#I have so many thoughts and feelings about this drawing

[utilitycaster]

One of your recent posts talked about the way BH have essentially "run out of plot" in following the Red Moon/Predathos plot and the way that the PCS are being played.

I was also curious about your thought on the interparty dynamics in the end game, particularly with recent developments. One of the issues I've had with Bell's Hells for a while now is the way they don't challenge each other (or at least not in the way previous parties have)

Yeah; they don't. And honestly I think this is a combination of just...luck of the draw of the characters they created combined with that lack of room for those characters to develop because they've been in an environment that hasn't allowed much time and space for anything but rushing to the next task. Like, as mentioned, a lot of characters are kind of here to hang out or have goals that aren't specifically tied to personal change, if they have specific goals at all. That's not a bad thing! Grog, Jester, and Fearne all share that quality and are all fantastic executions of it - and Grog and Jester do change quite a bit despite that because the story gives them many opportunities to do so, and yes, because their fellow party members challenge them. But it feels like the bulk of Bells Hells if not all of it is kind of in that boat.

I remember an early panel in which Marisha said "I don't want to think anymore" and I know Travis has mentioned something similar for Chetney, of wanting to play someone much more chaotic after playing someone so highly controlled as Fjord. Liam also talked about stepping back from being a major decision maker at some point, and built Orym to be someone who had a viewpoint but didn't specifically assert it (as we've just seen). Like, I think most resentment C3 fans have towards C2 is just jealousy and bitterness but perhaps a fairer grievance is that the cast really brought their A-Game to the Mighty Nein with a lot of incredibly complicated, driven, messy characters and due to the smaller nature of the company then combined with the scaled back production of the pandemic focused intently on them; and then nearly all of them made a bunch of fairly go-with-the-flow or chaotic characters as a breather and (not unfairly or unreasonably!) thought they'd be in a story that would give them space to become something else or that would suit them, and it didn't. As someone who likes actual play I think if nothing else this serves as a look into how fantastic overall cast chemistry doesn't translate into compelling party dynamics.

To be clear, I think Bells Hells like and care about each other, but none are really the type to both strive to be better and challenge those around them to be as well. Even their defenders in the fandom are kind of leaning on the party of NPCs line from very early on [which is funny because a lot of people HATED that line at the time; I got hate over thinking it was apt] but the thing is yeah at this point in the campaign, they shouldn't still feel like a party of NPCs. Perhaps this is a personal preference, which, to be clear, does not in any way invalidate it as criticism, but as someone with a bit of a comics background, I've never been terribly into "Suicide Squad"-esque stories but I am into stories of Person Who Has An Opportunity And Rises To The Occasion Despite Not Being The Best Choice On Paper. Ultimately, my issue isn't that Bells Hells come from humble backgrounds and tragedy (this is also...not untrue for the Mighty Nein, incidentally; in fact they had even less endorsement from powerful groups. Molly died 26 episodes in and he just stayed fucking dead because no one had Keyleth's phone number so this is another case of "your defense just makes me think the Mighty Nein achieve this in a far superior manner"); my issue is that, as Laudna put it, they kind of just walk through doors because they're in front of them. I don't need them to become classically heroic; but I do need them to have some sort of intention. And they don't. Why are you walking through doors? "Because they're there" doesn't cut it. You're here because the Exandrian Accord gave you a whole bunch of support so don't play that "i'm just a nobody with nothing" shit anymore, it's demonstrably untrue.

I had this in the tags originally and I decided, perhaps unwisely, to move it into this post because I think it's relevant, but: in case it's not apparent, I think "You! Are! Valid!" culture is fucking awful; this is what that weirdo who thinks I'm from Reddit is mad at, I think (honestly I'm not sure if they're angry, they might just be very unwell). Like, it has roots in something true and helpful; you are valid for things like your race, gender, sexuality, ability/disability, and things that have happened to you in the past. But actually no one is automatically valid for their actions. Being incurious or inconsiderate or incapable of taking constructive criticism, even if this is tied to your past? not valid. Your trauma and pain is valid; what you do in their name very much might not be. And I think a lot of people who love Bells Hells do not like this message (which, Bells Hells don't like this message, hence the repeated "whatever you do is fine" conversations) and kind of romanticize a "NO ONE IS ON OUR SIDE WE MUST DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR US THERE'S NO GOOD ANSWERS" state in which one cannot be held responsible for action nor inaction and that's a lot of why they respond so dramatically to the increasing sense within the fandom that this party lacks the juice and does judge them for inaction. Like, I've been talking about character agency and how a lot of people's enjoyment of Bells Hells hinges on how they HAD NO CHOICES and I think we're seeing the fallout, which is that a TTRPG story (ie, a medium defined more so than anything else about player choices) about characters who were stripped of choice kinda sucks ass, and anyone who doesn't look to actual play D&D to valid their personal morality (which, in this case, usually is "the world is unfair so I can do whatever I want" anyway) would rather see a story about a character who fucking had a viewpoint and did things with it, even if it were a "bad" viewpoint. I know I'm hard on villain stans because a lot of them are actually people who are like "what if the VILLAIN were the HERO...I am very intelligent," but actually, this is the crux of why Darth Vader was very popular. It's not because people thought he was a good person; it's because he drove the story more so than the heroes much of the time, and people responded to that. Purely reactive characters are boring and to get back to your original point do not challenge each other unless someone else starts the reaction chain, and there just haven't been too many opportunities of the external nor internal variety to do it. It's mostly bad luck and again, a session zero could have fixed this, but it is what it is.

[cyborgdumptruck]

A review for Sonic Movie 3. Anyone who hasn't watched it yet, please do, I highly recommend it. The following text will contain some spoilers. For the record, I have been a Sonic fan since I was 10, so to me these movie series are a great deal.

I played Sonic Adventure not so long time ago, around 2020, unfortunately I just didn't have a console. So the feelings I had after the walkthrough were fresh (just as recent MGS3 walkthrough). So, this is my personal view on the movie adaptation.

Character design—As many fans have mentioned since the first movie, the redesign of the characters was a great move. They all look organic in a realistic environment. The quills and fur feel soft, and the details of the models are great.

Jim Carry did a great job portraying Robotnik. All of his scenes and his performance as Gerald are perfect, funny and close to the canonic Eggman. He had fun with this role for sure :3 Look at them go!

Agent Stone x Robotnik ship is now canon (Robotnik literally said, 'I love you' to him in his last moments), and I couldn't stop saying 'aaaaw' about their scenes.

OMG they even added CHAO

Maria's sequence is cute and fulfilling, she needed it. In games, she barely has screen time, so it is a big plus.

Also, the Ark was moved to Earth, Gerald is alive, and this plot line was different in Sonic Adventure, too, but I think it still makes sense. I like how the screenwriters made the plot fit the realistic setting and also filled the plot holes that were in the game.

No Biolizard boss fight :(

'I found you faker' scene reimagined was a chef's kiss

Shadow didn't say 'Chaos control' or 'I am the Ultimate Life Form' and that's alright.

No Black Doom, but the 'Black Arms' meteorite that arrived on Earth gives us the needed lore about Shadow's origin.

The final battle scene, the conversation between Sonic and Shadow on the moon, was fantastic. I almost got a tear. It's beautiful, they finally settle things between each other. Sonic just couldn't kill him; he is just not the type of character. The scrip writers dove deep into the lore and adapted it brilliantly.

Sonadow now feels more canon than ever. My inner shipper screams, "I must draw something with them." I also love the parallels of the moon scene. Of course, I also instantly thought of the Cyberpunk 2077 moon scene.

Tails and Knuckles were cute, and the group hug in the end was just aaaaw. Sonic Team & Knuckles made me chuckle 😄

I would like to rewatch it in English dub, obviously for Idris Elba and Keanu Reeves.

When 'Live and Learn' started playing I had goosebumps, and almost jumped out of my sit

Metal Sonic's and Amy's appearance was peak after the credits, holy shit

In conclusion, Sonic 3 is one of the greatest game adaptions I have seen so far. Every detail and every action scene doesn't feel overwhelming, I actually don't mind the plot's slight alteration from the canon. I enjoyed it a lot and I had lots of fun!

[solarsturniolo]

ik you've been critical of the triplets before (breath of fresh fucking air tbh)

wanted to know what you thought about the whole mallory situation? she made a tiktok saying she was concerned about their physically aggressive behavior and how she didn't think it was right that they would act like that, and they responded to her tiktok in a friday video. idk i certainly have thoughts but i wanna hear yours if you're ok with sharing them

Oh i was waiting for this one.

To start, THIS IS NOT A HATE POST. But it is something that needs to be said. I’d also like to clarify that i’m not trying to ‘clock’ anyone in this post. This is not meant to spiral out into another episode from them or their fans, but if they aren’t going to be good role models for young impressionable children, I will.

First and foremost, absolutely nothing about the way matt reacted in that video was okay. He is 21 years old, he is a grown adult that pays bills and taxes. He should not be laying his hands on anyone in an aggressive matter, even if they are just brothers. Whether you agree or not, that was abuse. Here is the Oxford dictionary definition of the word abuse, for those of you who need clarification.

Now of course, including content like that in a video is an option. And it was an option that they decided to take. Nick DID NOT have to leave that in the video, and if he hadn’t it wouldn’t have caused so many issues. What gets me the most is that some part of him KNEW it was too much because he edited half of that moment OUT of the video. We saw the extended clip through their photodump that shows just how obnoxiously aggressive Matt’s tantrum was. Not only did he hit Nick (quite hard and in a very vulnerable spot), but he also took a gift that Nick had gotten (gag gift or not, it doesn’t matter) he threw it onto the ground and told him to go and pick it up. The average person knows better than to behave that way, and it was very alarming to see that behavior from someone that we all look up to.

This led to a large divide in the fandom. Some people were (understandably) very uncomfortable with Matt’s behavior. And some people defended it with their lives. Now i’m not saying me and my sisters never fought, but we don’t lay our hands on each other. Idk maybe im out of touch with some new-found sibling abuse agreement or something, but we don’t hit each other. We argue, we get mad at each other, we fight and we make up.

Personally, i don’t think there’s anything wrong with calling out your idols when they do something wrong. At the end of the day, we’re all human and we all make mistakes. It’s easy to forget that when you let fame and money get to your head, making you feel invincible because you know your bandwagon of 13 year olds are going to be at your every beck and call. It’s our job as supporters to remind them that mistakes are okay, but accountability still needs to be taken for actions like that.

When you are in a position where you pay your bills by posting your private life on the internet, you cannot get angry that people are going to have comments and opinions about the stuff that you post on the internet…Nick made a comment in yesterdays video about how people need to mind their own business, but…you…willingly posted…that clip to the internet. For millions of people to see. Nick did not have a gun to his head while editing that video, he did not need to include it but it was a decision that he made.

One reason why i don’t watch them anymore is because they refuse to take accountability for anything that they do. They have also been drawing this out much longer than they needed to. The fanbase would’ve talked about it for a week and forgotten about it with the next friday video. The only reason why it’s still getting attention is because they so badly want to seem ‘unbothered’ by it but they keep bringing it up in everything they do. Matt’s instagram story, his comment on Nick’s recent post, their recent tiktok…literally anything that they have posted in the past week and a half, Matt and Nick just CANNOT HELP THEMSELVES from making a snarky comment. It’s a very icky trait to have imo but i’ll keep my mouth shut on that (since it’s illegal to have opinions in this fandom.)

Personally, I think Mallory was valid in her opinion and responses. Maybe terrifying was a strong word to use, which she has addressed, but it’s not like the boys don’t use hyperboles ALL THE TIME. And nothing about her video was her trying to “cancel the triplets”, she was simply sharing her concerns with Matt’s behavior.

The fanbase LOVESSSS to jump to conclusions. Most of us that had an issue with Matt’s behavior were not trying to cancel them. We’re frustrated because they’re grown adults who refuse to take any constructive criticism or accountability. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again, the boys dislike ANYONE who is NOT AN ENABLER. Especially Nick. They LOVE an enabler that doesn’t call them out on their crappy behavior.

Back to yesterday’s video, I was VERY unimpressed with their responses. Snarky comment after snarky comment, only proving more and more that they aren’t unbothered by the situation because they’re trying so hard to prove a point. Why not stay silent like you do with everything else? Your ‘friend’ (who you still communicate with but won’t publicly hang out with) who was cancelled for contacting minors? Didn’t have much to say about that did you? But the second something makes them look bad, they jump the gun and go right into defense mode. It’s so funny to me because people would respect them so much more if they just took some accountability, reflected on their actions, and made a change to their behavior.

Including her tiktok in their video was yet another choice they made, and it was a very immature one. You cannot tell me they didn’t think about the outcome of this situation. Singling out ONE PERSON’S VIDEO, putting a target on their back, and opening the gates for these 13-15 year old hellspawn brainwashed sturniolo cult fans to go and cyberbully someone for having an opinion (and a respectful one at that.)

Also trying to blame Chris and saying Matt was ‘provoked’ into hitting Nick???? Chris made a simple comment??? And this is NOT the first time Matt has gone overboard in a reaction he’s had to one of his brothers. He’s had many outbursts, all of which ARE concerning. Throwing things aggressively, hitting, punching, cussing your brothers out on camera…it’s fucking humiliating???? I am so sorry to break it to you all but nothing about that interaction was Chris’s fault AT ALL. So for Nick to pin it on his younger brother, i found it absolutely ridiculous.

And, to sum it up, Nick did not ‘clock her’. I’m sorry but his responses when people call him out always remind me of a middle schooler. He refuses to take any accountability. HE edited the video. HE kept the clip in. HE posted the full clip on their instagram. NICK STURNIOLO DID THAT. HE DID NOT HAVE TO DO THAT.

Can’t wait for reacting to hate comments part 2!!! Because, let’s face it! This isn’t hate, it’s the truth. I’m not an enabler and apparently that makes me a hater.

And yes, they over-do the drama for our entertainment, but they’re so much more entertaining when they’re all getting along?! Even if they have an argument, it’s far more entertaining when they aren’t hitting and kicking and punching. I genuinely think their emphasis on the physical aspects of their videos came straight from the tea party video, because it’s just gotten worse and worse since then.

I haven’t watched them in months and decided to watch that video and it was a clear reminder as to why i don’t watch them anymore. This is not a hate post, i will always be grateful for their videos because they’ve gotten me through some of the darkest moments of my life. From abusive relationships, to losing a loved one to suicide, to the loss of a childhood pet, to losing my job, to trying to take my own life…I am beyond grateful for their videos and I always will be. That being said, i think they have some serious maturing and reflecting to do if they want to continue to grow at the speed they were growing at a year or two ago.

Yes i think Matt is a sweet guy. No i don’t think he meant anything serious by hitting nick. The point is that it does make some of us uncomfortable to see that behavior from a grown man because so many of us have experienced abuse. I’m not saying we’re weak or snowflakes for our responses either. Posting your outbursts on the internet for 6-7 million people to see is a choice, and you cannot expect it to come without consequences.

[prince-beetle]

( ai rant because I’m passionate about this subject)

This was worded really really well and I absolutely stand by everything being said here.

I don’t draw because I think I’m good at it, because there was a point where all I had were ideas, scratch.mit.edu and a trackpad. Art is about expression and half of the beauty of art is seeing how much my work has changed over the years, and making the decisions to practice and improve. I have only ever looked back on my old work with fondness.

Do I like making pretty stuff? Yeah! Am I disappointed when my skill level isn’t high enough to make what I have in mind? Absolutely, because it’s human to feel disappointment! But I would never be impatient enough to turn to AI to make it for me. It would be like sacrificing my entire soul.

A lot of what makes me sad about the AI debate is that so many of the pro-ai people view artists like we’re trying to gatekeep creative expression from them, which I don’t believe has ever been the case. Make beginner art! Make slightly shitty art with anatomy mistakes! Shade with pure black and the airbrush tool! Have your anime eyes phase! No matter what your skill level is, it will be beautiful because it is yours, and I have always stood by that.

Anyways, that’s my ai ramble for today. The topic makes me so so uncomfortable most of the time but I wanted to get my thoughts out somewhere.

Go make art! Go have fun!

As gen-AI becomes more normalized (Chappell Roan encouraging it, grifters on the rise, young artists using it), I wanna express how I will never turn to it because it fundamentally bores me to my core. There is no reason for me to want to use gen-AI because I will never want to give up my autonomy in creating art. I never want to become reliant on an inhuman object for expression, least of all if that object is created and controlled by tech companies. I draw not because I want a drawing but because I love the process of drawing. So even in a future where everyone’s accepted it, I’m never gonna sway on this.

[katzkinder]

@ky-kyu you asked about gluttony pair and it got kinda long so I decided to make it a separate post for the sake of people's dashboards. Also, I have another post here!

But I have more thoughts on them thanks to this page Yarra shared earlier, and many more besides, but I'll stick to this scene because otherwise this will really turn into a monster.

the wording nicco uses in the right panel is pretty moving, especially in relation to gluttony, at least in my opinion, and these scene between them is what really made me fall in love with these two as characters who were, quite literally, made for one another.

Basically, it's about how the opposite of Gluttony is a banquet.

Having so much excess and sharing it with others, allowing someone to fill their plate without worry because you know you have more, and how that relates to Nicco being the Eve who has an entire group of people surrounding him at all times, something which makes him unique as far as the main cast go because he's always being supported. The other Eves don't really have like... An entire group of human characters they're close with the way Nicco does.

A banquet without guests will simply rot and go to waste. Nicco, being a mafia boss, brings all those guests with him and allows them to partake of what he has to offer.

Food tastes the best when you share it with someone you love, and your joy is multiplied through their own. The joy of a shared meal cannot be understated. Even terrible food becomes fun when you have someone to laugh about it with. Even failure becomes tolerable when you share it.

And it's just. One of the first moments of big characterization we get from Ildio when we see his past is that he is a man who shares what little he has, even though he acknowledges that he has earned it, and the little slave girl has not. Even that far back, when his only desires went as far as an animal understanding of life, he was someone who could have, and probably did, draw in others around him for that unthinking kindness, so I really love how Nicco handles his problems. Because they actually share a similar fault

Both of them will attempt to take on too much for themselves to bear, and yet they can't help it. To defend the weak is what they feel they must do.

Gluttons for punishment, as it goes

And yet...

To be able to share the pain and the joys, to have a feast with one another with life as the centerpiece…

I think it's just… Extremely beautiful, the way their love for their fellow man is able to express itself

And I think it's even more beautiful, the way that even when being beat to a pulp, Nicco takes the time to look and see and experience the pain Ildio doesn't even realize he's holding onto

He doesn't let Inner Gluttony distract him. He doesn't entertain the demon attempting, however poorly, to shelter Ildio's heart by putting the blinders on. He speaks to him as an equal. As a friend. As someone who is worth listening to, and cherishing. He helps Ildio to face his grief.

He gives Ildio the same love he would give to any friend. Bite by bite, tear by tear, Nicco shares the burden Ildio tried to be Atlas about.

The song Nicco sings while they dance with the people they've loved and lost is Ciuri Ciuri. It's a Sicilian folksong, whose title means "Flowers, Flowers"

The verse Strike has carefully written out on the page translates to "Flowers flowers, flowers all the year. The love you gave me, I give you back"

And the love Nicco gives to Ildio...

Ildio will give back to him.

[ihatebrainstorm]

i never got very far into the comics because adhd is a harsh mistress, so i don't really know anything about brainstorm. what are your favorite things about him?

Aw man there's so many things I love about him, and I'll try to avoid spoilers but there is a certain in the story that really flipped the switch about how I thought of him kaksdf- Also this will get very long winded and incoherent very quickly bc uh I love this stupid asshole and he occupies 90% of my brain at all times: (i apologize in advance)

Surface level wise, I love his stupid arrogant humour and how seemingly absorbed with himself he is- I love how much of a ridiculous scheming little prick he can be gahgh, idk I think I just really like that character archetype?? At least going off of characters from other media I immediately get attached to lmao

He's just so sillyyyy and a menace and a prick and a stupid little annoying asshole but then he's actually really caring towards his friends and I want to shake him and rattle him and throw him out a windoww (He'll be fine, he can fly)

He's a trickster and he does science for the love of the game- Experiments with everything and everyone, builds whatever stupid idea just for the sake of building it, and idk I relate to that ig and I respect that

His stupid moldy egg colour scheme. (idk that's how I always see it) idk why,, I just like it. but also I don't like it. but also I do... but also I hate drawing with that colour scheme

HIS WINGSSS HIS STUPID WINGS AND HIS HEAD THAT ARE ALL PISS ANNOYING TO DRAW BUT I LOOK AT IT AND GO "yeeehaheehe he's so annoying i hate him i love him wow i love airplanes" I love airplanes so much, I love how he has a jetpack that he barely ever uses, and an airplane altmode that he also barely ever uses, and I love that he can fly, I love flying characters, I love flying animation, I just love anything that can fly, I like flight and flying

That stupid silly prick little annoying scrunkled lovable punchable face he always does:

like don't you see that and want to sock him directly in the face <33

Nerd. i like nerd characters. and he is quintessential nerd. loud mouth babbleton yapper info dumper extraordinaire and I wouldn't have it any other way

HE'S SO GIGGLY AND ADORABLE SOMETIMES. AND ANNOYING. AND A PRICK. AND GRGHRGHRHHHH WHY IS HE LIKE THAT I WANT HIM TO SHUT UP AND NOT SHUT UP.

His friendship with Nautica and Percy <33333 Their little science trio is so adorable and fun and the stupid silly science antics potential is through the roofff- Like look at Nautica and BS aghgghgh they're so adorablee <333

Simpatico. i. idk why but something about that ship makes me so damn happy- like somethign about Brainstorm being so goofy silly, constantly trying to prove his worth in contrast to Percy's super analytical no nonsense attitude, eventually drifting towards Percy mutually respecting the silly fella makes me so happyy.... It's a really funny dynamic to me, and there's that point in the story where I feel like you can see Percy start to really admire BS.. it really flipped a switch for me- Also that final simpatico panel in the last LL issue makes me so happy bc they both look so happy and I love seeing happy characters :D

Edit: Forgot to mention, but also something about post-war Percy finally returning to science work, after years of being a sniper? To me at least, it felt like Percy was relearning his love for science outside of his duties, and Brainstorm's little arc + Nautica's arrival helped him gain new equals to work alongside with- They bring a bit competitiveness and discovery to science that helps reinvigorate Percy's intrinsic love and interest after years of strict duty

Brainstorm's angstt.. his internal conflicts, lack of self-worth, being so absorbed with his work that it ends up harming him, and the way he cares about people he's close to which eventually all leads to his arc all are stuff I really relate to heavily so i chomp it down with salt and pepper

His weirdness,, like he's sorta funky weird and I appreciate that a lot, because it all makes sense or no sense to him and him alone, and yea that makes my brain happy :)

His own little hyperfixations/general fixations like researching time travel, the dead universe, sparkeater stuff, multiverse stuff etc. etc. (like who else goes: oh huh this creature almost killed me, lemme go make a gun that makes more of those things :D) he just like me fr fr

His deceptiveness, sneakiness, and doing shady things under the table (I can't get too into it bc it's pretty heavy spoiler stuff so yea) Also his weird moodiness sometimes

His friendship with Chromedome,, they seem to care a lot about each other, but are also in the midst of drifting apart??? Old acquaintances/ coworkers/ friends who've been working together for ages and know deeply about one another, including the crappy things they've done in the past, but are now kinda distant? Yet they have a certain flavour of sad care to their dynamic which feels real and melancholic,, also the way you can kinda feel how his experiences with Chromedome's past sorta influences how he sees Nautica's decisions later in the story gghhgughhh

This bozo idiot getting partially Mike Wazowski'd on the cover of MTMTE #28

His MTO backstory and theorizing about how he ended up doing science??? How'd he get there? Why is he so adverse to calling himself an MTO? What was the Operation he was born into about???

His strange spookiness- like he isn't scary per-say but sometimes he's just kind of a spooky menace creature and I love that :) It's like adding layers of mystery to his erratic goofy outer-personality and it's really intriguing (kinda like cuddling with a cat then watching it stare you down from the dark corner of a room an hour later)

In conclusion: I want to kick him into the stratosphere out of spite and love <3 thank you for coming to my incoherent, likely uninformative Ted Talk :)

[uncle-fruity]

Decided to read the article. I absolutely believe that what the author calls "male flight" has some validity to it, but it doesn't seem to be a reason men have given themselves, and it seems reductive to put the decline of men pursuing education solely on misogyny. Not to say that misogyny isn't a factor, because I agree that the article's thesis lines up with historical trends of devaluing anything seen as "feminine" work, and I know enough sexist men to know that many do have an aversion to being in anything they consider women's spaces. I'm not sure that I fully agree that the main reason men aren't pursuing education is the kind of direct misogyny described in the article, but I also don't have any evidence to the contrary lined up, and it's certainly within the realm of possibility.

Early in the article, the author lists out other reasons that have been cited to partially explain the decline in men's enrollment:

[Image Transcript: Other reasons I came across while researching for this article include:

-- Men can make more money without a college degree than women can, so women need college more.

-- Higher rates of alcohol, drug use, gangs and prison for boys negate college as a viable option.

-- Colleges are usually left-leaning, so right-leaning students increasingly don't feel comfortable there. And more men than women lean right.

-- Men join the military more than women.

-- A man will sometimes have to provide for wife/kids before he can finish college. /End transcript.]

Unfortunately, the author did not give citations for any of those claims, nor did she spend much time explaining why she thought these reasons weren't major factors -- or not as notable as the reason she gives: the rise of women in higher education. It would have been nice to see where that information was coming from. Particularly the point about higher drug and prison rates would be nice to have some context for. To be fair, there is a section just before the part that I cited that does give some sources for some of the other reasons people have attributed to the decline of male enrollment.

And, actually, to be extra fair, I'm gonna post that part as well, because it might be helpful. So this is the part directly before the passage I just cited:

[Image transcript: The Pew Research Center has found that boys are more likely to think they don’t need a degree for the jobs they want, and when they do enroll in college, work opportunities lure them away.

Ruth Simmons, president of A&M University thinks “the problem is the way we treat our boys in k-12. They turn away from school because of the negative messages they get at school… Behavior that is rewarded for boys doesn’t fit well with good student behavior.”

Another college president, Donald Ruff believes it boils down to money. “Honestly I think it’s the sticker shock. To see $100,000 that’s daunting.” /End transcript.]

I have little to add about this passage, I just thought it would be helpful to include.

The author also does not seem to consider race in her argument beyond drawing parallels between white flight and male flight. As far as I could tell, this article gives few statistics about the races involved. Is the influx of women predominantly white or predominantly non-white? When we talk about men not enrolling, is there any racial element being considered -- are non-white men enrolling at higher or lower rates than they used to? Are we talking primarily white men not enrolling, or is this male flight evenly distributed across racial demographics? How do these demographics play out? Because, to me, it seems like misogyny and racism could both be at play here. If more black women than ever are going to college, it is likely that male flight is in tandem with white flight, but to actually make that claim with any amount of credibility, we would need more information, which the article does not provide/is not focused on.

To be clear, I do not have the answers to those questions. I am merely speculating. This is one of those cases where I'd need to spend more time looking at other sources to get a broader view of the issue, including the sources the author included, the ones she used to support her claims, and the Freakonomics episode she mentions.

On that note, there's this interesting passage, which comes off as sorta... idk... I don't have the exact words for it. Undermining her own point a little? I'll analyze this feeling I have more after the image transcript. (Also, the "they" that is mentioned at the beginning of this passage is referring to the Freakonomics podcast.)

[Image transcript: They mentioned that there is one subset of men who out-enroll women. Which subset might that be?

Gay men.

While only 36 percent of US adults have bachelor’s degrees, 52% of gay men do.

"If America's gay men formed their own country, it would be the world's most highly educated by far.” - Joel Mittleman

At the Joel Mittleman quote in the podcast, I leaned forward…yes… surely now we will wonder why only straight men aren’t attending college… yes? /End transcript]

I feel like this passage gives a passing glance at intersectionality and then just hand waves it away to prove something about straight men. It just strikes me as something that should be explored more if the argument you're making is that men are leaving for misogynistic reasons. Because we should all know by now that gay men are perfectly capable of being misogynistic and that there are definitely gay men who don't want to share spaces with women. Is it that gay men overall tend to be more in touch with or comfortable with femininity, and are therefore less deterred by the presence of women in the classroom? I guess I'm honestly just confused as to how gay men factor into this conversation and why this deviance from the overall trend is not explored. It seems extremely relevant to the conversation?

Also, the article up to this point has been saying that men -- as a general category -- are choosing not to go to college. Is it true that the article is talking about straight men only, as this portion seems to imply? Are we considering gay men as somehow not men or unaffiliated with the rates that men are choosing college? Does the presence of more gay men in academia also mean that this "male flight" is also in part due to homophobia, or is homophobia not being considered as a factor the same way race doesn't seem to have been factored in?

Finally, how do trans men factor into this conversation? Were they counted as women or men? Were they considered at all? If they were, that certainly is not represented here.

So, I guess my overall impression is that this is an interesting and compelling thesis, but the specifics are missing in a way that makes the author's argument fall flat. I think this article would really benefit from a more intersectional approach. I also believe, as with all social issues like this, that the problem is never just one thing, but a combination of things, all of which need to be considered to address the underlying systemic issues that get us to this point. I absolutely believe the author is on to a big part of the problem, but I think her scope is limited and she needs a more solid foundation of information to build her argument on.

Idk. Read the article for yourself and see how it hits.

Why aren't we talking about the real reason male college enrollment is dropping? (Celeste Davis, Oct 6 2024)

"White flight is a term that describes how white people move out of neighborhoods when more people of color move in.

White flight is especially common when minority populations become the majority. That neighborhood then declines in value.

Male flight describes a similar phenomenon when large numbers of females enter a profession, group, hobby or industry—the men leave. That industry is then devalued.

Take veterinary school for example:

In 1969 almost all veterinary students were male at 89%.

By 1987, male enrollment was equal to female at 50%.

By 2009, male enrollment in veterinary schools had plummeted to 22.4%

A sociologist studying gender in veterinary schools, Dr. Anne Lincoln says that in an attempt to describe this drastic drop in male enrollment, many keep pointing to financial reasons like the debt-to-income ratio or the high cost of schooling.

But Lincoln’s research found that “men and women are equally affected by tuition and salaries.”

Her research shows that the reason fewer men are enrolling in veterinary school boils down to one factor: the number of women in the classroom.

For every 1% increase in the proportion of women in the student body, 1.7 fewer men applied.

One more woman applying was a greater deterrent than $1000 in extra tuition! (…)

Since males had dominated these professions for centuries, you would think they would leave slowly, hesitantly or maybe linger at 40%, 35%, 30%, but that’s not what happens.

Once the tipping point reaches majority female- the men flee. And boy do they flee!

It’s a slippery slope. When the number of women hits 60% the men who are there make a swift exit and other men stop joining.

Morty Schapiro, economist and former president of Northwestern University has noticed this trend when studying college enrollment numbers across universities:

“There’s a cliff you fall off once you become 60/40 female/male. It then becomes exponentially more difficult to recruit men.”

Now we’ve reached that 60% point of no return for colleges.

As we’ve seen with teachers, nurses and interior design, once an institution is majority female, the public perception of its value plummets.

Scanning through Reddit and Quora threads, many men seem to be in agreement - college is stupid and unnecessary.

A waste of time and money. You’re much better off going into the trades, a tech boot camp or becoming an entrepreneur. No need for college. (…)

When mostly men went to college? Prestigious. Aspirational. Important.

Now that mostly women go to college? Unnecessary. De-valued. A bad choice. (…)

School is now feminine. College is feminine. And rule #1 if you want to safely navigate this world as a man? Avoid the feminine.

But we don’t seem to want to talk about that."

[oddsandends58exe]

hii :3 two in one combo ask 1. when do odds and draki begin dating ? 2. c can you draw dmitri strelnikov/agent strelnikov if ur taking art requests rn (you can do this one separately if u wanna)

I've already drawn Strelnikov which means it's time to answer the first question!

and to do this I'm gonna have to explain Kondraki's feelings towards Odds and I think it's gonna be very strong OOC so be warned

So Odds has been working as Kondraki's assistant for about a year now. Surprisingly great, surprisingly not complaining to anyone, not even to her only friend Lainystarskiy. Instead, she's been telling Lainy all about how cool and wonderful Benjamin is to the point where her crush on him was getting a little annoying. In fact, they were the only one Odds told that she had a crush on him. She tried to keep it a secret from the others, but it was pretty clear to everyone...

...but not to Kondraki. For a long time, he thought Odds was an example of the perfect junior staff member. She listens to him, and does everything as it should and on time, cleans, brings coffee, reports to him if someone messed up somewhere, does not get on his nerves, and he can talk to her about anything. So, after a while, he began to consider her not only a good assistant, but also a good friend.

But it wouldn't be Kondraki if he wasn't paranoid. After a while, he began to wonder if all of his assistant's friendliness and how nice she was to him was part of some sort of plan against him. Maybe they're trying to eliminate him through Odds in some way? Kondraki told a friend of his about this worry. A friend of his, however, as well as many others, were well aware that Odds was actually in love with him. In fact, a friend of his was sure that Kondraki was aware of this fact and simply ignored Odds (a friend of his finds her annoying). But as it turned out, Ben wasn't aware of it, and then a friend of his had to open his eyes to it.

This came as a real shock to Kondraki. He didn't believe it was possible. He couldn't believe that someone could just be so nice to him, show such care, and most importantly have any warm feelings for him. After that, he could have easily walked up to Odds and said, "sorry, but it's not gonna work" but something was holding him back. He would do that if he felt nothing for her. But after realizing that all her kindness, friendliness, and genuine interest towards him meant something more, he began to fall in love with her too. And he hated it. He hated it because he thought that after his failed relationships, he would never love anyone again, and he hated it because he knew that if they were in a relationship, sooner or later he would hurt her and she would be disappointed in him. Being in love with her, he, to his own surprise, cared and worried about her a lot. Ben knew that Odds was kind of fragile, and he could break her with his fuck-ups. He didn't know what to do.

One day, though, Kondraki decided that something had to be done about it. On this particular day, he asked Odds to stay in his office because they needed to talk. She knew where this was going, so she got very worried.

After a long time of "we can't date, I'm a horrible person" and "no, that's not true, I know you're not as horrible as you think you are and that actually deep inside you are a very nice person", he finally decided to start a romantic relationship with her. Not just because he's also in love with her, but because maybe she's right and he should give himself a chance and prove through this relationship that he really isn't such a bad person.

yeah

[op-dumpstertruck]

Okay bro. ...I HAVE A DAMN MANY QUESTIONS AND I'M GONNA ASK NOW! /

1) the events of your beautiful au take place after Luffy became the king of the pirates, or not?

2) why the hell isn’t Zoro looking for Sanji and his daughter, it seems to me that he wouldn’t care about everything and would give his soul just to save his family

3) what kind of idiot suddenly needed a cook for the Straw Hats pirates, and even more so. .. without a hand, and why did he force Sanji to have a child with him ?

4) is Sanji ever happy and does his “husband” show at least some warm feelings towards him, or are these purely feelings of possessiveness?

Forgive me for the questions bro, but I caught a hyperfixation on your au, and I’m damn interested in finding out everything I can about her, and by the way, I have a couple of suggestions about Sanji’s “husband”, and about the name of the second baby (if he has one no, and by the way, is this a boy?) (sorry, my native language is not English) (and I apologize in advance for the arrogant questions)

Anyway ! I really like your story, its concept and your drawing style, I really hope that everything will be revealed as quickly as possible and you won’t burn out, I wish you a pleasant time of day)

Ohhh, I love some questions about this, this makes it so much easier to organize my thoughts!

1) I have not decided yet, but in the later parts of the story? Probably yes! Like once Kuina is five or six.

2) oh yes, I already adressed that! (but only in the tags - I still use tumblr how it was in 2017, half the info usually hides there). Zoro absolutely would, the whole crew would! But they believe Sanji has been killed (when he was still pregnant). We'll get to that later 👀

3) it's absolutely not about Sanji being Sanji, it's all about his royal status. Judge doesn't care if he can cook or not, he never wanted him to cook in the first place - I also thought, for this AU at last, that with all of their mutations Sanjis siblings are probably not able to get children. And with all of Judges obession about lineage and ruling over the North Blue, I do imagine (especially for this scenario here) that Sora wasn't just someome, but an actual princess from one of the kingdoms of the north? So if Judge likes it or not (he doesn't) Sanjis kids, especially if he marries him off right, do have some use for him. (Leaving Kuina alive was probably both Rejius doing and to manipulate Sanji easier. In this scenario she is technically useless)

4) I haven't decided completely yet, but I lean towards bastard! I always imagined it not being Pudding, because the stawhats meet big mom and that would have come up, but I actually like that idea too! Even if it is just for the dynamic of Sanji wanting to blame his new mate (and having every reason to do so, either way this is gonna be an awful relationship) but feeling conflicted.

[bloopitynoot]

Reading TGCF: Chapter Seven

For those who don't know, I am reading TGCF for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag Bloopitynoot reads TGCF. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read BUT if you followed along with my SVSSS read, the rules and vibe are the same.

Yall I am having a no-good-very-bad day. Charlie's bloodwork turned out to be a lot more serious than we thought. Tomorrow I check in with a liver specialist for him- hopefully we can get an appointment, see them soon, and start treating our old man.

For warmth and comfort- masala chai with milk and sugar.

let's get into chapter seven:

San Lan took one look at that curtain and said, nope, I'm going to make a door. p202

OOP. "If you're going to draw a seal, at least draw it on a proper door. Works better." p202

Okay mysterious tattoos on San Lang. I hope we get more information about those. p203

I love how this entire village just thinks that xie lian can solve all of their problems. pp204-205

Fair. I mean the guy must have been through many places before getting here. I would have been suspicious even before him not being thirsty after a desert excursion. pp206-207

JEEZE. San Lang just spears him with a chopstick. How brutal. p208 Also skin bag- I hate this concept XD

Poor guy, Xie Lian is over here just bring down the heavenly vibe again in the array. I mean it's really not his fault. He needs info and there just happens to be a party happening. p211

These heavenly officials are bullshit though. It feels like none of them actually do real work. Good for Xie Lian for taking on Banyue Pass! p212

Hell yeah! Fu Yao and Nan Feng! p213

These two babies are so cute trying to protect xie lian from san lang. pp214-215

Fu Yao and Nan Feng have no right to judge Xie Lian for his lifestyle and DIY temple. They've been traveling with him and absolutely know how much of a mess he is. How is this homemade temple even surprising to them? p217

LOL Fu Yao about San Lang: don't you think he has ulterior motives? Xie Lian: Sure, but like I have literally nothing of value. p217

I'm loving the banter between Fu Yao & Nan Feng vs. San Lang. so so good. pp220-221

This feels like a lore drop chapter

I am not mad about this at all. I can't wait for the investigation squad to visit Banyue Pass and see what the heck is going on there. Seems nefarious since someone literally came to lure them there, BUT I still can't wait. I also want so much more banter between the babies (Fu Yao + Nan Feng) and San Lang.

[beddybites]

About our tiny king, Babynai, does he have teeth while baby? Or does he start teething? Idk I'm sitting in bed it's almost 3am and I keep thinking abt Babynai amd stuff and this thought is stuck in my mind😭

Imagine Giyuu or Sanemi putting up with his crying at any time when he's teething, poor baby (and parents)😭 OR HIM WITH LIKE A CHEWING TOY OR WHATEVER TO HELP HIM TEETH! He's so cute I'm sobbing🥹

Also, I don't know if you still like the 21yo trio as babies, it's okay if not I'm just wondering if you will continue them (like draw them or anything) in the future? Me personally loved the ideo of those three being babies together, they are so chaotic and adorable🥹 But I love ALL of your art, not just the baby ones😭 Your art is so.. comforting and just good to look at. I can't even describe it with words but it just looks so pleasing and neat and gives a warm calming feeling to me. You have such a good artstyle, they all look so adorable and fluffy!💖 I love to just scroll on your page and just look at your drawing over and over. When I'm done with school the first thing I check when I get my phone is if you posted something (I've told this in another like, anonymous ask or i don't know what it's called on tumblr) but your art always gives me peace after a rough and depressing day in school (I'm sorry if I'm being too much, I really am😓) I just felt like I can't sleep without telling you again how much I admire your work and time you put into giving us so many arts, doodles animations and headcanons, I appreciate you so much, you made my whole 2024 better. I will forever be your fan and can't wait to show your art to my future kids after I made them watch kny!🔥

Have a nice day/night🫶🏻🫶🏻 (sorry again for writing this much, I hope it's not a bother)

hi anon!!! first of all this is so freaking swwet oh my god?????? ive been feeling rlly awful and pesstimisric about my work as a whole so opening tumblr and seeing this cheered me up a ton and im rlly so so so grateful for u taking the time to send me this msg let alone enjoy my art to begin with 🥹🥹 i hope ur doing absolutely amazingly!!

in response to tiny 21 trio: yes! i do plan on drawing them again eventually, im just taking a bit of a hiatus from that au for the time being!

in response to babynai: poor guy! definitely experiences teething all over again and the poor thing is in a lot of pain bcuz of it );

i also think he struggles because he still has his mouth scar in this au, so he generally has some mouth pain, which means he gets lots of love and support. mitsuri ABSOLUTELY spoils the heck out of him every time she gets to take care of him. sanemi and giyuu get him lots of teething toys. shinobu gives him check ups and such, ubayashiki family find him the best medicine and resources. gyomei lets the babynai teeth at his finger or shirt so it can calm him down. etc etc etc

all the hashira are very supportive and take care of him a lot!

at the same time obi ends up getting lots of reassurance from kaburamaru. those two have “fangs” together for a bit and it makes obi happy to be like his best buddy

[dollhouse-lied]

Random mouthwashing headcannons

All sfw, enjoy!!

Anya

Had a goth phase, still really likes the subculture but doesn't dress like it for work reasons.

Her parents are divorced, and during the divorce she tried self harm to make her parents feel bad but she never did it again

She has a fugly cat at home that she leaves with her roommate while she works. She is very defensive of francis (the cat) and hes her pride and joy

Shes on the aroace spectrum, shes never had a partner and never thought it was necessary.

She values skincare and has so many skincare products on the ship that curly said were “unnecessary”

Constantly warm, she hates the uniform because she gets so hot.

Shes not actually shy and quiet, shes just afraid of slimmothy jimmothy

She gets very heated when its game night and is a sour loser

She doesn't like having no roommates, but is glad she doesn't have to have a boy in her room.

Shes good at nursing, shes just bad at test taking and working under pressure

Her main coping mechanism is retail therapy

Daisuke

Is a dog person, keeps photos of all his dogs on his shelves

All his dogs are from the same litter, a mama and 5 babies. They are all retrievers

Has skincare nights with anya, and if hes lucky she will do his makeup

He likes working out but he likes playing his nintendo ds more

Pretty lazy but is still athletic

He buys multiple of any clothes he likes so he can keep wearing them longer

Dropped out of high school but his mom made him get a ged

Dropped out to be a livestreamer… it didn't go well.

Paints his nails

Hes genderfluid, but mainly sticks to masc presenting and he/him pronouns

He likes sanrio

Is constantly freezing but refuses to put on a jacket (he didnt bring any)

Is roommates with jimmy and hates it because jimmy leaves piss around the toilet and is overall a slob

Loves dancing but is embarrassed to dance in public. Luckily tulpar isnt public so he boogies and grooves

Cheats at every game they play

Curly

Is transmasc but had top and bottom surgery and a hysterectomy so no one can tell

Hes brittish :(

Is very forgiving and kind, always giving 2nd and 3rd chances

Is a workaholic

Super organized, hates clutter

Is a cat person, and has an orange main coon named oakley on earth

Can draw really well!! He doesn't let people see his art though

Likes to work out to release stress, specifically boxing

He likes listening to anya and daisuke talk while they do skin care because it reminds him of when he was young

Likes teenage girl type music

Still gets really insecure about his body shape and face being “womanly” and cant tell anyone but jimmy and jimmy doesn't want to hear it

He and jimmy were childhood friends and jimmy still occasionally misgenders him despite curly transitioning when he was 9

Grew up on a farm

Allergic to shellfish and had to go to the hospital once because of it when he was a kid and it traumatized him so bad he doesn't eat anything that might have touched shellfish

Swansea

Has a wife and 3 kids on earth, two girls and one boy

He loves his wife so much, theyve been married for 30 years

He and his wife got sober together as they were both alcoholics

Is 100% a girl dad, he lets them do his makeup and goes to their dance classes, anything they want

He and his son dont get along very well because he got into drugs and swansea keeps taking him to rehab

Swansea loves Daisuke to death but acts tough to “keep professional”

He feels like daisuke has 0 qualifications for the job but teaches him as best as he can

Gets along with anya but on a surface level, but was there for her when she told him about jimmy

Gets angry easy but has been to therapy for anger management and can keep himself from getting too angry

Genuinely a great guy in bad circumstances, we need more people like Swansea

Jimmy

I hate him

He needs to die

I dont like him one bit

[lonewolflupe]

Update

I'm feeling so much better after getting this off my chest yesterday, and receiving so many kind messages. Massive thank you to everyone who reached out to me, you helped me get back to my feet <3 I even managed to finish the little fic I started yesterday, so I guess my motivation has returned!

I had actually written several pharagraphs under a cut but decided to delete it, because I don't want silly, seemingly unimportant things taking over my thoughts and mood (and days). I just tend to take things personal pretty quickly. I wish I didn't, but I'm not sure if I can change that about myself (so when situations like this occur, I tend to blame myself most for it). I know there's a lot of positivity around (and for me, most of it comes from this place), but sometimes negativity just weighs heavier.

I know I'm not the only one experiencing it like that, so here's my message to whoever's struggling with the same: take a moment to sit back, to put your thoughts into place. Please talk about it; you don't have to go into detail about it, but just get (parts of) it off your chest. And then just hug, talk, write, draw, read, watch, sing, dance, bake, sport, drive it out! Go do something that brings you joy, or something you haven't done before but takes your mind off things, do it alone or with someone else, but try to make the positive things overtake the negative ones again. It might take more than a few minutes, but don't let the negative things consume you <3

Alright that's enough wise words from me, back to my usual chaos which includes reading/writing/drawing (:

Hiya folks sorry for the inactivity (aka the lack of posting new content) these past few days, I've been a bit down due to reasons I'm not going to elaborate, but it did make my creativity/inspiration/motivation disappear. Makes it feel like 'lost' days during my much needed days off, and that feeling makes it worse. And blaming my annoying brain for letting it bother me so much.

What a year, huh? / Sir it's only January 4th

But I just grabbed my laptop again, trying to write something today, so I got that going for me, which is nice.

[jellicle-junkyard]

Presto! It’s the best magical cat!!

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Look what we've become.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[haedia]

Right there with you, especially the end bit. I like to think a similar kind of thing. Headcanon journey under the cut.

Like, it pleases me to consider Rook telling Spite that it's alright if he comes to them when Lucanis needs sleep, especially if he's bored. My Rook's sleep schedule is kind of fucked anyway so it's not like Spite is gonna make it worse.

It takes awhile for Lucanis to really get comfortable with Spite doing things while he's out but knowing that the people around him are keeping an eye on Spite helps. And, Spite gets more comfortable with them in return.

I can see him going to them with questions about the world outside of the Fade and having fun exploring those differences... once he gets over frustrations about how those differences affect Lucanis' body (like, say, gravity or how eating candles would hurt him, etc)

And I loooove the idea of the different members of the team taking Spite out on "walks" to different places when he gets particularly restless. Emmrich has some glasses made for him that hide his glowing eyes when they're out and about, so they don't have to worry (as much) about Spitecanis being noticed as an abomination.

Spite gets to experience food in it's full glory, though he finds it overwhelming at first. It's only later, when they learn to "share" Lucanis' body simultaneously that he begins to develop his own appreciation for flavors, separate (or, as separate as possible for them) from Lucanis. The fact that he can feel how Lucanis feels when experiencing taste allows him access to a framework for interpreting the sensations for himself.

It'd be like going from a fuzzy shot of flowers on a sunny day, a bright riot of color blobs, to an in-focus image of the same — suddenly crisp but you can take a moment to savor and choose how you move your focus around the scene.

But after he starts to figure it out? He wants to learn to make things like that, too. And thus begins his cooking arc. It's a disaster to start, of course, but it amuses Rook and that alone soothes Spite's frustration at his early floundering. Eventually, he starts to develop his skills though his annoyance about what ingredients he can and can't use never really goes away.

"Spite, you can't put that rock in the soup"

"It reminds me. Of our walk."

"The rock or the soup?"

"Yes. Both. They go together"

"They can go together on the table, then. But you can't put that rock in the soup"

Spite opens his mouth to say more and Rook interjects

"Even if you washed it. You can't"

Spite grumbles and puts the rock back on the counter.

"Spite." Rook says and draws his attention back to them "It *is* a pretty rock, though. I remember where you found it."

"It IS pretty. Like glass. Like a rainy day" Spite beams at them before returning to stirring the soup.

Anyway. I just have so many thoughts and feelings about Lucanis and Spite — at all points in their journey. Though, the warm fuzzies I get for their post-Inner Demons relationship are nearly unending.

Knowing what was actually going on between Spite and Lucanis, I felt really bad for Spite during my second play through. He is trying so hard to talk to Rook and explain, but he is new to this world and doesnt know how to explain it. He actually does attempt to explain what is wrong several times and if Rook had really listened to what the demon was saying, might have realized something was wrong. But, by virtue of being an abomination/demon, the group was poisoned against Spite, so everything Spite does is viewed with suspicion and no one gets it.

Like I see why Emmrich is so nonchalant around Spite from the beginning because he can actually hear what Spite was saying and while he doesn’t fully understand what Spite was getting at, he can see Spite isn’t malignant or malicious. Spite really is just a little shade trying his best in a world that he doesn’t get and who doesn’t get him. I really like the idea that once Inner Demons is over, Rook attempts to actually get to know Spite, because Spite deserves the chance.