#i think he might be avoiding making deep connections with people so he doesnt have to get hurt again. so he doesnt have to hurt again.
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
I don't think Luffy is very likely to say "I love you" not directly. He will announce proudly "You're my friend, you're my family, you're my 'insert connection here"
He wants people to know much what they have matters, as a child thats what he wanted, connection. So to him the things he built, the connections he chose are more important and worth more then what might be an empty word.
People in his life said they loved him but they still left him to be alone time and time again, Garp, Shanks... Ace, even if that couldnt be avoided. Not that Luffy lets himself dwell on how lonely he was before meeting his brothers and finding his crew, but the word does not mean the same to him.
Unlike Law, who pins a large part of his personality on that word. It is the last thing Cora said to him, he carries his love on his sleeve through acts of service, even if he doesnt say it outright, he wants to hear it.
And it bothers him more then a little that Luffy wont say it.
Sure Luffy initiates touch, and never flinches back when Law reaches out first, but he never says it. They are friends, they are allies, and perhaps that is all they are. Doesn't matter that they spend long nights curled together, watching the stars. Luffy always pulling Law into a hug, and keeping close any chance he gets.
Law in not so many words asks what they are, and Luffy doesn't answer, just smiles and says they are whatever Torao wants them to be. The one time he does not give a label to their relationship. That hurts Law more, just a little stabing sensation in his heart.
They are both pirate captains, after the one piece. They should be enemies. It would be easier if Law still thought that way.
He doesn't.
He wants more.
But how does someone who struggles in believe that they deserve love, ask for it?
He struggles to accept it when his crew says the same thing, and they have been saying it for over a decade, and his logical side knows its true. His ingrained trauma's say otherwise.
Luffy notices that Law is getting antsy, everytime he announces their connection to someone. Notices that Law starts getting distant and a little pouty. He is good at reading emotions, especially of people he cares about, so he starts bugging Law asking whats wrong. It takes a few days of non-stop Luffy pesteri g for Law to snap that he just want's to know if Luffy loves him!?
Luffy pouts "Yeah! You're my Torao!" Not even a connection, but it makes sense to Luffy.
Law shakes his head "You cant even say it!"
"Say what, why do i gotta say anything!?" Luffy reaching out to take his hands.
Law stepping back "We're done, this is too much"
"Nuh-uh!" Luffy closes the gap between them before Law can use his power to leave "i know what you want Torao" he bumps his forehead against Law's "i think you're cool, and smart and i dont want you to leave" Luffy takes a deep breath "Everytime I say the thing, people leave, okay, so yeah i know what you want me to say, but i would rather you were safe!"
Law swallows. He understand that feeling, the feeling of being cursed and your actions cause others to leave. He lets Luffy pull him closer. "Then you do?"
"Yeah Torao, i do" Luffy hugs him tighter "And I always will, okay?"
69 notes
·
View notes
Text
You know? I think it says more about state of interpersonal relationship on dreamsmp as whole than it does about c!phil, that whenever c!Phil is kind in any capacity to anyone he's expected to take on responsibility for their entire wellbeing
Surely the fact that mild kindness being seen as a mark of unending loyalty and a way of showing you plan to take on someone's entire life is damning on how fucked up relationships have gotten since everything began. Kindness should be seen as a default way to interact with eachother, not as contract.
It's not Phil's fault he'll help a kid out of lava
#philza#dreamsmp#phil will be like: do you need a place to stay? and then hes expected to give up everything#he showed fundy how to fish and spent a bit of time with him and was expected not to care that his house was ransacked#and his friend was executed by fundy#he BARELY interacts with tommy and yet! and yet..#like... ive watched all of phols streams and i cant think of a time where hes promised to take care of someone forever and ever amen#he reluctantly allowed fundy to stay with him while eret was grtting shit sortes#but maybe hes aware of the fact he isnt in the rifht place to look agter some deeply traumatized people#considering what happeend with will#i just#will i post this? myabe...#idk#literally everything hes done that could be seen as taking responsibility for someone was done with a degree of reluctance.#i think he might be avoiding making deep connections with people so he doesnt have to get hurt again. so he doesnt have to hurt again.#he can trust techno to take care of himself#hes safe with techno. techno wont ask him to do the unthinkable#he tries so hard to respect peoples wishes and boundaries#and he actively avoids interfering with things (because last time he interfered with someone else buisness....)#and yet people will blamr him for not doing more#what dies he owe anyone? when did he sign tbus contract?#maybe im just old but you are allowed to not take responsibility for people if you onow you will fuck it up#youre allowed to be older and still have trauma and baggage you dont want passing on to people#not hc#/negative#i actually have a decent amount to say on tbis topic tbh#it very odd watching phols streams and then logging on ajd seeing how everything hes sajd is interpreted
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
Ateez’s ideal types based on astrology pt.2
San -Venus Leo, Mars Scorpio
Combined with his cancer, this man is not afraid of his emotional side.
He craves someone similar to that, someone to connect with on a deeper level
anything else is almost unwanted since this is a big part of himself, not just in relationships, but friendships too.
there’s a need for privacy too and his expression of love remains hidden from others
that’s why he avoids pda or at least keeps it lowkey
he feels the most comfortable with this and thinks that it matters the most when it;s between you two
besides that, he isn’t a show off like that
romanitc but not cheesy
also good with words and wants to use music in order to express his feelings
baby might tear up too
protect
Μingi- Venus Virgo,Mars Scorpio
You know how some people say that Mingi is a sub and i’m like this boy is so tall and poweful damn those stereotypes
This Virgo may lead us somewhere in that area since they are the care givers and all
but his scorpio might suggest a power bottom idk back to our topic
i think that he’d like someone dynamic but also caring at the same time
someone to spoil him from time to time
but also give him space to spoil them as well
someone sexy, probably the sexiest type out of all the members
but deep down all this ‘hard core’ outer layer to be a softie at heart
just like him
Wooyoung- Venus Libra, Mars Capricorn
He likes some romance but not too much
but i think that his kind of romance might be a bit cheesy
on the opossite side of San (sorry woosan)
he is really into pda
that’s why he needs someone on the same page with him, that enjoys being close and cuddly and all
physical affection is ,in general, a big part of his life and a deal maker/or breaker if there is none involved
someone more cute than sexy and with clasically feminine quality if that makes sense
also he is someone that appreciates family and would like a family oriented partner
Jongho- Venus Scorpio, Mars Virgo
Scorpio venuses can be emotionally messy (dont come at me im one too lol)
but his mars makes up for it
tbh i dont think he is a demanding person and he doesnt have high expectations or a specific type set in stone
he goes with what he feels like and is open to many ‘types’ of people
if he vibes with someone, that’s it
lets not kid ourselves, he still wants that scorpio intensity but can handle certain emotions better
that’s all
great bf material and very understanding patient
for astrology ships dm me (5 usd)
#ateez#ateez astrology#ateez ship#ateez ideal type#ateez wooyoung#ateez san#ateez mingi#ateez jongho#ateez imagine#ateez fluff#ateez smut
273 notes
·
View notes
Text
Too Love.
everyone really is whipped for dabi lol i mean cant blame him who doesnt want to fk this burnt homeless man. 👁👄👁
yandere! dabi x reader
warnings: suggestive themes, captivity
word count: 964
navigation
part 2: a or b
Days were looking up for the league, from staring as just another terrorist organization that the heroes deemed ‘were going to be easy to handle’ to being feared by heroes and citizens alike. Missions were successful, they ruled the undergrounds and soon they would conquer the land above. As days went by the original members of the league gained popularity, people feared them, despised them but they couldn’t have done anything against them. The people were weak and as the rule of heroes slowly shattered, everyone became vulnerable to these beasts.
That being said, Dabi believed that in this rotten world no one was ever going to show him an ounce of affection, but when you held his hand gently and cast your spell to heal his broken wrist- his cold heart fluttered. Maybe you were just doing your job, maybe you were just this gentle with everyone who came here. There might have not been any underlying intentions to you soft displays of affections but that didn’t change a thing for him. He had fallen head over heels for you.
To him, you were an enigma.
On the first day, he had brought you home- you had a mental breakdown. You were scared, you hid in the closet until Dabi found and pulled you outside.
Your quirk was rare and very effective. You had saved countless lives in the past and he had his eyes on you.
You were terrified.
Dabi had found you hiding in the closet, knees pressed to your chest. He had pulled you up from your hair and laughed at your face for being so pathetic, he told you about how you were going to be his personal caretaker and how he could do anything he wanted to you. You were terrified at first you want to ever get associated with a man like him but slowly it took a toll on you, you started listening to his wishes, healing his wounds like he had asked you too. Sometimes he tried to take the conversation further prying on your personal life in an attempt to get you to open up to him. But, you kept to yourself. Always.
Slowly, Dabi got irritated by your antics. His patience grew thinner it didn’t take a lot for you to tip him off and he would explode, you grew scared of him. You avoided him, didn’t look him in the eye.
All of this, lead to your doom.
“Y/N?” Dabi called out, he had returned from an exhausting day at work and all he needed was to be with you.
“Hi,” you say nervously tucking a loose strand of hair behind your ear. He walks up to you, “How are you, baby” he searched for your eyes, and the moment the turquoise blue orbs locked with your [e/c] ones you looked away, staring at the ground instead. His stare was too intense for you.
Dabi internally rolled his eyes as you avoided looking at him, his tongue poked his cheek as you answered him. “I’m- I want to go home-” Dabi groaned, he roughly grabbed your face and arched it upwards. He was so much taller than you, your neck hurt the ache grew stronger but you couldn’t get yourself free from his hold. His fingers squished your cheeks and brows knit together as he looked down at you. His turquoise eyes grew darker, rage, and arousal pooled them. You felt heat rise to your cheeks as he leaned in closer to you, his nose brushing against yours.
“How many times,” Dabi pushed your back against the wall, cornering you as harsh words left his mouth, “do I have to tell you? Don’t care about those losers. I am all that you need.” his hand left your jaw and settled on your collarbone stroking your skin. “Such soft skin, Y/N,” he called out again. Your mouth was agape and your body felt hot. “I want you, do you want me?”
His thumb rested on your bottom lip and you looked for words to respond with.
You cannot believe what you were hearing, Dabi wants you? You never would have thought something like that instead, you thought he hated you. He was always mean to you, bullying you, embarrassing you. Was he serious?
As his eyes bored into your soul and thumb dipped him your mouth time to time, you started thinking about him.
He’s not so bad, he’s always been nice to me- maybe I should let him.
Deep down you knew that you should have said no but, you were far gone to care so you peacefully submitted yourself to him.
You nod your head but it isn’t enough to satisfy Dabi. “What was that?” he asks again, this time his thumb strokes your cheeks rubbing soft circles as he stares your delicate form fondly. “y-yes.” You stutter out your answer and see his lips curling upwards engulfing into a mischievous smirk his hand falls from your cheek to your chest, he gropes your tits through your shirt and you squeak, his free hand slips under your chin and tilts your face forward as he leans in his lips connecting yours,your tongue dipping hesitantly into his mouth. He kisses you roughly. You feel yourself getting hotter, you moan into the kiss and notice something hard poking at your thigh. You pull away from the kiss to breathe, panting you look up at Dabi who’s smiling in bliss, “You look so beautiful like this,” his hand which previously groped at your chest slithers down until he’s cupping your crotch. “I can make you look even beautiful.” He whispers in your and softly nibbles on your earlobe. Your breath hitches as he starts rubbing your clothed cunt. You are left breathless as you let him use you, knowing the fire building up inside you could only be extinguished by him.
taglist: @mylovelyreblogs @amahzing004 @thoughtfulpandazine2 @the-one-who-ate-god @bat-eclecticwolfbouquet-love @villain-hotline @dabiisdaddy @annimalq @reader-stash @rcjackie @leeladebris @expn @vocaloidinlove @edgycactus @neon-tries-writing @shiggydiggydicked @yandereguysgalsandmonsterpals @lady-tokugawa-of-mikawa @chxrryvibes @yanderesmemory @purple-rabanito @amajikistan99 @the-grimm-writer @n4dhii @imkumichan @akura-ous-lady @dabicakes @leeknowstoomuch @nereida19 @sahrafinee @uwubba @anime-girl-nikki @rekoii @badtimechara @peachyashell @weirdr-artiest @prince-zukohere @deliciousstar @murderfesto @mltcp
*dm us if ya wanna get added or removed from the taglist!!!
#yandere#yandere writing#yandere fics#yandere x reader#yandere smut#bnha yandere#bnha#bnha fics#bnha writing#yandere bnha#bnha smut#bnha x reader#Smut#smut writings#villain smut#smut yandere#yandere bnha smut#yandere villain smut#Dabi#dabi headcannons#yandere dabi#dabi fanfiction#dabi fics#mha dabi#dabi x reader#send me asks#dabi drabbles#yandere drabbles#← the collective 📚
396 notes
·
View notes
Note
Who do you think could be called Jaedo’s children, both official and unofficial? For me it is personally Jeno (more do then jae) and shotaro (newly adopted child for both). Shotaro was kinda pushed with jaedo in maw era and the christmas video had them as a trio so that is why i aligned sho with jaedo rather than yuta who seems more like a brother and less as a parenting figure. I did not put jaemin even tho he is supposedly jaes son because i dont feel they have quite a parent child relo, jaehyun seems quite apprehensive sometimes and they dont look the closest, thinking back to 2018 when jh avoided jms advances quite aggressively. Renjun i see more as what taeyong is to do, in the sense of their somewhat bickering relationship and i personally think why renjun struggles with do, although they try hard to connect is because do already has a taeyong in his life and when he tries to adjust a taeyong type person to be like a jeno relationship (adoring and doting) it is hard for renjun who is a more dominant character. Not saying tae and renjun are anything alike, its the way that they would act with do that makes them similar. Do alr has a tom and jerry type bestie and an adorable son so renjun needs to find another niche to fit into dos life. Also a couple of asks ago you talked about jaedo being more in sync than taedo. I think this is because as besties, taedo arent supposed to be completely in sync like a romantic partner is. They are opposing best friends that dont quite meet in the middle, but that is what is fun about their dynamic, they dont really have a give and take, its either both take or both give. They clash because they are independent minded and individualistic people that can risk arguing because friendship is more easily mendable than romantic relationships. Jaedo are in one mind because romantic partners complement each other in a way that they have the same general mindset and are willing to compromise. It is obvious that Jae really adores Don the way that he probably thinks that if he allows himself a bit of leeway to act affectionately with Do, he will go overboard and therefore risk exposing everything. Its either all or nothing. Do knows this and so doesnt push himself onto Jae like he does with Haechan or Taeyong or Jungwoo. Its not a scenario where one gives and the other refuses and thats kinda why i latched onto jaedo. It doesnt look like they hate each other but it seems kinda uncharacteristic for Do to sorta not give Jae much attention compared to other members he is close with given their history as mc hosts and long time friends.
Jeno.
Most of neos fall under "children" category but Doyoung goes out of his way to support and deepen his bond with Jeno. He makes sure Jeno is not drifting apart. Doyoung invites him to dinners, to guest in his vlives, calls him his son, makes him wear matching costumes for Halloween, gifts an electrical razor and a plush toy identical to his favourite (the polar bear), etc. I can't say I fully understand hyung-donsaeng system, but I know that hyungs are tasked with supervision of the younger, and this relationship often continues the whole life.
I think Haechan and Doyoung have a deeper relationship (living and singing together helps), however Jeno is a more traditional donsaeng. A younger person who listens and follows well. As for Jaemin, Doyoung sends money for his BD.
Shotaro is WinWin2. He was a helpless foreigner who needed help and guidance, so Doyoung took him under his wing. In addition to MAW and recording supervision he also treated Shota to dinners. If Shotaro is interested, there is a chance of him becoming Jeno2, I think. It will hardly happen without Shota and Do working together though. Doyoung is very busy right now to forge new deep relationships.
I can't say I know where Jeno and Jaehyun stand. Jeno likes Jae a lot, might even prefer him to Doyoung as a hyung (he dares to hesitate between the two, heh), but Jaehyun's bias is Chenle, and it shows in their interactions. They play basketball together, too. Jaehyun is like a cool uncle to Jeno rather than a second father, tbh. Or so it looks from what I've seen.
Jae helped Shota because Doyoung helped. And Shota is a nice guy like Jae. I haven't heard any more TMIs about them though. I doubt Jae will go out of his way and connect with Shota unless there is an opportunity for a chat and bonding (be it dancing lessons or video games). They look pretty compatible though. If they were to work in one unit Jae would teach Shota how to tease Do, heh.
Renjun wasn't in Rookies to imprint on Doyoung as a baby. And I agree with your thoughts and the comparison with Tae. Doyoung doesn't need a challenge in a younger neo, he has enough in Haechan. And he can't play the game of wits, he will win but only through hurting Renjun. Look how quickly Do took to making jokes about Renjun's shoulders. Taeyong takes Do's sarcasm and punches readily because it's a form of attention to him.
Agree with your take on TaeDo and JaeDo.
And it's not only Jaehyun. Doyoung needs to touch people, it's a way of connection, control and feeling the other people. His hands often work on their own. And give him a lot of bad habits. Like he can tuck a pack of MC cards between his legs and sit on them without noticing he does something not appropriate for a public event. Therefore, it's not normal that Doyoung restricts himself from touching Jaehyun, considering the latter is never opposed to it.
#Ask me away#he likes the night view#glee club conductor#Calf monster&Calf monster club president#Jeno is the crown prince#Haechan is a full star#Jaemin is a Cheshire cat#Shotaro is a wrecking ball#Renjun is a Hemulen
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
snow crash - neal stephenson
my playlist (because of The Way That I Am)
final thoughts:
okay, im going to be honest right out of the gate- i cant decide whether this is a book id recommend or not. it was really fun for the most part, but personally there was a lot more exposition than id like. the early portions of the novel have exposition which feels completely fair, mostly things relating to worldbuilding. stephenson creates his own vision of future america, and some places online referred to it as cyberpunk, and some as post-cyberpunk. id be more in the latter camp, mostly due to the way he plays with tropes, leaving the reader unsure of which will be subverted and which wont.
the use of language was really fun, and i enjoyed the worldbuilding a lot. his vision of a futuristic capitalistic earth feels surreal in its immediacy and recognizability. the back jacket blurb ends with "a future america so bizarre, so outrageous, you'll recognize it immediately." which, yeah. a texan info-tech magnate? two competing corporations owning the highway system? suburban city-states? this was another enjoyable thing- everything was colorfully named, and names treated totally normally, which kind of poked fun at how we have everyday things named very ludicrously and for the most part we are totally blind to it.
one aspect i really enjoyed was that the author often doesn't make certain things clear to the audience, until he does, and then it becomes necessary to reassess the entire story and setting. this goes to underscore the theme of the importance of information and the ways we take it in and perceive the world based upon it. for example, we don't learn that y.t. is fifteen until maybe 75 pages in, at which point a lot makes sense in retrospect. the same thing occurs in the worldbuilding, as suddenly a detail is given in passing and the reader must incorporate it into the setting, which by default we assume to be similar in many ways to our idea of america. it keeps the reader on their toes as well as furthering the worldbuilding. for the most part, the tech stuff didnt feel outdated to me, despite being a future projected out from '92.
however, aspects of the book are definitely very 1992. id put these into two camps: the first, being that the book does at different times use slurs. the main character is black and asian, the n word is used a few times by racist side-character/antagonist types, as are a few other racial slurs. there was also the occasional usage of the r slur, within the narrative prose itself, rather than usage as an insult within dialogue.
the protagonist, who is named, unfortunately, hiro protagonist, is a great character and felt very fleshed out to me, though at times he reminded me more of dirk strider than normally would be ideal. (its obvious that stephenson and andrew hussie are of a similar type of writer, and play with similar tropes, lmao.) hiro is a man of many worlds. he seems to shift between them easily, though never fully existing in any of them. this is reflected in his background, both in his biracial identity and in having been raised on a myriad of army bases. this is layered further in his fluidity in interacting with both reality and the metaverse, yet remaining slightly, consistently aloof. fascinatingly the first moment i sensed this drop was when we meet juanita- aka where his real and meta realities coincide. the description of them as the adam and eve of the metaverse is both insanely romantic and thematically key (good god i wish we had more than like, two conversations between them). juanita designed the facial component to metaverse avatars, doing the majority of this work when the two were together, and hiro can see echoes of both their facial tics in the face of every avatar in the metaverse. in a way, by having done this work juanita is positioned by the narrative as one of the gods of this digital realm. she is also hiro's call to action, being aware of the coming trouble and alerting him to it, as well as connecting him to the informational database he needs to prepare.
y.t., the secondary protagonist, fucking ruled. i loved that she was just a fifteen year old punkass kid whose mom doesnt know how crazy this part time job is. y.t. being worried about her mom was a great thread throughout, and a really good balance to how obviously independent y.t. is. i do wish there had been a chance to explain more about her background (she has a dad who left who is mentioned in a throwaway sentence, and a boyfriend who is mentioned near the beginning but never again.) i really enjoyed how obviously hyperaware y.t. was at all times about her own place within the insanities of the setting, while also consistently writing her as a teen maybe in way too deep who thinks about things in typically teenage ways. but like, that wasn't ever held against her? the narrative meets her where she is. it was honestly awesome. HOWEVER,
i absolutely hated the raven and y.t. scenes. how creepy!!! he basically statutory rapes her!!! we know hes at least late 20s early 30s, because hes the same age as hiro. if this sort of content is upsetting to read for you, i definitely do NOT recommend this book. (if you want to avoid reading these bits: ch 47 y.t. meets raven, ch 50 they are in a bar eating, ch 52 things happen that result in y.t.'s anti-assault device activating- she did not activate it on purpose, but forgot it was there- and raven is knocked out.)
please PLEASE dont take any of the following analysis as like, trying to be apologetic towards this scenes. because again they were awful and hard to get through and really gross. but im also cognizant that the author was obviously trying to convey something by making the choice, like the way it was written is obviously not condoning this sort of thing.
i think maybe what stephenson was trying to get at with that, was that we see hiro internally negate any potential for anything untoward with y.t. basically immediately, since he kind of senses that she might have a small crush on him (though this doesnt last more than a fleeting moment, especially from her perspective). vs raven, whose 'poor impulse control' warning tattoo eventually elicits a sarcastic remark from hiro after he finds out raven and y.t. were "a thing". i really dont think hiro knew how far it went? like it was just suuuper weird, but i figured it was meant narratively to 1. execute the chekovs gun of y.t.'s anti-assault device, 2. contrast hiro and raven (especially considering the bike-racing argument where theyre telling the story together, which is supposed to parallel them, while contrasting the differences in how they ended up?), and 3. just to get raven unconscious, i guess. but good god it was weird and i hated every second of it, why couldnt the device have like, activated way earlier?? gah. fucking upsetting. moving past that!
honestly i was really frustrated by how little screentime juanita got, because the way she was introduced was so fucking interesting and then shes mostly off doing her own thing. the bits of explanation she gives at the end about what she was up to on the raft are so sparse and im like damn, can we get a little bit of her pov in here? please? that would have ruled. additionally, shes supposed to be hiros love interest, but we see so little of them interacting outside her intro scenes. a huge portion of why hiro is getting into the sumerian mythology is literally framed as something that will help him understand juanita, but we dont get to see him talk to her about it barely at all.
the supporting characters were quite fun, i particularly liked the librarian. big surprise, i liked the overly literal ai information-dispensor, lmfao. watching him and hiro interact reminded me SO hard of geordi laforge having honest to god conversations with the computer where he tries to coax information out of it, aka one of my favorite little aspects of tng.
and lastly, the major plot themes themselves. i adore the way stephenson approached action, it was very entertaining. usually i cant really visualize action scenes written out, but his use of language was really really effective and engaging. the plot itself was absolutely fascinating, though i found the premise pretty contrived. which isnt bad in itself, i was fully suspending my disbelief until the last hundred pages or so. which for a 550+ page book, isnt too bad.
i did like the approach of linking the ancient to the modern, that is always really neat. and i think ultimately stephenson did it in an interesting way, not how i would have done it, but definitely interesting! creating these ideas about information infrastructures, and there being words that can access those and be used to control people, was wild. not sure if i agree about the equating of religion to a virus, though he did specifically establish that it was more the approach to religion, than religion itself. (maybe if juanita had been more goddamn present in the narrative that could have been elaborated on a little more. literally her perspective would have been perfect in balancing that out!!)
ultimately what did me in was the very very very long winded MONOLOGUE where hiro re-explained the whole premise, in ways that didnt really neatly organize into a cohesive argument. a lot of the scenes where hiro talks to the librarian, which are interspersed throughout the book, are really exposition heavy, because stephenson is rooting his ideas in historical concepts that need to be explained to both hiro and the audience. and i thought all that was fine, because it was a conversation where hiro was grappling with the information, and he was figuring it out along with the reader, and most importantly it was a conversation between him and the librarian computer program.
howeverrr later on we get a full rehash of all that, where hiro makes clear some stuff that was just implied for the reader, and hes literally just telling these important men whats up in this big long monologue. utterly worthless. i kept reading it and going YEAH, we KNOW, we know this we know this. and the important men barely interjected. it added basically nothing to our understanding of the situation, other than reframing it. but everything added was already an implicit thing, and didnt really need to be said again.
the resolution to the book was stellar, the last 30-40 pages, once hiro is onto the raft, were great. ultimately after reading and giving some time to digest it, i think it was a solidly great book with a few big drawbacks near the end, but which dont carry through and sully the ending.
#bookblr#book tag#snow crash#neal stephenson#reading progress update#book review#cyberpunk#post-cyberpunk#god this is long#kind of ended up being book report esque... elementary school vibes. i fucking love it ngl#original post#playlist series
8 notes
·
View notes
Text
y'know i think its about time ive refurbished my psychonauts headcanons/theories
what??? me??? rewriting my psychonauts headcanons in a more comprehensible and informed way???
ye
alright, i think everyone knows what im talking about, by headcanons i mean headcanon as in singular, and as singular, i mean my "raz is somewhere on the spectrum of adhd".
so lets just get into it:
what is adhd actually?
adhd by definition stands for attention deficit hyperactive/hyperfocus disorder (yes, let me get into the details in just a sec). it is a nerodevelopmental disorder that is almost completely reliant on genetic factors, however conditions during pregnancy can sometimes contribute to certain aspects of how adhd manifests itself.
long story short, people with adhd have a smaller frontal lobe, and therefore less dopamine in general (even though yes, it is more complicated than that).
theres also a little bit of "chicken or the egg first" goin on here, certain behaviors or personality tendencies can also affect how adhd is presented in one individual to the next, however its still not clear if that is because it is an accommodating for a certain thought process or if someones experiences and personality shape their symptoms of adhd entirely. its a very blurry line, and the answer is different for everybody.
hyperactive type
hyperactive type is probably the closest to most stereotypical depictions of adhd, think the 5 year old whos parents brush off their child’s hyperactivity as something that will “go with age”. however, this isn’t only present in children, adults with adhd have to deal with a constant need for stimuli to make up for the lack of dopamine their current activity is providing them. this results in someone fidgeting frequently in repetitive or predictable motions, unable to hold attention to a specific task for long periods of time, or many other of the symptoms associated with adhd.(i sadly cannot provide more information in this area, i am not knowledgeable enough to...)
hyperfocus type
hyperfocus type is a tricky one, it can look like the complete opposite of adhd in theory. hyperfocus can look similar to special interests or hyperfixation, a great deal of time and knowledge dedicated to a very particular thing (although it is important to note that even though hyperfixations and special interests are incredibly similar, special interests is a term more typically used within autistic-circles, and isnt really the best word to use if you happen to be neurotypical). Think of maybe that kid who knows all the cool animal facts and won’t shut up about them. Its because certain trains of thought or activities might release more dopamine then others, so to get more of that dopamine, someone of hyperfocus type will be mentally unable to stop thinking or doing a very specific task or topic. this results in someone seemingly always spacing out, unable to change subjects or changing subjects too fast or with little to no correlation, or being completely unable to have enough motivation to do simple things.
personally i tend to fall under the category of hyperfocus myself rather than hyperactive, however the two are not mutually exclusive, its more common to find people with both types rather than just one. even myself, i might exhibit more tendencies to place me under the label of hyperfocus, but that doesn’t mean i don’t have any symptoms of the hyperactive type. its my personality that affects my mannerisms, which then makes certain aspects of my symptoms more or less apparent. Thats because im an INTP-T, i just tend to be more to myself and constantly in a state of thinking abstractly. I have trouble communicating and even sometimes recognizing my needs, and get to a point where im unable to do the simplest of things without feeling emotionally drained. Thats just my experience though, everybodys different.
so what the fuck does this have to do with raz then?
well lets think about it, rather than have it just be me projecting myself onto a comfort character:
raz finds issue with connecting to kids his age
lets be honest. none of the campers really like raz that much. or at least some do the bare minimum to be try and be polite. it doesn’t seem like any of the other campers besides dogen, whos also socially outcasted, are really fond of raz. lili might like him, but that can definitely be interpreted as curiosity in someone new and different from the norm. It might not be that the kids despise him, but nobodys opinionated enough to care whether he is around or not.
social isolation is one of the most damning things i had to experience from an early age and still feel even today. there is a sense of feeling that you are different among your peers, whether that is a good thing or bad thing. it feels difficult to interact with other people you are not familiar with, and can really stunt you emotionally and socially. from a really early age, theres somethin in you that knows something is very different between the experiences of your peers compared to your own, and it can feel incredibly isolating.
raz and his borderline stupidity
time to get real again. raz is a fucking idiot. at least in the sense that sometimes his decisions seem incredibly spontaneous and not really thought through. he runs from home to attend a summer camp, not really thinking about the logistics of how he will get there, how the staff will react, how long its gonna take for his parent to find him, and so on. it doesn’t seem like he over or underestimates his abilities, he just goes for it without considering. that doesnt seem like the smartest thing to do, even though we know hes incredibly intelligent when it comes to larger, abstract situations. its the little details that he misses, small minuet things that seem unimportant that he overlooks, which can sometimes make things harder for him in the end.
i think its obvious that impulsivity is one symptom of adhd. however i cannot stress how difficult it is to think at supersonic speed and still feel incredibly stupid. i mean, thinking faster doesn’t inherently mean you will have better ideas, you can always be stupider faster, but being able to realize stupid mistakes or inconsistencies in your own thought process is annoying as hell. it feels like every time you try to recognize the issue, fix it, and move forward, you only end up not paying attention to another issue that gets bigger and more annoying than the first. Its always two steps forward, one step back, constantly making the same mistakes even though you try everything in your power to avoid them or grow as a person. The simplest of facts, ideas, or just things to remember end up being forgotten, and once youre reminded of them you remember them and feel like an idiot. however, arbitrary things and complex issues are much easier to digest and remember for me, things like history and the whole blame game charade of it all, biology and how every minuet thing has a greater impact on others and intertwines with every single factor of its environment, philosophy and theorizing why we think the way we do and what can be changed. but oh shit, im a dumbass i forgot to do my laundry. shit. god fuckin dammit.
empathy over sympathy
one of the basic themes of psychonauts is empathy. simple as that. raz goes around into other peoples brains, and tries to help them as much as he can, even if his efforts are not always successful in the way he intended. he never demonizes anyone to the point of unredeemability, and can empathize and understand other peoples perspectives. hes open to new ideas and
although some studies out there theorize that empathy is impaired due to adhd, from my perspective i feel like that is simply not true. if anything, i would say the sensitivity that comes with adhd (hypersensitivity) only enhances that empathy. i could definitely see social disconnection being one of the reasons it might appear that someone with adhd is less empathetic, however i would doubt that adhd would impair a persons empathy. adhd tends to also entail heightened emotions, this doesn’t necessarily mean a more outwardly emotional person, however it definitely shifts a persons perspective of their own emotions as well as others. the concept of hypersensitivity also completely contradicts the idea of people with adhd be less empathetic.
miscommunication and disconnect
sigh, the dad thing. yup. raz has that very iffy relationship with his dad at the beginning of the game which is eventually resolved. very abruptly, might i add. but thats not what this is about, thats a topic for another day. miscommunication seemed to be the root of the issue, however we only get razs side of the story. not to mention the severity of his claims and willingness to seemingly drop everything afterwards. kinda sus, ngl.
alright this ones a doosey. this, i feel, cements my theory pretty well. like i mentioned before, social disconnect and hypersensitivity are side effects of the symptoms of adhd. this means people with adhd are highly more likely to either misinterpret someones words or actions if those in question are not completely transparent, its because they tend to overthink and interpenetrate responses with too much thinkin n such. the social disconnect makes a whole lot of it worse, it can just pile on top of already established feelings of inadequacy and isolation. and oversharing as a poor coping mechanism isnt an exclusively adhd related thing, it tends to be shared within similar neruodevelopmental disorders such as autism or even ptsd. i find it incredibly easy to disconnect myself from my own emotions at times and think critically at what i feel and how it affects me. which is a bad thing. if i dont acknowledge my emotions like they are my own for too long, everything falls apart. its not fun. but, that disconnect can make talking about certain more traumatic experiences or instances that had deep personal effects on my life and development as a person much easier to just share. and not always in an appropriate manner, comedic opportunity can be v e r y enticing. this also explains why raz might have been able to drop everything about his dad after he apologized. he didn’t really, he probably still suffers just as much afterwards as he did before. but he probably wont realize that for awhile, since logically, the issue has been resolved. long story short, he has not had the time to cope, and to put that off he detaches himself from those feelings. w a c k
of course i have other reasons why i feel like raz could potentially have adhd, or at least be accurately represented in headcanon with adhd, some minor mentions being:
he uses his camp map as a journal to track his in-game progress, list of goals, and notes/snip-its of information. writing down information on some form of notepad or book is a common tool used by kids and even adults with adhd to help them keep track of minuet, individual tasks. its just using a planner, but with a bit more information.
just from my personal perspective, the lengths raz goes to pursue his dream of being a psychonaut feel more like a special interest/hyper fixation sort of thing. he can jump between having genuine conversations with his fellow campers and just exploring the campground, to investing himself entirely in obtaining his goal, even when it seems almost impossible. thats some serious dedication to one very specific thing, y’know?
this one isnt as solid as the other but: m̶̖̰̯̫̍͝o̵͐̿̄��̦͖̟͈̹̤̥̝̀̎̓ņ̶̛̭̠̐̊̆̍͝ķ̸̝͈̺̙̰̊e̶͉͚̼̅̔͗̂͐̍̕͝͝y̶̦̖̼͖̪͎̝̖̠̐̑͋̾̔̑́͐͘ ̵̢̲̘͎͉̔̀͒̄͌͊̀͌̀m̴̲̫̮̪̖̍̐͆̕͜͝ͅả̶͙͚͗n̶̗̳̩̙̘̼̦̦͇͝ ̷̡̨̡͔̗͕̘͍̥̑͒̎̐̃g̴͔̔̈̅̐̏́̌̔̈́́o̶̥̱̽̆̂͌̀͗ ̶̝̩͙͕͛́s̴̛͓̥̲̜͓͚̣̠̆̓̌͌p̶̜̹̯̦̫̯̣̎͐̽̉̾ḙ̴͇̬͑̈́̐̈́͘͠ͅȅ̶̡̗̞̩͔̫̪͈͑̓͗d̵̠͇͎̜͔͇͒̈́́̀̅̈́̒͘y̸̡̦̠̻̖̥̿ͅ. yeah, its the most generalizing reason but look, hes moving nonstop the entire game, climbing and running around the entire goddamn place wrecking havoc. a bit of imp can be found in most people with adhd if you look hard enough.
so thanks for reading this far i guess? im oversharing even right now with this, like an i d i o t but yknow what i dont want to read the great gatsby rn, so ive got nothin better to do. who knows, maybe the second game will give us more info to either support/discredit this theory? gotta wait for pn2 i guess
:^)
35 notes
·
View notes
Note
hello icha!!!!! learned from my mistakes and typed this out in a separate document. first i have to say im feeling a very deep connection with citron as of late bc i was giving myself a pep talk abt like physics and i told myself "face up and man the music!" and was like "...is that wrong. theres that song called man against the music isnt there... yeah it must be right" and. well i realized later. i also think the phrase "dont cry because it happened, smile because its over" is very good. also I’m halfway thru creating a very eclectic list of like. a Pokémon team for each a3 character which is… something. kinda knew it would happen to me. might take a while for me to finish it tho now that I’m halfway bc I’m suddenly having a crisis like “wait shit I’m only confident on my understanding and characterizing of like 4 characters am I good enough” so… it’s slow going lol. anyways. i finished that damn physics thing I was giving myself a pep talk about and so am treating myself to autumn/winter. happens that watching these events is also like. the only thing which reminds me to actually like. log into a3 lol. i am so bad at gacha games. probably a good thing in the long run. ok starting from the top!
hisoka going "zzz" as his reaction made me immediately go... oh dear, please dont fall asleep in the bath and guess what happened. yeah. good thing homare was there lol. speaking of i fucking adore homare and his poetry. id buy his collection. i also wish there was a collection like if there was a master list of every poem he says in like. at the very least main story. if not i will literally do it myself. i love homare so much im like him in that back when i had to play dodgeball id always be like kufufufu they cant hit me if im friendless enough that no one pays attention to me but like in my case it actually worked out. on the subject of the pillow fight tho, hisoka's crazy strong pillow fight throw... one more mark on the list for suspicious, maybe assassin occupation. this event made me realize how much i missed winter like. i saw the stranger pretty recently (which has caused the effect of be being like "taichi!! thats my boy!!" in my head everytime he shows up lol but anyways i havent gotten to a winter play yet so im VERY hype. especially bc this seems like it stars hisoka and homare??? like oh!! oh!!!! also detective fiction... im swooning. i also just enjoy the hisoka homare dynamic a whole fucking lot i think its nice how homare was like "yeah im ride or die for this funky lil amnesiac, why wouldnt you be?" and its just like. nice. feel like hes always reaching out to hisoka which is like. man homare is so nice.
back to chronology. ofc sakyo goes cheap for the hot springs lol. on brand as ever. was very hype for the azuma sakyo dynamic bc all i remember is like azuma trashing everyone including sakyo at some game or the other in one of the winter chapters and it was very good. or was this a clip in like a stage play? either way it was delightful. at first i misinterpreted taichi going "…" after azuma and sakyo said theyd never been on a field trip bc like. taichi being quiet or noncommunicative... after going thru autumn troupe act 1 it makes me fear for my life a little lol. anyways im glad he was just like planning fun times. speaking of taichi tho we got a tasuku taichi pair for etudes!!!! im not spoiling myself for later events but i hope to GOD tasuku and taichi do like a lead co lead in SOMETHING or at least like some mixed troupe event i want them to talk!!!
also dunno if this is an intentional pun but i enjoy that its called high spirits at the hot spring bc like oh theyre having fun but also bc like. "spirits" is used to refer to a certain type of alcohol i think? which is cool. dunno if its intentional but i liked that. anyways the talent show. taichis moving rendition of single ladies... ok i know it said single fellas but like. we know. wonder if that line was a different song in japanese? its not too old at ALL tho imo. anyways the way banri and juza being themselves Are the entertainment... flashback to when banri slaps juza live on stage instead of doing a stage slap lol. my reaction to azuma essentially went:
azuma: I can offer to bare my soul, and a little more ;)
izumi: what do u mean by that???
me: hey tasuku and omi were shirtless what's ur problem with azuma
anyways i reread and from what i understand they were maybe only flexing and doing a gun show? which like. no wonder it didnt last too long then lol. also explains why they didnt have shirtless sprites i suppose lmao. i am SO curious abt what azuma ended up doing tho that fade to black is so mysterious! did he tap dance? did he pole dance? the world will never know...
oh also im not like super familiar with azuma yet but my read on his personality is definitely like "I am so touch starved All The Time but I will be chill. :) :) this is fine :)" like he just seems to rly like being around people! just like basking in presence whether or not hes rly talking that much.
i enjoyed that juza mentioned pillow fighting with his lil brother... thats nice! i think a lot of this event was just focused on ppl having fun over the drama lol bc it got wrapped up sooo quick. i liked the bit where sakyos worried that izumi was out late searching for him tho it was so sweet. table tennis match was very fun although id argue calling hisoka and juza the two quietest tho lol like... banri exists so juza isnt quiet. just like inevitably. finally, the event cg!!! azumas hair tied up... so nice! thats how I tie my hair up sometimes tho it doesnt look nearly as nice lol. taichi rambling abt his first love for so long tho... lol. ill be honest i have to reread autumn bc i was not aware of this whole situation until it came up in the stranger and i like inferred from there. the end of this event was nice! it was cute. i dont rly have much thoughts on it but im so hype for the winter play
Hello:!!! so good to see you again, freshly learning from your mistakes then :3c
the connection with Citron is a BLAST to read about. I am glad that Citron is there, on your mind, supporting you at every turns of language. It's beautiful.
AND OH THE POKEMON LIST!!! thrilled to hear about it being a wip ongoing! take your time ofc and i hope you'll feel more confident as you go for your characters interpretation! i believe in you!
lmao i'm glad the events help you remember to play a3, i'm sure that by the time you'll be done with the events you will have unlocked so much of act 2 you won't have to worry too much about it. Anyway i'm glad you treat yourself to good things :3c
of course Hisoka fell asleep in the bath. tbh this event was a lot of "Hisoka almost dies in a spring house multiple times if it wasn't for his troupesmates". Between sleeping in the bath and almost swallowing the table tenis ball... where would we be without Winter, and especially Homare, taking care fo him.
I'm SO GLAD you like Homare that much! he's so so good! i'm sure there must be a masterlist somewhere, or well. can be done anytime i guess?? but yeah Homare is fantastic and LDJFDLKFJDF the evil plan to avoid dodgeball from both of you.. this is incredible DLKJFDLKF. But yeah alas he's loved by his own so he gets hit smh.
And yeah Hisoka is just acting sus huh.
BUT YEAH... YEAH... WINTER... BELOVED.... I feel regular and normal feelings for Winter as you know, s o .
(i'm so delighted that you feel that way about Taichi though, as he deserves!! what a good boy!!!)
But yeah Winter play next!!!!! i love the winter plays so much i hope you'll like it as well!! aND YEAH HISOKA AND HOMARE AS A DUO... for a DETECTIVE story?? so good.
I'm sO GLAD you like their dynamic! yeah i adore it too. Homare was so quick to leap into taking care of Hisoka? Like i mean he immediatly called him sleeping beauty when they first met, and immediately decided to be his roommates to watch over him, and then he did everything to take care of him and it's just so sweet. Homare has such a big heart he's so gentle with Hisoka. Homey and comfortable, whenever Hisoka admits it or not ahah.
ahah wouldn't be Sakyo if he didn't need to stay cheap. BUT YEAH the Sakyo/Azuma dynamic is pretty good. oh the event you talk about i think is in some of his very first backstage storyes (that you can read if you have them since they're at this point of the chronology). There's one where they play a mafia game and Sakyo is warry of Azuma because "people like him are those you need to worry about the most" and Azuma is just ":) you wound me :) i would never :)" and then Azuma wins the game and starts to mess with everyone. It was so fun. and yeah i see which clip you mean for the stage play!! it's so so fun they have such a neat dynamic and i loved to see it in this event as well.
and omg worrying about Taichi while he was just there preparing a fun time! this child really would have worried us all back then huh
but AHH YEAH TASUKU TAICHI.... It's such a neat dynamic! ofc i won't say anything but man i love the potential of their stories, as the two ex Godza boys. To see them bond and be comfortable with each other always make me so soft.
OH NICE CATCH FOR THE PUN! i think it must be the reason for it tbh, i love it! thanks for pointing it out!
The talent show was really fun yeah ahah! I wonder what it is in Japanese too but at least the localization was hella fun!
"anyways the way banri and juza being themselves Are the entertainment." THEY'RE SO SILLY I love them so much
AND LMAO YOUR REACTION AT AZUMA I LOVE IT. YEah i think Tasuku and Omi are just flexing (which is Still. SO FUNNY. Just there saying "our talents is.. our muscles...") meanwhile Azuma is like "my talent is that i'm crazy hot :)"
But YEAH Azuma... AZUMA WHAT DID YOU DO....
your read on Azuma's personality feels pretty spot on to me ahah omg. Staying with what you know about him, the fact that with his job and all, he seems like he's starving for connection while also terrified to make himself emotionally vulnerable. He loves staying with people, listening to them, caring for them, and he's touch starved as hell (i mean it's his job) but he doesn't seem to really know how to be on the receiving hand of affection. there's a flair talk, i can't remember where, with Omi at some point, where Azuma compliments him, and Omi is just "mhm.. but you know i think that it's more about you" and ends up complimenting Azuma in depth and it let Azuma dumbfounded because he didn't expect Omi to trick him at his own game, while Omi just genuinely don't get why Azuma is reacting that way. He gives he gives he gives, and he's genuinely happy with that, but he seems to have difficulties to take, or to demand for something, while also starving for it. I have so many emotions for Azuma.
Any mentions of Juza's little bro are the best things. I love this type of mention TwT
And yeah it was such a laid back event. Honestly deserved after the crying fest that was The Stranger imo. It's good to relax once in a while and it was nice to have them have fun. There was the bitterness of both Azuma and Sakyo's past that was always a bit looming but everyone was working so hard for them to enjoy themselves that the joy just overtake any sadness i loved it.
Sakyo worrying about Izumi is always adorable TwT
And yeah the Table Tennis match was so fun and chaotic LMAO. I love the dynamic between Juza and Hisoka. Just two usually quiet boys who like sweets. Except that yeah like you say, as long as Banri is around, Juza cannot be 100% quiet. Rip.
THE CG WAS SO PRETTY i loved seeing it. And omg you can share your hairtips with Azuma how nice :D Azuma manages to make everything look beautiful smh....
Oh yeah Taichi and his first love! if i recall he mentions it quickly at the begining, that Yuki reminds him of his first love, and he says that again at some point - then the fake Portrait he does he mentions his first love again. And since then it's been a reccuring topic so yeh :3c
but yeah! this event was really sweet and laid back, not much to say about it, but it was nice to have it at all!
Hope you'll like the winter play :3c
Take care and thank you again for your thoughts <33 i love reading them!! bless you!!
2 notes
·
View notes
Note
sorry if this is a lil too deep for the monster blog, but you are the only monster content blog i know- do you know/have any observations on how to avoid writing monsters parallel to race? obviously i dont mean like "oops i accidentally wrote a racist stereotype!", i mean how do you write a story that is about monster oppression without pointing towards humanity as a reference point? i like anything that analysizes the potential human-monster relationship without being just depressing
first i wanna say i absolutely think these are things we should be talking about and this being a mostly lighthearted blog doesnt mean i think otherwise, because i love discussing tropes and i think part of wanting to appreciate/make good monster content is talking about the things that dont work as well as the things that do.
second, im a white person and i think its important to ackowledge that any analysis of this subject coming from me is unavoidably gonna be affected by my limited perspective.
i think the best thing we can do for this sort of trope is look at where its done well and where its done not so well. as always, intent is a big factor, as is authorship/the position the authors writing from. the shape of water is a great example of a monster character being written as a parallel to real life oppression but with tact. guillermo del toro has been very open that tsow is intended as an inverse of hollywoods history of monster movies in which the monster was a metaphor for the Other, a force to be feared and hated. guillermo del toro is also a mexican man; his work comes from a place of understanding that experience of being Other in america and from a more intimate understanding of the implicit racism of a lot of the classic monster movies he was inspired by.
some trope breakdown below the cut
some of the biggest (and most spot-on) grievances ive seen with metaphors and messages of oppression particularly in fantasy content are
treating a fantasy species as an overt, overly direct parallel to a specific real life racial group (think detroit become human, bright, etc)
having a monstrous or overall powerful species be feared for their destructive capability, and treating that fear as equal to systemic oppression (think the predator vs prey dynamics in media like zootopia)
having a monster character represent a specific minority group while excluding actual human characters from that group from the rest of the narrative
some possible ways to avoid/address these problems
work within your experience, drawing from your own feelings about being othered rather than appropriating from a movement you dont have a personal connection to (assuming that you dont. again, im writing from my own experiences/practices here) the fear of being treated as an outsider is fairly universal in one way or another and you can draw from that feeling without making a statement about a specific real life issue
you can have a big scary monster who still feels at a disadvantage among humanity by isolating them. keeping with the theme of fishpeople, i recently read a book called our bloody pearl, in which humans and sirens have been at odds for ages in a bloody feud, but the book avoids turning it into an oppression narrative by emphasizing that each group poses an equal danger to the other, just in different ways. if a lone monster of your choosing can take out an army of humans alone, theyre not going to be a believable underdog and its going to be harder to empathize with their plight
this ones the big one! have a diverse cast of humans! if the only character in your cast who has experiences with being ostracized for their appearance/culture/etc is also a horrifying inhuman monster, not only is that probably going to make for a boring unsubstantial relationship between them and human character(s), it sends a really uncomfortable message
not to go back to praising tsow, but one of the main reasons the creature and elisa have such a rich relationship is because she feels that, as a disabled woman who exclusively speaks asl, he understands her in a way many people dont. this is also reflected in her friendships. people who have experienced systemic ostracism are more likely to gravitate towards each other, even if their personal experiences are widely different. celebrate that!
this stuff doesnt have to be depressing. finding someone who sees you no matter who you are or the depths of your differences is a magical thing. you may not be able to entirely cut out human experience as a point of reference, if only because its presumably going to be humans receiving and responding to your work, and we tend to project. but thats not a bad thing!
and like as always consume media, analyze what works and what doesnt, get critique where youre unsure, and keep going with the understanding that it might take a few passes before you find a narrative that really hits.
#ask#hope this helps! i tend to get a little all over the place when the topic of tropes in monster media comes up#meta#what makes it a monster#Anonymous
52 notes
·
View notes
Text
jester and sexuality/romantic inclinations
so, this is my last day of summer break (actually the day before last, but tomorow is monday) and I decided to put into words what my thoughts about this dicey, dicey subject are. First, these are solely my opinons based on 1) watching the second campaign, 2)watching talks machina and the meta knowledge that comes with that and 3) assuming the players are playing in good faith and are open minded to organic changes that might come to their characters along the way.
and second, I do have my biases, and I come from the following inclinations: I ship lavorregard, and I don’t believe Jester is straight.
That said let’s begin. I’ve written a far amount about the lavorregard ship, but mostly focused on Beau’s feelings and her perspective. Right before the ep that Beau reveals the crush to Nott I wrote the following: “ If I were to put a chronology on Beau’s feelings for Jester it would go something like that: 1)“This girl is cute and somehow I like her way more than I usually like, well, anybody” 2) “This girl is cute and we are… friends???” 3) “This girl is cute, we are friends and I love her” 4) “We are friends, I love her AND I think she is hot” 5) “This girl is hot, I love her and maybe I love her as more than friends?”
But last ep I think it shifted to, “I’m definetely into Jester as more than friends and she’s never been hotter AND I think I’m getting to a point where I’m ready to actually process my feelings regarding that and be open about it.”
And lo and behold, the very next ep we saw Beau actually processing her feelings when talking to Nott. But what about Jester?
I’ve seen some people express the idea that “wouldn’t it be galaxy brain if all three cr ladies had independently decided when creating their characters that they are lesbians?” and honestly, while a cute thought, I don’t think that’s what’s happening. In my opinion what happened was, Marisha created Beau as a lesbian and she made sure to make that clear as possible from the get go, and one of the reasons I think she did that is because she entered the campaign looking to avoid a pc/pc romance, since the one she was in in cr1 took such a toll on her. She probably figured it would be a safe bet, playing a lesbian she would shield herself from the male characters and most likely the other female characters would not be interested in Beau, right?
Enter Ashley Johnson. Honestly I don’t think Ashley had such a clear idea that Yasha was (or is) a lesbian. She had a wife, and from what has been said in canon Zualla was her only romantic and sexual relationship. Now, from what we’ve seen Yasha hasn’t expressed any interest in men, but to be fair she hasn’t really expressed interest in much anybody. She called Jester adorable in the very first ep and she seems to be fond of Beau’s flirtations even if not directly responding to them. The conversation where Yasha has said that she has “seen {Beau} a lot” coupled with one of the songs in Yasha’s playlist has me convinced that Yasha has some kind of feelings for Beau, even if is just a small crush. And I say this as someone who doesnt ship Beau/Yasha. I don’t think they would make a good match, but that doesn’t mean I’d deny either of them having interest in the other. But that doesn’t mean Yasha is for sure a lesbian who would never engage with a men ever. She seems pretty adamant on not having any romantic connections, so its hard to gauge really where her interests lie. She is for sure though a wlw.
Now, when it comes to Jester and Laura Bailey that’s when things get complicated. I would assume that most of us that have considered the possibility of Jester not being straight have read the excellent essay on comphet by tumblr user fuzzy-face ( https://fuzzy-face.tumblr.com/post/185001577009/you-make-your-own-fairytale-jester-comphet ), so I’m not gonna rehash what she’s said already. While I do agree almost wholeheartedly with this post, I’ll say this, I don’t think Laura Bailey when creating Jester set out to tell a story of a wlw learning how to overcome comphet. But (BUT!,!) I also don’t think her idea was Jester is totally straight and that’s that! I think she created Jester as a sexually and romantically inexperienced young woman that almost immediately got a crush on Fjord because, among other reasons, he reminded her of a hero from her smut books.
Recently, with the new upload of talks to the CR youtube channel, I rewatched this talks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZqJzNj_1tI , which is about the ep a Hole in the Plan, deep into the pirate arc, but before the first big Beau/Jester moment, the conversation they had in the boat on ep 46. First I must express my annoyance at the fact that Laura and Marisha are the guests and yet at least 80% of the questions are about Fjord. I know it was in his arc, but COME ON! Also I was very surprised by how open they are talking about Fjord/Jester as if it were a done deal alaready. When anyone involved in Talks claim that they don’t do shipping questions, you should show them this ep because it is all about shipping questions. Anyways, Laura clearly states that Jester has a crush on Fjord (at the time at least) and she compares it to a super intense high school crush. So to me there is no refuting the fact that at least at some point Jester had a crush on Fjord.
What I do find it interesting is when you compare her answers in that talks to what she said in the most recent talks she’s participated ( https://youtu.be/_NmZ2b_Q3So ) which seem to at least indicate that Jester has, on a level or another, moved on from said crush. It’s also, the now infamous moment where Laura talks about Jester’s crush...es. We’ll get back to that.
That’s all good and dandy, but this is meta outside the game. Let’s go analyze actual in-game developments. As far as I can remember (and I’m not an expert in Fjord/Jester, so I might be forgetting something) these are the moments Jester spoke directly or inderectly about her crush on Fjord; when Caleb point blank asked her if she was sweet on him (to which she answered “I don’t know” and let’s keep that in mind); when she talked to nott about first kisses and the best thing she can say about it is that it didnt make her feel dead, and to me the most significant moment; when she asks the traveler how to make a boy like her. Now, I’ve seen some people band about this as irrefutable proof that Jester IS straight, otherwise she wouldnt be asking the traveler advice about boys, but in this case she wasn’t talking about boys in general, she was talking about ONE boy and that was Fjord.
And that’s the crux of the matter isn’t it? Jester has demonstrated sexual/romantic interest in one man and one man alone, and that’s fjord. That does not mean she is straight. It doesn’t even mean that she, if a wlw, is bi. Her crush on Fjord has been wrapped around in all these expectations and I think its hard to parse how much was just projecting, among other things, the romance her parents had. Also, let me comment on how all these developments were long ago, during the pirate arc, over one year ago in real time.
Jester has commented about Fjord’s appearance and Caleb’s and even pointed out to Reani that hot boi Essek was hot, but its all done very matter-of-factly. And if we are going to talk about Jester commenting on people’s apperances we have to acknowledge how Jester cannot SHUT UP about how she finds women beautiful. From Beau to Nott, from Reani to random shop girl in Uthodurn and her obssession with the Bright Queen in particular its all very in your face. Once someone wanted to argue with me that this is just how straight girls air their insecurities, and even if that’s true and not just misogyny, the only time Jester commented on a woman’s apperance with any kind of insecure note was one time when she compared herself to her mother.
Look, the thing is, if we take at face value every comment Jester has made about Fjord’s looks and strenght, we also have to take at face value how distraught she looked and sounded facing the idea that Beau’s new vestiments wouldn’t let her abs show. Is it funny? Yes, but it’s funny for the idea that Jester is very appreciative of Beau’s abs, which, I’m still waiting for the straight explanation if anyone if willing to give me.
To end, this goddamned book that I’ve started, the thing that gives me the most certainty that Jester is not straight and that a Beau/Jester romance is not only possible but likely is that I do not believe Laura Bailey is cruel. If she had no interest in exploring the possibility of a not-straight Jester and a B/J romance she wouldn’t been doing what she has been doing for awhile now.
And what do I mean about that? I mean that even before Beau’s confession there’s been a different dynamic to their relationship. I already mentioned the “but can I see her abs????” incident, but also her encouragement about beau’s qualities and abilities (beau, you’re super strong), using the traveler as a proxy to her feelings (the traveler thinks you’ll do great, the traveler thinks you’re awesome, the traveler loves you), waiting to hold beau when she went up a column and showing disapointment when she didnt fell into her arms, listening to Beau regarding her wanting to confront her dad, being super, and I mean SUPER bummed out when Beau and Reani kissed and took a walk. And after the confession things ramped up.
Like, that was Laura Bailey listening to the conversation between Nott and Beau, not Jester. She could have had continued to play out their friendship as usual, but that’s not what she did. She used this opportunity to play the romantic possibility as never before. Making sure that Jester shielded Beau’s body in combat, being VERY specific that when her double cured her, she leaned over her body and put her hands to her face and even contradicting Matt, pointing out that when she woke up, it wasn’t the laughing hand that she first saw, but Jester’s face. And then there’s ep 89, the juiciest lavorregard ep since ep 46. It’s romantic comedy set up, one character confesses their love to a third one, and the one character who is the target of that love starts a conversation with “Are you avoiding me? Because I think I know why.” That’s a romantic trope ladies and gents, and Laura Bailey the genius she is played it to perfection. Not being sure why she was so upset about not curing Beau (a sentiment that battle mercy Jester has never expressed before). Wanting to punish Beau’s dad for not treating her right, getting to an agreement after arguing about tarot and molly. Afterwards engaging Fjord in an activity that she usually associates with beau, that goes disastrously and thanks to the dice gods, I could see, in real time the comphet melting away.
And concluding with the fact that she bet 20 extra gold on Beau on the down low.
So coming back to the idea of Jester having crush...es, to me is very clear those crushes are, the one she has/had on Fjord and her new emerging one on Beau. do I think Jester herself is aware of these feelings? Not really, but Laura sure is.
look this is not about being entitled or acusing anyone of queerbaiting if my ship doesnt pan out. its just, you know, laura’s sister is a lesbian, and I do think that gives people some perspective that they might not have, and I genuinely don’t think she would be playing things as she is, if she didn’t have any interest in playing out to the end.
#critical role#jester#jester lavorre#beaujester#lavorregard#this got super long and took me a few hours#but anyways these are most of my feelings regarding queer jester
245 notes
·
View notes
Text
ZEP 109 ANALYSIS
SOME THOUGHTS on
ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST episode 1x09:
SPOILERS, BELOW:
There is a lot that I don’t understand 100% about what the show is trying to do... with Max “pushing* Zoey for answers to his confession of love” & his reaction to her answer about whether he should take the job offer...or even why they keep saying there’s a deep bond between Z & S, when all they’ve established is that they talked to each other about losing their dads & are physically attracted to each other. Or even why Zoey says that they kissed, when in reality he kissed her. Or Simon’s behaviour...which I don’t think is ONLY just about not dealing with his grief...and all that.
* I don’t see it as him pushing her or demanding answers or anything like that. But this is the sense many get, hence I used this word
I hear the showrunner & the characters talk about a “love triangle”, yet I don’t see one (just confused, grieving people). I hear them talk about a deep emotional bond between Z&S, and yet I don’t see it on screen. I see a pretty shallow connection due to their dads - “grief bond” with no actual deeper connection. And though I personally don’t “feel” that they actually feel attraction to the other, I’m willing to admit that perhaps each truly thinks they do...and actually find the other attractive. But nonetheless the story, to me, has clearly been told in a way that showcases the differences of the two men in her life.
One thing that kinda supports my theories is that while we & Zoey have heard Max sing her actual “love songs” (revealing that the connection they have is love, friendship, romance), then Simon’s “heart songs” have been mostly related to his grief (”Should I stay or should I go” is kinda an exception here). Meaning their connection is based on that, and his grief is what she’s supposed to help him with. All S’s songs have been about his inability to deal with the loss of his dad, and the problems in his life & relationship that have come from this. Which is why I’m still a bit confused why the show is calling it a love triangle, when it doesn’t really seem to be.
Since they all sing their innermost thoughts, and the songs are related to the feelings they have, and connected to the “problem” Zoey is supposed to help them with, then for Simon that seems to be “everything grief related” (he’s still not dealing with the loss, and it affected his relationship with Jessica..etc)...and I don’t understand why Zoey isn’t more actively helping him with that...instead focusing on “do I possibly have romantic feelings for the man?”, when she & Mo established that if she doesn’t help the person who she hears sing with their problem... that’s not good. I think THIS is the thing that has “confused” me. (but we all know network shows love their love triangles and such drama, so they have to play it like that..). So I really hope that in the coming eps we will see Z. help S. deal with his grief (she has her family, Mo & Max...who help her, but S. doesn’t seem to have any support system...) and “fix him”.
Though there was not much Max or Z/M in this episode, there were a few scenes. The elevator scene & the “what do you think I should do?” scene. And we could see Max is practicing social distancing from Zoey. Because no matter how much he cares about her, and proved he’s a good friend by checking up on her & giving her great advice regarding her dad in last weeks episode, he really was hurt by her.
Also...one way he can minimize Zoey “reading his mind” is by removing himself from the same room. And since he doesn’t consider her knowing his secret thoughts fair if he can’t hear/know hers, then one effective way to prevent that from happening is not being around her. Maybe he doesn’t want her to hear that despite acting “hurt” he can’t “hate” her. Maybe he doesn’t want her to hear him sing about being hearbroken. Maybe.... In short: minimizing their contact might be related to something as simple as just trying to avoid her knowing his secret feelings... (the outer expressions & inner thoughts not matching)
As to Max saying that she didn’t give him the right answer might’ve been about something else. And though we saw his facial expression change as she was saying that “The Zoey who sang a love song to him will miss sitting across him at the office, but would never stop him going after what he wants”, I think his answer might’ve been about her asking “Was this the right answer?” Cause that seemed to be the thing that made him make his choice.
Because that implies she was not being 100% honest with him, and instead giving him the answer she thought he wanted to hear. (we saw her do the same with Simon. First asking for his thoughts on the kiss, before revealing her thoughts...so she could base her choise on the other persons choice) It kinda does imply that she still doesnt know how she feels, and isn’t doing what she herself wants. Instead trying to guess what he think she wants her to say. Which is not what Max wants her to do. He wants her to be sure of her choice. Make her own choices. (and unlike many viewers seem to think... I don’t think he’s actually pressuring her, or demanding a love confession as a response to his own. I see it as him listing the “facts” (options), and asking her for her take on it all.
I kinda think he made his decision because she asked “was this the answer you wanted?” more than anything else. Because this tells him that she doesn’t know what she wants. Though her answer “as the Zoey who sang that she is his...romantically” being so “not personal” might’ve also played a part. And there’s another plot in this episode that actually gives us a hint what the whole “Max promoted to 6th floor” thing is about.
< Edited for clarity: As said, I think her adding “was that the answer you wanted to hear” sealed the deal. But... if we look at what Ava told him on the 6th floor on that Saturday, then he was also looking for a different answer in general. An honest answer, and that she’s had some clarity about her feelings (and them) and all that. And also... some indication of a possible future possibility of them.
But... she have him no such answer (or hope), she included her answers as her boss, and friend, but left out the answer as “a romantic possibility”. (cause based on those 1x08 songs all Max knows is that she has feelings for 2 men & he’s one of the possibilities...yet she’s not showing any indication that she’s leaning towards the possibility of them M/Z.) And I think the order of her answer matters, too. She first replies as his boss, then his friend (and completely leaving out the third pole...which they both know based on the heart song is a role she has, because the songs reveal the persons secret inner feelings). And they’ve been friends for so long, but she’s been his boss for just a short time. So to prioritize that role over friends...gotta hurt, too. And in general her reply was centered around work and work hours - she’ll miss sitting across from him in the office, not that she’ll miss their friends movie nights...
So he’s gotta make a move... instead of just waiting for something that’s never gonna happen. Cause we might know/see more, but all he knows is the little she’s shared with him. So to his knowledge the heart song is the ONLY indication she’s even considering “them”. He is a romantic at heart, and he “put himself out there”, yet she’s not given him any real answers (all the things she said in 1x07 that he then understood as “she just needs time because of her dad thing, and everything else” and accepted as we saw based on the 1x07 end elevator scene, and was willing to wait and give her space, became “untruths” in his eyes in next episode. So even if she spoke the truth then, he doesn’t believe those words anymore, so for him she has no clarity on the whole thing, and she’s not given him any “hope” or “answers”.) Edited for clarity />
Unless my other hunch is correct... That Ava is on a spy mission, and the whole recruiting thing is a plan related to the competition for a piece of code between 4th Floor & 6th Floor that is happening in the next episode. Cause there are just to many coincidences: she approaches him on a day when the 4th Floor boss is gone (on a tech conference...which she might know because of the glitch in the watch software that shared everyones calendar events with everyone else...). And it was just luck that this followed an even where Max showed that he’s good at thinking on his feet (he actually did save the pitch by joining Zoey) And we learned his past good work has also been noticed: the escape room. This job offer also happens just before the company is about to get an important “job”. Too many coincidences.
And maybe Zoey/we are all wrong, and Joan & Leif both taking that same day off doesn’t mean they’re together, but that Leif is working on another side-project. We’ve seen his sketchy moves with Joan. We know he wanted the job Zoey got. So how do you “hurt” your competitor? You tear her team apart. It could be that Leif is behind this transfer. Cause last episode also told us that everyone in the office are actually very aware of what’s going on between Max & Zoey (interrupting them, hearing their talks & noticing that they’re not hanging out as much lately...which even Simon noticed. So he might’ve overheard them OR he saw S/Z kiss.). So the timing was also good cause IF there would be truth in this then Leif would know the best frends are going through a rough patch, so it was worth to take the gamble (he maybe couldn’t be 100% sure Max wold take the offer, but he might’ve been quite certain)
So much for wild theories.... (This one is topped only by Simon being behind the transfer...to eliminate his competition... when it comes to Zoey. Which I don’t think is true, but oh....what drama it would allow to be written...where he’s not aware that she can hear his secret thoughts & hence will find out. I would want this to be true ONLY for that scene) And though it’s 95% certain that both J & L “missing from the office” at the same day/time is no coincidence (read: they were together...which only makes me want to know more...is Leif playing her because he knows she wrote the peer review or ...not), and everything implies that Joan could not just “end it”, I sometimes enjoy coming up with wild/fun theories...
One thing that maybe supports this theory of mine is the actors (Skyler Astin, who playes Max) comment that he started to call the 6th floor DRK POINT... which if we follow the SPRQ POINT logic gives us “DARK POINT” instead of “SPARK POINT”...meaning there is something sketchy going on.
And obviously he’s not gonna stay on the 6th floor, so something has to happen for him to return/be returned. Either it’s a scham, or someone (Joan, The Team, Zoey) “fight for him” & get him to return to the 4th Floor.
Also..the whole Max/Aca convo in the dark 6th floor parallels his “romantic storyline with Zoey”:
Max: I hadn’t really planned on making a move. Things are pretty fine for me on the 4th Floor.
Ava: Are they? Or are you stuck treading water? Waiting for something to happen that maybe never will?
Again...if we apply these words to the M/Z situation, then it fits, too. He’s “fine” with how things are going with them. And then the scary boss lady makes him question if he really is OK with it. Or is he stuck...waiting for something to happen between them... (for Z. to admit her feelings..etc) ...that may never happen... and as a romantic at heart... he needs to know if there’s a future possibility...
The whole 1x09 Z & S plot was a shortened version of what’s been happening between Z & M in several past episodes. Zoey was reacting to Simon not giving her a clear answer. It actually tells us a lot about Z&M, and parallels that story.
Z: We have a chemistry & a bond that is undeniable. I guess I was hoping that after the kiss you’d have some clarity about all of it. Clarity you still don’t have, and maybe never will. So... I have to make a change instead of just sitting around and waiting & hoping for something to happen. So this is me saying to you..officially... I can’t, and I won’t do this anymore.
If we apply this to the other duo, then the parallrels are obvious. What Zoey was feeling (about Simon’s answers) is exactly what/how Max has been feeling about her answers to him. And the whole quote/dialogue by Zoey summarizes the other pairings story perfectly: Instead of clear answers Max has gotten vague half-truths from Zoey. If we change a few words/details (”after the kiss” = “after the flash-mob”, then this fits them, too).
And just like Zoey claims she can’t just wait for Simon to have clarity (which he can’t cause he’s not letting himself go through the stages of grief propely..etc) about his feelings, while hoping something to happen, same applies to Max decision in this episode. His talk with the 6th floor boss tells us that this could’ve been a speech given from Max to Zoey. Cause this is exactly what he’s done by taking the job offer. He can’t just sit around waiting for her to catch up/for something to happen. This is him saying “no mo’”
Both for his & her’s sake. Cause he really needs her to be true to her words, and be 100% honest with him. Tell him how she feels. And he really does “deserve” an answer, not sort-of-answers (avoiding giving him a clear answer...no matter what it is). And she needs to make up her mind on her own, and do what she wants, not what she thinks she should do in his opinion. He wants her to choose on her own...without telling her what she has to do. He has shown her his cards (love confession via flash mob, saying that he’d choose love over lust...but she needs to make her own choice), and now it’s her turn.
This show is known for doing parallel stories. The work related story paralllels the personal storyline of the episode. In 1x08 there was a “glitch” in the watch program & a “glitch” in Zoey’s powers. And trying to fix them led to new issues arising. In 1x08 we heard about Tobin & Leifs SPELLaversary tradition..and in the end Leif sang "I put a SPELL on you” to Joan. And so on...
This all leads me to a theory I've had about a coming song/dance number, and this weeks episode told me what the song has to be...IMO. To “solve” all this Zoey has to do a surprise flash-mob performance for Max. To Christina Aguilera’s “What a girl wants”, because if I look at the story so far, then those lyrics summarize the situation (whole s1 arc) almost perfectly. And since there have been kind-of spoilery rumours about another “heart song with a twist” happening later in S1, it matches. Just like the 1x06 flash-mob was real., so will be this one. And this time its not Zoey thinking that Max is just singing her his heart-song (it’s not real), now Max will think that Zoey’s “glitching” again... until he realizes that its real.
As for Simon... I hope the show is not gonna go with the message: “Since he didn’t mean to do it then that makes it ok that he hurt his fiancee, and his grief-buddy" Even IF it really was all unintentional & he’s behaviour is all due to grief, that doesn’t make it OK to go to her house late at night without telling your life partner, it doesn’t make it OK to kiss her (when you’re still engaged) just because she gave you signals that she’s into you... Nope... he can’t take that back. And him being a “good guy, who is just a mess” doesn’t make it OK.
But... I am not so sure Simon’s not sketchy. I mean... he & Jessica clearly had problems before he ever got to SPRQ POINT. She seemed to want to help him, but didn’t really get him. He didn’t really confide in her, and really let her in on his feelings. Also... Jessica’s jealousy (the whole Zoey) thing could very well have roots somewhere... so perhaps this isn’t the first time he’s pursued other women, while being in a relationship? Of course it’s possible Jessica simply is/was jealous by nature, but maybe she has a reason/experience from past?
As for S & Z: their whole connection in built on a lie. He thinks she actually gets him, when that’s not true - she knows about his “grief” only thanks to her superpower. And you can’t really build a lasting relationship on “lies”... even if there is a connection (shared grief experience) that came AFTER the initial lie. Just think about when/if Simon finds out how/why it all began... that’s not gonna go as well as Max finding out about the games she played with him (that unnecessarily hurt Autumn in the end)...
So there are two big things they can play with in the future that will help create the big drama they love - S. finding out that it all started because of Z’s superpower (she cheated in the game) and not because she could emotionally connect on her own. And in a nearer future Max finding out about the 1x08 Z/S kiss. Which has to come from her, directly, if she plans to stay true to her promise to be completely honest with him. And third could be S. finding out about the powers. (part of me thinks it should happen, part of me thinks it shouldn’t happen in S1)
Either way... we know that there are going to be scenes/moments (heart songs) from/with both of the men. Whether these are “love songs” or “heartbreak songs” or “angry songs” or... something other... we don’t know for sure..yet.
But we do know that there are ONLY THREE EPISODES left of this season. 1x10 on April 19th, 1x11 on April 26th & 1x12 Finale on May 3rd. And the finale brings us a very special “heart song” from/with one of the two men. So there are clear sings that by/in the S1 finale the show will “commit” to one of the ships. And since we have small bits & pieces about the coming eps & finale, we can put together a part of the puzzle already. And though it seems that the Finale will sadly be when Zoey says goodbye to her dad, there seems to be lot more going on. Work stuff/Team song, guest appearances by some past characters, Zoey revealing her truths and... more....
THE END
#ZEP#SPOILER#ZEP SPOILER#ZOEYS EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST#ZOEY'S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST#ZEPspoilers#ZEP 1x09#Max x Zoey#Zoey x Max#Zoey Clarke#Max Richman#long post#text post#theory#speculation#Clarkeman#Zax#Zomax#TEAM MAX
78 notes
·
View notes
Text
Artie falls in love with you / Arthur Fleck short story
Disclaimer: Suicidal thoughts, sex, drunk Arthur, romantic, sweet
“How...how many kisses?“
Arthur was lying on the couch, burying his face in the pillow. The two of you went out on a date for the third time today and you were truly in love with him.
“Just tell me sweetheart, how many?“ He mumbled. The couple glasses of wine werent a good idea considering that he was on his medication and was never really drunk before. You felt kinda bad about his condition right now. But you really tried to get him out of his apartment and did choose a good restaurant to finally get him to eat something. He never ate propery and looked kinda starved. Also a side effect of his meds. You felt good, watching him eating half a plate today, so you ordered some wine,too.
You kneed in front of the couch to made sure he's comfortable, petting his soft, sweaty curls “What do you mean?“
He smirked at you “How many smoochies will I get from you tonight?“ His face lighted up looking at you. His childlike grin made your knees weak every time.
You kept on playin with his hair “Many,Arthur.“
“But how much?“
He tried to get up and kiss you on the cheek, making kissing noises and almost fell from the couch “Oooops“ he buried his face in your neck “I almost fell. Good thing I fell in your arms,huh?“ His breath felt hot against your skin. The smell of his hair felt like home. “Yeah Arthur, I'm afraid you're a bit drunk.“
Arthurs smile grew even more “I'm not drunk. I just love you so much and need to know how many?“ A sloppy kiss on the corner of your lips.
“Countless,Artie.“
He sunk back into his pillow “Wow, thats a lot!“
You took the blankets and covered him with it “Just try to get some sleep,okay? You will get all the kisses when you're sober again“.
He crawled up under the sheets, his beautiful face lookin slightly weathered. “Hey (YN) wanna hear a Joke? “
“Sure“
“So this man comes into an libary“ he chuckles in his pillow already.
"...and asks for a book on how to commit suicide.
And the libarian said Fuck off, you won`t bring it back"
He can`t help but laugh about his own joke. His dark homor said more about himself than you wanted to admit but you were very drawn to his view of things. He always seemed to feel everything with an intensivity you have never seen on someone else before. Eighter if he was happy or sad. When you met him he told you he never felt happy in his whole life but you felt like it changed dramatically since you dated. Knowing that he was all alone by himself, expect from living with his mother his whole life still breaks your heart. Never have you met someone more caring. He loves to make late night conversations while cuddeling up under the blankets, about everything that was going on in his head. Sometimes he had troubles explaining what he was trying to say but you loved his way of observing things around him. He payed attention wo every datail. You admired him, which he couldnt understand. He loved to be seen and he loved that you listened to him carefully. But he still wasnt sure why you loved him so much. You guess he wasnt used to this kind of attantion.
"Thats a good one,Arthur!"
He was getting sleepy "Yeah... you know what (YN) there are many more jokes in my journal, you know? I want you to read it. "
"The jokes?"
"The whole thing"
His eyes got heavier now.
"There are not only jokes in it" his eyes tried to focus on you "I was writing about you,too.I want you to read it"
Your hand slit under the blanket to caress his chest "About me? Really?"
"Yeah" the scar on his upper lip liftet when he did that smirk and it always made you blush. He even managed to make you blush while lying drunk on the couch. You felt kinda bad by getting turned on seeing him in this condition.
"I dont know Arthur, I feel like this is kinda personal. I dont want to disturb your privacy by reading your journal.
"Just do it!"
"Artie, you`re drunk. What if you dont want me to read it anymore in the morning?"
He was leaning over to give you sloppy kisses again "Thats why I want you to read it now." He was pointing his finger at you "Hey, wanna hear another one?"
You gave him a soft kiss on his forehead "Get some sleep, Arthur. You need to rest now"
He falls back into the pillow and falls asleep with a smile on his face.
After you made sure he fell asleep you looked at his diary. He really said he wanted you to read it. And that he wrote about you.
You werent sure if you should take a look. This felt so personal. On the other hand... You were more than curious about what he might thought of you. You just started dating and had your first kiss some days ago. He was a really good kisser. You guessed he didnt really knew what to do at first but he was so emotionally involved. He seemed to soak up every second of the moment. Like he really wanted this. He was right there in the moment with you, which you loved.After the kiss he confessed that he never was with a woman before and you think he was a bit ashamed about it. But he still wanted you to know. You didnt mind. You thought it was cute actually. And you wanted nothing more than being his first. You would love him all night. Like he deserved to be loved.
Another stare at his diary. You put my hands on the cover. Arthur Fleck case number 064823. Sure he had some problems. But you wanted the both of you to figure them out together. You wanted to hold his hand when he was in the waiting room to attent his appointments. You still werent sure what the exact diagnose was. You didnt wanted to upset him by asking too much about it. But you knew that he took anti depressants and anti psychotics.
You opened the first page of his diary. Some jokes, really dark ones. Mostly about death.
You turned the pages. Observations about homeless people. More dark jokes. Sad thoughts about being left alone. You didnt really read all of it cuz it still felt like you were disturbing his privacy. So you tried to find the pages which are written about you and searched for your name to pop up and there is was.
Your name was written in big, red letters that looed like lipstick. With a big smiley. Your heart jumped out of my chest when you saw it. There was something so cute about it and you imagined him drawing this the night, after you met.
You took a deep breath and started to read as your hands were shaking.
"Today I met the sweetest girl. She was new in my neighborhood and seemed to be different from all those aweful bricks here in Gotham. She has a nice smile. An authentic one. Not like my own smile, which is never authentic for so many reasons. I dont even know what a real smile is. But when I saw her , I smiled and for the first time in my entire life it felt like a real smile.
So she had those big packages to carry and i was just standing there, staring at her and suddenly she asked me for help. I was never been asked for help before. People tend to ignore and avoid me a lot. So I was very pleased to help her with her packages. We got into an conversation and I told her a joke. And she was laughing. I love it when people laugh at my jokes. I mean, I wanna do stand up comedy so bad. I need people to think that I`m funny. And I know I am. ---smiley face---
Anyway, I felt like finally someone sees me. The next day she came up to me when I was about to get to th pharmacy and she asked me out on a date. I couldnt belive it at first. I have never been on a date before. I was kinda nerveaus. Why would a beautiful, young woman like she is go out with me?
Of course I said yes.
I was dreaming about this for so long. Maybe she could be my girlsfriend. This would be a dream come true. I already told her that I have some issues, because she asked me why I was going to the city and I didnt thought twice and told her I have to buy my anti psychotics. I know that this wasnt a good move but it seems like it didnt scare her away. Well, she doesnt know how bad it really is by now.
I really hope that this time she is real and I`m not having visions or daydreams again.
Sometimes its hard to tell.
Some days I even think the meds make it even worse. But at the same time I am afraid to go off my meds. I did it once and I did some bad shit. I even ended up in Arkham for a very long time. Which wasnt that bad really.
Sometimes I think I felt better when I was locked up.
Not being able to leave my room, being with my thoughts all day, drifting away in daydreams gives me comfort. Its like ignoring the cold, dark world outside. The world doesnt care about me anyway. So why should I? The sad thing is, I still do care. I thought about ending my own life so amny times. Almost every day. But I never really tried it. Its just a game I play with myself.
How long? How long until it is not a game anymore?
How long till I have the guts to do it?
Oh man, I`m drifting away again. I wanted to talk about the GIRL!!!
She`s gorgeous. Just gorgeous.
I wish I could kiss her. I`m 35 and I hadnt had my first kiss yet. Its TIME!
I tried it once with this girls from scool i was in love with but I got so nerveaus that I started to laugh at her face and she thought I was laughing at her. Yeah well... she ended up punching me in the face and I never tried it ever since.
But I dreamed about it a lot. How would it feel to have someones lips pressed against yours? Softly and intense. To taste someones tongue in your mouth, to just melt into each other.I would never stop. I feel like a kiss is a connection on a higher level and I really wanna experience it with someone.
I got some other fantasies,too.
They`re pretty dirty and I dont feel like I can talk about them right now.
So i`m gonna quit writing for today and hope that the girl isnt already sick of me.
You turned the page and took a look at Arthur. He was humming in his sleep. Looking peaceful. All the words in his diary overwhelmed you up to a point where you didnt know what to think anymore. You hoped he enjoyed his first kiss. You really hoped your kiss was worth the wait.
The next page was just black scribbles all over the pages. Little drawings of people and cats. A lot of cats.
The next page was written on again.
"Today I woke up and wanted to die. I don`t even know why. It was just a gut feeling. I was miserable andthe darkness was caving in on me. But then I thought about the girls I just met and that she really seemed to like me. So I decited not to kill myself. Not today."
You thought about putting the diary aside. This was a lil too much for you. You didnt knew he was in such a dark place mentally. You were kinda scared but couldnt stop reading eighter.
"So...I remembered her kiss, my first kiss and this memory was so strong. I am sure it wasnt just imagined. This time I am sure it was real. It has to be. I wanted to distract myself from suicidal thoughts and started to touch myself while thinking of her. Maybe I should write her a love letter. Or bring her flowers. Or both. I think I`ll do both. Anyway, I touched myself while thinking about sleeping with her and I finally felt something again. I tried so many times but my meds wouldnt let me cum. It barely happens. Thinking about her kiss, her hands in my hair, on my thights, between my legs.... and her sweet voice on my ear helped me a lot. I felt passion and love and I came so hard, you wouldnt even wanna know. I hope Penny was asleep and didnt noticed anything. This would be embarrassing as hell. I surely made some noises.
I imagined that I took her hand and made her dance all through the living room to Frank Sinatra songs and we got closer and kissed. She told me how much she loved me and how much she wanted me. I held her face in my hands and kissed her so hard, all my make up smeared up on her beautiful face. I am always wearing clown make up in my sexual fantasies. It makes me more confident.
She just grabbed me and took my clothes off, threw them all over the room, threw me on the bed and covered my body with kisses. I felt loved for the first time in my life and all I wanted was to be inside her. To wear her like a coat that keeps me warm. I imagined her being on top of me, whispering in my ear how much she wants me to fuck her. And yeah I know in reality she would have dominated me for sure. But in my imagination I just got on top of her and made love to her till she was out of breath. I could almost feel her breath in my neck, feel her sweet, soft hands all over me. It was just so real. I wish it was real.
Could it become real some day?
My body was reacting in a way I didnt even knew was possible before.
I want to expercience it again. With even more details.
I think i wil get back to bed and try it one more time.
And afterwards I will write her a letter. Or two.
I just wish she never leaves again."
Blank page
Another blank page.
You put the diary aside and got up on the couch.
You crawled up under his blanket and felt the warmth of his tiney, fragile body which you want to hold for the rest of your life.
#arthur fleck#joker#joker fanfiction#fanfiction#arthur fleck fanfic#arthurfleckfanfiction#short fiction#short story#joaquinphoenix#joaquin phoenix joker
87 notes
·
View notes
Note
(pt 7?8?) so getting into the actual film analysis n doing my best to avoid more comprehensive hyyh theory, the scene w him in the shop w the piano correlates w the pit of despair on that section of demian. the car crash scene correlates to his shoulder, which he talks about in first love. in the hyyh storyline its implied jk was involved in the car crash plus theres a lot of subtext between his character and jk’s character, which might act as a parallel for the relationship in the song.
okay so like i was reading back through the eng translation of first love and i know you touched on this briefly in yoongis gay list but man the lyrics are SO GAY (pt 1 bc i dont have enough characters to put the full analysis in one ask)
(pt 2) so like the piano is clearly a metaphor for a person the lyrics r rly romantic n about an individual, the symbol of the piano allows him to remain more vague and ambiguous (plus all the lyrics r gender neutral). like he is talking about a piano but it’s clear that’s not all he’s talking about, the piano is a thread throughout his adolescence, just like the person.
(pt3) yoongi said himself that “the track has many meanings.” the lines “back then I didn’t know the meaning of you/back then i just enjoyed looking at you” imply that he doesnt understand the gravity of his attraction etc, kinda gay, plus i remember when i was younger n i hadnt fully figured out my own sexuality yet I remember feeling like this before I understood what it meant. n yoongi describes later in the song starting to understand what his feelings mean (contd)
(pt4 i think) we first distinctly see this in this verse: “I remember the time/When I faced you again who I had completely forgotten, when I was about 14/the moment of awkwardness was short, and I again caressed you/I had been gone for a long time, but you accepted me without repulsion/Without you I’m nothing/the morning we greeted together after dawn/Don’t let go of my hand forever” here hes talking about beginning to understand, the relationship is developing into something else.
(pt5) the “morning we greeted together after dawn” is the point where he surpasses the piano metaphor, he’s clearly talking about a person. also the line “you accepted me without repulsion” is VERY gay. additionally this storyline is taking place during his teen years, when he went to an all boys school. in the wings concept book interview he talks about how as opposed to a mixtape his lyrics for an album need to be much more subtle.
(pt 6) in the interview he says “first love talks about the piano i used to play when I was young, which also means the only friend I had.” so piano as the metaphor. he also talks about the song having deep emotional significance for him (he cried throughout the recording). additionally, he talks about having to use double meanings in his lyrics... why would he have to be so subtle about a love song if it wasnt about a boy? anyway first love is gay thanks for coming to my ted talk
(pt 7) i completely forgot to mention the short film!!!! so his demian excerpt is “there are numerous ways in which god can make us lonely and lead us back to ourselves. this is the way he dealt with me at the time.” the point in the book where this is taken from is when the protagonist has not seen demian (the male character he is infatuated with n is heavily gay coded) for a long period of time and is going to see him again soon. this correlates to the verse I talked about before.
______
wings in general just has such.... big gay energy I just.... love how much I can relate to so many of the songs on that album and even though it wasn’t one of the songs that people picked up on and related to, first love was always one of the songs I connected with a whole lot....
it made me super happy to read this - I’ve been working full time this week and I just love to chat about stuff like this so please don’t hesitate to send another inbox or message if you want to chat more!
6 notes
·
View notes
Text
[Shreya] wasn’t in last week’s chapter, so have a fic (#1)
Relationship: Shreya Mistry/F!MC (Celestine Leblanc)
Count: 1775 words
So I’ve decided that I’m going to make this a series where I update this whenever a character (in this case, Shreya) is swept under the rug (so am I updating this every week, multiple times then? Who knows! 🙃). It’ll be good practice for me to get back into writing. But maybe not every week exactly, I’m starting my undergraduate thesis lol.
Apologies if they’re OOC, especially Aster? (She’s good friends with Shreya in this fic!!) I haven’t tried writing them much and it’s been a while since I did a fic lmao. Hope you peeps like!! Let me know if you want to be tagged for subsequent ones.
This uses the following prompts:
“My cat is more sassy than you’ll ever be.”
“Watch out! I can’t slow down! Move! Move! Move!”
“Am I good at skateboarding? Pfffft! Of course I am!”
Tags: @jellymonster, @deeohno, @coolios-beanios, @h-doodles
__
“Watch out! I can’t slow down!”
Shreya is startled by a panicked voice, almost dropping her hand mirror on the sidewalk. She whirls toward the direction of the sound. What the -
“Lady, please move, move, move!!” A blur of blue, red, and brown was hurtling towards her before her brain could really process anything. They make a sharp turn, just barely brushing her skirt, so thankfully she avoided being pummelled into the wall. Her three-inch heels, however, threw her off balance, making her stumble into a large potted shrub situated outside the facade of Maison D’Yew.
Wonderful. How fucking elegant.
“Oh my stars, are you hurt?” A feminine voice calls out to her, presumably partially responsible for what had just transpired. Shreya inwardly huffs to rein in her annoyance. It would be extremely unsightly for a Mistry to throw a tantrum. At times like these, she was thankful for those dry etiquette lessons her parents made her take when she was seven.
“I-It’s quite alright! I didn’t get hurt; just much too close and personal with this plant,” Shreya assures worried girl in her haughty ‘humble’ voice.
(Well, something had to channel her anger. The thick branch digging into her back was not helping keep her head cool.)
She could feel the girl’s slender hands firmly grip her arms and try to pull her up. It was gentle and slow, but jagged twigs were poking her everywhere, “Ow, ow, ow!”
The sounds of her distress halt the girl from pulling her, but she still kept her grip. Her voice sounded more apologetic, if it was even possible, “I am so, so sorry! I told Zeph it was stupid to try riding the broom like a skateboard, but he didn’t really care because he said it would look cool.”
Everything was so fast and panicked and ridiculous that Shreya couldn’t help the wild giggles that bubbled up her throat as she nodded, “I can definitely vouch for the fact that it was stupid.”
Shreya could hear the girl grin, “Nice to know someone sides with me.”
A comfortable lull settles over them before the girl clears her throat. “Maybe I could try magicking you out?”
She seemed capable enough, so Shreya finds that she doesn’t mind.
“OK, go for it.”
Flashes of green and brown lights from the Wood magick circle peek through the gaps between the leaves obscuring Shreya’s vision. Slowly, the twigs and leaves retract, revealing the face of her saviour as she leaned closer to pull her up by the shoulders.
And fuck: She was exactly Shreya’s type.
The blonde had her eyebrows furrowed in panicked worry as she gently picked off leaves that had gotten into Shreya’s hair and clothes. “Again, I am so sorry. I’ll be sure to give Zeph hell for dragging you into this.”
Shreya could feel the warmth creeping up into her cheeks and the tips of her ears. Her touch was so soothing. “It’s no problem. Is he going to be okay?”
The girl’s face scrunches up at the concern for Zeph. “Yes, probably… I think.” She opens one pale blue eye to find that Shreya was still looking at her, waiting for… what exactly?
A furious blush colours the girl’s pale cheeks.
“I… should probably go make sure he’s okay. Have a good day, miss!” The blonde turns at the direction Zeph went off and starts at a sprint. It was only then that Shreya sprung into action, hurriedly calling out to the blonde before she left, “M-my name’s Shreya! What’s your name?!”
The blonde doesn’t look back at her, but she yells, “Celestine! See you around!”
—
“So that’s why Aoi was so grumpy when we stepped out,” Aster chuckles as she sipped her sencha tea. They’d been friends for a while, as Shreya was a regular at Maison D’Yew, despite having people who could easily run the errands for her at Mistry manor. Whether it was just a Shreya thing, or an excuse to visit Aster, the wood nymph didn’t mind.
It was always nice to see one of her only friends.
“For what it’s worth, I apologised to Aoi the shrub before I went inside the shop,” Shreya offers. “And besides, it wasn’t all that terrible.” Her face warms at the memory of the girl — Celestine, she reminds herself — and the concern she showed for her. Shreya absently stares at the steam coming off her drink, remembering the blonde’s delicate blue eyes which were, fittingly enough, the colour of a strontium sulphate mineral, celestine.
Her parents must be familiar with Attuneless science. I should ask her next time.
Silence descends over the two girls as Shreya spaced out and Aster observed her. She blows at her tea again, before taking a sip. “So when are you going to see her again?”
Shreya almost spills her hot drink and shoots Aster an incredulous look. The green-skinned girl pauses with a blank look of her own and blinks, before giggling as she realises her friend’s thought process.
“For the last time, I can’t read your mind unless you’re a plant. I just know what you look like when you’re excited about something.”
Shreya grips her mug a little tighter, in an attempt to fight down her worsening blush. Aster continues to observe her reactions over her cup of tea. “Or someone, in this case.”
“… She was really cute, okay?”
Aster can’t fight off the grin on her face. Checkmate.
She reaches out a woody hand to pry off Shreya’s own from her grip on the hot cocoa and pats her friend’s manicured nails. They were painted a deep crimson today. “You should ask her out.”
Shreya sighs, “But what if she’s not into girls? I don’t want her to be uncomfortable.”
Aster tilts her head slightly and blinks. It wasn’t like the heiress to resign herself to the possibility that the girl she was interested in identified as heterosexual. “But what if she is? And more importantly,” Aster leans into her friend’s personal space to whisper in her ear.
“What if she’s into you?”
Shreya jerks back from her friend, clamping a hand over her ear. She shivers like she was just put under a shower of ice cold water. She narrows her eyes are the wood nymph as she tries to calm her breathing. “Why are you being so cheeky today, Ass?”
Aster simply shrugs with a pleasant smile. “One of us has to bring the cheek to move the conversation along. It’s obviously not going to be you, what with this smitten state you’re in.”
Shreya rolls her eyes, “Spare me; my cat’s sassier than you.”
Aster blinks, “You don’t have a cat.”
Shreya throws up her hands in exasperation, “That’s the point!”
The two continue to lock gazes in a contest of wills: Shreya with a piercing glare, and Aster with an amused sparkle. The competition was intense, as if the winner would have their argument proven right.
“Zeph, slow down! You might bump into someone again!”
Shreya’s attention immediately strays to the voice. Could it be…?
“No can do, Leblanc! Those croissants might get sold out!” A voice, presumably Zeph, answers as the front door of the café is slammed open by said male. “Hannah, my bro! Two croissants on the double!”
The short-haired blonde at the register rolls her eyes before shaking her head. “Alright, Denim. But sit your ass down, okay?”
Zeph flamboyantly stands at attention, before giving a dramatic salute. “Roger that, Pixie cut!”
“You’re being way too dramatic,” Celestine steps into the shop, putting her hair up in a ponytail, presumably to cool herself off from running after Zeph. Her hair tie is held between her lips, giving Shreya the perfect excuse to look at them.
Celestine seems to notice the stares directed at her, as her gaze connects with Shreya’s. Her eyes light up in recognition, and her hand immediately comes up to wave at the Fire-Att.
“Why hello, Shreya! Fancy seeing you again,” Celestine walks over to their table, then rocks back and forth on her heels as she stands.
Shreya brings up a had to wave back, feeling the clamminess that had suddenly developed. “Hi, Celestine. I’m usually here every Saturday with my friend Aster here.” She gestures to Aster, who was absolutely buzzing with excitement. The flowers in her hair were blooming.
“As she said, my name is Aster and it’s so wonderful to meet you, Celestine. Shreya was just telling me about the incident this morning with my Hydrangea macrophylla, Aoi.” The wood nymph managed to get up from her seat and move towards Celestine within that sentence to grasp and shake the girl’s pale hand with her pliant fingers. “He’s thankful for your wood magick because it fixed the branches Shreya broke when she fell into him.”
Celestine draws a blank look, before looking over to Shreya for help. The heiress simply nods, but what does that even mean? She decides that it’s better to play along. “Well, he’s very welcome. I didn’t get the chance to tell him that his flowers were a very beautiful shade of blue.”
“Honestly, Aster, how many times do I have to apologise?” Shreya complains from her seat on the table.
Aster grins at Celestine’s response while pointedly ignoring Shreya, “I’ll be sure he gets the message.” She stares meaningfully into the confused blonde’s eyes, bringing up a hand to hover over the other girl’s cheek. Celestine can feel the coolness of her skin, a plant-like material that felt much like the stem of a flower. Her eyes suddenly darken into a tar-black, seeping into the veins of her translucent skin, “It’s not often that you find humans — Attuned, especially — who care as much for plants.”
Sensing the newcomer’s shock and exponentially growing discomfort, Shreya interrupts. “Hey, uhm, Celestine, would you guys like to sit with us?”
And just as suddenly, Aster is back from her Branching, “That’s a wonderful idea!” She moves to pull out the chair next to Shreya (and if it ends up skewed a little too close to her friend’s seat, well, Aster doesn’t know anything about that).
“I’ll go ahead and assist your friend there are the counter. It seems like he’s having a bit of trouble,” Aster points to where Zeph is gesturing wildly in a conversation with Hannah (aka Pixie cut), who was managing the counter. “Don’t eat her up while I’m gone,” she grins at Shreya, who blushed at the insinuation, but kept her cool this time.
She fires back with a grin of her own.
“I make no promises.”
––
#playchoices#choices#the elementalists#te#shreya mistry#aster#te aster#zeph hernandez#zephyr hernandez#shreya x mc#mc x shreya#wilwcshaf
41 notes
·
View notes
Text
(transcripted convo)
i’m reposting a discussion i had w a terf. i previously posted screenshots but she messaged me and said she didn’t want her url or avatar displayed. editing the pics to post them again was hell so i’m posting a script instead (i learned my lesson tumblr: you suck). if anyone ends up finding the convo and thus the redacted speaker... idc. this is a public website and we technically had this convo in public - the notes of a post aren’t private spaces afaik. i’m posting this as proof that sometimes calmly reasoning with ppl lead to nothing. (i know anyone could say the same but lmao leave me alone.)
tw for transphobia/transmisogyny
[redacted] (speaking to a transmasc discourser about the "woman path"): Ok let me explain what I mean :) if your experience was totally different then thats fine :) im 24 and when I was little i was encouraged to play with dolls and learn 'motherly things' like playing with baby dolls while my brother played with toy trucks. There was a lot of pressure at school to wear dresses, and be sweet and polite. @[transmasc discourser] then of course, learning to deal with periods and the shame and taboo around them. Removing body hair because its considered unladylike. Etc
@[transmasc discourser] have you had none of those experiences?
neonbaebae: these are all common experiences for women bc of gender roles/stereotypes but none of that defines womanhood as an identity.
[redacted]: completely agree they are gender roles. But menstruation isnt a gender role. Its a frustrating part of being female. But that said, what IS womanhood then?
(rest under cut)
neonbaebae: menstruation is a biological function that is in no way exclusive to female bodies. remember intersex ppl, who come in all forms and shapes. women aren't all the same and it's likewise for men. there are intersex women who don't fit all the criteria for being "female" yet still identify as women. there is a distinction to make between womanhood as an experience and womanhood as an identity.
the woman experience is what you've described. the woman identity is feeling like one, e.g.: liking female-coded clothes, makeup, hairstyles, feeling comfortable in the societal role of being a woman. identity is essentially abt self perception most of the time
[redacted]: intersex is unique and I respect that not all womens bodies are the same. Intersexuality is complex but it doesnt represent the majority of biological women. I dont have a strong baclground in intersex knowledge so I'm certainly not gonna speak on behalf of intersex women. so if identity is self perception (which I completely agree with) how can a biological man self perceive his femaleness.if he's never experienced it?
neonbaebae: trans women never identify with being male and all in entails. and they can see, thru watching women counterparts and how they interact with the world around them, that they id more w the idea of womanhood and much less w the idea of manhood. it's esp why dysphoria often settles around puberty bc the dissonance manifests physically and that's harder to handle
[redacted]: but what youre talking about is what trans women see women do. If thats what someone aspires to, its a very basic and narrow understanding of what womanhood is. Its only what they see. And people are far more complex than this. Does a biological male aspire to periods stigma, beauty conformity and lesser social stance in the world? Or do they aspire to femininity? Something many biological women dont feel comfortable with
neonbaebae: womanhood as an identity is a feeling that is strengthened by a disconnection to manhood, its polar opposite. someone who completely rejects the idea of being man is likely to prefer being a woman (not always but likely!). many trans women do aspire to femininity and it has nothing to do with the cis women who are uncomfortable w it, just like there are many cis women who embrace it too.
many trans women cannot quite explain their transition in another way than "being a man felt wrong but being a woman feels right and authentic to my true self". i'd suggest to ask an actual trans woman for her pov tho since i'm not one, i'm just basing myself on what i've heard them say
[redacted]: but feeling disconnected with manhood (which is understandable and gender roles are frustrating) doesnt make someone the opposite of a man. As society we need to open our understanding of gender expression. But this isnt the same as thinking 'if I dont feel like a conventional man or connect with male social expectations, then I must be the opposite'. Theres no logic in that
we live in a world where gender stereotype binaries are considered natural, and people who dont fit this understandably feel marginalised. In fact Id argue to a greater or lesser degree, none of us truly fit the prescribed gender binary.
but i find it problematic when a man thinks they're a woman based on what they think 'woman' is.
neonbaebae: you're right in saying that a disconnection from manhood doesn't make someone a woman - a connection to womanhood does. it has v little to do with the upbringing of women which you seem to define thru misogyny and menstruation alone which is frankly a pessimistic view of womanhood. it's less not feeling like a conventional man and more not feeling like a man At All. tru it doesn't sound logical but gender is not logical it's abstract and complex
it seems problematic bc one might think men would gain smth from iding as women but stats show that trans women are at higher risk of assault for being out and open, both of bc of misogyny (not directly related to having a vagina or menstruating after all) & transphobia. it's esp telling that trans men aren't targeted as much. do you disagree w trans men as well?
[redacted]: but as a women i dont connect with womanhood. Lol i am a women. It would be nice to think we live in a world where women are equal, but that's not the world we live in. Womanhood is hard. And we do live under a patriarchal society that's cultivated female inferiority over many centuries. We're still negotiating freedoms today.
Its not about gaining or loss. Its about the male right to self define womanhood on their terms, without the biological or social conditioning. In fact, many have recieved MALE conditioning as children. This comes with its own privileges.
I think transmale is a very different experience so no I categorise them very differently to transwomen
neonbaebae: "as a woman" you say. even if the experiences and stereotypes don't fit you perfectly, even if you reject it, you still id as a woman. you feel like one and you suffer the consequences of being one. believe it or not trans women suffer from iding as a woman as well and thrice as harshly. i can provide sources if you want.
trans women don't think like men bc they feel like women. the thought patterns are different. they don't digest the social messages abt men bc their mind doesn't relate to it. male entitlement and all doesn't apply to them. and in sociology alone womanhood is often defined as more than a biological or upbringing thing. it's a social identity and trans women have a right to it if they don't id and reject manhood altogether
my question tho was do you think trans men aren't men either cus otherwise that'd be hypocritical
[redacted]: my point is its not an identity. Its a reality. Im a woman. I have xx chromosomes and the world treats me as such. Similar to my race. I dont identify as my race, i am treated as the world sees me.
male entitlement does apply. Statistically baby boys are fed for longer than baby girls. And little girls are left to cry for longer than baby boys. Little girls learn many motherly caretaker roles while many of their male counterparts are encouraged to conquer the world. Children are raised by gender. Even subconsciously. I can also provide sources :)
there are many more male leaders and men in authoritive positions in the world. Women fight very hard for the same respect, but womens voices are less valued. It takes no genius to see men have greater standing in the world
about transmen. No I dont consider them men but I'll respectfully use the pronouns anyone prefers, male or female. Its common decency.
I think society needs to get more comfortable with non confirmative gender expression
neonboobear: but it is an identity. that's why there's a distinction between sex (bio) and gender (identity & expression). if it would feel wrong for you to be called a man or nonbinary then that'd be bc you don't id as such. (also there are women with chromosomes other than xx maybe you should avoid phrasing it that way.) i id as my race but race has v different roots & impact than gender historically and it cannot be compared. let's stick with gender.
and i'm not denying gendered socialization but it doesn't shape a child more than their personal feelings on their identity, which can differ v early in life bc (some) would rather engage in activities associated with the opposite gender for example. if it were that simple trans ppl wouldn't go at lengths to "play the part"
you're right society does need to accept gender non conformance but that's v different from the trans experience. i rly think you should have a deep conversation with a trans person to try and see their pov
[redacted]: if womanhood is an identity, it totally invalidates what it means to be female. And yes its arguable that there're are women who arent xx but how about the majority of the population that are. Must we pander to the few at the expense of the majority? also what makes you assume I dont talk to trans people? Critique doesnt mean lack of empathy.
Children and gendered socialization is complex. Maybe if 'feminine' activities werent coded as female and just 'childhood play' we wouldnt have the same degree of dysphoria. It goes back to the irrational logic, 'if I like the pink toy section then I must be a girl.'
neonboobear: i'm afraid that is your pov for the ideology that womanhood is an experience but also an identity is considered a v valid theory in the science field. the fact that there are women with chromosomes other than xx is proof alone that xx chromosomes aren't what makes a woman. and i've suggested a deep conversation and an intention to Understand the Other. not just a talk. i said nothing abt empathy.
there would be less dysphoria but i'm sure it's still be there. many think the abolition of gender would solve everything but i doubt so
[redacted]: i have a close mtf friend and we have the debate constantly. We don't always agree with her but there's a lot more common ground then you might expect :) Gender roles damn us all. Hmmmm... abolition of gender is impossible but theres is a lot that can be done to challenge gender expectations. But not an easy battle! neonbaebae: i mean this with the least offense okay but i sincerely think neither of you should be friends. i’m black and i’d never befriend a racist. that’s a lack of self respect on her part and a plain lack of respect on yours.
i’d like to end this conversation here. i’ve said my point and i’d only repeat myself by continuing. and since i’m not a trans woman i don’t want to misinterpret them (so sorry if i’ve already did. trans girls feel free to bring up clarifications). might sound tedious but i strongly suggest you watch this 50-min long video essay by youtuber contrapoints. her vids are informative and entertaining and so v easy to digest despite the length. i’ve heard she’s not v liked in terf circles but it’s worth it to listen to what she has to say as a trans women.
1 note
·
View note
Text
Episode 6 | Your Social Game Is On 0! - MJ
youtube
WHOOPS I KINDA DID THAT, SORRY KEEGAN, YOU DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG I JUST NEED EVERYONE ON THIS TEAM TO BE BFFS WITH ME
also just realized that at final 13 i know well over half of the people in the game..... love that for me!! -close with ali, jonathan, and zoe over here both separately & together -mj obvs -cindi and jay are known quantities -jules is great too -so only ones i don’t know.... silver, zach, asya, nathan & jessie i know i can work with at least half of the ones i know, probably more - only real question mark is cindi cuz she was a little sus originally, and jay i hope is still good but i think he and keegan were close so might have to work on explaining that one. but overall, i feel pretty well set for merge whenever it gets here, and hopefully the next couple votes can get rid of some of those ones i don’t know. onward and upward! we’ll see!!!
youtube
I don't really do much text confessionals but I just ranted in my host chat so I'm sending it here. ~~This Round~~ this round is gonna be fun, so much fun, and I won't have to do like any gameplay because I think regardless the trian tribe is going to tribal and I wanna see how that plays out, and then if my tribe goes to tribal I'm gonna dip out using my safety without power and let silver kill an og circi since he's gonna pull out that extra vote however, if asya or jules have an advantage / if mj flips that's fine with me too. I'm still debating playing the solar eclipse. I want to cause chaos, and for what? For no reason. *Moments Later* I spun a wheel to determine what I will do this round, and it landed on not playing the solar eclipse and noping out. that's what I'm doing. now you may ask for the strategic value of letting a circi die? Well, if a Circi goes (or two circis go if it's an andro/circi tribal), I'm suddenly 1/2 of my OG tribe left. People may want to pick me up and use me as a number since I will have no allegiance to anyone. This puts me in a lowkey kind of decent position if I lie and say I was gonna be voted out if I didn't safety w/o power. Also playing a safety without power and claiming the magnet would statistically mean I am less likely to have other advantages since other people had searches stockpiled for the swap I'll probably test the waters for a bit after immunity results and then play the magnet to make it look like it wasn't planned and I just got a bad feeling. In other words: I'm turning the crackhead dial-up, it's time for fun! I swear to god if we don't merge after this round I will scream. ~~Planning for the Future~~ oh my god it could be a 10 person merge. because the merge episode is usually episode 8. we're on 6 but that wouldn't make sense to prevent a 5 > 1 person tribe from occurring and 5 votes in a swap seems like a bit much. I feel like at this point I know I probably won't win this game but I'm gonna give them hell while I'm here playing well is boring People on this cast that will probably try to kill me: Cindi, Jay, Nathan, Maybe Jesse? I haven't really spoken much to MJ or Silver, chances are my closest ally is going home this round, Zoe Jonathan and Ari may pick me up if I'm from a minority tribe but dump me very quickly. From my POV the cards are not in my favor, all I have are my advantages so the path of chaos is more beneficial plus I'm sure it's spread I'm pretty good at immunities in merge so they're gonna try to take me out early on like round 1 or 2, So if I want any chance I need to play the following way Since I cannot depend on social connections as much as I normally would 1. Make sure my existing social connections are voted out so that I am not in the group where I don't have the best social connections but I have enough that it is worrisome 2. Play my advantages early in merge if I don't win immunity, cementing myself as a big target 3. Convince people that nobody will take me deep into the game because I have placed myself in the position of a big target 4. Try to get the people that would be 100% against me voted out, while also watching Andro tribe majority. Basically making Andro and Trian fight each other 5. Win immunities near the end and somehow make it deep??? That's my best case scenario at this point in my opinion.
youtube
So like we won immunity . Wow see what happens when we actually try? Isn’t that nice . Idc who goes really I can make new bonds or whatever with people if silver goes but in the ideal scenario he will stay. But tbh I have no power over what happens tonight so I don’t care. Hoping merge happens next
youtube
ok so i have a little cute vote chat for me jules and mj. mj is spilling EVERYTHING abt his OG tribe including how they blindsided my wife pippa... rude. also abt his idol searches. he's a smart cookie and one to watch for but i also like him and need friends so<3
THIS SUCKS SO MUCHHHHHH ALI I AM SO SORRY
Having to remind myself that is entirely okay to be vengeful and even be blinded by revenge in these games. I've become way too soft for these things in the past couple of years. As of right now, tonight's tribal council should be 2-1-1, since Zach is skipping -- 2 votes for Silver (Asya, Jules), 1 vote Jules (Silver), and 1 vote Asya (me). If Silver's 50/50 coin lands on SAFE, the it’ll tie between Aysa and Jules and I think I’ll get auto-eliminated if it’s rocks instead of a 1v1 tiebreaker, and I’m OK with that I think! If it lands on NOT SAFE then Silver is leaving, period! And Silver deserves to leave, and I shouldn't feel nervous about taking this shot, no matter if it backfires or not. It makes me feel icky to think that Nathan, Jessie, and Silver were in cahoots from the very start and I didn't care enough to control my own game because I've become too accustomed to jellyfishing my way through ORGs to avoid being pinpointed as a leader or strategist. I'm putting my foot down tonight. I'm taking this shot and if it works, then it's merely the beginning of the end for half of the remaining cast as far as I'm concerned. If it backfires, then oh well, at least I tried something here. NO REGRETS! Anyway, just had the first alliance call with Aysa and Jules and it was great! Good vibes! We just chit-chatted and discussed strategy and previous dynamics. It will be a shame if we don’t get to push forward together after tonight. I’m also telling Silver right now not to play the 50/50 befcause if it doesn’t land on safe then the vote will be 3-2 if Aysa is lying; and if Aysa is telling the truth then he’s wasting a power that he could have later on. It kinda makes no sense for him to use the 50/50 considering the information he’s being told. I’m fine with pitching this to him because he said he was 100% gonna use it anyway, so me telling him not to will either leave things the same or result in him not using it at all. There’s no losing there. The only way to lose is if it lands on safe. The savage in me is saying, no MJ don’t let yourself get auto-eliminated if things go south, CUT JULES! And I realize that that’s exactly how I should be thinking given the first two lines of this confessional!!! But I wanna be a risk taker. I’m fine with this blowing up because the potential reward is greater than me being auto-eliminated. + Jack was rocked out last season so it would be cute to match that if it comes down to it! I hope it doesn’t, but it’s fine either way. I feel like this game owes me. Silver's 50/50 will not land on safe.
ALSO on this alliance call, I was informed that the adventure reset?!?!?!?! AND I HAVEN'T DONE THEM IN A WEEK???? LMFAOOOOO anyway.
AHHHH why did I volunteer to go first in the challenge ugh I remembered the wrong shit lol. But this tribal I dont think I have to use my 50/50 since asya doesn't wanna go to rock so she'll vote Jules with us. So yeah I think I'll be ok. Asya told me Jules is voting MJ. I'm just hoping this isnt gonna be a big blindside towards me but yeah wish me luck
okay, here's the plan. silver has the glowing orb 50/50 coin thing. i expect him to play it. silver's voting me. im voting silver and so is asya. mj is king of the key here. if mj votes silver and the orb makes him safe, then im gone. if mj votes asya (hang on, ive just had a realization and just had to sit in silence for a while whilst i process it.) okay. if mj votes asya and the coin makes silver safe, it'll be 2-1-1, with a tie between me and asya. which im just now realizing could send it to rocks where mj would be the one leaving............. boy howdy, sure wish i knew how to count. okay, yeah. we'll just hope that the coin lands on NOT SAFE -or- he doesnt play it at all. mj and asya are telling him that they're voting me out, so maybe he'll feel comfy enough not to use it. i dont WANT asya to be voted out, but it's better than me or mj being the vote. if mj gets rocked out by default because i didnt realize how to count....... oops!!! but silver has a bunch of advantages, so him getting voted out would flush those out. asya has an immunity shard and id like to think that she'd will it to me if she gets voted out, but eye dee kay!
AHHH sorry this is coming so late but I've had a busy busy few days, and luckily I've avoided tribal during this time lol So before I was feeling a bit shaky on this tribe, I felt like everyone was more connected to each other than to me. But as it turns out, that's completely untrue and I feel very at the center of this tribe. Nathan and I have had multiple long talks recently where we've decided that we want to stick together deep into this game, and he's given me some info about how he and Silver gave up their immunity shards to Jessie, so she has an idol now. Cindi and I have a connection from our original tribe too and I've been keeping up on that relationship too. I gave her a clue I found during an expedition but nothing really came of it since it's, as far as I can tell, impossible to decipher. If we did end up going to tribal, I would have made a push to take out Jessie TBH, even though she has the idol. I feel like even if Nathan wasn't for it, they'd go for Cindi and not me. But luckily that doesn't matter because we're immune and likely heading for a merge in the next 30 minutes. And if not a merge, than another swap bc I think y'all hosts anticipated that one tribe could have lost all of the last 3 immunities and I don't think you want a 2 person tribe at the f11. But yeah I feel really good about my place in the game, I want Nathan to be my shield for the time being bc he's so vocal and strategic that he will always be a target ahead of me.
I have put so much work in to stay
I BETTER STAY
All this fighting for nothing smh <3 it is not looking good
youtube
0 notes