#and share your views!!!!

[kiwi]

everybodys gotta get back into the practice of using pseudonyms online... i remember the time of screen names where u never ever told anyone ur real name and that was just understood as basic internet safety. plus having a screen name is fun because sometimes it sticks so well that it becomes part of ur identity that u can use in whatever facet of ur life you choose. it rocks to pick your own name

[alicentflorent]

Alicent never raised her sons to believe women couldn’t rule and I don’t recall her ever suggesting Rhaenyra was going to be an incompetent ruler, her main criticism towards Rhaenyra was about her having obvious bastards that were passed off as legitimate which could contribute towards a succession crisis if someone challenges their legitimacy. She raised her kids to fear Rhaenyra because despite the fact that Aegon had no interest in pushing his claim “you’re a threat simply by existing” she raised them to believe that they could be killed for existing because other men might not accept a woman on the throne when there are male heirs and at any point the lords could rebel and try pushing the claims of viserys’ sons even if they pledge their support for Rhaenyra. She genuinely feared for her children’s lives to the point where it made her paranoid and impacted her relationships with everyone including her children. So can we stop with the “Alicent raised her sons to believe women were incapable rulers and shouldn’t be in positions of power and now it’s coming back to bite her” bs

[khaopybara]

Do I like P'Jane?

The Trainee: The Series, premieres June 30th, 2024

[retrobr]

Last night I had a somewhat sad thought/idea, call it whatever you wish.

Each night, before going to sleep, Charles would find Erik using his telepathy, passing through thousands and millions of people's minds every time, just to find one specific one. He does that to make sure that he's safe and alive, because even though they're rivals after all that happened, Erik is still his old friend. He doesn't know Erik's exact whereabouts, in which country he lives, and what people he shares his life with, but at least he knows that he's still there.

Bonus detail: each night Erik actually feels someone's presence in his mind.

[puppyeared]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[roomba-mangga]

thoughts on thistle and yaad's dynamic that i vomited in the tags of another post but will now try to articulate here: they're not actually family, or at least they shouldn't be. not in a conventional sense anyway. framing them as uncle and nephew (even in a non-literal, silly fantasy world way) rides more on technicality than anything concrete.

what i mean by this is yaad calls thistle by name and says he and delgal were raised "like" brothers. he talks about thistle like he's an outsider imposing himself into the melinis' space, and it's clear that thistle was never legitimized as a member of the family. for thistle's part, though we don't know how he would treat yaad pre-demon brainrot, it's safe to assume based on the way he punishes him—turning him into a doll—and how little is shown in the way of any sort of relationship between them that thistle only cares* about yaad as an extension of delgal (otherwise i'd expect something like kabru and milsiril, because it's not like another complicated interspecies family dynamic would be out of place, yet there's next to nothing on them even in bonus content, just their scant interactions in the main story).

in essence, they're strangers to one another. thistle's desperation to preserve the illusion of a family, a model where he doesn't even fit, was the snare they were caught in for the past thousand years of stasis. yaad-as-nephew is a prop to uphold that illusion, and thistle is playing a role he's unfit to play. in the context of post-canon interactions, attempting to reconstruct that facade would only be a reenactment of trauma for them both (in a deeply compelling way i'd love to watch unfold, tbh), as that "uncle and nephew" framing places thistle in an implicit position of power over someone he's already traumatized through misuse of authority in the past, a role which also perpetuates his adultification and yaad's infantilization in turn. it'd mostly be an obstacle to any real connection.

best to burn the melini family bridge, i think, and if there's still anything salvageable left in the rubble, let something different supplant it.

[silverskye13]

I've been having thoughts, since the time Impulse appeared in RnS a couple chapters ago; and now after your "Tango in hels" piece they're getting stronger.

Your Tango's a smart, determined little fella, even when he's being difficult and not at his best. He doesn't know what "self-care" means, and can be kinda selfish in his social behavior (otherwise Tanguish wouldn't be there), but he can and will do things for his friends when he has a specific goal in mind.

So, if someone tells him "Go talk to your friends, it will help you feel better"? Not happening, and rare attempts aren't paying off the effort.

But if someone went "Hey, you know your friend Impulse's helsmet is getting stronger. His helsmet's name? The Demon. You know, the one who's been a huge scary pain in the ass for Tanguish. So maybe if you went to Impulse and tried to help with whatever his struggles, two of your friends would have less mortal danger looming overhead"?

Might work, maybe? Both in the stated way and in Tango getting out of his mind way? Could have an unintended side effect of Tanguish getting whacked with weakening if he hasn't sanctificated hard enough (which is. 50/50 with how recent chapters went?) but overall net positive, I guess? And it's kind of in line with Tanguish's manipulative streak?

Not saying this is something that Will happen, but. Sounds like something that theoretically could, I thing?

🎤

[kukekakuningaskris]

SSOL, Bojan, and wishful thinking

aka thoughts on Sunny Side of London and a different view than what the band paints it as - a long ramble that resembles an analysis.

So SSOL has been described by the band as a song that captures and describes their concerts, and that the Sunny Side of London is not a real, physical space and rather something that represents their fandom as well as their concerts. Thus it is seen as a fun upbeat song, meant to raise your mood and feel included in something - to feel as if you are part of something fun. I, however, have a different interpretation of the lyrics.

Since London is known for its bad weather and rain, the title Sunny Side of London feels like it is referencing something that doesn't exist. Something you dream of and wish for, but don't actually have. In this regard, the lyrics are wishful. The lyrics wish for a place in which everyone can be as free as a dove, in which your money, sexuality, gender, skin colour or religion don't matter. Wishing for equality and for a place in which all that matters is your happiness and love for others. Looking at this from the perspective of a wishful dream, the lyrics turn sombre, as if painfully aware that this is not real and the place they yearn for does not exist. The lyrics wish for a sunny London and a beautiful day. But only wish, because it is not real, and is impossible to achieve. Or, like a sunny day in London, could be achieved for just small moments before it's all gone again, and what's left is a depressing and unaccepting place,in which you are not free. A representation of reality.

Additionally, the lyrics are often read and understood as being about the audience the band has - the fans that come to their shows. However, I think that the lyrics are about Bojan himself, much like Barve Oceana is written about himself. In 2021, Bojan said that during their concerts he is free as a bird because he is surrounded by friends who know him well, so he doesn't have to be ashamed of anything. This correlates to the lyrics of SSOL that are about hugging your best friend, being as free as a dove, and nothing except happiness and love mattering. In the same interview he said that when he is on stage he never feels like he doesn't belong or that he doesn't know what he is doing there. That is to say, the stage was a safe place for him - his own sunny side of London.

When looking at the recently shared image of the early version of SSOL lyrics, it seems like Bojan himself is even more present in the song than in the final lyrics. Overall, these lyrics are more personal to the band. The earlier version uses a lot of 'we' and 'us', while the published lyrics only use 'you'. This shows that while the finished song is aimed toward the listener, the first versions also included the band itself in the people who were at the sunny side of London. With lines like "It's a place for people like me and you / So if you feel like joining us too" it is clear that this is Bojan himself speaking, and he is also looking for the sunny side of London.

This takes a more depressing turn when considering when the lyrics were written. The song was written in August of 2023, less than a month after the concert during which Bojan suffered a panic attack. He has later said that since the incident the stage hasn't felt as comfortable to him, and that he has lost his safe space. Paired with the idea of the sunny side of London being something unreachable and wishful thinking, it seems as if the lyrics are mourning the loss of the safe space Bojan had. The lyrics are hopeful, aggressively so, as if trying to find a place of freedom while knowing that it is just a dream, and that the reality is much harsher. It seems like Bojan was trying to dream up a place in which he would feel safe and accepted, since in reality he had lost that.

In conclusion, reading the lyrics of the song as if the sunny side of London was something that didn't exist, the lyrics seem depressing, as if knowing such a good and accepting place could never exist. It also reveals Bojan's struggle with trying to feel comfortable on a stage again, since the lyrics seem to be for (if not about) himself.

[torchickentacos]

Everyone talks shit on fanon, which I totally get sometimes and everyone's entitled to their opinions. That said, I think there is something special about how some details were never even HINTED AT in canon, yet everyone seems to adopt it as fanon anyways with no reason to. It's not even extrapolated, it's truly out of nothing, but everyone went 'yeah, sure' about it anyways. I mostly love it with tiny random details that hold no bearing. Just insignificant things that, for some reason, everyone agreed on. Like, a character's coffee order, or the kind of car they'd drive, or how neat or messy they are. It's so neat to see fanon develop little idiosyncrasies like that, especially when it's not traceable to any one popular work or canon moment and it seems to have just been widely adopted from nothing but collective vibes. I think it's really cool!

[the-great-papyru]

so just out of curiosity. how many of you people see flowey and asriel as different entities?

[hephaestuscrew]

Who says the episode title phrases in each episode of Wolf 359?

I've created a spreadsheet to show which character says the episode title phrase (i.e. the words which form the name of that particular episode) in every episode of Wolf 359. Graphs summarising this data can be found below, but to look at the full spreadsheet in all its glory, and see the progression through the series, you can follow this link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cQLkhxbDAItU6rdiUAYGn54FXXxYC-JXlCmP_Dqe9FA/

(Please note: I’ve focused here on which character first speaks the exact title phrase within the episode itself. In some cases, this is not the only - or the most significant - time that the title phrase is spoken.)

EDIT: This post previously stated incorrectly that "the devil's plaything" is not said in Ep57. In fact, it is said by Pryce (through Minkowski). Thank you to @yaghoulghosty for pointing this out!

Season breakdown graphs below the cut...

[greenerteacups]

Hello GT, I absolutely love Lionheart!

I published my first fic and have been dealing with some criticism; it’s not anythjng super hateful, but it’s not anything meant to make me improve either. I’ve been feeling sort of down because of it. My question is: have you ever dealt with hate or criticism before? What is your attitude towards it?

I find your work and answers on here super insightful and inspiring! I hope you have a nice day ❤️

Fuck em. Like, seriously, just fuck em. There's a time and place for writers to take critique and be strict with themselves; it's necessary for any artist to grow. That place is with a chosen group of creatives whose work you admire and whose judgment you trust. A rando on the Internet, while they may in fact be the next Marcel Proust, probably isn't. And I was raised to believe that while it's appropriate and kind to pay compliments to strangers when they're performing — just as you'd smile at a busker on the sidewalk, and or compliment a chalk artist — it's not appropriate to criticize them when what they do isn't to your tastes. They're providing you with their art for free. No one forced you to read it; no one forced you to listen. If you don't like it, it costs $0 to shut the fuck up.

Also — that thing I said about artists taking critique? That assumes that you're doing this out of a desire to improve your writing, which, while noble, is not actually a thing you need to do if you're a hobby writer. I like trying to improve; it makes me feel good. But at the end of the day, I do this for fun. I do this because in my real job, I am ruthless and self-critical and try really fucking hard to do well, and you need parts of your life that Aren't Like that. You need parts of your life where you're not worrying about whether you're Doing It Right. And living without that anxiety of critique is, paradoxically, the only way you'll find the artistic courage to take risks and develop new skills. Everyone is a little bit rough around the edges to begin with. (Not saying you're a beginner — you merely said "publish," and I certainly wrote a lot of things before I started publishing! But every artist is always trying to develop new skills and techniques; in the grand scope of things, we're all beginners.) Giving someone blunt critique when they're in the beginning phases of their journey as an artist is about as helpful as screaming at your six-year-old kid because he can't swim the butterfly.

And the thing is, these people will bluster and say "well, I'm just being honest, I'm just trying to be helpful," but like: mmmmmmno, you're not! You're not. And it's disingenuous to say so. Because if you were actually trying to be helpful, you would introduce yourself, offer your skills as an editor/beta reader, and start building the relationship of trust that grounds any meaningful co-creative partnership. People do not just accept random critique that comes flying at them from the blue nowhere. And issuing it in that form is the best way to make them hostile, defensive, and unreceptive to it. Delivering harsh feedback without a context of care and support is almost sure to fail as a method of actually changing behavior, and either (1) you know that, and are doing it anyway — presumably because you want people to know how Terribly Clever and Better At Writing you are, or (2) you sincerely have never thought about the effect that context and word choice have on how other people receive your meaning.

Which tells me you are the last fucking person on the planet I want writing advice from.

[felldragon]

hello. 👋 i have an announcement... i usually do not post about system related matters here, however this is a somewhat major one...? calico (seer) is still around, but after much reflection and some conversations, we have discovered that he's actually two alters (aka a subsystem...?). this is oversimplifying it, but i do not wish to put too much personal information out there... regardless, i'm making myself known. i'm cymric (🐈)... i have another name, which you may use (i'm quite fond of it), but you have to find it (it's obvious). i hope this is not too confusing... just think of me and calico like two sides of the same coin. i have retained all of his memories but sometimes things are fuzzy...

[homo-house]

stop being preachy on this subject and trying to force everyone to interact or make posts about the situation, some people have dedicated their accounts to specific things in order to compartmentalize and not have to deal w this mental anguish from doomscrolling 24/7.

not allowing yourself any peace rest or leisure will not end the war, it will not bring back the dead, will not aid the suffering of those people. the only thing not allowing yourself peace like that will do is soothe your conscience as if you were actually doing something when you aren't. you're just watching with your hands tied like everyone else. you can enjoy things and post about other stuff while still deeply caring and being in solidarity with the people of palestine, this is the internet you can do multiple things at once in different web spaces.

telling other people what they should or should not be doing on the internet while there's a war on won't fucking do anything except shame people for trying to stay sane. you have no idea how harmful this shit is for people with moral obsessions and compulsions, you're just causing more suffering to people who don't deserve it, just stop that shit. if you actually want to help then take action, call your representatives, show up to a protest, donate to a cause. anything else.

[clockoftheheart]

brodie bruce spice girls fancam

[zelphafrost]

It seems there is a much larger portion of the world that needs to read and reread the definition of the word "freedom" then i ever thought possible. And these individuals should sit down and really have a good think about what freedom means in application and practice.