#doesn't it belong to the people??

[rocketbirdie]

we got a lot in common...

[the-crooked-library]

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ellen’s sex scene with Thomas is weird, unsexy, frantic, fully clothed and disturbing, while Ellen’s sex scene with Orlok, literal corpse, is slow, detailed, sensual, and they are both naked. The juxtaposition.

exaaactlyyyy!! it's about the INTIMACY

regardless of how desperate both Ellen and Thomas may be to conform to their socially acceptable marriage (they're both distinctly queercoded, Ellen wants passion, Thomas cannot give it, both of them see each other as a duty), they still do not and cannot understand each other. Ellen, who comes from a wealthy but abusive home, cannot imagine prioritizing material success over love and connection; Thomas, who self-deprecatingly refers to himself as a "pauper," cannot imagine ostracizing himself so completely from the society that very easily jeopardizes the livelihood of anyone non-conforming. There is a distinct lack of intimacy between them, only partially breached by anger and confrontation; which is, indeed, illustrated by their fully clothed, aggressive scene. It is more of an argument than sex.

Ellen's death-wedding with Orlok is entirely different - as you said, slow, sensual, reverent; it centers their closeness above all. They cling to one another, both overcome with emotion (self-professed inability to love be damned), perfect living skin against rotting flesh; the visual implication here is that there is, quite literally, nothing between them. They know each other entirely, the flaws, the beauty, and that understanding is more important than their own life or death.

One is a sex scene that is actually a fight, the other is a lovemaking disguised as murder, and I am obsessed

[her-soliloquies]

I'm half convinced that if Vi and Cait hadn't actually kissed and slept together, there would be some people showing up out of nowhere to say that their relationship is supposed to be platonic and seeing it as romantic is harmful to the concept of simple friendship and that two people can be close without it being romantic etc etc (which they are saying about jayvik and silco/vander)

Now since explaining a thousand times that people can have different opinions and they should learn to respect them instead of correcting them as if there is only one true answer does not seem to work, here's an idea: just block those ship tags and let us all have peace in this fandom.

Thank you.

[crossdressingdeath]

The thing is at this point seeing people talking like Lucanis hates being a Crow and wants out is an easy way to learn that they do not in fact understand Lucanis as a character. There is nothing to suggest that Lucanis is unhappy as a Crow. "The training was torture and he resented Caterina for it for a long time" and "he doesn't like being a Crow" are not the same thing. "He's hesitant at the idea of being First Talon" and "he doesn't like being a Crow" are not the same thing. Lucanis likes being a Crow. Is it the path he would've chosen for himself if he hadn't been born into it? Maybe not (but "this isn't where they would've ended up if their life was different" applies to most of the characters in this series so it's not really valid evidence re the question of whether or not he's happy; if you're going to claim that Lucanis clearly hates being a Crow just because he didn't get a choice you'd better also be claiming that Alistair hates being a Warden, and I don't think I need to say that that's not the case). Does he wish the training had been easier to bear? Maybe so (and he's for sure going to be a reformer). I think people miss that while he does acknowledge the Crows' flaws—especially with de Riva, he really is much more willing to raise the subject with a fellow Crow—he never once expresses any dissatisfaction with being a Crow beyond him not being entirely comfortable with the idea of being named First Talon. I assure you he doesn't want to be Rook's house husband! He's gonna go back to the Crows post-game! That's what he wants! And people ignoring that because they can't handle the idea that he can like cooking and knitting and caring for the people he loves and also genuinely enjoy being a professional assassin is a real shame, because they're ignoring one of the most fascinating parts of his character.

[mareastrorum]

An annoying part about any fandom discourse is the push to categorize characters, populations, and factions as representations of actual groups IRL. The most annoying one (to me) is insistence that a particular group is Indigenous Peoples and the other is the White Settlers.

Like a lot of people in the U.S., I'm mixed race. Many who are mixed race don't identify as such; they pick one or another. Why? Because mixed race identities are systematically ignored or erased on multiple levels of government and political influence: census records, diversity reports, financial aid qualifications, membership in political groups, etc. Choosing one identity alone is rewarded with greater voice and resources in different spheres. Acknowledging that this split isn't real is offensive to groups in power, both for the dominant hegemony of Whites and the coalitions of minority groups. Each group benefits from enforcing this exclusionary practice because it allows specific people to justify their leadership based solely on their heritage: a new aristocracy.

All this fake dichotomy nonsense in fandom is a replication of that mentality. Like, some media like The Terror really, truly are commentary on colonialism. There's no need to hide the ball about it. If your favorite media has nothing to do with conquest, exploitation of land and resources, or the subjugation of populations for the benefit of foreign powers, then it's not about colonialism. There's other themes to explore.

[adhbabey]

Let's talk about some lesser known symptoms of autism! Maybe this will help some of you get a broader perspective on what this can be like. There is a whole grab bag of symptoms of autism, but here are some ones you may not know that you have.

Focus on truth

What does this mean? Well glad you asked. This is the focus on facts and logic rather than anything else. People have shown this as autistic people may refusing to lie because it goes against what they find as true. But that's not always the case.

Have you ever used logic to try and figure out your emotions?

Are you someone who doesn't understand why others may speculate when the current knowledge is right there? (such as subtext versus canon knowledge or theoretical arguments)

Do you find it frustrating when others avoid their problems as a way to avoid figuring out negative things? (such as avoiding conflict in a friend group)

Is it easy for you to talk about your strengths and flaws? Do you know your likes, dislikes and limits pretty well?

High context communication

This is preference on details and the full context of any situation. Often going into great detail and backstory to anything.

Do you feel as though you need to overexplain to give the person everything they need to know?

Have you ever apologized to someone by explaining the deep and meaningful reasons of why you did it, before you said you were sorry? And maybe even felt upset or confused why they reacted badly?

Have you ever felt stressed out because you wanted to give others full detail but they either interrupted you or cut you off?

Are you stressed out by people who tell you what to do and not why they want you to do it?

Are you ever told that you talk back a lot?

Do you prefer recipes versus verbal/vague instructions? (All the things that you need such as ingredients, measurements, prep time, etc.)

Do you really like watching deep dives and knowing about the whole history of something you're even vaguely interested in?

Identity diffusion

This is not everyone's experience, and it is common in a variety of other disorders such as DID and BPD. However, it is when you do not know who you are in regards to others. This is also known as identity disturbance.

Have you ever felt like an outsider without knowing why?

Are you deeply interested on what other people think of you? Especially if it's all the time?

Do you really like taking personality tests and quizzes? Are you interested in horoscopes?

Do you feel like you don't fit in any one specific group? Either being a loner, or hopping in between many different groups?

Do you ever feel weirder than the "weird kids" group? Do you not really get along or feel like you belong with them?

Do you have low self esteem when it comes to comparing yourself to your friends? Do you feel like they're better or more capable than you?

Do you feel drastically unimportant and not as interesting or cool as everyone else?

Have you ever related to narratives surrounding a character that is the last of their kind?

Do you feel like your identity is a vast and gaping void, that even if you learn a little bit, that you'll never know everything?

Internalized repetition

This is one of those traits that not every autistic person experiences, but that some might. You could say that for all autistic traits, but hey, good to know regardless. Because of internalized repetition, you may not do many external stims, besides vocal.

Do you listen to a song over and over again? Perhaps having a playlist on repeat?

When stressed out, do you type the same word or phrase over and over again?

Do you like looking at the same things, such as the same color or the same artist's works?

Do you really like certain patterns, crystals or aesthetics?

Do you enjoy games with recognizable fighting patterns? (Such as character rotation, boss battle rotation, etc.)

Struggling to connect to others *

This is something that's been characterized by struggling to connect to others through their emotions, but the opposite is actually true for many autistic people. *I will be talking about those who struggle to connect to others who are emotionally distant or unavailable. Being emotionally distant or not showing emotions externally is a trait that many autistic people share, but for those without alexithymia, they may struggle to understand why anyone wouldn't like to talk about their emotions. I don't know the specific symptom term for this, so please bare with me. If anyone would like to inform me about what this is called, please tell me.

Do you struggle to talk with dry texters, or tend to over-examine people's tone through text?

Do you have anxious attachment?

Do you feel disconnected with many other autistic people and struggle to make friends or talk to them?

Do you feel embarrassment or shame with being emotionally sensitive?

Have you fallen down the rabbit hole of things like starseeds, star children or empaths?

Do you want to talk about serious emotions a lot, even when its not appropriate?

Do you trauma dump or wish people would become more emotionally intimate with you? Do you enjoy it when people share their deep traumas with you, even if it's triggering?

Are you constantly reassurance seeking?

There is plenty more symptoms out there, and these are just a few that stood out to me, because I think I may be autistic. I've always related somewhat, but never connected the dots. But there are reasons for that, such as identity diffusion and thinking I'm different from everyone else no matter what. I struggled because I didn't seem to have a lot of the outward and visible symptoms that were often talked about. I thought every autistic person had alexithymia, when that's just not true. My best friend, who has similar symptoms to me, along with another close friend of mine, have a similar presentation of autism. And it's taken quite a bit for me to accept or process. I feel like I'm faking my experiences just because I've self diagnosed before. And I'm angry that ADHD isn't given enough significance.

But I think I might be autistic, and this article that I based this post off of, confirmed it. So here's my post informing and coming out on that. You can be autistic and highly masking without actually knowing what's going on is masking. You can be autistic and have a spectrum of verbality, you can be autistic and struggle to connect to anyone who isn't immediately emotionally intimate with you. You can be autistic and not relate at all to other autistic people.

You're not alone.

[t-u-i-t-c]

"You want to help him, don't you, Sakito?"

[khaire-traveler]

(US targeted lol)

To those who don't have any family to eat with today, know that you still belong. You still matter. Your life is still important, and while it may feel like you don't have family right now, a loving group of people (or even just one really awesome person) will come along. You haven't met everyone you'll ever meet yet.

[anantaru]

LET PEOPLE WRITE WHAT THEY WANT AND FOR WHO THEY WANT !!!!!

[uncanny-tranny]

[qourmet]

my Headcanons for a Canon Couple that gets no Canon Exposition

[luminaryofblood]

... Really though, how WOULD the Hornsent view Morgott or Mohg? WOULD they revere them, for the aspects they bear - the horns, the tail, the wings - or would their hatred toward Marika be that strong that, even for the omen twins, they would still hold contempt?

[thinkingofausername]

mouthwashing has truly showed me that we haven't evolved from the fucking witch trials. people can only ever point fingers, judge, hate, condemn, root for damnation. how the fuck do you look at a game about capitalism, psychological instability, complex characters, endless nuance and get out of the experience with the braindead take "curly horrible. anya, daisuke and swansea wonderful. jimmy bad." too many people haven't moved on from the reasoning of five year olds and disney - hero good and villain bad. people aren't fucking cartoon characters. we're not only good or bad. media literacy is truly dead and gone.

[memorizingthedigitsofpi]

Humans aren't omniscient, and that's okay. You don't have to hold yourself to that standard.

Sometimes you're going to enjoy something that was made by a real asshole. Sometimes you're going to like art that was created by genAI. Sometimes a person that you trusted will break your heart in ways that you can't even imagine.

You weren't an asshole. You didn't create the art. Odds are decent you didn't even realize it was genAI until someone else pointed it out to you. You didn't break your own heart. All of that was done by other people. It sucks to find out later, but it's not your fault that you didn't stop it from happening in the first place.

I've seen a couple of posts in the last couple of days about "how to tell if a fic was written with AI" and both of those posts explained "signs" of genAI writing that are just... writing. Creative choices that a human could make. Sure, it might be a generative AI bot scraping it from somewhere and gluing the pieces together, but it might also just be a human person writing in a way that you don't like. Or that you haven't encountered before. Or that doesn't speak to you.

There is no checklist you can run through to make sure you never like something that was made by an asshole, to make sure that you never enjoy art that was created by genAI, to make sure that you never get your heart broken by someone you trusted.

You are not responsible for the actions that another person decides to take. It is not a moral failing. Sometimes you can't protect yourself from experiencing the suckitude - in whatever form it might take and to whatever degree it sucks.

Humans aren't omniscient, and trying to be will drive you nuts.

[frogonamelon]

[bisupergirl]

constantly thinking about where kara would be at today if she had been allowed to transition into new earth continuity along with everyone else after COIE (and if pre-crisis kara wasn't stripped for parts and tossed aside for the benefit of other characters)...