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#because i don't know how to explain to someone that real humans matter more than cartoon characters
I’m not trying to attack you, but do you know that proshipper means someone who supports and romanticizes pedophilia, incest, and abuse? Your reblog on that post seems to read that you think antis just hate on people for having ships they don’t like. But it’s completely different than that. Just looking on the proshipper side of Tumblr and the internet and you can see people happily shipping children and adults and making nsfw content of such things.
i appreciate that you're not being outright hostile, but i have to say, that on its own put you above basically every anti i've interacted with.
i understand where antis are coming from, i really do. there are a lot of things on the internet that make me deeply uncomfortable, including the minor/adult ships that you mention. i don't want to anything to do with those kinds of ships and i would be happiest if i never saw them again. which is why i'm proship.
nine times out of ten, if i see that kind of ship brought up on my dash, it's because i was following an anti without realizing it, and they brought it up unprompted and untagged, to talk about how bad it is that they exist. they are the ones putting that kind of content in front of my face and making it harder to avoid.
the thing about people who ship those ships is that they're generally very aware that not everyone wants to see that kind of content, and so they tag it. they make sideblogs to talk about it. they don't go out of their way to shove it in people's faces. that means i, and everyone else who doesn't like it, can avoid it.
what antis want is for it to not exist at all. they want the tags to be purged and blocked, and for anyone who uses those tags to have their accounts deleted. and sure, that might get rid of some of it, but do you know what would happen to the rest? it would stop being tagged. people who don't want to see it wouldn't have the tools to avoid it. this isn't just a hypothetical, that's what's happened any time a fan space has tried to do that.
that's not even getting into the rabbit hole of what should be banned and what shouldn't. obviously any content that depicts real children or real life abuse shouldn't exist and shouldn't be allowed to be posted, but basically any platform that people use already enforces those policies, and there's not much of a slippery slope to go down there. if it involves real living breathing people being abused, it's bad. end of discussion.
but the same can't be said for fiction. ask ten antis for a specific list of all the content that should be banned, and you'll get ten different answers. what about kink? what about roleplay? what about horror and murder and anything that involves fictional characters being graphically tortured? what about people using art to process terrible things that have happened to them? what about art that uses dark themes as a horror element? if you just want to ban anything questionable to anyone, that's the line of thinking that gets any mention of lgbt existence banned. and again, this isn't just a hypothetical, this has happened before, and that's generally where it leads.
i know, from personal experience, that antis do, in fact, send harassment to people just for shipping things they don't like. i've gotten accused of absolutely vile shit for shipping two fictional characters who were both consenting adults. i've seen ship wars turn into moral battlegrounds, over ships that an average person wouldn't bat an eye at.
the thing about "romanticization" is a whole other can of worms. the anti logic goes like this: if someone sees something (even if it's very obviously fictional) in a positive light enough times, they will start thinking it's okay in real life, and go on to hurt real people. the problem with that is that it's just. blatantly untrue.
if it were true every horror movie fan would be a serial killer, every person that studies dark media would be an unhinged psychopath, and everyone who is into ddlg would be a pedophile. but they're not. they just aren't. people have directed movies just as fucked up as the darkest shit on ao3, and are still capable of being normal human beings who know right from wrong in real life.
even if someone is that impressionable, scrubbing away the existence of every piece of questionable content isn't going to solve their problem, because they're still going to be vulnerable to con men, scams, and cultists. the only thing that would actually materially help someone like that is developing their own morals and critical thinking.
children are also more impressionable, and there's a lot of content that's not suitable for them, but that doesn't mean that content shouldn't exist. it just means that they should stick to spaces designed for them (which most social media sites, tumblr included, are not) or, if they're old enough to be responsible for their experience online, they, or a trusted adult in their lives, should block and filter out things that they aren't comfortable with.
which is what everyone on the internet should be doing. it's what i do, and it's made the internet a much more pleasant place to be. and it's why i sometimes worry for antis mental health, especially teenagers, because they're being told it's right and moral to seek out content that makes them uncomfortable and to engage with the people making it. and that's just. really bad. it's not good for the creators that they're harassing obviously, but it's also really bad for them! it's not healthy to seek out things that make you feel bad, and it's a terrible internet safety lesson to teach minors that it's okay for them to seek out and engage with people making adult content.
individual harassment and crusading is never going to succeed at removing dark content from the internet. it just isn't. at best you might get a small percentage of people who create that content to stop sharing it, at worst you're just going to make people stop tagging it, and either way, you're exposing yourself to things that make you feel bad, when you don't have to.
if you want to materially change the type of content you see, you can. the block button is your friend, use it liberally. same with content filtering and tag blocking.
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ryo-maybe · 1 year
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can u explain why AI art is bad without fearmongering, moralizing or bootlicking lol
I'm going to answer in good faith, even though the tone you're using sounds like you're harboring anything but. The issue with AI art isn't specifically inherent to the tools used to produce it, because, ultimately, a tool is merely that: something devoid of will which, in the hands of a human, can produce a specific outcome. It's the human element that taints what we could otherwise enjoy for the unquestioningly fascinating topic that is AI art and, by extension, AI software as a whole.
Now, the problem isn't people, period, but the kind of people that are responsible for giving AI the bad rep it's been getting, along with the intent that goes into both the development of AI tools and the things produced by dint of said tools. I'm talking about the tech bros happily rubbing their hands, waiting to provide business moguls with a brand new means to commodify and mass-produce what artists stake their entire livelihoods upon, because when you have enough zeroes lined up in your bank account, your eyes are utterly blinded to the soul and personality that human beings put into their handiwork, and which a machine won't ever be able to reproduce no matter how much stolen art you feed it. Oh yeah, by the way, that's how AI art tools have been making the rounds: by chewing on thousands upon thousands of stolen pictures made by actual people so that they may learn how to ape someone's style and spit out absolutely soulless derivatives, while the original authors don't see a lick of recognition or monetary retribution for any of it. Do I need to tell you why stealing and parading someone else's art as your own is a terrible, vile thing to do?
But sure, you did ask me to refrain from "fearmongering, moralizing or bootlicking", which I guess I've already done. So since you'd rather I skipped straight to the point in a concise manner, lemme offer some quick examples of why the culture surrounding AI art has already developed into one of the most abysmally disappointing displays of how greed and an utter lack of human decency can ruin something objectively brimming with possibilities:
Less than a week after the sudden death of Korean artist Kim Jung-gi, someone trained an AI model to mimic his artstyle, having the audacity of asking for credits if anyone wished to use it. I sincerely hope I don't have to explain to you why this is a ghoulish example of the kind of tone-deafness sported by tech bros who buy wholesale into the AI art craze.
A piece of AI art was submitted to an art contest and won. The "artist"'s work amounted to little more than picking a series of prompts and letting the machine do the work. It's as much art as googling a smattering of terms and making a collage of pictures taken from Pinterest (and even then, you would have put more work into it than this person did). That they won at all says a whole damn lot about how abysmal the respect given to artists - real artists - nowadays is.
There are a multitude of people out there already selling prints of AI-generated art. I could link some of them here, but honestly, type "ai art prints" on a search engine and you'll get inundated by them. I've seen and personally know artists who have had to undersell their works because commissions were the only thin, frayed string they could hang on in hopes of making it through the week without fucking starving themselves, but here we are: any random asshole can now yell "MASSIVE BREASTS, THIN WAIST, COCKTAIL DRESS, HUGE BADONGAS" at a computer, let it mash together a trillion of other people's hard work, and print it for easy bucks that the actual authors of the basic ingredients of their insipid soup will never, ever see a dime of.
It really bothers me that you mentioned "no bootlicking". Whose fucking boots is this side of the debate supposedly tasting? That of the artists who post every day about how angry, sad and terrified they are by the prospects of what the development of AI art will entail for their livelihood and passion? What kind of gall did your mother birth you with that you have the spiteful spunk to type that word, when you've got shit like an artist who had their sketch stolen while they were drawing it on stream, then fed to an AI and posted by someone passing it off as their own art? How does that not ignite your indignation? "Bootlicking". Like anyone's tongues have been tasting leather but those of the same tech bro chodes who kept trying oh so hard to convince us NFTs were the future while ruining the environment to make the absolute stupidest point ever made in the history of humanity.
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elysiansparadise · 7 months
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Hello Elysian, I hope you are doing well. What are your thoughts/how do you understand Moon in the 2h? Calling them "materialistic" or "money hungry" is getting really annoying lol :/
Hello love, I'm doing okay, I hope you too. I understand what you mean with that, I will gladly give you my point of view.
Moon in the 2nd house
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Those with Moon in the 2nd house have an enormous desire for security, as you say, it is not only material, but also emotional. They may have felt that at some point in their lives they had no one to lean on, they may have felt in danger or insecure in some way, since the 2nd house speaks of security and the Moon is not a very stable luminary. This person may feel that they have to do something or have things to feel that they are valuable, when in fact they are already valuable by simply existing. As time builds their self-esteem, little by little they walk a path of self-acceptance and high esteem for themselves. This house also tells us about self-esteem, so it can be somewhat unstable throughout its youth. Contrary to what is believed, these people value emotional details more, and they are the kind of natives who keep things that they consider to have emotional value for a long time. At the same time, they usually take the time to choose good and meaningful gifts or details for the ones they love. In your childhood you used to eat a certain dish? They will cook it for you. Are your favorite flowers sunflowers? Next time they will bring you a beautiful bouquet with the most beautiful sunflowers. 
They are human treasures, in their relationships of any kind they are constant and loving, as well as warm and affective. They make others feel comfortable and safe no matter how long they have known each other. They value time very much, so one of their ways of showing affection is to look for activities to do with the ones they love, they will love to create an environment in which they and their special one feel like in heaven. They will cause a sensation of warmth in your chest and their smile will make you feel at peace and convinced that there is no better place in the world than the one in which they are. What do they ask for? Loyalty and constancy. Exclusivity too, that you know that their heart is yours, and yours is theirs. They are generous people who like to share everything with those they love, some can be somewhat jealous with those they love. They take the time to really get to know people and will kindly guard the trust their person places in them.
Despite everything explained in the paragraph above, they do not open up to just anyone, and in fact they may take time to do so, because they take great care of their hearts so as not to get hurt. They really appreciate that someone shows real interest in them, in really knowing who they are and what their internal world is like, they don't like to relate superficially, on the contrary, they seek as much closeness as possible. With this placement, these people can be physically very attractive [especially if the Moon it's on Taurus, Cancer, Libra or Pisces or aspecting Venus]. These people may have an eye for detail and feel very comfortable in clean, smelling, and well-decorated environments. As for your family, it is likely that one of these scenarios is possible: either your family did not have financial stability, or you had a materialistic family that sought to replace presence and warmth with some money and gifts.
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genderkoolaid · 9 months
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(different person than last anon) can you give us like actual scientific papers that "nonhumans" are real and not just ppl that need a lot of psychological help? bc like while gender + sex can be very diverse and change w the individual, species is extremely specific and thats why shit like making crossbreeds is so insanely hard and they usually end up infertile bc the genes arent meant to be combined. n also the only example i can think of of any other species having "i am not the species i was born as" thoughts is that one female monkey that was raised so close w people she thought she was a person and she would refuse to breed w any of her primate species bc of it. you would call that mental illness in that monkey because she cannot be a person in a monkey body, just like someone can't be a dog or angel or horse in a human body, so why do you not consider being "nonhuman" also a mental illness?
can you please explain about alterhumanity? I don’t mean to be negative, I don’t understand… “there are only two sexes” is wrong because biology knowledge we have today actually doesn’t support that. did modern taxonomy find out something similar about humans? that’s very interesting, I don’t know a lot about it! but if you do I’d love to read that research!
So I think "there are only two sexes" isn't the best example; the comparison is more like "people can't change their gender because gender is whats in your pants"
Yes, we can look at chromosomes and hormones and sexual organs, and that stuff is related to gender. But to say "gender/sex is a construct" does not mean "chromosomes/hormones/sex organs don't exist." Its pointing out that our relationship to those things is culturally dependent (I wouldn't say "unnatural" because humans making social constructs is natural).
Similarly, we do divide up species based on reproduction and common ancestors. But "humanity" is also a construct. What it means to be human & who is defined as human can and does change depending on our culture. Not only can some people be excluded from humanity (for example, people of color and neurodivergents), but some people believe they are spiritually nonhuman (whatever that means for them). Some people who have been rejected from humanity identify as alterhuman as a way of saying "you don't want me, then I don't want you" (voidpunk is related to this although not inherently alterhuman). Some people are delusional and identify with alterhumanity as a way of coping with their delusions (and also, yes, you can be self-aware about your delusions). Some people believe in reincarnation or alternate universes or have some other spiritual belief related to being nonhuman. Some people just feel like dogs and enjoy being a dog and it doesn't matter why because they just like it.
Honestly, the monkey does sound like a monkey-version of alterhuman, because (if I can get a little anthropomorphize-y on y'all), it sounds like she did not feel apart of "monkey culture." Obviously we can't know if monkeys have a concept of monkey-hood like we do with humanity, but if they did it would not be hard to imagine how a monkey raised with humans would feel more human than monkey. But regardless... we don't need other species to have alter-species-hood for the same reason we don't need snails to crossdress for trans people to exist. Other animals probably don't have the same complex. abstract social constructs we do.
Why can't someone be a horse in a human body? For the same reason someone can't be a man in a woman's body- because "science says"? Both trans-denial and alterhuman-denial emphasizes biology over sociological investigation, which leads people to just keep shouting "but science!!!!!!!!!!" at people who are more invested in questions of culture and constructs and what it means to be [man/woman/human] in society.
(Also, I'm kind of uncomfortable with how the first ask talks about mental illness. Specifically "person believes harmless weird thing, so they must need Psychological Help for their Wrong Thoughts")
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askthestans · 5 months
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Ford, are you aware your brother has 10 guns hidden around the shack?
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Stanley: Shh, don't let Poindexter overhear ya! He's gonna kill me if he finds out-
Stanford: *Walking into the room, preoccupied with a demonic owl chick of some sort that's currently sleeping in his hair.* Ah, Stan, I see you're answering another ask from our blog. What's this one about?
Stanley: N-nothin'! *Switches to another internet tab quick.* Nothin' at all, don't worry about it, it's a question for me. Totally boring.
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Stanford: Oh, really? *Raises brow.* Then why did the question start with 'Ford'? You know, my name?
Stanley: Uh...
*Stan glances around and starts to sweat bullets. How best to distract Ford? Then Stan grins. He knows just the trick.*
Stanley: Ya know... a more important question to ask, is... is the Patterson-Gimlin film legit?
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Stanford: *A very intense, serious expression carves through his face. It's the face of a man with a strong opinion and just the right amount of ire to defend it, perhaps fueled by years of arguments over this very same exact question; a look akin to what someone on Twitter pulls right before they decide compassion and humanity is overrated, and being right is more important as they begin to rage-smash their keyboard.* Stan, I'm glad you asked. Because I think you're smart enough - and spent enough years as a conman - to know the difference between something real and something faked. The Patterson film is real, and I, Dr. Stanford Filbrick Pines, the world's greatest paranormal scientist and cryptozoologist, will die on this hill.
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Stanley: Yes, exactly! *Stan looks relieved that the distraction worked.* Of course I agree. I mean, why wouldn't I? You tell 'em, Ford! Tell the world how legit the Patterson film is. Preferably in a different room than this one with your, uh... *Stan looks at the demonic owl chick sleeping in Ford's hair.* Whatever that is.
Stanford: *Smugly petting said demonic owl chick.* Hm, a better idea would be to utilize our ask blog to educate the populace on supernatural concepts such as this. I always wanted a platform to extend my knowledge to the world. I mean, teaching math to a whale was impressive enough, but imagine the paranormal knowledge I could spread with the power of the internet! *He chuckles.* Bill Nye and Neil DeGrasse Tyson better watch out, because a new popular scientist in media is in town. Stan, for the sake of knowledge, I'm going to need you to let me borrow our blog laptop for the afternoon.
Stanley: *Sweating bullets again.* W-what!? Not right now, Ford! You can have it later when I'm done with this one question. Just... gimme a little bit longer-
Stanford: Science cannot wait, Stanley. Hand it over.
Stanley: Alright, fine! Just lemme type somethin' quick and- h-hey!
Stanford: *Ford takes the laptop away from Stan and starts walking off with it.* Great, you already have the ask blog up. Time to...
*Ford sees the question about the ten guns in the Shack. He pauses.*
Stanley: Ford! Ford, I can explain... just let me... just hand the laptop back over and we can forget-
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Stanford: *His voice cold.* Ten guns, Stan? Ten of them?
Stanley: It's... it's not what you think!
Stanford: Stan, you do know Dipper and Mabel live here in the summers, right? And you're telling me that you have ten guns around the Shack?
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Stanley: Ford, just... *His expression turns defiant and mad.* Yeah, you know what? I've got ten guns! What of it!? Go ahead and judge me, Poindexter! You've always been good at that, haven't ya!?
Stanford: *Eyes narrowing.* Oh, I'm judging you, all right. Stan, I'm sorry, but I have no choice other than to host an emergency family meeting. We need to discuss this with Dipper and Mabel immediately. They must know about this. And then we can rectify this dangerous matter.
Stanley: Ford, really, it's fine, we don't need-
Stanford: *His voice ringing through the whole Shack.* Family meeting! Family meeting!
Three hours later...
*Stan, Ford, Dipper, Mabel are in the living room of the Shack at the dining table, where they usually host their family meetings. Stan looks more pissed than he has all day, Dipper looks nervous and confused, Mabel looks excited, and Ford is standing up by a chalkboard on wheels, multiple rules written on it, and he looks quite pleased.*
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Stanford: Now, one final time, let's repeat the Pines family gun rules before this meeting comes to an end.
Stanley: Sweet Moses, Ford, isn't this overkill?
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Mabel: Don't listen to Grunkle Stan! I am 1000% on board with all of these rules. *She pets the demonic owl chick that was sleeping in Ford's hair earlier and gives it a cheese flavored chip to eat.* Nice job, Grunkle Ford!
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Dipper: I think Grunkle Stan has a point, though. Grunkle Ford, no offense, but-
Stanford: No buts! Now, repeat the rules, everyone!
Dipper, Mabel, and Stanley: *Stan and Dipper looking both annoyed, and Mabel looking very amused, they repeat the rules aloud in unison.*
Rule one, whenever a cryptid, government agent, evil being, or any kind of potential enemy of the Pines family comes to the door, carry a gun.
Rule two, everyone living in the Shack shall keep a gun or similar weapon by their bed at night in the case of a nighttime supernatural emergency.
Rule three, do not be afraid to brandish a gun whenever anyone asks too many questions about Stan's criminal past, Ford's research and/or interdimensional criminal past, or threatens to hurt Dipper or Mabel, either their feelings or physically.
Rule four, all members of the Pines family and their employees must be trained to use at least three different kinds of weapons.
Rule five, there must never be less than thirty guns hidden in the Shack at all times, preferably two per room and three per bedroom. Ten is not enough, no matter what Stan claims.
Rule six, when in doubt, Ford has the last say on anything related to weaponry and defense related matters in the Shack. Or else.
Stanford: Very good. Does anyone have any objections? Wait. *He chuckles deeply.* No, of course you don't, because these rules are forged from hard-earned lessons from the three decades I spent in the Multiverse, and they make perfect logical, ethical sense and are foolproof from accidents. Don't worry, I'll make sure all of these guns are kept in protective, cheap plastic cases.
Dipper: And here I thought living in the Shack every summer was crazy enough already. *He sighs and lets his head drop to the table.* Seriously, this is dumb.
Mabel: Grunkle Ford, why are you so badass and cool!? Grunkle Stan never let us use any guns last summer!
Stanley: Gee, I wonder why? *He sighs, then goes back to typing on Stan and Ford's shared laptop they use to answer blog questions.* Thanks, asker, for askin' about the ten guns I had around the Shack. I'll have you know that all of this is your fault.
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asksythe · 10 months
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Hi! I was looking into some stuff and came across a post talking about WWX’s arrogance. It was about WWX’s character and how the fandom insists that his arrogance was one of his main flaws when that’s not true and so on. Then I saw some people saying that arrogance is not inherently bad in Chinese novels and that I might have to do with the way the novel was translated.
I was just wondering if you had some insight on this. Thanks!
On some level, it can be considered a translation issue. But the real reason why WWX's characters, as well as countless other details in MDZS specifically (and Chinese novels broadly speaking), tend to be misunderstood on such a massive scale is... cross-cultural value mismatch.
Consider this:
1/ There is a tendency in the international fanbase to judge WWX (and other characters) on a modern Western moral standard. I don't have to tell you how illogical this is. Imagine if you come into the world of Game of Thrones and start spouting 21st-century judgment. You are likely to become human shishkebabs in less than five minutes. Most people who watch Game of Thrones or read the book understand that's not something you do unless you are a moron or looking to start shit. But for some reason, this is not the case for the MDZS fandom (and many other Chinese media fandoms out there). I'm not sure why this is the case. It might be because of the cultural distance making people not really realize they are coming into an entirely different world, and then they forget to check their modern expectations at the door. Like how tourists become obnoxious when they come to a foreign country, expecting the foreign country to cater to their whims.
I've once seen someone made an addition on TV Tropes saying WWX is a mass murderer that never got punished for his crime. I... I don't know what to say to that really. My expectation is that the person who wrote that is someone under 30, never left America, and never served in the military. For somebody who has never had this kind of experience, no amount of words will explain to them that for major parts of the world and for the vast majority of mankind's history, you have to be able to kill to survive. In fact, for most of our history, killers are our heroes. War is a reality that we live in. The ones who survive are the ones who win wars, the really accomplished killers.
2/ MDZS was not written for an international audience. That is to say, it's written with the expectation that it doesn't have to explain its intricacies and tropes to its intended readers. Because its readers already know. MDZS is xianxia danmei. Danmei has only had about 2 decades of modern history. But xianxia as a genre has stretched back millennia. Its tropes are very set. Chinese (and Sinosphere) readers don't need an explanation because we grow up consuming this kind of stories.
We don't need to be told in plain words to know WWX's only crime is to be possession of the Yin Tiger Tally, and the Jin's scheme is the real reason behind his tragedy. Because it's such a standard trope in our culture that there are millennia-old proverbs about it.
匹夫无罪,怀璧其罪 - pǐ fū wú zuì,huái bì qí zuì. Lit. The commoner is innocent, but his possession of treasure is a sin.
We don't need to be told that it doesn't matter if WWX goes along with the cultivation world's ceaseless demands (keep Suibian with him, consult more with Jiang Cheng before he does things) to know that none of that matters. Because none of those are actual rules, just trivial bullshit made up and used to socially isolate WWX and manipulate the public opinion against him. WWX's true crime is that he is alone. He is an orphan. No one will stand up for him. And unlike his big mouth, he's a real softie. Because if he wasn't then all of them would be dead ten times over with the kind of martial power WWX possess. Only WWX's good heart holds him back from really using his ability. Therefore, you can spit on him, you can cut him, you can trample on him without fearing retaliations.
Nie Mingjue has no sword. Ain't nobody try to lip him about it. Yu Furen has no sword. She uses a whip. Ain't nobody lip her about it.
WWX's undead cultivation is also not really the problem. That kind of cultivation is vanilla as girl scout's cookies. It's only made out that way because it's a method of cultivation that is very easy to learn and does not require enormous resources (i.e. caste issue, not class, caste) to cultivate. Which means it's a method that can be practiced far and wide by poor commoners. Which means it's an infringement on the cultivator House's power and financial base. That's its real crime. Not all that justice bullshit.
For many international fans out there, MDZS is their introduction to danmei (and xianxia). So they come in not knowing these things. They don't see the caste issues, the tragedy, the difference of philosophies and choices between WWX and JC. Their conclusion is built on ignorance and misunderstanding.
It doesn't help that most know little to nothing about Chinese culture which is a high-context culture, the polar opposite of most Western cultures (low-context culture). Something that may seem small and insignificant for a Western reader base can be a really big deal for the Chinese reader base, because it's inbuilt in five thousand years of history and culture. Like why Jin Guangyao buried his mother's corpse in the Guanyin temple and why he needed to reclaim it and take it with him when he tried to flee to Japan.
So it's no surprise there is such a massive divide in fandom opinion.
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queen0fm0nsterz · 2 months
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I was thinking about the old LN1 character bios and remembered the line about the Twins being "born to be chefs". Assuming their not native to Nowhere, this would mean they had some violent tendencies before becoming residents, like it was their destiny.
This then made think about the end of tson ep 3 where Otto says the something like "Our world isn't the only world, let alone the predominant one".
All this made me realize that the worlds other than Nowhere may have been created by it (The Nowhere is implied to be sentient in it's own right) specifically to create concepts and injustices that could be used to warp and traumatize children, turning them into visitors and then into residents.
Thoughts?
Alright so this is a great question that I think leads to a much larger discussion about how the Nowhere operates. I would like to hear what other peeps think as well.
So, starting from the Chefs. Personally I always assumed that they are part of that group of characters who are from the Nowhere because of the way their description is worded (and also their baby pictures... this one is so cute lowkey...)
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--- But following your train of thought: considering what we know of the Nowhere, it seems to amplify certain characteristics of a person, usually the bad ones. Two kids who are a bit propense to get into fights in the waking world may very well become blood thirsty maniacs in the Nowhere.
Interestingly, the modification of traits does not only apply to personality but also the body -- and usually, the physical changes are in relation back to said traits. For example, the Teacher - someone who is known to be controlling - can extend her neck infinitely to look everywhere and have the ability to blink removed to make sure she's always watching. The Doctor, a perfectionist with tons of authority, is always looking down on people while also growing enormous to match his ego. So on and so forth, you can follow this reasoning for a large number of the Residents we meet.
I think other timelines derivating from the Nowhere is definitely a possibility, as we don't know much of how the universes work there.
The general theory of a multiverse irl is that no timeline has any specific weight or importance over others; they are all parallel no matter how different, with no timeline being "the real one". This is if we view the Nowhere under the lens of it being a separate dimension. In TSON, the Nowhere is kind of implied to be sucking the people most vulnerable to it right in, so perhaps the idea Otto has of it the predominant world stems from the fact that he can't explain his fascination with it... or from a real, genuine desire to somehow "return" to the original land, if that's where the other timelines originated from.
HOWEVER, I would like to offer an alternative perspective on this --- based on what I found out during my research on the Ladies. Yup we're going there again
Rather than the characters themselves, this time I'm going to refer to a symbolism that is very prominent in their lore: Buddhism. More specifically the references to the six planes of existance, and how those can be tied back to Little Nights in a loose way. As stated in this site:
" The six realms of rebirth are a schema in which beings are reborn according to the kind of life they lived. [...] The animal realm, in which inhabitants are driven by basic needs, is one of the three “lower” realms. The other two are the hell realm, a place of constant suffering and torment, and the realm of the hungry ghosts, grasping beings who are never satisfied. The three “higher” realms are the human realm [...] the demigod realm [...] and the god realm, where beings enjoy a life of pleasure. It’s important to note that some Buddhists view the realms as literally real, while others interpret them psychologically as metaphors for the emotional states of the human condition. "
(Click on the link to read the whole thing; I only highlighted the parts I think are relevant to this conversation :] )
What I believe specifically relates back to the Nowhere are the three lower realms, from which the place itself may be loosely inspired by because of how its inhabitants are described.
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All of these are things we see in Little Nights from various Residents, depending on the social class and place. It is important to note that while these realms are placed in different hierarchies due to quality of life, they all cohexist together without necessarily being more important than each other as they all have the same purpose in the end.
If the worlds of Little Nights operate in a similar way, then what we're looking at is not really a case of dimension hopping, but rather a passage from a plane of existance to the next. A forced one at that, at least in the case of Noone.
Now, considering Otto's assumption, the idea of the Nowhere being a predominant realm only popped up because he was trying to wrap his head around it and how Noone felt, but to tell you the truth, it is a rather baseless assumption considering he's never been there and is only experiencing it in a very limited way. However... considering how many children from different places in time and space have experienced the Nowhere, sometimes even simultaneously, I wouldn't say that it's completely wrong to assume that the place might be the "original plane of existance".
Now. Reflecting on what you said at the very end, I would like to ask a question back: do you think the Nowhere is, hypothetically, only capable of bringing out the worst in people inherently? Or is it only acting this way because humanity itself is more easily conditioned to fall victim to their bad traits?
I've been recently thinking about it because of the Maw. The writer of Little Nightmares, Mr. Mervik, has stated multiple times over the years that the place has not always been the way that it is; at the same time, he also said that it was not man made, but rather created by collective hunger/desire to be fed. These two things don't make sense together unless you assume the Maw was not originally born for the Guests and the whole cannibal business, but rather from a desire of shelter. A need to be fed. Which is not inherently a bad thing -- and it would explain why the structure itself is so largely built to house so many people, and why children still feel relatively safe in it to this day.
So I find myself thinking that perhaps, the Maw degenerated overtime because the people inside of it (cough its leaders cough) did. And if this is the case for the Maw, who's to say it's not the same for other places? The Nest, for example? The School, the Hospital... etc. But. It is also true that the creatures who inhabit the Nowhere (the Ferryman, the North Wind, the Flesh...) all seem to have their own interests and destructive amusement more at heart than anything. If these creatures are what move the large of the Nowhere (which I guess they are considering the eye symbol is all over the goddman place), then the human will can't really do much.
That being said, I am wondering currently if it could be possible for the Nowhere to bring out something good from a person in the right situation. At the same time, the hopes are incredibly slim. Nonexistent, actually, but it's nice to think about hypothetics.
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A quick analysis of AFO's origin, the world frame of bnha and the core themes of the story :
From reading other people's metas and reading the leaks when they came out, my only solid take about it is that you cannot talk about bnha and the core theme of the perpetuation of violence without understanding how the Hero Society and the hero vs villain culture came to be.
That's what AFO origin is for.
Let's see if I can explain it:
In stories where a group of people suddenly gains powers, you'll always see that authors worry to portray how a change like that would affect the world at the moment. What does it mean that part of the global population now has access to something that others don't? Does that make them "better humans"? Are they superior to the rest and therefore should control them? Are they a danger to society? Should they be repressed or eliminated?
The thing is that powers can be viewed as a metaphor to real life situations we face. People with disabilities deal with the whole stupid idea that they are less than the rest of humanity all the time. You have sexism and racism and a bunch of other problems that at heart are about how to deal with different existences. Should people with certain privileges rule the world? Etc etc etc.
For a second, think of having superpowers as having a ton of money. Those with more money can help others or totally ruin their lives, right? In our world, people with money are directly involved in how justice works. They can corrupt the system or make it work, you know how it is. Yet, people with money are only people. We are all just that. Humans. No matter the amount of privileges, you can't escape your own humanity.
The way a person looks, the amount of money they own, where they are from, how they identify as, none of that makes a person more or less human. Similarly, having powers or the nature of said powers... It doesn't make a person less of a person, you know?
When you apply that logic to superpowers, you get what MHA is trying to say.
AFO lived in these specific conditions that were a result of the violence of his time. He would have ended up bitter anyway, because since he was born he was marked as a threat. When you reject someone like that, when you reject their humanity and you make an enemy out of there, you're not asking for a nice ending. If you teach them that they have to fight for the right to exist, you are asking for a war. It's like that in our world, it's like that in bnha.
What I'm trying to say is that superpowers are just an added variable in the complex equation of human coexistence.
The moment superpowers start to appear, society has to adapt fast. People that are also weapons don't mix well with the world's problems, after all. If you want to prevent mass killings, you need to set a system that rules the allowed behaviors and balances out the board. It's a relief that humanity is both capable of great horrors and wonders, so to every criminal that's set to use their powers for evil, you'll get an individual that wants to use their powers to stop them.
That's how vigilantes were born.
Then comes the legalization of powers and the individuals who use it to protect the system. That is how you get villains (people outside the law) and heroes (people following the law).
Violà. You have the same set of problems with a new feature: quirks.
How does this connect to AFO, you ask?
AFO's origin explains the complexity of the bnha universe, comparing it to our own. It also shows that there is always a context, as in situational factors that contribute to a person being the way that person is.
That doesn't excuse who AFO became, tho. The general rule dictates that we are responsible for our choices and actions in the face of the reality we were presented with. Maybe not while we are kids, because we don't have the maturity to make those choices. However, the moment we become adults, we cannot blame our choices anymore in the world around us. If you have the frame of mind to stop hurting people and you don't, that is on you. You chose to perpetuate the violence.
Of course, simplifications don't do any good and bnha makes that clear too.
A tale of heroes that are always good and villains that are always bad is just that, fiction. When the bnha society started believing that said fiction was their reality, that's when the real struggle of bnha started. Villains and heroes stopped being perceived as such. The dehumanization went both ways. The heroes became untouchable gods and the villains unforgivable demons. The civilians all excused their apathy and lack of action by saying they couldn't do anything in such a world.
People ran away from their responsibility by putting all the weight on the heroes shoulders and ignoring whatever felt uncomfortable or mildly disturbing.
See how quickly we were able to analyze bnha?
That's what I meant when I said at the start that AFO's backstory is crucial to the story frame of the manga. If AFO had been a villain just because, then you'd have a story of evil without reason that would validate the idea of extreme moralities of black and white. Since that's not the case, we got more depth in general.
It all connects to the message Horikoshi is trying to communicate. If you compare bnha to other shonens, you'll get the feeling that they all have something to say about that violence, about the way the world is structured and how people move around it.
It's a basic of storytelling, sure. It's just that now you have the knowledge to properly study bnha, or something like that.
At some point I'll have to reread the manga and pay attention to AFO's origin... That's everything for now, tho. Hope you enjoyed it whdhjsbdjd
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Confession
Part 8 to the series Shapeshifter
Summery : Once the truth if out maybe you'll finally get your happy family or maybe not?
Warning\s : Talks about murder, None I think
Paring : Wanda Maximoff x [Shapeshifter] Reader [Teen] | Natasha Romanoff x Wanda Maximoff
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 |
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You look at Natasha and Wanda in wonder. They just saw the cat they had claimed as their own family change from a black cat to a Lizard and A floating glowing man and yet they were the ones comforting you. It was honestly something you had been praying for, someone who understood and cared for you as you. 
"Why don't you change back so we can talk, yeah?" Natasha spoke after a while of silence. They didn't want you to think that they had any bad intentions with you. You looked between them and sighed. The truth is out so whatever happens next  you just need to accept it. You slowly start shifting and soon enough you are a Cat again. Natasha Raises a brow as Wanda chuckles. "We were hoping to see the real you but take as long as you need" Wanda says after noticing your confusion. "I'm not really comfortable with that" you say quietly and for a moment they are in shock but that was expected, I mean they were seeing a cat talk in a human voice, that would bring a sudden shock in anyone no matter human or god. 
"Oh um, that's going to be something to get used to. Uh, hey there." Natasha clears her throat before waving, offering her hand for you to place your paw at so you two could shake.
"Hi" you sounded so small and cute with the Cat like voice mixed with your own and it was the most adorable sight Wanda had ever seen. "You're much more shy than we thought" Wanda comments and suddenly your tail was much more fascinating than looking at them. "Don't be shy, sweet kitty. We're your Moms remember" Wanda reminds you, making you look up at them. "But but I lied to you" You say, most of your past was ruined because of this sad fact but somehow you felt this was different maybe because they haven't tried killing you or called you a monster yet. 
"So? You were scared and technically I didn't ask your permission before officially calling you my child" Wanda says with an Amused smile on her face making you purr in happiness. "See, you're back to yourself again" Nat quips as they laugh. "It's about to be 4 so no point in sleeping now. Wanna head out and take a walk? Just a few laps?" Natasha suggests Wanda who groans in defeat. "Can't we cancel that? Like come on. We just saved her from her evil arch nemesis or something" Wanda tried to get out of it, even going as far as using those Puppy eyes at Nat but Nat has better sleep control at it then Wanda initially thought so she sighs in defeat.
"Alright alright" she gives up, letting go of Natasha’s hand as she looks back at you, who was looking at the whole interaction as if you weren't a human yourself, enjoying it. "Thanks for your help y/n really appreciate it" Wanda says, tickling you on your stomach and for a moment you let your guard down but then realize that You had never mentioned your name to her, and neither had he. "How do you know my name?" You ask, taking steps away from both Redheads. 
"Oh shit  um, listen to us first okay? It's not what you think it is. Please calm down" Natasha requests as she gives a look to Wanda. "A few nights ago, you were sleep on top of me and suddenly my dream started connecting with yours I believe and suddenly I was reliving this scene of this horrible murder, people's body everywhere, you could barely recognise anyone and the  you were laying there and a man came in and he started calling your name, asking you to stay awake and then I woke up" Wanda explained a few tears dropping her eyes, just as yours.
"The County Killing." They heard you slightly say. "What?" Natasha asked, you looked up, your eyes red as you repeat yourself. "That Incident is called the county Killings. I'm the only surviving Victim of it. Not that anyone knows. They all think that little girl died there but Kevin got me out and away from the city. The man you saw with me. It was the worst that ever happened to me that I remember" you confide in them, the air now gloomy and tense. "I remember hearing about it" Natasha says next, you and Wanda look at her in question, waiting for her to elaborate.
"When I had escaped Dreykov. I was walking around  the city, trying to find a place to stay for the night when I heard a few men talking. They said that the Neighboring City of Kalis had been the victim of this horrible tragedy where almost all of them died, only a few who were lucky to not die were the ones who decided to turn in early for the night. Apparently some 'Demonic Entity' had come to the small town and cursed it. It was horrible to hear about it, "she explained. "I tried to learn more but I had to run, oksana was after me" you nodded along her words. 
"The man outside the window earlier? Yeah he's the demonic Entity they talked about. He did that, mainly to hurt me. He let me live because he wanted to torture me as much as he wants before i die myself and he knows I won't. He's a sick man" you spat in anger as you remembered that day as if it were a few hours ago, how you all had been laughing and dancing one second and suddenly everyone was dead and blood was splattered all over.
"Hey, let's not get Into that right now okay. Let's take a shower, get some exercise done and then we can grab breakfast okay?" Natasha suggested clearly both of them noticed your discomfort over the topic. "Can we go to Waffle house for breakfast?" You ask and watch Natasha's eyes shine. "Oh of course you can little sunshine. Let's go Wanda. Up up and away" Natasha said, giving you a small ruffle on your head as she pulled an already tired Wanda out of bed and pushed her out of her room, ordering her to take a quick shower and get ready. 
-
Only 40 min later and you all were leaving the building, you resting inside Wanda's hoodie in warmth, one of her headphones in your ear so you could vibe with her while Natasha Started warming up. "Alright Wanda, since you had the child with you, we'll only go a mile today okay? Great let's go" without even listening for Wanda's response the Assassin starts her run, laughing as Wanda grumbled and tried to catch up with her. Key word, try. 
After a good hour and a half of Natasha running and Wanda trying not to die they stopped. Wanda hunches over and tries to catch her breath when she realizes that the big puff in the pockets of the hoodie is no longer there. "Y/n?" Wanda voices making Natasha look at her before looking at the pockets expecting either your tail or your ears but finding none. "What happened, where is she?" Natasha questions as she walks over to check on Wanda who was about to go into mama bear panic mode. Just then Natasha feels a lump on the inside of the pocket as she looks into Wanda's pockets she cof see you, as a small Lizard again, Sleeping peacefully apparently while Wanda was running. 
"Oh how safe must she feel" they hear a voice, not much of  whisper but not much loud either. Wanda feels you moving and looks down to see you poke your head out, still half asleep before you poke back in and sleep instantly. "She won't be safe for long" This time the voice is much clearer, right behind them. Wanda quickly blasted her powers even before they turned around and it hit him, the man from the window from the morning. "You. Who Do you think you are to try and hurt Y/n" Wanda voices her questions as this time she contains her powers and fights to keep him trapped inside of the ruin she has made.
The Man Laughs, his sound echoing around the area as if he was surrounding them, Natasha places her hand over Wanda's Pockets so No matter what you wouldn't wake up or Get hurt. "You have idea" He sneers as They both glare at him while he remains unfazed.
-
Tag List : @hoeforwandanat  @mrsromanofff  @mischiefsmind  @wandamaximoffbae  @watchoutforyelenerr  @nothisismax  @luna2034  @xxromanoffxx  @iamjustinlovewithallthewomen  @splatalia-jumpanova  @alianovnam  @my-skeleton-hats  @fics-posts @stupid-kitten-make-mistakes @natashajumpanoff @ripofflizzie @nataliaromanovaswifewife @darkstar225 @fishlikestuff @romanoffjohansson @left-and-right-up-and-down
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valeriefauxnom · 9 days
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Unintentional Comedy - Dragalia and Feh Artwork Edition
So, remember Alfonse, from FEH?
Y'know, this dude?
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For an okay crutch for those without Gala Euden or Albert or other handy light swords they didn't want to invest in, he was rather popular, only partly owed to any pre-established fondness FEH players had since they already knew him. People liked the more expanded personality we got than FEH's bare-bones story, additionally before they started trying to spice Alfonse up in more recent books.
In his story, however, one of the events that happening is Euden falling off a cliff, shortly followed by Alfonse.
Miraculously, cliff-falling isn't quite as dangerous in Dragalia Lost as in real life (also demonstrated by Leonidas in Stranded Scions, etc...), and the two survive. Alfonse has some sort of injury to his foot, however, conveniently hampering his ability to move but not much else.
Euden, being Euden and unwilling to throw anyone to the wolves, comes up with this idea:
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Nothing atypical here, right?
...Well, as it was revealed in a book published two years later than his debut in Dragalia, Fire Emblem Heroes Character Illustrations, Volume 1...
Alfonse is 180cm tall, AKA 5'11.
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...Is it any surprise coming from 195cm/6'5 and 180cm/5'11 parents? Someone check the Askran royal food for steroids that Sharena has apparently not been consuming, presumably because she's instead dining with heroes in the barracks.
I digress.
Now, as I've gone over before here, here's where it gets hilarious in retrospect.
In short, Ranzal, the resident big buff burly dude of Dragalia...is stated to be 6'1/185 in the joke comics.
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...And while literally nobody else got an even vaguely-official number to their height, Dragalia instead opting for a 'comparison heights' to keep track of who's shorter and who's taller in a pair... Euden often seems to wind up in the 150-155cm/5'0-5'1 range or even shorter when in illustrations with Ranzal:
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At most, I've seen him crack about 5'9/175cm in the comics, which aren't exactly a stable source of art, as demonstrated by these two panels, in which both seem to be on flat ground and standing pretty straight:
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I need to stop before I mindlessly repeat the other post, but my point remains:
Euden, by most depictions, is tiny. A literal short prince/king.
And yet, no matter what way you slice it, he's trying to carry a dude that seems to be quite a bit taller, let's say. How much, we'll never know, but the fact remains he'd likely need to pull out a dragon phone to search 'how to carry people much taller than you?' just in case and hurriedly read a wikihow 10-step article explaining some strats, were it not for the fact that dragons would have destroyed smartphones in Dragalia a long time ago (good move, dragons....?).
I will admit that there are a few arts that frame them as the 'same height' but I would more point to the fact Euden, when drawn with crossover characters for promotional art, is usually portrayed on an 'equal footing', so as not to have one take up more space/attention. Also, the Feh team might not have even decided on a height for Alfy boy before!
Even then, he's still portrayed as shorter than 5'9/175cm Joker in some art:
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So yeah. Crossover art is not exactly consistent, and all I can do is look to the general trend in the 'canon game' of him being absolutely dwarfed by Ranzal.
Now, it's one thing for Euden to be lugging about Alfonse for a while.
The idea he might have done so with such a potential height disparity is pure comedy.
No wonder he's so tired after a while, lugging about another human who is both taller, heavier, and also wearing armor!
Not only that, he later tries and partly succeeds in fighting heavily armored soldiers (who are admittedly aiming to capture him and kill Alfonse) with Alfonse 'draped across his back like a sack of potatoes'. Talk about determination, adrenaline, and/or the simple principle of 'small but mighty'!
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Maybe that's why Alfonse was saying "I don't think that's wise" at the start there before he quickly found other rationale besides 'you sure you can give a piggyback without my feet dragging along the ground the whole way?'
My case rests, Your Honor: they unintentionally made part four of Alfonse's personal story a lot funnier to envision by publishing an art book 2 years after he first existed in Dragalia Lost!
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I wonder why Elfangor didn't let the Animorphs acquire him after giving them the morphing power? A matter of remaining pride? Not trusting them with his body? The need for him to be confirmed dead by Visser Three?
Honestly, that last one has always been my headcanon. I think that Elfangor's major beef with Visser Three both explains why Elfangor didn't try harder to morph and escape, and why Elfangor didn't give out his DNA. Because Visser Three is totally the kind of person who would burn the planet down if he thought Elfangor was still on it, consequences be damned.
And letting the kids morph him would be a huge red flag that they're not real andalites. It's not clear how much Elfangor plans on concealing the fact that Earth's defenders are human — Jake doesn't think of faking andalite until Visser Three mistakes them for "bandits" — but if a bunch of copies of Elfangor showed up to battle then that would be suspicious as all get-out. If your friend (or meatsuit's ex-student) Jeff died and then an identical copy of Jeff shows up to a battle... you're not going to assume that Jeff had long-lost clones. You're going to assume that this is someone else faking Jeff, and if you know about morphing then it's more logical to conclude that this is an andalite than that this is a human. Because there's no reason for a human to shift to the shape of a slightly different human just before a battle, but there's all the reason in the world for an andalite who wants you to think they're human to show up looking like Jeff.
So Elfangor's DNA doesn't do them much good, I don't think. Not if the kids want to remain incognito for as long as possible.
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jessiarts · 2 years
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I don't know who needs to hear this, but no one ever learns from being yelled at.
I've watched from the sidelines of many discourses/"cancellings"/what-have-youse that've happened around the internet and one thing I've noticed is none of the "Internet Public Enemies" ever learned from their mistakes or changed their minds by being bullied, receiving death threats, or threats of cancelling.
At best I've seen rejected public apologies. At worst I've seen people have genuine mental breakdowns and develop intense fear of ever speaking up again in case they accidentally say the wrong thing or their thoughts are misconstrued. Because the human mind is simply not equipped to deal with the very real effect of hundreds of thousands of people very loudly saying how much they hate you and that thing you said.
You know what I have seen change people's minds, though? Kindness.
I know, it sounds corny and not nearly as satisfying for some, but I've genuinely seen more people change their ways of thinking when someone has taken time to have a calm conversation with them instead of screaming back.
I think we need to try more love with these interactions. The goal should be to get the other person to grow as a person, not to "win" because you made the "bad person" leave the internet. Most people genuinely don't want to be hurtful, they just aren't informed.
The best way I can put it is to think about it like raising a child.
When a child says or does something bad, and they get screamed at and/or smacked, they don't "learn their lesson." The person who yelled at and/or hit them only took out their own frustration on that child, they didn't teach them anything. The child doesn't learn why what they said or did was hurtful or why they shouldn't do it again, they only become afraid of the punishment and usually try to find ways not to get caught the next time. They also just become resentful of the person who screamed at/hit them.
However, when a child says or does something bad and instead they are sat down and talked to like a person about why what they said/did was harmful, they're more likely to learn from that mistake and not do it again. Yes, they may mess up a few more times now and again as they're still learning and not perfect, but as long as you keep coming back to them and calmly explaining to them that what they did wasn't very nice and why, they'll grow as a person and learn they can trust the person who helped them through it.
The same is very much true of adults. I know it can be frustrating when someone who we believe should know better about something doesn't, but we also can't go after everyone like they are a Big Bad Evil for making a mistake either. (Save that energy for corporations.)
Will there be some people who just won't listen no matter how much it's explained why their behavior is hurtful? Of course, but they likely won't be the norm. And it's perfectly ok not to consume the content of someone who makes you uncomfortable. It's ok to state your disappointment and leave them to slip into irrelevance. But I've rarely seen a big flashy announcement for a boycott of a person result in that person believing anything other than they were being persecuted and then doubling down on why their behavior wasn't bad.
It's honestly a very Terminally Online thing to do, assuming everyone is meaning to be a bad person for supporting or saying the wrong things, and propagating the idea that if you mess up you must grovel for forgiveness that will never come because mistakes mean you are inherently bad forever and can never change.
Honestly I believe that's why so many people double down when confronted anymore. The internet has cultivated a culture with no forgiveness. Admitting you were wrong has become weakness in the internet's eyes- Better to double down and show everyone how Right™ you are and really how Wrong™ those bullies who disagree actually are. And if someone does come to change their mind, they're met with jeers for not getting there sooner or for believing the wrong thing in the first place. It's toxic.
We need to allow apologies and encourage growth and guidance. We need to let people know that if people make a mistake they'll still be welcome when they change that behavior. And also that they won't be met with some variation of "See, was that so hard?!" or "FINALLY!" That's important too.
We can't punish the behavior we want to see, and punishment isn't going to help us see that behavior.
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vasito-de-leche · 24 days
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i just realized something from each arcanist's voiceline, im not sure if u are ahead of me in this but anyways...
...their "monologue" segments, each of their monologue segments their most vulnerable they have ever been or the deepest they have ever opened up, at least for the ones that I have read.
for example:
- pavia admitting that every night it feels like he's still in piedmonte (by extension, that boarded up basement)
- blonney thinking why it's impossible for humans and arcanists to get along when they have similar interests like movies
- mesmer jr. screaming to stop being insane and leave her alone (poor girl is traumatized and a big F you to constantine and her family for being persistent in putting her in those situations)
- sotheby in yet another scene about how little she knows about distinguishing human things and arcane things (which is a problem for a young arcanist like her should she be unintentionally blatant about it)
- horropedia being glad that he is still himself despite the foundation's attempt to fit him in a mold
all in all, "monologue" segments are actually sad bits about our faves
A good chunk of the monologues are tragic, yeah - but I think that it's because we have the benefit of the full picture and we each have our own interpretations!
I just don't like to think of monologues as just exclusively sad bits for characters to show how sad they are or used to be in their lives? It takes away the nuance of how the character speaks about these things, if that makes sense!
I'll put the rest of my thoughts and ramblings under the cut so I don't keep clogging the main tag with nonsense <3
For example, Pavia's monologue - a popular interpretation of his character is that he's still traumatized by his past and the time he spent in the basement, therefore his monologue implies that no matter where he goes, he's still alone in that dark basement. From my personal reading on it, Pavia is a character who reclaimed the things that hurt him (the darkness, the isolation) and are now part of him (his wolves and shadow arcanum, his independence).
So to me, that monologue is a threat. I already explained this in detail in my first Pavia posts, so I'll spare y'all from the repetition lolol
Sotheby's monologue - you say that her lack of knowledge when it comes to differentiate human things from arcanist things is a problem. To me, this quote is just a highlight of her curiosity and her sheltered life, because she sounds chipper at the idea of learning new things. And I think it's a monologue meant to focus on her curiosity, because her Insight II is "World on the Other Side" which shows Sotheby inside a glass cage, looking outside to the real world.
The outside world is different from what I imagined. There are more arcane animals than I thought ... Humans are also more interesting!
And one can still continue to look deeper into this monologue and relate it to the full context of her situation to have a different reading!
Maybe someone else thinks this quote is extremely fucking tragic, because we're talking about a rich, privileged and sheltered girl who relied heavily on her caretaker, Mr. Karson, and now that he's gone, she's left to explore the world all on her own! Maybe it's a really lovely and happy quote, because it shows Sotheby's growth, still excited to learn about the outside world! Maybe it's all at once!
And Blonney's monologue, to me that's not a tragic voiceline at all but a rather hopeful moment for Blonney, a moment of thoughtful consideration which contrasts the "Blonde Bimbo" stereotype she's been cast in and shows how observant and attentive to detail she can be.
Is it true that humans and arcanists cannot live in harmony? We have so many things in common to share and enjoy, like the movies. As I learned about humans from the movies, so can humans learn about arcanists ... It's just that no one has made such a movie yet.
From my reading on this monologue, Blonney very clearly believes it's possible for humans and arcanists to live in harmony - it only takes for both sides to consider each other's perspectives. She's lived among humans, she's learned about humans through their movies. But she's ignorant about arcanists because of the way she was raised, because of the lack of exposure she's had to arcanists and their world.
No one has made such a movie, but maybe her, an arcanists that's experienced the duality of everything, a bimbo who is majoring in film, a major that everyone insists is wrong for her because it doesn't fit her image - maybe she can make such movie.
Yes, it's a sad monologue because of the context of subtle oppression towards arcanists, because of what we know about Blonney's life and all. But to me, it doesn't end on a sad note. Especially with how driven and outspoken Blonney is.
It's the same for Horropedia's monologue for me - yes, he's serious when talking about the way the Foundation and the way they continue to cut away all the unwanted parts of the arcanists they take in, but it also ends on a nice note. He's relieved to have survived being true to himself, he's relieved Vertin was able to do the same.
And then there's Mesmer Jr.'s monologue - this one is, without a doubt, an awful moment for her. Given what we know about her background and family, from either the main story or the Three Doors update, we can safely assume this is her having a panic attack of sorts, steming from her trauma and long-term internalized hatred/fear/disgust towards arcanists.
This is the most objectively sad and tragic monologue out of these. But what of the reading?
Is this Mesmer Jr. being comfortable enough around Vertin to let her see such a violent and vulnerable moment? Someone could easily read this as Mesmer Jr. and Vertin's relationship being repaired slowly to allow such display of vulnerability, the same way someone could easily read this as Vertin just stumbling upon Mesmer Jr. having the worst time of her life. Someone might also interpret this as Vertin doing something that caused Mesmer Jr. to react like this!
A few other examples I have at the top of my head that can differ greatly depending on the way you choose to read it...
Bette's monologue, for example!
 I've dreamt forever about my first character, not as a rich young man, a courageous adventurer, a fair or rich lady, but the first character starred by me, Bette with brown hair! I have noted them all in this notebook, which is called "My Script."
Is this voiceline sad? It can be, if you choose to intepret it as Bette's inability to get a starring role, while all of her dreams of being the protagonist are kept in a notebook that no one else will read or notice. It can also be inspiring, if you choose to interpret it as Bette holding on to the belief that she herself - not a character that she plays, but herself as a person - is important, even if no one else notices. Again, it can be this and that or both or none or all at once!
Or Baby Blue's monologue!
People at school once called me... Umm, how do you say that word? Ah... Crazy! Sad? I'm not sad... They told me that the most outstanding people were all crazy...
Yes, this can be sad, because we're talking about a 17 year old girl who was so disillusioned with her real life that she feels more comfortable in a world of illusion, while her real body remains comatose. And yes, this can be happy, because we're talking about a 17 year old girl who found a place that she truly feels alive in, where she finally has peope who understand and care for her.
I think I might've lost the point of the post somewhere through the rambling - but yeah! I don't like to think of these voicelines as just sad bits, especially with how much detail and attention the writing of R1999 has, all the love they put into all characters <3
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rayclubs · 1 year
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Mahlzeit,
ok since I´m a firm believer that every merc is a perfect combination of smart and stupid, I feel comfortable saying that everyone is wrong about engineer.
like no he isn´t the only one who would be capacle of realising the benefits of a union. he´s very much unable to see it because he definetely gets too tunnelvisioned as soon as his work is involved and everything not directly linked to his tasks is unnecessary.
Malzheit!
Okay, real, but do you want a TF2 political affiliations post? Because that's how you get a TF2 political affiliations post.
Scout:
The most susceptible to propaganda after maybe Soldier.
Cares about celebrities way too much and therefore is unable to recognize the utmost necessity of taxing the rich.
Probably believes in the American Dream or something.
Would not start a labor union but would join one because while dumb as a baseball, he at least understands that his ma worked really hard to support him and his gajillion brothers growing up, and that's kinda unfair and all that. Or something.
Soldier:
Can be convinced to do anything. Seems to have political affiliations, what with his anti-communist shtick, but really it's just whatever. If you sit him down and explain the actual communist ideas and how what he's actually against is dictatorship, he'll listen to you. Might take some time, but he will.
Would not start a union but would assassinate the president.
Pyro:
Mmmph?
I don't even know. Anarcho-transhumanism.
*lights self on fire and fights the cops*
Engie:
Okay I have THOUGHTS
He is a bit of a utilitarian, I think. What with him solving practical problems and all.
Graduated into the upper middle class and can't see past that because his mind is 99% the digits of Pi and all that.
Hasn't voted once in his life.
Probably actually has some misguided beliefs about labor exploitation due to being American. Like Pauling, has one vacation a year and leaves his phone on in case someone needs to reach him in an urgent work matter.
People bring up his hand as if it were the result of an OSHA violation, but like. No. He did that. He did done cut it off himself. It doesn't count.
Everything he builds is an OSHA violation.
Heavy:
Was a pioneer. You know, that Soviet thing? Kinda like an American boy scout, but with more propaganda. He got better though.
He'd be a bit wary of unions but I think he's educated enough to recognize the difference. It's just a subconscious bias, is all.
He wouldn't start a union because, while educated, he's not diplomatic. Much like Engineer "I'll break you in half" TF2, he's more used to killing the authorities than to legally opposing them.
Also his father was a revolutionary. And died for it. So yeah. Maybe he wouldn't be quite so eager to follow in his footsteps.
Demo:
I actually don't know much about labor unions in Scotland but I think Demo would be a union man.
Like. His father killed the queen for a nickel. I think the man knows enough about oppression and workers' rights to be angry about that.
Explode the rich.
"But Demo, you are rich!" - "Aye..." *killbinds*
Medic:
Already in a union.
Not politically aligned but LOVES shoplifting.
Sniper:
Individualism on main.
Would not start a union because he hasn't talked to a human being in seventeen years.
You ask him if he wants to start a union and he stares into the void for five minutes before quietly asking "...like ants?"
Can't sign up because he can't write. Why do you think he calls his parents instead of writing letters?
Actually scratch that. Can only write upside down.
Spy:
Supports whatever suits his interests.
A corporate until the labor union is strong enough, then switches sides and becomes an avid proletarian.
Also individualism on main and that's why he and Sniper get along.
Nothing like avoiding your best friend.
I don't even know. None of them would start a union actually. Medic would do it for fun. Demo would do it as a dare. Soldier would do it by accident.
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not-another-robin · 1 year
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What do you think are the justice league member's favorite snacks/meals they like to cook/eat?
Dear anon, I am so glad you asked. Allow me to explain
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J'onn - literally everyone is concerned. J'onn eats stuff that's not food just because he can. He will snack on drywall. He eats bugs off of leaves. The actual food he eats isn't much better - his diet consists almost entirely off of processed sugar. Obviously chocos/oreos, but also just the kind of things a seven year old would pack for lunch. Twinkies, sugary cereal, actual candy, donuts, popcorn, chips, etc. He tries, half-heartedly, to insist that Martians nutritional needs are different than humans, but there is literally no evidence to suggest that. Someone in the JL takes him out to eat/brings him food almost every day to make sure he doesn't die.
Wally - only marginally better than J'onn in that he won't eat chalk unprompted. We all know speedsters, they need a lot of food to keep up with their metabolism and energy, but Wally is especially ludicrous in the "will eat anything" category. He will put anything and everything in the fridge into a sandwich, which sounds like a fun thing to ask about, but eventually everyone realizes they just don't wanna know. Also a connoisseur of wild food combos ("icing in chili??" "Hey don't knock it til you try it")
Shayera - A little bit more normal but the bar is in hell so that doesn't mean much. She will try anything at least once, especially on a dare. She also just has an insane pallete for space food. Meals on thanagar were really just anything slightly edible thrown into a trough, so anything that's cooked is fine dining. Also sometimes things that aren't cooked. Raw chicken is one of her favorite snacks - She likes to chew on (and eventually eat) the bones
Bruce - now we're reaching slightly normal human foods, but that doesn't mean Bruce's diet is normal. Honestly, he's just autismcore with a splash of "do rich people really eat that?". His schedule is so fucked he rarely ever has time for an actual meal, so mostly he eats what he can when he can. I have fully adopted the fandom canon that he eats shredded cheese right out of the bag. When he does eat a real meal, it's part of a carefully crafted food schedule developed over decades. He essentially has 31 meals, one for every day - a good mix of recognizable foods and "some guy I traveled the Amazon with made this for me in 1986".
Diana - we have now reached the "can cook" section. One caveat for Diana though, she has no idea how kitchen appliances work. If the oven isn't made of stone she may set something on fire. She's used to the best Themyscira has to offer, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and elaborate feasts. She can't really manage a feast in her apartment, but she knows a good few meals, she eats well. However, she's often too busy to make her own food, so it's like 60% take out.
Clark - this boy eats three square meals a day no matter WHAT. If you sleepover with Clark there will be pancakes and eggs on the table by the time you wake up. He's just a big country boy, his ma taught him well and he uses it. He cooks for himself pretty much every day, the only exception being occasionally going out for lunch during work or picking up a hot dog from a cart (he loves them, no one can understand why).
John - John is your uncle that got really into meal prep. He is religious about his food intake, he only eats the best and has every meal scheduled like a month in advance. He picked up a few recipes from his mom, but he really just picked up a passion for cooking well at some point just to challenge himself. He also eats really healthy, he's known to occasionally go on some weird keto diet that everyone makes fun of him for. He's the kind of person who eats overnight oats. He lectures Wally about his eating habits daily.
So. That was a ridiculous amount thought and effort for a simple headcanon question. This is what they inside of my brain looks like 24/7 thanks got asking <3
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eshtaresht · 1 year
Text
holy. fuckin'. DAMN. I was pretty good at predicting the plot so far, but this episode proved that stampede is going in a whole new direction for real. spoilers for ep 9!!! (and manga a bit)
first of all, we still haven't got a full story of the great fall, but I think it's something they'll reveal in this season, probably during confrontation with knives. and still no scar reveal!! I'm angy but it's something that could be relevant to the standoff with knives, hope we'll get it
the piano scene... oh we're eating GOOD, it's just so wholesome but goes to confirm my theory that twins weren't completely fine on the ship. vash feeling useless because he can't do cool plant shit, knives envying vash for being good at human shit.... oh it's great
so glad knives is getting proper characterization and not just "he evil because he evil"! the fear, the hurt, the genuine care for vash, but then frustration with him – it's right there and I'm eating it up so yummy
the way they recontextualized vash's arm loss is GORGEOUS! I've seen ppl reading this scene differently, but to me it was an act of care from naï. he looks really scared for a reason: we see that the gate consumed all matter, including the hand. vash couldn't control it, so it would only grow bigger and destroy him. NAÏ REALIZED THIS AND SAVED VASH THE ONLY WAY HE COULD
he didn't want to fight him, this was not an act of anger, like in previous versions. all he cared about in that moment was saving his twin..... and what did he get in return? a gun pointed to his face. a gun he gave vash to kill human scum. oh, the DRAMA
ahem, now to the less intense stuff
homeboy has so much trauma, like, damn... how is he gonna fit any more from his impending epic brother fight...... I'm quite curious on how they're gonna characterize him in the next season. concidering that we're taking off earlier than previous versions, he might end up with the same unhinged vibe 98' vash had, as a coping mechanism (if depression didn't work, try dissociation and silliness). but then it would be even more interesting to see meryl's and wolfwood's reactions: they knew him before the accident and saw the big sad
vash has sense in the prosthetic arm, so it must've hurt when he damaged it... probably it hurts less than the real one, and it's clearly painless to take off. but the hand seems to be rather sensitive and fic writers are gonna go crazy for this
age reveal! also brad and luida being in cryosleep makes sense, I was racking my brain on how they're still alive. seems like they're using much more plant power tho... both for cryo and the vegetation, while in manga they tried to keep it as low as possible and send signals to earth
saw someone say that they're probably not doing that here because the earth is destroyed... could be that they decided to go the hard way. but in the manga the earth was still fucked, and it wasn't clear if they communicated with the ppl left on the planet or the fleet that was in some new place. what I'm saying is, there is a possibility that they are looking for help in stampede, we just don't know it yet
meryl was so cute! go off, comedy relief goofy girl, while you can, there is more trauma coming your way :3 yeah, enjoy roberto calling you by your first name... oh it would be such a shame if he gave you his derringer before his untimely death..........
pretty weird that nobody knows why they fell on no man's land, but ppl probably were too ashamed of their past and 150 years later the new generation is oblivious. also so funny that luida has to explain what vegies are..... they have so many plants but haven't see any plants
tbh I wasn't expecting the zazie twist at all, but I'm excited! they are SO gender in stampede, might be the best redesign in the series, love me a genderless bug creature with bold fashion choices. really cool to see that storyline adapted, it was barely touched upon in the last volumes of trimax
btw the multiple bullets story about a plant, worm and human who went around figuring out if their species could coexist and just.... creating this foud family and then building a town there all were equal...... that's my favorite mb story for sure
wolfwood saying "I'm not your friend"... I know what you are. and we got a "you'll have to decide one day"... oh oh the misery, but the context was lacking. it just doesn't hit the same when he isn't daring vash to shoot him in the most homoerotic way possible. on and he looks so goofy trying to ride with his cross
in the last ep's rant I assumed that luida lied about rem saving everybody for some reason?? but no, she actually saved them, I just got a bit confused
so, as I predicted, the gang separated (tho not because of vash) and by the end of the next episode vash'll be in july and meet naï. the poster, man.... that gorgeous futuristic city is getting obliterated for sure
btw vash's gate being opposite to knives and sort of a black hole is nothing new. but there are new layers to this, like vash willingly giving away energy, but destroying things against his will, and knives with the opposite of this. ying yan twins go brrrr
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