#give me a lot of room to discuss the actual thing in any depth at all and its making me quite mad

[scorpiusmalfoylovesoscarwilde]

coming out as an academic victim good lord I cannot do this anymore

[magentasnail]

one thing you should know about me is that I'm a little insane

all of the new bill cipher stuff and euclydia had sparked a lot of discussions about the nature of a 2D dimension, so now I have a very strong one sided beef with anyone trying to claim that "we, as 3D beings, can only see/perceive in 2D" and as a 3D being myself I have to disagree and if I don't voice my opinions in public I will lose my mind

so welcome to "magenta's trying to explain physics without actually knowing physics to anyone who's willing to listen"

so first of all, one major key of this debate is the difference between "see" and "perceive", because that can lead to some confusion

in my opinion there are basically 3 stages to "sight" (and any other senses): 1. the information the eyes gets (our retinas?) 2. the image our brains create from interpreting that information 3. us comprehending what we see

I personally think of "seeing" as at least level 2, but for the sake of this argument let's refer to seeing as level 1 and perception as 2 and 3 (separating them to perception and comprehension doesn't add much to the discussion) however I still think vision encapsulate the entire thing, so keep that in mind

if that's the case, I do understand why people claim that we can only "see" in 2D, because in a technical sense: one eye can only see a flat image

for example, if we have these 2 balls in front of us in a 3D space, we wont really be able to tell anything about their distance and size with just one eye

HOWEVER, and that's the thing I'm mainly getting at: we do have the ability to tell size and distance in real life! by this great thing calls "depth perception"

now this is not really a concept I can explain with images since they are inherently flat, but you probably know it already just think 3D glasses, VR, or even just look around in your room! our two eyes + our brain gives us the ability to tell the distance of things from us! you can theoretically map the objects around you on a 3D grid just from looking at them, and if that's not 3D vision and perception idk what is

well, actually, I did see a thing being argued that "3D vision means seeing all sides of an object + inside of it, which is what 4D creatures will see" so lets think about that for a second

this argument stems from the way we interact with the 2nd dimension

as all the flatlands lovers here know, when we look at a world of 2D creatures, we are able to see all of their sides, and their inside, so supposedly a 4D creature would be able to do the same for us

but that's where things gets interesting, so let's go deeper!

this usually comes up in order to say "this ability to see around and inside of an object defines what 2D vision is, and thus only 3D being can see 2D, while 2D beings can only see 1D" however, I don't think it has to do with sight at all! but rather with point of view and existing in a higher dimensional plane !

the special thing about us really is our ability to move on the Z axis and separate ourselves from the 2D plane, and thus get a fuller view! so this doesn't have anything to do with us "being limited to 2D" but rather with us being 3D creatures in a 3D world and 3D perception!!! so supposedly, a 4D creature would be in the same situation, having 3D retinas and an overall 4D vision and perception!

if we were to be on the flat plain along the other shapes, our vision isn't going to serve us much better than it does for the 2D creatures, the only additional thing we will be able to see is the Z axis, which isn't really relevant to 2D beings

so now raises the question: can 2D creatures see in 2D? don't they only see 1D? ( - a line ?)

I'm going to jump through some loops here so I need you to hold my hand and bare with me

lets say we have this triangular fella with one eye, the light information they are getting is linear, so basically a line (which is represented on the right)

now this is where I'm making a bit of a leap: will their vision have 2D depth? like we have?

think for a second of the way we see, technically, even the flat image our retinas see is based in some 3D: specifically, objects appear smaller as they are far away, lines wrap into a vanishing point in the horizon, stuff like that!

the 3D world around us is getting compressed into a flat image with perspective, which we can later decipher back into 3D using both our eyes !

and as you might have noticed, a similar thing is happening in our triangle friend's vision! even though both circles are the same size, the light blue circle is closer, and thus takes a much larger portion of their field of view!

unfortunately, as we have established before, while this is a result of depth, this isn't equivalent to depth perception, as our poor triangle cant tell anything about the distance of the circles! is that circle close to him? is that a giant far circle? who knows!

this is where having 2 eyes might help!

our other friend, the 2 eyed triangle, should in theory be able to have depth perception similarly to us, and thus perceive 2D visually!!

how specifically their brain interprets that information is beyond me, the changes in distance, size and angles/curves might be visible as color changes or even width

it's important to remember that since there's no defined "width" to the "line" of their vision, it's actually filling their entire field of view and perception of sight, so it's not like it's a line within a black void but more of the definition of everything, so when compared to our perception of sight it's something more like this:

and if you want to incorporate the idea of closer objects appearing larger in their perception, it might be something like this (for a bunch of random circles in different distances):

the main thing is, when we are trying to say 2D creatures can only see 1D, it's usually just because we think of "2D vision" as a matter of height and width, when it can actually just be depth and width, both of these are valid ways of representing 2 dimensions! because there are 2 dimensions represented ! it's just a matter of point of view!!

I don't think our ability to see 2D objects from all their sides at once is defining what counts as 2D vision, it's just a way to see it from further away, and without relaying on perspective I guess?

so I guess that's the thing really, the core of this discussion: does perspective count? I mean perspective is what makes the axis that's "forwards" accessible, distorting the size to substitute distance. supposedly, when we step back to look to look at a 2D world, we don't need any of that distortion, and we can easily see both the accurate size and the distance of objects, so does that mean our vision is superior? that it's actually true 2D?

in my opinion, the distortion of perspective doesn't take away from our vision, it's just a way to represent the forward axis! no matter how many dimensions you have, forwards is always the first dimension to exist, and while you are looking straight ahead at one dimension lower than you are, your over all vision consists of a stack of "straight ahead views" along the additional axis, which I consider as giving it it's missing dimension!!

trying to argue we can't perceive the world in the dimension we exist in doesn't make sense to me, we are 3D beings in a 3D world which we intuitively interact with! just like we can move around the 3D space and hear the direction sounds are coming from, I don't understand why vision should be limited to any less, and definitely not perception!

well that was fun! this is basically just a matter of semantics, but thinking and trying to analyze vision and different dimensions was just really interesting! and I hope it was interesting to read for you dear one person who read this! have a candy! 🍬 hopefully now that I release these thoughts into the world they won't hurt me as much !! time to dissolve i guess !

[percheduphere]

people saying, oh it wasn't intended from the beginning so it wasn't intentional thus has to stay fanfiction bug me. like, shows can develop organically based on chemistry. they can surprise you and take you in a direction that wasn't planned but now just works. like, fucking, chandler and monica wasn't planned from the beginning! but the actors had chemistry and the writers tried it out and it became iconic. you don't throw something away just because it surprised you instead of being pre-planned; you cultivate whatever gold you find!

With Hollywood entertainment in particular, I think there is a lot of ignorance regarding how the creative process, production process, post-production process, and business all work. It is readily apparent that in Hollywood, there are many hands in the kitchen when it comes to creating a movie, documentary, or show. The "Original Intent" argument is weakest when it comes to Hollywood art, and in fact fails to be a viable argument in multiple areas. I will discuss how the "Original Intent" argument fails in Hollywood in more depth under the read more, using what I know from having worked in the industry myself as a writer. And to be honest, the fact I have to pull my private professional history out online, just to prove I'm not being delulu when it comes to the importance of queer subtext in film, pisses me the fuck off.

To be clear, since this whole discourse mess on my Tumblr is likely the result of someone thinking I'm an anti-sylki: I AM NOT AN ANTI. I have an extensive analysis on Sylvie as an integral character to the Loki series, Sylki in canon, and her relationship with Mobius here.

I agree with you: a lot of amazing art deviates from the original intention, especially writing. If deviating from original intent in the writing process did not exist, we would not have DRAFT REVISIONS, we would not have IMPROV, we would not have EDITORS (whose entire job hinges on giving the writer not only grammar corrections, but feedback on how to IMPROVE character, plot, and pacing, which inherently means making changes from the original intent!). This is to say nothing of the thousands, if not tens or hundreds of thousands, of media scholars--with actual PhDs--who spend years of their lives performing meta-analysis to write academic papers on subject matters like this. Papers that become formal publications and contribute to how queer history is taught in universities! This is no different than academic scholars analyzing women and race representation and resistance in film. Why should analyzing queer representation and resistance in film be treated any less?

LET'S TALK ABOUT ORIGINAL CREATIVE INTENT VS POWER HIEARCHY & POLITICS IN HOLLYWOOD

For context with respect to this ask, a different Tumblr user critiqued against queer subtext in one of my posts using the "original intent" argument for the Loki series and Lokius specifically. By this logic, if original intent is always honored, then the original script for Loki's S2E5 (written by Eric Martin) would not have been NUKED by the executive powers that be at Marvel. [source] But no, the original intent was not honored, it was rejected. So how does one square the primacy of original intent with original intent being rejected by people who are not the artist but the people who manage Disney's finances?

In television, "Executive Producer" (i.e. Tom Hiddleston, Michael Waldron, Eric Martin, etc.) is a title that can be given to a writer or actor who has more creative say in the execution of a story than a regular staff writer or actor on crew. It also indicates that the writer or actor is in a much higher salary range compared to their professional peers. It does NOT mean the same thing as a CORPORATE "Producer" of Kevin Feige's level, who ultimately has the FINAL SAY on what does NOT end up on the cutting room floor. The corporate Producer must take into account the wishes of corporate's shareholders and board of directors, who are often multi-million if not multi-billion global investors who need the distribution of the product to succeed internationally in countries like China, which is very anti-LGBTQAI+. This is how a script like Eric Martin's S2E5 can be nuked and the writer can be contractually gagged from talking about its specific contents by Disney, lest they be SUED TO HELL for breaking their non-disclosure agreements (NDAs).

This doesn't even take into account politics.

In 2020, Ike Perlmutter, Chair of Marvel, "gave $575,000 to Trump For Victory, $35,500 to the Republican National Committee in April, $5600 for Texans For Ronny Jackson in February. 2019 saw him donate $248,000 to the Republican National Committee, $466,100 to Trump For Victory, $5,600 to Donald Trump For President." His wife, Laura, mirrored those donations. "In late 2016, he also gave $5,000,000 to the Great America PAC." [source] Ike was only recently laid off from his position in March 2023 [source]. Perlmutter was in a power-struggle at Marvel with Kevin Feige for years. Feige was promoted to Chief Creative Officer in 2019, which brought the power struggle to a head, ultimately contributing to Perlmutter's departure.

There is also Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, who was famously quoted during the Writers Guild of America strike for saying, “It’s very disturbing to me. We’ve talked about disruptive forces on this business and all the challenges we’re facing, the recovery from COVID which is ongoing, it’s not completely back. This is the worst time in the world to add to that disruption”

This is the worst time in the world to negotiate to pay your writers, YOUR CREATIVE LABOR FORCE, who entertained millions of people while they were stuck in their homes for 2 years, fairly?

And these are just two men in executive power at Marvel and Disney. We're not even talking about all the other board members and shareholders. You think Tom Hiddleston, Michael Waldron, and Eric Martin have any real power compared to these guys? They do not. They are peons by comparison. And these artists (despite their "Executive Producer" title) are always at odds with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), who are ultimately not artists but FINANCIERS.

Here's another quote from a studio executive that occurred during the writer's strike:

"Receiving positive feedback from Wall Street since the WGA went on strike May 2, Warner Bros Discovery, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Paramount and others have become determined to “break the WGA,” as one studio exec blatantly put it.  

To do so, the studios and the AMPTP believe that by October most writers will be running out of money after five months on the picket lines and no work.

“The endgame is to allow things to drag on until union members start losing their apartments and losing their houses,” a studio executive told Deadline. Acknowledging the cold-as-ice approach, several other sources reiterated the statement. One insider called it “a cruel but necessary evil.”" [source 1] [source 2]

Fortunately, this negative press and the WGA members' solidarity led to the WGA getting everything they demanded. I still have friends in the industry, specifically in the WGA and MPEG. A lot of them were indeed starved out. My friend who's a film editor is still unemployed because pre-production has only recently started to ramp up again and her profession is all in post. She has to wait for production to catch-up and finish in order to get work.

If the AMPTP is willing to use clearly unethical tactics to underpay their writers and actors (don't forget the SAG-AFTRA strike that joined later), do we really think members of the AMPTP (the studio execs) are willing to honor artists' original intent if the original intent may be "offensive to some viewers" and therefore can potentially cut into their financial bottom line?

We're not naive. We know the answer to this.

OUR FLAG MEANS DEATH, KILLING EVE, AND GOOD OMENS

But what about OFMD, KE, and GO? These shows are on MAX, BBC, and Amazon Prime respectively. These corporations have a different branding image than Disney. Disney touts itself as "family friendly"; (read: on-screen LGBTQAI+ affection between two lead characters is "not family friendly"). MAX and BBC's branding type also affords them the luxury of creating content for niche audiences. Disney, on the other hand, makes additional revenue through using their plethora of licenses to make toys, additions to their theme parks, and other merch. If a parent is offended that a canonically queer character like Loki has romantic love not just for Sylvie but also for Mobius (a same-sex relationship), what are the odds of parents like them not buying Disney's merchandise? We can apply this same question to Star Wars, Pixar, and any of Disney-branded animation or live action movies. How deeply can audience offense potentially cut into Disney's bottom line? If there were no discrimination taking place, we would have LGBTQAI+ representation through a lead character in any one of their licenses already. We do not, and that is a huge red flag.

In addition, these entertainment corporations (who do not tout themselves as "family friendly") generate other sources of revenue elsewhere. Netflix generates international revenue through the production of international programming like "Squid Game" and other K-dramas such as "The Glory" or Mexican shows including, "The Surrogacy" and "Haunted: Latin America". MAX is struggling. They were bought out for that reason. With AppleTV and Hulu, their target audiences are more diverse, they offer a variety of media product, and their business strategy is ultimately different from Disney. All of this grants them more freedom in what kind of characters they choose to represent, including LGBTQAI+ characters.

Remember House and Wilson from House M.D.? That show was on FOX. We know the political alignment of FOX. Dean and Castiel from Supernatural? WB Television. Both shows came out before streaming became dominant, and thus, these shows had to cater to anyone who might happen to land on their channels. When the market demands that you cater to the widest possible audience in order to generate the largest revenue, the creatives are forced to create relatively conservative artistic product. Hence, creative censorship and our long history of queer subtext.

At Nickelodeon, the artists actually had the support of corporate to move forward with Korrasami because the final season Legend of Korra was only available online. It did not air on their channel. If that had not been the case, corporate would not have approved Korrasami. However, that approval was contingent upon the artists being subtle subtle about Korra and Asami's relationship. Even in this canon ship, the animators relied on subtext for queer romance.

Not helping Disney's case is the cancellation of "The Owl House". Why was "The Owl House" canceled? It didn't fit Disney's "brand". [source]

THE FAILURES OF THE "ORIGINAL INTENT" ARGUMENT IN HOLLYWOOD

The "Original Intent" argument fails when it comes to art in Hollywood because:

Original Intent can change, and often does change, during the creative process. This applies to all forms of art, not just Hollywood.

Multiple artists are involved in pre-production, production, and post-production. At any point in this 3-part process of filmmaking, original intent can be changed for a variety of reasons.

Studio Executives, Boards of Directors, and Corporate Shareholders have more power than the artists in Hollywood. If they think a product will not make money, they will order changes accordingly.

Disney specifically touts itself as "family friendly". Its lack of a lead character (in ANY of its live-action licenses) being in an openly queer relationship with someone who presents as the same sex, is the direct result of not wanting to lose conservative audiences.

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) are common in Hollywood and prevent artists from providing specifics regarding original intent. This is done not only to safeguard corporate's intellectual property (IP), but to also safeguard their public relations image.

THE ORIGINAL INTENT ARGUMENT WEAPONIZED

The "original intent" mindset can be either very naive or very cynical, depending on the thinker's motives for choosing this belief. Naive, in that thinking creative purity actually exists (it does not) or that oppression does not still occur in Hollywood (it does). Cynical, in that either the thinker doesn't believe in artists intentionally finding ways around mass produced arts' media censorship, which has in turn created our rich history of queer subtext in film, OR the thinker wants the "original intent" argument to invalidate a change they do not like.

The last motive is the same strategy used by fans who reject Miles Morales as being a real Spider-Man. The same strategy fans use to deny that Shuri is indeed the new Black Panther. Both are tactics used to mask racism and sexism beneath the veneer of "creative purity". Fans who have internalized racism, sexism, or queer-phobia may also use this tactic at a subconscious level to protect themselves emotionally from disappointment. Finally, there are fans who use this argument to invalidate another ship, usually a queer ship that cannot be formally canonized because of corporate studio power.

Regardless of the reasoning, using this argument is frequently insidious because it perpetuates straight white male dominance in media representation.

PERSONAL LIVED EXPERIENCE

I'm an old poc queer and have worked in Hollywood long enough to know that the writers' original vision rarely ever--IF EVER--pans out as originally intended. If you ever sit through a movie and wonder why the story feels so weird in certain parts, I can guarantee you that about 2/5ths of the time, a corporate producer stepped in and messed with the original story in post-production (usually in an poor, over-worked editor's dark editing bay) and ordered reshoots the director may not have agreed with.

I've also worked in the industry long enough to know that it is an absolutely toxic work environment in which women, people of color, and queer people still struggle to get a creative foothold anywhere. My first experience pitching a script to a prospective agent involved being asked to meet at a hotel for drinks. We didn't talk about my writing at all. What I thought would be a pitch meeting was actually the writer's version of the "Hollywood casting couch". Yes, I was propositioned. No, nothing happened to me. I walked out. This happened to me in June 2008. It was not my last experience. The "Me Too" movement that came years later in 2017 was in response to situations I have encountered like this.

Those of us who succeed are very rare, and 97% of the time, the executive staff is very, very white and male. There is absolutely oppression and exploitation of all sorts still happening in Hollywood. I fucking lived it and continue to have nightmares about it.

QUEER SUBTEXT STILL EXISTS

Thus, to deny queer subtext's validity as an art form and to only accept the words of those who are either in power or limited in what they can say because of those in power, undermines not only the artists' efforts to tell the story they want to tell but cannot tell explicitly, it also undermines queer joy and queer resistance in cinema. And yes, sometimes those artists are cis straight white male allies who want to tell these stories because they simply make sense for the characters. These people are the artists, not the financiers.

It's more mature to embrace, or at least leave alone, the loud joy others experience from shipping and performing meta-analysis instead of publicly pissing on them with the profoundly weak and ignorant argument of "original intent". Don't mess with me on this. The number of scripts I have worked on that completely warped from what I wanted, and then to have my writing credit removed or stolen, still makes me sick. Yes, I'm bitter, but I'm also glad I left.

[archivalofsins]

So-

Happy belated birthday to Kotoko Yuzuriha.

She had a very interesting one, right? So, here are my thoughts on her interaction-

Contents warnings for discussions about domestic violence and suicide beneath the cut.

I was talking about how I felt in private about the timeline interaction since yesterday. I didn't really want to give a kneejerk reaction. However, it really sucks to be Mahiru. Everyone is rightfully concerned about Haruka due to his threats to harm himself. However, I have one question in regard to that-

Why would he need to discuss his plan with Kotoko at any point in that process?

In the discussion I had the only valid reason given was to avoid having his death look like anything other than a suicide. However, this is pretty easy to contradict. In the first Milgram novel we read the equivalent of someone committing suicide by cop in a hospital room. Now the novels are not a playbook for how the web series is going to go.

However, both books are an indicator that the staff is well aware of every method one could conceivably commit suicide. Both books cover the concept of self-harm in depth for various reasons. Haruka is not asking Kotoko to assist him in any way in fact it's quite the opposite. He is asking for her to not intervene with what he is going to do.

Now to be frank we all already know how Kotoko feels about the other prisoners. Especially given her second trial CD that came out. However, she's consistently been shown to have a soft spot and respect for Haruka. For reasons that have yet to be illustrated to us.

21/12/15  (Kotoko’s Birthday)

Haruka: Ah…… H-happy birthday, Kotoko-san.

Kotoko: ……thanks. You’ve definitely changed a bit. Do you remember before? You could barely even talk to me. Haruka: I-is that so? Now that you mention it, I, I maybe have got a bit better since then. ……m-maybe I’ve got more used to being around people. There’s other people here who are interested in me, and, um, in particular Mu-san pays a lot of notice to me…… I… I’m enjoying myself here…… Kotoko: ……hmm. It’s just a theory I have right now, but I get the feeling the outcome of Milgram’s judgements are having some influence on our mental state. Well, I only noticed because I happened to be last up though. Good for you, then. This must mean that you’re fine. ……I’ll accept those birthday wishes.

Even going as far to extrapolate on her own observations about Milgram without any actual prodding from him. Something she did not do with the first individual she discussed this situation with.

21/10/24 (Shidou’s Birthday)

Shidou: ……oh, Yuzuriha-kun. It’s unusual so see you around this early. Wishing me a happy birthday…… probably isn’t the what you’re here for, huh.

Kotoko: No, it is. Happy birthday, Shidou. Though it’s not like I bought you a present or anything. But while I’m here, I’d also like to ask you something. Has anything changed for you recently? Having nightmares, hearing voices, feeling anxious…… anything like that. Shidou: Not especially, no. ……ah, so this is about how Kajiyama-kun and Shiina-kun have been strange recently? And she’s been trying to hide it, but Amane too…… We’ve been living in these conditions for a while…… it’s not unusual for there to be an impact on us mentally. Are you worried about them? You’re a very caring person. Kotoko: Hmm, so you noticed? If nothing’s wrong with you, then that’s good. ……if I’ve understood properly, that means you’re safe…. Once again, happy birthday, Kirisaki Shidou.

Despite her conversation with Shidou tentatively confirming her suspicions about Milgram. She decides to not disclose her observations as she willingly chooses to do with Haruka despite his unclear interest in the topic. I don't know if she's behaving this way towards him because she has a soft spot for him or due to her not taking him seriously as a threat.

Add to this Haruka's behavior and statements prior to Kotoko's attacks and well that's when things get interesting-

22/06/22 (Haruka’s Birthday)

Mu: What’s wrong, Haruka-kun? Did something happen? You shouldn’t look away like that when you’re together with me. Haruka: Ah, s-sorry, Mu-san. Um…… No, it’s nothing. I just, suddenly got a feeling. That something is about to happen. Mu: Isn’t that because it’s your birthday? Or perhaps it’s a sign the guard is about to wake up again soon? Fufufu, I bet they’ll be really surprised at a lot of things. Haruka: That, might be true. But, I want the- The guard to see. ……the new, me…….

Then directly after this the attacks happen. That's some convenient timing. Except it's not really, is it?

The entire prison is a panopticon, the cells and rooms go in a full circle. So, much so that in Es' voice drama the cells are referred to as times on a clock. From one to midnight. In that sort of set up and being as out in the open all the time as Mu and Haruka are stated to have been by multiple prisoners.

Well, it's not out of bounds to believe he saw Kotoko preparing and said nothing about it. It's a good reason for her to be so accommodating when it comes to being asked to look the other way herself now. We know from her voice drama what cooperation is to her. It's being able to do the things the other can't. So, the fact that she's agreeing to cooperate at all in any capacity means there is something she can get out of it by cooperating.

Which already shoots the idea of this being a suicide out of the water because if it was that- Would such an idea really illicit this response from Kotoko?

Kotoko Birthday TL Translation (12/15/2023)

Haruka: ...Please, be quiet about this. And you, please don't get involved. All I can do is ask this of you... Kotoko: Fufufu, fufufufufu. You're thinking some outrageous things. To be frank, it's abnormal. But I don't dislike it. If only all sinners were like you. Haruka: No... That's not it... I don't mean it that way... This isn't for me... it's to protect... so, Kotoko-san... please... Kotoko: Eh? Yes, yes. Well, I promise not to interfere with your plans. Even though I'd like to do it myself, I'll leave it to you. What happens after that... depends on Es, doesn't it?

To be frank like Kotoko, I don't believe she would give one's rat's ass about what Haruka does to himself and neither would Milgram. It's been illustrated (again in the novels) that the prisoners can self-harm within the facility. Also, that they can partake in self-harming behavior during the trial.

Again, the novel isn't a playbook for how the web series goes but Jackalope plainly states to Es and the audience the only restriction during the trials is the prisoners cannot fight each other. Never adding on any other restrictions to this.

We also see the characters partaking in harmful behavior towards themselves over the course of the trial be it mentally or physically. Like Milgram wasn't stopping Haruka from holing himself up in his room and not eating. The only person who intervened with that was Mu. So, honestly if he was worried about Kotoko interrupting his attempt he has the perfect time to do it right now as she cannot attack him as the trials are still going on and he is free to do whatever he wants to himself.

I'm not trying to be crass or dismissive of his threats of self-harm. Suicide ideation is a real issue and can cause great harm to an individual. However, there's a difference between threatening to harm yourself in order to protect another person/get something and actually facing this very serious and severe mental health issue.

What Haruka did is a manipulative tactic that people in all sorts of relationships use to get what they want. Validating that with his desired response would have been morally incorrect in my opinion.

This behavior is incredibly bad and emotionally manipulative full stop regardless of how much I like Haruka as a character. Takeaway here is never let someone else purposely leverage their physical wellbeing against you to get their way. Yes, you feel like the bad guy if they do it, but you aren't obligated to do things you don't want to or are uncomfortable with to avoid a threat, they put on themselves.

That's not how that works. That's just manipulation. Doing what Haruka did in this trial is a form of domestic violence. Here's some sources on the behavior-

What to Do If an Abuser Threatens Suicide

When Your Partner Threatens Suicide

How to Deal with Coercive Suicide Threats

As someone who has personally struggled with suicide ideation and depression. As well as someone who has had the above done to them several times by multiple parties it feels incredibly disrespectful and gross to have this sort of manipulation legitimized in any way. However, it makes sense that it's being legitimized. Because that's the point of making coercive threats like these.

The point is expecting the other person to be better than you so much so that'd they'd want to do anything to avoid having another person be hurt or die. The point is going prove you care more about me than your personal beliefs, security, emotion and physical health. Then if you say no I'm not doing that you're the bad guy, you're the uncaring heartless piece of shit that'd rather hurt two people by voting one guilty at the expressed expense of another's life then just forgive another person.

I forgave Haruka because I understand how he got here and empathize with that. However, that does not change the fact that what he did is textbook domestic violence and manipulation tactics. And it's so fucked up that people are still going if he does anything it's our faults when no it's his fucking choice nobody forced him to make that threat. That is a reflection of his character.

Furthermore, as shown through this if he wanted to, he could have by now. No one can stop him during the course of the trial. If he was worried about it not looking like a suicide because Kotoko attacks him well, she fucking can't right now. This is actually the best time to do that not during the intermission where the chances of it appearing ambiguous are highest.

Sooo what does this timeline mean?

Well...

It means exactly what it meant the last time he pulled a I think something is going to happen right before someone else's birthday.

22/06/27 (Amane’s Birthday)

Kazui: What’s up, Shidou-kun? You’re looking pretty down. I guess you must be tired, I’ve been relying on you a lot lately. Shidou: Yeah, I just remembered…… today is Amane’s birthday. I’m just getting a bit sentimental. Kazui: Hmm, it’s unfortunate, but at the moment we can’t worry about that. ……you understand, right? There’s something that you need to do right now. And if you tried talking to her your words definitely won’t reach her. Don’t look at me like that. We’ll just wait until the situation changes. Let’s do our best. Shidou: Yeah. I’ll do what I can. I can’t have a child making a face like that. Even though we’re “murderers”…… we’re also the adults here.

Everyone is here rightfully worried about Haruka. It's human instinct to just jump to tunnel vision onto the easiest threat to perceive. However, the audience only perceived this threat because he made it. He continued to make it during all of trial two. That doesn't mean he has the intent to follow through and it's a disservice to people who have actually been manipulated in this fashion and those who actually struggle with suicidal throughts to have their experiences and struggles compared to someone acting in such an overtly manipulative way.

Especially someone who very clearly stated these things for all to see-

The fact that he talked to Kotoko and asked her not to interfere with what he was going to do only cements that for me. Because the only thing that Kotoko cares about that she would interfer with or come into conflict with someone about are people interfering with her self-given job of prison deputy.

Meaning if someone were to do what she considers to be her job or intervenes with it they will immediately come into conflict with her. Regardless of whether they are Innocent or Guilty. She is then going to have an issue with that person even if it does not escalate to violence.

Something shown here-

22/08/05 (Kazui’s Birthday)

Kotoko: ……Mukuhara Kazui. Thanks to you, I wasn’t able to properly serve justice to those who did something unforgivable. I’m currently acting as an agent for our prison guard Es. Don’t get in my way next time. Kazui: Oi oi, don’t be silly, Yuzuriha-chan. There’s no way I could just look away from your outrageous display of violence. Anyway, even disregarding the fact violence against those voted guilty isn’t a part of Milgram’s system, what you’re doing is just acting recklessly based on a broad interpretation. As long as I’m free myself, I’ll stop you. Kotoko: ……what a pointless argument. Hmph. Since Es forgives you, I have no choice but to forgive you myself too. If you to keep to your words, then you’d best do what you can to keep being forgiven. If you’re not, then next time you’ll be one of my targets. Kazui: Oh, how scary. That girl truly is frightening. ……well then, I wonder what the guard will decide to do with me. That’s the one thing I really can’t make out. Honestly……

Attacking the prisoners she's meant to be in charge of while Es is asleep would technically be stepping into her territory or trying to take her postion. Something that would immediately have her and whoever tries it come to blows regardless of verdict. So, him talking to her at all about not interfering with whatever he has planned is already incredibly suspicious and makes me severely doubt it has anything to do with harming himself or harming himself only.

Ultimately this timeline could mean a lot of things and only highlighting a threat Haruka put on himself is exactly why he put that threat there to begin with. It's difficult to think of him hurting someone else when he's already very vocally committed to harming himself if a certain outcome was not given to him.

Yet instead of highlighting the audience not taking that threat seriously in a told you so way now. It's important to recognize the fact that the threat existed and was one he made at all speaks volumes about the sort of character he is. regardless of if you like him or not. It's important to recognize that people who do this to get their way are emotionally neglectful and harmful to those around them and such behavior should not be incentivized/rewarded ever.

Either way whatever Haruka has planned is going to be interesting and may not be happening on Mahiru's birthday since trial two won't have closed by then and if he is planning to attack another prisoner, he cannot do it before the end of the trial. Which is why he's planning ahead by discussing things with Kotoko so far in advance.

However, that's just my interpretation of everything that has occurred so far. I could be wrong, and it could just be about him doing that. Still doesn't change the fact this is a very awkward timeline interaction to come up right before Mahiru's (a person who has only gotten sicker and sicker over the course of trial two) birthday.

So, here's hoping Mahiru has a decent birthday next year.

[immoralimmortals]

Takara and the akatsuki

On another date

☆〜（ゝ。∂）

I don't remember writing a first (formal) date, so let's write about some Akatsuki first dates!

(As a note I'm interchangably using the idea of "Reader" and "Takara", Takara being the name given to the reader insert of my fic)

Hidan: it's awkward and difficult for him if he's trying to do a date on purpose. if you're just hanging out with him and don't bring up the word "date", it's great! he'll spit out his drink if you say "wow i really love this date"

Takara would have to teach him how to let loose and relax like he always prefers to, and that anything can be a date so long as two people are just enjoying each other with some romantic intent. He would consider praying a date, or bloodletting, or both! The world is his oyster, and everything becomes a date. Readily throws his arms around Takara from behind and asks her if she's excited about their date when they hadn't planned anything at all. He's just so happy to be involved with someone. It's like a built-in best friend.

Kakuzu: he does not date. He's from a time where a lot of marriages were arranged. Not all of them, obviously, or maybe not even most, but dating was less of a thing. "Courting", more like, is what he'd do. But in the fic the relationship with Takara kind of just...happens? So he didn't do any courting at all. He'd be reading a book and all of a sudden one of his hearts will die from a heart attack because he realizes he's fucked a woman he actually loves without giving her the due respect of traditional courting. He'd apologize and she'd be like "haha what? I mean you can court me now, i guess". And he would say "DOING IT NOW WOULD MAKE IT WORSE"

...and then he'd court her again despite how silly it feels.

Itachi: I feel like he's the kind of guy who would take you on a date without telling you that it's a date. He'd take you out to tea or a fancy dinner, tell you that you look pretty, and that's as far as he'll go. Kind of like Kakuzu in the sense that he is more traditional and courts instead of goes all in. It may take him a while to be explicit about what he feels.

Kisame: 100% would take Takara on the kind of date where it's literally just whatever she wants to do. We're going to town and window shopping? Great! You want to go for a walk? Wonderful. You've signed us up for a pottery class? Okay, I guess! Very blushy the whole time and tries to laugh everything off, hates being serious and mushy-gushy to you in front of other people, but he secretly loves it when you behave that way to him instead.

I'm such a sucker for the whole "Kisame does something romantic with you involving water" trope us fandom members have. Absolutely would grab Takara nice and tight and show her the depths of the lake in such a way she never could on her own. I love the image of him tangling all of himself around her in the water, almost like a protective shell, his hair and yours swishing.

Deidara: This guy knows how to take someone on a fucking *date*, man. Gives Aladdin a run for his money in regards to taking a romantic other into the night sky and exploring the stars. An absolute showoff, fireworks/explosions, so many of his creations, the best views in the world.

In ADDITION i have a personal headcanon that he's trying so hard to be a bad boy. He would totally consider committing crimes with you as going on a date, if only to show off how cool he is.

Sasori: Your best chance with Sasori is to not call it a date. Just ask him if you guys can pose for each other for art. Ask him to help you demonstrate the intimacy of the pocky challenge. Sit next to a still body of water underneath the moon and discuss the nature of beauty and immortality. If you call it a date, it's an immediate turn off. I can only imagine him enjoying it if he is doing it for the explicit purpose of showing Deidara up

Pain: Very formal. Think black tie dinner, exclusive, white tablecloths and expensive wine, room is nearly empty or entirely empty, low-lit or candlelit. He asks Takara about herself, and he sincerely engages and listens. They talk about big things, philosophy. He never once touches a bite of his food.

Konan: Nice and private, but not showy at all. A nice walk, holding hands. She's an easy girl to please, and as such is always asking if you're doing ok, having a good time, if something should be happening or change. Needs assurance that a quiet date is perfectly fine.

Tobi: Absolutely *screams* carnival or festival date. Dressing up, holding sparklers, playing games and being loud. He's his Tobi persona most of the night, excitedly clapping his hands and pointing with the whole length of his arm at whatever catches his eye. At some point he pulls Takara into a dark alley, leans in close, pulls her eyes shut with his fingertips, and kisses her into oblivion, laughter and music faded to the background as he focuses on the sound of her breath.

Zetsu: He would attempt to emulate a date with mixed success, depending on what one expects from the event. I figure plants are involved. He shows you some cool flora deep in hell knows where. The most interesting part is how you get there. He holds you around the torso, tells you to close your eyes, and you feel him sink into the ground...with you doing the same. Absolutely terrifying experience that makes you feel like you're suffocating, but not quite. If you get over that part, it's a pretty nice time. There's a bench for you to both sit together, watching butterflies and birds and bugs amid rustling leaves, like he's taking you on a date to garden except you're really just in the heart of nowhere.

[utilitycaster]

I feel like something so many ppl just don’t get is it’s improv. I’ll see ppl be like “I hate this arc” or “this dragged on” I’m like?? If you want to watch a curated tight fantasy story with a normal beginning middle and end maybe don’t watch long form improv media? Also maybe I’m just fundamentally misunderstanding what ur post is about. I’ll constantly think and say “it’s their game” not as a “they’re above criticism” way but more in a “cmon it’s not like this is a script that’s being poured over by ten ppl sitting in a room debating whether this 30 seconds drags or not”. Like I love Play it By Ear from Dropout but I’d never hold it to the same standard as like Six the musical or whatever. Improv/normal media requires a completely different rule set for criticism imo

Hey anon,

So here's the thing - I agree with this in terms of formal, published criticism (Ebert's Law, if you will) where you are, to an extent, grading on a scale; you should be judging on what the work is trying to achieve and not some abstract ideal that applies equally to all works regardless of provenance.

However, for personal discussion (including your own personal Tumblr blog)? This is totally irrelevant. You're allowed to dislike things, whether it's a 30 minute improvised musical or whether it's the Marriage of Figaro, for any reason. It is 100% valid for someone to look at the Mona Lisa and say "eh, doesn't do it for me," and, moreover, it's just as valid for them to say "it doesn't do it for me because I don't care for representative art and prefer abstract, modern works, but Da Vinci's sfumato technique is indeed masterful" as to say "It doesn't do it for me because it's fucking weird to me that she doesn't have eyebrows." People's enjoyment of a work is not necessarily reliant on effort put in or how much the artist cares about - it should be based on how much the art appeals to them.

It's fine if people hate an arc. If they hate it so much that they aren't able to enjoy watching, then I think they should probably stop watching...but that's a choice for them to make, and as someone who loves complaining, I've talked about arcs dragging and had it interpreted by total strangers as "you clearly seem to hate this" when really it was just a case of me...not liking some aspects of a larger whole, and choosing to talk about that because I had things to say. Like, I do think the early Campaign 3 pacing was deeply frustrating, and I do think that this wouldn't be the case if it weren't improv, but there have been many improv actual plays that I felt had great pacing, and also it was still frustrating to me and I wanted to express that.

In fact, what I was getting at in my post is that if you're trying to provide a counterpoint to other people's criticism, you need to focus on the points they're making; and if you're trying to defend something in general, you need to be talking about what you find good that is specific to that thing, rather than making excuses like "the cast likes it" or "it's improv".

To give an example: I love the Aeor arc, which was, to an extent, divisive. Here's two responses I could have:

"I think the Aeor arc built up to a satisfying and emotionally charged final boss fight that was thematically resonant with the Mighty Nein as a group. I think the path there had a good balance of adventure, combat, and RP scenes, especially given its position as the final arc of the campaign and the one in which many of the character romances were realized. Eiselcross was a fun and well-crafted environment that was challenging for a party of their level, and Aeor provided new insight into the Calamity, which at the time had not been explored in depth, while also providing a lot of opportunities to tie into the arcs of the various individual characters, notably Caleb and Caduceus. I also personally am a big fan of exploring fallen technologically advanced civilizations in a fantasy setting as a trope."

2. "Well, it's the cast's table, and it's improvised."

Both are true, but the first one lets people know what I see in that arc and why I love it. The second one ends the conversation, is true of almost everything Critical Role does, probably doesn't address anyone else's complaints, and doesn't even explain why I like it. And for what it's worth I don't think meta needs to address anyone's complaints - you're allowed to look at the Aeor arc and say "cool, I think it took too long and dragged and was too stressful" and we can part ways knowing we are different people with different tastes. But if I were, hypothetically, passionately trying to defend the Aeor arc and were openly resentful towards people who disliked it, the first option is obviously superior to the second option, which makes me look like someone who cannot come up with a single specific reason why this thing I allegedly love is good, and who is whining because I lack the maturity to accept that my opinions are not universally shared by all.

[t-u-i-t-c]

Racles for the character asks pls???

Racules Husty - Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger

First Impression

You would think I would have loved him from the start, but I actually didn't start getting attached to him until a few weeks in. So initially I didn't feel much of anything other than the standard thoughts about how I wanted to see him on the ground and knocked around a bit.

Impression Now

He's my favorite character in Super Sentai and I have so many thoughts and feelings about him. I think he's a really well done character and one of the most important characters in King-Ohger, even if he's not a part of the team.

Favorite Moment

I have so many, so let me give you a list of some of them just from the main series.

Whenever he gets angry and his eyes get wide or the muscles in his face twitch (ex. When Rita slaps him)

When Gira pulls the mantle from him and he pushes him in a way that very much feels like a sibling thing to do, before they were revealed to be brothers

When Jeramie shows up at Gira's funeral and Racules walks toward him while wrapping his own hand around his throat

When he returns to the throne room after being beaten

When Gira tries to convince Racules to remember his dream from when they were kids, but Racules rejects it

His return as Shugo Mask and him saying "I have returned from the depths of hell."

When Kaguragi throws the lance to Ohkuwagata, telling him to show him and the people who's fit to be king

The entire scene with him and Suzume at the bottom of the cliff when he fakes his death

Racules' reaction to Gira claiming him as his brother and calling himself Gira Husty

When Racules points the lance at Gira after they defeat Dagded the first time, and saying that Gira can do it while smiling before passing out

Racules saying that Gira is Gira and not a tool

When Gira finally reaches Racules

Racules discussing the alliance with Suzume

Racules talking to Jeramie about how a long life may not actually be a good thing

Gira pulling Racules into the group hug after they manage to evacuate everyone without any deaths

Racules' speech about how the kings are miracles and how the others are fools, but he is one too

When Spider Kumonos says that he knows someone who's more suited to deliver discipline to Kamejim and then Ohkuwagata delivers said discipline

When Gira returns from the final battle and hugs Racules

Suzume and Racules in Gokkan

Every time Racules smiles

Note: Everyone should watch The Secrets of King Racules

Story Idea

I think there’s a lot of potential with exploring trauma and the impact it has had on him and his relationships. Also just learning to be his own person again with the strings cut, while also being a tool for the people.

On a lighter note, I think it'd be neat to explore his skills that he picks up and improves on through his work for the kings (ex. Sewing)

Unpopular Opinion

Racules is just as important as Gira in the grand scheme of things.

Favorite Relationship

His familial relationship with Gira is so important and is really like the tree that everything branches off of. Nearly everything Racules does he does for the sake of his brother, and to try to create a future where Gira can make things better and maintain peace. I often think about the live show and how Racules wants to push Gira away after everything as he's been stripped of his title and sees himself as nothing more than a criminal. He doesn't think that he's worthy of being Gira's brother, but Gira doesn't believe this. Gira has accepted Racules as his family, they're the Husty brothers and he's not going back on that.

Romantically, I really like Suzume and Racules together. It's very clear that they care about one another and love each other. I think that due to having to isolate himself and play a specific role, Racules does struggle with affection, especially physical affection. He is shown to be willing to accept being killed as punishment for his crimes, so him trying to not be too intimate with Suzume makes sense, seeing as he wouldn't want to hurt her through reciprocating when he knows he'll have to pay for his crimes. I think that shows the most after he's granted a stay of execution and seems to allow Suzume to be a bit closer after this.

Favorite Headcanon

Standing by my headcanon that Racules was the one who noted Rainbow Jururira being served in the archives. It was named that by Gira and Racules, so there's no real reason for anyone else to have noted it under that name, and considering what it actually is, it seems unlikely that anyone would have noted it otherwise for the sake of it being a secret. Also Racules was the one who prepared it, so staff wouldn't have had to note it.

Here's another ask from a while back where a talk even more these things with Racules

Send Me a Character

[argentsunshine]

anon with the add on back :

yeah, now that you explain it does make a bit more sense but it. just hurts because whereas they acknowledged yusuke blantantly lying about madarame stealing his work, they seem to just completely kind of ignore akechi's warnings and that doesnt even make sense to me.. they dont even really acknowledge it, all because they dont know who he's working for until the last minute, and that doesnt make sense to me at all. but ty for taking ur time to ramble: i actually do it myself a lot, and i have so many thoughts abt so many things that i'd like to explore more in depth but can't put in words myself .. i'd just wish theyd atleast acknowledge that akechi is being used the same way everyone else was instead of ignoring it, even if they still cant continue to aid him: it feels like they didnt try (to me), even with ryuji's ... hatred for him, i'd atleast think that ryuji would atleast try to acknowledge it and want to do something but being unable to instead of still being an ass, even if goro is one as well (and i think, speaking of mental illness, as someone with npd and aspd and avpd, goro has both symptoms of npd and aspd: futaba has symptoms of avpd, but thats a topic at a later time.) and i think goro's not truly being himself in 3rd sem when he's blunt and mean, that he's still constantly masking, as people with npd and or aspd do like myself, and he's tired of being nice on tv so he has to pull thin insults when in real life because as much as he masks, it gets annoying, and he (along with myself and many others) likely has low empathy and just thinks of others (especially those of ryuji's caliber, as much as i love ryuji and everyone else) as , well put, idiots, because they dont know as much as he does, and the fact that they know more than him in the metaverse has likely made him crash (his engine room was essentially an npd crash, i think), but them not knowing "basic information" (as my brain puts) likely gives him a narc high, which also leads to thinly veiled insults.. adding onto the npd goro akechi, i think akira is his ep (Equal Person-- people w/ npd hold them to high standards, higher than they hold for themselves, and expects them to challenge eachother-- essentially akechi's rivalry with akira.. in alternative, bpd akira tells me that akechi is his FP, but i can discuss that at a later time)

regardless, and apologizes for this long paragraph, tysm for responding because that does make things a little clearer, and no one's really talked to me about it before, so thank you :D

yeah, i absolutely get where you're coming from - although i think the statement "they're ignoring his warnings because they don't know who he's working for" has the flipside of "by the time those warnings are given, the thieves already know he's the black mask and is presumably being manipulated by someone, so he's not actually warning them about anything they don't already know"

but yeah, the only reason i don't think they should have reached out to him pre-engine room is that i don't know when in the story that would have been an option: their plan to find out who his boss was wouldn't have worked if they'd tipped him off to the fact that they knew he was the black mask, and after 11/20, he thinks Akira's dead, and i doubt he would gave listened to any of the others. i think Ryuji's treatment of him us also kind of a result of Ryuji's general main story characterisation - in game the vibe is very much that ryuji doesn't like him because he's popular and smarmy and talked shit about the thieves on live tv, rather than the fact that he's a murderer, but they don't let ryuji have complex takes on things in the story ever. now im thinking about their relationship in my palace au lmao. if i were to frame it in more. terms. idk. ryuji hates the detective prince. but akechi doesn't respect ryuji so ryuji has no reason to try harder

and on the npd/aspd front - I'm not super familiar with npd but i can absolutely see that (i think akechi has a bunch of obvious Mental Illness Symptoms that are common to a lot of things, which is why i think mentally ill bitches latch onto him no matter what's going on. people saying he has npd have always sounded right to me i think he's autistic also because -- well you heard what i said about unsympathetic symptoms of mental illness last time) but as someone who has some symptom overlap i think youre 100% right on stuff i know about. low empathy bitches rise up.

but yeah, i think a lot of stuff is kind of the result of the writers seeming constantly all over the place with him. i think it's especially bad in the section from 11/20 to the engine room, because while i think in royal there was some vision for who he was supposed to be, everything in vanilla is far more over the place, and in some cases vanilla's contradictory writing of him is made worse by its interactions with royal's akechi content. because 11/20 isn't designed to accommodate for the possibility that this guy could be your actual friend rather than a guy you've spoken to a few times turned tenuous ally turned traitor. i don't think akechi ever would have acted differently in a way that mattered, but the way the thieves talk about him is in line with his flatter villain characterisation in that period in vanilla. he's a terrible irredeemable evil person until just before he dies, and then he's a tragic victim to the point that in the shadow shido fight, they talk as if akechi wasn't responsible for any of his own actions, despite the fact that he was demonstrably doing it of his own free will. and then he dies and you're not supposed to care because he's a Bad Guy so they barely bring him up again in vanilla. all that rings a little strange with the royal stuff

anyway all this has got me thinking about the dynamics between akechi and the non-akira thieves. i should really keep writing my akira's palace fic

[sirdust]

THOUGHTS ON THE FINALE?? bc it was a lot for suuree

| any thoughts on the last 2 episodes??? i sure do have mine i was like wth throughout the whole thing😭 |

apologies for the radio silence 🫡 i've been busy and also not very enthusiastic about discussing this show, lol. been in the process of packing up my autism and moving it over to transformers.

anyways sure i'll give my thoughts.

as my friend who i was watching the eps with said during ep7, "this version of hazbin hotel where women exist is a lot more interesting"

ep7 was probably the most tolerable character-wise even though it suffered from the same general pacing problems that we saw throughout the rest of the season. charlie felt like an actual character who experienced inner turmoil, and while i didn't like "out for love" very much as a song, the sequence itself was solid. carmilla badly needed more presence in the story for how much they treated her as an important character, though.

i'll also say that i think rosie is the most likable character in the show period. she has a cute design and a charismatic personality, and i wish she had shown up earlier. it was weird that she and alastor acted as if they had just reunited when they saw each other in ep3, though.

the final battle was disappointing all around for both obvious and non-obvious reasons. vaggie badly needed a big heroic moment, but she was fighting lute (who simply does not feel like a real threat) for so much of it that her actions during that part of the episode had very little impact. especially since she was the one to figure out how angels can be killed in ep7 (which was admittedly a plot point that did not need to exist, aside from it facilitating charlie and alastor's deal, but i digress).

i also am pretty miffed that charlie only got one or two good hits in on adam before needing to be saved by lucifer. it was like they couldn't decide whether they wanted to do a team-up or to give lucifer a moment showing off how powerful he is to be able to fight adam one-on-one.

i don't know if there's anything for me to say about what they did to pent that hasn't already been said. i doubt he's going to be relevant in s2, but even if he is, i really don't care. it's baffling incompetent to treat a character death as a comedy beat one moment and then dramatic the next. it winds up not making me feel anything at all. (and on a pettier note, i hate his redesign.)

i've never been huge on adam. his character had potential but was continually wasted in favor of being another shallow commentary on toxic masculinity (which is much too prevalent in spindlehorse shows, i'd argue. the issue isn't with the thematic choice but how vapid the execution is). i'm also hung up on the fact that he's clearly meant to look like alex brightman, but the writers have lucifer make a fat joke about his appearance. fatphobia in these shows has always been an elephant in the room but i feel that this crosses some sort of line.

i don't think i have much else to say? i could go more in-depth of course but i'd have to refresh my memory and i don't have the time or desire to rewatch any part of the season right now. i've gotten pretty much all of my gripes with the show as it stands out of my system.

this blog will likely continue to get some use in the future, but i'll probably be increasingly inactive on here. the silver lining of all this is that hazbin's success may, if nothing else, help pave the way for execs greenlighting more queer animation, but we'll have to wait and see. here's to better shows being made in the future though 🥂

ETA: oh and i've been calling twist villain lilith since 2019 but i have nothing else to say about that.

[spurgie-cousin]

Just saw the video and commentary you posted around the poverty cosplaying and I just want to add that there used to be a different place in Arkansas that did a similar thing, sorta. It was through a charity organization that shifted focus so they no longer run the program, but they used to have a "global village" where people would get assigned different regions of the world to live in by lottery with a couple key differences. First, they used actual names of actual countries and provided actual information about the country/culture. Secondly, it wasn't for mission training but instead was meant to be an educational tool to help middle school and high school students to consider how existing in different global and socio-economic circumstances change your decision making etc. and in depth discussion and educational activities were facilitated frequently. I went there as part of an overnight high school trip and while in retrospect the "poverty cosplaying" does give me the ick I still feel like that particular program was informative. Mostly I'm shook that two distinct programs like this exist in AR? I've literally never heard of the Harding one from the video until now and went on a Google deep dive to see if they were connected in some way, but not that I can tell. Anyway, no deep thoughts really, just thought it was super interesting/weird.

There is something in the water over there in Arkansas man lol. I can never learn just some normal fact about AR, it's always something weird.

I totally understand wanting to create more empathy for those who live in poverty, especially in teenagers who are in a really formative years of their lives. And it's one thing to replicate conditions in your immediate area which you are intimately familiar with, but I just can't get on board with play-acting poverty in different areas of the world. I just think about how I'd feel if some religious group in another country tried to replicate my life experience for shock value.

Even replicating the conditions semi-well can't replicate the actual stakes faced by the people they're cosplaying. You can't replicate the stress of a single mother working 2 jobs and supporting 3 kids in a one-room house, you can't replicate the stress of food insecurity and legitimately being worried about when your next meal will be, etc etc. And something about pretending to do them when you can just go back to normal life at any time just feels disrespectful in a way I can't really articulate.

Idk if people get something from it that's great and I do get the thinking behind the one you described at least, I'm mostly still ranting about the first camp lol. I don't have any doubt that some of the people running the camp you went to had good intentions (the other one though I'm really not sure based on the town names) I just have a lot of mixed experience in Christian missionary culture where poverty is treated voyeuristically which is just definitely the vibe I got from the first camp.

[mimisempai]

You will always be my priority

Summary

Hob and Dream are considering the idea of having a pet. While Hob is enthusiastic, this is not quite the case for Dream.

Series : The life of a retired Lord of Dreams

On Ao3

Rating G - 609 words

"Dream, would you like for us to have a pet?

They were in the living room, as they almost always were at night, in their favorite position. Dream rested his head on Hob's lap while Hob read.

They had never discussed pets before.

"I'm not good enough for you anymore?" asked Dream in a sulky voice before he continued without giving Hob time to answer, "I mean, I can turn into a cat or even a dog, so I don't see why you would want one. Besides, a pet needs to be taken care of. With your classes and mine about to start, it would be a lot of work, wouldn't it?"

"But I wouldn't mind taking care of it, you know," Hob replied softly as he began to play with Dream's hair, his lover relaxing as always under the touch.

"But then you would have to take less care of me," Dream replied with the same pouty tone that made Hob smile fondly. 

Dream was much more open about his feelings now, and Hob really enjoyed it. Sometimes he tried to hide it a little, but most of the time he didn't hesitate to express the depth of his thoughts, even the most childish ones.

"You will always be my priority, my sweet lord, you have no reason to be jealous." Hob continued to run his fingers through Dream's hair. He honestly didn't know which of him or Dream would miss it more if he couldn't do that anymore. The gesture soothed him as well as Dream.

Dream seemed to ponder for a moment and replied gently, "I won't stop you if you really want one, but not one that wouldn't fit in our life."

Hob shook his head and said tenderly, "Dream, it doesn't work like that. You know I won't make the decision alone, and I only want a pet if you want it too. I won't force anything on you. It's together or nothing. Even for this. And if you don't want it, I won't hold it against you."

He leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to Dream's head.

Dream sighed, "I know, I... actually sometimes I worry that you're depriving yourself of things just to satisfy my whims when I'm not making any effort."

Hob resumed his stroking of Dream's hair and replied softly, "It's not about that at all, Dream. We're discussing it, I don't feel deprived of anything, and I'd rather you tell me clearly when you don't want something. It's a two-way street... always. I will never hesitate to tell you."

Dream relaxed again before saying, "I do want a pet, but not too big, and I want to choose its name. The only non-negotiable condition is that if we get one, and I mean us, together, you are not allowed to stop stroking my hair like that," Dream's tone was so serious that Hob found it hard to hold back a laugh.

"You really don't have to worry about that, as long as you allow it, this humble human will never get tired of stroking your beautiful hair, you'd have to cut off my arms to stop me, and even if they were cut off, I'd do it like this..."

He made Dream lie down on the couch, straddled him and leaned over Dream's neck, burying his head in the black hair, which made his lover laugh out loud. 

Yes, Dream had nothing to fear, he would always be Hob's priority.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Dreamling Masterlist here

[beautifully-lumpy]

the beautiful person's journal - #10: the second channel

here is a google doc for the lost 2nd channel videos i could salvage! i'll be discussing some of these in today's entry.

this google drive folder compiled by my fandom friend and fellow caddicarus veteran @linc-karo-27 includes the ASMR video and the only surviving (to my knowledge) archives of the two 2014 streams that were posted to the second channel. it also includes the may 2019 update video and the failed 2020 GITCY stream.

let's face it: the withdrawal between caddicarus uploads is REAL. we can only rewatch those banger videos so many times to the point where we can recite them in our sleep, and twitter rants and instagram posts can only do so much to satisfy our hunger.

but of course, we have our greatest option - the stream archive channel! hours upon hours upon hours of streams are saved here, ready for our enjoyment. and don't even get me started on the "best of" videos!

when you scroll down far enough, you'll come to find that this channel wasn't always a stream archive. you'll find old video archives, an attempted let's play series, discussion videos, shitposts, mishka spyro YTPMVs, and a 2013 tour of caddy's room in his parents' house. and it was gold.

for this entry, we're going to be discussing the history of this channel and how it got to where it is today!

before 2019, this second channel was known as...

🎵 CAAAA-DYYYY'S CON-UN-DRUMS! 🎵

first established on august 24th, 2013, with its first upload being on september 11th and its announcement video being uploaded to the main channel on september 13th, caddy's conundrums was the place for any random video to be uploaded, be it related to video games or not. this was where drum covers called home until 2017, and where drive thru reviews got its start before it was moved to the main channel in 2015.

one thing i always found interesting about this era of the channel was how the graphic design looked arguably better than the main channel's. the logo actually looked super cool and wasn't made in cooltext. there was also a thumbnail avatar specifically used for this channel as well!

the channel's content

the channel's first upload was the classic "a tour of the room", where caddy gives us a detailed tour of his room in his parents' house. it's a wonderful time capsule of retro caddicarus and it's still up to this day if you would like to give it a watch.

the next upload was the first episode of the series "regarding". regarding was a show where caddy would discuss anything related to pop culture or video games or youtube changes...

...wait a second, this sounds a bit familiar...this show just might as well have been a precursor to the now-unlisted rant series that was posted on the main channel through late 2019! of course, the presentation was not as clickbait-y or angry as the 2019 rant series, but it's interesting to look at both series and see how the approach to video-making had changed between those eras.

there was also the [NOSTALGIACAD] series - which was an archive of his pre-TCS vids from the main channel. before the banger 2020 caddicarus episode where he reacted to these vids, fans would simply just come across them by scrolling to the bottom of the second channel and seeing for themselves. when i was 12 and about a month in on the beautiful people train, i came across "the cleaning", and that's actually where i found out his last name is caddick. it was through a comment on the video but comments on it are now disabled for some weird reason. i think i also memorized the words to "he's the dog" as well. lmao.

caddy cussbottom was a one-off that was originally going to be a series. it was basically "you know what's bullshit?" but british. this is where i found out the name of the certified hood classic "combine harvester" song that's used in a lot of his vids.

there was some funny shitpost-type stuff, like this one where cerys' snake pixie escaped her terrarium or this one that's basically a spyro YTPMV with mishka the dog. i'm not gonna go into depth about every single one - because (almost) every single one is still up as i'm typing this!

in early 2015, caddy did a sponsored video for 1up box, which was like a knockoff lootcrate. this was such a cute video, and it was done in a very caddy fashion. although it deeply hurt my soul when caddy didn't recognize BMO and called him "the 1up box guy".

the channel also serves as an archive for the failed puppicarus series, which was canceled and uploaded to the second channel a month after its premiere. i'll go into more depth about that series in a future entry - let's just say there's a reason i didn't talk about it in the entry about 2012-16 side shows.

there's two more i'll talk about - first one being this ASMR video from june 2016. this was during the peak of the asagao academy fandom, and this normalboots/hidden block dating sim basically brought a bunch of old and new fans together on tumblr. and it just so happened that most of the normalboots/hidden block guys used tumblr at the time. these fans sent them all kinds of asks...and one meme involving the fans trying to get them to make ASMR videos started up at one point. caddy declared on this post that if he got 5,000 notes, he'd make an ASMR video. and we all impressively got him there. yes, i also did daily reblogs on my old (now-deactivated) account. to people outside of tumblr, this video was out of left field, even for him. but it was the funniest shit ever. and it was privated in 2019. sigh.

there was also a video of bloopers from the tweenies video - and the bloopers consisted entirely of brutalmoose stumbling over his lines for the cameo. it's iconic. this was also sadly privated in 2019.

the decline

the channel was most utilized from 2013 to around mid-2015 as an outlet for drum covers, random topic discussions, shitposts, quick game reviews, and a brief stream archive - only 2 streams from 2014 were archived, and they can be found in karo's folder i linked at the top of the post.

2015 got off to an active start for the channel - we had the 1up box video, a regarding episode about the two spider-man movie actors, the aforementioned spyro YTPMV, and a video where caddy comments on how microsoft screwed up solitaire on windows 8. these videos were all uploaded between february and april, and after that, the channel went radio silent until puppicarus was archived in january 2016. after that, the ASMR video was posted that june, and the brutalmoose outtakes were posted in january 2017...and that was it for caddy's conundrums. so what happened?

well, to put it shortly, it was time constraints, the migration of drive thru reviews to the main channel in 2015, and the establishment of the caddy show.

now that caddy was producing two videos a week for the main channel in 2015, extensive amounts of time just couldn't be poured into the second channel anymore. and this would ESPECIALLY become more apparent during the reign of the 3-day-a-week schedule come 2016-18. around this same time, he would stop streaming, and he wouldn't stream again until after the retool in 2020.

the caddy show came along to the main channel in 2017 and would become a new outlet for...drum covers, random topic discussions, shitposts, and quick game reviews. this was another huge factor in the second channel's decline - the main channel started doing everything the second channel did. and so, the second channel declined.

...but it obviously wouldn't be that way forever.

the rejuvenation

around spring 2019, the name of the second channel was mysteriously re-named "caddy plays". there were initially no announcements or branding changes, just a random name change. we also saw the privating of the 9 drive thru reviews episodes that released on the channel - unfortunately, i could only salvage three of them. the drum covers were also privated for some insane reason.

this would later be officially acknowledged in a main channel update video in may. one of the announcements in that video was the announcement of let's plays, a first in caddicarus history. in the past, he'd expressed his disinterest in doing let's plays. but in 2019, he changed his mind, and in june, an n sane trilogy let's play began, with the videos being edited by cerys. cerys' contributions helped caddy continue to focus on the main channel while also maintaining the second channel.

this let's play series didn't last very long, only lasting from june 26th to september 11th in 2019. during that time, the only game completed was n sane trilogy. we had a one-off cuphead let's play with tomska, 2 parts of a ride to hell: retribution let's play, and one part of a blair witch let's play.

the titles were all-caps yelling - typical of let's play channels. the thumbnails weren't too clickbaity...with the obvious exception of the ride to hell videos where the sexy scenes were deliberately used. keep in mind that this was 2019 at-his-last-resort caddicarus, so he was doing all he could to try and stay relevant and bring in enough money to feed his family. i'll go into more depth about this crazy year in a future entry about what i dub the second intermediate period.

i personally didn't watch these let's plays - pretty much because i was absent for them. i'd stopped watching caddicarus a couple months prior to these developments, and while i knew what was going on thanks to karo, i wasn't actually watching the videos themselves.

but i can give you an interesting fact - the first part of the n sane trilogy let's play marked the very first use of lumpies and germs, the new fandom name for caddicarus fans after the retirement of beautiful people 10 months prior.

and y'know what? i outta start watching through these let's plays. it's more caddicarus content to tide me over until the spyro video. lol.

so after the last let's play video, the channel was dormant once again until finally, in april 2020, caddy officially returned to streaming. it was a joyous day in the community...ESPECIALLY for veteran folk like me. except i wasn't there for it...because i'd been gone for a year and onward ripped me a new one a month prior to this return. LMAO.

after this return, the second channel became a stream archive, and it was now seeing regular uploads all the time. by next year we were getting "best of (year)" videos edited by sir toasty. i remember sir toasty being a fan for years and it was so heartwarming seeing him get that chance to work for caddy.

so just like the main channel - the second channel had the best possible outcome after all the adversity. it finally hit the 100k mark in march of this year and is still steadily growing.

while it was never as well known as the main channel, the content of the second channel has still touched the hearts of thousands of caddicarus fans, from generation to generation.

so that's a wrap for this entry. i've now covered every show that's been done across both channels (except for puppicarus, of course). in the next entry, we'll be exploring caddy's history with sponsors, and how sponsor segments evolved over the years!

[notegodeath]

do you have any tips for boosting word count in a meaningful way? i feel kind of sad when i write a 3k that'd take a few weeks (if i'm lucky) then see someone's output on ao3 be more consistent and with more count to boot. qq

i think obviously the biggest piece of advice i should give is not to care. in an ideal world, it doesn’t matter if someone writes faster, or more words than you, everyone goes at their own pace, and does what they can, and yada yada etc etc. that doesn’t really work in practice, and i know it, so if you wanna write longer, and write faster i do have a few tips that can help. (and ofc all of these pertain to my style and my experiences, and someone else would prob have different opinions)

1 one of the best ways to bolster your word count, and one of the things i see most constantly overlooked in a lot of fics is a character’s thoughts. actions and dialogue are good for keeping the plot moving, they’re helpful, everybody loves them, but what really fascinates me is the why those actions and dialogues are happening. maybe it’s the theatre kid in me, but one of the things i always start with once i have a plot is character motivations, and how they feel, and react to everything happening internally as well as externally, and by working through those processes on paper it can both make your fics longer, and make your characters feel more three dimensional

2 on that same note, having an actual outline can really help too. a lot of the time, i just kinda wing it, i won’t lie, but even in my head there’s some sort of outline of what’s going on, and the times when ive transferred that to paper have been, in my opinion, some of my best works (and my longest, too). if you know what’s happening in a story before it happens, you can more purposefully control things like pacing, as well as include foreshadowing if you’d like, and it provides more room to think about why things are happening, rather than the fact that they just kind of are, and this depth of understanding allows you to better flesh out your works

3 this one is gonna seem really obvious in theory, but in practice it might not be, at least for me. one of the best things you can do is just read. read, and read some more, and, you guessed it, fucking read some more. read works of characters you like, to get ideas on how you want to portray them, read works on characters you don’t like, so you know what you don’t want to do, read works that have nothing at fucking all to do with what your writing because i guarantee you that you’ll find some kind of inspiration in them. also, read actual fucking books. don’t just read fanfiction, read real life, published books, by authors who do this for a living. that doesn’t mean you have to just read grimy classics that’ll make you fall asleep, there’s a lot of new books being published all the time and some of them are very good, but read something original, with substance, and that you’ll enjoy. my friends and i have a book club where we pick out a book each month, read it, and then we meet up and discuss it, this month we’re reading jurassic park, which obviously isn’t shakespeare, so just read something that isn’t fanfiction sometimes (and if you can, talk about it with someone)

4 this’ll be my last one i promise, but something i feel like mentioning is that it’s important to remember that everyone is different, be it in circumstance, motivation, free time, abilities, etc. not everyone can write like someone else, but guess what? that’s fine! chances are, that author that’s cranking out fics on ao3 either has a lot of free time, and that’s what they like to do with it, or that’s what they do to destress, and so they do it a lot. to this end, and this goes for all artistic pursuits, be it music, writing, visual arts, performance arts, etc, you don’t need to compare yourself to others. you want to, and it’s impossible not to, but at the end of the day you’re you, and they’re them, and you’re different people with different perspectives, abilities, and lives. it can be good to find motivation in other people’s works, i do that a lot, but letting it turn into a sort of negativity hinders more than it helps, i promise (also, they prob have more experience than you, whether you can see that experience or not, so just write more, it’ll come to you i promise)

[fishdreams]

Dream Journal 2024-01-26: New Concoctions By Fish Davidson!

It's been a long time since I had a dream-based invention, but before we get to the explanation of this thing, let's talk about the

Dream Fragments

I was eating nachos, but instead of jalapenos to go with my sour cream, cheese, and beans, there were tiny cats. Completely normal (and alive) cats, except each one was no larger than my thumbnail. I thought it was unusual to eat them, but those were the nachos I had at hand and I wasn't going to let them go to waste.

Main Dream: Behind The Scenes Of Nissan's New Commercial

Note: the videos in this post have flashing/strobing effects.

The entirety of this dream was basically an in-depth look at a commercial for a new car by Nissan. The car is not important, and I recall pretty much nothing about the car other than it being a sedan that looked like any other modern sedan, and I think it was red.

What is important is the practical effects the commercial employed for the vaguely sci-fi bits (because cars can't be cutting edge without being from The Future). There was a white room that textured with lines of filaments the thickness of uncooked spaghetti noodles, and inside this room was a pedestal with a circular holographic projector on top that broadcast the headshot view of some alien from outer space who looked like a cross between a dog and a stag.

Instead of using a guy in a costume for the alien, the commercial used a special zoetrope to provide the animation for the alien's speech. The original zoetrope used a sequence of still images arranged in a strip that in turn spun around a cylinder to give the illusion of movement. Here's a video that describes a newer variety of zoetrope (though there is a discussion and example of the original zoetrope at the 1-minute mark of the video).

The variety of zoetrope that the commercial creatives used was a step beyond the ones show in the prior video. Instead of using multiple rotations of the cylinder/platter to show a repeating animation, the commercial used multiple nested platters that could rotate independently of each other and could also rotate in different directions.

You can hopefully understand how the device is constructed by looking at my crudely-drawn diagram in the header image of this post. I drew a dog instead of an alien because it wouldn't look anything like it did in the dream, and most people can intuitively recognize a poorly-drawn dog.

Apparently I was one of the people who worked on the commercial, because I had a lot of access to the props and stuff on the set. I spent a long time playing with the zoetrope, too, which is how I was able to recall its construction.

Each platter contains variations of a different part of the alien's head. The outermost platter contains different positions for the alien's mouth, lips, and tongue. The middle platter contains a smaller number of positions that account for blinking and small movements of the upper/lower eyelid. On the smallest platter is the back part of the head and it controls small movements in the position of the ears.

Because each platter is controlled by motors that can rotate forward or backward, it can play play an animation of effectively unlimited duration as long as you can move the platters into position quickly (and precisely) enough. The "holographic projector" was really this special zoetrope, and it was controlled in such a way that the movement of each platter made it look like the alien was talking about wanting to purchase the car (though the actual dialog would presumably be added during post-production). It gave the alien a cool stop-motion look when the platters were spinning.

Lastly, the final version of the commercial used Powerman 5000's song, "When Worlds Collide" as its soundtrack. My wife happened to have that song as her alarm when the dream was happening, but it was muffled by the bedsheets and didn't wake me up immediately. Instead, the song just crept seamlessly into the dream. Below is the official music video for that song, which I'm including because it's a good song and also because I forgot it had sci-fi and aliens in it.

Nissan, if you're reading this, I am willing to license this technology to you. Call me and let's talk.

[silver-heller]

What do you wish was in the series/fic that you just didn't have room for? Which of these do you think you'll write about in the future?

Hm...a lot lol.

Closure on Mordecai and Mitzi's Relationship

As it stands, the last time Mordecai talks to Mitzi in a full blown conversation, she admits she still finds Mordecai creepy but wants Silver to be happy. Originally it ended there, which is a start, though not a very happy conclusion.

Actually, writing this made me write in a discussion that demonstrates Mitzi's change of heart and why she feels that way. Thankfully there was a spot before all the action. It is short and that, along with her being much more friendly towards Mordecai as time goes on hopefully demonstrates her gradual change of heart leading up to that.

Though I suppose it can be implied through some of his actions, and his redemption through them, that Mitzi probably sees him very differently by the end of the fic. Hell, I think it could be argued she never really hated him, both just had trust issues and were afraid the other would or even wanted to take Atlas away from them. Which is why I wish I had more time to explore this in depth.

Will I explore this after the AU? I am trying not to fall into the trap of post fic content that could end up in me wanting to make a whole fic. But, I could definitely, if I ever feel up to it, see a one shot from Mitzi's POV about how her relationship with Mordecai evolved. They care about each other, quite a lot I'd say, and I think they both become more receptive to hearing about the other's worries over time. That being said, that one shot is pretty low on my priority list, if I am being honest, and their relationship was a side thing in the AU for good reason.

Silver And The Quest To Straight Pass

Since the fics showing their time working as a trio, there's one theme that didn't fully get to be explored, which is essentially how Mordecai and Viktor fighting over Silver's affections definitely had a lot to do with the idea of "being gay but not looking gay". They both genuinely do love Silver, to be clear, but they both acted like idiots in the past because they were holding onto that idea of Silver being male while looking like any other woman to the outside world.

If those two had a healthier relationship towards this, especially in the welcoming environment of the speakeasy, they probably would have been together before they even met Silver. But nope.

Viktor being bisexual is probably a big reason why Viktor backed down and rooted for Silver and Mordecai so hard, despite his own feelings. He can fall in love with a girl and be seen as "normal" easily, but, Mordecai can't, and Silver might struggle to find someone else that sees him as a man and still genuinely loves him. The way Viktor sees it, those two were meant to be with each other, and he never wanted to get in between them.

While all this is only implied, hopefully it's made clear it's something Mordecai has to get over, considering he would have much rather have a fling with Serafine, someone who can identify as male but presents as female, rather than just admit he loves Viktor, even in Silver's absence. In fact, it's kind of implied Mordecai does not think he can find a viable partner again because his relationship with Silver offered him a lot of protections, and that happened to be one of them.

Our Dear Friend Atlas

I also wish I had more time and energy to explore the past and Atlas' relationship with everyone in the cast back when he saw still living. Although, I am also glad as it gives me more to use for my own original projects. Plus it being more implied in the AU works quite well too. If I do write him with the other characters outside of the series, it will most likely be fluff.

One of these days I swear I'll write in Atlas' POV, maybe make some Mitzi x Atlas fics or something. I'd also love to find a way to pin him down for a more concrete or genuine interaction with someone in the cast.

Rocky and Irene

I would have loved for that pairing to have their own section in the AU, but, in the end, it was best for them to remain side characters. If I think up fun or cute one shots for them, I'll definitely write and post them though!

More Conflict With Asa

I think Asa remaining mostly a mystery works good for the fic, though I'd be lying if I said Asa' assholeness isn't fun to write, and that the other character's push back is a huge part of that. I particularly would have liked to explore his relationship with Mordecai more, how, even though Asa was a more corrupted version of Atlas in Mordecai's life, it could still be argued Atlas was just as bad in some ways. But, I found the other relationships a lot more important.

Just like Mitzi and Mordecai, this isn't something I am huge on, but if I ever did get inspiration for a one shot that explored that concept, I'd write it.

A Very Awkward Dinner

Originally, I had considered the idea of the lackacrew meeting Constantine. It was going to be a dinner with all of them supporting Silver while she confronted the man that helped orchestrate the arranged marriage that caused Silver such grief. In retrospect, it was a bit too satisfying for the town I was going for, and a little too much of a power trip for me. I prefer how I leave things off with Constantine now, though I won't spoil it.

Honestly, I'm fine with this and don't plan to ever write that scene.

MORE TAWNY CONTENT!

This one is heavily biased. Myself and the writer of Tawny have always agreed he was best kept in the shadows along with Asa for...reasons, hehe. But, I still do think his and Silver's chemistry is fun, and we hope to be able to write more of him with Silver and the rest of the cast in the future.

Mordecai Meeting Silver's Grandmother

There was originally a scene where Mordecai met Silver's grandmother, helping him better understand how Silver became the man he is today. However, I decided it was better, and for the sake of not having to wrap up that loose end, that Silver's grandmother had passed. Her failing health near Silver's engagement would explain why she didn't become more involved in that situation.

Silver Meeting Mordecai's Sisters

There was a flashback scene where they were introduced. However, this got cut as it didn't add anything and, as it stood, with most of the prequel content being cut, there wasn't anything to imply Mordecai would go to physically see Rose at that stage. In fact, things work better when the implication is he refused to. Potentially even for her wedding.

Rose as a character also comes with a lot, there's so little we know about her current life, hence why I've scraped her one shot as well. There are so many blanks to fill that I just don't want to. So, while I will probably show Mordecai attempting to fill the gap (spoiler alert) I don't think he actually will, unfortunately.

Realistically, Mordecai is a complete stranger to Rose now, and Rose a complete stranger to Mordecai, and not to mention Mordecai went from a cute kid with good intentions to a cold blooded murderer who would probably do it again if it meant his survival and meeting the important people in his life that he did. Though he'll always hold onto the memories, I think a big part of his journey is learning to let the past be the past.

Nico and Silver's Friendship

I honestly really like these two as friends, I find Nico's very laidback nature combined with Silver's rather cautious one pretty cute. But, when I figured this out, there wasn't much time to really sow it in (completely at least, they do have moments), and, as with some of the other things above, the relationship just wasn't as important as the ones taking up most of the plot. So, the AU shows more of an origin story for their friendship like a few of the other relationships rather than the friendship in its complete form.

Definitely some fluff I will write in the future.

[kdramastrix]

Honestly, I think there's a lot that tdj offers that keeps the fandom going. One thing I love is that it has kept many aspects of the characters open to interpretation, their dynamics hinted but not fully explored, multiple facets of the plot left to imagination.

Kang Yohan in himself is a mystery on his own because there's so much we don't know about him. So much we can create or associate with him. What he feels for himself? How did he feel when he moved to Jisang's room? The mannerisms he has inherited from Jisang? Where did he learn to fight? Who taught him how to hunt & how did he adapt that hobby? Does he actually feel nothing while eating or is that a mere bluff? How deep does his self loath run? What did he first feel when he saw Elijah? Where did he learn to use his sexual charm? What kind of books does he prefer? There's so many questions you wonder about that have no actual answers. No single concrete thing is known about anyone. Not Isaac, Not Kang Jisang, Not Elijah, Not even Gaon.

Curiosity keeps a fandom alive.

So that gives the fandom space to explore & create. To let their assumptions, ideas & thoughts foster.

Plus, the show itself is shot in SUCH a marvelous & thoughtful way, that it's honestly mindblowing to me how you can always find miniscule details to notice, minor implications, use of props, cinematography, color palette, music & settings to add more depth to the scenes. There's always ALWAYS something new you can pick with every rewatch which again gives rise to more discussions, something unique to pick apart & talk about.

One more reason, as someone stated in the tags, is that it concluded with an open ending. They don't necessarily spoon-feed the typical "happy ending" which again opens a whole new gateway to new possibilities, new developments, new imaginations. You can take ANY character and map out their whole lives as you wish and that I think is so useful in keeping a fandom active because every person gets a chance to imagine the destiny of their favorite character from that show & none of it is either right or wrong. You can keep a lid on that ending or you can absolutely run wild with the endless possibilities.

Plus, the ship aka Yohan & Gaon, entangled in the messy plot of revenge, coming to terms with their own existence, sexuality, their changing circumstances & their ragingly confusing dynamic, didn't give each other much opportunity to explore their bond. They know they mean alot to each other but they're still very uncertain & hurtful & stilted with each other which again gives US the opportunity to explore their relationship FOR them. And boy does their relationship have ALOT to develop & discuss & sort out.

So I believe these to be the main reasons why The Devil Judge continues to garner more people into the fandom & why its still active 3 years later & will continue to do so.

Everytime I meet my friends, they will be surprised that the TDJ fandom has lasted so long. And to think it is able to do so with just one season, 16 episodes, and nothing more after that.

They will ask me why? And I thought that I will pass the question on to the rest of you.

Why?

We are still here even though the drama finished airing after 2021. And I still see fics being written on AO3 as well.