#Reflection and intention

[quantumshade]

there's an interesting thing rtd said from the commentary about the "real mom" line:

i get not liking the line but like. it's an intentional mistake and an intentional character choice, and something we'll return to in the future, and that seems like important context to have when talking about the episode.

[teratomatica]

you always land on all fours

[yumaisbored]

Xie Lian always describes Hua Cheng as so effortlessly handsome—as if that man hasn't been meticulously planning every single outfit XL sees for more than five hundred years... mf is making SURE the angle of that crooked ponytail is perfect

[rbvcdeluxe]

something something max's main color being red with blue highlights something something grace's main color being blue with red highlights something something motivations something something alive and dead something something

[queerbatting]

shoutout to nonbinary/agender/otherwise gender nonconforming people who choose to wear cultural clothing typically associated with a certain gender!

jews who wear kippot, muslims who wear hijabs and burqas and niqābs and jilbābs and kimars, sihks who wear turbans, just to name a few!

whether you're wearing these because you have a connection to the gender associated with the article of clothing, or if you wear them because you want to challenge gender roles, or if youre just used to wearing them and don't think your gender should stop you from continuing, or any other reason, i think you all rule!!! im actually a nonbinary jew who wears kippot :] rock on!

and to those who are forced to wear these things, i hope one day you all are in a place where you can have the freedom of choice

[shrimpricebowl]

before we were born, was the sky this shade of blue?

[arielluva]

look within

[ckret2]

"I've decided I'm never getting married," Pacifica said. "I'll just find some guy to date my whole life and never let him move in. It's the only way to make sure he isn't just interested in me to inherit my money."

"What about looks?" Mabel asked. "How will you make sure he's into you for your personality instead of your hair?"

"Oh, that's not happening. Attraction to looks is the basis of all romance. First you find a hottie, and then caring about his personality is just to make sure you can stand actually being around him."

"Aww," Mabel groaned. "I thought you were into Dipper."

Pacifica gave her a stricken look; then processed what she said a second time; then said, "Wait. Did you just call your own brother ugly? The brother you look exactly like?"

"No, he just looks like a dork! And I don't look like him! Mabel squinted off into the distance, the exact same way Dipper did when he was trying to seem dramatic in a cool way. "I'm the cute one."

[the-crooked-library]

opened tiktok (mistake number one, i know) and immediately saw someone saying that Thomas Hutter subverts the "disbelieving husband" trope which... listen i love a thoroughly pathetic mess of a man myself and i get that Ellen's other option is a 400yo evil corpse, but can we please not give him credit for things he didn't do?..

the literal inciting incident of the story is that Thomas DOESN'T listen to Ellen. he doesn't believe her. she tells him that she's got a bad feeling about this trip, begs him not to go, tells him about her nightmare - and what does he do? he calls it a childish fantasy, tells her to stop worrying, and implies that she would benefit from talking to a doctor. saying shit softly doesn't make it any less dismissive or insulting, like i'm sorry but this is peak Disbelieving Husband in a Horror Movie behaviour. he only changed his mind once Orlok put him through the horrors himself, which is also a perfectly standard thing for a Disbelieving Husband to do in the second act. furthermore, from the beginning of the film, he neglects Ellen's emotional needs, is uncomfortable with her abnormalities, and doesn't even really know what sort of gifts she likes - and again, these are all standard flaws for a Disbelieving Husband to exhibit. they're indicative of a disconnect between him and his wife that he continuously refuses to bridge.

caring for someone doesn't mean you can't neglect or harm them, and that applies to everyone - including Normal People like Thomas, like Harding, like Sievers, like the viewer; and that's the point of the film

[thenamesapollo]

All the happiness that your dreams possess, may someday be real as it seems...

+ bonus doodles of the goo (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠)

[nebulaedaniel]

since we’re now talking about the racism in the phandom, i’m very glad it’s being brought to light so thank you to @dapg-otmebytheballs @demonqueenart and everyone else talking about this, i want to talk about cancel culture.

now i’m as white as they come, so before reading any of this i need you all to read the posts made by some of the people starting this conversation. here’s some links. xx xx xx xx xx

the reason i want to bring this up is because it’s something i noticed in a lot of the posts bringing up the behavior that dnp have/have had. its bizarre to me that we as a society, but especially we as a fandom, feel the need to disclose that bringing up problematic behavior isn’t an attack or call to ‘cancel’ someone!

to be able to have an open discussion where people CAN evolve and learn, bad behaviors need to be brought up without the immediate assumption that the person talking about it wants to bring harm to the other.

i am not here to defend dan and phil, they are well old enough to have these realizations on their own and stand for their actions, but, without the space to point out these behaviors, there will be no change. if these questions are being brought up within fandom spaces, why assume that the person means harm? excuse my metaphor but why would they set fire to their own house? i can understand wanting to take something with a grain of salt if it was coming from someone not in the fandom spaces at all, or someone not familiar with dan and phil whatsoever, but since it is the fans bringing this up, the absolute least you can do is believe them and listen.

wanting to see change is far from the same as wanting to see someone ‘canceled’ or lose their platform. these discussions are good and important to have, and i want to again thank everyone who has taken time of their days to speak up about this. it’s labor you shouldn’t have to do, and i really hope that we as a fandom learn from this. i know i will.

[journey-to-balance]

Everything changes when you begin to love yourself. You no longer send out energy of desperation or need to be filled from the outside. You become a powerful source that attracts better. The more you love who you are, the less you seek validation and approval.

[sparring-spirals]

OKAY. after some sleep. back on my bullshit lets go.

I think its so critical that F.C.G made that choice, that in their last moments they looked at their friends and felt that sense of purpose and calm. I think it is wildly meaningful of him to know what his last resort would be, what it would end in, and choose it willingly, buoyed by a sense of purpose and love.

I think it's pretty clear the options were bad and worse, and that F.C.G made a strategic call that they perhaps knew would hurt but really, truly believed was worth it, and that call probably did stop their friends from experiencing further losses. I think there is something uniquely beautiful into turning a thing of destruction- perhaps something F.C.G had always seen as a burden or a curse or a worry- into an expression of his love for his friends.

And I think F.C.G, constantly plagued by doubt, getting a sense of crystal clear surety. And F.C.G thinking to themself: they saved me, and now i can save them is.

deeply fucking important.

and also something that makes me. emotional 😭

That said i can still be mad at F.C.G, and I can still want to hunt down a robot afterlife just to grab his chassis and shake him a little. Self sacrifice plays always have a steeper cost than just the person making the sacrifice. Their purpose was never just to lay down their life for others, and I despise a world where F.C.G could think that and not have the thought soundly rebuffed by those that loved them. There was a danger in him, maybe, but there was danger in all of them! A party of running risks!

Its just v important to me that: I don't know how I feel about the idea of it being a foregone conclusion this would happen. That this was the only way it would have ended. F.C.G made a choice, in that moment, that he knew would change things. F.C.G made that choice.

After a campaign of doubt and flipping coins and wondering whether choosing destiny or altering fate was even- possible: F.C.G makes this choice, fueled by love and determination and understanding, and everything changes because of it.

You did it buddy. You did it.

im gonna kick your ass once i figure out how, though, F.C.G. ashton will probably help me.

[thankstothe]

im...................

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

First and Last appearances of Poorly-Drawn-MDZS Season 1!