#enjoy media in less pointless ways

[hxhhasmysoul]

Who’s the better big bro?

Killua Or Choso?

What criteria am I judging them on? Let me come up with some.

_________

Powers

Honestly love both their powers. They are both creepy, allow for a lot of creativity and look fucking amazing when utilised. On the sheer coolness of them both it's a draw for me.

I'm morally opposed to powerscaling, I do not respect people who engage in it, especially in the context of HxH and JJK because it stands in opposition to what these manga are. Also I don't give a shit who'd win a fight because they wouldn't fight each other. Alluka and Yuuji would be fucking quick friends, he'd love Nanika too and be very jealous considering the passenger he ended up with. Killua and Chousou would cry in the corner overwhelmed by the cuteness of that encounter.

_________

Protectiveness

Well both have their ups and downs.

Killua forgets about Alluka and Nanika but it's not his choice to do so. Then again he doesn't go back for them immediately but he's in the middle of the whole chimera ant debacle so...

Chousou almost kills Yuuji, though he does that because he hadn't realised Yuuji is his brother at the time.

They both play favourites too.

Killua cares only about Alluka and Nanika, not about Kalluto. I mean I get why, Kalluto is clearly mama's spy and they are a little sadist, and Killua can't stand his mum and he is trying to change himself from that mindset but yeah.

Chousou has his favourite brothers and he's ready to sacrifice the others. He's ready to make up justifications for Yuuji consuming them. It's a hard situation but yeah, he's choosing Yuuji here. And I mean, I get it, I would too.

I'd say it's a wash. in this category.

And from now on I will refer only to their relationship with their preferred siblings.

_________

Affection

They are both very affectionate. They show their love both through touch and they give verbal affirmations.

Killua is probably marginally better because he's a tad less intense, his hugs are probably less smothering.

So like Killua slightly wins here. Or loses, depends on what you prefer.

_________

Neediness

Okay. So like they are both absolutely fucking needy and clingy, same fucking energy there. They need to be needed, that's their primary characteristic, they need therapy.

It's no surprise Alluka promises to give Killua back to Gon. I mean she's just got him back and she missed him so she wants to have him for herself for a while but she knows it'll get old. She knows that if she wants some breathing room she needs to get the green boi's help to distract Killua.

Chousou has nobody left and is a child of abuse and just lost a girl that he probably liked. Yuuji is his last chance at sanity. And he needs to redeem himself so badly after not being able to protect anyone he cared for. He needs Yuuji to love him and he will fucking work for it and work for it and Yuuji will let him because he's nice like that, even if it weirds him out a bit and it's not helpful with his general trauma levels.

So like, a draw again.

_________

Responsibility

This one is hard because neither of them had a normal life.

Killua is 13/14 when he rescues Alluka and she's (if I remember correctly) 2 years younger than he is. So can a, let's be generous here, 14yo take care of another kid? Well, he was left to fend for himself when he was much younger than Alluka now and he managed. He has a pretty good knowledge of how to move around in the world. But he's also a kid with questionable dietary habits, he might give Alluka scurvy if he only feeds her chocolate and fastfood. Also will he know how to give her a more normal life? Get her to school, help her make friends? He also has a gambling addiction and has a very poor track record with his financial decisions.

Chousou has lived as a person in the real world for a few months so far. Yes, he looks like an adult and has been conscious in some way for over a hundred years. He was also likely put into an adult vessel and probably has some memories and general knowledge about how to function in the world from that. That being said it'll surely be a learning curve. Will he really be better at adulting than Yuuji who likely mostly took care of himself for years when Wasuke was sick? On the other hand Chousou will really earnestly go at it. He will become a provider as soon as he needs to, he will do any job, any number of shifts. He has this vibe. But he might not stop himself and try to parent Yuuji, there's a slight risk of that.

So I guess a draw? Maybe Chousou wins a bit here but not sure, Killua would likely be more careful around Alluka and Nanika than he was around Gon.

_________

Dumbass

They will both need dating support from their younger sibling, like 100%.

The amount of eyerolling Alluka will do because of Killua's crush is probably very high, I hope eyerolling can't damage your eyes. Nanika will likely be very confused by the whole situation, still supportive.

But Chousou is kinda fucked. Everyone, who hcs that Yuuji explained to Chousou that he and Yuki were on a date, is wrong. The fuck Yuuji knows about dating. They are both doomed in that respect, can't count on each other at all, rip.

_________

Looks

They both are very good with fashion, though we see more from Killua. So like on cute outfits Killua wins by volume of what we see.

But I don't like the white hair/blue eyes design. Controversial hottake incoming, I think Killua is kinda ugly.

So like face and general design wise Chousou wins by a mile. (in the manga, fuck mappa, may they rot, also his voice actor was shit)

_________

Queer

A queer sibling is better than a straight one, obviously. So Killua wins this one, Chousou's straight vibes are too strong, sorry.

_________

In conclusion it's mostly a draw, depends which categories matter to you most. If I missed any important categories, tell me in the notes :D

[skinnypaleangryperson]

Everything has been so pathetically genuinely terribly cringe to me lately, to the point where I don't get joy out of anything anymore, but I'm trying

I'm aware enough to know that this is a side effect of severe depression and stagnance and mundaneity and generally being sick of being alive and hating everything for it

[fruitytrollroll]

Nine Sols' narrative themes inform every gameplay element btw. if u even care.

saw someone call Nine Sols' gift sysrem for Shuanshuan "too dialogue-heavy" and "pointless" and I went temporarily insane

if the quest moments with Shuanshuan feel "pointless", it's because they are meant to be their own reward and you did them out of obligation!!! why!!! nobody was holding you at gunpoint to MAKE you raise this beautiful precious forgiving baby boy who loves you and nursed you back to health—but like a deadbeat dad on a custody visit just to be compliant with a court order, you spent time with him anyway and you resented him for it. WHAT!!!

also can NOT overstate how the games' themes of revenge and redemption tie into these scenes. they are not by ANY MEANS pointless!!! the way Yi goes out of his way to preserve his culture, by sharing it with the APEMAN he's raising, speaks VOLUMES about Yi's character growth in the 2 years since he and Shuanshuan began living together.

I was personally endeared by Shuanshuan immediately, and was delighted I had gifts to give him—AND that they each had bespoke cutscenes that revealed lore information about Solarian culture, and background information about Yi and Shuanshuan'a lives together?? do you guys know how rare and special it feels to have a gift system that WORKS like this??? SO many games give you garbage trinkets to throw at your companions for a quantifiable affection boost, so I cannot overstate how deeply impressive and heartfelt and dedicated to their story Red Candle Games clearly was to have put in the time and effort to make their gift mechanic so deeply character-driven, with custom animations and environmental changes for every skill you teach Shuanshuan. 🥺🧸✨️

if you don't like social sim elements in games, or the characters didn't succeed in endearing themselves to you, that's fine. They're not for everyone—but I suspect my experience was the intended one! you're supposed to like and care about these characters enough to bring them the gifts you find on your travels of your own volition!!

if you DON'T care about the characters, you can skip their scenes, and the game respects your time by LETTING you do that, AND by giving you an ending that is less involved in the characters' lives. but if you resent these scenes because "ugh i HAVE to do this to get the TRUE ending 🙄" then idk!! I think you are playing the game wrong!!

I think RCG gave players an opportunity to not care, and a perfectly satisfying ending despite it all (THE BETTER ENDING AND LESS EMOTIONALLY DEVASTATING ENDING, IN MY OPINION, BECAUSE RCG IS SO MEAN TO ME 😭), and if you passed that up for completionism's sake... IDK!!

I genuinely think achievments have poisoned too many games that don't benefit from them! Gone are the olden days of playing your big sister's SNES games blind—no online guides, no guardrails, just getting lost and wandering around the overworld, just playing by vibes alone and if you get stuck u just have to take a break and come back later instead of looking up a guide online because there wasn't even a GameFAQs page for it yet—but on GOD we need to get back there. Play games blind. Don't look up guides. JUST ENJOY IT, JUST ENGAGE WITH THE MEDIA, WE DON'T NEED INSTRUCTIONS I PROMISE, YOUR INNOCENT NASCENT FUMBLING IS ENOUGH, YOU CAN PLAY THE GAME AND HAVE FUN WITHOUT SOME CHODE ON "HARDCOREGAMER" DOT COM GIVING YOU A DISRESPECTFULLY SPOILERIFIC BREAKDOWN OF A PATH OR BOSS FIGHT OR ITEM LOCATION THAT ROBS YOU OF THAT JOY OF DISCOVERY!!

anyway. yes, if you forced yourself to sit through the dialogue of character-driven scenes for characters you didn't even like or feel compelled by, just to get the "True" end, then I imagine it would feel "pointless" and like "too much text". But failing to catch your interest is not a failure of the game's storytelling if you only disliked it because you were forcing yourself to do it for the achievment, just to get an ending that wasn't made with your play style in mind!!!

"it doesn't even affect the game's ending :/" *LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER*!!! ALL the sidequests have the CUMULATIVE effect of changing the ending! this is because Yi is a ruthless, analytical scientist deposed from his seat of political power in New Kunlun on a quest for revenge—yet he spent precious time doing a bunch of "pointless" sidequests for his friends he's come to care about, which allowed the villain's brewing plot the precious time it needed to come further to fruition. Yi is on a REVENGE quest, and it is the very act of saving Shuanshuan (thus alerting the island's security systems to Yi's presence) that puts a timeline on that revenge. He exposed himself for someone he cared about, putting his revenge in jeopaedy—and he postponed that revenge still further to make amends to the apemen he once thought so little of as to be complicit in their heinous exploitation!!! YI IS GROWING HE'S CHANGING, SHUANSHUAN CHANGED HIS HEART, AND IT'S ONLY IN THE TRUE ENDING YI CAN COMPLETE HIS CHARACTER ARC BY REALIZING HE FUCKED UP AND ACTUALLY REPENT (EVEN IF I HATE IT BECAUSE IT'S THE SADDEST ENDING, FUCK YOU RED CANDLE GAMES 😭)

also combat is focused around the parry because this game's primary thematic underpinning is giving proof to the age-old adage "fuck around and find out" (it's revenge it's about reVENGE IT'S ALL ABOUT FORGIVENESS AND CHANGE AND REVENGE)

[the-cat-and-the-birdie]

'You're reading too much into ATSV.'

[aka meta analysis is good for the soul]

I often get told on this blog that I'm reading too much into plots or scenes or things in general.

And honestly, fair point. I do the most.

And as a writer, I will say that I do it out of pure respect.

[actual photo of me reading the script and going for my 'reading too hard at ATSV notebook']

Movies take years to write.

People spend months of their lives genuinely toiling over these characters, often times creating more work than what can ever be reasonably used. Months of revisions and scraping work.

For weeks, about a dozen people probably went to sleep dreaming or thinking up what Hobie would wear, what Gwen would say, what emotional cues Jess will have.

A lot of people dedicated years of their lives and creative labor into that story.

To me, it isn't at all bizarre to take an hour out of my day to sit and consider the story they spend a lot of time trying to tell.

Compared to the labor they have given me, multiple 40+ hour work weeks for years - an hour or two is literally nothing lol

It's literally the least I can do.

As a writer, I feel like its only right to sit back and look deeper into a story.

To analyze the writer's intentions, or examine their storytelling tactics and abilities.

We are taught to consume media so quickly and rapidly that to offer time to critically analyze a piece of work is considered bizarre, too much work, or pointless.

As if there's nothing to read into. Or as if speculation and meta analysis is helpful to no one.

If someone spends five hours drawing fanart that is accepted. If someone spends two hours writing fanfic, this is expectable behavior.

But I spend the same amount of time to look deeper into the work of the writers, and often times I'm met with surprise or treated as if I'm overly uptight.

It's like snickering at a person who asked there was deeper meaning behind a painting. While standing in an art gallery.

When streaming shows drop all in one day, it becomes about the Easter eggs and watching it as fast as possible as not to be spoiled.

Then at the end of it, you wash your hands of it and wait for the next big release.

People spend years, decades of their writing career trying to write realistic characters with layered motives. Or stories with complex themes.

Comic Book and Screenwriters included.

I myself try very very hard to do so - to provide foreshadowing, and emotional insight into the characters, their motives, their faults.

If I heard someone say that the piece is not worth looking that far into, all the work I've done as a writer gets overlooked.

Writers cannot grow if people are consuming their media without caring enough to look critically at it as the work of a storyteller.

So yes, I'm looking too far into it. Cause writers can write that far into it. And that deserves to be examined, acknowledged, and praised.

To assume less is too assume lesser of the writers who put everything into the media you enjoy.

This year of all years, we should be appreciating the work Screenwriters put in.

I guess what I'm trying to say is - I'm not being an asshole (well, not trying to be).

I'm looking at writers as vital parts of a movies production. Because they are.

We look deeply at the art style, or the animation, or the music. Writers are not shadow figures. They're people with careers. And them and their work deserve to be spoken about and acknowledged as a work of effort just the same as CGI artists or editors, or directors.

I implore you - Read more into it.

If you're a writer yourself, doubly so.

Read FAR into it. Build your analyzation skills, come to your own conclusions. Break the story down every which way and look at the characters from every angle.

It's fun, it's free, it makes the characters so much more real.

So many people on this website hope to one day become published writers. One thing they do to help you achieve that in college, is by racing things like scripts, and looking critically.

Meta analysis is good for you as much as it is the writers.

If you don't think you're cut out for it, or would have nothing to add, still try. Not for the brownie points, but to feel closer to the characters and the story.

If you've seen ATSV (or any Fandom media) and haven't ever really sat and thought about it - everyone's moral stances, why they want what they want, why they've made the mistakes they've had, where you stand on it all - I highly recommend it.

You might come away with some surprising conclusions about characters or even yourself.

Think about your favorite characters, and what might happen to them in the next movie.

There's really nothing wrong with reading that far into it.

Fifteen minutes of thinking, or an hour of writing is nothing compared to the months of work that went into this absolute masterpiece.

Trust me, the first time you catch some shit that makes you go

ITS LIKE A HIGH I TELL YOU.

Touch grass? Nah bro, touch your local library card. Go there right now. Take out this book.

There's gonna be a discussion tomorrow in class.

If you read this far heyhello I think you're rad as hell.

Here's a Hobie for the road because he's a great companion.

Bye.

[icycoldninja]

Can you write an actress!reader with the DMC boys?

She typically plays small roles as either background character or side characters so , to the point where if she stands next to her colleagues she would get overshadowed quite literally, paparazzis would be too busy taking the other’s pictures meanwhile she just stands there awkwardly

So she decided to take on another role by auditioning to be a villain in a horror movie…and it became a massive hit. The writing, the pacing, the detailed practical effects, the tension between characters…and most importantly, how her acting skills shine through when given opportunity.

Because of how shallow her previous character was, audiences were left in awe of how dimensional her new character was and how her amazing performance had fleshed out the psychological struggle and mental anguish that the killer went through throughout the stages of her childhood and how it shaped her into a gore-crazed monster.

It’s amazingly terrifying how she can actually be, acting as a normal girl you can have a conversation with to a violent creature casually having a mental breakdown, screaming and crying violently in less than a minute, how psychotic the way she portrayed her character, etc It even made some audiences left due to how uncomfortable and disturbed they were at her (uncannily good) performance

P/S: I’m writing this as I think of Pearl (2022), The Thing (1982), Carrie (1976)

Yes, enjoy!

Sparda boys + V x Actress!Reader headcannons

¤ Dante ¤

-He was always supporting you from the very beginning, showing up on set whenever he had time to cheer you on and hand you water in between scenes.

-He didn't care that your roles were small, he knew you were an amazing actress, and if you put in the time and effort, you'd get your big break.

-When you got casted into that blockbuster horror movie he was overjoyed, hopping around and congratulating you excitedly.

-He kept rewatching your movie, amazed by how you could play a character that was so different from your own personality. He knew that was the job of an actor, but still!

-You definitely got a lot of new attention from the media because of this, and are grateful that Dante supported you. He still does, by the way, twice as hard.

■ Vergil ■

-Vergil never cared for movies until he met you. For so long, he'd seen them as nothing more than a pointless source of human entertainment, but since you seemed to be seeking a career in that field, his views changed.

-He started watching every movie you ever starred in, scanning the screen for signs of you, no matter how minor your role may have been.

-He congratulated you on your hard work, reminding you to stay MOTIVATED, and that good things will eventually come your way if you work hard enough.

-You worked hard alright, and landed an important role in a killer new horror movie that everyone praised you for. Your talent really shone through, and you were propelled to new heights, now seen as a respectable actress.

-Vergil has been watching this entire time, nodding and smiling proudly. That's his girl right there, practically getting mauled by reporters and paparazzi. That's his girl.

□ Nero □

-Nero thought it was really cool for you to be chasing your dreams and attempting to make it big in the acting world.

-He does his best to coach you when you're at home practicing your lines.

-He watches all your movies with a huge grin on his face, happily going "oh look, babe, it's you!" Whenever you show up, even if only for a second.

-Brags to Dante about how his girlfriend is the coolest, most talented actress in the world who deserves fame, fortune, and most of all, a good husband. Aka him

-Was so proud of you for landing that horror movie roll, and couldn't stop praising you, even when the reporters swarmed you, begging for your thoughts, comments, and whatnot. Honestly, Nero sounded like one of them himself.

● V ●

-V knew very little about the film industry, but judging from what you told him, making it big in this career was very difficult indeed.

-He was proud of you for your commitment and dedication to your craft, applauding you whenever you finished recording a scene. Yes he managed to sneak on set

-Tried to become your personal assistant, but the studio wouldn't hire someone who takes 45 minutes to cross the room and has 2 violent pets.

-Congratulated you when you told him you landed a major role in a popular movie and played it so well, people got chills watching your performance. After hearing this, he decided you two should watch your movie in celebration of your efforts.

-Needless to say, you were both terrified. Your portrayal of an insane murderer scared not only him, but yourself.

[stelladess]

My personal.... "review"? rating? for the gacha games that I have played, roughly in order but I do not remember exact order so... yeah Mostly just rambling to have my thoughts down in writing somewhere. No insult intended to any game here or the people who like them whether I like it or not. Chances are I was just not the intended demographic or that my tastes are just different.

HI3: Incredible story, some of the best characters in any media I have ever read, watched or played. However the gameplay is a very mixed bag, the gacha aspects are downright atrocious (even by gacha standards) and it has serious pacing issues. Also a lack of world building and the art direction has clearly shifted multiple times. The story has gotten me to straight up cry though and part 2 has alleviated or fixed a lot of my big issues with the game (more consistent artstyle, better pacing, far more fluid gameplay, better worldbuilding, etc), although nothing on the gacha side of things. One advantage is that it is relatively easy to ignore the gacha aspect and just play the story though since most of the time you get trial characters from the ones who are actually there doing the things in story at the time.

Genshin Impact: Beautifle world, great character designs. The character writing and world building is pretty great in this one.... but the story itself is a very mixed bag. And it has an even bigger issue then HI3 with large amounts of fairly pointless dialogue that neither progresses character or themes, this is improved in the latest regions somewhat from what I have heard but it is a constant frustration earlier. Also it is an open world game with all that entails, which is a type of game I am not particularly fond of. The combat gameplay is also not my favorite. I eventually stopped playing this, around the time of shogun banner...

Symphogear XDU: I am a huge symphogear fan, and it is great to have more stories with these characters and expanding on them in fun ways and putting them into new stories. This part of XDU is great, a lot of these stories are wonderful.... however as a game it is terrible. Also no official english version anymore so it is awkward to get running and to actually be able to read it. I stopped playing because the game side was just... bad. There are some fan translations of various events that are worth checking out if you are a symphogear fan though!

Blue Archive: Love the setting, in terms of visuals and audio it has probably one of the best presentations of any gacha game I have played. The character designs are also great, if a bit limited by the school theming.... I hate sensei so much. I think sometimes the story´s own themes are hampered by sensei being a creep. Now I am not the target demographic for Blue Archive, so me not liking or sticking with it is not a surprise. Just frustrating because of the parts I do like. But, again, just not for me. It was never intended for my tastes. Also the gameplay is basically an auto battle system with *slightly* more strategy on top of it. Which is not really my thing.

Tower of Fantasy: I played it for like a week with my friend. Like with genshin the open world nature turned me off, and the world felt like it stood out less to me, the entire art direction was to me not as strong. I did not hate it is just that I liked it less then genshin, which already could not keep me playing.

Princess Connect RE:dive: My friend recommended this and I had enjoyed the anime, so I downloaded it, the next morning crunchyroll announced they were ending the service for the global version. I took this as a sign of some kind and decided to not try and keep up with it.

Honkai Star Rail: One of my absolute favorite games! The writing is very easy to follow along but with quite a bit of extra depth to be found if you are interested, the gameplay is also simple but requires enough thought to feel like an actual game, visuals and music is some of my favorites too. The characters, story, setting and presentation is all incredible. In particular the comedic writing and the character dynamics are very fun. I play this on a daily basis.

Arknights: In terms of world building this is easily the best gacha game I have played, it also has probably my favorite art direction, with only star rail competing for that spot. The gameplay is strategic and very fun, the big downside is it needs a very big time investment to really enjoy. Lots of reading and the gameplay has a very high skill ceiling even if the skill floor is quite low. It also misses a lot of obvious QoL features that would drastically improve it (something as simple as bookmarking story nodes for one...), but despite its flaws the stories, characters and themes are great. And in particular how these are written in a way that makes it feel intrinsically tied into the world. The planet of Terra is one of the most important aspects of the game. I love that it has a very unique technology level for a fantasy setting too. Also the prose is often really really good. I play this on a daily basis.

Zenless Zone Zero: The chill slice of life vibes of this game are great. New Eridu is a really cool setting and the characters are all great. It is far less story driven but that is fine, it really gives off the vibe of being relatively normal people just living in a strange world. It does feel somewhat "incomplete" currently though, but it is still off to a strong start. Gameplay feels like a far more developed version of early HI3 gameplay, that grew in a different direction from what HI3 part 2 took it in. I lied earlier about the visual direction of star rail and arknights being uncontested, this game might even be better in this department. I play this on an almost daily basis.

[caustinen]

Self-rec tag!

Thank you so much lovely @middlingmay for the tag <3 Go read all of their stuff!!

I’ve been writing for a couple of fandoms over my years and I will probably never get to the same level of mania with it as I did when I wrote a 200k+ fantasy abo bts fic (💀💀💀) in high school but even so fic writing/coming up with scenarios for any current fandom has actually become a dear hobby, even though I don’t usually think of it like that. The level of talent in this fandom is off the charts and I feel my own stuff is still very mid compared to most mota content out there but this is a nice chance to reflect a bit!

Hollywood au — idk if it counts because it’s still unfortunately not a real fic, but i’ve never had this kind of a silly headcannon that just kept rolling and got so much engagement, it genuinly wouldn’t have been more than that original hc + the fake social media posts if it wasn’t for the anons asking for more. i’ve enjoyed that one more than anything else in years, even though now i feel i might have overdone it a bit (idk if other people who write fandom stuff get this but sometimes i fear i ”ruin” my own au if i overdo it if that makes sense?). i’ve never approached headcanonns/writing like this, fragment at a time, usually i have the whole outline ready when i get started on particular scenes, so it has been so good to me as a writer also outside of fandom to see how fun it is to put the pieces together little by little! thank you everyone who contributed 💘

summer kisses//in my body — my first mota work, something i worked with for quite a while even though it’s just mindless pointless smut — just something about the intensity and calm always present in both of them is so sexy, something about wanting and being wanted in the same way, the electricity between the two of them… that’s all there is to this particular fic but i still find it to do well what it set out to do even if it’s not all that much. also summer kisses/in my body from ELVIS soundtrack continues to be one of the sexiest songs ever and it fit them so good!!

sharp dressed man — idk why but i just really liked this one even though the smut gave me headache and i never really got truly happy with it. i’ve never been one for college or high school aus but somehow in this fandom i’ve fallen from them hard, and imagining them in this kind of a safe environment where the stakes are much less serious than in war it’s so sweet to just bask in the sunlight of their love, no matter what universe or stage. 🥰 idk why i felt like this one never really got to people, maybe it just wasn’t as good of a concept or execution as i wanted it to be and that’s also fine, if you start writing with only reactions in mind you get lost very fast 🫡

honorable mention: regency au hc + ficlet of morning after wedding night — i just really love regency aus and i think their dynamic would fit it so well 🥹 just imagining all the walking… the heavily loaded dances… the way class and pride and everything could be sowned together through them… muah!!!

Thank you again!!! I think I’ve seen everyone tagged quite a few times but i’ll still tag a few of you who i’d love to hear more about, @avonne-writes @joeyalohadream @anachilles @rambleonwaywardson @c-goldthorn @onyxsboxes @evlia

[dropoutconfessions]

"don't like / don't watch" is such a stupid and pointless mirror of "don't like / don't read" that completely ignores that written & video media are wildly different in terms of accessibility.

DLDR applies largely to fanfics, which are almost always comprehensively tagged with what characters/ships/tropes/topics/triggering subjects/etc. they include & come with a written summary of what the fic will be about & what will happen.

"Don't like, don't watch" might be applicable to other types of video media that's more comprehensive (i doubt there's much out there that's less "comprehensive" than DO tho) but with Dropout, it really isn't a viable way to go about things. They tag for triggers with timestamps and they tag for what talent is in each ep, and what series it's for, but they don't tag nearly comprehensively enough for people who Won't Like Something to know that they won't like it without watching it first, because that might involve spoiling some of the plot.

Which is fine. That's not really an issue I have with Dropout. My issue is when the overly intense stans who can't tolerate Normal Criticism of their Beloved Show then ask "why'd you watch it if you didn't like it? just don't watch it then. you're just whiny!" without considering that there's very little way of knowing if I'll like it without watching it first, ESPECIALLY with newer seasons.

I didn't watch FHJY knowing that I would dislike it. I watched FHJY thinking I would love it, because I liked the previous seasons & hoped that this one would be as good or better. It didn't meet that bar for me thematically. When I realized there was absoloutely no way it would turn around and I wouldn't enjoy the rest of the season or it's finale, I DID stop watching. Because why would I watch something I didn't enjoy?

I think the Dropout fandom is one of the worst I've been in, and I was in the Undertale & Steven Universe trenches. I can't say anything remotely critical of anything they make without getting swarmed by people calling me stupid for watching something I didn't know I wouldn't like, or saying I have poor reading comprehension for disagreeing with a choice that got made on a show designed to be watched.

-

[bellaaldamas]

Although I'm generally not fond of the idea of Cinderella meeting the Prince (even in disguise) before the ball in various adaptations, especially if this plot point is used to highlight how supposedly "progressive" she is compared to her other counterparts (the one put down most frequently is Disney's animated Cinderella who didn't even know the attentive and kind gentleman she met at the ball was the Prince himself; and yet she is called a "shallow dreamer" and/or a "gold digger" by canon twisting armchair critics), I have to say that Disney's 1997 Live Action with Brandy handled said plot point near perfectly. It was a subversion of the Frozen narrative long before the latter movie came out and before the company conformed to pseudo-"feminist" media trends.

When Brandy's Cinderella stumbles upon the Prince disguised as a commoner she is nice and polite with him and even has a brief but honest conversation with him about how a man should treat a woman (not like a princess but like a "person"). But she does not fall in love with him nor does she go on to dream about him.

From the get go the two of them are shown as two complete strangers who have similar experiences with wanting to find a like-minded person yet have vastly different social backgrounds making it unlikely for them to have a future. We learn of their shared values and longings from the song they sing synchronized in the very beginning. Whereas the difference in their backgrounds is revealed as we, the audience, see the "commoner" reveal himself as a royal person boarding his carriage after his encounter with Cinderella.

The encounter was sweet and pleasant but neither gave it much of a thought and Cinderella in particular went on to live her life as it was (no matter how difficult) and dream not about the Nice Guy she met at the market but about her freedom, the ball and the Prince. And the narrative framed it as being absolutely fine.

At no point did the writing imply Cinderella was superficial, naive or silly to want to break free from her restrictive environment, wish for a better life or aspire to meet someone who would fall in love with her at first sight and vice versa.

The movie went even further subverting the notion that a woman wanting any of that makes her shallow when it had Fairy Godmother introduce the audience - in the opening musical number, no less - to the deliberate misdirect as she sang her "impossible" song; supposedly admonishing the dreamers and, especially, girls who believe in fairy tales. It almost looked like it was going to be another Frozen-esque cautionary tale with woman's dreams shattered, her being "put in place" and the all knowing society being "right all along" and yet it was nothing of the sort.

When Cinderella sings her bittersweet song about enjoying being "in her own little corner, in her own little chair" after the exploitation she has to endure at the hands of her step family the narrative frames it as the only way for her to express herself. Not as a demonstration of her being a "perfect inexperienced and wide-eyed victim" for an unscrupulous man to take advantage of. In that vein, when her Fairy Godmother shows up to - seemingly - deconstruct her dreams with "cold harsh reality" that dreams do not ever come true and are pointless Cinderella outright tells her this is a "terrible" kind of thinking.

While Fairy Godmother insists it's up to a person to pursue their goals because miracles do not happen and, therefore, it's meaningless to waste your time dreaming of them Cinderella stands her ground. She explains why, in her position, dreaming is the only solace and motivation she can afford in order to have mental strength to even consider pursuing those goals.

And the movie once again sides with Cinderella - moreover, it has Fairy Godmother sing along with her about how dreams coming true and miracles happening is actually "possible". It has Cinderella go to that ball, dance with that Prince and fall in love at first sight - and no one belittles her for wanting to be with a "man she just met".

No anti-social sisters (only the step sisters shown not necessarily as cruel but misguided and being under the toxic influence of their disillusioned - in this version - stepmother), no equally anti-social men who "know better" and definitely no mansplaining Snowmen to teach that "poor little silly thing a lesson". A woman remains within her right to handle life's challenges as best she can and go about choosing a partner the way she sees fit.

"Do I want you because you're wonderful or are you wonderful because I want you" - this is the line both Cinderella and the Prince sing to one another in their duet. Now, one needs only to imagine such a line to come out of the mouth of any modern female protagonist, especially in the woke pandering new Disney projects. Then to realize they cannot even imagine that because it would not happen, ever again, at any point anymore.

It is not until the very final of the movie that Cinderella and the Prince learn they are the "commoner" and the "country girl" that stumbled upon one another in the beginning. Once they realize that there are no patronizing conclusions ensuing (no word about how you "can't marry a guy/girl you just met" and how your true love cannot be the person you only knew for a day but can totally be the person you knew for two whole days). They merely smile and playfully tease each other by making references to their first meeting. But neither judges the other for preferring the Prince over the "Nice Guy" or for being desperate to find the "ball girl" instead of the "market girl".

Rather sad that we're not going to get a movie like this again from Disney in the coming decade or even century.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I like your blog but I was disappointed to see you say it would ever be okay for Zutarians to have Katara and Zuko cheat on Aang and Mai in their fics if they acknowledged it is bad. Somethings can't be done right and need to just be kept out of any story. It's completely disrespectful to the Kataang and Maiko fans.

Also if I were you, I'd block the anon who said they could understand the appeal of Zucest even if they claim not to ship it, and in case you don't know, a blog you reblog from a lot hello-nichya-here likes that cursed shit so there's another one for your block list. Incest is gross and immoral even if it's fiction, and you'd be better off not interacting with that kind of people.

Buddy, I'm brazilian. I was raised on soap-operas. If I gave people shit for enjoying any media that involves the main characters selfishly cheating on their partners to be with each other, I'd be the world's biggest hypocrite. That kind of stuff is an easy source for drama, and it will always be part of romance stories - regardless of the quality of said romances.

As for it being disrespectful to Kataang and Maiko, yeah, I could see it, but only if it's combined with a bunch of slander towards these characters, and pulling stuff like "How I Became Yours" did by saying Mai was a terrible, abusive person for being angry that her husband cheated on her, or if it's shit like Zutarians constantly harrassing shippers about how Aang/Mai is totally being cucked. But if they're just writing as a source for drama in a story, without demonizing the characters that are clearly being screwed over by Zuko and Katara, I don't mind it.

Also I fully disagree with you on the "Somethings can't be done right and no one should write them." No topic should be forbidden in fiction, and what people should discuss is "Does this make narrative sense?" not "Is this a morally correct thing for people to do?"

How would that even work for the Avatar fandom anyways? "Sure, the original show is literally about war and genocide, and it is constantly praised for having an imperialist prince redeem himself and befriend the people he sent a hitman after, but if we write characters doing immoral things like cheating or sleeping with a relative THAT is going too far"

Sounds like one hell of a double-standard to me. And I've literally said it in my pinned post: This blog exists solely to point out the kind of behavior that made Zutara become such a hated ship, not to bully people that are just minding their business, or to tell them what tropes they are allowed to like. I don't like the idea of Zuko and Katara together at all, especially not with it involving them hurting Mai and Aang. But if the people writting these stories weren't constantly forcing it down everyone's throats, I wouldn't mind them adding that trope to every single fic they wrote.

As for the second part of your ask, I guess there's only one way for me to make my stance on Zucest VERY clear, so you and anyone else who could be bothered by it can decide if you want to keep following this blog:

Hello, Nichya here. I'm not going to use this side-blog to block my main, as I feel it would be kind of pointless to block myself considering the content in both accounts is coming from the same brain.

And see Zutara fans? It's super easy to only bring up your OTP when it is relevant to the conversation and without trying to force other's to like it, and it tends to get you far less hate too, no matter how "problematic" your ship is.

[unavailable-fan]

Well To begin with I think it's important to not fight the silliness when watching Bucchigiri?! it's essential to enjoy this show i guess, cause if you try to find deep and clearly stated moral lesson in every detail of it, you will be just disappointed, especially while it's still airing, because that's like not the point These characters are not model heroes with high ideals and immense willpower, they're like the opposite, they're all silly and weird in their own ways, all with flaws (and yes, even Matakara, we're just not covering his problems yet) and their interactions are just as unhinged, which makes sense, and that's cool. It makes everything interesting because there's no clear moral compass to follow yet, and some stuff just happens, but that's the comedy of it, and beauty too. That feels fresh, and of course it's not for everyone, but fighting this show's intrinsic silliness and randomness just leads to less enjoyment from it all, and it's pointless. If you want to enjoy it embrace the silliness and watch it like a bunch of seagulls fighting with tourists for junk, or like bugs living their lives under the rocks, or something. It's an open end question and all the marks will be defined randomly in this media interpretation class, enjoy the liberating feeling of knowing that author probably wanted to tell you something but realizing you have literally no idea what it was or having all 100 ideas being somehow a valid answer. Or watch it any other way, but like, don't let predefined ideas of how things should be take away from your enjoyment.

[tumbleclub]

let's recapture a little bit of the magic of dracula daily by watching/reading things together at a reasonable pace.

basically just a book club with slightly less structure

Media Suggestion Form. What would you like to read/watch/other(?) with us?

Current schedule:

Link to Calendar

Sept 2nd - Dec 15th: Participating in the Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell read-along! Feel free to use the tag #jsamn 20 readalong to post your discussion as well as #tumble club. Or neither, I'm not your boss.

Sept 2nd - 8th: Chapters 1 - 5 Sept 9th - 15th: Chapters 6 - 12 Sept 16th - 22nd: Chapters 13 - 19 Sept 23rd - 29th: Chapters 20 - 22 Sept 30th - Oct 6th: Chapters 23 - 26 Oct 7th - 13th: Chapters 27 - 30 Oct 14th - 20th: Chapters 31 - 34 Oct 21st - 27th: Chapters 35 - 39 Oct 28th - Nov 3rd: Chapters 40 - 44 Nov 4th - 10th: Chapters 45 - 49 Nov 11th - 17th: Chapters 50 - 53 Nov 18th - 24th: Chapters 54 - 58 Nov 25th - Dec 1st: Chapters 59 - 62 Dec 2nd - 8th: Chapters 63 - 65 Dec 9th - 15th: Finish!

Next book: Northern Lights (The Golden Compass) by Philip Pullman

Guidelines under cut, but TL;DR be nice and have fun

Posting in the #tumble club tag is an indication that people want to be interacted with and talk about the week's topic together! Please feel free to reach out and discuss with anyone, even if (especially if?) you have no prior interaction

There's absolutely no pressure to keep up with any of this, please follow along as much as it's fun to and feel free to stop if it stops being fun. If you come along late or go slower, feel free to still talk in the tag and discuss with people

It's okay if you're not enjoying something we're engaging with, but please refrain from directly "bashing" the media. It's okay to state a negative opinion, but try to stay civil about it. "I didn't like the way this part was handled, I wish this had happened instead" is fine, "I hated this it was badly written and pointless" is going too far. If you want to post that, that's fine, but please avoid tagging it with the group tag. And of course, feel free to drop out for a while until we move on to something else

Try to stay cool please. If you find someone grating it's okay to just block them, this is supposed to be a chill space and the beauty of the internet is you can just choose to disengage. I'd like this to be a relaxing and fun space inasmuch as is possible.

Try your local library first if you can, but if you're having trouble getting ahold of the topic of the week for any reason, feel free to ask the group for help, I'm sure someone here will be able to track down a copy for you somehow ;)

[asksythe]

Thank you for replying to my question 💕 I read a thread by glassbearer a chinese fanartist of mdzs , which caused me to reconsider the popular fan interpretation of jiang cheng hunting down modao cultivaters

that is he doesn't torture them to death , instead he attempts to reform them and those that do get to live in peace, those beyond redemption he executes . The evidence in Canon supporting this interpretation is jiang cheng not telling jin ling that mo xuanyu is the guy who killed his parents and leaving him to guard wei wuxian , saying he's going to make bow to his parents grave ,"only" whipping him with zidian .

what I want to know is Do you think the chinses text supports such an interpretation?

Respectfully and in the most neutral way possible, I don't do discourses.

I've been a fan of various fandoms for close to 25 years. The thing I find the most pointless is fandom "debates"... especially over the internet because these things tend to revolve around aspects that are designed to be open to interpretation, so any conclusive answers are hard to come to in the first place. Most of these debates, even when they start out civil enough, would tend to boil into... well... I'm sure you don't need me to tell you what they usually boil down to. This is especially the case with the way our modern social media is designed.

The beauty of a story is in its 'empty spaces' that invite its audience to take part and create their own interpretations. Empty spaces transform a static story into a vastly more personal and mutable experience for each reader.

The magic of effective storytelling. It makes you think and it makes you feel and it makes you hold imaginary people dear to your heart.

It used to be that we didn't share and then try to bash each other over the head with our 'personal intepretations' of a story... before the internet. I'm old enough to remember that too.

Whatever your opinions, I don't think you will refuse the fact that MXTX's books are written with these 'empty spaces' in mind.

If people enjoy the story a certain way, then let them take joy in that. It's a story. It's supposed to be a thing you enjoy. If they ask for information, provide that information and let them come to their own conclusion.

I more or less accidentaled my way into writing MDZS metas (that word is new for me too. I'm old) because... well... this is an Ask Blog... This blog has been around for about 15 years now. So this is what I do when I have some free time.

But I'm not doing this to tell people what they should think or how they should feel about certain things in a story, be it MDZS or other franchises. My aim is to strictly provide hard, concrete, fully cited historical information and cultural context to people who genuinely want them.

I think we have a lack of that in a lot of non-English fandoms, not just MDZS. You can't divorce a story from the culture and iconography in which it is written. So if you don't have the cultural context it is written in, your experience and perception will be... well... less is the word I would choose. That's what I'm trying to do. Offer people the context if they so wish.

I try to do this while being as objective as possible. It's not always possible (as people have checked me on my bias and failure to provide full receipts. That's something I will have to go back, address, and rewrite too, when I have the time) because some stories make me feel a lot. But I do try.

[ghostie-gengar]

Can you please talk about the "N is a Zoroark" theory? It too makes me want to commit violence

ohoho you are in for a LONG rant dear anon cuz every time i even think about this theory i wanna start biting (also just to get this out of the way, i feel like this post comes across very aggressive. if anyone actually likes this theory, that's fine. i just have a lot of issues with it)

so i will be repeating a couple things from my last n zoroark post and this is my weakest arguement BUT. if N was a zoroark it would have been revealed. like something that huge and theoretically integral to his character would have been shown. the game wouldn't hide it for people to try and solve with pieces that don't fit together. it would sprinkle shreds of evidence around and do a big reveal at the end or something

ALSO zoroarks can't talk. the pokedex says that zoruas transform into silent children as they are pokemon thus incapable of human speech. the zoroark lady in lostlorn forest also doesn't talk. the only noise she does make is growling/snarling. (that doesn't account for the hiker zoroark tho. im assuming he's an exception or an especially clever zoroark. my point is basically that for the most part zoroarks don't talk) and what does N do A LOT OF? talk. my man is chatty.

also that memory link cutscene where it's zoroark's memory but N is in the cutscene? zoroark was probably in its pokeball. pokemon are generally aware of whats going on outside of their pokeball

now for the more moral(ish) reasons why i don't like this theory!! N's literal WHOLE THING is that he was raised to believe he was less than human and about like accepting his humanity and understanding that everyone has different beliefs and thats a part of being human. and yknow that he's NOT a freak without a human heart but a human who thinks human things and has human feelings? if N was a zoroark that would basically undermine ALL of his growth!! his character arc would have been pointless!! and while a message that a pokemon is worthy of just as much respect as a human would be a good one, thats not wolhat they were going for with N!!

LAST THING. N is heavily neurodivergent coded. if after all that he turned out to not be human it would kinda just be a kick in the shorts. media has done this sort of thing before of course but still.

so yeah in conclusion: n has a zoroark fursona? Good. N's zoroark pretends to be him and they get into shenanigans? Good. N IS a zoroark? NO. BITES YOU BITES YOU BITES YOU

ahem. i am very passionate about my disliking of this theory. and as i said before i have no beef with anyone who likes this theory. in fact i do enjoy seeing the other side of an arguement so if anyone has evidence for why they think this theory is true, hit me with it. you're not gonna change my mind but i'll listen (i did see one theory tho where it was like n was the result of ghetsis banging a zoroark. if your theory is that, i don't want to hear it)

ok thats all i got bye

[ch4rryc0smos]

SAUDADE | 07

I'D QUITE LIKE TO GO HOME NOW.

synopsis ┊all the years that kept kenji sato and hazel vellichor apart, all the hours spent yearning, or not. all the time wasted, when they could be no more than a few metres apart. love didn't come to either of them naturally, but here they are, as life wrecks them, tests them, for everything they are, and need to be. hazel seemingly forgets him, and yet all he thinks about, is her. how would he feel if he was to know that his yearning is pointless? he doesn't know that it's not. that she's just trying to heal from the years she spent trying to figure out what's wrong with her. trying to heal, and she thinks it's even less possible when he walks back into her now perfectly created theatre play of a life. then he promises her love, healing, and kindness. all the lies she was used to. but a fool remains a fool, at least in her case. And she lets him back in.

genre ┊ childhood-friends-to-lovers, slight angst, tooth rotting & chaotic fluff, domestic fluff

pairing ┊ken sato x fem-self insert/oc, ken sato x public figure!self insert, ken sato x childhood-friend!self insert

warnings ┊ mild cursing, trauma, heavy topics (?), events in ultraman: rising take place alongside this story.

word count ┊1k.

author's note ┊arc two is really short (this is the last part in it). i hope you're enjoying this so far, reader, happy reading!! these two i swear /j

prev. | next.

Life only seems to be going downhill for Ken, until it isn’t. Until he finally graduates, he doesn't realise how badly he wanted to until he’s walking on that stage and his mom is cheering him on. From that point onwards, he promises himself that he’ll do all he can to give himself the best life he can, while also supporting his mom. She deserves every good thing that comes her way. Especially when his father couldn’t even show up. She’s been his rock, and he wants to return that favour. 

Bit by bit, he pulls himself together. Brings some cohesivity into his life. He pursues the sport that’s had him enamoured since day one, fills his life up with it, so much that it threatens to overflow, but he seems to know exactly how to balance it, knows how to play. His head is in the game, and his mother is always at the sidelines.

It doesn’t matter if his dad isn’t. He never knew him anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to win without him. He thinks so, at least. 

He doesn’t know if it’s hubris, or fear, or even healing but he’s considered taking off that gods-forsaken bracelet of his. Maybe it’ll help him, maybe it’ll be like leaving behind a weight. Yet, even with that perspective, it never leaves his wrist. At this point, it could be engraved into his skin, and that wouldn’t surprise anyone. 

But the urge grows stronger every day. He’s a star, he’s rising. He is the talk. Everywhere he goes, it seems at least someone knows about him, and he loves basking in that fame, but still hates that along with this, he loses most of his privacy. Every day, he’s scared someone will find out something about him that even his mother might not want to know. 

Thankfully, it never reaches that point. But his past relationships are brought up. And every time he’s asked, he’s been far too vague for the media to have settled down. If anything, they pry more. Bring up the ‘childish’ bracelet he wears (he wants to seethe, how dare they—). Good for him, he’s not been in a relationship in a few years, and that’s all that he’ll tell them. They have no right to ask any more, at least in his opinion. 

But that doesn’t work anyway, because fame just does its thing. That is made even clearer when ever-growing advocate and speaker Hazel Vellichor from the esteemed U.K is trying to hold herself together, but the whole world has its attention on something else. Not the fact that she’s so calm, or collected (both of which are lies), but the fact that someone like her is wearing a bracelet like that. 

She’s surprised that something so small is gaining so much traction, more than the fact that she never mentions her family. To her, of course it’s not small. But the internet doesn’t know that, does it? 

She hopes that they don’t ever figure out what this bracelet does to her. For her. 

While they might not, her parents have always known. And if it isn’t bad enough already, it is now. All day, every day, she’s receiving calls from her parents, and it’s quite frankly, infuriating. She thinks that ignoring them might stop it. But it doesn’t. If anything, the number of calls grow in magnitude, in excess. She wakes up to five calls at first, then ten, and when it hits twenty, she decides she’s had enough. She finally calls back, but it’s just as shitty as she thinks it would be, if not shittier. 

All they do is lecture and tell her that she’s just reaping what she sows, aka she should move back in with them and become their slave again. She’d rather die before she does that. She promised herself that twenty would be the redemption point of her life (although she doubts how much merit that holds now. 

Once her parents are done with pestering her, she thinks it might be the last of it, but she would be foolish to think so. Next, it’s men. Men who try too hard to get her into bed. She wants to laugh, it’s so pitiful, almost pathetic. There’s people prying into her personal life constantly, there’s men trying to get into her pants and then there’s media, and fame, and everything that entails it. Maybe she should’ve been prepared, maybe this is what her parents were trying to prepare her for. 

She also can’t do anything to distract her. The only thing that her best friend would be interested in talking about is sports. But she doesn’t watch sports. Not that she doesn’t like them, it’s just… she doesn’t want to stumble upon something she wants to leave behind. 

On the other hand, Maple doesn’t. Maple is the biggest sports fan Hazel thinks she knows. And she’s worried her brother will also become one, under her best friend’s influence. She honestly doesn’t want to know about it, no matter how happy it makes Maple.

Hazel does feel a bit selfish and inconsiderate, but she’s got a weak heart, and she doesn’t know if she can tolerate actively participating in one of those conversations where Maple rambles the whole time about how there’s a certain Sato who’s wowing the whole world. A baseball star, rising. 

For her best friend, it’s just a celebrity athlete, for Hazel; it’s her childhood best friend who she might have fallen in love with and never moved on from. Gods, she didn’t even know that it was love for the longest time, now she just wants to move on, to fall in love with someone she can actually have. She knows she can’t have him, no matter how hard she tries. 

She still remembers the first time she tried to kiss a guy, and just how wrong it felt. The only guy she tried to kiss, she couldn’t. 

He has her fucked. She has him fucked. Kissing Azalea felt wrong sometimes, and he thinks he’s a mess. She thinks she’s a mess too.

They’re messes, for each other. They don’t realise until now just how bad the situation might be.

ch4rryc0smos © 2024 … do not repost, alter, translate, or steal my work.

[femdemon]

I hate intros. Here's your context.

So, let's start with the obvious stuff. What are things that we can consider "canon" to Mesmerizer? What things definitively happen in the video?

There are multiple moments in the video where Teto is either discreetly or overtly signaling to the viewer that she needs help. She blinks SOS in morse code, she does the American Sign Language sign for the word "help," she does the hand signal popularized by TikTok that indicates someone being in an abusive situation, and during the "quiz time" segment of the video, the first letter of each word spells out "help." I've also seen people say that the "quiz time" segment also spells out "SOS" using letters in the middle of the words, but I'm not certain about that one and I'm too lazy to go check for myself.

Now I'm going to address some theories I've seen online that I don't agree with. I've seen people say that Miku hung herself or was hanged. I don't subscribe to this theory because the only evidence for it is the fact that Miku, after being hypnotized, tilts her head at an awkward angle, sticks her tongue out, and her eyes go black. I don't think that alone is enough to say for sure that Miku died this way, or even that she dies at all. I don't see this being the case because it seems as though Teto's eyes are also darkening by the end of the song, so I don't think those are indications of anything except having been hypnotized.

I don't think Mesmerizer is telling a narrative story at all, frankly.

Some theorize that Mesmerizer is a metaphor for society and a criticism of the way we've been "hypnotized" by social media. I would say there's even less evidence for this theory (the best evidence I've seen is how the video is often vertical in a way that's reminiscent of reels and such, and that's about it), but I do think it's a metaphor for something.

My whole take on Mesmerizer is that it's a very broad metaphor, possibly something personal to the creator, and it just happens to fit a lot of different scenarios. In other words, I think it's up for interpretation.

My interpretation is this: Miku and Teto are being "hypnotized," i.e. fed propaganda, to accept sub-optimal conditions and pretend everything is great.

It doesn't take too much poking beneath the surface to see that Teto is trying to get help, but she's mostly doing so in ways that are meant to be subtle. She doesn't want to draw too much attention to herself, otherwise something bad could happen.

Meanwhile, Miku is totally oblivious until the very end, when she's been hypnotized.

The lyrics of the song frequently mention that reality is too harsh and upsetting to engage with. Pretend not to notice, you've got your hands full just living, it's unrewarding, in a bot-like cycle, it's pointless, give up, "if you stare directly at reality you'll end up going blind, so do it in moderation." It seems to me like hypnosis in this context means giving up on reality because it's too painful to bear. Miku is easily hypnotized, but Teto fights the hypnosis for a good amount of time. By the end of the song, it seems as though she might also have succumbed to the hypnosis.

I feel like it's an important detail that both Miku and Teto are wearing what look to be work uniforms. Miku is obviously dressed as a waitress, with the roller skates, the visor, and the maid-like dress and apron, and Teto's outfit reminds me somewhat of maybe what someone working in a movie theater or train station might wear. So, I'm extrapolating that to suggest the reality they're being hypnotized into ignoring the harshness that is the reality of capitalism. They have to give in to the hypnosis and not just pretend to enjoy their situation but actually believe that they truly do, because the consequences are severe.

That could just be me projecting, but the work attire seems relevant. Like I said before, you could apply this metaphor to a lot of things.