#also an aside i need to say: i don't like fit putting a focus on tubbo being 'homophobic'

[chayannesegg]

only watched clips of fit pov so I'm not fully informed yet but the evolution of fit deciding the "homophobia" is real is interesting.

like, initially he saw it for what it was: tubbo lashing out because he felt left out. he called tubbo out on this, he told ramon this, he laughed about it. tubbo was also cartoonish in his distaste, it was obvious he was hurting underneath.

but slowly he's become more and more genuinely annoyed by it even though tubbo has toned it down massively

tubbo basically just does his performative ick when faced with fitpac moments like one might if their parents kissed in front of them. he certainly still feels left out but it's also a bit (one pac loves to poke at bc he knows it's tubbo being stubborn and resistant to love)

but to fit, who wants tubbo to show him that he still cares about morning crew, it bothers him that tubbo can't just leave it be. it hurts every time tubbo rejects fit & pac's relationship, even jokingly. he doesn't understand why tubbo feels left out. he wants morning crew back to what they used to be.

tubbo for the longest time was the only person there with them when fit and pac were developing their relationship. no ramon. no richas. no mike. he teased fit but he also supported him. he was the buffer they needed to start acknowledging their feelings. he was their friend.

but now tubbo is standoffish. he shies away where he used to budge in. he doesn't know his place around fit and pac anymore and he's not brave enough to ask. he's scared of the answer.

and fit doesn't get why tubbo can't just believe they love them the same as before. why he's not acting like before. he feels rejected. he feels ignored. the comments about fit and pac have started to feel personal instead of just tubbo being insecure.

so when he sees tubbo reaching out to foolish, it hurts him. it seems like tubbo has just given up on the morning crew. and he wants to lash back. he wants to warn foolish about how tubbo can hurt him. he wants tubbo back. so he frames it around the going joke, that tubbo's homophobic, but it doesn't quite land (fit's not as good as tubbo at making jokes out of his own pain). it just ends up feeling too real and that's exactly the problem.

[imagitory]

@andrewmoocow Personally I find them to be misguided. There is a very well-done analysis video I've cited before that talks about the animation and why it ends up looking like AI, and I think it really addresses this argument better than I could --

-- but TL;DR, the animation looks "fake" largely because of stylistic decisions (l.e. turning off motion blur with the thought it would look "more like 2D") that weren't well thought-out. And I actually think the film's writing issues run into the same problem.

Because here's the thing -- writing high fantasy is not as easy as it looks. I can testify to this because I myself am writing a draft for a high fantasy novel right now.

All these years, Disney has been in an advantageous position with their animated films largely being adaptations of previous works, since they're already given a lot of the parameters a writer needs to build a world, plot, and characters. In a Snow White adaptation, for instance, you need a vain queen, an innocent princess, a prince, seven dwarfs, a magic mirror, and a poisoned apple, as well as a fairy tale world where these things fit comfortably. And since so much mainstream fantasy is largely inspired by medieval Europe, that aesthetic remains very familiar with audiences to the point that you need a lot less explanation for things. We don't really need an explanation for the political landscape of Cinderella because we see "fairy tale kingdom" and immediately know it's an absolute monarchy led by generally amiable rulers. We're not surprised when fairies appear in Sleeping Beauty, or when a magical sword predicts who should be king in The Sword in the Stone, or when Tiana and Naveen are turned into frogs in The Princess and the Frog, or when trolls appear in Frozen -- all of these magical conventions fit within the usual fantasy aesthetic and really don't need any explanation or backstory. I'd hazard to say that most people -- aside from those nitpicky critic types who get all hung up on how many servants are in Beast's castle just because they saw a bunch of extra silverware in the Be Our Guest sequence -- just don't bother questioning these things. And the original material also gives some shape and form to the adaptation's story, characters, and overall feel. It doesn't matter how close the finished product matches the original idea or even how familiar the audience is with that original material -- it still provides a jump-off point and sense of focus for the writer(s), the same way fanfiction (even an AU fanfic) can, in contrast to original content.

All right, well, what about those Disney projects that aren't fantasy? Well, in the case of stories like Treasure Planet, Robin Hood, and Mulan, they're still based off preexisting properties that people will find familiar enough that the writers can focus more on the adaptation's unique additions and not focus on detailed backstories and explanations about how the world and societies depicted in the story work. It's a lot easier to just focus on the fantastical elements like the space tech, talking animals, or Mushu and the ancestors if the rest of the story and cast are relatively easy to understand. Even in the case of original stories like The Lion King (which admittedly was largely inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet, but I digress), Lilo and Stitch, and Lady and the Tramp, they still exist in a non-magical world that closely resembles ours, with only superficial changes like animals being able to talk or the existence of aliens. Even quasi-historical settings like The Great Mouse Detective and Atlantis: The Lost Empire look enough like our real-world equivalent that their settings are largely recognizable to us.

In just about all Disney animated films, the screenwriters didn't have to world-build that much. They didn't have to put the character development and plot on hold to explain the rules of the universe these stories take place in that often -- not unlike how writers like Rick Riordan didn't have to explain as much about the country his hero Percy Jackson lives in, because his books are an urban fantasy where our real world is just "plused up" with magical elements. We don't need to know if gravity works on the story's characters the way it does for us. We don't need to be told about the political landscape, history, or terrain of our location. We don't need to ask whether dying is something our characters can come back from.

Wish, on the other hand, is an original story in a high fantasy setting that doesn't resemble our world. People might try to claim it takes place in the Iberian Peninsula, but come on -- Rosas is a completely fictional country in a world that has magic we don't know the rules of and countries that faintly resemble cultures from our world, but we don't know the histories of or how similar they actually are to their real-world inspiration. We also have a cast of characters we've never met in any other media and a story and messages that we know nothing about beforehand. This means that we have no preexisting framework going in for what's possible and impossible in this world; no frame of reference about who these characters are and what their histories are; and no parameters that the plot, characters, and themes must fit inside, whether based on the fantastical story being adapted or a real-world setting that's a lot like ours. And I don't think that Disney really thought through just how challenging it can sometimes be to tell this kind of a story without stuffing the script with a lot of "tell" and not "show," which, as just about any film person can tell you, is the exact opposite of what you generally want. In film scripts, you want to show your audience a lot more than you tell them -- this not only takes full advantage of the visual medium and communicates your point in a much more natural and artistic way, but it also lets your audience think for itself and come to its own conclusions.

Now of course, can you write a high fantasy original story that's easy to follow and evokes a lot of emotion in your audience? Of course! But it does take time and a lot of careful and creative world-building. J.R.R. Tolkien was the king of such things. George R. R. Martin has done it. Neil Gaiman has done it. Ursula K. Le Guin has done it. Even the writer of the Nimona graphic novel, ND Stevenson, did a good job of it! But I think it's quite clear that Wish's script was not in the works that long -- development of the original idea started back in 2018, yes, but it wasn't until January 2022 that it was announced Jennifer Lee was writing it and Julia Michaels was brought on to write the songs, so the film's current trajectory likely wasn't pinpointed until then. And if the film was released in November 2023, then that means Wish's script was finished in under two years. Although there are successful Disney scripts that I daresay needed only that much time (Frozen, for instance, was quite rushed, by all accounts), once again, those scripts were done for stories with some sort of preexisting framework that allowed the writers to skip explaining certain visual or contextual short-hand in favor of focusing on their own creative flourishes in character and story. They were written with a tighter focus on the plot and its players without the need to build a complete stage under them.

The reason some people want to cry "AI!" when they look at Wish's writing is that they're looking at a script that makes the rookie writing mistake of exposition-dumping in an attempt to make its audience care, rather than evoking emotion. That kind of exposition-dumping is something that most novelists usually have to trim and rewrite in future drafts of their work: it's a mistake done while the writer is trying to world-build enough that their audience understands all of these original rules, societies, locations, and characters they're not familiar with. This exposition is then often trimmed down before publishing, and when adapted for the screen it's often trimmed even further or even completely rewritten, in favor of more visual methods of conveying the same information. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz writes about Dorothy traveling down the Yellow Brick Road and about the long journey that takes her and her friends through a lot of side adventures on their way to the Emerald City: it's the famous film adaptation that cuts out the Kalidahs and puts the whole trip to jaunty music for the characters to sing and dance to. Wish could've communicated to us the importance of the wishes to their owners through more visual means, but instead feels the need to reiterate this idea over and over through written dialogue. And again, this is a common mistake by writers when they're inexperienced in creating completely original content, as opposed to spin-offs, sequels, or adaptations of other people's work.

AI writing is generally known for repetitive phrasing and sentence structure, lack of accuracy, and lack of a personal touch. As much as I'll agree that there are a lot of character and world-building choices in Wish that don't make sense, I don't think that's the same thing. There clearly was a story someone (or multiple people) wanted to tell about a person hoarding the precious ideas of other people away, even if it means those ideas can never be shared with the world -- it just wasn't a story that ended up being told that well. And I think this is why Wish is almost worth seeing -- it serves as a good example of why certain writing decisions work better than others and how writing for fantasy projects and/or "family entertainment" is an art form that's worthy of respect when it's done right.

To sum up my stance on the matter -- I think Disney just bit off way more than it could chew and then didn't give its writers enough time to properly digest it.

[n3rdy247]

HEY GIRL YOU DEFINITELY DONT KNOW WHO THIS IS *WINK WINK WINK WINK* (I'm saying wink out loud everytime btw)

From stranger to stranger *wink* do you by any chance write samgladiator hcs??????? 😊😊😊

Perhaps x reader hcs??????? 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

THATD BE SO SILLY IF YOU DID YKNOW LIKE GIRL ITD BE CRAZYYYYYYYY YKNOW LIKE ITD BE SO INSANEEEEEEEE RIGHT???????????

EAEHRHHSUGHE DUDE RIGHTHTHTH IT WOULD BE SOOOOOO FUCKING WILD AND SUCH A SILLY THING TO DO 🤭🤭🤭

(PROBABLY WILL BE OOC THOUGH since i only watched a few episodes, so I'm really sorry if this doesn't really fit your headcanons anon WHO I TOTALLY DON'T KNOW *wink wink*)

(ANYWAY, these will be (mostly) based off the reboot since idk much and keep in mind that I only watched a few episodes, so I'm really sorry if these HCs seem really OOC)

YHS!SAM X READER HEADCANONS GO WEEEE!!!!

I STILL DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE

❥ Sooo, starting off the bat, since I'm not really writing yandere hcs, let's put all the batshit crimes he committed aside for this occasion..and focus on him being really silly. ❥ If you see him tripping near a trash can, dude, that's on YOU. I imagine he'd be jokingly bragging to someone how he is about to make a 'pro gamer move', then immediately fail a millisecond later before he could even try SHIT

❥ His love language? Well...uh....you could say it's kind of a mix. ❥ For example, gift giving? Absolutely. If you were to mention something specific that you wanted even once (or maybe even when you were talking to yourself while walking back home)? Expect that very thing to appear right outside your doorstep with a poorly drawn rabbit doodle sticked on top of it with a bunny sticker. ❥ Quality time? Definitely! He loves to see you wake up and THRIVE FOR ANOTHER DAY! You BET he stalks the shit out of you though. If you can't shake the feeling that you're being watched at school, on the road back home, and mayybe when you are about to sleep, then that's on HIM. (Sorry, I said I'm not really writing yandere hcs, not that I will never write any.) ❥ Physical touch? ... ❥ DO YOU TAKE HIM AS A MENTALLY WELL GUY? I DIDN'T THINK SO. ❥ You should know by now that he would SCREAM the second his hand accidentally brushes against yours (though we're not sure about the accident part WINK WINK)

❥ I also have a teeny tiny headcanon that he only lets YOU touch his rabbit ears. (and I MEAN ONLY YOU if others even TRIED they'd be thrown to the nearest dumpster) And when you do so? He MELTS. Like don't be surprised if you see him giggle like a freaking teenage girl is what I'm trying to say 🤭🤭🤭

❥ You also cannot tell me he wouldn't also try to impress you, one way or another. Whether it be trying to make you giggle and twirl your hair by saying the most APPALLING pickup lines of all time, or casually talking to you about your interests as if he was already a huge fan of em (bro actually stood up all night looking at every search result on google about that topic, BUT SHH)

❥ He would also tell you about his day BY EITHER LYING OR TWISTING HIS WORDS AROUND. COME ON NOW.

"Sooo..what weree you up to this weekend?" ❥ "Oh, me??? Well, I bought my friend a cat...and I did help a guy raise money for his cancer.." as he recalls what the FUCK happened in his life that went wrong

❥ Now. You know this man would never ever want to leave you alone (as if it wasn't obvious enough with the abandonment issues and the stalking, but I digress) so you definitely would need to reassure his ass. But once you do so? His droopy rabbit ears would slowly, but surely go right back up again. He can't help it though, you just seem to always make him feel better by existing.

either way, he is a little fucked up bastard someone please put him in a psychiatric hospital (or kiss him, that sounds like a better solution) *DROPS THE MIC AND IMMEDIATELY RUNS*

[crazysodomite]

Heres the thing. obviously i understand how it feels when you spend hours upon hours and years upon years on your creations and they get almost no engagement or interest. and it has been said a million times before how you shouldn't base your self worth on social media responses and all. lets just say not everyone can flip a switch in their brain and say 'i dont care and will not pay attention to this anymore'. we all want to be seen and heard even if it comes in the form of numbers of likes and shares. and im not touching on the reality that if you want to make money off your art you need engagement because that's a whole different thing entirely.

the reality is that theres a lot of people on the internet and people curate their online profiles on what appeals to them. there are few people who will share art just for the love of the game frankly. people will share what fits their 'theme' or their fandoms and interests and not much aside from this. and if you don't create works that broadly appeal to a very high number of people your numbers will plummet. if you aren't creating works that make 10.000 people laugh/relate/want to have your work on their profile you won't get 10.000 shares and it doesn't reflect on you as an artist or as a person. its also why text posts/memes always get much more engagement than artworks. it's just easier to relate to a funny text post than to a piece of art (no matter the 'skill level' or whatever).

heres what i think and what concerns me. more often than not the amount of attention you get is never going to be enough if you focus on numbers. someone who routinely gets 10k shares will often be distressed that one of their pieces only got 5k shares. and so on and so forth. i personally think people need to focus on making community with peers. truth is that 1 person who is genuinely engaged and interested in your stuff is better than 100 people who press share and forget about it, no? if you engage with other people's creations and lift them up you will notice they will probably do the same for you! try to make friends (or at least internet neighbors. you know im too shy to befriend people so i understand) share and comment on other peoples stuff in your circle and you will start making mutual connections and start enjoying art more. obviously some people don't care to engage with other people and that's fine. you will find people who do! i just think focusing on numbers instead of community is not healthy. its like. if i go into inspect element and enter 100000 likes and shares for my artwork, how is that better? let's say my piece blows up. people will scroll away and forget. but that one mutual you made because you both love each others art and projects isnt gonna forget.

also some stuff i want to say as a guy whos in it for the love of the game.

self rb your art and dont depend on stuff blowing up in a day or whatever. talk about your pieces (if you want to obviously) your process, your ideas etc. talk about what excites you and what you liked in each piece. its easier to be engaged when You are engaged in your own stuff. also im talking about all types of artists sorry if what i wrote feels too visual arts focused i love all art forever

also about ocs and worlds and so on. personally if im scrolling and i see someone talking about their ocs im interested. but i wish it was more common to put info about your ocs in a visible place for people to access. I Will Read All That. people who are interested in your ideas but can't find a write up to understand what you're talking about are probably going to be confused. so like! if you'd like more engagement with your oc content try to make it easy for people to 'jump in'. creating tags for info of your ocs/world/etc is also a good idea (i will read all that). or dont. im not forcing anyone to do anything.

[huntunderironskies]

The Storm Lords have an affinity for the Gift of Evasion. I find that funny, they didn't seem like the type to use misdirection (at least, not more than any other tribe). Could I ask if you have any thoughts on this?

Oh, I have a lot of thoughts on this.

So this is one of those things that seems prima facie to not make a whole lot of sense but I think the only other Gift that would work nearly as well for them as an affinity Gift is Agony (which, if I'm doing four affinity Gifts per Tribe like I usually do, I will make that their fourth affinity Gift.) This is another issue where the mechanics are telling you something that isn't communicated well in the text.

What the game is trying to push you to do as a Storm Lord is to go for a very long, slow, drawn-out hunt. It sort of implies this in their Tribal writeup but it's like...basically every Tribe section in the corebook where the wordcount is used for all the wrong things. Lemme run down how this works in practice with each affinity Gift, but I'll focus on Evasion since it's the part of the question:

Weather: A lot of Weather Gifts have very, very long durations and focus on debuffs....though I'm morally obligated to mention that using the wrong ruleset for Environmental Tilts makes Hunt of Fire and Ice RAW one of the worst Gifts in the game, if you import the rules from other corebooks and set its intensity at...eyeballing it, maybe Level 2 (half Wisdom rounded up could potentially work too) it's about right where it should be. This is supposed to draw out the hunt.

Dominance: Storm Lords always get what they want and they make it look easy. This lets them function in a more social predator aspect and pry out information that way. The information gathering phase is probably my favorite to write in a hunt.

Evasion: Nothing can touch a Storm Lord. You'll never see them bleed or get hurt or tired. If you try and fight back, they're just not there anymore. Not visibly at least. Their presence is still around. You know they're watching and waiting, just out of sight and they're going to be back. Dealing with a Storm Lord should first and foremost be demoralizing, they are pristine and perfect and untouchable and make everything look effortless while their prey is worn down and/or dying.

Also, it doesn't emphasize this much, but Exit Strategy tells you all potential escape routes...including ones someone else can take. It works both ways. Have fun! I could probably go play-by-play with each Gift Facet here but this is already running long.

Quick aside: I do think it's funny that Storm Lords get the most polarizing affinity Gifts in terms of "These are the most absolutely fucking busted powers, sometimes not just within Werewolf but across all gamelines" (Hit and Run, Fog of War, Exit Strategy, Primal Allure, Cloak of Mist and Haze, with Hit and Run and Fog of War being among the best damage mitigation powers in any game, period) or "RAW these are the worst Gifts in the game" (Deny Everything, Hunt of Fire and Ice, and...well, Lead the Lesser Pack is more just very situational than outright bad, but in fairness Deny Everything is just overcosted for what it does. My quickfix would be to make it last a scene or have it apply to any Finesse related social roll a spirit is doing. There ultimately ended up being just not enough Manipulation-based supernatural powers which I think was part of what was supposed to make it useful.

So, putting it all together: I'm not sure if I'd say their focus would be on misdirection so much as being untouchable...which, the Evasion Gifts can work that way too, they are probably the most flexible Gifts and if it weren't for Deny Everything they'd be the best designed. It fits with their whole "don't show weakness" thing and works well with Claimed since they die twice and you need as much of a leg up on the second half of the hunt as you can. Even if the spirit might be physically refreshed once it escapes, it's going to be psychologically exhausted after like, a day or two of constantly being worn down and demoralized and generally waiting to die the first time.

I think it's actually the affinity Renown that does the most damage here in terms of communicating what Storm Lords are about-- werewolf Honor kind of works differently from human Honor but it's still the most human of the five Renown in terms of things that would be considered a moral good by humans. With the 2e update I would have given serious thought to giving Storm Lords the Glory Renown instead, especially if we're leaning in this heavily on Blood Talons being the most warrior-y of all the five Tribes. I don't think this is a perfect fix but it does make them a more cohesive whole.

I still maintain the 2e corebook is kinda messy and I feel like I constantly have to play interpreter to show what makes the game fun and exciting. That gets buried under some weird decisions with the fluff and what bits to emphasize. I've always toyed with the idea of doing a 2e Book of the Tribes or something to that extent but it's way to ambitious for one person especially with how busy I've been getting.

...that got tangential, huh. Apologies!

[battlekilt]

The thought of Commander "Not My Vod'ika" Cody being the first person to step between dogpiles on Anakin and everyone else.

Not that he won't hold Skywalker accountable. Just...

Let's back up and let me explain, as I've done with @spacingstars and I think @ninjigma:

My current thought process is Cody being grumpy around Anakin and about Anakin, but in that playful way he is about Obi-Wan, just more... Anakin is little brother. Despite being... 2–4 inches taller than Cody, depending on how tall I make Anakin. Anyway.

It comes down to the concept of Cody also being a very observant young man, and he not only knows Kenobi well, but he's also figured out how both his General and Rex's space wizard tic.

Specifically, Cody knows that when General Kenobi gets anxious and starts on his own spiral, he becomes incredibly self-critical, and when it comes to Anakin... it often comes down to him listing his criticisms about Skywalker. What Anakin struggles to see and Cody has figured out is that Kenobi gets hung up on Skywalker's shortcomings because Obi-Wan holds himself to blame.

When Obi-Wan starts in on Anakin, he's driven by a need to make sure he's done well by Anakin, and anything not smoothed out in his Padawan is ultimately, as the Master, his fault.

If there is a kerfuffle when Rex and Anakin's relationship is revealed, it isn't hard to picture Obi-Wan doing an Obi-Wan and laying in on Anakin. Our Chosen One would, of course, start to weep, and get sulky.

This means little can be done to address the actual issue. Cody's solution? He probably has many. Most of the time it is to distract the Jedi Master. However, this is the same Clone who bodily flung himself at Grievious. Meaning, he isn't above distracting Kenobi by picking a verbal fight.

However, most likely, I see Cody showing his calm, simple, military focus and just... in so many words, telling Obi-Wan to calm the eff down. Usually, it is Cody who is the hot-headed one between them.

Cody's actions as a buffer isn't just to aid his General or keep focus on the issue. It is also... Skywalker may not be his General of choice, but he is... Little Brother, and Anakin is Favorite Little Brother's Jedi "Little Brother" General—and for some Force-forsaken reason—that Favorite Little Brother has chosen to...

That's as far as Cody will let me write. He will make commentary under his breath about how he "raised" Rex better than this. To which, the Captain will remind his illustrious brother that they didn't become friends until they were roughly 9 years old (18th cycle); Cody didn't raise him. Or remarks about how he thought Rex would have better tastes—"What would you rather, Cody? General Kenobi?"

Cody just has to say:

Either way...

The idea of Cody being both Mr. Grumpy Cat Commander that cracks jokes about Skywalker being chaos on two legs, but he'll also:

Because, as with all Little Brothers—Don't hit his little brother, it is HIS job to hit his Little Brother.

And if this is Favorite Little Brother's Chosen One(TM)—Is this who Rex has decided to make The Stupid Face(TM)* to? He can't have Kenobi self-sabotage himself AND the Obnoxious General, can he?

Look, I love imagining Cody and Anakin's friendship as complicated and multilayered—it fits with Anakin, and it fits with how I characterize Cody. I think they deserve a relationship that isn't what it seems, but it has a good foundation.

Why? At the core, I don't like the Clones being the super informed Mindful Ones who do everything right, all the time. But, I do like to explore how they are absent of some of the same foibles we may have, and can't been infected with certain social ails the way we have—e.g their relationship with the concept of Gender being very simple, basic, but mutable and adaptable. Or that they haven't been inducted into the galaxy's larger rape culture. On one hand, I love the idea of them being socially impressionable, but also... sheltered in a way that makes it easy for them to put aside some things. So, they pick up on things quickly.

They aren't experienced, well-informed, and quite progressive like the Jedi Order would be. However, they also aren't burdened with the same bigotry others have because they grew up incredibly sheltered and isolated.

Thus, Cody does not see the point in dressing Skywalker down, while everyone is in an emotional statement, to the point where emotions continue to escalate detrimentally. It does more harm than good, makes it harder for them to go through the issues later, and just...

It is that remnants of Cody's childhood:

Never hurt another brother.**/***

PLEASE DO NOT USE the Cody emoji. It has been used here with exclusive permission by its creator, @ninjigma. If you want to use their pewpewCody and other adorable emojis, become a Patreon of theirs and join their server.

notations under the cut

*The Stupid Face is the Clone colloquialism for... basically, heart eyes.

**Certain military regulations and their mandated punishments are another thing. Don't be a traitor, and don't desert—though, to Cody, deserters ARE traitors.

*** From Legends, we know that the Kaminoans had VERY strict rules about the Clones being prematurely harmed. It took a lot for Jango to get them to permit Commandos to be trained with live-rounds at all.

[dukeofankh]

So in my wandering in the wilderness of Reddit for several years, I spent most of my time in r/Menslib, a feminist subreddit concerned with the challenges of deconstructing patriarchy as a man. It largely sucked. In short, I think that the norms of men's social spaces are foundationally incompatible with the sort of work that you need to do to heal men. It's not failing to materialize because men aren't trying, it's that people are trying to make topiary with flamethrowers.

"You Just Don't Understand" is a pop-psych book by Deborah Tannen about comparing the conversational norms of gendered spaces. It's hardly definitive or universally applicable but I found it mirrored my own experiences pretty well as a queer/neurodivergent guy who's never really fit in in men's spaces. She says that in the case of men, the most basic building blocks of conversation are built around jockeying for independent, individual reputation and heirarchical status. Men focus on topics external to them, rather than sharing personal feelings, because the fundamental structure of conversation is conflict based and being vulnerable would expose you and your most intimate self to that kind of combat.

It's also why men tend to be so competitive about their niche hobbies --they found a pond small enough that they can be the big fish. The problem is when that pond is Feminism.

Putting aside the staggering number of men whose idea of being part of the movement is just publicly dunking on men who they percieve as less feminist than they are (implicitly demonstrating that they are winning feminism by comparison), there's also this rebranding of the basic toxicity of rugged independent stoicism into a new, progressive-tee-em version:

"Struggling under the Patriarchy? Just do your own thing. Systemic issues? What systemic issues? Sounds like someone just doesn't want to do the work. Looking for community and support and role models because you're facing judgment and disdain from others? Are you really though? Maybe you're just making it up as an excuse to not be a Sigma male--I mean, good feminist. I mean, I do what I want, and I'm killing it, so you must just not be as mature as I am yet."

People respond to desires for help, community, and movement with surprisingly bitter disdain. People who open up about how hard it is to face judgment for acting contrary to hegemonic masculine norms tend to get met with calls to just get the fuck over it. A lot of that seems to be that a fair few men have a sort of pride for doing what they consider to be "the best job at being a nontoxic man" without any help, and they look down on men who want to have any sort of larger movement or support system in place to make that easier. It being easy would make them seem less cool for succeeding.

Men don't tend to welcome discussions of the personal, like I said above, but what shocked me going there after tumblr was the degree to which lived experience was considered...I mean, not even lacking in inherent value, it was more thought of as an active detriment. Your personal experience? That's based on your feelings. You've almost definitely warped that with your own perspective, and you shouldn't trust it.

As an extension of that, there's a sort of structural difference in how culturally, men and women's discourse seems to function. With women, it is a collection of narratives, the most common and shared blending together to form a consensus. With men, it is much more a system of gatekeepers and experts holding court above a throng. The ideal relationship is more prophet/disciple. Presuming your idea is good enough to share therefore must mean that you are assuming that level of heirarchical authority. But if your idea was good, then you would have a degree and a book out. If you don't, if you're some random guy from the internet, and you sharing your perspective HAS to be challenged or else people are implicitly granting you that authority. And what follows is the most hellish pedantic bullshit you've ever seen in your whole life. Someone knowing more than you is someone who could look down on you. So there is a major incentive to find even tiny, inconsequential mistakes, to prove that they're a pretender to the throne you see their opinion as claiming.

The result in terms of the actual moderation is a massive focus on external links and articles to spur conversation, with most actual text posts written by users being deleted immediately. I've seen posts about people's history of growing up in the Patriarchy being removed because they're just "personal anecdotes and they don't have any citations", ive seen people being told "hey it's fine if you want to squabble in the comments on an article from a legitimate source but I don't think your personal ideas are really suitable for a full blown POST on the FRONT PAGE of our SUBREDDIT. I could make a whole post about the fact that the existence of Mods with an editorial viewpoint fundamentally changes the power structure of a community, but ultimately it was pretty depressing to see the extent to which instead of camaraderie and community you instead had to deal with a bunch of Redditors cosplaying at being part of an academic journal.

It's not some sort of unique moral failure on the part of men--the other half of Tannen's book makes some excellent points that having a conversational culture built off of the norm of building community doesn't actually prevent there being conflict and hierarchy among women. It's more that that conflict is expressed using the language of community. If you have a visceral response to a post starting with "friendly reminder..." you already know what I mean.

But the structure I encountered on Reddit is so starkly atomized, and I honestly don't see how it is even capable on a basic, structural level of doing the work it wants to do.

[ofthefog]

what is the global food supply issue you see with large-scale vegetarianism/veganism? We already move a lot of plant produce around the world.

Animal agriculture is tied directly to the industrial crop production, and taking out a pillar like this has far reaching consequences. That doesn't mean that it can't be done, but what I want from people advocating for a people to switch over to a vegan lifestyle is a set of concrete and material policy and actions that can be done such that you don't have to convince everyone of a particular set of morals to follow them.

For example, it is much easier to be vegetarian across vast swaths India that in siberia or the sahara. This isn't because the people are all that different, but rather traditional cuisine derives from what food is available where people live.

On the level of agriculture, not all land can sustain human edible crop growth. This is why things like nomadic pastoralism exist. Over a large land area with minimal vegetation, a ruminant can take inedible food and convert it to edible ones. This is also what sustains arctic hunting. Reindeer eat, aside from the usual vegetation, lichen for example.

While usually this gets couched as "cultural tradition" or whatever, the real problem with remote/indigenous communities switching over is that of food sovereignty, with secondary problems in logistics. Firstly, although internationally food shipping is actually very economically and environmentally effecient, in remote areas the "last mile" can be a whole lot more than a single mile. You can see the absurd level of prices for imported food and other goods in Alaska for example. When all food production comes from elsewhere, under a capitalist system the disparity will be milked for all it is worth. But there are ways around this, with their own set of externalities. Having a subsidy to reduce grocery prices, perhaps investing in infrastructure so that shipping is cheaper. Another way would be to incentivise people to live near more arable land.

I say all of these pull factors, because when it comes down to it, remote areas also have less force projection. Declaring hunting illegal means someone has to enforce that, when faced between a change like that, people will ignore legislation.

However, even if we do get people to relocate, this comes at the cost of integrating into a society that requires a very different set of skills. Even if we take someone that was doing subsistence farming, putting them into a different environment with different soil and different plants and pests takes time and therefore money to adjust to. Without a careful transition, that could mean having a class of people who are economically disadvantaged because of where they used to live.

But alright. Let's say that we accept these effects. This is not a population that is a majority of the globe so with policy it is possible to overcome. However, we need to touch on how industrial lines work on in arable lands.

Contrary to a statistic I've seen floating around, 86% of global livestock feed comes from food deemed not fit for human consumption. Some of this is coproducts from, say, soybean production, and others are grasses or sugercane scraps. That sort of thing. Only 13% is grain. I will link this study later because its very comprehensive and also tumblr hates showing links on first posting.

But anyway, without these inputs, we will have to find something to do with these agricultural byproducts. This isn't the end of the world, though. Being organic means that often these can be composted and such.

But perhaps the biggest problem is the lack of natural fertilisers from the manure. There are inorganic fertilisers which of course have been integral for feeding modern population sizes, but this is not a perfectly closed loop, meaning that over time we could reach peak fertiliser. Furthermore, thanks to a focus on increasing short term yield, soil quality is degrading from their use, and is slowly making arable land less capable of sustaining life. I can link some more here about that.

But that's not the only way that organic fertilisers can be made. Cities are famously full of shit. It is possible to treat sewage, firstly to retain water, but also to ship out to agricultural lands. This comes with its own challenges, as human waste more readily transfers diseases than animal waste does, and also contaminants from medications or other pollutants like mercury can build up over time, compared to animal sources. This is a technical problem, and not unreasonably difficult to overcome, though.

However, if we do that, that again leaves many animal product sellers without much of a business model and so resistant to change.

So how about those factory farms? A big problem is that as farms get larger and give, say, chickens less room to move around in and such, the feed conversion ratio improves. Factory farm broiler chickens have a FCR of 1.5 to 1.9, whereas backyard chickens could be anywhere from 2.5 to 4 or 5. This isn't a perfect comparison because often this is coming from grains in a factory farm, whereas a backyard type couls be fed kitchen scraps and insect forage. They can be helpful for reducing pests and fertilising local crops, as a part of the same system. This means that a switch away from animal products will result in less plant products.

Finally, there is the issue of nutrition. It is possible to have a healthy diet while vegan, but this requires a source of b12. This can be in the form of a supplement that has been synthesised, or it can be fortified into foods like cereal or milk substitutes. This comes with its own set of challenges, as we will have to vastly increase b12 production, and also deliver it. This can be changed by improving logistical lines again, naturally.

Just an addendun, I also want to point out that the reason why deforestation happens in the amazon is due to economic reasons rather than animal agriculture. Beef ranching is done because of its high export cost, but, although to a lesser extent, this is still done for cash crops. In order to improve this, we would have to affect the relative difference in power between local currencies. But climate policy is slightly tangential.

But that does bring up the question of future technology. Is lab grown meat something that could sidestep a lot of these issues, economic, nutritional, environmental, etc? I don't really know about what that entails. Maybe the effective altruist position for veganism is to fund biosynthesis companies.

Overall, I just want people to take a greater interest in the realities of food production if they want to make prescriptions for how it should be run. Of course, I don't think that the system is perfect as is. I have long talked about the soil quality problem. And I don't think grain feed is best, and that brazilian ranching is good. But things are not so simple. If the whole world was working in tandom it would still take decades, if not centuries, to transfer over to a vegan diet on a societal level.

[reikunrei]

not gonna lie, i'm kind of half convinced that Mike didn't fully believe Will's lie in the van; that he was only talking about El. he just sort of... has this knowing look on his face, you know?

like, at first, he just has this sort of relieved smile. a smile one might get when your best friend helps quell your current fears with so much ferocity that you can't not believe them.

but it takes him a second. it's not immediate. he pauses, almost hesitates in his relief, like he's really thinking over Will's words.

and, sure, when Will assures again that she'll always need him, Mike's smile could be like a thank you to Will's efforts to make him feel better, to show that he has been sufficiently assured in the moment. but this face doesn't exactly read like that to me? at least not in its entirety.

he almost looks amused, like he's caught Will in his lie, has seen past the curtain, and thinks it's... idk... cute or sweet that Will is so focused on helping Mike and his feelings that he's setting aside his own feelings in that moment. sure, he's relieved. sure, his anxiety has been quelled, and Will helped him feel better, so of course he's going to smile at him. but i think he also understands that Will was talking about himself.

idk if this stance is like. the common opinion and i'm just slow on the uptake, but just watching the scene again really made me focus on their behavior in the moment. i've always been reading this scene as "Mike entirely believes Will at face-value and thinks he's only talking about El and her feelings for Mike," but i don't believe that anymore.

like, Will lied about the painting, saying that it was all El's idea, but when Will reassures him, Mike doesn't just smile down at the painting. in fact, his smile lessens when he looks down at the painting again. his biggest smile is solely for Will. if they wanted us, the viewer, to believe that Mike bought into the lie, his smile would have been more for El and would have likely landed on the painting rather than Will.

i feel like this is also only reiterated when Mike looks at Will again, even when Will is completely turned away from him. like Mike understands there's more to be said, but it's not going to happen right now. he turns to Will again to try and be open with him, but Will isn't ready for that yet, not when he thinks that Mike is only worried about El's feelings and not his. not when he has to lie and hide himself from his best friend.

do i think Mike knows Will has a crush on him? no. but i think he probably feels that some of the language Will used doesn't quite fit for El (particularly the part about being a "mistake." it's true that both El and Will are "different," but it always felt like a stretch to apply the "feeling like a mistake" narrative to El, and i feel like Mike would think it was out of place as well).

Mike could be thinking that Will is referring to being quiet, being shy, being a nerd, dealing with all the shit he's been through with the UD, etc., but! he could also be thinking of the homophobia Will has been facing his whole life as well. it's not exactly kept under wraps. season 1 has tons of people calling Will a fag and a fairy and a queer, and at least half of those times are in front of Mike, Lucas, and Dustin. Mike might be an idiot, but he's not stupid. it's probably something he's thought about, maybe just in passing, that his best friend might really be queer.

and i wouldn't be surprised if, in this moment, he thought, "well, yeah, of course i don't think he's a mistake for that. that doesn't matter to me."

i'm getting a little rambly here, but you get it. i think Mike believes that Will was also talking about himself in this moment, not just El, but he doesn't comprehend the full reason. he knows that something else is going on with Will, but he doesn't have enough pieces of the puzzle to put them together enough to probe him further. plus, they aren't exactly alone with Jonathan and Argyle in the front seat, and Mike has always been more reserved with his feelings, only saving them for specific private moments.

i love stupid, dense, thick-headed, idiot Mike as much as the next sucker, but despite being all tied up in knots over his worry for El, not everything is going to fly over his head. Will isn't lying about these feelings applying to El, and Mike knows that, but he also sees right through the flimsy cover story, and i think he entirely understands that Will means all of that for himself, too.

in short, i just can't wait for a moment like Mike confronting Will about this conversation again, about lying about the true origin of the painting (since El said in her letter that she had no idea what it was, just that she thought it was for a girl Will might like!), and Mike coming to terms with his own feelings, and accepting that Will's companionship makes him feel so much more comfortable.

[snailberries]

pov: ur a punk rock with trust issues - playlist

A collection of songs from my Ashton Greymoore playlist along with my reasonings behind each one! Keep reading below the cut :]

I Can’t Handle Change: Ashton doesn’t feel like they belong with Bells Hells, hence the first line “Hangin' out where I don't belong”. He thinks they’re better people than him and that he doesn’t fit in with people who are so undamaged (of course, they are damaged. Ashton is just too clouded by their own pain to acknowledge it). “I can’t handle change” alludes to their fear of opening up and trusting people again after keeping their walls up for so long. “Nothing I do is ever good enough”. After being left behind by people you consider family, I’d have a hard time believing that he doesn’t blame himself for not being “good enough” to save.

I’m Gonna Win: The chorus of this song is VERY Ashton. I think the phrase “I’m gonna win” in the context of Ashton isn’t so much a pursuit of victory so much as the pursuit of survival. The strategy they’re using to make it through life is a really tragic one. It’s a single-minded focus of trying to survive and doing it all alone. They’ve made it this far. Why would they ask for help now? The imagery of the singer refusing to give up until they’re “bloody and bruised” and have “broken [their] bones” is brutal, and it shows how tough Ashton thinks he needs to be in order to make it.

Problems: “I am a sinner, you are a saint.” Once again, Ashton is comparing himself to the rest of Bells Hells and saying that he is so much worse than they are. The lines comparing chains and cages to love allude to the narrator’s commitment issues, and as we know Ashton “I don’t do friends” Greymoore is certainly someone who avoids commitment.

Trying Too Hard: This song highlights the softer side of Ashton. I interpret the lyrics as Ashton speaking to themself or to someone who they think is similar to them. The lines “You never knew that acts could be too loud. What does it mean to be picked out in a crowd?” stands out to me as Ashton feeling fear over being known, as well as fear that his actions both good and bad mean something to someone now. There is a responsibility that comes with being loved, and it’s scary.

Take a Slice: This is the only song in this particular list of songs that I chose off of pure vibes alone. The theme of sensuality and lust doesn’t have much to do with Ashton, although there are references to alternative culture throughout. But yeah, the main reason I chose this song is because of the gritty and dangerous tone.

Everybody Knows Shit’s Fucked: A political song about anti-Americanism, but putting the literal meaning of the lyrics aside, the energy screams Ashton to me. The unbridled fury and outrage towards a corrupt system is very punk. As is cursing, and there’s a lot of it here.

Heart of Glass: Yes, I took this one from the official Ashton playlist, sue me. It’s a good one! As Taliesin mentioned in his own reasoning for picking this song, it is very literal. Although he did swear it has a deeper meaning. I wonder what that is?

Blood and Money: An anti-capitalism song calling out the American upper class for shamelessly using the lower class to fight their wars and make their money. Much like Everybody Knows Shit’s Fucked, the literal lyrics are less important than the energy here. Also a fun coincidence: the colors that the lyrics use to describe blood and money are also Ashton’s color palette- “red, gold, and green”.

[love-beyond-space-war]

Training Camp

Emile-A239 x Female! Reader

Synopsis: You knew Emile-A239 back in Alpha Company. You didn't think you'd cross paths again after being separated for different missions. Turns out, it's a pleasant yet upsetting surprise to find out just who the new Noble-6 is.

Content Warning: Angst, Fear of love, Fear of death, Death mention.

He had a feeling that name sounded familiar. He was hoping by some odd coincidence it was just someone that also had your name. But no, the new Noble-6 was exactly who he thought it was.

"She can't be here..." Emile mutters to his leader, Carter.

"Why not? She's capable and willing to listen to orders." Carter explained to Emile. "I thought you'd know, she went to the same training camp as us. Is there something you aren't telling me? You two always got along."

"It's nothing-"

The fact you two always got along is what scared him. He didn't want you here because he hated you, he just didn't want you here because he cared for you. If anything happened to you it could jepordize the mission.

"Nice to see you all again." You chime, entering the large tent they set up for a base. "Jun, Carter, Hey Emile."

Emile gives you a dismissive wave, too lost in thought. He couldn't tell if he was happy or concerned that you were a part of Noble Team. Only time would tell if he could overcome his worries....

------

Emile was still a good comrade to you in battle, just like he was when you were both in training. It was a shame when you had to be moved to a new team. You missed your close friend and never expected to see him again.

Then you were alerted to the passing of another Spartan you trained with, Thom. Noble Team was looking for recruits and you fit what they needed. You expected a decent reunion to meeting them again, if any.

Instead you got Emile, the Spartan you were looking forward to seeing the most, ignoring you. Anything outside of the mission was just not important to him. Including conversation from you.

It... saddened you to know he was ignoring you. You'd understand if you did something but from what you could tell you hadn't angered him. He was just indifferent.

"He's just been like that lately. Nothing you can do about it." Jun huffs.

"He'll get back to his old self in time." Carter tried to reassure you.

Yet despite all your attempts to spark a bond between the two of you again, you're met with cold responses.

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

At some point you felt you should just stop trying. He wasn't going to change and you just needed to focus on the mission. It didn't matter, Emile has changed so now you will too.

You never understood his behavior until he saved your ass once during a mission. Such an action that sparked an argument between the two of you. Only then did you get it.

"You should've been more careful!" Emile pulls you aside after the mission was clear in private.

"I was doing what I could, Emile. I just messed up one-"

"Once is enough to get you killed. It only takes once to lose your life." Emile pushes back, cutting you off.

You're silent, surprised by his tone.

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to join. If you got hurt I couldn't live with myself."

"... So that's why."

You step back, giving Emile some distance.

"You were so distant from me because you didn't want to lose me...."

"As a Spartan you already lose a lot, I wanted at least you to be safe."

"Emile, there's no need to worry."

"What makes you say that?"

You cautiously step closer, a hand on his shoulder.

"I'd put myself in danger if it meant I could be beside you."

Emile seemed conflicted by what you said. You say nothing more, only hugging him quickly. You then walk away to continue your duty. No use being more intimate than that in the field.

Falling in love with you was exactly what Emile feared. Yet the longer he was beside you and after hearing what you said...

Perhaps he should make the best of this while he still can?

[lediz-watches]

Miraculous: Ladybug & Cat Noir the movie

Put shortly: I liked it. It was good times. Great animation, good storyline, good use of the characters, good time.

Put slightly longer: I feel way more satisfied after watching this movie than I did watching the mid-season of the season 5 on Disney+, but I think that's saying more about where the series currently is than the movie itself. So let's focus on that!

Spoilers below the cut like WHOA.

Starting off with my in-movie notes, because I haven't felt the need to do that since watching The Winchesters, so why not?

Oh, they kept the voice actors. Thought they’d go with new ones

But they didn’t use Christina Vee for Marinette’s singing voice, which is very strange

Also, this song is lovely, but is not matching the movie. It’s a pop song, and I dig it, but it’s tonally wrong for the movie, which wants a full on Alan Menken with much brighter orchestrations. And Marinette’s voice is higher than this.

I like that Marinette is the one rejecting other people in this movie. This makes so much more sense for how she will suddenly become super popular once she’s Ladybug

CHLOE MY BELOVED BITCH WITH SOCIAL MEDIA AWARENESS. The Kardashians would deign to meet with you

Alya, you well meaning bitch you. This is why people struggle with you so hard

I really prefer the character designs for this movie. Not just the facial designs, but these actually look like kids with a healthy weight and proportions. (Series!Marinette's limbs freak me out)

I really like how the other kids act around Marinette. Aside from Chloe, the bullying really is all in her head – people are just looking at her, not judging. I like it.

Adrien studying at lunch! Another characterisation I like. And him running away when he’s confronted with people being a bit weird and him feeling like he’s on the verge of being awkward. Or at least that’s what I guess he was doing? They don't actually explain his actions here.

Oh, Garbiel’s beginning is nice. I like it.

“a nice screaming exchange like two civilised teenagers!” oh Chloe I adore you

Knowing what I know about the spoilers, this line “who saves a life saves the world” feels pointed, and could have been a great theme in the series

I love Tikki already

This 'You are Ladybug' song seems very nice, I love the beat, but again, Marinette’s singing voice is so distracting

Oh, goddammit Adrien.

GodDAMMIT Adrien.

Oh, boy, please, calm down. I love you but wow, boy… This is why I love you, even, but WOW

And watch as he immediately falls for the first girl to act like showing him attention isn’t a big deal

I love these kids so much. They’re so 14. Such brats.

See, Adrien’s singing voice actually fits him, despite still sounding like a pop song. Actually as a general rule, this song is just more suited to the movie and the moment, too. Maybe it's just Marinette's singing voice I'm struggling with

Did they change Plagg’s voice?

I prefer the change to Doosoo’s, though

Oh, Gabriel. I love you, you ham.

I also like that there are already supervillains in Paris, even though we don’t actually know about them.

THESE KIDS.

This Mime villain is actually genuinely menacing

I also like the way Tikki acts here. She’s more chaotic and doesn’t feel entirely ‘good’. In the sense of being a goody-two-shoes, I mean. She feels aggressive, violent. Much more like creation.

And Cat Noir’s powers being rougher and more physical, compared to Ladybug’s quick thinking and grace. There's balance in these characters, not just together but also in themselves.

I like Adrien’s arc as a superhero here. Main character syndrome immediately failed, he relegates himself to being a sidekick, and never realises he’s legitimately a hero in his own right because no one ever realises his stupidity is ALWAYS the result of poor mental health responses. Someone who is not a destructive spirit intervene in this boy's mental state!

Gabriel… is falling apart. I would have liked to have seen more of that.

Okay. Pause a second. Because I’ve reached the part of the movie where Ladybug rejects Cat Noir, Adrien rejects Marinette, and she’s singing about… something? I’m not quite following what the narrative intention of this song actually is, but it’s hitting an interesting point that I’m suddenly distracted by.

So something that’s always kind of been annoying to me in the series is that Marinette went from being the worst, most hopeless and unpopular girl in school to being its superstar just by being Ladybug. This movie actually does a really good job of showing that she was never that bad, she just didn’t believe in herself and sabotaged herself, and so when she stops sabotaging herself she excels. And I actually think it would have been super cool if there was an arc where she thought it was all about being ladybug, and became OVER confident because of it, and assumed that being Ladybug meant EVERYTHING should go her way. And so this set back—Adrien not just falling in love with her because she wants it that way—completely destroying her world view? Causing her a crisis of confidence? Making her fail as Ladybug, because she suddenly realises it’s not just luck and super powers, but her? That would have been a great plot. I would have liked that a lot. I’m not sure that’s what’s happening here, but I would’ve liked that a lot.

Yeah, this song is just skipping that plot and her going straight to starting to realise she’s enough.

Yesss Fallen!Gabriel, I enjoy this

 Adrien, as always, your timing is terrible

…Hawkmoth, how are you doing any of this? How does it relate to your power set? Is this supposed to be what happens when you akumatise yourself?

I do like this resolution to the Gabriel villain story though. Including having Adrien actually being the solution to the problem, living out his role as the heart of the story to resolve the real problem, while Ladybug takes the spotlight as the ‘active’ hero.

CHLOE I LOVE YOU, YOU BITCH

Okay, so on a technical level, I love this movie's character designs, the animation is gorgeous, the direction is beautiful, the voice acting is (as always) amazing. With the exception of Marinette's singing voice, which was aggressively distracting, this movie is technically excellent.

And seems to have been delivered to schedule. Now that's the real shock.

Pacing wise, it was really good for a movie that was trying to encapsulate the scope of two heroes developing over like... what was supposed to be, six months? Very fast, maybe a little too fast, but not bad for its scope. But I do think that the only reason some of it worked is because we know these characters and could fill in the scenes. On his own, movie!Adrien wasn't developed beyond 'melodramatic BOY' (Nino did a LOT of heavy lifting for developing Adrien's character in like three lines), and movie!Marinette was pretty one-dimensional as 'underconfident'. But it was... fine. Ladybug and Cat Noir were a little better developed, and since they were the same people... meh.

Narratively, however.

I like Gabriel's story in this movie. I like him basically having a breakdown, and I like that it is only resolved when he is forced to see the damage he's done to his own son. I like that it's implied that Adrien's response is what actually saves him.

I also like how Ladybug and Cat Noir function together in this movie. They're stronger together, both literally and figuratively, and they have different functions that work, and the movie showcases it working. Ladybug is more visibly capable, but she's only able to be so BECAUSE Cat Noir is rushing around, taking the brunt of the chaos, distracting people, distracting HER from it all being too much. He can't do anything on his own, but neither can Ladybug, really. I really like how this movie ended that way, too - Cat Noir is unconscious, but still distracting the villain while Marinette sorts herself out. And once she has, she basically gets shunted off to the side, because the only way to solve this is with an emotional focus, and that's Adrien's job in their partnership. But AS FAR AS PARIS IS CONCERNED, Ladybug is still somehow the actual and only hero.

I suspect that after the series is over, I shall rant about the yin/yang and balance and what the series is trying to do, but for now...

Normally, I don't like movies that can't exist on their own. But in this particular case... I think I wouldn't enjoy this movie so much without the series to contrast against, and I think this movie showcases something really beautiful about the world of Miraculous. If it leads into a series of movies telling the Miraculous story...

Honestly, I wouldn't be mad.

Nice work, Mr Zag. It's good for what it is.

[slowdancingtorock]

Ireland - Day 9

So, today was a lot of fun. I got to recover a little from the rather exhausting shifts yesterday. Aside from the usual roll calls I didn't need to do much today.

The main even for the students was the talent show where those brave enough showed off their singing, dancing, jokes and skills on musical instruments. It was a lot of fun. I got to be there during my freetime, so I didn't need to focus on keeping the audience quiet or filming, which was a blessing. My two favorite acts were 1) two of my colleagues performing Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls and 2) two girls showing off their Discofox skills they acquired yesterday. But I genuinely gotta say that I didn't have to fake being entertained for any of the acts. The judges were also very supportive, except for the one Russian boy who opted to play the character of the residential bad guy (I am pretty sure he was told to do, I saw him rehearsing some roasts with a colleague). Also they reversed the roles when grading my colleagues, so he was the only one giving them a 10 while the rest dished out 1s. So, fortunately I won't have to break up my alliance with him.

Only thing puts a dent into this otherwise fun and relaxed day was a case of (alledged) bullying. Two Russian girls approached me about being harassed and bullied because they're from Russia. On the one hand I am shocked that it happened, on the other hand I am also a little surprised that it didn't happen earlier; the girls tend to stay amongst themselves and rarely participate in the activities unless they have to. Also, they have been here a couple of weeks already and everyone knew they're from Russia. I talked to the boy who harassed them and hopefully it's not gonna happen again.

I am enjoying my time here, especially during the activities. They are great and while I absolutely have my personal favourites, doing then for shits and giggles even when I'm not on duty is great. Getting to connect with my colleagues and getting to know the students makes this stay so much more enjoyable. I am basically halfway through my stay at the castle before I move on to Dublin and I hope that this overall very positive experience will carry over to there. Also my favourite part of the stay so far is the impersonation of my favourite Engish colleague saying "Guys, stop puttin' soap on the door handle." I don't know why I find it so funny, but it keeps cracking me up.

Other than that there is only the song of the day, which was a tough pick between like 10 different songs I think fit very well. Ultimately I am settling on We Are Giants by Lindsey Stirling and Dia Frompton. Frompton's gentle voice encouraging us to basically just go for it (whatever it may be) and the energetic violin especially during the chorus is enchanting in the most positive way I could think of :)

[chaotic-minds-think-alike]

So I don’t really plan to draw QWERTY with any of the main characters in ultrakill because they have their own story with V1 (and QWERTY operates differently, not really as aggressive/eye catching as V1) but I kinda wanna draw them at least encountering Gabriel (because I’m silly)(and don’t want to make an angel oc I’ll barely use)

This next part is just me saying things but it’s kinda plausible? For them to get noticed, I mean. I imagine QWERTY is much more resilient than the V models but that means their only strength in speed is their rollerblades and they’re pretty clumsy otherwise. Like hi Gabriel ultrakill I’ve survived the worst experiences of my life, I am a roach that can’t be killed and I will scurry around hell causing havoc where I see fit. <- speaking of the roach thing, back to that detailed art I did (which I am still insane about, wtf possessed me) in the last 2 panels QWERTY is taking a hell energy blast directly and only being knocked out of the way rather than absolutely blowing up

Ok now I’m just going to ramble about my OC:

I haven’t rlly thought of it’s origins but because I based them off the V models, I believe it was some sort of tank war machine. I mentioned yeah, they’re clumsy (looks around. At the atrocious restarts I had for V2 and Gabriel fights) and a short time in hell solidified their first goal: we need to be faster. So, of course, they get into a fight with a machine and steal their legs lol. QWERTY’s legs before would’ve probably been similar to a sentry’s. Now that I think about it… QWERTY does display qualities that’d make them older than V1 but to make sense of the gap in combat experience V1 has over them we’re just going to say that QWERTY was put into storage after being deemed “not needed anymore” (ouch). Because QWERTY is older, their design is prone to overheating when stressed both physically or emotionally. The lights on their face & arms, wings, and around the eyes will heat up and glow a dangerous orange. It’s not until the stressor at hand is removed that they’ll relax and steam will be expelled in an attempt to cool themselves off, leading to dangerous situations as they struggle to focus on multiple points of interest.

QWERTY favors piercing weaponry with the sharpshooter revolver being their main weapon of choice. The only other character I’ve made them meet is the Swordsmachine purely because when I played the demo I did so horribly against them. Just going to bend canon a little and say V1 crippled the machine during their 2nd fight and later on QWERTY finds them and ends them, taking their sword for their own.

This above is where the sword thing comes from lol, I still really wish we had swords as an option. Though the sword isnt in QWERTY's primary weapon picks, it's still used here and there; you never know when you'll meet another swordsman you can spar with.

At the moment I'm running out of things to talk about because my brain is a little fried but going back to the overheating thing: because of the obvious "this thing is going to have to deal with this status for a while" they're built to withstand the heat longer than a normal machine. This allows them to also take hell energy attacks decently well though it's immunity only slightly helps when in contact with lava or greed's golden sand. I imagine when they're in this state they make a sort of muffled but mechanical "thump thump thump" sound from idk their engine or whatever working overtime in their chest.

I guess since I'm on the topic of sounds now, it's capable of speech although they don't talk much at all and the lack of opportunities to is leading them to lose their speech. Aside from that, they often hiss and make grinding sounds from their chest and maybe the occasional whirring. If I'm to be honest I can see them attempt to "sing" in tune with the sword's motor when it's revved.

[ask-the-reaper-conspiracy]

To OP: what do you think we can expect for the next AA (if we get one)? :3 and what are your thoughts on Spirit of Justice?

~~also for some reason, Tumblr is burying your posts so I can't see them on my homepage :(~~

:O Hard to say when we're not even sure who'll be writing the next AA game.

I think the only thing I can expect for certain is that Athena will be the one undergoing character development, since that was a hanging plot point in SoJ. That doesn't necessarily mean she'll be the player character for the entirety of it (Apollo finished his character arc in a game where Phoenix was the main character for a large portion of it) but she will probably be the central focus by the end.

Considering how long we've had without an AA game, I also fully expect a gimmick to draw in new players. Potentially this will be a new setting, a new main character, or a new mechanic--I'm leaning on the side of there being a heavier supernatural focus (or at least superhuman, like Athena's hearing and Apollo's eyesight) but I don't really know :o

I'm sure there will be returning characters too, as well. Hopefully Gumshoe this time > >

Whatever they do, I'll probably be there for it.

As for my feelings on SoJ, that ended up being wayyyyy too long so it's under the cut.

I really enjoyed it! and idk what the tumblr opinion is on that, all I know is that they really hate it over on reddit, so, sorry fdgkfdkgfk

It is the best looking Ace Attorney game outside of the spinoffs, and in particular I think the character models and in-game animations are at their best, so that's one huge point for me. I also loved pretty much everything surrounding the seance mechanic.

I thought each case was consistently exciting. Phoenix traveling to a different country with a radically different culture high-key appealed to me, and I thought the higher stakes of his trials fit that feeling that he was far from home; on the other hand, I liked that the filler cases that were literally closer to home employed themes from the previous games that are more personal to the characters (expanding on the legacy of the Gramarye family in 6-2, developing Athena and Simon's relationship in 6-4.) I also just liked a majority of the supporting characters---I found most of them pretty memorable and fun to watch, especially the culprits (aside from.... ehh, Paul. Ga'ran wasn't my favorite either post-outfit change, but I was going nuts over Inga at the time so I didn't mind as much.)

I liked how the returning characters were handled. Maya got to finally make it as a spirit medium and was acknowledged for all her hard work, after the first game in the franchise ended with her powers only working as a deus ex machina. Ema's crabby attitude was believably dialed back to RftA levels now that she had her dream job (with Apollo justifiably being nervous seeing her again,) and she struggled with themes of being professional and sticking to her duties vs. not wanting to see the justice system screw over her friends again, which I saw as a believable character arc for her.

And I liked Nahyuta! I know a looot of people did not, and while intellectually I can see why, sometimes I feel like I must have been playing different games than them with how much hate he gets compared to other prosecutors in the series. I found his ultimate theme of controllable helplessness, masking itself as restraint and enlightenment, to be very fascinating. And tbh I liked how chill he is in the courtroom, which makes it more notable (especially for comedic purposes) when he slips up and shows how passionate he actually is as a person.

His biggest flaw as a character to me was that his arc was underbaked. There needed to be more time to unpack everything he'd done by the end, and the things that were at stake for him just, weren't quite impressive enough when put against the things he'd been an accomplice to. But I feel like he was so close in that regard, as I can imagine a million little ways they could have fixed it.

-

Now this is my big rant dfgkdfks

Something I liked the most about this game, probably the biggest point that left me emotionally compromised towards it, was that it brought back some of the themes introduced in Apollo Justice that got dropped in Dual Destinies.

I left AJ frustrated by the fact that Apollo's first forays into being a lawyer featured him being manipulated, ridiculed and led along, mostly by his own mentor (Phoenix Wright, no less,) alongside being an orphan whose mother just... didn't want him to know she was still alive dgfkfkhdkgf and none of this actually got addressed by the end of the game. and then Dual Destinies completely ignored it, meaning I was never going to get closure on it.

But SoJ touched on those feelings again and actually gave me some closure. Looking broadly at what happens in the game--Phoenix finally does show that by this point, he trusts Apollo with even his own daughter's safety. Apollo finally does vent to SOMEONE about how hard it was starting out as a lawyer, and confronts a parental figure for abandoning him. He confronts Phoenix in court, and his relationship with Phoenix even seems to be characterized as "different" from that of his other allies. This is mainly because Phoenix is a mentor to Apollo more than a friend, but I like to think their bad first impression of each other was a contributing factor, too.

Yes, many of these are not exact follow-ups to Apollo Justice. A lot of them either touch on the story vaguely, or invent new scenarios to make these themes relevant to this specific game (like Apollo's backstory in Khurain was obviously not envisioned during AA4.) But considering how old Apollo Justice as a game was by this point, and that the writer evidently did not expect everyone to have even played it, I at least understand the decision to tie these themes to new plot points.

Also, I really like Dhurke, so I don't reaaally mind that he's a new addition to Apollo's backstory. Also like the idea that Apollo might have followed Kristoph as a mentor for so long because he bears a superficial resemblance to Nahyuta---cool-headed, confident, hair over his shoulder...

Like it's a bit weird to wrap my head around that Apollo spent his formative years in a different country/culture and this wasn't touched on in previous games, but I'm just not too stressed about it cause I got the core feelings I wanted dfkgsfdkk and Apollo just, has good chemistry with the new characters,

I could go on and on about all the little things I liked, but those are my big points. I think the game gets a lot of backlash nowadays, some of it fair and some of it I feel is unfair. But me personally, I liked it from start to finish, and the things it did wrong didn't bother me enough to take me out of my enjoyment of it.

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

For AO3 Wrapped: 12, 27, and 29!! <33

12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

oof. so, there's a few ways of answering this. there's ones that i have in my docs, and there's ones that will realistically be published.

the structure of pottery shards is already set. it's going to be three multichapter narrative fics, and i have at least five character studies asides (sam, steve, bucky, tony, and luke, may do more if the need arises) planned that also reveal events that don't fit into the limited POV of the multi chapter narrative (like, the background accords drama going on right now--the brunt of it is luke's and tony's story to tell, but it would be a huge narrative divergence from the focus of kintsugi, and there really isn't a good alternative POV to relay the events otherwise. so, most of it will be character study based, but it'll be filtered through some relevant events). the first step of kintsugi is like, relatively close to being finished? I wanna say it's 2/3rds there. so we have seven works lined up the barrel for pottery shards. I want to say realistically we're probably going to get through kintsugi, 3-4 character studies, and start on the second multi chapter fic in the upcoming year. so 4-5 WIPs from the pottery shards verse.

the lisa castle series has 3 narrative installments that will almost definitely get out in the next year. I can't decide if i want to end it on the 4th or go for a 5th, so that may be put on pause because i'm deciding where to take it still. ~3 WIPs from the hells verse.

i want to finish it's not a whore HOUSE it's a whore HOME series and get it off my docket. it's just got one WIP before it's done. so 1 here.

i have at least 2 from the acts of contrition verse, one is almost definitely going to go out in the next year. ~1 here.

I really want to start the Peter Parker Roommates AU, which won't be a series, once some of these wrap up, so probably one entirely new project that would be started. 1 WIP.

So, realistically, we're talking about 10-11 WIPs of varying lengths. Some of them are gonna be pretty short, some of them are gonna be multichapters that are at least started in the next year.

If the question is how many WIPs do I have in my google drive that have at least a page of writing and have been plotted in their entirety or close to, the answer turns into 41.

27. What do you listen to while writing?

i put on episodes of bojack horseman on really low volume sometimes.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

ooooh that's a hard one. i think i'd probably go with this:

Matt’s clever, right? So goddamn clever. He has it all planned out. He’ll never tell a single living soul about his powers, because that’s dangerous, and because he can’t trust anyone with it, and because the only person he should have ever told is in the pressure of the ground making oil so another rich fuck can dig it up in a million years. The industrial complex is ever-churning, after all. 

What is a poor man’s body except oil to grease the works?

He’ll never tell a single soul, and that will be that. Can’t steal candy from a baby if the baby’s hidden it. No one can take advantage, because no one knows there’s anything to take advantage of. 

There’s Stick.

not really sure why. I feel like there's a kind of bitter callousness to the internal monologue that i deeply vibe with. i really like the line of the "making oil so another rich fuck can dig it up." and then just having the line be "there's stick," because, like--in glaze defects, we don't really see what stick does to him. we see the effects, but the most we get of stick himself is like, one sentence. stick's a horrendous thing that happened to matt, but in his own internal reflection, he's entirely absent compared to what matt perceives as his own failings. I just like the vibe.