#I learned a new thing while making this and it is that i HATE rendering hair like this

[mossy-paws]

PHIGHTING! Album cover challenge

God-ish

I feel as if I have been neglecting my tumblr followers lately, so here’s this full course dinner that took away 8 hours of my life

OG album cover: (Specifically this was more inspired by Ado’s cover of the song!)

[angels-sins0]

i beg you to continue with this fic of ghost, i want reader to gain some strength and make something 😭

Ghost x f!reader

Cw: I apologize in advance, emotionally (un)available Simon, age gap relationship (Simon is depicted in his late 30’s and the reader is around 21), older man!Ghost, young & naive!reader, slight spoilers for MWIII, brief mention of a developing alcohol addiction, hurt/no comfort, angst, screaming and crying, please don’t kill me for this.

Six months had passed since you last saw Simon. Truth be told, you’ve never felt better than you do right now.

You had moved out of your apartment three months ago after getting a promotion at your job, earning more money than you ever thought of having.

Life was good without him. You didn’t have to worry about getting your feelings hurt anymore.

Simon on the other hand, had been going through the worst months of his life.

He lost a good friend of his while on a mission which resulted in him frequenting the bar close to his house more than he’d like to admit.

Work was hard then and it was even harder knowing he couldn’t see you or hear your soft voice again.

He hated whatever it is he felt when he thought about you and the last time you were together. He despised himself for the way he treated you.

He missed your sweet laugh and the way your eyes lit up each time you saw him even if he proceeded to ruin you moments later.

What was it about you that made him feel weird inside whenever he thought of you? If only he felt that way when you were still with him.

Simon felt like he saw you everywhere around him, like you were with him no matter what he did. It was a strange feeling at first but he had learned to succumb to the comfort it brought him.

It didn’t help that you were the main star in his dreams more often than not. Whether it be dreams where he fought harder to have you back in his life or him fucking you in your bed, a guilty part of him enjoyed the latter.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He had to see you, had to look at your face one more time, hold you in his arms and never let you go again.

Simon stood in his apartment and contemplated if he actually wanted to do this.

What if you didn’t want to see him?

What if he was too late and you had found someone who treated you the way you deserved?

He had to try, right? Sure he would be hurt if you didn’t want him anymore but at least he would have some kind of closure.

And so, he made his way to your new place. He had gotten the address from Laswell but not before she made some snarky comment about him finally “getting laid”.

Simon knocked on your door and stood looking down at his feet.

Then you opened the door and he swore his heart could’ve popped out of him at that moment.

“Hey,” he breathed out, but you just stood there, rendered completely speechless by the fact that he was actually in front of you.

“H-how did you find me?” You said after a few moments of silence.

“I’ve got my ways.” He said plainly. You weren’t sure what you were supposed to do.

Should you let him in?

All the while, you both just stared at each other.

“Do you want to…?” What the hell do people even say in these situations?

“Only if you want me to.”

And so, you moved to let him in, closing the door behind you and leading him to sit on the couch.

It was awkward. You didn’t even look at each other, just sat there in silence.

“Why are you here, Simon?” You asked. Why the hell would he show up now?

“I’ve been…thinking a lot about where we left things off.” He looked at you and you nodded slowly at his words.

“And?”

“And I think— I know I was an asshole to you and you didn’t deserve the way I treated you.” He sighed, and you stared at him, dumbfounded.

“It took you six months to figure that out?” You didn’t know what it was exactly that made you so angry. Was it his audacity to show up after all that time and think you’d be okay with it?

Simon went quiet again.

You stood up from the couch. “Do you have any idea what it’s been like for me the entire time you were away? How long I spent crying over something that wasn’t real? We had nothing! And i still felt like you were everything to me…even when I knew you’d never feel that way about me. Did you really think that—I would…let you in again after all this time?”

You couldn’t help the sob that escaped you, covering your face with your hands to wipe away your tears so he couldn’t see them.

He got up as well, slowly approaching you and he gently pulled you into his arms. You reluctantly relaxed into him, the tears still falling from you.

“I’m sorry for making you feel like this…I wish I was better—i want to be better…” Simon cupped your face with one hand, the other still wrapped around you and placed his forehead on yours.

With your eyes still closed, you hadn’t realized he’d lifted his mask up above his mouth. Your faces were impossibly close and he leaned in to connect your lips together in a kiss.

You felt like you were being controlled by something and it made you kiss him back, even when part of you wanted to push him away.

It went on for a couple of seconds before you eventually pulled back and stared at him.

“Is this what you’re really here for?” You said, voice laced with a hint of anger.

“No! Fuck, no! I wanted to calm y’down and it just happened.”

“I wanna be better and i wanna make you happy but most of all I want you to forgive me for how things were between us.” He was almost pleading, his eyes searching yours for any emotion.

You couldn’t help but scoff.

“All these words…and you still kissed me with your mask on, what does that tell you, Simon?”

He stayed silent. “It tells you that no matter what we have, you’ll never be able to feel like you can let your guard down around me.”

“But i-“

“And if we really decide to do this, what happens when you think i’m not enough or when you feel like you don’t want me anymore? How the hell am I supposed to be okay with that?! It took me six months to start feeling better even though what we had was nothing!”

“You are enough! For fuck’s sakes, you are all I’ve ever wanted!”

“Then show me who you are! I’m never gonna be able to love you if I don’t fucking know you, Simon!”

“You know I can’t do that…”

“Well, then you have your answer…” You looked down, not wanting to see his face anymore.

But he couldn’t look away from you, part of him knowing this was the last time he’d ever see you so he wanted to memorize everything about you.

“I think you should go.” You said, breaking the silence between you. “Please don’t try to come here again.”

You looked up at him and for the first time since you’ve known him, Simon looked hurt. You couldn’t help but feel a pang in your heart at the sight of him standing there, trying to salvage whatever this was but ultimately failing.

“Right…”

“I’m sorry for everything I did to you.” Were the last words he spoke before leaving.

On his way home, he had this weird feeling in his chest that he couldn’t explain, it made him realize why he was always so closed off and why he never tried to have something with someone.

Simon has always had this unexplainable fear of being rejected and left alone, and tonight, you invoked that fear further into him.

He had two thoughts that kept circling through his head.

He was never going to love again.

And the second one that pained him every time he would think about it.

You were gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

@ghost-is-my-bbg , @evehasdied , @darlingvinny , @dragonstoneshortcake , @dest-nai , @imhereforthespice , @graciewacey , @annoyinglysweetobject , @7thsthings , @kaa212 , @rorylover71 , @deareststhings , @dxrak , @ghostslillady , @kazuhyahs , @spookyboogyuniverse , @dangelus , @kenz-ee , @goodkittyspost , @puppybittingotherpuppy , @skulfan1 , @prttylilkittn , @emmalandry , @justgivingupsblog , @simpforfic , @ciggsaftersex , @massiveduckkidcookie , @c3r3al-k1ll3r887 , @riverbutghost , @spxctorslxxt , @marriedtoeddie , @delightfulwolflawyerfreak-blog , @sixxslut , @ghostslittlegf , @tf141glory , @ghostswife141 , @prazinos , @toastedkjeks , @naio-kummer , @sunsetsimon , @livingdead-g1rl , @chimochai , @yo1mamma , @loving-azerath , @lanadelreygirly777

[iztea]

Do you like drawing in a sense that it relaxes you? Like a hobby you‘re looking forward to after a day of work. Do you feel joy while you draw?

I‘m currently battling my art demons and came to the conclusion that drawing actually makes me feel shitty a lot of the time because I only take joy out of the results yk? So if it‘s good, great! If I get overwhelmed woah my world is breaking down. My therapist told me I need a hobby that actually relaxes me and that I like solely for itself, not connected to performance, and I was wondering if drawing is just generally the wrong thing for that or if there‘s a way for people to actually enjoy it in a relaxing way.

You‘re so open about your drawing process and you‘re my favorite art account so you fell victim to my question haha but I get that this ask is pretty specific and kinda weird, don‘t feel pressured to answer :)

i do very much enjoy drawing in a relaxing way; for me, it's the equivalent of playing video games or watching Netflix so, in a way, i think of drawing as "unproductive work". Not sure if you're actually looking for a solution-based answer to your problem or if you just want to hear my side/my opinion on the matter, but I'll try to delve into both. 

I think for me personally, I've always found drawing to be relaxing for the most part. Frustration is always to be expected, of course, but I wouldn't say it ruins the mood, it's just something that comes and goes. The only unpleasant part about drawing for me is strictly related to the social media aspect or just making it public. Now, I'm not sure if you have an art account as well or how much you relate to this but I very often dread posting stuff online. I kinda have to force myself almost every time to make something public because I hate the applause but I am also rational enough to understand that art is meant to be shared with others, even if I personally don't feel a strong need to... It's just one of those human behaviour things you have to mimic or adapt to get by, similar to many other things that don't make sense to me personally but I cognitively understand why they happen but I digress

 When it comes to the process itself, I actually enjoy it more than the final result. If I had a lot of fun experimenting with brushes and new techniques and crazy effects i saw online then i get a sense of joy no matter the end result, and here is where my first piece of advice comes into play: learn to enjoy the process without thinking of the destination. For me, even when I do have a clear idea in mind, it always fluctuates and I let it fluctuate. Sometimes it even looks like shit. So what? It's just for your eyes, who cares if it doesn't look good? Just call it a flop and move to another thing, or revisit it sometime later when your skills improve. This is even easier when you do not have an art account where you share your art, there's zero pressure, you're creating the pressure yourself.

Just think about it: 

>why do you feel shitty and overwhelmed? -> because you care about the end result

>why do you care? -> because if it turns out bad, it feels like wasted time. or because you put your worth into what you create or because [  fill in your answer here ]

>do you still want to continue drawing? -> if there is a way to enjoy it in a relaxing way, then yes i assume

Ok great! Then, the solution is to remove that root feeling of disappointment, overwhelm or despair by learning to appreciate the process of creation and bask in the uncertainty of it instead of being so dead-set on the final piece. If you are not content enough with your skills to end up drawing something that you're always satisfied with, and if it causes you this much distress, then drop your expectations and don't reach the finish line. I mean this literally: draw forever-WIPs. Sketches. Doodles. Don't render, don't even try to think of a color palette. Don't Finish Your Art. Enjoy the process of discovery, of trial-and-error of indecision and I can assure you it will be during these moments when you'll find the relaxation you're looking for.

Enjoyment and relaxation, in my experience, come from two places/approaches: 1. the subject itself and/or 2. noticing improvement in your skills.

To give you an example, when I was sick with fever I drew Dazai as that "let's take ibuprofen together" meme and I thought it was the best shit in the world I was on cloud nine and giggling to myself. Looking back on that art, I now realize it looks terrible (and i lowkey want to redraw it) but back then i was laughing while drawing it and felt Great. because I was drawing something i thought it was funny. Not even once did I think "oh man, I hope this turns out nice ohh it will be so awful if it doesn't the world will explode" because that was not its purpose. Granted i was a bit,,,,,, unwell given my sickly state but my point still stands! So, what I'm trying to say here is that you can try drawing "funny/silly" things as a way to sort of lessen that burden of expectations. Or just something you reaaalllly want to see and you know no one else will do it. Taking matters in your own hands type beat

The second way to enjoy drawing in a relaxing way is by taking the other route: instead of focusing on the subject matter, try focusing on new techniques, new brushes, new tutorials or approaches you found online. Basically, focus on improving your skills in a fun-no-pressure-no-strings-attached way while keeping your subject of choice neutral or uninteresting. Or maybe take the artwork of an artist you really like and try to deconstruct it/ reverse engineer it and apply it to your own art. But whatever you do or choose, just never finish it. let them stay as wips or else you won't be very.. relaxed.

*please note this is an "and/or" statement, so you can absolutely do both: try a new technique you found while drawing something that you also enjoy for uhhhhhhhhhhh relaxmaxxing as the would kids say

Lastly, what I would highly recommend is listening to Adam Duff's podcasts, he really hits the nail on the head when it comes to such topics and more, he really narrates and explores that soulful part of an artist way better than I ever could with this answer so please check him out, I think you'll find your answers there

[mdhwrites]

Andrias vs. Collector: Who Was Redeemed Better?

Andrias hands down. Not only is it helped IMMENSELY by character consistency with him but it actually functions with what we know of him. Despite literally only ever getting half an episode dedicated to him (he doesn't actually get a lot more screentime than The Collector, especially while as a villain) we understand his motivations, the reasons for his cruelty, why Marcy made him cold and annoyed every time she was even mentioned post True Colors (he did not enjoy torturing Marcy. The literal only claim there is one line from True Colors where he blames her but otherwise, Marcy is fridged SPECIFICALLY to give someone for Andrias to show regret about) and then when shown how far he had fallen from the good man he was, he goes ahead and tries to fix that. First a final act of heroism but then not asking for forgiveness or the like. He is too guilty to need, or perhaps even want, such things and he instead can try to put things right on his own. In the end, we are left with the impression that Andrias WILL continue to tend to Amphibia now until the day he finally dies. It's actually done pretty well for the fact that it's given such little direct attention, especially by the time he's supposed to start being redeemed.

Meanwhile, the Collector's arc only works if you ignore large swaths of the show. His redemption mostly comes down to the idea that he needs to learn morality and that other people can be hurt by his actions but... He already did. In Watching and Dreaming, he yells at Belos controlled Raine specifically about how King will hate him for the nightmares, showing that he understands that his actions can upset people. In S2B, he talked about wanting to play with bones and criticized Belos for potentially murdering the Grimmwalkers, kind of opening up a moral conversation about the nature of Belos' treatment of them while showing his knowledge of death.

Even if we believe he didn't know these things and try to say he was manipulated, we can't. Belos' goal was extremely explicit and back when he was Philip, he had no reason to lie to the Collector. A spell to kill all witches in return for your freedom was the deal. That's pretty damn evil and the Collector could have always said no but instead he's EXCITED for them to be dead in Hollow Mind. All that matters to him then is his freedom, screw anyone else. Then when he is freed, he has neither the archivists or Belos to push him around and tell him what to do. As such: Why the fuck did he make the hunting stars? You know, the roaming stars that turn people automatically into puppets, rendering them to a fate worse than death as they are conscious and aware of what's going on, even as they are entirely incapable of doing anything about it. They are still around MONTHS later. Hexside literally keeps watch for them. If he is just a little guy, why the fuck did he make those in the first place and why are they still around?

None of this is ever addressed though. Instead, the show spends a quarter of its finale, and a decent chunk of the special before it, focusing on trying to redeem him and show him off as a good guy while not having him actually acknowledge the awful, terrible things he did. There's no taking of responsibility like with Andrias. There is no proper refusal of his morality or change in his thinking. Even his attempt to make peace with Belos is flawed because it's still the same all or nothing thinking that we've seen up until now for the Collector. "I do X, I get friend." It's not actually an acknowledgement that other people are complex and have their own free will, it's just a new form of trying to easily get what he wants. Then after her turns people back, which is good, he just leaves. He doesn't do anything to actually make up for what he did or allow him to face a world that he has irrevocably damaged. Instead, he abandons it all. All that responsibility and guilt can just be left behind instead of actually worked on. How is that a show of what he learned? Of him rejecting how he was before? Of him being REDEEMED?

It makes it much less an arc and more something we're told. At least when Andrias powers down to make Anne's final punch on him more effective, we have seen his regret. We have seen his motivations. We have seen as one is pushed into his face and the other torn down. Then we get to see him act on it, allow his conquest to fail, as a willful decision to back down from that evil rather than double down. Then we see follow through with him in the timeskip where he is still simply trying to make up for his sins, even if no one will ever tell him his work is done.

We don't get anything like that with the Collector and that's why he will always be easily worse to me.

======+++++======

Someone shared a Reddit post on this topic in my Discord and I almost posted 95% of this as a comment there. I... I know better than to do that on Reddit though so I decided to just let it be a blog over here.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[goron-king-darunia]

Eggtober 21st, 2023

"Strange Flower" or "Controversy" Overcooked Hard-boiled Egg with Mayonnaise

(Clip Studio Paint, Gouache Brush, Airbrush for Paprika and Pepper. 12 colors, about 30 minutes.) Woke up with this idea. Mayo is a controversial condiment and I 100% understand. I hate custard filling in things like donuts. It's goopy, a little salty, and it has that texture to it that screams to your brain that "this is uncooked and probably bad to eat." And I think mayo is like that for lots of people, but worse. Because it's salty and a little sour and that same "uncooked" texture all sends the same signal but more like "this is rotten and falling apart. It's not good to eat." But I like mayo. Maybe I just got introduced to it in a more postitive way than custard or creme pat. Maybe because most creme pat comes to me in a donut at room temp and mayo usually comes from a refrigerated jar. Maybe it's because both are a little salty and eggy and so mayo reads as "a good sensible condiment for burgers and sandwiches and slaw salads" while creme pat reads as an "aberration that could only be put in a donut by accident." But then I think humans just kind of don't like seeing fatty substances all in one big glob. Same way lard is a common cooking ingredient in many non-USA countries but people in the "northern" non-farming USA see lard and only think "byproduct" like bacon grease and feel a visceral disgust the way I feel about burger grease. I think a lot of things are like that in life. Some of it's genetic, like the way cilantro tastes like soap to some and like a tasty floral herb to others. Some of it is experience, like a taste aversion to plums after a bad summer. And some of it is social. How we're taught to be disgusted by "byproducts" because that's not the thing we're intending to make, or it only happens when the thing you're making turns out "wrong." Some of it is political. I'm sure you all have ideas. And I think, on the one hand, disgust is useful. We get sick if we eat expired foods. We can die if we eat the wrong berry or mushroom. Being wary of the new is safe. An on the other hand, unbridled disgust is the enemy of curiosity and growth and discovery. When we turn away from things that make us uncomfortable, we lose a chance to learn.

So on the one hand I think this piece is about my experiences becoming a more adventurous eater in my adulthood. I still don't like creme patissiere. But I'm not going to waste a donut because of it anymore. I don't like red bean paste. But at least I know what it tastes like now, and it's not just a blind discomfort around something new. I'll never get over how the texture of glutinous rice cakes remind me of chewing gum, a thing I've been taught to spit out. But I can understand why people like mochi.

And I think on another hand (many hands today) this piece is also about how @quezify plays with disgust and horror and beauty. And how that curiosity disgusts some people and enamors others. How it ties you in knots. How wound dressing and debridement are all at once an act of love and an act of mutilation. How there's beauty there in something so instinctively disgusting.

Dunno exactly. That's what the art's there for, I guess. To express what I can't quite put in words. I hope it's disgusting, and I hope it's beautiful.

I wonder if @lady-quen's breadbugs will have fun with this one?

Speed paint~

I don't know if my style can really render any gravitas to it, with how soft everything is, but I hope it speaks to someone.

[allthenamesithinkofaretaken]

*Inhale* if I’m wrong I’m wrong—

but istg, I once saw someone who was a fan of both TLW AND BUNGO STRAY DOGS?? And istg if my memory is failing me, but I think it was you…? (Okay, kill me if I’m wrong, I’m not going to complain, I get to say “hi” to Muerte lol)

*But either way, I’m 100% sure you’ve listened to EPIC the musical so at least I know we share that similarity because I screamed when I saw “When does a man become a monster”— (and yes, I talk a lot, and I am so so sorry)*

BUT GOING TO MY POINT— just curious how Muerte would react to a suicidal person, would he hate them for not valuing life? Would he pity them and try to help out? Would he be pissed and go after them like what he did with Puss? It’s pretty interesting to think about. So maybe… a small chapter about Y/N feeling suicidal and doing self harm? (Again, sorry for the long text and huge fan of your writing btw 🤩😭)

How could I hurt you?

Muerte/ Death x Suicidal! GN! Reader

TW// talks of depression, suicide

Hi! No, I'm not the one you're looking for but that's fine, I'm not going to kill you! I love long messages with thoughts on them because I think they're fun! I named this Oneshot off the lyrics of Just a Man (I know, I'm sorry) and I hope you don't mind but I cut off the self harming part because I don't feel comfortable in writing about that. (You didn't know, it's fine, I didn't really put a warning for the things what people can and can't request for, and I might do that now the next time I turn on requests) but I hope you enjoy! Sorry if it's short, I'm still trying to learn how to manage my time because of the new school works my prof sent us. 🥲

Muerte with a suicidal MC:

I don’t think he’d chase after them like what he did to Puss' at all!

Because the reason why he chased down Puss in the first place was because Puss was taking life for granted in a way that most arrogant people do (as we see in the movie. Puss isn’t suicidal at all, at least I think not)

The difference between that and being suicidal is that Muerte sympathizes (empathizes? I never knew the difference) with them. They have experienced a lot of misfortune, trauma, or other life events that lead them to being that way, and he can always understand the pain they’re going through that made them want to end their life in the first place.

Suicide is one of the death’s that’s hard for him, I imagine, seeing that it’s about someone taking their own life just to end the pain they’re going through. That this wasn’t some last minute accident or stupid decision they didn’t think of before doing like some of Puss’ deaths. It was something they’ve thought about for a long time, for the longest time.

So if (Y/n) is suicidal by the time they meet, he would sit with them, and they’d let the silence bask around like a warm and gentle hug, and then he’ll talk, he’ll ask if they’re okay, he’ll ask what they’ve been up to, what they like to do, anything to remind them of the good times rather than just fully focusing on the bad parts. He wants them to be comfortable after all.

But when there are times when they just need to let out their feelings, Muerte will always be there to listen, no matter what. If they want him to reply, he’ll think of anything to say, even if the things they’ve said had rendered him speechless, if they want him to just be there while they rant out their thoughts and feelings, he’ll be there.

He cares about them much more than he’s cared about any other person he could think of (other than his brothers and sisters of course) and he wouldn’t want them getting lost in the pain and sorrow he’s seen others get swallowed into so many times.

So expect him to always be there for them when they're feeling down, always to support them and make them feel better, cuddle them, especially if they end up dating.

If not and it's all platonic, then he'll be less affectionate, but still supportive nonetheless. He'll listen, he'll help.

He doesn’t want to reap their soul like he’s done with so many others.

[duckiemimi]

thoughts on this post:

https://www.tumblr.com/alluratron/729365875383222272/thoughts-on-gojo-satoru

it def gave me a different perspective of ch 236 and also Gojo… i guess i never really understood him (i mean granted i only check in on the manga to see who’s survived so far 😭)

definitely interesting and a new perspective for me, too!

that was a lovely read! i can’t read japanese, so it’s great to see the nuances in gojo’s words from the original language itself. with this post in mind, i will say that while i can understand how gege wrote him, i don’t understand why.

it’s true that gojo is different from everyone else! the way he processes information and emotions is a very obvious indicator that he is. but instead of a match in strength, i assumed the biggest lesson he had to learn as a character framed as “alone” by everyone else in the series was connection and interdependence. as in, instead of finding or making people on par with him, i assumed that the work he needed to do as a character was to realize that he could be understood despite the gap in power between him and everyone else. i mean, he’s found that place of understanding before with geto. and that was even after he became the strongest alone. but maybe he was written without the intention of growth. then why write him the way he is?

perhaps the fault really lies in the english translations because by saying “allies” in english, i assumed he meant “support,” as in supporting him as fellow jujutsu sorcerers. it implies that there is a burden to bear and that he wishes to have more people to shoulder it with him, on the same height (similar levels; “catch up with me”). i wouldn’t exactly use the word “allies” to describe a group of people fostered to be on par with gojo for fun’s sake only.

but he is a nuanced character, so perhaps he does care about his responsibilities as a jujutsu sorcerer, and he simultaneously wants other jujutsu sorcerers to have as much fun as he does. but then why doesn’t he just unilaterally establish a new system, since he hates the higher ups and how they run it? geto posed a good question; it’s possible for gojo. is the system a weakness? is his name and lineage a weakness? i don’t understand why we were given so many empathic scenes of him shit-talking the higher-ups when he could just flip the world upside down. if he were leading jujutsu (instead of being somewhat of a figurehead like before), then he could foster people who could have as much fun as he does with jujutsu, right? he could make jujutsu fun for everyone, or at least he could appoint people to make it fun, right? then why hold back?

i think the problem with the writing is that while gojo is a very self-centered character, undeniably arrogant with the power to back it up, he doesn’t exist in a vacuum. gege wrote in politics and a whole world beyond just gojo and his powers, gege wrote in characters who render gojo unmoving. so it’s strange to see gege pick and choose whether or not the canon world affects gojo that day. it’s not consistent. but i mean, gege hates the guy, i guess. so it tracks, as tracking goes.

if so many people see his character a certain way, regardless of language, maybe the problem lies in the readability of his character. assume your readers are smart, yes, but don’t leave things so vague and messy for them to figure it all out by themselves. there’s an obvious incongruity in knowledge between the author and the readers that should be leveled. is he supposed to develop and reach a resolution, like many people assumed he would, or is he supposed to die with his “original sin”? the transition between the gojo we saw in volume 0, in hidden inventory, and even right before his sealing to the gojo we see in 236 is not effective enough to answer that.

[that-gay-jedi]

Learning shit is my favourite form of recreation but learning any new historical thing ever fucks me up so much bc adding any shred of context to the things I hate about life on earth today makes me want to scream. For example, like, a few months ago I was reading The Faithful Executioner by Joel F Harrington and realized very early into the book that our conception of the purposes of brutal medieval punishments reveals a LOT more about us than it does about the people who enacted them.

Shortly prior to the period during which Franz Schmidt, the subject of The Faithful Executioner, lived, responses to murder and other horrendous acts were typically managed by blood debt or other honour systems like those that play pivotal roles in the Norse epics and ancient Greek tragedies and are found in surviving legal codes from numerous other cultures.

Whatever your personal stance on avenging a loved one's death, a significant problem with these systems was that they often spun out of control in various ways, such as creating cyclical feuds between families or communities that could persist for decades, or facillitating an excuse for the victimization of community members who were simply unpopular.

A high priority of the judicial system at this time was to quell these cycles of violence by satisfying the aggrieved public. Making a public spectacle of things like executions and floggings was far more about averting a cycle of violence and supplanting extrajudicial punishments with judicial ones than the motives we so often ascribe to them.

The popular image of medieval tortures and public executions as being performed for their own sake, or to satisfy the laws of a wrathful Christian God, or as a crude attempt at deterring similar crimes comes more from our own perceptions of morality and criminality than from surviving historical records. It holds up a mirror to today's prevalent attitudes toward addicts, the extremely impoverished or unhoused, non-working people and people whose work is deemed to be of low or insufficient value.

People who believe in capital punishment today typically see condemned persons as needing to die for ontological reasons, not because of what the victim's family might do if the law doesn't satisfy them. These are so often the same people who will talk about who does and does not "deserve" food and shelter or about "teaching criminals a lesson." We ascribe these grotesque opinions retroactively to medieval people either because we're not conscious of how they pervade our own worldview, or to foster in ourselves a sense that today's cultures are definitively more enlightened and compassionate than those of the past.

Another example, a while ago I listened to Ancient Mesopotamia: Life in the Cradle of Civilization by Amanda H. Podany and I was repeatedly floored by her emphasis on both the symbolic and material ways in which the ancient Mesopotamian cultures she studies prioritized the wellbeing of community and family as a whole, including the lowliest members, over the exercise of a king's or head of household's (to them these were practically one and the same) powers. It might not quite be enough to make a motherfucker want to go back in time without antibiotics or water sanitation but it sure made me despair about how the fuck a culture like ours, which descends from theirs in so many ways, could have ever reached the point where we allow mass death and suffering on an unthinkable scale at the whims of hyperwealthy Musk-like and Bezos-like figures.

I dunno man. I'm not quite ready to say ignorance is bliss, but I so often feel like my specific interests and hobbies have rendered me very alone in seeing a certain angle of something being so very very wrong.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

I wanted to take a brief pause after VII, just to talk about hallmarks of Dragon Quest as a series. Because we are leaving the era where these games are a driving force in developing the JRPG genre. Like...I know when I do the final ranking I'm going to put II much higher than most. Because I earnestly feel II is one of those very special games that developed so many things that became ubiquitous you take it for granted. This does not mean VIII, IX, and XI are bad by any stretch. I'd compare it to The Simpsons; your purpose has changed in a world full of imitators. What was revolutionary is not comforting and timeless.

Sadly this does mean we'll lose a few elements that didn't translate into the next generation. Eventually the designers behind the series started following norms competitors innovated. So before we go on to VIII and it's massive legacy, a few favorite hallmarks I didn't get to cover:

One of the most iconic features here since the first that's just as fun in XI. Metal Slimes. So many have tried this and none work as well as the original. Rare version of a weak enemy that nets massive experience. The catch? They're quick to flee and while they have only 3-4 HP their defense is maxed out. Enough you might do 1 damage on a hit. Then later games introduce different, stronger varieties. If you need to grind, the metal slime family always feels like a fun little mini-game to shorten it. And the developers are smart about where their hotspots are usually. If you see one in a new area, it's worth it to try and bag a few first pass.

Dungeon Philosophy. I hate this has fallen by the wayside in favor of following Final Fantasy's style. Early on, you had to approach dungeons like an old school D&D module. You're not doing it first try. It's all part of the fun baked into what happens on a loss. You just go back to the last King/Priest you saved at and lose half your money. The dungeons are designed around this, if it's a tower you can just hop off and go back to town. But you'll have to make a few runs at the labyrinth to figure everything out and learn the optimal path. Especially with...

Random encounters having some teeth to them. This has diminished over time but game design in general has gotten easier so I don't fault DQ for it. But in those early ones, yeah random encounters can be brutal. You need to consider spells like sleep or fog that'll spare you some hits cheaply. If you flee and fail you lose a turn like a lot of RPGs but not every monster will go so it's more viable sometimes. All together, simple but tight design. A dungeon in early Dragon Quest feels like a real challenge of balancing resources like MP. This is why I love III so much, the class system plus peak design philosophy makes everything work so well as a total package. Your party comp will determine which parts are hard or easy.

Decisions on equipment. This is subtle but very cool in practice. Unlike a lot of JRPGs, in these early Dragon Quest games you're going to have to grind a lot to get every new piece of equipment you can buy immediately. Which will feel even worse if something is rendered obsolete with a dungeon treasure. You're not expected to. When you first get to town you decide what felt like it needed to be bolstered the most, then go on and start taking on the dungeon expecting to need a few trips. When you're ready to leave, decide if you want to polish it off here or try your luck with a headstart on the next town. Later games have replaced this with a crafting element I like, so it's more of a lateral move.

[tinyspringtrap]

anyways I literally hate the ruin lore so much I ended up deciding to sketch out some practice designs for the AU in my head :^) (and Springtrap)

read more for fun au facts

-Glitchtrap is the result of Springtraps processor being scanned - Springtrap did in fact survive the Fazbear's Fright fire, but was rendered inactive by it until Aftons subconscious was uploaded and freed once more.

-Scraptrap is the mimic, who was trapped in the PS location and rendered inactive by the fire and heavily damaged

-Vanny is an actual threat, who murders kids in an attempt to build burntrap and make it a viable physical host for Afton (which fails)

-the patpats are possessed by various kids who were murdered and used as experiments before building burntrap. they are unaware of glitchtrap or of Vanessa being Vanny, and unwittingly tend to lead new kids into more danger.

-MXES is an advanced, self-learning and highly adaptable security system made by Henry to try and prevent anyone from getting into the PS location after his death. rather than being located where it can be reached, the main security console is located in the very centre of the PS location.

-Burntrap ends up being taken control of by the MXES due to his close proximity to the PS location as a means of defending the location further - this, however, ends up alerting Afton to MXES' presence and piquing his curiosity.

-Afton has Vanny attempt to breach MXES' security and gain its attention, allowing him to take control and merge with it while its distracted. this gives him even more power and enables him and Vanny to access the PS location easily.

-Vanny and Afton discover the mimic, and Afton decides they need to investigate it - tasking Vanny with repairing and refurbishing it, as well as investigating any abilities the strange endoskeleton has that could prove useful as a potential new body since burntrap wasn't proving useful as a potential vessel. In the meantime, he now has a different digital form and more ability to cause chaos and problems.

-the VANNI network is not an actual thing made by Fazbear ent, it was made by William and Vanny and is used to lure and trick people via the mimic once it's refurbished. it doesn't enable the wearer to walk through solid objects and only acts as a way to access information from Faz ent. servers without having to bypass any security manually. there are some AR aspects but mostly in the way of little notes which cannot be seen without it.

-Afton can switch between the original MXES form or his preferred one - though he only uses the original while the VANNI mask is being actively used to lure someone into the old and ruined pizzaplex.

-Gregory sneaks into the pizzaplex because he's concerned about Vanessa, who is his much older half-sister, and hasn't been acting normal for quite a while.

-Gregory is under aftons control, and the only reason he isn't dead is because Vanessa was given 2 options: Afton would kill him as Vanny, or she could agree to allow Afton to take residence in his brain instead of hers until a suitable replacement body is found.

[lirhyapetitpain]

Hey !

I have followed you on Twitter for a while and I really love your work (on the French side) (yes, I'm asking in English anyway)

So, you keep posting the evolution of your art style and skills (really impressive byw) using the pokemon fanart and some of your recent/ Sam stuff.

I was wondering if you had some resources for coloring digital work. Your colors are always wonderful, and I'd like to progress so... asking you, seems logical.

Thank you for sharing your passion, I'm able to shine at parties, talking about things I barely know ahah !

Stay awesome, and have a good life :)

Haha thanks, I appreciate a lot 💚

I don't have anything 'cause I developped everything I do all by myself so the 5 tips I can give for digital coloring are :

1) don't be afraid of testing stuff. Just do a plain flat color as a base on a new layer, shadowing on another and try even unatural colors, brushes etc until you like the result

2) you're a digital artist, meaning you have a shit tons of digital tools such as photo rendering (from the most complicated photo touch up to the simplest instagram filters) use them, using filters can help you get a smoother colo and can change EVERYTHING for the best, you would be surprised. Again, try stuff, find what your softwares can do by testing stuff.

3) Find something you enjoy doing, a color palette you like, a type of coloring you like (for exemple hyper realism or hyper cartoonish? Whatever you like doing the most).

4) Remember you can't be good at anything and use that. I used to be terrible at colo, in fact I'm still pretty bad at realism, that's why I took the opposite way with flashy saturated colors and ironically my colo became what people love the most about my stuff when it used to be the thing I hated the most about my art when I forced myself into doing an artstyle that impress me but that I have no fun doing myself. So find your weakness, aknowledge it and use it to find your strength.

5) This apply to every form of drawing. Thinking is more important than practicing. Save arts you like, observe them, try to understand what you see "oh they used this specific color to shadow this, oh the shadow has this specific shape, oh the light source is here" etc etc, it works for everything, line, sketching etc... Learn to think by yourself rather than following tutorials because most of them will teach only one way to do one thing with one specific angle and light and all so learning to observe and think, decompose and recompose an object will make you improve A LOT. For exemple, if you have to draw a hand, take your hand and look, it's not one object, it's 17 different objects interacting with each others and having their own volume and perspective (3 for each fingers, 2 on the palm of the hand, basically). That's something you can practice everywhere at anytime. You have to wait in line in a shop? Observe a random object or person and try to understand how you could recreate that, what colors you can find in light and shadow etc...

And of course be patient and kind to yourself.

I'll probably start posting more step by step and process very soon, I have a hard time recording myself 'cause I tend to do a lot of pauses (ADHD disaster) and I often forget to put back the recording haha but I'll try. Lots of stuff coming soon.

If it's too hard to understand you can dm me here or on X in French, I don't mind. Have a nice day ✌️💚

[highpoly]

i managed to finish my first animation project YIPPEEE

originally i was going to use motion data from other creators and edit it into this project in a way that would match the song but after finding out a creators updated terms stating they wish for their data not to be used for other songs that they are not meant to (for example if they animated a world is mine dance, don't use it for any other song unless it's world is mine)

i figure i just fill in and edit everything with my ideas instead then at that point and animate whatever i could. also the parts that were from other creators were so small that i might as well just do it all myself anyways. yaaaay for being able to say that it's animated all by me

i will say... wish i could animate more dynamic things because not gonna lie... for this animation i feel like i relied too much on still images and also it's a lot of just lipsyncing scenes. which is fine because i know that there's a lot of animations like that for songs and also im inspired by project diva anyways so i hope you can also see that influence on this video too (amongst other things that have inspired me hehe)... maybe i'm just being too hard on myself because i'm just one person anyways and also... not like i have the money Or the space to do motion capture so.

also... the new codec and the plugin i use for aviutl so that way my animations can be edited works! there's a few render export issues i have on certain scenes though but at least it's nowhere near as bad as my calc thing (still feel like re-rendering and reuploading that one...) not sure if i have to play around with render settings *dies*

and speaking of these programs.... i really regret updating davinci resolve.... and i hate how it handles the transitions as well. i wish i could have added more for this one but the way davinci works is that it wants more frames in order for it to transition but i find that so stupid... there's also a text box effect animation i find useful but if you include it, it won't render it so you have to convert it as a compound clip like why... i wish they'd address these issues because i learned these have been around for a while now!! i wonder if i should try finding another program

well anyways. i think i'll be making some final edits on my miku model. i'll be releasing the animation next month on my youtube, so i hope to see everyone there... thanks for reading :3

[acaseforpencils]

Gustavo Magalhães.

Bio: My name is Gustavo Magalhães and I am a Brazilian illustrator/cartoonist. I live in Caçapava, a small town in São Paulo state. I have worked as an illustrator since 2013.

As an editorial Illustrator, I've been published by The New Yorker, Golf Digest, Forbes, The New Republic, GQ Magazine among others. The first time I was commissioned by The New Yorker was in 2021, for "The Critics" session on a portrait of Sandra Oh" for her new show at the time, "The Chair," which aired on Netflix.

Sketch, refinement, finished piece.

I also have a web comic strip called "Curb Talk." It's published  twice a week in a classic Comic Strip format.

Lately, I am a Senior Illustrator at a Studio called "Fried Design Company ,'' in Springfield, Missouri. But I work from Brazil.

AOIKTYE Procreate Keyboard for Ipad / Apple Pencil / Ipad Pro

Mac Mini / Asus Proart PA248QV Monitor / Huion Kanvas Plus 22 Display

Tools of choice: My process of work is mixed, I like to sketch the first thumbs and sometimes more advanced pieces on paper and "ink" / color them using digital tools. It's been 5 years that more than 90% of my final pieces are done in digital, and along that period I discovered that I'm a person that likes to do a significant amount of tests while inking, and digital tools help me a lot in that.

Lately, I've been trying to achieve an inking process that I could do both on paper and on digital, that way I could do my pieces however I feel on that day, and my comic strip has been a good place for this test field, and I'm enjoying that mix very much.

Pentel .09 Mechanical Pencil / Staedtler Water Brush / Staedtler Pig LIner 0.3 / Royal Talens No. 2 Brush

If you were asking me "You are on a desert island and can bring just one setup with you," I'd say I would bring my iPad. It allows me to sketch with an "analogic feel," where it's important to feel that you are actually crafting something. But it also gives me all the testing possibilities the digital work has.

Huion Display pen Battery Free Pen PW517

Tool I wish I could use better: Coloring in general, but mostly painting. It's always a struggle to translate what I have in mind to the final piece. And there are some aspects of texture and rendering that you can only get in analogical tools like gouache, oil, watercolor. Of course there are excellent artists that do those digitally, but there are certain aspects that you need a physical touch to achieve and I have never done anything like that. Maybe one day.

Tool I wish existed: A chair + desk set that automatically corrects your bad posture whenever your body is hurting or sitting in the wrong way. I hate having lower back and wrist pains while working, haha!

Tricks: One thing I brought from the full analogical days is an adaptation of the "drawing from your shoulder thing." Personally, I found it very hard to do, so I use a bandana on my pen hand, and use the other hand to pool this and drag. This is a thing that helps me a lot when drawing straight lines with a handmade feel, instead of just using shapes in Photoshop or any digital tool for precise lines.

Misc: "Go easy on yourself and have fun!" I never thought I could work with illustration. I spent almost a decade working in the aircraft industry (half of it doing freelance illustration jobs for local bands and brands) and the factory mentality lever left my mind, just now (after 10 years as an illustrator, 7 as my main activity), I'm recovering the passion that I had as a young doodling kid. Everyone sees artistic careers as this romantic thing, but it's always a struggle (at least for me) to face your passion as an obligation day to day, and make this trade of time and love for money. So after several years going hard on myself I am finally learning how to be lighter and having more fun and joy in my work.

(Outro/Editor's note: I asked Gustavo if he would care to discuss how working in the aircraft industry affected his work as an illustrator):

I think the biggest influence I got from this industry was the routine and how to deal with work. Artists naturally tend to be less rigid in the aspect of routine because of the nature of creativity, and I think that having almost a decade working in another industry in a more conservative environment helped me in how to take it more serious in all aspects, from my day to day process, to how to treat my clients and deadlines.

That's basically the biggest influence and learning I got from this period. How to understand that the work isn't just the drawing and thinking, but everything that happens behind it, from the clothing choice I pick to work at home, from the time management I need to have in order to balance all simultaneous projects I have.

Website, etc.

Portfolio

Curb Talk Comics

Instagram

Twitter

----

If you enjoy this blog, and would like to contribute to labor and maintenance costs, there is a Patreon, and if you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee, there is a Ko-Fi  account as well! I do this blog for free because accessible arts education is important to me, and your support helps a lot! You can also find more posts about art supplies on Case’s Instagram and Twitter! Thank you!

[nani-nonny]

Ngl, half of the fic made me go 😮 from action the rest made me go sad because Leonardo still pushing leon away but IT DIDN'T STOP MAKING ME SMILE!!!!✨✨✨✨✨✨

Oh my god the action part go brrrrrrr!!! LCD using his bow and arrow to NOT KILL but render them useless is *mwah* chef kiss 💋 he just give them critical hit and it's up to them to make it quick or just sit there looking pretty with bloods - bruh imagine one of them sit in uncomfortable position as they get hit by arrow -.

Then here comes the boss fight!! My bird gal acting like a Canadian goose! And i CAN'T STOP IMAGINING THIS FIGHT IS IN GENSHIN IMPACT STYLE!!!🤣✨

The part where LCD hit the bird lady's head with the wall multiple times and a bit brutally was soooo cool and badass AM A BIG SUCKER FOR THOSE MOMENTS!!!✨

After he smacked his right arm into the wall i was like " come on buddy, you can't do that to him!! " and then someone came behind him! I honestly thought it was big mama BUT IT'S OUR START CHAMPION LEON✨💙

LCD abounding his bot arm to escape was ballsy i give him that!! But you can't if you can't open portals.

Then they finally start talking face-to-face after 5 years, and LCD get to know about CJ's case, about his dad, about the little turtles.. What LCD thought about CJ, about how badly he wants to hug him got my heart, about how he remembered CJ still clinging to him 💔 this broke my heart; i want him to be with CJ at least, to hug him again... This break my heart but strangely in... A good way? I guess a part of me think 'at least LCD got to know about his nephew's state'.

Then the next day when LCD came back to get his bot arm,he got treated for a new arm. When i heard him almost 'whilst' it made my smile bigger... And Donnie made it for him?! That made me more happier because if am not wrong Donnie hates LCD for hurting leon.

This made me much more happier you don't know... This kinda gave me... Some peace?!

Here's a little present from me for this beautiful one-shot a sad LCD getting pet pet pet💙✨

It’s not an LCD fic if killer peepaw doesn’t make you feel sad /hj

LCD action really makes me brain go brrrr it’s so satisfying writing him in terms of fighting. Although it can be hard hahah, but maybe it’s helping improve my action scenes, who knows?

The winged yokai using bird moves like clawing and squawking made it fun to write her moments, just a birdy friend (totally didn’t base it off of Oregano’s movements when I saw him try to intimidate a mop)!

Lil Leon’s appearance and witnessing LCD peepaw’s fist wrapped around an enemy’s throat and said fist stuck in a wall is honestly the most sane thing he has witnessed LCD do /j

But LCD abandoning the arm is such a funny thought, despite the cowardice behind it lol! Just clunk and run!

LCD learning that everyone has moved on, living the lives his brothers could have, while he’s stuck in the Hidden City atoning for his crimes is such a bittersweet moment :( and the fact he wants to give his nephew a hug but knows he shouldn’t makes the bittersweetness all the more potent

And LCD returning the next day to find the gift from Lil Leon? Learning that if it weren’t for Lil Leon’s begging he wouldn’t have the functional arm despite Donnie not liking LCD :( he knows how much Donnie loves his twin brother and appreciates the things Donnie does

And yes!!! Perfect! I’m so glad you feel that way of feeling a sense of peace after reading the oneshot! I was aiming for a sense of closure that healed over time and not definite or within a short timespan like Lil Leon desperately wants! LCD is more content with his crimes and more willing to pay for what he has done, despite how badly he hurt the past fam! And Lil Leon has grown more mature to move on and heal just a bit from years ago, albeit small, and more accepting to the fact that he can’t “save” his future self because that’s the path LCD chose. Everyone has chosen their paths to take when moving forward, including killer peepaw (even if his seems to be steps backward)

LCD being pet! The scritches! The squishies! Thank you so much that’s so cute!!! I love it so much! It satiates the urge to squeeze my sad peepaw

[idoart]

OOC

Finaly got a few characters for the little murder drones/fnaf crossover thing I'm doing! So here they are! Little TW though! The last two characters might be a bit disturbing. First off we have the main three drones:

Stephanie:

Stephanie is a lot like Bonnie, meaning she the first to move and go towards the security office. She has a really bubbly and sweet personality during the day and can be pretty aggressive during the night.

Alec:

Alec is like Freddy, meaning he doesn't move a whole lot. He absolutely HATES the cameras and being looked at. He'll make a camera or two go down for a while, rendering them useless, but it doesn't last very long. He's one of the fan favorites, and probably one of the most least aggressive drones.

Mia:

Mia is a lot like foxy, she runs down the hallway towards the security office. However she can run down either hallway. The security guard can tell which door she's running towards by the sound of her laughing and footsteps. She's the lead singer of the main three and a fan favorite!

Tw: the next character/images include things like blood and gore!

Percy Jenson:

Percy was the creature of the drones at the location(the pizzeria or whatever the location will be called, haven't thought of a name yet) and one of the chilren of "JCJENSON IN SPAAAAAACE"'s founder. He was a great guy who loved his job and loved the drones! And the drones loved him as well. However he 'went missing' around June 21st, 3060. What really happened was his older brother, Malic Jenson, pushed him into an old incinerator used for burning scrap metal and parts. His vengeful spirit roams the halls of the pizzeria/location. He doesn't do much besides watch from the shadows, being seen hiding in the dark areas through the cameras or even in the security office, though he doesn't appose any threat.

Valerie:

Valerie was once a server at the pizzeria/location, she would bring cakes and other food to customers tables. After an accident she was left in the parts and service room until she could be repaired. However she decided to escape through the vents. She would go after the security guard for reasons I will state later on. The security guard would have to shine his flashlight in her face when she entered the security office's vent, which would overload her damaged sensors and cause her to back off for a while.

Current story so far:

The location was opened on May 19th, 3059 and was instantly popular. Percy's father, the founder of "JCJENSON IN SPAAAAAACE", funded the project and helped build the location and drones. Percy Jenson took care of the place with love and care until he was reported missing on June 21st, 3060. After he died his older brother, Malic Jenson, tried to take over the business but their father wouldn't let him. The location was left under the care of the company and continues to be popular on earth to this day. The drones and other staff were devastated after Percy's death. The main three drone(Alec, Mia, and Stephenie) took the news much harder than the rest and became vengeful. It didn't take them long to figure out what Malic Jenson had done and become vengeful towards him. Nearly 11 years later Malics son, and Percy's nephew(who I haven't thought of a name yet), returned to the location in hope to find out what happened to his uncle Percy. He got the job of "nighttime security guard" in hopes to learn more information. Unfortunately for him, the vengeful and angry drones hadn't seen him since he was 10 years old(how old he was when Percy went missing) and mistook him for his father, who he looked a lot like. The drones started to try and attack him during the night, wanting revenge for their creator and friend.

The reason Valeria goes after the security guard(aka Malics son) is because Malic caused the accident that left her legless and damaged. She along with the other drones would try and attack and kill the security guard for revenge. Percy's spirit simply watched from the shadows. He didn't want his nephew to come to harm, but he figured he could try and protect him until he could get to the real culprit, Malic, his older brother and the one who murdered him.

Percy's spirit often talks to the drones, giving them comfort and reminding them he's still there. The drones can sometimes see him, thought its very rare, but he is always staying nearby them at all times. He's like a father figure to them in a strange and weird way?

Hope you guys like the story so far! I'll make more drones and characters eventually, and maybe even a blog for this little crossover itself!

[zwoelffarben]

Guess who's not done talking about They/Them

That's right, it's this blorbo enjoyer. Today, we're gonna be talking about Owen.

We'll start with an in depth at his opening monolgue, and how he fills his introductory speech with rhetorical strategies popular with gaslighters and weaponized progressive language to make the campers vulnerable because it's something I found deeply fascinating on my first watch: how he privately believe all kinds of monstrous biboted shit and then turn around and publically says all the correct well-rehersed words that nearly perfectly hide his cruel intentions.

"I can't make you straight. I don't wanna make you straight. Gay people are A-OK with me. If you're happy the way you are, then more power to you. "And I know what you're thinking. You hear the words "gay conversion camp," and you start to imagine all kinds of homophobic bullshit. Well, that is not what we're about here. And let me tell you another thing. "God… God doesn't hate you either. And any son of a bitch that tells you otherwise is a bigoted asshole. And that is officially the last time that you're gonna hear about the man upstairs. I promise you. "But I'm guessing that some of you are here because in some way you're not happy. Maybe you don't fit in. People make fun of you. Maybe you wanna find some new kind of peace, a new way of thinking about yourself. Well, you give us this week, and we might be able to help. And if not, just enjoy the sunshine, and work on your tan."

I briefly touched on its first section in my first analysis of They/Them here because it was marginally relevant to the discussion I had there on the symbolism of the establishing scene's composition.

But now I'm going to focus on the meat of this sections rhetorical strategy, which are the preemptively disarming statements (blue), progressive language (orange), presenting a false choice (yellow), and framing all his actions as being in the camper's best interest (green).

The main thing owen Owen does a lot here during his introduction, both here and throughout the other sections, is acknowledge the camper's expectations and subvert them. By acknowledging the expectations, he shows the campers that he understands what they assume about him, and then by presenting himself in a way that subverts those expectations, he disorientates the camper's initial guardedness, creating a crack in their armor. This is an important technique which can render people more vulnerable to gaslighting, which he and the staff use throughout the rest of the film.

He pepper's his speech with the kinds of language you expect from progressive person with a deep and nuanced understanding of gender, so far, the words "homophobia" and "bigotted" which he uses exclusively to imply that he doesn't hate gay people, but more notably later down in the monologue "safe space," and "gender normative lifestyle." While his language ain't exactly correct, oweing to the fact he doesn't believe a word of what he's saying to the campers and his real intentions and beliefs leak through just a bit, he's clearly studied and learned the language of queer progressives so he could easily weaponize it.

His rhetorical strategy is further enhanced by how he frames his intentions, as helping the campers find happiness, inner peace, or a new way of knowing themselves; he isnt trying to 'make them straight' but 'showing them their options' presenting himself as naively assuming that they might like being straight more than being queer, and that he might be able to help them get to that happiness. For some of the campers who came of their own accord, this works wholeclothe, and for others it doesn't work at all but it catches them off guard: and it's supposed to serve both those functions.

Lastly for this first section, we see him falsely promise the campers the ability to opt out of the program, reenforcing his rhetorical opening that he can't make them straight. By promising them the opprotunity to work on their tan, he gives them the false sense of security that if they don't like what he wants them to do, they can leave. Of course there's no real exit or opt out, but the promise of one is... disarming.

OK. Let me introduce you to my colleagues. They do all the real work. I just cash the checks. This is Dr. Cora Whistler. She is our licensed therapist, and as you might have guessed from the name, my wife. She who must be obeyed. Next to her is Nurse Molly who takes care of any little mishaps that may occur. Molly's new here, so take it easy on her. And that's Zane, our athletics director and a former student here. So, he knows all the ropes. And, boys, he's taken, so hands off. And that beautiful woman right there is Sarah, Zane's fiancé. She's our activities director, and she is going to keep you busy. Believe you me. And over here we have Balthazar. That's our handyman, all-around Mr. Fix it. Say hello, Balthazar! And that, finally, is old Duke. Duke is one old hound dog. So please treat him kindly.

In this section, we see Owen pulling and pushing his role as the camp's top-most authority. He very carefully establishes the authority of the camp verbally while offuscating the heirarchical relationship between the campers and staff from which that authority is derived.

Dr Cora Whistler is a liscenced Therapist who must be obeyed, Zane is the athletics director who knows all the ropes, Sarah is the activities director who'll keep them busy. Even Molly and Balthazar who're the weakest links in the structure are introduced by their titles to establish their place in the heirarchy.

But, contrast that subtle emphasis on the authority with what he not so subtlely asks the campers to do, which together with his 'request' that they please give him the opprotunity to 'help them,' are all he's asked so far in his interactions with them: take it easy on Molly and treat Duke kindly.

His joke about Zane's sexuality is carefully considered rhetorical point designed to disarm the campers and reenforce his first point that formerly "gay people are A-OK with [him],"

While he establishes his authority, Owen is playing a foot in the door salesman, peppering the group with innocuous requests to prime them to accept the larger demands both immediately as he makes his first demand and later on after he drops his established pretenses.

OK. I'm gonna need you to hand over all your cell phones and computers. As well as any medicines, narcotics, or cigarettes that you may have. Cell phones don't work out here anyway, and I'm glad to say that we don't have any Wi-Fi. So we are off the grid which will be a nice change, I'm sure. Molly, if you would. Thank you.

I'm gonna talk about the pink sections a little later in a reblog as it contrasts well with the first true dialogue we see in the film, and this first post is about Owen's monologue as a jumping off point for his character

OK. Let me tell you how the next week is gonna work. We have a number of planned activities and therapy sessions that we would like you to be part of. But other than that, you're on your own. We do have one hard-and-fast rule here. And it's about respect. We deal with some sensitive issues, and we expect you to treat your fellow students with care. And allow them their dignity. This is a safe space. For everyone. And this is the most important thing that I want to say to you. I know that many of you are here only because your parents made you. And while their intentions may be honorable, only you can know what's best for you. Because the idea of this place is not to come outmore straight or less gay. Of course we hope that through your time here you will discover a gender normative lifestyle that is authentic for you but… you must find your own truth. Let us help you do that. Please. Okay. So, uh, why don't you head to your cabins? Settle in. Unpack. We'll meet in the lodge in say, uh, a half hour and get started. Boys' cabin over there. Girls' cabin over there.

This section doesn't really have too much going on here that I haven't touched on before, as it serves primarily to transition smoothly from the heart of the monologue into the conclusion of the scene, but there's two interesting points left.

First, Owen admonishes the parents of the campers who were forced by their parents to come to Whistler Camp. It's again an example of a preemptive disarment (acknowledging their circumstances before they can state them), but more than that, he's planting the seed of the idea that he agrees with their intentions while disagreeing with their means.

The second interesting thing happening here that I want to draw attention back to is "Gender Normative Lifestyle." I touched on how it sounds like progressive language on the surface, and it does, but there's more to it than that: it sets up Owen's actual opinions, which will slowly be revealled to the audience as the mask comes off. Beneath the fauxcceptance he uses to introduce himself, he thinks he and his are normal, buys 100% into patriarchal cishetnormativity as the superior belief system (and the film will explore and flesh out his beliefs some), and think the campers are freaks that no one will care about when he hurts them.

Owen is the monster. He's just clever enough to appear well-dressed.