#I'm sorry for rambling

[paraseleneblur]

SMTV spoilers + incredibly mild SMTVV spoilers under the cut

I'm just kind of disappointed in how little character Aogami has even just in the original game. Atlus had such a banger opportunity to give us literally ANYTHING on his character outside "I will protect you, young man." and we get mere crumbs of him trying to reach his own identity outside being a robot and protofiend and artificial being. what makes it even worse for me is that there is really and truly nothing about his character or disposition or being that gives me "Susano'o" vibes. He's just blue and has electric and ice skills and nothing else. There's some VERY mild stuff in VV that gives us more of an idea, but it's really incredibly missable. I think SMT:V and VV both have this underlying issue where they tell you the story with exposition without actually showing you the story and only giving you the resolution of a character without any of the buildup. We go from 0-100 but like. Where was 30? Where was 65? Why we going so fast? I love Aogami. I love SMTVV. it's like my favorite megaten tbh. But I would fix it tbh.

[oceanwithinsblog]

idk about you guys but i'm gonna miss this show so much ...

i had such low expectations because recently m4rvel hasn't really put out the greatest stuff ever (with a few honorable exceptions) but ... this show...

OH. MY. GOD.

everything was perfect - from the cast to the setting, from the plot all the way to the music, the themes developed and the references to past mcu projects. most importantly, the message it shares is, at the end, one of hope and love. no matter how hard things get, no matter how many trials you have to pass, no matter who you lose along the way or what you have to sacrifice, there is love and joy and hope at the end. you can make your dreams come true.

i'm sorry i'm just so emotional. maybe it's because i'm personally living a pretty challenging period of my life, but i guess i do treasure this series. i truly have loved everything about it and it definitely holds a special place in my heart from now on.

[xadenviolct]

You know what I find almost... IDK, sad but funny, I guess--when it comes to the SJM/ACOTAR fandom?

The ship wars.

I remember a time (an age ago and in other fandom circles) where everyone was just "ship and let ship". We all had our faves, our OTPs and even our NOTPS. We all had our PREFERENCES and opinions and like-- that's just normal human nature. What one person likes, another will not, and vice versa.

There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with such a thing!

But what the ACOTAR fandom reminds me so much of is the OUAT fandom when it comes to ships. And damn, that was a nasty time. A horrible time (a lot like what SJM's books bring out in people today on the internet).

Because it became about attacking people, hating on people, thinking one side was dumb or delusional or stupid and it was just downright HATEFUL. The whole "us versus them" mentality was sickening and, while that, too, is part of human nature (sadly), at the end of the day, it all boiled down to one thing:

It was all FICTION, and some people were outright hating on/insulting REAL PEOPLE over such things.

The ACOTAR fandom gives me major flashbacks to that OUAT time. Just saying.

So here's the basic thing I've learned after time in many different fandoms, after many different ships and faves and whatnot:

Stay in your lane. Ship and let ship. Canon will be whatever it is (it might be "your" ship and it might be "their" ship, who knows; that's the AUTHOR'S/WRITERS' decision), but you know what the fucking beautiful thing about fandom is--

WE CAN DO (AND SHIP) WHATEVER AND WHOMEVER THE HELL WE WANT.

I'm gonna use OUAT since that canon is over, whereas ACOTAR is still-ongoing for an example. Canon-wise? Captain Swan (Killian/Emma) ended up together, happily ever after.

Did that mean those who shipped Swan Queen were wrong? That they couldn't participate in fandom? That they were somehow stupid or whatever other insult one side hurled at the other?

Fuck no. Swan Queen fans got from the story what they wanted, and there is nothing at all wrong with them continuing stories and art and whatnot with those characters and ships. Same for Captain Swan. The beauty of fandom is that shared ENJOYMENT of a source material and the potential to "what if" our way anywhere and everywhere.

Personally, I feel there's more story telling potential in an Elriel story than an Elucien story, but you know what? If SJM writes the book and it turns out Elucien, I have absolute faith in her that she will make the story work. That it will be written in a way for me to see it better (I mean, c'mon, lots of opinions changed on Nesta herself after ACOSF so let's be honest... it's bound to do the same with Elain in her book.)

But also-- whichever way it turns out (Elucien, Elriel, whatever), that is one version of the canon story. You want to ship the hell out of the other version? Fucking go for it!

Quit insulting each other for what one person likes/enjoys and just-- enjoy your stuff.

[xxf0rg0tt3n-b3st14xx]

I think it was a good thing that I stuck around a support server, even with me, not talking most of the time I'm there.

It really gives comfort while my issues are coming back full force once more.

[kunikidas-lost-glasses]

You know what's the worst combination?

Liking characters and shippings and maybe even like... the aesthetic? of a certain game/series/book/movie/whatever

But not liking the game, movie,... at all.

Like. Now you're stuck with liking the characters and wanting to look though content with them and want to make some content yourself and maybe you're even thinking about them a lot but you don't wanna buy merch or talk a lot about them (even if deep inside you, you kind of want to do these things) because then you have to explain that you like the characters/ships but not the freaking media itself.

So you have this very weird relationship with the media.

[scorndotexe]

i can't lie to you i loveee bad endings sometimes. what if nothing worked out. what if the characters gave into their worst instincts. what if they became worse. what if there's truly no hope left. what will they do out of desperation? who will they become as their worst selves?

[gingermintpepper]

I think, perhaps one of the funniest things to come from EPIC popularising the Odyssey is that now a ton of people think Poseidon wanted to kill Odysseus.

In the Odyssey, Poseidon has no intention of killing Odysseus. In fact, part of the whole reason Zeus lets Poseidon do whatever he wants even though he thinks Odysseus is rad and should get to kiss his wife is explicitly because Poseidon had no intentions of killing Odysseus. Poseidon wanted to pay back the suffering/inconvenience blinding Polyphemus would have caused. It's a really abstract thing tbh. How do you pay back someone permanently disabling your son? Poseidon's solution was just to amputate Odysseus from his other half; i.e. Penelope. The end game was never murder, it was always an endurance race.

(Od. Book 1: Zeus reassuring Athena that he is not, in fact, a part of Odysseus Hater-Nation. Trans. Robert Fagles)

Also, for those wondering if there's any sort of in text reason for why Poseidon wasn't around in God Games - at the time in the Odyssey when Athena petitions Zeus to let Odysseus leave Calypso's island, Poseidon was -checks notes- on vacation in Ethiopia. Yep. He left to Ethiopia for a festival and thusly was very much absent for Athena's whole "please let Ody go? Please? 🥺" request.

(Od. Book 1: While Odysseus was suffering, Poseidon went to party in the east)

I am begging y'all to read the Odyssey. It's a comedy for everyone except Odysseus and Penelope who are, in fact, suffering 24/7 365.

[aingeal98]

Ultimately the resolution of Jason and Cass fights comes down to the fact that while he has his own ideals that don't mesh with the bats, Jason can be flexible. DC skipped the whole reconciliation with the family but while he's willing to kill it's generally a means to an end to him, not the whole entire point unless you're talking about Joker. Meanwhile for Cass the question of killing vs not killing is dead serious to her which means any time they're working together and things start going off track it's like:

Jason: Look if we kill this guy we send a message to his boss which makes it easier for us to negotiate with him from a position of power and I just think that-

Cass, snatching one of his guns and pointing it at her own head: Go on, pull the trigger. Kill him. Kill me. Go tell Batman that you let his daughter die to make a negotiation easier. He already let you die so no problem right? You think we should die? You think our life only worthwhile as part of a plan, just because we're killers? Are we doomed? Are we rotten to the core with no hope of redemption? Go on then, kill us and kill part of your soul alongside it. You clearly don't care for it so why are you even trying? Kill yourself along with us, come on Jason let's all just die right?

Jason, slowly backing away: I think you may be projecting a tiny bit so just. Calm down before I call the suicide hotline please.

Cass, slowly lowering the gun and knocking the random henchman unconscious: Yeah that's what I thought, fucking pussy.

Jason: Mm yeah you know what I hate you actually. Fuck this mission I'll just shoot you right now if you're going to be this annoying about it.

Jason, explaining things later to Dick: So I just kept shooting at her until I ran out of bullets and we both calmed down enough to call a truce. We tracked the guy down and didn't kill anyone but I did blow up the batplane just as a last minute screw you. Is she always this uh... intense?

Dick: Yeah, one time I broke up with Barbara and she threw me out a window. She's just like that.

[heilos]

I don't know how other people feel on this, but i'm honestly so tired of the model for dropping a full season of episodes in one day for a new show or a continuing season. How is anyone suppose to build hype and story anticipation from episode to episode and how does that help with wait time in between seasons or the people making the show? So frustrating how that's considered a norm.

If a show season is already out there and done, obviously binge to your hearts content, you do what you wanna do with the time you have for leisurely watching of course. I just don't think the drop and run format for a whole season on a single day or even in a single week is a healthy practice for animation and I wish studios and investors would reconsider.

[ventique18]

I really like the implication that Grim also stands as a proxy for the prefect therefore he's legally obligated to stand beside Malleus at all times in merch.

I mean he wasn't even included in the Playful Land wall scroll because Malleus isn't there hfjskskw

Like he's really serious in adopting this fat gray cat.

MalleYuu + their baby Grim:

[ekko-idk]

Laios: people are hard to understand... There's way too many social rules to follow, popular conversation topics, eye contact, etc. They also rarely say what they mean and often they say the opposite, so much so that misunderstandings happen regularly.. Monsters are predictable animals with a set of rules and precautions you can follow to either tame or defeat them. if you know what to do, they're very easy to deal with!

Kabru: monsters are wild creatures with jerky unpredictable movements.. Their attitude can change in a second and if you don't have an insane amount of knowledge about them they can be, and often are, very dangerous. Human cultures often have strict and easy to follow rules that depend on certain communication strategies that are somewhat agreed upon universally. People no matter of background also react the same to many things (smiling, frowning, pupil dilation, etc.). if you know what to do, they're very easy to deal with!

[ladyofink]

Seguendo il filo del discorso condiviso precedentemente, credo che ciò che mi abbia affascinato tanto del personaggio del Cal sta proprio nel fatto che è un eroe "atipico", nel senso che fin dall'inizio non si mostra come un personaggio fortissimo, ma che anzi a causa del suo trauma si ritrova a non utilizzare a pieno i suoi poteri. Per gran parte del tempo si è nascosto e se, all'inizio, non fosse stato costretto ad usarli per necessità, probabilmente non li avrebbe più usati. Questo perché l'ombra del suo passato incombe su di lui, per dirla in modo poetico. E so che qualcuno potrebbe dire che serve alla dinamica di gioco, ma allo stesso tempo per come è impostata nella storia funziona perfettamente.

Cal è un personaggio che fin da piccolo si è trovato solo contro il mondo, ha visto morire il suo maestro ed è convinto di essere lui il responsabile della sua morte (non era abbastanza forte e in più ha perso la spada, elemento fondamentale per un Jedi). Come dice il post, è un sopravvissuto di un letterale genocidio e continua a nascondersi proprio a causa di questo.

L'unico momento in cui ha la possibilità di rimediare è attraverso la missione che attraversa tutto il gioco, ma la cosa per me affascinante è come abbiano deciso di prendersi il loro tempo per farti vedere che lui ha un effettivo trauma e che deve imparare ad accettare il passato, perché più provava ad allontanarlo nascondendosi e non solo, più questo faceva presa su di lui. E sul finale si vede proprio il cambio di prospettiva di Cal circa la missione, ma anche di Cere, non solo per via della visione che ha il primo, ma perché quella missione non è più motivo di redenzione per loro. Hanno accettato il loro passato, hanno accettato di aver perso, di essere frutto di male, ma che questo non segnerà il loro futuro. E soprattutto, questa redenzione che apparentemente sembrava motivo di bontà da parte loro, si rendono conto di quanto sia invece un gesto egoista. Costringerebbero i bambini a subire quello che hanno subito loro. Per questo adoro che il finale sia quello, perché ha senso, perché si lega bene con tutta la trama della storia e con la crescita dei personaggi.

Spero che non lasciano perdere dinamiche come queste all'interno della trama del gioco per far posto al gameplay, che sono la prima a sostenere che andasse migliorato, ma non a discapito della trama.

[balimaria]

one day, I will set this right

[xxf0rg0tt3n-b3st14xx]

I'm just going to say fuck it and accept that I'm dyslexic without an official diagnose.

I got to stop beating myself up and thinking I'm stupid because it can't read or write good, the people that should have helped me didn't. The school itself gave me a vague ass label, and my parents don't give two shits. My grandma is the only one trying to understand my inner workings with it.

I found my own ways to help my own self without others help.

[technically-human]

Can you draw something with Doom Patrol!Edwin and Netflix!Edwin?

Maybe something about Dp!Edwin talking about his feelings for Charles with N!Edwin?

It's just something I've been thinking of, make it a little angsty?<3

Glad you asked

ko-fi

[asoiaf-essays-collector]

Haven't written here for a while, but I'd like to add a few words, if I may.

First of all, let's maybe stop this popular illusion that if fiction has a romantic subplot for, god forbid, teenage girl it immediately becomes young adult. It's really hurting the industry.

Secondly, yeah, maybe if Sansa's character arc was about something else - like not wanting to conform with traditional gender roles and becoming so strong and independent that she is able to defend herself only with a sword and few faces in her pocket and...oh, wait. I think that's another character for you. Sansa is the one who actively seeks love, she desires it, I'd argue, more than anything. If her arc was about being disappointed in love or realizing that she doesn't need it in life I think we'd already be given some hints in the text. But no, Sansa still dreams about being in love with her future husband and this kind of life goal isn't going to just magically dissapear by the end of the series because of...exactly what? The fact that teenagers being in love is exusively young adult fiction thing?

On to the next point, tin foil hat probably needed: marriage and love in asoiaf is not just another plot point like idk battles and intrigues. I mean, yes, those things are big too, they have consequences and stuff - but marriages are major plot point that drive most of the plot. It's not only Sansa's arc, it's all the story except for white walkers and winter itself. Starks story begins with marriage proposal (to Sansa - but I'm sure that doesn't mean anything and nobody would want for the story to end up in a full beautiful circle), Dany's story begins with a marriage, Jon's story begins with rejection of love and marriage (that he actually wants), Bran's story begins with witnessing forbidden love. Love and grief is what makes Dany to give birth to dragons, Sansa's marriage is what makes Robb to make Jon his heir, Red wedding happens, well, at the wedding and love (or illusion/foil of love) is waht fucks everything up, and Purple wedding is what finally fucks everything in King's Landing up. Love (questionable) and wedding (theoretical) between Raegar and Lyanna is what begins the whole bloody story. Tyrion's love for Tysha is what kills kills Tywin Lannister and Petyr's love for Catelyn is what killed Ned Stark and started a war - you can continue the list. You see the pattern. I don't think the pattern, again, will magically stop at the end of series.

Love and marriage is not just important for asoiaf, it's integral for the story. It's integral for Sansa's story. So I think it's double - how I put it politely - unreasonable to believe that she will end up with nobody.

sansa will not end up with anyone, asoiaf isn't young adult fiction, stop projecting on the thirteen year old.

I suppose Martin was projecting too when he had Sansa began the story getting betrothed to a prince which carried her South, get married to his favorite character, become the object of an evil master mind’s obsession which got her out of KL, and in TWOW flirt to get into the good graces of yet another man as part of a plan to take back Winterfell?

It isn’t projecting to recognize how much of Sansa’s story specifically is driven by betrothal, weddings, or weirdos wanting her. In fact, I’d say it’s dishonest to pretend that Martin hasn’t slathered this all over her story, so it’s perfectly reasonable to wonder where it ends. If the answer to all of that is Sansa ends up safe and happy in Winterfell, I’ll take it, but he went a step further and had her, the most romantic of his characters despair, No one will ever marry me for love.

It isn’t childish to believe the author had her reach that point because he intends for a hero to love her, not because it’s true.