#spark conversation or something

[mint-termsandconditions]

Random subject,

but I need someone to make a video essay about the bastardization of female characters and the woobification of male characters in media/fandom spaces

because I think it’s a really interesting subject that probably stems from biases that plague our society

from

“He’s such a silly little guy.”

to

Literally calling fictional female characters worse than Hitler or something

Like, I feel like people talk about specific characters but not the topic as a broader subject

I feel like there’s so much to talk about

but I don’t have the elegance, critical thinking skills, the experience, or consume enough media to talk about this

So anyone who’s reading this please, please make a video essay about it

Or make one arguing against it idk

I just need a good video essay to watch while doing homework

[gingermintpepper]

In my Zeus bag today so I'm just gonna put it out there that exactly none of the great Ancient Greek warrior-heroes stayed loyal and faithful and completely monogamous and yet none of them have their greatness questioned nor do we question why they had the cultural prominence that they did and still do.

Jason, the brilliant leader of the Argo, got cold feet when it came to Medea - already put off by some of her magic and then exiled from his birthland because of her political ploys, he took Creusa to bed and fully intended on marrying her despite not properly dissolving things with Medea.

Theseus was a fierce warrior and an incredibly talented king but he had a horrible temper and was almost fatally weak to women. This is the man who got imprisoned in the Underworld for trying to get a friend laid, the man who started the whole Attic War because he couldn't keep his legs closed.

And we cannot at all forget Heracles for whom a not inconsiderable amount of his joy in life was loving people then losing the people around him that he loved. Wives, children, serving boys, mentors, Heracles had a list of lovers - male and female - long enough to rival some gods and even after completing his labours and coming down to the end of his life, he did not have one wife but three.

And y'know what, just because he's a cultural darling, I'll put Achilles up here too because that man was a Theseus type where he was fantastic at the thing he was born to do (that is, fight whereas Theseus' was to rule) but that was not enough to eclipse his horrid temper and his weakness to young pretty things. This is the man that killed two of Apollo's sons because they wouldn't let him hit - Tenes because he refused to let Achilles have his sister and Troilus who refused Achilles so vehemently that he ran into Apollo's temple to avoid him and still couldn't escape.

All four of these men are still celebrated as great heroes and men. All four of these men are given the dignity of nuance, of having their flaws treated as just that, flaws which enrich their character and can be used to discuss the wider cultural point of what truly makes a hero heroic. All four of these men still have their legacies respected.

Why can that same mindset not be applied to Zeus? Zeus, who was a warrior-king raised in seclusion apart from his family. Zeus who must have learned to embrace the violence of thunder for every time he cried as a babe, the Corybantes would bang their shields to hide the sound. Zeus learned to be great because being good would not see the universe's affairs in its order.

The wonderful thing about sympathy is that we never run out of it. There's no rule stopping us from being sympathetic to multiple plights at once, there's no law that necessitate things always exist on the good-evil binary. Yes, Zeus sentenced Prometheus to sufferation in Tartarus for what (to us) seems like a cruel reason. Prometheus only wanted to help humans! But when you think about Prometheus' actions from a king's perspective, the narrative is completely different: Prometheus stole divine knowledge and gifted it to humans after Zeus explicitly told him not to. And this was after Prometheus cheated all the gods out of a huge portion of wealth by having humans keep the best part of a sacrifice's meat while the gods must delight themselves with bones, fat and skin. Yes, Zeus gave Persephone away to Hades without consulting Demeter but what king consults a woman who is not his wife about the arrangement of his daughter's marriage to another king? Yes, Zeus breaks the marriage vows he set with Hera despite his love of her but what is the Master of Fate if not its staunchest slave?

The nuance is there. Even in his most bizarre actions, the nuance and logic and reason is there. The Ancient Greeks weren't a daft people, they worshipped Zeus as their primary god for a reason and they did not associate him with half the vices modern audiences take issue with. Zeus was a father, a visitor, a protector, a fair judge of character, a guide for the lost, the arbiter of revenge for those that had been wronged, a pillar of strength for those who needed it and a shield to protect those who made their home among the biting snakes. His children were reflections of him, extensions of his will who acted both as his mercy and as his retribution, his brothers and sisters deferred to him because he was wise as well as powerful. Zeus didn't become king by accident and it is a damn shame he does not get more respect.

[straight-to-the-pain]

I’m not usually one for conditioned whumpees, and especially not for recovery, but I think I would really enjoy those types of scenes more if the trauma responses were allowed to be more nuanced and complex.

This isn’t a criticism of anyone specific, it’s just something I think I lack in the community, and I don’t think I’m the one to write it either, but I think that what puts me off is that I know what it’s like to be triggered by something, and it’s such a complicated and not always conscious process.

Like yes they might feel that someone they’re with is angry or upset with them and suddenly try to do anything they can to please them, but that might come with a wave of shame and self loathing once they’ve realised that nothing was wrong and they’ve just embarrassed themselves in front of someone close to them.

Or maybe they’re scared of that part of themself, and they’re so scared that other people will see it or hurt them again that they push them away, maybe they test their boundaries, maybe they hurt the people they love instead because they want to see what happens when they finally do get angry.

Maybe they hate that part of them that makes them become someone else, that makes them get lost in their mind. Maybe they resent how it makes relationships hard, how they try to move on but some small thing ignites a carefully buried spark of fear and the whole thing starts again.

I also wish there wasn’t so much of a power dynamic of whumpee and caretaker, where the whumpee is someone who is mentally ill and traumatised and not expected to ever be independent or live alone. No, I want them to have friends and partners and lovers, and struggle and find joy in equal measure, on their own terms.

There’s absolutely people writing this sort of content, and there are things I will read because I think they capture that complexity, and of course these are my personal feelings but I do urge people to think about this when they write, if they want to.

[lilacerull0]

i can't get over this expression...

[ssoupcup]

Feeling completely and entirely human in the way that people have been since the beginning of our species and throughout time, and completely and entirely inhuman in the way of struggling to understand and go along with what is expected of you and how people function within society today, and always being seen as other or wrong no matter what you do

[a-world-in-grey]

You know, I always headcanoned that once Niflheim got their hands on some photos of the prince and his civilian friend, they absolutely knew that Prompto was an escaped clone. The resemblance to Besithia was obvious, after all. They just didn't bother to do anything with it, since it's not like they need that particular clone and it's not even like Prompto has a sleeper programming.

But in the Spark verse, well. Prompto is a child of an Oracle. And if Glauca is a thing, they might even know about her magic.

Either way, they really want to have her back.

I have been sitting on this ask for awhile, because I love it, but unfortunately the muses are not cooperating with me on it.

In most of my fics, Niflheim doesn’t really bother paying too much attention to Prompto - yeah, he’s the prince’s friend, but he’s civilian, and furthermore, not a member of his Retinue, so ergo, he can’t be that important to the prince. Not enough to be worth investing any resources into whatever aim they might want with Prompto anyway.

But in Spark au, Prompto is claimed as Noctis’ Heart far earlier than normal in an effort to protect her secret, and that makes Niflheim take a closer look at this civilian girl who’s gotten so close to the prince. And you’re right, the resemblance is uncanny if you know what to look for.

I feel like Titus wouldn’t know about Prompto’s magic. Noctis and the others are so very careful to keep her magic under wraps, and the cover of Prompto having Noctis’ magic so compelling, that Titus never realizes the truth.

Now, if they ever managed to get their hands on the Prince’s Heart long enough to somehow learn that carefully hidden truth… well.

That would change things, wouldn’t it?

[svankmajerbaby]

i get that it was a mess and it had a bunch of blindspots and just absolutely insane choices but. why havent i heard anyone talking about dead ringers 2023

[rouge-the-bat]

"youre so quiet!" thats bc yall bitches aint talking about sonic the hedgehog or yu yu hakusho !!!!!!!!

[tittyinfinity]

No seroquel means no sleep for me I guess. I've been trying for hours

[gumiworth]

Sorta getting those ship thoughts rn thinking of ship scenarios. Theres one Krisnix scenario I think of that happens like, specifically near the end of the 7yg. Like I think there had have to have been a situation where Phoenix enters Gavin law offices(against Kristophs wishes) and just sees Apollo and/or some random receptionist behind a desk. I think either would be shocked to see Phoenix there he just goes up and asks where Kristoph is and they point to his office with a comically shocked face. Then he goes in where Kristoph sorta just goes “Phoenix what the fuck did you do” with some freaked out look while Phoenix walks up to his desk to look at all his expensive fountain pens. Then I think Phoenix just sorta mumbles the most incoherent thing and grabs Kristophs face(jaw?). But with the most. blank expression. Then they just stare at each other, like they love each other(but also definitely want to gouge each others eyes out). Again, they probably love each other but really weirdly. Meanwhile, Apollo/maybe some receptionist are just at the door trying to listen to as much as they can(they both kinda know that they know they’re listening in). Anyways Kristoph would sorta snap back into a nice superficial voice, loudly thanking Phoenix for coming and to “Leave this for later tonight” and to “Dont hesitate to call me!”. Phoenix just sorta laughs while taking those pens with him(to which Kristoph sneers at him for). As he walks out of his office he’d probably say something all gruff nd over his shoulder like “Thanks Kris, I’ll see you tonight”. They’ll definitely see each other tonight at the Borscht bowl club but it’ll just be less tense and more bitter. I think they’re just funny like that

[seaofreverie]

We should normalize bringing these sort of "small talk ideas" cards to meetings with other people so that it's possible to avoid the awkwardness of not knowing what to talk about to kick things off or if it's considered normal to talk about this specific thing and AUGHGHFCG all this stuff.

[thenwethrowitonthefire]

Shout-out to everyone who survived a "fun" easter with the family

[starfall-isle]

S C H I Z O S P A R K ????????

YEAH ithink with spark it’s more of a “he does bc because I like him” answer, but something about his dialogue and mannerisms mesh so much in my brain that makes him very relatable in that aspect (and by extension the way stej as a series is written. They must have put something in this game that’s made it click so hard with mentally ill people it’s like clockwork) Spark being a dude living on his own trying to keep a job and just like get through the day & chill .and he’sjust kind of weird and keeps to himself socially made me go Ohoh There’s something here. 

So I had that solidified in my mind going forward and then finishing spark 3 it was like! Ohhh my god that is the type of thing I dread over constantly if I was in that situation and already go through my day to day feeling a disconnect from reality, well! 

Not 2 say there was any intention within the story to present it from a psychosis angle but the way Spark reacts to his situation is just soo cathartic and understandable, 4 me personally there can feel like such a frustration and anger about how things like paranoia and psychosis affect your life that you just kinda have to sit with bc. There’s no changing the situation you just have to get through it and try 2 take care of yourself, and I likethat his response was just so pissed off and desperate (Stej writing’s really good!!) 

Anyway what if you were just some ant with schizophrenia and due to circumstances you got put in the endless timeloop simulation and through your own rage and unwillingness to give up you fight to create a more hopeful future for yourself with the help of your friend and support system. Even if you can’t change your situation ok 👍

[eleminim]

T_T

[last-of-the-lot]

Something I didn't know I wanted so bad before seeing a post about how the dragons would be handled in season three, but I want season three to open in medias res in draconia against Vorugal or on Glintshore, and we slowly get the full story of the encounter with Raishan in the council room and how we got to the fight we were dropped into as we progress through the season.

I'm usually not a fan of flash backs, but I feel like it would really suit the talk. Wouldn't feel like Raishan is dumping so much on the party so quickly, and instead we get fights interspersed with progression.

[squirrelno2]

I do not have a lot of followers but I'm Very Curious about like. What the ones I do have think of me. So