#does anyone know where the source image is from?

[mage-ical-character-person]

Ough yeah the 4th wall in this show is just. Its own can of worms.

Because SMG4’s channel obviously exists in-universe as just a regular Youtube channel anyone can watch. The merch has also been shown to exist in-universe, so the Puzzlevision and WOTFI 24 websites likely do as well.

But also there’s the whole “Great Beyond” thing where the real world is acknowledged and the whole series canonically takes place on Luke’s computer. And in the Lawsuit Arc we see that deleting the channel from the Great Beyond essentially kills all OC characters in the show.

but obviously the real-real life channel wasn’t deleted for this so we’ve got like three layers of fourth wall going. Either way Lawsuit Arc forever recontextualizes how dedicated Four is to his channel because if the channel goes under he and his friends cease to exist.

Three and Puzzles have both briefly taken over Four’s in-universe channel in their respective arcs. So?? Yeah. I don’t know what layer of fourth wall Puzzles is breaking and I don’t know if he’s aware of his life literally being written by someone beyond his comprehension.

Three and Four both seem aware of this, though. They’ve demonstrated both breaking the fourth wall of Four’s in-universe channel as something Four has control over…

…and breaking the fourth wall to (at least) The Great Beyond, with the show as something SMG4 doesn’t exactly have control over, plus acknowledging the rules and events of their world being controlled by a third party

(Notably, though, only Four found anything about The Great Beyond familiar in the Revelations arc when they actually went there)

and then there’s the whole game theory parody thing where the fourth wall is entirely obliterated and Four just straight up asks “An I even real?!” Which he… immediately sweeps under the rug. But still.

Unlike SMG4, though, I’m not sure Puzzles’ fourth-wall breaking ever goes beyond the in-universe show/channel.

What he does know is that “The Funny” is the source of SMG4’s power (meme energy) and Mario is essentially Four’s muse in that regard, hence mustache episode and his focus on Mario specifically.

Side note: you can obtain “The Funny” by stealing any Mario body part, not just his mustache, as seen in “Mario steals your liver��

As for his focus on SMG4, I genuinely think he just… finds Four relatable, sees himself in Four a bit, even if not consciously. Which is… yeah the parallels there are something I’ve gone on and on about. Not gonna get into all that too much here but they’re both dedicated entertainers that have made their craft their whole lives and often end up disregarding the feelings of others in pursuit of that even in situations where they mean well. here’s this whole thing if you want more on that and other Puzzles parallels

Anyway, while Puzzles claims the SMG4 show is the stupidest he’s ever seen, he calls Four and his friends “the best cast a producer could ask for”, and “the most entertaining folks in town”. That’s high praise coming from him! Puzzles gives Four high marks as an actor and character even if he doesn’t appreciate his resistance all that much.

I really like the way @nonsense-is-everywhere put it in its tags

beloved mutual understands. Thank you. Puzzles thinks Four is the most entertaining and relatable little freak and enjoys watching Four go through hell. The show’s stupid but he likes the “characters”, he loved Four’s performance in IGBP so much he casts him as the villain again in “Once Upon an SMG4” and again with Meme Factory. Probably why Four remained unbrainwashed in Puzzle Park, Puzzles wants method acting for his favorite character. He wants the raw emotion. His brainwashing never really worked on Mario, but leaving SMG4 unbrainwashed was an active choice. AND THE CASTLE RIGHT BEFORE HE STARTS SINGING PUZZLE PARK HE LOVES MESSING WITH FOUR SO MUCH.

Anyway, anyway, Puzzles absolutely is projecting a bit and wants the audience, whichever audience he may be talking to, to find comfort in what he makes. He knows what it’s like to be left out and he knows how comforting escapism has always been for him and he wants to provide that comfort on some level. Partly because he hopes it will earn him love, but he also seems to think he’s helping, somehow. Like you said, “He hopes to become a fixation we cling onto because he KNOWS what it’s like to be on our side of the screen.” Great way to put it.

The scene with Meggy in Puzzles Clubhouse shows that mentality pretty well, and it also shows just how quickly he can switch roles. He does it in Meme Factory, which nonsense-is-everywhere also mentions in the tags

And he does the same thing in reverse here! He tries genuinely to make a bid for connection, playing the role he sees himself in as the misunderstood visionary. A sort of anti-hero. He wants a voluntary “yes,” but can’t afford a “no”, so when it becomes clear he is only seen as the villain, he goes, “Oh, I can definitely work with that” and leans into his assigned role fully. He plays into whatever role he feels he has been assigned in any given moment.

That’s what makes him so interesting, he’s fairly benign when he doesn’t interpret his current role as villainous. That’s what makes the ending of WOTFI 24 so heartbreaking to me. He thought it was time to try his hand at a new role and was ready to play it with his usual cliché theatrics only to be shut down and isolated with no one to perform for.

He was ready for a new role!

The thing is… I get the sense he’s at a loss for what role specifically he should be playing now. It seemed like 2 options for getting out of there with WPNZ and Meggy, but this guy gets attached to anyone who’s even a little nice to him, and WPNZ called him “pal”! So now both his options are weird and at least a little sentimental, even the one that at first felt like stepping back into the familiar role of “manipulative villain”

OH PUZZLES! MY LITTLE FREAK WHO DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO BE GENUINE AND PLAYS INTO THE SHOWMAN PERSONA TO AVOID THINKING ABOUT HIS FEELINGSSS!!

It’s not even just avoidance of being vulnerable with others because he does it when he’s alone.

This is just… the only way he knows how to process strong emotions and I love that for him.

My precious Puzzie Pie… he is so Bad at It. Even when it feels like he wants to be genuine he backs out of it at the last minute.

Like yeah in this case when pressed he doubles back and has a moment of honesty but that was only when at risk of getting lasered. Took pretty extreme circumstances

And I think WPNZ’s reaction to this is interesting, because he’s also someone who avoids vulnerability and struggles to treat people like people. (Where Puzzles treats those around him like actors or fictional characters, WPNZ treats even those he genuinely cares about as tools and… yknow. Weapons)

The way WPNZ responds to this with amusement at Puzzles’ antics with a little smile! I think he knows exactly what Puzzles was doing and finds this method of avoidance… just amusing! Charming, maybe. Either way, he’s happy to be given an out and pretend the emotional moment never happened.

But UGHH Puzzles was absolutely intending to make a genuine attempt at comfort before chickening out. Look at his faces. His body language.

He’s nervous! He has no idea how to handle this and settles on not handling it at all! He wants to connect over this, but he doesn’t know how! The only thing he knows how to do is perform, put on a show.

That and manipulation. Performance and manipulation are how he interacts with anyone. And it’s amazing seeing him so nervous and out of his element when faced with people who are willing to reach out and work with him on their own. So he defaults back to manipulation and/or showboating. (People are starting to see through that, though.)

He craves connection but also it freaks him out!

Also apparently he is currently capable of doing brainwashing. I thought he needed 5 stars for that to work in the real world but okay? Maybe he retained some of the engine room’s power from Puzzle Park??

Augh. Love this guy. Hope he escapes his fate of death by torture cube

I assume like this

either way. Gosh. He’s so scared, especially since last time he let the promise of friendship coax him into letting his guard down is what got him in his current predicament of being on death row. But he’s not giving up.

I’m proud of him. He made a friend or two, even if that scares him. He did it!

[illustrative-robot]

Saw this picture on Pinterest and thought “hey now” so drew this for fun last night

[txttletale]

hey what’s up, i think you’re pretty cool but disagree with you on the whole ai can make art thing. to me, without the purpose from an actual person creating the piece, it’s not art but an image; as all human art has purpose. some driving factor in a work, compared to a program which purely creates the prompt without further intention. i was wondering what your insight on this is? either way, hope you have a great day

well, first of all, does art require 'purpose'? there's this view of art which has very much calcified in "anti-AI" rhetoric, that art is some linear process of communication from one individual to another: an Artist puts some Meaning into a unit of Art, which others can then view to Recieve that Meaning. you can hold this view, but i don't! i'm much more of a stuart hall-head on this, i think that there is no such transfusion of Intent and that rather the 'meaning' of a piece is something that exists only in the interplay between text and reader. reading is an active, interpretative process of decoding, not a passive absorptive one. so i dispute, firstly, that 'purpose' is to begin with a necessary or even imporant element of art.

moreover i think this argument rests on a very arbitrarily selective view of what counts as "an actual person creating the piece" -- 'the prompt' is, itself, an obvious artistic contribution, a place where an artist can impart huge amounts of direction, vision, and so on. in fact, i completely reject the claim of both the technology's salesman and its biggest detractors that genAI "makes art" -- to quote kerry mitchell's fractal art manifesto: "Turn a computer on and leave it alone for an hour. When you come back, no art will have been generated." in the past, i've posed questions about generative art pieces to demonstrate this

secondly, of course, the process does not end after image generation from prompt for serious generative artists--the ones who are serious about the artform (rather than tech guys trying to do marketing for the Magical Art Box) frequently iterate and iterate, generating a range of iterations and then picking one to iterate on further, so on and so forth, until the final image they choose to share is one that contains within it the traces of a thousand discrete choices on behalf of the artist (two pretty good explanations of this from people who actually do this stuff can be found here and here)

third and finally, that very choice to share the image is itself an artistic decision! we (and by we, i mean, anyone who cares about what art is) have been talking about this since fountain -- display is a form of artistic intent, taking something and putting it forward and saying 'this is art' is in and of itself an artistic decision being made even if the thing itself is unaltered: see, for example, the entire discipline of 'found art'. once someone challenged me, yknow, "if you did a google search, would that be art?" and my answer to that is, if you screenshot that google search and share it as art, then yes, resoundingly yes! curation and presentation recontextualizes objects, turning them into rich texts through the simple process of reframing them. so even if you granted that genAI output is inherently random computer noise (i don't, of course) -- i still think that the act of presenting it as art makes it so.

since i assume you're not familiar with anything interesting in the medium, because the most popular stuff made with genAI is pure "lo-fi girl in ghibli style" type slop, let me share some genAI pieces (or genAI-influenced pieces) that i think are powerful and interesting:

the meat gala, rob sheridan (warning: body horror!)

secret horses (does anyone know the original source on this?)

infinite art machine, reachartwork

ethinically ambigaus, james tamagotchi

mcdonalds simpsons porn room, wayneradiotv

software greatman, everything everything (the music is completely made by the band, but genAI was partially responsible for the lyrics -- including the title and the several interesting pseudo-kennings)

i want a love like this music video, everything everything

cocaine is the motor of the modern world, bots of new york

poison the walker, roborosewatermasters (here's my analysis posts on it too)

not all of these were necessarily intended as art: but i think they are rich and fascinating texts when read that way -- they have certainly impacted me as much as any art has.

anyways, whether you agree or not, i hope this gives you some stuff to think about, thanks for sharing your thoughts :)

[hellsitegenetics]

...is this reaching you?

A little animal, on the floor of my chamber. I think I know what you are looking for.

You're stuck in a cycle, a repeating pattern. You want a way out.

Know that this does not make you special - every living thing shares that same frustration. From the microbes in the processing strata to me, who am, if you excuse me, godlike in comparison.

The good news first. In a way, I am what you are searching for. Me and my kind have as our purpose to solve that very oscillating claustrophobia in the chests of you and countless others. A strange charity - you the unknowing recipient, I the reluctant gift. The noble benefactors? Gone.

The bad news is that no definitive solution has been found. And every moment the equipment erodes to a new state of decay. I can't help you collectively, or individually. I can't even help myself.

For you though, there is another way. The old path. Go to the west past the Farm Arrays, and then down into the earth where the land fissures, as deep as you can reach, where the ancients built their temples and danced their silly rituals. The mark I gave you will let you through.

Not that it solves anyone's problem but yours.

String identified: … t acg ? A tt aa, t ca. t at a g . ' tc a cc, a atg att. at a a t. tat t t a ca - g tg a tat a tat. t c t cg tata t , a, c , g ca. T g t. a a, a at a acg . a a a t tat catg cata t ct a ct t. A tag cat - t g ct, t ctat gt. T act? G. T a tat t t a . A t t t t a tat ca. ca't cct, a. ca't . tg, t at a. T at. G t t t at t a Aa, a t t t at t a , a a ca ac, t act t t t a ac t ta. T a ga t tg. t tat t a' t .

Closest match: Cetonia aurata genome assembly, chromosome: 8 Common name: European Rose Chafer

(image source)

[snarky-badger]

Places to donate to help Palestine

PCRF.net - They did over a 100 medical missions in 2022 (Palestine Children’s Relief Fund)

Middle East Children's Alliance - A Non-profit organization fighting for the well-being and rights of Middle Eastern Children. They also have a link to a 'tool kit' to help spread information about the Gaza Genocide. I'm linking to it directly HERE

Anera: Where Hope Finds a Way - They provide everything from food, medicine and hygiene kits. $30 equals 16 blood bags - an essential thing for helping doctors help people survive horrible physical trauma.

UNICEF.org - Link to where you can donate to help UNICEF get aid to those suffering in Palestine.

And because I know damn well that lots of people don't have the extra funds to donate money - you can help by simply clicking here once a day. It donates ad revenue. Click to help Palestine

[I wanted so much to find other places people could donate that weren't in the US or Canada, but I was having problems figuring out how to ensure that they were reputable. If anyone knows of any, please reblog and add the links!]

And some basic informational sources for those who want to understand what's really going on other than the misleading information from the media.

BDS - The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement works to end international support for Israel's oppression of Palestinians. Offers actual news about what's happening.

Decolonize Palestine - In depth information about the history and origins of Palestine. Also has a great 'debunked myths' section that lists almost all of all the lies the Media has been peddling.

Mondoweiss - An independent website devoted to informing readers about developments in Israel/Palestine and related US foreign policy. (Be aware: Some articles show disturbing images of the horrors happening in Gaza.)

Petitions I found with reputable track records (there are a LOT of fakes out there)

Canada:

Independant Jewish Voices Canada - Gaza on the Brink Ceasefire Now! - Prewritten letter to Justin Trudeau and Mélanie Joly calling for an immediate ceasefire, and for an end to the collective punishment of Palestinians. Just sign your name and it sends a letter!

There are several other ways (Including email addresses to various people/companies, as well as physical addresses you can mail letters to) listed here.

DON'T send threats/hate mail. That does nothing but make them double down on their current stances. Be polite. You don't have to take a happy tone, but be polite.

United States:

USA - Tell Congress: Stop Fueling the Gaza Genocide - Demanding an immediate ceasefire and for Humanitarian Aid to be allowed into Gaza.

Jewish Voice for Peace - You can use their form for send a letter to Congress to demand that they should focus on de-escalation instead of sending money and weapons to Israel so they can continue their genocidal war against Palestinians.

Jewish Voice for Peace (part 2) - Fill out this form and inform President Biden that he should call for a ceasefire and stop supplying money and weapons to Israel.

[thatrabidwolf]

Questions to ask yourself when creating a magic system

I have more questions for you!!! :D

As there are no real-word examples for this one, I’m going to be talking a lot about my own magic systems, and those of the medias I enjoy! There will be a list of all the things I referenced at the bottom!

What does magic DO

Exactly the title. What does magic do? (Can it make potions? Cast spells? Animate things? Transfigure things? Create things? Kill things? Cast hexes or charms? Multiple of these?)

What does magic have an affect on? What does it not?

How strong is magic? What are its limits? How do these differ from person to person, or place to place? 

Does magic do different things for different people?

How does a magic caster’s intention for a ‘spell’ affect it? Is magic entirely reliant on a mental image of what is wanted, or does it need to be casted a certain way to work, like a recipe?

How is magic casted? (Note- I recommend being creative here! It doesn’t have to just be waving a wand. It can be through making pottery, it can be through sewing certain patterns, or dancing a certain dance, etc etc etc)

How can spells be used for something that is not their intended/common purpose? How are new uses of magic discovered? Which uses are most common, and why?

How does societal standards affect the use of magic? Will less people know about more harmful or taboo spells? Will it be less common for, say, a woman to use/be trained in magic?

Source of Magic 

Where does magic come from? (Do the gods give access to their most devout followers? Is it handed down in one’s blood? Does it come from the earth?)

Is magic learnt, or are people born with it? (E.g does magic work through potions that can be made by anyone with the right ingredients, or is it only possible if one has magic already in their blood?)

Can someone who logically shouldn’t know magic learn/possess it by alternate means? (E.g. Luz from The Owl House learning magic  via ‘glyphs’ despite not being a witch) how would people treat this? (Is it seen as ‘lesser’ or somehow not ‘real’ magic?)

Can magic be harnessed through a wand/staff/etc? Can it only function through this conduit, or can it be done without? How does magic function if it does not have the aforementioned conduit? (Is it harder to manage? Is it more dangerous? Is it simply lesser?) 

Another dot-point because the last one was far too long; how is the use of ‘magical aides’ (wands, etc) treated? (Is it seen as something only a child would use? Is it very common? Is not using one seen as dangerous and bad?) How does the function of magical aides affect this? (Note- a very good example of this is the string in A Marvellous Light, which functions via ensuring a magicians cradles [hand movements one does to cast a spell] are more precise. It is only used by those with little magic, so it is looked down upon.)

How would one learn magic? (Is magic taught in schools? Are there books on it?)

Can magic be done/enhanced if multiple people cast it together? How would this be done? 

Is magic a separate entity from it’s user? Is it an entity at all? Can it react without instruction/ disobey it’s user? Is it a possession of it’s user? Is this different/ perceived differently for different people?

Can magic be mistreated/ abused? (Note- here I do not mean an ‘abuse of power’ I mean abuse in the way one could abuse a pet) what are the consequences of this? (Might magic stop working, or turn on it’s user?)

Affect on Culture/the greater world

Who has magic? Who does not? Who knows about magic? Who does not? Is it a secret? How is this secret kept? Who enforces that it must be a secret? What is the punishment for letting the secret be known?

Can people have more or less magic? Can people have more or less knowledge on it, or skill with it? Does this cause any power imbalances or issues for either side? 

How do the uses of magic impact the way things are done? (E.g. if there is a spell used to dry things, people may not use drying racks.) would the skills of those with more magic be useful in a work setting? (E.g. if some people know the aforementioned drying spell and some do not, might those who do know it work as something close to a washerwoman because of their skill?)

Is magic regulated at all? Who regulates it, what are the regulations, how strict are they, and what are the punishments for breaking them?

Is magic seen as normal? (Keep in mind: if magic is possessed by a majority of people, it very well may be. Because of this, characters may be less likely to be impressed by magic. Think about how this will affect the language surrounding magic, and how people treat it.)

How will different people view or interact with magic? (E.g. a rebellious teen, a businessman and an elderly woman are not going to have the exact same view or uses of magic. Try to explore this!)

How will those with a great deal of magic view those without/ without a great amount, and vice versa? How does this affect the world and it’s prejudices?

Consequences

How can magic hurt a person if misused/overused/ used at all? (Is the damage physical, mental, physiological, all three?) (E.g. my own magic system causes people to actively unmake themselves as they use their magic, leading to sickness, insanity, derealisation, hallucinations, etc etc etc)

Is this damage known? How does the knowledge of it affect the treatment of magic? (Are people terrified of it? Do they not care, and see it as a worthy risk? What might lead  someone to push through the damage?)

How does this damage manifest, and how noticeable is it? (E.g. Are there physical scars or other warning signs, or is it entirely unnoticeable until it is too late, like magical rabies?)

Can damage from magic be reversed or healed? How? Can potential damage be avoided? How? 

Can one’s magic turn on oneself? How would this happen, and what are the consequences of this? 

Can magic be hurt/diminished? How does this affect its users? (E.g. silver and werewolves)

When an attempt at magic fails, how does it fail? Is it like baking, where at worst it’ll ‘taste good, but be a little dry’ or is it like mixing volatile chemicals, where at worst you die?

Appearance

How does magic look? (I highly recommend finding a metaphor or motif for magic, as this really helps flesh out its appearance and makes it easier to describe!!)

Can its appearance look different for different people? Can it change over time?

Does magic manifest itself via means other than visual?��(One of my characters has very strong nature magic, and thus he grows flowers when he is happy, and always smells floral)

Does magic have a physical effect on it’s users? (E.g. the dark magic in The Dragon Prince)

Is one able to tell when magic has been cast upon something? 

Every piece of media I referenced in this, in order of appearance

The Owl House, a TV show on Disney written by Dana Terrace

A Marvellous Light, a novel written by Freya Marske (this series is a wonderful example of how to make a magic system. It is very well thought out, and the varied experiences and views of magic for each magician character is so, so good. 10/10. If you want a good example of magic please read this!!! (Granted I might be a little biased because I just love this book series))

The dragon prince, a TV show on Netflix

[callmearcturus]

dottie lasso is the final boss of the show (and ted loses)

someone commented on my ted-is-a-feminine-junior-too post about recognizing dottie lasso and what she did, and i'm a Johnny-come-lately to this fandom so i missed all the discourse

but surely it's been discussed to death that Dottie Lasso is the Final Boss of Ted's life, right? like, she shows up on that bench and you should feel the opening of "MEGALOVANIA" in your soul because she's the villain of the story.

honestly, in Ted Lasso, the main villains are: Rupert Mannion, Twitter, Rupert Mannion again, cisnormativity/heteronormativity, and Dottie Lasso, kind of in that order IMO.

"Mom City" is kind of a genius episode with its thesis and punchline. Because Dottie shows up and derails Ted's entire life and not in a good way. She makes him palpably uncomfortable and all of his usual kindness and interest is just turned off around her.

This episode isn't shy about reminding the audience that Richmond has become Ted's home. From the most fish outta water who nearly gets killed looking the wrong way crossing the street, Ted knows his neighbors, knows the culture here, and is defensive with that knowledge because it's been hard-won over time.

No but really, look at how UNCOMFORTABLE Ted is EVERY MINUTE of this episode. It's so stark bc this charm offensive Dottie's doing on everyone at Richmond is so clearly a Lasso Thing. This is the exact tactic Ted used when he was new in town and completely at sea.

(fuck this got long, there's a lot more under the jump)

But he isn't charmed or permissive or entertained, he never once Yes, Ands what Dottie says. In fact, he corrects her all the time.

because Dottie being here is a nightmare. she's the person who knows the Ted Lasso Source Code and the way she maneuvers and nudges him, he seems helpless against it. So he continuously separates himself from her in what feels to me like a fearful reaction.

Like, when Dottie explains where she's staying, she does this trick

DOTTIE: An adorable little hostel. I've met so many Australians. They are backpacking through Europe. So much sex.

TED: Mom.

DOTTIE: Not me, the Australians.

TED: No, no, I get it, okay. How about you stay here for the rest of your trip, all right?

DOTTIE: Only if I'm not a hassle.

This is such a fucking move, you realize? She has been in London a fucking WEEK without telling him, then as soon as she tells him where she's staying, she, a midwestern mom to her open-minded but very romantically private son, invokes sex so he'll be uncomfortable with the situation and invite her to stay. This is a chess move they should call the Wichita Shuffle.

And Ted absolutely hates the way Dottie lies about him. The connection is pretty straightforward; Dottie deals with her trauma and pain by covering them up with pretty little lies and melting truths until they fit the shape she wants them to be in. Everything she says in this episode is bullshit.

(points up) THIS INCLUDED, BTW. This is the Ted that Dottie wants him to be, the guy who will fall on his sword at the first sign of someone else's discomfort.

But that isn't who Ted is anymore and Dottie saying this is vicious and cruel. It's disrespectful to Rebecca, to everyone at Richmond, and to the work Ted's done with Sharon.

which oooooooooh

hey, anyone else remember Ted's "I love meeting people's moms, it's like an instruction manual on why they're nuts" from S2? boy that's a brick joke

and this bit of dottie saying her anxiety re: ted's therapy out loud, that hissing sound is a fuse being lit in this moment

Ted calls her out directly. He knows how she operates because she raised him in her own image. As I noted in the other post, Leslie Higgins is not the only feminine junior at Richmond, so is Theodore Lasso, son of Dorothy Lasso.

THAT FUCKING DARK CHUCKLE, THE "YEAH OKAY" MOMENT this is the fuse finally reaching the dynamite

this is the moment, this moment of push-back, implicitly the first time Ted's ever pushed back in his life

this is the moment Dottie takes every single thing she knows about Ted, everything she put into him, and she destroys his fucking life with the exact four words it would take to make Ted give up everything he's worked for, all so he'll go back to being what she expects from him.

and hell if he doesn't know it.

everything he's done for himself, all the space he's finally allowed himself to fill, the progress and labor he's put into becoming a better person

mom shows up and tells him no, you're coming back.

(and the fact Dottie Lasso, a character who has not said five truthful things this entire episode, tells us how someone else feels should be questioned very fucking directly. i don't trust this woman to honestly report on Henry's opinion of peanut butter and jelly, let alone if he wants his father to give up his life and return to Kansas. i know every single fic has brought up the question of "hey why doesn't anyone ask Henry what he wants" but that's because SOMEONE needs to ask the question instead of taking Dorothy fucking Lasso's word for it, christ)

I don't know how tf you don't read this show as a tragedy. Dottie Lasso is incredible, she's so pitch-perfectly written and acted, and she's absolutely the final boss of the show. And Ted doesn't win that fight.

hell THE SHOW SAYS THE QUIET PART OUT LOUD, i would put the screencap here but I've run out of images, but THEY FUCK YOU UP, YOUR MUM AND DAD, THE SHOW SAYS IT this is a fantastic tragedy, i love it

[stars-obsession-pit]

Try this prompt

https://www.tumblr.com/rottingghosty/777731547603369984/the-realms-pr-dc-x-dp?source=share

I’m gonna be honest, I have no idea what this is that i’ve written. It originally stemmed from one singular idea for an in-universe reply post by a character, but now it’s… whatever this is. So uh… yeah.

Also I spent way too long coming up with “realistic-ish” screen names for these characters just kinda for fun despite the fact that it’s entirely pointless. If any are overlapping with real usernames, it’s purely a coincidence

…and then it sat in my drafts for a long time until i decided to post it now to clear it out

Danny hadn’t expected his Phantom social media account to become that popular.

But even more so than that he especially hadn’t expected the amount of arguing it would generate.

| replying to @\GoGoGhoul

| > my @ is not a Homestuck reference!! @\ectobiologydude

Dumb Fuck. ghosts are imprints of emotion, no shit they resemble them! Mimicry =/= sentience! I bet you think your roomba is sentient too

| replying to \@ectobiologydude

| > #1 Zatanna Fangirl @\magicalgalpalz

Okay first of all how dare you besmirch the good name of Roombas they are perfect.

But also… by that metric, how do you know *humans* are sentient? You can’t see their minds either. At some point you just gotta accept that things that *appear* sentient are good enough.

| replying to \@magicalgalpalz

| > my @ is not a Homestuck reference!! @\ectobiologydude

[meme image: “when I’m in a missing the point competition and the opponent is you”]

| replying to \@magicalgalpalz

| > my @ is not a Homestuck reference!! @\ectobiologydude

Where the fuck did I say that we’re just assuming they’re nonsentient for no reason?

There are actual scientific studies, such as https://www.giw.gov/research/… or heck here’s one from Amity itself: http://fentonworks.com/files/…

| replying to @\ectobiologydude

| > S beve @\idkag00dname

Oh yeah, because the government can always be trusted to tell the truth about things that benefit them and random individuals are never crackpots.

| replying to @\ectobiologydude

| > Phantom’s #2* fan @\ImNumberKwan

Hey man, I guess you might not have heard, but the Fentons rescinded that study.

> 🛏️ 🛏️ノ( º _ ºノ) @\debunkedbed

Why are so many people treating the # PhantomsGhosts thing like it’s real?? It’s obviously just CGI. Well done CGI, sure, but like come on y’all…

| replying to @\debunkedbed

| > a single lovingly 3d modeled cube @\brickeeeeeeee

Dude, do you have any idea how hard accurately lighting transparent stuff is? If this is CGI, I’d sell my left kidney to get whatever computer that was able to render it in a reasonable time frame

| replying to @\brickeeeeeeee

| > 🛏️ 🛏️ノ( º _ ºノ) @\debunkedbed

Oh and you know what accurately lit ghosts would look like? As long as it isn’t blatantly wrong, any way of doing it would feel equally plausible.

It’s honestly pretty genius. Heck, even their floatiness is beneficial for hiding animation errors!

| replying to @\debunkedbed

| > Phantom’s #1 fan @\DashingBaxter

@\debunkedbed @\brickeeeeeeee PHANTOM IS NOT FAKE!!!

@\OGPhantom back me up here!

> 🖥️ 🐛 @\wellwornworms

Hey does anyone else think it’s weird that Amity Park—and especially @\RealFentonWorks—hated ghosts for a while but suddenly came crawling out of the woodwork to defend them?

| replying to @\wellwornworms

| > NAME @\NAME

That’s what I’ve been saying!! Obviously they’ve all been overshadowed! That’s why the GIW is more important than ever!!!

| replying to @\NAME

| > Fenton Works Official @\RealFentonWorks

I assure you, we’re not overshadowed! In fact, our patented Specter Deflector™ (available now for purchase through our website) is able to protect people from ghostly attacks such as overshadowing!

| replying to @\RealFentonWorks

| > NAME @\NAME

THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT SOMEONE OVERSHADOWED WOULD SAY!

[ninjakk]

Maybe it is because i've read one too many frustrated metas about the matter, but during this reread I find myself wondering where the hell are people picking up that WWX has a low image of himself/is self-deprecating. He is very bitter about his infamy and how he has been made into the source of all evil, and about his failure to achieve his goals and the way people dear to him got entangled in it all. That much is true. But… when LWJ tells him about what happened to Chang Ping, his reaction boils down to "If I were Chang Ping I wouldn't have balked at the Jin's demands. I would have hunted Xue Yang myself even if I knew that it would most likely get me killed too." And we know for a fact that's exactly the choice he made when he saved the Wen Remnants because he tells us himself during (going by EXR) chapter 8, when the narration mentions he fully understood what he was getting into back then and explains how he used Yumeng Jiang's motto to keep himself afloat through the whole ordeal. This is WWX telling us that he would make the same choice again and again! He wasn't made of stone, he did suffer through it, but he doesn't regret it all or sees himself as lesser for making the choices he did. He knew he was attempting the impossible. At the start of the novel, he's struggling with living again in a body that he doesn't yet consider his own, yes, but it would be much weirder if he didn't need some time to make peace with that.

Hi there Anon 👋🏻

Urgh, yes... Fanon!WWX with his insecurities and apparent low self-esteem… Who doesn't like to burden people with his troubles and thinks he doesn't deserve to be loved or receive help from anyone. Literally the EXACT opposite of the canon WWX we know and love 😅

I can't help but wonder if this pervasive misinterpretation stems from other adaptations. Perhaps some viewers who started with the CQL or the donghua before diving into the novel might be projecting a skewed impression onto canon!WWX, misinterpreting his actions through that lens. Of course, I know a lot of people who have come from the CQL and have an excellent understanding of the novel and its differences. It's as though some enjoyed the wacky, chaotic, suicidal dummy of the CQL so much and simply see what they want to when reading the novel instead 😅 I usually find the ones who claim he's the above are usually the same people who think WWX is "stupid," despite him being an undeniable prodigy!

Or, perhaps it really is just a genuine misinterpretation of his actions. Yes, at the beginning of the novel, WWX sometimes leans into the whole "I'm so bad and evil" persona he's been given, but that's his sense of humor shining through! He's not genuinely self-loathing; he's mocking those absurd assumptions about him. It's his personal joke, a very "WWX" way of laughing at the absurdity of it all rather than dwelling on the unfairness.

By the time he's reincarnated, I'd argue he's much less "bitter" and more at peace with his past. He's learned from it, which is why he no longer seeks revenge. We see him save everyone during the second siege, despite many of them having been present at the first siege that brought about his demise and still wish him dead a second time around! While he certainly experienced some bitterness in his first life, contributing to his mental breakdown and subsequent demise, his return in MXY's body shows a character who has processed much of that.

Sometimes, I really do wonder if people simply cannot grasp WHY WWX does what he does. This is of course the majority, but I know from first-hand experience while debating over this very mischaracterisation with some in the fandom that this really does seem to be the case... These people have outright declared they would not have done what WWX did, they would not have saved the Wen remnants or tried to help anyone else in need. And while some people might not act similarly, whether from fear or lack of confidence, it's unfair to trivialise WWX's just and heroic actions merely to excuse their own shortcomings.

It's like they can't understand why he'd jump in to help people or do what's right despite the inevitable backlash. So, instead of trying to fathom such selflessness, they justify their own lack of understanding by claiming he has "self-esteem issues." They'd rather assign him that flaw than acknowledge their own differing morals.

It's almost like people would rather say he doesn't value his own life (when we canonically SEE he does, when he declares he's about to drop Su She if no one will help him...) or feel he deserves love/affection/help (despite us seeing him readily jump at the chance of these things, if offered) than feel bad about their own lack of morals or admit their favourite side character just never offered him any help in the first place!

It's actually rather hilarious because WWX isn't the only person to jump in and save someone either... LWJ and JZX both did this (LWJ more than once) and no one ever claims they have low self-worth 🙄 And at least WWX usually has a plan whenever he does so... LWJ and JZX protected Mianmian without any means to defend themselves. They were only saved because WWX devised a plan in a dire moment.

The beauty of WWX's character is he doesn't dwell on things. He has the ability to focus on the little joys in life and adopt a positive outlook. So although he is obviously affected by all the tragedy and hardship around him, he quickly picks himself up and bounces back. Even finding himself in a strange, new body that isn't his own… he has a little moment when he sees the unfamiliar reflection looking back at him and thinks of the past and then pulls himself together. WWX doesn't spend too much time overthinking such negative things. He acknowledges it and moves on.

I do feel this is often misinterpreted as him being flippant and not caring about the suffering and unfairness he's faced - which is of course not the case. I guess it could be considered a coping mechanism… and it probably is to a certain extent. That, mixed with a personal philosophy influenced by his parents, cultural beliefs and teachings. Regardless, I don't think it's an unhealthy approach, nor does it stem from a "lack of self-worth”.

I think the "self-deprecating" label often comes from misinterpreting his sense of humour. He pokes fun at himself, his circumstances, or his infamy, but it's always in good-natured jest. Given his confident personality and positive attitude, this should be more than apparent. But if you've already misjudged him as someone with low self-worth, then his little jokes can indeed take on a much darker tone.

As you rightly say, WWX doesn't regret his actions—and he has no reason to! Even when he thought his efforts were for nothing and every single Wen remnant had been unjustly murdered, he still believed he did the right thing and would do so again… because he possesses an unwavering, strong sense of right and wrong. This makes the revelation that Wen Yuan survived all the more poignant. It made no difference to his belief that it was the right thing to do... But it offered a tangible, living testament to the goodness he fought for.

As you touched on yourself - WWX embodies the Jiang Clan motto through his unwavering commitment to doing what is right, even when the odds are stacked impossibly against him and the entire world has seemingly turned its back on him. He consistently "attempts the impossible" (or a more literal meaning of the motto courtesy of doufudanshi "do what you know you cannot") by literally doing what he knows he cannot... striving to uphold true justice and compassion in a world that often lacks both.

It really is a shame people can't just appreciate canon!WWX for what he truly is—a character who is steadfast, morally absolute, and stands by his principles, regardless of how difficult that path might be to follow ❤️

[elbiotipo]

Actually my main worry with AI doesn't go through image generation but rather text generation. Text is perhaps the easiest thing to create, store and share on the internet and any digital medium. And AI is very, very good at making it. I've been testing Deepseek to create text for me, from stupid fanfics (don't ask) to more serious text, including my favorite, fictional non-fiction articles, and the results, with some polishment, could easily pass for a real thing and feed misinformation.

Lots of historical and cultural misconceptions are actually based in on a couple of texts that were cited and re-cited out of context. Imagine if I, for example, used AI to write about a topic like Andean mythology. Much of the concepts might be right and the writing that an AI might do on could pass for professional writing, but even the smallest misconception or hallucination, if my article gets shared over and over, might cement on the public consciousness.

This isn't the fault of the AI though, because humans can and do this. Do you know how much misinformation there is in Wikipedia? And Wikipedia, being the introductory reference to many topics, is the largest source of information for many people... and it isn't as trustworthy as it seems. Remember that hoax in the Chinese Wikipedia where a single user rewrote Russian history? Not the first time it happened either. It's terrifying how many of these are, just a few looks at the Spanish Wikipedia have led me to find horrifying amounts of misinformation.

AI does not generate misinformation on itself. But it can be asked to produce these hoaxes and misinformation in mass scale.

My solution? Not ban AI, because that's impossible and stupid, and LLMs are actually excellent tools. My personal idea is to return to reference books, especially printed books by institutions with various authors. Why print books? Because anyone can go into ChatGPT and ask it to write an article about a fictional culture, edit it, and pass it as fact (in fact, I could do it right now). But when you have a printed book, your articles must go through many checks until it reaches print. It does not need to be printed as in paper, it can be shared in other formats but it does need to be checked and rechecked until there is a final edition as in i.e. not a wiki or a blog or a impermanent thing.

I believe that we have relied too much on Wikipedia as the only encyclopedia, and while it is great in many ways, the model starting to show its cracks. I think there should be many curated online encyclopedias for many topics, done by experts and with stronger quality controls than whoever is admin right now.

[deripmaver]

What does Kentaro Miura have to say about Casca?

I think, due to fandom's general preferences towards Guts and Griffith, there's been much more discussion of the relevant Kentaro Miura quotes about their characters and relationship. There also appears to be more translation effort made towards the parts of the interviews centered on Guts. This also means that a lot of discussion of Casca and her place in the narrative is filtered through the idea that he has had very little to say about her over the years.

While I do wish that Miura had more to say about her, and about her path in the narrative, he certainly hasn't been completely silent. I wanted to compile as many quotes directly from Kentaro Miura about Casca as possible in one place for anyone to refer to. I also wanted to provide my 2 cents on some of them, though with the disclaimer that neither I nor anyone reading a quote or soundbite can know they're fully correct about his meaning. After all, no one reading these quotes in an article or magazine knew Miura personally, myself included.

Most of these you can find translated on the Berserk fanwiki. I've linked to them all.

Cheating a bit by not including that quote from the 1996 fanmagazine that caused such an uproar a while back, where Miura said he thought Casca might feel pleasure during rape if the perpetrator was Griffith. TBT to that hot mess. I'm not including it bc it's a third party source from someone not particularly close to Miura and also because I've already discussed it in depth here.

So, moving on...

The source for this first quote is a bit... Tricky. It's not that I don't believe it exists, but because most of this is being done through fan translations, it's hard to provide a direct link. This one I've found which is apparently from an interview in 1996, but the only sourcing I've found is kojion on twitter and this reddit post. I think this might be from the Berserk Illustrations File interview from 1996, but if it is, then it's clear that interview has only been partially translated. I guess the translator wasn't interested in the parts involving Casca. Lol. Below is the translation from the reddit post:

Miura: I have never been in love. In the past I have only dated a woman I didn't like twice. I have never had a first love. I have never been in love. My image of women is made up of my sister and stories from my best friend who loves women very much. In the case of Casca, rather than portraying a woman, she’s a character made up of a collection of my own complexes and weaknesses. So I am not good at real women. I have a longing for love itself. But I have no time; there are only 24 hours in a day.

Interview with Yukari Fujimoto in 2000. Yukari Fujimoto is a feminist cultural critic/women's studies professor at Meiji University in Tokyo, which I always found very interesting.

Interviewer: Getting back to the topic of planning Berserk, though, there's a long flashback arc that starts in volume three, showing things like Guts' youth and leading up to the Eclipse. Did you at least have parts of that long story in mind when you started drawing, or did you just make it up as you went?

Miura: Back then it was more like I was making it up as I went, I'd say. I actually hadn't planned for Guts and Casca to get together, you know – it just occurred to me partway through that it'd be more dramatic that way. As I remember it now, all I'd really decided at the time was that there'd be about five characters, and I'd make them similar to five of my friends.

Interviewer: I see – so those five friends are the base models for the characters.

Miura: Pretty much. The only difference is, there aren't any Griffiths or Guts in our group. There really was a guy similar to Judeau. We had a Corkus too, and a Rickert. There's no Casca, though, since it was a group of guys. And then Pippin is me, in terms of physical appearance.

[...]

Miura: Yeah. It's sort of been vacillating back and forth up until now, but now Griffith is going to come to terms with having become a demon. I basically see it as the beginning of the relationship between the two of them having become adults. And also, the demon child that Casca gave birth to is going to become something of a key point – despite the fact that I didn't even plan for it to be Casca's baby when I first drew it.

Interviewer: Really?

Miura: I didn't even have Casca in mind at the time.

Interviewer: Ah, right. That means it wasn't supposed to be a fetus at the start, then. And I guess there was no plan to have Guts lose his eye and arm the way he did, either...

Miura: None at all. That part was left open. Basically, I had planned that he'd have it done to him somehow by Griffith, and then a love story came into the picture, and taking that to its extreme just happened to fit together nicely with the climax. It's not as though I had it planned from the start. And now it turns out that the demon child is similarly going to snap very usefully into place.

My own commentary: This interview is the source of a claim that I've seen around a lot, which is that Casca was an ad-hoc addition and that therefore undermine any importance she might have to the narrative. However, my personal interpretation is simply that these quotes exist to show how the general plot structure of Berserk came to be in Miura's mind, and how he sort of... made shit up as he went along. I think there are two ways to take "I actually hadn't planned for Guts and Casca to get together, you know – it just occurred to me partway through that it'd be more dramatic that way." Firstly, the way I've usually seen it, that Casca was added in thoughtlessly with no regard for her character just to be a tool for Guts and Griffith's stories. That's partly true, but I think additionally this indicates that Miura elevated Casca's narrative importance in order to create a better and more dramatic story. It's also easy to extrapolate Miura's love of shoujo manga to this point here, considering how shoujo's focus is so often the drama and tragedy of romantic love.

This next quote is another kojion/reddit combo, with kojion claiming its from 2013.

Miura: I had the idea that the medieval European period was a very male-dominated world. And I wanted to depict a girl who was working very hard in such a world. The female characters in Berserk are drawn with the hope that women of the same gender will like them. Female characters drawn by men tend to be somewhat convenient for men. I wanted to avoid that, so I drew them in a way that was not disrespectful to women, because this is a story about a male-dominated world.

[I initially had a picture of one of those gold star "you tried" memes here but then I felt bad about it lol. Honestly I can't help but feel some affection for Miura here for saying this, though there's a conflicting element here too, that he genuinely didn't consider that drawing so much explicit sexual violence might also be considered disrespectful to women (even though he's pretty obviously talking about outfits here). I also think that over-exaggerating Miura's views on women, making them seem worse than what they are is often done only in service of sidelining the women he has written, and written well in my opinion.]

Berserk Official Guidebook Interview, 2017

Interviewer: You put so much emotion into those characters, and when the Eclipse happens, they're all gone. That must have left some scars on you as the artist.

Miura: I was emotionally invested in each character, so I felt more depressed than scarred. And the story went way down in popularity with the readers around the time of the Eclipse [laugh]. Many readers were furious that I'd do such a thing to the characters they liked. My editor at the time was concerned but also of the opinion that we'd just have to follow it through to the end. The point I had to pay attention to was making sure the flow of the story wasn't completely severed with the Eclipse. That's why I spared Casca. If she had died and the serialization had continued for a long time, I feared the reason for revenge would become something of the past; and if Guts were to establish new relationships, then his incentive would waver. It may seem calculating and unpleasant, but it's because Casca's by his side that he can never forget the Eclipse.

My own commentary: this again shows the interplay between Casca as a plot device and Casca as inherently narratively necessary. Interestingly, this particular translation has it be slightly vague whether Casca's survival is to keep the memory of the eclipse alive for Guts or for the readers themselves. It seems to me that there's a little bit of both in this decision. Also of note - this interview was done in 2017. By this point, Miura must have had a decently clear picture of what he intended to do with Casca's revival. I think this interview would have implied something very different if it had been done during conviction arc or just post golden age.

[...]

Interviewer: After that, Griffith was resurrected and Guts picked up some travelling companions. One of them is Farnese. How did you go about creating her?

Miura: I imagined Farnese as the second heroine after Casca, but I had a little trouble. I simply crammed my own tastes into Casca to create her character. She's loaded with what I considered ideal: a warrior woman, dark brown, strong but with a womanly side [laugh]. When it came time to make a new heroine, I couldn't use the same method as with Casca. So I thought I might as well make a heroine with whom female readers could sympathize. Mori is popular with girls, so I asked for his opinion as I pondered. The concept was "a female office worker who's been in society for a year or two, may or may not be accustomed to her job yet, and is ill at ease in a masculine society" [laugh]. She's doing her best with a band of knights in a masculine society, but she's unsociable since she can't seem to fit in with those around her; and her frustration is moving in a sexual direction, although half of it includes my own delusions [laugh]. In the face of Mozgus' intense impact, such an ungrounded woman is sure to get hung up on religion. In other words, "an office lady who's caught up in a dangerous new religion." That's Farnese [laugh].

Interviewer: How about Serpico?

Miura: Serpico is those female readers' "dream". My intuition was that he's the kind of man they would want to have around. To be frank, he's André from The Rose of Versailles. For a woman exhausted by society, he sees to her needs and considers her before all else. I thought this might be a woman's everlasting dream. To take it further, I think there are three dream men that a woman has. Someone like Serpico who sticks close by, a prince on a lofty peak for whom she longs, and someone wealthy and down-to-earth who will come and woo her. And I recently saw the stage production of Onna Kaizoku Bianca – based on Glass Mask by Suzue Miuchi. In it, those three types of men show up around the heroine. I realized, oh, the same thing's happened by coincidence in Berserk [laugh]! Farnese has Serpico close by, Guts to long for, and Roderick the rich guy. That's all three present and accounted for!

Interviewer: Conversely, Guts has three heroines in Casca, Farnese, and Schierke.

Miura: Maybe it's just a good balance to have three members of the opposite sex around. Although it's a coincidence here, too [laugh].

I don't have anything really to say here lol I just think Miura's gender commentary is so funny. It reminds me a little of the way Terry Pratchett comments on dynamics between men and women in his books. I guess both of them are men who got their start in the 80s and continued writing into the 2010s where the treatment of women in fantasy became far more a part of the public consciousness, and it seems both of them tried to alter their writing accordingly. Up to the reader to what extent they succeeded though.

Kojion/reddit from 2017, apparently - is this possibly from the Berserk Official Guidebook interview as well?? Or did he do a second interview in 2017 that isn't listed anywhere?

Miura: In regards to Berserk’s Guts, Griffith is a character who draws out impatience, fighting spirit and loneliness, Puck is “relaxation, laughter and a “seriousness crusher”“, the current Casca is “a character who draws out feelings of guilt, uneasiness and pity”. By arranging the characters with the intention to pull a certain something about Guts to the surface, he becomes a multifaceted protagonist.

My commentary: Guts has complicated feelings on both Griffith and Casca due to the trauma of the eclipse. Just as Casca still associates Guts with her trauma, Guts too associates Casca with his. If his feelings towards Griffith were solely anger and his feelings towards Casca were solely caring that would be a much less interesting story. This quote is very frank about how Guts and Casca's relationship stands currently; it says nothing about its eventual outcome in the manga. It also says nothing about Miura's feelings towards Casca, or makes any comment on her importance to the narrative.

Interview with Comics Natalie in 2019

--So does that mean love is an important theme in "Duruanki"?

That's true. When I chose this androgynous character as the main character, I knew I had to depict a love story properly. I haven't been able to do that properly in "Berserk" yet, so I'm a little nervous and unsure of my chances.

-- Eh, what about the relationship between Guts and Casca...?

Even though they look like that, it's like the stage before they get to love is still going on forever (laughs).

My commentary: I already said a bit about this in previous posts. In my view, this is saying that Guts and Casca were beginning a relationship and in the beginning stages of falling in love prior to the eclipse. Then, of course, the eclipse happened, and it destroyed their budding relationship completely. Their relationship currently is defined by the tragedy of what could have been. I again think it's Miura taking a very realistic view of Guts and Casca's relationship as it stands currently, but it says nothing about how it will eventually end up, good or bad.

-- In the latest volume 40 of "Berserk," Casca finally regains consciousness. I'm sure there are many fans who have been waiting for this.

I'm also deeply moved. However, things get tougher for Casca from here on out. For Casca to truly recover, she must analyze and understand her experiences and resolve them herself. She must face what Griffith did and the monsters.

--So this is a necessary process for Casca to truly recover. I think there was also a route where Casca would fully recover once she regains consciousness, but Berserk doesn't let its characters take the easy way out. I think Miura-san also needs to be prepared.

It's a story about humans, so it's bound to be like that. If you don't do it properly, like what a human would do if this situation occurred, it won't be a compelling story.

My commentary: You've all seen this quote before lol. Well, this is the source. It's part of a larger interview about the future of Berserk and Duranki, and just a quick note that this version is from me using google translate on the Japanese website. There was a blog that translated part of it, in particular the above quote that "Casca must face what Griffith did", that now redirects to a 404 link because of course it does. It's up on the wayback machine here.

Now I have various undated quotes, most of which come from kojion and were compiled on reddit.

"I didn't want to make a sexy female warrior, which is often the case in fantasy films, although the idea of a female warrior is nothing new. But now I am not so particular. I am not restricted by the form of a female warrior, but am trying to depict her as a human being." (kojion alt source)

"Miura took on the apostle; I'm going to kill all the humans, I'm gonna mess them up. Mr. Miura has been working for months. Mr. Miura kept on drawing and Finally, he messed up Casca And then Mr. Miura, who had painted it all over After this, he actually suffer from depression." (kojion alt source)

"I want today's readers to experience what once shocked me when I read the manga. Last month, Mr. Mori revealed the scene in the Eclipse chapter where Casca is raped by Griffith. He was inspired by a manga published by Go Nagai in 1979. In this manga, the woman he loves is raped by a demon in front of the main character. Mr. Miura arranged and expressed this scene." (kojion alt source)

This is apparently a panel from that particular manga, btw. No explicit sexual assault, though there is clear implication.

One last third party quote, this time not directly about Casca, but about writing women on the whole. It's from this cute interview made into a comic by the interviewer:

It echoes a sentiment he's expressed in other interviews, that Miura himself doesn't feel like he understands the female mindset so he asks people he assumes know better - in this case Kouji Mori, his friend who is heading Berserk's continuation, and Chica Umino, another mangaka who was close friends with Miura.

Miura's such a mess of contradictions when it comes to women and his female characters. One of his most well known interviews is with a feminist cultural critic. He has said multiple times he's terrible at writing women. He thought deeply about writing Casca not just as a male fantasy. He literally designed her with all the traits he thought were sexy. He wrote a 20 page rape scene with Casca and then fell into a deep depression after.

What can you even say lmao.

[redxx95]

Exploring Kurosawa's internalized homophobia and compulsive heterosexuality

oh yea baby we bustin out the Big Words for this one 😎

This was supposed to be posted at the end of pride month but Life happened and it got delayed a lot 😩 So yea happy pride month (and happy birthday Kurosawa I guess 😂)

(btw I think I've never mentioned this on any of my other posts but english is not my first language, so if anything I write ever sounds awkward, that's probably why 😅) (also I had to merge a bunch of images to get around the image limit, this post is really long, the word count is at 1930 words 💀)

Hope you guys enjoy the read! 💞

Spoilers for anything up to vol 11

Let me start this by saying that there's no actual textual evidence of Kurosawa being gay (rather than bi/pan), so this interpretation is definitely veering towards headcanon territory. I'm also not trying to establish this as the only Correct opinion and anyone is of course allowed to have their own sexuality headcanons, this is very healthy and valid 👍

Kurosawa's internalized homophobia

The first scene I want to put under a magnifying glass is this one.

Let's examine what's going on here: Kurosawa has just tried to kiss Adachi, whose hesitation he perceived as disgust. Then he pretends it was disgusting for him too, because he thinks that is the average reaction anyone would have, extending this to Adachi as well. The way he says "who'd be into that?" is already lowkey homophobic, but the japanese line makes it even more evident: "普通嫌だよな" (= "Normally, you'd dislike that right?"). Keyword here being "普通" = "normal, ordinary", implying that anyone who would like that is abnormal. So what does that say about him then, who was so happy to get the chance to kiss another man? This is pretty much textbook internalized homophobia, where he has accepted what he perceives to be the general opinion on gay people and has made those values his own, hating himself for it (albeit only briefly here), which is why he internally apologizes to Adachi.

This is not the only instance of him feeling like that, although this next part is slightly more speculative than the more obvious example above.

So we all know that Kurosawa is a jealous, jealous man. It's one of his defining character traits and it's often the source of conflict and comedy alike. But he does not express his jealousy equally across genders. With men he has this strong rivalry where he needs to prove himself better and more worthy of Adachi's attention.

But with women he has a different approach: gently coaxing them away from him, lest they realize what a catch Adachi really is.

So, why this difference? The answer I have is that he doesn't actually believe he can compete with a woman. If Adachi wants to be close with a man, Kurosawa thinks it might as well be him, he's the best option after all. But if Adachi wants a woman, he cannot offer anything and is therefore the inferior option. He believes this even after he found out Adachi's not completely repulsed at the idea of being with a man. Even if Adachi's okay with men, he'll always prefer a woman.

And whenever he imagines anyone else with Adachi, it's always a woman, specifically Fujisaki, which he believes is "his type".

And he at least thinks he's very far away from that ideal. (He's not but that's a topic for a different essay.) If anyone's wondering why he even bothers at all then if he's so sure that a woman will out-compete him, I think the lyrics from the anime opening actually put it best, specifically the last verse:

I have these impatient feelings I doubt this love will come to fruition But still I can't give up this happiness There's a feeling here I can't resist A love like a castle in the sky

So basically, his plan is that he might as well ride the high of his first ever crush as far as it will go, intercepting where he can to prolong it just that little bit further, until it all inevitably comes to an end. (a castle in the sky = an unreachable dream) This plan kind of fluctuates throughout volumes 1-3 as Adachi gives him a bunch of mixed signals, but it holds true most of the time.

Adachi's side

Now I'd like to highlight the way Adachi actually thinks about their relationship, because it serves as a great contrast to Kurosawa's assumptions about him.

Throughout the first three volumes we see him grapple with his newfound feelings for Kurosawa, but he (almost) never puts his gender at the forefront of his musings. The manga makes it very clear that it's his lack of romantic experience and low self esteem that make it hard for him to accept Kurosawa's affections, and not the fact that he's a man.

This second page here being his own little gay awakening, where he realizes that he is not, in fact, disgusted by intimacy with a man.

It's also worth mentioning that when he later introduces Kurosawa to his parents (ch 41), they are immediately welcoming of him, suggesting he grew up in a very tolerant environment.

And it's not like he's completely unaware of heteronormativity/homophobia either, especially after he does his research in vol 8, but he is slightly more defiant in responding to it.

(I love how he just buys that bag he probably doesn't need that's supposed to come with all the wedding magazines, just as this very tiny act of rebellion.)

So now that we can see how different Kurosawa's thought patterns are compared to Adachi's, the next question we should ask ourselves is: Why is he like that?

Heteronormativity in Kurosawa's life

(yes we're finally getting to the comphet part of the essay 😂)

First let's look at the environment he grew up in. There are not many scenes with his family, but from those that we do have, we can at least make some assumptions about how he must've been raised.

His mother is clearly the authority figure in his life, judging by how she's described as "strong" and how terrified he is at her merely setting down a teacup (while Adachi has a more mild reaction). Her reaction to the news of them dating and Kurosawa expecting his parents to go as far as disowning him for it would suggest that she might just be generally homophobic.

But when they actually go meet her we see this slightly more nuanced perspective.

She's not entirely against it, but she does believe they are making a mistake by choosing to be together, hence why she thinks they might "regret it". There's many hardships that gay couples in Japan face, some of which we even see discussed in the manga, so it's not hard to see why she would be concerned for her son. The way she talks about Kurosawa never causing any problems, but "changing" ever since he fell for Adachi further supports that conformity is what she believes will ultimately lead to a successful, happy life. And that's also why she accepts Adachi later, when he's made it abundantly clear in his speech that they are happier in this non-conforming relationship than they were without it.

To contrast, her other child Mari is shown to have a very progressive stance (see: her pep talk in ch 47) and it would not surprise me if that is the reason she's rarely in japan and is never seen together with her family, save for the one time they're all at the wedding. She might find the conforming environment too restrictive and preferring to keep her distance. (shoutout to naina for this bit 🙏)

So that's Kurosawa's family situation. Now let's check how his social circle holds up.

From what we see of his friends, they never even seem to consider him possibly being with a man.

And his work environment seems rather toxic to say the least.

It clearly dictates traditional gender roles as the ideal. Nobody except Fujisaki even clocks any of Kurosawa's advances on Adachi as romantic in nature, even though he seems to be quite obvious about it (see: ch 34.5). And it's not like dating in general is discouraged at Toyokawa either, as we can see from all the women constantly vying for Kurosawa's attention.

From all this we can conclude that Kurosawa's upbringing and social/work environment is painfully heteronormative and until he falls for Adachi it seems he never questioned the status quo either.

The famous onsen scene, while funny, also reveals the sad truth that Kurosawa, in his 30 years of life, probably never even had the chance to explore his sexual orientation, rather focusing on being "perfect" in his straight relationships.

Speaking of those relationships...

He apparently had a bunch of girlfriends, who all seem to have dumped him pretty early on. His mother's surprise at him expressing a willingness to commit also makes me think he's never brought anyone home either. He also only seems to have a surface level understanding of what a proper relationship is supposed to entail, if his idea of an ideal date is just "what the average person" thinks is romantic. So why were all of his relationships so short-lived? Before I answer that...

Intermission: Kurosawa's smiles

It has come to my attention that this is not common knowledge, so let me explain: There's a way to tell apart Kurosawa's fake smiles from his real ones, without any context clues, just purely visually.

Real smiles: (ch 23, 24, 37)

Fake smiles: (ch 5, 13, 32)

The difference being very simple: Blush = real, no blush = fake 👍 And before anyone mentions it: No he doesn't just blush when he's around Adachi, that last fake smile is actually directed at him. (ch 32)

Edit from the future: This holds true like 90% of the time, but as Toyota's art style becomes more detailed, this doesn't apply as much in the newer volumes. I think there's also new details added that I haven't quite figured out yet so take this bit with a grain of salt. (The images below are still from her early art style though.)

So now that we have this additional knowledge, let's take a look at every instance Kurosawa is paired with a woman.

He's smiling in all of these. Not a single one has a real smile in it though.

I think he's never actually had his heart in any of his relationships, and the girls probably noticed it and that's why they dumped him.

And, of course, the first time he actually falls in love...

... just so happens to be with a man.

Even his friends comment on this, who have known him since high school.

It's almost funny how perfectly this aligns with real life gay people. Having numerous, short-lived relationships with people of the "wrong" gender is one of the more common traits of compulsive heterosexuality. (source: me oof) (but also shoutout to the "Am I a lesbian?" masterdoc, google it if you don't know, it's truly eye-opening)

After dating Adachi

So we have already established that he's far happier when he does finally get to date Adachi, but do any of his other thought patterns change?

Honestly it seems like he throws every single reservation about being seen as gay out the window.

He starts bragging like crazy about his new relationship to anyone willing (and unwilling) to listen, he has no qualms about PDA, he marks Adachi up and down so everyone knows he's taken and the only thing stopping him from proclaiming his love for Adachi to the whole world is the still very much existing societal homophobia. But he is a lot more easy-going about it now than he ever was before.

And I think the best way to describe this mental shift is, hear me out, the date song from volume 4...

... specifically the last 2 verses as a whole, and this section in particular:

"I won't let anyone divide our fraction! You couldn't pry this thrill from my hands when they're cold and dead!"

Horrible lyrics aside, this perfectly encapsulates how Kurosawa simply couldn't care less anymore now that he finally has what he's wanted for more than a year, maybe even his whole life. All the societal pressure pales in comparison to the sheer euphoria he feels at finally having someone that he loves and who loves him back just as strongly, feeling cared for and seen like no one else ever did.

And, you know, just happens to be a man. 🏳️‍🌈

[sgiandubh]

Some mighty (but tired) bullshit

All day long, my phone has been buzzing with this:

[Source: https://x.com/CaitrionaTony/status/1908842887351066631/photo/1 ]

I wonder if it's not the same person who owns that garbage of an Instagram account, where she talks to herself/her clones in Portuguese and insults shippers, all day long. Not that it would matter, but still. Still an idiotic Stan, because the woman does not have the fans she would deserve. But then again, neither does S, with his Mommy Battalions, bless his soul.

Anyhow. To cut the story short, this is clearly, evidently NOT Tony McGill, unless the guy would have suddenly aged by about 15 to 20 years in less than 4 or would fight some sort of terminal disease (which is definitely not something that I would wish upon anyone, and that includes him, of course). This picture has been taken by an English paparazzo, who goes by the name of Robin Pope:

[Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/DH-qHHoC_TF/?igsh=ZzZ2cDEyNXFjb3R6&img_index=5]

From there, it has quickly made the Grand Tour of the Balfe-sphere, in less time that it would take to say 'Monaghan'. And reached the Unhinged Corner, with the above result.

Never mind the picture has been taken at The Amateur's London Premiere, at the Odeon Luxe Cinema in Leicester Square (March 31, 2025). An event all sorts of media outlets plethorically covered - there are at least a bajillion pics of the arrival moment on Getty Images, along with another bajillion of video clips, many in slow motion. If he were there, we would know it, by now.

Never mind C herself has been unusually chatty about this event, her own experience at the premiere and her own party of relatives and (emphatically) 'friends', with zero mentions about Tony McGill, in any shape, size, form or status. May I remind you, to this effect, my own transcript of Nuala McGovern's Woman's Hour, featuring C, on BBC Four: https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/779651325685268480/there-you-go?source=share.

Never mind BIF herself felt compelled to say that was not McGill in that picture. I'll give her, in all fairness, at least the remnants of a healthy sense of ridicule and the wish to avoid some cosmic embarrassment. Something the other fool (who also thought she saw Tony McGill at that marathon prep session with her sisters, in Dublin) seems insensitive to, as always.

Never mind anyone can check the Getty archives, and come to the same conclusion as I: that C was followed around, at all times during the red carpet moment, by the same staff member/minder. A lady:

Same lady. Same job. All the time.

Never mind nobody in their own mind would give a rat's arse, by now, about this kind of details.

As we say in Romanian: 'a fool throws a stone into a lake and ten wise men struggle to take it out'. That fool just called C a liar and then some would tremble: what for, may I ask ?

These are cheap thrills. It's all and everything they've got left: cheap thrills and quick fizzes.

If that is not embarrassing, then I don't know what is. Funny how the wheels have turned - from the chatty spoons to the manic Instagram/X profiler, who somehow never gets it right.

[geigenklang1]

A collection of the skills' nicknames

I always like the interactions between skills, and I notice that they rarely call each other by their official names instead use "that guy/those guys" or nicknames. So I decide to collect all the nicknames I know in this post. I'll list out the skill's nickname, where it is from, and add a screenshot from my own game or from fayde.

1.Logic: Puzzle Face (from Rhetoric and Authority)

source: failed Logic check with Titus

You need to have failed a rhetoric or authority check for this to happen.

2. Encyclopedia: Pillar-Bookhead (from Volition)

source: Conversation with Klaasje

3. Rhetoric: Goldmouth (from Empathy, Volition, Drama)

source: This nickname appears on several occasions! Failed rhetoric check with Gaston:

failed check with Titus:

conversation with Cuno:

4. Drama: Mr. thespian, Multi-face (from Volition)

source: Conversation with Klaasje

5. Volition: Crownhead (from Suggestion)

source: Volition check with Klaasje

Probably the most well-known nickname!

6. Inland Empire: Dreamer (from PI)

source: Conversation with Gary

7. Esprit de corps: cop-frequency (from Composure)

source: get Cuno as partner after tribunal

8. Suggestion: grovelling sycophant (from Authority)

This probably doesn't count as a nickname, more like an insult, but still very funny.

source: Volition check with Klaasje

9. Endurance: Ultramarathon (from Volition)

source: fascist quest line conversation

10. Physical Instrument: Coach (from several skills and yourself), sinewy idiot (from Electrochemistry)

A very widely used nickname and you can find a lot of lines, I'll put the specifics in image description:

11. Half Light: Mr. Fight-Or-Flight (from Volition)

source: talk to Gaston about pétanque

12. H\E Coordination: the centipede (from Volition)

source: failed check to shave

13. Reaction Speed: shifty, Mr.Conclusion (from Composure and Volition)

source: Volition check with Klaasje

this one is actually more like insult too.

happens if Logic does not chime in after Volition says the first line.

14. Savoir Faire: Savvy from himself and slimeball from PI

source: ultraliberal quest line conversation

This is when you pass the container rhetoric check after you got the quest line.

15. Interfacing: technically not a nickname, but interfacing sometimes calls himself(themselves?) your fingers

16. Composure: Straight-back-guy (from Volition)

source: Conversation with Klaasje

That's all I know! If anyone know more nicknames you're welcomed to tell me in comments or tags!

It seems that more than half of these are from Volition, truly the King of nicknames!

special thanks to this post by @paleyonder, where I get half of these nicknames from.

[fan-clan-fun]

Cat genetics/appearance resources

I like to periodically look around and see what resources are available, both for casual warriors writers, and the ones with more experience with genetics wanting to try and make their family trees make sense, and those who just want to see more cat pictures to make fun and interesting OCs. So here is a list of some really cool things to look at!

To start with, we have @sparrowminder's always excellent website. Where you can get an explanation of a lot of the basic stuff to build off of. Sparrow also has a lot of cool resources that aren't on the website yet, including an amazing chart of cat eye colors. Sparrow's Garden contains the best public calculator that I know of for kittens that would result from certain pairings.

There is always the quintessential Messybeast. Though I would take some things with a grain of salt, as they may be outdated. Still, it is the starting place for many, and continue numerous links to articles that could have some use.

I also came across a very useful website called Feliformias. A resource which has visuals for almost all the colors (it seems to be missing a few, primarily all the bengal patterns).

Of course, there are also a variety of Tumblr blogs to check out!

@catcolors is an inactive, but still very useful source of pictures for a variety of colors

@amber-tortoiseshell is very knowledgeable with cat genetics, and does a lot of discussions about cats and identifying their phenotype

@felinefractious has a blog that is just absolutely full to the brim with pictures of cats, sourced from breeders and labeled by color and breed.

And I've reblogged a few other resources before, images that can be found on my blog, but I will link them here:

Garden-of-Willow's Color study

Slug's cute little color guide

Cedar seed's incredible guide

If anyone else has some good resources, link them in replies or reblogs!

[beforetimes]

found a fic idea i planned a few months ago in my gdrive, so i figured i'd share it here!

everything starts with fire. a fire that rages and takes all of cang qiong down with it. flames that lick at every peak, irrespective of whatever martial prowess their lords might have. liu qingge coughs through the smoke, unwillingly pulled away from the worst of it. he catches sight of his sister—just a brief glance, but enough for him to fight against getting pulled away. then; everything goes black.

liu qingge wakes up much later, the concept of cang qiong mountain not even a breath in his mind. gone from his memory, all he remembers quite clearly is his name and the fact that he's missing someone. he's not quite sure who. he has a sword he remembers to weild with the help of muscle memory, and sets out on a journey, wandering to find... something. someone. he's not sure. all liu qingge knows is that he needs to keep moving. it's important that he does.

after a few days, he stumbles into a valley. large, beautiful, rolling green hills filled with flora and fauna, trees lining the edges, a mountain in the backdrop that frames it like a painting. swirling clouds of white that make up most of the sky, picture-perfect blue peeking out where they don't.

in the middle of it all, a small home.

liu qingge makes it down, slowly but surely. and knocks on the door much later, leaning back and awaiting a response.

he's greeted with two people who he doesn't recognize, but who clearly recognize him, if not made clear by the very confused "shidi?" he gets from the man in green and what feels like it should be a familiar glare from the person in black next to him.

of course, liu qingge doesn't want to bother with the melodrama. he tells them what he knows; he woke up alone. nothing but his sword and the clothes on his back. he hasn't seen anyone who's recognized him. he doesn't remember anything. not even you two, he adds, when the man in green opens his mouth to say something.

from there, after an examination from a healer the two apparently know, they get this news: they cannot tell liu qingge every single thing that has transpired in his life because the source of his memory loss is magical and doing so may trigger a worse fit that could become permanent—instead, they need to (and this is where liu qingge cringes a tad) create a space where he can push through the blockage, slowly but surely, and remember himself again. which is possible, he's told, but only if he doesn't rush this.

liu qingge is reluctant, but doesn't really know what else he could have to rush to do, so he asks if he can stay in the pair's home for a while. just while he recovers. the one in black is ready to say no before the one in green is speaking over him to say yes, please, don't mind my husband, he's just a little possessive hahaha! and liu qingge really doesn't mind, he thinks he can understand why the man might be when he stares at the space where the green one's neck ducks behind his robes.

anyway, he gets his introductions, given two names — shen yuan and luo binghe. they spark something in his head, some familiarity, and he realizes that they haven't been lying about knowing him. which more or less seals the deal about him staying with the pair of them.

over the next few weeks, liu qingge relaxes. he doesn't notice how tense he was until his shoulders loosen and he can feel weight lifted off his shoulders, almost as if it was physical. shen yuan and luo binghe are gracious guests, but—

well, there's just one problem. liu qingge is. falling. for them.

which!!! he didn't mean to!!!! he will swear it up and down everywhere he goes he didn't mean to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! but shen yuan is so unflinchingly chilly in a way that makes him seem warmer when he thaws. he draws and paints and writes poetry that he lets liu qingge read now and then, liu qingge growing enamoured with the ways he twists all these words into images he could hardly imagine. he's obsessed with the quietness of shen yuan, all things unsaid and barely there touches that feel like fire on his skin.

luo binghe, in comparison, is overwhelming, like a fire raging (hah!) in a hearth. seemingly brash and unbending, liu qingge watches him cry crocodile tears to get his? shizun's? favour, listens to him joke and watches him clean the way only servants do. gets caught up staring at his curls and imagining running his fingers through them, images of braids and days spent dozing under the summer sun with all three of them curled up against each other like kittens in a shoebox.

he just. everything about this place is so warm and kind. it feels like something he's never experienced, even if liu qingge knows that he has no way to know if he's ever been at a place that feels so wholly comfortable. (and almost like home). the atmosphere is domestic. they squabble over chores, eat dinner together, even go out for night hunts, sometimes. luo binghe's attitude towards him starts chilly before thawing and soon he's getting prodded and teased as much as shen yuan is.

then, somehow. liu qingge goes to bed and dreams. and all he can see is smoke and fire. his sister's face. the peak lords and their disciples. his responsibilities become anchors tied to his shoulders.

he wakes up, nearly throws himself out of luo binghe and shen yuan's bed, waking the both of them in the process. liu qingge is on the verge of qi deviating, and luo binghe must notice. because one moment liu qingge is on his way out, one hand on the sword, and shen yuan calling after him, and the next moment he takes a hyperventilating breath, luo binghe is across him weidling his own sword.

its a messy fight. not because of blood or injury but because of everything shouted between them. ruthlessly tearing at insecurities, made up taunts that liu qingge only says because he knows it will upset luo binghe. as their swords clash, liu qingge can feel himself grow weaker, even as his qi still goes out of control.

and then he feels a hand on his back, ice cold qi circling through his meridians, and turns back to look at shen yuan in shock.

i remember you, he says. you did this for me, once, a long time ago.

shen yuan nods, and luo binghe finally sheaths his sword, and liu qingge feels out of his depth, wedged between two people trying to slow him down while his sister, his home, somewhere far off, burn.

he turns to the two of them, feels reluctant to ask for fear of rejection, but liu qingge tells them he needs to go. his sister could be dead and he needs to know her fate. he needs to salvage what he can of his peak, find his disciples, his martial brothers. and he needs to leave them behind, unless they were? willing to come along? and the last part is said so quickly he hopes that it could fly under the radar.

but they both hear. the miraculous part of it all is that they both agree.

liu qingge is taken aback. luo binghe laughs at the expression on his face and shen yuan thwacks him lightly on the arm with a fan before telling liu qingge that they'll spend the night preparing before leaving tomorrow.

liu qingge just agrees, nearly in shock, following after them. vaguely numb. he watches the two of them lean into each other as they enter the home and feels his heart try to beat out of his chest.

he's soooo fucked. liu qingge thinks he's never been in love before but if he has, it's never felt quite like this.

and that's all i have so far! lmk if you'd want to see this written out in full as a fic, too ^_^

i just think like. the fallout of liu qingge remembering everything — luo binghe's actions and shen yuan almost? snubbing him? would complicate so much. on top of luo binghe and shen yuan's realization that they might love liu qingge when they get to see him without his biases making him more hostile to luo binghe/the idea of them as a couple. trying to tackle the way they'd eventually end up together would be sooo hefty but sooo fun.