#i understand that the logic underlying it is very flawed

[lesbiannieism]

all the jokes about logan not knowing what a kilometer is reminds me of when i (an american) was on the swim team in high school and we would go to other schools for meets and pretty much every school had a 25 yd pool because that was the standard length but there was this one school that had a meter pool for some reason?? and 25 yds and 25 meters are pretty similar so it was about the size of a normal pool BUT whenever you swim you get an intuitive feel for the size of the pool which is especially important when you’re doing backstroke because you have a stroke count between the flags and the walls so you know when to turn over to flip. so when i was doing backstroke during warm ups i rammed my head into the concrete wall really hard because the pool was just a slightly different length than i was used to </3

[magebunkshelf]

*pounces on your tail* Hellooooooooo- (i need to figure out a nickname/title for you like the others)

I have a few random 1-in-the-morning questions I've been mulling over lately- (you don't have to answer all of them if it's too much!! ^w^)

You know how in Minecraft there's spots where you can see ruined Nether portals in the Overworld? And it looks like the Nether's bleeding into the world? Is there anything like that in Respawn?

If your characters walked in on their Listener playing Just Dance, who do you think would be most likely to join in?

Does the sky glitch in the Plane? Like you're just watching a cloud drift by and something just- twitches.

Do you have an idea of what your Sona would like or is it just the same as your Vtuber model...............?

What's the best tea you ever had?

-🖤🐈‍⬛

Ack my tail!

Q: Respawn pt.1

So there's no Nether equivalent on the Plane, no other worlds or dimensions etc. There are however all sorts of strange structures in the world. Minecraft tries to tell a story of a world healing after ancient calamity, and it has things like ruins in its terrain generation because otherwise they wouldn't appear in your world.

The Plane is ancient. The ruins you can stumble across are actual places where people once walked in the past. Estas City for instance was once the capital of an ancient civilisation, back when the Devs lived amongst people, though for the most part long abandoned after the war of the dragons aside from smaller nearby settlements (if you've seen Return of the King, imagine if Minas Tirith was in the same state as Osgiliath and everyone there lives around it in smaller villages and towns).

And of course, you'll occasionally find things that make seemingly no sense. Perhaps the remnants of alchemy or magic cast by an Admin or Dev, or maybe even an ordinary person who learned how to use the first language: structures in nonsense shape, or passages where space bends. Places where all colour is bleached from the surfaces. Places where there are gaps in the world, leading into the darkness and nothing. Towers long abandoned with an invisible rend in space itself which must never be disturbed. A valley of furnaces. Or a deep rumbling passing by far beneath you, as if a colossal steamtrain running under the earth that could be felt through the rock... and then gone.

Q: Just Dance

Oh, Mitch, easily! Mitch is the type to go to a convention in a Miku cosplay and end up on the DDR machines! I think Nem would be completely bewildered, but not in a bad way, they probably wouldn't understand it at all but would do their best to out of genuine curiosity.

Q: Respawn pt.2

Entirely possible, although rare. The underlying logic of the Plane is very stable, but the problem is if you know how, you could exploit almost anything. You can move the clouds if you knew the right words and had either the power (such as a Dev) or a method of unsanitised input.

The core concept for Respawn is a world built from logic as building blocks, by deities that like many ancient pantheons were just as flawed thinkers as we are. There are most definitely oversights in the way the world is structured, and some of them the Devs either won't or can't fix, either they lack the power, or they lack the power to prevent or foresee the new issues that the fix would cause.

So of course the clouds in the Place are water vapour and not just illusory... but the state of water is tied to things like the temperature, and in this world energy can be created or destroyed...

Q: A sona

Pretty much just VTuber Mitch, yeah! I didn't expect Mitch to take off as essentially the channel mascot but within weeks of that first audio I'd become known as the raccoon one, and I'm living for it! Audio Mitch and VT Mitch are very separate entities (think the difference between Majora's Young Link and Twilight Princess Link), and I'm currently developing some very different lore etc for VT Mitch to go along with sprucing up the livestreams style. Also people have accidentally called me Mitch since it's so close to Mage that I'm just owning it ^ ^

Q: Tea

I think it was Cartwright & Butler, though I can't really recommend it, it's the kind of tea you wind up getting in a hamper from someone for Christmas which is how we got a small box of it, it's far to pricey to bother getting besides. Nah Yorkshire Tea is where it's at!

Also oh my gosh boba tea is beautimus! I'd only had it when visiting America since it's more of a city thing (I'm a country bumpkin) until Fern said they knew a place! So good!!

[enneagram-reblogs]

A few things to know about Type Four.

From NineTypesCo by Steph Barron Hall.

Common Underlying Motivation: To be truly, deeply understood for who they are (both by themselves and others)

→ Because of this, Fours tend to be very introspective - they often live inside their heads and are thinking and feeling through possibilities, daydreams, and what’s missing or lacking. They also desire to be fully authentic (and how can they know if they’re authentic if they don’t know what’s under the surface?)

Frequently Avoiding: Being inauthentic or insignificant

→ Avoiding being inauthentic often means that Fours spend more time than most other types considering how they feel or what they think about things and why.

You might now know that…

→ Not all 4s express their emotions all the time! In fact, 4s can have fears around vulnerability, sharing their thoughts, and being misunderstood, just like anyone else.

→ 4s are often acutely aware that they see things differently than others do. While they sometimes love this about themselves, it can also be a cause of frustration and sadness since they deeply desire to feel understood. Sometimes, 4s intentionally make themselves stand out a bit so they won’t be understood, thinking, “if I make it so you can’t understand me, it won’t hurt as much when I’m misunderstood.” But a lot of 4s stand out because they’re expressing the truest, most authentic self they possibly can at all times (and to be honest, a lot of us are afraid to do that)

→ Many 4s are focused on quality, meaning, and purpose, and they’re willing to shift the direction they’re moving to align with that. Which means they might change their minds or do things differently than others expect because they’re always focusing on aligning with their authentic purpose.

→ One of the biggest misconceptions about 4s is that they are only feelers and not thinkers, and that they can only be creative and artistic and not organized, determined, and logical, but these things are not mutually exclusive! Fours can be alllllll of the above. Competence, confidence, sensitivity, empathy, passion, etc. can all coexist.

→ Sometimes people assume that being emotional is a weakness… but it’s not! 4s are incredibly resilient and can navigate those big, overwhelming emotions well. Being expressive and experiencing big emotions is not limited to sad or melancholy emotions. 4s feel all of the feelings! Gratitude, joy, happiness, and love are all available, too.

→ Many 4s experience having a really tough inner critic because they tend to have a deep sense of lack. Sometimes it’s subconscious, but they might feel that there is something flawed about them, or they’re missing something others have. They might have an internal dialogue that says, “there’s something wrong with me,” and being misunderstood reinforces that. Self-compassion can be powerful for 4s because it can help them see that they are not deficient in any way.

And BTW…

→ 4s can experience pressures to conform, shapeshift, and manage their image, just like the other heart types. This doesn’t mean they always conform, but they are often aware of expectations and whether or not others accept them.

See the image version of this post!

[wordsandrobots]

What if 'Gundam SEED' was told from Flay's point of view? How would they approach it? Would it have been better?

For a long time, watching Gundam SEED, I would have said Flay was the most interesting character so I understand the appeal. 'X manipulates Y to exact revenge for Z while simultaneously being what Y needs in the moment and using this to avoid dealing with their own grief, fear and bigotry' is definitely a meaty premise.

However, this is also very clearly not the story SEED was interested in telling.

SEED is fundamentally about Kira and Athrun, and when I say 'fundamentally', I mean the show commits to the day being saved by two blokes in magic space robots who successfully blow up various bits of evil technology and/or bad guys because they're just that special. And to my mind, it's with this notion of 'special' that SEED's underlying flaw lies.

See, the Coordinators are definitively special. Textually, they can do things other humans cannot. We are told (and shown) that people are scared of them as a result. Yet this and Kira's struggles to be defined beyond his genes are obviously poor analogies for any real-world prejudice. It's 'being bullied for being smarter than everyone' logic, rather than how oppression or ethnic conflict actually work.

Basically, it's the X-Men. Hated and feared for being the brilliant ones, why oh why can't we just be treated as people.

Now, I like the X-Men. Always have. It's just, once you commit to inherent genetic 'specialness' of any kind, you back into a corner from which it is extremely hard to extricate yourself. Despite its token protests about Coordinators still needing to train, SEED presents a world where some people are just better. It embraces the idea of functional eugenics. There's nothing here of the nuance allowed by 'new-types' being analogous to new ways of thinking that emerge naturally from a changing world and are subverted or maximised by people who want to control the future. Nor does SEED turn around, as Gundam X did, and saying, nah, you're all random quirks of nature and/or incredibly lucky.

Eugenics is the explanation for why Kira is special. Someone literally bred a super-protagonist. That is a thing that is possible in this world.

So is Flay therefore right to fear the Coordinators?

Even as it presents her hatred and anger towards them as a flaw, SEED allows the possibility that the answer is 'yes'. Because it is reasonable to be wary of those who hold power over you, and the Coordinators come with power built in. Which is an exact inversion of the ways prejudice ascribes particular malevolence to groups who are, in fact, more vulnerable than people holding the prejudice.

I think a story centred on Flay over Kira would automatically be more interesting. If that's the criteria for 'better' then I must answer your question in the affirmative, straight up. The thing is, given all of the above, I can't in good conscience say it would address the stuff I don't like about what SEED is saying. As much as there are stories I love whose politics and worldview are quite at odds with my personal beliefs (currently delighted by Dracula, adore The Man Who Was Thursday, etc), I draw the line at centering lazy misconceptions about bigotry and oppression. And you would need to centre those things if you spent more time with Flay because, within the confines of what is presented in SEED as it stands, they form a significant part of her character.

If you were to take out the whole concept of the Coordinators and simply make Kira a talented member of some group responsible for killing Flay's dad, then tell the story of how she uses him as her instrument of vengeance before growing as a person and confronting the fact Kira is a person too? Sounds like a fantastic set-up with which you could do some very entertaining, very messed-up stuff.

That, however, essentially brings us back to my one big idea for improving SEED which is this: rip it up and start again.

[hello-patricks]

A wrong tell

Finding out that there was nothing wrong with me, only that I processed things in a completely different way, has been calming.

I was depressed, seriously, like in let’s take a walk in the woods in a snowy evening, as the poet would say, but stumbling into this revelation, that I might be autistic, is liberating.

Events that didn’t make sense are now logical, and they fit. The world hurts, and my career is a mess, but now that there is an underlying reason for it all there is a sort of hope, a glimmer of understanding.

For example, I always loved working with others, because I learned from them, but can’t possibly deal with office politics and can’t for the life of me guess at what people are experiencing.

“What’s wrong with me” was a very popular saying by teachers and co-workers. I did not tolerate well the things that were unjust, or wrong, and would have difficulty working with the guy that was always lying, or the woman that we all knew was cheating on her husband with the owner (Yet they managed their incompetence through subtle support from their network, were empathetic and despite their flaws, garnered sympathy and support for their ideas. How?)

“You are very good at what you do, but that guy over there can make deals” was very troubling.  How?

Oh but now I understand – what I was capable of was very much a process, whereas what these people were doing was a fly by the seat of their pants thing, obeying more their own goals and enlisting others for that purpose. There was nothing wrong with me, only that we were all working on radically different things, on absolutely different ways.

Now, how to tell my family? And do I?

[lazycheesecakeee]

The boyz love languages

Basically I used my extensive knowledge of the boyz and the passion for psychoanalysing people for no reason at all and this is what I think each of their love languages are. Feel free to agree or disagree and I hope you enjoy :)

Genre: fluff

OT 11. There are curse words you know the drill :))))

Word count: 2.7k-ish

Sangyeon

Giving: acts of service

He's very observant so he notices flaws or things bothering you immediately. When this happens, his protective instinct takes over. He is also very logical, and he immediately listens to figure out what is wrong and fix it for you as soon as possible in the most efficient way, so you can be happy. I feel like he is great at advice and also very cold-headed while also caring for those close to him. So, he will give advice and also take matters into his own hands and be quite direct and strict in his ways. He likes to solve things quickly and will do it for you if you are feeling vulnerable. His priority is always your well-being.

Receiving: words of affirmation/ physical touch

I think he likes feeling like he is needed, and he likes to hear he did a good job, and that you think he is smart and helpful, and how much you like and appreciate the way he does things. That being said I think he also likes being embraced and taken care of sometimes. I picture him coming to you very tired and falling asleep on you while you cuddle and run your fingers through his hair.

Jacob

Giving: words of affirmation/ acts of service

Have y'all seen him though? Manz is always ready to provide for others. He is always ready to say something which is just right in order to comfort his close ones. So, imagine that multiplied, since it's the person he is in love with. He won't do grand gestures in public, but he is literally paying attention to you 25/7. Any sign of discomfort he is ready to take the fall for you. I feel like he is kinda a little TOO sacrificial. If it was himself, he is willing to take hardships and things, but his loved ones??? NO fucking way. Not under his watch.

Receiving: quality time

I feel like he feels warmest when he has someone's undivided attention. Someone who is willing to listen to him, maybe get him to open up about what is wrong, his true and repressed feelings, and assure him that they are valid, that he is a good person. I think he needs a really good listener which will prompt him to do more for himself as well, not only for others.

Younghoon

Giving: physical touch

I think the boy is easily an octopus if you are on the trusted & loved list. He clings at you and wants to be with you 24/7, because you are perceived as a safe space. I think he often finds it hard to have the "right" words, so I feel he shows his appreciation most through hugs and little loving clingy gestures, while he whispers "thank you's" and other sweet nothings to you.

Receiving: words of affirmation/gifts

I think he likes when people observe him for who he is. When people closest to him appreciate him and what he has done and understand the underlying meaning behind his actions. So, I think that complimenting and telling this boy eloquently that he did amazing in something, and why you think that, will get him literally whipped. Also, I think he loves Receiving meaningful gifts, because it shows him that you listen to him, to his desires, that you know and appreciate him.

Hyunjae

Giving: acts of service

Definitely that bitch who nags and annoys you all the time but will go to the ends of the world being caring. He has a good sense for how to take care of others and does it willingly. No one has to tell him. He does it out of instinct. I think he also a very logical type. Very hands-on. So he sees problems and other things straightforwardly. So, his priority is always your well-being being and a good relationship, whatever that entails. He is willing to fix things and put himself into it.

Receiving: acts of service/physical touch

I think he really appreciates when someone reciprocates his acts. I think he likes people who can keep up with his brain (even if it seems like there is nothing up there jk jk). I feel like he needs someone who is also quite logical and won't be offended by his colder side. Instead, someone who will see what he does in the behind the scenes and how much he cares, and who is willing to put in the work with him and reciprocate what he does. I think he wants to feel secure in a relationship, so he will be able to let his guard down and form a deeper emotional connection, based on trust. I also think he is quite possessive, so is safe to say your hands better be on him and no one else 😤.

Juyeon

Giving: physical touch/quality time

I think he likes to be very in the moment. To enjoy the simple things. He may not be the fastest to catch on, or the best with words but he likes to be part of your routines, of your life. To just be around and listen if you have something to say. Anything about any subject. He will look at you with expectant eyes and hold your hand or play with your fingers and intertwine your hands. He lets you know he is there. A back hug. A kiss. I feel like he is the type to tease you a lot and grab you randomly while you are trying to do chores and slap your ass or kiss you, or just grab you to feel you close. I think he is very based on his instincts in how he is with a significant other.

Receiving: physical touch/words of affirmation

Give him kisses or playful slaps. Be challenging or innocent (combine them). Grab his arms, drag him somewhere, grab his face to kiss him randomly, or cling to him and he will be smiling like a silly goose. Besides the obvious, I think he also really appreciates if someone is willing to listen to him. And when he is worried or having self-esteem issues, he is a smol (big) baby. Telling him he is doing good and what you appreciate about him will basically give him a boost and he will see a bunch of new possibilities and things and opportunities, and a new wave of motivation.

 Kevin

Giving: quality time

I feel like he is another type of person who is willing to give everything and more of himself for the people he loves. He would listen for hours to no end so to make sure your soul is ok, that you feel all right, that you can sleep comfortably. I feel like what he aspires most is to be someone of comfort, someone to bring peace and support to the ones he values (please protect him he is so talented and precious and knowledgeable and well-spoken and considerate and funny and still gets so much hate I... *ok rant over damn* love this boy pls 😤💕)

Receiving: quality time/words of affirmation

Again, I feel like he wants to be seen for what he means. To feel important in someone's life, like his work is valuable and admirable to you. I think if someone is appreciative of him and his effort and is reciprocating, giving him the time of day, he is literally the happiest boi ever. Tell him he's doing good and that you appreciate his voice and his efforts and talents. I feel like a partner who voices their appreciation, encourages and supports him, and reciprocates his love is what would make him happiest.

 Chanhee

Giving: acts of service

I think he won't be much for words or grand gestures, as he is quite shy (except when it's the two of you, then I think he more freely speaks). But mainly I feel like he is another one which works wonders and builds their partner up from the shadows. He is very smart and observant as well and has a good eye for things and how they should be, but he is also always humble and ready to help. So, he will advise you a lot, assist you in your projects and goals and make sure you feel supported. I feel like that is how he best expresses his love for someone.

Receiving: acts of service/ gifts

I think he is also someone who will appreciate most the gestures of support and little things you do for him to make his life easier. Either chores he dislikes or doing the talking in certain situations. I also think he is lowkey a sucker for being spoiled by you. Order his favourite meal to eat together, buy him something because it reminded you of him. I think he is all about little gestures which show him he is special to you.

Changmin

Giving: words of affirmation/ acts of service

Another one that likes to give himself for others (he's always like "I want to give you guys positive energy so I come on live when I feel like I can do that"). Obviously will do the most for the ones he loves. He is a little strange and quite the menace, but he is honestly the sweetest boi 💕. Very good with words and philosophical. Will constantly compliment and praise you for being amazing and will always know how to say it, to go straight to your soul. I really think he is the type to sacrifice A LOT for your happiness, literally will do anything to make you feel good and appreciated and I think he is also very protective and stands up for you a lot. The type to make you waffles with ice-cream because you're in a bad mood.

Receiving: quality time/ physical touch

I think he seeks a love which is dedicated and stable. Gives him a sense of trust. He wants to feel seen, like he matters to you, and that you are willing to give and put yourself 1000% in the relationship, just as he is. He wants your undivided attention (can we mention possessive 😗). I think he also creates a space where it’s easy for you both to be vulnerable with each other. So pls give him kisses and affection and make him feel loved and worthy (*and playfully hit him a little too hard for being a little shit*).

 Haknyeon

Giving: physical touch

I feel like he is also quite based in his instincts and impulses. I also think he is a dumbass but also a deep feeler, so he will randomly remember he has a significant other and go "bother" them and suffocate them with affection or suggest crazy spontaneous adventures. Type to wake you up one morning with 1000 kisses and tell you there is a Swedish buffet at the hotel you're staying and it looks really good so you should get going so you have time to taste everything by the time your vacation is over (because who doesn't love stuffing yourself with endless options from Swedish buffet🤭 *boy ain't passing on THAT*)

Receiving: words of affirmation

I think he likes to be praised for his achievements and encouraged. He wants someone to pay close attention to him and tell him he looks good, he is competent, he did amazing in this and that. Boy is a sucker for shit which will boost his ego.

Sunwoo

Giving: quality time/words of affirmation

I think he is head in the clouds most of the time and might seem indifferent without wanting to, but I think he actually pays a lot of attention to pretty much everything. He is also observant and so so sweet, and always ready to provide comfort and stay with you when you need him most. I think he is a good listener and can get really quiet but can come up with quite pragmatic solutions and creative answers to your problems. Also a lot of random jokes and cheap entertainments, which are very endearing. He becomes not only your confidant but also quite the personal entertainer.

Receiving: physical touch

I think he really likes to cling to the people who are close to him (*him hugging Jacob's arm and being pouty can I just sayyyy*). As he is also quite easily startled and anxious, I think he finds lots of comfort in someone's open arms or warm embrace. He is also quite the hopeless romantic deep down so he would be quite the sucker for cheesy shit you see in movies if you are willing to provide. But please give the boy cuddles and kisses and run your hands through his hair. He will be absolutely in love, and also feel safe and secure and warm inside. Give him physical comfort and he will also perceive emotional comfort and become putty in your hands, even though he is quite the mischievous little cocky shit most of the time.

Eric

Giving: physical touch

I think he is also the type to live in the moment and seek thrills and entertainment and impulses. He is energetic and optimistic so expect a lot of good energy coming from him and a lot of random adventures. I think he will have his hands on you at all times and drag you from one thing to the other because he is excited. I think he is the type to tickle and tackle you or throw himself on you a lot, just because he is bored and wants your attention. Lots of random kisses and hugs and randomly grabbing you.

Receiving: physical touch/ words of affirmation

He is actually a little emotional baby. So, tell him you appreciate him and he is a good boy and that he is amazing, and he will be completely in love. I think having someone who is warm next to him and who is willing to do things with him is one of the biggest things he craves from relationships. Being appreciated and feeling loved, with little random gestures and little meaningless jokes which make him laugh will make his day (and he will be a sohnshine just for u *see what I did there*).

---------------------------------------------------

[ghostmartyr]

“I can’t be bribed with goods and services,” said Palamedes, “but I can’t be bribed with moral platitudes, either. My conscience doesn’t permit me to help anyone do what we have all embarked upon.” “You don’t understand—” Palamedes said savagely, “Captain, God help you when you understand. My only consolation is that you won’t be able to put any responsibility on my head.”

“I came to the same conclusion you did,” said Palamedes, but his voice was cold and inflexible. “I discarded it as ghastly. Ghastly, and obvious.”

Palamedes probably figures it out first. By the first time we’re permitted to see him and Harrow collaborating in any form, he’s already talking about the megatheorem idea, but his interaction with Judith comes much earlier. Only one set of bodies is around, and Gideon and Harrow have only completed two trials.

He’s still already reacting violently to what the basic megatheorem suggests, and he doesn’t trust any of the necromancers in the building -- save for Harrow.

“You are still convinced by your… megatheorem idea, then.” “Yes. Aren’t you?” “No. It’s sensational.”

“But if I’m right—if Lyctorhood is nothing more or less than the synthesis of eight individual theorems…” Harrow did not speak. There was a long moment, and Gideon thought that Palamedes had lapsed into thought. But then he said crisply: “Then it’s wrong. There’s a flaw in the underlying logic. The whole thing is an ugly mistake.”

Of our three noted geniuses (Ianthe, Palamedes, Harrow), Harrow is the one we don’t witness coming to the obvious conclusion. There’s no arguing her brilliance or determination, but when a source for all the energy the trials demands is brought up, she looks outward -- even after Gideon’s proven essential to solving both.

“The tests are not concerned with some frankly sickening rubric of sentiment and obedience; they’re testing me and me alone.”

Palamedes and Camilla are the necromancer-cavalier pair we see that are most balanced. They’re companions, and they each use their strengths to complement and defend each other. They’re on good terms. They live in each other’s pocket. They’re the ideal way for this bond to play out meaning of course Palamedes has to explode, because otherwise he and Camilla unlock the entirety of perfect Lyctorhood without much fuss.

When Ianthe isn’t verbally abusing Babs, she’s eating pieces of him. They aren’t the Eighth, but it’s very clear that Ianthe recognizes Babs’ use. He’s there to serve her.

Harrow and Gideon are just learning what it means to be necromancer and cavalier together, with their foundation firmly seeped in mutual destruction.

Harrow rejects the megatheorem conclusion when it’s presented. Even though, as Palamedes points out, it’s rather obvious. Ianthe makes that same point. Take the trials, synthesize them, remember that there were 16 but only 8 Lyctors, bam. You’ve got a very basic idea that should be impossible to look away from.

Harrow, born from the deaths of 200 children, who can be coaxed into siphoning but whose automatic reaction to it is refusal, turns away from the obvious. Yes, a power source is needed. Yes, she’s been using her cavalier as that power source.

No, that’s not the answer.

Palamedes never entertains sacrificing Camilla as an option. It’s foul and horrendous, and he’ll have no part in it.

Ianthe has zero problem consuming one more piece of Babs; that’s all he’s been for the whole time anyway.

Harrow rejects the idea so completely that she’s the last of the “I am the greatest necromancer of my generation” crowd to land on the final conclusion. Even with Gideon standing right next to her, and proving routinely useful as a battery, she dismisses the megatheorem for her secret door theory. She looks for a way outside of eating her cavalier whole.

That’s why Palamedes trusts her.

[queen-feisty-pants]

Since I didn’t follow Yona of the Dawn in so long, I recently reread it from the beginning to refresh my memory before catching up on spoilers. Here are some observations/comments/what-have-you:

Going into the reread already knowing Zeno’s backstory, his facial expressions and mannerisms hit different when he makes his first appearance.

I feel like the best way to describe the status of Hak and Yona’s relationship as of the writing of this post is ‘semi-canon.’ They most certainly understand that their feelings are mutual, but they still have ways to go before they can be considered truly canon, imo. This obviously isn’t to shit on them or their relationship - I ADORE Hak and Yona as individual characters and as a couple and have been shipping them for about 8 years now. - but they still have to sort out a lot of stuff first.

Soowon seems to be becoming aware of the flaws in his father’s philosophy. Recognizing these shortcomings as they become apparent is the first step in some long overdue self-reflection. (Yes, I do think there will be some positive development.) Soowon has done some irredeemable and even self-destructive shit, so, if the crimson illness subplot continues on its current trajectory and there is no magical escape, he will be on the fast-track for an intense death where the weight of his emotions and regrets will far exceed the physical pain. Even if the crimson illness matter gets a Disney-like resolution, the happiest ending Soowon can get is realizing that Yona is better suited for the throne and abdicating his title to serve under her. And that’s far too Disney-like/sweet for him, considering the need for making amends. (BTW, my intent isn’t to minimize or detract from the fact that Yuhon was beyond fucked up. Rather, my point is that seeing the logical flaws in his beliefs will most likely be a wake-up call for Soowon.)

Since breaking cycles of hate and trauma has become such a prominent theme in the story, the burning of Hiryuu Castle while Hiryuu’s mausoleum seemingly remains intact most likely symbolizes the need to rebuild. There will be the same foundation/underlying basis, but things will be built anew to promote healing and growth. With that having been said, I’m rooting for a happy ending that still handles this theme realistically. Give me all the optimism and love, but also honestly show the lingering pain and problems and the complexities of healing.

I guess that’s a very abridged version of my feelings about AkaYona. Despite some things that may appear to be somewhat critical, I obviously still love this story and think highly of it. I guess I just wanted to share my feelings and rant about some things that are nagging at me and/or have made an impact on me.

[sealpointrex]

[ Image description:

Two parts of a reddit post by user Samuel7899 that reads:

I'm not sure just what you think cybernetics is... Although the word has been largely hijacked since William Gibson's Neuromancer to mean partially robotic or transhuman, I am using it in the original sense.

Your concern about potentially neutering what makes us human is still valid when delving into understanding the underlying mechanisms behind such things as emotions. But I mostly find that that way of thinking comes about as people try to simplify the complexity of human behavior, thought, and emotion into the scope of complexity they're more accustomed to. Whereas Cybernetics is more about seeing how traditionally simple mechanisms begin to resemble human nature and behavior, both socially and individually, as we begin to look at it in more complex ways.

The thought that we must neuter "what makes us human" is, in another sense, what we have already neutered from our behavior over the last 100,000 years. And keep in mind that, biologically, we are essentially identical to our ancestors of 100,000 years ago. It tends to be how we think about what we don't understand and ultimately are reluctant to change, both as a society and as individuals.

Name any act that humans once did that we now consider barbaric, and you're describing what we would have considered "what makes us human" at that point in time. And the same will be said about us by our descendants in the future. What truly makes us human is the ability to use communication and mental organization together in order to complement emotional behavior with complex logic, in order to better align the two. Not to neuter anything significant from ourselves in order to replace it with "ideal" logic, as a Vulcan might have. Being devoid of emotion as a Vulcan is, is actually a bit, ironically, illogical.

Humans (and here's the (or a) flaw in Vulcans) have an emotion of cognitive dissonance. Understanding things feels really really good. And being confused about things feels really really bad.

This isn't inherent to our biology. But it has been strongly selected for across many many generations of our ancestors because non-contradiction is a fundamental aspect of the universe (there are some boundary conditions where non-contradiction may break down, specifically at the quantum level, but this is distant from what humans can potentially interact with). In other words, being able to correctly recognize and error check incomplete patterns in our environment is an incredibly valuable ability for life to possess. Below a certain level of complexity, it's inefficient, but above a certain level of complexity, it is by far the most efficient way to operate.

Emotions are the precursor to complex logic, and they tend to reflect logic and differ only in small scale. Emotion and logical behavior do not find themselves completely at odds. That correlation would tend to be found in species that have been very prone to non-survival over far more generations of evolution than humans and even their ancestors have experienced.

The emotion of love is the emotion that drives us to organize and cooperate. The potential of love, as a resource, will always have room to increase until all of us are organized as a civilization to a similar degree as all of our cells are organized in an individual human body.

Deleting ignorance and confusion has nothing to do with removing any aspect of a human. It is akin to removing contradiction from mathematics. The vast vast majority of humans can agree that we cannot divide by zero. For no reason other than it introduces contradiction.

The concepts of war (at least for all but arbitrarily fictional examples) are almost as contradictory. And achieving a world where almost everyone understands thst is certainly difficult, but probably no more so than getting everyone from 10,000 years ago to understand that dividing by zero is completely illogical.

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This was in a thread originally arguing that "war is not a necessary feature of human life", and judging by the comments and what gained upvotes, The People did not seem to agree

And still I was not prepared to read to the end of this thoughtful post only to see that their reward was apparently a single person going "mMnope :/ down vote :/ bye"

(Disagreement I get 100%, but in a thread that seemed entirely convinced war is an immutable fact of human nature, I'mm skeptical. and a bit more depressed than before lol. Good post tho, hats off to Samuel for trying)

About to complain in a reblog again

[arcane-ish]

Common defenses of Silco's parenting, my counter

Inspired by the discussion with @chapstikcrazy

Okay, I feel like our big differences in perspective are:

1.) You generally believe there was a lower number of times where Silco might have done questionable parenting things in the time period we did not see. This is ultimately going to be a question of theory and perception.

I tend to look at this as:

- Some things are a continuation, they existed before, they exist still 7 years later when we see them again, it is logical to assume they were a factor in the time in between

- I take the underlying feeling in Jinx’s dinner rant pretty seriously and I read that as she was unhappy in some areas of her life. This doesn’t mean that all her words should be taken literally, but I think emotions underneath it feel genuine

- Silco and Jinx's relationship displays troubling aspects/behavior/reactions in Act 2/3 (like Jinx having lack of trust and faith in Silco or Silco going behind her back on Vi, the dinner scene in general) and to me a relationship doesn't just go bad overnight, it has to build on something. And while I don't doubt that some of that can be credited to Jinx's specific conditions (ie trauma, mental illness) and I do subscribe to the idea of "therapy likely doesn't exist or isn't established in their world, so characters can't be blamed for not seeking it out and not understanding therapy style concepts"

- Jinx displays much troubling and harmful behavior for herself so Silco did not do a good job of curbing it. While I don’t doubt that other people might have done an even worse job, considering that imo he did a bad job I don’t think that it isn’t feasible that other people might have done comparably well or slightly better even if they might not have done a perfect job either.

- I think many of the things that would have been required to at least try and improve Jinx’s conditions are extremely unlikely to have happened because frankly, I would consider them out of character for Silco’s general disposition (where he is very sure in himself and his convictions, often looks down on others, where he is paranoid against others)

(and yes I do think that there is an argument to be made that the absence of good parenting/falling short of good parenting is a point towards bad parenting or seriously mediocre/flawed/problematic parenting)

2.) A lot of the arguments seem to boil down to different versions of "Somebody isn't a bad parent if they didn't mean ill"

The arguments of “this what their world is like (according to him)” and “he is just acting like that because he is traumatized himself” and “he didn’t know any better/he lacked role models” are to me different versions of the same sentiment.

And while I do think that some of them can be poked at (along the lines of “even if he hypothetically didn’t have great parents and therapy doesn’t exist, he could still just have looked around himself and seen how other children live” and “it is the responsibility of the parent to look past their narrow world views”), I’m generally not that invested in assigning blame or proving that Silco had ill motivations.

I guess the problem here is that we don’t really have a “passive” version of “bad parent” the way we have for murder vs. Manslaughter vs. Reckless endangerment. I guess we have “abuse” vs. “negligence”, but I don’t think either of them fit the situation perfectly.

I look at this kind of like “a person gets mowed down by a car”. It could be:

1.) the person in the car was intentionally gunning for them and meant to kill them

2.) the person was driving drunk

3.) the person was driving recklessly

4.) the person was put into the car by whacky outside circumstances and has no idea what the traffic rules are

5.) the person didn’t mean to/was distracted

Etc, etc

I wouldn’t say that the motivation of the person is not important at all, but overall, I don’t think that it is that important beyond the basic situation of “a person got run over by a car, an accident happened, a bad thing happened, there is a person injured in the street”. Basically, Jinx can be failed by Silco's parenting regardless of what his intention was/even if he has good reasons for his bad parenting.

And I do think that Jinx was injured by Silco’s flawed parenting. And I firmly want this to be understood that it’s basically impossible not to accidentally injure your kid as a parent. And every parenting will have their moment of “yeah in that situation/that day I probably did a bad parent”. Just because all parenting will include some mistakes doesn’t mean that isn’t worth discussing and thinking about mistakes.

The reason why I think it is important to disagree with your various different versions of “he didn’t mean ill” is because I think in real life things that much more clearly would be identified as abusive or instances of “I had a terrible childhood” are very likely to happen under exactly the similar conditions.

Let’s go through them in detail:

1.) This is just the world they live in/this is how he genuinely sees the world

I have elaborated in some ways but basically I don’t think that Silco’s view or analysis of the world is perfect (neither is Vander’s or Ekko’s or Caitlyn’s) and that Jinx displays many behaviors that would be detrimental even if she stays locked within his specific world. But at the core of it I don’t think that Silco’s worldview is 100% correct and reliable and comparably plausible other ways of living exist even within their world.

The real world example I gave of “genuine world view can lead to abusive behavior/bad parenting” are people who are deeply religious and who are upset about their kid being gay because in their world view they are genuinely worried the kid will not go to heaven. So to them sending them to “pray the gay away camp” is genuinely a well meant good deed for the kid. Same for “I have epilepsy and my parents sent me to an exorcist instead of a doctor”. The fact that they were genuinely clouded by their world view that instances of unhappy/bad/problematic parenting took place.

IMO if you find yourself trapped in a toxic world view (whether it’s extremely religious or taught toxic masculinity or “everything is a battle always”), imo the good/great parent way to handle it (if you are capable) would be:

- listen to your kid and whether they are unhappy/the lifestyle you live in is doing them harm

- always question your own world view and be open to listen to others, keep adapting and improving your world view if sensible alternatives come along

2.) He lacked role models

As I said, if he lacks rolemodels and knowledge in this area:

- the responsible thing arguably would have been to question whether he should take the job on at all then

- he should have looked around for rolemodels around him/he should have gotten help

Again as a good/great parent you should be aware of any areas you might be less good in and not be afraid to ask for help and rely on others to compensate for areas you might be less good in. (in the real world that’s why couples often split parenting duties or why a lot of mothers ask their mothers for help with babysitting young children for example).

In the modern world, there is a reason why there are usually aptitude checks when somebody wants to adopt and why people who adopt children are often encourages to seek out advisory material. These things exist in the real, modern world because without that avoidable instances of bad parenting are more likely to happen.

The fact that these rules and resources don’t exist in Silco’s world is not his fault, but he likely is a good example of how instances of bad parenting can happen if they don’t exist.

3.) He has trauma/abandonment issues that cause him to make bad decisions

If you are parent with big traumas and hangups, I would argue that yes, if you have the capability then the actions of a good/great parent would be:

- you work on fixing your own traumas and hangups as this might allow you to be a better parent to your kid

- you are aware of your own weaknesses and try to get help from people who don’t share those hangups to compensate for you in those areas

- you at least try to shield your kid as much as you can from your trauma affecting them

If a severely mentally ill or handicapped person was raising a kid on their own, even if the person was completely morally not at fault for it (think an extreme example like the old Jodie Foster movie “Nell” for example), would you still dispute that it would still be considered “having a bad childhood” for the kid? And that instances of bad parenting likely happened due to the problems of the parent?

For a smaller real world example: “My mother is a hypochondriac and during Covid, right in my formative teenage years she locked me in beyond what was recommended by health care professionals and told me over and over again that if I didn’t do X I would kill my grandparents and that all people who didn’t follow her above strict Covid rules were bad people who were killing themselves and deserved to die. This fucked me up for several years/I still have nightmares about it.”

Is this mother a bad parent? Was it understandable considering the situation? Did instances of bad parenting still happen in this context? Would both mother and kid have been better off if as the pandemic is ramping up the mother had realized that this is going to be extra challenging for her hypochondriac tendencies and started meeting with a therapist to deal with the additional stress of the pandemic?

4.) He didn’t force her/he "just" let her run wild

We will never know the details of what happened and how much forcing/steering there was going. The council archives (canonicity debatable) for example suggest that Silco might have pressured Jinx relatively soon after getting her into committing crimes, there are instances in the show where one can argue whether they constitute as steering and even if he didn’t do direct steering I would argue the way he lives his life in front of her would still communicate to her very quickly what is valued in his world (“The Firelights were her target and most are dead. “) and what she would have to do to please him.

That said, even in a hypothetical world where Silco never explicitly encouraged any of her violent and sadistic tendencies and they exclusively spring from her own interests, I would argue that the job of a good/great parent is to find a useful balance between encouraging their kid and not encouraging behavior that is harmful to the kid.

Like my external example of the kid that jumps off a bridge. Or on a smaller scale a kid that refuses to ever brush their teeth or refuses to go to the dentist even as they have cavities and their teeth rot out.

There is a wide spectrum of parental tools from harmful ones like beating or threatening to beat the kid if they don’t brush their teeth to bribing them to trying to explain to them to trying to make it look cool and appealing to them. Basically there are ways you can get a kid to do something they initially didn’t want to do that aren’t harmful and debilitating to the kid in a communicating “the fact that I’m trying to make you brush your teeth even though you don’t want to shows that I don’t respect your decisions” kind of way.

Basically blindly supporting everything your kid does does not automatically constitute good parenting. Not every disagreeing with your kid and going against their wants has to come in through abusive or disrespectful methods.

5.) She was already broken/she would have come out bad anyway

I’m a big fan of “the majority of Jinx’s issues were pre-existing conditions/existed nascently within Powder”. However, I find it a bit presumptuous to assume just because undoubtedly in my mind many people could have handled it even worse that nobody could have done it better or comparatively well. (not to mention it feels kind of cowardly to just attribute any problems of their relationship as just "well maybe Powder was just a particularly bad kid" as if Silco hadn't had her for 7 years and is actually supposed to have an influence on her if parenting goes well)

Overall, if your kid has illnesses or problematic tendencies it is the job of a good/great parent to try to alleviate them as much as possible and not indulge them/let them run rampant/let them go wild.

And while it’s true that we don’t know whether anything he tried would have worked and we don’t know what/how much he might have tried. It is my personal take that in this case seeing him try and fail would have been meaningful to see/know (ie that he took her to their equivalent of a head doctor and it backfired/went awfully, that he tried to organize playdates for her but it went badly and Jinx begged him not to try again) AND that I personally think due to Silco’s personality makeup I think that it’s unlikely that many of the things that might have had made sense to at least try and offer would have happened. Simply because imo they would stand in stark contrast to the philosophy and personality he displays (ie distrust and dislike of others).

Basically just because your kid displays a negative thing doesn’t mean that throwing up your hands and saying it is meant to be that way. I do think that there should be limits to how much you should pressure your kid, but imo the normal good/great parent thing is to at least gently try for a while.

Ie your kid is bad at math => invest some time to see whether studying and trying to make it appealing to them helps => then only when it doesn’t, stop it and tell them math isn’t that important, they should focus on their strengths instead and just forget about math.

(again a lot of these things I’m discussing mostly because some pretty extreme claims were made about Silco including claims that he was “literally the healthiest” and “nobody could have done any better”)

My personal take on Silco:

1.) I don’t need for Silco to have been a good parents for me to think that he is a good/interesting/valuable/well done character or to think that him taking in Jinx is an interesting storyline and they have an interesting fictional relationship to discuss and analyze.

2.) I think there is a lot people can take away and learn from both what he did do well and where he (imo very frequently) messed up/fell short/made mistakes.

3.) If I had to classify Silco and Jinx’s relationship I would say it was a relationship that was meaningful and influential to both of them, but personally I don’t think that it was particularly healthy for either of them and I don’t think that it constitutes an example of great parenting.

4.) On the subject of whether Silco did her more harm than good, if he added more good or more bad to her life(I mean even aside from “abducting and killing her first adoptive father) …. Eh…. Let be put this way, I don’t think that Silco didn’t contribute/wasn’t capable of contributing anything useful to her life. And arguably there were some areas maybe where he was in a better condition to contribute than most. But if I had my choice? In a perfect world? Considering the myriad of hangups Silco has? I think they would both have been better off if he had been more of a “cool uncle you have a special bond with” than her sole caregiver. [again I personally think the great isolation her raises her in, her lack of outside influence and perspective has a large factor on why the relationship feels very unhealthy and imbalanced to me]

5.) I think the story above all is of the creation of Jinx. Silco unlike Vi, Jinx, Viktor, Jayce and Caitlyn is not a character who stands on his own. He was created for this story. He was created as a catalyst, an enabler, a precondition to allow Jinx to happen.

IMO the writers walked in with the blue print of “we have those two sisters, who end up on opposites end of a conflict, who have some things in common but also different extremes of big/light, punching/shooting, order/chaos, let’s invent a story of how it could come to this”.

I don’t think they designed Silco with a good parent in mind, as “this is the story of Powder who was always meant to be Jinx and was evil from the start, let’s for a short while give her somebody who loves her so she has at least that”. I think they designed him as comorbid mess of hangups and character traits and somewhat extreme (powerful unassailable crimelord in a fairly lawless space) and extremely unlikely circumstances (Marcus taking Vi just at the right moment for years without orders and without killing her and without telling anybody) to create the conditions where he could be a bad enough parent to allow the creation of Jinx happen. (I do think that they designed him to be an interesting and complicated character, that in a way the fact that there were some elements of genuine love/connection kind of fatally contribute to the bad lessons he taught her sticking/sticking longer, it contributes to the tragedy/it provides a better and bigger obstacle to Vi and Jinx reconnecting)

6.) I focused mostly here on the interactions directly between Silco and Jinx simply because I think that these will be most relevant to Silco and Jinx fans. That doesn't mean that I think the things Silco did and tried to do to Jinx's family members are completely irrelevant. Also for the record, I personally think that killing people outside of direct self-defense is wrong and that by letting/encouraging/teaching kids to kill you are doing moral harm to both the word and them (but I realize that my stance of killing is a pretty niche position in the world in general, so it's not something I typically try to argue with people with [and for the record, I've been atheist/agnostic for as long as I can remember]/it's generally not a strong factor in my arguments and it doesn't mean I can't enjoy fictional characters who kill others).

[kpopfanfictrash]

Hi! hope you're doing great 🥰 Idk if this question has already been asked and it might sound silly but I struggle with developing my male characters because I genuinely don’t know how men think and act irl… Even though I'm writing a pretty self indulgent series I don't want the male characters to always act like I would want them to and make the story too smooth? There has to be some conflict and angst at some point to make the characters grow. (1/2)

Hi, anon! It doesn't sound silly at all. I think this may actually be two questions though: how to write a gender you're not, and how to create believable conflict/character growth. (this got long, so adding a read more)

It's always a struggle (and one of the most beautiful parts about writing) to put yourself in someone else's shoes and write a story from their pov. Writers are often observers of character in addition to story-tellers. Actually, I'd argue you can't be a good story-teller without a strong understanding of people.

.... that is to say, people are strange and contradictory and flat-out confounding. LOL

Ultimately though, I think it's important not to start from a place of what you don't have in common with your character, but rather what you do. Yes, men and women have differing perspectives based on how the world treats them, what societal expectations are, and physical reactions. Despite this, men and women are also very similar.

All people have a hierarchy of needs. Everyone struggles for a sense of acceptance and belonging. Everyone has strengths and flaws.

Some of my favorite books have male leads (Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Red Rising, The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, The Song of Achilles, etc.) and while reading them, I didn't think, "how strange, this male thought pattern." Instead of imagining your character to be inherently different, think about how their experiences might have shaped them and how this could translate into their words and actions.

If you have specific questions while writing and don't have someone in your life to ask, the internet is always there! There are tons of great resources to educate yourself on gender differences and similarities.

That said, I do think the first part of your ask is a somewhat different topic. How to write characters who are believably flawed, or: walking the line between Irredeemable and Relatable. If you have characters with 0 flaws, readers won't connect and the story will lack tension/believability. If your characters are abusive or so flawed they can't move forward, your reader may grow frustrated and stop.

Honestly, I think this is something best explored with practice. It's a fine line to walk and there's no magic percentage or ratio to mimic. A few pieces of advice I have are:

1. Everyone has faults. There is no perfect person; a character without faults is a fault in itself.

2. Strengths are also weaknesses. What I mean by this is every positive attribute you give a character has an underlying negative. For example: your character is logical. As a negative, they may struggle with empathy. Pro: your character is emphatic. Negative: they may struggle with making decisions. Pro: your character is organized. Negative: they may struggle with being spontaneous. It's when a character is both organized and spontaneous that they may seem unbelievable!

3. Someone messing up doesn't make them irredeemable. I think sometimes writers are afraid to show characters making mistakes because they think people will write the character off. If we wrote someone off each time they messed up though, we wouldn't have any friends or family members to speak of. There's a lot of grey area in mistakes: ask yourself, was the mistake purposeful? Was a character being deliberately antagonistic? Was there an underlying reason the mistake which needs to be processed? Everything above results in shades of grey which make your character more or less forgivable. 

4. People are hypocrites. Similar to everyone has faults; no character is going to be 100% consistent all the time. Your character can be constantly laughing and then find themselves in a scenario where they're forced to be serious. Their usual reactions might influence how they respond, but it's plausible for them to do something different. People change and sometimes, flat-out contradict themselves.

5. Consistency is key. THAT SAID lol, there at least needs to be a thread of commonality for your character. If they do make a contradictory decision, how might this affect them later? Or, in what circumstances might they act in a manner outside of their temperament? At what point would your normally shy character stand up for someone else?

Phew, okay. I hope something in the above was helpful to you! Wishing you all the best with your writing, and stay healthy + safe!

[alirhi]

This is oddly fun lol

Let's see how many of these I can churn out before I get distracted or need a break! (pff. like I need an excuse to watch the show again. Despite its flaws, I really, really love TFATWS, guys)

Without further ado, let's get down to it!

Episode 2: The Star-Spangled Man

I'm pretty sure I'm on record when it comes to my undying hate for John Walker, yes? So obviously, Bucky's grumpiness 100% stays 😂

I'm not really a fan of how much emphasis they put on the shield. I can see it as a catalyst for Bucky to go confront Sam, yes, but he wouldn't keep going "shield shield shield" like a broken record. Bucky has consistently been shown to be an empathetic man. I can't believe for a second that he'd be barking at Sam about having no right to give up the shield; he'd ask why. Sam's got shit to do, so he'd get impatient and not answer.

"Why'd you give up so easily? If you were overwhelmed, I could've helped you-" "You've been ignoring me. Like now, how you're ignoring me walking away from you." "Well, you weren't texting me about this." "You think I needed your permission?!" "No, but I was right there with Steve while he was learning what it meant to be Cap. I wouldn't mind helping you get used to-" "Then go teach him." A vague gesture toward the "Cap is back" posters. Bucky makes a face. "Steve passed the mantle to you. You fought with him. You earned it. That little shit didn't." "What do you want me to do about it?" "Just tell me why, Sam. I mean it. I just wanna understand." "Not now, Buck. I've got shit to do. You see me heading for a plane right now, right?" "This is important!" "So is this." Sam tells him about the Flag Smashers, we get our silly Big Three/Gandalf conversation.

I'm sorry, but that whole jumping from the plane scene is funny as hell, and I love all the nods they added in to jokes from the press tours that brought us this show in the first place (like ripping the sleeve off his jacket lol). I don't think I'd change a single thing from the Big Three convo to Bucky joining Sam in the warehouse.

"You're doing the staring thing again." "You're staring at your watch," Bucky points out. He knows it's linked to Redwing, he's just pointing out how dumb that line is in that situation. They're there for recon lol. They're meant to be looking around.

I don't...particularly care about the other common gripe here? Meaning, "Bucky's a civilian, so why is he allowed to randomly jump in on a military mission?" Bucky's also known in this universe as an Avenger, just like Sam, so I don't think anyone would really bat an eye at him joining. Also, I have my own agenda related to Bucky's apparent freedom to walk in and out of military/government things.

What does bug me (as funny as it is) is Bucky's animosity toward Redwing. Again... Bucky is a certified nerd. Always has been. If anything, he'd be fascinated by Redwing and Sam would constantly have to slap him away because he's leaning in too close trying to see the tiny watch monitor. "I don't trust Redwing" is just old man griping "I don't trust your newfangled technology" and that... that's not Bucky.

And that "we're not assassins" dig, and then laughing when Bucky gets upset? That's not Sam. Both of these men have shown a remarkable amount of empathy, and Sam has a background in helping traumatized vets. If he cared enough about Bucky to be texting him after Steve left, he'd care enough not to make callous jokes about his time as The Winter Soldier, whether he knows the full story or not.

The fight on top of moving trucks looks cool, but makes no logical sense. I keep trying to think of a way to explain this from a story perspective, rather than a lazy "it looks cool!" filmmaking one, and I'm coming up blank. Anyone with half a brain would have pulled over, had the fight, and then taken off. It was a fun sequence, though... Eh. I'll leave it.

When Karli breaks Redwing, Bucky doesn't say "I always wanted to do that." Again, it's funny - I love the jabs about that stupid robo bird XD - but not Bucky. In my version, he smirks and says "You're so gonna regret that."

"You were kinda getting your asses kicked before we got there." Is immediately followed by Bucky staring him down and asking, "And... how did that fight end for you?" Sam adds, "I don't see them in custody. Are-are they following in a van?" He looks around, sarcastically searching for another vehicle. Walker and Hoskins grimace at each other, grudgingly conceding that point.

credit to @dailycelebs

Seeing Walker, and having to listen to his stupid pro-government rhetoric, makes Bucky think about Steve. When we cut from the Flag Smashers back to Bucky and Sam and the closeup of Bucky's pensive face, we hear 1940s Steve angrily telling 1940s Bucky about how the higher ups in the army had already written off the POWs and were going to leave them to die. "I love our country, Buck," he laments, "but what do I do when I'm not too sure anymore about the people who run it?"

"What you always do," is young Bucky's answer, "stand for what's right, not who's in power."

Perfect lead-in to the conversation about handling things themselves.

When Sam meets Isaiah, and hears his story, not only is he horrified and heartsick for him, but he also begins to see Bucky in a new light. He's seeing Bucky's face, the way he tries to hide his emotions and not make this conversation about him, and he's putting things together. He's still upset at being out of the loop, but he's seeing more of the situation than just "omg black super soldier". When Bucky says "he'd already been through enough," Sam asks quietly, "like you?"

The racist cop comes back before Bucky can answer, to arrest him for missing his appointment with Raynor.

ngl guys, I was so moved by the difference in how that cop treated Sam (before knowing he's Important) vs how he treated Bucky (knowing that the government views him as a violent, if pardoned, criminal). He approaches Sam with his hand on his gun, eager to defend Bucky; "is this guy bothering you?" Just because they're having a heated conversation. Then, when he sees that there's a warrant for Bucky, he approaches timidly, apologizes, treats him gently and politely. By "moved," btw, I don't mean "it was so sweet." I mean "this is fucking sick, and very, very realistic." White cops see a white guy and treat him with respect regardless of his actual criminal record, while being openly hostile towards an innocent black man without even knowing who he is, just because he's black. Moments like this made me applaud Spellman.

"You, too, Sam - That wasn't a request" is Sam's first sign that there's something off about Raynor.

Look, again... The couples therapy banter is funny because Sebastian and Anthony are funny, but that scene, from a storytelling and a mental health standpoint, is atrocious. Without some underlying reason behind her actions, Raynor is just a pointlessly terrible therapist.

Rather than insulting Bucky from the outset, Sam is angry with Raynor for violating Bucky's privacy by not only introducing herself as his therapist, but forcing a "couples" session without her patient's consent. With his background pre-Avenging, he knows this shit shouldn't fly. He immediately points out how unprofessional she's being.

Raynor doesn't bother listening - the fuck does she care, really? She shrugs and casually admits it's "slightly unprofessional" but proceeds anyway.

"Whatever's eating at him?" Sam scoffs. "Did you really just say that to a WWII veteran and the world's longest-serving POW with complex PTSD? Did I hear that right? I've had, maybe, like five conversations with this man since we met, and even I know he's been through some shit and-" "Sam," Bucky tries to interrupt, looking uncomfortable. With his crushing guilt, he has an easier time dealing with insults than someone coming to his defense. "No," Sam snaps. "If the HIPAA Slayer over here wants to drag me into this, she's damn well gonna hear what I have to say!" He turns back to Raynor and demands, "Is this how you've been treating him this whole time? Downplaying what he's been through and making a grown-ass man sound like a sulking teenager?" Raynor keeps her cool, but barely. Visibly frustrated and annoyed, she ignores Sam's tirade and tries to force the conversation back onto the track she wants it on. Bucky's embarrassed and doesn't know how to react to any of this, so he still makes that little "he would talk less" jab. Sam, seeing that he's not going to get anywhere with him until they're away from this bitch, glowers and plays along. We get our silly/angry banter.

After their argument with Walker, Sam finally confronts Bucky about what really happened to him.

"He meant HYDRA; HYDRA used to be my people." "Were they?" Sam asks, stopping him and looking him in the eye, not letting him look away or deflect. "Steve was under the impression that they were your captors. I was under the impression that the Wakandans spent two years deprogramming you so no one could use you the way HYDRA did ever again." "I-" Startled, not expecting that, Bucky stutters a little and admits, "Yeah, I... That's true, I guess." "You guess?" "Does it matter? Sam rolls his eyes. "I dunno, does it matter that you were a slave for most of the 20th century?" "I doubt it matters much to my victims." "HYDRA's victims," Sam corrects firmly. "Just like you." Bucky fidgets; he doesn't know what to do or say. No one since Steve has even so much as insinuated that Bucky wasn't 100% culpable for what he did while under HYDRA control. "Look," Sam sighs, "I don't particularly like you. I don't hate you, but I'm not your biggest fan." "...Thanks?" "I just need you to know where I stand-" "Yeah, got it-" "-So you know I'm not biased like Steve when I say you had no choice. I don't know your story, but I know no one flips on a dime from docile and plagued with guilt to an unstoppable killing machine and back without some serious psychological damage behind that. I'm not saying you're an innocent little bunny, but I don't think you're a monster." "Thanks," Bucky croaks, more sincerely this time, and a bit choked up. He clears his throat and looks distinctly uncomfortable as he grumbles, "but to catch these guys, we may need to talk to a monster." Sam cringes. "I was afraid you'd say that."

[yang-did-everything-right]

Me: *criticizes thematic decisions*

FNDM: "Oh, but what about this in-universe logic?"

Me: "Doesn't address my criticisms of the Meta behind it!"

Point is, as none of y'all have actually addressed how fucked up it is that CRWBY accidentally implied that Winter's better off now that Penny's dead by depicting Winter inheriting the Maiden Powers as a triumphant moment.

If you're going to try and refute my criticisms, note that NO in-universe reasoning will address my criticisms of the THEMES of V8C14, of the message that "Sometimes, suicide is the answer", of Penny being forced to give up a body she loved to get Cinder to stop dehumanizing her (as if PENNY was the one who needed to change), of how V8C14 VINDICATES Ironwood's toxic behaviors instead of condemning them in having "murdering Penny" be the solution to their problem.

My issue is the underlying (and hopefully unintentional) message that Penny's life ultimately meant NOTHING and that she was holding everyone back just by EXISTING and that we should celebrate her demise with a peppy song.

That is why I DESPISE "The Final Word"!

Those implications don't exist. But I'll address them anyway. Winter never seemed Happier because Penny died, or felt Better due to it. Is she -stronger-? Certainly. Is she better? No she is not, mentally, emotionally, as a person she certainly is not and the show never suggested she was. You are placing implications there yourself, honestly in a very understandable way for very understandable reasons. But CRWBY never painted it as anything but a tragedy and a tragedy is a tragedy even if all the reasons for it are only in universe. They depicted it as a "triumphant" moment -after- a tragic conversation between two friends that never ever wanted this to happen. But even that triumphant moment was seeped in tragedy. Sure, that is an in universe contrivance, and absolutely, if they rewrote the episode with a tweak say, Cinder missed with her claw, Penny no longer in threat of death, none of that happens. But that's not the message they wanted to send.

They never said it was the -right- choice, it was the -only- choice and that's what your critique is getting wrong. You are trying to paint it like they made her choice seem Good and Right, but they didn't. Just because a success happened due to her choice, does not mean that it was painted in a good light. Successes can happen for all the wrong reasons, and failures can happen similarly. That's what this was, but you are seeing that a "victory" happened because she died, and that's all you're seeing, not the surrounding messaging and tragedy. CRWBY never hinted, implied or suggested any of the honestly outlandish things you are saying. Her life meant nothing? She was holding everyone back by existing? We should celebrate her demise with a peppy song? Suicide and assisted suicide are terrible things, but so is murder, the show never paints that as good either. Unless you take Tyrian literally of course. It didn't paint suicide as good, it didn't paint it as the good choice. And with your framing, shows simply cannot show problematic things without the show itself being flawed and wrong. The whole POINT of it was that it was wrong and bad and it wasn't a choice either of them wanted and this was NOT glorified. It certainly didn't validate Ironwood's nonsense because -even he- didn't want her to die. That was what Watts wanted and kept from Ironwood, in case you forgot that tidbit. (But you ain't gonna find any love for Ironwood here, I just like making sure all the facts are aligned.) I'm sorry, I'm all behind hating the fact that it happened, even wishing that the show took a different path so that it didn't need to go that way. I do, I wish it didn't happen how it did. But I'm not going to critique the show for showing suicide at all while it went out of its way to stress how not good it was. They even had a god damn suicide hotline at the start of the episode, it went -beyond- in show meta to say it wasn't good.

[july-19th-club]

AGAIN i am only halfway through the book and im gonna have to go back and reread some chapters i skipped because this is what happens when im very excited to read a book so if you know whether i’m right or wrong here DON’T LOOK AT ME but listen. okay. so. as i understand it, ideal lyctorhood, the lyctoral state achieved without human sacrifice, which has never been successfully done, is basically like extreme drift compatibility, with the goal/main benefit that of having a constant flow of living and dead energy between the participants such that they fuel each other and reach this powerful physical equilibrium that allows them to do all kinds of sick things with their bodies and magic, share their mental resources, and also not age.

working from the assumption that a strong connection and understanding is a step toward making this easier, the candidates closest to ‘drift compatibility’ at the outset of the trials are magnus, abigail, pal and cam. which is why pal and cam are the first to spot the thing that feels off about the process as interpreted by all of the other candidates. they avoid any trial room that involves stuff where you have to deplete your partner to finish the task, and less than halfway through seem to have decided that they’re only here to get to the bottom of the murders. he says, “i don’t like how many of these spells are about sheer control,” and out of all the cav/necro pairings, he and cam (and mangus and abigail from what we saw of them) have the most even balance of power -- more like two disciplines in concert rather than a leader and a follower; a boss and an employee; a damsel (gender neutral) and a protector as we see with other pairings. cam, notably, is one of the few cavs who can hold a professional conversation re: the nuts and bolts of necromancy -- he clearly doesn't shy away from sharing his research with her, and while pal isn’t so up on swordcraft that he knows the best way to learn it, he still is familiar enough with cam’s fighting style to have a little code with her describing attack patterns and moves she does. so he’s primed not to think of achieving lyctorhood through consumption (most necromancers, like harrow, DO think of their discipline as ‘control’) and more readily through partnership.

of the ‘megatheorem’ (which he turns out to be right about) he says “it’s wrong...there’s a flaw in the underlying logic. the whole thing is an ugly mistake”. so he’s already convinced that the original developers of the theorem missed something big that has never been revisited. and based on his conversation with harrow inside his bubble in HtN, we can assume he’s been working on this question since they last talked. he says, “tell me you did it correctly...tell me you finished the work” now, he’s been dead for eight months. he doesn’t know what harrow refers to as ‘the work’ (erasing her memories of gideon). he can only be referring to ‘the work’ of complete lyctorhood, lyctorhood without resorting to messy, brutal soul-eating to drive the connection home. in this essay, i will explain why the team from the sixth house are the closest of all the characters, protagonists included, to achieving perfect lyctorhood with very little effort at all

[multicolouredbeanbag]

pt 3 sorting characters into hogwarts houses

Part 1    Part 2

Tl;dr: April Stevens is a Hufflepuff who projects Slytherin; at her core she is a loyalist and she values community, even though her definition of a community has become GREATLY limited due to… reasons.

so here’s the thing. April looks like a Slytherin. She talks like a Slytherin. She walks like a Slytherin. But I don’t think she actually IS a Slytherin.

Today I defend the idea that April Stevens is actually a Hufflepuff (primary, ie. her motivations/values) and a Ravenclaw secondary (methods/tactics). I absolutely love this character even tho she is a lil mean, and I think that viewing her through this framework does justice to her complexities/core of who she is.

I mention the primary/secondary sorting hats system in Part 1 so feel free to google that or read my other analyses first.

Spoilers below:

Let’s talk about April’s secondary first, which addresses the HOW of person. How they approach situations, how they problem solve.

HP canon often posits Ravenclaws as the “intelligent” character, and while April IS very smart, that’s not why I consider her a Ravenclaw.

April is a HUGE planner and collector of information. She likes to be prepared because it gives her control over a situation. She’s an excellent strategizer. She’s less comfortable with improvising without having some tools/contingency plans to draw from, so when she’s stressed, she has a tendency to fall back on the tools that she’s brought with her (in contrast to Sterling, who absolutely thrives in improvisation)

My first example is the debate tournament - as team captain, she’s in it to win it. Her strategy of choice is to prepare detailed dossiers on all the other team captains. This works well enough for her, until opponent debater Craig pulls a move she couldn’t anticipate (using his own research against her), and she falls to pieces. Still, she takes some time, gathers herself again, and pressures Sterling to use the dossier on Craig to take him down (contingency plan).

Other examples:

Asked Sterling to debate her when deciding whether to come out or not - girl RUNS on logic

April’s approach to school is very organized/planning based, she’s also kind of a major nerd OBVIOUSLY, so this is a more conventional representation of her Ravenclaw-ness

S1E1, she snatches the condom wrapper but retreats with the information probably for processing purposes. She makes a plan - use threat of exposure to blackmail Sterling into giving her the fellowship position, and doesn’t deviate from it, even when the plan fails. Sterling has to save her from that situation ultimately.

This is a little more vague, but I’m thinking about how April comes off as a rigid, somewhat inflexible character. She’s not very easily persuaded to change her behavior (this, of course, makes so much sense! When you think about being gay in the south like? Her reluctance to come out is completely understandable) which contrasts very severely against Sterling’s expressive fluidity. April is a lot more static, and part of that is because it’s difficult for her to thrive when it’s an area that she hasn’t had the opportunity to prepare/plan/study.

Now for the much more interesting and complicated part, April’s PRIMARY.

Again, the Primary is all about WHY someone does something. Their motivations and values. I argue that April Stevens is a true Hufflepuff because she places utmost importance on community.

The HP canon defining qualities of being Hufflepuff are patience and loyalty. It’s the fair and inclusive house. However, it would be reductive to suggest that all Hufflepuffs are friendly, warm individuals. They are bonded together not by their shared amity, but by their value of people and groups—community.

April’s “community” on the show is unfortunately tied to her family and the Christian community. She fears not belonging (bc homophobia) so she overcompensates by conforming aggressively (see, Straight-Straight alliance S1E1).

The episode that really sold this analysis for me was S1E7, when April and Sterling had a number of conversations about April’s dad.

April: “My dad used to call my family a team. And I worked so hard to be the very best version of myself because Team Stevens wins. Teams Stevens is perfect, except that it’s not.”

With these words, we get some insight into why she’s so intense and high-achieving and obsessive all the time. It’s not so much because she wants to win for herself, it’s more the fact that she’s part of a team. She does her part for the team by excelling everywhere she thinks it counts, and of course her underlying gayness contributes to her NEED to be perfect. In practice, it comes off as personal ambition, which is why April seems, at least on the surface, pretty slytherin-y. In reality, it must be more about compensating for something she feels she lacks. Team Stevens can’t be perfect if they’re ostracized by the community due to their (only?) child being gay, so of course she has to keep it to herself, and she has to be the best on all other counts so no one can ever touch them.

Another example, S1E6, at the tournament April says, “You know what’s going on with my family right now; we have become the black sheep of the entire community. I needed a win!” She projects her personal problems onto external academic goals.

This framework of achievement as a prerequisite of community, flawed as it is, seemed to be working for her, at least up until her dad was arrested for attacking a prostitute. In a conversation with Sterl, back when April was trying to steal the fellowship title:

S: Why are you doing this? Is it because of what’s going on with your family?

A: What John did is his problem.

S: He’s still your dad.

A: I don’t care. He beat up a prostitute! I’m not a fan of sex workers but they deserve to be safe!

She obviously feels confused and hurt that her dad lied to her and was violent to women, which is something she cannot stand. For a while, she drops her father like a hot potato, throwing away his letters from jail and ignoring his calls. Hufflepuffs value people—fair is fair.

But she kind of still supports him at the end anyway, when he comes home (s1E10). She must be feeling so conflicted when this happens. Dad is a part of family (established community) therefore she has to support him. Dad possibly hurt someone, but then he did get cleared of his charges. April is essentially making a choice between Dad and Sterling, established community vs. possible (in fact PROBABLE) community alienation.

Hufflepuff and Slytherins are both loyalists because they both care about people—Hufflepuff because they’re people, Slytherin because they’re THEIR people. For all intents and purposes, by S1E10, Sterling is one of April’s “people.” So how does April choose? She goes with the established community, which is really to say she chooses culture and tradition.

April has spent her entire life locking away a significant part of herself for the sake of her family and more generally, her religious community. In S1E8/S1E9, April is almost convinced to come out—FOR Sterling. She probably would have gone through with it were it not for her dad showing up the next episode. April obviously has (justified) reservations about coming out because it’s honestly pretty dangerous to be out in the south, and these circumstances haven’t changed just because she found a girl that she likes. But she is reluctantly on board because Sterling would have been there to take the leap with her… at this point, April had expanded her definition of community to include Sterling, and for a moment Sterling’s optimism had broken past April’s defenses. Then her dad comes back, and April realizes that she has to make a choice even though this choice hurts them both terribly—Sterling is after all, one person, and what is one person in the face of boundless historical tradition and family values?

Hufflepuff morality tends to be influenced by external inputs, while Slytherin morality tends to come from the internal, the gut. Hufflepuffs can and will ignore their internal feelings when they contradict with the needs of the community. Slytherins are less easily swayed by external influences if they are sure they are right.

April has shrunk down her loyalties to a more manageable level (truly, a very LIMITED circle), but still prioritizes fairness and loyalty and of course, second chances. It’s partly why she’s open to reconnecting with her father. Maintaining these loyalties comes at the cost of her relationship with Sterling, but this is something April is willing to do: self-sacrifice for (greater) community.

Just to take a step back, April and Sterling’s relationship back in 5th grade is just… fascinating. In S1E6, we find out that April’s whole grudge against Sterling comes from when Sterling “gave her away” to another group at recess. An odd event that they both remember differently, and who can say what really happened? All we know is that April’s animosity comes from this perceived slight— the abandonment by someone she once trusted and considered part of her community. It’s very telling that their rivalry stems from this particular moment, the fracturing of a loyalty, as opposed anything else.

April: “the past is the past, we’re all adults here” but alsooo April, >:’(

Another example: at the tournament, when April is trying to convince Sterling to use the dirt on Craig to secure their win.

S: I don’t know if I can stoop that low.

A: He did it to me!

April’s first instinct was a quid pro quo, you attack me, my group will attack you. Which is why she is so offended that Sterling refuses to take the shot, because in April’s mind, it’s only fair. This exchange supports the idea that April considers community first, ambition second.

I like to think that April hides her vulnerable side, her honest hopes and dreams, behind her external perfectionism and ambition. I like to think that she cares a lot, that she’s a prickly, distrustful, kind of Hufflepuff who craves validation because she thinks it’s a substitute for connection. And I would like to see her find that type of community, that she and EVERYBODY deserves: love that doesn’t contain (in her words) “a post condition that we follow their rules for love.”

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

Hi! I just read your rant about how Duggan uses and sees feminism. His book is nothing of that. To me, it uses fantaisies of white men and makes it believe it's feminist. His feminism is very lazy, it's like he read twitter and hop he put it in his book. Actually, if i have to call it feminism, i would say it's white feminism and nothing else. His book isn't inclusive, it's just about Emma and Kate doing badass stuff. Now, it's easy to say productions, writers and tv shows use the feminism to sell their creations. To me, it's the case for Duggan. It's clear he doesn't understand a bit of what the feminism is. It's not just being badass or using the me too movement. No it's far than that. It's a fight for equality and for men to acknowledge, we the women, are also human being and have the right to be respected and to have the same rights and duties than them.

I'm sorry to say it but duggan is far far of being a feminist. He used Emma in particulary as one of his strong female character fantasy. She is always sexy, she knows everything, she is always strong. To me, his version of Emma is badass and great but something is missing in her. She is just badass. So since he creates his fantasy of strong females characters, it's logic he is dismissing the men of the show. Look at who they are. They are all traits who can make us think the book is inclusive, all suffered from the humans, iceman is gay but he does nothing with them because he sees no interest in them. They are just here to tell us how amazing the strong females characters are. If you want my opinion (which you don't sorry), Duggan is very insecured with the way he writes Emma and Kitty who are very basic. His writing is just here to tell "yo look i understand you, i am a feminist, i can't be sexist see". If he starts to give a proper writing to the others characters, we will start to see that his writing of his fantaisies aren't that great.

But again it's an opinion. It's just to sell his book.

Hey, I very much appreciate your detailed opinion!

I think we're also talking about the difference between Strong Female Character and actual strong female characters. Writers and film-makers have interpreted the desire for strong female characters as "more sexy, badass women" (and of course, they must always be sexy), when what many of us female readers/audience members really want is women who are complex, flawed, interesting, and allowed to be an important part of the narrative, just like male protagonists. It's nice to see strong, badass women - I admit, after the MCU being so male-centered for so long, I really loved seeing Captain Marvel being incredibly powerful in her own movie. But having a woman be a badass isn't the same as having her be an actual good character, and many movies will have the Strong Female Character who kicks ass then winds up playing second fiddle to the male protagonist, for whom she is also, of course, a love interest. A female character doesn't have to be a badass or physically strong to be a strong character, she just needs to be complex and fully realized.

I think Duggan is trying to give us strong female characters by making the women front and center, but he's really giving us Strong Female Characters by making Emma and Kate virtually flawless, which is really a disservice to both of them. Emma in particular is interesting because she is so complex, and capable of both great evil and great good, so watching her strut around being right all the time really flattens her character. (And it's kinda boring - I don't want to watch Sebastian lose to Emma yet again, I've been watching that for most of this series.) And he is also pushing a white, wealthy, model-beautiful woman into the spotlight, and down-playing Storm, the WOC on the team. And if you want to talk representation, the men who are being mostly ignored or used as window dressing in the series are: 2 POC (Bishop and Shinobi), 3 LGBTQ guys (Iceman, Christian and Shinobi). Not to mention Sebastian himself, who basically admitted to being bisexual in Hickman's X-Men, but that is being ignored. Pyro is the only supposedly cis, white, "straight" guy, and even he is arguably being "straight-washed" given that he was originally queer-coded back in the day.

I think the treatment of the guys has underlying layers of toxic masculinity, since they are so rarely allowed to to express complex emotions and are just expected to make witty quips or get angry. (Especially Bishop, Iceman and Pyro.) Not that I necessarily want to see "sad boy Pyro" breaking down in tears, but at least that might feel like serious character development for him. We don't get to see Bobby's grief over Kate's death, just his anger, and his relationship development with Christian is virtually nonexistent. We still haven't dug deep into Shinobi's relationship with Sebastian, and his "I still want to kill my father" is treated like a joke. (Admittedly, it's a funny line, and very in character for Shinobi.) The only guys who get to have "tender" moments are brief guest stars, like Masque, Forge and his human friend, and Jumbo Carnation. Which makes it extra frustrating, because Duggan clearly CAN write good, emotional character moments, but for some reason he can't be bothered to do so for much of the male cast of the book.

Damn, my Marauders critique really has gone far in the direction of "But what about the poor meeeeeen?" Maybe I'd feel differently if the two stars of the book were more obscure female characters, instead of two well-established and iconic X-Women. Like, I don't mind that Kwannon is clearly one of the stars of Hellions, because she is desperately in need of her own development and storylines as a character, and because Wells has managed to balance his writing to give all the cast something to do, rather than just dropping certain characters for months at a time.