#but its also really funny and indicative of how people who do these things' minds work. can you not conceive caring abt a female chara

[tamaharu]

i love it when a m/m genderswap -> f/f thing becomes kinda popular and then people are like why isnt there more of this f/f content :( idk. you could also try caring about actual female characters. just a suggestion?

[lifeonmarz-blog]

“IT GIRL” natal alignments

an attractive young woman who is perceived to have both sex appeal and a personality that is especially engaging.

Moon/Venus The emotional world is expressed in a pleasing way. You understand what a person needs without them having to communicate it with you. Very expressive with love nature your ok with expressing it to the world.

Mercury/Venus *Major Indicator* This is the most common aspect with popular attractive women. People relate to you through the way you communicate. They love to hear you talk even if it’s about basic things. Watching your social media just to see what your up too. This placement gives you a sexy rememberable voice.

Sun 10th Your personality is easier to read your view points may be more agreeable to the mass so it’s easier to create relationships. You enjoy being likable and agreeable. You know how to present yourself in a way that will get the best desired results. It may also be very easy for you to get jobs people may feel like they know you even if they don’t.

Sun/Asc loves being the center of attention and people enjoy giving you the attention. This aspect makes a person come across as very interesting with a busy life. People enjoy being around you because of your childlike bubblyness that just expresses whatever you want when you want. Others feel more confident being around you because of the confidence you exude.

Sun/pluto polarizing, magnetic and alluring is how I would describe this. Others have a curiosity about you. You may keep a lot of your thoughts and personal life to yourself and people pay attention to your life closing because they want to learn things about you. Everyone listens when you speak because you probably stay to yourself and don’t contribute in group conversations as much as others. The real appeal here comes from people not being able to have access to you.

Sun/neptune giving hope to the hopeless. You see the bright side to anything and make for a great person to share with. You listen and give the best advice you can. Your mind is very creative and others love when you share your visions with them. You can provide many creative solutions to problems.

Asc in libra you enjoy a simple life living the lap of luxury you prefer to keep a light hearted nature. You’re like a spa in human form.

Asc in Sagittarius you make the plans for your friend group because you know how to create the fun. Others love your spontaneity and ability to make friends with anyone. You have the gift of gab and it’s very charming.

Asc in Aquarius you’re really funny in a random who thinks of that kind of way. You don’t mind bluntly telling the truth and you shock others by doing that. People view you as someone that doesn’t mind sharing the information you know. You’re willing to try anything once and it’s inspiring.

Asc in Pisces you can adapt to any environment. You know how to connect with many types of people so you attract a lot of opportunities to you. The way you express your emotions has an addictive quality about it. Attracting people with your rawness in emotion or expressing emotions in a creative way. You know what to say to soften anger in others.

Moon in cancer your caring nature is easily felt. People feel at home around you. You know how to make others feel welcomed. You don’t put much pressure on others on how to behave and that allows them to drop their guard with you and just be.

Moon in Virgo reliability is a virtue you have. Reliability builds the foundation to long lasting relationships because trust is so important. You hold support to a high regard and that allows you to build sturdy relationships and that’s make people want to offer you the same support in return.

Moon in Capricorn being blunt and bout your business is what wins people over. Its refreshing to hear someone speak their mind so freely. You accomplish goals you never speak on and people are amazed when they see what you've been creating behind closed doors. This placement also gives clean girl aesthetic. Also you probably love black clothing.

Moon in Pisces Dreamy ofc, with a quirky sense of humor. You don't mind laughing at yourself so its easy for people to let their guard down around you. You look approachable and usually are. There is so many ideas in your head and people love to hear them. Your very self motivated and it rubs off on the people around you. Because you don't have ulterior motives and its easy to see in you, its very easy for you to make friends quickly.

Venus in 9th Redefining what love looks like, you may be unconventional in expressing the way you love but it cant be denied that you do love. People admire the way you can blend in with many different groups. When you travel people can wonder how you got to have certain experiences in a country you just got to.

Venus 10th You meet traditional beauty standards. Being conventionally attractive brings in attention from a mass amount of people. People love the way you dress and copy your outfits. This is the girl that is saved in a lot of Pinterest boards.

Venus in 11th Popularity comes to you easily. People see you and want to be your friend. Venus hear gives you the gift of gab. Your voice is disincentive and draws people in. You come across friendly and bubbly full of energy and fun.

Venus in 12th Mystery is how you captivate. People unconsciously try to get your love and attention. Your personal life is private and people feel like you live a interesting secret life, rather that's true or not its assumed and they want to get close to you because they see not a lot of people can. They want to know what happens in your world.

How many did you have?

[that-ineffable-devil]

Long post incoming, but I've been on and off it for days so you're gonna see it.

On Charles and Love

I think there's a lot more to Charles' reaction to Edwin's confession than what we may first assume.

Charles loves harder than anyone, but I don't think he even knows what it means or feels like to be IN love--or to be loved back. This isn't a dig at Edwin, so don't @ me. This has to do with Charles' past.

When Edwin first confesses on the steps of Hell, Charles doesn't even hesitate with his response: "Great, love you too, can we go now?" He does love Edwin, one way or another. He hasn't needed to examine that love any further. He doesn't think Edwin could mean it that way, because Edwin probably has never given any indication of feeling that for anyone. Perhaps he didn't think Edwin capable of love in that way. Perhaps it's his own repressed sexuality. Perhaps it's the feeling that he is inherently unlovable. Perhaps it's a combination of things.

On Edwin's and Charles' Repression

Look, Edwin is clearly autistic and heavily emotionally repressed--he's British, from 1916, and male. That's the perfect storm of emotional repression. But he clearly feels and feels deeply--he just doesn't always let on about it. (Which is such a nice thing to see for autistic representation, the "unfeeling alien" trope ain't it.)

And even though they've been together for 30 years, they clearly do not talk about deep emotions much, because it makes Edwin uncomfortable and Charles probably wouldn't manage to get much out before cracking a joke instead--it's his defense mechanism.

As for his own repression, Charles grew up in the 80s as a biracial kid with an abusive father. He was also at least questionably queer while alive: he was part of an alt crowd, wore eyeliner, and wore a single dangly earring. Now that doesn't mean for certain he's queer or questioning, but it IS a pretty common code in media and storytelling. And I imagine no small part of his father's excuses for abusing Charles had to do with "beating the queer out of him." Of COURSE that led to repression--how could it not?

On Feeling Unlovable

And the feeling that he's inherently unlovable? Does he really feel that way? I think so.

He wants it. He wants to be loved so badly. And because of that, he tries so hard. He tries to stay light and happy and kind, even when he's suffering underneath--he has his own flavor of emotional repression. Because if he can't be loved, he can at least be liked.

And he doesn't just want people to like him, he needs them to like him, because he needs to know he's likable. Because there's safety in being likable. There's safety in being funny and friendly and "a good sort of chap." It's proof he's not the monster his father was--the monsters his friends were. It's his shield. The shield he uses to protect himself from the world, yes, but also to protect the world from him. Or at least, who he thinks he is, deep down.

It's also, in his mind, his only chance at being loved. His only chance at staying loved. Because love is earned. Because love is the reward for good behavior. At least, that's how it was as a kid, right? And that's all he knows. He died before he could experience any other kind of love--besides the love between himself and Edwin, which is its own complicated matter.

The other difficult aspect of growing up in a household where love and affection were weaponized and where violence is an acceptable reaction to anger, is how it radically alters your perception of love and family.

You crave the love and validation you never received, but you also fear it and don't believe it's real when it comes without strings.

You struggle to identify love in healthy relationships because if it doesn't hurt, then is it really love?

And even though you crave it more than anything, you're afraid of it. You're afraid for things to get real, because real love--or your understanding of it--is dangerous.

Because love is a weapon and you can't bear for anyone to use it against you again.

Hurt People Hurt People...Sometimes

Trauma manifests differently in each person. There are some commonalities, but it's never exactly the same. I know the saying is "hurt people hurt people" and that's not entirely wrong. But sometimes, hurt people heal people--or at least try to. Charles is in the second group.

Charles never, ever wants anyone to feel the kind of love he knew while he was alive. So he paradoxically loves openly while remaining guarded. His loyalty and devotion are unmatched. He went to Hell for Edwin. But he also never told Edwin the truth about his father until essentially forced to. Because that involves vulnerability. It involves, in his eyes, weakness. And what did vulnerability and "weakness" get him in life? Well...dead.

But he craves reciprocation. He needs to feel like he can be vulnerable, safely. I don't think that Edwin has done anything to make him feel unsafe, but being that they're both emotionally surpressed boys killed by other boys for perceived weaknesses at 16 and the lack of a ghost therapist...it's not all that surprising they haven't dealt with their issues in 30 years.

I think this is why he latches onto Crystal so quickly and easily. Firstly, she's alive: he can at least pretend to ignore his own death for a bit. Secondly, she's his age (sort of) and can see him, which is an uncommon experience at best. Thirdly, again--she's alive, so it can never last--never be real. Either she'll age beyond him, or she'll die and likely be taken to her afterlife. Which he'll happily ignore for the first two reasons.

On Types of Love

I won't get too into this, because I'm in no way an expert in the wide variety of emotions attributed to love. But I will say this: Charles died at 16.

If we set aside the possibility of him being aromantic for now (which he absolutely could be), he may never have had the chance to fall in love while he was alive. If he could even recognize it for what it was. I mean, I'm in my 30s, been married and divorced twice, and I'm still not sure I've ever been in love. At 16, you're drowning in hormones and it can be hard to decipher feelings.

On Arrested Development

If you think about it, his death and subsequent ghostly afterlife are a supernatural version of the arrested development a lot of child abuse survivors experience. But his development arrested literally--he literally CAN'T grow up. At least, not physically.

He may have had 30 years to address his issues, but why would he have thought to? He doesn't have the same responsibilities or needs as a living adult. He's constantly on the job or on the run from Death, he's living with Emotional Repression the Person (my beloved), and frankly...it hurts to examine those problems. How many adults are actively avoiding their own issues?

On the Confession

Edwin, with the most heartwrenching tone of voice since David "I would like to spend" Tennant, makes clear that he's IN love with Charles. And for a moment Charles looks like he's been walloped in the gut with an iron bar, trying to process. But then the trauma-brain kicks in.

He finds the first "logical" explanation to someone (Edwin) telling him they love him: it's a literary reference, and Edwin is...maybe not "messing" with him, but maybe being extra dramatic about this? It can't be real.

But then Edwin gets upset--he's serious about this. And Charles sort of...short-circuits. He can't process this right now, not when they're running for their afterlives. Not when the Night Mother is waiting to split them up. Not when he's barely even begun to process his trauma. So he does everything he can to make sure Edwin knows that, no matter what, he loves him. Maybe not in the same way, but with the same depth.

Because they'll have time. They'll have all the time in the world to figure out what this means. Because they certainly don't right now, and everything Edwin is saying flies directly in the face of every opinion Charles has ever held about himself.

And what the hell is he supposed to do with that?

[loganthrives]

RimWorld: Anomaly

I want to tell y'all a story.

So. RimWorld's fourth DLC Anomaly released this week, and for the past two days I've been playing it almost non-stop. I'll put it below the cut because its obviously a crapton of spoilers, but I'm just kind of blown away at how much story this DLC adds to the infamous story generator game.

Like, I have over 4,000 hours in this game and this is the first time that its felt like its telling me an actual story.

Spoilers ahead! TW: child death in the context of this cruel cruel video game:

I had this colonist join named Bristle who was described as a "leathery stranger" with a unique ability - he can blow up animals (and people, presumably) with his mind into hunks of twisted flesh. I said, sure, why not! Join my colony, what's the worst that could happen?!

Well, the worst that could happen is he went and studied a monolith on the beach outside of my base and it teleported him into a strange grey labyrinth. Pretty much just as soon as he got here, he's now trapped in some kinda void maze. Great!

It took me a couple of rooms before I noticed the markings on the floor, so once I realized I could read them I examined every single one I could find.

The messages are... Evocative, but they start giving me names. I'm wondering this whole time, who is Raisa? And who is Tom? I checked all of my colonists - I don't have anyone by either name. Are they people I should know? Or... People I haven't met yet?

Fortunately, because Bristle had literally just joined my colony, he came with his own rifle and 12x fine meals, so he could actually bum around and hang out in the labyrinth for a pretty long time. I ended up mapping out the entire thing before his last 6 meals disappeared from his inventory.

I found a couple rooms with fleshspikes - those are these pink little flesh monsters with a giant protruding spike coming out of their heads? - but thanks to Bristle's ability to explode creatures with his mind, I just... Exploded it.

I also found a couple groves of trees underground, a couple of horses randomly, and some bottomless pits. I was tempted to walk over one just to see what would happen (and savescum out of it ofc), but I didn't end up doing it.

I'm really concerned about Tom and Raisa though. Are they okay? Did they make it out?

I'm especially concerned about Tom. That... Doesn't sound okay.

And then I push through yet another door.

This is Raisa... And Tom.

I gasped out loud in real life. Nora came over to check on me because holy shit, that's so sad. Suddenly their notes makes sense. The obelisk abducted a woman and her child, and they got stuck in here for who knows how long. The wounds they had indicated that a fleshspike had done this to them.

I went to the exit - I had found it earlier, I just wanted to keep exploring. Thankfully, everything that had been left behind was kicked out of the labyrinth with Bristle when it collapsed on itself and the obelisk itself vanished from sight.

Including Raisa and Tom. I had to give them a proper burial. Wish I could've done more.

The messages were all from Raisa after she lost her son Tom.

I had done the two researchers one ghoul story start because I wanted to dive right into the DLC, and one of those researchers, Rose, arrived pregnant. Baby Thorn is almost three years old and still doesn't have a name.

Its kind of funny, because when I first landed she idly wandered near the monument, and I had one of those gamer coincidences where she walked by it right at the same time I got the notification that she was pregnant.

So I wound up continuing this colony even though it was a crap start, thinking I'd get some kind of void baby out of the deal? Nope, normal baby, normal birth. He's just chilling in his crib being looked after by the whole community as happy as can be. She must've been pregnant on the screen where I selected her for my colony and I just missed that detail.

Another funny thing about this kid, is that his father is Unknown, and apparently Rose's ex was the ghoul Kaito that I also started with. So, presumably, it was her ghoul (ex) husband's son, but the game's code doesn't seem to be able to link him as the other parent, either because he's a ghoul or because it happened as part of the game's starting conditions. Also she's actually gay on her character sheet, so I dunno how that worked for them? Ehh, I'm not gunna judge.

Anyways, I'm thinking about naming him Tom.

Here's hoping he has a long and full life.

[rise-my-angel]

Because I love salt, what do you find to be the most annoying lines of so-called evidence or foreshadowing for ships you hate? For me it’s hard to pick just one but Jon saying Sansa looked radiant is up there for me because the idea that Jon had a crush on Sansa in the first book or before is so much worse than the thought of them meeting again and then developing feelings (which I still hate, but it’s just not as bad). It’s super normal for people to think their siblings look nice. Arya’s POV chapters also remark that Sansa is beautiful. Ashford theory is annoying because it was originally about the hound and Sansa (also hate this ship but the fans are a million times more tolerable). I also roll my eyes when fans insist that the bride of fire line foreshadows Dany marrying Jon (and I even LIKE that ship but only in an AU in my head where Lyanna is Jon’s mom but Rhaegar is NOT the father)

"Because I love salt"

You have come to the right place as this is an accurate real life photo of me running this blog:

Thats a good one I hate though, multiple siblings and family members in this series all compliment one another. Even characters with bad relationships compliment each other. In the books, Arya recalls that her father calls her pretty, which only Jon ever also called her. Does that mean Ned had romantic feelings for Arya? Or Lyanna for that matter? No of course not. Thinking someone in terms of beauty is zero indicator of attraction in any way.

Also its even funnier with Jonsas because Sansa herself notes that Arya looks just like Jon, and then on multiple occasions notes that she thinks Arya is ugly. So, its even less compelling.

In the show Tyrion compliments Cersei's beauty all the time and we know there is nothing to it. It's reading into something that isn't there beacuse if they ignore the way beauty is used in this series as a common compliment towards other highborns, then its a really simple box to check on really stock symptoms of attraction. (I also dont really enjoy Sansan but it is funny how they just stay in their circle and mind their business like they somehow are winning based on being not fucking annoying alone).

I'm gonna rapid fire for Jon here because pretty much every single ship he has is backed by the worst evidence known to man.

The idea that Jon never thinks about Sansa because he loves her the most is dumb and not how we know Jon works. He holds back what he says not what he thinks. He thinks of Sansa the least because despite being his sister, she treated him like shit because she looks down on him for being a bastard. Jon cares about her, but not anywhere near how he cares about his other siblings who have clearly shown him love and respect.

The worst of Jon and Arya is a very very old outline that grrm scrapped. Its an outline that wasnt used and most of it isnt canon so it is literally a piece of non evidence for a ship that is disgusting. (Both Jonsa and Jonrya make Jons good older brother behavior towards his sisters look predatory and the shippers are all literally too blind to realize it)

Jon and Dany have literally nothing to back that up, because they are staged as moral oppositions to one another, dont know the other exists, and the idea that the motif of ice and fire will be about the coming together of romance is antithetical to everything grrm has established about the themes of his story. They are so far from being a ship that literally the ONLY thing they have to support it is the show and thats an absolute joke (see my every post that got me blocked by jonerys stans for more detail)

Ygritte is a rapist, so I accept literally zero "evidence" on that ones validity.

I also hate the "the actors have chemistry" argument to support really bad ships, because some actors having chemistry doesnt equal good romance, it equals good on screen dynamics in its own unique way. Like Tywin and Arya in season 2 have GREAT chemistry, but I don't need to explain why shipping that is creepy. Catelyn and Jaime have great chemistry, but it doesn't mean anything was actually there which could've worked.

Like shipping is fine, but so many people just INSIST it is canon or meant to be instead of something fun to think about. I joke ship about Stannis and Davos because its fun but I'm not over here arguing that people who don't ship it are "ignoring the text in front of them deliberately".

Also honestly, its really funny to me that you had to specify you'd only like that ship if they weren't related. Big oof on that one. Jonerys stans hate the idea they couldn't be related because they somehow think Dany being his AUNT isn't at all creepy. Like, Dany is related to Jon the way Jon thinks hes related to his MOTHER. There is no capability of romance or attraction there, that's crazy.

People who are biologically related but don't know it, 99% of the time are in fact, still not accidentally attracted to each other because that's biological survival instinct. Anti inbreeding protocol. But they think because DANY was raised to think her families blood superiority driven incest is fine, that somehow means JON would think its fine. Jonsas have no argument for that they just have to pray desperately that Jon would want to fuck his little sister despite how much it makes him look like a predator.

I'm sorry, I hope you have water on hand to wash down all this goddamn salt I just threw at you all at once.

Really, it isn't individual lines that irk me, its the overall tendencies of these ships to put more emphasis on things that don't even exist to justify something they don't even realize WHY people think it's creepy. I don't hate a lot of ships, just...all pro incest ones, and ones that promote predatory/rapist behaviors. Which is why I don't ship much in this series.

We're probably not meant to ship many people in this series if I in any way understand even a modicum of why grrm writes the lack of romance the way he does.

[picnokinesis]

Hi!

(A mild panic on the topic of: This is not a question, oh god, this is NOT a question. This is a recommendation of a fandom at BEST.)

So I was reading a fic one day and my brain went very quickly in succession:

a) /Oh/, this is the good stuff

b) No wonder you think so, remember spydoc telepathy edition (And you, Taka, are like an ambassador of that land in my mind)

c) Actually many fics from this fandom are like this

d) Do we think…?

So I had two facts:

1. This is a thing someone I have a great respect for would probably enjoy.

2. There was no indication Taka has seen or engaged in the fandom of Pacific Rim. Despite its notoriety in this neck of the woods due to the concept of drifting in particular.

And what I am doing with those facts is telling you this. I think you are great and I think you would like the fics of Pacific Rim. So if you feel like checking it out, it’s very low effort on entrance. Only one movie to see. Or two. Depends who you ask.

Here are two excerpts to judge for yourself. (Is this a spoiler? I know people for whom this would be a spoiler. For me it’s a tester.)

1) What’s a Little B&E Between Friends? By VoiceOfNurse (Part 20, Chapter 1)

No need to reach for the void, when he was so complete, nestled up against the part of Them that was Hermann. 

…safe… 

Newt was aware, in as much as Hermann was aware. It was difficult to separate himself out, when Hermann’s mind was locked around him like a steel trap made of numbers and chalk dust and spite. They were one organism in two parts- four lungs, drawing breath, two hearts beating in time. There was cold, and there was pain, but it was far away. 

There is no room for (masters-monsters-precursors) here. They are (insects-vermin-insignificant) when faced with (memory-language-connection). We are (brilliant-unstoppable-rockstars). We are (music-logic-science). We are (Newt-and-Hermann) and they are nothing. 

2) What’s a Little B&E Between Friends? By VoiceOfNurse (Part 20, Chapter 2)

They were Drifting. Tendo couldn’t quite work out the whys and hows of it, especially now that he was being bitten to within an inch of his fucking life, but he was certain. He’d hurt Hermann by moving too fast, probably jostled the guy’s leg, actually, which was folded weirdly under him with Newt on top, but the closest set of teeth bit him. Newt wasn’t even conscious in the traditional sense of the word, but Hermann was. Hermann was, and apparently Newt’s teeth were available to rectify the situation. Newt’s urges, too, because Tendo didn’t really picture Hermann as a biter. 

HELLO MY FRIEND oh my days I'm SO sorry but I'm laughing so much because this probably happened because tumblr search function is useless but 'no indication' sksksksk, oh my sweet summer child: here's the pacific rim tag on my blog LMAO - or, even better, the entire pacrim au I came up with for s12 of doctor who one time. Also. Also. Buddy. This is so funny, I love you so much. Are you aware that I'm obsessed with the works of one of the biggest Pacific Rim fanfic writers ever? I did, to be fair, literally take their name off my blog description yesterday to replace it with Bloodywood instead, and I'm more on the Stargate Universe side of things these days - but cleanwhiteroom is one of my favourite authors, and I read Designations Congruent with Things before I touched any of their Stargate material. If, my dear anon, you've not heard of cwr, then I really highly recommend their stuff, but I'll add a link below and see if I can dig up the other fic that I really loved from back in the day. Thank you for the fic rec though!! Those excerpts look excellent haha, I shall check that fic out when I get chance because you're absolutely right I love that kind of thing.

(also, absolutely DELIGHTED that you read this sort of stuff and thought of me - that is SUCH an honour oh my days! Like...rancid spydoc telepathy ambassador....what a title, I'm dead chuffed at this haha bless you!)

I think this is just so funny to me because - you couldn't possibly know this, of course, but like you know where I got this from? This love for writing weird, messed up mental connections between people?

Pacific Rim fanfiction HAHAHAHAHA

(and, later SGU - but I mean, mostly just cleanwhiteroom tbh. I was 16yo and I imprinted okay. But there were also other fics too, and they had an influence. Guh, Newt/Hermann post-drift fics are PEAK man)

Okay but actually let me tell you the story of how I got into pacrim because I think it's hilarious. So most people get into fandoms by like, yknow. Watching the film, reading the book, seeing the show, etc. I mean, how else would you do it? I'll tell you how. I was pottering about on deviantArt, back in the the grand old year of - oh, it must have been 2014. 2015? Something like that. Anyway, I stumbled across some Newt and Hermann fanart, and I didn't know the fandom but I was intrigued and REALLY liked the artstyle (I think the artist was feriowind?) - anyway I went on their profile and was MORE intrigued when I found they'd done some gorgeous cover art for THIS FIC, which got me so curious that I decided to read it. Without having watched the film. What I did was: read the plot summary on wikipedia, watched a couple of newt and hermann fanvids/clips (LIKE THIS ONE) so I could see them/hear their voices right, and then just blitz on through the fic with google images open in another tab so I could google thing like 'the shatterdome' and 'the LOCCENT pacific rim' and stuff like that for visual reference SKKSSK. Damn this is a throwback, I'm having a great time. ANYWAY. Read the fic. Loved it. Read the sequel. LOVED IT. Started looking for more fanart and stuff like that - and found a bunch of people kept on mentioning this fic called Designations Congruent with Things. Searched it up, found it on ao3, read the first 6 chapters and it almost melted my brain LMAO so I stopped. Then I couldn't stop thinking about it and I came back to it and oh my days. Oh my days. It fully rewrote my brain and DAMN I was obsessed. By this point I was vibrating in place at the mere thought of actually SEEING THE FILM, YKNOW. The film I'd read hundreds of thousands of words of fanfic about. Anyway, my friend who got secret santa for me that year literally had the easiest job on the planet HAHAHAHA so I watched it on Christmas Day and it was so so funny because like. You probably are aware of how much damn lore this film has. Like I knew the names of most of the jaegers that aren't even mentioned in the movie, I knew about Caitlin Lightcap and Sergio D'onofrio, but I had NO IDEA what was extended canon and what was fanon and what was actually. Y'know. In the film. So when I watched it I was like BUT WHERE'S LIGHTCAP for most of it HAHAHAH, but yeah it was great. SO GREAT. Guh I love the concept of the drift SO SO MUCH it's absolutely fascinating and just. AHH!! So so good.

Anyway. Absolutely losing it, bless. Sorry this is all over the place, I'm very tired but my goodness. Yes. Talk to me about drift bonds any day of the week, I'm here for it. If you want cleanwhiteroom fics, you can find them here. I linked the other one above, but there were a couple of others I read too...like I read a LOT of fics, and this was before I had an ao3 account rip so I don't have it in my fic reading history. There was one called Occam's Razor that I read a lot of, but I don't think I finished it. OH but I also liked this one (that i thought I found but it turned out to be the wrong one, am looking again now lol), from after Pacific Rim 2!! Which, as a film, I mostly consider to just be like. A fanfic with an exceptionally high budget ksksksks so yknow. I don't hate it because I don't consider it canon as much as I consider anything outside the original film canon. ANYWAY LOVE YOU

[i-really-like-phrogs]

Why do you talk the way you do? No hate, I just think it’s really silly and funny. I recently started using punctuation the way you do to indicate how I am talking, as well as saying Hahaha instead of lol and I like it so much better

Silly and goofy, you say? Well that is certainly the goal I go for! The goal of my blog is always to make things that I myself want to see, and finding my voice while writing was definitely a step toward that. I wanted my blog to have a unique sound, and a tone that had a welcoming and conversational quality— Like talking to a beloved family friend who watched you as a baby or a spunky old lady who invites you to her house all the time and calls you ‘sugar’.

I kind of think of the way I talk like someone from a really old children’s book the likes of Charolette’s Web or Corduroy. I used to write like that a lot as a kid, but I stopped around middle school. Last year, when I got into Welcome Home and I scrolled through all the fantastical works of @partycoffin, I found myself falling in love with how they like to write, it was like finding that little author’s voice inside me again! I also adored the way they liked to talk through tags, they were almost always one of my favorite parts of the post. So… I artistically snatched it! Its sort of funny, I develop an actual different voice in real life whenever I type! Sure, it’s very similar to how I talk normally, but the tone of it becomes more soft and direct, like an audiobook narrator. I also subconsciously read everything aloud as I type it, and my punctuation usually ends up being used to match the inflections and sound.

I’m much more of an artist than a writer, but if you’d like to make your writing more unique to you, here are the three things I learned from writing on this blog:

Have a voice in mind that represents what you want the world to know about you. It’s hard to encapsulate every little thing, but using the voice in your head makes it more believable

Punctuation is an art form! Be aware of grammar rules, but also play around with ways you can use punctuation marks as cues that make your work more expressive.

Take advantage of the format you’re using. If there’s a feature you enjoy writing with, see how you can use it to say what you want to say!

It goes without saying, but write how you yourself would like to read. Even if you’re writing comments and reblogs, think how you would like others to interact with your work. Be genuine about what you’re saying, but treat it like you’re starting a conversation.

And… that’s all I got! I don’t always succeed at doing the things I’ve mentioned here, but it is what I have in mind when I post. Starting this blog has taught me so much in about my voice as a creative, and I’m so grateful for all the awesome people who provide me so much support and coolness. You’re all awesome, keep doing great things!

[atthebell]

I'm going to be honest, I had some problems with ships because of how much most of the content were most ships in other Fandom I've been in(I'm not really romance repulsed but sometimes is a bit overwhelming for me), so I tend prefer platonic/found families relationships

Honestly, I'm surprised by how I started to like the qsmp ships, but that's not the point of this. But honestly, I just wished some people stopped getting some things too literal, yeah, Cellbit and Baghera called Phil dad, so did Pac call Tubbo mom. Have you never called a friend, who might be the same age as you, things like mom or dad as a joke? It doesn't mean you see that person as a parental figure, they are just joking because they are friends and that doesn't mean they are less important to each other, but that's not the relationship they have. Yes, sometimes you see friends as siblings and such, but friends can be family even if you don't see them as siblings or parental figures, they still as important

Honestly, I miss the start of morning crew when the joke of Tubbo being fitpac's kid being simply that, a joke that was funny to see, but I never saw him as their son. The same goes to saying that about Cellbit and Baghera to Phil, just a joke of the moment, not a serious thing of how they interact or view each other

(Sorry for the rambling, it was not supposed to be that long, and sorry for bad English)

yes people cannot understand a joke and it's endlessly frustrating like cellbit and baghera have both explicitly said they do not view phil as their dad but people have fucking brainrot and can't let the idea go because they're so obsessed with a traditional family dynamic.

also i get that usually shipping is very prevalent in fandom, but here's my thing: in terms of the wider audience of a piece of media, most people are not actually engaging in fandom. they watch or read or play the thing, talk about it a little with friends, and that's it. fandom and shipping are a small percentage of how most people engage with things-- they just seem huge because, well, this is the fandom website, and to some extent that's what twitter is as well. and fandom has been becoming a more popular way to engage with media in the last couple decades.

but to my larger point, shipping is very common within fandom itself as a whole, that is true. but in mcyt fandom, it has been incredibly unpopular, due to concerns about rpf and various other issues that are to some extent fair and to other extents incredibly overblown. so as someone who's experienced mcyt fandom prior to qsmp, i am ECSTATIC to have shipping be this popular. i can't even explain to you how easy it was for people to get cancelled or called out or whatever for having two adult minecraft roleplay characters even just kiss prior to this fandom. people were fucking insane about this, and to some extent still are.

that's not me trying to tell you off for your preferences, it's totally fine to not be into shipping, but in terms of what it's been like for YEARS in this mega-fandom dealing with people attacking people for being interested in romantic pairings, qsmp is a breath of fresh air. so it feels really shitty to have twitter users (and some tumblr users) STILL have this mindset that shipping is inherently sexual or inherently evil, and that sexuality is gross and bad. like. to me it's very indicative of reactionary politics on the left, that a bunch of young queer people think its okay to shame people for being interested in queer relationships and sex and insist on traditional family dynamics. so i would much rather have a far more free fandom with more shipping and less prudishness than to have one where, for instance, a cc gets driven off the platform for saying she doesn't mind shipping (aka what happened to zombiecleo). again, i'm not saying you can't have your preferences, that's totally fine, nonnie, but in the larger context of how mcyt fandom has been for a bit, i think the focus on platonic and familial relationships is indicative of how toxic this fandom gets about shipping and sexuality.

and again, it's all bad interpretation. cellbit jokingly slipping up calling phil his dad is not an in-character freudian slip-- he's doing it to be funny, because phil gave him something he needed and phil is always doing that, and cellbit knows about the dadza jokes. baghera being pathetic and wanting to live in phil's house does not mean she wants to be his daughter; it means she wants to fuck around and be silly and pathetic and also wants to spend time with phil because she enjoys spending time with people. people are taking their incredibly biased interpretations of what's happening and then attempting to pass them off as the objective truth.

sorry for the ramble back this stuff irritates me so bad

[minalblood]

Ep 10... oh boy theres a lot to say with this one.

We begin with a nice twist. The woman needing help is Akrida and the victim is the other woman who's stopped to help. Since I've recently been reminded of it, this set up instantly made me think of Sam.meeting Cole for the 1st time, but in that the one flatlined actually needed help.

The Akrida committed to the acting I see.

God the actresses did such a good job raising the tension

LOVE seeing Millie do more handywork around. We dont have nearly enough of her getting into machinery

Mary and John hating being left to research is funny af to me.

Congrats Mary for getting into college and I like that John is actually happy for her, even ribbing her a bit. Love that dynamic actualy.

"Normal life will have to wait another day" thay cut deep fellas ngl. Mainly because i would argue its exactly what Sam and Dean told themselves to put off actually getting to do anything they wanted. And we have this exact sentiment echoed 5 min later by Carlos for why they need to break up with Anton (cant afford to with the fate of the world on their shoulders). The fact that both of these are accompanied by Dean's monologue about hunting and happy endings? Very very relevant to Dean and the life he led. But more importantly, the "how far will I go to get it" echoes back a few.more things amd makes it almost ominous. We'll come back to this when we meet Mr Sheffield (i dont remmeber the characters name rn, will use it later when they say it) since the dark meaning to Dean's words is highlighted by his story.

This might be the most clear indication of who Carlos was before the Winchesters, the version Samuel was mentioning when talking about them a few ep ago. The lone wolf version, the impulsive one, the not getting close to ppl one. Im very happy they've changed, i think they're happier like this.

Oh noooo, I forgot we have Roxy here 🥲 this'll hurt.

John and Mary see a tea set and alphabetized books out: now thats truly disturbing behaviour

John and Mary any other time: eh, thats normal

I live for the chaotic pair these 2 make together

Why tf does he still have the key if they threw him.out of the MOL? Then again, considering the many issues with the MOL, this is only a mildly annoying thing.

Ah yes, hunters are apes commentary, ffs what even started this bullshit feud between hunters and MOL?? It was there on Samuel's side too, and we even see Henry go with that particular opinion...

Sooo, either Jack was really the one experimenting on monsters or that actually was Hobbes' job, regardless we know what that turned into - not just the various bodyguards that our scooby gang has encoutered thus far, but the more insidious uses too like the monsters Cuthbert Sinclaire reprogramms or the manipulation of Mrs Butters or even Mary's own brainwashing. Safe to say all this send my mind to Naomi and how heaven has a very similar approach to keeping their angels in check. Fitting then that it's the Winchester side of the family that is MOL legacy with the Campbell side being the hunters family qho tends to go for a more straightforward will just eliminate the threat vibe (more hell aligned u could say). "A lobotomy makes most monsters subservient *wink*" he says and I cannot not be filled with revulsion on multiple layers. Including the actual issue with lobotomies generally and how their extended "use" was due to a fraud profitting off of people... yeaaaa all the red flags with Jack/Porter here. But also in general it goes back to the type of MOL we have in SPN, the exact kind that JAck/Porter is are the ones still alive, who have very little actual care of who they harm in their scientific pursuit.

Clear alarm bells sounding when askes about Henry, he has a very clear tell.

Hint hint nudge nudge about Jack/Porters lack of family

You know the thing that actually annoys me about people like Jack/Porter? The fact that if he'd applied his knowledge to actually get ppl depossessed he could've actually done something helpful, that would save ppl, but nope, instead he focused everything into his fixation and inability of letting go. To everyones detriment.

Well, Roxy's motel room reminds me of several times we've seen Dean in similar places... especially after the Mark got bad.

Roxy breaks my heart. Everytime.

And we have another instance of possession being portrayed as the violation it actually is. SPN had a few moments of showing this, most notably with Sam and Lucifer, but we've rarely had such an indepth showing of exactly how someone no longer possessed is coping. The only other ones I can remember clearly delving into are Jeffrey in s7 and Nick in s14, but in both those cases, Jeffrey and Nick were more akin toa depiction of Stockholm Syndrome or at the very least a dependence had been created having been possessed so long. Which is in itself a bit problematic a message to send tbh, but Roxy meanwhile is the opposite. Not only does she not want the Akrida back, she actively is trying to deny it ever having happened initially and she def doesnt want to be reminded of it.

Ironic that it's Carlos who says the forgetting isnt working for Roxy... considering

I also adore the parallel made between Jack/Porter and Lata in this episode? Like they both have that scientific curiosity that can become really dangerous (as seen with Jack) but unlike Jack, Lata actually wants to help people so she uses what she knows (just as much a type of brainwashing technique as Jack/Porters lobotomy fyi) to offer someone help. But! Lata asks for Roxy's consent and is upfront, where Jack/Porter is lying and manipulating and taking foe himself.

Mary's instant red flag reading of Jack/Porter for the win, but she should've listened to her instincts faster. She believes next to nothing of his words. I love her so much.

I love the round table Arkida scene... its so much fun to watch. Ironic that the Akrida call hunters pests... also yay Dean!

The fact that Jack/Porter is so so pissed off is his own downfall tbh. The bitter comments fucked up his facade.

Tonyyyyy yessss. Also Lata and Tony yaaay

I love how absolutely huge gossip queens both Lata and Carlos are.

I also love Carlos' little notepad during the scene with Roxy.

The description of her possession is way to visceral fuck I fogot how hard to watch this was. And how much it echoes to asault. Not even echoes tbh considering we have a clearer scene relating to sexual assault when Jack/Porter tries to have Dorothea possess Mary so thw comparison of possession to assault is very much there this episode.

Wonder if Jack Wilcox defected to the Brits in SPN? And began what would later be Lady Bevell's expertise? The fact that he even put on a British accent def is meant to remind us of Bevell and the Brits.

God Mary and John are obvious af that they suspect shit ... ffs kids!

Carlos continues to be the one that actually uncovers key info.

Aww, Carlos and Lata are so so kind and comforting with Roxy. I love them so much.

Im so proud of Roxy, but what I genuinely love about how the ep was written is that even if she'd have gone along with the erasing of her memory, it still would've been a valid way for her to move on. Like this it obviously works two fold in somewhat convincing Carlos they also should take a leap of faith that alls gonna be well with Anton, but its set up in such a way that regardless of Roxy's choice at the end, Roxy's own wellbeing was all that mattered however that looked. I can appreciate the nareative not ramming a specific interpretation down our throats.

Ah, yes, wartime decisions excusing the means... it nearly never actually applies tho, Jack. Tho I will say it's very satisfying having it be said to John who in SPN would use this exact rethoric for a while slew of shitty choices.

Now I wont get into the whole issue with the golem being used in this ep and specifically how they kill the golem - others have said far more better informed stuff on it (shoutout to @endofthebookpod fantastic episode discussion) and I do have a plethora of issues with it - what I do wanna say on the subject tho is that at leasr insofar as Jack is concerned it makes sense that he'd steal and use a golem for his own benefit (similar to how the nazi did in 8x13). The actual problem with this is how the writers chose to tackle dealing with the golem here. Because ultimately the golem is used as a weapon by Jack, just as all his lobotomised monsters were. But the ep chosing to not clarify a few things and deciding to burn the golem??? Not good fellas, not fucking good at all.

I do appreciate John's resilience in fighting the golem tho.

Like I said, the sexual assault parallel to possession is even more clear when discussion Mary's possession.

Gruesome death for Jack tho, I will say.

"Things we do for love"?!?! John Winchester I will murder you! If Mary doesnt do it first for u even suggesting that. I do apprwciate still seeing glimpses of SPN!John even now, 10 ep into it. Because for all that people can change, its very very hard to do so and its a slow process.

Thank you Mary for shutting it down immediately. High hopes that this low key promise they made here spells good things for their future. I do hope.

I also love that Lata explains why Roxy wanting to erase her traumatic memories isnt the same as Carlos avoiding dealing with his intimacy issues. But I also love that Carlos feels safe actually confiding in Lata, for all that they banter and shit talk they're each others person.

Perfect timing on the Tragic Haircut lady. Also yea, it def is a tragic haircut.

Noooo, Akrida!Kyle is here. Using Johns past against him is smart but also i need to read that file.

I will say, I never read Millie at the end as believing that John did anything like Ive seen in a couple of other places mentioned. I just saw it as her being a. Shocked about a dead body b. Shocked about John holding a dead body and c. The police being on her heels with john holding a dead body.

But that's all for today folks. Next up, ep 11. Slowly but surely making it through the show.

[nerdygaymormon]

Is it bad that i myself as a mormon tend to find myself cursing a lot, mainly unintentional as i get it from my dad, is there any way i can try and tone it down, and will the lord be upset with me about this even though its mostly accidental.

This reminds me of an exchange I heard:

Person 1: You sure don't sound like a Mormon. Person 2: What the hell do you mean?

There was a man named J. Golden Kimball who served as a Seventy for 46 years and was renowned for his liberal use of mild profanity, even when speaking at a pulpit in church, much to the consternation of the other General Authorities. When asked how he could get away with the way he spoke, Kimball replied, "Hell, they can't excommunicate me. I repent too damned fast."

The reason both of those are funny is because it's uncharacteristic for members of our church to swear so casually.

There is a purpose for swearing and a reason why every language has some form of curse words. Uttering a cuss word can increase our pain tolerance, actually having the effect of reducing the pain we're feeling, one study suggests by up to 33%. This is why when a person unexpectedly stubs their toe really hard, or they participate in an experiment to see how long they can keep their hands submerged in ice water, they're likely to say an expletive.

The same is true when we experience a strong emotion, swearing somehow acts like an escape valve making the feelings more manageable. This is why people typically curse when they're angry or frustrated.

As Mark Twain put it, "Under certain circumstances, profanity provides relief denied even to prayer."

A well-placed, intentional cuss word can emphasize a point, but using swear words in everyday conversation doesn't seem to have any benefit or purpose, other than what it signals to others.

If a person uses cuss words in everyday situations, the message it tends to send is the individual is less educated, they have less self-control, or they are of questionable character. It can signal that they're being disrespectful, aggressive or abusive. I think it also can convey this person is going to be more honest, that they're going to be themselves no matter what situation they're in, although it could indicate they're going to be their lower-class self no matter where they are, so it can be a mixed bag.

I don't know of any studies supporting this, but my guess is the beneficial effect swearing has in moments of pain or strong emotion is lessened if a person casually uses foul language all the time.

As for how to reduce swearing when it's become a habit and we use them unintentionally, that's like breaking any habit and can be difficult. I have a few suggestions.

(1) Find a way to make you mindful of the language you're using. You could keep a swearing journal where you write down each time you cuss in a small notebook. You could tell your friends you are trying to decrease or stop swearing and ask them to help by pointing out each time you slip up. Another thing people do is they have a swear jar, every time they curse they put some money in the jar.

(2) Related to suggestion #1, assuming there are situations where you don't use foul language, like when at your grandma's home, pretend like your grandma is listening.

(3) One thing Utah culture is infamous for is its use of fake swears. You can try substituting in inoffensive words for the real thing. One interesting note, in studies measuring the effect of swearing on pain, fake curse words had no effect on pain tolerance, but they did get humorous reactions. For example, imagine in a state of excitement and saying to your friends, "Can I get a fork yeah!!!"

(4) Slow down how you speak and vary how you speak. When cursing is an automatic reflex, changing the way of speaking can interrupt that connection. Slowing down also gives you a moment to think of the words you're about to say.

(5) I've heard of people using hypnotherapy to help them reduce their cussing. Hypnotherapy can help with a number of things, including smoking or biting fingernails, things that became habitual

(6) Keep in mind that making lifestyle changes require consistent effort over time. Life is rarely made of immediate, 100% successes. Usually progress includes some setbacks or mistakes along the way, they don't negate the progress you're making. Note the mistake and then try to do better.

[leporellian]

Since you wanted asks about Leporello...

What are your favourite renditions of each of his arias?

i have a lot of trouble picking specific favorites in general when it comes to things, and leporello is no exception. although ferruccio furlanetto continues to be my favorite leporello singer, it’s hard for me to pick definite favorite recordings of each aria because i tend to have pros and cons for each (also i am not actually that musically trained so it’s hard for me to pick out what’s meant to be the “ideal” singing style vs Sounds i Like). so it’d probably be better to list things i Like Seeing in leporello arias!

notte e giorno faticar:

this aria is so fascinating because while The Catalogue Aria is the perfect encapsulation of leporello as a character, notte e giorno is the perfect encapsulation of the entire show right from the getgo. starting it all with leporello’s abject frustration with who his master actually is before slipping into this idealized, endeared vision of what the don represents that isn’t actually real…. maaaaan mozart you sonuvabitch you’ve done it again.

that being said it’s so funny to me how people use this to “prove” that ackshually leporello wants to be the don and do what the don does and would be as bad as him or whatever. 1) the music in notte e giorno, with its clumsy steps indicating lep’s pacing, is meant to endear the audience to him. 2) the things leporello would like to have if he were a nobleman in this aria is shit like “ample food” and “sleep” and “not being forced to stand out in the rain” which feels like it is pointing to something entirely else and not whatever weird ass take people have on this guy

yes when opera characters act in time w the music it looks like some mickey mouse cartoon shit. however as a guy who grew up on warrior cats amvs i will never get tired of that shit. have him pace in time with the music it’s fun

him starting the opera by pacing, as a side note… he’s so autistic (positive) (unironic)

the catalogue aria:

i don’t think i’ve ever seen a catalogue aria that fully encapsulates what i see in that aria. that thing is THE leporello character study and i think it needs to be given as much complexity as mi tradi, as- if you take their placement and purpose in mind- they are linked together.

i am really not a fan of when productions make the catalogue aria into leporello making fun of elvira or dunking on her… leporello and elvira seem perplexed by each other -later- because they see themselves in each other. but this is too soon in the show to establish that without leporello coming across as mean, which he often does in that take on the aria

however i DO like the idea that he gets so wrapped up in the catalogue that he fails to notice her reactions to it. autism, etc.

the catalogue aria is funny in its absurdism but it should be taken at least somewhat seriously. note how mozart chooses to set it in D (which is the grief/consequences key and the driving point of the show) and not the F or G keys (which are ascribed to the comic arias). also note how dark the music suddenly becomes- complete with strings indicating shivering- when leporello mentions the don’s favorites are the “young beginners”. there’s layers here and i don’t think we’re meant to get the impression that leporello is ENJOYING himself here

basically it should start out like “look i’ve color coded it and everything! i love to sort and list things!” and then devolve into The Horrors without being melodramatic about it. there’s affection for the don, repulsion at his actions, a sort of escapism, fear, a sense of awkwardness… everything that makes leporello who he is is in that aria

when productions make it so the catalogue aria is leporello warning elvira or trying to get her away from the don, as the recitative before implies, they should get some kind of bonus point

ah pieta signori miei

the amount of times i’ve seen this staged in such a way that you’d think the director actually thinks leporello Did All The Things He Did Not In Fact Do is hilarious. anyway

this should be a comic aria. it comes at a point in the story that needs comedy because masetto and zerlina kind of duck out right after this and the bit before this is Anna Grieving Moments. however i think the zerlina leporello duet should not be included bc it goes Too much into comedy and also throws a monkey wrench into the pacing

the aria should actually prove to everyone there that leporello didn’t do All the Things he’s accused of because THIS is what confirms to ottavio that don giovanni is, infact, a Bastard, and if don “a nobleman wouldn’t do such things” ottavio of all people is convinced that’s saying something.

i like it when productions just stage this as leporello having a panic attack/meltdown. Real

i never feel like productions do anything interesting with how (when describing how the don manipulated him into the scheme) leporello just turns to elvira and goes “you know how it is”. but they should do something with that

yes i am a leporello apologist…. and what of it

[kaeyachi]

do you know about lord Krishna (a deity) of the Hindu mythology? I'm not much of a religious person but i know ab him a lot bcz of coming from a religious household and somethings ab him and kaeya just clicks so much

I actually thought ab it bcz kaeya's constellation is a peacock and Krishna is often symbolized with peacock feathers, so i looked into it . I think there might be some links connecting the both but I can't say for sure everything is connected but somethings might be telling us what might happen in the future lore.

And if i really post it rather than keep it in my mind can I tag you?

Thank you for asking, anon! I do know a bit about Krishna (my mom had a Bollywood phase and Krishna was frequently mentioned) but I have a feeling you know better than me. I wish I knew more than just the basics, but there are a lot of similarities between them other than just the peacock symbolism!

I also realized while seeing some Desi!Kaeya fanart that he gives the same energy as to when I see images of Krishna (the fanarts are so good. Probably one of my favorite types of Kaeya art)

I will be using some texts from wiki to better explain my MAIN points because my mind is a mess and I need to learn to control my blabbering!! If i didn't do this, who knows how long this post will get...

Feel free to use this as a basis as well! I'd be happy to get tagged when you post about his possible future for in-game lore. For people knowledgable in Hindu, please feel free to expand on this as well!

"He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love"

-Kaeya has been portrayed as a protective force of Mondstat along with the rest of the knights.

-Noteworthy moments are him being said to protect a nun's family and his roundabout way in protecting Diluc's identity as the darknight hero

-"Specializes in awakening knightly virtues in others." - Text in TCG card

-he is the guy who planned a birthday party for a friend in secret and passed the praise to someone else.

-several instances of Klee mentioning him being like a big brother to her (him making her a survival handbook and teaching her tcg)

- he has a cryo vision. Love has always been a main topic when it concerns them, especially since their archon representative is the Goddess of Love

"They portray him in various perspectives: as a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and the universal supreme being."

-his father has dubbed him as their last hope, already putting him on a (very bad for a child) pedestal. He is clearly seen as a possible hero for them and the entirety of Khaenri'ah

-seemingly the only curseless Khaenri'ahn thus far (hope we learn more in 3.5), and perhaps even "blessed" to have a vision

-known to prank and tease people enough that most descriptions of him are exactly about that

-was said to be the elderly's top choice for grandson-in-law

-crack idea but the game has this habit of inserting anecdotes or comments about Kaeya as much as possible to make sure to remind you of him. Suspicious, but so far its mostly funny things. He also seems to be a universal representative in-game oddly enough (frequently the face of tutorials or is part of the character trials).

Kaeya having Desi themes is definitely the biggest indicator to this. Were he not designed and named in such a way, many of us would have probably brushed this off (probably wouldnt have even connected the dots)

I hope this inspires further discussion. This topic is genuinely interesting in my opinion :)

[kindestegg]

It bothers me seeing some people complain about TOH going a ‘boring’ route for the Collector ‘without moral grayness’ just because they hadn’t been imprisoned for killing anyone or destroying anything (as far as we technically know at least). The clues were already there in 2B that the Collector wasn’t malicious and probably didn’t even hunt Titans to begin with, plus it reminds me of that past fandom trend of ignoring the psychological impact of Belos’ abuse on the Collector, and reducing him to funny murders iPad kid.

Also, it feels like said people are ignoring the fact that, a more sympathetic side to the Collector being necessary here, they still very much did turn people into puppets. Like that was a thing that still happened in this episode. Besides, there arguably is a ‘moral grayness’ to this well-intentioned kid who still ended up betrayed, used, and punished, even by King to an extent, finally snapping in retaliation and betrayal. Idk it just feels like they’re complaining the story didn’t go in one direction for his character VS another, when both routes are equally compelling.

(holds hands with you and we skip over a field of flowers into the sunset together)

but really, you worded this pretty well and in a way i have also been thinking for quite some time!! really, its something ive considered making something about in the future because it fascinates me endlessly: there is just something so strange to me about the fact that to some people recognizing collector is a kid or that he has a complex backstory and is more layered than "sadistic selfish shadowy entity" means "ruining his character"

on the one hand i get it, sometimes people just want a mean old crazy villain who has no qualms in doing whatever just for the hell of it because they want to have fun, and i get it!! i really like villains like that- hell, part of the reason i even got interested on collector when i first saw them in hollow mind was because i love characters like that so much!! the bill cyphers, the discords, the quackerjacks, the dimentios, the jevils, the ecolos, i love all characters like that!!

but like... come edge of the world, hearing luz go "that collector kid" and going "OH SHIT THIS IS A CHILD" was game changing for me because?? you really dont see characters like that often that are also kids?? and idk about you but that was exciting to me! because it explores such an interesting path of like, how do you begin to approach an antagonist that IS so sadistic and self serving but also is STILL growing and still young and has still potential to be good?

old time followers of this blog will KNOW i have already talked all about that though... so what else can i say?

i will say i absolutely agree with you there on the cues being there. while i dont think its fair to say that it was easier before to infer he really didnt do ANYTHING, there were at least a lot of indications carefully laid out to make us empathize with them and understand their situation. like, isnt it interesting that at the start of o'titan, they couldve shown collector saying anything at all, since he thought he was all alone monologuing to himself, and they chose to have him talk about how lonely he was and then plead for king to stay with him? and then, as if to follow up on that, clouds has him doubting whether belos is his friend or not sounding genuinely concerned! we know from these clues that collector is a kid, that he is lonely, that being inside the prison has messed with his mental health, and that belos is unsurprisingly a terrible friend that is making him worry if he will uphold his end of the bargain.

all of these puzzle pieces were put there deliberately, including kings connection to collector, to first let us see a different side of this character and understand him better, and then second to also let king do this and prepare him to be more likely to want to consider collector as someone he could approach, even back in kings tide! because having that previous mental connection allowed him to wonder if collector could be reasoned with, and it worked! he stopped the spell for him! and like, once again, the writers utilize what time they have to quickly establish that the collector would rather play with king and holds no anger towards him or desire to hurt him! this is again, important as an indication that collector is not like we thought!

the whole "murderous ipad kid" started rubbing me the wrong way too, while i am brazilian so the "enzo gabriel" memes were endearing to me in a way, it became really frustrating seeing as how EXTREMELY few people back then seemed interested in exploring the tragedy of a character so young mentally having been stuck in an eternal unchanging prison and how that fucked them up, and how it being BELOS who he was stuck with was even worse! or even, hell, explore the fact he seems to not have wanted to hurt king and how their connection makes them perfect foils to each other and how they could be friends in a better world! but most people just saw him as a one dimensional murderous child (if even a child at all) and either ignored him completely or if not, had him do incredibly uncharacteristically violent and extreme things. and like, yeah, sure, this IS the kid who helped with the draining spell and was excited for people dying, but also like. come on buddy, if thats all there was to him, they wouldnt have tried to establish this other side of him during s2b.

and you are so correct on the puppet thing like!! that is STILL fucked up! even if he isnt physically torturing or hurting people, that is still not a good thing to do and it is terrifying to imagine losing control of your body and even consciousness for god knows how long! and collector doesnt care! he thinks that just because he is playing pretend and that this is how the game is played, that it doesnt matter that he is doing this. that is messed up! and it reminds us that this is still the kid who laughed about people dying, laughed about the grimwalker deaths. him being a sad and lonely kid with a compelling backstory doesnt change that. it just adds to more layers to his character.

i think you are on the nose when you say that it is just because people are disappointed they wanted a type of character and got another. though it is puzzling to me seeing them be unable to admit that they were wrong and that they did miss the cues early on and move on, instead complaining that it "came out of nowhere". i will say i think the BEST argument for them is that his character feels rushed and that it is confusing to add him into the series when he is so similar to so many other characters (caleb, hunter, luz, king, etc), because then yeah, i agree, it is a really odd late minute addition, specially considering he only exists because of the shortening, not in spite of it. and to that i can only say: i think collector wasnt a character added with logic in mind, but rather with pure pathos. dana and the crew wanted a fun out of left field super silly character that was entirely self indulgent and so they added him just for themselves, and as result, he is neither fully well fleshed out nor is he the most unique in terms of metanarrative role.

then again one COULD argue his role is more one of giving king a foil and someone he can further his own arc through, as well as giving better exposition to the history of the titans, but... yknow. ive already talked enough.

[raywritesthings]

My mind is still buzzing about Margaret thanks to that poll so bear with me for a second here. Margaret is someone who becomes good at her job overtime and over the course of her development, but the idea that she’s good at it the whole way through is bonkers to me. And I mean specifically the job of Head Nurse.

Now, she’s a good nurse the whole way through. She’s a good Major at the start, to the army’s perspective. But her job isn’t to just be a nurse or an army major, it’s to be in charge of all the other nurses. And on that score, for almost the first half of the show Margaret is a great Major for the army but not a great manager to her subordinates.

She has insanely exacting standards, which on its own would be fine; if she’s in a bad mood, she takes it out on the people around her and rarely apologizes afterwards; she will speak up in defense of the nurses when Hawkeye/Trapper/etc make what she deems (and to her credit often is) a lewd remark, yet is conspicuously quiet when Frank verbally abuses them to cover for his own mistakes; in “The Nurses” she basically blames them all for not reaching out to her to make friends when to their perspective, she’s been a hard-ass and an authoritarian who spends all her free time on her affairs (and as their boss, it was really Margaret’s job to set the tone and expectations of their relationship to her, it’s not then their fault that she set it badly). Margaret is a nightmare of a manager.

For the record, this is all also stuff that makes her a fascinating, three-dimensional, and oftentimes funny (largely down to Loretta Switt’s performance) character. It’s also indicative of how her function in the narrative changed overtime. And it would have really helped to have one or two more nurses join the main cast to really demonstrate on-screen how Margaret’s approach as Head Nurse changed and developed into something better than at the start, rather than there being a couple of brief moments here and there and a general implication that she got better.

Like sure, the nurses always respect Margaret. In the earlier seasons, that respect has just as much if not more to do with fear over her retaliating against them than any genuine admiration. Margaret definitely ascribed to the “better to be feared than loved” approach in those early days. But when it’s Hawkeye and Trapper or BJ who are having to step in to comfort the nurses or help with their personal problems, it kind of makes it obvious that they’re not going to Margaret for those things and that they probably have a good reason not to.

And I know it’s still the early seasons when Hawkeye and Klinger call her their “favorite nurse in the whole US Army” — and I love that scene! It’s crucial to Margaret’s development and the development of her friendships with Hawkeye and Klinger — but I want to stress that Margaret is neither of their direct supervisor, even if she outranks them. If Margaret treated Hawkeye and Klinger the same way she was treating her nurses at that time, there is no way they would have the same affection for her there.

I’d give Margaret the “most improved at her job” award if it existed, but I wouldn’t argue that she was always great at it.

[thalassomania]

hey honey heres something youve never talked about before; how far would shiki tohno make it in stardust crusaders, and how far would joutarou kuujou make it in tsukihime ?

you know what evil you have unleashed by asking this

so yes, i have given this some thought... and here’s what i’ve come up with

shiki in stardust crusaders:

a lot of how well shiki does depends on whether you view stand users as human or not. i think of them as human-adjacent, if that makes sense... enough for the nanaya blood to sense that something is “off” but not enough to send him into an episode

that said, i get the feeling that stands would trigger shiki’s nanaya blood, and if the end of stardust crusaders is any indication, destroying a stand seems to kill its user. so as long as you don’t use your stand around him, you’re safe, but the moment you do...

well. jotaro is always worried about hurting those who are close to him with his phenomenal levels of power. but the nanaya programming is SO strong that shiki has no sense of restraint at all (see: what he initially does to arcueid). so i think shiki would spend most of the story blindly killing everyone who so much as summons a stand

that said, shiki coexists with some nonhumans in tsukihime itself, so he might do alright with the rest of the crusaders at least. but even then he’d have to hold himself back pretty much 24/7, which cannot be healthy... especially for someone whose health is already poor. so even in the best-case scenarios, i honestly do not think shiki would make it very far before his body gives out on him from the stress

of course, even with all that in mind, the concept of shiki making it to dio is really funny to me. dio can stop time all he wants, shiki’s just gonna keep coming at him... and i think he’s pretty used to knives ;)

also mystic eyes of death perception let him see stands now i just decided

jotaro in tsukihime:

hahaha okay so. here’s the thing. jotaro would not kill arcueid. jotaro has enough restraint not to murder her even if he sees her as a threat, which i don’t even think he would do right away--as a human (stand user), i don’t think he’d sense anything “off” about her

so maybe arcueid seeks jotaro out on purpose because he has a weird ghost that can punch people? that might be helpful, right? at least when it comes to going up against nvrnqsr and roa it could be

jotaro might befriend ciel at least a little bit--she’s got some of that kakyoin sass in her, so they’d get along to some degree

i think the fights here would be less one-sided than shiki’s are in the jojo universe, but jotaro still has a pretty huge advantage because no one knows how his powers work. of course, jotaro being jotaro, he’d try to take on everything himself and get into fights alone, which i’m sure arcueid and ciel would be particularly stressed about

in fact, jotaro would constantly try to get these girls out of trouble, especially hisui and kohaku. “oh, i can do this--” “no you can’t. get inside.” honestly, jotaro’s pretty good at reading people, so i think he’d figure things out about kohaku way before shiki did, even if he can’t exactly comprehend what happened to her without hearing it from her or hisui

now that i’m thinking about this, though, jotaro does not fit into shiki’s place at all, and it’s because jotaro does not work as a VN protagonist. hear me out: we spend all of tsukihime (except for one of akiha’s endings iirc) in shiki’s head, and we get to bear witness to all his thoughts and feelings. jotaro is SO closed off in stardust crusaders that most of what he’s experiencing is utterly foreign to the viewer. also i can’t help but wonder how generic shiki would come off as if we didn’t get such a clear window into his head...

okay those are some of the ideas i had. you’re welcome

[astro-break]

Thoughts on the 5th ep of Hypmic Rhyme Anima+. Spoilers beware

Season 1 | Ep.1 | Ep.2 | Ep.3 | Ep.4

fragrance nagoya??? did badass get dragged into hifumi's clubbing thing lmaoooo

im still scared tho, what did those white coats say about jinguji being the final member of MTR like two episodes ago?

they are making his office their home i love that silly family like dynamic

i love that jyushi's eyeshadow is animated its so simple but cute

Hifumiiiiii and Doppo!

I love Kijima's performance as Hifumi so much its always such a treatt

the power of puppy eyes! and love

LMFAOO poor doppo that company is so black

Chanichiii thats such a cute nickname and also very Hifumi to put the prefex infront of the name

LMAO did kuko just beat up a bunch of gangsterss that hilarious, they're kneeling too

oh his phonecase is studded, how cute

the kinshachi! return of the kinshachi! I do like how Doppo went to all the famous visitor locations

Jyushi is such host material its actually cute

I love the flowers that accompany each character, each one is so indicative of their personality

yellow roses are Hifumi's Flower TM. its everywhere in his design from his suit to his speakers. It means friendship, sympathy, respect, and compassion. For a host its not a good flower because its a very friendzone flower but its perfect for trusting and empathetic hifumi

I don't know exactly what flower is behind Jyushi, it might be purple roses, but the prominent stamen might point to purple asters instead. They symbolize daintiness and elegance, but also a wistfulness for things that could have been. It is also a symbol of loyalty, very fitting for jyushi

I believe Hitoya's flowers are clematis. They represent wisdom and aspiration but also a sharp mind as its status as a climbing plant symbolized working around tough issues. It's also called the leather flower, for our resident leather motorcycle enthusiast

I think Ichiro's flowers are marguerite flowers which is a flower that has been used a lot in the arts, fitting for this idiot. It speaks of hope and renewal, new beginnings as well as devotion and optimism. All very indicative of Ichiro. Hilariously though, perhaps its most famous appearance is in Shakespeare's Hamlet where Ophelia hands marguerite flowers out to symbolize the loss of her sanity. whoops

ofc Jakurai's white lillies is very Jakurai. The purity is clear but it also means innocence

oh they are so silly a;skjdhf;ajklsdj JAKURAIIII

Aww doppo cleans up well in a host suit, that choker is everything

but wait isn't Jyushi technically underage too?? why is he also working? He's in highschool like Jiro??

kyun! Hifumi is so cool!

Yes, this is only episode 5, it won't end this early ww

aww, kuko still likes his old friends too. thats cute, he's a guy who really values those kind of things.

Hifumi being happy is cute and that smile is so healing! he really has a cute smile when he's not exhausted

expositionnnnnn those two people are definitely the same no doubt about it. I mean its Hypmic of course it will be

They are so super sentai ww no names only their work positions www these villains are so fun i think thats something i like about the hypmic anime. they lean into the silly and funny

Doppo literately smacking them over the head with words is hilariouss

I've know enough about hentai to know where this is going

Honestly the song quality this season around is actually so good! I like a lot more of the songs this time around, last season was a mixed bag for me but this one is just banger after banger

damnn how he do that, thats wild

I love how jyushi and the bystanders and just staring at Doppo like he's crazy ww

YYOOOO the way that jakurai's hair is animated is just muaaahh such good flowy motions!

Doppo's fit is so comfy i love it. A good balance between fancy and comfy.

Fling Posse episode next lets gooo i can't waittt. I wonder what will happen with them since they have very little connection with the villains. something something the Beginning Gate company having connections with the clone project? Idk but I hope they don't honestly. It would be interesting to have at least one completely impartial team