#engage in history and form your own opinions

[kermiethefroog]

I understand that a lot of people are focusing in on who Hbomberguy was talking about in his new video, which I understand. I watched a couple of those channels and some of this news was in fact news to me as well! Especially with James Somerton, who I put on occasionally in the background and generally found interesting. It can be shocking to learn these things (as mentioned in the video).

BUT

I think that we have a tendency to run away with ideas of scandal and center the outrage and frustration over the other messages at play. I am definitely not the first person to bring this up or mention it, but I wanted to list some of my favorite takeaways from the video.

Plagiarism is ever present and downright COMMON on the internet, especially on a social platform like youtube, but this goes for any form of social media INCLUDING sites like tumblr (I don't think he mentions tumblr specifically, but I think it is fair to loop in most social networks in this case). Harris is highlighting that these things are hard to check and people are (sometimes) good at hiding their wrongdoings.

We can do our part by supporting creatives and people who properly research or speak deeply from their own experiences. Going back to talking about James, that section of the video hit very close to home. Queer solidarity and supporting queer creators is something that is very important to me. I really appreciate Harris highlighting exactly who was wronged, list new people to watch and engage with, and specifying who he will be compensating for creating his video. I really do encourage people to check out the other creatives mentioned AND looking for smaller creators to become connected to. Hell, I recommend reading articles and books by queer authors if you have the time and the means to do so.

The last big takeaway I have is the discussion of the creative process and the struggle of making original material. Creating anything with a semblance of analysis or personal thought in a thorough way is really challenging. Many creators regardless of medium or space have a sort of imposter syndrome about their work. Imposter syndrome is a double edged sword, and in many cases has led people to do the things discussed in the video either out of desperation, but also as a shortcut to success that they desire. Harris breaks down this feeling of being an imposter and highlights is universality. Despite this sense of imposter syndrome, creative and artistic people continue to try and make something novel or something new out of synthesizing the ideas of others. Creative work should ideally be transformative in some way and is why this kind of work can be so compelling AND inspire other people.

[redwinterroses]

Agreed agreed agreed! I really hope Impulse's stream goes well!

Also that tag about HP being vilified from the other side earlier on is so true, I remember at church as a kid there was always someone complaining about how it was about "evil magic and witches" and even though my family was more reasonable and I always knew it was okay to read fantasy, I still never got into the series until later, and almost immediately after I bought the books and started getting into the fandom I found out about the author's awful tweets and stuff, it really feels like there was about a one-day window of okay-ness for me to get into it lol!

LOL, I WAS that kid for several years, to my everlasting embarrassment. Didn't read it until college, at which point I was in a group of friends who ALSO felt that way so my one friend who convinced me to read it and I referred to it as "the book about the boy on the train."

[queer-geordie-nerd]

I am nearly 40 years old and I've considered myself a leftist politically since I was old enough to form my own opinions. Have I always been a shining moral example? Definitely not - there have absolutely been times when I've had unexamined prejudices and been called out on them. It's deeply uncomfortable having to examine your own prejudices and to be told that you're wrong, and I get the instinct to push back.

But never in my entire life have I seen as much doubling down and ignoring of minority voices and as much mask off bigotry as I have seen this last month in reaction to Jews telling pro Palestine activists that a lot of what they're doing is blatant antisemitism and actively harmful to their community.

Absolutely, advocate and uplift Palestinian voices and draw attention to what is happening, because what is happening is utterly appalling.

But when you happily parrot genocidal slogans like 'From the River to the Sea' while totally ignoring anyone's attempts to tell you why that is so hideously problematic, when you unironically call for the total eradication of the only Jewish nation state on earth in a way that you never ever do for other nations whose governments have committed similar or worse crimes, when you happily chant shit like "Death to Zionist pigs" without the first clue what that word actually means (hint: it's not shorthand for 'evil barely humans who want all Palestinians dead' and it's incredibly disgusting to use it that way. Zionists believe in the Jewish right to return to and live on their ancestral homeland. That's it. That's all) then don't think for one solitary minute you possess any kind of moral high ground.

And when leftists who usually loudly proclaim the right of indigenous peoples to return to their land have the audacity to turn around and say to Jews "not you though - actually you're terrible and evil for even wanting such a thing. Never mind that the rest of the world has engaged in your wholesale dehumanisation and slaughter for thousands of years, your desire for your homeland is the bad thing actually" what is that hypocrisy but blatant antisemitism? Please, enlighten me.

When a Jewish person tells you are peddling in antisemitism, just shut the fuck up and listen.

A caveat to this is that I am not Jewish, I don't know any Jewish people IRL, none of this impacts me personally. But I am a human being, and will not and cannot stay silent about the hypocrisy and outright dehumanisation of other human beings by people who cannot for the life of them either open a history book or take the time to actually listen to the people this impacts and instead just perform their self righteous little dance.

[cemeterything]

is all true crime bad? genuine question. not referring to the very obvious disrespectful ones that are usually brought up when discussing the topic but rather documentaries and things of the sort. I feel like a lot of the documentaries around real crimes I watched bring up issues that aren't really talked about and a lot of the times are covered by institutions/media and also inform people on various things that they probably wouldn't have been aware otherwise so to me they can be very informational. there's also cases where victims of abduction for example have been recognised years later because of media like this which is objectively a good thing so I would like to know a little more about other negative impacts that might not be so obvious. if you have any source I can research on that's also great. sorry to bother!

i think that "true crime" in itself is a nuanced and varied topic and have no intention of tarring everyone who has an interest in it with the same brush, because there are definitely respectful ways of engaging with it that do their best to avoid and minimize harm. however i think that the popular culture depictions of true crime and capitalization on it as a form of entertainment tend to do more harm than good to both victims, who are frequently exploited for "content" and/or have their trauma dredged up for consumption, and consumers/producers, since a lot of mainstream true crime media reinforces harmful stereotypes, paranoia, surveillance tactics, and social divisions, and sensationalizes human cruelty and suffering. not to mention that this kind of approach to and fascination with horrific crimes and unusually cruel and violent criminals may encourage more people to inflict violence on others in order to gain notoriety and fame.

i don't think it's wrong to be interested in these things and to want to understand what makes people do horrific things to other people. one of my hyperfixations is the history of decapitation/capital punishment and its legacy, which is a topic that is fraught with issues surrounding the abuse of some of the most marginalized and vulnerable members of society. i myself am fascinated by it partly because of my own past experiences with abuse and marginalization. being interested in unpleasant things doesn't make you inherently a bad person, and thought crimes don't exist. however it's really important, especially when it comes to topics like this, to be self aware and critical of the information you're given, and to be careful not to be taken in by popular opinion and stereotypes without questioning them, or to get so immersed in your pursuit of knowledge and understanding that you lose your grip on reality and fall victim to misinformation and bias. believing too strongly in your personal ability to recognize and identify criminals and "criminal traits" and "solve" crimes, especially when the justice system is as flawed as it is, is more likely to lead to incorrect assumptions, the persecution of the marginalized and vulnerable, invasions of privacy and miscarriages of justice than it is to help.

[gildedcageif]

Gilded Cage

Nothing but ashes remain of your home. Your loved ones have all been taken from you overnight, leaving you all alone in the world. 

Fight, flee, cry, scream, rage. Seek revenge, find forgiveness, fall in love, break hearts. Poison, lie and sleep your way to the top of the imperial harem.

The golden chains wear down heavy on your pretty little neck. And they will do so until you break them.

You were still a child when the Zephyran hounds razed hell on your homeland. Overnight, everything and everyone you knew and loved withered before your eyes, claimed by the flame and the ashes.

You were fortunate enough -or unfortunate, depending on how you see it- to survive that fateful night. Instead, heavy chains were placed around your wrists and you were sent away to whoever would pay to own you.

Some masters were kinder than others. But captivity tastes just as bitter regardless of how opulent your cage is. 

And this is the most opulent cage you will ever be locked in. The Jade Palace is where you being shipped off to this time. The capital of the grand Zephyran Empire. The very same that ripped your childhood apart.

You have been selected to join the imperial harem of Sultan Ahmad, an honor bestowed only upon the most beautiful and worthy of servants.

Regardless of how you feel regarding this great 'honor', you are every bit as powerless to fight against it as you were to defend your homeland when the Zephyrans came for you.

Don't despair yet, child of the Ancients. There are many opportunities in the Jade Palace for those who wish to seek them. 

You may find yourself pulling the strings and changing the course of history, whispering in the ears of royalty, marching bravely into battle, even escaping and claiming your own freedom once and for all, away from this mess that was inflicted upon you. If you play your cards right, you may even one day become the parent of the next Sultan.

Beware however. There are many who will stand in your path. The worst enemies are hidden not in the shadows but amongst our closest of friends.

Gilded Cage is rated 18+ for explicit language, explicit sexual themes, graphic descriptions of violence and depictions of slavery. 

FEATURES 

•Create your MC. Anything from what they look like to how they feel about their years of servitude and their arrival to the Jade Palace is for you to choose. Are you a conniving courtesan, set on claiming the crown for yourself? Do you merely wish for a life of peace after all these years of hardship? Do you have a single-minded focus on achieving your own freedom? If so, what are you willing to risk for it? 

•Define how others perceive you. You are no ordinary servant after all, you are a member of the Sultan's harem, and those around you are eager to watch your every move? The nobility, military and common folk will all form opinions based on what they hear of you, as will many important political figures like the Valide and the Grand Vizier. And of course it is better to be admired than mocked, ridiculed and despised...

•Engage in a world of intrigue and danger. The Zephyran Empire is deadly. The harem even more so. One wrong step and it will be off with your head, if the Sultan is feeling generous that day. Many plots and schemes are already in place by the time you arrive to the Palace. Some of which may or may not involve you. It is on you to uncover secrets, distinguish enemy from ally and keep yourself safe from the vipers of court. In these halls, few are truly innocent and you might be forced to get your own hands bloody.

•Climb the ranks of the imperial harem. How you achieve that is up to you! You may ally yourself to Valide Sultan, act as a mole for the Grand Vizier or even become a tutor for the young Prince! And of course, if you are willing to participate in some old fashioned seduction, the Sultan's bed -and his heart, if you are capable enough- is the road to unimaginable power and wealth, but also danger.

•Change the course of history. Raise the next Sultan, assassinate your enemies, encourage a military uprising, cause a shift in the religious establishment, become a general, an advisor, even a Haseki. If you are daring enough to bare the consequences of failure. Your actions will have farfetched consequences for the future of the Zephyran Empire and the wider world. So be wary. History has its eye on you.

Romantic Options

The Sultan of the Zephyran Empire: Ahmad

You have heard of him only in hushed whispers and screams of terror. He rules en empire stretching far across the east and west. He is the master of the hounds that raided and destroyed your home. He took everything from you and now he owns you. Still, your very survival depends on his whims.

Yet, when you come face to face with the Lion of the East, he seems less monstrous than you had expected...

The Grand Vizier: Selim

He has had an eye on you since you first entered the palace. And not for good reasons. He may very well be the second most powerful man in the empire-after the Sultan of course- and he seems to have decided you are a threat to his master.

Getting him on your side might just be the thing you need to propel yourself in the court. If you manage to do that anyway. Selim is known as a tough man to charm, but who knows what hides underneath.

The Valide Sultan: Nazli

The Sultan may rule the world, but have no doubt his mother rules the harem and she does so with an iron fist. She controls everything. Who does the chores, how much gold each maid is afforded, who gets to enter the Sultan's chambers. She has her finger on the pulse of the harem. She wants things a certain way and she will have things a certain way. This Queen Dowager is every bit as much of a lion as her son.

She is distant, but not unkind. Most importantly, she can raise you to the highest of highs or doom you to the dungeons in less than a glance. You will have to earn her respect before she accepts you into the inner circle.

The Favourite (?): Meryem

Meryem is the most beloved of the Sultan's concubines. Or rather she was. For unknown reason, it seems she has fallen out of his favour. Rumor is it has been a year since he asked for her.

Still, her position remains significant as the mother to the only son of the Sultan. Her son, Mustafa, in combination with the support she receives from the Grand Vizier has helped her hold onto her power.

But her position remains insecure while the Sultan's eyes wander. You could intergrate yourself amongst her closest companions. Or you could be the downfall she so fears.

The Artist: Emil De Angelis

Emil is a... controversial presence at court to say the least. He was raised from a starving artist to the next big sensation by the Sultan overnight. He has been involved in several projects ever since, whether that be art, poetry, singing or architecture. Known around court for his -perhaps a bit too daring- wit and charming smirk, it is hard not to notice him.

He is also the closest to a friendly face you have at court. Emil has handpicked you as his next side project of sorts. The new thing he will concern himself with to fill up his time. You will have his support in whatever you strive for.

Be warned though. Emil acts with ulterior motives as much as anyone else at court.

The Childhood Friend (shouldn't they be dead?): Helena

You thought you had lost them. They died in your arms. You held her body. You carried it. You buried it.

Now they are back. Somehow they have returned from beyond the grave.

The worst part?

They don't even remember you.

Asks: Open

Demo: https://href.li/?https://cookie-bun.itch.io/gilded-cage

[lets-try-some-writing]

Death and Gifts

Death has existed since time untold, but now with mortal friends, he has found himself in a bit of a pickle. Having been introduced to the concept of repayment, he now feels the need to return the kindness his friends have offered.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for everyone involved, Death pays his debts in full.

Previous part here.

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙

Death, or rather Orion Pax, was familiar with the concept of an exchange. Shanix was traded for resources or goods, life was traded for death, and knowledge was traded for service. He knew this, but he eventually came to a rather startling realization upon going through a series of datapads on mentality.

According to what he read, relationships were also a form of exchange. In a relationship of any sort, both parties were to give and take in equal exchange. Service was to be repaid in some way, shape, or form. Emotional care was to be provided in turn, and friends were meant to create bonds through a series of debts to one another in the form of attention, time, and service. To Orion, it was a wakeup call and prompted a severe misunderstanding.

Throughout his entire stay in the mortal plane, he had been receiving the time, attention, and service of his companions. He had been unintentionally indebting himself to them, and at this point, he was swimming in things that needed to be repaid. Ratchet gave knowledge and care freely, and that needed to be repaid as soon as possible. As did Megatron's dutiful companionship. There was much to do, and so Death prepared to repay that which was owed... in his own unique way.

Ratchet was his first and oldest companion. As such, Orion began devising ways to repay him first. Ratchet made his life easier and gave him understanding, Orion could do the same in turn. Thus, over the course of a few weeks, Death began to dig into Ratchet's history, connections, and prospects. The medical student had a few... blotches in his social life that Orion frowned upon seeing. An overenthusiastic ex, a corrupt higher up refusing Ratchet the title of doctor, and a bully who harassed his friend on the daily. Death does not usually pick favorites, but when it came to his friend and his debts, he was willing to compromise.

He spent what time he could with Ratchet, trying to return the emotional support through actions. And when he wasn't otherwise engaged, he put pieces in motion. He couldn't directly do anything, not without making his siblings upset. But setting up scenarios that would lead to death were not exactly off limits. So long as he wasn't there or forcing the death to happen, he wasn't responsible. So what if that one unfortunate ex got into a bad crash? He could have avoided it if he'd tried harder and paid attention. Why should it bother Death that a corrupt doctor overdosed on recreational drugs? The mech was living on borrowed time anyway. The bully ended up being arrested? Well isn't that unfortunate.

Ratchet did not grieve much, and Death was there with him all the way. He still had debts to repay, and Ratchet was worth so much more than being a mere Doctor. Perhaps it was a bit of bias, but Orion couldn't help but pull a few strings. Sometimes the corrupt needed to fall ill to make way for those who were far more suited to the roll. If Ratchet gave Orion a few side glances after he was suddenly promoted to the role of CMO, neither of them acknowledged it.

Ratchet: That mech... did you kill him?

Orion: I am forbidden to directly intervene in the affairs of your kind.

Ratchet: Did you cause this to happen?

Orion: You have been kind to me, you have given me much. It is a debt I will repay.

Ratchet: Orion, please, you don't need to-

Orion: You are of my chosen. Your purpose far exceeds those of the lesser.

Ratchet: You aren't like this. You don't usually have an opinion on anything, at least not like this.

Orion: It was, and it is still not permitted. But I will not allow that which was offered to go unrepaid.

His debt was nowhere near paid, but Orion had little else he could do. HIs friend was soaring high, and so in a bit of desperation, he focused on the rules to see what else he could possibly effect. Direct intervention was out of the question, but perhaps he could give a gift.

It wasn't against the rules to simply remove a block within a mech.

Death smiled when Ratchet found himself with an uncanny ability to sense death before it arrived. The doctor was able to solve cases before they reached a breaking point and determine a cause of death effortlessly, seemingly without any explanation. Ratchet chalked it up to his own skill, and Death grinned as he turned to his next set of debts.

Jazz was next, but for Death, he was hard to fully place. Jazz was an odd one, and repaying debts with him would be difficult. Jazz's situation did not allow for mecha to perish unfortunately. He was in too delicate of a position for that to happen and not harm him. But Orion could give him information. That much he could do. Jazz was an agent, a spy for the Council. Death dug through every case Jazz was involved in with fanatic determination, and once he had everything prepared, he began his work.

Cold cases were suddenly given new evidence as Death searched for the dead within the Allspark and questioned them. Information Jazz could not reach was put before him on a silver platter as mecha with the details found themselves incapacitated by unfortunate accidents. Those who hunted his friend were quickly silenced, not through supernatural means, but through blackmail Orion had from the Archives. To top if all off, Death gifted his friend an ability. When Death came to fallen, they trusted him instinctually. They knew what he was. To Jazz he gave a lesser version of the same gift, merely accentuating Jazz's already powerful charisma with a touch of the calm of the void.

Jazz noticed, but he said nothing. Death merely smiled.

Megatronus was not difficult to repay. Death merely began rigging things in his favor. Well, not necessarily rigging. But the odds tipping ever so slightly in his Champion's favor were not against the rules. Who was ever going to concern themselves with a blade sliding off Megatronus's armor and shattering instead of piercing. Bad craftsmanship had its effects after all. Who would be anything except awed when old wounds healed perfectly and Megatronus returned to the arena without issue? The Champion made all sorts of money for his sponsors. His success was theirs.

Orion's siblings watched him in wrath, further tightening his reigns. But Death would not halt. He could not gift abilities as obvious as he had to Jazz and Ratchet, but it was not out of the question to give Megatronus a more intimidating aura. All it took was for Death to touch him once every few cycles, and Megatronus would carry the stench of death wherever he walked. His foes feared him, and Orion laughed lightly as he watched their terror firsthand. It was not a gift, merely his presence having its effect. His siblings could not punish him for that.

Prima: You cannot keep doing this Thirteen. You are stepping beyond your bounds.

Death: I am following the rite.

Vector: You are not. Your influence has expanded beyond the limits set in place for all Primes. Continue down this path, and we shall be forced to step in.

Death: What must I do to gain the ability to expand?

Micronus: There is no-

Onyx: Expand. Grow.

Prima: Onyx enough!

Onyx: He has the right to know. We have known since the children of Primus walked the world. To keep him in the dark is cruel.

Death: What do you know?

Onyx: The rite forbids that I speak plainly, but continue as you are, and soon enough your reach will expand. The children of Primus are eager to believe.

Death considered the words of his peers, and ultimately he elected to follow Onyx's advice. He was Death, he was allowed to act as he saw fit, at least to a degree. He would obey the rites and rules, but if the children were in danger... well, rules were made to be broken on occasion.

Soundwave was the last on his list, largely because he was Megatronus's favorite. Death looked upon him and decided against any action, instead opting to give a simple gift to repay his debts. Soundwave stalked the halls, and Death dragged him into the shadows. It was for a brief moment, but when he released the spymaster and met his gaze back in the normal plane, Soundwave shakily got to his pedes, and Death smiled again. He enjoyed smiling. Such a silly thing, but one that held so much meaning.

"This gift I have given to repay my debts. The void now knows you, it has tasted your frame. Do not linger long within its grasp, but it welcomes you, should you wish to traverse the dark paths."

He left quietly, and Soundwave for his part shook like a leaf. The work was done, and now Death had largely repaid his debts.

However if a few particularly devoted mailmecha found themselves avoiding trouble and injury with surprising grace, then who were they to judge? Death would repay his debts, regardless of the outcome.

Megatronus, Ratchet, and Jazz were all very much aware that Orion had done something to them, but by the time they came to understand their new gifts, they opted not to ask. Whatever Orion was, he was old, and he was powerful. No longer was he a spark eater in disguise or some old monster. Rather, he had to be a Quintesson or a creation of them. There was no other explanation, not unless one wanted to begin believing in fairy tales about Primes and their power.

Death, oblivious to it all, continued merrily while quite content to have finally "made things right."

[seven-meds]

Hi!

I love your art and I am extremely enamored by the beauty of your writing !

That being said, I am an artist as well and I feel like I have been stuck in a creative rut and I don’t know how to get to out ? Do you have an advice on breaking out of the hole and as well do you suggest drawing everyday as a method to keep up with skill?

Thank you so much <3

Thanks so much! I considered this for a while. Giving artistic advice, whether broad or targeted, is always difficult. It's too nebulous of a process for rules but everyone still has such a strong opinion on what the rules should be. 

In my experience, lulls are beneficial when seen from the correct perspective and then taken advantage of. Endless production is antithetical to all art that is not corporate in nature, and lack of inspiration means you will benefit from something often overlooked: new experiences and engagement with new things. Though if you do want to feel productive, take a sketchbook and a pen to a public area and draw what you see for an hour or two. You likely won't be inspired but you will feel accomplished.

Historically, artists took extended periods of time away from creating in order to experience life and take in the world, its people, and themselves. Not always willingly; some were torn away and sent to war, fled their homeland, or were imprisoned, enslaved, or institutionalized. And there are those who spent long periods of time bedridden by illness or injury. But whether their experiences were gained by choice, by force, or by nature, their time away from art is what ended up shaping what they made. Drawing in isolation will sharpen a skill, but it's through repeated use of that skill to translate your experiences that your art improves.

An artist's goal is communication first and foremost. This is why drawing daily on its own cannot make anyone a better artist. It will eventually lead toward some sort of technical prowess, but technical prowess with no voice is fairly pointless and very dull. Ideally, the development of voice will precede the development of technical skill and the two become honed in tandem. What you want to say should define what you need to learn. If you are developing an understanding of your own intentions then you are already a step ahead of the artist who is focusing solely on their ability to draw a head from every angle. 

It's beneficial to conceptualize art as a series of choices rather than a display of objective prowess. The more experiences you have and the more educated you are, the more sophisticated your choices become. You'll also find that you're able to analyze and appreciate (or criticize) the choices of other artists, increasing the enjoyment of engaging with art as a whole. You'll then be led toward more complex and unique work as you become bored with things that salivate over their own palatability. You may also find that art you've passed over before suddenly begins to speak to you.

Spend time exposing yourself to new art, ideally from large swathes of eras, places, and forms, including art that communicates things uncomfortable, disturbing, or offensive to you. Delve into the history of the artists and works you enjoy (or hate) in order to fully understand what's being said and why. If you currently find yourself interacting solely with contemporary art delivered largely via algorithm or advertisement that elicits feelings of familiarity and comfort, you should recognize that as a limitation. You are certainly free to work within it, but you will stumble into inspiration more quickly through exposure to different ideas.

It's also a good time to interact with others, if possible (even from a distance), and to look into topics completely divorced from art. Enrich yourself in many ways. The world is so vast and full of so much. What can you experience and learn that will make you yearn to communicate again? 

Try not to waste years studying aimlessly. Develop an interest, a concept, an idea, an experience, and then work toward communicating it effectively. You will learn as you develop new pieces (because you will put effort and energy into targeted research and study), and those pieces will become more complex in both substance and technique. 

Good luck!

[air-in-words]

Anastasia: SortingHatChats

Hey, guys, I back now.

Anastasia time.

So, as a DISCLAIMER: THIS FILM IS A WORK OF FICTION. I highly recommend looking into the actual history behind the film if you're interested!

Here we go!

(I seem to recall there being a sorting already posted of Anastasia, but I remember disagreeing with most of it? Absolutely no offense meant to whoever originally posted it! These are just my two cents!)

ANASTASIA/ANYA

BADGER PRIMARY

Anya's entire storyline revolves around the ideas of "family," "home," and "belonging." Not just her own, personal family (which would be Snake,) not necessarily the home she remembers being born into (as far as she knows, she's an orphan,) and not only her own state of belonging. She deals in the concept of these things as though they were basic necessities: everyone should want them, and she wants them because everyone needs them in order to be whole. This is truth to her, full stop.

Anya: "Do you think you're gonna miss it?"

Dimitri: "Miss what, your talking?

Anya: "No! Russia."

Dimitri: "Nope."

Anya: "But it was your home!"

Dimitri: It was a place I once lived. End of story."

Anya: "Well, then you must plan on making Paris your true home."

Dimitri: "What is it with you and homes?!"

Anya: "Well, for one thing, it's something that every normal person wants!"

This is not a belief system, nor is it a conclusion she's come to. It's something that is such a part of her make up as a human being, that to imagine that another person doesn't care about the concept of a "true home" or "true community" is downright disturbing to her. Her desire for "home, love, family" is not her trying to seek out individuals she already knows, but to find the space she came from, filled with strangers she's never met, but who she believes will accept her through the power of community. It reads very animated Hercules, often dreaming of a far off place where a voice keeps saying, THIS is where I'm meant to be. Badger Primaries love the idea of having a secret family they've never met that will swoop in and carry them away, loving them unconditionally, when the world immediately around them has been so cruel. Lonely Badger Primaries are the perfect characters to fall in love with the idea of being long lost royalty. The main character arc Anya goes through is learning that family is not just the people who gave birth to you: Found family is not only just as powerful, but can become even moreso over time. This is the same moral the animated Hercules learns! Belonging and community is created and watered like a garden: If you keep searching for your perfect, idealized community, you might miss the one forming right before your eyes.

LION SECONDARY

It doesn't take long to pin Anya as a rather loud Lion Secondary. She is unafraid to voice her opinions, and often does so in a blunt and unashamed way. SShe absolutely DESPISES lying, and she is the first to take the easiest, most straight forward way out.

Dimitri: (trying to detach a traincar after breaking multiple tools) "COME ON, there's gotta be something in there better than this!!"

Anya: (wordlessly hands Dimitri a stick of lit dynamite)

Dimitri: "That'll work!"

What this movie actual shows is an interesting, not as often explored aspect of the Badger Lion, which is how the brash and straightforward nature of the Lion Secondary can work against the desires of the Badger Primary. Anya longs for nothing more than home and community, but often inadvertently (and not so inadvertently) alienates those around her with her cutting phrasing. It takes a more grounded, good listener like Vlad to see past Anya's brashness almost immediately, understanding the intentions behind her bravado.

Vlad: "I see an engaging and fiery young woman, who on a number of occasions has shown a regal command equal to any royal in the world!"

DIMITRI

SNAKE PRIMARY (Initially Burnt)

Dimitri's storyline is a bit deeper than many people might initially realize. What we're looking at is a Snake Primary who, at a very young age, tried to save one of their People (the Princess Anastasia, for whom he is implied to have either a childhood friendship with or just a faraway crush,) and failed, horribly. In fact, they failed to the point that they believe they are at least partially to blame for the death of that Person. That's about as deep and dark of a hole as a Snake Primary can fall into, so the Snake Primary will, naturally, Burn and find new, non-Person things to fill that void. Namely, recognition and fortune.

Dimitri: "Imagine the reward her dear old grandmama will pay!"

Of course,this could point to Glory Hound Lion, just as easily. If not for his Snake Primary sneaking in at every possible moment. The line following that one above is:

Dimitri: "Who else could pull it off but you and me?"

The "you" in question being Vlad, the only other Person Dimitri has allowed in (and by "allowed in," I always assumed got so tired of Vlad actively FORCING HIMSELF into Dimitri's life that he acquiesced and decided to just let him stay.) But, Dimitri's obsession with the Princess Anastasia continues, against all odds. His latest con? Directly Princess Anastasia related. Is it enough for the woman they hire to play her be "good enough?" NO. She has to be PERFECT. They hold AUDITIONS, and Dimitri is the perfect person to be on the board, because Dimitri still knows her intimately well, even after all these years. Such as hum recognizing Anastasia's face in Anya's right from the start. Thus, comes Dimitri's initial inner turmoil in regards to Anya: Are his feelings just projection? Is he attracted to her JUST because she looks like Anastasia? Is he ACTUALLY that obsessed? All those questions become moot when Anya is revealed to truly be Anastasia, though Dimitri finds himself where he was as a boy. From this point on in the movie, pretty much every motivation/choice Dimitri makes revolves around the fact that Anya IS Anastasia, and that he is going to give her what she wants and deserves, no matter what it takes. Even if that means keeping himself away from her romantically. His character arc revolves around forgiving himself for what he perceived as a dire mistake against one of his People, which is a ROUGH arc for a Snake to go through.

Dimitri: "Paris holds the key to her past. Yes, Princess, I've found you at last! No more pretend. You'll be gone, that's the end..."

SNAKE SECONDARY

Dimitri is actually quite a good con, all things considered. He manages to trick Anya into thinking they have train tickets when they DEFINITELY do not, and he keeps the reward under wraps for the entirety of their trip. Not just that, but dodging around obstacles instead of facing them head on is his most natural state. As a child, he is seen sneaking out of the kitchens (where be belongs) and automatically offering the servants' quarters as a means of escape, which is extremely clever and resourceful. Dimitri tries to charm and placate Anya at every turn, trying to keep her naturally explosive personality under wraps.

Anya: "The baggage car...? There wouldn't be anything wrong with our papers now, would there, maestro..?"

Dimitri: "Of course not, Your Grace! It's just that I hate to see you forced to mingle with all those commoners..."

But, we spend most of the film seeing Dimitri forced out of his comfort zone by both the situation and Anya's combative Lion Secondary, so he's often seen conspiratorially complaining to Vlad while in his Neutral State or just outright losing his temper and yelling. But, this never comes first, and his plans and plots are always somewhat circumventing. During the train derailment, his plans are to jump off, disconnect the train cars, and just wait until the train coasts to a stop. All pretty passive/out of the box thinking. When he IS shown trying to face someone head on, he is always unsuccessful: Trying to fight for Anastasia during the siege only to be immediately knocked out, trying to take on Rasputin directly and being tossed aside pretty easily. Comparatively, Anya/Anastasia is shown to be successful when she is upfront and combative: Getting away from Rasputin as a child by kicking him in the face, ultimately defeating Rasputin by straight up smashing his reliquary.

VLAD

LION PRIMARY

Vlad is a pretty classic Paragon Lion Primary. He wants to do what is Good and Right and doesn't what is Bad and Wrong. For what reason would he wind up as a con artist as a Paragon Lion, though? Even for Paragon Lions, what is Good and Right to THEM can go against what the collective believes is good and right.

Vlad: "That's what I hate about this government. Everything is in red!"

Yes, the above line is also meant to be a coded message for Dimitri, but Vlad thinks the government has overstepped his moral boundaries and has chosen to step outside the usual bounds to follow his own morals. Part of those morals involve guiding those he believes are lost, thus, his "adoption" of Dimitri, a very lost young man with little direction. He tries to act as Dimitri's "moral compass" until Dimitri finds his own direction again. He does the same for Anya when she comes into their group, trying to lead her towards the possibility of finding her home, while gently guiding her away from focusing on her "past."

Vlad: "There is nothing left for you back there, my dear. Everything is in Paris."

He stands up for what he believes in, and inserts himself constantly when he believes Dimitri is wrong. Letting him know when he's "walking away too soon" or when he "has to talk to her" even if she's a Princess and Dimitri's a Kitchen Boy.

BADGER SECONDARY

Vlad is one of the kindest, most lovingly genuine characters I've encountered in fiction, and I mean with that with all my heart. He is consistently gentle and understanding with the people he comes across, and is always even-tempered and fair. Compare Vlad and Dimitri's reactions to finding Anya skulking around their home:

Dimitri: (shouting, from across the room) "HEY! What are you doing in here?! HEY! STOP!"

Vlad: (coming in at a light jog, holding up his hand politely) "Excuse me, child!"

Vlad always assumes the best from whomever he's interacting with, and is excellent at getting to the root of what's bothering a person. He actively tries to make everyone in his company comfortable, and will often make soft jokes or observations in an attempt to lighten the mood. His Lion Primary makes him unable to entirely give in when he knows what's going on is wrong, but his Badger Secondary gives him the skills to broach those uncomfortable topics with grace and eloquence.

Vlad: (gives Dimitri the most fatherly, loving hug in all of animation) "Ahhh, my boy... you are making a mistake."

TL;DR

Anya/Anastasia: Badger Lion

Dimitri: Double Snake

Vlad: Lion Badger

And, there we go! Anastasia was one of my absolute FAVORITE movies as a child, so I've really enjoyed getting an opportunity to sort them! Let me know your thoughts! :)

[altargarden]

hello! we hope this is ok to ask, it's totally fine if you don't answer- but we've recently become interested in satanism and demon work, but we know exactly nothing about it or where to start. we did some basic research with academic sources like wikipedia but have no idea where to go from there. we're hesitant to just dive in on our own because we know there are a lot of bad sources and groups to avoid but don't actually know what those things are.

anyways, we trust your opinion and recommendations so we wanted to ask if you had any suggestions on how to go about researching and learning about theistic satanism for an absolute beginner! recommended books or articles, groups to avoid, red flags, anything like that would be very appreciated 💚 thank you so much!

okay so, this may be a controversial opinion but in my opinion (KEY WORD OPINION) you actually shouldn't only stick to unproblematic and valid uwu authors, because i'll be honest (in terms of satanism and demonolatry), there ARE no pure and good authors out there. every author out there, especially if you're reading a text from a long time ago, is going to have something you disagree with. you need to practice some form of critical engagement, additionally, because engaging with a text critically and understanding why it is wrong is way more important than just shutting out the information altogether. you will not learn anything if you pretend that problematic texts do not exist. i'm not saying this to be harsh, but there is a reason we research a variety of texts and perspectives in high school english class. you need to continue that kind of method when researching anything.

now that is covered, i'll tell you what i have read personally. taking the above into consideration, there are no authors here that don't have something deeply wrong about their texts. i did read their works, and i came to my own conclusions on whether i'm going to dub them an authority on satanism, and i suggest you do the same. satanism is about knowledge and drawing your own, unique conclusions. just make sure what you do adopt doesn't throw any groups of people under the bus, because we're not here to read books and thoughtlessly believe whatever the book says, especially when the book can have misinformation, or offensive content. this is very common in satanism; as much as people love to treat it like it's revolutionary and all-accepting, it can be just as, or even more, discriminatory or outright hateful as christianity, especially in the texts.

the most easy-to-find material:

ars goetia > pretty basic info, but very handy and simple to read

the infernal gospel > probably my favourite book on this list

the complete book of demonolatry > i don't agree with the author, but i got this one in my early days before i knew anything about said author. it's got some useful information, but there's a lot of misinfo

book of the fallen > useful rituals if i remember correctly, i sold this book so i can't recheck

at satan's altar > also an interesting book

the goetia devils > has a lot of what i assume is upg... seems to conflict with what i've seen from other practitioners

the goetic hymns > second favourite book

the satanic philosopher > i found this one hard to read personally

esoterica > youtube channel with amazing information on demonolatry and its history, i suggest getting into this before doing anything else.

all of these websites.

and lastly, i also got like 50+ older texts i got as a bundle off etsy that i can't remember the names of. i wish i could give them to you, but i genuinely have lost every single text i got in the bundle due to me changing computers. i suggest looking on etsy for similar bundles on satanism and demonolatry if you want to get into the historical meat of things.

that being said, my actual last thing i want to say is not to get too entrenched into the theory. the texts are handy, sure! but the one thing i have found the most useful is by engaging with the community. most of my wealth of knowledge did NOT come from texts or media, it came from those around me talking about their experiences. if you want to learn, and i mean REALLY learn about demons and satan, get into the community hardcore and you will learn something new every day. talk to people, make friends, don't do this alone.

edit: okay one more thing. this does go against what i was saying to some degree but i do have a limit to that logic. avoid joy of satan. they're n/eonazis and come on this website regularly. avoid them, avoid them, avoid them.

[sassykinzonline]

Rules of Engagement

I am here to bring myself closer to the people in order to shape my revolution, and generally continue to heal from the trauma that is my life.

I'm willing to talk about pretty much anything: konoha, its citizens, the ninja world, the non-ninja world, my family, history, furries, whatever. Keeping in mind I'm not trying to be overly serious, and almost all of my posts will be for the sake of humour (that doesn't mean there won't be kernels of truth in what I say). You can ask me about my opinion on these things through my ask or on posts. If you want to say something privately to me you can message me, but don't lead in with something like "hi" only and wait for me to respond (I'll ignore it because I'll assume you're a BBW MILF in my area or something).

I'm not going to talk about anything inflammatory or requires serious thought on greater world topics as I feel that's inappropriate (eg. I won't talk about ongoing wars in specifics). If I see you reblogging my posts in what I feel is an overly antagonistic way, towards myself or others (the most common form of this is I write a post saying I don't like someone, and someone reblogs with "YEAH fuck [female character] she's a [vulgar misogynistic slur] #[female character's name]"), I'll block you. This is meant to be a restorative account meant to make me and others feel good.

In terms of roleplaying:

I'm okay with interacting with anyone, but if I don't know who you are please forgive me and I'll ask you to introduce yourself

I'm always "in character" even in DMs, it's just easier that way

I won't use things like action markers (** [] // italics, etc.) or written narrative to describe my actions, I'll just announce them and if you want to interrupt or respond to them you can do so in whatever way you feel comfortable with and I will just assume it happened

I use emojis and gifs to communicate actions and expressions sometimes, it's just more comfortable for me that way as it's easier for me to communicate visually

If you're someone who should be dead/disappeared/whatever to me, you can explain how you've returned or I can just ignore it, but do know that whatever feelings I would have towards you based on my life will remain the same

I know some roleplayers type story-like things with each other (closed RPs? starters?), I won't do that because I just don't have the energy for it. If you wanna go through a certain situation with me just bring it up in a post you tag me in or inbox me and I'll respond as I see fit

I'm not doing smut stuff with people sorry, but my blog is NSFW because I'm an adult and it's kind of funny to talk about

A reminder that everything I post is from my perspective and based on my opinion. FYI I see the Naruto manga as a biographical re-telling of certain events (everything until chapter 699), and the anime as an interpretation of the biography (therefore some filler will be true to me). Therefore, any time I present thoughts on these things, they may not always be 100% in line with what's shown. Feel free to add to my posts in disagreement but I might not respond. If I annoy you or you consistently take issue with something I say, block me for your own sake. If I said something to upset you and you don't want to block me, you can just tell me and I'll 99% apologize, but 100% address it with respect.

That being said, I'm here to have fun-- that is the best revolution.

ETA 24/04/24: you can follow me on letterboxd if youre interested, i'll follow back and you can send me movie recs or anon hate about my movie opinions in my inbox here, i pretty much watch anything recommended to me but i'll be honest about what i think of it

[narukyuu]

People are being annoying on twitter again.

"CR LIED about c3 being accessible to new viewers!"

No. They didn't. It is.

Most of the people I see complaining about this are people who are NOT new viewers, and have most of the context new viewers are missing.

C3 is about new characters discovering the world of Exandria. They don't know the history, they don't know the people. A new viewer gets to explore this with those characters for the first time.

Are there references that new people won't get? Sure. Are they in any way relevant or important for understanding the story, the characters reactions to events and npcs, and history of the world as it is being told during this campaign?

No. They are not.

A new viewer might get confused as to why certain names get certain reactions from the players, but as a non-american I often get confused about a lot of references the cast makes that are intrinsically embedded in American culture - and that is about as relevant to me as a viewer as story references that I don't know about or remember.

On the other one, someone who DOES have context can see what new people are "missing", and to them is seems like context that is so important for the world that you couldn't possibly understand the story without it.

But it isn't.

A new viewer doesn't need to know who vox machina are, they don't need to know about the chroma conclave, they don't need to know about the Briarwoods or the Cerberus assembly in order to understand the things that are happening or the power struggles that are occuring presently in their time.

It's history. We got to experience it, the players got to experience it - but those characters didn't, and they are learning about it, and new people are learning with them.

That knowledge does give some added value, but so does being a new viewer and getting to experience those things for the first time, it gives you the option to form opinions divorced of what you think you know, and instead form them based on the facts presented to you currently.

The Taliesin showdown between Percy and Ashton is a great example of this.

People who know vox machina and know who Percy is, have a certain pov regarding this argument. We understand why Percy is being a butthole. But new people are going to see Ashton's pov more clearly, and experience Percy in a completely different way.

Same goes for Delilah in Laudna's case. If you don't know the story you get to find out the horror of it bit by bit, you get to watch the BH try to reason with her and consider if they might succeed and experience the fallout of that as a new experience. It's invaluable.

"C3 is just a marketing ploy for The Legend of Vox Machina!"

This is one of the most uncharitable takes I have seen and it's driving me nuts.

First of all - tlovm is not in any way oversaturated in cr's content. They shout it out when there is new information available and when they are just feeling excited about having their own cartoon series. Which is exciting. They are allowed to be freaking excited.

It's barely mentioned unless they have an announcement to make, they are not hiding secret messages to wash your brain to pay Amazon. They are promoting their twitch channel subscription more than anything else because that's where the content they want people to engage with is.

There is no heavy handed or out of place advertisements sending people to watch lovm, there is no information in lovm that you have to watch in order to figure out what happens in the rest of their content. It's just another depiction of the events that happened.

2 out of 7 PCs have connections to VM.

Laudna is one of, if not THE BEST concept for a character this season, and she would still be that if her trauma had nothing to do with VM at all. But they are playing in the same world where that happened, and it is freaking cool to use an event your previous character was part of as a motive for a new character. Players want to create cool ass characters.

Orym was a backup character for VAX. Liam had him forming in his brain ever since campaign 1. And he is finally getting to use him because Matt eased up on the "no connections to previous campaigns" rule.

If not for Laudna's death, we might have not even seen Keyleth for the entire campaign.

3rd - lovm does have an influence on c3. These people have been working on it, writing it, reliving their earlier games, seeing it all come to life in animation. Can you fucking blame them for being sentimental and wanting to visit those characters in game again? See how they grew and how they influenced the world?

I wish I get an opportunity to experience that one day.

It's crazy how much people want to stick CR into the "soulless corporation" box. How much they want to condemn CR for succeeding at building something creative and awesome that just gets better and goes up in quality with every consecutive year and -gasp- making some money off of it. How dare.

Remember when they released their copyright policy which was very lenient and gave people a lot more freedom than most policies of the same vein and copyright law in general and people lost their marbles because it was written in scary legalese and people thought CR was going to come after them for selling keychains? Fun times.

Just, over and over, finding the most uncharitable (and let's be honest, less probable) interpretations of actions and words and applying them indiscriminately.

It's grasping at straws to find a reason not to like them.

And, you know, you are allowed to not like them. You are allowed to prefer one of the older campaigns over the new one, you are allowed to prefer and watch any other actual play show.

Just maybe stop trying to make it seem like you are morally superior for it. You are exhausting.

[tanadrin]

In 3 months there is gonna be a call out about you that will make you abadon your tumblr

thanks for the warning! i'd hate for any callout posts to miss my most problematic opinions. let's see here... ok, i'm contemptuous of almost all forms of spirituality and religion, i think i'm on record as saying that astrology is both proto-fascist and a way for people to avoid having to deal with their actual emotional issues, 'victim's rights' as a movement is actually fascist, most anticolonial discourse is just white ethnonationalism that's been brownwashed, and most of the anti-racist activism that's in vogue right now is useless.

but here are some other opinions to cancel me over. pick whichever ones seem most problematic to you:

english orthography is good, actually.

there is no scenario on this earth where i would rather swim in the gross slimy ocean than in a nice clean swimming pool. absolutely none. fuck the ocean. it's full of dead fish and it's existentially terrifying.

i find it basically impossible to grok nonbinary people who present in a way indistinguishable from their ASAB.

cats are slightly preferable to dogs

almost all fantasy fiction is irredeemably derivative of first-wave fantasy (roughly ending with Lord of the Rings), in a way which betrays a fundamental narrowness of imagination among almost all fantasy enjoyers.

ASOIAF specifically is trash. And not the fun kind.

kids seeing fucked up things on the internet too young is good actually

ok, that's kind of a contrarian way to make my point, which is a bit subtler, but is essentially:

i trust young people to seek out information and develop their own intellectual curiosities and identities much more than i trust sanctimonious gatekeepers to accurately judge what is bad for them and what is good, and given the structure of our society the only people who are empowered by censorship are prudes, authoritarians, and bigots. i do not at all trust the average parent not to infantilize or intrude on the autonomy of their kid in a way that's more harmful to them than accidentally seeing weird porn on the internet

age of consent laws, on balance, probably do a lot more harm (in the form of subjecting teenagers engaging in consensual and healthy sexual activity to state violence, usually along lines of class and race and gender) than good (in prosecuting adults who sexually exploit children). there are much better ways to protect children from sexual exploitation by adults.

abolishing the nuclear family, for instance

"asexual" is kind of a weird label to form identity politics around. not saying it's bad, just that it seems fundamentally different from most other classifications of sexual identity, in that there have been approved social roles for asexuals for centuries, and if anything, celibacy, or at least a lack of overt interest in sex, is generally considered to be morally neutral to laudatory historically, unlike homosexuality or a deviant gender expression.

discourse on cultural appropriation is stupid

'witchcraft' is really cringe. imitation of older customs in an effort to revive them will always involve reifying things as conscious Traditions that were simply part of the normal background of life, which renders any attempt to re-create them pure performance that can never capture the spirit of the original. plus, nobody who's in to neopaganism or witchcraft seems to have more than a shallow understanding of the history and culture in which the practices they're interested in were embedded, even if they're nominally descended from that culture. in many cases such a deep understanding is simply not possible owing to a lack of evidence.

goa's annexation by India was not only illegal but unjust.

higher levels of buddhist practice and spiritual attainment resemble both spiritual psychosis and garden-variety spiritual abuse too much for that to really be a coincidence.

the dutch language is inherently ridiculous

communities do not have moral rights. individuals and collections of individuals have moral rights, and we can speak of group moral rights as a useful shorthand for that, but frequently we get lost at that layer of abstraction and start treating groups as first-class concepts, and this produces (at best) inane conclusions and (at worst) an excuse to fuck over individuals in service of the community--which in practice cashes out to serving the interests of the elite that runs the community, i.e., authoritarian conservatism. authoritarian conservatism is not better just because the authoritarian conservatives it serves happen to be a racial or religious minority.

not only should all monarchies be abolished, countries that have abolished their monarchies should make it illegal to accept titles of nobility

germany was too lenient by letting people keep their titles as part of their name during the German Revolution. they should have abolished them full stop.

even orders of merit are on thin fucking ice

maine is the rightful territory of massachussetts, and mainers are a fictional ethnicity created to justify the destruction of Greater Massachussetts. Massachussetts should annex it.

Make Washington D.C. Square Again

[triflesandparsnips]

Ways fans go 'splah'

I keep noodling about this thing where fandom gets weird after it receives new canon. And in the middle of writing a different post, I started wondering if it comes down to... cognitive dissonance.

Because to be a Fan means you love a Show (or Movie, or Book, etc.)-- right? Maybe because you felt the Show spoke to you and your experiences in particular, and helped you, and understood you. It's important to you. You form an idea of what the Show is, and who you are in relation both to the Show and to other fans of the Show.

So... what does it mean if, as you interact with new canon, you... don't love what the Show has done?

Suddenly the status quo that you've built for yourself has been upset; now you have to deal with change. With questions. Like: If you Don't Like an element of the Show, does that mean that you're... not a Fan anymore?

Does that mean that when you thought the Show spoke to you, you misunderstood it? That you were wrong?

Does that mean you were a Fan of a Show that doesn't actually exist, and now you've identified yourself (and your social interactions, and your recent history, and your own creative efforts, and and and) with this Other Show, and you feel trapped in that association?

Listen: I absolutely agree that it can hurt to find out that you've tied yourself tightly to a Show that has changed into something you Don't Like. And when it happens... sometimes fans react in one (or more) of the following ways to help resolve the cognitive dissonance of this change... to varying levels of healthy/socially acceptable, creating a lot of the absolute weirdness we see in fandom:

1. They deal with it.

That seems kind of easy to say, but... uh. Well, I can't think of a better way of saying it. Art changes; the fan changes with the art, or they do something else. They learn to say goodbye-- or maybe they learn to ride the metaphorical mechanical bull. Fans who have successfully incorporated this reaction have often diversified their fannishness across multiple fandoms.

It's a safe way to interact with a Show but it can, perhaps, lead to less of the vibrant immersive fannish joy that can come from being really invested in a fandom -- and then downplay or not engage with the real feelings of more invested fans. (Is this one of mine? Oh, definitely. I'm working on it.)

2. They decide the Don't Like element is due to a creative choice rather than personal opinion.

By which I mean, fans who go this route decide that the reason they Don't Like an element is not because they, uh, don't like it, but rather because there is a secret reason (that they've made up) that the Don't Like element exists. With this idea in mind, it's not that there's an actual change to the Show-- it's just that the fan must either wait to see it resolve back into the familiar or, alternately, put in effort to "figure out" what the Don't Like element is "really doing".

(This is where meta about "writing bad on purpose" and such may be familiar to some.)

By deciding that the Don't Like element is an intentional artistic choice that will eventually resolve back into the familiar Show, there's no reason to fear or question what the change means for the Show or the fan's sense of self. And like-- tbh, some of the best crack meta can come from visiting that mindset for a hot minute. But living there can lead to... significantly greater hurt later, particularly as more canon drops and the likelihood of the Show resolving back to its "original" form grows ever slimmer.

3. They decide that the element they Don't Like doesn't exist.

As in, didn't happen. Or did happen, but only by removing other elements to flip it from Don't Like to the more acceptable/palatable "creative choice" vibe from option 2. The cognitive dissonance is resolved by simply removing the element that would cause the fan to stop loving the Show.

And like-- I've certainly done this. There are episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I've decided just didn't happen. Also the first season of Parks and Rec. And pretty much any Marvel movie that doesn't allow for the 2012 Avengers tower fanon to somehow magically exist.

I even think that fanfiction and other remediating fanworks are an important extension of this behavior-- fix-it fics are a thing, and I love them. But I think it's crucial that those of us who do this kind of canon excision don't make our choices anyone else's problem. I don't stop other fans from engaging with the things I've elected to ignore; I also don't harass the creators/actors, because jesus fucking christ why would I.

4. They decide the Show they love is not, in fact, the Show they love.

So let's say the fan acknowledges that the Show has changed. They might even acknowledge that the Show was never what they thought it was. And with those two things in mind, some fans choose option 1... but some land here, in option 4.

Because! They think the Show they're a fan of does exist-- just not... on the screen. They love a Platonic Ideal of the Show-- what it should have been. What, somewhere, it is, except that outside forces changed it from the Ideal to the Imperfect.

What kind of forces? The usual suspects: Capitalism. Racism. Heteronormativity. Hollywood bullshit. Actors/writers/creative teams leaving the Show for whatever reason. Hubris. Fallibility. Ad nauseum.

But the Ideal Show (that maybe exists only in the fan's own head... but sometimes appears to be shared and envisioned by other fans too)-- that Ideal Show isn't subject to outside forces. It's completely divorced from the context that the Imperfect Show is being created in. The fan doesn't experience cognitive dissonance because they have, as with option 3, decided something doesn't exist-- but that nonexistent thing is the Show itself. The fan instead exchanges the Imperfect Show for the Ideal Show, which does not have and will never have a Don't Like element.

And like-- sure! Entire careers have been built on the back of believing that an Ideal should exist and replace the Imperfect-- Ed Brubaker is right there. Reimaginings of source material can fall squarely into this as well, particularly when they hit the public domain. Like every other option, this is a thing fandom does that, in some of its forms, shows why fandom is super neat.

But... but the thing is, there's no such thing as art divorced from context. Even if the vision of an Ideal Show seems to be shared identically across oodles of fans, it's still subject to the personal context of every single one of those fans. Like, it goes riiiight back to why you become a Fan of the Show in the first place-- it spoke to you. It validated your experiences.

So there is no Ideal Show. There can't be. There's just the Show that we have-- or the Show that we create, in the real world (and then becomes subject again to all those pesky outside forces), to try and capture what our personal Ideal is.

Fans who go splah with the option 4 route mistake, I think, their Ideal Show for everyone's Ideal Show-- and then every criticism, every meta, every engagement with the Imperfect Show and its fans falls into piles of logical fallacies: that everyone is working from the same Ideal; that those who ignore the Ideal are doing so on purpose; that all Don't Like elements with the Show can be attributed to its failure to meet the Ideal rather than the fan's own preferences; that the Ideal is quantifiable, qualifiable, infallible and incontrovertible...

Maybe, at the end, option 4 is the one that really gets all of us. Because yeah-- I have an Ideal Show in my head. I bet you have one in yours, too. And it can be disappointing when the Ideal and the Imperfect don't align-- it can, in fact, create that cognitive dissonance I've been harping on this whole time.

But how we choose to deal with that disappointment... that's where the weirdness can come from. To both the benefit and ooooh yes, very much the detriment of a fandom that has survived long enough to start experiencing the cognitive dissonance of the Show fans imagine versus the Show fans have.

[qqhoneydew]

Twitter is dumb for writing longer form opinion pieces so I'm going to put this here: On Twitter there's been a lot of heated discussion over the way the IDW artists and writers handle their depictions of the characters. And if you genuinely feel they've done a disservice to them, its fine, your feelings are valid, and the point of this isn't to tell you that you're wrong and that the people working on IDW Sonic are infalible. Where I take issue is people trying to paint them as the sole destructors of this franchise. That artists like Evan Stanley are warping characters like Silver to fit their own preferences or that Ian Flynn is hellbent on destroying a well grounded world so that his visions may overtake it. I'm not being hyperbolic but during my relatively short time in this fandom I have been seeing more and more harsher statements regarding these people under the shield of "criticism". There is nothing wrong with criticism, but how can it be good faith when you're attempting to directly attack their character. You could dismiss it as just banter, but fandom in general tends to have an issue with dehumanizing creators, either by creating a boogeyman out of them or speaking of them as a monolith, and in the Sonic fandom, there's a long history of examples as how nasty this can get with people like Ken Pontac, Warren Graff, Takashi Iizuka and yes, Ken Penders. Ken Penders especially is the grand example of what can happen when this is left unvetted for so long. Is there any reason why people continue to devote so much negative energy to a man who hasn't been relevant to the series in like 20 years? Is this someone that still needs to be a butt of a joke or have hundreds of YouTube documentaries made out of them. All because he made weird hedgehog comics? I could talk about CWC as well and how the internet will never take responsibility for their fate, but that's a whole other road. Admittedly one of my initial responses to the recent discourses directed at Evan's depiction of Silver on Twitter was more emotional, but as I hinted earlier, there has been more and more targeted comments at her, and I felt it especially reached a boiling point once she confirmed on twitter that two background characters in the Trial by Fire arc were gay. Something like this a major change to the status quo of Sonic, so it's not unreasonable to think many see her as a threat to the franchise. Why all of a sudden after her many years of working on Sonic, is there so much attention being put on her like this? So far none of this has anything to do with the contents of IDW Sonic, because I feel thats not really where I take most issue with all this controversy. But I did some more thinking and I will still engage this. As far as I know, IDW Sonic is not some unmanageable operation. SEGA/Sonic Team are heavily involved in its production, as a response to what transpired with Archie Sonic. It's stories and new characters all go through a thorough vetting process, there's a lot of back forth to ensure whatever gets printed meets their apparent standards. And yes, this gets as strict as the facial expressions.

I agree that facial expressions are an integral part of understanding the soul of a character. It is something that should not be taken for granted. I personally don't feel that the artists in question break off more than what is necessary given the context of the situations and the medium of comics itself, but again, if you feel otherwise, then I don't think the blame is just solely on the artist when the approval process is this tight. People like Evan and Ian are freelancers at a third-party company handling the IP. I don't think they have as much leverage as people seem to think they do, ESPECIALLY during the early run of the comic. Again, you can say that the artists dropped the ball here, but I think SEGA had all the power to give them the appropriate notes and those artists would have complied because well... they're professional artists. And if this is something they're truly incapable of being subordinate to, then they could've been terminated from their jobs a long time ago. Now don't misconstrue this as me trying to say "WELL IF SEGA APPROVED IT, THAT MEANS ITS GOOD ACTUALLY XDDD". No actually, if SEGA approved it, and things still aren't up to par, that means there must be a systematic failure that goes down the entire line. In fact I'm willing to bet most critics would agree with that since there seems to be a sentiment that Sonic as whole has been in limbo for a very long time, it goes way beyond IDW. Games like Shadow the Hedgehog and Sonic 06 are apparently ones that Sonic Team will never be able to live down. Sonic Forces was also seen as a large failure, and as a result, demands for an actual proper game were pretty high when Frontiers was announce And then the day the IGN Gameplay footage dropped, I was demoralized to read many foul things being said about Sonic Team and Morio Kishimoto. It made shockwaves throughout the internet, with every content creator and influencer hopping on board. It wasn't just about graphical/gameplay concerns, it was straight up calling their competence into question, calling for the team to be terminated and replaced by people who could supposedly do a better job. I'm sorry, as much as I've grown to love this franchise, I can not value the perceived quality of a product over the hearts and efforts of artists who work under strenuous conditions to make it possible. People's tones have cooled since the game's release, but I don't think being "proven wrong" is what should've been required to respect these people. Hell, even YUJI UEKAWA, whose artwork is supposedly the gold standard for how Modern Sonic should be depicted, and whom many of his contemporaries are compared to, has recently been under scrutiny by fans, saying that he's become a worse artist over time. At the end of the day, remember we're talking about living breathing people. Don't turn them into scapegoats when everything about creating works is a collaborative process. There are no heroes or villains. Their humanity should be respected when critiquing their work, and the same when praising them. I don't think most people actually enjoy being put on such a high pedestal anyway.

[idiotlittleme]

I think the most annoying thing about living in the middle east is how much outside western-priviledged-idiots people try to "summarize" and / or "fix" our problems

You know this whole "middle east history in 3 minutes" videos? I HATE them.

Because no. You cannot summerize the history of all of the colonizations, wars, and overall atrosities that we had the pleasure of surviving since the fucking middle ages in fucking three minutes and to be honest it's kind of insulting that you are trying. And you know what? It just shows how little fuck you give on the people live here. Because there are kind of lot people out here. You cannot even mention all of the ethnic groups, religious minorities, cultures and sub-cultures of the middle east in three minutes, so to explain the story of each of them? Yeah right. Just shut up, it will be a better use of everyone's time.

Also the whole "general white dude(s) starting a new initiative to make peace in middle east" is THE WORST

Please can we have enough of this bullshit? I know you want a noble peace prize or just have a savior complex, and to be honest, I don't care. You clearly have enough racism, bigotry and discrimination going on in your own country, so why don't start there?

And at least if it were people who fucking tried. Who understood the amount of complexity of our cultural, political, postcolonial, social issues, then it would be at least a nice go. But no. It's always some fucking idiots who don't know shit. And it just makes everything worse for everyone here. But why would they care? It's not like they have to deal with the consequences, cause unlike most of us here - they get to fuck off as soon as things go bad.

And you know what? No. You can't know shit about what's going on here from watching the news for a couple of minutes or read one post on Instagram. SHIT HERE IS COMPLICATED. Want to know what the hell is going on? You need to actually engage. To read a lot, to hear a lot, to TRY to understand.

If we know all the shit on Hillery Clinton you can read a bit on Hammas and Benjamin Netanyahu before forming an opinion. (Hint: All sides are awful for local people living here & as human beings). But just repeating something you heard on some podcast 300 times on social media doesn't make you look smart. As least not to me.

Everything here is difficult. But this is my home. I just hope other people will stop setting it on fire because of their arrogance and ignorance.

[tuurverheydepoetryandprose]

Someone else has said this before, but I am going to say it again:

If you want to actually understand a sentence, a paragraph or an entire text, it's not enough to just fish out parts and think you now get the entire piece. That's not how language works. That's not how literature or expression works. You need the surrounding context to understand the significance of each part.

I know everyone's adverse to reading and context these days, but honestly, it wouldn't kill you to read a full sentence and not just skim through it, or watch a full film/series and not just the gifs or memes about it. Especially if you plan to publicize your opinions about it.

Skimming through stuff is fine for exploration, deciding what to watch or read, figuring out if something might be for you or not etc. but it can't be the dominant way of engaging with pieces of media, literature, poetry, film etc. Even posts and messages should be read fully before engaging with them.

Honestly, so many misunderstandings, misinformation, bad analysis and bad faith arguments could be avoided if people actually engaged with the material itself. Snippets, summaries, sound beats might be enough to form an informal impression, but as soon as actually want to express a credible opinion about a piece of media & text, you need to engage fully with it first.

You might think this is a trifle, but as a an ex-educator, I promise you that the trend of declining media literacy, shallow analysis and bad faith argumentation is no joke. It has serious consequences for people's ability to appreciate cultural history AND empathize with points of views that are not their own.