#but the possiblity intrigues me

[thetarttfuldickhead]

Premier League teams being approached to participate in an anti-bullying campaign and Jamie and Nate somewhat suprisingly volunteering to do a bit for Richmond together. And like that’s… nice?... but. Eh. Nate makes some sense, sure, even if his track record of treating others well has been – ahem – bumpy, but Jamie…

“Jamie bullied people,” Jan Maas is predictably the one to eventually point out while everyone else is thinking of how to bring that up. “Everybody knows that. I know that, and I wasn’t even on the team when it happened.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, babe,” Keeley says apologetically. “It’s a really nice thought, but you do have a bit of a reputation and—“

“No, but that’s the point, babe,” Jamie says eagerly, not deterred in the slightest. “Nate and me, we know what it’s like being shit to others, yeah? So we figured, maybe we talk about that, like what made us start being shit, and what made us stop, and maybe it’ll help others figure out how to stop people from being shit? Or if you are a bully, how to fucking get your shit together and stop being a prick.”

“That’s right,” Nate agrees. He’s both very nervous and very keen. “We thought it might be a, a new perspective.” He and Jamie’s had some initially awkward but good conversations about that since Nate came back to Richmond (touching on how devastatingly easy it can be to slip from bullied to bully, the enabling silence or active support of the crowd, and learning new ways to feel big without making others feel small). Once they heard about the campaign they started talking about maybe taping such a conversation, put it out there, see if it can be of some use.

And Keeley asks them if they are sure (and Roy asks Jamie the same at some lenght) because that’s some pretty personal stuff they want to put out there, and there might be a backlash, but they’re both determined. “It’s taking responsibility, like,” Jamie notes. “Making amends, yeah?”

And of course there is some backlash, because when is there not in this loud and polyphonic world, but mostly their rather heartfelt and earnest talk is received very well.  

(This whole thing maybe also leads to Jamie and Sam actually talking about the stuff that went down when they both first came to Richmond, because for all that they’re great friends now, they haven’t ever really touched that. Hey, maybe Colin and Isaac do some soul-searching too! Lots of fun introspection for everyone!)

[mobius-m-mobius]

Lokius + touch in season 2 / (season 1)

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Reasons to play In Stars and Time: Canon Pronoun Warfare.

[nanihirunkits]

WILLIAM JAKRAPATR as THAME and EST SUPHA as PO in Thame - Po ・HEART THAT SKIPS A BEAT (2024ISH)

[smthaboutuss]

Omg that would be absolutely brutal if Val only cared about the sexual aspect of their relationship?? 💀 I had to draw it

[golvio]

Still thinking about the stark contrast between the general grim, highly-restrained stoicism of TotK Ganondorf’s human form compared to the exaggerated, rapidly shifting moods of “Yippee! :D Whee!! :DD Wahoo!!! :DDD *does a cute little backflip*” and “YOU STOP RUINING MY FUN RIGHT NOW OR I WILL THROW A BIG DIVO TEMPER TANTRUM AND WRECK EVERYTHING!” of his Demon King form.

Guy’s pretty obviously repressed as hell, and I think that’s one of the reasons he always goes off the rails the second he gets a chance to step out of his ceremonial One Special Man role. However, the fact that what he’s repressing feels so…childish, even the violent parts…I’m wondering if the guy ever got the chance to be a child when he was actually little.

Maybe he got yelled at and punished for making simple inexperienced baby mistakes the way Zelda was because he was under similar pressure to Fix Everything and symbolically parent all his adult subjects/family members as a Symbol of Hope that could soothe their fears and anxieties on-demand. (Not to mention Buliara’s mom raised a bit of a red flag about authoritarian parenting styles being common in Gerudo military families). Only instead of just suppressing everything and standing perfectly still and quiet in public while floundering in private like Zelda did, he got extremely skilled at convincing the people around him he was the mature, unflappable, strong, comforting, and eternally available collective cultural father-figure who’d guide them out of the hard times they were trying to hammer him into.

Only…that wasn’t real personal development, only the illusion of development. He encased his true personality in the superficial shell of the sexy manly-man hero that everyone wanted him to be. The second he was able to emerge from that shell without anyone being able to punish him for it, that inner traumatized little jerk immediately started lashing out in revenge at the people who held him to such an impossible standard in an effort to finally feel in control of his own life. It’s like a former child star melting down upon entering adulthood after being denied agency and independence by the studio they’re contracted with and their financially profiting family for so long, only with magic and the forsaking of one’s own humanity involved.

That underlying theme of metamorphosis throughout the game, echoed in Kotlin’s “dream,” could’ve been capitalized on here. The people loved the shiny gold cocoon the weak, helpless larva formed, begging it to never emerge so they could enjoy its beauty forever. But he knows, he knows that if he never breaks open the shell encasing him, he’ll die before he ever gets the chance to unfurl his wings. The form they love is incomplete, shallow, temporary. He’ll die if he can’t discard it. He would rather be alive and horrible to behold than dead and perfect. The people will hate what emerges from their jewel, but in this new shape he can sting and bite back, so let them hate him.

But, also, just…could you imagine if we had a chance to meet The Cocoon and the people who worshipped it, saying how much they love their king while knowing absolutely nothing about him, only to find out he had his own “secret sanctuary” much like Zelda did? Somewhere we could glimpse the soft, hungry insect of his soul that yearned to break free? What we’d see in the pieces of his secret joys scattered around and the scratches of his notes would be something ugly, bitter, childishly self-centered, yes. But in there would also be real passion, real feeling, a real life desperate to finally live that would make the handsome shell brandishing a sword feel hollow, uncanny, and downright off-putting by comparison.

[yore-donatsu]

My contribution about Ramattra with a mouth/tongue/big teeth (largely inspired by the @shadeyenova‘s work - which has also inspired  @zetomeri (their twitter))

[prince-of-elsinore]

damnnn Ponyboy glowed UP

[gorkaya-trava]

I hope when putin finally dies I'll be the first one to make a destiel meme about it

[velvetjune]

that moment when saga fights against the darkness in her mind place and opens the door to leave and it starts to pan out—showing nothing but stars just like the Night Springs intro before she appears in the dark place’s new york. Traversing the void in between worlds just like her dad. cinema!!

[randomfoggytiger]

Once again, you have done a wonderful analysis. I was the person who asked about the status of their relationship in Dreamland and Arcadia. 👏 great work!

I don't know if you have been asked this before, but I am going to ask anyway.

If you were to teach a class on the Xfiles for critical thinking and analysis, how would you want to structure the course? What episodes would be your "go-to" and what aspect of analysis would be your focus? Where would be a good starting point for the uninitiated?

You offer enough evidence that the show can be used for film analysis, writing, critical thinking, argumentation, creative writing, etc., so it is very plausible to use the XFiles as a medium to get students, or just the everyday person, motivated to think in ways that they may not normally practice.

I am inspired by your analysis of the asks that you share with your audience.

I think this my answer is both simple and complex, depending on which angle you want to tackle.

Simply: The X-Files is a masterclass in failure; and I mean that quite neutrally. There were cracks embedded in the foundation since Season 1-- a lack of show bible, a lack of narrative cohesion, a lack of attention to important detail, a lack of conclusive vision despite the aspirational visions-- that deepened with each new mystery box, each new twist, each new "the truth is out there, but it's not the truth we said it was a week ago, this time it's different" bend. Even more simply put, it is a deeply broken, deeply flawed series because its premise-- a shadowy conspiracy that cloaked alien interference and abductions-- was probably never intended to be more than that. But each new idea was more tantalizing than the last; and the more the show explored new territory, the more it sketched out an inescapable map. And soon, there was no new place to run.

Complexly: The X-Files is a masterclass in failure because despite all its faults, its flaws, its frailties, its downright ham-fisted or shocking plot points, the crew's talent was insane.

Not just David and Gillian-- though their chemistry's the stuff of legends-- but Mitch Pileggi, Nic Lea, the returning and supporting actors, the writers, the directors, the costume designers, the behind the scenes people, everyone poured their heart and soul and best into this series (until Season 7, which drained everyone, on and off set, of their investment.) It could, should have been so much worse-- it could have been canceled after its first season, it could have been canceled after the first few episodes, it could have been canceled after the ending in Season 1. Yet, in spite of DD and GA's green acting, and the more fixed direction, and the odd angle or odd script moment or odd lighting choice, there was talent-- sheer undeniable talent-- that was thrown in... maybe not everyday, but most days. And even more complexly, Chris Carter-- for all the faults that can be levied at his later work or behavior towards long-time friend Gillian-- fostered that talent. He was a generous executive producer; and once he formed loyalties, he stuck to them. In all the past interviews I've read, his writers and actors and crew admired his work ethic and trusted his judgment. And, while it wasn't the best judgment to guide the juggernaut of this immense series, he handled immense, buckling pressure so well that, by and large, he passed himself and his writing off as the stuff of legends... until, of course, it inevitably blew apart and plunged downward. But that's a risk he took; and the show did incredibly well while it soared.

Putting the two together: if I were to use this show as a teaching tool, I'd divide it into segments: the MOTW and the mytharc. The MOTW is where the show shines brightest, and what it's most remembered for by the vast majority of its viewers (and the populace.) Here, I could prove what incredible talent and dedication and drive can do: what generosity and fostering of ability, what openness to ideas, what creativity pushed to its max would inspire. How Squeeze-Tooms succeeded but Pusher-Kitsunegari failed; how to handle a skeptic-believer dynamic believably; how one show contained a multitude of tones, and played with them expertly (from drama to horror to sci-fic to comic to romantic to adventure to etc.); how to sensitively (or try to) push forward an idea that needs to be solved, in our world, without choking the audience with moralistic spoon-feeding. How and why (and when) a show can do all these things in one breath and utterly embarrass itself in another (looking at you, Fight Club.) That would then lead me into my second point: what the consequences of that would look like-- scripts written the night before (perhaps even the day of) filming; actors and crew pushed to their exhausted limit; one man creating more and more and more shows-- because he doesn't trust his first one will go on forever-- instead of focusing that incredible drive and effort to cleanly outline his pet project. Lastly, I'd shift into the perfect demonstration of The X-Files's rises and falls: its mytharc How the MOTW idea existed, in its infancy, in the Pilot; that the convoluted, ever-evolving plot didn't take shape and fly until the scope of ideas grew greater and greater; how that spawned an incredible mythos (or the potential of an incredible mythos); and how that mythos, for the most part, carefully danced a line that could have enraged many different factions of society and many different points. An elegant, slimmed conspiracy, at first, that took time to highlight important issues-- government overreach, abuse of power, coercive or vindictive control-- until it devolved into trite statements, repetition instead of invention, without firmer substance. Until the writers didn't have any land left to explore, turned around, and realized they'd flown into a corner. Then they threw a smokescreen-- a new tragedy or drama onscreen-- and hoped the audience would be blinded to the trick, once again. And, ultimately, how that lack of trust in the audience was a greater sin than their ability to finish the show satisfactorily.

If I were to step back, though, I think The X-Files could prove any point you want to prove: the struggle of the artistic vs. the executive, the reality of expectation vs. creative vision, the high of a meeting of minds between an ideas man and his audience, the impropriety of expecting fan loyalty yet shoveling them slop, the deevolution of a beloved franchise through disengaged interest and floundering quality, the importance (the sheer, indisputable importance) of writing well if nothing else, etc. etc. etc. I don't think I'd get into the Chris Carter issue, though. That area of drama is locked away from all but the most interested (in my case, over-invested); and it wouldn't be productive to bring into a classroom, seminar, or what have you. Unless, of course, I were teaching psychology. ;))))

Personally, I would divide the show into its sequential leaps forward: the time Chris Carter insisted on casting David and Gillian for their chemistry; the time Morgan and Wong pitched the show's first creature episode; the time Rob Bowman insisted on trying something different while directing; the time DD started writing, then directing, under the show's tutelage; the time GA wrote out her own script and directed it; the time Kim Manners or Rob Bowman or Vince Gilligan (or Spotnitz) pushed for overtly romantic moments between Mulder and Scully; the time 1013 and the show's theme and the UFO poster and the smoking man became international iconography, etc. All of these elements echo back to Chris Carter as a competent helmsman, and showcase him (and the show) at his best. Then, I'd pivot to the creative toll: the time crunch, the stress, the media speculation, the lack of privacy or a life, the ever divided attention-- that the most glamorized years of the show were also the most brutalizing (FTF and Season 5 filmed consecutively; and back to back with Season 4.) Finally, I'd focus on the sudden tone shift, pivot, and recovery of Season 6, 7, 8, and some parts of 9; and how each of the last three seasons suffered from the same fate: fresh new mysteries, failed follow-through, and catastrophic fatalities until the writers hit the emergency "Reset" button again. And that that pattern continued, irrevocably, for a movie and another two years.

But most importantly: I'd use any scene, any episode, any season to prove that all this profound effort-- time, blood, sweat, and tears-- can create giants... and can tear them back down when the foundations crack and give way. Until, in short, the writing, the one aspect holding everything together, falls apart. And without the writing, there is no final act, there is no happy landing-- there is only a man caught in the act, reprimanding you for looking behind the curtain.

Hope this helps! :DDDDD

[sieglinde-freud]

really dont like any of nowi’s vanilla game supports what if i just married her to anna

[bookshelf-in-progress]

Maybe the truth at the heart of Shadowstruck is the importance of family. Because the most compelling stories in this universe are about what happens when you tell parents that some of their children have no right to their love, care, and protection. It destroys what should be the strongest and most natural bonds of love, and that simple horrible thing leads to all the complicated problems in their oppressive society.

[eccentricmya]

I have nothing much against Arwen and Aragorn being Beren and Lúthien come again. Except that it seems like an almost lazy parallel. Moreover, my personal gripe relates to how the two successful human/elf unions that we know of (barring Aegnor and Andreth because that one was neither 'successful' nor a 'union' so to say) came about from a mortal man—who ages and becomes wiser— and an immortal woman—who never loses her beauty. I do not prefer the ideal that this seems to perpetuate.

Which is why I personally like to imagine Elladan or Elrohir choosing the mortal path instead of Arwen. This would not only provide a parallel to Elros and Elrond — where one twin is Eldar while the other Edain — but also lend a contrast twice over. If this choice is made for the love of a mortal woman, then not only does it deviate from Elros' choice (which, as far as we know, was purely personal and not romantic), it also reverses the Beren and Lúthien imagery. History would repeat itself: a peredhel twin leaving the other behind, and also, an elf choosing the gift of men for love. And the union would be such that the man stays preserved in his beauty while the woman withers and dies.

If only there were mortal women around for this to come true. Sigh.

[youchangedmedestiel]

You know you have those expressions like beautiful idiot or sexy motherfucker, well Misha is a hot dork (affectionate).