#it's a me problem..... I genuinely don't know what happened to me to make me have zero self-confidence

[localw3irdo]

This whole awards show thing is really highlighting the worst sides of Caine's character and I'm so here for it.

I mean, we can all tell it's clearly just him desperately looking for validation.

I mean just look at this.

His icon being front and center. His description. The extra touches on his icon and his name. His icon even does a little bounce. He so desperately wants us to look at him, to pay attention to him, to have SOMEONE tell him that he is still important.

And his video is no better.

"Oh, how they love my adventures. And they also love me for their loving my adventures. They're always jumping around, chirping, saying, 'Oh, feed us more adventures, Caine! Our crops are so empty! We need your half-digested, regurgitated goodness. Or so help me, I'll jump out of this nest AND KILL MYSELF!'"

Wow. Okay.

And it's hardly an exaggeration either. He needs them to think that. He needs them to like his adventures, and in extension, him, because his entire existence relies on it. Literally.

It's a core part of his code. It's all he was made for. It's his one job. It's his single purpose. He doesn't have a choice. It's either be good at what you're meant to do or be functionally useless.

It's his job to please people and keep them happy, but he is failing, and he knows it. He has been troubleshooting since the pilot. He has been trying all sorts of things to fix his adventures and only managed to go in one big circle each and every time, with each attempt leading him straight back to square one.

So if he can't fix the problem through the adventures, he must tackle it at the source, right? That's him. He's the source. He's the problem.

And he so desperately needs someone to tell him that he isn't. Because if he is, then what's left for him? As an AI failing at the task it was made for, what will happen to him?

It's terrifying, so he denies this reality. I mean he's literally throwing these people in a room with a gun in some twisted attempt to make them get their shit together because they're the problem! They have to be! It's not him! It can't be him! They just have to get their shit together and it'll all be okay!

How he treated Ragatha, Pomni and Gangle in this whole event also tells us a lot.

I actually did a little analysis on his treatment of Ragatha in her portfolio vid already which you can find here if you wanna.

Ragatha is the kindest. Pomni is the most genuine. Gangle is the most emotionally vulnerable. Their contributions are all very honest in different ways. It's all the things Caine can never authentically be.

Authenticity. What even is that to an AI?

He envies these things so much he hates them. He can't stand them. It's everything he shouldn't be. Everything he can't have. Everything he's bad at.

And he isn't dealing with this surge of feelings well at all because, in all honesty, I don't think he's ever felt this before. He was never supposed to care. It's his very first time dealing with big complicated emotions and he doesn't know what to do with it. It's seeping out in all the worst ways.

Caine is jealous, petty and incredibly insecure and this event has been putting all of that on full display and I absolutely adore it. There's so SO much more to say but I don't want to go too off track here. I love the tooth man. I'm so excited for episode 6 you don't understand.

[frostytheduck]

Going back and adding my thoughts on this. A bit long and it's broken into parts so I'll add a read more

Starting with Canon Characters

If the media is a blockbuster type and I'm never likely to interact with the creator then it's out of their hands and fanfic is inevitable. If there is a popular fan work then I can see shipping characters but ensuring they are tagged appropriately so that the creator can block the tags. If it's a smaller fan work then it feels a bit more scummy to ship their interpretations of the characters and I Definitely wouldn't leave a comment or tag them where they would see the ship they don't want to see. If it's someone sharing a fic one on one (or like to a small group) then I absolutely wouldn't ship the characters they don't want to, I can play with Canon myself if I want that ship.

Fanfiction OCs

This gets into a way bigger grey area. If the OC is an interpretation of a canon character then I feel like I could just make my own interpretation of the character and just, not share it with the one who made the request. If it is a OC that is an entirely new character and the ship is with a canon character then again, just don't tag the creator and don't get butt hurt if they block you. (Creators have just as much right to curate their experience as all of us. If you only post something they don't like, don't expect them to want to see you online.) If the OC is shipped with another OC it feels far weirder to me to ship them against the creators wishes UNLESS the work is already complete and there is nothing to suggest a problematic ship. (More thoughts on this in a moment.) If someone is sharing an OC and their audience is small then it again feels scummy to ship them and post content about that ship because then it would flood the tags for that OC with that ship that the creator doesn't want to see.

Someone sharing an Original Work with a small audience.

I've kinda gone over this already but I want to summarize. If the audience is small the chance of the creator running into your work is much larger. When smaller creators ask not to see a ship I feel like making content for that ship and posting it (especially while tagging the work) can be rude. If the fan base is large and you happen to be handed a copy of a book by the author then once everyone has access to that book that's where I think it's OK. (Not sharing the ship beforehand but mainly spoiler reasons that makes it scummy for a different reason.)

Additional Thoughts and Special Cases

RPF is something I personally would never ship (outside of already established relationships) but that is personally. But knowing that some like to ship RPF my thoughts would be that if the Real Person asks not to be in a ship then Don't Ship. That is another human setting a boundary about themselves and that boundary should be accepted.

Self shipping is something that I admittedly don't know a lot about but from what I know there isn't much content and creators can never control what you think and feel. Just, ya know, don't tag the creator if you do post anything.

Representation! If the character is Gay (not Gay Coded, I'll get to that.) then Don't ship them with a Woman. (There are some exceptions but that mostly involves micro labels and nuance.) If the character is AroAce Don't Ship Them, At All. If I see one more Allo person saying "AroAce people can still date!" I'm going to scream. I have seen exactly 3 Allo people who mean that in a genuine way and not a way that erases representation. I have seen so few AroAce characters in ships that acknowledge their sexuality and romantic orientation. Most treat the character like they can overcome their AroAce-ness as if it is a problem to be solved. You wouldn't ship a lesbian with a man and suddenly make them not a lesbian, right? Don't do that to AroAce characters.

If a creator says "Hey don't ship these two, you'll see why later," then there is probably a good reason and viewers can make the decision after the Reveal, beforehand feels a bit strange but like... Go off I guess? Just be aware that if you are suddenly disgusted by the ship Don't blame the creator.

In general, sharing fan works with a ship that the creator doesn't want to exist isn't really a bad thing. However if you are one of the only people in the fandom and you only post about the ship that the creator said not to ship that does feel way scummier.

Thought Crime is Not Real. Ship whoever you want in your head, even if it's problematic, talk about it with friends or in DMs You can do that 100%. The problem only shows up with sharing fan works in the above situations. It's down to how likely you as the average fan are likely to interact with the creator on a personal level.

A writer asking for something not to be shipped Cannot control you. In general treat it as if the question is "Will you not send me these things?" Because it is an attempt to curate their experience. Larger audiences make it harder to find specific things and easier to filter out things you don't like. Smaller audiences mean that the creator is far more likely to STOP creating because the audience they have won't stop shipping characters they don't want shipped.

I have seen shipping get so bad with some fandoms that the creator stopped writing and stopped interacting with social media because they were being threatened into making a ship canon when the whole point of the story was that the relationship wasn't romantic, the relationship was platonic.

Don't do something that will drive a creator (especially a smaller one.) to decide they don't want to create. That absolutely makes you a scum bag.

If the creator or something explicitly states they don’t want two characters shipped will you respect it?

[cosmowgyral]

Pirates of the Villains

This is a fan translation so please don't expect it to be 100% accurate. Creative liberties have been taken. All content belongs to Cybird. Reblogs are appreciated but do not repost.

A knock echoed through the room.

Without waiting for an answer, Nica stepped inside and gave me that same sly grin as always.

Nica: Still in a bad mood today, little Kätzchen?

Kate: Then let me go home!

Nica: Hmm~ what should I do?

(Th-this man…!)

A few days ago, at the harbor, I saw a woman being attacked by pirates and tried to help her.

Although I managed to help the woman escape, this time I ended up being the one chased.

By chance, I ran into Nica, who saved me and got me onto his ship. But the moment I stepped aboard, the ship set sail.

It was only after we were out on the open sea that I learned Nica was a pirate… and the ship I had boarded was a pirate ship.

Nica: Can't be helped, you know. Those guys were after our ship, no way we could’ve gone back.

It seemed the pirates who attacked were enemies of the crew Nica belonged to――

Nica: Plus, I pretended to be your lover when I helped you, remember? Makes it even harder to go back now, doesn’t it?

Faced with his teasing gaze, I couldn’t help but cover my face with both hands.

Yes, the real problem was what Nica said when he saved me as I was desperately trying to escape.

--flashback--

Nica: Picking on my lover, huh? You’ve got some twisted taste.

--flashback ends--

The moment he pulled me into his arms and uttered those words, the situation only grew worse.

(I’m grateful he saved me, but still…)

What’s going to happen to me from here on out?

When we boarded the ship, Nica didn’t hesitate for a second as he gunned down the pirates who attacked us.

Reinforcements came for the enemy, and a battle broke out between them and the pirates on this ship.

By the time the ship sailed off into open waters, the harbor was stained bright red.

And there I was, an ordinary town girl with no power to protect myself, stuck in such a dangerous place.

(I don’t know when or where something terrible might happen to me.)

Right now, I’m probably only alive because Nica feels like keeping me that way.

As I lowered my head, filled with unease, his hand entered my field of vision.

Nica: You haven’t stepped outside since coming aboard, have you?

Then he grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

Nica: I’ll show you the vast ocean.

Kate: Wow…

On the night deck, countless stars stretched across the sky above the endless sea.

The salty breeze lifted my hair, and the ocean spray kissed my cheeks.

Nica: How is it? Not so bad here, right?

The breathtaking view slowly eased the anxiety that had been weighing me down just moments ago.

(...Yeah, as long as I’m here, I should do something, right?)

Feeling just a little more positive, I turned to him with a question.

Kate: Is there anything I can do to help?

Kate: I haven’t even thanked you properly for saving me, and since I’m here, I don’t think it’s right not to do anything.

But Nica, with a completely calm expression, said something outrageous.

Nica: You don’t have to do anything. Right now, you’re supposed to be my lover, remember?

Kate: …Huh?

Nica: The captain asked me why I brought you on board, so I told him I fell for you and just had to snatch you away.

Nica: And then they let it slide—but the story spread through the whole ship in an instant.

Kate: What!?

Nica: So now, everyone on board thinks you’re my woman.

(Wh-why did it turn out like this…?)

Shocked by the fact that I somehow got a boyfriend without even knowing it, I was left speechless—

Kate: Aah!

Nica: Watch out!

The ship rocked violently, throwing me off balance, and I nearly tumbled overboard before Nica caught me in his arms.

Nica: You okay?

He looked genuinely worried, his expression different from usual. The warmth and strength of his arms holding me made my heart skip a beat for just a moment.

Seeing me dazed and flustered, Nica flashed a sly grin.

Nica: You know, deep down, you kinda like me, don’t you?

Flustered by his teasing gaze, I hurriedly stood up and put some distance between us.

Kate: That’s not true, I…

Nica: I like you, though.

Kate: Huh…?

He looked at me with an unusually serious expression, and once again, I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat ringing in my ears.

Nica: When I saw you trying to help that woman, even though you had no power at all, I thought you were being reckless…

Nica: But in that moment, you looked cooler than anyone else.

Step by step, he closed the distance between us, his hand gently cupping my cheek.

Nica: That’s why I thought you were interesting… and ended up snatching you away.

He pressed a light kiss to the corner of my lips.

Kate: Huh..

Caught off guard, I was left speechless, while Nica smirked and leaned in once more, his lips drawing closer.

Nica: Fall for me, Kate.

Maybe… I just hadn’t realized it until now, but my heart might have already fallen for him.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Why do you think nobody believed Harry about Draco being a Death Eater? I've not read HBP in a long time so I can't recall what evidence Harry had, but it can't be that far-fetched that Voldemort would have one of his followers' children branded with the dark mark?

In my opinion, the answer's threefold: Draco both is and isn't a Death Eater in HBP, Harry's terrible at arguing and even worse at gathering and presenting evidence, the good old Albus Dumbledore Riddle of Epicurus/Cognitive Dissonance.

Draco is a Death Eater... Technically

The thing is, in HBP, yes Draco is branded... but he doesn't actually bring anything to the table/is set about to do anything important. For eyes and ears in Hogwarts, Voldemort has good old Snape whom he believes is working for him and only pretending to work for Dumbledore.

And anything done in Hogwarts... he has Snape who is an independent adult granted a lot more freedom of movement, has been branded by the Dark Lord for years, and is a lot less flighty than a sixteen-year-old with no idea what he's doing.

Sure, Draco might want to be a Death Eater for Cool Points... but what would he even do? He's just... stuck in Hogwarts, where Snape already is, there's no point to him being a Death Eater.

That is, there's no point if you're not taking into account that this is a punishment for Lucius, that Draco is branded so that he might never escape and set to a task he is guaranteed to fail, after which he will be handed off to Fenrir Greyback all so Lucius can suffer for having fucked up multiple times.

But the thing is that Harry and friends and everyone else aren't considering this because while a lot of it is things they know if they thought about it for a bit--it's a perspective they've never considered. Harry takes Draco becoming a Death Eater very much at face value, so do Ron and Hermione, so does everyone else.

There's no nuance in understanding "well, perhaps he is a Death Eater, but perhaps he's not intended to do anything."

Which brings us to the first hang up that Ron and Hermione have about Harry's theory.

Harry is certain that Draco's been branded with a Dark Mark, he is totally a Death Eater now, guys, and Hermione brings up that, sure, Draco would love that--but why? What would Draco even be doing? There's nothing he can bring to the Dark Lord while he's stuck in school so it'd be pointless. Ron agrees with Hermione, it just doesn't actually make any sense that Draco would be a Death Eater.

Up to something, sure, probably, but actually branded a Death Eater--eeeeeeeeeeeeeh.

The argument isn't that Draco wouldn't really like for this to happen, but that having a teenage Death Eater is silly.

And it is, neither she nor Ron are wrong about this.

They just don't consider tasking that teenage Death Eater to somehow assassinate Dumbledore, all so he can fail, so you can destroy his family underneath your heel.

Harry's Really Really Really Really Really Bad at Arguing Anything

Harry is persistent, but not persuasive.

This is a problem he runs into often in the books and doesn't have much awareness of. Take for example the last time people didn't believe Harry, Voldemort being resurrected.

Harry has no real awareness that his argument hinges solely upon "trust me, bro". No one was there to see the resurrection aside from Death Eaters who are saying "back from the dead? No. No! No of course not!", no one has seen hint of it in the immediate aftermath aside from Death Eaters who aren't talking, and there are conceivable reasons for what motive Harry and Dumbledore would have to lie about this (or in Harry's case be so traumatized he genuinely believes this happened--when it didn't).

Instead, Harry gets increasingly upset and hostile that his classmates and peers and the greater wizarding world at large do not believe him. And it is very upsetting, and there's not much he can do to convince them because no one else was there and Voldemort lay so low afterwards, and he is very much persecuted and slandered by the papers in the wake of this, but the thing is Harry doesn't realize that there might be reasons a logical sound of mind person might not believe him without being wholly against him.

The Firebolt incident also is somewhat in the ballpark of this. After Harry receives a mysterious unmarked package in the mail which contains the broomstick of his dreams, at a time when Sirius Black is on the loose/a known criminal who is thought to be actively planning Harry's murder/is the worst Death Eater alive, Hermione narks on him and the broom gets confiscated by McGonagall to be checked for curses.

Hermione absolutely did the right thing, explains why she did it/McGonagall explains why she did it--Harry refuses to speak to her for six months and when he and Ron decide to forgive her, it's out of pity because Hagrid tells them they're being turds. Harry does not consider that Hermione could have been correct... even though it turns out she was correct.

Repeat with the HBP textbook, Snape being evil in book 1, etc.

Harry digs in, he's very bad at considering the perspectives of others/situations from different points of view, and when people don't take his side/agree with him he gets increasingly frustrated and tends to repeat the same arguments--over and over with increasing frequency/furor until those around him give in.

Harry Argues Draco is a Death Eater, Specifically

Harry's proof is... not good and while he vaguely acknowledges that, and is very frustrated by it/watches Draco like a hawk with the Marauder's Map in order to finally get real evidence to convince everyone, he never quite admits how shoddy it is.

The first bit of evidence Harry has is that Draco goes into Borgin and Burke's and seems to be buying something and up to no good. Unfortunately, Harry isn't able to find out what Draco bought, let alone if he bought anything at all. He's convinced he must have bought something and that something he kept very secret, therefore it must be dangerous (and Harry is correct, he bought the Vanishing Cabinet with the plan of fixing the one in the Room of Requirement), but all he can say is "I saw him go in AND I AM CERTAIN HE BOUGHT SOMETHING, ERGO HE IS A DEATH EATER"

No one is impressed by this, and while people agree Draco might very well be up to no good... doesn't mean he's a Death Eater, Harry.

Then Harry sees Draco bragging to the other Slytherins on the Hogwart's Express. Draco drops hints that he's cooler and more important than the rest of them, but never says "I'm a Death Eater", rolls up his sleeve, or do anything more than say "Well, I'm very important".

We then learn that Draco was aware Harry was there for at least part of the time, as Harry did a very bad job of hiding in the luggage rack.

Harry tries to use this to convince Ron and Hermione--but they point out that Draco loves to brag and he could just be making shit up to look cool in front of his awful friends. Doesn't mean he's actually a Death Eater/he didn't actually say he was a Death Eater, did he?

Not to be deterred, Harry keeps trying!

Harry notices Draco keeps disappearing off the map? Where is he? What is he doing? When Harry figures out he's in the Room of Requirement he sees that a disguised Crabbe and Goyle are guarding it. NOW THEY CAN SEE HE'S UP TO NO GOOD.

And Ron and Hermione agree he's up to no good, probably, but... they're starting not to care anymore and Harry has been obsessively bringing this up for months and none of this means he's a Death Eater.

And as people keep refusing to believe Harry, Harry gets more and more aggressive about telling people, until he gives Arthur Weasley/Remus Lupin the most unhinged explanations in the world that they just... don't... process...

Until Snape kills Dumbledore and Harry spends an entire chapter telling everybody in the world that he was correct and they were all wrong. IF ONLY THEY HAD LISTENED TO SOMEONE!

The Riddle of Epicurus

Which brings us to the final reason people don't believe Harry this time and the nail in the coffin for pretty much every character he discusses this with.

The Riddle of Epicurus goes like this:

If a god knows everything and has unlimited power, then it has knowledge of all evil and has the power to put an end to it. But if it does not end it, it is not completely benevolent. If a god has unlimited power and is completely good, then it has the power to extinguish evil and wants to extinguish it. But if it does not do it, its knowledge of evil is limited, so it is not all-knowing. If a god is all-knowing and totally good, then it knows of all the evil that exists and wants to change it. But if it does not, it must be because it is not capable of changing it, so it is not omnipotent. Wikipedia

The idea is that if God is benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient all at the same time: why do bad things happen?

In Harry Potter, this is the issue surrounding Dumbledore and what every single character Harry talks to (Ron, Hermione, Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin) brings up when Harry insists that Draco is a Death Eater.

You see, if Draco's a Death Eater, if he's been officially branded, then Severus Snape who is their double agent would certainly know about it and inform Dumbledore.

When this is brought up to Harry, Harry posits that Snape, too, is a treacherous Death Eater scumbag who should not be trusted and is clearly lying about Draco not being a Death Eater.

However, if Snape is a Death Eater, who is pulling the wool over Dumbledore's eyes, then Dumbledore's wrong in trusting him and has been a fool... which Dumbledore can't possibly be, ergo, Snape is not a Death Eater and Draco is also not a Death Eater.

And if Snape wasn't a Death Eater, had told Dumbledore that Draco was a Death Eater, and Dumbledore did nothing... then Dumbledore wouldn't be good, which also isn't allowed, and therefore Snape is not a Death Eater and Draco is also not a Death Eater.

Now, this is the book where Harry proudly tells Scrimgeour that he is "Dumbledore's Man". Harry doesn't doubt Dumbledore at all, or even necessarily want to call him "wrong" even if he deep deep down is thinking Dumbledore's wrong about this. Dumbledore is neither stupid nor evil and is the greatest man alive... he's just fucking wrong and Harry is correct.

But Harry has this very unique cognitive dissonance he can do where he can think the world of Dumbledore, the man walks on water... but also conclude that Snape's a Death Eater and Draco is too without somehow thinking worse of Dumbledore.

And no one else is a) able to do this b) understands how the fuck Harry can do it either.

When Harry confronts Remus, Remus tells him that the bottom line is you either trust Dumbledore, or you don't. Dumbledore trusts Snape, ergo Remus trusts Snape because Remus trusts Dumbledore and everything Dumbledore does. REMUS TRUSTS DUMBLEDORE, DO YOU TRUST DUMBLEDORE, HARRY?! Harry just sort of stares at him then... blurts out that have they considered Snape is a Death Eater?

Arthur has almost the same response both then and earlier. Dumbledore trusts Snape, ergo Arthur trusts Snape, and the Order trusts Snape, because Dumbledore trusts Snape. You do... trust Dumbledore, don't you, Harry?

"But have you considered that Snape is a Death Eater scumbag?"

Ron and Hermione have a similar line of reasoning, though more along the lines of "wouldn't Dumbledore realize something was up if Snape is actually a Death Eater/Draco is a Death Eater too?"

And as a result everyone is shocked and extremely betrayed when it appears that Snape is a Death Eater scumbag who fucking killed Dumbledore and... they sort of refuse to process any of this and instead direct all of their rage at Snape whose betrayal was so might/so unfounded/unforeseen the man might be the Devil himself (not helped by Harry shouting "BUT I KNEW THE WHOLE TIME" while they're all trying to process this).

What none of them know is that Dumbledore did know the whole time, he had been informed by Snape, he was well aware of exactly what Draco was up to and his every near-disastrous attempt to kill Dumbledore that resulted in several near deaths of students--he just chose not to do anything about it with reasoning that is... interesting.

Basically, you have to accept that Dumbledore's a bastard-man, which neither Harry nor any of his friends/allies are willing to do.

Harry just gets away with it because he can somehow hold two contradicting thoughts in his head at the same time.

Nobody else can.

[mint-ty]

I need to get this off my chest: the Joker Out weekly updates are still AI-slop.

Let me first make something very clear: the open letter reached them. They were tagged by countless people on Instagram stories, and they saw them - multiple times. They read it, and instead of making it clear to the fans whether they wanted to keep using AI or not and make it clear when they are using it or not, they chose to put a "veil" over our eyes.

If you have noticed, all the updates lately have been "Hi, it's x member here." followed by a vague description of what they are doing, followed by a random concert talk.

The first update we got from them since the letter was - allegedly - written by Kris. I can't send prints of the letters, so I'm adding the link (https://www.tumblr.com/musicalislife/787785684632158208/weekly-update-20250630?source=share). This is the worst offender of them all. Good job adding some stuff that makes it feel human, like "hahaha."; "And now? Sleep." and "A few days of “rest” (whatever that means)…" other than that? This letter is awful. Commas? Don't know her.

"We just wrapped up a show that honestly… left us completely speechless. Seriously – whatever happened out there tonight hasn’t happened anywhere else before."

Okay, "Kris", tell us more about what happened. Why are you speechless? One of the signs of AI is being really vague when it comes to descriptions and just saying generic sentences.

And not a mention of Nace? On his birthday? Seriously?

The following week, we got Jan (https://www.tumblr.com/musicalislife/788383223094870016/weekly-update-20250707?source=share). I actually believe Jan wrote this one. For the most part. This paragraph still feels a little vague, but since Jan wrote it past midnight, I can excuse vagueness:

"Let’s talk about Kranj. Because what happened there wasn’t about numbers. It wasn’t about how big the stage was. It was all about the energy. We’ve said it before and we’ll keep saying it. You don’t need thousands of people to create something that sticks with you."

And Jan thinking about Kranj feels very on Jan brand (yes, this is about Jance, shush)

Next, we got Mister Jordan himself (https://www.tumblr.com/musicalislife/789003749814370304/weekly-update-20250714?source=share). It's just so short but... that's not the problem. Again, some vagueness: "Let’s be honest. We all know what this week was about. I’m still collecting my thoughts from yesterday!" I don't know how to explain it, but it feels off.

Bojan's letter feels genuine (https://www.tumblr.com/musicalislife/789659789925990401/weekly-update-20250721?source=share) - at least the first part where he talks about what everyone is doing. (Though I wonder why they keep saying "WILD" every update. It makes them sound like an old man trying to connect with the youth.)

The genuineness in Bojan's letter falls a little when Jure's letter begins with the same typo (Baby Boo instead of Baby boos). Link: https://www.tumblr.com/musicalislife/790254037620670464/i-love-the-way-jure-writes-about-his-road-trip?source=share

Granted, Jure could have seen how Bojan did it and tried to replicate it, but look me in the eyes and tell me Jure wrote a letter. I love Jure, but that man can't remember to promote concerts on Instagram most of the time, and you expect me to believe he wrote this letter? It almost feels as if... someone wrote it for him.

So, I have a theory on what's going on, but first of all, this is not meant to throw any shade at anyone. It's just the observations I've made as a fan, and a lot of people have also pointed it out. Joker Out has a new social media manager. And that, in itself, is a good thing! It gives them time to focus on their music while not neglecting the communication side of things. It was something we wanted for a while! However, this manager is pushing them towards using GenAI, even though they had openly expressed a dislike for it before. People are allowed to change their minds, of course, but the response they got wasn't a positive one, and what we asked was clarity because we don’t want to see/interact with that shit. Instead, we got clowned on, of course. Instead, we get TikToks following crappy AI trends, of course. Instead, we got emails that were probably written by the social media manager with a mix of GenAI, of course.

You may think that I'm making JO the sole responsible for the AI usage, or that I'm making the new manager the sole responsible. The truth is that I think both are equally responsible. The manager for coming up with these AI ideas we don't want and are not helping the band, and JO for letting it be published and following blindly.

One thing they did since the letter was shut up about the cartoon. I don't know if we'll see a comeback, but for now, they haven't mentioned it since the contradictory statements on its usage of AI, but, in my PERSONAL opinion, that was a good decision.

Why do I need to say all of this now? I already unsubscribed from the open letters because I WILL NOT promote this and keep being clowned on. But one of the things that has been bothering me lately is their TikTok.

What happened?

Genuinely.

Joker Out was always so funny even when they were senseless. We are still laughing at ARE YOU?? after all this time even though we don't understand it and now we get Italian ai brain rot, labubu and God knows what else (I'm not on TikTok, I'm always late to trends, sorry). It's not the type of content that makes me go "Oh, who are these people? Oh, they do music? Let me listen/go to their concerts", it just makes me want to scroll away. "It's ai again, it's capitalism again, idc".

I have a big question: who's this content for? Right now, it feels like JO doesn't know who they are aiming their content at. Is it your current fandom? Even though we have expressed we don't like this? Is it for new people who don't know you? That's the first impression you want them to have of you?

I'm just so tired.

I love JO and I want to go to their concerts, and buy merch and have fun in this fandom, but instead I have to be piecing together if they are using GenAI - a tool that promotes anti-intellectualism, capitalism, destroys the planet and steals from artists – because they can’t give it up, let alone give us clarity.

An unpleasant read but honestly every Joker Out fan should read this. Because while Joker Out don't seem value honesty anymore - we as a fandom do. I have a lot of thoughts about this but I will let everyone form their our opinion. One thing for sure - I have unsubscribed from their email and from their official accounts because the blatant LYING is making me sick. (apparently you can send an email back to their weekly updates. if you want to let them know how you feel about all this new direction).

Joker Out and Katarina - do your job well or don't do it at all. Unless of course you want to get rid of your current fans and be a radio band for 13yo girls who think trololo ai slop is funny. Then you are on track 👎👎👎

[lazylittledragon]

so uhhhhhhhh. not to be cryptic and bitchy on main but congratulations to everyone in my messages for like 5 months on being right i guess

[undead-moth]

I know I've been on about this for a while now and I'm being a hater but you're telling me SydCarmy was "always meant to be platonic" even though there are two seasons of writing making use of tried-and-true explicitly romantic tropes, themes and writing signals, and SydLuca is going to be romantic because...he was nice to her on screen for a few minutes?

I don't even care if people ship SydLuca, or if they just prefer it, but you can't honestly tell me that you believe Carmy was always meant to be a friend but Luca is an obvious love interest.

Just because Syd and Carmy haven't kissed or confessed their love to each other doesn't mean that isn't very obviously the direction this show is going. The Bear has already shown you who is endgame. It has shown you every episode of the show so far.

Honestly I really don't think The Bear fanbase understands this show or cares about these characters or the story being told here, which is unfortunate because this show is shockingly well-written in comparison to most shows right now, and we should be so grateful for it but all we're doing is complaining that the writers led us on by not making a ship canon fast enough. It's just. Sad.

[indooroutdoorboyfriend]

i genuinely cannot stay asleep for longer than twenty minutes at a time so i am gonna be weird and introspective instead. evan character analysis. btw no i am not in a crisis or anything i'm just trynna dr house my neuroses. delete that "are you good??" dm right now

[bettyhofstadtdraper]

the way I agonize over my fic you’d think I was writing for some big fandom with lots of eyeballs on me but no. five people are reading this shit. and boy am I terrified of what those five people will think

[faggotofthevalley]

Being given body dysmorphia by a random lady calling me 'bow-legged' really feels like the modern day version of accidentally getting cursed for inconveniencing the town witch in 1643

[the-sweet-hibiscus]

I know we love to cast Gaz as Mr. Perfect relationship goals but I genuinely think it's not until he dates you that he learns what a relationship is outside of appearances.

Like you start dating, and he brings you your favorite flowers every two weeks (even though you prefer pictures, bc the smell of them makes you sneeze) because he sees Price do it for his wife.

He gives you back massages (even though what's really bothering you is your feet) because Soap was bragging about how he did that for his bairn at home.

He even eats you out every time he spends the night (this...this you don't have a problem with) because Simon mentioned that's how he keeps his Bird happy, and Gaz knows that happy wife equals happy life.

But he doesn't understand compromise. He doesn't get that you want him to go to the work party and mingle with the ass hats you complain about every day.

He doesn't understand why you want him to stay in with you instead of going out with one of his mates for the fifth weekend in a row.

Because you're still there at the end. He romanticizes the idea that he comes home to you – because that's what the books on your shelves say, right? The bit who's so jaded by life but had a soft spot for you?

It's not til you're halfway out the door, tears streaming down your face, that he realizes how superficial he's been. When you ask him "what do you even like about me? What do you even like about what we do?" And he can't answer.

It takes him weeks actually.

Weeks to figure out how you would actually listen when he'd critique interrogation techniques on TV. Or the way that you agreed to go to the military ball with him – even though you'd rather have cuddled up with a movie and some snacks. But worst is how you'd make his mom's soup whenever he had a particularly hard week, not because he asked, but because you knew he needed it.

Once he does figure it out, though, he's determined. He will be getting you back. And he's going to be the best thing that ever happened to you. Prequel

[iamthedukeofurl]

Discworld is an interesting beast in the age of ACAB. Like, the city watch books are a story about police and the way in which a good police force can help and protect people. Which would make it copoganda. And I'm not going to say that the City Watch books are completely free of copoganda, but they also do something interesting that fairly few stories about heroic police officers do, and I think it has a lot to do with Samuel Vimes. A lot of copoganda stories like, say, Brooklyn 99, are perfectly capable of portraying cops as cruel, bigoted, and greedy, but our central cast of characters are portrayed as good people who want to help their communities. The result is that the bad cops are portrayed as an aberration, while most cops can be assumed to be good people doing a tough job because they want to help protect people from the nebulous evil forces of "Crime". The police are considered to be naturally heroic. Pratchett does something very interesting, which is provide us with Vimes' perspective, and present us with an Unnaturally heroic police force. In Ahnk-Morpork, the natural state of the watch is a gang with extra paperwork. It's the place for people who, at best, just want a steady paycheck and at worst want an excuse to hit people with a truncheon. Rather than be an army defending people from the forces of Crime, the Watch is described as a sort of sleight-of-hand, big burly watchmen in shiny uniforms don't stand around in-case a Crime happens in their vicinity, they stand around to remind people that The Law exists and has teeth. The Watchmen are people, when danger rears it's head, their instinct is to hide and get out of the way. When faced with authority, their instinct is to bow to it out of fear of what it might do to them if they don't. Carrot is a genuine Hero, but his natural heroism is presented as an aberration. Normal Cops don't act like Carrot does. The fact that the Watch ends up acting like a Heroic Police Force is largely due to the leadership of Sam Vimes, but Vimes himself is a microcosm of the Watch. The base state of Sam Vimes would be an alchoholic bully of an officer, one who beats people until they confess to anything because that makes his job easier. Vimes The Hero is a homunculous, an artificial being created by Sam Vimes fighting back all those instincts and FORCING himself to behave as his conscience dictates. Vimes doesn't take bribes or let his officers do the same because, damnit, that sort of thing shouldn't happen, even if doing so would make things a lot easier. Vimes doesn't run towards sounds of screaming because he WANTS to, he forces himself to do so because somebody needs to. It's best summed up in Thud “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Your Grace.” “I know that one,” said Vimes. “Who watches the watchmen? Me, Mr. Pessimal.” “Ah, but who watches you, Your Grace?” said the inspector with a brief little smile. “I do that, too. All the time,” said Vimes. “Believe me.”

In the hands of another writer, or another series, this exchange would be weirdly dismissive. To whom should the police be accountable to? Themselves, shut up and trust us. But from Vimes, it's a different story. Vimes DOES constantly watch himself, and he doesn't trust that bastard, he's known him his entire life. The Heroic Police are not a natural state, they're an ideal, and ahnk-morpork only gets anywhere close. Vimes is constantly struggling against his own instincts to take shortcuts, to let things slide, but he forces himself to live up to that ideal and the Watch follows his example. Discworld doesn't propose any solutions to the problems with policing in the real world. We don't have a Sam Vimes to run the NYPD and force them to behave. We don't have a Carrot Ironfounderson. But it's at least a story about detectives and police that I can read without feeling like I'm being sold propaganda about the Thin Blue Line.

[thespianinthebackcorner]

Hey hey hey writers!!! Especially y'alls who are struggling to develop character or have white room/still character syndrome!!!

Look into Uta Hagen's acting techniques, specifically her 9 questions. I'm not kidding. She built off Stanislavski's techniques to help actors develop their characters and roles & bring that to the stage- specifically, and this is why I'm pushing Hagen specifically and not anyone else, their relationship with the set, props, other characters, setting (yes that's different from set), history and the play's plot, and how that changes how they act and speak. I have my textbook open I'll take some pictures.

If you need a transcript/image description I'll put it under the cut, they're a little blurry cause I'm bad at holding my phone... I know alt text is a thing but I don't want y'alls to have to scroll through a tiny box lmao.

[Image 1 alt text]

The lower part of a textbook page. The text reads:

Uta Hagen's acting exercises

[Out-of-transcript note: Most of these, with the exception of Three Entrances, are less useful in terms of writers, but you could make it work, especially for roleplay.]

Basic Object Exercise: Sometimes called "two minutes of daily life," this exercise requires the actor to replicate activities from their own daily routine in specific detail (think making breakfast or getting ready to go out). The goal of this exercise is to increase the actor's awareness of their un-observed behaviour.

Three Entrances: Starting offstage, the actor enters the environment of the scene. The actor's performance should answer three questions: What did I just do? What am I going to do? What is the first thing I want?

Immediacy: Hagen asked actors to search for a small object that they need. You can perform the exercise on a set or in your home. As you search, you should observe the behaviour and thoughts that arise as you authentically try to find something. The objective is to identify the thoughts, behaviours, and sensations you experience when you genuinely don't know the outcome, so you can use them on stage.

Fourth Side: This exercise starts with a phone call to a person you know. You should call them with a specific objective in mind. During the convention, Hagen wants you to focus on your surroundings and the specific objects that your eyes rest on. The purpose is to help actors observe how they interact with all dimensions of an enclosed physical space so they can recreate privacy on stage.

Endowment: this exercise is designed to help actors apply their observed behaviours to endow props with qualities that they cannot safely have on stage. Hot irons and sharp knives are typical examples. The Endowment excercise asks actors to believably treat objects on stage as though they have the qualities the actor needs in a scene.

Uta Hagen's exercises are her greatest gift to actors working today. She developed them between Broadway jobs to solve some acting problems she had never seen anyone tackle to her satisfaction. The result is that Hagen's exercises give actors a way to observe human behaviours and catalogue it so they can recall it onstage when useful in a role.

[Image 1 alt text end]

[Image 2 alt text]

Most of a textbook page. The image cuts off about 3 quarters of the way down the page. The text reads:

Uta Hagen's 9 Questions

Who am I? This question's answer includes all relevant details from name and age to physical traits, education, and beliefs.

What time is it? Depending on the scene, the most relevant measure of time can be the era, the season, the day, or even the specific minute.

Where am I? This answer covers the country, town, neighbourhood, room, or even the specific part of the room.

What surrounds me? Characters can be surrounded by anything from weather to furnishings, landscape or people.

What are the given circumstances? Given circumstances include what has happened, what is happening and what will happen to a character.

What are my relationships? Relationships can be with the other characters in the play, inanimate objects, or even recent events.

What do I want? Wants can be what the character desires in the moment, or in the overall course of the play. [Out-of-transcript note: I recommend figuring out both for writing, the former multiple times for whenever it changes! Outside of Hagen's technique, we call it objective and superobjective.]

What is in my way? This is the actor's chance to understand the obstacles the character must react to and overcome.

What do I do to get what I want? In Hagen's teaching, "do" means physical action.

Uta Hagen's nine questions help actors develop the granular details of their character's backstory. The questions come from Hagen's first book, "Respect for Acting," though in her later book, "A Challenge for the Actor," she condensed her original nine questions into six steps.

Uta Hagen's revised six steps to building a character are:

Who am I?

What are the circumstances?

What are my relationships?

What do I want?

What is my obstacle?

What do I do to get what I want?

Later in her life, Hagen distances herself from her first book and encouraged her students to rely on her second book, which she felt was clearer about her concepts. Both books are popular with acting teachers and students today, however. Hagen's questions and steps are the foundation for all of her acting exercises. Whether you rely on the nine questions or the six steps depends on personal preference.

[Image 2 alt text end]

Personally I like the 9 questions more, but like the book says, personal preference! So yeah, if you're a writer, try some of these out for your characters. :]

[salemwasnteverhere]

How the Hashira men react to your neighbor asking you to be quiet

Characters: Tengen, Sanemi, Rengoku, Obanai, Gyomei, Giyuu,

Additional shit: Swearing, Sanemi fighting said neighbor, Rengoku being blunt, mentions of sex, ooc mot likely :p

Tengen

He couldn't care less

His whole thing is being flashy and loud so he wants you to be loud

Like it's not his fault that dick is magical

After he shoos your neighbor away he makes sure to be as loud as possible that night

He's pounding into your cunt and you swear your gonna break when he whispers "okay now scream exactly how big my dick is. Don't forget the tip color-"

He gets cut off by you hitting him with the pillow

Way to ruin the mood

But that doesn't stop him and instead he goes harder, making sure the bed creaks loud ASF for your neighbor

"Not my fault he doesn't know how to please a woman." Is his main reason for doing so

He really wants you to scream his name so it's imbedded in your neighbors head

"Morning N/N!" Him to your neighbor from the balcony while your trying to get out of bed and failing

"Actually die." Both you and your neighbor to Tengen

Sanemi

Cares alot

Why the fuck is that limp dick biscuit talking to you and him? Who does he think he is?

You were the one who broke the news to him thankfully cause if Sanemi was the one who opened the door then you'd have to see your husband through glass in a prison

Just kidding. The Slayer corp would get him out of trouble if he didn't do it himself.

Anyways

Sanemi made it his goal to piss your neighbor off as much as possible

Your under him, practically creaming on his cock, and he's slamming the wall yelling "This loud enough yet?! Huh!?"

Not kidding I can see him doing that

He quite literally had you against a window where your neighbors could see him destroying you just to make them mad or uncomfortable, hopefully both.

But then he'd get pissed someone else would see you all naked and fucked out so he settled for the wall next to the window

One day your neighbor, finally having enough, bangs on your door yelling and guess who opens it...Sanemi!!

Good Lord was he waiting for this

It took one punch and the guy was out

Kinda what happens when you put a normal dude against a guy who kills demons for a living

Rengoku

He's a good neutral between caring and not caring

Like he doesn't wanna make your neighbors mad but he also loves hearing your screams

So he tries to keep you quiet during sex but fails since he gets to into it to give a fuck

The next days his loud ass voice wakes you up

"IM SORRY FOR MAKING INCREDIBLE LOVE TO MY WIFE!" He's not being sarcastic thats his genuine apology

Your facepalming and you want to die when you see your neighbor and she can't look at you

"PERHAPS SHES MAD BECAUSE HER HUSBAND CANNOT PLEASE HER!" Rengoku says casually and you know she can hear you from outside in her garden

"Inside voices!" You place your hands over his mouth to try and shut him up.

It works for a bit before he's yelling again

You love your husband but holy shit you wish he would speak normally sometimes

He's actually quiet in bed though

So your the problem (real)

Obanai

I'm not an Obanai fan so forgive me for how bad his section will be

Obanai is a quiet mf, and you're not even that loud

It's your neighbor who was the problem

A little old man whose hearing aids apparently had the power of 67 suns

You and Obanai found this out when he was outside training and your neighbor came over

He was so sweet and polite and even chuckled at Obanai's redness

Obanai cared at first but got over it

You? You make sure to not make a PEEP in bed

Okay that pisses Obanai off but he understands your reasons

At least make a gasp or sum cause he's over here like "Wait does this feel good? Can she feel it? Did I forget where the clit is?"

Brother is STRESSING

Then you cum and he's like "ah"

Then he's like "Did you take it?"

You have to keep yourself from murdering him cause how tf would you fake squirting

Gyomei

Babe I'm not gonna lie, you're a screamer

Gyomei is built like a house and your telling me your just gonna whine and whimper?

NO

Your over here crying and screaming into his chest, neck, the pillow, anything.

And Gyomei loves it!

He can't see your reactions so hearing and feeling them let's him know he's doing good

Gyomei isn't loud but he's not quiet

He'll grunt and moan and praise you, but he's not gonna cry out.

Well he'll cry but you can never tell from what

When the pussy so good you start crying 😭🙏

When your neighbor politely asked you to be a tad bit quieter Gyomei actually laughed

Not in a 'nah we'll keep being loud' way but more of a 'sorry we'll be quiet' way. He also found it hilarious how you actually died of embarrassment.

Don't worry he thinks its endearing

Yet it was kinda hard for him since he enjoyed hearing you

But your touches and now quieter moans made that better

And then there's also you literally drawing blood from his back you were scratching so hard

Giyuu

Holy shit you have never seen him so embarrassed

Like you could shade match his Haori to him and get the exact same color

He was the one your neighbor told and he stopped working when 'loud' and 'moaning' left their lips

If a demon doesn't kill him then his own actions will

Giyuu isn't loud, and he loves that he can make you feel so good that your loud for him.

But he didn't want your neighbor back over at your house so he tried to keep you quiet

You were super confused when he held his hand over your mouth in bed and he just pointed to your neighbors house. Then you got it.

So you nod and try to keep quiet.

You know in school when the teacher tells you and a friend to shut up but they look at you funny and you break?

Yeah that was you

You were riding Giyuu one night and you were loud so he was like "holy shit I love you but please- I can't look our neighbor in the eyes anymore."

And you couldn't help but laugh

Like howling

You calmed down obviously but sex was very giggle filled after that

You've never seen Giyuu so panicked

But give him a week and he'll stop caring

[david-watts]

there used to be this programme on sbs years back where it looked at whether certain homeopathic/natural/cultural medicine had actual benefits or not and I'm sure that programme did really good things in terms of legitimising genuine alternative treatments that have helped many people but what I mostly remember it doing was making my grandmother go 'see you don't need to be on medicine' and then not even allowing me to do the alternative medicine either. which was great

[inkskinned]

i'm still trying to piece together the truth of it. when you left, you said: feel free to spin this narrative however you want. i have no idea if you were being cruel or if you just genuinely don't remember what you've done to me.

it's hard because i'd done so much of the work for you. i had seen the parts that flaked off, the rust underneath. i started separating you into two people - the one i loved, and the one who hurt me. i had this fantasy version of you - my partner - and then i had this stranger, a third person who would show up randomly to shatter me. i am deliriously glad i'm no longer with "the stranger". i miss the gentle (unreal?) "other" you terribly.

at first, i was so strict about my boundaries. i remember telling you to get the fuck out of my house if you were going to talk to me like that. by the end: i would justify your behavior for you, accepting even your mistreatment as "my fault" in the grand scheme. i look back on the person i was before you - smart, independent, confident - and i feel a strange sense of detachment. i don't even recognize me.

even in one of our last conversations, you said: if you want a partner that always talks warmly to you, find someone else. there was a time that a comment like that would have made me leave. and instead, somehow, i just placidly accepted that kind of thing. you were literally telling me that i wasn't allowed to have a reaction to your cruelty - and i just took it, because you'd so fully turned things around on me.

when people are faced with irrationality, a rational brain tries to make sense of it. this is the trap. they're lovely in the morning, gentle and blue-eyed and sweet. like nothing even happened, they breeze around the house and kiss you on the mouth. but at night; who is that? they snap almost randomly; flying into an impotent rage about just-about-anything. it just doesn't make sense. so the problem must be me, and my brain, and how i think.

the traumatized brain just wants peace. so maybe i'm misremembering. maybe you were just having a bad day. maybe it's actually me.

you eventually would fully turn on me and start implying that i am the bad actor in our relationship. that's what happens, right? that's literally in the playbook. you went to therapy for all of a month, told her a half-truth, co-opted therapyspeak. you figured out how to reframe your actions as "seeking peace." any time i stood my ground, i was "gaslighting." when i asked you to be more gentle, you said i was "tone policing." you said, randomly, i had emotionally manipulated you - i still have no idea what that's even specifically referring to. maybe my consistent requests for calmness and empathy?

and while i literally know better, and i'm sitting here, trained by you, thinking: wait, fuck. was i actually the person you made me out to be?

and the thing that scares me is that i literally do not know if you ever actually saw what you were doing to me. when you'd tell me how you remember arguments, you'd always summarize them in a way where you come off as gentle and easy: "i was trying to set an important boundary." what had actually happened was 15 minutes of you shouting at me i know you did something shady, just admit it already. eventually you'd say my reaction to your shouting (when i finally reacted, which usually happened around hour three) was inevitably "disappointing" and "another way i'm silencing your feelings."

how many times did i ask you - beg you - to just take accountability? looking back, i don't think i ever heard you say: you're right. the way i talked to you was wrong of me.

i am trying to tie together the two people into a full version of you in my head. yes, you made my coffee and made me laugh and spent hours on the phone with me. and yes - you would scream at me until i had to run away and hide behind something.

i wish i did have a narrative i could pull out and shape to my whim. i wish i did have some semblance of reality. instead i just stand here, strange and vibrating, wondering: what the fuck just happened?