#Now this can be considered a theory!

[bean-spring]

Hot take and not to be a killjoy or the shipping police but people treating Viktor or Jinx's aroace headcanons as if they were canon is not the revolutionary take people think it is.

Headcanons are always all right but we have to acknowledge that they are somehow damaging when they apply to stereotypes. It might not be the case for everyone but most of the time people unconsciously assume that disability/mental illness=asexuality. These headcanons erase the freedom of attraction from people who are already seen as unable to have sexual/romantic experiences/desires, when it's completely untrue and harmful.

You can headcanon Viktor and Jinx as aroace, but I have seen people changing their minds once Viktor is no longer disabled (s2 with all of his other forms) and Jinx is no longer as mentally ill (alternate universe Powder). And it speaks wonders of how people see these characters.

"I never thought about Jinx being able to feel romantic/sexual attraction until s2!" To believe she's actually only capable of that when she's not "damaged" is incredibly disturbing. Especially since Jinx has always had a bit of a flirty personality too.

"I've always seen Viktor as asexual, I don't know why!" That's fine. You can headcanon him as ace. But I believe there is a reason behind it, most of the time, if for some inexplicable reason the "vibes" of the disabled character are making you think he's ace.

I say all of this being aroaspec myself, by the way. Headcanon all you want but going to people's posts commenting how "it's weird for you that they have romantic/sexual plots when they're clearly aroace" is not a win at all. It's a headcanon, after all, and it should be treated as such, and that's fine. But it also is damaging to spread stereotypes like these.

Of course the disabled character is asexual. Of course the mentally ill character is aromantic. It's not as revolutionary as you might think, tbh.

Fandom is not activism and it's all right to have any headcanons you want BUT some of them are filled with damaging stuff and perhaps we should look into ourselves more before treating these assumptions as something canon.

[welcometogrouchland]

(ID in alt) I literally said I was gonna post this month's ago and then never had the wherewithal to describe it and so I didn't Lmao (said with pain). But since I'm thinking of opening my commissions I figured I should remind ppl that I. Yknow. Can draw.

Lots of Steph here (I had major art block making all of these and my brain worms for her kept me going) + some sprinkles of stephcass for Cass nation to enjoy!

[kickedin17]

So I've been privately quite resistant to the theory/read that clancy is being possessed through all of this and that's why he's acting the way he is. I've been ruminating on it more & I pinned down that the reason for that, the thing for me, is like. This album cycle so far has effectively served as reclamation for clancy - of his name, his life, the people and things that matter to him. Lyrically the album details a person resisting the urge to fall back into old harmful habits and isolate himself, which clancy does (with at least some self-awareness) by "overcompensating." We knew from the start of this era he was willing to do whatever it took to remain himself and to take down dema and end the cycle.

Obviously we still don't know exactly what happened after the end of the paladin mv. In my opinion we also don't know what Exactly last night meant either other than that clancy has drifted somewhere dangerous and maybe irretrievable (though I highly doubt that), and that he simultaneously seems to be crying out for help. Maybe all that means he has been seized this entire time or is dead already or whatever whatever. In My Opinion though, I think it's just the less logical conclusion to jump to because what does that leave us exactly? A clancy who once again has been stripped of agency. A clancy who, once again, is defined almost entirely by the perceptions and movements of the bishops or the banditos or whoever else thinks they have claim over him and his name and his face and his message. For him to come out of the gates swinging so hard but ultimately end up in the same place he started is maybe *realistic* if we are talking about literal cycles of addiction or mental illness, but we've already been exploring that for the last 10 years on 3 albums prior to this, and that's not what clancy (album/era) has been doing or saying to me. This is a person who is fighting so hard not to repeat the cycle that they go too far. They self destruct. They know there are people waiting for them to be better and they're trying, but it's a big fucking ask, isn't it? It's so hard to find balance, if that's something you've never had before. It's so hard to get it right.

Outside of my personal clancy/blurryface dichotomy theory (which I think explains why his shirt is sometimes black - it's blurryface, not necessarily clancy being smeared (unless you assume those two states are one and the same which on a separate meta level they probably are but getting into that is going to add like 3 more paragraphs to this)) - I believe clancy has been himself, unequivocally, through this whole era so far. I believe last night he was cognizant and chose to push the torchbearer away, maybe because he lost trust in him due to paranoid self sabotage, maybe to try to protect him because clancy is also aware that he's on a crash course but cannot find the brakes anymore (the line). Maybe some combination of both.

Also worth noting - his letter about "absolute power" did not anywhere say that he wanted to be a bishop. It sounds more like he wants to be a king (of a kingdom swingin on a swing etc etc). Whatever he's trying to turn dema into I think it will be different, even if it's ultimately just as toxic. We know, and he knows, he can simply destroy it all (bandito/overcompensate), but that's also hard. It's so so hard. I don't know how many of us ever actually make it that far - I know I never have. I think that's probably what he went in intending to do but it doesn't seem like that's where we've actually ended up.

The cycle might repeat again, and maybe (my fingeys crossed) take us back to blurryface somehow for its 10th anniversary, but I think it's going to be different this time. We aren't going back to jumpsuit/the start of the trench era. We aren't going back to how things were during sai. These concerts were intended to be flashbacks, memories, "reminding us why we fight." Reminding clancy why he's doing what he's about to do. Which is different than whatever he's done before. Whether or not this "sounds like an ending" (it doesn't), I think this is something new. That doesn't mean it's something Good. But we don't quite know that yet, either.

In short and to try to make this probably incoherent post more coherent: To Me (and I could be wrong, I've been wrong before) it is still clancy, just like it was always clancy. Whatever he's going through and whatever he becomes are because of his own actions. Not the bishops, not the banditos, not torchbearer. Him. And isn't that so much more tragic? And so much more real?

[marsbotz]

the prophecy is actually driving me to madness with how it potentially relates to the weird route

[r0semultiverse]

Digital Circus AMA Notes

Digital Circus is getting a season 1 at some point!!!!

#webcore aesthetic board for the series design

Pomni was going to be a frog originally. 🐸

90s toys Zooble inspo

Caine is an antagonist, but not by active choice, he doesn't know he's not helping. He doesn't feel a whole spectrum of human emotions (he's an AI).

"Caine canonically just lets things happen if he thinks it's funny."

Characters eat like Chao in Chao garden in Sonic. The characters can eat the food, but they can't digest it.

Jax's favorite food is spaghetti.

Pomni likes salmon.

Q "Was the ending a 'Last Supper' reference?" A "in a very superficial kinda way yeah." Religious stuff is sometimes just used for the funny.

Gooseworx tumblr sketches MAY or MAY NOT be canon to the series, so it's up in the air for every single one.

People can abstract from feeling too much pain if it breaks their mind from it being too much. Characters feel pain from things, but not as intensely as they would in real life.

Zooble is gonna swap parts every episode (implying they have spare parts) except their body & head.

Jax chose his own name & gooseworx likes to think he chose Gangle's name.

Ragatha was named "Emmy" originally.

They (the cast of characters trapped in the circus) can't change their clothes but Caine can. It's part of their skin sorta kinda.

There's empty space under Pomni's hat because video game model physics.

Spamton was partially inspo for Caine, Caine's VA did Spamton dubs.

Gangle only has 2 masks. Why's it (her hapiness mask) break all the time? Mental state, but the "real her" is "harder to break."

Kaumfo was gonna be part of the main cast originally before Jax.

Kaufmo's model has nothing below the waist at this time, but was made for that promotional image on twitter.

Q "What kinda person was Kaufmo?" A "He was the same as Ragatha in a sense, goofy & cheery, sometimes toxic levels of positivity."

I'm paraphrasing for the sake of note taking in real time, go watch the stream playback for more context & details if you want.

[aroanthy]

trying to write something about how much i hate the ‘misandry in utena/the utena fandom’ crowd but it feels kind of redundant to me. i think i just don’t consider people who use the word ‘misandry’ serious people. i do however feel an obligation to occasionally make my position clear on that front, because im aware i tougapost and some people love to bring that guy up as the misandry in the utena fandom poster boy. which is so fucking stupid because touga is not victimised by ‘misandry’, touga is victimised by homophobic violence which is wrapped up in misogynistic violence, both of which are the cogs in the machine we call patriarchy. touga is not affected by misogyny in the same way that anthy is, that’s one of the key takeaways you can get from their being foils, and i don’t really like the whole ‘oh patriarchy hurts men too’ stuff because it neglects the fact that men reap so many material benefits from what some people deem ‘harm’ to them (emotional repression being the big one. it’s not great but when you’re the privileged party and gain power from it, who cares? it’s like the inverse of kozue trying to use sexuality to gain power: she can’t do that). but touga is a shitty dysfunctional person who has been shaped by violence and in turn perpetuated violence, and his character excels, imho, at examining how patriarchy functions and attempts to homogenise life’s many complexities. same deal as nanami really. they just play different roles in this gender essentialist nightmare that crunches out any grit. and you can extend that idea to all rgu characters but i am who i am and that is a kiryuu siblings enjoyer

[aldisobey]

What is awake about ?

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE EMMROOK AU

It is mercurial at the moment. It could change. But if you haven't seen the movie a woman gets in a car accident, gets knocked unconcious and wakes up in a prepper's bunker. And he's telling her that it's DEADLY to go outside. You will die if you go outside. Its ah, is he telling the truth? Is he lying? Am I kidnapped? Am I saved?

My thought was keep it Thedas, make Emmrich the prepper—Fade nonsense.

Rook might actually kill him or vice versa, it's a darker one in mind. Still forming it. But Wake because wake up in Necropolis tomb after some kind of hit.

[nimrism]

could you make this post? please, it's so fascinating i really want to hear your thoughts on it

"The Dark Tower" Morgwen Interactions Analysis

i've literally been waiting for someone to ask me this so i can go all out in answer, so you're literally my favorite- THANK YOU! i've tried to put all the thoughts swirling around in my head into one coherent post, so strap in and let's LOOK AT THE IMPLICATIONS (from my perspective)!

first and most importantly, i want to zero in on morgana's choice of kidnapee; she could've chosen anyone in camelot, any one of the knigts who were regularly privy to arthur's battle plans and schedule, but nope. if we're looking at it from the perspective of "she needs the closest person to arthur" wouldn't that be merlin? she could have kidnapped and brainwashed him; he would've made for a fabulous inconspicious mole in the court, and arthur literally goes to him for anything and everything. i actually think it would make for a really interesting au/fic if it were merlin who was kidnapped instead of gwen (love confession/magic reveal possibilities are ENDLESS), but maybe it's a little too close to the plot of "a servant of two masters" and the writers didn't want to be repetitive. i'm going to be biased and delusional in believing that morgana did choose gwen, in particular, for more personal reasons as well as for her nefarious ones.

the way i see it (and this is obviously very objective), by the time we get to this point in s5, morgana is LONELY, like, has-no-one-in-the-world-except-aithusa type of lonely, and her choice of allies has been lacking diversity as of late (why are they all men 💀), AND they all end up dying anyway. so, she needs a plan, and she needs a trusted ally (she also needs a bit of love and lip balm cause DAMN). BUT the thing is, why would anyone be loyal to her? she's never kept any allies (or friends) thanks to her wit and charm alone, she's only ever kept men loyal to her by striking fear in their hearts. it's the same for her friends and family, i think. she doesn't believe they even tolerate her existence, so she needs to be crowned queen to subdue them and FORCE them to respect her. the same goes for gwen. she was only morgana's friend when morgana was a naive and vulnerable girl, plagued by nightmares and unexplained fears, and the second morgana grew out of them (or learned to control them) gwen stopped being affectionate, stopped being open. that's how morgana sees it, and it only reinforces her belief that gwen would never understand the person she's become now, she wouldn't quite see what morgana was trying to do. unless morgana forced her to.

the whole kidnapping affair was to MAKE gwen understand, because she wouldn't do it of her own free will. gwen would never willingly be on morgana's side, so she had to jump through a few morally questionable hoops to bring her over. in the end, i do believe all morgana really wanted was a friend (maybe a little bit more, amirite ladies), though by this point her concept of friendship had become twisted beyond recognition, and in all the chaos, this was the only way she thought she could have one. throughout the episode, a lot of the old morgana shines through, even if it is portrayed as just manipulation, and i do think that was her either slipping back into old habits or forcing herself to, for the sake of the brainwashing and for the sake of their friendship that she's trying to rekindle.

a point that i've seen several people make is that between the niceties, the "real" morgana peeks through several times throughout the ep, but i kinda disagree. i don't necessarily think that just because her smile drops, it means that the niceties were a facade and her "evil" side pops back out. i read the sudden change in expression more as disappointment. gwen fights back with such vigour that it's probably painful for morgana to realize that her former friend sees her as nothing more than an evil witch who's hell-bent on hurting her, now. she's disappointed that gwen, who was supposed to know her best, believes what the others do, and doesn't believe that morgana is being sincere in her offer of friendship.

a small remark i also have is: why wasn't morgana one of the visions/hallucinations gwen had in the dark tower? it's interesting to see that the closest three people to gwen are her brother, arthur, and merlin, of all people. i feel like gwen's history with morgana has to have had a lasting effect on both of them, even if morgana is supposed to be "evil" now. you don't stop loving someone just because they've chosen (or BEEN chosen by) the dark side. morgana was one of the people gwen cared about most in seasons 1 through 3 (s3 is pushing it a little, but still), it doesn't really make sense for it all to be forgotten so completely like we see in this episode. i also think it would've been super interesting to see a hallucination of younger morgana in particular, partially as a reminder that part of gwen still cares about morgana and largely because i'd like to see how gwen would react to that vision... would it differ from the other three? what would morgana do? would she sneer and laugh like elyan and arthur? would she do a little rawr like merlin (😭)? i feel like a ficlet is in order for this concept cause i would like to see it but i have to imagine it first (but that's the hard part 😭)

NOW ONTO THE MOST DELICIOUS PART OF THIS ANALYSIS: THE QUOTES

M: "Would you prefer some chicken?"

i just found this one hilarious tbh like she's so out of pocket what are you doing offering your kidnapee some chicken and WHAT WAS THE OTHER OPTION, IF NOT CHICKEN?

M: "I know how lonely you must be, all by yourself in that room. At least you're not shackled, and there's daylight. You can move, you can see."

oof. she's obviously referring to her own capture and torture, pulling from her own experience. it's heartwrenching that morgana has been through all of this, traumatised beyond reason, but it's even more heartwrenching that she thinks she's doing gwen a service, like this. it might not seem like that to any sane person, but after everything she's been through, morgana's worldview is completely different. in her mind, however twisted and detached it has become, she's being merciful to gwen this way, giving her luxuries that she was never afforded when she was captured. (including a warm meal with chicken at miss havisham's table 🤩)

M: "I too have suffered, Gwen. I spent two years living in darkness. I spent two years chained to a wall at the bottom of a pit... You did not know."

goddddd this line... it's just so painful, so powerful, so indicative of SO MANY THINGS. it's EVERYTHING. every acting choice katie and angel made in this scene was brilliant but ESPECIALLY their facial expressions in this particular part WOAH. the way morgana's voice cracks on the word "pit" is DEVASTATING. i was floored. the way gwen's face falls as she processes her words and they properly set in... INCREDIBLE. the concern in gwen's eyes is palpable as she realizes the horrors inflicted on her friend. and the final "you did not know" was so, so powerful. morgana realizes that gwen didn't know about and clearly wasn't okay with what she went through. gwen had no part in it. morgana SMILES at gwen's reaction, but instead of it being a smile of malice or evil it's one of RELIEF, and one that she hides very promptly. she's reassured in the knowledge that gwen had no idea she had suffered so immensely, and that, more importantly, she wasn't involved in it. it's SO important to note that morgana has no idea whether arthur had a hand in her own torture or not. it's especially not a good look on him that he invites the sarrum as a friend of camelot so soon after the events of "the dark tower", so, as far as morgana knows, he could've been a "friend" when she was being tortured for years, too. i wonder what would've happened if morgana had kidnapped gwen AFTER the sarrum's visit to camelot... i feel like that would have complicated things with gwen much further, if morgana thought she was complicit in her imprisonment.

M: "I would have sold my soul for someone to show me kindness such as this."

only two points on this heartbreaking line: 1- FUCK the sarrum of amata. all my homies HATE the sarrum. s4 and s5 morgana might both be textbook cases of "evil", but they're two VERY different people with two very different worldviews and tactics. morgana's imprisonment turned her into the cold husk of a person she is by s5. and 2- this just further confirms that morgana thinks she's doing gwen a favor, dining with her and letting sunlight into her room and choosing not to tie her up etc.

M: "Your hands are cold... I have a warm fire going for you."

oh boy is this a MOMENT. the way morgana keeps her hand held out. the way gwen reluctantly puts her hand in hers (MORGWEN HAND-HOLD!) *ivy by taylor swift starts playing out of nowhere* {ohhhhh goddamn, my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand, taking mine, but it's been promised to another, ohhh}

um anyway i digressed. then the way gwen wriggles her hand out of morgana's grasp, while morgana grips her fingers with unwavering determination... it's just delicious.

M: "Anything you want, you can have. I'll give it to you."

idk about you but personally i'm SOLD. take all my money. i read this as morgana trying her utmost best to sell gwen on joining her, but i can also see the manipulation laced in it.

G: "Why are you doing this?"

M: "Because we're friends. We always were."

to me, this reinforces the theory that morgana's just trying to get her friend back on her side. by stating that they've always been friends, morgana reaffirms their friendship as much to herself as to gwen. she was her friend once, and she can be again.

M: "I'm helping you. I'm looking after you."

this sort of feels like morgana is telling herself that, more than she's telling gwen. maybe it's just part of the manipulation process, but i do believe that this was morgana's conscience reassuring her that what she's doing is in gwen's favor and that she's being kind to her.

M: "It's alright, I'm here."

UGH this line. morgana is being the person she needed when she was imprisoned. this scene is also a parallel to all the times morgana woke up screaming in the middle of the night and gwen was there to comfort her in s1/2. this time the tables have turned and it's morgana comforting gwen. simply delicious.

M: "My darling, I was wrong to make you suffer."

TEA! to say that this line was spoken from the bottom of morgana's heart might just be a bit too delusional, but i like to think there's at least some truth to it. torturing gwen had a lot of paralells to morgana's own imprisonment and torture, and she did want to make her suffer, at least in the beginning. but it was also different from what morgana went through. this is NOT to justify torture, btw, torture is BAD, but her "manipulation" tactics got a bit too personal at some point, and i like to think at least a part of it was genuine.

G: "No. Whatever twisted game you're playing, I want no part in it. I would rather stay here and die."

ouch. gwen's resistance to the last possible minute shows such strength on her part (cause me? i would've given in before she even dragged me through the desert tbh) and it gave us such a delicious performance from angel; the reluctance? the uncertainty? the distrust? the relief that morgana is there but also the FEAR of what she's doing? the contradiction between the morgana that gwen once knew and the morgana that everyone KNOWS is evil? but the morgana that gwen once knew is shining through now, and she's saying everything gwen wants to hear... grade-A angst.

IN CONCLUSION they're gfs your honor, this was all just a plot to snatch gwen back from arthur cause morgana didn't think seducing her herself would work. (this phrase could be in reference to this ep or the "lancelot du lac" ep i'm cackling morgana really is hopeless) there are also SEVERAL psychological layers to it, but describing it this way is just easier.

SO... this is possibly the longest post i've ever made. it got a little more comprehensive than i originally thought it would be, but THERE YOU HAVE IT! that's my take on the morgwen interactions in the dark tower. if i seem a little biased, that's because i 100% am :) i hope that clears things up. this is an open invitation to keep sending me asks (even if it's about the most random things ever) cause i love them and i love every single person who sends in an ask, and a public apology for how long these answers get sometimes 😭

[anistarrose]

I tried to hit all the theories I've seen, but I'm sure I'm forgetting something, and actually that's why I'm posting this right now — because I want to rerun this poll after we get Chapters 3&4!

[stainedglassthreads]

Also just a brief list of my 'Flowey has some very blatant favoritism when it comes to his parents' agenda--

-Apparently just hangs around in the Ruins, in a place Toriel comes by every day, even before he figures out that Chara's buried there. (He seems to realize where Toriel buried Chara during his No Mercy monologue. Maybe he's there because that's where Chara first fell down, but he does NOT believe Chara is in the Ruins when Frisk first falls, nor does he believe Frisk is Chara until Frisk is already about to leave the Ruins.)

-While hanging around in the Ruins, apparently brought Toriel into bed and left a glass of water for her. Was so touched by her still recognizing him that it's implied he let the timeline run much longer than usual, allowing Frisk to fall down.

-Harshly judges you regardless of whether you kill or spare Toriel. Will often deal the final blow on Asgore, and then talks more about whether or not you've 'learned' the world is kill or be killed.

-Mocks you with an Echo Flower if you kill Toriel.

-Teenaged form bears a stronger resemblance to Toriel.

-Uses a lot of specific phrases she does. 'Prove to me you are strong enough to survive.' 'Someone has to take care of the flowers.' Etc.

-This bit from his No Mercy monologue:

He doesn't ever refer to Asgore as his father. Just as 'the king', 'that stupid king', 'the old fool'. And he calls that whole period of time spent with his father 'vain'. Toriel, though, he purposefully sought out, wholeheartedly believing she, specifically, could help him. And when he says she failed, he doesn't insult her, he doesn't imply her failure was inevitable and her (or Flowey's) efforts were futile, even now, it's just that...she failed.

[squigglesquarepants]

The Substance is a multi-level marketing scheme in which some weeks after you start using it you are contacted by the company that provides it to start selling it to other people (thats why the guy that introduced Elisabeth to the substance had the USB). The reason Elisabeth wasn't contacted was because she's getting all the negative side effects, bad look for the brand. (and also because she's annoying customer service).

I still don't know what the supposed "benefits" of promoting The Substance would be. Maybe they just stop the process like it was a free trial?? They send you a different package that auments the time you are able to stay in your other-self??.

[uncanny-tranny]

Theory without interacting with your fellow man is defective. In order for you to have a rounded sense of politics and what your community needs, you must strike the fine balance between theory (i.e., empowering yourself to understand the way ought to work) and actual interaction with others (i.e., understanding how the world actually works).

Theory without human connection is incomplete and human connection without theory is aimless.

[ambyandony]

just for the record i cannot fathom giorno giovannas relationship with gender hes not cis but i dont know what the fuck he is. i dont even know their pronouns half the time. had a dream she was transfem and i was very very sure of it once. do still tend to lean towards using he/they in most cases even though my giornos are ostensibly fem-presenting in style because she's just some pretty guy. i could use any pronouns for giorno and they'd all be right

[rosykims]

cant stop thinking abt my theory that the qunari fled their homeland because of a blight. that theres actually been 6 blights instead of 5 . and if ghilan'nain really does have an arch demon and its not just another corypheus fake-out situation and its Real??? then this is the last archdemon. and the chances of us finding out what happens when all the archdemons die is strongly Not at zero.

[gibbearish]

btw similar to the whole "if you try adderall at a party and it calms you down, get an adhd test" thing, if at some point in your life you try microdosing shrooms with a friend and end up feeling like a functional person for the first time in your life, get tested for depression. like yeah hallucinogens come with elation so youre probably gonna have some "this is the best ive ever felt in my life" vibes regardless, but like. if that in and of itself feels like finally breathing in for the first time in years, thats for sure a sign that something is up with your ability to process serotonin most of the time. feeling better than ever before should be a nice bonus, not a crushing weight off your chest