#Honestly I live for seeing different interpretations of stuff and even if I personally don't do it doesn't mean I hate or anything

[sickly]

Writing this at 2:17 AM after listening to messy by lola young. I decidedly try not to be personal online, particularly with emotions.

I'm someone who figured out they were autistic later in life but everything clicked when I did figure it out. I've always been quiet, and always had a monotone voice. It never fluctuates even when I'm pretty happy unless it's for pretty heavy hyperfixations. When I'm not masking, that's what it is.

I've always had a difficult time making meaningful connections. Most interactions I've gotten to have are people who want something from me, or want me to forward them in some way. Or at the worst, make fun of me for being neurodivergent. I'm abrasive, defensive for my own livelihood.

That "worst" part, being made fun of? Yeah, that's been a constant. The bullying - it was relentless. It wasn't just the overt stuff either; it was the insidious, quiet kind of exclusion that really digs in. It teaches you that being different is a target. It teaches you to put up walls, to brace for impact. You learn to expect the jab, the sneer, the whisper behind your back. And it definitely amplified that defensiveness I mentioned. It's hard not to be when your whole life has been spent feeling like you're constantly on trial for just existing.

And that's why art has always been really good for me as an outlet. I can let it speak for me. You interpret. It’s where I can scream without making a sound, where I can finally let my voice fluctuate, even if it’s only through color or line. All that frustration, all that isolation, it gets channeled into something. Sometimes it’s raw and angry, sometimes it’s a quiet yearn for something. Art doesn't judge. It just… is. And it accepts me, exactly as I am.

Funny how that experience with bullying also made me want to do the opposite for others. I've poured so much into building large communities online, trying to create spaces where people feel genuinely welcome and safe. Where they don't have to experience that gut-wrenching feeling of being an outsider. I've seen firsthand how powerful a sense of belonging can be, especially for those who, like me, have always felt a bit out of sync with the world.

But here's the kicker, something you learn pretty damn early on: you can't make everyone happy. No matter how much effort you put in, how many safeguards you build, there will always be someone who's dissatisfied, someone who wants to tear things down. It's a tough pill to swallow, but it's a reality check. You do your best, you create the space, and you learn to accept that some things are just out of your control.

And that's another thing, the weight of expectation. Not just from others, but from myself. After pouring so much into creating those communities, into being that safe space for people, you start to feel this immense pressure to *always* be that person. The one who has it together, who can mediate every conflict, who can always offer the *perfect* advice. It's exhausting, honestly.

But here’s the truth: we're all just varying levels of weird. Every single one of us has our quirks, our unique ways of seeing the world, our own personal brand of strange. And that's okay. More than okay, it's what makes us interesting. It's what makes life vibrant. Imagine how dull everything would be if we were all perfectly carbon-copied versions of "normal."

We have to talk to each other. We can't spend our lives hiding behind our perceived differences or letting our anxieties build walls between us. Communication, even when it's messy or uncomfortable, is the only way to bridge those gaps, to challenge those initial judgments, and to actually see each other for who we are beyond the surface. It's how we find our people, build our communities, and ultimately, make sense of our world.

Ultimately, it's a continuous process of learning, adapting, and sometimes, just taking a deep breath and reminding yourself that it's okay to be exactly who you are. The art keeps speaking, the communities keep striving, and the conversations, however imperfect, keep happening. And that, I guess, is pretty good for the 2:17 AM version of me.

[aunt-wilmas-crossword-challenge]

If I talked about headcanoning Hellen with OCD and how I can relate it to her mutation would I be beaten by hammers. Just kidding I think this is the chillest fandom I've ever seen so I'm doing it anyways. Full disclaimer this is obviously not me saying it's canon or intended at all this is just me embodying this post I'm here to have fun:

Okay anyways

It's honestly all very dependent on how I imagine her pre-Visitor. I think her personality as we know it predates that: polite, but quiet, stoic, and blunt. I got the firm impression she's always been intimidating, especially assuming her height and size isn't the result of the change, and because of her nature people avoid or are intimidated by her. I think it suits her mostly fine, she's a loner and doesn't seem to speak much at all unless necessary or prompted. But I do think she would be nonetheless impacted by how she was viewed: even if you aren't particularly social, being scary and intimidating, maybe even freakish by some standards is going to have people treat you a Certain Way. Crossing the street to avoid someone on the sidewalk, stares behind her back type of stuff. People assume based on what you look like, and she (through no fault of her own, it shouldn't be necessary) lacks any sort of cheery or soft demeanor to offset that, so to many she's probably the big silent scary lady. It's even the first impression we get of her.

I do think we get a peek into her insecurity several times, I don't think she's entirely hiding in the bathroom to eat and such exclusively for other's comfort, and her conversation with Audrey is very revealing which others have pointed out already. Girl the projection. also her Rat Baby interaction, and then her wanting to mcmurder the Visitor in a talk with Sam which I have separate thoughts on later but anyways, she's obviously and understandably pissed about what happened to her, enough to want to kill that thang. I also think she's not unused to being rejected or avoided, even if you put aside people doing so now because of her face. She seems very unmoved, or at least not surprised (outwardly) in the face of it and handles it very well (aside from the understandable door slam lol).

This is all a long-winded to say I think she's very much aware of how she's perceived even before all this (which isn't that different from how she is now) and that's gonna impact you, so the "people scream seeing me" is just a more intense version of her already lived experience.

I think in terms of OCD, of which the two primary experiences are obsession and compulsion, I can really easily imagine how it would manifest after her transformation. Pre-Visitor it's a little more vague, I just imagine her curt nature and speaking style as being a way of counterbalancing her racing thoughts, as well her being very stoic. I see her having a tunnel-vision of sorts. It's not necessarily that her thoughts are irrational, I think they're moreso just unwanted and and maybe distressing at a low level in that she can't fully relax, but they are never-ending and her mind is constantly running. She can't really quiet it, just sort of "pull back" and ignore it as best she can. If she has intrusive thoughts they're more defensive and paranoid in nature (they're looking at you, they're talking about you, etc.).

Post-seeing I think the intrusive thoughts do take a more violent turn, but the nature of an intrusive thought is that it's unwanted, distressing, yet not (necessarily) reflective of the person having them, and compulsions exist as a way to alleviate them or the resulting anxiety. It's actually how I choose to interpret her "bloodlust" mechanic- the bloodlust is a violent intrusive thought(s), using massacre is essentially a compulsion to quiet it. But she's very much in control and not going into some unnatural state against her will like a frenzy, as otherwise she's resisting the compulsion and suppressing/ignoring the intrusive thoughts, and probably very apt at it if it's not unlike what she's experienced long before the events of the game.

It's not pleasurable, either- compulsions give you a sense of relief, in that it's the temporary(!) absence of anxiety or stress but not necessarily joy or pleasure, nor is it a permanent solution. Functionally, for her, bloodlust is a compulsion she's willingly going into when it's useful to her in battle (which makes me think "salting the earth" is her purposefully working herself into intrusive thoughts to get the bloodlust back, and maybe the HP cost is a little metaphorical if you view it like that...not her physical health eating the beating there :( ). I mean, maybe it IS nice to quiet the bloodlust, she's actively getting a break from the intrusive thoughts and it's why she loses a majority of the violent specials, but I don't think she's enjoying the act of violence herself. If anything, she seems like she's always actively trying to counteract that assumption.

As for how I relate it to her mutation, there's the obvious. Her face is one big spiral, her many eyes are spiraling inside her head. But the eyes are related too, if one of her obsessive train of thoughts is being looked/stared at, being perceived and judged. What would feel like multiple sets of eyes on her any time she's not alone is now a literal set of multiple eyes in her head. Frankie said it's a mix of their surroundings/current actions but also what someone is thinking about that impacts how they change, and I can't really see an obvious way Hellen's unique mutation is related to surroundings, so maybe, fittingly, it's all based around her thoughts at that moment (assuming her obsessions are all sort of inwardly focused, things happening to her as opposed to things happening around her, if that makes sense)

(Eating in the bathroom and avoiding unmasking is maybe just as much compulsion as it is practical if she's obsessive about being stared at too. Sam makes it very clear she doesn't have to eat in the bathroom, and realistically probably everyone's seen her face if she's unmasked in battle, but doing so and having the mask on, and thus her face being less visible/obvious, probably alleviates some of the anxiety enough to let her relax a little. It's less mentally taxing. Being alone likely quiets the thoughts, it's the only way she can truly avoid being perceived.)

I know we don't get to see what's under her clothes, but even the most common depiction (I think) of her having more eyes and mouths under there I can relate to the headcanon- worrying about being looked at and talked about is physically represented by there being eyes and mouths everywhere, maybe that's what being around people felt like to her.

So I think in a world where she has OCD her mutation is so fucked up, like poor woman is out here as a visual reflection of her mental illness while others get away with just being a bug or something, and kind of doomed to be what she worried about- something/someone scary people don't want to look at but can't look away from, to the point she instills status effects on them. But hey, at least it's (maybe) only her face and she's mostly human? That has to count for something.

Idk, this is me wanting to give my favs my conditions but also I just think it's a fun way to view her mutation and her very. Unique personality lmao

[starlytenight]

How do you feel about Galactadad? Galacta Knight being a dad to Meta Knight?

For me personally, in my brain I already mentally distinguish between the various canons of Kirby and my own and anyone else's variations.

Since there's no stated canon relationship between Meta and Gala of any solid degree at this time, it's kinda free game and I've never been off-put by different interpretations. If anything, I embrace it.

I think it's cute, I just enjoy a more romantic angle between the two of these dorky knights, especially with how I characterize them.

I also have friends who do either Galactadad or something similar (brothers, close friends, ect) and we're all good with joke interactions between our characters.

Fun side note actually! I do actually have an off-shoot AU where I explore Galacta NOT getting sealed away. More below the cut.

SO obviously romance with Meta and Gala would not operate in this world due to a massive difference in life experience/physical age and Galacta basically knowing Meta as an egg/knowing his parents (and kinda saving their lives and taking a more reluctant teacher role for Meta when he gets a bit older.)

I call this alt "Happy AU" because basically Galacta's wish goes without a hitch and he kinda becomes the universe's ultimate guardian. He bears the weight of it well and basically prevents Nightmare's uprise and anything else with relative ease. Everyone's just enjoying life while Galacta occasionally has to go kill a bitch. Even when Meta grows up, he basically just vibes with Jecra and Garlude in what they always wanted, even with Kirby.

Though Meta DOES kind of want to be Galacta's replacement if something were to ever happen... Like say a certain butterfly swinging by buuuut these guys have NO CLUE about that.

I feel like ASM:Я!Galacta would find the Happy!Variant interesting since he's basically living the dream with all it's rewards and consequences. Watching his friends grow old while he stays young and continues fighting, embracing the satisfaction of giving everyone comfort and safety... While lonely in its own way, he succeeded and is satisfied, albeit a bit melancholy and slightly detached/aloof from things from time to time.

One of his only close friends would be Artemis in this world since she is basically immortal as well, and like a sister to him.

Won't stop him from enjoying life in a different way though. He doesn't mind showing a very stubborn baby Meta how to fight, even if he doesn't have to.

And for anyone who does have a more strict Galactadad thing, uh I present my more terrible jokes for our respective worlds/stories/headcanons. Take it away, Vlad:

This is what my friends put up with.

Please remember this is just a joke ahhh

[sabianandocs]

What do u think of undertale aus if you've seen some ? :p

I find it's impossible to navigate this fandom without running into AUs, so I have seen quite a few!

I'm not involved with any AUs, and Classic has always been and always will be my favorite, but I am familiar with the vague concepts of a few AUs, or at the very least I know what their Sanses look like (approximately)

Underfell and Underswap are the two big ones, as far as I'm aware, or maybe just some of the first-er ones? I was aware of them way back in 2016 when I first got involved in the fandom. I honestly have no clue about any of the lore or story of either; I know that Swap is just. Personality swap. Pretty par for the course in fandom. No clue what Underfell actually is though- it's been described to me as just 'edgy Undertale'; a version where the whole underground lives by the principle of 'kill or be killed'.

Horrortale I only really encountered more recently; I'm not sure if that's because it's actually new or just came to be at some point between my first foray in the fandom and my more recent re-involvement. I think the concept is super cool- that the whole underground went insane from isolation after Frisk left- (I think) but I haven't been able to really get into it personally.

Dusttale just makes me sad. I don't know a lot about it, obviously, since I'm not actively looking at any AU content, but from what I know it's a version where Sans decides after so many resets the only way to stop it all is to kill everyone himself to level up. Once again, super cool concept, but really depressing?? And personally I don't really feel like it's something Sans would do- he may be generally apathetic, but he cares about the people around him. I suppose anything goes once you've been kind of driven insane, though, to be fair.

--

I find the fascination with Sans across different AUs fascinating. No matter what AU you look at, Sans always seems to be the star of the show- to the point where, even in all the AUs I talked about above, he (and MAYBE Papyrus) is the only one I've really seen art of in those AUs. I think I've seen a little bit of Swap or Swapfell Alphys and Undyne (don't ask me about AUs of AUs, I would have no idea; I barely know the regular AUs), but only by one artist, reposted without credit on Pinterest. It's to the point where the most often I've seen these AU Sanses isn't even in their own universes-- It's interacting with OTHER SANSES. MAYBE an AU Papyrus. There's like, an entire separate branch of fandom that's just all the different versions of Sans hanging out. That's WILD to me. In fact, the reason I recognize the sheer number of AUs I do (well, only their versions of Sans, actually) is just because I've seen so much content of the different Sanses just. Hanging out. Interacting.

Like I said, I don't really have a lot of interest in AUs, even though I appreciate the concepts; that being said, through fandom osmosis, I am able to identify/recognize:

Nightmare, Error, Geno, Fresh, Swap/Blueberry, Fell, Horror, Dust, Death (?), Dream, Murder (? is that one different from dust?), the one with a target on his chest??, Ink, and probably a few others that I'm just not thinking of. I've also heard of Mafiatale but idk much about it other than a few isolated comics I saw on Pinterest. Similarly, I've heard of Farmtale(?) because I've seen a comic or two where other AU Sanses fall into his world.

It's kind of impressive, honestly, considering the fact that I do not seek out AU content at all- this is all entirely just through seeing stuff while trying to look for Classic content- almost all of which is completely separated from their AU worlds and focused more on the Sanses interacting with other versions of themselves.

(oh, also, I guess technically Handplates falls into AU category! I consider it so close to classic that I didn't think to put it here; in my mind, it's less of an AU and more of just an interpretation or extrapolation of Classic. I'm a fan)

--

ALL OF THAT BEING SAID!!!

I consider everyone's own interpretation of Sans (and all other characters) as their own Sans- it's a fun way to look at it; you can't 'get it wrong', because every interpretation is its own individual. I like to think that every download of Undertale is its own version of the world, and so everyone gets their own cast to be friends with and have fun with! So, in my case, that means that MY copy of everyone never had to deal with full resets (only the couple times where I died and got sent back to a save point, never a full reset) and now they're living happy on the surface. Same with my original copy from way back in 2016 on the family computer. Then I have another of my own, separate copy of the UT cast that exists in my art! If that makes sense!

I hope this answer was satisfactory and not too terribly long!!! If you guys want to request AU characters I might draw them but I won't make any promises; like I said, my interest, and therefore my art, focuses on the classic characters. But! Some AU designs are cool so I might take them for a spin if asked.

[lottspiderlee]

'Supergirl' by 'Gina Young' and performative heterosexuality (how it relates to byler/ Mike)

I recently did a thread where I tried to find Byler coded lyrics/ meaning in the songs from my playlist and one stood out the most.

'Supergirl' by 'Gina Young' is a song from her debut album 'Intractable' which came out in 2002. Gina is a queer artist who made a lot of good songs about being queer, one being 'Supergirl'.

This is such a good song, honestly you should listen to it. This song, or how I have interpreted it is about a lesbian woman wearing a disguise (of a straight women) to please her catholic/ conservative parents.

I can't find the lyrics online so I'm going to put all the lyrics I could deceiver by ear (I'm not good at it so please bear with me).

the stuff in brackets is me guessing btw. Please tell me if you can figure out the lyrics in the parts I'm missing.

"Supergirl, lives a double life, pretends she wants a husband instead of a wife. ----- to change her clothes (so her mama won't see the ring in her nose)". "Changes her persona and changes her name, so her daddy will believe she is one and the same as the daughter he raised to be simple and plain. Pure catholic values like mine, following in shame." "Supergirl, is holding it together tightly with her teeth so that the pieces don't scatter. She's fighting a -- down on all fronts. tryna' be two places at once x2". "Her beautiful facade is silently cracking, tryna figure out exactly what's lacking. She'll never know how much she's got, trying to pretend she's something she's not."

"Supergirl, Supergirl, flying above me, why don't you get you a** down here and love me. Supergirl, Supergirl, queen of deception, willing to die for your daddy's affection."

"Supergirl, Supergirl, look at the things we do to cover our a**es. Who do you think your fooling behind those glasses. Supergirl you've got me impressed, but even when you're incognito I can see the letter S upon your chest x5. Supergirl".

So, looking more into the lyrics you can see the story of a superhero pretending to be an ordinary person, like superman pretending to be Clark Kent.

Where has superman been mentioned before? That's right, by Mike in the van scene. "I'm just some nerd that got lucky that superman landed on his doorstep -- At least Lois Lane was an ace reporter for the daily news" or something along those lines, I don't know.

Let's look at the lyrics, "Pure catholic values like mine, following in shame".

I'm just going to go out of my way to mention it but 'churchgate' believers, this could apply for that reason.

But the reason I brought it up is because a lot of people (homophobes) don't understand why someone would suffer with performative heterosexuality. One of the reasons why is because of the shame in being gay, especially in the 80s (when stranger things is set in) and 00s (when the album was released).

We live in a heteronormative society; we also live in a society that punishes/ criticises people for being different. I'm autistic (which is seen as different) which means I relate a lot to Mike, Will and the 'Supergirl'. Even though I can't help being autistic, since I was born this way, I still feel shame for being it since people are so harsh on it and people with it.

Humans are social animals, which means that all of us have an innate need/ want to belong and fit in. Take 'Patrick Bateman' from 'American Psycho' for example, he hates his job, his coworkers, all of it but he stays... why?

"Because I want... to fit... in", the whole movie he is wearing someone else's skin, not correcting people when they mistake him for another person, all the business cards look the same, it's only superficial stuff that makes them different.

When he is with his coworkers, he is a completely different person, faking smiles and laughs. This sounds familiar... hmm.

oh right, who this post is supposed to be about. All throughout the rink-o-mania and airport scene (and s3 but that's too much to get into) Mike acts like a completely different person than he did in Hawkins. He's made a persona that would be accepted by others, a straight persona. He comes in the airport looking like California stereotypes personified, all lovey-dovey with his girlfriend, acting like he didn't say to her face/ write 'I love you' to his girlfriend for their entire relationship.

Let's look at some other lyrics, "Changes her persona" and "Who do you think your fooling behind those glasses".

Mike wears sunglasses in this scene as he's in disguise (superman's whole disguise is basically just glasses) which conceals his reactions for the audience and other characters.

"But even when you're incognito I can see the letter S upon your chest", even when he is in disguise, we still know... we know what you are.

I know that this isn't a lot but I think it kind of speaks for itself, the meaning of the song and Mike's storyline throughout season 3 and 4.

I also recently rewatched American Psycho so that's why I mentioned it 😅

This is my first analysis post so I hope it's alright. Please, give me feedback if you have any.

@miwiheroes @bylerpining @bonskidin64 @bylertruth3r

[putschki1969]

Dear Sarah, I'm glad to see Kalafina back, do you think kalafina'll be actively releasing singles or albums?

Hi there!

I already talked about this topic a little in THIS and THIS post.

The truth is, we have no idea what's in store for them and whether they even plan to resume some of their activities. I doubt Keiko and Hikaru would drop a valuable working relationship with YK just to get back together for a single reunion concert. Let's see what happens...Recently, they have had a bunch of meetings (some of them presumably together) so I feel like we might get a few announcements in the near future but there's no way of knowing for what. As we get closer to the TV broadcast of their concert, I hope we'll find out more...*fingers crossed*

We know Hikaru has a bunch of exciting projects lined up so I doubt she will have a lot of spare time to work on any extended Kalafina activities but I think none of us expect them to return full-time as Kalafina. I for one would love it if they were able to continue pursuing their solo careers while simultaneously adding a bit of Kalafina stuff on top.

Wakana has her solo concert in April but aside from that, there's not much else except the fact that she has now mentioned twice in a row that she would like to focus on "relaxing" this year. Honestly not sure how to interpret her statement and how it will affect her activities as solo artist/member of Kalafina.

I would like Keiko to announce a live or event some time soon but so far it doesn't look like she has any concrete plans. Maybe she will hint at something in tomorrow's live broadcast.

As for new Kalafina singles and albums, I would personally be excited for anything but I think it would be for the best if they stuck to cover albums or just live activities for the time-being. Original new releases written by someone other than Yuki Kajiura would stir up way too much drama in the initial phase of a comeback. Unless they do a proper rebranding of "Kalafina" (which I wouldn't be opposed to), I don't see how it would work out...Yuki is an integral part of what makes up Kalafina's music as we all know and love it so if there is ever something new from the girls as a trio, there should be a very clear-cut distinction which would honour Yuki's contributions but also allow the girls to explore other options with a variety of different composers...

[noel-levine-fan]

ok something i just realized is that lilia, despite seeming like a very motivated person determined to live her life, doesn't appear to have any hobbies that we know of (like, iirc she can cook but we don't see her do it often), as opposed to ashe, who has these collections of things he can do that he doesn't seem to be super personally interested in.

i know this may be entirely unintended but i feel like realizing i was probably chronically ill is giving me a different perspective because i was explaining somewhere about how lilia often asked or bugged ashe to do things in her place and then i had a thought of "wait but lilia seems like she really wants to participate in things and we rarely ever see her with her own hobbies so why does she usually ask ashe to...?" and then it just suddenly clicked. bc i remembered how im largely unable to make food for myself and have to ask other people to make or get it for me. or how i am unable to engage in even very simple hobbies. and then i realized. maybe lilia, like... just doesn't have the energy for hobbies. lilia seems upbeat a lot of the time, but that doesn't mean this doesn't take a toll on her even when she's not actively having a flareup. it just means she's sociable. it's entirely possible lilia actually was curious about learning the piano but never tried because she thought it would take up too much energy. (or maybe she genuinely didn't want to learn and just liked hearing its sound, but this still applies generally i think even if not in this specific case.)

i know i could be projecting here as someone who finds hobbies extremely hard to pick up (even studying is very hard when it involves writing and i dread doing it solely because i'll have to sit up for a while) but honestly even if i am i think it's a really compelling interpretation. i think lilia is the kind of person who is unashamed about asking people to do things for her either way, but it's kind of hard to ignore once you think about it that chronic illness makes sense as a factor in the way we don't usually see her do things herself, even though it seems at least like she clearly wants to.

and i realize ashe and lilia are kind of the inverse of each other in a way that's extremely compatible.

i've always felt like ashe is someone who struggled to find any internal motivation to do things which is part of why the death of his family wrecked him so badly. lilia, on the other hand, seems to be pretty motivated to do things. ashe, despite not being very internally motivated to do things, is physically and mentally very capable. he's smart, and while he may not be very strong, he's able bodied and seems to be well coordinated and good with his hands. lilia, despite being internally motivated to do things, is chronically ill and unable to do a lot of things she would otherwise try doing.

so then, lilia's desires are able to motivate ashe's direction in life. ashe is able to do a lot of things for lilia that she cannot always do herself.

idk man i love them. again maybe lilia just asks ashe to do different hobbies in the games and in comics and stuff just because she thinks that ashe would be good at those things/it would be entertaining if she could watch him do those things, but it makes so much sense if part of the motive here is she feels this is the only way she'd be able to engage with those hobbies on a regular basis.

sorry if this post is dumb as fuck but like it just makes sense to me intuitively that a chronically ill character who seems to want to do things but rarely does, doesn't do those things due to the way chronic illness affects ones life. idk lilia makes me sad bc she's tragic yes but she was also unashamed of herself, funny, and unabashedly just wanted to live. like i really think lilia just wanted to be able to engage with the world in ways that were inaccessible to her and that despite all the nonserious bickering and mutual whining that ashe just wanted to help her do that.

[woman-of-many-fandoms]

Honestly though, it must be so weird to work with some people for a few years of your life and for years, decades, later people are shipping you with your co worker.

I'm obviously all for shipping fictional characters, but this is the actors job. Where they get a paycheck. They are literally being paid to act like found family.

Like imagine you worked in an office with some people for 3 years in 2004-2007 and in 2030 people are making clips of you and how in love you look while eating lunch with Carol or saying hi as you both arrived in the parking lot.

I've seen this in pretty much every fandom I've been in. Star Trek, good omens, X men, Marvel. I do not think RDJ has any emotional attachment to Chris Evens or that Shanter really cared about and enjoyed spending time with Nimoy. I'm positive for David Tennant, Good Omens is just his next job and Michael Sheen only likes it because it made him much more well known in the acting world and it'll be easier to get his next gig. Yes Pine and Quinto look like they are actual friends outside of the movies but that is an exception.

Anyway, just my thoughts since I just saw a post of some Trek actors in I'm assuming the late 80s or 90s and people were saying 'how could he not be bi saying stuff like this'. Money, the answer is always money.

edit: OK let me address some of what is in the comments. Do actors say they are friends, sure, and if you want to take that at face value then you are right, they are friends. I personally don't think it counts if you are being paid to do so. And before anyone says anything, no not directly. But they have a whole 'image' to uphold that their income is tied to.

I don't know much about the entertainment industry and don't know why people would want that life but it's .... well, different, is the nice way to say it. My sister's career is considered part of the entertainment industry though she is behind the scenes. (And, side note, even being behind the scenes I've still found photoshopped images someone made of her in her in sexy lingerie ... )

TBF we don't talk that often but I've heard some stories (apparently Bill Nye is more then a bit of a jerk behind closed doors) She's lived in Hollywood 12 years now and there is the face people put out in the public and who they truly are. Yes, we all have a self that we hide (I'm autistic so I know all about masking) but it seems that is pushed to extremes.

I've seen her act like many people's best friends (house parties and giving favors and gifts that I question) and promoting their good name in public then she'll tell me in private some horrible things that person has done to others and how it's just how it works. She house/cat sat for a guy (and sent me views from his balcony, my god it was nice) who I think a lot of people would recognize from TV but their relationship was built on respect for each other careers.

Sure, you can tell me not to base the examples off my sisters stories and, ok fair. But I'd also want to point out - the part of RDJ buying evens a car, I did some math. He has 300 million net worth according to google. I have a salary, not net worth (or a negative one cause of student loans I guess), but it is the equivalent of me buying my co worker a $32 gift assuming the car was 150k. I met a guy who performed in Vegas shows and told me how they've had dinner with (I honestly don't remember if it was Penn or Teller) at their house with their spouses. And private chats ... doesn't really tell me much.

I'm currently seeing a bunch of clips of the main actors for the new Wicked movie saying how each other changed each others lives and it just comes off as more acting to promote the movie to me.

And even with Pine and Quinto , I only gave that one a pass because they said knew each other and got along before being in Trek and even then, eh..

Again, just how I interpret things. I know friend can mean different things to different people and a lot of what I see I don't interpret as friend, I see it as networking. I would absolutely be 'friends' with someone if it helped me make and maintain my multi millions .

[raayllum]

25. a piece of advice for taking care of yourself in fandom spaces

I have two pieces of advice basically that loop back into each other honestly.

Don't ultimately care about what anyone else says or thinks

Not caring about or trying to manage what other people think of you or your thoughts ≠ being rude or disrespectful, that doesn't mean it never happen - tone and frustration are absolutely real and I express the latter occasionally,

Other people are gonna ship things you don't or ship the same thing but in a way you don't like or just have opinions that are coming from a fundamentally different perspective or reading of the text and... none of it really matters. You don't have to conform to popular fandom if it doesn't fit what you think (that's basically been me in every fandom But TDP, so it's quite refreshing, and even then I very much felt like a lil island in the immediate s4 aftermath), you can ship whatever you want and so can anyone else. I think the most important thing with this is being self aware, though... like yeah I could hypothetically get annoyed over characters in TDP being childish, but coming-of-age stories are about kids and maturation, so like. I can vent in the proper tags but it may just mean the show isn't ultimately for me, y'know? Or at least that it's something I gotta learn to live with if I wanna engage with the show in a way that balances the salt and the sweetness

Additionally, one of the side effects I've found of being '''popular''' within TDP fandom is that my opinion will be taken as gospel or made out to be more than what it is, which is just my subjective opinion / interpretations, the same as anyone else's. Obviously I think my opinions are Right / grounded in the text (as do many people about their own opinions, whether they align with mine or not), but that doesn't mean everyone else is wrong, like... it's a children's cartoon show, if you're getting regularly butt hurt about what other people think or if they do or don't agree with you or whether ur ideas are popular or not you're not gonna have a good time, and fandom is a hobby. It's supposed to be a good time

Avoid taking things personally at all costs

In a similar vein to "don't care what anyone else thinks/says" that goes double for what they think or say about you / what you think. For me this means that unless I get 1) name dropped or 2) something that is so specific me it couldn't apply to someone else, I assume it's not about me. "Rayllum shippers / stans are so annoying"? Not about me and even if I am annoying - isn't everyone sometimes? Being annoying isn't a death sentence lol. "I hope the fandom takes this well"? Not about me. "People who defend S4 just can't admit TDP has flaws"? Not about me. "Snake boi Callum content is so dumb" is about a tag categorization I started for Callum's characterization, but has since more than taken on a life on its own... and isn't about me.

And even when it is personal, it says a lot more about what frustrates the OP or what they're trying to potentially wrangle than it does about me. Like someone disagrees with me or thinks I'm dumb, specifically? Okay, I know I've thought that about people on occasion, I try not to post it or make it obvious, but I can't control what you do. There were a couple of ZK bnf I thought were horrendously bad at meta that I knew by name bc they were everywhere, and it just meant forming my own atla communities/tags and/or stepping away from the fandom.

On a similar note, I'm still gonna keep doing my thing and I encourage people to block me and/or blacklist tags I use if they don't wanna see my stuff. I know how annoying it can be in fandom to feel like you still see stuff you don't want to if it's everywhere, which is also why I don't put all my stuff in the main tags either, but I'm not going to Stop Posting unless I... want to, which won't be happening.

I guess this all basically amounts to:

Focus on finding your people in fandom, cause they are out there

If you find yourself being annoyed by the fandom every day, or find yourself feeling like you have to rebut every little thing that annoys you (for ex, people saying they don't like Rayllum doesn't bother me, that's a neutral opinion. Ppl saying they shouldn't be in the show feels like more of a theme misread, however) work on stepping away and letting things go

Cultivate being fucking weird and unabashedly enthusiastic with self awareness. If you love a ship or headcanon or plot point that's fucking out there or clearly not happening, fucking go for it! Make or enjoy all the stuff for it you want. That said, maintaining awareness that the story doesn't need to go there in order to be good, or that there's not a lot of plausible grounding in canon, can be important especially if you want to connect with other fans.

Like CHET is my pet theory that has also been wildly fortunate enough to get a life of its own in the TDP / Rayllum fandom(s). I've been prepared to drop it three times. I think more than ever that's where the story is going in S7, and that there's a lot of continued setup for it / Something Like It, but I could be dead wrong, and I'm sure I will love if not prefer whatever route S7 would take instead. I love it, and I have a certain amount of attachment, but the story doesn't owe it to me, similarly to how I'm not owed in fandom to have people Like what I make or make what I like

Like respect should be given for sure unless I make a routine ass of myself, but again, I've been very fortunate that some stuff has caught on as much as it has because it clicked with other people who were already thinking the same thing, or found xyz idea made a lot of sense. And that's really nice! I think it's those things that help build a community. But in fandom you kind of have to be willing to be an Island first, and then if you get stuck being an island permanently, it may be worth reflecting on why sometimes — whether it's because of aggression, shyness, preference, or no real reason except your people haven't shown up yet

[knight-a3]

I want to say this isn't me being like mad upfront. I just saw your commentary on Adam's redesign and it tapped into some stuff I've been feeling for a while.

I get why you said so in your notes, but honestly I don't think Adam's characterization is targeted to take an aim at religious people anymore than any of the other heaven based characters being self righteous hypocrites, which personally I think is a fair critism to have. The tale of Adam and Eve is inherently misogynistic on its own and we've seen the trauma it's given to those who've been preached it to their own detriment. Hazbin Hotel is as much making a mockery of how the texts (mainly the first testament of Bible, Torah & Quran) are preached as it is on the texts themselves. Adam has had thousands of years of congratulations either from others or himself and yeah I do think he'd probably be an raging asshole in the world we've been set in.

Eve is literally made out of Adam in the original story as if to say women are the lesser form of man (which like no...not how humans came about at all if you believe in science). Made to be subservient. Even people who argue for different but "equal" roles still want the man to always get the final say with a few possible exceptions made for womanly things. Eve is the one who causes the downfall of humanity and its her who is "punished" with painful and dangerous births (other interpretations aren't better as she's punished with postpartum depression) and subservience (which I'd argue she was already dealt that). The whole purpose the tale serves in how it's told is to blame Eve for being stupid & weak and Adam only joins her in sin because he loves her. Adam is made up to be more forgivable because this gives men a solid excuse to treat woman as less than. I don't know what the original authors' intent was because I've never seen any original text (nor would be able to translate them) but that's honestly not as important to me as the consequences the tale has had on the way we think as a society. Which is what Hazbin is discussing.

Hazbin is crude maybe, but it's equal across the board. People can feel any type of way about that but it's not unique to him. The characters that aren't crude are usually uptight assholes because they're either sinners, or they're righteous hypocrites like those we see in the trial. And that's because we're not seeing many reasonable people dippected. It would go against the nature of both shows and how they're set up. I don't think everything they writers have done has been as thought as it could be but it doesn't make the basis of the shows wrong.

Also like to be real Christianity is largely harmful right now. And part of that is heretics using it to their own ends, but part of it is because it's not a nice religion to outsiders. I've had some of the genuinely nicest Christians I know, who practice what they preach and do good, tell me straight out that despite the fact I'm not a bad person I still deserve to burn for all time for not worshipping christ and so many of them won't say it but you can tell they believe it because of how they dance around the topic. Obviously not everyone believes that but it's a prominent part of the doctrine and the conversation around it. And that fucks up so many people especially where I live. The amount of people with religious trauma I know is frankly appalling, and I'm tired of the opinion that it's in bad taste to talk about it because it's disrespectful to others faith. If a faith someone follows has done so much harm to others maybe start with that over percieve attacks on their own beliefs. I'm not going to get upset that something is offensive to a religion that is being used to strip away rights from other humans, especially given so much of western society (from which hazbin comes from) is wrapped around a rotten version of Christianity and its take on morality.

I don't really understand why you chose to take all this out on me. Should I consider this as anon hate? I'm not sure how much of my stuff you've looked at, or if Adam is the first you've seen. I don't know how much you actually know about religious doctrine, and how much your perception has been clouded by religious trauma. But I don't think you really understand me, Christianity, or my goals with my Heavenbound AU

I'll give a shortish response first, then go more in depth under a cut.

I don't like how important religious figures are portrayed in Hazbin, because it feels disingenuous and disrespectful. I don't think the show is meant to be a productive critique, it's either a bad-faith argument or just blatantly inaccurate artistic liberty.

You're free to like the canon show, and I'm free to be critical of it. This AU is a way for me to bend things to suit my preferences. There are definitely artistic liberties I am taking, but I want it to be a more nuanced and good-faith representation of critiques. The exorcists will have some self-righteousness issues, which Vaggie will have to unlearn herself because she needs a more substantial arc.

In the end, I want to focus on the redemption aspect of Hazbin Hotel. But if Heaven is also bad, then what is the point of being redeemed? It should be a place that people should actually want to be redeemed for. So I'm portraying Heaven as good, Hell as a misunderstood middle ground, and the Abyss as the true hell.

But if Heaven is actually good, then a person as awful as canon Adam should not be there. So my choice to remove his more crude aspects is also to go in line with the lore of my reimagining.

The way I'm going, hypocritical Christians are also susceptible to hell. Adam didn't get a free pass just because he's the first man. He simply isn't a raging crasshole who cheats on his wife. His temper and arrogance are calmed by Eve's influence. And the fall of humanity is not Eve's fault.

Now for the long one. I don't know if you'll even read it, but whatever.

For clarity, I guess I need to explain my background. I consider myself Christian. I'm an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. But some mainstream Christians don't think that's Christian because--and I've literally been told this--I believe in the "wrong Jesus". And I've been told, to my face, that I'm evil. I've had people hold my hands and pray for my soul in condescending ways. They probably think I'm going to burn in hell too(also, you're assuming what they think about you. If they recognize you as a good person, they're possibly just wrestling with some cognitive dissonance and that's why they dance around the topic). So I understand the distain for "Christian culture" because I've been a victim of it myself. Even my own denomination has its share of judgmental people, but that stems more from suburban culture using religion as a justification than it does the actual religion.

My point here is that I understand the criticism of Christianity, but I think it comes from the wrong place. Self-righteous behavior is not unique to Christianity, it's rooted in human arrogance. Anything can be used as a justification to view oneself as "better than" the "other people". In some places it's Islam, in others it's Hindu. Sometimes it's race, sometimes it's a noble bloodline, sometimes it's a rank, etc. Every group has a self-righteous subgroup.

--

What I get out of your rant is that you think Christians don't deserve respect because you've felt disrespected by them in the past. And I don't agree. To do something offensive and say it's okay because the other side does it all the time just perpetuates a cycle of retaliation. I've had conversations where I rebuke Christians for the same thing.

It's counter productive to get into a debate, slap the other person in the face, then expect them to do anything but get defensive, double down, and retaliate. Someone has to be self aware enough to stop, otherwise it will continue to escalate.

I understand that Christians have done bad things, but they've also done good things(Christians are more likely to donate to charities than many other demographics, for example). This is true of most groups, whether it's religious, political, ethnic, etc. Good and bad people are in any group.

In general, I don't think it's okay to mock something that is sacred to others. As a minor example, it's annoying when someone talks badly about your favorite food, even when you know they're entitled to their opinion(Person 1-"I think oatmeal raisin cookies are the best!" Person 2-"Ugh, raisins in cookies are disgusting and should be illegal!"). Or, for a more serious example, If you were a victim of one of those Indian scammers and it ruined your life, would you think it's okay to mock their Hindu faith? Maybe shove a steak in their face and talk about how good beef tastes, despite how sacred they consider cows to be? Or maybe Muslims deserve some retribution for all the women they've hurt for their religious beliefs? If those aren't okay, it's hypocritical to single out Christians. If you think those are okay, then you're a jerk in general.

Also, some of the worst acts in history were done by non-Christians. Hitler was anti-Christian. Sure, early on he spoke favorably of Christianity, but he's a charismatic liar who had to be on the public's good side for political success. He hated religion in general. He was essentially an atheist who committed some of the greatest crimes against humanity. My point here is that Christianity is not the source of horrible actions and stripping of rights.

Victimhood is not unique to present-day minorities of America. The Irish faced some serious discrimination. Catholics and Protestants have historically disliked each other. Christians were also persecuted by the Nazis. Missouri literally called for the "extermination or expulsion" of "Mormons". (Executive Order 44, aka the "Extermination Order", issued in 1838 and was not formally repealed until 1976) They were given 10 days to leave the state or be killed, and ultimately had to flee the United States and settle in a desert.

--

The story of Adam and Eve is only misogynistic if you misinterpret it as such. How exactly it's interpreted can vary wildly between denominations, or even person to person. Overall, I don't think anything about it is literal. Some Christians will believe whole heartedly that it's literal, but I highly doubt that it was ever meant to be read as such.

I think the story is symbolic of the evolution from common animals to sapient people over the course of many generations. They represent early humans.

Adam's rib: It symbolizes that Adam and Eve are made of the same flesh, possibly meaning they are the same species. Many see it as Eve is meant to be at his side. Not subservient or lesser than, but at his side as a partner. Working together equally.

The Fruit: I view this as symbolic of humans' transition into moral reasoning. The ability to understand that there is moral and immoral, and can be held accountable for their actions. It ultimately doesn't matter who ate it first, just that they both did. And equating Eve with Pandora is actually because Hellenistic philosophy corrupted the Christian theology. Eating the fruit is not necessarily a bad thing; it didn't release evil into the world. It gave Adam and Eve the ability to recognize good and evil, and shed their childlike innocence.

Living in the Garden of Eden is like being a sheltered child. Everything is taken care of for you, but when you grow up you have to leave and do everything yourself. Eden is blissful naivety.

No longer living carefree, humankind struggles with the realities of life. They have to provide for their own basic needs: food, water, shelter, safety.

Eve's punishment: "in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children" This is not referring to menstruation or childbirth alone. Childbearing is the act of having and raising children. It refers to the continual struggle of motherhood. Because raising kids is hard.

Adam's punishment: "cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life" Eve wasn't the only one punished. Instead of having everything provided for them, Adam has to work to provide necessities for his family.

How people may or may not interpret the story is not the cause of bad religion. It's caused by human arrogance trying to latch onto an excuse. Blaming Christianity is just a scapegoat and does not address the root cause.

[mmoodd-jobutupaki]

*takes a deep breath* AHHHHHDKAJFKSJA

I JUST WATCHED BOY AND THE HERON AND I LOVE IT SM AND IT'S SO GOOD.

So obvs, it's studio ghibli, it's gna be some of the prettiest stuff you've ever seen. So many scenery frames made me think "I'm gna scour the internet for them and repaint them as art practice. It resembles smudgy oil paintings rather than studio ghibli's gouache style (see spirited away, Totoro) but it's honestly beautiful nonetheless, and seeing it on the big screen made me feel like I was in the movie. There's even a stone passage that looks like the one from Coraline. The animation works so smoothly to make the film an overall wonderful immersive experience.

The character design was so good. You have your classic ghibli, countryside, apron wearing girl. Your boy with spiky hair. And probably the best addition of a butch seafarer, Kiriko, dubbed by Florence Pugh (oh my goodness I am too gay for this). The grannies were so inexplicably lovely and visually distinct I just want a hug from them. The wizard (Mark Hamill having this otherworldly yet grounded design and amazing hair. The heron was oddly grotesque without being scary (this is such a gift only japanese have.) and his various designs fluctuate along with the story. I was surprisingly intrigued by the fact that even in crane form, he had human teeth. And ofc THE WARAWARA.

GOSH THEY ARE ADORABLE I LOVE THESE DAMN TAPIOCA PEARL LOOKING THINGS THEY HAD ME SQUEALING IN THE THEATRE EITH HOW CUTE THEY ARE.

The score is beautiful and I dare say that it's on par, maybe even better than the Spiderverse score (and that's REALLY HIGH praise coming from me, I love the Spiderverse score to the point where it's on my Spotify wrapped.) I loved how the use of motifs, especially in relation to magic in the film. And definitely need to go give it more listens. 11/10 would recommend listening to it even outside of the film, it's just that great, give it a Grammy or smth.

Humor in this film is hilarious without being corny. It's very on the nose, what's currently happening in the scene humor. Characters (won't say who) also have amazing dynamics that supply a lot of humor for the film. Obviously we have that last snippet from the trailer and I'll give you this out of context "Mahito's turned into a parakeet"

The story is very easy to follow. The first half of the story is very grounded. And even in the second fantastical half, the visuals and little sprinkles of just the right amount of information help to guide us through the amazing fantastical world. Nothing ever feels too spoonfed to the audience or too overwhelming.

Spoilers below the cut

Character was great too. The main cast each have a very touching emotional aspect and nothing is what it seems, not from the trailers and not even within the show. Characters go on journeys you never could've expected from the beginning of the show. Such as the heron, who I genuinely thought from trailers was gna be the bad guy but turned into a genuine, squat goblin companion. And the parakeet king goddamn I thought he was gna be a good guy with his "we must protect this world" gig, not some giant cannibalistic parakeet with a surprising penchant for sneaking. Anyway, I especially loved how we meet characters almost multiple times with how we're introduced to different versions of them. Kiriko>>>

The moral of this story had me confused ngl, but I'm fcking dumb and need to go read some analysis so ignore this. The main message I got was that "Life is shit. But it's worth living and I can make it better for myself. Through friends, I don't have to be alone through it all" which made me tear up ngl since I've been struggling with life this year and seeing how our boy Mahito went from being a closed off lil squat to that *cries*. Personally I interpreted the great granduncle and his blocks as seeing what's wrong with the system the older generation has built, and demanding more from it/straight up turning away from it. Also Mahito learning to let go of his mom. The pelicans wanting the best for their children and not always liking what they have to do for survival as a link to war soldiers @hamable . I also read from @simplysparrow14 and @rockpaperimpala the film is also Miyazaki coming to the realisation that 'studio ghibli will be his legacy and it will be put to rest, it won't be the same if continued without him and that's okay' and ow I just got hit in the feels.

To summarize the boy and the heron excelled, slaps, is show stopping, brilliant, awesome, a true work of art and soul and 11000/10 go watch it ON THE BIG SCREEN I am not joking.

[nekole-doodles]

Part 3 of DSMP-coded songs:

Honestly kind of TNT Duo throughout all of DSMP(not just a certain era)? Like- there are *many* VERY different interpretations of C! TNT Duo so take all this with a grain of salt because I haven't seen enough of their canon lore :/

I don't really know how to explain the context of why most of these lyrics match because my interpretation of TNT Duo is pretty complicated(though- to be fair, TNT Duo is always complicated) so I'll just put the lyrics that stick out to me as TNT Duo and you can take it as you will. To me, this is C! Quackity talking/thinking about C! Wilbur:

"We met in the middle of July, Though it wasn't quite the first, Your voice was sickingly sweet, Your sentences rehearsed"

"You don't deserve the words you took"

"The warmth you'll always lack" I headcanon that ever since the start of Pogtopia, Wilbur has always been unnaturally cold and became even more so post-revival where he's as cold as a corpse

"'Cause I love your presence, not the person" I feel like Quackity would sometimes actually enjoy Wilbur's presence like in some parts of Pogtopia and during their rivalry. I headcanon that they both enjoyed their rivalry until it went too far but Quackity still didn't like Wilbur, just enjoyed the company.

"I'm always second place" Do I even need to explain this one? "Quackity, you forget where you *stand* next to me. You are in my shadow, *act like it*. . . You are a *walking* second place medal."

"I love the comfort, love the care, But I can't stand your face" This depends on your interpretation on TNT Duo tbh

"My heart's in two, And you are lost" Las Nevadas era Quackity since y'know the stuff that happened with Karl and Sapnap and Wilbur having their rivalry in Las Nevadas because he was lost without a purpose and this became it.

"I'd sell my mind, I'd leave it all behind, But I was deaf and blind, To your cost"

"'Cause I'd prefer to crash and burn, Than admit I'm wrong instead"

"You're always first in sight" Just Quackity always seeing Wilbur lingering around or in Las Nevadas

"Desperate and hopeful ignored the signs, Like the lie I lived along, All I had to lose was dignity, But again you proved me wrong" Feels like Quackity after Wilbur died

"You'll always be the same, Your presence and your lies" This definitely sounds like something Las Nevadas Quackity would say to Wilbur

[kebriones]

I'm curious what you think of the late or Neo Platonists. You mentioned being disappointed by modern interpreters reading way too much into simple statements in Plato's works. In many ways, that was the default mode of operation for most Platonists throughout history. Reading elaborate esoteric meanings into the words of a man who claimed his teachings were freely and openly available to all.

Though, of course, their objective of theurgic ascension is a far cry from the goals of modern self-help gurus on social media. Do you find Theurgists as misguided as our modern grind-set influencers? Does their scholarly dedication and inquisitive nature make them more worthy inheritors of Socrates? Perhaps, even if they are not in agreement with Plato's record, the fact that they reached that point by rhetoric means they carried on the same work.

1. I need to preface this by saying that I am not qualified to answer this properly. My interest in plato is purely literary, and doesn't expand to neoplatonists or anything else.

2. I do have some beef with neoplatonists, as well as with how christianity deeply affected so much of the perception of plato. I see traces of it all the time.

3. I honestly have beef with so much of written philosophy it's not even funny. I can't stand to read most of it because of how upset i get. Plato writes wonderfully and my obsession with Alcibiades and Socrates is what attaches me to him. So I'm the wrong person to ask because most philosophers make me angry. And I even have beef with other types of analysis. I was insufferable when we did the iliad at school. I sent a letter to my teacher at the end of the school year detailing my problems with how we studied and interpreted the text.

4. I know next to nothing about the details of theurgy in neoplatonists. I also don't know anything about grind-set influencers. In my post I was talking about random dudes on twitter who think they're so wise and deep but they're just making up arbitrary stuff most of the time.

5. Inquisitive nature does make one similar to Socrates, and many many others. But in my opinion, the main thing that one needs to understand about Socrates is the erotic nature of philosophy. You have to be in love with it and long for it, the knowledge and truth that is his brand of wisdom. And that can be a very simple thing, again in my opinion. And a very personal thing too, that's not necessarily one for lengthy analysis. It is what it is, and it's about feeling it. Again, I haven't studied any of this in any capacity, I'm just reading stories.

6. I don't know if rhetoric is the right word to use here. Dialectic is what I'd use. Dialogue. Speaking to each other. That's what Socrates practiced. And I understand how this is superior to writing when it comes to philosophy. Speaking with someone is a living thing. It's invaluable for actually practicing your thoughts. I read philosophical texts and I get so upset i have to stop because the writer isn't there for me to argue with them. I do argue with them in my head, and that has its benefits.

That all said, I don't know if I can say who's a worthy inheritor, that's an extremely lengthy discussion that can go a billion ways. And who carried on the same work? I don't know. Whoever speaks with other people about philosophy and keeps the same energy of seeking the truth of the world and longing for it, I guess. That's also where Plato's philosophy differs fundamentally from others, in his treatment of what the ultimate truth is and what our stance towards it should be.

I feel like I'm digressing heavily, i wrote this while freezing at a bus stop. But these are my thoughts, please do not consult me for such matters, I am just here for my hot dead neighbor and his weird husband.

[quinn-ro]

SLIDES INTO YOUR ASK BOX AND TRIPS LANDING FACE FIRST

Okay hiiiii Im here with my hcs! Honestly I didnt expect for my interpretation of him to be different from yours, so Ill like say my own interpretation of his character

Honestly? I thought that his parents were completely absent/somewhere far away. I also hc that maybe another relative took him in and that person is basically the person that raised him. Honestly maybe it's because from my memory but the house looks like its for one person and not multiple

Actually I thought that he was a missing persons case way before everything else that happened, since hes aware of it

Also I do think he's mourning for the relative that took him in bcs of the two bowls of cereal. As a cereal eater bro its so easy to just pour cereal back in the same bowl DUDE

I also hc that he had shut himself in before deciding to go into starr park, finding the skate park and the rest is history! And also in the video

Small side note: I interpret the relative that took him in to be a brother way older than him, and he's the one that taught him the tinkering skills. Might call him Allen bcs of 'Allen wrench' like how Ollie is named after the skating trick (Idk why exactly so shrug)

Alright that part of my interpreted backstory is done lets go to the fun stuff

I actually hc that he has skills in composing, tinkering, and sewing! Just normal household stuff and maybe he uses his tinkering to pay the bills

Actually no this is a funny one - hes a theater kid. No way one of his lines is an annie reference and hes NOT.

His top 2 favorites are annie and hamilton! You can also add a favorite character to be Mischa from Ride The Cyclone. Don't show him the song Talia though he cried a waterfall the first time and will again.

I also interpret his Pharoah Ollie skin to be an acting gig he impulsively took up. Finx asked if he was a theater kid after that LMAO he made him watch RTC

Okay we all know he has ADHD that's like obvious. Though the type of ADHD I'd write him with is the hyperactive one! I also write him with Maladaptive Daydreaming

Man Im so trying to remember stuff im sorry wait wait

OH RIGHT! He does not like halloween at all! He gets spooked easily LMAO he stays in at that time and maybe gives out candy if theres other kids trick of treating around his house. Or eat it. Maybe he just eats a pack of candy.

His closest friends are Spike and Edgar! I hc that bcs of the amount of scenes they appear in

I imagine Ollie and Edgar's friendship to be like brothers, but dont mention that to the little guy. They also talk a lot in the gift shop since Ollie goes there a lot to see if theres new tapes and edgar works there

And also the reason why he stirs trouble isnt exactly because he intended to or that he meant something bad out of it, he's silly like that

PLEASE GOD I KNOW I GOT MORE GOD PLEASE

I CANT THINK OF ANY MORE ILL ADD LATER

i love love love hearing more interpretations of ollie’s character ill eat that shit up like two bowls of cereal

(also oooh damn the hc of him making two bc of his relative is so good)

other stuff i wanna add:

- Lowk new york/metro area apartments rlly can just be small like that lol. Also the video mostly just shows his room and a bit of his kitchen, so it might be bigger, but even then its not that uncommon for a family of 2 or 3 in a city to live in a tiny appartment

- At the end of the day even tho i think the missing person carton shot is just one of those things thats just there to add some cool urban visuals to a hip hop mv, him going missing before the park AND him knowing abt that happening is a pretty damn cool idea

- Allen Wrench is such a good skater pun name lmao

- Ollie theater kid HELL YEAH (hes definitely a hamilton kid whose memorized all the lyrics. also hed absolutely slay all the rapping parts like lafayette’s in Guns and Ships)

- On that note him making an Annie reference also could point more to him being an orphan (or at least w/o his parents right now like u said) even with his “call mom” sticky note on his computer (foster mom maybe?)

- Ollie would def get on Edgar’s nerves at first lmao. but i think he’d definitely grow on him and they would get super close. Spike too!! (tho tbh i dunno how to interpret his personality lol. i guess he can just be a silly guy like ollie)

[just-a-carrot]

Aaaaaaaa i feel so awkward asking this but I want to make sure that I interpret his character right and don’t mess up already scarce representation for aromantic people sooo

How does Orlam experience/express/feel his aromanticism? I’ve been doing a little bit of reading about to to educate myself more since I’ve realised my understanding of what romantic attraction is(as opposed to other types of attraction which I find easier to define) is embarrassingly surface level. From what I’ve gathered, I’ll attempt to phrase my understanding of Orlam in this aspect and all I want you to do is correct anything im wrong about or add anything else you think is important to him in this regard ty!!!

I’m assuming Orlam uses the term aromantic literally, and not as an umbrella term? Ofc I may be wrong, and I’m not requiring giving him additional labels because they’re always optional-I just want to make sure that he doesn’t experience romantic attraction like, at all? Or are there exemptions?

In the case that he doesn’t experience romantic attraction at all, I assume he enjoys what would otherwise be considered romantic gestures(since he oftentimes displays these as a character) for reasons that don’t involve them actually causing feelings of attraction for him? Like he enjoys traditionally romantic things like flirting, flowers, writing poems(maybe, idk, he seems like the type from how fancy he likes to talk, esp to Iggy in his routes) but they don’t cause him romantic feelings?

Perhaps he enjoys making others feel romantic attraction/fuzzies in general while not experiencing it personally himself? Or does he enjoy romantic reciprocation in a way that isn’t inherently romantic?

I’m trying to think of anything else to ask but this ask is already long af and probably complicated to unpack so I’ll leave this here. Once again sorry if I sound uneducated(because I admit, I have long ways to go in properly understanding the topic >.<) thank you so much in advance, I just want to make sure I properly understand Orlam as an aromantic character

orlam doesn't use any labels, I'll be honest LOL he hates labels in general (like he doesn't even see himself as "bisexual" either). but if I gave him one it would be grayromantic, mostly because even he doesn't really know or understand how he feels when it comes to romantic attraction (and he doesn't want to understand, he just wants to live however he feels like it at any point in time without labeling it)

it's hard for me to describe in detail something like an orientation like this because it's all very complex. and particularly with Orlam he's very capricious. I think that he enjoys classy romantic gestures because he's a classy theatrical guy and doing stuff like that is fun for him. he loves to be dramatic and over the top. and he likes to make others feel good too. does he also get some romantic thrill out of them? unsure. even he is unsure. but he does know that the ways he tends to feel about other ppl, even those he's attracted to, seem to be different from how he's heard others describe and talk about, or the ways he's seen others act. but he doesn't really know (or care) in what way. and he forms connections in his own way

I feel like this is a vague answer and that's honestly because I don't really know a better way to explain it and him 😅 but that's just how I've always felt about Orlam as a character

[toulouse21]

REASONS WHY I KIN LUZ NOCEDA SO MUCH (and maybe you do too, just didn't realize it)

(from minor things until deep things)

- first of all she is a huge geek nerd that likes cosplay and anime, like the main audience of this show

- spontaneous and easily excited with anything

- her friends probably call her "the sun of the group"

- latina

- she likes otters!

- she loves shipping

- gay panicks to all the genders

- she likes fantasy books with complicated side stories

- she became a writer at the end of the show

- a simp.

- she falls in love with a cute witch with colorfoul hair, honestly who wouldn't?

- Luz uses fiction to scape reality, and that's like SO OBVIOUS that even her must realize it too, but if you notice it, at human realm that is what keep her going without drowning in a possible depression. She had no friends there, she had nothing other than her mother (wich she was very lucky to be an amazing one) and her fantasy books. Yeah she probably knew her obssesion with fiction was too much, but she had no other thing to focus

- I think the owl house was the only piece of media I ever seen that pictured the feeling of "growing up as the weird kid" so perfectly. Generally the main characther is a nerd who has no friends and is bullied, but it never has a reason for them to not have any friends (not a reason like "oh they are so irritanting, that's why they don't have any friends", no, a reason like "they are seen as weird because they are VERY different from the rest of school, wich scare people away, and that's why they don't have any friends. It's not their fault at all". The second case is literally luz' case).

You see, Luz always had so much imagination, and she tried to show it the most she could to other people, I think she did it because she thought "Im gonna be myself, and someone will like me.... Probably". That scene in third season, of Camila remembering things, when little Luz shows the snake's pajamas to the other kids, she clearly did that because it was a subject she was SO interested in, she wanted to share it with the other children, they would find it interesting too and would want to be her friends, right? And then the kids ran away screaming, and she didn't get why

- When Camila wanted to send her to that camp, oh my titan my girl was so sad. When she dropped azura's book on trash, honestly I think that was so.... Meaningful. That book is so important to her, obviously because it was her father's gift, BUT it's even more than that, it's the whole symbol of her personality, the one little thing she loves so much, she stayed on boiling isles only to have a chance to live something slightly similar to what she always dreamed with.

When she throws Azura on the trash in front of Camila she is basically saying "don't worry mom, I will finally stop. I will stop trying to make friends by being what I am, because that clearly didn't and will never work out. I am going to throw all that I am away, so I can be normal like everybody wants". Getting Azura back isn't JUST for the plot, it symbolizes how Luz isn't ready to gave up from herself yet.

- In boiling isles Luz feels like she is in home, we all know that, but if you look closer, you will see it was there she become a people pleaser. In my interpretation, Luz is so happy she finally find a place where she has friends, a second mother figure, a brother figure, and people LIKE her (well most of them, except for bosha and stuff), she is so not used to it, she doesn't know what to do. People liking her so much as she likes them is so perfect she wants to do anything to not change that, that's why she sacrifices herself in a lot of situations in a lot of different ways for the people she loves.

If you dont think she is a people pleaser, let me remind you: when she made Amity loose her job at the library, Luz came back to there, faced all the challenges that creepy boss had for her, just to get Amity's card back. Eda told her explicity to not do any mess with the house while she was out, but Luz invited Gus and Willow to there anyway, only because Willow was too excited about that moon ritual, she prefers face the consequences of desobbeing eda than make her new friends slightly disappointed (probably because she thinks that if she commits any mistake, they will abandon her).

- In my point of view, her obssesion in befriending every enemy that crosses her also relates with the fact she is a people pleaser. I can be projecting (like all the rest of this text lol), but I have a strange wish that everyone on earth likes me, not only the people I like, but also the people I hate, I want everyone to find me at least a little nice or else Im not happy. Wich means I am never truly happy, because that is Impossible to happen

For what Im concerned, people pleasers think like that generally, so Luz probably thinks like that too

- Ok the puppet scene of the third season, I saw a lot of people joking with "Luz realized that wasn't amity because she wasn't autistic enough lollll", yes I know, but that scene is so deep for me oh lord. Her worst fear is to be abandoned by her friends, the people she would die for, when she sees it happening in front of her, she doesn't even think "wait this looks weird, this doesn't look like my friends at all...", no, her head doesn't even suggest that, because in Luz' mind, that scenario it's what she deserves, the "weird" situation is the actual reality, where none of her friends hate her, she doesn't understand why they don't.

Luz realized they were all puppets because Amity mistoke an Azura's quote, not because all that incredible people were being mean to her, because she thinks she doesn't deserve any of them.

- Also in third season, my favourite scene of all time, the one that made me cry, when I heard Luz saying that, I finally realized what I needed this whole time: "The only thing I've ever really wanted.... Was to be understood"

(YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THIS TOUCHED ME, SERIOUSLY, AHHWHWHWHAIAJAHAHAHQBWH)

This quote is SO SO SO SO SO MEANINGFUL, OH MY TITAN. Not even Luz understood herself, do you guys get that? She didn't know why she just couldn't be normal like all the other kids on school, she didn't understand why she insisted so much on being herself when all that did was to cause her suffering. But when Camila said "my biggest mistake was trying to change you", she finally realized why she never gave up of herself: because there was nothing wrong with her.

She is not a bad person, she is nothing like belos or whoever, she deserves to receive as much as she offers to everyone, she doesn't need to think inside the box, she can continue to be weird forever and there is nothing wrong with that. For us that's all pretty obvious, but for her it's like a dream that came true to finally realize that.

The main reason why this cartoon is my favourite is because of Luz. I feel really connected to her (if that makes sense), that's why Im so obsessed with her. At the finale, she ends up capable of balancing her "boring life" of human realm with boiling isles, that makes me fill up with hope that maybe one day I find happiness at my "boring life" in here, while balancing it with fiction in a healthy way.

Luz is the best main characther of all time and I will never be convinced otherwise.