#and the conclusion isn't wrong

[sharry-arry-odd]

MAZER: The alternative to appropriation is a world in which artists only reference their own cultures. KOTAKU: That's an oversimplification of the issue. MAZER: The alternative to appropriation is a world where white European people make art about white European people, with only white European references in it. Swap African or Asian or Latin or whatever culture you want for European. A world where everyone is blind and deaf to any culture or experience that is not their own. I hate that world, don't you? I'm terrified of that world, and I don't want to live in that world, and as a mixed-race person, I literally don't exist in it. My dad, who I barely knew, was Jewish. My mom was an American-born Korean. I was raised by Korean immigrant grandparents in Koreatown, Los Angeles. And as any mixed-race person will tell you–to be half of two things is to be whole of nothing. And, by the way, I don't own or have a particularly rich understanding of the references of Jewishness or Koreanness because I happen to be those things. But if Ichigo had been fucking Korean, it wouldn't be a problem for you, I guess?

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin

[dukeofthomas]

"Jason just needs to see things from his family's perspective and understand how much they love him (despite them never actually communicating or showing him through their actions)" is out. "The batfamily putting a single bit of effort into understanding Jason and reconciling with him on his own terms" is in.

[temsiik]

Someone probably already said something similar to this at some point, but I want to get this out myself: I feel like Roy and Riza not getting an on-screen happy resolution (and an obstacle in them getting it ever, though if they ultimately do is left to the audience's imagination) is not only not a flaw or something missing from the ending, but actually a good thing. Not because I don't like RoyAi - I do, but because it works thematically. This aspect I find interesting when contrasted with the other major couple in the series, Ed and Winry, who get about as definitive of a conclusion as you can get (and with the proposal scene, and the family photo in the montage - the EdWin "confirmation" is pretty much what caps off the series).

 When Riza tells Ed about Ishval, and her and Roy's plan to have those who carried it out tried as war criminals, she tells him to not worry about them, but be more concerned about himself. Basically: "your hands aren't stained with blood, go and be happy, don't get bogged down by those like us whose are". And I think this sentiment applies to the romantic couples: Ed and Winry are innocent, and get to maintain that innocence throughout the story (Ed held on to his principles, primarily about not killing, Winry didn't pull that trigger), so we see them get the happy ending. Roy and Riza aren't innocent, so they don't get that conclusion. I even like to think that that's why in that conversation Riza so casually brings up Ed loving Winry. Maybe she's seeing herself and Roy in them, but unlike with herself there's nothing stopping them from finding happiness together, so she wants them to. I'm looking at this through a shipping lense, because I enjoy examining this aspect from that perspective, but honestly this applies to the ending overall. Ed accomplishes his goals, and through the final episode/chapter we definitively know that he and the people closest to him (like Al and Winry) pretty much get to live happily ever after. Roy by series end hasn't yet accomplished his goal of becoming Fuhrer, his romantic arc isn't resolved, there's still that "tried as war criminals” thing they're planning looming over. His ending is a lot more up in the air. Team Mustang not named Roy or Riza actually do get happy endings via photos, and sure enough those are the ones who didn't serve in Ishval.

[caluupin]

Finished TGAAC around 2 1/2 weeks ago but only finished the doodles today. but still, here ya go!

[polyvees]

may I say something controversial?

I personally like velval more than voxval and voxvel pls don't attack me, and ofc voxvalvel is still top tier for me

[thedreadvampy]

unwarranted Cis Opinion but I'm getting really uncomfortable w people responding to bathroom bills by posting pictures of trans men like DO YOU WANT THEM IN WOMEN'S BATHROOMS

bc like. no they're men. they should be in men's bathrooms unless that feels unsafe. but. it really feels like it's not helpful to lean into the idea that seeing someone presenting masc or being read as a man in a women's bathroom means You're In Danger.

like I know several butch women and NB ppl who are really scared around being on T or getting top surgery bc they're not men and they don't want to be in the men's bathroom, and in that circumstance stuff like growing facial hair or reading more androgynously can be really fucking scary when people are being primed by propaganda to be on edge and hyperreactive to anyone who doesn't look like their idea of a Cis Woman.

and I'm not laying that at the feet of the people saying "hey uhhhh trans men are men and don't belong in women's bathrooms" bc it is not their fault. it's the fault of a concerted effort to make it difficult and dangerous to be trans or substantively gender nonconforming in public.

but at the same time idk I guess it just worries me cause sometimes it feels like "you fools! you are worried about this group of trans people bc you think they're the Lurking Danger of Men In Bathrooms? WRONG! the Men Making You Feel Afraid In Bathrooms are actually THESE trans people!" when in fact neither of those groups using the fucking bathroom is a problem. just piss and mind your business. people need to go where they need to go.

anyway this country is a hot fucking trash fire that somehow accelerates its descent into open fascism more every day so it's all super good and normal. so don't take this too seriously tbh cause it's somewhere near #2535654476457899009765 on the list of priorities for Queer Discourse right now when the fucking human rights commission is actively rescinding protections from trans people. Please ignore my gibberish.

[svtskneecaps]

a list of timestamps, for no reason :)

thesis statement : No, what blue did tonight and what red did the last two nights are not the same.

disclaimer: this is not a judgement of right / wrong, this is a glorified compare and contrast paper.

a TL;DR is available at the top, immediately following the keep reading link (which i hope, for your sake, is still there).

for each vod i have compiled the time stamps first, and then under the heading "notably" have compiled and compared them.

this is the most toxic i will allow myself to be.

TL;DR:

Blue team on Day 4 took 2 seconds from first task claimed to last. Red team on Day 2 took 5 minutes 14 seconds from first task claimed to last, and on Day 3 took 42 seconds.

Blue team on Day 4 was vulnerable in the area for 2 seconds before claiming their last task. Red team on Day 2 was vulnerable in the area for 8 minutes 31 seconds, and on Day 3 was vulnerable for 12 minutes 10 seconds.

The time blue team spent getting situated before logging out in global is not counted in this as being vulnerable because it is not a viable strategy for an entertainer to waste 4 hours of their limited time camping global to ensure no one is logging out.

Red team claimed their first global task on Day 3 with 13 minutes until the server closed. On Day 4, Etoiles and Roier arrived to stop blue team from applying the same strategy with 15 minutes until the server closed.

Blue team's actions on Day 4 did not leave them open to any reasonable retaliation efforts once Tubbo logged out. The moment he logged back in, the tasks were as good as complete. Unless another content creator metagamed, they would not be able to stop him.

Red team's actions on Day 2 and Day 3 did leave them open to retaliation. They were not fast, they often did not have the items they needed crafted in advance and spent time in sight of the global task dome crafting the items. If a team had been waiting for them to try this at the global task dome as Etoiles and Roier did for Blue team, that team could entirely have succeeded in killing them or ruining their plans.

The global tasks on Day 4 were already functionally blue's 4 hours before they were claimed. Even if the disaster hadn't affected global, the way it was supposed to, the only thing left would have been revenge. There was no preventing it once Tubbo logged out.

The global tasks on Day 2 were open to reclamation for an hour after red team claimed them. By Day 3 blue team was aware of red's strategy and had a full 12 minutes (at a predictable time! see below) in which they could have attacked red and stopped them.

What blue and red team did was not the same.

Below are the time stamps I used to get this data and draw these conclusions. I've included links to vods for verification purposes. These links are not future proofed.

November 7th, 2023: Day 4 of Purgatory

TubboLIVE's VOD:

1:47:20 : Tubbo logs out of the server, behind the blue "contracts" NPC. He has 15 minutes 32 seconds of server time remaining.

5:50:23 : It is 3:48:52 am in Tubbo's time zone. Tubbo shows the clock on his screen. There are 11 minutes and 8 seconds until the server closes.

5:50:49 : Tubbo loads in, behind the blue "contracts" NPC. It is 3:49:41 am. This is the first moment the game is visible on his screen. He has 15 minutes 03 seconds of server time remaining.

5:50:50 : Tubbo claims the first of the global tasks.

5:50:51 : Tubbo claims the last of the global tasks. It is 3:49:43 am.

Notably:

Functionally, tubbo was standing behind the blue NPC, invincible, for 4 hours 3 minutes and 3 seconds

There is a 29 second period of server time that I can't account for.

The total time it took for tubbo to claim every global task after loading in is 2 seconds.

The cooldown for every global task before it can be reclaimed is 10 minutes. In this case these ten minutes started at 3:49:42 and 3:49:43 am. The first moment any of these claimed global tasks can be reclaimed is 3:59:42 am, with 18 seconds until the server closes.

Etoiles's VOD:

4:56:08 : With some leniency, this is the first clear view of the blue "contracts" NPC and the spot Tubbo is "standing" shown on Etoiles's stream.

*(the blue NPC comes into view at 4:56:06 but whether Etoiles would have seen Tubbo there is dubious enough that I have opted for a later time stamp)

4:56:12 : Etoiles and Roier enter the global task dome. They are standing directly to the left of the red NPC; on the opposite side as the blue NPC. The spot Tubbo is "standing" is clearly visible on Etoiles's stream. Etoiles has 10 minutes 40 seconds of server time remaining. There are roughly 15 minutes and 30 seconds until the server closes*.

*(Time calculated roughly using Tubbo's log in message; this is not exact)

4:56:17 : Roier is standing in front of the blue "contracts" NPC.

4:58:03 : Without leaving global spawn, Etoiles disconnects to get a buffer on his time limit. Remembering that there is a disaster coming, he immediately re-logs to avoid the combat logging penalty. Roier does not disconnect during this time.

4:58:18 : The first frame of the game is visible after Etoiles relogs. Etoiles has 8 minutes 53 seconds of server time remaining.

4:58:45 : The quicksand disaster starts, affecting global spawn despite admins having informed Etoiles previously that disasters did not affect global spawn.

5:00:08 : The disaster ends.

5:01:17 : Tubbo logs in. There are roughly 10 minutes 11 seconds until the server closes.

Notably:

Roier is standing three blocks away from Tubbo's log-in point (effectively, three blocks away from Tubbo) at 5 minutes before Tubbo logs in.

Were Tubbo logged in, waiting physically at spawn, Etoiles and Roier would have been able to initiate combat 5 minutes and 5 seconds earlier. Both had plenty of time on their server counters to participate in this combat, albeit Etoiles would have been kicked before server close. Roier would not be (source: Slime's vod, 2:45:05 and on. There is no disconnect message for Roier before the server is closed at roughly 2:45:08).

Were Tubbo logged in, waiting physically at spawn when Etoiles and Roier arrived (at roughly 3:44:37 am in Tubbo's time zone, 15 minutes and 23 seconds before the server closed), and had claimed all global missions at that time rather than risk dying in combat, the missions would have been able to be reclaimed at roughly 3:54:37 am, with about 5 minutes and 23 seconds before the server closed. This is 5 minutes and 5 seconds more than the actual time.

November 5th, 2023 : Day 2 of Purgatory

This is the first day red has used this strategy.

Cellbit's VOD:

6:52:27 : Cellbit arrives at the plaza outside the global task dome (Carre is already here; he wasn't streaming so I don't know when he arrived).

6:52:49 : Cellbit enters the global task dome. He backtracks to the right of the global task dome, and sets up a crafting area to craft items for the tasks somewhat out of sight of the dome. He is 96 meters away from the dome.

6:55:34 : Cellbit re-enters the global task dome.

6:55:44 : Cellbit claims the first global task for red team (electrolytes). The cooldown is 10 minutes 41 seconds.

6:55:49 : Cellbit claims one global task for red team (radiation medicine).

6:55:55 : Cellbit claims one global task for red team (campfires).

6:56:04 : Cellbit leaves the global task dome and sets up a second crafting area to the right of the dome after losing the first. This area is in full view of the dome, and is roughly 61 meters away.

6:57:40 : Cellbit dumps every item in his inventory except for iron and minecarts and a shield into a chest (he is functionally defenseless).

6:58:18 : Cellbit re-enters the global task dome.

6:58:23 : Cellbit claims one global task for red team (minecarts).

6:59:12 : Cellbit claims one global task for red team (diamonds).

6:59:49 : Cellbit gets his sword out of the chest (he is no longer defenseless).

7:00:58 : Jaiden claims the last global task for red team (rails). The bananas task remains unclaimed.

7:01:01 : ElQuackity is visible outside the dome on Cellbit's stream for the first time. Cellbit chases him.

7:04:34 : Cellbit kills ElQuackity, putting red team in the lead.

7:48:07 : The server closes.

Notably:

Red team is physically present, visible, and murderable / stoppable at the global tasks area for 8 minutes 31 seconds.

Red team takes 5 minutes 14 seconds to claim their global tasks.

The cooldown on these global tasks leaves at minimum 36 minutes 28 seconds to reclaim, maximum 41 minutes 42 seconds to reclaim before server close.

If a team were to have come up to the dome during the 8 minute 31 second period, they would have seen the team and could have attacked or stopped them.

There is a 2 minute 9 second period where Cellbit literally does not have a weapon in his inventory.

If a team were to have come up to the dome while the red team was still crafting the global quest items, they could have attacked and prevented the team from crafting the items and forced them to retreat without claiming those goals.

November 6th, 2023 : Day 3 of Purgatory

This is the second day red has used this strategy.

Cellbit's VOD:

3:39:11 : Cellbit sees Bagi on the bridge to global. There are 24 minutes and 2 seconds until the server closes.

3:39:49 : Cellbit enters the global dome, standing just to the right of where the red NPC is on November 7th.

3:40:24 : Cellbit exits the global dome to craft the water bottles needed for the global task.

3:42:58 : Cellbit crafts the final water bottle needed for the global task.

3:43:28 : Cellbit, Foolish, and Carre re-enter the global dome.

3:44:15 : Cellbit and Carre exit the global dome to inspect Bagi's body. Foolish exits the global dome to use the crafting table.

3:45:36 : Cellbit and Carre re-enter the global dome.

(There's a few more entrances and exits from the dome during the following period, though they stay within the area marked with Bagi's body, the global NPCs, and the crafting table as corners : Never much more than 61 meters away and never out of sight of the dome)

3:49:45 : Cellbit sends the message "hey guys we are about to deliver global tasks you should come!" There are 14 minutes and 18 seconds until the server closes.

3:50:39 : Cellbit claims the first global task for red team (tea leaves). There are 13 minutes and 26 seconds until the server closes.

3:50:59 : Carre claims one global task for red team (gas masks).

3:51:01 : Cellbit claims one global task for red team (hot cocoa).

3:51:09 : Cellbit claims one global task for red team (water bottles).

3:51:12 : Cellbit claims one global task for red team (backpacks).

3:51:21 : Carre claims the last global task for red team (tea). There are 11 minutes and 52 seconds until the server closes.

4:03:13 : The server closes.

notably:

Red team is physically present, visible, and murderable / stoppable at the global tasks area for 11 minutes and 28 seconds before they turn in any global tasks.

Red team takes 42 seconds to turn in all of their global tasks.

The cooldown on the global tasks leaves at maximum 3 minutes 26 seconds of time to reclaim, and at minimum 1 minute and 52 seconds to reclaim.

If a team were to have come up to the dome during the 11 minute and 28 second period, they would have seen and could have attacked red team.

If a team were to have come up to the dome in the 3 minutes 47 seconds between red team arriving at the global dome and red team crafting all the water bottles for the global task, they would have seen and could have attacked red team.

[incesthemes]

i'm impatient so i wanted to share my handwritten notes for 1.15 the benders because i can't wait to type it all up... it's a little messy so here are my key takeaways from the episode, formatted for easier reading:

this is another episode which subtly explores the idea that hunters are monsters. similar to 1.02 wendigo, the monster of the week is defined by its skill in hunting, which suggests that hunters are the same cruel killers that their prey are. other episodes up to now that touch on this are 1.06 skin, 1.07 hook man (less directly), and 1.14 nightmare (less directly).

dean is resistant to this hunt, while sam is enthusiastic about pursuing it. i wrote extensively about the importance of sam pursuing this case here, but regarding dean: dean not wanting to follow up on a potential hunt reveals something about his character, and here it seems to be his worries about sam's developing powers.

sam performing acts of service (hunting) in order to ensure his goodness seems rooted in his family values which are based on service to others. importantly, compare 1.22 where azazel also upholds these values while posing as john. azazel worms his way into the family dynamic and corrupts it by enforcing toxic relationship dynamics, both through acts like this and through acts of incest.

the benders are implied to be incestuous at various points in the episode. they're also paralleled with the winchesters as a whole, through them being hunters and through their undersocialized, insulated dynamics. daddy bender further draws a direct parallel by comparing himself and his family to dean during his interrogation and invites the audience to see them as similar. this consequentially invites us to see the winchesters as incestuous, but in a different way from the incest parallels in episodes up to now: this is a grotesque, warped thing, nothing romantic about it. it's peeling back the layers to reveal the ugly truth of their isolated family.

sam attempts to include himself in this hunt by telling dean to be careful. saying this is important to him because he wants to be part of this dynamic and help, even when locked in a cage. being part of his family is important to him.

sam doesn't kill any of the benders. compare 1.14, where he says it's wrong to kill humans. consistency that reveals a difference between sam and dean: sam doesn't want to see humans as the monsters they hunt, while dean assigns monstrosity based on actions and behaviors.

the episode concludes that seeking revenge will not result in healing, continuing the theme from 1.14—still, sam remains motivated to find and kill azazel, while dean seems to agree with kathleen (who is paralleled to him) and has in a lot of ways abandoned this revenge quest (hinted at in 1.16 and confirmed in 1.22). like in 1.11 and 1.12, sam is making the decisions that will result in tragedy, while dean lacks the narrative agency and willpower to challenge sam's choices and avert their ruin, because his devotion to the family is his ultimate flaw that sam denied him of developing out of in 1.11 (and we see now the effects of this, further expanded upon in 1.18, 1.20, and 1.22). the "moral" of the episode runs directly contradictory to sam's choices, and the warning signs are ignored as sam continues his hunt for azazel.

actual notes under the cut because there's a lot of them!

[sleep-deprived-luka]

Fandom I love you, but we gotta stop focusing so much of the trans Mizuki discussions on "The femboy folks are wrong"

Obviously? I think it's been made very clear that the interpretation is wrong. Why do we have to spend so much time repeating the same old "Here is why Mizuki can't be a femboy"

Especially since a majority of tumblr already knows why she isn't a crossdresser

[mixmangosmangoverse]

Hello I'm randomly thinking about Healin Good PreCure for the first time in years and looking back at how wildly people misunderstood the point and expected every other season to follow a plot point that's very specific to it

[shitpostingfromthebarricade]

I was considering how an unreliable omniscient narrator might present in a story and realized that it was literally just Les Mis.

[iactuallytryingtolovemyself]

can people not post horrid jc takes in the jin ling tag???? I wanna see fanart of my fav boy!! not an essay why they hate jc!! keep it out!!! or at least have the decency to put a read more option so I don't have scroll through people's inane speculations

god just keep it out of the main tag or just don't post it at all!! keep it in ur brain, go do something that brings u joy

[tragedykery]

rating: T

relationships: Silena Beauregard/Clarisse La Rue, minor Silena Beauregard/Charles Beckendorf

additional tags: Fluff and Angst, Oblivious Silena Beauregard, Feelings Realisation

word count: 6560

written for @sapphic-summer-riordanverse day 4 & 5: "fruit" + "history repeats itself"

It was comfortable to lie here like this, with her head in Clarisse’s lap, talking and eating and watching the sunset work its magic upon the landscape. She felt warm inside, giddy and content and free. Here, in this moment, she was the happiest she had ever been.

(If only she had known what was to come.)

[Silena and Clarisse go strawberry picking together.]

[dennisboobs]

most annoying thing about being me is that i cannot engage with like. any fanon shit about dennis because i'm constantly on some advanced derangement and the stuff i thought two years ago when i was first getting comfy in the fandom is still the way everyone else looks at dennis but i'm like. yes but its Worse than this. you're like a quarter of the way there. this isn't the interesting bit, this is a symptom of it, keep going.

[daz4i]

i think i have a somewhat okay grasp on what most elements and some paths tell us abt the characters who use them. but! but. argenti is the exception for both of his. Hm

[gu6chan]

maybe its sample bias but i think it's kinda funny how most people I've seen who've played drakengard because of nier are making ending e THE endgoal and more often than not the main if not only reason they're playing the game at all and when they finally get it they're like "this is it the single most impactful, greatest moment of all gaming. im wiping tears from my eyes this is it" and then you see the drakengard fans who've played drakengard because they like drakengard and you ask them about ending e and they're like "eh. it was okay, i guess"