#but tbf i feel like primes character as a whole is just bad. not just a few parts. definitely won't stop me tho i feel.

[terriblewritingadvice]

I should probably do with Prime what i do with everything else I dont like about TWA, which is ignore canon and do whatever the hell I want

[swanqueensalad]

TRIGGER WARNING

"i think it's also implied in the regina rising book that cora was controlling/restrictive of regina's food to ensure she stayed thin/attractive which is just a whole other can of worms"

You say. Please open the can of worms!

ok so again, TRIGGER WARNING for talk of disordered eating and everything that goes along with it. if that might trigger you please scroll past!!

some of you may know, i've always headcanoned regina as having a difficult relationship to food, and recently i've found a few other people that share these views (mostly through my fic after the end which deals with this subject)

and yes this is partially because i project on regina but i do also think it makes sense and there are grounds for it in canon

like i said, the regina rising book. tbf i only read it once and that was a long time ago, so i don't remember too well, but i'm pretty sure there's a scene at afternoon tea where regina reaches for a biscuit and cora slaps her hand and tells her she's had enough

note that regina is sixteen at this point. sixteen. she is a child at an age where her body would be naturally developing/fluctuating.

i also remember cora buying regina things that were too small and telling her 'it is you who is the wrong size' or something to that effect which is... a lot

also before a ball she magically changes regina's favourite dress she chose to one that's more kinda sexy?? which is just. wow i have so much anger at cora mills this woman should not have been allowed to be a parent. regina was SIXTEEN and cora was actively presenting her in a sexualised way for potential suitors.

so yeah, we can assume that cora restricted regina's food intake with the very obvious intention of controlling her weight. she also openly criticised the way regina looked, made her feel like she was was neither pretty enough or thin enough (ugh) and all with the intention of presenting her as a sexual object for powerful men

did i mention cora makes me furious???

so from all this, my personal interpretation is that cora had regina eating a restricted diet from the time she was considered a 'young lady' and sowed a lot of really harmful seeds in her mind about what she looked like.

and affection-starved 16 year old regina was just desperate to please her mother, so she would have most likely bought into this, internalised it completely, probably developed restrictive habits and harmful thought patterns of her own. also it does become a coping mechanism. and this poor girl had so much to cope with

it would not have improved with her marriage either - regina was unpopular and ignored in leopold's court, considered a poor comparison to their beloved eva - but there would have been even more pressure to be 'beautiful' because of this, and just because she was the queen. it's obvious leopold married her yes for snow, but also because she's young and pretty.

at this point in her life beauty was all she had to survive. any allies she had - the genie is a prime example - she had because they were attracted to her.

even as the evil queen, it's safe to assume at least some of her power and hold over kings/soldiers/allies was because of her beauty. and again, this was regina at her darkest and most self-loathing, so it just seems a given that she would be punishing/hurting herself/making herself feel good in whatever way she could

even as mayor, while i don't think it was that bad, it's clear regina still puts a lot of value on how she looks: she'll wear tight designer dresses and heels to go fight monsters, she always has a full face of makeup and perfect hair and while yes i do think a lot of this is just her personality/character, and a lot of it is because she finds it empowering and fun and it makes her feel like herself, i think those issues are still underneath in a more minor way.

i think in storybrooke it's less of a full on eating disorder and more just... that she really is susceptible to diet culture/'good' and 'bad' foods and often turning down greasy food/takeaway/bread and such like

but you know i think help with this?

emma. and henry.

henry, because in making sure he is well fed and looked after, regina often ends up nourishing herself as well. and emma, because she does pick up on these slight things - because she's so perceptive and she can read regina like a book - and she just gradually starts to help, making cooking dinner a more fun and carefree family activity, encouraging her to try things from emma's plate, taking her out to new restaurants. and of course, comforting her when she's insecure.

emma is very good at making regina feel loved, safe, worthy and beautiful

there see i ended it on a soft happy note

[calliecat93]

ST: The Next Generation Watchthrough Episodes 13-15

Time Squared: Ho boy time shenanigans, yay… so we got two Captain Picards, one from six hours in the future, and our heroes trying tomfigure out WTF is happening. So… needless to say my head hurts. A lot. Admittedly Patrick Stewart does well playing two different versions of himself and being unsettled that there are two versions of himself, so kudos there. Heck this whole episode is essentially one big look at Picard’s peyche. He’s unnerved by another him who abandoned the Enterprise showing up, and who can blame him? I didn’t at all understand the explination over what was going on, but it sure as Hell lead to one heck of an ending. So an interesting episode that did some good for Picard. No real strong opinions aside from having no idea what just happened, but no real complaints either. 3/5.

The Icarus Factor: Oh boy, Daddy Issues. One of my least favorite tropes of all time! Well it wasn’t so bad with Spock’s daddy issues with Sarek, so how do Riker’s issues go (is it just gonna be a thing where the First Officers have parent issues?)? It’s the standard ‘dad wasn’t around much do the kid has issues and both suck at trying to deal with it and it all started because the mom died and dads automatically SUCK if the mom isn’t around.” Aka the junk tbat PISSES ME OFF to no end. But ignoring my feelings, I can’t blame Riker, he feels legit hurt and resentment and telling him to just get over it like Pulaski did isn’t right. Personally I’d say go through therapy, but NO ONE thinks of suggesting taking to Troi or if she’s too close to Riker, another therapist. Anyways, Kyle does seem to genuinely want to repair the damage and I can respect parents who realize their mistakes and want to make it right even if they don’t know how. But at the same time kf Riker wants nothing to do with him, he doesn’t have to and Kyle should have learned to either back down or seek guidance if he really wanted to make amends. Otherwise while I don’t have too many issues with how it was done here aside from the ‘men are macho and should solve their problems via macho means’ because just sitting down and talking or seeing a therapist apparently isn’t an option. It’s the same pattern I’ve seen everywhere else with nothing new to offer and it annoyed me the same way as thise times, and in the end I don’t like either of them for being prideful idiots. IDK if Kyle ever reappears like Sarek did in the films (which imo TOS handled Spock and Sarek MUCH better) but if they do, I hope it’s better than this. As far as Worf’s plot goes, no strong feelings but Worf’s feelings about a major Klingon event coming up but not being around other Klingons are understandable and his friends and the wrap-up for it was nice. So overall I’m not crazy about the episode because it has one of my most hated plots and went exactly as I expected it to go and has an ending message I don’t particularly agree with even if it was a joke (no ST, not all women like macho men or find it what makes a man exciting nor are all men like that or should be), but it’s not the worst I’ve seen and it ends decently enough. 2/5.

Pen Pals: The Prime Directive exists to prevent Starfleet from interfering in the development of any pre-existing society. TOS played it pretty loose with Kirk breaking as many times as he abided by it. There are legitimate issues woth interfering in other society’s manners and potentially forcing one society’s values onto another, so Picard being more of a stickler person ith it and obeying it makes sense. But there are also cases where it may be best, especially if that society is in danger or extinction kr harming others. It’s very much a case where one needs to have good judgement and where it’s easy to make eother the right or the wrong choice. When should the Prime Directive be broken? Or should it be broken at all regardless of any downsides, as maybe that’s better than the potential downsides that breaking it can cause?In this episode, we explore that problem. So here, Data picks up a distress call from a girl whose planet is about to explode, but helping her would violate the Prime Directive. He decides to help after communicating with her for a while, and thus the debate begins. Ultimateley in this particular situation I side with Data. I get why the Prime Directive is in place and I agree that it’s necessary. But in this case it’s an innocent child whose about to potentially be killed along with her planet and understandsbmy scared. Interfering in saving a child’s life if their efforts to save the planet fails is just the right thing to do. I do like that an episode had this debate because both sides have a point, and in the end even Picard, whose otherwise an asshole in this episode, decided that he couldn’t just do nothing. Also Data and Sarjanka’s interactions are utterly adorable and God I love Data~

As far as Wesley’s plot goes… why the HELL is the TEENAGER with ZERO training being allowed to lead a science team?! Okay tbf they address it in the episode, this IS pretty much supposed to be training for him so fair enough. But… I’m sorry but I just think that Wesley has not earned that right at least until he actually gets into the Academy and gets proper training there instead of being thrust into a professional position like this so quickly. Otherwise it fees like Wesley gets preferential treatment all because he’s smarter than most those age despite having not really done anything to earn it. But his worries about being a leader are understandable and Wil Wheadon protrays it well especially when he talks to Riker about it. This is really the issue with Wesley. The character himself is fine and likeable (a few instances aside but I can say that for everyone), but it’s how the show uses and elevates him more than he should that makes watching him so frustrating. But it hasn’t been as bad as S1, so we’ll see how things go down the line. So overall solid episode. I ahve some annoyances, but it was still a nice watch. 3.5/5.

[comicteaparty]

March 28th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party chat that occurred on March 28th, 2019, from 5PM - 7PM PDT.  The chat focused on Daemon by Akreampuff.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB START!

Good evening, everyone~! This week’s Thursday Book Club is officially beginning! Today we are discussing Daemon by Akreampuff~! (http://daemon.smackjeeves.com/)

Remember that Thursday discussions are completely freeform! However, every 30 minutes I will drop in OPTIONAL discussion questions in case you’d like a bit of a prompt. If you miss out on one of these prompts, you can find them pinned for the chat’s duration. Additionally, remember that while constructive criticism is allowed, our focus is fun and respectfully appreciating the comic. All that said, let’s begin!

QUESTION 1. What is your favorite scene in the comic so far and why?

my favorite scene is probably the one where billie transforms. this is largely due to it overcoming my expectations, cause a lot of transformation sequences are graceful or maybe even silly. even when demons are involved whether the demons be bad or good. this one though? this one looks terrifying to go through and i love. its such a cool illustrated scene too between the transitional effects and other sorts of kind of magical effects going around. http://daemon.smackjeeves.com/comics/2477610/page-25/

another scene i really enjoyed was the boat scene, specifically when the banter picks up. i appreciate that billie is not willing to trust zeke, but i also like how chill zeke is. i think it really shows off zeke's character in particular since it seems pretty clear hes empathizing with the situation.

mathtans

Made it. I was gonna ask if you meant the transformation forwards or back, so I'm glad you put in the reference. Neither seem all that fun.

I rather liked when the door blew out due to the fire, sending Billie out into the tree. And I mean "like" as in it got to me, not "oh, that looks fun".

The boat and banter was kinda cool. I mostly liked it for the way it could slip in exposition elements in an entertaining way.

RebelVampire

billie getting blown out of the house was a pretty said moment. although i did like this one page where its just debris and her hand http://daemon.smackjeeves.com/comics/2477607/page-22/ maybe im just a sucker for glass debris, but i really loved how it kind of slowed the moment so you could take in what just happened and then the next page really shows that hit and land(edited)

that is also true about the boat scene. the banter was a good balance to keep the exposition entertaining

mathtans

Right, that's the page just after the one I was thinking of. But that was good too, I kind of pictured her as reaching for her mum but being blown back through the window.

I feel so bad for the mum. I think she was in it just enough to create some empathy. Part of me wonders if Dad came back and accidentally started the fire.

RebelVampire

now that would just be tragic. dad sneezes and whoops, suddenly fire

although

tbf

we never see a dead body

maybe the mom is alive

and she started the fire!

mathtans

It's true. I wonder if maybe mum is alive but could even be kidnapped or something... um, or that? She smoke, maybe? ^.^

Fire could also have been started by that other watcher, the one working with Zeke but that Zeke said he couldn't find. Maybe he went rogue.

RebelVampire

that could be. i mean right now just being disappeared kind of makes them the prime suspect

but yeah if theres one thing stories have taught

its never believe someone is dead until you see both their dead body and ghost

so i consider it highly possible the mom wasnt in the fire

doesnt even have to have been kidnapped. maybe she was at the late night store getting milk

mathtans

I wonder if ghosts exist. We only know vampires don't (which was kind of funny as stated).

Everyone probably thinks Billie died in the fire either way.

RebelVampire

yeah im really curious how she expects to just go back. cause shes been gone long enough that someone probably noticed the fire and investigated and made assumptions. or for one of the supposed victims to turn up out of the blue is the height of suspicion

it screams murder or for the insurance money

mathtans

People already didn't seem to like her, so this won't help either. Poor kid.

RebelVampire

yeah tbf i also dont get why she wants to go back

she didnt have any friends

and i didnt get the feeling she had some sort of extended family either

which i mean maybe she hasnt considered it cause shes in shock and being grumpy

QUESTION 2. Overall, it’s very obvious Billie has a lot on her plate regarding her newfound demonic lineage. Emotionally, how do you think Billie will come to deal with her situation, both in regards to her heritage and her mother being dead? How long do you think it’ll take her to adjust (if ever)? Do you feel Billie will endeavor to learn to control her newfound powers after Zeke shows her some more? Or, do you feel Billie will return “home” and try to pretend everything is normal at first? Assuming Billie learns at some point, what sorts of things do you think she’ll learn power wise? Speaking of home, what do you think Billie is going to do in regards to that? Overall, how do you see Billie just dealing with the new situation in general?

mathtans

Could just be a fear of the unknown. And she had that one blonde friend. Kinda.

I feel like one of the things Billie will ask eventually is where's Dad hanging out. I'm not sure if that will help her adjust but I think it'll help her sort some things out.

RebelVampire

yeah im surprised insofar shes not the least bit curious about her dad. especially cause her dad must be well known since those medical daemons knew of him.

enough to even say like father like daughter basically

i feel like for a while, billie might emotionally not deal with. like especially if she stays in the caves, its a lot easier to put the events out of mind. or more i mean she might deal with the demon elements and come to accept that, but i think theres other things shell avoid and not hit her till later

like the fact she has no house

mathtans

I mean, she thought her dad was just some guy, there's still the need to adjust to that.

Also might not immediately want to meet the guy who's supposedly part of this hybrid breeding program.

Yeah. I wonder if the caves are fireproof. Feels like she might have fire issues later.

RebelVampire

actually if her powers wind up being fire related, that has huge implications she started it. and i would hate to be her in the moment she realizes she caused it.

mathtans

Oooh. Like, unconsciously? That would suck. Unless someone watching her decided to start it to make her think she started it.

RebelVampire

that would be devious

but not impossible

especially if powers are somewhat inherited and her dad is the big fire guy or something

maybe what will inspire billie to meet her dad is anger. like in the sense she needs someone to lash out, and hes the secret demon father who made her and gave her demon blood and sort of got her into the situation.

mathtans

Maybe the police will investigate and she can get a report to figure out how it all started. She might not be related to fire though, maybe she has powers of just making people uncomfortable, like she did to her classmates.

Maybe. Or maybe she meets him as a trainer and doesn't realize who he is until later.

RebelVampire

actually thatd be a really interesting way to have him introduced

have him just there upfront the whole time

and then surprise

ya know, i hope the uncomfortable thing is her powers and not just her heritage in general.

cause if all daemons make ppl uncomfortable, theres a huge question of why

cause that stands in contrast to the nicer image zeke wanted to paint of them

mathtans

I'd say Satan was her father except I'm pretty sure Satan's a lady. Either that or the cliffhanger is that there's a librarian.

RebelVampire

somewhat off topic, but i really liked that one page on the boat that was all blue and white while zeke was talking about the daemons actually being good. the palette really made them see ethereal, but i like the contrast of how real colors make them look. like without that blue colored glass as it were, its kind of easy to see why someone would hmm if theyre good or bad.

yeah i kind of get the impression satan is that lady too

cause zeke did purposefully not use pronouns that i noticed

mathtans

Zeke may have his own rose coloured glasses too, mind.

Oh, that's cool. I'm not always good at picking up on art stuff.

I did have a look at the link to the time lapse video on the colouring of one of the pages... interesting how it was flipped horizontally at a couple points, I've never thought of doing that.

Actually, lots of the bonus stuff is pretty fun. Like Zeke's alternate magical transformation, or the 100th page breaking the 4th wall.

Maybe Satan is also the librarian.

RebelVampire

well zeke did say satan is just a title

so satan is the job title given to their librarians

i really loved that bonus page with zeke's alternate magical transformation

it was a good, silly addition in some serious moments

QUESTION 3. Vaguely, Zeke mentions that the hybrids were created because daemons needed something from humans. What do you think this thing daemons need is? Will Billie like the answer when she finds out, or is it going to be something that horrifies her? Why are the daemons so desperate they’d even create a breeding program to get it? The comic also talks a bit about the history of daemons. What do you think was said and done in the past to create such a negative view of daemons? What was even the purpose of making them so hated? Also, who was even the main perpetrator of these distortions? Ultimately, how do you believe both the history and the creation of hybrids will play into the story and the daemons’ goals?

mathtans

Interesting, I guess part of me just thought what they needed was love and attention. But maybe there's something in the genes.

As to the negative view, probably propaganda by cults. Maybe a jilted ex-lover.

RebelVampire

maybe it is love. i mean i dont consider it impossible. though i also would be concerned why daemons cant produce love naturally cause that has horrible implications

maybe humans are better magical conduits or something

idk why thatd be

but its the only thing i can think of

or maybe daemons have longer or immortal lifespans and they need some good ol' mortality

or

since the comic description mentions theres gonna be fighting angels

maybe only humans can fight angels

but they made hybrids cause plain ol' humans are too weak

but speaking of angels, i assume the propaganda was theres. which i mean, if all daemons make ppl uncomfortable, it was probably easy to manipulate the world that way

cause of course youd assume ppl who make you uncomfy were evil

although

if i go with humans kill angels thing, it makes sense why theyd do it. cause if humans dont like daemons anymore, there will be no alliance

mathtans

(Sorry, back) Yeah, it's weird unless they need a surplus or something... oh, right, magic. Hum, that's an idea.

Maybe a daemon can only be killed by a hybrid or something. They need one to go on a quest. Or the angel fight's a good one too.

Maybe the daemons have signed something like that they won't do stuff to angels, and so their hands are tied now that some angels have gone rogue. I wonder if there's half angels too.

Oooh. Maybe only hybrids can breed with angels?

RebelVampire

that could be.

i never considered thered be hybrid angels

if there are i feel doubly bad for humans

no matter what are the puppets

mathtans

Instead of horns and tails they grow wings. Very inconvenient as far as shirts go.

I wonder if there's some actual humans who can do magic, or only hybrids.

Also, their program can't be too successful if they've only managed under 10 in something like 20+ years.

RebelVampire

i got more the impression was that they wanted to start small

which either suggests 1) they really dont know much about the risks or what the consequences are so made a small sample size or 2) theyre afraid of there being too many hybrids

mathtans

Hmm, I suppose that could be too. Though seemingly they weren't sure if anything would even manifest, so maybe their sample was larger than we give credit for.

RebelVampire

im really curious if the blond friend is a hybrid somehow. especially since she didnt mind billie at all

mathtans

I wondered about that, but with so few of them, it'd be a bit of a coincidence.(edited)

Unless they're all from the same region on Earth or something, I guess. (Maybe she's an angel?)

It'd cut against the grain, an angel who likes to skip class and show up late and stuff.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 4. Besides the history of daemons, there are a few other mysteries floating about. Who do you think burnt down Billie’s house and for what goal? Was Zeke really not involved? Could it have been another daemon? How do you think Billie’s mother even ended up with a daemon? Did Billie’s mother really not know he was a daemon? Alternatively, if she knew, why didn’t she tell Billie? Do you think Billie will get to meet her father? If so, how do you foresee that going? Additionally, how do you think it will go when Billie meets the other hybrids? Will she find newfound friends, or is she doomed to be alone? In general, what future events do you see happening in the comic?

they could be from the same region. maybe theres something in the water. but tbh it could just be a coincidence. i dont see why not.

mathtans

Maybe the shocking twist is, Billie's mom was actually an angel! And nobody knew!

I'm kinda curious to see the other hybrids. The author must have kinda figured them out, they were shown in silhouette early on.

Iris

just wanted to quickly say that this seems like a super cool chat, I'm really hoping that I'll be less busy during the next one and be able to get more involved ;o;

mathtans

Heya Iris. We all have our busy times, early March chewed me up.

RebelVampire

hoping it works out too! we'd definitely love to have you, @Iris ~!

yeah i really want to see the hybrids too

but mostly cause new charas

to see billie interact with

Iris

ty! gonna check what next week's comic is

RebelVampire

and have fun

mathtans

I'm curious about the designs, since they all look different. Which is a real interesting way to go on that. (Also, seems Billie lucked out in terms of her armour.)

RebelVampire

@Iris its kamikaze https://kamikazeanimated.com/comic/

yeah im kind of for the theory billie's mom was an angel just cause it seems convenient she got such nice armour

Iris

thanks!!

RebelVampire

i really hope we get to learn how billie's mother ended up with a daemon. cause im really banking on the fact that she probably knew.

cause the lie she told billie seems sort of vague and convenient(edited)

mathtans

I hadn't considered that. (Tinder?)

Iris

(demon tinder. cinder)

mathtans

"There's finally dating apps. Project hybrid is a go."

RebelVampire

appropriate name given the fire themes XD

plot twist: daemons invented dating apps

Iris

makes sense

mathtans

Heh. Maybe they've got a tech area.

So, Billie and Zeke... do we ship them? The conversational bits about being a cat make me think yes. But of course, I prefer to ship Billie with the BadGirl (tm), because of how I prefer yuri.

RebelVampire

idk if i ship billie and zeke yet. im not sure i trust zeke. not cause i think hes up to something, but he seems creepily loyal to the daemons to the point i wouldnt trust him to have unbiased decision making

mathtans

Billie hasn't totally trusted him for that reason though, so I feel like the lampshading makes it possible. Though if he's meant to be her mentor/trainer, maybe not.

Kinda related, maybe Billie will want to stay just because everyone around now won't have that bad vibe she gave to the other students.

Also, there's books.

RebelVampire

yeah i did kind of feel that will be a motivating factor

that now she has a chance to make friends

and not be alone

and i kind of feel that fact will make her stay for a bit "just to see what its all about"

and then shell come ot feel they are family like zeke said

but im also curious how the hybrids in general are treated in the society

cause i do worry theyre getting the useful tool treatment

mathtans

You need to make sure they're plugged in at night. Or they lose their charge.

(Billie's lucky, she doesn't have a tail, so doesn't need to charge up. Zeke, on the other hand...)

RebelVampire

billie is one of the fancy wireless ones you just put on the stand

mathtans

She's her own action figure.

Seriously though, yeah, I wonder if all of them are as chill about things as Zeke. Also, I wonder if anyone else is being monitored out there.

RebelVampire

yeah thatd be an interesting situation for billie to be in

having to monitor some other hybrid

which emotionally i dont feel will go over well for her

mathtans

Maybe she'll have to monitor BadGirl with the ponytail. And I get my ship.

I wonder if any of the other short forms for Satan will get used. ("Actually, my name's Stan. Someone added another 'a'.")

RebelVampire

maybe.

mathtans

Well, all the best to Billie then. Hope her next transformation goes smoother. (Oh, I also liked the whole "and then she died" gag, heh.)

RebelVampire

although now im wondering if satan is actually an angel or if this comic split lucifer and satan

mathtans

Ooh, that's a good question too.

RebelVampire

i guess well find out eventually tho. darn angel propaganda

COMIC TEA PARTY- THURSDAY BOOK CLUB END!

Sadly, this wraps up this week’s Thursday Book Club chat for now. Thank you so much to everyone for reading and joining us! We want to give a special thank you to Akreampuff, as well, for making Daemon. If you liked the comic, make sure to support Akreampuff’s efforts however you’re able to~!

Read and Comment: http://daemon.smackjeeves.com/

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