#but we're like still distinguishable yknow?

[wolfp-ck]

no it's not crowded at the front what r u talking about!? 🤨 /lhj

[faerociousbeast]

i've decided to start categorizing yaois in a more accurate manner

school: school. they go to. the same school pretty self explanatory. can have variations such as oh damn i got isekaied. oh damn we're reincarnated. but generally straight forward. can be considered a subcategory as the schools can really be for anything. transfer students, roommates, childhood best friends, yknow how it be

woman treatment: they're usually just like... omg !! the two school princes look so KYUTE together >///< and sometimes there's like love triangles but. generally they just. do not exist ? idk if we're in all boys schools or what but. often has Younger Sisters. who ship. their brothers with whoever the hell. like alright i guess

celebrities: they are celebrities and for whatever reason, their fans have decided to ship them. rpf. awesome. also has variations such as esports gamers, singers, and or actors. honestly the reincarnated slash isekaied thing can be applied to any category so i'll stop mentioning that so much. some common tropes are one guy goes online, sees the ship content, and starts Thinking

woman treatment: pretty horrible! theres always a female fanbase that ships the guys really weirdly and all they do is go kyaa and god FORBID theres an actress coworker. of course she's trying to get your man and manipulate people and stuff

ceo: also self explanatory. my least favourite kind so honestly i havent read that much. ceo and employee. great. cool. anyway

woman treatment: again they don't really seem to exist which is. bad in itself why aren't you hiring women at your job being gay isn't an excuse. but sometimes! they will be horrible people bc love rival

historical: samurais and emperors you know the drill. often Wars and has the most Tenderly Bandaging Of Wounds. has a lot more isekaing proportionately than other categories. usually some royal guy and some commoner guy but can sometimes have two royal guys

woman treatment: also kinda bad. due to the nature of. arranged marriages, theres uuusssually some poor woman who's getting forced to marry the Prince of the two. or she's like. again manipulative and trying to get his money and stuff.

Powers: this is mostly a subcategory and the broadest bc there's not a lot to distinguish here. can vary greatly, from oh i read this book and woke up as the protagonist. this guy died and i somehow got sent into a different timeline / the past and i want to change his fate. *I* died and woke up as someone else again. i like these ones bc the powers can be cool but most of the time they completely forget about the plot in favour of being gay :( like i wanna figure out the powers and how they came to be here cmon man. still, most of my personal favourites are in this category

woman treatment: varies! since again this is SUPER broad. HOWEVER yeah some of the Powers focused ones have had the best female characters i've seen. shout out to my girl shen shu.

[enderwalking]

TERMINAL ENDERSMILE BRAINROT WOOO \o/ also yeah i totally agree that a reveal at the finale wouldn't make sense w how they work, but i'm torn on whether or not enderboo sees it that way. bc overall, i see the staredown the same as you! "its part of the plan, it'll be fine, no worries, we're still on track" bc seeing your buddy get yeeted twice unarmored is. awful. but enderboo's notes(do not read 2, pg 16-17 on wiki) he seems shocked by dream lying(understandable, dream doesn't often lie) he writes "may have" but we know he Did do the community house, tho we also know his memory is wonky when stressed. regardless he almost sounds like he Expected dream to out him for some reason, and maybe that Was part of the plan in his mind before dream decided to protect him. ranboo/enderboo is known for catastrophizing, dream is known for sudden emotion-driven choices, enderboo could've expected the worse bc of that but was proven wrong the notes were also For ranboo to see, so he could've wrote in a way that kept things basic and confusing, just like the voice(and his book response later on. and all the cryptic messages. enderboo is a cryptid bastard /pos), make ranboo call into question Why dream wouldn't just reveal him, why dream of all people would Lie for Him bc if dream hadn't lied for him, then he'd be in just as much trouble, both of them bad guys worthy of prison(which he agonizes and swears to Hide in his follow up stream). this was the second time someone else took the full blame for something he took part in(first being tommy in exile trial, narrative parallels my beloved), and this time its by the most hated, evil man on the server, which should raise some big questions for him. sadly our boy ranboo is just as much about de'nial river as he is lethe, so he tries to avoid thinking on the signals being thrown at him by his own mind as much as possible, if he ignores hard enough surely it'll go away(it didn't go away, it got so much worse bc he's stubborn through and through, mind/voice and enderboo included, both taunting him over his attempts to avoid the truth ala Why Are You Running? lmao)

i get you i GET YOU i think my main point of contention overall is obvs we know "enderboo" is just ranboo with all his memories etc, but even with that caveat that they are ultimately the same person, i think it's also important to realize that it's not just a binary switch, yknow? it's not like there are just two states that flip between each other, it's not quite as easy as being like, oh ranboo forgot about this event which means that he was enderwalking during it. there's some kind of spectrum between the states, there are times he's more aware than others but also still not Fully aware, and all in all it's just very difficult to distinguish i think? so i can't say with confidence that ranboo writing things during events he forgot about is always actually the enderwalk trying to leave messages for his less-aware self, though obviously we know he does do that sometimes? idk idk. it is a VERY cool read though and is not one i had considered in the past!

i do think that something notable in all this is that ranboo--all parts of ranboo--do not want to fear/dislike the other parts, like. it is about the need to reconcile all these different parts that seem incompatible but actually are all necessary to form a cohesive whole! while ranboo has been terrified of the enderwalk at times, and while the enderwalk has seemed to mock him at points, the one most direct instance of communication between the two states is written with such care, and in a way where ranboo seems notably reassured! and it's shown again in the way ghostboo initially derides his living self, but then realizes better, and ultimately is doing all he can to protect his soul! all parts of ranboo are better off when they come together and love the other parts RANBOO IS ABOUT SELF-CARE AND I LOVE HIM

also MY GOD, DREAM'S LIL QUIRKS W INFO REGARDING RANBOO. this man is a disaster of slip ups w that to the point its a miracle he hasn't been called out on it, from him choosing to send the message to ranboo to his and techno's stand-off of "i refuse to reveal i care for/know ranboo, but what about You???" in the cell where dream had to backtrack and lie so hard. like "yeah he visited the most. no i don't know him that well tho nope" ??? gg king, ur lucky it was techno he's very good at keeping the secret despite those slip ups, and his talk w sam..... ohhhh that's a mental landmine for me /pos. bc when making sam go through the list of things people hate him for, when he talks about ranboo dream's tone changes to a bit more aggressive, his words more biting, and when it becomes clear sam only killed ranboo for Ego(imo, based off his words) dream pulls out his axe subtly after only holding steak(WHEN I TELL U I LOST MY MIND...) and then dream doubles down on poking to see if sam Knows about them, and when he realizes sam has no clue he then Taunts him over it by revealing the tnt thing but refusing to put 2+2 together for him, bc honestly out of ANYONE on the server, sam should be the one who'd make that connection the easiest And Yet He Doesn't and its hilarious. all the visits and altered waivers and ranboo's panic, and yet sam Does Not See It lmaooo its a taunting reveal, w two layers, 1 is "ur a dumbass for not realizing w/o me basically spelling it out" and 2 is "ur a dumbass for falling for it this whole time + btw ranboo's life is worthy of more than ur stupid ego + there was totally actual reason to arrest him ur just stupid + cringe fail warden + L + ratio". its just enough info to fuck w sam's head, which is exactly what dream wants

YES EXACTLY oh my god i didn't notice the thing about him pulling out his axe JESUSSSSS OK OK OK COOL!!! but YEAH this this exactly all this

ALSO i'm under the belief/hc that dream has No Clue that ranboo is actually like. Dead dead. bc w the ho16 death, ranboo was down one more life than dream is aware of, so it'd make sense if dream assumed ranboo was still alive somewhere and just hasn't contacted him(he still wasn't told Why the visits stopped after all, and a lot happened so he could be assuming enderboo is hiding or avoiding) which is why boo has been left waiting for a "He" to revive him as he fades more and more (wondering if He is even trying), chased by sam, unable to be in contact w many people or else it gets worse as he'll feel more. bc i doubt that dream would just leave his ally for dead when he has the full power to Fix It, especially considering how he reacted to sam about the murder. boo is trusting dream to revive him, but much like w how he feels about the rest of the server, he's likely starting to fear he's been abandoned by him too -Soul

this definitely makes a lot of sense! i think a factor that i've personally put a lot of weight into is, again, the fact that dream Will Not publicly reveal his alliance with ranboo, and so if he just revives the guy out of nowhere then that would automatically send out red flags to literally everyone who is even a little bit aware of anything. so i think he fully intends to revive ranboo and has intended to do so for a while, but he can't do it unprompted, yknow? otherwise it would be extremely sus to say the least lol. so basically he's just gotta play a waiting game to see if anyone approaches him first to give him a justification, yknow?

[spacehorrors]

tma review e161-180

every time I start these reviews I'm like we're really in it now folks but we're SO past that point now

top episodes

E169 Fire Escape: so this one came across quite strongly to be a Grenfell allegory which was disturbing to listen to, similarly to the next episode that deals with xenophobia and disease. As an episode I enjoyed it because I usually enjoy ones that play with houses and homes which turn against you. It was just horrible listening to all of the ways they could've escaped that were shut off.

164 The Sick Village: like the previous episode, this one was a lot to listen to because it was skating SO so close to real life and both of the episodes are examples of how horror reflects society's fears. I thought it was also good example of how the new statement style suited different types of stories.

E171 The Gardener: love love playing with structure and I enjoyed this one being like an instruction manual. The treatment of human beings like plants and flowers ough it was a lovely crossover of things I love.

E170 Recollection: so I was conflicted about this one but god hearing Martin say "oh hello!" to that tape recorder over and over and hearing him trying to figure out where he was over and over it was just devastating. like ouch and the chair that is never comfortable and the house that is never his.

E176 Blood Ties - just loved how this one was written to be honest not much complexity in my opinion lol! I just enjoyed how it sounded.

general thoughts

To get this out the way um I already covered my thoughts on the children episode in an ask but yes I thought that was messed up. I'm still not convinced on the children's fear is not as fully developed as adults? Like I thought they'd be easier to manipulate but I thought it was a good messed up idea. It also raised the issue of the moralities of the avatars again like I enjoy them toying with just how much these avatars are in control or have a choice in these matters.

THE DOMAINS. I already made this joke but uh lord of the rings? I think the domains are a good way to distinguish what makes this the end of the world rather than just a smorgasbord of fear it's like they're sort of in competition.

So. Jon ended the world. I think it's interesting to see the balance of blame in him like is he only blamed if he enjoys the aftermath? Did he know what would come at the end of the statement? Interesting. Especially since Jon's guilt is mainly seen through Martin, how does this change it? Very interesting.

The "knowing everything" aspect is interesting but my favourite part of it is grappling with whether Jon is enjoying it or it's destroying him or both.

So the changes to the statements themselves. Narratively I enjoy it because it allows for a lot more experimentation like that wild poem or the instructions in the gardening flesh one. It's super fun!

Smiting. Why do we have to call it smiting that's such a funny word for a not funny occurrence. I think it's like incredibly interesting because Martin and Jon clearly have very different views on what is actually being achieved via it. The KILL BILL line made me laugh a lot ngl especially with Simon Fairchild. but also the difference between vengeance and justice AND ALSO the fact that Jon is also an avatar. Like what's the line between him and the others yknow? And I think that's a line Martin is going to have to reconcile with pretty soon. Love his I love my murder boyfriend attitude though.

Last thing is that I was kind of impressed with how they managed to make the end of the world just a never ending depressing awful time because I thought that'd be bad but I think the balance they've stricken works well.

character thoughts

Basira and Daisy. Honestly? I found Daisy's death a little underwhelming but I'm not sure what I would have preferred. I thought Daisy recognising Basira was a nice touch and of course you had to have the little "is Basira going to join her" note that I liked. I thought they finished Daisy's arc quite well though I was a bit worried they would lean too heavily into the "oh yeah well she was good at the end" rather than focus on the whole brutal past. Um yeah! I'm sort of undecided but like Basira having to kill Daisy has always been on the cards and what's been built up.

Martin - the dog in the archives..... dear lord my boy. anyway I've been enjoying him this season. I think it's been nice to see how he handles things. Especially nice when he clearly states well no I don't want to do that or I don't like it when YOU do that like yes!! Character growth good for you.

:)..... YESSS Jon have conflicting feelings about your own part in the end of the world and your duty to save everyone and your vengeance. Literally more moral dilemmas please they're very fun to listen to. I particularly liked the bit with Jude Perry and like exploring if he's going to put other people's safety and comfort to one side to find out more, to avenge himself.

Jon AND Martin because they need their own section yes I think they're sweet yes I think they're doomed. Yes I'm enjoying their funny moments yes I think they're going to inevitably hurt each other. I want to walk into the ocean. Enjoyed the early season where it was just a bunch of eldritch monsters reacting to them dating like that was so funny. Listen I'm a sucker for romance ok I'm sorry this is a horror but love IS the centre of horror so.

Tim and Sasha THOSE RECORDINGS WERE MEAN. THEY WERE MEAN AND THEY HURT MY FEELINGS. >:( which I know was the point but god the idea that Sasha should've been archivist is such a CONCEPT. god. and Tim. sounding so happy.... puts everything is such a horrible context. the way Sasha was smart and competent but it wasn't enough to save her. god. head in my hands. that happy birthday recording.

Where is Melanie...... WHERE IS SHE. can I please see Melanie and Georgie soon I miss them so much.

predictions

my main prediction is sort of to do with uh a certain main character whose name rhymes with gone's death. um. I geniunely don't know how they're going to kill Elias apart from my Georgie theory because they've already said that killing Jon doesn't turn the world back. so maybe Jon is doomed to keep watch over wherever they imprison them? I don't know. I'm very worried about it.

CONFLICT BETWEEN MARTIN AND HIS IDEAL OF JON because like yes of course that's been erased away gradually but I feel like one thing is just going to push Martin too far and they're going to have a proper fight about it.

I also think prediction one and two might feed in to each other but I want to think no more about it 😭😭

I will not shut about this one but I'm still convinced Georgie is instrumental to all this. she literally doesn't feel fear how is she not instrumental.

I think I need to take a bit more interest in Annabelle Cain because I have a feeling the Web will be instrumental in taking down Elias. Like, they've got to establish a plan at some point that isn't just walk to London yknow.

THE LIGHTER. can we have some explanation. I also think they should burn the archives down in honour of Gertrude and trap Elias inside. :) I think that would be fun.

hmm. what else do I think. I really don't know to be honest I just don't see it ending with anything but devastation..

ok <3 that's all thanks everyone for tuning in. send me asks, are without spoilers etc whatever!

[lans-rabbit-glade]

check up tag! :)

thanks so much for the tag @hearteyeswangji !! 💕

how has your day been?

i too just woke up (veryyy late as per usual) BUT it's gonna be a busy day as we're leaving town tomorrow to visit my extended family for the first time since the pandemic!! so i gotta tidy things and make a packing list and do laundry and bathe the dog and go to the store and ahHh pray for me

what was the last thing that made you smile?

being tagged in this 😌💕 also all you people's lovely gifsets and art

if you're in quarantine/self-isolation, is there anything you'd like to achieve in this time?

quarantine's very gradually coming to a close here as people get vaccinated (thank goodness) but this past year has been a bit of a challenge to stay afloat and not let bad habits get worse yknow? mostly just preparing myself to go back to school and get a job again and re-enter society lmao

post a selfie (only if you're comfortable!)

hmm how bout instead here are FOUR pictures with my sister's cat from when i met him for the first time last week!! his name's charlie but we call him little char char to distinguish from my sister's fiancé who is, coincidentally, also named charlie lmao. my sweet precious baby boy he's so gentle and clingy i love him so much already

tagging: @oddishblossom @immortalsins @still-snowing @fuckingspacequeen and anyone who wants to!!

[isaacathom]

nvm i found the ability to write in notes for dictionary entries, hallelujah