#and understand the fact that singularity isn't some 'final' thing

[relaxxattack]

you are so very homestuck knowledgeable. when you have the time and should inspiration strike, please tell all your headcanons about oliveblood trolls.

ooo what a great question! for this one i think first we'd need to break down current stereotypes about olivebloods. there's actually not much that we're given about them tbh

according to the homestuck wiki, which is based on info from both the comic and more dubiously canon things like friendsim and hiveswap, the olive caste's two singular traits seem to be "wild animal" and "romance liker". both of these, obviously, are traits pulled from our wonderful main girl nepeta, who was the singular representation of the olive caste for a long time; alongside her dancestors. which is quite cute, who doesn't love nepeta?

the thing is though that i am one of those nitpicky people who likes to say, "well, hey now, nepeta isn't actually representative of her caste at ALL." in fact, none of the beta trolls are. i honestly feel like it should be assumed that just like the beta kids, the beta trolls are weirdos, and not really the 'norm' in their society.

nepeta lives out in the wilderness very specifically away from society in a way that is remarked on as being unusual even for someone of her color; and she does not even understand what role her caste would have given her in normal society. and i mean... considering aradia tavros and sollux are LOWER than nepeta, it doesn't really make sense for them all to have nicer houses than her unless she's unusual in her situation.

^ nepeta is in fact NOT a good representation of olivebloods.

which means... no, i don't think all olive trolls are romance obsessed wilderness girls, actually, sorry, hiveswap friendsim, i have to shelve you from my alternia analysis for now.

luckily, there ARE other olivebloods in the series!

first of all, the other leijons. unfortunately, none of them are really "good" examples either. meulin is from an entirely different planet, and disciple is from an ancient history perhaps even less representative of "normal" life than nepeta is. all we really get from them is stuff we already knew from nepeta-- the wildness, the relationship interest. with an added fact that both meulins seem to be somewhat bookish.

and so who does that bring us to? the final canonical oliveblood.

that's right.

troll will smith.

troll will smith is canonically an oliveblood. not only that, but he's a famous actor, which means he is basically a "model" for society- for what it looks like once you "have it all made". i would imagine this goes even more for alternia, supposedly a very movie-geared society.

the two troll will smith features that canonically exist on alternia are Fresh Prince and Hitch. in both of these films, will smith plays a character that is self-made and clever, a regular guy who is just skilled. it should also be noted that while a "threshecutioner" is a job with a heavy blueblood populous, greenbloods can also be one, and it's common enough that a show about it wasn't cut by the alternian dictatorship.

so therefore, what traits can we pull that all of these olivebloods (and equius lol) display to us?

olive trolls are lower class, but they're capable of working up through their connections

likely due to this, olive trolls are often clever and self made. they're likely quick-witted and sharp

they're good at their jobs! most olive trolls that are seen in the comic are very good with their respective practices (be it drawing, writing, bookkeeping, or melee fighting)

it's possible that olive trolls have a good intuition, and are fairly in touch with their own instincts. this would explain why some of them seem to fare better in the wild or in fights, and also why they are stereotyped as having a natural inclination for relationships. i think this is also a good transition ground between the impressive physical psionics of the castes lower than olive, and the emotional/mental psionics of the highbloods above them.

so, there we go. these are my olive headcanons! they're not comfortably well off or anything, but they're not wild animals either-- they're hard workers and skilled at what they put their minds to. probably usually working a nine to five and doing their best in life hoping to move up with a good quadrant or promotion. at least, in my headcanon anyway- no need to take this as fact!

[communistkenobi]

re: Trek: I was hit with a lot of the same feelings when I finally went and watched TOS a couple of years ago. There's a brand of Star Trek fan who really believe in what the show wants or at least claims it wants to be--a progressive vision of the future--but are incapable of seeing it for what it was lest they cede ground to the fans on the reactionary end of the spectrum who like it for pew pew guns and sexy green ladies. For what it's worth, the Federation isn't portrayed as a post-scarcity post-money society until TNG but it's not something they do more than pay lip service to

I think this gets into the limitations with individual character representation as a metric for “good” politics in a show. It has a comparatively diverse cast and that is historically significant, I understand that it’s groundbreaking, and I’m not downplaying that or saying those things don’t matter or had no impact culturally. but those individual representations are imbedded within the undergirding logic of the show, which is that the Enterprise is a ship meant to make contact with “new” “undiscovered” civilisations, measure their “development” on a singular scale that is premised on settler colonial ideas of land development & capitalist logics of expansion and growth, and then force those societies to fit into that particularly colonial mould. Multiple times the resolution to the plot of an episode is destroying any unique aspects of a culture that cannot be captured by those development metrics, and this is unambiguously presented as a good thing. This show is deeply invested in the maintenance of racial hierarchy and western hegemony, and its diversity and progressive elements must always be placed within that context. It’s racially progressive in some ways yes, but only narrowly, and in fact the necessity for good racial representation is the fault of those undergirding logics! We wouldn’t need good racial representation in the first place if those systems did not exist. “Good intentions” on the part of the writers do not negate the fact that the final product uncritically reproduces a western vision of culture, one that sees the west as manager, mother, teacher, and policeman to the rest of humanity.

I think Said’s discussion of Orientalism is once again very instructive: it’s not just that the show might be individually racist or sexist to particular characters or groups of people in a given episode. These things are bad yes, but they are surface level bad, and focusing only on them obscures the larger issue at hand. The deeper problem is that it operates on an orientalist epistemology, a way of knowing and seeing the world, one that necessarily excludes the basic conclusion that, like, the measure of a civilisation does not need to be premised on economic growth or European cultural modes, & in fact the idea that you can “measure” a culture unilaterally is itself a western construction. that scale is a tool of colonial development, one that is backed by a system of racial hierarchy that must be violently enforced to be realised in the world. Star Trek is by no means unique or special in this regard; this is the state of western media in total. I’m just uncomfortable with how uncritically fawning people are about it.

I’m also not privy to the discourse around this show, I’m an outsider encountering Star Trek for the first time as an adult and I’m largely ignorant of the 8-odd decades of discussion about it. But like, you don’t have to allow the reactionary crowd to control your understanding of the show! Saying it’s a fundamentally colonial narrative does not dismiss or diminish claims about racial diversity or representation in other areas, nor does it mean a reactionary interpretation of the show holds more weight. Those people are not worth considering, they have nothing of value to contribute to the discussion of the show’s politics. Like you can accuse me of having high standards or that my demands are ridiculous given the show is old, but I’m being bombarded (and have been bombarded) with claims that Star Trek is socialist, is progressive, is better than Star Wars politically, etc. and I don’t think those claims stand up to basic scrutiny unless you are willing to downplay or dismiss how deeply racist, ableist, misogynist, etc the show is, and further you have to ignore the basic fact that the show does not work if you reject or take umbridge with its imperial framework

[skaruresonic]

I kinda think you got that backwards, bud.

Sega's "leash" is the reason Dark Beginnings is good. Or at least a lot better than, say, IDW!Shadow. You want his writing to be on a "leash" because frankly, he doesn't really seem to understand Shadow's character, as he expressed frustration with the idea that Shadow isn't a "conversationalist" and cannot recall SA2's events correctly.

The other thing I wanted to point out is the idea of fandom by public consensus. "Any Sonic fan can see it" implies you're not a "real" Sonic fan if you "can't" see it.

Thirdly, I'd argue Flynn is soaking in the praise for what is essentially regurgitation of old material by other creators. We've seen Shadow cry in his debut game. It's nothing new.

Sonic X Shadow Generations Finally Lets Shadow Cry

The Sonic series has a "strange relationship with the concept of crying," just like I have a "strange relationship" with the concept of rolling my eyes at internet games of telephone.

"He's shed some tears" - One. One tear. Not plural. Singular. Shadow didn't bawl his eyes out in SxS Gens.

We also don't have time to unpack the idea that crying indicates a "deeper" character than a stoic one, but rest assured that bugs me, too.

Flynn did not invent the idea of Shadow shedding a single tear over Maria, yet people act like he's solely responsible for giving Shadow "depth" by making him do something he's done before. Such #peak writing, recycling material he didn't come up with, many wow.

Never mind how this entire game needlessly retreads an already resolved and closed matter. We have to go through this whole rigmarole for a third time Because Reasons.

Fourth: the fact that he has been writing for the IP in some capacity or another for almost 20 years and still needs his writing to go through heavy revision and scrutiny by the higher-ups before it attains an acceptable baseline level of quality, let alone approach good, is concerning, to say the least.

Pontaff were only around for half that time and managed to get Eggman right just from perusing the character's Wikipedia page. So how is it that Flynn has been working for the IP for double the amount of time they have and still can't grok that Shadow isn't a "conversationalist" unless Sega practically rewrites his stuff? How is it Sega won't "let" him be wrong, but they could let Pontaff be "wrong" for ten years?

The last thing I wanted to say was: So what does the writer credit actually mean here? If what Flynn says is true and the final product is the result of collaboration, shouldn't he remove the writer credit from his name? After all, it's not like the credits can say "30% written by Ian Flynn, 70% written by other people ig"

[carica-ficus]

Review: Harrow the Ninth

Author: Tamsyn Muir

Date: 24/02/2024

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

________________________________________________________

My February has been very hectic (to say the least), but at least I finally managed to get my hands on "Harrow the Ninth" thanks to my wonderful boyfriend who ordered it for me. <3 And just in time too because I was in a mood to get back to The Locked Tomb. This series completely won me over.

"Harrow the Ninth" picks up sometime after the ending of "Gideon the Ninth", and follows Harrow as she tries to adapt to her new life as a Lyctor. Her powers are immeasurably stronger, but in comparison to the older Lyctors she is seen as feeble and incompetent. Even worse, she is seen as a liability to the Emperor. She needs to learn to defend herself and prove to be a valuable soldier to her God, but this all seems a menial task in comparison to more dire matters - the indescribable grief and significant vulnerability which render her useless.

The first thing that stands out in this book is the switch in narration. "Harrow the Ninth" is mostly narrated through a 2nd person singular and is only switched to 3rd person singular when referring to the events which happen at the Canaan house. It's certainly an interesting writing choice which might prove to be slightly confusing at first, but Muir's beautiful style and fantastic storytelling quickly compel the reader to simply accept the fact that this is how "Harrow the Ninth" will be told. If something, Muir has proven numerous times that her writing decisions are always made with a specific intention, so it's best to just accept them and enjoy her work as it is presented.

Even though the story is a bit convoluted at first, things slowly start falling into place. New characters are introduced and old characters are given enough space to grow and expand. Muir incredibly utilizes her universe and the story in order to create a completely new experience of the series, but also provides many scenes where it pays homage to the first book and its events. "Harrow the Ninth" is truly an upgrade from "Gideon the Ninth" in tension, emotion, depth and story.

On the other hand, I'd argue that its pace is slower than that of "Gideon the Ninth". Harrow is actively preparing for the most difficult fight of her life, but the process of it is relatively passive. There's a lot of things happening at the same time, but it feels like the plot isn't moving forward at all. This book focuses more on other elements, than on its story, up until the very end where it builds up to a thrilling finale. Taking into consideration the aforementioned switch in narration and unresolved questions, it is easy to understand why some readers find it all difficult to grasp. However, "Harrow the Ninth" is absolutely worth the time.

There's a lot of things to adore about this sequel, but the portrayal of Harrow's grief, feeling of inadequacy, and utter helplessness take the crown. "Harrow the Ninth" is a story about loss and about love, it's about desperately clinging to that which doesn't exist anymore - a home she cannot go back to and which will never be the same, a person who gave their life for hers, and to a version of herself that she no longer is. It is about change and the inability to finally accept it.

"Harrow the Ninth" is a worthy sequel to a riveting book such as "Gideon the Ninth" and provides a compelling foundation for the rest of the series. Although the novel might seem a little slow and complicated, my honest advice is to just leave all your expectations behind, keep reading, and accept everything as it is written. The book is highly rewarding and offers something new and different. Reading through it has been a beautiful experience and I cannot wait to continue with the series and to, one day, reread it and appreciate it even more.

[buttercupshands]

So I've read ch 421 spoilers

It's a mess. I've been really patient with final arc even though I disliked some of the stuff happening enough for me to dissappear for a year or so.

Even if I dislike AFOmura with passion, at the start he was interesting to really explore how the quirk singularity was supposed to work. Without any "new being" sadly, I was curious what would happen and yet... Nothing.

Okay then what about Toga, Dabi and Spinner? What about their battles? Nothing really

Dabi was the most enjoyable of what was left of LoV with Toga close second. But they're both basically dead at this point. Spinner just existed for a couple of chapters, talked and then poof mission completed nothing else needed of him.

Toga's final chapter is still satisfying, it was similar to Jin's final chapter in a way.

Well what about the new chapter? Nothing

Tomura after 419 had basically become a background noise, maybe he'll come back one day. But not in this chapter.

This chapter is basically AFO talking like him losing Yoichi isn't something that happened 100 years ago. Are we supposed to care that he's sad and doesn't feel anything?

AFO trying to use his "tragedies" like he'll suddenly get a character development from it is just annoying.

Tomura's body in AFO's control now looks even more like a corpse rather than a normal body. Just let him die amd take his body with him if you don't want Tomura to live anymore. I don't care how sad AFO might be from suddenly understanding that his goal is hollow. About time

And now. Getting help in the finale of any arc is honestly something a person reading Shonen manga would expect and it's like a norm rather than an exception.

Except... Izuku is literally quirkless again. What can he really do now? No one really knows that he just decided to throw everything away just for the "crying child that needs saving". People already voiced how dumb that was and yet here we are with "crying child" saved, hands restored, but now there's no way to defeat AFO again.

And the worst thing is is that I actually tried to think about the arc and Izuku's role in it as something good for a long time and it didn't pay off at all.

I still like how he's paying attention to the fact that it's an All-Might merch, but sadly that means he doesn't pay needed attention to what he's going to do now and no one is actually capable of helping him in the moment.

It might as well end in "everyone believes that it'll be okay!" and stuff and that's it. That's all we'll get.

And I'm just lost at what to even look forward to in this finale. But maybe when it'll come out in a volume format I'll understand it better like I did with Izuku leaving UA arc. I basically just skipped it, looking at the leaks sometimes and only after it was finished I read it, two years after it came out I didn't bother watching anime version until this winter.

In the end all we can do is just wait and see, I'll still be doing sketches and stuff, but for now it's really not great or even just good.

(it still looks good tho, since Horikoshi is still Horikoshi)

[musicismymoirail]

29 for ven/ortega and 10 for ven/argent?

Thank you for the questions~ <33 I've gonna answer them a bit in reverse, because 29 got long. And questions are from here. <3

10 (for Ven/Argent): Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

Vendetta. u__u; Ne is too much of a paranoid perfectionist not to take notice and file it away under clues and leverage, instead of, you know, admitting ne cares to some degree. Getting nem to admit ne knows or just use that knowledge willing tho? Ah, it’s only happening when Argent has bad days and her favorites are still getting buried in between a dozen or so neutral items and left at the door.

(Argent could easily guess at ordering something Vendetta enjoys too, but kid orders food like ne is playing four-dimensional chess so ‘always’ negates her here. Sorry, Angie, the downsides of dating Vendetta especially in the early days.)

29 (for Ven/Ortega): one headcanon about this OTP that breaks your heart

What a question. :')!

So. Ven has two Heartbreak scars technically speaking: suicidal and outside. And while I understand why this happens in the gameplay sense, I also have a little headcanon for it instead.

Ven's memories from that time are too jumbled and/or flat-out missing to truly make sense of it all, and that has kinda fused nir two scars together into an entangled mess as a result. But Heartbreak triggered the Suicidal one, given all the civilian deaths, Anathema's, and then Vendetta's own self-inflicted defenestration. The outside scar tho? That's on Ortega, at least in that 'last drop of watch that ultimately broke that particularly dam' type of way.

Because Vendetta had absolute and unwavering faith and conviction in Ortega post-Heartbreak. She was going to find nem and she would rescue nem from the Farm. It wasn’t an if, it was a when because that's what they did: rescued each other from Hell itself. Vendetta just had to survive enough for Ortega to put the pieces together and stage an absurd rescue.

(Then, ne would deal with all the other fallouts that would follow. Ven was very 'Not Gonna Dwell On Those Headache Right Now, Thanks'.)

Was this faith irrational too? Absolutely. But Vendetta was beyond terrified and in pain and not sleeping and being tortured/experimented on, so ne grabbed the one singular piece of hope ne had and held on as long as ne could. Ortega would come, she had to, because what was the alternative? What else did Vendetta have?

And when ne finally, finally, accepted that no, Ortega wasn’t coming (she was happy she moved on she forgot), it’s the closest anything has gotten to actually breaking Vendetta beyond repair. Ne threw up every wall, cut every thread ne could find, to keep everyone and everything out.

Because if Ortega can't be trusted, nothing can be trusted.

And to be fair, Ortega isn't the sole cause. If the Farm wasn't being, you know, the Farm, Vendetta would've been thinking more rationally and not clinging to that delusional piece of hope and the reality of the situation wouldn't have shattered nem so thoroughly. It was a joint effect, in that sense.

I also just like the idea of Ven's severing the part of nem that Intensely Craves connection and belonging because of Ortega, the person that dragged nem into being a person in the first place. It feels fitting? So, that's just now my personal headcanon for them now~ c:

(Sorry, Ortega.)

and, bonus. the section that inspired this headcanon.

This is your enemy sitting here, whistling softly to herself, looking happier than she has in years. This is the woman whose ass you put in the hospital. Who you've cursed so many times over the last seven years. Cursed her for not stopping you. For not saving you. For forgetting about you. Were any of the things you accused her of true, or did they just put them into your head? Taunting you with the fact that your friends didn't care. That you were stupid to think you could have a life. Could be a person. Could have a future. Abandoned. Tossed away. Forgotten as easily as one of her many one-night stands. Was it an accident that they had left that paper in the office, the front page showing everything you feared? It felt like forever. Maybe you went a little crazy. Maybe you lost yourself along the way. You got through it. That's all that matters. Not caring whether you live or die is a power they never understood. A power they couldn't predict. Ironically it saved your life. Enabled you to move on. Move beyond. You got through it, and you burned every part of you that cared because that's how they could get to you. Can't threaten what you don't care about. Can't miss what you don't love. Step outside the world. They can't touch you then.

(i do love the visuals of 'step outside of the world' and hopefully i'll get to draw them out something in the upcoming year. c:<!)

[p-taryn-dactyl]

Yayyy! Mick so deserves more love, honestly his character is so good, he's just m'wah 🥰

do you mind if I ask for mick angst s1, like something to do with the whole chronos thing. I'm not really sure about plot maybe reader is snarts sister. when chronos!mick captures and threatens len by saying he'll kill Lisa he mentions something about how he'd kill y/n too but he can't find her. And len says the reason he can't find her is cuz she left the ship to try and find mick when len 'got rid of him'. And later when the team have mick imprisoned on the ship they find y/n and don't trust her not to free mick so they put her in the cell with mick. Mick asks why she spent so long looking for him and left the team to find him and then she confesses that she loves him and that the only reason she agreed to join the team was to keep an eye on mick and leonard?

I'm not super great at coming up with plots lol so really just any chronos mick and snart!reader angst would be great ♡♡♡♡♡

(The angst potential micks character has is astronomical I don't understand how there isn't more mick angst on tumblr!)

a/n: hi! thank you so much for this request, I love writing for the legends!! I tried my best to follow the prompt but it might've gone off the rails at some point lol (also I agree, he has so much potential!! I hope to write more for him in the future!! word count: 1.2k

Safe and Sound

You sat in the corner of the cell, arms crossed as you stared at the man across from you. Mick deliberately kept his gaze away from you, your icy stare unnerving him. Your foot tapped against the floor, the metal against your boot echoing throughout the still air. He fidgeted his shoulder, a nervous tick you had observed over the years, indicating he was uncomfortable or even nervous. He felt the stillness in the air as a noose whereas you thrived in it, turning it in your favor. You leaned forward, bracing your arms on your knees as you cocked your head to the side. Finally, Mick broke, turning his head towards you, eyes wide in his signature angry expression.

"What?"

His voice was rough but you heard the undertone, the quiver in his words. You shook your head in response, leaning back against the glass, moving your eyes up to the ceiling, making direct eye contact with the not-so-hidden security camera. Wiggling your fingers in hello, you smirked a bit.

"You know why you're here?"

Mick's question was hesitant, like he was annoyed in the fact that he didn't know. You nodded, pursing your lips as you examined your hand. After a bit, you once more returned your stare to the fire-tinged man.

"They don't trust me. Looks like we got that in common."

Mick scoffed, shaking his head.

"Come on. Don't give me that bullshit. You probably have them wrapped around your finger, especially your brother."

You smirked, shrugging your shoulders.

"Of course I do. That's why we're not dead yet. You forget not everyone aboard the ship is a hero."

Mick turns his head to you, raising a singular eyebrow. He sighed in defeat, shaking his head.

"Alright, Y/N. Why don't they trust you?"

"Because they think I'll let you out, so," you raised your arms, "here I am."

Mick looked like he was about to respond but the door to the brig opened, revealing your older brother.

"Lenny!"

You waved at your brother, not making to stand up.

"Y/N...Mick," Len's eyes barely left yours to acknowledge Mick, "Just checking up on you."

You scoffed, zero malice in your tone.

"You mean you were sent on damage control duty. Don't worry, brother, we're both in one piece."

Len's eyes strayed over to Mick where they hardened with pain and apologies. He nodded stiffly before walking out of the brig without another word, very out of character for him you noted. It stayed silent before you felt Mick’s eyes on you. Stubbornly, you kept your eyes on the entrance of the brig. You had been in the cell for what felt like forever, why would he only want to talk now? 

“I threatened Lisa.” 

His rough words and tone made you stiffen before you forced yourself to relax, turning your head to face Mick, one eyebrow raised. Mick seemed to wait for your response before realizing you weren’t going to answer. Letting out a small growl of anger, he continued. 

“I threatened you as well, Y/N. But unlike Lisa, you were nowhere to be found.” 

You heard the hidden question in his words. Where were you? 

Gritting your teeth, you position your body away from the assassin, the atmosphere of the room no longer giving you comfort. You no longer had the high ground, with one question, you no longer held the power. 

“Y/N.”

Just your name.

That’s all it took. 

“I was looking for you. I didn’t believe Len when he said he took care of it, didn’t believe the team when they said you were dead. I was trying to get you back.” 

To your horror, your voice started to waiver towards the end of your words, breaking your composure. You were sure Mick noticed your weakness and you braced yourself for the taunting words of Chronos. But when you built up enough courage to finally look Mick in the eyes, all you saw was him. No Chronos, no time lords, no manipulation. Just the man who protected you for as long as you could remember, the man who had buried himself so deep in your heart you knew no one would ever take his place. 

“Why would you leave?” 

Before you could reply, he continued. 

“Why would you care so much to leave your family?”

At that you broke, allowing your emotions to show on your face.

“You are my family, Mick. I love the team, I really do but I lo-”

You stopped before you could let the words finish, Mick’s gaze becoming intense as his mind filled in the words where you stopped. Clearing your throat, you steadied yourself and then continued.

“We all promised each other we would stick together. I don’t break promises, you know that.”

The air was thick with tension and unanswered questions as you continued to feel Mick’s eyes boring into you. Scoffing, you waved your hands in the air, as if you could swat away your words like you would a fly. 

“Anyways, I think we-”

“What were you going to say?” 

Mick’s voice once again made you pause. You chuckled nervously, another weakness you internally scolded yourself for. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mick.”

Mick scoffed. You heard him stand up to walk the few steps to stand in front of you. You felt your heart beating so loud that it was the only thing you could hear. You slowly raised your head to look up at Mick, his eyes full of confusion. That surprised you. He knelt so that he was eye level, not letting you look away. 

“I-,” you swallowed, steadying yourself, “I was saying that I lo- oh, shit, am I really doing this?” You whispered to yourself as you put your head in your hands.

“I love you, Mick. That’s what I was going to say.”

The silence was loud as it stretched between you. When you finally worked up the nerve to remove your hands from your head, Mick’s eyes were filled with an emotion you couldn’t quite determine, while also shining with a dimmed hope. 

“Why?” 

His question rattled you to your core. Which was evident in how you started sputtering. 

“What? What do you mean why? Mick, you’re amazing! Do you not know that?” 

The look in his eyes answered that question. 

“Oh come on,” you whispered under your breathe, deeply disturbed by the thought of Mick not knowing how incredible he is, “Mick, you’ve been through things that would make most people insane, you’re always there to be a support, no matter how hard you try to hide it, you genuinely care. That’s something that’s so beautiful about you. You give your all to your relationships, so much so that it burns you. I’m constantly amazed by you and if anyone has told you otherwise then-” 

You were interrupted by Mick pulling you into his arms, hiding his face into the crook of your neck. The only coherent thought in your mind throughout the internal screaming was how out of place this felt. That Mick was willing to drop his guard down to show his affection and gratefulness towards you. With tears in your eyes you returned the hug, knowing that while you and Mick had a long way to go, this was an incredible start.

a/n: i am so sorry for how rushed the ending is! i hope this was semi-ok

[ramblesbiab]

I feel like if there's one thing I could probably make a video essay about today if I had the energy to is how utterly terrible seasons three and four of the Harley Quinn animated series were at understanding everything the first two seasons set up.

Season one establishes the status quo, it shows us who Harley Quinn is as a character in this iteration, along with building her relationships and motivations. Season two builds on this further while having great set pieces and concepts which further challenge and showcase the characters.

Both those seasons deal with the budding romance of Harley and Ivy, but they understand that you can't have an entire show based entirely on one couple. The other characters exist for a reason. They diversify the show while also just... being good characters. King Shark, Dr. Psycho, and Clayface are all amazing, and those are just a few of a large and well-balanced cast.

Along with this, Harley Quinn herself is such a good character. She's funny and chaotic without being too much, and when she goes too far, she's called out on it and it's addressed in a mature way. I genuinely, and I'm not sorry for this take, believe that the first two seasons of Harley Quinn is one of the best animated shows out there. It's so unapologetic in it's style, so understanding of what it is and what it can get away with.

And then, there's seasons three and four.

In stark contrast to the complexity of seasons one and two, seasons three and four each choose a singular angle to focus on: "What if Harley Quinn is actually morally good?" in season three, and "What if Harley Quinn isn't actually morally good?" in season four. They create a season-wide problem only to use the entire next season to disprove themselves. It's such poor time management, especially for this show!

One of the biggest reasons I say that is because of Season 1, Episode 7 - "The Line". This episode addresses how Harley Quinn... isn't all the way morally evil, but rather is a complex character. They address the debate of Harley Quinn's morals in one season one episode better then the entirety of seasons three and four! I know the writing team had some changes after the season two finale, but did you not watch the show before writing for it???

Now, I have to admit that I'm being a bit harsh on season three here. It has some interesting concepts that the show runs with, and a few of them work. My biggest problem with it is honestly the fact that it's so clearly the buildup to season four, which is genuinely awful in itself. Harley's team starts to be featured less, they start to push towards the "Maybe she's good?" of Harley, the issues between Harley and Ivy start to drift from a cross episode - or even season - narrative where they both grow and learn more about each other, to a weirdly episode-by-episode affair where they fight, feel a bit upset, then magically make up at the end while we all go aww yay!

The heart of the show has been removed. I wish it hadn't, because I was excited to have a chance to see more cute Harlivy moments, but somehow the show became too engulfed in Harlivy. This was never really the Harley and Ivy show - they were always the main characters, sure, but as I said before, the show understood you can't have a show about exactly one couple. The problem is that their new attempts at focused side characters fail.

Bane, Nora Freeze, and the Bat family are all good characters, but they're at their best when used sparingly. I genuinely don't understand the choice to step away from King Shark and Clayface as main characters, because season four shows how awful they function when they're used sparingly.

I'm mostly disappointed that when I want to recommend one of my favorite shows of all time to someone else, I have to do it with the condition that it falls off significantly as soon as season two's wonderful finale comes to a close. Maybe it should have be Fin, after all.

[sytokun]

RWBY V9 Episode 1 first impressions. Some spoilers. Also RWDE.

The first scene, both shot-wise and sound-wise was super well directed. The first person view into Ruby's headspace was very creative, and also an elegantly concise but unique recap of the last finale. Disregarding the nonsense surrounding the actual events (Yang getting KO'd instantly, no one being able to catch her and all that), it was an excellently directed scene.

Which makes it a pity that the scene right after felt really plodding and tonally dissonant. Having the already painful low framerate and cartoony jokes is already bad, but after a scene like that is... not how you do it.

The Monochrome scene was well-animated and adorable though. Amazing how much chemistry RWBY can get from its characters when it's not actively trying to signpost it to your face.

Speaking of signposting, the Bumbleby hug was good. Blake's tender voice calling Yang's name, and just them hugging on the beach is a really romantic image. and I'm a sucker for that kind of thing.

It kind of irks me more because my enjoyment of this ship is actively sabotaged by this show's own refusal to engage with it unless it's a weird combination of too-loud subtext and the fact it relishes in its own plausible deniability. I don't know what to say if there isn't a kiss or proper declaration of love by the end of this.

OK Goodnight doesn't miss, and they didn't for this OP song, Inside, either. I personally was super excited Casey was brought on in full force and her band's involvement was the singular thing that excited me about Volume 9. I have this opening on loop for hours now.

I loved how the Jabberwocky monster thing was animated, but part of me felt the design fell a bit short compared to how creatively it moved. I think if it went through another design pass or two to really bring out its more unsettling qualities it'd land even better.

But it was that thought that stirred up an iffy thought I had as I watched all the colourful characters and setting that was showcased in the opening and trailers. I know the whole point was to show a visual contrast by having everything be bright and whimsical but...

Part of me just kept thinking throughout this episode, and I suspect will keep me thinking throughout this Volume... why couldn't have all the Ever After creatures have been sentient talking Grimm instead?

Like, we don't know the canon explanation for the Ever After yet, but assuming that anything just goes here... I would have been really interested in the idea that this was a parallel world where benevolent Grimm exist and formed their own chaotic but intelligent societies. It could be an interesting exploration into the nature of Grimm, which by extension includes Salem's nature and how the heroes could not only defeat her dark nature, but perhaps understand and reason with it as well.

I just keep looking at the visual direction they decided to go with this world and can't help but think:

"Damn, Grimm mice would be cool, and a lot more visually distinct and marketable/merchandisable to RWBY fans too. Imagine Ruby making friends with a cute little Grimm? Something she's been trained to kill since forever? How weird but interesting would that be?"

"Damn, this glitchy monster thing would be way cooler as a Grimm, wouldn't it? Imagine it writhing like that and talking, but with the trademark glowing eye trails and miasmic black smoke trailing from its limbs."

"Damn, that Wonderland smoking caterpillar dude in the opening would have looked cool as a Grimm, maybe along the vibes of Koh the Face Stealer from Avatar?"

"Damn, the Cheshire cat as a teleporting Grimm feline would be cool. Its design might be a lot less polarising too since a lot of people think it hurts to look at. Some Grimm like Geists are already pretty formless to begin with."

And at the root of all these what-ifs, it just all comes back to the same question that I think sums up a lot of RWBY's problems:

"Damn, this show would be cooler in all these little ways if it just played into the ideas that made it cool to begin with."

[thefirstknife]

If going by the Destiny 2 content creator reactions and their fans of Lightfall then the greatest enemy to all is the concept of a Cliffhanger.

There people wouldn't be able to handle any non bing able media. If they had to watch Breaking Bad, any mystery story or what have you before Netflix i imagine they'd throw a fit

Yeah, I'm feeling the same. I genuinely don't know what people expected from a penultimate expansion. Talked about it before in regards to how the marketing for Lightfall may have been a little weird and how people ended up feeling misled by it, which is a fair complaint to have. But if we go further than that, I still don't know why people expected "all answers immediately" from an expansion that's clearly not the final one. We knew right away that this is not the ending.

This is a good opportunity to talk a bit more about some extra stuff which will be below, because I'm choosing mercy for people on mobile:

Another thing that gets me as well is that this is simply how Destiny always does the story. Like, it's a live service game and has been for 10 years. Campaigns are on a frequent hit-or-miss scale and aren't really all that expansive on their own anyway; a 3 hour campaign is NOT and never has been the totality of Destiny's story. As a matter of fact, like 90% of Destiny's story is told in written format with lore and side quests and other stories, not in campaigns. Campaigns are generally just the initial setpieces that shift the narrative in a certain direction with a singular event, but the majority of the story happens as consequences of that, over the course of years.

There's been so much stuff that we've been waiting for years to be explained. I always figured this as something that the Destiny community loves and expects. I got here only in D2 and only got into lore properly in Shadowkeep, so everything I knew by reading about Destiny's past story and community reception was that the mystery and the players coming together to figure things out was one of the main draws of the game. That's how I perceived the game, its lore and its community when I joined. As something where we work together to pore through texts to understand where things are and where they are going.

Actually, recently one of the biggest complaints going from Beyond Light and onwards was that Destiny has lost its mystery component. It's been a frequent and overwhelming critique of the story and seasons. How seasons are here to just quickly sum everything up in neat and presentable infodumps given to us by characters and lore tabs that tell us everything directly without any need for deeper engagement. This obviously isn't even fully true (Beyond Light's deepest mystery remained undetected and misunderstood by the majority of the playerbase and still is to this day (that would be Savathun replacing Osiris)), but overall yeah, certain things were absolutely streamlined in comparison with how lore was done before.

Like, no contest: frequent seasonal story drops that give us dozens of lore books, item lore, quest lore, dialogues and so on over the year that are easy to acquire and are readable in the game, as well as stories that happen weekly and are more engaging than just playing a 2 hour campaign every six months or every year have all done A LOT for the lore to be more approachable and less "mysterious." I put that in quotes because people frequently also misinterpret what "mysterious" means or at least aren't talking about the same concept. I've noticed that there's quite a bit of backlash for stories being resolved and character arcs being finished. To a lot of people, that's the removal of "mystery." In a sense, a lot of people want an endless story that never resolves but that gives just enough easily consumable fandom-related details that aren't really progressing the story in a meaningful direction.

But yeah. To end this tangent here, people have been complaining a lot about the lack of mysteries and wonder in Destiny. Which is just weird to me because that's just how stories work. At some point, the story will start resolving the mysteries. And yet, then came Lightfall which brought completely new mysteries and some of the most fascinating ones I've ever experienced in the entire Destiny setting and people just kinda... Didn't care. I attribute a lot of this to people just not recognising that they're no longer into the story all that much. They no longer want to engage with a mystery, they just want to see the conclusion. They don't have the energy or the interest to pore through the texts anymore or engage with the fandom or, indeed, wait for information to be revealed, especially if this isn't the type of stuff they like.

For example, there's a lot of fans of the type of gothic horror mystery about the Hive and Lightfall simply does not fit that aesthetic. And mind you, Destiny is famous for genre switching all the time so this is something that should be expected. But Lightfall's futuristic high concept scifi story that's about virtual realities, mind uploading, human experimentation with nanotechnology, bizarre alien entities that play with the concepts of consciousness and the nature of reality, and so on is something that a lot of people have no interest in. And as much as I want to say "skill issue," it's a matter of taste. It's completely normal to me that there's people who aren't into this. However, a lot of those people just refused to engage and then proceeded to say that the story is objectively bad, "worst expansion ever" and so on. Absolutely insane to me. Like, genuinely baby behaviour in my mind. The "upset because we're not about me" type. Meanwhile I've seen a plethora of people who have quietly, almost ashamed, admitted that they like this stuff more than Witch Queen. No one should be ashamed or afraid to say that.

And most of all, there was disappointment that a "new mystery" was started "too late" when things were "supposed to be explained." And first of all, things ARE being explained. Again, this is a live service game. It's updating over the course of the year. We've received so many explanations and threads to follow and read about and engage with while we wait. That's the whole point; keep the content coming over time. Second, for people who claim that "Lightfall's campaign wasn't complete," yes it was. The Lightfall campaign was to save Neomuna and stop the Witness from destroying the Veil. We did both of those, except the Witness deceived us (as it is known to do) and it never wanted to destroy the Veil in the first place; it wanted us to get there with a Ghost. And it ends with us falling for that deception (out of necessity of course: our hands were kinda forced. Brilliant deception in that regard) and losing to the Witness as it hijacks our Ghost and opens the portal (but we do end up saving Neomuna and have the Veil at our disposal now to start researching it). This is known as a plot twist: a big "oh shit" moment in the climax of the story where we realise we've been duped and we've done exactly what the villain wanted all along.

Which leads me to the third point, perfectly summarised by your ask and by a single word: it's a cliffhanger. Lightfall is the penultimate expansion in a ten years long story. It's a cliffhanger before the end. It's supposed to keep us wondering what the fuck happened and how are we going to solve this until TFS drops. It's supposed to question our place in the universe, our understanding of it, the nature of everything we've learned so far, the extent to which we were right and wrong about the Light and Darkness, as we prepare for the finale of the saga. I genuinely don't know which answers people were expecting to be delivered in a 3 hour campaign that would immediately tell you everything you need to know and then you'd put the game down for a year OR you would keep playing and seasonal stories would just be meaningless side stories that don't progress the plot (yet ANOTHER complaint about seasons that's been going on for a very long time and an unsolvable problem: people want seasons to be meaningful stories that progress the plot but also not meaningful enough so that they can be freely skipped without missing important story bits. These are contradictory statements. Both cannot be true).

And of course, it's completely normal if this just didn't work for people. It's an important distinction to make here; "I understand what it tried to do, but it didn't work well for me" is a completely different statement from "this was a bad story and the worst expansion ever." I've never seen this distinction being made as pretty much everyone only ever spoke about it in the latter terms. How the state of the story is awful and "dangerous," how the writers "dropped the ball," how things are horrifically bad and nonsensical and so on. In worst cases, it was straight up "Bungie should fire these writers." There's also a lot of people who claim wholeheartedly that they've understood the story, but then can't tell you what the theme was or they start going on about how Nimbus was a bad character who "wasn't even sad for Rohan," which immediately tells me they haven't finished the story. So I'm afraid I don't believe those specific types when they say that they understood it, but didn't like it.

Most of all, this was a REALLY long-winded way to say that this ask basically says it as concisely as possible: Lightfall is a cliffhanger before the end. It's SO important to consume more than one media and learn some media literacy. This isn't even remotely a long wait as far as cliffhangers go in general. We need people to stop expecting the media to get churned out mindlessly in quick succession for instant gratification. Hell, some would absolutely classify Destiny as being churned out quickly. And meanwhile we have players here losing their minds and crying and throwing things because they have to wait 3 months for a new season. Absolutely bizarre to me. Try waiting for a book series to continue for longer than ten years.

[arcstral]

Ever the busy bee, some time passes before Maria presents herself before the Hero-King, though he might not have missed her peeking at him every time she passed by. Then finally, once she's certain he isn't busy, and with her own preparations seemingly complete, the little cleric skitters over happily.

"Prince Marth!" Holding up two juice boxes, one to either side of a toothy grin, Maria then places the drinks beside him. Rising with middle and index fingers newly upheld, there comes a conspiratorial giggle before she shifts her number into a wall, cupping the corner of her mouth.

"Two juice boxes, just for you!" Not that it's anything to be ashamed of -- there's no rule about how much juice someone can have, and Maria wouldn't break the rules if there was -- but the point of it all is the fun of a shared secret. When she retreats, it's with a smile, a wink, and then a freely flowing laugh.

"Don't tell anyone, okay? Oh, and good work out there! Hee hee."

For the watchful Marth who surveys his surroundings, the medical tent thrums with the coming and going of people, not all who enter mundanely in a featureless way identical to others come before them. A fact most gladdening at that, for what a bore such monotony would be! Instead, a familiar robin twitters and her familiar mischief glisters; peeking and passing for many instances, before trumping them all with her eventual approach. The commingling of these things springs an unthinking smile to the Hero-King's face before he can put a thought to its appearance.

When confined to bed rest and recovery the lack for things to do seeds a contrary state of unrest, but an eventful visitor or two is enough to split that spell in half. Welcoming her presence, cornflower eyes land expectantly upon Maria on the brink of greeting, then blink rapidly as not one but two drinks are posited in the space beside him. Testimony, of course, to the ways of a benevolent trickster.

"Oh? I am truly honored to be the target of such a mysterious benefactor."

He chuckles in immediate understanding at the secrecy, with one singular breathy laugh - not too loudly as to draw attention, either. A good and upright king might put in a word of reprimand, but Marth at least in this respect is not the spotless moralist that others think him to be. With Maria as the mastermind, and Marth as accomplice, they will both share in the most sinister, world-ending duplicity evocative of children stealing one too many treats from a midnight pantry.

"I would return the sentiments fully to you, dear Maria. Your work on and off the field is appreciatively observed." As she makes to leave, he raises his juice box in a playful gesture of toast, the other tucked with pantomimed secrecy behind his back; a pirate's plunder too selfishly guarded for viewing by any other eyes. Sealing the vow between them is a wink, returned in kind. "—and will not go told."

[septembersghost]

something that does have a real weight of sorrow for me in all these discussions about elvis, and portrayals of elvis, is that ultimately the overwhelming majority is some degree of projection, and that's rarely kept in mind. we don't know for certain how he felt about things which occurred in his life, how he perceived them, internalized them, because he never had the chance to tell his own story. every book written is from the perspective of its teller, whether it comes from love or greed, compassion or condemnation. every script and every actor is an interpretation, and by necessity condensed and fictionalized. whenever someone says something about the feminine view of the coppola movie, i think about how that's not as unusual as they seem to think it is, we have a swath of women's stories about him - linda, ginger, kathy, june, anita, mindi, and so on, they've shared their experiences and perspectives on him, like priscilla has, for decades (and those are remarkably consistent). this isn't me saying they shouldn't, they have the right to share their voices, and those accounts told are what we have as biographical record of him, but still, every individual naturally speaks from a place of personal bias. this is, of course, startlingly true with everything members of the mm have put out there as well.

people keep contrasting the luhrmann film with coppola's, and it's wildly missing the point because they're not even looking through the same lens. as much as i love baz's work and think the film is so affecting and beautiful, it's necessary to remember that elvis is actually NOT the pov character. that's our antagonist, parker. austin's remarkable and empathetic performance is the beating heart of the movie, but in many respects elvis (2022) isn't solely about elvis presley, and it's not supposed to be. it's about the struggle of empty capitalism vs. fulfilling creation and art, it's about exploitation and grief, it's about the upheaval and changing landscape of american culture and how this singular man was used as a lens through which to filter those shifts. his social consciousness is relevant because it's too often overlooked, or ignored altogether, in his legacy, and that, like his passion for music, like his spirituality, was essential to his soul and his artistry, but we also need to see that conflict of parker not having understanding for that hunger and grace because they're positioned as the dichotomy of a transforming age. its aim is focused on his influence and resonance as a performer, which is why it's often grand and kaleidoscopic. when the movie truly, wholly becomes dedicated to elvis is the switch flip during unchained melody. i'd argue, in fact, that's why it's powerful - we spend two and a half hours as an audience by intent, told this story, watching the rise and struggles of this man, but at a bit of a thoughtful remove, guided by the colonel, who doesn't even get why we're there. the colonel who tells us directly elvis' tragedy was love, and only we are allowed to perceive that love was also his triumph. the final moments of the film allow the crossing of that bridge, where it's between us and elvis, and the connection and legacy he left behind.

obviously i haven't seen priscilla (2023) and thus cannot comment on its narrative structure or portrayal, but can say that once again, the human being he was individually isn't intended to be the center. she's the focal point and the pov character and it's necessary to keep that in mind. elvis is the supporting player, no matter how large he may loom, in a story about a young woman's journey into a whirlwind and to self-discovery.

the trouble with all these varying accounts and portrayals, no matter how sensitively or salaciously done, is that elvis presley disappears into Elvis™ in the ensuing discussion. he becomes a cipher for whatever anyone viewing and commenting WANTS him to be - scintillating iconoclast or tragic disaster, brilliant musician or embarrassing hack, generous, pensive soul or overbearing, gauche cautionary tale. all of which easily becomes too simplistic or too judgmental, erasing his personhood and complexity and extraordinary humanism for the quickest possible sound bite.

there's no real point to me saying all this beyond it being something i feel is essential to remember and to process. he never told this in his own words, so we piece every account together (playing detective, as austin said), learn to differentiate the noise and the furor from the quiet, persistent truths, find the spirit of the person he was and his dreams and philosophies and heart that are left behind, that do still captivate and comfort people who listen.

this is why i don't feel like our job is to constantly go to war for him, or to try and prove haters hanging onto their ugliest possible opinions wrong (it hasn't worked for decades), because even in that tumult, threads are lost and value is obscured. it's not our responsibility to rescue his image. loving what he gave us is enough.

[astramachina]

OC ship song tag?!

Y'all know me. I will take any excuse to talk about the musical vibes behind my projects, and nobody knows this better than @tragedycoded who smacked me with a tag while I was AFK.

Because I've been lost in The Singularity Project sauce, I'm shoving two of my boys in the spotlight: Mike & Cy!

now that's what i call 80s!

since i haven't talked about them in a hot second for reasons, here's a very brief rundown on who these two are:

Mike Delgado: [actual name Miguel Antony Delgado] is a Dominican med student who, given some unfortunate familial circumstance, moves to the U.S. to find work. because it's Montana in the 80s, best he could land was a security gig in a very suspicious Mall complex. suspicious because the job pays a little too well so long as nobody asks questions about the turnover rate (or why said turnover rate is a consequence of bloody disappearances). chronic plant collector, his most prized possession is an ant farm he found abandoned in his apartment when he first moved in.

Cyrus "Cy" Hart: full-time employee at an electronics shop in said Mall complex. nobody knows much about him, not even himself, aside from the fact that he's worked in the same place for as long as he can remember. his diet consists of Coke, Pop Rocks, and popcorn. very normal, not at all debilitatingly socially anxious, and absolutely 100% human the last time he checked.

Took a lot of money to look the part Took a lot of pain to tame a heart Took a lot of years to lose my fear of flying Took a long time to finally start then it Took a good day to fall apart Took a lot of tears to lose my fear of crying

i hope you like doomed yaoi. :)

very short ramblings beneath the cut ↓

TSP isn't particularly a shippy project since it's very much a sci-fi horror, but Mike and Cy definitely have one of those "not platonic, not romantic, but third infinitely weirder thing" going on, at least from a meta perspective.

Mike is crushing HARD on Cy, but Cy spends a solid chunk of his horrific existence trying to survive the very literal horrors. It's one of those "I'm probably gay but it's the 80s, I'm working overtime in an extremely cursed environment, I think the walls are literally talking to me?, please get me out of here" situations so the guy simply does not have the time to hold hands and maybe kiss under the light of arcade cabinets regardless of how badly he wants to.

So it's not quite unrequited, but maybe in another time things could've worked out.

While I'm here, the picrews I used are this and this!

I FEEL LIKE EVERYONE AND THEIR MOM ALREADY DID THIS so I'm leaving the tag open. I'm late to the game I wholly understand.

[magnusmodig]

╰┈➤ VI TALKS ABOUT THOR/MCU / @requiend / no longer accepting !

🔥 allow me to enable, with any topic of your choosing !

||. "Thor: The Dark World" (Thor 2) was a financial success, well-received by everyone who isn't part of the toxic Loki!Fandom and is absolute peak Thor content and I can prove it.

I've done extensive research on the critical and box office success of the Thor franchise and in this research I discovered the following:

Financial Success:

On average, each film of the THOR franchise grossed about 3.75x the production budget of each film, altogether.

Thor: Love and Thunder and Thor (2011) both made ~3.0x their production budget

Thor: The Dark World did 4.3x better

Thor: Ragnarok only did 4.7

This actually means that, adjusting this scale for inflation between 2011-2017, AND for Thor's popularity after his first debut, Thor actually makes consistent money. Thor: Ragnarok is actually on average with the rest of Thor's films, INCLUDING Thor (2011), so despite all of the YouTube critics lording it as the best thing ever because Tai.ka Wa.i.ti.ti wrote it, the fact of the matter is Gagnarok is just... 'a good Thor Movie' just the same as ALL the rest of them. (Which is actually, technically, bad, because it threw away everything about him and we saw how well that turned out in Endgame's cinematography/framing and L+T. Nobody appreciates it.)

Critically Well-Received:

If you chronologically search for reviews of Thor: The Dark World and actually read most reviews, while Dark World wasn't a box office smashing success, it was generally well received by the public (until the loki fans ruined it.), and any critiques that were given were valid ones, or directed towards the film editors since the THOR films usually have a lot of ground to cover, and not a lot of time.

you can read some reviews here:

SlashFilms / Oct 22nd, 2013

Never Been Better / Nov 8th, 2013

RoboHeartBeat / Nov 8th, 2013

Slice of SciFi / Nov 8th, 2013

AIPT Comics / Nov 8th, 2013

Ajaydsouza / Nov 12th, 2013

AustinChronicle / Nov 8th, 2013

The Providence Journal / Nov 7th, 2013

People saying that it's "the worst Thor Film of all time" or that it was 'boring' are generally people who, I kid you not, wanted Tom Hiddleston to write the next Thor Movie, only went to watch the film for Loki/because Loki was in it, and otherwise complained about him "not having a lot of screen time" despite being a secondary character on par with Jane Foster. (Which, I understand that Loki is popular, and I think he's lovely and that Tom is a wonderful actor and we're absolutely blessed to have him and Chris Hemsworth in their respective roles, especially together – but Loki isn't the main character and he isn't supposed to be.)

Peak Thor Content

In this singular movie alone we get:

Absolutely the best character design for Thor out of all his appearances even up til now.

A sleek armor design

Chris' REAL HAIR being used instead of a wig (it's so pretty!)

even a better, more flowing cape design that was a real cape!! Not CGI like in Thor: Gagnarok!

The Entire Poncho Look

EXTREMELY complex and interesting dynamics with his entire family (Jane is included as part of the family.)

With Odin, he's subservient to a worrying degree, but still willing to rebel against him, even if that could mean banishment or being public enemy no.1 whilst his father is deranged.

Frigga as always is generally complicated, but they get along well enough, and she accepts Jane into the family immediately, and Thor thinks highly of her, even if he doesn't know her so well.

Loki's primarily in the Asgardian dungeons, but despite this, because he is in the back of Thor's mind even when Loki is away, the audience is CONSTANTLY thinking about Loki too. His presence is felt everywhere, and when the two brothers finally reunite on screen, it's after a year of separation and festering betrayal of their bond. Loki's redemption moment is in this film. ("Trust my rage") and it's probably one of the BEST brodinson moments of the entire series by far. Loki also spends most of his time outside of prison just trying to get Thor to break out of his apathy, which is nice.

And Jane and Thor are positively sweet! Their chemistry together is off the charts and so utterly wholesome. He perks up almost instantly when she finds her way back into his life, and I love that she actually helps him defeat the main villain, Malekith, with her science inventions. (2011-2015 jane foster is peak jane foster). I also think it's worth noting that the tone for their relationship is pretty clearly set in this film. He's a protector, she follows his lead, but he relies on her to keep him in check and assist him whenever she is able. They're great rulers together!

He has a subtle, sassy humour that oozes out of him in every scene where it's applicable for him to be a bit funny. Some of my favorites include:

Sif: I had this under control!

Thor: (smiling) Is that why everything is on fire?

Thor: (GETS BOMB-RUSHED BY A BRUTE IMMEDIATELY)

Thor: Hello. Brute: (ROARS IN HIS FACE)

Thor: I accept your surrender. Maurader Crowd: (CHEERS AND JEERS) Thor: (laughs silently. DESTROYS THE BRUTE IN ONE SWING.)

Thor: Thor:

Thor: Anyone else?

Loki: At least furnish me with a weapon. My daggers. Something!

Thor: (begrudgingly looks at him.)

Loki: (smiles)

Thor: (acquiesces)

Loki: At last! Common sense—....

literally this entire face

Thor: And I thought you liked tricks. (wiggles his whole body happily as he walks away laughing)

and also the ENTIRE space ship scene between him and loki. Not gonna cap that one past this but:

L: No don't hit the buttons press them. Gently. T: I AM ""presSING THem gENtLy"" it's nOT WORKING >:T

L: I think you missed a column. T: Shut up.

L: Congratulations! You just decapitated your grandfather.

L: Maybe I should try flying. :T I'm clearly the better pilot. T: Really? Well, between the two of us, which one can actually fly?

I COULD GO ON but i'll leave it here...for now..

[kaiba-fangirl]

If you follow my main, you know I've been focusing on medical stuff again. Just went for bloodwork last week. 13 pages of things to test for, I think 8 vials of blood. I finally got the results back this morning, and I've been going over them, comparing flagged things to symptoms. A few of these results could be connected to low sex drive. Not one of my symptoms, but I was reading everything anyway. These are disorders & conditions related to organ damage, where the symptoms may either be nonexistent, or just 1 symptom, or mistaken for other things, or even written off as nothing. But this actually isn't about my medical journey. That's long and confusing even to uncaring professionals, and I of course have to wait to at least see what my endo says about it all. This is cuz... I'm 35, been on this journey since I was 12, and finally staring at hard numbers from my blood that most likely mean organ damage from 29 years of untreated hypothyroidism. So I have some delicate life experience, that I hope others are willing to not bite my head off over.

...especially cuz it's June.

. But I'm also putting this HERE, on kaiba-fangirl, as a reassurance that I am not trying to write this off the other way, either. Because, my hardest headcanon for Kaiba, since 15, through all the shipping through all these years, even way back then, whenever someone would ask me who I ship Kaiba with, (& let's be real, they meant-) do I like Puppyshipping - or even alone, did I think he was gay? In 2003, I didn't know what to succinctly answer except, "I don't really think he'd be into anyone..."

. Kaiba & Joey stuff was usually hot cuz they're independently both hot. Kaiba & Serenity was just to get Joey steamed, & again both hot in fanart. Kaiba & "blue-haired-girl" (before her name was reliably translated) was just cuz BEWD destiny ancient egypt. Kaiba & Mai - just my 2 faves, so put together? Eh... 🤔 Nahhh.

. Probably 10 years later before I finally learned "asexual" & was like "FINALLY" - but not for myself. Ohhh very much not myself lol. But I finally had a word to describe Kaiba.

. So, as I hope you can guess by now, I'm (probably making a huge mistake typing this out loud) here to combine these 2 things to tell you: Low sex drive *CAN* be a medical indicator that something is wrong. And it could be a singular symptom, but a closer look at extensive bloodwork can tell a larger story. I *look* perfectly healthy. On average, I usually feel pretty fine. Which is how it took 29 years to find my hypothyroidism, during which time it's caused other organ damage (adrenal glands, kidney, pancreas. & then heart disease if I can't get my cholesterol under control, diabetes if I can't get the insulin resistance under control) & hurt my life greatly. And I don't know what treatment is going to look like from here on out.

. Yes, asexuality is valid & I even feel I do understand it. I do know it doesn't just mean low sex drive; I know you can be asexual with a high sex drive. I know it's not about that; it's about feeling sexual attraction, or not. I know it's not absolute but a spectrum. But for a lot of people, it does seem they also say they have low sex drive. And if that is so for anyone, then please do not ignore the fact that it can also be a medical symptom. You probably already know it's also a side effect of SSRIs.

. I certainly do not care who wants to claim asexual for any reason. That has nothing to do with me. But - please - don't let a hidden medical thing - like the autoimmune disorder that hypothyroidism is (& whatever else may be wrong with me) or the metabolic syndrome that PCOS is (a possibility my endo is looking into) - destroy your actual organs just because you didn't want to check.

. I'm just older & don't want anyone else to go through what I have with all of this. I have had to fight since I was 12 to get a blood test workup like this one. & it's probably cuz I'm just going to reportedly "the best" practice within 50 miles, which means no insurance & throwing a credit card at them. With gas & tolls round it to $500 first visit, $250 followups. First time in my life some of this stuff is getting tested. 29 years before my thyroid was ever tested. @ EVERYONE, get your thyroid tested. Endocrine issues are so misunderstood or little understood, can hide as so many other things, or get written off as absolutely nothing, but they affect everything in your body. It's basically how your brain tells your organs what to do. It's so important. But no one pays attention.

. I understand the sensitivity, but not everyone who tells you to check low sex drive medically is just trying to write off asexuality. I'm saying get it checked cuz too many symptoms of actually serious things get written off as nothing. THIS is the kind of "something medically wrong" we're talking about. Kinda need your other organs to work to keep your body alive to even be around to be asexual. Okay?

. And this applies to so many other things I'm seeing on these lists. Anything. Don't ignore it. Do whatever you can to see a good doctor. If reddit doesn't die, find a community there to share stories & experiences. This just seemed to be the one thing I've seen people get defensive over, taking it as only an identity thing, when there can very much be serious physical reasons behind it. Take care of yourself. 💙💙💙

[nateconnolly]

Would you say there is a singular and perfect representation of the “average human”?

No.

What is “neurotypical”?

I use it to describe someone who does not have cognitive, mental, and/or neurological disabilities.

I am aware that these concepts are fuzzy, but that doesn't mean that they're nonsense. Race, too, is a socially constructed category -- and its boundaries have shifted over time -- but I don't think it's useless to refer to some people as white, and others as people of color.

Many disability scholars acknowledge that the category is kind of a moving target, but come up with adequate models. Alison Kafer describes several competing models of disability in the introduction to Feminist, Queer, Crip. If you ask politely, I'd be happy to say more about this (can't promise that it would be soon, tho).

One important piece of this puzzle is the fact that “autism” and “ADHD” are terms created by individuals to describe individuals.

I genuinely don't understand why you're saying this. How does it contradict the point I tried to make in the original post?

The DSM changes every 5-7 years.

So does the driver's manual in my state. That doesn't mean anyone and everyone can change road law on a whim.

I am completely open to many critiques of the APA, but I don't think it's fair to say "This relatively new field of science is still adjusting, therefore it's bullshit."

I do not personally think it’s a bad thing that social media is spreading awareness about quirks that are human- thus, ultimately convincing humans that they are having human responses- with responses that once made them feel alien for feeling it.

I am not convinced there's a sizable percentage of people who feel alienated because they like music in general a lot. There... could be? But right now, I haven't seen or heard anything that indicates large numbers of people think feel inhuman because they get songs stuck in their heads.

Radical honesty time: I'm straight up not sure what you were trying to say there, so maybe my comment is off the mark? But that's my best attempt to address the concern as it's been expressed.

I don’t see how a label someone gives themselves, or receives from a professional, changes the “legitimacy” of finally having your feelings fit into a “category” such as neurodiversity/the spectrum.

I... never said other people having autism changes the legitimacy of my own experience? I just don't think that you automatically have it if you've ever fought for social justice.

I'd also like to note that autism isn't entirely about how you feel. I'm not talking about where my "feelings fit."

How does this affect you enough to throw shade about it?

I think psychology has a long way to go, but I still consider the discipline (a relatively young branch of) science. I like it when people believe scientific facts. I understand psychology reasonably well, and so when I see people repeatedly spread psychological claims that are just false, it frustrates me.

Realistically, psychology will continue to evolve in ways that emphasize spectrums as a way to understand consciousness.

Autism.... already is a spectrum???? According to the DSM???? They started describing it as a spectrum before the first Toy Story movie.

Also, four sentences ago it seemed like you were saying it's bad that the DSM changes. Isn't evolution, as you put it, a form of change?

TikTok has convinced so many people that you're autistic or ADHD if you have completely typical experiences like "getting songs stuck in your head" or "having a strong sense of social justice" or "reverently kissing the ice-cold crown of the crow lord". No, you do not need to have autism to squeeze your eyes shut and stand completely still as a living statue to demonstrate your total submission to the crow lord. Plenty of neurotypical people bring him tributes of glass beads, tinfoil strips, roadkill, coins from dead men's pockets, and mice or rabbits fattened weeks in advance. Honestly TikTok has become such a dangerous engine for spreading misinformation. I wouldn't be surprised if they provoke the wrath of the crow lord soon.