#and then we all branch out to our respective favorites

[ryssbelle]

The Brozone Misconception

(This picture is more a joke don't take it too seriously)

This is a kind of long analysis, deep dive, and discussion about certain fandom misconceptions. I am 100 percent open for discussion but I would ask that you read the whole thing first before reaching out, and please be respectful!

A link to the og google doc with images as tumblr image limit killed part of the essay XD

Essay under the cut

There is a common misconception in a small subset of the trolls fandom about the character of Brozone. That is their reaction and treatment of Branch, their overall purpose in the story, and whether or not Branch should have forgiven them. Whether or not their trauma born toxic traits which they aim to grow out of should be forgiven or not.

Let’s begin with an analysis of the beginning, middle, and end of their arc progression more or less.

We start with our favorite problem child, Jonathan Dorian, mounting the pressure of tonight's show, building expectations, and showing us, the audience, a bit of what goes on every time these guys perform: 

Making Bruce do 100 more push ups in the time before showtime (1 minute) 

Pressuring Clay to wear the funderdrawers even tho he clearly doesn’t want to 

Rebuffing floyds attempts to calm himself down

And his worst crime

Making Baby Branch Nervous

Now you could see all of these and think “Evil! Evil John Dory! Jail for John DOry for 1000 years!!” because he is being oh so toxic. Now JD’s main motivation for pushing his brothers so hard in this moment has to do with the “Perfect Family Harmony” which according to baby Branch no one has ever hit before

And you can see the strain it puts on the other brothers not just through the scenes i showed before but Clay literally tells us

John Dory not only sees it as a great achievement, but he is putting his own and his families self worth all on whether or not they accomplish the perfect family harmony

(ignore the crappy cropping image limits)

And when they fail he blames it on them not following his lead 

He still believes after all of that that they can successfully complete the Perfect Family harmony 

This looks to be about the first time the brothers air their grievances out to their older brother about how they actually feel about not only completing the harmony, but the direction of the band itself.

All of this happens within the heat of the moment, and only continues to get worse as when confronted with all of this Negativity JD decides to leave. You can see by his facial expressions in the above screenshots he was already feeling terrible about the situation as a whole. Animation is very show don’t tell just as much as live action is, it’s very important for storytelling as a whole. A character should not have to SAY they are remorseful for you to be able to see it.

So JD leaves leading his other brothers to leave as well. Ironically they are following his lead badum dum dum. 

Now we can assume this is probably par for the course for these guys, cuz Grandma is right there, and she just lets them leave, you say plot convenience I say subtle story telling/ It is implied they do this all the time and will eventually come back. (they don’t)

(Also ignore this image its also a silly and not serious XD)

Now you may be thinking, Ricky, you say that Brozone is not toxic, yet you show us the worst examples of their character. Listen dear reader, this is only the beginning, what I’ve shown you is merely the establishment of the eventual conflict that will be part of the driving force behind character growth and the story itself. 

Let’s move on to adulthood. The main arguments against Brozone happen here, other than the initial abandonment of Branch, which, I should remind you, happened when the oldest among them was still a teenager (teenagers are dumb). 

In this section I also have to mention another movie, and another character, as he is usually brought up in these discussions 

Creek

Creek is usually used as a comparison to the Brozone bros in the argument that Brozone is EVIL AND TOXIC AND UNFORGIVABLE and Creek by comparison should be seen in a better light and not deserve the hate. To be honest I have never seen the level of hate that has been given to Brozone leveled at Creek in the slightest. He is canonically a toxic character, and one who is incredibly self serving which a majority of the fandom recognize and vibe with. Creeks admittedly rancid personality is a massive factor in his appeal (at least for me), and that is kind of the point of his character: To be awful and unforgivable. Creek wasn’t made as your average side character, Creek was specifically made to be an antagonist, to be a contrast to one of our main protagonists, Branch. That is why they are always at odds with each other within both 3D media and 2D media. 

Taken from the trolls wiki

Creek has also shown disregard for Branch’s hobbies in the main show, tossing his puzzle into the fire. This was during Haircuffed, when Creek didn’t want to do Branch’s puzzle

Which you think not so bad, its just a puzzle! Well…

Puzzle’s have incredible significance to Branch, a comfort object if you will, and another way to feel connected to his Grandma. Now you might cry “Creek didn’t know it was significant! He can’t be held responsible for that!” HE SHOULDN’T HAVE TO KNOW THE TRAUMA BEHIND THE PUZZLE TO NOT DESTROY THE PUZZLE.

Conversely let's look at the Brothers:

Throughout the course of the film they are a bit rude to Branch and dismissive of him:

JD:

Bruce:

Clay:

(You could argue the face grabbing is just a troll thing cuz)

But anyway

These scenes are minor things that add up during the course of the film for the purpose of showing off the traits they will put aside and grow out of for the sake of each other.

(brb reading xmen)

Lets talk about Xmen, you think JD is bad well watch this

Bam!

Anyway

Before we tackle the entire argument scene let’s first tackle the individual character of each of the bros, Specifically: John Dory, and Bruce, who are most criticized for their actions.

John Dory is one of the first brothers we see return in the film, and his first and foremost objective is to collect Branch so that they can go get their other brothers to rescue Floyd. Some have called John Dory uncaring for his younger brothers, but if that were the case why start the rescue mission at all? An uncaring brother would just ignore the letter and go on with his life, but John Dory literally drops everything just to go rescue his little brother. The letter even specified getting the other brothers first, but John Dory goes alone to get Floyd out of danger as fast as possible only retrieving the other bros when he fails (and cuz he didnt know where they were, can’t waste time when you got a brother to save)

A brother who didn’t care about his family wouldn’t go through all this effort. Some would say he’s only doing it for appearances sake, but for whom? Him and his brothers have been out of the limelight for 20 years, JD especially has been isolated in the neverglades, who is he trying to impress with this? No one, he’s just a good brother.

Also a reminder! When thinking about breaking Floyd out he is not the first to bring up the harmony! Floyd is, John Dory had a much more clever idea

So it's not just to complete the harmony either.

He’s also held on to all the merch from their Brozone days, mementos of his family, it shows how he cares, but also the flaw he aims to overcome: his desperate attempt to cling to the past, the better days.

Now let's go to Bruce, easily the most scrutinized of the brothers (because of the baby comment) 

When he first sees his brothers again this is his reaction: 

(Another point for JD, got ignored but is more happy to see his bros getting along)

Bruce is excited to introduce them to his family, excited to reconnect.

(Note: At this point tumblr stopped allowing images so i will be giving descriptions along with a link to the original google doc for reference purposes these are screenshots from the movie)

Cut image: Bruce introducing his wife to his brothers "These are my brothers, unexpectedly"

(Still excited and immediately introduces them to his wife despite them being “unexpected”)

Cut Image: Brandy saying "It's so nice to finally meet you"

“It’s so nice to finally meet you” Implies that he’s talked about them at length and the possibility of them meeting up with one another.

Also all of his kids completely ignore their mom, just to ask their father something, or tell on their sibling, or ask for his help as seen in this entire clip

With the ketchup kid he assures his kid he will handle it (and yes Brandy had to handle it but um rescue mission?) and that he loves them he just needs a bit of time to address, um who was it again? His brothers, right…

Bruce is argued as being incredibly selfish, I had seen a meme once that had suggested Bruce would let his own children die before he would give up his own life, which is horrendous and blatantly untrue. Bruce only tries to turn away his brothers when John Dory brings up the perfect family harmony and that’s before he knows it's for Floyd, once he finds out it’s for Floyd he is immediately on board! His biggest concern about the harmony at this time is how they’re going to do it. 

As for “abandoning his family again” Bruce is going on a rescue mission, which he asks his wife before hand if it is alright

Which she approves, he also agrees to cover for a WHOLE MONTH for the yoga retreat (Also seen in the clip above)

He spends the majority of the journey caring for Tiny Diamond as well, he lets Tiny into his hair, carries him around in a baby sling he’s a dad to any kid who needs him.

Clay doesn’t get as much scrutiny as either of the older bros, most likely due to his inability to leave the golf course and the fact he apologizes to Branch at the end. There are many things that mimic the same in the ending scene but let’s address the points brought up within the argument that people use to claim the evilness of Brozone. 

Also fun reminder, Clay is the one to start the fight, Not John Dory, not Bruce, Clay just a fun note (he is a lil problematic and argumentative and thats why i love him)

Clay brings up John Dory being bossy which sets everyone off into a tangent about the past, past actions that they think are resurfacing

Cut image, the beginning of the argument:

Clay: No. No, dude. You’re forcin' us to be perfect, just like you always have, so we can hit the perfect family harmony.

John Dory: Yeah. For Floyd.

Bruce: Is it? Or is this all just so you can tell people what to do again?

John Dory: Wha What?

_

Bruce: This isn’t gonna work if you keep on bein' the same old John Dory.

We all know John Dory’s reason for being “bossy” ; his reason for his perfection, once done out of an effort to impress, is now one out of necessity. They need to be perfect because now someone can die, and the others can’t see that due to their own trauma at the hands of JD’s perfectionism. 

As shown way at the beginning of the essay, all of the brothers suffered at the hands of JD’s past obsession, Bruce had to look a certain way pushing his body past its limits, Clay had to act a certain way disregarding his own happiness to keep up an image, Floyd was ignored and his advice pushed aside, and Branch was pushed to be perfect when he was only about 2 years old (or a month old if you go by the brozone blog). JD also suffered, pushing himself to make song after song, mentally exhausting himself and inadvertently hurting his brothers in the process of doing what he thinks is right for them. 

JD also had the responsibility (as a teen) to parent all of his younger brothers:

Cut Image:

John Dory: Well, I’m not allowed to change. I’m the oldest. I had to be the leader.

John Dory: Why do you think I moved to the middle of nowhere? So I didn’t have to be in charge of anyone. Four little brothers is a lot of responsibility.

You could argue it's his responsibility as the oldest but Grandma was right there, they shouldn’t be his sole responsibility. 

When most of them left it was done out of self preservation, to protect their sanity and to finally find happiness outside of a place that was no longer bringing it to them. They were kind of acting how most would want Branch to act, they cut out the toxic family for their own safety. 

Bruce:

Cut image:

Bruce: [stammers] Why do you think I left? So no one would treat me like you did.

Clay: 

Cut Image:

Clay: I’m gonna find trolls who take me seriously. Next to Clay is a picture of himself in a graduation cap

(Also that is Clays graduation photo, they are all around teen years in  the prologue which means this is either a middle school graduation photo or he graduated early and is still not taken seriously, which as someone who also faces that [only being seen one way despite your achievements] is incredibly discouraging and soul destroying) 

They most likely didn’t return due to the fact they didn’t want to be faced with this kind of treatment again (golf course entrapment aside) 

(Now you’re probably wondering about Floyd and he’s a whole other post, this is mostly focusing on the brothers who receive the most criticism due to misrepresentation)

During the argument they talk about going their separate ways, it is admittedly harsh they way they talk about leaving again, but they never say they’re leaving forever. Bruce has to return to his wife and kids, Clay left the golf course without one of its leaders, JD has his own life and routine, of course they’d go back to it once it was over, but that doesn’t mean visiting is off the table, and that they’d never see each other again. 

Cut Image: John Dory: What? The mission’s the mission. [chuckles] You didn’t think we’d all live together when this was all over, did you? Singin' songs and roastin' marshmallows?

Again i recognize JD is being an asshole here, but he is only knocking the idea of living together off the table, which kind of understandable they’re all adults with their own lives they don’t need to live together, I don’t get mad at my sister for going back to her house when shes done visiting. But again it is more how they say it then what they’re saying

Cut Image:

Branch: [scoffs] Oh, I’m sorry. Is that funny to you? That I might want us to actually be a family again? Tiny Diamond, pull over. Now.

Seen is JD's look of regret

You can see on his face that he regrets what he said when Branch says this, when he gets angry at him, he didn’t mean it like that. Thats when the don’t be a baby comment comes in, they still don’t actually understand why he’s upset, they think he’s acting childish, they don’t recognize he’s changed yet

Cut Image: The bros reaction upon hearing of grandmas death

These are their faces when they hear what Branch has been through, they obviously are upset, they’re hurt on his behalf, they are remorseful, this and their future actions signify the shift from who they were (hurt kids turned hurt adults, fighting over their past trauma) 

After Branch leaves, they, on their own accord, continue the mission to save Floyd, which is how they get caught, and during the final climax control freak JD relinquishes control, having changed and lets Branch take the lead. This is after Branch reminds them they don’t have to be perfect to be in harmony, just to be as they are together which they AGREE

Cut Image:

JD: We'll follow your lead, Branch

Once they save Floyd we are brought to Bruce’s restaurant, he brings them there to host their reunion, there is where branch gets encouragement from JD, where Clay apologizes, where Floyd reminisces and you can see JD engaging with his brothers more than just encouraging Branch he has joined Clays sad book club

Cut Image: JD reading a sad book behind Branch and Clay talking about said book club

This isn’t the end of their reconnection, this is only the beginning. They still have lots of time to grow, and to become closer as family. 

Now lets head back to Creek for a moment before we close this off:

We have brought up the puzzle destruction and his purpose as an antagonist. The main argument most people use is that Creek had no other choice but to sell out his entire race to be eaten and killed to save himself. He had a choice, Branch would’ve let himself get eaten if it meant protecting all of troll village as noticed when he protects poppy in twt (though he might’ve actually found another way out), Poppy would’ve as well. In tbt Floyd begs each of his brothers who meets him before the climax to let him die so they don’t face the same fate, these are all selfless acts. Creek reacts selfishly, eat everyone else but don’t eat me, then he smugly confronts Poppy, obnoxiously laments about how he has to live with his actions when if he were a truly good and selfless character wouldn't have been an issue. He smiles smugly, shrugs his shoulders, and lets himself be carried to safety when his people look at his betrayal with disbelief and sadness. 

Creeks actions in the 1st movie are awful, they’re supposed to be, they’re meant to be unforgivable crimes, and that is why he is killed in the 3D canon, legit he is dead in the 3D canon. 2D and 3D are different continuities, which is part of why I find them (Brozone and Creek) to be mostly incomparable.

Brozone’s arc only affects Branch and each other and in the end they grow stronger, and into better people. Creeks arc/actions affect an entire species and their survival, within the 2D continuity his actions only continue to be self serving, and rather toxic (more for funsies but you know) he should not have been forgiven, but he was. His actions were deplorable yet forgiven which then begs the question why aren’t Brozones? Creek also wrote the apology song solely to humiliate Branch in front of his friends which is not cool bro, Branch did not deserve the treatment he got in the episode from anyone. 

To conclude my thoughts are that Creek and Brozones actions are incomparable, Creek’s actions are not meant to be taken in a positive or sympathetic light, he is a villain cut and dry, that is who he was made to be and he does it wonderfully. I don’t hate Creek, I love his character, he is awful and that is great! Love toxic awful characters! Brozone are a representation of a broken family coming together again, they are toxic, and then they grow, they are meant to do so, the villains of that movie are Velvet, Veneer, and familial trauma all of which get mended by the end of the film. It’s not perfect but its there, and the ignorance of it is what causes these major misconceptions. 

TL;DR Learn media literacy please

[aesthetic-gamersnail]

Incorrect quotes from Trolls 3 (and other instances) round 3

Branch: H-how do you ask someone out?

Clay: Well, first-

Viva: Don't ask him, he asked me out in a McDonalds parking lot.

Branch: ...And you said yes?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Branch: There is no future. There is no past. Don't you see? Time is simultaneous, an intricately structured jewel that trolls insist on viewing one edge at a time, when the whole design is visible in every fact.

Poppy: ...All I asked was if you wanted to cut your birthday cake first.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Poppy: The universe has a sense of humor and I can respect the commitment to the bit but girl please.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John: As your favorite brother-

Branch: Floyd is my favorite brother.

John:

Branch:

John: AS YOUR FAVORITE BROTHER-

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Floyd: You really put aside everything and came all this way for me? How did you even get here so fast?

John: Several traffic violations.

Bruce: Three counts of resisting arrest.

Clay: Roughly thirteen cans of energy drinks.

Branch: Also, that’s not our car.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Viva: Here’s a fun Christmas idea. We hang mistletoe, but instead of kissing, you have to FIGHT whoever else is under it.

Clay: Viva no.

Poppy: Mistlefoe.

Clay: Please stop encouraging her.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Veneer: I’d like to offer you moral support, but I have questionable morals.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John, trying to convince Branch to join him on the mission: You know... I thought it'd be good to have someone come along who's really... strong!

Poppy: And loud

Cooper: And grumpy!

Cloud Guy: And oblivious to reality!

Branch:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Branch: So, what’s Poppy's type?

Smidge: Blue eyes, kind, oblivious, good sense of humor, crazy prepared.

Branch: Sounds kind of like me. Too bad we’re just friends.

Smidge: Did I mention oblivious?

Branch: Yeah, why?

Smidge: Okay, just making sure.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grandma Rosiepuff: *visiting* Hello, I just came to-

*sees Clay shoving Branch into the washing machine while John records and Spruce watches*

Grandma Rosiepuff: *retreating* Something suddenly came up.

[deathsbestgirl]

so i recently rewatched all things, what are your thoughts on that episode?

OOF. i love everything about all things.

i've written about it a few times, i think mostly in relation to other episodes, if you go through my all things tag, you'll find them along with a few from other people.

mostly, i love that this episode is as much about faith as so many others. but scully branches out -- i know some others take issue with this for whatever reasons, but i think it's a testament to scully's open mind and her view & respect for religion/faith. in my mind, it's like in the alchemist by paulo coelho (sorry i am so annoying about this book lol) where the main character views other religions as fake and by the end, god & allah are one in the same. i think that's a journey or belief that makes complete sense for scully.

so i put all things on just for this after annoying my wife & roomie all day with season two and three lol (hence one breath & paper clip mentions)

opening voiceover:

Time passes in moments ... moments which, rushing past define the path of a life just as surely as they lead towards its end. How rarely do we stop to examine that path, to see the reasons why all things happen, to consider whether the path we take in life is our own making or simply one into which we drift with eyes closed.

But what if we could stop, pause to take stock of each precious moment before it passes? Might we then see the endless forks in the road that have shaped a life? And, seeing those choices, choose another path?

i love fate vs choice in this show. i just watched paper clip where mulder tells scully "i don't think this about justice...i think it's about fate" -- about these terrible losses they've suffered and where it's going to lead them. these things that have been done to them, happened to them against their will. it's something they consistently struggle with. in christmas carol, scully dreams a memory with melissa where scully tells her "i don't believe in fate. i believe we make our own path." so much of this conversation is echoed back in this episode. scully has every word spoken by her favorite people running through her mind, waiting to understand and pull them out to share with mulder. she does it with ahab, mulder and melissa. like in paper hearts, scully quotes mulder himself back to him about dreams. here, she's contemplating fate & choices. the paths she may have walked if she chose differently, and what her choices mean. it isn't the life her parents would have chosen for her, and in some ways, it is not the life she wanted, but they were always the choices she was going to make.

as much i love the whole episode, the first and last scenes are the most impactful to me, at least character and relationship wise. everything between is how she finally got there, how she finally embraced the lesson melissa tried to instill her. (it also reminds me of the blessing way, when melissa urges scullys to try regression therapy. scully goes, but she flees and doesn't go back until patient x/the red and the black. when mulder is struggling with his own path, and she can't move forward with him without her memories. after cancer, after emily. scully learns this lesson, but from both melissa & mulder. i love that it's when mulder is backtracking. it's this balance game they play because their roles are necessary, and they are two sides of the same coin. yin and yang.)

there's also something to do every time the words "all things" are used. it's in scully's opening voice over, and caollenn says it to scully when she goes to pick up the files for mulder.

There is a greater intelligence in all things. Accidents-- or near accidents-- often remind us that we need to keep our mind open to the lessons it gives.

colleen feels like someone melissa sent to scully. the blonde woman guiding scully, to colleen, to mulder, to an open mind & other faiths.

scully is initially dismissive of colleen's work, but something about colleen's words stuck with her and she goes back. colleen talks about choices and being true to yourself and "the signs along the way."

what i love is i believe scully actually did this, and this episode is kind of about realizing that? she went to med school because it felt right, and when it started to feel wrong, she joined the fbi because that's what her entire being was telling her. it may have looked & seemed & felt wrong to others, but as melissa tells her, it isn't their life. scully is the one who has to live the path she chose. struggling with our choices is a normal part of life and scully's have had some big consequences for her and her loved ones. but what other choice could she make? they were right for her, and she can't control everything. she couldn't have stopped anything because it was never her fault. something both her & mulder grapple with.

i love when she tells daniel he needs to deal with his choices. she didn't make him do anything, in fact she left because it's what she believed was right. he decided to blow up his family and couldn't deal with the ways he hurt them (familiar, isn't it? i think a running theme in this show).

scully has her vision in a buddhist temple, as mulder puts it, she talks to god and it leads her down an alternative path to help daniel, thanks to her conversation with colleen. and colleen actually helps connect with her someone. i absolutely adore this scene because it mirrors melissa & mulder meeting in one breath. mulder struggled with melissa's beliefs, even as they're similar in some ways. the same as scully struggles with them, similar to the ways scully & mulder struggle with each other's beliefs (or maybe, more accurately, when they step out of their skeptic/believer roles).

it's interesting to me, how daniel seems to belittle anything that isn't medicine in helping someone heal. it doesn't seem to reflect scully's beliefs as a doctor. "imagine a miracle and you're halfway there." something about a commitment to quality of life and honoring the person, not just extending life. it's a gift she gives to daniel, this understanding of life and people. something he wasn't able to extend to her. respect for choice. something mulder & scully always honor for the other. always validating, always helping in any way they can. always supportive even if they don't agree. always listening despite disagreement or disbelief. always taking the other seriously as no one else has ever done for them.

ultimately, mulder comes looking for scully and they go back to his place to drink some tea and talk about her revelations. to philosophize about choice and fate, and how maybe it's kind of the same thing. they had choice, but there was always only one choice.

[marina41trench]

Tamaki & Ryuu Shuffle Talk 2024 - Chocolate Ramen? [2/3]

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Ryuu: We made it to Mont des Arts, but it’s easy to forget you’re looking for an insignia because the view is so wonderful……!

Tamaki: Yeah! Anyway, there’s a bronze statue with a guy riding on a horse!

Is he someone important?

Ryuu: That’s…… Albert I’s bronze statue.

It seems that he was the 3rd generation king!

Tamaki: So this is the King’s favorite, then?!

This huge bronze statue was made for him.

Tamaki: “Since riding a horse is my favorite, I'm going to make a bronze statue of it!” Something like that!

Ryuu: I-I see……?!

I’m not sure. I’m starting to feel that way!

Tamaki: Right?

Ryuu: But…… it doesn’t look like it has an insignia, I think……?

Tamaki: Hmm, you’re right.

Tamaki: But, don’t you have something like that too?

Something like, “I like this part of me when I do this!”

Ryuu: A part of me that I like, huh…

Ryuu: That part of me that Gaku and Tenn say that they find my cooking delicious. And then……

Ryuu: I sing and dance as a proud member of TRIGGER.

I deliver the best Tsunashi Ryuunosuke to my fans.

I like…… those parts of me.

Tamaki: Yeah. I really like that part of Ryuu-aniki, too!

I respect you.

Ryuu: Tamaki-kun…… Thank you.

Ryuu: There was a slight diversion until I could be proud of myself……

Because of it, I feel that I’ve found out a lot of important things.

Ryuu: What about you, Tamaki-kun? Which parts of you do you like?

Tamaki: I found something I like recently!

Tamaki: The me who thinks of a choreo, then teaches it to them.

Before, I only thought of my dancing, or rather I should be the only one to stand out.

Tamaki: But, it’s not like that.

Iorin, Yama-san, Mikki……

And then, Sou-chan, Nagicchi, and Rikkun were with me.

Tamaki: I realized that there’s a choreo that makes all seven of us look really cool.

When I thought about it, I started thinking, “Aren’t I amazing?!”.

Ryuu: Yeah……! You’re really amazing, Tamaki-kun!

IDOLiSH7 has grown further because you’re part of it.

Tamaki: Because I’m part of it?

Ryuu: Yeah! I’m glad you met IDOLiSH7, Tamaki-kun……!

Tamaki: …………! Yeah!

I’m glad you met TRIGGER as well, Ryuu-aniki!

Ryuu: ……Haha……

I feel like I’m going to cry.

Tamaki: Hehe, our discussion’s not related to the mission anymore!

Ryuu: Yeah, we have to search for the insignia!

*Growl……*

Ryuu & Tamaki: …………Ah.

Ryuu: Ahaha! We talked so much that we got hungry!

Tamaki: Yeah! Let’s look for food first before searching for the insignia!

Ryuu: ……Actually, there’s a place I really want to go.

Tamaki: What is it?! Where?!

Ryuu: A ramen restaurant in Belgium!

The trained manager back in Japan said that he’s opened a branch here!

Ryuu: He said that there’s currently a limited edition chocolate ramen!

Tamaki: Ramen in Belgium?! And has chocolate?!

I’m gettin’ curious……!

Ryuu: I knew you’d say that!

Tamaki: I’m saying that I can only eat ramen!

Let’s go!

Ryuu: Sure!

Tamaki: It was something… I think I found a new world of possibilities……

Ryuu: It’s delicious beyond imagination……

Ryuu: It’s not sweet because of chocolate, but the savory smell of cacao fits with miso……

Tamaki: I wonder if the guys at the dorms can replicate the strong cacao taste in chocolate miso ramen……

Ryuu: I wonder……! I’m sure it’s because he’s a trained manager that he’s able to make it……

Tamaki: I’ll learn too!

Ryuu: Eh?! How?!

Tamaki: I will offer Yama-san’s stomach as a sacrifice!

Ryuu: Ya-Yamato-kun……!

Tamaki: If Yama-san says my chocolate ramen is delicious, I win.

Ryuu: So it’s a contest……!

*Clap clap clap clap……!*

Ryuu: Hm? I hear applause over there……

Tamaki: They’re hyping something! Let’s go there!

End of Episode 2.

[art-of-manliness]

18 Things Every Man Should Do This Fall

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” We believe it. Fall is our favorite time of the year. It’s a season where things are dying and transitioning into dormancy. But there’s also a last gasp of physical and psychic energy in the air. It’s like our minds and bodies know that we’ll soon be holed up for the winter and need to get out and get stuff done — and have a whole lot of fun — before the cold weather arrives. It’s harvest time! To help you make the most of this fall, we’ve put together a list of 18 things every man should do before the leaves are all the way off the trees. Complete each one before the winter solstice, and you’ll have created a bunch of memories to get you through the cold, dark months ahead. Let the fall adventures begin! There’s something satisfying about plucking a crisp apple straight from the branch. Find a local orchard and take your family to fill up baskets with a haul of fruit that can be bitten into directly or turned into apple crisps. While you’re there, see if they have a slingshot you can use to launch fallen/rotten apples into the air. In many areas of the country, fall is when state fairs are held. And, by our lights, they’re must-do affairs. Where else can you see prize-winning pigs, eat deep-fried Oreos, and buy airbrushed t-shirts of Tweety Bird all in one day? Take a spin on the Gravitron, try your luck at the midway games (here’s how to win 5 of them), and pet a goat. It’s a sensory overload of sights, sounds, and smells that only comes once a year. When the leaves start falling, it’s time to break out a big pot and get your chili game on. Better yet, round up your buddies for a chili cook-off (and a debate over whether beans belong in the mix or not). Winner gets bragging rights and a bellyful of everyone else’s attempts. Sure, it might seem childish, but who says being a grown man means you can’t have a little fun? Raking leaves is a necessary evil of homeownership, but it comes with a built-in reward. Once you’ve got a decent pile, take a running start and dive right in. The satisfying crunch, the earthy smell, the feeling of being covered in foliage — it’s fall distilled into one light-hearted act. Fall and football go hand-in-hand. There’s a raw energy to game day you can’t replicate — the anticipation in the air, the sea of team colors, the collective holding of breath as the ball sails towards the end zone. This season, make it a point to catch a game in person, whether it’s your college alma mater or the local high school team. Even if you’re not a die-hard fan, the sheer spectacle of it all is worth experiencing. Don’t miss out on the year’s only chance to turn produce into luminescent, hand-carved art. Rather than picking up your orange gourd from the bins outside a big box store, head to a veritable pumpkin patch to make your selection. Then, when it’s time to carve, mix things up and challenge yourself a bit. You can find plenty of pumpkin carving designs online, including these 6 manly stencils we’ve got available here. And don’t forget to roast those pumpkin seeds. Waste not, want not, gentlemen. Fall’s prime time to get out in the field, whether you’re after deer or ducks. Hunting requires patience, skill, and a healthy dose of respect for the great outdoors. If your hunt is a success, you’ll have a freezer full of meat that will last you all winter. And if you come home empty-handed? Well, that’s why they call it hunting. Pursuit is happiness! As the air gets crisp, it’s time to build up that woodpile. Grab your maul or splitting axe and get to work. There’s something truly satisfyingly about taking an axe to a log — the rhythmic thwack and the gratifying crack as it gives way. Not only does splitting firewood get you practical results, but it’s also a good workout to boot. Be sure to read our guides on how to correctly split firewood and how to stack and store it. Growing up, one of my family’s fall traditions was to put… http://dlvr.it/TDdXjV

[muthaz-rapapa]

Hirogaru Sky Impressions (3/5)

Alright~

So we're more than halfway there. Excited for leaks season yet?

Show is still going good despite the last 10 episodes being mostly filler. I don't have anything to really complain about since as far as fillers go, the quality of HiroPre's is definitely better than those of previous seasons.

But me being me, of course there is going to be some form of criticism so let's gogogo~ and get that over with.

Again, the fillers are quite enjoyable but ever since the recovery of Captain Shalala, doesn't it feel like we've gone too long without any plot-related episodes?

Thankfully, it seems they're getting back to that with ep 31 next week. But even so, the lack of clues or hints about the Undergu Empire and the reason for its antagonism dragged the show's momentum slightly. So it felt longer to get through these 10 weeks.

"Filler doldrums" as I'd like to call it because tuning into Precure weekly became more of chore than something to look forward to.

But it wasn't that bad so let's hope the next 10 episodes will be more balanced.

Moving on.

I spoke too soon on not having to worry about the handling of Mashiro's character arc anymore. Why am I surprised, though? Whenever I let my guard down, my expectations are always betrayed. Oiy.

But honestly, they got me all hoping and excited since they actually gave her potential content to work with. Like her taking an interest in creating picture books. Or even her cooking skills or passion for makeup. Or her long distance relationship with her parents. That's quite a bunch of material to expand on for her.

Instead, she's been regulated to the passenger seat again to let Sora drive.

On one hand, I understand and can accept that Sora would receive more focus since the she is the main character of the overall story. Her coming from another world and therefore being a fish out of water bird out of Skyland when it comes to most things Earth-related...along with being someone who's never had friends before due to spending most of her time training are all prime real estate for development.

However, you can't deny that there is a blatant amount of lead favoritism.

It's not as bad as previous seasons since the writing for HiroPre is a lot better. But when the rest of the cast individually gets one episode of spotlight for every five or so the lead gets, it can be tiresome or even suffocating to sit through.

...on another note, my theory about Captain Shalala possibly being a double agent for the Undergu Empire turned out to be wrong after all. But I think having the enemy take Shalala hostage was the more suitable direction to go for breaking Sora down in order to let her renew and restrengthen her resolve as a hero. The loss of respect for your idol can be a really difficult thing to bear and that might be too harsh a topic for Precure's target audience. It achieved similar effects to the Broken Pedestal trope anyway so no complaints there.

Anyways, we may have broken the Pink trend this year but I'm not optimistic it will stay that way as long as there's always one primary lead in each group. Frankly, I think we're going straight back to special Pink treatment for another 4 years before 25th anniversary but that's a thing to worry about later.

As for Tsubasa and Ageha, I was more satisfied with their focus eps. Mostly.

Tsubasa's always teaches you something new. I really liked the one about branching out your dream, which is something we all need to hear should we ever reach our goal or get stuck on what to do next. And Ageha's most recent one with her older sisters and her parents' divorce when she was younger provided more depth into how she became the person she is today.

But I wasn't pleased when the Peach airline promotion ep that should've been about Mashiro spending time with her parents went to Tsubasa instead. I mean, Tsubasa showing off his airplane knowledge is always amazing but...ngh, they really don't care for Mashiro, do they?

Another thing. I became a little concerned about the portrayal of Ageha. She is shown to be consistently confident and composed in most things she does...but most 18-year olds aren't like that. So I worried for a bit if that might've sent an unintentional message that "you should be as competent as Ageha when you reach adult age" which is like ehhhh......not true.

Though it's only a flaw you notice if you're incredibly scrutinizing like I am. And given Ageha's personality, there's nothing wrong with presenting her as such cuz she wouldn't be Ageha without those traits. But definitely think of her more as a role model instead of one to emulate, that's all.

Right so, next week...is not the debut of Cure Majesty.

YET.

But very soon. Maybe even the week after? September titles haven't been released yet (as of checking right now) but with only...wow, 18 more episodes to go, they better make the best of it.

I don't think Ellee-chan suddenly getting older will become too much of an issue with pacing...as long as they don't put her in school if she still largely retains the mind of a toddler.

Or maybe she'll only grow older when transforming into Precure and return to being a baby during off-hours? That'd be interesting...it wouldn't be as fun as seeing her more grown up, yea, but it'd be unexpected, at least.

Whatever. Just give me more lore and I'll be good.

Finally (haha), let's talk about the future of Precure for a bit.

This season is obviously not going to be the last of 'em. If it was, they wouldn't try to scare you with it in an All Stars movie preview of all things. They'd likely do it the boring way by just announcing it in the news. :P

Anyways, we can definitely expect the franchise to continue for another 5 years. 25th anniversary is something Toei absolutely has to aim for because it will be a double milestone.

Quarter of a century run for the Precure franchise.

And (if my projected calculations are correct), if we keep to teams of 4-5 every year up until till 2028, we will hit over 100 Precure total.

Pretty exciting, yes?

With mixed-gender teams no longer being just a dream (look, Cure Wing even made the news! WAAAAHHH!!! xD) and upcoming projects like the Otona Precure series and the all-male Precure stage play in the works, it's definitely a confirmation that this franchise has no intention of ending any time soon.

If you want more consumers of your product, you need to accommodate for a variety of people and all sorts of new and different ideas, aspects and tastes.

Formula they probably won't budge on too much (not for the main tv series anyway) but there always will be other rooms to explore, y'know?

Ok~ So Precure won't be ending but summer is~

Hope everyone enjoyed it in spite of the heat and best of luck in school or whatever your future endeavors are!

See you in another 10 eps! (^ _ ^)/"

[eldritch-elrics]

i finally watched the backrooms webseries by kane pixels!

because "weird architecture"-based horror is one of my absolute favorite vibes, i knew i had to check it out eventually. and i'm glad i did! overall it's astonishingly well-done, especially from a technical/effects perspective. very good visual design, audio design, etc.

under the cut i'll add some more detailed thoughts + criticisms!

things i liked:

pretty much all the found-footage episodes are extremely well done. there's real tension! it's super spooky! my favorites are the ones entitled "pitfalls" and "found footage #2." i really enjoy how the creator is able to innovate on the concept of the backrooms, keeping things visually cohesive while branching out into various styles of architecture. i don't think i can do them justice other than to say that the vibes are perfect.

i also found myself more invested in the main "plot" of the series than i thought i would be. i like the interactions between the scientists/explorers; they're both fun and also realistic-feeling. while the introduction of async (the shady corporation trying to expand into the backrooms) initially made me go "what a cliche!" - i think their goal of ~solving the housing crisis~ by building shitty homes in a dangerous alternate dimension is pretty unique and interesting. i love the parts where it's clear they're rushing the job of making the backrooms "habitable" because they want to impress investors. it's not what i expected from the series, but i'd love to see more of that. always gotta respect a horror series with concrete themes.

also, this is very specific, but i like how the explorers have lots of lingo and safety procedures. that's an important part of making something like this actually feel naturalistic. i am convinced that this is a real, government-funded investigation!

neutral observations:

while i don't think it's fair to call the backrooms webseries cliche/unoriginal, it's clearly building heavily off of preexisting media. kane pixels's youtube channel makes it clear he's a portal fan - that's absolutely an inspiration here. there are also heavy vibes of control (2019 game) and annihilation (2018 movie). since all of these are things i like, i'm happy! and i think the webseries is doing a unique spin on "shady government project sends scientists/explorers/etc into surreal alien phenomenon." but at the same time, i find myself questioning why it always has to be a shady government/corporate project. for sure, it lets you investigate themes like "the limit of science" and "how much control do these organizations have over us and do they really care about our safety" and fun things like that, but i would have been equally happy if it wasn't doing that trope again.

i also have no strong opinions on the idea of introducing monsters into the backrooms. some people have strong opinions on this. i think the monsters add to the tension in fun ways. i like how inhumanly they move! and i like how it's implied (ish? at least this is my theory) that the monsters are mutated forms of people who've gotten lost in the backrooms. and how they have this kind of fungusy vibe...

for the most part, though, the series is scariest when there aren't any monsters around. but the threat of monsters keeps tension high, and i like how they're integrated into the plot so far. it's less about monsters being present and more what you do with them, i think?

criticisms:

my biggest criticism might seem like kind of an unfair one, but it's central to how i view found footage as a medium/genre. fundamentally, to me, found footage is about medium-as-plot-device - the camera is a character, the editing is done by people in-universe, and there should be a strong feeling that the work is presented the way it is for a diegetic reason (even if we don't know what that reason is).

the backrooms webseries consistently fails to convince me that it is entirely shot and edited in-universe. one might say "but it isn't trying to be convincing in this way," but i don't think that's true - the way the episodes are labeled with dates, and the way everything is cut together, makes it seem like it's presenting curated videos from the fictional 90s. it's possible other people are more lenient about "what a found footage series should be," or if they classify backrooms as "found footage" at all! but the way i read it, its particular priorities as a found footage series seriously clash with my own definition of what a found footage series should be concerned with.

i find it particularly jarring when it's playing spooky music over cut-together photos and video. even if async is supposed to be sinister, why would they make videos that so obviously paint them that way? is somebody else supposed to have created some of these videos? if so, i would have liked an indication of who and maybe why, even if it isn't really explained! the final episode (for now) does this pretty well - presents itself as an internal communication to be shown to other async employees. the episode "motion detected" is also really good: it's clear what purpose the video has in-universe. but others, especially towards the beginning of the series, feel jarring because their creation isn't so grounded in the universe.

there are also segments where the filmmaking language shifts from found footage to cinema. see, i think i understand why these segments are here, but i simply do not think it works at all. when you create found footage, you, by nature of the medium, make your viewer extremely aware of the camera as an object. when the series shifts into a cinematographic mode - filming and cutting between actors like in a movie - it feels incredibly fake. (see the episode "report" for an example of this.) who is filming these people? why? why cut stuff together in this way? i get the sense that it's supposed to be an "objective" view of stuff going on outside the backrooms, stuff that no in-universe cameras are supposed to see, but if that's the case, the series's chosen medium has already undermined any sense of objectivity here, since previous episodes have taught us to question the camera. i do hope any continuation to the story addresses this! i would love to know why async is filming themselves like this! and it's always possible that the cinematic language is supposed to make the viewer feel uneasy. but idk. i'm not a fan

overall, the backrooms is truly excellent found footage horror. when it stops being found footage, though, the found-footage-ness of the rest of it can't help but make me stop suspending my disbelief!

[yuus-sentient-teddy]

Reluctance

((Getting this out before Book 7 Chapter 3 drops))

Cater does not want to wake up. He doesn't want to say goodbye; he's tired of being tired. "I'm sorry, Yuu-chan, but I can't go with you."

Thorned branches slither out of the darkness of the trees and begin to surround Yuu as though they're forming a coccoon. "Cater, wait!"

They're about to vault over the forming wall, but more branches rush in to block the way, stopping them. They look through the gaps and call for him again, watching as he turns around and walks down the path. There are spaces on the branches where the thorns don't protrude, and Yuu grabs these spaces and pull. The branches don't budge.

Yuu spins around their new prison, searching for a large enough gap or a different way out, but there are neither. It's the same all around: branches that criss-cross and leave small gaps. They peer through one of the gaps. Cater is becoming a small dot.

All they can do is cry for him, begging for him to come back.

Please. You need to wake up!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grim is holding tightly to Yuu's leg like a koala, maybe even like a little kid who doesn't want his favorite person to leave. "Grim, you can still be a great mage in the real world," Yuu says assuringly.

"I know I can be," Grim grumbles, "it's just..." He mumbles the rest.

"What did you say?"

". . . I said, you might not be my henchman. . . and no one could do what you do."

Grim was many things: reckless, cheeky, egotistical, and yet he had moments of kindness and caring, even if it was roundabout. Yuu's heart melted hearing why he was reluctant to wake up. They probably shold have figured it out when they entered his dream, actually. Here, he was an accomplished mage known far and wide and asked for by many people, from the everyday Joe to royalty, and they were his henchman (although, most trusted companion would have been a better title from how he treated them). Violent monster problems, personal meetings, and magic advice, Yuu was always by his side and he made sure no attack hit them. Looking back on this, they were touched by how much he cared about them and wanted them around.

Reaching down, they pet his head, causing the pointed mage hat to go askew. They try to be gentle with their next words. "It makes me happy to hear all that. But Grim, we can't stay here--you can't stay here. None of this is real."

"But why not?" He looks up, defiant and slightly tearful. "It can be if we want it to. It's perfect here. We get respect and cheered on by everyone, there's always food, and we get to go on adventures together."

Together.

"But I'm not going to be here." Yuu watches his face turn into disbelief and confusion. "I can't stay here, Grim. I need to go back home, everyone is waiting for me and I really miss them."

He looks away, bitter with traces of jealously. He knows; he was there to comfort them when they cried out of homesickness or sat with them when they stared forlornly at the moon some nights. After all that, he can't not want to help them get back home--except, after getting a taste of what could be through the dreams, he finds he can't let them go. Whoever is waiting for Yuu back home is so stupidly lucky.

"As your friend, I can't leave you dreaming forever. There are things out in the real world that can be just as good. There are Ace and Deuce and the others, and whatever may be waiting for you when you become a great mage. Not to mention, you may be looked to if something terrible happens, and I know you wouldn't miss the chance to show what you got. Am I right?"

". . . Yea--"

"Great Grim!" A man runs up to them, panting and clearly panicked. "There's a dragon attacking the village! Our mages are doing what they can, but it's too strong. Please, help us!"

Yuu quickly kneels down and places their hands on his shoulders. He had just been about to answer and Yuu can see from his eyes that he was about to agree to help. "Grim, this is only a dream. None of this is real and you won't be blamed for anything if you don't help. We can go back to the real world together and forget about all this. You just need to come with me."

The dragon roars, shaking the ground and frightening the birds into taking flight. Distantly, there are cries of terror and pain. "Please, we need you!" the man pleads. "If you don't, everyone will die."

Grim glances between the man and Yuu. Finally, he makes his decision. "I. . . I'll help."

"Grim--"

"Oh, thank you!"

Grim gets out of Yuu's hold and assures them that it'll just take a few seconds. "Just wait here. I'll be back!"

"Grim, no!" Yuu reaches for him as he begins to sprint to the village, but the man grabs their wrist and covers their mouth. His eyes suddenly become a poisonous emerald green and a familiar smile adorns his lips.

"Now, now, we don't want to ruin the moment he defeats the dragon and celebrates his victory, do we?"

[telomeke-bbs]

OUR SKYY 2 x BAD BUDDY x A TALE OF THOUSAND STARS – THE WOODS AREN'T LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP

Looking at the structure and the mechanics of the thing (yes, engineering reference here) – the OS2 x BBS x ATOTS forest search is a metaphor for Pat, Pran, Phupha and Tian's journey not just to "find" each other (i.e., to discover new truths about their partner) but also to discover new truths about themselves.

So they started off with Phupha and Pat looking for their other halves Tian and Pran, each paired with a somewhat-opposite of himself – stoic/guarded teaming up with open-hearted/outward-oriented, in order to understand perhaps the POV of their respective significant others.

And then they switched things up with Pran and Phupha alone in the forest looking for Kampung, and learning things about themselves at the same time, with Pat and Tian getting alone time to trade lessons too. (Did Pat really injure his leg that badly? Or was it just the leeches? 😂)

I haven't looked in detail at what those lessons are (because it was just a first watch and I was drinking at the same time, hah!) but I think we all know that they're for the betterment of each couple's relationships, and for resolution of their fundamentally conflicting dynamics.

Little Kampung was the catalyst for both expeditions into the unknown, and I wonder what significance we'll find if we dig a little deeper. I already find his name intriguing from a linguistic point of view. Does anyone know how it's spelt in Thai?

A brief note about the forest. It's not a merry walk in the woods, even though we saw large chunks of the journey taking place in bright, open clearings fringed with bamboo.

The tropical southeast Asian forest is dense and dangerous, hiding death in every corner if you fail to give it respect. It's not just the larger carnivores on land like leopards and tigers (though their numbers are on the decline), or crocodiles in the water, or the poisonous scorpions and snakes in the undergrowth (watch your step!). Large herbivores like the elephant and gaur can easily dispatch an unarmed human if they feel threatened. And wild boars will turn into vicious meat-eaters if given the opportunity.

Death also lurks from above. Sometimes it's pythons laying in wait (their favorite modus operandi is to throw themselves onto prey from branches above, and in the confusion coil and strangle their unfortunate victim). And even the trees themselves can kill – tree branches weighing the equivalent of a dining table can and do break off due to weakening from disease or rain weight, and any larger living creature caught below will be a goner.

Villagers who have to venture into the forest learn early on to respect it, and this respect for the risks of nature has translated into the forest acquiring a dark, supernatural dimension for many cultures (i.e., the idea that the forest is also home to different spirits, many malevolent, and who need to be appeased and/or whose permission needs to be sought for any act deemed too intrusive). A Thai movie example that somewhat illustrates this is Nang Nak (there's also a version starring a young Sine Inthira, for any fans of hers out there 💖).

Unlike the tribes who live with and within the forests themselves, settled peoples from outside may not always have the life skills to cope with all the jungle throws at you once you enter its realm. People can disappear without a trace – the two most well-known in Western media are Bruno Manser and Jim Thompson (because, you know, missing white person syndrome), but of course there must be legions more unnamed locals swallowed whole, never seen again and never named outside the country's media. 🤷‍♂️

So I think this awareness of how the forest can swiftly take away your life underlies our four (OK five, including Kampung) heroes' struggles in the wilderness – it's life and death in there, so in living out the metaphor PatPran and PhuTian were in more than one sense battling for the survival of their own pairings (because fundamental differences in each partner's approach to couplehood can also kill a relationship, no matter how strong the love).

It's unfortunate that the optics that were finally presented seemed much lighter than they should have been. This was not a walk in the warm embrace of bright country woods. And it gives weight to Pat saying "I can't live without you" to Pran at the end (Ep.3 [4/4] 9.18) – he wasn't actually saying he couldn't bear to be physically parted from his soulmate (with an eye on Singapore looming here). He was saying that Pran is life itself to him (also a reference to the meaning of Pran's name in Sanksrit here too, see this write-up here), and without Pran alive and well (which is what the risks of the forest journey represented) Pat's own existence would be devoid of life. And Pran has learnt his lesson well too, and returns the sentiment immediately.

This understanding that each lives for the other is what allows them to be parted when Pran goes to Singapore to further his architectural career, for they'd learnt that after their own life-and-death situation they can weather any storm. Physical separation isn't the important thing, because they know what they have will transcend that. My boys! 💖

[bredforloyalty]

for someone who has never really listened to oasis before, what are the most incesty songs?

i feel like i'm not the expert i'm just one of the disciples hxdgy but thank you for asking me <33 i hope i can offer something while demonstrating that i got my wits about me. for the most part. it's kind of an inherently contradictory pair of goals but i'll have a go at it anyway lmao 💪

i mean, it's just not easy to say because i've low-key been BAMBOOZLING you all and oasis is a band with very normal music and very normal members*. and for example that post that goes something like, noel writes songs and says they're about his wife and then the song is like 'brother our love is so forbidden run away with me' is, while really funny, a huge exaggeration obviously (💀🩷) but as i said tumblrinas have a god given right to delusions and to biased interpretation and all that!!! it's funny and good for the ecology of this site and i have that god given right and i do it too. so that's where i stand, take this with a grain of salt etc. also sometimes it comes alive with the context and not without it, you won't find an inbred by ethel cain here HXSGCY

now that i got my disclaimers out of the way; the obvious one and the one that i must have conditioned myself to have a funny painful visceral reaction to (because i didn't use to) is guess god thinks i'm abel, written by liam. i couldn't find an archived version of the 2005 mojo issue that this was in, but:

"It’s biblical innit,” explains Liam. “Cain and Abel… it’s me and our kid. Or me and you. Two people who are the opposite, who become one."

Are you holding an olive branch out to Noel?

“It’s nice to put a band aid on it for a bit, knowwhatimean? I love him, I adore him, more than anyone else in the fuckin’ whole wide world. But we also don’t speak that much. We don’t have to speak. But that song is basically for him. It’s like, shut the fuck up, give respect and you’ll get respect back. Life, brothers and sisters, that’s what we all want isn’t it, respect?”

i had already been listening to this since before uhh a few weeks ago or whenever it was that i got these worms, because. you would not believe which of my playlists had it. and by that i mean you could guess with great accuracy (i think i've been vocal about my beautiful journey with claustrophobic familial relationships and about what kick-started me in that regard). come on. and i'm an older sister i've always liked the abels of the world

oh and i should mention my sister lover! it's my sister lover

and then there's if we shadows, honestly might be my favorite.. just favorite, period. definitely is out of the more uh acoustic and less rock and roll ones. "nobody knows what's wrong except me and my brother"

+ acquiesce. i find this one funny because people assumed it was about the two of them, with "we need each other" and "we believe in one another" in the chorus, because noel sings that and liam sings the verses on it (and it's not often they share songs like that and it's like they're singing to each other). noel called this "total fucking bullshit" and said it's about friendship lol and another time he said liam assumed it was written to him but it's actually to his girlfriend

i'm outta time. another one by liam, i just wouldn't rule it out that he wrote it with someone in mind. and i'm sure he wasn't completely oblivious to the problems they were having before the break-up sooooo.. you know

live forever. i mean that was their career i would say, the high points must have been like that (about 9 minutes in: "on stage, i just want him. and it's only me and him. when he turns to me and i turn to him at, like, one guitar break or whatever and, like, we just both look at each other, and that's what it's about for us. [...] not like i'm fucking dissing the rest of the band or anything like that but it's only me and him"), looking over at your brother who is the other half of the band in a way the other half of you as well and knowing you've created something permanent and in that very moment too you're creating it together and you're on top of the world. sorry if that sounds insane ,, as i said , contextual, it's live forever well it's just live forever

*: gaze upon any insane mutual's (or my own) oasis tag and make your own judgment on this lol

[some-anonymity-preferred]

Izzy Hands as an Old Guard Queer (spoiler: no he ain't)

The discussion of Izzy Hands as an old queer who cares about his pre-existing found family and is protecting his safe space from suspected narcs has been flickering through my feed, and it just keeps going on, and I just keep going no.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s in a Mexican-American family that included a great uncle who was openly gay enough that he brought boyfriends to the asadas, and also an uncle who was so deeply closeted and self-hating that he made my skin crawl.

My family did not discuss any of this openly, and I was young, so there's a lot that I missed. I don't know how my great uncle evaluated any new people that other family members brought to the party, or what actions he took to protect himself and his "friends" if a newcomer's vibe was off. Having been a queer adult myself for going on three decades now, I have some educated guesses. What I do know is that my great uncle was a deeply loved favorite, at least in my branch of the family, and he for sure never freaked out and called the cops on us, nor did anyone in the family do that to him.

My uncle, on the other hand. Woof. He was not well liked. He was a walking, talking caltrop bomb. He both complained about racial discrimination and was a consummate boot-licker. He never called the cops on an asada, either, but if I had to choose one family member I would never put it past? It would be him.

Which of those people sounds more like the Izzy Hands we see onscreen?

My vote is for Uncle Bad Vibes.

I don't know my great uncle's role in the gay community he lived in, but he sounds a lot closer to the idea of an old guard queer who lives quietly and quietly protects his own, doesn't he? And not like OFMD Izzy at all.

There is one fic I enjoy that does cast Izzy that way:

Izzy is literally cast in an avuncular role here. He is older than Ed and Stede. He owns a gay bar. His partner is in prison due to a past raid on said gay bar. He is protective of his bar and community, and he is suspicious of Stede. He's bitchy to Stede, he discusses his misgivings with Ed, he's not nice about it. He tries to pull rank, and it works in the narrative of The Reno Cure because he actually does have a position of some authority, vis a vis Ed. Which he does not (except in his own mind; and, in the world at large, as a white man) in OFMD.

But you know what Izzy does not do in The Reno Cure? He does not call the cops into his own damn bar to get rid of Stede.

I really cannot stress that enough. Protective Old Guard Gays do NOT call the cops. No one who is part of a marginalized community and prioritizes keeping that community safe calls the cops on that community. They may engage in a kind of policing within the community, and that may cause conflict with others in the community who are sick of respectability politics. That happens. All the time. I grew up with it. People I loved and admired did it. Sometimes they directed it at me. I still see it, among my co-ethnics and among fellow queers. I've done it myself, and I work not to. I've worked my entire life and will continue to work the rest of my life to make my peace with it. It is not and never will be the same thing as calling in the literal fucking cops.

I told myself I wouldn't write a long post, that I wouldn't get too deep into this. Whoops.

Nearly everything I've already written ignores the racial dynamics at play in OFMD and in the fandom. And I just can't do that.

The thing that set me off this morning was a new argument that basically says, "Ed doesn't care about his crew and Izzy does." Using, as proof, Ed's line that dying is kinda part of the pirate job, in response to Izzy pointing out that crew died because Ed pursued Stede onto the Spanish ship.

Ed and Izzy are already in the middle of an Old Marrieds' argument that started with the frankfurters. Ed is being dismissive to bait Izzy. Later, he expresses the exact opposite attitude toward the crew to Stede, also to bait Stede. Throughout most of that episode, Ed is a deeply unreliable narrator, and on this point I think it's because he truly feels both. He expresses passive suicidal ideation throughout, which jibes with the "part of the job" line, and he expresses burnout under the pressure of being Blackbeard to Stede. He chooses which element of his complex emotions to share according to what will rile up his given interlocutor the most.

But maybe big scary brown men aren't allowed to have complex emotions? I dunno.

There's that. But what really got under my skin was then thinking about the contrast between how Ed treats Ivan and Fang, with how Izzy does. I think a lot about how, in the snail fork scene, Ed outsources the violence he wants to inflict for the French captain's racial slight against him to Fang. The even bigger, even browner, big scary brown guy. And Fang acts like it's NBD, happens all the time. That is a whole essay in itself; all I want to do right now is lay out there that I clock that. It's bad. It's complex. It's realistic. And it's just about all the abuse Ed lays on either Fang or Ivan. (ETA: That, and Fang’s puppy. Part of me asks, Did Ed say get rid of it, or kill it? And did Izzy relay the order as get rid of it, or as kill it? Because:)

But Izzy? Yanks Fang's beard, does it all the time. Calls Ivan and Fang "the boys." Acts like he's the only Competent Adult in the room in a room (ship) full of non-white people. Acts like he's Blackbeard's keeper and that Ed could not live or function without him. Wants Ed to be the Big Scary Brown Man Fucking Viking Vampire Clown, wants it so much that he's willing to threaten his captain's life if he won't fulfill that role. (Loyalty to your captain my ass.) Gets off on having forced Ed to fulfill that role. Literally buys Ed from the British. Calls the cops on a ship full of non-white queers who are in no way harming him, unless it's by keeping Ed from performing as his big scary racialized fetish object.

Just fucking fuck. Seriously.

Also, not one single thing Izzy does in OFMD indicates that he thinks Stede is a narc. Not one single thing. If that reading were intended, I'd expect these very skillful, very deliberate writers to fucking indicate that. They do not.

The rest of that, though, that I described a couple of paragraphs ago? The mediocre white man with a superiority complex shit? The things that make Izzy a hair-curling, skin-crawling, fan-fucking-tastic antagonist? (not the goddamn hero, what the fuck is wrong with people) That is all there on the screen. So don't at me. Fuck.

[harmonicunt]

i rly cant see myself as separate from the primordial soup. every flaw i see in others is a reflection of myself, every joy too. every cruelty, all kindness. so many people see themselves as leaning towards one or another, but thats wrong, isnt it ? we're capable of all, in our own particular ways. youll pin yourself & doom growth if you put yourself in one corner.

narratives about who you are are mostly about who you think you are--and the thinking is only one fractal of it. i think ive been afraid of defining myself by the "doing" part of my existence because for so long i didnt feel like the "doing" was anything important or interesting or fulfilling. i didnt have language to show what it was teaching me, what it really meant--it was all isolation, and boredom, and rage. it was that, and it was more, and now that im still doing many of the same things alongside that which i truly want, which i find self respect in, which i am fulfilled through, i can see how i could've used different language to spin it in a different light, to be less lonely and afraid of myself. as my story evolves and changes each time i tell it, as others' stories of me grow (and i learn to listen to them, and trust them), im open to all the ways i hadn't seen before, and i understand how blind we are to who we are in one particular moment. reflection must come second.

thinking & doing are two pillars of our selves, pillars we learn to build and tear down and build again. i'm trying to figure out where our control over those pillars lie. i know there are more--we are more than what we think and what we do--and i know we can change and reshape them, but the first shaping is amazing to begin with. is the first shaping the one everyone else does when we're young, and we don't know how to do it ourselves? or the one we do when we emerge, when we look at how our pillars been formed for us--a necessary evil, unfortunately,--and we decide that it should be something else, something that belongs to us? some people never make their own, and i think many of them are very unfulfilled. each one is unique. the idea you can control it utterly, shape yourself into anything you want, is partially a false narrative, addressed by the fact that at first we have no control over what shape it takes. then, i think almost everyone finds there is an immutable self they can never put a finger on, no matter how long they circle around it. you repaint, and carve in new grooves, and add height or branches. you circle around a self you won't know until you've found them. we have many methods of circling around to the self, of seeing what fits with the pillar we think we want to create, and then adjusting when we realize that's not quite the look we thought it'd be.

i've employed a few strange ones through my life, one of the most curious that i come back to often being kin & kinning. a sort of pinning that often felt like a chicken/egg situation, even while i was in it i found it fascinating. what i was and what i wanted to be and what i thought i would be (i was kinning when i was 12-16ish, so i wasn't much of anything but a ball of energy and wanting) merged together into these grand pulls to characters who werent necessarily favorites but made me fucking insane because of what of myself i saw in them (sometimes it still happens, but it's gotten weirder and more specific as ive aged, and harder to explain or project to others who dont already know me.)

i dont know where im going with this. can we ever know ourselves if we dont know who we are to others ? if we dont listen to what they say about us? it feels bad when someone doesnt take what youve said about them, compliment or criticism or neutral, seriously. people who ignore compliments or use them to insult themselves, and people who ignore criticism and tell themselves that they are the best at something you have been struggling with them for, convincing themselves that the problems they run into are external and eschewing responsibility. how far can we push our own self actualization before collapsing? how happy can we convince ourselves we are, not knowing the joy on the other side ? what tells us that we're miserable in the shape that's been built for us? why do we all seem to forget from time to time that everyone else has been using the same scale of time that we have been to build theirs? why do we flatten them to the pillar we see in one moment, inconsiderate of what came before ? it's self-centered, and that's seen as very dirty, but we can't be anything but self-centered when we're only in our own heads, right ? generosity, consideration, kindness, respect, so much of that is in the eye of the beholder. what we think of as universally decent can make another think of us as deeply annoying, even rude, culturally or personally. idk. we're all the same and we're all different and it's weird and i could add questions and ponderings to this forever but ill stop here. i love you.

[seabreeze2022]

Tanzania Safari 2024, Part 6.

Leaving Ngorongoro Crater Park, we travel west past many Maasai villages. The Maasai are a herding tribe, whose life revolves around cows and goats. The huts you see are made of sticks and cow dung. Each village will have a protective corral lined on the outside with thorny acacia branches to keep lions out. Maasai warriors will take on a lion using only a spear to protect a cow.

In the early days, a Maasai boy who wanted to become a warrior had to kill a lion with his spear. That is now outlawed, but Lions respect anyone wearing the traditional red and yellow wrap the Maasai wear.

We did a quick restroom break at the monument to Earliest Man. The Olduvai Gorge is considered the “cradle of humankind.” Dr. Leaky and his wife found evidence of two hominin species of man dating back 1.84 million years.

Small world, our travel companion Ruth, casually mentioned that she had met Dr. Leaky once.

It's scenes like this when one of us would say, “This kind of makes me think I am in Africa.” Such iconic scenery, that we could not help it.

Another zebra wanted a piggyback ride but the ride was closed.

Lake Manyara Park promotes itself as having the only tree-climbing lions. Not so, this girl was in the Ndutu Conservation Area. The lake in the background is Lake Ndutu.

After finding these girls lounging around with full bellies. We went to our camp. The Lamala Ndutu mobile tent camp was probably our favorite camp for several reasons. Not as fancy as the Lamala camp in the Serengeti we will stay at later. But this really gave us the feeling of being a part of the early safari history. I was waiting for Dr. Livingston to walk in, followed by his porters.

This is Ruth coming into camp, she becomes affectedly called “Bibi”, which is Swahili for Grandmother. She was treated in camp as though she was the actual grandmother of each of the staff.

This is the main camp and dining area.

Here is the camp manager, Kasiga (on the left), as we are welcomed with fresh juice.

Each time you come to a new camp the camp manager welcomes you and explains the camp rules, layout, and eating times. At this Ndutu camp, we can travel without escort to or from our tent ONLY during the daytime. After dark we have to use the VHF radio in our room to call for our Maasai escort.

We have tent 5 which has two bedrooms, separated by a common area with a couch. Here Nancy is relaxing with a glass of wine in her bathrobe on the front porch. As a young giraffe walked around the edge of the camp.

One of the Maasai nighttime escorts is helping to get the evening fire going for the guests. Did you see the young giraffe on the right side of the photo? Animals just wander through camp. We are warned to keep our eyes open and head on a swivel when walking to and from our tent. At this camp with the thin canvas walls, we would hear lions call all night.

Hanging out at the main tent, while the outdoor fire is getting started.

This is our bedroom and bathroom. When we get back to the camp each evening, we arrange for our “talking shower.”

After coming back to camp after a dusty ride in the bush. We arrange to take a “talking shower” in 15 minutes. When you are ready for the shower. You “tell” the staff who is just on the other side of the tent wall. Then he puts hot water in a canvas bag and then hauls it up by rope and pully. Which provides enough head pressure for the shower. Once the staff has raised the bag up, he “tells” you it is ready. You simply pull down on the wooden toggle to turn on the shower then pull the opposite toggle to turn it off. No choice in temperature, just ON or OFF.

This is the dining room during lunch. Raffy eats many meals with us, which gives us a chance to learn more about him and his culture.

The first night's dinner was well attended. A birthday cake was brought out. Then the staff broke into the typical “Jambo Bwana” song. Clapping and singing in Swahili. Raffy interpreted the song for us. It is a song where the staff basically tell their guest, “Hello…no worries….all are welcome.”

At first, Nancy and Ruth were content with clapping in rhythm with the song while seated. But then they got up and joined in the conga line.

Below is the original song from 1982 in Swahili, by “Them mushrooms” from Kenya:

Jambo, jambo Bwana (Hello, hello Sir) Habari gani (How are you?) Mzuri sana (Very fine) Wageni, mwakaribishwa (Foreigners, you’re welcome) Kenya yetu, hakuna matata (Our Kenya has no problems)

Kenya nchi nzuri, hakuna matata (Kenya is a nice country, there are no problems)  Nchi ya maajabu, hakuna matata (Country of wonder, there are no problems) Nchi yenye amani, hakuna matata (Country of peace, there are no problems)

Watu wote, hakuna matata (Everybody, there are no problems) Wakaribishwa, hakuna matata (All are welcome, there are no problems) Hakuna matata, hakuna matata (There are no problems, there are no problems)

[breezypsyche]

If "Birds of a feather flock together," which bird am I?

Numerous types of birds inhabit our beautiful planet: peacocks, mockingbirds, macaws, puffins, hummingbirds, eagles, and more. Each bird is unique in its location, plumage, eggs they hatch, and their respective bird communities. Regardless of bird species, their communities are outstanding to view, as they all stay by their fellow bird while they look for places to build nests or migrate across the globe.

After all, birds of a feather flock together!

Wait... Did you think I planned to spend this entire post discussing birds?

No, my friends, this is my Psychology of Social Media post for the current week - birds are not in the picture here! But why bring up birds in the first place?

It's all about Social Media, of course!!

Social media can do much for society as a whole, as well as for individual people. If you remember from last week, I mentioned what types of motivations people have throughout their lives and what can motivate people to use social media. Social interaction was listed as one of the motivations for using social media, but there's more to this topic than was previously discussed. Let's dive a bit further!

If you look closely at the numerous ways one can communicate on practically any social networking site, you'll find that it all boils down to creating a community. As humans are social creatures, we are motivated to build relationships and communities with one another. But what encourages us to build, find, or join a community online?

Kim, Wang, and Oh (2016) found that the collective need to belong greatly encouraged social media use among college students, stating that if they had a more significant amount of desire to need to belong in a community that enjoyed their presence, the greater the probability that they will turn to social media for more communication (Kim et al., 2016).

Wohn, Carr, and Hayes (2016) shared that perceived social support is essential to driving the motivations of social media users through likes/favorites, including the depth of the relationship shared by the users who like/favorite the posts significantly increases perceived social support (Wohn et al., 2016). This means the more a user connects with other like-minded users and creates/posts content that their fellow users would enjoy, the more likes/favorites they will receive, building that sense of perceived social support.

Have you ever heard of a term called homophily? No, it isn't a fancy term for the breakfast food known as grits nor a new evolution of humans. Homophily is the tendency to branch out to, or feel attracted towards, people who are similar to you. In other words... "birds of a feather flock together"! (See, I brought it back to birds. There was a reason for that introduction, after all!)

Figeac and Favre (2016) state that online conduct that is geared towards homophily can strengthen the internalized notion of certain relationships becoming enhanced (Figeac & Favre, 2016). In other words, people who continually seek out like-minded individuals through online communities feel a sense of "togetherness" as they interact more frequently through social media. There are many avenues that social media users can utilize to find that sense of community, including online groups (such as ones found on Facebook) and online forums (such as subreddits found on Reddit).

Put some rhythm on that Algorithm!

So, how do social networking sites encourage even further use? Through an algorithm, of course! No, an algorithm isn't one of America's vice presidents playing a beat on the drums (here's looking at you, Al Gore). Instead, an algorithm is actually a set of computer rules and calculations used by various social media platforms to consistently generate content for users to interact with.

When most people think of an algorithm, they think of TikTok, which is famously known for relying on an algorithm to continually churn out content for users to view and interact with. In fact, many users on TikTok joke about the type of content that commonly populates their "FYP" or For You Pages. In fact, I've noticed when my siblings and friends send me certain types of TikToks, I tend to see similar content floating through my own FYP.

Homophily + Algorithm = ?

This means homophily and algorithms work together to encourage users to seek out like-minded individuals through online communities and continually view/share content that is geared toward those communities through social media. Something as small as sharing cute pet videos with colleagues who enjoy pets or something as significant as sharing politically charged content with friends within the same political spectrum can encourage continued social media use globally.

The number of online communities is vast. Some communities can easily blend together, whereas others stand out independently. No matter which online community you feel pulled towards, the algorithm will ensure you view similarly themed content, which will markedly increase your continued use of social media as a whole.

Happy algorithm surfing, everyone!

References

Kim Y., Wang Y., & Oh J. 2016. Digital Media Use and Social Engagement: How Social Media and Smartphone Use Influence Social Activities of College Students. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. (19)4, 264-269. Wohn D., Carr C. T., & Hayes, R. 2016. How Affective Is a “Like”?: The Effect of Paralinguistic Digital Affordances on Perceived Social Support. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 19(4), 562-566. Figeac, J., & Favre, G. (2023). How behavioral homophily on social media influences the perception of tie-strengthening within young adults’ personal networks. New Media & Society., 25(8), 1971–1990. Schroeder, J. E. (2021). Reinscribing gender: Social media, algorithms, bias. Journal of Marketing Management, 37(3-4), 376-378.

[sophieakatz]

Thursday Thoughts: The Magic of Nature

[I wrote this a year ago and apparently never posted it! Now that I’ve left my frontline park operations work – and consequently facilitated my last DAKlimation class – I’d like to share it with you.]

Two years ago, I shared a story about a moment I had with the gorillas at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. This is a follow-up to that story.

One of my favorite things about working in the Disney parks is being a facilitator – someone who leads classroom courses as part of Cast Member training. For about three years now, I’ve been a DAKlimation facilitator, which means that a few times a month, I teach the park orientation course for Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

My role in this course is to introduce new DAK cast to the story of Animal Kingdom and how we all support that story in our work each day. Each Disney park has a different story – a different magic – at the heart of every experience our Guests will have at that park. At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, this is the magic of nature.

Part of how I introduce my cast to this magic is by having them experience it much like the Guests would, with a tour through Animal Kingdom. Currently, this tour includes a walk through Gorilla Falls Exploration Trail. It’s no secret that this is my favorite spot in the whole park, and we arrive early enough in the day that the animals are usually pretty active, foraging for breakfast and enjoying the shade.

One recent tour was particularly fun, with all the animals in the best spots to see them. The grand finale of the trail is the gorillas. Little Grace and Ada (about three years old and one year old, now, respectively) were tussling in the family viewing area, throwing straw at each other while their moms napped nearby. As much as I love the babies, we had to move on; I shouldn’t let my tour group block the Guests’ view for too long.

We crossed over into the back half of the gorillas’ enclosure, where there are views into both the bachelor troupe’s territory and the “backyard” of the family unit. It was a beautiful morning, the sunlight filtering through the green trees, but there were no gorillas to be seen here.

As we passed by a familiar bench, I paused to tell my tour group the story I shared in that blog post two years ago – about watching the five-year-old gorilla brothers (now seven years old) climb a tree and fight over a branch.

As I described the gorillas chasing each other, my tour group started to look out over my head, pointing. I turned, and there was a little seven-year-old gorilla, climbing down from his hiding spot in the upper branches of a tree. He reached out, and there was a CRACK – and a big branch fell to the ground.

And, right on cue, his brother came running in out of nowhere and stole the branch!

I gaped, and my tour group erupted in exclamations and laughter.

“You made that happen!” one young woman said. “You spoke that into existence!”

“I’ve – never – felt so cool in my life,” I stammered, prompting a fresh wave of laughter.

As we walked out of that area and back to the rest of the park, I recovered enough to remind them of the point – to prompt them to think about how they felt just now, witnessing a moment that if we’d arrived just a few minutes earlier or later, we would not have seen. Witnessing a moment of levity, vibrancy, and undeniable life in the natural world.

That’s what we make possible for our Guests to experience every day, as “animal ambassadors,” stewards of the Animal Kingdom. And it’s what we get to experience, too, if we take a moment to look for it – the magic of nature.

[fates-theysband]

🏠 🎵 🎡 ~ rebeccaselfships

@rebeccaselfships thank you!! im gonna go with tim for this one too bc last ask got me listening to his playlist and now i am Experiencing. readmore bc. Lyrics.

🏠: What’s you and your f/o’s dream home?

his actual house in canon looks so cozy from what little we see of it...that's the ideal honestly. just like a small comfy house that's not too far from anywhere we need to be on the reg

🎵: What are some song lyrics that make you think of your f/o/your relationship with your f/o?

again resisting the urge to post the entirety of "400 lux" by lorde even though that is unquestionably Our Song and instead, some more Highlights From The Playlist!

And now that we're here

It's so far away

And I feel like I can face the day

(so far away, staind)

If you want to

I can save you

I can take you away from here

(all you wanted, michelle branch)

The worst is over now and we can breathe again

I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away

There's so much left to learn and no one left to fight

I wanna hold you high and steal your pain

(broken, seether feat. amy lee)

🎡: What are your favorite activities to do together?

if it's been quiet recently (i.e. no actual or possible Operator Behavior) we like to go out on walks together--we usually avoid parks for uh. Canon-Related Reasons, but we'll explore more walkable parts of whatever city we're crashing in! if it's not quite so safe we'll stay in and read or watch movies or work on our respective No Questions Asked Remote Freelance Stuff that's funding this little indefinite road trip.