#but also yeah if I can put some actual meaningful good into the world by evangelizing for spiders

[blujayonthewing]

what is a legacy,

I have A Lot Of Thoughts™ about dnd gnomes, but here's the quick and dirty wall of text version

[emeraldcity1900]

the history of animation in a nutshell

Early 1900s: hey what if comic strips could like move?

Late 1910s early 1920s hey what if we mashed this up with live action people?

late 1920s: hey what if this thing had sound?

Early to mid 1930s: hey what if this had people actually talking and also color?

late 1930s: hey you know that super cool movie that one lady animated with paper cut out silhouettes? What if we did that with painted cells? Would people even pay to see that? Never mind it turns out the answer is yes.

1940s: ah shit most of our animators got drafted and/or hate us now cause we weren’t paying them. IT’S PROPAGANDA TIME BABY. Also haha hitler got hit with a mallet and also the most racist depictions of Japanese people ever.

1950s to 1960s : oh what’s this newfangled thing? Television? What if you could air cartoons on it? Oh fuck no I ain’t paying that much to get the charecters to have different backgrounds and for the charecters to like, move fluidly. Also manga and anime are steadily growing more popular.

1970s: (Ralph Bakshi walks into a comics store and finds a furry comic) X rated animated movie? *cue the screams of mothers and their unsuspecting children now being introduced to the revolutionary idea that cartoons don’t equal kids stuff? WHAT IS THE WORLD COMING TO?

1980s to 1990s: we can have full on animated Broadway musicals? Wait, what do you mean animated movies can count for the Oscar’s? What do you mean now they get their own catagory because the academy still thinks their for babies? Anime and manga are taking off in the west. SWEET JESUS WHAT DRUGS ARE THE JAPANESE ON SHOWING THIS SHIT TO KIDS. But also why is it so fucking good. Maybe some of these aren’t even meant for kids? Wait We can sell toys to kids with cartoons? Wait we can actually put effort into these cartoons on television? The fuck to you mean we can animate in 3D now? What do you mean we can have well animated, well written sitcom shows like the simpsons? What do you mean you can make cartoon charecters say fuck? What drugs are creators at Nickelodeon on? Do I even want to know?

2000s: oh my god, there is this one show that I really like cause it’s really well written and genuinely funny but I can’t talk about it because it’s animated and we all know cartoons are for babies right? Oh look it’s the transformers movie, look how far CGI has evolved so we can make the transformers in a movie.

2010s: holy shit I know these shows are for kids but they’re just well written and have so much meaningful things to say about the world. Wait, it’s cool to like cartoons now? They they have fandoms for this? Fuck yeah I’m in. (Enters one of the most notoriously toxic fandoms of all time) THEY HAVE GAY PEOPLE IN THESE SHOWS NOW? AND COMPLEX EMOTIONAL STORYTELLING? AND ADULT ANIMATED SHOWS CAN BE MORE THAN JUST SITCOMS WITH THE SAME JOKES AND STYLE? WHY IS IT THAT EVERY DISNEY CARTOON SINCE GRAVITY FALLS INCLUDE THINGS THAT GET MORE AND MORE FUCKED UP? WHY DO I FUCKING LOVE IT? WHY THE FUCK DID DISNEY DO THE OWL HOUSE DIRTY LIKE THAT?

2020s: I got this show I wanna pitch but it dosen’t fit into any box that the networks want and also I’m afraid that they’ll just randomly cancel it before I can finish the story I want to tell. Wait, I can just post the pilot on my YouTube channel, see if anybody actually likes this thing I made and just make the show independently? FUCK THE NETWORK! I AM THE NETWORK

[thydungeongal]

Hello! Sorry for the basic question (double sorry it’s a d&d 5E question), but what do you think are the key hallmarks of a dungeon that D&D mechanics want to interact with? Like what absolutely distinguishes a dungeon from an “encounter” (sorry for the d&d language) and makes one work whilst the other fails?

I want to get confident at GMing, and have only ever GM’d one thing for one session (it was 5E but we didn’t really use the mechanics at all…), but everyone at my nerd shop/in my friend group only wants to play 5E and I’ve basically only ever played d&d, and I feel like to get them to play anything else I’ll have to run 5E for them to get them to trust me first. (It’s also unfortunately the only rule set I have real mastery of bc reading the rules of games just doesn’t translate into understanding a game to me, I assume for mild learning disability reasons)

I really believe you (and other women) when they say that d&d wants to be doing dungeons, but I feel like I don’t really understand what is is *about* a Dungeon that D&D is suited for. (If anything? Maybe 5E isn’t actually suited for anything). Sorry if that doesn’t make much sense. The vast majority of the d&d I’ve played has been 5E modules that are not interested in dungeons, and I have felt the game fighting the module, but I don’t really understand what (if anything) the game wouldn’t be fighting against.

Oh, this is a really fun ask!

First of all, I don't think D&D is bad at "encounters." In fact D&D pretty much codified the term. What I am on about when I complain about "encounters" is a terminology issue: the term isn't neutral and carries a lot of implications specific to the genre of games that D&D is a part of.

I've also previously complained about the idea that encounters are something that is planned and constructed ahead of time: like, putting a bunch of guys in a room and then writing "this is the Combat Encounter with a Bunch of Guys Room" in your notes already creates an expectation in your mind about what should happen.

Anyway, onto the subject: D&D as a game, regardless of edition, cares about a few things: first of all, it's ultimately a game of resource management and attrition. During the course of an adventure there is a clear arc where characters will slowly lose resources and in general won't be able to recover to full until they return to a place of rest. (Note: my phone wanted to say "return to Islam" and like hell yeah, I think D&D characters should return to Islam.)

Secondly, D&D, all editions, is ultimately a challenge game. It's not a game that cares about exploring a character's emotions or morals (although those can give the game some added spice!) but a game about characters going into Situations and Overcoming those Situations. A lot of the time this translates to combat, but not all the time. Characters have, at their disposal, a lot of tools that can potentially turn a potential combat encounter into a different type of encounter or even allow them to avoid encounters altogether.

And finally it is a game that cares about space. A lot of RPGs, especially of the trad variety, care about space in the sense that distance and position are usually at least somewhat important to them, but sort of built into D&D's DNA is the idea that the space of the dungeon or the battlefield or the world map itself is valuable.

Anyway so dungeons are pretty much a good microcosm of that. First of all, the very act of going into a dungeon builds a barrier between the "safe" world where characters can rest and recover and the dangerous world where there's random encounters and monsters, so the moment the characters leave the safety of their town the resource management mode is on. Second of all, there are a lot of Situations characters can get in both on the way to dungeons and therein. And finally the space of the dungeon itself is important and meaningful since it contains Situations but also the very act of exploring the dungeon figures meaningfully into the resource management minigame (if the characters push further will they still have enough resources for a return to safety?).

Now, a D&D game doesn't really need much more than a dungeon to be satisfying provided:

The dungeon is a place in the world that ties into the setting and has some context beyond just being a place with monsters and treasures in it.

The space of the dungeon is built in such a way that characters can make meaningful, informed decisions about which route to follow, how far they are willing to push, etc.

The characters have a reason to go into the dungeon.

That last bullet point is pretty much moot in older editions, because in those editions the act of going into the dungeon really is its own reward: that's where the gameplay is and where the rewards are. But since modern editions tend to de-emphasize the need to just loot treasure and grow in strength you might want to give the characters an extrinsic goal for exploring a dungeon. While I personally prefer the intrinsic reward of just exploring a dungeon as its own satisfying gameplay, I think it's entirely valid to give characters other objectives to pursue within the dungeon. Heck, if you can tie them into character motivations, that owns.

Anyway, I hope this wasn't too rambling. I am kind of having a tired and depressing day, but this ask was fun to answer so thanks for that. And if you have any further questions or you'd like me to elaborate on something, don't hesitate to get in touch again! :)

[guiltycorp]

Damn i really want to know tf happened in the writing room of arcane s2. Some of the downgrades were inevitable due to the show's corporate limitations (not being able to progress the class war story in a meaningful way, having to tie things back to league of legends in terms of making playable characters more appealing to well, play... rip Mel and Viktor in particular), sure. But i still feel like it's even worse than that? There are so many bad decisions that i couldn't even start listing them all... the characters, plot, pacing, themes, it's just such a mess? Even the dialogue writing, it feels much more mm Marvel at its worst i suppose. What i am most bothered by is probably just the straight up harmful messaging so um... Cycles of violence and abuse can be broken by individual decisions to become a better person! Got nothing to do with systemic oppression, living conditions, mental health issues, you can just conveniently ignore aaall the social context, live laugh love and then things get better automatically yep, oppressors famously stop oppressing you when you show them that you're harmless and won't put up a fight anymore. Literally three out of three suicidal characters dying to redeem themselves? Not even in a tragic/cathartic way but in a bittersweet 'they finally atoned for their mistakes' way? Groundbreaking lmao. Romantic relationship between Vi and Caitlyn including no communication about their biggest fight, just conveniently skipping to sex and getting back together - would have loved that if it was framed as the unhealthy fucked up thing that it is, skipping over Vi's hurt and her background to once again become a cop, her girlfriend's direct underling at that (!) due to her not having any other support systems... But nope that was our cute lesbian romance wrapped up, a good thing all around, not concerning at all. Jayce telling Viktor that what he 'always admired about him' was his disability and his deadly disease (??? from a character who spent the whole s1 and first act of s2 desperately trying to help Viktor find a cure? sure) and that those imperfections don't need fixing, just wtf truly. Magic bullshit was also weird, some implications of 'natural magic is ok, but achieving that power through other means corrupts you into a crazy robot bitch or just wilts your trees i guess', but tbh it was written in such a weird and inconsistent way that we can skip this one... Yeah actually a lot of things were just such a mess that I feel silly pointing to specific moments or lines I didn't like, I mean duh, it barely makes sense as a story at all... I am happy we have s1 which comparatively was a masterpiece, and i also really enjoyed s2 act1, i truly believed it would lead somewhere good at the time, my mind still kind of cuts off the story at that point when i think about it, that WAS the open ending of the show to me (is it possible that there were rewrites? targeting act 2 and 3? idk, wishful thinking perhaps). Despite my extremely negative feelings about this season's conclusion i remain glad that so many people appreciate the show regardless, it is clear that there was STILL a lot of love in the process of its creation (although i'd argue that even some of the visual aspects of the show suffered in quality, once again i have to wonder about behind the scenes mood of it all) and i get very upset when i see creatives online despairing over reception of their projects even when i'm absolutely in the disgruntled crowd hahaha... ...however yeah, this wasn't great In a world that increasingly grows more and more right-wing politically... we really needed something different i think.

[tgmsunmontue]

Season to Taste - 8/? WIP

Explicit Hangster - Celebrity Chef Bradley and Naval Aviator Jake Seresin who have a relationship spanning the globe before they realize how tightly bound they are to one another. Heading into this little world.

PROLOGUE/ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

                “I have a friend in Paris, I want you to go there and work in his kitchen.”

                “Why?”

                “You’re too comfortable here. Time to remind you that you never stop learning,” Leandro states and Bradley lets out a slow breath. He’s been here for three years, and he’s learnt so much, and Leandro and Silvia’s hospitality has been amazing. He feels part of their family.

                “I don’t speak French.”

                “It’s okay. You didn’t speak Italian either when you started with me. I will teach you.”

                “You speak French?”

                “Of course. It’s where I trained.”

                “Trained?”

                “I went to Le Cordon Bleu. Now I teach you,” Leandro says, and he rolls his eyes but he’s grinning. Bradley feels like there must be a joke there that he’s missing.

…            …            …

                He’s never spent so much time with a guy he’s not in a relationship with and also having sex with. Spending time with Jake feels so easy, like they’ve somehow skipped ahead over weeks of dating and awkwardness by simply forging ahead with lots of sex and hanging out. They haven’t had deep or meaningful conversations, other than some quite frank discussions around preferences in bed. They’re wonderfully compatible sexually and Bradley hasn’t had as much sex in the last year as he’s had in the last forty-eight hours.

                Jake has gone home, well, to his sister’s house across town, to where he is apparently babysitting his nieces and nephew so that his sister can have a date night with her husband. And also so he can have a night chatting with Vi before her flight home tomorrow. Although chat might be pushing it, because he’s pretty sure Vi is going to have a brain aneurism with all the muttering she’s been doing under her breath. Every time Jake put sauce on something her nostrils flared just a little and he wonders when she got a bigger bee in her bonnet than him about shit like that. She doesn’t even cook.

                “He puts sauce on pickles…” she mutters, and she’s pouring two glasses of wine, so he guesses he’s drinking wine tonight. Clearly because she doesn’t want to drink alone.

                “He does seem to put sauce on everything.”

                “Oh my god…” Vi says, pulling a face.

                “What?”

                “You would normally flip your shit at someone adding sauce to everything and yet… here you are looking like it’s cute. You actually like this guy.”

                “I mean, I don’t like his taste in sauce. But yeah… he’s pretty… uh… great.”

                “Oh my god. Leandro and Silvia are not going to believe it.”

                “How about we don’t share the details of my sex life with them until it’s something more than just sex?”

                “Oh, I’m calling it now. It is definitely more than sex. You wouldn’t be staying if it was just good sex.”

                “What about mind blowingly great sex?”

                “With a guy that adds sauce to everything?”

                “Well, he hasn’t brought it into the bedroom. Yet.”

                He supposes he deserves the punch to the arm.

…            …            …

                Leo is an active rester. That’s the only thing he can take away from watching him be completely unable to just sit. Even after sex he seems to buzz with energy until Jake wrings another orgasm out of him, which had been a delight to learn. Now he’s making more food and he watches as Leo cuts, his hands, fingers and blade flying and it’s mesmerizing, like watching the flicker of flame but instead it’s the flash of a metal blade.

     ��          “Damn you’re good with that…”

                Leo doesn’t stop but he looks up to smile at Jake.

                “The knife is an extension of my arm… just like when you fly. Muscle memory and training.”

                “Huh. You know a lot about flying huh?”

                “Navy brat remember?”

                “Even after you dad died?” Jake asks.

                “Yeah… my godfather stepped up and he helped my mom raise me. So I know all about the military lifestyle. How I was raised.”

                “So your godfather was also an aviator?”

                “Yep,” Leo says, tone clipped and okay, not touching that subject then.

                “So, raised a Navy brat then. Not how you live now, we do not eat this well.”

                “Well, not for lack of trying. I ran away from home when my godfather pulled my papers for USNA. And you put sauce on everything, so it’d all taste the same anyway,” Leo says, winking at him and Jake grins, reaches over and steals a slice of pepper.

                “Wait. You were going to go to USNA?”

                “That was my plan. Instead I got on the first plane out and ended up in Italy.”

                “Holy shit… you kind of brushed over how young you were when you did that.”

                “Yeah. I got very fucking lucky.”

                “Is Violet actually your cousin?”

                “No,” Leo laughs. “Her family pretty much adopted me though.”

                “Huh. Okay.”

                “Here. Try this.”

                Jake obliges, although he’s not quite sure what Leo is hoping to achieve here. Jake hasn’t ever been able to differentiate different flavors, not like some people seem to. He licks the spoon, grinning a little when he sees Leo’s eyes tracking his lips.

                “Could use a little sauce,” he says, just to be an asshole.

                “Don’t be a dick… Come on, I'm trying to make a new dish...”

                “A new dish. Why not just use a recipe?”

                “I wouldn't be much of a chef if I used other people's recipes...”

                “Huh. Okay. You want to have someone that’ll actually talk about the flavors with you? Because I know I’m just going to think everything needs sauce, because I think everything needs sauce. You know who would be really good at this?”

                “Who?”

                “My sister. Well, two of them specifically, but Maria is easiest. She loves all this tasting things over and over stuff.”

                “You’re lucky you’re hot.”

                “Are you saying I have no other redeeming qualities?”

                “Oh, you have plenty of redeeming qualities. Your tastebuds just don’t happen to be one of them.”

                “I’ve got good taste where it’s important…”

                “Smooth, real smooth.”

                “I do alright.”

…            …            …

                “Shit shit shit…”

                “What?”

                “I burnt the rice.”

                “You? You still burn stuff?”

                “Yeah, when there’s a guy in my kitchen naked who decides that fucking me on the dining table is a good decision…”

                “Mmm. Sorry baby. I didn’t think about the food.”

                “Yeah well, the smoke alarm kind of killed the afterglow,” Bradley mutters and Jake snorts against his neck before licking a stripe and he groans again. God. He’s never going to get enough.

…            …            …

                “Hey. I have a favor to ask.”

                “Shovel or money?” Maria asks, clearly distracted by something but Jake is still trying to parse what she’s said.

                “What?”

                “Am I burying a body or am I bailing you out?”

                “Wow. Do you guys have a bet going what will come first?”

                “Yep. So which is it?”

                “Neither actually. Fuck. Maybe this is a terrible idea.”

                “Well, I still don’t know what it is and I’m a little busy so… either piss or get off the pot.”

                God his sisters are all so classy.

                “Do you want to be a taste tester?”

                “What,” Maria asks, and Jake doesn’t hear an inflection, she’s just surprised so he waits. “A taste tester… for a competition or something? Oh god, don’t tell me you’re trying your hand at cooking again, because you’d have to pay me danger money…”

                “Hey! I can make some things! But, no. Leo is a chef and he’s trying to perfect this dish and I’m as useful as tits on a bull.”

                “You’ve got a guy who can cook as well as everything else? How is this fair?”

                “You ain’t even seen him yet Maria, he’s fucking gorgeous.”

                “You get all the luck, I swear. So what… you want me to eat some of his cooking? Oh my god. Let me guess, he asks you and you just keep on adding fucking sauce to it.”

                “Yeah. It kind of makes his eye twitch a little, but he still lets me do it.”

                “Does he now?”

                “Yeah. His cousin uh… actually. Nevermind.”

                “No no, his cousin what?”

                “Just said… well, she said it in Italian, so I could have gotten it wrong, but…” Jake can’t believe he’s sharing this with his sister. “Just that, uh, the dick must be good?”

                “Ew.”

                “You asked!”

                “Remind me of this conversation next time I ask a question you think I won’t like the answer to.”

                “I’ll try. You never listen to me anyway.”

                “Maybe I’ll start.”

CHAPTER NINE

[causeimcrayzeebee]

have you seen the kamimura lore drop and what are your thoughts?

ohbmy god this could’ve been so embarrassing cause i hadn’t seen it yet and was so confused as to what you meant so I was planning on just yapping about kamimura in general but then I saw it LMAO UM I WAS SO HAPPY CAUSE KAMIMURA CONTENT!!!!! KAMIMURA LORE!!! AND THEN SO FUCKING INCREDIBLY SAD FROM IT LIKE....THAT'S GORE... THAT'S GORE OF MY COMFORT CHARACTER.... um yeah I have work for law to do but I got too into reading the lore drop so lets talk about it! (I will get to my work after trust) spoiler warning for chapters 1-3 and tetro typical trigger warnings!!! take care of yourself!!

I am not going to cover the ableism portion or too much of the diagnosis/hospital parts because I am not personally disabled and would like to let other disabled people talk about it, so i'll leave the rest of the conversation to others in the community!

also i took notes while reading it to organize my thoughts like usual (im so bad at putting words together well). some of these are kinda funny so here are some highlights lmfao

alright, now lets actually be serious.

firstly, I'm so glad that kamimura at least had a good childhood. I think it really shows in the way he interacts with the tetro pink cast that he was a sociable and happy kid! my mom actually teaches preschool so shes taught me a lot about early childhood psychology (shout out to my mother guys!!!!!). one of the biggest takeaways I've had from her is that the first five years of one's life are the most important in development! that's what Montessori programs keep in mind and throughout preschool and early kinder, they take time to establish learning through play; a lot of people have the misconception that letting kids play at school is just letting them mess around, but it's crucial in building their skills! kids learn to socialize with others and to problem solve; that foundation is very important for everything else moving forward in life! I could rant about how preschools need to utilize this more, esp in the American education system, but I digress. my main point goes to something I (and a couple other people I'm not original in this LMAO) have mentioned before about how it makes more sense out of hasegawa and kamimura, that they'd kill off kamimura because he had other people. kamimura, despite having further and further cut himself off from the world right till the end (until the kg at least), still managed to make meaningful connections, like tamba and hayashi, even if they weren't like ideal. the way he approaches tamba is very caring in a way that can seem like it's not, yk? likely it stems from his trust issues, it's scary to put your genuine real feelings out there, so hiding them with some snide remarks is easier. luckily, tamba has a similar approach so hey. shout out tamba n kamimura you will always be special to me.

anyways, its both so amazing and so heartbreaking that his parents were so loving and supportive, but died too soon. I do wonder about the role of attachment in this case; like specifically in babies/toddlers, they get attached to their parents usually because that's the first person they see, the first to take care of them. kamimura was able to get that love and support from his parents, even when it got so much harder and the days in the hospitals got longer. so having it all be taken away when you're NINE? that's obviously gonna destroy you, and that leads to his trust issues and isolation. he was able to thrive still as a young child because he had his parents to support him! so when that's all gone, how else are you supposed to cope?

yeah fuck you family friend, that was brutal. I cant even imagine coming home from school to find your parents absolutely desecrated. the day of his parents death beginning the routine of staying locked in his room.... oh my god like what if I cried (I did). that probably changed the way he thought about his room; his room was an escape from the horrors of the outside world. if he just stayed in the room, he wouldn't have to experience the fucked up world. it became a habit. EUGAHHD I'm in shambles.

after the murder of his parents, it's understandable that it shook kamimura and his aunt to their core. that was a violent murder (by a man who was literally just rejected romantically.... its so fucking upsetting that that is a common crime). his aunt wasn't even ready to have kids so having the responsibility of taking in kamimura must've been a lot. In regards to homesick, despite the very clear distance in their relationship, kamimura really seems to appreciate her being there, even if it was very distanced; she was still an important part of his grieving process and his whole life honestly.

oh boy here we go. isao when I catch you istg..... sorry that's an exaggeration, likely this was from a societal disgust, yk just homophobia from the world, so I cant really blame this kid too much.... but we still have beef. god, this was one of those actually crushing crushes, hm. it's so fucked up; someone who was starting to get kamimura a bit out of the dark space that was his life, giving him something to enjoy and be happy about! and all of that was just thrown away because kamimura was vulnerable and shared his feelings. not having your feelings returned can already be devastating, but this? the spread of rumors, the bullying, the losing his one friend? it's like the world wants to torture him omfg. here the trust issues become worse; those who loved him leave, those who he loved leave. everyone just leaves, so what's the point?

this explains his relationship with hasegawa, and the issue after trial 1. it had to have felt way too familiar; telling someone he was fond of vulnerable information, only for it to be told to a bunch of people he never wanted in his fucking business. however, I think the reason why they made up rather quickly in clean up crew (which btw I watched w my friend earlier today bc I got them into tetro........ god I love that episode) is hasegawa's response. hasegawa, unlike isao, is remorseful, he CARES. hasegawa even shares something personal to him, about his own loss.

I think this also changes the scene of hasegawa coming out a bit. before, he was rejected by isao because he was a homophobic douchebag. but in the student spotlight, hasegawa casually says he's not into girls. while its funny thinking that kamimura was having some gay panic then lmao, I think actually it was probably processing that in a confused comfort, not exactly because his feelings could be reciprocated, but for this; hasegawa was so comfortable with coming out as gay, so comfortable with the concept, unlike isao. if kamimura confessed his feelings to hasegawa, and were (somehow) not reciprocated, he likely still wouldn't have ran away. of course, with kamimura's trust issues, he probably wasn't confident in that assumption, but hasegawa is not the kind of person to drop someone because they confessed to them. he would've kept the person that had become so important to him. and because of that maybe, just maybe, kamimura would've said what he really wanted to say if the interview had happened before woodshop.

once he's on his own and moves out, he no longer has someone reminding him to do things, so with no motivation to simply live, he ends up staying locked in his house like we've seen before. what's the point in anything? when that kind of spiral hits you, and you don't have other people present in your life to keep doing, how would you ever stay motivated?? I know it was a really informal post, so I might be going insane trying to add this to the analysis, but the repetition of 'but life goes on' I think really solidifies the importance of a support system. when things are difficult, the world never just stops, it keeps going despite your struggle. but having people who care about you around you can help make each day easier, they can help 'slow down time' if you will. kamimura has gone through an amount of stress no one should have to face, but people around him could have made it easier on him by being there. that's the tragedy of tetro.

it's especially tragic that at the very end, right before the kg, he was taking his own life.

(plot wise, I need to know what y'all theorists think of this bc I have ideas but i need to finish the staffside logs before I can even actually consider my thoughts lmfao.)

sorry to be captain obvious on a majority of this post lol but gosh wow. I really loved that we got this, it was so much information I am kinda stoked despite basically all of it being depressing as hell. tetro has really become an inspiration for me and writing, I am constantly so impressed by von's writing and it's given me perspective on how to approach writing as a whole. i feel as though this gave me so much perspective on kamimura himself as a character. some of this just confirmed my ideas already, but it strikes me as something so human just learning all of this. when I, or anyone really, first meet people, I only know surface level things, yk cause I don't know them. but then I start talking to them, and I learn about different things that have happened to them, how they feel about certain issues or what they're doing on a day to day basis. you can never know everything of course, but when you discover new parts of someone, it makes them more complex and they don't fit the idea you had of them before because people are complex!! and that's the beauty of writing, capturing humanity! the impact of each character, esp kamimura, has been so beautifully done, I'm just constantly moved as the story progresses.

thank y'all sm for reading my excuse to talk about kamimura, this was A LOT of blabbing I'm so so sorry but I hope you enjoyed haha! :)

[theamityelf]

Eyyyy it's me again with my trash English but I have been struck with an idea when thinking about the minis au (it's just so cute)

Hear me out

You know the minis like mini thh and mini sdr2

And we have v3 soooo I was thinking

What if the minis from thh and sdr2 were together in v3

And they would be like a set so like let's say for example kokichi has to take care of the luckster set aka makoto and nagito or rantaro has to take care of the forgotten their talent set or you could make hajime have his talents but he and izuru fused thingy :D

I in all honesty don't know what set would work with who so I'll leave that up to you on which set would consist of who and who it would work with

Mini Classmates AU Masterlist

I love it! Oh boy, let's see...I could go based on talent, but I think I'm also going to have some consideration for just what combination would be cool, lol.

(For example, if I were going just by talent, then Impostor and Junko would probably both go to Tsumugi, but that's too easy and denies Junko the opportunity to make a meaningful difference.)

...

Kaede: Keeping it straightforward with her; she gets Sayaka and Ibuki. It's the musicians. They get along well.

Shuichi: I'm giving him Sonia and Byakuya. The only real backstory rationale for this is the idea that they're both serial killer enthusiasts and also Shuichi is like the nepo baby of the detective world (joking)? But that's not the actual reason. Really, it's because it's cool to place a bad influence like Byakuya on Shuichi's shoulder– someone who will praise him for lying in trials –and also it's funny to give Shuichi someone kind of high maintenance. I want Shuichi sweating, trying to make accommodations for the Ultimate Affluent Progeny and the Ultimate Princess. And I want Sonia sitting on the bill of Shuichi's cap with her little legs dangling off and her ankles crossed.

If Kaede dies, he'll take her minis in, and vice versa.

Rantaro: He's getting Hajime and Kyoko. Memory gang! I honestly don't think Rantaro would trust his minis all that much, but Kyoko doesn't need trust to be effective (though it definitely helps); she just needs access. And he has to take her with him, everywhere he goes, or risk being executed if she's lost or killed. For now, I'm saying it's normal Hajime, but we can put a pin in that, for later.

Kirumi: Oh, Taka and Mikan are the clear answer, but I kinda want to give her a spicier combo...Like, Taka and Mikan are fitting, but I don't know that they really bring out anything new in her. But if I gave her Makoto and Nagito? Now we have this hypercompetent person dealing with Makoto's clumsiness and Nagito's craftiness. She's not wholly unreceptive to Nagito's ideology, but she's very pragmatic about when it is and isn't helpful. Nagito and Kirumi are having a very polite conversation about how it's their natural place to serve, and Makoto is just waving his arms like "NONE OF THIS IS RIGHT!" Yeah, congrats Kirumi; you get Makoto and Nagito. If you see Nagito climb into Makoto's tiny bed instead of his own after you both get back from planning a murder, no you didn't. ;D

Angie: In a vacuum, she'd get Mahiru and Hifumi. But oh boy, consider...if she got Impostor and Junko...No listen, her canon arc is going from "It's going to be fine," to "Actually, maybe I need to make it fine by taking on a leadership role based on manipulations I haven't unlearned from my upbringing." How short do you think her "It's going to be fine" stage would be, if she knew that her minis were "person who is lying about their identity to everyone" (because her handbook tells her Impostor's talent) and "person who definitely has bad intentions but I can't pin down her exact deal" (because she can read Junko pretty well, but not well enough)?!

Does she assume that everyone else's minis are also up to no good, or does she reach the conclusion that she has been given these minis because she's the only one who can handle them? Whatever the case, her vigilance in keeping Junko on the straight and narrow reads to everyone else like she's just trying to evangelize her poor minis. She is genuinely a little unfair to Impostor, in that she considers them and Junko to be at the same level of "needs me to fix them". I'm giving her Impostor and Junko, because it'd be fun.

She'll be keeping Junko in check with a smile on her face. But since this is a case of her character flaws coming in handy, what this means is either that she still won't get to grow as a person or the moment she grows as a person is the moment she lets her guard down and Junko gets to do something underhanded.

Tenko: Obvious answer would be Aoi and Akane, and that would really be a fun dynamic that would help divert some of her obsessive energy away from Himiko...Other possibility is Leon and Nekomaru, which would be mainly because

1. It's important to see that, despite her "degenerate male" thing, she's still a very caring person to everyone; the game didn't make this as apparent as I feel they could have. It would be cool to have her still say her "degenerate male" stuff but be very careful with Nekomaru and Leon. (My concern here is that it reads like I'm trying to punish her, and I'm not. I just like what this could bring out in her.)

2. Ryoma would do well with Aoi and Akane. Yeah, it's really just a matter of Tenko and Ryoma both qualifying for both pairs of athletes, and I think Ryoma would get more out of having the energetic and positive Aoi and Akane than Tenko, who is already energetic and positive, would.

So, Tenko gets Leon and Nekomaru. She's pretty strict with them, and Nekomaru is super respectful; Leon is rebellious, but Tenko can definitely handle that. (Alternate option is, she gets Aoi and Akane and Ryoma gets Sakura and Hiyoko, but that's not the way I'm playing it.)

Ryoma: Aoi and Akane. Given how positively he reacts to Kaede in canon, this arrangement would be good for his mental health. Not to be 100% serious, but these two are going to pretty much explicitly be his reason to live for a while there. Making sure they get all the food and exercise they want really gives him a sense of purpose, and they push for him to get back into tennis, since it's clear to them that he still loves it.

Korekiyo: My immediate thought is Toko and Gundham. For a moment I considered what Sakura and Hiyoko or Celeste and Chiaki would bring out in him, and either pair could be really cool, but if his minis are both girls, he genuinely might kill them to get to his 100 friends count, once it's clear he's going to be executed anyway. (Which could allow for a situation where Sakura manages to protect Hiyoko and escape, but Celeste and Chiaki would pretty much just die in that situation.) He probably doesn't consider Toko a worthy friend for his sister. (As fun as it would be if Gundham had to protect Toko.) OR, it could be a nice character moment where he chooses not to kill his minis even though there's no reason not to. That'd be nice.

Anyway, I think Toko and Gundham are the match for him. Their quiet, subdued, poetic vibes would go well together, he would take Genocider Syo very much in stride, and just generally I think it would be a pleasant grouping.

Miu: Chihiro and Kazuichi. Her maternal side would come into play, and Kazuichi would love that. Honestly, both Kazuichi and Chihiro would be pretty overwhelmed (in different ways), and I really kind of just want to let that dynamic ride.

Gonta: ...Thinking about giving him Mahiru and Hifumi. Mahiru would be glad to give him advice on how to be a gentleman, and Hifumi would be an example of what not to do (and, ever so occasionally, what to do). Plus, they'd both get a kick out of being closer to bug-sized, artistically speaking; Mahiru can take pictures of bugs that come up to her knee, and Hifumi can get inspired with thoughts of whatever show or manga is relevant to giant bugs. All of that said, Gonta only gets anything out of this arrangement if we take it to be true that he genuinely does need (and want) to be a gentleman, and I'm just not sure whether this is the most interesting angle for him.

Mondo and Fuyuhiko would be wild. Imagine those two giving Gonta masculinity advice, and Gonta just being like, "...No, I think I'm good actually."

Actually, I'm back on Mahiru and Hifumi. I think that could be fun. Gonta gets Mahiru and Hifumi, Mahiru and Hifumi get giant bugs.

Kokichi: Mondo and Fuyuhiko feel fitting for his talent, because they belong to crime groups, but the combo doesn't feel interesting enough. Chiaki and Celeste sound fun, because games and lies. But I'm giving him Mukuro and Peko. Because everything he doesn't like about Maki is something he'll also dislike in them, and tease them about. He doesn't trust them, and like Angie, he considers it his job to prevent any damage they might do.

(If Kirumi dies, I think he'll really push to take care of her minis, because I'm picturing a murder trial where Nagito is firmly supporting Kirumi and Makoto is either confused (because Nagito made sure he didn't see the murder, but he knows enough to know that Kirumi's alibi doesn't make sense) or missing (because he did see the murder, so Kirumi had to hide him), and Kokichi's takeaway would be that Nagito is too into the killing game to allow to run loose and also Makoto might be trustworthy.)

Kaito: I could have given him Kazuichi and Chihiro, because being an astronaut is science, but I would have found the combination just insufferable, lol. (I'm half-joking. It could have been fun.) And Mahiru and Hifumi would also be fun for him; I kind of want Mahiru to yell at him. But I think Sakura and Hiyoko are the coolest option. Hiyoko can fuss at him and laugh at his expense, and Sakura can express concern when he shows signs of his illness.

Tsumugi: She gets Celeste and Chiaki. Let the doll dresses (and video game references) roll.

Kiibo: He gets Teruteru and Yasuhiro because Hiro would hate it, lol. And I believe Teruteru could work with the premise "Giant robot has to take care of me."

Maki: I'm giving her Taka and Mikan because it's funny. It's a fitting combo, for the talent she lied about having. She lied to them about it, too; when they find out that she's an assassin, they're dismayed, but also she's been taking care of them for days now, so they're also worried about her and trying to get her to open up. When Taka tries to encourage her, she's annoyed. She's also annoyed when Mikan falls over or acts all sheepish and she has to help her with things. But she takes care of them, and she does so very well.

Himiko: The obvious answer would have been Celeste and Chiaki, but I'm tempted by Mondo and Fuyuhiko. Imagine Himiko with a mean-looking gangster guy on each shoulder. Imagine Mondo and Fuyuhiko getting into an explosive argument and Himiko just going, "Nyeh, you're so loud...You're lucky you're cute." Chiaki and Himiko have too-similar energies, anyway. So, Mondo and Fuyuhiko have a home at last.

[copperbadge]

Oh geez, is that where the “I have harnessed the secret powers of my ADHD” stuff is coming from? I mean, good work, but maybe don’t put that on your resume.

What, the "how your ADHD is a superpower" thing? I'm not really immersed enough in that niche to know, but it's certainly possible. YouTube I think is a more vocal place when it comes to clickbait about how your neurodivergence is really a neuroadvantage.

It's not objectively bad. I think there is space to both acknowledge that life with neurodivergence can suck, but also that there's nothing wrong with being a different kind of thinker. The problem is with the way our culture treats that difference. Like yeah I wish my brain was different, and even if our culture was different I'd still probably do that, but being old enough to see the ways in which I'm advantaged by it is very validating, and makes up for it.

Despite being terrible with details in my own work, I often catch stuff my neurotypical colleagues miss, both in the work we do and just like, out in the world. Last time we were traveling, one of them said, "Man, I wish there was a bakery around here," and I said "Oh, we passed one two blocks back -- well, not really a bakery, they do mini cheesecakes." Once we backtracked, it was evident that we'd all walked past it but I was the only one who clocked it, because it was tiny and didn't have much signage. My coworker asked me, "How did you even notice this was here?" and I said, "That's the ADHD!" with amusement.

Mind you, I was with two colleagues I trust, one of whom has a kid with developmental struggles, so I was okay talking about it. It shouldn't be something that you have to hide, but yeah it's not something to put on your resume, or in your cover letter. It will make you less employable, which sucks, but also unless you're asking for accommodation that's not something your employer needs to know. I won't advise on when to notify an employer that you'll need accommodation, because I'm not well-versed in disability law, but I've seen it go very badly even with people who have been with an employer for years. And during an interview, anything that's not directly about the job (faith, partner, kids, disability, allergies, etc) should be kept to the absolute minimum, if only because some people in hiring really get put off by any mention of it in a discussion of job skills.

And I think truly the issue is that there was probably a brief moment of about three weeks where "your disability is a superpower" was actually a meaningful, validating statement, and then the Employment Industrial Complex got hold of it and realized that they could shift the messaging to validate anything that contributed to the capitalist work ethic and ignore or dismiss anything that didn't. It's shocking how fast "hey, ADHD has some upsides" became "if you can stop fidgeting your hyperfocus will make us millions."

[highfantasy-soul]

I think a fundamental misunderstanding of morality is so prevalent in Star Wars discourse and I wish more people would think in complex nuance rather than 'this side is right and if you listen to a single thing the OTHER side says, then you're falling to evilness'.

I don't think Osha listening to Qimir's side of the story and understanding it is 'her seeing she's like this evil person, and so deciding she might as well be evil too!'.

I don't see Qimir as evil. I don't see the jedi as good. So where are we when we analyze character choices?

Fighting for freedom and choice is not inherently evil (see: The Rebel Alliance). You have to dig deeper than 'I don't like the Jedi code' when determining if that person rejecting a super high-control cult is doing so to harm others or simply seek freedom for themselves or the galaxy.

Is it possible to fight against the Jedi for evil reasons? Yeah (see: Palpatine). But that's not the ONLY option.

It feeds into this idea that once you 'identify' the 'good guys' in a situation, you need to back them uncritically and to listen at all to those you're 'identified' as the 'bad guys' means you're falling to corruption and evilness. That's just...a terrible way to 1) engage with media, and 2) engage with the world.

You could have been wrong when you identified the 'good guys'. But if you never listen to the things the 'other' side says, if you dehumanize them to the point where even when they're making valid points, you shut them down simply because 'well, you're the bad guy, so it's physically impossible for you to have any 'right' things to say at all', you stagnate as a person/group and corruption thrives in your ranks and the conflict between you and 'the bad guys' will never end. Not to mention, you miss out on a lot of good philosophy when we're talking about media analysis.

It's about actually looking at what people are saying and doing critically, with as little bias as possible, that will help you make your way to 'the truth' of the matter. If you've decided you're going to put on rose-colored glasses when you look at all the decisions made by 'the good guys' and piss-colored glasses for all actions taken by 'the bad guys', then you're going to miss the actual path forward.

Sometimes, NO ONE is 'the good guy' and sometimes, NO ONE is 'the evil guy'. What we CAN do is look at everything, the effects of their actions, their philosophies, and analyze it dispassionately to try to glean some lessons from it. After all, this is a fake world filled with fake people - acknowledging Qimir might have some valid criticisms of the Jedi order isn't putting a dictator in charge of your real-life country. This isn't a life or death situation here, so maybe take a breath and realize it's ok to sympathize and understand characters in fiction who might have done things we consider to be bad.

But it's also correct to say that the way we conceptualize morality in media CAN impact how we interact with our real world. That's why I think it's so important to expose people to the idea that there isn't a clear 'good side' and clear 'bad side' you can neatly separate all people into in a safe environment such as storytelling. You cannot separate real people into 'orcs' or 'hobbits' in the real world and I think a lot of people with their purity politics are forgetting that. Is it easier to dehumanize those who do things that harm others? Yeah. Is that good storytelling to make a clear and irredeemable enemy? It can be! But it's not the ONLY way to tell a story.

Seriously, look into some more 'lit fic' stories and you'll see that the common 'good vs evil' storytelling of fantasy/fantasy adjacent genres isn't the only way to write a compelling and meaningful story. Everyone can have good traits, everyone can have bad traits, and some traits can flip flop depending on the situation. Most importantly, identifying with the antagonist and certain traits they posses DOES NOT MAKE YOU A BAD PERSON!!!!

I guess the tl;dr of this is that it's ok to not be able to identify the 'good guys' or the 'bad guys' - it's ok to look at the characters and say 'boy, this is messy' and leave your moral judgement at that. There's no law that says you have to correctly identify the perfect people in fiction and if you get it wrong, you're punished somehow. Release yourself of that expectation and I think you'll find engaging with media a much more rewarding and eye-opening experience that can help you learn things about yourself and others that you can take into the real world in a non-combative manner.

Black vs White morality is not the only dynamic available in media and it's time we reminded ourselves of that, especially when looking at Star Wars.

[goamu-blog]

Needed to get my thoughts in ordering about SY and LBH relationship, so I did this. Starting this off with, I don't understand why they are together or even have a romantic relationship. Their entire romantic relationship never really developed. To me, LBH and SY romantic relationship does not feel real or convincing in any way.

Everytime I see something about their love for each other, I'm always like, what love is there between them. How can they love each other when they don't even know the others' true personality and thoughts. They don't really know each other in any deep and meaningful way.

SY entire outer personality and actions are a complete front he puts on. He acts the part of a composed, elegant, lofty, immortal scholar. But that is not who he remotely is on the inside, his actual inner personality and thoughts are that of an internet hater, an anti fan, conceited, self centered, narrow minded, homophobic/transphobic(just because he is in a gay relationship doesn't make him any less homophobic/transphobic), and a bit sexist. Any time he meets a woman, the first thing he does is comment on their appearance and that they belong to LBH. He even treats NYY that way, someone he has known since she was a young teen, and seeing him commenting on her appearance and breast didn't endear him to me.

So yeah, SY never shows LBH or anyone else his real personality. He just puts up a front that is not even close to his actual inner personality. Actually, that is not quite right, the only one he does show some of his real self to is SQH. And SY treats SQH terribly. He is always demeaning and disregarding SQH. SY thinks he is better than SQH and that he knows the world and characters better than SQH, the author. Even when SQH tells SY that not all women wanted LBH, SY doesn't believe him because he believes he knows better than SQH. SY also fully expected SQH to die at some point and was fine with it since he was surprised that SQH was still alive when they met after the time skip.

I can honestly go on and on about how SY is actually not even a remotely good person like the fandom believe and likes to portray him as, I actually already did something like that in a past post, but I can definitely add plenty more to it. I think I could do an essay on it if I had the time, energy, and motivation, but I don't so I will just leave it here before it turns into a SY is actually not a good person at all rant.

SY's entire outer personality is a complete front he puts on for the world. He is acting the part of a composed, elegant, lofty, immortal scholar. But that is not who he really is. SY only shows his inner and actual personality to SQH and no one else, not even LBH gets to see SY'S real personality.

As for LBH, to me, LBH seems like he only shows SY that parts of him that he knows SY will be fine with, won't make SY uncomfortable, and will get him attention and affection. LBH will only act in a way that he knows SY will approve of. In that way, he also doesn't completely show his real personality in its entirety.

While I'm on LBH'S personality, to me, it seems like the novels really never developed LBH. For being a main love interest, the books never spend much time with him or give him enough dialog. It's like LBH was a side character instead. The novels also never gave LBH anything outside of SY. LBH doesn't have any ambitions, goals, friends, or interests. Everything about LBH is tied to SY, LBH doesn't have anything outside of SY. To me, that really dulled LBH character. The novels didn't treat LBH like a main love interest, it treated him like a side character.

Now on to how they are as a couple. They have nothing in common nor any interest together. SY has more in common with LQG, and they have the same interests in monsters. SY and LBH don't have that, they don't have anything in common or have any shared interests. To me, SY and LQG make more sense as a couple then SY and LBH do, because at least I can say that LQG and SY actually have things in common and shared interests, unlike LBH and SY.

I remember seeing a post about how the reason SY and LBH are a good couple is because SY accepts LBH as he is, with all his jealousy and insecurities, and that it is romantic and that's why they like them. I do not think they realize that jealousy and insecurities do not in fact, make for a long and healthy romantic relationship at all. It just shows how insecure LBH is in the relationship.

On to their communication, they do not have any. SY is completely incapable of communicating in any deep, truthful, and meaningful way. Anytime that SY had any insight or even a little deeper understanding of LBH happened because SY was going through LBH'S mind. Not because they actually talked to each other. And even then, SY's understanding was only surface, and even afterward, he never actually talked to LBH about anything important. SY never ever tries to communicate in any meaningful way.

Also, SY never once apologized to LBH for everything he put him through. He never even thought of it.

As for LBH, like I said before, LBH only acts in ways he knows SY will approve off, and that will get him some affection. Unless LBH is at a breaking point, he will not open up about anything deeper because it could upset SY and make him uncomfortable. So LBH will not open up to SY about anything deeper. He will keep it to himself even if it is bothering him. LBH will not bring up the past and question SY's actions, even if he needs to. To me, that shows that LBH is not comfortable with communicating and opening up to SY in any deep and meaningful way. It shows that LBH is not comfortable showing SY his authentic self.

He only expresses a little of his deeper self when he is at a breaking point, SY does anything he can to placate him, and they never again dring it up, which is very not good or healthy in a relationship.

The way I see it, as a couple, neither LBH nor SY show each other their true selves or communicate properly. SY because his entire outer personality is a total front(a lie) he puts on and never shows anyone(expect SQH) his real self, and he is incapable of any deeper communication or even thoughts, he only ever gets a slightly deeper understanding of LBH when he goes through his mind, and even then if understanding is surface only. SY never tries to have any deeper understanding or communication with LBH.

And LBH because he does not want to upset SY or make him uncomfortable. LBH will act in the ways he knows SY will approve off and get him affection. Add that on top of his jealousy and insecurities, and it makes me think that LBH is insecure about the relationship.

The part that cemented my feelings on them as a couple, that it did not feel real or convincing in any way, is in the extras, the 100 questions chapter. Usually those type of questionnaires are supposed to be fun little things for a couple to do together, so that they can reminisce about their relationship, show how well they know and appreciate each other, and have a fun back and forth conversation with banter. But that was not the case for LBH and SY.

As far as I remember, SY never once said anything that I would consider to be genuinely positive or romantic about LBH. SY was always brushing LBH off throughout the whole thing. And LBH was just like, I like everything about shizun, without going into specifics.

When asked what their partner is like, SY only said little negative things about LBH. And what got to me about this whole thing and made me feel the way that I do about them is, when LBH heard SY comments he got watery eyes, and SY was like better think of something positive and nice to say about LBH so that he does not cry, and the only thing SY could think off was that LBH was a good listener and very obedient.

The only good thing SY had to say about LBH is that he is obedient. In real life, if someone said all of these little negative things about their partner and then went on to say, well the good thing about them is that they are obedient, they would be rightfully criticized to hell and back by others. If someone I was in a relationship with said that about me, there would not be a relationship between us anymore.

When their sex life came up in the questionnaire, SY just laughed at it. His reaction to their sex life was to laugh in what I would assume to be in a mocking way because LBH once again got watery eyes if I remember that right. And SY makes absolutely no attempt to improve their sex life. He is not invested in their relationship or has any want to improve it.

The entire 100 questions chapter, along with plenty of other things in the novels, just made me feel that SY is not at all enthusiastic about his romantic or sexual relationship with LBH. Also, just because someone can appreciate someone else's looks and have sex with them does not necessarily mean they have romantic or sexual feelings towards that other person. People can and do have sex with others without feeling sexual or romantic feelings.

There was not one moment in all of the novels where I could think that SY was ever enthusiastic about his relationship with LBH or even had a romantic thought about LBH. I never felt that SY was at all excited about their relationship. It felt more like it was just something that happened to SY, so he went along with it without being truly invested in it.

Another thing about their relationship, their entire relationship only happened because of the very specific circumstances they are in. In any other situation they would not be in a romantic relationship. The only reason they are in a romantic relationship is because SY is controlling SJ's body. The fandom goes on about how SY's kindness saved the world, but it only worked because he was specifically controlling SJ's body.

If the only thing LBH needed to not ruin the world was for someone to show him kindness, then the kindness NYY's always showed to LBH would have worked, but it did not. Because it is specifically SJ's kindness, approval, and acceptance that LBH needed. LBH fell for SJ at first sight and had spent a few years with him, and as soon as the one who LBH thought was SJ showed him acceptance and kindness LBH was all for him. If SY had somehow transmigrated as himself in his own body or if he had taken over and replaced anyone else, if he had been a regular person, a disciple, some other peak lord or cultivator, or anyone else that was not SJ, LBH and SY would not have had a romantic relationship.

LBH and SY are only in a romantic relationship because it is specifically SJ's body that SY is controlling. LBH believes he is in a relationship with SJ. In any other circumstances where SY is not controlling SJ's body, LBH and SY would not have a romantic relationship.

Also, I will like to point out that anytime I see someone complementing SY looks and saying how beautiful he is, it seems that everyone forgets that that is not actually SY's looks and body right, that is SJ's looks and body. Anytime anyone says how beautiful SY is, it is actually SJ. We never ever saw SY actual looks and body, it has always been SJ. SJ is the one that is beautiful, not SY.

A few other things about their relationship, SY does not treat LBH like a romantic partner. He treats LBH the same way he did when LBH was a teen. And his relationship with LBH when LBH was a teen was very inappropriate and manipulative on SY's part, which SY being a modern person should have known, but I'm not going to get into that here. SY still calls LBH child and treats him as a live in maid, the same way he treated LBH as a teen, only now they are married and have bad sex.

Also, SY never really sees LBH as anything else other than the protagonist. Even after he had his little surface level realization. To SY, LBH will always be the protagonist first and foremost. And that shows to me that SY's care for LBH is surface level only. Sure SY cares about LBH, but SY cares about LBH the way one would care about their favorite characters, that is why to SY LBH will always be the protagonist first and foremost, anything else is secondary and unimportant.

SY and LBH entire romantic relationship, BingQiu, feels like a lie. Neither of them, but especially SY, show the other their true selves. Neither of them have anything in common or shared interests. Neither of them can communicate in any affective and deeper way, and in SY's case, it is a complete inability to communicate or even have any deeper thoughts.

SY was never enthusiastic about his romance or sexual relationship with LBH or even had a truly romantic thought about LBH. SY makes absolutely no effort to improve his relationship(romantic/sexual) with LBH because he is not invested in it. SY treats the relationship like it was just something that happened to him and is going along with it. Probably because that is what happened, SY only decided to be with LBH right after LBH tried to destroy the world and that just made it seem and feel like SY was placating LBH for his survival by being with him and not because SY actually wanted to be in a relationship with LBH. It is like SY is trying to keep LBH content and under control by being with him. Also, just appreciating someone's looks does not make for romantic or sexual feelings. SY does not treat LBH like a romantic partner, he treats LBH the same way he did when LBH was a teen and like a live in maid. If LBH and SY were not in the very specific situation where SY is controlling SJ's body, they would not have a romantic relationship. If SY was himself or controlling anyone else's body other than SJ body, LBH and SY would not be in a relationship.

So yeah, those are my thoughts on them. The entirety of BingQiu's relationship is based on a lie, so it feels like a lie. Their relationship does not feel real, and it is the least convincing romantic relationship I have ever read. And once again, SY absolutely refuses to make any sort of effort to improve their relationship in any way because he is not invested in it. SY treats their relationship like an obligation, just something he has to do. Calling their(bq) relationship romantic is a little insulting to actual romantic relationships in fiction. Their relationship does not have what it takes to be a long and healthy relationship.

[nuka]

You know what? I think it's fucking lovely that the OFMD fandom is collectively coming to support Taika after all the shit he got for the letter. If you don’t like him, that’s fine, I’m not saying everyone does or should, but the general vibe in the fandom this week has been so much better regarding Taika. And I’m glad Samba did a shoutout for him. I’ve seen so many people say, “actually, overall Taika’s a good guy and he’s allowed to make mistakes and it was a letter so just block me if you disagree”. People are going to get shit for saying that, but they’re saying it anyway, and I admire that.

I’ve always enjoyed Taika’s work, I saw his short film Two Cars, One Night back when I was a teenager and I immediately thought there was something unique about his style. Something about how he tells meaningful stories through humor has always appealed to me. Not to get all parasocial here, but I do get the vibe from his work and his past interviews that I’ve gone through some of the same shit as he has early on in life, so that might be why I relate to him and the messages in his work so much, and why I can kinda see where he’s coming from. I think he’s a brilliant filmmaker. And he’s truly put so much effort into his character in Our Flag Means Death, and the show wouldn’t be the same without his contribution to it. Anyway, that’s just my opinion on his work.

I’ve come to the conclusion that he’s not acting from a place of malice with the letter, and he often tends to say things in interviews without explaining himself that well, which leads to people making their own assumptions about what he’s saying. These days you have to overexplain yourself when you say anything just to make sure you’re not accidentally offending anyone, because people will read some hidden meaning into anything you don’t say. There are actually evil people in the world, and Taika’s not one of them. He’s also not in a place of political power, so his political stance has about the same power as my hairdresser’s political stance.

Taika’s put a lot of work into giving visibility and a voice to indigenous groups through filmmaking. Many people are willing to throw all that away for one letter. I’m not. If you disagree, then that’s your opinion. Personally I think he’s a pretty decent guy, a complex human being just like the rest of us, and he’s done a lot of good. Do I think he could’ve done some things differently regarding this situation or some situations in the past? Sure! He’s not perfect. No one is.

But I also completely understand why he’s not much on social media anymore, because he’ll get attacked for literally anything he says or does. Why bother trying to appease anyone online, when the majority of people are going to be dicks about it anyway. He probably has better things to do with his time in the real world.

So yeah.

[elusianknight]

Wyll vs Astarion vs some fanon stuff

im not ragging on ppl for having fun w model swaps and whatnot. play bg3 however u want it's a masterpiece!

but i got thinkin after hearing apparently some ppl ACTUALLY believe Astarion is like a fairy tale prince and should be acting like Wyll--

Wyll is a young idealist, a LITERAL prince, believes wholeheartedly that there is good in the world - because he most certainly is a force of good! his dancing and twirling his lover and all this fancy courtship comes from, frankly, his own confidence and ideals about what kind of relationship he wants to have. you can make fun of him for being a prude or w/e and he doesn't take that shit even for a second!

Astarion is the literal opposite. He has a trash charisma score. You can argue a separation of mechanics and story, but I think it's plenty meaningful. He has learned through sheer force of practice, memorization, and terrifyingly negative reinforcement, how to tell people what they want to hear. how to guess at others' desires and fulfill them for the purposes of manipulation. His flair for the dramatic, his dandy persona (loving finery and rich things) all stem from his extreme insecurity, imo. Upon first glance, his starting outfit is a nobleman's garb, but if you read the description you realize it is very old and worn and has been repaired countless times.

Astarion's fear makes him crave power, and we often talk about that in terms of literal strength (and magic power), but I think we sometimes miss how that also includes wealth and political influence. Sure, Astarion certainly has an appreciation for fine things and a discerning eye when it comes to aesthetics, and especially clothing, but I really think much of his... pickiness? about these things is just him bullshitting for the purposes of seeming superior to others. both in terms of, being superior and lording himself over them, and also being seen as superior. because it's a performance.

We can see this manifest in spawn vs Ascendant Astarion tbh.

Spawn Astarion's epilogue outfit is specifically described to be made of "cheap leather." In most endings, he's either holed up in the Underdark with the other spawn, or a wandering folk hero. In either case, he's very genuine to himself and to others - he's a bit self-deprecating even (basically saying "yeah it's crazy that i'm actually the GOOD guy for once!"). He doesn't have to project an image of anything else, he doesn't have to perform, he simply is. So he wears something decent, but practical. And, crucially, he burned the shithole of Cazador's mansion to the ground.

Ascended Astarion... well. He shows up in a custom embroidered fit (with crimson dragons on it!!) which is absolutely gorgeous! He took over Cazador's palace and hosts masquerades and balls and invites important nobility to the estate. He is condescending to the other people at the epilogue party, including his lover if they displease him. He's still quite clearly putting on a performance.

Uhhhh so yeah this got long but! the differences between Astarion's cynical theatrics and Wyll's idealistic shows of courtship.

[moonlit-dreamers]

Can you rate all TSAMS characters?

oh dear lord- i can certainly try tho i get the feeling i'll forget some lol

in order of favorite to least favorite

sun - 10/10 - hes perfect, nothing can change my mind. hes heavily traumatized and incredibly anxious. hes the perfect specimen for whump AND hurt/comfort. im also just Heavily biased

ruin - 9/10 - yall cant fight me on this hes one of my favorites. hes a tragic, morally gray villain that did what he thought he had to. hes a sad pathetic wet cat of a man who i bet all my money on (a whopping 500 bucks) that he doesnt even know who he is as a person

eclipse - 9/10 - him being below ruin on the list means nothing bc theyre equal in my heart. again, tragic wet cat of a man whos too damn tired to deal with this shit any more. i also relate to him in ways that probably arent healthy <3

solar flare - 8/10 - BRING MY BOY BACK HE DID NOTHING ‼️

dazzle - 8/10 - sweet baby girl she can do no wrong

jack - 7/10 - he can do many things wrong but nothing could make me hate him forever <3

molten - 7/10 - he baby. he sweet. he dont know the world and thats okay. maybe i just like it when murder machines turn into pacifists and just want to have fun.

dark sun - 7/10 - he fascinates me. i want to put him in a lil test tube and study him under a microscope. i need to ask so many questions, most of them being some form of "what is wrong with you"

computer/spaniard - 7/10 - we dont talk about the previous 2 computers we dont care about them (i dont hate them im just biased <3) i only care about SPANIARD. i miss my boy why did they have to kill him he couldve been so good. sun needs his husband back/silly

old moon - 6/10 - he is... certainly a specimen. i keep bouncing between "i hate him i want to rip his head off" and "im wrapping him in a blanket so tight he cant breathe". before he died he was an absolute prick and the fandom ruined him for me bc everyone fell for his manipulation and blamed sun for shit moon did and bc i was so biased towards sun it was difficult for me to not hate him. after he came back hes more fun (and tolerable) due to him actually improving but i wish he had more set-backs bc like. to him he'd been dead for like. a week. he should be struggling more <3

earth - 6/10 - cant quite pinpoint it but i Do feel like she could be done better as a character. she... doesnt really change that much? idk how to describe it. maybe i just find her boring lol

solar - 6/10 - yes i am putting him this far down on the list bc i feel like he couldve been done SO much better. he has so little flavor it hurts. what are his struggles? what is his goal? what does he even do outside of sun n moon?? and dont even get me STARTED on how little his past is brought up in a meaningful manner, let alone be something that effects him. you could say "oh hes gotten better" yeah but we saw none of it so like?? fbkdsgnjkds i'll need to rant about his character another day smh my head

killcode - 6/10 - it was fun while it lasted or something like that. he was interesting and i Do wish they had just.. left him alive? not bc he would be "useful" or wutever but just bc like. wut if he wants to come back randomly? like he wouldve just been a fun side character

nexus/new moon - 5/10 - listen. i dont wanna put him down here. but his current arc fucked him over. he was so fun and whimsical before! he was just a silly lil guy trying to navigate the world around him and desperately trying to fill a role he couldve never filled. his current arc couldve been SO much better. but its not as emotionally charged as it could be. like. they just completely threw away his original motive! and now he doesnt care?? not even the slightest??? booooo tomato tomato tomato throwing tomatoes/ref

lunar - 5/10 - again, you can fight me, but current lunar just isnt it for me. lunar before he died? hell yeah. he was such a lil shit that only cared about stuff if it benefited him. he didnt care that he was hurting moon with his movements, he just switched sides bc moon actually paid attention to him. him and bm couldve been SUCH a good duo too OTL

bloodmoon - 5/10 - honestly i liked v1 bm more than v2. idk man. something about their energy was so different and it lured me in. v2 kinda just felt.. boring. no critiques on his character, just not for me *shrug*

gemini - 5/10 - i dunno. just boring to me

monty - 4/10 - yet another moment of "no direct hate on the character just uninteresting to me" with monty. theyre just. boring. also another moment of "i liked them before [insert event]" with the event being before earth.

the creator - 4/10 - just. meh? he could be better as a villain but hes like. been here for so long that i wonder if he really does much of anything? idk man. im losing steam atp dnf,jsdgndkj

this might be all of them..? i dunno. probably missed a bunch (and yes im aware i shoved in some laes characters shush). im gonna leave out eaps characters so this doesnt get longer and so i dont go on a hate rant about puppet/j

[thydungeongal]

Reading your recent posts about "DMS make it work" and like, I'm a pretty new GM, I have a home-brewed campaign I want to run for my players and attempted twice so far, this second time is working a bit better, but lately I've been noticing that genuinely, the reason why this isn't working out well is because noone wants to engage with my goddamn world, my players make up characters and I have to tell them how to fit them into my world or make up while new tribes etc to make them fit.

And when I try to U know, actually have them follow the path I've set I get really worried about "railroading" when I'm still far more open than a actual adventure module. Every time I think about like adding in some cool epic moments I would also enjoy I remember posts about "DMS who want players to play prebuilt stories should just write a book" but like ... Modules are prebuilt too?

Yeah, there's definitely a balance to be struck between, you know, players actually being willing to engage with the GM's prep and the GM prepping their games in such a way that there are meaningful ways for the players to actually interface with the game.

Like okay, a lot of the objection to GMs plotting out a story ahead of the time also applies to a lot of modern adventure modules: a lot of modern adventure modules are basically presented as a linear succession of events that need to happen for the story to progress, which just completely turns player narrative agency into an illusion. This is why whenever I talk about GM prep I stress the fact that the GM shouldn't just prep a linear succession of encounters but more like a situation or a location and then let the story be whatever happens when the players engage with that situation or location. On the player side, conversely, as part of the give and take it is important that players be willing to engage with the GM's prep without needing to be led by the nose and being proactive, engaged players.

And since you mentioned modules, I think it's important to mention that older (I'm talking late 70s and early 80s) adventure modules for RPGs rarely presented any kind of linear narrative that required a succession of events to be completed, but they were more like. A place or a situation for the characters to get stuck in. And that sort of adventure design still has value imo!

So yeah, there is a lot of nuance to this discussion, but I do need to make a point here: these past few posts have been very much about players rejecting the premise of the game itself. Part of being a good player (including GM!) is respecting the effort the other players put into the game. There can always be an ongoing discussion about what players want out of the game and how the game should progress. But outright refusing to engage with what the player actually bringing the game to the table has actively set up for you is downright hostile and an expression of a toxic player culture that treats the GM as a special type of guy who must serve the other players.

[raayllum]

considering Rayla has absolutely buggered Aaravos’ plans multiple times in S6 if he were to posses Callum again do you think he’d go straight for killing Rayla?

Yeah she's been the last minute fuck up of Aaravos' plans now twice - which considering her "I am pretty awesome at everything... right up until the moment it really matters" choking at the finish line complex - is so on brand for them as a foils dynamic it actually drives me insane now that it's a parallel that could turn into a pattern. But post for another day

I think that if Runaan coin stuff leaves Ezran and Rayla at odds for a time in S6, wanting to save a brainwashed Callum may be what brings them back together in terms of that initial rift. As much as I want some broyals angst & fluff next season, I do think ultimately Rayla will have the bigger role to play in the possession plot line, simply because it's been set up that way, for a few years:

Aaravos specifically taunts Rayla with being unable to kill in 4x04 only for that to be precisely what Callum asks Rayla to do in 4x07. That's a plot beat / choice and set up that has to be paid off eventually

Furthermore, Rayla is the one emphasized more in said scenario. She's the one catching Callum and stepping toward him at first in 4x04, she's the one interrupting Callum with the mirror in 4x02, and she's the one to explicitly tell him he has another path in 4x07. They also cut to a shot with her directly when Callum says "he'll [...] hurt people I care about" which - Yeah

S5 actually furthered this thread of Aaravos-Rayla tethering. Whereas twice in S4 people think Callum is going to talk about Rayla when he actually talks about Aaravos, S5 switches it up with Callum's research into Aaravos being derailed by his devotion to Rayla (5x01: "Your elf friend is in trouble" / 5x04: "But you can trust me to stay focused" whereas Callum immediately loses focus because of her). 5x08, in which Callum is willing to help someone murder an Archdragon and to do dark magic in order to save her, likewise has the Callum-Aaravos intro.

Callum and Rayla watching a literal falling star together in 5x02, all of Rayla's associations of being light, etc.

This all ties together, then, of Rayla likely being the one to save Callum from the brainwashing (even if she also is, come hell or high water, what leads to him being brainwashed again in the first place - kinda like how Viren's love for his family doomed him at first and then also brought him back from the brink again in S5). This has been foreshadowed in a few ways / would be payoff for a few different ways.

Rayla being associated with light and Callum's agency (even if the light isn't always good and agency isn't always that simple, which is already in line with the flashing white cube in 4x04 and 5x08 as Callum is Aaravos' pawn). Also these lines from the book one novelization, which drive me crazy every time: “So they might kill you or they might save you,” Callum said. “Exactly.” Rayla smiled. “Just like me.” (—Book One: Novelization)

S5 puts Rayla's selflessness on full display, as she doesn't prioritize her parents once and instead Callum is the one who pushes forward on that front, even while acknowledging that "The world needs me. Callum and Ezran need me" still go basically hand-in-hand with her. While the "stronger together" is something she's learning (with practice) and is something that Callum may need to re-learn to a degree, Rayla's tendency to sacrifice hasn't been really dismantled yet. Her refusing to sacrifice something - in this case, a possessed Callum - by refusing to kill him (even if it puts the world at risk) would be a big, meaningful step forward for her, and is I think where they're headed.

On that note: S4 opened up an interesting character aspect for her with "we can't save everyone" regarding the drake in 4x05 that again, S5 has kind of left unaddressed for now, so Rayla and Callum both reconciling their identities - Callum, through reconciling the light and dark inside him and being brought out of possession (moon arcanum time?); and Rayla, being someone who can save people and depend on them without always having to sacrifice herself - could work really well if she's the one who breaks him free. Chains and keys and "That's your name right - Callum?" and "She's not the elf, she's Rayla" and "You're the destiny is a book you write yourself guy" and "That's what makes her a hero. That's what makes her Rayla" etc.

Finnegrin implies that Callum's love for Rayla makes him weak ( "All that talk about how love makes you stronger, but the second you see that elf girl in pain") and foolish. Impulsive, irrational. Opeli implies it to a much lesser degree, but that's still why she cautions Callum in 5x01. If "losing control" is synonymous with Rayla for Callum, it just means that Aaravos losing control of Callum probably will be as well.

Love is good and bad. Strength and weakness. The ocean and dark magic. Light and dark. Control and liberation.

I think we'll see all of that reflected in the possession plot line going ahead in S6.

[hareofhrair]

https://www.tumblr.com/hareofhrair/749247301532499968/gonna-need-yall-to-stop-putting-biden-is-just-as

People who keep on screeching about the revolution that will occur if Biden loses and things get worse and how punishing America for "Genocide Joe" need to learn about Ernst Thalmann.

He was a communist leader who believed that the liberals of his time were an obstacle to a Communist society in Germany, and worked to allow Hitler enough votes to gain power, in the belief that Hitler would make things so bad that the people would turn to communism.

It backfired HARD, and Germany became a fascistic dictatorship, Thalmann himself was imprisoned and eventually executed, and communism DIDN'T come to Germany.

Because frankly that's exactly what these numbskulls are braying for; to commit the exact same mistake Thalmann made nearly a century ago, because they care more about punishing a society that they believe is an obstacle to their moral superiority than actually stopping a monster who will actively bring about the end of Democracy as we know it.

Yeah, accelerationism is an idiot child’s idea of politics.

But most of the nasty messages I’ve received about this post so far don’t seem to think Trump winning is a good thing— They seem to be under the bewilderingly incorrect impression that there’s some kind of third option.

That if enough people don’t vote for trump *or* biden neither will become president and the government will be forced to present better candidates? Or something?

Genuinely I can’t decide if the lack of coherent thought is evidence of the nightmarish state of education in this country, or evidence that these people are or are uncritically repeating the propaganda of actual literal Russian agents. We know, like for an actual fact with solid evidence, that they have done this before, on tumblr specifically! Have yall forgotten about the actual russian psyop in 2016 trying to convince everyone it was pointless to vote?

Either Biden or Trump *will* become president. You have exactly ONE action which can influence this decision. Neither of them are going to immediately turn around and denounce Israel. Biden will continue loudly supporting them publicly while taking only the most non confrontational action behind the scenes to try and stop the genocide, because Israel is vital to US imperialism in that part of the world and literally no action he attempted to take against them would ever amount to anything but his immediate impeachment. And Trump will not just loudly support Israel, but has already repeatedly encouraged them to “get it over with,” urging more aggressive measures to end the genocide as quickly as possible because he thinks it’s “a bad look.”

He’s also made public his plans to eliminate the entire Department of Education, erase not just protections for transgender people but federal acknowledgement of trans people at all, codifying binary gender into federal law, and his environmental and energy policies amount to, and I quote, “DRILL BABY, DRILL.” Among a host of other heinous fucking crimes against humanity. This is not conspiracy! These are his publicly stated positions!

Meanwhile, Biden has reinstated environmental policies Trump stripped and pushed for aggressive climate action, signed legislation to protect lgbt and interracial marriage, reversed the trans military ban and ensured trans people would have access to government services, passed the first meaningful gun control legislation in 30 years, signed executive orders to protect reproductive rights, pardoned all prior offenses for marijuana possession, signed an executive order to curb police violence by banning chokeholds, increasing accountability, and restricting the transfer of military gear to police.

Is it enough? Does that make him a good person? Fuck no! I’d still spit in his face if I ever met him. But to pretend there is no difference between him and Trump is blisteringly ignorant.

People in the my messages and the notes of that post have repeatedly declared I just don’t care about anyone outside my privileged class, and I gotta say evidence suggests they’re projecting hard. I’m a deeply impoverished queer disabled person living in the deep south. I know EXACTLY how much worse a Trump presidency would be. The only way someone could pretend it makes no difference is if they believe they’re secure enough that none of it would affect them, and they’re too self centered to realize not everyone is lucky enough to be in that situation.

My heart breaks for the Palestinian people every day. That sounds trite but I don’t know how else to say it. I read their posts, I share their calls for donations, a day doesn’t pass where I’m not reminded of their suffering and how utterly helpless I am to do anything about it. I wish to god there was something I could personally do that would make any kind of difference for them, but I can’t.

I am in an airplane that is falling out of the sky. I can’t stop it. I can’t save the people around me. I’m trying to put on my oxygen mask and my seatbelt, and someone is trying to slap them out of my hands and telling me I’m a selfish monster for wanting to live when other people are going to die.

I’m just tired of people telling me I should give up and die. I want to live.