#it Has so much sentimental Value for. So many fucking Reasons

[beegswaz]

ough. Art blog theme debate..

[txttletale]

idk how to put this sorry if this comes off as rude/confrontational I'm not trying to be — when you say stories about forgiveness/reconciliation, do you mean more the type about forgiving & reconciling with family, or more generally (so like including - this isn't the best example but I can't think of any better rn - catra for example? where it's about being trapped in hurting people because of trauma and breaking out of that)? or is the thing you dislike more stories' framing of forgiveness as a moral imperative?

sorry if this doesn't make sense I'm just curious what you think bc you've raised some interesting points and would really like to see you elaborate on them

don't worry you don't come off as rude whatsoever! while i think my points apply broadly to how forgiveness is treated across media (rare actual example of cultural christianity) -- i obviously am not, like, against forgiveness or stories about forgiveness on principle. what i dislike about all the narratives about people forgiving their abusive parents is that:

like you said, it's always framed as a moral imperative. there is always an underlying assumption that forgiving the abuser is the 'right' and 'correct' thing to do, that not doing so would be wrong. this is tremendously insulting to survivors who have every right to not forgive their abusers!

in most of these narratives, the parent barely does shit to be forgiven. there's very often a narrative equivocation, in fact, between parent and child. like, sometimes the parent won't even be expected to apologize -- sometimes, even more grotesquely, both the parent and child apologize for their shared supposed 'wrongdoing'. this is also obviously insulting to survivors, who are not in any way responsible for their abuse or for having a poor relationship with their parents.

the reason why this in particular pisses me off so much is that it mirrors and in turn contributes to the cultural expectation on abuse victims in real life to maintain contact with their abusers, the constant casual pressure from everything from strangers to friends to acquaintances saying 'well, can't you just put it behind you?' or 'look, he's changed' or 'she's your mom' or 'you'll only have one chance to have a relationship with your siblings' or whatever the fuck. the sanctity of the family is a cardinal value across a lot of societies and this sanctity means a constant, neverending societal pressure to bow to sweeping abuse under the rug. i've seen many people i care about struggle deeply with feeling obligated to maintain relationships with family members who treat them like shit and make htem miserable every time they interact bc of exactly these sorts of sentiments being everpresent in their cultural environment. & these narratives always paint that sort of pressure as being well-founded and fair and ultimately for the better, which is absolutely repellent to me.

so, yeah. i am not against narratives where an abusive person actually confronts their actions and changes and repairs that relationship (that's another fucking thing, these narratives always put the onus and responsiblity on the character who was abused to forgive rather than on the abuser to earn forgiveness, just like in real life familial abuse victims are always fucking expected to be the ones to repair the relationship). i think such narratives can be powerful and compelling and explore questions of what the value of 'forgiveness' or 'redemption' even are, as well as dispel the mystique and exceptionalism often attributed to the 'abuser' as a holistic malevolent figure that can be cleanly separated from every other parent/grandparent/sibling/etc.

what i'm against is narratives where someone who is abused has their feelings delegitimized -- their rage is wrong, counterproductive, they need to let go and move on, they need to forgive their abusers and let them back int otheir lives because oh, they did something wrong too or oh, their abuser had a difficult life, or whatever the fuck. to which the answer should be a flat -- no. they don't. all the more power to people who choose to do that if that's what makes them happiest and safest but absolutely nobody has a moral obligation or need to forgive an abusive family member. obviously i am exaggerating slightly when i say every abusive parent subplot should end with the parent being killed with hammers, but i'm using the hammer murder as a synechdoche for a narrative treating an abuse victim's antipathy towards their abuser as something legitimate and justified and obviously reasonable rather than a flaw or something they need to move past.

[funnier-as-a-system]

it's pretty insensitive for that "good school + childhood" be added to "funnier" as a system.

we didn't get that. nearly no system got that. y'know, from the trauma.

Apologies for being blunt, but this is a case where your experiences are not universal, anon. People experience trauma due to reasons outside of school or an abusive or neglectful family (such as, if we're looking strictly at the post in question for inspiration, mental disorders or disabilities). I have known many people who have talked about the trauma their disorders gave them, such as people with OCD talking about their intrusive thoughts and people with schizophrenia talking about their delusions. I do not consider it "insensitive" for someone to have trauma for reasons outside of family or school. I do not consider it "insensitive" for someone to joke about their brain being weird or "so fucked up" despite having a good childhood. I especially do not consider it "insensitive" for a system who's gone through such trauma or has such disorders to want to joke about it, or to find a post like this funny because they can relate to it.

Furthermore, if we put aside trauma for a moment (as I don't believe the post was about that), not all systems come from or have [childhood] trauma, and many of them were able to understand and relate to the joke in that way. I'm guessing from your ask that you think trauma is a requirement to be a system, but We do not hold the same values, and don't consider it insensitive for a system who has not gone through that trauma to find something funny just because we cannot personally relate to it. Again, anon, your experiences are not universal – and that's okay. But I think you should take a step back if you can admit that some systems had a good childhood but think it's "insensitive" for them to bring it up in system spaces. Other people having their own experiences does not invalidate your own; it's fine to feel bitter that you didn't get a good childhood, but it's not inherently insensitive for systems who did get one to exist in system spaces. I would recommend you try to compare yourself to others less and to work on your own time about your feelings surrounding your trauma with family, childhood, and school, as it seems like you may have some insecurity that comes from seeing other systems who are different than you, and you appear to be lashing out at them due to feeling like anyone who was lucky enough to not go through such things is personally attacking you just by joking about their lives.

Besides, at this point, this blog is so much more than just funnier as a system. More bitter as a system, hits harder as a system, ironic as a system, sillier as a system... we've covered a lot of sentiments over the years! You could always just think of this post as "I can't relate to that as a system... but I bet some others can."

[cursedvibes]

The way people are focusing on "My fav Gojo is not racist, he's just ignorant" and "Gege really hates Gojo he made him racist" when it was not even the point of that interaction. The point was to educate and talk about some stereotypes about black people that are harmful to the community and, if you look into it I'm sure you'll find has it origins in slavery.

Besides, Gojo is privileged and comes from an old money family, and it looks like he isolatehimself from others. Of course, it's in character for him to say stupid things like that. Even if he strives for change.

Yeah, everyone is so pressed that their fave is being problematic (which honestly Gojo has always been, he's hardly a saint and he treats many people quite shitty like for example Utahime and Ijichi) that they miss the bigger picture of this. Given, I think there are better ways to get that point across, but the aim here was definitely not "look at what a uniquely bad person Gojo is, I want to make readers hate him" it's for readers to reflect upon themselves and their own biases, conscious or not. Gojo is often being a dick to people, Miguel included, but this wasn't it. He wasn't just being annoying as usual, he made a misinformed statement rooted in racism "black people are naturally stronger/tougher/more resistant" and he got told off for it, which actually led to him apologizing. He expresses bigoted views, that are quite common all around the world and can lead to real harm like for example medical discrimination, but people often don't question or even notice that they have these views. I think exactly because he's such a fan-favourite character, Miguel calling him out and Gojo admitting he said fucked up shit is important.

Gojo might make a trip to Kenya to meet Yuuta, but unsurprisingly doesn't have any real black acquaintances and the one black person he knows a little better doesn't like him because he treats him like shit, an expandable tool (given, Miguel did try to help someone do a genocide so it's not like him working to make up for that in principle is a problem, but Gojo is not just treating him badly because of that) and has dismissed him and his culture as a whole. Gojo's racism towards Miguel didn't come out of thin air with chapter 255.

No wonder Miguel wants him dead.

You could say Gojo's racism and ignorance got punished before as this powerful cursed tool he so casually dismisses here together with its history could have gotten him out of the box much earlier. If he hadn't gone out of his way to destroy part of Kenyian sorcerer's culture because of his fear that it might be used to hurt him, he might still be alive. This chapter the payback was just more direct, Miguel was given the space to push back and not just get beat up (making in the previous moment Gojo seem like the righteous cool guy, seen by how the fandom reacted to their fight) and he also didn't sugar-coat it and straight up said "you're being racist".

The fact that Gojo apologized, something quite rare for him, and didn't defend his uninformed views or mocked Miguel for questioning him also shows that a lot of this comes from unaddressed biases, irrational fears and having lived a sheltered life in terms of being exposed to other cultures (and actually valuing them) that influence his judgement. He's not trying to be maliciously racist, but he clearly doesn't know what he's talking about and why it is harmful. I don't think he revelled in destroying other people's culture, he was just driven by a base fear, but that doesn't make the harm he caused any better. He's never had any reason to engage with black people on a personal level and that has unsurprisingly led to some ignorant opinions about them. Again, a very common sentiment which Gege uses Gojo to highlight. This is clearly reflecting arguments and talking points Gege has heard themselves and tried to address here. I'm sure there are all kinds of wild racist takes about Miguel on Japanese social media, I know the English side has them plenty.

I think the message Gege wanted to send was executed a bit clunkily by for example still tying Miguel's CT to rhythm (replacing the inhumanly strong black guy stereotype with another common one) and putting the burden all on Miguel to educate the people around him. Similarly, having only one (explicit) black person in the manga who has to then explain anti-black racism to the reader makes it feel very forced. I think you could've avoided a lot of that and included these topics more dynamically by giving us more background on Miguel's technique and how he came to it and comparing it to cursed technique's of other Kenyan or African sorcerer's. Another option would be making Hakari for example Black-Asian (or Todo or Yaga). He has a darker skin tone than the other characters and differently textured hair (which would already lead to him having to face a bunch of bigotry in his everyday life) and he is hated by the conservative higher-ups. So actually do something with that and address it.

Even Japanese people who are merely slightly tanned get harassed. Just being from Kyushu or Okinawa, somewhere where it's much warmer and sunnier and therefore not being as pale as the average person in e.g. Tokyo will get you plenty of derogatory comments, especially if you're a woman. That goes extra for indigenous people like the Ryukyuan or Ainu who not only face prejudice because of their appearance but also legal discrimination because of their origins and challenge the very popular notion that Japan only has one ethnic group and one language. Japan still struggles with a lot of racism internally against their own people, so you can imagine that it's even worse for anyone who newly immigrated or with parents who immigrated (in the best of times you will always be treated as a foreigner no matter how well you speak the language or integrate into the culture simply because you look "different"). It has gotten better in recent times, but it's still a problem, as Gege pointed out in this chapter.

Coming back to Hakari, we would also be able to see through him how jujutsu society treats black-identified Japanese sorcerers, which would be a different perspective from Miguel's who only visits Japan occasionally and mostly operated outside the system until Gojo came along. Black people aren't just something distant overseas, they are also Japanese citizens. You could show if and how jujutsu society differs from regular Japanese society. Most likely they are even more behind as they also discriminate against what kind of cursed technique you have (modern or one based on a long bloodline, which would automatically work against anyone not born in Japan and with a long family history there). You could also combine it with the transphobia Kirara faced and generally show how this system fails young sorcerers who don't conform to their norm.

But yeah, sorry Gojo is not perfect and will fall into the same stereotypical and bigoted thinking as many other people who rarely step outside their narrow homogenous social circle. Like you said, he's privileged with old money and family history who pride themselves on their bloodline. He's generally very narrow-minded about things that don't interest him or he sees as irrelevant like how he doesn't bother to understand Maki or has no problem ignoring a starving child on the road (who cares what happens to Hana, she's weak and Megumi is the strong one, he's who matters here and deserves to be lifted out of poverty) and international sorcerers fall under that as well. There are so little of them so it's okay to ignore them, why should he bother reaching out or informing himself about people abroad, he's never gonna interact with them anyway. If they get too dangerous for his taste, he's just gonna slap them around a bit and take away their sharp toys.

Honestly, I think what Gojo did previously is worse than what he said this chapter. He can learn to check his internalized racism and be more mindful of how he talks to Miguel or black people in general (he shows openness to criticism and improvement here), but he can't bring back Black Rope. It falls to Kenya's sorcerers to recreate it, which will take decades. They'll feel the impact of Gojo's actions long past his death, even when he can't say anything ignorant or racist anymore.

So I don't think this ruins his character, was done by Gege to make Gojo fans feel bad, or meant to keep anyone from liking him. He has character flaws and that is fine. He gets challenged on them and receives push back for them plenty in the story. I can understand that some fans feel bad reading the chapter, hearing Gojo regurgitate talking points they might've heard said against them as well, but it's not really Gege's fault for addressing this very common issue.

[yuzuyoon]

Oh my god this sentiment!!!!

"think deep down they know if JM leaves, they are fucked. I know a lot of people say RM might be the one keeping the group together but I am willing to bet it's JM. If he chooses he had had enough, I don't think BTS will cease to exist. Yeah others leaving will create a dent but I think JM leaving will break the group. I don't think he will be the way. He is too much of a good guy. He knows the legacy the group brings but it would be interesting to see".

I remember having this convo with an Army once and they got so offended that I would feel that way. Honestly when I first got into BTS, it was because Jimin was trending on Twitter. I only checked him out after I consistently saw him trend. After that I realized he was a part of group called BTS and that was it for me. I have watched BTS and their content for a long time now and there are few things I can hundred percent bank on.

BTS have an amazing chemistry as a group. Regardless of what happens behind the camera, they are able to put it all aside and work as a team. There is a great sense of pride of being a team and they genuinely like each other.

Yes they are close but they get jealous of each other. I don't know the level of jealousy but there have been a few throwaway comment from the guys which points to this.

No matter what anyone says, Jimin is the emotional centre of the group. He is the person they go to when they need to hash out things but he is also the person that calls them out when they are being shit. He is the one who will have a chat with the leader of the others are struggling. He is the one who will tell people when things aren't working and they rely heavily on him. I see this as a disadvantage for Jimin because he is constantly in a giver and fixer role and he might not be getting the same back but I think we gotta remember he is a leader behind the scenes. He knows what he wants and he will go for it.

One thing that I wish Jimin did more of us boast about himself. He is extremely talented, extremely athletic, very good at a lot of things and fucking phenomenal dancer but I don't think I have seen Jimin boast about any of this.

All the members have had a role in the beginning and they have stuck to it for years and they will continue to stick to it even when they come back as a group. The chances of them bringing up Jimins success especially the first Korean soloist to top Hot 100 will not be brought up even though they will bring up Sevens success. I genuinely don't know why they do that but this has been a common recurrence.

I personally don't think the boys are distant as people make them out to be. When they come as a group, we will see a similar dynamic.

The above paragraph about JM being the one that can break the group, I whole heatedly believe this shit. Like I truly think that if he was to return tomorrow and say to the group, I am done, they will have to walk away. I have many reasons to believe this. Firstly, it's very obvious to me that he is highly intelligent emotionally as well as intellectually. Because he is so highly emotionally intelligent, he is able to balance the group. He can be anything to anyone of them so he centres them. He shares a very good relationship with all of them and he values his relationship with them all so he goes out of his way to keep it. He isn't jealous at all of the boys so he doesn't let that get in his head. He might have little jealously over their skills but not them as people. He also doesn't need loud declaration that he is amazing or he is the best. He of course likes it because who the fuck wouldn't but that's not the only driving factor.

This is going to be so bold of me and I could be wrong and I will most likely be wrong but it will be a JK vs JM show and it will continue to be that way for a while. I think the boys have known this for a long time. They can see the metrics and judge it accordingly. From what I can see, JK has always been pushed as the centre member. They have always wanted him to be the popular member. I have never understood why but I am assuming they feel that he has more years possibly being the youngest. He is also a great singer and stable so I am not surprised. I still think it's weird that they would focus on one person in a 7 member group but it kind of makes sense. But JM has always been an anomaly. He is incredibly charismatic so that makes him stand out. He is good looking which is JK is too by the way but Jimin captures more eyeballs. But most importantly not only is he a great dancer and singer, he has a natural star quality that the rest of them including JK need to work hard to show. He has sensuality that a lot of people don't possess so it's not a surprise that the competition is between the two young members. My only surprise is the lack of musical success for V but that might change once he changes his tune. This is a space I am keeping an eye on. Honestly I am also interested to see where Hobi lands because he has a lot of potential too. Overall though, it's always been those two from the beginning. And seems to be those two now too. I would be interested to see how they would both fare if they got exactly the same roll out.

Look what I am trying to say is that I am not being mean to the rest of the members to agree with the sentiment above. Maybe that will be change but I don't see that happening. I have always thoughts that JM is a glue to the group, I felt that while watching the AYS EP three as well. He has something and that shows in their content as well as peoples reaction to him. Yes he gets a lot of negative hate but only people like Jimin who stand out get this type of hate because deep down a lot of people are insecure about him. Yes a lot of them act like he has no impact but deep down they know that he has too much impact. We all know it, Army know it, solo fans know and the company knows it too. I am just unsure why the company is being stupid but I hope one day Jimin tells us why!!

you absolutely devoured this. i have nothing to add

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

Now that submissions are closed, we can talk stats. There were 881 valid, unique submissions for 474 characters! Woof, women have it rough out there!

The most submitted characters, with a relevant propaganda snippet included, are:

1. Sakura Haruno (Naruto): 28 [where do i even fucking begin]

2. Cordelia Chase (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel): 21 [OH SO MANY THINGS]

3. Misa Amane (Death Note): 20 [The author of Death Note invented new forms of misogyny just to apply them to Misa.]

4. Kaede Akamatsu (Danganronpa V3): 15 [Oh, you thought we would have a female main character in one of our mainline games? With a cool defining talent, no less? That's stupid of you]

5. TIE: Kairi (Kingdom Hearts): 14 [I'm so mad. I think she deserves a gun.]

5. TIE: Stephanie Brown (DC Comics): 14 [She does eventually get retconned as surviving the event and hiding out in Africa (don't ask, it does not make more sense in context)]

The canons with the most submissions, with a relevant propaganda snippet included, are:

1. DC Comics: 61 [DC has SO MUCH sexism it's laughable]

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: 35 [Fuck Joss Whedon, man.]

3. Naruto: 33 [because Kishimoto hates women]

4. Warrior Cats: 26 [Warriors is one of the most misogynistic children's series I've ever seen]

5. Danganronpa: 25 [I honestly had to think about it just to decide which woman is treated the worst because this series hates them so much]

The canons with the most characters submitted, with a relevant propaganda snippet for a specific character included, are:

1. DC Comics: 21 [Free her from the huge tits back breaking pose.]

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: 12 [Anyways she was so hot and for what. 10/10 my lesbian awakening.]

3. Supernatural: 11 [Yeah, she got randomly killed off-screen for shock value and manpain, but she sent an email right before she died so at least her death wasn't in vain, right?]

4. TIE: Star Trek: 9 [She literally gets teleported out of her clothes in one episode.]

4. TIE: Yu-Gi-Oh!: 9 [One loss is particularly brutal as she falls from a large height directly onto her head and goes into a coma (again. yes this was the second time).]

5. TIE: Warrior Cats: 8 [I'm sure she'll get submitted again just ask any reasonable fan they'll tell you about her and her sister]

5. TIE: Attack on Titan: 8 [As a child soldier, she does commit some war crimes]

And here are some charts to show how some of these entries fucked the scale on my charts:

Look at Sakura, fucking up my chart with her numbers.

On a similar note...

Good god, DC, I know what you did, but add fucking up my charts to your list of crimes.

And now, enjoy some rankings of my favorite things:

My favorite universal sentiment quotes from propaganda are:

She lived she served cunt and then she got killed off super early so that the male characters could experience man pain and also because I guess she would have been too powerful if left alive. [Wen Qing (Mo Dao Zu Shi)]

That design. Dear god. I don't want to live on this planet anymore. [Mitzi (The Queen's Corgi)]

In the end she may have girlbossed too close to the sun, but I support her anger. [Ling Wen (Heaven Official's Blessing)]

the victim of “writer doesn’t understand women and also hates them” disease. [Naomi Misora (Death Note)]

She could 100% kill somebody but nobody ever effing lets her. Rip queen. [Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)]

My favorite raging at a writer quotes from propaganda are:

1. You took every single protagonist to weird lion heaven, Clive, but suddenly Susan isn't good enough. [Susan Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)]

2. Being a woman written by Joss Whedon should automatically entitle her to financial compensation tbh. [River Tam (Firefly)]

3. A lot can be summed up in a couple words, namely, "Furman, why?" [Arcee (Transformers)]

4. Can you tell respect women juice ran in Tolstoy's veins. [Lise Bolkonskaya (War and Peace)]

5. TIE: (specifically a guy called Dan Didio, who we all hate) [Stephanie Brown (DC Comics)]

5. TIE: until Geoff motherfucking Johns comes into the picture [Pantha (DC Comics)]

My favorite quotes from propaganda that have nothing to do with misogyny, y'all are just funny:

I wish I could use bold here, because there's no such thing as uppercase numbers. [Arcee (Transformers)]

the most convoluted and lore dense piece of media this side of the afton criticality. [Jane Crocker (Homestuck)]

ended up starting a gang war by accident [Stephanie Brown (DC Comics)]

Ashfur, who later turns out to be a murderous incel [Squirrelflight (Warrior Cats)]

Hawkfrost is actively seeing Brambleclaw and his evil father in cat hell. [Squirrelflight (Warrior Cats)]

[raayllum]

Do you truly believe that Callum is the only best thing that's happened to Rayla?

I don't think Callum is the only good thing in Rayla's life, but I do absolutely agree with her sentiment that he's the best thing she's ever had / that's ever happened to her. This is for a few reasons (mostly only talking about arc 1 as that's the time she's referring to, but I'm also gonna be touching on S4/S5):

In Bloodmoon Huntress, the long time headcanon of post-s1-s3 fans that Rayla was a relatively friendless / lonely child was confirmed. This makes Callum and Ezran her first real friends, and while she's more likely to lean on Ezran for support (in arc 1 at least) initially than Callum is, Callum is still more so her peer (due to being similar ages) and is her first and main Best Friend. For that alone, I'd buy her statement.

Then there's the other ways Callum has changed her life. He is:

The person who inspired her to actively work towards breaking the cycle past the point of 1) believing it was right for Zym to return home and 2) to make up for her parents' perceived/failures mistakes, as seen most prominently in 2x07. This is something she is willing to die for, and while Rayla is (unfortunately) willing to die for many things, this is the cause she believes in and feels centred in: "Every fibre in my body is telling me that [leaving her] is wrong [...] It doesn't just feel like the right thing to do, it feels like the right thing for me to do. It's where I'm meant to be." ("Look at yourself, Rayla. Who are you? What do you stand for? Once you know that, you'll end up where you were always meant to be.") Someone giving you a much more positive worldview that aligns with your values and sense of rightness is certainly a big deal (and a positive one, particularly for someone who's struggled with hesitating over what feels right for so much of her life.

Callum is the first person in Rayla's life to love her wholly unconditionally. While Rayla is deeply loved by all four of her parents, and I've gone on record saying that Tiadrin and Lain didn't do anything wrong, arc 1 sees Rayla brush up against the lingering cultural hangups and choices that make her family's love for her feel if not outright be somewhat conditional. She is shunned by her village (condition 1), while Ethari says goodbye to her and embraces her he still turned his back on her (condition 2), Runaan was heavily disappointed in her betrayal of him/the mission and left her (condition 3), and her parents put their duty over her / being her parents (condition 4). Callum says fuck all that shit. He refuses to leave even when she's pushing him away. He loves and admires her for the exact things she's been punished or shamed for ("You have true courage and a big heart" -> "Even when her own people might misunderstand and turn against her"). He says she doesn't deserve to be Ghosted, she doesn't deserve to be unjustly turned away for a mistake she didn't even make, he says and shows that it's okay for her to be scared and that she can (and should) rely on him.

This is even more intrinsically tethered given Chasing Shadows and the canon fact that Callum and his love for her 1) kept her from throwing what little remained of her life away entirely and 2) literally kept her from forsaking her name/identity/everything else that makes her Rayla and 3) gave her the courage to try and come home to somewhere she'd be safe and loved, even if she knew/felt she didn't deserve to. There's an underlying belief in Chasing Shadows we see carry through into S4 where Rayla truly believes Callum can do and overcome just about anything, and if he can do the impossible, then maybe so can she:

She backed away, close to the pit’s edge. The crowd shouted and screamed at her ears, their spittle landing on her neck. It rattled her. The human kicked dirt at her, and Rayla scraped at her eyes, angry—infuriated, even. Humans were frustrating. Humans were clever. Humans could do anything, they could be anything, they could take their own fates and change them—

It is for all these reasons that Rayla clearly considers him to be her family and the love of her life. She gives him the pendant (from Ethari to Runaan, then Ethari to her, and then her to Callum) as a symbol of both familial and romantic love. He seems to be the first person she's had serious feelings for and certainly the first person she's fallen in love with.

She was originally going to confess first (2x09) back when she clearly didn't have any thought or inclination he'd ever love her back, either. Then he did, and it elevated an already very steady and safe relationship to one that was good natured, even more incredibly supportive, and wholly unconditional.

And given how he supports and loves her in S4 and S5, I am even more inclined to think she's Right <3

[philtstone]

#7, 13, and 22 for the Psych ask game?

7. Favorite Gus moment?

ooooh this one is so hard! burton guster my forevergirl ... he has so many iconic and Big Ticket moments that stand on their own and aren't related to other characters, but the biggest hallmark of gus's character to me will always be how good of a friend he is -- and so all of the scenes that popped into my head are a bit more subtle. it's a tie between the scene in the thornburg virus episode where gus bursts into the hospital room to make sure shawn doesn't confess his feelings to juliet for the wrong reasons, and the scene in "one, maybe two ways out" when gus immediately calls shawn out for being unfair when shawn says its bothering him that juliet is with declan. something about those two scenes really exemplifies why i appreciate gus so much; he's not here to be nice, he's here to be a good and honest friend who values the people he cares about three dimensionally, and sometimes that means not giving them the easy way out. that's not an easy thing to do. for all that gus runs away when the murder and chaos gets too much, he's incredibly brave and forthright when it comes to his personal relationships, more so than any other character on the show. he's the kind of friend i always try to be, and so those moments always stick out to me the most.

an honourable mention to the entire cold open of "office space", though. also the line "goldilocks was a crazy blonde shorty shawn", which makes me fall to pieces laughing every time

13. Favorite secondary character?

who counts as a secondary character??? can i say henry?? can i please say henry??? henrys secondary enough right??? my henry apologia knows no bounds. favorite disaster father in the history of television, no question

22. How did you get into the show?

good question!!! its a very convoluted story lol so i;ll try to speedrun it. also sorry because this is going to get a little bit sentimental and possibly too sincere

i very much subscribe to the "sometimes you encounter a story when you Need It Most" theory and i think my relationship w psych really exemplifies that idea. so once upon a time, years ago, i tried starting it when i was still into brooklyn nine nine -- this was like, 2017 i want to say? and i was kind of immediately put off and never got past episode 1. because i was expecting b99, which psych is absolutely not. its characters are a lot more morally gray and the show's narrative structure isn't a sitcom -- it's a parody of a crime procedural, which i wasn't used to. lucky enough for me, the beloved people in my life made me sit and watch the highlight episodes a few years later, and of course i was charmed, because psych is nothing if not charming and i grew up reading sherlock holmes mysteries as a kid. holmes and watson are kind of inherently a hit. but i think i never really saw it as it was meant to be watched: gradually, and with the breathing room to really understand the characters in the subtle way the show reveals them to you. i also don't think -- and this may sound weird -- i was old enough to appreciate the Point of the show

when i saw it for the first time, the main characters were still Adults to me -- a nebulous concept for sure, because i was just 22 and they technically weren't that much older than me, but it didn't feel that way at all. they looked like grown ups, especially because i was mainly watching later seasons. i was also stuck at home, with my whole family surrounding me, and hadn't really faced the question of "well what the fuck am i supposed to do with my life now?" yet

this last year, i moved really far from home, permanently, for the first time. i am very close with my brother, and for the last 2 years had been lucky enough to be roommates with one of my best friends, who in turn had basically become like a sister to me. in the first few months after moving, i did live with family, but because i was working remotely from a house in the suburbs without a car, i was alone in the house all day. i started putting psych on as background noise because i remembered enjoying it, and it was something the two people i missed most loved ... and i very quickly realized that shawn and gus were 1) basically the same age as me, and 2) one of the few dynamics i'd ever seen on tv that accurately reflected what it felt like for your Person in life to be a sibling.

it was so comforting to have on in the background. it felt like my own siblings were in the room with me, trying their best and making me laugh! and the more i watched, the more i realized that psych, at its core, is a coming of age show .... about what to do when you hit your late twenties, look up, and realize you have no idea what you're supposed to do next. and it takes your hand, and says gently, "well, it's ok. you have time. you don't have to leave what's familiar behind, but you also need to be brave enough to go after something new. it'll be hard, but you'll figure it out with the people you already love, and meet new people you'll love on the way, too."

that oversimplifies it for sure -- but something about that just hit home so unexpectedly. its been so strange moving into this new phase in my life and feeling terrified that i'll be forced to leave the people most important to me behind because Thats Just What Happens When You Grow Up. to encounter this story that was so fun and clever and sincere that showed again and again the opposite of that sentiment was such a balm to my homesickness and truly made moving away a lot easier than i ever expected.

and its just good -- well written and funny and extremely creative, and while it has its imperfections, it sticks the landing at the end, which has always been the most important thing to me, really. so anyway. now im here 5 months later and i think ive dragged like 6 people down with me in the last month, lol. theres probably more to say here but suffice it to say that because of all that, there will always be something very special about this show to me

[everyonewooeverywhere]

ok so i just realized that i posted “assert your dominance” exactly six months ago today. i honestly didn’t realize it’s been that long 😭

honestly when i posted it (and “need a hand?” a few days later) i didn’t expect any traction on it really. i hadn’t written fanfic in years at that point and i had never posted fic on tumblr before. so it was honestly so shocking to see them both get 1000+ notes in like 3 days.

i’d never seen myself as even a remotely good fiction writer up until that point (i can write a real fucking good research essay but that’s not the point 💀) but seeing so many people enjoy those two specifically was just so rewarding. and it’s been such a fun journey for the past six months to continue writing for you all.

i’m typically the kind of person to hyper fixate on a hobby for about 2 months and drop it. but this has made me realize that if i have people to share my hobbies with and people who find value in what i make it makes it so much easier to stick with it.

so thank you to those of you who enjoy my shit. it’s been a lot of fun ☺️

(special shoutout to my first follower btw. @xpeachesncream is half the reason i posted “assert your dominance” in the first place)

(and another shoutout to @coffee-addict-kitten @beenbaanbuun @wooyoungmybelovedhusband and @wonusbabydoll who put up with my ✨thoughts✨ and are definitely my biggest supporters 💗)

anyway. that might’ve been too sentimental but this is my blog and i can post whatever i want.

[punkzines]

hi, first of all i wanted to say that i really like your writing style! i don't see many ghidorah x reader and yours was perfect! could you write more ghidorah x reader? i don't really have anything specific in mind, i think i would like it to be angsty or something like that? have a nice day/night! <33

HEYY THANK YOU SMM Im just starting out so this means a lot. so sorry for taking such a long time to finally answer this I kept redoing the whole work.

Im not sure if this is angsty be ghidorah and reader dont have a relationship like that but I hope this is good enough

and you're right there should be more ghidorah x reader. i need it in my bones.

anywaysss lets get on with the video!

NO HAPPY ENDINGS

summary: reader is crazy and delusional. ghidorah isn’t even concerned about them.

warnings: planning for suicide and death

word count: 1.9k

────────────────────────

They called you crazy.

Crazy for believing in what was right.

For believing that humans— the source of suffering, a virus to the innocent— were nothing but Gods of Destruction.

Destroying everything on their path, not caring about all the bad that happens around them— no. It only mattered that their own selfish needs were met. The world which was once so great, was now dying. The titans weren’t enough to help it. Earth was at the brink of collapse. Everyone knew it— they just weren’t brave enough to admit it. They never were.

But you were. From an early age, you were exposed to the chemical that is hatred. How could someone be so evil? So inconsiderate? You knew something needed to be done.

You were there, when Ghidorah finally rose from his deep slumber—( or was he ever sleeping? painfully aware of his surroundings…a fate worse than death).

It was perfect, he was perfect. Although you almost died getting out of the base at Antarctica, it was worth it. You saw the way he fought Godzilla— which you did feel a bit guilty about, Godzilla wasn’t a bad guy— it was a small price to pay. He fought so…it was simply breathtaking. Ghidorah would be the one to finally put an end to this so-called Human Race. He would be the one to finally bring peace.

When it was time to escape into the bunkers, for safety after Godzillas death— you betrayed your supposed “Leader” — a person you had no interest in following, you had only stayed for said objective and now that it has been accomplished, you will escape and abandon your crew. Because you weren’t going anywhere. You would stay outside, and die. It was your choice. You couldn’t live with killing half the planet’s population. That was impossible, as much as you wanted to pretend you could. You really thought everyone should have done the same, die for what they worked for. Because, they weren’t exempted from what they had done to the planet. They too had contributed to this mess. You would have killed them all, if you weren’t just one person. You’ve made mistakes before, but not stupid enough to make the mistake of taking on hundreds of skilled fighters with guns— as one might say. They would all die anyway.

Nevertheless, Boston was a shitty place to fall into your impending doom. The place held no sentimental value to you and since you had no accessible way to travel— which in this case would be an airplane— to a place where you did hold dear, you would just…die here? Yeah, you will. It was just a matter of where in Boston you would, well, shoot yourself.

There were people on the street, running towards refuge— ones that hadn’t been evacuated— for some odd reason (maybe they all came to understand what this is all for)— families. It’s hard to look at, but... This would all be worth it in the end. You could only look at them as they passed by—

“Watch where you’re fucking going.”

Your legs were beginning to grow tired— after aimlessly walking through the city, it was dark—

An odd sound— which wasn’t odd at all, but it was odd that you heard it all— captured your attention.

It was the Orca.

You furrowed your brows— turning around aimlessly, trying to pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. What were those guys doing?! You were in on their plan for a long time, but…this was never discussed. Not to mention how much of a stupid move this was! This was bad. The whole plan was set on— and promised that it would happen slowly. Another place being set ablaze would be devastating. Since Godzilla's death, and the Titans turning their loyalty to Ghidorah— Ghidorah would have no reason to wreak havoc on Earth unless challenged. This would quite literally, not be good at all!

Ghidorah— although a risky one to rely on, because of his alien nature— would surely deliver if he isn’t challenged. He wouldn’t be challenged though, no titan would take on him and win. But the orcas here! It was close— not too far away. You needed to find the Orca and eliminate whoever was that had it turned on. There was no other choice, someone this stupid couldn’t roam the Earth.

There was a car nearby, you ran towards it — broke the glass and opened the door like the universe was depending on it. Dropping the gun on the other passenger seat, you sat at the driver's seat and began to mess with the wires — of someone's abandoned Toyota — after seeing there were no keys around. Damn it. So much for going out peacefully.

You were halfway through driving— getting closer to the call— when you heard something much more chilling. Such anger, something you felt deep in your bones. Ghidorah was approaching— he is going to be here at any second. You grit your teeth— there’s going to be blood on the walls as soon as you get your hands on whoever turned the Orca on.

Turning the wheel in a dangerous way a few times, the ground was beginning to shake— you turned your head around and you saw a giant cloud coming your way— a giant cloud that you mistook for a Tsunami for a few seconds longer than you’d like to admit. Ghidorah was here. Looking for the Orca was starting to feel useless now— but you had to keep going — he would find it wherever it was. Ghidorah would go away immediately if you were to destroy the device.

Steering the wheel was harder than ever— especially when there was a giant cloud of disaster coming right behind you but you were finally where the Orca was turned on. You practically jumped out the car, and ran towards the broadcast booth above you were sure the Orca was being held at — but you were too slow.

The storm enveloped your entire surroundings— hugging you tightly, there was no way you could escape this. You were at the eye of it. Your eyes were drawn upwards and through the veil of the harsh winds— much like a Tornado— that’s when you caught a glimpse of him flying towards the ground. Oh, fuck. You had forgotten how fearful you had been the last time you were in his presence. As great as he was, he still scared the shit out of you— that sense of panic caused you to run away towards the entrances of the stadium— close to the benches where you were sure he would not see you, lest he confuse you as the one emitting that alpha call. Not that he’d spare your life if you were not. It’s still good to let your God know that you weren’t the one causing him trouble.

It takes Ghidorah no longer than a mere moment to jump down onto the ground with a low set snarl. His wings created winds so strong, they would be considered natural disasters of their own.

You pressed your hand onto your mouth— trying to stifle your cough as you watched Ghidorah scanning the building, until his eyes landed on the big glass window. He knew it was in there. His body illuminated— lightning rising up his chest and that’s when you knew you had to go back away— but once again you were too slow. And too clumsy, because amidst the darkness of the storm, you tripped on nothing. Really, where was your survival-

You gripped your head—having hit it hard on the ground, as you sloppily got up from the destruction going on around you. But— No! You couldn’t get up, your ankle was broken. So you tripped back down onto the floor with a grunt— could this day get any worse?

Somehow evading the destruction around you— you saw something— someone— running out the demolished building. That child— Emma Russels child. She did this. Of course. How could a child— a fucking child— steal the Orca? She caused all of this? Upon seeing who the person was, your anger grew. If Ghidorah doesn’t manage to get her…Turns out, Ghidorah was about to kill her. She tripped—dropped the Orca, and was now cornered by him. Could you be any more thankful? If only Ghidorah knew you would have done the same. If you— a mere human— were to bow down to him, would he accept you? You knew you wouldn’t, after all— you would die by your own hand. But…If there was a chance that maybe you were accepted by him— that your devotion was —

Ghidorah was struck down in the blink of an eye by something you recognized. By someone you recognized. There was only one being capable of doing such a thing to Ghidorah himself— turning around, you saw him. Godzilla.

Godzilla.

Your heart dropped— ignoring the child running away from the scene— your heart was sinking to the bottomless shell of yours. How could he be here right now? How could— why? How? He was dead! He was supposed to be dead! He was supposed to be asleep for another— you weren’t the one who kept tabs on his hibernation time— but surely longer than just a few hours! What the hell happened? Pressing your back to a broken wall— your eyes stared at the fight in disbelief. There was nothing— worse than this.

This had to be a prelude to hell.

—Suddenly, a giant piece of rubble fell on your lower body— tearing your muscles and fracturing every bit of it with a sickening crunch. The impact sent shockwaves of agonizing pain— you were helpless. There was no one who would help. Not Monarch who has taken their leave after realizing that child wasn’t here.

Was this— Was this— was this all for nothing?

No! No! It wasn’t. It wasn’t. It couldn’t be. Ghidorah will win this fight. Just like the last time. It didn’t matter that Monarch was with him. It didn’t matter that Mothra was with him. It didn't matter because— because you worked hard for this and Ghidorah heard you— your prayers— and he would answer. He would be the one to bring peace because— because you did this.

You did this. Not Ghidorah— you.

Your lower body was broken— you couldn’t move. I can’t move. This was all your fault. This was all my fault. You deserved this. This death— this painful and pitiful death— you deserved it. The fight that was going on around you— you couldn’t see it— everything going on around was— it wasn’t happening. Everything was— dark. The chaos— everything— it couldn’t be real. It was real.

You— How could you ever think you could change things? Place all you had to this— You became the same thing you sought to destroy. You’ve always known that— you have. That you promise. You thought you were doing the right thing but you weren’t, were you? Instead of trying to be a hero you should have died from the moment you realized there was no salvation— at least the people who died for this wouldn’t have died for nothing. For nothing at all. Any chance of dying with the certainty that the world would be restored— has left.

You were crazy— you laughed. You couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down.

A small part of you wishes there wasn’t an afterlife at all— because it would be worse than what you will experience in Hell.

────────────────────────

a/n: ill just put the fries in the bag😞

[rigaudon]

This was just gonna be another comparison but then I pulled out my binder and ended up with an illustrated essay.

So while the new cards are PRETTIER, at the same time, the quality on the new cards can't compare to the old ones. Ceruledge is super shiny, but the cardstock is VISIBLY thinner than Gengar's (and the fancy pants full art foils are even thinner), and the ink is so much DENSER on the old cards. The difference in ink saturation is most obvious when you compare the cardbacks

The old card is on the right in the first picture. Basic bitch 1999 nonfoil Dragonair feels 20× nicer to hold than 2023 glitterbomb hyperfoil. 💀💀💀

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED talk, but while I have you here... let me give you a glimpse into the mind of me as a child. You might be wondering why the edges of all my old cards are so fucked up, it's because 1: they've been crammed in here for 24 years (holy shit, I'm old).

Which shouldn't be a big deal except for 2: As a Real Pokemon Trainer, my binder is in pokedex order and every variant I have of the same pokemon lives IN THE SAME SLEEVE TOGETHER (top card dictated by how shiny and/or how much 10-year-old-me liked the art), none of that side by side entire sheet of 9 squirtles bullshit. I stacked the squirtles.

(Yes, you are correct in the assumption that this means I was, 3: constantly taking them out of the sleeves and keeping 10+ cards in the same card holder, especially if I had a lot of cards of the pokemon on both sides of the page. I had to replace the sheets in the whole binder at least 2-3 times because I'd stick so many cards in them that the sides would rip and drop $500 in cardboard all over the pavement). I mostly fixed that when I stopped keeping dupes of the same art in there too.

But Raie, you say. Surely, this doesn't include foils and rare cards, right? Great question! Glad you asked!!

Say hello to single-sleeve Vileplume family!

Will I continue this tradition as an adult that should know better? Yes, absolutely.

What number am i on? 4? A few of them most definitely went through the washing machine at some point. Idk when i got a new one, but I got my original Pidgeot from a friend who'd left it in the pocket of her jeans and 80% of the card was fuzzy.

(Please don't ask why this mangled common Pikachu is the one I decided to display on top. Adult me doesn't know. Maybe mangled, stained, washing machine Pikachu was my first Pikachu and thus had sentimental value over literally any of the 30 other copies I had of that same Pikachu.) Now that I think about it I probably just put the FIRST copy i got in the binder for emotional attachment reasons, idk.

Speaking of sentimental value: I keep my ticket stub from the first pokemon movie between my Mews.

And i was going to end on that note until I saw this INSANE THING LOOK AT THIS. THIS. FISH. THIS FLAT, COMMON, BASIC FISH POKEMON IS OBJECTIVELY BETTER THAN FUCKING CHARIZARD.

Something something 20 year old card game something something power creep

I CAN ONLY INCLUDE TEN PICTURES ON THE APP SO GIVE ME A MINUTE BUT I HAVE TO PREFACE THIS NEXT REVELATION WITH: MEWTWO HAS 60 HP

[moononmyfloor]

Dashing Youth Ep 33-35 Commentary

Ep 1-10, Ep 11-16, Ep 17-21, Ep 22-25, Ep 26-32, Ep 36-40

Ep 33

This show stresses the fuck out of me now and not because it has entered its tragedy arc and 1. I enjoy well-done tragedies 2. I started watching this knowing it'll be tragedy anw

But because upcoming events feel just so superficial and I'm not convinced at all about why things weren't preventable. The wedding part was so sad and evoked so many emotions out of me precisely because I could see everyone gave their best fight and in the older gen's pov, their best reasonings for their inaction.

And now?? Many years have passed, Dingzhi has COMPLETELY let his guard down I mean bro if I was having a kid with emperor's runaway consort I'd move places like. every 2 yrs in the very least, Wenjun still trusts people too easily- girl you could've at least consulted the wise monk next door and trusted him to deliver the proper message to Dingzhi or SOMETHING idk, Dongjun seemed to have spent the entirety of those years high on alcohol and wifey and performance adrenaline in his immaculate cloudy mansion and equally unreal carriage, so much for trying to find and help out his missing bro before like, the very last moment.

It all just feels so juvenile and like the scriptwriters have given up because we all know what the ending is gonna be anyway, yknow? It's like they all actively waited for the disaster to hit them.

The only scene that I enjoyed in this ep:

(I'm trying to erase the sight of the scared and lonely young dad Dingzhi braving through the night forest with his baby to get their girl back, so traumatising)

Ep 34

Sikong Changfeng once again fights battles that are not his, while the actual people who need to be doing this are being preoccupied. He's the best boy.

Lei Mengsha also practices inaction but the kind where he will not stop a capable person from doing the right thing, therefore he is also a good boy.

Show ruined Wenjun's character once and forever with the bullshit attitude and reasoning she had in this ep. Girl, I fought tooth and nail to defend your rights and you severely let me down today.

I saw this discussion on Chinese bilibili (autotranslated, but you can understand the basic gist) and I think it explains the problem perfectly.

The problem was never that she was physically weak and comparatively naive. It was not about whether a girl in the exact same position as she did in today's episode would have done the same thing. It's just that the writers don't want her to.

And it's not just Wenjun, at this point of the story, stuff just happen one after the other just because they need to, before BoY.

Ep 35

Singlehandedly the most valid character of the show (not to mention the screenstealing acting, He Yu where have you been before my boy), Ye Dingzhi going berserk was so vicariously satisfying. Like everybody has lofty ambitions but since they are too weakass to accomplish them, they want this poor homebody to be their farm cow and do everything for them or what. Like wtf, enough is enough and everyone got what they deserved.

And if the scene of him killing everyone and taking over the throne wasn't satisfying enough, we get this:

It's the sheer lack of surprise, exhaustion and disappointment he delivers these lines for me. He never expected anything from the world since Day 1, he learnt the humans are shit since very young. He knew he couldn't trust anyone but himself to make his own existence better, let alone fix things for all the humanity. And sorry Dongjun, for all your idealistic speeches and displays, you've never done anything to really have Dingzhi value you as a true friend beyond mere childhood sentiments.

He's the most shunned ex-jianghu personality by the time of Blood of Youth, but in fact he's the most heroic of them ALL, not the much celebrated Lord Langya in my opinion. You call him selfish but what exactly have anyone else of his generation had done for the world out of their so-called selflessness?

He didn't have big ambitions, he simply

Stood up

for

himself.

And by that, he finally set things in motion to liberate the whole country of years of corrupted monarchy.

And I find that incredibly powerful and timeless and relatable for anyone across the whole world. If you don't fight for your rights, noone will. Someone needs to raise their voice first.

The accomplishments of Blood of Youth's generation wouldn't have been possible if not for the chain reaction he started imo, because as far as I can see noone else among the parents lifted a single finger let alone laying a foundation for the kids to work upon because they were all too busy looking at the bigger picture or whatever.

[pizzazz-party]

“the daisho is the soul of the samurai,” but honestly your mileage will vary

daisho are symbolic of the samurai class. but even among samurai, swords yield different meanings to the characters of Usagi Yojimbo.

gen loses his swords (gets them taken from him) and doesn’t give a shit once he finds a nicer replacement. there’s a value of sentimentality that strikes him once he realizes these new ones were the same daisho his father wielded, but overall gen doesn’t seem to put much stock in tradition. it’s his personal history that makes these swords irreplaceable.

tomoe, i can only speculate on. she was denied the destiny of taking over her father’s fencing school, despite being the superior swordsman among his children. she brings a bokken with her (or acquires one?) after moving into the Geishu castle as a lady-in-waiting. the samurai daisho, in her case, are just one more status symbol she’s been arbitrarily denied. the first time we see her wield a sword in her backstory, it’s something she stole off a ninja’s corpse because she is a swordsman, not a spearsman. and there’s frankly no time to be anything other than practical when the geishu castle is under attack. the sword back then is just a tool in her hand, even if it is one that suits her like nothing else.

(does she keep that sword? we just don’t know. probably not. we never see her as she gets her swords, so it’s possible that her daisho are, to her, representative of new beginnings, of this new purpose she’s risen to beyond her original station. maybe they go on to become more than a symbolic soul to her, maybe.)

usagi on the other hand, has had his swords since he was roughly sixteen, ever since he won that tournament. they were presented to him by mifune. he bested kenichi to get them. they were exquisitely made. there is so much history wrapped up in them, and he has always thought of them as more than mere symbols. they are manifestations of his character that he wields in his hands. every decision he has ever made, he carries the blood of it in those swords. he heals with his hands too, has saved people by cutting others down, but taking a life in any case is irreversible. it’s never been something he takes lightly.

(fuck. usagi cut off mifune’s dead head with those swords.)

he can’t get a new pair. in many ways he is a ghost in his own life, and he has so few things from his past that he holds on to. for all that he’s achieved this kind of easygoing serenity post-adachigahara (and i think there is a very good reason we don’t see any comics of him until two years of wanderings later), those swords are a pillar of his mental security and a part of him will die if they get destroyed.

but i wanna see what he’ll do next anyway, if that were to happen.

[wainwrightjakobshammerlock]

Wainwright Jakobs headed canons dump (mostly NOT ship edition, wow a rare thing i know). have said some of these before but a lot of new people have followed me recently/became my mutuals so i wanna bring them up to speed .D

he's a trans man. first he came out to his mom, she was the one to give him his new name (his father accepted it since he wanted a son/male heir anyways). he's been on t for decades by the time of bl3, also he's post top surgery but no bottom surgery. diversity win

his half-blindness is a congenital anomaly of the optic nerve. replacing it with a standard prosthesis just wouldn't work, but even if it did, he doesn't want to (he's used to it at this point, and considers it a part of himself, even if he feels bad about it). also for the same reason the blind eye has unilateral ptosis (droopy eyelids), though it's not very noticeable

really good singing voice to match his honeyed accent. however he did NOT know how to dance until alistair came in and started teaching him

his shotgun's named The Cure since he considered it the "cure" to his disability, although it's more of a disability aid than anything

old enough to need reading glasses. he insists on wearing a pair of them despite his eyesight situation. leave the monocle wearing to his husband

speaking of which, reads a TON. he's formed complex opinions on books most of the galaxy will never even hear of. he prefers reading fiction, but has never read or watched a single horror and probably never will

his love of puzzles runs far beyond the usual things you find in the manor. he fills out sudoku books like a madman and has a rubiks cube in his office. give him a newspaper and he'll fill the crossword out first before reading anything else

his hair is just Like That. weird curls is a jakobs genetic trait unfortunately

fluent in (cajun) french & japanese

tism. he's somewhat sensitive to light and craves pressure. also he's cold most of the time. you bet he owns so many weighted blankets and sleeps with at least 4 of them at the same time. also also he's a "could eat fried chicken for every meal of the day" autistic.

can cook surprisingly well, but especially enjoys baking

knows how to sew. he didn't sew up his coat in canon because said coat is an heirloom from his dad (read: he picked it up off monty's drained husk) and has sentimental value. alistair did eventually convince him to patch it up under the argument that if he patches it up, it'll not get torn up any further

enjoys gardening. took it up at first in an attempt to clean up the very very unkempt and disorderly estate gardens, but he found out he actually liked it. of course, he can't keep the entire garden clean, but he's got his patches of swamp roses and insectivorous plants he takes regular care of

goes to bed early, still wakes up late. thank fuck alistair is usually there to wake him up a bit earlier

likes his coffee pitch black, but his tea cold and sweet

extremely pretentious about alcohol

smokes, but nowhere nearly as much as his husband

his dynamic with clay is best described as brotherly frenemies. they annoy eachother to no end but also trust eachother with things (not all of them). if wainwright could hit him with an empty cardboard tube he would

has NO gaydar and is extremely confused at the concept of one u-u

[gunsli-01]

just wanna say since I've been away from fixating on milgram for a month or so and came back for a skim (I got my therapist hooked, so its on the mind).. I wanna say how the fuck did this happen but I've similar enough that like, I hope you're taking care of yourself, congrats on the marriage (thats recent right?), your posts are always nice to see, I hope Organ Thief's Dance Party is entertaining for you too

I got so carried away beneath this cut that it's just a new Mu post I'm sorry in advance! Before any of that though I'll try to answer your points to the best of my abilities!

I'm so happy to hear about the therapist thing! I hope more people can enjoy Milgram so many that getting to a million views is pretty much immediate during trial three!

I think conflicts appearing in the fandom in and of itself isn't a bad thing it just means people care about the material, but I hope people can do that in a fun and respectful way. Not only to make the environment comfortable for old fans but newcomers as well. I don't believe it's good for fandoms to become exclusionary or too closeknit since that can lead to terrible forms of conflict down the line.

A fandom should be full of various people and opinions. So, I always wanna remind people to look at the views of others outside of mine since it helps form a more well-rounded opinion. It's even helped me better reflect on my own biases. I do like passion, but too much of anything in one direction can be bad, and I want more and more people to like and watch Milgram! So, regardless of what happens, I want people to see the fun in it not just from the content but its fans who do great things in a passionate way every day.

I'm taking care of myself and my dad to the best of my abilities he surgery went smoothly too! I'm still very much enjoying Milgram all the way! I hope none of what I said about the fandom comes off as pretentious or too serious because I know it'd be easy to read it that way. When it comes to the marriage, I assume you're referring to my blog description.

Ah, Star and I have known each other since late 2013! We met through Tumblr actually. That's why I was so upset to have my blog shadow banned because it has a lot of sentimental value and I'd hate to lose it. We started dating maybe three years after and we got engaged two to three years after that. Though, since we live in different countries, we haven't officially tied the knot yet. She's my best friend, confidant, and we hang out often. Even meeting up in person whenever we can manage/afford to.

Actually, she's the reason anybody even gets to see me talk about Milgram at all right now. She introduced it to me! She wanted me to look over the entire series. Because she was very well acquainted with my penchant for deductive reasoning and love of solving mysteries. Because of thar she wanted to know what I would think was going on based off the trial one music videos alone. I was a bit miffed at her at the time, so I was like, no, I don't wanna.

Though she went if I didn't want to watch all of it then she'd at least like it if I looked at Mahiru's song. Causing my response to Mahiru's first trial song to pretty much be you trying to say something about me, huh?! However, I really loved it and pretty immediately went okay I'll watch the rest. However, that was only after she asked what I thought happened and the only thing I could think was with the focus on food, probably poisoning, but other than that I'm unsure.

So, I'm very nostalgic when it comes to Mahiru's song since it's related to a person I love.

If you don't want all the personal stuff here's the Milgram stuff!

I think the thing I'm looking most forward too is hearing Shidou's cover of Delusion Tax given how the VA handled Liar Dance! Shidou's voice tends to be more reserved when it comes to singing his original songs but go hard in his covers. Mu is the exact opposite, her voice being stronger in her original songs but going to a gentle whisper in her covers.

Showing the dichotomy between how she presents herself and how she may be inwardly. That outward appearance of dominance breaking into a soft-spoken stint. While Shidou's soft demeanor breaks way into a more domineering tone with hard enunciation that's so good to hear. So, I'm really curious if that will stay in Delusion Tax just like it stayed for Mu with MKDR.

I like Mu's covers far more than her original songs because of that vocal change and the subtle gentleness like holding porcelain. Especially the scream here and how it directly contrasts with the one here. Her covers really highlight that similarity between her and Futa of putting on a tough front but having an incredibly soft interior that needs a lot of nurturing from their environments.

Something also highlighted by her being represented as Parasitic Wasp in It's Not My Fault.

One of the insects that build cocoons on a host and use the nutrients off them to feed their young. Meaning It's Not My Fault we are literally seeing an artistic rendition of a Parasitic Wasp nest being built on a beehive.

Explaining why Mu is so large in comparison to the others. It's a literal hostile takeover until she gets enough of what she needs and leaves.

This also explains why she's so quick to leave and nothing remains when she does in the end. Since they eat everything and go. Yet, it has another meaning too! Mu being a parasitic wasp can be read as her leeching off of a society of course but it can also be read as her needing external validation to support her own beliefs. Showcasing that she lacks the mental fortitude necessary to defend or rationalize her own behavior or past actions.

This is highlighted in After pain when she's literally drowned in her own negative opinion of herself. Something that used to be feeding her is now eating away at her. Because it doesn't come with that sweetness of external validation. No one else is saying that she's right so she'll always wonder if she's wrong on some level. Because she's incapable of validating her own behavior this is even shown in It's Not My Fault when she basically begs the viewers not to hate her or even look for her bad side the source of her pain.

In a, "Just keep liking me, keep feeding me, I can't do it I can't take it on my own." In a way, reminiscent to the way Mikoto freaks out when everybody, but Kotoko wishes him a happy birthday. It also feeds into why her victim ignoring her bothered her so much and she couldn't let it go. The reason she's behaving this way is perfectly illustrated at the end of It's Not My Fault where she's literally reformed by the previous verdict and breaks away from her host, in this case the hourglass.

Something that very much comes through in the tone of her cover songs. While Shidou- Ah, his are so full of that usually restrained animosity of his that I just love! So, that mixed with Delusion Tax may just get me.

[rinion-b]

"this is why i have attachment issues" is really not how i planned to start this, but that's kinda where i'm at after a few hours to sit on it all.

this is about the whole limbus/pm situation today, for context (i won't be giving any more because i don't know if what i have is accurate, and i hate the idea of me spreading any misinformation when it's already a fucked situation). purely a word vomit, trying to not give any judgement on anything non-objective since there is still a lot of room for followup from project moon once things settle

my overall sentiments on this situation from just seeing updates every hour or so in between work:

what the fuck!

damn it was that serious?

that's...not a great solution...

well shit, was there any reasonable good outcome to all this?

i do want to clarify, i don't intend for any of this to idolize project moon or idealize the indie developer, as easy as that would be. at the same time, i hate the concept that they should be condemned immediately because they fucked up on responding to this situation (outside the context of some other complaints that i've seen from some illustrators and translators in the past).

there is no 'perfect' indie studio. project moon should not be excused for their own failings, especially not on account of them being a small studio. those things can coexist with the concept that, maybe they didn't have much of a choice with how to deal with this? and i've seen all the comparisons with their commentary on society, i get it, i understand and honestly you have a great point. but you cannot escape the impact of capitalism, and i don't think that yelling about the values they portray in their stories is particularly helpful when the situation might affect their ability to continue operating as a company, or at the very least continue providing more limbus content and running the servers.

now, this is predominantly hearsay, but is a believable heuristic. i have heard from a few different friends on separate occasions that project moon is not the most well off financially, either because of development costs outweighing the performance of their older games, or their older games not being quite as profitable as they should objectively be given their quality (indie games are very undervalued often to compete in a space where the 'value' of a game is fucked over by AAA microtransactions and industry trends squeeze what they can out of a commonly accepted price point, but that's a separate discussion altogether). and limbus is their sort of 'last shot' to break into something sustainable.

assuming that this is true, and despite the issues with trusting hearsay especially in this scenario i would prefer to have reasonable evidence to change my mind on something like this, this puts project moon in a really fun situation when you look at the threat of having limbus taken off the korean app store (i'm not sure if this is The App Store in its entirety? there was a lot going on today so i might be missing details on that).

from my perspective as an observer who can neither read korean nor understand more than a few words of it spoken, the only conclusions i can draw from what i have seen in the short span of time since the announcement is some combination of the following points:

project moon either fired the employee to protect them from harrassment (current and future), or fired them because they judged that the loss of one employee in this state was less harmful in the long run than giving up a major source of revenue. maybe both! who the fuck knows!

i still don't know how to feel about all this

people online suck, gacha addicts suck, and being on twitter (or, well, X now) is terrible for my mental health because so many people act in absolutes on the slightest prompt and i can't fucking stand it

people are going to harrass project moon for responding to the harrassment the way they did and i feel like that says a lot about society

this has somehow not ruined my want to play limbus in the future, but idk if i will have any other inclinations to draw it. i don't want them to perish as a company from this one slip-up.

if limbus ends up dying i will probably never play another gacha game again, because despite everything my standards for game quality are through the fucking roof

i...think that's everything. lightly tagged because it would be nice to know how other people think about all this on a site that can handle conscious thought better but this is mostly just to get things out of my head rather than for conversation purposes.

everything fucking sucks, but at least we're still here to watch it burn, eh?