#i'm looking over my answers and they've not changed in a DECADE.

[cobragardens]

CORRECTED & UPDATED Clothes + Equivocation = Romance: The Husbands in 1793 (Part 2)

From Part 1:

Crowley and Aziraphale share clothes as a common interest. They don't have the same style, but they're both aware of current fashions, and Heaven and Hell aren't. You can't tell me Hastur or Uriel would recognize the significance of Crowley saying "Dressed like that, he's asking for trouble" about someone else while wearing black stockings and cravat and waistcoat himself. And that means Anything the husbands communicate to each other through clothing choices goes undetected by their masters.

SO. With all this in mind, let's go through the 1793 scene again and look at what the husbands communicate to each other without using words or actions to do it, and how their clothing choices help them do that.

Hello. I'm here and I know you're in a spot of trouble. I like you.

It's you! I'm so happy you're here!

Sheen's voice and face when Aziraphale says Crowley's name in this moment makes me think that Aziraphale is in love with Crowley--the demon Crowley, not the angel who became Crowley--long before he consciously realizes it in 1941. The way Sheen has Aziraphale say Crowley's name is so soft.

The way you're he way you're lounging there and what you're wearing are uncomfortably sexy and also incredibly inappropriate for the Bastille at this moment in history. I suppose this is very on-brand for you.

Crowley: I listen when you talk about your interests and goals and keep track of your general whereabouts and pursuits.

Either they've spoken with each other recently or Crowley has been keeping tabs on Aziraphale. Aziraphale isn't upset that Crowley knows what he's been up to, which suggests the former, which in turn suggests they're in semi-regular (every few years or decades) contact at this point.

Also we've now got a general idea for when Aziraphale opens his bookshop.

Okay, brief tangent while I point out two things here.

One, my favorite thing about Aziraphale is that he is a sensualist. This is libertine behavior, y'all. He 'popped across the Channel' during the Reign of Terror because he wanted a specific carnal experience of a specific really lovely food.

And two, even when Aziraphale does weird, frivolous, silly, ill-advised things like this, things that clearly baffle Crowley...Crowley never makes fun of him. He never laughs at him. He always has this look of disbelief on his face, like Am I hearing this?--

--but Crowley never, not once, shuts Aziraphale down.

Until Aziraphale asks him to go back to Heaven.

Anyway. Back to our scene.

Aziraphale: I am unwilling to abandon my sartorial sensibilities even when it threatens my corporation, and I am insane, so I think this is reasonable. At least I'm not wearing a Slutty Monarchist outfit.

You're happy to see me, aren't you. You're relieved to see a demon. Go on, say it.

Tennant's delivery of this line cracks me up. It is so gloating and flirtatious and smarmy and indulgent of Aziraphale.

I am very happy to see you and lucky you're here, and I am willing to say so sincerely even though you are gloating about it.

And then there's the exchange where Crowley very carefully doesn't answer Aziraphale's question about why Crowley's in the area but also reassures him that he didn't cause the French Revolution and Aziraphale can still like him.

We can't speak openly about this. It's dangerous for me.

Message received: I won't mention what you did again. But I want to show my gratitude and spend time with you; is it safe for us to get lunch together?

Yes, but one of us is going to have to change so we can walk the streets of Paris without getting arrested again, and I'm the one doing the rescuing here so it's not going to be me. Your 'standards' will have to take the hit.

Fine, you've got me over a barrel. But hey, if I have to wear the silly hat anyway I might as well go all the way and wear your colors. Except not monarchist. And not slutty.

Oh, I don't know, I thought you looked pretty slutty too. (Meaning 2) I'm having this guy killed for touching you, btw. I will kill anyone who tries to hurt you. Immediately. I see you are having the guy who assaulted you killed in a copy of the clothes he would have killed you for wearing. I wholeheartedly approve of this (Meaning 3), your sexiness in those clothes notwithstanding. The utter insouciance of Crowley's little sniff and the inquiry about what they'll have for lunch drive home hard that Crowley could not be more unbothered by Aziraphale having the man who tried to harm him beheaded.

What really tickles me about this line is not only that Crowley's joke has three distinct meanings, but that Meaning 1 (the meaning that exists without reference to Crowley's clothes) is the opposite of Meaning 3--Anybody wearing clothes like that deserves what they get (Meaning 1) versus It rocks how you just killed someone who tried to kill you for wearing those clothes (Meaning 3)--and yet because of the clothes he's wearing, both meanings come through with perfect clarity, dependent only on whether the listener(s) can see his clothing and know its significance. Aziraphale can, and does, so he receives Crowley's real meaning. Hell/Heaven can't, and don't, so they just hear Meaning 1.

And then we get Aziraphale's pleased little smile and look of tranquil interest as he watches Jean-Claude dragged off to his death. Its such an interesting facial expression for an angel watching a demon have someone killed having someone killed, isn't it?

Crowley has just told him they're probably being listened to by Hell. That means Aziraphale, Crowley, and the audience all know this is the most Aziraphale can safely react. Aziraphale can't show any overt approval of anything an agent of Hell does, because by definition anything a demon does is demonic and angels must be against That Sort of Thing. In light of the fact that Aziraphale is the one who causes Jean-Claude's death, I now argue that this responsibility not to react too positively to something the other side has done falls on Crowley, and that the reason he makes this joke is primarily to tell Aziraphale I see what you've just done, and I like it without identifying aloud what exactly has just happened for their presumed eavesdroppers because an angel arranging a human's murder is the sort of thing in which head offices might take undue interest.

The awareness that their conversation is not private means the audience and Aziraphale know they need to be watching and listening for multiple meanings from Crowley, and it also means the audience and Crowley know we need to be watching Aziraphale's face closely right now. And that little smile shows us that Aziraphale has received Meanings 2 and 3 of "he was asking for trouble."

Or, at minimum, Meaning 3; even if Aziraphale picks up on Meaning 2--You looked really sexy in your vintage clothes, you crazy weirdo--that's not a message he can afford to react to at all. But he does react to the other coded communication Crowley is sending when he says "Dressed like that, he was asking for trouble" while dressed for trouble himself: I will kill anyone who tries to hurt you. Immediately. People who think your clothes give them the right to hurt you can go to Hell, and I am delighted you just sent one of them there.

You just had someone beheaded for assaulting me, I acknowledge and am pleased by your delight at my cleverness. and I could not be happier. Would you like to come enjoy one of my very favorite sensual pleasures with me?

***

EDIT: To be honest I like this reading better than my original, incorrect understanding of the story despite the fact that it is slightly less romantic, both because I love the idea of Crowley as a thirsty witness to Aziraphale quietly being a vengeful badass, because it gives us a glimpse of something important about Aziraphale's character that we don't get to see elsewhere: Aziraphale doesn't have a problem with killing per se.

We learn from the business with the Antichrist that, like Crowley, Az. can't bring himself to kill children. We learn from his perturbation at the Flood and the Crucifixion that he doesn't hold with killing innocents. He gave away his flaming sword. But this scene establishes that Aziraphale will actively cause someone's death if he feels they deserve it. That seems like an important character note for him that may become relevant in Season 3 (feathers crossed that it happens).

And I think there's something else in there too, something about how Aziraphale kills Jean-Claude, not with outright violence but with a trick. One party thinks he's in control of the situation; with a wave of his hand, suddenly a turnip has turned into an inkwell an executioner has turned into the condemned--or at least it seems that way long enough to get the job done. It's a bait-and-switch, like stage magic, and it slots right in to the motif in Good Omens of sleight-of-hand, of characters wearing other characters' appearances (for more on this, see fan theories re: Maggie is possessed), of supplying false meanings to an audience to disguise the true actions going on behind the scenes.

[iz1331]

Gonna have to rewatch Beetlejuice and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice back to back to compose a list of "movie canon" that were deemed not brought back/continued in the sequel.

For example: Like how the sequel "disregarded" the fact that only those who "died of suicide can become civil servants in the afterlife".

NO ONE CONFIRMED THAT! It was just a throw away line by Otho, WHO WAS A FRAUD AND KNEW LITTLE TO NONE OF THE SUPERNATURAL!

The sequel even subtly corrected that misconception. Not everyone in the Civil Service in the Afterlife died of suicide, several were wrongly assigned that cause of death.

Miss Argentina was the only significant character that had an accident in Beetlejuice that we've seen who works as a civil servant. And maybe the flattened guy, but not sure if that was an accident or not. He looked quite jovial for a flattened guy.

Case in point: we have Wolf Jackson, and he certainly didn't die of suicide, yet he works as a self-proclaimed cop and runs the whole police joint there.

The earlier scrapped concept of Betelgeuse hanging himself was just that. An idea/concept of how he died. They never used that in the film, thus it's not canon. It's considered fanon in the fandom cause it's been more than 30 years of no solid confirmation of a sequel and we were hungry for any scrap of Beetlejuice material that we can consume and use as inspiration for art and stories to feed ourselves over the years until news of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was announced and got released.

The sequel answered some questions and gave us new content to work with. For both the characters and about the Netherworld/Afterlife in the Beetlejuice universe.

I'm all for creative liberty and freedom, make a canon divergent or write an Alternative Universe of it all, but don't just shit on the sequel and say that it's an "elaborate fanfiction" like the screenplay writers didn't put a lot of thought in it that even Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara finally, after DECADES of turning down script after script, found THIS story for the sequel to have the most potential and having the right tone as a follow up for the movie that meant so much to all of them.

Everyone who worked behind the scenes in creating the film from props, set location and design, puppetry, stop-motion, costume, stunt people, make-up, lights, sound, extras, production, marketing, EVERYONE put a lot of effort and passion and did AMAZING work on this project. I'm still amazed by every large and miniscule details I discover every time I rewatch it.

Was the story of the legacy sequel perfect?

Of course not.

No sequel ever is. Someone will always find something to complain about and that's just how things work in this industry, in this world.

But, was it fun? Was it both new, and brought the same feel from the original? Did the actors brought to life the characters we've loved for more than three decades and counting? Did it introduce new characters that fit the ensemble and had the same eccentric aura of the Beetlejuice world? Was it a relief that the story didn't just end 30 years ago?

Yes, it did. For me. I loved it. It's not perfect, but for someone like me who's a bit of a perfectionist on my works, and then finding the imperfections actually making the finished product better than I expected, it means a lot.

And for what it's worth, at least the time and love and the littlest of delusion I invested for Beetlebabes actually had something to show for. A one-sided romance it may be, at least I now know that Betelgeuse isn't harboring any lasting ill will towards Lydia for all these years.

That Tim also saw it that way. That Michael and Winona were open to this dynamic and relationship between the two characters/roles that they love and cherished to play.

Also, people change. No one stays the same. Life throws curve balls at us, and yes, to FICTIONAL characters as well. People mellow with age. One person or experience can change someone, even when they've been dead for 600 years.

[avelera]

I’m dying for your thoughts on what is going on in Dubai with the triangulation of Armand and Daniel in Dubai because nothing in 2.05 explain ms what they(beddeath vampires) could want him to tell them as referenced earlier in the season or warrant all the Rashid pageantry. Especially not with how Armand looks at Daniel like he just got home from the wars.

Your takes are exquisite and I’d love to hear them.

Ok, I THINK you're asking what the hell is going on with Daniel and Armand and Louis and the longing looks Armand keeps shooting Daniel and I might be missing some nuance to your question but that is the question I'm gonna answer because I can't stop thinking about it.

Ok. Ok, ok, SO!! The biggest question I think we're facing as of 2.05 is did the Devil's Minion chapter of Queen of the Damned ever happen?

For the uninitiated (LOTS of BOOK SPOILERS but like the books have been out for decades, sorry): Louis/Armand is like... not a thing. At least, it's not one of the big love affairs of the series compared to Louis/Lestat. I mean they've had a situationship but they're definitely not a long devoted love affair going right up to the beginning of the events of Vampire Lestat/Queen of the Damned, which is where the show seems to take place. They traveled together for a bit after the events of Interview with the Vampire but then parted ways because What Happened In Paris changed Louis irrevocably.

The big love of Armand's life in the books is Daniel.

And we learn this in the chapter of Queen of the Damned called the Devil's Minion.

Because Armand stumbles upon "The Interviewer" and falls in love and they have this fucked up whirlwind torrid romance where Daniel teaches Armand about the modern world and basically "how to be fascinating" and Daniel begs over and over to be made into a vampire.

Lots of stuff happens between them but short, TRAGIC version is that Armand does make Daniel into a vampire and it breaks Daniel's mind. He's not a cool powerful vampire once he's turned, he's basically a vegetable, he loses his mind and becomes a hollow husk of himself. (Ironically, insane-new-vampire!Daniel is left in the care of Marius of all people lol)

SO, from the book reader perspective, I shot upright on my couch when I saw old Daniel. Because Old Daniel means we're in... some flavor of happy AU? We're in an AU where Armand did the "responsible" thing and didn't give Daniel the Dark Gift, so Daniel got to grow old and actually be a person instead of being the Devil's Minion where Armand became his whole personality and then he lost his mind.

Thing is, since S1, I've been assuming, like others I think, that we're in an AU where the Devil's Minion didn't happen at all. That Daniel did the interview, he and Louis parted ways, and now he's back to finish it. It seemed neat, clear, if a little confusing for book fans because Daniel/Armand is one of THE great love affairs and it seems like it just got skipped entirely, which kind of makes sense since no other film version has really delved into it, right?

WRONG. OK, so with the longing looks that begin RIGHT when Armand finally reveals himself, the whole mic drop moment of "Armand, the love of my life" while Armand stares at Daniel, almost seeming to plead with his eyes "GET ME AWAY FROM HIM" and looking at Daniel with such longing, going into SEASON 2 where we learn that ok, the 1970s beat was WAY more complicated than it seems, Louis' memory is very faulty, Armand has actively tampered with both of them and we DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH....?

So my current theory is: the Devil's Minion DID happen.

Armand and Daniel had their love affair, but instead of turning Daniel, which by the way he had to be talked into doing because of Daniel's suicide attempt basically, Armand set him free. But CLEARLY he continued to stalk and pine after Daniel, if he was there at Daniel's fucking engagement reading his girlfriend's mind enough to tell Daniel what she was really thinking then. Armand was definitely still OBSESSIVELY IN LOVE. And, IMO, has been the whole time.

Now, what does this mean going forward? What do I think is going on?

Armand wants out of his relationship with Louis but he's chronically, pathologically, incapable of breaking up with anyone. He used Lestat to break up the Children of Darkness, he used Louis to break up the Theatre des Vampires, and now he's using Daniel to end this fucked up marriage he and Louis are in.

Armand is doing this first by consenting to renew the interview, Louis gets a walk down memory lane, remembers how much he loves Lestat. Not to solidify their bond with how good things are now, but to break it up with nostalgia.

Armand is also going to reveal things he's hidden from Louis, I think. Like the fact Armand killed Claudia. I think right now they're both operating under the excuse that Santiago and the coven did it in defiance of Armand but that is simply not true, Armand ordered her death to get Louis all to himself. But (book canon) her death broke Louis so basically Armand destroyed what he wanted in Louis in the gaining of him.

Armand also misses Daniel. He's doing the classic passive lover thing, using the next lover to get rid of the current one. That's why he picked Daniel specifically as the vehicle of his liberation. Boy wants to get white knighted in the most fucked up way possible. Evidence: every single painfully longing, puppy dog look he shoots Daniel's way and how those looks only get more intense the more Louis waxes poetic about how great the Loumand relationship is.

Armand appears as Rashid in order to establish for plausible deniability for Louis that he DIDN'T have a relationship with Daniel OR, if Louis knows about it, that he really did do as promised and wiped Daniel's mind. Look, Daniel doesn't even remember him! When he's standing right there! Pretending to be Rashid! He definitely didn't summon his former lover here to break up Louis and him, obviously this is JUST about Louis' desire to do the interview haha, definitely not trying to bring his old ex to break up his current relationship the guy doesn't even remember who he is.

In conclusion: Armand still wants to fuck that boy old man. And he wants to get rid of Louis by making Louis break up with him because that's how Armand rolls. And that's why this whole ridiculous pantomime is happening, because Armand will never, ever be the active party in the breakup because the boy is way, way too fucked up by his supremely fucked up life up to this point to ever be the initiator. Instead he will always, always manipulate those around him to do what he wants.

[barracuda-shark-games]

Why there's no option to say "no". I know that without it, the story could not go further... But Mc makes it too easy for these asshole.

And bullshit of the king about your choice makes me 🤬🤬🤬 "Oh yeah? How about 'no'!" I wonder what he would say to that, heh.

Honestly, I thought it wouldn't make sense for the MC's character for them to outright refuse at this point. Consider: the MC has been fighting their father's war, one they don't really believe in or understand, for over a decade now. They've had virtually no support from the king or other nobles, but they still continue out of some sense of duty, comparing themselves to a mindless machine. That's where they've been for their entire adulthood so far. I thought it would be a bit out of character for them to suddenly grow a backbone even when they are resistant to the idea. But I suppose it could make sense as being a sort of catalyst for the MC.

I've considered adding more opportunities for resistance, and I think they'd have to be conditional to personality checks if I were to include them. However, they might be controversial and hard to stomach. It gets pretty heavy, pretty fast. I planned to kind of build more towards exactly the kind of hold the king has over the MC instead of laying it all out in an explosive scene.

Under the cut is a blurb for what it would look like if the MC persisted in their refusal to marry. If this is something players want to see in the story, I might consider adding it.

SEVERE TRIGGER WARNING for anyone who has had an abusive parent.

"No," you say. "I won't agree to this marriage."

You hear a choked gasp come from the field marshal as the duke lets out a weary sigh. You notice Eda's face grow paler, as if she's going to be sick. Even Ailbe looks surprised by your answer.

For his part, the king's expression remains unchanged.

"It would be prudent for you to reconsider," Duke Clairmont suggests, rubbing his temples.

"I don't need to reconsider," you insist. "My answer is 'no.'"

"Please," Eda starts, but you cut her off.

"This is my life and my decision," you snap. "I will not agree to this, and I am not changing my mind."

"This doesn't only affect your life, child," the duke remarks scornfully.

"Speak plainly, Duke," you challenge him.

"This decision would end the war. You understand that, don't you?"

"More than you do," you snap, "considering I'm the one who has been leading this fucking war, without any help from the likes of you, or the king, or the princess."

"Yet you would condemn your country, the men and women who fight under you, to further death and bloodshed for the sake of your own petty pride?" the duke challenges. "Would you face them right now and tell them their lives don't matter to you, and they won't be going home to their families because you don't have the stomach for fulfilling one of your duties as the [prince/princess] of Arevikland?"

Field Marshal Adalbern speaks up now. "Knight-commander, you should know that the other officers and I would not support you in this decision." You look him in the eyes and are struck by the profound disappointment behind them. "You and I both know how much has been lost to this war. I would urge you to reconsider. The war would be the least of our concerns; many of the soldiers would rebel if they knew their commander was willing to throw away their lives for this."

[The player gets a choice to double down or not.]

If the player doubles down:

"I've heard enough," says the king. "You have made your point clear, and you are correct: it is your life. Now allow me to make myself clear: if this is your final decision, then you are declaring your life forfeit."

Your heart lurches in your chest. The entire tent descends into silence, save for your sister, who you now notice is stifling a sob. You face her and see tears welling in her eyes, pleading.

Seconds pass that feel more like eons, when you finally croak out, "What?"

The king responds slowly, enunciating each word. "If you do not agree to this marriage, then your life will be forfeit. You will be executed for treason. Is that clear enough for you?"

"You can't be serious," you begin to protest, but the king interrupts you.

"Oh, I am very serious, Knight-Commander," he says. "But you've made it clear you have very little regard for the lives of your people. What's one more life?"

"But--"

"Do not dare protest like the spoiled child you've become," he bellows now, pushing himself up from his chair. He slams his palms onto the table and jabs his an accusatory finger in your direction. "You disgust me! And you have shamed me enough this evening. I will not hear another word from you unless it's to tell me you've had a change of heart."

[IF THE MC HAS LOW BOLDNESS/RUTHLESSNESS]

You feel yourself shrinking beneath him. It has been years since you felt so small, and you remember now how only this man has ever had the power to bring you so low. You could curse yourself for the tears now spilling from your eyes, but you're too afraid to care.

The king laughs bitterly. "Oh, so now you care? It matters not when its other lives on the line, but now that it's yours, you decide to care? How fucking pathetic."

[IF THE MC HAS HIGH BOLDNESS/RUTHLESSNESS]

"I've SHAMED you?" you retort. "And where have you been for the last decade, while I've been fighting your bloody war? I've CARRIED this war for you. It would have been lost long ago if it weren't for me."

The king lets out a wretched laugh, bereft of any actual mirth. "Oh, you're happy enough to kill and die for your kingdom, I know that much. Maybe it even makes you feel powerful. Is that it? Do you feel big and strong when you're slaughtering people? Yes, you'll happily murder and pillage for your kingdom but, oh, you draw the line at a political marriage; nevermind that it would guarantee peace for your homeland. I wonder how your soldiers feel, serving under someone so bloodthirsty and selfish and cruel."

"If I'm cruel, what does that make you?" you respond bitterly.

"I am your king," he responds. "And unlike you, I know my duty."

[sharkneto]

if you had a chance to write for the umbrella academy, what’s something you would’ve added or removed or otherwise changed about show canon

Oh. What an ask! You know, I try to stay positive here on tunglr.com about the Umbrella Academy. I adore the show, love the characters, focus on the positive and things I like rather than the negative things I don't. That said, the show has issues, more and more as the seasons progress. I do have opinions. And you asked :)

Read more because this is going to get long.

Starting in S1, there's not much I'd change - S1 is really tight, it's really character focused and its dark themes covered by sibling absurdity is delicious. Only thing I can think of off the top of my head to change is

Five has the gun in the finale. There is no tension with Allison having the gun for if she's going to shoot Viktor or not - we all know she isn't. It also makes Five just running up and getting caught in the energy tentacles stupid because he's never fought like that the entire show, he's more strategic than that. So, Five has the gun, we know from the comics Viktor gets shot -- it makes Five not shooting him more impactful, differentiates Five from his comic counterpart, and in general is a richer character moment for all involved. The only downside to all of that is it sidelines Allison, but some finagling of setting up the situation can put her back in a meaningful position (someone wrote a fantastic reimagining of this scene that gave Five the gun that still kept Allison in a key position with a heartful roll in how it shakes out, probably a couple years ago now. If anyone remembers who wrote that or can link it to me, I'd love to reread it again).

That's really it for S1, off the top of my head, anyway. On to S2! -

Handler stays dead, AJ is the big bad. The only downside to this is that we don't get Kate Walsh back, because she is so much fun, but the Handler absolutely died at the end of S1 and they retconned her to not-die so she could be in S2 (...because Kate Walsh is such a delightful villain). But AJ should have had a bigger roll in S2. He's the head of the whole Commission! The Handler was but a cog in the machine - what does that look like! The Hargreeves suddenly have the entire might of the Commission after them instead of a rogue Handler (pin in that for Point 2). Also, his character design fucking slaps, I'm still obsessed with him. And now, I'm hearing you go: But Lila! And I answer you - AJ is her adopted father. That whole plotpoint stays the same but AJ instead of Handler for parental figure. Diego's reaction to his girlfriend's father being a fish sells that all on its own.

The Commission should not be a benevolent force, with just the Handler as a rogue, evil agent. S1 Commission is a morally dark gray force of bureaucracy hiding behind the uncanny, cheerful veneer of the 50s. Their chosen method for keeping history "on track" is just a fuckton of murder. They left a kid to rot in the apocalypse for four decades. They have an entire department dedicated to making sure disasters occur (through strategic murder). The Infinite Switchboard is also dumb and only exists for fast plot for Diego to figure out what's going on - S1 method for the Commission knowing when the timeline is getting fucked is agents on the ground who call it in (S1 Commission inefficiency, my fucking beloved.). In summary, no one at the Commission is a good person (looking at you Herb and Dot! You are not and should not be positioned as good people!), and making the Handler the ~only~ bad egg there and everyone else positioned as good and allies weakened them significantly as a villain.

Viktor! He shouldn't have had amnesia! Robbed him of character development in facing what he'd done, how his life had been a lie, and the complicated feelings left behind between him and his siblings over all of that. I get it was a comic thing, but they didn't do the comic reason (Shot In Head), and they've changed lots else from the comics, so this should have been another point the deviated from.

Raymond should have gotten to meet Five. I just think that would have been fun.

The song that plays in Viktor's violin mind palace when he's getting tortured should have been [Viktor's] Orchestra from the S1 OST and not that goddamn Bach Partita. They already had a very meaningful and beautiful violin piece composed by Mr. Russo, what are they doing bringing in this random Bach? Missed opportunity. My feelings on this are so strong that I am including it with the above impactful plot changes.

There's probably some smaller tweaks for S2 that I'm not thinking of now, but that covers the main changes and this is already getting long and we haven't even gotten to S3. Because, oh boy. S3.

I give S3 a lot of forgiveness for being made during the pandemic. I think a lot had to be adjusted for Covid restrictions (There was supposed to be a whole Japan trip thing! Which is why the Hotel is all Japanese themed. The trip got scrapped, the theme did not, so it just comes off as weird and orientalist), and they still managed to have really great character moments and developments. That said -

Too much happened in S3. They should have done Sparrows or the Hotel (which I like to call the HOb, and is the shorthand I'll be using from now on). Both with the Kugelblitz made this season insane.

Lila isn't pregnant. The show has a real hard time writing women who aren't mothers or dead and they were almost doing a good job with Lila until this, she almost escaped it. I'm going to be honest, my first thought when it was revealed that she was actually pregnant and it wasn't just Stanley shenanigans was "Oh, abortion". I don't think it makes sense for where she is to be having a kid, and it ties her down in a weird way for the final season. Instead of being about her figuring out her shit after finding out her mom killed her, had her real parents killed, and her life is all a bit of a lie, it's now about being pregnant and/or being a mother.

The HOb isn't some weird universe reset button. Why didn't they like Fucked Up Space Prison from the comics??? That's so much fun! I'd allow it to be paired up with the Sparrows if it's a fucked up space prison, they compliment each other then. It being a reset button that Reggie has known about this whole time and is the reason he collected the kids also doesn't make sense with him killing himself in S1 for the original plot of the show. They almost hit the vibe they could have had with it, with the hallways and floors swapping around. Play with that more, make time weirder, don't have cheap-horror samurai guardians. Forever mourning how much cooler and weirder the HOb could have been.

A lot of people complain that the Sparrows were so minor in the season. I am not one of those people - most of them were tertiary characters, and with all the other plot happening and the focus (rightly) on the Umbrellas, they featured exactly as much as they needed and should have (without changing the season to make them the main antagonists). My only change here is Sloane shouldn't know physics. Why does she know physics and why is she as good as Five, who has 30 years on her. There's no set up or indication she is a math person (she loves reading and travel!) until they have their Kugelblitz math discussion and then it's never alluded to again. Is this petty? Yes. Do I stand by it? Yes.

Ah, Five. Obviously, Five shouldn't be the founder of the Commission. That whole plot, while great for the Five and Lila Frenemy Trip, reeks of Cool Reveal We Thought Of To Be Cool. It doesn't have any real major impact on anything, and it makes no sense for Five as a character that he would have created the Commission and then sat alive in their basement by himself. The guy spent a lifetime alone and tore the universe apart to be with his family and they want me to believe he sets up his life to end by himself and away from his family after making evil corporate time cops? Yeah, alright, sure, mmm-hmm.

There should have been a conversation about what happened in the barn at the end of S2. That was huge - Five unlocked a whole new application of his powers and watched his whole family die again. With the rewind powers, they should have given an in-universe reason for why Five couldn't use them at any point and not just pretend they didn't exist anymore. The Kugelblitz is eating time, if it's eating time there is nothing for Five to rewind or jump back to - there. I did it. Just some sort of acknowledgement for why Five's plot-breaking powers aren't breaking the plot.

Five should have been friendlier and more trusting of Reggie, incorrectly viewing them as relative equals thanks to his age and experience. From Five's point of view, Reginald has always been right and Reginald did help him when he talked to him in the 60s. He's a dick and unpleasant, but so is Five. It was the perfect set up for some delicious betrayal and hard lessons for Five to understand their father the same way the rest of the Umbrellas do.

I'm going to be honest - there is probably plot things I would change for how Harlan slots in with the Kugelblitz, but S3 is my least rewatched season, and when I do rewatch it I usually do a Five Watch (just skip through and watch Five plot), so I do not remember it well enough to point out what I would change.

Final point I'm going to make - Allison. I genuinely loved where Allison went this season. The most controversial part of her plot, assaulting Luther, I thought made perfect sense and I have a lot of thoughts about where her mind was during all of that. But I do not think the writers understood just how fucked up her doing that was, and that scene should have had further fallout and more direct conversation about what happened. Give it more gravity and consequences, if only for Emmy's sake because it really felt like the writers dropped her in the deep end for the amount of hate Allison got for it.

There are probably more things, but it is getting late and this is getting long. I adore this show, but my god does it leave so much potential on the floor. Leaves us lots to write ourselves because of that, I suppose as a silver lining.

[piracytheorist]

Violence ask game for SxF. Hmm... I think I knew your "topic that brings up the most rancid discourse", so I wanna know your opinion about either "22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores" or "25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing" please? 😳

To counter your point I would actually not say what you think I'd say for "topic that brings up the most rancid discourse" because from my experience there is no discourse around that matter. It's just some fans of a certain character firmly stuck on their headcanons and for some reason the rest of the fandom just rolls with that to the point that the latter might come to the former's defence if you dare point out some objective truths about the text.

And look, I get that there are some toxic assholes on the bird app who have nothing better to do than attack those fans, but I say it with the most genuinely kind intentions, if they feel attacked by someone simply not liking their blorbo or ship and pointing out some very well structured character flaws... they're in a very big need of a break from social media. I'm not being sarcastic or patronizing when I say they need to go touch grass. I used to be the kind of person who would see any criticism of my favourite character or ship and take it as a personal attack, and I know now it was NOT a healthy reaction, albeit understandable with the amount of toxicity in my then fandom. And that was a far more toxic fandom, trust me on that. People have the right to dislike anyone's blorbo and to make analyses and talks about how the character is not perfect. Babying a group of fans by protecting them from that idea can only lead to even more toxicity. So uhm idk if that answered your question XD

I've already answered #22 here but another thing I like from canon is how oppressive Ostania's government feels but there's very little focus on that. I understand why people would choose to focus on romance over the political situation, but I don't see the canon story being able to end with a simple "And then the Forger family fled and lived happily in a neutral country". I don't see the story ending without the cold war ending too. Again, I get it, not every fanfic needs to be so meticulous about it, there's no right and wrong way of enjoying the story or creating derivative works. It's just something I don't see that often. It's not a bad thing.

And on "25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing" again, I'm not very active in the fandom, but whenever there's a complaint about how slow the story is I'm this 👌 close from commenting "This story isn't for you." The point of the story is to have a slow burn for the family, to show how they bond through small moments and experiences. The point is to have Twilight slowly shed his spy persona and little by little reveal who he truly is, and then get shocked at how much he's changed since the beginning. You cannot do that fast. You cannot create family bonds after one intense experience. You cannot have Twilight and Yor have a deep, meaningful connection from one moment to the next. You cannot have intense identity reveals without the feeling of betrayal of "I've known that person for so long and everything about them was a lie" that only can happen if they've spent a lot of time and small moments together. And you absolutely cannot have Twilight, who's spent a decade suppressing his feelings and true self to the point that he'd forgotten what his actual purpose to be a spy was, suddenly be all happy and giggly and lovey-dovey within the span of a week (nevermind that in my fic I did that, fics are a different matter). If people want a quick found family story with a romance that develops within a couple weeks they have to find a different story. SxF is not here to do it fast, SxF is here to do it real. It's fine if some don't like it and wanna bail. But they shouldn't demand that the story does something the way they like it. They have to find that sort of story on their own.

And it's not like we don't want all of that development to happen. We want to see the family grow close, to see them come together happily after identity reveals, to see Twilight allow himself to feel and love and be loved... but all in due time. It's a long-term commitment. It's the slow burn that does it :D

[the-heart-of-a-monster]

This most recent page is... It is insane! Uh... You already know what I'm bouta do, so I'll just skip ahead to the everything. Enjoy!

---

The first thing I wanna mention is what Sonic said in the last page. I basically lost all the spare SA2 context that I had stored in my brain when reading this comic, so I just immediately assumed Sonic was right in saying that Shadow doesn't know how he feels. That wasn't entirely the truth. I mean, duh, Shadow doesn't know how Sonic feels. Sonic is internally suffering. He's confused, scared, worried something bad could happen to his loved ones if he just let loose a teeny bit. Hell, his concerns aren't even coming from nowhere! We saw what he's capable of when losing control! But thinking that Shadow doesn't know how that feels in the slightest??

Shadow was also afraid. When he lived on the ARK, and when he made friends with the STH cast. He had so much incredible power at his fingertips, and not only that, but he was also the eye of the storm to an alien invasion! He's been terrified for decades, worried he might hurt those close to him because of his blood ties and his origins and... SO MUCH. For so long, Shadow's been confused about who he is as a person, having a lack of autonomy, similar to Sonic. And yet, Sonic still thinks that they don't feel the same. He thinks they are not the same. That they don't know how the other feels. And, in a way, no matter how small this way is, Sonic is kind of right.

Because Shadow's not a hero. He's an anti-hero, someone who does what he thinks is right and doesn't care about the public eye anymore. Sonic is a hero, someone who cares too much for his tiny hedgehog heart. He swells with emotion, and this sudden change to his appearance and abilities... It's suffocating. It's crushing Sonic. It's a whole new sensation that he is completely unaware of and doesn't know what to do with himself. Shadow, meanwhile, has been dealing with this feeling his whole life. So yeah. In a way, Shadow doesn't know how Sonic feels.

Still, Shadow doesn't see it this way. He sees it as Sonic basically being a hypocrite. So, in a fit of rage and disappointment, he lets Dark Gaia take control.

I do wanna ask something abt this real quick: How does Sonic not sense Dark Gaia's influence on Shadow? As someone who has the energy of that being fused with his very bloodstream right now, you'd think he would figure out that Shadow's behavior has just. Suddenly changed. You'd think he would piece together why his friend is acting this way and he would figure out that it's Dark Gaia, and not Shadow.

It's just a small nit-pick of mine tbh. Don't worry.

I do think there is an answer to this, though. As someone stated before, these two are basically walking into the lion's den, or I guess in other terms, leaving the frying pan and falling into the fire. This icy cavern they've entered is overflowing with Gaia energy, which could be the reason why Sonic can't tell it's now all over Shadow. It's overwhelming Sonic to the point that he's basically grown numb to it, so even if he could feel the energy all over Shadow specifically, he doesn't recognize the danger. He doesn't see that Shadow's being "Controlled."

---

So uh. Yeah. That's... That's it.

I really really love this comic btw and the little image of Maria at the top really caught me off-guard. I was like: "WHAT THE HECK IS THAT WHY IS MARIA HERE WHAT HELLO HUH-?"

very interesting points! literally no one looked at it this perspective before i appreciate this :33333

and don't worry about gaia energy. i think mostly when you figure something might be off or you dont get it, just wait for the next pages, because ofc this is a continous story so things will be explained, just not immediately.

(thoguh again, youre the only one who questioned this! super interesting stuff to think abt!!)

[cryptidsurveys]

Monday, September 16th, 2024.

When you get married what do you think you’ll put most of your focus and money into? I can't really answer or predict this now because so much would depend on our life circumstances.

Would you freak out if you were to get pregnant by the last person you hooked up with? Uh yeah. For more than one reason, lmao.

Who in your life causes you the most stress or negative feelings? Even though there are people in my life who cause me stress (one or two in particular), I think a lot of it has to do with my mindset. I've come a long way, but I'm still learning how to put things into proper perspective, be secure in myself and my own abilities, brush things off, etc.

How many chances do you tend to give people before enough is enough? It just depends - on what they've done, how much they mean to me, whether or not they're genuinely trying to change... Also, speaking of "enough is enough," following my blow-up over Diane, she basically won't even look at me. Pretty sure she even went so far as to intentionally turn her back to me when I brought a kitty up to the office the other day (he chills up there during work hours). Like giiiirl, I only have so many olive branches, especially when you consider the fact that I shouldn't have to be the one extending them in the first place.

Have you ever had a teacher that also taught your parents? No.

What’s the most you’d be willing to spend on a pair of shoes? I retired a pair of hiking shoes last year that cost around 120 dollars, but they also lasted for about a decade. I'd be willing to spend that kind of money again for a good quality shoe.

What’s something you complain about frequently? Work drama and feeling burned out. Welcome to the real world, I guess…? It still beats rotting in bed while slowly sinking further and further into insanity, but…maybe not by much. :P No, but on a serious note - it's better. Truly. I might feel frustrated, upset, confused, and exhausted at times, but at least I don't feel utterly hopeless and suicidal. I'd rather endure the chaos of life and human interaction than go back to what I was doing before. It's just hard to adjust to social dynamics after spending so many years in isolation and missing out on so much development and experience. People don't really care about your past, your mental health, your explanations - they just want you to act right.

Have you had any confrontations with anyone lately? Not directly, but indirectly. The Diane situation. The Alex situation.

Do you have anything planned for the summer? Summer is nearly over. My autumn plans mainly consist of trips to the Mountain Park to enjoy the changing leaves, attending the Chili Festival, and eating as many fun holiday foods as I can.

Do you walk fast or slow? Fast.

What form of public transport do you use most often? I've only used public transportation a few times in my life.

Is there any alcohol in the fridge? I don't think there's any in the entire house.

Is any part of you sad at all? Yeah, but it's not a predominant part. The last few days have been better. Little annoyances here and there, but nothing terrible. Plus, I only have to get through one half day (Tues) and one full day (Sat) of working with Alex and then she's GONE.

Are you someone who worries too often? Most definitely. It probably wouldn't be inaccurate to say that 90% of my problems come from worrying/overthinking. If I could just shut my stupid brain OFF…well, then I would be too powerful. ;D

Have you ever been completely alone with a boy in his room? Yeah.

Is the last person you kissed older than you? Yeah.

Are you the type of person who seeks out revenge? Not really. I even try to refrain from taking pleasure in someone else's negative karma. Not because I'm such a wonderful person, but because I don't want to face my own karmic backlash.

Do you like falling asleep listening to the rain? Yes. <3

Do you honestly have feelings for someone at the moment? I don't.

Are there things in your life that you’ll never be able to get over? Probably.

Are you afraid of falling in love? Yeah.

If you had to choose between a million bucks or to be able to fly what would it be? A million bucks.

Did you ever build furniture forts as a child? I loved doing that! We'd even make forts out on the back deck and sleep in them when the weather was nice.

Are there any songs that inspire you? You could say that. Mainly classical songs. Sometimes they give my life this movie-esque vibe.

Is there anything on television worth watching at the moment? I wouldn't know.

Have you ever had an online meet-up? Like a meet-up group type of thing? No. But I've met people in person after originally meeting them online.

What is bothering you as of now? Nothing serious. Even my headache from earlier feels a lot better.

How does your hair currently look? Short and brown.

Are you close to any of your aunts/uncles? I'm not.

Do you plan on losing weight any time soon? There's almost always a desire, but I tend to maintain within a range.

When was the last time you used a disposable camera? Years and years ago.

What should you be doing right now, besides this survey? I should probably do some housecleaning, but…eh. I just want to relax.

Who did you last say goodnight to? My dad and my kitties.

Do people gripe about your work ethic often? That was the last thing Diane said before I flipped out; something like, "It looks like nobody does any work back here." Maybe it wasn't meant for me specifically, but oooh boy. I give too much of my time (for free!!!) to be muttered about like that.

Do you tend to wear a lot of make up? I don't wear makeup.

Is it still possible to kiss the last person you kissed? I am waaay overthinking the "possible" bit because yeah, I suppose it's technically possible, but would I want to? No.

Why aren’t you texting the last person you kissed? Because.

Where were you last night? I was at the animal shelter until 5:30pm and then I was at home.

Do you own any jeans from American Eagle? I think I have a light blue pair somewhere.

Do you hate it when people smoke around you? No. I smoke as well, so.

Have you ever been to Florida? No.

When’s the last time you screamed really loud? Idk.

What will you be doing tomorrow? I'll be at the shelter from 7:30am(ish)-12:00pm.

Are you friends with the people you were friends with 2 years ago? Yeah.

Do you honestly have feelings for someone at the moment? No.

Where did you buy the shirt you’re wearing right now? My dad got it from me from a store in the mall.

Are you wearing jeans? I'm wearing dark blue sweats.

Have you ever kissed the last person you texted? Yeah.

Has anyone ever called you a whore? Yeah.

Who were you last in a car with? My dad. I went to lunch with my parents at Fuel & Iron last Thursday.

Are you in a good mood right now? I'm in a pretty decent mood.

Has anyone ever told you that you have pretty eyes? Yeah.

Have you ever played the guitar? Not very well, but yes.

Could you handle living with the last person you talked to on the phone? I think it's best that my mom and I live apart.

Do you ever take your anger out on others? I try not to, but there are times when it happens.

What grade is the last person you texted in? My mom hasn't been in school for a long, long time.

Has anyone seen you in your underwear lately? No.

Where’s your phone right now? On my dresser, charging.

Have you ever liked someone older than you? Yeah.

Are you the oldest child? The youngest? In the middle? Only child? I'm the oldest child of two.

Would you rather be called ‘honey’ or ‘baby’? Honey.

[mr-entj]

Hi Mr-ENTJ, sorry for the long ask. This may seem like a very small issue, but I'm an INFP and I work in the service industry. My main problem is the entitlement in my workplace. I'm working for a corporate organization and, as corporate is, it's full of entitled, rich assholes to the people "below" them. There are policies in place to ensure efficiency and independence so that my clients don't do everything through me, but with my clients expecting anything and everything, I feel like it's my job to enforce the policies and educate them to become independent of having me do everything for them.

I've brought these problems to my supervisor and manager before, informing them that these policies are not respected, the inefficiencies in what the process should be, what clients are doing instead of going back to their actual resources, and suggestions/feedback/constructive criticisms to improve all of these things. My supervisor and manager are both ISFJs and they have worked in this department for over a decade, enough to say "it is what it is; this is what it means to be in service." My coworkers are not nearly as motivated to enforce the policies either because they see no change throughout all the years they've been here, or they don't care for this job enough.

I know that my job is service-oriented and there's something called going above and beyond, but I feel like there is nothing wrong with me educating my clients and i don't want to change what I feel is correct. I feel like another INFP on the team and I are the only ones who feels this passionately about these problems and want to improve it, but this burden is so tiresome and my team thinks it's annoying for me to police everything. I know that this job is no longer for me, and I'm working on finding something else, but until then, what else can I do?

I'm probably just looking for some validation and feedback on what I can do better, but am I wrong? Do I just need to let this go and let things be as they are? Am I just not doing enough? Am I not enforcing this properly?

You can have my validation that you're not wrong, you're probably right, but that still doesn't fix any of the problems you've outlined. Culture change comes in one of two ways if leadership isn't open to change:

The 'judger way' (xxFJ + xxTJ): Become a leader yourself and cascade the change downward -> This requires an immense amount of time to stick around and climb the promotional ladder

The 'perceiver way' (xxFP + xxTP): Get enough influential people to agree with you and override leadership -> This requires an immense amount of effort and may get you fired

Both options require power. Without power, you're stuck at the mercy of other people's decisions inside and outside of work.

This conflict is also a key reason why many INFPs are miserable in corporate environments because they need to adhere to systems and processes other people in power make. Without any motivation to climb the ladder, become a person of power, and change the systems/processes themselves-- INFPs get stuck as passengers in a car that someone else is driving. This is why you see a lot of INFPs opt for freelancing careers, academia, or completely opt out of work (stay-at-home parents) to maximize freedom.

Moving forward, you're correct to find a company that's a better culture fit. Until then, I wouldn't waste another single brain cell stressing about things and people that refuse to change. Save your time, energy, and emotions for the next role so you can hit the ground running.

Related answers:

Any advice for Fi-Dom leaders? Do you think they can be successful at leading people?

Help Mr. Entj, have you ever seen an INFP leader or manager in action? What observations do you have of their leadership style? Do you have any advice for improvement?

Have you worked with an INFP before? What's it like for you as an ENTJ?

MBTI and career choice

Can you give an idea of each MBTI type's career jump patterns or reasonings?

[2bu]

least favorite things about roleplaying communities, in your opinion?

Throwing under the cut because oops I began to rant

I'm sure I've answered this before, but I really do loathe snobs and bullies, especially when they've formed a clique.

This has always been a thing since roleplaying was invented, I'm sure, but it doesn't change how I feel about those kinds of pretentious writers who form a circle around themselves and parade around as self-important, spread malicious gossip or rumours/lies, judge others and either perpetuate drama or get looped into it over petty, trivial reasons. Or, like, it's their only hobby that they take way too seriously and make it miserable for everyone else. I get having boundaries, opinions, and even rules for interactions, of course, sure.

That's fine. I just don't like putting down others and I'm ashamed that sometimes, in order to try and fit in, I'd participate in such behaviour over the course of my years online in roleplaying communities (which literally, as previously mentioned, spans well over a decade). Like, I truly hate what those spaces have done to me and normalized for me! Looking back on it now, I'm genuinely upset that I, a victim of bullying, would have participated in smack talk or gossip about someone I don't even know over really, really REALLY dumb/petty stuff! This was more so back when I was a teenager, but even still, as an adult, I know I'm guilty of having done that and I'm just... not proud of that. No one should be, and I'm definitely working to not only change that but to stop participating in toxic environments that allow these things to take place be it publicly or behind the scenes.

I suppose, of course, it goes without saying that this isn't the biggest issue, no - racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia and a lot of real-world stuff is still an issue, and I especially avoid roleplaying communities entirely because of biases writers still very much have against writers of colour such as myself, who refuses to bend and appease anyone else but myself.

I also don't fuck with like, communities that are lead by people who clearly are not handling like, mod positions well or are just not experienced with balancing moderator responsibilities, a story/plot, worlds, assests, guides, etc. I'm not going to join your RP if there's absolutely nothing to show for it, and you're just waiting for people to join. I get that sometimes, these things won't be prepped until people join, but IDK, I'd rather not hold out for something that may never come to fruition, if that makes sense! Even for sandbox RPs and whatnot, I prefer there just be some level of... polish there, if that makes sense? That's just a personal preference, and has saved me tons of heartbreak and frustration in the past.

I think lastly, I'm also not a fan of incompetent mods. Some people are not meant to be moderators, and work best as like, DMs, or vice versa! Being both is great, and kudos to whoever can handle that, but it's rare I've personally found any people who can achieve both. Some mods are too lax on the rules for the sake of personal interests or just don't give a fuck about making the experiences fun and safe for others regardless of age, others are WAY too strict and sometimes cruel towards their members over trivial reasons and rules a reasonable person can't REALLY follow because it makes no sense, is hypocritical, or contradictory, or worse, unclear to begin with. There's no point in joining a community where I don't feel safe or feel like the rules harm me or others more than protect us. Rules vary of course, from community to community, yes - especially once you determine the target age groups you're trying to rope in, but even still, some rules just... aren't it for some of these places, and it bothers me even a whole decade later how some shit flies in certain places, and who gets away with shit.

I lied, this last bit also plays into what I've overall said and definitely said at the beginning, but favoritism. Loathe that shit, especially when it comes to mods allowing just any fucking bitchass nigga get away with breaking rules constantly, fucking around with members, their characters and plots, etc. I have no respect for bitchass mods who are more interested in upkeeping their high school bully cliques than fostering the welcoming environments for everyone involved, even people who they may not like/who plays characters they may not like/whose artists/writers they may not like/prefer. And honestly, maybe close off applications/interactions to people you aren't mutuals, friends with, or people you don't like to avoid taking responsibility like that? This was a big problem in the Mystery Skulls Animated fanbase and by fucking God, was I not there for it nearly a decade ago and I'm certainly not for it now.

Anyways, thanks for coming to my ted talk LOL

[trekwiz]

Next weekend I'll be 39, so I'm not exactly commenting with bias when I say: you're putting the cart before the horse.

One thing our community has been terrible at confronting is openly predatory behavior towards its youngest members.

Unless dating apps have changed since I was in my 20s, being under 30 on the apps means you're going to be strongly harassed by many people old enough to be your parents or grandparents.

I don't just mean unwanted interest--that part is normal and expected. I mean manipulative and violent comments if you don't return interest. Targeted harassment with sock puppet accounts by those who can't take no for an answer. Weaponized reporting by groups of friends to trigger automated account blocking. It's a minefield.

And it's not restricted to the apps. When i was in college and just coming out, I decided to go to PFLAG near campus. I only went once. There were two men close to my current age who worked very hard to convince me to leave with them; they spent the whole time encouraging me to go to their home. They were in a place where there would be new and vulnerable people with no support system, looking for one. People who would likely be trusting towards them. I didn't feel safe enough to return.

And sure, it's not always like that in every context. A couple years later, I met one of my best friends after I spoke on a panel at a campus event: he was a grad student who shared the same birthday (including year) as one of my parents. He's the one who cultivated my interest in the Renaissance Faire; he introduced me to a community, and taught me the lingo like "family".

We remained friends for over a decade, until he had a stroke and moved out of the area to live with family. I'm still loosely in touch with some of our mutual friends in his peer group.

But here's the thing: you can't always tell on first sight if someone is a threat or a potential friend and mentor. If you're bombarded with the former, it's a lot of work to be on guard all the time. It's exhausting.

Creating a Discord that's under-30-only is a great way to deal with a serious stressor. It's the same underlying reason for creating LGBT-only groups; you deserve a place to avoid hostility towards your existence. It doesn't mean their only interactions will be with other young people. It just means they've carved out one space where they don't have to be fully on guard at all times.

That's fine! That's healthy. Yes, even if they remove you after hitting that age cutoff: because newer, younger members are entitled to that same experience. It might hurt, but it's for the wellbeing of the group.

What does this have to do with putting the cart before the horse? It's a completely preventable reaction. They're reacting to a negative experience that our community overwhelmingly trivializes.

You wouldn't see this kind of behavior if we were better about calling out our peers who don't respect boundaries. Our peers who feel entitled to interest from others. Our peers who don't understand the importance of consent.

There's an outside cause for this kind of age restriction. If you don't want to even acknowledge, let alone address those causes, then you really shouldn't be upset at being excluded. You're not taking the time to understand why they're behaving in a certain way; and that means not considering if your words and behaviors may be exacerbating and encouraging it.

You won't see these exclusive groups if you work harder to make the wider community safer for them.

the thing that’s obnoxious about a lot of age gap discoruse is that it feels less about curbing out potential abuse and more the fear of getting old/being around older people, particularly when stops even being about actual relationships and just older people being AROUND younger people.

 like people saying it’s “creepy” for older gay men to go clubs that also contain younger gay men or people saying it’s “suspicious” for older people to go to all-ages concerts. which i don’t know, just isn’t a healthy way to live considering that if you actually go outside you’re going to find your self around people who are not in you’re immediate age range and your going to have to deal with that.

[youremyonlyhope]

Hzyfyzhf thanks for replying !!!

I think the frobisher scene is the most violent thing we've seen in torchwood. And that's torchwood we're talking about, the show where the same guy dies 1000 gruesome deaths. Capaldi's acting is brilliant and the scene with the prime minister is just ajdhfje 1) the way the character breaks is aahhhh gut wrenching 2) the underlying message about the government and all is zkhffhff. I hate frobisher. I really do. But I also feel real compassion for him and his storyline broke me.

Adrift was so blunt about the torchwood reality and the hard stuff they've got to go through, while highlighting gwen's altruistic personality. Also it answers some questions about the rift.

COE in one sitting though ? Are you okay ? I watched it in 5 days, at 1am, an that was already too much how are you alive aaljdue

Thanks for the welcome ! I ll turn those puddles into pools so we can all take a bath with batteries or something.

I agree. In the same season where Jack literally blows up and grows himself back together while fully conscious and feeling all of it, somehow Frobisher's ending feels more violent.

Oh and no I'm not ok. I made the mistake of watching the first 3 seasons of Torchwood in a 3 (maybe 4) day long binge session a decade ago. Something Borrowed through the end of COE was over the course of that last day. I remember I took a break after Exit Wounds to do some random chores or something, and then dived right into COE.

I mean, ending the night before on A Day In The Death literally had me up all night questioning the meaning of life and having a literal existential crisis. So that was bad enough. But then finishing the show in one sitting was worse. I still say the 3-ish days of watching Torchwood for the first time were some of the most intense days of my life.

I was able to rewatch seasons 1 and 2 a couple of months later and then rewatched it again about 2 or so years after that, but it took 5 years to get myself to rewatch Children of Earth. I found myself sympathizing with Frobisher a lot more while rewatching it, seeing what he's doing in the early days and knowing his fate really changes how you look at him and his choices (and his lack of choices). And Peter Capaldi just... his performance cannot even be described in words. He's just so amazing in COE.

[mimic-kry]

depression log 1 (ramblings of a spiraling lunatic)

i keep asking myself dumb questions.

did humanity forget that the brightest candle burns out the quickest? or the story of icarus? why are we so intent on getting to the end faster? nothing awaits there except…the end. why are we so concerned about money? about how to get literally everything faster? i refuse to think that we're that impatient and greedy as a whole, but…are we?

i suppose these are questions for god if there is one. and if there is one, when i meet him/her/it/them/whatever. i'm left to speculate, and nothing makes sense.

those at the top must be human. given that fantastical creatures don't exist, it means that only the most sociopathic, or least human, humans have accrued all the power in the world. and with that power, they've failed everyone. because how can one see the state of things and consider themselves successful?

the so called 'elites' (heretofore: leeches) of our society have seen themselves fit, and solely themselves, to take the reigns of our future. these disgusting leeches horde the limited resources of our world, and what have they achieved with them? do we truly believe that these few worthless brains are better than billions?

it's obvious that change is necessary. i'm personally not intelligent enough to know how, but i know what the end goal is: a fully sustainable global society. the question is obvious: how the fuck do we get there? regulated economies? more regulations on money? digging up more gold? socialism? anarchism? i sure as shit don't know.

the problem, at least in my view, is that we thought we could govern each other fairly when we're all just stranded on the same rock together. we should've just stuck with what worked: collaboration. yeah, things will slow down to a pace that's slower than what it is now, but they (the fucking leeches) HAVE to face the truth: our current pace is unsustainable. it will lead to our destruction. our balrog is climate change, and it will lay indiscriminate waste. once deaths from starvation start to rise, it'll be beyond too late. yet still they dig deeper, and with seemingly endless greed. for a CONCEPT. money. money itself is just a concept. it may buy you things, but in the end the piece of paper is just a representation of a stash of gold in a fucking fort.

our world is dying. as it always has been, but they've stuck a knife in her chest, and continue to drive it farther. to remove the knife and tend the wound will take immense time and effort. and global cooperation.

i don't know if we'll be able to achieve this in time. i don't know if humanity's extinction is on the horizon, but even more suffering and preventable deaths await us if we continue our current course.

i get the sinking feeling, however, that this is why they're (the fucking leeches) so interested in space travel. i fear that these soulless monsters knew what they were doing all along, and knowingly accelerated our planet's death, hoping to colonize other planets before having to face the music. to do it all over again. and possibly be lauded as "heroes" for "saving the human race".

i almost feel duty-bound to somehow rid our species of this threat. but i, like the many i fear for, am left powerless in an ever-spiraling situation.

truly this at least narrows the answers to the god thing: god is either not real, dead, or so ashamed of us that he left went for a pack of cigarettes. funny how even the most devout seem content with this. one would assume they'd be demanding we go look for god. or at least change our ways. maybe he'll come back. and forgives us. for the numerous species we extincted. and continue to extinct. right.

my heart breaks for our future. for all species rocketing towards extinction. for all those that will suffer in the coming decades. is this the source of state of depression?

instead of hoping that we'll have enough decades left to figure out terraforming (and, undoubtedly, space resource ownership laws), i'll hope that we go extinct before we're able to spread our cancerous ways to other planets. or, heavens AND the nine hells forbid, other sentient species.

they (god damned leeches) seem to be diseased in the mind, and okay with it. or perhaps our species isn't as homogenous as i once believed. or they've transcended evil as a concept and embraced being cancer. whatever the case, i hear my name and it's alcohol calling.

[fiercynn]

yes, they report all their numbers legally, i'm not disputing that. that's why i said, very clearly, that i'm not claiming this is a scam in any way. however, this is what otw treasurer/finance chair yuechiang luo said when asked about their surplus at the 2022 public q&a, which is what i was referring to:

given that this is the public meeting where they are supposed to be available to answer questions from people who might not have the capacity to dig deeper into their finances, it is at best disingenuous to say we have "over $1 million" in fall 2022 when, as you've noted, they reported having $2.3 million at the end of 2021, and had certainly already raised a good amount by that point in 2022 as well.

(that meeting is still up in the otw board meetings discord in the #public-finance-meetings channel, i just went and got the screenshot right now, if anyone wants to read through it. you can even read through the october 2021 finance q&a, where a lot of similar questions were asked and where mostly the same answers were given)

otw needs to be operating from the idea that transparency with their members and donors is a priority – especially given all the other issues they've been rightly called out for, including racism and mistreating their volunteers. and they have not been transparent about their surplus in ways that are accessible to most people who might want to understand them. they don't include any mention of their surplus in the budget spreadsheets they release, and this very much has an impact: i can't tell you how many people have argued with me about the numbers i'm sharing for their surplus because they "would have noticed that if it showed up on their budget reports".

it's just not reasonable to expect that your average otw donor should know to dig through their audited financial statements and form 990s to find these numbers. and at the very least, when the treasurer is asked directly about otw's surplus, by people who are not financial experts, the treasurer should be transparent about it.

a couple other responses to your points:

i said that they got most of their legal expenses donated. i still haven't had time to go through their 2022 docs fully because they put them up so recently, but what i'm seeing from my skim is that they had $199,235 in donated legal services. i'm not seeing where the $84k number comes from, but that would still be 70% of their legal expenses donated, which i feel comfortable calling "most", especially when we're talking about these expenses in the context of almost $2.8 million in surplus. either way, my point is that their surplus is not intended for legal expenses, but for some reason this is a common argument that comes up whenever people mention the surplus, even though i haven't ever heard an actual fincom member say that's what it's for

i never said the transfer of $10 was a singular transfer? but fine, i could have been clearer that i meant a net transfer over the course of 2022. it doesn't change my underlying point, which is that they have an interest-bearing account with some money in it and have not added any significant amount of their $2.8 million surplus to it!

it's true that their operating expenses grow over time but to be clear, the highest that they've been so far is $578k in 2024, at least according to their budget spreadsheet actuals (i do not have the energy to look at their financial statements for this rn). here are the numbers for several years before that: $298k in 2018, $310k in 2019, $444k in 2020, $306k in 2021, and $519k in 2022

it's all very well talking about an ambitious roadmap when they have been saying the same things about paid staff, investments, and server upgrades for years without progress. it's part of why i harp on the investments piece so much even though i personally would prefer to see the money spent – because it's evidence that even the one of the simpler things that they have been talking about for, what, at least a decade? hasn't been implemented meaningfully. and they've been talking about paid staff for even longer, so the idea that we need to keep giving now, on top of their surplus, for them to be sure they can pay staff in the future, is also spurious. (i also have been a part of many nonprofits, including nonprofits that are all volunteer run, and many of them have ambitious roadmaps that they still make progress on much faster than otw, with far less volunteer power overall)

it's also hard to take seriously that volunteers can make real change from the inside when many who try are mistreated by the org, including being lied about and thrown away like azarias; including through racism towards chinese and chinese-speaking volunteers; including through censuring of volunteers of color like dhobi ki kutti who try to address racism internally; and including censuring volunteers who just have "from the river to the sea, palestine will be free" in their slack statuses. otw has not been meaningfully accountable to any of those things yet.

anyway, i'm going to stop responding to reblogs of this post after this because i've spent way too much of my limited energy on this topic already, but here's my underlying point: why should i, or any other prospective donor, believe in their roadmap enough to donate even more money than we've already donated in the past, given their failures to implement so many of the things they have claimed they want to do, for years, AND their history of harm done to volunteers, especially volunteers of color? given that context, it is entirely reasonable to say that you don't need to donate until we start seeing tangible impacts of that roadmap.

on ao3's current fundraiser

apparently it’s time for ao3’s biannual donation drive, which means it’s time for me to remind you all, that regardless of how much you love ao3, you shouldn’t donate to them because they HAVE TOO MUCH MONEY AND NO IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH IT.

we’ve known for years that ao3 – or, more specifically, the organization for transformative works (@transformativeworks on tumblr), or otw, who runs ao3 and other fandom projects – has a lot of money in their “reserves” that they had no plans for. but in 2023, @manogirl and i did some research on this, and now, after looking at their more recent financial statements, i’ve determined that at the beginning of 2024, they had almost $2.8 MILLION US DOLLARS IN SURPLUS.

our full post last year goes over the principles of how we determined this, even though the numbers are for 2023, but the key points still stand (with the updated numbers):

when we say “surplus”, we are not including money that they estimate they need to spend in 2024 for their regular expenses. just the extra that they have no plan for

yes, nonprofits do need to keep some money in reserves for emergencies; typically, nonprofits registered in the u.s. tend to keep enough to cover between six months and two years of their regular operating expenses (meaning, the rough amount they need each month to keep their services going). $2.8 million USD is enough to keep otw running for almost FIVE YEARS WITHOUT NEW DONATIONS

they always overshoot their fundraisers: as i’m posting this, they’ve already raised $104,751.62 USD from their current donation drive, which is over double what they’ve asked for! on day two of the fundraiser!!

no, we are not trying to claim they are embezzling this money or that it is a scam. we believe they are just super incompetent with their money. case in point: that surplus that they have? only earned them $146 USD in interest in 2022, because only about $10,000 USD of their money invested in an interest-bearing account. that’s the interest they earn off of MILLIONS. at the very least they should be using this extra money to generate new revenue – which would also help with their long-term financial security – but they can’t even do that

no, they do not need this money to use if they are sued. you can read more about this in the full post, but essentially, they get most of their legal services donated, and they have not, themselves, said this money is for that purpose

i'm not going to go through my process for determining the updated 2024 numbers because i want to get this post out quickly, and otw actually had not updated the sources i needed to get these numbers until the last couple days (seriously, i've been checking), but you can easily recreate the process that @manogirl and i outlined last year with these documents:

otw’s 2022 audited financial statement, to determine how much money they had at the end of 2022

otw’s 2024 budget spreadsheet, to determine their net income in 2023 and how much they transferred to and from reserves at the beginning of 2024

otw’s 2022 form 990 (also available on propublica), which is a tax document, and shows how much interest they earned in 2022 (search “interest” and you’ll find it in several places)  

also, otw has not been accountable to answering questions about their surplus. typically, they hold a public meeting with their finance committee every year in september or october so people can ask questions directly to their treasurer and other committee members; as you can imagine, after doing this deep dive last summer, i was looking forward to getting some answers at that meeting!

but they cancelled that meeting in 2023, and instead asked people to write to the finance committee through their contact us form online. fun fact: i wrote a one-line message to the finance committee on may 11, 2023 through that form, when @manogirl and i were doing this research, asking them for clarification on how much they have in their reserves. i have still not received a response.

so yeah. please spend your money on people who actually need it, like on mutual aid requests! anyone who wants to share their mutual aid requests, please do so in the replies and i’ll share them out – i didn’t want to link directly to individual requests without permission in case this leads to anyone getting harassed, but i would love to share your requests. to start with, here's operation olive branch and their ongoing spreadsheet sharing palestinian folks who need money to escape genocide.

oh, and if you want to write to otw and tell them why you are not donating, i'm not sure it’ll get any results, but it can’t hurt lol. here's their contact us form – just don’t expect a response! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[bigseuegsobtob]

Vixx and Exo ?

WHO ASKED THIS?! HAHAHAHA This is way too easy darlin’ but I think you must be new on my blog kekekeke  💜 💜 💜 Thank youuuuu~

VIXX

My first bias: Cha Hakyeon

Your current bias and why: Cha Hakyeon, I mean have you seen the guy? LOL There is no why.

Favourite song: Too many omg…a better question would be WHAT do I not like? But I guess I will pick one from one of their more popular eras…Fantasy.

Favourite MV: Eternity 

OTP: Aw now come on…Of course NEO

Member you think has the best smile: Lee Hongbin

Favourite choreography: On and On is a classic. I cannot. hahahaha

Favourite era: It’s EVERYTHING! Urgh but the top faves are Eternity, Conception and Shangri La

Do you own any merchandise: UH. HAHAHAAHAHAHAH Yes and I have a right to remain silent about that 

Have you seen them live: Yes ❤️

Favourite voice/singer: I really do think each of them are unique so I can’t give a straight answer for this but I think that Ravi’s singing voice is underrated. 

Favourite dancer: C H A  H A K Y E O N (did y’all think I was gonna say otherwise? hehehehe)

EXO (I’ve answered this before a couple of times and my answers never changed lol so I will copy & paste them here)

My first bias: Kyungsoo & Jongin (They’re both pretty much on par)

Your current bias and why: STILL Kyungsoo & Jongin LOL

Favourite song: Angel (너의 세상으로)

Favourite MV: Well…I’ll give you two hahahah Miracles In December and Call Me Baby

OTP: KaiSoo (ahahahhahah y’all saw this coming didn’t ya?)

Member you think has the best smile: I know Luhan is no longer in EXO but he would’ve been my first choice…so Jongin is up next.

Favourite choreography: Call Me Baby

Favourite era: Exodus

Do you own any merchandise: I have one of the shirts and one of their albums.

Have you seen them live: Yes.

Favourite voice/singer: Kyungsoo , Baekhyun (Luhan would’ve be a part of this too)

Favourite dancer: Jongin , Baekhyun (Zitao and Kris would’ve been a part of this too)

Put any kpop group in my ask and I’ll answer your questions.

[ineffably-human]

Some very belated meta about Guillermo's season 4 cliffhanger (which got so long I considered splitting it into two posts, but tbh I think these ideas need to exist together)...

I want to emphasize again that I'm convinced: at least in part, Guillermo took matters into his own hands for the entire household. He's getting himself turned right now to get them all moving forward again. And I still can't get over that.

Maybe it's because I sat wondering about how that line translated for two weeks before the episode aired in English. The entire ending was hanging on it. 'Nothing changes, but I can'? 'Nothing will change [about this place? about my life?] unless I do'? Did Guillermo really think the best way to move forward in his life was to remake himself in a way that left him completely alone?

But he's specifically talking about something outside of himself. "Nothing ever changes in this house, nothing's ever going to change, unless I change it."

And that's not something he has to care about. He could look at Nandor sitting in his chair, settling down to read for a decade after driving everyone insane, and he could say 'oh, okay. None of it meant anything. All these things you supposedly needed from me, the boundaries you crossed in my life, the loneliness and fear you said you had - those were all whims to you, and you don't actually give a shit.'

Instead he asks what's next, asking Nandor to take the lead again. He doesn't express his own fears (we'll come back to this), he asks for Nandor to validate them by feeling the same: "Don't you feel like nothing ever changes around here?" And when there's no answer to 'what's next?', when Nandor claims there's nothing he wants or will want for many years, that's what gets Guillermo moving.

Because that means another ten or fifteen years of waiting, yes - but also because Guillermo knows that's not true. He's watched Nandor, watched all of them, try to achieve something beyond what they've been for hundreds of years. He's seeing them experience truly heartbreaking losses, and treat it as a factory reset. And he still has that human perspective - that short life span, that newness and urgency. So he's saying 'fuck that, not this time,' about them and about himself.

We're slowly ruling out different elements of The Reason, whatever it is, that Guillermo's convinced himself being a vampire is what he needs. His relationship with Nandor is frayed and needs to be rebuilt. He's closer to the others, but not so close he'd need to change his life for them. They no longer need his constant protection, and they get into plenty of trouble even with him there as a stopgap.

He's come out to his bio family and they support him, so it's not about being accepted as a gay man. (And it's becoming a vampire that could risk his relationship with his family, forever!) I think there's an element of sexual freedom, but he's taken steps to do that now without vampirism, and if anything his relationship with the vamps has impacted his chances to have these things. He's seen there are parts of life he's missing out on, that he could maybe achieve if he stepped away.

He knows his strength and his worth, his physical abilities. Hell, he could lose a lot of the power he has, if he goes from slayer to vampire. I don't think it's rooted in self-loathing, because we never really see him talk about himself as lacking. If anything he welcomes the opportunity to preen, he lays it on a little thick.

I thought for most of the season that with a normal life waiting in the wings, all ready for him to move back into it when the time was right, we were going to get him torn between that and the supernatural world. But Guillermo never seemed to have interest in leaving. He wasn't making plans to move in with Freddie or move back to London before the disaster happened, he wasn't using the stolen cash to scout out a new apartment. In Go Flip Yourself he was angling for a new improved bedroom.

What we keep seeing, over and over, is that Guillermo lives his life based on lies. He lives his life in compartments, curating himself for the situation he's in and the image he wants to convey. I think he truly is devoted, truly does take pleasure in acts of service for loved ones. But on the other side of that, he only gets what he wants by sneaking his way into it. Does anyone have a full picture of him? His family and Freddie can't by design. The vampires made it a point, up to now, to not care about his feelings or learn anything about him. Nandor's the only one who has even started to ask, and most of the time he doesn't think to.

("Don't you feel like nothing ever changes around here?")

But the vampires we meet, while they all have hidden depths, don't really have secret selves except for their species. They live mostly on the surface, impulsively and chasing pleasure. (I'd say at least for the Staten house, they also use it as a way to avoid thinking about things that are deeper or more painful.) They're unapologetic, and most important, they live selfishly. And the thing about being selfish is, it means being seen.

Guillermo is waiting for vampiric power, vampiric selfishness, to have the freedom to exist as a whole person

And the thing about that is: Guillermo is selfish at heart, absolutely. It's one of the reasons he'll make an excellent vampire. But one of his best traits is his empathy - for everyone, monsters included - and how much he truly wants to give to the people who matter to him. The whole thing about his photo hitting that line in opening? Is because Guillermo has to sacrifice 'hope and compassion' to get what he wants, but he's also never lacked for it. And the others are changing, he's the catalyst for their change, because of who he is and the influence he exerts on the stagnant, selfish world around them.

I don't think becoming a vampire magically takes empathy (or really any human trait) out of people. The new vampires we meet pretty much act like their old selves. Even Nadja's doll is just a younger version of her. I think vampiric craziness and selfishness is a result of immortal lifespans, and a life built on death, and a culture that seems to emphasize power and violence over connection to others - even when it works against them.

I'd still love for Guillermo to become a vampire, because I think he can bring that fresh perspective to the table. (Plus I think he and the vamps have plenty to teach each other, I don't want them to lose each other.) But isn't it interesting, that paradox of kindness and selfishness? That potential for Guillermo to embrace the most dangerous parts of himself? The chance that maybe, now, it'll be Guillermo's turn to fuck up - and for the others to remind him of what's still in his heart?