#and i mean honestly. probably all of it is somewhat problematic

[minkydinks]

Why HiveWings in canon do NOT have to be the result of tons of generations of detrimental incest (a hot take maybe)

@sarcasticrat @incorporeal-entity @daishitheprofessionalfool

It's a funny meme in the WoF community that HiveWings are incestuous abominations having all descended from a single dragon (Clearsight). But honestly I think a lot of the weirdness revolving around that idea is missing a fundamental piece of the way WoF genetics work.

It's relatively well known that when two dragon tribes hybridize, their offspring will primarily take after their mothers. Every. Single. Time. At most, there may be somewhat-even mixes of both parents, but the mother's tribe is still largely apparent. We see this with Whiteout, Darkstalker, Typhoon, and Sunny. Whiteout and Darkstalker appear primarily NightWing, like their mother Foeslayer (although Whiteout has a little more IceWing than Darkstalker). Sunny is mostly SandWing in appearance like her mother Thorn; enough that most regard Sunny as a regular SandWing that may just have a rare genetic anomaly. Typhoon confirms his mother as a SeaWing in his dialogue, when he mentions that his father is ill by the animus IceWing plague that Darkstalker caused.

What does this mean for HiveWings?

While it does still sound exhausting to have so many relatives, it's very plausible for her to have caused a branching new tribe with her genetics, WITHOUT inbreeding being involved in that process.

Because Clearsight is female, the VAST majority of her dragonets with BeetleWings would appear.... mostly NightWing! Mostly black scales!

Somewhat like this, if you assume this is relatively canon:

And, any of her daughters who decided to have dragonets themselves, would have ALSO had dragonets with primarily black scales, no matter WHO they married to. The black scales would have easily passed along hundreds (if not thousands) of dragons, without a single instance of genetically problematic inbreeding, so long as the direct descendants of Clearsight were female and had black scales. Regardless, no matter how many children Clearsight had, her daughters, granddaughters, great granddaughters and so on, would pass down her black scales to future generations; all of their Night/Beetle offspring would have taken after the mothers that appeared more NightWing-like, until eventually the form of HiveWings became most familiar because of the consistent mixing of the NightWing & BeetleWing physical traits.

Clearsight may well have only needed to EVER have 6 of her own dragonets total, for there to be a tribe split based on her genetics; depending on whether or not all of her dragonets chose to have families of their own (which we assume they all did). But, it is canon that Clearsight remarried several times, so we can assume she had more than 6; albeit probably not as many as your mind wanders into thinking. No slutshaming!!!! /j

Assuming she had 4 daughters and 2 sons, and each of her children had 3 dragonets of their own (predominantly female from her daughters and predominantly male from her sons), that would be 12 NightWing-dominant hybrids and 6 BeetleWing-dominant hybrids to kickstart the tribe splitting. It's perfectly plausible with the way canon genetics work.

What about SilkWings?

BeetleWings were a spread-out tribe, not existing purely in one location for their kingdom. So, while it's fun to theorize about SilkWings also being descendants of Clearsight, it's improbable at best (and disprovable at worst) that they're related in any way. It's theorized (and probably accurate) that BeetleWings had already been in the process of diverging into SilkWings, and Clearsight's arrival sped up that process significantly by reducing the population of non-diverging BeetleWings.

Incest had to happen at some point, didn't it?

I'm going to tentatively say, yes. But not in the way you're thinking.

At some point, after the BeetleWings had been bred out of existence and replaced by HiveWings and SilkWings, there HAS to be interbreeding of HiveWings at some point. And if ALL HiveWings are descended from Clearsight, that would mean that modern HiveWings are technically inbreeding by continuing to have eggs with other HiveWings, instead of more BeetleWings.

However, this is not as problematic as you'd think. (Stay with me here, this isn't proship territory. I promise.)

If we're looking at animals as a prospect, you'll notice that millions of extant species in REAL life are actually the result of similar conditions. Direct descendants of ancestors that they inherited their primary abilities and traits from, that have ultimately somewhat inbred.

You may be shocked (and even grossed out) to hear that we're actually all somewhat related, especially to those in our own countries. However, the reason incest between close relatives is considered immoral to people (and is illegal in many places, thankfully) is because of genetic anomaly. There is always risk to pass down genetic anomalies, I happen to have one myself! (A congenital defect of the heart that gives me two aortic valve flaps instead of three. This is a standard defect though and I promise I'm not an incest baby.) But the issue with inbreeding is just that it drastically increases the chances of such anomalies happening, the more closely related to an individual you are.

To put it more science-y, inbreeding only increases the chances of consequential or fatal anomalies if the offspring of two individuals contain alleles at the gene site that are identical from descent. In other words, there's a single ancestor shared from both the maternal and paternal sides. This becomes negligible when it's no longer probable to pass identical alleles from both sides; i.e, hitting about 6th degree (roughly second cousins once removed).

In other words, should someone interbreed with their second cousin-once removed, the chances of there being genetic anomalies or consequences are so low, that it's about as likely as if you had a child with any other person in the general population of your area. Your average shared DNA with that 2nd cousin-twice removed would be ~1.5%, which is actually lower than the default chance of any other average birth defect happening to the child of an unrelated couple (~3-4%). Genetic counsellors themselves state that they completely stop worrying about the potential for inbreeding-related fetal anomalies (AND moral code) once the relativity is 4th degree or further, because there is simply such a low chance of any defects, and it would be substantially different from marrying & reproducing with your siblings, parents, grandparents, and other direct relatives. Simply put, incestuous pairings are not black & white when it comes to more distant relation. Although direct relative pairings are inherently risky and therefore morally & ethically reprehensible by any means.

Dragons in Wings of Fire live to a maximum of about 130 years, and 2000 years had passed since Clearsight's arrival to Pantala. That's about 13 generations of dragons, give or take a few. We know based on the story told by Lady Scarab that a close relative of hers that she knew personally actually named the HiveWing tribe - implying that BeetleWings' extinction was actually relatively recent; within the last 200-400 years. Meaning that the genetic diversity of modern HiveWings is high enough that it would be incredibly unlikely for any random pair of HiveWings to pass down identical alleles to their child and cause significant issues.

So while, definition-wise, it is TECHNICALLY inbreeding, it is not a morally questionable issue because there are very few physically consequential results from their pairings; there have simply been FAR too many unrelated BeetleWings in their family trees for so long, that the VAST majority of HiveWings are as closely related to one another as the average city population in the United States.

Additionally, reptiles are not affected by incest the same way mammals are. The majority of unique pet trade reptile color morphs is a result of inbreeding for those colors; it's quite rare for them to have consequential anomalies as a result of such inbreeding as long as they aren't direct relatives only exclusively inbreeding with each other. Also these are magical fantasy dragons, so like. Shrug. I can't imagine incredibly distant relative consanguinity would affect them as badly as anything that's ever happened to British royalty.

(Also you didn't hear this from me, but MudWings are probably significantly more worrisome because of their monthly random breeding nights and no real semblance of family trees. I'd worry about them before worrying about tons of generations of hybrids with the genetic diversity of New York.)

[max1461]

Honestly as much as I'm like "I appreciate media that is unabashedly horny", which is true, anime fan service is often a bit too much for me just on the level of like, my own taste. Uh it just comes across as crass and tacky a lot, it makes the work more difficult for me to enjoy.

I also think the argument that it's like, often problematic objectification is not wrong. Maybe that's obvious. But like, well, there's something subtle (or sometimes, not so subtle) which makes the difference for me between "media that feels horny in a 'fair' way" and "media which feels horny in 'gross' or 'gawking' way". Those are both poor terms but like, sexualized in a way that feels...

Well there's no easy line for me to draw here. There's nothing specifically that you can't do in work, IMO, there's basically no line that I'm like "categorically you can't cross that". But I do think you should be at least somewhat aware of the ideas your work is conveying about sexuality and society and so on.

Uh maybe what I mean is just "have tact". Like I don't mean "never try to titillate the audience", and I don't mean "all your titillation must sufficiently be subversive of social norms to be allowed", or whatever. Lots of people who say the thing I said in the last paragraph mean one of those things. But I don't. I just mean don't be a dumbass, maybe? I mean something. I mean be aware that like, while I don't a priori object to a work in which every female character's boobs flap around simply because the creator finds it hot, there are certain works where you really should not do that. You see? Things have to be... contextually appropriate, and I mean both the work's internal context but also its context in society as a whole. Right, because of social conditions, and you know, the way that women are treated, and shit, well you're all smart you all know, there's certain contexts in which it is not appropriate to have all the female characters have their boobs flop around. And many more contexts where it's sort of fine it just makes the work a bit worse.

Idk.

Cause like. There's some anime, actually a lot of it, that's just ridiculously straight-guy-horny and I'm just like "you know what, this is fine actually, this is great. I have zero problem with this." And then there's a lot that has all the same shit in it and I'm like "oof, that feels really inappropriate. That feels like a shitty portrayal, an insensitive thing to include, that's bad."

And the different is not the nature of the panty shots themselves it's everything around the panty shots, right. Does that make sense?

I feel like the is kind of the sensible synthesis of recent (and IMO correct) trends around like, idk, pro-horniness? Like sex positivity already means a specific thing but like, pro-horniness, you know, pro-desire (many people on this website are talking about such thing, and again I think correctly), with the IMO also true and important fact that like, objectification of women and so on is a real thing in media and it is actually problematic (I mean "problematic" in the naive sense, not as SJ jargon). Like maybe it's not problematic in the exact set of ways 2014 pop-feminism or anti-porn radfems or whatever say it is, but it's like. There are contexts in which I think you really probably should not be zooming in on the boobs and so on. Like, you feel me?

[thewayuarent]

Sand and his need for caring

and how Ray totally fits in

The question I ask myself a lot is: I totally understand why Ray is so attached to Sand. But why Sand was so quick in getting attached to Ray? My smart self-aware boy, how did you fall so fast so deep? You clearly see all the flags, what’s going on in you beautiful sad smart head? And that’s the answer I’ve figured out for myself.

Sand is a caretaker. Even if we don’t know about Sand a lot, we can clearly see his personality. Sand is a strong-opinionated man. He is sharp, strict and very sarcastic with his words and attitude (and I love it for him, you’re doing great hun). He is also very kind, caring and responsible person with his actions.

He is obviously a person who gives his all - but he doesn’t do it in somewhat sweet way, no. He is a kind of person who’ll tell you painful truth above soft assurances every time. And I have a feeling that not everyone in his life appreciated that.

I think about Sand as a someone who needs to care about somebody but at the same time has a fear that the care he’s so ready to give is not enough.

Look at his reaction when Nick tells him to be gentle with his favorite item.

Look at his reaction when Top brings this shit up.

Very different situations. And Sand has very different relationship with Nick and Top. But both times he’s sad and may be even hurt. I think he truly believes that he’s not “gentle” or “soft” enough for people he cares about.

And than he meets Ray. And oh, what a journey it is. We can see it since the beginning - the whole arc in ep 1 with Sand saving drunk pathetic mess of a man Ray is there (and I say it with all my love towards him). Sand is annoyed, understandably so, but he also kind of genuinely attached towards Ray very fast.

Like look at this face and tell me there is no warm feelings happening.

And I honestly don’t think that he has any form of romantic or sexual attraction towards drunk unconscious man who just threw up in his toilet. But he’s really giving “you are a mess but in a cute way” vibe. And that’s, well, interesting.

Next morning he is sarcastic and complaining and I totally get it - my man probably didn’t rest well that night and he has like 10 jobs, he needs his sleep. But he is not getting angry before Ray acts like an asshole and it’s - again - understandable.

What happened next? Ray says sorry and more importantly - thank you. And Sand melts like an ice cream in a moment.

And Ray does it again.

And again.

Not only towards things such huge as saving his life, but for Sand cooking and doing his job - and it shows again and again, that Ray is thankful for care Sand gives to him.

Ray does it in a pretty selfish manner, but he is always appreciative of what Sand does. And Sand does more. And more. And more.

And while he continues to complain he’s not-so-lowkey enjoying it. Both because that’s who he is as a person and Ray’s reaction to it.

Sand and Ray relationship and how they are (may be) good for each other. Everyone talks about how and why Sand is good for Ray and yes, he definitely is. But how Ray can be good for Sand despite all problematic tendencies my man has (and there are a lot of them. I mean A LOT)? Well, Ray makes him feel validated. And we don’t know a lot about Sand’s history or family but I feel like validation is something he misses in his life. And Ray gives it to him constantly.

This is beside the obvious reason that Ray is incredibly attractive. I mean look at this man. How are you like this I’m losing it and I’m asexual send help.

So there is a lot from “save him” going on with Sand, I would say way more than “fix him”. And it can go on a deeply unhealthy territory. But somehow they are doing not as bad as I expected.

They are not completely stuck in this dynamic, they are actively improving their relationship through episodes. I see genuine interest they have for each other. And it’s the interest that goes beyond their first impressions of “he is so lost and I am terrified but also fascinated” and “he makes up for everything that I haven’t received from people in my life before”. Even if that is a foundation of their relationship, it’s not all of it. Through ep 4 (and it’s very likely ep 5 will continue that theme) Ray stars to see Sand more as a person rather then as emotional support device.

And that’s why I am so invested in their dynamic. It’s absolutely not about them ending up together. And it’s not about them always being happy and healthy, cause, well, they are not and they won’t be. They will hurt each other undoubtedly, and that’s okay. But I have a pretty strong feeling that they will also help each other to heal. Even if only a little bit. Sometimes it’s already enough for than to start a journey through being better with yourself.

[ladamedusoif]

Hi! I've just read 20/20 and it's so good👓

May I just say that I admire the way you write not only in general, but also that you write Pedro characters fanfiction without massive age gap? I like those too, but god, there are tons of it and it became sooo hard to find Joel (bc 80% of age gap fics is about Joel) being happy with a woman of his age.

I happen to think more and more lately that older women seem more real, thus more interesting to read - young girls are all pretty with their sexy young bodies, etc., and the older you get, the more insecurities you have, and you believe somebody like Joel or Ben has plenty of options when in fact they probably want somebody to feel comfortable with, somebody who they can laugh with *looks at Lydia*

I guess, sometimes young reader is too perfect. How could real person like me ever compete with that? Imperfect characters are comforting and real (they suffer to make us feel better, they're our heros) and they evoke real feelings, you care about them. That's why I love to read non-age gap work when I see one.

Anyway, sorry for rambling, thank you!!🤍

*throws hearts at you and running away*

First, thank you so much for the lovely words about my writing! Here are some hearts in return: 💜💜💜

Honestly, this kind of ask means the world. I’m so grateful and so honoured.

A warning: this will be a long answer. Sorry!

I genuinely felt emotional when I read your words about my decision to write in a way that is either no/minimal age gap or where the reader’s age isn’t specified (because this is possible, and is arguably far more inclusive for reader insert). I particularly like that you’ve chosen to focus on why older OFCs/reader characters are more interesting, rather than on the extreme age gap trope.

I can’t deny that the age gap trope is the dominant one in this fandom’s fic at the moment - most obviously for Joel, but also for other characters. And I sometimes wonder if Visiting would have more notes and engagement if Lydia was a student, not Ben’s contemporary and perfect equal - intellectually, emotionally, in every way.

But as you say: Lydia has a life, has lived, and is imperfect physically and emotionally, like us all. She’s interesting for all those reasons, and more. That’s why Ben is drawn to her, and she to him. (I sometimes wonder how people would feel if the age gap trope was reversed, with a much older OFC paired with a younger P boy…)

This is also why characters like @fuckyeahdindjarin’s Cee and Sugar, in Seams and Palomino respectively, or @lunapascal’s Andie in Curls, or @julesonrecord’s Eva in Shots, or @iamskyereads Beatrice in Compulsion, or the many other no age gap/no age specified characters and reader inserts in the fanfic are so gorgeously engaging. You get it - they’re real.

They’re not all thin, pert, visions of youth as beauty and beauty as youth. Ageing is a privilege, and it hurts me, really and truly, to see the implication that only youth is attractive in so much of the fanfic in a fandom dedicated to a man who has aged so beautifully.

I know people who have been subjected to anonymous abuse over this issue, which insists they’re just angry old women because “hot celebs won’t fuck you”.

I’m passionate about this for all sorts of reasons. I am more than a little unsettled by the vision of Joel, in particular, as exclusively attracted to much, much younger girls. I sometimes feel that some of the explanations for why age gap is good or better are somewhat problematic (that’s just my opinion, before anyone yells at me, but it’s rooted in experience and the fact that I work with many college-aged people and know the consequences of the age gap fantasy when it hits reality). And there are broader implications for the message being sent to younger readers about ageing, attraction, and female sexuality, which my feminist brain is furious about.

Finally, I am struck by the fact that we often see posts about how the fic world is a broad tent, and that there’s room for everything. Yet when people ask for more fic that doesn’t repeat the age gap trope, or some of us write fics that explicitly avoid that, there’s a reaction against that.

Sigh. You see why you didn’t need to apologise for rambling, for I am a rambling Rose, and endlessly grateful for your kind words and wonderful support. Here’s to a more diverse menu of fic on the dash - the tide does seem to be turning. You may have seen the post that’s been doing the rounds where @tessa-quayle has very helpfully compiled a list of fic that doesn’t involve an age gap or DBF/daddy thing - it’s really good on the need for more diverse reading.

PS: a more general query for the dash: is this such a massive trope in other 40-something male actor fandoms??

[oddygaul]

Porco Rosso

You know, I usually forget about Porco Rosso when thinking about my favorite Ghibli movies but it’s a banger.

After this rewatch, it’s hard for me to think of it as anything other than Miyazaki’s self-insert fanfic. Seriously, this is like his ideal world - everyone’s flying their personal planes around and parking them like they’re cars at the local diner, Porco’s this big cool guy who everyone respects and all the hot babes are into, and he gets to live alone with no one bothering him in a cool island cove. It’s even set in 40s Europe, so he has all his favorite fascist planes available*!

*oh yeah, you thought The Wind Rises was problematic? Let me introduce you to Studio Ghibli’s namesake and start unveiling the pattern here

behold - the intractable chaotic force that is two dozen kidnapped schoolgirls

Anyway, I think the strongest point in Porco Rosso’s favor is that it’s just funny as fuck. I don’t know how the Japanese audio track is, but the dub is some king shit. I get that this is a ‘when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail’ situation, but honestly it has Big Redline Energy imo.

We’ve got your classic early 2000s gravelly-voiced Steve Blum-alike too-cool protagonist, contrasted with a world surrounding him that absolutely refuses to take itself seriously with constant dumb gags and throwaway jokes. The American guy provides a lot of this (I died at the raw fuckboy energy exuded from him saying “That’s my favorite line from a screenplay I wrote”), but it’s everywhere - the fuckin Carnival Cruise liner deploying their own personal fighter jets to fight off pirates, with color commentator already on deck and raring to go, was probably my favorite. Even the dogfights, which for the most part remain somewhat grounded and above board due to Miyazaki’s plane fetish, get real goofy at points, with Porco and Curtis throwing wrenches at each other like a cartoon.

I mean, come on! ehh? right? just me?

sidenote: while grabbing these caps it was interesting to see the contrasting approaches to showing the engine's power in each of these scenes. In Porco Rosso, they focus on the characters themselves and their elastic properties, showing Porco's ears and jowls flapping wildly in the wind, which leads to some great freezeframes. Frisby doesn’t have much in the way of loose body parts, so instead they focus on his loose shirt billowing with the force - it doesn't really translate as well in a still but looks great in motion.

At the end of the day it has its issues - I’m still not convinced it’s just Porco that doesn’t take women seriously and not the movie itself - but it’s a damn good time.

[ryuichirou]

Replies

Alright, a couple of regular replies, and then some about Jade!

eh-nonnie-mouse asked:

I'm so nervous to de anon but your newest comic of Floyd/Idia comic is too cute! I'm sure Floyd totally doesn't have any ulterior motives once he realizes what position they are in.

This is such a silly thing to be nervous about since I write problematic content (mostly incest) and enjoy your Shroudcest stuff a lot. You have such a beautiful art style and I am so happy my anon blurbs (the Seb/Ceil and Fin/Ciel and some other NSFW stuff) make you two somewhat happy 😊. I know I don't interact with a lot but I hope to drop more chats in non anon.

Thank you so much! We really appreciate it <3

Floyd is super invested in that game he’s playing, but once they’re in this very convenient position, he’ll show Idia how much of a multitasker he can be >:3c He’ll impress him for sure.

And even though it’s going off-anon is an anxious thing to do, it’s good to see a person behind all those asks :) Nice to meet you!

Anonymous asked:

(Referring to your fem twst art) I absolutely NEED to see fem!Silver in Aurora’s 1959 commoner outfit! She would look so pretty!!! 🥺😍🥺😍

Ahh SHE WOULD, ANON, SHE REALLY WOULD!! And honestly this is my favourite outfit of Aurora.

I don’t have anything to show right now, but I really hope to draw fem!Silver in this dress. Even though she probably spent the majority of her time wearing pants…

Btw thank you for loving my fem!Silver, it means a lot ;w;

Anonymous asked:

In this household we love Jade ❤️

In all seriousness the fandom doesn't give him enough love, Jade is always the other woman when it comes to ships and worst of all it's always Floyd his own twin brother that gets the girl anyways. Make a donation to save Jade from second male lead syndrome 😢/j.

Ahh, poor Jade. Always a bridesmaid, never the bride… I can picture him sobbing quietly and wiping his tears with a tiny little handkerchief… :”(

To be fair, I think Jade finds his position quite advantageous: if everyone always pays attention to Floyd, he gets to not only act as if he isn’t the same when it comes to being chaotic and dangerous, but also have this element of surprise!

He also doesn’t flirt as obviously and as often as Floyd does, so we can blame Jade’s sneaky ways to collect his bottoms lol

Anonymous asked:

by chance, do you think Jade would like using idia as a lab rat? aka feeding him all kinds of mushrooms to test their effects and inevitably doing the affection +100 nighttime-activities command with a very drugged up idia

Anonymous asked:

I wonder if Jade being the awful guy he is (lovingly) would test out every single kink from A-Z on Idia?

Those are two different asks, but I feel like they are kind of connected because in my head to Jade testing out kinks and using someone as a lab rat are pretty much the same thing lol And to answer both of them: YES, Jade would absolutely do that if he had an opportunity. I guess the second option is more possible because it seems less dangerous, and I wanted to say that it would come first, but…. Honestly? With Jade it could go either way.

He could either start experimenting on Idia and it’d turn out sexual, or he’d start having sex with Idia, but then they’d end up experimenting somehow.

I don’t know what needs to happen for Idia to get stuck with Jade-the-shroom-guru and his tests, but Jade would be very excited. I mentioned it our other Jade/Idia posts, but: he would love to see if some mushrooms would change the colour of his hair or the way it burns. In this way, Idia is the most perfect lab rat ever – it’s so much fun! Not to mention how helpless Idia becomes when he’s drugged up… even more-so than he is usually~

[thatonebirdwrites]

lena and kara 7 and 8 please for the ask game :D

KARA:

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I like when the fandom is willing to explore her alien nature, and how easy it is to misinterpret things. I mean, her coming of age is basically being dumped at age 13/14 and forced into a quick assimilation course on humanity. There's bound to be some rather odd and strange behaviors or verbiage that gets mixed up in her head, and it's fascinating and fun to see that appear in the fandom. Especially if it relates to how her Kryptonian heritage impacts her understanding of humanity and the society in which she current lives. (Bonus points if people work in the differences in courtship between what Kara grew up learning on Krypton versus human courtship.) I feel sometimes the fandom doesn't dig into this part of her nature enough honestly, but when I do see it appear, I always love reading it. I also really love how the fandom all agrees that Kara is more of a hands-on sort of person when it comes to jobs. She likes to get in the thick of things to better understand, to work through the problem, etc. And I love a good Kara-ramble.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I feel like the fandom will sometimes paint Kara as too much of a silly, oblivious, dumb himbo. She's very intelligent, and although she has to hide this to pretend to be human, I wish there was more acknowledgement of her intelligence. Like I get if the fic is meant to be a crack fic and just for laughs (I enjoy reading crack fics sometimes to help me destress). But I feel like the fandom trends toward this characterization of Kara that doesn't really fit how she was portrayed in the show. (Even if the show was rather... inconsistent on this point, she still has her moments where her intelligence shows. She can definitely keep up with Lena, but sometimes fic writers write her as if she can't. And that rubs me wrong.) It's important to note, especially for AUs, that intelligence doesn't just exist for 'being good at science and math.' One can be quite intelligent but instead it's within their field -- like the Dancing with the Stars AU that Jazz did, where Kara's intelligence comes through in her brilliance with choreography and building stories through motion. (Using that fic as an example because it very vividly shows an intelligent Kara that is unrelated to journalism or science/math). So if it's not a crack fic, I wanna see Kara's intelligence come out somehow. Don't just make her silly, hot, dumb himbo. LENA:

7. It kind of makes me laugh that the fandom as a whole decided she's a bottom. I love how fic writers portray her as complex but kind. Lena is a more cynical kind person while Kara is a more idealistic kind person. Both approach kindness in different ways. Lena can be snarky and cynical, but her actions are always her trying to find a solution that causes the least amount of harm. (Heck, even her "revenge plot" was her trying to find a way to stop humans from harming one another, which uh, her application of that goal was problematic. She really doesn't make a good villain; she wants to help others far more than she wants to hurt. She also doesn't want power for power's sake either, and tends to be somewhat humble. Like when she creates something to help others, she puts it out there, but doesn't make a big deal that she is the one who made it. In a way, she's the opposite of her brother, Lex.) So although I love seeing her be snarky in a fic, I love it more when fic writers explore how she approaches the "leave the world better than I found it" ideology that she seems to take to heart. How she goes about trying to make the world better is where Lena may drift into morally grey areas, and I think that adds a lot of interesting nuance to her character that is pretty consistent across the fandom.

8. I feel like this question is harder to answer for Lena. Probably because there's a lot of similarities in how Lena is written that seems to exist across the entire fandom, which I like for the most part. I think one thing that I don't like -- it's not that I despise it per se, just can't quite stomach it -- is when writers go down the angst fest until it becomes angst for angst sake rather than anything really to do with Lena's characterization or arc. It's in these moments where the angst feels contrived and stagnant the plot and characters. Makes it hard to stomach it. This seems to be an issue primarily with Lena as I don't see this happen with other characters in the fandom. I'm trying to think if there's something else... Oh! When Lena is portrayed as cruel. That's one thing she doesn't do well, even in canon. She's never cruel for cruel's sake -- she can't even stomach it. Her actions and words might get snarky or mean-sounding, but her goals and intentions are always rooted in her drive to 'make the world better than how we found it" ideology. (Which is the opposite of cruelness). She tends toward kindness not cruelty. Snarky also doesn't equal cruel either, so I think sometimes it's a lack of understanding of that aspect of her character. Anyway, that really got me thinking! Thanks for asking!!

[hottakehoulihan]

This week was M*A*S*H week. I have the box set. There are eleven seasons and two movies. As I understand it, first someone published a book (I haven't read it) about what they then no-doubt spelled as "high-jinks" at a Mobile Army Surgery Hospital during the Korean War. The first M*A*S*H movie was based on the book, I think, and leaned into laffs about drinking and sex. Honestly, I had an okay time, even despite things I consider to be sexual assault, and a non-hateful use of the N-word and a few other problematic racial and gender things. The movie dates from 1970 and is about 1950.

Also, I love the theme song. The song was authored by a teen, allegedly, on behalf of teen's dad (who claims over and over that it's a hilariously silly song. I think he doth protest too much. It's got pith to it. Also I'm basing this off of half-remembered Wikipedia but I'm not risking opening that website right now I have things to do)

Anyway that's it for the initial movie; goofy and unkind-in-a-standard-way, but designed to make you feel like you're one of the people doing the laughing and that the victims are acceptable targets. I zoned out a bit during a football game in which some nonconsensual doping of opponents may or may not have occurred. I still love the recreation of "The Last Supper" and want to make a desktop wallpaper of it. Not bad. I had some wine with it, which helped.

The TV series has eleven seasons. I watched some of the final season and will, as time permits, watch more of other episodes on a whim, but for all that I've got this username I am affectionate towards the show in the same way I am affectionate towards raccoons; I have the love, but almost always at a distance. But yeah; pleasant stuff. Sometimes a bit blunt, but we're dealing with a show that started before Dragnet was a thing (probably), and it was good for its day. I cried at least twice.

The TV show was a lot more serious and--in the words of some people who are usually not folk I want as friends--preachy. Unlike most things I've seen on the telly, it was consistently an improvement on silence and meditation. Sincerely, I mean that as praise. Even at its most formula, it was good formula, IMHO.

The final movie is the point of what I was pursuing this project though. I've got at least one beloved mutual(tm) as a fan, and between that and also realizing the final episode/movie of MASH was super famous in early TV-watching history as the most-watched episode of all time multiple years running? And my somewhat retro username? I felt silly for not having seen it yet.

My vapid verdict? It's good. I was expecting a great deal and still I was surprised. There are elements that have been cribbed from it (and it's possible it cribbed from earlier art but I have no reason to think so) in later works; one of the most heartwrenching overheard conversations from the Mass Effect games, I think, borrows from the movie. I feel like they managed to cram, into whatever the run time was, three times the content and impact that they'd have accomplished if they broke it up into episode-length segments. Anyway, tears and stuff, and the damned guys need to hug more and they'd better have kept in touch.

I endorse watching the movie if you haven't seen it. If you've never watched any of the show (it was one of the few things available to me during a somewhat-controlled childhood in which I was often supposed to have zero TV or internet or video games) I actually think it would be worth your time to watch a random selection of episodes.

tl;dr: The final episode movie of MASH = worth watching a few MASH episodes to warm up for prior to watching it, then watching it, and then maybe having a bit of a break.

[tintenspion]

Your fave is problematic: Manfred von Richthofen

No, I am not cancelling Manfred von Richthofen. This post is more about clearing up misconceptions in the least hostile way that is possible to me. And I‘ll try to look at it from the point of view of the early 20th century, and not overly judge his actions by modern standards and peacetime standards.

Most of the „problematic“ stuff that comes up about him is because people have an incredibly warped view on how aerial combat works, and also because he has been lifted to a sort of legend-status that is hyper unrealistic to the point where people refer to it as the „Richthofen-Myth“.

The myth of chivalry in aerial combat

First and foremost: No, he did not „spare his enemies“ when they ran out of fuel or their machine guns malfunctioned. This was a war! I see someone spreading this myth at least twice a month now. Its time to stop. If he „spared his enemies“ he wouldn’t have had 80 victories. Yes, there was this one instance where he felt bad for his opponents (his 18th victory) and talked to them on the ground, and the instance with his 61st opponent Lt. Bird, but those were the exception.

Chivalry in aerial combat has been under debate for a long time, basically since fighter planes existed, and the usual consensus is that in the air it is a „man vs man“ fight, reminiscent of knights in the middle ages. Now I do understand where that is coming from, because in the air you usually do have more individualized battles than in the trenches, but the belief that Richthofen, or anyone else to be clear, would rather force a pilot to land than shooting them is a weird misconception. MvR usually aimed for the head. Maybe I can give insights to his fighting manual in a different post.

Another example of alleged „chivalrous“ behavior would be waving to your enemy pilot or giving them a thumbs up. MvR was someone who found that to be very disrespectful, and therefore he would have never done that. Something he also thought of as disrespectful was going to the funeral of a pilot that he shot down. (Both of the described cases are from the Lanoe Hawker victory) Make of that what you will.

The weird comparisons between being a fighter pilot and being a hunter

Manfred von Richthofen was a passionate hunter from a very young age, and often used hunting language to refer to his work as a fighter pilot, as in, referring to flights as a hunt. While this is definitely something to be discussed, it is absolutely noteworthy that „JaSta“ stands for „Jagdstaffel“, which translated means „hunting squadron“, so those sentiments were not exclusive to MvR. In general, a lot of the things people criticize him for are not exclusive to him at all, and are more of a shared sentiment in society itself back then. He did refer to dogfights as a „Menschenjagd“ (human hunt) at one point in his autobiography, and also said that after shooting down a plane, his „hunting passion“ was satisfied.

„Were sportsmen, not butchers.“ is a really misleading quote stemming from the 1918 translation of his biography and being reproduced in the 2008 „biopic“ movie. In context, he was referring to himself as a „Weidmann“ and to his brother as a „Schießer“ (Hunter and Shooter). Weidmann is an out-of-fashion word for hunter, however the sportsman translation probably comes from the fact that Weidmann, in contrast to Jäger, somewhat implies a sort of hunters code on how to hunt honorably (Waidgerechtigkeit).

Side note to the hunting stuff is him hunting the Wiesent, an animal that he knew was endangered at the time (and is largely extinct now).

Something that is also at least criticism worthy is his trophy collecting, which then again was just super normal for pilots to do. He gets a lot of shit for the engine-chandelier, but honestly he probably saw that in the Boelcke-Squadron and just copied it from them. Something that I actually find hilarious and oh so flashy about him is that he requested a silver cup made for every single victory he had achived, with the serial number of the plane engraved into it, bug he stopped doing that when there was a silver shortage and he allegedly didn’t want to continue the collection with tin cups. Usually every pilot got a silver cup for their first victory, but for him that probably wasn‘t enough.

Bombing and strafing

Now we get into war crime territory! Strafing is a practice where a figher plane flies low and shoots at targets on the ground. The strafing of an enemy who has been rendered defenseless is a war crime. In his autobiography, he notes that there was one instance where he strafed an enemy because even though they were downed, they were still shooting back at him. It was debated if this can be considered a war crime, but most historians agree that it was a gray area and can’t really be considered a war crime. I am not going in depth on his general fighting style, as I have already explained the misconceptions about „chivalry in fighter pilots“, as most of the criticism allied pilots had about him were things they indulged in themselves.

As he started his aerial career out as a bomber, he stated that he enjoyed scare bombing at the eastern front, which is definitely pretty morbid and I don’t really have much more to comment on that aside from the fact that is is really alien to me.

He also had a weird obsession with shooting planes down burning. Especially towards his later victories he would shoot the fuel tank after killing the pilot so the plane catches on fire.

Pride and prejudice

Aside from like two times in his autobiography he is one of the least self-politicized historical figures there is. He never really made political statements. However I am going to adress instances and debates of him being racist because its not like I wanna sweep that stuff under the rug. He referred to Russians as „half wild asian tribes“ once which is yikes but pretty standard for the time. And because its a big point people try to make: No, so far there is no record of him being an antisemite. Im not saying it’s impossible because…i mean he lived in the early 20th century and was raised in the prussian cadet corps which was notoriously anti semitic, but there is no direct statement by him where he is saying anything regarding jews. On the other hand he did not have jewish people in his squadron (unlike what the 2008 movie wants you to believe). Then theres the whole thing with him saying that the french are all cowards and I would also bulk that in with „standard ww1 soldier mindset“.

Something that definitely needs to be adressed too in this post is „his arrogance“, because I see this popping up over and over again. Yes, he was proud of his victories. In his mothers war diary they claimed that after his 60th victory or so he allegedly wanted his victories to be counted for the squadron and not for him personally, but that is propaganda. Every discussion regarding his victory count is pretty much speculation, but I have not seen any solid (as in, written) evidence that he „faked“ or „stole“ his victories from his comrades. The relationship between him and his squadron mates completely depended on the time you look at them. He had some friends, who were not nobility (Voss, Wolff, Zeumer, Böhme and a couple more) but those friendships were from his early Jasta 2 and Jasta 11 days. Towards the end of his life the relationship between him and his comrades seems to be a lot less close, as in, they respected him, but he was a lot more reserved and usually by himself.

TL;DR

His list of sins includes:

-killing people (obviously)

-making the weird connection between hunting and fighting humans

-being cocky about his victory count

-hunting endangered animals

-being racist

[thereesespiece]

Ask thingy

I was tagged by the lovely @oasivy soooo long ago lol but here we are!

1. What’s your favourite sims death? 

I love a good ole drowning, I’m kinda sad they don’t drown as easy as they used to

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match? 

Maxis Match - Alpha is nice for other people but personally I can’t get into it

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight? 

Depends, if they are “naturally thin” then yes. Otherwise we hit the gym babes

4. Do you use move objects? 

Of course! Show me someone who says they don’t and I’ll show you a liar

5. Favorite mod? 

110% littlbowbub’s Grannie’s Cookbook all my sims have one in their homes!

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got?

Like ever? Hot Date - Sims 1, for Sims 4? Get To Work

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing? 

However I feel like at the time I’m saying it, right now I said LIVE  

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made? 

It’s so hard to pick because they’re my virtual kids, how do I pick a favorite...  Probably the entire Flores family, they have been my most inspiring family so far. Of the Flores Reina is high key my favorite she has so much story potential!

9. Have you made a simself? 

I do, but she’s never being shared publicly lol

10. What sim traits do you give yourself? 

Perfectionist - Family Oriented - High Maintenance 

11. Which is your favorite EA hair color? 

Honestly none but that new black is better than the blue black  😩😩😩😩  

12. Favorite EA hair? 

Probably the one they put on the new Bella Goth

13. Favorite life stage?

YA - they have the most clothes, the most things to do, but it would be elders if they had more things to do

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay? 

I like to do both!

15. Are you a CC creator? 

Nahhhhhhh never that, I have no talent

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad? 

yeah! i mean i think so? i like to imagine we’re all basically besties at this point lol

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4) 

Controversial.... but Sims 4.. I like the cartoony style, Sims 1 she was too hard, I don’t like the graphics or 2004 style of Sims 2 and I’m not going out my way for CC or mods to play it, Sims 3, she always lagged for me

18. Do you have any sims merch? 

girl no, they already get money for a halfbaked game why would I give them more to take up space in my real life?

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims? 

I’ve considered it but nah

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing? 

i’ve embraced the cartooniness and stopped trying to make my sims look “real”

21. What’s your Origin ID? 

thereesespiece

22. Who’s your favorite CC creator? 

littlbowbub!

23. How long have you had a simblr? 

So I had one during my Sims 3 days in college someone found IRL it and clowned me for being a “loser” on Tumblr so I deleted it and didn’t come back til 2017..? 2018??? When I stopped caring about what people thought lollll 

24. How do you edit your pictures? 

photoshop

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next? 

Expansion I would like to see an Ambitions style, more active careers like tattoo artist, daycare (which umm hello sims 4 team no daycare with Growing Together? cowards) firefighters etc. 

Game pack... Something based on the circus/carnivals, visiting a circus, joining it, fortune telling, rides, carnival games and prizes oh my!

Stuff - lol they dont make these anymore, but Kits, large arcade games, so I can make a proper Dave & Busters type space 

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far? 

I’m not a person who blows through the gameplay features quickly, I like to incorporate it into the Flores legacy so there’s so much I haven’t really gotten into. But so far my favorite is Jungle Adventure, minus the problematic looting of the temples. It’s somewhat representative of my heritage and it’s how Chris met Estella!

[hetakiba]

characters: Griffith, Otacon from Metal Gear, Adam and/or Amanda from Saw

VERY THANKS, a lotta my favs here

Griffith!

Sexuality headcanon: Gay

Otp: Guts, obvi

Brotp: 🤔 swinging a bit, a friendship with him and farnese would be interesting 😂

Notp: Casca I suppose, but honestly I don't know that I see him being romantically/sexually involved with anyone other than Guts

First headcanon that pops into my head: I don't know if it's very unique or anything, but I think in any other time period/world he'd be mostly pretty normal, in regards to his pursuit for power and whatnot.

Favorite line: I don't know that I can think of any of the top of my head. His conversation with Guts after the ball maybe 🤔

One way I relate to the character: gosh 🤔 I suppose I can be pretty distant to strangers and also most people initially. I would absolutely never fall in love with someone like guts but I def would still be obsessed forever if I was in his position

Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment: I don't know if embarrassment fits what negative emotions I ever feel for him

Cinnamon roll or problematic fav?: 😏

Otacon!

Sexuality headcanon: hmm harder to say, but honestly 🤔 probably Gay

Otp: snake!! Obviously, one of my top otps of all time

Brotp: I guess sniper wolf? I'm not too familiar with their in game interactions but it's kinda a funny looking friend group 😂 Oh and his sister, if she counts. And I'd love a world where he gets to know his mother more, would definitely be interesting 😂

Notp: 🤔 I'm not suuuper diametrically opposed to most ships for otacon but I also wouldn't really read any of them 😂 I guess sniper wolf 👍 OH Naomi 🤢 their canon dynamic is so 😑😑

First headcanon that pops into my head: Um. Sits uncomfortably in any chair? Breaks his glasses a lot

Favorite line: 🤔 His monologue with snake at the end of mgs4 makes me cry everytime

One way I relate to the character: Super fixating nerd 👍 I've also considered career paths based on my favorite media 😂 he's probably the closest any of these characters get to me

Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment: I mean I guess his first meeting with snake is pretty embarrassing but he honestly doesn't seem that embarrassed by it so 😂

Cinnamon roll or problematic fav?:

Gotta be Cinnamon roll, anything approaching problematic he's done has be incidental/under duress, and I really admire his commitment to righting his wrongs. Also, he's just a nice guy

I'll do both bc saw

Adam:

Sexuality headcanon: Gay! Duh...

Otp: I guess Lawrence, it's similar to my opinion on my otp for amanda, I don't know that I'm necessarily convinced by it, but their canon relationship/dynamic is interesting enough that I'll still read about it

Brotp: Amanda! Obvi... I'm much more convinced of their friendship vs his otp choice. They're like suuuper similar people, I think they're even set up in canon to be parallel characters, I think them being friends earlier could've really altered their lives...

Notp: amanda 😂 I can not even kinda see them romantically

First headcanon that pops into my head: Trans! Super get it, honestly I dig it when people headcanon anyone as trans in saw (for some reason it just really works). Also 🤔 Idk if it's canon or someone else headcanoned it in a fic but I think he has at least one older sibling

Favorite line: 🤔 his final lines in the movie are super well acted so they stick out me, but he has so many fun lines...

One way I relate to the character: Hmm not super passionate about current job 😂

Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment: I definitely feel like there's some line he has that's cringe worthy since he's somewhat notorious for his silly lines but I can't place any specific ones. I find his silliness very charming

Cinnamon roll or problematic fav?:

Again, not a huuuge fan of the term Cinnamon roll but he's pretty far from problematic, personally. Definitely deserved better!!

Amanda:

Sexuality headcanon: literally impossible to convince me she isn't a lesbian

Otp: I suppose Lynn, though there's suuuuper little content for any amanda ship. I don't super think they'd work out long term but their dynamic is interesting enough. On the plus to the Brotp with adam, they would have a somewhat similar dynamic to adams otp

Brotp: Adam! Doesn't get to play out in canon but I think they'd get along really well 👍 If that's a cheat because I already said him, then I'd say Jill from saw 2, their relationship made me real sad

Notp: amanda/jigsaw 🤢

First headcanon that pops into my head: other than the lesbianism? 🤔🤔 ?????? If no jigsaw she would've gotten better...? Distant family life? Only child?

Favorite line: "Fix me motherfucker! I'm standing right here!" Youch...

One way I relate to the character: hmm other than the lesbianism? 🤔 I think she's def approaching butch, she seems like independence would be important to her...? Empathetic? (She's probably second on relatability but also, definitely not very much like me irl)

Thing that gives me second hand embarrassment: I guess her reliance on jigsaw 😂 a lot of their scenes are... 🤢

Cinnamon roll or problematic fav?: I guess I'd have to say problematic bc of all the... killing, but it's all his fault!! I don't know she'd ever be in 'cinnamon roll' territory but

This was fun thank you 🫂

[fallingsunflower]

I honestly don't think Harry's a bad person for having trash and bad people around him as his "friends". We all do at some point at life. At the peak of famous he is now he won't find good people at all and he knows that. I just think Harry is the type of person who is naive af and see all the good in people and think they can change and that's his mistake (for a long time it was mine as well.) Harry does bad choices of his friendships but that doesn't mean he's trashy like them. Tbh that's one of the reasons I think he is very close to Brad now, he seems ok and not problematic like the rest, and that turned Harry close to him. It must be hard af find some truly and nice people and friendship (even to his romantic life, one of the reasons I think he'll end up with a normie, but that's other talk) on the world he is now. Tbh also he says on his songs, he probably doesn't think he deserves better than this, he didn't even think he was worth the arena shows he had. He has this inferior problem with himself and he accepts anything to worst around him + he tries to see the good in everyone. I know he's media trained and has been in industry for years, but at some point rn if he was in fact a bad person like the people around him we'd already get something even if his team works more than Devil to protect him. He just does bad choices like everyone on his life and got used to that. At this point he probably doesn't think he deserves something better and is just there. When his break TRULY starts he'll see those people will vanish, they're just there while he's on spotlight. In 2019 Harry was very lonely, and they all came back when he started to do success again. At the end of the day he knows that and even put that on his songs. He just accepts the worst to no be alone.

I think this was anon’s ask but I’m not sure bc there are so many 😭

I agree with this although isn’t Brad somewhat problematic? I might be wrong but I mean compared the others he’s more lowkey and just chilling

[shiteating]

if you think about it, a lot of people's aversion to yandere is either "this is triviliazing mental illness" or a general aversion to the yandere being possessive and stalkerish. to the latter i think i get that, probably?

the point about mental illness... not so much? i'm not gonna sit here and deny that people can get like that but its a very heightened fiction trope to me. i feel that unless someone brings up the yandere character's mental health into it, im not gonna think to diagnose or about mental health at all. most people who are into it like whatever variation of yandere->target (maybe even vice versa) dynamics in a vacuum... of course i do love it when there is a dash of psyche stuff to throw in. but when you pathologize it... like, going "all yanderes are bipolar" or whatever else just makes it unfun and also just kind of. insanely uncomfortable? its also just taking it way too seriously, i know people already try to pathologize villains but its that level of self sabotage (of having fun)

i mean, most people who are making and consuming this kind of thing aren't thinking of a specific disorder. in a limited capacity, fiction is a means to explore the exciting without having to watch two people actually do horrible shit to each other (again LIMITED capacity we're not here to consume noncery and the like.) people calling yandere problematic but happily consuming true crime like cattle with no issues, thinking its some form of petty enrichment when actual people suffered and died, its not something i get. of course there is "two things can be true at the same time" but the venn diagram here is somewhat close to a circle it's actually a little unnerving. i would rather enjoy a character being cartoonishly consumed with someone than sit there and eat up the suffering of real people like im on a junk food binge. i had that phase, i watched true crime tv before it was huge online, eventually i matured as a person and by the time i was 17 or 18 (im turning 25 this year) i was like wait this kind of really fucking weird i can't stomach hearing these stories for entertainment. its fine to read up on crimes cause that IS undeniably interesting but i think when you start overindulging on dramatized real life tragedy on a regular basis... honestly you are very numb and i think you need to invest some points in empathy for other human beings alive or dead

tl;dr yandere is justice 👍

[mythvoiced]

-. here lián-core (pt.1) hyello~ i'm working on inbox (there aren't a lot bc my inbox is busted and some of them are for rainy days heartus i intend to keep, but... i forgot how to write KLDSGJDFLH) but because i needed to spawn on dash--

I CHANGED HIS FC I'M SORRY DFGKLDJHG but look: here and here, like, he looks problematic which is exactly what lián is supposed to look like

sensible chuckle king, you will never not catch this man laughing or chuckling when the person in front of him wants him to

will literally stare at someone getting beat up while walking past the scene, will not stop

i need him to be the kind of character people will go 'gosh you're such a bastard but damn it if you aren't enjoyable to watch fuck shit up'

get ready to be lied to~!

fucks. that's it, that's... how do i put it... uhm... uh... he... well... so... he kind of...

he's one of those creepy motherfuckers who smiles if you slap him across the face

i cannot stress enough how much he enjoys people losing their cool

he needs attention, do not give it to him

i mean it, if you give him attention too often he won't want it anymore from you and will abandon you, i'm not joking

it's an issue, he wants attention from those he considers somewhat interesting and especially from those he figures aren't likely to give him attention, but it needs to be difficult to obtain, if it's too easy? nah

has developed a nasty dislike for straight women (i am so sorry)

if you sniff out astarion vibes you would not be too wrong (i just realized there are some, like, right after writing that last line)

no, haha, don't sacrifice yourself for me because you think i'm a sensitive and defenseless beauty haha it's gonna reveal to everyone how righteous you are but also that i'm a villain who's been manipulating you all along haha

he eats goody-two-shoes for breakfast and spits them out at lunch

in a world in which queer marriage was as granted as early as straight marriage, lián would get entire tv specials detailing how he'd black widowed 6 husbands before he got caught

if you punch him in the face and his nose starts bleeding he'll be so delighted

he's not a masochist, mind you, he just thinks provoking people is fun and if you hit him he's usually just right about whatever he's accusing you of (in his head, at least)

suddenly so very interested in toxicology haha (nobody tell his father)

it was very fricking obvious that there was foul play in his mother's death, she died of suffocation after all but hey! whatever~

bonus-core for liú shùn (劉順) a lil scholar kind of guy i wanted to make

all i have in mind for him is this visual of him standing somewhere in brown robes (or dark blue ones more likely i think) while holding a bunch of books and listening in to someone of a higher rank than himself say stupid things and he's just staring at this person and even though there's not a shift to his features you can tell he thinks whoever he's listening to is full of shit

very duty-bound, so to speak, honestly, he hangs onto that 'nope sorry gotta do my job' shit with white knuckles and a clenched jaw, okay, it's all he has!!!!!!!!!

to put it in some pop culture tropes perspective, he's the strict intellectual kind of character, yknow, the one someone else would want to try and get out of their shell except that he's actually respected for staying inside his shell (for now)

but fuck lián would fucking hate him, they're the same brand of useful except that lián has advantage on all charisma based rolls and shùn has advantage on all intelligence based rolls, they might be mortal enemies, actually

his family was likely well-off for a while, but then something happened!! and while they didn't fall into disgrace exactly they don't hold the same social status they used to have, it's probably a relatively minor shift considering they're still more privileged than others, but they bemoan it anyway

i'm thinking this guy could do it

will reject advances SO FAST!!! 'uhmmm??? no, sorry????? thank you, also your clothes are wrinkled, bye'

like he's got that rom-com potential of being held hostage by some villain more powerful than him but he hates how that some villain is running shit in their own abode so he just Fixes the entire household staff and the empire real quick

villain voice: STOP finding the errors in my tax returns i WANT them to be false!!!!!!

[lapis-maid]

i sometimes think about the number of people i'm acquainted with who would absolutely lose their minds if they knew half of the shit i'm into lmao

i play a dangerous game having my kinks listed (and in mostly just twitter's case, on open display) to the world, yet somehow nobody who's seen it so far at least has made a bigger deal about it than "i think this is Bad but i'm unwilling to throw away years of friendship over it" which. yeah. that's more than fair. i was very aware that this was a bold and in all honesty stupid move that may probably result in some lost connections and friends

but honestly, i think after losing basically my entire circle of friends for reasons outside of my control when i was younger, it would be an improvement if it happened again for reasons within my control. or something. idfk how to articulate it lol

it is funny in a somewhat depressing way that i'd rather be ostracized for who i am and what i like, by people who i'd theoretically have solidarity with otherwise, than lie-by-omission about the Problematic Shit™ i'm into. also kinda makes me slip further into believing that any views i have (ex: puritanical viewpoints are becoming Disturbingly Commonplace, esp. in queer spaces) are just from me being a dumb idiot who's only even known about myself being queer for a bit over two years. whoops.

...but it does mean that whoever sticks around regardless is staying for The Whole of me and not just a curated, presentable facet of myself

which i think matters to me way more than anything else. so it's probably fine in the end.

[postgraduate]

now that a fire’s been lit under me with cheers having been brought into the frasier reboot in a way that’s made me uneasy:

i am wondering how much gravitas we should assign to a lot of these reboots?

my preface is that i’m not a tv scholar by any means (and a lot of what i’ve learned about genres themselves is owed to my enlightening sitcom scholar pal cheersnbc) but i think about these (specifically sitcom) reboots which tend to be for nostalgia (which is typically dangerous for art), or -- relatedly -- a grab at what that time/experience had felt like for a person involved (which feels like the case for kelsey grammer); and there’s something about this ‘nostalgic’ aspect of it which makes a reboot feel separated off from the original text/canon itself -- more like a Letter or Response to “canon” rather than part of the make-up of canon. like a drifted-off iceburg, or a perceptible addition to a house.

taking my personal, subjective feelings about a show i love so dearly totally out of this (because i think that can interfere with a fuller critical engagement/perspective of something): i see this in one of two ways -

1). there’s a bone to pick with how these shows are better left alone. in that larger conversation, there’s much to be said, i am sure, about this genre of reboots themselves and why they may be problematic (i would want to research more into this topic specifically before having an argument about it but i have some preliminary ideas)

2). because of how they feel separated off by nostalgia/etc., how seriously do we take them? (or maybe the writing can, in some ways, bring something to an original “text” but that may have to do with a writing team’s intentions and why something is even rebooted so it doesn’t feel like, well, a frivolous appendage). i think about how diane was portrayed in frasier (honestly, most of the cheers characters are disparaged in frasier probably because we are seeing them from frasier’s bittersweet, and at worst, pity-party pov) but she was so out of character that it was cruel. so flattened and still hung up on sam (”the one that got away” was made to mean that all of her other goals got away), that i see that character and think “this is a caricature of the original character. this is a bizarre letter to the original text. this does not feel like the canon itself.” if that makes sense? (cheers s5 complicates this somewhat, but maybe in a way it coheres when something is perceptibly amiss) so whatever they may want to say about the cheers bar, about those characters we love in boston, it’s like: do we really assign gravitas to it? maybe what i mean to say is, what type of validity does it even have?

(because there’s certainly a seriousness in looking at writing being affected -- but then, the paradox is! is it being affected? and how? idk, idk.)