#that being said we all can and should discuss and share interpretations

[ancientbygone]

this is your irregular reminder that the lore of sleep token is ultimately what you make it to be. there isn't an objective truth. everyone's story is the right one for their own purposes. love wins

[lilac-sweet]

I’ve seen a lot of posts discussing whether Solas and Mythal’s relationship was romantic in nature, or it was some kind of mother/son deal, but I think the answer is a lot simpler and staring us all in the face: Solas was Mythal’s dog.

So a lot has been said about how toxic Mythal and Solas’ relationship was, and I’m not gonna get into all that. What I will say, is that I believe the relationship’s power imbalance may have become gradually bigger after Solas took physical form at Mythal’s behest.

When Solas said: “I will always follow where you go”, we should take note of the word “follow”. Solas did not lead with the other Evanuris; he followed Mythal and had her markings on his face. Much like how Ghilan’nain followed Andruil, yet their relationship was romantic, and Ghilan’nain quickly agreed to take on a leadership role when offered. Solas did not. We don’t know whether he was never offered one or that he simply had no desire to lead (both might be true), but the disparity between Mythal and Solas’ positions were noted by those around them, and was interpreted (we hear it from Elgar’nan) as Solas being Mythal’s “lapdog”. This interpretation seemed to be the general consensus- proven by the many dog-like statues in Mythal’s temple, and Solas symbolically becoming known as a canine.

We don’t know how Solas felt being compared to a dog - perhaps the comparison seemed flattering/ less condescending in the beginning: we know that there are strong bonds between people and their animals in dragon age: Davrin and Assan, Kell and Hafter, and the general lore about Marbari dogs. “Turlum” is a powerful thing (as we see with Davrin and Assan) and may have been exactly how they felt about each other.

When we explore the lighthouse we come across a piano and a codex entry called “memories of a duet”:

the relief of private achievement, away from well-meant misunderstanding and mindless worship; an unspoken joy in the center of rising, perfect echoes.

Finally, a beloved memory surfaces. A smiling glance, meeting at a crescendo; a shared moment of understanding; seeing completely, and being wholly seen.

This entry seems to sum up their relationship quite well: “away from well-meant misunderstanding” (could refer to a romantic interpretation of their relationship), and “seeing completely, and being wholly seen.” (Turlum)

Whatever the relationship had started as, the power imbalance seems to have reached a peak around the time the Evanuris decided they wanted to lead their people as gods. We don’t know whether there actually was a power difference between the Evanuris and the rest of the elves when they were all spirits: my guess is there was one, but not a huge one: perhaps the difference between a normal person and a mage. When the Evanuris decided they were gods, they made a hard line in the sand: separating themselves from their people, and separating Mythal from Solas. This is also where the “lapdog” comment from Elgar’nan seems incredibly condescending.

The markings on his face no longer symbolize devotion, but ownership. He burns them off and instead of a dog becomes a wolf (using the allegory of Elgar’nan). An obvious metaphor here is that the markings symbolize a dog collar.

He frees the elves but becomes an unwilling symbol himself, thus separating him from his people after already having been separated from the Evanuris. The man literally becomes a lone wolf.

However, Mythal and Solas’ love for each other continues, and is obviously still strong when Solas asks Mythal to run away with him (at this point he must feel desperately lonely). What happens to Solas when Mythal dies can only be imagined: there’s a reason why Assan follows Davrin in death.

For the first time in his physical life he is truly alone and has to figure out who he is without Mythal. The only role he has ever known away from her, is the rebel leader. He doubles down on his efforts to stop the Evanuris and destroys the world of the elves in the process. His grief and regret over Mythal and the home of the elves chart his course from when he wakes up until inquisition.

With a friendly inquisitor and especially a romanced Lavellan he finds a new role, or rather, he rediscovers himself before Mythal: a spirit of wisdom. For the first time in a long time he also finds a companion: someone he can rely on. Someone who eases that lonely ache he must have felt for millennia.

There are many cool aspects of the Crestwood scene (romanced Lavellan), but the one I want to highlight is Solas’ reaction to the vallaslin: when he decides to tell her the truth of who he was/is, but chickens out the last second. He panics and the fact that he immediately jumps to the vallaslin says something about how tied it is to him psychologically. He doesn’t force Lavellan to get rid of it, but he certainly does his very best to convince her. It is the moment Solas truly sees Lavellan as his mirror image and his equal. She is another lone wolf, mindlessly worshipped and ostracized, but she still wears that damn collar.

I am convinced Solas knows rationally that the vallaslin no longer means what it once meant - Lavellan can even insist the Dalish have reclaimed it, and he still tries to convince her to get rid of it, because to HIM it symbolizes enslavement and it is a painful reminder of his own ties to Mythal (it is an even stronger parallel if the inquisitor drinks from the well and has Mythal’s markings).

This is also the difference between Mythal and Lavellan: one is the master (with every connotation) the other another wolf.

In conclusion: Mythal and Solas had the relationship of a master and their dog: a relationship that many with pets themselves can relate to, both in the aspect of devotion, companionship, and in the power imbalance. In a way the “mother” interpretation isn’t far off - it just so happens that Solas is a fur baby.

[room-surprise]

New Ryoko Kui Interview from Anime Expo 2024 (Summary/Commentary)

This interview is unintentionally hilarious. It's much shorter than the other interview, and every question was met with either a polite non-answer or a flat-out "No." Kui embodied this elf lady she drew for the entire thing:

Kui really wasn't having any of it. Every time the interviewer tried to ask a leading question about things the fandom thinks are extremely central to the manga, Kui basically answered no/I don't care/You're overthinking it/I wasn't suggesting what you're assuming I was suggesting.

My summary/commentary of the interview under the cut.

Please keep in mind these are my opinions, based on my knowledge of Japanese social conventions, and how I personally read the interview!

Q: Dungeon Meshi is about the power of eating in groups/family, do you have any food memories or recipes you can share with us that are important to you? A: No. (In other interviews Kui has stated that she doesn't like eating, other people seeing her eat, or watching others eat, and that she used to eat her meals in the toilet to avoid being around other people during meals. This is a common thing people who are shy, bullied, or socially avoidant do in Japan.)

Q: What meal in DM do you want to eat? A: None of them, I'm a picky eater.

Q: You obviously love TTRPGs. A: Uh...Not really... I've never played one, I just read about them for research purposes. (In other interviews Kui has stated she's never played a TTRPG because she doesn't have friends she can do it with. The fact that so many people in the world do have that many friends they are that close to was very shocking to her. She was amazed that people would actually role-play in front of other people. This, plus other things Kui has said in the past ("I'm not good at human relationships"), suggests that she's not very socially active.)

Q: Your fantasy ecosystem is so complex, how did you build it? A: I though about it, and then I used my imagination. (This is kind of an ice-cold burn. Like a writer saying "I wrote one word, and then another, and then I kept adding words until the book was done.")

Q: Do you love monsters as much as Laios? A: No. But I do like them a lot, and I've loved them since I was a kid.

Q: How'd you design Laios' ultimate monster? A: I used the childhood memory of wanting to design the coolest, strongest monster.

Q: A lot of fans think Laios is autistic, especially because of his fight with Toshiro. A: I wrote him to be a normal guy that anyone can relate to. I don't think he's special or unusual. Both he and Toshiro have problems and they both need to work on communicating better. (Kui saying she didn't write Laios as autistic doesn't mean you should shit on other fans who read him as autistic. All it means is that he's not canonically autistic, and you can't say "Laios being autistic is the foundation of the entire manga." Kui saying that she didn't intentionally write Laios as autistic doesn't invalidate the interpretation, it just means saying Laios is autistic is an interpretation, and not a concrete fact. Also worth noting that labeling Laios as autistic might come across as very rude for a Japanese person. Kui may not want to call Laios autistic due to social stigma.)

Q: Tell us about the Senshi fanservice. A: Calling it "fanservice" feels wrong to me. He's just an older man who doesn't care if people see his underwear, something I've experienced in real life. It might make some people uncomfortable but Senshi's just living his life, I thought that was funny. Laios is a bit uncomfortable seeing people in their underwear. (Holy shit. This answer is the equivalent of Kui firing a shotgun directly in the interviewer's face and screaming "it's not fucking fanservice." She's being VERY direct for a Japanese person, and implying that she doesn't like people calling the Senshi pantyshots fanservice, that she sees them as comedy.)

Q: But Senshi's handsome isn't he? A: All dwarves are handsome :) (This is a complete non-answer, and after that previous answer, it's very likely Kui is trying to brush the interviewer off. This is most likely Kui saying "Please stop this line of questioning/I don't want to talk about this anymore.")

Q: What inspired Marcille's dungeon lord dress? Her friends all make fun of her but I thought it looked nice. A: There's no specific reference. I made it up to look like her mom's dress and added a childish head covering. The dress is totally normal, her friends making fun of Marcille is a joke. They're just not used to seeing Marcille in that kind of clothing, so it seems weird to them. They don't actually think the dress is that strange or uncool.

Q: Did you expect the strong fan reaction to Marcille and Falin's relationship? A: I don't think about how the fans will react when I'm writing. (Another complete non-answer. She doesn't want to discuss the topic of Farcille and avoids it like a landmine. Honestly, good for her. She wants fans to feel free to think what they want and have their own interpretations.)

Q: Will you write a spin-off about Izutsumi getting revenge on the person who made her? A: Maybe, maybe not. Probably not. I think Izutsumi's pretty happy as she is and just wants to live her life.

In short, Kui's reaction to a lot of the fandom opinion questions was:

EDIT: Also, looking at the headline/page summary for the article, it's uh...insanely misleading.

"We sat down with Kui-sensei at Anime Expo 2024 to discuss the community of food, why Senshi is so sexy, seeing neurodivergence in Laios, and more." Kui literally said no in response to all of those questions, this summary of their own interview implies that there was anything discussed, and not just Kui telling them "no" to each question.

[transmutationisms]

how do i know what’s right?

i feel like i have zero critical thinking skills ;-;

a lot of the time when someone poses an idea or a theory they think they’re right, and so they use language that enforces that. but then someone refutes it, and uses language affirming what they believe and i see the point in their argument. and then it gets refuted again and again and again and im just confused.

hi great question. i would love it if there were a single easy litmus test to figure out who's 'right' and whose info i should trust! unfortunately things are rarely this easy, and it's actually completely normal to be overwhelmed by the amount of information being produced and shared, especially when it comes to topics you haven't researched/lived/etc. for most of us, this will be most topics!

i'd preface this by saying that i think your overall attitude here is actually a good one. you're framing it in a pretty self-deprecating way—but actually, imo this type of openness to discussion and disagreement is a really good place to start, esp when dealing with topics that are new to you. nobody enters a contentious debate with a fully fledged, defensible viewpoint. you might feel like you're just treading water here, making no progress toward being able to evaluate arguments for yourself, but i highly doubt that's true.

all of that said: while i again cannot give you a single litmus test for figuring out what's 'right', there are four pretty basic sets of questions that i automatically run through when encountering a new idea, source, topic, or argument: we can call these origin, purpose, value, and limitations.

origin: who's the author? do they have any institutional affiliations? who pays their salary? is this argument or paper funded in any way? is the argument dependent upon the author's social position or status (race, class, etc) and if so, are those factors being discussed clearly? does the author have ties to a particular nation-state or stakes in defending such a nation-state? what's the class character of the author and the argument? what's the social, economic, and intellectual context that gave rise to this argument or source?

purpose: why is this source or person disseminating this information or making this argument? are they trying to sell you anything? are their funders? are they trying to persuade you of a particular political viewpoint? keeping in mind the answers to the 'origin' questions, are there particular ideological positions you would expect to find in this source or argument, and are they present? what are the stakes for the author or source? what about for those who cite the source or further disseminate or publish it?

value: what does this source or argument accomplish well? what aspects of the argument are new to you and strike you as insightful? are there linkages being made that you haven't encountered elsewhere, and that you think are effectively and sufficiently defended? are there statistics or empirical data that might be useful to you in forming your own argument, even if you disagree with how this source or author is interpreting them? what does this argument or source tell you about the types of debates being had, and the rules of those debates?

limitations: where does this argument or source fail you or fall apart? are there obvious rhetorical fallacies you can identify? is the author forgetting or overlooking some piece of information that you know of from elsewhere? which viewpoints may be omitted? keeping in mind the answers to the 'purpose' questions, if this source is defending a particular ideology or political position, is that one you agree with? is it only defensible so long as the author omits or distorts certain pieces of information? are there points where the argument jumps from evidence to a conclusion that the evidence can't fully support? are there alternative explanations for the evidence?

over time you will often find that it becomes more and more automatic to ask yourself these questions. you will also find that the more you read/hear about a particular topic, the faster you can determine whether someone is presenting all of the evidence, presenting it fairly, and using it to fully defend the argument they ultimately want to make. and you will probably also find that at some point, you're able to synthesise your own argument by pulling the strong parts from multiple other people's viewpoints, combining them with your own thinking, and fitting them together in a way that adequately explains and materially analyses the issue at hand.

[lukolabrainrot]

Calm theory anon here again!! Lord knows I'm exhausted of this little girl but I wanted to touch on what all we have seen since Italy Birthday trip and Lukes recent like. 1. It was reported by someone who took a photo with Luke at the airport that he was alone. Meaning he flew back by himself. Rumor that he left two days before 2. We got radio silence from the group for a while. 3. Rory unfollowed sienna then it was reported on by the fan pages and then he followed her back. 4. Sienna unfollowed Jack Vine (this is the guy that Luke stays with when he didn't have a house) then it was reported on by the fan pages and she followed him back. The last couple days she's unfollowed him again. 5. Charmaine reposted on TikTok about NDA👀 6. Rory takes a trip with his mom. 7. Sienna likes a post of Hannah Dodd and Nicola from fashion week. 8. Sienna hasn't liked any type of photos of A since early August nor did she like that last Luke post. Now with all this information I'm sure we all can come up with some conclusions. I do think that Luke set up some type of NDA which in my opinion was necessary. We have to remember that Luke's management team is actually a very well-known and establish team this was told to me by people in the PR field. He doesn't have newbies. Now I'm sure that pissed a lot of his friends off. It made them keep quiet about things that they might not have wanted to be quiet about. We clearly see something going on. Now Luke liking A stuff. it was 10 1/2 hours after she posted on her grid with a story posted after four hours of the photos being live. Now the posting to her stories of the grid picture is a new thing. That didn't start till after Italy. What does that tell me? She knows that his notifications for her has been probably turned off. So in order for him to see her photos, she would have to post it in her story which he most likely watches those. This particular photo wasn't liked until after Nicola posted at the concert. I don't believe in coincidences. He got a notification that Nicole posted. Then he went online afterwards watching Nicola story. Now who to say it's not part of his NDA that he has with her that. But as I was thinking about all of this today, one of the interviews that Nic and Luke came to mind. When they were discussing red flags. And one of the questions was keeping up with an ex. Nic said something like I feel that how you speak of your ex says a lot about you or something like that. Remember, Luke listens to every single thing that Nikola has said. She's the one person in this world that he remembers how they met down to the chairs they had sat on. So he would remember stuff like this. So it could be an NDA thing or it could be him trying to be civil with his ex. Regardless of the like which does not tell you anything. The only thing that tells me is she is desperate for that like. She has to put it in her story so that he will see it, she wants that like so bad that she's doing something she never had to do before. Why does she want the like so bad? Because she can control the fandom. Every time Luke likes this girls picture people spiral. it's like on a photo. He's not commenting on it. He's not giving her heart eyes. He's not sharing it to his stories. He liked the picture. We don't know the reason why and we will never know. All I'm saying there is a lot going on BTS that's clearly evident by how they're all moving. We just gotta wait for Nicola to speak more. Remember, her voice should always outshine this girl's voice. Nicola has given us all hints that something more is happening. Let's trust her please

As always, love your thoughts and theories!

Here are some additional theories/thoughts I have about the SM events from today. Disclaimer: These are just my thoughts and interpretations based on all the publicly available information I have seen recently. So please do not take this as 100% fact!

N didn't post her Chappell Roan story until almost midnight her time

L THEN preceded to like A's post approximately 30 minutes after N's CR story- which at that point was technically the day AFTER A made her post

So my little delulu theory is that N went home to L after the concert with her besties, they cuddled up and caught up, N posted her story, this made L log on to IG and prompted him to do his obligatory like of miss A's post after seeing A's story

Some additional notes/thoughts:

Even if N DIDN'T go home to L, all of the available information Calm Theory Anon and I have laid out here tells me this. L DOES NOT HAVE NOTIFICATIONS ON FOR A AND IS NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO WHAT SHE IS POSTING. L IS DOING THIS WITH N THOUGH.

He also liked A's post within a really short time of N's CR story. Now, the only thing this definitively says is that L/N were on their IG accounts around the same period of time. But this was around 12:30 AM their time. It was pretty late at night, and like it's just an interestingggg coincidence if L/N were separate and just both getting on SM around the same time at that time at night. We also know N tends to go on SM when she is getting ready for bed (N has said this). And she posted the CR story around the time she most likely was getting home from the concert. I think there are just a lot of signs/clues pointing that L/N were together around midnight their time. And L was NOT at the CR concert, so that means she would have met up with L AFTER the concert. And if she was meeting L after the concert at that time at night, they were probably with each other the rest of the night. So this is what leads me to believe that N went home to L OR L got the notification for N's story and got on SM and saw A's story. The timing of it all is just very interestingggg to me 🤔

Lastly, A had to essentially BEG L for this like. Why does L still have to like her posts? I have no definitive answer. My thoughts are it's some sort of contractual agreement. Regardless, these likes have no direct indication of L/A's relationship BTS. If I look at the full picture of EVERYTHING, all the signs indicate that L/N are spending more time together (or just since August decided to start publicly hinting to the fandom that they are spending a lot of time together). And all the signs point to L/A not being on good terms, and that there was some sort of rupture in L's friend group around the Italy bday trip.

These are just my thoughts though. What does everyone else think?

[lurkingshan]

I've been in multiple tumblr fandoms over the years and the same shit comes up over and over again wrt arguments about how we all engage with our chosen media on here, so here are a few things to keep in mind that have helped me along the way:

Not everyone is going to engage in the same way as you, and that's good, actually. Some people are purely here to gush over the things they like. Some people are here to do deep analytical breakdowns which will include criticism. Some people are cheerleaders. Some people are haters. A lot of people are a mix of both depending on what they're talking about on any given day. It's all good and valid, and it's what gives this space variety, allows us to learn from each other, and keeps it interesting.

The filter, unfollow, and block functions are your friend. If you love a mutual but hate the volume or the way they talk about a certain thing, just add it to your filtered tags (relatedly: tag your shit so people can filter you when needed!). If you consistently don't vibe with the way a person chooses to engage on here, just unfollow them. If you find them actively offensive or detrimental to your mental health, hit that block button, baby. We are all anonymous internet strangers and no one will die.

Someone expressing a different opinion from yours is not a personal attack on you. If someone hates a thing you like, they are not calling you stupid for liking it. If they love a thing you hate, there's nothing wrong with them, they are just taking something different from it than you are. That shit is all about you and your own insecurities, don't try to put it on them.

Vague posting is rude. If you want to directly respond to something someone said to get better clarity about what they meant, reply to their post or shoot them an ask or DM and talk to them about it. If you simply want to express a counterpoint without directly engaging them, just post your own take without vaguely alluding to them and building what is almost certainly a strawman of their original point. People you're vaguing can see you on here, folks. Don't be a dick.

Credit and reblog other people's ideas when you are building on them, and be kind to the creators who provide the artwork that make this place so special and unique. Reblogging is the lifeblood of this website. It's the only way people get to see content that is by anyone they don't follow, and the gifmakers on here in particular put in so much time and effort to give us beautiful images--share their work and tell them you appreciate it! You also don't have to agree with every single word of a meta post to reblog it (why would you expect to, it comes from a different brain than yours), and you absolutely should be crediting people and sharing their words when they sparked something that inspired your own thoughts. This is just being a good community member.

Embrace the difference between meta and fanwanking. Meta writing is analysis of the actual media content as it is presented, with arguments based in the canon text. Fanwanking is doing your own work to fill in gaps or create headcanons to supplement the canon text. Some people prefer content that leaves a lot of gaps because they love to creatively fanwank; some people prefer to be told complete stories without having to do all that extra work to make them make sense. These are both very cool and fun ways to engage, but when you're fanwanking be aware that those ideas are all coming from you, not the actual media being discussed, so others might not vibe with your interpretation.

When posting your own opinions, try to be clear about where you're coming from and why. If you have a personal experience or bias that is affecting your read, own it. If you're looking at a piece of media from a specific angle related to your own interests and learning, say that. It helps other people to know where you're coming from and why you're thinking about something in a certain way that can then help them puzzle out why they feel differently.

You don't owe anyone your presence here, and you don't have to express opinions on everything or respond to tags or asks if you don't have anything to say. Sometimes you might just want to take a break from posting, some things in the discourse might just flow right on by you, sometimes you will not have a firm opinion on a debate. You can post as much or as little as you want. You can suddenly decide you don't want to talk about a show anymore. You can not log into your tumblr for days or weeks at a time. Do you, boo!

Most people come to tumblr because they do want to engage with others, and this place can be a lot of fun if you just take what you need from it and let things that aren't serving you go.

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

Do you think any txt members might possibly be in the lgbtq+, and if so, who?

I feel sensitive topics should be covered in the zeitgeist. The fact that this is a sensitive topic boggles my brain. I will not trap myself in this illusion that it is okay for people to hide their sexuality. Now, there are certain cards I connect with and interpret as male and female, so this will show me who they are interested in, also there are cards for bisexuality for me, now there are plenty of cards that will show me that they don’t want to share and I will respect that, so there is no certainty I will get an answer. 

If you don’t agree, that is fine. You don’t have to agree with my interpretations. You are more than welcome to create your own space to speak on your interpretations, instead of belittling mine, but hey, it comes with the territory, so go ahead anyway. Just offering an alternative suggestion. I will discuss what I like here. If it is okay to assume people are straight, then we can assume people are lgbtia+. I see nothing wrong with any type of sexuality. And as a Tarot reader, I don’t like to play it safe. Negative feedback comes with the territory. I can handle it. No one is going to stop me from posting what I want.  Remember this is my interpretation, no facts!!!!!

Another thing is this is what I pick up on energetically. It does not mean it manifests into the physical, for example, energetically my cards show I like both men and women, but lean towards women, which I do, but I date men in reality, so this doesn’t say for certain who they date, but some members do show a strong preference when I pull cards. Ugh, sorry for the long intro, but felt this all needed to be said. I will now proceed.

Yeonjun (Ace of Wands/7 of Wands/Page of Wands) I say he leans towards women. But this ace of wands is my D card in these types of readings, like he may be down for whatever, but it seems like an obstacle to do so, or he resists any male who tries to come at him. Not going to lie, I felt he leaned towards Bisexuality, but he may just prefer women.

Soobin (8 of Cups/The Lovers/Knight of Swords) Soobin kind of gave me asexual vibes to be real,  which that is part of the community, as I am one as well, I can see that with the 8 of Cups, but the Lovers can give me, him liking women. I asked for a clarifier and the 10 of Swords came out, these cards are messy. I will say relationships are pretty difficult for him. The Lovers is about contracts, so it seems he will be obligated to date, more so than him wanting a relationship out of love. But the Knight of Swords shows determination to be with someone, but he is all intellectual, no emotions, he is a mess. I need to do his love reading for some better understanding of what this is. But not sure he will make it any clearer, since his love energy is never stable and clear for me. Also, the Knight indicates male energy, so I am not sure he knows or he doesn’t want to share, which is fine. The knight card seems to be his energy for me, rather than that being male energy for this reading, as Knights would indicate a deviation towards men, but for me that is Soobin’s energy I am feeling, so sticking with what I said above. 

Beomgyu (The Emperor/Ace of Wands/7 of Wands) Men, the Emperor is the strongest indicator for me, the most masculine/male dominating card of the deck. I always get this energy from him, and he didn’t seem shy about answering this. These cards came out as quickly as I asked, and didn't even finish the question. And y'all know about the ace of wands, that shows sexual attraction, but the 7 of wands shows it is hard to go about it of course and there are challenges he has to face, because of course, it isn’t accepted.

Taehyun (9 of Swords/5 of Pentacles/King of Pentacles) My bias is showing here, because I felt he liked women, but the KOP’s is giving me male energy, also not liking this energy. It seems this person causes him a lot of problems and can abuse his power over him. I am not sure this is a romantic interest though, this is telling me a story. But I asked the question, so I'm sticking with men, even though not sure if I trust what I have here, but the KOP’s is one of the cards that signifies a male, so there it is. I am human, I can be biased, but the cards say he likes men.At the end of the day, nothing here is fact. Ya’ll come to your own ideas from this.

Hueningkai (Knight of Pentacles/King of Swords/Queen of Swords) I am seeing he likes both. Nothing much more here. His was simple to me.

Edit: I do see him leaning towards men more though, since he got two cards that signal men and one for women.

[hayesflint]

i love caught-in-the-rain-wet-cat man and his goober husband

sharing my thoughts under the cut for those of you who felt let down (spoilers for the last dance, obviously) (long)

a friend of mine, despite loving the movie, felt disappointed by how the movie handled venom and eddies relationship and lack of explicit queerness. and yet, upon discussing it with me, there is so much there. if you feel disappointment, please consider:

-the way they behaved with each other: constant contact intimacy, licking his face, fixing up his clothes, venom constantly fussing over Eddie, always talking and chatting in his head.

-wishing they had a slow, family life explicitly. "you'd make a good dad."

-eddie looking wistfully at a bride and groom

-venom admitting that to save eddies life in the first movie, he merged their souls. if that's not soulmates, idk what is. a soul bond so powerful that one of the most powerful beings in the universe desires it (in this version, we will just work with the movie lore for the purposes of this post, yeah?)

-the whole movie, their relationship was never in question. it was always framed as "you and me vs the world". the promise of the movie was 'eddie and venom want to get out of this situation to go and see a landmark together.' can you think of another movie of the same genre that has such a small, domestic character promise?

-speaking of genre, the fact we got an action movie so character relationship based around two characters is already groundbreaking. like, they weren't fighting to save the world, that was secondary. their primary goal was each other. they pushed the absolute boundaries of the genre all to favour telling a story about how much venom and Eddie mean to each other, not how heroic they would be if they saved the world.

like, the helicopter scene? so many unnecessary shots of just them making eye contact and crying because they start realizing that maybe it might not work out. they aren't grieving losing the battle or the fate of the world, venom knows he can fix that. that scene is them grieving the time they would lose with each other to do that.

-about the 'he is my best friend' line to leaf. in context, he was just about to reveal an alien to the boy who explicitly said he didn't want to meet one. i interpreted him saying 'he is my best friend' as a way to help the kid prepare and cope, keeping with the whole 'he is good with kids' thread that venom praised him for earlier. 'best friend' translates to 'not murderous like those other ones down there ok?' in context. if they were to make them explicit in the movies, that would not be a good scene to go it.

all of this was done in a action superhero movie. this was a relationship movie that wasn't between a hero and the girl he wants. a superhero movie without a prize love interest or even a love triangle for tension and conflict.

the last dance did so much, and even though we didn't get the last step of explicit queerness, we got everything else they needed to pull that off and they broke alot of genre tropes to do it

and i think we would all feel a bit better if we recognize that. (and my friend thought i should post this hahaha)

[elainsgirl]

this has been said all around but I seriously do think the acotar fandom would've been different if sjm engaged with us. I know plenty of authors who engage with their fandom even if some are still toxic like boys of tommen. But I still believe more people would've stuck around and didn't have to deal with ongoing problems due to an author that neglects her fandom.

People are calling Elriels weird and delusional for thinking of a rejecting mating bond which the author literally talked about! how is that delusional for thinking the next book could be that? Elriels aren't stupid. Elain is literally uncomfortable around lucien. "Did elain tell you that?" that really pisses me off. she's clearly uncomfortable around lucien, anyone can see that from a mile away. And the thing with gwyn, I believe its due to the hatred everyone has with elain so they create this image of gwyn to replace elain. its so odd.

The only way the fandom would have been less toxic, is if Mass gave us insight on how SHE wanted the books to be read and the narrative she was trying to spin instead of everyone going wild and having random interpretations that don’t make sense and are clearly not what Mass was going for. That and if she had been giving some teasers from the next book here and there as well as telling us what we should expect from Acotar 5. If think this would hVe definitely calmed the shipwars down and actually create excitement for the next book. If you look at how chloe handled the fandom after T7, she left completely and now has a social media manager running her account whose been engaging w the fandom by posting snippets from previous books. Ofc BOT had its own shipwars and arguements as well as characterwars but how was that taken care off? The spotify playlists which confirmed couples, plots and whose getting which and how many books. Was there backlash? Sure, but chloe was far from it and eventually it died down and people began getting excited for the upcoming books and what was about to play out. Now when you look at her recent announcement, as far as I’ve seen there hasn’t been any negativity. Even those that don’t like the next couple haven’t created a fuss because they knew it was going to happen so could brace themselves. So if only Sjm had used the same technique but then you can’t really compare the two authors and their fandom considering one is significantly less popular then the other. The Mass fandom is so huge and despite the fact it seems like everyone is online - the truth is there are millions of readers across the world who aren’t online. They dont care about the ship wars or characters wars. They just want the next book. So I think it doesn’t register to BB or sarah that there’s so many polarising discussions taking place bcs its only a small part of this massive fandom taking part and creating these arguements. They’re going looking at the fandom as a whole - and many just dont care. So their silence & neglect make sense especially considering that I dont think Mass had any acotar content to share as she hadn’t written the book, Since acosf, CC was her focus. Not acotar.

Elriels being called delusional? What else is new. For an author that is suppose to be strictly “fated” mates - there wS no need for her to talk about bond rejection and what if two mates aren’t right for each other. “What if the forces be, put you with the wrong person?” 🤝 “what if the cauldron was wrong? What if that (Azriel) is what she needs?” Antis are quite confident when Sjm wrote “why not make them (elriel) mates?” Like, you cannot get more obvious then that. Elain has told us she doesn’t want her mate. Are antis respecting that? No. See, most people are able to clock on that when a woman is losing her boldness around a man she is uncomfortable and not interested. As for Gwyn - she’s a self insert for elain antis and someone better they can replace Elain with. Its a mess.

[skydigiblogs]

digimon adventure beyond and canonicity

oh hey speaking of reactions to digimon con

i continue to be so confused by everyone else's reads of kizuna

like yes, digimon adventure's canon is tracing paper, binder clips, and yarn at this point. but also, am i the only one that interpreted the ending of kizuna not to mean that agumon and gabumon were gone, but that they couldn't live off of what tai and yamato were giving them?

the implication especially through 02 is that partner bonds don't just give digimon strength, they help them maintain forms in the human world. so it stands to reason that if a bond is weakening, a digimon will grow weaker too. stylistically i think kizuna also did a really good job of this, by showing gabumon and agumon looking much older.

(if you watch the last scene, i think you'll see what i mean. gabumon especially just looks so fucking tired.)

but i've noticed a lot of people seem to think that the message of kizuna was a bleak "you must give up your childhood and there's nothing you can do about it."

the way i've read it, especially the longer i keep coming back to it (because it's really such a fascinating movie to me in tandem with 02tb), is less that, and more "change is inevitable, and sometimes change separates people; but the desire to include them in your lives, rather than treat them as an accessory to your being, is what brings them back."

to me this reading is supported in part by eosmon's smile to menoa near the end, as well as the fact that kizuna didn't read to me as a movie that wanted to swat the epilogue down in spite. it wasn't written spitefully, and nor was 02tb. they're both aimed at a more mature audience who loves the franchise, and they both wanted to have a genuinely fascinating conversation about not only the strange concept of partner bonds, but the way we can learn from them in a world where there's nothing really 1:1.

i think all the anime already have this kind of mature discussion somewhere inside them, btw, so this isn't me saying that it's not something we've ever seen in digimon. it's just me noticing a very... bizarre (at least to me) reading in a canon that does a lot to be very optimistic.

(barring tri which. i will try not to get started here, i never know how to be concise about the weird antithesis that is tri.)

i know there's also something to be said for translation and media literacy in this conversation, but this is also coming from the translation theory and media literacy freak. the guy that didn't want watching digimon adventure subbed to be the end all be all so they also read the manga and onkei's novel translation. the guy that also read fan translations of both of the kizuna novels.

this is, unfortunately for you all, kind of my fucking wheelhouse lol.

there's also something to be said that, yes, digimon adventure is a rather bloated canon. a lot of people have written with its concepts and characters, and that means that a lot of canon non compliance between its parts is inevitable.

on one hand, while i want to say "who gives a fuck?" about canonicity, i also want to say, like... even if the details don't match, all of these stories still take place in a shared imaginary space. they want to tell stories playing off of each others' themes, and getting at something together that maybe alone doesn't quite reach that core thematic idea.

"but sky," you say, "bandai just wants money, which is why they keep doing adventure media."

two things can be true. kizuna and 02tb have worthwhile messages and i don't think we should shunt them from the canon.

hell, i even think tri to some extent had a lot of good ideas which i'd love to see actually interrogated. (you could argue that kizuna and 02tb do, in fact, share some thematic blood with tri. and i mean. i will. i have.)

idk. this got longer than i wanted it to but when does it not with me? i'm just thinking about digimon my normal amount.

[hjgouldmusic]

if u are the CEO of Cherrybomb, then what can @p005tick5 @luhman16 and @pastelslugcat be?

Since Im pretty sure that we are all active Artihunter artists, I think we should get a position at Artihunter. Corp

what do u think? 👀

(ok before i go into this im sending a message to everyone else reading PLEASE GO CHECK OUT THESE PEOPLE'S PROFILES!! ALL OF THEIR ART IS AWESOME AND IM HONOURED TO EVEN BE DISCUSSED IN THE SAME BREATH AS THEM!!)

definitely!! in all honesty i do feel selfish at times trying to claim the title of cherrybomb ceo, but at the same time i will fight tooth and nail to hold onto that title even if i have to post hundreds of cherrybomb arts (i say post specifically because ive already drawn them hundreds of times in doodles and stuff that ive only shared with irls, maybe i can post them all in the future idk theyre a bit old now)

that being said, the next position down from ceo is coo/president, so i will gladly give you all the positions of presidents of cherrybomb should you choose to accept them :3 each of you have awesome art styles and really cool interpretations of the lovely couple! (and silly titles aside, im just happy we can all stand together and agree that cherrybomb fuckin rocks <3)

[fairytalegobang]

OFFICIAL Opening DAY

I wanted to clear up some questions and timeline for those not sure if they want to join yet! First, this is a Bang, so Authors will be going first! -That being said we are allowing Artists to submit if they like some inspiration pics to authors who finish early! Second, this theme is fairly open to interpretation; you are not expected or required to do Grimm's Fairy Tales. They may be the most popularly known ones, but that does not make them the only ones. Modern setting is not banned, it just has to feature elements of a Fairy Tale. For the purposes of this Bang, A fairy tale is a story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. Myths, Folklores, and Legends are allowed to be adapted, but anything relating to a current religion people follow or important folkloric figures SHOULD be treated with respect when adapting! So stories relating to the Greek, Roman, and Norse pantheons, for instance, are allowed, as well as folklore figures like Robin Hood or Mulan as examples. Original but on-theme stories are also allowed, as long as they feel and have relevant Fairy Tale aspects.

Third, the timeline! January 13th - Voting/Interest Check Opens February 13th - Sign-Ups Officially Open March 13th - Sign-ups Close for Authors May 30th - Summary Submissions Open (50% work due) June 13th - Summary Submissions Close and Sign-Ups Close for Artists June 15th - Claims Start July 31st - Group Check-in August 13th - Final Check-in (Call for pinch hitters) September 13th - Posting Starts

Posting Will be done to AO3 under a collection set up for the Bang and site of the Artists's choosing to host their work. The artists are expected to be in contact with their Authors to provide a link to their work to link in the fic itself. NEITHER work should be posted publically until September 13th!

Server Rules: •Be Courteous and Respectful to Everyone in the server. •Keep NSFW in the labeled areas. •Keep discussions to their relevant areas. •Do not share anything posted here without permission (This can be disregarded if they themselves utilize a link to another page). •You must be at least 16 years of age to be in this server. BANG Rules: •Do not share art or fic outside of the server-assigned areas besides with your beta privately. •Posting will begin on the 13th of September and be expected to be done (at least a first chapter uploaded the week of) with the rest of the fic to be completed and uploaded on a schedule your artist is comfortable with if their art is to feature at a particular point. •All of your fic should be uploaded no later than October 13th if you want to roll out chapters over a period of time. •Claims will be limited to one fic to artist ratio until a full 24 hours have passed to give everyone available a chance to choose before a second claim can commence. •If you are both an artist and an author, you will be able to participate in the second run of claims (6 hours after), Depending on which time zone is most convenient for the majority of users. •No users under the age of 18 can choose from any fic/art rated Mature+ •Fics are to be at least 3k in length.

Link to join is clickable in the Image

[darcytaylor]

Honestly, at this point I think a lot of people need to be stepping away from this fandom and thinking about themselves more for awhile. I’ve been absolutely horrified by the discourse around Jake’s sexuality that has started to break out on here and other platforms and it is NOT a respectful or appropriate discussion to be having to begin with, let alone the tone and word choices people are using. 

This whole situation is a bit… messy at this point. To your point, you can’t read into anything we see online all that much because we don’t really know the full story or what’s going on inside their minds. That said, sometimes actions speak louder than words and there comes a point where the appearance of things should at least be respected.

People longing to get direct declarations or statements from folks like we might have been used to in the past, I feel, are going to be left wanting I fear, because more and more celebs are choosing to let their actions and choices speak for themselves, especially in their private lives. Margot Robbie didn’t even announce her pregnancy, she just lived her life and let photos be taken, and that’s turning into a fairly typical move since social media/news cycle is so open to everyone to see.

All that said, a lot of really nasty comments and opinions and behaviors really do seem to be coming out lately, and it’s really just a disappointment.

A thing that always makes me roll my eyes is when people argue that since it’s okay to label someone as straight, it should be fine to speculate and label someone as gay or queer. It’s important to remember the historical context behind these labels. For much of history, being gay or queer carried stigma, discrimination, and harm. It’s not about the labels themselves but the weight they carry and the harm that speculation can cause.

Ideally, we’d reach a point where we no longer feel the need to label anyone’s sexuality. Sexuality is fluid; it’s not binary. But we’re not there yet. LGBTQ+ individuals still face challenges, and respecting someone’s autonomy over their identity - and what they choose to share - is key. How we talk about sexuality matters because words and speculation can have real consequences.

But achieving all of this requires continuous change, empathy, and respect for others privacy and identity. Ignoring that need for caution disregards the health and safety of people.

This situation feels messy, and honestly, the fandom is making it messier. It’s hard for people to grasp that we don’t truly know these individuals or what’s happening behind the scenes. When Nicola talked about false rumours about herself, she said, “But they don’t even know me. That's the key.” She was right. Even if she corrected the narrative, people would still cherry-pick moments from her life and pretend to know everything. The internet gives us a lot of information, but it’s just a snapshot. Nothing replaces the nuance of someone’s private thoughts and feelings.

While actions do speak loudly, we need to balance that with respect for what’s shown publicly and avoid making assumptions about someone’s personal life. We might interpret actions one way, but that doesn’t mean they reflect the full story. The rumours being turned into “truths” haven’t come from Nicola herself, and even if she did speak out, people would still believe what they want. Speaking out could even lead to more harm, including hate directed at people she cares about. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it for her to inform fans or the general audience - at least not now, when it could do more damage than good.

We’re living in a completely different world than we were 20 years ago. Social media has given us access to celebrities lives, making it difficult for them to maintain any sense of privacy. In the past, we relied on traditional media outlets for glimpses of celebrities. Now, social media shows so much and often without control.

On top of that, almost everyone carries a camera in their pocket, making it far too easy to invade peoples privacy and turn their private moments into public spectacles without their consent. It’s no wonder many celebrities now choose to keep their personal lives more private and let their actions speak for themselves. By focusing on their actions, they avoid having their words twisted, and if their actions are kind and considerate, they don’t worsen situations, even if they don’t fully reveal what’s going on.

Unfortunately, the anonymity of the internet often brings out the worst in some, leading to nastiness and judgment. And even when we feel strongly about a topic, we should all strive to be more empathetic and mindful in how we engage. ❤️

[phregnancy]

I think what your other anons are forgetting is that phil was not the one who said he was walking on eggshells that was dan’s interpretation of phil explaining how he buffers stressors for dan until the right time and like that also makes sense? If a person is already stressed about something you don’t go up to that person at that moment like “also this thing is wrong and this thing and this other thing” if dan’s feelings were so delicate around stress that phil has no day to day support, the builders wouldn’t know dan by name. everyone is on board saying they understand when dan talks about his horrible life experiences and how he’s working on it through therapy until he actually exhibits some of those trauma traits. Is exhausting to read about how dan might be abusive and toxic to phil every few months like phil is not a grown man that purposely chose to stay and work on issues with his partner for 15 years and has triggers dan has to work around as well.

there’s nuance to this discussion and my thoughts are scattered so i’m sorry if this is hard to follow. what i am struggling to empathize with is people’s projections onto dan and phil and their thoughts and intentions with this specific instance. the behaviors described in the plainest way are objectively unhealthy: one person is perpetually at mental and emotional capacity so they cannot handle surprise stressors, and another person who does not communicate freely and openly because they don’t want to trigger a breakdown. dan said eggshells first, yes, but then phil made it a point to say he’s in a chicken coop with all the eggshells he is walking on. is this a trauma response? possibly, we do not know that definitively but it probably is. something being a trauma response doesn’t mean it’s any less unhealthy or any less harmful than if it were intentionally malicious. i personally haven’t seen anyone call dan abusive - not saying it hasn’t happened, i just have not seen it. in my experience, when people discuss some of dan’s poor and unhealthy habits that affect phil, it’s people defending dan that interpret it as abuse claims. like when people talked about dan punching and smacking phil in sonic 4 and how that’s not cute or funny, and then people were in my inbox saying that dan doesn’t abuse phil and not to say that when i didn’t say that and didn’t even allude to it. something being unhealthy does not inherently mean it’s abuse, personal feelings and attitudes of those involved determine whether it was abuse. someone choosing to stay with a person for over a decade also doesn’t mean that they’re not being treated poorly or don’t have problems in the relationship, not claiming that dan and phil are having all of these problems but you are speaking as if that’s a blanket truth and i feel the need to emphasize that it’s not. maybe phil has an abundance of triggers that dan also dances around, maybe not. regardless, i think we should focus on the basics of what they shared and not make it sound sweeter than it is or worse than it is. they have communication problems, they both can work on it, phil wasn’t going to waste $100, dan was a karen, the end

[mistchievous]

Hey all!

If you're seeing this post, it's likely you saw another post of mine yesterday regarding @pururing and their art.

It's led to a lot of discussion around art and perception and culture. This artist is Korean and is portraying a Korean character. They're pulling from their experiences as best they can in doing so. You can read here about how their history and culture affects their art and the choices they make.

The character in question is played by real people, however, with Chinese parents, and many people took issue with her skin being portrayed in the art as even lighter than Maddie's and approached them to discuss it. Some of that can be seen publicly on their blog. Some of it took place in private DMs.

When discussing it, things were said and misinterpreted as this artist saying that not only is Jee lighter than her parents, but she's going to get lighter as she gets older. You can see an entire discussion about that here by reading this thread.

I want to publicly apologize to that artist for this. We should have given them more grace and asked for clarification instead of taking it in the worst way possible and then sharing that interpretation. I was wrong.

I don't think any common ground is going to be reached between either side regarding perception and how Jee should be colored, however. And I discuss that a bit more here.

I advise everyone who saw yesterday's post or is seeing today's to make their own minds up with all of the information available to you.

And for the love of everything, no matter what decision you make, do NOT attack this artist! Leave them alone!

If you choose to disengage, do so quietly with the block button or with filters, and if you choose not to, that's entirely up to you.

[kembenvs3000w25]

Unit 10 - Final Blog Post

Prompt: Describe your ethics as you develop as a nature interpreter. What beliefs do you bring? What responsibilities do you have? What approaches are most suitable for you as an individual?  

Introduction

As this is mine and our class's final blog post week, I would like to start by saying I've learned so much through not only the course but all of my peers! Reading the weekly blogs was so fun and presented a different way of learning new things, especially with the freedom of the prompts it was always so fascinating to see what directions people took it in. That being said let’s get into this week's prompt!

My Ethics

When starting this course, I was not sure what kind of interpreter I wanted to be or what that truly meant. However, now I can confidently say I'm starting to find my way in this new skill of environmental interpretation, learning as I go, of course! I find ethics such a complex and interesting topic as comes from a philosophy minor it is something often discussed. What I believe is important and what I bring to interpretation is trying to open our eyes past what we are currently seeing in the media and focus on our planet! The current political state of North America is very messy, and with a potential upcoming spring federal election for Canada approaching it is now time to speak up about our climate goals. The Green Party in Canada only holds two seats, one in BC and one here in Ontario. Smaller parties are often overshadowed and with everything currently happening… who is surprised? That is why I think we as interpreters need to ensure to represent the overshadowed topics and unrepresented parties who stand with the environment because it often feels like these topics are left in the rearview mirror.

*Feel free to read up about what the Green Party supports!

                Plans – Green Party Of Canada

In Chapter 5 of the textbook, there is a section called “promoting perception”. In this section, they discuss how in the end interpreters are helping people perceive the world that surrounds them more realistically and truthfully (Beck, Cable and Knudson, 2018). This relates to my ethics well because I believe so strongly we are often taking nature for granted due to the lack of discussion surrounding important environmental topics.

TED Talk

Bjorn Lomborg: Global priorities bigger than climate change | TED Talk

                This TED Talk is titled “Global Priorities Bigger than Climate Change”, the video is about 17 minutes but it is just a good way to show, and help understand how complicated decision-making is and just shows how complex ethics is because we all may have different ‘priorities’. The overall point of the talk is to show how much goes into decision-making and outweighs the pros and cons. People do not know this, and it allows for a false understanding of how the world truly runs. If you have time, I suggest watching it because it presents a transparent and honest message of some of the hard realities.

                *Also an interesting note on the video is it was made in 2005, but even 20 years later now in 2025 the same ideas still apply and we still see this in our everyday world.

My approaches

Chousing just a certain number of approaches can be so difficult because as we have seen all semester throughout the course the multiple different ways we can interpret nature! However, I find education a great way to share my interpretations of nature with others. Education feels most effective to me as it can be modified to best suit different age levels, understanding levels and so much more. Another important factor of education that must not be forgotten is the accessibility of this education; therefore education should not be limited to school settings, bringing it into public settings such as library programs, summer camps, television segments, and books/ cartoons… the possibilities are endless. My approaches need to be something that can be shared, I want to ensure messages stick and people keep talking about what I must say/show/interpret/promote… which leads us into responsibilities.

My responsibilities

As an interpreter what makes me feel good or makes me feel like I did my part is when I feel I have truly spread a message. I feel as a nature interpreter it is one point to ensure they understand the message you are sharing but it is another thing to see they are promoting/sharing your message! I want to see that the topic stuck around in their minds, I want to see them share with friends and family. Most importantly I want to open as many eyes as I can to a bigger picture. I feel it is the responsibility of nature interpreters to help people take a step back and allow the world to care about nature as we do! We also have a responsibility to guide upcoming generations, to ensure that nature interpretation never ends. Assuring we remember to accommodate towards the different abilities and comforts of the groups we are guiding, it is important to remember you are responsible for how the message comes across, I know I need to make sure things sound as they should!

Conclusion

Overall, there is still a lot for me to learn as an interpreter, but I believe we all bring something different to the table and that is important and necessary. Sharing our ethics and skills we bring can bring like-minded people together and help further connections and friendships. I hope we all continue our interpretation skills in the future! I hope to see real change for our planet!

References:

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D.M. (2018) Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For a Better World. SAGAMORE Publishing, Sagamore Venture.

Lomborg, B. (2005). Global priorities are bigger than climate change. Bjorn Lomborg: Global priorities bigger than climate change | TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/bjorn_lomborg_global_priorities_bigger_than_climate_change?referrer=playlist-the_big_picture&autoplay=true  

Our plan. Green Party Of Canada. (n.d.). https://www.greenparty.ca/en/our-plan

Party standings in the House of Commons - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada. (n.d.). https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en/party-standings?view=chart