#Load Analysis

[scruncheduppaper]

drew this bc because i hate sitting thru chapel

[plasmara]

the thing they don’t tell u about being a psych major is that u start to apply all the concepts u learn not Only to ur family and friends . But also on ur stupid little characters from ur silly little tv shows. like oh that loser? He’s my case study rn im about to diagnose him with five mental illnesses and a severe case of PSTD

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

my favorite scully and mulder moments from s6

the long kiss between mulder and hallucination/time warp scully in episode 3, which he says is “in case we never meet again”. she responds with a fist to his face- and he remarks that he was expecting a left hook instead of a right. i will think about this forever

scully listening to his rambles after he's been rescued from the ocean and placed in a hospital bed: “i would’ve never seen you again, but you believed in me” “in your dreams”, she laughs

and of course: “hey scully? i love you” “oh, brother” (fade to black as he cradles where she punched him in the face with a smile... haha, yes!!! the surface-level fluff and then the angst beneath it!!!! GOD!!)

episode 4’s area 51 roadtrip dialogue: “outpost 134. two miles to go” (the driest scully voice imaginable) “i’m allllll atingle”

(and then the heart-wrenching monologue of hers that follows: “don’t you ever want to stop? get out the damn car?”, and his frail insistence that they do have normal lives and nothing needs to change..... wow. it hurt splendidly)

they meet up again in episode 5, and scully can't figure out how to get mulder back into his own body. “you don’t look too happy. don’t tell me i’m going to have to put two kids through school” “that is you in there, isn't it, mulder?” <- sobbing. loudly. to recognize someone outside of their own body....

and when he tries so hard to convince scully that she can prove to kersh the nature of the body swap, never doubting her for a moment, she says “i’d kiss you if you weren’t so damn ugly” <- oh!!!! OH!! OH!

him giving her the sunflower seeds to remember him by when they think they are being separated forever... 💔 but don't worry! everything is okay in the end! thank goodness!!

mulder telling her the spooky story of lyda and maurice in episode 6; she tells him it is a great story, and he told it very well, but she has to go spread some holiday cheer!!!

the skeletons they find in the haunted house were wearing their outfits. mulder laughs: “how embarrassing”. and when they realize it's somehow THEM, they FREAK out!!!!!!

lyda teasing them about their feelings for each other, and mulder’s absolute certainly that scully would NOT kill him, no matter what <3

scully coming to his door the morning after the whole debacle instead of opening presents with her family like she said she would- she’s still shaken up, so she asks to come in (her! asking! to come into his apartment!), and he grabs her by the shoulders and guides her in

and he agrees with her claim that all of the ghostly adventures must have all happened in their heads, trying to push the implications out of both their minds

AND the gift exchange that follows, even though they agreed not to buy each other anything… their giant smiles as they tear into the presents on his couch, snow falling out the window <3 when i tell you i could have cried....

they way they look at each other in episode 8 when mr. hardt describes his town as “sexy through the lens of weather”, as if they were going to debrief and laugh about it the INSTANT they got in the car... it was SUCH a besties moment, i lost it

and all of the many times in that episode they were mistaken for a couple... i'm a simple woman, okay? i like simple things

scully responding with absolute silence when mulder says he is helping mr. hardt find a date (“... mulder, when was the last time you went on a date?” “i will talk to you later!” he declares, hanging up)

scully carefully checking mulder for any signs of concussion while he proposes the wild theory that someone purposefully threw a cow at him... really just an average day for them, tbh

the way they worked together to doctor up skinner in episode 9... he turns off all the lights and dangles a desk lamp so she can investigate... oh, that was a GOOD moment among a list of very good moments!!!

scully showing up to the gym where he was playing basketball in episode 11- he shoots a three pointer to impress her, and she says “mulder, it’s my distinct impression that you just cheated” <- get his ass!! (he wanted to WOO HER WITH BASKETBALL🥲)

she shows up again to the gym after they get in trouble and lose their jobs: “scully, you wanna go one-on-one? we’ve got nothing but time now that we’re on administrative leave” “aren’t you curious what i’ve got in the box?” (<- and that's Them, isn't it? he wants to play ball, she wants to play show and tell with the secret documents, they're both getting in trouble, saving the world, ignoring the consequences of their actions... i just love it)

(AND when she shows him sensitive photos of his father with CSM, she waits for him to say that he is ready before moving onto the next picture, trying to give him time to process his world being rocked... so what if i cry?)

being soaking wet and cranky with each other in episode 13: “he’s seen things i’ve only read about” “because sea monsters can only be read about, mulder, because they don’t exist” <- TELL HIM! 🦑

scully’s reaction to learning he has a waterbed in episode 14 AND his puzzled face when he discovers she was not, in fact, the person who gave it to him (WHY DID HE SEEM TO THINK IT WAS HER?? I'M STILL LAUGHING OVER THISSSSS)

their mid-time loop conversation on the nature of fate and free will: “i think that we’re free to be the people that we are- good, bad, or indifferent. i think it’s our character that determines our fate” “all the rest is preordained? i don’t buy that; there’s too many variables”

(but doesn't that show so much of who they are in so few words? isn't that an amazing view into their characters and how they fundamentally differ? AHH, i want to yell about it!!!)

also, there was never a universe where the two of them didn’t charge into the bank to save the day, because that is just who they are ❤️

ALL OF THE FAKE MARRIED MOMENTS IN EPISODE 15!! the angst in the way she shoves him off of her when all the neighbors leave… but how excited they were to search the house for clues… their dramatic commitment to staying in character… “how was your first night?” “oh, it was wonderful; we just spooned up and fell asleep like little baby cats”... cuddled up on the couch in front of the HOA president… scully grabbing his hand when he is told he can’t have a basketball hoop… her awkward laughter at dinner with the neighbors when he makes a joke about eating dolphins... LORD. i was the fan they were servicing

and despite all the silly stuff, they work SO well together to try and get information out of the neighbors.... BUT! scully does not let him kiss her cheek when she gets up to leave and it nearly cracks their facade, lmaoooo

mulder’s gasp when scully emerges from their shared bathroom with a green face mask- and then he immediately tries to play it cool!!!

mulder is digging a hole, and scully asks “do you care to hear what i think?” he answers “always” (screaming a little here)

mulder luring in scully to get involved with the mysterious dog-related deaths in episode 16 by hanging up the photos in their office, because he knows her so well. she's ignoring his ridiculous pun as she focuses on the impossibility of a dog doing these killings: “mulder, i don’t have to tell you how absolutely and completely wrong that seems” <- yeah girl, we know! you want to autopsy right now!!

mulder infodumping on cryptozoology to the cops and scully apologizing on his behalf: “animals that aren’t supposed to exist, like the sasquatch and the ogopogo and the abominable snowman-” “don’t mind him, he’ll go on forever” <- the gentle teasing, the familiarity of it all... to know someone enough to know when they cannot stop... her being so used to his nerdiness... it's all so good

scully knows that karin is tricking mulder the whole time. when she tricks him AGAIN into sitting at the hospital all night, scully snatches the magazine from his hands and turns her body away so that there is visible distance between them DESPITE them sitting on the same couch.... ooooo, that angst is GOOD!

(and later, she falls asleep on the couch, and he uses the magazine to gently tap her awake......)

at the end of the episode, mulder is blaming himself for what went down. scully realizes this, sitting on the edge of the desk, saying that karin analyzed him exactly right, and perhaps in doing so meant to pay him the ultimate compliment. he rubs his eyes like he can barely stay awake, and fidgets with a screwdriver as scully asks him if he will be alright. she's not telling him that it isn’t his fault or rubbing in the fact that she knew he was being manipulated- she's just trying to show him that karin admired him, and she means every word

scully gets so SENSITIVE in episode 17 when she proposes the human combustion theory, which resulted in us getting the incredible line “dear diary, today by heart leapt when agent scully suggested spontaneous human combustion”

flirting in the basement in episode 19: “mulder, it is such a gorgeous day outside. have you ever entertained the idea of trying to find life on this planet?” “i have seen the life on this planet, scully, and that is exactly why i am looking elsewhere” (god, that one had me LAUGHING)

then they spend a long time teasing each other, with him stealing her fake ice cream, and oh!!! the way she LAUGHS when she realizes he was looking at archival baseball scores the whole time!!!

and of course, the beloved baseball date- mulder paying some random kid to put the balls in the battling machine. his hands on her hips. their faces are so close together. he talks in a silly voice on behalf of the bat. rearranging their hands over and over again. she’s giggling. “shut up, mulder. i’m playing baseball”

all of the sweet, sweet hurt/comfort in episode 22 as mulder hears wild ringing noises in his head- scully checking him for a fever and trying to get him to go to the doctor. leading him out of the room when he’s in pain. him insisting he’s okay, but being unable to form a sentence and tell skinner about what they found. her trying to cover for him when he accuses skinner of spying on them. and then scully fully believing that she can speak to him without being hurt despite the fact that he is in a padded room, violent, yelling, and inconsolable....... wow 💗

[sapphoscreature]

Arcane is an ensemble show. There are a number of main characters. And so, in order to fully appreciate the story, you have to therefore fully engage with every character’s arc.

This can sometimes be tricky when you feel an emotional connection to one character (or characters) over another/others. This could also be influenced by other factors in your life. Art is subjective, and we have subjective/personal reactions to art.

But it’s fulfilling to set that aside, if it can be, if you want to, and open yourself up to watching and engaging with stories which might not initially click, but which are a puzzle piece crucial to understanding the whole story. And may offer you as the viewer a greater perspective.

Especially because Arcane is character driven. It is through the characters that we understand the wider context (e.g. the Piltover/Zaun conflict). To engage with the characters is to understand how they engage with their wider context and why.

To come at something like Arcane only taking on one (or a few) character’s perspective(s) is to not fully understand the entire narrative, and that is, where I believe, misunderstanding can occur.

Any maybe, if you thought you did understand a character’s perspective, but are then confused by the choices they make in the narrative, re-evaluation is useful. The context within which the characters are acting is seriously complex. It is not good vs evil, black and white. Everyone is so human, i.e. so complex.

The meanings and motives and emotions which drive character’s actions and the establish their context is as rich and layered as a gateau. The wider context of the world in which they exist is exactly the same. To come from just one perspective, one side, is to miss whole other aspects of the story, and that seems like such a shame (and tbh is incredibly ironic).

I by no means wish to tell anyone how to engage with art, and right now I do feel like I’m just pointing out the obvious! I’m just another fan who has been thinking on this for a time and come to this conclusion about what could be causing such divisive opinions/arguments/criticisms. This is also not to say that the show is perfect- art is subjective, as is the idea of ‘perfection,’ so nothing can be called ‘perfect’ imo. But it is fascinating to watch, and challenging at times. And so worth taking in as a whole.

Thanks for your time.

[lochallthedoors]

The Times, 8 October 2017

[otaku553]

Hi i was wondering if youd be okay with people writing fanfiction about your spade pirates sabo au?

I’m perfectly fine with people writing fics for Spade Pirate Sabo AU as long as they credit and do so with the understanding that I already have broad strokes of the AU planned out and their fic might not be canon to whatever I have planned!

That said I love seeing people’s work based on the au so if anybody does write a fic I’d love if they could send it to me so I could read it 🥺

[dxxtruction]

So this feels sort of obvious to me but Armand doesn’t wish to use or want any power he wants control. Specifically he wants to be in control of his sense of security, safety, stability, and attachments, his survival and identity. He controls what others are doing really only insofar as they threaten the control of any of that, cause he doesn’t really want power over them. (Except maybe Claudia, but I’d argue that is still a control thing). He will willingly forgo using or being in power for control. He manipulates and lies not for power but control. He makes grand displays of his vampire powers or strength not on the central intent of having power over people but for control. He doesn’t back down from Madeleine’s turning to have power over Louis he does it to remain in control over himself. He submits to giving up power for Louis’ power because it feels like it’s all in his control, and disobeys Louis when it’s not. He doesn’t take back power over the coven because he has more control if he does not fight it. His choice is a matter of weighing up how much control he has between the two. If the reasoned way to have control is to use power he will use it. If he doesn’t have to use power to have control, or there’s simply more control in not, he is not going to use it. Of course you will note he is simply very powerful, he has the position and means for it, and his ability to have and get so much control is a power in itself, that power is baked into having control. But he is not like Santiago, who is power hungry and wants and uses any power he can get his hands on. Or Marius who is full of himself on his power and has a sense of entitlement about it. Or even Louis who seeks and uses dominance and capital as power for a means of getting and having control. Armand is going primarily always for control as a means in itself for control, and the demand of it is a very high bar which tends to look like he wants or relishes in using power. But from all I can tell he quite hates it really, submission to power is a place of control for him, but he will use and get power if it’s the most in control means to control he has.

(This is at least as insofar as we’ve seen of him in the show. You could say Armand will have a sort of love with power but then some kind of disillusionment with it in s3, going off what I recall of tvl, that puts him back into this state of needing control being above power which would’ve also been his way of operating with Santino and Marius.)

(Added note: I should say I do believe Armand is almost always aware of his position to his power at all times, it’s not lost on him he is very powerful and can use said power if he so wanted, but it’s a question of his control if he does. He understands power and how to use it or he wouldn’t have such great ability to have and manipulate all this control. Of course he’s not perfect in this either, and I do think a strong sense of powerlessness, and total loss of control can override all his sensibility about power. Anyhow, Armand understands power extremely intimately, from all sides of it, and yet places attention not there but in having control, for the things I described above. Survival for him ranking above concerns like that.)

[beryllineart]

About Toriel

Ok, you know how the first child's items are in the ruins? What if Toriel had years with that child, years to love and protect and be a mom again? For whatever reason, the child does not want to leave. Then the child dies. Maybe they are killed by a monster, maybe there's some sort of accident, but Toriel is devastated because she's lost a child all over again.

So she lets the next child leave, and the child after that, because she is too scared to love and lose again. It's like she's cursed to lose what she dares to love. She continues on, years and years of waiting, wondering why on earth Asgore hasn't just gone through the barrier and collected the rest of the souls himself.

What makes it worse is that now she's heard that some of the human children have killed monsters, human children that she let leave the ruins with barely any resistance. It's her fault that both the humans and those monsters are dead now. It doesn’t feel like she can do anything right.

She can hardly stand the guilt, but speaking to her friend on the other side of the door helps. They share jokes, talk about nothing in particular, and Toriel feels herself opening up more and more. A part of her is healing due to this time where she can set her expectations and guilt aside and just listen to a friend.

Then the final human falls down. That terrible flower is attacking them, but she takes care of him swiftly. It's strange though. He usually does his best to avoid her, and she knows that he knows that she visits the flowers at this time.

What she doesn't know is that this flower is her son Asriel, but it's not like he never told her. But Toriel didn't give the reaction her son was expecting. It's like she refused to believe that this flower is her son. Flowey thinks that she forgot him, that she moved on. But in reality, she was scared. Scared that if this really is Asriel, if she really believes and loves and lets herself heal, she'll lose him again, like she's lost everyone else.

Of course, she doesn't know any of this. Flowey has reset so many times that he's a different person now, unwilling to feel, just like his mother. But unlike Flowey, Toriel has some hope. She protected this child from the flower after all. Maybe she can protect them from everything else. Maybe she can love again without fear.

Everything seems to be going great for a while... but then the human asks to leave. Toriel is terrified of losing another child, and she knows that this is the last human they need to break the barrier, but she can't be responsible for the death of another child. She won't be responsible, so she decides to destroy the entrance to the Ruins. She'll never speak to her friend again, but that won't matter if she saves this human, if she breaks the curse that makes her afraid to love like she wants to.

But the first human that fell never left the ruins, a tiny part of her mind protests. She remembers the feeling of a cold, dead body in her hands all too well, something she wants to never experience again. She is still scared to love, but she's even more scared to be the reason a child dies. So, she makes a deal. "Prove yourself... Prove to me you are strong enough to survive."

So they fight. Toriel does not want to kill the human, only scare them back upstairs. But in an instant, no time for her to react, the human gets hit and collapses to the floor. She stands there shocked for a few moments before rushing to their aid.

The body is so warm... they could just be asleep, they look so peaceful lying there. But deep down, she knows. She has too much experience with this sort of thing not to know.

And this time, it really is her fault. All the guilt she felt before is nothing compared to this. All of those other times there was something else to blame, something she could be angry at during the hard times. But this time, this time she has no one to blame but herself.

Toriel remembers crying when Asriel and Chara died. But the tears won't come as she cradles this human in her arms. "This human..." She didn't even know their name. She feels a pain in her soul like she's never felt before, both dull and aching and sharp and hot, worse than anything she's ever experienced. But the tears still won't come.

All Toriel can do is hope in vain that somehow, some miracle can bring her child back.

........

When that miracle comes, Toriel won't remember the pain. It's better that way.

[boinin]

Flower language (Hanakotoba) analysis for the latest collaboration: Blue Lock x Birthday Flower (Part 2)

disclaimer: the flowers referenced are best guesses given that these are cartoon illustrations. Few of these appear to be their actual birthday month flower. Flower language meanings cited from wikipedia and hananokotoba.com.

Nagi Gardenia: secret love

Reo Marigold: jealousy, despair, grief

Rin Aster: remembrance, "I won't forget you."

Sae Sunflower: respect, passionate love, radiance, false riches

[drconstellation]

"Not Even At Gunpoint!"

Future Echoes of the Past #3

I didn't plan this meta. Well, maybe...just a tiny, weeny bit...I had been keeping a parallel in mind for a while...but not in this context. But it was kind of one of these moments:

Lets start at the beginning.

@beebopboom has been exploring the three magic tricks that appear in the S2 opening sequence recently, and speculating how the third one might appear in S3, and I've been exploring the paintball fight scene at Tadfield Manor in S1E2 and how that relates to the Great War in Heaven that formed Hell, and the events around the Fall. The two topics intersect, as you have echoes of the Bullet Catch magic trick from the 1941 minisode in S2E4 appearing not once but at least twice at Tadfield Manor.

But...then I realised, there's more than one pointed gun. Way more.

I'd always liked this throwback line from Crowley in S2E1, when Nina asks him if he is a bookseller as well:

Who would want to be a bookseller when this could happen to you?

Shadwell, turning up at the book shop in S1E4, disturbs Aziraphale contacting Heaven through the portal (a modified Solomon's magic circle) under the oculus, and breaks in to confront him. The historical implications of Aziraphale's lines here are that before homosexuality was decriminalized in the UK meeting places for such people were often disguised as respectable looking book shops. Which makes Nina's question in S2E1 and Crowley's denial to her all the more...loaded? Ah, well, you can't fool Nina, now, can you?

Anyway, mah point is...Shadwell literally has Aziraphale at gunpoint, er, fingerpoint here. Loaded fingerpoint.

But then, this isn't the first time Aziraphale has had a gun pointed at him. He had one pointed at him in the church in 1941 by the Nazi agent double-crossing Greta. His biggest fear, as always, isn't actually "dying," or standing in front of the guns, its the paperwork that he knows will go with getting a new body from the Ineffable Bureaucracy.

Crowley turns up to rescue him, because he "didn't want to see [him] embarrassed." With a bit of equivocation between the two of them, all the time while at gunpoint from Greta, they team up to save each other.

This was even before we got to the Bullet Catch - his "show stopper!"

Back to Tadfield Manor.

As they enter, Crowley is lined up in the crosshairs.

Er, wait a minute...

Only Crowley is shown this way here, not Aziraphale. He's a target. I'm starting to ask what point in time this is referring to - the present or the past? Both. Yeah, why not both! The work I did in this previous meta in this series showed that Crowley was considered a target for early removal by the other demons-to-be prior to the Fall.

Then they are both shot.

I pointed out Aziraphale gets shot by blue paint, representing Heaven, but its a colour we don't see used again by any one in the fighting to come. But what I didn't talk about was WHERE he got hit - in the back. That's synonymous with treachery. Heaven has stabbed Aziraphale in the back, so to speak. wow. Nice - not.

And Crowley? He gets hit in the heart - just like the Norman/Lucifer parallel on the Yellow Team does a short while later during his "fall" scene - with the red paint, betrayed by the Red Team who represent the management in Heaven.

Seems the Ineffable Bureaucracy wanted both them out of the way during the Great War...it get more and more interesting each time I look closer at it...

So was Aziraphale ever in the crosshairs? Yep.

And, as @vavoom-sorted-art points out, this is a time Aziraphale chooses to pick a weapon, and to fight. He didn't want the simple, safe deception trick with the ropes - he wanted a weapon. He really is much more the warrior than Crowley. Aziraphale, I think your nature as a principality is showing!

Firing that gun made Crowley sick to his stomach, and so did this metaphorical loaded gun - the Book of Life.

As soon as he found out from Beelzebub it was a real possibility of being played he went back to protect Aziraphale. Crowley hates fighting - watch how often he will try shut it down as quickly as possible or try to escape it when he can. To him everyone has free will, and the person picking the fight with the other is imposing their will on them. That's 'not on' in his books.

Aziraphale, on the other hand, is still reacting with his ingrained Heavenly instincts - that he should follow his morals because they are 'right,' and more sophisticated weapons add weight to the moral argument. He thinks. Maybe. (Yeah, keep working on that doubt, angel.)

Az: Impressive hardware. I've looked at this gun, its not a proper one at all. It just shoots paintballs. Cr: Don't your lot disapprove of guns? Az: Unless they're in the right hands. Then they give weight to a moral argument. I think. Cr: [laughing] A moral argument? Really? *tosses gun away* C'mon. [Heads into the Manor.] [later, after Crowley changes the paintball guns to real guns...] Az: But there are people out there shooting at each other! Cr: Well -  Lends weight to their moral argument. Everyone has free will, including the right to murder. Just think of it as a microcosm of the universe.

I'll think I'll end this here and leave you with a small montage of the aftermath of all this gun play - everything going up in flames and smoke.

Bring on S3!

If you didn't follow the links in the meta, and want to read the first two in this series, they are here:

#1: The Great War of Tadfield Manor

#2: The Newton/Crowley Mirror-Parallel in S1

[tabbyphobos]

So I've been playing Sims 4 right? And I think I got it.

It has no SOUL.

They keep adding in new content all the time because they hear that people want better gameplay, but they don't mean "more things to do."

They mean that the repetition is showing.

The Sims franchise has always been about repetition. Get a job, go to work, come home, attend to needs, try to make friends or learn skills. Live suburban life. Sims 2 have us goals, which made our experience richer as we try to manage these little people with their own agendas.

(I can't speak to Sims 3; I hated the open-world forcing single-household gameplay, and the aesthetic was terrible imo.)

Sims 4 does this too, but... Why is EVERYONE embarrassed by mischief interactions? Why is EVERYONE scared of thunderstorms? I have an entire neighborhood full of people who are either aspiring to Joke Star or are Foodies, and going between them is basically like playing the same week over. (Johnny Zest, Steve Fogel, June Kay, and Amber Stein, if you wanted to know.)

And I've been sowing discord! Bob and Eliza are both looking elsewhere for romantic fulfillment and trying to keep it secret. Amber Stein and Armand DiAggro are engaged but Armand caught Bob flirting with her at Bob's house because she's there EVERYDAY. Charlie is a menace to society, even to his roommates! I mixed up who a child wanted to be enemies with and made him go full asshole on his dad! Alexander Goth is bald and I don't know why!

But the reactions are always the same: bland. Someone gets mad but does nothing about it, except suddenly hate an activity that they need to do for their job. People become sad and are just slower at eating. Nobody gets into a fight unless I direct them, and even when I do they go back to their corners; no additional slapping or insults.

There are no extremes. Nothing bad, but nothing good either. Nobody gets fired for a chance card. Nobody really fails at anything. And nothing great happens. Getting married coats money and requires more hassle than it used to. Having a baby when you haven't the room or the money is inconsequential. Burglars are back but they just leave sims sad; they even tell you exactly what they stole so you can just re-buy it.

And I have no reason to care about any of these people. The household bio is all the story you get. Travis has so little personality he's made of gray paste. Olivia grew up into... Not really as lively as she was as a kid. Did I mention that Alexander Goth is bald?

Even the blandest families in 2 had some drama going on. The Aspirs and the Bells basically did a partner swap in their youth. The Baldwins have Uncle Carlos and all his bitches to deal with. What about Jason Cleveland's predilection for men? You wanted to hang with these families, see where they go. Because they COULD go in any direction.

Everybody but June in the Funny Foodies corner is a C-Lister. No fluctuation. They are all doing the same things. The most exciting things to happen in the Sims 4 world was Vivian and Dennis got married and adopted a couple of kids before they died. And Bella Goth had a baby without my knowledge or permission. (Don"t even get me started about how mad that made me.)

Nothing happens unless you make it happen, and when it does, no one cares, especially not your sims.

Is this why all sims 4 gameplays seem the same? Builds. Legacies. Rags to riches. 100 babies. Are people trying to FIND the fun in the game? I don't blame them.

2 may require a level of frustration, but at least it has heart. Sims 4 is a life simulation by committee. The edges are all shaved off and the experience is beige, bland, and pointless.

Paralives cannot come out soon enough.

[northsealight]

[sunandflame]

Not me writing a Rob Lucci Boyfriend analysis, while this new arrived, half naked, figure is staring at me 😏🔥

[basedonconjecture]

There’s this tendency in character analysis to latch onto really granular sub-traits or facets of a character trait that only appear under specific conditions (and often in reaction to a narrative event) and apply it as a major personality trait. Which, sure, those are prime headcanon fodder to be explored and can be important for understanding the character in a nuanced way. However, a lot of the time, when those sub-traits are removed from the necessary context they appear in, they often make less and less sense the further away from the context you get.

This isn’t like a value judgment or whatever, but it is somewhat frustrating to navigate around if, for example, I’m talking about Character’s Major Trait #1, and someone else is talking about Character Sub-Trait 1.a and 1.b as if they’re on the same level as the former (and not, rather, facets of Trait #1 and requiring certain conditions and are much more interesting when taking into account how they act otherwise) and applying it with the same broad strokes to their understanding of that character. The latter also allows very little room for contradictory traits when they appear—which are where the crunchier aspects of a character lives. And like… it generally inhibits discussion on the whole.

[lochallthedoors]

thinking of what might have been and what the future says rnrs, raw, wfl?, bhn, ss, ltbl, tht, mg, dykwim?, sms, c&a, sa

+1

[moe-broey]

Okay, I was almost tempted to make a poll, but. As fun as it is as an idea (yay! Group participation!), I think I already made my choice and didn't wanna disappoint anyone if I didn't pick the winning option LMFAO

So, instead, I just wanna walk you through my thought process! Book 3 is approaching, for my quotes blogs specifically I mean. This means I have to set up the evil-alfonse-quotes -- I mean, Lif quotes blog. For the Bit.

For Alfonse and Sharena, I picked out some FEH comic illusts that I think represent them well. Both of them being silly and sweet w Kiran on the header, and the icons! I wanted to capture them each, on a few dif fronts.

Like! Those are my friends! I know them! Alfonse, with an award winning sincere smile, but also! Putting on a good face. Best foot forward. He has an appearance to keep. He's also very charming! As for Sharena! OH THERE ARE SO MANY GOOD SHARENAS TO PICK FROM. You can take that same angle -- award winning smile, best foot forward, to the MAX with her. But!!! Out of all of the choices I could go with... this icon feels like something she would pick herself. It's silly, it's playful, it's cute! Even the more chibi style suits her perfectly, esp in contrast to Alfonse's look.

Okay! So, back to Lif. I already have the idea of making what I lovingly call the Askr Extended Family Photo Comic the header. Where Lif is spotted shuffling behind Gustav, in the background. It is just. EXTREMELY funny, to me. He's a fucking cryptid, to me. Rare Lif Sighting. And APPARENTLY. YEAH. RARE LIF SIGHTING FOR FUCKING REAL. As far as I know, dude has only shown up in THREE Day in the Life comics, including that one. Damn. Okay!

I did not know how dire the situation was, going into this. So I'm scouring the website and also looking through an archive. I have the header, but I need an icon! I come out with a grand total of... three. Options.

I gravitate towards this option first. Rare Lif, so early on it's not on the site (I could be wrong, but also I did flip through all the way back til I couldn't anymore! Cuts off on a Ranulf and Lethe centric comic). Okay, so, what's the deal here? Should be simple? Easy, done? Well... while it's a very nice illustration of him. He looks cool, brooding, threatening. It's a little... stiff. Like, I might as well pull from his in-game art! Which is ALSO really good, but, not what I'm aiming for. It's hard to explain, but art created for specific purposes has different vibes. You know. In-game art is meant to showcase The Art, and the best features of the character. Comic illustrations can get sillier! Or can focus on more personality based things. And capturing the personality, is what I'm going for! Also... because it's a rare Lif, and bc of the way this illust is drawn... it's not immediately clear this is a FEH comic panel. It might not even be clear that it's official artwork. As an artist myself, I'd prefer to stick to clearly official work for this! I don't want any confusion or concerns about uncredited art!

NEXT. I literally only have one other comic to pull from, now. And... Okay, hear me out. I love silly-ifying this man. I love goofing on this absolute DRAMA queen of a man. I love poking fun at him at every opportunity. There is a Reason why I named the blog something stupid instead of being straightforward. HOWEVER. While this is a fun, silly moment..... it just doesn't capture him in his entirety, you know? In fact, I'd argue this is a rare moment where he's directly contradicting his dark, brooding and tortured persona he's so carefully crafted (and well, the natural bits of it too. That came with The Trauma). To me, esp in the full context of him and Thrasir saying "Our work here is Done" Tuxedo Mask style, dumping the rest of the workload (of which, to be fair, was not in their jurisdiction) onto ANNA. You know, Commander Anna? The woman, while not the exact one, but the woman he used to work so closely with? His boss, his co-worker, his friend? Oh he is ABSOLUTELY doing that on purpose to fuck with her. This is a Lif zoomies moment to me. This is a Lif DEEPLY INGRAINED NEED to be A Jackass moment. To me. The type of jackassery that comes with being an older brother. Old habits die hard.

All of that said... it's a very good moment. It's also a very cute illustration. But it's too cute. Too playful. Too silly. It's a real and true moment from him that just doesn't fit the same way anymore. And definitely doesn't capture him in his entirety. This is my opinion, my verdict, with great regret and sorrow. Next!

Out of the illusts from this comic, really only two are usable as an icon. This is the other one. And..... HEAR ME OUT. It goes back to my thoughts of picking that specific illust for the header. Catching a Glimpse of the local cryptid haunting the place. The Ghoul Himself, lurking and shambling about. AND GOING BACK to my thoughts on why I picked those specific Alfonse and Sharena icons!!!!! To capture their personalities, and the faces they put forward to the world! How they see themselves, or want to be seen! Oh, Lif does NOT want to be Seen. This is one of two candid shots you were able to snap of him while all other attempts he's like Big Foot. Some blurry, glowy spectre who is going to get SO FUCKING MAD AT YOU when he catches you trying to catch Him. And!!! And!!!!! POKING FUN AT HIM. The comedy of seeing This Fucking Guy in broad daylight is unparalleled. He looks SO out of place, on a nice, clear, sunny day. Not so scary now, running errands for Commander Anna, ARE you, buddy? Huh?? Huh??? Oh god wait don't reach for your cursed sword I'M SORRY I'M SORRRYYYYY --

It's funny! Ironic! That the third one was a "I'll do it if I Have To", in my mind. I didn't want to use it. I did, very much, want to pick something Cooler. But no... that's not the Route....... do not be swayed by his objectively very cool appearance and his dangerous demeanor. Rule number one to being a Lif enjoyer is you HAVE to make fun of him. Rule number two, is that you have to make fun of him in a Lif-honoring way. You cannot solely focus on what makes him cool, what makes him tragic, and what makes him endearing, those rare moments of softness. No. You need to Hone In. LOCK IN. On what would make him want to punt you across the battlefield, full fucking force.

That's just how I feel, though! Thank you for joining me on this little journey! ☺️☺️☺️😌💖💝💗💘💞💝💞💘💖💞💖💓💞💓💖💞💓💖💗💗💝💘💘💞💕💕💕