#I will say there’s a lot of video essays about horror and watching those is how I added a bunch of movies to my watch list

[blacknedsoul-blog]

Nevermore is a gothic tragedy. Part I: The Tragedy

This essay assumes that you've read the first season of Nevermore. If you haven't, you'll be eating spoilers.

First of all, a disclaimer: you won't find the term "Gothic tragedy" in theory books, because I just pulled it out of my sleeve. But it seemed appropriate to put it in those terms because, hey, beyond theoretical structuring, genres are also used as a guide to content, and that's kind of what I want to express with this.

Partly because I've noticed that I've called this comic a tragedy on more than one occasion, and talked at length about Lenore and Annabel as gothic characters, but never bothered to delve into these matters, and with the hiatus until (possibly) October, I think it's time to rectify that situation.

But also because I think there are a lot of things in this story that fall into place if you read it under the logic of those genres.

Originally, this was going to be a single essay, but it turns out it took over 2000 fucking words just to explain why it's a fucking tragedy, so I'm going to split this shit in two because I don't want to burn anyone's eyes out.

Tragedy and Types of Tragedy

This is the ridiculously abridged version because this is a really long story, if you want more information on the subject I highly recommend reading Aristotle's Poetics, Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy or watching this OSP video for a more proper introduction. If you're interested in Shakespearean tragedy, The Cambridge Shakespeare is a amazing compilation, and here's the essay that talks specifically about what the hell Shakespearean tragedy is.

Tragedy has been linked to the origins of theater as such, found in the festivals dedicated to Dionysus (if you want to know more about the cult of Dionysus, you can watch this video to start), where poetry contests were held, specifically of dithyrambs: lyric compositions dedicated specifically to Dionysus. This later led to the inclusion of an increasingly sophisticated chorus using masks. This was no longer poetry, but the first expressions of theater as we understand it in modern times, at least for Europe and the countries colonized by Europeans.

Nietzsche also points out that tragedy condenses within itself two opposing impulses represented in the gods Apollo and Dionysus, expressed in the terms "Apollonian" and "Dionysian": order, mathematics and music (understood by the Greeks as science) vs. party, debauchery and chaos. The clash between the beautiful and the grotesque (understanding that the "beautiful" can be disturbing and the "grotesque" can be strangely beautiful). This description is not entirely literal, of course, but it must be kept in mind that in order to have the fundamentals of a tragedy, one must have these two elements: order and chaos. A synchronized waltz between the rigid structures and the rupturing.

Yes, those two are enough.

Step by step, I think it is important to point out what are the transversal elements to tragedy - classical or Shakespearean - that are present in the comic.

The first important concept that appears on this page is Amarthia. The tragic mistake, the first domino that topples the whole stack, is the specific event that sets tragedy in motion, and we spectators of tragedy can only stare in horror at the situation, knowing that everything that follows will go terribly wrong.

At least as far as its protagonists are concerned, Annabel and Lenore's Amarthia has been said but not seen: the dinner party where Annabel will wear pearls, indicating to Lenore that she is in on the charade. From then on, every step they take will bring them closer to the fate we know: the arrival of both of them in Nevermore. This story ends with them both dead.

And if I had to point out the Amarthia of the comic's topicality, I would dare to say that this is it:

And this:

Annabel refuses to explain to Lenore why the plan has to be the way it is, while Lenore agrees to be part of it (the fact that she disagrees with the whole situation is a plus).

The interesting thing about this is that the roles are reversed: before, Annabel sealed the tragic fate of both of them by accepting Lenore's proposal, while in Nevermore, Lenore sealed the tragic fate of both of them by accepting Annabel's plan.

Another important term that comes up here is hybris. While it is true that hybris represents ego, this does not necessarily mean that the hero is self-centered in a personality sense; hybris is the tragic hero's (misguided, of course) belief that they can turn their terrible situation around. And, well…

That ends badly in tragedies. Very, very badly.

At this point, it is necessary to start pointing out the elements of each type of tragedy, because something interesting is happening: within the ancient walls of the purgatory that is Nevermore, a classical tragedy is taking place, while in the past, Annabel and Lenore were the protagonists of a Shakespearean tragedy.

Classical Tragedy

One thing to understand about classical tragedy is that these are stories of humanity versus divinity. The predestined fate that comes upon mortals at the hands of beings superior to them, even if those beings do not appear directly. The external forces superior to the characters do not intervene directly (at least not in most cases), but they put all the pieces in place for the tragic hero to fall headlong into his terrible fate "by their own hand". Yeah, that shit is so unfair.

In Nevermore, fate is represented by these two bastards: The Deans act as the ominous shadow of divinity that sets the rules of this battle royale. For all intents and purposes, this pair of bastards represents the tragic fate of the characters: only one will survive to have a second life. And there is (theoretically) no way to escape.

This is where we start to get into thorny issues. If I had to point out the classical tragedy that Nevermore most resembles, I think I'd get a smile out of Hadestown fans: Orpheo and Eurydice.

Okay, let's review: Orpheo is a highly talented musician who, after losing his beloved, goes to the underworld to find her. Hades and Persephone give him a chance to get her back if he doesn't turn around to see her until they leave the place, he does so at the last second, she returns to the underworld, and Orpheus spends the rest of his life in misery mourning her.

That's the thing, the story of Orpheo and Euridice is a tragedy for the most depressing reason of all: love. What seems like a generous gift from Hades and Persephone is actually a condemnation, because they ask Orpheus to do the one thing he could never do: stop looking at his beloved. In some versions of the story, he can't even hear her as they walk; will she really be her, or has he been tricked? Will she be frightened on this journey and he will not be there to comfort her? What if she has trouble on the road or an accident and Orpheus has left her behind? Orpheus loves Eurydice so much that he cannot save her under these circumstances because he cannot stop watching over her long enough to get her out of here.

Now let's go to Annabel and Lenore, the same thing is happening here, these two idiots love each other. It's probably the only thing they know for sure in this bullshit game. And for Annabel and Lenore, to love is to protect, it's to be the shield that will be there to defend their beloved in the face of adversity, she's been hurt in a terrible way and they will do anything to stop anyone from hurting her again.

But tragic fate, represented by the Deans, has set things in motion for this to quickly go to hell:

For Lenore to understand Annabel's actions, she would have to tell her that's why she's so afraid, why they shouldn't get attached to anyone, why she thinks it's necessary to pretend they don't remember each other. But Lenore can't be okay with Annabel carrying everything alone, because she sees how it hurts her, because Annabel is clearly hurting. She goes to great lengths to confide in Annabel, but she can't come up with a plausible explanation for all this crap either.

For Annabel, becoming a villain and enduring all this pain is slightly less horrible than dragging Lenore into the Deans' psychotic game. But Lenore just loves her too much to let her do that. Lenore could protect her if Annabel were by her side, so why does she keep leaving? She was hurt the first time, why do it to her a second time?

The feeling of not being heard, the frustration that the other just won't listen to her pleas and won't stop what she's doing to allow her to be cared for, runs through both of them because it's the exact same situation, "Why won't you let me do this for you?"

The answer is that Annabel and Lenore are asking the other to do the one thing she could never stop doing: stop trying to protect her. That's why they fight.

This relationship has become a power game that neither can win because they are both exactly the same. A tug-of-war that will only be resolved when something breaks. Hopefully not irreparably.

And speaking of the P-word, let's talk Shakespeare, people.

Shakespearean Tragedy

The good Bard took classical tragedy and brought it back, but changed enough elements of it that it had to be renamed because some of its fundamentals were rewritten. The most notorious of these is that while Shakespeare does not ignore the presence of higher forces or supernatural entities, the fundamental basis of Shakespearean tragedy is not the conflict between humanity and the Fates/Gods.

It is power.

Those who wield power, those who are corrupted by it, and those who crave it. These tragedies speak of moral corruption, the victims of power, and those who sink under the responsibility that power brings.

This is the reason why Shakespeare's tragic heroes belong to the nobility, come from opulent families, or hold important positions. In this case, we have as protagonists two women who were born in a cradle of gold: Lenore apparently comes from a family of old money, and while we do not know if Annabel also comes from a family of old money, we do know that there is no shortage of coins around here.

But status cannot protect Shakespeare's protagonists from the society in which they live, whose agency is sometimes literally represented by people with power. This puts them in a situation from which they cannot escape and which screws them from the start (in other cases the Shakespearean protagonist is the figure of power and seals his own fate). Here, the odds are stacked against them from the start because they are women and, as if that were not enough, lesbians.

I think it's no surprise to anyone that the Shakespearean tragedy most similar to Nevermore is Romeo and Juliet.

Let's review: Romeo and Juliet are two young people who meet at a party and fall madly in love. Their families hate each other, so they cannot be together. The two secretly marry, but after an argument Romeo kills a man and is banished, despite a plan hatched by a priest friend so they can run away together, things go terribly wrong and they both end up committing suicide.

This follows a similar logic to Orpheus and Eurydice: the tragedy here is that these two are in love. But where classical tragedy says, "They love each other so much they can't save themselves," Romeo and Juliet, like Annabel and Lenore, works with two layers of conflict.

The first is the social and political. These young people's families hate each other, so they can't be together. In the same way, Annabel and Lenore can't be together because they're both women.

This is also a reference to one of the central themes of Romeo and Juliet: the clash between tradition and modernity. I think if you squint hard enough, you can see the relationship between these two as Victorian conservatism and homophobia screwing up their lives in the same way that tradition screws up Romeo and Juliet's.

The other layer of the problem is the one that has to do with love: Romeo and Juliet love each other so much that they cannot live without each other. This is what drives them both to suicide, even when they are given the opportunity to continue their lives separately. They love each other so much that they cannot live without each other. Just as Annabel and Lenore desperately want to be together, this is what starts the engine of tragedy when circumstances prevent them from doing so.

Another thing it takes from Romeo and Juliet is the role of the parents as a representation of the power that oppresses the characters. In Romeo and Juliet, the Montague and Capulet lords pull the strings of their children's lives, and it is their resentment that creates the barrier between the lovers. In the case of Nevermore, Ira and Thaddeus are the personal jailers of their respective daughters: Ira wants to get Annabel into an arranged marriage by hook or by crook, and Thaddeus first gets Lenore a fiancé and then keeps her locked up in the fucking attic.

Finally, a tragedy that can be read as a reference to Nevermore, though more subtly, is Macbeth.

The plot is simple: a trio of witches tell Duke Macbeth that he and his descendants will one day be kings. This leads him to murder his cousin, King Duncan, and everything goes downhill from there, because Duncan's murder didn't even amuse the prince.

Yes, at first glance it doesn't seem to make much sense, but that's because it's referring to a specific moment. Specifically, the most discussed and controversial scene in the play: the dialog where Lady Macbeth and Macbeth discuss killing Duncan.

This scene has kept the Bard's fans arguing for centuries: is she manipulating her husband so that she can be queen, or is she just verbalizing Macbeth's wishes that he be allowed to commit the crime, and saying that she will support him in it? Impossible to know unless someone gets a working Ouija board.

This is the same logic that follows the flashback scene where Lenore talks to Annabel about the plan. The important thing here is that the comic decides that the answer is: it depends on who you ask.

Given Annabel's attitude toward Lenore, we can interpret that she does not think she was manipulated or anything. Lenore is not a devious woman who put things in her head, it was her knight in shining armor who came to save her from a marriage she didn't want. Yes, she may have had her doubts, but she definitely liked her chances, enough to accept them.

On the other hand, what this tells me is that Lenore thinks the opposite: that she convinced Annabel to be part of this hoax that ended with both of them dead. A crazy woman who dragged the only person she cared about into a dangerous game that cost them their lives, she considers herself as guilty as the perpetrating hand of the crime.

Conclusion

I think the first time I decided to do a review under this particular lens was when I started to notice where Annabel and Lenore's arcs seemed to be going.

On the one hand, given how things are going, it seems that Lenore has to start taking off the blindfold to realize that things aren't as simple as she thinks, and stop letting others make the hard decisions for her because it hurts everyone.

On Annabel's side, you have a character arc that seems to be aimed at being honest with other people, not letting her fears stop her from making risky decisions, and not dealing with all the bullshit herself.

If what I just said leaves a bad taste in your mouth, that's normal. Because it's fucking unfair.

That Lenore should be the one to stand firm - not out of guilt, but out of responsibility - for her actions feels like shit after everything the poor girl has been through. The same thing happens on Annabel's side, that she has to give in to a situation where it makes so much sense for her to shut down, where it makes sense, even without her background, for her to behave that way.

But that sense of injustice is one of the foundations of tragedies. The feeling that, in her situation, it is practically impossible to think that anything different could be done is the basis of catharsis: the pity felt for the character, the fear generated by identifying with their terrible situation.

The expiation of these emotions, which are produced in the spectator by the fall of the tragic hero.

Now, it is interesting to ask how the fall of Annabel and Lenore will be. The simple answer from a tragic point of view is death, a thing we know has already happened once, why not a second time? After all, that's what awaits tragic heroes. Unless you're Medea.

It's impossible to know how the comic will develop, but it seems to me that this is as far as the tragedy goes. For the next part, I want to talk about gothic novels, female vampires, the female writers of the period, and the last gothic. Believe me, buddies, there is no more obsessive romantic bond than that between a Poe protagonist and their dead bride.

[thesunshinebunny]

hello there! i hope you’re having a good day! ^^ if requests are still open, i would like to make a request! i read where jade, floyd and leona stay with the mc during the holidays; could i perhaps request the same thing but with riddle, ace and malleus? thanks in advance <3

We're getting sensitive for a moment. I hope you like it. As always, drink water, relax from time to time and enjoy.

Riddle

You might be wondering how Riddle managed to convince his mother to spend the winter break at school. Well, it wasn't a complete lie what he told her, rather it had a lot of truth in it.

He wanted to stay to prepare for the next semester with students from his own dorm who were going to stay… ignoring a tiny detail. He also wanted to stay with you.

Even during the winter break, Riddle keeps his routine meticulously organized, even with the school half deserted, and those few students who stayed to welcome the new year.

And speaking of the dorm, his is impeccably organized, Riddle doesn't take vacations to rest apparently.

Despite the low activity at school, our Queen of Hearts continues with his rigorous schedule. Tea time, sleep time, you name it.

The cold, the blizzards and the snow give you both the perfect excuse to stay within the warm walls of the library or, on some special occasions, his room, surrounded by books and essays for the next semester.

Riddle likes to make you multiple cups of tea during the day, keeping you from getting cold. If he see a tiny little shiver, he’s already in the kitchen boiling water.

During the freezing nights, Riddle prefers you to stay with him, either in his room or, if you require your own privacy, he has no problem setting up a room next to his for you.

He likes to spend time in front of the fireplace reading novels, listening to soft classical music, or simply watching the snow fall while holding your hand.

Something about the atmosphere makes him appreciate the warmth that his relatively new relationship with you brings him.

While the other students are reveling in the festivities, Riddle finds himself torn between his desire to uphold the rigid rules and his growing desires to hold you and never let go.

As the clock approaches midnight, Riddle would have meticulously planned a New Year’s Eve celebration within the dorm. The decorations would be elegant, yet restrained—nothing too extravagant or chaotic. He'd ensure that everyone adheres to his carefully crafted schedule for the evening.

However, seeing how much joy and excitement you and others are having, he'd start to loosen up a bit.

As the New Year rings in, he might even indulge in a little break from tradition, and pulled you towards him, hugging you with one arm and giving you a small kiss on the cheek.

“Happy New Year my heart”

Ace

A vacation to be away from his parents and brother? He's counting on it. And being by your side? Where does he have to sign?

He makes winter a vibrant season, despite the quietness of the campus. His inexhaustible energy and natural enthusiasm don't get dampened by the cold.

He likes spending time putting snow in the lockers of the students who stayed behind, even starting snow fights with them to lift their spirits.

He knows it's very cold, but that doesn't mean you've to have a sad face all the time.

He also likes to organize movie nights with you, from the most classic to the most current horror movies, preventing you from sleeping peacefully because of fear… including himself, even if he doesn't say it out loud.

During all the winter break, you can find him either in his room, playing video games or on his cell phone, or in the common room, drinking hot chocolate next to the roaring fireplace. He likes to keep a space next to him warm and comfortable for when you get to spend time with him.

He often insisted that you stay in his dorm, preferably his room, so that you wouldn’t be cold in yours. Unfortunately, some of his roommates stayed and he can’t have the room to himself, or rather, to just the two of you.

If you’re willing to stay sleeping on the couch or sharing the room with someone else, great.

Ace would be the life of the New Year’s celebration, full of energy. He’d be the one rallying everyone for impromptu games, pranks, and a raucous countdown to midnight.

He might organize a surprise “New Year’s Eve scavenger hunt” around the campus, with playful and quirky tasks that reflect the festive spirit. Of course, Ace would enlist your help in planning the event, ensuring they’re right in the middle of the action.

As midnight approaches, Ace would lead a noisy countdown, complete with confetti and noisemakers. Despite his usual bravado, he’d have a sincere moment where he holds your hand and kiss you oh so sweet.

“Happy New Year my darling”

Malleus

Malleus finds the quiet and pseudo solitude of campus as a perfect time to enjoy the beauty that winter and its snow bring to the land.

It didn't take much convincing for Lilia to let him spend time alone in his dorm, even Mama Bear likes the quiet of winter in his own room, without distractions. What it did take a lot of effort to convince Lilia not to stay, even more so Sebek.

Let's just say that the last few days of the school's course weren't the most peaceful for you. Sebek wanted to get under your skin, telling you straight up what his lord Malleus needed, when he needed it, and how it should be done.

A piece of advice… say yes to everything he says and then do whatever you want. Ignore him, for your sanity.

He insisted that you stay in his room, not accepting no for an answer. You stay with him at night, in the same bed, and during the day you do and go wherever you want; But a requirement to spend the holidays with him is to stay in his room at night.

His bedroom during the arrival of the New Year was filled with an atmosphere that reflected soft glows and an almost mystical calm.

The passing of the days consisted of long walks through the snowy grounds of the school, watching as the flakes gathered at every thousandth of an inch. His own presence almost merged with nature itself, ethereal and beautiful.

Malleus likes to create intricate patterns with his magic on the snowy paths, sometimes roses, sometimes small dancing sparkles above you. Patterns that always managed to take your breath away with how beautiful they were.

The nights are usually quiet in his bedroom, either reading or Malleus telling legends and rites of his homeland.

In general, winter days with him are full of serene and fascinating moments, where the cold seems to fade away before the warmth of his company and the enchantment of his presence.

He'd have arranged for a special New Year's Eve gathering in a beautifully decorated, magically enhanced space where you both could enjoy a tranquil and enchanting evening.

During the countdown, Malleus shares stories of past New Year's celebrations in his fae realms, captivating you with such wonders.

As the clock strikes midnight, he might create a stunning display of magical fireworks that light up the night sky. His gesture would be both grand and intimate, marking the start of the New Year with a touch of magic and love.

“It is an honor to start the new year with you, my rose.”

[crazylittlejester]

LU Links as random things I did in the month of July:

Time: Screamed in a parking lot and smacked his forehead into his steering wheel for about three whole minutes because he was so tired and overstimulated, and then cutely waved at some lady who’d pulled up next to him and watched him in concern before driving away with tears in his eyes. Got home and didn’t say a single fucking word to anyone. Work was “fine”

Warriors: Spent almost all of his spending money at the beginning of the month bleaching his hair, hated it and cried on the floor because he thought he’d have to shave his head, and then two weeks later thought it was completely fine. Spent the REST of his spending money on hair care products at the end of the month because he woke up some random ass Tuesday and decided this was the day he decided to start caring for his curly hair

Twilight: Had a silent breakdown in the theater watching a horror movie but calmed down the SECOND Nicholas Cage stepped on screen (and then started freaking out again when he left)

Sky: Woke up one morning. Walked out of his room. Looked his pet in the eyes. Broke down crying because he loves his pet so much

Wild: Had a near death experience and then tried to survive for the week after solely off of mozzarella cheese sticks and American cheese slices (he may be lactose intolerant)

Hyrule: Burnt the fuck out of his thumb grabbing a bagel out of the oven with his bare hand. Two days in a row.

Legend: Watched a video essay on a Colleen Hoover book and is still trying to figure out how to get those three hours of his life back

Four: Spent two and a half hours watching all the tiktoks one specific person had sent him that he’d been too depressed to watch (he had to scroll all the way back to February and he was crying the entire time because he felt bad about it)

Wind: Bought minecraft for the switch but didn’t think he’d play too much of it and thought it was a waste of money. He was wrong. He got like 20 hours in 3 days and built 4 lakes and a mountain range

[kissesinthemist]

Modern! Meadowlark Headcanons (Cole Edition)

(I decided to separate the characters because I have a lot to say about each of them and if I did them all in one post it would be extremely long)

• They would be known as the quiet awkward kid in school. People think they’re nice but nobody besides the Lark knows them well. A little bit of a mystery

• Probably in a club or two (most likely music and/or drama) but they don’t interact much with the other members unless absolutely necessary or it’s approached first (They’re too shy to approach first)

• If they were in Drama, it would rarely audition for a part in a play. They mostly work backstage as a sound designer or design set pieces

• Wouldn’t like horror movies. They don’t enjoy the violence and gore. Also not a fan of movies depicting war or end of the world type shit

• Huge book worm. They would spend their lunch breaks in the library reading. Not picky about the genre they read but it does have a soft spot for fantasy and mystery

• Would prefer online learning over actually going to school

• Had a 2020 alt phase (it haunts them in their dreams but they also sort of miss it)

• Not a huge fan of anime but they wouldn’t mind watching it if their friends really wanted to

• Huge fan of Gravity Falls. It finds the mystery aspect of the show interesting and they relate to Dipper a lot

• Beside Gravity Falls, they also like Over the Garden Wall, Charlie Brown movies, Winnie the Pooh, and Scooby Doo (specifically the old school and mystery incorporated versions but any of era is fine with them)

• I’m a bit iffy on this one but I think they would like gummies and probably prefer them over chocolate. It wouldn’t like sour ones though, just classic gummy candy like gummy worms, bears, etc

• LOVESSS ASMR. They would listen to it all the time. Reading, doing homework, sleeping- whatever it’s doing, they’re listening to asmr

• Other than music, their favourite subjects in school would be history and english (specifically creative writing, they don’t really enjoy writing essays)

• Prefers older music rather than today’s music. Unless it’s folk of some kind, they would prefer to listen to bands and musicians from the 60s and back. Additionally, it strikes me as the type to believe love songs back then and better than love songs today

• Would love watching those analysis videos on YouTube. It doesn’t matter what the topic being discussed is, they’ll watch it anyways because it just enjoys learning

• Because of their love for analysis videos, they know a bunch of fun facts about a variety of subjects. If someone were to ask them something about a particular subject, they would most likely know the answer, no matter how obscure it is

• I feel like they would absolutely rock the very controversial fashion trend of wearing skirts over pants. This is already somewhat canon but I still think it’s worth mentioning

• Along with skirts over pants, Cole would prefer wearing loose comfortable clothing that is easy to move around in

• Some staple pieces in their wardrobe would include: Long sleeve shirts, baggy t-shirts, sweater vests, button ups, zip up sweaters, loose pants, and flowy skirts

• Their style is very casual with just a dash of whimsy to keep things interesting, add some drama y’know?

That’s all the headcanons I have for now, next up is Clémentine <3

[dappersautismcreature]

i am mad at this tiktok trend of video essay recommendations, and not just because i have a very very intense special interest in video essays and youtube commentary. -___- guyssss, a video essay does not have to be scary or unsettling to be a GOOD video essay. all of yalls reccs are like, 20-something minute videos about "gadagoobies left toe: a creepypasta turned real" and tbh thats like, a sphere of video 'essay'. imma say it, and imma be a lil time-elitist here, but 20 minutes is a video, not a video essay. if youve chosen a topic, and said topic cannot fill more than like half an hour, consider me unimpressed in either your research skills or topic choice. not to mention, again, horror internet video essays are like fuckin, 1/10th of the video essays out there. show me breadtube video essays, movie video essays, whatever the hell Jenny Nicholson is doing, Ro Ramdin, Contrapoints??

do yall want me to show you my spreadsheet O___O ill show u my fuckin spreadsheet, theres so much more out there besides your half furry sprites talking about internet horror from 2011 for 23 minutes.

my reccs? literally anything by Ladyknightthebrave. she has very very in depth and emotional video essays about media, including a big focus on holocaust media as she is Jewish. her Jojo Rabbit/The Book Thief video makes me cry EVERY time, and i cry like ten times a year. ough, she has a video about Cowboy Bebop that focuses SO MUCH on the music! A video essay about a bad holocaust movie where she literally interviews holocaust expertsss! Her video on MASH made me go watch the whole thing, same with Stargate. and gods, her video about Fleabag blew me away. just pleeease go check ANY of her videos out.

Jenny Nicholson. you want random? she's got it. she has a video where she reviews every single Land of Time movie, and theres a LOT of those. She deep dives into the brony fandom. etc etc. i know she's popular but still, theres a reason for that.

Contrapoints. absolutely gorgeous video making about politics, self, etc. and she's queer as hell, amazing. I just can't describe the depth she puts into her videos.

FDSignifier. a huge part of breadtube (or leftist youtube) who makes a lottt of excellent video essays on black masculinity. Big, full videos, with a good perspective to see if you are a white viewer.

CJ the X just has a ton of excellent video essays as well. They are very intellectual.

Ro Ramdin, my gods, most of her videos are not what i would call video essays, but she tows the line. Emotional, funny, to the point, amazingly shot, and compassionate to the bone.

i probably have more but here's my point, branch out, dont put non-horror video essays down. we get it, you watch gore on liveleak and draw ur edgy fursona with scars all over them. (was that harsh? sorry, just uhhh please consider perspective and the culture of creepypasta/horror online being a cesspool of self harm via forcing ones self to watch upsetting things)

[martian-hermit]

After not only binging the show, but also watching a dozen video essays about it, The Bear’s only become a show that I absolutely love more than anything else I’ve ever watched.

From the insanely beautiful use of color and lighting to describe settings and atmosphere to the 17 MINUTE LONG ONE-TAKE EPISODE, it’s perfect. I absolutely adore the story, the characters, the relationships between them, the character development, and the fact that every ounce of stress that exists in the show can be felt by the viewer as if they were in this world. And as someone who has personal experience in restaurants and kitchens, there’s a lot of nostalgia in feeling the pressure and stress of existing in those environments. But among my favorite examples of the genius and creativity of this show involve S1E7 “Review”, S2E4 “Honeydew”, S2E7 “Forks”, and S2E10 “The Bear”

S1E7 “Review” is the aforementioned 17 minute one-take episode. And when I say one-take I genuinely mean no hidden cuts, no tricks, a genuine single take throughout the entire episode. Now, the biggest reason I love this relatively short episode of the show is more about the way it feels to me personally because of the single take rather than the fact that it just is a one-take. The feeling of absolute chaos in the kitchen, people quitting on the spot, stress, high expectations, and stakes just feel not only terrifying, but also exhilarating. As I mentioned before, I’ve worked in foodservice for years, and thus all of those feelings are extremely nostalgic to me. But, hearing that other people who have no experience in a kitchen still feel that same pressure really goes to show how effectively the show conveyed how that work environment is. Part of the reason it’s so effective is the fact that there are no cuts to give the viewer any relief, you’re stuck in the moment for the entire episode. You have nowhere to be except in the moment with everyone else struggling to keep their composure, and it’s fantastic. The accuracy of the setting paired with the ability to drag the viewer into that uncomfortable spot whether they want to be there or not is so well done that it feels like you’re either working in a kitchen for the first time, or you’re doing it again.

S2E4 “Honeydew” was, at least I think, completely under appreciated. Seeing Marcus’s character development throughout, especially as he gets mentored by Luca is not only a nice break from the complete chaos of The Bear back in Chicago, but also important to watch to really understand Marcus as a person. In his apprenticeship under Luca, he asks questions, expands upon his knowledge, and becomes more confident as he learns. But Luca also adds so much to this episode by simply not being a stereotypical “I’m the pro and I resent you for not being as good as me” type of chef. When Marcus asks a question, he answers. When Marcus wants him to expand, he does. It’s a wonderful representation of two people with a somewhat informal mentor-student relationship interact in a way that doesn’t establish a dynamic of greater and lesser, but just two chefs that seek to improve. Nothing more.

S2E7 “Forks”. Oh my dear god, this episode. Arguably, it’s the best one out of both seasons of the show. But this doesn’t follow our main protagonist Carmy, but rather Richie, who was thought to be the antagonist thus far. Richie gets sent off to what is said to be the greatest restaurant in the world to stage. He begins the episode waking up in his bed, reluctantly bringing himself to get ready to begin his temporary job away from The Bear as per Carmy’s demand. When Richie walks into the place, it almost feels like a horror movie. The lighting is dim and unwelcoming, Richie is completely resenting being there, and he is unfortunate to be in the typical position of having to shine forks. It’s normal for a stage to start this way, but when Richie is half-assing the job entirely, the person overseeing him brings him outside to talk. Richie, expecting to get chewed out or let go, instead learns about the passion of the people working here regarding their jobs. And that’s the turning point. Richie goes from an antagonistic asshole who couldn’t care less about what’s going wrong to a guy who actually applies himself. He’s enthusiastic. It’s most notable when he runs to grab a deep dish pizza for a family visiting Chicago, and once the chef snobifies the dish, Richie of all people volunteers to give it to them. It’s when he’s at their table, giving them the food and talking to them that we really see that new side of him for the first time shining through. The immense change of his character from the beginning of season 1 to more than halfway through season 2 is immensely satisfying, but also extremely effective in presenting us with a character arc that makes you tear up. The only thing that makes it a million times better than it already is, is the fact that the lighting throughout the episode gets brighter as Richie grows. It’s a beautiful visual representation that gives a subtle visual representation of him becoming a “brighter” person.

Finally, S2E10 “The Bear”. The last episode of season 2 aptly named after the show itself is the Family and Friends night of the renovated and reinvented restaurant. This “dress rehearsal” seems like it’ll go perfectly smooth, everyone has high hopes, and after Carmy and Sydney have a heart-to-heart while fixing up a table before the real busy work begins, we feel this sense that nothing could go wrong. And, to be honest, for a while it actually plays out that way. But the issues start (just like the story Uncle Jimmy told Carmy before they started) when Carmy fucks up the first thing that night, which is when Sydney says she’s overwhelmed and would like Carmy to take over Expo, but Carmy just says she’s fine. It’s at this point that a toilet is down, tables are all behind, one of the chefs ditched to do drugs, the tension and stress multiply by several orders of magnitude, and finally, Carmy locks himself in the walk-in. But Carmy being stuck in a situation where he can’t be involved in the kitchen is when things look up. Richie takes over Expo, Sydney can cook, they start catching up, and they manage to fix up their string of fuck-ups in just four minutes. It’s perfect that it worked out BECAUSE Carmy got cut out because he had neglected to contact the fridge guy to fix the walk-in. He put himself there. That’s all his fault. But this happening instead of him suddenly overcoming his overwhelming hostility and aggressiveness as well as the neglect of the walk-in getting fixed made that first night of service perfect for the show. It’s not a flawless performance. There’s still a lot fucked up. Carmy has a lot of baggage and issues he hasn’t resolved that almost costed them that entire night. That’s why it’s perfect. He’s been deeply flawed the entire series, and having all of that resolved by the end makes a no sense. And we really feel the weight of this when Carmy ruins his relationship with his girlfriend, berates Richie, and vents to Tina about how he’s a “psycho”. We learn so much, and get the feeling that Carmy wants to be better, but still has this fear that good things will happen to him that break him out of this pure logic routine of things he’s turned his life into. It’s nowhere near resolved. Sure, the restaurant’s first night was successful, people loved it. But, Carmy’s still so, so far from having completed a character arc like so many others have.

I rarely ever watch shows more than once, but this might be the only show I’ve ever watched that I could watch over and over again without getting sick of it. I only appreciate every detail more, and it’s honestly slightly obsessive of me to love this show this much. But the way it feels like I’m back in a kitchen, stressed out of my fucking mind trying to work and keep up with everything while people are screaming at me to get things done, it’s nostalgic and addictive. I’ve never once described a show as perfect before, but I would describe The Bear as the greatest and most perfect show I’ve ever watched. The only drawback is that there’s only 18 episodes total, and I find myself wanting more, which is a rare feeling for me to hold for shows. But the real weight you feel from it, and the fact that you feel like you know the characters personally, it’s indescribable in terms of how impressively effective the show makes you sympathize with everyone and grounds you in their world. So despite the immense amount of stress and frustration you feel watching it, it’s still such a beautiful show to experience when you can connect so deeply with so many different parts of every character and feel the reality of the situations you see. And just because I can’t say it enough, I have to end this post by saying once again that The Bear is absolutely fucking perfect. Hands down, no question.

[riseofthecommonwoodpile]

Hi Izzy! I remember back in the day you were a big fan of Sunspring and wrote a beautiful piece discussing it and talking about AI art. Do you think any AI art has surpassed Sunspring? Have changes in the development of AI changed your perspective on it at all? Asking bc I love that essay and I’m very curious :) thx

(context for those who don't know, Sunspring is a short film made about 8 years ago that used a relatively early LLM to generate its script, which was then filmed with a real cast and crew. if you want to watch it here it is, it's about 9 minutes, i highly recommend it)

i've thought about Sunspring a lot as AI art has become such a big topic in the past year or so, and I think the pieces i wrote about it i still stand behind, though i got a few things wrong that i'll bring up when i answer the second question.

to answer the first question: i personally haven't see any AI art that has impacted me emotionally nearly as much, but i also kinda dropped off watching new movies (most of the new-to-me movies i watch are found footage horror movies, 70's porno-chic also-rans, and shot on video movies from the 90's), and i would wager that, if i could somehow experience all of the AI art that exists, there'd be something that hit me in the same way again. there's too much of it for that not to be the case, and too many genuinely creative people experimenting with it. that said, what was so beautiful about Sunspring was how imperfect the tech used to create it was. Almost all of the script makes grammatical sense, but the way it flows, the directions sentences go, the phrasing used is so strange that the friction between the failures of the tech to be truly convincing and the actors trying to bridge the gap to make it still work is what was exhilarating and moving. as the models have gotten better and better, as the rough edges smooth off, that tension so often has just faded into a bland beige unflavored oatmeal of average aggregate language. some of the phrases in Sunspring that have stuck with me the most ("I think I could have been my life", "Whatever you want to know about the presence of the story, I’m a little bit of a boy on the floor.", etc.) wouldn't be created by any of the most popular LLMs today. they're too idiosyncratic, the phrasing is too odd, the grammar almost but not quite there. the plot is surreal and associative, the structuring bizarre and dreamlike. the lines Sunspring ends on— "He looks at me, and he throws me out of his eyes. And then he says he’ll go to bed with me."— are some of my favorites in any film, and it's because they are abstract, poetic, like the computer stumbled upon a phrase so evocative that no written-by-committee script would've let it through. he looks at me, and he throws me out of his eyes. this man who is supposed to love me looks at me in a way where his love of me has gone, where i'm barely even seen as me. it's not the kind of sentence most modern LLMs, with their focus on being convincing, are designed to create.

as far as the second question, i think the biggest change in my perspective is how my belief in the technology, both good and bad, has curdled. i bought into the hype that the technology would progress to the point where screenwriting could be turned into an assembly line, and maybe after that the rest of the parts of filmmaking as well. i had hoped it would become a new collaborative process between human and technology, and i feared it would become a way for movie execs to pay people less and eliminate jobs. the first i haven't seen much of, and the second, while certainly the dream of so many boosters of the tech, has largely been a failure (though plenty, plenty of people have still lost their jobs to LLMs despite that, and as a labor issue i still think it is a very important area of focus). i was too caught up in the possibilities that i didn't bother to research who was making the tech, where the money was coming from, what growth in the sector would look like materially, etc. i still believe LLMs can be used creatively, but most likely any interesting art coming from them will emerge out of models custom-molded by artists to have some of those same rough edges i loved in the first place. i think, in terms of mainstream film, any use of AI is in service to the same bland competence the rest of the industry is mired in, a determination to make products for everyone that inevitably become products for no one. i've become a lot more cynical about the trend towards mediocrity in entertainment, and that cynicism is due at least in part to much of what i've seen come out of the AI space. i do not have a knee-jerk hatred of the tech, but it has not at all panned out how i had hoped or dreaded.

[unhingedcanadianbacon]

I’m gay for a raccoon and the raccoon is just as gay as me send help

Okay…

So, I understand “hopping on the gravy train” is kind of cliche, but I promise I have a good reason for it!

…I guess I should start ‘Rambling on about it’ then!

(I’m so sorry, none of these puns were intentional, but they were too good to miss)

—So, Indigo Park;

what even I would’ve expected was another quick cash-grab game in the mascot-horror genre, turned out to be a game that managed to make me start binge-watching livestreams and video-essays about the game, it’s characters and its development on the whole,

Just like every other millennial and gen-z’er out there.

I know it’s absolutely normal for people to become invested in something so quick…

But it’s been a long time since I’ve felt so attached —so spoken to,

especially when I haven’t really been part of those big ‘band-wagon’ trends at all,

at least with the exception of forcing myself to watch shows with my friends —which again, I don’t do much of that either.

From what I understand, there are technically multiple small factors that have led me to become attached to this game.

But frankly, there all of really part of the one major reason why there’s just, that, ‘something’ —a “spark” if you will—that makes me click with a game for the first time in so many years that it physically hurts.

He’s the star of the show, the elephant in the room:

Rambley;

A cute, furry-raccoon —who likes trains!

Now, as anyone who knows anything about me will tell you, these two factors are inherently weaknesses in my mental psyche.

Why, you may ask? It’s simple!

Firstly, —I too— like trains.

Also, I come from Toronto, Canada — a city famously (or to some infamously) known for its love-hate relationship with its unofficial mascot: the trash pandas! They’re an animal which I got to know well over 13 years, 10 months and ~15 1/2 hours of being a Torontonian.

—Which leads me to the second-half of the other reasons I resonate so god-damn hard with the game, and Rambley in particular:

Isolation

It felt quite funny that the number of days that poor-old AI racoony’ spent alone in the abandoned park was almost exactly double that of the days I’ve been a ‘Quasi-Canadian’ living in the United States, with not much interaction with my family back “home”. I had a single trip back for the first time in multiple years.

—It brang back a lot of memories which so happened to be similar to the ideas mentioned during Rambley’s post-chase exposition.

That little break in his character just made my heart literally melt and shatter and implode all at the same time;

“A little heart-to-heart” as they say, but just.. the way he breaks and talks like a true person, things he isn’t sure about, didn’t know, shouldn’t have done, is painfully, gushingly personal somehow!

It’s also extra cool when he gets excited about restoring the park, as being a former (small) volunteer and hearing about railway preservation stories, you start to realize and appreciate just how much having that other person helping you means when fighting in these “David and Goliath”-esque battles to keep old or unloved things going when everything is telling you it’s impossible.

(Side note, the extra lines where Rambley showcases his sentience and lets you into the staff-only area after realizing Mollie is chasing you made me love him just that much more, and is also what makes me feel the game is just that extra bit special.)

Long story short (TL;DR):

The honesty, personality, and just general likeness of the characters hits very close to home for me,

if for no other reason than that I happen to have (in concept at least) similar experiences in terms of feeling (though thankfully not literally being) isolated from friends.

Cheers, Critters!

—A.

[blossoms-phan]

hi friends! since it’s been 3 months I thought I’d do a little updated about me :p

you can call me blossoms! 🌸 comes from the url obviously which I decided on in seconds when sitting in the middle of my bed making this blog at 3am bc I love dan and phil and cherry blossoms/japan/japhan etc etc

(as a side note I don’t share a lot of personally identifying info on here for a lot of reasons, don’t wanna be found out + professional reasons and tumblr is a great platform for having being a phannie as my main identity but I will occasionally overshare in the tags or random posts. for the most vague details I’m canadian and a poc ig? if you want to be friends or discuss anything in more detail im happy to share in dms just not in the general void lol)

some past fandoms I’ve been a part of tumblr or otherwise: avengers/marvel (this was in the peak in like 2016 and I followed it probably up until 2020 but dgaf anymore soz), marvel’s daredevil (their best show still love it), one direction/harry styles (harry was prob my biggest interest/fandom I was heavily involved in until like 2022 ish, i followed a bunch of accounts on my other blog and fan pages, went to his first solo tour in 2018, basically followed his every move- ik he’s not some underground artist but I lost interest when he kinda boomed and became SUPER popular I miss the early days of his solo era lol but still like his music), criminal minds, I think those are the main ones obv I lurk anytime I have a special interest lol

artists I like: twenty one pilots, arctic monkeys, the 1975, hozier, frank ocean, bad suns, muse, sufjan stevens, lana del rey, wallows, ed sheeran, lorde, zayn/hs/niall horan, paramore, the smiths, 5sos, kendrick lamar, fka twigs, fleetwood mac (this is off the top of my head just main ones ig there’s lots of other artists with specific songs I like and I also listen to my playlists from middle school often with p!atd and fob just the older stuff tho)

fave tv: derry girls, criminal minds, the office, gilmore girls, brooklyn 99, community, freaks and geeks, gossip girl, new girl, the end of the fucking world (short but a personal fave), fleabag, mindhunter- I like basic nbc sitcoms ok what can I say but currently watching Buffy and there’s lots of things on my watchlist like twin peaks I just never have time (aka always watching YouTube/dnp)

i like to think of myself as a cinephile when I really don’t watch as many movies as I’d like to bc of the same reasons listed above but I keep up with what’s happening in the film world and yeah some of my faves include: little women, sing street, before sunrise, aftersun, clueless, call me by your name, the perks of being a wallflower, big hero 6, la la land, zodiac, the social network, scream, the batman, bones and all, knives out, hp/twilight series

random interests: the scream franchise/saw/horror, until dawn (the game), youtube video essays, true crime content/criminology (in the most respectful way I promise I studied it and mean like actual data and researched podcasts not the weirdos that idolize certain people cough cough), perfumes/cosmetics, art, fashion, baking/food in gen, journaling, pinterest, reading (literary fiction/mystery/some ya)

idk what you were expecting this is literally all media but we’re all media consumers here lmao and I thought this might be a fun way to connect with other phannies if we share similar interests outside of dnp :3

[dumplingequivalent]

hey I think I know why old people are insincere assholes the essay

Yknow when you're trying to connect to someone from an older generation, and they gloss over your attempts at genuine connection?

Like when a family member got you a gift that really meant something to you, but when you try to express your genuine gratitude, it seems like they don't really give a shit?

Or maybe you open up and share something personal with an older coworker or family friend along with some advice on a concern that you've been actively worrying about for them, but they don't acknowledge it or even act like they heard you at all?

Something clicked for me today, and now I think it's bigger than Poppop's Just An Asshole Sometimes.

I think there's been a huge shift in western culture around authenticity and genuine expression in the past two decades or so - the way we as a society and culture view it, express it, present it, and respond to it - that's causing minor intergenerational conflicts in our personal lives, but more importantly, major conflicts in our shared public spaces.

Hear me out.

1. Authenticity Then VS Now

2. Authenticity Becomes A Privilege And No One Tells The Boomers

3. Boomer-Meta and Why It Matters

1. Authenticity Then Vs Now

If you're on tumblr you probably understand nuance -

- so I think the concept of "authenticity" meaning something different to Boomers than it does to Millennials or Gen Z isn't baffling to you. it probably feels really familiar.

If you went to a US school in the 2000's, you probably remember the DARE program and anti-smoking and anti-drug ads on TV. And if you don't, you probably already have an idea of what I'm talking about. Things made by adults that felt embarrassingly out of touch to the children they were designed for.

As we all know, these all flopped immediately yet lasted the whole decade. (flopped except for the anti-smoking ads which I'll come back to) In retrospect, these marketing attempts says a lot more about the generation of adults responsible for them.

Things like the DARE program were, pretty transparently, designed to resemble what boomers remembered was "cool and interesting" from their own childhoods. My favorite example is Yello Dino and his video on "Tricky People" that's a painfully obvious homage to Fonzie from Happy Days crossed with Barney that's just as painful to watch.

Watch from 8:03-15:30 or so to see Yello Dino appear and sing a stranger danger song with the Local Kids™.

It's easy to look at this kind of thing and the DARE program and say "of course kids didn't fall for any of this, it's so poorly made; blatantly trying to sell an idea;" etc. But I think the core issue is authenticity.

Remember the anti-smoking ads? Those worked in the end because they featured people who looked like people we knew in person, with real problems from actions they really regretted. And that stuck.

But the Boomer "How Do You Do Fellow Kids" bullshit was never grounded in reality.

The approach they were trying to replicate only worked back in the boomers childhoods because everyone was seen as being genuine by default.

People in real life told the truth unless proven otherwise. Comedians on TV said things to make the audience present laugh. Singers appeared on TV so you could see them as well as hear them. People in ads were selling you a product.

Actors acted like their characters to portray that character "genuinely".

Why would they lie? Their job is to be that character. If they say they like Big Coffee Brand™, you might laugh as it's obviously an ad,

but you also then believed that to be true.

No, really. The section on Fonzie's wiki page bout Henry Winkler's involvement in social issues, titled "Civic Involvement," reads like a social commentary in a dystopian horror. There's little to no distinction between the character and the actor. Henry Winkler is Fonzie, and Fonzie is Henry Winkler.

So if you wanna be like Fonzie, you wanna be like Henry Winkler. You wanna smoke and drink and say what Henry Winkler does, because that's what Fonzie does.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Now, flash forward to the 2000's.

The police officers doing DARE were (mostly) never thrilled to be there. The anti-weed ads were so exaggerated that they seemed cartoony. Hell, some of them were cartoons, just unfunny ones. And most importantly, we were taught from a very young age that everyone is always lying.

"Never reveal personal information about yourself to strangers or online to protect yourself" turns into "Everyone is lying to you to get something from you" really, really fast.

People in real life aren't to be believed until they can prove what they say is true. Comedians on TV say things to keep themselves relevant and in the rumor mill. Singers appear on TV to sell concert tickets and promote albums. Ads use social issues that affect real people as marketing. Actors are people who are pretty and pretend to be other people in a way that's never convincing, but sometimes if they're feeling generous they'll let you know what they really think and feel.

So, why would anyone tell the truth?

Why should you?

2) Authenticity Becomes A Privilege And No One Tells Boomers

(Thank you for reading this far and I promise I'm don't with the edgy "everything sucks" poetry now)

So now we've all grown up into jaded adults who've been taught to not trust but to strive to "be your unique self" and that creates some weird social dichotomies.

If you want to be truly happy, you must accept yourself and do what you want to do.

....but then you risk being seen as a cringey fuck that gets laughed at on Facebook by your highschool classmates and all of your previous bosses.

All jokes aside, modern society prioritizes a readied public face now more than ever, and that's really exemplified in the Internet celebrity experience. Taking a mild stance on anything generates tabloids attention, and doing something the public frowns upon can ruin a person's career permanently. you're on tumblr, this isn't news to you. you get what I mean.

This consequently makes moments of genuine emotion and expression from these celebrities inherently risky - and thus, a much more rare occurrence. Moments of streamers getting scared by spiders or cockroaches blow up constantly because, I mean yeah sure it's funny, but it's also really REALLY difficult to stage a believable reaction to something like that. And that carnal reaction draws out the desire for connection in all of us. That moment of unfiltered response feels special - a brief glimpse behind the curtain.

And celebrities online know it too. Apology videos, let's plays, streaming - all of this media has a built in sense of authenticity that is vital to making it work. Authenticity is a premium social currency in this space, and that bleeds into our everyday lives as well.

If the most badass and brave thing your idols can do is to be sincere, then eventually, you'll probably feel that way too. It makes sense - sincerity is vulnerable. Choosing to be deliberately honest and emotional when you have no expectation to be is a powerful thing. At least, to most of us it is.

While this is all happening, there's an entire generation of people who are still experiencing the world like when happy days was airing.

Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, Rachel Ray.......whatever other bullshit they put on TV, all of it begins to make more sense when you focus on their target audience - the middle aged and elderly.

Yes, really. Think of who you know in real life who absolutely loved The Big Bang Theory.

I mean, come on. This image makes me sad, dude.

Humor me for a moment. let's just run with my theory and say middle-aged and older people are all walking around as if everyone is always telling the truth to them.

Is it really that surprising that Dr. Oz was/is?? as successful as he was? As it turns out, believing everything to be true until proven otherwise is incredibly dangerous when applied to medical practice!

While we were growing up, the middle aged and elderly were spending their time being constantly self-absorbed and, just, unapologetically themselves. Which doesn't sound bad in theory, but it's really not as straightforward as it sounds.

3. Boomer-Meta And Why It Matters

So boomers are gullible. the sky is blue. why should you care

The point to all this is that authenticity is very important to modern society, and the difference of what authenticity means and how it's expressed matter drastically when understanding each other is vital.

Boomers were raised to always be genuine. If one believes themself to always be truthful, that lends to forming a bias in their own favor. And breaking the mentality down further, "I always say what I mean and I mean what I say" implies that what was said is what is true. And further, someone changing their "story" is an indicator of deception.

I've met plenty of older generation people who act like sharing their opinion is a gift in and of itself i.e. unwarranted comments on cooking or food, interjected advice about the conversation subject. Similarly, questions about the validity of a statement seem to often be taken as questioning ones morals.

This personal bias is very apparent in interpersonal situations. An attempt to be more genuine with someone who thinks this way would come across as staged and more insincere, and conversely, speaking with a clear bias appears superficial and ignorant.

But the real conflict is how this affects our news and politics. A core misunderstanding of what sincerity is and what it looks like, from either side, is dooms any conversation before it ever begins.

The lack of literacy in each other's values adds so much unnecessary conflict into already divisive matters. The stagnation in the legal progress of important social issues is probably worsened with so many of the US lawmakers being elderly themselves.

I don't have a great way to end this thing, but thanks for reading my weird essay.

The slow realization that a misunderstanding could be at the center of most major political conflict in the US consumed me for like 12 hours today and I appreciate you taking time to read my ramblings.

[youvereachedthebadend]

Hm… my favorite video game right now is Disco Elysium, it came out in 2019 so I don’t know if that was before or after the loop started. It’s a detective RPG. Another game I’ve played and liked is Outer Wilds, it also came out around that time, and it’s also a mystery video game

There’s The Last of Us Part 2 and Psychonauts 2, if you’ve played the first of either of those. Inscryption came out in 2021, it’s like… a digital card game and also an ARG? There’s also Omori, a cutesy psychological horror rpg

I don’t tend to play a wide variety of video games, I usually play unending games like the sims and stardew valley, or repeat narrative based games over and over, so I can’t give a personal endorsement for everything listed, but I have watched at least three video essays about everything listed, haha

"Oh shit, there's a Last of Us Part 2?!" Jack sits up. "Hell yeah I love the Last of Us! That was one of the first games I played on the channel!" He grins. "God, I didn't even have a facecam back then, that's crazy."

He spins back around in the chair. "I have heard of Inscryption, it showed up in a lot of videos I've seen in my, uh, research. I'll try it out, but I can't guarantee I'll finish it." He pauses. "Anti says he's curious about Omori. Well get it on your own Steam account, then. I'm not an rpg guy. Haven't heard of Outer Wilds, maybe I'll check that out..." He grins. "And don't worry about not playing something yourself. I know that a lot of people experience games through others. I mean, I'm sure my videos have done that for a lot of people."

[agustdiv1ne]

✈️🎧🔐🔥🍅🍋🍌🪐🌹☂️⭐️🍀 ?👀

so many questions YEAHH let's do this ‼️

✈️ favorite place you’ve traveled

i haven't been outside of the u.s. yet so...nyc!!!! i loveee big cities and that one like. checked every box for me. definitely wouldn't mind living there

🎧 last song you listened to

snooze by agust d !!!!!!!

🔐 something no one would guess about you

i have a 3rd degree black belt in taekwondo ? that always surprises ppl lmao

🔥 craziest thing that’s ever happened to you

gonna be so honest and say that my life is insanely boring...i think seeing yoongi in concert is probably the craziest thing that's ever happened to me. i genuinely thought i'd never see any of bts in concert bc i have terrible luck when it comes to concerts (mots tour i am looking at YOU) :')

🍅 least favorite food

green bell peppers. they're just. bleh.

🍋 favorite genre to read / watch / write

horror!!! and fantasy!!!!! don't make me choose between them pls pls pls

🍌 what is one talent you wish you had

genuinely wish i could solve a rubik's cube. like have u seen those videos of ppl doing them in literal seconds? i wanna be able to do that wtf

🪐 favorite shows / series of all time

avatar: the last airbender will always be a personal favorite, as well as the bear, the glory, and teen titans (the og series, not teen titans go) !!

🌹 favorite kinks to write for

oh. oh hahaha...daddy kink definitely, praise, overstim, choking, dumbification, impact play, orgasm control.......i could keep going but i will stop here for the sake of my sanity

☂️ your favorite fanfic from another writer

now this is just cruel..can i say everything on sol's masterlist?? can that be my answer??? if i rly have to choose, i'd definitely say only you, darling. this one fucked me up so bad (in the best way)...just an insane fic and i will never get over it. i could write an entire essay on all the things i love about it

⭐️ what is one of your biggest accomplishments? Why is it so important to you?

the only thing i'm decent at is school tbh, so i suppose my academic track record LMFAO. i maintained a 4.0 in high school and i currently have a 3.9 in college, so i'm on track to graduate summa cum laude if i keep my shit together!! being successful in school means a lot bc both of my parents actually dropped out of college to go into the workforce (this was during a time when you could and still do well, mind you), so i just wanna make them proud ig hehe

🍀 what is your comfort show/series and why is it your comfort show? How has it helped you?

avatar: the last airbender will always be my comfort show...just a really great story and i always watch it whenever i'm stressed to calm myself down. it was basically my childhood

get to know me!

[kickasssloth666]

I'm looking for some long term friendships :) not sure if anyone is gonna read this but might as well give it a try!

I'm not sure how to start describing myself, I'm not great with words but I'll try my best.

(I'm so sorry for the extremely long post ahead!)

I think some of my most defining characteristics are that I'm very shy, awkward, "weird" and "different" or at the very least I feel weird, different and often misunderstood.

I'm unfortunately not very smart, I'd say I'm down right stupid lol

I am very ignorant about many things in life, I'd say I'm somewhat innocent and naive. I still don't understand my purpose in life and I haven't found a reason to be alive either.

I sometimes say things that offend people or I say things that are wrong. Sometimes I don't completely understand what I do wrong but I don't do it on purpose and I try to improve to the best of my abilities.

I don't go out often at all. Whenever I do go out it's only to buy groceries and such but I don't enjoy it, I much rather be at home, in my room most specifically, which is my favorite place in the world.

I don't have any IRL friends but I do have a handful of online friends, I'm not particularly close to any of them tho.

I enjoy many things like sculpting for instance! I do digital sculpting for fun. I'm pretty bad at it but I try my best. There are many things I'd like to create and I hope to make those things a reality in the near future!

I like to watch anime! my favorites change from time to time but I really like Jujutsu Kaisen, My Hero Academia, Dragon Ball, Demon Slayer, Ancient Magus Bride (I really love this show!) among many others!

I like to collect action figures, I really like masks, I love movies and I love talk about them and analyze them, I like all kinds of music, I don't really have any artists that I like in particular other than David Bowie and I'm always happy and open to new suggestions!

I like to scroll through TikTok and to watch long essay style videos on YouTube about random topics, I love video games!! I don't play too many modern games, I mostly prefer older stuff, like, ps2 era games, particularly survival horror stuff. I also really like very old platform games and side scrollers but I'd be open to play anything and I'd love to try co op games since I never played anything online with anyone and it looks super fun and I'd love to try it!! playing Stardew Valley with a friend is a dream of mine lol

I adore animals!! I have cats and dogs and a chicken and they're my babies and my world!

I think it's important to mention some of the things I don't like too. I don't like cruelty or mean spirited people, I hate big companies, billionaires, politicians and other people in positions of power that use their money and power to affect people, animals, or the environment for their own gain. I don't like injustices, I hate racists, homophobic people, transphobic people, sexists, and all kinds of discrimination in general. I hate bugs!! I'm deadly afraid of them 😖 I really dislike conflict and arguments, I believe we can disagree and have discussions as long as we're calm and civilized about it and as long as we have respect for each other and try our best to understand the other person's point of view.

lastly I'd like to mention some of my defects and shortcomings.

I'm extremely anxious, I'm always very nervous about one thing or another, I'm also extremely weak of mind, I tend to react with my feelings a lot and I'm often very emotional. I can be very selfish at times, I have an awful tendency to get bored of things quickly and sometimes I also get bored of conversations and people. I think I'm immature. I can be extremely lazy, I struggle a lot with doing basic things like cleaning or cooking. when I'm anxious or afraid I can get paralyzed with fear and stay in bed all day doing nothing feeling awful about it. As I mentioned before sometimes I can say bad things without realizing. I'm very dumb and ignorant so I promise I don't mean anything bad I say and I'm trying to improve! I am extremely annoying. I'm very loud and I think I scream a lot. I don't really understand what constitutes screaming exactly but I think I often raise my voice a lot and especially when I'm excited I can't control myself very well. I'm very afraid of life and I don't understand how the "real world" works exactly. I'm really bad at small talk and I think I'm really bad at speaking in general. i digress a lot. I have the bad habit of not replying too fast, sometimes I'll even wait for weeks or even months, I think it's one of my biggest problems when it comes to keep in touch with people, sometimes it's simply because I don't have the energy, other times it's because I'm not sure about how to continue a conversation. Not sure if this is a defect necessarily but I also never send the first message, I just hate to be annoying. I'm full of defects in general, and I do believe I'm a bad person. I try to improve and I try my best but if I'm bad for you in any way or a burden I promise to stop talking to you and not bother you!

I have many other defects but I think those are the main ones I can remember at the moment.

Finally what I'm looking for is a real connection with someone, a person I can talk to, have fun with, watch stuff with and play games together and such! just be able to share our days and even be able to help each other and be there when we need each other. I know I'm a mess of a human being and I may never find the connection I'm looking for but I'd like to give it a try cause you never know :)

one actual last thing I'd like to say is that at the moment I'm going through the hardest time in my life and that my craving for friendship may be the result of me not wanting to be alone during this time and I may be trying to use people as distraction for what's happening but lately I really been craving the company of a real friend.

I have Instagram, discord and twitter as social media if it's more comfortable to talk there. I also think I prefer audio messages, it's easier for me to send audio notes rather than to type cause I type a lot 😅 thank you very much to anyone that has taken the time to read my extremely long post and considers messaging me!!

[dappersautismcreature]

Ooh any video essay recommendations? No pressure

anonnn anonn do you know what you've startedddddd O___O

ok so, one of my most favorite most amazing interests is youtube commentary and video essays(i made a categorization spreadsheet of video essay/commentary channels). hopefully you arent asking for horror-based video essays because i do not watch those. my favorite video essays are hours long deep dives into wonderful media, or philosophical discussions. (not to be pretentious, im not saying one is better than the other)

so.. heres my number one reccs:

when i made that post i was watching Harry Potter by Shaun on YT<< really good breakdown of the many things societally iffy about the books, JKs writing, and JKs ideals its great check it out :3

literally anything by Ladyknightthebrave she is an amazing and lowkey underrated master of video essays about shows and movies. some of my all time favorites are her cowboy bebop video essay << goes in depth about the music aspect of the show as well as the creator, themes in the show, and overall messages. Her most recent one about Andor is also amazing, her analysis of its politics is very very pleasant and well constructed. Overall i just love her style my gods. She covers a lot of holocaust media as she is jewish, but she handles social issues so carefully>> talked about ann australian show and included a section on aboriginal rep, consulted Latine people for Andor analysis, fully worked to pronounce the japanese names when discussing the production of cowboy bebop, instead of joking about it or just ignoring it, has consulted many holocaust experts for a few of her videos, includes quotes from poetry, books about political theory and philosophy etc etc. please just check her outt

[elizaellwrites]

15 Tags & 15 Mutuals

Thank you @novel-emma for tagging me in this!

Are you named after anyone? Yes, my middle name is in honor of my great-grandfather. (Just want to note that I am not trans, the name is androgynous. I support those of you who are!)

When was the last time you cried? Yesterday, stress and depression hit me hard, but I talked to some friends and everything was okay again.

Do you have kids? Do cats count? No kids : D.

Do you use sarcasm? Sometimes? Other times, I'm completely clueless about sarcasm.

What's the first thing you notice about people? Their posture. The way people hold themselves says a lot about them and whether I want to engage with them or not.

What's your eye color? Greenish-blue.

Scary movies or happy endings? This might be surprising, considering my dark writing, but I can't stand watching/reading horror movies or tragedies. It makes me anxious/depressed. Happy endings fuel my optimism!

Any special talents? Nothing super special... but I was in colorguard (dance, but with large flags and other equipment) for five years. I use my knowledge of how I move with my equipment to find how my characters would move during action scenes.

Where were you born? Midwestern United States.

What are your hobbies? Writing (of course), colorguard, playing piano, reading, random research, traveling (when I'm not broke lol), calligraphy, watching movies/tv, listening to music/video essays

Do you have any pets? Yes, I have two cats. Both are little gremlins and very affectionate. They are adorable and I love them!

What sports have you played? Colorguard (as stated), Volleyball, and Football/Soccer (very briefly)

How tall are you? 5'6"/167 cm

Favorite subject in school? Both history and psychology; don't make me choose, I can't!

Dream job? Teaching history and psychology while writing on the side- currently in college for the former.

Tagging: @my-cursed-prince, @ashen-crest, @friendlyneighborhoodcapricorn, @aalinaaaaaa, @fearofahumanplanet, @obsidian-goblet, @marigoldispeculiar, @minutiaewriter, @late-to-the-fandom, @artbyeloquent, @the-printed-words, @on-noon, @lexiklecksi, @midnight-and-his-melodiverse, and @toribookworm22

[cuddlytogas]

8 shows to get to know me better

tagged by @bookshelfdreams (thank you!) uh...... nearly two weeks ago, which is actually less than i thought! >.> so, not just shows i like, but shows that encapsulate my personality... hmm... let's see.....

okay i mean obviously we've gotta start with Our Flag Means Death. period piece (and EARLY C18th, that's less common than i'd like!), mundane comedy, pirates, queer as hell, lots of body and accent diversity (accent diversity!!! in a period piece!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)... if it was just a bit more accurate about boats, it'd just be my brain on the screen XD

I'm putting Elementary on here, because it's definitely in the top three Sherlock Holmes adaptations, and you can't understand me without understanding my preoccupation with early detective fiction and queer history and adaptation analysis. but Elementary specifically has Lucy Liu and a Sebastian Moran plot, which are also dear to my heart :)

Stellar Firma. weird british improv. sci-fi comedy that if you think about it too long turns sharply into existential horror. anarchist anti-capitalism. an interesting and complicated sentient computer. also i love everything Tim Meredith does, so, jot that down

on the note of sci-fi comedy that's secretly existential horror: Red Dwarf, maybe? even when it's bad, it makes for a FASCINATING encapsulation of, like, the inevitable entropy of the classic sitcom format, or late 80s/early 90s homophobia, and god knows I love to over-analyse that shit

John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme. not JUST season 9, although season 9 is also Everything To Me (queer characters! ACE CHARACTER?? complicated but generally very sweet family dynamics!! interesting format and structure!! lawry lewin is there!), but the whole show is just whimsical and silly and full of puns and historical jokes and... it's just so fucking refreshing, and Finnemore's such a good writer it makes me angry

Good Omens s1 is actually an extremely good encapsulation of my existential outlook (through the lens of christianity rather than atheism, but like... well, yeah). also: those bitches gay, and indulging in earthly delights like oysters and sushi and old books is Very Important

I really liked bookshelf's idea of putting in something you hate (and Vikings was an excellent fucking choice there), so it's gotta be Sherlock. what a wild disappointment that show was, for so very many reasons, all encapsulated by the hbomb video essay <3

Hornblower. what can I say? I watched it way too young and imprinted on the boats and learned a lot about personal and political structures in closed societies. also, Ioan Gruffudd and Paul McGann are hot.

there's probably something huge I'm forgetting about, but oh well, it's a sunday, i'm allowed to slack off XD

not tagging anyone because I'm lazy, so consider this your excuse if you want one! <3