#I don’t think this is really an argument tbf

[motley-cunt]

weird pet peeve of mine don’t put weird fucking filters over andy his face lines are adorable and good

[wrongcaitlyn]

yk what just kinda frustrates me a bit? it’s that whenever someone hates on taylor swift, i need to defend her, not bc i think she can do no wrong ever, but because they always choose the wrong things to criticize.

like if someone tries to say shit abt the i hate it here 1830s lyric to me? i’m obligated to point out that uh no it’s not racist, literally look at the next fucking line, you idiot. she’s saying the exact opposite of what you’re implying. nostalgia is a mind’s trap.

and if someone tries to call her a climate terrorist, then i’m going to have to point out that yes, she uses a private plane a lot, but she’s not even in the top 30 of celebs with highest carbon emissions. if you really want to criticize a celebrity and not the huge factories/companies that are polluting the air, then focus on travis scott

but like?? you could literally choose any argument that doesn’t have to do with literal false information. or better yet, you don’t even need a reason! say you don’t vibe with her music and that is literally none of my business. good for you. enjoy whatever music you like. but don’t try and put yourself on this moral pedestal for hating on this musician who doesn’t even know you exist and let me listen to the grand theft auto lyric in peace.

[fideidefenswhore]

things that make you go hmmm.

[onesidedradiostatic]

Obviously Angel’s time with the Vees was terrible but I gotta wonder, knowing what kind of disasters they are, did he ever bear witness to embarrassing moments that the Vees would DIE from if knowledge of it ever got out?

Did Vox ever attempt to create a shitty music AI with his own voice that churned out the most garbage songs Hell would ever hear, especially the country ones, that Angel would be asked to dance in the music videos for? Eventually the crew convinced Vox that the music was too shit to release to the public and now the audio files are locked away no one has access to (Angel has access though. He always finds a way).

And did Velvette and Valentino ever get into arguments about Val misusing slang words in his scripts and one day Angel had to wait over an hour, tied to a bed in black dress waiting for them to stop debating about the appropriate usage of the word “YEET”? Needless to say he eventually opted to just take a nap. He was already hogtied to the bed anyway.

But also, did Angel and the crew ever have to witness Vox and Val airing their sexual frustrations with each other? I’m just imagining the poor crew bearing witness to the saddest display of a sexual tension-fueled argument that always ends with them dropping the most pathetic clap backs and disses at each other and one of them storming out like it’s a really shitty soap opera.

Meanwhile Angel is wondering if maybe he should just suggest the two of them just hook up and maybe they’ll both calm the fuck down.

But then they do hook up and they still don’t calm the fuck down.

Unfortunately for Angel he now knows way too much about the intricacies of Vox’s…anatomy from Val and whenever he has to hear about it he thinks, “Can you just get me high right now? I do not wanna be sober during this, please.” Also he comes to the conclusion that Vox is terrible in bed and Valentino has shit taste.

But then Vox begins bragging in uncomfortably hilarious and pathetic detail about the “sexy” things he and Val do to the point where not only does the crew question if this counts as sexual harassment, but Angel starts contemplating if HE needs to fuck Vox to get him to calm the fuck down because apparently Val is ALSO terrible in bed when with a consenting partner, and this loser is NOT gonna learn what good sex is otherwise.

This started out as a speculation in the dumb things Angel witnessed with the Vees and it just snowballed into Angel suffering through StaticMoth’s absurd bullshit because they’re both the fucking worst.

WHAT IS THIS HELP. I mean he did live in the v tower for a while he probably has seen a good chunk of shit. tbf there is a chance he was just high a lot of the time when it came to the vees' bullshit but this is funny

[sonic-adventure-3]

idw “after all, if he can’t be forgiven, can you?” that was soooo fucked up of sonic dude. i always think abt that. that whole scene where sonic lures shadow away and emotionally manipulates him to stop him from trying to kill mr tinker was so fucked of sonic. i kinda loved it. manipulate is a strong word but i do think it applies to what he was doing there. he was scrambling to find an angle that’d disarm shadow and the way HE SMIRKED WHEN HE FOUND ITTTTT.

like he was fully taking advantage of shadow’s genuine remorse and trauma there. the arguments he makes suck under examination but they’re uniquely effective on one shadow the hedgehog.

“eggman has helped in certain scenarios, like the ark incident (that he also mostly caused)” bad argument and he knows it, specifically mentioning the ark

-> “eggman fought with us and was crucial in defending the planet in the black arms incident” extremely generous reading of eggman’s actions there, he was mainly just after the chaos emeralds like usual and really only defending himself and his interests, again bringing up shadow’s past and origins

-> “if he [a megalomaniac who has very intentionally tried to kill me and ravage the world so he can rule it many many multiple times despite having literally every other choice available, now amnesiac] can’t be forgiven [for trying to end me and the world for funsies], can you [be forgiven for trying to kill me and end the world in a haze of grief induced from having your memories altered and just (because you just woke up from a 50 year nap) having witnessed your best/only friend and sister killed in front of your eyes (which you are the cause of, for existing)]?” such a false equivalency, but one that shadow is predisposed to believe in cause he’s just had his past dredged up in his head again a few lines ago, and feels wayyy guiltier about his whole deal than he actually is for the part he played and the circumstances he was in. sonic’s using his own insecurity against himmmmmmmm.

suuuuuuch a dick move. tbf i don’t interpret sonic as having intentionally or cruelly been thinking all that, i just think the only thing on his mind was winning. like when shadow realized sonic was luring him away, sonic was just like “uh yeah? cause i needed you to not kill that guy and you can’t kill him when you’re not there”

man i just really like that for him. (not completely intentional) manipulatory tendencies. cause if you can say words that make you win, say them, and say them quick. fuck man. like i’m not 100% in on this interpretation but like it’s really fucking interesting isn’t it?

[communistkenobi]

Wrt your posting about the jedi taking on children, I disagree thst the argument about force sensitive people 'need' to be trained for everyone else's safety. It's like Dragon Age mages or BNHA quirks, it's not special if someone can fireball me if they're having a bad day, some random person can already beat or strangle me with just their own two hands in the real world, no fireball necessary.

I mean idk I feel like Star Wars does a fairly decent job of establishing how dangerous force sensitivity can be - it’s not just extra strength or throwing things, but also mind control, healing (which i know is rare tbf), communicating with animals, etc. It also establishes how scary it can be to have those sorts of powers without knowing how to deal with them. I think Rebels does a good job of exploring this kind of thing with Kanan and Ezra.

However I also agree with you that it doesn’t “need” to be a problem, like force users are not inherently doomed to darkness/violence unless trained eternally across all space and time. But I think force sensitivity introduces a wholly organic way to accrue power (both physically in the sense that you’re more powerful and socially in that you have a type of organic ‘capital’ that can be used to gain social and political power in society, either because people adore you and want to follow you, and/or because they fear you), and having that type of power isn’t dependent on class position or family history*, it’s essentially random chance if someone is force sensitive or not. Which creates a threat to the types of societies depicted in Star Wars where there are durable ruling classes who want to maintain power.

And I think the Jedi Order offers a solution to this problem by capturing that type of ‘organic capital’ for lack of a better term; you monopolise an institution responsible for moulding force sensitive people into a particular type of subject - one that is not a threat to the prevailing societal order - and in exchange for being forced to be a Jedi you get massive amounts of privilege via access to knowledge, social status, material needs, and so on. While this creates civil unrest and distrust of the Jedi from a lot of laypeople, it’s a pretty sweet deal in the eyes of the Republic if it means not having to deal with rival force sensitive groups using their power to make political demands, especially through violence.

I think looking at it this way explains why the Jedi don’t really accept or allow any other type of force user, especially as they become more enmeshed with the Republic (the coven in the acolyte is a good example, the dathomiri witches, etc), and why a lot of force users who are not Jedi are labelled Sith, either because they adopt that label themselves or because they’re labelled that by the Jedi. And I’m not saying “the sith are just misunderstood victims” or whatever, but that in a scenario where you have a very powerful monastic order that controls how the rest of society understands and interacts with force sensitivity, force users who fall outside of that are going to be treated as a criminal class who are a threat to the republic (because they are - Maul is treated this way, Dooku and Anakin quite literally topple the Republic, etc). So like in the settings Star Wars tends to play in, force sensitivity is narratively understood as a source of incredible potential power, and capturing that power via an institution like the Order makes sure that power potential is not disruptive to prevailing society and power interests. Which is why I think the Jedi do have a fairly good rationale for taking kids and training them, even if that rationale is tied to the maintenance of the status quo - the Order’s power depends upon the maintenance of their own monopoly

*KIND OF. obviously some of the canon loves doing blood lineages with palpatine and shit, the midichlorian thing, etc. which sucks so bad. But general canon consensus as far as I know appears to be that anyone can potentially be force sensitive

[camaelczarka]

I don’t understand the type of fandom person who hates speculation, especially with IWTV

I’ve had multiple ‘arguments’ with people (mostly on reddit tbf which is probably the issue) over them taking issue with my speculations over season 3/Lestat’s version of events. I don’t think anything I’ve been saying it wildly out there or anything and they’re mostly just talking to other people like oh, I wonder if we’ll find out Lestat was trying to talk telepathically to Madeleine, I wonder if Armand really did push Lestat out of the tower or not, I wonder if Lestat killed Bruce, etc. Like I’m not taking a hard stance about anything I’m just talking to other fans

Anyway occasionally there will be someone who obsessively repeats to me all the quotes from whatever scene to tell me that whatever I’m saying is impossible. And I’m like ???? But they’ve already shown us multiple times that Louis was straight up wrong, misremembering, having his memories altered, that Claudia lied in her diaries, that she has pages missing from them at very deliberate moments. But then these people will get super belligerent about it because they refuse to speculate on whatever we haven’t been shown yet. I think they literally just don’t enjoy doing it? And I’m like that’s fine but like the rest of us are just having a good time, we don’t have to be right or wrong, and the show us fiction and they can literally say ‘oops we lied, this is actually what happened!’

Anyway tldr people when the unreliable narrator is unreliable

[theanticool]

Lately ive been seeing multiple top ten lists that squeeze in kamaru usman at number 9 or 10. Do you think this is a fair assessment or recency bias? I feel like having 2 of his title defenses against bum ass Masvidal kinda works against his legacy. Obviously usman is a much more complete well rounded fighter than izzy hut i think theres an argument to be made Izzy had a better level of competition. I wonder if one of Usmans victims (strickland) becoming mw champ is whats propelling him to top ten status since what seemed like a random win at the time is now aging extremely well

Yeah, sadly half of Usman’s titles wins (Colby 2, Masvidal 2, and Woodley) aged really poorly. TBF the Masvidal and Colby rematches were crap from the jump. Woodley went on to lose every round of MMA he fought after Usman and threw like 10 punches combined. I do think the first Masvidal and Colby wins (+Burns) are worth a lot but if we’re holding those up as Usman’s big career wins? How do they match up against the best wins of Fedor, Silva, GSP, Aldo, Holloway, Volk, DJ, Jones, DC, Lawler, Khabib, Alvarez, Poirier, TJ, Cruz, McGregor, Islam, Do Bronx, BJ, Edgar, Stipe, Whittaker, or Izzy (I’m leaving a lot of names out). I just don’t think the wins are there to be honest. I also don’t give Usman too much credit for his win over Strickland because this is the same guy who was losing to Zaleski dos Santos and Ponz at 170lbs. Good fighters but not on anyone’s top 30 greatest fighters in WW history. Sean’s best win at 170 is arguably Nordine Taleb.

The story of Usman’s title reign was one of rebirth and gridlock at welterweight imo. Lawler, Woodley, Condit, and Wonderboy were aging out. Hendricks ate his way out 170. Then you had guys like Usman and Colby coming up on the old guard (Maia, Woodley, RDA) while Masvidal just so happened to get hot at the right moment off beating a guy who had heat but wasn’t as good as we thought (Till) and a loudmouth meme generator with a nonfunctional hip (Askren).

But guys like Leon, Belal, and - to a lesser extent - Rakhmonov, Chimaev, etc were kind of left on the outside looking in. Once Colby and Masvidal established themselves as contenders and stars(?), they did not interact with anyone else again. For as good as they had been on the rise, I’d argue neither Colby or Masvidal ever solidified themselves in real Max Holloway/Robert Whittaker “I’m going to be at worst the #3 fighter in this division for a long time” way. And it’s still a thing we are dealing with years later. It took Leon and Belal like 10 fights with no losses to get a title fight. And Belal only just got his this year! That’s insane. He came up at the same time as Colby and Usman! With no immediate stars at 170, we’re probably back to guys getting to mix it up across the rankings so I’m happy the division is finally out of gridlock. The logjam seems to have passed.

Another knock against Usman is he hasn’t really had anything to show in his post-prime. When Aldo, Holloway, and Whittaker, for example, lost their titles? They proceeded to come back and just start picking off contenders. Taking big fight after big fight. To his credit, I thought Usman looked good in his fight with Chimaev for the circumstances he found himself in. I think he might still have some gas in the tank. A couple big name wins would really boost his resume.

But ultimately? ATG list are subjective. I don’t think the welterweight division has gotten significantly better since the days of GSP like some of these other divisions have, but that’s my opinion. I do think you’re correct about recency bias though. A lot of modern MMA fans don’t actually know anything about the sport pre-2019 though

[plants-and-poetry-and-punching]

my many thoughts on: “you win. you made me into this” vs ‘throw them into another dimension for the rest of their lives lmao’

I am FRESH off finishing the finale, so i can’t guarantee the hottest takes, but they’re fresh picked from my brain. no research, no rewatch, we sniff death dust like UNIT.

long rambly post! you’ve been warned!

I understand that ‘if you kill a killer you’re just as bad as they are’ isn’t the most… convincing argument. if you think about it, is the act of killing someone (or something) that wiped out billions and billions of people on the same moral level as committing that same unimaginable evil? is being killed a worse fate than being locked away, alone, for the rest of your life? (or for eternity- remember what 10 did to the mayflies? shit was fucked up!)

maybe the show really does want us to come away with “killing bad no matter what uwu*” but to me, I think it’s more important to think about this in the context of who the doctor is as a character. ‘no killing’ is his personal moral code, and it’s something he truly believes in. yes, it can get a little bit absurd when they’re sending people to forever time prison, but strong feelings and beliefs are very, very good at causing characters (and real people) to act irrationally. plus, he’s a gazillion year old alien. I think he can have a little blue and orange morality, as a treat.

friendly reminder: the doctor has canonically committed war crimes!! they pushed the big red button on gallifrey- there’s a LOT of blood on their hands**. they were always a pacifist at heart(s), but I think the time war really cemented the fact that they never wanted to kill again. the doctor expressed guilt several times this season for supposedly bringing trouble and death wherever he goes, and the whole finale was a distillation of that! countless lives wiped out, and he believes it’s because of him. no wonder the guy lost it***.

mercy is all they have. they can’t undo the deaths that still haunt them, but they can make damn sure that not one more soul dies by their hand- even if the alternative is arguably a fate worse than death.

I believe that, past a certain point, refusing to kill a foe isn’t about being merciful or having the higher moral ground. it’s just the doctor desperately trying to avoid taking any more lives, no matter the cost. it’s not rational- it’s emotional self-preservation. that single soul might just be the straw that breaks them apart.

no more. everybody lives.

the doctor didn’t admit defeat when everyone and everywhere he knew was reduced to dust. (tbf, universe ending catastrophes are an average friday for them.) he grieved, but then he got to work, and he and ruby fixed it.

stopping suketh was a victory. and yet, the doctor admits defeat right before he cuts that line. it’s right there in the text- to him, this is a loss, because he was forced to break the moral code he’s been carrying for thousands of years.

I think it shatters the armor they’ve built around their own self-perception. the doctor wants to be seen as someone who represents life. they want to be able to see themself as someone who represents life- and I believe that they’ve been struggling with that for a long, long time****.

there’s a reason the doctor doesn’t talk about themself, or their past, or loved ones they’ve lost- it’s all tainted by death. at least, I think that’s how they see it. this bitch is traumatized! (maybe they refuse to kill even the most vile enemy because a part of them feels that they’re just as bad? good dalek etc etc)

I don’t think the doctor is thinking all of this consciously, of course. (he’s definitely thinking some of it, though). I just think all of this stuff is a major part of their character.

I really hope that killing sutekh has some serious consequences next season. as big as the scene was in the moment, the end of the episode was more focused on ruby’s story than the doctor’s emotional fallout. (I’m not complaining about having the focus on ruby! shit made me tear up!)

I want to see how the doctor feels about breaking his one rule. I crave angsty character exploration! and maybe an scp end of death type scenario

tldr: I think the doctor deserves to make weird moral decisions every now and then*****. also they’re the sad wet little meow meow ever and I want to put them in the plot equivalent of a hydraulic press.

*I do believe that one of the show’s central themes is the sanctity of life, and that saving lives the most important goal someone can have. I just don’t think it’s here to preach the exact minutiae of what is or isn’t justified.

**I missed most of 13’s run, but it sounds like some serious shit went down there too. I’m gonna go back and catch up soon!

***that said, I hope they continue losing it now and then, because unhinged doctor is my favorite doctor. don’t read into that.

****I know that 14 supposedly fixed himself, but like… no he didn’t. I mean, I hope post-bi-generation 14 is doing great in therapy, but if he is, I don’t think 15 is getting any of the benefits. “maybe I’m the bad luck” in his very first episode?? this bitch lied directly to his own face and he’s kinda iconic for that

*****dear beloved piss on the poor website: the doctor is a fictional character. I do not endorse murder, war crimes, or trapping people in forever prisons irl.

[project-sekai-facts]

I feel like Emu is a criminally underused and under explored character. Like she’s in the top of her class so she’s incredibly intelligent. She’s got elongated muskrat levels of money. She has a strong reaction to negative emotions and arguments. She can instantly tell that Mafuyu was sus. She’s a lot younger than her siblings who are all adults. I don’t think she (or anyone else) has ever mentioned her mother.

Writers are sitting on a gold mine for potential storylines but she’s had only 2 or 3 focus events. Begging that she gets more focus after the anniversary but I’m not too hopeful.

Anyway now that I’ve rambled insanely in your askbox. Do you think anyone else is underused?

tbf everyone has an equal number of focus events, some people just haven't had their 2nd mixed event or 4th unit event yet so there's like an offset of 1 but it's mostly even. I would agree though that Emu gets sidelined in her own events a lot, like Run! Sports Festival! feels more like a Haruka event imo, and then Amidst a Dream, Towards the Shining Stars has some development for Tsukasa's plot alongside hers (but then again Wonder Magical Showtime! was a Tsukasa event with Emu plot development so I guess they're even now). But yeah they really ought to let her next few events be focused entirely on her (I can understand to a degree why she often shares focus with other characters because like, she motivates people, she's the support but like cmon. give her an event about her childhood and her relationship with her family or smth at least)

not necesarily underused, but Minori I guess. she's been a featured card in less mixed events than anyone else (excl. kaimei) even if she's appeared in quite a few (even if buddy funny spend time was basically her event). I wouldn't really say she's out of focus though, like all her events are actually focused on her, especially STEP by STEP!. Basically I just want her in more mixed events.

^ my attempt at not answering with a side character. anyway I want Souma to show up more I know he's in hospital so it's hard to write him in but I think he's neat. Hopefully he'll be in Toya's event again.

also Mai I think she had a lot of potential but she barely got to do anything.

[greetings-inferiors]

give me manga reccommendations (please)

i think i'm gonna start reading again

i'll start with the classics like tokyo ghoul and black butler and death note because i did already read the first few volumes of them (like 2 yrs ago tho so ill have to reread)

but i want reccommendations :3

Why are you awake at 3am

Anyway my actual recommendations -

Tokyo ghoul and death note are GREAT starting points, two of the best mangas ever written.

The middle of death note does drag a bit, but the ending makes up for it imo. And obviously the first half is some of the best manga ever written. It’s also really short so you may as well, you won’t regret it.

Tokyo ghoul is fantastic, and I really recommend it, ESPECIALLY if you haven’t watched the anime. I wish I read the manga first every day. One of the most beautiful manga I’ve ever read.

I’ve never read black butler but I’ve heard good things.

Now, for my new recommendations (from least to most recommended)

One punch man is gut achingly funny, though I haven’t been keeping up with it

If you get into one piece you won’t run out of entertainment for months, what I’ve read it pretty good and apparently it just keeps getting better.

Spy x family is similarly gut achingly funny, but with a fantastic and gripping plot, especially the newest chapters. It’s one of two mangas I still keep up with for every chapter.

Assassination classroom is hilarious, but heart wrenchingly sad. It’s fantastic. It was my favourite manga for a long time.

And, of course, the big one. Jojo’s bizzare adventure is my favourite manga of all time. It’s one of my favourite pieces of media ever made. There’s genuinely nothing like it. Every part is completely unique, from the martial arts of part 1, to the murder mystery of part 4, to the heists of part 9. I am not kidding when I say that every part is its own genre. It’s also all really good. There’s an argument for all parts to be the best. And the title isn’t lying. In fact, it may be lying by omission. It’s not just bizzare - it’s batshit. In the best possible way. The only problem is that part 1 drags a bit, even though it’s short and imo still really good, so it’s a bit difficult to get into (and you are NOT part skipping, I WILL DISOWN YOU). It’s better than the anime though, so if you’re going to do jojo it’s best to start with the manga (the first three parts are MUCH better as mangas). But once you get to the end of part 1, it’s non stop PEAK. The ending to part 1 is phenomenal. Part 2 has one of the best jojos. Part 3 is a great journey and villain of the week format (along with having the best fight in the entire series). Part 4 is some of the best slice of life I’ve ever read??? Part 5 is basically an anime of the godfather and it’s brilliant. Part 6 is a jailbreak movie, with one of the best endings to anything ever. Part 7 is out of nowhere a literary masterpiece, unironically one of the greatest works of art I’ve ever read (it’s the second highest rated manga of all time for a reason). Part 8 is the pinnacle of Araki as a writer, storyteller, and artist, with a great coming of age (I guess lmao) story. And part 9 is thrilling heists with (imo) the best jojo in the series. The worst part is really fucking good, and the best part is one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever written. I truly cannot recommend it enough. It’s not everyone’s thing - the title is NOT lying, it is weird, at times nonsensical, but never uninteresting. Give it a shot, at least the first 3 parts, they’re not long and if you’re not interested by then you’re not human I think (/j). Once you get to 4 and onwards they keep getting longer, and while they do keep getting better and better, if you’re not into the vibe and stands then you don’t want to read 800 ish chapters more. Oh yeah it is long tbf, the first 3 parts aren’t that long, the next 3 parts are decently sized, then the next 2 alone are longer than a lot of the other manga I’ve recommended lmao. But that’s kinda what happens when you release a manga without any major hiatuses for 30+ years. He only started releasing it monthly in about 2008, so it would be way longer lmao. But the monthly releases are worth it, it instantly gets wayyyyyyy better. You’ll notice it in steel ball run (part 7). And once you’re finished you’ll be able to wait with me for part 9, which has been FANTASTIC so far, and I’m really excited to see more.

The only problem is: how do you read it? Answer: I don’t know. Probably mangadex? Don’t read the official translations, they change almost every name in the series due to copyright (every stand and a lot of characters are named after songs and bands) and it a.) works way less and b.) will make communicating with other jojo fans really difficult. I read the first 8 parts using Jojo’s coloured adventure (though I don’t recommend the coloured manga, the black and white is much better), which was an all in one place fan translation, but I don’t think it exists anymore. I recommend researching which translations are the best and then reading them on mangadex. The thing about it is that the translations I read are only for the newly released chapters I’m pretty sure, so giving you their names wouldn’t help at all. I’ve read a few chapters of phantom blood on mangadex and like… it’s alright. The phrasing is a bit clunky, but overall it’s good.

Some last things: the early parts are a bit sexist at times, the women are still really well written like erina, Lisa Lisa, and suzi q, but the first 3 parts have the odd “beaten by a mere woman!!?” And stuff. But even then there’s a lot of subversions of sexism, like Lisa Lisa being really fucking strong (and even then Araki regrets having not written her as more of a main character). But once you get past part 3 it basically stops. Araki is really progressive with his writing, he wanted part 5 to have a female jojo, but his editors didn’t let him, but once part 6 came around he put his foot down and made half of the cast women (and even then he still was forced to change someone to a man). I’m pretty sure he even said the quote “the fact that readers don’t want the jojo to be a woman is exactly why she needs to be a woman” or something similar. Part 8’s best written character is a woman, and in part 9 we’ve got a weird genderqueer thing (I love dragona but it’s really hard to say whether they’re trans or not lmao. Imo they are, but obviously you shouldn’t assume. At the very least they aren’t out yet. Tho they take hrt. Lmao). Basically what I’m saying is it gets a lot better.

Once you’ve caught up I really recommend the anime! The first 3 parts are a downgrade imo (especially part 3, yikes they completely massacred it. The beginning is great and the last fight is phenomenally done though), but part 4 is an upgrade, especially since they had the hindsight of the villain (Araki originally wanted 3 to be the end, so part 4 didn’t really have a plan for the first half of its story) and could sprinkle him throughout. I haven’t watched 5 or 6 yet, but apparently 5 is fantastic and 6 is really good. But I’d definitely recommend reading it first, and then watching it once you’re obsessed.

If anything you should read the first 6 parts as homework for steel ball run. I love the first 6 parts to death, but 7,8, and 9 are so so so good, and steel ball run is, like, a classic manga. It’s the fucking great gatsby of manga. Or maybe to kill a mockingbird? Idk.

Anyway I’m sorry this is long I really really really like Jojo. Like I said, it’s my favourite manga of all time, and one of my favourite media franchises in general. I could gush about it for hours (and I guess I just did whoops lmao).

Also if you read it you’ll get the jojo references (important)

[tragedy-peanut-gallery]

I've seen some people say it's improbable that naerys and melissa could've been friends because melissa is an old gods follower who publicly had three bastard children. like, their argument is that even if melissa kept naerys's terrible husband away from naerys, naerys's strong faith in the seven should've kept her from bonding with melissa, especially after what happened with barba. what would you say to counter-act this argument?

Well, tbf I’m not really one to try and change people’s opinions lol, if they want to believe that, it’s fine ig? But if I were to give an argument I would say that it is in fact canon that both Naerys and Melissa are friends, so it’s a bit weird to ignore that little factoid.

Secondly! The religion thing likely isn’t a big deal as far as I’m concerned? There have been a few inter-faith marriages that have worked out just fine (ex: Ned and Cat, the two recorded cases of a Stark/Manderly marriage) so in all fairness, there’s nothing really stopping two people of two different faiths from being friends!

As for the whole mistress/Barba thing….. I mean, yah, okay that is pretty fair lmao. I wouldn’t be surprised if Naerys started off pitying Melissa because of just how young she was when Aegon took her as a mistress, but was a bit weary of her after the Barba ordeal, but I think what did solidify their relationship to one another was because of just how kind Melissa was. Historically (irl anyways) mistresses aren’t always rivals to the wife of the king/lord/whatever noble guy, in some cases they can have a genuine friendship! And, I mean, I don’t think Naerys cares much about the mistress aspect, seeing as she doesn’t really like it when Aegon does turn his attention onto her, if anything I believe she’d be more concerned for Melissa’s safety being with a man like Aegon, which could very much further their bond!

That’s my best attempt at an argument anyways lol. If I had more time I could type out an essay with cited sources and all that, but rn I’m kind of dying on a train so…… hope this is okay💀

[pinkeoni]

I know the ''villain!Will'' arguments are annoying af for many reasons, first of all it being unfit for Will's characterization and the fans's refusal to see him in a hero role... but are we really gonna act like that wasn't the intention on the writers? Because I think they wanted to further some sort of a plotline like that for Will in S5 via Vecna. Not saying he is going to become an evil guy to take revenge on the town or because he's been mistreated by the others, but I think they wanted the audience to think that way to an extent... and to further some sort of a 'situation' between Vecna and Will. Again, I don't think the audience is in the right or anything because I agree that Will is not gonna be evil, I think the way the narrative was portrayed intentionally was made that way to further a certain narrative for S5 imho. Like, I don't think it was just a coincidence that people started demanding Will to team up with Vecna to take revenge after vol2. It happened because the writers were aiming to get a certain reaction and expectation from the audience.

Did they, though?

And tbf to you anon I don’t know if it’s clear what their intentions are with Will from the show alone, hero!Will and villain!Will alike. From where I am villain!Will takes only came about after it was confirmed by the Duffers that Will would be the focus of season five, and for me that’s also when I began theorizing about his bigger role in the show. I do have some evidence from the show to jumpstart this idea although without that confirmation from the writers it would be very easy to assume that Will would be relegated to Vecna-radar-side-character while all of the heavy narrative lifting would be given to El again.

And tbh I think that the Duffs wanted to put out a statement saying that Will was the focus for s5 as marketing but also as a way to cover their asses for how Will was treated in season 4. They know that confirming their first actual gay character to be gay in a season where he is pushed into a romantic side plot where it appears on the surface to be used as a platform for the main hetero couple to stand on looks very bad, so they wanted to get ahead of some of the criticism by saying “Hey! Don’t worry because he’s going to be the focus of season 5!” And I get it because I know that this is a set up to lead to byler happy ending and they definitely want the audience to be on Will’s side, and they have to wait several years in order for the audience to see the full picture, although admittedly there was probably a better way to go about doing this.

I think that not expecting Will to be a hero is a pitfall of the writers but at the same time I don’t think that there is much in the show to suggest that Will would go evil. Yes the connection to Vecna is clear, and I expect that relationship to be fleshed out next season, although Will doesn’t have a vengeful mindset, and there isn’t any character trait of his to suggest that he would turn evil. If Will is possessed again (which they likely won’t do since it’s repetitive) then it’s not really him being the evil one, he’s just a puppet for the actual evil guy.

I think that people’s minds go to villain Will because, well, they don’t really know what to expect from a Will-lead season. Will can’t be the proverbial hero or “chosen one” because that’s El’s title, and like I said from my original post I can’t really blame the audience for thinking this. So I don’t know if villain!Will is really an actual intention from the writers or another example of a writing pitfall mixed with ignorance from certain audience members.

[abbacchiosbelt]

The idea of Kars not knowing to interact in a sane manner without debasing his pride is infinitely funny. “Oh, I want to talk to this person, but they’re ignoring me. Fuck. No one ever ignores me! Time to start discourse” is literally Kars’ internal train of thought. I think he’d start arguments over the dumbest things ever just to interact with them and challenge his own mental abilities (to an extent…we all know he’s smarter than everyone on the planet.) The person he’s Collected™️ (he thinks of them as a friend/companion internally but they don’t need to know that because it would bruise his pride. oh how the mighty have fallen,) is pretty smart compared to what he sees as the “rest of humanity,” but still don’t possess the raw intellect he does. In fact, most of their intelligence is contradictory. Like, they have insane interpersonal and emotional intelligence, but god forbid someone asks them to solve a basic logic puzzle. Kars probably laughs his ass off internally when this person technically has an iq of like, 65 according to most tests, but they’re clearly not stupid. Kars has met stupid people before, too many in fact, and there’s no way he’d even BOTHER with someone he didn’t find interesting or at least possessed some wit

i feel like kars is just Awkward because he's never needed to have social skills, really. his show of strength in battle was enough... and while he's definitely incredibly intelligent, that doesn't necessarily translate to social skills lmao

intelligence is such a varied thing that kars would probably think nothing of their intellect being in different areas. he's aware intelligence comes in different forms.

(and tbf IQ tests are outdated and racist bs lol)

[bisluthq]

Which do you think was the most "authentic" Taylor era? I feel like a lot of early fans tend to go with one of the first 3 since that's when she became a fan, but I personally don't agree with that. With the context of the re-records and shit she's said in interviews, it actually seems like those eras were a lot more contrived in parts than a lot of her later ones - I think you can also make the argument for 1989 being a bit "fake," because it follows the same issue of her early eras where she was trying to portray an image that wasn't entirely accurate, that image just changed from the time she was 19 to the time she was 25.

From rep-now there was imo more of a distance, but shit the vault tracks and midnights shed some light on a lot of the stuff she tried to "hide" back in the day (like the fact that she had sex, and did/surrounded herself with people who did drugs).

It's very striking to me how different the like Fearless era is from now, and how the album that was written during that time (Speak Now) and the one just released (TTPD) are both V personal but in V different ways. Like Speak Now was very specific in terms of like... the people she wrote the songs about, because she said her #1 goal with that album was to make sure the people who inspired the songs knew they were about them. TTPD is personal in a different way, but not one I'm able to articulate.

so I love this question and I’m gonna out my age and how much of my life I’ve spent online - not that I hide it - but I wanna say like… debut and Fearless and SN Taylor to a point were very authentic Taylor if you were in fandom. I think that’s where Swifties got “the media” v “us” from. Because like Swifties did legit “know” Taylor a lot better than the media sanitized image of her, and the vast majority of her vlogging/blogging/content creation wasn’t covered by media and she was funny and raw and whatnot. She didn’t say openly that she drank or had sex but most fans in her age group - so like me on the peripheries because I wasn’t a huge fan but my bestie was - knew that. She made dirty jokes and she fucked around and we knew that whole Disney crowd is naughty and media soundbites to the contrary don’t mean much.

my friend stopped being a fan in 1989 because she said “that’s not Taylor”. She’d been less of a fan during RED already because it wasn’t quite the same but 1989 was just… not Taylor.

I think what she then got better at is understanding she can BE Taylor but cannot now be how she was to start and she started separating work (including fans, which I think she realized over time were like… becoming too many to be a manageable group of people she could playfully engage with) from her life (friends, family, Joe, Matty, Travis). So I think 1989-Lover were least authentic and she’s very much herself now but she’s not a girl you can like have banter with like you still can with idk Maisie Peters (who got the idea from Tay). She’s… female musical Jesus and she can ABSOLUTELY be herself but she can’t like… know everyone who knows her at all and the media ARE Swifties and Swifties drive the media (which tbf started to happen around RED and Harry).

I think the people who feel she was inauthentic in the first few eras or “changed” dramatically just… became fans later or weren’t that active in fandom then and got most of it from media coverage or were kids and just didn’t engage as much back then. She was very much herself and she still is but in 2008 you didn’t publicly go out and say “besties I’m underage but hungover as shit” lol. So that really wasn’t a big lie at all. And she NEVER spoke about sex so as not to lie imo and her lyrics since pre debut consider it and Fifteen explicitly mentions that Abi did it at fifteen. So like… idk man Taylor’s always been Taylor and she was less Taylor while trying to figure the Taylor Swift Phenomenon out but she’s still Taylor now and has been imo publicly since folkmore.

[magmacannon]

11-20, 21-30 for bothul and romanman? :D

OKAY I answered 13-20 and 28-30 for Roman in other asks but I'm gonna Lightning Round this... these two will be fun to compare (<- polar opposite character types)

11. If someone was impersonating them, what would friends / family ask or do to tell the difference?

Bothul: A regular doppleganger cannot transform into a fuckoff huge dragon now can it??? Radiation Blast for your impudence

Roman: Ask the doppleganger about 1. his history with Vince (if there isn't an hour long story at least that's Not Him), 2. ask him about how he feels about John (if you get a regular answer that's probably also not him) Physically if the impersonator can't spellshape a lightning bolt that's also a solid tell!

12. What’s something that makes them laugh every single time? Be specific!

Bothul: Their little bard-servant whining and making a fool of themselves to the point that they straight up fall over for attention <3

Roman: Getting attacked by his husband moob-first (tbf a lot of the things Vince does - to make him laugh tbf - get him every time)

13. When do they fake a smile? How often?

B: If Bothul fakes a smile it's because she's Plotting someone's demise in a relatively short timespan (this could be within minutes) - she doesn't feign emotions or smile readily unless it's a game. It's not too often that he does this - probably to the relief of the surrounding towns.

14. How do they put out a candle?

B: However the hell he wants (giant dragon). Might even get their servants to do it or just use a spell to get Every Candle at Once.

15. What’s the most obvious difference between their behavior at home, at work, at school, with friends, and when they’re alone?

B: Bothul alone is eerily quiet, preferring to keep her thoughts to herself (in case there's something listening). With friends (servants/supplicants) he's extremely showy and loud, and when working there's an unerring intensity in her actions that goes for weeks on end sometimes.

16. What kinds of people do they have arguments with in their head?

B: Larger, objectively more powerful dragons that Bothul hopes to defeat/subjugate. More and more thru his plot though it's also himself as his thoughts start to get scattered by outside forces.

17. What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?

B: Bothul notices the Majesty of Their Huge Body first, and I think that's probably what most other people notice first too (dragon or humanoid form they're Biglarge pff)

18. Who do they love truly, 100% unconditionally (if anyone)?

B: She loves herself 100% and that is IT. Everything else has contracts and conditions.

19. What would they do if stuck in a room with the person they’ve been avoiding?

B: Bothul would fucking kill them!!! They would either have to grovel Immediately or they would no longer exist. (I don't think Bothul really... avoids anyone, tbf. Too direct for that one.)

20. Who do they like as a person but hate their work? Vice versa, whose work do they like but don’t like the person?

B: About to be mean but her bard.... she likes that little weirdo but their work is only Sometimes Excellent (it's not bad persay but he demands Perfection and is loudly disappointed when it falls flat). Bothul also likes/admires (begrudgingly) the work of other successful dragons but hates them all So Much.

21. What common etiquette do they disagree with? Do they still follow it?

B: Turning the Other Cheek - Bothul NEVER does this much to the detriment of anyone who is perceived as stepping against her.

R: Minding your own business is probably his biggest one. Roman does it sometimes but loves to stick his nose in things when he can (to try and fix/help with them or perhaps, sometimes, just to be nosy).

22. What simple activity that most people do / can do scares your character?

B: Fit in small spaces :( (I think he might be mildly claustrophobic but this isn't usually an issue bc. digging power)

R: Calm down <:( (in actuality it's like. jfhdj attend school parties, he was genuinely terrified of them in school)

23. What do they feel guilty for that the other person(s) doesn’t / don’t even remember?

B: This one's really hard bc Bothul is pretty remorseless but. Maybe eating a sibling's egg as a baby???? MAYBE

R: I know Roman's carrying 18 different off-hand comments he made over the last decade to Vince that could be interpreted in a slightly mean fashion in his mind like small bells... I do Not think Vince remembers those.

24. Did they take a cookie from the cookie jar? What kind of cookie was it?

B: Ate the cookie jar to impress her bard (hippo jaw attack)

R: Yeah absolutely and it was oatmeal raisin!!! He took another one for whoever confronts him abt it tho

25. What subject / topic do they know a lot about that’s completely useless to the direct plot?

B: The specific temperature fluctuations on her birth swamp over the last two centuries and its effects on methane production and health of the local flora/fauna

R: SO FAR his incredible knowledge of DRAGONS has been useless to the direct plot which wtf!!!! He also knows a whole lot about the ins and outs of the child gangs(???) in Willowring bc he's talked to his kid about it a lot (I should have him use young teen slang to annoy Warren, actually)

26. How would they respond to being fired by a good boss?

B: They would Never have a boss above them

R: If there was ANY possibility of being rehired he'd try for it bc that'd just be sad!!! But he'd ultimately try to talk about how to improve and ask for a recommendation letter for his next job if his relationship with said boss was okay uu

27. What’s the worst gift they ever received? How did they respond?

B: Curse of the Depths (became extremely paranoid) is only slightly worse than the first Song of Praise his bard wrote for him (laughed at it and then commanded another try)

R: I rolled a 4 on a d20 to see how bad this'd be. Worst 'gift' is when Vulture gave him a spider directly onto his hand (he's scared of them), worst actual gift was a coupon for an Official Tzeraz Military Uniform from his family when he graduated. For Vulture he screamed and died Forever - for the gift from his family he thanked them and let the pit in his stomach get cold before probably burning that coupon a year later.

28. What do they tell people they want? What do they actually want?

B: He wants More Power and for his plans to succeed (in truth his plans are far more complex and long-winded, and have built in failsafes for if things go wrong. Also MAYBE there's a want to retreat and take things easier/enjoy life more but he can't possibly SHOW that one)

29. How do they respond when someone doesn’t believe them?

B: Kill their ass!!!! Or make them pay for their insolence, somehow.

30. When they make a mistake and feel bad, does the guilt differ when it’s personal versus when it’s professional?

B: Again Bothul doesn't really feel guilt - in either case it would be extremely superficial and her apology would feel shallow, even if the act of apologizing itself was a big thing for her.