#alien? that’s my shit right there

[chrliekclly]

[shakingparadigm]

may i ask your opinions on what ivan is truly like ?

( without pretending to be someone or something else entirely ? )

Okay !! Finally back to answering asks !! Once again, please be mindful of the fact that these are mostly my own personal thoughts. Always take them with a grain of salt.

The thing is, Ivan is an incredibly difficult character. He was written to be complex and multi-faceted, literally having more than just one "face". His actions almost always have another layer of depth to them and he tends to contradict himself, further complicating people's perception of him. It's not easy to pin him down, and that was exactly the intent. They made sure that the viewers wouldn't be able to fully grasp his emotions.

( I find this fact rather funny, because in one of the behind posts QMENG herself says that sometimes Ivan does things she cannot understand. The creators just allow Ivan to be complicated. He is what he is, and while there are undoubtedly reasons for it, the full truth remains unknown to us. )

Regardless, this is what I personally think.

Ivan seems to define himself by his imperfection, so much so that his actions and perspectives are influenced by his deep self-hatred. It's established that Ivan is "lacking" something, he is fundamentally different from others. Ivan builds himself around this since he literally has nothing else. He defines himself by his lack of definition. The fact that he is different and needs to be "cured". Ivan grows attached to the qualities that he "lacks", drawn to the biggest personality in the garden like a moth to a flame. He is fascinated, not envious, and I think that says a lot about him. He places those qualities on a pedestal, believing them to be so much better than himself. He feels that it's something he will never achieve or deserve, something he can't have.

It's interesting that the only time we can pin Ivan as "envious" is not when he's faced with his opposite, but with his parallel. Someone he believed to be just like him.

One thing about Ivan is that he is (unsurprisingly) lonely. Since his entire life is defined by this feeling of separation from others (either literally through the segyein's selection or more intangibly through his mental and emotional difference from others), Ivan feels constantly isolated. Nobody has been able to properly understand him, which further worsens the feeling that something is wrong with him.

When he finally finds someone that he can relate with, it brings him a sense of relief. Note that when Ivan refers to (what he perceives as) their similarity, he uses derogatory language. Twisted. This is how he views himself.

( translation is by @sorrowcure ! )

Compared to his interactions with others, his confrontation with Sua is uncomfortably honest. Ivan is most critical with the person he relates to, further emphasizing how deeply critical he is of himself. Ivan is not envious of Till or Mizi, who are so fundamentally different from him, he's envious of Sua because she is just like him yet has something that he doesn't.

It may feel unfair for the one person you saw yourself in to accomplish something so out of your reach. Her love was reciprocated in full, adored and revered by the person she loved most. They weren't the same, after all. It reinforces what he always believed to be true: he was alone.

( translation by @/oreganocactus on Twitter! )

There are many other instances of Ivan's self-deprecation and low sense of self-worth that leak into his behavior, such as down-playing himself in his interview, referring to his own feelings as "shallow", convincing himself that he was never truly cared about, etc. His deep dissatisfaction of himself rises to the surface quite often, shown in the way that he takes pride in his achievements (his work), yet cannot view himself as a person in a positive light.

INTERVIEWER: What do you think is your charm?

IVAN: I can't really think of any, because I think I have more flaws (haha),

To me, a lot of the "actual" Ivan can be seen in his younger self. It's not a complete display of what Ivan is truly like, obviously. He was a child and hadn't yet developed in certain areas. Still, it's a period in Ivan's life where he didn't mask or play up a different image. The quiet, stoic, and blunt Ivan seems to be a more genuine side of him, at least compared to his more charming persona. QMENG considered Ivan with his hair down to be "most like himself", and I think it's no coincidence that the most memorable version of Ivan with his hair down is his child self. The infamous Bowl Cut Ivan.

With this fact in mind, I also find it no coincidence that in ROUND 6, where Ivan is presented as a "perfect actor" in costume, he starts off with his hair slicked back.

And when he finally drops the mask, when he acts out of his own volition, his hair falls onto his face. Hair down, most like himself.

Another notable instance of Ivan's hair being down is the casino/karaoke room scene, which was quoted as an example for Ivan's emotional immaturity, his supposed "childishness".

There's so much to be said about Ivan, including the neurodivergent/autistic traits that have been discussed by other people in more depth (notably his difficulty in understanding/expressing certain emotions, his masking, his often misconstrued actions, etc). There's also many of Ivan's more conflicting aspects (which seem mostly confined to the patreon? so I'm not sure if they're still planning to incorporate it into the publicly official content or if it was overhauled), but I'm going to stop here because I feel like this post is already pretty random and disconnected.

The gist of it is that I don't think I can give a solid answer on what Ivan is truly like. I'm not even sure if he can answer that, as he seems to be at war with himself quite frequently. Ivan, under his charming and cheery facade, is unable to feel or express emotion in the same way other people do, which causes difficulty and struggle in many other aspects of his life. Not like the one he has is completely his anyway, but, you know.

[crustyfloor]

Luka is very good at keeping himself composed on stage, mostly with the help of maintaining track of his heart rate, but during Mizi's attack in ROMH he seemed to slip up, not only was the red background a tell-tale sign of Mizi's violent intentions but it was a more symbolic way of showing Luka in quite visceral fear. Even if for only a second.

I'm not convinced Luka will be as continuously calculated as he normally comes off, it all seems too fake to me. Because it is. It’s a similar case to Ivan who can't feel, isn't normal, isn't human enough so he makes a persona to blend in. So Luka, whoever he is, makes this version of himself to cope with what he has to live through, pretending like he's on top of it all to survive in this world.

So in round 7, I think something drastic will happen to make him 'snap' in a way.

It's safe to say that we don't know Luka. We don't know who he really is. We don't know his real desires. But we do know one thing--he is scared. he is afraid of the aliens. That's why he appeases them--being their trophy. He's only kept around for his purpose as an entertainer and nothing else and he's very aware of that. He knows very well that a dented trophy will be discarded; with that mindset, he's been able to get so far, and he's scared of losing. That's why he holds any little thing he can get his hands on close. And an important extension of that fear is his fear of losing power.

Till should be the more likely in this position, given he's such a rebel. But isn't that just too predictable? Keep in mind, that Till is a strong person. Even after all he's been through, even after he's been beaten into something more manageable for the aliens--He still hasn't lost his spark. Till is a raging storm. subdued but nonetheless a force to be reckoned with.

Round 6's effect on Till is greatly ambiguous for now but at this point when the time for round 7 comes, Till has been put through so much hell. Whatever Luka does to provoke him probably won't work, he and Luka are equally talented individuals and will make for an intense battle, and at the end of the day, the numbers won't lie. Exactly that is what Luka is ready for but scared of--a worthy opponent for the throne. Someone capable of stripping him of his power. (Is fear what makes Luka so dismissive?)

It would be so aggravating that this 'pest'. who is so indignant, so rebellious (in a way Luka envies.), could so easily destroy everything Luka has worked for, disregard every pain Luka has been through to get to this point, and Till doesn't value this throne as much as Luka does, and Luka doesn't want to feel the pain of death anymore. If his facade is as destructible as I think it is, that will be what ultimately brings out Luka.

This idea may be flawed. Luka is so perfect, too perfect and confident and experienced for something as little as that to break him, just think of all the training Luka went through to get to this point. I'm positive he's very aware of what playing unfairly will lead to. But isn't there always room for a wild card?

Just remember what happened to Hyun-woo.

What happened here isn't fully explained (and probably will be in round 7) but imagine Luka: "Trophy child, goody two shoes" Luka possibly killing another human. Whether by accident or not, what happened?--what and how did Luka feel in the moment for the repercussions of whatever happened to be that bad?

A Luka that is secretly greatly insecure, pliable, and defensive enough that in a spur of emotions, he can’t help but lose his cool in a way he hasn’t in a while because he’s afraid—just to try and prove he is still valuable. That is the type of character I theorize we'll come to see in round 7.

[banneriscarried]

I actually heard tHAT WITH MY EARS

[turnipoddity]

have you watched tusk (2014)?? its... interesting! ☺️

yes. and let me tell you something… this is just my personal… opinion… VERY subjective taste here yall…

I FUCKING LOVE body horror. I LOVE EM. but i like it if they are more… natural? Like from within your body, not like, through surgery. I mean cool and i do watch them still but i prefer body horror that comes within your body, it feels more scarier to me 🧎‍♀️

I watched tusks blindly and i literally FELT GIDDY LIKE WOOO this man gonna turn into a walrus im gonna see some fucked up shit but oh… through surgery…

[uglynicc]

I'm still absolutely terrified they'll make live action Mass Effect content that:

1.) Doesn't feature Fem Shep

2.) Doesn't feature Shepard and an alien love interest

3.) Somehow makes Turians and Krogans less hot

[witchofthesouls]

Besides American pop culture such as metal, is Miko a fan of the more traditional aspects of Japanese culture at all?

Hmm, this is a tricky question for me because I'm a born and raised American hapa. My half-Asian is Viet.

A lot of my thoughts for Miko were formed by conversations with a few Japanese exchange students, YouTube, Japanese language classes, online information, and what I would have liked to see from the show.

I'm going to be missing a lot of cultural context from a native perspective.

(That or I'm reading way too deep into this ask lol)

I really wish that we had more instances of culture clash or misunderstandings because it could have provided more depth to everyone by opening new dialogue and provided more context of the lore and character backgrounds.

As a character, Miko Nakadai comes off more like an American-born or as someone who's very comfortable in the U.S. from long-term exposure. Perhaps she has relatives in a different state? But then that opens more questions than answers. (It doesn't matter obsessed you're into a country or culture, the first hand experience is a shock.)

And it doesn't help she feels slap-dash in a way. She's vague in the sense that she has a lot of disconnected traits that don't really match up what we were given as viewers. It really isn't a surprise that she's a polarizing character.

Concept wise, the creators pulled a lot of inspiration from Harajuku fashion, so the colorful punk aesthetic does make sense in hindsight with the elements of Visual Kei and Kawaii. But that particular tidbit was released in the Transformers: Art of Prime book.

(As of now, it's nearly $5,000 on Amazon, but we have lovely people who may or may not share some pages online.)

It would have been so great if the show committed to the Japanese exchange student bit by giving more information about Miko's background besides her parents living in Tokyo. I know I made a comment about her parents are like Tatsu and Miku from Way of the Househusband, but that would have provided so much context on Miko's wildness and complete recklessness because the Vegas Effect can only explain so much. (It would make so much sense on how she went for the damn axe to wield against Soundwave! No hesitation from that girl!)

Shoot, even her favorite band, Slash Monkeys, is a Bulgarian rock band! There is nothing wrong with that, but give me/us a bone! Something minor, like a throwaway line about Japanese rock bands that did popular anime openings. (Y'all remember the grip the Big 3 had on our collective throats? Plus, the granddaddy of them all: Dragonball.) That could have built rapport, delved into cultural differences, and been a feel-good moment as the kids showed the 'bots different anime via movie night.

Bottom line, she confuses me on the same level as Orion Pax conundrum, so I just like doing things to make things make sense.

[honkowo]

ok posting another angel artdump cos ive got a enough silly shit accumulated teehee

from the top we have: leucistic tropics angel neil(@bucketnewt 's char), this oc meme template cos its silly, frozen coast angels float-testing an imp + a follow-up pic, clink's homo thoughts, & lastly the dicksucker

[r0s3s-1n-th3-ra1n]

Andromeda, about capsaicin, menthol, alcohol, citric acid, etc: The humans keep consuming poison on purpose!

Johnny: I mean, yeah, but have you tried the poison? It's really good.

[monostardust]

So y'all telling me this Xeno hybrid isn't alone anymore?

So we get this abomination. A xeno with xeno features but has human flesh and in the new movie we get this one?

Why? Why? Why Ridley? It's gonna be in my nightmares. The first one still unsettles me every time I see it and now you gave me another one. It's gonna eat me in dreams like I did to it's mother. The first time I saw it it was so curious because it was a baby. Then it turned into that and it scared the living daylight outta me. If I see that in my nightmares I'm so gonna fucking die in my sleep.

[littlefankingdom]

History and folklore nerd has been triggered by the incorrect timeline in a comics inspired movie, again!

In Justice League Dark, Jason Blood and Etrigan have been bonded together for 500 years, so since the 16th century, the Renaissance era. However, Jason is a knight of Camelot and Etrigan served Merlin. Camelot and Merlin are not from the Renaissance. Yes, the stories were still told, but the stories had a time period, which is the 5th and 6th centuries. If Jason is a Camelot's knight, then he was bonded to Etrigan 1500 years ago. There's a full millennium between the correct centuries and the one given in the movie, omg. It's a totally different culture he grew up with.

[crustyfloor]

In every universe Ivan's best explanation of his and Till's relationship will be "hm. well we were fine." and this is them in every universe

[temp0raryw0unds]

if rimmer uses 3 sheets of toilet paper a visit, and presuming he only wipes for number 2, which the average person does ⅓-3 times a day, he's only using a maximum of 9 sheets a day. a standard toilet roll has 320 sheets. long story short, I'm with Rimmer on his theory about the aliens using the bog roll...

[lordkingsmith]

1) I’m giving this boy longer hair in his animated 2 year time skip, 2) I knew my instinct with swapping him from zeo red to hellion blue was on the money. Look at that lovely navy in his coat 💕💕 3) boy you are not slick, look at that knowing look from Grandma Kat. Kid seems to be trying to keep it on the downlow but I can’t tell if that’s from his grandparents and parents or just the brother. 4)

And here we have our own version of Supernatural’s Sam Old Man Wig lol. You can see the brown side burns I can’t 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[cruisingheightswithdragons]

In which one super aggressive alien species meets another super aggressive alien species

[vixscribs]

despite benrook being a decently popular ship I can't seem to get behind a lot of fan content I see. Those are coworkers. There's no way they're snuggling and shit that's highly unprofessional.