#and while both are important trying to compare them gets a little confusing because like | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sodapopper · 3 months ago

Text

Thoughts on calling out toxic fan behavior and the recent musical drama

I don’t often talk about fandom drama, because I prefer to write about the positive instead of the ugly. But with what’s recently come out about a specific group of musical fans, I’ve seen an influx of posts across all platforms expressing outrage at the situation—outrage I share. That being said, the sentiment behind many of these posts confuses me. The anger, while absolutely justified, seems directed at the general fandom, instead of the people actually culpable.

Don’t get me wrong, bad things have happened in the musical fandom. I’m not making light of that; I have friends who’ve witnessed/been victimized firsthand by the toxicity. But many, if not most, of the situations/behavior being spotlighted are not the fault of the general fandom, but a few specific people—the folks in the group chat leaked on reddit.

Brody being ambushed at stage door? It was by that one specific group. Emma, Sky, Trevor, etc being stalked? That group. Weird comments in Soc Saturday live? That group. Rush line bullying? That group. Inappropriate/rude stage door etiquette? That group. Violent commentary and threats? That group. Bullying fans online? Guess who—yeah, it’s still that one specific group.

Make no mistake, I want these people banned from the theater and made pariahs within the fandom. They deserve every consequence coming their way. Their behavior is despicable, their words unforgivable, and the damage they’ve done to an otherwise friendly theater fandom can’t be overstated. These people have repeatedly engaged in unspeakable conduct with little sign of remorse, and our outrage is both justified and righteous.

But it’s because of us, the general fandom—and the efforts of the folks in the reddit thread and the facebook group—that these issues came to light. Management is tightening security, the cast has been made aware, and according to the most recent update, the perpetrators’ families reached out about the situation to say these young people are facing appropriate consequences. (Which is why I haven’t named them, at the request of their parents.)

Besides several extremely bad apples, the Outsiders fandom (for the most part) is a reasonable, friendly place. It hurts my heart to see posts lashing out against the fandom at large, as if 100% were responsible for this situation instead of a few.

Those kids are wrong, and it sounds like they’re facing punishment for their actions. But I hope we don’t turn their misdeeds into a witch hunt within the fandom. Most of the people I’ve encountered here are polite and respectful, who love the show and wish only the best for the cast. As much as we should continue calling out toxic behavior, it shouldn’t be at the expense of everyone who happens to enjoy the show.

Language is important, and when I see posts make sweeping accusations against “the fandom” for things only a minority of folks are doing, it saddens me. Call out bad behavior, but don’t pull your punches and end up hitting everyone instead. Be specific! Know who you’re accusing! And if you’re not comfortable naming people directly, please be cautious how you phrase your anger—don’t lump the many into the actions of a few.

Every fandom has drama. Every fandom has bullies who try to ruin the experience for others. Every fandom has scandals and bad behavior and hateful deeds. But in the grand scale of what’s out there, ours is surprisingly unproblematic, compared to most other fandoms, and I think we should acknowledge that more. I’ve been a fan of many things for many years, and this is the only fandom in which I’ve felt safe enough to stop my habitual lurking and take a place at the table.

I love our cute little fandom, full of artists and writers and imaginative minds. I’m sorry for the horrible things that have happened at the hands of people who called themselves fans. I’m sorry the cast was ever made to feel uncomfortable and unsafe. But I also believe the majority of us are good, kind people, and I will continue to appreciate the efforts they’ve made to keep this space as respectful as possible.

We should never take good fans for granted. To all the people who love the story, who love the show, who’ve been touched in some way by these characters and carry a piece of the magic inside your heart, and who are as grieved by the misconduct as I am—I love you, I see you, and I’m glad you’re here.

Stay gold, my friends! 💗✨

#the outsiders musical #this is probably none of my business so forgive me #but I figured it’s better to at least say something than constantly be annoyed in private #“Y’ALL ARE THE PROBLEM” dude who are you talking to I’m out here chilling on ao3 and eating my burrito #the thing is we KNOW who the problem is #so why are the rest of us catching strays?

84 notes · View notes

blue-sterling0357 · 2 years ago

Note

May I have ciel, alois, joker , dagger, and vincent Phantomhive with a s/O.The one with the demeanor of the gentle kanae, the elegant shinobu like the butterfly 🦋 and the cheerful plus kindness like mitsuri kanroji. I know my request is not important so you can ignore this 👏 , I really like the whole story and your blog everything is perfect💯👍👏

(My favourite request in a while! I added Sebastian too! Sorry... Angst in Joker's because you die alongside him... :> )

Black Butler X Mitsuri/Shinobu! Reader

Sebastian Michaelis

✥ Sebastian is blatantly happy with himself for meeting someone like you, don't tell him I told you, he won't ever admit it, stupid demon thinking he's all that when he isn't shit.....

✥ If there is one thing you both are known and noticed for, is you guys beauty, I mean you with your amazing (h/c) hair with pink ends and you reek of elegance and superiority while him, he's tall and very handsome might I add.

✥ Also as Sebastian's significant other, you probably do know he's a demon, but you like him, cause he doesn't kill and eat humans like the ones in your place.

✥ Sebastian loves you so much, you're so very kind even to creatures like him, upon learning of your past, where your fiance rejected you because you would eat more the other girls, because of your unusual hair, because of your strength, it was the first time he had ever felt his blood boil so much.

✥ He is proud of you that you stood back on your feet and how you fight demons, he learns it takes immense power to not only be a hashira but also create a poison strong and lethal enough to kill them, that's impressible!

✥ Sebastian also knows of how demons killed you elder sister and how you thus have anger which you often lace with a smile because you sister liked when you smile, he can feel your anger...

✥ Sebastian has tried to tone down your obsession on Sakura mochi and you definitely weren't happy about it, but once learning how you lose your pink tips and how your hair is coloured simply because of how much you eat, you get a few Sakura Mochi, simply only to keep your adorable pink tips in your hair.

✥ Sebastian when he first made food for you, he made enough to fill you by looking at your figure, you were quite thin, but you finished all the food in only aa few minutes and were still hungry, that's when he learnt about you humongous appetite of that compared to three sumos. He is impressed, a tad bit scared because is this normal?? Also ready to make good food for you!!

✥ Sebastian often sits there while you work as doctor at the butterfly mansion with your younger sisters and the three Butterfly girls, he also learnt about Tamayo, you both would help each other make poisons and sometimes Sebastian would also learnt to make some and help you with fighting demons.

✥ Of-course he isn't able to kill them as they only regenerate, he learns how the demons at your place only die of sunlight, if Muzan gets mad and only if they get mutilated by a demon slayer's sword, he obviously knows how to use a katana and so sometimes he kills little demons here and there for fun.

✥ Sanemi, Obanai and others obviously didn't take well to you dating a demon and they thought he was trying to date to get info for Muzan and so tried to kill him by bringing him in the sunlight, and since Sebastian was only standing there all confused everyone was shocked, until you explained he was a different type of demons and told them how they don't like to eat humans that way, they understood him though still a bit doubtful.

✥ He saw you kill the spider girl, he did find it hot when you threatened to gouge out her eyes or slash her stomach and organs, he finally saw you using your insect breathing for the first time, he finds it very beautiful! He also learns your breathing style by the way, neither you nor him understand how and why because first, he's a demon and second he isn't going to die in the way demons under Muzan die.?????

✥ Oh speaking of Muzan, he found Sebastian doing things and learnt he was also a demon and asked Sebastian to help him find the blue spider lily because he thought Sebastian was also using his blood and when Sebastian was attacked by him and threatened to take his blood and nothing happened, that is when Muzan realized he was fucked, Muzan was safe tho, because Sebastian was distracted by you....

✥ Sebastian is very much familiar with the fact that you have incredible physical strength because once you were returning from a two week mission when Sebastian welcomed you and in excitement and happiness you hugged him so tightly and you didn't realise you picked him up from the floor upto two feet in the air and it wasn't until Sebastian started speaking that you realized how strong you are and put him down apologizing a bit...

✥ If there is one thing Sebastian dislikes a bit about you is how you find everybody so cute and simp over them all the time! Cause he's a demon and he is naturally possessive and protective of you, it's fine he feels better when you began simping over him again after he does one tiny thing which you find hot!

✥ Oh, Ciel also asks you to bake him sweet-treats cause other than being a demon slayer, you have a bakery business which you handle with the snake Hashira, Obanai, your best-friend and your sibling!

✥ You are very smart, you created a poison powerful enough to kill a demon and thus, you tried making a thing for temporarily helping Sebastian become human in which you kind of succeeded, cause after trying it on Sebastian, he can "turn" on his taste buds on demand, because he ans to taste you delicacies and foods an to make sure the food he's cooking is good as well...

✥ Oh, he saw a photo of your family and he found out you got your strength from your dad, he saw that you also earned his adorable cheek moles, you also have a brother and you how lifted a HUGE ROCK as a baby...he is tad bit worried, but over all in love!

✥ Oh and you also help in fighting with your katan laced with wisteria poison, though Sebastian disapproves of this he only does this because he knows you can fight, but if it's a his type of demon demon, he's putting the place on lockdown because ain't no way in hell is he letting you fight any demons more than you already do!

Ciel PhantomHive

✥ Ciel and you, his S/O were one hell of a couple! You, a bubby, elegant and sweet person also very smart may I add, while him, cold, quiet, annoyed, strict, though smart as well!

✥ Ciel finds you very peculiar, he knows of your past, your fiance hating the fact that you eat more than other girls, how your hair colour was weird and how you were strong and how demons killed your beloved sister. He finds you very strong to bear all that and still stay happy, I mean how could you be so bubbly and kind, when he is still looking for people who killed his parents.

✥ When you first met Ciel, it was because he was hurt and you were the best doctor of the place, he was there at the butterfly mansion, when you walked in and god forbid, your beauty took his breath away, literally and figuratively because he ended up having a asthma attack and Sebastian always made fun of Ciel for that..

✥ He is very proud of you as well, how you stopped caring how people view your appetite, strength and looks, because as long as you are happy and achieving your goals, people have no right to try and take them away from your simply because you don't look normal.

✥ He watches you train everyday! I mean, he is terrified and interested at your immense flexibility training and how strong you are physically, you can pick up Bard and Sebastian single handedly at the same time, he learnt your strength is very helpful in killing the demons in your area, because it takes immense strength to cut a demon's head off.

✥ Speaking of killing demons, you can easily kill a demon by cutting their head off and yet you also use your brain to make a poison lethal enough to kill them in case of a position you're not strong enough to kill them, Ciel definitely tried to use it on Sebastian....

✥ Oh and he encourages your obsession with Sakura mochi, because he learnt that once when Sebastian cut off the Sakura Mochi from a particular diet you asked him to give you, Ciel learnt how your hair loose it's beautiful pink strands, when you stopped eating them and because they're a trade mark beauty feature of yours, he was very angry and demanded you get off the diet and continue with your Sakura Mochi obsession to bring back your pink tips!

✥ Speaking of mochi, Ciel now always eats sweet dishes because you own a bakery with your siblings, and your sweets taste very good and you cook amazing food and of-course it is now Ciel's comfort food and he demands it when he is having late-night cravings.

✥ Your bakery is most definitely famous, and you always help Bard make food as every noble is jealous of the Phantomhive manor's good sweets and amazing foods

✥ Ciel also learnt about Kanao and how she uses a coin and how she was treated, he felt bad for her and he formed a soft connection with her, Kanao learnt about Ciel's past while she told him about her past and they ecause good friends, Kanao likes him and trusts you for choosing him

✥ Ciel watches you and Tamayo make poisons and often asks Sebastian to bring a demon so you and Tamayo can test it's lethality on it and see the side-effects!

✥ You know how girls sit on their boyfriends' backs when they push up? Yeah, instead it's Ciel who sits on your back while you do push-ups and you can go forever without getting tired cause Ciel is very light! And so Ciel reads a medium size books while you do pushups or planks.

✥ You introduced Ciel and the staff to Kamaboko squad and Nezuko loves him, Ciel is generally enjoying her and Tanjirou's company becuse he learns how their family was also slaughtered, while he is absolutely angry around Zenitsu because he doesn't like the fact that Zenitsu is absolutely flirting with you. He's neutral with Inosuke, mainly cause he doesn't care about the boy but when Inosuke took off his mask, Ciel is very surprised to see a pretty girl's face on a wild boar's body, he's fine with it....kind of angry when he goes around fighting and being angry at people

✥ Tanjirou and Nezuko know about Sebastian being demon because you told them and Ciel likes the surprising fact that Tanjirou's smelling sense are god-tier and how his forehead is rock-hard, because he once bashed his head on a table in frustration and it broke into smithereens, scaring the staff. Mey-rin and Finny love Nezuko, they find her adorable but confused as to why she wears a muzzle and though they know you have demons in your world, they understand not to ask about it.

✥ Okay, let's continue with your relationship! Ciel, for once finds your humongous appetite to be quite insatiable sometimes, but nothing Sebastian's cooking can't fix, he knows how much to make for you and since you feel upset for increasing their work, you help by helping Mey-rin clean the dishes and make sure she doesn't do anything weird or break anything!

✥ Ciel also gets highly jealous when you start complimenting people because you find them cute or beautiful or hot, but it's fine cause you always come back to him and shower him in the compliments for than anyone else and you can also sense he's mad...

✥ He finds you very elegant, exactly like a butterfly and whenever you fight a demon you sometimes show him how you use your breathing style and though you can't actually see it , he can feel it, pretty butterflies fluttering around.

Alois Trancy

✥ He is very much questioning how you aren't mad about your past with you ex-fiancee and your elder sister being killed by a demon, because he feels his blood burn when you told him about...

✥ Alois very much understands your hate for demons, yet you're still very kind to hannah, the triplets and Claude. You're very kind and you still like to help the five demons, even though you hate demons, not all, but enough demons!

✥ Now, you're very pretty and that's something Alois loves, he is always ready to dress you up in very pretty dresses and clothing, he loves to you dressed up in your kimonos or yukatas, or a training uniform, he likes to stare cause he's a little perv..

✥ Okay, but facts the fact that he is scared and turned on by your training, you're so flexible, it's scary, and your strength..GOD! HE LOVES A STRONG LADY who is sweet..he's weird..But ngl, he's supportive of your job and work as your S/O, that's nice of him, isn't it??

✥ Okay, your appetite is accepted, eh doesn't even realize a lot that you're eating WAYYY MORE than a normal persons; only 3 sumos appetite much, but he accepts it and asks Claude and Hannah more like DEMANDED them to make more food for you and you help them in cleaning the dishes.

✥ Oh, he saw how MANY sakura mochis you ate and he demanded you stop and you stopped for a while and then he noticed how your hair was no longer pink and he apologized while crying in your lap and you continued with your love for it. He is honestly very sorry, eh loves your pink hair tips and needs them in his life to survive...

✥ He is obsessed with you carrying him like a princess in your arms, since you're so strong it's like you're holding a couple of grapes in your hands but it's Alois, and yes, he does get mad when Claude tries to take him away from you...

✥ He wants to learn how to handle the katana but always somehow ends up hurting himself or doing something to the katana, when you tell him how katana are specially made for particular breathing style, he tones down the fun things for a bit, but he's surprised at how you wield the Love breathing sword, when Claude told him a similar thing in India martial art, which you have to fold after using it, but your sword is kinda different so he prefers not to touch it in case he damages it, he will apologize!

✥ Oh and if he's ever sick, no way will he let anyone treat him other than you...If anyone even tries to touch him, he'll stab them...not to worry, he'll listen to you like an obedient person and lover he is..

✥ Oh and he does not eat treats unless they're from your hand, he loves sweets from your bakery, he will always help you financially, but he enjoys going to your bakery...

✥ Gets jealous very easily and will yell at you for finding other people attractive or cute, but look at him angrily or just be upset with him, he will apologize, he just doesn't want you to leave him!

✥ He finds your family quite adorable as well, especially how you inherited your dad's cheek moles and strength and how you were able to pick up a HUGE stone as a child, he wants you to carry him everywhere you can!!!

✥ He finds your intelligence hot and great! You made a poison to kill the demons in your world, which aren't killed by anything except sunlight, muzan being angry or getting their head chopped off by a demon slayer, so it's a VERY BIG feat! He is very proud of you~

Joker

✥ Well there are many types of people in the Noah's Ark circus and you were one particular one and why you may ask? It's because you're dating Joker, duh!

✥ He found you very beautiful for your gorgeous purple and pink tips and gorgeous sparkling eyes, and amazing strength and intelligent mind which you use as a weapon to kill demons!...Aren't you an amazing thing to be in Noah's Ark?~

✥ If you don't mind doing shows with him, he will be happy, he finds it quite nice how flexible you are..and obviously some dirty thoughts come to mind at first, but he won't do them unless you're comfortable...He finds you just very pretty is all!!

✥ He finds you just as strong as he and the OG members of Noah's ark are; the pain you must have felt when you were torn apart for your beauty by your fiance the one whom you loved...how he hated how much you ate, how much your pretty hair disgusted him...but how much stronger you came back as, even after all the pain from that you lost your darling sister!

✥ Though he knows of the fact that you hide your anger under your smile because your sister liked your smile, he knows your hatred for a particular demons runs deep but you don't hate all of them, which is very surprising! But he's happy as long as you smile genuinely around him!

✥ He will definitely overwatch your training and get scared at it, you're so freaking strong and FAST?! HOW? oh right...killing demons..But still he finds it quite fascinating!

✥ He also learnt how you bought Kanao, and how she was also very similar to you, elegant and sweet looking, when he first met her, they were quite awkward, before Kanao asked how you were doing cause now you lived so far from her and she was also missing you a bit... In the end, she ended giving him a hug and in return he gave her a few headpats, he also made her a pretty butterfly pair of hairclip matching with you, so she could feel closer to you!

✥ Oh and he is always praising your intelligence, cause not only did you make poison lethal enough to kill demons but also help them increase their audience by quite a large number!!

✥ He will always compliment or praise you because he did not like how your fiance degraded you, he wants you to know you're gorgeous!!! He will not stand you thinking you're ugly, when you can make a life earnings with your looks only!!!

✥ You both died side-by-side...he held onto your body very tightly, and you held onto him equally tightly, He comforted you saying it was just wrong time..

"...Shhh...I'm sorry..I'm so very sorry my love...This just wasn't out time...Maybe we'll meet again...in another life...and in life after that...and every life we will have... I love you.." and if you both got a proper funeral... you had to buried right into one large coffin, cause he could not be pulled away from you...and people didn't even have the heart to... :>

Vincent PhantomHive

✥ Vincent was a incredible man, and so it was not surprising when he had equally as gorgeous S/O as you.. you were quite a something, very much known in between other nobles...

✥ He is constantly worried for your safety as a demon slayer; he knows he shouldn't be cause you're a Hashira, but still! Whenever he knows you fight some lower demon, he is not worried, but when he received the news that you fouuntil you come back safe to him...ght some stronger demon, he is constantly pacing and worried...

✥ He will never fail to compliment you, he will compliment he finds you think is stupid or ugly or whenever you're feeling insecure or self-conscious and compliment you! It's his job as your husband after all!!

✥ Oh, speaking of compliments, his main reason to give you millions of compliments is because he heard about your previous fiancee and how he treated you, shamed you and everything else and how you hid yourself from being your true self even in the few years you met him, you hid yourself...he will never let that happen again. Never again.

✥ Vincent is an exceptionally kind man....he never treat anyone cruelly...but god has he never felt so much anger before...how dare someone so lowlife get the audacity to comment on your appearance..and that demon...he killed your darling sister...you're extremely strong and he's very much blown away by you and he admires you so much!!!

✥ He doesn't want you to be ashamed of your beauty which brings people to their knees..which makes people lose their breaths..which makes people question if they want to be you or be with you...how can you not see it in yourself?

✥ Oh and...he is definitely concerned about your intake of Sakura Mochi..let's pretend all the victorian intelligence for women isn't there...He did try to slow it down a bit, but it only made you slightly upset and lose your gorgeous pink tips...and he felt upset seeing you upset, so he began continuing your obsession!

608 notes · View notes

physalian · 2 months ago

Text

Whatever project you're too afraid to start, just go for it

I know a lot of my posts lately have been video/content creation-related but I just want to say:

The learning curve that I have had to climb in the past week alone has been both frustrating as hell and ridiculously rewarding.

Already, I had to refresh my memory on basic video editing and sound comping, but for the first seven episodes of my little series I’d accepted the average quality of my voice recording as cest la vie, I’m not sinking money into this without proof of concept, you’re supposed to be a little rough around the edges when you’re first starting out. But one thing I couldn’t get over was the clipping from some technobabble shenanigans with frequencies that isn’t important here.

What I thought was a quick fix—replace and double the RAM in my laptop—was absolutely not the source of the problem and suddenly I was in the deep end trying to fix broken audio in post while also troubleshooting an issue no one else seemed to have between my microphone and my recording software and I was about tempted to just use my desktop mic, the built-in, because at least I could somewhat fix that in post.

After far too many hours deep in discussions with strangers on the internet who were very helpful, I half-fixed the problem. My mic stopped clipping, but it was distorting pretty heavily between two different processers and my recording software hated it for a whole different reason.

Reluctant Plan B was to record gameplay live, but record audio separately/after and then sync them in post. If you’ve ever made a gaming video like these, you’re staring at probably 15+ clips of useable content over the course of recording sessions, which means 30+ clips with all the separately recorded audio, and since I can’t hit start/stop congruently with both programs, they would always be a little bit off, which meant more tedious editing.

Why? Because I was recording in Program A, fixing audio in Program B, and editing the video together in Program C, and Program C is for like, tiktoks, not professional youtube videos. I was only using it because I was already paying for it in an Adobe package with InDesign.

Enter DaVinci Resolve.

It’s like, Photoshop compared to MS Paint, a free one-stop-shop for video and audio editing (and visual effects, this thing is used to make blockbusters) and here’s me still confused by all these audio terms like ratio, attack, threshold, etc.

So I’m still wading through tutorials, all while my mic only works through Program B, Audacity, with an episode deadline looming over me. From the time I committed to initially fixing my audio by replacing the RAM, to episode release date, I had 6 days. Today is day 4.

And I’m still without a proper recording setup because Program A hates my microphone. But I am not missing this deadline, not just for the youtube algorithm, but because I know I can make it.

So episode 8, at the time of writing this, I have only 9 minutes and 25 seconds all edited and ready to go, out of 22-24 that I usually publish. So what have I done?

Fuckin’ taught myself DaVinci Resolve and committed to recording my vocal track in post just this once, doing it over and over again until it sounds as genuinely live as it can, and doing regular voiceover and music montages wherever else I can to fill the time with meaningful content.

All to buy myself time for my replacement mic to deliver so I can get back to proper live recordings, because at this point, the time it takes to fix terrible audio in post isn’t worth it, when I can spend a little bit of money for a mic that isn’t 8 years old and is built for gaming, not podcasting (but I am keeping the problem child as a backup, because it’s not broken).

I’m waiting for a timelapse to render while I write this, staring at a workflow with one video source and 3 different audio layers—game sound, vocals, and music—and I can almost turn my brain off when trimming things because that part I already know how to do.

This thing is a mess, to be clear, but it sure as hell won’t look like a mess when I hit publish on time two days from now.

But like…. 3 weeks ago I knew next to none of this, beyond basic video editing I learned back in college. And here I am with my double-wide monitor up and professional video making software quietly churning along in the background.

So just—if you want to do it? Go fuckin’ do it. Whatever it is that you’ve been holding off on pursuing. When I started I already owned things like a gaming laptop (that I bought to run photoshop so I could paint), an 8-year-old podcasting mic from a dropped podcast attempt, my game of choice, and I was already paying for the bare bones version of Premiere: Premiere Rush.

But heck, even if I had none of the fancy equipment, the only limiting factor would have been my computer’s processing power to run all these programs at once, and I would have figured it out.

I’m a perfectionist bound and determined to fix my audio, but I didn’t hear any complaints when it was jank, and I’m learning all this because the whole process, not just the gameplay, is just so fun and fascinating.

#just do it #do it scared #video making #video editing #davinci resolve #it's a beautiful mess #and I'm so proud of it

33 notes · View notes

tossawary · 1 year ago

Text

I still think that the ending of "Avatar: The Last Airbender" was poorly foreshadowed, specifically the lion turtles and the energy-bending. (Not Aang not killing Ozai! I like that part! It suits the themes, it suits the characters! That part is fine. I am glad that the last airbender found a way forward that respected his people and beliefs.)

Like, I saw ATLA when it was originally airing and I thought these things kind of "came out of nowhere" at the time. I have heard the arguments to the contrary over the years and I have never really been persuaded by them, while at the same time personally agreeing that the lion turtles and the energy-bending absolutely do fit the world and lore! They are fitting elements! They work! I like this ending at the same time that, in my personal opinion, I think it was poorly established.

I think that the story BEGINS to establish lion turtles and energy-bending well enough. We meet both many other spirit beings and bending-capable animals earlier on, including the Moon and Ocean Spirits who apparently gave the world water-bending. S2 introduces Ty Lee's chi-blocking techniques and Guru Pathik teaching Aang about chakras. There are also a handful of lion turtle easter eggs in the background of some episodes, the most prominent perhaps being on a scroll in Wan Shi Tong's library.

But the story then jumps from these various establishing elements all the way to "lion turtles are real and not extinct and telepathic and can also energy-bend and Aang has suddenly mastered this new art well enough to take someone else's bending away permanently, and these relatively new elements are going to resolve the main conflict of the show". It feels like "1+1=3" to me. I think that last jump in the story is too big. Like, we're REALLY close, but I personally needed another 1 in there somewhere to bridge that final gap and get to that 3.

(Includes some fic ideas / suggestions on how to maybe add to strengthen the foreshadowing under the cut.)

The fact that a lot of people, especially more casual viewers, were really confused by the way all of these elements suddenly came together at the end says to me that, no, the foreshadowing that WAS done (there WAS foreshadowing, I cannot rightfully say that it all came completely out of "nowhere", but it) was not good enough. Or maybe I should compare it to someone presenting me with all of the necessary ingredients for a cake and then telling me that it IS cake? Yes, all of the right ingredients are HERE, I agree, this COULD be a really great cake, but... you still have to mix it all together in a bowl and then put it in the oven to bake to get that specific cake. It's not quite cooked yet.

(Okay, wow, that sounds kind of mean. Maybe I should compare it more to a missing stair? We have MOST of the staircase, I just need one last step to get to the Deus Ex Machina at the top. To be clear: I don't think a "Deus Ex Machina" is inherently bad. I often like them a lot. I just wanted a little more foreshadowing than the stuff that is already there.)

In storytelling, there's this technique casually called "The Rule of Three". (And yes, of course, rules were made to be bent or broken depending on what story you're trying to tell, but usually, these rules exist because they are effective.) This rule is also sometimes known as "Introduction, Pattern, and Payoff". (It has other names, but that's how I remember it.)

Very loosely, this rule states that an important element of the story must appear at least three times. 1. It must be introduced / established in the world. 2. It must appear again to remind the audience that it exists / and establish a pattern such that the audience begins to expect it to appear again later. (And is hopefully excited for it.) 3. Payoff. The element returns in an important way, probably to resolve part of the plot. The previous two appearances have acted as foreshadowing for this ending.

There's also a "Rule of Two" version of this general storytelling technique. Like, "If this special crystal can zap the bad guy and save the day, we have to have shown or at least told the audience that it can do that BEFORE the big final fight scene."

In regards to ATLA, no, I don't think that a scroll in a library or a statue in the background of some scene served as adequate introduction and reminder for the existence of lion turtles, so it didn't necessarily feel like a payoff for me that they solved the main conflict. (It's the "solved the main conflict" that's most of the issue for me. If the lion turtles had just appeared in another episode as a random cool thing like those sea monsters by Kyoshi Island, I would not have cared.)

I actually think that the establishment of other spirits like the Moon Spirit and bending-capable animals like sky bison and dragons can serve as a decent enough "Step 1) Introduction". Though this does not establish that lion turtles specifically exist, we have established that powerful creatures similar to lion turtles exist. But I still needed a solid "Step 2) Pattern / Reminder" that would have established that lion turtles specifically exist and are important BEFORE one shows up at the end like that.

I think that there's at least one episode somewhere in Book 1 or Book 2 that could have been cut in favor of an episode where the Gaang meets and rescues a young lion turtle baby or something.

Maybe Guru Pathik could have learned his ways FROM a lion turtle? Aang could have gone to an isolated village somewhere (with more brown people besides just Guru Pathik?) where people are living in harmony with a lion turtle, or maybe even on the back of a lion turtle! That would be cool!

Concept: Aang encounters Guru Pathik living alone on the back of a lion turtle which doesn't talk to people anymore (Aang swims down to look at its face and it doesn't even look at him), because its kind have been hunted nearly to extinction and it's tired of violence. Guru Pathik learned his ways from his old teacher, who learned from his old teacher, all the way up the teaching lineage from a person who once learned from the lion turtle itself before it gave up on the world. Guru Pathik tends to this nearly empty temple on the back of a silent lion turtle who ignores him, because he will not forsake his teachings even when the world seems uninterested in hearing them and the old lion turtle seems like it could die any day now. The people in the fishing village on the shore think that Guru Pathik is crazy and most of them don't even believe that the floating island really is a lion turtle, it's just weird geography.

Guru Pathik could also have chi-blocking abilities! We could see him demonstrate them in self-defense! He could teach a few chi-blocking moves to Aang, who could later go on to use them occasionally in Book 3, and it would have been really cool to see Aang exploring non-bending skills. We don't need Guru Pathik to explicitly name energy-bending here, but I would like to connect him just a touch more strongly to chi-blocking. Like, he IS connected already by helping Aang clear chakras, which is kind of like a reverse of chi-blocking, but it would be nice to establish Guru Pathik as somewhat capable of the opposite but perhaps not liking to use the skill.

Aang really vibes with this dying culture of pacifists, but he still has to leave Guru Pathik before he can finish the training. Later on, he can encounter Guru Pathik and the silent lion turtle again, and he can confess to them how desperately he doesn't want to have to kill anyone, no matter what his past lives say. He just wants to STOP the violence and restore balance to the world without sacrificing himself. And THEN the lion turtle could wake up and gift him with energy-bending.

Or something like that! The foreshadowing doesn't have to be THAT heavy-handed, but SOME brief appearance by an actual lion turtle would have served as a better "Step 2) Pattern" to me.

Things like chi-blocking, chakras, water-bending healing, water-benders losing their bending when the Moon Spirit was killed, and even Zuko's spiritual turmoil serve as a good "Step 1) Introduction" to the concept of energy-bending to me. The ingredients are THERE. But again, I would have liked some clearer "Step 2) Pattern" that had actually baked the cake in regards to this being a skill Aang had specifically.

The above episode concept with Guru Pathik on the back of a lion turtle could have worked as a "Step 2) Pattern / Reminder" for energy-bending.

ANOTHER option would be to have Aang temporarily lose his bending at the beginning of Book 3, after Katara resurrects him with that special spirit water after Azula killed him at the end of Book 2.

I think Aang losing his bending for at least 3-4 episodes would have been really good for him / the show. So much of Aang's identity is tied up at this point in being the Avatar and the responsibilities of being the Avatar. Losing his bending, especially his AIR-BENDING, and his connection to the spirit world and his past lives would send him into a personal crisis. The Gaang could worry over whether or not a new Avatar has somehow been born or if the Avatar powers are gone forever. The characters could confront the fact that perhaps they've been relying too much on Aang as the Avatar and what they'll do now without the Avatar.

Also, it would be really funny if Aang woke up and picked up his glider to jump off that boat, then just fell into the ocean, and Katara needed to fish him out. (Which would then transition into the dramatic revelation that he has lost his bending!!!)

Katara could use her healing abilities to tell Aang that what's happened to him feels a lot like Ty Lee's chi-blocking. Katara would then probably try to emphasize with Aang, who gets angry with her and says she has no idea what this feels like! Katara could then have a really good intimate scene with Aang over how scary it was when the Moon Spirit was killed, what it physically felt like to lose that spiritual connection, and how scared she was even afterwards about what it would have been like to permanently lose that connection to her people and her culture. Aang then apologizes to Katara and they resolve to find his bending again.

Aang then goes on some spiritual journey with his friends to reconnect with his bending and his past lives as the Avatar. Probably some partially internal spiritual journey with Guru Pathik's teachings. Katara and Toph could both talk about what bending means to them personally as different people, and also what it feels like to them as they interact with the elements of the world around them.

Aang could have some cool fight scenes where he dodges some random thugs using all of his bending skills (martial arts) without the actual bending, air-bending techniques, water-bending techniques, and earth-bending techniques, and then finally some chi-blocking techniques that Guru Pathik showed him. There could be some scene where Aang saves a kid from these random thugs and realizes that he can still do good in the world even if he's not the Avatar! Even if he's not a bender anymore!

There could also be some REALLY funny scenes of Aang trying to get Appa and Momo to teach him how to reconnect with his air-bending. Aang mimicking their movements and so on. (Sokka: "Is that... working so far, buddy?" Aang: "NO! They're terrible teachers!!!" Cue sad Appa bleating and offended Momo chittering.)

You could even do it in a cycle of sorts, where Aang reconnects with his air-bending first using Guru Pathik's teachings and his friends' help. (He is OVERJOYED.) And then Aang slowly regains water-bending and earth-bending over the next few episodes, culminating in him having to face his fears learning fire-bending again. I think you could accomplish this storyline by squeezing it into about 3-4 episodes, or else starting off with losing then regaining air-bending plus the Avatar state in the first 2 episodes of the season and then threading relearning the other elements in the background through later episodes.

ANOTHER option where Aang temporarily loses his bending is after the eclipse, because he has a spiritual crisis over the fact that he was resolved to kill someone and he really doesn't want to do that. I don't like this option so much because it feels a little too late in the season compared to kicking off Book 3 with the drama of Aang losing his bending(!!!), but it's an option.

See, if Aang temporarily loses his bending and has to find it again somehow, then the show could establish what this kind "energy-bending" and spiritual manipulation within a person looks like. If Aang has had to get his bending BACK, then it would better establish Aang then using this ability he has now practiced on himself to take bending away from another person. It's a pleasantly surprising twist that Aang figures out how to reverse a previously established energy-bending technique and successfully uses it against Ozai.

And then the ending, though arguably still in the realm of a Deus Ex Machina (which is cool), would feel more like "Step 3) Payoff" instead of "What just happened?" We needed to see more obviously that Aang was capable of ANY kind of energy-bending before it saved the day like that.

Anyway! This post became way longer than originally intended! I hope this has made it clear that I like both the lion turtles and energy-bending as concepts. I think there are many elements in the show that begin to introduce lion turtles and energy-bending as Aang uses it as things that COULD exist. I just think that the show needed some kind of additional baking step in the middle to establish a pattern and use those ingredients to foreshadow that specific "an ancient lion turtle teaches Aang energy-bending and Aang then uses it against someone else" ending.

#tossawary atla #fic ideas #long post #aang #guru pathik #lion turtles #spoilers

138 notes · View notes

aihoshiino · 4 months ago

Note

Your takes on Ai are always fun to chew on! Lately, I’ve been thinking about her breakup with Hikaru and I was wondering if Ai had any rationale for what she said. I don't understand why she brought up her pregnancy and Taiki in that moment. If her goal was to lessen the burden for the both of them, why even mention those things? I originally thought her neurodivergence and trauma might explain it, but even then, I struggle to find a clear link, and just attributing it to that alone feels a little handwavy. Maybe it is the answer? Since I think you have a broad view of her character, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks so much! <3

I've been meaning to do a longer post on that chapter specifically (tbh I might make it part of the Miss Genius Idol essay series when YenPress's TL of it drops, so I can properly compare the translations) but part of why that bit of the chapter comes off as soon confusing is because MangaPlus... kind of beefed the translation???

I talked about this elsewhere semi-recently so I'll grab what I had to say to not just repeat myself at you.

Fwiw, this is more of an issue with M+'s translation of that scene then it being what Ai actually said. Don't get me wrong, she completely fucking beefs her delivery there either way because she's a disaster (<3) but for some wild ass reason, M+ makes her dialogue there way more harsh and directly critical VS the original text which is much more ambiguous in that regard. This is both why Aqua frames his revenge as being for "not understanding her" and why the DVD is supposed to be such a wham for Hikaru - because it at last clarifies for him that the person Ai considered burdensome in that relationship was herself.

[...]

But yeah, Ai's phrasing in Japanese comes off as much less pointedly cruel to me. Her line in Japanese that M+ TL as "I can't even, that's too tough, I can't bear it" is 「無理無理、流石にそれはキツいって、背負えないよ!」 Which is more like (forgive my scuzzy off the cuff TL) "no way, no way, that's too hard, it's too much to carry" You'll notice the seemingly minor but imo actually very important detail that Ai does not specify who cannot carry this weight in JP, while M+ explicitly has Ai say that she is the one who can't bear it. The only time she specifically talks about herself is when she says 「子供も･･･うーん私じゃ難しいかな」 which M+ translate as "about the baby, it's difficult for me too" and ig that's not WRONG but especially when combined with her earlier line, the tone is kind of off. In Japanese, it reads way more to me that Ai is saying she, herself, is not up to the task, that she's lacking, she wouldn't be able to do it VS the situation (and Kamiki with it) being in of itself the problem - though it's extremely understandable WHY he takes it that way. Basically M+ TL is not incorrect in strict text but does kind of mistranslate the spirit of the exchange imo. It makes Ai more pointedly cruel and self-centred whereas the Japanese text reads to me as being more in line with the thoughtless, innocent cruelty she hurt Nino with. The main issue is I think the JP text is much more effectively a tragedy of miscommunication (which Aka has highlighted as something he wanted to explore with OnK), where you can see exactly what both characters are trying to say to each other but still completely understand why they're failing to communicate as a result of their individual pathologies. Yes, Ai did still do this in a very ungraceful and ultimately cruel way (WHILE YOU WERE BRUSHING YOUR TEETH??? GIRL PLEASE 😭) but the vibe of the JP text l makes it clearer this was a misunderstanding and Kamiki took the worst possible interpretation of it because he hates himself. That's why Aqua frames Kamiki as being punished for "not understanding her" - because if he really, truly understood Ai like he said, why would he be so comfortable assuming for nearly 20 years that she would have meant something that cruel? This element of the story comes off as kind of incoherent with the M+ TL because the vibe there ends up being, like. God forbid he believe the words his girlfriend explicitly said to his face???

@all-of-her-light also summarized things pretty neatly around the same time;

I think what she meant to communicate to Hikaru is something like "you've still got serious emotional issues around having fathered a child with Airi, and I think raising our child would be difficult for you even if you're agreeing to it (in order to stay with me), and I don't feel up to supporting you and our child at the same time". But Ai was 15 years old and socially awkward at heart and uncomfortable with difficult conversations, so what she wanted to say came out very messily.

In short, Ai mentions Taiki because she knows that Hikaru (as 742 pointed out) has enormous and understandable trauma about fatherhood and that she feels like forcing him to stay with her and raise their child would be a massive burden on him that he could not carry by himself. She just expresses it clumsily because, and I cannot stress this enough, her communication skills are absolute dogshit <3

#oshi no ko #oshi no posting #onk spoilers #onk asks

26 notes · View notes

you-wanna-save-the-corn-nuts · 4 months ago

Text

"Tai, you ate her face" Scene Analysis

Requested by @subaerial-dweller !! (50 follower special)

(Bit of a retelling of the scene + character and shot analysis, and how this incorporates into Van's previous + future motifs and arc.)

As the scene opens, the first thing we see is Natalie sitting out in the cold, and Tai leaning on a pole nearby. Natalie is staring dead at Jackie, clearly just...contemplating and processing what the fuck happened. Understandable. Something interesting to note is that at this point, Van isn't outside with them. In fact, it isn't until Tai starts screaming "What happened to Jackie!!" that Van opens the door to the cabin. Unclear on whether she was making her way outside anyways, but either way, it takes her a second to get outside. She immediately runs up to Tai, repeating "its okay, its okay-" which I think is important, because clearly, its not okay. Van most likely would have followed Tai outside but the fact that she didn't? Says a lot, because it means Van couldn't stand to look at Jackie's....remains, until she had to. But as we know with Van and her "medieval knight qualities" (I am never living that phrase down-) she's putting all of that aside because right now, Tai is the most important thing.

Interesting to note, when Van starts talking to Tai, for a second she's just overwhelmed and seems a little....mad almost.

like look at her face, girl is slightly annoyed, maybe a little firm

But she looks back at Tai and suddenly it clicks with her that oh, this isn't Tai freaking out at her. (You could even say this is a reaction to what her mother may have acted like while drunk...and then she realises this isn't like that.) And then there is a noticeable switch to just....concern. Tai is having possibly the only proportionate reaction to the situation, compared to most of the other Yellowjackets who seem incredibly dissociated. And that, to her, is likely weird, both because Van is very emotionally detached from the situation herself, and because nobody else is having that kind of reaction. Tai is genuinely lost with the situation and as we know, Van's reaction to that kind of thing is to start trying to get to the bottom of it. (Something we see a LOT of with other Tai)

Tai then comes back with a very frazzled "I wouldn't do that." which obviously, knowing how everyone reacts to Coach Scott, they seem to take a lot of offense towards. So Van obviously retaliates "What are you talking about? You were sitting right next to me!" which I think is likely a "Hey, Dude. You aren't better than us. Don't be the only disgusted one, you did the same." but also a check-in because again, why would Tai be reacting like this?

Tai goes to throw up, storming past Van, who just stands there. Because again, to her? This probably feels a little like Tai is being high and mighty about this (girl, where are you getting these "morals" from).

So Van ducks down next to Tai, and again, her face says...a lot here.

She's definitely a little baseline annoyed, but also seems to be bargaining. What is going on with Tai? She doesn't know. But again, as she sees Tai's panic, she flicks back over to confusion and concern. She wants to help Tai, of course. Anyone would. But this is also....horribly complicated. Van seems to be very set in her beliefs and while the whole show seems to be a testament to how morals can change, Van is quite firm in what she believes. (Unless, of course, someone she cares about like Tai, comes above it.) This situation is obviously one in which they all compromised their morals, and is a solid "point of no return" for the girls (Travis included).

This is also the point where Van starts to pull the pieces into place. She's realising that this may or may not tie into whatever's been going on with Tai's sleepwalking. But obviously, she wants to confirm that which follows up with her asking "You really don't remember?" which Tai never verbally answers but Van can already tell its written on her face. And then of course, the line of the whole scene comes in "Tai, you ate her face." Van's tone here really interests me because she is not putting it very lightly. There's a little hesitance but a lot of it reads to me as just....when you tell someone something that seems like it should be inherently obvious. She says it almost as if "Tai, look, its snowing." With a little more care in her words but there is definitely a tone of "C'mon, you know this, right?" (tho i kinda suck at reading tones irl so take this with a grain of salt)

I have said this in previous analysis, but to restate it, Van has a character trait of trust. Specifically, lack of trust. She doesn't trust Tai. Something we know is an intentional character trait because Liv has outright said that's how they perceived her and acted to show that in Van's characterisation. So for Van this isn't just, "Tai isn't taking my word for this." its also likely a "Tai doesn't trust me." Van's insecurity of not trusting people very likely manifested from being unable to trust her mother, likely due to her alcoholism. And another thing that basically everyone has said or learnt about trust, is that its a two way street. If Tai can't trust her then...what are the odds she can trust Tai? She loves Tai, and with any relationship you want your partner to trust you. And right now, Tai isn't, something that is likely shattering for Van, considering how much she puts Tai's needs above hers as her priority.

"You ate her face." These words trigger what seems to be the memories of the incident, paired with a flicker of some of the shots. Another interesting thing to note here, none of the parts Tai remembers include anything about the banquet. To the rest of the Yellowjackets, this was fun, almost. A huge meal that they hadn't had in months. But when Tai remembers this? Its nothing but the raw, horrible memories of committing literal fucking cannibalism. So obviously, like any one would upon realising they cannibalised their dead friend and don't remember it, Tai goes to throw up.

It can't really be shown in a photo, but Van doesn't get up immediately. She hangs back for a second, clearly just...processing what the fuck just happened. With the Van mindreading powers I totally have, I can guess tell you, that she's likely going over the situation. Tai's sleepwalking has evolved. She can seem fully awake and alive and just like her own Tai, and she wouldn't even know. How much of what she's seen in the past was this other Tai? Can she trust her? Can she help Tai? Can she save Tai? Van's bargaining with what this means for her, and what it means for them together. Which is definitely something we see tying into how Van acts when she knows other Tai is in control. She wants to help Tai, and make sure she's safe. Because again, she'd likely get possessed in Tai's place if she had the chance. It isn't until a few seconds later that Van gets up, places a hand on Tai's back as she screams, and the scene changes to the intro.

In summary, this scene tells us a lot about Van's character in a short amount of time. And a lot about how the other Yellowjacket's have taken this whole cannibalism deal. For Van, this whole situation ties a lot into both her fear of not being trusted (ironic for someone who refuses to trust herself) and her desire to protect Tai at all costs. Obviously, this changes their relationship significantly. But Tai promised her when they differed on the whole spiritual/psyche standpoint that they were okay. That whatever happened they were going through this, together. Something that was also backed up by the "I love you" scene in 02x01. Van's fully committed to Tai at this point, and for her, this is the beginning of her being set on saving her, no matter the cost for herself.

#yellowjackets #van palmer #kree and his yj shitposts #taivan #van yellowjackets #vanessa palmer #taissa turner #tai turner #yellowjackets analysis #analysis #kree's yj yapping #50 follower special

39 notes · View notes

theheirofthesharingan · 17 days ago

Note

Do you know why Obito's actions get so much hype? I'm genuinely confused cause fans keep complimenting up his complex personality and philosophy but what exactly were his achievements??? Why was he right? What was he right about?? Why is he so amazing? I'm in pure confusion cause did I miss something good that he did? Did he help the world in some way that I didn't notice?? Did he say something that was really worth the hype? Geniunely asking I swear I really don't get the Obito glaze

I wrote about Obito here.

I have said it before as well that Obito doesn't make any sense to me, because his trauma neither excuses nor justifies the shit he pulled for years, killing countless people, manipulating them, and using them, and then throwing them away after they were no longer of any use to him. That's what he planned to do with Sasuke too.

Sure, he was manipulated as a kid and lost the most important person to death, and he felt Kakashi was responsible for the death. But he knew Kakashi wasn't responsible. He knew Kakashi couldn't do anything for Rin no matter what he wanted. And she actually made a sacrifice for the innocent people who would have died because of her.

Obito disrespects Rin as well.

There are two kind of people who praise him. And they're both idiotic.

1. Those who think he was against the system and wanted to change it.

2. He started the war because of the person he loved, hence justifying the oversimplified phrase "a hero will sacrifice you to save the world but a villain will sacrifice the world for you."

Both are complete bullshit.

Obito didn't want to change the system. He made it worse. Most of the major tragic incidents that the characters went through had something to do with Obito. He directly participated in them.

From Minato and Kushina's deaths to the Akatsuki becoming evil and Itachi and Sasuke's lives being ruined forever, it was ALL Obito's doing. Then the Uchiha massacre and the war, too, of course.

He was trying to change the system? After making it worse on his own?

Then the hopeless romantics who keep searching for the Shakespearean tragedy in him and how he chose love over the world, which is as dumb as it can get.

The clownery goes on further when he's compared with Itachi for this stupid reason. So many things wrong there. Apart from Itachi having no lover, Obito too didn't start the war because of Rin. Nobody killed Rin, but she herself, and he knew why. But of course, he needs to be defended and justified because it makes some idiots feel good about themselves.

I personally like his faux Madara personality because it was badass. And I like writing him that way (only his interactions with Sasuke though). But other than that, I don't find him all that appealing. For a long, long time I had no idea why everyone was praising him. After Itachi's death I keep forgetting the parts that aren't about Sasuke. And Obito had nothing to do with Sasuke post Itachi's death.

So, the unmasked Obito is uninteresting to me as a character. I don't find his story tragic either. The characters like Pain have much more depth and their motivations are understandable too. They were victims as well.

While Obito was a victim as well, especially of war and Madara's manipulation, he never implements his experiences to make things better. He makes them worse. He chooses to do evil willingly. There's a hint in the chapter #476-478 that he worked with Danzo as well during the massacre. He had power of a leader and instead of doing anything for the better he manipulated and plotted the war.

To me, there's very little that I like about him. I can't sympathize with him either. He did far, far worse things to his victims than what was done to him, if you look at Naruto, Sasuke, and Itachi (who are actually his worse victims).

#itachi #sasuke #anti obito #ask #anon #akatsuki

17 notes · View notes

realtidepod · 4 months ago

Note

i want to hear about the dirkjohn mpreg. how long does dirk wait before telling john. whats their relationship like before and after the mpreg. what dumbfuck name do they give their baby

HEEEELLLOOOOO ANON!!!! i am oh so happy about your inquiry. inquirIES even. (hella long post incoming)

this is such a fun and also unreasonably hard collection of questions to answer because we have like……. so so so many different dirkjohns we play around with like little barbie dolls in our spare time that its difficult to pick just ONE set of them to talk abt. ESPECIALLY when it comes to mpreg cause its literally like we have a dirkjohn that has this kid, a dirkjohn that has THIS kid, and a dirkjohn that has that kid!

id love to talk about All of them in This Post but 1 oh my god that would take forever and 2 i would definitely remember something wrong and that would haunt me FOR….. EVER…. so i think just for easiness sake (and my own) i will just go with dear sweet little casey for now because i know we have DEFINITELY given her the most love and attention compared to the others . unintentionally i swear. we just love her a lot <3

i guess with all that being said im accidentally going backwards in answering these LMAO the dumbfuck name they give their baby is actually somehow not THAT dumbfuck of name to give a baby at all as it turns out! maybe thats just because we dont really love giving dirkjohn kids these Really Out There names to be honest. we see that as more of a jakedavekat thing than a dirkjohn thing. dirkjohn are Serious about this baby thing. and believe me. that baby. Is a Thing.

as for their relationship BEFORE the mpreg… well…… theyer in looooovvveeee. la dee dee la dee da they are just . so happy. so happy and so in love. a typical day for them is literally wake up, cuddle, kiss, eventually get up and john makes them coffee and then breakfast. they eat and john reads the fuckin NEWSPAPER of all things after while dirk does the dishes <3 and THEN they watch tv.they watch tv for a whiiiiile until either Fuck Nothing is on or they remember heeeey. they have errands or chores to do. errands is an always john thing or an always do together thing, but never JUST a dirk thing. he does not like going to places by himself and john Obviously isnt going to make him. chores however are anyones game, but they do have a system of who does what like each week or each day because thats GROSS and theyre in LOVE. have i said that theyre in love yet btw i think i have!!!!!!!!!!!!!

after that its the evening time Free For All where they could get into Anything before its time for dinner. on MOST days this time is just hobby time for both of them really. dirk works on some little something in the garage, john looks up more recipes to try, they fuck, then they have dinner! it’s great! after they get ready for bed they either watch a little more tv before hitting the hay, or john reads a book with dirk cuddled up next to him for a little. thats very important. very important, and very mundane. in a good way of course.

john really thrives off of mundane i think, and dirk does too, albeit in his own slightly different dirk way. routine is good for them, and it can be pretty tough when that routine is poof. down the shitter and well . its really needless to say that said their routine goes a Biiiiit fucking haywire when they find out the reason dirks been throwing up and just generally Feeling like Shit is because he is somehow Pregnant.

ok hi its Pod on the mic (the other one) to answer the last question because Tide is honk shooooo ok ANYWAY. thank you for the ask anon <3. to answer the last question!! the After mpreg. it’s worth noting that this is the work of ult dirk, so, do what you will with that information. that’s a whole other can of worms that is worthy of its own post (or like 100k+ word fic that will probably be perpetually in the works, but you didn’t hear that from me)

during The Mpreg dirk’s pretty stressed and confused because why is this happening. he has a whole dick and balls. but as they say. things will Always Keep Happening. john kinda stops questioning the how after a while and tries to have a more positive outlook on it, which soothes dirks mind a little but goddamn it is a Rough pregnancy for him. he goes through it and john is supporting him 110%, and even makes sure to keep it on the downlow among their friends since dirk Really doesn’t want anyone to see him while he’s sick almost every other day.

once their little Thing is born they go with the excuse of ectobiology, and let me tell you it was Very difficult to hide for the last few months.

as mentioned dirk was really anxious, specifically about being a parent in general, but luckily for him john was and is more than supportive about assuring him he is and that just because some version of him wasn’t a good one doesn’t mean he, himself, in this current time, doesn’t have any potential to be. it eased dirks mind a little, but it didn’t really set in until he was holding her in his arms. kind of like an instant familial switch flipped on in his brain. to “lock in” (sorry never using this terminology again i’m too old for that)

they have a girl! her name is casey. yes, after the girl from con air. yes, after the salamander. it was difficult for them to come to an agreement on the name, especially with john’s connection to it, having lost casey the salamander due to health complications years prior. in a way it was john coming to terms with his grief, even if it’s a little selfish, but despite the sad memories it reminds him of what it was like when he was a caregiver alongside dirk. plus he just likes the name casey. at the bottom of this post we have a sprite and doodle of her <3

they are very happy with their little family of 3, still have no idea how it happened, but are very glad it happened

if you know what her shirt symbol is a reference to (hint hint loading screen of a 2004 video game) you are officially vip member of the blog realtidepod where you get absolutely nothing except SUPER COOL GUY status. thank you for the ask anon, sorry for the lengthy reply lmao, we love dirkjohn a lot <3

#as mentioned we have. so many dirkjohns who have little Things #we even have 2 versions of casey!! ok actually 3 #we spend a lot of time talking about them. the dirkjohn non-cinematic universe. the DJNCU. marvel wishes they were us #dirkjohn #i love dirkjohn mpreg #casey egbert-strider #tideart #asks

13 notes · View notes

lostgracestories · 10 months ago

Note

Hello! Can I request some Morgott/Tarnished headcanons about them being consorts and their married life? <3 Thank you!!

YESSS ILY <3

I have severe Morgott brainrot and istfg I love this emotionally constipated omen king <333 thank you for this request! Lowkey, as usual, this will probably be all over the place but I hope you enjoy none the less!

wc: 709 tw: do i need a tw for weapons?, mention of drunkeness (no one's actually drunk, also is that a word?)

~Marriage and Consortship~

Morgott is a very busy man. Like, very busy. Between paperwork and other kingly duties, he worries he hardly has time for his precious consort. However, he is ever so grateful for the patience you bestow upon him. he does not think himself worthy of such grace.

Whenever Morgott has a break in his busy schedule, he immediately fills it with you. Finished signing the last contract for the day? He's by your side in seconds with a cup of tea (he's old he probably likes tea, right?) and he makes sure that you know he loves you.

Obviously, it took him a while to get used to this new change in his life. Never in a million years had he thought he would be married and as such, he has no idea how to pick up on queues. "I wish a big strong man would come open this for me" "Wouldst thou like me to fetch one of the soldiers to help thee?" "...No Morgott I meant you" And you know he'd blush like an idiot every time something like this happens. (and he'd obviously help cause he loves you)

Morgott has a difficult time expressing his feelings through words. Despite his expansive vocabulary, he's never gotten a chance to speak in such a way with someone. Every once in a while he will try to compliment you and it will be so awkward that he vows to never do it again. (he will, in time) "Thy beauty is like a thousand swords, sharp, relentless, and unyielding" "...huh?" "...I meant... thou art fair...?" but lowkey, he would try to compare you to things he's familiar with and oftentimes it will have to do with battle and sometimes the erdtree.

Morgott unironically switches from calling you "Tarnished" to "My queen" and "My lady" the moment you both are joined through consortship/marriage. And he'll be damned if he admits that his heart beats a little faster when you call him "My king" although, it's so very obvious by how his body shifts around and his gaze leaves you when you say it.

Morgott had a ring handcrafted specifically for you. It definitely had a design resembling vines and leaves and the band is for sure gold. You don't even want to think of how much it cost him.

Morgott also sucks at receiving gifts. When he saw the mountain of gifts after their (albeit small) wedding, he nearly fainted. He still feels guilty accepting things from people, even if he knows you say he's worth it.

Morgott had always insisted that the two of you sleep separately because he feared he would accidentally harm you. So, when you came into his room on the night after the wedding, he stared at you in confusion. At first he thought you were drunk but instead, you had climbed into bed with him and expressed that you wished to sleep in the same bed from now on. He was hesitant but he allowed it. He had to admit, he actually enjoyed it.

Morgott sometimes lets you help him make political choices. If he becomes stuck on a certain matter, he will seek you out for help. "My Queen, thou art so gracious, pray tell, wouldst thee help me with this issue?"

He 100% loves to garden. During your wedding, he had made your bouquet by hand out of erdleaf flowers. It was so gorgeous that when you asked him to help you preserve them, he instead made you a little bench in his garden (he can definitely do woodwork too) for you to sit amongst his erdleaf flowers. Whenever he walks past the garden and sees his beautiful wife sitting amongst his hard work, he is immediately pulled out of what he is doing. No matter how important it is. He can't help but admire you from afar.

And lastly, he of course always humors your little date ideas. Even if it means sneaking away from his kingly duties to go watch the stars. If the night was cold in those moments, he would definitely allow you to find warmth in his tattered cloak. (you could beg and beg but he refused to get rid of it for better clothes)

#morgott #morgott the grace given #morgott x tarnished #morgott the omen king #elden ring morgott #elden ring #marriage #fluff #consorts #i love this man #he needs a hug #why can't I just befriend him in game #I need a dating sim #help I'm unhinged

43 notes · View notes

cloud-somersault · 9 months ago

Text

(Sits all of you down at the dinner table) OK, we gotta talk about this part of chapter 13, because it's one of the most important conversations in the entire epilogue and it says SO MUCH about both Wukong and Macaque that I just!!! gotta dive into it. I love this part so much.

So, Mac asks a reasonable question: Has Wukong been with anyone else since his death? Wukong is so stunned by that question that he just stares at Mac for a while. And that's because 1) he can't believe Mac is asking about this 2) why would mac want to know?? He doesn't get it.

Wukong's confused and answers honestly, stumbling over his words. Mac sees them for what they are and asks the next reasonable question: Who has been taking care of Wukong?

And this is a pretty big moment for Mac because, really, he shouldn't care about who's been taking care of Wukong. Wukong killed him. Why is he asking about this? It could be curiosity, but it's more than that. Mac is also laying it out on the table that Wukong needs care. He needs someone by his side. And he thinks of the other people who have been around to watch Wukong's back and advise him, help him, etc,. but it's as if Wukong himself hasn't ever thought of it that way.

That's partially true; Wukong thinks in a broader way (big picture) and just sees these people as companions and friends and important people in his life. He doesn't realize the ways they've been looking after him outside of the obvious. Or more like...he's thinking about the things that would happen to those people he cared about.

His Shifu kicked him out of training after he did an oopsie. The Brotherhood is split apart (Azure, Peng, Yellowtusk in the Scroll of Memory, DBK keeping quiet and to himself in the mortal realm, Macaque doing the same after Wukong killed him and he was resurrected)

His Master and the Great Companions are all dead, too. Nezha hates him, Little Star is gone. Wukong stopped letting people in because all he saw was the hurt he caused them. He didn't want to hurt anyone else, and only looked for a successor because he was so tired of fighting.

So there has been no one for a long while. Wukong is both shocked by the question and he doesn't fully understand it. Of course no one's been looking after him; he's been looking after himself and pushing people away so they don't get hurt. And there's also this shock, like "Why would anyone take care of me after the things I've done?" There's this undercurrent of self-loathing and disbelief that anyone would want to step into that role.

But Macaque introduces this concept to Wukong again, about care and affection -- Wukong needs those things just like everyone else. In this way, Wukong has been hurting himself, a self-inflicted punishment, perhaps to atone for the things he's done.

It's incredibly sad, so much so that Macaque acknowledges it and feels some sympathy (and also vindication but that's something else) for Wukong. It's like it's never entered his mind.

And for Wukong to be like "Who could compare to you??" Macaque is like, "you're totally right, but you didn't even try."

That reluctance to try, to choose isolation over love and care. To Macaque, that doesn't make sense. Wukong is so physically affectionate and sentimental. Macaque knows him better than anyone else, and he knows that care is a necessity for Wukong. Yet Wukong's abandoned all thought of that.

It brings to light something tragic that Macaque acknowledges and that Wukong is also forced to see. He has been without care and without that love for so long. Of course he had trouble forming and keeping connections.

But it's so important and beautiful that Macaque, despite his hatred over his death, is asking Wukong this. It's kind of sad, too, like, Macaque stepping back into that role of looking after Wukong, ensuring he doesn't do anything stupid, watching his back. But it's also the fact that he cared enough to ask, that he was curious enough to bring it up. And while he does get some sweet vengeance and validation from being one of the few that could provide that to Wukong, there's also this...frustration that Wukong thinks he's above this care and love that he so desperately needs.

And I think this moment highlighted something important that Wukong noticed; that Macaque is, slowly, getting curious about things and asking about things related to Wukong's well-being while he was dead. In the older chapters of the epilogue, Macaque (doing so after Wukong asked) went into detail about his days in Hell. He told Wukong everything.

Macaque asking Wukong this is him flipping the switch. He's trying to figure out what Wukong's been doing. And he needs to know so he can carry that knowledge into their relationship now. Macaque is curious; he needs to have proper context, but that curiosity is coming from a place of love and care.

I think, at this moment, Macaque realized many things, but one of them is that...he does want to care for Wukong. He already knows how best to do it and doing it...makes him feel better, too. There's something about being depended on by the Monkey King that he secretly likes. There's something about Macaque being the only one to get lovey-dovey eyes from the Great Sage, the only one to get kisses and intimate touches, to be the only one Wukong fully trusts. Macaque could be falling into that role of importance, tying his worth to that of Wukong. But a part of him is resisting that at the same time.

He's fighting with himself on multiple fronts: there's the hatred and love angle, and then there's this need for independence vs. being co-dependent on Wukong. He's trying, once again, to have both things. He's aware of the danger caring for Wukong could bring, but he also sees how Wukong has started doing that, too, prioritizing Macaque's needs instead of his own, doing everything he can to make Macaque's life better.

I think it's a kind of dynamic where it goes "Oh, Wukong is doing this, too? Then so can I." type of thought. Kind of a "rivals" take on becoming co-dependent on each other. Which is dangerous, but they're also obsessed with each other.

But this moment of Macaque just asking these important and hard-hitting questions opened Wukong's eyes to how much he's been neglecting himself....and how much that's not a priority to him right now. His priority is seeing to Macaque. And it reminded Macaque of those good feelings he'd get taking care of Wukong, quickly solving his problems, being dependable, coming up with plans -- he's a trustworthy person. He's clever and a trickster, too, just like Wukong.

And there's also the fact that Wukong deadass is like "I don't want anyone else to take care of me. I just want Macaque." The love that he had with Macaque was the best thing Wukong has experienced, and he desperately wants that back. That could also affect his decision-making when it came to forming other relationships -- it's not going to be as good as his time with Macaque, so why bother? He'll always leave disappointed.

Because deep inside both of them, there's an understanding that...they can only be with each other. Despite the murder and fights and insults, they know this. The way they fit together, how they fight together, how they know what the other's thinking. There's been so much proof that they're a good pair, they feel it's useless to fight against that.

Throughout the entire epilogue, the conflict was if Macaque was going to kill Wukong or not. If they'd become friends again or not. And within that conflict, Macaque understands that he's either with Wukong or he's with no one. There's no other choice.

And we know what choice he made and how happy he is now, but...again, this also shows Macaque thinking about the details that Wukong would've otherwise ignored. It shows that it's important, at times, to bring those details to light. To ask those hard questions, even if the other person gets upset.

#constellations fic #constellations shadowpeach #UGHHH i love chapter 13 so much #it's so good let's just end things there LMFAOOO

20 notes · View notes

beifong-brainrot · 2 months ago

Note

Hot take: Kuvira is 100% what Suyin would have turned out if she didn't get her rage under control. Young Suyin was low-key just as feral as young Kuvira was. The way both of them had absolutely no respect for authority(are we gonna act like Su wasn't actively involved with a gang at one point?) or had no real parental figures (Toph was essentially absent and Kuvira's ditched her)..........what is going on with Earth Kingdom families just setting their kids loose?

Su and Lin pretty much raised themselves, as did Bolin and Kyoshi. Kuvira got kinda lucky that the Beifongs took her in, but they didn't seem to really raise her. She grew up among a family, but she wasn't truly raised.

Suyin did pretty much create her own city state with Zaofu and no one stopped her from doing so. And when Kuvira decides to mimic that by essentially doing the same thing on a larger scale, she turns to her in shock? Yes, I know what Kuvira wanted was an ethnostate. But is Zafou not a microcosm of what Kuvira wanted?

Yes and No? I wouldn't really call this a hot take, I've seen this bouncing around a lot, and myself have pointed out how Su and Kuvira are very similar, in tandem with Opal and Lin being parallels as well.

But I wouldn't say they are exactly the same in these regards. I think while Su was, indeed, 'feral', she didn't have young Kuvira's anger issues, at least not from what little flashbacks we get of her. In fact, she seems rather friendly and playful, at least until she gets into an argument with Lin, which is the majority of the flashbacks.

For example, let's compare two situations that you could consider at least a little similar. The first flashback if Lin and Su, and the flashback with Opal and Kuvira. Arguably, two most comparable scenes, both showing how they function with their sister/sister figure. A relatively low stakes situation, we see both Su and Kuvira push boundaries or do something questionable (skipping school amd demanding Opal give up her room and toys respectively) and lashing out at backlash.

I think it's important to note how Su and Kuvira approach start in these situations. Su is playful and bantery towards Lin, seemingly trying to engage with her, while Kuvira is very blunt and direct towards Opal, homegirl was on a mission. When faced with pushback, Su gets deflective, eventually leaving when Lin insults her friends. While Kuvira responds very aggressively to pushback, destroying Opal's dollhouse.

So we can tell that, while Su might also have some anger issues, they manifest from a different place and in a very different way than Kuvira's. If I had to make an uneducated guess from my metaphysical psychology armchair, I'd say that Suyin needed attention and connection, while Kuvira was, in her childish way, looking for control. Now, I don't want to make it sound like Kuvira was a horrible control freak as a kid, because that's not what I'm trying to say.

Like, I know it sometimes doesn't seem like that, but having at least a bit of control over your enviornment is quite vital in a human's comfort. Yes, even for a child. And Kuvira obviously was denied this as a small kid, her parents seeming rather domineering and strict from what we saw of them, and of course, giving her up, altering her life drastically without her input or consent.

Kuvira: Don't pretend you know what it felt like! [Wildly, waving her free arm.] The Avatar is adored by millions! I was cast aside by my own parents like I meant nothing to them. How could I just stand by [Starts crying.] and watch the same thing happen to my nation, when it needed someone to guide it? Korra: You wanted to create a place where you and your people would never be vulnerable again.

Kuvira, as an 8 year old child, got put in an incredibly confusing, frightening and vulnerable situation, and that left a wound that Suyin couldn't patch up. Of course Kuvira clawed and scraped for any semblance of control over any small aspect of her life, it gave her at least a tiny illusion of the stability she desired.

Suyin's wounds, meanwhile, were born of neglect and loneliness. Her mother was nor around, her sister was, frankly, an asshole, and that desperation for connection drove her to bond with shady people. Like, for all the talk of Suyin being involved with a gang, she's been friends with those boys since she was at least 12, and I don't feel like bank robberies were on the itinerary at that time. Her placing such emphasis on not having stolen anything and "owing her friends a favour" as the reason she was her friends getaway driver. It's not an excuse, but it sure as hell gives us a clear view at her motivation- ✨️friendship✨️.

Suyin: It took me a while, but, I finally realized what I was looking for was a family. So I bought this plot of land, found a brilliant architect who later became my husband, and created a place I could truly call home.

Suyin wants friends, family, a community, essentially, to the point that seemingly if you even so much as brush arms with her, you are "like family". And I do belive it's a genuine feeling on Suyin's part, since she's just genuinely affection starved and mildly delulu. So she builds a home, and a community, and she heals.

Enter Kuvira, whom Su sees so much of herself in.

Suyin: She was more than that. She was like a daughter to me. I took her in when she was eight years old and nourished her talents. Kuvira was smart, a natural leader, and quickly rose through the ranks. I saw myself in her.

And I think Su saw a little too much of herself in Kuvira, because she tried to give Kuvira what would've helped little Su. A family, and community, trying to absorb Kuvira into her family.

But I don't think that was what Kuvira truly needed. She needed some stability and input into her enviornment. I do wonder if she even was consulted on being part of Suyin's family.

Granted, Kuvira certainly absorbed a lot of Suyin's coping mechanisms and ideals, and it clearly shows. But I think their "core wounds" are very different, and it sets them apart in their coping mechanisms.

So, um, same software, different hardware, essentially.

Also really funny that Su, Kyoshi and Kuvira all were in some manner earthbenders separeted from their parents and went on to claim large swathes of land to build their homes. When can we get Bolintown or Lintopia lmao this seems like a trend.

And, just a side note. I understand what we're trying to do with the "the Earth Empire is just Zaofu on a larger scale thing". But that is just a... questionable and tedious comparison. Like I will fully say with my full chest that the Earth Empire was to Kuvira what Zaofu is to Su. That feels like a better description of the vibe we're going for.

Like, Zaofu is incredibly politically vague, so we don't really have an excellent basis for how it operates, but it's like... not a conquest? Like Su bought a (presumably empty) plot of land, which later became naturally populated as people came searching for opportunities. Kuvira led an armed force to Ba Sing Se to quell a rebellion, and later pressured town leaders into giving up full control of their areas by withholding supplies and assistance (which, might i remind you, Kuvira was still at the time acting under the EK government. The people of Yi were not rebelling in any way, but she still forced the govenor to sign in with her specifically.)

That's like the whole reason Su refused to help Tenzin and Raiko, the conquest of Ba Sing Se was against her morals. As much as Zaofu has its restrictions, which are, mind you, never really elaborated on, there seems to be a lot of advocacy for personal freedom. Let's remember Suyin's righthand man was an undercover gay anarchist (fly high Aiwei). The Earth Empire, however, was implied to force citizens into slave labour, explicitly so with their prisoners. And while the treatment of Hong Li by Su may have been questionable, let's remember that Aiwei's lie detector powers were utilised in tandem with looking for actual evidence (which isn't too far off in how lie detectors were used irl.). While Kuvira was able to seemingly send someone to the gulag purely off vibes.

Like, I understand what we're trying to say here, but it does mildly feel like a fictionalised version of "both sides are bad" when one side is commiting ethnic cleansing. I assume thats not what you meant anon but rn I wanna be careful abt using these terms.

#listen guys i understand what we're trying to say here #but “hippie commune is the same as ethnostate with concentration camps” is not a statement i wanna sign off on #at least not in the current sociopolitical climate we can't be watering down these terms lads #suyin beifong #kuvira #beifong brainrot #lin beifong #avatar #legend of korra #tlok #the legend of korra #avatar the legend of korra #atlok #lok

10 notes · View notes

darkicedragon · 5 months ago

Note

Gnnn oh my god the m series trying to rescue him! If they are a little bit like m21 and m24 I imagine them to be so stubborn and so distrustful of the others! I don't know what would make them realize that it is not a trick but when they will? Learning bit by but that yeah things can be better and other can carry for one another even those outside of the m series? Tjrhrjrjtjdb

It a good thing the house is so big!

Yeah! Either the M-series escape but was able to find enough information about where M-21 and M-24's last offical mission was and head there, or Crombell set something up to direct them there. Either so they can lead him to M-21 or just something to distract the household while he does something else. He doesn't even need to do much because M-21's previous experiences will do the work for him, and if M-21 does the clean up job of the failures, great! If not, then the M-series people wouldn't be adding much anyway (which is what he thought about M-21 as well, but hey. Additional studies he can get some information about or something).

Aaand a cut because this ran away from me, unsurprisingly, and basically turned into a mini-fic, aha.

The maybe nearly dying/last memories of being dragged away, would probably make them more stubborn and tunnel visioning on M-21. M-21's alive, but he's not in the Union, which means he's in danger so we have to get him out before he's found!! And/or he's -obviously- being held by the household so need to rescue him!!

Because yeah, they made that promise to do anything to survive; they just never considered the possibility that they could get -out-. Not to mention, all the previous M-series didn't even make it out the lab so are even more out of the loop about everything in general and the only things they really know and want to know is tied to their series.

The biggest issue would be how the household can trust the M-series and not immediately try to kill them on the spot (okay, but imagine the SHEER CONFUSION when the M-series shows up, and M-21 transforms into his later stage transformation and the M-series is just ????? They didn't even know he could transform his nails in the first place?? Why and how does he have a high modified transformation???). Like, Rai peek into their heads just to make sure? But Mark thought he was M-24 and had his memories, so even that wouldn't work. Frankenstein wouldn't have a biological baseline to compare to. Tao could hack the Union and see the commotion or how the M-series information was kept, but that could be created too.

But also just M-21 eyeing the M-series and vice versa, because it's not -right-. Or it is right, but M-21's memories in the Union are...hazy. He remembers them, but it was all adrenaline and wall-to-wall planning and panicking and reacting to changes that he didn't really have time to even remember when he could remember because it was one danger after another after another that he had to both forget because it wasn't important anymore and memorise because what if it was brought up again? In addition to the crippling pain, drugs and trying to follow whatever instructions the scientists wanted.

So he remembers them, remembers their faces, but while he clung onto their memories to give himself a purpose, something to keep moving forward, he's not sure if there was much they'd been able to talk about or do that would help prove they're who they say they are.

Meanwhile, the M-series are staring at M-21 and don't recognise him. He has his face, yeah, but he has a transformation, he's looking...better? than he ever did in the Union, they're not used to him glaring -their- way, but he seems comfortable with the people he's with. Which could be the brainwashing and something else happening behind the scenes, but??? The M-series are also Very Clearly just outclassed in every way possibly and it's a wonder they even made it to the household in the first place. Maybe they did collapse and thats how the household found them and would have sent them off to the hospital, but the experimental clothes is familiar and one wakes up long enough to recognise M-21. So now the household have to take them in because who knows what regular doctors might find if they were sent to the hospital, and maybe to find out what the M-series deal is. They use one of Frankenstein's safe houses this time instead of the main house.

Maybe a turning point is Tao asking about the cameras keeping an eye on them since the M-series seems to be okay with everything.

*shrug* 'It's not that much different from the Union. We have regular food here and aren't being experimented on which is...good.'

....Ouch.

Yeah, Frankenstein takes offence at being compared anywhere NEAR the Union so they have to decide whether to trust the M-series or not or see themselves become like the Union.

M-21's...come to better terms with them, because they don't perfectly match his memories, aren't trying to make him do something (which they couldn't. Not physically, and M-21 finally has a comparison point for how far he's really come since he escaped the Union). The M-series just. Want to find out who they used to be, and M-21 realises he's stopped searching. Partially because he knows what the others would give up for that to happen, partially because he doesn't WANT them to pay that price and partially... He's not the person he was before the experiments, that even if he did find his name and go back, he couldn't. Because he's not that person anymore.

He'd wanted to find out his name so that he could find the people and family that he had left behind, but he has a family right here that knows him for who he is now.

But yeah, after that, it's a huge learning curve for the M-series while they figure out who they actually are when they're not constantly in a stressful situation and unlearning all the things they'd learned in the Union. And actually given space. And listened to. So much stuff they have to get used to!

#noblesse #neptunes vv #yeah this is still what happens when you talk to me about noblesse ahahah #m21 #....did this just turn into a minific summary?#ofc it did dangit #yeah talk to me and ideas just fall out pff

9 notes · View notes

spurgie-cousin · 4 months ago

Note

Hello spurgie, i was wondering if you have any thought on love as a concept that you would like to share? As an exvangelical and a queer woman in particular. Are there parts of the evangelical view of love that you have decided to keep etc.?

I’m asking because I feel like there are so incredibly valuable observations to be made - I am a queer woman myself but I just hyperfocused on evangelicals for a while so I don’t have any first hand experience. But between wider society‘s notion of love, the evangelical view and what I learn from my queer polyamorous friends love as a concept sure is fascinating. I am particularly thinking about commitment being maybe the most integral part of a romantic relationship - a notion I feel is kind of the overlapping part in both the evangelical and polyamorous view but not wider society‘s.

Hmmmm that's an interesting question. I'm going to try not to overthink it lol.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it sounds like your main question is this: are there any things, like the idea of commitment/fidelity being very important in committed relationships, that I've brought over into my secular life from my evangelical upbringing (with a focus on the evangelical idea of what love is)? And my short answer is, no. I'm a monogamous person and I do value commitment, and the monogamous part may be related to my upbringing somehow (personally I think I've just always known I don't have the energy for anything else lol) but I don't necessarily think I *wouldn't* value commitment if I hadn't been raised in an evangelical church. I don't think Christianity owns the concept of fidelity and in my experience, it seems like a lot of people come to the conclusion without the influence of any religious authority. As far as the overlap between that and communities like the polyamorous community, I think commitment is important in that community specifically for way different reasons than it is in evangelicism. The latter mostly cares about it as a control tactic, particularly for women.

When I think of how I view love now vs. back when I was in church, I'd compared the former to like, a beautiful crystal vase and the latter to a pile of tiny glass shards on the floor. Back then I could look at the pile and guess that all the pieces were related to each other, and maybe they fit together somehow, but I had no idea how to even begin assembling them lol. I see love now as one thing, like one positive force, whereas back then there was the kind of love you feel for god, vs. the kind of love you feel romantically, vs. the kind of love you feel for your fellow human beings and I was getting *very* mixed messages about all of them, all the time. We were told they were all the same (and that is their message to secular folks as well) but that was contradicted at almost every turn.

Being a bisexual person in an evangelical community didn't help the confusion (at the time evangelicism focused most of its homophobia on gay men and didn't even entertain the idea of bisexuality) but there was a lot of complicated messaging as well. Like you mentioned, "commitment" was something that my church would say they thought was an important thing for marriages specfically, but that message came with a million caveats. It was more than just "it's good to not cheat on your partner!", it was like "if you're a woman in a room alone with a man who isn't your husband, you're being unfaithful to your husband" and just a million little rules like that, primarily for women but also for men to some degree. Women were expected to adhere to those rules perfectly, while men were given unlimited amounts of forgiveness when it came to being unfaithful, or breaking any of the arbitrary rules, and the kind of environment really makes it difficult to understand what true commitment really is. That kind of thinking was applied to every aspect of romantic relationships, not just fidelity, and as a woman it made the idea of romantic love feel more like a lifelong challenge, or a chore.

Anything I can think of related to love that I believe is specific to Evangelicism, I've left behind. I didn't grow up around many marriages I'd want to emulate, my own parents included, and when I think of evangelical relationships I think of a lot of judgment and control and micromanaging. I actually actively try to *not* be like the adults I knew as a kid in my own marriage. I think anything positive related to love, whether romantically or otherwise, is something that can be learned and understood on a universal level.

tl;dr: Evangelicals are extremely hypocritical when it comes to love and don't practice what they preach to secular people. I actually believe being raised in that kind of environment did more harm than good when it came to romantic relationships, and I've developed a much healthier idea of "love" since leaving my church. I haven't intentionally brought any of their teachings into my own relationships, and I would not look to them when it comes to advice on the topic.

#honestly everyone say good job hilary for not writing 10x more than this #religion

6 notes · View notes

ask-a-goldsmith · 1 year ago

Text

In writing my last few posts, I have realized that there is quite a lot of basic(to me) knowledge required to understand most of this stuff. I've done my best to explain as I go, but I think this deserves its own post. So, here we go!

Junior Gemology 101

This post is mostly about diamonds! I am well aware it's called Junior Gemology, but 90% of what I deal with on a day-to-day basis is diamonds. Also, a lot of this applies to coloured stones too, so no need to repeat myself.

What is a diamond, actually?

Diamonds are carbon! That's all there is! Except for inclusions. And coloured diamonds. Those have little bits of other materials in them. And are also a topic for later. I digress. Like always.

Specifically, diamonds are carbon atoms bonded together covalently in a tetrahedral shape. Confusing enough yet? This means that each carbon atom is bonded to 4 other carbon atoms. It's ok if you don't get it, I spent about 3 hours trying to understand diamond structure before things started to make sense. This website has a 3D model of the tetrahedral structure seen in diamonds and is what I used to finally wrap my head around it. The important part is: diamonds are made of carbon atoms connected in a pattern. If the pattern was different, It wouldn't be a diamond! If the carbon was bonded in hexagonal rings, it would be graphite! Same atoms, veeeerrrryyy different result.

What makes diamonds so darn special?

I've told you what a diamond is - so why do people care about this very specific pattern of carbon? The answer is(mostly) that humanity LOVES shiny things, and diamonds are great at being shiny. Why have diamonds become THE shiny thing to have? A combination of some REALLY successful marketing campaigns and some of diamond's unique characteristics. These characteristics include things such as their hardness, brilliance, and fire. I went deeper into these characteristics and what they mean in terms of telling diamonds from other stones in this post, but I'll give you a quick run-down here.

Diamonds are very(and famously) hard. They're a 10 on the Mohs scale, and almost nothing is harder than them. This doesn't mean diamonds are impervious to damage - while they are very hard, diamonds can also be brittle, and a hard smack in the wrong place can chip, crack, or even shatter a diamond. Trust me, I know. I've broken a few by accident.

Brilliance and fire are what give diamonds their characteristic bling. Though they are classified as different things - brilliance being the bright white reflections of light and fire being the rainbow reflections - they're both caused by diamond's Refractive Index. Refractive index(RI) is the measurement of the speed at which light travels through different materials - for our purposes though, think of it as how much a ray of light bends when it moves from one material to another. Diamonds have an RI of 2.42, which causes high brilliance and a medium amount of fire. RI isn't super important for most people to know - it really only comes into the conversation when comparing diamonds to simulant materials.

What are the 4 Cs?

The 4 Cs are the meat and potatoes of diamond basics - Carat weight, Colour, Clarity, and Cut. These four terms are used to describe diamonds worldwide, each describing a different part of a diamond's look.

Carat weight is the weight of a diamond. Pretty self-explanatory. What's not clear is what a carat actually is - no, not a carrot. A carat. A carat is 0.2 grams. Therefore, a 5 carat diamond(good lord) would weigh 1 gram. With me? Why do we weigh diamonds in carats instead of grams like sane people? Because way back yonder, carob seeds were used as a counterweight to weigh diamonds, and language did what language does.

Image from loosegrowndiamond.com

Colour refers to - you guessed it - the colour of the diamond. There are two basic systems that GIA(The Gemological Institute Of America, and the accepted authority of these things in North America) use; the normal colour range and the coloured or fancy diamond range. The normal colour range is used for stones that are colourless, light yellow, or light brown. These are the most common colours of diamond, thus the "normal" colour range. These stones are graded alphabetically D-Z, with D being colourless and Z being quite noticeably yellow or brown. Normal range colour grades are sorted into 5 groups based on the general amount of colour; colourless(DEF), nearly colourless(GHIJ), Faint(KLM), Very Light(N-R), and light(S-Z).

Image from GIA article 4Cs Color

Stones that fall outside this range (stones that are too yellow or brown for the scale or show any colour other than yellow and brown) are graded using the fancy colour grades. Fancy colour grades are an entire thing, but generally pretty self-explanatory. The grade will include 1 or two colours(the more dominant of which goes last) and an intensity descriptor such as light, intense, fancy deep, etc. For example, a stone may be graded as a fancy greyish blue - this means that the stone has a middling amount of colour and is blue with a hint of grey. Easy peasy.

Clarity is how many inclusions are in a stone. Well, technically it's more complicated than that, accounting for placement and contrast and type of inclusion etc etc etc. Really, clarity is how many inclusions you see in a stone. Inclusions are things in the diamond that are not diamond, such as included crystals, or imperfections in the diamond itself, such as cracks(called feathers) or chips.

Clarity grades are, frankly, confusing as fuck. There are 11 grades, broken down into 6 grade groups. From highest to lowest, they are; Flawless, Internally Flawless, Very Very Slightly Included(VVS), Very Slightly Included(VS), Slightly Included(SI), and Included(I). VVS, VS, and SI are each broken into 2 grades - 1 and 2. I is broken down into 3 grades - 1, 2, and 3. The lower the number within a grade, the better the grade - a VS1 stone would be less visibly included than a VS2. You know what'll help? Visuals!!

Images from GIA D&DG Chapter 11. Credit to John Koivula/GIA

The diamond on the left is graded as a VVS2 - the red arrow points to the inclusion that gave it this grade. The diamond on the right is graded as an I2. No red arrows are required - this stone has many highly visible inclusions. If you want a little more info (and examples) of clarity grades, GIA has a lovely little tool that explains it quite well.

Cut refers to the shape of a diamond - specifically, the combination of shape(face-up outline) and cutting style(the arrangement of the facets). A classic round brilliant is what most people think of when they think of a diamond, but there are dozens of different cuts. When talking about cut grade, cut refers to how well executed the cut is. Are the proportions ideal? Is everything symmetrical? Is the polish well done? These determine the cut grade of the stone. Cut grades are as follows, best to worst; Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, and Poor.

What are the parts of a cut diamond?

Specifically, the parts of a round brilliant diamond. Round brilliant is the name of the most common cut of diamond. Think of a diamond. Is it round? That's almost definitely a round brilliant. Think I've said round brilliant enough? Round brilliant. Whew. Done with that now. This is best explained with diagrams.

The parts we're most interested in are the table, crown, girdle, and pavilion. The way those 3 parts are shaped and proportioned has a huge effect on the looks and value of a diamond.

Knowledge Check

Let's say you're looking at a 1.01 carat round brilliant diamond - it has a colour grade of F, a clarity grade of SI1, and an excellent cut grade. So, what does this mean to you?

Round brilliant is the cut of the diamond. It has a round outline and a brilliant cutting style. 1.01ct is a fairly large diamond - this one in particular is 6.42 mm in diameter (that's a quarter inch!). This stone is colourless - F is the lowest colour grade in the colourless range, but it is still classified as colourless. The diamond will either have one large or several small inclusions that are easy to see under 10x magnification, but hard or impossible to see while looking through the table of a stone with the naked eye(they may be visible through the pavilion with the naked eye). The diamond will be very well cut - the best cut grade possible, in fact! There will be no visible variation in the girdle outline, and all the facets will be well-placed and symmetrical.

It's up to you to decide if this stone matches your criteria - is SI1 a good enough cut grade for you? Is 1.01ct the right size? How "good" a stone is depends on what you want - there will always be bigger, clearer, more colourless diamonds on the market. What makes a stone "good" is if it's the right fit for you. Another stone may be better quality, but if it's out of your price range, then it's not a good stone for you.

In Conclusion

So, you made it this far! Congrats! Hopefully, I haven't bored you too much. We've really just scratched the surface - this was enough information to give you a good idea of what's going on and allow you to navigate the mysticisms of those strange numbers and letters you see associated with diamonds. All information was taken from the GIA Diamond Essentials 130 and Diamonds and Diamond Grading 230 courses and my 6ish years in the jewelry industry. If you have questions about specific pieces of information or want more resources, send me an ask! I will be delighted to answer.

#WOW this on is an absolute beast #final word count is 1674 #fun fact this is how i'm studying for my gemology final #long post #goldsmith answers

24 notes · View notes