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theamityelf · 5 months ago

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I’ve been thinking of talent swap AUs and I was wondering if there were any talents you would like to see Makoto have? And like if that varies from ship to ship? Like way back you have that post of different Makoto soulmate AUs with different ships, so that but with talent swaps.

On the top of my head, an Ultimate Neuroscientist Makoto would be interested with Hineagi or Kamuegi. Like Makoto is a minute replacement on the Kamukura project and either encounters pre-op Hajime (and maybe tries to save Hajime’s memories along with giving him talents I don’t know) OR meets Kamukura (and it’s the classic treats Izuru as a human rather than an experiment tropes but Makoto is a scientist here)

Oooh, first of all, there's one relevant post I made a little bit ago where I said that Ultimate Rule-Breaker would be a cool fit for him, since we know he will defy the establishment to protect other people.

But your specific idea of matching it to specific ships like in my soulmate AU's post is really cool, so let's give it a try, lol! I don't want to threaten his just-a-guy-ness, but it could be cool to try to use the alternate ultimate to lean into certain particular dynamics of each ship. It really seems to come down to "Is it more fun to do opposites or to coordinate?"

Kamuegi:

Here, I really want to retain the sense of "He isn't super skilled; he's just a really decent guy." A part of me wants to go "Ultimate Therapist" or somewhere in that ballpark, specifically because it justifies Hope's Peak's scientists having arranged for them to be around each other, but I think it's a little important to me that he's not a therapist. It feels like it takes away from his Power of Friendship thing if he's a therapist. Not knocking therapy! It's just maybe not best for the ship. I think the best thing he can offer Izuru is an appreciation for the world around him, so something like "Ultimate Bird-Watcher", like in that other post, or "Ultimate Stargazer," or just something in the ballpark of "person whose skill comes from enjoying things and dedicating himself to that enjoyment". Canon Makoto seems to more have that with people, but for this AU, I think the highly social aspect of Makoto's personality can receive less emphasis. I think for now I'm going to go with "Ultimate Storm-Chaser", because that combines a few cool things. It's an enjoyment of the natural world, it's a kind of wild side that we don't usually get to see a lot from Makoto, it characterizes the whole Naegi family in a pretty fun way (like, I'm just picturing them in a station wagon or van, following storms since Makoto and Komaru were little kids), and it's a thing where Makoto's clumsiness and Izuru's protection can put them in cool situations. And Makoto can still get some heroics in, saving people who are in the path of natural disasters. (I'm picturing the standard screaming child in a disaster movie.)

Naegami:

Oh boy, where to start for this one? I'm not going to act like Ultimate Secretary didn't cross my mind first, but I think the appeal of AU's where he actually becomes Byakuya's secretary isn't usually the idea that he'll be superhumanly good at it. Next, the idea of them being placed at odds by their titles comes to mind. Like, maybe the Togami Corporation is up to some harmful practices and Makoto is the Ultimate Environmentalist, or the Ultimate Activist, and he tries to appeal to Byakuya's better nature, and also it's really funny to think "The Ultimate Environmentalist saves the planet by accidentally romancing the most influential CEO." Boy, I started this point planning to say "but instead", but now I've kind of talked myself into this one. I think I like this dynamic?? Makoto just trying to reason with him, Byakuya reading him as some wide-eyed idealist at first, but Makoto is able to parry everything he says, and they have a Vibe, and then they're dating, and Byakuya really likes him, but if he actually makes the changes that Makoto is passionate about, he's worried Makoto will leave him because a part of him has thought that Makoto was just using him the whole time.

(Also, hey, it's me from after I finished the rest of this post. Yeah, the answer I give for Naezono also applies here.)

Naegiri:

I am pretty charmed by the idea of him being something that stands at odds with Ultimate Detective, like Ultimate Accomplice (and there are a lot of ways he could be someone who deliberately or accidentally keeps people from getting in trouble while she's trying to find out the truth no matter what), but it seems more aligned with the spirit of the ship if he gets something that pairs well with detective, like "Ultimate Lip-Reader". That one would probably involve a lot of him tagging along on the field with her, offering his thoughts and insights and telling her what people are saying in silent security footage. Alternatively, any Ultimate where she's doing the field work as a detective and he's doing the office and/or people-facing side is cool, so "Ultimate Secretary" would actually be pretty great for this ship. (That one fic, Smile at the Mouth of Despair, had him doing file work and stuff, and I kind of love that; it's what I'm visualizing for this point. I like him sorting files and taking calls.)

Komaegi:

Is "Ultimate Friend" cheating? Yeah, that's cheating. I kind of like Ultimate Survivalist, maybe, where people expect him to be really strong and cool, but he's just a somewhat clumsy little guy who just happens to regularly dodge heavy projectiles and happen to have the exact thing he needs in his backpack. (This could include him knowing aikido, since we all love Aikido Makoto, lol.) The way this would intersect with Nagito is, in any given plane crash or house fire or explosion, Makoto theoretically should be safe and able to help Nagito out. I say theoretically because there is a part of me that thinks Nagito's luck would have to kill the Ultimate Survivalist. I don't always subscribe to the theory that his luck does the least likely thing (whether it's good or bad), but I do think that an Ultimate Survivalist, even if the talent works exactly like Makoto's normal luck, would be tempting fate just by being called that.

Honestly, while I said that the highly social aspect of Makoto's character didn't need to be emphasized for Izuru, I feel it definitely does for Nagito, hence the "Ultimate Friend" idea. But I'm thinking maybe a service role that Makoto can have a decidedly healthy approach to, like Ultimate Barista? Is there a word for someone who picks up litter? Because I love the idea of Makoto's Ultimate being focused on cleaning up after people, but him having an overall more generous and friendly outlook on them than Nagito. Maybe Makoto is the Ultimate Custodian, and a lot of people expect him to resent people who drop trash, but he's more, "I'm glad I can help out. Sometimes people are busy or make mistakes, and I'm glad I can keep our shared spaces clean. I meet a lot of interesting people! For example..."

A talent that positions him to know when something's off with Nagito even if he doesn't say anything, like "Ultimate Body Language Expert", would theoretically be cool, because it would allow for Makoto to comfort him when he really needs it, but that also feels a little bit like cheating, lol.

(Him being the Lucky Student, Ultimate Hope, or talentless honestly work best for Nagito, in my opinion, but these are still fun dynamics to explore.)

Naenami:

Oooh, maybe Ultimate Game-Breaker? This is kind of a fusion of bad luck and gamer, where he will reliably find the bug in any game always. Maybe too similar. I think what I'm picturing for them right now is Makoto having a YouTube channel or Twitch channel where he talks about stuff he likes. Like, maybe a CinemaWins kind of thing, but unscripted, where he's actually rambling to the camera. That way, we get a dynamic where Chiaki makes Let's Plays and Makoto makes just general positive vlog content. They try out a new game together, and Makoto is raving about how cool it is and Chiaki's like, "It's fun. The crafting mechanic is a little buggy, and they didn't really integrate it into any storyline. Yeah, it's a pretty good new release." I'm going to say he mostly vlogs, so I can call him Ultimate Positivity Vlogger instead of having to find a way word all of that in one Ultimate title, lol.

Naezono:

Ultimate Stage Hand or Light Technician could be fun. Maybe Ultimate Celebrity Interviewer, and they have one conversation that is just so incredible that she never stops thinking about it. He has a way of really making the people he interviews feel seen and cared about, and that's just so unusual in the entertainment industry that Sayaka falls head over heels. (He doesn't know he has this effect.)

Naekusaba:

Ooh, I'm feeling something in the ballpark of Ultimate Bookkeeper, or just any collection-type Ultimate. Something unassuming in the eyes of pretty much everyone. Here's why: Making him a passionate collector of [something] means we can have Mukuro often shyly gifting him one of [that thing] that she found while she was out doing soldier stuff. He gets to nervously ask, "You didn't kill someone for that, did you?" and she gets to lie, "No, I bought it," or "No, I found it." Also, it means maybe one day Mukuro knocks on his door bleeding, injured, with nowhere else to go, being followed by enemies, and Makoto hides her in his home which is full of collected things and enemy soldiers show up at his house like "Have you seen [description of Mukuro]?" and he's like, "No, I'm here alone. No one's been here." And the enemy soldiers barge in anyway to search the place, but in all his collected things, they can't find Mukuro, so they leave and he brings her some food and water and does his best to bandage her up (or she just stitches up her own wound), and she notices that he has a little bruise or scratch from when the enemy soldiers pushed him aside to search the place, and she's so sorry she brought danger to his door.

Naejunko:

I think Ultimate Hope is already perfect for that one. Alternatively, though, something like "Ultimate World Ender" or some similar thing positioning him as potentially usable to her. It would follow the same rules as "Ultimate Rule-Breaker", though, where the whole point is that he prioritizes others' wellbeing over any establishment, so it would be a situation where Junko tries to make use of his talent for destroying organizations from within (because that's the essence of his talent, here; he's really good at dismantling organizations), but it doesn't work because he's not just out there destroying things; his priority is to help people, and he was titled the way he was because those running the establishments that do harm were seeing him from their own perspectives. Junko can't get the Ultimate World Ender (or whatever else his title is) to end the world, and he's actually a pretty big inconvenience for her.

Or "Ultimate Barista" again. She's talking about her despair plans with Mukuro in some cafe, and Makoto brings them their coffee or tea, like, "Are you guys writing a book?" and casually weighs in on "plot elements" that interest or confuse him, accidentally helping Junko make her plan better. She keeps inviting him to their table for more artistic feedback, and he's having a great time talking with them. They become regulars, and he memorizes Mukuro's order and, even though Junko always orders something different, he seems to somehow intuit the kinds of flavors she enjoys and makes great recommendations. She's in love.

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artificial-transmutations · 1 year ago

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Peace and Love

The rain that had covered the city ruins during the last few days had ended an hour ago. Still, Misha didn't feel good walking through the bombed out place. The sky was still gray and dark, always ready to unload a new shower of rain water on them.

Usually, Misha liked the rain, since it always had a cleaning aspect to it, washing away the dirt and making way for new sunshine. However, that had changed when he had been drafted and sent into this country on the whim of the president, an old man with an unhealthy appetite for neighboring countries' soil.

At the beginning, Misha believed all the lies they had been told, about how evil this countries government was and that they needed to liberate the people here. It had been quite a surprise when said people had little interest in being liberated and instead fought back with all they had.

It should have been a short war, not even a real war, that's what they said. Now, it has already been well over one year since they invaded.

Misha sighed. He knew that, secretly, many of the other soldiers thought the same way, but nobody dared to say anything.

The other man he was on patrol with, for example. His name was Sergey, and Misha knew that he had left a girlfriend at home when he was drafted for this war. Although Sergey didn't talk too much about it, Misha knew she had broken up with him by now. He had no idea how Sergey knew, since they weren't allowed to use phones, but such news didn't do much to raise the poisoned mood of the soldiers.

In that regard, Misha was lucky. The only woman he left at home was his mother, since he was "between girlfriends" currently. Truth be told, he just wasn't very good in taking to girls. Not that it mattered, anyway, because right now, he was mainly in the company of men.

There had been rumors about some of the invading soldiers seeking release with the local girls, against their will even. Misha refused to believe that, and he was pretty sure it couldn't have been anyone from his unit: Although or perhaps even because they were all real men, Misha was sure none of them would do something like that.

In other units, though, Misha wasn't quite so sure if he was being honest. There were some pretty big assholes in the army - a character trait that curiously often coincided with the firm belief in what they were doing out here.

"Do you think it will end soon? That damned war, I mean."

Misha's thoughts were interrupted by Sergey's voice. As usual, the other man sounded borderline depressed.

It made no sense to lie, so Misha shook his head. "Not until the old man dies."

Instinctively, Misha looked around. Thankfully, there wasn't anyone else here. He should not have said that! If Sergey told anyone, he would be shot!

"Hah. You're brave." Sergey said, himself looking around, before continuing in a lower voice.

"But I agree. All of that is just so... wrong."

If Sergey was testing him, he was very convincing. It did feel good to be able to speak his heart for a change, so Misha nodded.

"Yeah. What are we even doing here? I'm tired of fighting, and this whole war is not justified at all."

Sergey turned to a more secluded alley, away from potential eyes and ears that could hear their highly treacherous conversation. When he was sure that nobody could see or hear them, he stopped and lit a cigarette and regarded Misha with a long look.

"Did you ever think about just... you know... Not fighting anymore? Just going away?" he asked, carefully.

Whoa, this was dangerous talk indeed. Misha almost whispered, when he replied:

"You mean like - deserting?"

Sergey nodded. "I've been thinking about it for some time now. I just don't want to do this anymore. All this destruction and killing and violence. And all that for a cause I don't believe in. The old man is not only destroying the lives of the people here, but also the lives of his own men, our lives. And you know what? I think he doesn't even care. Someone really should stand up to him and end this, but everyone is just afraid."

Misha needed a second to digest this, but he found himself agreeing whole heartedly. "I feel you, man! But who would do that? There's a reason everyone is afraid. He'll fucking kill you or your family."

Sergey sighed. There was no denying Misha was right, it wasn't like he hadn't had that thought himself.

"I know. And, you know, I don't care how, but I just don't want to do this anymore. I wish there would just be peace, and love."

Misha nodded sincerely. "Peace and love. That sounds wonderful."

It was a strange moment between the two soldiers, both tough men and raised in a culture of masculinity. Opening their hearts like that was something neither of them were used to do. All these emotions, all these wishes should be kept inside, at all cost. That was what was expected of them both. Yet, somehow, the sincere and pure wish, uttered from the bottom of Sergey's heart touched something inside of Misha, and resonated with his own tortured soul. He couldn't prevent it: A single tear rolled down his dirty cheek.

The thing about wishes is that they are powerful. While belief is able to move mountains, hope and wishes shape our live, from the start until the very end. Once a true and pure wish like that is out in the open, it cannot be contained anymore. Given the right moment in time and the right people around us, a wish like that can take root and bloom into something magnificent. Even in the darkest places and the most tortured souls, there is magic. Most often, you can't see it and the magic we shape by our hearts truest desires is subtle and works unseen. But there are those really rare times when the spark of the wish that ignites our magic is so strong, so deeply rooted, that the magic it unleashes is not a small and unseen trickle, but a flood, a force being able to change anything and everything, in the most spectacular of ways. This was one of those moments.

Misha was surprised to feel the other man's hand on his cheek, wiping away his tear. The touch was gentle and tender and didn't really fit to the tough man wearing uniform and carrying an assault rifle. When Misha looked up, he saw Sergey smiling, perhaps for the first time in all of the months they had known each other now.

Misha wanted to say something, anything really, but he couldn't. There was a lump in his throat and his feelings were going crazy. He had never noticed, but Sergey looked good when he smiled. Not just good, Sergey looked handsome, beautiful even. As much as he wanted to, Misha couldn't stop looking at Sergey's face. He did barely notice that he too was smiling. There was an unknown feeling in his stomach, making him feel weak and strong at the same time. He felt an attraction stronger than anything he had ever felt before, and he knew Sergey was experiencing something similar. The cigarette had been dropped to the ground carelessly, as the two men moved closer to each other. Sergey’s eyes were deep brown pools that sucked Misha in - so beautiful, and yet so close.

Misha did only notice how close they had gotten when their noses touched. He backed up half a centimeter, before he saw the smile on Sergey’s mouth showing a slight hint of amusement. Then it happened, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, as if it was a law of nature rather than something Misha was told was abhorrent. Their lips found each other, warm and soft and tender.

As Misha and Sergey kissed, the world around them was in motion. The ruined and wet concrete around them changed and became more aligned to the joy in their souls, as it gave way to the new reality they created together. In this place where violence and death reigned, love and peace took hold, and their surroundings became a home, filled with life and memories.

The dirt of the conflict on their skins washed away, along with their uniforms and tools of war, until they were as naked as the day they were born. But not even their bodies stayed the same. While Sergey became somewhat more massive, with bulging muscles and a slight layering of body fat, for Misha, it was the other way around. His features became more delicate, and a lean build formed on his body. While he retained a slight bit of body hair and a hint of stubble on his chin, it was nothing compared to Sergey, whose body bloomed with a dense pelt of dark hair. A short and attractive beard formed on his chin and tickled Misha while they made out passionately. Their naked erections rubbed together, already having accepted this new reality. As Misha's hair lightened up a bit, become a dark blond spiky cut, both of them knew in their heart that it was done. They had escaped the madness, together. They were at home and at peace. And, most importantly, they were loved. Misha loved his boyfriend, Sergey, and Sergey loved him. Finally, the sky had cleared up for them, and the future was bright.

I believe I should mention again that all characters and events in my stories are purely fictional. Inspiration however can come from the strangest things. I whish everyone the peace and love they really wish for!

This story also serves as a complementary piece to Army fantasies, since I felt it ended on a slightly unpleasant note, at least for some.

#male transformation #muscle transformation #straight to gay

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copperbadge · 1 year ago

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Sam, how did you find your therapist and build such a good working relationship? Every attempt I’ve made at therapy seems to fizzle out after a few months… and no therapist has ever understood the RSD aspect of my ADHD, which makes it all feel a little worse every time I try.

I mean, I think really we're still building it -- I haven't had her more than a couple of months and functionally it's been an every-two-weeks situation most of the time because we keep having to move/cancel. I don't know that I can really speak intelligently to building a relationship with a therapist because this is the first time I've ever done it where I was an adult and in control. As for finding one...

Chicago has a group called Clarity Clinic, which is like a WeWork for mental health professionals -- they offer scheduling, billing, and IT/office space to local people who I think are mostly independent operators otherwise. They have a directory that is highly filterable, so I found my psychiatrist there by filtering to stuff like Adult ADHD and medication management. He's great, but he didn't want to be my therapist and I didn't want him to. When I decided on therapy, I asked him if he knew anyone he could recommend, since he knew what my deal was in terms of personality, behavior, etc.

So he gave me a couple of names of fellow Clarity Clinic folks and I had a look on the website and chose the one that sounded like she'd get on best with me. I think I struck it lucky to be honest -- she's young (compared to me) and has ADHD, and she's very familiar with disability discourse, spoon theory, etc, even fandom to an extent. If I were to go looking today I might look more at therapists who specialize in twice-exceptional individuals, but she's good enough with what I'm aiming at that I don't want to change.

So the best advice I have is if you're being treated for other stuff by someone you trust I'd ask them, but also look for someone experienced with adult ADHD, and I'd look for someone on the younger side who's more likely to be understanding of neurodivergent needs. (I also recommend filtering to queer-friendly therapists if you can; I didn't necessarily need that but it means they're likely to be generally accepting and probably have more liberal politics. With the caveat that in shady places like BetterHealth, "LGBTQIA" counselors are sometimes homophobic creeps with an axe to grind.)

Building the relationship has taken proactivity on my part -- ensuring that I always have an appointment on the books (we book out about six weeks in advance now, because we know one of us will likely need to cancel/rebook at times), making sure that I have either an aim for treatment or at least something to talk about, etc. I think in your case probably having a list of things you want to deal with, so that you can check some boxes up top, might help.

I would definitely open with "I have ADHD and I need help with [aspects of that]; I also have RSD and I need to work with someone who respects that diagnosis and understands how to help with it." I went into mine saying "I have ADHD and I'm also struggling with some really big emotion, so I'm looking for help with those, but also like...I'm not really sure what therapy can offer. I've had some bad experiences in the past but they were all when I was a child, so I'm trying to explore some options." Her reaction was a combination of sympathy and a discussion of the kinds of things we might work on, which helped a great deal.

But yeah, I think it starts with establishing right from the jump what you want and need, and then spending time making sure that you both stay on top of that until you find a rhythm. We're still finding our rhythm, but it's getting easier as I'm learning to be clearer about what I want and more comfortable with being a participant instead of someone therapy just happens to.

#therapy #sam has adhd

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metanarrates · 1 year ago

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hi as someone who's been browsing your utena and ORV meta, please I'd love to hear your thoughts on villainess isekai

my off the cuff answer is that most people are not revolutionary leftists OR revolutionary feminists and therefore don't even think about those ideas, since current oppressive systems are the air they breathe. their concept of wish fulfillment only occurs within those systems, or ones that have a strong resemblance to existing systems (ie feudal european fantasy world where the protag is/becomes landed gentry.) sure, the character is still in the system, but she's at the top of the class system, and she has Special Qualities that render her somehow immune to patriarchal violence. that sort of thing is the only escapism a lot of people can imagine, since existing outside the system is, well, a revolutionary idea!

FURTHER ANALYSIS UNDER THE CUT:

under patriarchy, there exist only a few models of womanhood that are okay for women to relate to and aspire towards. obviously, this is a complex sociological concept and those models are not uniform for every society, or even every person's perception of that society, but those models do have a tendency to shape what women fantasize about. and literally every one of those models has the common feature of being subservient to men in some way. this is, again, because of patriarchy lol.

patriarchy also has this effect of presenting heterosexual love, romance, and reproduction as the ultimate way for a woman to find fulfillment. there are other acceptable avenues of fulfillment, but all of them are supposedly inferior to the fulfillment of having a man who loves you and wishes to protect you. this essentially has the effect of making it so most, if not all, of popular fantasies targeted to women end up also treating heterosexual romance as the ultimate path to fulfillment!

you've identified that power fantasies written for men tend to be about gaining, yknow, power. they get skills and Do Cool Things and also often gain hot chicks as a secondary aspect of wish fulfillment. power fantasies for women are often an inversion of this: the primary wish fulfillment is that of a hot guy who loves them, with any extra powers or skills or Stuff the main character gets acting as a secondary component to that fantasy. this reflects real life gender expectations, where men are meant to be career holders first and husbands second, and vice versa for women. and a Lot of this ties into what I was talking about earlier with both acceptable modeling and patriarchial romance standards.

you see, i have a theory in relation to escapist main characters. in a lot of other genres, it's somewhat acceptable that the main character of a story is not someone you have to 100% identify with. they can do socially unacceptable things and the story can still be very enjoyable to a vast audience. but when it comes to a character who functions more or less as an audience self-insert, the standards change entirely. an audience isn't usually quite as comfortable placing themself fully in the shoes of someone who defies social acceptability too much, just because those are actions that make them feel uncomfortable in real life. they don't like having fantasies that feel wrong by the standards of societal structures.* and so, a LOT of the time, the main character must fit acceptable models of womanhood in order for the fantasy to sell.

(*generally speaking. see above on societal stuff not being uniform. i have a lot to say about how an Actually Evil villainess functions as a fantasy but for now I'm just gonna talk about patriarchy in shoujo fantasies lol)

and what are these acceptable models of womanhood? like i said, they're highly tied to the female character being desired and protected by men. this familiarity is comforting to readers. it's unchallenging. it's even desirable.

and this is what I keep identifying in escapist fiction: the need for comfort/familiarity above all else, even if that comfort is found in opppressive power structures. a key component of the fantasy is the power structure seemingly without the oppression that makes those real-life systems unbearable. sure, the protag is essentially the property of the man who loves her, but maybe he lets her do what she wants, or he won't hurt her in ways she doesn't like in the course of possessing her. it makes gendered structures that are implicitly violent in real life explicitly nonviolent (or not violent to a point where it cannot be tolerated by the protagonist) inside the fantasy. it is, in essence, softening patriarchy to a point where it can be viewed as safe. and to a reader of these fantasies, that feels safer than dealing with the uncertain territory of someone who tries to escape those structures!

#narrates #escapist fiction tag #<- i talk about this so much that I really do need a tag for it now #anyway yippee here's one of many informal essays I want to write abt villainess isekai and its function as escapist fantasy #sorry this took a bit to answer lmao

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destinyc1020 · 7 months ago

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Destiny could I ask your honest opinion ? What is it that you like about Tom Holland and what is that you may or may not dislike about him? Thanks

Hey Anon! 👋🏾

Thanks for your ask! This is a very interesting one since I don't get this type of question often lol... 😅 So, thank you for this! I LOVE asks that make me think. I assume this is for Confession Sunday?? I'll label it as such just in case. First off, you should know that I'm ALWAYS 100% honest here on my blog....even if I think it will get me in trouble lol. 👀 So, if you ask me something, I'm going to give you my genuine, straight-forward answer. In answer to your question.....

Wow...where do I even begin? I will try to just make this in a list format so that it doesn't get too verbose lol. 😅

What I LOVE About Tom

His kindness 🥰 He is very kind-hearted, and it shows!

His philanthropy and how he tries to help others with his charity work (TBT). He's always thinking about others and wanting to do more, which is very commendable.

He has a big heart! ❤️

Everyone speaks so highly of him and says what a great person he is... I LOVE that. 🥰

I LOVE how he treats Zendaya and is so supportive of her. He seems like such a lovely boyfriend to her. He also seems incredibly romantic too. 🥰

I love love love Tom's charismatic and charming nature....he's so funny! Even when he's not trying to be lol 😅

Superficially, I think Tom is so cute...He's an attractive guy!

I love his floppy curly hair! I love it when it's long...But it's nice short as well... lol. 😅

I love his cheeky grin lol ....especially when he knows he's said something kind of naughty lol

I like how hard-working Tom is in Hollywood. He seems to have a great work ethic, and you never hear anything bad about him on set or about him from other co-stars who have worked with him. I like that!

I love how talented Tom is! He's very talented....very physically talented and hard-working... I would love to see more of his dancing training as well!

I love how close Tom is to his family members. You can tell he really cherishes his family and being close-knit with them.

I love how great of an actor Tom is. He has a great way of being able to make you feel his pain and express a lot through his eyes, even if he isn't saying anything.

I LOVE his friendship with Zendaya. I know we always talk about their love, but I think it's important to really focus on their friendship, because that's actually something that I don't see in a too many other Hollywood couples today.... Two people who are genuinely CLOSE FRIENDS with each other. Tom and Zendaya are special in that regard. 🥰

What I Dislike About Tom...

I can't really say that I "dislike" anything about Tom honestly? I think "dislike" is a strong word? I LOVE more about Tom than I "dislike", I'll just say that lol.

If there were things that I wish I could change, it would probably be these few things...

Sometimes, I can tell that the stress of this industry has taken a toll on him over the years... 😔 How he was back in 2017 when he was still bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in this industry is somewhat different from how he is now in 2024. I mean, it's fine, because we all grow up and mature, and whatnot. But what I mean is that sometimes it feels as though fame has taken a toll on him, and his heart isn't really into it that much anymore. I see it sometimes in how he takes pictures with some fans, or how he has reacted when someone is in his personal space. 😔 It's sad to me to see that his level of fame has affected him in that way (even he has admitted that he isn't really too much of a fan of that aspect of fame, and Zendaya has helped him to be a bit more gracious towards fans)..... I almost wish that he were a little LESS famous?? That way, he wouldn't have to deal with those aspects as much. I can tell it stresses him out and makes him a bit crabby. Just something I've noticed. Again, it could just be me reading too much into things, but part of me kind of wishes that his level of fame were a little LOWER. Not everyone deals with large amounts of fame all that easily. 😔 It just seems like it's hard for him sometimes, and I hate to see that. He's a VERY nice guy and is always respectful of fans, but at times I can see what he means when he says that he can have a "short fuse" lol.... I think Tom would be just fine being an actor but not having the level of fame that he has. I really do think he would prefer to just act and not be clamored down the street lol, or followed by paparazzi asking him questions about his relationships, or have people invading his privacy, or having to always stop while out in public, etc. That can get tiring! This is what I mean by, I kind of wish he were not AS famous and recognizable. It's because I think it would be less stressful on him.

I hate how everyone wants to keep Tom in a Spider-Man box, and I would love to see him one day venture out from the ComicBook films, and really show people what he's really capable of. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Tom as Spiderman, and always will! 🥰 But I think because he's been filming the Spiderman character for almost a decade now, I feel like people (especially critics🙄) have sort of put him in a box.... He's so much MORE than Spiderman to me. He's done other work that has expanded his filmography and really shown his acting range, but I feel like some people just ignore this.

I want to see Tom pick some slightly better scripts/films in the future. 🫣 He's already said that he's going to be more selective in the future going forward. I don't think there's been anything necessarily wrong with his prior films (like some fans have had issues with), but I KNOW what he's capable of, and I would love to see him working with some other great directors and actors like he did in the past. I also think that for him, he shouldn't be afraid to take some non-lead roles every once in a while either. I know he's a "leading man", but I don't see anything wrong with doing more ensemble films...especially if the director is great, and the cast he's working with is great. I think he excels in them. 😊 TDATT, Infinity War, The Current War, In the Heart of the Sea, etc.

#confession sunday

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zaynes-nieve · 29 days ago

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Zayne Nieve's LADS opinions of the men

I wanna try something new, so first we're gonna get into how i feel about all of them, men, and they're pluses. But eventually, someone is gonna have to be pushed to last. it doesn't mean that they aren't great! Just means that they don't speak to me personally. Starting off first, I'm going to talk about Xavier

💜💫 Xavier 💜💫

Xavier fans, I get his appeal! Recently, I've been seeing more content for him outside of the game, and he is very soft, sleepy , who is also very possessive, lol. He is very cute, and he has cracked me up with some of the few 5-star memories I do have of him! Also learned recently, he is a hidden freak XD. He as so far been placed last on my LADS Men list, one because of my low content for him but two just because I liked the other men over him but he had managed to win me over so let's see where I'll place him after his birthday event is complete. Also, happy early birthday, Xavier 🎂 🥳

❤️🐦‍⬛Sylus ❤️🐦‍⬛

Sylus is the newest of the bunch, so it's understandable why there isn't much content, especially cause I'm not farming for him. I went out of my way to get all his original content, but after that, I hadn't tried to get any of his new content. But I've enjoyed what I have seen. He is a little to blase for me but I definitely enjoy the security in his money lol. Also No Defense Zone was a crazy watch XD. He reminds me of all of those rich male leads only softer. I am also highly curious about his lore especially because his myth story was in the modern day compared to the other leads

🧡🐡 Rafayel 🧡🐡

Rafayel is the one I have the most content for purely by chance. IDK how the pulls work for the limited if IT IS affected by affinity that is one very cool and two would explain why I typically now get Zayne cards first and Rafayel second. I have been exposed to most of his content besides Zayne, and as such, I know the most about him, his character, and his interactions with MC. He, at least to me, is very funny. I enjoy him being bratty and pouty, though I'm like 70% sure half of it is a front. Or it could he a Luo Binghesque character. I am slightly off put by the master aspect of their story, but overall, as long as it wasn't actual slavery , I also I have all of his free memories, so expect him to be placed decently well

💙❄️ Zayne 💙❄️

I saved him for last. It it wasn't clear by 1. My username, 2. My PFP, 3. My Master List of my dedication to collecting his cards. The fact I spent probably 60$ to attempt and pull for a second Zayne to own ONE of his color changes for once. I'm a Zayne main. This section, in particular, is completely biased. Being even more real, this ranking shouldn't even include him. Because my bias behind is making him first place regardless, this is a competition between the other three men. Zayne is originally a little stand offish, but he is just socially awkward. He is very sweet and loving, and he cares about all his patients (we are just his favorite lol) he has some of the funniest side characters, and he treats us very well. Our relationship also physically hurts me because FUCK ASTRA. MY GOD that bitch as his coming as soon as I find his location. He can't even tell us he loves us 😭. The moon allegories are crazy because apparently one. It's a way to express your love apparently in China? Don't quote me on that I saw it like three times, it's like a specific phrase but it also reminds me on one the story of Chang'e and her multiple myths with her husband and the immortality pill. I personally prefer the one where she doesn't rob her husband. Like Over the Moon did. But it hits me in the feels. So much. It isn't the only time the moon is used for something the long for either. I feel like most of us didn't feel like we got that we wanted from the Dawn Breaker card, or at least I personally would have like to be less confused about the Dawnbreaker/Our Zayne situation. Maybe hopefully, they will give Dawn Breaker a myth story. But I still enjoyed a lot of aspects of it, and it goes deeper into the connection between our Zayne and Dawnbreaker

But for now I wanna see a popularity poll so

If it is a background character I want to see names!

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drill-teeth-art · 9 months ago

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Design process anon again!! Thanks for answering my question, it was really interesting to hear about your more "loose" process! | personally put a lot of pressure to have one final design for my characters so hearing how you change the character a little bit each time is really neat and a little comforting to not stress about making a final product and just enjoying the process!

Anyways, here's more I'm curious about so you have more room to talk! (Also sorry i might ramble on, I just love hearing people talk about stuff that they enjoy!)

Specifically with Frenzy and Motormaster what ideas made you choose to add such unique aspects to each character?

Like, what thought process led you to give Frenzy such a slinky/accordion body style and Mixmaster more subtle insect aspects when it's such a departure from each ones original G1 designs?

Damn it took me forever to get back to this ! Thank you so much for asking more I'm excited to answer! So here I go! Also, I'm glad hearing about my process is comforting for you in some way to ease up the perfectionist pressure in your own work!

Under the cut because I got a little rambly...

Anyway! Here I go about Mixmaster and Frenzy's designs! Frenzy first!

I can't really talk about Frenzy's design without mentioning Rumble because I designed the two to highly contrast each other! For Rumble, I kept mostly traditional, Transformers design qualities. Blocky and wide and square. And I even emphasized his chunkiness further for fun exaggeration with his design. And Frenzy is supposed to highly contrast him! They sport a much more high contrast palette of mainly brighter red on black as opposed to Rumble's mostly deep blues dotted with accents. I also wanted to give them some more unorthodox robot design details to make them stretchier, sharper, and more fluid in their poses and movements to go with Rumble's slower, softer, and more abrupt mannerisms. A snake motif seemed perfect to capture those qualities! And to capture that I figured an accordion look to their limbs would go great with them being a cassette and a stretchy snake! So for Frenzy, it was a very deliberate departure from standard G1 looks because they're supposed to be Rumble's opposite in a lot of ways.

Here's some art I made of them really featuring their stretchiness:

Anyway! For Mixmaster.

So Mixmaster is actually supposed to have a spider theme to it. The motif goes along with his character arc which I'm not going to summarize entirely right now. Their spider motif is also supposed to compliment Hook's scorpion motif. I also very much wanted to emphasize "Transformers are aliens with unique mechanical anatomy and some are good at keeping up a more 'human' illusion and some aren't" in this fan continuity, and Mixmaster is NOT great at holding up the illusion. The movement of its face is off with their speech. He eats with their barrel instead of its mouth. Etc etc. And I figured more subtle arachnid features would help emphasize the feeling of "this guy does resemble a human in robot mode, but I can see he's an alien". People LOVE to use arachnid and insect imagery in their alien designs to invoke the very "alien" feeling, so I figured I'd do my own spin on it! So that's sort of my process with that unexpected choice!

And here's some art of him:

And that's some of my thoughts about my design process for those two! Thanks for asking :D !

#ask #transformers #transformers fanart #maccadam #frenzy #mixmaster #cassetticons #constructicons #decepticons #transformers fan continuity

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the-monkey-ruler · 4 months ago

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Could we have an analysis of A Chinese Odyssey part one and two? Although I feel that the third part breaks the message of the first two a little? but I don't know, I'm very ignorant about the matter, so I'll apologize if it's more complicated.

Lucky for us there is someone who has done an Analysis of a Chinese Odyssey from the perspective of its cultural impact on other media in Transforming Monkey Adaptation and Representation of a Chinese Epic By Hongmei Sun. If anyone has the time I would highly recommend reading her book or just skipping to the chapters she talked about it in Chapter 4 From Fighter to Lover The Postsocialist Hero in the PRC and Hong Kong.

I shall try to SUMMERIZE a whole chapter below that I think really helps frame how the Chinese Odessery was interpreted though so open at your own cost. Please note this is me just REPEATING what the article says if you really don't want to read the book (BUT YOU SHOULD).

And yes you are right Anon MANY people did not enjoy the third movie as it went against everything the first two movies were about with lost love, rather feeling more like a cash grab made to milk people's nostalgia and adoration of the films. Some people might like it but PLEASE know that it was never intended for the first two films and often feels way too disconnected.

The Postsocialist Hero in the PRC and Hong Kong

Sun Wukong up to this point (the 1990s) has been framed in media as a revolutionary hero (best-known example in the Havoc of Heaven 19060s movie). Chinese Odyssey 1995 coproduced by Hong Kong and mainland China, starring Stephen Chow as the Sun Wukong was one of the first movies that challenged this image of him and redefined the character at the turn of the century. The film subverted the heroic image of Sun Wukong and replaced it with a comedic character who is also a romantic interest. This was his transformation from a "fighter" to a "lover" and while it didn't do well in Hong Kong, it was horribly popular in Mainland China due to the messaging of the movie changing dramatically. The creative "misreading" of the original film has led to its success due to the audience connection during a time of social transformation and widespread anxiety about changing sexual mores. This led to a postsocialist hero for the large population of young people who became its fans.

THE DAHUA PHENOMENON

When first released in Hong Kong and mainland China in 1995, A Chinese Odyssey was a box-office failure. The film’s slapstick humor was initially unappreciated and it was highly criticized for straying too far from the original source material. But two years later, when the film was shown on TV film channels, it caught the attention of college students and grew a large fan base on college campuses in the mainland. For a while, A Chinese Odyssey was vigorously traded in the bootleg disc market. Fans of A Chinese Odyssey, known as Dahua fans, instead of criticizing the movie for deviating from the original, or changing and subverting the images of the characters, Dahua fans found a new aspect of Sun Wukong's story that spoke to them. Audiences saw themselves represented in this Sun Wukong themselves and the story as reflecting the problems they faced in their lives. Even Academics paid attention to the popularity of the film itself but also to the special phenomenon created by its influence over popular culture, which is called “Dahua Culture.” These articles focus on a wide range of aspects, including postmodern culture, adaptation, intertextuality, cultural studies, Internet culture, performance, language, time and space, and also include creative writing, leading to A Chinese Odyssey’s appeal to both fans and academics is steady.

Many fans of the movie express the “postmodern” factors in Stephen Chow’s “nonsensical” style, and the subversive pleasure that audiences derive from the film’s excessive play with the grotesque and the violation of social norms. Stephen Chow transformed the story of pilgrimage into a slapstick comedy where gods, pilgrims, and demons were usually treated with awe and were now a humorous outlet in a political environment where authorities are supposed to always be respected.

The following example demonstrates the kind of analysis that circulates among fans:

If you double over with laughter when watching this movie, it means you have a sense of humor. But if you’re still laughing when the movie is over, you actually understand nothing of the film. When the film is over, if you find your face is covered with tears, you have come to understand the first layer of its meaning. If after all your laughter and tears you are stunned, not knowing whether to cry or to laugh, you understand the second layer of its meaning. If you sit there speechless, dejected and despondent, not knowing where you should go, you understand the third layer of its meaning. A Chinese Odyssey is an allegory. Hidden within the shell of an ancient myth, it appears to be a very funny and sad, bawdy but pure love story, but actually it is about the problems caused by the uncertainty of time and the hesitation of the individual.

Joker’s transformation into Sun Wukong represents the spiritual journey that a man experiences growing up, and Tripitaka and the Bull Demon King each represent different social powers around him. Many fans speak about their experience watching the film repeatedly, and how their understanding deepens after each viewing. Another fan writes about her understanding of love, which changes through the years in which she watched the film repeatedly:

From the 1990s, when she was in elementary school, until when she graduated from college, the film in her eyes has evolved from a horror film to a love story, from an avant-garde film to a love story that is all based on a lie.

A review about the author’s deepened understanding of the film after college:

I suddenly understood the beginning of the movie: A young guy who is talented but does not respect rules (Sun Wukong) loathes the big and important cause that he is assigned (the pilgrimage to India). He especially cannot bear the nagging preaching of his teacher (Tripitaka), but the rules and regulations in the world (Guanyin) won’t let him go. In order to transform him into a devoted pilgrim, Tripitaka - and Guanyin have reached an agreement: let him get reborn and start anew five hundred years later. Such a foreordained beginning.

The review goes on to state that Sun Wukong’s “Havoc in Heaven” takes place during the golden era of four years in college. After he leaves the campus and finds a job he realizes that all his talents and personality do not matter underneath the mountain of Buddha’s palm. In short, while A Chinese Odyssey subverted Journey to the West’s status as a revered classic, it managed to establish itself as a classic. The parody did not just ridicule the gods and teachers in the original story, but it also drew new images for the main characters, establishing new meanings related to the audience. It influenced later adaptations of Journey to the West and deeply changed the normal depiction of characters such as Sun Wukong and Tripitaka.

ABSTINENCE FROM SEXUALITY IN JOURNEY TO THE WEST

In the novel Journey to the West, themes of the body and sexuality are sublimated due to the nature of the story as a religious allegory. Sex is a formidable sin from which all of the pilgrims must abstain and Bajie is the only one who shows weakness toward the temptation of sex. For that, he is repeatedly tested, warned, and punished. In contrast, Tripitaka has sustained his virgin body for ten reincarnations, and it is believed that eating one piece of it is sufficient to grant the consumer longevity. Many demons want to eat him, and sometimes female demons want to have sex with him. If Tripitaka has to constantly work against the idea of sexuality and make an effort to abstain from it, for Wukong sex has never been an issue.

In his own words, he was born without xing. When Patriarch Puti asked him about his xing (surname), he took it as a question about his xing (temperament/nature) and responded that he did not have any temper (xing), and had never lost his temper (yisheng wu xing). This statement also holds true if we take the liberty of relating the pun of xing to sexuality. When it was clarified that the question was about the surname that he would have received from his parents, Wukong responded that he did not have any parents, since he was born from a piece of stone. Puti was delighted upon hearing this, saying that the monkey was born of heaven and earth. Although the narrative of Journey to the West never explains the ways in which Wukong’s birth from stone functions as an asset, it is clear that his parentless birth (a birth that is not as a result of sexual activity) distinguishes him as a model for religious practice. Quite relatively, throughout the journey, sex simply never constitutes a temptation for him, as if his mind cannot fathom the idea of sexuality.

The correspondence of the five members of the pilgrimage group with the Five Phases of Chinese philosophy with Wukong related to Metal (Jin) and Heart/Mind (Xin). Metaphorically Wukong functions as the mind/heart of the group, which is focused on defeating demons and directing the group toward the religious holy land. This is perhaps why the narrative of Journey to the West consistently refers to Sun Wukong as the “heart/mind monkey” (xinyuan). If the heart/mind of the pilgrims should be directed toward attaining Buddhist sutras for the world or attaining Buddhahood for themselves, the body that is attached to worldly pleasures constitutes obstacles for the heart. For Zhu Bajie, the obstacle of the body is significantly greater than it is for Tripitaka. But for Sun Wukong, his body does not stand in the way— born from stone and smelt in Laozi’s elixir furnace, his body is built for battles and transformational magic, not for the sin of desire.

Sun Wukong’s body actually contains many details —from his birth from the stone to his transformation training, to the numerous bodily tricks he plays when encountering demons during the journey— but the writing about the body is paradoxically for the purpose of eventually transcending it, and his physical capacity greatly facilitates that process. The 1960s adaptation emphasized the heroic aspects of Sun Wukong and reconstructed him as a brave warrior who fights against the oppression of the feudalist heaven controlled by the Jade Emperor, and a true pilgrim who can see through the disguises of forms and catch the White Bone Demon despite her transformations. What is unchanged from the religious “heart monkey” to the communist revolutionary monkey is the agreement in his “heart” and his body, originating from his miraculous birth and well suited to the purposes of pilgrimage and revolutionary cause alike.

BODY VERSUS HEART: HUMANIZATION OF THE MONKEY KING

In contrast, in A Chinese Odyssey, the Sun Wukong’s story becomes one of the body working against the heart. With the entire story focusing on Joker’s romantic adventures, love and sexuality become central themes of the film, and the meaning of “heart” in “ heart monkey” changes to refer to love. A Chinese Odyssey gives Wukong (reborn as Joker) a mortal human body, and Joker’s adventure involves various sorts of mistreatment of this body and a focal point of the camera. Joker appears near the beginning suffering from a severe injury where even his his legs soon give out, and he can only walk upside down with his arms. His body continues to be treated cruelly as he is seen falling into a pit of feces; trapped by a spider net; breaking his own teeth; being beaten, burnt, and repeatedly trampled on by his gang members. His private parts particularly become the target of trampling quite a few times.

When Joker and Jingjing fall in love, in the short moment when they were together, sex was never consummated. Paradoxically, the narrative of this film about love seems to focus unmistakably on castration. Whereas part 1, Pandora’s Box, tells the adventures of Joker’s body, part 2, Cinderella, becomes the story of his heart. But just like the mistreatment of the body in the earlier part, something always goes wrong with his heart in part 2. Joker spends this part of the journey in denial: of both his love for Zixia and his identity as the Monkey King. It is only by means of the literal separation of his heart from his body that he is eventually able to find and recognize his heart—he is killed by Ma’am Thirty, who cuts open his chest and takes his heart out, so he sees it with his “eyes of the heart/soul” (xinyan). At this moment, after his heart leaves his body, he becomes the Monkey King, who has to put the golden ring on his head to control his worldly desire.

Later, when the new Sun Wukong is faced with a hard choice between saving his true love Zixia and saving his master Tripitaka, the golden fillet tightens to make sure he makes the right choice. With its depictions of the body and the search for love, A Chinese Odyssey seemingly delivers a message that is diametrically opposed to that of Journey to the West until the ending, when it hits on a conclusion that is much in agreement with Journey to the West: abstaining from worldly pleasure. The last scene of the movie sees the group of pilgrims set off once again on their journey to the West, when they come across a couple, the exact replica of Joker and Zixia, repeating the scene that Joker once experienced when he refused to kiss “Zixia” and profess his love for her. Possessing the body of the replica Joker, Sun Wukong embraces “Zixia,” gives her the requested kiss, and tells her that he will never leave her. Having done this, Sun Wukong leaves the body of “Joker” and sets off on his journey, leaving the embracing couple behind. Although this ending provides Sun Wukong the chance to make up for his regret by means of the body of the substitute, it also concludes the separation of the body and the heart, permanently.

By the same token, although the film is replete with sexually charged language and images, sex is never directly represented. Sexual expectations are subverted and rebuffed. The story of the conflicting body and heart of Joker ends with a symbolical self-castrating action, when we see Sun Wukong eating a banana, on two occasions near the end of the movie, with peels dangling at his mouth and the banana bitten off. These scenes, echoing the trampling scene described earlier, epitomize the conflicting relationship between body and heart. Although they no doubt create a humorous effect, part of the “nonsensical” style for which Stephen Chow is known, the Monkey King image created by such effect forms a stark contrast to that of the successful and capable fighter in earlier adaptations.

Now that he knows love, his body is working against his heart. Thus, the new Sun Wukong must bear the vexing challenges of life, just like a normal human being. It is this contradiction between body and heart that has become the source of inspiration for many Dabua fans who see the story as reflecting their own: the dreams of the young heart and its obstructions in reality.

BETWEEN DEMON AND DEITY

Sun Wukong has lost the godly control and coordination of body and heart that he enjoyed in Journey to the West. But the film still resists a simple dichotomy between deity and demon as blurring the line between the demon and the god is a major endeavor of the narrative. Not only does the film question the categorical nature of the Monkey King, but it also ridicules the differentiation between deity and demon. Wukong is reincarnated as Joker as a punishment for his demonic behavior, but he repeatedly refuses opportunities to be transformed back into the deity Monkey King. When he realizes that he has finally become the Monkey King reincarnate, seeing the image of a monkey in the “Mirror of Demon Revelation,” he immediately throws the mirror to the ground, tramples on the mirror (and his predestined identity), and runs away. Thus the final transformation into Sun Wukong at the end concludes the human Joker’s resistance with his eventual submission to his predestination (or the pressure of the social environment, in one Dahua fan’s interpretation).

The question of “deity or demon?” as a major theme is represented by what Zixia asks Joker when she first meets him:

“Deity? Demon? Thanks.”

Indicating her immediate need to categorize Joker as a deity or a demon, the question reflects her interest in detecting disguises. In her short earlier encounter with Erlang Shen and the Four Heavenly Kings, the gods transformed into humans to deceive her. Gods such as Erlang Shen and his team are represented as quite ungodly, their conversations indicating that they all have ordinary humanlike faults and concerns. Demons identified by the mirror turn out to be as lovable as their human disguises: Jingjing is devoted to love, and Ma’am Thirty sacrifices herself to save her partner and baby. The triangle formed between Joker, Jingjing, and Zixia involves a human, a deity, and a demon, and the fact that they fall into different categories never constitutes a problem for them as the narrative presents the human side of all beings, including their frustrations, their desires, their dreams, and their fears.

The line between deity and demon is also blurred in Journey to the West itself. In the sixteenth-century text, Sun Wukong himself goes through the identity transformation from a demon (a king of monkeys who occupy a mountain and claim it as their territory without recognition from authorities), to a deity recognized by the Taoist authority (first as the imperial horse keeper, then as the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven), and finally a Buddhist pilgrim who eventually attains Buddhahood. This upward transformation from an outlaw to a recognized deity was deliberately overlooked by the socialist adaptations, which downplayed the importance of social recognition either from the Taoist or the Buddhist order but only emphasized the idea of rebel and the metaphor of the journey. Hence the Monkey King was simply represented as a heroic rebel of oppression or a devoted follower of the path for socialist construction. In contrast, Joker’s transformation in A Chinese Odyssey moves in the opposite direction from Sun Wukong in Journey to the West. Refusing to return to the monkey-deity identity, Joker prefers to remain as an outlaw.

In this film, for the first time, he is given the right to ask questions about who he is and what he is doing. His heroic halo taken away, the Monkey King once again becomes the down-to-earth nobody, a humanized antihero who speaks to the sympathetic audience.

REINCARNATION, REWRITING, AND THE STORY OF HONG KONG

The story of the Monkey King’s reincarnation can be read as one of rewriting. Guanyin and Jade Emperor were official rewriters of Sun Wukong’s story: they dislike the version in which Sun Wukong rebels against Guanyin, and give him another chance by reincarnating him as Joker. Joker, however, after being reminded of his identity in his previous life, which he has completely forgotten, chooses to run away: he does not want to become Sun Wukong, the protagonist of the “Journey to the West” story already written. Instead, he makes as many revisions as he can and tries to lead the story in a direction of his own choosing. From this point of view, the entire movie is about the tension and conflicts of the two rewriting plans operating in opposite directions. Although Joker battles to be the writer of his own life, in the end he has to give in to the dominance of Guanyin’s rewrite. Despite his resistance, in the end his memory and identity as the Monkey King is regained, or, more accurately, reconstructed. Joker’s own effort to rewrite his story can be seen from his repeated time travels.

When he finds out that the Moonlight Box can take people to other times, he tries to go back in time to change what happens to Jingjing and hence change his own love story. But his timetravel plan never works out and he travels back five hundred years by mistake and thus begins the unintended love story with Zixia. Joker’s plan eventually has to yield to divine intervention. Before his story reaches a happy ending, his life is taken by the spider demon, and his spirit faces Guanyin’s master plan: the Monkey King’s golden headband and golden rod are waiting for him. Although taking on the mantle of the Monkey King is presented as a matter of choice, there really is no alternative, and the film portrays this transformation as the saddest moment. Solemnly and ceremonially, Joker raises up and puts on the fillet, repeating the lines he once insincerely spoke to Zixia:

“Once there was a genuine love devoted to me, but I took it lightly. When I have lost it, I know it is too late to regret.”

It is as if he uses the last moment as Joker to redeem the lines that he performed badly before, but this time with complete sincerity. This sincerity in his last words about love proves the tragic nature of the unwilling transformation into Sun Wukong. Among all the Journey to the West adaptations, A Chinese Odyssey is probably the one that most emphasizes the tragedy of being the Monkey King.

The film’s demonstrated anxiety over transformation in general, and Joker’s frustrated effort to work against the divine plan in particular, builds a significant link to the story of Hong Kong. The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China in 1997 had been a great concern in Hong Kong in the 1980s and 1990s. Whereas in mainland China the transfer was expected eagerly as Hong Kong’s “return,” in other parts of the world it is referred to as the “Handover.” Anxiety and doubt about the Handover are expressed directly or indirectly in popular culture. The reference to Hong Kong in the film A Chinese Odyssey is unnoticed when it travels north, despite its popularity and the abundance of discussion about the meaning of the story. The transformation of the “Journey to the West” narrative into a love story took Dabua fans by surprise and has been a major focus of their discussions.

Fans rather relate to the story to their own social reality and seem to have neglected the abundant references to the social transformations in Hong Kong either in the major theme or through specific scenes. For instance, the film has a scene of the entire group of pilgrims stranded in a town on an isolated piece of land that has been blown up by the Bull Demon King with his magic fan and is floating slowly toward the sun. Wukong tries to push the island back with his golden rod but his individual effort cannot overpower the gusts created by the magic fan. For a few seconds the film freeze-frames on a distant shot of the bloodred sun (communist China), occupying almost the entire screen, with the small island (Hong Kong) floating irreversibly toward it, and the single Monkey King trying desperately to stop its motion. The scene poses an urgent question to the audience: Will the pilgrims be able to escape?

The answer is yes, when the magic works: all pilgrims narrowly escape using the Moonlight Box, which transports them to a different time-space right before the island explodes. As comparatist Ackbar Abbas has noted about films from Hong Kong, “almost every film made since the mid-eighties, regardless of quality or seriousness of intention, seems constrained to make some mandatory reference to 1997.” Even though A Chinese Odyssey is a spoof of a mythical story, the reference is quite clear. Joker’s situation corresponds quite closely to the “floating” identity and the problematics of the “deja disparu,” as Abbas discusses; with the slipperiness and ambivalence of his true identity and the rapid changes of status, he is unable to see what is right in front of him, and when he does see it, it is “always already gone.” The desperate scene of the floating island moving toward the sun creates a pressing sense of crisis. Despite all of Sun Wukong’s effort, the city disappears after all, indicating a quite pessimistic view of the future of the “floating city.” The image of the “floating city” (fucheng) is used frequently in popular culture as a reference to Hong Kong.

CREATIVE MISREADING, POSTSOCIALIST HERO

Many Dahua fans are college students, the film resonates with those who struggle to find their own identities in an authoritative regime. Frequently discussed themes include impossible love, the struggle of the individual against society, and eventual submission to social pressure. The Joker with whom Dahua fans identify is the rebel who is doomed to fail but who nonetheless remains the rebel— that is, until he eventually has to give in to an indomitable external force. A common analogy discussed by fans is the comparison of Joker’s resubmission to authority once he dons the golden crown of the Monkey King to the increased censorship of the Internet after 1997.

The creative misreading of A Chinese Odyssey has created a new image of the Monkey King for the mainland with Joker establishing himself as a “postsocialist” hero. This new hero replaces the images of Sun Wukong as a “revolutionary” hero that were created and popularized in the 1960s in works such as Havoc in Heaven. The term “postsocialism” develops the idea of postsocialism in response to Deng Xiaoping’s “socialism with Chinese characteristics,” indicating that the Chinese socialism in practice is not exactly socialism (nor is it capitalism), scholars in Chinese studies adopt and adapt the concept for different purposes. The postsocialist nature of the image of Sun Wukong is evident from the relationship between the people and the system. If a socialist system means people have faith in the socialist discourse, it becomes postsocialist when this faith is lost, even though ideological control from the leadership is still strong and is currently getting stronger. There exists a discord and discrepancy between the expectations from above and grassroots-level practice.

Instead of the kind of collective identification with common ideals established in the socialist period, the postsocialist hero is interested in his individual agenda, which often includes focusing on his personal struggle to challenge the authorities that want to control him. A Chinese Odyssey indicates the postsocialist turn of Journey to the West: from here on, major adaptations of Journey to the West almost always present the Monkey King as a postsocialist hero (with one exception that will be discussed below).

A Chinese Odyssey makes Sun Wukong a rebel again: he had already experienced the five hundred years of imprisonment and become a pilgrim following Tripitaka, but now he no longer wants to follow the prescribed narrative. And not only is he no longer willing to obey the command from above, but he also loudly lets the world know of his intention. This Wukong expresses a challenge to the ideological authority of the contemporary regime. Even though in the end his resubmission is unavoidable, his ridicule and rejection of authority is already enough for the audience to consider him a hero. Soon after, the rise in A Chinese Odyssey’s popularity presents an opportunity to rewrite the story of Wukong as well as other main characters in Journey to the West.

The “post” of postsocialism is reflected in the spirit of rebellion, the lack of belief in authoritarian control, and the challenge to authority; on the other hand, the “socialist” ideology and the government that represents it still maintain a strong presence. In contrast to the socialist revolutionary Monkey King produced during the 1950s and 1960s, who celebrate his victory in the end, both of the postsocialist Monkeys are doomed to lose. Joker has to fight hard for his right to disagree, and eventually, he gives in. The audeince can relate the story of Wukong to the forms of compliance they have to endure in real life. The popularity of A Chinese Odyssey lies in the sympathy that the readers share with Wukong. They grieve over these sad stories just as they grieve over their own problems.

These adaptations are all engaged with the major contradiction of Journey to the West: why would Monkey, once a brilliant rebel, become a model Buddhist pilgrim? It is the ways in which the readers approach this contradiction that determines to a large extent their understanding of Journey to the West. One common theme shared by these three texts is the central issue of thus, looking for his identity is a major struggle for Wukong, and it is a lonely one. He is no longer presented as a member of the pilgrim team—only he himself can solve the problems he experiences, and only from within. Joker refuses to become the hero Sun Wukong, and in this action he remains the rebel. It is because of his own journey/pilgrimage that he is able to accomplish his recovery. Does the ending suggest that the time for Wukong to become a rebel and troublemaker has come again? New adaptations follow the same track in which variants of Wukong, though they may be presented with varying degrees of humor or seriousness, are always marked by a shared sense of loneliness. His struggle has turned inward: finding his identity and his inner strength.

Adaptation of Journey to the West continues, and those receiving public praise have a common theme: rethinking the transition of Sun Wukong from a rebel to a pilgrim, and depicting Sun Wukong rising up as a rebel again. Wukong’s failure and dejection at the beginning and his ultimate transformation into a rebellious hero earns the audience’s sympathy, and their identification with him ensures interest in the project of such revision.

Three other noteworthy examples of postsocialist-oriented adaptation are: The Monkey King (2014), Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015), and “ Wukong,” as sung by Dai Quan on Sing My Song (2.015).

The Monkey King (2014), was a box-office success but a critical failure. Expectations for the film were high, but the top reviews on this site point to a central issue: Monkey is not presented as a rebel but rather as a naive demon who is manipulated by Bull Demon King; he willingly admits his “mistake” and wants to help rebuild the palace for the Jade Emperor. One reviewer calls the writer of the story “a Wu Cheng’en who works for the Propaganda Department,” and The Monkey King is seen as an educational film promoting the mainstream theme of cooperating with deities.

Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015) was a success both at the box office and in critics’ reviews. The film focuses on the moment when Monkey has just been released from the mountain after five hundred years of imprisonment. A dejected Monkey who cannot find his power all through the film, he is irritated, instigated, and finally inspired by a little boy named Jiang Liu (Tripitaka’s boyhood name), who believes in the greatness of the Great Sage he knows from legend. At the very last moment, Monkey rediscovers his magic power and defeats the demon Hundun. The short moment of Monkey regaining his magic in the end, lasting for only two minutes, wins the audience’s heart. Many popular reviews note Wukong repeatedly yelling throughout the film, “ I can’t do it, I can’t do it,” a frustration that aligns his character with normal human beings, in contrast to the radiant hero he finally becomes. The most popular review on douban.com states: “Every Chinese will fall in love with Sun Wukong. Each generation has its own Sun Wukong. I think this film can serve as a good first Monkey King film for children of the new century.”

Why does the audience respond to the Wukong in this 2015 film so positively while regarding the 2014 film as a failure? The different attitudes toward these two films point at the significance of the rebellious quality of a postsocialist hero. 2014 accepts what is offered him from both deities and demons, including evil plans that masquerade as friendly help and that eventually result in the havoc in heaven. 2015, however, does not just accept. He searches, he questions, and he fights against his limits, echoing the examples of A Chinese Odyssey.

The third example is the song “Wukong,” written by Dai Quan. The lyrics describe Wukong’s internal journey and struggle from a firstperson point of view. Explaining the reasons he wrote this song, Dai ays his identification with Sun Wukong is due to what he believes is the “spirit of Wukong” (Wukong jingshen): rebelliousness, variability, optimism, and persistence, which has encouraged him in his life as an artist. The bitterness and loneliness that Dai Quan’s Wukong experiences in his individual struggle, and the freedom this Wukong seeks, are particular traits of the postsocialist Wukons. "Wukong” sings at the refrain,

“What is the use of my Iron Rod and my transformations? There is no cure to the anxiety and frustration. Golden band on my head, unspeakable pain.”

But when it repeats at the end, the message turns positive, a victorious Wukong singing the last line:

“Watch my rod—it reduces all problems into ashes.”

The conflict between the golden fillet and the rod is notable in this short song. Engaging with this major conflict, Sun Wukong tries to use his rod to break free from the limitations of the fillet. This is a clear contrast to the socialist Wukong: the revolutionary who is invincible, and the loyal party supporter who does not complain about the golden fillet. After all his failures and frustrations, the postsocialist Wukong in the end manages to find something to celebrate, a sense of accomplishment for himself, as Dai Quan indicated in his statement:

“In the end, every monkey can become Sun Wukong.”

The monkey becomes Sun Wukong when he finds his lost ability to use his rod again. New adaptations of Journey to the West in recent years thus share several common features. The first is a clear individualist bent, as Wukong invariably goes through a personal struggle, the solution for which lies in himself, not in any external agency. Second, Wukong is no longer the filial protector of Tripitaka or true follower of Guanyin’s teaching. The once-suppressed rebellious spirit is back. And third, although Wukong still has to submit to heavenly authority, he is allowed to think, to search, and even to challenge. His signature Fillet, which is transformed into a bracelet in both Hero Is Back and “Wukong,” reflects this change

#anon ask #sun wukong #anonymous #anon #jttw #journey to the west #xiyouji #ask #monkey king #chinese odessey #monkey king hero is back #hero is back #monkey king 2015 #jttw15 #monkey king 2014

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flecks-of-stardust · 1 year ago

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Stardust's Ranking of Rain World Custom Regions

It's late and I'm bored and I love mods, and if you can you should try some of them because this community creates some incredible stuff and you better appreciate that.

These regions are loosely ranked with an emphasis on my enjoyment, not necessarily the quality of the region, though those can be linked! I will clarify where necessary. You can use this post as a recommendation list, or you can just read my thoughts and reviews of various custom regions for fun or some shit. I dunno. For some reason I end up making lists a lot.

This post will be updated as I try more mods and as more mods come out. The post is current as of October 14th, 2023. Some regions have additional notes, which are elaborated on under the list. Also note that for the vast majority of these regions, I am talking about my experience going through them as Survivor. Additionally, assume all regions have a pup spawn chance unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Highly enjoyed, strongly recommend

Stormy Coast*^ — and another usurper with lots of room to spare. Stormy Coast is the most incredible region I've ever had the pleasure of playing. The atmosphere is just incredible, especially if you do as intended and revisit it across the timeline! The concept of Stormy Coast, its design as an abandoned shipping port, the changes as you move through time, the lore, all of it is just amazing. I just adore it. The music is also absolutely fantastic. I don't know how to describe the experience because it's. Quite literally indescribable, honestly, looking through it yourself. Go get it. It's just fantastic. I would recommend picking one slugcat from Hunter to Monk's time, and then visiting as the rest of the slugcats. (Also, fun fact: the creator of Stormy Coast is the same person who made Lush Mire and Undersea!)

Far Shore^ — I'm a little surprised to have to say this, but this supplanted Howling Rift as my favorite region very quickly. The overall design is just lovely. The threat music is amazing, and there's a lot to see because Far Shore is a very big region—one of the biggest available right now actually! It's hard to summarize what it's like going through it because different parts of it have such a different vibe; the above ground parts are somewhat like Shoreline, but with more options for traversal, while the below ground parts are sort of like Shaded Citadel (but cooler. I'm biased though, I like the horror aspect). Additionally, there's a certain part of Far Shore that really made it feel like I was playing the game for the first time again. No other region has ever tackled something like Far Shore has, and it's really an unforgettable experience. I recommend entering from the Pilgrim's Ascent gate! Additionally, and this might sound strange, but DO NOT play Far Shore as your first region. Go try some of the other ones on this list first, like Pilgrim's Ascent and Scorched District! It just works better that way, I promise.

Howling Rift*^ — this region is kind of like if you took Memory Crypts and made it as big as Shaded Citadel is, but with amazing music and a much more foreboding atmosphere. There is also an Underhang-like part with some of the most interesting (and difficult) platforming I've had the pleasure of playing in this game so far. It's definitely not going to be everyone's favorite, but it's my favorite. I recommend going in without neuron glow for the optimal experience. The Mark is unnecessary.

Coral Caves and Hanging Gardens^ — absolutely stunning regions, I loved the aesthetics and the level design. They use a mechanic that I haven't really seen in any other custom regions (except Lost Cranny, kind of), and it makes for some really interesting platforming. Hanging Gardens in particular also has some fascinating geometry, which I won't elaborate on because it's a delight to discover on your own! I will say though that Coral Caves in particular is definitely a little more difficult than some of the other regions on this list, but it's not unmanageable as Survivor. Coral Caves also boasts a unique world state for Saint!

Lush Mire and Undersea^ — technically not connected regions, though they share Shaded Citadel as a connection, but come on you have to play these two together. Hollow Knight fans in particular might enjoy these two regions; Lush Mire takes obvious influence from Greenpath and Queen's Gardens, while Undersea has a subregion that looks a lot like City of Tears. They both have gorgeous level design and are not super difficult. I would recommend having neuron glow for Undersea, and the Mark for Lush Mire. However, some people are experiencing issues with pipes breaking and trapping them in walls when Lush Mire is enabled. Mergefix I believe is one way to fix this issue? But so far there hasn't been a concrete fix.

Pilgrim's Ascent and Scorched District^ — intended to be played together and very seamless in the integration. Really cool designs for both regions, in particular PA personally. Did you like Pebbles' broader superstructure or the Exterior? Well I have good news for you. SD is also a fun mix of superstructure-like parts and more Metropolis-looking rooms, and it also has a unique end of cycle effect. Neuron glow isn't necessary for either region, but it would probably make certain parts easier for some people. Definitely have the mark for SD though.

Drainage System Plus^ — the coolest vanilla region expansion I've seen so far. It at least doubles the size of DS and adds a ton of complexity to it, as well as some secrets. It was like exploring it for the first time and it was amazing. Some paths got a little tricky to navigate, but largely I had a lot of fun, and there's generally bubble weed around where you'll need it. I believe it is also fully compatible with Saint's world? So it's technically DS+ and UG+. There may be mod conflicts with DS+ in some cases though.

Hallowed Grotto^ — a very creative concept for a region, featuring unique world changes for every, and I mean every, slugcat. Yes, even Inv. The region itself isn't very big, but that's because each slugcat has a unique version of it. Neuron glow could be nice, but definitely go in with the Mark, and I recommend going once as every slugcat. It is probably better to explore this region in expedition mode to prevent you from restarting your entire save.

Enjoyed, would recommend

Neuron Forest^ — a pretty small region, but a very lovely one! If you like iterator aesthetics and are looking for a calmer experience, Neuron Forest has plenty of that to offer. It is, however, Saint exclusive, but for what it is, it works pretty well. There are also some secrets to be found here, so make sure to check every room! (Also, the creator is on Tumblr! Vela if you see this, hiiiii)

Marshland Wastes — nifty, plant filled region that feels a bit like a more flora-filled Garbage Wastes with Shoreline elements, in a sense? It's hard to nail down. I don't know if I'd call it particularly unique (though it's been a while since I played it), but it's still really well designed and overall fun to play through. There are some really memorable moments though, and personally I really like the crossover room(s). That's just me though. Mark not necessary, neuron glow maybe helpful?

Five Pebbles Expanded* — another expanded vanilla region, which mostly combines pre-Rivulet Five Pebbles with rooms from The Rot. It's done really well though, and there are some aspects to it that are unique to Ex5P. It's nice seeing Cystic Conduit rooms in his superstructure before it rotted so badly. Also! You can enter the cell chamber! It doesn't kill you though, or at least it didn't when I played it, which was a bit disappointing. I was hoping to become fried slug. Do note that the Cystic Conduit rooms have not been changed to be more friendly for other slugcats, nor does any bubbleweed spawn, so uh... have dev tools ready.

Expanded Industrial — and another expanded vanilla region! I liked the new rooms quite a lot, the aesthetics blend in very well i think. It adds a surprising number of rooms with water in them, I will say? But i think it works out overall. The map was broken when I played, I don't know if it's been fixed, but I think it's still worth checking out. Unlike EXSU, EXHI kind of adds a bunch of rooms that don't connect as much to the vanilla rooms, as far as I've noticed, so it's like getting a new subregion of rooms rather than a mix of them. Still, it's pretty cool!

Expanded Outskirts — and yet another expanded vanilla region. It's not as extensive as DS+ I don't think? But it still adds a ton and the room designs are really neat. Certain rooms were a little strange to me? ExSU adds a lot of routing complexity in a way that I like, and now that the map is repaired, it's a lot easier to navigate. It is also fully compatible with DS+! Playing with both mods enabled gives you... three? Four gates? Into DS, which is kind of wild. It also appears I missed a new gate into Industrial Complex!

Timeless Conservatory/Quiet Gardens — a small new region connected to Pebbles' can. It's got a bunch of new screens since I last played it, as well as a subregion for Pebbles! It's very creative, I like it. Currently it's still fairly small, and it doesn't seem like there's any lore pearls in there, but it's a pretty region with some cool aesthetics. Good for a quick play. Mark not required, and I went in with neuron glow but the glow seems to be forcibly disabled in certain rooms?

Enjoyed, wouldn't readily recommend

Lavish Knack — this one's weird. It's a pack of several custom regions, all interconnected, but when I played it only one of them had full backgrounds and foregrounds. The rest were very... bare. It was kind of funny though. Some of the design choices are also a little peculiar, though thankfully, not typically in a way that makes platforming or traversal difficult. It did have one specific mechanic that I really liked, some strange pipe launching thing, but it was used only in one spot. Most of my enjoyment was from baffled laughter at how this region was designed admittedly. I wouldn't call it a bad region, it's just a little funny going through it at times. The Mark won't be necessary for Lavish Knack, though neuron glow might help in some parts of it.

Aerial Arrays*^ — this one will ah... not be a favorite of many people, I think. I found it interesting, and I enjoyed the platforming, generally, but. Um. It is. Pretty cursed. In several ways, and in ways that a lot of people won't like. Some of the camera transitions are a little rough, some of the design choices are a little... peculiar, and some tiles are a little bare in a way that's a little noticeable if you're really looking at the aesthetics, but considering this is the dev's first region? It's pretty damn impressive. It's pretty well made too, imo. It also boasts a surprising number of unique pearls, two of which uh. Are pretending to be white pearls. I'll... leave that for you to figure out. Do note that some parts of Aerial Arrays are bugged right now, but I've given the dev my feedback and they'll be pushing a hotfix for bugs soon. The Mark is not necessary, and you can skip grabbing a neuron since there's neurons in Aerial Arrays.

Washroom — rather small region, but it was pretty neat. There's not much to it, but I think it achieves its purpose well. It made me feel like laundry as I was going through it. A surprising amount of worm grass was in the region though. Mark and neuron glow not necessary.

Lost Cranny — possibly the smallest region available at the moment, but considering it was made in just three hours, I say it's pretty damn impressive. The map was unfortunately broken when I played and I'm not sure if it'll ever be fixed, but truthfully the region is like. 8 rooms? So. It's hard to get lost anyways. Short and sweet, imo. Could be worth looking at, and Balagaga said the region might get expanded if people are interested, which could be interesting. Also, this region is Monk exclusive.

Did not like, would not recommend

Expanded Leg — full disclosure, this is mostly a me thing, but ExLeg was eh. I already don't like the Leg, so I don't know why I went into it expecting I might enjoy it. (I do know. It's because of PA.) It's just... Leg. But the other side of it. I will say though that some of the platforming in ExLeg feels even less clear than in the vanilla Leg? But maybe that's a skill issue on my part, I dunno. If you like the Leg you might like ExLeg, but I wasn't a fan personally.

The Tower (not the Daszombes one) — this one wasn't particularly interesting to me. It was basically just pole hell, and some of the design was... eh? The camera transitions were also a bit jank imo. Very much not my thing. Some rooms were pretty though, and it's also the dev's first region, so I have to cut them some slack.

Honorable mentions

Fortunate Development — not fully a region mod, but it cleans up the rot from all of Pebbles' superstructure. It was bittersweet to play through this, and I enjoyed it, but ultimately it's just Pebbles. Still worth checking out though imo. I don't think this one is compatible with Ex5P? I'm not sure though.

The Tower (the Daszombes one) — I actually have not watched most of Das' content, and certainly not the Iterator Logs, so I was very out of my depth when playing through this. it seems interesting, I just have no context for any of it. It was heavily unfinished when I played it though; one room would be fully designed, with foreground decor and lighting and stuff, and then if you go through a pipe, you end up in a bare room with literally nothing but the geometry. It was jarring, but also clearly unfinished, so I can't judge it too hard. If you like Das' stuff, you might be interested in this.

Additional notes

* These regions have some fairly intense flashing in some parts:

The Underhang-like section of HR has electrical storms like vanilla Underhang, but they're far more intense and far more constant than what Underhang gets. It also has a pretty strong particle effect in a good bunch of rooms; it made my game lag in some of them. Honestly HR just has a lot of eyestrain-y graphics in general, which is a huge shame because it’s basically my only complaint about it.

Ex5P has Primary Cortex rooms that still feature the (harmless) green lightning, and that too can get pretty flashy.

Aerial Arrays' upper part is full of slug zappers. Yes, seriously. They flicker on and off. If you dislike RTA because of the visual flashing effect, you'll want to avoid playing Aerial Arrays, because they're unavoidable.

Stormy Coast is, well. Very stormy. There's lightning effects in most outdoor rooms, and they're unavoidable.

None of these mods have a config menu to reduce or disable the flash effects, so be careful if you're sensitive to flashing. The mod No More Flashes may help with some of these, but not all.

^ There is at least one unique lore pearl in this region.

Note that Undersea's pearls currently do not give the correct dialogue. Wrayk (the dev) has been notified of the issue, though fixing this hasn't been a priority for him as of late. Additionally, any Saint timeline pearls are currently unreadable by Moon, but the dialogue is available on the mods wiki(!).

& The review for this region is currently outdated, due to there having been an update to the mod since I wrote the review.

#rain world #hi main tag. go play mods. they're incredible #before anyone asks: yeah these are ranked in roughly 'most enjoyed' to 'least enjoyed' order #but the categories are more accurate than the exact order #region ranking #<- that is for me to find this post again #three of myrmice's regions are on here. that's how you know they make amazing stuff

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taurussoulastrology · 1 year ago

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Astrological Gifts, Placements and Aspects.

Part 2 - Aspects and Placements that point to psychic gifts in the birth chart.

In the first part I talked about the the psychic gifts, this post will include placements & aspects, and there is quite a few of both! There really is so many placements and aspects that's why I said last time were all born with these gifts. Yes, some stronger than others, but that doesn't mean you can't strengthen yours. I still have a load of research that I'm going through for my book but figured this was a good place to start for you all.

I'll also be posting about ways to work on your gifts and how to protect yourself from negative energy and psychic attacks. So please hit the like and follow button so you don't miss out on the upcoming parts to this post! Remember intuition is the door to open your abilities, strengthen that intuition and you can open a whole new world to possibilities!

✨️ You gotta be ready for all of it though. With the good comes the bad, so learn how to protect yourself, you gotta be ready for it all! I'll jump right into this!

Aspects & Placements include:

Elements; each element is used in rituals whether it's religious, spiritual, or elemental magic therfore each element is associated with psychic abilities. We all have the elements within us, some more than others but they're there, you just need to learn how to access them!

Earth signs- associated with empathy & mediumship. Earth energy serves as an anchor. Earth energy also has a connection to mother nature. Think about how you're feeling the next time a big thunderstorm comes through.

Fire signs- healing effect on people. Heavy Fire allows us to manifest it also helps us concentrate and open ourselves up. Think about the use of a flame ...

Water signs- intuitive, empathetic and healing. All water signs are associated with some form of psychic abilities. Water is a powerful conduit to the spiritual realm.

Air signs- mediums and spiritual teachers. Heavy air energy can allow you to feel the change in energy. Air signs can be very intuitive.

Lilith 4, 8, 12h &/or in Cancer, Scorpio or Pisces- a mystic placement, highly intuitive with enhanced sensitivity, receptive to the energies around you. Brings a fascination to the subconscious, interests in the occult, spirituality, supernatural, mysticism, psychology or religion is highly likely. Can indicate psychic abilities and may suffer from nightmare, vivid dreams, and dèjavù.

Vertex 8h this is a mystical placement. Vertex is always located on the western hemisphere, this needs to be activated by person, place, or event, even a particular transit can activate it.

Cancer Placements, meaning placed in the sign of Cancer or in the 4th House, intuitive and empathetic. This includes the Sun, Moon &/or Ascendant.

Scorpio Placements, meaning placed in the sign of Scorpio or in the 8h, heightened psychic forces. This includes the Sun, Moon &/or Ascendant.

Pisces Placements, meaning placed in the sign of Pisces or in the 12th House, strong connection to the spirit world. This includes the Sun, Moon and/or Ascendant.

4th, 8th, 9th and 12th house can reveal psychic indicators in the chart, especially with personal planets here. Some 3h placements can indicate psychic abilities as well. 4, 8, 12th house stelliums or stelliums in Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces.

8th and 9th houses have strong connection to past life experiences. 9th House or Sagittarius has a connection to spirituality, religion, expansion and healing.

Sun in 4, 8, 12th houses &/or water signs, Aquarius, Taurus, Virgo, Sagittarius(bonus for being those houses and signs) 8H sun is said to be an old soul;

♐️Sagittarius sun; prophetic, insightful, religious/spiritual, intuitive

♉️Taurus sun; grounded, strong intuitive abilities, strong intuition connected to mother earth. Healing abilities, able to work with the elements.

♍️Virgo Sun; healing abilities especially with herbal health healing properties in mother earth. Ability to work with the elements.

♒️Aquarius sun; ability to see through people, places, and things, strong intuitive insights.

♋️Cancer, ♏️Scorpio and ♓️Pisces sun; strong intuitive abilities, & channeler abilities.

Water Moons, house can change psychic experience, highly intuitive and sensitive to energies and spirits. Below is a list of every Moon and gift tied to it. Cancer Moons are typically stronger in psychic gifts than Scorpio and Pisces and that's because they are ruled by the Moon. They are extremely sensitive and are able to pick on others energies a bit stronger naturally, they all have this gift even if they don't know it. That's not saying Pisces or Scorpio aren't strong when it comes to their abilities because Neptune and Pluto both play a huge role in psychic abilities, but since they're outer planets they're not as strong as the closest luminary to our planet and has a strong effect on the planet and ourselves. That being said all water Moons are highly intuitive and the strongest psychically out of all signs.

Sagittarius, Virgo, Libra, Taurus, and Aquarius Moons are all beholden to intuitive abilities as well, especially if placed in the 4, 8, 12th houses.

Water Moons in the 4, 8, 9, 12th house, ability to channel guides, medium channeler, divination, connected to the divine, ability to see the past and future through dreaming. The Moon is the strongest aspect/placement in your chart tied to psychic gifts since it rules our subconscious and emotions. Below is a list of all Moons and gifts tied to them.

Moon

○Aspects Neptune

○Aspects Mercury

○Aspects North Node

○Aspects Uranus

○Aspects Pluto

○The Moon as your guiding or oriental planet.

○Conjuct Ascendant

○Strongest if they're are all in water signs and houses with

○Conjunctions, Trine, and Sextile comes easier and will be stronger for said person.

Water Mercury especially in 4, 8, 12h, psychic ability related to communication, automatic writing, channeler. Mercury in 8 or 12 house may be attracted to the metaphysical or occult. Mercury in water sign OR in 4, 8, 12th house Aspected to Neptune channeler, automatic writing, mystical, spiritual. *Any aspect, square and opposition may be harder to access but not impossible.

Venus in water signs & in Taurus, brings a psychic, intuitive and empathetic quality to said person. Even stronger if water sign Venus is in 4, 8, 9, 12 house.

Jupiter in water signs, Sagittarius &/or 1, 4, 8, 9, 12th house placements suggests heightened intuition, expands mystical capabilities & clairvoyance - Jupiter with strong 3h, gifts related to communication.

Saturn in water signs, &/or in 4, 8, 12th house, ability to learn to channel and control psychic energy, spiritual discipline.

Uranus can give us an ability to tap into higher frequencies.

Uranus in water signs, Aquarius, Sagittarius &/or in 1, 4, 8, 9, 12th house or Conjunct Ascendant, ability to tap into higher frequencies. Uranus aspected to water moon intuitive, inventive, psychic receptivity in dreams.

Uranus aspected to Mercury in water or 4, 8, 12th houses intuitive channeler. *Any aspect, square and opposition may be harder to access but not impossible.

Uranus:

○aspects Moon

○aspects Mercury

○aspects North Node

○Uranus oriental/guiding planet.

Conjunctions, Trine and Sextile comes easier and will be stronger for said person.

Neptune like the Moon has a strong ability to tap into the subconscious and spiritual realms. Neptune in water, Aquarius, Sagittarius &/or 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 12th house or Conjunct Ascendant, strong connections to the unconscious mind & spiritual realm. In 3h, channeler abilities. In 8h mediumship, including divination.

Neptune:

○Aspects Sun

○Aspects Moon

○Aspects Mercury

○Sextile Uranus

○Square, Trine, Conjunct, Sextile Ascendant

○Conjuct MC

○Neptune is your oriental/guiding planet.

Conjunctions, Trine and Sextile comes easier and will be stronger for said person.

Pluto can give us the ability to transform and access our psychic abilities. Pluto in water &/or 1, 4, 8, 9, 12th houses or Conjunct Ascendant, ability to transform and access deeper levels of the spiritual realm. Pluto in the 8th & 12th house brings about deep interests in the underworld, subconscious realms, and supernatural. Exceptionally perspective, highly intuitive, psychic. Was most likely aware of these abilities at a young age.

Pluto

○Aspects Moon

○Aspects Jupiter

○Conjunct North Node

○Pluto oriental/guiding planet.

Conjunctions, Trine and Sextile comes easier and will be stronger for said person.

Uranus, Neptune, Pluto- sextile, Trine to each other, offers an openly energetic gateway to intuitive and psychic insight, square or opposition psychic dreams and insight but may need to be developed.

With Neptune sextile Pluto you're able to tap into the collective on a broader and deeper way than most, especially with a well placed water Moon.

Nodes in water signs &/or 4, 8, 12th houses, north can point to current psychic gifts, South can point to a past life as a psychic.

Chiron 4,8,12th house and Conjunct or opposition to

○Neptune

○Moon

Can have healing abilities on others in the native.

Moon Signs

Aries Moon- clairvoyance

Taurus Moon - clairsentient, clairaudience, Psychometry

Gemini Moon- claircognizance

Cancer Moon- claircognizance, clairsentient, clairvoyance, divination, emotional empath

Leo Moon- clairvoyance

Virgo Moon- clairsentient, claircognizance, physical empath

Libra Moon- claircognizance

Scorpio- claircognizance, clairvoyance, clairaudience, channeler, mediumship

Sagittarius- claircognizance, clairvoyance

Capricorn-claircognizance

Aquarius- claircognizance, clairaudience

Pisces Moon- clairsentient, clairvoyance, claircognizance,divination, channeler

#AstrologyCommunity #psychicsenses #elementalenergy #Neptune #moon #uranus #Pluto #mysticism #psychicaspects

#mysticalmoonsoul #taurusmoonsoul.com #taurussoulastrology.com #i love astrology #astrology community #psychic senses #clairvoyance #clairaudience #clairsentience #claircognizance

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hopefull-mindset · 10 months ago

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Hello this is my main for @/dazai-on-my-mind I was going through your abuse post (have yet to finish it so forgive me if you've discussed this already) what are your theories for what lies under Dazai's bandages? The main fan theories that I've seen so far is that they're either covering self inflicted injuries or Mori experimented on Dazai at times during his Port Mafia days but again coming from your abuse post this theory seems highly unlikely. So I was wondering if you had any thoughts about that.

Hello! Sorry this took a bit. I saw your other ask, so I'll try to get to that. It's absolutely fine you haven't finished it. I'm personally surprised at how long it is myself. I actually haven't talked about what is under Dazai’s bandages, so sure! I also have some brief thoughts on the bandages itself.

(Edit: that was not brief, it turns out I had a lot of thoughts)

It's an average topic with this fandom, so I don't know how much I can add really!

We do know he has scars from what Oda said in Dark Era:

And we also get this tidbit from Harukawa talking about designing Dazai:

The special thing about this series was that apart from the settings from Asagiri, the characters probably should have certain aspects of the authors they were based on, but I tried to draw them based on the character settings first when doing up the initial drafts. […] For Dazai, I wrapped him up in bandages because of his suicide mania, and took note with other items.

—Harukawa35, Behind The Scenes of The Character Design!

Of course, the intent behind what the bandages are and what is behind them can change over time when they get to know their own characters better! They look like they're implying two different things, but I'd argue it's the exact same thing, even if they come from different places.

Out of all the assumptions, what's under there is probably scars he gained while throwing his life away in the face of danger, even when he doesn't need to. It's no different than the average suicide attempt by him. I wonder if he has a scar from the Old Boss’s scythe, that'd be sick. This is what sounds most likely to me, but I’ll entertain other ideas for the sake of it being too short of a note to end on.

You can obviously tell I don’t dig the idea of Mori committing medical malpractice. Not only is that an insane idea to come by, how does he even benefit from that thought process? The only type of stuff happening is Mori forcing him to take his vaccinations and taking drugs Dazai got from his medicine cabinet out of his young hands. I also think people think this way because of what he said about Mori telling him the shots won't hurt in The Day I Picked Up Dazai Side A.

A doctor is telling a child his shots won't hurt… ??? Sounds pretty normal.

I know people won't like it when I say this, but that was typical teenage Dazai childishness. He does genuinely not like pain of course, so it could be that he's overexaggerating because that's what it felt like to him haha. That scene is meant to be comedic, so this sentiment shouldn't be that serious in context. It's not like this is idk Black Butler.

I remember in Side B that Dazai says pain is what reminds you that you're alive. Maybe that's why he doesn't like it, even if he was a torture specialist. To understand death, you have to understand what it is to be alive because life is both of those things. Dazai prefers the state of being dead rather than the process, but also thinks the attempt is easier than actually committing. Dear god, your commitment issues don't need to go this far.

As for self-harm, it's pretty 50/50 with enough arguments on both sides to make a case. Dazai doesn’t like pain, but people don't usually do it because they like the feeling of the pain itself. They could do it to punish themselves, the feeling of it afterward, etc. I think Dazai putting himself in those situations like I mentioned earlier counts enough as self-harm (you can even count his implicit drinking habits too if you'd like), but this specifically on what I know you mean just depends on whether you think Dazai would do so.

I can't imagine it from Dazai, but if people think so, there's nothing stopping them from it. There's nothing implying he wouldn't, suicidal people don't always resort to this. I’m personally just tired of people using it for their whump narratives, in all fandoms actually.

I don’t care much for it if that’s what they’d like to do because I understand, but it’s not something I like being depicted in weirdly graphic detail for no reason other than the character to suffer. Besides that, there no harm in it. I don’t want to get all “you shouldn’t write this stuff because I said so”, that’s stupid.

(-150 points if it’s for white knighting ship content)

Now I hope you don’t mind me rambling off a bit! It’s been on my mind since last week to talk about the bandages.

Symbolically, the bandages can mean a couple things. All very similar things haha. It’s like what Chuuya’s gloves are to him and how personal it is to take them off outside of Corruption, or how he said he used to put his hands in his pockets because he wanted to protect his humanity while fighting.

Core things they can mean are:

A thin barrier to separate and hide himself from others (including from himself)

To minimize skin contact from his ability aka himself (not as literal as it sounds)

Abilities in Bungou Stray Dogs are apart of the user. No matter if you move your ability on to your child (Kyouka and her Mother), have it be mutilated into something unrecognizable (Verlaine, Chuuya), or to naturally be imbedded into you, you cannot separate it from your humanity. It’s still you, as Atsushi had to eventually accept this fact.

You can say a lot about the nature of abilities and 55 Minutes made some worrying discussion points about Abilities that I wish were touched on more by others, but let’s go with first thought process because it’s the one Asagiri let’s us off easy with.

No Longer Human, as Asagiri told us, is based off of the feeling he got when reading Dazai Osamu’s writing. Functionally, his ability is a bit horrifying to me as something born from himself. Maybe I just overreact, but when you translate what his ability mean functionally against every ability user we know, you can come up with interesting conclusions.

It’s not like how Atsushi can cut through abilities as a Tiger as I’m sure that was meant to imply something about his psychological breakthrough and combating other’s soul born abilities with his own. Dazai just straight up takes away other’s abilities. As long as he’s touching you, you have become a victim to his soul’s vacuum of searching for humanity or lack there of.

That’s not to say others who don’t have abilities aren’t human, I think the difference is that ability users are forced to put a part of their humanity up for show and scrutiny, which makes them appear inhuman to the average human being. Dazai is as paradoxical as his own ability. He’s functionally the average human being, but he also lacks something… human when you put him up against another ability user.

Sorta this middle ground in what to think and how he also tends to be. When I read No Longer Human, it popped out to me too often that Yozo Oba was incredibly human while putting himself in this position of inhumanity.

When Dazai’s ability is in effect, he takes away a piece of your humanity, making your less than who you were before. So when Dazai covers skin with his bandages, he’s covering up the metaphorical cavity that is his ability and inhumanity. When the bandages starts going everything when he’s using his ability, he’s swallowing that piece whole and embracing you falling to his level.

Am I overanalyzing a stylistic choice that usually only appears in official art? Yes, but it’s fun.

You can tell I skipped the first one, but that’s because it has to do with an example that’s been the reason I keep thinking about this and it sounded more fun to talk about. In the Onsen CD Drama, there’s two scenes I want to put emphasis one.

The first one being when Dazai says that they’re all getting closer because of them being in the hot spring, but Kunikida calls out the fact he’s still wearing his bandages. I could’ve passed it off as being not that significant because it’s a joke scene if it weren’t for the next one.

Atsushi wanted to wash Dazai’s back since Kunikida had been occupied and he wanted to help them like they did for him, but Dazai had already walked away. Later when they’re still awake while the others had slept, Atsushi tries again and actually gets the opportunity to do it. Only problem, Dazai still has his bandages on. Dazai just tells him it’s okay and to scrub anyway.

This made me feel… how do I say this… speechless? Not because Dazai was entirely insistent on them being apart of his body like the troll he is, but because of the simultaneous intimacy of the act and abruption of it with the bandages. You can pass it off as a running joke, but we both know Dazai absolutely heard Atsushi thank him and avoided that confrontation by playing it off as being sleepy.

I’ve said this a couple times to people I’ve talked to before, but Dazai is the type of guy who you would talk to every day, invite you everywhere, and always go out with a lot of people, but if you were to be asked what you personally know about him, you’d be able to say nothing but surface level stuff everyone knows.

With anyone and everyone, there’s always this level of personal separation between them and Dazai, and they know it. Even if you are closer to him like Oda and Chuuya are and Dazai had willing shared stuff usually wouldn’t (mind you, it took Mimic for Dazai to share more about himself to Oda and Ango), he doesn’t let himself be that vulnerable or let himself go.

I’m arguing that the bandage are a more literal barrier between him and the world. Either to protect himself or to protect others from what they’ll realize about him. He hides himself because of what he is…or something like that at least, I don’t know what goes though his head. Im still trying to figure out his perception on things thoroughly and if he really cares about it.

The eye bandage has been talked to death by now. Yes yes, Dazai left his eye covered for depth perception in the dark and Oda uncovering it for him to see the light as well. We all know it. Still, I think it’s quite meaningful that when he’s finally having an heart-to-heart with Odasaku, he’s the one to open up that bandage. It doesn’t fix everything, but he’s been opened up to that possibility.

For Beast, Dazai having a bandage on the other eye can be seen as a misguided attempt of seeing everything with Oda in mind by seeing it all in the eye he uncovered, but still needing to cover the other to guide himself in the dark. He’s also a mirror image of the original Dazai if you’d like to see it like that.

In Side B, Dazai covers his whole face up. Ironically, while I called the bandages on his body a cover up for his inhumanity, the face bandages cover up his emotions, suppressant of himself. Dazai is not typically that emotional, but Side B Dazai is going through a lot when it comes to Odasaku… so while he’s covering his face to hide it from Oda, he is also hiding the overwhelming feelings he has.

In the ending of Side B where he takes off the dirty bandages, he’s so wracked with emotion he almost fails himself in his plans, and presumably forces himself to cover up his one eye again. When he falls to his death in the ending of Beast, bandages fall when he’s able to let himself go.

In the manga, Hoshikawa was evil and drew the bandages falling into Oda’s hands. Let’s say… they’re a symbol of his protect of Oda and remembrance of the scene where Oda pulls them off. You can even say they where still taken off with Oda’s influence!

OKAY ENOUGH, I’m talking you ears off. It seems I like the sound of my own voice and wanted to share as much as I could.

#/ discussion of self harm #bsd #bungou stray dogs #dazai osamu #bsd meta #bsd analysis #bsd beast #me writing this post: Dazai’s bandages mean *throws dart* …..*squints* the protection of his own disappointment against the face of the #world’s predictability and in turn being…?#okay let’s start over.. *picks up another dart*

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