#like there is something about how attached the audience gets to certain things that the cast/crew couldn't predict because it is recorded

[disastergenius]

by far the worst take i've seen so far post-ep19 of Junior Year is that having a week-by-week live play would have allowed fans to essentially influence the direction of the story in the way they want it to go and that would have resulted in the cast being more sympathetic to the Ratgrinders (ie getting them a redemption arc)

why do you feel the need to try and control this story? YOU ARE NOT THE ONE TELLING IT. if you want to tell a story please go write your own, or go write fanfiction to cope or whatever but you don't get to say that the players are telling the story wrong when it's their story they are telling

[jiyongssi]

yall be clowning if you think your fave is a saint

[bixels]

If it's not too much trouble would you mind sharing more on your thoughts about AJ? Esp the line she shouted at Rarity and her "struggle with sexual identity" I'm kind of new so I would like to hear more! Does Rarity also struggle with sexual identity and fearing AJ would leave? I love the family oriented person A and the business inclined and impressed by shiny new things person B trope

Ok, this is gonna get into head canons and personal opinions.

The writing in Rollercoaster of Friendship (and EQG as a whole) is much simpler and more stripped down in comparison to FiM (most likely to appeal to a younger audience; don't want to seem like I'm dissing the writers), but that one confrontation made me sit up in my seat because it carries the entire special.

More under the cut cuz I don't want MLP analyses clogging up my blog.

For one, we've seen AJ get frustrated and angry about the same exact conflict over a girl in FiM (Rara), establishing a pattern. And even though she's right (her friend really is being manipulated), I read both cases as her acting out in jealousy too. Here's this girl who she's felt a unique attachment to being "taken away" and changed by someone new. This is most apparent in RoF; the moment Vignette introduces herself, kisses Rarity on both cheeks, and establishes herself as Rarity's "new best friend," AJ immediately reacts with shock, betrayal, and boldfaced jealousy (made even worse when Rarity forgets her during introductions). Although AJ acts independent, she's actually very emotionally dependent on certain people in her life.

If we come into this with the assumption that AJ has romantic feelings for Rarity –– which is a normal assumption given the director/writer confirmed the special was written as a romantic drama between the two –– AJ's line is all the more heartbreaking. If I may slip into fictional speculation: your crush is no longer listening or paying attention to you, even though you know something is wrong and that she's getting hurt. Your frustration at her lack of awareness is really your anger at her lack of care –– she doesn't care about you anymore. So in a fit of rage, in your big, dramatic confrontation, just to make her look at you, react at you, feel how she's been making you feel all day –– unwanted and unspecial –– you hurt her back. AJ yells, "You're not special!" and Rarity cries.

And what really gets me is that AJ lies. In this moment, she lies that Rarity's not special when (again, assumption of romance) she's the most special person in the world to her. So special that she's placed all her feelings of self-assurance and security on their relationship. So special that the moment their relationship is shaken and she doesn't know to recover it –– recover herself –– she lashes out, acts against her character, and says something dishonest just to hurt the girl she loves.

(Honestly, rewatching this special, AJ is so insecure and attention-needy. The way she pouts and slouches and lags behind the group and says, "Never mind. It's nothing," when asked what's wrong is textbook "please pay attention to me and ask me what's wrong because i need a reason to be honest about feelings i know i should be ashamed of" behavior.)

I think AJ's insecurities (which could be tied to her lack of experience with romantic relationships) reveal how she has a tendency to misattribute and redirect anger onto the person she cares most about (see Simple Ways as well, where she's caught on the opposite end of a jealousy spat). This could easily become a very toxic trait, but AJ grows past it. Near the end of RoF, the two come together and apologize. AJ recognizes her entitlement and confesses her insecurities about their relationship. She felt hurt and attacked when her status as Rarity's best friend/girlfriend was threatened because it's a role she uses to self-identify –– if Rarity isn't hers, she loses part of her identity. And she admits that she thought her motivation was to protect Rarity, but really she was just being selfish and protecting herself. Rarity was busy and stressed and needed someone to lean on just as much AJ needed her. She isn't AJ's emotional support girlfriend, and it wasn't right to expect her to be one.

(Which is why Rarijack is peak because throughout both series, they repeatedly show just how important honesty, open communication, and trust is in maintaining, supporting, and growing a romantic relationship.)

[emblazons]

“But people have been shipping mlvn for nearly a decade now, they wouldn’t just sweep it under the rug/recontextualize them as something entirely non-romantic from the beginning” friend I hate to tell you this but: the show and narrative is not subject to the time investment you put into it (or your initial perceptions) just because it took longer to make than expected.

They can’t do xyz because it’s been too long is literally the full embodiment of the sunk cost fallacy—especially given that (when you consider the time frame the show is actually presenting us with) mlvn have only known each other 3 years total at this point in the story and have been on nothing but the rocks after (at absolute maximum) 15 months together (snowball - S4, half of which was long distance and none of which we’ve seen portrayed 100% positively).

Like…if you think the romantic aspect was 100% genuine I can’t stop you yet, but time investment by yourself or the causal audience in understanding something a certain way isn’t any reason at all to keep your understanding of the context in mind. It’s basic media literacy to understand that new seasons provide new context for interpreting previous events…which everyone understands about things like the demogorgon / mindflayer / 001 + Henry + Vecna, but somehow miss because of an old attachment to mlvn. Time and new seasons change the meaning AND context of seasons past—no matter how attached you are to a certain interpretation that might have held up when we all had less information.

Basically: pretending like it taking 8+ years to get the story out is a reason to accommodate the GA (or anyone) liking a “Mike absolutely had romantic feelings for El and they should respect that because its been a long time for me” interpretation is nonsensical—and they already said they aren’t writing to pander to fan desires (aka you thinking mlvn should have been handled differently) for S5 too.

Just. You know. For the mlvns people who seem to think time their investment in a certain ship will or should have any baring on the outcome of the story LMAO

[hootbon]

I think you should put all of us into an arena, like make us the damn audience. God I can imagine how horrifying it would be for the humans if we were the audience based on like how many people wanna sleep with/kill certain characters

*cough* like killing Caine- *cough*

But seriously y’all, we can’t, I mostly say it as like a ‘man I wish I could’ thing, but he’s like above the player, we can’t do shit, I even as a fully curious thing asked for the impact of coding, and Hoot has still had to deal with the repetitive comments. From what I can say here:

1. Any ai (except the on attached to Gangle) is pretty much invincible

2. You CANT kill the ai, I know, he’s the bad guy, I mean I kept asking as like a joke, but seriously guys get over it 😒

3. Somewhat unrelated but— geez, read the page, see if your question has already been asked— and make sure you’re not at good ol sm-baby’s page and asking her about stuff she doesn’t know—

4. If you’re a human and exist in the world, it’s pretty much a fucky-wucky. You’re probs gonna die, like even Pomni who is Caine’s ‘love’ gets tortured, no special treatment

5. The characters probably don’t wanna be with you, we’ve all gotta get over that fact

It is fine if you are asking a question out of pure curiosity, but please try to think about how annoying it would be if you were asked the same question over and over again, or if your friend had to keep coming to you to tell them about questions that they keep getting even if meant to be for you, what it would feel like for people to ask about something that seems so simple in your eyes, etc.

I’m all for curiosity, I’m practically a lore whore, but y’all, don’t stress out the artists, their doing this for fun, so let it actually be fun and don’t make it stressful, this AU is already about horror, we don’t need that much more stress in it

Hahah.. ha. You’re pretty funny

But thank you for this, I’ll be referring back to this

[laniemae]

Not gonna get into danganronpa another spoilers because this whole scene is something else that I’m still processing but I absolutely love this line. Like to bring up milgram I think this is an idea which can reflect on lots of the characters as well. The idea of basing your entire existence off of a certain thing/person/ideology and then for something to happen that completely destroys that. Your entire person has been stripped away and just what’s left? You can’t comprehend your own existence or meaning without that specific attachment and you start to question all of your actions based off that…

I can only really think of John, Kotoko, and Es here (and possibly Amane and Mikoto to an extent). And John bases his life off of Mikoto, Kotoko upholding justice, and Es being the warden.

John’s idea of his whole existence and reason for being is Mikoto. It’s the only reason he believes he exists and if he were to fulfill his role he’d “disappear” as he would be completely worthless without him. John tries to repress and ignore his humanity and reduce himself as a tool to protect Mikoto and that’s all he can see himself as. But now Mikoto’s starting to not deny his existence and feels pure hatred for everything about him. And what will happen to John, when the person he’s dedicated his entire life to and desperately wants praise from, denies his existence? What will he be but some worthless existence that is only a burden, to him.

Kotoko. An ideology of upholding justice and punishing evil that has completely overtaken her. She has pushed herself into a role of a “fang” for justice, protecting the weak and persecuting evil. But even so matter how much she tries, she knows her goals are unreachable. She denies relationships and attachments to other people based on this ideology. Kotoko admits that she does feel attachment to the prisoners, but has to deny them in order to fulfill the role as a tool. And believes that pain and violence is necessary to achieving a greater good. Trying to deny any regret because wouldn’t it be easier to believe you’re entirely in the right? She latched onto Es, believing them to be similar as the warden who carries out judgement on wether the prisoners are forgivable or not. But now, Es has denied her whole ideology, her whole existence due to the pain she’s caused. Kotoko wants to believe that what she did was right and that Es, another enforcer of justice would accept her, because that’s how it is.

And Es… they’re the warden of the prison. There’s nothing more to them than that they believe. Es has no memories of their identity or past before Milgram and immediately latched onto the identity given to them, of being the guard. Es took this role as their entire identity, an extension of the milgram system in order to interrogate and judge prisoners. I think Muu put this best.

“Warden-san, we call you "warden" because that's what you are, right? And I was assigned the role of prisoner, but that doesn't mean I'm now nothing but a prisoner at heart, too. After all, I'm still me.”

Es has an unstable sense of identity, to the point they latched on to the first thing they were given in order to give themselves a purpose and a meaning for existence. And Kotoko calling them “imperfect caused them to question their identity. But as the story progresses Es will probably begin to learn about the audiences control and the truth behind what they assumed to be their verdicts. That their will never was 100% their own. Who knows what Es’ past was, but eventually they’ll likely have to tackle it and their whole identity, the warden, the arms of milgram, is gone.

gonna think about Mikoto and Amane here as well. Mikoto, although may not seem to be as first, focuses his entire identity around other people. He’s the friendly sociable guy who’s easy to chat with. But that’s all he believes he should be, I guess. As perhaps this mindset is upheld by an inherent fear of other people rejecting him, so he focuses all his attention and identity on being a social person. He’s never truly friends with people, as perhaps that would be “too close” and open up the possibility for danger. He doesn’t completely deny his identity like the others, but he molds and shapes it in a way that is acceptable to others. He likes what everyone else likes and does what everyone else does so the fear of being rejected for being different won’t hurt him. But now he’s stopped denying John’s existence and his DID, believing himself to be crazy, and to be completely rejected from other people, his entire sense of identity to an extent. And especially with John scaring other people off with the mindset that will help Mikoto, he has now been completely distanced from everyone else and now has to come to terms with himself, but not the ideal persona he put on to be acceptable to other people.

Amane is a more different case as she in a way has rejected that idea, but not completely. Growing up in a cult it’s very likely that she was always conditioned that she was just a servant for god. That all the good things she did were actually god blessing her and all the bad things a fault of her humanity, herself as a person. She is in a unstable relationship with the whole submitting her personhood to her religion, as she sacrificed her ideologies in order to help a cat. But at the core, that wasn’t about herself and her identity, rather a focus on the cat’s life. Amane’s murder was her will. Rejecting everything and fighting for her life in direct opposition to what she has been taught her entire life and how her identity should be, a rejection of that and a glance into “herself”. But once again, this murder wasn’t entirely self motivated. She’s still broken enough that she can’t fully grasp herself as a person besides god and religion. And a large cause of her murder was out of the death of the cat, rather than simply protecting herself. Amane still slips back into the belief that her personhood is entirely dedicated to god. As she tried to convince herself and Es that the only reason she killed is because they deserved religious punishment and she is in the right for carrying out god’s will, once again denying her personal reason for doing so. Reducing herself to “we” on behalf of her religion, that this isn’t herself anymore. Amane is in a limbo between rejecting her personhood for god, but at the same time rejecting the suffering she’s been through in order to save “herself”. Amane’s case is so interesting, as there’s no clear answer of what she believes in here, and it is truly fascinating.

[mha-grievances]

All Might’s Final Fight with AFO:

So recently, All Might’s taken up arms and is fighting against AFO. Though All Might’s unable to use his quirk, he’s been fitted with a power suit.

Why am I dedicating a blog post to this? Well, it’s because I find it to be one of the best written parts of the manga. For starters, we get more backstory on All Might, who he was before he got his quirk and why he desired to be a hero in the first place. Even without a quirk, All Might still wanted to help out. Armed with nothing but a makeshift weapon, he began patrolling his neighborhood to fight against people who abused their power. His dream of being a Symbol of Peace was a result of him wanting to do good. Even when Nana tells him that he’d be extremely limited in how much he can contribute without a quirk, he still doesn’t waver, in fact claiming that normal people are “protecting their three meters area” and that he feels obligated to do so himself. This line of thinking is very similar to how Izuku feels as well, which further emphasizes the point on why All Might chose him as the next successor of OFA. We also get a great fight scene where All Might is able to damage AFO significantly using only his grit, determination, and support gear, which finally grants the audience on an answer regarding whether a quirkless person can be a hero. Sure, All Might’s power suit is probably expensive as hell, but the fact that he’s able to damage AFO, the guy who literally pulls quirks out of his ass to adapt to whatever Hori needs him to do, is a great showing. The line that All Might says about “protecting his 3 meters” also tells us that the quirkless can still function as underground heroes if need be. Finally, at the end of the day, this is meant to show how All Might’s answer regarding his signature “everyone can be a hero” line has come full circle. Prior to getting OFA, his answer would’ve been “yes”, claiming that even though they might not be able to handle certain threats, they could still protect people at a street level. After meeting AFO, the man who killed his mentor and crippled him for life, he loses sight of the bigger picture, how someone can still be a hero even though they can’t fight someone as powerful as AFO. Now, we see that with the aid of technology and having allies (Stain serving this purpose here), he can still stand up against AFO while remembering his humble roots.

Another thing I like about this chapter is that we see the true extent of All Might’s willpower. We see how he was still willing to fight even when he was bloodied and unable to use his lower body. He’s the (former) Number 1 hero for many reasons, and it’s not just because of his power. Here we see that on full display.

Now, I do have a nitpick about this chapter and it’s one that kinda ties into an issue I have with MHA as a whole. During the fight, All Might’s power suit “mimics” the abilities of 1-A’s quirks. This is meant to be seen as a fact that 1-A has inspired All Might to keep fighting. On paper, this would seem like a nice nod in showing how both 1-A (kids beginning their hero journeys) and All Might (who has technically ended his) have caused each other to grow. The issue I have is that we don’t really see 1-A and All Might have a heart to heart moment. All Might has really only consistently interacted with two of the students, Izuku (his mentee) and Katsuki (ew). Obviously he’s going to have a lot more moments with Izuku due to OFA, but there’s never really a scene where All Might gets to bond with 1-A. It’s kind of just implied. In a similar vein, Shota’s supposedly very attached to 1-A, but this isn’t something we see all too much. He has one real moment of teaching, which is when he and Izuku talk during the Overhaul Arc, but outside of that, we get almost nothing. Yeah, Ms. Joke mentions how he didn’t expel all of them like he did with his previous classes, but Hori goes on to retcon that by stating he only suspended his previous classes, making this moment feel out of place. Basically what I’m getting at here is that the relationships between the students and teachers are touted as this “big thing” but we get little to no showings as to why this is. In the instance of the reveal that All Might “copied” his students quirks, it’s nowhere near as emotional as it could’ve been. I’m not saying that a lot of time needs to be spent on developing said relationships, but one or two instances where Hori actually shows us the teachers bonding with the students instead of telling us about their bond would’ve elevated this scene to be much more impactful than it is now. Also, when I mean “show”, I mean actually show us in present tense, not in flashbacks that happen right before/after something happens. Flashbacks are a great tool when used properly but good god does Hori abuse flashbacks more than he has Katsuki abuse Izuku.

In conclusion, while it could’ve been more emotionally powerful if Hori developed the relationship between 1-A and the teachers more, quirkless All Might vs AFO is another Hori W, easily being one of the best written moments to come out of MHA.

[yourlocaldisneyvillain]

i would like to be in and foster an online environment in which discussions abt controversial topics can be handled civilly without ppl ganging up and sending an influx of anon hate. i think internet in general is a space where ppl love to be outraged and i want to challenge that. that's partially why i wrote this fic. i am tired of purity culture and of fandom/online hivemind. in a fandom where a lot of ppl clearly enjoy age gap ships, i say, what makes one better and more "morally correct" than another? what makes a sugar mommy au better than a college student x teacher fic? so many fics featuring dark themes are popular in this fandom (don't wanna name any names bc i don't wanna get anyone involved), but THIS is the one ppl are upset about?

i wanna ask a question -- is it possible to write a fic where ppl are NOT morally pure but still somehow manage to live and find happiness? why is it forbidden to explore those themes in fiction? when you look at ppl in real life and how weirdly their lives shape up, and how ppl are flawed and make mistakes and live unconventionally or sometimes immorally or unhealthily, doesn't that interest you? in a sense that you would like to read about it? explore what goes on in the minds of these ppl/characters?

ppl forget exploring a theme in fiction doesn't equate to condoning it in real life. each individual has to use their own best judgement when consuming a piece of fiction. i assume everyone reading my fic is an adult (as i write fics intended for adult audiences) and can form their own opinion.

i would like it if people could use their reading comprehension and critical thinking skills when reading my fiction, without me having to put up exact and specific 1826372929392 word disclaimers, so ppl's fragile feelings wouldn't get hurt. would it really be okay if i wrote in all caps before the story WEDNESDAY IS 22? you could have read the first paragraph and figured that out. i tagged it as teacher-student bc it's playing with the concept, even if they are not a student/teacher in the timeline of the story. i use implied underage sex as a tag bc in the 2nd chapter, and repeatedly throughout the story i reference larissa and morticia's relationship, that has occurred when they were underage. i mention that they engaged in sex. it is only mentioned, and not explicitly described. do you need me to write all of that out under the title in order not to send anon hate and clutch your pearls in disgust? or can you just read the story and decide if it's for you or not?

i implore you to read all of my works as a story, without attaching a moral judgement to characters' actions. if and when you do attach a moral judgement and form an opinion, pls remember those are fictional characters, and i am an author exploring certain themes bc i can and it interests me to do so. i want to write unconventional stories, controversial stories, romantic stories, funny stories, horror stories, i want to explore everything. everybody who reads is invited to look at them as a piece of fiction they can enjoy or not enjoy, and nothing more. i hope to take you on a journey that leaves you with something to remember, good or bad, but impactful.

from now on, i will probably write longer works and venture into darker themes (next thing i'm planning is murder mystery/thriller). there will still be fluffy pieces, but i just want to push myself out of my comfort zone. i would like to associate with fandom ppl who are open-minded and can read a piece of fiction without going ballistic. if you look at things black and white, you likely won't like my fiction -- and that's okay.

however, if for any reason you want to send me hate, you will absolutely be blocked. i am a person, and i do not deserve insults and rudeness in my inbox. it's easy to feel empowered and feel like you're fighting for A Cause (TM) and attach the Bad Guy etiquette to a single person. that can feel like you're solving something. esp when ppl accuse me of promoting actual p3dophilia -- that's a cause everyone can get behind. banish the evil p3do apologist!

i am a victim of child sexual abuse, that went on all throughout my formative years, and into my adult age, simply because i thought that's how it must be. that experience has scarred me beyond belief. i don't want to share the details. it's not smth i'm sharing for pity points, nor do i need anyone's sympathy. however, it is an experience that has shaped who i am, and perhaps for that reason, combined with other things, is why i'm drawn to certain themes in fiction. i don't owe anybody an explanation as to why i choose certain topics, but since there have been idiots in my inbox who have accused me of harming victims of minor sexual abuse, i feel compelled to say something. fuck you for using a group of suffering ppl to support your own flimsy arguments born out of puritanism and inability to cope with heavy themes in fiction.

you are absolutely welcome to CIVILLY discuss your opinions about the fic with me -- off anon, exclusively. but i know nobody will, bc this isn't about the actual contents of my fic, this is about the delicious morally righteous thrill of a witch hunt.

enjoy the fic. i will post next wednesday.

[spopsalt]

I want to weigh in on your post(https://www.tumblr.com/spopsalt/747330776187748353/honestly-while-rick-and-morty-has-a-million-flaws) about how BoJack acknowledges that a grand gesture doesn't make up for everything, because what he said right after that is just as interesting.

"You need to do it every day, which is so… hard. When you're a kid, you convince yourself that maybe the grand gesture could be enough. That even though your parents aren't what you need them to be, over and over and over again, at any moment they might surprise you, with something… wonderful. I kept waiting for that, the proof, that even though my mother was a hard woman, deep down, she loved me and cared about me and wanted me to know that I made her life a little bit brighter. Even now, I find myself waiting.""

Here, he isn't just talking about his own growth process, he's also talking about his abusive mother doing grand gestures. He's speaking as Beatrice's victim, as someone who loves Beatrice.

I kinda think some redemption arcs rely on this emotional logic/need. (Hell, I've seen people argue that Catra's redemption isn't just a wish fulfillment for Catra, it's also wish fulfillment for Adora. It's the fantasy that your abuser will come around and change.) I think some narratives make the audience fall in love with and get attached to certain characters so much that they want good things for the character so much that they're happy and satisfied when the character does a grand gesture. They may be satisfied even if the character does the grand gesture for questionable reasons (which may just be a result of poor execution on the writer's part), even if the character does the bare minimum, even if the character is being still an asshole.

But if the audience cares more about the characters who were hurt by the villain, then it just doesn't work, it feels lacking.

Yeah, I feel like that quote could work for Adora as well, I believe that before season 5 (When she genuinely thinks Catra changed when she didn't) She wanted to believe Catra could change, she even says "I thought I could get through to her, but I just pushed her farther to the side of evil." and the countless times she asked Catra to come with her, meanwhile Catra said no all of those times. She wanted to believe Catra could change, could show that she does care, so I think that's why she wanted to save Catra in season 5, then she fell back into the cycle.

[fandom-flight]

I'm about halfway through Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint,and I'm really impressed with how it practically bleeds with themes of storytelling and our relationship with stories as humans. There's the obvious stuff, like how the main character's whole shtick is being a reader with "bookmark" and "fourth wall" abilities, but as of about chapter like 240, I've never stopped tangibly feeling how much ORV seems to want to explore the concept of stories (and not just in the sense of the novel's world where stories are like a kind of power, though that is kind of part of it). I ended up having a lot of roving thoughts, so more under the cut

Specifically what I mean by this is that almost every aspect of the world building and the plot has some kind of commentary on how people relate to stories. The constellations, for example, are very clearly kind of meant to be audience stand ins, especially in the beginning. They're watching the stories of our main characters on stream much the same way that we the readers are watching the story of ORV on our devices in the real world, and oftentimes their reactions to the events mimic our reactions from the outside– they cringe when characters do embarrassing things, they ship characters with chemistry, they hold their breath when things gets tense, and feel genuinely sad and heartbroken when bad things happen to the characters in their show. It's through their financial support that some of these stories can continue to be told, kind of the same way that fans' monetary contributions to artists enables their art to continue being made. Kim Dokja even calls out how the tables have turned early on in the series, that he used to be the one watching them through a screen, and now the situation is totally reversed. The constellations also kind of mimic the negative effect that the audience can have on art– sometimes artists have to bend to the will of their supporters even when it goes against their desired direction for their own art because that's what pulls in the money, and the way that incarnations and dokkaebi have to listen to the will of their sponsors feels like a very on the nose parallel for this. ORV sets up both the constellations and Kim Dokja as content consumers who have a love of stories in common in order to make a statement about how loving stories is universal, while simultaneously laying groundwork to make statements about the line between reader and narrative. Another thing that Kim Dokja has in common with the constellations is that both he and they are increasingly brought to the boundary of the fourth wall as the series progresses. In the same way Kim Dokja starts to realize that he IS part of the story now, and that the people he previously just saw as characters are actually real human beings that he has emotional attachments to, the constellations also start becoming characters who appear in the story and impact it directly, rather than being detached observers. This process of becoming a part of the story after being emotionally invested in it is naturally not something that literally happens to people in real life, but readers wanting to insert themselves into a narrative they love is something very human. I mean, fanfiction is incredibly popular because a lot of us humans can't just leave media that we love alone, we keep thinking about it, we want to expand on it, change it, and sometimes even insert ourselves into it. Historically, myths have had many different versions circulate over time, with some cultures borrowing figures from others and literary giants creating characters of their own (or even versions of themselves *cough Dante cough*) to insert into these legends.

In addition to the very human desire to become a part of the stories we love, ORV also calls out how humans are are kind of enamored with certain themes, and that we show this by having these themes appear in various legends the world over. Realms of death, myths of resurrection, tales of slaying supernatural evils, all of these things are shown to be so universal that constellations sometimes have copyright disputes over them. The fact that the constellations that appear in ORV are so varied is another place where ORV proves to be a love letter to storytelling. The author has such a diverse collection of gods and historical figures that I can't help but see their love for stories as something so strong that it transcended culture and nationality. Furthermore, the fact that constellations obtain their status from how widespread their stories are feeds into the theme of people being stories, which is another interesting angle to look at the relationship between people and stories. ORV has characters literally say "people are stories" out loud, and Han Sooyoung references the philosophy that people only truly die when they've been forgotten, but there isn't a single second where I really stop feeling like this holds true for everyone in the book (and not just because souls being stories and people needing stories to live ends up being part of the worldbuilding). The idea is that our stories give us value, both intrisinsically and extrinsically. ORV represents this literally, as the notoriety of a story actually makes people stronger, and also stories can be used as currency or food to some people. Even on a scale lower than the constellations, the reputations of characters and the rumors of their incredible deeds can increase their value to outsiders, the same way that a person's reputation in the real world can affect their job prospects and social connections (this is a little more obvious and would happen in any story, but I think that the mythologizing of the ORV characters in their own universe is meant to exemplify the effect of a person's stories on their perceived value).

The theme of people being stories also extends to a related but still separate (I think) theme of everyone being the protagonist of their own story. Kim Dokja begins ORV by talking about how much Yoo Sangah feels like a protagonist. She has all the qualities that a main character should have, and Kim Dokja feels like he could never match that, despite the fact that he clearly wants to be a protagonist really badly. He wants to be cool, special, and confident, but it's not until the scenarios start and he starts being able to use skills in a way unique to him that he starts realizing that maybe he can be a protagonist too. And again, this is a theme that ORV just constantly exudes– Kim Dokja often explicitly talks about how everyone is living their own life and being their own person. When he sees Yoo Sangah and Lee Hyunsung for the first time after the intermediate dokkaebi Paul separates them following the golden thrones destruction, he's impressed by their growth while he wasn't looking, and we the audience are reminded that these people learn and progress as the center of their own world. When Kim Dokja is separated from his friends after the Dark Castle arc and hears what they've been up to, he muses about how, even without him, the world continues to turn, scenarios continue to run, and people continue to live. It very much helps that the author of ORV gives every side character a vibrant and memorable personality so that we can better empathize with them as their own people with their own lives, even though they might not get as much screentime. Characters who we do not think to care much about are shown to have significant development while the main character isn't with them. Kim Namwoon matures into a calmer, happier person in the Underworld long after I forgot he existed. Han Myungoh went from bring an insufferable nepotism baby to being a determined and loving father who is willing to be an ally. The author constantly reminds us that Kim Dokja isn't the only one in this world who is a protagonist with a story worth telling, and in a way, it kind of feels like they're also telling the readers that, not only are we the main characters of our lives, but we also can never forget that the people around us are protagonists of their stories as well.

In short, ORV uses just about every character and storyline to convey that humans may love to consume the stories of others, but we can't forget that we're also writing our own stories by living them. Humans are made up of the stories they love, the ones they write themselves, and the ones they put a part of themselves into, and I just get the sense that the author has a lot of feelings about stories and how important they are to us as a species in every sentence they write. I'm definitely curious to see how the story ends because I can't imagine how the author will conclude the series when making a statement about this theme seems so important, but anything that would be a satisfying conclusion to the story would really be counterproductive to making that statement. As a reader, I want a definitive "and they lived happily ever after after solving the story's problems," but since the author actually has Kim Dokja muse on how "he never felt satisfied by 'and they lived happily ever after'," I kind of can't imagine that that's how this series will end? Because it doesn't sound like the author was ever completely satisfied with those endings either. But I also don't think ORV is meant to be a tragedy, so I'm excited to see where things go!

[melontoyo]

fav Onmyoji character and why?🤔

*cracks knuckles* Alright, you got me with this ask.

1. Asura Objectively, the number one favorite. You cannot separate his character or his story from Taishakuten, but in the end I guess it's natural to become very attached to the hero of a specific story, (a double hero story of a hero and an anti-hero, who switch roles halfway through), especially if they're so, so wonderfully fucked up. Asura (and when I speak of him, it applies to Taishakuten too, since neither character would be who they are without the other) is the deepest, most fleshed-out, most complicated and unique character in the entire game. His story and characterization and the accompanying media is so incredibly well produced, it can easily compete (and beat) other highly acclaimed stories out there. To think this was made, as essentially promo material, for a free-to-play mainland Chinese gacha game is absolutely NUTS. Yes I will praise this story and its production level to the stars because it irreversibly changed me. To me, this is the problematic, dramatic, queer love story. You know how Asura tells Taishakuten how meeting him was as if finally finding the thing he had been searching for all his life. This is me with this story, and this character. What I love is how he's so deeply complicated and inherently flawed, that even with the "good end" he chose for himself, his internal conflict is never resolved. He's someone who fights for genuine justice, someone who is genuinely caring, someone who's deep down insecure about himself, about opening himself up, trusting others, someone who wants to live a simple life and enjoy the little things. But he also genuinely enjoys committing mass murder, sadistic torture, he's rash and impulsive, he's someone who naturally chooses cruel means to an end. He swore to never kill again, to go against the very core of him, lock himself up and seal his own powers. And yet the first thing he does upon returning to the world of peace he made possible... is to murder without a second thought. And it's not a plot hole, it's a feature. Even when he's sane, he "learned" to deal with his own trauma in a completely unhealthy way, possibly as self punishment. This is obvious by how he's so loving and caring when dealing with Taishakuten's trauma.... Also I just want to add one thing. I'm glad I'm somehow able to gleefully ignore the fandom at large because, sorry, they don't get it. I'm tired of seeing nothing but fans taking everything interesting away from this story and washing it down to "uwu cute domestic boyfriends". Like heck no, these characters are so good because they are made to be incredibly fucked up.

2. Orochi Tough choice... but it's Orochi, the reason why I started playing this game. Again, a character who's absolutely delicious to rotate around in my brain like a rotisserie chicken because he's so complicated and so inherently flawed, and yet so right at the same time. Imho, he's an amazing antagonist and again, I very much distance myself from the fandom wo won't shut up about "snake eating books". Because both due to the nature of the game and its subsequent production approach, and because of its target audience, which is very much young adults despite the 8+ rating, where I don't even understand how they achieved this rating with all the outright graphic violence, drug abuse, and 900 dollar "micro" transactions etc, the story won't be explained and presented to you on a silver plate. You're supposed to come up with your own interpretation for certain parts, and it's exactly why stories for adult audiences are so enjoyable, for me anyway. Something that is a major contributing factor to me loving Orochi so much is Miyano Mamoru's voice acting which is absolutely insane. Not sure how the director instructed him, or how much they pay him, but basically he sounds like on the verge of an orgasm the entire goddamn time with the way how he deeply savors each word on his tongue before speaking it, and it's so incredibly fitting. Maybe Miyano Mamoru understands Orochi better than the writers themselves, who knows... Regardless, the way how Orochi's character and personality is so perfectly portrayed through the voice acting is heavenly. His voice is like sickly sweet, thick, honey, innocent and nonchalant, yet dominating and bewitching. I mean. You can just hear for yourself. (Note, it's best if you can understand Japanese because the official English translations unfortunately suck.)

3. Suzuka Wait, an actually good-aligned character??? Anyway, Suzuka is a wonderful take on the "big sister" archetype. She is big-hearted, kind, accepting, strong, determined, and has a great sense of responsibility. But she ends up being too trusting in others, in the way that she believes others are just as strong as her to fend for themselves, which ends up literally devastating her entire found family and the place they called home, literally killing her most important person in body and mind, her found brother. And yet, she's so strong to be able to not give up, to accept all the pain, to heal and to rebuild what they have lost. Also, as someone with the best big sister in the world, her character just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. She's wonderful.

And as a bonus, here's a selection of other favs in no particular order, because hell, in the end it's a waifu collection game and there's bound to be a lot of favs for varying reasons.

Enma, because I'm not immune to bewitching milfs, and her design is one of the absolute best in the entire game.

Tsukuyomi, because they're so sad and wonderfully questionable, also actually canon non-binary.

Onikiri. Groomed to be fucked up, and yet after regaining his free will, he willingly steps back into that path, because it's what he inherently craves. So delicious.

Garuda, my favorite disaster bi bird and Asura's pet dog. Probably one of the "normalest" and ironically most likeable characters. He's a bit conceited, strong and actually.... smart. And smart in the way that he knows his place, knows his limits and won't try things out of his league. And yet he can't help his smugness and want to test the waters... but he's a survivor still : ^)

And honorary mention to my fav hairy braindead bimbo slut, Kamikui. Yep I love them very dearly, and they're also carried by incredible voice acting.

[bettsfic]

Can’t seem to write without considering what I would want my author career to be like or what readers are looking for and I feel like to a certain extent this crippled creativity. I’m in no way saying there things should never be considered but sometimes, especially in the beginning it can feel like too much. Thoughts?

it is definitely too much. i used to feel it too. but once i started getting some wins, once i started really listening to the kind things people were telling me over the criticisms, i started to take myself more seriously. and then once i was on the other side of the mentor/mentee divide, when i realized i had been lifted up by writers who believed in me and my work and that i could lift others by believing in them and theirs, i started to see myself as one link in a long chain. and when you're part of a chain, nobody can move faster than you or slower than you; you all move together.

it's natural to consider your audience when writing. it's also natural to consider your market. every artist in history has experienced to some degree this same anxiety. it's the anxiety of creating something that you want to be see welcomed into the world. that fear abates but it never goes away entirely, so you've got to build up defenses against it. mine was 1 part hope, 1 part blind (possibly unearned) faith in myself, and 7 parts spite. hope, faith, and spite can take you a long way. "i hope this will happen," then "i have faith this will happen," then "fuck you, this is going to happen."

an audience isn't something that already exists. you're not a performer walking on stage for a theater of people waiting for you. you're a busker, or a mime, or one of those human statue guys. you're on the street trying to grab the attention of people who don't want to acknowledge you. you're saying, "hey, look at me, i've got something worth seeing," and you wave it around in front of them until they're finally forced to look at you. you're not just a creator of your work, you're also a salesman of it. success is all about the footwork.

and lastly, although novels are made from inspiration and skill, author careers are made of boring administrative tasks. sending your work out, receiving rejections, tracking rejections, finding more places to send your work out, replying to emails, applying for funding, querying agents, filling boxes of text labeled "please describe your current project" but only give you 250 characters to do so. the sooner you separate the ideas of "careers" and "audience," i think the happier you'll be. stories take creativity; careers take tenacity. writing is about words; publishing is about numbers. if you can't have hope for your work, or faith in yourself, or a simmering pool of spite, you can always rely on organizational tedium. you never have to learn how to Be A Writer. you only have to learn how to attach a PDF to a form and hit "submit."

[topazshadowwolf]

GoopTales: Part 20 Grilled Cheese

Lyra to the rescue! And a certain guardian gets the rest he badly needs.

Domestic fluff!

Parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20(you are here)/34

AO3: Ch 1 (1-4), Ch 2 (4-8), Ch 3 (9-12), Ch 4 (13-16) Ch 5 (17-19), Ch 6 (20-23), Ch 7 (24-27), Ch 8 (28-31), Ch 9 (32-34)

---

Lyra folded her arms as she looked at the other guardian, who looked back up at her with an eyelight so fuzzy it could barely be seen. Nightmare sat on the bed, the boys surrounding him and clinging to him protectively. They could sense she was angry. She shouldn’t be angry, but she was. 

Actually, no, she had the right to be angry about this. It was wrong to deny that she should feel this way when she could have prevented this. They had agreed to start dating, to begin forming a relationship, yet he still would rather act independently to the point that he looked like a wilted plant. Nightmare clearly did not understand how it hurt her to see him like that.

There was no reason for him to look so tired and run down when she was just a phone call away. No. When she could have been here all along! There were so many things she could and wanted to say if the children were not here in the room. She would even grab him by that coat, pull him onto his feet, and plant one kiss he wouldn't be forgetting anytime soon if it would make him understand that she cares! Unfortunately, that would be highly inappropriate to do around children so young.

Besides, she also needed to understand this was all still so new to Nightmare. The dark guardian was still adjusting to having someone he could turn to for help. He has had allies before, but not in the role of Lyra. Her help had no strings attached; no deals needed to be made save for being there when she needed him. Which… was something she was not used to as well. Remembering she had not called on his help yet did act as the water to cool her anger. Considering that he is not used to this, she was just as much to blame for his condition by not being more insistent or checking in on him.

That was it; she was putting her foot down.

“I am not going to be leaving when this is done,” She stated flatly, glaring down at him.

“Lyra,” Nightmare started, and Lyra had enough.

“I do not want to hear it. I know that they are your…,” She looked at the children who stared up at her in their fuzzy pajamas. She needed to be mindful of the words she used around them. “Responsibility. But, I am insisting, no, demanding you let me help.”

“Thank you,” Nightmare signed and smiled at her, and that surprised her.

“No argument this time?” She asked while tilting her head.

“I was going to ask you to stay,” Nightmare said, then stood and looked at the boys. “I admit defeat. They are indeed my responsibility, but it was one I will now accept that I was not ready for.”

He looked back at her, and she sighed, feeling her anger settle further. Well, at least that is sorted out. “Good… Now, to bed with you,” She said.

“aren’t you going to give him a good night kiss?” Killer asked with a big smile. She suspected that one knew what he was doing at this point.

“I do not think that will be,” Nightmare started, but no, Lyra would not let this moment slide. Now, she couldn’t place the kind of kiss she wanted with the young audience they currently had. But she could get away with a nice little peck on the head.

Leaning over, she gave Nightmare a small kiss on the top of his skull and grinned as he froze. His face got that adorable blush she loved so much. “There, now, bed.”

“Be good for Lyra,” Nightmare said quietly to the boys while staring at the floor. Oh, who would have suspected that the dark guardian, who was so bold and confident at most times, could be turned into someone so bashful with a single kiss? It will be a secret of his she will keep, as it is actually a sorrowful testament to how unaccustomed he is to affection. 

Once he could, he looked up at Lyra, “and… thank you.”

“we will!” Replied Killer.

“don’t worry, mr. night! we will be on our bestest behavior!” Cross added.

“It is just best, Cross. Best means that you will be excelling and unable to do any better,” Nightmare gently corrected before yawning. He made his way out the door, tendrils dragging on the floor behind him. The poor dear truly was exhausted, and yet, here he was, still doing what he could for the boys. It was rather endearing how devoted of a father figure he was, even if he will deny it.

Dust was becoming fidgety as he watched Nightmare leave. Thankfully, Ferrous walked over, and the small boy started to pet the dog. It seemed to calm Dust enough that he looked back at her without so much nervousness. 

Lyra looked at the group and hummed. “Alright, I am about to make dinner. Can I trust you four to play quietly in here while Mr. Night sleeps?”

Cross raised his hand, and she chuckled at how cute that was. Killer’s hand shot up shortly after, and she nodded. “Alright, Cross first, what is it?”

“can i help make dinner?” Cross asked.

“me too! that’s what i wanted to ask!” Killer added.

“wasn’t it your ‘helping’ that made mr. night call a babysitter?” Horror asked with a frown.

“that’s because i was helping by myself. this time, she will be there!” Killer answered.

“Alright, why don’t you all come with me instead? You can either help or play quietly in the kitchen while I work on dinner,” Lyra replied. That seemed to appease them, and they followed her as they left the room. At one point, she glanced back to do a quick head count… Killer… Cross… Horror…

Looking further down the hall, she saw Dust standing still as he stared in the direction of Nightmare’s bedroom. Lyra stopped and turned fully; the others stopped and followed her gaze back to the little skeleton clinging to his dog while staring at Nightmare’s door. “Wait here,” she told the others as she made her way to Dust. She knelt down near the young skeleton and asked, “Child, what is wrong?”

“if i say i’m not hungry, can i go take a nap with mr. night…?,” There were tears in the boy’s sockets. Nightmare had said that Dust, as an adult, tended to hang around him more than the others, especially on ‘bad days.’ Considering the child’s past and the peace and safety Nightmare has likely been providing Dust’s younger self, that shadow behavior appears to have turned into clinginess.

“I think Mr. Night would like you to have dinner to keep your body strong and healthy. Do you not agree?” She asked.

Dust looked at the ground and nodded.

“How about this? Since we both know Mr. Night would want you to have dinner, you come with me and eat first. If you are tired after you eat and promise to be quiet and sleep, I see no reason why you could not go nap with him,” Lyra compromised. “Does that sound fair?”

That seemed to do the trick, and the child nodded. “ferrous, too?”

“Ah…” Oh dear… would Nightmare want the dog in his bed? “Well, we will see. Maybe Ferrous will want some outside time after dinner instead.”

“oh… okay,” Dust replied and looked at the dog as he petted him.

Lyra stood and offered a hand to Dust. He looked at the hand for a moment, then reached up and put his tiny hand in hers. Together, they walked over to the others and then down the hall. Killer insisted on holding her other hand, which led to Horror holding Killer’s free hand and Cross holding Dust’s free hand.

Once the children were all gathered again, they continued to the kitchen. Along the way, she had asked them what they wanted for dinner. After some discussion amongst each other, they had decided on tomato soup and grilled cheese, or three out of four did. Dust was quiet and just shrugged when asked if that was okay. Based on things said, they had tomato soup once already, so he knew what that was. But the complaint from Killer about how long it had been since he had a grilled cheese hinted that was why Dust was so quiet. It may be new food for him, but it shouldn’t be too hard on him if he still has some sensitivity after all this time.

She had each child help make their sandwich after she had doctored the canned soup, so it was the best it could be. They stood on the stool two at a time and flipped their sandwiches when she said so. Then, once the food was ready, she plated the grilled cheeses and poured the tomato soup into mugs while telling the boys to go sit. They sat at the table and ate, looking as pleased as possible.

“thank you for helping, ma’am,” Horror then said.

“You are welcome,” Lyra smiled.

“mr. night was very happy to see you! i think… we caused him too much trouble,” Killer sighed and looked down at his crumb-filled plate. “we didn’t mean to be trouble, ms. lyra.”

“I know you did not, and so does Mr. Night. I warned him, though, that four children is a lot of responsibility for anyone to take on without prior experience with raising one,” She picked up a napkin and handed it to Killer. “I am sure he was doing well for a while there, but now he has me to help him.”

“he came home hurt a few times,” Dust said quietly, and that startled her.

“Hurt?” She asked.

“uh huh, and we don’t know why, ms. Lyra,” Cross confirmed, then frowned. “he would go out to buy groceries or something but reappear later and say that he will try again later. he said they didn’t have what he was looking for or stuff like that and for us to play quietly. but we could see he was hurt.”

Nightmare… why did you wait so long? But she knew why. It wasn’t just stubbornness but the fact he was not used to turning to others for help. Sure, he had his henchmen, but they were not usually so dependent on him. Still, he does care for them and sees them as his responsibility.

He forgets she is willing to share in that, even when they are rambunctious adults.

“ms. lyra?” Dust spoke up, and she looked over at the child. “may i go take a nap now?”

“Are the rest of you tired?” She asked.

“nu-uh! i’m not ready for bed yet!” Killer replied.

“can we play for a while longer?” Cross asked.

“i’m not tired yet, either,” Horror added.

“Alright, wait here at the table. I will be right back,” she said before scooping up Dust. The child clung to her and nuzzled his face against her shoulder. In silence, they made their way to Nightmare’s room, and she quietly knocked. When there was no reply, she walked in and over to the large bed, one clearly made for a king. 

That was Nightmare, a fan of the finer things in life.

It appears he had changed into pajamas but didn’t get any further than opening his covers and lying down before passing out. Nightmare was sleeping on his stomach, which made sense with the tentacles attached to his back. One of which was hanging off the bed and touching the floor. With care to not wake the sleeping guardian or disrupt Dust in her arms, she used her foot to lift the tendril up part of the way, then reached with a hand to grab it and place it on the bed.

She then placed Dust on the bed next to Nightmare. The child crawled closer and snuggled up to Nightmare’s shoulder. The dark skeleton shifted a little but did not wake. The tentacle closest to Dust moved and curled around the child protectively. Lyra smiled before tucking them both in under the blankets. Leaning over, she gave Dust a kiss on the head, then gave one more “goodnight kiss” to the sleeping guardian. With them settled, she left the room so they could sleep peacefully.

She now had three others to attend to, plus the pets. Ferrous followed her down the hall as she walked, reminding her with his presence of all the responsibilities she now had. Nightmare might have wanted her to wake him after ten minutes, but she wasn’t going to do that. It has been close to an hour, and he still needed rest. He can trust her to care for the boys and their animals, but if he genuinely believed she was going to wake him so soon, then he was sorely mistaken. Lyra was going to make sure he got the rest he needed.

Once he has his needed rest, then they can share this workload.

---

next

[hexhomos]

do you have any advice on creating for a fandom where the target audience is super small? i published my first jv fanwork the other day and although i obviously dont just do it for compliments/attention, im hesitant about continuing to create because it feels discouraging to be the only one interested in what i have to offer if that makes sense. i feel like leaguefic is not in demand at all in comparison to arcane and im not sure how to motivate myself… i love your work, thank you so much

To be perfectly honest, not bullshitting you at all here: I don't think there is a single-person fix for this. I have a share/discussion based brain and i generally thrive when doing most of my work within, at least, a private active community. A lot of times my motivation *for* finishing a complex painting or polishing up 10k+ words of something is that i want to be able to show other people what i see and what i like about certain things. Without that community aspect, i just tend to keep to myself and never evolve past drafts lol

Making art is hard. Especially if you have some sort of affective or emotional attachment to the subject. I think a couple years ago it wasn't so tasking, or at least it didn't feel so lonely, because fandoms tended to be more willing to leave indepth feedback or engage with things they liked on a daily basis -- but the culture of 'fast consumption' 'content mills' and 'neverending generated content' of the present decade has taught a lot of people to undervalue the work that goes into transformative projects.

This is why nowadays we see so many frequent calls reminding people to comment in fic, or actually hit the reblog button on some art they like, or even try to use long tags to express what they feel. The 'neverending content influx' marketing push has rendered broader audiences (and im including myself here, i'm not perfect) more apathetic, and more wiling to silently pass by things without a word, prioritizing the 'consumption' of 'large masses of content' rather than curiosity or engaging with a single thing for large amounts of time.

the TL;DR is that I don't think this is something you can fix on your own. It's an environmental issue. When I write, I'm doing so with the confidence that at least one person is really going to engage with it. (this can be a friend, or another internet person similarly lost in the digital desert, it varies.) The only way to rejuvenate a fandom ecosystem is to remind people to *try to give a tiny piece of their time* back to artists whose work they love, appreciate, or even mildly enjoy. It doesn't have to be HUGE extensive feedback everytime. If something made you chuckle for even a second, just try telling that to the person who made it. If you enjoyed reading something, or were amused by how someone wrote your favorite character, go tell them! right now! Try doing it a little bit of that every day! If everyone who sees this post went out right now to leave a word for a small creative they enjoy, we already would be so much better off. Communities are like orchid gardens; to get the special, unique, blooming flowers, you need a steady hand caring for them. We are all gardeners.

[bigtreefest]

Biscoff Cookies and the Effects of Airplanes on Food Taste

Posting this bc I promised @krirebr I would. I hope y’all love your weekly dosage of science I’ve gathered in the tidbit below. I also just wanna say, one of my least favorite words is ‘umami.’ It’s been used increasingly in recent decades to describe a certain savory flavor profile amongst scientists and culinarians alike, and tbh, I just don’t like it. Be that as it may, its use is essential for this mini informative post, but I just want you guys to know the inner turmoil I faced every time I had to use that word. 🙄

Ok, so we’re answering three questions here:

1. Why does stuff on planes taste so bad? 2. Why do they serve Biscoff on planes? 3. What is my opinion on biscoff?

Let’s get it:

1. Why does stuff on planes taste so bad?

Well, does it taste bad, or just different? Airplane food is universally known as the butt of the jokes of bad comedians, whether or not they’re telling the truth. Let’s start with the explanation of what happens to our perceptions of food when we get into the air. The higher you climb in elevation, the lower the air pressure. To explain it simply, it’s because there are less molecules on top of you, pushing down, and therefore less pressure. The same effect is seen in how deeper waters have higher pressure, because the weight of the water molecules above adds up the deeper you go. Although most flights reach above 30,000 ft (~10,000m) in elevation, air plane cabins (where you sit) are pressurized to somewhere around the density of air at ~5,000ft (~1,600m). Even at this change in pressure/elevation, there are many changes the body goes through (I went to science camp for 2 weeks to study some of these effects. Ask me about that some other time.). You breathe faster since oxygen does not reach your lungs as easily from the decreased pressure. Essentially, the molecules are not being shoved as forcefully into your body, so they don’t attach and aren’t sensed as readily. The same thing happens with your senses of smell and taste (which are associated). Most of the taste profiles, including spicy, sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, are decreased by the increase in elevation and decrease in air pressure. In contrast, the one flavor profile that is increased is umami/savory. HOWEVER, this can sometimes be difficult to sense if there is a lack of salt (seasoning things with salt makes them taste more like themselves. That’s food science, baby). These considerations go into the preparation of food for planes, where extra spices and salt are added in their preparation so they taste more similar to something you would experience on the ground. A normal meal would lose a lot of flavor, and I’m sure airplane-intended food tastes much better on the ground. But also, at the end of a day, it’s a prepared meal, served in a mobile metal tube, designed to be reheated, so it’s not going to be really phenomenal anyway.

2. Why do they serve Biscoff on planes?

Now, if you ask Kris, she’ll say ‘captive audience’ (and my college roommate agrees), but there could be a few other factors to it. Biscoff has been branded as a staple for several airlines, especially Delta. They come in small packages, which is ideal for serving many passengers while dealing with very little space in the plane refreshment areas. They can be eaten easily out of small packages and easily cleaned up (unless they crumble everywhere, which I have to say, they have a pension for. That’s something I don’t like.). They also have an incredibly long shelf life (likely due to their dryness, along with other ingredients), making them ideal for something on-the-go and to ward off health code violations. And also also, if you think about it, the cookies are highly spiced in cinnamon, allowing their flavor to come through in the higher elevations, which may be pleasant for many. They’ve also been dubbed as the snack equivalent of drinking ginger ale on planes, which is hilariously common. What does surprise me, though, is that to me, they seem like a bit of a luxury snack cookie, so I’m sure they get a great bulk deal from the company with humble family beginnings.

3. What is my opinion on Biscoff?

Yeah, I think they’re pretty good. My first experience eating them was loopy off knee surgery (ask me about that later, too, if you want) and I remember asking for more because I thought they were so good. I’ve been given them a handful of times on planes, but I commonly don’t eat them. They just get shoved in my backpack and never touched because I have to be in the right mood to eat them. I think they’re alright, but they’re far from a first choice. Their grandma-like nature makes me feel like they’re healthier? Yes, the cookies are dry, but they’re not drying to my mouth. Plus I love the spice of the cinnamon. Something about the paste they form in my mouth, too, is nice. Comforting, somewhat. Would enjoy with a glass of tea, but I can see how others wouldn’t like them. Plus, I feel like when they’re put into cookie butter or something, they lose a little character. 5.5/10. But I’ve already spoken about how Ransom doesn’t have the greatest taste. Plus, I’m sure he was eating them because they were what was around. Like I said, grandma food.

I think that’s all I have to say. I will be taking questions. It was nice to research something fun for a change.

References (links bc I know you guys def don’t want APA citation format):

Why does food taste bland on planes? (WONG Tak-kan, 2018)

The reasons airplane food tastes so different than on the ground (Jade Tungul, 2021)

Why does food taste different on planes? (Katie Moskvitch, 2015)

Why Are Biscoff Cookies Such A Popular Inflight Snack? (Matthew Austin Ryan, 2023)

How Biscoff Became the Cookie of the Skies (Lillian Stone, 2022)

How Biscoff Cookies Became the Snack We Crave on Planes (Kaitlin Menza, 2020)

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @magic-is-something-we-create

Who You Are:

P.K. Finn || He/they

I'm a queer, neurodivergent creative that's been elbow-deep in art of all kinds since I first started having control of my hands!

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi. New Adult and Adult

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

I could write the blurred line between Sci-Fi and Fantasy until the heat death of the universe, honestly! The absolute freedom to change reality and stretch the boundaries of what my mind can come up with when making new worlds is one of the most fun and interesting things I've ever done, and once I started on the path of world building, I realized I couldn't stop. Even just world building, without a story attached, is one of my favorite pastimes.

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

I personally don't enjoy writing anything set in the real world - whether historical or contemporary - if it doesn't have at least a bit of magic or speculative science attached. While I like reading realistic fiction on occasion, I've always found myself drawn more to what could be than what is on the creation side of things.

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

It depends on the story! My blanket target audience is the same kind of reader I am: those who like to pick apart stories and draw plot threads and foreshadowing to their potential conclusions as they unfold, and can't help but analyze it every step of the way. Rereading to find all of the places where hints were laid, to see what about the story changes once you know the end - are there lines I glossed over the first time that, with the new context, have taken a whole new meaning or emotional toll? How often was a reveal teased or cloaked in metaphor before I was given the information I needed to actually see it? Where is the plot mirrored in little ways, where are we told blatantly what will happen in a way we don't notice at first? Those kinds of readers are who I write for, as a whole. But I also know that those won't be all of my readers, and that each story will attract a different group that needs it, so I try to tailor those accordingly if I can.

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

One thing I've found to be a recurring theme in everything I create (not just novels and other stories; it's leaked into the D&D campaign I'm running for friends, too) is the idea of Godhood/Idolization/Ultimate Power and Responsibility being unfathomably isolating and traumatic. With that also comes the idea that even deities are still people, capable of just as much emotion, mistaken belief, and regret as the rest of us, and often with far less control and power than worshipers might think. Hand-in-hand with that, I tend to end up with narratives where the antagonist(s) are a mirror or exaggeration of the protagonist(s), because I love making my protags question whether they're the ones in the right, when they may agree on many or all points of the antags opinions, just not on their methods or the lengths to which they'll go. And I also love to make the protags understand and sympathize with their antags - and by extension, try and get the reader to do the same - because one of my favorite things to explore is the common root of all good AND evil being one and the same, and those concepts at all being subjective and fluctuating.

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

I've never understood stories that place certain characters/concepts/actions on pedestals or trash heaps without ever stopping to explore anything beyond the shallowest why, if that. I want to question which side is in the wrong, or whether wrong and right exist at all in this story. I want the characters and/or the story itself to examine what they're doing, why, and what the lasting consequences will be - because there will be lasting consequences for everything they do. If the enemy army is shown as irredeemable and inhuman (derogatory), show me a deserter with friends still on the front lines. If the Good King goes unquestioned in his altruism by those around him, show me what machinations he hides behind locked doors to silence the dissenters.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

I'm currently drafting two different stories set in the same world: The Millennium Saga is a high fantasy epic that's going to be between 5 and 7 books long, and I'm in the midst of drafting book three; Whispers is a tragic dark fantasy noir set 10-12 years after the start of TMS, planned to be a standalone that doesn't need, but is enriched by, the world context that TMS brings. I've been drafting it since mid-December 2022 as a bit of a break from TMS, which has gone through 10+ years of plot marinating and 2 years of frantic drafting now that my ADHD brain finally has the tools to sit down and do it.

Why do you write? What keeps you writing?

I write so that I can get the stories that play on loop in my brain out and inflicted on others. :)

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

The first thing I remember writing for fun was a short story about dragons that I wrote in third grade for school. I fell in love with the idea of being able to write my own books not too long after, because I realized that it let me decide what a dragon could and could not be, what an elf looked like and what powers they wielded, and what I thought a Loch Ness Monster Animorph would be based solely on the covers of books I never read.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

My inspiration comes mostly from interacting with other peoples creations! I often get into an art or writing mood after watching drawing videos on YouTube or listening to the playlist I've Pavloved myself with, and often those initial sparks inspire what I do with them that day, whether it's practicing drawing architecture because of a speedpaint or writing a fight scene because I listened to a particularly energetic song. I don't usually get inspired for entire stories from those things, though; I couldn't tell you where the inspiration for my current works came from, because the ideas first came to me years and years ago, and have just morphed over time as I've grown.

What work of yours are you most proud of? Why?

The Millennium Saga! That story in particular has been occupying my brain for more than a decade, and while the current form of it is unrecognizable from the original version I wrote on the bus on the way to school, it is by far one of my favorite things I've ever done, if only for the amount of time and brainspace I've dedicated to it. It's how I figured out my current writing style, and it's a story I know I'll hold close to my heart long after it's done. And this isn't to say I'm not proud of my other projects, especially Whispers! They all hold equal weight in my mind, I've simply had more time to put the puzzle of TMS together than anything else, and I'm most proud of pushing through the blocks I hit along the way.

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

I have not, but I really want to! I started looking into the tradpub querying process in December with publishing TMS in mind, but since I put it on hold for Whispers for the moment, I've put that by the wayside as well. Ideally, I'll go the traditional route with maybe a webcomic and webnovel somewhere between official releases, but I'd be more than willing to figure out how marketing works for self publishing if that doesn't pan out.

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?

Traditional publishing is appealing for me because I (theoretically; I know the industry is in a bit of a hellscape right now) wouldn't have to be in charge of anything more than writing the books. But, like I said, that's in a bit of a weird limbo state right now, especially in regard to authors self-marketing, and that is, I think, the most intimidating and unsavory part of the process for me. Self publishing appeals because I would have a bit more control over what the book looked like overall, but again, marketing is not my strong suit. I'd much rather just be able to sit back and write and let someone else do the talking for me.

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

My favorite part of the writing process is those moments where things start to fit together into a complete picture! I tend to avoid outlining ahead of time because it dampens my enthusiasm and always tricks my brain into thinking its a set of hard-and-fast rules rather than gentle guidelines, so when the threads I've laid out start to weave themselves into a tapestry through both editing and latter-half drafting, it makes every stumble before then worth it. The least appealing/fun part of the process is less about the actual writing for me, and more about the struggles getting past the blocks imposed by my brain chemistry. Executive dysfunction makes sitting down to write at all a chore, no matter how much I love it once I've gotten into the zone.

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

My process depends on the story! For Millennium Saga in particular, I've found I have to "script" chapters before I draft them, with a special emphasis on the dialogue and vague choreography, or else I get stuck super easy on the transition sentences between beats. But with Whispers, I've scripted only one or two conversations over the entire 40k words written so far, and haven't gotten stuck once. As for setup, mine is pretty particular in some ways, and wildly varied in others. I write in FocusWriter so that I don't get distracted with formatting, and can have a background/theme that's easy on the eyes and fitting for the scene I'm working on - but that theme changes on a regular basis, along with the music I play in the background and, often, where I take my laptop to write in the first place. I'm also a fan of doing writing sprints to get my brain moving, sometimes with friends on Discord, sometimes on my own, and at this point I do more writing without sprints at all. Sometimes I need the clutter of my desk to kickstart my brain; sometimes I need to be curled up in an armchair with no other distractions in order to focus. It really depends on the day.

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

I joined Writeblr officially in March of 2020! While COVID might seem like the obvious culprit, it really wasn't at the time; it was really because I'd graduated the year before, and while my friends went off to college, I decided to double down on my dream of writing and drawing for a living, and realized that I wanted to have more people to share my ideas and stories with in the interim to help motivate myself to work on them. From there, it was just a matter of making the side blog, and the rest is history!

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

@/aritany was one of a bunch of others who joined writeblr around the same time as I did, and one of the first whose writing style really spoke to me and inspired a bit of my own! That, combined with their rather unique ability to get me invested in contemporary and semi-realistic fiction drew me in and kept me on board throughout the whirlwind we've both been through over the last few years. @writeblrfantasy is an absolutely delightful human being who I met one fateful world-building wednesday when she unlocked my rambling by asking about Goblins in the Ehlverse and received a full-blown illustration reference in answer. She's also one of a limited few who writes the kind of romance that gets me invested, and she has an absolutely godly drive to write an ungodly amount day in and day out that inspires me to no end! <3 @lanawritesalittle is someone I don't remember meeting, but whose stories and style I adore to no end. They're, like, top-of-my-list of those who haven't published yet, but who I will be frothing at the mouth for a copy when they do. They have a 100% hit rate of making incredibly compelling characters that I can't help but love no matter what atrocities they get up to. @ashen-crest first crossed my dash when she joined, and I remember reading one (1) excerpt of The Stray Spirit before falling absolutely head-over-heels in love with her style of cozy fantasy. Everything she does just feels so warm and full of love, it's like home, and it all only gets better with time. @zonnemaagd caught my eye first from her poetry blog, and then from her writeblr, and her descriptions and narrative voice are so incredibly unique and gorgeous that I literally cannot think of a single published author that compares. Gust, in particular, is a writeblr wip that will always live in my head rent-free, and someday I hope to be able to read it all and bask in the world the way it deserves. And, of course, @authoralexharvey (don't you dare think you can get out of being complimented in your own interview). Their worlds are so lovingly built and their voice is so compelling, and I don't think I'll ever be able to get Nadia and Simone of ASMLP out of my brain. Their stories are just so amazing all the way through, even at the drafting stage, and I love every single one that I've gotten to sink my teeth into.

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

The connection and sense of community! At least from the angle I've seen it, it's a truly wonderful space of encouragement and inspiration that I wouldn't let go of for the world.

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

I think one thing that a lot of us agree on is how it can sometimes feel like we're pouring our writing hearts out into the void without a response, so one of the things I've been trying to improve myself (and that I think a lot of us would benefit from practicing), is voicing the things we love about what we read on here where others can see it, unabashedly. Finding something to love in even the smallest excerpts from last line tags, whether it be a particular word choice or a mood that seeps through the page, and pointing it out in the tags or body of a reblog. And, when someone does that for us, thanking them without self-deprecation - because the more we foster that kind energy and enthusiasm for each other, the more we're able to remember that when there's something lovable in every piece of writing, our own writing is included in that, too.

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

I do my best to reblog and comment in the tags on everything that I read - and while that tends to mostly be things I'm on the taglist on, I also try to take advantage of the days where I have the spoons to read more of what I scroll through and add it to the queue no matter who it's from. Something I could absolutely do more of is consistent participation in ask and tag games; I know the kind of fire that gets lit when I get a particularly interesting WBW ask or when someone sends me a tag game that I'm excited to play, and I really want to pass that on more often.

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

Excerpts, intros, and updates!

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

Excerpts and updates!

Finally, anywhere else online we may be able to find you?

I do writing and art streams on twitch.tv/alittlewarlord (ALEX: Watch and interact with Pax, he's so lovely!!), and VODs are posted on my YouTube channel of the same name. I'm also on Ko-Fi as alittlewarlord, and Patreon as P. K. Finn, both of which feature a bonus weekly write-in on top of the other streams.