#and that this is a really interesting dimension to add to their dynamic

[daydreamerdrew]

Winter Soldier (2012) #15

[tanblaque]

Top view vs Isometric

I tried experimenting with the top view and I have a lot of thoughts about the 2 views right now.

-

I find that making tiles with the top view would be easier, as when I tried making isometric tiles, I had to consider the 3 dimensions of the cube, and may have to hand draw each building specifically.

Downside, I don't think the view matches the overall aesthetic I'm going for. While it would be easier in the long run, I still want the OFF aesthetic to be present in the game, being minimalistic, and simple. When you have a top view, it becomes really plain, so I had to sacrifice the minimalistic look to make it more interesting, adding clutter and colors here and there, until...I'm not sure, it doesn't look like OFF anymore and starts to look like just another farming game.

While isometric may be more complicated, it adds dynamism to the scene while retaining the simple look.

For me, it also just looks more whimsical. Programming-wise, I don't know how the tilemap sorting would work, considering there will be a lot of objects that will stick out in front of each other.

Anyway, I'm still going to experiment. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[ariadne-mouse]

I mentioned in this post that I thought it would take a life or death choice about Imogen for Liliana to flip, situationally, as opposed to the party being able to convince her to change her ideology (cult juice is strong), and it seems we may have gotten an element of that in Liliana flying to Imogen's aid against Otohan. I'd be very curious what Liliana would have done if she'd gotten there in time to fight, but we'll never know, so we have to digest the moment we got. I also think FCG's death adds another dimension both in-game and above the table. Since we dropped out literally mid-scene after her arrival this post may get stale immediately after the first few minutes of next week's episode, but for now I think it's safe to say that at least for the time Liliana spends with the party right now she will not be an active antagonist. Her daughter called for help and she answered, and her first act was trying to comfort her. Matt also wouldn't hit the players with another big battle fresh off the first (and with that outcome), so if they do have to face Liliana as an enemy it would be later under evolved circumstances.

To be clear I don't think FCG dying means Matt nerfs the threat of Liliana or that this situation means she has flipped permanently, but rather, it neatly interrupts the established dynamic between Liliana and Imogen thus far and creates a chance for new dialogue that doesn't just repeat all the same things as before. Imogen hasn't needed her mother - not really - and maybe still doesn't, but she called for help and is grieving now and the conversation doesn't necessarily have to be the same old "Liliana renounce your cause" but rather "help your daughter here and now" and to connect with her through that emotion. This is probably the best opportunity they'll ever get to flip Liliana in a more than "last ditch in a crisis moment" kind of way or lay the groundwork for that happening later. Now, the party - and Imogen in particular - may rightly be angry with Liliana as an ally of Otohan, and that FCG died because of the cause Liliana supports. Liliana may want to comfort her daughter while also believing that FCG's death was unfortunate but not ultimately a reason to doubt the cause or escape what she sees as inevitable. It's messy! But it's a very interesting situation and FCG's death is such a visible wound on Imogen that it may elicit Liliana to do or consider things she wouldn't, otherwise.

[solselah]

Pick A Movie ? 💛

(Channeled messages are unrelated to plot)

PILE 1 - TOTAL RECALL

You’ve been noticing recently that your lucid dreaming has gotten so real !! I believe you had an idea how this journey was going to go but you got hit with a mini curve ball the last time you attempted to lucid dream !! Your guides are kind of smirking like just ask us to “lead and guide you and so it shall be” they are definitely protecting during this interesting moment of learning how to “get off the ground” it seems like you start to astral project and you maybe get a bit overwhelmed & feel the need to stop & try again ! On the other hand as you’re sleeping the whole time you’re lucid dreaming to these dimensions & meeting people you actually know in that realm ! So In reality your guides want to lead you into conscious Astral travel !!! Being that you unexpectedly lucid dream almost every night !!! I see for some you really do meet up in the astral realm like it’s a game lol , like okay player 1 is here , player two is here we’re ready to GO! I would just be aware of those you travel with if this is what you choose to do ! Make sure you’re truly okay with sharing your energy on that level !

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

PILE 2 - MOONLIGHT

I’m hearing you could be a Sagittarius specifically !! If not you have HEAVY Jupiterian energy! The message I’m receiving is that revolving around your self worth & how it’s been at a 0% when it’s literally always been at 100% with you ! I see people around you are concerned and want you to know they care and are here for you , with anything you may need ! For some you’ve just been watching and listening !! For a few you could’ve really had an imbalanced upbringing, I’m seeing that you may have had your parents, which is a positive thing , but they both seem to have “filled the same glass consistently”

meanwhile the other “glasses” (🍷)that were in need of attention remained empty ! So maybe they raised you based off how they were raised or how they simply wanted to. There were usually no input from others , especially family ! They could’ve been so Focused on your goals making sure you don’t make them look any less than they deem themselves to be ! I’m so picking up a mothers energy , she is toxic yall!! And would rather you “raise yourself” than put energy into molding you & raising you with the love that nourishes and not the back handed guilt of love ! Things will be so different when you decide to have kids or even if you do ! You move so different than your family and I commend you for it ! 💙

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

PILE 3 - HIDDEN FIGURES

So I see your having doubts about if this person is literally your twin flame like you don’t have any clue about what that even means or looks like for you & your not the type of person to look online and associate your experiences with the next , you need to experience these things for yourself to really solidify it in your eyes ! So you are doubting which is so okay because I do feel it’s a natural reaction to such a powerful dynamic ! Now as far as labeling it as twin flame that part you’re not sure about , like you rarely like saying boyfriend and girlfriend ! You are okay with being Partners or just people who love each other ! You are my pile that moves independent mostly , what you want you really go out there and get it for you ! To make you feel good , to add to the list of your accomplishments! You feel like this

“Twin flame “ thing might take you off your tracks as far as being independent , you’re not really ready for that level of emotion !! You definitely are dealing with someone who is KARMIC to you and is capable of mirroring to you , your faults ! You’re just not ready for that !! I wouldn’t 100% say you have interacted with your twin flame if you even have one ! I just feel like one of you may think that and the other is feeling so off about it. You’re hiding from the things that are triggering you which is so normal but at some point you’ll HAVE to face it !! Take it gently! Never with force ✨

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PILE 4 - BRIDESMAIDS

(Mini 18+ warning )

You’re so not good with rejection of any kind !! lol you can be the type of person who is like go big or go home ! you will literally pay an arm and leg for something you really want !!! You have a very abundant mind set and can actually create and manifest with that gift so amazingly !! You take action you’re not lazy whatsoever , you are a money maker and may even work from home to where you still are in the comfort of your own Space ! The message for you is to maintain this abundant mindset and you never know where you’ll end up in the next 6 years as far as goals are concerned!! Venus is ushering in some good sex for you ! It’s almost like you work with a goddess connected to Venus and you can manifest the person , place & time lol your definitely a Conjurer or a sorceress an empress , you may work with water as well , I’m seeing water offerings !! So you have a deep connection to the element of water. You could be a Pisces I’m feeling that sign heavily! you may also have a Scorpio Venus for some or even a Jupiter in Taurus for others ! You are really so godly ! The shape , the body, the energy its all goals !!! 🔥🔥

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Hope you enjoy 💛

IG: @ soleccentric

[turtleblogatlast]

hey!!! this is less of an ask and more of a fic rec tbh 😭 but have you read 'I May be Invisible, but I Still Look Good" by Dandy over on Ao3???? It's after the movie AND Leo-centric and like he gets cursed so his spirit is ripped out of his body. It's like 125k words of wonderful storytelling

OH- but for an actual question, do you have and fic recs?? or any AU's you think people should go check out?

I tried answering this before and it erased my reply orz

ANYWAY YES I HAVE read this and I absolutely love it with every fiber of my being.❤️ 100% one of my top fics to read in this fandom that I even go back to for a reread more than once. The characters are perfectly done and the set up for the story is believable with a fantastic payoff, highly highly highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t read it yet.❤️

As for recs, I’ve always been terrible at giving recs since my memory is very bad especially for ones I haven’t read in a while.😭 Off the top of my head I can recommend (note these are practically entirely Leo-centric since he’s my special guy you understand (the others aren’t forgotten at all though!!!) - and most of these are very very well known so you’ve likely already read them…):

[Note many of these are unfinished and may remain that way - please no one harass the writers for more, let them write at their own pace if they choose to write at all]

- The Neon Void by sugarpastels is absolutely incredible, the dramatic irony of it all as we follow Leo in the state he’s in and see just how broken all the Hamatos are by his “death” is just 👌👌👌 The fact that this places with one of my favorite tropes aka “Leo being in the Prison Dimension longer than canon” is just so good. Genuinely a thoroughly gripping tale that I highly recommend. It’s not complete yet (a lot of this list isn’t) but what is there is so amazing please read (though you most likely have read it already haha)

- little kid with a big death wish and firefight by remrose are another two you’ve likely seen but by god are they worth the read. Firefight isn’t done yet but it and death wish are so amazingly well written and really go into how trauma affects people differently and how ties with family can be tested in traumatic situations. Hard subjects definitely but very maturely done. (Also I misread firefight as firelight for way too long before I realized it-)

- Power Up and Times Five by pickedcarrotsandradish are both unfinished but I can’t care because what we were given is so good that I’m fine with them as they are. Both deal with Leo’s insecurities and bad feelings about himself and, very importantly, the fics go into how these insecurities establish a base for Leo’s very real flaws and how those flaws push him to act the way he does. Very interesting and compelling stuff here!! Power Up especially does really cool things for the boys’ mystic power ups, especially Leo’s, and I loved reading about the ins and outs of what they could do.

- Race Against Life, Death, and the EPF by Cass_Phoenix is just so engaging to read??? Like I love the entire set up for it - it’s feels so fresh and like you’re in Leo’s desperate situation yourself. I was so excited whenever a new chapter came out because the atmosphere was so well done.

- A Mixed Bag by GreatlyBlessed is SHOCKINGLY not Leo-centric for once haha. It’s not completed, but again, like the others above it is so good that I recommend it anyway. This story is actually a crossover between four sets of TMNT (‘87, ‘03, ‘12, and Rise) and the dynamics set up in it are SO fun I love it. Team 2 is my fave because you have literally all my faves on that team how could I not?? I also highly appreciate that everyone gets a chance to shine and that there’s no bashing at all, they’re all just very much in character and it’s refreshing to read ❤️❤️❤️

There’s a LOAD more that I could recommend I’m sure but I don’t remember them off the top of my head at the moment.😭 If I remember I’ll come back and add them in!

(Forgot about AU’s- honestly there’s some that I see and catch up on when I see them but there’s just so many that it’s a bit difficult to keep track of sometimes! I’d have to go around and fully look through many before having a solid answer haha! The ones I do see are always so well done though, I may come back and add them here if I remember 😅)

[theresattrpgforthat]

TTRPGs that are played specifically through the framework of the Discord app? I'm reviewing a work in progress game that's being set up to work like that and I wanted to know if there are others!

THEME: Discord RPGS

Hello there friend, I know you mentioned This Discord Has Ghosts In It in another ask, but I’m going to mention it anyways - along with some other awesome options that exist out there!

This Discord Has Ghosts In It, by Will Jobst.

You’ve been invited to a haunted house. That haunted house is a Discord server.

Find your greatest fear, spill your worst secrets, and get to the thrilling seance in This Discord Has Ghosts in It.

I played this game for Halloween one year and it was great! In this game there are two roles: investigators and ghosts. All of the players will hang out in a voice chat, but only investigators can speak. Meanwhile, ghosts are the only ones who can type inside the game channels - and they are allowed to add new rooms to the house, upload pictures, and alter the text.

I definitely encourage players to use Lines, Veils, and the X card for this game, as it’s a horror game and you’re often met with images, not just descriptions.

MUDSLURP, by Will Uhl.

MUDSLURP (Multi-User Discord Server Lore-Universe Role Play) is a roleplaying game about asynchronous communication, intersecting storylines, and carrying a piece of your characters with you in everyday life. Everyone involved controls at least one character and participates in a shared text chatroom integrated into a fictional setting.

MUDSLURP is also compatible with other tabletop RPGs - bring a new dimension to your story with a chatroom for all your characters! Host server events, build out the world, and learn more about each other. MUDSLURP even supports multiple tabletop campaigns sharing the same chatroom, including guidelines for avoiding & resolving canon disputes.

This is something that really intrigues me, as I run a Discord server myself and I’m always looking for options that incorporate more people and give people multiple ways to interact. Since this is compatible with other tabletop games, I’m assuming you can have real-time sessions alongside something more like a play-by-post format - although I haven’t bought the game yet so I can’t say for sure.

Tournament Arc, by SystemxEmotion.

Tournament Arc is a text-based, real-time, head-to-head, fighting roleplaying game. Most importantly, Tournament Arc is a game where you create any character you can think of (or steal from your favourite media), and fight your friends.

When you play Tournament Arc, you will create a powerful fighter and you’ll try and beat other fighters in arena combat. Fighters can be anything you can fathom, from talented martial artists to alien creatures from other dimensions, and from off-duty superheroes to ordinary people granted arcane powers by elder beings. The one thing that they all have in common is that their powers come from spirits. Spirits are strange entities that recently appeared in the world, and are as diverse as the fighters themselves. 

As a text-based game, Tournament Arc depends on a third, neutral party for each battle. This third player is called the Conduit, who will judge both attacks and determine an outcome. I can see this being a great game for large groups, especially because each person gets to pick up the GM role at some point. You create move sets using different abilities that might be active or passive, and the book comes with advice on how to make the combat dynamic and interesting. If you are playing with a group that likes feeling powerful and enjoys big action scenes, this might be the game for you!

Eccentric Millionaire, by nickwedig.

Somewhere in the wilderness, an eccentric millionaire has buried $50 million worth of bearer bonds, gold, historic artifacts and art treasures. 

You’re going to hunt for it, from the comfort of your own homes. 

There are a lot of other people also searching for the treasure, too. Work with them for more clues, but don’t trust them. If they get the treasure first, they get millions of dollars. Second place gets nothing.

Eccentric Millionaire is an online game of logical deduction and social deception. One player acts as the host and organizer of the game. They will also play the role of the Eccentric Millionaire. The other players take on the role of treasure hunters. The game is played online, through chat systems like Discord or Slack, and via online map tools like Google Maps. Gameplay takes place over days or weeks, as the treasure hunters uncover more clues and zero in on the location of the treasure. Eventually, one player will find the treasure and win the game.

I love games that use innovative online tools, and this game's use of Google Maps is a great example. This is also great for large groups, of up to 25 people! I caution you though, the organization for a game like this definitely requires a lot of set up - you might have to customize a Discord Server before you are ready to play.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Subway Runners, by Gem Room Games

[shock]

"Don't just play—do something!", Jack Abele, 01.21.24.

This is a companion piece to the collage I made about moving into the first place that felt like my home back in '21 (shown below). They have matching frames and are displayed together above our dining table! This second piece is a reflection on how my relationship to "home" has evolved since then, especially after proposing to my now fiancé last month. I'm really proud of it!

Text transcript:

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

In the cold, thin clouds of interstellar space, written in the precise message of starlight:

What made you so interested in fireflies?

Imagine that they propel the environment into play: they STAND OUT, add color, chaos, curves moving behind and below, inside, outward along feedback loops, perplexing positive panic persuaded to make another form of animal art.

Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, a beautiful structure, flamboyantly scuzzy, sassy, a full bouquet of many wild ideas — a dazzling interplay between lightness and unclarity, trying things out, fancy, whimsical records looped with webs, half-truth surface textures composed of swirls within swirls, a performance of information, scene-setting details with many impressive, more tongue-in-cheek, unforeseeable aspects relatively stable and evolving at the same time.

Distinctly transitional.

The trouble with love is it's hard to describe in simple and consistent words. Beyond the jolting familiarity of self-similar, self-referential tessellating hues, the little comedy-drama fictions... you see openness, possibilities toward change; our very existence together antidote to the dull grind of the paradox that we live every moment in an indifferent universe yet having so much fun with friends, local communities, places, faces, even muddy bog holes.

Music! A Tribe Called Quest, The Beastie Boys, The Breeders, Nick Cave, Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden, Santana and Crosby, Stills, and Nash, mud-caked at Woodstock, picking up Space Age scrap, cutting collaged paper, playing with magical little lights, heretically evolving in this meaningless, magnificent place fine-tuned just right to allow for life, love, and grunge to exist nevertheless.

Maybe what keeps me here, making art, is how beautiful it is for optimism to become the first expression of hope despite danger amid the disparate depth of our universe created by chaos.

Movement characterizes my "youthful, dynamic" journey, escapes to infinite other places somewhere else, afraid of considering complicated survival long-term, wherein risk is worth the reward. But something about your windy city reminded me what strange, cascading effects the fingers of two hands form together, intersect one another, interfere with fate, interlace like light radiating rays woven, at certain points, into dynamic singularities.

Mutualism is a happy hybrid of symmetry and chaos — a relationship, it's like the entire forest is blinking in sync.

Just as the fun is to make up a great story, the writer in me calls this piece, "Don't just play— do something!"

This time around, living offers a profound pivot from playing a game. Today we confront as animals, we're not far from dogs, domesticated punks at heart, manifold.

I am humbled, exhilarated, afraid yet strangely calm and clear "On Bended Knee"

(The term ground seems inapt.)

...Nor is it possible to describe...

The closest feeling to being the world itself? It is to have loved someone so much that you wanted to spend the rest of your lifetime with them, with each other.

We're writing a book. Adding a stroke of paint and words to illustrate what we became, a bright third dimension that can be seen from space to meet the generations to come, to simulate the uncountable whimsies they could achieve.

The mind already knows before the key touches the lock.

To watch firefly swarms with a mangy mutt.

That must be quite a sight to see.

BECAUSE THEY EXIST

NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH.

[ot3]

finishing up fionna and cake... overall it was a fun ride but i really don't think it worked structurally. 6/10 show. i didnt think this was gonna be a long post but apparently i've got some thoughts. sticking below the cut

this last episode is kind of underwhelming... theres a couple of parts in this ep where they just sit and explain to the camera how simon realized betty was constantly sacrificing her own desires for simon and how simon wanted to put on the crown because he thought he didn't deserve to live. and it's not like those are bad realization for the show to come to but the show has very clearly established that it's intended for a more adult audience than the original adventure time, and so this kind of writing just feels really condescending when not directed at literal children. like yeah we could have figured this out from the writing, but. you didn't have to just tell us

i also didn't vibe with scarab as a villain, he felt super arbitrary to me. like they needed Something to be forcing them to move between dimensions, but i feel like scarab was an extremely meh choice for that. he wasn't particularly funny or interesting enough as a character to get to be one of the only people who showed up in every episode. i honestly think it would have been better if the existential threat these characters were facing was more of a force than a character, because it was already running so tight on time anyway it didn't really have the space to develop a good villain.

gary and marshall's screentime was another thing that i felt like is a huge waste of space. them doing their whole meet cute bakery au romance is something that's funny on paper but it's not compelling on its own and the only slight interest it has comes from our pre-existing investment in marceline and bubblegum's much more interesting dynamic. it didn't add anything to the overall arc of the show and took up time that could have been used to deliver more solidly on the core premise.

fionna and cake themselves were really cute but i don't feel like fionna's arc was as strong as it could have been. like ohhh yay shes come to love her normal world with all its imperfections.... obviously thats where it was going the whole time and once again. its not like i mind that ending. i just feel like they didn't do anything interesting with it. her character doesn't get to learn and progress as much as she's just marching down a straight path that we all already knows where it leads. i wish they would have just called the show 'Simon' so i wouldn't have to feel so disappointed in this.

adventure time has always been on the cutting edge of bizarre stuff in animation so the biggest let down overall with this show is how much when you strip away the Adventure Time coating of surrealist visuals on top of it it just feels like any other middling adventure cartoon. it didn't lean enough into the episodic structure to benefit from that the way the original show did, and it was too beholden on the episodic structure to linger on any of the parts that were actually compelling.

overall, the show feels like pandering to the adventure time fanbase, but in kind of a lazy way. Compare this to the distant land specials which I think were pandering in an excellent way. im not anti pandering by any means. The whirlwind tour through universes and characters that lifetime adventure time fans will recognize tries to come off as a love letter to the series, but instead just comes off as the adventure time version of that 'rejected ready player one theme song' video. remember farmworld? remember prismo? remember the vampire king? remember shermy and beth? remember Up a Tree? like. yeah. i do remember. thanks. do you have anything to say about any of this stuff or - oh. no. just showing me. got it.

its not someting i think i'll ever rewatch but at just ten eps definitely worth one watch through. theres some really good fun to be had in it and the art is gorgeous all the way through, it just fails to come together into a successful complete work.

[psiithirisma]

Bedrock Bros Actor AU (but not quite focusing on the acting part, to be fair)

Where star child Tommy gets a role for a sitcom with 3 other actors as part of the main cast, one of them being the famous teenage actor Technoblade, aka Tommy's idol.

15 years old Techno is a famous child actor, know for his participation in multiple renowned films, having leading roles in more than one. However, Tommy recognizes him for his appearance in his favorite cartoon which he has been a fan for years.

This cartoon tells the silly adventures of the protagonist, a hilarious bad-ass cute pig that wears a crown and a cape and is extremely good at fighting. A generic type of serie but with high enough ratings to have kept it going.

In said show there's a special episode where the protagonist fighting against a bad guy resulted into him being teleported to another dimension, the audience's dimension. Most of the episode was live-action, Techno chosen as the actor to be the human version of the pig.

Younger Tommy was obsessed with that episode. With the whole cartoon in general but he ADORED that specific episode and when it aired only made his interest for the series stronger.

So when he realizes he's working with THE Technoblade he has no shame in showing how happy he is.

Techno isn't too surprised. He's aware people look-up to him and that he has fans, but what does takes him aback was the fact this kid apparently recognizes him thanks to his appearance from years ago in a cartoon and no other more famous role.

The main character is called Teno (a shortened version of a much MUCH longer name) so now you have little 7 years old Tommy calling Techno "Te'no" due to the beloved character and the similarities between their names. Also because it's easier and quicker to pronounce.

But most people assume its a cute childish mispronunciation of Tech's name since they dont know the cartoon so the general reaction is “aww he's like your little brother” which embarrasses him to hell and back.

Especially when Tommy adds that he is like an older brother to him.

Terrible, horrific, cringe. He is no one's older brother.

...Techno can't really fight the Big Brother allegations when the show they casted him and Tommy for is literally centered on the day-to-day life of a family of 4 (the other two actors being Phil and Wilbur) and all of them fill their respective roles almost as if it was second-nature for them, with the family dynamic following them behind scenes too and present in their off-camera relationships.

Tommy talks a lot about the show to Techno and preys for any fun facts or “classified information” he may have from working on the show.

Techno sadly doesn't but now Tommy got him invested in the show so he gets in contact with some of the writers to have a chat with them. The little blond pretty much ends up interviewing them trying to squeeze as much information as possible out of them.

Speaking about interviews; in an interview the main cast is told to draw the other members and Tommy draws Techno as the little monarch pig but with glasses and after that pigs became part of Techno's brand.

Tommy at some point tells Techno about the character he created a while back, a similar pig to Teno but yellow and blue eyes, wearing a red and white t-shirt and named Big Man (a nickname since Big Man's real name is Nutpig).

It's a clear self-insert but he doesn't comment on it.

Tommy spends hours rambling about the multiple stories he created where Big Man and Teno go on amazing adventures kicking ass. Techno happily listens, sometimes participating with his own made-up adventures.

Occasionally, after a particular exhausting day filming, Techno would find a sheet of paper with a doodle of 2 pigs, Teno and Big Man, on his desk.

Unaware of the soft smile crawling on his lips or the way his fatigue suddenly would lessen at the sight of the childish scribbles.

Techno discovers these official comics of the show and buys them only to read them along with Tommy when the latter would be tired after an entire day in the set.

Most of their reading sessions ending with the youngest drifting to sleep with his face buried on the older's side.

One day Tommy makes Techno a paper crown as a thank-you gift for being an incredible older brother. Saying he isn't sure how older brothers are because he never had one before but despite this he knows Techno is the best one out there.

Techno tries his hardest not to burst into tears right on the spot.

That is something he would find himself doing a lot since meeting Tommy. Trying not to cry out of pure love and affection.

Maybe being an older brother wasn't too bad.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

We must be psychically linked for real cause I was just thinking of the dark au and you start working on it again LMAO. Me personally I think reader should have some kinda mutation that allows them to copy other mutations or a time/dimension jump one so it could be revealed that oops! reader accidentally sent all of them away! And cause some big feelings in the yans, like they want to blame reader for what happened but they still love them so dearly and it wouldn’t be fair to reader who is still learning and growing their powers to be solely blamed, or it’s a wrong place wrong time type thing where reader and one of the teens powers interact in such a way that they get sent to where ever they are/stuck in the time stream a la batman the return of Bruce Wayne

Spino

That is a good idea, Spino Anon! It's really creative! I don't know if that's how I will write the au, but you have given me a thought or two on how to explain the four teens ending up in the dark future/au. I hope you are doing alright! I think as a treat, I can do a few headcanons I have for the Dark AU.... Let's do it:

• I headcanon that for the Dark AU, it's set in a reboot-esque au of X-Men Evolution, so things are mostly the same, but a little different. Such as more found family dynamics and less trying to toss children and rivals off of cliffs ( it's a reboot/retelling/reimagining due to platonic yandere stuff/adding Reader/adding more adventures/wanting to rewrite certain scenes/wanting to add further to it/etc.)

• Reader is a friend to both groups of teens, and likely joined one, if not both, at some point

• Reader took care of the others a lot. Reminding them to eat (mostly the adults for that, plus a handful of the teens, Reader would also make dinner/breakfast/snacks/treats for the platonic yans, maybe teaching a teen or two how to cook)... making art and craft projects for them (such as handmade scarves or stuffed animals, friendship bracelets and best friend necklaces, even full canvas paintings and notebooks full of sketches and drawings)... having small (platonic) dates where Reader does something they (the teen/s or adult/s) want to do, but can't do with the others or that doesn't interest the others... Reader was the sort to toss a blanket around someone if they fell asleep on the couch, made coffee or hot chocolate in the mornings/nights when it was cold, just trying to keep their friends family happy and cared for

• Reader was friends and still is in this au with the other teens who had the bad thing happen to them (being Kurt, Kitty, and Pietro). Probably was the one who played it straight between the four, still a bit more light-hearted and joking, but more toned down. I am undecided if Reader is the same age, older, or younger than them

• When the bad thing happens, let's just say the remaining X-Men and Brotherhood kinda... lost it. I mentioned before a person or multiple persons was behind what happened, but I never went into full detail on what it might have been. Whatever it was (no spoilers yet!) led the platonic yans to believe that they were dead, and that it wasn't quick or painless. They know it wasn't an accident. So they go mad with grief, in a way. They take vengeance on those who caused it, more-or-less send a message out warning what happens if anyone targets their loved ones, and (maybe?) take control over the world... Or at least parts of New York and Canada...

• The platonic yans become more... dark. If they were holding their punches before... they aren't now. They become ruthless when dealing with enemies, they learn new skills and tricks and tactics, they aren't going to let the same thing that happened in the past happen now

• I imagine that it's somewhere between three to five years before Reader and the others end up in the future/au, and they are still wounded from what happened. The worst of their wounds healed up enough, but not everything else, so they aren't as quick or as fast as they want to be when moving through the changed world around them

• When they are found to be alive and are confirmed to be the Dark AU platonic yans kids/friends/siblings, the platonic yans are hunting them down as fast as they can. They don't want them to disappear, they don't want them to die, and they aren't about to have them ripped away from them again. Even if it means they have to keep them under house arrest or sedated or otherwise...

(And this is what I can say without revealing any spoilers! Enjoy😊💛🧡🍯🐝)

[saint-vagrant]

Oh I forgot to ask a question!

😂

Ok, here it is: Who’s your inspirations for your artistry?

Big question, I know.

^__^

hmmmm you're right, that is a big question! since you asked "who" i'm going to assume you mean other artists?

for painting i'm particularly inspired by Anthony Cudahy, Alex Beck, Sterling Hundley, Ashley Wood (all contemporary,) Euan Uglow, Joaquin Sorolla, Sargent, Arkady Plastov, Ivan Shishkin, Konstantin Yuon, Ferenc Pinter, and a number of names in the Brandywine school like Mead Schaeffer and NC Wyeth.

i reformatted my brain a little in 2021 by reading Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man. Other mangaka are Hirohiko Araki, Kosuke Fujishima, Otomo, Inoue, Urasawa, Miura. the 2S artist Brandon Hoax is a HUGE inspiration to me. same for Chase Conley, Peter Chung, Freddy Carrasco, Xia Gordon, Ron Wimberly, Chris Kindred, Mel Tow, Hiro Isono, mozame_mo, Yoshitake Yamane, @maxbanshees @potogawaryuiki @coshkunz @cparrisartand @fourcorneredgod @newjackcole @choodraws @doctop @hirosemaryhello @nocturnalwalkr @fanficciera @oak-n @purenonsens @juangeedraws @plaest2k @blackblobyellowcone @turndecassette2 many more friends and strangers whose work i'm delighted to spend time traveling thru (and whose names i'll add in once i publish this enormous reply lol. rn i'm afraid of tumblr eating it!!)

most importantly, my partner Anka @kingfisher-cove charmed and captivated me from day one. the personality and dynamism of their work, specificity of place, time, body, personal effects, there's always been so much life in their art. i have little to no interest in stories/characters without limits, where mobility is never a concern, especially featuring the wealthy. stories where people don't sweat or pee or have "bad" teeth or talk too loud. Anka's always portrayed peeling paint and rusted metal as a fact of life. you get a sense of dimension/volume in their art— the way material hangs off a body, and that body's form, how gravity and weight conform feet to the ground— and the same goes for the personalities and ideas populating it. the viewer too has a home here beyond "representation." it's not just window-dressing, nor ponderous hyperrealism. there's cartoon whimsy and cartoon stakes. i wish i could describe the extent it's meaningful to me. i feel lucky to see it! plus i really making them yell and art is a good way of accomplishing it.

so because this is veering into WHAT inspires me...

other than like, transness and communism and everything that entails, i'm inspired heavily by pornography and leather culture, and (mostly vintage) magazines like Honcho and Juggs, 70s italian erotica/nunsploitation. relatedly, the lush scenes of Pierre et Gilles and Tarsem and Christian Riese Lassen. i'm also deeply inspired by hyperlink/multimedia art, such as that by Olia Lialina of @oneterabyteofkilobyteage or projects like Ted's Cave. places and delights of my childhood like Myst/Riven, Fin Fin, rural river water, rocky beaches, soft glowing glades, sharks in coral outcrops. autonomy and dissociation, too.

with a lot of the artists i mentioned, there is a handiness, a presence in their work, a dedication to indulgence and/or experimentation, in subject, setting, medium, whatever. an interest not feigned. i also love maximalist colour and texture... in drawings, in textiles, anything! worldwide and through history. i'm inspired by golden age illustration and Iranian turquoise and carpets. miniatures. iconography. lotuses. magnolia.

you can fake sincerity of course. when it comes to making art that seems like a waste of precious effort. when i get a sense that the artist really loves People beyond serving up a telephone game of vibe-mood-aesthetic... that is cool to me. if the art isn't well-lived, then it's well-cared for. a lot of the nostalgia fodder is based on a memory of a memory that was sold for mass market consumers, so i'm a bit distrusting of it. which isn't to say that i don't love a tone poem (i do-- Legend is one of my favourite films) nor that it requires "realism" to accomplish either. i love being sold on the ridiculous. i respond well to like, an artist (in whatever respect) showing me something absurd with 100% unbridled earnestness and fearlessness about being silly. my top 3 favourite series are JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Metal Gear Solid, and Ace Attorney. these are objectively as exaggerated in their drama as they are serious about their intent, and populated by straight freaks. one of my favourite directors is Michael Mann (Miami Vice, Manhunter, Heat, Thief, Collateral) who is known for his obsessive, even illustrative details but also, Audioslave plays during an emotional night drive. they don't let Audioslave play during an emotional night drive anymore. all these things are related lmao. let me go on a further tangent

there's an internal logic, right? and when it's flipped? that's the best. i don't mean a "twist," either. it's something else-- the author/artist revealing that, emotionally, things were always more complex than you were lead to believe, and it recontextualises the entire piece. if surprise is the best part of comedy then i think the same goes for melancholy. i love when the rug is pulled out from under me through something as simple as the reimagined N'doul episodes of the JJBA OVA. (YES! YES! I'LL TALK ABOUT IT FOREVER! I'M CRAZY! BUT I'M RIGHT!) is it a twist? nothing's actually changed about where the story is headed. you know where it's headed. but the meaning of that story has-- by creating an emotional trapdoor like that, it establishes a particular sense of suspense.

i'm mentioning these because i rewatched them recently-- films like Solaris and Sunshine and... you know what? Terminator are bigger to me than their subject matter because the emotional space they create is unnerving, where hope is fragile if it's present at all. something hard to accomplish... the bittersweet potency of ironic regret.

i'll keep adding to this. i could go on and on lol

[lockwoodsmouse]

An Official lockwoodsmouse Review of Netflix’s Lockwood & Co.

spoilers... duh

Context: This is coming from someone who is an avid fan of the books, and has been for 6 years. I’ve read them over and over and know many lines by heart. 

Okay, let's start...

SOUNDTRACK: 10/10 

I swear I almost passed out when A Forest by the Cure started playing in Episode 2. That’s seriously one of my favorite songs ever and fit the vibe perfectly. I also love the instrumental soundtrack! I’ve been streaming it a lot. I watched the episodes with closed captions, so I knew all the titles of the songs they included in the show. If you are interested, I have my L&Co. playlist linked on my blog. The ending section includes songs that were on the show (excluding the official soundtrack instrumentals) but most of it is just songs I associate with the vibe/characters/events. 

CGI: 9/10

I don’t really have much to say here, the ghosts were about what I imagined them to be in my head, and I have to say, the Wythburn Mill ghost creeped me out quite a bit. 

PACING: 8/10

Like many of us, I would have appreciated more detail being given to the Combe Carey Hall case. That section felt rushed, but the second half (The Whispering Skull bit) felt just fine. I think if we just had one more episode dedicated to Combe Carey (9 episodes instead of 8) it would have been better. There also wasn't a lot of suspense, and the Red Room/Screaming Staircase didn’t seem like a big deal. Also, Lockwood unraveling the Fairfax mystery is just too good in the book! The show underscores how clever and pensive he is during those parts.

LUCY: 10/10

Oh my gosh. Ruby Stokes. She knocked it out of the house with her depiction of Lucy. She’s smart, feisty, moody, quick-tempered, vulnerable, anxious, and empathetic all at once. I really love seeing Lucy’s flaws, honestly. In the later seasons (FINGERS CROSSED GUYS), I really hope to see more of her strength/finesse with her rapier. I also like how it focused more on her mental health, and it’s clear that she feels safe in her new home, but is still hurting inside. I also love the backstory we get with Norrie. In the books, Lucy seems to deal with some internalized misogyny and some of that is definitely cleared up when she had such a close female friend. ALSO ANGST!!! wowie

*side note: those polaroid pictures of her and Norrie are the absolute cutest

*extra side note: SHE SAYS FUCK!!! GOOD FOR HER!!! 

*extra extra side note: I love how they gave her blue as her primary color! It suits her.

LOCKWOOD: 10/10

Cameron Chapman was AMAZING. He really did well with his depiction of Lockwood, and if you watch any interview with him in it, he’s just hilarious. He’s cooly detached, just like he is in the books, and the suit/coat he wears is EXACTLY how I pictured it. One of the highlights for me was the panic attack scene after Winkman’s auction. This scene was so good that I wish it was in the books! It’s such a great detail and adds more vulnerability/dimension to his character. 

GEORGE: 10/10

Ah, George. The lovable oddball we all adore. Ali Hadji-Heshmati captures George’s awkwardness and nerdy tendencies perfectly. He has kind of a quiet leadership, and I love his dynamic with the rest of the team. That scene where him and Lucy were bonding over pizza was the absolute cutest. True to the books, he is kind of the comic relief, but it doesn't feel overdone. 

Give me more domestic scenes where George is wearing an apron. 

LOCKLYLE: 10/10

Oh my. I was swooning. I had to watch all the episodes when my roommate was in class because every time there was a tender moment it was accompanied by a lot of squeaking and flapping around on my end. Anyways... One of my favorite scenes was the one where Lockwood bandages up Lucy’s injured hand (I’m such a sucker for tender hand holding and this show DID NOT DISAPPOINT). I know people are saying that it did feel a little rushed, but in my opinion, they were like this all the time in the books and Lucy was just really oblivious for a while. I love their dynamic so much and even all the scenes where they were fighting felt very much like you’d expect. ALSO WE GET JEALOUS LOCKWOOD OMG. I know some people think the Kipps/Lucy thing was weird, but it honestly could have been the same in the books, but Lucy is just (again) oblivious. 

SKULL: 6/10

I really like the design of the skull’s jar, as well as the apparition itself. It’s exactly how I imagined. However, the skull from the books is so much more sassy, evil, and wise. That didn’t really come through in the show, but maybe they’re holding back for future seasons? I really liked the skull’s insights on the team in the book, as well as his clever wit, creative insults, and sass. Now that the characters can swear, this allows the skull so much more room for creative jibes. 

honorable mention: GHOST LAMPS!!! 10000/10! we are all obsessed and rightfully so.

CONCLUSION: I will defend this show with my life. I love it so much. 

p.s. if u read through all this, I <3 u. hope u enjoyed my nerdy ramblings.

[willowcrowned]

Was reading a fic that touched on Qui-Gon teaching both Anakin and Obi-Wan and was suddenly struck by "Obi-Wan assures Anakin that he'll be fine, because Qui-Gon is better than he used to be, on account of Obi-Wan clicker-training him throughout his padawanship."

IDK what to do with this other than offer it to you because. It doesn't seem like Qui-Gon would be receptive to Pavlovian processes. But also. Obi-Wan is a conniving bastard.

no okay thank you SO much for sending this to me because it plays into my latest favorite interpretation of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s relationship in a really interesting way

Recently I’ve been really enjoying unpacking the potential that Qui-Gon subconsciously parentifies Obi-Wan over the course of his apprenticeship, because I think it applies a really fun extra dimension to the existing dynamic of uptight nerd attempts to control guy whose modus operandi is bulldozing through a situation in the most efficient and least appropriate way possible. Obviously the implication in TPM is that Obi-Wan is Like That because of Qui-Gon—it’s a sort of survival strategy—but making it a direct result of Qui-Gon’s own insecurities just adds that little extra special something that makes the Star Wars Flavor.

The basic idea I’ve been playing with is that Obi-Wan readily encourages Qui-Gon’s parentification of him because to Obi-Wan’s messed up ridiculously insecure and in need of therapy brain, being parentified means he’s needed, he’s useful, he can’t be tossed away. Of course the problem with being fifteen and deciding that you’re now responsible for a man fully in his forties who continuously gets chewed out by his boss is that at a certain point all that internalization of Rules and Proper Behavior you did as a child because you were terrified of being so unworthy you’d stop being loved is going to kick in, and you—subconsciously—are going to start believing that it is your responsibility to train the middle aged man in your care into being an Upright Young Man. Which like, as things go? Is a pretty standard Obi-Wan interpretation.

The FLIP SIDE of that though—the Qui-Gon side, the even weirder and messier side—is that Qui-Gon is parentifying Obi-Wan out of a very real and very deep fear that he cannot and should not act as a responsible guardian as a child (which, well, he’s not wrong. but he’s right for all the wrong reasons). Subconsciously, he’s trying to set them on more equal ground, trying to keep his influence on Obi-Wan to a minimum so he doesn’t have to acknowledge the responsibility of shaping Obi-Wan both through the ways he’s absent and the ways he’s present. And of course it’s not going to work! Of course it’s not! Even when he’s an adult, Obi-Wan will always be too aware of the rules that constrain his actions as a padawan to put himself on the same level as Qui-Gon. As a child, all he’s going to do is feel… abandoned on some level. The parentification might confirm that he’s needed on some level, but it can’t replace what for him is a very keen awareness that, on some level, Qui-Gon doesn’t want to be his master. Kids that get forced to be an adult to early, even the ones who think they like it, are always going to be fundamentally, subconsciously aware that they’ve been denied a childhood that other people weren’t. For Obi-Wan, I think that subconscious awareness manifests as a desire to affirm himself as an adult—to convince himself that he wants the responsibility, that it’s right for him to have the responsibility.

And he does that by clicker training Qui-Gon.

There’s a very fun feature of relationships mired in guilt (especially the ones where the guilt is born from a very deep love and a fear of failing that love) where, over time, certain patterns develop in which each person subconsciously takes advantage of the other’s guilt. When Qui-Gon bulldozes through an interaction, overstepping their jurisdiction by half and disobeying several direct mandates from the council, Obi-Wan finds himself… conveniently left behind for Qui-Gon to find later, when he returns wracked with guilt over having forgotten his apprentice but unable to admit to it because admitting to it would mean admitting to his fears, and admitting to his fears would mean admitting to the truth of his unfitness as a master, and admitting to that would mean he loses one of the very few remaining deep, meaningful relationships he has left. When Obi-Wan follows the letter of the law, refusing to break a single rule—even the ones designed to be broken—Qui-Gon goes ahead on his own, and just so happens to find himself injured and cornered by attackers he could have easily fought off with Obi-Wan’s help, left bleeding and tired for a guilt-wracked Obi-Wan to find, knowing that he never should have abandoned his master, knowing that he’s an awful apprentice, that he’ll never be up to Qui-Gon’s standards, that he’ll never confess that, because confessing it might finally make Qui-Gon realize it, and if that happens then he gets replaced and one of the deepest, most meaningful relationships in his life slips through his fingers.

It’s not healthy for either of them—it’s actually entirely the opposite—but it’s effective. And by the end of Obi-Wan’s apprenticeship, Qui-Gon is at least 30% less likely to go off on his own and start doing things he really shouldn’t, and 40% more likely to never, ever leave his padawan behind.

And then Anakin shows up, and suddenly everything they’d so carefully repressed and talked around and ignored becomes a big glaring issue in the face of Star Wars’ own #1 complicating factor

[justanotherhh]

tbf striker has been confirmed To Fuck so in his case it's def just him seething that no-one is going along with his gritty semi-realistic cowboy roleplay

yeah, I can see that + I'm all about the fucked up power thing going on with Striker's obsession with Blitzø, where he wants Blitzø to be like him and understand him and respect him and maybe be a horse sometimes idk and Blitzø keeps denying him the pleasure of being equals (contrasted with Fizz who just seems to disgust Striker... although maybe we've hit the event horizon, now Blitzø has blown him up... we'll see.... wanting to just hurt/punish Blitzø is also great-as-dynamic)

I do think though that on the show proper (so not word of god or outside promo) there's a fascinating distinction between Striker's opinion of himself -- that is, that he IS sexy and talented and has a big dick -- and how much he'll allow other people to get into his space. Yes, there's the "stop ruining this for me!!!" thing when Moxxie, Stolas, and Fizz (although... not Blitzø? at least not enough to warrant a comment... but that may be because Blitzø's big kink fantasy is horseplay, which fits very nicely with what Striker's all about) turn a violent moment into a "sex thing," but there's also little things like kicking away the fan who's trying to get at him in Sweet Victory, or being really annoyed by the theme tune singers, like Yes he's Sexy, but can people please just stay the fuck out of his way and let him do his Job DAMMIT

this more headcanon territory than Alastor, but I do imagine him as aspec, probably along the lines of autosexual, with a dash of powerplay and cowboy roleplay that can lean into the sexual but Only if all the other right pieces are in play first!

but also there's an interesting Aspec Meta Thing in Hazbin/Helluva that's added when you have all the sex jokes and clearly allosexual characters (although, one can always HC aspecness), and then there's a character there that on some level Does Not Like It and/or avoids it -- so far Alastor and Striker. it opens up a line of thinking about the pervasiveness of sex and boundaries that I will immediately go ooh keep talkin' at

this meaning that while Striker may not be canonically aspec, he does add an aspec dimension to the narrative, because people keep getting into his fucking space with all that sex stuff and he wishes they'd fucking stop

so yes, he wants to break Blitzø like a horse. yes, that's kind of hot. don't even make it weird, don't even- *Striker yelling at his Blitzø-poster while drunk!* (how does he have it? did he steal one of Blitzø's own stick-drawings of himself?)

not-so-subtly pushing my "fucked up Striker/Blitzø" agenda with all of this, I'm noticing (it's gotta be fucked up though for it to work for me. has to be)

[wasyago]

Hey it's me again lmao You were wondering what specifically I was struggling with and I had to kinda take a moment to think about it, these are some of the examples I have digitally (there are a lot more traditional examples but I felt bad putting them on here already lmao). The reason I suppose I struggled to articulate my issues with drawing him kinda just boiled down to "it doesn't look right" I'd say my biggest struggles are the face shape, hair and just proportions of everything. Sorry if this is a bother, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but thank you for taking the time to understand in my last ask.

hehehe don't worry its not a bother, i love analyzing art so this is basically enrichment for me >:3!!

(a little disclaimer that all im saying will be from my perspective and according to my preferences in designs. its pretty obvious since you're asking me, but i feel like it needs to be said. also im sorry if im too harsh with anything)

face shapes can definitely be tricky, because even the slightest changes are super visible... you (in these drawings) tend to draw longer faces and define the jaw and chin. it might be worth it to try and bring out the cheeks or cheekbones a little. cheeks add roundness to the face and take some of the attention from the chin. cheekbones make the face feel more defined and sharp.

also try to leave some space between the eyes and the hairline, so they don't go over each other and have some space for expression. im not directly saying to draw a bigger forehead, because its really up to your style if the eyebrows sit where they should anatomically be or if they're more cartoony and go up higher, so there might be a lot of space that isn't actually considered a "forehead".

i really like the nose shape you draw for him, this sort of "v" shape, its super cute and looks interesting! so im not touching it, i like it.

another thing, you draw the guidelines for the face, like the lines that go through the middle vertically and horizontally, and its really good and helpful! but remember that those are just guidelines, they don't define the face, and sometimes they can be more constricting than helping. sometimes the face features go below or above them or shift because of perspective! not saying to completely not use them, especially if you're not feeling confident, but lowering the opacity on them or making them thinner would help!

and somewhat relating to the guidelines: you know how you draw the corners of his eyes on this middle line, but then the upper and lower eyelids go around it? this makes the eyes feel much higher on the face than they are. the inner corners of the eyes i would call one of the more charismatic parts, because they feel like the place where the eye starts, and then the direction the eyelids take is what brings in the character.. if that makes sence? by having both the inner and the outer corners of the eye on the same line, it removes the character, because none of the corners are dominant and they're not dynamic. by making one of the corners higher or lower than the other, it creates a more dynamic shape. and also removes the problem where the eyes feel like they're too close. this really is much easier to explain in a drawing....

sorry im on my phone rn

for the hair i think you're doing well! just remember to leave some space for the back of the head and above the hairline, because the face sits on the head but it's not the head itself, so there should be some area around it too. and also that hair have weight and volume and they go over the shape of the head and don't stick to it.

also don't foget to leave room for the neck! there's space between it and the chin, and there's space between it and the back of the head. and head doesn't have to sit directly in the middle of the neck, it can move from side to side and create interesting shapes depending on the angle.

and i guess yeah! experiment with shapes, sizes and dimensions, if something is wrong you can always erase it and draw again!

[waldorfhistoria]

Man, this wonderful Jenny meta I reblogged has me thinking SO many thoughts, especially about the Dan-Jenny dynamic and this line in particular:

“one scene that stands out to me is when jenny steals the dress in season one and dan goes into talk to her and it’s so clear he’s had to take on somewhat of a parental role with her since their mom has been gone? and i’m sure that’s frustrating for both jenny and for dan. but despite taking on this role of care, he doesn’t treat her condescendingly or with any ire, he tries to be understanding and careful and thoughtful where rufus couldn’t be.” - @buffyspeak

And one of the things that’s so fascinating to me about the relationship dynamic between Dan and Jenny is that they essentially have about four different styles of sibling relationships, all nestled into their one.

At times, especially towards the beginning of the show, Dan and Jenny have a fairly “typical” big brother/little sister dynamic - Jenny is teasing and affectionately annoying towards Dan, Dan is teasing and affectionately exasperated towards Jenny, but they ultimately look out for and try to protect/take care of one another the way that siblings do. But there’s a shift, I think, when Alison leaves - Rufus is suddenly acting as a single father, and Dan is put in the position where he not only needs to look out for Jenny as her big brother, but as a pseudo-mother of sorts - he’s the one who ends up playing mediator between Rufus and Jenny’s growing conflicts, who tries to give her the advice and guidance that she’s not getting from either of her actual parents, and is even the one who Rufus, at times, turns to to talk out the parenting decisions he makes in relation to Jenny. Which brings up another facet of their dynamic that only grows as the show goes on and Jenny starts to struggle more and more - the golden child and the “problem” child.

One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of the Rufus discourse really hinges on whether a fan is paying more attention to Dan as a character or to Jenny, because the Rufus in Dan’s story is often a very different figure than the Rufus in Jenny’s. Dan’s Rufus is a compassionate, loving, fair-minded dad, who affords Dan a level of respect and independence while also upholding strong moral values he expects his son to live up to. Jenny’s Rufus, on the other hand, is a far more controlling and at times almost immature figure, sometimes fighting with Jenny like a peer rather than a parent - a father who fails to offer his daughter the same respect and understanding he affords his son. And while none of this is Dan’s fault, how can Jenny not be a little resentful of it, of him - that Dan is treated like a person while Jenny is often made to feel like more of a project.

And yet, in spite of that, I would argue there’s another dimension of their relationship that probably plays a key role in keeping them close as the series wears on - Dan and Jenny as childhood friends. This is something that I feel doesn’t come up in the show enough but is still interesting in light of the way their dynamic evolves - based on what we know of their upbringing, it doesn’t seem like Dan and Jenny had a lot of other friends coming into the Upper East Side. I mean, we’re told that pretty explicitly with Dan, given that Vanessa seems to be the only other person he’s really close to outside of his family, prior to dating Serena. But it seems like Jenny didn’t really have any other close friends herself - at least no one close enough to stay in touch with after she moves from public school to private. It seems like - especially in the space of time that Vanessa was living in Vermont - Dan and Jenny were likely each other’s two closest friends, and I think considering how enmeshed their later social circles become, that adds an interesting nuance as well. Dan isn’t just Jenny’s big brother, he’s also her sister and sometimes her mother and kind of her rival and always her longtime friend.