#// Activity is spotty but I am HERE for shenanigans. Shenaniganning.

[aurivore]

@duunswitch | replied:

"Don't worry, you're still the only Honeybee."

   "Of course. You're not so foolish that a pathetic little shadow would change anything for you, Master."

[mindsafe]

so here's the scoop lads. i'm generally p low activity because of who i am as a person ( aka i prefer my writing partners wait a little bit to get good quality replies that i'm proud of than rush out something half-baked that i'm unhappy with )

however, said activity is going to be even more spotty over the next week as i will be in seattle seeing my favourite band && attending the emerald city comic con + shenanigans with my travelling companions.

i'll try && queue up some things here && maybe do little updates when i'm at the hotel but otherwise i'm going to be MIA

[mageofmindfr]

Thoughts on The Heir of Hope? I could really use an outside perspective right now. (Thank you)

Hallo! I have not been active on the internets from my computer in multiple days because my internet died and I wanted to give you a proper answer with correct grammars :33

... Ok so I really am sorry for not answering my internet has been spotty at best for like a week but it’s pretty good now so I can finally actually answer!

Well, heir of hope... let’s start with heirs, shall we?

Heirs, as far as I interpret them, are more literal versions of pages; while a page would channel the spirit of their aspect as part of their personality, a heir would become their aspect physically (which is a fact that’s supported by canon! I love having theories and then remembering that they’re actually entirely canon ^^”). So heirs’ personalities tend to reflect their aspect more literally as well, being almost archetypes for “this is what being X aspect means”.

I’d say they’re a simpler class, but that might not be entirely accurate, because aspects have a lot in them, if you’re willing to look. Like how void may be about mysteries and things hidden in shadows, but also includes contradictoriness (is that a word? It feels like it should be a word), or how breath can be wind but also scatterbraininess (never let a breath player build their own schedule, it’s like a hurricane went in and messed all their meetings up... which, I suppose it is.. but that’s a tangent for another post, maybe). There’s a lot of room for exploration there, finding where you fit into your own aspect, and whether there’s traits there that you wish to change, or improve upon, and whether you’re willing to put in the work (you’ll find that, if you’re willing, it may come easier than you expected to start the change you want to see in yourself, though it’s still bound to be difficult.. as is any change one should make. The key is being truly, actually willing and eager to better yourself, and know that sometimes you should ask for help, and that regardless, things take time...)

So. If a heir’s personality is built on existing within the space of their aspect... what about hope?

... You know, hope is surprisingly hard to figure out. Though, the same can be true for rage, since both of them have two players that destroy their aspect, making them act inherently unlike said element... so we literally only have Jake to go off of and saying “you’re like Jake English but your personality is more hope” wouldn’t be particularly helpful... not to say kind of inaccurate.

I found (through two hours of research, god, apparently I’ve been sitting here trying to not get confirmation bias over theories for two hours... Then again I have been thinking about heirs for a while anyways, so it would’ve been longer if I had been putting off answering any longer...) that hope is one of those aspects that are dreadfully unclear. It’s pretty difficult to take hope literally, as even in its literal sense it’s not tangible like void and breath are, so, how do you become hope?

Well... I’m sorry to disappoint, but I believe that’s up to you. Hope’s one of those aspects that are, in essence, whatever the player makes of them. Like most others, actually, I just find that the players we follow happen to be wholly uncreative in their use of their aspects... Except those that use it subconsciously, in which case it’s more that the game looked at them and probably said something like “wouldn’t it be really funny if I made Dirk Strider a Prince of Heart?” which, well. I’d say “sad” is a better word, but the game’s got a weird sense of humor and is also wholly irrelevant to right now!

Hope can mean a lot of things, but literally it’s more... well, the way my brain tried to put it together is kind of like how determination works in Undertale (… without the space-time shenanigans, since those are both elements in actual Homestuck). You don’t give up, and there lies your power. By believing in yourself, you have power. By trying hard you can do.. whatever you want. At least, that’s the literal way to see it (which is the only way we see it in actual Homestuck, but, again, aspects contain so much more than just their literal definitions, and the players we meet during our time reading are dreadfully unimaginative). We never see any other definition, though I’ve seen some people mention that hope may also have to do with the literal definition of light, or holiness, because.. magic. Or something. Not sure I buy that, but also visualizing “hope”, which is a wonderfully grand concept is probably hard, so, glowing it is, I suppose.

What all of this ends up meaning is.. Well, the Heir of Hope is someone who is embodied by their hope. I usually suggest stuff like a horoscope but it’s getting pretty late here and it’s also 10 degree weather, and saying “don’t give up” feels awfully tacky of me... So I’ll say this, instead; stay true to who you are. I’m not implying you’re perfect, or anything, but more that your true self is a wonderful person who, had I not been a Mage of Mind who dreams on derse’s moon and therefore an expert in overanalyzing social interactions before I even know the other party’s name, I’d love to talk to. I feel like you can be an uplifting person, if you let yourself be, and that you’re an inspiration to be around once you start talking about stuff you’re passionate about. A presence to light up a room, maybe, or at least one that people notice when it’s missing (because you only notice the absence of light in the darkness).

Again, sorry this came out late, I hope me working on this post for... three hours (yeesh, how the time flies when you double check against confirmation bias that the third heir we meet is, indeed, Mituna Captor, and that he did indeed “become” doom by accidental brain deletion) makes up for the three days where I was looking at this question from my phone and going “I should start writing” and then instead made my trollsona art and also read fics I have memorized because I tend to procrastinate (and also I spent 10 minutes just now trying to remember the word for procrastination and googled it as “word for not doing thing”. It was not there. I'm in agony/j).

Hope (hah) you still enjoy it even if it’s late? ^^”

[not-majestic-bluenicorn]

The ONF Multiverse Theory

OMG?! Are your eyes right? Am I back with another kpop theory?

Yes. The answer is yes. It literally says Theory on the title, come on.

I’m sorry. Can you already sense this theory has driven me to madness? Because it has. If you thought MONSTA X’s time traveling shenanigans were complicated, oh boy… You’re in for a good one. Anyways for those of you who might not know me, my name is Orion, but you can call me Ori, and today I bring you my take on ONF’s story that they’ve developed through the MVs. Thought this would be a good time since they’re in the MS and won’t be putting out more confusing MVs to disprove my theory soon. 

If you like this theory, consider checking my other theories here. Also, I recommend you have a death counter at hand, you’ll need it. And now, let’s dive into the theory.

TW: So much Main Character Death.

Some things to consider 

Before we fully go into the theory, I want you to know and acknowledge that we’re going to be dealing with space-time travel, multiple universes, and the fact that Hyojin has like three different hairstyles per music video (I wish I were kidding). The videos are mostly chronological from ON/OFF to Why, and from then on, your guess is as good as mine. I also want you to know I have two possible alternatives for how to organize the story in the MVs, and I’ll be addressing both of them to the best of my abilities. I hope it’s not too confusing.

Universe 01: Opening the Gates to the Multiverse (ON/OFF to Why + New World)

ON/OFF starts our story with one of the most interesting settings I’ve seen in k-pop and yet it’s never addressed again: humans did a Wall-E and left Earth. Throughout the MV we get to see a sign in the Cinema Paradise movie theater that says “Now it’s over. The end of the world. Destroyed. Last day. Place where of it is gone. We still have hope.” This is accompanied by signs of a spaceship under the title of “Journey to space: You can go anywhere, dreams come true”.

[Picture: Screenshot from ON/OFF that shows the posters described previously.]

Basically, the Earth was coming to an end and humans decided to jump ship. On the spaceships, they fabricated androids that they sent back to Earth to heal it and send a signal back to them once they deemed the planet habitable again. Laun is the one to send the signal in the end, as we see him operating a machine. The signal is received (as shown by the “Upload Complete” and the “Signal Detected” screens) and humans make it back to Earth, symbolized by the Astronaut looking out the fancy window and the “meteorites” coming down to Earth which are spaceships.

[Picture: Four-picture collage. Top left picture shows Laun using the machine to send the signal. Top right sounds a screen displaying the phrase “Signal Detected”. Bottom left shows a meteorite falling. Bottom right shows an astronaut taking off their helmet.]

In Complete we see more symbols of sending messages, such as the flare Laun fires, or the smoke bomb E-tion is holding. Laun is also seen with a similar looking machine again, and we get to see the meteorites/spaceships falling to Earth once more.

We Must Love (WML) is where things start getting a bit complicated story-wise. We don’t have anything that points to this, but it’s probable that after coming back to Earth, they got the androids back and kept them at base while working on other things. At the same time, the company that created them starts working on something new: space-time travel. I believe that they decided to test it on Laun without telling him much of what it was about. The others figured it out and tried to stop it, but it was too late.

[Picture: Screenshot from We Must Love of Laun looking back at the members as they run towards him after he activates the time-traveling watch.]

Laun wakes up in the middle of a forest, with, at best, very spotty memories of who he was, at worse, he remembers absolutely nothing. He remakes his life. Meanwhile, the others make it their personal mission to find him. We know from the Making Film that U was actually left behind, probably because he was the second youngest at the time. J-Us was helping through hacking while the others were on the ground looking for him. E-tion manages to find him once but accidentally activates the watch before he gets close to him. Hyojin also finds him, but realizes they’re simply too late.

[Picture: Three picture collage. The first picture is of Laun waking up in a forest. The second picture is of E-tion looking at Laun through the train tracks after activating his watch. Thirs picture is of Hyojin encountering Laun in front of a Vietnamese train station.]

It is through J-Us’ hacking that we’re first introduced to the multiverse. If we look closely at the screen that displays Laun’s information, on the bottom it says “Address: South Korea, Earth, Universe 01”.  This immediately implies that there are more universes, so from now on I’ll be adding a tag before the names to specify which version of them I’m talking about, and those tags will correspond to the subtitles of each section, so in this case, it’ll be U1.

[Picture: Screenshot taken from We Must Love of J-Us looking up information on Laun. The information is displayed ona window screen, part of the information includes the “address” mentioned before.]

Now, here is where I have an issue with how the timeline progresses. Technically it would make absolute sense, plot-wise, for Beautiful Beautiful (BB) to happen after WML and before Why, though there are a few details that are contradictory. On one hand, no one has died yet, and J-Us’s plot of being arrested fits nicely. On the other hand, BB looks way too advanced to be happening at the same time as Why, and it looks way more similar to Goosebumps (GB), though we do see flying cars in Why. There’s also the fact that the development of the relationships of the characters makes no sense if we transition from BB to Why, and I know Why has to happen before Goosebumps (GB), so for now we’re not going to count BB as part of U1, but I’ll keep you updated if that changes.

So let’s continue with Why. New World’s (NW) lyrics are actually a great tool for explaining what’s happening in Why, and the Road to Kingdom performance also makes references to it. After losing Laun and realizing what the company was making them do, the rest of ONF feel it is unfair and decide to run away and create, almost literally, a new world. They probably get this information from the company, and decide to look for The Cube. 

[Picture: Screenshot taken from New World. The members stand behind The Cube, holding six keys towards it.]

We don’t know much about The Cube other than it is necessary for them to create the new world, it is probably what allows travel between universes (as opposed to space-time travel within the same universe), and you need six keys to unlock it. At the end of the video, we see that most of them are facing The Cube, so we can assume they managed to unlock it, but it is not without a price.

[Picture: Screenshot taken from Why. The Cube floats above a building in a small island, as comet-looking things fly off from it.]

One of the teasers, also called “signal clues” (#11), shows us a slightly blurry picture of Hyojin at the end of Why taking off the silver mask, with a very prominent word slapped over it: CLONING. In signal clue #9 we see pictures of all the members, but there’s two Hyojin pictures with an equal sign between them. The first one says Error, while the second one says Why along with Hyojin’s serial number. Yes, what I’m proposing here is that Hyojin was cloned, probably by the company, though maybe as a side effect of them using untested technology, and Clone!Hyojin (now known as C!Hyojin) became corrupted as part of the process went wrong.

[Picture: Blurry picture of C!Hyojin taking off the silver mask, overlayed by green text that says, among other things “cloning” in full capital letters.]

We know the technology they were using was unfinished because E-tion writes about it in signal clue #9 as well. We also know that E-tion is carrying with him a USB called “storage of ONF”, we don’t know for sure what it contains but it might be their original memories. This is what I managed to decipher from the text.

“We came to know the matter of illegal chips (...) (entered) the laboratory secretly, and tried to do Time Warp by (stealing?) illegal chips in an unfinished (state). And (...) warp repeatedly (because, …) (illegal) chips and felt (human) (before), he started (recording).”

[Picture: A sort of collage with pictures of all the members, including the two Hyojin pictures and the text described above.]

After C!Hyojin gets corrupted, we see him literally eliminate U1!Hyojin from existence. J-Us learns about this, and looks for him to confront him, and although we don’t see it happening, we have every reason to believe J-Us is dead too. For one, we never see him fire the gun against C!Hyojin, and most importantly, he gets surrounded by C!Hyojin’s minions, so I think it’s safe to assume he did not make it to the new world. 

[Picture: Two picture collage. The first picture is of U1!Hyojin coming undone while C!Hyojin takes the mask off in front of him. The second picture is of J-Us standing in front of C!Hyojin’s army of masked people.]

There’s a few other things and questions I have about Why that we don’t get an explanation. Why was Wyatt in a tube? Why were E-tion and U fighting? How did MK get all his advanced technology to work in that abandoned building? As for Wyatt, I think he was either captured and put there, or he put himself there to escape his misery and then was woken up by the others. E-tion and U were probably fighting because it’s possible that E-tion wanted to stop U from doing something dangerous, him being the baby and all, but U did not want to be treated like that. MK’s shenanigans are the fruit of k-pop lore magic. In any case, with 4/6 making it to the new world, we are done with Universe 01.

Death count:

Hyojin 1

J-Us 1

Interlude: Were ONF humans?

This is perhaps one of the most complicated questions to answer in the theory. We don’t get any clues that they could have been humans before being turned into androids until we see the text in signal clue #3, which I’ve copied to the best of my abilities here:

“They were originally (...) Humans made their memories digitalized as they evolved and then they got into Android like (...) such evolved case. But, they became Android, and (...) was only remaining in records but their feelings disappeared.

Meanwhile (...) hacker (...) came to know the secret too late, visited the vast (...) with the Multiverse like multiple universe and did hacking (...) to deliver the illegal chip online in order to look for them (...).

A person who first found its clue left the secret place (...) who maintained a close relationship to him. He wandered (...) in Multiverse (...) its trace. Two got together in the end, but there was not much time left to him.”

[Picture: Teaser from which the text detailed above was obtained.]

We also get a couple more references to it in BB and Popping. In the News program in BB we get a text that says “(...) machines and become the humanoid.”. In the Making Film for Popping, Wyatt says that the heart projected onto his chest is because he’s hesitant about choosing between being human or robot. So it is very, very likely that ONF voluntarily turned themselves into androids in order to be able to take care of Earth while humans returned, and then they were used by their company until they decided they didn’t want that anymore. It’s definitely a plot point that I feel should be explored more.

Universe 02: Parallel World - Dream (Sukhumvit Swimming)

In one of the social media teasers for Sukhumvit Swimming (SS), we see the phrase “Parallel World: dream”, so it is quite possible that everything happening in SS is a dream, and if so, it’s very likely a dream from the characters in Popping. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not a reality itself. I remember seeing a video of a person explaining that their dream-self had a separate memory of events that happened in their dreams, and while wild-sounding, I don’t see why the characters wouldn’t be able to dream of other dimensions. 

Even the director of Popping kind of confirms that Wyatt has nightmares about C!Hyojin about how he killed them all in other MVs, so it’s entirely possible one version of the boys might be dreaming about other versions of themselves. It also makes sense for this to happen, since The Cube is now active and all that.

[Picture: Social media teaser taken from instagram, the description contains the phrase “Parallel World: dream”, as stated before.]

We don’t have very clear context of what’s happening during SS, however, the visuals lead me to believe that this is what would have happened to Earth had the humans not left to try and save it. I like to imagine that in this universe, they stayed and brought upon the end of the world. Androids still got developed, but they got very different jobs. J-Us here is like a sheriff / policeman. I don’t remember the name of Wyatt’s cart but it’s like a space-time traveling taxi. E-tion was sent to explore other planets. Hyojin and MK went rogue, one holding people as time hostages while the other is a pirate. And U… well he’s in a party?

Through the video we see, mostly, very destroyed and rundown cities. In fact, towards the end we see Wyatt sitting in his little cart just watching everything being blown to smithereens. In another shot, we see E-tion contemplating the end of the world as spaceships fly away from Earth, so it’s very likely that U2’s Earth is as good as gone. 

[Picture: Two picture collage. The first picture has E-tion sitting on a small planet, facing the camera while behind him explosions go off over the Earth. The second picture features Wyatt sitting in his little cart while he watches over the very destroyed city.]

There’s also the very obvious storyline between Hyojin and J-Us. One being a criminal and the other law enforcement, they eventually end up facing each other, with J-Us emerging victorious at the cost of Hyojin’s life. There is one scene where we see Hyojin’s death being reversed,so I think it was just J-Us trying to find another solution that wasn’t killing him, yet they still end up like right at the beginning with the train, so I don’t think there was another solution. It’s almost a time loop, if you will.

[Picture: Screenshot taken from Sukhumvit Swimming. The camera is on the floor, we can see J-Us’s blurry boots in the front as Hyojin falls in the background, defeated.]

Now we’re faced with the glaring question of… why was everyone dead around J-Us at the end of the video while he held Hyojin? Well, remember this universe is parallel to another, it’s in the teasers. We don’t get to see how they die, other than Hyojin, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t dead. It’s very likely that they died at the end of the world, but despite the lack of information, we can’t ignore the obvious.

[Picture: Screenshot taken from Sukhumvit Swimmin of J-Us holding onto Hyojin’s body while the rest of the members lay around him.]

Death count:

Hyojin 2

J-Us 1

E-tion 1

Wyatt 1

MK 1

U 1

Universe 03: Back to the ice-age (Popping)

Popping is absolutely one of my favorite title tracks and also one of the MVs that makes me the saddest because of their fabulous acting (Hyojin’s expression as the debris and the missile head towards his spaceship???? Priceless). It’s also like, the one MV that can stand alone almost perfectly, and it’s the complementary dimension to the one in SS (the connection between the two was confirmed in the MV Making Film).

I fully believe most, if not all of them are human throughout this MV, except perhaps for U, who we see leaving the spaceship without a suit. We know the possibility of androids existed in this universe, because like mentioned before, Wyatt explains in the Making Film how he has a scene where he debates between remaining human and becoming an android, so it’s likely U chose to become an android. His code being the only one shown in the MV is a good supporting detail of this. 

[Picture: Screenshot taken from Popping. Wyatt is working on a computer and behind him is a door that features U’s code: YO-425-83.]

In this MV, all of them went to school together to become astronauts and do research at space stations. However, it is very likely that they either discovered something they shouldn’t have, or they became C!Hyojin’s target simply by existing (since it’s still unclear if C!Hyojin is employed by someone or not). Either way, the robot-cops we later see again in BB and GB come looking for them, and U decides to sacrifice himself to save the others. 

[Picture: Screenshot taken from Popping. U stands outside the space ship, holding a detonator as he is surrounded by the robocops from Beautiful Beautiful and Goosebumps.]

Meanwhile, the others are preparing to send J-Us and MK away with the information or whatever research they were doing, since they are targets now. J-Us makes it out alive and arrives at an ice planet. MK isn’t so lucky. As he’s preparing to leave, a missile destroys his spaceship, with another moving very rapidly towards where Hyojin, Wyatt and E-tion are left. The missile doesn’t collide with the main room, so they have a few more minutes of life until C!Hyojin arrives and finishes them off (as confirmed by the MV director of GB).

[Picture: Three picture collage. The first picture shows a missile coming towards MK’s space ship. The second picture shows Hyojin watching MK’s ship explode as a different missile heads towards him. The third picture shows C!Hyojin coming in through the same door U left before.]

J-Us is left alone on the ice planet with the camera MK used to record with. It’s unclear if the camera contained all the important information they were probably trying to protect or just the memories of their days together. Either way, J-Us is left looking longingly at the spaceship he arrived in, which, curiously enough, has the same logo we later see in GB.

[Picture: Screenshot taken from Popping of J-Us holding MK’s camera as he stands in the ice planet.]

Death count:

Hyojin 3

J-Us 1

E-tion 2

Wyatt 2

MK 2

U 2

Universe 04: The questionable one (Beautiful Beautiful & Goosebumps???)

Here is when you can start accusing me of just speaking nonsense because even I am not sure about this part of the theory. As I said before, BB could perfectly happen before Why, if it wasn’t for a few glaring details that just make it feel like too much of a reach. BB and GB have a very similar feel to them in terms of aesthetic and how advanced the society seems in both videos, so until proven otherwise, we’re going to assume they’re from the same universe.

There’s a few aspects that contribute to this point of the theory, for example the fact that they continue being chased, the existence of drones, the virtual city thing where the car was driving (which U is seen next to in GB so maybe he was driving it), and a few other details like that. So for now, we’ll assume it is the same Universe.

The entirety of BB is an operation to rescue J-Us from the police/government. In a social media teaser we discover he was arrested due to time travel, as it says “The time warp is possible, but the timeline has messed by past travels and classified as the first degree criminal.” Which is also part of the text we see in the news flashing through the MV. We have no idea why J-Us time traveled in this universe but I think it is not relevant for now.

[Picture: A teaser which includes several pictures of J-Us, with his code, SJ-777-77 on top of them. Under them is the text mentioned before and a bar code.]

All of ONF are a criminal hacking group, and they’re all wanted, but they manage to evade the police and rescue J-Us flawlessly. In the meantime, it seems like they were focused on hacking the entirety of the city to turn it into the City of ONF, which is why we see E-tion working on a machine that seems to be directly controlling The Cube. When he finishes, everything in the city is covered by the word “Beautiful”. 

[Picture: Three picture collage. The first picture features Hyojin and J-Us celebrating the latter’s rescue. The second picture is an organization map of ONF, it’s a bit blurry but it details their occupation as hackers. The third picture is E-tion standing in an alleyway with his fist raised towards The Cube covered in the word Beautiful.]

After this, they have naturally become the most wanted criminals, because why wouldn’t they. Unfortunately for them, C!Hyojin has also made it into this universe, and once again he goes directly for U4!Hyojin. We can’t fully confirm he’s dead, but we do see him falling to the nothingness after breaking through glass so it is very safe to assume that C!Hyojin just pushed him off a building.

[Picture: Two picture collage, the first picture shows U4!Hyojin falling from a broken window while the second picture shows C!Hyojin staring as glass flies around him.]

It would also be worth noting that U4!Wyatt is having dreams with C!Hyojin, as confirmed by the director in the MV Making. Another fun detail from this is that we get to see U2!E-tion again, as he looks to the camera with a drone right behind him. This might explain his death in SS. 

[Picture: Two picture collage. The first picture shows U4!Wyatt surrounded by 4 C!Hyojins holding guns at him. The second picture is U2!E-tion staring at the camera as a drone looms behind him.]

At the end of the music video, we see The Cube being connected to some sort of machine and turning orange. This is very important because before now, The Cube has always been by itself, floating in the sky and acting as a sort of door between universes. It being connected to something means that someone is probably trying to control its potential powers, and I would bet for C!Hyojin or whoever is behind him, if there is someone.

[Picture: Screenshot taken from Goosebumps of The Cube hooked unto a machine and turned orange.]

Death count:

Hyojin 4???

J-Us 1

E-tion 2

Wyatt 2

MK 2

U 2

Conclusions

I’m not sure there is a sensible way to conclude this theory because honestly, what even is going on? For now, I’ll try to summarize it in a few points:

There is a blood-thirsty clone of U1!Hyojin running around THROUGH universes killing as many versions as he can for a purpose we don’t know.

It seems that it is possible for one version to have access to memories of other versions.

Androids in this story are created by inserting memories of actual humans into robot bodies.

Someone or something might be trying to control The Cube for their own benefit.

As always, thank you so much for reading through this theory. If you would like to discuss it with me, or if you have questions, leave a comment or send me a DM or an ask. I’ll be sure to answer! And don’t forget to check my pinned for my other k-pop theories!

[loisfreakinglane]

dollhouse + pretty little liars?

omg thank you lol forgive me if my pll knowledge is VERY VERY SPOTTY

dollhouse

Favorite Male Character- tony. hes not a contender but its shocking to be able to say topher has such a good arc and gives me emotions even tho i spend like all of s1 writing him off as a sassy dipshit asshole

Favorite Female Character- PRIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Least Favorite Character- is it cheating to say nolan lmao idgaf i’m still saying nolan

Favorite Ship- PRIYA/TONYYYYYYYYY top tier otp for all time the only ship besides westallen that makes me believe in soulmates

Favorite Friendship- uhhhhhhh i mean. the pOTENTIAL of the trio we could have had in a world we got more than 2 seasons, with echo/priya/tony doing their charlies angel shenanigans

Favorite Quote- no matter who i am, no matter what they put in my skull, i always remember you

Worst Character Death (if any)- why was janina the first one to die in epitaph one what kind of bullshit garbage ass trash was that????? also bennetts death was. annoying

This made me so happy you have no idea Moment- when we found out mellie was an active and she beat the shit out of whatshisface!!!!!! also when priya told t tony was his dad

Saddest Moment- ‘you were supposed to help me’. also when paul found out mellie was an active.

Favorite Location- the dollhouse is a really cool contained set i want to know moooooore about it

pretty little liars

Favorite Male Character- lmao this show is not exactly well known for amazing men but i wound up loving caleb

Favorite Female Character- ITS SO HARD BC I LOVE THEM ALL but mona is my favest!!!!!!! then like hanna then emily then spencer

Least Favorite Character- is ezra in prison yet

Favorite Ship- emily/maya is an otp for me i love them SO MUCH but i am also forever here for hanna/caleb- anddddddd also hanna/emily and hanna/mona

Favorite Friendship- MY PLL OT4 BABIES hanna/emily/spencer/aria they’re the mostest

Favorite Quote- 'oh honey, that was like two personalities ago’

Worst Character Death (if any)- still mad forever that maya didn’t get a random resurrection like everybody else. never forgive never forget

This made me so happy you have no idea Moment- THAT EPISODE WHERE THE GIRLS WERE FIGHTING THE WHOLE TIME AND THEN THERE WAS THE REVEAL THAT THEY WERE JUST FAKE FIGHTING TO GET ONE OVER ON A like i know they did this twice and probably more times i’m not remembering but i’m specifically thinking of the s2 one like this episode was right next to the first secret episode and that one two episode punch is my happy place

Saddest Moment- lmao when did i NOT cry. but like when maya died

Favorite Location- uhhhhhh is it horribly creepy of me to say the dollhouse? god i wish the fallout from that had been treated more seriously bc it was terrifyingly fascinating at the time

[spacecharr]

Why I’m Not Threatened By Old Men

A (high) treatise on why young women shouldn't be afraid of all old men.

Written by a (high) young bi woman of colour.

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Lemme start by saying I wrote that title because I thought it would be clickbaity. And I wrote the subtitle like that because I'm being "funny" and I anticipate it will generate trolling. My popcorn is getting cold, and I want a show.

And incidentally, it's all true.

Because this is SpaceCharr pontificating on #authenticity and weed, son!

My local Starbucks is small, has a tiny little patio, limited seating and serves a wildly diverse customer base. From your Basic Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte Bitch(TM) to uniformed police, from sharply dressed businessmen to soccer moms with three kids and a Burberry purse, from punk-rock loud and proud visibly LGBTQ folks to button-down sweater-vest old-schoolers, and from local college kids to retired old men.

It’s fascinating to see the crazy range of people and it makes for eavesdropping lazily on some hilarious (and sometimes very serious) conversations ranging all over the place.

And for some reason, I have a really really easy time getting old white men to talk to me. 

Lemme lay some context: I’m a friendly gal. I’m sociable, (I’ve been told) charming, easy going, and very casual. I remember in elementary being given feedback by my teachers that I was “unapproachable”, and they were worried I would have difficulty making friends. From junior high on, I purposefully (after much coaching from my parents and my mom especially) sought out opportunities to learn better social skills. As an only kid, I didn’t have any siblings to be guaranteed friends with, and my relationship with my extended family was spotty at best. 

So if I wanted friends, I knew I’d have to get them on my own. (Troll Note: I know some dipshit’s gonna be all “omg sure #thathappened. Like a grade schooler can know that” - and you’re right! Grade like, 3-6 me had no fuckin’ clue. But 20s me? Who’s gone through a bunch of psychotherapy? Now she knows a bit more)

I learned interpersonal skills. I did drama, I joined clubs, I did Toastmasters (fuckin’ fantastic, btw, look for your local chapter), and I even did the Dale Carnegie Interpersonal Skills course that’s based off How to Win Friends and Influence People (1000% recommend, A+ on how to be a decent human despite its manipulative-sounding title which is brilliant). I learned how to be a more approachable person - and I learned why people find it approachable.

I saw the difference in how people received me when I spoke formally versus when I spoke in a very familiar tone (”hello” vs “hey, hey!”). I noticed that I could easily put the people I was dealing with off-balance in a good way (relieved surprise) with humour and well-meant self-deprecation. I learned through trial and error what body language and touch cues elicited in terms of responses across various types of people. It became second nature for me to analyse and act on these, and my knowledge of these techniques helps me daily in my work as a consultant.

So now, after several years in the workforce, multiple significant life events (aka I’m relatively old), and more overall life experience, I’m often described by my coworkers and friends as “very friendly and often happy”. Of course, according my sibling-like co-scoundrels in my cube farm, I am “disgustingly upbeat” - but they say it with love because they know I’ll tease them relentlessly, too.

I have found over the years that I have actually changed down to the core of that grade school girl. I’ve gone from a kid who struggled to make friends and who was seen as unapproachable, to a person who can very quickly establish good rapport. 

(side note: holy fuck I just realized I went from Dandere to Deredere... I’m a fuckin’ anime side character, shit)

Kind of the best example of what I mean is an interaction I had with a new massage therapist at this place I had a gift card for. That is to say, a complete and total stranger whom I had never interacted with or seen in the past. The shop I was at had you wait in the reception area with the receptionist until the RMT came to get you. So this dude came out to meet me, introduced himself and we chatted easily for a bit. After not even a minute of us chatting, he and I were laughing together and shared an easy chemistry. The receptionist - remember, who’d been there when the RMT and I introduced ourselves for the first time - then asked me “oh, are you two old friends?” to which he and I laughed and said “no, we’re just friendly”.

Anyways - that’s the context.

I’m a friendly gal. Sociable, a bit charming, easy going, and easily able to manipulate her own behaviours in order to make the other person feel more comfortable.

In Harry Potter-code: I’m a Slytherin who can play a Hufflepuff, but only because it gets me what I want - your cooperation and rapport - more easily. However, I also do genuinely mean those nice Hufflepuff-like actions - just, there’s an ulterior motive attached.

I’m also young, and obviously with South Pacific Islander blood in me (exotic features - I’ve been told I’d be cast in Miss Saigon if they ever did a musical in my city - I took it as as compliment, since I’m friends with the old white dude who told me that and he did mean it as a compliment).

Let’s put this together:

Exotic, tan-skinned young woman

Chatty, friendly, skilled at making people feel comfortable

Can make someone feel like an old friend

Easily self-deprecating and humourous

In a Starbucks with chatty retired old dudes and a lot of shared seating

Can anyone else see why my title makes more sense? (Legit, I am high, so if it doesn’t make sense, that makes sense)

Lemme spell it out for you bois: I’m an old perverted white man’s wet dream.

(yes, I’ve been told such to my face; yes, I believe from experience that most of the people who won’t believe me are straight young men - not out of malice, I think, but out of a belief that people aren’t that bad [not that old men finding young women attractive is bad - acting on it in certain ways however, can be]).

I’ve worked out of the Starbucks I mentioned several times in the past. As a consultant, I have a measure of flexibility in my schedule and I find I work best on some of my problem solving and documentation work when I’m out of the office. The change of scenery and the need to shut out the environment to “see” my work helps me - plus I don’t get drawn into the co-scoundrel shenanigans.

And I’m not kidding you - 8/10 times that I go there, I make a new old white man friend. Even the bi dude I met (srsly, it feels like since I made the decision to be openly out, I’m meeting more and more bi people everywhere when before there was nobody) was an old white dude.

I fuckin’ love it.

I am a young, bi woman of colour who loves having old white man friends. 

Because they’re just as chill, non-judgemental, self-deprecating, sociable, and easy-going as I am. And they appreciate my dad jokes and bi puns. Seriously. Dads everywhere - we all secretly love your jokes.

And, y’know what? I think more young women - LGBTQ or not, PoC or not - should want to have old white dudes as friends. 

INB4 tumblrinas: I don’t mean resurrect Hitler and be his gal pal. I mean don’t dismiss a possible friend just because they’re old, white, and have a dick. Use your brain - not every human is good, but likewise, not every human is bad. We come in shades in all ways.

I won’t tell you what to do, because I don’t know. What I want to share with you is why I feel the way I do. And let you do what you will with it - because I’m not interested in changing your mind. I’m interesting in trading stories and adventures - and understanding more about each other through that exchange.

Here’s why I love being open to talking to old white dudes:

Dad jokes. I’m not kidding. I love Dad Jokes.

They’re often past the point of giving a shit about society, so if you have a genuine, good-natured conversation about your point of view, chances as they won’t give a shit as long as you’re happy and no one’s dying.

They have amazing stories. I can’t tell you the number of times a new friend of mine has launched into crazy tales of things they got up to when they were younger.

They have great advice. Often, they’ve made some pretty bad mistakes. And they’re all too happy to share their lessons and spare someone else the trouble.

They often just want a chat. They don’t need a new friend, they don’t want your number, they just want a lively conversation with someone who isn’t gonna call the cops on them.

It’s so freakin’ easy to make their day and make them smile. And the genuine surprise when they find a young chickie they’ve no doubt had to weigh the pros-and-cons of talking to, who is easy-going and as happy to make their acquaintance as they are hers? It’s so cute. Old man smiles are so cute.

They respect you for being unapologetically who you are. They know that they’ve invited themselves into a talk with you - and they’re willing to carry and/or exit that talk if they find you being openly yourself. (which means if “yourself” is a fuckwit, they’ll just drop you if they know what’s good for ‘em; but then you’re just a fuckwit in Starbucks)

I guess for more location context, I should add that I live in Canada; it’s not an uncommon occurrence here for spontaneous conversations to happen. It might be more rare in other places, though. My city is also quite progressive and has a fairly active and supported LGBTQ scene.

All this said, it’s just a really nice experience in my mind to have good relationships (passing conversations, spontaneous coffee clubs, casual friendships, or more serious friendships) with old dudes as a young woman.

It’s like having a legion of second father figures, or uncles, more accurately fun drunkles, and older brothers. 

I enjoy several significant friendships with old dudes:

I go for coffee almost every week with two white old dudes and a dudette (I’d say “old” but she’d punch me out): our conversations range from politics to wood relationships to name calling to sibling-like teasing.

I have three co-scoundrels at work that I’m close friends with, all are old men. None are in a position to help me with anything at work, but damn are they hilarious and they’re a ready Friday-afternoon morale boost with their antics.

I have a very close old Japanese-Canadian friend. We have a complicated and somewhat tense relationship, but ultimately I think it can be said that we have a certain platonic love for each other. Though we don’t speak frequently, we’re both very significant to the other. He was my taiko instructor.

I have another very close relationship with one of my long-standing old dude friends. He’s known me since I was 9. A single hug from this man can stop an anxiety attack in its tracks. We kiss each other on the cheek and like to weird out the ladies at Starbucks when we go there with each other by holding hands - we’re both Slytherin trolls.

Don’t forget the OG Old Guy: my proper Old Man. My papa. Our relationship was strained by my mother’s unhealthy approach to all her familial relations during my early years. But as I’ve moved out, gotten older, and gained more life experience, it feels like my dad is finally realizing I’m not a little girl anymore - that I’m a woman, with woman needs, woman wants, and woman expectations and behaviours. We don’t talk about all things, naturally, he’s still my dad. But I can’t tell you how great it feels to have a dad who I know has my back no matter what.

I feel like there’s a certain conditioning for young women to “fear” the “old white man”. Certainly for me in particular it feels like there’s lots of factors in play: my “tropical” ethnicity, my youth, my LGBTQ nature (still haven’t been asked for a threesome as a bi woman - I’m impressed with my city), and, naturally, my gender.

While I do know that those are all things that certainly do warrant a certain amount of wariness around strangers (old in my neighborhoods usually means highly conservative about, depending on the age of said person, “the immigrants” or “the non-whites”. Age from young-old to old-ass-old. They’re a product of their time.), I also think it’s vital not to let that wariness get in the way of making a possible new friend.

Anyways, I need to wrap this up.

How does this loop back into #authenticity and weed? Well, it’s been my experience that the old (white + some Asians, in my case) dude friends that I’ve made are some of the best people to help you be yourself.

They have anecdotes to illustrate benefits, cons, risks, and rewards; they have dad jokes and puns to bring some much-needed levity; they don’t give a fuck about the other Starbucks goers - for better or for worse; and they - just like you - just wanna have a good day and be able to be themselves.

Does this apply to every old man? No. Does it not apply to every old man? No.

If you’ve read this far, you have the brain capacity necessary to give someone a chance. Now, you’ll wanna do some preparation if this is nearing your max capacity, because you wanna make sure you’re not letting the wrong old man come talk to you all friendly-like. 

But once you find one who’s just a swell dude? Cut ‘im some slack, maybe remember that he’s struggling to speak your vocabulary as much as you’re struggling to understand his. 

Sit back, drink some coffee, smoke a joint, and share a story once in a while.

Anyways. That’s been SpaceCharr Pontificating.

Cheers, buds.

Stoner note:  My hand rolling’s gotten so much better. And the weed I have doesn’t seem to smell as strongly as the pre-roll I had that one time, so I might sesh in the park at some point. I have my inaugural shroom trip this weekend - bestie agreed to tripsit! Yay! And she’s bringing the whole Planet Earth HD collection! - so it might not be for a while. I want to give the experience the attention it deserves, plus I need to establish a clean baseline to experiment accurately with microdosing.