#and using their viewpoint to tell a story of how fucked up all this shit is

[sassydefendorflower]

Something I don't see discussed often is the absolute genius dichotomy between dialogue and background scene during the conversation between Roy and Hughes in Ishval.

No, not that one.

I mean the one where they talk about the letter Hughes got from Garcia - one of the only "comedic" moments in all of episode 30 (and issue 15 of the manga).

Because it's horrendous.

In the anime (which unfortunately cut most of the juiciest and most fucked up stuff out of the chapters about the Ishvalen genocide) the scene begins with an establishing shot of Roy in which we see this:

Blood on the ground, covering an Ishvalen garment (and probably a body just out of frame) with a smiling Roy in front of it, since Hughes just got mail and Roy probably knows what his best friend is about to talk about. The conversation continues, the camera focused on their faces as if to make us forget just where we're at, and then, as their banter comes to a close we get this:

A wide shot of Roy and Hughes next to each other, now from the other side of the camera. Where before, we could only see their faces, alight with a rare smile, talking about the love of Hughes' life and joking around, we now see what scenery this is happening in front of. One of destruction. One of death.

Just as they ignored the dead body on the floor as they started talking about Hughes having to defend his girl back home, neither of them are really looking at Ishval in the end either. Hughes and Roy are still looking at the letter in Hughes hand - not the buildings Roy himself probably burned down only hours earlier.

It's framed a bit differently in the manga, though not by much. If anything the implications are only much darker.

(please excuse the German text, I only have the manga in German and Japanese)

But in the manga, this scene is not framed by a destroyed Ishvalen town, but by literal mountains of dead people. The speech bubbles in the left corner reference Hughes asking Roy when he'll get a girl to write home about.

I think it is very telling that Arakawa focused on the dead bodies in the foreground. I think it is incredibly clever and smart to show us Hughes and Roy only as dark shadows, as we see arms and faces stick out of the dirt.

Because as much as this moment of levity both in the manga and anime is a human one (people adapt to all kind of horrors, and most soldiers are known for a rather dark sense of humor), it is also a reminder that Hughes and Roy get to go home.

They both survive the war (even if Hughes dies later on), unlike the people over whose dead bodies they are sharing jokes.

It is a haunting imagery, but an effective one.

It's not overly aggressive, and it's easy to miss the bloody garment, especially in the anime version, but I do think it is a deliberate part of storytelling.

Because no matter how much Hughes claims he fights to survive (and i believe him, I really do), there is a difference between the Amestrians fighting and the Ishvalens they are killing.

And it's probably the fact that only one side is getting letters from back home, promising them a family and a future once they get back. Because the other side is lying dead on the floor, their blood a backdrop for two people to reminisce about humanity.

[patroxlos]

Ate pls update soon!! dont be too pressured tho. Your home base story is so good 😗😗

I'm going to try to bang out some more of ch8 tonight! if i get into the groove itll be out within the weekend :> btw if ure in the PH i hope youre safe atm! the typhoon rlly rocked us this past week

SO while waiting for that to happen, I'll chat BRIEFLY about my thoughts on Ken Sato's insecurities to help me get out of the writer's block for a bit lmao

I fully subscribe to the characterization that Ken can actually be a bit awkward socially when he isn't putting up a pretense and is actually insecure

but what exactly is his source of insecurity?

For me, I don't fully believe all of his confidence is for show lmao. he knows he's a damn good baseball player, he knows he is hot as fuck— he knows he is the shit. I don't think the bullying affected his self-esteem in a way where he doubts himself bc I don't think he'll let white boys tell him what kind of person he is

instead, I think the bullying solidified his difficulty in being vulnerable with others and produced in his brain the false narrative that he is alone

The reason why he built this high self-image of himself is that he believes that he is the only person in his corner, aside from his mom. in connection to his dad, it is to show his dad that he never needed him to be a part of his life even if deep down, he does

Ken puts up the idea that he is the greatest of all time because he wants to show that he can do it without relying on others

it's very western, to hold onto an individualistic viewpoint on success, and to find it admirable that he was able to do it all with pure willpower

but it also makes him very lonely

what's more, i dont think we can divorce ken's insecurities about his inability to connect with others from his struggles with retaining his japanese identity and feeling like a foreigner in his own country

There's a lot more to discuss (I mainly use Erikson's psychosocial theory as a template) esp in terms on how the reader in 'home base' feeds into his insecurities and worsens his abandonment issues, but that's just a bit for now!! will try to update soon

[eddie4bat-president]

I can so perfectly picture Eddie as this doordasher wearing that shirt

He is. So So Tired, just to start off the day. Did not sleep at all the night before because first he was in the zone perfecting his latest campaign but then he went a little overboard with the villain's backstory; then he realized that if his party didn't question specific people and roll high enough persuasion to get this information, he wouldn't get to tell this story. So then he went on to craft an npc bard who would be singing about the villain and- wait he's a songwriter. Oh how sick would it be if he had his players in a tavern or something after they defeated the Big Bad and then Eddie, at the table, could take out his guitar and play that song to tell the villain's tragic backstory? Amazing, showstopping, incredible. Except he was almost done writing a song he could play on his acoustic that would sound kind of medieval-ly when he realized- wait this is good, actually. What the fuck. He should make a real song out of this for Corroded Coffin. And when he finally tries to go to sleep he keeps laying wide awake with ideas for a whole concept album from the viewpoint of the Bard and-

Point is he's borderline delirious when he gets dressed to dash to some doors - enough that when he looks at the “if she sits on your face, she legally owns you…. Squatters rights and all that” on the shirt Jeff got him for his birthday he giggles for a minute straight while getting dressed and then on and off again until he's in his van.

He loses some time in the routine of getting people their shit and driving until he rings a bell and a distracted pin-up angel from jock-heaven opens the door in some ratty green basketball shorts and nothing else unless you count the t-shirt he's decidedly not wearing but using to wipe... flour? And something else? From his face.

"Hi, sorry, give me a second - I don't care that you're old enough to drive, Henderson! You don't touch another thing in that kitchen until I'm back or I swear to God- give me a second, I want to give you the tip in cash, that's better for you, right?" "...Huh? Yeah, it's- yeah" Sue him, Eddie's distracted. There's hairy chest right in front of his sleep-deprived face and he's considering his conversion to becoming a tits man - except in that moment the (literally) dirty angel turns away and oh Jesus Christ. Yeah, no, still an ass man. Oh wow.

He loses some time again and when he's all there once more he's holding a marker and has just - in view of his future owner, fingers crossed - blacked out the "S" on his shirt so it says "if ■he sits on your face, ■he legally owns you" instead. He's still trying to figure out how this happened and if the surprised look on his doordashee's face is leaning good or bad when fucking Dustin Henderson walks around the corner.

[juliandevoraksbignaturals]

I am incredibly disappointed to learn about how much toxic shit has been going on behind the scenes in this fandom recently. Not that every fandom doesn't have its issues, naturally, but some of what's come to light is just ridiculous.

To those involved parties who have been the ringleaders of this 3-ring shitshow, shame on you. Feeling not only the need but the justification to slander people based upon a distaste for a fucking fictional pairing, or a person's career choice, when you yourself are responsible for curating your own internet experience, is childish at best.

You guys are in a fandom full of wonderful people who take time out of their lives to provide you with Free Content. Expecting that content to cater to you personally all the time shows a sense of delusional entitlement that indicates that perhaps you aren't mature enough to get to play in fandom spaces, since you can't behave like a responsible adult.

To those that were caught up in the whirlwind of lies and conniving plots, I am incredibly proud of those of you who put your foot down and said, "Enough is enough." I commend you for putting together the receipts and evidence, and presenting it not only to those you've wronged but to the fandom at large. It takes courage to admit wrongdoing and to think critically enough to realize you've been played.

Finally, to those who have been the target of these attacks, to @asrabounding , @drakonishe , and many others, I would not only praise your strength and resilience in the face of such a shitstorm, but also, I would like to take the time to thank you for all the work you've done, and continue to do, for this fandom. You've never written off the fandom as a whole due to the idiotic actions of a choice few, and you've continued to work on multiple demanding projects in the meantime. I've had the pleasure of speaking to @drakonishe during this Arcanacon, not about this incident specifically, but as a friend, and I've been treated with nothing but respect and welcoming vibes.

We, as a fandom, yes, but also as people, need to start being kinder and more grateful to the people who take time to use their talents to bring us joy. How wonderful that we can say we have enough variety in the art and writing produced by this fandom to have content to cater to a variety of preferences! How delightful that we, as fans, can come together to discuss different viewpoints and outlooks, and to share our love for a cast of characters and stories that have captivated us all! We are so lucky to have such talented artists and writers and creators of all kinds in this fandom, but we stand to lose that if we can't be civil and grateful to those that create such delights in the first place.

In all, take a step back, take a breath, and reflect on the wonderful things we have as a fandom. Then go and tell your favorite creator how much you enjoy the things they make. Go tell your friends you appreciate them. Hug your freakin dog or cat. Put some good out there, and remember that behind every username is a person. Lead with kindness, with an open mind, and don't be afraid to admit it when you're wrong.

[dollypopup]

colin should 'suffer' for penelope

aka: 5 short reasons why wanting colin to 'suffer' or 'grovel' or whatever other bullshit this fandom keeps pulling is stupid and makes no sense and should have been buried ages ago, how is this still a thing?

1: it sets a terrible and unhealthy dynamic between an endgame couple

especially considering Polin's motif is that of a mirror, if Colin is expected to grovel or suffer for Penelope's affection and forgiveness, it only stands to reason that Penelope then, too, would have to reciprocate. how Penelope treats Colin's ills is setting the precedent for how he's expected to handle her own against him, of which there are many. giving him the cold shoulder, holding what he said over his head and rubbing it in his face, potentially not even explaining why she's upset at him: these are not signs of a mature woman ready for a marriage to ANYONE

2: Colin's slights against Penelope are considerably less harmful than Penelope's against Colin's and it makes no narrative sense for her to be on her high horse about it

'he ruined her prospects' 'he talked about her behind her back' 'he laughed at her' (we don't even know if that one's true, frankly speaking)

but Penelope did the exact same to him and she did so first. Please remember that Penelope is the reason Colin and Marina broke up, and it was her express goal the entire time. Penelope humiliated Colin and Marina both by exposing them publicly (not to mention rubbed the salt into the wound for days afterward). Penelope didn't even think about Colin's feelings because she tried to confess her crush on him immediately after his engagement went poof. Penelope holding Colin accountable for what he said without herself recognizing the ways in which she's hurt him, too, makes her out to be a hella hypocrite

3: it's weirdly catholic on main?

love isn't about suffering points or penance or guilt and i'm tired of Christianity pervading every damn thing. sorry not sorry, some of us want an actually fulfilling love story

4: y'all are just mad Colin didn't love Penelope back from jump and it's a revenge fantasy

which, fine, that's what fanfic is for, but it's OOC, y'all are aware of that, right? because if he DID want her from the start, we all know that it wouldn't be Polin? why are you shipping a friends to lovers ship if you INSIST that the friends to lovers dynamic is less than? guess what? unreciprocated love is kind of part of the deal. you don't hold a grudge against your friend for not loving you back immediately. Colin shows he cares about Penelope in SO MANY WAYS that somehow are completely invalidated because it isn't meant to be romantic? imma say it: fuck you if you think that way. friendships are important and beautiful and deep and fulfilling with or without romance. Colin sticking his neck out for Penelope to help her family from Jack's scheme? an act of love. Colin sending Penelope letters after her father passed? act of love. Colin telling Penelope she's 'really very good' and holding her hand in appreciation of her coming to talk to him? act of love. if you think those acts of love mean nothing just because he isn't fucking her seven ways to sunday, maybe analyze your own viewpoint of relationships and ship Pen w/ some random stranger who makes heart eyes at her tits from jump

5: it makes Penelope an asshole to her own long term partner

dude, if a friend of mine insisted I crawl on hands and knees to determine whether they want me back in their lives, i don't want to be around that person? so many of these narratives make Penelope a straight up terrible person. if you want your partner to suffer? you probably don't actually like them very much, but Polin is narratively MEANT to be the couple that likes AND loves one another. be real, if your friend ghosted you for months, gave you the cold shoulder when you tried to talk again, treated you like shit (you can't argue that him 'suffering' isn't treating him like shit in some way shape or form) as you tried to apologize, and then you find out that she was the reason you and your ex broke up and she wrote straight up nasty things about your family for YEARS, you would want absolutely nothing to do with that friend. why should Colin be expected to be any different? do these two not deserve a lovely love story built on love and affection and trust and honesty? a healthy happy relationship in which they see one another and appreciate one another for all they are? no? so why do you ship them?

+1: it's oversaturated in this fandom

polin is a fantastic ship. how is THIS their main trope?

find a new fucking idea, PLEASE

[teeth-cable]

You everr realize that Vivziepop is completely bullshitting when it comes to ethnic casting because of Millie?

Like we are definitely getting imp human disguises for merch reasons so its definitely going to come up.

But like if Millie is black then her family should be played by black VAs but all of them are white VAs. Like I don't think Millie is adopted since she looks like a younger version of her mother.

The best course would then be making Millie white and no we can't use Erica being the original VA as evidence because that was always meant to be a temp casting.

But then this creates an issue in Helluva Boss having no fucking diversity like Vivziepop doesn't have to answer to corporate demands to make the ENTIRE CAST white. She can choose to add diversity.

If she makes Millie black that's also showcasing a huge issue in Helluva's lack of diversity in its main group of characters and Millie could come off as a token. Then you have the fact Morgana and Ed would come under fire for taking POC roles as well as Spindle allowing it unless Vivziepop retcons Millie as adopted or half siblings with Sallie.

Like Into The Spiderverse had half its human cast be POC and it answered to corporate demands. Then Across The Spiderverse without spoiling anything has a MAJORITY of the cast be POC.

Now you can argue Spiderverse is based off existing material unlike Helluva but those existing materials had put effort into adding POC in the first place. And guess what Spiderverse had consulted actual minorities when it came to development of the project.

Vivziepop is latina but she's white passing so she needs to consult people who don't pass to get a better understanding overall on things. Like I'm disconnected from my own culture but just because I'm part of it doesn't mean I have a full picture of it.

Vivziepop also isn't black, asian or indigenous so if she's telling stories that features them she needs to do research and consult people.

She actually consulted Morgana about Sallie May being trans thankfully but... I never hear any talk about other people she talks to which shows poor ass attempts. Like Morgana's insight is valid but she does not speak for all trans people and yes you aren't going to please everybody with representation but just consulting a SINGLE PERSON is insane. We also know Viv according to leaked screenshots has or had some form of transphobia so she absolutely needs to consult more people if she's trying to change and do better especially if she's writing about a trans character.

Like Morgana being a white transwoman will not have the same experience as a black transwoman for example. Like I know that from actively trying to learn about trans people.

Like there's a youtuber UnicornofWar who made a video about how the show RWBY is terrible at handling its racism allegory. Now Unicorn is white but actively went out of their way to consult multiple POC for the video and did a shit ton of research. Now I will say Unicorn in the past has said ignorant things about stuff like white washing (thinking its ok because of art style color pallets back then) in earlier videos but currently denounces that viewpoint (note: Unicorn as far as Im aware has never said anything with vile. I have to clarify so I don't misrepresent their person and people don't assume Unicorn like said a slur) and actually apologizes for their ignorance.

Has Vivziepop ever denounced her old views or behavior? Has she apologized for being ignorant in certain things? Is making a serious effort to change? Has Vivziepop researched throughly and listened to POC insights or concerns?

As far as I'm aware she hasn't.

I have noticed Viv's weird choices for Millie as a black character. I hate to say this but Millie is supposed to be token rep which to me is weird because nobody was pressuring Viv to add rep to her shows. I will say this even in a universe where Viv hired black VAs to voice Millie's family and did do properly research and consulted black people, Millie would still be considered token rep because she is the only the only main character in the show to not have an self-centered EP and has the least amount of screentime.

It makes me wonder if the reason why the IMPs don't have a canon human form yet is because Viv doesn't want to draw POC characters. She has shown she knows the importance of these disguises and they sell well on merch but the only characters who have canon human forms are Stolas and Loona, two white characters who arguably don't even need them. Blitzo is voiced by Brandon Roger who is a mixed Filipino (It's also canon Blitzo looks like Brandon Roger and Blitzo and Brandon Roger are intertwined together so it doesn't make sense for Blitzo to be white), Millie being a black woman, and Moxxie, despite what you might believe is a mixed Latino.

The POC rep we already have isn't good either. In Spring Broken, Verosika and her gang, who the majority are POCs, gets arrested and Verosika makes a joke about sucking police dicks to get out of jail. Having a POC character make a rape joke about police corruption unironically is not funny. Moxxie's mom is obviously supposed to be Latina, falls into the trope of nice POC women who get brutally abused and killed by their white husbands. This actually could have work and wouldn't be as tokenizing if 1. we got to learn about Moxxie's mom as a person and 2. her death wasn't solely use to be angst bait for a male character.

The Spiderverse crew actively puts effort and consulted with POC about characters from their culture. During the early stage of writing for Pavitr Prabhakar, the writing team struggled writing his character and called his VA, Karan Soni to help them write and consult on the character. Thanks to Karan Soni's contribution for Pavitr Prabhakar, he is beloved by desi people alike. Viv doesn't do that and probably will never. She has shown time and time again, she doesn't respect religions, using their symbols as an aesthetic and for monetary gain. Viv's designs for black and other POC characters are terrible, them alway never having POC features and looking racial ambiguous as hell and she ignored the criticism from black and POC people for these POC characters.

[cowboypossume]

I'm Holding You To That

Hehe! @kamikothe1and0nly asked for a fedex sick fic and I will deliver !! I more went disabled rather than sick becasue that's something I have more experience with! When I'm sick I just pass out for 24 hours and mix medicine and don't talk to anyone, so I don't feel like that would have been the best story.

However, this has been in the drafts for long enough so...

Its time !!

Fitz couldn’t open the front door. 

The keys were in his hands, he was already on the porch, the next step should have been easy: moving. Just two more steps, a slight of the hand and he was inside. 

His vision was starting to blur, though. His heartbeat was too elevated. He knew the signs well. Something was about to go really wrong. 

Dex leaned against the door frame, barely cracking the door open. “We talked about this, Fitzy. You can’t expect your body to just suddenly jump back into full force.” 

“I know.” “Do you?” Dex swung the door open fully and started to walk away. 

“Yes, Deck.” Fitz came inside, barely closing the door behind him. “I’m in the same doctor’s appointments you are.”

Somehow they moved to the kitchen. Fitz knew somewhere that he should pin this and bring it up when his body wasn’t on the verge of collapsing, or he didn’t feel 3 seconds away from throwing up, yet he wanted this fight. It felt easier, somehow. “I know that losing a leg doesn’t mean I can go up from five miles in the morning to seven. I know that my body has 17 and half things wrong with it, and pushing the exercises only makes it worse. I know the same shit you do.”

“So why do you keep trying to over-exert yourself?” Dex’s words were harsh. Sharp and built up. “Why do you push yourself so hard you can’t even come inside the house because your body freezes? Why don’t you try gradually building up? Or any other option. It’s like you don’t care about yourself. Or how it’ll affect me.”

“That’s a bit of a fucking selfish viewpoint. What’s wrong with my body should have more weight than how you feel.”

There was a pause as they’d realized their feet were all-but-touching. 

“Ok, pause.” Dex sighed, taking a step back. “We’ve both had a long morning and this isn’t fair for either of us. Go take a shower, and we’ll come back to this when we’ve cooled down.”

Thirty minutes later, as Dex was plating something off the stove, Fitz sat on the kitchen counter. He was too tired to fully tell what was happening across from him, but it smelled good, and his body was in no position to object. 

The time of transition was filled with the clanging of pots and pans, until Dex handed him a fried egg on toast with something green alongside it. “About before, I know reminding you all the time doesn’t help. I’m just-” Fitz lightly grabbed the snack, putting it on the counter beside him. He brought his head against Dex’s, “Worried. I know. I appreciate that, I really do. But you have to remember this is my body. I've had the same one for 19 years now. I know its signals.”

“I know that, objectively.” Dex squeezed his eyes close and brought his nose against Fitz’s. “And I’m not trying to control you but you’ve said that exact phrase before. And I’ve believed it before. And I don’t want to be overbearing. I just . . .”  

Fitz brought his hand between Dex’s curls. “There was more going on than just my body Dex. We were literally kidnapped and tortured. Of course my health was at risk. ”

Dex wouldn’t look at Fitz. 

“But my gadget still failed you.” 

“Even if they worked we were still being tortured, Dex.” Clearly Fitz wasn’t getting through. He brought him in for a tight hug, trying to get him back. “You’re a wizard with the mechanical stuff, but that doesn’t fix shitty people being shitty. Or trauma being trauma.”

Dex’s head stayed down and his brain was somewhere else. “You’re changing the topic,” he mumbled. 

 Fitz shrugged. “I think it’s related, but we can just not address it, too. I can eat my toast in silence.”

Dex held him to that.

As Fitz washed off the dishes while Dex dried them, he let out a heavy sigh. “I know what happened to us isn’t easy to talk about, but not talking about its effects doesn’t change them. Maybe you’re right; I could be overstepping-” “No. I brought it up. Clearly I have something there that I still haven’t resolved. I just don’t think you and I should be the ones to unpack it in. Especially in the middle of the kitchen while you’re regaining strength from another stupid idea.” Dex winked at that last part. 

Fitz brought him in for a hug. 

“Ok sap,” Dex rolled his eyes. “We’re finishing these dishes.” “And this conversation.”

“Ok but that is going to happen after I go to therapy on Wednesday. We can finish this task now.”

“I’m holding you to that.” Dex kissed his cheek.

And Fitz finally felt safe.

[meowmeowuchiha]

Fuck it I'm dropping my fave fics

All Naruto fics

A Second Chance by calibratingentropy

Summary: A Kisame time travel fix it. He's sent back to the day of his academy graduation upon his death. He decides to do things much differently than the first time around. Most characters are either OCs or were such side characters in Canon that we barely got scraps of personality, such as Yagura, Mei, and Ao. Wonderfully written and frankly a must for any Kisame lover imo

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45811153/chapters/115287730

Orochimama by Whoamama

Summary: When Orochimaru first attempts the Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu, shit goes sideways and he ends up replaced by a woman from our world. Hilarity ensues as she attempts to fix the chaotic mess that is Otogakure and save the world on top of it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27458050/chapters/67129078

Okay. That's Enough Lemonade Now. by Meeceisme

OC is the child of Hatake Kakashi and a Nara OC named Nara Miyu. Technically part of a series, but every one can be read as stand alone easily. An AU fix it type fic, and I adore all of the lore about the Nara, Hatake, Aburame, and even Kurama clans. The beginning is squicky, but as long as you can get past that it's a wonderful read. Same with the rest of the series, mostly the first installment. The ages are VERY squicky in the first one and it took me years to actually read these fics because of it. Either way, highly recommend..

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32294638/chapters/80049616

Plasticity by Misfit_McCoward

Hidan tries to summon a shinigami. Gets a science major college student instead. OC proceeds to have a terrible time trying to stay alive, and after winding up with Orochimaru ends up delving into ninja mad science. Eventually winds up with the Akatsuki. Unwillingly. An absolutely hilarious fic and I reread this at least twice a year. Everyone is beautifully in character.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16017161/chapters/37377839

Honōka by Yujina

A girl from 90s Tokyo is reborn in the Naruto universe. Due to her unique viewpoint, she regularly 'breaks' jutsu and uses chakra in ways that everyone is confused as to how tf she even came up with it. She's the same age as Kakashi. Winds up Orochimaru's apprentice. Good!Orochimaru AU, or at the very least a Not Terrible!Orochimaru AU.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26225191/chapters/63828178

Parallel by Sora2131, stacyb

Kakashi time travel fix it fic. Team 7 winds up an actual family. A wonderful story. I don't want to say too much and spoil it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25498318/chapters/61857256

Homemade Dynamite by Misfit_McCoward

Itadei time travel fix it fic. Except Itachi tells Deidara absolutely none of his plans and Deidara is just along for the ride. Unwillingly. Deidara is back in his 10 year old body so Itachi is like 12-13. All from Deidara's POV. Despite being a ship fic, there isn't a super heavy romantic focus which for me personally is wonderful. The OCs are wonderful and I love them, both Itachi and Deidara are wonderfully in character. Another fic I reread like twice a year.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27201637/chapters/66442810

Shinobi Isekai!: Round Three! by Morrowyn

A trans girl wakes up in the Naruto universe in the body of Choumei's jinchuuriki (before Fuu) in the midst of escaping from Takigakure. Winds up living in a ruined temple in the middle of nowhere. Accidentally befriends passing ninja.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27205340/chapters/66452216

Second Bite at the Cherry by Sakinthra

Sakura decides she's going to be useful to her teammates in a different way. Things spiral out of control. Hidan is a protagonist, but he's still in character (still a gleefully murderous zealot. I love him). Builds up Jashinism as a religion very well and I adore it. A fic I reread at least once a year.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/15001781/chapters/34770497

The Bloody Oracle of Kiri by Cannibalisticapple

OC with a very fucked up moral compass is reborn in Naruto during the third shinobi war and is picked up by Kiri. Specifically by the seven swordsman. Specifically specifically by Ameyuri Ringo. Absolutely wonderful and with plenty of hilarious moments along with more serious moments. I tend to reread this at least once a year.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13788408/chapters/31696218

The Unwoven Threads of Fate by Diadru

OC is reborn in Naruto universe and winds up replacing Naruto on Team 7. Befriends Sasuke and they wind up BOTH going to Orochimaru. Shit goes wildly wrong. Everyone is wonderfully in character, but there are a couple slightly OOC moments. The name of the MC can definitely break immersion, but as long as you can get past that it's great. Gets very angsty at times, understandably so, as the MC gets thrown headfirst into several moral crises and being around Orochimaru is not exactly conducive to staying a 'good' person. I reread this one about once a year usually. WARNING: ENDS ON A MASSIVE CLIFFHANGER AND HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED SINCE 2019.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11943924/0/

Seven by Shaydrall

Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura wake up in their bodies the day of team assignments. It was not done intentionally and none of them know about the others. A time travel fix it and it's absolutely hilarious.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13054671/0/

[clovermunson]

here’s a tamer one:

gimme all your unpopular stranger things opinions, pretty please!!

sav, bestie you know i love being controversial (sometimes) and i know that some of these may get me tumblr-cancelled or cause a fandom riot because most of them will be about billy (and by extension, max), but that’s not my problem.

billy and max genuinely cared about each other. i know, some of you are gonna look at that and say “how the fuck is that true??” but trust me. it is. both of them were forced into a shitty situation, and often took things out on each other because they were both misguided and trying to navigate things on their own. neil and susan obviously favored max, often neglecting billy and making him grow up on his own and way too fast. he was handling full-fledged adult responsibilities by the time he was sixteen, and he shouldn’t have been. now while i think susan may have tried to evenly delegate her attention to both kids, neil completely prohibited that under some false pretense such as “billy needs to grow up” or “he doesn’t need a mother anymore”. any time max screwed up, billy was left to deal with it instead of neil and susan handling it themselves, like parents should, not older siblings (though i believe had it not been for neil, susan would’ve taken care of max herself— i have some very complicated opinions on susan, but that’s another story). every time billy acted out in violence, it was a defense and survival mechanism for him; and he probably did it quite often to protect max because he cared for her, and for the fact that if he didn’t, he’d face neil’s wrath for the nth time (i.e.: the fight at byers�� home with steve— which, in billy’s defense, was totally justified from his point of view). anyway, max and billy cared about each other in their own weird little way.

more on the topic of billy, he wasn’t racist and he didn’t target or dislike lucas simply because he was black. that’s just a bullshit reason that 98% of the fandom uses to justify why they hate billy because they couldn’t read context clues and use some critical thinking skills. he disliked lucas because he witnessed lucas and max arguing in the school parking lot, and lucas was upsetting max— and billy knew that it would be his ass if neil found out about it.

i think the whole “girlboss” angle they’re trying to do with nancy kinda sucks and it’s ruining her character. she was definitely a stronger character in season 2 than any other season.

the series started with will, and it should end with will. i said what i said.

max stabbing billy with a needle and syringe with no idea what was in it is not the girlboss moment y’all think it is. what was in that syringe could’ve killed him for all anyone knew.

the sauna scene was genuinely billy begging for max to help him because he didn’t know what was going on, until it wasn’t, and max knew that was billy and not the mindflayer.

speaking of the whole mindflayer thing, y’all can’t tell me that max didn’t genuinely care about billy when she said “i really hope it’s not you” in reference to the party suspecting that billy was the host.

oh and in season two when billy’s “threatening” to run over the boys?? y’all are delusional for thinking he really would lmao he’s an older brother and older brothers mess with their sisters like that. and he’s a seventeen year old with a cool, fast car. there’s no way he was gonna willingly get himself a vehicular homicide charge in a bumfuck town in indiana. y’all are dumb as shit for thinking he would. and did y’all notice when max grabbed the wheel and made the car swerve to avoid hitting them? billy could’ve easily gone against her force and kept the car on course, but he didn’t.

stancy shippers are essentially romanticizing a toxic relationship between two people who very clearly want different things for themselves and could never actually work, from a logical and realistic viewpoint.

on that note, stancy should not happen in season five. or ever again for that matter. fight me about it.

karen wheeler’s actions in season three can’t be justified. i’m not even gonna argue on this one with anyone because y’all know what happened. sure she chose her family in the end, but she was really about to go hook up with a freshly-18 year old man while being in her 40s…absolutely not, ma’am. don’t even get me started on the other pool-lurking moms.

it’s game night, send one of these!

[mcmactictac]

it’s 2024 and every day I have to fight tooth and nail to keep my dsmp obsession from coming out of hibernation. Not even cc’s like I have no interest in going back and watching streams. But the lore?? The lore forever lives rent free in my head. This beautiful hybrid mix of canon and fanon shaped to tell a story that is actually incredibly nuanced and fascinating if you view it from that hybrid perspective.

Source material that was a little goofy at times and fanmade content that made it hyper realistic. That truly created a world that somehow manages to have multiple different canons? I love reading fics and seeing how everyone applies their different headcaons bc with how loose the backstory is? Anything could be true. I eat up every single version of c!sbi dynamics I read and every single person writes it differently. And yet they are all inherently the same characters, the same people at the heart of this narrative. And by focusing on different parts of the story you can take completely different meaning away from it. Like it’s the same story but because there are so many perspectives it’s so COMPLEX. Everyone (except for c!dream) has their own perspective and their own viewpoint and their own character wants and needs and desires that clash with others. It’s so intrinsically human. Characters that are not just created to fill a narrative space but fit themselves into the narrative instead. And because so many people watched so many streams from various perspectives you really get to see it in real time. The clash and the conflicts and the interpersonal connections leading to canonical decisions? It has so many building blocks to become whatever you want it to be and I fully believe that’s why the creativity of the fanbase was able to bloom so much. You could take what you liked and make it your own. Everyone has a slightly different way that they draw c!tommy. You see the devil hybrid, or the raccoon hybrid, or the blue cardigan or the green vs the red bandana, some of them do the white streak and some of them don’t but they are all still so clearly c!Tommy. The spirit is the same. And especially when it comes to costume design? OBSESSED with what artists and cosplayers created. Specifically for c! Dream, techno and Phil. Holy SHIT? The intricacies and details that go into those designs? The layers? people will literally draw anime boy techno or genuine pig hybrid techno and it’s still so clearly him?? It’s a fucking fascinating lesson on perception if you ask me. How all of us can look at something and objectively we all take in/have access to the same information but we all interpret it so differently?? Obsessed with the idea of a story shaped by its viewers, of flexible canon, and keeping themes universal. I can go read any sbi fic set after exile and they all follow the same generic format and yet every single one manages to be so different because of how they write the characters obviously, but also what sides of them they choose to show!! Obsessed with the different ways people write c!tommy PARTICULARLY post exile because even during those streams there was such an intense shift between the serious lore and cc!tommy just kinda fucking around? And seeing how people take bits of the cc’s and incorporate them into the characters? OBSESSED. Because it’s so improv based and it’s content made by people whose job is essentially to perform and entertain there are so many bits and genuine lighthearted moments. Especially back like. Pre Jan 6th id say? You were never stuck in lore mode the entire time.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved the lore streams, and just watching for plot, but when it’s not mixed into the regular streams you lose so much of the cc! Mixed in with the character. Like after doomsday there were so many people creating such interesting and fascinating backstories that were like genuinley interesting stories but they just didn’t have the CONNECTION some of the OG server members did. It almost became like your lore character was an entirely separate person from you that you portrayed when the BEAUTY of it . That’s what made the relationships so compelling is having these people who were friends in real life create these characters that played and bounced off of each other. I think it was able to develop into what it was BECAUSE it was taken less seriously at the start. No shade whatsoever but these are not professional actors working from a script. The more they tried to script all of it (despite giving us some insanely cool streams, thank you Quackity) I feel like they lost some of the genuine connection that came from the back and forth banter and split second decisions. It was never a thing meant to be controlled or contained. Like I know that I sound like a broken record but I would genuinely LOVE to do a serious deep dive into it from a writing and/or character building, psychology, social media, covid perspective because all of those things had to mesh together to make it what it is that I don’t even know how I would start but I fully believe there is an opportunity for FASCINATING psychological research to be done there. How did a media source like this come about and raise to such popularity? How did it impact streaming in the future? How did it manage to provide a source of connection for thousands of people worldwide when the defining trait of that period was isolation? Were we drawn closer because of the isolation? Would it be replicable on a scale like that ever again? What worked about it and what didn’t? How can we learn from the positives and the negatives it provided us to shape us as people? Especially when so much of your audience were teenagers in critical development periods missing out on the social interaction with their peers that is CRITICAL for that time period. Because there was nothing like watching a lore stream and going on social media to see EVERYONE talking about it. There was so much physical distance and yet there was such an intrinsic connection with a group who was experiencing the same thing and found a way to cope with it and fill that social void. Did the lack of interpersonal relationships being developed (or even maintained) during covid impact how deeply people clung to the relationships of those characters? How the connection both between the audience and the character, the character and the streamer, the streamer and the audience all created that connection?

This is much much longer than I meant it to be and I will NOT be rereading it so I hope it’s somewhat coherent but like. Yeah.

TLDR: the Dsmp is fascinating both as a unique form of narrative and a massive social event and if I could analyze the impact of it more I Absolutely would

[dancing-to-architecture]

12 of 1001

Today's album: The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out! (1966)

Shit yeah, folks, we got some Zappa today!

When it comes to the Mothers, i know Weasels Ripped My Flesh and We're Only In It For The Money, so i can't wait to get seriously fuckin WEIRD.

A quick Wikipedia search tells me that Freak Out! is:

•the debut Mothers (and therefore also Zappa) album,

•might be the first concept album,

•and also was the first time anybody released a double album for their debut.

Hungry Freaks, Daddy-

Okay, as much as i wanted Tracy Chapman's revolution a few days back, i want these Hungry Freaks around even more.

Florida should be filled with hungry freaks. That feels right and natural, unlike Mr America.

A killer start, and i love any song with prominent kazoo.

I Ain't Got No Heart-

Aro anthem or "free love, no strings" anthem? Hard to tell, could go either way. I guess it depends on how you look at it.

Who Are The Brain Police?-

Who ARE the brain police? Why are the brain police? Kill the cop in your head.

Chaotic instrumentation and lyrics that wouldn't be out of place on a Death Grips album, only Ride would be *way* harsher with it.

MORE KAZOO. I got a fever that can only be cured with plastic and a piece of wax.

Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder-

Doo-wop "nah we should stay broken up" song. "Red House" from the other viewpoint.

I have to wonder if this song was an influence for Weird Al's "One More Minute", as they have some very similar bones.

Motherly Love-

The somewhat rarely-seen "know what? groupies are kinda fuckin awesome" rock song.

Kinda creepy, but I've seen/heard much worse.

How Could I Be Such a Fool?-

Another "she done me wrong" song. Okay. Not great, not terrible. Just okay.

Wowie Zowie-

And now a love song. I know this is the start of side 2, but the tone of the songs are giving me whiplash here. That said, who doesn't like a flash in the afternoon?

You Didn't Try To Call Me-

And another i still love you but you don't love me anymore song. Frank, my dude- they're pissed off about the groupies. Simple as that.

Any Way The Wind Blows-

Okay at this point, if this is a concept album, the concept is roughly the same as How I Met Your Mother, in that it's the story of how a guy ruined every single relationship he was in.

At any rate, an "i don't want YOU anymore, i got HER now!" song. Meh.

I like the instrumentation here, but this song kinda feels unnecessary with all the other songs on the album that are so similar in theme.

I'm Not Satisfied-

Lol, love that Zappa gutteral Yeah! in the intro. There's the Frank i know and love.

The lyrics are sadly relatable, but I'm the dude who sucks plus i got depression. (that was an achewood reference I'm actually doing pretty okay more often than not nowadays, esp. when i don't think about my governor existing)

You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here-

This is more what i was expecting, coming from the other, later albums.

Hell yeah, kazoo SOLO. *Multiple* kazoo solos, even.

"Oh, you don't like our band? Cool, go fuck yourself. We might be weird, but you're fucking basic and boring as shit."

Trouble Every Day-

Change the TV references to Twitter references and you'll realize that, in the last 57 years, nothing has really fundamentally changed in any way.

This song could be released tomorrow and still be relevant to what's going on. Zappa knew from the beginning that America was sliding towards a fascist theocracy, and it really shows here.

Cops are still racist pricks actively beating the shit out of people (well, they put down the nightsticks and picked up ARs, but yeah.)

This nation is still inherently extremely racist.

And the media and all the out-of-touch fuckers in charge keep telling us "there's nothing we can do about it (unless you give us more money)!"

Help, I'm A Rock-

The return of the Weird.

I've heard this song's title as a punchline before, but this is my first time actually hearing the song, and it's exactly as weird as i was hoping it would be.

It's a drag being a rock. Think I would rather be the mayor.

Chaotic as hell. Also, i was glad i was wearing headphones when the orgasm noises appeared out of the noise. I can't even begin to imagine how much people of the time hated this.

It can't happen here. Everybody's safe and it can't happen here. No freaks for us and if can't happen here.

(It's happening here. It has been for years and it likely won't ever stop happening here.)

The Return Of The Son of Monster Magnet-

Suzy Creamcheese's first appearance in the discography. (So, until today, I legitimately always thought Suzy Creamcheese was like a late 60s porn star or something. Come to find out just now that it was just an inside joke started by Zappa that blew out of proportion. Today i learned..)

Decidedly the most experimental song on the album. The sounds of Space Madness.

Ooh, picked out a theremin during the space madness section. Fuck yeah.

The lyrics on Spotify have officially broken at this point. They simply do not know how to handle this song.

Space Madness has devolved into more orgasms and speaking in tongues. Yeah, i bet people in the late 60s either totally loved or vehemently hated this, depending on their usage of... substances. (Love me a good substance. Especially some cream cheese. Put it on a toasted bagel and I'm set.)

The last half of this song is the sheer insanity i had been waiting for.

So, for a guy who claimed to never do drugs, this album IS drugs. It's been interesting to see where Zappa et al started from, because it makes me appreciate the later stuff that much more. Thank the gods that Zappa decided to fully Embrace the Weird as he continued his career.

Not my favorite album of theirs, but I'm glad i finally got around to listening to it.

Favorite Track: While i really want to say Trouble Every Day, i have to say Help, I'm A Rock beat it by a hair. Might be unfair to Trouble, since the latter song is like 3 times longer and 5 times weirder, but Trouble Every Day just made me too sad on reflection to give it the top spot.

Least Favorite Track: You Didn't Try To Call Me. This song is already on the album in 2 different spots. The album is long enough, imo it really doesn't need a third song about the exact. same. idea.

[jackoshadows]

One of the reasons I tend to see the statements about GRRM's 'holy shit' moments quite critically is that, yes, those were Martin's, yes, they all present them as 'big surprise twists you couldn't have seen coming' as if that would be something that is awesome by itself - like, tee-hee the fanbase (which includes the classical book fanbase, not just show watchers) never thought of THIS endgame king, haha, look at all their stupid theories now. How is this not a somewhat pessimism-inducing indication that GRRM himself appears to be more of a subverting expectations type writer at the end of the day than is apparent from the books so far, something people prefer to lay exclusively at the feet of D&D? Shouldn't he have written more about political aspects in Bran's arc that match the concrete, material problems of the Planetos landscape he spent so much time writing about, then?

I think there's a vast difference between D&D's, quite frankly, absolutely terrible amateur writing to subvert expectations and GRRM's excellent writing to surprise readers with the organically embedded twists and turns.

Ned being executed at the end of book one is a good example of GRRM doing it. The Red Wedding is another. In both cases, the set up is there. We read Ned slowly digging himself deeper and deeper into trouble. He is surrounded by enemies everywhere and inflexible where the rules are concerned. When he is then executed the readers are shocked that yes, the main character has been killed off. Same with the Red Wedding - the clues for which are there right from Arya's ACoK Harrenhal chapters. GRRM actually sets up the circumstances for the Red Wedding over two books. He evens hints at this in his OG outline (One reason for why he was majorly angry about the OG outline being leaked)

The thirteen chapters on hand should give you a notion as to my narrative strategy. All three books will feature a complex mosaic of intercutting points-of-view among various of my large and diverse cast of players. The cast will not always remain the same. Old characters will die, and new ones will be introduced. Some of the fatalities will include sympathetic viewpoint characters. I want the reader to feel that no one is ever completely safe, not even the characters who seem to be the heroes. The suspense always ratchets up a notch when you know that any character can die at any time. - Original Outline

But this is not entirely true is it? While GRRM gives us the impression that no main character is safe with the deaths of Ned, Cat and Robb, the outline lets us in on his actual main characters who ARE safe over 5 books - Jon, Dany, Arya, Bran and Tyrion. That’s the trick - write it in such a way as to give the impression that they are all main characters (And keep insisting over interviews that they are all main characters) so that the series is known for being brave in it’s killing off of main characters.

These are all literary tricks and actual writing tools to tell an interesting story. Authors the world over use them. That’s not what ultimate hacks D&D did though. Theirs was a jumbled mess of fanservice (Fucking Bronn!! Hound and Arya chicken eating adventures!! Cleganebowl!!), tumblr meta and fanfiction, spectacle and CGI (Wight hunt), tons of sexism and toxic masculinity, racism and laziness in story telling, lack of interest or understanding of narrative themes or the rules of the world they are playing in. They just shoved through certain plot points they wanted done - whether it made sense or not - with the excuse that they were ‘subverting expectations’. That comes no where close to what GRRM is doing.

With respect to Bran, two things to keep in mind.

1. GRRM finds it hard to write for the character because he’s so young, disabled and there’s most probably a complicated magical arc involving aspects of time travel like temporal paradoxes and causal loops - check out GRRM’s earlier science fiction work for more on this.

Amazon.co.uk:   You write children well.  

Martin:   I don’t have any but I was one once. When the series was originally conceived, it was only three volumes long and I did not know that several of the main characters were going to be stuck with being children for so much of it. The hardest chapters for me to write are the ones about Bran, just because he is the character most involved in magic, the youngest child and he is so seriously crippled–I have to write in that sense of powerlessness and it has always to convince. Sansa was the least sympathetic of the Starks in the first book; she has become more sympathetic, partly because she comes to accept responsibility for her part in her father’s death. Jon Snow is the truest character–I like his sense of realism and the way he copes with his bastardy. - source

This means that despite being part of the main 5 and one of the central most important characters in the series (The story starts with him and most likely ends with him) he has even less POV chapters than characters like Catelyn and Sansa. Simply put, GRRM has written less of Bran because he finds Bran hard to write.

Note: Bran did have a sort of political learning arc in ACoK/Winterfell. He was the prince of Winterfell, and was learning from Maester Luwin, Rodrick Cassel etc. He made political decisions and chaired the harvest festival. He’s certainly had more of a political arc/education than Sansa Stark - and look at how many are proclaiming her to be the most qualified as QITN

2. The story is only 1/3rd done!! Looking back at the story structure of what he intended to be a trilogy: book one (A Game of Thrones) is about the WOT5K, book two (A Dance with Dragons) is about Dany’s conquest of Westeros and book 3 (The Winds of Winter/A Time for Wolves) was about the Night’s Watch/United Westeros and the fight against the Others.

So GRRM adding more and more side characters and their story means that our central characters are stagnating, unable to move forward and push the central story of the series. Dany and Arya are still stuck in Essos, Jon is still LC, Bran is just starting to learn about the 3ER and his powers. Only the WOT5K is finished so far. There’s so much more story left to tell - which means there is still story time left for GRRM to organically get Bran to his ending of King on the Iron Throne

Which is why I am 100% confident that Bran at the Wall, Daenerys/Tyrion in Essos and Arya in Braavos will get the largest chunk of POV chapters in the next book. I am certain that more than half of the book will be these 4. GRRM has confirmed finishing writing Tyrion. We know the Meereenese knot i.e how to get Dany to Westeros - was his biggest block. With Tyrion done, it’s possible he’s figured that out. He has mentioned that we will explore the Land of Always Winter - possibly through Bran’s POV.

Maybe that’s why it’s taking him this long to finish this damn book. He can no longer put off writing Bran and has to slog through it. No wonder he’s done with Tyrion - the easiest character for him to write, followed by Arya.

tldr : GRRM usually has a good set up for his twists and turns as opposed to D&D. If Bran does sit on the Iron Throne, I am sure how GRRM does it will be way more satisfying than D&D’s ‘Bran has the best story’ nonsense. GRRM has only finished 1/3rd of the story and Bran has the most unfinished story of the main characters. TWoW will have a lot of Bran POV chapters IMO and I think with this book, we will have a better idea of whether King Bran makes sense or is just shite story telling.

[kharmii]

I don't get anon hate.

I'm a follower of yours. I don't agree with everything you post and say (certain ships and things like that) but I do agree with enough that having you on my dashboard is a good thing.

I am sick and tired of leftist propaganda, how it invaded fandom how its promoting some of the worst things imaginable all under the guise of being accepting inclusive and nice.

It's always funny to see these "kind and inclusive" stances and views fall apart once someone with oppising views shows up.

Suddenly you're the worst thing in the book, they insult you in predictable ways, with terms that insult actual victims of these people. It's them or nothing. It's their view or none.

Hmmm... this all feels so familiar.

Either way I never get tired of your blog since you are one of the most sane people here. You can tell apart fiction from reality, you like whacking the bee hive when they come to bother you, and you often share interesting things!

Like I said, there are a few views I'm not 100% behind but it doesn't matter to me because thats what makes everyone unique. No one has to agree on everything 100%. And hearing out opposing views, understanding them and accepting them is maturity.

I really hope we all can go back to have different viewpoints without witchhunting. Agree to disagree. Without hostility, name-calling and all the nonsense the left has done in the past years...

So all I have to say is: stay the way you are! Keep your unique view and keep pissing off people who have a problem with that!

Thanks for the words of encouragement! Of course, nobody of any ideology should be in lock step with everybody else. It's just that times have turned so weird we're almost forced to be partisan. The way I see it, the opposing side is the party of self-destruction, whereas they accuse my side of being fascists for denying them the freedom to fuck everything up. Then we have the traitors who say they are on our side but vote pro-demolition. We have to worry about the latter sabotaging Trump when he has the party majority in the house and senate. It's a story heard too often around the world, especially when it comes to people being elected who promise to expel migrants.

There is absolutely no room for dissent in the Democrat party. The most recent thing is.......

Massachusetts Progressives Call on Fellow Dem Rep. Seth Moulton to ‘Resign’ over Trans Sports Comments

Democrat Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) says, “Democrats spend way too much time trying not to offend anyone rather than being brutally honest about the challenges many Americans face. I have two little girls. I don’t want them getting run over on a playing field by a male or formerly male athlete, but as a Democrat, I’m supposed to be afraid to say that,” and is immediately attacked by fellow Democrats who demand his resignation.

Then, because it's out-of-touch far left Massachusetts, his peers had this to say:

“Your statements @RepMoulton yesterday and today are a large part of the reason Democrats underperformed across the country,” the state representative continued. “It is this type of hypocrisy from national Democrats that has led the American people to believe that our party is untrustworthy. Your blind spots and hypocrisy are glaring.”

“[Moulton] cannot see the harm your doubling down is doing to our neighbors. You should apologize and tell us your plans to protect vulnerable populations instead of joining in the crackdown led by @realDonaldTrump.”

Salem City Councilor Kyle Davis (D) said he is “not looking for an apology from @sethmoulton I’m looking for a resignation”:

It's BECAUSE of that kind of shit the Democrats lost big in the last election, and some of their wins at the local level were from blatant cheating similar to what happened in 2020. Litigation is ongoing. The left is losing the culture war when it comes to (mutilating) giving kids sexual reassignment surgery. Nobody wants to give minors puberty blockers or let biological males roll over women in sports. -But if you are left wing and try to say that you get eaten by your own.

That's not to say I don't get irritated by people dubiously on my own side. There are two types of people who absolutely drive me up the wall; both types heavily overlap. The first is the 'openminded diplomat' who claims to be able to see both sides of the issue. I'd be like, "Okay, fine, sounds reasonable.." I'd quickly identify that person as a stealth liberal who'd only criticize conservatives while bootlicking leftists. Not only would they bootlick leftists, but they'd be face-down ass-up on the most obnoxious of issues, such as white guilt, feminist bs and trans female coddling.

Then there are the 'libertarians' who are like, "I'm fiscally conservative and socially liberal." A lifetime of experience has told me those people are probably cowards and definitely scumbags. It's one of those 'conservatism is correct in theory, but I'm too invested in being a degenerate living with other degenerates to really take it seriously.'

A good example is what's going on at work. When Trump won, I kept to myself and only spoke about it with outsiders who called in. The couple other guys who openly voted Trump were all fist-bumping, but I only spoke to one of them when he approached me about it. I don't have any camaraderie with them because they don't live the values people like me fight for.

One guy is an incel who is too worried about being friends with everybody. He had a long-time gf -some weather-beaten bar hoochie who already had an out-of-wedlock child with the drummer of a shiddy cover band- but it fizzled out when she expected him to marry her. He wouldn't, probably because she wouldn't give him a child, and he wasn't about to raise another man's child.

Then there's the douchebag who wasted his youth fucking and dumping every trashy woman who'd let him. Now he's in his fifties with no wife or kids or anything to show for his life. This is the same sort of douche who treated me with disdain when I was younger because I didn't fit in with his stupid 'forever in college' party office culture, but now we are all older, this guy who's supposed to be a role model to me looks like a sad pathetic loser.

-But anyway, I believe what I believe, and I'm an asshole about it, but I'm honest and authentic. I won't wake up one morning and decide to fuck over the people on my own side because I'm too worried about making friends with all the people who secretly then openly hated me and tried to ruin my life.

[wenamedthedogkylo]

Yeah dude if you don’t very clearly communicate what stuff you’re okay or not okay with being explored in your game, and then someone completely unknowingly crosses a line that you never drew, you don’t get to be judgmental or angry at them. That’s what session 0’s are for, that’s what safety tools like lines and veils are for. So you don’t end up in a game where a decision another PC makes ends up making you as a player deeply uncomfortable.

This is like being a vegan, accepting an invitation to a potluck without saying anything to the host or other guests about your diet, and then getting mad that someone offered you some of the ribs they brought. You didn’t say shit about your needs, how the hell are they supposed to know that that would make you uncomfortable?

Also, maybe you are just playing a slightly different version of yourself as a character, but not everyone rps that way. Many of us like to rp as characters who are vastly different from us and which make us consider other viewpoints from our own. Even if, in the end, we walk away from playing that character thinking “man that was fucked up what they did, I’m sure glad I don’t believe the weird stuff they do”, at least we still grappled with their viewpoint in a safe space to do so. And we helped tell a (hopefully) interesting story while doing so.

Idk I just think it’s straight up immature and self-centered to assume that every single person follows your exact same moral code at all times. And for you to judge their entire moral character based on a fictional game where the literal name of the game is about roleplaying, not being yourself. It’s part of a deeply Puritanical, fundamentalist line of thinking that is not nearly as woke or leftist as so many of y’all think. So… idk, maybe reflect on that?

people really live like this huh. yeah there's no consequences because you're playing a game of make-believe..?

[purplesurveys]

1689

What was the last upsetting thing that happened to you? The fucking toddler who shrieked for four hours straight on my flight to Malaysia. I think a part of me died that day.

What was the last thing you ordered from Starbucks?  I can’t remember the last time I went to Starbucks, actually! I 100% got either an iced Americano or caramel macchiato, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you which pastry I got...I like to switch it up often.

Do you trust your doctor?  I don’t have a doctor I regularly go to. I don’t really go to the doctor at all, unless it’s huge emergency or if I need to get a checkup for work.

Do you ever question if your mother loves you?  I know she does but she tends to be tactless, something which, to her credit, she has acknowledged. It doesn’t necessarily make me question her love for me per se, but it’s this tactlessness that frustrates me and makes us clash a lot because I’m not exactly the type to stay quiet when I feel disrespected. 

Do you ever feel scared or unsafe around your dad?  Not at all. When he’s around I feel like literally nothing can go wrong. 

Do you have a pastor you can trust and talk to whenever you need to?  I am not religious and I feel like pastors/priests would be the first people to have viewpoints different from mine anyway.

Do you have a best friend who always has your back?  Yes.

What is missing in your life?  Spontaneity. My recent travels made me realize that. I thought I was already living a relatively comfortable and free life here in Manila, then I went to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur and realized the things I could be doing...can you believe the biggest thing that upset me was how pretty the park in KL is? I went there for three days straight, even let myself cry it out on the final day. The trees were so pretty, the water was so clean, I love how they had drinking fountains everywhere, and it was so cool to see benches everywhere. Everyone not in the Philippines, you guys are so lucky to have parks. 

What color shirt are you wearing?  It’s a white tube top.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?  It was an admin from one of the communities I’m in touch with for work.

Who is your least favorite doctor you’ve been to?  I feel bad for saying this but it has to be the doctor that my family has been extremely close with ever since I can remember. He prescribed some useless medication for my UTI – aka the UTI that gave me the fever from hell – which didn’t do jack shit and my 39ºC fever raged on for a few more days. Eventually Angela’s mom swooped in and gave me a prescription, and upon getting the damn medicine I was fine within, like, an hour.

Who is your least favorite nurse?  Idk I never really get to be around nurses.

What is your favorite type of Lunchables?  I’ve never tried those.

What gives you migraines?  Working for too long with my screen brightness set to max.

What is the worst medication side effect you’ve ever had?  I’ve never had terrible side effects from a medication, but injections are a different story. For all the times I got my Covid vaccines/boosters the side effects were consistently shit, I had always gotten a fever, and my skin felt like glass.

When was the last time you remember your life being good?  A week ago when I was in Bangkok. It was a rare, precious pause in life where the biggest thing I had to worry about was not losing my passport. Easily one of my favorite memories already and I will always be grateful for the experience.

What makes you forgetful? I am oftentimes forgetful at work but it’s because I typically handle anywhere between 30-40 tasks on my to-do list every single day.

Do you block stupid, ignorant people on Facebook? Sometimes. My usual instinct is to report them to get the job done more easily.

What is your favorite magazine to read?  I haven’t read a magazine in years.

What is your favorite thing to order at Taco Bell?  We don’t have a lot of Taco Bells here, so in the extremely rare occasion that I find myself in one I just get some burrito.

What was the first color you dyed your hair?  Ash brown. I wanted to go crazy immediately and do green, but I was told that the first time has to be on the milder side so that my hair doesn’t, like, die from the bleaching. Anyway, I’ve gone with purple twice since then and have never gotten back to the green that I originally wanted for my hair hahaha.

Do you trust your parents completely?  No. I know my mom still snoops around in my bag, but then again my trust in her died out a LONG time ago, lol.

Do you have someone you feel completely safe around?  Yes, my closest friends.

What church do you go to?  I just attend my local parish that you don’t need to know about, but if you meant denomination then I am Roman Catholic, at least in the legal sense.

Have you made a lot of mistakes?  Haven’t we all...?

Do you take risks often?  Every now and then, but I wouldn’t say it’s a way of life. I play it safe when I want to.

Who was the last person you called on the phone?  Angela and Hans when I wanted to meet back up during the Yoongi concert.

What color is your favorite whiteboard marker?  I don’t have a favorite whiteboard marker.

[botanyshitposts]

incredibly sorry for the incoming 10 mile long block of text but im getting back into my niche farming history hyperfixtation where i just read a ton of history books and find that all my other hyperfixtations are somehow interconnected (long story) and i cant stop thinking about the american farm history class i took in college where we read 'dust bowl: the southern plains in the 1930s' by donald worster, a beautiful and thoroughly researched account of how US policy and agribusiness led to the dust bowl in the 1930s and how the people living through it were affected depending on their economic standing and the wealthiness of their communities, which ends with a well-written and well-supported chapter on how farm policy changes to prevent another dust bowl completely missed the point of why this happened and the only way forward to prevent another ecological disaster is to rip US farm policy up completely and redo it in a sustainable way or history is doomed to repeat itself, and then our professor must have been like 'oh shit this is too left wing we need at least one Conservative Voice' and the next book we read was 'fields without dreams: defending the agrarian ideal' by victor davis hanson, a greek scholar and raisin farmer who i think is the only person on the planet to die on the hill of 'farming is the best and most moral livelyhood like The Greeks/Romans and everyone who isnt a farmer sucks', which is probably why our professor chose it (the exact opposite viewpoint of worster next to the first-hand account of how the raisin market and 1983 crash has fucked him and his family over for decades, which to be fair is a legitimately valuable historical account), but i also could not finish the book even though im fundamentally against not reading the entire book when writing a book report because he kept going off on weird diatribes and included a weirdly long scene where he follows imaginary(??? god i hope it was because it was utterly unhinged) fat people around a local grocery store mentally ridiculing any food they chose to buy that wasnt raisins and then blamed the moral failings (no raisins and fat=evil, full of moral debauchery) of these poor people literally buying food at the grocery store for the raisin prices being so low and his family's diminishing wealth as a result but also said that the only people who eat raisins are granola-chewing libs (who he also hates) and the whole time i was reading it i was like 'oh god please dont be racist dude i cannot not read this book please just talk about your experience as a farmer without being racist' and then he would be racist or say something else absolutely wild (he doesnt believe that native americans lived on his land before him and doesnt care what evidence says otherwise and is SURE to tell us this) and then he bragged about building a physical wall around his home 'for defense like The Greeks/Romans' and anyway i just stopped reading and wrote the report and then went on his wikipedia page a few days later and was like yeah this tracks, this seems like the logical endpoint of this deranged california raisin farmer