#but there's a specific type of comment I've been seeing mostly in youtube comments which. yeah dead dove etc

[upslapmeal]

"but Pyramids of Mars established that Sut-" my friend this is the three-separate-explanations-for-Atlantis show, as far as I'm concerned they can have a free-for-all when it comes to real-world mythology

"but they're ruining the canon!!" buddy I got good news for you, Doctor Who canon is a buffet and you don't have to eat anything you don't want to

[nontrivialproof]

I posted this and then quickly decided it was too embarrassing to not put under a readmore anyway here's 500 words about what I've observed from reading way too many AITA posts

At this point, AITA posts feel like the krill of the internet, this type of popular, free, rapidly-replenishing content collected and monetized by podcasts, TikTok accounts, YouTube channels, and clickbait news sites. In the reddit ecosystem itself, the subreddit has spawned a ton of spin-offs either for external discussion or for the same type of post with less moderation. The most obvious and worst of these is AITAH, which is the same as AITA except that it allows posts about general relationship drama as opposed to discrete interpersonal conflicts. (To be transparent this post is mostly about AITAH over AITA because that's what gets recommended to me by the reddit algorithm.)

IMO the interesting thing about AITA is that it's this specific form that has evolved across thousands and thousands of posts. Almost all AITA posts feature at least one person acting completely out of line; to suffuse yourself in the world of AITA is to live in a world where a huge percentage of people are, if not straight up evil, then susceptible to begin acting completely unreasonably at any time. Within this setting have emerged a lot of recurring tropes of types of assholes: golden child siblings, bridezillas, cheaters of all kinds, etc, almost certainly in part because these stories get a lot of rage-based engagement.

And I think it's mainly this evolution of tropes that enables the biggest problem with the culture of AITA(H), which is that its posts are frequently used to launder various prejudices (misogyny, fatphobia, and transphobia being the ones I see the most). For example, people on AITAH are convinced that paternity fraud is big deal because they are constantly reading posts about paternity fraud. Posters are extremely quick to jump to the conclusion that the women in the posts they read are cheating because they are constantly reading stories about cheating women.

This is all sort of side-stepping the question of whether all this content is fake or even AI-generated. Kind of regardless, one of the most interesting things to me about AITAH is the way that even commenters who believe the posts to be true kind of engage with them as works of fiction. Writing this post made me think that some AITA posts read essentially like mystery stories; commenters are invited to use the details of the post to try to "solve" the conflict and then have their theory of the case either confirmed or subverted when the OP updates the post. For example, I read a post recently where the OP was concerned that his wife had cheated on him, and he mentioned that she had been sleeping on the couch, supposedly because the AC was better in the living room. And people came into the comments to be like, "She could be doing that to avoid being intimate with you" as though the OP would need that to be explained. Like in fiction, there is a feeling that details cannot be meaningless, but unlike in fiction, it almost feels like a faux pas to point out that details are included by the author for specific effect because doing so ruins the conceit that the audience is elucidating the situation for the OP.

Anyway, the conclusion to this post isn't that AITA posts are like ruining the culture I just don't like their vibe I think there's a dark energy there...

[villain-in-love]

Sorry this ask took a while to send, I've been busy deep cleaning the last few days! But in your other post you mentioned Monster High and Ever After High OCs/Self Inserts. I don't want to pressure you if you don'y want to ofc, but if you're comfortable with sharing them.. I'd love to know more about them!!

I don't know much about Ever After High myself. I watched a few webisodes on Youtube some time ago and then dropped it. But I've been thinking about picking it back up again because I love the fairytale setting. Plus the dolls look very cool design-wise! I think out of the character I've seen so far, Madeline might be my favourite :3

Also, do you perhaps collect any other doll lines? I also enjoy Living Dead Dolls, Bleeding Edge, Little Apple Dolls, ect. If you enjoy the gothic/alternative style of Monster High, I'd definetly recommend them!! Some of them are bit more gorey - but theres plenty of interesting characters.

Ever After High is a great doll line as well as a show with immaculate aesthetic and interesting concept. Personally, I still prefer Monster High over it, but I've seen people favour Ever After High because it has a serious main conflict that can be analysed on a deeper level. A lot of people tend to simplify the message to "rebels good, royals bad", but in reality, while rebels do end up being in the right, position of royals does make sense, their concerns are understandable and hold a certain weight, at the very least because the entire situation the characters are in is rather complicated.

Honestly, if we look behind the bright and pastel coloured fairy tale aesthetic, the way fairy tale society functions is borderline dystopian…

Anyways, I think I have more OCs here because with the whole premise of following or rejecting one's destiny as well as having characters represent different fairy tales, naturally, lot of ideas appear. And so my OCs are often just me playing with the possibilities of what kind relationship with their fairy tale roles different characters might have.

While she’s not my personal favourite, I respect everyone who likes Madeline, she’s pretty cool (I especially like her Legacy Day doll which is visibly inspired by Victorian fashion) Unfortunately, she often get reduced to a comic relief, but I believe she had much more to her character in books by Shannon Hale, which I didn't have a chance to read yet, but I’m planning on doing so.

By the way, I checked out the doll brands you listed, and turns out I already knew some of them. However, while I don’t mind gore, those are not exactly the type of dolls I’m interested in (mostly I just dislike child-like proportions). (Living Dead Dolls look pretty neat though) I guess I liked Monster High as fashion dolls specifically, and very elegant, elaborate and well-thought-out ones at that.

Aside from Monster High and Ever After High, I used to like Bratzillas. I know that some might say that they are just a Monster High rip-off, but even if they were heavily inspired by it, they were still good (well, I was simply excited to see another gothic fashion doll line). I’m still upset that the franchise was so short-lived and I wish I bought more of their dolls. At some point Once Upon a Zombie piqued my interest, but I got quickly disappointed in doll and animation quality.

Also I wanted to comment on your OCs, because I actually like your character ideas. I adore the pun that is Manita’s name, especially since it’s both a good joke and sounds similar to "manticore". I overall have a soft spot for characters that are man-eaters both figuratively and literally. Octavia is extremely cute, I think she’s my favourite here, and I would totally root for her and Twyla’s relationship if they were in a show together. Levi looks like an entertaining type of character, I wish I could see him (them?) in action.

I kinda want to bother you a bit more and ask about what kind of fashion styles your characters prefer wearing and what would be written in their “freaky flaw” part of the bio, but that’s up to you if you want to continue the conversation about OCs.

Anyways, going to my OCs. I must warn you, there's a whole lot of information. I feel kinda bad for not drawing them myself and using character makers to represent them instead, but depression is a bitch and so this is the best I can do currently.

So here are the character design concepts plus some notes I have about them:

Starting with my only Monster High OC who is also a self-insert. I still don't have a name for her, since I want it to be a pun like most of Monster High names are but I have no good ideas yet.

Heavily inspired by the song Necromancin Dancin by Bear Ghost.

She's a necromancer who was born in the middle of the 19th century and died young. However, in my lore necromancers themselves are undead as well and only “awaken” after their own death. And so the first dead body they learn to control is their own.

She actually started out as a villainous character who exploited other undead students using her powers, either to harm or to manipulate.

She has issues, okay? On the inside she’s just a cynical and hostile sociophobe with a “better be a bully than the one bullied” mindset, convinced that there’s no point in trying to make friends since everyone would hate her anyway.

Ends up going through a character development and redemption arc thanks to the power of friendship and acceptance because it’s Monster High we’re talking about.

She seems very cool and confident when she’s being mean, but she’s so painfully awkward when put in a friendly environment. She doesn’t know how to be nice, she’s afraid of making a wrong move and ruining everything again.

Has a good sense of humour, but it’s dark and sometimes downright rude or offensive, which often puts her in uncomfortable situations.

She’s adopted since her parents were regular humans and she long since outlived them. After their death another necromancer – who was her mentor – took her in.

Now this is Ekaterina Bayun, the daughter of the one and only Bayun Cat. She was sent to Ever After High to better get ready for taking her father's role, since she's the first ever person to replace the original Bayun Cat. Because her father is immortal, she's didn't have to do it and it was entirely her own decision, which made her somewhat famous in school, being that she’s the only fairy tale character’s descendant who was actually given a choice.

While Ekaterina counts as a "royal" simply by the virtue of choosing to take her parent's role in their fairy tale, her view on the royal vs rebel conflict is rather neutral. And if you ask her opinion, she thinks that humans of their world would benefit more from rebel’s movement than they would if everything stayed the same as it always was.

She's actually a big monstrous cat who is capable of transforming into a human-like form. She spends half of the time in her cat form and assumes human appearance when it’s more convenient.

Ekaterina takes villain classes since, while she’s not The Villain TM, she’s classified as a beast that usually antagonises heroes. Also she literally kills and feasts on human flesh and it kind of automatically puts her into “evil” category.

Very chill, very lazy, prone to sarcasm and snide remarks. Like every cat, Ekaterina subconsciously thinks of herself as superior to everyone else and doesn’t like following any rules she disagrees with.

She’s a great storyteller and a singer with low and slightly gravelly, but very attractive voice. However, she has to be careful with it as to not accidentally put the entire school to an endless sleep.

Ekaterina has got a creative streak and is pretty intelligent, so she’s also good at making up her own stories. Her favourite school subject is creative storytelling.

She couldn't care less about human etiquette or morality. She's nosy and impudent, and has a habit of wandering into places where she shouldn't be.

Mstislava The Wise – daughter of Vasilisa the Wise from “The Sea Tsar and Vasilisa the Wise”. Headstrong and prideful, she never wanted to accept the role of her mother, which is why her family sent her to Ever After High in hopes that she will be put in her place here and stop rebelling. But boy, if that wasn't the miscalculation of the century.

Mstislava is a hardcore russian woman – she will walk into the house on fire and stop the horse running at full gallop, looking fabulous while doing so. She’s talented and intelligent, and absolutely refuses to become an obedient and loving wife of some Ivan Tsarevich who will sit on his ass while she does all the work in their story, only to be denied credit later.

Just like all women of her bloodline, Mstislava is a powerful sorceress. She's a master of transfiguration who is closely connected to the forces of nature, plus she possesses an impressive collection of enchanted items. She's also implied to be not quite human.

She doesn’t actually hate being a princess, and she would love to become a queen, but she's willing to sacrifice her royal status for the sake of her freedom of choice... or just for the sake of making a point.

She threatens her family with magic or refusing to go home if they don't accept her wanting to write her own destiny. She either gets to become the queen on her own terms, of she will run away and become a wicked forest witch.

Despite how serious and intense she appears, Mstislava does have a mischievous side and sometimes uses her magic powers to play tricks on people.

Mstislava is good at poetry, but unlike what is expected of a princess, she’s a terrible musician. (And so Ekaterina proceeded to teach her how to rap to pass the Muse-ic class…)

She's hard-working, but she's also a night owl, so you can catch her angrily banging at the door where the party is going at night, complaining that they're disturbing her while she's trying to study.

She's actually Baba Yaga's distant relative, and Mstislava considers Yaga to be her role model.

Meowriel Savatier – daughter of the Puss in Boots. She's a natural born hero and a royal who is very excited about fulfilling her destiny, especially since her destiny is to be with and help her best friend Marquise de Carabas (she's in love with her but doesn't fully realize it yet).

She’s technically considered to be Marquise’s lady-in-waiting, but it’s not as obvious since they both treat each other as friends and equals, with Marquise being especially considerate, even though Meowriel herself still goes out of her way to please her.

She doesn't have many close people, but she's an incredibly loyal friend, even to the point of selflessness.

Meowriel is bold, energetic, and resourceful. She seems to be in high spirits all the time, having a plan for any occasion and never giving up.

She's an incredibly persuasive and charming opportunist.

She takes hero classes and is the best in the Dragon Slaying class, where she uses cunning tactics to succeed instead of trying to rely on brute force.

She's an example of a royal who is actually selfish. She genuinely wants to fulfil her destiny which will give her and her beloved Marquise a happy ending, while the rest of the royals and rebels can rip each other to pieces for all she cares.

She doesn't mind rebels, but only as long as it doesn't affect her own story. However, if someone in her story tries to rebel, she's willing to force them back into their role by trickery and manipulation.

Because every character cast needs a cheerful French with a bob cut and a sinister side.

Once I actually get to drawing her myself, I hope to make the design of her boots much more elaborate, since they are her character's signature piece.

Marquise de Carabas – daughter of the miller's youngest son from the story of the "Puss in Boots". Marquise wants to be an active character in her story and she's worried about her best friend having to do all the work for her. She feels that it's unfair that she doesn't have to do anything while Meowriel alone ensures their happy ending.

She's a bit spoiled, but I wouldn't say that she's entitled. More like she's not used to hard work and discomfort, all her life she didn't even have to lift a finger or deal with serious problems herself.

She loves art in all of its forms, so she wishes to keep living an easy and lavish lifestyle so that she could dedicate her time and effort to it.

She's not particularly skilled at writing, drawing, or singing but she doesn't let it stop her. She's got a good sense of aesthetic and yet unexplored theatrical talent. Also she's a great violinist.

She considers the possibility of rebelling, while she secretly tries to find the way to prevent her story from even starting. Just like in the case of Ashlynn Ella, Marquise is destined to lose her royal status and fall into poverty for her story to begin, and in the end she’s going to have to marry to become a princess again.

She has serious issues with having to marry a "designated" person as a part of her destiny, especially since she still didn’t even have a chance to meet them. She’s the type who can only fall in love with someone she already shares a deep bond that lasted for years, and there's exactly one person like this in her life...

However, seeing how excited Meowriel is about following her destiny, Marquise wonders if she should just give in to make her friend happy. After all, in their story they will stay together for ever after anyways, so it shouldn’t be that bad..?

Maybe it's because she's so observant, but Marquise can easily spot acting or lies. Bad acting irritates her.

She doesn't fully trust anyone except Meowriel because she's the only one who is always honest with her.

By the way, I'm still only figuring out her character, since she was recently revamped in design and I started over with her personality. I'm also currently thinking about possibly changing her name.

Hua Li Ming – daughter of Hua Mulan, raised both as a capable warrior and a perfect lady. She's torn between wanting to honour her family, both like her story and fairy tale society tells her, and being absolutely terrified of having to bear such responsibility and spend 12 years at war.

She's noble and prideful, so on one hand she considers it a honour to become the next Mulan. On the other hand, she hates herself for being reasonably scared and unwilling to fulfil her destiny.

I imagine it will get revealed when Darling Charming tells her that she's lucky for getting to be a warrior instead of a damsel in distress, causing Li Ming to snap and go into a full-blown "you know nothing" tirade.

Actually has to deal with the pressure of being both a soldier and a lady. It's not like she was given an opportunity to choose one or even reject both.

She's a royal who desperately wants to rebel but still can’t let go of the thought that it's somehow beneath her.

Everyone around her constantly going on about how she would make a perfect Mulan doesn’t help.

Soft-spoken but firm, knows her own worth.

Known for being well-mannered and highly disciplined, Li Ming is a pleasure to work with and is considered to be a great company.

This showcases her level of self-control, and unfortunately it also means that she’s used to repressing her feelings, especially negative ones, which doesn’t do her any good.

Does meticulous work like weaving and sewing to calm herself and sort out her thoughts.

Li Ming studied combat and the art of war ever since her childhood. She likes it all in theory, but she'd rather not have to use it.

Instead of serving her country as a soldier, she wishes she could prevent the war before it even starts.

Character makers used:

The first one

The one that is made in Ever After High style

The third one is Anime Avatar Maker found on Google Play

[natsspammityspamspamham]

Dino Watches Anime (Dec 21)

Happy Holidays! I've been spending my winter break watching anime like a loser. Some things never change...

I will be updating some stuff from my previous entry on this list (which was at the beginning of the season I think).

Series (mostly seasonal)

Wandering Son

This anime felt like a manga preview, and I'm not complaining. I just think they left it unfinished. Unfortunately, I don't think we would ever be able to get a continuation with this considering that it was allegedly "not well received" (although winning some awards). Alas, I enjoyed my time watching it and being called out during a few (a lot) of parts regarding puberty and gender identity. Its incredibly slow pace and pastel-like art style were very fitting. I would recommend it, but you do need to be in a certain mood to watch it (as it has very little comedy).

Spy x Family Season 2

Yeah, it's very good. I don't think I liked the tennis arc nearly as much as everyone else, but I still like this season a lot. I feel like everyone is either planning on watching or is watching it, so I won't spend too much time on this one.

Chainsaw Man

I do get the hype. This is a great show, but I honestly think this show is an 8/10. I think a lot of the supposed relatability of the main character is lost on me (aroace). It's a cool world with very interesting characters. The morally gray atmosphere and characters are refreshing to see from a Shonen Jump manga (where friendship is always the answer), and the art is absolutely amazing (yes, even the CG is pretty good). But I think something is missing for me (can't figure out what it is).

Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss wo Kattemimashita

Yeah man, this show is sh*t. I already talked about it at length, but I also gave it a 5.5/10, so I think my friend's comment about me being a clown is incredibly realistic unlike having a structured magic system in this anime. Oh well, I guess if you like Yuichiro Umehara doing ASMR cringy lines, this show will definitely be on your list, but I was shaking my screen and cringing 70% of the time while watching this show.

Cool Doji Danshi

This show made an appearance on my "take" on the portrayal of social anxiety and pretty privilege in anime, but I feel like I'd need to watch it and finish it in a really specific mood where I wouldn't think even puddle-deep.

Pop Team Epic Season 2

That last episode was literally a 19-minute buildup for one punchline that was... alright. Yuuichi Nakamura dubs live-action actor Yuuichi Nakamura. Besides that, the episode doesn't hold any value to people who haven't watched the type of show it's parodying (me). The rest of the show is incredibly niche in terms of humour, but at least this show is aware that it's sh*t. There were a few moments that made me smile and maybe let out a chuckle, but watching Pop Team Epic is pretty much like buying a huge bag of trail mix just for the M&Ms.

Mob Psycho III

This is an absolute masterpiece. I didn't think the show could top the previous season, but here we are. I rated it a 10/10 even if Bones didn't animate a few things (it still felt incredibly cohesive). The only thing that brought it down was the Sakurai scandal, but that isn't any fault of the anime.

Bocchi the Rock!

You know, I really should've watched this before writing that post on social anxiety in anime because "she's just like me fr fr". Despite being over-the-top (this is anime), I find this interpretation, while drawn for comedic value, still incredibly realistic for its subject matter. Not only that, but it's got some good tunes and is like the antithesis to K-On (guys, these shows aren't remotely similar when you look beyond the superficial traits). Anyways, there's an incredibly good video about why it's good on YouTube already. I relate to Bocchi a lot (almost too much), so I'd highly recommend it for that alone, but I wouldn't blame you if you ducked out because she was too relatable. Also, I'd like to give a shoutout to the seiyuu who make this anime so much fun, especially Yoshino Aoyama who made that glitch scream.

Movies

Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare

This movie looked incredibly promising because of its creator, Io Sakisaka, who also wrote Ao Haru Ride. Despite not actually liking the Ao Haru Ride anime, I figured it was definitely worth a shot. What I got was a manga recap that was incredibly rushed and poorly paced (one summer festival lasts maybe 3 minutes before it abruptly changes setting). The character motivations make little sense, and they seem very shallow in terms of development, which makes their relationships feel incredibly half-assed. These things are crucial for shoujo romance anime, which are built on empathy and connections between characters. Although the genre can feel melodramatic at times, when given the proper time and care, the melodrama is far more palatable. However, even if the proper time and care were given, part of the plot is just a common p*rn plot. No joke. They even have the step-sibling trope, which is yikes. Overall, it was a very mediocre movie that did not meet my expectations at all.

Umibe no Etranger

When describing this movie, my friend said it sounded like "a cry for help." That's not inaccurate, and I would be lying if I said that this movie didn't annoy me at times. This movie is incredibly short and fast-paced, and at first, I thought this was caused by a similar issue to the previous entry, but surprisingly, the manga follows a very similar structure and pace. However, there were a few lines that were cut that didn't make sense to exclude (but it doesn't heavily impact the main storyline). The rating system also lied to me calling this PG-13 when there is an explicit scene in there (between two adults). I don't like how they make some BL characters incredibly whiny (especially when we're supposed to believe they're consenting adults). I feel like this movie really lacked proper development and time. The side characters were only given names and maybe one trait each, and I feel like they really could've done more with this story. Alas, the soundtrack was great, which helped elevate it, and the setting (Okinawa) looks great and full of life. There is a sequel manga, but I feel like making this film entailed that we would be more attached to these characters by the end so we would be encouraged to go read the manga.

Summer Ghost

This is another very short movie, and it really ain't that deep. Everything in this movie is predictable. Every single plot twist is like Dora the Explorer and didn't shock me, and ironically, I think they should've closed one of the plots better because it arguably looks like MC did not report something he was supposed to and may have just incriminated himself by putting his hands on evidence that should've been at least shown to eventually be in police possession. Anyways, the soundtrack carries this movie to no end, and the voice acting was also good. This is revealed early on, but MC is not explicitly mentioned to be close to death unlike the other two characters, so his ability to connect with the titular Summer Ghost makes less sense than it needs to.

Eve no Jikan

Technically, this has an ONA and a movie version with both being nearly the same minus a few scenes that should've just been included in the movie version (it would've added less than 10 minutes overall, I think). Because of this, you are kind of required to watch both to get the full story. Some comedic moments in this anime feel out of place since the story tells a tale similar to Hal (another movie about an android). It tells little tidbit tales of androids and how they get along with the humans they have been purchased by. There are a few episodes that stand out to me (4 and 6 of the ONA). It's the best watch out of this category (although that isn't saying a whole lot). It was thought-provoking and had some great voice acting, but I would've really liked a continuation. It felt like a passion project through and through (it's an original with no source material), so if you're interested in human-android relation like the previously mentioned Hal or Plastic Memories, give this package a shot.