#didn't want to create a new series for it because the connection is. well. mostly it's inspiration!

[marypsue]

Things I learned today: you can use the AO3 'Inspired By' feature to say that a work was inspired by one of your own works.

[shelleysmary]

lots of fans have made valid points and written well-thought-out posts about the trop ai drama, so i'm not gonna rehash them, but i do want to bring up something that no one seems to be talking about and it's the impulse that leads people to plug these things into ai generators in the first place.

fandom over the last year especially has become increasingly toxic to the point that actual billion-dollar corporations are afraid it. the result is subpar, pandering films, books, and television shows that break no new ground, recycle old tropes, and sacrifice story integrity to avoid catching heat from the loudest, most entitled people in the room. i'm calling this an issue of entitlement first and foremost because the idea that the audience should have any say over a non-crowd-created media project is preposterous. deciding that the cons outweigh the pros of watching something and choosing to walk away without making a fuss is a lost discipline now because everyone with an internet connection and a social media account believes that their vision reigns supreme. "how dare this show downplay my favorite ship! they were supposed to kiss! that was the whole point! the absence of this one thing i had on my wishlist is a crime against me personally!" so they turn to ai and click some buttons and now these gifs exist and are being circulated with an air of "i've righted a wrong." worse, the use of ai in this way is being conflated with the creation of fanworks???

there are reasons why i don't believe the ai saurondiel kiss is on the same raft as, say, making them kiss in a drawing or a published fanfic, but my main concern is with the spirit behind each. fanworks are made in homage to the source material, even the fix-it fics. there is an acknowledgment, a separation even, between the television show and the fanwork. this separation is necessary and i would say even integral to the nature of fan creation, while ai closes that gap until it no longer exists. the elimination of space between creator and audience also happens on social media, when disgruntled fans who have taken umbrage with a fictional character or creative decision directly harass the writers or the actors involved. more and more, fans are demanding to be in the rooms, in the minds, and to exert control over the people who tell their stories, and it has only ever worked to our collective detriment. now i'm not saying that if you liked and shared the saurondiel ai kiss that you're the same as the internet trolls who harass (mostly) women and people of color online. but i'm begging you to do some self-reflection and ask yourself why you feel entitled to seeing what you want on your screen.

what has changed in the last few years that would make you dissatisfied with, say, reading someone's fic or making your own drawing? is it a matter of "the tool is there, so why not use it?" is it "i believe it should have happened and it didn't and i feel cheated?" or maybe there's been a pattern you've noticed in your recent media "consumption" (god, i hate that word) where, unless a show or television series goes the exact way you want it to, it feels like you've been defrauded somehow? i'm not being facetious. i'm inviting you to notice that what you're feeling is probably discomfort, disappointment, maybe even cognitive dissonance because you imagined it going one way, and now you're at a loss because it didn't. you built it up in your head, you had something to look forward to, you were convinced that it would happen, it was exciting and you were so eager to get to that point, and then.... and then...

we've all been there. and it sucks. but i also want to remind you of how important it is to preserve the separation. this space is ours. the writer's room, the filming set, the editing room, those spaces are theirs. the actors' likenesses are theirs. thinking beyond trop, the separation is how we get creative works that challenge us politically, emotionally, that make us uncomfortable and tell us important truths. writers shouldn't have to - and shouldn't FULL STOP - do what we want them to do. sometimes that means knowing when to walk away, when to say "i no longer enjoy this show, i will no longer support it" or "i will continue to watch but pretend things went differently," the latter of which has been the spark that has moved so many online fans to draw, paint, write, or sew. it's a type of creation that allows "canon" and "fanon" to exist parallel to one another. moreover, the effort it takes to make anything with your own two hands, with your own time, and with your own energy increases your appreciation for the creative impulse. films and books and television stop being "products" for your "consumption" because you're aware of what goes into them, and it becomes easier to look at things you don't like or disagree with and say, "you know what, i'm gonna pass," or "not in my headcanon."

oh, and by the way plugging things into an ai generator? is theft. the same way that it's generally frowned upon for people to use ai to, say, write the rest of an unfinished fic without the express permission of the fanwork creator, using the actors' likenesses to make them kiss goes against everything the actors' union fought for last year. i'll also add that it's incredibly creepy. almost all of us are in agreement that intimacy coordinators are a good thing because they act - again! - as a separation between what's "real" and what isn't, the same way going on ao3 and reading a fic that very clearly says on the tin that it's a fanfic, unaffiliated with the official ip, is a separation. it's another beast entirely to normalize fan-use of ai, to say you support creatives, support actors, support unions, and then do this in your personal life. i repeat the question: what impulse leads anyone to believe that this is okay other than a feeling of misplaced ownership?

tl;dr: ai nonsense does not belong in fandom spaces. (in my home state of california, it is illegal to use digital replicas of an actor's voice or likeness in place of their actual services without their informed consent [which, in spirit, is what you're doing by using ai to make your gifs]). we all just need to mind our own business and go back to writing our fix-it fics and complaining to our friends in relative peace. if you're finding it impossible to do so, ask yourself why. remember that fanart is our longstanding tradition. stop outsourcing it to an unregulated technology just because your two faves didn't kiss.

[littlegaybean1]

Okay so major Reality War spoilers below:

I felt like this episode could have been so much more. Like Wish World set everything up beautifully, but then it just... Didn't really go places. And the main conflict, the stuff that had a full episode to be set up, just got written off in the first thirty minutes. Disappointing in my opinion.

That's not to say that there's not plenty of things that I like about this episode - there are!!! But I made this post with a specific point in mind, a point which is, sadly, a negative.

This is not the point of this post at all but I just want to mention that I'm absolutely bloody fuming about what they did to Belinda. Like no, why the hell would you do that???

The point of this post is that I'm so sad that Ncuti Gatwa didn't get a third series. There are multiple reasons behind this, ranging from the shorter series' to the lack of real development to the fact that I just really liked his Doctor and wanted to see more of him. However, there is one major reason why I'm so annoyed, and that may be due to personal bias towards this certain character but uhh, I'm allowed to be a tiny bit biased right???

THE ROGUE STORYLINE IS GOING TO FALL APART WITHOUT THE 15TH DOCTOR.

Let me explain. So basically, Rogue can only work with the fifteenth Doctor at the moment, in my opinion.

Rogue and the Doctor have very little by way of backstory. They had beautiful chemistry and a dynamic I adore, but they don't really have anything deeper than beautiful, raw potential between them. Which isn't to say that their romance is bad or insincere - it's not! However, it is very very new. It also wouldn't have worked anywhere near as well with any of the previous Doctors - Fifteen is an outlier in that he is flirtatious, charming and socially smooth, unlike his predecessors. And his blossoming romance with Rogue was quite reliant on that to build foundations before a deeper, personal connection could be formed. We got tastes of a more mature connection with the discussion about those they lost, but other than that they were going mostly off of chemistry.

Which is why having the Doctor regenerate before he found Rogue could easily destroy their entire dynamic.

It feels to me like too much was left undone - the mysterious Boss that kept showing up, how Belinda knew what a TARDIS was, and obviously leaving Rogue stranded in a hell dimension that is rapidly falling into the void.

A new Doctor generally represents new beginnings - often a new companion (although that doesn't have to be the case, but any recurring companion throughout regenerations is generally present for their Doctor's regeneration), a new TARDIS and a new outwards personality for the Doctor to match their new face. So typically, plots wrap themselves up during that Doctor's run - for example, 9 and Bad Wolf, 10 and Harold Saxon, 11 and the Silence, etc. Therefore, it would only be logical to similarly wrap up the Rogue plotline during Ncuti Gatwa's run.

The way I see it, there's really only two possibilities now - leave Rogue to fall into the void after suffering in the hell dimension for god knows how long (unsatisfying, dull, feels very incomplete); or have Rogue appear again with a different Doctor, which would mean a completely new dynamic between the Doctor and a character he only had one episode with (jarring, will feel like wasted potential, will essentially be like creating a whole new ship because there isn't a strong, pre-established bond present).

So, in summary, my timerogue loving heart is very very sad to see Ncuti Gatwa go. I'm just saying, Big Finish has the perfect opportunity to complete what RTD failed to finish.

[loveaurapearl]

Wild Life Mechanics

Hey guys, I was thinking about the Mechanics of Wild Life and the theory that the previous winners create the next game. The first thing I want to say is that while Cleo is a winner and we should respect the queen, it's clear that Wild Life wasn't created by her. While she is chaotic and loves to burn things, Wild Life is not a game she would make. She's pretty level-headed and only burns people's bases if they make her mad. She would not choose the next game to have random effects each session. Scar, on the other hand, is completely crazy and would have the games be so chaotic. Sure, Grian and the other Watchers are the ones who decide the game and how it functions, its clear that the winner has some input on how the game is created. Scar even mentioned in his first episode that he and others suggested ideas to implement into the game. He just wasn't sure if Grian put those ideas into use. It's just funny that the mechanics that Grian decided to use directly relate to Scar and the struggles he goes through. And I will be analyzing each Wild Card that we know of for now. (This will be outdated tomorrow since a new episode will come out. But I don't want the idea to disappear from my head, so I'm writing this now.)

The first session had the Shrink and Grow Wildcard and it relates to Scar's sensation of scale. While Scar is 6 ft tall and has known the feeling of being tall, for most of his time, he's in a wheelchair at around 4 ft tall and thus, he is also small. We saw that immediately with small Scar during Real life. Scar is both a tall man, and also small, just like session one's Wildcard where you can be both big or small. And for most of Scar's session, he tries to be in the middle. Just be his regular, Minecraft self, since he doesn't want to be reminded of relatity.

The second session was about having your food randomized and having to eat things like dirt and rocks. This relates to the fact that... well... Scar can't eat like a normal person anymore. Scar can only 'eat' through a tube and has to constantly make sure the food is mush. He also fantasizes about eating people. c!Scar is a cannibal and so when the watchers changed what he and the other lifers could eat, his brain couldn't handle that truth and just assumed they just couldn't eat. It was only thanks to Grian that he and his team managed to survive.

The third session was the snail and it was pretty simple what was happening. Scar had been tormented by the Snails in Hermitcraft and now they transferred over to the life series. The watchers made them into one-shotters because it would hurt Scar more since he's already not great at staying alive.

The fourth Session relates to the fact that Scar is pretty slow when making videos because of his illness. Scar starts off slow, but once he gets going, it's hard for him to stop. He mentioned tons of times that he tends to forget how long he should be on the computer and thus ends up being on a project for hours. Usually ending some episodes while it's like 1 in the morning for him.

And finally, session 5's gimmick was the Quizmaster, which relates to the fact that Scar is constantly reminiscing on the past. Mostly third life, double life, limited life, and secret life. Scar has been haunting people's posts and remembering the past. He got a good chunk of questions right. It was only the Last Life questions he didn't know completely since he was so sick during Last Life that he had to miss a session because of his real-world illness. Like he knew the horn Jimmy used in Double Life, but he couldn't remember the name because he's bad at remembering names.

Now, none of these gimmicks were meant to relate to Scar. After all, Grian created all the gimmicks. Its just funny how all of these gimmicks able to be connected to Scar. Grian truly is Scar's soulmate. Also, the fact that yellow and red names can kill dark green lives to get health back and has been compared to cannibalism is funny because I can connect this to Scar since c!Scar is a cannibal. He would totally implement the idea of adding some kind of cannibalism into the games. It is my headcannon that Scar was the one who had the random lives and life trade mechanic in Last Life while Grian put in the Boogeyman mechanic since Grian AND Scar both won Third Life. It's just a shame most people, including Scar, don't remember that Third Life was a double victory. So yeah. Scar is the only winner who won two games. Scott doesn't count because he didn't win Double life. He gave up the game to Pearl and she is the sole winner of Double life while Scott got second. Just wanted put idea up.

[mixmangosmangoverse]

May I please learn about your Precure Fanseries?

So sorry to both of you askers for taking so long to answer!! I wanted to wait until I fully designed all the main characters and also made a new blog for my magical girl art (I think it's good to start to separate my fandoms a bit)

Anyways!! I currently have two fanseries in development but I'm focusing first on the older one, which I started around 2020 but abandoned for a while... Mostly because I stopped being into the inspiration

But! Late 2024, I got back into it, got very into something else and mashed that together. Back when I first created the fanseries I still wasn't used to writing or really developing a whole plot, so I made sure to do both before I really started the art and talking about the series. And I'm very happy with what I have now! My fanseries is titled

Fly! PreCure Starset☆

And the name gives it away- this fanseries is based on the band Starset and (very very) loosely based on the extended lore of the band. It's a very weird idea, especially since I got really into Hawaii Part ii and just mashed that in there too, but hey, what's the point of a fanseries if I can't go crazy? It's content for precisely one person and that's me

So to get to the questions:

It's a space and music theme! Not separately, the two are connected and are both the primary theme (mostly so there's no overlap with Star Twinkle)

Their colors - it originally followed the pink-blue-yellow formula but I kind of got self conscious about that, so the yellow was changed to white, I think it fits her better. And for the last question, I might just introduce the girls themselves

Zohar is the lead pink, and she like every character changed quite a bit. The basics are the same; she's very shy, quiet unless crying or stressed, and at the start of the series gets transported from Modi'in to America, meaning she's a fish out of water. Her Cure personality changed a lot - I ended up going with the gimmick that every girl changes a lot when she transforms, but Zohar has the biggest change. Her Cure form is bright, heroic, very brave and a lot more energetic. However, because of this she actually has a hard time bringing herself to transform, because she's so different, and she feels like she isn't fit to be a Cure

Also- each cure is based on a part of space and a music genre! Everglow's is shooting stars and Israeli rock

The second Cure who's probably second most different, because originally she really didn't have much of a personality beyond "airhead". And that part sticks! Aurora is very airheaded, very loud and energetic, a mix of Cure Sparkle and the typical pink personality with just a bit of arrogant edge. She also got a very significant development when I decided she would be a baker too- specifically a chocolate maker! It fits very well with her new personality, and also acts as a way for me to input some of my own sweets making knowledge in the show. It was something I decided to make sure the cast doesn't get repetitive; they don't all have music related goals

Halo represents the sun and her music genre is bubblegum pop

Luna is the character that has changed the most. She was very shallow originally, just a moody goth. I went away from that personality because it's very stereotypical, and her design especially got revamped since I wanted to portray accurate hair. Luna now is still a bit moody, but she's got more to her. She closes herself off from others because she's scared of getting hurt again, but once Zohar and Aurora prove themselves she becomes very close to them, especially Aurora. Her arc also involves her struggling with her parents' divorce, which is a conflict that to my memory was never addressed in PreCure. It's part of why she starts very distant

Satellite represents the sky and her music genre is punk rock

And finally...

The fairies and the helper character! (Think a mix of Laura before she becomes a Cure and Satoru)

They've been part of the story since the beginning, and have stayed pretty consistent

Major and Minor are the fairies who transport Zohar to America and who give the typical exposition to the Cures. However, they don't actually talk. Their "talking" is a melody in either major or minor notes, and only the Cures can understand it. Normal people also can't see them. Just like the association of the music notes, Major is upbeat and excitable while Minor is mellow and more serious. What's interesting though, is that they're not the ones who give the Cures their powers — Simon is. Why he has those powers is a mystery, but it's through him that Zohar, Aurora and Luna get their powers

He is more similar in personality to Laura, although way less excitable. Before the story starts he has never had friends which means a lot of the story is just about the team learning to get along. He acts as the down to earth voice of reason of the group, and also the one who collects the magic energy that the monsters steal, like Laura.

And that's all I have so far, at least until I start publishing the story! I'm very happy with what I have so far and I hope others enjoy it too!

[raasturi]

So, I accidentally went down an unexpected rabbit hole when I was adding a new character to my story (I will explain everything in more detail further down in the post). Long story short, I ended up creating a seal and a flag for the city of Dimmadelphia, and a logo for its department of parks and recreation

Dimmadelphia city seal:

Dimmadelphia city flag:

Dimmadelphia Department of Parks and Recreation, Urban Park Ranger patch/logo:

(I will explain the designs in more detail further down in the post as well)

Alternative designs for the seal (black and white) and the logo (with outlines):

Good luck with reading the rest of this post. I promise there's some interesting stuff

If somebody wants to use these, go ahead! Just remember to credit me. Do note however that the seal (and in extention the flag) is connected to my AU, so if you want to make it more canon-like, I'd recommend changing the wings and the star at the top for something else

If you're wondering how I made the images look so clean, I just used IbisPaint X (I used the digital pen, the bézier curve drawing tool and a ruler + lots of time and patience) (canvas size: 2000×2000px) and an app called Phonto for the curved text (font: homestead-regular). Graphic design is my passion

NOTE! The reason I believe Dimmadelphia is located in Indiana is that in the episode "Potazel Potahzel" we see that the city is located somewhere south of Lake Michigan. Also Dimmadelphia was originally named Dimmsopolis (source), which could be a reference to Indianapolis, which is, you guessed it! The capital of Indiana

NOTE 2! If you're wondering what a "department of parks and recreation" is, it's a city controlled department managing its parks (not state parks or national parks) and other public spaces

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

It all started when I was coming up with a career for a character that I will not be naming (yet). They were giving off biologist vibes, and I originally made them a marine biologist, but then I realised it would be much better if they were an urban park ranger. That way they could organically enter the story, since Dimmadelphia City Park is used quite often throughout the series

I started off by looking at other park ranger uniforms (mostly NYC Urban Park Ranger and state park ranger uniforms). They all had a logo on the sleeves and a badge on the right side of their shirt (their left), and since I'm a sucker for detail and accuracy, I wanted to incorporate those into the uniform. And so I began by designing a logo

I would like to mention that it was never clearly stated on any website that there was a difference between city parks and state parks, and that city parks are under the city's jurisdiction, and state parks under the state's jurisdiction (national parks are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. government). Looking back at it, it was quite obvious, but at the time I wasn't aware of this

This confusion led me to accidentally create a logo for Indiana's (fictional) department in control of state parks: "Indiana State Parks"

I know the Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is actually the one managing state parks, but I wasn't a fan of their logo, so that's why I created my own

I hadn't gotten so far as to finalize and clean up the design, but here were some color tests I did:

Design note: I chose the northern cardinal and the tulip tree leaf because they're both state symbols of Indiana

When I realised my mistake, I was disappointed that I had wasted all my time on a logo that I wouldn't even use. Thankfully, it didn't go entirely to waste, since I ended up reusing parts of it in the new logo

I'm telling you all this because this whole ordeal made me lose my sanity and most of my braincells (this wasn't the only challenge I had faced during this whole thing. There's a reason I called this a rabbit hole)

THE LOGO FOR DIMMADELPHIA DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION

The (new) logo is in the shape of a shield (because it looks cool), and it includes a tulip tree leaf (taken from the original logo) and in front of it is the ten-gallon hat of Doug Dimmadome - in homage to the arguably most famous and recognisable person in the city, considering how many references to him there are in the show

In the universe of the AU, the leaf-hat symbol is also used as the logo of the department, and is thus used in other divisions. This is similar to how NYC Parks uses the maple leaf logo

Here's some sketches/concept art:

(sketches of the previous logo are also included)

All the sketches have been glued together into one image for the sake of your convenience. If you were expecting good-looking and consisent sketches, you clearly don't know me

THE SEAL OF DIMMADELPHIA

While working on the logo, I started looking into what types of badges park rangers wore. I read that NYC park rangers (I used them as reference a LOT) possess the peace officer status, and when comparing their badges to the New York City police badges, they often looked quite similar if not the same. This was great to know, since that gave me idea of what the uniform badges should be based on

I then started looking into city police badges, and oftentimes they had similar features: a somewhat oval shape, an eagle on top and the city's seal in the middle with some text surrounding it. This is NOT what all badges look like. They can actually be quite diverse visually, but this is the basis I would use for my badge

Now the only thing for me to do was to come up with a seal (and a design for the badge, but that got kinda sidelined. I'll probably have the design finished when I reveal the new character) (I'm hyping this up as some big reveal. They will literally not affect the overall story at all)

The final design includes a white, yellow and black color scheme, which was inspired by both other Indiana city seals (many of them have blue and/or yellow in them) and the Dimmadome family color scheme™. Probably the most notable part of the seal is the middle part, which includes four stars, a pair of anatomically incorrect wings (as often seen in seals) and a looping rope surrounding it

The three stars at the bottom are meant to represent the three founders, and the wings and the larger star at the top are together meant to create the appearance of an angel

I could go on and on about the overarching symbolism and metaphors of both this and the flag (the flag is based on the seal), but I think it's more fun when people can conjure their own thoughts

Here's sketches/concept art again:

THE FLAG OF DIMMADELPHIA

The flag was the last thing I started working on. I originally wasn't going to include it, but then I said fuck it, and finished the design for this post anyway

The flag wasn't as hard to make as the previous logos. It mostly required me to look at other city flags and see if my flag would fit with them (considering how different (and honestly ugly) the flags can be, this wasn't too difficult) (I'm sorry, but why are so many of the U.S. flags and seals so unpleasent? Many eithet have unnatural compositions, too much text, hideous colors or they're littered with unnecessary details. And worst of all, there is no attempt at standardisation! AAAGGHRR)

As I said earlier, the flag is based on the seal, and the design I landed on includes the same color palette as that. It has stripes (kinda like beams of light) protruding from the black shape on the left, which kinda looks like the letter D. It was totally unintentional, but I loved that detail enough to choose that design out of the rest. The same four stars from the seal have been repurposed again, with each having the same symbolisms from before

Sketches/concept art:

MISCELLANEOUS THOUGHTS

I think now would be a good time to introduce you to what Dimmadelphia City Park looks like in my AU!

In the show it's kinda... not that interesting (at least from what we've been shown), so I thought that my version of it would be larger and denser with trees and other vegetation (maybe there could be like small forests or a pond). Both smaller and larger events would still be held there, and it would be viewed like as THE centre of Dimmadelphia (don't ask why I'm giving headcanons to a fictional park. Just bear with me now). The park would basically be like a mix between Central Park (New York) and Kaivopuisto (Helsinki), but with its own twist to make it unique

While designing the seals and all, an idea of what the identity of Dimmadelphia is, started to develop. I don't remember if it was ever directly said in the show (it's been a while since I last rewatched it), but it made me think if the city was perhaps a hotspot for paranormal activities, considering the Galax institute was built there (including other things). So that is what I incorporated into my AU, though I thought that in my version it would be more of an urban legend that there were weird things going on in there (probably influenced from the fact that there's an angel on their seal), and then the city would acknowledge it and kinda embracing it. Now, is it actually any different compared to other cities?

...who knows ;D

One more thing: I found out that Indiana is apparently a right-wing state. So umm, don't mind me changing it to a left-wing state in my AU (trust me, this is important. There are a lot of queer characters, I don't wanna scare them, and I wanna make Dimmadelphia a liberal city, since that's also the vibe I got from the show)

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

I think I just thought of a new future career idea! Becoming a park ranger at the Lemmenjoki National Park, building a secret hideout in the middle of it and living the rest of my days there. I would feed myself off of the wildlife and build everything by hand. I will be so deep in the crevices of the dense forest that nobody will ever find me or my base 😍 I would have so much free time... just enough that I could start working on those comics I've been wanting to make for ages

[arminthada]

/surprise leap out from your screen! Hahahha!

Yo Claire, first! I gotta say, I didn't expect to read BL meta essays when I followed your blog, but now that it's part of my dashboard, I like it! I'm not familiar with BL culture and stuff (the only BL stuff I really like is this Japanese manga named The Summer Hikaru Died, and even then I'm more sucked in by it being of the horror genre with interesting philosophical explorations), so these essays are so interesting to read!

And another thing! This post about the highest-grossing GDH movies mentioned The Medium (which I liked!), and that reminded me: I need Thai horror recommendations!

I don't know if you're into it, but maybe some of your friends do? And they can give me some good stuff? It's been so long since I've watched Thai horror—I grew up with that shit, man. I figured that someone who watches a lot of Thai media probably knows quite some newer Thai horror films I can watch on a weekend or something. Thanks!

(P.S. I realize I still have so many thoughts about สาธุ. I'm rewatching it when I have the time and realized there are still more details I forgot from the first viewing. A lot of them is embodied by the actors so well! I hope to find the time to write some essays/rambles about those things these days! Honestly... this is the only thing I can contribute to the สาธุ/The Believers tag 🫡🥲)

Hiiii Lyn! You are always welcome in my humble inbox.

You cannot imagine my happiness knowing you will soon fill he สาธุ/The Believers tag with insightful metas/essays. No pressure though but I am now indeed impatiently waiting for more สาธุ posts.

Aw, I'm so happy to hear that you've enjoyed the BL metas I've put on your dash even though queer love series are not usually ones you would watch because they're mostly romance based. ಥ_ಥ

Okay now onto the main part of my answer. Even though romance and comedy are indeed my favorite genres of series, as an enthusiast and follower of Thai actors and their works, it is inevitable to come across horror works (films or series) starring my favorite actors. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of horor (i'm a huge scaredycat), the genre has never stopped me from watching works of my favorite actors before -> I've definitely watched more horror media than I wanted to (┬┬﹏┬┬). I'll separate my recommendations into two part: one for series and one for films.

Thai Horror Anthology Series Recommendations

1. Girl From Nowhere Season 1 & 2 (2018 -2021)

Synopsis: A mysterious, clever girl named Nanno transfers to different schools, exposing the lies and misdeeds of the students and faculty at every turn.

Thoughts: although it would qualify more as thriller than a horror, girl from nowhere offers sharp commentaries about violence, sexual assault, bullying and various social issues. The series is more like an anthology with each episodes presenting a different story. The way my jaw dropped when I found out that the storylines in the episodes are inspired by actual real news reports/stories. Watching both seasons, you may feel that S1 is less budgeted than S2 which is true because S1 wasn't funded by Netflix Thailand. After picking S1 for streaming, Netflix decided to invest in a S2 for GFN and the cinematography for S2 is just immaculate.

2. After Dark (2020)

Synopsis: When the night falls, humans are more of a threat. Composed of 4 interlinked horror stories:

"Blind Date": Pink, a dating app addict, meets Q, a mysterious handsome guy. They establish a deep connection that ends up with Pink having a strange pregnancy which haunts her until the end.

“Requiem of the Adolescent”: Lada, a nurse hired with a vast amount of money to take care of Her Serene Highness Srisaang. Her terrors awake when her patient abnormally gets better.

“Death Channel”: Off and Boat, a successful youtuber and an idol team up to create a paranormal activity channel that has been sponsored by an anonymous user, they never know what is waiting.

"Into the Hole”: Chai, a charismatic person is a one-night stand expert in hopes to record a sex tape to earn a dime. Then he meets Dao, a charming woman. His mischievous behavior continues, but this time it would not be as easy as before.

Thoughts: it's gory, gross, raw, rough and scary as hell. some of the most visually traumatic series i've ever watched. incredible acting performances.

3. Angkhan Khlumpong The Series (2021)

Sypnosis: It is made based on ghost stories that people called and shared on the "Angkhan Khlumpong" radio program.

Thoughts: Episode 5 'Imaginary Friend' is scary as hell. All the episodes are quite scary in general. The stories rely a lot on jumpscares but Thailand is really good at making scary ghosts, the makeup team is always going all the way.

Note: Netflix Thailand is producing the sequel series Terror Tuesday: Extreme (2024), which comes out in 10 days (August 20). Netflix Thailand has never really disappointed with their budget so I'm pretty sure it'll be spooky.

Thai Horror Films Recommendations

1. Hoon Payon (2023)

Synopsis: Tham searches for his brother Te in order to deliver the news of their parents' passing. Te is ordained as a monk at a temple on Don Sing Tham Island. On arrival, Tham meets Jes, the grandson of the former abbot. Jes makes hoon payon, enchanted effigies of the dead. Tham learns of a rumour that Te vanished after murdering the abbot. Tham doesn't buy the story nor does he respect the villagers' strange reverence for the sculpture of Pho Pu Sing Tham. Though his appearance is unsettling to Tham, Pho Pu Sing Tham is said to protect them. Soon, a girl goes missing, a wild predator roams the island, a vengeful ghost is rampant and worse yet, the figure of Pho Pu Sing Tham is destroyed. The enraged villagers prepare to curse and hunt down the unknown culprit.

Thoughts: I watched this for Up Poompat who plays Te and I was genuinely shocked by his performance. Not scary enough as old Thai movies but still very thrilling.

2. Shutter (2004)

Synopsis: Tun, a young photographer, and his girlfriend, Jane, were driving home after drinking with friends, when suddenly they crash into a girl that was walking in the street. Panicking, Tun tells his girlfriend to run away. The next day, Tun discovers mysterious shadows in his photographs, and his girlfriend start seeing strange things in his house.

Thoughts: This is a classic Thai horror film and arguably the best horror film Tong Banjong (the director of The Medium) has ever directed. Director Tong's forte is really horror so please don't mind that the next 3 recommended films are all from him. They are truly THE classic horror films of Thailand.

3. Alone (2007)

Synopsis: Conjoined twins Ploy and Pim are very close until Pim meets a boy named Wee, causing her to decide to separate from Ploy. The surgery is performed but Ploy does not survive. Years later, Pim and Wee are living together in South Korea when Pim suddenly has to return home to take care of her mother after she has a seizure. While back home, Pim is haunted by a ghost from her past.

Thoughts: I really don't know what Director Tong is lacing in his horror films but they're always keeping me on the edge of my seat and most of the time my hands glued to my eyes 😭

4. Phobia (2008)

Synopsis: A horror movie anthology containing 4 stories-Loneliness: a woman confined to her apartment starts to receive texts from a stranger, Deadly Charm: a group of high school delinquents get cursed by a student that they bullied, The Man in the Middle: Four friends go on a camping/rafting trip that turns out far differently then they had planned, The Last Flight: A flight attendant has to accompany the body of a princess, the wife of her lover.

Thoughts: Another horror classic from GTH studio. I can't remember the details to all these stories but I can assure you when I was closing my eyes through half of this film because of how scared I was. I wanna say it's because I was young when I watched it but I'm sure I'd still be keeping my eyes close shut if I watch it again.

5. Phobia 2 (2009)

Synopsis: A horror omnibus consisting of five stories - Novice: a teenager takes refuge at a Buddhist sanctuary after committing a crime, Ward: a biker has to stay overnight in a hospital room with a strange man after an accident, Backpackers: a Japanese couple hitchhikes across Thailand until; they accept a ride from the wrong person, Salvage: karma visits woman who has successful business fixing up cars that were involved in fatal accidents, In The End: the movie crew working on a horror sequel experience a night of real fear.

Thoughts: They're all scary but I think the scariest segment is 'In The End'. I would say this is one of those rare occasions where the sequel outdid its predecessor Phobia.

6. Sick Nurses (2007)

Synopsis: A group of sexy nurses who harvest organs are haunted by the vengeful spirit of one of their dead patients.

Thoughts: this is more slasher than horror but i remember watching this when i was younger and i was scared as heck. I don't even dare to search up the trailer to embed here.

Bonus: 'not purely horror, only has creepy elements but deserves a honorable mention on this list because it's super underrated' film

Malila: The Farewell Flower (2017) dir. Nuchy Anucha Boonyawatana

Synopsis: Former lovers Shane and Pich reunite and try to heal the wounds of their past. Shane is haunted by the tragic death of his daughter, while Pich suffers a grave illness. As death approaches, Pich dedicates his remaining time to making Bai Sri, a ceremonial ornament. Meanwhile, Shane decides to become a Buddhist monk until one night at a graveyard, he encounters his lover in another form.

Thoughts: not horror but i think this film is the first that pops into my head while watching The Medium. Similar feels in their portrayal of Thai rural village lifestyle and Buddhism being a big part of both stories.

You may notice that most of these horror films from GTH Studio share similar directors, screenwriters or other creative staffs with The Medium. And that's because GDH 559 is basically the successsor of GTH Studio (which got dissolved in 2015). I've always a big fan of GDH films and I do try to watch as much GDH/GTH works as possible, but horror is really not my forte so I can only offer you these humble recommendations. I hope you'll enjoy at least one among the ones in this list.

[the-cusk]

Ok fine let's do theory time. This will be mostly about Session 7 and Gem's task. Now, I got two big points here, (a) The End/The Void is an entity that is independent of The Watchers and (b) Gem's task and, by extension, she herself came from that entity's will.

Now the obvious connection is obvious, yeah yeah who opened the End portal, but this goes farther. So, uh, remember episode 1? Specifically, when Gem and Lizzie found pumpkins and formed an alliance of sorts? Pumpkins, that's right. They became kind of a big deal. Since then, Gem and Lizzie had been consistently connected to The End. When Lizzie got the hard task to get everyone to sleep, first thing she thought of? The End. But then, why did she die to the very thing she was intertwined with.

Well, Scott of course. Scott has consistently been the most resistant to influence from cosmic entities. He actively spit in the faces of The Watchers multiple times now, after all. He was meant to die in the void. But not just because of his own aspect, but because Lizzie hasn't fully assimilated to her new connection. She didn't wear a pumpkin. The End had to shoot blindly, and with Scott's aura of negation he wasn't gonna be the one hit.

Now let's have an aside about what The End's intentions are in this series. Cause all cosmic entities gotta have one right? Well, The Watchers designed the games to be a feast of discord, war, betrayal, all of the fun stuff. The End, on the other hand, seeks to, well, end the games, as fast as possible. How were the first two reds created? Now, it's probably not exactly a humanitarian motivation from The End here. Whether it's merciful oblivion or just a thirst for finality, it still creates war and brutality, just not in the same way as The Watchers. The Watchers want the feast to stretch for as long as possible, as the payoff will be that much sweeter. The End wants to finish everything as fast as possible. You could argue that the Boogie curse has origins in The End, with Skizz as the catalyst, but I don't feel like going into that atm.

Ok, finally, how does that connect to Session 7's events? Well, as mentioned before Lizzie died when she wasn't meant to, with overwhelming feelings of rage and a desire for revenge against (most of) the server. In addition, two other reds, mumbo and jimmy, died to a forced hard task from grian and etho. So, all the reds except The Watchers' special boy Martyn are gone. Not awesome if you want everything to return to dust quickly. But, mainly, Lizzie's, uhhhh, let's call it curse, people like that word, transferred to Gem in the form of a hijacked task. I mean, it doesn't function according to any of the rules set by the Secret Keeper. And neither did Gem's end portal task, really, if you think about. Oh abd neither did Bdub's free the end. Wait. Bdub's? Free the End? And hey, would you look at that, he's also the first infected. And who's next? Impulse, Pearl? Ain't that our little end fighting army? (Also, Bdubs was the first ever person to get the Boogie curse but again, not getting into that. So, uh yeah, basically The End, an entity in opposition to The Watchers, has hijacked the task system, and possibly brought Gem in, in order to free itself and then end the series as quickly as possible. A desperation move, really, but it makes sense, this season's torture was gonna be especially prolonged.

Essentially my first theory, and I don't have too much knowledge on lore and stuff, but sometimes words are in your head and you have to get them out somehow.

[thescentofrainonstone]

On Class in Britain and why the same kind of actor ends up getting our panties in a twist (see Hiddleston, Cumberbatch, Goode, etc...)

Isn't it peculiar that all this adoration and fandoms tend to be about white-cis mostly het (thought admittedly that's the more laxed of attributes) able thin, tall, pale but most importantly coming from riches guys?

You look at a Tom Hiddleston and his first headshots and roles and the wonder has got to be there: "how much time and means were available to him to get his degree from Oxbridge and then decide to do another entire BA on top of it at RADA?"

Admittedly he gets off easy going back historically("just" baronets in his line) when in his league we have Benedict Cumberbatch, whose existence is literally dependant on the slavery his direct ancestors built their empire on in Barbados, and were paid compensation when the end of slavery came to England. Finally his Wikipedia has a full description of this even though when I worked on the essay that took the Downton Abbey series and films as examples of the inhumane social divide the UK depends upon, it was all incredibly well swept under virtual rugs with a vague quote from Mother Cumberbatch advising her son to change his surname in case "they come after you for money" where money stands for "reparations" and considering the luxury of an arts career like the last few Cumberbatches have had is something intrinsically entrenched in wealth and privilege makes perfect sense if you ask me. A councillor in New York carries the same surname and she is Black. Slaves carried the surname of those who owned them.

Let that sink in: there is currently a commissiomer (and Professor at Columbia) in New York who carries the Cumberbatch surname because they are a direct descendant of the Slaves the Cumberbatches owned and owe their fortune to. Stacey Cumberbatch.

So yeah, when people think the UK is not the US, they Invented class and the divide that come with it. It is so crucial to come from a family that can afford you connections and the luxury to work for nothing while never risking bills or rent going unpaid.

And I guess what I'm trying to say is: it's ok for all the fandoms to salivate over anyone, I just think it's important we know why the media propels in front of our eyes the same prototype of Englishman over and over, and perpetrates the production of new pieces of media that casually seem naturally meant for white, rich, het passing people.

The system works like a bottleneck for privilege and I think the SAG-AFTRA strikes also show that: everyone that had some privilege and didn't do anything to average out the system will see their own reduced over time until only the tip of the top remains. And "eat the rich" is going to be another post but you get the gist.

That is to say, next time I go to Insole Court (the Victorian house where a Lot of A Discovery of Witches was filmed, including Matthew's "rooms at Oxford") will I touch every single book of the reading room because likely I will have touched something Matthew Goode touched when he was there filming? Sure.

I also do know that house was paid for by coal miners who actually died in a tragedy in the mines owned by the Insole family and that admittedly I find the only decent way to keep real estate built with the blood of people can just be that: give that back to the people.

It's about educated choices, that's what I'm trying to say.

Fun fact: I started watching a discovery of witches because after filming the essay at Insole Court, wanting to bring down the bourgeoisie, I learned the show was also filmed there. So i went and found it and now I have another white, pale, lanky, English twink to lose sleep over just because he's been given a character created by the mind of a woman who dreams enough, possibly because unfulfilled in some part of her life -because when we're happy we go out, we don't vomit pages over pages let's be honest -.

If none of those elegant white British men who embody the characters we love come from a program that allowed them to raise from the working class... or are anything but white or adhering to a white-er standard (Rege- Jean Page is the quintessential example of this, better than nothing but still, my point)...Maybe we should ask ourselves why, and how is that ok.

Just a random though on a day I wanted to go back to Insole Court for the aforesaid reason.

[sarah-sandwich-writes]

HOLD ON WAIT UP HOLD THE PHONE

I KNOW I WAS GONE FOR A FEW MONTHS THERE BUT HAS BLUE LIKE DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF A SERIES OR IS THAT A NEW DEVELOPMENT???

I FEEL LIKE ITS CHRISTMAS ALL OVER AGAIN FUCK Y E A H

Okay so

I...

have been cooking

by which I mean illusions of grandeur and

schemes

And I have not been forthcoming lol Everyone kind of disappeared all at the same time so I kind of stopped talking about what I'm doing but I have been biding my time, quietly putting mechanisms into motion and plotting and occasionally cackling over my cauldron.

I finished the first draft of Blue like don't forget about me and didn't like it so I cut out all the sci-fi fantasy stuff (bye bye aliens farewell superpowers) and in November wrote a new first draft that's all contemporary romance babeee and I'm so in love with it I'm turning it into a little 3-part (possibly 4 if I can't control myself) series.

The original childhood years have been split off into a prequel novella called Red like my bleeding heart in your hand. Then Blue like don't forget about me will take place 20 years later. Nash works at Cherished Hope Nursing Home

“And what is it you do? At the nursing home, I mean.” I wipe shit off of old people. And Teddy’s a hockey player. What’s Luke, an underwear model? He shouldn’t have come.

Teddy comes back to town for a funeral and

Teddy looks at him for the first time in twenty years and every ounce of warmth leaves his expression. Message received. He should not have come.

OKAY SO AND THEN the next book will be Jo's POV and is called Violet like these delights. and MAYBE there will be a 4th from Luke's POV bc he gets to live this time by the grace of god (me) but it'll depend on how Violet goes (its current state is mostly vibes and a single overarching theme so, stand by).

Red needs a clean-up round of edits to snip out the few little threads that connected it to OG blue. And rewritten blue is basically done. I've done the major revisions and am about to start line edits and after those are done I'm sending it out to beta readers (lmk if you're interested).

There are concise actual summaries in my pinned post btw lol

WHICH REMINDS ME

The series title is Wildflowers of Deliverance. Which I'm extremely proud of. Did you notice did you notice how each title incorporates a wildflower did you did you? and the town they grew up in where Nash and Teddy first met is called Deliverance!!! It's okay I know I'm a genius.

And this brings us to the meal okay? because like I said I've been Cooking™ quietly but steadily for a few months now. ANd what have I been cooking? PLOTS and PLANS

I've decided on a pen name: Sarah B. Elisa

I've created a(nother) side blog for it that will be exclusively centered on my og writing and geared more toward readers rather than writers like this blog is: @sarahbe-writing

I'm going to create a website (as soon as I convince myself to spend money)

and a newsletter (as soon as I convince myself to spend money and do work)

I'm still waffling between trad publishing and DIY. I really like all my hats and it would be a shame to have to share them but oh my god I don't want to do all the marketing but trad pub seems hit or miss on how well they market you so I might get half of my hats taken away and still have to do the marketing bullshit UGH

anyway

OH YEAH and the OG draft I wrote for Blue? I'm going to spin it back to its OG OG roots [parkner, naturally--Return of The childhood friends to estranged almost lovers to super-powered rivals to reluctant allies to friends to lovers finally wip!!! AKA: We Were Gods (we were kids)] and that will fix all the things that went wrong and I didn't like 😌 so it's basically like double Christmas I think

[schnaf]

I kinda want to ask you all of them, but these are my favourites: 5, 10, 11 and 25 for the End of the Year Asks ✨

OOOOOOOH i would have been fine with that too ♥

5. TV show of the year?

oh godddd ironically i didn't watch any tv series this year (or at least i didn't finish any or it wasn't worth remembering i guess)....... but oh i've got a web series i guess? i got into UNHhhh this year and it became my comfort show ♥

10. Something that made you cry this year?

wOW before i looked up this question, i was still dwelling on that time on the train when i cried the whole time and then i saw there was a new episode of UNHhhh and it actually made me stop crying for 15 minutes ♥ i cried many, many times this year......... well, every year and it won't change next year i guess (except i donate my tear glands to science). i mostly cry out of frustration or anger, sometimes i'm straight up sad i guess, but i'm going to pick something nice and that's said train trip. it was the day after a concert and the concert was so neat and i was so happy and the next day.............................. i just cried for hours. because i missed it i guess? because i wanted to go back? but not even in a sad sense, in a "it's gone now and who knows when it will happen again". it was a lot.

11. Something you want to do again next year?

once again, i can refer to the previous question 😭 i want to see bands i love live again. luckily, i already bought tickets for january. (HOW AM I GONNA HANDLE IT WHEN ALL OF MY CONCERTS ARE OVER) i also want to go to london again which is connected to the january tickets. and i'd love to write a lot again ♥

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

OOOOOOF. so i don't have many actual oc's, most of them aren't worth mentioning. (i gave one of my main characters a little sister tho and i'm quite content with her because she's bitchy but also lovely) but hm in the big fic i started this year i have a set of besties and i love them and their dynamics ♥ one of them is rational, the other one emotional but the rational one can be really soft and the emotional one really mean. they're really close and even when they spend more time with their boyfies, they still don't let go of each other ♥

thank you so much! ♥

End of the year Asks

[captainshadowgirllostfan]

Rumplestiltskin created the Dark Curse and planned for Regina to enact it instead of himself? Why?

He must know there was repurcussions to enacting it perhaps?

And then you have the existence of Emma and why he's so invested in Snow White and Prince Charming.

He knew what the Dark Curse would do but he also ensured there was a way to fix everything if the Dark Curse is enacted.

Because the reason for the Dark Curse for him was simple: He was trying to get to Baelfire who was trying to transport both himself and his father to the Land Without Magic only Rumple was too scared to go.

Rumple's only goal and mission, his only focus is to get to Baelfire no matter what happens, and no matter what he has to do, even if it means destroying worlds and leaving them in disarray.

But he's not completely heartless or callous. That's the reason he was invested in Snow and Charming, to create Emma so that there was a way to fix everything.

Emma's role as the Savior was basically to not only undo the Dark Curse and break it, but also to fix all the worlds impacted by it.

And then the writers just made everything confusing just to vamp up the drama and create a new villain every mid-season and more convoluted plots instead of the one plot they should have had Emma fix which was to basically be the unfortunate soul to clean up the mess the villains have made.

Which frankly should have inspired a lot of resentment and anger against the villains because are you kidding me? She lives a crappy lonely life and basically her role is to bring everyone's happy ending back but what about hers? And how is it fair that the bad guys create the problems, but it's up to her to basically clean their mess?

I guess maybe that's what the writers were trying to do with the Captain Swan thing though tbh I was never into it because as I explained early on... it's just weird to me that Hook would get with the son of his former lover's lover like that's just weird. Hook you need to find a girl that isn't connected to Rumple's family, like seriously.

But I have a friend that ships a couple that never came to be from another family, and she was very invested in Captain Swan as in it was the only ship she cared about in OUAT and so...I guess I have to see what exactly she see in it but honestly, I still find the ship weird.

And in the end of the day, personally, I just prefer Emma on her own. She can be someone if she wants but when it comes to shipping, I feel like no ship respect Emma and her autonomy, or rather her as a character of her own. I feel like Captain Swan shippers care mostly about Captain Hook, and Swan Queen shippers care mostly about Evil Queen. And I'm not saying that they don't care about Emma. I have met ones that do but it's just in doing their ship or catering to it in the show, the focus on Emma as a character, to me, seems lost just to bring that ship come to life.

Like there is a lot for Emma to focus on, to work with, especially in her role as the Savior.

And not gonna lie, I think the Dark Swan Arc could've been amazing, but to me, it seemed like Captain Swan took over that season being rivaled by Swan Queen because Emma interacted with two people the most, Regina and Hook, and it was more focused, at least to me, about how to control Emma and make sure she didn't do anything bad and it's like...idk

Really idk. I didn't watch that season well enough so take what I'm saying with a grain of salt. But even I who haven't finished the series can tell Emma's potential was wasted on this show.

[lunarsilkscreen]

Tech Companies and Profitability

Most Tech companies, especially that of social media and communication apps; are running a free service.

This inherently means, that while they're incredibly useful and widely adopted; there isn't profit to be made without one of two options;

Charge the Users and/or run ads

With a third option being "Run a free service for individuals" with corporate tech support options for Businesses.

Early internet got around this by creating A LOT of freeware, and relying on users to maintain their own version of it.

With Cable TV going the way of the Dino Nugget; Advertising are negotiating for longer [TV Commercial styled Advertising] for literally everything.

Running a full screen video ad on your website is just the modern equivalent of having too many sounds on your webpage in the days of geocities.

Most of the costs that digital companies have to foot the bill for is server space and data hosting.

With backlogs of data possibly as much as 1TB per user; these costs, as well as speed of distribution keep increasing.

And a lot of pricing models are going to hurt the same tech companies trying to implement them. It's a very frustrating place to be in; yet something that's going to take a lot of brain power to solve.

As we moved to wanting more interconnected services; these dilemmas may start unraveling themselves; but since everybody wants to be the one-stop shop, worried about their own revenue loss from users navigating *away* from their services(websites)

They also increase the overall costs that are required to support [always on/connected] infrastructure. Which is inherently limited by Cable/Internet companies due to their own costs, profit margins, and motivations.

Think of a future environment where every app or service you use has an added-surcharge... Like the current [Premium Cable Package] options. Except for websites.

This also has limitations, like what information can your average user actually get access to? With science publications requiring heavy fees which are more or less required to be paid by scientists; and too costly to access for your layman.

Creating situations where laymen, reading third and fourth hand regurgitations of Scientific Studies, fundamentally misunderstand what's being said.

And you know; causing anti-vaxxers and anti-science movements, mostly because it's Elitist not to let laymen read the studies.

Or Imagine your favorite YouTubers who buy their own platforms with blackjack and hookers and didn't offer an invite without that added charge.

Most of this is a fundamental incompatibility with the online ecosystem; and how classic capitalism and business *wants* to operate.

They want to bring their old systems to their new fangled online environment; and because they don't actually use the internet; don't understand how to service internet denizens.

Like going into a library and proudly stating "Your Profits Margins suck; We need to sell more books."

Which hey; Maybe. Selling a library book to someone who keeps borrowing the same series may help authors out.

But it sure won't help book store fronts.

What this means in practice is government grants for services that are invaluable to the American People. Things we all use everyday and find immense time and cost savings that we wouldn't otherwise get offline and maybe couldn't afford.

And definitely won't be able to afford as part of a bundled package with eighty different services one may not use.

This also requires a look at how advertising is regulated. Online Ads shouldn't be intrusive; that is create a distraction if one is browsing in an open area.

Imagine browsing HuffPost and some assholes target everyone in your location with those [Loud Tik Tok Moaning Sounds].

Shouldn't be a burden on a users data cap; and mostly advertise the product in a way more akin to newspaper classifieds.

Unless, of course, the media is *supposed* to be in video format; then a focus on non-intrusive adreels that aren't a data/bandwidth burden for the user or the network itself.

That prevents the ad companies from "polluting the airwaves" needlessly; and frees up internet traffic.

There should also be more encouragement for interoperability..meaning different services that aren't monopolized at the app/service provider level.

For example; Data Storage (Like Drop Box), should be able to provide storage for users lets say they're running a Discord Channel, or a Mastodon Server, or even a TF2 server.

Which reduces the burden of data storage at the service level and allows individual space hosting to compete in that space more visibly.

Reducing those overhead fees by breaking up the pseudo-monopolistic behaviors for everyone involved is a *good* thing.

And by increasing interoperability; allows small businesses to compete where they find their niche.

If for example; we use the SMTP backbone for individual data storage; users would simply be worried about their data storage//email storage space size; and be able to transfer to different front/back ends as they see fit.

Or, Deal with services that bundles those instantly if you're not as savvy.

The intent isn't to decrease opportunity, but to increase the ability of people to operate their own small-scale services without relying on the overhead Big-Tech Companies bogart.

And it is possible; because that's the way the internet was designed. For Modularity.

[idealisticrealism]

Awe that is actually so thoughtful of you. But yes it was just like being slapped in the face. This is such a non significant thing but I got really excited because I saw that we share birthday and I never read about a celeb with my birthday, then boom!. Then finding out he has such young kids, man. And yes, like you say I just got a new obsession and I'm going to be honest, Aram was on of the biggest reasons for me enjoying it so much, so I'm not 100% sure if I want to continue, but it may just like you say take some time to digest that he won't be back because I for sure have not accepted that. He played it so freaking well, that line between seeing that he is a mob guy who does bad things but also has a sweet nature to him. Because usually in this series either they do too much on one, and the sweetness doesn't feel genuine. But I think bringing up his background and then Thory/Nadia working together is a good way to continue it without him. I mean I do agree with you that I liked in S2 that it wasn't like "Oh so Thory and Arman are together now" but we got to see them grew a stronger bond. But, that scene where they are alone, they are both not in a relationship anymore and he says he doesn't want to leave her alone. Like man, that deserved a kiss haha. That seems like a very healthy take, like I do like most of the plots but somethings gets a bit too much for me, and also as a health care professional, man some of those bug the hell out of me like they do when there is any medicine involved on screen. Like there is noooo way you could use a ventilator in a chapel, you need to connect it to oxygen flow. But in those cases, I just make up my own stories in my head and pretend that is what happened haha and I'm happy.

Haha oh man the amount of ranting I have done about the medical stuff in this show... Thony's resus of Kamdar in his club in 2x10 is the pinnacle for me, like omg how many things can be portrayed incorrectly in just one single scene. But because I love this show so much I generally just do my best to turn my medical brain off and just roll with whatever happens whenever I watch it, mostly for my own sanity haha

I can definitely relate to what you said about the scene in 2x08 with the two of them alone at her house... I think I even read somewhere that the writers considered having Armony hook up in that scene, but then obviously ultimately decided against it. Tbh given that he then has to go back to Nadia only hours later, I'm actually kinda glad they didn't do anything more than hug! Still, I've got a fic or two drafted about an alternative version of that scene, and hopefully I'll eventually get around to posting them one day lol.

I also agree 100% that the show did an amazing job with creating Arman's character, and keeping that realistic balance of hard exterior and soft heart. I have a genuine love for all the main characters in this show, but Arman really captured me, and he quickly became one of my favourite characters of all time. And of course Adan did an incredible job portraying him, and his chemistry with Elodie was just off the charts. The show will absolutely never be the same without Arman/Adan, and that's something I'm still coming to terms with.

And I don't think it's silly that you were excited about sharing something in common with Adan; I think that having innocent little connections like that to the people behind the media we love is absolutely part of the fun, though the flip side to that is that if something bad happens with them, it can feel more personal. I encountered Adan on a plane once in 2022, and now what was once an awesome and delightful memory just makes me sad. And of course the fact that he was so young and had such little kids has been a really challenging aspect of it for all of us, because no matter our specific family circumstances, a loss like that hits a little too close to home.

Anyway, regardless of whether you do watch s3, if you're ever missing Arman you can always come over to Ao3 and find him there. At least in fic he can live on ❤

[nikkisticki]

MUSIC 5 MONDAY (Week 1)

Totally didn't forget on Friday so I'm going to overcompensate to assure myself I won't forget (because how embarrassing would that be) so gonna start on Mondays and post some grooves using the tag #Music 5 Monday

Pretty good game that wants to talk big words about complicated subjects, and unlike it's sister game YIIK (as this game has a fucking YIIK event in it, which is somehow as badly made as YIIK itself) it mostly succeeds.

Also, it's the best game soundtrack to fuck to, trust me

Speaking of sexy things, what a MUSTACHE...oh also, they filmed this video in actual factual space

IDK the mustache is more important tbh

LISTEN, Black Bullet is awful, absolutely dreadful, partially because of interference from the company making the products which drove the artist mad as they turned his Cyberpunk dystopia into an anime about Loli's doing kung-fu, and partially because the Soundtrack is done by THE MAN Shirō Sagisu, who has done many many amazing soundtracks including most famously Evangelion.

Black Bullet was butchered so brutally that the creator quit his job after the sixth book mid-series and opened a restaurant.

If anyone's curious, feel free to ask me about this as I've suffered through the full LN, Manga and Anime and have a lot of very angry things to say about capitalism and Japan being the fucking worst sometimes

I'm a big fan of the Mash-Up genre, because when done well it can create an entirely new sound that I really appreciate. There's actually a fascinating connection between it and "A.I" (It's not A.I) Art, because this is a process that requires a delicate touch as someone makes specific choices that requires a mixture of taste and skill to really appreciate how to make each element work, and """"A.I""" art just blenders everyone's work together and tries to find the average

Tech Bro's hate the blender comparison

Katana Zero - Hit The Floor

If you've not played Katana Zero, you've been living a pale imitation of life. Amazing game, fantastic music, probably my favorite game of that year and easily in the top 50 Indie games. I know that sounds like a lot, but I've played a lot of fucking indie games

Y'know, cause fuck capitalist art

If you've not heard this bonus track, it really brings together the best of the Shovel Knight campaigns. Mona is best girl

[dg-outlaw]

Reblogging mostly to boost this post from OP, though I have a slightly more nuanced and personal take on it--but I don't disagree with OP's view here b/c it's theirs and it's valid.

While I know fandom is varied with a range of people from toxic to wholly supportive, I know things can be interpreted with a certain context, especially since we're all strangers on the internet and it's hard to convey tone in walls in text--as I proceed with a wall of text.

As a BIPOC person myself I can understand the sentiment here with OP. At the same time, as someone who grew up in the 80s and 90s and in a more conservative area, embracing white cishet culture and feeling the pressure to fit in shaped/warped many of my views of what was considered "normal" or acceptable--including fandom characters I gravitated towards versus others. A few other things in my life also made me feel "other" in the world I grew up in so for me I often did my best to hide my other-ness as best I could, which also included hiding my love for comics and other geek fandom. These are things I'm not proud of, but it's my story nonetheless and it's part of my journey in growing and learning, accepting myself, and finding love for so many other characters outside of my own identity.

Personal rant aside, I think for me, there are a few reasons Duke, Cass, Damian, Steph (and others) aren't always on the forefront of my mind, though my tumblr was specifically created to promote my fanfic stories for JaySteph (Jason and Steph), so...

I'm old... or at least an elder millennial as some have labled my place in the generation. So for me; Duke, Cass, Damian, and Steph represent the new kids or next gen characters--Tim as well. When I grew up, especially watching old re-runs of the Adam West Batman show and Batman: TAS, the Batfam I was familiar with was Bruce, Alfred, Dick, and Babs. That's it. Jason didn't come around until later in my comics knowledge (see above about hiding my fandom) and I was getting older when Tim showed up on the animated series so I resonated more with Dick (who was a teen/college kid) than with little boy Tim (who was more of a Jason/Tim hybrid).

Jason came into my world around the time of the 'Under the Red Hood' comic and the animated movie. This also coincided with my angry teen/young adult era where I was blasting Linkin Park and raged against the world as to why adults had let me down. Yes, on the surface Jason is the edgy one with guns, but as I've grown, seen decent writing with Jason, and learned more about him I've come to really appreciate and admire the complexities of the character. So, he's still one I resonate more with as a more mature and mentally healthier adult beyond the shallow fanboy-ness (emphasis on boy) of "he's the cool, angsty one who kills people." Again, another post for another day if you want my views and evolution of being a Jason Todd fan.

Duke, Cass, Damian, and Steph are awesome. I've enjoyed getting to know them, reading their stories, but just like how some view music they love from their youth compared to music they love as an adult--it hits different. I feel the same way about the "new" kids. Yes, I know they've been around for a bit now, but in comic book time it's only been a hot minute. They are the new music to me--fun but different.

Tim also falls into the same category of "kids" as the above four. Yes, he's white and male, but since he came out as bi, I think he should be added in the list of "othered" Batfam characters. Because believe me, that made someone's day when they found out Robin could be bi, just as it probably did for girls seeing Steph as Robin.

Lets also not forget Luke Fox and David Zavimbe as Batwing (1 and 2), Kate Kane as Batwoman, and Harper Row as Bluebird, but as mentioned above, these are characters who weren't part of my youth, but who I also consider part of the Batfam.

Ultimately, I think it's about connection to character and I think it's great that the Batfam is fairly diverse with different personalities, histories, ages, and identities for so many to connect, resonate, or just be a fan of, even if they don't always get the most attention.

TL;DR: I have love for the whole Batfam. For me, I post or reblog what I find fun, exciting, or intriguing, but it's never meant to exclude a character especially based on their gender, sexuality, ethnicity, identity, or anything else. So if someone is not included, it's not on purpose or intentional.

I think we all have characters we probably resonate more with than others, which is 100% fine, but I hope OP's message is seen as more of a call to action to remember some of the often overlooked characters in the Batfam (because it is for me), and if those characters can be included in posts, wrong quotes, reblogs, art, etc.? Great! If not, and you just want to show your love for [insert your favorite Batfam character(s)], then I think that's fine too.

All in all, let's have fun, enjoy our fandom, and please don't be a hornet toward OP. :)

i will not interact with a batbrothers post without duke. i will not like or reblog a batsibling post without cass. i will one hundred percent scroll past a robins post without steph. fandom may not care about female characters and especially poc characters but i fucking do and i have had fucking enough. fandom may prefer male and white (dick and dami arent, but they are whitewashed a lot) but i dont and wont goddamn tolerate it. i know im swinging this bat at a hornet's nest but i dont fucking care.