#this goes for podcasts in general tbh

[naaddiie]

I've seen a bunch of people treat their tmagp character designs as placeholders until the fandom comes up with a "fanon" design and like?????? Stop. Free yourself from the idea that you have to picture a podcast character the Most Popular and Correct way. I want to see some motherfucker on my screen and have to do batman-level detective work to figure out it is, in fact, my most beloved blorbo. Release yourself ftom this prison.

[single-malt-scotch]

Mindcrack had many moments of interacting w fandom in a way people basically don't see at all anymore that it's understandable people are surprised and put off that doc "suddenly" said he wanted to read fan fic or whatever.

I mean for one, if you're not watching doc already you should know that tbh hes like on of THE most fandom involved hermits by far imo. Seriously. He's been a huge supporter of fan art no matter (well ya know to an extent) what it is. He commissions fan artists and asks permission for unpaid fan art to be thumbnails in his videos and always credits them in the intro. He's actively taken up 'headcanons' to his skin (goat horns, butterfly wings) or other things ppl draw him in (maid dress). He has talked many times about ships with him and seems generally unbothered and jokes about it.

So in mindcrack days it was not at all uncommon for them to pick up a fan fic to read (at a podcast or something)- which iirc they asked and got permission for (at least some I know of, it has been a while). But they also (mostly) knew about shipping too and talking about it esp in context to when they'd read fics (because yes they did read some ship fics). They had their "that's weird" moments for sure but that was kinda it. And well, back then many of us on our lil Tumblr space did think it was cool because we were excited they interacted with us at all lol...

This isn't to say you can't be uncomfortable!! Of course. Idk if doc has read anything on stream yet but I wouldn't be too worried as I'd also expect him to ask permission (and as fans maybe take openings to remind him to do so).

I think we all know rule number one as a fan is "don't show the cc stuff unless they ask for it". But rule number two in regards to them is "if the cc goes looking it's their fault and their responsibility for what they find". You might still worry about cc reaction despite that and to that I say stop giving a shit. Let go of shame and fear. Anyone can see your public posts. A cc might be looking right and now you'd only get uncomfy if you knew it, but you don't. You'd can't control people and if the cc are an ass about it despite looking for it? Feel free to say something but otherwise shrug it off because it's not your fault. (And if they're enough of an ass stop engaging with them lol). Mcyt (and other similar) are real people fandoms and you gotta remember that. You cannot control this and that's alright that's just how this kind of fandom has to work. So stop worrying about it

[itsbansheebitch]

More thoughts

I get both sides, but I feel a little confused they couldn't find four people in their +25 employees

Data analyst (Are you seriously telling me you couldn't personally email or even just HIRE matpat's team who do data analytics as part of Theorist Media to help??? The man would be overjoyed to help???)

Editor (Put the first $6 towards a can of coffee grounds, dude)

PR Team (Even, like, a single person, please, for the love of god)

Business Major (Or literally anyone that has taken a home ec/budgeting/personal finance class)

First, the Dish Granted series was started when gold leaf burgers were novel, now it's seen as tone deaf (for obvious reasons) it should have shifted to something like interviews with people who make that kind of food or local businesses (like parmesan cheese shops in Parma, Italy) or the history of food (like talking about the history of modern Native American slavery on Californian wine vinyards). Not to mention the untapped potential of Food Fraud topics. Either shift it, or scrap it. Any data analyst or chronically online person could tell you that.

Second, why did you keep "anyone can afford $6 a month" in? Are the editors asleep at the wheel? Are they overworked? What is going on? You know damn well to not make generalizations about what people can afford. That's NEVER a good idea, especially when you KNOW (because YT gives you analytics) that most of your viewers are young (16/18-30/35 range, I'd guess) who probably, either 1, are still in school and either arent paid well/dont have jobs OR 2, arent paid well and tired of people's shit, like people who own businesses talking about "tough financial decisions." To them, Watcher isn't going to look different from the other people talking like that, because this was so sudden, with no input from fans, and in the video you hear shit like "anyone can afford [X]." To be frank, it wouldn't really matter what the amount is, because that generalization goes against the message they have stood by for years. THAT is a slap in the face.

Third, what are yall doing with the budgeting? Every artist has a right to make art that they are proud of. Every artist deserves to have their work seen if they so choose. Every artist deserves to make a living. HOWEVER, there are MANY options online when it comes to making money, especially on YT. You could get into marketing, data analysis, expanding your demographic, looking at what people are interested in right now VS what will stand the test of time (not gold leaf burgers), etc.

You have to either have these skills, develop these skills, or hire someone to do it for you. It's understandable that you would want a team behind the production, but I find +25 employees to be WAY too many people, especially in LA. Bailey Sarian has a Dark History section on her YT (and Spotify podcast) where she has hired historians to help make sure her episodes are as accurate as possible. You've caught heat before from Puppet History's missing & incorrect info, you should do the same. She has about three (3) "intermissions" per episode for ad breaks. I never see anyone complain. People WOULD listen to yall talk for that long (+1 hour videos), tbh, though that's not necessary.

Why are yall out here with Teslas, expensive food, new gear, scripts (where there weren't scripts before, PH is different, that makes sense), and "better than TV" level sets??? I need to put your accountant in this week's church prayer list what the actual hell??? Ya'll, this video is literally the meme:

Guys help me budget:

LA Rent: 2K per month

Videos: 100K per vid

+25 Employees: God only knows

New stuff for videos: Don't get me started

Like, are you serious?

You have a right to do whatever you want with your art. You have a right to charge whatever you'd like for that art. You have a right to make a living from your art and you have a right to ask your fans for money.

Your fans have a right to be angry when they've been supporting yall for, what, almost 10 years? They have a right to choose when and where to spend their money even when you've made an impact. They have a right to feel betrayed, especially when there are better options (like Nebula or consulting with Theorist Media).

Fans DO NOT have a right to be racist to any members of Watcher, now that they have made a decision they do not agree with.

I personally, think this is a really silly decision and could have been solved (haha solved) with a simple YT poll, but apparently we had to get... this. I respect their decision, I just don't think it was a smart one. I wish them the best, and I hope they find a better solution. Any further comment from me will depend on what steps they take next.

[moldybonessmell]

The Umbrella Academy season 3 review post

I finally finished season 3 of tua even tho I've watched first two seasons first day they came out and oh boy do I have things to talk about-

To begin with, the things I like about new season:

- The way we finally dug into Allison's trauma and how she starts going psychotic is actually a good plot line especially the accent on how she just like any other Umbrella Academy people indulges in self-distructive behavior, she's really just like them

- Diego getting a kid as someone with the biggest daddy issues out there is a realistic plotline because having a kid (even if Stanley's not actually his) heals him in this regard tho he and Lila would get a kid anyway eventually but they really should've been more sad about Stanley thanosing out of the existence you know

- Five being the founder of The Temps Commission makes so much sense as he's the one with the power to travel time of course he's more powerful than it seemed

- Good music scenes. Music is what season 1 was incredible for and what I love about the show. In season 2 there weren't many scenes that caught my attention but in s3 it's definetely better. We got Klaus's death montage with "Crystallised" by The xx and celebration scene with "Another one bites the dust" by Queen + Luther on moon and "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure these were really nice.

- The Oblivion Hotel is such a cool location and concept (a place for everyone) I like the change of place of action a lot, but the way it's a portal is kinda overused imo

- Lila and Five are still the best characters and carried the season

- Fei is such a cool chara with a distict character design (which most of Sparrow Academy lack tbh)

Now things I don't like:

- Ben being just a placeholder character is such a bummer because instead of getting angst and drama we got a mostly one-dimentional anti-hero who has a completely different personality from Ben. We got a tiny bit of his character when he admitted he just wants to be involved with everyone but it's really minimal.

I can't believe Klaus says "He's an asshole and he's dead to me" like WHAT DO YOU MEAN fuck no Klaus would not say that shit and he would not just give up on him. Yeah Luther says stuff like "I'm glad to see you even if you're different" or whatever but it's Klaus who've spent the most time with Ben.

The way literally any other actor could have played Sparrow Ben and nothing would change is lame af I hope in next season we will see more changes

- Same goes to my dear Grace who's just a placeholder for black hole worshipper like what do you mean we just got one phrase from Diego and that's it??? This whole bit with fake god and stuff really threw me off it didn't go anywhere

- The Sparrow Academy being one-dimentional characters in general like I get producers probably didn't have enough episodes to actually develop characters but holy shit are they boring.

Even if you want to make them just antagonists we had such cool villains in two previous seasons they were original and interesting (aka The powerless podcast-fan male manipulator Peabody and The Cunty Handler)

Also the way the fisrt Sparrows who died were the most annoying and cliche assholes makes them just filler charas

- How show tried to make us feel compassion to Reginald Hargreeves holy shit do I hate this guy- After Klaus realised his father was basically killing him over and over in his childhood instead of Klaus getting mad or upset and having a breakdown we got nothing.

He even came back to new timeline Reginald who's "nicer" for this asshole just to hurt him AGAIN

- Klaus mostly being a comic relief in this season is so fucked I love this character and in previous seasons we had a great look at his life and experiences but now he's just kinda there being high and that's it

"mm I guess he died a few times it's probably enough" - plot writers

no character development whatsoever is just upsetting.

And the amount of unnecessary traumatising aka Reginald training him was really not it, even if it's supposed to be a joke.

- Reginald being a two-faced ass like holy shit is this terrifying. Pogo was the one who gave Sparrows pills and now Klaus helped him to stop taking them and this asshole is taking advantage of naive and vulnerable Klaus.

It is in fact a good plot twist but bro I really did prefer Reginald being a cartoonish villian instead of actual pure evil like how does he have shitty motivation but still does just so much shit.

- The Umbrella Academy family having no improvement in their relationship. They still don't care Klaus relapsed, they still don't care about Viktor. All they care about is their own misery which is really in character but with three seasons out of the way and only one more left I would expect at least something you know.

- Viktor is still left out. Like bro the only compassion he had is only when he transitioned but this is it?? Bro's still waiting till someone comes and cares about him but not only this doesn't happen, he even gets rediculed by Sparrow Ben for that and called emo are you actually kidding me what's with all the hurt with no comfort???

It feels a lot like when you're mentally ill and your family kinda "walks on eggshells" to not trigger you but it's in quotes because they don't actually care. They act nice just because they think you're psycho and you would make less problems if they pretend. And this is very sad, Viktor is such a tragic character.

Okay that's it for now. If you have any thoughts please share in comments!

[blue-jisungs]

whats a fav experience or exchange you've had with us (aka ur moots)

oh my god lyly what a specific question 😭😭 tbh it’s hard to chose one thing bc literally everything we do together is fun n amazing :(( but i tried 🫡

@slytherinshua watching dramas!!! zanna introduced me to so many new actors n singers n dramas bc of us watching them together ++ it’s so peaceful n calm but also chaotic (esp when we scream abt the actors hehehe)

@weird-bookworm when we both get confused both by my typos and your sarcasm that somethings takes me a moment to understand 😁😁😁 i also really liked the food convo we had today :DD and samosas from the sims —-

@wheeboo @rubywonu @etherealyoungk @fairyhaos @eternalgyu when we planned the bank robbery LMAOODJ i swear i was losing my mind 😭😭😭

@l3visbby daily podcast fr!!!! and tbh i love it when either of us sees hyunin and goes "us!!" like hehehe >.<

@malarign i still remember when u first hit me up and sent me those silly jake memes 😭😭😭 also i love it when we suddenly switch to polish mid convo while rbing 🤭

@icyminghao THIS IS SO SILLY but i love when we call each other those silly little goofy nicknames :(((

@enluv interacting with you in general 😭😭 i love ur humor sm you don’t even understand!!! my braidsmade on my wedding with wonwoo fr!!! cocoaxe 🔛🔝

@mirxzii HELP that one time recently when you asked me to help you with your chem assignment it was so silly but i felt smart for once 🤓☝️ in general i also love chatting w u, u r so funny 💪💪

also a bonus 😭😭 (i hope u don’t mind me posting this)

[ofliterarynature]

NOVEMBER 2023 WRAP UP

[ loved liked ok no thanks (reread) DNF ]

The Moonstone • Chaos Terminal • (The Raven Boys) • The Ghosts of Trappist • (Fugitive Telemetry) • From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler • The Art of Destiny • The Bell in the Fog • (Exit Strategy) • Who Goes There? • Salt Magic Skin Magic • The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up • (Dracula) • (Rogue Protocol) • The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store • The Boneshaker • The Archive Undying • (The Scorpio Races) • Camilla

Total: 18 (audiobook: 15 / ebook: 3)

I started my month off by finishing my reread of The Scorpio Races on November 1, as is right and proper :) This has consistently been my favorite of Maggie's books, and it never feels right the years that I haven't reread it. I think I hit the right method this year and rather than binging it or following a structured reread (which would be cool, if you could match the timeline of the book) I listened to the audiobook on and off throughout Oct and finished it off in one last burst one the 1st. I think this is some of Maggie's best writing, but I also admit I am no longer able to judge this one objectively and will save you all the sales pitch for now :)

The Archive Undying was...confusing. It wasn't that I couldn't follow what was happening on the sentence level or in the immediate present, but try zooming out to the larger picture and I was lost. It was hazy, very much like a fever dream. I would not be opposed to trying some of the author's other work in the future, but I have no interest in revisiting this book/series, and wouldn't really recommend.

The Boneshaker has been sitting on my bookshelf for years ever since I picked it up at a library book sale, and it's managed to survive every shelf purge since. And I'm glad it did! It's a strange MG/YA book about a girl, her bicycle, a small western town just off a crossroads, a snakeoil salesman, his medicine show, and deals with the devil. It was fascinating! I've been almost tempted to send a copy to Sydnee McElroy just for fun. I will definitely be investigating the author's other series.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store - I got tempted into this one because the Book Riot Podcast couldn't stop singing it's praises, and then it started making some of the year end/best of lists and... it's ok I guess? I don't really get the hype, tbh, and I got close to DNFing because it just wasn't interesting. I was at least forewarned that the "murder mystery" in the marketing was overblown, but I am here to tell you to ignore its existence completely. There is no mystery, there isn't really even a murder, and it doesn't happen until the end of the book anyway. I fully admit this was just not a book for me, and anyone who wants to read it I wish you well.

Not much to say about my Murderbot reread, other than choosing to give the audiobooks a break and rereading in a text format was an excellent choice, I really feel like I've picked up on a lot of things I didn't before, and it gives me time to think about things (I have some questions about the actual irl existence of rogue secunits, tbh). This is my second full time trough the series, and I think Exit Strategy is maybe the weakest solo link in the original quartet, but that makes me very happy to have the newer books as well. And I have to say it, FUGITIVE TELEMETRY IS BETTER IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

Dracula Daily wrapped up this month, so I'm probably not the only one to have Dracula show up on their reading list. I listened to most of it via RE: Dracula, which I appreciated so much for helping keep me on track this year. I probably won't follow along next year, but big thanks to everyone for helping me learn to enjoy a book I hated both times I had to read it for school! I'll still be percolating that Greenwing & Dart AU somewhere in the back of my mind in the meantime.

I picked up the idea of "sparking joy" from the general internet and have found it hugely helpful in letting go of things in life, so I've been meaning to pick up The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up for a while, and was finally spurred into it when I picked up a copy at goodwill. I found some actionable advice in Kondo's method, but sooo much of the book felt like a sales pitch on how following this method could fix everything wrong in your life (and I mean *everything*). It left a very bad taste in my mouth - I think a workbook or checklist could be useful, but wouldn't recommend the book itself.

Salt Magic Skin Magic is a historical fantasy with magic, adventure, and a gay romance, which is so entirely in my wheelhouse. It hit all the same points I tend to find/enjoy in KJ Charles' work, and I had such a good time reading this - no surprise, apparently she helped edit this! Thanks to the HOTE discord group for reccing this one, I'll definitely be checking out some of the author's other work!

If you didn't know, Who Goes There? is the short story that the movie The Thing was based on - which I have not seen, but I went on a brief dive into antarctic exploration/horror in anticipation of this month's book club (All the White Spaces, which I actually read for last month but that meeting got delayed) and this popped up pretty quickly. It was available from the library and short, so why not?! The beginning felt a little rough, but I would have loved to see the tension of the main plot drawn out even longer. Liked this a lot better than the actual book club book, but I don't know that I'll watch any of the adaptations.

The Bell in the Fog - Lavender House sequel! I was so glad when this was announced; I love queer books, historical books, a mystery with a lead who actually does some detecting, and a character trying to find themselves and their community? Absolute catnip for me. It also doesn't pull its punches about the violence and injustices faced by the queer community, so it's definitely a bit darker than my usual tastes and will have to try hard to make it onto my favorites list. But if the author continues to write these I will absolutely pick them up.

The Art of Destiny - bless the library for not dragging their heels on the audiobook for this sequel, but lucky me, they did finally add the first book in time for me to get them both in the same year. Unlucky me, this does not appear to be the end of this series D: third book when??? Anyway, I won't deny that these books move a little slowly, but when they move, they move. If you want a big fantasy that's diverse, funny, cartoonish but epically violent, has a cast of all ages, and centers it's story on non-romantic relationships - this is so good, come join me in wailing for a book 3 announcement.

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler has lived in the back of my mind for a while as a favorite childhood book of a booklr friend who is sadly no longer on tumblr, but who I say hi to occasionally on other sites - anyways, I found a copy at goodwill and took it as a sign. This one's for you, Lourdes! If I'd found this as a kid, I probably would have reread it a lot, that's how I was too lol. For now, it was a fine read, but I don't think it'll have a lasting hold. Any fans interested in more middle grade about fine art might check out the Chasing Vermeer series by Blue Balliett.

The Ghosts of Trappist - I think it's impossible for me to not enjoy myself reading this series (NeoG), but this one was a bit of a backslide from the improvements in book 2. On one hand - a very ambitious plot, probably the least soap-operaish of the bunch, and I loved the emotional arcs (and the possible ART/murderbot reference?). On the other - over a dozen pov characters is too too many. my god. I think a tighter focus could have done a world of good, but if this is also where the series wraps up I'd be totally satisfied. I'll definitely check out the author's other series.

I admit, rereading The Scorpio Races sparked something in me and now I'm determined to set off on a full Maggie Stiefvater read/reread, starting with The Raven Boys. I really loved this when it first came out, but my interested petered out as the series progressed and I started college, and I haven't touched the spinoff yet. My impression from the first book is still that Maggie's writing is so goddam beautiful. Her sentences make me want to weep, but for me there's so much focus on the line that I'm constantly losing track of the big picture. I'm still enjoying myself, but I feel like I'm coasting a lot on nostalgia and aesthetic between moments of a story - though is it me, or does she write a lot in scenes/vignettes, rather than a constant flowing story? I've found some success in centering myself by imagining the scenes as depicted by a CW supernatural teen show of my high school years and it's quite lovely, actually - I can't believe the TV show plans got dropped and never picked up again. We'll have to see how the rest of the series goes.

Genuinely, I can't believe that I read Station Eternity earlier this year and that the sequel, Chaos Terminal, is out already. Despite liking the author's first book (Six Wakes) and normally liking the tropes they're playing with here, I did not like the first book. No idea why I read the second one then (hope?), but it was better, definitely! I still didn't like it. No idea if I'll finally call it quits on this series or get lured into another one if it gets written.

The Moonstone was an unexpected surprise! I made it to November still 2 books short on my 6 classics challenge and panicked when the first one ended up dnf'd - what if this one was bad too??? But I really should know better, give me a half decent mystery and entertaining characters, and I'll be fine. And it was epistolary! I had a good time groaning over all of the characters foibles and quirks, even if I spent the whole time just going, Hey Guys? you could avoid all of this if you just let the nice Indian men have their diamond back. Good fun if you like a mystery and have some patience.

My only DNF this month was the previously mentioned classic - from the moment I decided on a classics challenge, I knew I wanted to try something by Frances Burney given how much I liked her novel Evelina. Unfortunately for me, the only one the library had on audiobook was Camilla... and it was 37 hours long. I gave it a shot, but only made it about 3 hours in. I really do applaud Burney for her ability to create characters who are intentionally/unintentionally causing harm even if they sometimes have the best of intentions. It's absurd, truly, but I'm not in a place I can take that right now - especially since the victims were children, and it happened *repeatedly*. I think if I was to try this one again I'd need to take it slowly in small parts.

Am I horribly wrong about anything? Do you have any classics you'd recommend for next year?

[wallpaper-inside-my-heart]

stellaaaa as i ruminate on mine tell me: who are your top 3 favourite bands/musicians? - katie

take your time @jovenshires😹💕

This is a super easy question for me tbh. And everyone who ever talked to me about music will know nr.1 and 2 for sure 😅 And most mutuals on tumblr could prob guess at least one of the two, since my url is based on the first; and I've made several posts about the 2nd 😹 (Spommy tv, my beloved)

The Amazing Devil ❤️

-> hands down, the best band of all time imo; I just love all of their stuff so much, both in terms of lyrics, voices and just the musical composition of their songs in general. And I would literally sell my first born child or whatever just to see them live one day 💚

2. Taylor Swift 💖

-> I will be fully honest and admit that it's only been a few years ago, that I fully started listening to her music. But I fell in love with it more and more and so far have accumulated literally over 600h of listening to her music on spotify, just this year 😅

3. Sleeping At Last 💙

I've loved this guy's music for years now! Especially his atlas 1 and enneagram albums! But this year I also listened to the podcast where he talks about the creation process behind a lot of his songs. and it's just so fascinating to hear about all the thought that goes into every little detail of his work!

Some honorable mentions, that I also listen to a lot:

Ed Sheeran (especially his albums this year, like dude's really going through it), Florence + the machine, Passenger, Bo Burnham

[bohemiandeer]

Lifeweaver Headcanons Part Two: Electric Boogaloo

❧ Is a ENFP-T(The Campaigner) on the Myers Brigg Type Indicator ❧ Has ADD/Inattentive Type ADHD. Has a very hard time with long mental tasks or even staying on task unless it's something that keeps him interested in it enough to focus on it. Tends to get easily sidetracked and is generally just, very disorganized and somewhat forgetful, not further helped by the fact he has a penchant for sometimes careless mistakes and losing/misplacing things often. Kinda sometimes looks like he's not paying attention at all when people talk to him when in reality, he's actually listening to almost everything. TLDR, he was hell to deal with as a kid for the overly organized system he grew up and was raised in, namely due to a very thick mixture of a lack of understanding/accommodation for it and understimulation.

❧ Smells very heavily like a mixture of lotuses and frangipani incense layered very thickly over the smell of petrichor/wet plant soil. Doesn’t matter where he is, this specific scent follows him everywhere. ❧His love languages is mainly Physical Touch, thickly mixed spending Quality Time with his loved ones, and is overall very physically affectionate and hug happy with almost everyone he has a platonic relationship with, unless they express they’re not fond of it otherwise. But his favourite way of expressing love and an interest in someone is via trying to bond with them/getting to personally know them/learn about their interests as much as possible so he can form a more intimate connection with them. ❧He’s a Buddhist who follows Theravada Buddhism in particular, which emphasises attaining self-liberation through one's own efforts. Namely out of personal choice, it’s unknown as of current if his family follows Buddhism/the same subsect of Buddhism though.  ❧He’s Vegetarian and follows a Buddhism based diet in that regard. Usually grows a majority of what he eats when he’s back at the Atlantic Arcology. ❧His favourite drink is Nom Yen(Thai Pink Milk) and his comfort food is Khao Niaow Ma Muang(Thai Mango Sticky Rice). Also has a fondness for Grass Jelly Tea and Matcha drinks wise, and Thai Pumpkin Curry food wise. ❧Fond of listening to music and podcasts while he works, and knows about Lucío and his music through this since he pretty much listens to nearly everything. But is especially fond of Thai and International folk music, Psychedelic Pop, lofi and generally highly experimental artists music wise. Among his favourites, he has a fondness for Kishi Bashi. ❧He likes doodling/drawing the people he meets down, especially when he likes them. He finds it not only a nice way to preserve the memory of said meeting but also a nice way to remember names and faces. He’s also fond of doodling down plant and animal life as well as the different places he goes to and things he finds amusing and pretty much every notebook of his has at least one dried flower sandwiched between the pages somewhere, if not, glued to a page and surrounded with said plant’s information.

❧ Is also fond of doing sculpting and anatomy/figure studies as a hobby, and likes sharing his work in that regard as a hobbyist. He also likes to paint with either watercolours or homemade watercolour pigments he made via experimenting with his plants just for the pure full blown curiosity of it to see if/how they’d show up on paper. He has a hobby out of making/attempting to make his own paper too. ❧Fond of kids and likes to play with them and sit down with them to teach them little things they find interesting together. Is 100% that uncle who'd take the kids out on hikes, camping trips and outings to the butterfly garden just to teach them cool stuff about nature. But in regards to having them? Is highly unsure/hesitant about the idea to even touch it, much less consider it(tbh doesn't really think about it at all). Namely due to him personally thinking he wouldn't make that great of a parent to begin with, on top of wanting to stick to his independence and not wanting his status and lifestyle as a fugitive to affect anyone who'd have any degree of dependence on him. ❧ Is likewise also fond of animals, and has befriended or attempted to befriend almost all the animals in the nearest vicinity. It's to where whenever he travels certain places he used to frequent in India, he has his own posse of stray dogs that follows him EVERYWHERE, due to them just immediately imprinting on the man from him regularly feeding them and giving them attention. And India ain't the only place that's like that for him.

[randomly--accessed--memories]

Have you listened to The Adventure Zone podcast? Specifically the Balance Arc. If you haven't there are certain bits of information that have been wiped from the characters memories and if someone tries to talk to them about it all they hear is static.

So now I'm thinking what if Alastor managed to sort of lock some of Vox's memories? Things like, Alastor did in fact torture him, the memory of that isn't gone, and Velvette is able to get it when pulling other memory files, but Vox sure can't access it. Some of the locked memories are things like that, the more traumatic stuff. But also Alastor's a petty bitch, and if he had the ability to mess with specific memories I absolutely think he would delete anything embarrassing for him, random friends from Vox's early days in hell, things that define his relationship with the Vees...

Someone asks Vox a question about his past and he goes to answer, gets two words in, and his entire face turns to static. After a moment, he cuts back in and finishes a different sentence like nothing happened. He has no idea he does this, and if people try to point it out it just won't stick. He gets distressed about it for like 10 seconds then moves on and forgets all about it.

(I hope this makes sense, it's past my bedtime)

No, I haven't listened to it, but that makes sense!

I've kind of been alluding to that sort of thing these past few [indeterminate period of time], although more in the sense that Vox simply cannot absorb information he's not "allowed" to, like the stuff about Alastor or the Vees. He'll hear it, but immediately go "No, that's not right" and just move on (and will get REALLY agitated if you keep pressing the matter). Kind of like an NPC with a dead-end dialogue option, I guess. The static idea is cool though. I'd like to incorporate more glitchiness into his behavior in general tbh.

[wrongcaitlyn]

if nico ever got a podcast (i feel like he would just so he could yap about stuff he likes) what would it be about and would he bring any special guests to it?

oooh this is interesting. tbh i never imagined nico getting a podcast just bc it’s kinda official, and if he wants to yap abt stuff will is happy to listen and nod along (he will listen to anything nico says and vice versa)

HOWEVER someone i do think could possibly make a podcast are piper & leo or lou ellen & cecil!! i feel like youtuber to podcaster is a pretty common pipeline and let’s be real lou ellen always has stuff to talk about, but also piper and leo as a duo are one of my favorite things ever, and i just imagine them getting drunk one night and being like omg we should make a podcast and then fully commit to it

if one of those duos made a podcast, nico would 100% be featured on it!!!

however to answer your original question, in the hypothetical situation of *nico* being the one to make a podcast, i could imagine the featured people would literally just be his friend group, like every single person in his friend group several times around. OH KAYLA WOULD LOVE IT TOO she’s also a certified yapper and would love having a podcast or being featured on podcasts

and generally as a rule nico is extremely chaotic when it comes to the content he puts out, so i don’t think there’d be a specific theme - literally just whatever he feels like talking abt. he’d open his voice memos and record an hour long rant abt smth with no script and then send it to an editor who’d condense it into something kind of sensible

but mostly it wouldn’t be, bc that adhd kicks in and nico’s train of thought just goes like back and forth across his brain idk why i just imagine like a pool table and his thoughts are the ball and it just goes from one thing to the next and to the next and there’s literally no theme, no central message, it’s just thoughts

which would make a feature very fun, especially if said feature is also extremely adhd like leo, people would watch that podcast and listen to the same episode over and over again just to try and make sense of what their line of reasoning is😭😭

thank you for the ask! i honestly never considered this so a potential podcast will now be consuming my thoughts for the next few days - bc the more that i think abt it, nico WOULD just do a random side quest such as starting a podcast out of the blue. his one motto in life is just to never let anyone guess his next moveJDKDJ

[to-many-towered-camelot]

So...you're into arthuriana...

What's one work you'd recommend as a good starting place?

Not going chronologically like I did 😂

Hmmm but a little more seriously, it does depend on a few things, like how much you know about the most common story beats, how much exposure to medieval lit you’ve had already, and also just what you’re keen on in Arthuriana 🙂

[Edit - TL;DR: In general, Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. For medieval lit, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (or, if you’re like “who ?? is Gawain ??” then the Alliterative Morte Arthure]

If you’re brand squeaky new to Arthuriana, the best advice I’ve seen is to actually start with a movie (I’d say start with one of the older ones, as more modern ones are all about subverting the existing narratives, which isn’t as helpful for this purpose). Doing this is just about getting familiar with common tropes, characters, adventures etc because tbh there’s no official cannon to learn and if you tried to mush together all the different traditions to make a coherent narrative….you couldn’t, some things directly contradict each other.

I’d also really recommend the Myths and Legends podcast’s King Arthur series for this same intro approach! This series goes into more depth and breadth than any one movie can. This intro approach can also help you figure out what interests you - and then you can use that interest (e.g., a character, topic, trope, or event) as a pathway through Arthuriana, jumping from text to text, if that’s a method that sounds good to you (the Camelot Project can help you find texts related to your interest). Or you can go by country, or by chronology, or by tradition or text type, or do a survey of the most famous texts and then double back for the more obscure. There are lots of different ways of doing things 🙂. 

For written material, as long as you’re okay not starting with medieval lit, I’d actually recommend Alfred Tennyson’s Idylls of the King. It provides a great sweep of those main story beats but isn’t as long as, say, Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur (this is a 15th century Middle English text that is very famous and often people’s first go-to – but it’s very long and more than a bit intimidating). Once you move on from Tennyson, you’ll notice that his attitudes towards certain characters and events don’t match up to other texts – never fear! That’s Arthuriana in a nutshell, where every author has a different favourite character and does something slightly – or majorly – different with the stories. Tennyson is Victorian-era and his vision of Arthuriana has really shaped modern popular understanding.

If you’re interested in starting with medieval lit, I would recommend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (author unknown, called the ‘Gawain Poet’ or the ‘Pearl Poet’ after one of their other stories). This is a late-14th century Middle English poem and it has a very self-contained narrative, so you don’t need to be familiar with other stories to still enjoy it. Plus it’s a gorgeous piece of literature by itself. That being said, if this is your first exposure to medieval lit, it might not be aaaas enjoyable as it could be? I do think it’s fine as-is, but a lot of the narrative tension relies on notions of honour and virtue that are very much of the time and place. But if you feel like you have a handle on those ideas already, or if you find a version with a solid introduction, I’d say definitely go for it!

Or else, I think ???? it was Ellian (@/ pendraegon) who once suggested starting with Chrétien de Troyes’ Yvain, the Knight of the Lion for a more intro-level exploration of honour and chivalry. Unlike the others I’ve mentioned above, he is a French author and was writing in the late 12th century. He is one of the first Arthurian romance writers (romance here meaning something different than our modern understanding) and is the originator of the Lancelot / Guinevere love affair. Chrétien’s other stories are good as well but less suitable for an intro, except maaaaaybe Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart if you’re a big Lancelot fan (or I guess Perceval if you’re keen on the Grail Quest, but that one – while it is the origin of the Grail – is unfinished. Queue a bunch of continuations that were written by other people to finish this story, who added the “holy” part to the Holy Grail).

Or if you want an intro that is more about Arthur, I’d recommend the Alliterative Morte Arthure which is a Middle English poem from ~1400. It – like its buddy the Green Knight above – is written in alliterative verse. This one covers the latter part of Arthur’s life – so not his birth or the sword in the stone, but rather his fight with Rome, his betrayal by Mordred, etc. This one is inspired more by the chronicle tradition (while the Green Knight is more inspired by the romance tradition). This means that it has more in common with Geoffrey of Monmouth’s The History of the Kings of Britain (c. 1136, written in Latin) than it does with Chretien. But it's way less dry and boring than the chronicles lol, especially Simon Armitage’s translation.

There are shorter stories that would be good little tasters that I could recommend, but they’re not as easy to find in your library or second-hand bookstore. You should check out Lou / Jack’s (@/ gringolet) intro post and Ellian’s (@ / pendraegon) post as well. They have links to PDFs of shorter stories and also links to good translations of the medieval lit I’ve suggested above. These posts touch on traditions from places that aren't England or France, which I high-key recommend diving into when you feel ready. They also give a bit of an intro to genre and form, if you’re keen on that 😊

I'll also send you to a post of mine that pulls together free audio versions of some Arthurian stories / texts both medieval and modern.

Finally, if you've set yourself the (big! and fun!) project of getting into Arthuriana, I’d recommend digging up a copy of Alan Lupack’s The Oxford Guide to Arthurian Literature and Legend, either from your library or for cheap somewhere if that’s an option for you. There’s a bazillion different traditions and even more stories that can all be labelled as "Arthuriana", so knowing how what you’re reading ties into the bigger picture can be really helpful (just search the text you're reading in the index of Lupack’s book, you’ll likely need to use its untranslated name).

I hope there's something in this post that interests you and helps you get started. Let me know if you have questions about any of this - and enjoy! 🏰 🗡️ 🐉

[spaceorphan18]

And Here's What You Really Missed : Amber Riley & Rhodes Not Taken

Hey! I'm back with another recap...

The first podcast was the interview with Amber Riley. Honestly, it was short, and more so to congratulate Amber on her win on Masked Singer. (Which she deserved, the girl is phenomenal.) They talk mostly about that -- and Amber opens up about how validating these things can be. And how happy she is in her life. Kevin and Jenna, rightfully, lavish her with praise.

Amber also mentions that she's glad that Kevin and Jenna are doing the podcast -- it reminds her of what Glee did for her, and how it wasn't all bad. They all talk, again, about just how tiring it was -- but Amber discusses how grateful she is for the show, how Kevin and Jenna are bringing back happy memories, and that she's in a good place in general. (Yay!)

Also - heads up, she and Chris did show called Name That Tune that will be out on Jan. 11th. And apparently (and unsurprisingly) Chris's competitive side comes out.

***

The episode recap for the week is Rhodes Not Taken.

-A lot of the conversation is based around Kristen Chenoweth as a star. It was a big moment for them as a show -- she was the first real big name that they had showcased on the show. Not only was she a big deal - but she was one of the warmest and sweetest people they had - and it helped shape them in their professional lives.

[I think it's kind of cool that the sentiment around Chenoweth has always been that she's such a sweetheart. It's reflected in the conversation they had with her on their previous podcast, and every time she's brought up - there's nothing but nice things said. That's she's great professional as well as a good person.]

-Jenna and Chris, being huge Broadway fans, were especially excited about her being on set. They came up with a codeword for her - cupcake - for when she was coming near.

-Last Name was a real struggle to get through. The cast wasn't getting it, and the floor was slippery, so they kept sliding around. (They poured pop on the floor in order to stop them from slipping.) They had to take an extra day of rehearsal, which was unheard of, because the cast was struggling so much.

-Chenoweth came in and was so professional she was able to get the dance they'd been working on for weeks in less than an hour - which amazed them all.

-They somewhat recap how April gets into the Glee club, with not a whole lot of commentary - other than they more or less enjoyed it. (Which is great for them - this episode bores me to tears, even if I recognize how brilliant Kristen Chenoweth is in it.)

-There's an interesting side story where Kevin talks about, much later in the series, debating Jayma as to who is the more expensive extra -- and how the two of them would often point out their one or two lines, and see if they'd get cut.

-Kevin has a lot of praise for Maybe This Time (which I agree with). He says that not only is it brilliant duet, but is a first time for the glee kids to hear what real professionalism sounds like.

-Jenna recounts working with Chenoweth in her one scene where April is teaching them how to steal things. She had a great time working on that scene, and she says she and Amber remember that fondly.

-They discuss the second-ish plot line surrounding Finn being somewhat manipulative of Rachel for the betterment of the glee club. They say it seems a little extreme -- but they both note the natural chemistry between the two of them. (I find this fascinating, tbh, while I do think Finchel is actually super cute in this episode -- I'm curious as to what they'll think of the Finchel story as it goes along.)

-Kevin points out that Naya has some hilarious background moments. It's something that he's always looking for.

-They praise the Will/April duet - Alone, a song that shouldn't work, but totally does.

-They also praise the infamous Kurt being drunk moment with Emma.

-[Okay, so there's a throwaway comment done by Kevin where he states that Ian is the master of being creative about people's physical features. And... I'm just noting it because Ian is responsible for a lot of the mean, physical jabs the cast get over the years. I'll be interested to see how they respond to it. also - they'd like to get Ian on the show at some point.]

-They talk about the choir room scenes, and how this is the first episode where they're all together as a cast. (They talk about this episode being a lot of firsts in a lot of ways -- and that's why it's so memorable to them.) They also talk about how the shooting of these kinds of scenes took forever, since there were twelve or so cast members, and they had to do a take for each of their reactions shots. They often lived in the choir room -- and this is when the cast really bonded as a whole.

-They have a lot of love and a lot of personal feelings for Somebody to Love. It's special since they sang it so often, and it was the first song where the entire cast was there to do it together. Another big bonding moment for them as a cast.

-They used to tease Cory about his opening of the song.

-Both Kevin and Amber were nervous about their parts in the studio recording. Kevin's favorite singer is Freddy Mercury, and it was hard to emulate someone he looked up to. Meanwhile, Amber was nervous -- but was given the freedom to play around with the song.

-The song felt like the first performance number they did that really clicked. It didn't take them as long to learn it, and it was a magical moment for the cast.

Cringiest Moment : smuggling the meat between their legs.

Worst Dance: Last Name (various people at varying points.)

Best Song: Somebody to Love for sentimental reasons.

Best Line: 'Oh Bambi, I cried so hard when those hunters shot your mommy.'

Best Performance by a Prop: April's Pink Wine Glass

Things that did and didn't age well: They think that all of it aged pretty well. [Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure I agree -- but overall, I wonder if their sentiment for the episode is coloring things a bit.]

TikTok: Kevin brings up that Pitch Perfect did a bit where they mentioned songs ruined by Glee -- and how that's a meme on TikTok. They didn't really do examples or anything -- and more so just point out that Glee is often mentioned in media, and he gets shown that on TikTok a lot.

[kylejsugarman]

how would alaska fam deal during the pandemic?

wow that’s an interesting question!!! if they were all together when it started, i think it’d obviously be a really weird experience but tbh i think they could make it work. obviously all three of them would be anxious for different reasons and things would be disrupted in terms of jobs and school. i don’t think baby would like the huge routine change of doing school from home and not being able to go to the library and just generally worrying about the state of the world. she would just be Convinced that her parents would get sick and Die, no matter how careful they are. baby and jesse are both more at risk because of her asthma and his respiratory issues from cooking without protection, so they have to be more careful and pretty much isolate as much as possible. he likes being at home and getting to work on furniture in his safe little place, but the feeling of being “trapped” creeps in pretty quickly even though there’s not a ton of places he would really go otherwise and brings back his tenseness and that feeling of being cornered. he also hears about the surge of true crime podcasts being made during the pandemic and doesn’t sleep well for weeks after. demi is still working consistently and has to take extra precautions to avoid being around people, just animals, so she doesn’t bring anything home to her family. she’s also the one most tuned in to the news and all the grim reports make her depression much worse. it’s a weird time for them just like it was for everyone else and we’ve got three people with varying degrees of Disorder who were all like “ok cool everything shocking and insane that could ever happen has already happened. im ready for anything now” and are now hit with This, but they’re not going to let uncertainty ruin what they’ve been trying to build!! they’re going to stay hopeful and work hard to keep themselves and each other safe. doing silly quarantine things and trying to make the time they have together precious and warm without thinking about and agonizing over what’s happening or could happen. they’ll adapt as the pandemic goes on, but at first, they have to contend with the scariness of changing routines and uncertainty and feeling trapped and the only way to do that is to be a little vulnerable and rely on each other

[crazykuroneko]

Tbh I think a lot casual viewers / non book fans are probably going to not continue the show after s2 unless it diverges quite drastically on louis's storyline? iwtv is very bleak and I genuinely think they underestimated how much show viewers ended up hating lestat after s1 (and they may end up in a similar situation with armand in s2) and then you're asking the audience to watch an entire season of this guy's whole backstory. plus you're killing off one of the two likable characters by the end of s2 and shifting louis into more a side character.

a big red flag to me was the lady who hosts the podcast who doesn't have a book background saying a lot of the same stuff as show-only people. like she clearly does not like lestat or loustat at all lmao and its literally her job to promote the show.

First, I want to address the "shifting louis into more a side character" because no I don't agree with that. Contrary to fans believe, Hollywood-standard wise (from the number of episodes they are in, how integral their characters are to the story), both Jacob and Sam have been considered as lead actors/cast of IWTV. You can see industry news outlets calling them both as such. But because IWTV is about Louis' past specifically and AMC knew IWTV still has some hope in Emmys even though it's small, they put them in different categories to not split the votes between them (they even only submit one actor in each category for it). So, look at what we have now, Louis is the narrator yet we still get Lestat in all episodes, and he's leading the NOLA narrative forward together with Louis despite not existing in the Dubai narrative. I bet we'll still get Lestat in most, if not all episodes, in S2, because Rolin has said many many times, the show is about both of them. And I expect they'll do the same in TVL season(s); Lestat is telling the story while Louis is leading whatever will be going on in the modern time. (No, i don't believe they'll make Louis stuck on a couch the whole season to listen to Lestat's story even though it sounds tasty. He'd definitely have a way to know what Lestat's saying, but I don't see anything good writing-wise from sticking your well-developed character in one place for such a long time)

About whether the audience will be willing to listen to Lestat's past, I'll see how S2 goes first before judging that. A lot of people don't like him, but there are a lot of them who are like, "I will miss him if he dies, he's an interesting character".

And IWTV is a niche show, its genre is gothic horror/romance. Who the hell is doing gothic romance for a series in this decade? (Hannibal doesn't count, it's not gothic and still about will/won't they). Like, what AMC is doing with IWTV now is extremely daring. And with a niche show, it's always the same: you can't please everyone. There will always be part of the general audience who will leave because either it's simply not their cup of tea or they can't stomach it. Especially now when there's this purity sentiment going so strongly in general (apparently now we shouldn't ship fictional characters, every sex scene has to have a grand purpose, and you shouldn't watch any portrayal of abuse even though it's produced by the victim herself). God forbid IWTV would ever want to please those people yikes. So, IWTV won't ever get as "mainstream" as what, Succession, Ted Lasso, Better Call Saul. But IWTV would still appeal to people who appreciate good writing, people who are "idc how bad the characters are as long as they're exciting!", and people who really love horror (not that "comfort horror" BS) - there's this review of IWTV from an horror website who is like "I wish they gave us more gore and horror of vampires", oh these people would love S2.

So, tl;dr you could say it's a natural selection (hell yes Darwinism), it's inevitable. I'd rather have that audience leave than stay and ruin fans' experience by whining about the plot that won't ever satisfy them. And I'd always applaud writers who don't give a shit to what people say and stick to what they're meant to do. They slay!

EDIT: ah I forgot about this. but don't underestimate the number of old fans who will probably check the show again when the TVL season(s) come. Because no matter how big their hatred for AMC is, it will be the first time ever for TVL to be adapted on screen. First time in 38 years (yes no one considers QotD movie ever existed). That's too big a temptation!

[contrappostoes]

hi i would like to read more philosophy but i don’t know where to start do you have some tips? also would like to read more queer theory, is it ok to start with the more popular texts and authors like judith butler?

Hi! Philosophy is such a broad discipline, I think the answer to this question depends on your personal interests and goals, as well as your learning preferences & time constraints. Are you interested in the historical traditions of philosophy broadly (i.e. the western canon), or is there a particular philosophical problem or question you'd like to learn more about? I'll give some general tips, but feel free to follow up with specifics if you'd like and I'll do my best to give more tailored advice :)

The most important things imo are to 1) follow your interests, and 2) try to adhere to chronology as closely as possible. This will give you the structure you need to explore without getting too overwhelmed.

Podcasts are a good place to start figuring out the specifics of what you're interested in, the only one I tune in to from time to time is Philosophy Bites - it can be a bit dry but it does a good job of giving short overviews on a broad range of topics

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a resource I used a lot through undergrad and grad school and continue to use today, it's denser than Wikipedia but goes more in depth and is extremely well-sourced. It's a great starting point for both general topics, particular questions & problems and specific philosophers you might be interested in

Many of the philosophy courses I took assigned readers, compilations of relevant texts that are already organized in a sensible order. These are also great resource, but they can be pricey - fortunately they can also be found on sites like zlibrary or for a better price via Thriftbooks! Check out the Compilations section on this post for some ideas - I can vouch for the philosophy of mind and philosophy of science ones :)

For queer theory specifically, I'd recommend checking out a reader or broad overview before jumping right into the foundational texts - you'll need some sort of historical and theoretical context for the ideas being presented & the quirks of the language being used before jumping right in. It's been a really long time since I've deeply read any queer theory tbh, but here's what I would recommend to you:

Check out this section on the SEP's article on Homosexuality, titled Queer Theory and the Social Construction of Sexuality for an overview of the origins, basic concepts, key thinkers, and criticisms of queer theory

Check out the SEP pages for the key thinkers - Michel Foucault, Eve Sedgwick, Judith Butler, etc. - to get a baseline understanding of their philosophical background and body of work

Judith Butler's work can be a bit dense, it might be helpful to look up & read any interviews they've done where they discuss their work in more accessible language before diving into any of their work

I'd definitely recommend finding a primer for Foucault, I've heard good things about Johanna Oksala's How to Read Foucault

Other than that, remember that it's fine to not read everything in its entirety, especially when you're first getting acquainted with some of these authors, texts, and ideas. You can always take a step back from an article to fill in the gaps in your knowledge or answer other questions that might arise, and then revisit that work later.

Hope this helps! If anyone has additional recommendations feel free to chime in of course :)

[bedknees]

I see ur kind of back in the eene fandom. Favorite and least favorite headcanons about the Ed's if your feeling up to it?

Lol hi. And yeah I'm here. Arcane has had such a relentless chokehold on my brain for the past year and a half and it's finally loosening it's grip (inb4 inevitable Season 2 promo shit lmao).

HCs for the Eds? Let's goooo-

HCs I like:

Ed

-I like the HC he has ADHD. It fits him well and has direct canon evidence. As an ADHDer, he fits a lot of the basic stereotypes.

-The kinda popular fandom idea that he will be involved in the filming or general crew of B-tier horror movies when he's an adult. Career path is honestly among the most likely. Can also dig him being an Art Bell-esque radio or podcast host of weird conspiracy stuff.

-Love when he's paired with May. I feel that they'd be the only Ed/Kanker combo that'd work imho.

-Even though he's a fun loving character at heart, I like the idea that we see more of that serious and angry side he showed in Little Ed Blue and BPS. Like as he gets older and more seasoned he learns to stand up for himself more. Not his default at all, but learns to put up with less shit.

-I don't see him caring much about gender or sexuality. I don't ever see him labeling himself or thinking much about it, but I also don't see him as fully straight or cis.

-Can see him really being into Astrology and star charts. He probably has an Ancient Aliens phase 😆

Edd

-Like to think he starts taking college classes in his Junior or Senior year of high-school. Probably gets offers from Ivy-League schools, picking not the one he wants to go to the most, but the one that leaves him closest to home.

-I think it was @eddbedandeddy that came up with the idea that he has trichotillomania, where one pulls out clumps of hair as a very maladaptive nervous habit. Love this and I fully support the HC that it's why he wears his hat.

-Dig the idea he goes on to become a doctor of some sort.

-Is a really bad cook. Underseasons and overcooks a LOT. Usually keeps it to cup noodles, sandwiches, or takeout if the responsibility falls on him.

-Definitely has big bi or pan energy.

-Though he can't cook, Edd is very good with gardening and plants in general. Super good at keeping them healthy and cultivating them.

-Mellows out a bit when he gets older. Still a tad neurotic but not a full blown nervous wreck.

Eddy

(So warning: Eddy is my favoritest, most special little guy(TM) so there is a little bias for how many HCs I have for him compared to the others. Sorry lol.)

-It's funny when you think about it, because in terms of Eddy's personality after BPS it's actually pretty nebulous to nail down. Despite being one of the brashest, most outspoken characters he's actually the most mysterious when it comes down to who he truly is. He hid behind a facade for the majority of the show's runtime, after all, so what he truly is like underneath that leaves a lot up to the imagination.

-HOWEVER, I HC Eddy returning to his Season 1 and early Season 2 personality after BPS, with a decent amount of self reflection and maturity tacked on. I think how he acted in Season 1 is the closest to who he really is at the core. A good example of how I see Eddy (as a teenager, at least), is that he would share a lot of traits with Amethyst from Steven Universe, I guess? Closest example I can think of, tbh.

-He's closeted gay kid. Home of sexual. 👬🏳️‍🌈🌈 I used to see him as a bi, but rewatches changed my mind a lot. (Part of it is that he's always been my favorite and I was projecting tbh.) It takes him till his mid-to-late teens to start to accept it.

-Excellent cook. His mom's side is 100% Italian in my personal HC and she and her side bestowed a ton of culinary knowledge on him from old family recipes etc.

-Piggybacking off this, I see Eddy being a line cook for quite a while if not as his staple career. I can also see him doing car sales and bartending and even working at a deli. Bounces around jobs a lot, but always is employed in some way or the other.

-He loves baking and is very good at it. Don't give him shit about it or he will cry in private.

-Eddy is ADHD like Ed, but on the more impulsive and moody side of the large spectrum ADHD consists of. He also is bipolar af.

-Is heavily into music in general, especially as he gets older. He also has a penchant for musicals and Broadway, but he WILL get defensive if you tease him for it. But yeah, music is his biggest hobby and interest by far.

HCs I don't like:

Ed

-That he's too stupid to live. Leave him alone, he's dim but functional.

-The idea he can't function independently from Edd and Eddy. He absolutely can and is his own person!

-When fanfics or works in general make Eddy and Edd act like parents to him. He's their equal 👏

-Anytime he's explicitly third-wheeled when Edd and Eddy are paired. You absolutely can write the former two paired up without excluding him.

Edd

-When the fandom makes him an uwu softboy. Stfu. He's a little asshole with a smart mouth and a truckload of sass. Erasing that makes him so BORING 😴

-The HC that he will 'outgrow' Eddy and Ed and move on from them. He's right where he belongs and they complete each other. Stop.

Eddy

-Where do I begin? Firstly, him acting the same exact way as he does in the show after what happened in BPS. The entire movie was explicitly about Eddy becoming a better person and learning his lesson. At least show some growth.

-Him becoming an even more ruthless and corrupt scammer as an adult. Paired with the above point, but still.

-Any HCs that he's heterosexual 🤢

-MAKING HIM TALL.

-Fanart that makes him skinny.

I could go on but those are the main ones. Ty anon!