#imo it’s so much worse for most of us that Know everything

[blossoms-phan]

they’re being VERY generous with the marketing of this tour if things are gonna keep going they way yesterday did like don’t sit there with your pizza and giggle and tell me to take my mum or sister or bf im so glad I just said fuck it and bought myself a ticket instead of trying to drag a clueless friend or someone with me I’d genuinely rather kms than have any blissfully unaware person in my life know anything that’s gonna go on in this show

[kradogsrats]

Now we know What Viren Did(tm), and...

My personal side-eye aside, that denouement is actually an incredibly elegant application of the story's themes, within the scope of restrictions imposed by this particular medium (i.e. a cartoon targeted for pre-teens and younger). Like, I personally assumed for a long time that we would simply never find out the details, because it would be either too grim and/or violent for the story's intended rating or... kind of a let-down. On the surface, what we got seems like the second.

Most of us have looked at Claudia killing the baby deer to heal Soren's paralysis and went "well, it was obviously that, but y'know... worse, somehow," which is a completely reasonable assumption to make. It was definitely what was narratively implied, which makes the supposedly-damning ingredient being "your mother's tears" instead of like... idk, "your mother was pregnant again and I used the life of that unborn child to save you" or something kind of "... oh. Okay, then."

To be fair, that might also be why they went so hard in the IMO inadvisable male-dominated writer room direction of "so I held her down and took what I wanted" to convey the requisite "he's doing A Bad," which is what all my side-eye is toward. But here's the thing:

On some level, dark magic is about violation—of nature, of others, and of the self. Even violation by Aaravos, ultimately.

But it's also not just that.

Dark magic also sits at the center of one of the primary themes of the whole story, which is the evil of denying others' personhood. We see it again and again from the angle of the heroic cast: "You keep calling it a monster," "You knew he was a person, just like you," "She's not 'the elf.' She's Rayla." The evil they do not allow to take root is seeing people as things, the place where all other evils begin. (GNU Terry Pratchett, IYKYK.)

So Viren's damning crime, the crime that is dark magic, is this:

In that moment, he looks at his wife, and sees only a source of what he needs. One that he can take from as he wills. That's why Lissa leaves—Viren has pulled the circle he draws around "people" versus "abstractions, things to be used" in so tightly that she has found herself suddenly on the outside of it. That's not something you come back from, in a relationship.

As for it all being over something as innocent as Lissa's tears, as opposed to something like her blood, her unborn child, her heart, her last breath—that's also, I think, part of the point. It's a renewable resource, harvested without doing permanent physical harm, but it's still a violation of her. This is the ultimate refutation of the "but what if ethically-sourced phoenix feathers" argument as being, for the final time, bullshit.

When Viren bursts in looking like he walked straight out of hell and demands use of her tears, could Lissa have given them freely? Sure... but she didn't. Could he have talked her around, if he invested the time and respect for her that would require? Probably, but again, he didn't! He took what he'd decided was necessary, did what he decided he had to do, because he could.

And like, he knew, even then. Because while dark magic twists your perceptions and reasoning, dragging you deeper each time—it can't twist you so much that you no longer have a choice. It will do everything it can to make you rationalize making that choice, over and over, but it can't erase that it is a choice.

Like, I'm honestly kind of emotional about it because while the surface level watching experience is kind of hmmmmm, it delivers so well on a thematic and meta level that I'm just like idk. Fuck. It's good.

[thigholstercas]

So I wanted to have all these parts of scripts that I love with destiel moments that were erased, changed, or added context in one place. Bare in mind that there are some that are Production Drafts and others Writer's Drafts, and so on.

4x02 - Are you there, God? It's me, Dean Winchester

Oh honey, he's gonna be your husband

Honestly, I'm just putting this here because I love this scene.

5x04 - The End

Cas received the order to follow Dean's commands once, and he sticked to it up 'til the end of everything.

7x17 - Born again identity

Just remember, this was after everything that happened in season 6 and widow!dean arc 1.0

Forward to Cas' speech in 15x18, yes the parallels.

Swear this is a whole Dean thesis. If we go back to what started this whole thing in tmwwbk. Dean tells Cas, we can fix this. And he never stopped wanting to fix it.

8x17 - Goodby Stranger

Like, I know they established that it didn't make sense for Dean to say I love you here, which fair, and we ended up which I need you (somehow worse).

But if we look at this as a whole, what Dean might understand is that saying I love you makes people leave him. Fastforward to the part when Dean takes the sigils so Cas can find him and Naomi visits and tells him that Cas doesn't return his feelings. Fastforward again to the You didn't trust me because even if we get to know that it was hard for Cas to leave with the tablet, away from Dean, Dean doesn't. For Dean, he left him, without even acknowledging that he loves/needs him, ignored him, and didn't trust him. Imagine you say I love you and you are left feeling abandoned, betrayed, and angry.

8x19 - Taxi Driver

This in the middle of I love you, and You didn't trust me is something

8x22 - Clip show

The one guy that's always had your back.

9x22 - Stairway to Heaven

Don't know what they smoked to write this, but I want some

10x23 - Brother's Keeper

You'll see the word shattered used a lot. This very much both destiel and drowley imo.

Season 12 is weirdly filled with these, so here are special mentions (because the max of pictures is 30 and there are too many moments). Most likely, it has to do with the market research by the end of 2016, which is why from 12-15, these scenes are more emotionally charged.

Mary saying Good friend when Dean and Cas hug in 12x01

Cas told Mary I promised (Dean) when they were talking outside the barn before going in to help Dean save Sam in 12x02

Dean telling Mary Get him outta here! when Cas was wounded in 12x12. And of course, when Cas says the things they have shared changed him (but that's on screen)

Cas texts? from 12x16

Dean is a worried husband on 12x18.

Dean explaining that no matter how much Cas messed up, did the wrong thing, or every dumb move he got it in 12x20. Cas was always Cas.

12x10 - Lily Sunder has some regrets

Dean telling Cas he has changed, and it has all been for the good. Again, forward to 15x18.

12x19 - The Future

This whole episode is charged with scenes from Dean and Cas. Like you have the angry Welcome home from Dean when Cas returns from Heaven. Dean calls Cas a super strong dude in a trenchcoat. The mixtape scene with the That was a gift. To keep. And Dean softening a bit even if he's angry because he's more worried.

But I think the biggest one is this one. The destiel sex scene (jk)

And after this, even though it is said in the show. There is more insistence from Dean to not let go of Cas -> We're not gonna let you just walk away. Not again. Not happening.

12x23 - All Along the Watchtower

The word shattered is mentioned a lot in the scripts. This is every part that describes Dean's reactions after losing Cas. Forward to 15x18.

13x06 - Tombstone

This is one of the best things that never happened in the show. You have Dean choking down his emotions saying he's much better now and Cas who fought with the empty with everything he had in 13x04 to return to Dean, coming to a meadow near a windmill because Dean thought he'd like it.

13x14 - Good Intentions

Forget about the in love part. They are best friends, and we didn´t get this.

13x20 - Unfinished Business

He lost Cas and it damn near broke him. Not we lost Cas, I.

14x12 - Prophet and Loss

Losing Dean was unacceptable. Cas said that losing Dean was unacceptable. And Dean got emotional. And then forward to 15x18, Cas just goes no, Dean can't die because that'd be unacceptable to me, so i'll sacrifice. And then, Dean gets emotional. Again. But for Dean, the unacceptable happened.

15x09 - The Trap

Forward to 15x20. In this future that Chuck showed Sam that he lost Dean the second Cas was gone.

Have I said how much they used the word shattered. Anyway, Dean wanted Cas to stay. That's his best friend.

He's amazing.

15x18 - Despair

This is not that different from what it was filmed, it is just that seeing it described makes it different. Especially when you get things as Still beautiful, still Dean Winchester, Dean is emotional, stunned, shocked. And have I said how much they used the word shattered. Also, you can see how it starts as a confession because Cas is confessing that he made a deal, but then it ends as a declaration, a declaration of love. Which makes testament such a good word for it.

15x19 - Inherit the Earth

The fact that Dean couldn't say Cas was gone

He's not the ultimate killer. He's not daddy's blunt instrument. He's someone who raised his little brother for love, who fought for the world for love and the most caring man on Earth

15x20 - Carry On

We don't talk about this episode because the script has way too many [omitted] but this is exactly what happened in 15x09 when Chuck showed their future to Sam if they followed the road they were taking.

Okay, that was it. Probably missed some, but for me, these are the parts that stand out.

[lurkingshan]

My mind has been spinning and spinning around episodes 3 and 4, and I have so many feelings about them that I have been struggling to decide what I want to write about. One of @bengiyo's questions is about the different feel of this part of the story in the transition from page to screen, including the overall kdramafication effect, and I felt that most keenly where Hyung was concerned.

Let's start with the obvious: Hyung is not supposed to be this young and hot. But then, Young is not supposed to look like Nam Yoon Su, so I guess we can let that one go. More than that, though, I think episode 3 went out of its way to make Yeong Su a more appealing love interest than he ever seemed to be in the novel, and that had a clear purpose: to make the comedown in episode 4 so much worse.

Episode 3 used the familiar trappings of romance dramas to help us understand why Go Yeong was so drawn to this man despite some of his rough edges. They had interesting dates with good conversations. They shared an umbrella in the rain. They kissed sexily outside. They danced together in Yeong Su's (much nicer than described in the book) apartment. I may or may not have actually said OH MY GOD out loud when they were moving together to that old song; it was intoxicating in exactly the way early attraction is. Instead of viewing Hyung through the bitter recollections of Young's memory already knowing he's a bastard, we experienced him the way Go Yeong did when he was first catching his interest, and it was easy to see why he would latch onto this man as a balm and a distraction while he was going through a very hard time with his mother's illness.

Which means it hurt so much worse when Go Yeong emerged from that initial haze in episode 4 and realized who Yeong Su really was. He got a hard look at the deep internalized homophobia Yeong Su was carrying and projecting onto him, and it was not pleasant, nor was the way it echoed across his experiences with his mother.

Another interesting change made in the adaptation was to increase the severity of Hyung's crime; where in the novel he only searched and read articles on the evils of homosexuality, in the show he wrote the damn article while Go Yeong slept in his bed. A much larger betrayal and blow for Young. And this makes sense for the screen version, IMO; the romance is deeper and therefore so must be the fracture. Everything is just a bit bigger and more dramatic to amplify the themes of the story and to help the audience understand why this might drive Go Yeong to such a low moment without the benefit of his internal monologue to connect all the dots.

I was reflecting on these changes and how they affected the tone when I read @solitaryandwandering's thoughts, because I was intrigued by her reception of these episodes as darker, where for me, with the (much) more depressing novel version in my head, they felt lighter than expected. Which is kind of a wild thing to say about a section of the story that includes Young's suicide attempt, but context is everything! The T-aras, of course, also contribute to how different this section feels. In the book, Young is presented as so isolated and alone with this relationship, but in the show he has friends who know and care and try to help and show up for him in his low moment to make sure he is not alone. It makes such a difference to the bleakness of it all, and also makes the story feel more cohesive across the different parts in a way the book intentionally does not.

I think ultimately the adaptation choices made here were smart, and I continue to be impressed with how thoughtful Sang Young Park has been with his different visions for his story in each medium.

[eightyonekilograms]

Obviously, JD Vance's proposal to give parents additional votes stirred up a furor from progressives saying it's anti-feminist, reactionary, trying to keep women in the kitcen, etc.

And I agree with them. Frankly I wouldn't shed a single tear if Trump "who will rid me of this meddlesome running mate"-d a second VP in a row and I never had to hear from Vance or his 2010!NRx ideas ever again. But I have a more prosaic objection also: if implemented, I don't think this plan would actually work?

Like, as I understand it, there are two proposed justifications for how this might be a good idea, but I don't think either of them stand up to scrutiny.

The first (and less plausible) one is, people who selfishly want more votes will have more children in order to get more political leverage for [whatever they want]. Even though they're doing it for selfish reasons, children are a public good, and so on net this is good for society.

I think this theory can be dispensed with pretty easily. It sounds just like one of those $1000 payments for having another child that budges the birth rate not at all because it's way too small a reward for the expense involved. Even speaking as someone intensely annoyed by trendy anti-electoralist cynicism, I know the EV of an additional vote is microscopic compared to the expense of having children. It won't move anyone except at the very bleeding edge of the margin.

But that's the easy case. The much more interesting theory of the Vance Plan is that of fixing broken incentives. The story goes like this: one feature of democracy, for better or worse, is that it rewards those who show up. If you have no vote (or don't use your vote), you are invisible to democracy, so your wants will be systematically underrepresented. This is why wealthy first-world countries are increasingly gerontocratic in both legislative makeup and resulting policy: old people reliably vote, young people don't, so even with no conspiracy involved, democracy gravitates to favoring the wants of the old. Vance says, hey, children cannot vote, so just as you'd predict, their interests (as a class!) get ignored, so we end up with a legislative landscape that doesn't favor children and makes it harder to raise them.

It makes perfect sense on paper! But I think in the real world it falls apart.

What are the actual bits of legislation and policy which discourage people from having more children? I mean, people can and do argue furiously over this question, but IMO three of the most significant ones are:

NIMBY localist housing policy locking young potential parents out of the housing market

More localist tax and education policy making competition for "good schools" a Red Queen Race which drives up house prices still further, requiring two working parents

Safetyist legislation which, while well-intentioned, is making everything from cars to child care more expensive than it necessarily needs to be

In order to believe that giving parents additional votes will cause a more child-friendly society to emerge via electoral pressure, you have to believe that parents are more likely than non-parents to oppose 1, 2 and 3. And that just... doesn't seem true? At best there's no difference, and to be blunt, I think as a class parents tend to be worse than non-parents on all three. #NotAllParents, of course, there are plenty of people with kids who still want good abundance policy, but averaged over everybody I think it's hard to deny that parenthood tends to push people toward defensive, loss-averting "protect the children" mentalities which, on a global scale, fuck everyone else over. That talking point you constantly see among the Very Online Right that parents are more likely than non-parents to think Beyond Themselves and want to build a stable world for the long term, just seems obviously false to me. Or at least if it is true, it's true in a way which is mostly irrelevant, since these "long-view parents" don't know how to turn those wants into policy which actually achieves them.

Frankly, I think it's easy to envision a world where the Vance Plan makes all policy around child-rearing worse instead of better, and depresses the birth rate even further.

[windvexer]

What counts as a spell? Is intent all you need or do you have to do something before to get it all juicy and stuff.

Hi Anon! What a fun question, because there is no answer except this CAN OF WORMS you just opened.

There is no consensus anywhere as to what constitutes a "spell."

There is even LESS consensus as to what makes a spell go.

Intent is a good starting place. It is probably where you should start for all acts of practical magic.

But I find that in it's common form, the idea of intent + willpower = magic has been diluted past the point of utility for most people.

Like if we're talking about "intent is everything" I'm reminded most closely of Chaos Magic. But Chaos Magic is not a school of "just set your intent and you've worked magic!". It's a very rigorously developed system.

In Hine's Condensed Chaos, he lists the third Core Principal of Chaos magic as technical excellence, and I quote:

One of the early misconceptions about Chaos Magic was that it gave practitioners carte blanche to do whatever they liked, and so become sloppy (or worse, soggy) in their attitudes to self-assessment, analysis, etc. Not so. The Chaos approach has always advocated rigorous self-assessment and analysis, emphasized practice at what techniques you're experimenting with until you get the results you desire. Learning to 'do' magic requires that you develop a set of skills and abilities and if you're going to get involved in all this weird stuff, why not do it to the best of your ability?

Later in the book, Hine likens "magical powers" to the concept of achievements, and goes on to say:

Something which is an achievement is the result of practice, discipline, and patience.

Shortly after:

Chaos Magic is not about discarding all rules and restraints, but the process of discovering the most effective guidelines and disciplines which enable you to effect change in the world.

(In above quotes, all emphasis my own)

But these ideas get taken - and I'll give a big nod to the LOA which is just the worst kind of brainrot for encouraging the "intent is all that matters" mindset - and the ideas get diluted so much that people are literally out here saying, "so all those people who spend years studying magic in order to get results are buffoons? All I have to do is imagine what I want and it will be delivered to me? All humans since the start of history just have to decide they want something and it will happen in a miraculous manner?"

(Not you, Anon. I'm just in a mood)

In my mind, yes - something beyond intent must occur in order to make spells go.

But what?

Anon, have you ever heard that dumb belief floating around that all herbs in a spell can be replaced by rosemary, and all stones in a spell can be replaced by clear quartz, and these two things are "universal substitutes"?

I am 95% sure that this nonsense was based on two very popular dictionaries Cunningham wrote in the 80s, the Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic, and Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs.

In the very long entry for Clear Quartz:

Quartz crystal is used as a power amplifier during magic. It is worn or placed on the altar for this purpose.

And from Rosemary:

Rosemary is generally used as a substitute for frankincense.

And I believe that someone somewhere got the idea that since clear quartz amplifies all other powers, it therefore somehow magically Ditto-copies all other powers, and like a shapeshifter somehow becomes something it is not nor ever was.

And, you know. What's the difference between subbing out frankincense and blackthorn between friends?

These beliefs have become so popular that sometimes when unscrupulous blogs rip off entire Cunningham encyclopedia entries and paste them into tumblr posts (without credit), THEY INCLUDE THE EXTRA MADE-UP BIT ABOUT ROSEMARY BEING A UNIVERSAL SUBSTITUTE.

Anon, your question is "is it just intent or do we need other stuff to make it go," but sadly,

IMO common beliefs about the stuff that makes spells go have also been diluted past the point of utility for most people.

Because if I sat here and said, "hey Anon, it's not just intent, you also have to use correspondences ^-^/" then the very first thing you are likely to run into is absolute nonsense about correspondences. IMO, effective utilization of correspondences is a skillset based in research, theory, and technique.

Or if I said, "you also have to raise energy! 👍", this may be mistaken to mean, "set intent but also visualize white light inside of a candle," because the concept of raising energy and visualizing has been (IMO) diluted past the point of utility for most people. I believe that effective utilization of energy work is a song composed of many notes and chords, several of which you must practice before you can utilize it.

And to complicate all of this, which non-diluted things in which combinations you need to make the spell go depends on what paradigm you operate off of, because while there are approximately one billion ways to do magic that works, my currently very dim worldview is that most people who are talking about magic are doing magic that doesn't work,

and in my opinion the actual basis and reasoning, like the rationality behind the magical systems is really important. Because you need that shit to understand what it is within that system that makes the spell go.

And you need to understand what makes the spell go to make the system fit into your life without breaking it, and in order to troubleshoot problems without making things crumble further.

Because when people don't understand the basis and reasoning you end up with "rosemary is a universal substitute" and "imagining white light makes the spell go."

There are a few circumstances where you can totally strip technique from theory and be successful, but there are also a hell of a lot of people out here feeling shit about their practice because their spells never seem to work.

So.

I really just recommend choosing what school of magic you would like to learn about and participate in, and reading an introductory book on it.

This is because it is the job of introductory books to explain the principles and theories behind a system of magic, and most importantly, what makes the magic go, and a step-by-step primer on what you, the practitioner, are supposed to do to make that kind of magic go.

Despite above rambles I'm really not a Chaote, so I can't recommend a strong primer. As far as I'm aware, Liber Null & Psychonaut by Peter J. Carroll is a core text.

For Traditional Witchcraft, try The Crooked Path by Kelden.

For something more Wiccan, I can't recall having anything bad to say about Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn.

If either of these things are too Witchcrafty for you, try Six Ways by Aidan Wachter, which is still witchcraft, but it hits different.

For a general primer on helping your spells go, try Elements of Spellcrafting by Jason Miller.

[aernthetransfrormer]

Identity Debates #4 Radqueers

I'm going to be making a few posts about "controversial identities" I want to here argument both for and against it. You don't personally have to believe the argument, just something you've hear/come up with. Also, this is the last post. :)))

The main reason I'm against rad queers is because a large part of them support MAPS/YAPS as if they're not just pedophiles. I'm also kinda offended by transabled, transabuse, etc people because I actually have those expirience it, I don't understand why anyone would want to transPTSD. I don't have PTSD, but I do have trauma. It's kinda offensive to be like, "I wish I went through that :c" No. YOU. DO. NOT. Being transharmful is worse in my opinion, Just because YOU SHOULD NEVER WANT TO HARM ANYONE!!!! You can be trans age I guess because you agere, transspecies, BUT WHY TRANSHARMFUL? THE WORST PART IS I'VE SEEN A LOT OF PEOPLE TRANSITION AND PURPOSFULLY HARM PEOPLE! I sometimes tell myself it can't be that much of a large part of the community, but it's so much it's still bad imo

The only thing I am okay with is trans race adopted people/anyone who's family is a different race so they celebrate things and act like people of a race they weren't born into. I do have a problem though with people who are transrace just because they think it's cool. As a Mexican, it's kinda racist??? You can celebrate the holidays, enjoy the food, and everything else without becoming the other race. None of them should try to physically change themselves though. Just like I said in my other posts, I don't have a problem with the cringe part of it, just those offensive and objectively terrible parts. Being transspecies is like being alterhuman. Who really cares? I don't care about those parts, but there's so much bad I am against radqueers. The argument that they aren't hurting anyone doesn't even work because they are being discriminatory AND SUPPORT PEDOS???

I would say # Rad queers interact! but I'm gonna trigger way to many people into pointless arguments. If you aren't VERY triggered, please tell me anything you have heard about supporting radqueers. You don't nesacarily have to agree with it though. Edit: A few people have responded and I am understanding a bit more why people are radqueer. I still don't think it's that good though, not THAT bad either though. 1. I still believe transharmful is bad because you should never want to harm anyone. 2. I know paraphilias are something people actually struggle with and they deserve support, but they shouldn't be celebrated. At least not in the way like LGBTQ+ is. 3. I do mostly agree with at least what most people have responded with. 4. do understand using transID for introjects who want to be more like their source, but I personally believe it's best to separate from your source. Having wayyyy to many Wilbur fictives, me (host) and all of them have had some existential crisis from not understanding whether or not I am the source. (obviously no but its still stressful) 5. I still don't understand transdisorder/transable. I understand why people use them, but I still don't think it's good most of the time. It's still offensive imo. This is because wishing you had it worse isn't something to be proud of, it's kind of an insult towards people struggling with those things. YOU CAN EXPIRIENCE THINGS THAT MAKE YOU IDENTIFY AS RADQUEER BUT ITS NOT ALWAYS SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF! specifically paraphillias, transrace, transdisorder, and transabled. You can expirience them and I agree we shouldn't have stigmas against paraphilias, but you shouldn't be proud of it (at least like LGBTQ+ is)

btw, I wouldn't consider radqueers as LGBTQ+ because LGBTQ is about struggling with gender and/or sexual and romantic orientation but radqueers don't have to do with either

ANOTHER EDIT :0 Radqueers... aren't actually that bad. Thank you to everyone who answered. Tbh, I'm mostly neutral on it in like half the cases lol. As long as it isn't hurting anyone, YAY! lol idk what to say I'm not against radqueer identities, I just personally think there are better options. like 70% of it is alright and the rest is... eh, kinda bad? I think transharm identies are okay but I still don't really know about trans race, transabled, and other things that are kinda biggoted. I understand why people use the labels, but I don't think it's right? Idk if that makes sense. I think it's better to just accept yourself first.

[an-amber-in-the-ashes]

Hi! I'm a reader with hEDS like Violet, and Fourth Wing made me feel like I'd been spat on.

*This* is what we get for representation? One million instances of pushing through pain?

In terms of Violet being lanky and skinny, I get it. A lot (not all! Not all! Do you hear me! Not all!) of people with hEDS are extremely thin, but also very tall. I felt a bit sad that that second part wasn't explored-- it's way harder to keep from bumping your elbows when your arms are that long. What I really wanted to see with the "uwu I'm sooooooo white-- I mean pale -- and skinny owo" was some kind of sunburn. Hell, even more evident bruising. There are consequences to the EDS complexion (obviously poc will have different experiences, but we're talking about a Generic White Fantasy Girl Here)

I kept hoping that she would get some kind of mobility aid, some kind of help from her small dragon, a brace, anything. We got a few mentions of wraps, but considering her biggest issues seemed to come from her shoulders and knees, that's a bandaid on a stab wound. It wouldn't save her forever.

The opportunity to explore accessible and altered sex positions was entirely ignored. Considering, again, the shoulders, there should have been more thought put into it. (Also, did you know a hEDS symptom is easier bruising? This includes the cervix. Do with that what you will)

I kept waiting for something (electric finger splints? Aches from the storms her powers cause? A day when she finally went too far and couldn't move? Nosebleeds from flying too high?), and it just never came. Violet was the bestest and the most powerful because she pushed through her body's warning signal that something was about to give, and was rewarded with Ambiguously Brown Man #45.

What a waste of time. What a message to give to the people with the same condition.

I didn't have very many opinions about this because I didn't know very much about hEDS. But even to me the whole thing of her having the disease felt kind of gimmicky because of the way that it was treated. I honestly didn't realise (because of the way everything was written) until like the end that her getting injured easily wasn't just another quirky trait of hers because she was just so tiny and petite and fragile.

but after hearing yours and reading other people's testimonies about how debilitating the condition can be, it's really insane to me how RY managed to misrepresent her own condition.

I don't understand why authors always make their mc so short and teeny tiny like it's so weird.

I feel like RY started writing her as a person with EDS and then got bored/forgot about it quickly and just peppered in symptoms while editing.

To me it felt like she was just using it as a way to add to Violet's QuiRy-ness and nothing more.

As far as I remember the only aid Violet got was the big dragon helping her stay on his back while she was riding but I don't think that that helped her very much.

I have mild hyper mobility and even writing for a long time is difficult because of that. So how Violet is able to ride a dragon and fight with a condition a million times worse and no aid I will never be able to understand.

I feel like RY didn't give her any mobility aids or anything because it would make her seem "weak" but de stigmatizing the need for additional help is an entirely different topic.

Honestly imo she just used the syndrome as a gimmick and an easy way to make her character interesting.

There is so much that could have been explored but wasn't.

Another case of lost potential, weak research and bad writing

[gh-0-stcup]

Riley failed because the writers didn't understand the archetype they were trying to convey and their audience.

Riley's the all-American boy next door. His character model was so pervasive in other media because it's wholesome, simple, and nostalgic. Calling back to a nebulous time when people were nice, helpful, and virtuous. (Actually a rose tinted view of a nonexistent past - it calls back to the viewers childhood when everything felt that way.)

The most important thing with this character model is the feelings it evokes in the audience. The character must come across to the audience as

A moral paragon

Safe

The problem is that this type of character also has deep associations with heteronormativity, sexism, and racism. They have been used numerous times in media to help uphold and propogate these ideas.

But BTVS' very premise stands in direct opposition to the American values this character model tends to embody. It's more likely that this archetype will evoke the exact opposite feelings it's supposed to in fans of BTVS. They're more likely to have been victimized in their lives by the messaging imbeded into it.

It could have worked extremely well had the writers considered what would evoke the same feelings with their own audience.

Take one of Riley's early scenes - punching Parker for his comments about freshman girls and toilet seats. It's mentioned after that Riley does not take issue with his friends talking about women in "worse" ways. He reacted the way he did because he's got a crush on Buffy.

Imo, this is the moment the character failed. If you want to sell a character like Riley as a love interest to audience like BTVS', you must ensure the line between chivalry and chauvinism is never crossed. Once it is, that character's virtuousness will forever come across as a facade. A way to have control and possession over women under the guise of protecting their honour.

A minor adjustment to this one scene would help reframe Riley's motivations. He doesn't take kindly to men speaking that way about women, but it is odd for him to react violently.

In this version, he's someone who respects women in general but has more rash reaction than normal because his crush on Buffy is shaking him up. It also suggests he's not a man who's typically quick to violence.

Another important scene is when Riley finds Buffy outside at night and insists on walking her home. She puts up a fight, commenting on the sexism of assuming boys can take care of themselves but girls need to be walked home. Riley's response is that yes, this is absolutely what he believes.

Now, Riley is a trained soldier who knows there's very serious danger lurking around at night and does not know that Buffy is anything other than a tiny civilian. It's understandable that he would insist upon protecting her. The issue is entirely with how the dialogue is framed.

A better answer to Buffy's question would be "You shouldn't have to." Set him up as a man who understands many women can protect themselves, but believes his role is ensuring they never have to.

It shifts these gender roles from "woman weak, man strong" to Riley's sense of honour. Focuses on how he derives meaning from protecting civilians and those he cares about. Helps shed light on the mentality that led him to becoming a soldier and suggests that being a soldier is tied to his sense of identity and personal values.

It also more firmly shifts being a soldier from a day job to a duty for Riley. It gives him a connection with Buffy, who also believes it is her responsibility to use her strength to protect people.

Just two very simple shifts in dialogue and Riley's a much better character. Amazing how they got it so wrong without even understanding what mistakes they made.

[dust-and-grave]

hng, i am so frustrated by this whole watcher tv situation. i've been chewing on it ever since i watched their announcement video yesterday + i've been looking around online at other fan reactions. i'm having a lot of thoughts so i guess i want to throw my two cents in + hope it'll make me feel better to talk about it a little.

i think we all agree that creators should be paid fairly for their work; however, not all work is created equal, right? if i commission an experienced (and thus high-demand) artist to do an oil painting of my cat, they might quote me $500+ to do that + it would be fair. if an artist with substantially less experience (and thus in lower demand) spends 30 seconds on a crayon rendition of my cat, should they also received $500+ for their work? i think most people would agree that would be ridiculous.

in some ways, this is what it feels like the watcher team is doing to us right now, imo. we know that shows like ghost files or puppet history are expensive to make because travel costs (in the case of ghost files) + production costs, but we can see the effort put into the work. we feel that what we give for the show, whether that's turning off ad blocker while watching or buying show merch or supporting via patreon, is going toward making the product that we are asking for. these shows are the oil painting in the metaphor.

i don't agree with how mean + rude some people are being about steven lim rn, but frankly, his shows are the 30 second crayon drawing of the watcher channel. anyone can look at the view count on their channel + see that his shows consistently have performed worse than shane + ryan's shows. additionally, we can see that he blows huge amounts of money on his shows ("$913 seafood tower", "$1027 fried chicken") that may leave a lot of viewers feeling as if they're aren't getting as much bang for their buck.

frankly, i think people are valid for being upset that they're expected to directly foot the bill for steven's "i fly all over the world + eat expensive food while you watch" project. while youtube has a shit ton of problems (like, say, not paying their creators enough), one of the cool things about it is that you can gauge directly the amount of the interest in a project (and how many resources you should dedicate to said project) by how many eyes are on it. unfortunately for him (i guess), steven's shows just don't garner enough attention to justify the expense of making them.

which is why i see this shift to watcher tv as such a problem. this feels very much like using shane + ryan's success on the channel to force fans to fuel steven's pursuit of his glory days on worth it. it feels even more strange when they say that they're making the switch because the company isn't currently sustainable, but steven has just hired his friends from buzzfeed + continues to push his series that just don't seem to be making back the cost of production.

to be totally fair, shane + ryan don't get out of this clean either. some of their shows don't deserve to be behind a paywall either. too many spirits is filmed in ryan's parent's backyard with content submitted by their viewers. are you scared is just ryan reading creepypastas/fan submitted content on a minimal set. survival mode is just them playing games like any other streamer or gaming youtuber does. i love all of these shows, but are they on par with puppet history or ghost files? absolutely not.

this is where i think the disconnect is coming from. they're taking everything including the lower production shows to a streaming service where you have to fund them directly (rather than indirectly through ad revenue). they're forcing funding into steven's projects despite them just not doing well enough to justify the cost. they're coming across as disingenuous with their reasoning because their stated reasons for doing this don't align with their actions rn.

i feel like it would've made so much more sense to crowdfund new seasons of shows (which gives them feedback from the fans about what they want too) or put higher cost shows like ghost files or puppet history on patreon or channel membership. i would gladly fund mystery files, weird wonderful world, ghost files, puppet history, etc. with my own money, but i'm one of the ones who isn't really interested in funding steven's quest to eat all of the gold-plated kobe beef when i'll never be able to afford to eat at a restaurant that even serves it.

[klemsk-a]

TL;DR

S2a undermines the concept of redemption so badly it makes me want to cry.

Megatron changing for the better is interesting because it’s complicated. He used to be a warlord, a tyrant, people suffered directly as a consequence of his actions. Unfortunately ES fails to show us these consequences. The closes we have are Starscreams words and that is far from showing us anything.

There are no flashbacks, no actual conversations. Nothing but the present and most of it is from childrens perspective.

This lack of nuance is frustrating. For all we know Megatron might’ve acted exactly the same, but changed factions therefore he is a good guy know.

And this “autobots = good, decepticons = bad” morality is so on the nose in s2a it’s actually kind of pathetic.

The new season needed a villain, and all the hatred for cybertronians apparently evaporated (everybody else just had a change of heart ig and the only 2 people who actually disliked them are dead) and the cons were “always” bad so it doesn’t matter.

It allows the writers not to think about Megatron and problems accompanying his redemption because his victims are terrible so… it’s all fine, don’t worry 👍.

Perhaps it isn’t this way and I majorly misinterpreted the show.

The existence of the chaos terrans really makes me doubt it tho. It also makes me incredibly mad.

Aftermath literally comes into existence, has no idea what’s going on, who is everyone and they’re all fighting. So he does too. And immediately gets called terrible, basically the evil version of the terrans.

WHAT KIND OF MESSAGES IS THAT?

That because you aren’t from a perfect family you’re evil? That is what I got out of it.

Terrans = whole Emberstone = good

Chaos terrans = broken Emberstone = bad

For a show about acceptance and empathy that is a terrible plot point 😀

The episode with Aftermath and Jawbreaker (was extremely boring imo but that’s not important) gives you the impression they’re going to further develop Aftermath. Have him questioning orders and thinking about his choices. But no, he STOLE the entire water from a cave in one tank (how did he even manage???)

Spitfire is an even worse example.

On her first day alive, she gets told that if she wins a race she gets to go on an autobot mission.

She wins, by endangering Alex, and they tell her she won’t get the reword. It’s all understandable but the writers clearly don’t know anything about raising children or children in general.

Yes Spitfire did a bad thing and has to be taught that her behaviour was bad. No they cannot be mad at her for not immediately understanding and agreeing with them. That’s why children (especially toddlers) are infuriating. They don’t know better so you have to teach them, but they will find a loophole to help them get what they want (obviously depends on a child but we are rolling with Spitfires personality). Now depending on what they’ve done to get to it you either reward them or punish them. Because they don’t necessarily understand what they did wrong, even if it’s obvious to you, it can be hard to explain in a way that satisfies a child.

Spitfire lashing out and attacking Twitch is common for kids who believe that someone got something they deserved. It’s especially common if a kid has problems with aggression.

That could’ve been an interesting character development and a good message. Sometimes children won’t be easy to deal with (as all the terrans are, sure they can make bad decisions but ultimately they don’t cause much problems), sometimes they have unpleasant personalities or behavioural problems but it doesn’t make them evil. Being there and loving a child isn’t enough to raise them, discipline is needed and so is patience.

But no.

Aftermath and Spitfire are chaos terrans so they are evil by proxy. Too bad lol.

Twitch and Thrash needed to learn everything. So did Nightshade, Hashtag and Jawbreaker. There was a great deal about self discovery.

Aftermath and Spitfire already have alt modes (at least Spitfire I don’t actually remember Aftermath) and they are just terrible, no good people.

Case closed, problem solved.

Oh. And then they died so…

Unlucky 🤷‍♀️

Redemption in media, especially kids media is important. It sends a message that you can in fact mess up in life, make a couple (hundreds) of mistakes and still come out on top.

But redemption is earned, and it can be (and often is) hard to changed for the better (as opposed to changing for worse).

You shouldn’t change for those you have hurt but so it won’t happen again, so you won’t hurt others again.

Some will come back, some will not.

It IS important that you try nonetheless.

Because no matter what explaining isn’t excusing and no one is born evil.

This show is so FRUSTRATING to me because I cared, and still do obviously (I wrote two versions of this but accidentally deleted the first one so had to write one again).

I really hope S2b will be back on track about acceptance and redemption.

I think Starscream deserved better but sincerely hope they (autobots) will get a hold of him, and him and Megatron will actually talk.

At least let Starscream have his father-daughter relationship with Hashtag, please 🙏.

[alexxncl]

‼️NIGHTBRINGER LESSON 49 SPOILERS‼️

lesson 76 spoilers

gonna be using race and racism as an allegory and an explanation. don't like, don't read

masterlist | theories/spoilers | all lessons | season 3 | lesson 48.1 | lesson 48.2 | lesson 49.1 | lesson 49.2

(for context, the other response was something along the lines of "he really cried his eyes out, huh?")

regardless of how much luke has grown and matured, he's still a kid. like, a kid kid. they cry when they're upset, when they're angry, when they're throwing a tantrum, and when theyre confused and/or overwhelmed. i feel like the latter might be the case with luke, which is why i chose the "i'm sure he'll be ok" option

luke was raised with ideals that painted everything in black and white, as good and evil, and as right and wrong. up until his time as an exchange student in the devildom, he was, for lack of better phrasing, undeniably racist and prejudice to all of demonkind because of the way the celestial war was taught to him, because he was taught to think that way during some of the most foundational years of his life

he was thrust into a world that forced him to not only unlearn every harmful and incorrect thing that the people he believed knew best, that knew everything there is to know about the world, but it forced him to realize that everything that was taught to him was built on some sort of lie, that the life he'd been leading and the way he'd been treating the demons he interacted with made him act no better than, if not even worse than, the way that angels believed demonkind acted in their everyday life

with all of this in mind, he understood why the brothers fell and became demons. they disobeyed their father for (imo, not at all) selfish reasons and started an all-out war, costing who knows how many lives. while harsh, the punishment could be seen as justified

but with simeon, it was different. he was someone who disobeyed their father by stealing a ring with the intent of saving not just the celestial realm, but all three realms, and was banished to being mortal. being punished for acting selfless, for risking your life and immortality for the sake of billions doesn't make any sense, right?

and what makes even less sense is that despite his good deeds, despite being on the right side of the war, despite being an overall good person with good moral standing, despite already beinh punished to a life of mortality, simeon still is faced with the same fate as people who committed treason against god himself and cost thousands of angels their lives

imagine how hard it would be for a 10-year-old or 12-year-old to understand and process his entire life and moral code being flipped on its head, still working through and unlearning his negative biases, followed immediately by his big brother/pseudo father figure being faced with an unimaginably harsh punishment for a "crime" that shouldn't even be considered a crime

luke, to me at least, is an example of why it's so so important to teach kids at a young age how to live in and interact with the people and the world around them, whether they're part of a marginalized community or not. it's so easy to fall down the alt-right pipeline given how easily accessible the internet is to young boys, and unlearning the prejudices, biases, racism, sexism, misogyny, etc. that those things can teach you is not only extremely difficult, but a long road to walk down

idk how many people are gonna read this, and i doubt that it's gonna go outside of the obey me community, but i felt like i had to talk about it

[pizza-cake-house]

so idk why do all the ppl in the magnus chase series or even in norse myths in general think niflheim or helheim are by far the worst places you could end up to in nine realms after death (from what i know) like if you want to find real hell around the world tree then alfheim is literally right there.

real definition of never judge a book by it's cover. i could even list all the reasons as to why it could be considered living hell for anybody living there (or even those outside of it) in this same post

the reasons why alfheim is the worst place in nine realms (mostly based on how it's described in the series by the characters:)

-the sun never literally fucking sets. it's eternal sunshine all year long 24/7. imagine that. actual hellish landscape. i would literally rather be dead than not have nighttime anymore ever again.

-the worst fucking capitalist bastard in the whole series and the worst most evil fictional character i've EVER seen lived there. i think that would be enough reason for anyone to hate that place.

-the idealization of perfection is just unnatural. everything is Too Perfect there and it's just not normal. it should have imperfections like every place has but they don't exist. everything seems Too Beautiful but it's actually a cover for the ugly truths underneath imo.

-literally nobody uses magic there anymore and those who do are shunned by their society and families and cast as outsiders. like what the fuck is their problem. hearth is propably the only one from the entire realm to even understand the concept of magic anymore bc he romanticizes the past and utterly despises the present. and he knows he can do that just to spite the ones that hate on him for that.

-imo there are other ppl living in that hellscape who also fucking hate it but can't speak out loud bc they don't want to be shunned or banished or killed, or having to deal with the capitalistic tyrant who probs had all the power in the place as well as all the money until he died and speaking up against him would've been a bad idea.

-the patron god of that realm literally did shit nothing to stop the situation from getting dire, like if i saw all the shit that was happening there i would've come all the way from asgard and fucking incinerated alderman's ass right on the spot with zero hesitation whatsoever. like no second thoughts just smiting that bitch down.

-also hearth's brother literally Died there like i would be miserable too if my brother died in an already horrible place and then get blamed for it for my whole life.

like i'm not blaming them or anything, but it did make things worse but the real blame is on their dad tho. not hearth. that shit was never his fault bc technically it was an accident and it could've been prevented but it was just too late.

that's pretty much all there is ig, i can't think of anything else to add unless i make a separate list of all the trauma that hearth has from his childhood which i propably won't do bc it's just. that horrible. feel free to add your own takes on this tho

[kaleaido]

So... episode 16 huh?

Okay guys, what the FUCK WASTHATTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!1! that was. wow. oh my god. wow. okay I need to sit down. I'll be doing the bullet point breakdown again cause my thoughts are everywhere:

THE ANIMATION IS PHENOMENAL??? The art in general is AWESOME ii2 always had really fluid and cinematic animation imo but GOD this is such eye candy

Seeing the III contestants ISFUCKING SCARY I DIDN'T THINK WE'D GET TO SEE THEM AT ALL??? I THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA BE MENTIONED??? They look soo weird in the old art style but this is cool I like it

okay I did NOT expect Taco to be doing her apology thing so early BUT OH MY GOD????// THE ENCOUNTER IS EVERYTHING I FEARED BUT IT WAS SO GOOD EVEN WITH THE SHORT TIME SPAN OHGUEAHGH......PICKLE........SORRY BUT I WAS CHEERING FOR HIM HE KIND OF ATE THAT UP........... AND THE PART WHERE HE FUCKING DIED AND TACO WAS CRYIGN?!?@!@KASJKADSDJWHATTHE FUCK WAS THAT. WHAT TWAS THAT BRIAN. BRAIN. WHAT. I thought they were having a fight or something but NOOOIT WAS WAY WAYWAY WORSE. HELLO???? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL ABOUT THIS . Actually! I'm not feeling okay. I don't like this.

II SUDDENLY TURNED INTO A MUSICAL WHATT!!! Steve Cobs song certainly was not on my bingo card but here we are. hate that guy but man he got a good voice

I'm digging the payjay angst but I didn't think that was a segue TO KILL OJ?????WHY WAS THAT SCENE SO GOOD. I'M FOAMING AT THE MOUTH IT WAS HORRIFYING!!! THE ENTIRE SEQUENCE OF MEPHONEX APPROACHING THE CONTESTANTS WASSOASHDGHWAHWASHJD But real talk, does this imply that Toilet was created by Mephone in some ways???

Hi guys I'm actually not okay with us seeing characters that are in pairs be separated. Mm yeah. OJ, Soap, Nickle. Yeah. I'm not okay that they spent the episode showing these characters hanging with their friends only for them to die. Yeah.I'm not okay seeing their friends being in complete shock of what just happened. Yeah. Mh yeah.........

THE HAUNTED MANSION GUYS ARE BACK YAYYY!!!!! and they were roomates <3 (dough i hope you die the second time)

Knife and Suitcase interactions are so well written I can't get over them. Also the way both of them handle 3GS isSOOEUAHGH I lovee 3GS

Knife and Trophy. Need I say more

Suitcase, Nickel and Balloon. Need I say more

Steven Cobs is horrible I hate him but he was also the most entertaining character in this. Him putting Mephone on speaker phone isEVIL I HATE HIM!!!!!! also never realised that he was so egotistical to name his products with "Me" in them that's such Steve Cobs things

THE PLOTTWIST IS SO. DEVASTING. IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT IT FOR HOURS NOW. SO YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT MEPHONE WAS JUST ROLEPLAYING WITH HIS OCS????? SERIOUSLY???? This just makes so much sense but it's also so horrible. like how many of the stuff tthat contestants did was intentional??? Is this why Bot was one of Mephone's favorite contestants? because they were "real"???

Also quick thing but I just hopped off from Brian's stream just now and he said something along the line of how BP is the opposite of Steve Cobs. Which just makes me wonder if like. did Mephone ALSO make BP??? Did he make someone he could look up to as a healthy father figure??? This is making me insane

yeah my brain is absolutely jumbled right now. if anyone still want to yap on about ii16 hit my dm please I still don't know how to feel about this act. LIKE YEAH It's awesome I love it but wow......is the emotional damage really worth it....

[glassofgretel]

My honest opinion on Evillious Chronicles...I believe the series is truly deep and beautifully written, but there are some personal issues I have with it.

I don't really care about the point and message of the Evillious Chronicle series nor the concept of "morally gray", I only believe in good, evil and the consequences of our own actions. MOTHY has made an amazing story that we all still enjoy ~16 years later, but I have to disagree with his philosophy and outlook on the world, ours differ greatly– Though he has some valid points, it's rather naïve IMO... and while it's compelling storywise and from an emotional perspective, it isn't as much realistically or from a political/social standpoint of right and wrong.

Morality never mattered in the first place, because evil always succeeds if it has enough power or deems its deeds necessary for a "greater benefit"... Good and evil are both necessary forces that exist to maintain the balance of this universe, just as our fate dictates.

Personally, I'm starting to see far more evil and corruption than light and hope in today's politics and throughout our society's history, so I only get pissed the fuck off whenever I see a political debate between self-righteous snowflakes on Twitter or Reddit (Especially the Character rant mfs), with each side claiming that they're right and the other is evil.

Even though morality is literally IRRELEVANT in politics, it has always been about interests and agendas in the end. If anything, there are only two lesser and greater evils. 💀

I'm no Altright-winger either, as some idiots on Discord might say... I'm more of a Pan-Arab nationalist but I just hate politics in general. Because if anything, we humans deserve all the shit that's coming to us. And trust me, I HATE Hitler with every fiber of my being... but if I were in his shoes, I would've done far worse with all the scum and idiocy in this world.

As for Riliane Lucifen, despite her awful deeds, she was still somewhat good at heart. Unlike the two-faced hypocrites over at the USA, Russia, China and Israeli governments, and especially those scumbags Adolf/Stalin... But it still doesn't excuse her actions despite her lack of moral agency, neither does her being possessed and manipulated by the demons.

So let's stop painting her as some sort of saint, she was a broken kid who deserved her redemption and a second chance- but that's all there is...

Because we know damn well that would NEVER fly in our reality, even if she was truly genuine about making amends.And I don't want to be like her or Nemesis lol, I prefer the likes of Frieza, Judge Holden, King Piccolo etc. as role models, because at least they're purely evil and honest about their philosophy, they embrace it to reach their own goals. Unlike most of our world's society...

I would say I am Near Pure evil though, since I have clear moral standards and my own personal law, I can discern right from wrong- But I'm not really much better than Hitler myself, and I am wrong more often than I'm right. I just despise everything wrong with the world, but I don't intend to change it for the better either. I don't even care about ending the cycle of violence and hate, infact I want to keep it going for my own benefit. That is the path I've chosen for myself and I embrace it fully with no guilt or regrets, even if it might be the wrong one.

I'm not just being pretentious or edgy either, I am simply disappointed and frustrated with this reality- I've had enough of this world and want to watch it burn. I enjoy treating evil with even worse evil, fighting fire with fire- Because it turns me on, gives me a greater purpose and sense of fulfilment too.

I'm sorry I really don't know how to answer this, it's the most concerning message I've ever received in my entire life

[aihoshiino]

do you thing the incest plot in oshi no ko is just for author benefit? something the author inserted for kink/fetish/ect.

I've seen people float this accusation around and I'm honestly baffled by it lol. I understand the kneejerk 'for fuck's sake' reaction to the subject coming up with how it's often used and treated in anime and manga, but to leap to assuming that the ONLY reason an author could have for including it is because they're getting off on it just feels like a bad faith read to me. Like, obviously I don't know what's in Akasaka's head or heart but neither does anyone making this kind of accusation. All we have to judge him on is the art he has created and… I honestly don't at all get the impression that sibling incest is A Thing for him?

Admittedly, I'm not super familiar with Akasaka's work outside of OnK (though looking this up was how i learned that he was a background artist on subahibi and was the original character designer and illustrator for V3 IA??? insane) but from everything I've learned, I've never gotten the impression that sibling incest is a throughline for him and certainly not to the degree that you could call it a kink. I tend to find that when an author has a certain Fixation on a particular subject - sexually or otherwise! - you will see it resurface over and over in their work.

For examples of this relating to incest specifically, you often see incest quite centrally in the works of both Kunihiko Ikuhara and Yoko Taro, not because of any hornybrain reasons (AND IF IT WAS HORNY, TRUST ME, YOU'D KNOW) but because these are unavoidably emergent elements of their shared fascination with exploring complicated and toxic sibling dynamics and how we as humans unthinkingly cause pain to the people who love us most. Compare that to like, Tsukasa Fushimi (the OreImo guy) who very clearly just likes sibling incest as a dynamic, for better or worse.

By contrast, I've never heard anyone say that sibling incest comes up that often outside of OnK. The only example I ever hear is that one joke in that one Kaguya-sama chapter and that's kind of it. So I find it hard to believe this is something Akasaka has such a fixation on, he HAD to put it into his work.

There's also just the fact that… nothing about any of the framing with regards to the OnK twincest is remotely fetishy? On the occasions it's come up since 123, it's mainly framed as a gag. The most overly fanservicey it gets imo - and I'm really stretching here - is that one panel from 124.

Wow, so kinky. Much fetish. Like, come on, y'all. Mengo Yokoyari draws this manga. If she wanted something to look titillating and sexy, it would look titillating and sexy.

Actually there's a good point lol... why are people always coming at Akasaka with the freak allegations when Mengo is the one who has actually written and drawn mountains of explicit incest porn in her own work? God forbid women do anything.

But either way, no, I don't think the incest in OnK is there for kink reasons. I don't think anything in the series is there for kink reasons, purely because none of the framing of these elements feels remotely fetishistic. I think leaping to accuse an author of inserting a fetish into the story because you don't like that they're talking about a taboo topic is a bit silly. Like, we're not out here accusing Akasaka of having a teen pregnancy fetish, right? .... Right...???

Dear god, don't let that be the discourse next...