#i'm in a different fandom now and twitter just really only works when you can connect with similar people

[specialgradefckr]

it feels so hard to make friends on this site. i had SUCH a good time on twitter all those years back (before the site went to shit lol), like, it came together sooo easily and now i'm just like. sdfgkhsdhgf how do i make friends again,,,

setting a goal to reblog one (1) fic i like every day for the whole of this coming month, even if i only say a LITTLE BIT in the tags!

i am in the awful habit of never leaving comments because i don't want to have to Sit Down And Think Critically to give the sincerest and most thorough possible praise. and 99% of the time that ends in me saying absolutely nothing, and most writers would rather hear literally anything

it's just tough... but i will set the goal. i am SO DEEP into this damn fandom at this point that i check the tags daily so might as well reblog stuff

everyone's always saying "tumblr is for REBLOGGING, reblog things or this site will die",,, SORRY I CAN'T BE HER, I'M AN FANFICTION.NET/AO3 NATIVE!!! THIS ISN'T MY HOME I'M JUST A TRANSPLANT!

[horrorshow]

Can you talk about why you think blocking and moving on is a bad thing? I thought it was a way to curate your space and avoid drama

idk maybe i'm too idealistic but fandom is a much more friendlier, welcoming, supportive, creative, engaging, active, diverse and interesting space when it's treated like a community where people are encouraged to participate and talk about their interests and where there's space for niche or more unpopular opinions without these people having to worry about being blocked and feel unwelcome by the majority of the fandom they are in. i can't stand how blocking everyone you disagree with has become the first thing to do.

you say its 'to curate your experience'. but blocking people does not only curate YOUR experience. you're also forcefully curating other users' experiences. and not for the better.

people say 'i will block you for literally anything' and then those same people wonder why engagement is down, why no one sends asks, why no one reblogs, why rarely anyone talks in the tags anymore and why this place feels so dead and boring and quiet. i wonder why!!!!

people treat real people as annoying ads they can dispose of at their whim. but that's not how a fandom or a site like tumblr works. (besides, if you really care about people curating their own experience you wouldn't block people. you can filter and blacklist and never see them again while still granting them the same freedom instead of actively making their experience worse.)

you say its to avoid drama. but seeing a post you dont agree with is not 'drama'. and blocking is not solving anything except for you personally. fandom was more fun when we remembered that every user is a real person you share a space with, and probably some mutuals as well, so you find a way to live with each other. starting with a restraining order seems a bit excessive and is not contributing to anything. it's not that hard to be respectful and tolerate others and acknowledge people have different opinions and interests and still co-exist in peace. its not that hard to be nice to people and try to find common ground with them and interact with the stuff you DO like. you do this in every aspect of your real life, so why not online?

i hear you say: 'but that requires WORK and i don't NEED to do any of that bc i can just block them'.

yeah, you can try to create your own bubble and only hang out with like minded people but you wont EVER fully achieve that (no matter how much you block, social media WILL keep feeding you posts you disagree with bc it makes them money). social media WILL pressure you into an 'us vs. them' mentality where you constantly feel like everything online is a threat or an argument you have to win and where being mean and unnuanced gives you the most notes and where you don't even see, let alone be able to treat, other users as people anymore bc you don't interact with them anymore other than to block or fight them. that's not how i want it to be online. it's not fun to me. and maybe i'm a pessimist but i think it will eventually be the death of online fandom and sites like tumblr. look at the state of twitter right now. DOES blocking give you a better experience in the long run? i doubt that it does. overall, i think it makes people even less tolerable and more vulnerable to hate and fear mongering, and social media an even more hostile place.

it's everything i hate about social media and everything i want to fight against and WILL fight against. i won't pretend my meager contribution will change anything, but i LIKE to just scroll past posts i don't vibe with and not see every argument online as a personal offense. it keeps me curious. most posts aren't that bad when you know the person behind it. i mean, you do you, i'm not gonna say what you should or shouldn't do bc that's up to you, but i recommend it: free yourself of the block button and bring back supportive user communities based on a shared love for the same thing and focus on what you have in common with people, just like you would do in real life. save the block button for the rotten apples who DO keep trying to pick fights and exclude others.

(which is, now that i think about it, probably the main difference: most people see the block button as a neutral way to prevent worse. but. that's only the case on an individual level. and treating everything online as an individual choice to which there are no further consequences, especially if they happen on a larger scale, is already a loss.)

[thankskenpenders]

There’s been some discussions on Twitter recently about if Blaze’s dimension is worth keeping around and expanding on or if it should be ignored/merged with Sonic’s world thanks to a Bumblekast clip. What are your thoughts on Blaze’s dimension as a story-telling hurdle/ alternate setting? I personally feel like it wouldn’t make a difference if Blaze was a princess from another dimension or a princess from the other side of the world, it would just be easier for her to show up if she wasn’t from another dimension, but I also think it’s be neat to expand on Blaze’s world as a parallel to Sonic’s.

I think there's a whole cottage industry of Sonic fans who just like to take things Ian says out of context so they can rile people up on Twitter, and the fandom falls for it every time, and it's extremely tiring

But also I think Ian is right

This isn't something I've really shared, but I actually have a document where I've kept ideas for what I would do with a hypothetical modern reboot of Archie Sonic where I'm allowed to start from scratch and change anything I want. (I might share some of this someday, perhaps with some character designs, but for now it's just a thing for me. It's not like I'm gonna do a comic or anything.) For Blaze, I immediately decided that all of the elements from the Sol Dimension should be merged with the regular Mobius. I would just say that Sonic and friends have all their adventures on one hemisphere of the planet, and Blaze is from the other. I mean, the Sol Dimension already has a heavy Australia/Oceania vibe. It'd be really easy. This way, there would still be some level of separation, and Blaze would still have her own territory where she gets to be the main hero, but it'd be WAY easier to actually use those elements. Characters can just show up on whatever part of the planet they need to be on for any given story

For some reason people seem to think that Blaze being from a separate dimension isn't a storytelling hurdle at all, and I really don't know what franchise they're following, because it sure as hell isn't the version of Sonic I know. Yes, in theory it could be as simple as just using a warp ring to hop over to the Sol Dimension whenever. There are ways to write around it. I'd love to see that happen so that we could flesh out Blaze's world some more. Give Blaze some more allies and villains of her own! Give her more to do over there, and more reasons for Sonic and co. to visit! But clearly Sega isn't down with that, considering the Sol Dimension has only ever been in one game and, what, two issues of the IDW comics for maybe ten pages total? Sega's just sitting on it, and it's impossible not to see the fact that it's a whole separate dimension as the reason.

Even if we were getting more stories about traveling to and from the Sol Dimension, it'd still be a hassle. You want to use the Chaotix in a story in the Sol Dimension? Wanna use Marine or Johnny or whoever in a story set on the main world? Well, you'd better think up an airtight excuse for why those characters are traveling between the dimensions and pray that Sega approves of it. And right now that seems to be one hell of an obstacle, given how little we see of the Sol Dimension even though I know damn well Ian and Evan would love to explore it more. It's gotten to the point that Blaze is now on an endless "vacation" on Sonic's Earth so that they can actually use her in stories. People have been acting like merging the worlds would completely take away everything that makes Blaze special as a character, when it would just make all of her personal story stuff infinitely easier to work with than it is right now.

"Oh but what about the Sol Emeralds?" There's no reason the Sol Emeralds couldn't exist on the same planet as the Chaos Emeralds. We've already got other magic rocks like the Time Stones, the Phantom Ruby, and the Warp Topaz. "But what about Eggman Nega?" I could not give less of a shit about what happens to Eggman Nega and Sega doesn't even use him anymore, but also he's already supposed to be from Silver's future, not the Sol Dimension. "But what about the plot of Sonic Rush where the whole point was that they had to stop the worlds from being merged because they thought it was a bad thing?" Yes, because Sonic has always been a series that treated canon as sacred an immutable, and Sega would never do something that contradicted a game from almost 20 years ago

Anyway, all of this is a moot point. It's not like this is going to happen. Ian just brought up the possibility on the BumbleKast as an "if I could change literally anything" type deal. Sega is not going to do this. He is allowed to have his own opinions on Sonic things without fans having to take it personally and scream and cry about it. You don't have to agree with him on everything. I've certainly had points I disagree with him on! It's fine! That's normal! He's only human. Yes, Ian is on the Lore Team, but he's just one voice in the room. He's not even the boss of that team. If Ian could get whatever he wanted, we'd have seen the Freedom Fighters and Sticks by now

[ilikekidsshows]

Okay, perhaps you can clarify something for me. My main takeaway for why Adrien supposedly couldn't be there for season 5 finale was because Gabe would discover his secret identity and use his amok to control him (and because the writers don't want to give up their love-square-secret-identity-cash-cow shenanigans, of course, but that's another topic). I figured it's less about Adrien having intense emotions/potentially being akumatized and more a consequence of....Gabe being willing to mind control his senti-son, as we've blatantly seen in Ephemeral and arguably Chat Blanc.

So why do so many takes about the finale seem to ignore Monarch's ability and willingness to mind control him and instead complain about how Adrien was being "weak" or "emotional" or even "a wimp left crying". Like?

I'm not trying to defend the finale or writing decisions that lead to him sitting it out, the writers could have worked around it if they really wanted to (which, we obviously know they didn't), but I interpreted Astruc's statements on how 'Chat Blanc and Ephemeral explain why Adrien couldn't be there' (I'm paraphrasing from memory, correct me please if Astruc didn't more or less say this), to be about his senti status?

So why is victim blaming Adrien for being the 'problem' because he's "too emotional" seem to be the norm, rather than, oh I don't know, blaming the man manipulating the situation and taking advantage of the fact that he can mind control his son?

For instance. I interpreted Hawmoth's "Obey!" in Chat Blanc to be a senti command, but I can see how that might be a bit ambiguous/debatable. But then we have Ephemeral, which is -blatantly- due to the control Gabe has over Adrien as the holder of his amok. Sure Adrien is emotionally compromised, but it's only -after- we get our visual cue of Gabe twisting the amok (aka using mind control) that he gives in. Astruc seems to be arguing that this would have necessarily, inevitably happened again in the season 5 finale (ignoring for now that theoretically a confrontation -could- happen in which Gabe doesn't find out, but I digress).

And I'm not even talking about Adrien salters; positive or negative opinions on him, the finale, and/or sentimonster status aside, the consensus seems to be that the writers screwed Adrien over by making him "too emotional" to be there at the finale, when the message I got was that it was never actually his fault at all? AKA "Whoever possesses this controls the sentimonster, [Sentibug] couldn't help but follow orders."

There are issues with the finale, yes. But regarding the senti aspect specifically. Am I missing something? Misinterpreting Chat Blanc, maybe even Ephemeral, or something?

This got a bit long, apologies, but I'm curious to hear your thoughts, if you're willing! Thanks either way in advance!

---

Well, to start off, we need to look at framing. Framing refers to how the different things that happen and are said in a story frame, aka, contextualize each other. You can't just look at bits of a story in isolation if you want to discuss how a story frames a particular event. In this case, we’re discussing the scene where Adrien gives up the ring in the season 5 finale. We can't jump back two entire seasons or go to Twitter to get the framing of this scene, because the framing immediately around the scene, the rest of the episode itself, and the episode right after it, its "Part 2", are the primary framing and should take precedence when we discuss how this scene comes across to the audience.

This is especially true because Miraculous is still being written as primarily an episodic show. Astruc himself said this in the commentary, and the episode ‘Conformation’ has no mention of Sentimonsters anywhere. In fact, most of the finale ignores the fact that Adrien is a Sentimonster, outside of the scene where Marinette gives him his Amok objects while not telling him what they are. Adrien doesn’t know he’s a Sentimonster; one of the reasons the fandom is ragging on Marinette is that she endangered Adrien by giving him the rings while not telling him what they are, because he doesn’t know. That’s a pretty big aspect in this.

Within the episode itself, Adrien doesn’t give up his ring because he’s a Sentimonster, he can’t, because he doesn’t know. He gives up his ring because he's 100% convinced he’s a liability because he is “not in his right mind”, he could get Akumatized and his identity could get discovered. These are the things Adrien himself lists as his motives, this is how the episode itself frames Adrien not going to fight Hawk Moth. Adrien doesn't know he's a Sentimonster, so that has no influence on his decision to sit out. He was having an emotional downward spiral and he knew he couldn't rely on his partner and leader Ladybug to help him through it, so he decided to try to deal with it alone while trying to minimize the damage if he failed to do so. The entire Ladynoir conflict arc in season 4 culminated in Adrien coming to the conclusion that he can never ask Ladybug for anything in ‘Kuro Neko’, and here we see him instantly retire when he needs support. Our greatest Ladybug ever will only use him for emotional support while never offering any in return, and Adrien knows this.

By all accounts, this total breakdown of the partnership of our main leads, who are also the main romantic couple of this series, should be treated as the darkest hour of the entire franchise so far. Instead we’re expected to forget about it in moments and celebrate Marinette's girlboss moment of wearing both the main Miraculouses and getting a yet another Unification Form. In episodes where Marinette breaks down, the action pauses so that the rest of the cast can line up to comfort and prop her up. When Adrien breaks down, it leads to Marinette getting a cool powerup. That's why the writers “planned from the start” that Adrien wouldn't get to help take down his father, because the writers had decided to give his superpowers to Marinette to “symbolize her growth”, but all they ended up symbolizing was Adrien stripping himself of what little power and agency he has to prop up Marinette, who will pay him back by lying to him. This is the difference in how Miraculous frames Marinette and Adrien’s emotional breakdown moments.

This is why the discourse is about Adrien being overly emotional, about the writers presenting Adrien’s emotions as a weakness and liability. Adrien is literally on screen, saying he considers his emotions a burden to others. Adrien gives up his ring and, unknowingly, his last chance to face his father, because he is too emotional. Adrien is made to feel guilty for his emotions in a way Marinette never is, in a way no other character ever is. That would already be a disgusting way to treat an abuse victim, but then the show continues to frame this writing decision first with Marinette directly benefiting from him breaking down and giving up and then with having Marinette lie to him after the fact about it all, because she wants to “protect him”. From what? With all this other stuff, I’m just gonna have to assume his emotional response to the truth. We can't forget the nightmare where Marinette is scared Adrien will be upset at her for beating his dad. Because he can't be Marinette's perfect RealDoll reward if he's justifiably hurt or, god forbid, not 100% pleased with her.

It's about the abuse apologia, because most of the shittiest things about the retool come down to the abuse apologia.

[thewertsearch]

Ask Comp 01/07

Anonymous asked:i think youre the first liveblogger ive seen to actually remember that orphaner dualscar was eridan’s flarping name?

Mindfang clearly describes the Serkets, so I wonder if Dualscar says anything about the Amporas?

Eridan's greatest enemy does have a duality theme, after all - and he was certainly scarred when the guy stole his crush >:)

@captorations asked:i have terrible news regarding homestuck and the good place: https://x.com/nbcthegoodplace/status/1039908767763259392?lang=en not to mention that. well. the two share more than you've encountered yet. it's very likely not a coincidence. have fun! oh and. re: my ongoing campaign of pointing out the homestuck ancestry of tlt characters. please compare aradia's "i am very much alive and i intend to stay that way" with dulcinea's "i'm not in the river and i won't ever be again"

...oh my god.

On reflection, this makes a lot of sense. Homestuck's fandom is pretty large, and some of its members were bound to be involved in the production of mainstream media. Still, it's wild to see a Homestuck reference - or, technically, a Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff reference - on the official Twitter for a show this big.

And Aradia does have a lot in common with Dulcinea, doesn't she? For one thing, they didn't really start influencing the plot until after they died.

Anonymous asked: Not really important anymore, but looking at what Gamzee has in his Strife Deck, it doesn’t look like he has any ranged options: he’s got the bowling pins, what appear to be a discarded sickle and lance from Karkat and Tavros respectively, what I’m PRETTY SURE is a whip of some sort, and the Zillyhoo hammer. The closest to a ranged weapon in that stack is the whip, or maybe the pins if he’s willing to throw them, but neither seem like they’d work very well against Vriska. Barring some secret power or other plot twist, I think Gamzee would genuinely be the underdog in that matchup. (Which feels weird, because Gamzee’s been mutating into a slasher villain while Vriska’s still very much an antihero protagonist. Usually the power balance is the other way around with those archetypes!)

On the face of it, Gamzee didn't seem to have great odds in that fight - but it's hard to know for sure with this pesky Bard. His Strife Deck contains plenty of cards we haven't seen, and whatever he did to the Black King is still shrouded in mystery. Everything's just so uncertain with him.

@mimescantscream asked: I've really been holding back all this time, but now that we've met the Grand-highblood, it really is extra painful to see a Gamzee who was once incredibly loving of his friends (despite their constant ridicule) end up falling down the path that fate seems to have pre-ordained for him. Was he truly always meant to repeat echoes of the past? Could things ever have gone differently for him?

Yeah, I've been having similar thoughts. His PoV seemed completely sincere, so I don't think his original personality was a fabrication, or anything. I think there is a part of Gamzee that cares about his friends - and maybe even he wants it back.

@jade-harley-real asked: […] I want a rant on the bad doctor from you pls pls pls

Scratch is straight up the scariest character in Homestuck.

What's he up to now? Hard to say since we're not telling him what to do. Guardians can never be told what to do.

The aura of menace he's cultivated is incredible, especially considering he barely even moves. He's playing the entire cast like a fiddle, armed with nothing but a typewriter and his own supercharged brain - and there's no doubt in my mind that his confidence isn't a mask. He knows he's going to win in the end.

English is coming. He's basically already here.

@elkian asked: I'll probably never be a Vriska FAN, but I gotta admit, she really never had a chance, what with the only adults in her life being: a trollvorous spider 1 missed meal away from eating her, Marquise "I do what I want" Mindfang, and Doc Scratch. Some role models! @manorinthewoods asked: So, now that Mindfang has been revealed, here's a question for you: how much of Vriska's Vriskyness is because she's Vriska, how much is because of Mindfang, how much is because of her lusus, and how much is because of Alternia in general? ~LOSS (20/6/24)

This is why I don't think she'd be like this on Earth. At this point, it's obvious that none of her Incidents were the result of her personality as it naturally arose.

I mean, look how anti-Aradiacide she was! They weren't even really friends!

Anonymous asked: ‘AA: there are all sorts of friends to meet AA: ones you already know and ones you dont’ I mean…couldn’t she just be referring to various doomed selves? I don’t see why the dream bubbles would just be confined to the alpha timeline seeing as the furthest ring is weird in terms of time and space

I was assuming that only Alpha Timeline deaths would be preserved by the Bubbles, but you're right - I'm not sure that was a reasonable assumption.

The Horrorterrors seem to eschew the concept of the Alpha Timeline. and, they've coordinated with both Doomed and Alpha versions of Rose and Dave. Plus, yeah, there is no time in the Ring, so timelines are probably meaningless there. Why would it only interface with the Alpha?

If the Bubbles do preserve doomed souls, then we might also run into the John who died to Typheus, and the Jade he couldn't save. That's a pair of ghosts I'd be very interested to meet.

Anonymous asked: If every Aradia comes back from every doomed timeline, the number would double each time, so you could get over a thousand of her with only ten doomed timelines.

Fair point- although, if an already doomed Aradia went back in time again, she'd be double doomed. Is that even possible? Would she die twice as quickly?

@mhafanlol2000 asked: Your issues with quirks and speech-to-text are pretty simple to explain. If a troll were to speak into a non-modified speech-to-text program, it would output text with their quirk. Because they, quite literally, speak in their quirk. Terezi probably isnt actually saying “YOU H4V3 LOST TH3 G4M3”, each number at a time, but the vibes are definitely there. I don’t know, this is hard to describe if you don’t inherently get it.

I think, jokes aside, it is indeed about the vibes.

In the troll intro pages, you get told a little about how each troll talks, and I think that's how we're supposed to translate their quirks to an audible medium.

Anonymous asked: i think ppl in the fandom have over time kinda built up a like, generally separate understanding of quadrants from how theyre described in the "official" explanation. which is like, not representative of how these terms are used in homestuck, but probably more useful for describing Good relationships that Do Not Suck. like basically making moirails equivalent to being queer platonic partners, making blackrom more about having a healthy fun rivalry, that kinda stuff.

It's funny, actually - I don't think I've encountered a single asker who accepts the quadrants as they're originally described.

The main issue is that, with the possible exception of matespritship, we haven't seen a single troll relationship with reflects the infodump's explanation of the quadrants. I think Hussie might just have jumped the gun a little when dropping it.

Anonymous asked: Shoutout to Karkat poking his friends in the background! Terezi (crying over Dave) and now Soloux (talking to Terezi). Karkat isn’t sure what the right response is but wants to be included! Reminds me of actual cats, just putting a paw on you for no discernible reason. @manorinthewoods asked: I'd like to note that Karkat poking Terezi's tears is the same sprite (and same 'poooke'!) as Karkat poking Sollux's burnt-out eyesockets. ~LOSS (12/6/24)

My man just likes poking.

@alicesoinions asked: not much to say just wanted to say I really enjoy your liveblog!!

Glad you're enjoying!

I've actually got a few new followers recently. Maybe I'm showing up in people's recommendations?

@heliotropopause asked: Dream bubbles are pretty neat, eh? Neat enough to inspire half of HtN, I'd bet.

…wait.

Oh my god, you're right. It's literally a River Bubble. They're both located in afterlives, for crying out loud!

Anonymous asked: Wanted to thank your liveblog for reminding me of a lot that I had flat out missed in canon, due to not putting it together or just reading too quickly. Most recently and notably on my mind right now, is that Feferi is the one who set up the dreambubbles!!! I had always thought that they were just a part of the world that readers didn’t know about yet, like how we weren’t yet introduced to Alternia and it’s moons until act 5. This went right over my head and it has me absolutely REELING (fishing pun included just for fef!!)

Feferi truly is the MVP.

I wonder what happened to dead Players before the Bubbles?

They're certainly not the only type of afterlife in the multiverse. Alternia has at least two types of undead, which implies that the Players are very, very lucky to have retained their personhood postmortem. Imagine this was what Feferi looked like in Jade's dream.

Anonymous asked: Knowing sollux, he probably already had coded his tech to recognize if his speech ever changed, and gave himself a different typing quirk for it, long ago. Not because he knew or thought it would happen, but because he thought it would be a fun coding project ((I know nothing about coding))

And yet, you somehow know exactly how we think.

Anonymous asked: Something I hadn’t really thought about, until I started reading this liveblog, is how much VRISKA ((autocorrect decided to caps that and I’m leaving it in lol)) was manipul8ted into a lot of her violence. Scratch pushed her towards vengeance against Aradia, and she didn’t want to go through with it. Did VRISKA ever tell anyone how much of her live she spent resisting these forces, or even really acknowledge it? She didn’t hide Spidermom, and arguably her need to kill other trolls was to prevent herself from being killed. BUT on the other hand, VRISKA voice would make it sound like a compliment “I almost didn’t kill you why don’t you appreciate me!!!!!!!!”

The thing is, VRISKA probably felt a lot of social pressure not to tell people she was coerced into her crimes. That would reveal that she was reluctant to kill, which is the opposite of what the Empire wants.

@manorinthewoods asked: You could have written a great Homestuck if you'd been Hussie. I think your style, if translated from reacting-to-comic to making-comic, would work great with what Homestuck is, and could have made a better product. I think you'd make a cerebral Homestuck, which would have been cool to read, except I would have botched reading it like I botched reading Homestuck in our Alpha Timeline. ~LOSS (11/6/24)

Thank you! I've tried to write before, actually, but whenever I reread my stories, they come off as esoteric, stilted and a little hard to follow. It's not an insurmountable problem, of course, and I really need to take a writing workshop at some point.

I'd love to make a webcomic, too, but my art also leaves a lot to be desired. I can adapt sprites just fine, but original drawings are hard, guys. Did anyone else know about this?

Anonymous asked: i counted just now, and only like 24 out of all 54 paradox space comics have zero spoilers. some of them are certainly more substantial than others (e.g. i counted ones that include jade’s consorts that you havent seen yet as spoilers) but a lot of them have Very Big Spoilers

It would have been awfully messy. I'm probably just going to read it once I've reached the Gigapause of 2013, and no longer need to worry about spoilers.

@bladekindeyewear asked: “Nepeta wasn't trying to pacify Equius, nor did she seem to be fulfilling any rigidly defined 'role' in his life. They just came off as very good friends, and their relationship was much better for it.” Well, maybe we ought to look at it through the lens of real relationships between friends? Once a healthy dynamic and boundaries are established, perhaps Moirails stabilize as long as they’re together.

That's a good way to interpret moirallegence - although, it does raise an issue with the quadrant that I'll be discussing on its own post, once I've finished the comp. There's no point in prehashing what I'm about to say, so I'll see you there!

Anonymous asked: karkats message didn't go through because of trollians narrative awareness feature, where it'll display something different in service of one of the several "all"-seeing entities, of which the reader is one <3 watsonian and doylist explanations are kissing with tongue

Since the fourth wall is an actual, physical piece of technology in this world, this isn't even that far-fetched!

@sashonya asked: So, as the session's timers continues to count down, what do you think will happen after The Scratch?

Beyond 'the session ends', it's difficult to say for sure. I think the two most likely possibilities are that the kids start exploring other sessions, or travel to a location completely outside the current scope of the comic. I am, of course, hoping for both.

@ericvilas asked: "I still believe that out of all the trolls, Karkat’s traits were featured the most prominently in humanity" yeah, I guess even humans aren't free from the effects of carcinization

CG: THERE IS ONLY ONE STEP. CG: AND IT IS ME.

[riding-with-caryl]

I wasn't sure I was going to make this post because I know others have made posts around this topic before. But after sitting with it and giving it some thought, I do feel that I want to go ahead and make it so I can add a perspective that I believe is worth sharing.

This is not about telling others how to feel or trying to control the fandom. I have zero interest in doing that. Feel what you feel, be that positive or negative. Your feelings are valid. It is about asking people to consider not projecting those feelings onto Melissa, painting your feelings as hers, victimising her, and declaring what is best for Melissa.

Melissa is a grown, middle-aged professional, business-savvy woman. She is not some shy, ineffectual, unable to make herself heard or have her voice listened to wallflower.

Melissa herself has clearly expressed and made clear on multiple occasions this year how happy she is. How excited she is about this spinoff, both season 2 and their plans going into season 3. She has talked about the way she and Zabel have worked together from very early on regarding Carol's story, and it is crystal clear from what she said that Mel has played a significant role in her story. She and Norman have played a significant role in their shared stories and the direction of this spinoff. That will include whether canon happens or not. Watch Mel, listen to her. She seems extremely comfortable and relaxed with David Zabel. You don't need to be a body language expert to pick that up because she makes it clear and obvious.

Now, some fans may not like David Zabel. That's your prerogative. Some fans may not like the decisions made when the spinoff airs and the direction it takes. Again, that is a personal thing that only we can decide for ourselves on an individual basis. Our opinions on those things, however different they may be, are all valid. But I believe it's really, really important that we express those feelings as being our own and not project them onto Melissa.

What I've seen a lot from fans these past few years is an expression of wanting Mel to be listened to, to have a voice & be able to express that voice. To not have others speaking for her. We all love Mel and care about her. I know I do, and I believe everyone who is so vocal about those things love and care about her, too. Why else would they try and fight so hard for her?

But here's the thing. (And this is why I feel so strongly about it and feel the need to make this post.) By projecting our own feelings onto Mel, by speaking for her, by saying what needs to happen for things to be best for her, to say the type of showrunner they need to hire to be the right showrunner for Mel, to even presume to know what Mel wants for Carol and Caryl and express that assumption as being her wishes is doing the exact same thing we claim to hate/be against. Namely, taking away Mel's agency by not listening to Mel's voice when she tells us how happy and excited she is about this spinoff, Carol's story, Caryl's story and the general direction it's headed. Not hearing the pure joy whenever she talks, including regarding Zabel. Dismissing & invalidating what she says by claiming she has to say that for whatever reason, claiming that she doesn't really feel that way and then presenting something that Mel didn't say or imply and stating that is what she *really* feels.

Now, I wasn't in TWD fandom in the early seasons. As is normal for me, much to my son's annoyance, I was very late to TWD party. But I have been in the Twitter fandom for several years at this point. My point I'm getting to with this is that I didn't witness in real time Melissa's happiness & demeanor in those early seasons. So I can only speak to the later seasons. But I haven't EVER seen Melissa as happy and excited and just so full of joy as she seems to be now from everything we've seen of her since she came back. I've not seen her appear to be as outwardly comfortable with a showrunner as she seems to be with Zabel, comparing like for like in the public arena of panels and interviews. Obviously, I didn't get to see how she was with Frank Darabont, although I am aware of her pre-TWD working relationship with him on The Mist.

I'm going to end here, but I just want to repeat that this is not in any way me trying to tell people what to think and feel or saying people shouldn't express their concerns and worries. There needs to be space for everyone to be able to do that if they want to. It's simply me expressing and explaining why I think we should be mindful of not projecting our feelings and concerns onto Mel and hopefully giving some food for thought about it. I know I can't force people to stop doing it, that I can only share my opinion, make my case for not doing it, and ask people to consider it, and that is what I am doing with this post.

[funarisjournal]

It has arrived!! PART 2!!

Oh would you look at that...it's absolutely gorgeous. And it's mine~...er, ahem! So! Yes, you are looking at the cover to the Season 2 DVD set of "She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat." I actually got it a day early, alongside other pre-orderers...which is amazing because I'm in the Northeast US and most everyone else who has pre-ordered this is probably only in Japan. That's some amazing shipping power, hot dang!

Anyway, below you will find more photos and me gushing about this firsthand~ [for my S1 post, check here]

The power of fandom knows no bounds, sometimes....The only reason this DVD came to be was thanks to the vocal Japanese fanbase begging all the NHK channels to release it on home media after the show ended back in February. They filled out surveys, they would answer the little engagement posts on Twitter and the like. And bam. Suddenly, in August, this just kinda gets announced out of nowhere! That was when I looked into proxy shipping with CDJapan (I definitely recommend them if they can ship to your country!). I have had this pre-ordered since SEPTEMBER. It has been a long, eager wait.

This one has 3 discs (I love the 2nd disc's photo lmao). After all, S2 was 20 episodes long. Needs more room! But this also has a few more extras than last time, video-wise. The booklet is simpler in comparison, but I did appreciate an actual relationship chart with the whole season's cast featured on it (and I mean whole cast. It even has Fujita's coworkers and the folks that Nomoto and Sayama were working with). That one I will attempt to translate for you all, just like I did with that Yuri Yamada foreword in the S1 set.

The other noteworthy thing from the booklet is just the art that's featured in it. I mean the actual photos and art pieces, not just screencaps. The cover alone? A pretty mash-up on that two-photo set from the promo poster shoot. The first page features some art from Yuzaki-sensei. It's some regular illustrations as well as the announcement illustration made that a S2 was happening. Gotta love the pancake motif~

And then I was floored by the end of the booklet. The same photo is used on the back of the DVD, yes, but let me tell you, it looks REALLY AMAZING as a standalone. I mean, look that that. It's so warm, almost ethereal, the two women looking forward into a brighter future, together!

I should totally also scan that when I scan the relationship chart as well. You all deserve this.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to finish a Good Couples Day illustration and then proceed to enjoy the three different extras featured in this set (a 5-min PR vid, the one 10-min special with Higa, Nishino, and Fujiyoshi, and I guess some social media ads? Something like that, anyway~)

[nalyra-dreaming]

Not to drag you into Twitter drama, but I need a trusted person to tell me the truth. There was an argument on Twitter where someone said that Lestat only fell for Louis because he reminded him of Nicki. They said that Lestat would still be with Nicki if he didn't die and even after Nickistat broke up, Lestat would eventually have left Louis to return to Nicki in time. A different person said that this person would have a rude awakening when Lestat says “I didn't love [Nicki] anymore” like he did in the books. Would Lestat really have left Louis to return to Nicki if he lived in your opinion and did Lestat really say he no longer loved Nicki in the book or are all these people making things up or interpreting things incorrectly? I know you have spoken on Nicki frequently but I don't remember these two particular subjects coming up and I never know what to believe in this fandom so I want to hear a person who is honest and has book knowledge to support their opinions. I love your blog btw.

Glad you like dear!

Oh yes, I have talked about Nicolas before, and I'm pretty sure some of the same people stirring the drama now came to me before as well, for example in this post, which actually addresses a lot of the first questions/statement:

As per the love... that's a bit more difficult. I do touch on it in the post above, too, in the reblog.

Mhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, Lestat does not plainly state he does not love Nicki anymore. And I don't think he ever would, either, because he did love Nicolas.

What he says is this (while dancing with Louis(!):

“I saw something, something in your eyes.” “Just thought of a boy I once loved a long time ago.” “Nicolas,” he said. “Yes, Nicolas,” I answered. “Seemed all the little victories of life and life after death were so hard for him, happiness was so hard for him...joy was an agony I think, but I don’t want to think of it now.” “Some of us are infinitely better at being miserable than happy,” he said gently. “We’re good at it, and proud of it, and we get better and better at it, and we simply don’t know what it means to be happy.”

Now, I know, it can be interpreted the way that "once loved" means "does not anymore"... but Lestat does not work like this. And the fact that this is the last scene in the last book, and comes up between Louis and Lestat also hints at the importance. It is important because Louis... managed what Nicolas did not, namely overcome the darkness, managed to accept and reach happiness. And Lestat loving Louis then, "now", does not diminish that he once loved Nicolas, too. And it is important because Lestat talks about Nicolas to Louis, about his past and the love they shared. And the fact that he also adds that he "does not want to think of it now" also makes clear he does think of Nicolas at times.

I think the statement only means that he did, indeed, love Nicolas back then.

And then moved on.

It's complicated. Nicolas' and Lestat's relationship had started to deteriorate before Lestat left him, and was actually broken, and when Lestat left he thought Nicolas safe with Armand.

Him not having been so and him dying at / under Armand's hands then left that wound ever festering.

For that, too, that statement above more rings of reached closure to me than an actual dismissal or finality of emotion.

[narujenreacts]

Will Murder Drones get a Season 2?

Alrighty. So, after GLITCH's post yesterday of Digital Circus that also mentioned "We're also working hard on Murder Drones & will be releasing final episodes soon!", which sent a lot of the fandom (including yours truly) into a panic that this meant these are the final episodes for the SERIES and not the 1st season. However, that felt off to me since GLITCH has been promoting MD as Season 1 and not a short series, which, if it had always intended to be only 8 episodes, it would've been. That's just how it goes in the industry for online series. And I believe GLITCH wouldn't make that kind of mistake in marketing. It'd be different too if it was only promoted as Season 1 for the teaser, but it's been that way up until that Digital Circus post. Hell, here are some of the things Kevin and Liam said during GlitchX:

"I remember when we were coming up with the, uh, this is like way before when, you know, Murder Drones was really, like we were really going for a smaller, smaller show-" - Kevin

"The whole oil thing that was getting set up in the pilot, that was gonna be like a MASSIVE sort of plot thread throughout the season." - Kevin

"Because in terms of importance to kind of where I want the story to go, it just ended up being less relevant." - Liam

"We, um, did the opposite of that. I think the series as it progressed, which I think is - it is intentional, I would say. We have gone from, I think, supremely silly to supremely kind of self-serious." - Liam

"There's so many dog easter eggs if you go and watch through the entire season." - Kevin

"We are announcing the finale of the season." - Kevin

With everything they said, none of it sounds like Murder Drones was intended to be a single season series. Now, this leaves two questions myself and I'm sure some of you have, "Why haven't they announced a S2 yet then and why are they barely posting MD?" I decided to enter analyzation mode and went digging through GLITCH's Twitter and YouTube. What I found was that this isn't GLITCH's first time handling their series like this.

Meta Runner Season 1 (Animated Movie Cut) was released on Aug 28, 2020 and in the description Season 2 was immediately announced since they already had it done.

Meta Runner Season 2 - EP 1: Hard Reset released Oct 16, 2020. The final episode for S2, "EP 10: Fatal Error" was released Dec 18, 2020 and there was no mention of the 3rd and final season.

Want to know when they announced it? Not until Nov 29, 2021. Over a YEAR later.

And before that they barely posted anything of MR. At first it was Sunset Paradise, and then once that series was about to conclude they started posting about MD. A lot. Way more than they have for DC. And when they announced S3 for MR they didn't even mention it was the series finale! That wasn't announced until May 6, 2022, 6 months after S3 was even announced.

However, once they did they made it VERY clear it was the final season. 99% of their posts of MR after that mentioned it was the final season.

So, to conclude my thoughts. I don't think we should be worried. I wouldn't suggest getting our hopes up TOO high, because despite GLITCH handling MD the same way they did MR, there's always the chance MD doesn't get a second season. That way we're not deeply disappointed if it doesn't, but after looking into it I personally feel a lot more confident MD will get a S2. Just be prepared that if GLITCH doesn't say anything, it could be up to a year before they do, but if MR fans could hold out for as long as they did, we can too. Don't forget either GLITCH isn't only working on the first season of DC. They're also working on the pilot for Gaslight District.

[hms-no-fun]

I know you said you're cautiously optimistic about HS2, but the newest blog post has me kinda worried. The talk of "fixing the fans broken trust" and how even the new writers don't like a lot of story decisions that were made by the old team seem really off to me, like it's throwing the old team under the bus. I want to expect good things from HS2 but when the people working on it don't seem to like the story as it stands right now it really just seems like they might bend over backwards to appease the shitty side of the fandom. What do you think about this whole thing?

this is in reference to the october 30th 2023 news update on the hs:bc website. i give the date because the news posts don't seem to have individual links atm, so if you're reading this in the future you might have to scroll back.

to your worry that the new team might bend over backwards to appease the shitty side of the fandom, i wrote at length in my prior hs:bc post about why i don't think that's gonna be a problem. i'd also caution against reading too much into what james says about the attitude of the hs:bc team at large, for reasons that should be apparent by the end of this post.

i think it's perfectly reasonable to take a diplomatic position towards a fandom that is historically very hostile to this continuation. a lot of people haven't read the epilogues/hs2 and hate on them anyway because of what they've been told they contain, and refuse to question those received opinions on principle. many who did read them seem to have been inattentive or otherwise needlessly aggressive, sometimes owing to a baffling refusal to accept the premise of postcanon. plenty of others maybe just need a reason to think that homestuck is for them again. for this project to succeed, the fandom at large needs to be given a reason to revisit the epilogues/hs2 from a position of safety and critical distance. i have my own barbed opinions about this state of affairs, but it is what it is.

i understand and to an extent share your misgivings over that Q&A post, but it simply is not james roach's job to relitigate the conduct of the hs2 team. to even broach the subject in more than a general sense would constitute the opening of a massive can of worms, because the truth is muddy. mistakes were made on all sides, some worse than others, and to really contextualize where the hs2 team were coming from you'd need to explain the history of the hs fandom, the leadership of the reddit/discord, the overall tenor of twitter post-2016 and especially leading into/during 2020, the history of pgen and the homestuck renaissance, the lack of PR training or oversight or guidance from anyone at WP, the history of audience hostility in homestuck, and on, and on. for what it's worth, i think that context is essential-- but i don't know that anyone working on this project ought to be the ones to tell it (nor do i think they want that responsibility), and a brief casual Q&A post as a halloween treat is certainly not the place to publish it.

and ultimately, none of that has much at all to do with hs:bc. they are not beholden to or responsible for the choices made by the hs2 team. they have been entrusted with the reins of this story, and with that trust comes their own admitted desire to take it in different directions than what was initially planned. the hs2 team did this to the outline andrew hussie gave them; it's only fair that the hs:bc team has the same leeway over the outline they inherited. acknowledging fault in prior leadership, admitting disagreement over past creative decisions, is an olive branch to a largely skeptical fandom. i bristle at some of this because the hs2 team were my friends and i'm very protective of their work and that moment in history, but that isn't james roach's (nor the hs:bc team's) cross to bear. his choice, as the new public face of homestuck, is to move forward rather than linger on the past. it's good that he's burying the hatchet, frankly. i'm sick of that fucking thing.

love it or hate it, agree or disagree, the hs:bc crew has to exercise diplomacy right now. they've reopened the patreon and want to sustain this project for the foreseeable future, ideally without subjecting the workers to intensely traumatic levels of scrutiny and harassment. this involves clearing up miscommunications, admitting fault, gesturing at shared disagreements over story direction, and otherwise putting on a friendly face for strangers. and let's be clear, i know for a fact that plenty on the original hs2 team had a panoply of disagreements with the choices made in the epilogues! the operative condition here is not unquestioning devotion to / hatred of prior material, but a willingness to build upon that prior material constructively regardless. that's what matters most to me, and i have every reason to believe they're taking the constructive route.

i'll end this saying what i've been saying from the start. the measure of this project's success or failure should be taken in the work itself. if james roach blanket dismissed the prior team, but hs:bc constructively evolved in a way that didn't invalidate or undercut prior material, i'd still consider us oldschool hs2 fans the winners. i wouldn't be HAPPY about it, but the art is what we're all here for, and it's the art that people will remember. i think often about how the showrunners of the tv series LOST insisted from day one until the very end that everything in the show had a scientific explanation, despite the fact that they *always knew* this was a bald-faced lie. they told this lie because ABC did not want to fund a fantasy show and would've canceled it otherwise. some fans to this day decry the lack of scientific explanations in the text of the show, even when you point out that the promise of such explanations was false from the start.

point is, there are material realities to leading a creative enterprise. james roach has put himself in a genuinely dangerous and scary position, a fact that's easy to forget with how casual and welcoming his posts have been thus far. but this is perhaps the single most mismanaged property of the internet age, and there's no walking that back without stepping on some toes. over-correction is expected and probably necessary. if it ruffles your feathers, that's fine-- but let the work speak for itself, and judge it on its own merits. all this other stuff is ancillary and will inevitably fade into the distant fog of time.

[scrumptiousstuffs]

This is my first time sending an ask and I promise it will be the last one of this kind. I just want to say that I've read all the other asks and the responses to them, and for me the thing is that people can't bring up First without including Khaotung somehow. But Khaotung gets brought up and talked about on his own or relation to people not First all the time. When his friends do lives he's the one the fans always ask about. And on the few occasions where First is brought up alone people tend to ignore it. It's just how it is. It's cold hard numbers - look how much engagement posts about Khaotung alone or with others get compared to the ones about First alone or with others. And a crowd full of fans screaming when Khaotung asked if they like First isn't really the same thing. What are they going to do, remain silent? I don't think anyone is that rude. But their SM engagement speaks a lot. I can point to several times when someone has started talking about First and the discussion has almost immediately swerved to Khaotung and how amazing he is. I can't do the same the other way. Now I am only on tumblr so maybe it's different elsewhere. I wouldn't know. I do know that Twitter was particularly nasty about First during OF though. Not Sand. First. And there's nothing to be done about it. People are going to like who they like regardless. Maybe the tide will turn at some point, I doubt it, but maybe. But I can't say I don't understand the frustration that is boiling over when I am in the First tag and see more of/know more about what *Khaotung* is doing. It just seems really obvious to me that there's a clear, strong bias. And it's not just the fandom - I can't tell you how many BTS clips I've watched that are all about how amazing Khaotung is, yet First is rarely praised. And I'm not saying Khaotung isn't good. He is. I'm just saying so is First. But the fact that I feel like I can't say First deserves more recognition without someone thinking that I am slagging Khaotung off is also part of the problem, because I have the strong impression that it wouldn't be the same in reverse.

I do think people will stop complaining about it soon, if it helps. It's just letting off a bit of steam in a way that doesn't get them labeled as an anti Khaotung blog. Eventually they'll either move on or accept, and your inbox will be back to being mostly cheerful. And I do want to say that I appreciate reading your answers to them. It must be frustrating to keep getting them when you don't see things that way, and I imagine it feels like an attack of sorts. I don't think it is. Or at least I hope not. You seem lovely and like way more patient a person than I could ever be. Thank you for lending an ear.

Well anons, then you (and I) know what to do. We should all keep hyping First up as well.

I still stand by what I say - I don’t think the majority of the fandom is Khaotung-focus. And what I have seen interviews from directors, they all seem to love FK equally.

But rather than honing on these facts, in the wisdom of my mutual @fadeawayaway - we should keep talking about how great First is as well.

Write those analysis that you want about his acting! I personally still read analysis of his roles in Not Me/TE/MLC/ OF even after these series have finished. I can guarantee you, there will be people like me who wants to read about it. And with hopefully THK bringing in new fans, them engaging about Kant/First when they read your analysis or thoughts about his other characters will put more positive focus on him as well.

Tweet about how you think his acting abilities and his performance against his co-stars (and not just Khaotung), cause I am very very looking forward to his interactions with Babe, Style and Fadel!

I am looking forward to everyone thoughts about Kant when THK comes out (and you will see me become insufferable by retweeting every single gifs and analysis of all four boys).

Hype his singing abilities (he worked hard on this! And it definitely has paid off with the recent meets/concerts). He is a great entertainer on stage and while I jest about his dancing ability (to be fair, I don’t think his bestie is that great either), I have always thought both boys as charasmatic - and I mentioned previously in a different asks, I am always captivated when they are on stage cause they just look so joyful when they performed.

Talk about his host capability and bring attention to it on Twitter - keep his engagement up. So that gmmtv and more fans are aware of his beautiful personality and eloquence when he speaks (because he certainly is! Out of the boys, First is definitely the more natural host and the way he can make guests/the host relax - top notch 🙌)

[nekoannie-chan]

The book of the dead

The book of the dead

Work Name/Title: The book of the dead.

Author/Artist/Creator: Annie/Nekoannie-chan/SharlotteMayfair

Fandom: Marvel, Fantastic Four.

Ship: Johnny Storm X Reader.

Tags: Halloween Horror Bingo 2024

HHB2024

Any personal tags: Book of the dead, probably end of the world.

A/N: This is my entry to @halloweenhorrorbingo.

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate my work myself) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. Please let me know if you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield”agent78 @charmed”asylum @pandaxnienke @real”fbi @Smokeandnailz @white”wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire”rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia”rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails”club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard @rogersbarber

The day had started like any other, with Johnny Storm, mocking you as usual.

“Come on, you know all that stuff is nonsense,” he said as he fiddled with a fireball in his hand.

“Johnny, do you really believe that after facing beings from other dimensions and realities, there is nothing beyond what you can see? “You replied, folding your arms.

“It's not that I don't believe in weird stuff, you know I've seen it all,” he said, extinguishing the small flame with a wave of his hand. I'm just saying that cursed books and stuff like that sound like the plot of a bad horror movie.

However, everything changed when Reed Richards led a mission. He had detected a disturbance at an archaeological dig in Egypt. Reed asked you to accompany Johnny to investigate, and although Johnny initially protested, he finally agreed.

As we flew over the dunes, Johnny kept making jokes about finding a cursed mummy or being haunted by some ancient spirit.

“Just make sure you don't light up near the relics, Johnny,” I said with a sarcastic grin. We don't want you reducing something millennia old to ashes.

“Relax, I always have everything under control,” he replied, leaning back in his seat.

Although Johnny took everything lightly, you knew that these kinds of artifacts were not to be underestimated.

The Egyptian sun beat down hard, and Johnny complained about the heat, which was ironic considering he himself could turn into a ball of fire whenever he wanted.

The head of the dig greeted them enthusiastically, showing us the latest finds: a series of subway tunnels that ran deep into the earth. The archaeologists had found hieroglyphs that mentioned an ancient sacred text, and Reed believed it might be connected to the Book of the Dead.

“This place is incredible,” you said as we walked through the tunnels. The texts tell of a pharaoh who tried to conquer death. The book we're looking for could be related to those rituals.

Johnny rolled his eyes.

“Sure, because nothing says 'fun' like a pharaoh obsessed with immortality.

As we moved deeper into the ruins, the walls were covered with symbols you didn't recognize, but which radiated a dark energy. Johnny, who up to that point had been making sarcastic comments, began to get more serious.

“Hey, don't you feel like the air is getting... weird in here? “he asked.

You nodded, feeling how the temperature seemed to drop strangely, despite the heat outside.

Finally, they came to a hidden chamber. In the center of the room, on a stone pedestal, was a book, the covers of which were made of what appeared to be ancient leather, and on them were drawn intricate symbols that seemed to move in the dim light of our lanterns.

“That must be the Book of the Dead,” you whispered.

Johnny approached slowly, inspecting the book with a raised eyebrow.

“It doesn't look so scary,” he said, reaching out to touch it.

“Wait! “We don't know what could be triggered if you touch it carelessly.

“Okay, I'll let you handle it. But if anything goes wrong, I'll light up and we'll get the hell out of here.

You nodded and pulled out a pair of special gloves Reed had designed for handling mystical artefacts. Carefully, you lifted the book from the pedestal. As soon as you did, the air in the chamber seemed to thicken, and a faint whisper filled the space.

“I think we woke him up,” Johnny murmured.

Before he could respond, the walls of the chamber began to shake. The symbols glowed with an intense light, and an icy wind, impossible in that place, rose up around you. Then, you saw it. A spectre, a figure shrouded in shadows, materialized in front of you. Its voice echoed in your head.

[gracefullou]

No need to publish but since you mentioned the disturbing amount of likes F stuff gets--I've now seen SO MANY video compilations of him in Louis' tags and the worst part is having been around for years I know that half the pics are either not F or not even Louis 😬 I see no difference between these "fans" and the ones that relate everything to H. It's depressing that his team isn't interested in fostering a fan base outside of the loonies.

It's really disturbing to see the obsession ngl. And it's not only fans. Just a few days ago, i saw a PEOPLE's article about Freddie's recent pic and i'm like wtf? I don't know if they ever wrote ONE article about a louis music release but just randomly writing a whole ass article about a child? It's so so weird. And i hate larries and babygaters for igniting this obsession amongst fans. If babygaters didn't exist, i don't think we would have this amount of posts or even accounts that work as Freddie's ua. In one hand we have the freaks who allow themselves not only to believe but to fucking post their proofs how Freddie isn't Louis' son daily (just imagine someone coming to you and saying you're not your parents' son/ daughter and i won't believe it until i see your birth certificate. Like seriously who tf they think they are). I still don't know what they think they're achieving with that, even if you think he isn't his child, holding that against him and always threatening to boycott his projects if you see the kid (which never works btw 💀) and hating on a kid daily is just disgusting and (bc i know that's what they care about) frankly useless. No one with a working braincell will ever believe a single word from crazy people like larries (i came back to Twitter the last couple of days and they're honestly truly schizophrenic there's no other explanation to the utter and complete dissociation in their thinking). They don't even think on how it reflects on louis, to have them as fans. I can't tell you how many irl friends became fans of louis after fitf but were so so put off by larries, they chose to remain casual fans only. On the other hand, we have some fans who work a little too hard to prove larries wrong. They hold on too strong to Louis' heterosexuality and fatherhood as a got you moment for larries. Totally ignoring how weird it it to keep posting a child's face. PS: A lot of the likes for Freddie's posts come from hrries who cling to that (and Louis' Larry denials ) as proof that larry isn't real since their fav didn't really give them a firm denial to shut larries up. I think louis is too talented to have a fandom like this. I always thought that his discography is too good to be included in this circus. Someone like him should've had a carrer trajectory similar to some of the top actors'. Drama free, promote his projects when the time comes, charms everyone with his wit and sense of humor then disappears until the next masterpiece drops. Unfortunately, he was sabotaged for too long and his current team is so useless, non creative and non ambitious it really is depressing. Even the big side projects if you will (afhf, aotv, lfl...) were all louis' ideas and made reality out of sheer will and determination from him. I will never forget in the afhf documentary where HE was the one telling Matt that the festival will happen and the logistics will be figured out and insisting so that the lazy man gets on with it and does his job. Like you're his MANAGER and not only you have zero useful ideas to promote him but also act like you're doing him a huge favor (against your will just so you could shut him up) when he asks you to do something that is in reality your job. His label is also useless (no radio, no playlisting). Hoping LT3 will have a better promo cycle (i'm a clown i know) and some miracle happens so we can get rid of larries, they're so harmful to his career and replace them with new healthy normal fans

[fromtenthousandfeet]

Is the love and support for Jimin deep, but not wide? Did we succeed in growing his fanbase, or did we just get smarter? We were told to get Apple, which I did. I learned to properly stream Spotify and YouTube, which I do. I bought different versions of his album, which I don't need.

But what is the point of all these charts and wins and firsts? I'm not interested in a pissing contest with other K-pop groups, other BTS members, or Billie or Harry or Jade, or anyone else.

I would like to enjoy Jimin's music in the way I can enjoy the music of any other popular and successful artist. To walk into a store and hear Like Crazy playing. To turn on the car radio and start singing along to Who. Ah, serendipity!

Why is this too much to ask? Why won't they put him on the radio? How is he supposed to reach the GP if nobody hears him?

I'm tired of doing Hybe's work for them. I'm tired of enriching the pockets of these assholes only for them to mock and sneer at us. BTS is the cash cow, but so are we.

One line I haven't crossed: buying anything from a BTS store. Have never, will never.

And as for now, I will keep streaming--as pointless as it may feel--but I'm not buying any more albums. Enough. Basta!

Forgive my rant. I pretty much freaking worship Jimin, but I'm just so fed up with this Hybe/Geffen B.S.

Talk me down, please.

Hmm. Are you reading my mind?!?

I'm not sure if I'll be able to successfully talk you down, but I'll try.

First, let me start off by saying that I am in no way an expert on Korean culture and I'm basing what I'm about to say on watching an obscene amount of K-dramas (embarrassing but true) and newspaper articles I've read about the Korean educational system. Broad generalization - Koreans are obsessed with rankings to an extremely unhealthy degree.

BTS didn't just export K-pop to the rest of the world, they seemed to have exported the obsession with charts, superlatives, placements, accolades, accomplishments. I don't blame BTS per se, but more the fandom who have made it their life's work to make sure BTS always did well on music charts and music competitions. I see that it's both a labor of love and a means of expressing support to the group, but at what cost? And who really cares? All that stuff takes the focus away from supporting good music for good music's sake. And as long as the focus is on chart placement above all else, the general public will continue to view K-pop as fraudulent.

What's the point of literally billions of streams of songs that never make it to human ears? What's the point of albums sold that end up in landfills? And it's almost an insult to the artists who make the music. Can you imagine knowing your fans aren't even listening to your music, they just feel obligated to buy it, or worse, do it to compete with other K-pop acts. Yes, initially this effort was a way to bring attention to BTS outside of Korea when the industry ignored their existence, but at this point, the streaming culture and obsession with charts is a mental illness.

So who has the courage to say no more? What will it take to collectively agree that Jimin lovers will enjoy his music and his amazing performances and stop stressing themselves out over charts and awards? I don't know, but I do know that Jungkook's fake accomplishments are like fuel the fire in this situation. PJMs, wounded from the incessant gaslighting from the company and JJKs alike, aren't going to stop trying to prove reality anytime soon. Everyone needs therapy!

I do have a suggestion, though, and that is to focus all our efforts on getting radio for WHO. I think this is infinitely more important than mass streaming and buying. You are right that the Jimin fandom is deep, and while wide, it's not wide enough to accomplish what all the scolds on Twitter we do. There are a finite number of people who have both the will and means to stream incessantly. And the number of buyers will dry up. As my mother used to say, you can't get blood from a turnip.

Fans' money and labor is better spent getting the word out to the general public about Jimin's insane talent. He's met us half way with a song that appeals to the general pop music-consuming public. He's given us a compelling music video. It absolutely sucks that the onus to market him falls upon his fandom, but it is what it is. The powers that be at HYBE are definitely afraid of the success he would achieve with just the basic promo package.

Radio play means fans won't have to work so hard for charting and won't have to buy so much. But most of all, as more regular people recognize and compliment JImin's talents, the more confident PJMs will become. As it stands now, his fanbase is altogether too insecure. (Did none of you grow up with an older brother who teased you relentlessly? Was I the only one? Don't take the bait!)

So, what to do to get that garbage company to give Jimin radio? I hate that it already feels like we've lost too much momentum, but let's not give up. How many fans live in Los Angeles?! HYBE America's office is located at 2110 Colorado Ave STE 200, Santa Monica, CA 90404-3763. Any PJMs up for a little protest outside their office? Santa Monica is lovely. Maybe hit the beach afterwards? Trucks parked outside of HYBE headquarters? Tagging the songwriters and producers from WHO? Using shame and public humiliation seem to be the only tools in our toolkit. Twitter/X is pretty much useless these days.

Anon, I've been doing what you've been doing. I even bought from the BTS store, despite my better judgement. I agree with you, though. Enough is enough. Basta!

We are only two people, but change has to start somewhere. Let's encourage others to celebrate Jimin's artistry and accomplishments and stop playing the K-pop numbers game.

[maybeamiles]

Okay so something happened in the Honkai Star Rail community that really bothered me and I'm trying to put into words what makes me so upset about it.

So Hoyoverse recently hired a new voice actor named Chris Niosi to voice one of their new characters. He is no longer voicing this character. The reason he is no longer voicing this character is because a bunch of people found out that in 2019 Niosi released a shitty internet apology for being abusive to people in his personal life in response to callout posts on Twitter and Tumblr. During this time he also violated an NDA about a role he played in Fire Emblem 3 Houses, and was replaced with Zach Aguilar. He did not face any criminal charges for this behavior, but it is a thing that happened. Naturally people are upset about this and kept asking for him to be fired, and some VA's stood up for him claiming he'd changed, and fans began to lash out against them too. Niosi ended up resigning, and Hoyoverse will hire a new voice actor.

So far, it seems this controversy has not affected his work. Since 2019 he's played Reigen Arataka in Season 3 of Mob Psycho 100 and was an NPC in Genshin Impact.

Now I have a few problems with the community reaction to all this:

Problem number 1: I spent way too much time in the Dream SMP fandom, and have heard way too much bullshit about people being abusers in their personal lives to be ok with any of this. Like part of the reason Dream SMP was so awful is that every other week there would be a new post along the lines of "Dream is the Worst! Here are 7 Heavily Censored Screenshots To Prove Why!" This stuff instantly activates my "I don't like this" senses, I have a very bad reaction to these things.

Problem Number 2: He's a fucking actor. Just because he now has a bit of fame in the community doesn't mean he's somehow more worthy of criticism than he was before. Hell, he still has work in the industry. Just go look up his IMDB. The only reason it matters more in Star Rail is because a lot of the Hoyoverse VA's make extra money off of being Hoyoverse VA's, like how Dan Heng's VA gets the other Star Rail VA's together to do music covers. Even then, he's WORKED WITH HOYOVERSE BEFORE. THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IS THAT HE'S NOW VOICING A PLAYABLE CHARACTER INSTEAD OF AN NPC.

Problem number 3: Personally, I don't see what online abuse allegations from 2019 have to do with his role as a Voice Actor. Would working at McDonald's or in a less flashy job stop him from hurting people? No! Now, if I was hiring him, I would be nervous about that NDA violation, or that the abuse allegations might flare up into a PR disaster (like they ACTUALLY DID). I might not hire him for a major role. I might take concerns about his mistreatment of his colleagues more seriously. He might not be a Good Face for my company. But, at the end of the day, he is still a Guy Doing a Job, parasociality be dammned, and not doing This Job will not make anything better for the people he hurt.

(Also your (and my) favorite game has like, one not-pale dude in it and is made by a huge dev team that probably has shitty people in it just because that's what happens when you get a large enough group of people together but like heyyyyy let's all jump onto boogeyman of the week now shall we?)

(now, concerns about parasociality I do respect. Hoyoverse VA's are VERY parasocial, and tend to make a bit of extra money from fans by doing cool Hoyoverse VA things. But most people are like ABUSER = BAD AND GROSS and... ugh onto the next slide).

Problem number 4: ABUSER = BAD AND GROSS is a stupid black-and-white mindset and I think everyone who has this mindset should grow the fuck up. People can and do get better, I know people who have gotten better, people who it would be really fucked up of me to stop speaking to because of things I wasn't even alive for, when I don't even know the people who were hurt. People who have already had enough guilt and now need the space to live again. Hell, I've hurt people. You can't divide people into "good" and "bad" and you have to make room for change because if you do not you will hurt someone badly and that mindset will either break you with guilt or turn you into one of the "bad" people without even realizing it. (i reblogged earlier a comic about this exact phenomenon go read it)

At the end of the day I do think it was a good thing Niosi resigned because jesus fucking christ this was a PR disaster, and I would have hated to see him do something like Elliot Ghindi and use the parasociality of Hoyoverse fans to hurt more people (which is just a possibility, not something Niosi has actually done), but I don't think the internet Hate Mob was a good thing. I think bringing up someone's irrelevant personal details into their work life is a universally bad thing and even though he's a semi-public figure, nobody's private life should be exposed like that. There are court systems for a Fucking Reason and I know that they are flawed but also I genuinely believe that this whole internet tradition of making "callout posts" and stuff is incredibly toxic and abusive and I don't want it to keep happening in the fandoms I'm in.

[solarwynd]

Tbh I don't even care / dislike boycott armys. If you don't want to spend money on BTS because they haven't spoken about Palestine, that's your perogative. Because they're enlisted, that does make a difference for me - maybe others find it an excuse but as someone who doesn't live in a liberal western country myself, I know how things like this work in my country and how vulnerable you can be in this situation, so I don't know how it works in s korea but still I'm giving them some leeway. Also there's just this weird disconnect for me because on one side yeah they're millionaires with a huge platform, on the other side they're currently in the mfing army right now. It feels foul to start tweeting about their privilege from the comfort of my bed in my home - something they currently do not experience. That's just my opinion. Someone else might perceive them to have more power than I do and maybe they're right. I won't say mine is the only right way to think. Plus again it's your money - if you donate more and spend less on merch then that's still a net good imo.

But the whole tone of people remarking on this donation has been completely gross. The way they talk about a genocide the same way they talk about the stupid fanwars that happen on twt everyday rather than with the weight it deserves makes me feel like this is some performative bs. Tweets like the ones some armys and kpop stans make just degrades the whole movement.

If you do have genuine intentions and start making stupid tweets like that, you should really touch some grass, log off twitter and do some more actual activism offline instead of letting twitter brain worms consume you. Acting like everyone's misconstruing what you said and playing victim is also not the move. This is a serious topic so I'd expect tweets related to this to have some actual thought behind it instead of spewing some idiocy as a gotcha because again it looks like you're treating this whole issue like some fandom war and trying to one-up the other side. Click-clack my ass.

Armys always come at BTS crazy during times like this and it’s not because it’s “necessary” since you want them to speak up. It all just comes off as sanctimonious and BTS ruining the perception armys have built around them as stans of them being a bit more conscientious than other k groups. I’ve never had an issue with boycotting in theory it’s just that armys can’t stand behind shit or just go about it the wrong way.

Why is it the minute they don’t perform to your exact standards, all of a sudden they’re low down and evil?Why couldn’t y’all have used Jimin donating as a beacon to rally fans to open a pool or something? And I try not to go tit for tat on things like this, but it’s extremely hard not to when you see proof of all these armys happily buying and streaming golden from last year and have been the main ones making these posts about jimin’s donation.

Nothing has changed from that time to present day. Same with the kpop stans trying to join in on it stanning groups who haven’t said a word either. How do you expect me not to believe y’all don’t have ulterior motives by singling him or BTS out? Now all those accounts have deleted those tweets cause they’ve gotten called out on their hypocrisy and got caught up in how dumb they look getting Jimin dragged over something so harmless. Cause it’s not like he gave money to something inane or inconsequential. He’s helping underprivileged children. Just real dickheaded behavior from that person.

Now considering how a member has close ties with scooter, making a statement would come off as hypocritical. I know in the grander scheme of things, what’s needed and what’s important is the awareness and I’d take it as such. But denouncing Zionism with a Zionist so avidly in the mix still wouldn’t be a good look. Which is why I feel like donating would have been the better option. It’d be much more substantial helping out with funds/materials imo because those are things Palestinians desperately need. But I understand that it’s not on the table since they’re in the military.