#I didn't expect to have so much to say

[besiegedhunter]

Do you have ideas about Ben's name? I saw idea that it could mean "deep speaking" or something like this

Oh yeah, from benthos and exegesis, right? Honestly it's the best thing I've heard so far and, though I've not looked into the etymology of it, I haven't found anything myself.

I do have some stray thoughts however pertaining to in game things regarding his name.

Like, I think I've talked or alluded to my thoughts about Ben possibly being a previous Fang but idk if I've talked about Red's name: Projekt Red. Like, I think it's fair to say that Red isn't her name and she may not even remember what her name was, effectively making her have none. Say Grandma or Kal'tsit decided to call her by what is on her coat for instance.

But, Fangs raised from an age so young that it's all they've ever known, by ancient Wolfs could end up without a name or possibly with one that's quite outdated as of present. Like I wouldn't claim that Lunacub's name is outdated but it's almost certainly given to her by Agnese and the name is "Moon Cub" or "Moon Child" which, if you're more elaborate could well become "Depth Explanation" if the Ben name theory is correct.

It would fly in the face of Ben's backstory of his Mum sending him to University and I don't see why he'd lie about that but if he didn't have a name I could see Signora Sicily giving him that name as a joke, maybe with a backstory.

Alternatively, Ben as a Fang theory to the side, it may just be a cover as he's Sicily's informant or holds more significance and so using that with a name so blatantly tailored to him could be to hide his actual name.

I also want to ponder it possibly having roots in Greek could be significant. Like, it's probably a joke or Siracusans have Greek names because of irl stuff or there's some unknown connection we've not seen yet (I do hope it's this)

But I stumbled upon some stuff quite some time ago that I thought was interesting and while I don't think it's been referenced in Arknights yet? I did make a mental note of it.

And that's the story of King Lycaon, the Greek story of a King who upon offending Zeus was turned into a wolf and the probable namesake for Lycanthropy(?). There was a whole festival revolving around it that could've ended up in Italy, but point is that it's a prominent story about Wolves and if his name having Greek in it is more than the Depth Explanation joke, could possibly mean there's something to this story pertaining to either him or Siracusa's story going forward.

Which is a more out there thought but throw enough at a wall and eventually something will stick, right? And I'd like to see this story inspire something in Arknights, even if it's only a Minos Lupo (please please please)

But those are my out there thoughts regarding his name. I don't really have any clue regarding the etymology and can only take cracks at any in game significance but I hope it's alright. That and that we see more of Ben.

[leupagus]

Ted Lasso, the character, is one of the only representations of 'sometimes getting better with your mental health issues means that you are less visibly happy, and that is okay, because you are not required to be happy in order to be loved' out there and I am really discouraged that so much of the audience is angry at that.

[possessedpasm]

Hii 👋 I love your 70s actor lion so so much and I would loveee to know more about him, if there's more to know about that dude

Hiii 👋

And gladly!

He's meant to be a spoof on actor Robert Redford and-- more specifically-- the characters he plays LMAO he gained notoriety in the 70s for being generally good-looking and is an over-the-top representation of the movie genre back then (which one am I talking about, who knows)

I took a lot of inspiration from how Mad Magazine makes silly spoofs of characters from tv and film! The Lion Man, himself, is quite goofy and not meant to be serious at all but I'M GLAD PEOPLE LIKE HIM LOL

[caluupin]

Finished TGAAC around 2 1/2 weeks ago but only finished the doodles today. but still, here ya go!

[lululeighsworld]

THEY DEVASTATINGLY WALLOPED ME FOR THESE BRIEF FEW SECONDS

[money-and-dandellions]

Apollo has seizures every time a prophecy is spoken so it is painful

and when the Oracles are established, they do not go away, just become less painful

[heartbeatbookclub]

I think, in a lot of ways, Monika and Sayori are reflections of each other.

Really, I think all of the girls are similar in a lot of their issues (self-esteem, anxiety, etc) and that's something emphasized in a lot of the stories, and a big part of why they all gravitate towards each other and work to create the club as a safe space for all of them, but I think Monika and Sayori in particular are just very much alike.

I think Trust really emphasized this similarity in the reveal of Sayori's poem, Become the Flower.

Prior to shifting focus onto the poem, Monika talks to herself about her real vision for the Literature Club. I think here, Monika points out what Sayori actually meant when she said that Monika was "trying to make the club [she] needs the most, out of anyone", even if she doesn't actually realize that yet. It's pretty clear that when she says that literature is a window to the real self underneath the person who's "forced to always smile and blend in", and is "forced to be perfect", she's really talking about herself.

I think that a lot of Monika's character throughout Trust is expressed more subtly, often in a roundabout way like this. A huge part of the story is centered around Monika's own personal struggles expressing herself, and that trait is pretty well exemplified in this indirect way of talking about her own struggles. I think that the reason why Monika's characterization here is so subtle overall is reflective of this.

And I think it's pretty blatant that this is statement is also meant to be reflective of Sayori, given that we immediately move from this statement onto the poem which reveals to Monika that she's been hiding her own problems. In this way, I think Team Salvato wanted to explicitly point out how similar they really are, and draw your attention to it.

I think that the way that Trust as a story is put together is meant to really emphasize just how similar they are even in their differences; spending a great deal of time focusing on Monika's own problems, to then showcase Sayori as the mirror to them.

I think the two of them make a very interesting pair in that respect, because a big similarity they have is that they very much place others above themselves, so they both end up individually building each other up while they put themselves down. It creates this strange back and forth where they each insist they suck and the other is great, when the reality is that they're both pretty fantastic.

In the statement Monika made to herself about her vision of the club, while it's clear she's talking about herself, she frames it in the context of somebody else getting those benefits out of the Literature Club, rather than herself. Throughout the entirety of Trust, she speaks dismissively of her efforts and her problems alike, while pointing out that Sayori is providing a lot of help. Sayori by contrast spends most of her time hyping her up and points out, explicitly, that Monika doesn't give herself enough credit. She also dismisses her own efforts, pointing out in most things she does, up into the climax, that Monika is a lot better than her at whatever she's doing. And when Sayori's problems are actually revealed, she explicitly says that she doesn't want Monika to worry about her, and that she doesn't want to have this conversation.

I think this all really shows that both of them are averse to tackling their own problems head-on, and I think this comes out of a fear of being vulnerable, since that's directly mentioned several times in Monika's issues openly expressing herself.

I think what makes Monika's particular brand of self-negging quite so disheartening is that she dismisses it out of hand as her being silly and dramatic, and in that way, she doesn't actually address the fundamental problem underlying it, nor does she actually address the statements themselves as incorrect. The amount of time she spends talking down her own problems as something trivial and silly, particularly in comparison to Sayori's problems, are a manifestation of her own desire to avoid the vulnerability of even having these problems, and it's just...heartbreaking. Sayori's denial is its own can of worms, but Monika's ability to so consistently minimize her issues when they are clearly still impacting her is so uniquely troublesome.

I think a big difference between the two of them in that respect is that Monika wears significantly more of her heart on her sleeve, so Sayori finds it a lot easier to directly target Monika's problems than Monika does in the reverse, but their individual habits of avoidance are coming from the same place.

I'm traveling a bit aimlessly in this essay, trying to tie things together nicely as I see them, but there are just a lot of similarities I notice between their actions and the way they think that showcase that they have a lot of the same problems, and a huge theme in Trust is expressing oneself, which both Monika and Sayori struggle to do, in much the same way.

I think a key similarity between the two of them is their tendency to catastrophize over a situation when left alone, mostly revolving around seeing the worst possible scenario for how they could've personally messed up the situation. I'm just rewatching Trust for this little essay, so there are two major moments I see Monika doing this, but I remember Sayori doing this...a few times, actually, throughout the side stories.

I think the spiral Monika goes into after reading Become the Flower is particularly important, as it exemplifies the habit of dismissing her own problems fantastically; in this case, she has an excuse. It's true that Monika's issues with her perfectionism seem silly and trivial in comparison to Sayori's, but that's exactly the thing: She shouldn't be comparing them in the first place! Her problems are real, and they clearly cause her distress, but because Sayori's own issues appear so much more serious than hers, she dismisses them wholesale as her being dramatic and silly. Because Monika's problems seem so small, she doesn't see them for the problems they really are. In the same way, because her own accomplishments and work seem so small, she doesn't see them for the accomplishments they are.

This spiral showcases Monika's biggest problem, the reason why she has such trouble expressing herself, and conversely, the exact same problem Sayori has. She doesn't want to be the center of attention.

Put another way, she doesn't think she deserves to be the center of attention. Her problems are so trivial; her accomplishments menial. Her fear of vulnerability isn't a fear that others will hurt her; it's a fear of being selfish.

Sayori is very similar, in that the reason she actively works to avoid showing any possible sign that anything is wrong is because she doesn't want anyone to worry about her. She doesn't want other people to dedicate time and energy to her.

I think that for both of them, this comes from low self-esteem. Sayori is self-explanatory I think, but I'd say Monika's perfectionism makes it exceptionally difficult for her to really feel accomplished in anything she does, which, coupled with her constant preoccupation with how she appears to other people (I think Monika places very high expectations on herself. I mean, Trust literally starts with her frantically apologizing and saying "I normally don't ever do this!" when Sayori finds her napping) makes it very difficult for her to feel confident in herself.

The fear both Sayori and Monika have in being vulnerable isn't that people will use that vulnerability to hurt them.

It's that people will try to help them.

And I think that's a really big part of why Sayori feels like she can trust Monika with her darkest thoughts, because she understands that they're the same in a lot of ways.

Monika created the club which she needed the most...and it was also the club Sayori needed the most, for the exact same reason.

I think it's kinda easy to overlook a lot of this because of the sheer amount of focus placed onto Sayori and the more explicit issue Monika has (insofar as the plot is concerned), but I think Sayori is exactly what Monika needs just as much as Monika is what Sayori needs.

[winepresswrath]

Darla/Angelus is also great because the show has a competing designated OTP and they exist to serve as contrast and hateful competition to THE ship. they are soulless monsters even by the standards of soulless monsters, they literally make the other soulless monsters go "yikes... your relationship seems not good maybe." but they love each other so fucking much. the writers can't help it. they are constantly trying to find their way back to each other. the way she hits him over a head with a shovel and leaves him to an angry mob while he tries to say he doesn't mind dying if it's with her AND the way they coo about it to each other afterwards. the way she takes him back against her better judgement because she missed him so so much but then kicks him out again later because he still can't be who she needs him to be. that's just how they say i love you.

[mettywiththenotes]

Going insane over the way AFO lifts the sword out of his shoulder because it’s so. He doesn’t even use his hand, his palm, to grab it. He uses the back of his hand to lift it up and away

For someone like AFO who we know has a Big Thing with his hands - not just with his quirk but the way he uses them, the way he Offers and gestures, the way they trap and cover - seeing him not even care to properly lift the sword but, instead, lift it with the back of his hand; it’s so clear the attack is nothing to him. The object is nothing to him. By extension, Hawks’ efforts are nothing to him

And the thing is like. This is such a specific gesture. It means so much body language-wise for a character like AFO, but ESPECIALLY because it was drawn by Horikoshi, who has said that “hands are the body part most capable of showing expression and character”

Personally I would have been talking about stuff like this anyway but what gives it more weight and appeal for me is that I know Hori likes drawing hands. That means he puts a lot of care into how hands are drawn. So the fact that I can look at this panel and know that this gesture was drawn with care for how and why the character would do it, that it FITS the character so well, is just really good

[black-and-yellow]

OJ2 my beloved/hated

[goldkirk]

I'm so proud of myself about finances in the past couple months. I still struggle with money but I did enough meditation and journaling and practicing about it to make myself able to actually face my loans and credit cards and savings and bills and start really truly organizing and addressing them for the first time in years instead of just flying by the seat of my pants.

Like. This is a huge deal for me. I've felt like I'm in deadly danger every time I've tried to think about money for years and years. I'm finally able to look it in the face and stare it down and start to organize and plan on purpose instead of just keeping up with the minimum to stay afloat. I'm so proud of myself.

It's still a refrain of "GUILT (funny link)" every time I think about money but I'm able to actually make spreadsheets and face the numbers and monthly tracking again, and even make a new full budget which I haven't been able to do in ages.

still feel guilt, overwhelm, and helplessness, but no longer feel as much deep elemental shame and terror. that's progress baby

[rahayn]

[dr. doofenshmirtz voice] if i had a nickel for every time one of my favourite manga was about an older sibling with the self-preservation instinct of a cast member of jackass, who pick a fight with god and win thanks to their special power, Extreme Autism

it would be a real shame that i'd only have two nickels

[bugsbenefit]

all i'll say about Noah's video is that i think it's weird people are calling it a "bad apology", because it's not even an apology video. the only thing he says is that his opinions have been misconstrued and that he doesn't want people to die, which, yeah, he already said before. there's no sorry, from the video alone you wouldn't even know if he's aware of what he did that made people turn on him so fast in the first place

i know the norm nowadays is to call any response to an issue/a situation an "apology" but sometimes it's just a statement, which is what this is. if he was genuinely "apologizing" he'd have to address the actual things he did, like keep misinformation up, even after it's been disproven and worst of all the "zionism is sexy" thing. what he's doing is just cautious backpeddling by saying everyone got him wrong. just a pretty obvious pr nothing-statement sadly

[coopstadter]

hello

*disappears again*

[heart-wit-strength]

This is genuinely starting to depress me...

[b4kuch1n]

I lied I think it’s fun to draw animals sometimes