#i mean obviously i dont think it should be that black and white

[bestbuybathroom]

another selection of pins from my lucas pinterest board bc i have nothing else to post really (minor? horror tw for this one + scopophobia)

there was this one image I was gonna put but ill do a separate post for that one bc it gets into like. "ooh hes soooooooooooooooooo fucked up bc of trauma and he like overcorrects his past mistakes" or smth like that

[official-saul-goodman]

This is mainly my observation as a non black person watching the reactions of other non black people and especially white people to the show Interview With The Vampire, they are a result of a fundamental misunderstanding regarding the idea of horror.

in a world of white dominated hollywood horror movies that mostly contain gore and white familial tragedy and abuse, none of which ever ever include the concept of race, misogyny and homophobia, racialised misogyny, and racialised homophobia- people cannot digest a horror tv show wherein the main character is a black man who is always and forever a victim of systematic, social, and microaggressive racism. people, specifically white people, have always been uncomfortable with being shown the extent of anti black racism in a way that isnt heavily sanitised or sympathetic to the white cause. to white people, the genre of horror simply does not include race cause they have not experienced the horrors of colonialist genocidal white supremacist anti black racism. and i highlight anti black racism because it is the subject of the show, as well as being a topic that is discussed vaguely by non black people while still being the most perpetuated form of racism from a global standpoint.

to white people especially, as the people who are responsible for the worst crimes committed against black people, anti blackness is just one of life's constants that should not be addressed directly or in detail, so to depict anti black racism so openly as a part of the genre of horror is incomprehensible to them. they dont want to be shown even a smidgen of exactly the kind of shit their ancestors and peers are responsible for, cause horror to them must just be things that they relate to and nothing regarding race at all cause it causes them to confront their comfortable positions. this is the same reason why you see white people saying jordan peele's movies are 'too hard to understand' despite being very easy to understand.

horror to people of colour is a concept that intrinsically includes racialised violence, its a constant presence like a rusted nail hovering near an open wound. and white people reject this. which is why they decided to degrade and miscontrue the purpose of iwtv and call it 'just another self important show thats racist and not worth watching'. cause to them horror is meant to be enjoyable, they want limbs chopped off not the actions of their white ancestors coming back to remind and haunt them. even though horror is a genre that is meant to fill you with... horror. horror to white people does not include the politics of racism, cause they see horror as an apolitical genre (obviously incorrect when everything and the kitchen sink is political naturally).

to the people of color, it is a moment of feeling seen, to see a main character ( a flawed man a pained man) experience the horror of all round racial discrimination, to see the horror of him being dismissed and exploited by the white people around him, the moment of witnessing yourself in the other when you see Louis and Claudia being so utterly sabotaged by so many forces, the way they are pushed to making irreversible devastating decisions cause they think they have no other choice to achieve an escape from a multitude of things they suffer through, the manipulation and abuse they had to become accustomed to. this is the horror, the horror of being immortalised against your will and lack of choices you were given, the horror of being forced to be subjected to racialised misogynistic and homophobic violence for eternity. being forced to live with all these memories and no means of forgetting. all this while enduring the way a white man belittles them for even suggesting that he might be racist while he expresses racist micro agressions (both lestat and daniel). this is real horror that hits home, horror you want to devour as a person of colour cause you want to see more of this story continue, to see what becomes of this living limbo that Louis, Claudia, and eventually Armand have to go through.

and as most white people cannot fathom this, cannot relate, they dismiss this version of horror that focuses on racism as a core element from the perspective of a black man and forever young black girl. they dismiss the show as just being tone deaf colour blind casting cause they didnt even see the trailer or try to understand this show. the white guilt is a shield they use to defend themselves against the frank and honest depiction of anti black racism from the perspective of a black man. they do not want to understand. they want sanitised, digestible depictions of racism so the horror remains fun for them.

even though this show is literally categorised as horror, and has all the hallmarks of classic horror including the camp styling, the blood, the gore, the supernatural, and the violence - the single fact that the show's core theme is based around racism from the perspective of a gay black vampire man is enough for them to declassify as horror in their minds. cause people of colour and especially black gay men must always be shown as having a good time to dissuade the guilt of white people and their responsibility is establishing the systems that oppress gay black men. speak no evil, see no evil, hear no evil, and the evil is not there anymore.

i may have more thoughts on this that i'll express later but thats all i have for now.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

one of my batfam hot takes is that alfred having a very kind and understanding grandfather-like role is a boring spin on the character and lacks a lot of nuance around his backstory.

like he is a classically trained british butler which means he very likely comes from a working class family. and like, as a working class brit myself, i sometimes find the kindly, well-mannered grandfather thing grating because, a lot of white, working class men his age are unfortunately not nice people. some of them are like my great grandad was a really great guy, but hes really the only one i know who is or was not awful.

because their generation werent as exactly raised with ideals about mental health and emotional regulation. a lot of them were traumatised due to ww2 either because they saw it firsthand when they were like 15, they were old enough to remember things like rationing and the blitz, and a lot of them lost their dads in the war.

i dont expect american writers to understand how much ww2 affected britain (modern britain is still so steeped in it, its insane) and that generation specifically, BUT id love to see that explored more with alfred. like depending on where he grew up, he would likely have been separated from his family during the blitz and sent off to the countryside like most of the kids in cities were, (this is how narnia starts) and like, a lot of them were horrifically abused or used as free labour. a lot of them also lost parents and never got to say goodbye to them. many came back to destroyed homes. some kids also remained in the city or their parents requested them back so theyd experience the blitz first hand and would know the sign of air raid siren meant they might die that night.

you can see how a lot of that generation were permanently scarred. and for a few decades now, alfred would have been part of that generation.

plus he was also a secret service officer which is just like more opportunities to be traumatised and more reason for him to not be this gentle old man whos in touch with his emotions.

and like, as a classically trained butler, he would likely be more reserved because you know, thats how he was trained. also british men that age would also likely be very hands off in regards to emotions.

but the biggest reason as to why the gentle, kind grandfather take doesnt really make sense is that he raised bruce wayne.

like bruce has a whole slew of emotional issues and problems, and obviously some of that is going to come from alfred raising him because you know, thats kinda how that works. i know a lot of batfam folks want bruce to be this great dad, so i guess their take on alfred fits that, but canonically, bruce wayne is an emotional mess and not the best father figure at the best of times.

you cannot look at that bruce wayne and tell me alfred did a good job.

listen, this shouldn't even be a hot take. it's just an opinion that differs from the most popular interpretation of Alfred as an endlessly giving grandmotherly old man.

the thing about Alfred is that more than anything you have to recognize that he's an enabler. and I love the man to pieces, but at absolute best he was extremely negligent in Bruce's upbringing, if not actively encouraging the world's worst coping mechanisms.

I hate to give Gotham credit for anything, especially when it comes to Alfred since I hate their Alfred, but the show was bang on in its insistence from day one that Alfred should not have been Bruce's primary guardian. it's painful to watch how often Alfred encourages Bruce to tough it out and suck it up, and it never really stops. in one of the latter seasons (four, I think) he hits Bruce hard enough to give him a black eye during an argument, and this is ultimately written as a situation in which Bruce needs to apologize to Alfred for being a bratty teenager, rather than Alfred owing Bruce an apology for hitting him when he's a grief-stricken teenage boy cracking under stress.

and like, listen, I understand there are Watsonian and Doylist layers to this. Alfred fundamentally can't have been a good enough guardian to stop Bruce from channeling his trauma into fursuit vigilantism, because then there's no story. I get it.

but jesus christ.

I don't think characterizations of Alfred as a stoic caregiver are wrong, but I do think people don't want to think about how he got there. when I see the aged Alfred patching up Bruce's wounds and nagging him to eat, or doing his best to offer advice to the kids who have gotten mixed up in Bruce's crusade, I see a man who realized a long time ago that he dropped the fucking ball and has dedicated his life to doing as much damage control as possible. okay, so, completely failed step one (raise a well-adjusted child). can we at least make sure that this basket case adult man doesn't go completely over the edge? can we make sure he doesn't become a killer? can we encourage him to take off the mask and be Bruce Wayne sometimes? can we keep the children safe?

I do think Alfred loves all of them, for whatever its worth. his care for Bruce is real, that is his son, the Batgirls and Robins are his extended family. he'll cook their uneaten meals and clean the entire, massive house himself and stitch them up every night forever. he would die for them. hell, he'd kill for them. he loves them. but none of that means he raised Bruce right.

that's kind of the thing I like most about the Bats: they all care so, so much. but the way they love is terrible.

[knightsickness]

general q: how much do you think people factor in race to the way they view Criston on the show? i hope i dont sound ignorant but when i see him i perceive him as a (conventionally attractive) white man, and so sometimes i have to remind myself of asoiaf racial connotations. obviously real life race and ethnicity is much more complicated then this, but in the show it seems like his race is only brought up for gwayne to macro-aggress him. also for context i am brown and very visibly so, so that might affect my viewing of this

superr interesting question thank you. i think part of why it comes up infrequently is bc everyone in the main cast has known him for twenty years and is used to him it would be weird if aemond suddenly mentioned criston being dornish having known him for literally his entire life. much has been made by other people about how rhaenyra assuming he’d be fine with an extra-marital affair reflects in-universe stereotypes about dornishmen i think that was pretty unintentional on the writers’ part but that doesn’t mean it isnt there. i also think criston doesnt consider himself dornish/would like people to forget he is. combination of him not self-identifying as dornish ever, the emphasis he places on him fighting against the dornish incursions, and the decision to have a) lord dondarrion who criston’s family serves be one of rhaenyras suitors b) his main argument for why hed be a good match be about how well-situated blackhaven is to fight against the dornish and c) criston not acknowledge him at all i feel like blackhaven was a not-great place to look dornish. i understand your point about him being white-passing though considering they’ve had several characters see him and immediately identify him as dornish without being told i do think in-universe he is meant to be visibly dornish

given westerosi racial politics in the main series + the rest of targaryen history (racism against dornish people at court a non-insignificant cause of the later blackfyre rebellions, motivation enough for lords to back the previous king’s bastard over a king who had a half-dornish heir) ⬇️

it feels like if anything the greens’ kingmaker and aegon’s hand being dornish when dorne is still considered a dangerous foreign power immediately next to the six kingdoms (+ an enemy of house targaryen specifically) should come up more especially after the propaganda war starts in earnest. though im aware the doylist reason they dont do this is having anyone affiliated w team black saying ‘you’re going to support the greens when one of their leaders is a dornishman? you want the martells to take over westeros?’ to sway racist lords to their cause would make rhaenyra look bad

[thewertsearch]

AC: :33 < sorry to bother you again! AC: :33 < is AC: :33 < um [...] AC: :33 < he available? [...] TT: What is the name of this mystery fellow you seek? AC: :33 < aaaaa youre just teasing me now! AC: :33 < i f33l bad about bugging you about it [...] AC: :33 < i miss pounce a lot :(( AC: :33 < and talking to him reminds me of her

Aw, Nepeta. :(

Still, there are ways to solve this. Maybe Rose could give her the code for Jaspersprite's pendant - or just give him his own computer, like Davesprite's iShades.

You won't need it anymore. It served you well. You suppose there are a lot of things you've outgrown, now that you think about it.

...his own computer, Rose! I said his own computer!

Rose is abandoning her primary communication device. Obviously she has others, but her attitude here is still making me nervous - especially considering how heavy-handed her phrasing is.

Who or what do you think you've outgrown, Rose?

JASPERSPRITE: Did you learn to play the rain rose? ROSE: Not yet, Jaspers. ROSE: It's a little complicated, but I believe I've embarked on another quest, one which surpasses the scope of the objectives local to this planet.

I'm on record as being fully on board with Rose's skepticism about her Quest - but she should be equally skeptical about her new quest. Both are sponsored by suspicious entities with unclear motives, and I'm not sold on either of them.

ROSE: I'm saying there's something more important to accomplish now. Something more important than creating a universe. JASPERSPRITE: Oh thats ok rose i wouldnt want you to feel obligated to do that.

That's a strange sentiment, coming from Jaspers. Sprites generally echo the game's expectations for its Players, so it's odd that a game centered around fate, destiny and temporal obligation would tell Rose that her ultimate goal is optional. After all, she was made to create a universe.

Maybe Jaspers just loves Rose so much that he's on board with her rebellion, even though he doesn't understand it.

JASPERSPRITE: I think that winning this game and getting the prize is up to you and your friends. JASPERSPRITE: You get to decide whether or not you feel its right to do that and what kind of prize you want to make!

Is Jaspers implying that Sburb's prize doesn't have to be a universe? That winning the game can mean something else, instead?

Rose thinks her only options are to submit to the game's whims, or fight it tooth and nail. Perhaps that's a false dichotomy, and it's possible to fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum - some sort of alternate win condition that saves their doomed session.

Perhaps the game has recognized that Rose is a renegade, and it's trying to show her that things aren't so black and white. Maybe Sburb is signaling that it's willing to negotiate.

JASPERSPRITE: Its part of becoming who youre supposed to become i think.

Damn it! Just as I'm starting to wonder if Sburb is more flexible than we thought, it tosses this line at us.

I don't like this sentiment. It stinks of Alpha, and it's exactly the kind of thing that will piss Rose off. She's rebelling against what she perceives to be her destiny - the last thing she wants to hear is that there's someone she's 'supposed' to become.

JASPERSPRITE: I dont know i hope im not being too pushy rose its not my place to be im just your cat! JASPERSPRITE: But the thing that made me how i am now seems to really want me to say this to you. JASPERSPRITE: Your quest is really important for you to do. JASPERSPRITE: Not really because thats how to get the prize. JASPERSPRITE: But because its what you need to do for yourself!

This isn't about the universe, says Sburb.

This is totally bizarre. I thought it was all about the universe, and the game's Players were just the mechanism for creating them. Even the Quests are just extended tutorials on how to terraform planets.

Do the Players have another role to play?

JASPERSPRITE: I love you rose! I always have even when you were a little girl and i was an alive cat. ROSE: Thanks, Jaspers, that's nice to hear. ROSE: It's hard to remember, but I'm pretty sure I felt the same way back then. JASPERSPRITE: It was fun getting to be your cat again rose even if it was just for a little while and also while being a princess ghost. JASPERSPRITE: Bye rose! ROSE: See you, Jaspers! ROSE: If you see my mother in the course of your travels, tell her I said hello.

Alright, let's hit the pause button on the lore speculation. I need to grab some tissues :'(

[strawberryraviegutz]

I feel like this needs to be said but..Am I the only one getting annoyed with the “Ame Chan is a bad person/problematic” discourse?? I’m not just talking about the ppl who’ve been complaining about her character saying they “didn’t realize how awful she was”. I’m also talking about ppl being like “lmao yall clearly didn’t play the game of course she’s a horrible person you’re just now realizing that??”

You don’t necessarily have to play a game to be a fan of it. It’s pretty common for ppl to watch gameplay videos or videos covering the story of/analyzing games and characters if they can’t or don’t wanna play it. Second I dont think we should just look at Ame through a black and white lense. Ame’s not a horrible person but she’s not necessarily good either. She’s a very VERY flawed person who struggles with mental health issues and addiction and makes rlly bad decisions and says rlly mean/bad things.

But that’s like…literally everyone on earth. Everyone has flaws especially mentally ill ppl, nobody’s perfect. It’s implied that Ame was literally abandoned/disowned by her parents so of course she’s not going to make the best decision with a “stable” mind especially if you’re desperate.

Ame Chan does terrible things/decisions like taking drugs on stream and self harming on stream and I think she even killed herself on stream too in one ending(tho feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) which is obviously irresponsible and dangerous. And she says things that aren’t necessarily nice or the best(some of it is warranted since some of the ppl in her chat were saying rlly awful, gross and even misogynistic things and calling her “old”).

And while she only wanted to be kangel for attention online, it’s kinda possible that she’s been able to have positive impacts on her fans/audience. We’ve seen how she is with the younger side of her fanbase as Kangel. She’s very kind and compassionate and overall very sweet towards them. Kangel’s entire persona is revolved around reaching out to lonley ppl online who’re struggling and to make them happy.

She may be doing it only for money snd attention, but like most ppl who struggle with mental health issues, they sometimes don’t realize the positive impacts they’ve had on the ppl around them. Hell maybe deep down Ame made Kangel to also help reach out to ppl like her online and make them happy too.

And as for the whole shotacon accusations, Ame Chan is NOT a shotacon. It was a very bad translation error and we all know that most translators aren’t always reliable(especially Google Translate) so please stop spreading that around. It’s been debunked already.

Maybe I’m biased because while I don’t have BPD(at least I don’t think so), have never taken drugs, nor have I ever cut myself in like a very VERY long time(tho I never left any scars cuz i didn’t like pain)and have an anxiety disorder and am autistic, I still sorta relate to/kin Ame Chan.

I’ve had my moments where I’ve had emotional and or violent outbursts(not where I’ve beat someone up or broke anything)due to a rush of emotion and or getting real worked up/frustrated online and irl.

And it’s always rubbed me the wrong way when I’ve been seeing ppl trying to put Ame into the box of “bad/problematic person” whether you’re trying to defend her character or not. It’s a lot more complex and morally grey than that and I think characters like her being in media are important to lessen the stigma of mental health whether it be in Japan or worldwide.

Feel free to correct me and fill me in on stuff if I missed anything or left anything out but in conclusion, Ame Chan is a not a good person, but she’s not necessarily a monster and or all bad either and I think ppl on both sides should realize that.

[the-nightshade-crypt]

My personal favorite headcanon for Nerdy Prudes Must Die (spoilers, obviously) (I start off with a shit ton of just the actual story before the theory, I'm bisexual and autistic, I'm hyperfixated as fuck and these two are so cute, leave me alone /lh)

Max is obviously in love with Grace. Even if he frames it as just wanting to take her chastity, it's clear that he loves her. I mean, firstly, he defends her from bullying despite her being the nerdiest prude. Max himself says to Pete that nobody is a loser until he says they are, so if Max says Grace isn't one, then she wouldn't be. When she comes over to him in their first scene he asks so fucking sweetly to carry her books, like, batting his eyelashes and such a sweet voice. And when she declines he resorts to his mean bully self.

Grace very clearly does not love Max back. Despite her sexual fantasies, and even the lyric "I think im loving you more than I should" in Dirty Girl, she doesn't love him. Cause that's all they are, fantasies. In Dirty Girl she makes it very clear, with her saying multiple times "I don't/won't care about you". And its clear she doesnt want him to like her either, since her fantasy Max specifically asks her to "love me like you dont care." Showing that she really just wants him so she can give in to her temptations. She only sees him with lust, a symbol of her "sinful" desires. A symbol she wants to get rid of by any means to stay pure.

When Max decides to kill Steph first, he screams "you fucking Judas", which causes Grace to show up and shout "So you do know the Bible!" She then follows that up with "I used to have a crush on another guy who rose from the grave. But Jesus never threw a football like you max!" Despite her saying "crush" I fully believe she didn't mean it that way. She just needed to get him on board with her plan, and she knows how he feels about her.

She finally gets him to leave Steph and Pete alone and they have sex. When she comes back, she's smoking a cigarette and states "I needed that." Max comes out from behind the the wall and gets on his stomach, kicking his fucking feet like a tween girl writing self insert fanfiction, and says "Hey, uh, Grace? Where you going? Don't you wanna cuddle a little bit?" This line alone proves to me that he's in love with her. Compared to someone like Ted Spankoffski, who would never do something as romantic as cuddling after sex (at least not with anyone besides the girl he loves), it's obvious that Max has real feelings...

Only for Grace to say "Oh Max. I just gave you a gift. A very special gift. In fact, I just gave you what I cherish most. My chastity." Not only did she successfully fulfill what the Lord's in Black demanded, though we all know they didn't like that Pete or Steph didn't die, she also got what she wanted... to give into her sinful sexual urges.

With Max screaming that it was worth it, and him gone into the black and white, Grace becomes almost addicted to the power of the Black Book. The end of the musical is her taking over Max's role to kill the people she deems deserve it, in her case, perverts.

Now, my actual theory is that since Grace is directly connected with the Lord's In Black, she can freely go to the black and white, similar to how Miss Holloway seems to be able to. With Max in the Black and white... I like to think he's still actively pining for her. Whenever she visits to talk with the Lord's he's just kinda watching and trying to flirt with her and she's just completely over it. It gets to the point where even the Lord's are irritated. But slowly Grace starts to find his flirting charming. Realizing that since she is working for the Lord's in Black, effectively denouncing her Christianity, there's nothing stopping her from finding someone attractive, or wanting to be with someone. Their relationship at this point might stay as mostly sexual, but she is falling in love.

Maybe she makes a deal with the Lord's to bring him back to life, or maybe she's into fucking ghosts and just asks for that idk but the point is... I like thinking that with her doing the Lord's in Black's bidding, she can see max and actually get to know and fall in love with him.

I just really love the idea of Max being a lovesick himbo babygirl, only for Grace to reject him and be an asshole. But Max is a hopeless romantic who finds it hot that Grace is mean to him and he doesnt take it to heart. He's desperate for a positive relationship, seeing that he says his dad calls him a cuck and is very clearly emotionally/verbally abusive at best, and it kinda seems like Grace wants to be adored by someone, the same way Linda Monroe does.

They are in love your honor

[spagheddiesquash]

so today i was in the mw oc server talking abt some stuff i noticed about jawbone (+ some other theory stuff as well!!)

so first of all. two kind of obvious details:

he is green (“yeah no shit sherlock” i hear u thinking. trust me there is a reason why im pointing it out)

his pupils are triangular. nobody else in the show so far has had triangular pupils. (well. i mean commander tezzoree’s eye has a triangular pupil but she hasnt made an appearance in any episodes yet and i doubt the two characters are connected)

just making this point known for now. we will hold this thought for later in the post.

another thing: so in the ref sheet of him posted to the mw tumblr back in september i believe(?), his name is written as “jawbone (a.k.a. scythelord)”

you know where a character by the name of “scythelord” has shown up already?

on a wanted poster, thats where!! he has a bounty on his head!!!

which means that tyneen and her crew are probably after him, which probably explains why they’re at the thicc chicc casino. (how do i know jawbone is there? because ricket is there, which i know because he is shown interacting with both shrike and tyneen, who we know are both there)

now. remember that thought from earlier that i told you to hold until later? now is the time to bring it back.

ok so. we already know that colors and shapes each have their own respective significance in this show, and colors and shapes are chosen deliberately.

with that said:

correlation?? maybe???

ADDITIONALLY:

this further cements my belief that ep 4 will have a LOT in it regarding the cataclysm or some other related thing. why?

(2nd pic comes from the VA application doc. unfortunately i dont have any better quality pics of it)

despite the poor image quality in the second pic, you can still tell that both of these characters have some sort of magenta (or pink i guess?) type of theming going on in their designs.

also if we look at campions, like, the flower

you can see where im trying to go with this idea.

i did a whole bunch of examining colors today in light of this, actually!!! quick fun fact for those unaware: RGB and CMYK invert into each other.

and then after i made that image i started sorting things into what colors they are. (white and black have been omitted from the screenshots simply because there doesnt seem to be any significant things tied to them)

obviously this list is probably incomplete and i will continue to add to it, of course.

(my main inspo for even thinking about CMYK for theories in the first place was @toastedclownery btw!! GO CHECK OUT THEIR BLOG IF U HAVENT ALREADY THERES SO MANY COOL THEORY POSTS THERE!!)

one final not-as-relevant theory that’s really more of a prediction: i really think joel vargskelethor is gonna be in this upcoming episode, whether it’s in whole or in part. i mean, he already voiced the duende in ep 3, so it’s not like its impossible or anything. also “scythelord” happens to be the name of joel’s band as well (which you should DEFINITELY check out if ur into metal!!!!! absolutely amazing stuff) OH OH AAAAAAND

id like to direct your attention to the title of this update, which is “the bone zone,” which i believe to be a skeleton metal reference.

also jawbone/scythelord has the little sweden viking helmet thing on the wanted poster. AND HES GREEN! LIKE FREN!!

for those who dont know, this is fren (also known as vargfren i think)

so yeah. these evidence pieces combined with the fact that zeurel has made dozens of “vargskelethor animated” videos (which is how i got into zeurel’s animations in the first place actually!!) are what led me to make this prediction.

anyway, i hope you guys liked this theory post. it’s not an update on the web, but i figured id try doing something new. though, if youd like to see the web, here’s a view of the full thing currently:

but yea thats all i really had. ill reblog with some additions if i think of anything else. bye for now!!! :^D

[just-sp-in-inginthevoid]

Flowers in Brahman (and what flower could have been Takeomi’s)

The easiest to figure out are the cherry blossoms for Senju; they’re easy to see since Senju has a close-up wearing her uniform and her image color is cherry blossom pink.

In Japan, cherry blossoms symbolize optimist, the fleeting nature of life and is a symbol of death and rebirth. Although it doesn’t seem official, cherry blossoms are Japan national flowers and have a great importance in their culture, Hanami being the best-known example.

For Wakasa and Benkei, since I’m not an expert in flowers I did my best but I might be wrong.

Wakasa seems to have camelias on his sleeves. Although red camelias symbolize love (in both the western world and japan), this is not what Wakui was going for with it. In Japan, camelias are known for their ‘noble death’ since they seem to behead themselves when they die. Yoshitsune no Minamoto born Ushiwakamaru (the irl man and myth Wakui based Wakasa on) is believed to have committed sepukku after being surrounded by enemies – sparing himself an honorableness death.

Benkei may have chrysanthemums. In Japan, they symbolize ‘imperial’ is they’re yellow or ‘truth’ if they’re white, they’re also a symbol of the imperial family. Something that should also made a nod to the irl Benkei who is said to have fought Yoshitsune’s enemies (while he was committing sepukku) and who was Yoshitune’s retainer; and chrysanthemums are also known to symbolize loyalty.

As for Takeomi, who has a dragon (or two)…

The reason behind that is that he can’t let go of Black Dragon and unlike Wakasa and Benkei he sees Brahman as that – Black Dragon but under a knew name and without Shinichiro to guide them. Still, if he didn’t, what would have been his flower?

Obviously it’s only a speculation, a supposition, but I think hydrangeas would be a great candidate. First of all, they symbolize pride, and second, they represent the rainy season and, well, ‘Rain Bringer’. Hydrangeas need a lot of water as well (‘hydrangea’ means ‘water vessel’ in Greek and ‘ajisai’ means ‘water drinker’ in Japanese).

Various websites don’t say the same thing about hydrangeas meaning in the western world so I can’t talk about it without thinking I’m wrong but one thing is sure – they symbolize heartfelt emotions, whether they be positive (gratitude, love, perseverance/patience…) or negative (arrogance, boastfulness, cold-hearted…). Some says that blue hydrangeas represent feelings of remorse and apologies but also deep gratitude and understanding. It can also be used to express regret and ask for forgiveness.

/!\ EDIT /!\

I most likely got it wrong !!! Benkei's flowers are lotus flowers, not chrysanthemums !

Meaning : purity (of the body and mind), chastity, and a whole other bunch of spiritual things (such as pink lotus flower symbolizing Buddha)

I guess it can fit irl Benkei since he used to be a monk?

Edit 2:

I dont know anymore

[requiemsystem]

To preface I am heavily autistic and this may not make sense. Please do not take this negativity but it is about your alter race post;

Race is only real in social terms, but outside of that, there is ethnicity and culture and that is what makes a person. Race is not a thing otherwise. There are no differences between any race biologically. The differences we see (hair texture, melanin) is called clines.

You can be bodily white but grow up with a black family; different culture. But it’s your culture because it’s your family.

What about introjects of people who you have known personally? People who are different from you? Obviously they are not the person, but a fragmented piece.

Your brain does not take race into account when introjecting someone; whether it be a real person or not.

We have an alter who is an introject of a very close southern white friend. He doesn’t take into account his race and ethnicity being different from ours. He acts differently though.

He does not think about his race, but if we were to imagine him, he is white and southern. Just like our friend.

Are we not allowed to draw him as who he is?

Introjects should not speak over the voices of others but to say alter race is not real only makes people hateful. People have different experiences. Humans are complicated. Living is complicated. Culture is complicated.

i mean like yeah introjects cant control their source and alters cant control their appearances, nobody is saying they can, but that doesnt make alter race real. all alters are the same ethnicity as the body because that is what you experience in the world, introjects are not actually their source so they do not actually have the experiences of their source. if an alter looks different than the body thats fine but dont describe them as a different race, just describe them using their features or something, because theyll never know the experience that comes with being that race also, just because there is no genetic difference between races doesnt mean they arent treated differently in society. yes, race is a social construct, but it still has massive societal implications, and ethnicity and culture are still real - grey

[its-tortle]

it wasn't a hate speech, I wrote about it, I'm sorry that something offended you.

ok, I'm bad at writing. try again. short version - why of all social things its a transgender people? you write (I wrote same) you have no self-interest other than equality. You write about Ukraine one time, you write about Israel one time. You know what I mean?

I mean, you like Taylor - you post about Taylor a lot. You post cute gay couple a lot - because you love it. And from social - you post a lot about trans. Only trans you post a lot.. More than about women rights or bisexual people. Why? :-) You are a woman, you are young, you have your own life, friends. Why you dont speak about this.

I'm asking this because I don't know any trans people in real life (like you as I know) other than tiktok, yt. but I know people of all orientations. my governem doesnt have enough money for education and medicine. I mean that everyone simply has problems. but you write about them. I don't have a problem with them, and neither do you.

I just don’t understand why so many posts on tumblr about trans rights, especially from people who are not in the trans community at all. So yeah, the short question - why trans?

(you don't have to reblog at all about anything, but you reglog about trans. and yeah, if its a post about hp you only write on tags jkr on negative part)

hi! sorry it took me a moment to get to this, and sorry that i misunderstood your ask in the first place. it's a valid question, truly, though i'm not sure i alone am able to give you a full answer for it.

there's definitely a number of reasons as to why trans issues seem to be disproportionately represented on my blog and many others, some of those reasons are personal and some of them sociopolitical.

the first and maybe most obvious personal reason is the simple one of queer solidarity. i'm bi, i've dated women, and that makes me part of a larger group that is as diverse and colorful as it is littered with a history of prosecution. trans people are very much a part of that collective, and i want them to feel as supported as they have made me feel when i've met them at gsas and pride events and fandom spaces. while i don't relate to their issues exactly, their overall struggle against the cis heterosexual matrix still connects with me. we're all under one umbrella.

also (and maybe this is where a bit of the sociopolitics comes in) trans people are one of the most immediately and publicly threatened groups within the lgbtq+. while so many other sexualities and identities are obviously affected by current events and politics, the queer hate spread in right-wing politics these days is specifically anti-trans. i'm half american and have grown up in western europe, and the impact of this hate mongering is felt in my own communities. while i know most about us and some uk anti-trans politics, i know the sentiment is more widespread than just those places. it feels like one of the most urgent queer issues right now.

and because i am queer and because i am western, the algorithm and the news and the people i follow on social media are posting about this anti-trans rhetoric. i don't think i ever deliberately seek out trans supportive content, but it's what i see on my feed/dash, so that's what i reblog. if i saw as much disability support or ukraine support, etc., i would reblog that too.

sure, there are things that i don't reblog that i maybe should, but again, i'm not here to be an activist and i don't like reblogging content about issues i'm not fully sure/educated about. the palestine/israel issue, for instance, is so much more complex than 'trans people deserve to exist', so i'm not as comfortable hitting a quick reblog. not because i don't care about it or because it's not on my mind, but because it's not as black and white and i don't feel like a worthy informant. i talk to my friends and my parents about it, but i don't need my incomplete opinions to be posted publicly online.

and i know i keep saying this, but i'll say it again: i am not here to be an activist. there is a definitely a conversation to be had here, and maybe i should be doing more, but i also resent being made to feel like i have to weigh in on every world issue because my silly little blog about queer tv shows and taylor swift has 1k followers. i reblog what resonates with me, i reblog what i understand. i want this blog to be a happy place.

[anadrenalineslut]

i watched this video online of this black middle aged woman talking about how many young people online haven't had the chance to challenge their politic yet and it really resonated with me because i think it explains some of y'all behaviors online and in real life.

sure, you say you want everyone to receive housing and free food and clothes and not want for necessities but what if you're constantly dealing with bigotry? because the poorest populations ARE the MOST bigoted. it's that way by design. she was talking about being called the n word and abused left and right verbally and how she had to really ask herself, do i believe this person deserves my help? this person who is mean and angry and trying to exert power over me in any way they can? for her, the answer is yes.

and i have heard many of my friends say things like "if i was dictator, I'd do things right" or "i don't understand how people can disagree with my opinions, they're just objectively the correct ones to have" re the bigotry right.

but ask these same people would you allow someone who calls you slurs to eat food you bought and prepared for them and suddenly, they're sounding very conservative.

the truth of the matter is a lot of you guys politics are dependent on people being the "right" type of human. that's why some of you have no problem getting ON THE INTERNET and admitting that you'd like to see white people die for not caring enough about your problems or causing your problems in the first place.

your politics aren't actually progressive. it's NOT progressive to believe that only the people you think deserve it should have access to life, housing, food, and all their rights.

yeah, obviously, it's fucking easy to help out people who behave in ways you find socially acceptable but there's a lot of people out there who behave in ways you DON'T find socially acceptable, see your reaction the people at the dnc being mean to palestine protesters. in fact, the MAJORITY of society, if you're truly a leftist, doesn't act in ways you find socially acceptable. what differentiates a leftist from a conservative is their willingness to help EVERYONE, even people they dont like, achieve basic comforts and dignity in life.

a lefist would rather house everyone, even if it means MOST of the people that get houses are bigoted, because they know it's not right to tie your right to housing to how moral you are as a person. a conservative only wants a world with people who think and act like them to have basic rights and a good life. everyone else deserves to suffer for their sins.

[cartoonrival]

Nrto/Brto for 3 10 & 17?

bro literally the wider naruto fandom sucks so bad idek where to begin

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

i dont have a specific example so instead im gonna give a general gripe about a trend that ive seen in many takes over time

the black and white thinking and refusal to think for half a second about characters other than ur faves Reminds Me Of Something!real ones know. the way people talk about any character with any sort of greyness to their morality kinda makes me crazy and i lowkey think ppl bring up kishimoto TOO MUCH in their discussion of the storys themes bc while obviously like its important to talk abt WHY he wrote it the way he did esp wrt nationalism and all, i think also it sort of dulls ur ability to think anything complex about it if u blame everything u dont like or think was "sloppily done" on kishimoto. judging every character based on kishimoto's morals instead of their own if that makes sense? its not like "the wrong way to do things" i just personally find it really boring when thats the only way youll look at a text. like no wonder you guys are constantly making jokes about how naruto sucks and you'd never recommend it, you wont even allow yourselves to think about the story as its own piece of art beyond just "kishimoto wrote it this way because he sucks" like do you ever think maybe youre killing some of the fun of media analysis... i think its why so many people hate sakura or kakashi or itachi or anyone else. and this always comes out in the way ppl characterize bc theyre like Um I've Fixed Them :) and then its the blandest shit ever because you absolutely refuse to work even slightly WITH the story you claim to love, only fighting tooth and nail against it.

some examples of what i mean w this: basically any conversation about itachi that tries to categorize him as either good or bad. basically any conversation about sakura that tries to do literally anything or nothing with her. people making sns blandly romantic as if the insane and inventive ways they talk about their feelings for each other in canon isnt genuinely part of what makes it so maddeningly fascinating and awesome. anyone who thinks kakashi is a bad teacher. its just this refusal to meet the characters where they are and think of anything in terms of the text itself rather than exclusively in a meta way, ie "this is how it would be if it was good." no its not. you just made it how it would be if it was bland and obvious. dont you literally think the fact that the guy writing it was accidentally writing his characters to be struggling against the same shit that he was struggling against irl and struggling to keep Out of his writing is like. wildly fascinating and part of waht makes the story intersting to pick apart. but ok. this also applies to aspects of boruto primarily sasusaku and naruhina marriages. no one gets it like i doooooo

10. worst part of fanon

everybodys always shipping kakashi with someone and its never even guy. if youre gonna ship kakashi it had better fucking be with guy bc theres gen srs no one else he would be caught dead romancing with and i cant even see how you could read any of his other relationships as romantic. he doesnt even HAVE a relationship with iruka. i get that not every ship has to have canon support but its all either 1) literally not even interesting to think about or 2) what they have actually going on is way more interesting but see my response to question 3. its the same with gaara honestly the more i think about it the more annoyed i get about the ignorance surrounding just-short-of-canon aroace gaara ToT like if u didnt know then ok... but you should learn because its awesome. i just thinking the shipping culture in the fandom is annoying like everyone has to be shipped with someone and that seems to come before their genuinely interesting relationships. and those genuinely interesting relationships are sanded down into something normal. idk this is a gripe that goes w Many Many fandoms but i feel like w naruto its particularly bad largely on account of See Previous Answer. ppl are like "its written this way bc kishimoto is homophobic i will fix this" then they make it suck because shockingly ik kishi actually wrote a good as fuck story if deeply flawed

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

ill be fr i dont gen seek out fics or art independently to be 100% sure that stuff i'd be looking for isn't out there somewhere. but i think ppl really really should just. think about sakura more. i literally love her sm but ppl won't think abt her beyond either 1) she sucks and i hate her (but this is because of kishimoto's writing and has nothing to do with me! if i rewrote naruto then she wouldn't be there 😌 this is a kindness to her and not because i cant be assed to think about a woman for 5 seconds) or 2) girlboss!!!! like.... is that scene in the land of iron not BIBLICAL to anyone else....??? is her devotion to someone she's lost faith in out of loyalty to someone she loves and is losing her ability to understand not FASCINATING???? TO ANYONE ELSE???? IS THE WAY SHE PICKS UP THE TRAITS OF HER TEACHER THAT HE SPECIFICALLY IS NOT MEANING TO PASS ON TO HER NOT HEARTWRENCHING???????? you people suck. instead you write ooc sns over and over and draw kakashi without his mask kissing fucking obito

[getwoold]

still losing my mind a bit after that bacon stream and i need to get my thoughts out so 👍🏼 hi guys

i really like the way 3ht, especially bacon, went about talking to zam yesterday. and i dont really understand the people who were saying they were manipulating zam because.... they just weren't? obviously 3ht can be manipulative (mostly bacon and planet lol) but they were being really honest and straightforward with zam this time around.

they told zam what they think of the prison as people who have already been trapped in one before, and what they think the rest of the server will think about the prison. 3ht were talking to him and giving advice based off of their own perspectives and experiences. as viewers we know more about zam's pov than 3ht do, but that doesn't mean what they're telling him is manipulation, it's just bias.

they honestly just laid all their cards out on the table for him in that stream. the offer for him to join their team still stands! it always has, ever since they first offered to take him in after he betrayed team awesome. they weren't trying to manipulate or pressure him into joining them either, they simply reminded him the offer is always there. it's just the truth that if he joins 3ht, he'll be with a more open and honest team than if he remains with eclipse. they even told zam their goals on the server: stay alive, stay safe, and make the server fun. they don't hide things from each other, that's just the kind of team they are.

he was told he could join the anti-exploiters as well, but he'd have to work with mapicc. and he said no to that and it was fine! they didn't try to pressure him into joining anything mapicc is involved in.

zam's prior experiences from being on team awesome have shaped how he sees teams on lifesteal a LOT. neither TA nor eclipse were entirely honest with zam. and because of the way he left TA (by betraying and fighting them) he didn't even see leaving peacefully but still remaining friends with subz and vitalasy as being an option! he's in a similar situation with eclipse now as he was in before, but team awesome and eclipse are not the same. he doesn't have to part ways with both teams the same way. and he needed 3ht, a team who are extremely communicative with each other, to remind him he CAN leave on good terms.

they were firm with zam, but not forceful. he got to write signs and let his thoughts out, and in return 3ht offered ideas and solutions that he could accept if he wanted to. the only time they were forceful with zam was when bacon told zam he had until tuesday night (the next eclipse meeting) to make a decision. and honestly he needs that!!! a clear deadline to make a final decision, because otherwise he might never decide, and nothing will change for him.

ultimately 3ht can't force zam to do anything, and they aren't trying to. they aren't going to make a decision for him, and they aren't going to wait around forever trying to help him while he just goes in circles (hence the deadline to make a choice). but they can share their thoughts with zam and encourage him to do what him happy. no matter how much he cares for subz & vitalasy, he won't be happy if he stays with them and he knows it. that's why it's great he got to talk to people with such a healthy team dynamic, because they understand how teams should work and even if he doesn't join 3ht, they still reminded him it's not all black and white; he doesn't need to stay with eclipse and be unhappy, but he doesn't need to leave by betraying them either. he can amicably part ways, remain friends with them, and if he chooses to do so, he can join 3ht and finally experience what it's like to be on a team that's completely open and trusting :3

[willel]

If Will was mistaken for El and there was nothing intentional going on about him then i am going to say Will is a pretty irrelevant character in the story. Because what is his role exactly, being an accidental victim that Vecna decided to use at some point? And i guess he is gay and will be accepted or something. I think that is like the most boring character and narrative ever, especially bc his story never gets focus ever at all. I dont know why they would leave this for s5 at all.

Please reread the post. I'll screenshot the relevant parts.

I believe Will's circumstances is all of these things. I don't see how Will would suddenly become an irrelevant character just because he wasn't the original target.

If he was just mistaken for El for a split second on the road but discovered to be someone else, that means it took Vecna/Henry 0.5 seconds to change his plans and incorporate Will into them instead.

If he was mistaken for El for the entire chase and kidnapping and wasn't discovered to be someone else until he was taken into the Upside Down, that means despite knowing he wasn't El, Vecna had the Demogorgon chase Will down for an entire week. A seemingly easy task given what we saw the Demogorgon do in S4 and yet it took it an entire week to track him down "safely" for capture.

If he was mistaken for El for his entire kidnapping and wasn't discovered to be someone else until he actually caught by the Demogorgon, that still means the Demogorgon, despite its claws and sharp teeth which it will happily use on anything that moves.... "decided" to not harm Will in any way shape or form and gently posted him up on a library wall for the tentacles to have him.

It seems like people are looking at this in black and white like "It was completely on accident and a complete coincidence" or "it was completely on purpose and entirely planned out from the getgo."

No, right now I believe the Demogorgon was tracking down El that night and mistakenly confused Will for her at first. It perfectly parallels the rest of S1 where Hopper is chasing down El the entire time thinking she was WIll.

BUT THAT ISN'T ALL. Even though he might've been mistaken for El at first, I think the Demogorgon/Vecna realized he wasn't and STILL had an interest in Will because he is Will. I think there is something about Will that is close enough to El (or potentially more suitable to whatever he's planning) that made Will a valuable asset.

Even if him running into the Demogorgon was a wrong place wrong time situation, I think Will would've attracted the Demogorgon eventually anyway. If the Demogorgon was tracking El and already mistook Will for El once, then of course the potential for that to happen any time of day was very high. Their house is literally smack dab in the hunting zone. We saw it chase Joyce multiple times while she was just chilling in her home. Will likely would've always been a target.

Not only that, the fact that his kidnapping and capture was somewhat purposeful has already been proven thanks to S2. Even if you're someone who believes what happened to Will in S1 would've happened to anyone and it was a complete and total accident.... there's no way you believe everything that happened to him in S2 was also just a coincidence and an accident.

To me, in writing, whether it's the villains or the heroes, they should be able to adapt their plans when the need arises. If an easier way to accomplish the same goal pops up, then you should take it. If you find a shortcut, take it.

If you find a kid who is strangely similar to the one you were already looking for who is also strangely similar to you and seems to have some kind of potential spark........... then why wouldn't Vecna kidnap Will?

I mean, obviously he still wanted El but life gave him lemons in the form of William Byers so it only makes sense that he'd make lemonade out of it.

Did Vecna plan to kidnap Will the moment he escaped from the Upside Down? No I don't think so.

Did the Demogorgon/Vecna intend to run into Will that night on the street? No.

Did the Demogorgon/Vecna intentionally chase Will all the way to his house and kidnap him into the Upside Down even after realizing he probably wasn't El? Absolutely. We saw the Demogorgon chase Joyce at least 3 times or something. Compare those chases to the Demogorgon chasing Will through the woods, to his house, through a locked door, and then all the way into the shed....?

I hope you can see how it's a mixture of "happy" coincidence and intentional fluid plotting?

Even if this were all a complete accident in season 1, it's not an accident anymore. I still find the narrative of a kid getting wrapped up in a plot way bigger than him and suffering for no apparent reason compelling. It's that juicy eldritch horror stuff y'know? So it's still entertaining for me.

[neotrances]

went to txttletale's tumblr and they seem to have apologized for it and understand what they did wrong? i know that doesn't mean you or anyone else has to interact w them or forget it wholesale but i do think they get why they made a mistake. obviously the main issue is how persistent and relevant racism and dismissal of racism perpetuated by white lgbts has been and continues to be and im not intending to detract from that discussion, but i think people should be able to learn things and grow from them otherwise we can never expect them to change. i don't think it's completely fair to keep dragging txttletale in perpetuity when they seem like they're trying to be quieter and educate themselves now by deleting their reblogs and sharing a more informed one. idk just my take on it, i hope you have a nice day

and u can unfollow and block me bc idgaf, i don’t accept the apology, if she grows from this good but it shouldn’t have taken a full day and over a hundred bloggers telling her off just for her to give in and listen when another white blogger explained it to her despite the black ppl around her telling her over and over she was being racist and disrespectful, this is my blog im gonna talk about what i want to and if that bothers u u can leave, i for one dont take misogynoir lightly, and i’ve seen more than enough screenshots of what she was doing and how she was talking to black users on here trying to educate her to know i don’t trust the bitch, go follow her if u want to don’t defend her in my inbox bc u are talking to a wall, one day yall r gonna realize coddling these ppl and telling people of color to “back off” when these people get racist is apart of the problem, they contribute to the harm we face, i don’t care if my words make them sad, their behavior gets my people killed