#life on side b

[sidebeeashley]

We were a little delayed in getting this episode posted but it is finally here! Josh and Bekah are joined by our intern Jacob to talk about the theology around sin and the Fall and how it relates to our experiences as queer Christians.

[aroaceleovaldez]

because in TKC most Eyes match the gender of the god they host (and just in general in-universe it seems most immortals and hosts in possession/possession-like scenarios are the same gender) this implies that the two outliers we know of - Zia (rejected hosting a goddess but was able to host a god instead) and Percy (Eye of Nekhbet) - may be trans. so uh happy pride to Zia and Percy specifically

[ruzhuzhu]

things i called pandemonium: pandemic, pancreas, pancake, pants, pantaloon, paracetamol (the list goes on)

thoughts on anthropomorphic pandemonium below!

i may have misinterpreted the wiki page (most likely) but thought that it said something about pandemonium being a creature made of unknown substances resembling rotting flesh and mechanisms (?), thus the robotic parts.

my personal ideas:

the beign has mysterious origins. at first it was a blob of matter it erupted from, and as it absorbed organism around itself pandemonium gained their properties. it was a hybrid of various plants, seaweed and fish that resided deep below the surface. the semi-oraganic and partially living beign evolved and adapted at shocking speeds, obtaining abilities by changing and enhancing those that had been absorbed. without external interference it became a catastrophically dangerous and potent anomaly due to its main and only own property: extreme adaptability.

when urbanshade intervened, the amalgamation got access to technology and copied properties of certain machines it consumed, which it manifested at need. unfortunately, proper investigation on pandemonium's nature began too late and the hypothesis about it's adaptive and destructive potential was proven only past the point of no return: pandemonium evolved to be a biomechanical weapon and seemingly artificial intelligence.

therefore, it's behavior was determined by something that wasn't yet consciousness, but which had already developed beyond animalistic instincts.

the worst was yet to come. after consuming human flesh, pandemonium unlocked new branch of evolution and assimilated "mind". no one knows what "mind" is and how it operates, and neither is there information on how it transformed during consumption. one thing is certain: pandemonium became sentient.

[mikeyswayy]

Another March 22nd post..

I wish they would just came back already 😔😔

At least put out a new song

COME BACK WE NEED IT, WE'RE ALL GOING INSANE 😭😭 (I'm not saying that all the songs that are already out are bad, I love them just please 🙏🙏)

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

pov ur abt to b kisst by a shy lord/prince who is so so so extremely smitten with u

[lilidawnonthemoon]

[popdrop]

I STILL CAN'T GET OVER HOW IN THE BEGINNING, CALE PUSHED EVERYONE AWAY. You may say it's because of how "dangerous" and "trouble packed" their journey will be in the story later on— BUT. I JUST CANT HELP BUT FEEL LIKE MAYBE , JUST MAYBE. He didn't want them to be affected by his "curse" (side effect of WS) whether he knew about it or not. Just consider the fact that he KNOWS what will happen to them and how they'll be fighting for a better world and it'd be MUCH better if he's not there. Just in case he worsens whatever will happen.

He's such an unreliable narrator <3 the Worst Kind Ever.

[png-magician]

[phoenixcatch7]

Bit of a shame I left hp before I entered svsss because one of my favourite tropes at the time was 'dumbledore calls in External Support from different fandom during ootp and they show up to grimmauld to help (and utterly upstage everyone in the process)'.

And needless to say Sqq, at any point, would have been perfect.

Like. He's a teacher too. A scholar. Secretly from the modern world so he'd have no trouble with its intricate and mysterious workings, incidentally making himself look very cool and competent in the process. He'd have So Many Opinions. He'd incite bloody war with umbridge. He'd project his feelings for sj onto Snape with a side of commiseration for his role and fate. He'd mostly pretend to know so much less about hp than he actually does (which, hilariously, he canonically name drops in svsss, AND his system is pretty heavily implied to have previously worked in, like wow). He'd be constantly comparing Harry with lbh. He'd have a running internal dialogue bemoaning the world building, the characters, Harry's fate, the general decision making process, maybe some death of the author. Geeking out about magic. Raiding the library whenever he's free.

He might bring his students as part of an exchange, he might bring a fellow peak lord if it was a serious mission (liushen anyone?) he could bring adult lbh. Maybe sqh? Or sqh could be the messenger with the system and/or mbj.

A self aware character who couldn't live with himself if he didn't at least try to change Harry's fate whether or not he actually likes the kid? He could canon that divergence before you could say horcrux. That kind, oblivious, smoking hot exotic teacher who had people ruining their lives for him in a world that was used to people that pretty and also hated him specifically?? The hogwarts students wouldn't stand a CHANCE.

Man the scenes are coming to me so strongly I almost want to write it just as a like. Satire piece or something. Just Sqq ripping everything to shreds, accidentally or not. Diatribes on the author biases. Unintentional themes. Iffy world building choices. Nothing new, but through the lens of svsss' Sqq it'd be something for sure XD.

[sidebeeashley]

The recording from our live episode at Revoice 23 is finally here. Recording in the month of June, we thought it only appropriate to talk about reclaiming Pride. What is our place in pride as Side B Christians? There are a lot of gold moments in this episode and our intern, Jacob, joins us as the host!

[movedtodykedvonte]

What games I think the ATVS cast has on their phones if you were to ask them:

Miles: Those paint by color games but also somehow Minecraft Java cause that’s how it is in his universe. Most intricate and beautiful pixel art known to man on those worlds but is dog shit at making them in the computer.

Rio: 2048 cause she thinks it stimulates the mind and wants to have something in common with Miles and thinks it’s improving her math skills. Also cut the rope cause the alien is cute.

Jefferson: Classic solitaire or Wordscapes. Goes to Miles constantly when he can’t figure out a word or move and brags about how Miles is for getting a word like Suspect.

Miguel: Every single candy crush, at the highest current level and logged into Facebook to save his streak. So much gold cause he never loses a level and one time he did he broke down and banned candy for a week.

Peter: The most obscure like bottom of the barrel game you see on those tik toks. Charge phone simulator or he literally turns the internet off and plays the Dino game cause he’s too poor to afford the gigs for game space.

Mayday: Those fake phones from Claire’s that play the little jingles but she drooled on it and shorted the battery so it just sound like the wails of the damned.

Gwen: Girl has PianoTiles un ironically and pirated geometry dash. She can play both with her eyes closed. Also that hairstyling game that she may or may not use to choose her next hair color.

Hobie: Doesn’t believe in phones due to governments stealing ur data and uses a cup and string he throws through a portal to talk to the others instead.

Pavitr: Cookie run kingdom but his kingdom has the most cluttered design to mimick Mumbattun. Worst team set ups of your life. Also one random virtual pet game that he takes way too seriously

Margo: Episode and Bitlife but she hacks Episode for diamonds cause she ain’t gonna have her characters act or look like raggedy bitches

Jess: Candy crush but not a freak like Miguel. Probably has Farm life too. Only plays them at night in bed like that one image of Peter Griffin

[maddie-grove]

I wouldn’t really object to the anti-sewing sentiment in Catherine, Called Birdy, given that:

Karen Cushman is clearly doing something on purpose by making Catherine the medieval equivalent of a teenager who hates doing these bogus chores and just wants to go to the mall. It’s a book for kids and Catherine’s “ugh I’m so mature now why won’t Mom let me go to a public hanging” attitude is supposed to emphasize that people have always been people but also that the past was unimaginably different.

I get why a Silent Gen/Baby Boomer woman would represent part of the heroine’s struggle as “she has to do very gendered chores instead of going out and doing more active, rough-and-tumble activities.” I grew up in a post-Title IX world, where home ec was either not part of the curriculum or part of a gender-neutral “life skills” class. Cushman didn’t.

One of the themes of the novel is that Catherine (while certainly oppressed) is not uniquely unfree, because everyone is part of a rigidly hierarchical society. Catherine goes from thinking she has the rawest deal of anyone to realizing that other people have similar or worse struggles. Of course she initially thinks whatever she has to do is the worst.

It’s a childhood favorite (although probably not my top Cushman) and I like it.

However: every time she describes spinning as “foolish” (not boring or hard or unenjoyable), I do think “girl that is how you get CLOTHES.” It’s only slightly less essential than farming. This would be a little silly in a fantasy novel or Disney movie, but in a historical novel for children that’s meant to be educational about daily medieval life, it’s actually embarrassing.

[hinamie]

@friendlyneighbourhoodorgandonor first of all thank u for the lovely comments on the art, I'm so glad I was able to convey the right emotion! You pretty much nailed it, I wanted to depict how Megumi is occupying kind of a liminal timeless space between past and present versions of himself. The train interior is meant 2 convey that liminal/transitional symbolism, but also throws in themes of death and rebirth as well as be a little nod to yuuji's domain. his past self and tsumiki are there as shadows (hah) of a time he can't go back to, and in choosing to keep living he is simultaneously grieving the past (younger self facing tsumiki) and looking towards the future (present self facing yuuji). I struggled with the colours a lot but I knew I wanted it warm yet somber. in a word, I wanted it Wistful. Megumi's character and circumstances are terribly bittersweet and he's got a long road ahead of him but above all the message of this piece is one about the beginnings of self-acceptance and first steps towards healing

re: your questions abt the caption, i completely agree the pronoun "them" is a bit tricky here but unfortunately it's lyrics and there's only so much I can do as I am not porter robinson. admittedly i had thought about editing it slightly to make the caption a bit more straightforward but I have too much love in my heart for Shelter and I think that changing the lyrics wld b doing it a disservice.

even with the slightly confusing "them", originally when i realized that the song ws very megumi to me, "giving [blank] shelter" made me think of a few different interactions:

tsumiki offering (young) megumi a sense of comfort growing up and giving (present) megumi something to fight for

(young) megumi wanting above all else to protect tsumiki and becoming a jujutsu sorcerer in the hopes that she could live peacefully

"start by saving me, itadori"

yuuji reaching out to (young) megumi and fighting to rescue (present) megumi

(present) megumi wanting to save people as a general philosophy

I thought that the caption could refer to any and all of those things! but honestly your comment made me realize how the use of "them" actually ties in really nicely with the timelessness aspect of the art itself, because we can't know which version of megumi it's referring to, or who between yuuji/tsumiki sheltered him and who he wants to shelter in return.

I also think that the shelterer/sheltered relationship could refer to both versions of megumi in an introspective interaction with each other. I drew (present) megumi with his arm around his younger self as a way to show that he is coming to acknowledge how much he has suffered in the past, yet resolving to find the strength to keep living and guide that child forward regardless. In this interaction, present megumi is the shelterer. In response, young megumi looks (metaphorically, not pictured in the art) to his future self and makes his own resolution to keep living, to grow up live a long life, in turn sheltering the people he will come to care about along the way. I like the idea of younger megumi as the one being sheltered becoming the shelterer in a show of gratitude for the strength that (present) megumi was able to find. In a way, he is both living for himself And for others. i know this interpretation is kind of convoluted and throws a bit of weird timeline stuff into the mix but thematically the idea of a cycle of hurt turning into a cycle of healing is very powerful to me.

[side-b-bumblebi]

I think one of the hardest things about discussions involving groups of people is that you start to see people as [arbitrary concept] and not as... people. You'll talk trash on people because you think that nobody in your friend group is one of *those* people.

But the kid who's struggling with their sexuality hears you when you say that gay people are going to hell.

The kid who came out on the other side of childhood trauma and abuse hears you when you use their circumstances to justify abortion, essentially implying you'd be better off dead.

The person who's trying not to self-harm in your circles and hasn't found the guts to ask for help yet hears you when you call cutters attention seekers or crazy.

People are far more than [insert group]. They're not 2D representations of a group they're a part of. They're living, human beings. Remember that when you use your words.

[nightseeye]

I got side order yesterday evening and HOLY SHIT ITS SO GOOD?? I LOVED THIS??? Insanely fucking glad i blocked every single tag, this was GREAT

[soaps-mohawk]

What an insane ask to get I hope you're alright holy moly. I have never seen anyone say anything like that here yet, what a shocking thing to say

Yeah, I'm alright. More angry than anything. Regardless of if it's a troll or not that's a fucked up thing to say. If it is genuine I'd put money on them being a victim-blamer. You'd have to be to think something like that.