#i love it so much. I wish more mainstream horror was like it

[sammusbird]

I wish more modern horror stories, movies, whatever focused on mental illness as horror. NOT mentally ill people, but the illness itself. I think it would be good to add as a spice to heighten the horror in classic slasher style stuff. I want to see more sympathetic and strong characters to navigate a world where their perception and needs are different than others. not in a superpowered way. I want our final girl to survive bc they fought harder, got luckier, and ran faster than the others. I want to see characters with more ‘ugly’ mental illnesses we are meant to love and root for and cross our fingers they don’t get kersploded! I want to see how specific struggles make being in a horror movie worse

[avelera]

Thinking about blasphemy and Good Omens right now and I can't help but notice an interesting phenomenon around some discussions I've seen about the Second Coming and Jesus Christ being a character in S3.

Namely, I see much more underlying discomfort around the possibility of the show poking fun at the figure of Jesus Christ than I do with any other prediction discussion or discussion around religion in the show.

On the one hand, I completely understand how poking fun at the Antichrist dogma from Revelations doesn't feel particularly blasphemous, where poking fun at Jesus does. The Antichrist is a stock character of horror at this point. Many more disrespectful teams than Gaiman and Pratchett have played with that story. It's barely even considered poking fun at Christianity to have Adam, the son of Satan, be a good kid in Good Omens. But Jesus is a very important figure to Christians all over the world. There are devout Christians who truly love Jesus and no one wants to be a jerk by just outright disrespecting a figure that is dear to so many.

But on the other hand, expecting Good Omens to not make fun of Jesus is a bit absurd to me. Literally saying, "I don't think the satirical religion show is going to satirize religion because it might upset people." Gaiman hasn't shied away from messing with religion or religious bigots before. He gleefully shrugged off attacks over God being a woman, or Adam and Eve being portrayed by people of color.

The Book of Job is lampooned in Season 2. I know it doesn't feel like it to many people here, but the reinterpretation of the Book of Job in S2 definitely registers as blasphemy on some religious scales. It is satirizing a religious text after all.

Saying that angels and demons fall in love and worse, have that love be portrayed by actors of the same sex could be seen as blasphemy at the very least on the level of saying God is a woman. And by the way, it's not like these religious texts say "God is whatever you want the entity to be" or "God is a woman if that makes you happy". Hell no, the Bible is extremely damn clear on God being male. The official position of the Catholic Church is that God is male. Official Catholic dogma is incredibly anti-female in terms of inherent holiness, women cannot become priests, even nuns are dependent on a priest to deliver the Sacraments, it's a huge deal and they are not planning to change any time soon and it is totally unambiguous.

Making God explicitly female might not seem like a big deal since films like Dogma, another religious satire, did it in the 90s but to True Believes in the official doctrine, that is a form of blasphemy.

Good Omens is by definition a blasphemous work. How offensively blasphemous it is really depends on the devoutness of the viewer. And I find it interesting the extent to which there's something of a knee jerk, "Oh they won't do that!" in terms of further satirizing religion in the show about religious satire. As if Jesus hasn't been satirized in other mainstream movies before like the aforementioned Dogma or Life of Brian.

And here's the thing, my personal opinion is? Blasphemy is good! Blasphemy laws on the books mean it's ok to punish, hurt, or even kill a person for making fun of religion or just doing the religion wrong. Human progress has been frozen in place by blasphemy laws, sciences have progressed when blasphemy laws ease or often while deliberately concealing their efforts from authorities in places where blasphemy laws or laws that were otherwise based on the dominant religion exist.

If anything, I am actually a bit uncomfortable with the idea that Good Omens should hold back on lampooning a figure like Jesus Christ. If devout Christians will make laws that determine what other humans can do with their bodies based on their religion, then their religion should absolutely be open to outright mockery without punishment or ramification to anyone. Of course on an individual level I wouldn't wish to be offensive to someone sincerely religious but at the same time, I am also violently anti-censorship of any kind. And blasphemy and religious mockery are often right at the heart of censorship debates.

The world is a better place when we can openly mock religion.

I'm not going to caveat that as an opinion. Being able to openly and without fear discuss, criticize, and mock religion is an incredibly important part of any free society. The battles over this right have been vicious and bloody and are actively ongoing around the world. Just as an example, anti-blasphemy laws were on the books in Ireland until 2020, there was a huge campaign to have them removed because other countries were pointing to them as an example of why they should keep and exercise such laws.

My point is that I suppose this is something of hyperbole or alarmist or overly strident. I can understand people wanting to be decent about not openly mocking a figure of such importance to so many like Jesus. But quite honestly? I hope Good Omens does whatever it pleases with mocking Jesus. I hope they don't hold back. I hope people remember that being able to mock religion is really important, especially when representatives of that religion are actively trying to clamp down on the rights of others.

And honestly, if religious people are offended they should just not watch or they should develop a thicker skin if they expose themselves to such discourse. Religion and Christianity in particular is an active part of the public sphere. It is worthy of discussion. Public discourse often includes mockery, especially of the powerful and of powerful forces that steer the course of nations, like Christianity.

And I think it's important for Good Omens fans, who are a very progressive group, not to cherry pick and moralize over what satire or blasphemy is permitted. All satire should be permitted. All blasphemy should be permitted. The religious bigots don't care if you think God being a woman is ok but making fun of Jesus isn't. It's all the same, anything but glowing praise is criticism to some of these forces. Open discussion is far more important and yes, that includes mockery, and silly discussions in a silly show about an angel and a demon who avert the Apocalypse and fall in love.

[undefeatednils]

TTRPGs I Desperately Wanna Play

I like TTRPGs. I've only played with three systems (D&D 5e, The Dark Eye 4th Edition Revised, and Dread), but I'd love to try out more. These are a small selection of games that I wish I could play, but I sadly lack the group(s) for that. Also, as an honorary mention, Pathfinder 2e needs to be pointed out. It's very mainstream, and I think I'd enjoy it as a player, but not as a GM.

These games are all in alphabetical order, by the way!

Blades in the Dark

Blades in the Dark is an absolute classic, from everything I've heard. Designed by John Harper and pretty old by now (2017!), I'd just love to experience a short campaign with it. The usage of "clocks" to represent progress when solving problems, the focus on intrigue in general, flashbacks! Blades in the Dark is a very specific game, but it sure looks so fun!

Cloud Empress

Designed by someone going by watt, Cloud Empress is heavily inspired by Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the first original movie by Hayao Miyazaki (by the way, not a Ghibli movie, because it predates the studio, and its success allowed Studio Ghibli to be formed!).

Cloud Empress really feels like a world where violence is an option, but rarely worth it. Gorgeous illustrations, a fantastic injury and stress system, and a dark yet hopeful setting really give it a lot of flavor that I really, really love!

GRIM

Designed by Tumblr's own @efangamez, GRIM is a dark sci-fi horror game inspired by Quake. I loved reading about its fast-paced, coin-toss-based gameplay and its focus on players rushing around the dungeons, so I'd love to get to play it some day! Let me slay some eldritch beings!

Mausritter

Another oldie, but a goldie! Mausritter by Isaac Williams really plays with the squishyness of player characters in TTRPGs of yore and plays with it by making the players create cute little mice that go on adventures. You can go Watership Down dark, or whimsy, or somewhere inbetween. Perfect little guy energy in the form of a game.

Mothership

So... Are you looking to play a game with someone that really allows you to mirror classic films like Alien or Aliens or The Thing or Event Horizon? I think Mothership by Sean McCoy and others would be the perfect game for that. It largely uses d100s and really seems to allow for characters that fit the archetypes you can find in sci-fi horror movies and have them be both weak enough to be in danger but competent enough to have a shot at dealing with the problem at hand.

See You Space Cowboy

See You Space Cowboy (also known as CUSC) by Onslaught Six and the rest of Tidal Wave Games is really just Cowboy Bebop the TTRPG without the licensing required. Lots of jazzy slang creates the short ruleset for this fun sci-fi RPG. Its system of traits, talents, and breaks feels very intuitive, and I just wanna put on some T-Square or Yoko Kanno or Casiopea while me and a bunch of friends try to survive in a zanier version of space compared to, say, Mothership xD

Sherwood

Created by Richard Ruane, with additional design by Eric Swanson, Sherwood really looks like it can capture the feeling a lot of TTRPG campaigns want to achieve when presented with the idea of adventurers being more trouble for commonfolk than they're worth.

It uses a nice, elegant 2d6 system, its four attributes also serve as a resource for your outlaw, and it really seems fit to tell fun folk tales filled with magic, rebellion, and merriment!

The Electrum Archive

Developed by @emielboven, I just adore pretty much everything about The Electrum Archive. It combines an incredibly flavorful desert world setting with mechanics that are easy to grasp for folks who mostly play 5e, and three very cool classes (I adore the Warlock and the whole magic system which involves knowing the true names of magical spirits and a bit of negotiation between the Warlock player and the GM). I backed the game's second volume via Kickstarter because I was so blown away even by the free rules. I adore it!

Wanderhome

Wanderhome, by Jay Dragon, is another classic. And it barely has any "conventional" mechanics, mostly relying on conversations guided by the, many, many playbooks that exist for it. It really seems like such a beautiful game, an exercise in empathy, and I'd love to read the rulebook more and sit down with folks to "play" Wanderhome, sharing tasty drinks and snacks in the sun.

Also, as an honorary mention, Pathfinder 2e needs to be pointed out. It's very mainstream, and I think I'd enjoy it as a player, but not as a GM.

Also sorry to the two folks I tagged, both are just very prolific people who are also (semi-)active on Tumblr, so yeah...

And again, I didn't get to play any of these. But maybe I will sooner rather than later? Hopefully?

[thebreakfastgenie]

Hawkeye for the character ask game please ❤️

How I feel about this character

"Character of all time" is perhaps played out, but... I love this character. He's complex and interesting and shaped like that. He's one of my favorite characters ever. He's from Maine! He has one of the best character names of all time.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Margaret

Frank

Trapper

Charles

Bigelow

Carlye (not endgame)

Inga

I'm also a big fan of Hawkeye/OC, especially Female OC but Male OC too

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Hawkeye and Trapper probably takes the cake, but I also love his dynamics with Radar, Klinger, and Sidney.

My unpopular opinion about this character

This is tricky because there's a lot of fanon that I agree with the broad strokes of but disagree with the details, or feel it's taken too far. I'm a fan of exploring his trauma; I think he has PTSD and he's still going to have an adjustment, but I don't think he's a broken bird.

I don't think he's overly political. I don't think he's read theory, I don't think he throws around words like imperialism. He certainly has political opinions but I don't think they're ovelry sophisticated. I think he's much more of a mainstream liberal than a leftist and he's definitely not a communist (though people like Flagg would call him one). I think his strong anti-war feelings come from a more basic moral place of hating death and violence and his anti-bigotry views come from a similar place. I think that's an important part of his character, because the show is trying to say that the horror of war should transcend politics, that everyone should be as horrified by it as Hawkeye is.

I don't think he's especially feminine, I think he has a lot of masculine traits and he's a man who's very comfortable in his masculinity which makes him willing to explore more feminine traits too, because he's not afraid of being "less" of a man. I think most of his gender-nonconformity is about about rebelling against authority much more than gender expression. Even his more feminine traits feel like more of a statement of what a man is allowed to be.

I don't think he's a bottom and I hate the bratty bottom characterization (he's vers; I can buy bottom-leaning but he definitely enjoys topping).

The last thing he would ever do is sit around pining for someone who wasn't available. I don't think fandom consciously characterizes him as a pining love martyr, but a lot of ship fic/fanon relies on that characterization, so it's very popular.

I don't think he was wrong in Fallen Idol, Commander Pierce, or Bottle Fatigue, but I don't think he's a saint who's never wrong.

I think a lot of his friends treat him badly in the later seasons, especially 8-11, and he doesn't deserve it.

I'm not sure what the popular view on this is these days but I feel very strongly that Hawkeye was raised culturally New England protestant but agnostic.

I think he wants to get married and have kids someday, just not yet, and he probably does eventually.

Of course, my least popular opinion is that he has no romantic feelings for BJ whatsoever.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

I wish he'd gotten a medal! You could get a great storyline out of his attempts to avoid it. Unlike BJ's bronze star storyline, it wouldn't be out of guilt, it would be purely because he doesn't want to be honored by the military.

[stackslip]

Just wanted to say I love your fma 2003 posts. While I do think the original story is more cohesive and stuff, I think that the stuff they did with the 03 show is really interesting and provides a lot of cool angles on the character. It's a completely different story after a certain point with its own merit, and I think that it gives a lot of development to the characters in fascinating ways. I feel like seeing it added depth to my appreciation of the story. There's juicy bits in there that I wish were in the original and I'm just glad they were explored and that I'm not the only one who loves it. :))

sorry i took so late to respond lol

i think the og IS a lot more cohesive and planned out, and more consistent in quality! it's just that i don't think it's much to write home about either. it's a very solid fun shounen and as long as you don't think too deep about its implications, it's definitely a lot better written than 90% of mainstream shounen. and i can see the appeal in that, i genuinely do. i don't think 03 is to everyone's taste, even outside of people for whom og fma is comfort food, for whom even a slight deviation feels Wrong because that's their emotional support anime or whatever. like, i'm a fucking dbz fan always and forever you know? i don't have room to say "why do people enjoy mangahood better, it's so much less mature than 03" bc i still get pumped and emo from super saiyan transformations. i do wish these fans at least would understand WHY one might have frustrations with the themes of the story and what it does with very serious subjects lol

i do think that 03 is its own story but i don't think it's its own story "from a certain point". yes the early anime follows a lot of the manga's story, albeit rearranging it differently. but i'd argue that it's different in essence from the very start. its tone it starkly different from the manga, which is and remains a Cool Mystery Action Shounen. fma 03 from its very first episode leans more into brooding and psychological horror territory, even outside of the extra gore. even the subtle changes it makes early in the story aren't just to change/"improve" or adapt the manga's story, but to set up what they do when 03 REALLY departs from the manga's storyline. ed and al's characters are, i'd argue, leagues away from their og counterparts by ep 10--the flashback and making them go through all that trauma at age 12 really sets up that 15 year old ed isn't a confident shitlord like he is in the og, but a deeply insecure and guilt ridden teenager forced to grow up too fast and hiding his insecurities behind a mask of confidence. al is still kind and polite, but also a lot more ruthless and even more dependent on his brother than the og one is--the sensory deprivation and dysmorphia from the armour is cutting him off from other humans than his brother, and a lot of his own doubts and anguish at his situation begin eating at him to the point that when barry throws out the "you're an artificial person" accusation, al's brain immediately latches onto it because he's been wondering if he's even human for years.

i do think 03 has pits and valleys in terms of quality--but honestly i'm fine with it (bar a few genuinely infuriating decisions such as the transmisogynist serial killer trope in ep 8), it's a 2000s anime that was insanely ambitious and butting against the author and funding, some episodes visibly have a shoestring budget and while it remains thematically consistent you can very clearly see moments/places where the production committe threw in "hey uhhhhhh put in more kimblee he's popular" or "we're not giving you more episodes sorry. wrap it all up in three". do i wish a more consistent version of the show existed, meticulously planned out and with all the time and money in the world they needed existed? yes. would that version have been perfect? not necessarily tbh!

but really, 03 has a number of strong decisions and genuinely genius twists on the og that make it very hard for me to come back to the fma manga without feeling deeply underwhelmed. i like greedling so, so much--i just don't like him enough to not feel really bitter about how lust is treated in the manga. i genuinely love the scene where ed swears he'll get al's body's back at the gate, 10/10 shounen scene--but also, there's the scene ed happily tells al that after digging up their mom's body it turns out the transmutation they did had nothing to do with their mom, and every time i'm like "this is so stupid and i wish they'd kept the failed transmutation homonculi". the absolute heights of fma as a manga never ever manage to hit nearly as strongly to me as 03's does, because og fma will always feel just..... lacking in ambition and in depth, where imo in some aspects fma 03 still hasn't been outdone. where can i find something like the 03's homonculi? how many narratives are there that celebrate a character like scar instead of playing the trope of the Well Meaning Extremist Who Kicks A Puppy? this is a real question btw send them to me immediately i need them.

[i-cant-sing]

When you do publish books one day (because I know you will), what types of books do you want to write? Nothing too specific of course for your privacy, but a general genre or genres. and if you would be more of a ya author or adult, or both. if you don't feel comfortable answering that question since you might be concerned that people might tie you to this account that's also fine.

I personally have my own writing account (which is why I'm going anonymous) and am working to be a published author as well so I'm aware that privacy is a concern in this situation.

hope you have a wonderful day,

best wishes.

hmm im not sure what genre id like to go for because i love everything but i think id like to write scifi or something based on history or anything that involves me doing research. i think i wanna combine multiple genres in a story- so romance, adventure, thriller, horror, psychological, etc. i think as far as romance goes, i wanna try changing it a bit because pretty much most books have straight up 🌽 or some HIGHLY UNREALISTIC scenarios/displays of love (which i get it, sometimes yall just want that). I wanna make people realise the care in simple acts, that not everyone does PDAs or "throws his hand over your shoulder and pulls you closer to him, glaring at everyone to show hiS cLAimmM"🤮

some guys- or the very least, the guys in my head- i want him to be protective "lets you deal with your problems yourself because you're an adult, but when you cant- he's there." and not protective like "he puSHES yoU beHinD hiM anD gROowWWllsss "no onE tOuchEs whATs mInEE" girl be fr if a man growls, im calling the psych ward👁👄👁

also as Muslims and im sure that in most communities, it is forbidden or rare for unmarried/nonfamily men and women to do physical contact, not even hand holding, so i wanna write something that tackles how couples show affection without skinship.

i also wanna write in a way that kind of changes/educates the reader. write scenes that makes u feel like youre right there. you guys should deserve to read something that kind of makes you question yourself, makes you wanna be a better person, makes you see the flaws in yourself and make u wanna better urself.

i feel like theres a lack of realism in book couples these days, and theres just wayyyy too much "infantalisation" of female mcs and how the guys is pretty much rich/rude/mafia/morally grey. its ok to read such books sometimes, but i feel like its the mainstream now.

[antsday]

here,, the spot, what do you think of him

How I feel about this character

I really love him! I think he's got a super cool design and very loveable personality. he's just so silly and a lot of fun to watch on screen, whether he's being pathetic or an eldritch horror

2. All the people I ship romantically with this character

I kind of like Miguel and the Spot together, but im ngl this is almost entirely because i saw a post that referred to them as baguel 😭😭😭 i do think they're really funky together though! i wouldn't say im very serious about it because the spot is one of those characters that i don't think about shipping very much.

3. My non-romantic OTP for this character

this is mostly based off of fanon/depictions in fanfics and art and such that i really liked, but i like his relationship with miles a lot!! i think they'd put a really funny and interesting spin on the mentor/mentee dynamic.

4. My unpopular opinion about this character

i'm pretty mainstream with most of my opinions on the spot, but i guess it's that i have mixed feelings on the movie portraying him as a bit of a joke for the first couple of scenes that he's in. on one hand, it is really funny to watch and it's a great establishing moment, especially in contrast to his transformation throughout the movie. on the other hand, what happened to him was kind of incredibly horrifying (losing your entire appearance, sense of self, family and income and job) and i think it should have been touched on just a little bit more. this might just be a 'me' thing though, and i understand if anyone disagrees.

5. One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

i wish we'd gotten just a bit more of him! more scenes, character interactions, etc. i heard about the deleted scene in which he was laughed out of a bar and then near the end of the movie, came back to destroy it (or something along those lines) and i thought it was a super cool concept. i know it's almost certainly not going to happen, but it would be funny to see more positive character interactions with him.

thank you so so much for the ask! i deeply appreciate it <3

[dotthings]

Phrases like "superhero fatigue" and "audiences don't want high concept" are often code for "I don't like genre." Not all SF/Fantasy/Horror is big budget special FX--it's still high concept. Genre inherently relies on an out-there plot concept as the starting point. What's great about genre is it takes a wild concept and has characters react to it, and ultimately it's about characters. People who don't like genre get fooled by the trappings of genre. For people who like genre, those trappings add to the appeal, they're a feature not a bug, but at the center of it it's about the characters and how that concept is used to explore characters, relationships, society, politics, and other relevant themes. Genre is in fact character driven and theme driven. It is about life, society, feelings.

I wish people would just come out and say they aren't into dragons and superheroes and spaceships and ghosts and monsters and magic and prefer everyday life kinds of stories, instead of perpetuating these assumptions that by default assume that large numbers of people do not love genre. Large numbers of people love genre.

I assure you, genre fans want more genre. And there isn't actually enough. For example, it's pretty much all but dead on linear broadcast. And while people moan about superhero glut and oh no why is there so much Star Wars, there actually isn't that much. There's still a lack of magic and dragons and spaceships and horror in general in media. Genre is still shut out of critical consideration, even when it deserves it. A few things recently have broken past that, and that's good to see, but the bias is still so obvious, while incredible work gets overlooked by critical awards just because it's not mainstream drama about daily life.

[crazykuroneko]

Tbh I think a lot casual viewers / non book fans are probably going to not continue the show after s2 unless it diverges quite drastically on louis's storyline? iwtv is very bleak and I genuinely think they underestimated how much show viewers ended up hating lestat after s1 (and they may end up in a similar situation with armand in s2) and then you're asking the audience to watch an entire season of this guy's whole backstory. plus you're killing off one of the two likable characters by the end of s2 and shifting louis into more a side character.

a big red flag to me was the lady who hosts the podcast who doesn't have a book background saying a lot of the same stuff as show-only people. like she clearly does not like lestat or loustat at all lmao and its literally her job to promote the show.

First, I want to address the "shifting louis into more a side character" because no I don't agree with that. Contrary to fans believe, Hollywood-standard wise (from the number of episodes they are in, how integral their characters are to the story), both Jacob and Sam have been considered as lead actors/cast of IWTV. You can see industry news outlets calling them both as such. But because IWTV is about Louis' past specifically and AMC knew IWTV still has some hope in Emmys even though it's small, they put them in different categories to not split the votes between them (they even only submit one actor in each category for it). So, look at what we have now, Louis is the narrator yet we still get Lestat in all episodes, and he's leading the NOLA narrative forward together with Louis despite not existing in the Dubai narrative. I bet we'll still get Lestat in most, if not all episodes, in S2, because Rolin has said many many times, the show is about both of them. And I expect they'll do the same in TVL season(s); Lestat is telling the story while Louis is leading whatever will be going on in the modern time. (No, i don't believe they'll make Louis stuck on a couch the whole season to listen to Lestat's story even though it sounds tasty. He'd definitely have a way to know what Lestat's saying, but I don't see anything good writing-wise from sticking your well-developed character in one place for such a long time)

About whether the audience will be willing to listen to Lestat's past, I'll see how S2 goes first before judging that. A lot of people don't like him, but there are a lot of them who are like, "I will miss him if he dies, he's an interesting character".

And IWTV is a niche show, its genre is gothic horror/romance. Who the hell is doing gothic romance for a series in this decade? (Hannibal doesn't count, it's not gothic and still about will/won't they). Like, what AMC is doing with IWTV now is extremely daring. And with a niche show, it's always the same: you can't please everyone. There will always be part of the general audience who will leave because either it's simply not their cup of tea or they can't stomach it. Especially now when there's this purity sentiment going so strongly in general (apparently now we shouldn't ship fictional characters, every sex scene has to have a grand purpose, and you shouldn't watch any portrayal of abuse even though it's produced by the victim herself). God forbid IWTV would ever want to please those people yikes. So, IWTV won't ever get as "mainstream" as what, Succession, Ted Lasso, Better Call Saul. But IWTV would still appeal to people who appreciate good writing, people who are "idc how bad the characters are as long as they're exciting!", and people who really love horror (not that "comfort horror" BS) - there's this review of IWTV from an horror website who is like "I wish they gave us more gore and horror of vampires", oh these people would love S2.

So, tl;dr you could say it's a natural selection (hell yes Darwinism), it's inevitable. I'd rather have that audience leave than stay and ruin fans' experience by whining about the plot that won't ever satisfy them. And I'd always applaud writers who don't give a shit to what people say and stick to what they're meant to do. They slay!

EDIT: ah I forgot about this. but don't underestimate the number of old fans who will probably check the show again when the TVL season(s) come. Because no matter how big their hatred for AMC is, it will be the first time ever for TVL to be adapted on screen. First time in 38 years (yes no one considers QotD movie ever existed). That's too big a temptation!

[psychewritesbs]

What do you like about JJK? Why do you like it so much and what makes it stand out compared to other shonen to you? What do you think will happen with Gojo getting freed and Yuji? :)

HOLA!

Ok so it’s 1 am in my neck of the woods and I’m re-watching episode 1 of the JJK anime after watching Chainsaw Man’s anime’s first episode and...

God I love Jujutsu Kaisen...

He’s such a maniac, I adore him.

Word vomit below the cut.

I just don’t even know where to begin about why I like it so much. And to be honest, I didn’t love JJK until after episode 23 of the anime aired which prompted me to start reading the manga.

There was just something that hit home on an emotional level about Megumi upleveling after failing time and time again that really hooked me. 

And to be honest, I think that’s why JJK is so popular and became mainstream... there’s something in the existential struggles of its characters that moves us to the core because we see ourselves in them.

Ah, but since I promised word vomit... without further ado.

What I like about JJK and why I like it so much

Tropes, tropes everywhere!

There's something so fascinating about how, from a narrative and character perspective, JJK uses all the tropes and yet somehow manages to be different. 

I mean... you’ve got the 3-man squad, the white-haired super strong mentor, the demon inside the mc, the psychic warriors... you name it, JJK uses the trope and explores new facets of it by fleshing the trope out.

Something like that...

So to answer your question about what makes JJK different, it’s defo how Gege manages to strike a nice balance between using all the familiar tropes and creating a unique experience.

The plot

Not to mention that the plot feels like a puzzle that you put together one piece at a time. JJK reminds me of another show I love, Westworld, because it keeps you guessing right up until the end because the writers keep throwing twists at you.

Now that I’ve been watching and reading JJK for 2 years, to see the pieces of the puzzle come together is fascinating because you can see how Gege foreshadowed certain plot points.

The characters

First, I have to say that right from the beginning I knew I loved Megumi (this love only grew as I have seen how his character is revealed to us). But it goes without saying that I found most of the characters very human and relatable.

I think this is by far one of the most important factors that sets JJK apart from other manga and anime of its kind.

There’s depth to the JJK characters.

Depth Psychology

Ehem... the obvious one.

Dr. Jung would have a ball watching JJK and analyzing the characters’ respective neuroses (or Gege’s psyche for coming up with such a story). I think he’d especially find Megumi fascinating because of the whole shadow motif, and Yuji because of the stark contrast in personalities (like a split ego).

Also, I can’t quite put my finger on it yet, but the way Gege writes his characters is very focused on Psychology of the ego and how circumstances and trauma affects and drives thought and behavior.

But more importantly, I am fascinated by how Gege’s strongest characters are characters with a strong ego complex.

Maybe someday I’ll write a super nerdy essay that no one will want to read about the ego in JJK...

That said, Gege understands Depth Psychology, which is not to be confused with mainstream Psychology. And when I first noticed the Jungian influences on JJK, I wished JJK would have been around when I was in grad school because all my essays would have been about JJK.

JJK is dark and existential

I think that’s another of the things that makes JJK so different: Even while remaining true to its genre (Shonen), JJK is dark, it’s gritty, it’s angsty, it’s nuanced, it’s psychological... JJK is existential.

It’s not just about Goku and Vegeta fighting to see who is the strongest Saiyan, or Deku wanting to become the greatest hero or Naruto wanting to become Hokage so that he is acknowledged by others--it’s about people like you and me who have to face the existential horror of sacrificing their own lives for the sake of the humans who unconsciously create the curses that haunt them.

AND yet, as we’re seeing in the Culling Game arc, it’s also about how sorcerers like to battle it out because their existence is validated in battle (again, that whole thing with the ego and the strongest sorcerers).

In a nutshell, JJK is not just about a three-man team going on missions, it’s about the experience of facing death in those missions and how it changes the characters in different ways.

What happens to Yuji and Gojo?

I don’t know...

And like I want to cry just thinking about Yuji’s will to live even though his fate was sealed right from the beginning of the story.

Yuji is a kid who knows that he’s going to have a short life and he’s just doing what he can to use his unique powers to save others until that time comes.

Don’t quote me on this because I don’t understand it well, but, culturally, I understand the Japanese have an interesting relationship to “life, death and living” which might explain why suicide is so prevalent as a “choice”.

Again, I’m not entirely sure and could be 100% wrong as I am making assumptions based on having read Ruth Ozeki’s A Tale for the Time Being. The book thematically explores how the MCs learn to value their life and choose life over death and I bring it up because, if you think about it, Yuji and Megumi do not value their lives.

And yet to see Yuji cry and come to realize he doesn’t want to die in the panel above is so heartbreaking because we’re told from the very beginning that he’s going to die no matter what.

In the Culling Game arc (don’t read this paragraph if you aren’t up to date with the manga), you even see Yuji willingly decide to sacrifice himself because doing so would solve so many problems. What is even more poignant is how he seems to be convinced this is the honorable thing to do--so Japanese.

All that to say that, again, I have zero clue about what might happen to him because it really could go either way--he dies as planned because he’s Sukuna’s host, or he lives on because he somehow managed to continue to suppress Sukuna.

I’m going to put my money on the latter because as things are right now...

a) We have learned that the Jujutsu scheme of things are a bunch of creepy dudes who are interested in maintaining the status quo for their own benefit. One of the themes of the story is about Gojo wanting to take down these creepsters who decided that Yuji must die so I wonder where that’s going to go.

b) That said, I wonder if we aren’t meant to think that it’s obvious Sukuna is evil af and the reason Yuji has to die is to protect the general population from Sukuna’s evil. But I wonder if there is another reason why he is being targeted other than being “evil”.

c) I’d like to see Yuji value his life. Megumi has already realized that throwing away his life isn’t necessarily the best idea... but even after facing death, Yuji realized that he wants to live but continues to sacrifice himself to save others. 

And it’s kind of interesting to think that Yuji is scared of not valuing other people’s lives but doesn’t value his own. 

I am not sure if that’s what Gege has in mind for Yuji, but given what we’ve seen of Yuji so far, I’d really, really like to see Yuji choose to live no matter what. I want to see him have the same conviction that he has for saving others, but for saving himself.

That’s another thing I love about JJK by the way, it’s beautifully poetic.

As for Gojo... I haven’t given it much thought to be honest. I think he for sure gets out of the Prison Realm, and I can totally see him sacrificing himself for his students. 

I’ve written before about how he doesn’t have a God complex, but how he can be arrogant. And I do feel like Gojo might overestimate how powerful he is. His downfall might actually be that, contrary to Sukuna who has no regard for others, Gojo cares too much for others.

Anyways. 

Thanks for the ask dear! It was great to think about these things and put my thoughts together. If you’re up for it I’d love to hear about why you like JJK.

[thefudge]

hi i watched piggy because of your rec and !!!! actually shocked at how much i liked it. It made me smile, feel angry & uncomfortable lol. Honestly not a single rec of yours has missed yet. The movie kinda reminded me of things we have in common by Tasha Kavanagh the "serial killer x outcast girl who keeps quiet about him" but "things we have" went a completely different route.

Since i keep taking recs from you (and love your fics) i wanted to rec something too! It's a book called "before she knew" by peter swanson. It's about a married couple moving to a new neighbourhood & the wife realising that the husband of one of her neighbors might be a murderer. They have a very weird twisted relationship & i really enjoyed it. I'm honestly struggling to find books with problematic but well written relationships bcs they're either bland YA or alpha mafia dark romance stuff. Anyways sorry for the long ask but I'm literally so thankful your account exists.

NOT YOU MENTIONING THINGS WE HAVE IN COMMON!!! I ATE THAT BOOK UP!!! literally, it was my personality for a whole month back in 2015. and i really wish Tasha had gone in a different direction with it, but i looooved the creepy & unsettling intimacy between the lead and the killer, and i so need to reread it.

also, i've read a peter swanson before! and quite liked it! i think it was "the kind worth killing", it was well-written trashy fun. i definitely want to check out more books by him, so your rec is very timely!

"I'm honestly struggling to find books with problematic but well written relationships bcs they're either bland YA or alpha mafia dark romance stuff"

SEE, this is why nine times out of ten i turn to fanfic, because books like "things we have in common" are pretty rare in mainstream publishing. i remember last month reading a book called "insatiable" (by daisy buchanan) that promised to explore some taboo themes in an interesting way...and while it was sharply written and i appreciated many things about it, it was ultimately such a let down. no one is doing it like the talented freaks on Ao3 i'm afraid lol. that being said, what i've noticed is that you can find way more adventurous stuff in so-called "literary fiction" than in the actual dark romance genre which feels so tame and boring. like, even indie dark romance is RIFE with boring alpha male shit, and i keep trying to find something decent and always end up with a snooze fest. it's never quuuuite the dynamic i'm looking for. cuz it's not about being super hardcore and dark, it's about the subtleties, the unspoken things, the tenderness and horror of touch. so many of those authors do not want to engage with actual, ugly vulnerability, which i think is essential to a good dark romance (or at least my kind of dark romance).

anyway, i'm so glad you enjoyed Piggy too!!! <3

[trashyslashers]

Can I please ask for a slasher match up? 😇

I'm a female, using she/her pronouns and am interested in both, women and men.

I've got really pale skin (which I love), white blonde shoulder-length hair with the tips dyed dark purple on one side and dark green on the other, a few ear piercings, I'm somewhat curvy (which I'm not insecure about), around 5'5 high and I'm always wearing only black clothing with a gothic/punk/metal/alternative style.

My own love language is words of affirmation and acts of service and from others it's physical touch and quality time.

Meeting new people, being in crowded places and in the center of attention make me really anxious and uncomfortable. Although it's easier if I can rely and concentrate on someone really close to me.

I hate the summer, but love autumn and it's weather, aesthetic and flavours! My ideal day would entirely spend with a loved one ; cozy up inside, watch a movie, cook something together, maybe even bake, take a walk on a typical autumn day, cuddling a lot, listening to music and of course, laughing and enoying the time with them. Otherwise, I would love to do typical autumn activities with them!

I have deep emotions, but they tend to overwhelm me and I struggle with communicating and procressing them alone, which leads me to relying on others (annoying them with it) but also understanding others and the world around me on a deeper level. I believe that's also why I'm so accepting, supporting and open-minded.

I love to help others, I tend to always put their well-being before my own and try anything possible to make it easier for them and take some weight off their shoulders, to lighten up someone's mind and make their worries less overwhelming. To put it simply, I hate to see others suffering and will do anything to help them.

I'm the happiest when the people I love are happy, when someone truly listens to me, my thoughts and feelings.

I'm a very loving, warm and passionate person. I care about the people who're close to me and I will go to great length to help them. Furthermore, I'm ultimately loyal and would never betray or let people I love down!

I hate when people believe they can define or generalize what's normal or beautiful, boring or annoying, typical or effective. All these are personal views and usually I find beauty where others don't, enjoy unusualness and uniqueness and despise mainstream and stereotypical things. Being like everyone else or fitting into some kind of box annoys me so much!

The nightsky inspires and fascinates me, just as much as rain calms me down and fills me with serenity, passion and happiness. Though, my biggest passion is and always be music and I could never live a single day without it, it's like the air to breathe. I especially love (symphonic-,heavy-) metal!

I'm extremely shy, insecure and self-doubting, always believe that I'm annoying those around me. That's why I tend to distance myself and don't speak/act at all, in fear of embrassing myself even more. It helps if there's someone who helps, grounds and understands me in these times! With the right person, I can actually be quite sarcastic. Additionally, I'm terrible clumsy, always bumping against something, falling down or dropping something.

I firmly believe in the power of honesty and wish to be respected and accepted as much as I do show others.

My senses are pretty strong and my surroundings, especially combinated with my social anxiety, sometimes lead me to anxiety and panic attacks, which I obliviously hate and am ashamed of. I struggle to get out of them on my own, but to someone really close to me it's actually not so hard.

I really love watching movies and TV shows. To be honest, I prefer living in fictional worlds and daydreams over the real world. I'm especially enthusiastic about horror and fantasy. About fandoms I love, I could ramble on and on about forever. I'm literally incapable of stopping to talk and ramble, if someone wouldn't stop me, I would probably never shut up (at least as long as I'm really familiar with them, otherwise I'm pretty silent and reserved)

I'm living vegan and I'm really passionate about it! I wish to never ever harm an animal and to treat them with all the love my heart is capable of! If I could, I would help and adopt every single animal and care for them lovingly.

I'm quite clingy and like to be surrounded by everything that's even remotely that of someone who's close to me. If I could, I would spend every minute with them and feel as (physicially and emotionally) close to them as possible.

Here are some random things I love : animals (especially cats!), being physically close to people I love, the smell of a freshly baked cake, pale skin, moving in-tune with someone, people talking with passion and love, inside jokes, fuggy hillsides and landscapes, flowers growing in the cracks of pavements, long hugs, music loud enough to silence everything else, oddities, the purring of cats, thunderstorms, sharing earphones, movie nights, stepping into shallow puddles, open windows at night, freckles, perfectly worn-in combat boots, typical autumn and winter days, looking at the stars, seeing someone else's smile and joy, wavy hair, leather jackets, to feel truly calm and discovering similarities

I'm longing for someone to fall in love with me, accepting and supporting me just as I'm. I'm not easy to get along with and I'm used to feel like a outcast and weirdo, I believe that putting up with me is quite a burden, which I also don't wish to put upon someone. I don't need a lot of people around me, just one fully by my side is more than enough!

Thank you so much! 😊

Anon, I think you'd go well with...

Jason Voorhees!

Your ability to see beauty where others don't, coupled with your empathetic nature and tendency to put others before yourself is what drew Jason to you. The way you so actively seek to make sure those around you and those you care about do not suffer or feel alone is something Jason truly admires as he never thought he'd see such a thing from someone, given how such a person was absent in his life, apart from his mother.

Feeling as if one is an outcast is not something foreign to Jason. He knows - more than most - what it feels like to be fully rejected from society and other people as a whole. Regardless of the reason, it's not a pleasant feeling, and it's one that he can empathize with. In a way, he feels even more comfortable around you once learning that you, to a degree, know how it feels as well.

Words of affirmation are something he experienced very little of in his life time - and once again, what he did receive were only from his mother. The way you so readily tell him how much you care about, cherish, and value him and do so with what he can tell is genuine feeling behind your words stirs something in him he's never felt before.

And he's more than happy to indulge you in what makes you feel loved; he's very tall and very broad which makes it incredibly easy for him to hug, hold and cuddle you. When not out patrolling the campgrounds as he often does, nearly every moment is spent by your side.

Speaking of the campgrounds, it seems you enjoy many nature based things, or at least some. The campgrounds, as well as the cabin, are secluded and isolated, and so apart from the occasional gaggle of daredevils, trespassers, and nosey teenagers, it's just the two of you and the local wildlife. There are very rarely any interruptions in the serenity of the area apart from occasions during the summertime, and Jason wishes for you to be able to find peace in that. The view of thunderstorms over the lake is an incredible sight! Just please, don't get too close to the water.

You're vegan? No problem - although Jason no longer eats, there's plenty of space for at least a garden. Though you'll most likely need and want more than what you can grow there, he'll do what he can do keep you happy. Animals are something the two of you share a mutual respect and care for.

If you need someone to ground you in times of anxiety, Jason is your rock. Although to absolutely everyone else it's the opposite, Jason is able to be a source of comfort for you. He's surprisingly gentle when he wants to be, and he's quick to learn what helps you and what doesn't during your panic attacks, and is very attentive and patient when it comes to you. There's no need to feel pressured to speak when you're with him, but he loves it when you do, especially when you're rambling about what you're passionate about. It could never annoy him, even if he has no clue what you're talking about, and it warms his necrotic heart that you're sharing your passions with him.

Your sarcasm that comes about with your growing comfort is something he finds cute, and Jason definitely frets over you on your more clumsy days. He takes care to make sure your shared cabin (or your personal one, if you so prefer) is safe and that you won't get seriously injured on any sort of misplaced sharp object, or broken floorboard.

He appreciates the loyalty you display, and it's not because he has some sort of mistrust in you - rather, because it's unfortunately a very deep rooted insecurity in him that one day you'll wake up and you, too, will see him as everyone else saw him when he was alive, and how everyone sees him now. The regular reassurance you give him helps quell this on some of his bad days, and while it doesn't do so entirely, he puts his trust in your words.

Honestly, what more can I say? Jason would adore you. You and everything about you would make him feel safe and loved, and he'd strive to make sure you felt the same, with him.

[mickmundy]

wait can you please info dump a bit about animatronics (not fnaf)? i wanna hear what you've got 👀

HOLY SHIT WAIT REALLY...... omg now im so shy....... i mean i have so much...... theyve been an interest of mine since i was Small... i think this also stems from my love of "Unsettling Toys" in general (i collect old rushton/general rubber faced toys from the 20s-80s too)!!! also full disclosure IF i had been a kid when fn*f would have come out i would have been obsessed with it most likely. so no hate to it (but Lots of hate to the piece of shit creator LOL)!

if i wasn't so bad at math i'dve been an engineer.. its my dream to work on them (literally any, not just d*sney, though it sucks how few are left in Mainstream Settings outside of the parks!) because i love their workings and the process of how they're made and operated!! buuut at the risk of sounding like a wikipedia article i won't get into that and i'll do my best to keep it short ! under a cut anyway just because i dont want to be annoying ;-;

mm just a quick tw i will be posting pictures of old/tarnished/out of service anima's below and i don't want to scare anyone! but the tone of the thread is Very Loving so no scary content/facts here! <3

i REALLY love the pizzaria/General Eatery Establishment ones in their heydays (i would have loved to have seen the showbiz pizza palace ones ;-; they are So endearing to me...). theres loots of iterations of the showbiz ones so keeping it brief, i really like the wolf pack 5:

the tropical bear, the wolf in a suit, the sweet-looking fox are all pretty predictable likes for me, but this one specifically is extra cool to me since it was apparently loosely inspired by rocky horror! and aahhh something that i really wish i could have seen was when they had a yogi bear collaboration!! ;-; hana barbara was a massive part of my childhood so combining two interests like that would have probably made my Child Head explode LOL. but look at how cute they are! and how BIG yogi is!! AAHH!! as far as i'm aware these never saw the light of day outside of test runs at just a few small locations, but i would haev loved to see them in motion! ;-;

and of course i absolutely adore the circus world pizzaria ones, OUWAAA ;-; their faces were just too darling! even disassembled animatronics always look so gorgeous to me... look at her dainty golden necklace.. and her little fangs! so beautiful! truly works of art!!!

another genre of my favorites are actually ones that aren't "tied down", too!! the dinosaur at disney world that can walk around the parks was SUPER cool (though ive never seen it in person), but i really love the older ones since i don't think they get as much love as d*sneys and i Firmly believe they have souls and you should treat them kindly because if they dont kill you for being Cruel i will. y__y but anyway!

elsie!! she is SO precious very important to me... if youve known me for longer than five minutes you know i love cows, bulls and bovine in general (and horses... <3) so this one should come as no surprise. her voice also just prickles my skin in just the right way.. its very soothing to me! she was a portable animatronic (but honestly maybe more like a puppet!) that could be operated to interact with guests and was used to pitch borden's dairy products back in the day! here's some choice pictures of her, isnt she gorgeous!! ;-;

of course i could make a whole separate post on JUST my love for the disney animatronics just because they were the ones i readily had access too knowledge-wise. i didn't have internet at home growing up so i didn't find out about a lot of these until way later! ;;-;; or if i just so happened to find out about them through weird Word Of Mouth or "hey dutch you like creepy shit! check this out!" and it would be the most darling sensational little creatures ive ever seen in my life... <3 ANYWAY here are some of my favorite disney ones! quick disclaimer that i am Very Critical of The Rat and this is not an endorsement to the company's past (and present lol) Shitty Behavior!

small world and the tiki room are probably my favorite attractions to this day just because i love the history behind the makings of them and the animatronics themselves; the showgirl birds in the tiki room and the singing flowers... wow! and i could go on and on about the incredible textile work alice davis did on the small world dolls! did you know that its a small world was originally made in support for unicef? and the dolls need haircuts every now and then, too! hehe! each piece of clothing down to the shoes was handmade and while its quite dated by this point in time i can't help but hold a soft spot for it. i'm probably one of the few people who still love the song, too!

i'd additionally like to praise the animatronics for 20,000 leagues under the sea (SO devastated i never got to ride it!); the sea monsters and the legendary kraken!! AAHH!! so very iconic and amazing feats of engineering, especially when grappling with water at the time!! seeing these abandoned and ultimately totally stripped down and tossed in landfills (yes. landfills lol) makes me want to cry. i would have taken all of these little darlings home with me!! ;-; ridethroughs of this are of shoddy quality for multiple reasons, some of which were the fault of poor ride maintenance but it's to be expected given the nature of the ride.

some other ones i'd like to note are the america sings animatronics, who were eventually repurposed into splash mountain background characters (and YES i am glad they are finally retiring and letting princess tiana have her extremely overdue spotlight!! i am SO excited for the new patf ride!!). i think the gators are so handsome!! >//u//< but i also love the details on the hens/chickens. the feathers look so plush and perfectly capture that Cartoonish texture Over-exaggeration SO flawlessly!! look at their "fingers"! so dainty!

ANYWAY SORRY THATS MY THOUGHTS ON THAT i have a lot more that i could go into detail about and more Fun Facts (never ride a theme park ride with me. i will spend the entire time talking about animatronics and Fun Facts) but i won't bore u with them. thank you so much for even asking me this!! this is my first anon ouwaa!! ;;; <333

ALSOOOOO my favorite fnaf animatronics for your troubles. i know nothing about the actual lore nor do i particularly care about it. buuut i feel like i owe it to my inner child since i would have loved this franchise if it had been around when i was a kid (there would be no bigger Insister that They Have Souls!!!!!!! other than me lmao) these just make my brain go brrrzzzwrow!!

IF ANYONE ACTUALLY READ THIS ILYSM ACTUALLY AND I OWE U EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gravityandmomentum]

Rough part about having an overly sheltered childhood is you miss out on getting to be part of your generation's culture. Like I get on Youtube, find videos about 2000's era Cartoon Network from people my age, and they're reminiscing about watching these shows as kids. But I only just watched them for the first time! Ed Edd and Eddy is a good show, but I wish I could've watched it as a wide eyed 7 year old kid instead of as a bored 22 year old adult. I could be watching it now through the lens of "oooh, I loved this show so much as a kid" but all my brain can do with it is reflect on how the characters are likely influenced by gender roles and stereotypes prevalent in the era or something else cynical and academic. I have no emotional attachment or symbolic importance for this stuff my peers grew up with! I can only appreciate it on a surface level! What's the point of trying to get into Courage the Cowardly Dog when I've played every modern era Resident Evil game front and backwards? It's a cartoon with soft horror children can enjoy, but I already know much more intense parts of the genre. Just doesn't have much for a grown adult watching it nearly two decades past the last time it had any mainstream cultural influence.

THIS FUCKER ISN'T SCARY IF YOU DIDN'T SEE HIM AS A CHILD. I WANT TO BE SCARED OF THIS STUPID MID 2000'S CG MODEL BUT I CAN'T.

[animalisticallytimorous]

A dumb first-world-problems ramble from an exhausted autistic chick

I know I don't normally make original posts on Tumblr much, but I just need to vent somewhere I can't be followed. The individual in question doesn't have a Tumblr, as far as I'm aware. I feel like an ass about vague-posting, but my patience has been running thin for a while now. And they're not really a bad person, but I can't exactly confront them about this without things escalating into a fight. And I know this is my general account & not my new 14-exclusive account, but I just need to release some steam.

You ever get those moods where, in spite of your best efforts to tune people out & ignore the bullshit, it can be really hard to keep loving your special interests/hyperfixations? Like, it's one thing when it's coming from random strangers you don't know on the internet. But it's another thing entirely when it's coming from the people you consider close friends.

Specifics under the cut, because it's a doozy:

Shit like this has happened to me before. That's how I fell out of love with old hyperfixations like Steam-Powered Giraffe & the Gregory Horror Show, & even Pokemon for a bit before the siren songs of ScarVi & Legends: Arceus lured me back in. People I considered close teasing me about super niche stuff (in regards to the former two) & saying my taste was garbage or that I was a sheep & a shill (the latter.) And you'd think that, "Huh, maybe if I happen to hyperfixate on something mainstream, I won't run into this issue again, huh?"

Well, imagine finding someone in FFXIV to geek out over some of the more obscure & niche questlines with. Of course, I adore the MSQ! If I didn't, I wouldn't be playing this game!

But it is BEYOND frustrating for me to want to be able to enjoy this game while simultaneously acknowledging its flaws & areas it needs to grow without constantly having the mainstream parts of this thing that I love being trashed by this person I befriended.

My mainstream favs being constantly misinterpreted & treated like garbage? The favs of my other friends getting this same treatment? Having the AUDACITY to try & defend them only to be met with such (paraphrased) lines like, "Then perhaps it's just due to JRPGs being so dogshit at writing. Padding out their stories with such convoluted, needless fluff that means either I'm too stupid to understand or I can see right through the bullshit they're trying to hide through their tangled mess." Surgically nitpicking other Final Fantasy properties I bring up out of my excitement for a Gilgamesh cameo while also bashing Keith Szarabajka's voice work because he isn't the guy who voiced him in ARR? Constantly assuming the worst out of all the writers/localizers & even wishing them IRL harm for doing something with the writing you don't like? Demonizing Naoki Yoshida like he's a monolith responsible for personally slighting you every time you don't like something in the story? Hell, they've stated on numerous occasions how much they outright LOATHE the MSQ and all the main characters! Only the side characters seem to escape their ire.

Half of the time, I can't even talk with this person about the niche things we both share without them inevitably bringing up something to complain about. And I just keep telling myself to not engage, ignore it, & walk away.

But this Twitter QRT has just been the final fucking straw.

So, me just wanting to enjoy this game in spite of its shortcomings makes me a simp for a cliche & unoriginal pile of slop.

Me being both excited & nervous for the upcoming expac makes me a simp.

How the fuck dare I enjoy myself. How the fuck dare I not be miserable & let the shortcomings I have overtake my genuine love of this little thing that brings me joy & helped me make so many new friends.

I just keep wondering why this person even keeps playing if it's only the small bits of side content that bring them any amount of joy? And I can't even ask that because it's rude of me. I can't ask them to tone down the constant harping or being more decisive about picking their battles because, "I'd be telling them to suppress themselves, cutting themselves into pieces to try & not be a nuisance."

The thing is that this person isn't stupid. They're not even a bad person. And I do happen to agree with a lot of their points when they aren't being so outright hostile. They just have social struggles & autism like I do, but in the opposite direction. I'm a meek, heavy masker who represses herself out of wanting to not pick or escalate fights (growing up used to having my words habitually twisted by bullies & authority figures, being a chronic mediator amongst past friend groups leaving me with compassion fatigue), while they've taken the opposite approach & are very bold & outspoken with their opinions to the point of jumping the gun with unintended aggression. As well as the aforementioned, "immediately assuming the absolute worst about of everyone involved in this property."

I don't know.

I'm just so tired of having the little things I like be constantly shat on by people whom I'm close to. It makes ME feel like I'm the idiot with no media literacy for finding joy in these things. That I've been gaslighting myself into thinking that the things I like are actually good or hold any modicum of value. It's been 26 years, & I haven't learned to tune out all the bullshit around me. I'm still so sensitive after all this time.

[princelythirsts]

🌦️💌💘 for the canonical s/i ask!

(the-notorious-sip)

Fleshing out my new idea with Bubba!!

CW: incest / shipcest (I’m his adopted lil bro)

🌦️: Would you be accompanied by mostly fluff or angst fanfics? Both? Explain why.

I wanna say fluff bc the fandom would like to depict us in a pretty cutesy way. I think some people are a bit soft on Leatherface tbh. I think it’s a cute contrast to depict a slasher in a fluffy way. He does have sweet caring moments with grandpa in canon and he has a pet chicken, he’s capable of it, but I wish people went all in with the horrific parts as much as they did with the fluffy.

💌: How would your dynamic be portrayed? What might people focus on most? Any misconceptions?

Tumblr fandom - mostly torn between “ewww incest” and “they have good chemistry so we’re gonna deny that it’s incestuous despite it being canon and just say they’re very good friends”.

A small portion of sickos (affectionate) would love them as is. Incest shippers and people who like the trans 4 trans / supporting each other in gender fuckery parts.

Mainstream horror fandom - redneck incest jokes and probably some ableist shit about how I must be taking advantage of him bc he can’t talk and therefore must not be able to consent. :facepalm:

(seriously, even the normally sensitive / respectful people I’ve seen in the fandom will say shit like “I don’t know if Leatherface can legally consent” because he can’t talk. Despite him being shown doing complex tasks like butchering and taking care of his high support needs grandfather. And more relevantly, demonstrating he can communicate with his family.)