#I spend insane amount of time on it

[queerofthedagger]

the thing is that tolkien was right trees really are that great

[endless-nightshift]

There's something so sad to me about the fact Lan Xichen goes from happily encouraging Lan Wangji to befriend Wei Wuxian to Considering Wei Wuxian to be Lan Wangjis 'only mistake'

Like... Imaging getting a miracle second chance not only at life but to have be loved by the man you've always admired only to find out that his family detests you because during the worst time in your life, physically and mentally you didn't take into account the idea that a man who'd always treated with cool acquaintance at best, active distaste at worst actually cared about you and that his constant reproach and effort get you do give up the one method you have to protect yourself while everyone was literally actually out for your head was honestly because he was badly wording his concern and not because he hated you and the methods you used to survive.

[novelconcepts]

I live in a neighborhood I generally regard as safe for queer people. I live in a city pretty well known for being progressive, liberal, open to minorities. I live in a place I actively chose because it felt safe for me, my wife, my queer siblings, my friends of color. A place where there are endless Love is Love placards, pro-science measures, pro-Gaza notices in public windows. A place I love dearly for all of these reasons.

There are still Trump signs here. There are still proud bigots, loudly announcing they’re going to vote for that piece of shit. Here. In my safe neighborhood, in my liberal city. Here, where I can’t not see them. Here, they are still trying like hell to take away democracy. My liberties. My safety. Everything I hold dear, every reason I moved here in the first place.

The polls don’t matter. The registration numbers only count if the registered actually come out when push comes to shove. Do not rest on your fucking “oh, it couldn’t happen again” laurels, do not get complacent. Do not let your guard down. Vote. It is more critical than ever.

[54625]

remember when the QSMP admins invited Charlie Slimecicle on for a fun birthday surprise and were like "yay!! Happy birthday 🎉🎁🎂🎈!!! Have a great day!!" for about an hour and then made him sob like a baby

[mumblesplash]

every so often my cat will casually obliterate a zippy little flying insect that’s been annoying me for hours and in that moment i understand why the ancient egyptians worshipped them

[robinsteves]

good luck, nancy wheeler

[arttsuka]

Augustus: *throwing a tantrum* "DAD WHY AM I LIKE THIS"

Octavius: "Well, I didn't sculpt you but it seems they ran out of marble."

Augustus: "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH IT STINKS HAVING NO HANDS"

Jed: "Or legs."

Octavius: "That's not helping."

Omg you can't just say that Jed!

[xxri]

maría for the ad astra zine! lc u will be missed T_T

[kineticallyanywhere]

Monkey’s Paw pages 133-136 ( START HERE || ao3 || previous || next ) AU after episode 62. The Omega Dads try a more desperate gambit, but   careful what you wish for. Our dads find alternate versions of themselves in a strange dreamscape. Ifyou die in the dream, doyou die in real life?

...heeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy

[hairtusk]

i'm trying to save £5000 this year so I can move into my own house by next summer, but the second i realise i'm not as broke as i thought I was for a month i'm on ebay looking at mid century modern furniture.... girl you're going to be living with your parents forever !!!!!!!

[tethered-heartstrings]

genuinely am not sure how I'm expected to get enough sleep, go to school, do all my assignments, study, exercise, keep up with dishes and laundry, keep my house clean, shower everyday, buy groceries, prepare 3 (healthy) meals a day and eat them, and not explode in the process???

[eliounora]

So then what would you consider to be true middle class? And what are some tell tale signs someone is middle class? besides nice teeth and Patagonia jackets and an apple watch they only wear when they work out

hi! I think it depends on area/country, for example here in my native finland middle class can look quite different from the american middle class. like if you think of wealthier people here "nice teeth" doesn't really come to mind, because on the regular most people have to various degrees imperfect public healthcare teeth hahaha!

nevertheless from what I've read the middle class still hard or even impossible to define truly, and there's also many methods to define class. that is sort of what I wanted to say with my post -- you can't really take two random things, two cars, and deduce class from that alone. but for example it could be considered that I am embodying my class when I start to speak about the sociologist pierre bourdieu and his ideas of cultural capital: I am showing (in my habitus) that I have high education, which is my personal cultural capital, and in having that personal capital I have power over those who have no idea who bourdieu is. however, I've obviously needed a family background and financial means to acquire my education, so I've also had economic capital.

in my understanding, to go to college in the US your parents often need to have the means to save money for your tuition (lest you drown in debt), so naturally the children of those who can't save up don't go to college as often. in a nordic welfare state setting where tuition itself is free, more people can go to college, but socio-enomic standing is still inherited. my parents do not have higher education and for sure do not know who pierre bourdieu is, but they do have money, so I would say with economic capital alone you do reach power in other forms of capital as well.

I think you are in the right by mentioning a patagonia jacket and an apple watch. those are luxury items. whether the patagonia jacket is new or thrifted, the wearer has most likely needed the knowledge of patagonia as a nice outdoor wear brand, and what it symbolises. in those terms, I consider myself middle class (not in my personal assets necessarily, but again, in connection to my parents) partly because I have a fjällräven jacket, and although thrifted (still a price that someone poor could not pay without saving for it) it still carries a cultural meaning, and that's why I wanted to get it. it's hip right now!

to summarise and actually answer your question, what then is the difference between the upper middle class and the true middle class -- I think that can be impossible to say. does true middle class only have one car and upper middle class has two? someone might have a whole junkyard of cars, but that is not really a middle class thing to have -- but then, someone could drive a single porsche, and you know they have money.

[mwagneto]

assassin's creed 2 is the best game on earth (lets me hug leonardo da vinci)

[oceanic-sunsets]

Mike Wheeler and Will Byers, Character Arcs explained by the Duffers and Letting Characters surprise you

I’ve been so excited to write this analysis because I love talking about character’s arcs, development, and storytelling in general. For this particular analysis, I’m going to focus mostly on Mike, the Wheelers, and Will, but I’ll touch on a few other important characters too to draw parallels/give examples. 

Once again, I’ll remind you that I believe Mike is gay, so my analysis will touch a lot on the subject. 

Now let’s get into it:) 

I’m going to start this off with a few notes from the Duffer’s Masterclass, lesson 7: Character Development. They tell us their creative process, how they come up with characters, what defines them, and later on, what their main arc will be. 

So as we can see, some names were changed, Will was Tommy and Mike was Joel. Something that stands out is that Mike, since he was named Joel, has always been intended to be Will’s best friend, the closest one of his friends. 

Now, for Sheriff’s daughter, the Duffers mention how she didn’t make the cut, and this is only me assuming, but it sounds like the role Max would later on have: she’s the new girl who two of the main kids are interested on. 

Next we are shown the following characters’ descriptions: 

The Duffers then explain how a lot of it “mostly stuck”, how some stuff didn’t make it into the show, and then we have characters whose name changed but their purpose stayed the same, or those who got some traits swapped up with a different character. For example, how the “Billy Flanagan” role was first represented by Steve back in S1, and later on by Billy, even with the same name. 

I’ll talk about a few characters, their old traits vs what I think (based on the show) they ended up changing. 

Karen Wheeler: She's first described as a great, overprotective mom, who suffocates Mike and tries to protect him from the evil around him. She hides from his husband. Projects happiness but actually very sad inside. This obviously didn’t stick. This sounds an awful lot like Joyce, word for word. See, instead: Julie Conley. We’ll get to that in a bit.

Ted Wheeler: Suburban, always busy with work, never around and not close to his son.  This is still pretty spot on. Ted Wheeler was always meant to be exactly who he is. But wait, could there be more to it?

Mike Wheeler: --introduce him with DnD-- shy, birthmark on his face and neck, which he is bullied for. No confidence outside his friend group. Ultimately coming of age, falls in love with El.  Mike’s connection with DnD and being bullied stayed. The rest, however? it all changed. Notice how Karen used to have a role more similar to what ended up becoming Joyce. Now, look at Mike’s first description. Sounds familiar, right? That’s because it basically describes our Will: shy, with an overprotective mom, no confidence outside his friend group and with the ultimately coming of age. Falls in love with El Mike. I’ll get back to Will in a bit, for now, let’s go back to Mike. The Duffers also mention how his character completely changed and it was influenced by Finn Wolfhard’s performance: the Mike we know isn’t shy, quite the opposite! he’s brave and fills up the group leader’s role. 

What does this mean? It means his character arc can’t stay the same, because his fundamental traits, those that define him as a character and give him a drive, also changed. See one of Will Byer’s previous descriptions: More normal. Rings any bell?:) 

Lucas Conley: Nerd, dungeon master, dresses in black, glasses, LOTR and other fantasy books, videogames, unkempt. As the Duffers say themselves: this is nothing like our Lucas Sinclair. Instead, it sounds more like…

You guessed it, Mike! With his Hellfire t-shirt, long hair, more edgy look and interest in videogames and fantasy. This is not the only reason why I think Mike ended up filling this character’s role. Just wait until you read the next ones.

Terry Conley: Lucas' dad, disappointed in his son, makes him shave his head and hair, abusive with his mother. Very obviously not our Lucas’ dad. Instead, it’s a mix of both Ted (disappointed) AND Lonnie (disappointed and also abusive). Why do I include Ted, when you could arguably say he’s not disappointed, just never there emotionally? Because of the hair thing and his wife’s description. By saying he makes his son shave his head and hair, it’s implied that it’s because it’s long/not “normal”, or “adequate” enough. Ted Wheeler is an absent father, but he also represents conformity and traditional values: he would not support his son’s hairstyle choices. 

Julie Conley: Lucas's mom, very sweet, doesn't stand up for Lucas, should leave dad but doesn't. Again, not our Lucas’s mom. This is word for word the Karen Wheeler we know: sweet but doesn’t really stand up for her kids. Should leave Ted (see: the almost-cheating plot and their unhappy marriage), but doesn’t. 

This is the family that’s meant to represent normalcy, conformity and traditional values, but they happen to have a rebellious son. THIS is the role that the Wheelers ended up filling, you see it very clearly from the very start with Nancy, a little bit with Mike (who then retreats, trying to fill his expected role) and we start seeing a glimpse of rebellious Mike again in s4. 

Will Byers: Mike’s best friend, more normal, more shy, goes missing, killed by an entity.  He doesn’t have much of a description, but besides going missing, two traits stay: Mike’s best friend, and shy. As I mentioned when I talked about Mike, since his traits changed, so did his character arc. He’s still the shy, missing kid that drives the show, defined partly by this experience and the events that revolve about it. We just have to add the missing pieces to it: (see: Mike Wheeler’s original description) lacks confidence outside of friendgroup. Overprotective mother. Tied with DnD. Bullied. Ultimately coming of age. Falls in love with El Mike. 

Need more convincing, more proof? Let’s take a look at this section of the show’s bible. 

Now again, with my notes. The yellow highlighter represents what is true to Will’s character, and the blue one represents Mike (yeah, I know, I know). 

“He’s never had a first kiss, much less a girlfriend. [...] he will discover a courage he didn’t know he had. By the end, he will even kiss a girl.” This was meant to be Mike’s original character arc. You COULD argue that it’s only about season 1, but even then, it is not true to the events of the show. Mike’s s1 story was NEVER about his insecurities with girls, not having a girlfriend, and finding courage. The entirety of Mike’s actions in s1 (and therefore, his arc) are driven by Will’s disappearance and the goal of FINDING him. It’s NEVER, not even once, not even when other characters try to convince him of it, getting a girlfriend and kissing a girl, despite having kissed El by the end of s1. 

Instead, whose plot is intrinsically TIED with romance and a confirmed coming-of-age story about finding courage within yourself? 

Yeah:) And you KNOW what’s the logical conclusion the Duffers have written for this particular arc? “By the end, he will even kiss a girl boy.” That’s the resolution to this kind of arc. NOT rejection. It is a pretty clear example of “Taking a character from point A to point B”. 

The Duffers say: “you can’t give everyone an amazing, big arc. [...] We gave Mike the biggest arc in terms of him coming of age” and then explain how IMPORTANT it is to not try to explain everything all at once, instead, drop hints so you're telling the audience, "this is an important part of this character and we're going to continue to explore it, but we're just getting started you can't just include it all, reveal it all too soon”. You can’t make it too complex from the very beginning either, instead, simplify and slow down.

Then they mention how they like to take a character that's a stereotype, make the audience believe they know this character, make them believe it’s a comfortable portrayal, something they know. And then you flip it and reveal there's more to this character because no one can be so easily defined. However, just HINT it. The reveal will happen on its own, at the right time for the story.

So, based on all of this… What do I think that happened?

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I do not think they planned byler from the very start. I think they had an idea of what they wanted to do, of what message they wanted the show to send, but found out along the way a different, more natural, and groundbreaking way to accomplish that. And I think they realized as soon as early s1, when they knew they wanted it to become a several seasons show rather than a limited series. It’s no coincidence there are elements like Will’s sexuality, homophobia, and conformity present from the very beginning. But they also found a way to portray this in a subtle way so it made sense in both outcomes: if they didn’t get a s2, s1 could still stand on its own, make sense, and feel resolved enough. If they got more seasons, they had more time to hint at this story, get the greenlight, and develop it over the course of all the seasons.

I also think the characters themselves, despite being written by them, lead them to this conclusion naturally. As they say in their masterclass… 

“You can drive and throw obstacles at them, but they can become very real, and sometimes they end up doing their own thing, surprising you”.

To finish this analysis, let’s do a little exercise. 

What is Mike’s Overall Arc, considering the following? 

His family represents conformity, an upper-middle-class household that’s apparently normal and very traditional. 

Both Nancy and Mike are meant to be the Rebellious Children in their very normal, traditional family.

Mike goes from leader to comic relief, to the Angry-closed off-messes-up character archetype. This is so evident that he even becomes unlikeable to most of the General Audience.

The Duffers remind us that hints are important and addressed later. Seemingly ‘weird’ actions and off personality have an explanation: there’s something deeper going on with Mike. You cannot address it all at once, it has to be over the course of episodes and seasons.

More advice from the writers: sometimes you plan something but end up realizing it works out better in a different way. Sometimes your own characters surprise you, and take you to the path that is more natural for them, who they are, and their story.

Mike’s character arc was never getting the girl once the Duffers really established who Mike was. 

And with that, I conclude this analysis. :) Wait for the next one! Please tell me your thoughts if you liked this and read this far. I love reading your tags and comments.

[overthinkinglotr]

oh wow, great to find someone else enjoying Fairmeadow!! amazing art, and I've loved the worldbuilding/designs for Goma and the orcs.

Yay another Fairmeadow fan! A friend recently recommended it to me and I now recommend it to anyone else looking for good thoughtful fantasy webcomics that play with the genre's conventions. :3 Here's the pitch for the other people reading this post who haven't read Fairmeadow yet: "An orcish warrior joins an isolated pacifist commune-- can she learn to live alongside those she swore to fight?"

Goma, a wayward Orcish soldier, finds herself in Fairmeadow, a commune of pacifists deep in the Cascadian wilderness. Isolation has allowed the commune to thrive in the shadow of a century-long war, but Goma’s arrival brings troubling reminders of the world outside to those who have settled there in search of respite.  Fairmeadow’s enigmatic leader, Sanctuary, finds his utopian vision challenged as he struggles to keep the peace. Their self-sufficiency exists on thin margins - margins that threaten to break if Goma cannot learn to live alongside those who she has sworn to fight.  Fairmeadow is a post-epic fantasy drama inspired by the counter-cultural movements of the late 60’s, the landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, and tabletop RPG’s. It’s about the collision of idealism against pragmatism, reckoning with the consequences of dropping out, and trying to make its readers want to go on a hike.

It also has gorgeous art, especially the landscapes/backgrounds! I've noticed a lot of webcomic artists are either good at drawing expressive characters or expressive backgrounds, but this artist is great at both. The worldbuilding is conveyed pretty subtly/naturally through dialogue, and the good writing in combination with the beautiful detailed background illustrations really helps sell the story's fantasy world as a 'real' place. It's also pretty queer, though it's far more focused on 'the emotional and societal consequences of war' than on romance. tl;dr: I know half of all fantasy webcomics try to do a 'what if the monsters/orcs were Sympathetic" storyline, but this is genuinely one of the best-written examples of that!

[lycankeyy]

Gonna go to bed but my Final Message. I do think abt cyborg!bf in the rgbfverse a lot (lets call him Cyber in this context) and honestly it would be hard to write anything until I 100% iron out his Deal but the idea of him latching onto YS as a big brother figure makes me. Very happy. For both of them LMAO