#and kind of observant but also not

[lykoiii]

gah

[tarantula-hawk-wasp]

Obviously you might have varying opinions for specific fandoms but generally if you think across many of them which do you prefer?

[snakeunderyourboot]

Dndads fandom, I am grabbing you by the shoulders

Grant is barbarian, right? Like his dad. And like his dad, Grant has the spell Ancestral Spirits. And it’s not their actual souls, its more like magic stuff, BUT. BUT.

Grant who does the Ancestral Spirits spell. And 4 men appear.

Darryl. Frank. Walter. Paeden.

[the-sol-eater]

[ content warning: discussion of in-canon sexual abuse ] Maybe it’s just because I’m not too active in the ALNST fandom and mostly observe from afar, but I think this fandom brushed aside way too quickly the fact that Till was sexually assaulted. I have never seen anyone talk in depth about like, what that actually means in terms of his arc and the storytelling of his character. Which I find deeply, deeply upsetting because holy fucking shit.

This man right here has been told, basically his entire life, that not only is he himself not worthy of being treated as a human, but that his body is not his body, but a piece of property that can be owned. And whoever owns his property can use it for whatever, and however they wish. Now, dehumanization is nothing new or unique in this world, obviously. The very concept of Pet Humans is dehumanizing by nature, leaving all six of our main characters as victims to it, even those who are more well-off like Mizi. But Till is a specially fucked up case almost distinctly unlike the rest, because he is actually treated like a fucking dog.

(x) Ivan: If you keep rebelling like that, they won’t ever remove your collar you know? Till: This annoying bastard… — Ivan: I told you so, didn’t I? You didn’t listen? Till: This annoying bastard... (translation courtesy of @leiikos on youtube)

(x)

An unruly animal who needs to be leashed up and put in it’s place. Animals, as is common knowledge, are not on the same level as a human being. But they are ordained to follow the commands of those above them. And if someone (thing) isn’t doing as it is told…

It deserves to be taught better. But I’m getting ahead of myself. This is the mindset that has followed Till his entire life by the ones who were supposed to take care of him. He is not human, even less human than the existing inhuman. He is a pet, even more so than the other pets, an animal. A thing. Property. Something to own. And the best thing about owning something?

You gain the ability to do whatever you want to it. Till’s body was not his from the start. It was used as something to toy around with, experiment with, to train and train and train, presumably for his whole life. His body, his skin, his flesh and bone and blood, it was all nothing more than a plaything. So what if he screams? Just ignore it. Or don’t. If this competition has taught us anything, voices have the most value of all. On top of it being reinforced that Till is not deserving of humanity, he is also not deserving of his bodily autonomy. People are free to do whatever they want with his body because it’s not his body, it’s theirs. And that brings us, finally, to the scene itself

He can’t sing her song, he refuses to. This isn’t the first time he’s refused to do something, far from it actually. What was once an innocent puppy with dilated hope in his eyes has grown into an angry, disobedient mutt. And we know what happens to an animal that refuses to do what they’re told. But there’s something interesting about dogs, or rather about the ones they descended from, the wolf: When the circumstances call for it, they will bite the hand that’s supposed to feed them.

And here is where I intrude to remind you that this is the only time we see anyone physically fighting back against the aliens in the confines of Alien Stage. We see Hyuna and Mizi fucking up aliens in All In, but that was after they had escaped from the cage. And you could make a case for Mizi trying to escape the grasp of the guards that grabbed her in Ruler of My Heart, but from what we saw she didn’t actually lay a hand on them and more so just tried to force herself out of their grasp. though if you disagree with me on that that's fine Here though? Till has this bitch’s face grabbed into his palm with a bottle in hand ready to smash it directly in between it’s eyes. I consider this to be the first act of physical violence shown against the aliens within the uncomfortably tight enclosure. And it’s triggered not because of anything personally done to Till, which on its own could probably fill a list that reaches the ground. But because of the prospect of Mizi being dead. Till knows that this place is shit, that his life is shit. Said so directly on his profile.

Dislikes: Everyone, including Guardian Urak (translation courtesy of @kh47uo on twitter)

But he stays regardless because Mizi is there. If Mizi is dead, Till has absolutely nothing to lose…Right?

I can almost imagine him thinking: There’s nothing you can put me through that’s worse than every other way you’ve hurt me. …But there was. Oh there was.

A final, disgusting message to the pet to put him back in his place. Back on his leash. Making sure he will never forget where he stands for the rest of his days.

And that is really what the sexual assault of Till represents to me. It is a cruel reminder to Till that fighting back is impossible, having hope, being free, it might as well be a fool's fantasy. He will always be less-than-human, less than anything. His body will always be the property of the ones that were supposed to protect him, claimed, and then used used used until it’s worn out and dead.

And the aliens chose to exemplify that fact in the most direct way they possibly could.

So what if he screams? Just ignore it. Or don’t. If this competition has taught us anything, screams have the most value of all

[crustyfloor]

From what I've seen most of the criticism of HyunA's character post-wiege (and the dynamic of HyuLuka as a whole, mostly consisting of comments over how her development and death turned her into a shallow character) comes from a misinterpretation of her character, although I know most concerns are valid and some I agree, I also feel like there is an equal amount of criticisms that are just plainly lacking nuance. Some people genuinely believe HyuLuka's relationship falls into the typical "Victim falls in love with their abuser" cliche and that's why it's bad, and if you understand what that entails, it's such a strange simplification of a complex dynamic, you don't have to like them romantically (I don't either, at least not in canon) or at all actually but the way people outright deny them as a pair denies HyunA and Luka their complexity, their stories are intertwined and aid in each-other's development as characters. Personally I see a lot of people that don't like HyunA's death because it feels as though it made her into a shallow character that just died so Luka could live and she was essentially used as a cheap plot device, but in my interpretation that couldn't be farther from the truth because that's what moving the story along meaningfully means and what I think throws people off is that she did it for Luka, all conflict and other factors aside, she died for Luka and that's the main problem here.

Some people say it's out of character and forced, but people also undermine HyunA's actual personality and character behind the face she shows us, and the rebellion, even though both sides of the same coin are reflected in All-in and Wiege. They want a revenge story from her and they want her to hate Luka completely but that's just not the person she is, it never was and I believe that reflects in her introspective pieces (Ex. Love&peace) but I understand why people resent or are disgusted by Luka, I'm interested in him as a character, but is he one I particularly like? Not really, but then they project that onto HyunA., The problem is that HyunA and Luka are still labeled as victim and abuser by the fandom, even if there was objectively a perpetrator and a victim, given what we're shown. The situation is still far more complex than even that. Luka should not be labeled as an abuser. It's simply a word with too much background in terms of the way we see it and implications that don't accurately apply to him. The way I see it, it's just ignorant to throw that term around, especially in this case

I think it would help a lot of people if they would acknowledge that the world of Alien stage is more fleshed out than it may appear, a lot of aspects and detail is put into account, and most importantly, it is not an excuse when in discussion people say that their environment shapes these characters, it is a fact and it is an explanation so that we can break it down and see the complexity, this nuance is reflected in their world, and in their dynamics with one another. Putting this bluntly, these characters are slaves in an oppressive hyper-capitalistic alien and dystopian universe, deprived of all bodily autonomy, family, moral code, humanity, name it. Everything and their existence pertains to their role as a product; it is not an exaggeration to say, the characters are different from us. They are just a step above feral children, and that's that. How in the world are we being so crass in handling these characters when it's like this .

CSA is complex, and a lot of people say this and seem to understand so it disappoints me when people go beyond criticizing Luka and straight up call him an abuser or vilify him when 1) he and HyunA were children, 2) Luka's complex and it was difficult for him to understand better given what I've said before, there are lore-centered reasons to explain this too, but that's how I think of it outside of that because it's mostly a morality issue when discussing HyuLuka, again it's to each their own this is just what I think. It's unthoughtful and stupid to go into discussions as delicate as this without an open mind and compassion, or going in expecting these characters to be upstanding members of society, and if they aren't, then they're evil and crooked. Even if you don't particularly care for that certain character, that's what interpreting media is all about. Seeing things from their perspective and as objectively as you can. The characters are the ones who have the right to their biases and whatnot, but viewers are supposed to look beyond that, yeah?

Some people were disappointed when HyunA didn't go through on what they thought she would do, when she wasn't the character they thought she was. Yes, she could've hated Luka, likely should've hated him, she would've been in the right by all means, I'm sure it's what I would've done had I been in her situation but I'm not, every person is different and not every person will process and go about things the same way, and a lot of people tend to think personally and project onto HyunA, people don't want to think outside the box and regard her as badly written when it comes to this very delicate part of their story because she doesn't apply to a certain criteria of what makes a victim in their minds, even though she is very a complex character.

I'm sure it's a puzzling way to see a character develop, to see a person regard someone who hurt them so much and caused so many scars with anything but vitriol, but I think HyunA offers a unique perspective by both hating Luka but understanding and loving Luka regardless, not just because of what he means to her but because she'd do that for anyone she cares about, she doesn't excuse him but she also doesn't villainize him, too many people undermine HyunA's strong and loving, caring nature and her unconditional love for humanity, even with its flaws, and not.

HyunA doesn't love Luka despite everything because she feels obligated or because it was forced for some ulterior motive. This feels most natural for her character, in fact. Because she's always been this type of woman, putting others before herself, being kind and compassionate, and endlessly loving, and that's always been a core aspect of her character, regardless of what she's been through, she doesn't forgive or forget what Luka did of course and she feels a lot for how difficult and strange this dynamic is, resentment and some parts disgust and that's a strong and good part of her character, but she can't help how she feels, she doesn't want to live in the past and live in hate, this is just her honest self

her feelings and her love, and her perspective explain why she dies, and I believe it was meaningful to her character and to Luka's, all things considered. Yet people want to force her to just feel hatred, she should've let Luka get shot and die with no second thought, or it's a no-brainer that she's just badly written, Vivinos is endorsing abuse, etc. Even though I believe all that is very blatantly false, and there was a lot of thought put into this, more than I even considered tbh.

So you see, I just wanted to brainvomit a bit... I believe these dynamics should be discussed in more media. And it was a perfect opportunity to explore a relationship like HyunA and Luka's in an environment like Alien Stage's universe on Vivino's part, even in its subtlety. They fit seamlessly and sensibly there. More people must be able to think about these relationships thoroughly because what I see on twit is so unthoughtful and narrow-minded, and ignorant, and it's not like HyunA and Luka are the only characters like this that get pulled into some arguments because of it.

This discussion also applies to Ivan and Till's kiss scene. There is no denying it was SA, hard stop. (and I see too many people debating otherwise, like with the Karaoke scene too, like how do you confront people in real life with this mindset. I believe it's because Till, as a character and a victim, isn't treated as seriously or seen as such by some of the fandom, even though these scenes are very blunt. People don't tend to discuss it in good faith or ever at all, ) but there is a similar nuance to their situation, too. And neither character deserves to be rid of that because of what we may feel. Ivan isn't a villain; Ivan also isn't beyond criticism, but he has a background and complexity to provide nuance behind what he did, too. Luka isn't above criticism for also being a victim because he did twisted and bad things, yet he is also complex. None of the characters are above criticism, but there is nuance to everything, you get the gist... This is just what I think after some time to think about it. I don't like to see the representation and commentary on these topics that Alien stage has to offer being mishandled, so I try to think about it the best way I can

[femmeclefable]

why is the symbol of the transmasc the chest scars while the symbol of the transfem is like. transmisogynistic stereotypes ?? i have a big scar across the top of my forehead from ffs and i’ve never seen that represented in any kind of “queer art” ever not even once. it’s so interesting to me what iconographies come to be associated with different trans people. like we’ll get a trans woman and you can tell she’s trans bc she’s got stubble or an adam’s apple (which are both still lovely traits but) which suggest some level of “pre-transition” (whatever that means) whereas men are always indicated to be trans by signifiers of post transition (whatever that means) like scars and body hair. julia serano’s argument about the media depicting trans women as “in the act” comes to mind, reminding us that showing trans women as in the process of transition or in the process of “becoming” feminine (eg putting on makeup) works to suggest that trans femininity is an act or a performance. by contrast i take it that depictions of trans masculinity as almost always “post” transition reiterates the idea of masculinity as a natural state of being. if that makes sense

[mamawasatesttube]

i understand that ... the whole. everything. that fanon t*mkon does is super annoying, but the way some people push back against it by insisting that tim and kon weren't close before tt03/the geoff retcon is so funny (read: annoying) to me. this is simply not true ♥ so here, have a brief, nonexhaustive list of examples of tim and kon's friendship from kon's side:

tim is kon's second choice for "who to learn nonpowered fighting from" when he loses his powers (sb94 #76).

when he has a power spike and freaks himself out with his own strength (dismantling every single gun in los angeles), tim is the person he turns to to seek comfort and advice (sb94 #85). (and also to bother him because "bothering tim" seems to be one of his hobbies.)

he refers to tim as his "ex-best friend" after their fight on apokolips (sb94 #92).

like... you don't have to ship them. you can be very annoyed with the way fanon has warped their relationship. but to suggest that they didn't actually have any sort of close bond before tt03 is... rather egregiously not true? and just feels like a spite response to me. idk man. they have very clearly been good friends for a long time, before geoff had anything to do with them.

[aroaceleovaldez]

random question, you mentioned a bit ago that the PJO fandom has a lot similarities with old anime fandoms. i’m interested to hear more about that if you want to elaborate? thanks :)

Of course! The main aspect is just fandom crossover - generally book fandoms are their own sort of isolated fandom "bubble" so-to-speak, so most of the audience crossover is within that bubble (book fandom-to-book fandom crossover). Back in the day book fandoms actually had their own version of a "Superwholock" composite fandom which consisted of (but was not limited to) primarily PJO, HP, and The Hunger Games, but also frequently included other major book fandoms at the time like The Maze Runner, Shadow Hunters, etc etc. It even had its own little symbol thing! But so you have the book fandoms "bubble," and then anime fandoms are their own "bubble" as well and there's not always a lot of crossover between them. You might get some, but they're largely their own spheres (there's definitely more crossover now than there used to be, but still). You can kind of think of it like how there are separate conventions for stuff like anime, comics, furries, etc and they were all born out of the sci-fi community. There is crossover between them, but you're largely going to see one main subject in its designated space.

PJO fandom back in the day was an outlier though, because we had notable amount more interaction with anime fandoms back then than most book fandoms. I'm not sure why, but I have a couple of theories. (under the cut cause this post got long)

One of the primary ones is that PJO has a HUGE overlap with "Western Anime" fandoms, primarily Avatar: The Last Airbender (and eventually also Voltron: Legendary Defender). Obviously these fandoms are going to have a LOT more crossover with actual anime fandoms (a large amount of formerly-PJO, at-the-time-VLD fans moved to My Hero Academia fandom during the last two seasons of VLD for example) particularly moreso than other western cartoon fandoms. Most of the overlap just kind of arises from the generation growing up on PJO (when it was new in the States) was also growing up on A:TLA at the time, and may have also had minor interactions with anime in the states in the early 2000s like your 4kids animes and such. It could also be due to the PJO movies causing a huge influx around 2010 (alongside a couple of the other major book fandoms also having movies around this time) and a lot of those new fans getting into the books/fandom from the movies probably had a bias for visual media versus text-based media, so they're more likely to be in anime fandoms versus other book fandoms (and the general prevalence of anime fandoms circa 2012, when a lot of those pjo fans were getting into fandom for the first time due to being like, 12 at the time). Also, a lot of pjo fans are big into fantasy, action, and coming-of-age genres, all of which anime has plenty of (see: shonen animes).(This is actually what I attribute to why VLD fandom failed so badly - VLD was a mecha show with a fanbase not very interested at all in mecha genre, because you had a large percentage who were pjo and adjacent fans more interested in other genres.)

One of my other theories is crossover with Homestuck. While PJO doesn't have a specific unique fandom crossover with Homestuck, Homestuck was just so ubiquitous with fandoms of the late 2000s/early 2010s that crossover is inevitable. It of course was also formative to many big name fans of PJO that you probably recognize, like Ikimaru, Indigonite, Fuocogo, Elentori, and etc. Even Viria (the original post is gone but reblogs still exist) and Velinxi were also Homestucks. Nearly every old PJO BNF (and some current ones) are or were a homestuck, and BNFs have a large influence on the fandoms they're in (hence the name). Homestuck itself heavily referenced many animes and had large crossover and interaction with anime fandoms, alongside just generally being a ubiquitous internet fandom in it's own right back in the day. So it figures that PJO fans who were also Homestucks would either pick up the anime influences through Homestuck and its fandom or enter anime fandoms popular at the time through Homestuck fandom. (There used to be a joke about "Homestuck is my favorite anime" due to how just lumped in Homestuck was with anime fandoms despite being an American webcomic, but this makes sense given again the anime influences on the comic). (We're actually kind of seeing this again with The Locked Tomb, another book fandom that has a lot of overlap with anime fandoms, but hilariously Locked Tomb started out as davekat fanfiction so it all loops back around to Homestuck, LMAO). In general these overlaps make sense - Homestuck and PJO are similar genres of story and both involve a lot of mythology and pop culture references, and a lot of the anime that were popular in PJO spheres were in similar genre categories or adjacent at least to the same demographics. Especially a lot of your big 2012-ish animes. And also Homestuck. Also, Homestuck fandom (and a lot of anime fandoms at the time) had very large and vocal queer fanbases, which the PJO fandom was also starting to have at the time, which wasn't as common (or at least as vocal) in other book fandoms.

Regardless of how it happened, PJO fandom behaved a lot more like anime fandoms than book fandoms back then. For one, our fandom was very heavily art-focused. A lot of book fandoms lean more text-focused for obvious reasons, so you'll find a decent amount of fanfiction but not a lot of art (and the art you will find won't usually have a large anime influence like how PJO fandom does in its fanart) (there are other book fandoms that are more art-heavy - like Warrior Cats - but those often involve other overlaps. WC has HUGE overlap with furry fandom for obvious reasons, which is also an art-heavy fandom). Anime fandoms obviously have fanfiction as well, but also have a much larger visual component. Also cosplay - anime fandoms are big on cosplay and have been for ages. Book fandoms usually have very little cosplay. PJO fandom has always had a very strong cosplay community, which is atypical for book fandoms, especially older ones. There are a lot of other little intricacies that are difficult for me to describe, especially since anime fandoms have also shifted over time, but if you compare PJO to other book fandoms even now (but especially back in that like 2010-2015 era), you can really see the sort of in-between space PJO occupied.

It's especially interesting to me because - and I was actually just having a discussion about this the other day - the anime fandom crossover that PJO has still exists, but it's very directional most of the time. Like, if you see a crossover au, there's not a lot of anime crossover AUs in PJO fandom, and many that exist are either older AUs or from older fans. On the flip side though, there's plenty of PJO aus in anime fandoms, particularly in anime fandoms that have a large percentage of PJO fans like BNHA. It's an interesting little exchange.

PJO is a mainstream fandom, so it does get a little funky cause we have a lot of what I call "passive" fandom or "new" fandom which generally doesn't engage or partake in the same ways that "old" fandom did. It's that kind of "consumerist" fandom atmosphere you hear about sometimes, and it largely exists because of that mainstream aspect - these people are largely young and aren't very far into fandom, this may even likely be their first and/or only fandom, and they're basically totally unfamiliar with what fandom is supposed to look like. Their concept of fandom comes from pop culture and mainstream media, which often presents it as very source-focused and consumerist, so that's how they behave in fandom versus the "old" fandom style of community-focus. So within the main PJO sphere you get a lot of people who don't interact with fandom the way you might expect like in "old" fandom. But if you look into other fandom spheres that are less mainstream (which happens to include a lot of anime fandoms by nature, at least in western spheres) you're not unlikely to run into fans in those spaces who, for example, a.) are familiar with pjo due to it being mainstream and b.) interact with fandom spaces in that "older" sense, and so are more likely to make PJO aus for other fandoms (or do other crossover aus or other general "older" fandom things). The newer fans or "passive" fandom people are a lot more likely to stay within the bounds of canon and less likely to make crossovers overall. The younger fans in general aspect also plays into it - a lot of them obviously haven't interacted with those older anime fandoms, and they're less likely to interact deeply with anime fandoms in general just cause of how mainstream anime has gotten in the west, so they don't need to seek out specific communities for it like older western anime fans used to have to.

But yeah. Lots of interesting stuff!

[appledappledally]

Every first meeting is at the same time the promise of a parting, somehow and somewhere.

Maybe it will come in a few minutes and we'll pass with a polite nod and nothing more. Maybe we will spend a whole lifetime drifting through each other's lives, as inseparable as the sea from the shore.

For forever, for a moment, for a time that is at once everything and nothing at all

to know you, to share your laugh and to breath your air

To be changed forever by loving you.

Venturing bravely into the realm of shading, although I still have a firm grip on the safety blanket that is a no-shading version under the cut!

You know the drill by now, Tumblr likes to gobble up all the pixels in any art I post, sorry

Tagging on request @authorjessowen

[lunathemacron]

day 11 - group photo

i dont have a caption i just love this one <3

[qoldenskies]

cc don dressing up to make himself happier 🥺

i think there's a noticeable change because donnie in canon seemed to like it so much........ it's a confidence boost for him, especially because he's been uncomfortable with his body for so long. when he stops wearing nothing but hoodies (usually not even his own) and tries to actually put himself out there, the difference is observable-- he seems happier with himself. he doesn't sit like he's curling up and trying to make himself small anymore. for once he's okay actually looking at himself and taking photos like he used to. and while its not a major difference, he does seem to talk a little louder, too. just a little bit. they dont want to say anything in fear of breaking the spell, but they cherish that more than anything.

[violent138]

Just saying if Martha Wayne was still alive there isn't any way Bruce would still be single (or single for long). Every dinner they had would conclude with Martha sorrowfully observing the lack of grandkids--

Bruce: "I have like ten children, you have plenty of grandkids--"

Thomas: "Whom we adore. Really, let's just get back to dinner, this is incredible stuff, Alfred."

Alfred: "Thank you, sir. More wine?"

Martha: "Yes please Alfred." turns back to Bruce "Kids need more than one, busy father. You need more--"

Bruce: "I have plenty."

Martha, death glare: "Oh I'm well aware, as is most of Gotham."

Bruce:

Thomas: "So, did anyone catch that game last night. Crushing defeat for Metropolis, wouldn't you agree, Alf?"

[the-worms-in-your-bones]

Someone really needs to hit Brax with a stick I think

[clumsypuppy]

AND I MET THE CHANGE GOD TOO. OKAY. COOL OKAY

[xxplastic-cubexx]

i’m so glad you brought up that bit in excalibur where magneto’s ideal prison is him getting to be a husband and father again, because it’s so relevant to the idea that the house of m reality isn’t actually everyone’s ideal life, but just wanda’s idea of what everyone’s ideal life would be. all the time i see x-fans condemn magneto for house of m because his ideal world is him becoming exactly like his oppressors, but house of m isn’t actually the life magnus wants! any time magnus gets to become a political leader, he hates it. he hated ruling genosha. he hated ruling krakoa. deep down, he doesn’t want to be superior. he just wants to live in peace with the family he lost.

also, shoutout to magda and anya, who never get to be anything other than magneto’s women in refrigerators. i wish they got to be more important than that. i love it every time we see them in comics, but it’s so rare. and shoutout to magda in particular since she’s been almost completely erased from the narrative by the maximoff retcon. really hope we get a reveal that natalya maximoff was magda all along when we inevitably make wanda and pietro magneto’s mutant children again.

i honestly didnt know excalibur was a predecessor to HoM when i heard about both runs so when i saw that set of panels for the first time it really had me reconsider HoM and the 'ideal reality' bit, im surprised i dont see it mentioned more often

i really wish there were more appearances of mags, magda, and anya; if there are stories focused on them i barely see them talked about... ive heard magda is mags' best-written partner from some but i also very rarely see stories that feature her directly named, so i never get to see her beyond the few fleeting instances i just so happen to catch her. id very much like to see more of her and mags' domestic life....

i think if we find out that natalya was magda all along i'll howl: this family really Can get more complicated contrary to popular belief 💀

[mistressneo]

mystery of lack, stabbing stars through my back;

forwards, beckon, rebound,

forwards, beckon, rebound.