#context: we met the other day to discuss a separate thing

[formula-fun]

ok i know this is quiet hours for most of my mutuals but guys if hypothetically someone were to steal your masters thesis how would you respond to that

[saintmachina]

One million dollar question: is it true that the Bible condems homosexuality? I had a discussion with two conservatives who sent me some verses that seem to confirm that but i don't know much about the context although i know this is important too

Let’s start here: why is this the million dollar question? Why does it matter what the Bible has to say about sex, or love, or human relationships? At the end of the day, it’s just a book, right?

Oceans of ink (and blood) have been spilled over not only what the Bible says, but what it does, how it functions. The course of empires, nations, and families have been shaped by the contents of this book, and from a historical and cultural perspective, it holds a lot of weight. But you didn’t ask about the sociological, you asked about the theological, so let’s explore. 

Different Christian traditions vary in their approach to scripture. For example: some Protestant denominations believe that the Bible is inspired, inerrant, and infallible. In this paradigm, God is the ultimate author of scripture working through human hands, and the resulting text is both without error and in no way deceptive or mistaken. Similarly, The Second Vatican Council decreed that “the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for the sake of salvation.” When a member of the clergy is ordained into the Episcopal Church they swear that they “do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to salvation.”

Can you see how many of these points of doctrine overlap yet seek to distinguish themselves from one another? Theologians have spent lifetimes arguing over definitions, and even when they manage to settle on solid teachings, the way that the teaching is interpreted by the clergy and incorporated into the lives of the laity varies WIDELY. As much as systematic theology may try, humans aren’t systematic beings. We’re highly contextual: we only exist in relation to others, to history, to circumstance, and to the divine. We simply cannot call up God to confirm church teaching, and I think a lot of people cling excessively to the Bible as a result of the ache (dare I even say trauma) of being separated from God via space and time in the way we currently are.

God is here, but God is not here. God is within us, God is within the beloved, God is within the sea and sky and land, and yet we cannot grasp God to our bodies in the way we long to. In this earthly lifetime, we are forever enmeshed in God, yet forever distinct, and that is our great joy and our great tragedy.

So barring a direct spiritual experience or the actual second coming, we're left to sort through these things ourselves. And because humans are flawed, our interpretations will always be flawed. Even with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives guiding us.

When engaging with any sort of Biblical debate, it is essential that you have a strong understanding of what the Bible means to you, an an embodied individual living a brief little awful and wonderful life on Earth. Otherwise it's easy to get pushed around by other people’s convincing-sounding arguments and sound bites.

Here’s where I show my hand. As a confirmed Episcopalian I believe that reason, tradition, and scripture form the “three-legged stool” upon which the church stands, interdependent and interrelational to each other, but I’ve also like, lived a life outside of books. I’ve met God in grimy alleyways and frigid ocean waters and in bed with my lovers. So my stool is actually four-legged, because I think it’s essential to incorporate one’s personal experience of God into the mix as well. (I did not invent this: it’s called the Wesleyan quadrilateral, but the official Wesleyan quadrilateral insists that scripture must trump all other legs of the table in the case of a conflict which...*cynical noises*)

Please do not interpret this answer as me doing a hand-wavey "it's all vibes, man, we're all equally right and equally wrong", but I do absolutely think we have a responsibility as creatures to weigh the suffering and/or flourishing of our fellow creatures against teachings handed down through oral tradition, schisms, imperial takeover of faith, and translation and mistranslation. Do I believe the Bible is sacred, supernatural even, and that it contains all things necessary to find one's way to God, if that is the way God chooses to manifest to an individual in a given lifetime? Absolutely. Do I believe it is a priceless work of art and human achievement that captures ancient truths and the hopes of a people (as well as a record of their atrocities) through symbols, stories, and signs? Unto my death, I do.

However, I am wary of making an object of human creation, God-breathed though it may be, into an idol, and trapping God in its pages like God is some sort of exotic bug we can pin down with a sewing needle.

Finally, we have reached the homosexuality debate. One of my favorite sayings of Jesus is Matthew 5: 15-17: "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit." In other words: look at what religious teachings have wrought in the world. When I look at homophobic interpretations of the Bible, I see destruction, abuse, suffering, neglect, alienation, spiritual decay, and death. When I look at theology that affirms the holiness of LGBTQ+ relationships, I see joy, laughter, community building, thoughtful care, blooming families, creativity, resilience, and compassion. I see the love of Christ at work in the world. I see the hands of a God who chose under no duress to take up residence in a human body, to drink wine with tax collectors and break bread with sex workers and carry urchin children around on his shoulders. That's my limited little pet interpretation, but hey, that's all any of us really have, at the end of the day.

So, I am absolutely happy to do a play-by-play breakdown of why those passages you were given (we queer Christians often call them "clobber passages" or "texts of terror") don't hold water in a theological, historical, and cultural context. We can talk about Jesus blessing the eunuch and the institution of Greek pederasty and Levitical purity laws and Paul because I've done that reading. I've spent my nights crying in self-hatred and leafing through doctrine books and arguing with my pastors and writing long grad school essays on the subjects. Send me the verses, if you can remember them, and I'll take a look. But it's worth noting that out of the entire Bible, I believe there are only six that explicitly condemn homosexuality AND I'm being generous and including Sodom and Gommorah here, which is a willful and ignorant misreading if I've ever seen one.

In the meantime, I recommend books by people smarter than me! Try Outside The Lines: How Embracing Queerness Will Transform Your Faith by Mihee Kim-Kort, or Does Jesus Really Love Me by Jeff Chu, or Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians by Austen Hartke!

And take a breath, dear one. Breathe in God, in the droplets of water in the air and in the wind from the south. Breathe in the gift of life, and know that you are loved, now and unto the end of the age and even beyond then.

[midnight1nk]

(gonna take a break from theories since the last episode didn't give much for me to add on and would have to wait until the next one. instead, i'm gonna give random episode concepts that i came up with.)

EPISODE CONCEPT #1

What if... the SMG4 kids switched parents for a day?

For context, I would love to see a Parent Trap-inspired episode centered around the SMG4 kids. (If you haven't seen the Disney movie, go ahead and check it out if you can). BTW, I edited this OG post to one I've rewritten which pretty much follows the same outline. Hope you all enjoy this new version!

Oh dear...

SMG4 and SMG3, they were always rivals since the start. Despite starting to be friends not so long ago, they would clash with their banter and their kitty-fighting. To the SMG4 Crew, it's become the norm and usually, they don't mean any real harm in the end. After all, it's hard to change habits.

This, though, may have gotten too far.

Eggdog and Beeg4 saw it themselves, peeking out the cafe and the Castle windows, respectively. They were standing in the middle of the Showgrounds, angry. They couldn't exactly hear what their dads were saying, but from what they could tell, they were shouting at each other. It even got physical as the two started shoving. Four shouted something, and Three was completely stunned by it until Three retaliated in return, silencing the Showgrounds for once.

The two stormed off separately, their faces reflecting hurt. But they can't show their partner that now, can they? 

Unknownst to them, Eggdog and Beeg saw it all. The two met outside and discussed about what happened. Anyone could tell they didn't mean the things they said, their escalating emotions clouded with reason. The kids knew they didn't hate each other. Even if they don't know exactly why their dads fought, they need to talk. The thing was: they were absolutely horrible at communicating.

Except when they realize they were in the wrong, Eggdog points out. He remembered when his Papa opened the cafe the first time and got upset when Four teased him for not being ready to run it. The two indeed reconciled afterward, Four admitting what he'd done.

Beeg agreed, he saw it himself. 

Back in... the 'perfect' incident, his Dad was obsessed with creating the perfect video, eventually getting possessed by the keyboard. Beeg stayed with him the whole time. He could never admit that he "loves" his dad out in the open like Eggdog, but Beeg still cared for Dad. He felt helpless getting Four away from the keyboard, the goo was terrifying. Then, Three came along and rescued Four, in more ways than one.

Beeg turned to Eggdog, who had a sparkle in his puppy eyes. What? N-no! Don't give me that face, my dad's annoying. That's it.

Eggdog didn't push it, his brother is just like his Papa when it comes to emotions. But Beeg agreed, their dads needed to talk. The kids just need some help. That's how they ended up on the front step of Uncle Mario's house.

Mario listened to the kids, the fight that transpired and their thoughts. After they finished, Mario agreed. Four and Three have their moments, just another Tuesday really, but this had to be fixed. After some thought, Mario has an idea. 

"Well, that's rare," Mario commented.

Anyway, this idea may just work but Mario would need the kids to stall for time. Beeg and Eggdog walked back home, when Eggdog proposed another idea. What if we switch places?

Beeg looked at him, confused.

Eggdog explains that they may be able to calm their own dads, but who knows how much their previous emotions will rise again just by catching sight of the other man. Think about it this way: they know their dads' schedules and habits, they can help avoid the other dad until the kids believe they've calmed down. There might even be a small chance that their presence could ease the tension. Besides, it would be a great opportunity to bond with their future "other dad".

Beeg admits that it's a good idea, and so it's decided.

Eggdog walked into the Castle, finding Four editing a video. From the looks of it, he looks slightly calmed down but still looks tense. Four turns around, surprised to see Eggdog walking in.

"Oh! Hey, Eggdog. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in the café with..." Four's words trailed off, the name of a particular man came to mind. How can he not be bitter about what happened? "...him."

Eggdog simply lets out a happy bark, Just wanted to hang out with you.

As a meme guardian, Four understood what Eggdog said. It still left him confused for a second, Eggdog was usually close to Three. But Four shrugged.

"Well... I guess you're welcome to stay if you want. I won't be doing much though," Four said.

Eggdog lets out another bark, this time of affirmation. He decided to sit on Four's bed, swaying his body side to side to the calm music that played on Four's record player.

Meanwhile, at a busy hour at the café, Three was running around giving out orders. Beeg comes in and hops onto the counter. After setting a customer's order down, Three finally notices Beeg.

"Oi, Beeg SMG4, aren't you supposed to be with that idiot?" Three asked.

Beeg lets out a neutral pufferfish noise, hmph. By all the memes, who knows what he meant by that. But it doesn't seem like he's going anywhere.

Three sighed. "Ok, just... don't try to do anything stupid, you hear me?"

Beeg gets off the counter, pulling out a beach chair and sunglasses in the corner of the shop. This might take a while. Hey, Eggdog said to "keep an eye" on Three, not that he actually had to work. It was getting boring though.

Hours passed by and back in the castle, Eggdog was playing tea party with the plushies Four had in his chest. He notices how Four hasn't moved from his chair ever since Eggdog got here. He goes up to Four and nudges his head on Four's leg.

Four snapped out of his bubble of work. "Huh? Oh, do you need something?"

Eggdog barks, You should take a break.

Four looks back at his computer screen and back to Eggdog. "A little break wouldn't hurt." He went ahead and saved his progress. Eggdog jumps in glee and leads the two of them to the kitchen. Four opened up the can of baked beans Eggdog asked for while he got himself a sandwich and a cup of coffee.

After taking a sip of his coffee, he looked down at his drink, swirling the caffeine as well as his thoughts. The fight he had with Three earlier, it was a mess. A stupid one. Four called Three selfish. And that Three didn't change. Four knew that wasn't true, but the words came out of his mouth. It was too late to take it back.

"Hey, man. You're in there... still? Alright, I'm just gonna leave this coffee by the door, if you want I guess."

His coffee made him remember something else.

IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT,  IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT, İ̸͎T̶͜͠'̴͈̉S̵͎̋ ̵̪̎Ĝ̷͇O̴̪̿T̸̤͒T̷̘̾A̴̔͜ ̴̼̐B̶͍̄E̴̟͝ ̴͈̽P̴̼͆Ḛ̸͘R̸̲̓F̶͚̐E̴̡͘C̴̢̑T̶͈̀

He couldn't exactly remember much when he was possessed by the keyboard, especially this supposed livestream he had. Not even how he started one in the first place. Regardless, he heard all the people who came to check up on him outside the door. Including Three. Now that he thought about it, Three was the one who checked on him the most. It got to the point that Three sounded genuine. Worried.

Four took another sip. Three really did care about him, huh...

Finishing up, Four asked Eggdog if he wanted to join Four to the city downtown to check some things off from Four's to-do list for the day. Eggdog happily accepts. Things seem to start looking up.

The same couldn't be said for Three's state of mind right now. Going from the counter to the coffee machine to each table, he keeps getting distracted and messing orders up. Sure, he could tell a rude customer to stick it. But he really misses having Eggdog around. He did force Beeg to serve people. Though Beeg was reluctant, he strangely did what he was told. Not that Three complained or anything. And even then, it wasn't enough.

Three accidentally dropped a couple of dishes, causing a whole domino effect of complete chaos. Coffee spilled on every surface imaginable, plates were thrown into a thousand pieces. Due to the chaos, all the customers left the café, leaving Three and Beeg alone in deafening silence. 

Exhausted, Beeg lets out a pufferfish noise, Good riddance. That was when he noticed Three. Beeg couldn't see his face but the purple meme guardian was silent, slowly picking up one of the fallen chairs. Three slips out a shaking inhale. It clicks for Beeg.

Now, Beeg usually picks up a fight, especially with the other kids. 

Baths? Oh, hell no!!! 

Ice cream? You better give it to him or you will never see the light of day again. 

Other than that, he couldn't be bothered by anything. That doesn't mean he isn't aware of what's going on. Three was acted awfully similar to his Dad, having to put up a front to hold themselves together. Beeg supposed he understood Three, in one way or another.

Beeg isn't sure how to handle the situation so he tries picking up the cup that laid before Three. He was finally able to Three's face, his expression a mix of frustration and sadness. Mostly directed towards himself. It changed once he saw Beeg helping out. Three quickly wipes away a tear from the corner of his eye, the two share a nod, and clean the rest of the shop up.

On their way back from the city, Four was feeling a lot better than what happened earlier that day. Eggdog was truly a charming little fellow, Four could see how much Three loved his son. Still, there was one thing occupying his mind.

"Um, Eggdog?" Eggdog turns in his direction, listening patiently. "Your dad, well, SMG3 and I had a fight this morning. I've pushed it too far and I know I shouldn't have said those things to him. I just feel... awful. For everything. If your dad could let me, can I apologize?"

Eggdog does a happy jump, feeling so glad that Four would like to make amends and knowing Papa, he would forgive Four.

"Thank you, Eggdog," Four says, kneeling to give a quick hug before they head towards the cafe.

Speaking of the café, Three and Beeg already finished up. Completely wiped out, the two sat at one of the tables.

"Are you finally gonna tell me why you're here instead of Eggdog?"

Beeg shook his head, he promised Eggdog he wouldn't say anything.

"Why did this have to happen?" Three asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Eggdog isn't here, my customers are gone. Well, unlike some people, I manage my cafe, my streaming schedule. My life. And you had the audacity to pull an all-nighter for a shitpost? Goddammit, Four, why couldn't you just..." He stopped himself, realizing he was talking to Beeg and not Four.

"Sorry," Three apologized.

Beeg gave a small nod, It's okay.

"SMG4 drives me crazy sometimes," Three confessed. "He has no sense of style. Zero humor. Maybe a bit of a pathetic mess. Obviously, what he can do, I can do better. But..." He lets out a small chuckle. "Four's different from the rest of the Crew. I guess he's good-looking and maybe some of his jokes fall flat, he somehow makes me laugh. He says he can't fight, but is he aware that his determination shines through?"

His fingers tap on the table, he hums. "They were truly things I admired about him."

A beat. What Three said earlier, he didn't mean it. Sure, Four can be so annoying, but he could never hate him. Beeg turned towards the viewer, with the same energy of the "live reaction" meme. [Yes, you, behind the screen.] Oh, spaghetti gods, Three's getting all mushy over Dad. 

Beeg doesn't want to think about how lovey-dovey Four and Three will be towards each other once they actually start dating. 

Three snapped out of his thoughts, clearing his throat. "Ok, that's it. I admit, I take it back. I need to set things..."

The bell of the cafe door opens. Four and Three met eyes.

"...right."

The two stood awkwardly, unsure what to say to each other. The kids rolled their eyes and proceeded to push their dads closer together. Four rubbed the back of his neck while Three clutched his arm.

"Listen, I..." They both said at the same time. "Oh, sorry."

Three shrugged. "You go first."

"SMG3, I just wanted to say sorry about earlier," Four apologized. "I've been slacking off lately and I had to put something out there for the channel. My subscribers... y'know how they are. They always expect more. To be on time. I still shouldn't have taken all out on you."

Three's gaze softens. "You know you don't need to prove anything."

"I know."

"You could've asked me for help. I would've been there as soon as I could."

"It was a stupid video anyway." Four shrugs. "Like you said, you have a life."

Three slowly reached for his hand, leaving Four stunned. "Forget what I said. All of it. Maybe, you do need to take care of yourself. Look, the point is: what I said in the pit, I meant it. It was never to save my own skin. We're friends. I'm not going to let you face all of your battles alone. If you need me, ask and I'll be there. Just... I'm sorry."

Stars sparkled in Four's eyes as Three rubbed a thumb across his knuckles. His face grew warm, he hoped Three wouldn't notice. Four raised a brow, amused. "Hmm, going soft on me, SMG3?"

Three let out a small laugh. "In your dreams."

The kids looked at each other, we did it! They were so happy that they leaped to each their own dad for a hug, which they hugged back. Three and Four share a tender smile. They were all together once again.

Letting the kids go, Four suggested, "Hey, why don't we all go for some ice cream?"

The kids jumped in excitement, especially Beeg who was the most excited. Suddenly, a loud beeping noise was coming from outside the cafe. They all walked out of the door, only to be face to face with the back of a truck, fully loaded with chewed gum. Mario pokes his head out of the driver's seat window.

"Who's ready for round two? :D" Mario asked, pressing a button to dump the gum over the group, leaving them to their demise.

Y'know, same old shenanigans.

That is it, my dear fellows!

I'm a big fan of the 'SMG4 Kids' episode and I would've loved to see more of Eggdog and Beeg4's dynamic. WE👏NEED👏MORE👏BEEG4👏AND👏EGGDOG👏BROTHERLY👏MOMENTS👏

(I do have another concept that is similar to this one but it mainly focuses on Eggdog, so stay tuned for that...)

Overall, I just want a wholesome episode that could also expand dynamics and future moments. Like Beeg4 being a guest on Three's live streams, Three and Beeg being really passionate about weapons. Don't worry about that explosion that just happened. Or maybe Four taking Eggdog to the mall, Four helping Eggdog dress up, Eggdog giving Four some compliments on his video progress. Or even the whole family going out together and having a picnic/day at the beach. My god, the possibilities...

[lemoneon]

Liam and Airy, my own analysis

I'm not usually one for massive txt posts, normally I keep my thoughts to myself. But me and my friend were having this conversation the other day and I just wanted to put it out there somewhere in the world feel free to agree or disagree with me.

However, one preface I will make, is I am not going to argue. This document is merely my own character analysis of HFJone, specifically Liam with some touch on Airy. And the last thing I want is people coming for me just because I interpret characters a certain way.

Cool? Cool.

Liam

I don't think Liam is perhaps as innocent as a lot of the fandom seem to believe he is [at least the parts of the HFJOne fandom which I have met.]

I believe quite the opposite. I personally don't think Liam is a good person.

By any regards, this doesn't mean he's a terrible person who nobody should like and everybody should hate him, quite the opposite. He's a guy with many, many issues, but he also has his positives. But I don't think people should be babying him as much as I've personally seen.

Liam is an angry man. And a weird one at that. He was given the sticky notes by Stone, and though he didn't quote know what they were about at first, he followed them regardless, and once he made it to bryce, he sat outside that apartment until Bryce had no other choice but to talk to him.

Now, it's understandable to which Liam had nowhere else to go. In those 7 months, he'd lost everything, even the thought of naming someone properly, addressing Bryce as Soda Bottle, but it's still creepy as fuck to sit on the floor outside somebody's apartment after stalking them through sticky notes across America to their house until they have no other choice but to talk to you.

Again, context must be applied, but you must also consider Liam's prior experiences with morality, being he grew up on earth, and had only been gone ~7 months [this point is important when discussing Airy]

Lest we mention Liam's later actions. Inadvertently causing Bryce's death- though partial fault of his own- his obsession leading him stalking through worlds with Bryce and Texty trying to hunt down Stone, and find Airy.

Once Liam does reach Airy's dimension, his practical first motion is to try destroy the computer that caused it all. Which is a fair motion, but he very nearly didn't listen to Airy's pleads to leave the computer alone, only stopping when it was revealed it would remove any chance kf getting home.

A very, very solid reaction. 10/10, probably would do the same.

But it's what comes after which I focus on. Texty tells Liam to kill Airy, and Liam listened.

Liam hunted Airy down, chasing him across his small home area with an axe, intent on killing Airy nearly unquestionably, leading to himself getting hurt and breaking his leg again.

And what does Airy do?

He helps Liam.

Airy

This leads me onto my favourite part, my character analysis of Airy.

Again, this considers my prior interactions with the HFJOne fandom, that being oersonally the experience that people characterise Airy as an unforgivable monster who doesn't feel remorse for his actions. I am not saying this is the fandom characterisation as a whole, I understand many, many fans actually have Media literacy, I just have seen a lot of mischaracterisations.

I do not think Airy is a bad person. Nor do I think he's a good person.

I think it's wholly unfair to judge Airy based off our own standards in the first place.

Airy is someone who's been separated from existence as a whole for [from what I remember] at least 10 years. And 10 years is a long time to not talk to anybody. I know I'd go insane in that time. And thus I think its unfair for us to call Airy based on our own perceptions of morality, because that then thus begs the question on where Airy would even gain these perceptions of morality when he hasn't had to apply them for theoretically 10+ years straight. Yes, he presumably comes from batch 1's earth where he would have grown up and learnt these standards, but it's inferrable that these standards would now since be somewhat non-applicable, because these would have been irrelevant for a long period of time straight

But alternatively to this, Airy has shown that he's far from malicious. When Liam broke his leg the first time, he made a cast, and did so too the second time. Airy's actions are not out of malice- an intent to tear these object's lives apart by taking them to the plane and forcing them to compete- but out of sheer naivety. Airy does not comprehend the consequences to his actions, as he has long existed in a place where actions do not have any consequences on anyone, because there is nobody for him to matter to.

He is alone.

So when Liam finds him, he seeks companionship. He treats Liam as kindly as he can, he doesn't quite understand what is compassion and what is malice anymore in terms of society standards on earth, but he recognises to treat Liam in a way he perceives as kind. Yes, this is lost on Liam, so too is Liam's anger lost on Airy.

TLDR; Liam is not as innocent as people I've seen portray him as, and Airy is neither good nor bad, he's just a guy who has done things we would perceive as bad.

This post went nowhere, I'm sure this is the common fandom perception and I've just been really unlucky with the people I've come across in the fandom, I just wanted to put out my personal interpretation of ONE out there.

[starscelly]

hi cel!! was just going through ur 42455 tag and wondering if you’ve been having any Thoughts about them recently .. also. miro in that pic on roope’s ig story- he looked so so good!!

miro my beautiful wife. he did look so good if im remembering the correct photo!!!!!!!! apolocheese as this has been in my ask for Weeks now and i’m finally ready to approach it whole heartedly with my arms wide open …. i am always having thoughts abt Them unfortunately.... cracking my knuckles….. thank u for asking abt my Guys <3 please take a little essay

THE THING IS…. and i’ve touched on this previously…… everything abt 42455 begs you to be like. roope jealousy. easy. him and miro have history and then harls comes in drooling after his boyfriend. of course he’d be rude. but i literally JUUUUST discussed that i don’t actually find roope bitchy. necessarily. like i think he would do so in a chirpy manner (see: him always being like ughh i hate esa esa is a big freak weirdo. and then he sees esa and is like ^-^) that would actually bounce off of harls chirping really well! like theyre actually Pretty similar in the regard imo

and then we also consider THIS second quote here abt the bubble ….. and this opens new doors 4 meee. like what do you mean actually that he got close to miro and roope in the bubble? why did he specifically name miro and roope??????? but anyways . harls even says himself that he normally wouldn’t get to get close to the europeans but that closed in environment Let him do so . and it lets me live in a world of pre established friendship and crushes. and isn’t that stunning. i also think it’s fun that like. harls was a black ace. from my understanding they didn’t really overlap with the team for practices? like they were separate (correct me if i’m wrong) so that can affect the dynamic a lot imo! like we All remember this saad tweet (i am the only person that thinks of this regularly) and how it - along with those harls interviews gushing abt miro - set up a kinda. hero worship to friendship to lovers. but if we consider harls was a black ace during the covid bubble and didn’t have the same access to follow miro on the ice all day. that means they got to know each other like. casually. obviously not Outside the context of hockey because of the environment but closer to that than not. i think u can still get hero worshippy abt it bc harls would’ve been FRESHLY 19. actually turning 19 IN the bubble iirc so literally probably 18 when they met? miro would’ve been freshly 21 and roope 23. which in pro hockey world is Old Enough to be considered Older and Wiser and Cooler. BUT ANYWAYS. yeah enough outside of the context for it to be a Relatively Normal Friendship Plus Some Admiration. like there’s an article where they talk abt how the black aces would hang out with the main rosters guys at dinners and other Activities and pick their brain abt stuff and i can def see harls doing that with miro - and by default roope - but obviously that could and likely would devolve into Normal Conversation as well.

u can also maybe get into some fun stuff that, if u struggle with repositioning roope as not a jealous hater, could help. like we Saw bubble miro (so insane so good). maybe harls was a good luck charm. something like that. etc etc. 

i also want to just. placing roope aside maybe for a second. not something i like to do frequently but humor me. if we could take a moment for the dress and such. re:

idk if i have much more profound to say about that but. 3 boygirlfriends who can skate soooo pretty and play such similar games..... idk im into it!!!! conceptually!!!!!!!!!!!

also idr how much i discussed this last time but. as someone insane + always miro centric. it is very quite important to me that miro has two men just aaaabsolutely obsessed with him. and i think the difference in the way theyre obsessed with him is really silly and fun as well!!!! harls is . seemingly. relatively sane abt him off the ice (well. insane abt him but in the way he is insane abt everybody) but is SOOO obsessed with him as a player. insert every time he talks abt miro playing hockey. and roope is relatively sane abt him as a player - so much so that they played together for a full ! year!!!!! without the having their names linked forever and the being attached at the hip - but absolutely insane abt him off the ice. like will not leave him alone. like half of his insta posts include miro atp (not fact checking so just trust me). like it's truly sickening.

ANYWAYS..... sorry this was especially all over the place... i have a lot of big feelings and thoughts! i hope this was appreciated regardless of the Mess of it lolll

[stuck-on-classiccoke]

UGH i do not need to keep obsessing over a book with literally no fandom but it's been a few days now and two rereads already and I'm going absolutely feral and have to get this out even if no one ever reads it

I try to just imply spoiler events but there's prob still spoilers

the way Guillaume and Ashton revolve around each other so hard but the timeline is bffs on site for about two years, then SIX years separated and not technically on good terms, then reconnected (on purpose!) before being immediately back on their bullshit and only getting like nine months together

the way Ashton esp had all these dreams of a future together and I'm p sure Guillaume never planned on making it that far he can't fix him but he can make him worse

the way Guillaume's plans totally did not require them actually spending more than like an hour getting pictures for alibis on these trips, he just actually wanted to go on these dates with his bf and be his lil sugar daddy

just the way that these two could talk about literally anything except how they really feel about each other and the comical levels it reaches

all of the things we missed between them on the island like exhibit a there had clearly been a discussion about Ashton taking the first bite to convince the rest of them

exhibit b Will questioning if Guillaume actually hurt himself on purpose and blamed the crash - I'm going w prob not or it would've been admitted to in the narrative when Guillaume and Ashton both mentioned the scar post island. BUT I do think that the way Ashton fretted and fawned over him then is how Guillaume got the idea later to self harm to manipulate him

the way Guillaume is uh, yes plainly textbook psychopath, like I believe he cared about Ashton but because of how much he saw himself in him, like literally might have just seen him as an extension of himself

BUT how much of him was nurture too? Guillaume's insane amount of family money touches every part of his life and the narrative. He actually IS untouchable throughout most of his life because he's that level of rich kid, it's not just the mental illness talking. He literally got away with murder bc of the money

the way Ashton is so deep in denial about himself that he sincerely believes it sometimes… like spending the first half of the book with the guy that describes himself as the "class clown" to Guillaume's "class freak" and just a normal silly guy with his silly murdery bff then like two seconds into the next POV he is described as a bad sign and a creep SENT ME

Ashton's exact problems are just a little harder to armchair diagnose but it's pretty impressive that the least neurotypical thing I read in a book like this was how Ashton just "Xerox's the personality of who he's talking to onto his "Guillaume-personality"" like I get that in context we are comparing the two but bby what his HIS personality

Like just the way that even from the outside they flew past codependent and are swimming in identity issues that are Mariana Trench deep

That said, I keep turning in my mind the throwaway line from Guillaume about how Ashton came to his private school in fifth grade because he was struggling in public school and his parents could just afford to enroll him. We have a decent idea of what he won't do without Guillaume there, but then what was he doing before they even met???

just omggg I've waited my whole life for something this painfully good

[xtianel]

Knowledge Management: A Deeper Dive

On our first day of face to face class, our facilitator asked us a thought-provoking question: "What do we know about knowledge management?" I have to admit, I was caught off guard because I had no idea what knowledge management really was. Fortunately, one of my classmates had a great answer ready. He broke it down step-by-step, first defining "knowledge," then "management," and finally combining the two to explain "knowledge management." His methodical approach impressed everyone, including our facilitator, who praised him for his accurate explanation. However, there was no further discussion or elaboration on the topic, which left me curious and wanting to understand knowledge management better from my own perspective. To begin, let's revisit the way my classmate separated the terms. Although I was unsure about his answer, he described knowledge as the way we understand ideas, descriptions, information, and other similar concepts. Essentially, knowledge involves how we process, interpret, and apply information and experiences to understand the world around us. It's more than just a collection of facts; it’s about the deeper comprehension of how and why things work.

When it came to management, he explained it in the context of a workplace setting, where it refers to the act of managing people, processes, and resources. Management is about coordinating and overseeing tasks to achieve certain objectives effectively. It includes planning, organizing, leading, and controlling to ensure that organizational goals are met efficiently.

Combining these two concepts, my classmate suggested that knowledge management refers to the practice of managing knowledge within an organization. This involves sharing insights, ideas, and experiences to create a more informed and collaborative workplace. For example, he mentioned a company that encourages its employees to share their perspectives and innovative ideas to foster a better, more productive workplace environment. This can be seen in companies that hold regular brainstorming sessions, encourage cross-departmental meetings, or utilize collaborative tools to ensure that valuable knowledge is not just stored but also actively used to enhance the organization’s overall performance.

Additionally, he might have mentioned that knowledge management involves implementing systems and practices that help employees access and utilize the collective knowledge of the organization. For instance, some companies use intranets or knowledge bases where employees can easily find the information they need or contribute their own knowledge. This approach not only improves efficiency by reducing the time spent searching for information but also helps preserve valuable knowledge within the organization, even when employees leave or retire.

While I initially found his explanation was very insightful, his example helped clarify that knowledge management is about using knowledge effectively to improve workplace operations and outcomes. From my perspective, knowledge management is not just about the processes and tools used to handle information. It is a holistic approach that involves people, culture, technology, and processes. It is about creating a culture where knowledge is freely shared, continuously updated, and used to drive organizational success. It's about turning individual knowledge into organizational knowledge—making sure that the insights and experiences of individuals contribute to the collective intelligence of the organization. To conclude, knowledge management is more than just a technical or administrative function; it is a strategic approach that integrates people, processes, and technology to enhance the flow of knowledge within an organization. By capturing, organizing, sharing, and applying knowledge, organizations can improve decision-making, foster innovation, increase efficiency, and maintain a competitive edge.

In today’s fast-paced, knowledge-driven economy, effective knowledge management is essential for long-term success. It fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement, encouraging employees to share insights and learn from one another. This not only enhances organizational performance but also boosts employee satisfaction and engagement, as they feel their knowledge is valued and contributes to the organization’s goals.

Ultimately, knowledge management is about transforming information into actionable knowledge and leveraging the collective intelligence of the organization. By embracing it, organizations ensure they are making the most of their most valuable asset—their knowledge—preparing them to face future challenges with confidence. The essence of knowledge management lies in creating a culture that values knowledge, encourages sharing, and promotes continuous improvement.

[kob131]

Oh Dextixer, what have you been up to?

What HOPE at the end of the day is the protagonist keeping the fight on regardless of the odds, either to their heroic and expected death, or at a small but KNOWN chance of victory.

THAT is what separates hope from wish fulfillment.

... Jesus christ.

"The ending of Volume 9 proves that RWBY is not about hope or acceptance, it is about meritless wish fulfillment."

Okay so this is Dextixer's title and thus thesis statement. So in order for Dex to make a good argument in favor of this, he will need to follow the following:

1. Define 'hope' and 'wish fulfillment' to set the groundwork of his argument.

2. Review any information pertaining to RWBY that he is addressing.

3. Differentiate between 'hope' and 'wish fulfillment'.

4. Set the goals for what 'hope' in fiction and what constitutes 'wish fulfillment with merit'.

Ways to succeed here is:

*Use different series as examples of the concepts done right, going into accurate detail about how the goal is achieved there but not in RWBY.

*Explain why 'hope' does not fit in RWBY by explaining in accurate detail what is, how it is achieved and how RWBY fails.

Ways to fail:

*Not explaining in detail.

*Contradictory detials

*Failing to establish firm definitions for the terms used.

*Incompatible comparisons

*False Info being given

*Excluding context unfavorable to his position.

Understood? Very well.

Often have the topics of "consequences", of RWBY having "protagonist centered morality" and many other discussions surrounding team RWBY, and the plots inability to ever show them as being wrong. They might fail, but they are never wrong, and anyone who disagrees with them is instantly the enemy.

A lot of Fantasy stories at the end of the day are about hope. They are about the hero defeating a great evil and saving the day. This can take many forms, but unless a story truly aims for a tragedy or a more grimdark setting, hope always remains almost a constant companion to such stories.

Many fans of RWBY love to claim that RWBY is about hope, and admonish us critics for being "mean" or wanting a grimdark story. What these fans fail to realize however is something very simple...

The heroes fail, sometimes due to the enemy, sometimes due to their own failures, othertimes due to things that are outside their control. They can lose hope, and in fact, many stories traditionally have characters lose hope in their darkest hours . Only for it to be a set-up to some kind of an uplifting scene, or even an arc during which hope is restored.

What they are seeing is wish fulfillment.

And right away we have met two failure conditions.

The first is the failure to give firm definitions. Tell me, where in this section is a definition for 'hope' or 'wish fulfillment' given? Answer: no definition is given. This is important because it sets an understanding between Dex and the reader on the subject, which in turn gives the reader reason to trust him.

Second is false info given.

Ruby: This one. (stands before the case containing Crescent Rose) What happens… if I choose me?

Blacksmith: (reappears and kneels beside Ruby, placing a hand on her shoulder) Then maybe… that girl is enough.

The qualifier used is 'enough'. Not 'perfect'. Perfect gives the implication that Ruby is told she has done no wrong. Enough implies she is flawed but still good. Given the tone and message of the Volume, Dextixer failing to remember such an important detail implies that he has not paid enough attention to notice something so obvious, that he lacks the knowledge to see the difference or refuses to see a difference to justify his anger. All of which damages his reputation in the reader's eyes.

However, it is far more likely for the reader to assume the last of the three, given that he also potrays an opposition to the good guys in the show as being shown as morally wrong. And yet good guys like Qrow, Oscar, Yang and Ozpin do so and are never portrayed as enemies. Qrow and Ozpin are portrayed as flawed for their actions but also cone to be firmly on their side again, with Team RWBY expressing understanding and sympathy to Ozpin. And Oscar is shown as better than Ruby and Ozpin in Volumes 7 and 8. Thus implying Dex is ignoring context.

In the last episode of V9, after Ruby reaches her lowest point. What is she told? That she is perfect the way she is. That everyone fails at some point. Ordinarily that would not be a bad lesson. But the thing with failure is that while it is inevitable, if the failure is caused by ones own actions that means that a mmistake was made, that a person is NOT perfect.

Once more: Ruby is not ssid to be perfect, especially since 'enough' implies a standard that isn't fully fulfilled.

Ruby: This is my fight, too!

When in Volume 4, Ruby got Qrow stabbed by Tyrion by interfering in a fight that Qrow HIMSELF told her not to get into. Was she perfect? No. She made a mistake. But it was a mistake that came out of her selfish desire to play hero.

False info.

Ruby: No! But I won't stand by and watch someone get hurt!

Selfish by definition is something done without consideration of others. The act was done IN consideration of Qrow. While one could say Ruby is selfish for wanting to fight against Qrow's wishes- Qrow himself is fighting for Ruby who does not wish to be spectator. Therefore, Qrow is also being selfish, trying to play hero.

When in Volume 6 Ruby decided to steal an airship instead of doing literally anything else. Was that her being perfect? No. She made a mistake. A mistake that once again came out of a selfish desire, this time because she was told "No".

Incorrect. It has been both said and shown that the Lamp attracts Grimm, meaning that to stay in Argus longer than necessary is to endanger everyone living in Argus. Circumstances extend beyond 'No'.

This is excluding context unfavorable to Dex's position. A failure for the post because it calls everything Dex says without a source or citation into question since if he was willing to exclude important info once, what stops him from doing it again?

One could say he simply forgot. But given his tone and previous arguments- it's simply assuming the pattern persists.

When in Volume 7 Ruby is trusted completely and utterly and given anything she wished for, a license, training from pros, upgrades to weaponry, unconditional trust of plans of national security. Only to then go out of her way to hide information and eventually betray the person who gave it all to her? She made a mistake, all because she decided that she will save everyone, even if it might kill everyone.

Excluding context. And worse.

Ruby did not lie to James to save people, she did so out of a flaw.

Yang: (frowning) We're really not gonna tell Ironwood about what happened to Oz? What we learned about Jinn? About Salem?

Ruby: We are. (small sigh) We will. But you saw how things looked when we flew into Atlas.

-

Ozpin: I was recently reminded of an old fairy tale. A young girl flees the consequences of a choice, to a magical place. But, having never learned from her initial failure, she only succeeds in spreading it. I failed all of you. I should have trusted you with the truth and should never have run the day you discovered it. Yang: It was rough, but… Blake: I think after everything that’s happened here, we understand. Trust is.. Weiss: Trust is a risk. Ozpin: And I hope it’s a risk you can take on me again. Ruby silently nods her head at Ozpin.

Furthermore, this carries the implication that Ruby's mistake was unintentional on the writers' part. And yet the cited scebe above demonstrates Ruby acknowledging her mistake. Which also runs counter to Dex whole point in this section bu Dex's own words-

The first part of the wish fulfillment is that these things are not even acknowledged as mistakes. They are seen as "good" things, as "heroic" things, even by a lot of the fanbase.

That these are all not seen as mistakes. Which calls into question of why this scene exists and this dialogue is used, which are all used to communicate the idea of 'the heroes acknowledge their faults.' All while the far simpler answer of 'Dextixer is biased and wrong' is within reach. Perhaps previous well structured arguments, examples and groundwork would incline someone to give Dex the benefit of the doubt. But alas, that is not the case.

Revision and reconsideration could have fixed this, removing these arguments and making better ones with better grounding for audience goodwill. Remember to do so next time, everyone.

The second part of the wish fulfillment is the lack of consequences. At the end of V4, Qrow is perfectly okay. In Volume 7 her decision to steal an airship is just ignored. In Volume 8 Ironwood is turned into a full on cackling saturday morning cartoon villain, so there is absolutely no need to even think about Rubys actions in V7 or her betrayal.

Excluding context for all three.

Qrow's injury forced them into an unfavourable and quite possibly deadly position with the Nucklavee.

The stolen airship was acknowledged, just not as a mistake by James.

And Ruby quite clear DID reflect on her decision. Not only that, you claim that James is 'a cackling cartoon villain' but this implies that James acts out of gleeful malice when he is portrayed as instead desperate and growing insane. So it's false info given as well.

Such a rapid fire of mistakes after such a big one will certainly frustrate any readers. Especially since you failed to define what exactly 'wish fulfillment' in this case was. Perhaps I could find what you mean with a proper definition but without it- it appears that 'wish fulfillment' simply means 'bad thing.'

The ending of V9 takes the cake though. The end of V9 has us see Vacuo with ships of various makings in the air above it. Many RWBY fans cheered! Look, Ruby was right! Ruby sent the message to everyone and the entire Remnant is now united! Suck it critics who said that her plan was bad! SHE WON! Of course, these people fail to miss that they are cheering wish fulfillment. Back in V8 the plan to warn the kingdoms was first hatched by Ironwood, and eventually stopped by none other than the "neighborhood hero" Robyn. Did the fanbase praise Ironwoods idea? No. They instead praised Robyn for stopping it. Important part of it however was that once the message went out, it would create panic, thus Ironwood was planning to assist all of the states one by one to repel any Grimm incursions caused by such a message... Yet Ruby went with this plan anyways... And nothing bad happened. The narrative LITERALLY bent itself backwards to give Ruby a victory.

Excluding context.

Unseen male civilian: Take us to Atlas! Nora: Please, everyone. We're doing our best. We will get you to safety. Just give us a little more time! - Robyn: Atlas, Mantle. I know you're scared. I'm here with General Ironwood, and we have a message for you. - Robyn: What he has to say may sound unbelievable... but it is all true. - Ironwood: An ancient and terrible evil lies outside of our Kingdom. It was responsible for the destruction of Beacon, the attack on Haven, and for the recent attacks on Mantle. This powerful force goes by the name of Salem. Ruby: (grinning) He's doing it. - Ironwood: Salem seeks only to divide us. - Ironwood: To turn us against each other. If she can incite hatred in us, then we will lure in the Grimm and destroy ourselves. - Robyn: Salem herself does not work alone. Her minions have invaded our very city. - Ironwood: Arthur Watts and Tyrian Callows. - Cinder: (muttering) What? Ironwood: These men are the ones responsible for the recent murders in Mantle and for sabotaging the heating grid. - Ironwood: But we cannot let ourselves give in to fear and panic. That is what she wants! - Ironwood: Instead, we must unite, and fight back, together. Every single one of us! - Jaune: Alright, single file line! Place a hand on the shoulder in front of you, eyes forward, move, move, move! As he issue his commands, the citizens look back at him and then begin following his instructions. A pair of small children stand in front of Jaune, who kneels down and gives them a thumbs up and a grin. Jaune: Show them how it's done, kids! The child in a red coat salutes him. The two kids then turn on their heels, the kid in the red coat placing their hand on the other child's shoulder. They then begin marching with serious expressions on their faces

James already did this exact same thing before in Volume 7 and the same thing happened. Acting as though this comes out of nowhere when the same situation happened once before in the show is rather...odd.

Furthermore, the context behind people cheering on Robyn wasn't that she was stopping James' plan but rather that she was helping the people of Mantle by taking supplies for Amity to use for the hole in Mantle's wall. Due to the fact that James is a civil servant, it is his duty to have fixed the wall in the first place thus people cheered Robyn on for being a good example of a civil servant.

And also- it's quite telling that you do not actually debunk what is clearly a strawman but say that it is wish fulfillment, which you have used more for it's negative connotation than it's actual use. Though it's actual definition (that being 'the fulfillment of a desire') would apply to ALL fiction, making your use of it to stir negative emotions look manipulative. This is why defining the term would have helped: it would give the reader something definitive to look to instead of inferring through subtext and context.

The SAME exact thing happened back in V8. Rubys plan of evacuating Mantle had no end point! It was simply evacuate Mantle to Atlas and then... There was no other plan. And while Atlas was suffering and its soldiers dying, Ruby drank tea in a mansion. The whole point of Atlas leaving without Mantle was to avoid getting swarmed by Grimm, to leave BEFORE it is too late to leave.

Now tell me dear readers, let us say that Mantle is evacuated into Atlas. What then? The Grimm have ALREADY reached Atlas. Its too late. Congratulations, the plan results in EVERYONE dying.

But wait, it does not. Because at the last second a GOD ITEM is revealed to be able to just portal everyone out.

Excluding context, failure to give details AND false info.

You already stated Ruby's plan yourself- call for help. So you know this is false.

You fail to explain why Atlas could not simply drive the Grimm back just as James' had planned on, as you stated before.

And you falsely assert that Ruby was just drinking tea (she had also killed the Hound and was regrouping for a single night) as well as that the Staff is akin to a Deus Ex Machina (AKA 'God Item') even though it had been foreshadowed in Volume 7 at the latest.

Furthermore, you go into detail about why Ruby's 'plan' would not work and yet ignore how James' plan to raise Atlas would have ended with everyone in Mantle dying as well as Atlas given the lack of supplies due to the sudden decision from James. Rather disingenuous and not something a reader would excuse given the constant failures on your end.

That is not hope!

Hope is not the protagonist putting hundreds of thousands of people in danger with no plan to get them out of danger, only for the hand of the writers to come down and make them all survive.

Hope is not the protagonist taking reckless actions against their allies because they know that everyone will forgive them or that the allies will turn evil the next episode.

Hope is NOT the protagonists doing something that THE NARRATIVE says is impposible to do without consequences, only for those consequences to be deleted by the hand of the writer.

What HOPE at the end of the day is the protagonist keeping the fight on regardless of the odds, either to their heroic and expected death, or at a small but KNOWN chance of victory.

Team RWBY being able to do anything and everything because the writers will give them a victory regardless of anything is not hope. And it will never be.

False info, excluding context and failure to give proper defintions.

False info is stating that telling the world of Salem would result in 'consequence' even as the show demonstrated otherwise.

Excluding context in that the people were in danger from something other than the heroes and would have guranteed all their deaths if not for them.

To say nothing of how 'heroes do something reckless for their allies without consequence' is an incredibly common trope in media.

And also that nowhere in the defintion of 'hope' does it say that the hope must be based on death or possible victory. 'Hope' is simply 'the expectation and desire for something' so there is nothing excluding 'fighting against impossible odds' from this defintion. If anything, given that hope is based on the need to believe in victory over logical defeat, hope is embodied best IN against impossible odds. Fiction is certainly no stranger to this concept (see: Beyond The Impossible and especially Gurren Lagann, the trope namer and major influence to RWBY.)

Not only is Dex's failure to set up what he meant in the first place about 'hope' make this entire argument, effectively his summation, fall apart but it also breaks his premise. Because 'fulfilling hope' is, in all but name, 'wish fulfillment'. Hence why all fiction has some element OF 'wish fulfillment'.

To say nothing of how Dex's next sentence-

In case anyone has forgotten, Salem now controls the relic of creation.

Contradicts his final part in the section. After all, if Team RWBY can do anything and everything- why did they not simply take the Relics from Cinder and Salem?

A thing that could be used to create anything for the sake of destroying ANY army that Salems enemies could wield. Let me ask you all. Is it not logical that Salem could just create a meteor shower and just destroy any and all airships over Vacuo? She has a literal god item that the protagonist gave to her by opposing Ironwood.

Excluding context.

Oscar: We can't just wave it like a magic wand and make our problems go away. And we haven't even told you about... him.

Yang: Who?

Oscar's eyes glow as control of his body is switched to Ozpin.

Ozpin: The spirit in the Staff. Like Jinn, but, well, he's a character. He can build you anything, but only if you can explain to him how. Like any craftsman, he'll need blueprints. Some sort of reference. It'll help if we have real world examples to show him.

Salem would need blueprints and especially examples to get Ambrosius to build such a thing. And no, Cinder's use for 'fire' is not a contradiction: spark, ignition. Such a thing is as simple as wind moving. There is no indication that Salem is capable of such things and with Watts' dead- no one among her inner circle has the expertise to do such a thing.

But i can tell you for a fact that she will never use it. The failure of losing the staff will never matter. Team RWBY will win regardless of how sensible or logical it is. The writers will make up a reason for why the staff doesnt work, or for why Salem does not want to use it.

Not even an argument. Just an assumption. An unfounded one.

And when that happens, be ready for RWBY fans to tell us all how stupid we are.

@dextixer

You have had multiple chances to make an accurate or even standard point.

You have failed every time.

This is not a hard thing to do- I did so throughout this very post.

Simple research, revision and reflection would have greatly improved your post and perhaps given you a point. But any reader that is not looking for self confirmation will not consider you anything better than stupid by this point.

You cannot blame others for your own failings.

[caspercryptid]

yo, tons of love for all the fics you publish, your writing style is striking and I might have very well fallen in love with the way you see Jayvik together and them as separate characters, too.

Also I have a question.

So I saw that post where you caution against writing disabled people with self-esteem issues around their disability. Could you elaborate, please?

(I'm writing a Jayvik thing and Viktor's physical disability is kind of a big deal there for a few plot-related reasons. I was not intending on giving him any self-esteem issues even before I saw the post, simply because I didn't observe anything of that kind in Arcane. Yet, as a physically abled person myself I'm cautious about the topic.)

Maybe you could share some examples that led you to writing that post in the first place or make up a few ones that would, in your opinion, potentially fall into the "harmful bullshit" category?

Hi anon, thanks for the question! I'll happily expand. I don't want to give SUPER specific examples because this is about trends in the fandom and I don't want to make a call out post, but let me talk to you about physical disability and the perspective that led to me making that post. Discussion of disability and ableism under cut.

So, when Viktor says the line "No one believed in me, a cripple from the undercity" the way I heard it as a disabled person is "people perceive me incorrectly because of my disability." The way a lot of abled people heard it was "Viktor hates himself because he's a—" and I'm not even comfortable typing cripple in that context because it's a slur! It's a whole ass slur.

Disability is a wide umbrella. It's about impairment in more than one aspect of life, and yet, for some people those impairments aren't things to be fixed about them but a mismatch between their needs and the things society demands of them (take, for example, a lot of different kinds of neurodivergence). For some people, like Viktor, and like me, disabilities are things that DO require accomodations, and things we might change about ourselves if we could. Obviously, Viktor does.

What these disparite groups of disabled people have in common is that our disabilities have fundamentally shaped our identities. Growing up disabled or becoming disabled changes the way you interact with the world and how the world interacts with you. You adjust around it. You don't carry yourself the same. You plan your days differently, you allot more time to certain tasks, you buy different shoes and different blankets and a million things abled people don't even have to think about define our existence utterly. Because of that, disability is Intensely personal, and you can't look at it and go "this thing is bad and I want to never have experianced it" because even if you woke up tomorrow and didn't have any of the physical problems you had previously, your life was still completely changed by that experiance.

So when abled people write Viktor loathing himself specifically because he's disabled, this is what they invalidate. An entire perspective that's formed around being disabled, and for Viktor specifically, around being overlooked. Around understanding what it means to be overlooked. Viktor might not have met singed or gotten into science if he weren't disabled! These are things he's going to have complicated feelings about. As a disabled person, I have some degree of hyperempathy because of my chronic pain. I'm not inclined to overlook it when other people are uncomfortable in part because for me, stubbing my toe can register very very high on the pain scale and for a very long part of my life no one paid any regard to anything I said about my pain. I never want to do that to anyone else. I want to listen. That's not a part of myself I would want gone. When Viktor dismisses the whole of himself these are the things abled authors gloss over.

There is ALSO the very frustrating trend of linking physical attractiveness to ability and I don't have words for how much that if you think disabled people are inherently unattractive you should fuck right off. (Not you anon, obviously, but) it is incredibly frustrating and upsetting to see people who are openly horny on main about Viktor turn around and write him despising the way he looks because he's disabled. Ability is not correlated to attractiveness. Disabled people are desirable. It is IMPORTANT in an intensely ableist society to acknowledge that disabled people are desirable and that we have the right to self esteem and to be able to hold our heads up and carry ourselves. It's upsetting the same way the endless misogyny of pop music can be writing the same songs about women who are beautiful only because they think they aren't, with an added element of "your body is inherently broken and you should be so lucky to find someone who loves it anyway" I reject that interpretation. Disabled bodies are worthy of adoration because they belong to disabled people, who are brilliant and beautiful and any number of things.

While I have been frustrated with myself on a human level, like anyone, and gotten frustrated specifically with things I couldn't do (high shelves! Why can't I grab the damn salt!) And had minor spirals about it, it's a double whammy to boil the totality down of your identity down to a single descriptor and then loathe yourself for it.

I also just don't find Viktor going 🥺 "you like me even though I'm broken?" Fundamentally realistic. In any fashion. Also Ew.

Other disabled people can feel free to add their two cents, it's a nuanced topic and I'm limited in what disabilities I can speak to (and also I'm sick as shit 💜) hope I addressed your question!

As a quick P.S— fundamentally, even with disabilities that are like Viktor's or like mine where they are Health Problems that actively need to be worked on, you're looking for accomodations and treatments, not to be magically "fixed". You're not going to end up being the same as an abled person even if you get those treatments ((Machine herald sure as shit isn't)) so remember when writing not to try to Cure a disability, but to address specific limitations and create aids. Hope that helps.

[alwida10]

Hi. I'm not sure what's going on right now, I just saw you had a mean anon lately and it seems you're going through hard times.

I will admit I've definitively made some assumptions about you and not always been the nicest when discussing some posts of yours with friends. But just because I found some things you said offensive doesn't mean I think you are a bad person. Words we say often take a life of their own in other poeple's head. Also anger and hurt makes us all agressive and without a filter. On both sides.

There is a lot of gossip in the Loki fandom, but behind the vitriol, some poeple care about you and are genuinely worried when things seem hard. Whether it's about you or other "antis" recieving hate anons (sadly the whole point of anons is that we'll never know for sure who sent them). We're also not stupid, a lot of poeple who are angry have been through hell in their life and healing will always be far more important than fandom wank.

I just wanted to say you deserve to feel safe and to have a space where you can express yourself, even if it won't make everyone happy. Poeple are free to block you, or ignore your posts if they end up in their recommended section. Nothing has ever been achieve with hate and petty games.

Sending you my best wishes.

A cowardly anon ^^

Thank you! This message made me cry, in a good way. 💚 thank you for your kindness!

And yes, you are right in many ways. We never know who the anons are, and I admit that in my mind I tend to conflate them, assuming most are from one single person, who just never knows when to stop.

When I first came to tumblr, I found the anon-function weird. I thought “we are on the internet. We are already anonymous!”, but I guess that’s not entirely true. While this sphere is (more or less) separated from our offline life, nobody is free from expectations of their mutuals, followers, and even critics. And since we all get trained to act according to the expectations people have, some things would never get said without the anon function. But being anonymous brings forth how we really are in that moment. And hurt, stress or rage has made me say bad things in the past, too. That said, at most times I DO mourn the split in the fandom, and I am aware that echo chambers make opinions grow more extreme. So, should you come across something I have written which is offensive, please let me know, so I can check if I’m a victim of my own rage once more, worded things badly, or applied faulty reasoning. You can always point me this post if you fear a harsh answer, so I will remember I, too, was gifted with kindness.

I am sure we all just wished the fandom wasn’t so torn apart and everyone could thrive in the community. I admit, the only other fandom I participated in was supernatural, so my expertise isn’t the best, but I would bet any day that the Loki fandom is full of people who take strength from his story for their own healing and growth. So, in a way it’s even more heartbreaking that there is so much fighting about him. Because interpretations of his motives and morality are never just that. They can always be perceived as an invalidation of another person’s suffering or healing or hopes. And while you might be able to cope with an attack of an fictional story, an attack of one’s trauma or hope is much more personal.

So, yeah. It’s always better to take a step back, remember this isn’t about oneself alone, and that beyond the screen other people are humans, too, and deserve the benefit of a doubt. 💚

Also, i kinda think it’s a shame there is so little communication between the “two sides”. The last debate opened a new perspective for me, and helped me to put some things back into context. Sometimes I wish for a friend on “the other side” to discuss things in a appreciative way, where no one tries to convince the other or feels the need to defend their view. Just a comparison of perspectives, to open up new points nobody considered yet. There could be a lot of cool meta buried there. But alas, I guess the topic is too close to the heart for most of us, and I don’t exclude myself there.

[i-want-my-iwtv]

in my estimation i don’t think it will be a gateway. the world is going to shit and people read less and less everyday. i don’t know a single person among my friends or family that bothers to read books of any kind. actually i don’t think i’ve met anyone who reads for pleasure since maybe high school. i think for us that love tvc’s the show can be an alt universe-like thing but idk about it brining new blood to the fan groups. i figured any book momentum for there might have been for newbies unfortunately died with the passing of anne.

in my estimation i don’t think it will be a gateway.

(Context: this is Re: the new AMC Interview with the Vampire TV series possibly being a gateway for people to reading the canon books, I'm tagging these #IWTV AMC). You sound like W, one of my best friends IRL, she highly doubts it will bring anyone to the books, too.

the world is going to shit

😂 Well, I mean, you're not wrong! Again, sounding like W! I'll have to ask her if she messaged me on anon, lol. Sometimes all she and I can do is vent about the shit happening in the world *sigh.*

and people read less and less everyday. i don’t know a single person among my friends or family that bothers to read books of any kind. actually i don’t think i’ve met anyone who reads for pleasure since maybe high school.

Yeah, I struggle myself in committing the time to actually sit down and read, even fanfic, we all have such short attention spans these days. My family keep trying to pick a book we can all read separately and discuss, but we have such different tastes, it keeps not happening. I'll listen to a book on a long car ride but it's usually a non-fiction, I miss the experience of laying somewhere with a snack and holding a physical book, whisked off in someone's world.

i think for us that love tvc’s the show can be an alt universe-like thing but idk about it brining new blood to the fan groups. i figured any book momentum for there might have been for newbies unfortunately died with the passing of anne.

Yep, that's what I'm seeing it as, an alt universe.

I think you're right, I'm not sure anyone other than Anne (wacky as she could be in some of the books 😅) could really drive these stories the way she did.

I feel like she created some of the new characters near the end to try to give Christopher Rice room for a spinoff series, maybe about the Replimoids, Viktor, or Rose. V&R have a similar feel to me as Kylo Ren/Ben Solo and Rey; they seem to be meant to appeal to a younger generation of fans as someone their age they can relate to? Characters with the "pedigree" of the older, beloved, canon favorites, so they should automatically be cherished by old and new fans alike, I get the logic but pedigree alone isn't a guarantee that people will clamor for these new characters.

I'm not seeing that happen wildly across the fandom, demands for more stories about the Replimoids, Viktor, or Rose, but we'll see.

I also feel like Christopher is trying to move out of her shadow, writing as C. Travis Rice, which still has the surname, but Anne ALWAYS called him Christopher, so... anyway that's my take on that.

[sir-subpar]

Hi! I'm a big fan of your work. I have a question about your theory on Peter being possessed by the entity...Well, it's mostly going to be questions and points I noticed in the theory

First off, since we don't know if the Entity and Peter are one in the same, Peter being possessed might not be confirmed until later, though I'll say this now: I love your theory and I do support it. Now for the other stuff

Question set 1: If Peter is conscious in his own body, and we see him shape-shifting into that one eyed pumpkin thing both in the Christmas DLC and the Valentines animation, do you think the entity is forcing Peter's body to change? Does it hurt when he transforms?

Question set 2: If Peter and the Entity are separate beings, how do you think Peter met the thing? How did it get inside him? Is it stuck there permanently?

Question set 3: If Peter is actually separated from the entity, do you think it could've shared its mind with him or something? Like, do you think Peter knows about the Eastwoods (and both Arthur and Sam) being trapped in the game? Do you think he could tell Andy what's happening, or ask the player to free the spirits or destroy the monster in his body? Is Peter self-aware?

Question set 4: Unrelated to the Peter thing, why do you think Andy is able to remember what Thomas Eastwood did? Why does the Entity say 'It's all your fault' in the Valentines day special? Are the spirits possessing everyone? Is that why Andy's friends kinda force him into the barn where something dangerous is? Like, did the spirits possess everyone that day thinking Andy WAS Thomas and they wanted revenge or something?

...Thanks for making such awesome work

Wow a lot to discuss here :)

I apologize if this is long, but I really like talking about this idea/theory/headcacnon of mine. (If future updates to the game end up disproving me, which is likely to happen, I'll just call it an AU and go ham on the concept for fun )

Thanks for the lovely in-depth ask! I don't get to theorize with people a lot, which is a shame cuz I love doing it.

Here we go! Below the cut, so that it's not too long for people who aren't interested in this and want to scroll past it

1. I headcanon that Peter's body contorting does in fact hurt, especially that weird neck twist/snap in some of those pictures.

And I can't imagine growing extra appendages or elongating previous existing ones is really comfortable (decided to make this kind of funny/angsty doodle)

2. I don't really know how exactly Peter would meet The Entity. I kind of assumed that the entity just... moved in, after Thomas & Co latched onto the other characters. Like: "Oh all the others characters are being used, what's left for me?" And then it just saw Peter and went "That works"

Or: My other idea, since pumpkins are commonly associated with things like Halloween & things that are scary, maybe the Entity looked at it from a thematic standpoint and thought Peter just worked best. The Entity is a demon(?) and Peter's a pumpkin, and maybe it just kind of fit a little too well. (Also it's unclear if the entity shapeshifted Peter to be taller or if he actually is by default 6'8, but it's something I just wanted to mention)

3. I think Peter and the entity can communicate in his mind. Kind of in that classic venom/demonic possession-type telepathy way. I headcanon that Peter is conscious most, if not all the time, but he doesn't have a lot of control over what happens.

I feel like the entity wouldn't let him help the others because this is meant to be Thomas's punishment, and it uses Peter to communicate. So I feel that Peter knows at least a bit of what's really going on, but is overall powerless to stop it. I think that even if the entity didn't fully explain to Peter what was happening, he could figure it out to some extent through context clues. (Especially since it's talking to Thomas using him, just as Thomas is using Andy to talk to The Entity)

4. I'm not entirely sure if Andy "remembers" the things Thomas does, but if he did/does, I think Thomas and Co. Can to some extent share their memories with Andy and co.

Either that, or Andy doesn't really remember what Thomas did, and "Andy's" Recollections of what happened are actually just Thomas communicating through him (like Andy saying "No, that was you!" Might actually be Thomas using Andy's body/voice.

Which to me would explain why some of the characters seem to react to all the creepy glitches

Note: Claus's nervous tone/stutter after the cutscene where Thomas kills Aurthur. It seemed really strange to me that Claus is one of the only characters who outright reacts to what happened. Like, I'm sure Andy can see it because he mentions it in the specials and what not. But I do find it interesting that Claus is one of the only other characters who seems genuinely afraid of what's happening.

I can't be the only one who heard the hesitation in his voice, right? Like, the stutter? "Here is your.. b-bonus sticker." Is kinda how it sounded to me.

Leading me to believe that certain Andy's Apple Farm characters are more affected by (and aware of) the spirits possessing/controlling/manipulating them.

I think the spirits are using Andy's friends to get to Thomas, and Thomas is using Andy as some sort of Shield.

Anyone else find it strange that Thomas just happens to be the one who possesses the protagonist of the game he made? Almost like a protagonist can't be easily removed from the game, and has some sort of plot armor keeping him there?

Now, there is a chance that the entity forced Thomas and Andy to share Andy's body, using the fact that players restart from checkpoints when they fail as a way to put Thomas into an endless loop of torment and repetition. I just want to make note of these things I noticed

[alottamoney]

Hi. I had a post was a few days back. The one about JK.being aloof or annoyed or at least ignoring Tae’s public show of affections. To what you raised the point that maybe Taehyung is only doing fan service and JK knows it and after all, Taehyung didn’t even went to visit JK on his birthday, etc …

Not knowing for sure of course, since we all just have opinions and conjectures, that could very well be.

I am a Taehyung biased, so probably out of instinct to defend my fav, I wanted to give some options that could be more flattering to him.

The JK birthday thing…

I remember thinking that the vlive had been a little depressing because it gave the impression of this very lonely JK sitting alone at home waiting for people to show up and only 3 did for a quick cake at random times during the day. I don’t know if Korean culture but maybe that’s how a birthday goes … you don’t see your friends and family all together on a party, they just show up at separate times along the day and bring things …. And in JK ‘s case, only Jimmy, jhope and Jin showed up? I’m thinking this can’t be … JK has family and he must have close friends besides BTS so more social visits happened along the day. Or also means not all meaningful celebrations are only on the birthday date…

It was not a regular day for Taehyung as well, he was coming from a trip overseas. I don’t imagine he would be up for hanging around JK’s home entertaining people along with him.

As a friend, I think it would not be offensive if Taehyung had skipped that day to rest and showed up at JK the next day for a hug and gift… as a lover, that could be even more of a motive because the day couldn’t have been something relaxed and alone for them. JK, wishing or not, had some entertaining to do for other people.

Could be possible too that Taehyung was waiting for JK to be free and alone and as soon as that vlive was done, he showed up to finally see JK? I add this possibility because it seems people think inorder to be meaningful or romantic, they absolutely had to met on that day, even though a next day option alone by themselves seems way more romantic to me if they were lovers.

Unfortunately the way Jin asked and JK replied do give the impression that this is all that there is to know about it. I don’t think JK would have volunteered any details about other plans with Tae. The way it landed sure fits the narrative that these two are not even close and don’t care much for each other. Maybe it is true.

I’ll warm my heart though thinking that this is a case of JK not telling a lie but also not disclosing the full context.

I wanted to write about the fan service comment as well but this is already too long, I hope you don’t mind if I add about that later.

Thank you

Anon, I--I wasn't exactly being serious with my reply to that previous ask. Um...I thought it was obvious, but clearly not. You don't need to defend either of them.

We didn't really discuss what Jungkook said in his birthday live here, because we had our hands full with TaexJennie. I haven't had the time to watch the entirety of the recent vlives, but plenty of people have pointed out, that it wasn't Jungkook's home in the vlive, but probably their dorm or somewhere in the HYBE building. For the same reason, I'm not sure any of what you alluded to, is a birthday custom in SK, as much it is a birthday custom for BTS members.

As for the authenticity of the statements made by Jungkook and Jin, it's up to you to decide. I personally don't want to say that it's a lie, not because I think they don't lie, it's just that it was a very unnecessary statement. Completely contradictory to what they're trying to sell by having another member show up in the vlive. I also don't want Mrs. Kim and Co. to come at me for "nOt BeLIeVinG tHe meMbErS"

[mooniefics]

bye bc i have not been able to get the thought of like,, you working as the candidate manager for the warrior program (aka glorified babysitter / school counselor) and reiner slowly falling for u over the years

—  you’d first met him around a month after he returned from paradis, after he was finally debriefed and given countless ideological assessments, and he was just exhausted by the time he was finally allowed to see his family again but he still woke up early the next day to go with gabi to training. he saw how happily gabi greeted you, how warmly you smiled back, and he thought that if anyone was taking care of his little cousin over the years he was gone, he was grateful that it was someone who came off as nicely as you did.

—  your first conversation initiated after gabi dragged him over by the arm and introduced the two of you herself, but you didn’t get to speak long before you all had to go your separate ways. the way you tucked a piece of gabi’s hair behind her ear and gingerly wrapped your arm around her as you led her off to her classes for the day makes his heart flutter.

—  you two made small talk when you ran into each other, sometimes talking about the kids, sometimes talking about yourselves, nothing terribly personal, but he always found himself feeling much lighter after he got to see you.

—  reiner accompanied you once when you chaperoned the kids’ recreational time in town and sat on the bench beside you while you both watched them all play around at the park you usually took them too. your voice was soft and affectionate as you told him that you sometimes forgot that they were just children, letting it slip that you couldn’t help but feel disheartened that they had been made to grow up so fast. you were worried that he, the one revered as the most loyal warrior, would report you for disrespecting the methods of marley, but he only sighed, smiling sadly as he replied, “me too.”

—  one day when the kids were training, you and the warriors were standing to the side watching them, discussing casually amongst yourselves as you watched them run laps with all their gear. on the last go around, udo fell flat on his face, and before reiner can even turn to see your reaction, you were already running over to make sure he was okay. the exercise instructor forced you to wait for udo to make it to the end on his own, but as soon as he reached finish line, you rushed him away into the main school building. when you didn’t return for a few minutes, reiner ventured in to see where you’d gone, he found you both in an empty classroom—you kneeling in front of udo, handkerchief in hand, gently wiping the tears and dirt from his cheeks and telling him that he had done a good job, that everybody makes a mistake once in a while, that he was just as capable as the other candidates. he stood beside the door, listening to you comfort udo, feeling his own eyes watering as he did. he wished he had someone like you when he was young.

—  the first time the two of you had a proper, in-depth conversation was the evening that the mid-east allied forces had declared war against marley, the only two left at the privacy of his quarters, sharing the last bottle of wine leftover between yourselves. the facade of perfect patriotism that you had both been careful to maintain had dissipated, whether because of the alcohol or because of the gravity of such impending doom weighing at your hearts. he’d learned that you’d been apart of the warrior program yourself, an unselected trainee in the class just a year below his own. you told him that was how you’d managed to secure yourself this position, but he said that it was much more than that, that you were a natural at a position that require such patience and compassion. the way your lips had turned up into the smallest of smiles made his cheeks flushed. 

“i heard the war is going to be mostly naval. i doubt we’ll have to worry about any of us being shipped out to fight any time soon.”

you took a long sip from your glass, finishing off what remained, taking in a deep, pensive breath. “god forbid they send any of those kids away to the battlefield. god forbid they send you away.”

“me?” he said after a moment of silence, an odd sort of tightness cinching around his heart and lungs, squeezing tighter with every fine detail he noticed in your sorrowful expression—warm eyes filled with sympathy, mouth drawn down into a delicate frown, brow slightly knitted.

“you’ve seen enough. you’ve gone through enough, more than anyone should have to go through by themselves.”

reiner felt a lump beginning to form in his throat, an almost tangible ache echoing through his chest. that was the first time someone had ever told him that before.

—  despite the worsening tension of war, reiner saw that you were just as cheerful as ever with the kids, bringing them sweets and desserts you made yourself when you got the chance, taking them out on their weekly outings and making sure they were doing alright just as normal. but he could see the way your face would shift when one of them piped up with something regarding the current battle being waged, spouting out the same propaganda he’d been force-fed for his entire life. you would only smile, patting them on the shoulder or rubbing their back, responding with a simple assertion that you were sure marley’s troops were doing great out there before changing the subject

“they’re so young. sometimes i forget they’re only children.”

your words from the park bench flitted across his mind, the words that you silently spoke when your eyes widened at gabi’s proclamation that marley’s glory would forever prevail, or when your lips pursed briefly at the four of them squabbling over who would inherit which titan.

“they’re too small to be holding such big weapons. those rifles they give them are taller than they are. it’s.. it’s...”

perverse? distressing? horrible? it was all of those things, and so much more. but you saw it. you didn’t egg them on like porco or zeke, you congratulated them without drenching it in more and more lies. you didn’t see them as soldiers-in-training, you didn’t see them as warriors, you saw them as they were. as children. you cared for them like he did.

—  when the time came, you were shipped off to fort slava alongside the warrior unit, your training and your extensive experience working with the candidates for the past five years serving as the justification for your necessity. though reiner had wished to be around you more often, he didn't at all enjoy it in this context. seeing you in a full soldier’s uniform, skin dusted with dirt and gunpowder, a helmet that only seemed to have more and more dents and scratches in the metal with each day that passed—it felt so incredibly wrong. you didn’t belong in the trenches of war, and yet he still saw you running about every morning, previously soft hands becoming roughened and scarred, growing thinner and thinner from the stress and minuscule rations that were barely enough to get everyone through the day. and yet you were lively, still tending to the kids and attempting to give them a space away from the warfare outside when you could all retire to the unit’s dugout at night.

—  one night, reiner had woken from his sleep and was too restless to return to it, unable to ignore the distant sounds of gunfire and shouts from outside, staring up at the ceiling from his bunk and allowing himself to drift away into his thoughts. he remembered all the nights he’d spent like this in his own home as a child, barely able to force himself to sleep for a few hours despite knowing that he had another long day of training ahead of him. but he turned over on his mattress at the sound of soft murmuring, the sound of sheets shifting and the quiet protest of the flimsy bed frames squeaking. in the dimness of the lantern that sat at the foot of gabi’s bunk, he saw you seated at her bedside, looking down at her as you spoke.

“are you okay? do you want me to wake up reiner?”

he couldn’t make out gabi’s mumbled response, but he saw the small silhouette of her head shaking from side to side on her pillow.

“i know he’s been looking tired lately, but i promise that he won’t be upset if we wake him up for a moment.”

another unintelligible reply from the young girl just barely occupied the air. a part of him wanted to step out of his bunk and see what she needed, but another, more persuasive thought kept him still, laying silently, watching on to see how you would tend to her. he knew that gabi admired you deeply, the fact that you’d managed to win her over was something that impressed him, but at the same time didn’t surprise him at all. he couldn’t imagine how anyone could dislike someone as gentle and thoughtful as you.

“you’re a big girl, gabi, so am i. but that doesn’t mean we don’t all need a little bit of help sometimes. it’s scary out here, and i’m so proud of you for holding your own out there. it’s okay to be scared.”

you were quiet for a moment, allowing for gabi to speak, a hand reaching out to gently stroke the side of her head and run through her hair. a quiet, genuine laugh slipping from you when she concluded.

“i promise i won’t tell anyone. i’ll get back to my bunk as soon as you get back to sleep. deal?”

he caught the end of an affirmative nod from his cousin, and the two of you fell silent. you stood for a moment to tuck the covers around her, sitting back down and returning to your soothing motions, looking almost like a dream in the glow of the soft illumination at your side.

he realized in that moment what that feeling in his chest was, the one that made his throat tighten just the slightest bit, that made him feel light as air for those few fleeting moments before the spell of you in his gaze was broken by some menial interruption. but the interruption didn’t come this time, nothing to remind him to bury his feelings and not ruminate on them long enough to figure out exactly what they were. he had been running from this revelation for far too long, and he knew exactly why—because it would be unfair to burden you with these feelings that he knew he shouldn’t have.

he loved how you made him feel. he loved seeing how cheerful you were even when it was too early in the morning for him to even be properly awake himself. he loved seeing how you smiled when the children hung onto you on your days out. he loved that you could see the appalling indoctrination of marley’s military might on it’s citizens for what it was. he loved how you saw him for more than his failure four years ago. he loved how tender you looked stroking his younger cousin’s hair, assuring her that you wouldn’t leave her until she was fast asleep. he loved you, honestly and wholeheartedly.

it was a selfish desire, a longing that he would have to keep to himself for your sake. but, in moments like these, where the vision of having something more seemed so close to his outstretched grasp, the thought of sharing his final years together rather than in a respectful coexistence, he found it so difficult to resist temptation. 

if only he had more time.

24 / 7 reiner brainrot. i have an unfathomable amount of love for this man ( ; ω ; )

[the-velvet-worm]

We need to talk about Mai.

The Avatar: The Last Airbender fandom is one that’s seen better days, that’s for sure. Even in its better days, it was full of ship wars and shit takes. It’s always been like that, despite how near-perfect the show is, and that’s nothing that can be helped. We all consume media differently, and that’s what makes so many movies and TV shows so great. Differing opinions are what create discussion and debate, and we should almost always at least entertain them to help get a better understanding of the thoughts and opinions of others. So… let’s dive into one of my most unpopular opinions.

Mai. We all know her as the knife-wielding goth girl, friend to Azula and girlfriend to Zuko. Many have come to the false conclusion that she’s all surface and no substance, that she never cared enough for Zuko, that she was too passive and uncaring and didn’t cater enough to the emotions of the people around her. She turned on Azula to save Zuko, and Ty Lee turned on Azula to save Mai. It’s one of (in my opinion, at least) the most badass and iconic moments of the show. Mai stealthily pinning down all the prison guards without spilling a single drop of blood, buying Zuko, Sokka, Suki and co. just enough time to escape the Boiling Rock is one of the best action scenes in all of ATLA, that much isn’t up for debate. But it’s also one of the most profound and selfless acts of love in the entire series. Zuko, whose mother poisoned his grandfather to save his life, who betrayed his uncle just as he was going to make a major heel turn as a person, was saved by a girl he broke up with… in a letter. I’ll get into the letter later. But for now, I want to unpack Mai’s sacrifice.

She knew exactly what she would be facing by saving Zuko. Azula was right there. And Mai still did it. She resigned herself to the fact that she would have to face Azula’s fury — and her lightning. Mai’s only defense? Her knives. It was a test of speed and precision. Or at least, it would’ve been, if Ty Lee hadn’t stepped between them and taken Azula down. The important part was that Mai was willing to die to save Zuko’s life. “I love Zuko more than I fear you,” is one of the most powerful lines of dialogue I’ve ever heard in my life. It confirmed two things: Mai loves Zuko (which she said with her actions as much if not more than her words) and Mai has only been friends with Azula as long as she has because she actually feared what Azula would do to her otherwise. It was never any secret who had the true power in the Fire Nation royal family — Mai knew that better than most. And still, even after Zuko ditched her in the middle of an invasion, she would’ve traded her life for his without a second thought.

Which leads me to my next point — the letter. Mai read a portion of it out loud. We saw Zuko write it just a few episodes prior. We know from context and dialogue that he didn’t want to leave her, he tells Sokka as much on their way to the Boiling Rock. In Zuko’s mind, he left Mai behind to protect her. But flipping it and looking at it from Mai’s perspective is so key to understanding why she was so hurt. This wasn’t just a case of a jerk boyfriend breaking up with his girlfriend through a text message. This was two traumatized teenagers who fell in love despite all odds, who were separated for three years, and were finally reunited… just for him to leave again. The first time Zuko left, he didn’t have a choice, as we all know. That’s fair. The second time? He did have a choice. He made the right choice. He knew it. We as the audience know it. But who didn’t know it was Mai — she expresses as much. She doubts herself and her relationship with Zuko because of it. She more or less infers that she feels their relationship has been built on a lie — and in truth, it partially has been. Zuko withheld information from her and withheld his feelings. Remember ‘The Beach’, toward the beginning of book 3? That episode where Mai and Zuko (and Azula and Ty Lee) all addressed their childhood trauma and finally began to be able to work through it? Mai didn’t shut down Zuko’s feelings — she actively encouraged him to share with her how he was feeling. In the same scene, Zuko claimed Mai didn’t care about anything, and at the end of the episode, she affirmed that although she had difficulty expressing her true emotions, she did care about Zuko. And I think it says a whole lot about her that even after having her heart broken by him, after opening up to him and offering a safe place for him and getting hurt as a result of that, she still couldn’t let him die.

What I’m getting at is… would a girl who REALLY didn’t care do that? I see a lot of people claim she didn’t listen to Zuko… when was that? In ‘Nightmares and Daydreams’, when she constantly tried to affirm him, comfort him, reassure him, and was met with silence? In ‘The Beach’ when he dumped all of his trauma on her and she sympathized with him but still held him accountable for his actions? She did nothing wrong in those instances. She was never in the wrong to demand decency from her boyfriend — he accused her of cheating because another man looked at her. In what world doesn’t she have a right to be upset about that?

Circling back to the first episode of book 3 — in a scene that many blow wildly out of proportion — Zuko is being his usual angsty self, having a moment of reflection and self-doubt. He’s afraid his father won’t accept him, that going home to the Fire Nation might be a mistake. It’s easy to forget that Mai wasn’t present for the death of Aang, so she has no idea what happened during that scene. She has no idea that Zuko wasn’t the one that killed Aang. She has no idea what Zuko’s been doing in the three years he’s been gone. So… in her head, she assumes Zuko’s just being his usual dramatic self, and makes a joke about not wanting to know his life story to put his mind at ease and assure him that his worries were misplaced. She wanted the same thing she thought Zuko wanted (and I say thought because, well… he never told her what he really wanted because *he* didn’t even know) and encouraged him to strive toward that. She waited for him for hours outside the war chamber in ‘Nightmares and Daydreams’, and when the meeting finally ended and he came back out, she enthusiastically congratulates him on it, she’s happy for him because with her limited knowledge of what’s actually going on in her boyfriend’s head, this is what he wants. Earlier in the same episode, he’s lamenting about not being invited, and then decides the meeting is dumb and he doesn’t want to go to it. And she agrees with him, again, simply just trying to affirm him and make him feel better. She supports him in all things — all things that she can to the best of her understanding of the things.

At the end of it all, communication is a two-way street — Zuko was shitty at expressing himself and so was Mai. That was something they both needed to work on separately in order to be able to come back together. Their separate and individual personal growth does not hinge on their relationship. Mai was not Zuko’s therapist, nor should she have been. She tried to be supportive and be there for him in the only ways she knew how with her very limited (but expanding) sense of sympathy. Mai was a person who never let herself care, at least not outwardly, lest she get her feelings hurt in the process. She did open up to Zuko, and encouraged him to do the same with her, offered him support, unconditional love, and a safe place, and he needed to do some growing away from her, and that’s fine. He should’ve communicated that to her a little better, and she should’ve tried to be more understanding from the start, but they’re still just teenagers. I don’t know many teenagers who can take what they know they are capable of emotionally handling and applying it to their interpersonal relationships as well as Mai does. I was a hell of a lot farther behind in my own emotional development than Mai was at 15.

[amagicdoctor]

We recently discussed a few pivotal romantic relationships Doctor Strange has had in the past. I wanted to create a short summary of each of those relationships in case people

Couldn’t move past the warnings

Analysis was too long

I definitely recommend reading through these summaries so you can understand future posts BECAUSE I will be referencing these relationships whether they may be in meme form or something more serious. Lore is important y'all. 

Further Reading:

Context on Stephen’s gender identity (here). 

Mysterio/Quentin Beck

Quentin met Stephen right after getting kicked out of Hollywood for accidentally injuring an actor on set. After moving to New York, they met under unusual circumstances but they quickly bonded over magic, illusions, and experience with transgender identities.

Stephen unfortunately had a growing habit of throwing himself into his work to avoid his emotional problems, and Quentin hated that he was being ignored. Quentin found relief by obsessing over Spider-Man and became Mysterio. After getting caught by Spider-Man, Stephen broke up with him. Mysterio never fully recovered from their abrupt separation so he grew a slight obsession for the sorcerer as well. (Read more here)

Loki

Hating the idea that Earth was creating more human sorcerers, Loki sought out Doctor Strange to hurt him from the inside. At the time, since Stephen was new to the sorcerer game, he didn’t recognize Loki at first, and allowed him to stay in the sanctum as a student, but he was also able to learn a few things from Loki about Asgardian magic as well. It was because of Loki that Stephen learned a shapeshifting spell and realized that he was not interested in medically transitioning to become a woman.

Since Stephen can easily fall in love with someone of high intellect, they briefly dated before Loki’s true intentions were revealed. After suffering irreparable mental and physical damage, Stephen quite literally kicked Loki out of his house. Loki’s conflict with Stephen is still going on and it;s hard to tell whether Loki is obsessed with him out of love or just pure hatred. (Read more here)

Iron Man/Tony Stark

Due to Captain America’s request to mentor the Scarlet Witch, Doctor Strange frequently met with the Avengers and grew a very love/hate relationship with Iron Man. Tony had a reputation for being of aid to the Avengers for being a technology mastermind, and he felt disrespected when more ‘magicians’ were being added to the team. For a very brief time, Tony allowed his bias for Stephen to be known, and Stephen was able to find a few retorts of his own.

After settling their petty differences with a kiss, Stephen and Tony were led to have a very open but loving relationship. There was no commitment on either part, and that made them both fairly happy. They eventually started seeing less and less of each other once work and other political issues got in the way. To this day there is still a spark of something that never had time to flame. (Read more here)

Doctor Voodoo/Jericho Drumm

As a married couple, Stephen and Clea grew to love the idea of adding a third partner to their relationship. After working several jobs with Jericho, Stephen had really fallen in love with the idea of having Jericho as that third partner. Unfortunately, the issues that were growing between him and Clea removed any future romantic pursuits.

When Clea separated from Stephen and left to lead the Dark Dimension, Stephen was alone for a very long time. Jericho, as a friend, initially asked Stephen to work with him to get his mind off of his past. Spending time again with an old friend rekindled the love Stephen had for Jericho, and they eventually started dating. Jericho’s ideas on gender identities and Stephen’s rocky mental health were some of the reasons that led them to split up. To this day, they still have a lot of love for each other, but Jericho just can’t make a commitment to someone that doesn’t even love himself. (Read more here)

Azazel

They first met on the battlefield between the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, where they were both recruited as the resident sorcerer. While the X-Men triumphed, Azazel was powerful enough to come to a standstill, with Stephen leaving him behind to lick his wounds.

Taking some ‘recreational time off’ in a club in hell, the two were reunited, and blew off some steam with a one-night stand. Eventually one night became plenty, and Azazel had smoothly adjusted his life into Stephen’s. This came with a lot of difficulty between them, Nightcrawler, and the rest of Stephen’s family. 

Stephen and Azazel’s relationship was very rocky, even from the start. Azazel was falling in love with him but Stephen, as Sorcerer Supreme, the fighter against evil and dark magic, couldn’t make a commitment to a demon. They broke up multiple times and even adopted a demon child during the Damnation incident. (Read more here)

Adam Warlock

After merging their souls during the Infinity Gauntlet event, Stephen and Adam felt bonded to each other. Unfortunately, with Adam’s commitment to the Soul Stone, his time on Earth is only temporary. Usually when the two do meet, it’s during a universe-ending event, with work being at the forefront of each of their minds. Still, Stephen has a pull on his soul and his heart that always leads back to the Soul Stone and Adam, despite being a dimension or two away feels the same.(Read more here)