#I just wanted to make it because the parallels have been driving me crazy for months

[bandtrees]

this has always been one of my favorite lines in this scene it’s so striking to me. i think debating over callum’s level of lucidity and what can or cannot “fix” him is deeply antithecal to what the story is trying to express with him - but the idea that callum is still there and still a person who does have the capacity to love mingus, just not in a way she can ever comprehend or accept, because she can't comprehend or accept anything outside her narrow worldview, is sooooo good.

there is no way of actually knowing if callum is proud of mingus, much less recognizes her at all - but it's added to by the fact there's only so much of that she would accept even if he could. ultimately, she wants validation and power, his prestige, from him, she wants a supportive parental figure she never had - there's only so much of that callum is able to provide even in a world where her stint to fix his memory actually worked. he's like a hundred. he never even MET her. to say nothing of all he's missed in the past fifty-odd years. to say nothing of how his age may have messed with his mind deteriorating even without the pre-existing brain damage.

and mingus' phrasing here implies he doesn't even look at her when she visits - which brings me to the visit that radicalized her: the one after her surgery, where he was watching gingi out the window.

obviously, callum watching gingi is mostly for the thematics of it all, how similar the two of them are in ways mingus refuses to recognize, but theres also the thought of... callum's been sitting alone in that room for over half his life, barely lucid if at all. of course he's going to be drawn to a brightly-colored thing making noises and knocking stuff over outside. if he can't respond to stimuli of the people around him he's at the very least going to latch onto something more visually interesting than Brown Wall and Brown Figure.

but it's not like mingus can think of it like that, because she's internalized so much about her grandfather and built up such a specific, personalized vision of him - she doesn't see him as an elderly man with (a fictional equivalent to) dementia, she sees him as President Callum Crown™, the man she personally has to please and live up to the legacy of and make proud, disregarding the fact that's not something he has the mental capacity to even do - because she's so obsessed with validation and complete control that the only way she can get it is by either subjugating others and forcing it out of them (what she does with her townsfolk), or just completely projecting on someone who, for her purposes, is basically a blank slate.

which is maddening to her in its own way, see how crazy she drives herself trying to restore callum's memory in the first place - but also, would she be happy even if callum could see her for who she is? post-game, when she's working on herself, that's an irrelevant question as she's pushed past that need, but as we know her? absolutely not.

i love the ch3 standoff between norm and mingus as a show of "Okay guys let’s see who can dehumanize this disabled guy harder (via pedestal-putting) and justify themselves for it better" and why i think it is so important that it’s gingi who reads the postcard and ultimately speaks for callum instead of either of them, or even the narrator. they can’t read, and they struggle to, but they manage to get it right even when people are telling them to stop. and the fact they’re able to do it at all, are given the chance to do so, and are ultimately the one to wind down this conflict shows that the world of dialtown, while not perfect, really is how callum would have wanted it.

both gingi and callum are some of the most altruistic and human characters ever, and the crux of their parallels is that they are denied this by close-minded people because they happen to Behave Strangely. it's why seeing mingus act the way she does hits so hard - she loves her paw-paw, yes, but if she were to see him in a vacuum, a one-limbed man who can hardly think, much less speak for himself: or even his younger self, who was struggling to make ends meet with his odd inventions...

...well, the feeling norm's imagining here would probably be mutual. mingus' relationship with bigotry is a very fascinating one, she's very close-minded but views certain oddities (ie her flesh-head) as having earned their place and thus being fine - she's a freak too, by her own admission, but she's doing it for a just and wider purpose, so it's fine. which is, ironically, the ideology callum forced upon himself.

callum was obsessed with helping people, pushing himself to do more and more, because it was the only way he ever found respect. if he didn't help people and have grand visions for the world and make himself "useful" to society at large, then what would he be, if not a freak?

mingus and her paw-paw are very similar people, from their well-intentioned extremism, to their stubbornness and paranoia, to their inability to view themselves as anything more than a vessel for that grand cause they believe in (callum in the dialup, mingus in restoring her paw-paw's memory) - which is funny, because if mingus was able to view callum, and herself, as a flawed human person, she would come to understand how similar they really are.

:(

[h4lcyonism]

bumbleby confession/kiss details that make me absolutely bonkers:

- the parallel of yang’s first compliment to blake being about her bow and yang telling blake that her cat ears are cute

- blake’s admiration of yang’s honesty and transparency being huge for her because for so long she stood by a man who did nothing but lie to her and hide his true nature, so having a partner that’s so truthful and is exactly who she says she is is such a big thing to her

- yang bringing up when blake “didn’t like her all that much” kills me every time because they had one (1) interaction where blake was disinterested and yang acts like she hated her 😭 even though in reality that one interaction was enough for blake to decide that she wanted yang as her partner

- we know now that bumbleby has been planned since the beginning, which means the eye/soul color correlation thing was intentional… which is just a full circle moment during one of their biggest moments in the entire show when looking at these screencaps side by side

- blake being so sure of her feelings and yang still being a bit hesitant and scared of her feelings is such a beautiful inverse of what most people would expect but fits perfectly with where their characters are right now

- “i think we’re already falling” is an absolutely fucking insane line that still drives me crazy to this day because when blake said that i knew this was really it

- i will never get over the way yang barely gets the words out of her mouth before blake is saying them right back to her, she is SO certain of her feelings for yang and was just waiting for yang to meet her in the middle despite wanting nothing more than to tell her how she feels and oh my god i feel like crying again just thinking about it

- them LITERALLY BEING IN A GARDEN… idk how long the details of this scene have been in the works but regardless of if bmblb inspired the scene or vice versa it’s such a beautiful callback

- blake pulling yang in by her jacket… yang pulling blake in by her waist… yang’s eyes darting between blake’s eyes and her lips silently asking for permission… blake smiling like a dork before the kiss silently giving her that permission… them standing there kissing for god knows how long and absolutely getting into it because by the time we see them again their hands are everywhere and they’re full on making out… i’m ill

- basically it still doesn’t feel like this really happened and i’m wondering how long it’ll take before it finally does sink in

[dykedvonte]

I saw your earlier post and you mentioned how people say things like "Curly is a grown ass man", "Curly is bigger than Jimmy", "Curly is Jimmy's boss", "He just needed a backbone" and you're so right cuz it drives me insane the way people want to hate Curly as much as Jimmy so they start saying really concerning stuff. Like is that not just victim blaming? Is saying "Curly is a grown ass man" not just rephrasing "why didn't she fight back?" It feels like the fandom think they can just say vile shit because his abuse wasn't physical (at first, and don't even get me started on anyone saying he deserved to be abused as if any kind of abuse can be justified) and he's a guy. Makes me wonder if people would bother seeing Curly as another victim if he was a woman or if discussion would be equally as insufferable because he's still not the "perfect victim" compared to Anya

It's crazy the way people say "I would've fixed everything unlike Curly" and then continue brushing off a victim and saying they deserved it. Even Curly acknowledged Anya's suffering even if he failed to help her in the end, and yet the fandom acts like this without any self-awareness (sorry for ranting like this but I'm just very tired of the fandom recently)

What worse about those comments and the sentiments is it’s often used when people are discussing him as a victim. Like acknowledging the abuse he also faced with Jimmy and that it shouldn’t matter or have an effect because he needed to “man up” and deal with it due to his position.

He needed to deal with it more effectively yes, but it is really victim blamey in the sense he should’ve just been able to. I talked about if Curly was a girl people would probably still judge her on the basis of being more experienced and accomplished and also needing to know better. The problem is that every is trying to treat what Anya and Curly went through on a comparative level. The game does not try to do that but instead tries to have their abuse parallel each other and be metaphorical, along with show the subtle and explicit ways abusers treat their victims.

People see how Jimmy and Curly parallel each other and create the idea “they deserved each other” in some weird ironic penance stance on both their parts. It’s just so odd because the game clearly shows that not a single person was deserving of their situation and especially the treatment under Jimmy at any point for any reason. The game centers around everyone paying for callous actions he commits and refuses to take responsibility for and yet the conversation center around one of his most tormented victims being questioned on how deserving he was of it/how it shouldn’t have effected him that badly.

I know you can be mad at Curly but making it out that if he was a real good man than he just would’ve had the balls to stand up to what was likely years of emotional and mental degradation still perpetuates the idea if a victim really didn’t like the treatment they would’ve just fought back harder or not put themselves into that position in the first place.

It goes back to the idea that there’s always a way to stop it and it’s on you if it happens. It’s again taking focus off the perpetrator and putting it on other aspects than the ever present source. Idk man but it’s like people are trying to make so many slightly different think pieces on MW that some just loop back to harmful rhetoric we were just moving away from.

[eddiewithcat]

yasammy and benji parallels go brrr

- both having meaningful conversations in the seventh episode of s1 / s2

- both episodes having such similar titles : ‘that night’ (yasammys moment) ‘all night long’ (benjis)

- both said meaningful conversations happening after they were arguing about something earlier / the episode before :

yaz and sammy arguing about the distance they were struggling with + sammy treating yaz like a child because of her PTSD // ben and kenji arguing about ben not paying attention or driving fast enough and almost losing sight of the others (much less serious but same outcome shh)

and now for the differences but similarities…

- yaz and sammy having their conversation on land, could be a nod to the fact that they are an established couple, they already have their feet on the ground

vs.

ben and kenji having their conversation in a boat, floating in the water and not quite landing / finding the place to land (yet) (silly ship metaphors get me everytime ok sorry)

- yaz being able to pull sammy out of the sinking van decide being just as terrified, “how did you manage to stay so calm?” “you needed me” “i guess we need each other, huh?” sort of putting an end to their argument (they do also talk about it more later on for the purpose of this sh)

vs.

kenji being able to open up to ben about what has been troubling him (at least somewhat, not the full extent) after being shown struggling / changing the topic whenever someone else tries to bring it up to him… ben not being able to return that same sentiment.

something about yaz being there for sammy, and knowing she is able to lean on sammy if she ever needed (“we need each other”) vs ben not being able to do that quite yet (kenji offering ben to talk about what’s been troubling him and ben pushing it off and instead changing the subject- much the same as kenji would do when anyone else asked him what was going on)

*he will get there TRUST… s3 i believe in you

idk this is just random and nonsense but they make me crazy and i wanted to share my crazy thoughts with you guys because sharing is caring <3

[itz-pandora]

Guys watch this before clicking read more

I have so many thoughts

THE PARALLEL BETWEEN MARIA'S WOUND AND THE DESTROYED MOON?!!! OH MY GOD!!!! OH MY. MY GOD. That's the entire reason I started writing my thoughts down because that's way past important. Where's that post about the symbolism and correlation between Maria's name and the moon because that's all I can think about

AND I LOVE how they're choosing to portray Maria recently, excited and eager for everything, even though it hurts her. Also how fascinated she is with earth makes me happy. I love the idea she'll just endlessly ramble to Shadow about Earth. Also her VA does a good job at letting you know how out of breath she is and how she's still all upbeat even tho she's literally about to pass out

Also ?!!! I AM GOING A BIT CRAZY AT SHADOWS PORTRAYAL!! I'm so hyped to see how he's interpreted in Generations. He seems so confused, and like each time period he's in impacts his personality heavily, like he's still with them on the ARK. He wants to save everyone even though he knows he can't and I'm SCRATCHING AT THE WALLS because of it. I think the way that they'll try to portray him going into the past is with him being only half-aware of everything, OR, HE'S TRYING TO LIVE A LIE TO MAKE HIMSELF FEEL BETTER. Ohmygod the second one makes me feel ill because he just wants to be happy, he wants to keep his little family together and safe, but he knows that the fate is inevitable, just wondering if he could've stopped it. It's haunting to him. The feeling of not being in control is present throughout the entire episode, where he's constantly dragged through each event, each one being more exhausting than the last. Everything is happening to him, he's not the driving force, and that's the sad part, he had an entire game about defining his identity, and still, he's always been a puppet to someone else, bent to their will.

I'M SO CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE PLANNING WITH GERALD BECAUSE ITS DEFINITELY SOMETHING. SHADOW WHAT DID HE DO TO YOU??? Shadow had to PHYSICALLY CLASP HIS HEAD BECAUSE OF THIS. I NEED TO KNOW.

Dude is this supposed to be Shadow's second traumatic flashback regarding the ARK, since in the hero story of SHTH, there's an entire level about the ARK where he plays with Maria as his sidekick, and it was triggered by hearing the sirens of the ARK (which I LOVE btw. Of COURSE he'd associate the noise with events since it's been drilled into his psyche before the amnesia)

I LOVE how scared he is at the end. He's sooooo panicked. I love how they give him the sparks when he's overwhelmed, it makes me feel so happy.

Who is HE?! It can't be Shadow before his memory loss, that guy did NOT SURVIVE. Also idk if they're going to return to the "pre and post amnesia Shadow are different people" thing they implied, because I think it'd be best to have it be like his memories are fragmented, and it's all about remembering, and THEN WE GET A NEW INTERPRETATION OF SHADOW?? Pls? Like not new but somewhere in between SA2 and after that, but with more little brother energy because MARIA IS HERE!!!!

GUYS WHAT ARE THOSE FLOWERS AT THE END AND WHAT DO THEY MEAN. PLEASE TELL ME SINCE THEY PROBABLY HAVE SYMBOLISM

This is so disorganized sorry I'm not normal at all

And ofc Eggman's piss was still on the moon. We love continuity

[pocketgalaxies]

still trying to wrap my head around keyleth's "i trust orym and orym trusts you so i trust you." bc when she said that my first instinct was disappointment, i think? or at least wishing it was a little different.

i think it would've been so much more meaningful to imogen if keyleth just said "i trust you." to have someone trust her and her integrity, not just bc of the company she keeps but because of her. and to hear that from keyleth, someone that imogen has come to respect a lot. i also think keyleth would be keenly aware of those things – if there's anything i'm sure she's learned over the years, it's that her words have immense weight. this is absolutely one of the reasons she pauses so much when she talks (both a marisha-ism as well as a character moment!)

so i guess i just wonder if keyleth actually doesn't trust imogen enough yet and has to filter it through orym, just enough to give imogen the confidence and validation she desperately needs but not so much that it's a falsification or overinflation? would she lie about trusting imogen in order to instill confidence in her, i want to say probably not? but it could probably go either way and would be heavily dependent on what she's experienced in the last 30 years – what is keyleth's relationship with telling white lies and keeping little secrets, after a few decades as the voice of the tempest? it's easy to imagine that it's changed, but also perhaps remaining honest is something keyleth has come to greatly value. tbh i don't think this was particularly explored in c1, and vm did deceive quite frequently, but never in the role of Mentor to a younger, more naive adventuring party like bh

i do love the follow-up of "i see a lot of myself in you" bc the parallels were there all along and i just never noticed them. young women who grew up in a publicly broken family with the weight of their destiny becoming progressively heavier on their shoulders. unimaginable, overwhelming power coursing through them as they explore a foreign and vast world. questioning every single decision they make along the way. the responsibility of the fate of the world frequently, unrelentingly, falling to them for reasons completely out of their control. not knowing anything but knowing they love their companions and knowing they want to do good. not knowing at all what good is anymore. still striving for it regardless.

it does make me lean more toward yes keyleth does trust imogen, because keyleth knows that imogen does not trust herself but keyleth can recognize that she can be trusted, because keyleth was the same way and she turned out okay. if anyone would understand the simultaneously terrifying but also unquestionable reliability of a truly good person trying to survive in a harsh world, it would be keyleth. but then why didn't she say so! and also i just personally would like to think that keyleth does trust imogen after seeing all that she's sacrificed and the level of dedication she's demonstrated over the last several months. but maybe that's just my bias after seeing every little bit of anguish and anxiety that imogen has experienced, and it's very hard to tell/remember how much of that has actually been perceived by keyleth. but also to see herself in imogen would suggest that she's seen at least some of it?

anyway i'm driving myself crazy. but i wish she could've told imogen she trusts her, and idk what stopped her. :(

[abnomi]

WANTED TO MAKE A POST FOR SONGS I ASSOCIATE WITH TURBO AND WHY!

small disclaimer; a lot of these are themed after pre-roadblasters Turbo for the grimy grunginess that the little parasite emits, but they can work for any version of turbo really! (I LOVE KING CANDY AND KING CANDYBUG A LOT im just drawn to uncanny disgusting men. i have a type apparently)🐛🐛🐛

my turbo spotify playlist yueyewaagghhh

starting off light with a high energy instrumental song :-D RED AND GOLD IS IN THE NAME. LIKE TURBOS MAIN COLOR🏎️ AND TROPHIES AND KINGLINESS 🏆,👑. COME ON!!!!

this song sounds a lot like it would be in a lighthearted racing game, which is exactly where he originated! playful and silly having fun time driving (He did not kill many people!) as a whole its very upbeat and matches Turbo's constant movement i think!

the quieter segment in the middle of the song sounds quite King Candy esque with its more subtle chords....scheming...how devious. it sounds almost royal! Perhaps this is the "gold" they were speaking of in the title, with the rest of the song being "red".....

even the synths align with him in some way, as the electronic sounds can be correlated with coding and video games !!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!

i initially associated this song with Ace from the powerpuff girls, but upon further inspection, i feel like the lyrics align much more with Turbo's character...... "Mess with me, and boy, you're surely gonna die!" and "I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere," ARE SOOOO HIM BROO....

more lyrics that strongly parallel his personality are "I am the plan; I am the man; who tells you what and when you can; I'm the old one that torments you; I am the voice that tells you to..." ARE U SERIOUS THIS SOUNDS LIKE STUFF HE'D ACTUALLY SAY.

also this song is about the american GOVERNMENT being CORRUPT... need i say any more (KING CANDY IS A CORRUPT POLITICIAN)

i heavily associate Primus with Turbo in general because of the heavy bass sounding kind of like a motor and the high energy of the songs being twisted into something more deviant because of how heavy and dark the instruments are. It just makes sooo much sense for his character... EVIL CAR ADHD 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Hoohhh..... ok just replace Mary the ice cube with the players Turbo latches onto so hard, and it sounds like hes grieving the loss of them after the Roadblasters incident. maybe his trophies or winning status could be a stand-in for said ice cubes the song speaks of...

its twisted and sad and angry all at once which i think is exactly how Turbo would mourn. blaming the "ice cube" for slipping away from HIM instead of the other way around, being that he's the one who drove it all away, growing more and more bitter........acidic even

"Nothing ever lasts forever," seems like a mindset he'd carry for most of his life, being why hes so intensely adamant on keeping everything to himself to preserve it for as long as he can. his possessive nature is a cover-up for his fear of it all collapsing on him and leaving him with nothing. he keeps everything close and everyone far 😢...

"It's been declared that it's not wise to prize something too much," sounds to me a lot like a narrator explaining the moral of the story, and in Turbo's case, it fits him as well as a matching puzzle piece. he relied on adoration so heavily that he lost himself.

ok hehehe this one's a little more self explanatory... HE DRIVES A RACE CAR!!!! and he DOES "[drive] so goddamn fast!"

THE DISCORDANCY OF THE NOTES AND THEN THE CRAZY ASS RIFF IN THE MIDDLE IS SO SO GOOD.!!!!!!! matches Turbos energy incredibly well :-D also side note; i love the chop top cameo from tcm2 heehehehee check out Cornbugs if you like Primus and tcm :-3

another little tidbit is the line "stuck in his craw that they made him retire," (stuck in his craw means to be made resentful about something) which i think underscores how deeply indignant Turbo is about the entire Roadblasters ordeal.

"They call me Mr. Knowitall, I will not compromise! I will not be told what to do, I shall not step aside!" this REEEKS of ego and defiance. which is very in character for Turbo!!!!!

this entire song is about this asshole who brags about himself so incessantly to such a degree that it makes him look ridiculous. as intelligent as he is, he is not as much of an admirable figure as he tries to make himself seem, which is made horrendously clear.

there are contradictory lyrics here and there that demonstrate hypocrisy and outright lying, stating things like "I am so eloquent! Perfection is my middle name, and whatever rhymes with eloquent..." when the word eloquent is defined by having a high level of literacy, and "they call me Mr. Knowitall" versus "I MUST be Mr. Knowitall." the way he refers to himself changes throughout the song

ok tehehee i cant lie i mainly associate this song with him because the bass sounds like an engine revving up.

the lyrics are pretty similar to turbos internal struggles though!! "Can't touch the image" and the frequent repetition of the word "nothing" make plenty of sense for who he is. what he wants is unreachable, leaving him hollow; he wants to be untouchable.

this song is really fucking funny its just about some guy talking about how evil and fucked up he is... imagine Jack being Felix or something and it all makes sense. bragging and bragging about how abhorrent he is, the man rambles on about how he kills people and refuses to change.

"I don't mind living without a heart; I like fucking people over for a fucking start" is the intro... like its soooo turbo 🤩🤩🤩 Yessssdss

I FUCKING LOVE MELTED BODIES YO!!!!!!

ANGER AND ANXIETY run RAMPANT in this song which is relevant as ever to Turbo... he cant feel fear without a boiling rage simmering within and thus having a need to defend himself and do whatever it takes to keep himself safe and happy!

"W-I-N-N-E-R!"

THE END OF THE SONG IS LITERALLY TURBO... JUST LOOK AT THIS: "WHY CAN'T I FEEL WHAT IT IS THEY FEEL?; WHY CAN'T I BE WHAT THEY WANT ME TO BE?" "I HAVE AN ITCH THAT CAN'T BE ITCHED; I'VE GOT A SCRATCH THAT CAN'T BE SCRATCHED" his envy of others ability to be effortlessly fulfilled (maybe felix), an inability to be satisfied, not understanding why he isnt "good enough" for the players and wanting to be what they want him to be, etc etc etc....

TURBO INSECURITY BATTLE . DO YOU THINK YOU CAN BEAT HIM?

BUG ALERT 🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰 BUG ALERT 🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰

Yea this one is less personal to who he is individually and more so related to his transformation into the big scary insectoid creature he turns into later on but still!!

According to genius lyrics (😰), this song is from the perspective of "a fly personified as a wandering, self-indulgent drifter." connecting the dots with Turbo.... Yea.....Thats him

This is a stretch but one part of the lyrics sounds like theyre saying "red and white" and thats not what they Actually said but u know... a guy can dream

"How's it feel to get away, You got what you want; It only cost everything, but you got what you want; There isn't anybody left, so face yourself all alone; The truth is sour going down, You reap what you've sown" THIS ENTIRE SEGMENT AAUAGYHHHHHGHHHH. TURBO LOST EVERYTHING AND REAPED WHAT HE HAD SOWN MULTIPLE TIMES...HE REALLY DID... HE DID THAT.

the general chord progression is so chaotic and fast, it feels like going downhill and then back up again which is a lot like how Turbo is in general. all or nothing .. black and white moods with no in between

thats all for now, maybe ill add more in the future we will see :-] let me know ur thoughts..... What do u think.....

[todorroki]

Love Sea ep 8 thoughts

yall i'm gonna watch next week's ep with my vision partially obscured LMAOOO i know what's gonna go down and i'm dreading it (EXCEPT for fort throwing hands i'd like to see that)

i am Living for the mutrak cuddles. is it because we're gonna get pain next ep that they're laying all the sweet moments down rn LMAO

rak and vi are so so similar it's no wonder they're friends. vi refusing to outright tell mook that she likes her, and rak refusing to admit he's in love with mut. the parallels go crazy with these two. not to mention rak telling vi to go home this episode mirroring vi telling rak to go home back in ep 6.

i LOVE this shot of mut and meena so much. they're so similar it's endearing. also nina is such a strong actress. her growth will only make her better, and i hope she goes so far.

now, about the GL side story, i'm glad we're getting a lot more than the book gave. like YES they got a whole makeout scene and the ending credits this time!! i'm just very sad for mook. she is obviously into vi, but thinks vi is just playing around with her. like their whole problem could be solved if vi just said she liked mook. classic misunderstanding plot.

swerving back to mutrak, my god.... the way this scene is so erotic despite them both being full clothed. we didn't get any nc this ep, but mut pinning rak down and telling him he'll fuck him until he can't think of anyone else!!! that whole scene was so hot. that feather light touch on rak's neck... mut telling rak to Say what he wants yea.. the kinky d/s dynamic goes crazy with these two

AND the way fp just devour each other during kiss scenes... yeah mhmm i'm not recovering ever

yall fort's arm is so thick in love sea. my god like i don't think peat's hands r very small either (BUT IDK i've never seen him irl i wouldn't know). anyways the way they're holding each other is kinda driving me nuts sorry

dam.. and they're always just kissing each other like that.

be so fr mmy are yall putting extra nc scenes in the boxset. SPEAK INTO THE MIC.

i think it's so crazy an abusive absent father is trying to tell his son's man to break up with him bc he isn't "good enough" like damn what gives you the right?? like mut said, why should he listen to jak LMAO even jak's reasons were very weak to me.

also, production. why do that dramatic phone screen cracking to hell if you're just gonna make rak pick up a perfectly fine unbroken screen in the next shot ? is it just.. a figurative shattering of the screen to parallel the shattered glass of rak's past? that was a slightly weird way to have the scene play out but ok. i guess. peat's terrified-traumatized acting goes so hard as always.

no spoilers but the main conflict and its resolution is so.... hm. let's just say the way it plays out is not my favorite, though i'm always open to my opinion changing depending on how it's done in the series. i've been enjoying the way the series handles the novel scenes so far. ANYWAYS pain train until like the second half of ep 10 me thinks, and i'm dreading it a little LMAO i know fp are gonna make it hurt 100x more than the novel bc they're good at that.

[the-blind-assassin-12]

questions tag game

*Some time ago* I was tagged by the lovely @oonajaeadira - thanks, friend! - to play along, so here goes:

Do you make your own bed? Always when I change the sheets. Sometimes when I’m in an overly productive mood/ I’m procrastinating something else. Never when I simply don’t feel like it.

Favorite number? 12

What is your job? I run an Etsy shop. It’s mostly geared towards weddings and other events. I have a laser engraver, and I use it to make engraved wooden bookmarks (they’re usually used as party favors but they’ve also been used as fundraiser items & book launch giveaways), photo engravings and replica event invitations. I also drive for Uber eats on the side. Which can be interesting and weird in similar ways that any food service job can be interesting and weird.

If you could go back to school, would you? Are we talking about college? I’m assuming we’re talking about college, in which case I would. I genuinely liked being in school and doing research and writing analysis papers. 🤓

Can you parallel park? Sure. Can I parallel park well? Haha. No. Luckily where I live I don’t really have to very often, and on the off chance that I do have to I either A) find a spot I can just pull right into, or B) take a really long time to get kinda sorta close enough to run into whatever store I need to and run back out.

Do you think aliens are real? Absolutely. The universe is too big to conceptualize and Earth simply cannot be the only planet with life.

Can you drive a manual car? I cannot. I’ve always wanted to learn but it never came to fruition and now I doubt it will because fewer cars are being made with manual transmission. Oh well.

What’s your guilty pleasure? None. Life is short and difficult so I’m going to enjoy my little treats without guilt.

Any phobias? Idk if it’s a phobia per se, but clowns freak me out in a way that makes me want to punch them and run.

Favorite childhood sport? Track. And cross country. I was a runner from the time I could run (my dad was a marathon runner in his younger years and so he would put me in kid races starting at age 4) up until about 10 years ago. In high school I ran the 400m, 800m, 1600m and 5k. Since then I’ve done every road race distance from 5k to a full marathon. I had to stop because of injuries- a stress fracture in my knee that never really healed correctly (my knees sound like a bag of scrabble tiles when I descend a staircase) and a total reconstruction surgery on my foot - but I miss it very much. If I could have new knees and feet I’d be running again in nothing flat.

Do you talk to yourself? Oh heck yeah. All the time. Usually in my head but sometimes out loud. It’s a lot of “what are you doing?” @ me.

Tattoos? Just one little itty bitty one - the number 26.2 (the length of a marathon) with a heart as the decimal point on the outside of my right foot. I dedicated my marathon to my mom, so the heart is for her. I want so goddamn many more though.

Favorite color? Leafy green. 🌱

Do you like puzzles? I do! I love codes and logic problems and word puzzles and even corn mazes. I’ve never done an escape room but I have a feeling I’d ace it.

Idk who may have done this recently or ever or five times already or never, so this is an entirely OPEN TAG - so go crazy, kids. Just tag me so I can see your answers. 💚

[journalsouppe]

UNWOUND FUTURE RAAHHHHHHHH!!! What an AMAZING trilogy conclusion with such a perfect setup for future sequels. I cannot recommend playing Professor Layton enough.

All of the Professor Layton stickers are from @jordydrawsmerch which can be found here and here. Every other sticker is from Daiso!

All the writing is typed below!

Rating: 9.3 Played: Fa 2023 Port: HD mobile (iPad) Favorite? Y Replayable? Y Recommend? Y

Comments:

the way the PM walked T^T

LMFAO STACHENSCARFEN

Layton’s about to be beat up bc of his top hat (skull emoji)

Getting major DGS 2-3 vibes

FAMILY GOON

An arc arcade? You’re speaking my language

I LOVE THE BLOCK HAT PUZZLE PIECES SPELLING LAYTON IN JAPANESE!!!

FLORA STICKER

BABY LAYTON BLUSHING IM SCREAMING

I really love the picture book and its music

THE DEVIL IN THE TOP HAT NOO

Luke always takes the opportunity to roast the Laytonmobile (skull emoji)

THEYRE JUST SHOOTING AT EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING

THE ORIGINS OF LAYTONS HAT IM GONNA CRY T^T

I love that bi Luke has his own puzzle solving sequence

Where the fuck did you take us future Luke

The battle of wits was so fun omg

I cant get over evil Layton

BIG LUKE AND LITTLE LUKE

Omg Hershel in the background

Based p. Layton newspaper conversation

LMFAO Hershel trespassing and Luke stressed

The bee???? T^T

FLORA PUZZLE SOLVED SEQUENCE T^T!!!!

GO OFF FLORA!!!!

Ooo pretty Chinese arc

Hershel i swear

Hmmm young sir… who is big Luke?

NOT AVOGADRO

Did all the scientists piss their pants?

I have a lot of questions

Love the design and music of the pagoda

Where tf did Hershel go (skull emoji)

Omg Luke’s a Sherlock fan

I feel like Layton was replaced with evil Layton

I swear Dimitri had a mustache??

THE BARS

WHERE IS FLORA

DON PAOLO LMAO

THE LUKE MOBING SCENE MAKES ME WANT TO CRY

How many secret hideouts are there T_T

NOOO FLORA

The barkeep is v sketch

Chad laytonmobile

I can see how this game inspired dgs

THE KAZUMA AND CLIVE PARALLELS ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY

BEASLY AND PUZZLETTE HOLY SHIT

“That’s funny” :[

Ive been side eyeing some of these designs the past 2 games but yeah bostro’s design is def racist

DON PAOLO TURNIGN EVIL BC OF CLAIRE LOVING HERSHEL LMAO T-T and the running into the river omfg

Working with don paolo has been fun

I DIDNT THINK LAYTON WOULD ACTUALLY CUT THE ROPE

Where did Layton learn all this about Clive??

Summary:

WHAT A PHENOMENAL GAME!!! Truly what a great “conclusion” to the main trilogy. You learn so much about Layton, Luke, flora, and many other characters like don paolo. The ending reveal of Clive was CRAZY. It really reminded me of movies like howls moving castle/the iron giant. I also just love how complex Clive is. He was driven to violence because of how the government treated him and his family, but he never truly wanted to hurt people. He was without any hope and thought mass destruction would finally bring some change to the government, but he also made sure to include Layton in his plans because he so desperately wanted someone to stop him. It’s tragic and terrorism definitely wasn’t the way to go but at least this is a fictional story and that death machine looked kinda sick Ngl. The story of Layton and Claire was also so tragic yet so healing. Layton could finally take off his hat without feeling grief, you never would’ve known he was hurting that much. I loved Claire, she seemed like such an amazing person and I’m glad Layton wasn’t swayed to try to bring her back, although he did falter when he had to say goodbye again. Although I highly enjoyed the game, I am slightly disappointed there was no actual evil Layton. How fun would a game with evil Layton be omg. The whole game constantly caught me by surprise, even by small scenes like Beasly and PUZZLETTE. I’m still a littel confused about the lab experiments with Gumbo and subject 3, I’m not quire sure why they added that plot (and have no resolution) but I liked Gumbo fine. My favorite coin animal will always be hot dog though. I cannot recommend this series enough, I am having the time of my life. I can also see how DGS was heavily inspired by these games and im so glad about it bc dgs was game changing. I can’t believe there was a 26 year wait in between UF and NWOS but im glad to be a Layton fan :’) so fucking glad!!!!

[all-pacas]

Back in the day I wondered if they were angling for Chase Thirteen and rolled my eyes at first but they do kind of have the screwed up best friends to lovers vibes to them. And the actors had decent chemistry.

Also I think House’s treatment of it would’ve been hilarious

I think in all honesty the show was angling for them as a pairing, and it's only by the grace of god (and Olivia Wilde's career taking off) that it didn't happen. But seriously: they never talk or interact for 3 years, and then suddenly they're having heart to hearts in Private Lives and Chase is flirting with her a little and propositions her like. He went the entire show without ever having an emotionally honest conversation with Foreman, but 13? Instantly.

And I'm torn because I'm a huge sucker for — I really like them as not romantic, like, they both have such fucked up histories of sleeping around and going for easy fake intimacy, I think for Chase and 13, not sleeping together is sort of more romantic (platonically romantic, romantically romantic, whatever) than if they'd hooked up: they easily could have and it would have meant nothing and they probably would have never talked again, not in some dramatic bitter way but because they both would feel like they had no reason to, you know? But they don't get to do their usual bullshit.

And they drive me insane, because they're such parallels — lonely and self destructive and not nearly as closed off and aloof as they want to be, as they try to be, how they have parent trauma and sibling trauma and murder trauma and cope with (implied and stated) drinking and drug use and sex. And how they can be such good supports for one another, and how they both crave that support (you could make some interesting contrasts between Foreman and Cameron, who are more alike than I think is obvious, and how they both… were not quite what 13 and Chase needed; 13 was lonely with Foreman, felt pushed away; Chase was always trying much harder than Cameron). They have complicated feelings about grief and the people they've lost and love. I love how Chase kind of gets to step into a big brother-ish role with 13, he's openly protective of her and supports her; I think she could easily do the same for him. And that all makes for a fantastic imagined/alluded to friendship, and I love the prodigal siblings thing (and there's a whole other post about how it isn't that they really think of one another as siblings in the least, how the title is much more about their relationships with House, how that's another thing they have in common)… they're on weirdly equal footing. They know the worst things about one another, their greatest weaknesses and failings, and accept it totally. And they like hanging out. It's great.

But! You really could make it romantic, too! It could honestly be kind of sweet! Or kind of weird! Or both! Like, imagine 13 post-series trying to hook Chase up with her girlfriend, not in a polyamory way but in a "when I'm gone I think you two should date" way. Imagine House's incest jokes. Imagine Foreman's incredible pain. (Imagine the Chase euthanizes 13 instead of House headcanon, but with this added layer.) Mostly I just want them to be friends forever, but I don't think it would be crazy for them to kiss, too. :(

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

A previous post of mine re Jon's resurrection has been doing the rounds lately so I think I need to clarify a few things (because some people seemed to misunderstand what I was saying - thought tbh I'm a bit surprised).

I was not - and have never - made the argument that Jon is going to walk away from his assassination (whether he actually dies or is just severely wounded) - with no ramifications. Obviously there are going to be many mental and physical changes. For one, he's basically become a human pin-cushion. And given that his heart will probably stop, we might see other things like his fingers and toes turning black. There's also a popular theory that he might lose an eye (to complete the Odin symbolism/parallel). Then we remember that he has been betrayed by his subordinates which is obviously going to cause severe trauma. Anger, hurt, and maybe even resignation will be emotions that he has to grapple with. And let us remember that Jon spent five books (but most of all ADWD) ignoring the magic within and around him. So that's even more trauma because he now has to come to terms with the magical changes within him. It's a lot to deal with. His chapters are going to be depressing af. I think most of us, and most of us Jon fans, can agree on this.

But here's the problem: recent fandom discussion re Jon's death has been very narrow and one sided. To certain communities, he has to turn evil or villainous. This view is actually what led me to making that post. Because there has been an uptick in bad faith arguments brought on by people saying "well my fave is held to an impossible standard so I have to make straw man arguments for why we should willfully misinterpret Jon's arc/situation to make him be the bad guy for a change". And this is so incredibly annoying because it achieves nothing except bring in even more bad takes re Jon. I didn't want to point any fingers and I won't do that here because I don't really believe whataboutisms will do us any good. Really, I'm more interested in dispelling the idea that Jon has to turn into some one dimensional, unthinking, evil zombie because that suits a few fans' narratives; and given that I'm a Jon Snow fangirl, I have to defend my boy here.

This is what led me to specifically calling out the idea that Jon will be Stoneheart 2.0 or like Varamyr. The Varamyr comparison was especially jarring because the argument I was going against implied that Jon would be like Varamyr morally. I don't think I need to go too much into why that's a bizarre argument that has absolutely no basis in the text. Before his death, Varamyr had be a local homicidal tyrant who had spend much of his life terrorizing the wildlings beyond the wall. He did not die, warg into an animal, and then go crazy. He was already severely messed up to begin with. So no, it makes no sense to compare him to Jon because they're on two opposite ends of the spectrum morally. Jon is not and will not turn in to a raping, murdering, maniac with no regard for humanity around him. In fact, the one thing that drives Jon's arc is having to make moral choices to do the most good for everyone. GRRM is not going to suddenly change that and turn him evil.

But we can use that ADWD prologue chapter to infer what could happen to Jon in other ways. Varamyr's chapter tells us that a warg who spends too much time in their bonded animal begins to lose himself/herself over time. And most people accept that Jon will become more "wolfish" by spending an extended period of time warging into Ghost. But here's the thing, we do not know how long Jon will be out of commission. And we do not know the rate at which one begins to merge with their familiar. So it also doesn't make sense to say that Jon will completely lose himself to Ghost because there's still so much that's up in the air.

Another thing that often gets overlooked is that there is a spectrum in regards to how resurrected beings function. There are those whose psyches are near permanently damaged and there are those who are relatively high functioning.

Ice wights - the most severe case of mental degradation that we've seen so far. They can hold a grudge (i.e. the wights that attacked LC Mormont) but we haven't seen them communicate or function in any way that's similar to regular humans.

Patchface - on the severe end of the spectrum. We don't really know too many details about what happened to him but the prevailing theory right now is that he is a "wight" brought back through the machinations of the drowned god. Patchface can't communicate normally so he has to do it in cryptic rhymes (which are most certainly prophecies). And let's remember that he had also been dead, with no place for his soul to go, for a few days before being brought back iirc.

Catelyn/Lady Stoneheart - closer to the severe end of the spectrum but I wouldn't say she's the most extreme case. She's singularly focused on getting revenge on the Boltons and Lannisters who were responsible for her family's downfall - more recently, her son's murder. Her body is severely degraded as well. But I wouldn't say she's on the same level as Patches just because the only reason she cannot communicate is because her throat was cut through. Still she can form thought, lead a group (the BWB), and if fan theories are correct about a RW 2.0 coming, she's even capable of carrying out semi-large scale conspiracy. But as I outlined in my previous post, Catelyn isn't doing the revenge thing because dying and being resurrected automatically turns someone into a "crazy monster". Catelyn, quite literally, watched the last of her line die right in front of her. And, she had also been severely depressed by her husband's death and the news of Bran's and Rickon's deaths prior to the RW. So as she was in her last moments, she was clawing her face with her own nails, screaming in anguish. Which led to her murdering Jinglebell!

Beric - pretty high functioning. Can lead a group of people, can fight, can communicate well enough with those around him. However, he cannot eat, sleep, his blood has turned back, etc. He also loses his memories. BUT let's remember that he was brought back several times which means that there were more adverse effects with each resurrection; and he became so tired of it that he gave his breath of life to Catelyn the minute he got the chance to. And Beric was not some unthinking zombie wrecking havoc across the Riverlands, killing everyone he could get his hands on. He did not lose his morality, nor did he lose his sense of purpose (well, he is singularly focused on carrying out the task delegated to him by Ned Stark). There's obviously a sense of loss (again losing human anatomical functions and also the memory loses) but he hasn't become some one dimensional character.

Coldhands - we don't really know exactly what brought him back (most likely COF magic) but he's relatively high functioning. Sure, he is like Beric in that he doesn't eat or sleep but he can think, he can plan, he can function mentally with little to no constraints. He's not going around murdering people willy nilly and being a menace to society. He is focused on doing something beyond the wall but we don't know too much about him. But we have hints that he is a skinchanger(!) and that could've helped him maintain his faculties.

Melisandre - no on page confirmation yet but the popular theory is that she is some form of fire wight (she doesn't need to eat, sleep, etc, like Beric and Coldhands). However, Mel functions as well as anyone else. And no, she's not burning people because she died - meaning that all people who die and are resurrected get really into human sacrifice. Mel's religion (and even background since she's from Asshai) is already heavily marked by these practices; just like Varamyr was already a morally degraded man before the ADWD prologue chapter. Mel is also decidedly NOT one-dimensionally evil, and GRRM has said before that she's his most misunderstood character.

As evidenced above, there's quite a few differences with the people brought back. There's no one-size-fits-all shoe for everyone. So no, Jon won't become Beric 2.0 or Stoneheart 2.0 or Coldhands 2.0 because that's just not how it works. He'll be his own being, something new.

But here's the thing, Jon is already different from all of these people in life. As @swordsandarms has had to point out multiple times (to a point where I'd imagine it's become quite the chore for them), Jon is a completely new entity by virtue of him being a magical being - something that neither Catelyn Stark nor Beric Dondarrion were. So even if we accept that they establish a lot of the changes that wights face, we should also make sure to point out that there is a massive difference between them and Jon. Saying that the effects on Jon are going be less severe due to him spending some time in Ghost is not at all saying that he'll get away scot-free. Pointing out that Ghost is not some savage animal but a direwolf who displays human-like characteristics and intelligence (that is quite ahead of his siblings) isn't saying that Jon will face no changes. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone in fandom who argues that Jon will just get up and resume life as usual.

And lastly, something else I want to call attention to is that we should be looking to already established precedent among other wargs and skinchangers. Because here's the thing, Jon's death and rebirth is going to be a massive event in the magical realm; I mean so many practitioners of different magic systems have seen it in some way or the other. From a Doylist perspective, Jon's death serves as a vehicle to bring him closet to magic. By the time he gets back he'll be a more practiced and powerful warg, he'll possibly be on the receiving end of more powerful and frequent prophetic visions, he could also gain the ability to wield fire magic (e.g., making his own Lightbringer a la Beric and as foreshadowed by his ADWD dream), and he's certainly going to become a fully fledged skinchanger. We know this last part to be true because of precedent set by Bran and Arya - Bran who had a near death experience and Arya who lost her eyesight - and I'd argue that we can throw Jojen Reed into the mix as well. So when we talk about the changes death will bring, we should also talk about these characters who obviously serve as foreshadowing as well.

(@daenystheedreamer gonna tag you for visibility since you tagged me in a previous post. Really sorry I didn't manage to reply in time but I think you deleted the post. Hope it's ok tho but long story short, you didn't misinterpret that post at all and what you said was exactly my point. But yeah, just letting you know that we're in agreement lol).

[trickstersaint]

Screaminggg saint person I just read your apple taste in the throat as sin poem and I love it so I have a childhood experience to share bc I think the vague themes will make you writhe

So! Ever since I was a child I thought The Fruit™ was a fig! And I felt probably the same way you did whenever you ate an apple as when i ate fig newton's bc of this at like 6🤷 tasty but also [grows up in the church].

Anyway, that one lil story in the bible with the fig tree where jesus is having a very human moment and got caught in 4k withering the tree out of hanger then covered his ass with bravado+temple talk had stuck with little me from this, so to ramble: the life and death that goes into a figs growth and how even in paradise there was hunger, how it exists even among the divine, and that you have to give yourself whole to it like a fig wasp (it will kill you in the end) (or do you choose to die for it) (was there ever really a choice or is it nature to find something bigger than yourself and sacrifice your life for it) and that religion only lives on bc we do but who is to separate the temple from the tree thats barren that will outlast us like a legacy to all we could've been if not withered before its fruiting season? And what of the tiny wasps when the time comes to pollinate but the tree is gone, what of the next generation that burrowed their way out of the fig/divine and what life cycle is there to choose after? Were you born into it all or is it only where your mother died? andandand?? Screams I hope this gives you inspo for more writing or that you at least enjoyed the vibes of me being insane abt figs and what it means to take of the forbidden fruit and the withering of the fig tree lol

Also princess Diana and Gerard as a saint has been rattling around in my brain and I'm going nuts plz elaborate on what they mean to you I'm dying to hear ur thoughts in depth on that

my friend is also really into the fig tree story... beginning to think that raised-christian people only have a few preset bible concepts that they come preloaded with obsessions around. the two genders... fig and apple... anyway saying that even in paradise there was hunger is crazy. i need to write more about adam and eve they drive me insane. y'all ever think about this line from an article about adam and eve that i was reading for a research project a year ago and only posted on my main account where almost none of you guys would have seen it

she is trying desperately to encase herself within the divine framework... jack katz "The Social Psychology of Adam and Eve" save me. save me... anyway...

mmmm on princess diana and gerard way as saints. i find it interesting the way that people idolize her both as an icon of kindness and charity and also as a martyr; for the people who are really caught up in the image of her, i feel like it's absolutely as much about the fact that she died as it is about the good things that she did. not to say that people make her a christ figure lmao but if you REALLY wanted to get into it you could draw some parallels between the way that people talk about jesus interacting with the lepers and diana shaking the hand of someone with aids. and then to take this figure that you are idolizing for their selflessness and good works and to say that she was murdered is like. very evocative of martyrdom i think. these are not personal beliefs of mine i just find it very interesting to look at how people talk about her. personally i think the cultural obsessions around figures like princess diana and marilyn monroe, especially because they're women, are only ever going to grow parasocial and focus around the image or the idea of a person rather than fostering an interest in a historical figure. which. i mean. hey. me and saint sebastian for real :|

um. and then to further implicate myself in this social phenomenon. i am a freak about gerard way and i am not to be trusted around images of them in joan of arc armor or a cheerleader dress. liable to burst into tears or start speaking in tongues i think. i've been too transgender and too into my chemical romance for too long to be anything near normal about that particular person. seeing them in the joan of arc costume made me feel so crazyinsane about religion for so long that i sat down and wrote that first saints quiz. um. and you know actually i do have a poem about the way that it makes me feel so you can just go read that before i say something that's going to make me sound like i have a genuine religious fixation on that guy with like. a wife and kids. see also: trickstersaint poem "there's this feeling i get that i can't describe".

[z3r0b1tch35]

Hi I have come here to complain as well, because I recently had a friend ask me who my favorite character in Demon Slayer was. And I said Tengen and was about to say why, when they looked at me and said ‘you mean the perv, who’s whole thing is just being flashy.’ Or something along those lines.

 And I forget that people don’t spend the time to hyper analyze characters, or even try and see anything that goes even slightly beneath the surface of black and white text. If it’s not spelled out for people, they see it as a flaw or bad writing.

Like I could write a whole essay on how Tengen looked after the three during the entertainment district, how he acted like a father to the three boys. How much he looks up to Kagaya and the role the master has played in his life. How much he adores his wives much more than any basic surface level ‘he’s a pervert’ stereotype. Don’t get me started on Zenitsu or Rengoku either (even Tanjiro in some aspects).

It’s not just even in Demon slayer. I won’t go into everything as I know you aren’t a part of the fandom but it drives me crazy how people will look surface level at a character and say that they have no depth to them. Recently I  was told that “How can you actually like xxx he’s literally nothing more than a cardboard cut out?” Which couldn’t be farther from the truth. And it’s like, people don’t actually stop and study what they are reading. Selectively mute characters? Characters with disabilities, who don’t fit into the world around them for a reason. ‘Oh well they just have zero personality.’ ‘They’re just a reader insert-‘ No, no they’re not!

Actually take the time and notice like you said the small characteristics that make up a character. They still end up with relationships, friends and family. Gosh don't get me started on how people can never tell the difference between paternal/familiar relationships and romantic ones (though that may be more of a me thing tbh)

Sorry I am just ranting now, this has been bothering me for days

Bro literally!

Something I’ve noticed in KNY is that if a characters main flaw is more prevalent they get shamed for it but if they have the same/similar flaw but it’s not a the center of attention they get praised!

I could also go into an entire thing about how boy and girl parallels for bad traits; the boys get shamed while the girls are seen as powerful for it. Honestly I might because it irritates me lol.

Tengen, Zenitsu, Douma, and Genya at the top of my head show different aspects of sexuality (not sure if that’s the word I want to use, sorry if it doesn’t make sense) but because they do it in a way that’s not conventional to a neurotypical person that hasn’t undergone trauma; they are made to be gross when they do something even slightly flirty.

So like I totally get what you mean by getting annoyed at your friend for saying that about Tengen! Rightfully so, I would be too.

These people who just shit on characters whose flaws are easier to see than others because they either

1: haven’t read the manga/databooks/novels and are just blindly following what everyone else says about them

Or

2: they haven’t got an ounce of reading comprehension to look past a well written character

Amazing point about disabilities! KNY is very much autistic coded, like I could give full explanations about every (main) character and how they are autistic with good backing behind it too.

Which this is a huge reason why many people call Zenitsu a pervert/creep! Because they just see him cling onto a girl and totally ignore the fact that he doesn’t understand social boundaries/cues, and since they can’t see this they label him anything gross!

And gosh the people screaming zero personality are the worst. It was really bad with Giyuu when it was only first season animated. Obanai too (which to be fair he is poorly written and thrown to the side, so a lot of him comes off to be very bland) or Kanao is another good example! They get compared to wet rags and I just like scratch my head in confusion.

Characteristics are the main selling point of KNY too! Like these small details hidden in their breathing styles, their mannerisms, their designs, and even the way they interact with others! It all corresponds to other aspects of their character (which is actually the main reason I don’t like a lot of redesigns lol!)

DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED! I actually briefly mentioned this but imma talk about a thing that happened on tiktok like yesterday lol

So I was explaining how ObaTen see each other as brothers and all the subtext behind that (if someone wants me to explain that I will absolutely make a post about it)

And someone comes up and mentions Inosuke, Tanjiro, and Zenitsu saying they are like brothers (my display has InoTanZen in it) so I explain how characters actually see each other as family is different from martial arts brotherhood.

Would you like to know what they responded with? “That means the Uzui’s are all family because they fight alongside each other”

My jaw hit the floor. And then I told them, kinda rudely but I don’t care honestly, that martial arts brotherhood isn’t actually seeing each other as family. It’s just gaining a stronger bond from fighting together for long enough. And that the Hashira normally fight solo so a lot of them, aside from Obanai and Sanemi, have this bond. Meaning that no, you cannot use the same example because it doesn’t match.

Also the core value of KNY is family, I don’t understand why it’s so hard to grasp that a lot of characters see each other as family lmao

That ain’t a you thing, I made a whole tiktok about it and people STILL argue with me. It’s wild. Something I’ve noticed too is it’s always the hardcore shippers that can’t understand the differences because they aren’t used to media where there’s a lot of family bonds/ties. Like the correlation for the two is spot on

No don’t apologize! I’ve needed someone to rant to! I’m sure my friends are absolutely sick of hearing it lol!

Honestly I might make an entire post explaining how the female characters are praised for their flaws while the male characters are shamed. It does have some touchy subject tho… hm

[asexual-society]

I needed another ace's opinion on this or I was gonna go crazy. I feel so alone.

My best friend is allo and recently started to go to therapy. His therapist told him something to incinuate that my advice about romantic relationships was less valuable/productive because "our brains work differently" because I'm ace and he isn't.

He's upset that I'm upset about it when I believe this is just benevolent aphobia. I see it the same way as someone telling a straight person not to take advice from a gay person. Am I just making a big deal out of nothing? Why is my opinion less important/applicable because I don't have the same experience as someone else?

I personally don't think an aro or ace person's advice on relationships is less valuable just because our brains work differently or our experiences are different, I mean, for most other topics, asking someone impartial for advice is completely normal, even if you take that person's advice with a pinch of salt because they don't have firsthand knowledge of the situation. I've had my opinions and advice belittled countless times and I know how hurtful it can be, and there are times when someone's opinion on a subject is totally useless because they're not informed about it, but this isn't like asking your friend who can't drive for advice how to parallel park or your American friend about British politics,, culturally and socially we are fed a LOT about relationships all the time for our whole lives, even without firsthand experience, we absorb a lot of information, and that's not even accounting for the things we have actively sought out, or the experiences of aspec people who have been in relationships.

I understand that we might not fully understand how it feels to be allo and want relationships of whatever kind in the same way, but a lot of (not all, I'll grant you) ace and aro people know as much or more about aspects of sex and romance than your average allo purely on the basis of having had to learn about it ourselves, and I think we have incredibly valuable insights into relationships that are generally overlooked by people who take for granted that everyone feels the same way about sex and romance. Maybe my confidence is unearned, but I'm still here giving advice to strangers on the internet, and people keep asking for it, so someone must think my opinion is worthwhile, and if I can't give someone the advice or help a person needs, I'll just say that. The number of allo people who have terrible relationships and then give out terrible advice because of it is crazy, like. genuinely there's some actively dangerous advice being pedaled by allos, I think on average an ace or aro person acting in good faith can give advice of a similar quality to your average allo person's.

By the therapist's same logic you can't trust them with advice about how aspec people are, in fact you can't trust them to give advice about any mental or physical illness or disability they don't experience, which is obviously not how therapy works. Tbh, I'd argue that unless a therapist is aspec themselves or has been given decent training about aspec people, which generally speaking, they aren't (although there are some good ones), anything they have to say with regards to us is even less "valuable or productive" than what an aspec person thinks about relationships.

There will always be aspec people who give terrible advice, and trust me, I have heard some terminally online or just downright ignorant takes, but I've heard just as bad, if not worse from allo people, and acting like we're the problem sucks.

~ mod key

[mollysunder]

Potential Complications of Ekko's Time Shenanigans

There's a lot about Ekko that makes me nervous for him next season. Besides the fact that the Firelights tree house could easily get firebombed, because it's a literal hole in the ground with no cover. We'll ignore that most of the exits are above ground-level or sealed with a heavy door, and that some of the small metal fixtures on the treehouse look like human skulls. There's this larger, but more understated threat that Ekko's going to lose his mind after using the Z-Drive too many times.

When Vi berated herself for how she should have been there to protect Ekko, she wished that she could change the past, Ekko said, "That's a good way to drive yourself crazy". I thought that answer was pretty ironic, because wanting to change the past is his whole thing. At first I thought it could be a one off thing to tease Ekko's future ability. Then I remembered that Ekko has a joke voiceline that makes light of the effects of time travel on his mind. Sometimes Ekko would say, "Time scramble doesn't travel my brain.".

The dangers of the Z-Drive became more plausible the more I thought about Ekko's place in Zaun. Of the three most prominent minds in Arcane's Zaun (Singed doesn't count, he's from Piltover), two of them, Jinx and Viktor, deal with debilitating mental illnesses brought on by their respective work. For Jinx, her bombs killed her brothers, worsening her paranoia and fear of abandonement. While Viktor's work with the Hexcore has only further isolated him from his already small circle of friends, which will only make his future depressive spiral worse once the Hexcore causes him to be exiled in disgrace from Piltover. In both their cases, their work has lead them to be partially alienated within their communities, usually by their notoriety alone.

Ekko is supposed to be the exception to the rule for most Zaunite champions, but in Arcane he's not. Ekko builds technology to sabotage Silco's Shimmer supply chain, putting a target on himself and anyone associated with him. Ekko and the Firelights have to live clandestinely from the greater Zaun. Their fight against Silco has caused them to be less connected or just present in Zaun than someone like Jinx is. And on top of that isolation you have Ekko being placed in a de facto leadership position for his group for who knows how long, everyone there either looks the same-ish age as him, or are literal children. All the while he's responsible for the raids they carry out that were shown to carry a high fatality rate, at least one of the raid members looks younger than Jinx did in Act 1. Ekko may live in a nice tree, but he isn't doing well.

Then there's Heimerdinger, who is sure to be a pivotal influence on Ekko's story next season. Every mentor-student relationship in Arcane has shown that the students (Jinx, Vi, Viktor) inevitably internalized the lessons of their teachers (Silco, Vander, Singed). But more importantly, these pairs tend to share parallel experiences with one another, though it's more general than 1-to-1. And based on Hemierdinger's VA, Mick Wingert, the most defining aspect of Heimerdinger's characters was the suffering he experienced at the loss of his home, Bandle City, from the Rune Wars. Wingert stated that the closest frame of reference for the loss Heimerdinger experienced was similar to a Holocaust survivor. If the director and writers found Wingert's interpretation appropriate enough to play Heimerdinger, then part of that is likely to come through more in the next season.

Ekko's perspective is bound to change once he works with a person who will tell him that everything that can go wrong, in fact has gone wrong before. And the weight of Heimerdinger's words will probably carry considerable weight on Ekko's opinion next season. Heimerdinger's character is likely to fulfill the role of (grand)parental figure that Ekko has long needed. I can only see Heimerdinger heightening Ekko's fears and anxieties on the potential future disaster that will destroy his community and his responsibility in preventing it.

For next season, Ekko will probably believe he is at least partially responsible for Zaun and Piltover's war because he couldn't stop Silco or Jinx in time. When he finally creates the Z-Drive, he'll have the opportunity to rewrite every new potential mistake he could have made, even if it's only by 2-seconds. Ekko will either keep rewinding until he gets trapped in his own timeloop and breaksdown when he realizes his efforts are futile, or the instability of the Z-Drive creates too much attention and some outside party intervenes and pulls him out.