#but even then. its really human nature to have SOME kinda opinion on this stuff. ive never met anyone who doesn't at ALL.

[bananonbinary]

god i hate smug athiests so so much

if you go around saying shit like "lol religion is stupid and only idiots have faith" you are just as much of an obnoxious asshole as christian proselytizers sorry

if you wanna have a real discussion on the merits of faith you need to start from a good faith perspective where you DON'T assume everyone who disagrees with you is a moron who can be disregarded. consider for two seconds that you arent the super genius you think you are, and something that is present in literally every human culture throughout history might, in fact, be slightly more load-bearing than you think.

[luffyvace]

Undertaker wants to Court you! ~(Headcanons)~

Can’t wait for the public school arc who’s with me?!

this dude is so silly 🗿 enjoy some hcs of this ridiculous little man

Undertaker is funny. He uses that to his advantage when courting. Well, it actually depends on what type of humor you have- most of his are usually those jokes that are kinda funny but at the same time your like ‘That’s outta pocket! 🤦‍♀️😑😂’ yk?

he always wants to hear jokes. He asks you randomly and no matter what type he laughs at them. Rude humor? Hilarious! Dad jokes? That one really tickled his fancy! 😂 why did the chicken cross the road?? To get to the other side? 🤣🤣💥

now usually I feel he has a specific sense of humor but with you everything’s just kinda funny. It’s that moment when your with someone who you can laugh at the most unfunniest stuff ever and still be cackling at it anyway 😭💕

he’s always telling them as well. Might I say, at the worst times 😏 you just watched someone run over a stray animal? Oh he’s got a joke for that hear him out- LIKE BRO 😭⁉️

HES THE TYPE OF GUY WHO MAKE YOU LAUGH BEFORE EVEN TELLING YOU THE JOKE BECAUSE YOU KNOW ITS GONNA BE STUPID 👍

Let’s also talk about hiiiis…! weird side! (I’m saying ‘side’ like he’s isn’t always weird..) This is pretty much him just being a creep? Ish? Like that scene where he was in the barrel licking salt…🤨 or how he’s always in coffins (which tbh seems more normal for a grim reaper but still..) either way this dudes’ real weird and he doesn’t tone it down, even around you despite the fact that it may or may not (you decide) push you away

He’s a very mysterious dude, so how ever you met him I guarantee it was eerie and somewhat strange. Therefore you were likely intrigued by him, so when you went on your first date it was, well, very interesting! There’s so many layers to unravel with this guy! Ngl even now you’ve only semi unraveled this incomprehensible man but at the least you do learn more as you get to know him :P

his past is….complicated is an understatement- gimme a new word.

literally no one but him knows his full past all the way up to this very day. Looks like no one has stuck around long enough! Since you will I guess you’ll be the first to figure it out! ;)

now I’ll say this, he won’t sit down and just tell you everything, no. That won’t be any fun! 😄 you’ll have to have the intelligent to sit down and decode it piece by piece with the tidbits of information he gives you randomly. Yes! It’s going to be comical seeing you try and put this whole thing-a-ba-jig together! (^_−)−☆ 🤣

his nonjudgmental yet opinionated personality is scary if you don’t like folk who come off too strong. Or if your sensitive- 😄 he’s a ‘tell-it-like-it-is-and-I-don’t-give-a-ship’ type of guy. Buuuut! If your similar to him in that sense you’ll probably understand him a lot more. Him being nonjudgemental is perfect for peeps of all types so that’s a plus!! 💗

ranting about his fascination with humans during your dates comes with the package! ☝️He just does, it’s always one of his topics, and ngl it’s nothing boring either, he’s got quite a few stories to tell with even more jokes in between, which is sure to make for a lovely date <3 plus at some point all species in black butler experienced being a human, and idk about y’all but the study of human nature, psychology and how the brain works is a very interesting thing for me! I’d definitely be able to keep a conversation like that up for some time, me personally.

He puts up a front of a funny weird guy when there’s more to him if you read between the lines. Which, don’t get me wrong that certainly is a part of the real him, he just makes sure to highlight it so you don’t look at the rest 😃👌

he’s a real creepy fellow..even towards you 😭 (on purpose) and whether he’s trying to court you or not there’s no escaping it- if it starts to push you away he’ll find a way to incorporate laughter into it to make it more appealing, but no, he won’t change his ways 😭

WHY DOESN’T HE WASH HIS HAIRRRR

(yes it’s canon 😞)

you force him to wash his hair 😘💋 pls he needs it. or at least do it with him so it’s more fun. It’ll probably be easier to convince him that way

Time to talk about his work as a grim reaper!!! :3 (retired anyway) if you are reaper you get to follow each other around doing tasks! human? You both go your separate ways to work, whatever that may be. A demon? The same as a human really! Just this time you might have a contract with somebody. Buttttt!! A perk of all three is getting to work in the funeral parlor with him ;3 it’s a good disguise if your a demon/reaper and also some good quality time for you and your reaper 😘 (i mean, I hope you don’t mind morbid stuff cuz he’s a mortician after all 😅)

his little Russian roulette with the phantomhives 🕺 (LOL) no seriously I have no clue what type of relationship he has with them besides the fact that he serves them for the price of top notch laughter 🧑‍🍳💋 but you might! I’d say he’s more willing to let you in then anyone if he’s trying to court you! That obviously means he wants to trust you with his heart! So yeah! You likely know a thing or two—more about Ciel than Vincent but any info will do at this point 😭 it’s a start right? 🤷‍♀️

whenever Ciel comes over you get to witness him or Sebastian try to make undertaker laugh, it’s not like they can kick you out, you work there! Perks 😏 You can pretty much tell the one time Ciel made him laugh himself it was just a whole bunch of tomfoolery 😂 (why did it take so long⁉️😭) Sebastian is also able to make undertaker laugh really hard immediately so I wonder what he does 🤪 guess you’ll get to see! 😋

undertaker opening up to you is a process that requires patience. And don’t be pushy!! I mean this for your sake, by the way. You’ll drive yourself crazy since you’ll never get an answer that’s not riddles or straight up jokes. 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

yeah overall his way of courting is really strange but when it comes to making things official he’s poetically blunt. The type of blunt where you have to process for a second like ‘wait what does that mean- oh. OH-’

Anyway I’m gonna talk about the actual dates now cuz I’ve pretty much just been mentioning the madness that comes with it this entire time :3 and yes as I said that’s a way of courting to him. He’s weird and blunt but doesn’t wanna do things the traditional way. So getting you involved in his antics is his way of saying ‘hey i like ya and I want ya to stick around’. And jokes. HAHAHAH 😂

dates with undertaker normally consists of tea, jokes, human psychology and gossip 🗿 ever since I saw ciel in wonderland I couldn’t get over the fact that undertaker was at a tea party and now I headcanons him to like tea LOLOLOL! I mean I know that’s how the plot goes in the actual slice movie and he was just playing the role of the character but, think about it—don’t it kinda fit???? Like?? Okok Hear me out hear me out- imagine sipping on some tea with Undertaker and gossiping on the latest drama from the underworld, ‘I heard a rare case is happening where blah blah blah *giggle* *giggle* chatter chatter..’ ETC! like idk how to explain it but do you see the vision???

I can also see him doing that dramatic anime thing where they sip they’re drink majestically then say something intelligent sounding (☝️🤓) (about psychology, for him) as the wind blows 😂😂 YK? LOLL even worse if your in a outside background and his eyes shows (cuz the character who never shows they’re eyes always show them when they get serious 🤣)

i love how shameless this guy is

why don’t we know this guys’ real name⁉️ Can’t even give him a nickname because ‘undertaker’ isn’t nickname material!! What am I supposed to call him???? Taker’ ⁉️😭🗿

ENJOY @doudouma HERE’S YOUR SURPRISE~ 🤗

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Hey

Want to know your opinion, how would you improve some arcs of toh characters, like Amity, Hunter, Lilith, Willow, Gus and probably anyone whose arcs you think are bad-written?

good question! let's see,

luz: i have mostly no complaints about her character but i wish they made it clear that her running off to the boiling isles was not ideal. i don't entirely blame her because she was a child and she was looking for a way to avoid going to camp, but the show starts off implying that luz's escapism was a bad thing, but then they kinda contradict that in the end, by letting her have access to the boiling isles forever.

also her s3 arc with her palisman was just overall poorly written. it was supposed to be an emotional and wholesome moment but it didn't have that impact on me. if luz's greatest wish was to be understood, they should have built on that more. i mean, it's not like no one understood her, all of her friends and found family in the boiling isles seem to understand and empathize with her. it just felt like the writers pulled this revelation out of their asses, and the fact that stringbean was inexplicably a shapeshifter didn't help their case.

amity: i would keep some parts of her initial characterization, like her ambitious nature and her resting bitch face energy. even if the idea was to make amity grow into a more cheerful person, it doesn't make sense that it happened so quickly. imo her characterization was at its best when she was warming up to luz but not entirely nice to other people (like during the grom episode). i really liked her cold, standoffish behaviour and i think it would have been nice if she had kept some of that, while still being a better person than she was in the beginning.

also, like i said in another post, she should definitely have goals of her own. her character shouldn't have been reduced to "luz's girlfriend". i would definitely show more of her interacting with the other characters (and these interactions and conversations aren't about luz) and pursuing her own dreams. i think steven universe did this best where connie liked steven a lot and she did hang out with him, but she also had her own life and her own dreams to chase.

hunter: i wouldn't put him in a relationship with willow, or anyone, for that matter. the poor boy has a lot of trauma he needs to work through and based on the stuff that he's said, it's clear that he doesn't know how healthy human interactions work, let alone a romantic relationship.

i would make his arc about slowly healing through his trauma or at least being able to express his emotions, instead of suppressing them for willow's sake. i think it could have been done, despite the time crunch. he needed time to grieve flapjack, to grieve himself after being possessed and almost killed by his abuser, and to slowly start his healing journey.

the others would definitely support him through it, but that's what he needs at the time, not a badass girlfriend.

lilith: i think her redemption arc started off okay but then everyone forgave her too quickly. it wasn't as bad as catra's because lilith did put a little effort into trying to be better, but she still needed to do more before she could have been forgiven.

so either i would extent her redemption arc and let the other characters, especially eda, stay mad at her a little longer before she gets forgiven. or i would just keep her as an antagonist.

they didn't even explore her trauma of being in a cult and the emperor's coven never chased her down after she left. not to mention, her experience of being in the emperor's coven is never relevant to the plot. she could have given luz inside information or talked about belos' potential weaknesses, it was such a missed opportunity.

willow: her arc with amity was not terrible and i like that she was allowed to take her time to trust amity. this is more about amity than willow but i think it would have been nice if we saw amity making more efforts to gain willow's trust. her apology in understanding willow was good but they kinda glossed over the fact that amity wasn't just "letting her friends bully willow", she was also bullying willow.

i think we needed more of willow and amity trying to mend their friendship, instead of lumity being the main focus after that one episode.

and in general, willow deserved a bigger role in the series. for the longest time, she was just luz's friend and then they forced her into a relationship with hunter, which did not work at all.

if her intended arc was to work on her insecurities and get more confident over time, they should have shown more of that process. even Any Sport In A Storm was mostly about huntlow (and hunter, to some extent) then willow. and let's be honest, the whole "half a witch" thing was dragged out more than it needed to be.

gus: okay, buckle up because i think i have the most grievances with gus. i need to make this clear. GUS WAS SO UNDERUSED.

i'm sorry. this guy is a child prodigy who can create illusions and use illusion spells to look into people's minds and force them to relive their worst memories?? why was this not more relevant to the plot? gus is such an insanely skilled witch and yet he's always pushed to the back for some reason. he has the most versatile and useful skillset but he never gets to use it, it makes me so mad!

even him looking into belos' mind was only used for that brief moment where he admits that he knew hunter was a grimwalker, but didn't want to force hunter to talk about it. that's it. we get no further conversation about it, gus never addresses the other stuff he saw in belos' memories like him MURDERING his brother and creating all the grimwalkers and god knows what else??

also just the fact that he's able to psychologically torment people with illusions is such an OP move that the series just kinda glossed over. it was used in a few episodes, but it could have been used to a greater extent. i just think that gus could have been such an interesting and powerful character, if he was given enough spotlight.

he also had a good thing going with mattholomule but instead of making that canon, they went for huntlow. i'm not saying that gus has to be in a relationship (or any of them, for that matter) but why create a new rushed ship when you already have a perfectly good one to work with?

i also find it weird that gus and willow were supposedly best friends but we got very few moments between them. i would have loved to see more of their friendship, and more focus on platonic relationships in general.

so yeah, if i were to rewrite gus, i would definitely give him a lot more spotlight. heck, given his powerset, he has the potential to be the main character even!

belos: i've mentioned it a lot before but belos deserved a more climatic end to his arc. all of the implications of religious trauma and puritan culture was thrown in the trash in s3.

he was actually such a compelling villain, genuinely intimidating and with an interesting motive and backstory. what was the point of crafting such an interesting character, just to be like "lol he's evil murder his ass"?

i'm not even mad that he died, i'm just mad that THAT'S how he died. i was expecting his death to be something ironic and self-inflicted, like the people from the human realm being horrified by him and killing him. maybe even burning him to death, the same way witches were burned at the stake. buuuut no, we get king, raine and eda stomping on his corpse because haha that's funny. hunter didn't even get to be a part of all this, and he was the one who deserved closure, he was the one who deserved to see his abuser face consequences of their actions, not fucking eda and raine.

and that part where he tries to convince luz that he was just under a terrible curse was just.. so childish. and not in-character childish, but just childish writing. it was just so ooc for belos, he is a manipulator but this wasn't how he manipulated people. i guess you could argue that he was just too desperate to survive but eh. i think it could have been written better.

eda: i don't have too many complaints here, i think she was probably the most well-rounded and compelling character in this show. her arc about the owl curse was interesting and very relatable to me, as someone who is epileptic. her relationship with raine was the best in the series imo.

the only thing i would change is, as I mentioned earlier, i wouldn't make eda forgive lilith so easily. i also think that she kind of lost her "morally grey parental figure" edge by the end of the series, and i honestly liked that part of her a lot, so i would keep it. but that's just a personal preference.

raine: they were definitely a very interesting character, i just think they deserved more screentime. most of their role in the story was surrounding their relationship with eda, which was very compelling, but we could have gotten more of their character outside their relationship.

the members of the emperor's coven, as a whole, could have been used better in the series. but for a side character with medium relevance to the plot, i'd say raine was written pretty well.

[magpod-confessions]

Honestly i wanna hear opinions on season 4, cus im gonna confess i could NOT finish it (didnt move on to season 5 either lol). Got to like ep 135 & i just couldnt tell any of the episodes apart it felt like such a drag; just a slog of misery with some offhand Important 5 Minutes once in a blue moon. I hate repetition & i got the sparknotes from fandom/wiki stuff so yeahhh i just stopped listening; i still love TMA & it’s story & characters, it’s just the execution that got to me RIP

Everything felt kinda forced to me ig? Like there was some shoe-horned “humans are more monstrous than the actual monster” that snuffed S1 Jon’s fun cockiness/jackassery just to make him ? The best one in the archive ??? & all of his wrongdoings are either off-screen or justified by him being tricked into becoming a literal monster against his will (who would STARVE w/o his ‘evil-doings’, which didnt even kill ppl). Also felt like everyone got needlessly dumbed down except for Martin (the Love Interest ofc, who got 180’d from his pre-established incompetency to be some mastermind in a playing field he should have REALLY been inept in) just so they’d be blind to Jon’s situation & be mean to him LMAO

They started trying to make Jon accountable for “choosing this” & i couldnt handle it, held no fucking water to me—the guy being explicitly puppetted & manipulated as the entire plot? That guy is expected to take responsibility here? Felt like some after-thought theme they threw on top of it all. Anyways uhh feel free comment either on what i said and/or your personal thoughts on the season, or nothing if ya got nothing lol

🗣️

Ehh disagree. S4 isnt my fav but I dont think its bad. S1 Jon to s4 jon feels like natural character progression to me. He starts as acting all high and mighty to try hide the fact he has no idea what hes doing and is terrified, and then experiences a lot of ppl dying that he feels is due to him and is his responsibility. At that point his thought pattern is 'I keep messing up and making mistakes and getting myself and everyone around me hurt, so other ppl surely know better'. Hes got a lot of black and white thinking around him, which has been consistent throughout his entire characterization

I dont think any characters were dumbed down either

Melanie was always angry, she only go worse bc she had smth making her think everything she did was justified and when that stopped she became avoidant and stopped lashing out. She was still angry, just managing it better

Basira has always been Daisys no1, the person to justify all of Daisys actions. She knows what daisy did and why its bad but she holds onto the idea that daisy is right in doing so. She blames jon for what he does bc logically she knows its wrong, hurting ppl who havent done anything is wrong, but still excuses daisy bc she needs to. Bc that was a fact of her life and it cannot be wrong. In the unknowning she focuses on facts to keep her grounded and to her 'Daisy is a good person' 'Hurting ppl is wrong' and 'If you hurt ppl you are a bad person' are all facts she needs in her life to stay grounded. How she justifies Daisys actions is by saying that the ppl who daisy hurt were worse and it ultimately helps more ppl to have them gone. Not only can she not do that with Jon, as she believes those he hurts are entirely innocent, she also doesnt care to. Shes not close with Jon and she doesnt have 'Jon is a good person' as a fact in her mind, so she doesnt need to work to excuse his actions. Its all or nothing with her, if you hurt and continue hurting ppl, no matter your reason, you need to stop and the only way you will stop is if you are gone. She also has a lot of black and white thinking, gotta love the autism podcast

Martin being a mastermind in s4 also makes sense bc him being stupid is an act. If ppl think your stupid theyll underestimate you and ultimately leave you alone. They wont scrutinize you, they wont attack every part of you, they will brush it off as just a typical normal thing. It will get you ignored and you cannot be hurt if nobody knows who you are or how to hurt you. Its a lonely miserable existence but its one martins used to. Martin rarely drops the mask of 'Sweet but stupid' bc he needs that to survive and tbh he probably learnt that from needing to survive his mom LOL. Martin just knows and picks the best method of getting ppl to like him, which for him is doing exactly what they want and keeping their expectations low so they wont hurt him as much when they mess up. Honestly in s5 I see him as hes finally got to a place where he doesnt care if everyone hates him, bc he has someone who does and thats all he needs. Hes survived the worst of it and he doesnt care anymore

Part of the reason everyone blames Jon is bc he is there and he is the one who is currently causing the most problems. Also they dont actually see the extent that Jon is manipulated. Elias talks and interacts with Jon differently to how he interacts with others. All of them met Jon when he was already at the institute, they meet him when it does actually look like he made his choice, entirely of his own free will. It doesnt help that daisy is there, someone who completed their transformation like Jon did and turned back on it, and she looks like shes managing well enough. She is surviving without feeding so why cant Jon do the same? Also basira does trust elias on some level. She trusts he knows more than she does and can be an asset if used correctly, which definitely doesnt help things. Also the idea of Elias is locked up, he cant affect Jon anymore so why is Jon still acting this way. Elias has very effectively vilified and isolated jon and jon doesnt fight back against it bc he believes it as well. Other ppl are normally right so why wouldnt everyone be right abt him?

Oh my god that was an essay and I absolutely missed sooo much stuff but idk take that - rosette

i literally have nothing to add . rosette sincerely you are insane and i love that . i honestly don't have a lot of s4 opinions that i could really put down , but i also disagree anon . s4 may not have been the best , but it certainly wasn't Bad or not enjoyable to listen to . coming from someone who has listened to the podcast twice now [ and who is planning on a third relisten ] , i really do enjoy s4 as a whole . martin's buildup and his manipulation of peter lukas is honestly one of my favourite parts , because it has been said that martin was originally going to be apart of the mother of puppets ! this shows that part of martin we didn't get to see but has been there . i got distracted and don't remember what else i was gonna type um . whoops - deceit

[talon-dragonbeast]

hello! I saw your post on misceverse and had some questions if that’s okay. so bc of my paleotherianthropy, I feel very connected to raising “pups” and especially eggs and having dens/nests. I’m wondering if that could mean being part of the misceverse? or if that’s not enough. I see that some people take it very seriously in their irl life. Having packs, a mate they call alpha, the nsfw side-, scents, and wanting to be submissive or dominate in nature. it doesn’t feel like a gender thing to me. and I hope it’s not offensive but in my personal opinion I don’t think humanity is categorized into alpha omega beta sigma etc. I just know bc of animal stuff I can relate a little? I don’t want to call my partner an alpha or always submissive or dom, I don’t relate to the nsfw side all too much, although my personality unfortunately seems shy/anxious due to mental health. I don’t think of myself as submissive as an overall /personality trait/. Although I do like the idea of having a scent that represents me just for fun! and I do wish I could have a therian pack. does this mean anything? I’m wondering if the term is for me or not.

its absolutely okay to pick and choose which aspects of the misceverse you want to adopt into your life! even for the a/b/o dynamics you can be quite loose in your definition on them. for example, me being an omega has nothing to do with having children or being sexually submissive or always horny for alphas or whatever, as is the stereotype of my dynamic. being an omega for me means protectiveness, caring for my own, making myself smaller when threatened but baring my teeth and growling defensively when backed to a corner. but it also means being cared for and protected, feeling safe with the pack, being cozy in my nest and being surrounded by my own scent and the things i love.

you define your own misceanimalis experience! if being misce just means dens and scents and pups and packs for you, then id say thats really cool! you arent "required" to do anything youre not comfortable with. i also get pretty grossed out by nsfw stuff, so i just... didnt incorporate that into my misceanimalis experience! the same with the whole 'mate' thing, dom/sub stuff, collars, overall bdsm... like if you like that kinda stuff then more power to you; it just isnt my cup of tea! and misceverse is a gender thing for me, but if it isnt for you, thats perfectly alright as well!

[changbinsboobs]

im the anon from before: told ya in my chan observations "knowing chan and his tendencies for a victim-complex, pick me, delulu and stuff" bound to cause some issues in his personal relationships but also this is why lee know is my fave out of the two bro would not give two hoots compared to chan who seems always on edge, kinda not trouble maker but doesnt mind stirring the pot to make a mountain out of a molehill.

although I do blame their coddeling from the companies for their inability to have stable relationships because they cant seemingly get out of their own delulu bubble (mainly chan).

u know what im also glad for these readings for? bc it makes me less delulu about certain idols lmao, its weird because some idols i thought would have dreadful personalities or types do not and its the ones that i have suspicions of and chan was one of them mainly due to his overly unhealthy attachments to stay but now i still find him interesting i just dont know if i would date him? yaknow? i think sometimes an idol having very very specific ideals can limit their overal perspective in dating bc theyre not really seeing someone for their personality or their natural charms or anything else its literally all about other attributes that they maybe look too much into and not giving some others enough chance becaude if u only look on the outside u never going to see ppl in different way, its very concieted. like what if chan met someone who fitted the appearsnce he wanted but they also had toxic behaviours or would just use him? he would still prolly date that person. im sure the girl he was with was lovely but no one wants to babysit a grown man. period. he actually gives manchild vibes no fr

honestly if anything i dont want him to be defamed cause she may or may not use it against him even if she sign nda but if hes that toxic it may very well backfire even further. i think he would be better more as friend material than romantic but he said he wanted family as well in snother reading. bro got a lot of growth to do before any of that

i hope other stay who maybe too deluded to see thru his behaviour i hope they somehow learn abt it thru readings cause itd suck to put so much attention and for it to all be unhealthy and shit

So first things first - my personal opinion is that nowadays there's just s HUGE gap between men and women in terms of being a a well rounded, capable, mature human being. Sadly. And so i i wouldn't necessarily put the blame on the companies but rather just on the guy himself - at the end of the day he chose that path and no matter what ur environment is you can still learn and choose to be well rounded human being - like thats on u bro🥲and i also do see him as a man child, sry not sry. Ive noticed that for a very long while actually and i think he knows that on some level too and thats part of the reason why he pushes that "taking care of y'all" image on himself so mich to try and make up for what he on the inside knows that he lacks.

And i think too he would date someone for SURE that he finds attractive but knows they're toxic cuz lets be honest - lots of people do😂 some people just crave toxicity and some people are toxic themselves and like attracts like.

Also i don't think the situation is that bad for him to be defamed - as i said i think the whole thing was much bigger in his perception than it probably was for the girl. I don't think he was toxic to the extent where he would be hurting anyone other than himself. In fact i think his toxic is rather embarrassing than hurtful. Its the type where you just sit there in shock and wonder how someone like him, with a certain image, status, money, power even, life experience etc - can act and be so immature and cringey. I think he could also be someone that would be kinda gaslighting but not out of malice but rather because he's just too sensitive and cant regulate his emotions so well hence why he can't really grasp the situation in a right way. But thats as far as it gets.

As negative as readings like that might sound im actually happy to read on energy like that because as you sed it helps delude people a bit and also just plain shows you a persons bad side (which we all have) and makes them much more human. And the best part - i would much rather stan an idol thats a manchild and is just a bit cringey, than stanning an abuser and not knowing it. That way you at least know his red flacks aren't THAT type of RED iykwim...👀

[lanymme]

Starting to put together the new Kiara information I got, there's a lot of new info that kinda conflicts with what I have believed, and some stuff that comes down to translation, IMO. CW: talking about abuse and CSA. Also suicide.

Off the top of my head: There's very little reference to Kiara experiencing abuse, and particularly sexual abuse, during her childhood. Besides the neglect of people giving lip service but not treating her--the exception being that her father clearly had some fucked up and inappropriate feelings toward her that he seemed not to realize until the end. My impression is that the Eiten-ryu village was a somewhat normal community before she turned it into a living Hell.

This is a departure from its depictions in FGO and even in the CCC manga as a cesspool of human evil where the worst impulses of humanity gathered at her bedside. Interesting to see--perhaps a change in direction over time?

Accompanying this, we've got more on the nature vs. nurture front. I've always understood her to be somebody born with all the qualities and capabilities expected of a bodhisattva

In her SG profile, she mentions reading as one of her favorite activities, especially "recently," presumably now that she's in the moon cell and with Hans as her servant. This is interesting--it's been mentioned in the past she sort of forgot about fairy tales, so did he re-kindle her interest? Could it be that she's just interested in fairy tales, now? Much to consider here. Previously, I had come to the conclusion that she would not have read or consumed much media due to the description in FGO's A Dream from the Cradle CE that she gave up on the words of others. Someone who sees people as insects, insensate creatures, wouldn't be interested in their words, right? But perhaps she would--after all, she's described as addicted to human lives despite viewing them as trash.

Speaking of which, we've gotten in other media, especially by the time in FGO, descriptions of her attitude toward people, and how she uses them up. It seemed in FGO that she would mess with and stimulate people to get a kick out of them and see the depth of their desires and depravity, but then lose interest when it got stale, leading them to kill themselves. However, in the section that covers her past in CCC, it says that she orgasms when she crushes their lives. That's interesting to me. The concept of people with interesting internal lives as more delicious sexual food for her to enjoy in a consumptive way by ruining them gels with the implied storyline of her FGO bond lines. Very interesting.

Her perspective on love! Koi, and its relation to ai! Previously I thought she had just never really considered koi. But apparently she has considered it and thinks it's irrelevant to her and a bad thing! Will have to dig more into this. Does she think it's a bad thing because to her, "evil" means "something that isn't pleasing to Sessyoin Kiara?"

Speaking of which, her attitude toward good and evil was made a lot more clear here--good is what she likes, what pleases her. Evil is what she doesn't. IIRC during her pre-battle conversation in SERAPH she says something to the effect that humans generally take this perspective, and I've had this as a pillar of her perspective for a while. But it's even more clear, and we got some nuances. Will have to probe into those!

As far as her attitude toward mainstream buddhism, I got some interesting info here. Previously, I had come to the understanding that she essentially views traditional buddhist views as a mistake. Now, I'm not entirely sure. There was a lot of "no, but virtue means this [heinous and terrifying thing], right?" that is wholly earnest. And seeing people that she takes no interest in as "Evil"--boring, flavorless priests who have cleansed themselves of desires--wouldn't she just directly see them as evil because of that perspective, rather than an opinion on the doctrinal difference? On the other hand, she went out of her way to break the Eiten-ryu precepts, and she does have some lines that really show a disdain for concepts like no-inherent-self (even if I think the translation kinda butchered it). It's hard to call. Much to look into

And finally, of the things that stood out most to me, is her general attitude and bearing. Her plan is deeply calculated, that much is for sure, but it was hard to get a reading on her, like... level of self-awareness. It sort of seemed like she had a naive and simplistic quality to her deeply twisted worldview, in keeping with the Materials profile that describes her as being like a hungry ghost, thinking unwaveringly that everything she believes is right. Elsewhere, especially in an event like Ooku, she seems to have a wider view surrounding what comes across as a complex and considered but extremely dark perspective on things. She feels... not less intelligent, here, but perhaps less wise. Will have to think on it more.

I'm worried that change in attitude might come down to the translation. I did notice, for example, that the translation for her voice lines for Daizushichi: yakan-po were much more... airheaded and hedonist, possibly as a result of localization efforts, and that the line for Eitenry: Mindful Circumambulation seemed... expanded on? We'll see.

All in all, there's a daunting amount for me to dig into, and it's troublesome to have some of my understandings of her cast into doubt, but I've wanted some of this information translated for literally years and it's SO exciting to finally have all the material I need line up, and to have clarity on what has been presented as canon.

yay! Might add to this as I progress.

[raspberry-gloaming]

Looms!

Looms - love 'em, hate 'em, neutral on the subject, everyone seems to have an opinion on looms. So I thought I'd write down my own thoughts and headcanons on the subject:

For me, looms are totally a thing - I find it makes Time Lord society more interesting and more alien, more removed from humans. I also think if those very conservative gasp how scandalous they showed a kneecap guys could, they would totally eliminate the requirement for physical reproduction. I don't think they have lost the ability to reproduce, just that its seen as very strange, and odd, and lesser. Why would you do that? Also could lead to more looking down on species that do reproduce without technology as lesser, which is very on brand for those guys. It would also cause a stronger divide between the elite Time Lords and the higher class and the lower classes on Gallifrey, who don't have access to such tech. Hence, time lords tooting their own horn about yet another thing.I feel that it really works with some plot points.

For example, with Pandora, I think it really works with her genetically manipulating Romana's bloodline. Especially if you see looming as something that includes genetic modification, or a process linked to the matrix, which of course with her and her access... Also with the idea of the Timeless Child, I think that looming would really work as a way to avoid having to explain where this new child has come from. If natural reproduction with birth was a thing, having to explain the existence of a new child after no pregnancy or whatever could be a bit complicated. Not great for such a secretive secret. But with looms - all neat and tidy, no explanation to why you've shown up to the house one day with a new kid. Depending on whether you believe the Doctor's parents knew about this, they might not even have to know. Put in your loom application, put in the DNA and genetic modifications necessary, come back to pick up your new kid! With an organisation with as much influence and control as Division, would it be so hard to pretend this baby is the parents' new loomling?

Additionally, if reproduction like humans was the case - how would regeneration and pregnancy work? If the carrier, the biological mother regenerated, would the baby die? Survive? Or would they regenerate too, if you're someone that believes Time Lords are born able to regenerate, and don't gain it at a later date, such as at the Schism or graduation. And what if the parent changed to male?

And now on to my headcanons:

Children on Gallifrey come out as babies, I'm not a fan of the arrive as adults thing personally

A child can have the genetic input of more than two individuals, but two core individuals would commonly act as the main base. Those two would be treated as the "parents" and other, possibly unrelated individuals would be seen kinda like aunts and uncles? to the child. but its hard to equate stuff to human familial relationships

All of these individuals, however, would be seen as grandparents (again, just a human-relative term that doesn't fully equate) to any (of course, loomed) children of the child. This means that the Doctor may have been seen as a parent, or primary caretaker for Susan's parent, but may not have done. This also is why the Thirteenth Doctor has I think she mentioned having seven grandmothers? In It Takes You Away.

[soyouareandrewdobson]

The hypocrisy of the theoretical bear

Dobson was a bully.

I kinda wanted to make that statement only later in regard of another comic I am already writing about, but when you really boil it down, that is what Dobson genuinely was towards other nerds. Under all the pretense of just trying to talk about feminism and hoping that nerd culture can do better and become more progressive, he was just trying to shame people for enjoying different stuff than him, not sharing his opinions, or being overzealous in ways that were different to him.

Among other things, he would e.g. post this picture in regard of a certain fantheory when it reared its ugly head in season 3 of Miraculous Ladybug…

mocking a specific person for misinterpreting an animation smear for a genuine clue and instead of trying to politely explain it to them, instead shame then on twitter…

And eventually make THIS shitty SYAC strip, shaming the person even more, by making them specifically the butt of a non existing “joke”.

I kinda want to talk about these two instances now, why I think the comics are not funny as well hypocritical and rather dumb in hindsight. But first, the obligatory digression

I unfortunately agree with Dobson partly, that fan theorizing can at times go WAY too far. I myself have no issues with theorizing a little or playing with ideas of how a certain story could play out in the end. But I think there is a difference between looking at some little things, trends and recurring themes in a story and making a throwaway assumption like “oh yeah, that could happen down the line” and making a 40+ minute rant video on perhaps one little background thing blown out of proportion.

I also genuinely despise “review” channels such as The Roundtable or Film Theory for making clickbait videos based on dumb fan theories that they try to exploit for views, while actually not contributing anything of substance or of their own to the debate or elaborate on the craft of animation and storytelling. Being more of trend chasers than anything else.

That said, I think fans theorizing about stuff is an integral part of fan culture and can be fun. It can e.g. inspire people to create their own stories/fanwork based on such theories. Such as this actually pretty decent piece of Miraculous Ladybug fanart, that Thomas Astruc even liked and shared on twitter and blows everything Dobson did for the show out of the water.

Plus, even as Dobson kinda admits, some shows and stories are deliberately made to “reward” fans for their theories.

However, already in the way Dobson formulates that, he is making a mistake.

See, these shows aren’t “rewarding” people per se for their theories. They simply confirm that the fans may have successfully cracked completely (or at least partly) an aspect of the story’s integral mystery/plot, at times left intentionally by the show creators themselves.

Just to give an example: Hunter’s nature as a Grimwalker in the Owl House.

Hunter aka “The golden Guard” was first introduced in the last episode of the first season of the Owl House, face still completely covered. Then later episodes not only revealed his face, but also his name and that he was supposedly Belos nephew. Something that already raised a few eyebrows for people, cause Belos was not only confirmed in the show to be at least over 50 years old, but some couldn’t image that a character falling into the classical evil overlord archetype, could really have a “nephew” as young as Hunter. And then in the episode Eclipse Lake, which starts off in Belos secret lab with a shot of some items on the ground, people saw this:

A page of a book, indicating to be an instruction on how to create an artificial human, with mentioning of a creature introduced and seen earlier in the season (in the proper debut episode of the Golden Guard nonetheless) and with the human creatures eyes in the book implied to have the same color as Hunters.

As such, the theory of Hunter being an artificial human was born and later on, got properly confirmed through dialogue and other visual revelations in the story.

Sometimes, storytellers (particularly once who want to craft a decent mystery or overarching narrative) will just leave little clues in their creation, for people to theorize about and to assure they are getting further invested in the story. The reason for that ranging from the author trying to tell a decent mystery without having to pull the revelations completely out of their ass (unlike Dobson in the story with Sam and his dead sister!) or revealing too much all at once, to just having fun with fans and sometimes also simply because they want to add something to the story, even if by that point in time they may not have yet entirely in mind what that something is going to be.

Such as Rebecca Sugar actually throwing the term “Cluster” around in Steven Universe, before even having an idea what it was supposed to mean in context of the story.

So in that regard, fan theories are just attempts to explain stuff the show runners may already have in mind to be important anyway and therefore different from lets say someone obsessing over background colours being symbolic of gay relationships for example

But now back to the two comics. The first one, showing us a weird expy of Bill Cipher with a card exclaiming “Adrien is a Sentimonster”, may be kinda confusing, so here is a bit of context: Dobson tries to poke fun at the “Adrien is a Sentimonster” theory of the Ladybug fandom, by having the “subject” of another, extremely niche fan theory claim it is baseless and wild. That “subject” is Tad Strange. Now if you are only familiar with the show Gravity Falls, you would know that Tad Strange is that guy…

the most average, boring person in all of Gravity Falls, part of an almost Family Guy level cutaway gag in one episode of Gravity Falls. But supposedly (I at least never saw it), when the name was first mentioned somewhere by Hirsch long before the episode introducing Tad properly aired, people came up with the theory that “Tad Strange” may be a secondary villain akin to Bill Cipher, if not even a relative to him. And that is what Dobson tries to mock here. I say “try” cause honestly, who would even get the idea of what sort of joke Dobson tries to tell, if they aren’t familiar with the theory. A theory that was so niche, Dobson would have to explain the intention of the comic somewhere down the line even.

And to quote the Joker…

Furthermore, while the theory of “Adrien is a sentimonster” was kinda wild after only introducing the fact that even humanoid, sentient creatures could be created by the power of the Peacock Miraculous (in the episode simply called “Ladybug”) recently to that comic being made, it wasn’t really that wild when people thought about it.

After all, Ladybug at its core was still a magical girl show. And them doing twists like that (such as Chibiusa being Sailor Moon’s daughter from the future, Galaxia being the original first Sailor Senshi, Witches being corrupted Magical Girls etc) was not necessarily unheard off.

Though Dobson, when told it could still be a possibility, not only would act rather condescending, but furthermore went on to also piss against Ladybug’s leg, by stating “the show’s writing is not good enough to pull that off”. Which okay, he is right, the show is one of the dumbest written magical girl shows I have ever seen, the man behind it is essentially Dobson with a career.

But, two seasons and a few years later….

YOU ARE A SENTIMONSTER

YOU ARE SENTIMONSTERS

WE ALL ARE SENTIMONSTERS!!!!!

At least Adrien is not alone?

Yeah, Dobson can eat a dick in that regard. I mean, I think the reveal and how they played out the mystery wasn’t all that good (in my opinion, Astruc and his team winged it in) but not only was his dismissive behavior insulting to begin with, it also shows that he has very little understanding of how to utilize common tropes in fiction and cartoons in particular, despite consuming them en masse. Plus you know, kinda insulting to Thomas Astruc, who by that token proved to still be at least more succesful than Dobby-dumb-dumb bear

Also, as much as I like Gravity Falls, neither it or Steven Universe had in my opinion quite from the get go an idea where to head with their mysteries. Alex Hirsch having confirmed, that Bill Cipher becoming a character and not just a symbol, was something he came up with only halfway working through the concept phase of season 1. And the Rose is Pink reveal? My memories regarding that show are a bit rusty, but when was that actually hinted on in the show? There were massive hints that Pink Diamond didn’t get killed by the rebellion or that things were more complicated. Not that Pink pulled essentially a Darth Sidious on everyone just to live on earth and have sex with humans. Especially in season 1 to 3.

But really, the picture is just something that to me has just aged poorly.

The comic on the other hand I genuinely want to smack Dobson over the head for.

Again, I myself think that yes, people can go too far at times with looking for clues or making up their theories. But personally, I think there is a difference between making a general statement about it and giving a specific example, like Dobson does here. Sure, he may not show the username of the person who made the video or the comment, but it is still pretty condescending and a dick move, made by a guy who may be 10+ years older than whoever made the video referenced here.

Dobson essentially punches down, instead of punching up. A at the time at least 35/36 year old man acting like a mean school girl online to mock some random person, who just made a dumb theory and then moved on with its life.

Though it isn’t just that one user specifically he is essentially punching down. Here is the text by the author coming with the comic

“You guys should all take a chill pill for getting angry and upset at the creator”

No. No they kinda don’t. I mean, yeah some people can take it way too far with how invested they are in the stuff, but people have every right to also call certain plot twists hack writing, if it is so. Like how the reveal of Rose having been Pink had essentially ruined Rose Quartz and as such also put in question any of the “morals” she supposedly lived by. And considering she was something of the “moral center” for the show and many characters as well as fans, that just immediately made fans feel betrayed about having believed in her in the first place. Don’t get me even started how it essentially confirmed that Pearl is the worst gem of them all, for having always been in love with a version of Space Hitler. Furthermore, Dobson is not really someone to talk about that sort of shit like he has a higher ground, considering how he at times demands of other creators to fall in line with his ideas

If anything, it just feels similar to other comcis he made in his last years about cartoons: Him trying to defend the shitty writing and work put into stuff he likes, because a) how dare people insult something he likes and b) he thinks he and Rebecca Sugar, Thomas Astruc and Alex Hirsch are kinda brothers in arms. Meaning if you insult them, you insult him and the great art he has created and is an expression of his “talents”.

But most importantly about the comic, it is just not funny.

It is simply Dobson “lecturing” in the green void and with emerging shit in the background for which he could be copyright striked into oblivion, how he thinks “x is bad”. And you know, personally I prefer being entertained over being lectured. Or try to do both, which you know, certain people can, cause they have one thing Dobson does not: Talent.

The sad thing about it being, Dobson could have actually managed to make the subject of “overanalyzing via fan theory” funny quite easily. All he had to do was just tell a small “story” about “fan theories” as a plot element, rather than a subject for a lecture.

Here is my idea for a small comic, and if you have input to give or want to adapt it, I would be glad:

Dobson watches some show only to pause when he sees something in the background.

Next thing we know, we have Pam visit Dobson one week later to see if he is doing okay, only to find him unhinged and covering over a bill board with strings regarding his fan theory why these characters are a couple. Insert him either going completely or partly into a “Pepe Silvia” like rant

And yeha, I know the “Charlie’s string board” thing is an overused meme by now in itself, but hot dang is it still funny…

Only for Pam to say “Andy, the next episode dropped yesterday and they are not a couple” Ending the comic with her showing him the episode and Dobson be like “oh… well, at least the resolution was decent”

A comic of that kind would also have the advantage of Dobson actually doing one thing, he certainly haven’t done in years by that point: Make fun of himself too.

See, that is likely another problem with Dobson: He was so preoccupied in using SYAC as a soap box for his opinion, he was completely blind to the fact that he could avoid being conceived as one of the internets biggest douchebags, if he poked genuine fun at himself via his work once in a while. Make the Dobbear the one living by example about what Dobson talks, instead of just ranting about it, you know?

But hey, I am not Dobson.

A guy who tells people to not overanalyze everything via fantheories…

But has absolutely no problem to fawn over some dumb Zelda theory -as long as it is by him- or whine about people not liking HIS theories on Steven Universe, without actually bothering to even explain what his theory is about.

Then again, I take Dobson making dumb theories about shitty cartoons and calart lesbians over him genuinely falling for real world related conspiracy theories, like how 9/11 was staged.

Yeah, that was a thing.

[void-speaks]

tell me about your ocs pls I wanna hear about them! Do they like soup? What's their favourite soup if they do

WATCH THIS– *EXPLODES*💥💥💥💥💥

Okay. Anyway. I'm normal now.

From the Original Universe kinda thingie idk what to call it:

Lucifer – YES. Definitely yes. In general, he prefers food that is rich in flavor, especially if it has lots of meat. Soup, however? Mushrooms. Put mushrooms in that shit and he'll eat it up. But the thing is, mushrooms anywhere else? No.

Michael – Honestly, Michael doesn't really... eat. Like at all. Since angels and Archangels alike technically don't need to eat, he just doesn't, because to him it's a waste of time. He does get why some of his siblings (referring to all types of angels in general) like to experiment with tasting human food, but personally doesn't find it appealing. If anything, he kinda dislikes eating.

Gabriel – Much or less the same situation as with Michael. He is much more willing to try human food and even enjoys it occasionally, and soup is one of his favourites! He just doesn't really see it as necessary. So to him it's basically like the stuff you eat only for holidays ykwim??

Uriel – Also same opinion as Gabriel. He prefers soup with noddles just because. In general, Uriel is way more tolerant to any and all kinds of food and doesn't really have any preferences, unlike his other brothers.

Raphael – This bitch will eat anything. Literally anything. I don't even know what's more to say. Naturally, he still has his preferences, but is totally down to just devour whatever's in his plate. But much like Uriel, he prefers soup with noodles, specifically like heavily seasoned soup.

Silas – There's only 1 type of soup Silas can tolerate, and even so he'd rather eat something else given the option. That soup is like the one with noodles and chicken in it (I literally do not know names of soups so pls don't kill me lol)

Armaros – Doesn't like eating food, but can tolerate it sometimes for his boy. Friend? Boy friend? Boyfriend? Who knows. 🤷 Oh and yea, he doesn't like eating soup at all. He can understand smoothies, but soup is something he'll never give a chance (unless under specific circumstances)

Adam & Eve – Well... They didn't really get to try soup. And can't now. Most foods they had was really basic stuff, like you know hunting animals for meat and then frying that shit. In their current state of being they cannot consume food at all. More specifically, they won't feel its scent or texture or taste.

And now other random bitches:

Ren – Literally only eats sweets. Nothing else. Maybe something salty or spicy to change things up from time to time, but veeeery rarely. Again, technically, he doesn't need to eat. But to make him more human and more of a comfort source to his host, he gobbles up chocolate bars like crazy.

Michael Waltz – He doesn't eat much because he just forgets too. His species doesn't really feel hunger despite literally being born from the Void. Still, he does prefer to eat like a normal human would. Except he doesn't eat normal. He eats almost all of his food cold (can't really feel temperature the same way as humans), mostly salty stuff because it's the most stimulating option. So when he does eat soup, you bet it's cold as an iceberg and just filled with salt to the brink.

Elliot – Elliot is a woman of simple tastes, preferring to watch the sunset with a hot cup of tea. Any soup is good soup to her when it's a cold winter day and she needs to warm up.

Kiki – Kiki doesn't eat. Maybe drinks the blood of her enemies. But ghosts or rather entities like her can't consume/digest food at all, unlike Adam and Eve

Michael Clarke – Due to his... erm... unique anatomy and state of being, his reaction to most foods changed drastically. Call it a side effect of having some unknown chemicals injected into your blood stream when you were like 12-14. Before that he would eat any food given to him, but now he's gotten very picky with what he eat, which is not a good trait to have in a world with very limited food resources. But, it's also fair to mention that his hunger comes very slowly. Like he can go days on end without eating and still be perfectly fine.

Adam Ray – this guy is definitely a fan of soup. Especially if eaten with bread and still super warm but not to the point of being hot. However, put radish and/or beetroot in there and he'll throw that shit up just as quickly as he ate it. Radish and beetroot are literally his mortal enemies.

Used to be uwo ocs but grown into their own thing:

Exorcist (listen it was just a placeholder title but then it stuck so hard that literally any normal name won't fit...) – This man is purely running on coffee and adrenaline and energy drinks. There is nothing healthy or even relatively normal about his diet. He will probabaly die by the time he reaches the age of 32.

Chaos (yes that's his name) – Not a big fan of soup, but can still eat pretty much any type if need be. Not much to say here.

Seth – Seth is a ghost so he doesn't eat now, much like Kiki. When he was still alive, he didn't like eating soup. He also hated almost every single drink beside black tea and maybe some soda, otherwise water was the get go drink. He died from drowning btw :)

Fate – Again, Fate is an entity that doesn't need to eat. Like Adam & Eve, while they technically are capable of it, it brings nothing to them, so they just don't.

Dionys – bitch only prefers to eat the most exquisite meals possibly known to mankind, when again, he technically doesn't need to eat.

Keith – Tolerates most food. He still has his preferences, but if you ever try to ask him, he'll only be able to tell what he doesn't like. Ask him what he likes and he'll freeze.

Most of these bad boys have been collecting dust on the shelves because a lot of them are based on a game, were specifically made for one fandom (like the uwo ocs) or evolved past being fandom characters but still got abandoned lmao. For example, Exorcist is the only one who survived out of all of them (aka one I still use). Kiki was based on a mobile Yandere Simulator-like game because I just really liked the combination of the hair and dress I was using + the fact that she could float. Adam Ray has two different variants – one is a Killer Frequency oc (commonly referred to as Rain), and the other one is just some guy I made up (commonly referred to as just Adam). Michael Clarke is a Dying Light 2 oc for my fic Rekindle (it's not finished and not published anywhere). Ren was originally supposed to be an OMORI character but evolved into being an oc. There are like a dozen other ones but I feel like they lack depth to be considered actual characters, so I didn't mention them. Not like half of the aforementioned ones are fully fledged, but still.

[tutuandscoot]

This might be a bit of a sensitive topic so if you don’t wanna answer that’s cool. But there are some moments - not *entire* programs - of when vm were under 18 years of age where it felt like some bits of choreo were a little too mature for teenagers to be doing? I’m confident that vm always felt safe and respected by each other but it kinda makes me side eye Marina. What’s your perspective?

Hmmm

I get what you’re saying and it can definitely be a sensitive topic for some.

I can really only speak to my opinion and of course with something like this it depends on culture and upbringing etc..

I don’t think VM were too young to be doing the things they were doing.

I’ll speak specifically to them and why I think that and why in this case it makes it different to say other ID couples in this situation.

- as you said; it’s for certain that they always felt safe and respected each other (always on the ice, obs there were hard times off ice here and there)

-them being put together so young I think in their case has a lot to do with being able to do the things they did at what can be perceived to be too young of an age. T knows nothing else but dancing with him, she doesn’t know how to be handled as a dancer by anyone but him, (and wouldn’t let anyone else handle her as a dancer but him) and after years being together by the time when were teenagers I would suspect that touching eachother in the simplest sense was as natural as breathing, so developing more intimacy and performing more explicit forms of intimacy just came naturally-and obviously (as they’ve said) that Suzanne and Paul Mac and Jean Marc (the ballroom guy) they met when they were young to guide them through it, I think definitely there may have been shyness and giggles at their first forehead touch or cheek kiss (in a program), but they would’ve been farrrrr more mature with that stuff then anyone else would be at their age. So through that along with doing so much travelling, moving away- all the life stuff that made them mature, they just had developed a maturity and intimacy.. maybe before they even knew it or was evident through movement.

- they obviously and a natural chemistry. They didn’t know it for a while- or couldn’t make sense of it for a while but they way they talk about feeling a faint but instant connection holding hands- that even though they were too shy to talk, something about it felt right.. that is sooooo freaking deep for 7+9 year olds to feel. Like I recon some grown adults have never felt that intrinsic connection to another human in that way. I really don’t know any of the science or psychology behind it to delve deeper with any accuracy, but I would think all the physical things they would have to do later on.. like that’s all just.. not superficial… but part of their art.. so when they have a connection so intrinsically deep, they felt it and didn’t ever* feel it die out, people around them who recognised this connection, and rather than exploiting it… like I think if they were doing some of the stuff they did in Assassins tango (06/07) when they were 10-12, I would be a little worried and feel it’s a bit inappropriate, but they instead focused on developing that… soulmateish kinda connection through respect and trust and teamwork… the movement really did just come with what their sport was.

As for later on and with Marina…

-I have read talk of people feeling like she capitalised on their connection and encouraged them to build this romantic relationship on the ice- to really lean into that even though the romance of it all was purely for on ice and not at all off. I don’t have so much of a thought on that and her, but more the sport over the years/through its development encouraging the sense that every ice dance couple must project romantic love. Now, bc it’s VM we are talking about and they do it so naturally/convincingly project that- of course that’s what I love and crave and I don’t feel anyone in the world does it like them- I don’t even feel romantic connection in the ID couples that are couples irl. I’ve come to accept no one will ever have the magic (romantic or otherwise) that VM do, but there should be some sort of connection.

I kinda have a feeling VM would’ve been ‘a romantic ice dance couple’ no matter the coach they went to at the age they did go to her.

It’s hard to know I think whether she, for arguments sake “forced” (encouraged) them to go for the ‘in love’ vibe bc it was a winning way to go. I think VM’s connection whether it reads as romantic or not- as I’ve said many times there are programs (latch) which are not romantic at all and yet their connection is as emotional as any other. The fact that they have this connection and it was so well nurtured and taken care of means they could go in any direction with it.

I think they stand out so much in their junior/ early senior years is because:

A) no other team was doing it like they were

B) other teams where trying and it just didn’t come off like VM

That then inevitably when comparing them to the rest of their field at the time. There are teams from their late junior/early senior days (so teams that were in seniors when VM were juniors but crossed over with VM as they came to seniors) that tried so so hard to project passion and romance and it just came off cringe. It just didn’t feel comfortable- whether there was a connection there (romantic or just in the partnership) and they pushed it way too hard (Belbin/Agosto are team I think of most writing this) or there wasn’t a true connection- at least not one that translated in performance, and so it feels awkward and just emphasises the distance between them on the ice.

It really just felt so natural for T&S. when I think of that ending of their blues CD in 05, I don’t think about them being 15/17, bc on the ice.. they aren’t playing themselves. It’s difficult to put into words and as I say it I think.. you know is it too much for young people even if it is in performance?.. I think the real difference for me is as I’ve tried to say is bc it’s natural- doesn’t feel forced. I’m not thinking about their age and whether they were forced by their coach to act this way.. I want to believe Marina- no matter the grievances we have for her bc of later on, but I would like to think she was smart enough to not.. if she did.. push that angle on them if they weren’t capable of it.. if she did in anyway, VM were able to carry it off completely convincingly.. I guess for whether they felt comfortable with it or not (not with each other just what they were doing in the sense of if they were too young) you’d have to ask them, but I think they would say they weren’t concerned with that kinda stuff, they were just so committed to and as a team passionate about their sport that it came with the territory so it’s what they did. I also think it really tracks for where they went- what they explored choreographically later on.. maybe for some, either tracking their career at the time or now discovering them, if those who arnt really familiar pre Mahler or umbrellas, Carmen comes out of nowhere like this borage of sexual fire, but really - while on a MUCH lesser level, they were capable of performing and emoting sexual intimacy and desire for a long time- and absolutely no they should not have performed their Carmen at 15 + 17, but they weren’t scared of it is the point.

I hope that answered your thoughts/ question..

I don’t find it to be too sensitive, in fact I love discussing this side of their art as long as it is always kept respectful, classy, in an observational respect. If I put myself in their shoes I definitely wouldn’t see a problem performing some of the stuff they did at 16, as a dancer that is, as a young girl/ women maybe not.. dancers - esp at a high level often have to have a more mature side to themselves to project confidence on stage- whether that’s solo, duet or in a group- it’s just kinda part of it so I see no problem with it, but as I said at the top this sort of thing… depends on a lot of factors how you view it xx

[dykedragonrider]

Finished AI: Nirvana initiative and on the one hand, that game cooked my brain a little bit to the point I had to sit down and think about things. On that same hand, that's fucking awesome and exactly what I want out of art. There is no other hand that's just sick and I like that. Spoilerific review/ramble under the cut.

First things to praise, we got more Mizuki! I wanted that from the first one and the game delivered on that twofold, and the Somniums are generally much less trial and error (i feel like they made more sense while still maintaining that dream-like quality, whether that was my own experience or design idk but I'm attributing it to design to praise that more), and the difficulty settings, while pure numerical tweaks, are also proper numbers to tweak for difficulty settings stuff (qtes/button mashing/more time to think) in my opinion in the Discourse Of Difficulty, but that's not the point of this I just want to say that's good. Much like this game.

The six year difference thing took me going through the helix and reframing things to actually *get*, but when I got it everything slotted into place? It's really clever, and I really like the way it particularly shifts the view of Ryuki's mental state because of the incredibly strong before/afters and the good/bad days from things.

On that note, Ryuki's a really strong character! Him and Date have a really good dynamic that got me invested early on since well. I really liked Date and Ryuki's relationship with him feels super natural, especially in regards to how they feel about each other and some of the guilt they carry, they're foils, parallels, lovers, everything they have going on Works and that's all there is to say on the matter. Tama also works with him well as this like, mommy figure to him. Not maternal, mommy. I am standing by that because GOD she's so much. I love that for her though. A friend mentioned that she was designed how she is because I think it was Uchikoshi who got introduced to the word "thicc" and it just spiraled from there? However it happened it's hilarious and she's fantastic, she's assertive, she's caring, she's sitting in Boss' tits, what isn't to love about her.

I adore the way the game handles its sexual content tbh, because this game is Horny and I love that for it. It's empathetic even when it's crass (Boss talking about Bibi as her daughter wrt "she hasn't said anything otherwise" and also a well made penis joke) and it just has really good comedic timing on everything. There's some playing with expectations when it does stuff, there's the fact that it once again leans into absurdity, and also they explained Date's porno mag power stuff??? I think it's erroneous and they didn't have to, I could have just taken that as is but the explanation was funny so I don't really care, it made me feel a human emotion (whimsy) which is a good thing when talking about the sheer volume of sexual jokes in this game. I was also really glad to have Greg Chun's Date the entire time because well, that's Date to me and I think his generally very subdued delivery creates *incredible* contrast with when he's hamming it the fuck up.

Like the first game, it's incredibly tightly designed. Basically everything has an explanation, information is always relevant to something and I think it's especially good in this game since there's more twists that are foreshadowed expertly, or you can again, conclude on your own by making inferences with given info, they're really intellectually satisfying and that's fantastic, love that. It might have just been a me thing, but I was completely blindsided by the six year parallel thing, which was the only thing I didn't catch onto beforehand? It comes with a fourth wall break during that reveal but also stuff is foreshadowed before then (mostly through omission imo) so like, maybe you can catch on maybe you can't, kinda wish I could have but it is what it is, the point is that's the only one I'm a little mixed on the execution of, even if I still feel positively about its existence.

Ending wise and thematically, again citing the very empathetic reality of it I mentioned earlier in the context of its sexual humor, this game firmly believes in the potential of humans to work together and be with each other, that moment in the ending where Tearer says "come, look upon true humanity" is really good! We are, it's us working together! It scratches that same kind of itch that Yoko Taro's works do, where things are both very direct and also a little clever about it all depending on the moments. I think Mizuki's speech in the ending is a little ham fisted but it's also Mizuki, it fits her character even if I think spelling it out feels a little erroneous to lay out the entire ethos there. Amame, and to some degree, Ryuki, also give the theme of "yeah life dealt you a shit hand and you made some bad choices, that doesn't mean you're irredeemable it just makes you human" which I am always a sucker for.

I think my only real complaint about this game is Lien. When he's not being Kizzybrained I don't mind him but everything else with him just really did not land with me. His stuff feels like it doesn't have enough time to breathe, and his Somnium does add to it well! It's just not enough.

Other than that though, peak fucking fiction. I love strong women, pathetic men, lots of thought and humor, and a very human story.

[megabuild]

shipping asks: this one was hard because all of the ships i care about presently are ‘the rich tapestry of false/scar that exists in my head’ and ‘false/gem where in s8 they kind of almost have a thing but then after the ending they both run away from each other and it’s odd and bad’ so i guess. treebark. or the first wlw ship that comes to mind

Gemshrub: Ship It

What made you ship it?

empires S1 - I don't think their characters interact that much but god I wish they had more because their dynamic could be so interesting to me. i've been thinking about S1 gem a lot recently and how weird a character she is and i think it would have made sense for her to be close with shubble because of her whole Last of her kind deal, PLUS her knowledge of the corruption.. gem to me is very much a researcher and scholar and i think they could have started a weird Thing that neither of them are really sure of what it is (shrub is a few years younger and has never been in a relationship, while gem isn't really sure if she even has feelings for shrub at all..) I'd like to believe they reunited some years after the rapture and end up living somewhat happily 💙 sorry nature wives fans ilike it too especially in S2 but this one just makes sense to me

What are your favorite things about the ship?

they're just kinda weird. i think atp it's obvious ill only care about a ship if they're either insane about each other or don't even know what they are LMFAO

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

I don't know if people actually ship this at all LOL so I don't know if I can have an unpopular opinion other than it exists to me

Treebark: Don’t Ship It

Why don’t you ship it?

Ahhhg okay this is hard because technically I would but I said I didn't ship FH and they're much the same to me so I have to keep consistent. I do believe they both love each other but. The entire relationship is built off a lie and then obsession and it just stings a little too hard. They definitely are in love but this is not a good thing yk. Martyn is crazyyyy

What would have made you like it?

again I do like it just. Not in the way some of its fans might LAWL

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

YES i like treebark so much because it helped me start to like martyns character a bit more. Sorry. But before I thought about treebark (only in the last like six months. and like the short bit before last life dropped) I associated him wholly with the watchers stuff and I just didn't really care about him at all but seeing a few things made me Think and now i really like them both. Far from my faves I could not go analysing them or whatever but idk. Actual definition of "keep your dog on a leash" but the dog is a human and also its Martyn not the guy with dog in his name. The fact he originally intended to betray him but ended up staying loyal and then only had that betrayal arc three seasons later when ren was conveniently not around to see it. Screams into a paper bag. Ohhh martyn I could have gone so crazy for you if you were not written by a man I have accidentally created parasocial beef with

[wildegeist-old]

(Ramble) Creativity and dependency on attention

Disclaimer: This is an opinion and anecdote from me, I'm not an authority, I'm speaking from a place of personal experience, this is not intended as some ultimate piece of advice. Anyone who reads this can take whatever they want from it. It's subjective and based on a way of thinking that I've found is beneficial to me personally. Sharing and hoping maybe it will be beneficial to someone else too. I’m not telling you what to do or how to feel. You can feel entirely different and that's okay.

I see much debate on what a good mindset as a creative of any type to have is in regards to wanting more traction- you know, one side saying “no just stop caring about feedback” and the other side saying “no I NEED feedback” and it just becomes this polarized mess with neither side understanding or communicating efficiently. While ultimately I think it depends from person to person because our mindsets as creatives will differ from person to person, I think there's a healthy sweet spot for people to hit in regards to how much they want and value input from others.

Expression is the heart of creativity, so that want for input from others, the connection, and the social aspect can't be denied. It's natural to want others to love your work as much as you love it. We put our hearts and souls into lovingly crafting cool little things out of ideas we have, and it's totally natural to want engagement. I don't believe we can ever fully immunize ourselves from this desire. Even I get this rush of happy feelings and motivation when I get feedback, and I think most people kinda need it at least in some amount. Comments and love feel great and I think to dismiss that want entirely is counterproductive.

But…

On the other end, I do believe that there's a real issue with too much dependency on feedback and I think that comes from a place of insecurity. Because the root almost always seems to be a craving for external validation. I can draw a parallel between it and the reason even non-creatives develop social media addictions. It's that little dopamine rush that builds into a craving for more and more, until you start to grow dissatisfied when the amount you receive isn't meeting your personal demand.

Then you start feeling a need to create for attention and validation, and you find that eventually, you become burnt out when you’re not getting back what you wanted for what you were putting in.

And at this point you have to remind yourself again why you create. Is it for the attention, or is it because you want to make it? It's probably really because you want to make it. That's how you started in the first place, after all. I've found it helps me when I'm unconfident to ground myself by reminding myself of this. All that truly matters is I enjoyed creating it, and I'd always do it anyway even if I got zero attention. You started with no attention, and you still made something even without the promise it would get any. You remind yourself of this, and you reclaim your power.

I guess in that sense it sorta makes attention like a sort of drug to creators. It feels good and is fine in moderation but when you become too dependent on that little dopamine rush, it slowly starts to consume and ruin you and your love for creating. I've always found myself much happier putting my work out into its own spot where it may or may not be seen than posting it somewhere more populated with the expectation of feedback. I don’t think it’s very fair of me to put that sort of expectation upon other humans anyway. I put my stuff out and it’s any person’s choice whether or not they wish to engage with it, and that’s that.

I’ve talked with and befriended so many creatives over the years and one of the biggest things I’ve noticed is that many people seem to depend too much on external validation, like honestly, moreso than the normal healthy amount that a person would desire feedback. And that’s not their fault, it’s a tough beast to tame and I struggle with it too. But I see people goaling specifically to get the most attention, getting frustrated when they don’t get more attention, obsessed with “making it big”. Sometimes this results in them sterilizing or watering down their ideas to please more people, or adding more stuff with wide appeal that they didn’t necessarily want to. Or they get too perfectionist about their own work to the point that they think everything they make is required to be grandiose and perfect. All for a marginally higher chance at more attention.

I’ve fallen into those traps. “I gotta make my stuff less abstract so people understand better, because some people said my stuff is too bizarre”. “I gotta make my stuff perfect in every way because otherwise it’ll be torn apart”. “I want to do this thing and it’s most authentic to my goal with my work, but I’m not going to because I feel like it’d disappoint people”. Dude, it’s yours. Pour yourself into your work, because nothing else is ever gonna be more uniquely you. I’ve received overwhelming attention on pieces of art before and found it actually doesn’t feel very good. It’s not as satisfying as you’d think after a point, and it’s stressful. I’m okay staying small forever and making things in my little corner for a few people (and most importantly myself) to enjoy. My target audience is me, and I’m happier working knowing that.

But what if that’s not convincing? What if you still crave that attention? Adopting a mindset to be less dependent on it in an age where we’re programmed to depend on it seems easier said than done- that’s because it is. What worked for me was asking myself those questions whenever I felt unsure. Would I still be creating if I got ZERO attention? Yes. There's a ton of work I have that I never posted and don't really intend to. Did I still enjoy making the thing even if it didn’t get much attention? Also yes. Am I deriving joy from it? Yes. And I realize, that’s enough for me.

Bottom line I’m getting to here is: It’s okay to want attention, most of us do. Just don’t let that desire tear you apart, yeah?

[underscore-hyphen]

10 Scariest Songs Ever (In My Opinion)

So I just read Revolver's recent listicle on the 5 scariest songs written (Link Here), and frankly I was personally unimpressed. It was a fan poll, so maybe it should be unsurprising that the selections were largely kinda boring and obvious, but even so it inspired some thoughts in me. For this reason, I've decided to make a list of what are, in my opinion, the 10 scariest songs ever.

10: Death - Scream Bloody Gore

Chuck Schuldiner's voice on Death's first album has always stricken me as really intense. It sounds like he was actively being torn to pieces as he tried to sing. Combined with the way that this album had a very unpolished sound in comparison to much of the rest of their work, if I'm being honest pretty much any track could have been put in this spot, the title track only made the cut because of how I felt at the time. An honorable mention goes to the track 'Back From The Dead' from their demo of the same title; it only didn't make it because I arbitrarily (and perhaps unsuccessfully :3c) chose only to include stuff from mainline releases.

9: Megadeth - Looking Down The Cross

One of Megadeth's slower songs, but one that slowly builds in its speed and tension until it sounds absolutely devastating. Taking on a particularly dark retelling of Jesus Christ's crucifixion, with Christ resolving to damn humanity as vengeance, the lyrical darkness matches with the furious musicality and all comes together for what I think to be a terrifying piece. Another honorable mention goes to 'Last Rites / Loved to Deth'; the album version was a close competitor with this one, and the demo version (for how much faster and more bitter Mustaine's vocals sound, as well as the generally lower sound quality) would've taken it, if not for previously mentioned arbitrary rules.

8: Slayer: South of Heaven

Slayer have a number of rather spooky tracks, and ultimately I think that Revolver's list settling on 'Dead Skin Mask' is both an obvious choice and an incorrect choice. It's more obviously horrific in its lyricism, being (at times quite explicitly) a detailing of the actions of Ed Gein. In addition to that, it has some very horrific musicality, but in my opinion it can sound somewhat cliche at times. Furthermore, selecting Ed Gein specifically doesn't mean much to me; why not 'Angel of Death' for specifically dealing with nazi war crimes? Ultimately, for me, 'South of Heaven' takes the cake for being extremely dark and brooding from a standpoint of musical structure, and while it doesn't deal with real world tragedy, I don't feel that that is a necessary factor; the lyrics of 'South of Heaven' paint an exceedingly dark picture without that.

7: Morher - Soothsayer

The first of rather few non-metal tracks on this list, Soothsayer by Morher (known as Wrtch when I bought the album it is on) is an experimental piece that includes some rather spooky vocals towards the end. There isn't too much that one can say to convey the dissonant, spooky nature of this track, but it's atmospheric in a very compelling way. I highly recommend seeking this track out, as Morher are quite certainly the least renowned artist on this list, and the track itself is an extremely interesting listen.

6: Mercyful Fate - Shadows

Mercyful Fate have always been a delightfully spooky band in their sound and this track is, lyrically speaking, the kind of schlocky horror that sits at heavy metal's backbone. Combine King Diamond's incredible vocal performance with the rest of the band's almost magical sense of musicality and dark harmony, this track is a very solid example of the band in their prime. Happy Halloween :)

5: Pig Destroyer - Jennifer 2

At first, this track sounds like a continuation of 'Prowler in the Yard's opening track, a narrative told by a text-to-speech voice detailing a pair of women doing some stuff in public that they should, perhaps, be doing in one of their bedrooms. As the track continues, however, the narrative becomes increasingly surreal, and in the background discordant noise begins to slowly intensify along with the sound of laughter. The only deathgrind band on this list and the track isn't even a deathgrind piece; it's something of a disappointment, but there were a number of such tracks that I could have included that didn't quite make the cut. 'Lifestalker' by Cattle Decapitation was another track I considered including.

4: Motörhead - Make 'em Blind

Motörhead weren't a band who made particularly spooky tunes very often, but their album 'Sacrifice' to me is quite an exception. 'Make 'em Blind' is a very dark song, and while there are a few of those on the album, the slow drumming and chanted vocals create a particularly eerie atmosphere that engrosses me; it's almost hypnotic. There's also something darkly humorous about the way that the lyric "There are worse things than death in here" becomes a refrain in 'Don't Waste Your Time', the very next track, where its meaning is flipped for a far more upbeat track. An honorary mention for Motörhead goes to the track 'Jailbait' from 'Ace of Spades', because there are few things more terrifying than a grown man expressing sexual interest in an underage girl.

3: Robert Johnson - Stones In My Passway

I've often heard it said that when people listen to Robert Johnson, they get the feeling that they're doing something they shouldn't. For what it's worth, I have never felt this way, and I think that people who say that are just combining the rumors surrounding the man with their (presumed) inexperience with such old recordings. Whatever the case, Johnson certainly did have a way of stringing words together that he often used to paint a dark, distressing picture, and I feel this song to have been a particularly good example of such.

2: Type O Negative - Black Sabbath (Black Sabbath Cover)

Putting Black Sabbath's self-titled song at number 1 on their list was one of the best decisions on the part of Revolver's listicle. For what it's worth, I feel that Type O Negative's cover of the song is even spookier, but if covers didn't qualify or if the original just beat this version out, I understand. The dissonant, slower pace and the lyrics, altered to reflect the satanic perspective, outdo the original in terms of spookiness, and the lyrical refrain of 'Ave, Ave Satanus' emphasises the fact. The closing lyrics of "Worship the Sun / Worship no one" strike as chillingly beautiful in combination with the musical backing. Ultimately, while I generally prefer the original, Type O Negative's take is a lot scarier.

1: Sunn O))) - 0))) Bow 2

A crushing drone doom piece that combines crushing, dissonant guitaristry with unpredictable bursts of surreal, bludgeoning electronic sounds; the first time I listened to this album I made the mistake of falling asleep to it. I woke up to the sounds of discordant piano keys being beaten with a hammer, and it was the only time I can think of since I was a child that I can recall being genuinely scared by a piece of music. The majority of the track trends towards being loud and noisy, but low-pitched, so when there is such a sudden tonal shift towards the high-pitched, disturbingly altered sounds is jarring. It becomes a sonic jumpscare, but one that is set up ever-so-well by the rest of the track's atmosphere.

As a final note, I wanted to explain my not including Korn's 'Daddy' (which was included on Revolver's list), and that is simply because I haven't listened to it. Korn simply aren't my sort of music, and I felt that trying songs that I haven't listened to before for this list would have been disingenuous. I am sure, though, that it is a very disturbing song in its own right.

[lorekeeper-backset]

So I saw this analog horror video on YouTube, it was a Pokemon thing because sure why not there's an analog horror video for every other franchise of course there's one for Pokemon and I watched, like, five minutes of it before I got bored but what I remember is that it focused on the Ultra Beast which, like, makes sense because the Ultra Beasts are very eldritch in nature and the Aether Foundation or Interpol or whatever would totally have informational videos on them. Probably not on VHS because the time period feels wrong to me but that's more personal opinion. Anyways, I feel like because it makes sense it also kinda defeats the point.

Cause, like, from my layman's point of view an important part of analog horror is that it's grounded in reality. Like, its not realistic, god knows some of this stuff is patently absurd when you think about it, but it takes place in a world meant to resemble our own so it could be real. You know its not but you also can't be sure. Maybe this informational video you're watching is real. Maybe there is an Alternate hiding under your bed waiting to drive you insane, I don't know how they work I didn't watch the Mandela Catalogue.

By setting your analog horror in the Pokemon world you kinda take away some of the horror because you already know its not real, its set in a world very much unlike our own. And, by using the Ultra Beasts, you kinda defeat the point of Analog Horror based on kid's media. Cause with those, you're doing the FNaF thing where you take a children's thing and make it fucked up. Like, Sonic is an evil monster who wants to eat you (the nature of humanity is just that every so often someone accidentally invents sonic.exe again) or that Batman one (yeah, I know Batman's not just for kids but he's not really meant to be scary to the audience and also not meant to be a serial killer or whatever). The Ultra Beasts already are fucked up. Yeah, its toned down and kid-ified but you don't need to do much other than copy-paste Nihilego's lore into a script and have a tts voice read it. Maybe insert a jump scare for fun. If you wanna make a Pokemon Analog Horror thing wouldn't it make more sense to have Pikachu be some sort of horror monster that's gonna jump out of your screen and kill you (I'm pretty sure that's already a thing and there's even, like, a game about it but that's also not the point)?

I dunno, I'm not an analog horror guy. Or a horror guy in general. So maybe I shouldn't be judging this. But it just doesn't seem scary to me compared to what other Analog Horror does. It's not necessarily a bad idea, in-universe informational videos about Ultra Beasts have potential, I once did the same thing but in written form, but I don't think Analog Horror is the right genre for it.