#idk how you're going to explain that...

[sainz100]

2024 Brazilian GP | x

[skrunksthatwunk]

actually i'm still thinking about the moral orel finale.

he has a cross on his wall. do you know how much i think about that bc it's a lot.

a lot of stories ((auto)biographical or fictional) centering escape from abusive/fundamentalist christianity result in the lead characters leaving behind christianity entirely. and that makes complete sense! people often grow disillusioned with the associated systems and beliefs, and when it was something used to hurt them or something so inseparable from their abuse that they can't engage with it without hurting, it makes total sense that they would disengage entirely. and sometimes they just figure out that they don't really believe in god/a christian god/etc. a healthy deconstruction process can sometimes look like becoming an atheist or converting to another religion. it's all case by case. (note: i'm sure this happens with other religions as well, i'm just most familiar with christian versions of this phenomenon).

but in orel's case, his faith was one of the few things that actually brought him comfort and joy. he loved god, y'know? genuinely. and he felt loved by god and supported by him when he had no one else. and the abuses he faced were in how the people in his life twisted religion to control others, to run away from themselves, to shield them from others, etc. and often, orel's conflicts with how they acted out christianity come as a direct result of his purer understanding of god/jesus/whatever ("aren't we supposed to be like this/do that?" met with an adult's excuse for their own behavior or the fastest way they could think of to get orel to leave them alone (i.e. orel saying i thought we weren't supposed to lie? and clay saying uhhh it doesn't count if you're lying to yourself)). the little guy played catch with god instead of his dad, like.. his faith was real, and his love was real. and i think it's a good choice to have orel maintain something that was so important to him and such a grounding, comforting force in the midst of. All That Stuff Moralton Was Up To/Put Him Through. being all about jesus was not the problem, in orel's case.

and i know i'm mostly assuming that orel ended up in a healthier, less rigid version of christianity, but i feel like that's something that was hinted at a lot through the series, that that's the direction he'd go. when he meditates during the prayer bee and accepts stephanie's different way to communicate, incorporating elements of buddhism into his faith; when he has his I AM A CHURCH breakdown (removing himself from the institution and realizing he can be like,, the center of his own faith? taking a more individualistic approach? but Truly Going Through It at the same time), his acceptance (...sometimes) of those who are different from him and condemned by the adults of moralton (stephanie (lesbian icon stephanie my beloved), christina (who's like. just a slightly different form of fundie protestant from him), dr chosenberg (the jewish doctor from otherton in holy visage)). his track record on this isn't perfect, but it gets better as orel starts maturing and picking up on what an absolute shitfest moralton is. it's all ways of questioning the things he's been taught, and it makes sense that it would lead to a bigger questioning as he puts those pieces together more. anyway i think part of his growth is weeding out all the lost commandments of his upbringing and focusing on what faith means to him, and what he thinks it should mean. how he wants to see the world and how he wants to treat people and what he thinks is okay and right, and looking to religion for guidance in that, not as like. a way to justify hurting those he's afraid or resentful of, as his role models did.

he's coming to his own conclusions rather than obediently, unquestioningly taking in what others say. but he's still listening to pick out the parts that make sense to him. (edit/note: and it's his compassion and his faith that are the primary motivations for this questioning and revisal process, both of individual cases and, eventually, the final boss that is christianity.) it makes perfect sense as the conclusion to his character arc and it fits the overall approach of the show far better. it's good is what i'm saying.

and i think it's important to show that kind of ending, because that's a pretty common and equally valid result of deconstruction. and i think it cements the show's treatment of christianity as something that's often (and maybe even easily) exploited, but not something inherently bad. something that can be very positive, even. guys he even has a dog he's not afraid of loving anymore. he's not afraid of loving anyone more than jesus and i don't think it's because he loves this dog less than bartholomew (though he was probably far more desperate for healthy affection and companionship when he was younger). i think it's because he figures god would want him to love that dog. he's choosing to believe that god would want him to love and to be happy and to be kind. he's not afraid of loving in the wrong way do you know how cool that is he's taking back control he's taking back something he loves from his abusers im so normal

[deoidesign]

Someone killed my boss last night and he sent me this I'm so fired

god I can't wait to make this comic.

[mintaikk]

Me reading a fic where the person had an identidy realization that they were in he aroace spectrum and now they were figuring themselves out(I finally found something that understood me and a romance I could relate to after all these years)

[maldupay]

something something siffrin completely deprived of human skin to skin contact and the head housemaidem holding his face and weeping for them

[quaranmine]

On Wednesday before I gave my presentation I confessed to a new employee that I was worried it would be too long and she brightly told me her life hack was to just let AI rewrite things for her. She said I should put in all my talking points and ask ChatGPT to give me a five minute exactly presentation. I was like....how is the most polite possible way (since this is a new colleague I shouldn't get off on the wrong foot with) that I can express that I will Not be taking this advice. Ever. I told her that I didn't think we were allowed to use ChatGPT at this job (we most certainly are not, it is a nightmare for any type of protected information) and also that I prefer to write all of my own work. Despite my best efforts the last part of that was still passive aggressive, lol.

Something about being a writer makes it so that it's almost offensive to me for someone to suggest I use AI to do my work instead? Like, the day I reach the point where I let AI write something for me is the day y'all need to be checking me for brain damage because clearly I'm losing it

[shinesurge]

Magically, I haven't really had to mute that "tumblr isn't dead Actually" post yet because most of the shitty responses are just people who are frustrated about not getting more engagement. WHICH I can understand for sure seeing as I've been making a comic for a decade that has 196 followers on tumblr lolol. I've been doing okay lately but I'm DEEPLY mentally ill and it's absolutely exacerbated by my career, y'all who have been around a while know i am DEFINITELY not salt-deficient in my own time.

mostly i just feel bad because like. man what would you like me to do, i made my point and none of their blogs disprove it. i know i'm REALLY not an example of Success™️ or whatever (my comic is on a six month timer literally right now, i'm working with dogfood over here lmfao) but if you're ONLY feigning enthusiasm with the EXPECTATION that you'll get Something in return that's not going to work either. tumblr, but also most nerdy social medias, is best for people who are obsessive about stuff. i said fandom in the original post but there are thriving craft communities here! there are weightlifters! it doesn't MATTER what the thing is, you just have to genuinely be into it to an embarrassing degree, and want to hang out with other people doing the same. that's how communities work.

this issue plays out /constantly/ in the webcomic community, SO many people show up to get popular or whatever with no intention of reading anyone else's stuff, or reading other comics is A Chore rather than a cause for excitement. Almost all of those projects die early because the creator gets burnt out, because webcomics are fuckin hard and thankless and the ONLY reason you keep at it is because you love it yourself and can't help but make the thing. and then you stick around long enough to find the other freaks who are also too stupid to quit, and now you have friends lol

I really feel for the folks who are so frustrated, i have one foot there pretty much all the time. but you can't fake this stuff, and unfortunately i do not know how to explain this concept to folks who don't even realize where the problem is

[rist-ix]

https://www.tumblr.com/rist-ix/749015401700229120 not you reblogging this when you ship bloom with the man who murdered her family 😭

Bloom's into ppl who slay! Hope this helps :3

[quatregats]

I feel like the only way I can describe the tragedy of Hornblower chronology is that there is a horizontal asymptote at "Consistent Essence of Hornblower" and a vertical asymptote at the space between Atropos and Beat to Quarters/Happy Return, and his character arc is the line -(1/x)

[sskk-manifesto]

Atsushi's back in the game!!! ۶( ˆ o ˆ )

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

idk sometimes there is a certain absolute horror to be had when you snap out of it for a brief moment to remember how abnormal it all is

[moshieee]

I think I need a reverse of that meme of

"why is everyone so mean to me"

Because I feel like I'm questioning why y'all are so nice to me

I am shaking

[kieren-fucking-walker]

Currently in receipt of the funniest ask I've ever received on this website and that's a feat because I've been here since 2011.

[dellovestorant]

He is so quintessentially british even saying Aussie slang

[holidayslinger]

i remember disposable income those were nice days (2 months ago) and somehow now i have negative disposable income despite making the same amount of money. rip.

[mashmouths]

sitting waiting for someone to text you bc you wanted to make plans with them almost 4 hours ago but now you've just wasted 4 hours bc you couldn't do anything bc you were waiting for them to text should've been a circle of hell in dante's inferno