#interconnected bc of like human relationships and stuff

[sepulchrorum]

Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason

[radiantmists]

well, I'm done.

I really enjoyed it! We got a lot more development of ART and Murderbot's relationship, Mensah and Murderbot's relationship, and some great ensemble stuff (Ratthi ilu) and I feel like murderbot, as much as it got put through the meat grinder emotionally, also made a lot of personal progress.

In terms of plot, this carried on the whole thing with alien remnants, but I'm not entirely sure what happened there? Like, was there actually a hivemind, because the whole interconnection murderbot sees in the vault seems to suggest that, but killing bits of it didnt knock out the other contamination, so... is it that the colony central system got infected partially (target control system), which then started copying itself and contaminating more people, which only believed it to be a hivemind? What role did target contact play in that? In any case, why was it so determined to escape/get weapons/etc??

The back-and-forth behavior (human to machine to human) that is hypothesized doesnt make any sense to me, but narratively i think its interesting bc it seems like SECunits and other constructs are particularly vulnerable if something like this happens again. Though if forewarned, i guess they can choose with medium to use for interaction and thus might be better able to protect themselves?? Idk.

I had wondered if the recurring alien remnants thing was eventually going to come around to actual alive aliens showing up (i had a pet theory for about a book and a half that GrayCris had some connection to a real alien group) but i guess maybe this is the closest it would get. It does seem weird to me that alien remnants make people compulsively build things; that seems like a weirdly complex behavior to be induced entirely by accident. Also, do all the remnants they find come from the same civilization?

[sunsct-inactive]

well, i am bored out of my mind and don’t really have the muse to work on drafts at the moment so here i am once again, looking for new things. in continuation to my last post’s list, i have added a few cool things under the cut i’d like so give this a like if anything interests you and i will hop into your messages. my muse page can be accessed here and the accessibly mobile list version here.

cult verse mumu -- could be lighter and darker versions. 

plots for a select of my noir verse characters (would prefer this in mumu form being that most of the characters are interconnected, but i’ll take individual plots as well) ***

superhero mumu; justice league kind of stuff. mostly brotps but also some romantic stuff. even superhero/human would be lit 

super villain mumu; suicide sqaud-esque? just a team trying to fight off the good guys. 

superhero/supervillain shit?? two halves of the same coin, can’t coexist but also can’t live without the other. underlying romance / sexual tension would be FUN. 

fantasy beyond belief. sci-fi? yes. mysterious & unexplained phenomena? yes. 

fairytales. let’s take a handful of fairytales and recast them to our liking in a cool mum. or do a ouat kind of thing where our muses are former fairytale characters populated in a small town with no knowledge of who they are. 

alternatively, just cool royalty and historical plots. i really wanna throw myself into deep research with this one, so i’d probably be a lil selective with this.

super spy/ assassin kind of thing. i am really into crime lately, i know. 

werewolf / vampire pack shit or just supernatural plots

angst!!

smutty things (sideblogs or discord only from me – partner does not need to make a sideblog)

star crossed lovers or just tragedy in general bc pain

platonic relationships, familial relationships

anything horror. we can make our own plot from scratch or do something based on whatever movies. ghosts, a murderer on the loose, etc.

something similar / based off of ‘Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile’ 

[roominthecastle]

1) do u ship michael/eleanor 2) if yes pls share ur thoughts and feelings :))

*cracks knuckles* Just remember: you asked for this, anon.

1) Yes.

I am oh so predictable and this dynamic offers everything - literally everything - that gets me going, so I got going at once. Like act 1, scene 1,

“Hello, Eleanor. I am Michael and you are dead.”

A dapper amoral non-human puppetmaster becomes emotionally compromised as a kickass mortal woman keeps foiling his ridiculously meticulous plans, and they end up bonding over the confusing struggle of self-improvement, survival, & being messy benches who love dramaaa?

Honestly, they gave me no chance to even consider resisting this.

2) Oh boy. This is where we duck behind a read more bc length & GIFs

I should probably start by saying that as far as strict canon goes, for now, I only see solid evidence of the tightest, beautifulest friendship btw these two, but the potential for “more” is def there, as well, imo. I broship them on the show and ship them like mad in this nice little bubble of Could Be where I’m happy bc canon is generous w/ the fodder. That being said, the furthest I can see canon pushing this ‘ship is a bittersweet unrequited love area, sth like [ this post ] I reblogged the other day. No bitter Friendzoned™ bullshit bc Michael ain’t a gross-ass dick like that. Friendship is his most precious treasure like he kept the spoon Janet gave him and put it on display in his office. My heart almost gave out at that part. I think he felt lonely and isolated among his kind even before his solo project started going off the rails, forcing him to defect to the human side, so I’m sure he would never consider “friendship only” w/ Eleanor to be some second-rate outcome. (neither would I)

But he is only beginning to discover the various dimensions of human relationships, so his feelings are likely in flux and mixed. He might consider chaste romance friendship, too, since he has no previous experience to draw on whatsoever. I mean, feelings are v difficult to sort even w/ plenty experience as evidenced by the humans around him.

Eleanor is to Michael who/what Chidi is to her, imo. Every round of the Eleanor/Chidi dynamic is characterized by a rollercoaster of “is it platonic or is it romantic or both or neither or what the sweet fork is it?”, and I can imagine Michael going through a bit of that confusion himself as he gets more and more attached to Eleanor but w/o the pressure of “pick a label already and act on it”. A general feeling of attraction (not necessarily sexual) would be natural, esp for a being who is experiencing his first intense connection with someone who actively challenges, rewards, and punishes him in ways no other being has before and no human has ever dared before.

She takes him down a few notches, no question. Chidi is the teacher but Eleanor is the one pushing and pulling Michael along their rocky, scary, insane path of self-improvement, which, just like hers, starts out as an empty nuisance deal of self-preservation (“You get help but only if you take ethics lessons”) and turns into a genuine effort to become better. She insists on him taking these lessons and makes sure he “stays in school” despite the initial difficulties. Out of his 4 humans, she is the one he consistently looks to for emotional pointers, support, and validation.

The subtlest (and my most favorite) display of this is how he keeps half-turning back towards her when he pleads their case in front of Judge Gen.

She is his person who has faith in him when no one else does and reaches him when no one else can or want to. She is his anchor pulling him back whenever he drifts off too far, be it as a result of a massive existential/midlife crisis or venting frustrations in his old, cruel ways like tormenting Chidi:

He listens to her and tries to reciprocate even if it means breaking some fundamental rules of the afterlife or turning on his own kind or giving up his immortality or going behind the back of the All-Knowing Judge who can condemn anyone for eternal suffering with a snap of her fingers. This is the same kind of glitch Janet describes in 111 (aptly named “What’s My Motivation”): to act unpredictably and behave in ways that run counter to how you were programmed to behave. a.k.a. the “human error” a.k.a. LOVE

Eleanor just instinctively gets him in every sense of the word bc they are very similar, and while at first it causes alarm, discomfort, and tension for both of them, it transforms into friendship - sth that I believe has its origins in S1 when he is supposed to be faking everything. That day spent together having all kinds of fun has left some genuine positive marks on both, imo, despite both “participating” to cover an agenda.

This bond is now the kind of stuff that would need only a tiny, unexpected spark to ignite. I don’t think it will in ~that~ way on the show since Eleanor is focused elsewhere in that department atm & maybe forever, but the groundwork is def there, so I can imagine billions of excellent fic scenarios blooming from this + as I said somewhere above, a potential canon scenario where Michael harbors unrequited feelings but keeps silent bc it would be a secret he is ethically allowed - maybe even required - to keep. Again, it is one of the lessons that come up when Janet’s “glitching” and they consider breaking up Jason and Tahani as a solution: “It’s not permissible to ruin their happiness to save ourselves. … It’s okay to keep a secret as long as that secret isn’t harming anyone, and telling them that secret might cause harm.” Michael knows Eleanor needs Chidi to stay on course towards eternal happiness, and, given the group’s track record, telling her that he has feelings could cause confusion sufficient enough to derail everything and that’s not permissible. But this is pure speculation ofc.

Despite the circular narrative and reboots, nothing gained is wasted on this show, it only changes forms and feeds further development. For example, everything Michael pretends to feel and do in S1 he ends up feeling and doing for real in the first part of S2, then gradually gains a more thorough understanding of these actions and feelings in the second half via Chidi’s lessons and by watching/helping others deal with their problems. He fakes it till he makes it. He essentially mirrors Janet, the other non-human member of this group dynamic, who unexpectedly bonds with Jason and her behavior becomes erratic as a result and calms only when she understands what is going on and how to deal with it. Michael’s “demon programming” starts glitching, too, and Eleanor is right smack in the middle of that mess.

Janet “orbits” the “Jason-Tahani unit” w/ a link to Jason, Michael the Eleanor-Chidi one w/ a link to Eleanor, which forms the two interconnected triangles of the show - an “arrangement” further reinforced by the image of Janet and Michael glued to Jason’s and Eleanor’s monitoring thingy respectively at the end of S2.

He is the (recovering) devil on Eleanor’s shoulder sitting opposite to Chidi (also they are the only two guys who wear glasses in the afterlife??), but no matter how well they click and how much fun they have together, it’s Chidi whose presence needs to be tangible (800+ reboots proved that), not his, no matter how/what he feels or what he wants. Removing himself from the equation, sacrificing his own wants & needs, is the only way to ensure Eleanor & Co. have a shot at eternal happiness, so he literally pushes her away and advocates for a solution that involves them completely forgetting about him. It is the ultimate act of selfless love if you think about it, and it makes me feel A LOT.

Also just look at them when she sees he did not die and he sees she (and the rest of the gang, I know, but that’s not our focus here) has not been eternally damned yet bc OFC HE COMES BACK WITH ANOTHER IDEA + 369 BACKUP PLANS + CHEAT CODES bc this is the demon who literally tried a billion ways to sneak them into heaven and was plagued with “after sad” when he failed.

And then we have the scene where he just can’t help himself, breaks yet another rule, and sneaks down/up/idk to Earth to nudge his lost pal back on track and she ofc doesn’t remember him bc the Judge wiped her afterlife memories and he pretends to be her BARTENDER in STING’S DESERT ROSÉ (!!) and delights in her drunken ramblings - it is too much goodness like I’m this close to a Cheers rewatch and also just… THESE FOOLS OWN ME NOW

[approximately7bees]

Uhhh hey there champ happy Halloween u should answer all those questions u reblogged 🎃

oh thank you fren 👻

Where do you stand on lotion: yay or nay? Why?i don’t normally use bc i think my skin is pretty decently moisturized as is but i recently read you really should put on moisturizer after you shower bc showering takes the moisture out of your skin... so if i ever start actually taking care of this flesh prison i might do that.

What’s the average length of a shower for you? A bath?Showers are generally pretty quick for me, (that lotion article also said you really shouldn’t stay in for too long) baths are longer and i’d like to be able to just stay for a long time but i’m too tall and get really uncomfortable after a while so I don’t stay too long.

What’s something you regret buying, but you just can’t get rid of it?i have a fake louis vuitton purse. i don’t ever use it but it was kind of expensive so i don’t want to throw it out either lol

What villain do you believe is most worthy of a redemption arc?ummmm i’m gonna say Killmonger but honestly my opinion on villains isn’t like something i feel strongly about

What was your favorite school project you ever made?probably the paper mache kiwi i made when i was in maybe like 3rd grade. it was REALLY good.

What role do you take on when you have to do a group project? (for example: leader, delegator, slacker, etc.)i’d definitely prefer to just be a worker bee but in a lot of groups i have been in i’ve had to take a leader roll. they’ve been fine but just like generally i prefer not having to be in charge.

What’s a funny mistake you’ve made recently?i’ve been playing connect four with a couple of my coworkers this week and i’ve had lots of really dumb goof ups

What would be your reaction if one of your parents said they were having another kid?what? how??? (my mom had a hysterectomy or something like that. i’m almost certain it’s impossible for either of them lol)

What were you almost named as a baby?i actually have never asked 

What book have you been avoiding reading and why?i guess the closest approximation to this is Crazy Rich Asians, which i bought but haven’t gotten around to reading. idk, i’m just not feeling it i guess? it seems really like family-centric with lots of interconnected stories and i guess right now i’m just leaning more towards linear stuff, idk

Favorite head phone brand?i really don’t have a preference

Favorite scent?coconut 

Favorite idiom?that really grinds my gears

How many friends do you have that don’t live in the same country as you?none

What is always in your wallet that doesn’t need to be?shopping rewards cards that i never use

How big is too big for a wallet?bigger than an envelope, maybe? i’ve just started using a money clip tho, it’s pretty cool

What class did you write the best notes in? What grade did you get?hmmmmm. apparently that knowledge has already exited my brain. i probably took the best notes in my networking class because you really had to memorize stuff. i think i got like a low B in it.

What was your pet peeve when you had a substitute teacher in school?them not knowing what was going on? when i was in high school we had a longterm sub because the teacher was on maternity leave but the sub didn’t know statistics so i had to explain some of the stuff which was weird.

What is a strange red flag you have when pursuing a relationship?hmmmm i guess if they comment on how quiet i am i’d probably have a flag go up maybe, idk

What do you look for in someone’s online dating profile?i’ve stopped trying to use those but it’s surprisingly difficult to find people who even have like. anything at all in their profile. so i look for content at all. and then i look for like whether they’ve put that they do similar things that i do or things that sound interesting. 

How many people have you thought “Glad I don’t have to interact with them ever again” about?i feel like an average amount. like probably the standard number for a 22 year old.

What do you NOT want on your tombstone?idk if i want any other words than like my name and birth/death. actually i don’t even really want a tombstone at all but idk if what i want will matter at that point.

How many couches do you want in your residence?probably at least two

What is the strangest website you have bookmarked?i mean what qualifies as strange on the internet? i have a link in my bookmarks bar that leads to a website where you can endlessly loop youtube videos?

What is your typical number of windows/tabs open on your computer?oh, at least 6 tabs in my main window. and then i have 4 other browser windows that have been open for quite a while. and 8 other misc windows open

How often do you restart your computer? Your phone?oooooh i do not restart my computer often at all. pretty much when it has to to update. my phone i’m better about, at least once a week but more if it’s acting up.

Do you follow the expiration date on food?um yes i really don’t want to eat gross food or get sick

What is the coolest name that you would never name a real human child?Brumhilda, (also i’m never going to name a real human child either way)

What fish scares you the most?cat fish

How do you feel about snails?i think they’re soooo neat but also please do not touch me

[atlaese]

Sorry I have been busy and haven't been on. Unfortunately I have to be in my phone because on desktop asks are limited to like 200 characters or something? Very annoying. But don't worry don't stress about answering on time, we are all humans! And you might need to check your setting, I think there is an exclusive button for asks.

We can definitely fix him and he doesn't even get a say in this, baby I know what's best for you. Now you have see I don't know what happens in comics with the family thing what I know is that Karen dies which motivates him and meets Elektra afterwards who is his endgame. At some point he had a fling with Natasha but that was very brief. I don't know more about that but I can definitely learn! He has given up the mantle in the show lol to iron fist during defenders before season three of dd but then in iron fist season two Danny goes... Somewhere. One day when you'll see the series you'll know but I'm telling you beside the punisher the series are very interconnected because in th comics they had many many runs together. And I think hells kitchen is a very small place. I have a friend who lives in long Island and says that hells kitchen is actually a Rick neighborhood isn't that hilarious? But no in all of things he thinks of Danny as his successor I guess both in comics and in the show.

I want a coffee date with Matt so bad. Please universe. Holding hands over the table and your other hands holding your cups of coffee pleeease the absolute cutest I can picture this so vividly in my head. His restaurant date with Karen was so cute it filled me with such jealousy ngl. He is just precious really. Opera is Hella expensive but we can make it work, win tickets at the radio show or something, haha. Park date also, very cute very nice,. Ooh maybe a fair a festival what are they called? With street vendors and stuff.

I think he made money from boxing at some point next week during my re-watch ill start pinpointing things and keeping notes so we can enrich our talks. But yeah definitely little money not a lot, abet here and there.

matty <3 (lets just ignore the sad subtitles bc i hate that that happened to him :( he deserved so much better)

don't worry omg! you are also not obligated whatsoever to do this, so take as much time as you need! i really enjoy this so much!! also; @tumblr fix the asks!! in general!!!!!!!

anyway *cracks knuckles* on to more matt!!

we could fix him so good <3 like matt just... let us do the work you just sit back and observe. take notes. as a lawyer you must be pretty good at that by now.

karen dies?? i mean. i don't particularly like her, but that kinda sucks that she dies. like poor matt. this man cannot catch a break. him and elektra do make sense, like they have such a passionate relationship! a fling with nat??? pls matt he pulls the hottest women <3 good for you.

ooh i didn't know that yet! i am actually procrastinating watching the last four episodes of season three haha. i'm just not ready to say goodbye and im watching other stuff right now hahha! i love those interconnected series so much! like every character has their own arch but it intertwines with others and ugh... i love that sm.

i honestly thought hell's kitchen was somewhere in like brooklyn? but it's in manhattan?? lmao i've only been to new york once, but i did not expect that it would be a richer neighbourhood! pls stop with the coffee date stuff omg i cannot handle that because i know it's never gonna happen to me </3 like. where will i find a man that is exactly like matt. nowhere! or at least not where i live :(. oh and the pool thingy with karen. like. ah. so hot. so hot. i love playing pool and this is definitely not a dream of mine. like. someone (matt) hovering over me. very close. oof. i need to take a breather.

i hate calling but i'd call a radio show to win tickets for him so he can enjoy the opera. like i'd embarrass myself on national radio to do that for him. ooh park date YES! picnic. with strawberries and nice drinks and a soft blanket so you can lay your head in his lap and... my heart hurts. omg a fair!!!!!!! i love those!!!!! imagine him at a petting zoo 🥺 like a little llama coming up to him. or a donkey. i love donkeys.

omg you're going to keep notes??? for these talks??? marry me pls. (this week i won't be able to watch a lot of stuff because i have a final on friday, but i'm so looking forward to your thoughts!!)💗

[satisfaction-explorations]

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Scroll down to the text after the pictures too...

This is the Bahai calendar, with each month focusing on a trait of God

Have a look at the words for God’s characteristics in this wikipedia link, these words are really something special to read- I think it’s like Masaru Emoto’s water experiment: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%CA%BC%C3%AD_calendar#Months

I linked the above picture too- you can see a bigger version of it here: i.imgur.com/tcxKVNc.jpg

The light is one- religion is one:

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F6e%2Fc7%2F0e%2F6ec70e9f02d0e9bb35d0221de1bc80ac.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F388505905356668751%2F&tbnid=VlEYm2OF7jzCcM&vet=10CBMQxiAoC2oXChMI0P7ZubfX7AIVAAAAAB0AAAAAEA0..i&docid=pn4i8JT6Y4Vy8M&w=1024&h=746&itg=1&q=Bahai%20calendar&ved=0CBMQxiAoC2oXChMI0P7ZubfX7AIVAAAAAB0AAAAAEA0

On progressive revelation:

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.studio1world.org%2Fart%2Fimages%2Fcom_adsmanager%2Fcontents%2Fdiagram%2520-%2520progressive%2520revelation_150_1.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.studio1world.org%2Fart%2Findex.php%3Foption%3Dcom_adsmanager%26view%3Ddetails%26id%3D150%26catid%3D12%26Itemid%3D21%26lang%3Den&tbnid=IEDv-qUFK81AcM&vet=12ahUKEwiR0YTG0NfsAhW2MbcAHS7UBe4QMygDegQIARAe..i&docid=hc0LT48Uk7aTIM&w=800&h=632&q=contents%2Fdiagram%2520-%2520%20progressive%2520%20revelation%20150%202.png&ved=2ahUKEwiR0YTG0NfsAhW2MbcAHS7UBe4QMygDegQIARAe

bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/theadvocate.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/e/2a/e2a8206c-82f5-53d2-a33d-cab0e63c1175/5c64403c592ac.image.jpg?resize=400%2C403

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Considering these religious books were written such a long time ago, and considering how fast our society is changing each 10 years, what would God say to us in this day and age? What would God require us to build, do and help? What would God say to us? Just logically speaking.

When I read back on different religious books, it seems very clear just how relevant those books were to the problems, needs and cultures of those times. But those times were so incredibly different from today.

I do think that God doesn’t control the physical world- just the world of souls- because if you look back at the horrible stuff that has happened in our planets history, there is no way a good and smart God wouldn’t have stepped in. For example, God might saying that abuse might make people stronger, maybe. But allowing all these kids to starve, not giving medicines to people who are suffering greatly? God would have done something if God could, for sure, without any doubt.

God is in charge of spirits, of life, of who we are, of our truth, of our souls, and most importantly- of what happens to us- of where we go.

Maybe God is the ultimate observer, who whispers things to humanity, whether humanity hears it or not.

Just speaking from logic, if God were to say the 100 most important things to humanity at this stage of our evolution, what would God say? Or, what would be the #1 most important thing to the #100 most important thing.

I personally think that no good God would be so cruel as to make people LGBQTI and then punish them for it. It just makes no sense whatsoever, in terms of goodness, understanding, cleverness, grandness, all of the good things in the world. If they are not hurting others more than other people do, then what they do in privacy is not a value judgment- it just makes so little sense. God would not be a horrible person. God is the Good. God is the logical. In fact- God is the best for everyone- and anything less than the best for everyone is not characteristic of God.

I also believe that God is Good, reasonable, incredibly clever and open to evolution. I believe if God is against LGBQTI for some reason that constant prayers for understanding, fairness, respect and freedom can and will be highly effective. I literally can’t think of 1 reason why God would be against this, and God is supposed to be the most Good and very smart. I thoroughly believe a relationship with God and regularly asking God to reverse all harmful beliefs to LGBQTI people is effective and highly worthwhile. God is not only the Good, God is the smart.

What other things? What 100? And not things from books but things from logic- what God, in this day and age, would be most likely to say to all of us to be good, do what we need to, have good mental health, and become who we need to become.

I genuinely believe that God would warn the entire world strongly about religious naivety as well. God would say, don’t be naive. You can’t take things too literally. It’s more about the spirit they were intended in. I think that would be in the top 10.

I’m sure that God would say the platinum rule- treat people as they would like to be treated- as maybe #4 most important, with naivety as #5.

And God would include everyone- all people everywhere.

I think that God would say that the way Indigenous people viewed God was one of the more accurate ways of viewing God, of what God actually is (the Great Spirit, who is highly connected to nature and all life, as well as to our spirits).

I have always had a strong intuition that love (pure love, rather than romantic love) and God are highly interconnected. I don’t know why, but I would definitely put that in my top 100.

Although, the problem with religion, like the problem with ethics, is that it is extremely rare that something would apply for all people in all situations. That’s definitely false for development. Although, it would be incredibly useful to have 100 prioritised starting points.

Also, I think religion and ethics are separate things. Maybe ethics is more focused on not crossing lines and being adequate enough, where God is about being a full person who has reached your potential in your goodness- both are very important.

I come from the Bahai perspective, because I have studied a very large number of religions and I think Bahaism is the best for world development (and is also the most accurate of the written religions, but I don’t want to offend anyone, that’s just what I personally think).

However, I’m not asking this from a “Bahai perspective”. I’m asking this from a universal global perspective that is true for everyone- logically speaking, what would be the 100 most important things that God would require of us and would tell us, in order of importance?

I will add two incredibly important things though-

Religion needs to agree with what all of us know is true about the world (science) and religion needs to be inclusive of all people. God is the Good.

https://bahaiteachings.org/bahai-principles-the-unity-of-science-and-religion/

https://bahaiteachings.org/bahai-principles-religion-should-cause-love-and-affection/

[ziracona]

I wish people were more careful about parasocial relationships. Like yeah you probably never will meet Chris Evans and feeling like you have a personal relationship with him and know way more about him than you possibly truly could doesn’t make you bad or anything but like, it’s not great for you? And it’s a slippery slope in more ways than people even think about. It’s dangerous to invest your own self in someone you don’t know, for one. You see a lot of cult and hivemind mentalities with singers and actors and youtubers and podcasters, where even when like, a writer is outed as a child molester or active racist some people will write 4 page essays 14 times a day to defend their guilty conscience and their fave’s pride trying to convince everyone and their dad actually it’s a conspiracy or it’s ok somehow or it’s not a big deal. And you see a lot of people not only support terrible things and people, but actively become worse to make doing that okay to themself. If you delude yourself into thinking a person you never met is not only your best friend or loves you, but that you know them? It suddenly becomes very personal when you find out they did something that sucked or they do suck, and also it’s so easy to convince yourself everyone else is wrong bc you pretend you know them and kind of believe it to truly do. And start defending them like you would your childhood best friend you actually know would never commit murder or condone slavery or something: There is no part of that that is healthy or good for you.

But that’s the side people talk about more. What people talk about less is that this is also a big problem within fandoms and for small content creators. While your parasocial relationship with Chris Evans is your problem and the people you harass on his behalf’s (note: I picked Chris bc I know of absolutely no scandal abt him so it seemed he’d be a clear ‘this is not targeted at all’ choice but if it wasn’t I like Evans; I know little abt him but he seems cool and this is not at all abt him or anything), because Chris is safely up in his huge house with his bodyguards and several levels of separation. He’ll probably never have to know you exist even if you try to stalk him. But in a fandom and with small content creators, there’s an added layer, which is when you read a web comic or fic or see a small group’s original animated series, a lot of people come up with a like parasocial-lite idea of who that person is, and bring it with them to meeting that person directly. I’ve seen a similar thing happen with people really big in fandoms, where they’re so well known people expect them to be a certain way just because of their content. And sometimes that means you get the YouTube white man treatment and the ‘fandom mom’ exerts really creepy hive mind influence (especially over smaller and very interconnected fandoms), and sometimes it means a popular artist or writer gets harassed because a fan meets the real person and realizes they’re not the idealized version they already invented, and take that personally. Which is really not cool, and depressing at best to chilling at worst. It should be a simple concept that just because you read someone’s web comic you don’t know them, and that they’re going to be a living breathing human with complexity and also existence and interest outside of that comic, and not everything about them will be the way you guess or want, and the idealized version of them you have in your head is not their responsibility or fault or problem, but most people don’t seem to get it. I’ve met a lot of super cool people through various aspects of fandom stuff from fan, to artists, projects, games, to writer, and some are normal and great, even if they met me because of my work, but there’s also been a disturbing number who approach me excitedly with this idea of me they made up, who are repulsed violently the second they see even a minute divergence from it, and seem to take that as some personal betrayal, or failure, and can’t handle the fact that I am in fact not a celebrity, but just another person trying to make sense of life and do the right thing and look out for the people I love and the ones I don’t know. It’s. Something. Alienating maybe. How many people seem to handle even tiny content creators that way. It’s certainly not pleasant.

Anyway, I’m only writing this because I’ve seen more parasocial posts tonight than like, ever before, because of to the best of what I can gather something happened on YouTube? And I figure while it’s temporarily in the public consciousness, if you see this, please consider how you treat big name fandom members and small content creators, and think of us. Even positive dehumanizing (as in idealization) is still dehumanizing and not actually positive at all or enjoyable and it does hurt people. And we are...people. So. Yeah, that’s all.

[hmmnlesbians]

im so tired of not knowing what the fuck is happening in the mcu

long post so its under the cut

like, the fucking difference between gotg space and thor/ttdw space is??? severe??? and then they  got all smushed together like what,, the fuck??

like, before gotg i was not seeing the ‘nine reals’ that thor talks about as planets- i thought that . they werent . quite alternate universes, but like, different planes of reality. because in the mythology, one of the nine realms is helheim, the real of the dead-that cant just be another planet, right? but then there was gotg and ragnarok, and it was implied that space was like, high-tech and sci-fi-y, not the quasi-medieval fantasy of thor, and than that asgard was just an Aesthetic choice?? which, cool, makes sense that colonisers would keep that myth. but why is asgards tech so different?? is it just a different “approach” to science?? but what apout the actual magical powers thor and loki and the other asgaurdians have, never mind dr strange magic??? (speaking of him, what the hell does ‘other realities’ mean?? that sounds like some alternate universe, but the sorcerers know whats happening in them, and strange refers to the multiverse at some point iirc, talking about universal level threats like loki so???? whats the sitch???) also, how would a group of people with swords be able to conquer eight other planets that all presumably have like, regular tech and guns and stuff?? 

also, what are the rules for the infinity stones? like, who can use these fuckers?? bc thor and loki can handle them fine, more than the non-human guardians, which suggests that theres something special on a genetics/species level about them (which... has troubling implications for asguard-as-a-colonial-power) as being from the nine realms specifically, bc loki is jotun not asguardian, but humans cant handle them and midguard is part of the nine realms, so??? and then thanos can handle them, and that fucker in the gotg flashback scene, so whats their deal?? 

whats the relationship between the kree and thanos. how did the kree go from blue fuckers with facepaint to jude law, or was it like, and empire thing. if it was, how did that work that jude law was in charge of minn evra, who looked like a ‘’’real’’ kree, according to how they were portrayed in gotg. 

what planet are thanos servants from. bc they all have the same skin and vibe, but theyre so fucking different. are they genetic abnormalities? is that why they allied themselves with thanos?? is this an ableism thing??

why are all these planets so interconnected but they just left earth out of it. like, they clearly know what ‘terra’ is, they just dont fucking go there. ????

just. what are the rules of this universe!!!

@ marvel i need a comprehensive map of sociopolitical interactions and realtionships over the course of the mcu as well as the interactions and distinctions between different forms of science/religions and i need it like, three years ago

[clubofinfo]

Expert: Irrespective of nationality, religion, race, or gender; whether stinking rich, desperately poor, or somewhere in between, happiness is the one thing everyone is seeking – consciously or not. The architects of the socio-economic system in which we live have devised a system that promises to satisfy this yearning. But instead of building a society at ease with itself, full of peaceful, happy people, collective discontent is fed, resulting in a range of mental health issues, and in some cases, suicide. Happiness, according to the duplicitous devotees of Neo-Liberalism, is to be found in the homogenous shopping centers of the world, the sterile holiday resorts and brash casinos. In things, in products and services that stimulate and excite: Happiness in this perverse paradigm has been replaced by pleasure, love exchanged for desire, choice substituted for freedom. Echoes of happiness Happiness that lasts is what we yearn for, not a transient state in which one feels the tingle of happiness for a moment or so, only to see it evaporate as the source of our happiness loses its appeal, or is exhausted — the holiday comes to an end, a relationship breaks up, the gamble doesn’t pay off, a new I-Phone or handbag hits the high street making the old one redundant etc., etc. We sense that a state of lasting happiness is possible but know not where it is or how to find it. The mistake commonly made, and one we are constantly encouraged to make, is to search for happiness within the sensory world where all experiences, pleasant or unpleasant, are facile and transient. The inevitable consequence of such shallow encounters with happiness is discontent and frustration. Despite being repeatedly confronted with disappointment, instead of refraining from this never-ending quest, the searcher becomes increasingly desperate; a new relationship may be sought, a change of job or new home, more shopping outings, dinners planned, alcohol and drugs taken and so on into the darker reaches of sensory satisfaction and hedonistic indulgence. Of course, it is important to enjoy life, and, yes, something resembling happiness is experienced on these excursions, but it is a happiness dependent on something, other people, and on certain elements being in place: take these away and the “happiness” very quickly evaporates. Such happiness is a mere echo of ‘True Happiness’, and one that carries with it conflict, fear and anxiety; this taste of happiness, functioning via the desire principle and the medium of the senses is relentlessly stoked by the exponents of neo-liberal idealism. The success of their divisive project; i.e., profitability, growth, development, progress, call it what you will, is totally contingent on consumerism and the act of consuming relies on, and is the result of, perpetual desire. To their utter shame, despite having a responsibility to create the conditions in which ‘True Happiness’, can be experienced, most, if not all governments collude with corporate man/woman to promote the unhealthy, materialistic values that are the source of unhappiness. Desire is constantly agitated through advertising, television, film and print media; fantastical, sentimental, idealized images, of not just where happiness lies, but what love looks like, are pumped around the world every minute of every day. The aim of this extravagant pantomime is to manipulate people into believing they need the stuff that the corporate-state is selling in order to be happy. But happiness cannot be found within the world of sensations, pleasure yes, but not happiness, and pleasure will never fill the internal void that exists and is perpetuated through this movement into materiality. Pleasure is not happiness, nor does it bring lasting happiness, at best it creates a false sense of relief from unhappiness and inner conflict, a momentary escape before dissatisfaction and desire bubble up again. Cycles of discontent Nothing but discontent is to be found within this endless cycle of desire, temporary satisfaction, and continued longing. It is an insatiable, inherently painful pattern that moves the ‘Seeker of Happiness’ further and further away from the treasure he or she is searching for, creating disharmony and conflict, for the individual and society. Add to this polluted landscape competition and inequality and a cocktail of division and chaos emerges: Competition between individuals and nations separates and divides, working against humanity’s natural inclination towards cooperation, sharing and tolerance; qualities that were crucial in the survival of early man. Competition fosters ideas of superiority and inferiority, and together with conformity, an image of ‘success’ and ‘failure’, of beauty, and what it means to be a man or a woman, particularly a young man or young, is projected and thrust into the minds of everyone from birth. One of the effects of this is the tendency towards comparison, leading to personal dissatisfaction (with myriad symptoms from self-harming to addiction and depression), and the desire, or pressure, to conform to the presented ideal. At the root of these interconnected patterns of discontent and misery, lies desire. Desire not just for pleasure, but desire for things to be other than they are; it is this constant movement of desire that creates unhappiness and deep dissatisfaction. If desire is the obstacle to happiness, then all desire needs to be negated, including the desire for happiness. Perhaps the question to be addressed then is not what will bring lasting happiness, but how to be free of unhappiness and discontent. In ancient Greece, where life was hard and happiness was widely believed to be reserved for those rare individuals whom the Gods favoured, Socrates (470 BC – 399 BC) proposed that happiness could be attained by everyone by controlling their hedonistic desires, turning their attention towards the soul and by living a moral life. His view finds its root in the teachings of the Buddha, who, almost 100 years earlier had made clear in the Second Noble Truth, that far from bringing happiness, desire is, in fact, the cause of all suffering, and further, that freedom from suffering and unhappiness is brought about when desire is overcome. True Happiness is an aspect of our natural self. It will not be found within the world of pleasure and material satisfaction, comfort and indulgence. It is an inherent part of who and what we are, and in principle at least, the possibility of unshakable happiness exists for everyone, everywhere, irrespective of circumstances. http://clubof.info/