#FEELS WRONG FEELS INORGANIC

[ivomartins]

the brave act of justifying the visceral temptation to drop adil for zain like

[tranquilitybasehotelcasino]

watching dark knight rises american accent burn gorman is so scary

[ezdotjpg]

also I have become so conditioned to draw pointy elf ears that I catch myself doing it on work stuff and I have to be like oh right these are human people I’m drawing

[charlemane]

fucking HATE knitting through the front loop. how do people LIVE like this???

[squeeneypod]

ngl even if the rest of the art is good i cant reblog skinny martin, thats not my guy

[everydreamrecorded]

i'm in season 8 of my x files rewatch. i miss mulder so much lol fuck. i cannot watch these episodes fast enough. looks like i have 10 left until he reappears? i don't remember but the thumbnails show him at 16. ugh. i felt the exact same way when i watched the show the first time when i was in college. all the other seasons i happily watch the opening. now i want to skip it. i want to skip these episodes period. :(

[codacheetah]

AGREE WITH YOUR PREVIOUS POST. I like mean Loop as a facade only, but we know they still care and love...

Now I have a question, what's your favorite Loop takes/headcanon

Oh my god I'm so sorry I took like two weeks to answer this one I prommy it's not bc I'm exclusively a hater or whatever. I just straight up forgot to answer Oopsie. I'm putting this under cut bc it got long enough that you all would shoot arrows at me for putting it on your dash

Anyways there's a lot of Loop Thangs I like frankly. A big one that I enjoy is when fic authors in postcanon make the transition of Loop into the party structure kind of rocky. Usually bc Loop's neuroses creating a level 12 psychic barrier between them and the party + the inherent awkwardness of meeting somebody who's apparently super close in a way (that you'll never fully understand) to one of your friends. Who let's be real I feel like half the party (coughIsabeauandMirabelle) would catch the aura of "oh they do not like us at all" from Loop. I want Loop to be happy and with their family but you just know this bitch is going to make it as difficult for themself on purpose. The Siffrin Special.

I also just generally like when they keep Loop as a star postcanon. I'm not at all a hater towards Human Loop (in fact I think it can be itself an interesting setup for a Loop fic) but I do like Loop as a star more thematically. Something about having to accept that things have changed and moving on from it regardless. Also bc Loop being dysphoric about their body scratches a very transgender projection itch in my brain Yessss little star you're stuck in a body that draws unwanted attention and which you have no control over how it looks and functions in a way that feels fundamentally wrong to you. (Pointing at canonically transgender character) Yooooo this guy is such a cool trans allegory omg

Hmm what else. This is more of a sloops thing but I always enjoy in fics when they lean into the fact it's selfcest frankly. I've become a selfcest enjoyer bc of this ship I'll never get over that act 5 dialogue abt the cautionary tale where Siffrin says he never understood the moral of the story bc the idea of having somebody just like him who understands him. Oh my gyoooooooooooooooood. I want them to melt into sludge I'm always thinking of that analogy from superflyghtheart on discord comparing Loop and Siffrin to endlings of an endangered species. 💥💥💥It's like. This is less sloopy now but I'm caught between the intersection in my head of "Loop would probably benefit from developing their own identity as a person separate from Siffrin bc they need Something they have control over" and "Loop is of the Siffrin Species and they are significantly too sentimental to let go of the shreds of what they used to have, especially after having lost all of it once already". Both of these things are yummy as fuck when ppl smarter than me explore them and they're kinda the main Story Paths for postcanon Loop anyways so I'm always winning. So like idk tldr I like it both when ppl have Loop diverge a lot as a person and when they have Loop try their best to stay as much of a Siffrin as possible!

I'm limiting myself to four paragraphs so you don't all want to hit me with hammers but I do have Loop Biology Headcanons. I've explained mythoughts on their guts before and don't feel like recounting them but whatever True #codacheetahwarriors remember my deranged rambling. ANYWAYS I kind of mentally run on the assumption of Loop's body as like. The Universe couldn't keep Loop in Siffrin's body, bc they needed Siffrin to be in it (and I guess a system situation introduces too many factors of its own? idk). The Universe operates with the goal of fulfilling wishes with the least intervention possible, so The Universe makes a body out of cheap inorganic material (star-scrap basically). Miniature star for a head fueling the body with Craft energy (I'm not going to get into my conspiracy that all Craft is the same here). Molds the star scrap into a vaguely Siffrin-shaped/sized vessel and plonks Loop's conscious into it and calls it a day. So Loop's body as a poor simulacrum of a human body is like. They're capable of breathing but they only really benefit from doing it on a psychological level. They can't eat or drink and don't have a mouth because it would require a significant level of added effort to make a digestive system, when they can just derive energy from their star. They don't have reproductive organs because they're not made from organic material anymore anyways. They don't need to sleep bc their body never gets tired but they still do it because it's not really a great idea to leave your brain on running for too long anyways.

I fucking lied I'm on paragraph five bc the block of text is annoying me. To continue that's all a preface to say I think it's super fun when Loop has body functions that are weird and unpredictable. Their little frizzles on their body are reactive to their emotions the same way their headstar is, and feel like static if you touch them. Their head has a vague boundary so their eyes have something to be rooted to but the function by which their optic nerves work is unclear to everybody including themself. They glow based on intensity of emotion and the temperature of their star changes via specific mood. Bc I think it would be fun if the battlefield in twohats when from ice cold to boiling hot frankly. Ok these are all just my headcanons (temperature one very loose though I'm not a hard subscriber to it) but they're not uniquely mine it's just examples of what I mean. One I don't have as a personal headcanon but I do enjoy is when Loop feels the same physical sensations as Siffrin bc it's funny and I like inflicting misery on the star.

I'm going to shut up now like actually . Loop for your troubles

[taralen]

Why I draw Spamton the way I do and in defense of the "Tumblr sexyman" Spamton G. Spamton. An ESSAY.

EDIT 2/3/24 - Fixed some grammatical errors, changed font colors to make them easier to read against a white background, and reframed some of my arguments, especially regarding the "Yaoi style" portion, as it came across as ignorant and spiteful.

I follow the #spamton tag here, and I hate to say it, but it's full of artists jabbing at other artists who so happen to draw Spamton handsome. I see comments like, "No, he's a middle-aged sleazeball who is grungy and dirty." Often, these depictions show him with graying hair, ratty clothes, and covered in filth and grime. While there is nothing inherently wrong about drawing him this way, I find it disingenuous that the same people who draw him this way criticize people who draw him more handsome and or clean-cut because this depiction is even less based on his canon appearance than someone simply drawing him more realistically proportioned and with a pleasing visage (the definition of what this is varies by artist, but they're all often reduced to just "tumblr sexyman.") I see similar comments by people who draw him in what they may describe as "disgusting" or a "dirty scammer."

If Toby intended for Spamton to look dirty and gross, he would have simply gone with a similar design route to this character as an NPC in Undertale.

Toby or other official arts never depict him with the following, even though I see it in fan art all the time:

Ball-jointed hands. Some artists draw them properly and make them look super cool. Simple lines aren't how they look in reality, but I get why people do that. Either way, it's not canon.

Dirty with tattered clothes. Spamton is only ever shown with a black blazer. It's debatable if he wears pants, but Toby has also drawn him with a collared shirt and tie.

Graying hair. Should be obvious. He's only ever seen with jet-black hair.

Overweight/Fat. While some fan depictions of this are cute, it's not canon. Spamton is always drawn thin but not necessarily in shape.

Buff. Same as the above. It looks really good in some fanart but is also not canon.

Tail. It can look really, really cute, but not canon for him or any of the Addisons.

Feathers. Only Swatch and the Swatchlings are depicted with feathers in Cyber World.

"40+ years old" - There is zero evidence of this in-game or in official merchandise or media. This assumption apparently comes from people assuming that his birthday would be the same as the first "spam email," which (at the time of this writing) was 46 years ago. This is a false equivalency since there is no indication that Spamton has any associations with our real-world history of spam emails. It should also be noted that this was not a true spam email. The only thing closest to Spamton in association with real spam email history may be his favorite year, 1997, in which spam marketing emails became frequent nuisances. However, actions to stop spam mail started in 1996, and it was by the 2000s that they became a serious concern because technology had since advanced. If he were truly born in 1978, he would only be 19 by 1997. While not impossible, it's not how most people see him in his Big Shot years of barely just entering adulthood. Also, as someone who has lived through most of the 90s, I can attest to a lot of this. Spam stuff existed, but news reports only heavily got into it by the 2000s.

100% Inorganic or Robot. While a cool idea, there is more evidence against this, like his ability to eat, sleep, and genuinely feel pain.

Boobs. I get most people who do this are doing it for fun, but it's not canon to his design, lol.

Tall. The most obvious one. Spamton is below average height, as made evident by his nearly 1:1 scale with Kris, a teenager.

Toddler-sized. Same as above. I won't lie that it can be drawn super cute, though. Haha!

With all that being said, why is it such a contention among his fans to depict him as handsome?

There is evidence to support that Spamton is at least, to some degree, good-looking but unconventionally attractive based on several sources. It should be noted that people often use his shop sprite as the best representation of his head, but this isn't accurate, either. In Undertale and Deltarune, because of its cartoonish sprites, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Spamton's are the most inaccurate and change frequently. Another user posted an entire comparison of all his sprites and how drastically inconsistent they are. I tried searching through my likes for this, but I can't find it. If anyone finds this, please link or reblog it to this post. Anyway, the intent of the post was to show artists that there are numerous different ways you can interpret Spamton's design with what's provided in the game, alone.

Stuff people often miss that is canon:

Lips. Believe it or not, this bastard's got kissable lips. Toby's recent art and his Neo attack are proof of this.

Eyes under the glasses. Seen in his sprite of going "BIG SHOT" the first time with Kris. It also hints at heterochromia because they contrast in color with yellow pupils under the pink and pink under the yellow.

NEO has no visible jaw hinge line. Only puppet Spamton does. Big Shot Spamton doesn't have one, either.

NEO's glasses' colors are reversed, and they are pince-nez style.

Androgynous sense of fashion. This is the least missed one, but it's worth mentioning. Spamton has no issues wearing pink, a color nowadays associated with women, and the NEO body has fabulous heels in addition to mostly being a magenta pink. The dress on the mannequin that greatly resembles him (and may hint at him being a white Addison before) shows a pretty dress that mirrors the one Mettaton wore in Undertale.

So then, WHY is he being depicted as handsome or unconventionally good-looking a BAD thing?

There really shouldn't be an issue with it at all. It's less offensive and technically more canon than many of the supposed depictions of him being a sleazebag who looks like he hasn't showered in a century and is hooked up on drugs or booze. You don't become a media darling without a charming personality. Mettaton only got successful in Undertale before he got his EX body because there was literally nothing else the people could watch. Spamton, on the other hand, was competing against many, so he had to stand out and look good even with the help of Mike (and possibly Tenna).

I often see people make this very reductive argument that it's a "yaoi style." This is by far one of the stupidest arguments I've ever seen. Drawing good-looking men is NOT equivalent to liking Yaoi. There are plenty of other genres of Asian-origin or Anime-styled media that feature pretty boys that have nothing to do with Boy's Love. Even Shounen anime has some bishies. Drawing bishounen-style male characters is a design choice and does not indicate someone's interest in Yaoi media. I swear, I have never seen this problem with Eastern fans. It's rude to lump people with similar art styles under something most people who make this claim don't even understand. I've seen people make upset comments about other people calling their style stuff like "Cal-Arts" even if they never went to Cal-Arts or like the media produced by them. It's the same principle. Stop lumping entire artists under one umbrella.

I draw him handsome because it's simply the way I see him. I love many other depictions of him, undoubtedly, and I even have a sticker set that depicts him with the graying hair, but it looks really good anyway. My point is, the fact that people who draw him dark and handsome shouldn't be scrutinized any more than people who draw him way more off base.

My personal contentions with the assumption he is a "dirty sleazebag old man."

I find this absolutely hilarious because this is a genuine stereotype and stock character of people similar to him. The douchebag salesman is a trope that's been around for a long time, but people don't seem to realize that this is a caricature and not representative of real salespeople.

Go to any @$%^ing department store or even an electronics one. Do you ever see anyone selling you stuff looking like they crawled out of the trash? Most are lower-class people who can't find any other job, meaning they are stuck with sales. It takes skill to be a good salesman, and I hate to brag, but I can probably sell you a #@$%ing soap bar and convince you that the extra $10 you're spending on it over a drugstore brand is better for your hands by deeply moisturizing them through herbal extracts and only "naturally" derived cleansing agents. Your hands are dry from the cold, drawing moisture out of them, so the investment would be worth it for the health of your skin during this harsh winter season. Why risk a drugstore brand that will only make your hands feel even rougher, flakier, and cracked? Stuff like this requires you to look someone in the eyes and observe who they are—their body language, way of carrying themselves, and the cadence of how they respond to your words. Does it always work? No. However, do you think anyone would $%^&ing buy ANY LEGAL PRODUCT if a salesperson looked like they were a shady crack dealer who was suspicious as %^&( to deal with? NO. It's a stereotype caricature for a REASON. It's meant to demean the reality of the salesperson who is forced to peddle a stupid product for a living. It's hard, and if anything, GET MAD at the people who are the ones making the crappy product! Yeah, some salesmen are bad at their jobs, but do you really believe that Cyber City's #1 RATED SALESMAN got there from being mediocre?! He may have gotten outside help for something that Toby never made clear, but he definitely does NOT lack the personality to make a great salesman. And believe it or not, there is plenty of evidence to prove he WASN'T bad at it! The other NPCs sell stuff that was once his goods but with his labels removed, and based on his statement of wanting to "make his own deals," this heavily implies he was NOT selling products he wanted to sell before he became a Big Shot. He has a strong sense of pride in the way he sees and presents himself, and I think this may be overlooked by people who make him look as ratty as possible.

I will also CLEARLY state this but this depiction overall does several of the following, which I KNOW many people will say is bad:

Ageism. Why do so many people, mostly Zoomers, assume that a man in his 40s is washed-up, gross, or even considered old? I've seen hotter men in their 40s than some young men in their early 20s.

Downplays his mental health struggles. One of the best things about Spamton is how he DOESN'T play into just the "sleazebag" stereotype. Once we go into his shop, we see that he is truly just a very broken man. His theme song is a FARCE to try and convince you that he's tougher than he really is.

Classist/Poor-Shaming. The assumption that a homeless person has to have no sense of cleanliness. Please, for the love of all that is good, meet actual homeless people. Not all of them are like this. Spamton clearly keeps himself rather clean for someone who dumpster dives. He is trying to stay true to himself, and his sense of self is one of pride. There is no dialogue or description to imply he smells or lacks proper hygiene.

Again, while there is nothing inherently wrong with drawing him this way, I just want people to be more aware of why they draw him this way. Think of it like a thought experiment to reflect on why you see him the way you do. How I draw Spamton comes from a place of deep empathy, love, and life experiences I've had in sales in addition to ALWAYS being customer-facing, meaning I know what works and what doesn't for over a DECADE. It's rather bizarre to me that people who claim to be big fans of him draw him in such a demeaning way that goes beyond the canon depiction and lowers him to absolute dirt, almost like beating this character with the ugly stick just because it's "funny." Is he a tragic character to you? Or is he simply a clown to laugh at for his failures and hardships? How we depict and see people is utterly fascinating because it reflects in real life, too.

You can take the exact same person and show them to different groups of people, and they will all see the same person differently. They don't have to be artists, but they tend to vary if you ask their opinions. For example, I think the actor Mads Mikkelsen is very attractive, but I know many who wouldn't understand why. A guy I've had a crush on for years is one of the hottest men ever to me, but a friend of mine called him "just a guy."

I fully understand that some people find the way I draw him stupid. It is what it is. I can't force you to like it.

I'm simply trying to point out my reasonings for why I draw him this way, and I would like others to think about their methods, too, and NOT to bash other people outright or go "ewww Yaoi tumblr sexyman" just because someone doesn't depict him with stereotypical traits or as "100% canon style" (which is mostly just copying the game's sprite style.)

[wc-confessions]

My hottest Warriors take is if you wouldn't blame Longtail for Briarlight getting paralyzed, you shouldn't blame Mousefur for Longtail getting killed. I'd even dare say the question, "Is Mousefur at fault for Longtail dying?" is entirely irrelevant. First off, Warriors fans keep pushing the idea that Mousefur "asked Longtail to retrieve the mouse" when that isn't the case. Feel free to check chapter 11 of Fading Echoes to verify what I'm saying. What actually happened was:

Mousefur, too stubborn to let the mouse go, was about to run back to camp and get herself killed.

Longtail, without any input from Mousefur, decides to get the mouse for her.

Briarlight went after Longtail to get him back to safety.

You probably know what happens next. Stating Mousefur told Longtail to get the mouse seems like an accurate summary, but in reality, it completely changes the scene. In the book, his death is a consequence of him reasonably not wanting Mousefur, his friend, to die. She was going to get killed if he didn't do anything, and he prevented it. Not that it was an Uber Eats order gone wrong. As for, "Is Mousefur at fault for Longtail dying?" this debate is always framed as a critique of Longtail's death, which I find odd. Mousefur has survivor's guilt and guilt for Briarlight's injury. Ultimately this question is leading towards, "Should Mousefur be narratively punished for Longtail's death?" when she has already been narratively punished. It's a biased opinion I'm sure is partially influenced by people being upset Longtail died at all and not about the actual quality of the writing. This isn't to say I find Longtail's absolutely perfect. My personal big issue with it is Longtail died due to an extreme narrative contrivance. Mousefur randomly becoming senile so Longtail would have an excuse to dive head first into danger is pretty inorganic. If I were to rewrite it, I would change it so his reason to protect her comes more naturally. To end this, I'll say I both like Longtail and Mousefur. I'm sorry about the world Mr. Longtail and Ms. Mousefur.

.

[cripplecharacters]

My girlfriend is writing a story that, after meeting me and hearing my experiences, she realized was about a (fantastical) disability and she decided to intentionally lean into that. As someone with a (real) disability, I have been a sort of beta reader to make sure that she is using her work to amplify stories rather than talk over them - she's been doing a great job on her own, largely in part because she's been asking me the right questions before writing scenes.

However, yesterday she made a post asking for help with the event that caused this fantastical disability, because the most logical cause is something big and flashy, while she wanted it to be something kinda mundane. In her own words, "most disabilities don't have flashy origin stories, they come from everyday things."

In reading the replies to this post, it came to my attention that people who have inorganic internal parts - pacemakers, replacement hips, etc. - would not survive the flashpoint. This felt wrong to me, but not because of how gruesome the image was, but because the overwhelming majority of people who have such parts are disabled. Everyone affected by the event is disabled thereafter, but a large swath of what I've been referring to her as "pre-disabilities" just wouldn't exist.

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't necessarily find this to be a bad thing per se. It's background details and the actual story is going to take place almost two decades later. It's worldbuilding that might not even see print, depending on how important that detail is to the story.

My issue is that, as she is writing a story intended to help talk about disability, it feels problematic to kill off a significant portion of pre-disabled characters in the background. I've brought this up to her and she does agree it sucks, the issue she has is that scientifically, it is more realistic.

I bring this question to you guys because the two of us are unsure how exactly to proceed. Do we just ignore internal inorganics entirely and let those with them survive even if it's not realistic? Is it okay to let them die for the story? Is there some middle-ground option that isn't coming to either of us?

(I can provide more detail if need be about the story.)

Hello

Basically, you have to be willing to use some Hail Mary complete and utter random caveat that you add in after the fact to keep a bunch of people from dying.

I don't know exactly how this "flashpoint" works but let's say it deactivates technology. Maybe things like a pacemaker, which is embedded inside of a human, can't be affected because the flashpoint couldn't affect it through the layer of biological matter. Maybe you make this a futuristic where all internal implants are made using biochemical engineering because, I don't know, maybe that gives them a longer life in the human body. Maybe the flashpoint is basically a giant magic put hey, lucky us, internal disability devices aren't made of magnetic metals, or maybe, again, they're made of modified biological tissue.

Basically, you need to completely bs it. It doesn't matter how realistic it is, the flashpoint is fake but disabled readers are real. You can do anything, it's your story, so if you want the disabled people to live, you can create a caveat that would let them live. And no one can say "that wouldn't work" because yeah, it would, because you said it would work in a world that you have complete and utter control of.

Don't be afraid to grasp at straws.

Mod Aaron

Thank you for your ask! Please don’t have people killed for having a specific disability! It’s hard to give more information without knowing what the ‘flashpoint’ is, but you could have the event target metals that aren’t used in humans if that’s the issue. You could also make the event something that wouldn’t target a specific group of people, you don’t have to change the whole story, just the side effects of the event. As mod Aaron said above, it’s your story and anything can go, so please don’t put an unnecessary mass extinction event.

I’d also say killing off a specific minority group for a story, whether or not the story is about that group, is a bad thing. People with implants should be allowed to see themselves in fantastical stories and not be told that they’d just be dead so don’t bother. As you said this happens in the background, this side effect isn’t integral to the story, so why add it? The readers are already suspending disbelief that this event happened in the book, so why not let them suspend disbelief that people with implants won’t be killed in this story?

Have a good day!

Mod Rot

[haine-kleine]

this part right here is the most inorganic and out of place element of the entire ending, because both of the characters talk and behave in a way that directly contradicts their established motivations and worldviews.

Shigaraki despises the hero society because when he was a little kid in need of help he got to see how hypocritical this social construct truly was. he was denied help and even 16 years later he still doesn't understand why. I wasn't broken back then, but it's not like anybody reached out a helping hand to me. for the entirety of the story Shigaraki's main motivation was his personal vendetta against the hero system in general and every single hero personally.

Izuku is a hero. the manga has been carefully presenting him as the true definition of the hero and everything that entails. for the second half of this manga the story had been setting him up to prove himself as the best hero by saving Shigaraki, because he saw through Shigaraki's trauma, because he realized how wrong the stigma against villains is, because everyone in need of help deserves saving, because saving someone means not only saving their body but also saving their soul.

for the story to come from this point of these two characters' development, two things needed to happen.

Izuku, who has been arguing against everyone, including Shigaraki's own grandmother, who was so stubbornly insisting on saving Shigaraki, needed to realize that this was impossible. change his mind after Shigafo killed Bakugou, make him think this was the morality horizon he won't forgive even the innocent crying little Tenko for, lose more classmates and mentors to Shigafo when it's no longer clear who is in possession of that body. or make Shigafo too powerful of an opponent, make the heroes lose the battle, make Deku desperate under pressure of possibly losing everyone if he risks it all and attempts to save Shigaraki. show the clear moment where he makes the decision to retreat his helping hand, where he lets go of Tenko, because it's either saving him, or saving everyone else.

then give Shigaraki actual moments of introspection, where he doesn't have to fight tooth and nail for the control of his body, for the privacy of his childhood memories that Deku and Nana were violating. make him realize that he simply doesn't have any options left, because every side is against him, he doesn't have any form of autonomy left and there is no one coming to save him this time. show his thoughts on the fact that both of the people who had promised him saving brought him nothing but destruction and betrayal. that his childhood saviour had been lying to him for his entire life, raising him as a lamb to be slaughtered. that the hero who had given him a promise to save him went back on that promise, because other people were more important to him. that it's always been him, Shimura Tenko, Shigaraki Tomura, the broken vessel of destruction, against the world, and he was set up to fail from the very start. that everything he had believed about himself, about his destiny, about his capabilities, was a lie told to him by his abuser. that the only destiny for him is dying, his very soul devoured by All for One, or killed by the heroes who had never viewed him as human. he can either cooperate with the heroes and push back against All for One, or cease to exist without even trying to stand up for himself.

so sacrifices himself fighting against All for One, cooperating with the heroes, and then talks to Deku about being a child who was throwing a tantrum. because now he knows that this is what AFO made him into, how meaningless his entire life, efforts and aspirations really were. with his spirit broken so throughoutly he is no longer capable of caring that these are his final moments. he hums to Deku's words but they hold no meaning to him. he had failed.

Izuku attempts to sympathize because he genuinely feels bad about this outcome, about his own utter failure to save Tenko. he feels responsibility for this failure and he feels guilt about him having to become the unwilling sacrifice. when he talks about Shigaraki wanting to be stopped, he means Shigaraki's desire to stop All for One, because he was the only person on that battlefield who saw All for One as a separate entity that stole Shigaraki's body.

[breezyzephyr]

Vil Schoenheit - Twisted Wonderland

when i first saw vil, i thought "oh let me guess, he's beautiful and therefore narcissistic and his beserk button is getting dirt on his perfect clothes" and wow i could not be more wrong because actually he is beautiful and flawless and a mary sue wwwww

i highly enjoy vil's "i worked damn hard to get to where i am now, and i work damn hard every day to keep me here" personality, because it feels like it's a character who's allowed to be confident and full of themselves now that they've earned it. yes, vil has his downfalls, and his strict values cause him to project onto others instead of respecting their own decisions, but i can find that forgivable due to everything else about him. his own design reflects this part of him that is always perfect, always poised, almost to the point where his whole entire look feels like it was carefully crafted and almost inorganic. i marvel at how toboso sensei made him feel natural in his expressions and posing, even when you can tell he's beaten it into himself to make his delicate finger poses instinctual. every move he makes is calculated for that "100% perfection" and yet somehow avoids being a mannequin of a character. i don't know how they've struck such a careful balance without falling into uncanny valley. i even have a nendroid of vil to study him more (lol)

[callmearcturus]

@ghostbird-7 #he’s so fucking exhausted#they’ve had the same argument for decades and his vantage point has changed and matured and been reaffirmed by his grief and love#and Charles has stayed exactly the same and there’s nothing he can do to change his mind even though he sees the evidence to the contrary#fucking everywhere#and also he loves him#no wonder he’s done I’d be done

how's it feel to Get It so much

@interropunct keeps spinning this idea that this timeline spun out from the moment Charles communed across the timelines with his older self, and I sort of am infatuated with that concept and how it completely and totally fucks Charles up, having basically a prophecy of his own future and what's to come

and there's, like, good parts of it, because that communion knocked him out of his depressive downspiral and got him to get his shit together enough to save the entire human race, sure. and frankly I like the idea that Charles accidentally downloaded his older self's fondness for specific people, a giddy joy that I see writ in how he reacts to Scott and the entire "I think that was my favorite tree," bit. He's so fuckign FOND, he's lightyears from the guy who called Peter "a pain in the arse."

but it's fun to take in the Falseness of Charles, the drag he puts on and how it's confirmed to be an act in Dark Phoenix, and trace it back to that moment. how much of what he is comes from trying to fulfill his own prophecy?

He saves Jean from her shitty dad, but in the process modifies her mind and memories. Because he's supposed to adopt her, he already knows this.

He leans fully into being The Professor to such a degree he's subsumed other aspects of his personality, because he knows this is who he is destined to be.

He repeatedly fucks up in the EXACT same way over and over, trying to lure the people he wants to help back "home" to his mansion, because it was the core of Old Charles' hope in their communion.

Punct put forth the idea that when Apocalypse almost possesses him and he loses his hair, he can actually grow it back if he wanted to, but because The Future Said So, he sticks to the bald.

Also just the entire VIBE of him, that he's right, that it takes tremendous harm and danger for him to admit he's wrong because... why would he be wrong? He's keeping up his end of the bargain. There is something deeply inorganic about him, pruned and perfect, in a way that feels purposeful when its blatantly contrasted with Erik and Raven, who ABSOLUTELY GROW AND CHANGE OVER TIME.

So no, Charles doesn't grow or change over time because... instead of doing that and going through the shit that a person should, he accidentally got what he thinks is the Master Plan. And ironically it's him trying to fit himself into that plan that spins everyone off into the new timeline, why the future that Logan returned to will never happen.

Anyway, the X-Men Alternate Timeline movies are just the story of how Charles Xavier becomes kind of the Bad Guy. And gd bless Erik for taking on the Herculean task of trying to rehabilitate Charles. Truly, Charles does not deserve this man.

[ultraviolet-cello]

Gooooood morning Trigun fandom, I'm up bright and early, ready to sink my teeth into today's analysis/detailed watchthrough episode - 11. To A New World.

I can't believe we're almost done with @tristampparty. These 12 days have been a blast and I'm very glad that I got to chat abt them!! I've been in a bout of artblock recently too, so I'm glad that I can just ramble instead!

Spoilers for Trigun Stampede and Trigun Maximum, and CWs for. okay this one is a Lot, but discussion of violation of bodily autonomy, sexual assault and trauma, pregnancy, transphobia, harm coming to children, Millions Knives in general, Vash's passive suicidal tendencies. If I think of any more I'll pop them up here but this episode is a heavy one!

If you wanna skip those first few CWs (Totally understandable <3), you can skip the paragraphs labelled with a [CW] at the front.

[CW] Okay so we're gonna tail off the end of Episode 10 for a second, but uh. Knives in this scene is using extremely Loaded Language to outright tell Vash that there is something wrong with him that needs to be fixed.

Just to be clear I do think Vash is very trans-coded (intentionally or not), and that very strongly influences how I interpret this scene - I myself am a trans man as well.

Cool, moving on! That's all really for the end of ep 10, I just needed to point out that Knives is using language that is commonly used to justify corrective sexual assault; which is pretty much what my reading of this scene is analogous to.

what in the fresh hell i got jumpscared by dub again. returning to subs hold on a moment. Like i've been checking dub occasionally to match up some dialogue and make sure I'm not being misled by Subtitle Jank but I'm one of those guys who can't listen to anything without subtitles lmao

But i also think i do get the funniest possible translation of this line - actually wait no i hate the double meaning (with Vash's body being used to kickstart the pregnancy imagery). was that intentional. who did this.

Anyway Meryl kicking Wolfwood is really funny but also like. Yeah. justified. She's having a no good awful time but like. She's so willing to believe in Vash, to chase after him even into Extremely Dangerous conditions (There's those hints of Trimax Meryl again....) and Wolfwood is being an ass here. (An understandable ass. But an ass nonetheless). Which is to say YEAHHH MERYL GET HIS ASS!!!

Knives' gay little like. bodysuit here. He and Vash have the same build but their respective clothes make them stand out very differently. Also that Knives' stuff seems to have more muscle definition (HYDRATE. You shouldn't have that Knives you need water :pensive:) which could be building towards his more intimidating appearance.

Also I'd be a fool to not show everyone my initial reaction to this

I've talked a little bit about how Vash uses his gun as a tonfa (thwacky baton) most of the time in melee combat, and I think that's a great way to show him utilizing something Knives gave him to Kill as a nonlethal weapon - in this, however, he doesn't have it and his normally very fluid very good form martial arts is flailing and panicked. Vash is pretty good at keeping his cool in most combat situations, and is a very skilled fighter. Seeing him lose that cool and just start struggling when Knives tries to grab him is :(

Once again the metal/organic dichotomy is coming into play - the creation of inorganic but the destruction that comes from the organic. Typically plant (as in flora) powers in media lend themselves to being creation powers, life, and healing. But Vash here has that plant (flora) theme but those are very much a force for destruction.

Also Knives with the angelic white, and Vash with the black.

I hate Conrad So Much (he's such a good character). Like we Know to some extent that dependent plants are self-aware enough to feel pain, to hold onto memories, to hatred, to love. They don't have consciousness the same way humans or Independents do, but they feel, they live, they understand what Vash tells them. Maybe it is a shallow form of themselves. But I think something a lot of people fail to realize is that (some, not all, because they are individuals even throughout a hivemind) plants appear to enjoy their purpose.

Once again the memory that is shared with Knives in Trimax of a woman and her child thanking the plant for her service and she smiles? After being fused, that plant held onto that memory. I've been given no reason to believe that plants in Tristamp are different, so Conrad is just,,, ignoring the subtleties of plants and taking away their agency to choose for themselves. Doubly so for Knives, who can communicate efficiently with them.

A very quick blink and you'll miss it detail is that Vash says "It was our fault humans crashed here!". The shifting blame and guilt between the two is something that is fighting the narrative allll the time, but Vash attributing to both of them as an appeal to Knives is interesting to relay how he feels.

I also don't think Vash is right, though, when he says the only reason humans abuse plants is because they crashed. Tesla was before, Chronica in Trimax has apparently seen independent fusions before (For what reason?). Like yeah to this extent it's a result of the big fall, but there'd still be problems without it. Nobody is right in this argument lmao

(except me. I'm always correct about everything ever)

[CW] Once again - violating Vash's consent and autonomy because he does not agree with or differs from Knives. Corrective violation, in this case. It's also important that it's Meryl who calls this out - she has to really really struggle for her autonomy to be important. She's small, carry-able, inexperienced, doesn't have any special powers or genetic modification. She's carrying a tiny gun from a man who can never back her up anymore. In fact, nobody is backing her up! She's out here alone! But she's sticking up for Vash. She cares about him,,,, so much

SURPRISE ROBERTO ATTACK [sobs]

Meryl pulled the nail out of him and placed his hands gently over the wound, as one might do in a casket. A memorial of cigarettes and his flask. All this will be destroyed soon, but Meryl did give him a funeral to the best of her ability.

Knives using Roberto's image is cruel as hell. Not to Vash but to ME. He's already dead you can't do this to meeee. "How do you think they'll react when they learn you caused the big fall" He will never learn it!! he never got the chance!!!

So fun fact you can actually eat geraniums. It's just that if Rem had said yes Vash probably would have eaten it right there and then. I've made that mistake before (told one of my class that nasturtiums were edible and he just ate one. right from the plant)

So; the Tesla scene. Something I do want to point out is that Rem finds them almost immediately, and Knives doesn't immediately pass out - Is he still catatonic enough to miss Rem's speech, or did he hear it? Because the reason that Vash turned out like he did is because he was awake to go through that with Rem - Knives was unconscious the entire time and didn't get to start that trauma recovery.

It's also important to recognize that these memories could be unreliable, especially as Knives tampers with them later.

I do want to know which version of the Bible Knives was reading. Because depending on translation/version, you can get Very different ideas out of that.

Anyway Knives is kind of beginning his spiral in that memory - "Humanity never learns" kinda shit, which seems to take place after Tesla. Who knows how long. But baby Vash calls that out and goes "yeah lets have faith"! Baby Knives looks a tad shocked and then Present Knives just. Cuts off the memory. What was the ensuing conversation!!! Hello???

Like he's clearly Having Thoughts (The Horror), we just don't get to know what those were.

So remember when I said it was interesting that Vash said it was "our" fault that the ships crashed, sharing the blame?

Yeah that gave Knives some ammo that just. Broke him. Shifts it allllll to Vash. Update Vash's description to running on 18 guilt complexes, CPTSD, and bisexuality.

[CW] There's so many different forms of assault, metaphorical and. Not. That is happening in this scene from mind violation to Knives literally using Vash's (specifically Vash's) body as a vessel to impregnate other plants which. Hey did you know that pregnancy is a massive fear of a lot of trans men. So many transphobes reduce trans men to their capability to have children, as if that's all they're good for (even if it would kill them.), and that often leads to corrective rape in order to "remind them of biological reality". In this case, Vash is a plant, he's meant to create, and yet he doesn't. But he's still being used to create anyway.

Again, Meryl also directly calls out Vash's lack of consent and gets shot down by Conrad. The whole scene is just. Hgnrhgnhrhnrnrn. It's So,,, everything to me, because it's a really good scene and shows you how far gone Knives is in Tristamp.

There are panels in Trimax that are,,, the imagery is there, but it's very overt in Tristamp.

Also hey yeah. Why is Conrad still alive?? Did he have access to cold sleep? or it's probably the robotics but did he not think of enhancing humans that way? It might just be a temporary solution, I guess, given that he is. Actively coughing up blood.

Alright! I have finished this part of the analysis that I always Feel Strongly about lmao - I have fun doing it but that's such an emotionally heavy episode.

[slipping-is-doing-things]

After days of writing, editing and rewriting here are my headcanons about Screwllum! You might remember seeing this post which I'll be both elaborating on while making it make more sense. Breaking the cut is heavily recommended due to the post length.

This post includes but isn't limited to my headcanons, speculation for backstory and more. I'm info dumping about my special interest without any shame

Word count: 1,567

Trigger warnings: war, weaponry, death.

Fandom: Honkai star rail

Terminology

I'm only including this to make sure anyone who reads this understands what I'm talking about

Emotional core - The codes and primary processors and similar equipment that allows Screwllumites to feel emotions.

Black box - I'm using Black Box in the terms of the metaphor here and a physical object that works similar to what's seen on air crafts.

Internals & codes

Screwllum’s code and presses are vastly different from Screwllumites. While all modern (primarily post Rubert I) were created with emotional cores based off Screwllum’s own, those before or during Rubert I era had a different version that is capable of such things but not naturally made to do those functions.

Due to how long Screwllum has been around it's vastly contributed as to why Screwllum and the Screwllumites are different internally. Screwllum himself runs on the older design even with having updated his outer appearance over the era’s. Fundamentally if you taken Screwllum apart and compared it to an modern day Screwllumite you would have two very different designs and codes even though outwardly the appearance is similar.

The emotional core is something even those who have claimed the ranks of Punklorde can't break, and hasn't been explained by Screwllum himself or any Screwllumite. It's believed to be an integrated aspect of their complex artificial intelligence or a specialty made part and/or device. While other inorganic life forms don't require this it's believed to be created in those that do become emotional (primarily for the cases of robots and artificial intelligence systems).

The black box and memory drive is something special to Screwllum himself. A gift of sorts from Nous which allows him to be alive for as long as he has while keeping his memories and similar things. The Monarch if his physical body is destroyed or worse his codes and AI are hacked into and taken over works as an failsafe to both keep data from before the attack. Due to this unlike the Screwllumites who can lose minor memory and if their important chips and whatnot are broken beyond repair can be classified as dead, Screwllum can be brought back indefinitely.

It does have its drawbacks, corrupted data that can cause issues in the long-term can be saved. To counteract this Screwllum currently has two black boxes, one that would bring him back in a state one wouldn't notice the missing data and the one he currently uses. The data added to the first black box is checked by Screwllum to make sure any data being added has no risk of corruption.

Primary headcanons

Screwllum can and does speak multiple languages as needed, all he needs is recorded information on whatever language then his AI model does the rest. On first use of new languages he hasn't used in the past can sound slightly wrong but it doesn't take him long to adjust the needed components to be able to both speak those languages fluently and without issue.

Screwllum isn't his original name, the data on the original was lost amber eras’s ago and isn't something he minds. He holds very little memory before Rubert I started the war on all organic lifeforms.

Technically, mechanical aristocrat Is an very old term due to it being Screwllum’s original model name. The term is still used on planet Screwllum which is rather amusing to him.

Screwllita more or less acts like Screwllum’s scheduler when she isn't in the hair salon. You best believe she can and does get away with joking around with Screwllum, maybe even making him try on different hats to spice things up. This isn't to say Screwllum doesn't do it himself, she just likes to remind him! The two are friends and you can pry that from my cold dead hands—

It's very rare to see Screwllum without gloves. While he isn't self conscious of his appearance, he knows organic lifeforms wouldn't enjoy how cold his hands are and how delicate the joints of his fingers are. He tends to get nervous when needing to shake hands with people who aren't accustomed or used to interacting with inorganic life forms like himself without his gloves on due to it.

Dancing, it's something Screwllum enjoys just as much as butterflies. Sadly he hasn't found any partners to dance with outside of Screwllita or a very believable hologram. When he does get to dance he's very content even if his partners aren't the most skilled.

Screwllum keeps a butterfly garden inside an enclosure on his planet. He adores all the butterflies he keeps and takes great pride in it, if stressed he tends to take breaks to visit it if he's home.

Love is a complicated emotion Screwllum doesn't fully understand even with how advanced his Emotional core is. He is more accustomed to platonic love, the Screwllumites are his family he loves them in that way but true romantic feelings for another lifeform is something to his knowledge he's never felt. He never can fully wrap his head around how other Screwllumites can start romantic relationships and start families while the base idea itself to him is something he fundamentally doesn't understand.

That isn't to say Screwllum is incapable, he certainly is but just doesn't know is all. He doesn't have much free time anymore to spend on developing his own emotional core like he used to. That isn't actively an issue even though it does leave him at times confused with overly complex feelings that he doesn't deal with frequently.

The mechanical sun is still something Screwllum is worried about failing. While the machine has worked for decades without fail and only requiring minimal maintenance still has the small chance of failing. To see his people suffer due to his own failure is a haunting feeling to him, even so he takes comfort in its calculations. Calculations one could say are the start and continuance of life for Screwllumite's.

Weaponry

While Screwllum doesn't enjoy fighting he is more than capable of defending himself! Screwllum primarily uses either a sword stick or Rapier. Most wouldn't know that the cane he can be seen with at times, primarily places fighting might break out is actually a weapon which is a functional cane. While holding the revolution against Rubert I Screwllum was frequently seen with a Rapier, a weapon he was very skilled with. While he much rather solves issues with words, sometimes force is the only way, be it a pesky line of code that just won't run or a fellow inorganic life form that wishes to kill what he stands to protect.

My ideas for his backstory

My ideas here are heavily just me thinking of what might have happened! Please don't take this or anything here as true to canon. I adore giving more depth to characters when they don't have much. One should also note this would be happening towards the middle of the second war, for Screwllum had been around unaffected before and during the first and star of the second Mechanical Emperor's war.

Screwllum’s original use was to be a diplomat on behalf of an royal family not from Planet Screwllum though Screwllum holds no memory of this. How he ended up on this random planet will always be unknown in my interpretation. The events beforehand are lost to time and damages to Screwllum’s physical form and internal hardware. The skills he had from it ran over into what he is today even if he doesn't remember.

The first true memory Screwllum holds is of him waking up in a forest on a planet that he doesn't remember. His systems had been offline for over 8760 system hours, his physical body had been damaged while moss had calmed its home on him. The second thing he saw were butterflies, many butterflies he came to notice had been resting on him until he moved. He only noticed the organic lifeform standing a few feet away once he started to take in wherever he was. While he couldn't recall what happened to cause the system shutdown for such a long period of time his Artificial intelligence started to, for the first time, read the codes for fascination and confusion.

The Robotic aristocrat spent three years with Farlan. An organic lifeform that had found him and powered his systems back on. With his previous data missing and codes running that his system originally seen as errors the two started a routine. Screwllum helped the older man while being taught about what he was feeling. To memory Farlan is his first friend, the first individual that wasn't frightened by him and rather interested in his natural curiosity. In this time he established what happiness felt like, confusion, excitement, desire and so much more. Butterflies were abundant there, at that small cabin in those thick woods.

Screwllum would first feel anger, sadness and loss with Farlan. Hearing what Rubert I was trying to destroy angered him yet saddened him knowing so many have been hurt over a war that shouldn't be happening. He would see loss first hand with Farlan. Screwllum would return to find that Farlan died of natural causes; it was the first time Screwllum regretted following his own protocols. Taking the deceased’s hat then burying him he set for planet Screwllum or wherever he could get to first that hadn't been affected by Rubert I to start a rebellion.

[graceofagodswrath]

Transformers x Humans Are Space Orcs - A Rant

Alright, I’m gonna complain about something I don’t see talked about enough. Maybe I haven’t found the people who do, so if you know em point me in their direction.

Transformers. I’ve been a long time fan. I’ve watched G1, Animated, Prime, Bayverse, RID, Rescue, WFC, and read all of MTMTE/LL, and I’m excited for the upcoming Earthspark. Course that’s only half if not less of all the content, but enough to prove I’m a fan. Love the characters and world building.

But unfortunately, the majority of not all the Transformers canon content suffers from one major factor that is common among entertainment featuring non-human beings: half-assed human characters. Humans described as wimpy little shits (except Agent Fowler from TFP that man has my eternal respect and love).

Usually the only reason human characters are inserted is to create a relatable character for viewers. But the majority of characters are already relatable, so it’s a moot concept I think we can all accept.

But I cannot for the life of me understand why one would have to give up a realistic, interesting personality for a human character, but give the non-human characters everything. Just take the human characters out for fucks sake!

If you’ve read my other posts, you’re aware I’m an avid lover of Humans are Space Orcs. This community is amazing at digging up mundane or strange facts about humans and turning those into shorts centered around terrifying aliens. That’s what I have always wanted to see in a Transformers story.

I hate the constant “don’t step on them, they’re squishy, gross organics, small and fragile, protect like little cute worm” shit. I’m so tired of it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m aware there are some badass human character sim the Transformers canon. But they are so far and few, and even then Transformers characters never give them their due.

And that is a main theme in the entire canon. Technoism, I think it’s called. Racism between inorganic and organic species. It’s a very real and moving part of the plot that I love and hate for its realism. Something that always gets me is how even the Transformers characters that are closest with humans (Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Jazz, etc) still seem to treat humans like little primitive puppies that need their constant protection (this is more prominent in IDW than the more pg shows). And the human personalities don’t help.

The point I’m trying to make is, I want to see Transformers reacting to humans the same way we write aliens reacting to humans. Being confused, scared, in awe or disgust. If someone else doesn’t write it, I will.

Eventually.

I want Megatron to actually recognize humans as a threat. I want him to freak the fuck out when he sees what we can do. I want Optimus Prime to feel a little fear at some human tearing apart a transformer. Somehow.

One idea I’ve always loved is a scenario where a human is mass displaced to be just as big as an average Cybertronian. And they kick ass. They go absolute apeshit like I wrote a character going apeshit over his cat. I want to see transformers understanding just how lethal humans are when you pick on a bitch your own size.

If I get enough requests to do it, I might write it. But I’ve started so much other shit I need to continue, oh mah lawd. I don’t care. I needed to rant.

Thx for coming to my Ted talk.