#putting my two cents

[earl-of-grey]

Some Hazbin thoughts:

I liked how the first season ended, and while I do think the pacing was sped up to clearly reach this arc’s conclusion (but due to time constraints of course) I think ending it off with the scene showing Sir Pentious in Heaven is the perfect cliff hanger for the show.

Throughout the first season, we see both the characters, their society, us the audience, and even Charlie herself asks, “will this hotel even work?” That was what the pilot, the whole premise of the show centered on: is redemption for sinners even possible?

Of course we the audience already know the answer because then there wouldn’t be much of a message to learn from, much less a story to captivate on. But in this world, in their reality, the characters don’t know that. Charlie doesn’t know either. But she has faith that it does.

And what better way to complete this season’s arc with answering that question from the very beginning: yes, yes it does.

So now, the story can evolve from there. It’s not about proving her theory anymore, Charlie’s got the proof that she needs. Now it’s all a matter of facing the obstacles of those who don’t want it to work.

The Vees will definitely play a big part in season 2, and I’m guessing their motivations to stop the hotel from working would be to both to still gain control of sinners (if the hotel exists as an alternative, then they would lose their audience) and still gain access to specific individuals in the hotel (Valentino with Angel and Vox with Alastor).

And we might get to see Sera’s response to this new revelation. It wouldn’t be a surprise if she leans towards fear, but how far is she willing to go (or maybe how much is she willing to fall) in order to enact to her duties and responsibilities? (And keep in mind, holding onto her fears and encouraging the exterminations may just be the very reason for her Fall.)

And another thing, I can’t wait to see Alastor’s reaction to the news that the hotel works. It’s very ironic how (from what he’s only revealed so far) the main reason he wanted to help in the first place is because he’s betting on Charlie’s ‘passion project’ not working.

He’s made it very clear that he believes that the human condition is innately selfish and malignant (with a few rare exceptions). He says “Why does anyone do anything? Sheer, absolute boredom.” While there are plenty of hints foreshadowing Alastor having ulterior motives for helping the hotel (whether he’s forced to be there or not), that still doesn’t mean what he said ISN’T an extension of what he believes the world to be. He says “the world is a stage, and stage is a world of entertainment.”

Alastor is a performer. To perform means to believe in something you’re fabricating. So what makes Alastor’s situation interesting is that his whole character and predicament is entrenched in two opposing ideals existing at once. Paradoxical truths.

He has to help make the hotel successful in order to prove that it will fail.

He can’t show that he cares about the group because then others will use that against him, but at the same time, he has to show that he cares in order for the group to trust him. (But just enough)

So when that moment of revelation is revealed to the whole group that Charlie’s redemption idea is possible and works, Alastor will have to craft a balancing act of both helping and sabotaging the hotel to ensure that he still has control over the entire thing (even though this new information will shake it all up).

If the world is a stage, then Alastor wants to be the one to build it. He wants to be both producer and critic. But that balancing act could only go so far until the consequences of doing so will eventually bite him back.

And I cannot wait to see it happen.

But those are just my thoughts and predictions for the next season.

I’d love to hear yours as well.

[emjaydoubleyou]

this post is fearmongering. the results of this study are concerning and should definitely be a matter of public discussion, but this is certainly not the conclusion the researchers came to.

the point of the study was to assess the risks of exposure to toxic metals- something one of the co-authors notes are “ubiquitous” fwiw- via menstrual products. Their research confirmed that these metals are indeed present in tampons, but no further conclusions are drawn. it is possible the metal entered into the cotton from the soil, which is a well-known phenomenon; cotton is so good at lifting heavy metals that it has actually been suggested as a part of the solution for revitalizing polluted ground.

the authors conclude with an acknowledgement that the study should be repeated- their sample size was 60 tampons- and a suggestion that further testing ought to be done to indicate whether or not these metals can even leech out of the tampon in the first place, let alone whether or not such leeching could occur at levels deleterious to human health.

there is, in fact, a body of research- too small, for sure, but much larger than this single study- indicating that long-term proper tampon use has no observable negative impact on health. i am grateful and thrilled that more research is being done and i hope that this study is the first of many on this line of questioning, but i am really frustrated at this post and the response it got.

obviously, if this study alters your approach to menstrual health, more power to you. consumers should be informed-risk-takers, and menstrual health is double-obviously a very personal choice. but it definitely wasn't the researchers concluding that you ought to “avoid using tampons at all cost," only this tumblr user did. the lead author of the paper, in fact, specifically says that she hopes people do NOT panic about the results.

(the notes of the post were disappointing. people affirming that they knew they were right to be suspicious of tampons all along, or even recommending alternatives that actually have very little to no research regarding the safety of long-term use, etc. it’s a different conversation, but categorical distrust of tampons is old-school misogyny. you certainly shouldn't wear them if you don’t want to, but there is nothing inherently scary or wrong about them, and people who prefer them are not being reckless or crass.)

((if you're really worried about exposure to heavy metals, you may want to turn a critical eye to fast fashion, as an aside))

[wolveria]

With how incredibly cruel people can be in fandoms nowadays, I can understand the lack of interaction on tumblr.

I know it's well meaning, but I have a feeling folks who say "people who boop can also interact directly with blogs!" have never been sent hate mail, or received nasty comments, or been put on a list that gets passed around because they ship/write/draw the "wrong" thing.

SO yeah. The lack of interaction isn't what's killing fandoms. It's the people who go out of their way to harass other fans that leads to less interaction that kills fandoms.

And it's not really fair to expect people to interact in a hostile environment.

[alevens]

zolu is maybe one of the easiest ships i've ever liked. they're dating, except when they're not, they're best friends even when they're kissing and they're still captain and first mate when they aren't. they hold hands, they hug. they have sex. they don't.

Luffy can hold Zoro's katanas and Zoro can hold Luffy's strawhat and no one bats an eye. one says "You're so cool!" and the other says "You're strong" and it's just another way to say "I see you, this is why I follow you/this is why I trust you". it's not seeing each other for a long time and still knowing how the other's steps sound like against wood and sand. the captain runs and the first mate follows. it's always "Zoro and the others" and "Where's Luffy?"

if they're just friends, if they're something more, if they don't have a label for it, at its core, it's just about how they get each other. they understand how the other's mind works. however you view them, it doesn't erase they fact that they love each other in a way they don't love other people.

[pirincho]

[o0o0thorn0o0o]

Karma: But why act so smug? You won by only 1.8% :P

Gakushuu: Shut it—a win is a win.

———

Some doodles based on this very hectic poll. I know I’m a little late, but I’m also on a trip up north rn.

A hint of AsaKanza because I haven’t drawn AC in a while, and I’d like to include the gal. That, and I got some encouragement from Luna to include Yukiko.

That, and because I be hella biased towards my favorites, as y’all should know by now :P

[phantasmalandresplendentt]

The way that Crowley put his sunglasses back on as his emotional barrier, and then used his last ounce of bravery in a desperate attempt to get Aziraphale to stay?? I need someone better at writing than me to do a whole analysis

[buckera]

the fact that you guys are trying to have ship wars in the year of our lord 2024 is just laughable

[yardsards]

i needed to express a sentiment in the creative stylings of @dunmeshiminimumwage

[ib3li3v3you]

I love felix i do, but i think the “birthday surprise” was the cruelest thing he could ever do.

If Oliver hadn’t been lying and things at home were as horrible as he said, wrf would he have done?? He wanted to be the hero yes “look at me I reunited my poor ollies family im such a good person” but if his mother had shown up at that door high and unresponsive, can barely stand and treating them w disdain. Or seeing the house looking like some sort of crack den.

To willingly have someone, let alone a close friend, go through all that just to feed your saviour complex is just cruel.

And i really do believe that he was extremely mad abt the “disappointing” outcome, (apart from the obvious) bcos oliver took away his chance to be the hero.

[luciddreamingstuff]

Alright go home Warner Bros, we already have the Minecraft Isekal movie and sequels.

In all the Minecraft movie talk, how could we forget about the Alan Becker team and THIS! THIS ABSOLUTE COLLECTION OF CINEMA!

[tokutaiseichan]

How old is everyone, really?!?!

Prefacing this with the information that the legal drinking age in Japan is 20 years old bc it's important.

OKAY so at first we were only shown that it's the third years who go to Rui's bar. This made me think, "Oh, I guess that'd make the third years a bunch of 20 years old, at the very least. So Darkwick is like a university?"

But then come Episode 6 and we were told that they don't actually serve real alcohol at Rui's bar. Not to mention we saw Ritsu getting fussy about a bar in the school grounds. This made me think, "So Darkwick is a high school? Everyone here is a minor?? Which is it???" (※To be fair, Ritsu was only fussing about the existence of a bar and not the possibility of underage drinking cmiiw)

And last, Episode 8. Here we saw Taiga ordering a martini一an alcoholic drink. And when Ritsu came to fetch him, he didn't scold him about underage drinking so that means Taiga is at least 20 years old (Ritsu warned Jin about Swords and Arms law when he took out his artifact so if Taiga really is underaged, Ritsu would definitely scold him).

But what caught me truly off guard is when Ritsu snatched the cocktail and drank it himself. Ritsu "Stickler for the Rules" Shinjo is drinking alcohol. There's a few possible explanation for this a) Ritsu is of drinking age; b) Ritsu is making an exception and broke a rule bc he's exasperated with Taiga (less likely considering how much of a stick in the mud about rules he is); c) Writer Team's mistake.

I'm leaning more to a), which means all of the first years is also at least 20 years old. That makes the second and third years in their early twenties. So Darwick is still a kind of university? Or does age isn't one of the parameter to enroll there?

[lucky-clover-gazette]

i’m not interacting directly with the post that brought up this topic, but i will say that if laurent saw someone claiming that what he did to damen in book 1 was justified, he would start picking up chairs.

laurent takes his own moral integrity very seriously, so even if we set aside his love for damen he would absolutely say that what he (laurent) did in book 1 was unequivocally unjust. it may have been done out of revenge rather than aimless cruelty, but it would still be a source of shame for laurent to know that he 1) did those things and 2) got any kind of gratification from doing those things, even to his worst enemy. look at how he acts after aimeric’s suicide—he experiences regret and knows that he was wrong to take it as far as he did. he tells damen specifically that he’d been wrong in book 1 to treat him (damen) so cruelly, and given laurent’s high standards of integrity, i believe that he means it. that wasn’t just something he said to be nice to damen, or because they fell in love—it’s because laurent knows he went against his own moral code for it, especially considering that damen is also a morally decent person and not a monster.

when laurent treated damen how he did in book 1, he met damen’s assumed depravity with what laurent understood to be depravity of his own. laurent was being evil, on purpose, because he thought damen deserved it. but part of laurent’s growth in the series is understanding that his assumptions can sometimes be wrong, his actions were unjust regardless of damen’s status, he (laurent) was being a hypocrite, and he (laurent) needs to do better. damen learns the same lesson, just about different topics (slavery, his rose-colored perception of akielos and kastor). these character arcs contribute to damen and laurent’s “coming-of-maturity” so they can rule together as kings.

a character’s actions being unjustifiable, at some point of the story, does not mean that they are ultimately a character who stands for and represents injustice. laurent can be a good person who did bad, unjustified things. in fact the power of his characterization comes from his moral complexity. to rob him of those things is to rob yourself of fully understanding and appreciating this one-of-a-kind character and story.

part of what makes fandom great is that people can have discussions to better understand appreciate a piece of media they all enjoy. these are just my personal thoughts on the matter. some people will share them and some will disagree! i’m down for it all :)

[farcillesweep2024]

She’s from Vermont

[faceglitchsworld]

Don't be too hard on yourself

[swiftietartt]

the thing that irks me about the og ‘throwing in the towel’ lyrics (‘soda i’m really depressed, spending every night drinking myself to sleep’) is that the curtis house always seemed like a refuge for steve/johnny/dally from their alcoholic/abusive/absentee parents