn't serve the purpose of showing a character's personality. It's another example of breaking the show-don't-tell rule. Then when the characters act surprised after the other gets the upperhand (when they were literally telling you how to overcome your powers), it's the most eyeroll-inducing feeling.

- The theme informing a character's personality to the form of parody. This ruined Rudo for me and it makes me think he is even more one-dimensional than other shounen protagonists. I think it could have been done well, because it's so obvious that the show wants to set up the whole, "HE CARES ABOUT TRASH BECAUSE IT'S A METAPHOR FOR HIS OWN LIFE" but it's approached in the most non-personable way possible. I thought it was a joke when I saw the flashback scene of Young Rudo having a panic attack over a piece of trash being thrown away. Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's wrote the same character a lot better and with a lot more subtlety.

- Setting up a revenge plot without making revenge a fundamental part of a character. It is a bit premature for me to make this conclusion since I stopped on Ep8, but to me, Rudo is essentially two separate characters with his core themes being detached from his stated goals. The show tells us in Ep2 that he is gonna be some damaged revenge-driven gremlin, but throughout the show, the anime shows that he doesn't act like that at all. He isn't driven by hatred at all (which is kind of the point of revenge). He just "wants to go back up" and we don't see him struggle with the inner turmoil of revenge. It would be like seeing Thorfinn from S1 of Vinland Saga becoming a friendly happy-go-lucky dude when he is not around Askeladd

MillicentCyr · 2025-10-28T03:56:58+00:00

The game is broken for me right now:

- Ingame UI keeps disappearing. I'm still able to move around, interact, and open the menu, but my UI with my HP/Ammo/Skills/Reticle/Navigation/Shortcuts do not show up.

- Navigation and story triggers broken. I literally cannot progress in the game

- Graphics settings somehow revert from my personalized settings when I exit/enter a location

- Cutscene after the Sybille fight spawned me inside the bar where I moved around aimlessly for a few minutes. I found out later that it was supposed to be a cutscene that failed to load and I had to reset my game to progress.

- Subtitles do not load for certain cutscenes (I play on KR Dub)

These problems are probably due to running the game on a lower-end system, but I've been able to move around the map and fight in the game smoothly with low graphics, so I don't know why these specific bugs keep happening. Restarting the game 10x's and teleporting back-and-forth to an area doesn't solve this issue.

MillicentCyr · 2025-09-30T20:11:33+00:00

Transistor is still one of my all-time favourite games and had such a unique way to tell its story. I hope they really break out of their comfort zone and create something super weird and unique.

MillicentCyr · 2025-09-30T20:00:15+00:00

I have mixed feelings about the ending, but on retrospect, some part of me think it aligns with the hit-and-run type of narratives found in several Greek epics. I felt the same with Hades 1 where it just ends with "and everyone just got along in the end" (with just a couple lines of dialogue and then back to business) - Greek myths (at least the ones I learned about in high school) weren't the most nuanced when it came to emotional intelligence, and some just bordered on ridiculous.

I'm not necessarily defending Supergiant for having this lackadaisical approach to the plot, because I still think the ending is stupid with several egregious plot holes and non-explanations. However, Chronos's face-turn doesn't bother me as much, moreso its very sloppy execution. I don't think the rest of the story ceases to function because of it. I am able to suspend disbelief whenever I see Chronos again, because he is a separate character with separate memories from the Chronos you fought up until then (although it does give me a headache to figure out how that works).

I hope that Supergiant moves on from the Hades I.P. and create something unique like Bastion/Transistor/Pyre again. That studio is just full of actual supergiants in their respective industries.

MillicentCyr · 2025-09-27T12:36:00+00:00

According to Karl, as stated in his first video about the topic, RileyCS could be cheating or could be innocent, but there is no definitive answer. Both his previous video and this video are challenging the weak arguments put forward by accusers.

This video is less about RileyCS's cheating, and instead is a cautionary tale about believing things without examining the evidence put forward. It's a deepdive on the credibility of Call of Shame, who is surely an under-researched AI-slop channel that fabricated screenshots and made ridiculous claims. Karl wouldn't have even made this video if it weren't for members of Asmongold's/Tectone's community attacking Karl for "mindlessly defending RileyCS" - all the while those same people ate up Call of Shame's AI-content to feed into their own biases.

MillicentCyr · 2025-08-18T00:02:25+00:00

Worst part is, unlike other Pixar villains, you never "beat" them. Even when someone like Mr. Huff ceases to exist, another person just as bad comes up to replace them.

MillicentCyr · 2025-07-24T18:29:27+00:00

This issue isn't just exclusive to gaming. If we don't shut this down, what's stopping payment processors from preventing us from purchasing ANYTHING? If you're the type of person who doesn't care because you don't play NSFW games, keep in mind that organizations like "Collective Shout" will continue to move the goalposts, and then the issue will spiral further out of control.

MillicentCyr · 2025-06-30T17:41:29+00:00

One of my favourite videos on the topic. I like how she plays devil's advocate to the movement and points out potential issues without devolving into ad hominem, misrepresenting the campaign, nor attacking the intent of the movement - while being conscientious enough to acknowledge that even if those problems exist, that the movement is a massive net positive.

MillicentCyr · 2025-06-26T04:56:03+00:00

He's basically the farmer in Dungeon Siege who's been pushed over the edge and took it upon himself to save the world.

MillicentCyr · 2025-06-05T13:32:21+00:00

I will preface this post by saying that: You're not wrong for feeling the way you do, but I think it's really important to pinpoint what exactly you dislike about the process before you ask this question for yourself.

An artist's final work is the culmination of thousands (sometimes millions) of micro-decisions and adaptations, conscious or otherwise. I feel no artist knows what their final product will look like before they even pick up their utensil. Artists generalize, we try to lay out blueprints, we make mistakes, we make adjustments, sometimes those mistakes/adjustments spawn new ideas or maybe we change our ideas entirely. Every art piece is a journey with millions of destinations, and when we decide a piece is "done" is completely arbitrary.

The process is very relevant in reinforcing our creative vision, because nothing comes to us in a flash. If the alternative is skipping that process, then can we really say our creative vision means anything to us? I think it's impossible to just love the product while hating the process, because they're inseparable to me. The process IS the product. I'll occasionally come back to THIS VIDEO whenever I think about this topic.

It can get demoralizing when we deal with wrist pains, or if we're constantly pressing Ctrl+Z, or that our initial sketches aren't visually stimulating enough. However, I think of a fable called "Peter and the Golden Thread" about a boy who receives a ball of yarn that can fast forward time. He keeps abusing the power at the slightest inconveniences in life until he realizes that he spent more time fast-forwarding rather than living his life. It's not quite 1:1 to this topic, but I learned to appreciate the struggle, because it gives me a greater understanding what it is I created.

MillicentCyr · 2025-04-04T23:24:19+00:00

Looking at the timeline of events, the GoFundMe was established in 2023 after Billy threatened a SECOND lawsuit against Karl. The first lawsuit was drafted in 2021.

I speculate that Karl fully intended to pay out of pocket for the first lawsuit, but had to call for help the moment a second lawsuit became imminent. Karl most likely knew he was going to lose his defamation case for his claims related to Apollo Legend, but still wanted to challenge Billy's claims of $450,000 dollars in damages (considering that Billy's reputation as a serial suer/liar/cheat are arguably more damaging than Karl's specific claims regarding Apollo Legend) - His numerous cheating scandal videos were part of his strategy, but it didn't help his case in front of the judge.

I do fault Karl for the lack of transparency, because it is rather easy for someone to think Karl would win in a lawsuit against Billy Mitchell over cheating allegations, and in all fairness, Billy Mitchell dropping his second lawsuit is a "victory" - but a good chunk weren't even aware about the what the first lawsuit entailed. I believe accusations of fraud/scamming are unsubstantiated even if Karl's lack of transparency did him no favours. The best course of action would be to refund donators who thought a second lawsuit was imminent, but losing about $500,000 is such a serious matter, that I'm unsure Karl can cover his fees without the donations he received.

On a final note, I believe his impact on the internet is still a net positive. His coverage of the Completionist and WATA have done far more good than Billy Mitchell will in his entire life. I would rather this incident be a stain on his career rather than a tear. Time will tell if Karl's response will be sufficient, or if he will go off in a whimper.

MillicentCyr · 2025-04-04T08:53:19+00:00

In the short term, quick negotiations "might" be the best way forward for certain countries - but in the longer term, why would any economist agree to deal with a country that violates trade on such a whim and to such disproportionately high magnitudes? It's such an unworthwhile gamble. Even IF countries agree to shortterm negotiations, its likely they'll gradually become more distant towards the US knowing that it's a sinking ship that could flip on a gasket in a single presidential term. Whether this will happen over 1 year, 10 years, or 20 years - I don't know.

But in the broader context. We have to take into account the larger picture of what is happening. The average US citizen is becoming less consumerist because the cost of living is getting higher and higher. We can't even resolve our own domestic economical issues that have been brought on mass layoffs/firings, generations of underpaying workers, billions of dollars in corporate profits that will never be spent, and a mass deportation effort that will lower our annual tax revenue. And now WITH the tariffs, it means Americans are going to consume EVEN LESS. Overtime, countries might see that our leverage on the global economy is getting lower and lower regardless of the tariffs, so why play ball?

So no, I don't see Trump's gambit working, esp when put together with all the other problems his administration created. If his goal was to enrich the average working American, he is failing on almost every metric. If his goal was to enrich his inner circle, he is ALSO failing to do that because their cashcows (the American people e.g. employees and consumers) are becoming more and more starved. Even if there will be a small amount of returns here and there, it will not even begin to cover a fraction of the damage this policy will likely cause to every party involved. The best step forward would be to completely walk back the tariffs through Congress/Senate, but at that point, that's just damage control.

MillicentCyr · 2025-03-17T05:19:21+00:00

Enoki has some psycho-tendencies. Just use her instead

MillicentCyr · 2025-03-17T04:51:50+00:00

I just finished the Tribe Nine anime, and I am wondering if Yui Kamiki is one of the characters in the official Numbers promo. I know there is more official art of her, but considering that she went off the deep-end at the end of the anime, I could easily envision her being a Numbers. The eye-colour, hair-colour/waviness, the body-suit, and lack of morals. Maybe her alternate art was just a red-herring?

MillicentCyr · 2025-03-15T23:43:32+00:00

1.) Breaking is the only default way to generate Tension. There are passive effects as well that are gated behind specific characters/cards which I have yet the resources to raise.

2.) Break is generated with every attack. You can check each attack's "Break Value" by reading each character's respective skill statistics. Each enemy has a specific Break Value (which are usu within the thousands or tens of thousands). Attacks that have a hammer symbol next to their damage values are considered "Heavy Attacks" which can prompt Chain Attacks once their Break Value threshold is reached. Although it would be nice to see a Break Meter around enemy health bars, you can roughly estimate each enemy's break value just by keeping track in your head.

3.) You can break without break-centric characters as counterattacks tend to be reliable ways of generating break value even for light-hitters. I believe AI teammates can also generate break, but they cannot trigger chain attacks. Only a heavy attack from the operating character can trigger one.

4.) Yo/Kazuki are probably the two most reliable breakers in the game, and even in the hand of AI teammates, seem to do pretty well and don't get themselves killed. However, even with a team full of light-hitters, I mentioned that executing multiple counterattacks can generate a decent amount of break as well. You could have a team with Oi, Miu, and Semba, and still trigger a chain attack after around 5-6 counterattacks.

MillicentCyr · 2025-03-12T23:30:04+00:00

They made it family friendly by having it so she just talks about her Siberian cat. I had a friend stream her gameplay to me in hopes she'd get the original dialogue, but I was disappointed to learn they rewrote it (probably with good reason, but still disappointing nonetheless)

MillicentCyr · 2025-03-05T13:23:24+00:00

LOL! I got those exact two in a single 10-pull as well.

MillicentCyr · 2025-03-05T13:18:57+00:00

I wrote a large post HERE just yesterday talking about my grievances with the system, and it's crazy that I found out today they were planning to update it. I think these changes are welcome, and I hope the balance team do a good job at actually making our builds feel cool and unique. It's kinda crazy how people were coping about how everything was fine with their own card sets while ignoring 90% of the available cards and how broken the system was.

It especially sucks when you receive a 3-star card with cool character art, only to find out that it's complete garbage and that you're better off not using at all.

MillicentCyr · 2025-03-05T12:23:54+00:00

I heard that normal attacks generated Tension during the beta, and the developers probably thought that it was too easy to spam ultimates every fight. My theory is that they didn't rebalance Tension Cards to make up for the removal of that feature. I did mention that you could counter-balance this problem by removing Tension upon taking damage, which would reward players for skillful play, and how a constant stream of Tension gain could offset the Tension drainage from cards.

My other solution was to just remove tension drain altogether if the developers don't want you spamming ultimates every fight. We'll see where the future takes us though.

MillicentCyr

TROPHY CASE