spiralguide

[spiralguide]

they say you can't pour from an empty cup but i've been doing it my whole life and aside from all of these mysterious ailments it's working out great for me

[spiralguide]

i just have to know what happened to the ui/ux designers at firaxis between civ6 and civ7

[spiralguide]

When I (M29) was a young boy (M7) my father (M35) took me into the city (X167) to see a marching band (M23, M21, M22, F22, M24, M25, F21, M

[spiralguide]

"I do want to address what's happening right now outside of the building. There are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities in the name of law and order. Trump is using military forces to stop a protest. And I want y'all to consider what kind of government it appears to be when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us. What type of government is that? People are being swept up and torn from their families, and I feel it's my responsibility as an artist to use this moment to speak up for all oppressed people, for black people, for Latino people, for trans people, for the people in Gaza. We all deserve to live in hope and not in fear. And I hope we stand together, my brothers and my sisters, against hate and we protest against it. Thank you, BET"

- Doechii takes center stage as winner of Best Female Hip Hop Artist at the BET Awards 2025

[spiralguide]

The trouble with chasing after recs for fucked up media is that a lot of allegedly fucked up media is enamoured with the idea of being fucked up, but it's not actually fucked up about anything. The form is there, but not the substance. However, there's no way to communicate this to anyone who doesn't already Get It without sounding like a maniac.

[spiralguide]

some of u should have an OnlyClowns account

[spiralguide]

I feel like we need a refresher on Watsonian vs Doylist perspectives in media analysis. When you have a question about a piece of media - about a potential plot hole or error, about a dubious costuming decision, about a character suddenly acting out of character -

A Watsonian answer is one that positions itself within the fictional world.

A Doylist answer is one that positions itself within the real world.

Meaning: if Watson says something that isn't true, one explanation is that Watson made a mistake. Another explanation is that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made a mistake.

Watsonian explanations are implicitly charitable. You are implicitly buying into the notion that there is a good in-world reason for what you're seeing on screen or on the page. ("The bunny girls in Final Fantasy wear lingerie all the time because they're from a desert culture!")

Doylist explanations are pragmatic. You are acknowledging that the fiction is shaped by real-world forces, like the creators' personal taste, their biases, the pressures they might be under from managers or editors, or the limits of their expertise. ("The bunny girls in Final Fantasy wear lingerie because somebody thought they'd sell more units that way.")

Watsonian explanations tend to be imaginative but naive. Seeking a Watsonian explanation for a problem within a narrative is inherently pleasure-seeking: you don't want your suspension of disbelief to be broken, and you're willing to put in the leg work to prevent it. Looking for a Watsonian answer can make for a fun game! But it can quickly stray into making excuses for lazy or biased storytelling, or cynical and greedy executives.

Doylist explanations are very often accurate, but they're not much fun. They should supersede efforts to provide a Watsonian explanation where actual harm is being done: "This character is being depicted in a racist way because the creators have a racist bias.'" Or: "The lore changed because management fired all of the writers from last season because they didn't want to pay then residuals."

Doylism also runs the risk of becoming trite, when applied to lower stakes discrepancies. Yes, it's possible that this character acted strangely in this episode because this episode had a different writer, but that isn't interesting, and it terminates conversation.

I think a lot of conversations about media would go a lot more smoothly, and everyone would have a lot more fun, if people were just clearer about whether they are looking to engage in Watsonian or Doylist analysis. How many arguments could be prevented by just saying, "No, Doylist you're probably right, but it's more fun to imagine there's a Watsonian reason for this, so that's what I'm doing." Or, "From a Watsonian POV that explanation makes sense, but I'm going with the Doylist view here because the creator's intentions leave a bad taste in my mouth that I can't ignore."

Idk, just keep those terms in your pocket? And if you start to get mad at somebody for their analysis, take a second to see if what they're saying makes more sense from the other side of the Watsonian/Doylist divide.

[spiralguide]

Uk peeps!! Let’s get this going! 🏳️‍⚧️🇬🇧

[spiralguide]

new tarot card "fuck your entire life" and its a guy being attacked by devils and flaming skulls and wild animals and screaming and fire everywhere

[spiralguide]

i don't think i've ever seen the hellshake yano skit posted here in its full glory so here it is. bc i'm always thinking about hellshake yano

[spiralguide]

severance subreddit is really good actually

[spiralguide]

Who's excited for season 2 tomorrow

Update: Now available as a Print

[spiralguide]

my "i love nuance" t shirt is raising a lot of questions but no one is liking how long my answers are

[spiralguide]

[spiralguide]

😭 Incredible start to this very good article.

[spiralguide]

never enough time in the day to do fuck all

[spiralguide]

hate whenever mfs in horror media are like “what was that noise…” bro you and i both know its creatures