#thoughts and analysis

[the-au-collector]

Central Room Part 4: THOUGHTS

Eeeeeeeeeeejefhgjsowodjfbfnd I have been wondering when the next update would be and HERE IT IS

Legend calm down

I love Legend’s face here and also reminds me of something @runecatwrites said about Hyrule being paired with Legend. In that, Legend is emotionally unstable and needs Hyrule to be there because Hyrule can handle himself (pls go look at their post they put it much more eloquently).

Legend really said :/ here

Yup they’re going to be just fine. Gotta love the two of them being able to pick on Legend’s rabbit form (though maybe don’t do it so close to Legend, rabbits can be vicious)

Ah gotta love Wild going to Team Dad for help with his issues with Wars.

But Wild, honey. Maybe you should go communicate with Warriors too

They are BROTHERS

I gotta love how everyone is just kind of messing with each other this time around. Although for some reason I’m feeling like Wars and Legend are in for a rough time.

Although, since they’re the only two getting picked on this episode, I feel like there’s conflict coming for them.

I love everyone getting ready to explore. AND THE LANTERNS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND HEY WE KNOW HYRULE HAS HIS CANDLE

He is so worried guys

Credit to @linkeduniverse like always!

[f1-ferraero]

I NEED everyone to see Charles' lap times from his 38 lap stint on the hards.

What the fuck what the fuck what the fuuuuuck

WHAT THE FUCK?????

Lap 15-16, pit stop

1:24.270 (Lap 17)

1:23.875

1:24.203

1:23.826

1:23.880

1:23.768

1:23.864 (Lap 23)

1:23.640

1:23.590

1:23.321

1:23.534

1:23.284

1:23.229

1:23.359

1:23.972

1:23.274

1:23.226 (Lap 33)

1:23.430

1:23.681

1:23.714

1:23.550

1:23.624

1:23.718

1:23.690

1:23.611

1:23.670

1:23.867 (Lap 43)

1:23.430

1:23.731

1:23.597

1:23.676

1:23.518

1:23.467

1:23.461

1:23.555

1:23.750

1:23.268 (Lap 53)

THE CONSISTENCY? OVER 38 LAPS?? WHILE BEING HUNTED DOWN?

[lostsoulaltair]

Owari no Seraph Chapter 140 - Thoughts and Analysis (Warning: Spoilers ahead)

Hmm, before starting, I'll make another post about my thoughts so far...I think, or rather I believe at this point, people have grasped the situation with the manga. The way it goes, it has started to connect like a massive web whose missing points are finally fitting...like a whole gear system.

(Hehe, yeah those thoughts will be for the next post)

Now returning or focusing to the latest chapter. In personal taste it was pretty much a bit tad boring given that there was a degree of expectation in terms of what'd appear but of course it doesn't mean it's bad. Actually, we got a new insight along a possible follow up fight between Ferid and Ky Luc.

First of all, the chapter starts with the ones trying to break free who are now again dancing to "save the world". Still, there's a degree of uncertainity given the "cost" of that "saving" the world.

Of course, I'm talking about a difference of ideals between Rigr Stafford, more commonly known as Saito and Urd Geales.

Urd and Rigr being the elders of the vampire council, tend to be the ones to take the decisions that are give more benefit to the world, but given the truth Rigr learnt first hand, doubt began to spread within Rigr along a change of mindset and heart given what the First went through.

Whereas for Urd, such action goes against order. Still, the two of them chose to listen what Yuu had to tell them.

Next, Yuu. Yuu is finally playing smart. We got answered a big doubt ever since Shikama got devoured by Shinoa. Only 30% of his power is within Yuu, whereas the 70% lies with Shinoa.

As to why I mean he's playing smart, it is mostly that he is using that "love" the progenitors have for the First despite everything along the fact of the memories Rigr, the rest of the progenitors (excluding Krul and very likely all those 3rd progenitors that were turned into cursed gear) along Yuu. The fact that the angels existed is a key piece on what exactly the ideals align. But why do I state this?

Simple, Yuu does not exactly have full knowledge of spells. While it's true the First gave three special spells...it does not exactly mean he has all the requirements to trigger them and the second one to know about magecraft is Rigr Stafford as stated in the chapter.

(What I think here is that...Yuu is actually underestimating Guren, Mahiru and Ferid a lot. While it's true he chose to finally leave the nest, there's a reason why I state this which will be for another post, yeh sorry eheh)

But within this, why did the idea of actually taking over the First's goals came to be?

For love.

Rigr at first was like a child, hoping the First would actually acknowledge him as who he is, instead, he found that the First has been trying to resurrect all angels back, and of course with this, it goes with a second point which is "finding a reason to live".

The vampires were left with no reason, spending millenia without changing and now that a fragment of a possibility comes, Rigr isn't hesitating whereas Urd wishes to maintain order.

But why is that? Why is it that Urd is against?

The reason very independent from the love he has for Rigr (I'm not saying it is a romantic love, but I leave it to interpretation for people. We don't know what they endured together when they were human but mayhaps one day we will) is the fact that there are heavy prices to pay in order to save the worlds mentioned. True, everything sounds like a great plan, like the best of the best saving every single thing out, but in order to do so, in order to create a miracle, something must be paid at the same level for such miracle to happen.

The progenitors so far only have a vague idea of the price; and so far they are still dancing to one end goal which was stated back in chapter 108

The final event of the story is very likely heading to that detonation. The battle against the angels, BUT, that will only happen or course depending on which party wins. What do I mean?

Right now, there are four parties at hand.

-Human Team represented by the King of Humanity Kureto Hiragi.

-Guren's Team. A team that is made of Guren, Mahiru and their wild card Ferid Bathory who so far will likely succeed on devouring the 5th Progenitor Ky Luc.

-Yuu's Team which is integrated by the Progenitors, Mikaela and Yuu himself.

Though, how far will such team endure everything? It is unknown for one factor that I'll actually explain later.

And lastly, the new team no one suspected to ever appear given that they were like lambs obeying and following due to the lack of power.

-Shinoa's Squad. Obviously, the team made of Kimizuki, Yoichi, Mitsuba and Shinoa. Who now have a possibility to turn the tables against the King of Humanity and very likely Guren's Team.

All the lines or paths are finally starting to align, the big puzzle is finally merging; and the real battlefield is about to start. The war that will follow up won't be just power alone but strategy and how far the love each team will take them to.

Even if the Progenitors that are currently working with Yuu have chosen to follow up what the First was doing, there are possibilities that such plans won't exactly go as planned given that there are several things in common within three parties and that is the very fact that they are underestimating their respective enemies.

What do I mean?

Vampire Progenitors

The progenitors while holding deep knowledge along having a representant in such field such as Rigr, they have done one thing nonstop which is underestimating lesser Vampire Progenitors such as Ferid along humanity itself. Given their form of being immortals, they believe their battles will forever be won but humanity within the story has displayed that they can still take leaps in order to pursue their objectives.

Humanity's Team and their King of Humanity

While it's true Kureto, despite his methods, has actually tried to make sure humanity prevails; still, he's still in the dark, he has no clue he has several walking corpses but given that factor, along how chapter 140 played at the end, Guren won't allow the walking corpses to turn into dust but rather he'll keep fighting until their goal is set. But still, again they underestimate something. What is it?

Given that they belong to one generation, they believe they'll eventually have the upperhand, which means, they might pull a fight against the Progenitors but not exactly vs Yuu and the Shinoa Squad.

Guren's Team (Mahiru, Ferid and Guren)

Within this team, two of three are underestimating the guinea pigs they managed to gather, what do I mean?

While it is very likely that Yuu's departure was planned, one sole thing wasn't exactly planned. What do I mean?

Correct. In all the story of the manga, Guren made sure to only give power to one sole person within the Shinoa Squad and that was only Yuu given the purpose and goal he had in mind from the beginning. This also includes Mahiru and to some extent Ferid. But the new Wild Card that has popped out is not from the Black Demon Wielders but rather from Shinoa herself.

Given that Shinoa gave a full evaluation along having a purpose for life given that "love" is what fuels her goals along treasuring and protecting the family she has; true, Mahiru has awareness of the power Shinoa has to some extent but not how far they can go, and the very moment Guren's team left the squad and Ferid actually stopping watching them, this gave the opportunity for Shinoa to give her squad to fight on a more equal ground and now that she has the majority of the First's powers along knowing how to enhance and channel the power of all the demons, this can play as backfire against all the demon wielders within the story so far.

How long will it take for the story to finish? I'm not certain, but it is very likely that the end will eventually connect everything into one single thing.

What do you think guys? Let me know?

[tinysnailtales]

Life really punched me in the face, kicked me in the gut, and knocked me down (several times) but–

I am coming back with more thoughts! On Yona, Inuyasha, Apothecary Diaries and whatever suits my fancy. Probably in a different, more review-like format.

[earworms-daily]

Day 6: Eat Your Young - Hozier

Listen Here

Honey, I wanna race you to the table If you hesitate, the getting is gone I won't lie, if there's something to be gained There's money to be made, whatever's still to come

Song Fact Book

Released March 17, 2023

When I tell you this man is Irish, you better believe it because this song references a piece of satirical writing by Johnathon Swift very heavily.

A Modest Proposal is a writing in response to the Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852) that suggested if there is no other way for the Irish to survive, it would be better for them to eat their young than let them live in such a terrible world. There are six ways suggested to eat their young. It was meant to be an inflammatory piece and bring people's attention to the horror of the hunger and desperation they lived in.

I could ramble on for a while about the history of the Irish Potato Famine, but I'll leave you with this: the song doesn't focus as much on the systemic destruction of a people group, but rather critiques the mindset of those in charge and how they decide to use those with less power and consider the loss of life inevitable and nothing less than the people's faults.

My Thoughts

This came out the very week that I finished reading A Modest Proposal so you better believe I played it on repeat until I'd figured out the meaning of each lyric and memorized every chord so that I could recognize it within a few beats of it being played. I had also researched the Irish Potato Famine pretty heavily a few months before the song was released so this really was the cherry on top of a hyper fixation of the year.

We could examine all the lusty undertones of this song, but I wanna talk about the social commentary going on here because I only noticed the lust after the horror.

Get some Pull up the ladder when the flood comes Throw enough rope until the legs have swung Seven new ways that you can eat your young Come and get some Skinning the children for a war drum Putting food on the table selling bombs and guns It's quicker and easier to eat your young

Like holy shit this is some grotesque imagery

And it all really comes back to the military industrial complex of things where there's war profiteering and the "young" are brought into the military to continue feeding this machine and die in favor of raising a profit.

"Skinning the children for a war drum" -- generally when you skin a creature, you also plan to eat it so continuing on with the cannibalism motif here which feeds into the idea of the military industrial complex literally eating their country's young and using them up until there's nothing recognizable left

"Seven new ways that you can eat your young" -- in A Modest Proposal there are six ways listed to eat their young, now this implies that there's been a new way discovered since then, but also potentially plays into a theme of the seven deadly sins as gluttony, lust, and greed seem to be some of the major elements at play here

"Throw enough rope until the legs have swung" -- plays off the phrase "give them the rope that they'll hang themselves with", which is a fancy way of saying that if something potentially constructive or helpful is given to help those less well off, then they'll find some way to use it to harm themselves which is quite frankly untrue, but is reflective of the mindset carried by those Hozier is critiquing

[professoruber]

Thoughts and speculation regarding Meridian before Birds of Prey (2023-) #5 drops!

Spoilers for Birds of Prey (2023-)

Please also keep in mind I am a novice when it comes to comics and their lore. I am also tired and writing this in my iPad, so please let me know if I am misremembering or overlooked any details.

Maps Mizoguchi! Or rather, Meridian! A very surprising addition to the latest Birds of Prey series. As someone who is a fan of Gotham Academy, even sometime before I started really becoming interested in comics like I have been recently, this definitely caught my attention and has led me to following this series in interest.

However… currently I have a number of thoughts of Meridian which I would like to get off my chest now before #5 releases and either gives us more questions or (hopefully) more answers.

I suppose my big question thus far is… why Maps in particular? Especially given the fact that her constant departures due to the apparent limitations of her time travel tech means she subsequently has limited ‘screen time’ to justify her involvement. Why was it a time travelling future Maps who kicked off events and not anything else?

I like Maps, but I still have begin to find her role somewhat odd; perhaps in large part due to a simple question it raises….

Is Meridian Maps’ destined future hero persona (instead of Robin)?

Maps wants to be Robin, it’s been a thing since Gotham Academy, and it’s a goal which has been given both some focus and some credit via both the main Batman run and also the non-canon Batman Black and White.

The goal of becoming Robin is one which she was shown to be still determined towards even after experiencing the dangers which would come with the job.

So with this in mind, it seems kinda odd how they’ve also introduced the Meridian persona for Maps. While I do like the name well enough, the fact that it’s a geography term being a neat nod to her nickname, I can’t also help but notice that Meridian… doesn’t really seem to display any of the typical Robin or Bat-related skillsets?

She teleports around and shoots people with lighting, and I’m pretty sure that’s about it. She doesn’t appear to be notably tactical, nor does she display any martial arts (she just points her fist and shoots), which is honestly a tad disappointing. Maybe that’s just me, but I guess it just feels a bit odd.

Cresting such advanced technology also wasn’t exactly something I’d expect from Maps; but tbh she would’ve had plenty of time to learn science as she grew up so… hm.

Does this mean Maps is not going to become Meridian? Maybe?

Possibilities

A very interesting observation and suggest by @transpanda-1 was that Meridian was not in fact Maps Mizoguchi, but rather Katherine Karlo (the blonde girl picture with Maps in the comic snippet a little higher up); the daughter of Clayface. This is based both on uncharacteristic behaviour from Maps herself as well as her departure being described as looking like she is “made of dirt”, a very specific and odd way of describing what would otherwise be assumed by readers to be her disappearing in a flurry of static or energy.

Of course; any oddities, as well as any differences in the behaviours and skillsets of Maps vs Meridian, could be easily justified by the fact Meridian apparently comes from a post apocalyptic future, plus the general effects of aging.

But even still, I do really like this theory and think it makes a decent amount of sense. Especially given the whole “dirt” descriptor.

Katherine Karlo has displayed the ability to be at multiple places at once in the past, seemingly controlling multiple bodies with the same consciousness. She has also impersonated Maps in the past.

However, Katherine appears to be inspired by Annie, a character from BTAS who iirc was a ‘daughter’ Clayface who was created when part of him got separated from his main body and so developed a distinctive identity seperate from the main consciousness. I don’t think Katherine’s backstory has been delved into (correct me if I’m wrong) but I assume it was something similar. Therefore, if she is Meridian then perhaps the reason Meridian keeps disappearing is because maintaining control of a part of her so far away takes a significant amount of effort? Or maybe it is a time travelling Katherine instead?

Hard to say for sure. And also probably doesn’t exactly explain the lighting powers. But tbh I kinda would also kind of prefer this?

Would give Maps more of an opening/hope to still become Robin one day.

Motivations and Answers

This is the final bit of this rather long-ish post which may or may not get totally disproved by #5 tomorrow. But I’ve gotten this far so might as well cap off my thoughts.

If I remember correctly; Meridian is the reason for the general secrecy of this mission, not only from Diana and the other Amazons, but also from Barbara. I feel that big secrets from close allies, especially given Babs’ importance to the Birds of Prey, require big reasons. But from what I can recall we have yet to get any actual look into her reasons… or how she convinced Dinah for that matter (it’s not as if Maps Mizoguchi is some close confidant of hers, I doubt they’ve met before this).

If Meridian is a time traveler then perhaps she’s already attempted this mission via other methods which have failed, hence the reason for specific exclusions this time around?

Or maybe this is an evil future/alternate self kind of deal. I don’t think Meridian has acted overly suspicious apart from this secrecy but it’s still possible. At the very least, she may not have been entirely upfront with all her plans/motive/knowledge.

For all we know, maybe Barbara is involved and pulling the strings for whatever reason? Maybe not, but still.

I guess the reason I’m thinking on this is I feel excluding Barbara and causing a “hero vs hero” conflict seems like the kinds of things which require a very good reason for. And Dinah presumably found said reasoning quite convincing since she went along with it.

If Meridian isn’t from the future, then that just adds further mystery since it means for some reason Katherine Karlo (or someone pulling her strings) has posed as a future version of Maps to direct the Birds of Prey in a mission to rescue Sin. Why all this deception would be needed is another question (assuming she’s not from the future, anyway).

Conclusions

Let’s start wrapping things up. Despite my confusion/semi-complaints, I’ve generally enjoyed Birds of Prey so far and am looking forward to seeing how the story continues. I also am a fan of Maps and am curious at what kind of role she will have as this fort continues, and I also hope she gets her overall dream of becoming Robin one day.

Maps would make an awesome Robin.

For now I guess we shall see whether #5 provides any answers, and if it does then we’ll see if my random speculation and thoughts were off the mark or not,

[daisywrites-stuff]

The Two Fridas and Us (2019)

hey peeps.

so i was looking at the two fridas (frida kahlo) and it reminded me a lot of the 2019 jordan peele film us.

the way i interpret this painting is the frida in the white dress has her heart "open." literally, we can see inside it and figuratively, she's vulnerable and open to trusting others. through the veins in her heart she's tethered (get it, 'tethered?') to the other frida, which is another part of herself. that frida's heart is closed, literally we can't see inside it and figuratively, she's closed off to vulnerability and other people. the frida in the white dress cuts her veins with scissors (scissors!) and breaks the connection ('untethers!') herself from the other frida. to me, this could be because she needs to cut herself off from the other frida so both fridas can have what they want without holding each other back.

so this just screamed us to me. in us, the people above ground are mirrored by people living in tunnels underground. they're called the tethered. their lives are fully controlled by the real people above ground (they're a government experiment but that part isn't really important for this analysis), they are forever tethered together. BUT the tethered are angry at this (and honestly rightfully so, their lives suck) and they decide to come out of hiding and take revenge. they dress in red and carry scissors.

i want to talk about the scissors because that's what stood out to me the most and connects to the way the frida's are connected (tethered). in the film, the scissors represent unity for the tethered. they carry the scissors and make paper doll chains which represents the unity that the tethered feel towards each other (according to screenrant). at the end of the movie, the tethered woman (who is actually not originally tethered but besides the point for this analysis) cuts the paper dolls, slicing them apart.

now, traditionally scissors can represent cutting ties with something or someone. so when the tethered woman cuts the paper dolls, she is cutting ties with the real woman (who was originally tethered but for simplicity we are deciding that that is besides the point for this analysis). the tethered woman and real woman are mirrors of each other. the real woman has the life that the tethered woman always wanted. the tethered woman wants what the real woman has, the ability to make decisions. in order for her to do that, she needs to cut the tie because the real woman was holding her back.

the idea that to stop the real woman from holding her back, the tethered has to cut the tie really stood out to me because it seems like this painting seems to have the same theme. the fridas need to untether themselves from each other to achieve what they want to achieve (whatever that may be) without holding each other back.

thought this was interesting.

[nuclearbluez]

[loganslowdown4]

Thoughts on August 2024 Playlist - ‘songs I was obsessed with as a teen’

Throwback to August, I adore this playlist—

Like I listen to it every month just about

This is literally my teens/20s 💙

I wrote some thoughts, lemme know what you think ☺️

[shannoneichorn]

I know no one wants to cross platforms, but I've got some Stargate folks here who might want to know that I'm live tweeting SG-1 episodes on Mastodon.

"Rules of Engagement" starts here.

"Forever in a Day" starts here.

Highlights:

Okay, I really respect that the writers acknowledged that Daniel has completed the goal he set out on. You'd think something that monumentous would get wrapped into the plot of a season finale or mid-season 2-parter, so there's some comfort for fans (assuming you watched it as it aired) that the character isn't leaving the show.

I really would have liked for there to feel like more risk of that, but Daniel is acting so far outside his normal MO, it feels like a mere crisis of the week, and I think that's a disservice to Sha're (as is her character's oversimplification in the episode so far).

Movie Sha're was curious, rebellious, and brave. TV Sha're is kind of flat TV wife with an accent. The flatness could have been used to emphasize the loss of her autonomy and personality when she became a host, but it's especially hard to show that contrast when lively Sha're was on screen about 6 years prior.

It's hard to believe Daniel might actually leave, because we all know there's nothing for him to go toward. What's he going to do, find a dig to join when he could be out face-to-face with alien civilizations? No one has said that,  but you know every single person in Cheyenne Mountain understands it.

Except Daniel.

Jack literally says this 5 seconds later.  Lol.

"Past and Present" starts here.

"Foothold" starts here.

[twilightofthesandwiches]

The funny thing is that despite the many surface-level similarities between Mettaton Undertale and Tenna Deltarune; both being rectangular, charismatic TV Hosts who subject the Player Characters to many TV-Themed Minigames and a ‘score’ based Sparing Mechanic

And they even have a very similar taste is suits!

On a deeper character/thematic level, they’re actually total opposites.

Mettaton is the Underground’s only celebrity and main source of entertainment, he’s highly watched and highly popular (Well, within the standards of the Underground, it's implied they are just not that many Monsters around). Meanwhile Tenna’s whole thing is that he’s been abandoned and ignored by the whole Dreemurr family. Outcompeted and overshadowed by the many other sources of entertainment in the modern Light World.

And while Tenna is motivated by an obsessive desire to not be abandoned ever again, to keep Toriel and the Fun Gang on his shows forever… One of Mettaton’s biggest flaws is his tendency to abandon those he’s close to. He pretty much cut ties with Shyren and Napstablook when he became a star.

And he’s been growing distant from Alphys as well.

And, actually his whole darn motivation is to abandon the Underground in search of even greater fame on the surface.

His Pacifist Ending is all about him confronting that flaw in himself, understanding how important he is to the Monsters of the Underground and deciding that he should stay so he can keep bringing his brand of entertainment, joy and glamour to the people who needs it.

While Tenna’s Happy Ending is about helping him to get over his obsessive neediness to entertain specifically the Dreemurr family, and realizing he can move on to someone else, to someplace else, who will actually watch him.

On a deeper thematic level... I think you can also talk about how Mettaton is driven by his Dreams, while Tenna seeks Hope.

And also, I always saw Mettaton as representing modernity for the Underground.

Due to his human-fanboyism and fascination with the Surface, Mettaton has ended up creating and/or promoting a lot of aspects of modern human culture in the Underground. Mass media entertainment, merchandise, trademarks, fast-food, minimum-wage retail jobs, unions…

All of these things seem to exist in the Underground primarily or entirely due to Mettaton’s influence.

Every other Boss/Main Character has some kind of ‘official position’ in the Kingdom's traditional power-structure; Sentry, Royal Guard Captain, Royal Scientist, King, Queen, Prince… Mettaton is a creation of the Royal Scientist, but on his own he’s just a rich and famous celebrity. That's kind of a modern concept in it and of itself, since it kinda requires the existence of a mass media culture....

Or hell, just the fact that he’s the one Monster in the game who seems to have no real respect/loyalty for the Monarchy, and is actually working against him…

Both out of his individual sense of morality (he cares for the Humans) but also for the sake of the very modern goal of mass fame.

And of course on the most obvious level he’s a technologically-advanced robot whose ‘zone’ is the most tech-themed part in the game. (Zones? if you wanna count Hotland and the CORE as separate areas. Either way it's true of both when compared to the rest of the Underground.)

And Tenna is obviously the exact opposite of this. He and his Dark World are still kinda tech-themed in the sense that he is a Darkner based on a household electronic device, but he’s still clearly supposed to stand as a vast contrast to the much-more advanced techy-themed Darkners of Cyber City. He’s specifically meant to be themed after outdated and old-fashioned technology

And the concept of Nostalgia.

… In a way, despite Undertale being a very 2010’s game and despite the Underground being established to have 2010's technology such as Social Media… Mettaton's being primarily a TV Star with TV Show theming in most of his encounters is a very 20th century sort of concept. To use the Television as a shorthand for the concept of modernity.

Obviously that works within Undertale because that is a very familiar cultural shorthand and also it does make sense within the Very Particular Technological and Cultural Framework of the Underground… But with Deltarune being both a much newer game and taking place in a world much closer to our own, I guess it makes sense to instead use the TV to symbolize the past, outdated technology and nostalgic yearning.

[the-irreverend]

AAAAAAAHHHHHHH watching Kris flee out of the room when they find out we're with them KILLS ME every damn time, and perhaps the detail that hurts the most is how their expression changes and how that adds a new understanding to how Kris sees us.

The moment they realize they and Noelle are in terrible danger, the netrual, reserved expression we're so used to seeing from them changes into one of ABSOLUTE TERROR as they flee out of the room; terror which I firmly believe is rooted in the psychological, emotional, and physical trauma we have caused them and Noelle.

The things we made them do in the Snowgrave/Weird Route made them realize just how much harm we're capable of causing them and the people they care about, and how great our capacity for evil truly is. They already resent us for depriving them of their agency, and now that they've endured us abusing said agency in the worst possible way, their hatred and fear of us has increased a thousandfold.

Deltarune isn't some cute little otherworldly adventure; it's a goddam cosmic horror story, except the twist is we're the eldritch being that brings ruin and madness wherever we go.

[f1-ferraero]

Over these last few races there has been a lot of people saying that "Sainz doesn't need to give a f about Ferrari anymore, he's driving for his future" which is so so contradictory.

Sure, his results on paper are going to be important for contract negotiations, but HOW he gets those results is more important.

The situation Sainz will be in next year is either 1st driver at a midfield team, or 2nd at a top team (with only RBR and Merc potentially having open seats, and Verstappen and Russell will be prioritised there).

If he wants to fight for wins he will need to accept a 2nd driver seat, and to get there he needs to show that he can be a team player, regardless of his situation. Otherwise a midfield team is his only option. Even then, there is no driver's championship in the midfield, only the constructor's matters. Look at Magnussen in Jeddah, and all the praise he received for putting the team first and helping Haas score their first point. That's what the midfield teams need and want.

Sainz is a good driver, yes, but while the media might like the "he's only driving for himself" narrative, the teams would be a lot more impressed by a "he's putting the team first, despite not having a seat with them next season" narrative.

Besides, he's not the only one without a seat. Essentially half the grid is jobless next season, but they are playing the team game, and that actually makes them much more attractive candidates (even if Sainz might be the faster driver).

And if we look at RBR and Merc. Checo is doing exactly what he needs to do: finishing and qualifying p2, while also having a history of being a brilliant team player when need be. Even if Sainz does get signed, he won't be challenging Max. Max is the 1st driver, and the car will be designed towards his preferred extreme oversteer (which we know Sainz struggles with, given the beginning of 2022 and the end of 2023). And with Sainz being older than Max, and with Lawson coming up in 2025 he'll probably not be given more than 1-2 years with RBR.

Mercedes is struggling, and are in no way in contention for titles or wins. The drivers know that right now the team needs to focus on just maximising their joint results (e.g. Hamilton asking if he should let Russell pass in Suzuka). Merc has also already made it clear that they want Antonelli, either for 2025 or 2026. Toto has said that they might just give up on 2025 and use it as prep for 26, and in that case they'll probably sign Antonelli.

If they decide to sign Sainz it'll, again, only be for 1-2 years (with 2025 being a write off and 2026 being a total unknown). Sauber is definitely Sainz best option: he'll be the 1st driver and they might be competitive with Audi in 2026.

It doesn't matter what he or his fans think he "deserves". This is the truth of the situation, and he's not doing himself, or anyone, any favours by driving only for himself. And besides, despite the media claiming that Sainz is hot property, he is not actually that much more desirable as a driver than anyone else.

On one hand there is the matter of his age. Sure, he's not old (considering Alonso and Hamilton are driving into their 40s, but that's ALONSO and HAMILTON) but he is turning 30 this year, which means that while he might be in his prime he won't be getting any better. He doesn't have the potential that a young rookie has. He is delivering what he should be so far in 2024 considering he's in a Ferrari, but so has everyone else who is in contention for a good seat.

The second thing is his racing cv: 3 wins in 10 years and a highest championship position of 5th. I know people are arguing that he simply hasn't had the car to do more than that: "he was stuck in midfield cars for 6 years (7 if you include the 2021 Ferrari)". Let's rephrase that: "he didn't perform strongly enough to be promoted to a top team for 6 years".

Between 2015 and 2021 Bottas, Leclerc, Verstappen, Gasly and Albon received promotions to the 3 top teams and Sainz did not (Bottas after 4 years and the rest after 1 year (Albon a bit earlier and Verstappen a bit later)). Sainz IS a good driver, I'm not denying that, but he doesn't have championship potential and that's okay. He's not being "underrated" by the teams. They know exactly what he is capable of, and he WILL get a seat next year, but he isn't being disrespected by anyone because they aren't signing him.

[wintersnails]

House has definitely sent Wilson a dick pic or several but he sends them by email because they are both old men and the titles are things like ‘URGENT: please identify if lung cancer’ or ‘patient biopsy results - respond ASAP’ so that Wilson’s guilt complex makes him feel obligated to open each one just in case someone’s life is actually on the line

[artbyblastweave]

I'm not the first to mention this, but one bit that I thought was really clever in Steven Universe is the ways in which the show subtly justifies the cartoonism of the principle cast always wearing the same outfit for ease-of-animation purposes. The gems are a gimme in that they're all hardlight-projections, and even before that's solidified as a plot point they're otherworldly and superheroic enough that you don't really think to question it. But Steven canonically just owns hundreds and hundreds of those star shirts, which are leftover merchandise from his father's fizzled-out career as a rock star. Into which you can read a whole bunch of other stuff if you really want to, right? And I do want to. It's reflective of Greg's misplaced optimism that he got hundreds of those made in the first place, and it's a benign but visible example of how Steven's life is shaped by the knock-on effects of decisions his parents made before he was even alive. He's got his mother's superpowers and he's wearing his father's shirts.