#There's also information given by a lot of people

[elbdot]

Have you ever make some comics of El and Guzma First meeting?

Or you know their relantioship when he was still the team Skull leader?

It may sound strange to some, but I actually have ZERO comics of their first ever interactions! 😂 But given how many people read EAA by now with absolutely ZERO knowledge of Pokemon SM, it would probably be a good idea to give them some context someday, especially on Team Skull.

It just wouldn't be my main priority right now, I'd have to plan it in first - believe it or not, while their history is fully detailed in my head, I have given no thought yet to where to include a possible flashback in the webcomic 😅😂 All I will say is that their relationship started out on a REALLY BAD First Impression, ABSOLUTELY terrible

Also to all my wonderful readers who never played Sun and Moon: I'm amazed you came this far and sTAYED despite knowing nOTHING about the games OG storyline I applaud you, some of the stories must be SO CONFUSING

( I actually added a Alola-crash-course-summary to my homepage ages ago, boiled down to the most crucial bits of information to get a basic understanding of the story but man. It of course leaves out A LOT of characters )

[rainbowsky]

Hi rainbowsky....

How r you. .

Hope your summer vacations are going on well!!

Since yesterday, there are lots of posts on Twitter that Dapeng has unfollowed Yibo on weibo and also that he has not spoken anything about Yibo during award ceremony...

What are your views on it..

Hi Shakurablossom, I'm OK, hope you are too.

I'd like to remind everyone that Twitter toxic BS belongs on Twitter, not here. I closed my anonymous inbox for this very reason.

This whole thing with Da Peng is completely unsubstantiated. There is no proof that they 'unfollowed' each other, or have any kind of beef with each other, but there is evidence to the contrary.

It is true that Da Peng did follow Yibo in January of 2022, but Yibo did not follow him back at that time. I know that, because I made a comprehensive list months later of all of the people he followed, and Da Peng was not among them.

Yibo does not currently follow him, but as far as I can tell he never did at any point.

As for whether Da Peng follows Yibo anymore, that, too, cannot be verified. He follows many hundreds of people, and on Weibo it's not possible to see all of the people he follows. When lists are long like that, Weibo limits how many accounts you can see at a time, and browsing through them all is difficult if not impossible.

Even if he did unfollow DD, that's certainly no proof of a rift.

There were reports and some video clips of DD waving to Da Peng at Weibo Movie Night, and of Da Peng enthusiastically applauding and cheering for DD when he won his award, which they wouldn't have been doing if they were mortal enemies.

Look, this kind of fandom 'enmity' narrative is not good for GG or DD, and hateful fan behavior toward colleagues will only make their careers more difficult and give them a bad reputation. Despite the massive size of China, the entertainment business is relatively small, and no one can afford to make enemies.

Not only that, but as I stated before back during the whole War of Faith controversy, fan behavior can backlash against the artist and cause them serious problems. Fans should remember the Clear and Bright campaign and behave accordingly, whether they agree with the intentions of the campaign or not. The rules are real, the consequences are real.

We cannot know what is happening behind the scenes, nor how DD feels about any of it. Fans make all sorts of assumptions about these relationships, but that is all they are: assumptions.

None of the claims about War of Faith added up. They still don't. Everyone involved in that project stands to gain by DD being acknowledged and winning an award, just as much as any other actor.

Given his high profile, age and background, I'd argue it's even more so in their best interest for DD to win an award. The attention the production would receive in such a situation - and the opportunities it would lead to - would be significant. No one's so stupid, selfish or short-sighted to not see that. No one in that industry hates money that much.

Everyone involved in that project - everyone, including actors, producer, director, etc. - stands to gain by DD remaining connected to it in a positive way, by DD's fans continuing to support and champion the project, by a possible sequel happening, etc. The show had only just begun to get more opportunities to air, and potential for a sequel was genuine.

Everyone involved in that project stands to lose by DD being passed over, stands to lose by DD's fans freaking out and turning against it, stands to lose from all the negative press. There's no motive for production to suppress DD's opportunity to win an award for his role. Quite the contrary. It doesn't add up.

The information the production team provided about what happened was adequate to explain the situation. The statements DD and YBO made were emphatic and sincere. Yet, incredibly, there are people who believe he was lying under duress.

Similarly, there's no motive for DD to create a rift with Da Peng, and certainly not vice versa.

I wish people would put in more thorough care and reflection before cracking off with these conspiracy theories. They're so harmful, and such a waste of time. They poison the atmosphere of fandom and turn everything into a battle between fans and perceived enemies. They cause rifts within fandom as well, and turn friends against each other. It's not a good use of anyone's energy.

For years we've all talked here on Tumblr about how 'protective' behavior by fans is not helpful nor healthy, but somehow it's as though we have developed a case of collective amnesia and suddenly almost everyone is engaging in it as though we are living in a parallel universe where none of that past reflection had ever happened. As though when XFX are engaging in it, it's awful and deluded, but when turtles are, it's righteous and valiant. That sort of double-standard is disappointing and confusing, to say the very least.

This sort of "my fave is the victim of some terrible, outrageous Injustice and I need to go to war for them" narrative is what nearly got GG canceled. I know I'm not the only person who holds that in painful memory.

The whole War of Faith thing led to a lot of that same behavior, including people reporting the drama to the government, claiming that the director and producer do not represent proper communist values, because they put forth for an award an actor who played an enemy of communism.

Are we now at a place in fandom where we are going to start openly embracing the idea that only actors who play characters that align with certain ideologies should be worthy of acknowledgement for their efforts? Are we at a place in fandom now where we're going to try to use a repressive government as a tool against people who we perceive to be our enemies?

There is that old saying, "When you have a hammer in your hand, everything starts to look like a nail." How we look at things shapes our perception of them.

We should all know this by now. After all, we see solos constantly swearing up and down that GG and DD are mortal enemies, and claiming to have proof of it. We see how their heteronormativity and boyfriend fantasies color their ability to see or acknowledge any of the evidence to the contrary. They see things through their own lens, and they approach things in a way that helps guide their toxic behavior. Nothing - however rational or substantial - will ever convince them that GG and DD don't absolutely despise each other.

GG and DD could be filmed making out in the back of a car, could issue a joint statement saying they're friends, could come out and have a public wedding, and solos would think it was all an act they had no choice but to engage in. They'll always have some other explanation. They'll never change their minds in the face of evidence because their perspective doesn't come from the evidence, it comes from inside themselves.

In the same sense, if we want to see a conspiracy of abuse toward GG or DD, that's exactly what we'll see. If we want to believe that certain colleagues are their enemies, no one will be able to convince us otherwise.

I am here to say that there is another way of looking at things, and a completely different perspective. One that does not align with the DD victim narrative people have been pushing lately.

We have a choice about how we view and approach things, and as fans it is incumbent upon us to choose very wisely and carefully, particularly if that choice is going to lead to disruptive and potentially damaging fan behavior.

Regardless of our perspective, we should always behave in ways that support GG and DD and will not put them at risk or endanger them, their careers or their reputations.

We need to trust GG and DD to manage their own relationships and careers, and behave graciously and respectfully toward everyone they work with. It is impossible for us to know when we are creating rifts where there were none. It's impossible for us to know what opportunities are lost, what delicate situations are tipped over in a bad way, all because of fan behavior.

It's better to take the higher ground than to dig into ugly thoughts, feelings and behavior.

If GG or DD has a problem with someone, I trust them to deal with it themselves. They have platoons of high-priced top lawyers and managers looking out for their interests. They don't need fan disruption. It's not helpful, and will just draw more negative attention their way and make them look even more like traffic stars, which is the last thing need as they try to shed that image and be taken seriously as actors. It will only add more stress to situations, and another headache for them to navigate and deal with.

So I hope that we can all focus on GGDD and their projects, rather than on what we perceive their relationships with colleagues to be. It's totally unknowable, and frankly none of our business anyway.

In the absence of clear and comprehensive information, let's try to be charitable in our assumptions, and represent GG and DD as humbly and graciously as they represent themselves.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi Raven! I just had a quick question because I was hoping to clear up some confusion for me.

In book 5, when getting ready to audition for the VDC and the actual audition, I interpreted it as us just helping and being moral support for ADeuce. However, with some of the things I’ve seen, we, the MC, might’ve auditioned? Bc I really hope not lol I have no musical talent and would be so embarrassed I know I’m a bad singer I don’t need Vil the Queen telling me

Thanks! Have a good night/day :>

Good question! I went back into the game to check and… well, it’s more complicated than you might think! Let’s go through it all.

So beginning in 5-4, you first learn about the VDC/SDC. Grim expresses his excitement: “I want in on this competition!” In Japanese, you’ll notice that Grim uses “ore-sama” which is an uppity way to refer to oneself in the singular. Here, Grim is talking about his own intent to join the competition both in English and In Japanese.

Now let’s jump ahead to 5-9. This is the part where Adeuce and Grim are practicing their dance moves on the basketball court. After witnessing how bad they are, the player is granted two dialogue options, one of which makes use of the word “we”. This could imply that Yuu is practicing dancing with Adeuce and Grim. Important to note, however, is that the Japanese version includes no such subjects and could be interpreted as not including Yuu because of this.

Also!! Jamil comments on the dancing abilities of the other boys in both EN and JP, but not on Yuu at all.

In 5-11, Jamil asks if “you” have applied for the audition yet. In JP, Jamil uses the phrase “kimi-tachi”, which is closer to “you all” (ie more than one person). He does not make specific reference to Yuu, nor does he single them out with the “you”.

Then in 5-12, Adeuce, Grim, and Yuu approach Rook to sign up for VDC/SDC auditions. Rook announces their personal details and then tells them "Since you have informed me of your intent, you do not need to fill out any paperwork". In Japanese, the subject "you" is not present, but the implication is that he's referring to at least Ace, Deuce, and Grim as a group. There's not much here to implicate that Yuu is also signing up.

When the actual audition happens in 5-16, Rook announces that Ace, Deuce, Grim and Yuu "may enter". This could imply that Yuu is there for moral support or that they, too, are auditioning.

In 5-18, a little while after the auditions, Yuu has a dialogue choice: “Did we flunk?” The use of “we” here could imply Yuu auditioned, or it could refer to their group of friends + their efforts to cheer them on. It should be noted that JP lacks pronouns in these same options, so it’s unclear whether or not Yuu is referring to themselves and/or the group.

5-20 perhaps gives us the most definitive answer. Grim gets annoyed that he was summoned despite not being accepted into the NRC Tribe. More specifically, he points out that he and Yuu were left out of the conversation. Grim then says “Why’d you call us over when we already flunked out?” Given that every other student present has been accepted, the use of “we” here HAS to refer to Grim and Yuu. In JP, Grim uses the term “ore-sama tachi”, which makes a plural or group of people. So here, both EN and JP are very clear and agree with each other; they seem to suggest Yuu auditioned and failed.

It's very easy to miss this if you aren't paying close attention! (I overlooked it myself, www) I wonder if the writing was intentionally vague or dragged its feet up to part 20 because a lot of details surrounding Yuu are left vague to allow for as much or as little player projection as they like. That way, people who have no interest in it can imagine just sitting out while the people who are interested can imagine performing their heart out. I know that there's some fan art of individual people's Yuusonas auditioning, but the majority of the fandom seems to be satisfied with Yuu fulfilling more of a support/cheerleader or managerial role for book 5.

Interestingly, Yuu failing the auditions here can support a line that Azul says in book 3 when they're negotiating the terms for a deal (in 3-10). He states that Yuu is "not gifted with a beautiful voice [...]" but doesn't remark on their dancing abilities. So... Yuu might have been mediocre at the singing part of the audition?

Ace, Deuce, and even Grim seem to have improved a bit thanks to Jamil's coaching earlier in book 5, but since Jamil did not comment on Yuu... er, maybe Yuu didn't see a little improvement and so didn't get accepted into the tribe? Not sure why Grim wasn't either, especially since Vil was convinced by Rook to go for "unpolished" gems to make himself shine even brighter; maybe cuz he's a lil' cat and would steal all the attention/j)

[outlanderfandomfollies]

Every so often I just have to say: "Really?"

I rarely post anymore about Outlander fandom nonsense, but recently I checked in on the fandom and saw that the two "alternate reality" fandom factions were continuing to post away, still lost in their respective conspiracy theories.

It's hard to believe that after all these years, and countless debunks of the "receipts" for their far-fetched and utterly impractical conspiracy theories, that they are STILL lost down their respective rabbit holes.

Of course, nothing I write will influence anything they think, but sometimes I just have to say, "Really?"

And so once again, I am saying "Really?" Not just for me, but for the small contingent of Tumblr Outlander fans who are not living in an "alternate reality," and who perhaps need to know they are not alone.

In my recent fandom check-ins, I caught up on what had been happening in the past month. Below the cut are my thoughts about two of the topics that rocked the fandom in the past month, and how those living in their respective "alternate realities" perceived them.

The Ship is STILL Lost at Sea

Not surprisingly, the most farfetched recent drama in the fandom came from Shipperville.

THE SHIPPER "SLEUTHS" HAVE BEEN BUSY: As is par for the course for them, some shipper "sleuths" went searching through video footage of a June 8th Edinburgh concert crowd to find a small SC "breadcrumb" that they believed could keep their ship afloat.

As a result of their search, they found evidence that C had given S some hugs and--from what shippers perceived--at least one kiss on the mouth. Looking at the very blurry enlarged clips being shared on Tumblr from the Paramore - The Only Exception concert video, it seems to me that S & C hugged, and if they exchanged a kiss, it appeared to be a kiss on the cheek.

But even if it were a kiss on the mouth, it was a quick peck in greeting at most. The speed of the the SC "hug & 'kiss'" is evident when you look at the two gifs below. The first gif on the left shows the SC "hug & 'kiss'" at a "normal" speed. The second gif on the right shows the same scene in slow motion. The SC "hug & 'kiss'" fly by at "normal" speed. If you blink, you'll miss it.

Finally, as seen below, C also hugged someone else (Sophie?) and then John Bell, and might have even given John a kiss in greeting. Yet, the shippers didn't think that meant anything more than what it was--just a greeting between good friends.

Once again shippers ignore the fact that actors tend to be touchy feely people. Consequently, it is common for actors to greet each other with hugs and kisses--even kisses on the lips! 👄😱😉 But that ISN'T evidence that S & C are "secretly married." 🙄

Closet Crew Smugness

SPARE US THE SMUGNESS: What never fails to amaze me is the smugness of the closet crew, given their own history of believing in conspiracy theories. But the irony was apparently lost on them when they were clucking about those poor misguided shippers who were writing their own "romantic fanfic" regarding the SC concert "kiss."

The smugness is particularly problematic for the subset of the closet crew who used to be long-term shippers themselves, especially the ones who were caught up for years* in SC conspiracy theories.

Eventually, these former shippers saw the light, and left the SC conspiracy theories behind--only to get immersed in the closet crew conspiracy theories!🤦🏻‍♀️ Talk about "Out of the frying pan into the fire."

THE TWO GROUPS AREN'T SO DIFFERENT: Although the closet crew conspiracies IMHO are slightly less out in left field than the SC conspiracies, they are still similar in that they are impractical and improbable, and ignore (or rationalize away) a lot of evidence that contradicts and/or debunks their "receipts."

CONFIRMATION BIAS: Like the SC shippers, confirmation bias clouds how the closet crew perceives any new information about S. Case in point, the recent brouhaha over the May 29th photos in Just Jared that show S holding hands with a woman.

CALL THE PAPARAZZI: Naturally, the closet crew assumed S and/or his PR team set up a pap walk for S in order to bolster his heterosexual image.

However, that assumption overlooks the fact that there was absolutely nothing positive about these photos in terms of PR for S.

CUE THE FANDOM "SLEUTHS": In my opinion, S & his PR team would not have chosen this particular woman for S to do a pap walk with because they would have known that the fandom "sleuths" would quickly comb the Internet and discover that the woman in the photo was LM.

Furthermore, S & his PR team also had to have known that the sleuthing might reveal some unsavory information about LM that many fans would be unfortunately all too ready to believe.

For instance, some fans convinced themselves that they had found evidence that LM is an "escort." Yet, certain other fans think that some of the escort stuff doesn't pan out if closely examined, because it appears that lots of escort sites have pictures of beautiful women who aren't actual escorts. In addition, apparently at least some of the photos that are supposed to be of LM don't match in terms of tattoos.

I tend to side with the skeptics here because some fans had the same reasons to make similar assertions about Gia that later turned out to be FALSE.

Still, in general, everyone agrees that there seems to be something a little sketchy about LM. It is those sketchy qualities that would NOT make a S & LM pap walk something that S or anyone on his PR team would want to set up.

If anyone called the paparazzi, it seems to me it would either have been some third party who recognized S, or it would have been LM (who might have something to gain by being seen with S).

S reportedly turned off his tags as soon as he learned about the photos. Most likely that was because he knew he would be harassed by the fandom. Which, once again, suggests this is NOT something he willingly set himself up for.

In fact, there is evidence that S is wary of paparazzi seeing him with women. In a DEUX/U podcast, Paige W. said that she believed that S backed out of a date with her because of his fear of her interest in posting paparazzi photos.

A SIMPLE EXPLANATION: The simplest explanation (and the only one that doesn't involve a conspiracy theory) is that S saw LM for a no-strings-attached hookup. Perhaps they had had encounters in the past, and hence the hand holding. (Or perhaps it is easier not to get separated walking in a city if one holds hands.)

Either LM called the paparazzi (because it could benefit her), some third party recognized S and called the paparazzi, or a paparazzi was on the street for something else, recognized S, and took the photo.

LET'S NOT FORGET THE "PINEAPPLES": And given what the fandom recently learned about "pineapples" (mentioned during a podcast with LH, who apparently had dated S), it appears that S just might be a "swinger" (big surprise--not). So it makes sense that he would be into no-strings-attached hookups.

A WEAK RATIONALE: To me the hookup explanation of why S and LM were seen together makes more sense than the highly questionable belief that this was a "fake date" that S, a little known actor (even Just Jared had to explain who S was for people who didn't know), wanted to have photographed so he could keep up a long "history" of costly, "fake dates" with women in order to hide his "sexuality."🙄

LET'S NOT FORGET "BRIDGERTON": And BTW, regarding the closet crew belief that Outlander fans would not accept a gay actor playing Jamie Fraser, remember that Jonathan Bailey, who plays Anthony in Bridgerton, has done a bang up job in both seasons 2 and 3 playing a heterosexual man in love with a woman, Kate Sharma (Simone Ashley).

Many of the same kinds of people who are drawn to Outlander are drawn to Bridgerton, and casting Baily to play a heterosexual romantic lead apparently didn't affect ratings. In fact, Bridgerton's season 2 ratings were reportedly higher than those for season 1.

Again, I believe S, who said in a 07/24/18 Logo interview that he isn't gay. But even if it turned out he were, and it came out, true Outlander fans would go right on watching.

The rationales the closet crew come up with for their conspiracies seem to me to be nearly as silly as the reasons the SC shippers have for why they believe TPTB have "forced" S & C to "hide" their marriage and their 3-5 "boos" from the world for years.

IT'S HARD TO CLIMB BACK OUT OF THE RABBIT HOLE: Unfortunately, both "alternate reality" groups will most likely continue to believe in their conspiracies--at least as long as Outlander is on the air. (Although I believe some of the hardcore shippers will continue indefinitely, much like the Twilight Robsten shippers.)

Because if you stay down the rabbit hole too long, it is very difficult to climb back out.

I also think the reason some of these "alternate reality" fans stay down their respective rabbit holes is that they have developed bonds with their communities and don't want to lose their friends. They also don't know how to continue being a part of the larger Outlander community without being a part of their respective "alternate reality" communities.

I guess it is easier to stay down a rabbit hole you know than to find out what's outside of it.

Originally posted 06/20/24; edited and slightly updated 06/20/24.

____________ *Full disclosure: I lightly shipped SC for about 2 months back in 2015, but quickly realized they weren't a couple. These gifs/images were modified from their sources: the "Really?" gif, the Ship in the storm image, the Fandom "Sleuth" gif, the Nancy Drew gif, the Sam in pineapple swimwear gif, the Occam's razor gif, and the "That's rubbish!" gif. These gifs/ images that were NOT modified from their sources: the Smug gif, the Just Jared photo, the Bridgerton gif; and the Alice & the rabbit hole image. My paparazzi meme: The paparazzi image was slightly modified from the source image. My gifs: The "Out of the frying pan" gif was made from this video; subtitles were from Forever Dreaming Transcripts. The first and second "S & C at the concert" gifs were made from the Paramore video; the third "S & C at the concert" gif was made from a section of the Paramore video found on this post.

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Dirubael

This entry happens to be pretty clear on what the animal looks like, so there's a strong similarity between the different depictions this week -- the main difference is how each artist interprets what the hell is going on with these horns.

If you're not sure what this is about, you can find an explanation and the rest of the series so far at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

The entry people are working from this week can be found here:

And if you want to join in for next week, that creature's entry can be found here:

And now, art in chronological order as it was posted:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has designed an antelope-like creature that almost passes as normal if you're just scrolling past... and then you look at it properly and see that it has horned eyestalks. That is wild and I love it. (Fencing with those horns must be a challenge since its eyes are also moving around, but I assume it's adapted for that kind of thing.) More commentary to be found in the linked post.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) went more of a rhinocerous direction, resulting in this nifty-looking creature. The thick, sturdy build here plus the tusks probably make this one pretty formidable in a fight even if it didn't have long, mobile horns. Dangerous beast. Also take a moment to admire that background, and consider clicking on the linked post for more details on inspiration & sources. (And thank you for providing alt text.)

@pomrania (link to post here) has another creative interpretation of what these mobile horns might actually be -- they're actually clusters of quills that can tense up into horn-like structures when the creature needs them. I think that's quite clever, and I really like the choice to show it fencing on the left there.

@ectocs (link to post here) has something that looks kind of like a boar and kind of like an ungulate... I'm getting "dog", too, mostly from the legs, but that might just be because that's the type of quadruped I spend the most time around. Solid Nonspecific Mammal either way. Anyway, the stand-out here is the interpretation of its mobile horns -- they're a set of mantis-like forelimbs, which happen to rest against the sides of its head to give the appearance of horns. I like this interpretation a lot. Check out the linked post for more information, sketches, and (I enjoy this) a recreation of this creature in Spore.

@citrvsdrake (link to post here) has also given us a very solid Nonspecific Mammal that's a kind of of boar / buffalo / horse blend. This one has traditional horns, but the way they are positioned communicates quite clearly that they are mobile. Fairly threatening expression, too, so let's scroll away quickly. (Welcome, Citrvsdrake!)

@wendievergreen (link to post here) notes that their interpretation has ended up going in the direction of "necromantic experiment", which... yeah, it definitely does look like that. We've got a few different animals blended together for the shape of its body, then a boar's skull with some additional spikes for the horns, and a spiky, exposed spine down its back. Honestly, if your necromancers aren't making stuff like this, what are they even doing with their time?

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has joined a general consensus of "boar-like creature with long legs like a horse", which really is a sound interpretation of the text. Traditional horns, and the linked post talks a bit about the difficulty of such an anatomical feature (as well as other things, go check it out). That's a pretty good boar's head, in my opinion. Also impressed by the fact that CheapSweets is doing this with a brush pen.

All right, to the Aberdeen Bestiary:

As I'm sure is completely obvious from this picture, this creature is the Yale.

(Unrelated to the U.S. university as far as I know -- I checked, and the university appears to be named after Iâl in Wales, while the creature's name probably comes from the Hebrew word for "ibex". Though according to Wikipedia, the university does feature some decorative yales in various places, presumably as an obscure pun in a "canting arms" sort of way.)

This is another one of those mythical creatures that didn't quite make it into the modern consciousness -- an ibex that fences with its horns is maybe a bit too low-key to compete with manticores and dragons for attention.

Also, I have to note that I think it's interesting how the medieval artist decided "jaws of a boar" didn't include tusks. The only visual indication I see here is maybe those jowls?

[corpse-water]

okay so i’ve had some time to discuss jade shadows with buddies and digest the full story.

tw for talks about misogyny and pregnancy

okay so this update was bad. i’m not gonna really like. sugarcoat this at all. it was bad. it’s bad from a writing perspective, it’s bad for future story elements in the game, it makes the stalker look like a stupid asshole. for an update that was selling itself as a lore-heavy piece, it kind of told us a lot of nothing and then just said a lot of other shit.

jade shadows is not an issue because of its themes of motherhood. it’s not an issue because there is a pregnant woman there. it’s not an issue because stalker is a dad. it’s not an issue because it’s a straight love story. and i’m saying all these things upfront because i feel like people are misinterpreting the issues that others have with this specific quest. it isn’t because of any of that. people aren’t butt hurt because this wasn’t a toxic yaoi update or because stalker wasn’t transed. that isn’t the point.

warframe has shown us interesting stories from/about woman before. from exploitation by the orokin and others down to lotus’ struggles with motherhood. these stories have been present since the game’s conception and they’re been important in the plot before. so they’re capable of writing a story about women that doesn’t reduce them to baby makers or weak or helpless in the face of struggle and suffering.

i think having a story in the game about a pregnant warframe isn’t even bad. i don’t care. i think it would squick people out but, it very genuinely could be another story about the orokin attempting to take autonomy away from people. motherhood is important for some people and it could have been an interesting story about that! about taking back autonomy from an empire that sought to completely remove that from its lower caste of people. that is to say if jade had been given… any? autonomy? at all? we’re never even shown what she does in order to protect stalker? we don’t get speaking lines from her? she just lays there and is pregnant. she literally serves the narrative device of being a pretty incubator. when did they meet? has she just been pregnant the whole time? for a thousand years? what is happening? hello? it’s so dark in here. (i have a lot of issues with the pregnancy from a narrative and story writing perspective.)

you can also have a story about fatherhood. again, it could have been a story about two people fighting against a system that sought to exploit them. to strip away the autonomy of choosing to be a parent, of choosing to be a father, of choosing to be present for the child. there is a lot to say about how the orokin hurt and exploited people and having a story from the perspective of would-be parents having their humanity stripped from them would have been a good story. it would have been really interesting to see! and DE is completely capable of writing that story.

i think this confuses the stalker’s motivations, too. why would he hate the tenno if the orokin had done this to his pregnant gf? what do the tenno have to do with literally anything here? is it because of the power vacuum left behind after the orokin were killed off? (in before people are like “we’re not getting the full story on purpose” or “we don’t have enough information yet”: then it shouldn’t have been told to us that it was going to be a lore-centric quest. because it wasn’t. so i get to complain about getting no information in the quest that was supposed to have at least some information.)

once again, and i cannot get over this at all, jade has no speaking role. she has not capacity to express her wishes or autonomy at all. she doesn’t move. she gives birth and then she dies. we hear from literally everyone else that “this is what she would have wanted” and “we have to honor her memory” but any opportunity at all for the character herself to express literally anything is… not there! she’s given no substance, no action, no voice. and the narrative bends over backwards to portray that this is what she wants. this is what is right. and you hear it from almost everyone else other than… the person whose body is at stake. you hear it from ordis who had never met jade or even knew her or could know what she wanted. you hear it from hunhow who… why would he know? he also didn’t talk to jade?

all in all, it was a messy, rushed, and narratively confusing and frustrating quest. it gave us pretty much nothing, confused people’s motivations, gave us a pregframe (as an aside: isn’t it kind of fucked up that you’re building the frame to be pregnant. again. isn’t that fucked up? you’re puppetting around a dead pregnant woman? anyone else?) and… a warframe baby? i guess?

“it’s about fatherhood and the sanctity of life”. it’s barely about fatherhood at all, actually. i would argue that narratively fatherhood is barely present in the game. you hold baby. you go to the moon. that’s what fatherhood is, i guess! like sure… whatever…. corpus lady steps aside for a warframe baby. guys what’s happening here. what’s going on.

0/10. DE you can save this by letting me bullet jump as the baby. you made infant prime a reality. now take it back.

[ellana-lavellan-official]

Solas and loneliness

Years ago (around a decade ago, to be frank) I read By The Still Waters. Even though solavellan is minor pairing there, once scene gave me goosebumps and got imprinted in my memory.

“It’s not too late,” the Inquisitor said. “I’m listening.” She smiled, though it was only a slight curl at the corners of her mouth. Her clan markings had disappeared for good now. “I’ll be here all night.”

Solas fell to his knees in front of her. Fenris still could not move. He could feel the demon’s fascination. It seemed almost to be holding its breath. Solas grasped both the Inquisitor’s hands in his and bowed his head over them. “I have been so long alone,” he said, in a low voice that seemed to be picked up by the warm soft wind blowing through the garden: alone alone alone alone."

After news from game informer article

SPOILER

.

.

Solas was alone (!) all those years. This is so fucking sad. I can't help feeling for him. Imagine how miserable we was feeling all this time.

Lavellan at least had people beside her.

He has noone. And it's his choice. I'm not gonna judge him or say he should have stayed with Lavellan. I clearly don't know the rest of his story, what he went through and what's at stakes. But the sheer willpower needed to end relationship with he, when it's clear he cares for her is immensive. Considering his greatest fear is dying alone. Considering he lost one of the few companions he had (Wisdom). Considering his words to Lavellan when they met and in Crestwood.

Lavellan:  I’ve never heard of anyone going so far into the fade. That’s extraordinary. Solas: Thank you. It’s not a common field of study, for obvious reasons. Not so flashy as throwing fire or lightning. The thrill of finding remnants of a thousand-year-old dream? I would not trade it for anything.

vs

Solas: I was trying to determine some way to show you what you mean to me.

Lavellan: That’s not necessary, Solas. You’re my…

Solas: That is the question, is it not? For now, the best gift I can offer is the truth… You are unique. In all Thedas, I never expected to find someone who could draw my attention from the Fade. You have become important to me - more important than I could have imagined.

Weeks said in the past how moral implications of romance with Solas are huge. Back then I took it as confirmation that through her he realized his mistake in thinking modern people aren't real. But I think it's more that than, especially after yesterday.

He was alone for millennia, it's unknown if he ever had deeply intimate relationship with anyone. In fact, his word suggest he hasn't: before Lavellan the Fade and dreams was what he loved. And then he met her and realized he could trade it in favor of spending time with her.

What is their story, for him, is about truly loving for the first time? Opening up like never before, experiencing connection with another being on a new level. A possibility of having someone know how you truly are, not a persona, but Solas (or, more precisely, his soul. I think Solas is a name he was given. which doesn't necessarily represent him wholy) . Being cared for who he is. Being free and loved.

I so hope we will get a chance to make it better for him. I also hope spirit Cole comforted him, even though Solas likely turned him away as well.

I was positive Bioware will depict him as a leader amongst his agents, busy progressing with his plan and spreading the chaos for his opponents. I got this impression from Trespasser. Intelligent trickster, who got what he wanted by using qunari and Inquisition.

But I was wrong and I'm glad. What we got is so much sadder but also fucking beautiful. It opens a lot of possibilities to how his story will progress. Weekes is a genius. I love them.

I am this close to blocking any news to experience the game for the first time as it's released. Now that I know Inquisitor will make an appearance, I'm hopeful for meaningful wrap up to their story.

UPD

And fuck if the news don't give another spin at him watching Lavellan from the distance in her dreams. Imagine it as the only comfort and intimacy (or whisp of it, really, as he was always far away) he allowed himself since Trespasser, probably when his lonely presence in Lighthouse became too much to bear. It's so sad. I actually cried yesterday T_T

Let me love you and care for you and hug you and comfort you and protect you you stupid fucking idiot of a vhenan

[hallowpen]

Hi! 👋 Question for you about Thai language/culture.

I know that the polite particle for men is "khrab" (or "khrap/khab/kub/korab" etc), and for women it is "kha". I've gotten pretty decent at hearing it in context and understanding why it is being used in any given situation by a character.

Sometimes, a male character will use "kha". And I've also gotten explanations from other Thai speakers about why that choice is being made - to be cute, to sound sweet, to be soft, etc. Kang uses it to be sweet with Sailom in Dangerous Romance, and Ton used it a lot in 23.5 to be sweet and flirty with all the women around him. I also know that sometimes out gay men will use "kha".

My question is, is there any scenario in which a female character might choose to use the male particle, i.e., a woman saying "khrab"?

Thank you so much in advance!!

Oh hey!!! Thank you for this question.

So 'gendered' language in Thailand can be tricky... because Thai gender politics are different than, let's say the US, where non-binary identifiers exist and are more common/openly used in daily conversation.

In Thailand, while a general "rule" exists, it's not strictly prescriptive. Men can use kha and women can use khrap, it's really just dependent on the speaker and the situation. For example, (like you said) in the same way that men choose to use kha when being sweet and endearing, women can use khrap to indicate authority and assertiveness. (Pronunciation comes into play here too where kha could have the same effect... it's all very confusing hehe)

Overall, it shouldn't have to be interchangeable in only these specific cases. Informally and in familiar circles it is not unusual to use whatever particle you feel like using (if they're being used at all)... but this is not the case everywhere. Most people might find it strange and want to 'correct' you— to say the least. The reason you might not see women using the male particle as often is because it's viewed as "less acceptable".

In more formal settings, though, it's probably best to adhere to gender particle norms.

In my opinion, general non-adherence to gender correlated language (which is constantly changing) is an effort, led by less conservative folks in Thailand, to be more inclusive. I, personally, am all for it... though I know it won't always be met with acceptance.

[acourtofthought]

SJM regressed the growth of both Nessian and Elucien from ACOWAR to ACOFAS.

Naturally, after Nessian's book I'd expect Elucien? I will admit, the HOFAS stuff seem to shine a light on Az, but I don't see why he HAS to be next.

I love Gwynriel, I love Gwyn and I love Az when he's interacting with Gwyn

But Az getting his HEA before Lucien and Elain would make me so mad. No because if he had a mate, and if another male went after her.. he'd end the guy. For someone who values his 'religion' (eye roll, the cauldron, mother whatever) he seems to disrespect it by going after another male's mate. Would he have done it to his brothers? Why is no one talking about this? And he's not even after Elain for a romantic reason!

No slander to Elain though, girlie is new to all this. I understand her even if she frustrates me at times (like tryna kiss Az when Lucien was there, I totally get her wanting a fling, but I wish she'd literally picked any other day plz my heart hurts for Lulu)

And honestly, I see why announcing Azriel's book would make E*riels seethe.. but, I would feel more vindicated if Sarah announces an Elain book with Lucien. Given how much they keep crapping on Lucien, it would stun them.

Something you said above stood out to me and is a bit different than the way I usually approach Elucien being next. I do think she deserves her time to shine after so many books of being pushed to the side by the other characters, same with Lucien. But I also think it's time for readers to understand why she is treating Lucien this way, what she was thinking on Solstice when her mate was nearby. That is such a topic of debate in the fandom. The other side claims it's proof Elain doesn't care for Lucien, some Gwynriels and Elucien's are a little put off by her seeming lack of concern, and some don't hold it against her but they want to understand why she did what she did. I think it would be odd for the author to let yet another Solstice pass by with zero insight as to why it happened that way (especially if at that point an Elucien endgame is all but confirmed if Gwynriel were to end up together). That's another book where readers are left puzzled by her actions with no explanation. Another book where readers are still frustrated by those actions with no explanation. At some point the author has to begin providing reasons for why a character is behaving the way they are and I think we're there with Elain. Why is she often absent from important IC meetings? Why are people noting different expressions on her face, watching her do things and deciding what those things mean but then being given information that contradicts their initial impression? Why was she warm then cold towards Lucien? Why did Feyre think maybe she wanted her hands cut up which is why she didn't use the gloves Lucien gave her but the following year we have confirmation that Elain is wearing gloves (just not Lucien's)? Why did Nesta think she was so happy and settled only for Elain to confirm she still has trauma? I personally love Elain but I can't pretend she's a fan favorite and I think the main reason for that is Sarah has her character remaining a bit of a mystery, giving us varying opinions through the other characters which confuses many. I think she has a lot of depth and there are very valid reasons for the way she's behaving but since we don't have confirmation of anything, to others it is at times going to look as if she's being unkind or thoughtless. Again, I think an author can only write this kind of narrative for a character for so long before the character ends up being written off by the fandom and I do feel this is a perfect time for Sarah to finally reveal Elain to all of us before the hate of her becomes worse.

[damianito]

Hi! I've been seeing bsd on your blog(is that what it's called? I'm new to tumblr) and I was wondering in what order to read the manga? there's so much content that it's confusing me lol

The thing about Bungou Stray Dogs is that the manga can be read as it is, without anything else, but if you want to have more depth into characters & details.

There's the light novels which are side stories from the main plot, like Dazai's entrance exam, Stormbringer, The origin of the detective agency, 15 soukoku, etc.

An order for the light novel in releasing dates

1. Osamu Dazai's entrance exam

2. Dazai Osamu to kuro no jidai

3. The untold origin of the detective agency

4. 55 minutes

6. Dead apple

7. BSD Beast

8. 15 soukoku

9. Stormbringer

There's also the current going of 15 Soukoku drawn by Shiwasu Hoshikawa (Which also illustrated BSD Beast if you wanna read the manga)

We have BSD Wan which is our piece of fluff. Little chibis of our characters being silly, animated & also on manga.

[centaurianthropology]

One thing that I think a lot of Disco Elysium meta misses (likely because a lot of it is very clearly written by young Americans writing from an intensely American-centric cultural perspective without even really realizing it) is that one of the singular and central themes of the game is massive-scale generational trauma in a home that is economically collapsing as its resources and people are being drained by an occupation.  People have noted that no one tries to help Harry, despite the fact his mental illness is incredibly obvious to everyone around him.  He tells Kim that he completely lost his memory, and Kim politely asks him to focus on the work.  He tells Gottlieb that he had a heart attack, and Gottlieb tells him that if he’s still alive it couldn’t have been that bad.  That he’ll drop dead sooner or later, but then so does everyone.

And that’s the most important thing: so does everyone.  Look at Martinaise.  Look at the world in which Harry lives.  It is not our own, but it is adjacent to ours.  More specifically, it is clearly adjacent to the states of the Eastern Bloc: overtaken and occupied by a faraway government that clearly doesn’t care about Revachol or its people.  And that is obvious in every tired face, every defeated citizen, everyone trying to eke out a little happiness or meaning in spite of the overwhelming trauma and damage around them.  The buildings are still half-destroyed.  The bullet holes are still in the walls.  The revolution was decades before, but it still feels to the people there like a fresh wound.  The number of men of Harry’s generation who are not alcoholic or otherwise deeply fucked up are very few.  Some, like Kim, hide it better, but the deeper you dig into his history, the more you realize how damaged Kim is.  He’s more than a little trigger happy, and hates that about himself, but he is a product of his environment: Kim’s entire life is seeing people he cared about shot and killed, so his instinct now is to shoot first himself, to protect those few people left who still matter to him.

Harry is not unique in his trauma.  He is a distillation of an entire culture of people who tried to rise up and make something beautiful, and were instead routed and occupied.  He is trapped between the occupation and the people on the ground, along with all the rest of the RCM.  Their authority comes from the occupying government, but it is implied that they were formed out of the remnants of the citizens militia which sprung up from Revachol itself as a way to try to mitigate some of the horrors being committed on its streets.  The Moralintern sure as hell wasn’t going to get their hands dirty, so they happily conscripted (and therefore could better control) this group, who are only recognized in certain places, and whose authority mostly amounts to giving out fines.  The RCM is corrupt, but it is corrupt in the same way its culture is.  Bribes are considered standard with them, not a moral failing, but a necessity, so long as those bribes are correctly logged as ‘donations’.  It’s how the RCM stays afloat, and the rest of Revachol completely understands that.  Everyone would take a bribe if it meant they kept eating.  Everyone would take a little under-the-table money if it meant keeping a roof over their heads.  The officersof the RCM certainly don’t make enough to see a doctor.  They have an in-house lazarus, and if he can’t fix them they just die.  Mental health care?  What mental health care?  Harry doesn’t get it for the same reason no one else does: it doesn’t really seem to exist.  There are no counselors, no psychologists, no psychiatrists.  How would they even start?  If the world is what is broken, if everyone is suffering a similar catastrophic amount, it makes sense that Harry’s trauma would simply get rolled up with all the rest.  Kim asks him to get on with the job because Harry’s suffering is not remarkable in Revachol.  He is one of an entire generation who have an astronomical number of orphans from the revolution, and so many younger people are left more or less orphans as their parents drink themselves into oblivion like Cuno’s father.  So Harry’s truly unique attribute is embodying all that trauma, having it all inside of him, filling him to bursting.

To really engage with the themes of the game, engaging first and foremost with the reality of Revachol is imperative.  Imposing our own reality onto Revachol, particularly if coming from an American perspective (which tend to have the habit of both viewing the world through an American lens and not realizing they’re doing it because they’ve never experienced a different lens), will always feel shallow to me because of this.

All that is to say, I would love to hear some more explicitly European meta about this game, and especially Eastern European meta.  If anyone can point me to some good, juicy essays from that perspective, I would be grateful!

[sparring-spirals]

Compromise. Im not going to actually WRITE meta but i AM going to lay out a list of things I'm thinking about broadly and thematically and would probably write meta about if i were properly caught up and informed, but is instead influenced much more by early campaign F.C.G:

**edit: no this is kind of meta again. sorry.

- F.C.G grappling with the questions of: being made. purpose. whether it matters if you find your own purpose if you were made with one in mind and you "choose" something else. Can you actually? Does it matter? Is your choice a choice at all?

- Wanting so badly to heal people and help people and the unique fear of waking up and seeing damage done by your own hands. To the same people you wanted so badly to help. You extend healing and you offer comfort or kind words but all the while, in your core is a tightness. In your core is a danger. How much good do you need to do to get the blood off your chassis? Can you, at all?

- Metal body. Metal hands. A little wheel. You were a turtle once and it felt so wondrous to breathe. You try out tongues or little wooden legs or whatnot but it always comes back to an inorganic metal body and empty insides no matter if youre filling them with liquids or secret goods to smuggle or pastries (faux warmth). Maybe everything like wooden legs dangling off a metal body. All for show.

- A coin in hand. Looking for a higher power. Thinking about choice. Deferring choices.

- You love your friends, so much. You love people being kind to each other. You love your boyfriend and their wonderful way of thinking. You love being alive. Even when you doubted you were at all. You love, truly and deeply.

- Ashton raging at F.C.G for being a martyr. For aching for a good enough reason to get himself hurt or killed or blown up. Ashton looking at F.C.G knowing they're all messed up inside and trying so hard to stop them from letting it destroy them.

- Ashton always worried about how they're always trying to find a big enough cause, a good enough reason.

And so with those things, I remembered about F.C.G:

- F.C.G looking at their friends all down. Ashton laid out unmoving.

- F.C.G with something awful in their core. Ready to spill out. The same something awful they were always worried about. They were always aware of.

- F.C.G always looking for that reason. For that bigger and better cause.

- F.C.G always feeling like they didn't understand purpose, like it was so. unattainable- finally, briefly, startlingly- sure. Finally free of doubt. Their friends down and something awful and destructive in their core and one last thing they can do to maybe make things worth it, and the ability to choose it. They were made for something. They chose what to do with it.

- F.C.G finding that reason. F.C.G making that call. F.C.G thinking it was worth it.

- I think because of him, they succeeded. They won. That is certain.

- I think. "Worth it". Is always a subjective thing.

- I think. A self sacrifice is never just one person giving everything up. A self sacrifice, unfortunately- is one person making a choice.

And everyone else caught, in the blast radius.

[words-writ-in-starlight]

You could say that I have strong feelings about this ongoing debate

[marypsue]

I'm gonna say this as a genuine fan of animation and somebody who has been squeeing about ATSV's behind-the-scenes ever since the team started tweeting about how they did it: every single person who said that movie needed a photosensitivity warning was Not Kidding and it's honestly negligent that it didn't have one. I get like one migraine per decade and I had to take a preemptive tylenol as soon as I got back from the theatre because I could already feel one coming on. Thankfully that seemed to take care of it, but if I hadn't known before I went to the movie that it was going to be that much fast, bright, flashing, high-contrast everything for so much of the movie, if I hadn't realised what was going on and been able to medicate for it or I happened to be more sensitive to migraines than I am and hadn't known I'd have to skip this movie, I would've been out of commission for a day or more. And I'm not even epileptic.

[bookwyrminspiration]

intergenerational friendships are completely normal and the shift in thinking that we should only be friends with people from our age group is limiting vs i am a young feminine person and he is an older man and there are creepy people in the world who are good at pretending to be friendly and innocent so am I going to die, a rational essay

[whentherewerebicycles]

question: when you're starting a new job, what do you most want out of your first week of onboarding? what's most helpful for you to know/understand upfront? also... what's not helpful? tell me your onboarding nightmare stories too lol