#B. they can represent lots of things to different ppl so if they represent the wealthy in one story then they represent the wealthy there.

[everythingsinred]

“vampires are PROBLEMATIC because they represent the wealthy class and elites--”

to YOU! to me they represent endless fun

[southasianpercy]

miles-42 is a vigilante.

this is something my friend and i have discussed in private immediately after watching the movie when it was released. but, whenever we see anyone else say it online, they get heavy pushback from A LOT of people. and i believe those people def only watched across the spiderverse for reasons such as (1) the most popular movie at the time (2) it’s spider-man (but they only have a passive interest in spidey). i say this because their denial of miles-42 being a vigilante instead of a villain or anti-hero feels like they only care to look at the movie with a very shallow perspective.

i’m going to first talk about why my friend & i believed miles-42 was a vigilante after watching the movie (take note that we hadn’t really seen other ppl’s opinions on this yet & we also hadn’t searched up anything pertaining to the topic prior to our convos).

our main reason is that miles-42 was meant to be spider-man in his universe. and we all know that when a person is meant to be spider-man, they are a person with a heart of gold (i.e. a very kind and good nature).*

*yes, i know spider-man can be evil, but that doesn’t line up with the theme represented throughout the spiderverse films, so it’s not relevant here. also, with that logic, then you have to consider that prowler can be good.

miles-42 being the prowler in his universe doesn’t mean that he’s automatically evil/a villain/thug/gang member, especially since there are parallels between miles-42 and our miles (miles-1610).

• they have the same mural dedicated to a beloved family member who died.

• miles-42 caught the glove from uncle aaron-42 the same way that our miles caught the spray can from his uncle.

• they wear the same clothes. i believe the clothes are a heavy indicator for how similar miles-42 and our miles are—they both wear the jersey with the big puffy coat over, but the colors (red & black, purple & green) match their respective titles (spider-man, prowler). this definitely indicates that they stand for the same thing and represent the same thing for their respective universes, just with a different appearance.

now, when i’ve seen people try to defend their belief that miles-42 is a villain or anti-hero, they say “well, he tied up our miles!” or “he’s the prowler! and the prowler is supposed to be evil/kill people!” or “he’s only had a couple seconds of screen time, so just let people assume what they want.” i have a rebuttal for each of these.

“well, he tied up our miles!” yeah, this is another parallel, similar to how our miles tied up peter b. parker in itsv. did that mean our miles was a villain then? or evil? no, he was scared and wanted answers. but, in comparison, miles-42 is more experienced and has spent a year being his city’s hero, so he’s definitely going to be tougher and more capable compared to itsv miles.

“he’s the prowler! and the prowler is supposed to be evil/kill people!” people need to take into account that this is a different universe without a spider-man. there is no spider-man mantle to take up because there never was one in the first place/no one got bit, which means things function differently. miles-42 being the prowler is the closest thing to being spider-man in his universe (which, once again, is indicated through subtext: miles-42 & our miles’s clothing being similar).

“he’s only had a couple of seconds of screen time, so just let people assume what they want.” no. i don’t care that miles-42 had little to no screen time because there are heavy indicators that point to him being a hero in his universe. and letting ppl assume what they want has went into weird racist territory where people push this idea of miles-42 running his own cartel, being a threatening hoodrat, or anything else that falls under bullshit harmful stereotypes based off of his appearance alone. letting ppl assume miles-42 to be anything but a vigilante who helps people and doesn’t kill anyone just lets them play out their fantasies that are deeply rooted in racism. they even make it to where miles-42 acts & dresses insanely different from our miles even tho the movie has shown us these two have similar taste?? and rio-42 didn’t think miles was acting any different when he was talking to her?? the only difference between our miles and miles-42 is their environment, which forced one of them to grow up way quicker and adopt a tougher exterior.

and a couple months ago, when i was reading through the atsv art book, on the section about miles-42 the director literally confirmed what my friend & i thought all along: miles-42 is a vigilante and the hero of his universe. it’s nice to have it confirmed, but it also is important for the vigilante deniers to hear it because that’s the only time they’ll truly understand (even tho it’s been heavily hinted at in the movie).

p. 190 of the atsv official art book

p. 200 of the atsv official art book

[aether-friskets]

Why I Headcanon Waylon Park as a Trans Guy?

it came to me in a dream.

ok but jokes aside (well not entirely it DID actually originate because of a dream i had getting interrupted by a nonexistent video essay on the topic... dreams are weird man), i do want to try talking about my reasoning for this (although it's totally legit to hc a character as trans purely because you want to!! thats totally based also lol), because maybe it'd be interesting to hear the lens through which i saw this game? idk lol but i'm doing it anyway... below the cut in case it gets long

Ok immediate prefaces, A: i doubt this was actually the intended at all and i'm not trying to say it's canon, just saying why i read it that way :3 and B: this will probably be a rambling mess and I apologize, I'll try to make it somewhat make sense.

I guess I'll start with: a whole major thing of Outlast, is fighting to tear down this large corporation, that is like. the embodiment of shitty systems that exploit people (this post by bry mentions that general topic, although more focused on miles' angle). It's worth noting because, to me at least, fighting these sorts of systems really aligns with a lot of queer folks (and basically any group that gets fucked over by the system, which is most of them loll). There's like, this whole thing of Waylon seemingly fitting that image of the ideal typical man, with the wife and kids and a job, but he has to risk all of that to do what he feels is the right thing.

(Oh yeah, I guess quick tangent on that note. Yes I know in canon we literally see his dick lmao and also we know he has kids, which you might think would deter my hc here. but A: i already said ik it's probably not canon, i can still read into it regardless. B: intersex ppl exist. C: phalloplasty and other similar procedures exist. D: ppl can have kids in non-traditional way. so im prob not gonna cover that element of it more)

My brain hasn't been able to help but interpret his whole journey in a queer way, because i played it as a teenager still in the throes of understanding my identity and place in the world, so in the end this might not even make sense to anyone else. But, I'm trying to explain, so I'll continue to regardless.

I kind of saw it as Waylon hiding in the protection of an "ideal" life. On the surface he looks like he's in that American ideal family, but it's a subversion. He's only one of them because they think he is. Because he doesn't step out of line. Unlike Miles, who's more outspoken about issues, who seemingly has no one around him. He's treated as part of this "ideal" world, while working in the background to try and stop the exploitation and immoral acts going on.

When he's caught, when he's seen as something more complicated than first imagined, he's cast out. Lumped in with the same people being exploited by Murkoff already. He isn't "human" to them anymore. He's something else. Something they don't like.

Although the violence brought upon him is by the variants, it is still in part Murkoff's doing, since they fucked these people up via these experiments to a point of heightened violence and just generally ruining their lives more than they already had been by whatever they had done prior. That being said, they are still responsible for their own actions.

the stuff with Eddie is definitely the part that most resonated with me through this lens. I remember first playing it, and he scared me the most, for a lot of reasons. One of which being what he represented. He's The Groom. He wants someone to be his Bride, and you're it, even if you don't want that. As someone who's aroace AND already knew at that point that i wasn't a girl, this guy felt like a human embodiment of the pressures to fit what was expected of you. That one day, you'll be married and have kids. If you don't, then you're worthless.

But it's interesting especially, because Waylon IS married. He has kids already. He has that family. The difference is, in this hypothetical trans lens, he's not "really" in a traditional family. He's "pretending", as some might see it, because he's not "really one of them". Being Eddie's Bride is the situation that would've been expected of him, but he said "fuck that", and did his own thing.

Plus, like, with Eddie in particular, you will NEVER be what he wants. He will try to make his perfect bride, but you'll never be it. Even before Mount Massive, no one was what he wanted, judging by all the people he killed. He's a broken man desiring something but never liking his options.

Also just fucking. these lines from eddie make me lose my mind.

That part of you the world sees, they think it's perfect. As God intended. Even these idiots and lunatics see it. There's something special about you. On the surface. But when they look deeper, when anybody with eyes to see looks at what you truly are. That's why they don't trust you. You're not what you're meant to be. Not yet. This place can see into your mind. And the things you've done. Oh, they're a sin, darling.

like HELLO??

I know it's probably just Eddie rambling but it felt like he reached through the screen and grabbed me by the throat like.

Anyway in actual relation to my point. uh. Remember the thing I said about Waylon being a "fake" typical family? This kind of relates to that. Like, on the surface, he seems like he's got this perfect typical American family, he's "as God intended" (which. bro. i swear that exact phrase has been used against trans people so many times). But if you look closer, you'll realize there's more to it than that. Also like, going from the "as God intended" line to the thing about the things he's done being a sin, like hmmm. Maybe I'm reading into that too much, considering we know Eddie wants to make you into his Bride, so of course he's gonna think stuff like that. But still. It's a bit interesting to me.

Plus, it's interesting how, despite having a wife and kids, he's still more... feminized, I guess, than any other characters in this game. Both in the game itself, and within the fandom. Like, not just Eddie literally calling him a woman and trying to make him his bride, but also stuff like a variant near the beginning calling him a "pretty flower" before threatening him, Andrew (one of the staff) licking his face at the beginning of the game... A lot of violence and sexual-ish acts that are often directed at women in media. Even Frank, who I don't have as much to say about here, has some weirdly sexual undertones to his whole cannibalism thing.

This isn't entirely related but one part of the game that still sticks with me but I don't see mentioned as much, is near the beginning. Those guys stabbing the dead staff member. One of them remarks that "there are no observers here" and "do you think you're different? Something special?", which I think helps cement the whole idea that he's treated the same as the rest of people being exploited by Murkoff now. There's no turning back to that "ideal" life you were hiding in before. Hell, that's definitely reinforced more at the end of the game, when you choose to publish your footage, knowing Murkoff will come after you for it, and probably ruin your life. Maybe there's more interesting things to glean from that, but i thought they were interesting lines nonetheless.

anyway, overall I know this is probably just the ramblings of a trans/generally queer person reading WAY too much into a character that I happened to resonate with when i played the game, but i thought maybe it would be interesting for others to understand what would lead me to this conclusion? Anyway, that's all i've got on the subject right now, so I hope it was at least a little interesting.

[lavellane]

how do you come up with your character backstories? they're all so detailed and well thought out and you always seem to have an abundance of fun and interesting trivia for all your characters as well. would you be willing to give tips to someone who has a hard time coming up with anything beyond like. the basics lol 😔👉👈

WAH THANK YOU FOR SENDING THIS 🥺 i always feel a little embarrassed talking abt my ocs because i tend to start and never stop lol, and theyre all very special to me so its a sort of vulnerable extension of myself in a way. even if im only sharing with them with the lovely ppl who live in my phone its always a little stressful, so i really appreciate that they left a good impression!!

as for tips, i just wanna say as a disclaimer that i am very chronically online. ive also had multiple periods of extended free time in which ive been able to really hyperfocus on certain media and the characters i want to create within them. ALSO, a lot of my ocs ive had in development for several years and theyve just evolved naturally. ashara, for example, i made when i was 19, and im 26 now lol. ik this is cliche to hear, but i rly do think its important to go at your own pace when developing characters and do whatever makes YOU happy, before looking to anybody elses ocs , because we all have different lifestyles and creative processes and whatnot ❤️

that being said, i can def share a few things that helped me! firstly, i always start developing characters based solely on vibes and sensory stimuli, so i'd highly recommend making a pinterest moodboard for them and/or a music playlist! pinterest esp, since its such a great way to start brainstorming and getting a visual idea of what you want your character to look like/embody/represent. its a great place for inspiration in general.

secondly, one of the most important steps in developing any character is motivation. what does your oc WANT? why? what would they do to get it? should they get it? would would happen if they got it vs if they didnt? do they ACTUALLY want it or just think they do? answer those questions and you've already got a pretty solid foundation to work with. another really useful piece of advice a friend gave me several years ago was this: "what is something your character believes in at the start of their journey, that they no longer believe by the end of it?" for example, my warden oc elspeth believes in traditional heroics and black-and-white morality. by the end of dao she does not. theres a LOT to explore between point A and point B.

lastly, when i make ocs its very important to me personally that they feel inextricably TIED to the media they belong to. this is completely optional ofc, bc lots of people enjoy characters they can drag and drop into different stories, which is fine! for me though, i like taking cues from the world around them. it makes them feel natural to the plot, the setting, the canon characters, etc, because it helps me pin down some of their more hyperspecific quirks. there are a few ways to go about this.

the easiest way imo is to look at any major Core Issues within whatever media you're working with. like real life, people have OPINIONS about ISSUES and POLITICS lol, and those opinions are usually influenced by their own lived experience or personal belief system. so if you can identify a few key figures, factions or events in your story, and give your character an Opinion or Reaction to those things, it can pretty naturally be evolved into a unique and interesting backstory. to use elspeth as an example again: "elspeth dislikes orlais". thats a political opinion about a faction. and then to expand on why? "because her family/country fought in the occupation and she loves her family/country". from there we learn she's nationalistic and places value of lineage. then you could say — "she enjoys history and geography because it allows her to better appreciate her country. she cares deeply about all ferelden peoples, and has studied techniques from avaar and chasind communities". and you can keep branching out and expanding from there. and once you've exhausted that thread, move on to a diff one! "elspeth is nervous around mages". why? "because her religion tells her to and shes never thought to question it." why? etc etc etc.

alternatively, i find it really helpful to find an overlining theme in the type of media im working with/creating. sometimes its easy (baldurs gate 3 has a confirmed theme of autonomy vs authority, da4 will have a confirmed theme of regret, etc) but if its not as clear cut or your designing your own original world, its fine and great to take your own creative interpretation of things and run with it. for example, origins for me is very reminiscent of loss of innocence and war. inquisition is, to me, about personhood and losing it to your own mythology. once you've got a theme it can really help help translate into a cohesive story you want to tell and a character you want as an outlet. and since the character will be thematiclly relevant, you might also find it easier for them to connect to the cast/setting/story etc.

sorry this is so long, but i hope you gained something out of all this word salad lmao. one more thing i want to mention — its also fine to NOT do any of this. sometimes i get overwhelmed feeling like i have to come up with a unique/multi-faceted character every time i go into characterization, and virtually 100% of the time its Never that deep. if you find yourself getting stressed or overwhelmed, remind yourself that its perfectly fine to dream up a simple and straightforward character who makes you happy, and let the rest come to you as your character goes forth into the story. sometimes simplicity is best because you arent held down by the restrictions you've placed on them yet.

sending love, i hope this helped !!!!!! if you have any more questions or just want to chat, feel free to send another ask or slide into my dms ! ❤️❤️❤️

[pepprs]

ok so updates w more detail now that i have a little more time to think / write it out. ik it’s silly / tmi to do this on tumblr dot com but whatever lol

i am 90% sure im going to rhode island for a conference in october. this one ive known about for a while and it’s not a big deal bc im not presenting or anything and i’ll know a lot of ppl there and the topic / contrnt / theme is completely in my wheelhouse so i will not be alone and i’ll be in the know abt stuff. lole

i am… 60% sure im going to chicago for a conference in november. and presenting. and i’ll be the only one from my team there. and this will be at a huge like… convention type thing in a field that is not mine and i won’t know anyone there except the other delegation members who will likely all be from the same department. it’s 5 days (!!!) and idk if i’ll be there the whole time but i kinda want to be even if most of it won’t be relevant to me bc.. like id be going alone bc everyone wants me to develop confidence and stuff and realize i can do it and represent us independently. and i want that. but im also fucking terrified in part bc this would be my first time traveling independently since brighton (so like in almost 4 yrs lol). also i have been to chicago before (in 2018 for a different conference) so im scared to like. revisit that. but also excited. like what if i meet someone? but what if im being pushed into this or pushed away? idk and now i can’t focus or articulate myself well bc there’s too much noise and everyone is trying to talk to me (i need to actually be doing work b it im typing this instead bc im freaking the fuck out over all these developments lol). anyways

also…….. i am……. 60% sure i am going to. take a graduate level course this semester. on mondays from 4:30-7. and then apply to be part of that masters program it’s in starting in the spring and ahve that class + a possible winter class count towards the credits. and it would take me 3 yrs to finish the masters. i don’t want one for the sake of havign one and i REALLY don’t want to be in the hell of being torn away from work and self care to do school stuff. but i need a masters degree and have had my eye on this program since i was a sophomore in undergrad and it seems kinda meant to be a little bit. and i get 100% tuition remission bc i work here LOLLLLL so it’ll be completely free which is huge!!!!! and it’s like why the fuck not if i have this opportunity but also im so scared and idk if im cut out for grad school due to my mental illness (unironically lol). help

also i switched desks this week and now i sit where my old supervisor (and my new supervisor / her successor LMAO) sat and this one colleague i have in a different dept who is the sweetest person EVER keeps commenting on it and saying im my old supervisors protege and that im the new her and. it’s making me want to scream a little bit but idk if it’s in a good way or bad way

[samstarium]

What are your classpect headcanons for the omega kids?

ooh ooh ok! so im goin off the theory that the omega kids will "fill in" all the classes and aspects we only have 2 canon players for atm (aka no other humans have them yet)

i talked abt this a bit in a server so im gonna copy over my ideas!! autistic ramblings below

the one that interests me the most atm is vrissy bc theres the assumption she'll b a standard serket and this a light player, but it would b cool to kill the theory that all descendants need have the same aspect. personally i would love for her to stay a thief but b mindbound instead. for a couple reasons

one hs^2 (or hsbc, or whatever) and especially the candy route is abt how the world and thr characters in it have deviated from The Canon and havin vrissy keep her ancestoral title but on the class side instead is like a fun way to show that. its like oh this is not how its supposed to work is it. two i think tyin her to terezi in a way is kinda interesting. bc there's some parallels that could b made (vriska searchin for a scourge sister replacement, vrissy's relationship w/ harry anderson as a mirror for terezi and john?) but it would have to b explored a bit more since she still hasn't been in the canon for very long

as for the others i rlly want tavvy to b rage… i have him as a sylph but im not married to that. i would rlly love to have a male sylph tho! i think his sensibilities could work nicely, and we already have some (if brief) content of him interactin w/ kanaya (https://homestuck2.com/story/336) so there's potential to strengthen their connections and parallels.

for rage like ofc the purple and gamzee shit and everything puts that in my mind automatically but also. as a contrast to his hope parent and his maid parent. bein a sylph of rage just creates such delicious symmetry. hard to see a sylph-y personality just yet but it's a possibility imo, n rage i think can b interpreted from the gamzee corpse shenanigans

harry anderson im unsure of but w/ what we have i suppose bard of doom could work ok. it would b nice to have a bard who wasnt um. Well. yknow. and show some other parts of the class that weren't represented in the 2 canon bards. there's the obvious connection and punnery involving his affinity for musical theater, and his laissez faire approach to life could serve bard functions.

doom… eh. yea idk abt that but i'll take a stab at it. on a thematic level if sollux's doom craft motif is coding, havin his be stitching is kind of cool. like the connection to binary code in thread (https://www.tumblr.com/swords-n-spindles/625244898586755072/the-fibre-stuff-moiraecrochet-synebluetoo) idk. but on a more conceptual level his upbringing could give him some connections to doom, living with roxy who for the longest time was entrenched in the jane propaganda machine (harry as anti-life?).

w/ yiffy left she takes mage of blood. mage kinda iffy since the canon mages r pretty different and only one gives us much to work w/. one thing i will say on mages tho is that both of them r missin a certain sense: sollux sees no evil, meulin hears no evil, and yiffy? well i'd say she doesn't rlly "talk", at least not yet in the traditional sense, so we can complete the proverb and have her as the third mage who speaks no evil

but blood is a lot clearer. blood, bonds, connections, relationships? thats like the whole conflict of her character. i think phrasin it as yiffy "knowing" blood is kind of fun. bc she probably does have a very keen understanding of the complex relationships between the ppl around her (jane and jake and gamzee im sure she knew much of). also the literal connection of blood to her fangs, and cementing the parallels of her and karkles as blood brothers (lol)

[matoitech]

Could u go more in depth about what u did/didn't like about the spinoff? Just curious as someone who enjoyed most of it but was a lil disappointed with the last few episodes

sure! i didnt like Hate it or anything there were things i did enjoy, i watched all the episodes, it was more that it just really didnt do it for me in a way thats kind of difficult to like. pin. i should state too that i was not going to watch it already bcuz i wasnt interested in the genderbend fanfiction characters being the like title piece and everything, but i gave the first two eps a shot and thought 'okay, i get it, this show is about simon and his complicated feelings about Everything that happened and who he used to be and who these characters represent to him about who he used to be' and then it just didnt really like, do more with that in a way that i expected or wouldve enjoyed, exactly? i like the idea of multiverse hopping and a bunch of different au versions of characters in a story, that stuff is obviously really popular right now and when its done well its done WELL. i liked how finn was characterized in episode 2. it was like, an entertaining watch, it just didnt really do much for Me, and i knew that going in. its really hard to explain like my negative feelings on something that are negative bcuz it just Wasnt For Me ykwim. and there r plenty of parts of adventure time that didnt really do it for me either bcuz it had so many writers

i read an interview w the director and writers and stuff and they mentioned that they made the series recognizing that the original fans were adult now and it was partly made for us and like having a more mature theme and everything, but i didnt rly feel thatit did that for me personally (which again is Fine), and i dont think it successfully captured like, 'more mature adventure time', i guess maybe in the sense that they can swear now? but adventure time itself is thoughtful and often more mature than it was given credit for at the time. its a kids show but a lot of the later stuff was made to just tell stories and explore ideas, whether kids like 'understood' it or not, they trusted their audience, stuff wasnt really like dumbed down. they mentioned trying not to step on the toes of the original too much too and i like did get the sense that they respected and loved the source material (some of the ppl working on it including the director were from the old team) but while the spinoff was clearly successful and ppl liked it a lot (ive already seen a lot of ppl talking abt how meaningful it was to them, and thats great, im glad it resonated for people) its like, read of the characters and world and the direction they wanted to take just wasnt really the kind of vibe i come to adventure time for, i guess? like i said it just didnt rly do it for Me personally in a way thats hard to articulate

i dont rly want to say anything like too mean abt it but ppl Know about me that i dont like Fandom Aware Jokes in media i dont think theyre charming and the spinoff leaning into that kinda stuff wasnt for me, and i get why bcuz its literally fucking named after the in universe genderbent fanfiction versions of finn and jake, but thats also something i never liked about adventure time and wouldve been happy if it hadnt made a reappearance i just thought it was going to be used to Say Something so i was curious to see where it went. so like from the start it isnt exactly for me ykwim. i dont think sailor moon reference sexyman ice king or jokes about alt universe versions of characters kissing themselves is funny. coffee shop Boy pb & marceline b plot is not interesting to me (i do like marshall's human design). i feel like not a lot of stuff Happened to me

and let me preface this next part by saying that i never got too invested in simon and bettys thing in adventure time so maybe some of this stuff WAS canon and i just completely missed it but i feel like the track they took w them and their relationship was like.. they were trying to say something but it wasnt exactly the direction i wouldve taken, which isnt a 'criticism' as much as its just, a thought , for me. i thought betty losing her shit and sacrificing herself for simon at the end of adv time proper was interesting bcuz to me betty wasnt like a completely selfless character, to me she wasnt MEANT to come off that way, she was interesting in part bcuz she did all that for simon but simon had been gone for a thousand years, she gave herself up to turn him back but didnt think abt whether he wouldve wanted that. she brought him back, but without her. its obviously tragic and i do get that like betty moving on now that simons like Safe at the end of fionna and cake makes sense but i was.. curious to see the whole metaphor w the choose ur own adventure book where the metaphor or whatever was that betty had given everything up for simon and simon had never took her own feelings into consideration or gave things up for HER and stuff, and all that about like, obsession, and uneven ground, and simon shouldve known better... and the show ending with simon saying wow damn yeah betty sacrificed herself for me and i never put her over me so i should live a good life. like okay but i thought betty sacrificing herself for him wasnt meant to come off as completely selfless bcuz it wasnt exactly? i dont think it was framed that way but again i COULD be wrong. im not gonna say that this stuff is not in character cuz again i dont Remember if this was canon to the mainline series. maybe betty was always a fan of his work and their relationship did start out uneven like that and i just forgot, i am not gonna say its Wrong. its not like 'is betty right' its that theres dif ways u can read like main adventure time series decisions and the grayness of it was interesting

and i dont say that to say like oh the focus shouldve been on Simons Feelings and not this woman who became a god for him its just like, i didnt really expect that direction of writing their past relationship, or the direction in general, and idk how to feel about it. maybe ill change my mind. maybe it all makes sense and i just didnt pay enough attention to betty and simons relationships and arcs before. what i did know coming out of the show is that i felt a little let down but i also felt like i shouldnt have expected much from something that just based off the series name was already something i expected to not vibe with THAT much

[byfulcrums]

I have reblogged this like seven times already and I am so sorry about it but the tags do not fucking work. So I'm just gonna. Type it all here

..dammit

Alright so. for this whole thing to work they'd need to find a way to get rid of wasp's (i'm calling him that bc sinister mark is too long) powers, or to at least block them in some way. if he has them he'd definitely try to take over the world

what i was thinking of is, cecil keeps wasp locked up. he doesn't kill him because he thinks he can get away w using wasp. so he puts graysona device in wasp's brain that makes him feel a LOT of pain when he clicks a button (yes i did take this from the comics don't sue me)

remember the sea mosnter's scream from s2? and how it made mark feel sm pain he actually screamed?? holding his head like he's trying to keep the noise out??? yeah cecil weaponizes that to control wasp

the device is made so that if wasp somehow manages to take it off, it'll kill him. so he's pretty much stuck

every time he does smething Bad TM (like killing cecil's people) that thing is activated. it's basically torture

mark finds out that cecil kept wasp alive and didn't even tell him so he goes "yeah no" and breaks him out

he takes the thing that activates the device too because wasp's murdery personality is just too goddamn obvious. "okay i don't like cecil but he had a point w this one"

so wasp still has his powers, but is under the threat of Constant Torture, which means he actually has to be *gasp* nice!! his worst nightmare

because of shenanigans, they accidentally end up going to school. together. in the same class. they have to say they're twins (they hate it)

random person: but since when do you have a twin??

mark and wasp, in unison: since birth

random: alright, i walked into that one

they fight SO MUCH. ppl don't question it much bc they're """"siblings"""", but everyone is a little concerned for their mental health

everyone but mark's friends (they are concerned about his mental health, they just don't believe they're siblings). they think he's talking shit bc 1, mark has never had a twin brother and 2, he would never go so far with his insults holy shit (the self-hatred is strong with this one master)

wasp tries to kill mark in his sleep a lot, which leads to mark developing insomnia

i have a scene in my head where mark is hurt and passed out and wasp is watching him sleep, thinking "now. now is the time. do it"

but no matter how much he tells himself to finally fucking kill that alternate version of him he hates so much, his hands just don't move

when they finally do, we think he's actually going to kill him. instead, he just checks mark's temperature and gets up to keep watch until he wakes up

"why didn't you kill me?" "oh do you WANT me to kill you?? cause i can do it rn" "thanks but no"

they both hate each other so much, but it merges with hating themselves bc. they're the same person. what hurts one, hurts the other, no matter how different they are

wasp has to deal with being in his old home, the one he destroyed. in this universe, his mom is alive. his dad is gone. he has a little brother. the alternate version of him, the one he believes is a coward, has literally everything. friends, family. a social life: eve, amber, william, school. even when planning to destroy and kill everything and everyone that makes mark happy, he can't help but feel a llittle jealous. (his dad loved him in this reality. he's sure he did, even if mark says otherwise)

mark has to deal with the one person who represents everything he hates and fears about himself being in his home. he could destroy everything in just one second. he's unpredictable; he would do it if it meant getting away from him. but... he's also so lonely. in every universe, every version of mark grayson is evil. in every universe, he's just like his dad. and in every universe, he is completely alone, stuck in a horrible reality of his own making

if wasp gets a redemption arc, he'd still kill people, but only the ones who actually deserve it. mark doesn't like it, but hey, at least he's not trying to take over the world now??

imagine wasp gifting mark other people's body parts like a cat leaving a dead bird in your room. he hands him a still beating heart, and thinks, hateful, "you had this coming. you're keeping me here against my will. deal with the consequences"

they grow to care for each other but in a very fucked up way. they still hate each other don't get me wrong, but they would now kill for each other

wasp attempts to kill mark daily but obliterates anyone who even looks at him the wrong way. mark hates wasp w his entire soul but will not cecil even touch him, because "if you try to take him away i will destroy your entire fucking company. bitch"

everything wasp says and does gets mark to punch him. meanwhile, everything mark says and does makes wasp want to kill himself (is himself mark or wasp? we'll never know)

wasp: oh, mom is still alive. y'know, i killed her in my universe. i could do it again in yours

mark, slowly turning around with a murderous look in his face: what.

mark "i can fix him" grayson vs mark "i can make him worse" grayson. one of them will drag the other to their side kicking and screaming

it's a little haunting. for everyone, really. this not-mark acts just like mark. he smiles the same, laughs the same, frowns the same. his sense of humor is just like mark's. his puns are similar too. they wake up at the same hour, follow the same routines, like the same food. the differences could be hidden so easily. it makes you wonder which one is the one you're talking to, and how long it'll be before the one that is wrong takes your mark's place

they can finish each other's sentences. they are not happy about it

EVIL MARK, EVIL MARK, EVIL MARK!!! I want to be coherent about this season but please picture me foaming at the mouth and running on the walls. S2 being what if Mark's just like his Dad? Insanity. I love this show. Anyways, AU where an Evil!Mark tries to make Our!Mark worse, and Our!Mark tries to make the other better. Something something confronting your idea of the worst version of oneself. Plus, tweaked black and yellow costume because I saw it and immediately went murder hornet lookin' ass and knew I had to draw it. Evil ass Mark. Horrible. I think he should be dragged kicking and screaming into redemption.

[beeseverywhen]

Still thinking about that poll lol

Like I think if it's asking if I'd let someone in/ give someone a chance to force their way in, that's another matter entirely. I don't let anyone in my house that I don't know without a prior appointment, if the landlord sends someone I go out to talk to them and ask for id ect.

I do think maybe things are a bit different because there are two doors in to my house though? They've got to ring my intercom for me to let them in to the building and then I've got to unlock and open the door to my individual home for them to get in. That makes things feel a lot more secure

My neighbours know me/ my extended family and are (somewhat excessively) defensive of me so if someone did try to force their way in to my home I could scream for them (and honestly the majority of my neighbours are scarier than any potential home invader lol. My bets are on whatever neighbour has heard me yelling and taken offence on my behalf)

I think it's important for ppl to remember that most victims of violent crime know their attackers. I've lived in a situation where strangers were considerably safer than the people I was living with. It gives you a different perspective I suppose. I do feel safe in my home, but it's a safety I built. I'm under no illusion that violence in the home is statistically most likely to come from people you do know and who are there on your invitation. People in the notes are mentioning that ppl who answer the door are privileged to not have reason to feel unsafe and honestly I feel like often it's the opposite! Violent crime isn't some far off thing that I've only heard about on podcasts and in true crime books, and my past has given me the perspective to assess risks in a way that is different to how people might think of these things if they only hear about these things second hand. You can be cautious but there's no sense in living your life in fear. Bad things happen sometimes, you can't avoid that and it's a lot less likely to be cause you answered the door to the wrong person than it is, you unfortunately misjudged a friend/partner/acquaintance.

People talk about living in a high crime area making you more cautious...I see where you are coming from and I don't personally consider our neighbourhood to be particularly dangerous, however, I'm not sure if someone else would agree. We get quite a bit of alcohol related crime, so like fights, broken windows ect. Several of my neighbours do have criminal records for violent crime, but frankly, I know they wouldn't hesitate to defend me should someone unsavoury follow me home/ try to force their way in, and my bets are on my neighbours being scarier than them.

If you move in to a 'dangerous neighbourhood' from somewhere else and don't know anyone then yeah, I can see why you'd be cautious/ scared. But if you know your neighbours and are considered one of them, they'll keep an eye out for you? Don't get me wrong, if my neighbours are drunk and irrationally angry about something then yeah I may well pretend I don't hear them knocking and figure we can deal with whatever it is when it's not 3am. But like... even if one of them got weird ideas and seemed to represent a danger, the rest of them wouldn't accept it so it would be fine.

I feel a lot safer here than I have living anywhere else even tho statistically there is more crime, and my neighbours probably arent what most would consider to be the best neighbours from a safety perspective. (There's a history of major crime in this building & ppl haven't really forgotten, especially as the person involved still lives here) because a) there's no threat of violence from those living in MY home. b) there are lots of people around always, as its a shopping/restaurant area and any housing is flats so pretty high density. so if you yell loud enough someone will always come and c) they know me round here so whoever hears will come, and they will defend me if needed

People get so weird about being sus of the ppl they live near and it only makes things less safe? If you know your neighbours, they'll keep an eye out for you, and you them. If everyone's so scared of everyone they never leave their houses, nobodies gonna be outside to see anything out of the usual and nobody feels any sense of loyalty towards each other, so it's more dangerous?

[bandomgay]

THE ZANE LOWE INTERVIEW THOUGHTS ...

ALEX BEING CHEEKY ABOUT THE COMPLEMENTS PLS HES SO ❤️❤️❤️

zane is literally so sweet about how he approaches questions so differently from other ppl to Alex like I love the way he's adapting to Alex's personality and he makes Alex comfortable

Mirrorball and do I wanna know being the ones that set the stage for the album really shows and that really makes me think about Alexs love for the aesthetics of music and whether consciously or not and it kinda goes back to all am albums are essentially a place that you go to not only musically even though that's the art medium you r using to get there it's also visually a place and Alex knows that and he sees that actively while writing and reflecting

Zane pointing out JUST how sad mirrorball is AND RADIO WANTED TO CUT THE INITIAL INTRODUCTION and we learn (if you haven't already by inferring) that theres a relationship between the intro and "don't get emotional" like....that's fucking amazing like I was thinking it but him saying it blew my mind like reacting to music within music...and how it's represented in the video somehow gave me even MORE astounding love for mirrorball and what it means to me, genuinely a breathtaking detail

More speak of the unrealeased song!!!! Hopefully we get a b side maybe but usually it's released under singles so maybe not but we can hope since they're actively expressing interest in it

This may be way to opinionated sorry lol but Alex saying the end of the tbhc tour made him want to get back out there so like wildly getting that energy in and it sounds like he may have been going for a big studio stadium sound ("let's do summat BIG" , "all down strokes") it reminds me of Halsey if you guys keep up with them about their decision to go with the softer sounds of "If I can't have love" after realizing they were to caught up in their angst or the negativity of their life in a bad way which made it's way into their single "nightmare" and it reminds me of the end of the tbhc tour and it hurts to think about but I'm glad, even though all these songs are gut wrenching it's being put out in a healthy way now after reflection and there's a lot of talk of that in this interview sometimes subtle sometimes not

Also I think adding on the fact that Zane said it sounds like the band is fighting there way out of the songs but are not,if this isn't to far fetched kinda way reminds me of how reserved (prone to very outlandish/lh levels of self editing/self control)Alex is and how he's trying to combat that more recently (in interviews and in song) though they are small changes they make quite mighty strides in the long run

Love the ideas of the band itself being an instrument for something grander on this album it's like it's supporting an idea or a feeling and thats just how large that feeling is that the band itself is serving the songs and emotion

LOVE THE TALK OF BAND DYNAMICS LOVE THAT JAMIE IS STILL THE RASCAL DJJCJCJJDJCJDJJC them supporting Alex when he's doubtful about his ideas :')))) COOKIE MAKING THE BIG DECISIONS SINCE THE BEGINNING IS SO :)

Them talking about how crazy it was when it all first began even eluding to how stressful (even using the word traumatic which I agree with) that was being so young and having that much fame already Alex talking about how he literally doesn't remember playing the reading tent which is so :'(

ALEXS DEAD PAN "I think that were the intention" (or something along those lines) and Zane dying like u literally can tell if Alex is like being for real

ZANE BASICALLY TELLING HIM NOT TO BASICALLY RETREAT INTO HIMSELF WHEN ASKING HIM ABT MEMORIES IN A CAR ....Zane you bloody mindreader he knows fr (one of us! one of us one of us!)

MR SCHWARTZ STAYING STRONG FOR THE CREW.....love that Zane straight up asks who this is and Alex gives and very great metaphor that I actually got when I listened to it!!! Like I literally saw the same thing mentally like I imagined the crew putting the king's theater stage together when listening to it if that's weird idk (definitely something hidden in this metaphor)

THE RITZ TO THE RUBBLE BIT IS EVERYTHING TO ME..........OH MY GOD....A BIT BROADWAY ON THAT SONG HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE !!!!!!!

And that concludes my mini analysis I hope u guys enjoyed reading that and have ur own thoughts u wanna send me or comment, sorry! if this post is too long I'm just :')

[thedreadvampy]

THEY'RE NOT THOUGH THAT'S NOT A CRANK OPINION

They're real in that psychological diagnosis are clusters of symptoms and the symptoms exist. but I don't think it's in any way controversial to say 'the way symptoms are clustered is a human invention to help clinicians and patients make a maximally educated guess about what treatment or management is likely to work best'

what's diagnosed as a disorder or mental health issue and how it's grouped changes with what we socially consider to be a) a problem and b) a solution. see: homosexuality. see: epilepsy. see: hysteria

and how personality disorders are grouped represents no ability to treat them beyond describing the symptoms, no additional understanding of their causes or how to ease the strain they put on either patients or people who care about the patients, and no meaningful research into how to support people with them

but like you've said it does represent an end point for a lot of clinicians. you have a patient who is suffering because they have poor emotional regulation and sense of reality? they have bpd. boom. fixed it. byeeeee! what's the solution? strategies to address harm? help managing complex trauma? treatment for a neurological issue? we don't know but we'll keep looking? NAH what we'll do is we'll put a stamp on your records marked 'FUCKED' and there an end to it and you can carry that label around forever and let your existing "diagnosis" get in the way of ever recieving a useful diagnosis.

(and sometimes the diagnosis is "person who doesn't like talking to me as a clinician and this is their fault" (psych trying to diagnose my mum with AVPD bc she wouldn't talk to her) or "person who I don't like" (NPD a lot of the time if we're honest))

and these diagnoses actively block a lot of other, more useful diagnoses (you're not traumatised, you have NPD and just think you were; you're not depressed you just have BPD)

and like. whenever we're discussing how diagnoses are grouped to Manage Symptoms we have to ask what symptom management means in that context. and by and large PDs have been grouped as being a) bad b) innate c) incurable d) to do with the patient's inevitable behaviour (not how they're treated) so even if your doctor doesn't see them as those things that's the function of describing them as personality disorders. it's to displace responsibility fully onto the patient while also framing them as inevitably harmful to others.

it's bullshit designed to get ppl off your plate. which has been the case for a LOT of diagnostic categories over the years bc patient-centred treatment for mental health issues (ie treatment which helps the patient feel better rather than be less of a Problem to those around them) is relatively new as the dominant idea. arguably still isn't but it's much more prevalent. and PDs definitely belong to the 'patient as the problem' model imo.

but like even if you AGREE with PDs, PDs aren't Immutably Real in the same way fish aren't real. it's an arbitrary taxonomic category that we use for ease and if it makes more sense to categorise something differently we can just. Do that.

(My more controversial opinion is that DID is actually an exception to the Personality Disorders Aren't Real thing, despite the public perception that seems to hold that it's the Fakest One.

bc a) it's not a personality disorder. like taxonomically that's not how it's used. and b) I DO think that DID is useful to treat as a coherent category. I have friends who have found being able to find specific therapies for split personalities really really valuable in getting to a functional place whereas pretending they DIDN'T have dissociative identities/alters/whatever they are wasn't going to help at all.

I mention this bc DID gets jumbled in a lot in conversations about personality disorders but frankly the reason I think PDs are fake is bc the diagnosis is bullshit. the reason people seem to think DID is fake is bc they don't believe that people are experiencing the symptoms they say they are and THAT'S bullshit frankly. people experience all the symptoms invoked to diagnose these things, the question is whether the diagnosis is a useful grouping. and get over yourself if you're like 'errrr I don't believe people have alters bc that's Cringe Internet Lying' like what, you're the expert on other people's experience? shut the hell up.)

this is my only lke, absolute crank opinion i am a conspiracy theorist & insane but i genuinely dont think personality disorders are real

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review , ch 111

sigh~~~ I feel that my recent posts are a bit negative towards the anime, but thats cuz the chapters I’ve read so far are either unbelievably important character depth content cut for no valid reason or content in the anime but packed with million other things that it lost its purpose or importance. Basically tohu’s ep 6 which consists of 4 chapters & now ep 5 which is a momiji ep & yup, packed with 4 chapters as well... so, I apologize for any negativity, my intention is just analyzing artistic & story-telling aspects, I love se03, but yeah it screwed up lots of important characters due to its not so thorough plot decisions & harmful character insight choices.

today.. we explore Momiji... but only before his curse breaks.

Furuba anime struggling to know how to design an episode based on various plot-heavy chapters?

so, they decided 13 eps, & decided one ep for momiji cuz motoko’s graduation & the fanclub is the core of the furuba & have already cut tons of tohru, cuz who cares? she’s kind. be like her. end of lesson. No. really, jokes aside, how to do this?

How to combine several chapters in one ep? collect small snippets from chosen chapters/content like a bee does flowers? you gotta skip some content, you gotta highlight others. The ep is only 20 min after all & you got an op & Ed that you cant always skip.... so.. furuba team decide that momoji’s ep should be true to his zodiac animal, this is the rabbits last appearance in spirit. so, they went with quick hopping from one chapter to the other like a rabbit?

No really, ep 5 is really like a rabbit in its flow, you can’t savior a moment enough before jumping to the other: we learned momiji grew up!! loves toheu romantically, challenged kyo, really meant it, wanted a fair love game, got freed, lost tohru romantically & faced momiji! but that’s not all? we still have space!! quick add akito’s moodiness & love triangle with her dog & her submissive bed partner, add a happy comedy for no reason whatever & make shigue kiss tohru & wish shes 'was his lover instead!!!!!!!!! Mind you all this happened in the anime before shigure hurt tohru with his “the truth of the zodiacs talk & them accepting & feeling consolance that kyo is doomed”talk. 

-Gets whats my biggest surprise after reading this chapter ?????????

Shigure is consistent!! He isnt a rabbit hopping here & there. The dog is loyal & is tired for good reason! Him being depressed & his weird talk with thoru makes so much sense given the manga’s order.

Kyo is consistent!! In the anime, momiji surprise him with confession he loves tohru & challenge him, then kyo la~la~la~joins them downstairs for curry. Not a single expression on his face, where is the expression? it will appear when the plot is forced to address it: by the end of the ep when momiji face hin again. Then we get kyo’s reaction.

I need someone to tell the anime that actions require a reaction. You can refrain from showing a certain reaction if you can’t address it now, but you can’t erase it, negate it, then make it appear when have to!!!! couldn’t they make kyo refuse to join them & eat together? the     other characters wont be surprised they think he’s needlessly moody. The audience will know that kyo is troubled with momiji’s challenged & it will excite them!!! having kyo just go eat & watch the momiji/hiro/haru/yuki comedy skit is weird.

The manga’s author wanted kyo to join the dinner, like the anime did. but huge difference. the author actually cares for logic reaction & understands that the audience aren’t dumb little kids that will sit & wait for kyo’s turn to...react! nope! she did this: (a) & (b) below.

-Lost Small Bits/ Panels from the chapter.. But Sadly Big Huge Chunks for Characters buildup & Growth:

(a) addressed the fact the hiro noticed kyoru is in love & dressed that shigure was right!! the cat being in love is a weird concept to the zodiacs! hiro reacted naturally & the author used hiro to flesh yuki’s (the rat), momiji’s (the rabbit) & haru’s (the cow) decision to silently watch the kyo (the cat) makes his own decisions to live!!! They won’t interfere or tell akito or remind him of his state as the doomed caged cat. So sad this moment is cut from yuki. Why must yuki only interact with kyo to beat him (all seasons)? why must yuki only think of kyo to envy him (all seasons) ? Here, yuki’s growth towards kyo as a person & his relationship with tohru is 1000 times better than all tohru is my mom’s sh!t & I envy kyo’s Sh!t we saw in the anime over & over till we memorized it.

(b) kyo didnt just go la~la~eat with momiji after knowing he loves tohru. Nope, there’s small bits missing: called logical emotional reaction. He was surprised he’s caught pining over tohru! cuz yuki, the audience representative, has told us in the previous chapter that ppl in love dont notice anything around them. Kyo thinks him being cold hid his feelings. the dummy’s feelings are as bright as the sun in the Sahara, tohru too. a child read her! such small thing that wont take much space from the ep but was cut cuz kyo only needs to be responsive at the ep’s end. & this scene of kyo & tohru looking awkwardly at each other is minor in space but so important cuz kyo is determined to let go but his decision is challenged by not only momiji, but his natural attraction to tohru. Here he knows he’s caught & exposed... here he knows momiji is a better choice for tohru cuz he wont didn’t hurt her mom... here he knows that even yuki is better cuz never had to pretend to be cold to her... here he knows the world is better than him... & here he just cant help by smile & walks towards her... T_T ... another lesson in writing slow burns by Takaya-san.

-Why would the anime team pass on this?? drawing kyoru closer after the epic tear in Cinderella ep, cuz they want empty suspense~! The anime team thinks that if kyo & tohru stand next to each other, then it means all their issues are solved & the audience are so stupid as to forget tohru’s mom, kyo’s imprisonment, kyo not confessing his sins to tohru & tohru’s need to make a choice wether to fogive hom or not.. nope! you see, they think, ppl who read mangas are smart, so the author can give this epic symbolism & pp would still be not sure kyoru is end game & tohru will forgive him or kyo even fogive himself, but ppl who watch, oh no, gotta cut all the plot worthy content, produce a graduation song for a minor character, cut all kyo/tohru interaction cuz it only means romance & not at all character depth & oh if we show yuki actually formulating deep thoughts that aren’t centered around him, the audience might forget his se02 struggles! or that might ruin yuki’s upcoming growth moment in the finale where he .. you guessed it hits kyo.. as he always do & sulk &  think abt himself cuz yuki can only do monologues when he’s directly involved.... man~it is so sad how the anime is dumped down.. Who is the target audience again? not kids as young as hiro cuz even hiro is smart!

-just look:

 Momiji talks abt kyo shouldn't give up loving tohru & the authr shows this this ghost!!! his mom! The author reminds us that kyo isnt da~~~~ forgetting anything. He’s a deeply troubled soul & hos mom wants him locked cuz she too was locked in a cage & thinks that’s safer...why oh why you dump ur own story! sh!t~

Side Notes:

I like the closeups on Kisa’s face as she interacted with kyo. It’s very rare for kisa to have a world beside the endearing parental/big protective bro/big doting sister love she has with tohru & haru & off course the romantic love with hiro which was perhaps since their birth or sth. lol.  Kisa & kyo arent much on the brotherly side as they rarely interact, but its one of those  refreshing  interactions she has that helps cast a new light on her as tiny as it is,  but its sth out of the norm around her. She sees him  around tohru & gets to perceive his true unprovoked character. “He is  nice guy”.

I really wanted to punch kureno this chapter.. like Shigure is a jerk shitty dog for sleeping with akito’s mom but kureno... dude.. you submissively sleep with the guy’s eternal love interest & still walks in on him talking to her!!! lol. you’re mentally, emotionally & physically weaker than him & yet, she puts you on her bed, not him & you, tho not wanting her at all, dont walk away. No wonder shigure is defeated & wishing for someone like tohru, lol! Even if shigure met an older tohru-like person, it wont work. shigure deserve someone like him mean, schemer & loves playing power games. Tohru is someone who values honesty & commutation, not saying she’s an angel on earth, but tohru knows who suits her.. except fate is saying: NO. .... currently. lol.

I know kureno’s weakness is part of his character & I love that such characters exits. There are ppl ike that in real life. It’s just this chapter, I felt shigure’s frustration. XD

Yuki in this ep is the best yuki. no exaggeration here, I love when yuki is calmly thoughtful of others & here its kyo of all ppl !!!! cutting this scene is sad.. without it, kyo & yuki remain a cat & rat in the anime. Only ever thinking abt each other thro envious binoculars or hateful words or yuki giving kyo comedic hitting or life’s problem-solving hitting. Why can’t anime yuki be interactive outside his self-centered issues is beyond me.

Momiji & kyo’s interactions are always the best! whether comedy or drama.

I hated the curry cooking scene in the anime... so weirdly out of the ep’s flow.. very forced comedy... in the manga it had a purpose! not just quick add comedy cuz next shot momiji curse breaks & drama & we’ll close the ep with tears & sadness & glimpses of hope...

I love haru’s answer to hiro... so him.. “a guy can’t fall in love?”so chill.. so..simple.

[powdermelonkeg]

so uh... abt the world building tutorial thing, tips for creating a language, or just a different alphabet? i have this multiverse that has been the work of my life so far, i've been working on it for years but it's still a complete mess of unfiltered creativity. so you have an idea, i created a coding language (like, the programming one, the one ppl use to create games and such) for them but i haven't touched their normal dialect yet, bc i don't know how to approach it

(i'll probably send you a lot of asks like this, but i'll try not to be overwhelming, or ramble too much! also, just to be clear, i call it a multiverse only because calling it a world would be wrong, since it doesn't exist in a physical concept. culture and language are mostly universal, w a few contrasting differences here and there)

So, creating a language and creating a script are actually two very different jobs! It's like making pottery vs painting pottery; they each require different skills and tools.

To make a language, you need to decide on your phonetics first. Those are the sounds you want to be present in everyday speech. Here's a link that lets you click and listen to how they sound.

There's a handful of general rules to follow, but you need to understand how sounds work, first. For example, voiced vs unvoiced; "b" is what happens when you put a voice behind the "p" sound, "d" is a voiced "t," and so on. A pretty solid rule is that a language doesn't have to have the voiced version to have the unvoiced version (a language can have a "t" without a "d"), but if it DOES have the voiced version, it almost certainly has the unvoiced (if it has "d," it's practically guaranteed to have "t").

For that, I recommend @janmisali's conlang critic series. They do a good job of pointing out which sounds are common, and why a language does or doesn't seem natural. I'd also drop the tip of "smaller sound inventory = better language," because it's easier and smoother to make a language out of.

Once you have a solid phonetic inventory, then you need to figure out syllable structure. English is...a very bad example, because English is 9 different languages dunked in vinegar and put on a stage like a prized pumpkin.

For syllables, you have consonant sounds and vowel sounds together, represented as (C) and V. The C is in parentheses because it isn't always necessary for a syllable to be valid, but the V (in 99% of languages) most definitely is.

So let's look at some examples for different syllables.

(C)V is going to be your most basic. This means you can't have consonants right next to each other in your language. Japanese sticks to this kind of structure the most; take "omae wa mou shindeiru"

o-ma-e wa mou shin-de-i-ru

There's one anomaly here in "shin," due to it ending in the "n" sound. The "sh" sound, though, is a single consonant (∫). In the case of N, that's the most consistant anomaly in Japanese, with most words that sound like they have consonant endings actually ending in "u" (ex: "desu" sounding like it should just be "des")

If you use (C)V structure, your language is mostly going to consist of words like potato (po-ta-to), coca cola (ko-ka-ko-la), etc, where your words all end in vowels. It's important to note, though, that a natural language is going to have times where it bends its own rules; Japanese words ending in vowels unless it's "n," for example. It's best to figure that out early on. Make it contradict itself, but make that contradiction consistent.

(C)V(C) is probably the most common, giving you words like "hat," or "baseball" (baes-bal). However, when you put two consonants together, they have to be as part of a new syllable with another vowel. "carnage" is valid (car-naj), but "corn" ((C)V(C)(C), one syllable) is not.

The more consonants you add on, the more freedom of word assembly you have, but also the more complicated your language is going to be to pronounce (for example, angsts—(C)(C)(C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)(C)(C)). I, personally, like to start off very simple, then add on complications as I go.

Probably the best method of figuring out what syllables you want is to find a real world language you like the sound of, then model your syllables after theirs. A language structured like German has a way different sound to it than one structured like Swahili.

Once you have that, you need to mint a handful of very basic words using that structure, and decide on your grammar. That's where it gets complicated; you have to work with subject, verb, and object, and that's my own biggest stumbling point (I was bad at diagramming sentences in school).

English is a SVO language: "She likes him," "she" being the subject, "likes" as the verb, "him" as the object. Here's how each combo would work:

SVO: She likes him

SOV: She him likes

OSV: Him she likes

OVS: Him likes she

VSO: Likes she him

VOS: Likes him she

You can also have what's called "free word order," where it doesn't matter what order your language puts its words in; things like the subject and object can be inferred either through context, or through modifications.

"Him she likes" can be guessed to mean "She likes him," because in English, if the guy is the subject, it would be "he," not "him." Things like that.

But what if you're using names? "Denise likes Martin." Who's the subject here?

Your language would need to contain a clue. You can easily do that through a suffix; let's do -su for subject and -o for object.

"Deniseo likes Martinsu"

Martin is the subject. Therefore, Martin likes Denise.

There's a lot more that goes into constructing a language, but this is your basic starting kit. If you want to go step by step, I recommend Biblaridion's tutorial, and if you want to investigate all the cool things you can DO to a language, I recommend Artifexian's videos.

Now, scripts are a different exercise entirely. Your language is your pottery, and your script is your paint; it's there to make the language pretty and polished.

The first thing you're going to want to do is decide how many letters you have, and that'll be based on your phonetics. You have to pick a system here:

An alphabet is what we're used to in English, where every individual symbol is meant to make an individual sound.

An abugida is where vowels and consonants have individual symbols, and you combine them to get the sounds you want.

A syllabary gives each unique syllable its own character, letting you spell words out in a smaller space.

And then a logography assigns a character to each individual word. Note: These tend to evolve into syllabaries over time, due to the sheer number of characters.

Each language style has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, a syllabary is going to have WAY more characters than an alphabet would, but an alphabet is going to have longer words and more spelling rules (e after cap makes the a sound longer, as in cape; th makes a θ sound, but t and h have their own individual sounds; etc). If you want to play around with spelling rules and change words by adding on another letter, then you should go with an alphabet. If you want to be able to pronounce things at a glance, then go with a syllabary.

The next thing you want to decide is what tool your world started writing these characters with. Latin, for example, was chiseled; much of the Latin letters are straight lines (leading to the Roman numeral system being a lot of X, V, and Is). Chinese, on the other hand, was drawn with a brush, leading to lots of swooping lines with tapered ends.

Figuring out your tool can really contribute to your world's history, too. Is it a braid-and-bead language? Maybe it was used in curtains, or to tell stories with braided hair in a burial ceremony. Is it clay-based, like cuneform? Your people need to live in a clay-heavy area, like along the edge of a river.

Once you've got that, you need to figure out what tool it's written with now. We might have started with Latin letters, but we definitely don't chisel out our homework!

What a language is written with vs how it started modifies how it looks in the end. If it's a language that started in sewing, and is now written in ballpoint pen, you might have a written language of dots and dashes to match knots and stitches. If it started as brush strokes, but it's now digital, different strokes are going to have to fit inside a uniform, square box, which might mean you have to simplify smaller details or squish characters to be narrower.

And then you have the transition to consider. Yes, your language can look exactly as it did centuries ago; many languages do! But you can also have your written language slowly change over time. Look at the English alphabet:

Pretty huge difference, right?

All in all, the change is up to you. If you do wind up using ballpoint pen (or something similar) as your medium in the end, I recommend using your alphabet to write out something, to test how easy vs how annoying a character is to write repeatedly. My favorite way of doing that is the Avatar: The Last Airbender prologue, since it's the longest passage I've got committed fully to memory. It's also a very good way to start memorizing your languages characters!

Hope this helps!

[normal-thoughts-official]

I would have loved to see more interactions with the seelies- people who can’t lie but are crafty and secretive sounds fascinating. Think of the dialog! Alec going to magnus for advice since he has centuries of experience talking to them, Alec playing mental chess while trying to maintain peace. Would have loved getting more- but let’s be real, Cassaundra and the show writers weren’t clever enough to actually make any conversations like that of value.

SAME!!!!! honestly i would have loved to see so much more of the seelies. like bro do you understand that their culture predates the VERY EXISTENCE OF HUMANITY??? they are the ONLY kind of downworlders whose culture is completely detached from any human culture, not only because of predating it, but also because of the relative isolationism - which means human culture barely had any influence on their culture and history AS it developed

so like you can literally go fucking bonkers??????????? you can make ANYTHING. they have a whole ass society that doesn't have to have ANY ties to mundane concepts or history AT ALL. complete creative freedom. you could do ANYTHING! and don't get me started on the potential this has, within storytelling, to contextualize a lot of stuff modern western culture sees as natural or timeless as actually pretty fucking specific - like monogamy, cisheteropatriarchy, the gender binary, racism. all immortals have that potential of course since they can come from an array of different cultural and historical backgrounds but seelies in particular have SO much potential that is NEVER! FUCKING! USED! it all goes to waste and they are just a generic vaguely monarchic society that behaves literally exactly as modern western cultural standards. WHY. i'll never stop being salty, especially within sh where all this potential was there and instead they just villainized the seelies like no tomorrow for nO FUCKING REASON, and included a whole plotline about their ruler being a terrible power-hungry person and then proceeded to act as if that would have no influence on the seelies under her rule? thanks for nothing

like i know the seelie queen was so badly written that her own motivations even as a power-hungry wacko didn't make sense or were consistent (like why give simon the mark of cain for example, and for god's sake what kind of power-hungry crazy bitch gives their main enemy the power to literally kill her and destroy everything she has at the blink of an eye, like??? she literally tried to assist in her own genocide, it makes no fucking sense, i fucking hate it here) but if they are going to make her Terrible the least they could do was show how that impacted the people under her rule, especially if they are going to have meliorn be fucking tortured and either forced to display the marks of said torture or choosing to display them themself, like? please give your plotlines one singular thought

but of course it's easier to villainize seelies and reduce them to their obviously tyrannical ruler so they can go back to focusing on the shadowhunters and their issues. nevermind the fact that seelies are obviously equivalent to native ppls/third world countries resisting colonialism/imperialism in sh's stupid ass racial metaphor, which makes making their ruler a big bad unequivocally evil villain that is ruining everything A Choice. and a particularly choicy Choice considering they cast a middle-eastern man to play the most important seelie character. but if they are going to do that they could at least address how the people under her rule suffer and how that's a direct consequence of shadowhunter colonialism and interference, but why would we fkcnig thdo that!!!! when we can have love triangle drama or whatever

and tHEN there is the whole aspect of being unable to lie which is bound to have such an impact on their culture and history since they have to rely on other forms of communication to protect themselves - and considering the whole "tyrannical rule" plotline, to further the queen's agenda in the first place. and how telling the truth without preamble would probably be considered a huge display of trust in a society that has culturally developed so many ways of talking around things. like again the potential of the cultural and historic background for that society! it makes me go insane!!!

anyway all of that to say #JusticeForSeelies and #SeeliePlotlinesNow 2021 and forever. and YES i would have loved to see more interactions between them and other characters, particularly magnus because 1- admittedly i'm a hoe; and 2- magnus was clearly the one that had the most experience talking to seelies and that others relied on for that communication. he also seemed to be the most comfortable with them, which indicates there is either some sort of history there, or magnus just happens to feel relatively at home with the workings of their culture. which makes sense, because magnus also had to develop pretty similar defense mechanisms due to his, A- work as a warlock representative who has to interact with shadowhunters on the regular; B- history with having to deal with asmodeus, which required him to be very smart about what he disclosed and how, especially considering that he had to have been planning banishing asmodeus for a long time before he got to do it; and C- just history with abuse in general. we've seen the way he closed his heart off to new people; but at the same time, magnus is obviously an extrovert and likes to be around people in general. this meant that, in order to be able to both be in the kind of environment where he thrives and protect himself/his heart/his feelings, he had to learn how to interact with people while putting on a convincing façade, which requires pretty much the same sorts of wordplay and defense mechanisms that seelies use

magnus is good at wordplay, he's good at using talking to his benefit; we've seen that. he is also good at hiding and deflecting. he is notably not good at directly lying - every time he directly said A Lie such as "i am perfectly fine and not bothered by this at all :)" it was way less convincing than it was a clear display that he wouldn't budge. even alec, who has difficulty with social cues, noticed the lying and seemed concerned about it. so like. clearly his defense mechanisms were less lying and more dancing around subjects, directing conversation to safe topics, and guiding people to making certain assumptions and seeing sides of his that were safer and he preferred

so in that way it makes sense that magnus is somewhat in his element when dealing with seelies. i think "comfortable" is a strong word because this whole song and dance takes a huge toll on anyone's mental health and energy (which i think is something that could be very interestingly explored in seelies, their collective psyche, and their culture, the way they build relationships, etc. let meliorn have partners they feel 100% comfortable talking without preamble with 2k21), but it's something he is used to and a dynamic he can fall into without as much effort as others who would be second guessing themselves more and going slower, which clearly gives the seelies, who are used to it, an advantage

and like i know that i'm implying a confrontation or sort of situation where they are on opposing sides to seelies here, which i kind of am because i am thinking mostly about magnus' interactions with the seelie queen specifically, since she was the seelie he had the most meaningful interactions with. his interactions with meliorn were very few and almost never relevant, i barely remember them happening outside of generic downworld cabinet interactions tbh. but i don't just mean that because again, stop villainizing seelies 2k21

i also mean just generally that magnus would be in a more comfortable position talking to seelie strangers and slowly working into building a relationship and mutual trust. and just generally understanding them and the workings of their culture because he can empathize with the way they have built their social defense mechanisms. no one is 100% truthful to strangers, but seelies always seem kind of- analytical. and the cultural difference + anti-seelie racism makes them seem untrustworthy to most people, but magnus Gets It, so the potential for friendships! and the mutual understanding and the relative comfort around each other! and both parts understanding the enormity that is letting their walls down gradually and being more direct as time goes by. like.... aaaaaa

and yes magnus becomes a sort of reference on talking to seelies, mostly because he is good at "playing their game", but also making it a point to humanize seelies and making the other parts understand where they are coming from and how they feel :) and just improving their relations, particularly with other downworlders

im not going to get into alec because 1- the relationship between shadowhunters and seelies is already filled with oppression and a lot of complications, and particularly now that the seelie realm is politically fragile due to the loss of their ruler (however terrible she might have been), it would play into either white savior narratives or just straight up colonialism, especially given how alec as a leader already has a history of trying to build tutelage over downworlders (i don't care what his intentions were, it's still true, and although he's learning... well. he's learning, continuous action); 2- that would be more a relationship of opposition and i'm not that interested in that. but i would love to see seelies rebuilding themselves and their relationships and alliances with other downworlders particularly, and all the better if magnus is playing a part in that :)

in short:

more seelies

more magnus with seelies, especially friendships

more focus on the politics of seelies now that the seelie queen is gone

more seelies

more seelies

more seelies

[omegasmileyface]

IN THE ORIGINAL ASTRO BOY IT WASN'T ABOUT HIM BEING EXCEPTIONAL i mean he Was, just in that he was a robot hanging out with humans, and he was one of (one of!! not The) the strongest robots (discounting the pluto plot . i think tenma was on something when he way like "easy. yes. a million we can do that") and he had the whole 7 power set thing, due to ministry dedication, but that wasn't what made him special. what made him special was his bravery and dedication to peace (except when he was throwing shit at ppl but you know. paradox of tolerance) and problem solving skills and origin (expectations, the circus, etc). NOT TO MENTION that it wasn't even about him being special. in most of the stories the theme wasn't "Im Not Like Other Robots" the theme was, overwhelmingly, helping robots in general be respected.

and then the 2003 series used this idea of kokoro, working off the morals of peace and stuff like that to create a situation in which the conflict comes from the increasing similarity of ai to human brains. it created this divide between robots in general, who were intelligent but not perfectly, and the main characters with kokoro, who essentially had human brains but like electronic. but while it does cause a bit of an ideological divide (the idea that robots like Robita or Buddy are not as human as say atom or atlas) it also makes sure to insist that at least some of those morals apply to robots without kokoro, and it sort of represents a necessary time period-- its like if the original manga took place like 30 years ago when the modern Electronic Brain was just being perfected, and it wasn't commonly implemented. we still need to talk about how artificial life is treated while its imperfect or not all of it is perfect.

BUT THEN the 2009 movie took kokoro and ran with it. they turned it into the concept of the Blue Core and while it's usually acknowledged mainly as a power source, it's also implied that it contributes to how humanlike he is (for example the way his skin pales when it's removed... idk). regardless, it sets him apart from other robots, since he has this unique and powerful power source. AND while his brain works noticeably differently, he does still have all the memories of being human, so experientially he's closer to a human than a robot. honestly, sometimes he's portrayed as a halfway point between the 2 species (as opposed to the earlier series, where hes considered more of a full-robot ambassador for robots and humans (thus, ambassador atom)) so this is all to say-- in 2009 astro isn't a representative for robots, hes just himself. the 2009 movie isn't a story about robots, it's a story about astro boy specifically

which like would be fine except that the growth characters face in how they treat astro (acceptance, respect, just generally not torturing for entertainment or using as a weapon or a replacement) doesn't carry over to other characters? theres a slight implication (set up by the cartoon at the beginning and established by Orrin being treated with more respect at the end) that robots are not going to be considered disputable slaves, but (a) they dont outright address it or show it and (b) the RRF (robot communism... 🥺) is considered an unreasonable laughingstock to the end, which says a lot

I don't really have a point here except i guess that (tldr:) the astro boy series as a whole started off as (much like asimov's I, Robot) an analysis on how humanity is going to have to deal with the rise of artificial life. but as the series goes on, it strays further away from that Message and becomes more of a story for the sake of a story (or instead picks up a metaphor-- i could talk about 09 as an autistic metaphor 👀) and especially the 2009 movie... that's just a superhero movie, not a lesson about AI

[zukkacore]

Whitewashing in AtlaLok: the Western & Christian Influence on s2 of LoK

Ok, so i’m not a big brained expert on all things indigenous or even all things asian but I do think bryke's christian & western worldview seeps so far into season 2 of LoK that i think out of every season it’s by far the most unsalvageable out of everything they’ve ever done in the Atlaverse and is a very insidious kind of whitewashing. I know that sounds hefty but here’s what I mean

For the record, I’m a mixed filipino person & while there is religious diversity among filipinos, more than i think ppl realize or that the catholic majority is willing to let on, when we were colonized a large percent of the population was indeed forced to convert to catholicism so that’s my background, & i don’t know everything about taoism or the what the tai chi symbol represents but the way Bryke westernize the concept of Yin and Yang is honestly… kinda bewildering. They get so many details about yin & yang wrong?? & Yes, it’s possible they could’ve been trying to create their own lore that differentiates itself from the traditional depictions of Yin & Yang, but in the end i think it doesn’t matter b/c the lore they invent is a very obviously western interpretation of the concept of “balance”.

The most important and honestly worst change they make is that concepts of “light” and “dark” are completely oversimplified and flattened to represent basically “good” and “evil” (which, the light and dark side are a bit more complex than representing just “peace/order vs. Chaos” like the show might imply but we don’t even have time for that, but is funny how they get the genders wrong. Like. Traditionally, light is usually coded masculine and dark is usually coded feminine, but never mind that, that’s just a tangent). This really simplifies the nuance of the s2 conflict and makes it a lot less interesting, not to mention just—misrepresents a very real religious philosophy?

And for the record, a piece of media going out of its way to do "the show, don’t tell" thing of stating in the text that “oh, light and dark are not the same thing as good vs. evil” without actually displaying that difference through the writing is just lip service, and its poor writing. A lot of pieces of media do this, but i think s2 of LoK is particularly egregious. The point of this philosophy of balance is that you aren’t supposed to moralize about which side is “good” or “bad”, or even really which one is “better” or “worse”. Even if the show states the concepts are not interchangeable, if the media in question continually frames one side (and almost always its “chaos/darkness”) as the “evil” side, then the supposed distinction between “light vs. dark” and “good vs. evil” is made moot. And besides the occasional offhand remark that implies more nuance without actually delivering, Vaatu is basically stock evil incarnate.

This depiction of conflict as “defeating a singular representation of total evil” isn’t solely christian, but it is definitely present in christian beliefs. And I think those kinds of stories can be done well, but in this case, in a world filled entirely of asian, Pacific Islander & inuit poc, to me it feels like a form of subtle whitewashing? B/c you’re taking characters that probably wouldn’t have christian beliefs, and imposing a christian worldview onto them. Not to mention removes what could have been an interesting conflict of any nuance and intrigue… and honestly, sucks, because I do think s2 has the bones of an interesting idea, mostly b/c there are potential themes that could’ve been explored—I know this b/c they were already explored in a movie that exists, and it’s name is Princess Mononoke! It has a lot of the same elements—tension between spirits and humanity, destruction of nature in the face of rapid industrialization, moral ambiguity where there are no easy or fast answers and both sides have sympathetic and understandable points of view. (Unsurprising b/c Miyazaki is Japanese & Japanese culture has a lot of influence from Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism, etc)

Bryke’s western & christian worldview also totally seeps into the characterization of Unalaq, the antagonist of the season which is a real problem. I’m in the middle of rewatching s2 right now and what struck me is that….. Unalaq comes across kinda ecofash AND fundamentalist which is 1) seems like an odd combination but maybe it really isn’t? 2) i think is a really tacky choice considering that the water tribes take the majority of its inspiration from inuit and polynesian indigenous cultures.

I honestly forgot abt this but Unalaq gives this whole lame speech abt how the SWT & humans as a whole suck b/c of their lack of spiritual connection & it was really eerie to me b/c "humans are morally bankrupt and they must be wiped out/punished for their destruction of the environment" is total ecofash logic bc it blames all of humanity for damage caused by those in power—be they capitalists or whoever. It’s a worldview that blames the poor and powerless for something they have no say in, and has real eugenics undertones bc with every implication of culling, there has to be someone who appoints themself the job of culling—of who is and isn’t worthy of death.

This belief also struck me as......... kinda christian in it's logic as well which is WEIRD b/c once again........ their cultural inspirations are DEFINITELY not christian...... The whole "man is inherently evil and must spend their whole lifetime repenting/must face punishment for it’s wickedness" thing and the way that christianity treats humanity as born with original sin or inherently corrupt—as well as above or separate from nature are really stronger undertones in Unalaqs worldview....... which isn't really an indigenous way or thinking.

I'm generalizing of course but from what I have seen from the indigenous people who speak on this is that (feel free to point out or correct me if i’m mostly generalizing abt Native Americans and not other indigenous cultures & there are some differences here) is that while native tribes are not monolithic and do vary wildly, there are a lot of common threads and that reverence and respect toward nature and your surroundings is an important tenant of indigenous beliefs. (I specifically remember the hosts on All My Relations saying essentially that we humans are a part of nature, we are not separate from it, and humans are not superior to animals—I’m paraphrasing but that is the gist of it)

So, yeah, I think it’s just really distasteful to write an indigenous character who is characterized in a way that’s way more in line with a christian fundamentalist & wants to bring about a ragnarok style apocalypse end of the world when that isn’t really a tenant of our beliefs? (btw, the way the end of the world is framed is also kinda fucked up? If i were being charitable, I could say that maybe s2’s storyline is a corruption of the hindu depiction of the end of the world, but even that sounds mildly insulting for reasons I won’t get into b/c i am Not The Expert On Hinduism. I will say that once again, the framing of the concept is all wrong, the show views the idea of apocalypse through a very western lense)

To wrap this up, I think the depiction of Unalaq could *maybe* work b/c he is the antagonist, so someone who strays from the NWT cultural tradition in a way that makes his view of morality more black and white wouldn’t be a *horrible* idea for the bad guy of the season. Especially because the introduction of capitalism to the A:TLA universe could probably cause a substantial shifts to… idk, everything i guess, b/c capitalism is so corrosive. Like. Sometimes people are just traitors. I do think it would be interesting to portray the way capitalism manifests in a society without white christians. Like… I do think there are a lot of ways secular christianity and capitalism are interlinked. But Unalaq is not portrayed as an outsider, he’s portrayed as hyper-traditionalist in a way that’s vilified? I guess rightly so, he does suck, but it’s just hard to conceptualize how a person like Unalaq comes to exist in the first place. In the end, I don’t really think it makes sense, in a world without white people, I don’t really know where this introduction of black and white christian morality would even come from in the avatar world?

TL;DR, Bryke applying western christian morality & world views to non-white characters in a world where white people have NEVER existed to affect our beliefs is a subtle form of white-washing. It imposes simplified “good vs. evil” world-views & cultural beliefs onto its characters. Any attempt to represent or even just integrate our actual beliefs into the A:tla lore are twisted and misrepresented is a way that is disrespectful and saps out any nuance or intrigue from the story, and alienates the people its supposed to represent from recognizing themselves within the final product. And Finally, on a more superficial story level, these writing choices clashe with the already existing world of ATLA--and is honestly just poor world-building.