#but i think theyre neat.... i think they got a lot of potential.... i used to dream up jukebox musicals in my daydreams for fun of my ocs..

[witchspeka]

I feel like TeruRitsu have untapped dynamic potential

They're both competitive and have some ego issues so if forced to interact I'll feel like they'll inevitably have a conflict

Plus they're both putting up appearances, Ritsu with his whole goody two shoes exemplary student bs and Teru trying to seem as morally pure as possible to make up for the past he quickly stopped associating with

They've only interacted once, really, and that's when they first met and GOD was that awful but I do think it's important to note Ritsu was also going through his joker arc and he usually minds his own business/isn't as cocky

But I do think Teru can be pretty condescending, he suffers from Main Character Syndrome and while he's getting better I do think he can lack some tact

So if he ends up saying something to set off Ritsus inferiority complex it would just be a matter of how many polite smiles Ritsu has left in him

AND LIKE... I do think their hypothetical dynamic would be different depending on what point in time they'd interact

Cause obv their flaws wouldn't be as prominent post-canon but tbh I think interactions somewhere between 7th division and confession arc would be the funnest

Imo they still deal with the brunt of their mistakes even post-confession arc, like, mp100 is a story that revolves around Mob (obviously) and as a result the end of their arcs is really just wrapping up their relationship with Mob

Interestingly, the way they both view their relationship with Mob is through the lens of competitiveness (Teru being his self proclaimed rival and Ritsu with his inferiority complex, they also both use him as a standard of smth they want to achieve) and it gets concluded with them regarding themselves as equals (Teru saying Mob is just as ordinary as him and Ritsu saying he'll be the brother he can earnestly compete with)

K now back on topic--

I feel like Teru and Ritsu have come to certain conclusions during the duration of the show and are changing themselves for the better but their flaws are still being worked on even as the story wrapped up and I think they have the potential to highlight those flaws within one another

Every other time they've been on screen togheter, aside from their first encounter, they've interacted briefly so I still like to consider that handshake as a template for other possible interactions

Still, I don't think they hate eachother or smth, just that they're similar and as a result incompatible

You can lean into the friends or enemies part more and neither would be disproven by canon lol, their dynamic is flexible

I think they'd be fun frenemies and I rarely see content that focuses solely on their dynamic, idk man its a shame

[bmpmp3]

by all technicalities i should be the perfect audience for musicals (insane suspension of disbelief, loves how play dialogue is written and acted, when i like a song i like it so much i need eat it, etc) but i still have trouble really getting into them outside of listening to the studio recording albums and picking out the songs i like..

part of it might be that im not a fan of most musical comedy songs and so many recommendations i get from like buddies at school are always comedies that just do nawt hit for me. PLUS i take myself and everything too seriously so im picky with comedies and i tend to prefer serious and melodramatic music and stories over lighter stories or fully humour (dark or light) focused things

another part of it is probably my music genre preferences: i like showtunes but i like them poppy and/or production/instrumental focused (which might be why i like animated musicals so much) and like i said before, melodramatic. and from what i can tell from my musicalhead classmates - musicalheads really Hate that kinda thing LOL

but im sure theres lots of stuff out there id like. somewhere. somewhere out there

[robotpanties]

Ok so this is coming from someone who hasn’t engaged with the fandom in a while so my memory might be a bit off.

there’s multiple ways for cybertronians to reproduce but I’ll focus on the pregnant one (mostly)

So every cybertronian has a spark, their life force, in a way a “soul” simply a big energy ball

and they also have protoform which is… their living metal, the groundwork of their body sorta thing. If a baby was gestating it would be the start of/most of the body being constructed.

tbh the fanon pregnancy is pretty much like human preggers with little to no difference, but I know some? fics have “keep fucking to grow that baby”, using transfluid (sperm) as a building block for babies?

There’s multiple ways more cybertronians come into existence, depending on the continuity. But to my knowledge the more human pregnancy one is purely fanon.

uhuhghuhu sorry if this incomprehensible…

(Also I get it, re: avoiding it. There’s so fucking much going on, and depending on which continuity you get into too! There’s 50 thousand different universes for this franchise!)

also if you don’t mind, what was the outcome for the baby swordsmachines? Like, how did they come about? (They sound adorable🥺)

oh dont worry anon this wasnt incomprehensible at all, you explained it pretty well i think i kinda get the idea. huh. neat! living metal.. the 'keep fucking to grow that baby' is kinda funny though. respect to the transformers fans for whatever that is

as for the baby swordsmachine thing it was a combination between agony and tundra :) which is why theyre pink n purple. it came abt from a conversation with my friend Dreamy who had the idea for beby swordsmachine. the concept strays much further from how it works in humans though... robot baby is kinda... either a copy of one or a combination of two or more machines and their functions n programs (however it gets a bit more confusing the more you add to the mix OR if the machines are so different that theyd seem almost incompatible).

baby starts out kind of less like a baby and more like a chip (probably wrong term but just roll with it man). its consciousness starts out there, and to actually give it a body machine parents will have to scrap together parts and pieces to build a body, usually based on its own blueprints and its partners blueprints. sometimes these dont mesh well, but other times it works out alright :) s2g though a good chunk of scrap baby construction is going against the blueprint so it just kind of Slightly resembles the parent.

similar to how humans grow, USUALLY once they get their first bodies its rather small. its a temporary body, and will be changed to suit the needs as time passes. until it does get a body though, typically the chip will be held onto, stored somewhere inside the body. it can really be stored anywhere but its easier to keep track of something if its attached to you.

there doesnt really have to be sex involved with it it can just. happen. its got a lot of potential for weirdness + slightly more in depth discussion abt why shit like this happens in the first place

[bluebeetle]

Tho I will say for 2, I feel like that was purposeful--like the emperor is still always a bit manipulative but I really do think its supposed to reflect how the player treats it (if you treat it with distrust, itll be extra distrustful and mean); but thats not to say it implemented the best.

Also for 6, you still get Balduran and Ansur's quest even if you don't do the iron throne! You get it from other characters instead of Duke Ravengard (in my case it was the flaming fist, but if you rescue Florrick first from prison, she'll give it im told) so I do know about Balduran and then the Emperor killing Ansur. If there's any more backstory lore than that, though, other than it potentially being the reason for Stelmane's stroke, Im not sure.

That said, Im not familiar with forgotten realms lore outside of just this game so I have no strong feelings about pre-existing characters and how theyre treated, though I am familiar with fan reactions (esp Viconia and Saverok vs Minsc and Jaheira).

But yeah these are all good points, I do think there could have been more added, which is sadly common for a lot of act 3 (and that last choice with Orpheus does really feel like it was to just force a hard choice; I let princey get munched on in my durge run because I didn't use Lae'zel very much). I def agree about the hidden approval (which would fix the issue with point 2) and having a chance to force Orpheus and the Emperor to work together, even if its a hard thing to accomplish.

I do think from what I've seen for Daisy that the Emperor is far more interesting and less obviously manipulative imo, but thats subjective. The Emperor is still pretty manipulative tho even when you play trusting ahah. But at the same time you can kind of understand why the Emperor like that, since it wants freedom so badly, but also thinks its above most people.

But honestly most of the hate I've seen that I was thinking of boiled down to "mindflayers evil, so its bad" and "it lied to me and kept secrets so its evil.....and its selfish too". Even tho that also describes a lot of the cast.

Even the "it tried to force the astral tadpole on me" thing doesnt bother me too much because it does seem to legitimately think that'll help, plus as you said, I do think part of it wishes for companionship in a way. I do think the Emperors pretty morally grey and selfish and I like that, I just think it's annoying how people act like its a complete selfish monster who does evil for kicks and it makes me wonder if we played the same game.

Idk i just always thought "npc isnt nice to me so I hate them" was a bit silly of a mentality but Ive seen it often... I just think it's neat.

I do wish there were more moments to confront it though, even before the reveal I did not trust it during my first run (Durge did however, which my joking reasoning being they've got an int of 8. Manipulation right over their heads.) and there's def stuff I wish you could bring up but alas... but there's a few things like that. Like how Karlach doesn't really react to taking Gortash's deal if she's not in the party lol.

i wont say the emperor is like, nice, it can be a dick, but its actually pretty chill if ur nice to it back and trust it tbh.... i dont get why its so hated, even if it can be a huge dick lol

[angelofnebulae]

homestuck kids tf2 mains headcannons

june: scout purely because he's fast and she likes mobility mechanics in video games because of windy stuff. she'd try soldier sometimes and try to get good at rocket jumping but she keeps holding down w when she air strafes and she gets upset that she can't break the habit. likes to be a friendly a lot

rose: before it was nerfed she'd religiously play pyro and use the reserve shooter and the degreaser but now she just harasses snipers with the scorch shot. despite how annoying those weapons are/were she's actually really good at airblasting and will generally always extinguish people. probably likes either stock flamethrower or dragons fury now. would shoot a friendly once and then immediately killbind after

jade: alternates between sniper and heavy because she likes their respective primary weapons. her friends constantly mention how diametrically opposed those classes are but she's just like "i think theyre really neat :D". sometimes she'll pocket rose as medic while rose tries to beat people to death with the holy mackerel or something. she actually finds being a friendly pretty boring but she'll respect other ones

dave: played tf2 once when he was 12 and got bullied because he was rapping on voice chat. never again

roxy: actual pill jesus. she wears no cosmetics on demoman except for the dangeresque too and probably uses the sticky jumper. despite being a god with regular grenades she tends to use the loose cannon more often just because it's funny. and besides its not like she doesn't fuck shit up with it too

jane: doesn't really play very much at all but will cave sometimes when roxy begs her to. she's the medic with 0 spatial awareness who misses crossbow shots at point blank and lets you burn to death. often pockets roxy

jake: when roxy introduces the game to him she expects him to love scout but he actually latches onto engineer and won't let go. he generally uses the gunslinger because of the Adventure Potential of mini sentries but sometimes he'll use level threes and put them in the dumbest fucking spot imaginable and then destroy them and run around with the frontier justice

dirk: soldier main. that's all i have to say. probably uses the direct hit but can't actually hit shots as consistently as with the stock rocket launcher. he would complain about friendlies if he was having a good time in a match but he wouldn't really bother with killing them

[krabmeat]

𝟷𝟶𝟶 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚜? 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢? 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔? 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚎𝚊𝚛?

HELL YEAH FELLAS YOU HEARD THAT RIGHT!! FIRST MAJOR MILESTONE BAYBEEEE LETS GOOOOOO!!

guys, i really dont think you see how insanely mental this is. like what?!?! i joined here cause a friend of mine was gushing about a writer here and eventually convinced me to get tumblr. they called me their "noob reading friend /affectionate" and now look at me!! not even a year in and ive gained a crowd? thats so damn cool to think about!! to think that this many people are willing to put aside time in their day to read some fics made by me, im floored man!! all in all though, i have no one to thank but my wonderful mutuals and followers who have helped floor and construct the fantastic beginnings of this blog. which is why im here to bring you all this event that i sincerely hope you guys enjoy!

🦑KRABS KAN MAKE WRITING EVENTS WOW!!🦑

ALRIGHT FELLAS, IM DOING A WRITING EVENT!! HERES THE RULES AND PROMPTS NOW BOSSMEN!

~rules~

only 2 people per prompt

despite me not writing romantic fics yet, all participants are absolutely welcome to!

no smut/nsfw, im not that kind of blog and i do plan on reading entries so please dont submit anything related!!

any and all fics glorifying and supporting bigoted or misogynistic ideals will not be tolerated or respected. this is non-negotioable but if the fic has any of this that results in the putting down of or generally recognizing these ideals as negative then that is completely fine!

you are to use the quote prompts in your fic (im gonna be loose on this though so dw!! :DD)

you can use as many different prompts as youd like!!

please keep submissions in mcyt territory as thats who i write for most. but this doesnt confine to just mcyts in the dsmp! go wild dudes, hermitcraft, third life, pop off!!

keep all fics for minors platonic and platonic ONLY

generally know and respect the boundaries for ccs

when asking for a prompt, please put who you will be writing for!!

TAG ME IN YOUR FICS!! I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH PLEASE ID ADORE IT IF YOU TAGGED ME SO I CAN READ YOUR WONDERFUL WORK!!

you can use and interpret the prompts any way you want! doesnt matter if its in the angst section, you see fluff potential? go for it, vice versa!!

~prompts~

~fluff~

"I swear, if you make us late one more time I'll tape a clock to your wrist." "Isnt that a watch-?" "Shut it!"

"Look! I think it likes me!" (@ohworm-writes with cc!beeduo)

"Man, how did I catch such a good person?"

"Yknow, your parents really did something great when they made you."

"WELL HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT WOULD HAPPEN?!" "THERE ARE WARNING LABELS RIGHT THERE!"

"Take a picture, itll last longer~" "Okay!" "Wait you actually did that-?"

"That does NOT fit you." "Yeah it does! Just gotta roll it up a bit!"

"You aren't 'built different', you're just stupid." (@ohworm-writes with cc!tommy @jschllatt with cc!sapnap

"If it ever happens again, tell me. You know i adore you."

"Well..they dont even deserve you anyways! Just look at you- gorgeous!!"

~angst~

"KEEP F*CKING WALKING, THEN! CANT EVEN FACE YOUR OWN DAMN PARTNER! (or friend! :])"

"No, youre amazing!" "Then why arent i treated like it?"

"Do it again, see if i care."

"Guys..? GUYS! THEY ARENT MOVING!"

"Put the damn drink down and talk to me!"

"Its about time you get whats due, you know."

"So not only do you think im stupid, but you also think im still naive?"

"Just take me seriously for once in your damn life!"

"You'd better start running in the next 5 seconds."

"What do you take me for, a joke?!" "Wasnt that obvious?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

now that thats done, heres the ask game part of the event!!! send me the corresponding emoji in my ask box and ill respond!

👽~ ill tell you a weird or memorable occurance that has happened on tumblr between friends and moots!

😳~ ill kin assign you and try to guess who you kin! (friends and moots only)

🍒~ ill rate your blog aesthetic on a scale of 1-10

🥀~ ill give you a bunch of emojis that remind me of you! (friends and moots only)

😎~ ill tell you obscure things i think are very neat!

🌺~ ill tell you a random interesting fact i know!

🦑~ if you send me a description of yourself, personality etc then ill write you a short ship fic with a mcyt!! specify if you want it to be platonic or romantic and if you want it to be c! or cc!(this is to work on my romantic writing!! friends and moots only)

💃~ ill tell you songs that remind me of you! (friends and moots only)

📕~ ill tell you something small or obscure i secretly think about you! (friends and moots only)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

now...onto the final part- HONOURABLE MENTIONS!!!

@myceliummenace ~ these guys got me into tumblr, some of my closest friends and theyve been supporting me since day one. i couldnt be happier to breathe the same air as these guys, they all deserve a crown and if you disagree i will chomp your hand

@niceimafan ~ an absolute saint!! i came across inks former writing blog and fell in love with both them and their wonderful work /p!!!! theyve helped me through some hellish times and are all around so damn open and accepting

@jschllatt ~ istfg this lady is just-- SOOOO BEAUTIFUL INSIDE AND OUT??? nat is incredibly talented and has encouraged me throughout my time here and i couldnt be happier with how weve grown as friends!! and i know, despite how wholesome and soft nat seems to be i promise you she knows how to keep a bit going like no other. an amazing moot, stay funky :]

@im-an-ungodly-mess ~ okay look,, i know i havent interacted with these guys for a lot buttt...CAN YOU REALLY BLAME ME??!!? LIKE CMON THEYRE ALL JUST SO COOL!!! the moment i met them i knew our chaotic energies would merge and boy did they merge alright. also theyre just insanely nice and super willing to endulge with me in my random interest which is always a sexy trait to have. 10 out of 10, these guys are neato

@ohworm-writes ~ ahhh wormmm, delightful all around and just a sweetheart....BUT THEYVE GOT SHENANIGANS- as well as being extremely skilled as well like, dayummm!!! i live for our bond over fandoms outside of the mcyt fandom and i feel blessed to have you be a moot! much love, dear!

@marcooze ~ bro....whyd you have to do me like that dude? being so gosh damn kind and accepting like that like sheesh all the stuff you reblog is gold!!! it can be the most cracked out post or the most serious and informational one. idgaf that youre a reblog blog, you mean the world to me and i shall place a supple kiss on your hand as bros do <3

@ramzawrites ~ THE FIRST WRITERS BLOG IVE EVER FOLLOWED!!! ramza dear, if no one has ever told you how iconic you are then PLEASE LET ME BE THE FIRST!!! everything you do leaves me in awe and despite your talent, you still have miles and miles of kindness and generosity? you are one in a million, ramza. you deserve everything and please know how much you mean to me. thank you for supporting me so much for so long, and i hope your days are filled with really cool rocks :]]

[wygolvillage]

ok fuck it here we go

worst belmont: leon- i just dont care about lament of innocence lol. if my wife was turning into a vampire i would simply not kill her to power up a weapon

seventh best: juste- this pains me to put him this low bc i do like him and i absolutely love hod. i like his silly furniture collection its a very humanizing element. i just dont think hes all that interesting Narratively. hod is moreso maxims story imo

sixth best: trevor- hmm i find myself appreciating him a lot more than i used to lately? the cv3 gang as a whole is really good imo and i like the idea of him and sypha as a t4t couple... also bonding over how they were both kinda treated like shit until their skills were deemed useful... like trevor being exiled and then Asked To Come Back once he had a "use" has to feel somewhat dissonant to him. mostly i think hes made more interesting via the characters he allies with but i admit theres something there... i am a trevor enjoyer i would say, but there are just a lot of other belmonts i like more. he wouldbe way higher if i categorized him with the other cv3 protagonists though

fifth best: simon- in original cv he is a pretty standard action hero of sorts. HOWEVER most of my enjoyment is from his other game... cv2 is neat and has It Could Be That Deep vibes i think... i like how its kinda flipped with a belmont intending to resurrect drac for a sort of personal gain (curing himself of the curse) but its executed extremely differently from how richters arc was- richter is more of a tragedy whereas simon is a guy having to go to immense measures just to save himself in a kinda understandable way. he passes from town to town, always distant and never staying long, trying to outpace the quickly approaching death that awaits him. idk its just neat

fourth best: christopher (and also soleiyu)- its a shared position bc christopher is mostly interesting via his relationship to his son, but i think about them a lot... belmonts revenge has story potential. It Could Be That Deep. i think it's interesting that dracula was able to reappear so soon because christopher failed to kill him entirely the first time around, so i actually hc that christopher feels guilt that his son was probably targetted as a result of his mistake. soleiyu himself i think would feel a lot of Shame And Angst over the whole debacle since hes the first belmont to rlly bring shame to his family name and also hes 15 and rlly emotional lol. i have this whole narrative in my head about christopher and soleiyus relationship being really distant and fraught after belmonts revenge since theyre both so haunted and them eventually reconciling in the middle of a rainstorm or smth CHhfssfh. this is all headcanons and exists in my mind only but i think about belmonts revenge fairly often

third best belmont: julius- i was debating whether i liked him or christopher more but julius won me over by virtue of having actual dialogue lol and im sure if we ever got the 1999 game id like him even more... i like how his amnesia results in him realizing his role in the eternal struggle at the same time as soma realizing things about his past life as dracula its a cool parallel i posted about recently. he has a cool boss fight and is also rlly fun to play as in aria and he has cool gay uncle vibes

second best belmont: sonia- i just like her!! i think her backstory in the manuals is kinda interesting and i think she would be a good mom to trevor. i like her dialogue in legends a lot, and she deserved better than what she got. getting a game cancelled and being booted off of the canon timeline sucks man

number 1 best belmont: richter- i like how his whole character is like... you know that honorable family legacy this whole series has been building up? time to tear that shit down and show how it can absolutely destroy a guy. i like how in sotn he seeks to "make the battle last for eternity" because thats all this has ever been!! an eternal battle!! over the course of centuries!! hes like, the essence of Being a belmont turned up to 11 by shafts influences, and i could go on about The Greater Themes Of Cycles In Castlevania but i will not, but its very relevant to my reading of him... richters decision to give up the whip and take the belmonts into hiding after sotn (thus ending the cycle... and the belmonts we see in ooe right after this lead normal happy lives seperated from this idea of Being A Belmont its so interesting...) are smth i think about a lot... freeing his descendants from the same expectations that corrupted him... its Deep. and the post-sotn part of the timeline that ensues as a result of him staining the family name is my favorite era in the series. richter is awesome 😎

[minehog]

thoughts about minecraft deep dark

see there are a lot of things i like abt it! i love the Sculk's use of XP/soul energy and the implications of that. i love the redstone experiments. i love that we may be getting a new portal (?!??!!!)!! ad the portal blocks are super neat!

i also really like the mechanics the Warden's got, altho i think its funny how hard the developers are trying to make it a terrifying boss for Everyone when mc is so diverse in playstyles its physically impossible to do

however i feel like theres a lot more potential with the deep dark that wasn't taken advantage of. they could've added an entire ecosystem of alien soul-based life! they couldve made man-eating plants or tiny creatures that howled in the distance. they could've added a tameable flying mob- some kind of giant Soul-Bat, for a change from elytra flight! and they also had a lot of opportunity to make more XP/soul-based items or mechanics, like something that helps save your extra XP after death (instead of only getting back 7 levels), or maybe weaponry/enchantments that were an 'infection' from the Skulk (phantasmal blade!!! hello!!) unfortunately this ^ kind of issue is one i have with a lot of minecraft updates. it often feels like theyre focusing on trying to make a Big update instead of concentrating on a diverse and immersive environment even if it only effects one area/biome (imagine how much more the Nether would have, if theyd released each new biome as individual updates, working on them all for that amount of time!)

overall deep dark spooky. was extremely funny to see ppl shit themselves abt the deep dark immediately after saying we dont need the Glare mob (HA). unfortunately i am a blind old man so i have my gamma turnt tf up so the dark part doesnt really change anything

[bookwyrminspiration]

your marelliana post has me thinking about fintan and marella again so...........here goes.

i absolutely adore that fintan is teaching marella. bc 1) THEYRE FINALLY USING FINTAN FOR SOMETHING IMPORTANT! 2) he's 100% the best person to teach her about pyrokinesis (from a "how much knowledge would he be able to pass on" perspective) and 3) imo it is....such a good way to show fintan's character? and wonderful set-up for more use of him in future books? because fintan teaching marella (and teaching brant to an extent but v much marella) showcases that what he wants more than anything is the reacceptance of pyrokinetics and in general just....good things happening for the elves? and it helps humanize him in the way that it gives us something he cares about, something he really, truly believes in (because iirc he was the one asking to train her) and will put effort into, even if that doesn't work well for him! like, marella's an enemy combatant, the smart thing to do (from an evil mastermind persepctive) is to just. not teach her anything? or purposefully mislead her? and yet it seems like everything he's teaching her is genuine. marella's just better with her pyrokinesis in general and that's such a cool thing? and it really really sets up the continuing idea in keeper that good and bad aren't clear-cut- i mean, we've got the former main antagonist being a mentor figure to a character while still being an antagonist. that's just! that's so good! and of course i want him and marella to bond. i think it would be really interesting to see, especially since they're, y'know, both pyrokinetics and therefor would probably manage to understand each other in a way many other people couldn't. they share a ton of the same struggles that no one else can ever really get and that's so important for both of their characters. and i think it would be....very, very interesting if marella picked up some habits from fintan. honestly i just want more marella and fintan content. separately or not. i just....i wants it! give me the marella and fintan content!

- pyro

oh yes! i kind of neglected to talk about Marella in one of my recent posts about Fintan, so thank you for bringing it up again!

i think it would've felt strange to just completely shut off Fintan from the story because he's been so integral for so long, working at the head of things and constantly affecting Sophie's life. So he's now involved second-hand through Marella because i'm like 87% positive he's the oldest/most experienced pyrokinetic in the series.

but! it also does something more! it humanizes him and gives him real, consistent goals. he's been attacking the elven world and killing people for a hot minute throughout the books, so we naturally come to associate him with oh, he's the bad guy and he wants to do bad things. But he doesn't! he's told us himself that his goal is to create a society where no one has to be forced to hide an essential part of who they are (this is a general summary, but the way i've phrased it kinda sounds like he'd also fight for queer rights so, i count that as a win). He'd not all death and desctruciton, he does that to try and regain his status as someone with an ability as that was taken from him. and training marella is consistent with that! it may have been like a shocking "wait what?" moment for some of us because we've come to associate him so heavily with bad things, but it makes so much sense.

he wants pyrokinesis back in their society. theres a young pyrokinetic who has no idea how to control her ability (aside from whatever Forkle taught her, who as far as we know is not a pyrokinetic) just out there, confused and alone. Not only does it make such much sense for him to train her, he's done it before. He took in Brant and trained him. Now he's working with Marella. I'm sure he'd love to escape that little prison cell of his and get back to doing some of the big work, but until then he can help Marella and that's still making progress in his mind, just on a much smaller scale than we're used to. But it could lead to a helluva lot more, I mean the council are aware of her ability and are allowing her to train. that's significant progress! that's what Fintan wants!

you're absolutely right: it just further shows that the "good" guys aren't good and the "bad" guys aren't bad. they're each a complicated mixture when you look closer. Fintan, one of our big "bad" guys, is doing something we'd consider to a be a beneficial and moral action, completely changing how we've seen him so far. Yes, he's talked about his true motives before that, but I don't remember him acting on it before. Also the way you phrased it--him being a mentor while still being an antagonist--was an insightful way to put it and I love it so much. like yes!! he's helping a main character! but he's not helping them, if that makes sense. he's not trying to get them any closer to their goals or achieve anything they want, him helping Marella is something that personally benefits him at the same time as her.

also I do think it would be fascinating if Fintan was framed as more of a nurturing character, caring intensely for the people he chooses to take under his wing, which now includes Marella. I can imagine him trying to get through to her, to connect with her, reminding her that just because the council is letting her train doesn't mean they're open and accepting. To step back and analyze everything they say and don't fall for their tricks and give in like he did. Just...him trying to protect her and keep her safe the way he wasn't. he has experiences and fears and hopes that Marella can connect to! They share something no one else in the entire fucking world does. Brant is dead. They're the only pyrokinetics left right now. That is such an intense bond--real quick, it does remind me of Sophie's situation with Bronte. They're the only two inflictors and Bronte was kind of like a minor antagonist until they started training together and got a whole lot closer. What if the same happens with Fintan and Marella? (except there wouldn't be the unnecessary cruelty sophie experiences because Fintan genuinely wants to help Marella). Just a thought. I think it would be neat.

also: just having a main character, Marella, starting to form these connections with an influence that has been portrayed as wrong and bad? she has the potential to bring a whole new approach to the way everyone does things. and i really hope she does!! i think it would be so cool. i desperately want to see her form a bond with Fintan, someone obviously outside of the realm of "good" and take that and apply it to her own morals and figure out what she personally believes and wants to do.

pyro you're absolutely right. Fintan and Marella content please and thank you, shannon!

[ranboocore-moved]

ok so theres been conversation about how the dream smp is homestuck, just a decade later, and even if you hate homestuck, it’s literally the truth.

you can probably find plenty of posts about their similarities, and if you want I can make one, but i want to focus on the potential of the fandom moving to tumblrso the tumblr fandom is on the smaller side right now, but i’m going to paint you a picture and it’s going to be of homestuck’s golden age (which may have been cringe, but they were fun)

so here r cool things from homestuck’s tumblr fandom i miss that could be so easily recreated:

 upd8 tag!

this tag was used whenever the comic got an update, and everyone would liveblog or post about the update like IMMEDIATELY. it was SUPER cool, and i personally really liked it!! it felt like such a neat sense of community to go thru the tag and also refresh every few seconds because everyone was posting so frequently!!

speedy cosplays

the homestuck fandom had a lot of talented cosplayers, including people who would make a 5 minute cosplay immediately after the update of a new character or a characters new form or outfit. they were just REALLY cool and ridiculous sometimes and they would also be in the upd8 tag! i know there are talented cosplayers in the fandom, but they post more on tiktok because it is such a visual app! it’s literally a video app. however, tumblr is a jack of all trades and i just.. it would be cool lmfao

speedy fanart

this goes along with the speedy cosplays in the upd8 tag but dude seeing fanart of an upd8 that JUST happened that day was SO cool. it was so fucking awesome and it jsut made me like so happy sometimes??

 themes & the whistles

ok so themes were so important on tumblr they were like THE COOLEST thing and they used to be my FAVORITE thing because theyre so fun and customizable! i miss like going HAM on my theme and giving it all the bells and whistles like fandom scarves, the little sparkly cursor, finding a neat background and cool pixel art for the sidebar image, and also pixel families!!

fandom scarves

this is brief, and i’m working on making my own dsmpblr scarves, but they were images that would just hang down from your blog! for homestuck there were scalemates (dragon plushies), and banners of your classpects or moon orientation. that may not make sense, but they were personal and cool identity things! i really liked them and it’s why im trying to make some dsmp flag banners!

pixel families

these have gone out of style i guess because no one really has a big central fandom anymore who someone has made pixels of? but in homestuck there was a user @/feastings who made a BUNCH of homestuck pixels and everyone would use them to make a pixel family! essentially, you would make a page on your blog for your pixel family, ask your friends what character they wanted to be, and then hyperlink their blog through the pixel image!!! they were my FAVORITE dude and i miss them SO much because they were just so silly and fun!

 ask blogs!

now ik a lot of people make think these are or were cringe but personally i loved them. ask blogs where when you would make a blog for a character and essentially roleplay as them and have people ask you questions! a lot of artists did this and made funny or angsty comics with other ask blogs! they were super cute and i think it’d be fun to have like a dsmp ask blog community!

community au projects

we already have these and theyre definitely no “new thing” but i feel like it was such a cool community thing in the homestuck fandom. im sure your aware of the song “karkalicious” but it came from a community au called “broadwaystuck” and like, i don’t necessarily know if it was open, but a lot of people in the fandom knew about it and there were a lot of notable fandom members at the helm of it! im pretty sure the end of it was kind of messy, but i still think it was a really interesting thing! there was more than just “broadwaystuck” but im genuinely drawing a blank as broadwaystuck was one of the biggest

big meta

a lot of homestuck meta is... on tumblr. it’s lost to tumblr, because... no one made an archive really and unless you can remember urls it’s not necessarily easy to search for. something cool that the dsmp fandom has that homestuck didn’t though is... we already have an archive! imma self promote here, but @dsmpanalysis (s/o to @appleflavoredkitkats for being the head of it all!) is a whole archive of a lot of our meta! and i think it would be really cool to see how much more we could add! i just... really would like more analysis and theories because theyre SO fun

TLDR; more of the fandom moving to tumblr would be really fun, despite what a lot may think! i know it may be messy but big fandoms like this will always be messy. there are a lot of fun trends i would a) like to see brought back (big theme customizing, fandom scarves, pixel families, ask blogs, and community au projects) and b) could start on tumblr.

im really excited for the communities future and i’m for sure welcoming new tumblr users with open arms. tumblr is a really nice website in terms of functions and it gives communities tons of potential.

[justalokifanaccount]

Episode 3-Play by Play Reactions (Spoilers)

I’m so excited

Previously on? Oh please like I need a reminder of what I’ve been obsessing over forever

I miss Randy

This reminds me, how did that person know where the timekeepers are? I’d assume only someone of the status of Judge Renslayer would know.

Ooh funky beat

Oh lunch with Sylvie and that one soldier?

I don’t think that’s what a brain freeze is lmao

Oh they’re friends? Or is Sylvie just in her head?

Hmmmmmm

Poor girl

Oh yup

Oop—

I like the opening thing, but I was kinda hopeful that it’d change from episode to episode like wandavision

Lmao not the best security I gotta say

Yo magic don’t work here girly

Oh she just murdered that guy

Nice moves!

Oh that guy is dead too

GET HER LOKI

MY BOY GOT HIS KNIVES

See TVA, this is why guns are nice. You don’t need to engage in hand to hand combat

Yea that’s rude

SYLVIE HURT LOKI? JAIL! JAIL FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!

Rude, Renslayer

Lmao they’re like siblings fighting

Oh that’s fortunate

HAHAHA MAGIC YESSSSSS

Yea she’s not Loki

We got quips

Uh oh lol

Loki what did you do

Ohhhhh the purple realm in the trailers in called Lamentis

Soooo is this termina?

Oh she said watch out to him!

Oh her hair is up in the back. Cute.

Looking out for each other.

Soooo why no likey being called Loki?

Bonding?

No?

Hello?

Hahahahaha she can’t enchant him

What’s her issue?

No that’s not the reason he saved you. He’s just not a murderer like you.

And what’s your plan?

Cmon girl, spill. What’s your background?

Fast pace episode, gotta say.

Sky kinda looks like a painting.

Sylvie, you shut up. Don’t be rude.

“That’s not who I am anymore.” Sooo she WAS one? Sylvie just an alias?

Seems like the theories about them combining lady Loki and Sylvie together are potentially coming true.

Collapse of society? My favorite pastime!

Cmon kids, get along.

Skull kid has to be somewhere around here. (G-get it? Majora’s mask? Anyone? No? Okay...)

Get yeeted

Lmaooo

Oop shape shifting time

Oh this poor lady

Oh lmaoooooooooo

That didn’t go well

Neat weapon.

That sword she has, is that the one Loki later gets?

I hope Sylvie has a good explanation for things...

Ahhhhh the blue outfits. Turtleneck Loki soon???

Lmaoooooooo nice plan loki

Uh oh rich people

Kinda heavy handed line delivery

Lmaoooo teamwork

What’s gonna work? Teeeaaaaamwork

Can’t wait for Loki to throw someone out the window

Lmao he sounds like a robot

TURTLENECK LOKI

Loki is such a pain lol. But she deserves it.

Frigga my Queen

Oh no

Emotions

Please no

Spoiler lmao

What the heck Sylvie lucky

Or not?

What happened to her?

BONDING

WE STAN SUPPORTIVE FRIGGA

Teach Loki that magic!

I wonder how Sylvie’s past was so different than Loki’s? Wouldn’t that make her whole family variants for stepping off the scared timelines path? Why didn’t the TVA act sooner then?

I’m so happy seeing so much more of Loki’s magic.

“Love is hate.”

Loki is such a wonderful pain

Is this flirting???

Of course loki flirts with Loki

Soooo Loki dated?

“Love is mischief then.” “No. Love is... uh something I might have to have another drink to think about.”

We getting Loki drinking and talking about love. Huh.

Oh my gosh is he drunk?

Yep he’s drunk

How does an asgardian get drunk?

Now we have Loki singing in Asgardian

Seems like it’s hitting to close to home for Sylvie mayhaps?

Tom, your theatre kid is showing.

BAHAHAHAHAHHA HE PULLED A THOR OH MY GOSH

Loki dammit. Stop being drunk.

Please please please don’t make Loki a joke. Please. Please. Please. Cmon Loki.

Love?

“Love is a dagger. It’s a weapon to be wielded far away or up close. You can see yourself in it. It’s beautiful. Until it makes you bleed. But ultimately when you reach for it.” “It isn’t real.”

You were close there.

Fight?

Do it!

Please.

Loki can’t just fabricate tickets?

Hey

Did he just break that guys hand lmao

Nice Sylvie. Using your headpiece as a weapon. Copying Ragnarok Loki

Loki missed? Must be cuz he’s drunk.

Aaaaaand Loki was thrown out the window. Why does this keep happening to him? First dark world by Thor.

A little nervous rn with Loki... he seems to be a bit of a joke rn which is what I was afraid of. I hope this is just a little thing and that they’re not trying to make Sylvie better than Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. I mean, you could chalk it up to this Loki being a variant, so maybe there are other things different about him, but that begs to question, at what point does the TVA step in? We saw other Loki variants in that little hologram display in episode two that seemed like those Lokis had done a lot already.

Now now Sylvie, ahem... “LANGUAGE!”

Bragging about hedonism?

Temper tantrum

Cmon therapist Loki

Sober up Loki.

Scene from the trailer I presume.

TVA should step in soon huh? Or is this another apocalypse with no survivors so it doesn’t get picked up on.

Save this world Loki. Trigger the TVA.

Oh. So no trailer scene yet?

Lazy Loki

Cmon Sylvie, teach him! Maybe he can teach you something!

How on earth is Sylvie so different from Loki? I’m so confused.

I hope Loki is able to learn how to do this.

Wait I thought the TVA workers were made.

THEYRE ALL VARIANTS TOO????

BROOOOOOOOO

THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

So they’re ALL variants? Soooo, the timekeepers are like running a labor camp? If they have no memories, then what do they think happens when a new worker shows up?

Oh man this is like ragnarok ptsd for Loki if he went through it

Very cool set I gotta say

Also very sad. So many people desperate for their lives.

Major Majora’s Mask vibes

MY BOY HAS SUCH STRONG TELEKINESIS

Tom Hiddleston really said “soooo this is all that Loki CAN do but hasn’t been able to do in the past movies. Soooooo now we’re gonna make him do ALL of it.”

Wait... that’s it????? Why did this feel like the shortest episode so far? I think it was. And the ark was destroyed.

I have so many more questions now, mostly about Sylvie. But also concerns. I really hope they are able to balance series loki with mischievous and clever and silly Loki. And I hope they don’t try to push some kind of female Loki is superior thing (I haven’t gotten that vibe yet, but it’s always a concern for me whenever I see a supposedly gender bent version of a character).

I’m having trouble forming the words for my thoughts. This episode was fun and pretty and intriguing, but probably the weakest for the three so far imo. Not to say it was bad, but it felt kind of like it was amping, then plateaued and then ended. Like we barely got much more information, but more questions and set up but it felt like it ended too quickly. Like more was supposed to happen for this episode but it didn’t.

I hope we can find a way to hear Loki sing in asgardian again, but under less jokey pretenses.

[uchihashisuii]

tumblr is tryna suppress the vik truth 😔 so sending in two here we go again:

scenario where johnny is alive and in a body at the end but i think v and johnny would become... maybe not inseparable, but theyd stay extremely close. i mean they literally know each other like the backs of their hands, so theyd hang out all the time, and both show up somewhere when you only invited the one. theyre family now, and its staying that way and sometimes theyd go to talk to the other before realizing oh yeah, they were trying to talk in their head again, they dont need to do that anymore. or theyd have mostly non verbal convos where they gesture and only half start a couple sentences while the other finishes them off because they know how they other thinks, and everyone around them is like ??? could ya speak up so the rest of us can follow please. and v and johnny will hang at the clinic bc v wants to hang, and vik gets to meet the bastard that almost killed her for the first time. and hed be gruff and cold and distant (and a little pissed) because yeah johnny didnt mean to but it still happened, she was still hurt and a mess for so long, and she had so much shit to deal with. he doesn't act outright hostile or anything because he saved her too in a fucked up way, and he'll be thankful to the bastard for the rest of his life for that, even if he never admits it.but hes also veeery jealous and trying not to show it. he doesnt mean to, but theyve got this bond no one else has now, and these same quirks and jokes and johnny understands her better than literally anyone ever, how could he not be jealous of that? hes got something vik wants, and hes upset for even thinking like this i mean hes too old to feel posessive of someone he has no right to. and he recognizes this, recognizes that johnnys not going away anytime soon. hes here for good and will be here as long as v's around, theyre a weird package deal right now, but he cant stay mad for long and needs to get over being jealous because he sees why theyre both friends now despite everything. like yeah hes a prick but his hearts in the right place, and he can be funny and charming and makes v laugh, and he sees the similarities in them. the smoking, the gun tricks, the jokes and the passionate rambling, they laugh the same or give the same grin. hes not as awful as hes made out to be, because he can see where v and him started merging and its maybe not a bad thing that v changed him, he can see it from the start of their first interaction. he shouldnt be jealous of the fucked up situation they both never asked for.

(cut for length ♥)

“ - anyway all of this to say that vik would absolutely try to keep johnny at arms length if they ever met, but would very quickly grow to like him because he sees so much v in him, and he cant not like anything thats a part of v (though he can live without them hamming up their silent convos, thank you) and johnny would absolutely pick up on the jealousy thing and think it kind of funny, and rib on vik when v leaves for a minute, or tease v when they leave because viks got it bad. and once all of thats been dealt with i think vik and johnny would have this fun dynamic of like, just shitting on each other and poking fun in a light hearted way. as if like, johnnys her brother and hes just tryna hold up his own with her family. and they wont talk about it but theyd recognize they have their own places in v's heart and theyd both do anything for her and thats okay, they have different roles to fill. i just think vik and johnnys dynamic would be so neat, johnny having essentially known everything about him and all v's feelings toward him, while vik just knows him as a terrorist, and the guy that was killing someone soso important to him. johnny would make fun of vik being an old timer, and vik would dunk back that not only is johnny older than him but he could absolutely demolish him with one hand tied behind his back. but yeah, lot of good potential there. i love the idea vik being jealous of johnny and feeling like an ass for even thinking like that. johnny going 'haha simp' but then also being like 'v, i unfortunately care for you so im gonna tell you right now no one in this city is worthy of you but the doc is the only one that comes close. i swear to god make a move on him before he turns green, i cant stand seeing him pine after you. fuck him and then never speak to me about it, i dont wanna know or see anything. luv u prick' and not to say that johnny would ever replace jackie bc he couldnt, and theyre not looking for a replacement. but their dynamic would echo the one v and vik had with jackie with the jokes and teasing. and vik would see the old v, the one from before the heist come back a little with how she bounces off everyone and keeps the convo going. shed light up again in a way she hadnt in what feels like a long time. and johnny wouldnt like, become bffs with vik or anything but he wouldnt treat friendships the way he did back in 2020, so he would really try with his friendship with vik when he needs to, if only for the sake of v. because everything and everyone important to her is important to him now too, and hes gonna take this second (third?) chance seriously because hes different now, and with everything vs done for him its worth doing. (apologies for the length again 🙏)”

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

once again i find myself with not a goddamn thing to say you put into exact words EXACTLY the things i feel about this im

im obsessed with the image of johnny and vik ripping each other to pieces (jokingly) and v being in the middle of it like “why do two people i love gotta b like this to each other” and johnny being the one to try nd get them together oh my GOD johnny loving v with his whole heart and wanting nothing but the best and for them to be happy im

[groenendaze]

how did you decide what types of snakes to get? do reptiles need enrichment like dogs?

my first snake, who i got in middle school and died recently, was a corn snake. i got her because corn snakes are easy to take care of. i went for a bp after because they have rlly cool color morphs. i got a mbk finally because i think theyre neat and i was very tired of dealing with Ball Python Bullshit (tm).

 decide what reptile to get based on what you can handle--reptiles need specialized care in ways that dogs or cats dont. i very much enjoy my uromastyx lizards (more than i enjoy my snakes care, but i still love my snakes regardless) and have no plans to get any other reptile any time soon.

for the second question.....anon u have opened up a can of worms that i think u dont realize how deeply engrained and fought over it is. short answer tho? YES. reptiles need enrichment just as any other animal on this planet. 

again gonna put this under a read more bc it will probably get long

the much longer & more complicated answer is that the reptile hobby is full of money and that money drives interactions. ball pythons, especially, are a very lucrative business that spans potentially millions, if not billions of dollars. reptiles are bred for color--full stop. ive met maybe three breeders that somewhat look at temperament in breeding. a more colorful or rare morph means more money. you also have to think of it this way--adding enrichment costs money. providing big enclosures? costs money and space. 

you can’t have a multi-million dollar business if you give your reptiles proper care--it’s too much time, money, and effort for these people. that’s why if you go onto ball python groups, its incredibly common to see people deny that ball pythons need enrichment. despite the fact that there are several studies out there showing that reptiles do have an increased quality of life, it just doesnt matter to these people.

these are the same people who will breed and sell animals with known neurological issues VERY CLEARLY linked to their color morph so like, not the best people.

i very distinctly remember getting into a facebook argument like four years ago in a ball python group. these people will literally twist any words you have. the most common argument when linking those studies was “well, OTHER reptiles need enrichment but BALL PYTHONS dont because theyre pet rocks”. it’s a huge part of the reason that im just...not in the reptile hobby anymore. i breed for myself and what im looking for. i also dont touch ball pythons lmao

for reference, here is one of my bp enclosures:

here is what is considered the “standard” in the hobby: (this is also the color morph w neurological issues)

also im using bps as an example in this simply because theyre the most common, but they are not the only reptiles effected by this. case & point: burm/reticulated python setup that is also common 

it is. incredibly frustrating. to be fighting this constantly. there is a lot of money in the reptile hobby, so its not an easy fight to begin with. there is a reason i simply do not talk about my reptiles much anymore lmao

[readingaccountability]

snow crash - neal stephenson

my playlist (because of The Way That I Am)

final thoughts:

okay, im going to be honest right out of the gate- i cant decide whether this is a book id recommend or not. it was really fun for the most part, but personally there was a lot more exposition than id like. the early portions of the novel have exposition which feels completely fair, mostly things relating to worldbuilding. stephenson creates his own vision of future america, and some places online referred to it as cyberpunk, and some as post-cyberpunk. id be more in the latter camp, mostly due to the way he plays with tropes, leaving the reader unsure of which will be subverted and which wont.

the use of language was really fun, and i enjoyed the worldbuilding a lot. his vision of a futuristic capitalistic earth feels surreal in its immediacy and recognizability. the back jacket blurb ends with "a future america so bizarre, so outrageous, you'll recognize it immediately." which, yeah. a texan info-tech magnate? two competing corporations owning the highway system? suburban city-states? this was another enjoyable thing- everything was colorfully named, and names treated totally normally, which kind of poked fun at how we have everyday things named very ludicrously and for the most part we are totally blind to it.

one aspect i really enjoyed was that the author often doesn't make certain things clear to the audience, until he does, and then it becomes necessary to reassess the entire story and setting. this goes to underscore the theme of the importance of information and the ways we take it in and perceive the world based upon it. for example, we don't learn that y.t. is fifteen until maybe 75 pages in, at which point a lot makes sense in retrospect. the same thing occurs in the worldbuilding, as suddenly a detail is given in passing and the reader must incorporate it into the setting, which by default we assume to be similar in many ways to our idea of america. it keeps the reader on their toes as well as furthering the worldbuilding. for the most part, the tech stuff didnt feel outdated to me, despite being a future projected out from '92.

however, aspects of the book are definitely very 1992. id put these into two camps: the first, being that the book does at different times use slurs. the main character is black and asian, the n word is used a few times by racist side-character/antagonist types, as are a few other racial slurs. there was also the occasional usage of the r slur, within the narrative prose itself, rather than usage as an insult within dialogue.

the protagonist, who is named, unfortunately, hiro protagonist, is a great character and felt very fleshed out to me, though at times he reminded me more of dirk strider than normally would be ideal. (its obvious that stephenson and andrew hussie are of a similar type of writer, and play with similar tropes, lmao.) hiro is a man of many worlds. he seems to shift between them easily, though never fully existing in any of them. this is reflected in his background, both in his biracial identity and in having been raised on a myriad of army bases. this is layered further in his fluidity in interacting with both reality and the metaverse, yet remaining slightly, consistently aloof. fascinatingly the first moment i sensed this drop was when we meet juanita- aka where his real and meta realities coincide. the description of them as the adam and eve of the metaverse is both insanely romantic and thematically key (good god i wish we had more than like, two conversations between them). juanita designed the facial component to metaverse avatars, doing the majority of this work when the two were together, and hiro can see echoes of both their facial tics in the face of every avatar in the metaverse. in a way, by having done this work juanita is positioned by the narrative as one of the gods of this digital realm. she is also hiro's call to action, being aware of the coming trouble and alerting him to it, as well as connecting him to the informational database he needs to prepare.

y.t., the secondary protagonist, fucking ruled. i loved that she was just a fifteen year old punkass kid whose mom doesnt know how crazy this part time job is. y.t. being worried about her mom was a great thread throughout, and a really good balance to how obviously independent y.t. is. i do wish there had been a chance to explain more about her background (she has a dad who left who is mentioned in a throwaway sentence, and a boyfriend who is mentioned near the beginning but never again.) i really enjoyed how obviously hyperaware y.t. was at all times about her own place within the insanities of the setting, while also consistently writing her as a teen maybe in way too deep who thinks about things in typically teenage ways. but like, that wasn't ever held against her? the narrative meets her where she is. it was honestly awesome. HOWEVER,

i absolutely hated the raven and y.t. scenes. how creepy!!! he basically statutory rapes her!!! we know hes at least late 20s early 30s, because hes the same age as hiro. if this sort of content is upsetting to read for you, i definitely do NOT recommend this book. (if you want to avoid reading these bits: ch 47 y.t. meets raven, ch 50 they are in a bar eating, ch 52 things happen that result in y.t.'s anti-assault device activating- she did not activate it on purpose, but forgot it was there- and raven is knocked out.)

please PLEASE dont take any of the following analysis as like, trying to be apologetic towards this scenes. because again they were awful and hard to get through and really gross. but im also cognizant that the author was obviously trying to convey something by making the choice, like the way it was written is obviously not condoning this sort of thing.

i think maybe what stephenson was trying to get at with that, was that we see hiro internally negate any potential for anything untoward with y.t. basically immediately, since he kind of senses that she might have a small crush on him (though this doesnt last more than a fleeting moment, especially from her perspective). vs raven, whose 'poor impulse control' warning tattoo eventually elicits a sarcastic remark from hiro after he finds out raven and y.t. were "a thing". i really dont think hiro knew how far it went? like it was just suuuper weird, but i figured it was meant narratively to 1. execute the chekovs gun of y.t.'s anti-assault device, 2. contrast hiro and raven (especially considering the bike-racing argument where theyre telling the story together, which is supposed to parallel them, while contrasting the differences in how they ended up?), and 3. just to get raven unconscious, i guess. but good god it was weird and i hated every second of it, why couldnt the device have like, activated way earlier?? gah. fucking upsetting. moving past that!

honestly i was really frustrated by how little screentime juanita got, because the way she was introduced was so fucking interesting and then shes mostly off doing her own thing. the bits of explanation she gives at the end about what she was up to on the raft are so sparse and im like damn, can we get a little bit of her pov in here? please? that would have ruled. additionally, shes supposed to be hiros love interest, but we see so little of them interacting outside her intro scenes. a huge portion of why hiro is getting into the sumerian mythology is literally framed as something that will help him understand juanita, but we dont get to see him talk to her about it barely at all.

the supporting characters were quite fun, i particularly liked the librarian. big surprise, i liked the overly literal ai information-dispensor, lmfao. watching him and hiro interact reminded me SO hard of geordi laforge having honest to god conversations with the computer where he tries to coax information out of it, aka one of my favorite little aspects of tng.

and lastly, the major plot themes themselves. i adore the way stephenson approached action, it was very entertaining. usually i cant really visualize action scenes written out, but his use of language was really really effective and engaging. the plot itself was absolutely fascinating, though i found the premise pretty contrived. which isnt bad in itself, i was fully suspending my disbelief until the last hundred pages or so. which for a 550+ page book, isnt too bad.

i did like the approach of linking the ancient to the modern, that is always really neat. and i think ultimately stephenson did it in an interesting way, not how i would have done it, but definitely interesting! creating these ideas about information infrastructures, and there being words that can access those and be used to control people, was wild. not sure if i agree about the equating of religion to a virus, though he did specifically establish that it was more the approach to religion, than religion itself. (maybe if juanita had been more goddamn present in the narrative that could have been elaborated on a little more. literally her perspective would have been perfect in balancing that out!!)

ultimately what did me in was the very very very long winded MONOLOGUE where hiro re-explained the whole premise, in ways that didnt really neatly organize into a cohesive argument. a lot of the scenes where hiro talks to the librarian, which are interspersed throughout the book, are really exposition heavy, because stephenson is rooting his ideas in historical concepts that need to be explained to both hiro and the audience. and i thought all that was fine, because it was a conversation where hiro was grappling with the information, and he was figuring it out along with the reader, and most importantly it was a conversation between him and the librarian computer program.

howeverrr later on we get a full rehash of all that, where hiro makes clear some stuff that was just implied for the reader, and hes literally just telling these important men whats up in this big long monologue. utterly worthless. i kept reading it and going YEAH, we KNOW, we know this we know this. and the important men barely interjected. it added basically nothing to our understanding of the situation, other than reframing it. but everything added was already an implicit thing, and didnt really need to be said again.

the resolution to the book was stellar, the last 30-40 pages, once hiro is onto the raft, were great. ultimately after reading and giving some time to digest it, i think it was a solidly great book with a few big drawbacks near the end, but which dont carry through and sully the ending.

[criticalrolo]

IDK if you want to actually talk about this more, but my sister identifies as a Bi Lesbian, and the way she describes it is that she is attracted to women and nonbinary people. I think saying that bi people HAVE to be attracted to men is off-base and ignores the nonbinary part of "more than one gender" - and as soon as you include nb people it is no longer mutually exclusive. ALSO fuck terfs getting to take an id away from people cause theyre shitty, I respect the people who id as that more 1/3

2/3 Of course Bi and Lesbians are full identities, but if people find a label like Bi Lesbian useful, not as a watering down but as a way to speak their truth, then I think it should be respected. It doesn't have to be a scale - maybe if anything a modifier? And it certainly doesn't make Bi or Lesbian less of an identity than the split attraction model makes Ace less of a thing. IDK I'd just rather be extremely inclusive over saying that an ID is bad. IDK about the Bipoc tho as Im white

3/3 one final aside, is I've seen it described as an easy way to explain that they are into multiple genders but not into men. And I think if its useful and easily understood, a useful shorthand, then let people use it. Fuck anyone (esp terfs) who apply it to other people, but I think we dont have to conflate all the ways people are awful to queer people with an Identity itself being fucked up. Anyway sorry to ramble right back, and I hope you have a nice night and Ill see you in the cr tag lol

Hey there! So, to address your points, I do want to say first of all that I totally find it admirable that, given the option, you’d rather stray towards overly inclusive as opposed to Not Inclusive Enough. I totally agree with that sentiment, and think that you’re absolutely coming at this from a good angle.

The things I find difficult about the “bi lesbian” label kind of come from your second ask mainly. So the thing is, all sexualities can potentially include nonbinary people. “Nonbinary” is not a separate Third Gender Option, it’s an enormous array of different identities. People can be nonbinary but man or woman-aligned, completely agender, all the genders at once, etc. etc. etc.... basically the format that you’re thinking of conforms the nonbinary experience into an all encompassing “third gender” when in fact it’s a broad spectrum of experiences and identities that can be extremely similar or dissimilar. 

Because yeah... there are nb lesbians out there. Who are attracted to women, and other nb lesbian/bisexual people who identify with being sapphic or wlw. You’re actually talking to one right now ;) My experience with gender is All Over The Place and I’m not very good at defining it right now, but I definitely identify very strongly as a lesbian who is attracted to women/women-aligned people. Gender Is Lesbian for me personally right now lol

The issue comes when, as you said, you start to use “lesbian” as a modifying term. It’s not a modifier. It’s a full term that exclusively means women who are not attracted to men. I know you bring up the split attraction model here, but I’ve found that that is WAY more useful for asexual identities without getting into some of the sticky areas like this one where IDing as something actually is harmful/doesn’t make sense. I know that the term “exclusive” does bring up some bad associations but in this case, that’s because we have terms for people who experience attraction to Women/NB people who ID as sapphic (basically ur NB lesbians/people comfy with calling themselves NB bisexual women) and for people who identify as being attracted to men and women (and man-aligned etc. etc.)

LIke, see how long those descriptions got once I started including some of the many, MANY different experiences of being nonbinary...? Basically there’s just no single way to define Every Nonbinary Person for Every Single Sexuality since it’s such a broad spectrum of experience, which is why a lot of sexualities might sound pretty binary (like defining lesbian as Woman Who Loves Only Women) but in fact is because there’s no way to include every single nonbinary experience and categorize them into a neat little box, you know? 

So from there, you’ve gotta ALSO consider the points I made earlier about how the identity of “bisexual lesbian” also comes across as lesbophobic, biphobic, and transphobic in ways that harm all of those identities instead of bringing them together. Like, obviously your sister is a Valid Human Being, and it feels weird to be saying an identity is NOT valid... but like. Forcing two mutually exclusive identities together (one that explicitly does not include men and one that does) just ends up hurting the people who ID with those identities in the long run, like how I outlined in my other post. Essentially, it takes away from the overall meaning of What It Means To Be A Lesbian and What It Means To Be Bisexual by trying to force the two of them together. They’re different experiences, and that’s something to be celebrated and something to find commonalities over while discussing our differences instead of trying to mash them together, you know? Like there’s a reason why they became defined as separate identities in the first place.

Anyway, this is probably too long but I hope you can see where I’m coming from here. I’m obviously not going to tell your sister How To Identify, but there’s my thoughts some points you might want to consider showing her while she’s figuring out her identity, you know? So yeah, that’s all I’ve got. Hope you have a good day, and get hyped for the CR episode tonight!! <3

[icharchivist]

hello icha!!!!! learned from my mistakes and typed this out in a separate document. first i have to say im feeling a very deep connection with citron as of late bc i was giving myself a pep talk abt like physics and i told myself "face up and man the music!" and was like "...is that wrong. theres that song called man against the music isnt there... yeah it must be right" and. well i realized later. i also think the phrase "dont cry because it happened, smile because its over" is very good. also I’m halfway thru creating a very eclectic list of like. a Pokémon team for each a3 character which is… something. kinda knew it would happen to me. might take a while for me to finish it tho now that I’m halfway bc I’m suddenly having a crisis like “wait shit I’m only confident on my understanding and characterizing of like 4 characters am I good enough” so… it’s slow going lol. anyways. i finished that damn physics thing I was giving myself a pep talk about and so am treating myself to autumn/winter. happens that watching these events is also like. the only thing which reminds me to actually like. log into a3 lol. i am so bad at gacha games. probably a good thing in the long run. ok starting from the top!

hisoka going "zzz" as his reaction made me immediately go... oh dear, please dont fall asleep in the bath and guess what happened. yeah. good thing homare was there lol. speaking of i fucking adore homare and his poetry. id buy his collection. i also wish there was a collection like if there was a master list of every poem he says in like. at the very least main story. if not i will literally do it myself. i love homare so much im like him in that back when i had to play dodgeball id always be like kufufufu they cant hit me if im friendless enough that no one pays attention to me but like in my case it actually worked out. on the subject of the pillow fight tho, hisoka's crazy strong pillow fight throw... one more mark on the list for suspicious, maybe assassin occupation. this event made me realize how much i missed winter like. i saw the stranger pretty recently (which has caused the effect of be being like "taichi!! thats my boy!!" in my head everytime he shows up lol but anyways i havent gotten to a winter play yet so im VERY hype. especially bc this seems like it stars hisoka and homare??? like oh!! oh!!!! also detective fiction... im swooning. i also just enjoy the hisoka homare dynamic a whole fucking lot i think its nice how homare was like "yeah im ride or die for this funky lil amnesiac, why wouldnt you be?" and its just like. nice. feel like hes always reaching out to hisoka which is like. man homare is so nice.

back to chronology. ofc sakyo goes cheap for the hot springs lol. on brand as ever. was very hype for the azuma sakyo dynamic bc all i remember is like azuma trashing everyone including sakyo at some game or the other in one of the winter chapters and it was very good. or was this a clip in like a stage play? either way it was delightful. at first i misinterpreted taichi going "…" after azuma and sakyo said theyd never been on a field trip bc like. taichi being quiet or noncommunicative... after going thru autumn troupe act 1 it makes me fear for my life a little lol. anyways im glad he was just like planning fun times. speaking of taichi tho we got a tasuku taichi pair for etudes!!!! im not spoiling myself for later events but i hope to GOD tasuku and taichi do like a lead co lead in SOMETHING or at least like some mixed troupe event i want them to talk!!!

also dunno if this is an intentional pun but i enjoy that its called high spirits at the hot spring bc like oh theyre having fun but also bc like. "spirits" is used to refer to a certain type of alcohol i think? which is cool. dunno if its intentional but i liked that. anyways the talent show. taichis moving rendition of single ladies... ok i know it said single fellas but like. we know. wonder if that line was a different song in japanese? its not too old at ALL tho imo. anyways the way banri and juza being themselves Are the entertainment... flashback to when banri slaps juza live on stage instead of doing a stage slap lol. my reaction to azuma essentially went:

azuma: I can offer to bare my soul, and a little more ;)

izumi: what do u mean by that???

me: hey tasuku and omi were shirtless what's ur problem with azuma

anyways i reread and from what i understand they were maybe only flexing and doing a gun show? which like. no wonder it didnt last too long then lol. also explains why they didnt have shirtless sprites i suppose lmao. i am SO curious abt what azuma ended up doing tho that fade to black is so mysterious! did he tap dance? did he pole dance? the world will never know...

oh also im not like super familiar with azuma yet but my read on his personality is definitely like "I am so touch starved All The Time but I will be chill. :) :) this is fine :)" like he just seems to rly like being around people! just like basking in presence whether or not hes rly talking that much.

i enjoyed that juza mentioned pillow fighting with his lil brother... thats nice! i think a lot of this event was just focused on ppl having fun over the drama lol bc it got wrapped up sooo quick. i liked the bit where sakyos worried that izumi was out late searching for him tho it was so sweet. table tennis match was very fun although id argue calling hisoka and juza the two quietest tho lol like... banri exists so juza isnt quiet. just like inevitably. finally, the event cg!!! azumas hair tied up... so nice! thats how I tie my hair up sometimes tho it doesnt look nearly as nice lol. taichi rambling abt his first love for so long tho... lol. ill be honest i have to reread autumn bc i was not aware of this whole situation until it came up in the stranger and i like inferred from there. the end of this event was nice! it was cute. i dont rly have much thoughts on it but im so hype for the winter play

Hello:!!! so good to see you again, freshly learning from your mistakes then :3c

the connection with Citron is a BLAST to read about. I am glad that Citron is there, on your mind, supporting you at every turns of language. It's beautiful.

AND OH THE POKEMON LIST!!! thrilled to hear about it being a wip ongoing! take your time ofc and i hope you'll feel more confident as you go for your characters interpretation! i believe in you!

lmao i'm glad the events help you remember to play a3, i'm sure that by the time you'll be done with the events you will have unlocked so much of act 2 you won't have to worry too much about it. Anyway i'm glad you treat yourself to good things :3c

of course Hisoka fell asleep in the bath. tbh this event was a lot of "Hisoka almost dies in a spring house multiple times if it wasn't for his troupesmates". Between sleeping in the bath and almost swallowing the table tenis ball... where would we be without Winter, and especially Homare, taking care fo him.

I'm SO GLAD you like Homare that much! he's so so good! i'm sure there must be a masterlist somewhere, or well. can be done anytime i guess?? but yeah Homare is fantastic and LDJFDLKFJDF the evil plan to avoid dodgeball from both of you.. this is incredible DLKJFDLKF. But yeah alas he's loved by his own so he gets hit smh.

And yeah Hisoka is just acting sus huh.

BUT YEAH... YEAH... WINTER... BELOVED.... I feel regular and normal feelings for Winter as you know, s o .

(i'm so delighted that you feel that way about Taichi though, as he deserves!! what a good boy!!!)

But yeah Winter play next!!!!! i love the winter plays so much i hope you'll like it as well!! aND YEAH HISOKA AND HOMARE AS A DUO... for a DETECTIVE story?? so good.

I'm sO GLAD you like their dynamic! yeah i adore it too. Homare was so quick to leap into taking care of Hisoka? Like i mean he immediatly called him sleeping beauty when they first met, and immediately decided to be his roommates to watch over him, and then he did everything to take care of him and it's just so sweet. Homare has such a big heart he's so gentle with Hisoka. Homey and comfortable, whenever Hisoka admits it or not ahah.

ahah wouldn't be Sakyo if he didn't need to stay cheap. BUT YEAH the Sakyo/Azuma dynamic is pretty good. oh the event you talk about i think is in some of his very first backstage storyes (that you can read if you have them since they're at this point of the chronology). There's one where they play a mafia game and Sakyo is warry of Azuma because "people like him are those you need to worry about the most" and Azuma is just ":) you wound me :) i would never :)" and then Azuma wins the game and starts to mess with everyone. It was so fun. and yeah i see which clip you mean for the stage play!! it's so so fun they have such a neat dynamic and i loved to see it in this event as well.

and omg worrying about Taichi while he was just there preparing a fun time! this child really would have worried us all back then huh

but AHH YEAH TASUKU TAICHI.... It's such a neat dynamic! ofc i won't say anything but man i love the potential of their stories, as the two ex Godza boys. To see them bond and be comfortable with each other always make me so soft.

OH NICE CATCH FOR THE PUN! i think it must be the reason for it tbh, i love it! thanks for pointing it out!

The talent show was really fun yeah ahah! I wonder what it is in Japanese too but at least the localization was hella fun!

"anyways the way banri and juza being themselves Are the entertainment." THEY'RE SO SILLY I love them so much

AND LMAO YOUR REACTION AT AZUMA I LOVE IT. YEah i think Tasuku and Omi are just flexing (which is Still. SO FUNNY. Just there saying "our talents is.. our muscles...") meanwhile Azuma is like "my talent is that i'm crazy hot :)"

But YEAH Azuma... AZUMA WHAT DID YOU DO....

your read on Azuma's personality feels pretty spot on to me ahah omg. Staying with what you know about him, the fact that with his job and all, he seems like he's starving for connection while also terrified to make himself emotionally vulnerable. He loves staying with people, listening to them, caring for them, and he's touch starved as hell (i mean it's his job) but he doesn't seem to really know how to be on the receiving hand of affection. there's a flair talk, i can't remember where, with Omi at some point, where Azuma compliments him, and Omi is just "mhm.. but you know i think that it's more about you" and ends up complimenting Azuma in depth and it let Azuma dumbfounded because he didn't expect Omi to trick him at his own game, while Omi just genuinely don't get why Azuma is reacting that way. He gives he gives he gives, and he's genuinely happy with that, but he seems to have difficulties to take, or to demand for something, while also starving for it. I have so many emotions for Azuma.

Any mentions of Juza's little bro are the best things. I love this type of mention TwT

And yeah it was such a laid back event. Honestly deserved after the crying fest that was The Stranger imo. It's good to relax once in a while and it was nice to have them have fun. There was the bitterness of both Azuma and Sakyo's past that was always a bit looming but everyone was working so hard for them to enjoy themselves that the joy just overtake any sadness i loved it.

Sakyo worrying about Izumi is always adorable TwT

And yeah the Table Tennis match was so fun and chaotic LMAO. I love the dynamic between Juza and Hisoka. Just two usually quiet boys who like sweets. Except that yeah like you say, as long as Banri is around, Juza cannot be 100% quiet. Rip.

THE CG WAS SO PRETTY i loved seeing it. And omg you can share your hairtips with Azuma how nice :D Azuma manages to make everything look beautiful smh....

Oh yeah Taichi and his first love! if i recall he mentions it quickly at the begining, that Yuki reminds him of his first love, and he says that again at some point - then the fake Portrait he does he mentions his first love again. And since then it's been a reccuring topic so yeh :3c

but yeah! this event was really sweet and laid back, not much to say about it, but it was nice to have it at all!

Hope you'll like the winter play :3c

Take care and thank you again for your thoughts <33 i love reading them!! bless you!!