#or does it being part of their cultural override that

[sunnist4rs]

Fucking moids

[ready-to-read7]

Prompt #6

Okay I don’t know much about Cassandra cain so some of the things in this prompt might be inaccurate

I have seen a few prompts of various members of the bat family or Other people adopting Danny most often it’s Jason or Batman or even John Constantine (involuntarily), and anyone who has read my other prompts know I absolutely adored de-aged prompts

And I also despite not knowing much about Cassandra I think she’s a unique and incredible character so I would like to think that she wouldn’t mind adopting a child, for the sake of this prompt she is maybe 18 or 19

So Danny after being captured by the G.I. W after bad Fenton parents reveal is like sadly tortured and Vivisected and so many other things to a point where he so injured that his core Reverts him to as young as possible to conserve energy but because he’s only half ghost he will have to relive his entire life to go back to his normal age and due to his much younger form now he has the mental capacity of his physical age and barely remembers anything but he still has torture trauma.

So Cassandra goes on a mission to some country or some part of America to investigate something and while there she comes across a lab that she was unaware of and she’s pretty sure no one else in the family knew about it either , and while investigating the lab she comes across a baby may be a few months old covered in scars of terrifying variation, so she does the sensible thing grabs the baby, steals as many files as she can, overrides the system to release any other prisoners, and  get the hell out of there.

 after getting the baby out she goes to settle in the private hotel room or private suite that Bruce got for her because he wanted her to stay comfortable while dealing with a very long mission and even though her original plan was to go back immediately after finishing the mission because she knew she would be able to finish it quickly but now she decides to take the entire time Bruce gave her to first figure out what to do with the baby and it doesn’t take her long to decide to pull a Bruce Wayne and adopt the baby .

reading the files that she stole she learned that his name is Danny and he is something known as an ecto being, the files straight up say that they are  non-sentient and non-feeling, and that they are simply made up of emotions and ectoplasm, but what she saw clearly does not align with what these files say because everybody she spotted there no matter how few of them there were, they were clearly  either distressed, sad, scared or  in pain, whatever the hell this G.I.W was clearly violating so many laws, not to mention she read something in the files about an anti- ecto act and as far as she is aware nothing like that was ever allowed by the government since technically based on these reports ecto beings are creatures from another world or universe which technically makes them fall under the alien protection acts, and she was definitely going to tell the bats  about this.

so while spending a month in this specific place she somehow in some way adopts Danny as her own child without the help of any of the other bats , somehow finds a way to interact with the Infinite realms and talk to frostbite (probably thanks to one of the other ghosts that she released)  and she learns a lot from frostbite and the other ghosts that offered to help her.

She learns that Danny is  the crown prince of the infinite realms and she also learns that Danny is only half ghost he is still half a life and she’s kinda happy to learn that he’s not technically a dead child fully at least, she also learned a lot of ghost customs as she gets to know her new baby boy ( I feel like Cassondra is the type of person to want to know everything important or relevant in this type of situation so technically learning the customs and culture of her new son is something she would try to learn as much as possible about).

after a month of spending time with her new baby boy and learning stuff about his culture and also she learned  from frostbite that  apparently due to her interaction and care of Danny he has formed  a familial bond with her meaning he recognizes her as his mother, frostbite also gave her his summoning  sigil just in case she needs to call him for an emergency, she leaves to return home and give her entire family heart attacks over the fact that she has a baby now.

When she returns it’s late at night and the only person in the mansion is Alfred  ( because Duke was assisting with a case and everyone else was obviously on patrol) who greets her and is a little surprised to see her holding a baby boy, and Cassandra with minimal words would explain to Alfred that she found this boy, she adopted him and that he’s not human fully at least, Alfred obviously knowing how unusual this family is accepted it  because there’s a new family member and he absolutely loves it when the family expands not  to mention this will be the first ever baby in the family since master Bruce was born, so he immediately gets Cassondra settled in one of the living rooms with the baby, and brings them a few snacks before he sits down to talk with her for a bit and then goes to the Batcave to wait for everyone so he could lead them up to the living room for the surprise.

Most of the bat family would be in the Batcave and would obviously wonder why Alfred was just waiting in the Batcave in front of the elevator for them he would first tell them to go get changed and cleane up and then to follow him because Miss Cassandra has returned and she has a surprise for the family..

After everyone finishes cleaning up and getting changed into normal clothes Alfred leads them all to the living room Cassandra was in and at first they only see her head over the couch but as they get closer they hear giggling? Babbling? They all go to look over the couch to see Cassandra holding a baby, a black haired blue-eyed baby fully awake and playing with something while sitting in Cassandra’s lap. Cassandra obviously knew when they entered the room. And she would quietly introduce everyone to the newest member of the family Daniel or Danny cain.

(this was originally supposed to be a short prompt but it kept going there was so many things I wanted to add so technically this became a prompt/ short story but I hope you liked it)

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Do Time Lords deal with depression? If yes, how?

Do Time Lords deal with depression? If yes, how?

Short answer: Yes, because they have brains, and brains are complicated. But how they deal with it is a little trickier to unpack—both biologically and culturally, and we've got to ask a few basic questions first:

❓ Why Isn't It Highlighted on Gallifrey?

Gallifrey's culture emphasises intellect, tradition, and practicality, which means emotional and mental health don't really get the attention they deserve. Depression and similar conditions are likely under-recognised or even stigmatised. That said, Gallifreyans are a highly advanced species, so some potential fascinating coping methods may exist:

💡 Possible Gallifreyan Approaches to Depression

🧠 Self-Neural Rewiring: Gallifreyans can reroute their own neural pathways. This means a Time Lord feeling overwhelmed could, in theory, redirect those negative thought patterns or reconfigure the parts of their brain responsible for mood regulation. Like cognitive behavioural therapy but with a manual override.

🍌 Food: Gallifreyans are sensitive to food chemicals. They might instinctively crave foods that contain positive amino acids like tyrosine, which boost neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. Some example foods include poultry, seeds, and bananas.

🌟 Psionic Emotional Support: In theory, Gallifreyans could 'latch onto' the emotions of others, borrowing a bit of happiness or comfort through telepathic connections. This could explain why some Time Lords surround themselves with humans.

🚀 Support from Their TARDIS: A symbiotically-linked TARDIS provides emotional stability. As sentient beings, TARDISes intuitively understand their pilot's mental state. They might offer subtle psionic nudges or provide a calming atmosphere through environmental adjustments.

💊 Specialised Medications (or Not): Gallifreyans might have their own medications for mood disorders, though it's more likely they rely on their natural neural and psionic capabilities instead. Human antidepressants would probably be ineffective—or potentially dangerous—due to Gallifreyan biology. (For a detailed breakdown, see our earlier post: Can Gallifreyans Take Human Antidepressants? in the related section below).

🔍 What's the Real Answer?

As much as we love theorising, the truth is that depression probably isn't openly discussed on Gallifrey. It's a society that prioritises logic over emotions, which may leave those struggling to cope feeling isolated. That said, Gallifreyans are incredibly resilient beings.

🏫 So ...

While Gallifrey may not have an obviously established cultural framework for mental health care, Gallifreyans still potentially have unique ways to manage their emotional well-being. They might find solace in their TARDIS for long periods, by surrounding themselves with bright-eyed, adventurous companions, or maybe by consuming bananas … Hold on a moment—why does this sound oddly familiar? 🤔

Related:

💬|🥗💊Can Gallifreyans take human antidepressants?: Exploring the effect of antidepressants.

💬|♾️🧠Can Time Lords have bipolar disorder?: How bipolar disorder might manifest in Gallifreyans and coping mechanisms/treatments.

🤔|🥗😆Why is my Gallifreyan a little bit giggly today?

Hope that helped! 😃

Any orange text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →📢Announcements |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts → Features: ⭐Guest Posts | 🍜Chomp Chomp with Myishu →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[faerieconsort]

i feel i am going to say something highly unlikeable and very controversial and that will make many people hate me.

but, about Fernanda Torres blackface:

I don’t think it is an excusable act, i don’t think it should be overlooked. However, there is a problem with imagining that once you commit an unspeakable mistake you are immediately dead to the world.

frankly, she was an extremely cynical person circa 25 years ago. a person who, despite her age, probably did not think hard and good about the problems of the world with the depth age has brought her to think. She was someone who, when asked about it, would say she thought life didn’t lead anywhere good and that things are too hard and she even stated having a prejudice against people who were hopeful and who believed in life. She is now in her 60s and completely disavows those beliefs.

Now, with her role in “i’m still here”, a film so important that should for the moment override personal mistakes, she proves to not be the same person anymore. She stars in a film that denounces the heroes of a man who compared black people to merchandise, less than five years ago. A film that brings voice to all of those who similarly to the family whose story it tells, have been disappeared, tortured, murdered by a regime so totalitarian it banned the expressions of music of a whole people. As an example, samba was and is the music of the black brazilian people, and it was persecuted in the dictatorship. A film against and explicitly denouncing this same dictatorship winning the oscars would signify much more to all of the marginalized peoples of brazil (and the world, under this threat of fascism) than her actions as an actress to a stupid tv show back in the late 90s.

She has apologized, but further than that, she has now been part of a cultural movement that is defined by a true stance of allyship with all of those who suffer most under the un-government of truly racist and fascist white men who get to decide who lives and who dies.

I think we must hold people accountable for their mistakes, for their lack of responsibility when handling important matters, for their completely avoidable bad actions. But, i also think we are human and rational beings who teach our children all the time that making mistakes is human and when we make them we must learn from them and change. We are the ones who are against death penalties, and against violence in prisons because we understand people need to rehabilitate.

It is so much to boycott a film and a performance that would mean so much to brazilians and latinos in general, black and white and indigenous alike, because someone’s action from a past in a place where these debates were not even pervading most people’s minds. And, yes, perhaps it should have been. But the reality is: it simply wasn’t. She would not do something like that today, but she DOES stands for antifascism with this movie. She stands for true freedom and equality and respect.

Sometimes we have to put things in a scale and weigh the current significance of each thing. An anti-dictatorship latino movie winning an oscar in a world where Trump is building detention camps for latinos is much more significant than crucifying a woman for her poor actions more than two decades ago.

[aronarchy]

broke: i can armchair anyone with cluster b pds just because they’re abusive/manipulative/unpleasant/i don’t like them, lol.

woke: only professionals should diagnose, if you’re a layperson you’re uneducated on the topic and don’t have sufficient understanding to be accurate and unbiased. disorders are a very serious thing you should take very seriously, not just throw around randomly whenever.

bespoke: the psychiatric field is institutionally corrupt as a result of its historical and ongoing construction as an apparatus of oppression. this leads to major blind spots in their ability to understand the experience of marginalized people, including mentally ill and neurodivergent people. much of psychiatric research, not to mention practice, is politically motivated and systematically incentivized to serve the interests of power. thus, many people are wrongly or inaccurately diagnosed with cluster b pds to demonize them or reinforce ideas about criminality, fundamental pathology contributing to their problematicness, justifying oppression, claiming struggles which are results of oppression are actually inherent and biological, etc. on the other hand, many people are underdiagnosed, unidentified, denied help when they’re struggling with a certain illness because psychiatrists are often incompetent and wrong, and with cluster b’s this may apply along a gendered line. this applies for any diagnostic practice, and even for other doctors who are part of the medical-industrial complex. psychiatrists are also disproportionately abusive, and some of this is baked into the cultural norms, intended purposes, and rules and regulations and privileges regarding psychiatric practice. you cannot trust an oppressor class to have the last and most accurate say on the oppressed’s subjectivities and interiorities. furthermore, part of the structure of the institution of academia itself ensures an elitist and hierarchical epistemology. dismantling this and other intersecting oppressions means reaffirming the right of the individual themself to either self-diagnose or self-(non/un)diagnose. existing information or medical professionals should be helpful for doing this better and to improve individual being, and acknowledging the significance or accuracy of their or others’ information accurately is obviously important, but professionals should not be treated as authorities who have the right to wholesale override self-understandings instead of supporting, or to control patients. this is in no way contradictory to opposing armchair diagnoses by underinformed or malicious laypeople who trivialize or misunderstand disorders. however, the problem with such behavior must be located correctly. the inaccuracy is a problem, but that means inaccuracy from actual psychiatrists is also a problem (and it certainly does exist). additionally it might perhaps be helpful to identify saneist armchair-diagnosing laypeople as engaging in behavior similar to that of psychiatrists and both wrong, rather than trying to position them as opposed. the same kind of epistemic overriding and even absurdity is often done by many psychs (and in fact the practice and framework has in large part originated or at least been spread starting from the psychiatric institution itself).

[megsdoodletag]

What vibes do Medea and Mercurius homeworlds and legions have, like Roboute's being Rome and Mangnus's being Egyption

whoever u are i owe u my life for the opportunity to talk more merc and medea

medea’s is a mycenaean, psyker-heavy world of heroes and monsters. Medea himself is raised as a scion of a high house, famed for their potions, poisons, and bottled spells. He is well known on his planet and, while not in charge of anything per say, is viewed as a sort of powerful mythic figure prior to emps’ arrival, like he’s the witch who lives in the cave in the mountain it takes you ten days to climb so you can ask him for advice and he agrees to help but not before you complete a favor for him to prove your worth that is essentially another two week questline on its own. this reputation is in part because of medea’s geneseed quirk which allows him to produce pheromones that affect human brain chemistry, and in part because he’s got that psyker charm.

Mural of [REDACTED] sending a supplicant on a quest, artist unknown Recovered from the Space Hulk Euripides by Juno Guilliman

his legion steps onto the planet for the first time and feels like they are home. Medea greets them as a parent with a favored child. They were called the Crysomallos and acted as honorguard for many important baseline imperials, but found favor with the local populous and were renamed the Astral Titans. While their pheromones can have various effects, the most typical use is a calming one that is often used to simply override the transhuman dread; very strong applications of the same compound may put even other astartes to sleep. the Astral Titans pride themselves on de-escalating conflicts and peaceful resolutions.

Merc’s world is perhaps my favorite because i gave myself permission to be completely stupid about it For The Story Themes. it’s a place very much like m3 earth. He lived in a big city called new^2 york and he’s got a four-year degree in psych with a minor in anthropology from the University of Delawont. He plays video games on his PS48ZXS (which Boy later inherits) and enjoys Broaderway theater shows. He was absolutely not important to his planet, besides being a medical oddity, like some kind of blind Robert Wadlow. While on the crusade he misses pizza and his adoptive mom sends him soctso birthday cakes every year while she can. She has to send multiple bc he shares with his boys.

Damaged pict, depicting a transhuman (unidentified) and a relative. Artist unknown. Pulled with permission from the restricted section of His Most Holy Emperor's personal collection.

His lil guys were called something stupidly standard before, like ‘the messengers’ or something. They’re fine, but they’re just. kind of standard, nondescript marines. they don’t have any weird quirks and they don’t have that Collective Culture thing all the other legions seem to. theyre certainly nowhere near a big legion, but they’re not the littlest either. they’re just a bunch of guys who feel out of place. They're not even kept together as a legion per say; they act as messengers between legions specializing, if you can call it that, in carrying information back and forth across the expanding imperium and attempting to foster goodwill when the big boys have a joint encounter. and then merc shows up and he’s just a guy, and they realize that being just guys is their place. and their collective culture is being relieved at that instead of upset they’re not in a position better suited for glory seeking and emperor serving.

merc does not rename his legion, one of the captain’s remembrancer friends gives the guys a new nickname and it sticks. The Second’s Chorus, to everyone else’s principle actors. The fools that speak true, the ensemble that enhances both set and song, the extras that make the scene feel alive instead of empty.

(the Chorus who fail to talk medea out of her revenge, who witness all tragedies but can not change the course of the play.)

but also the Chorus who gives context. who remind you what has occurred in acts hours past. the audience’s touchstone for perspective. the ones who warn of the path and the ones who call sympathy for those who walk it.

[raelle-writing]

DFF is such great show and I enjoy the portrayal of the characters and the plot. Although I am not much into JinPhee ship (even though their scene was hot) - meaning I won't actively search fics of them;-D. But I absolutely don't understand the hate this ship gets. Or Jin character gets? Like, did I miss something? Why there is so much hate towards this pairing? I don't get it. Or do they dislike Jin character so much?

So I think there are 3 main reasons that people hate PheeJin and specifically Jin as much as they do, and I'll see if I can explain it coherently below lmao

First is cultural differences.

I've noticed that by and large a lot of the hatred directed at Jin comes from international fans being extremely harsh, and I think it's partially because they don't understand some of the nuance of Thai culture. Which to be fair, why would they?

One aspect is that they get angry that Jin lied to the police without taking into account that the police are corrupt - both in the narrative and also in Thailand in general.

Another is they get mad at Jin for recording Non - which to be fair, really does suck lmao. But they make it about Jin recording Non instead of reporting the assault happening, without taking into consideration that the age of consent in Thailand is 15, which means that what happened with Non and Keng isn't technically statuatory rape. Still bad and awful and Non was coerced and assaulted, don't get me wrong - but that makes it slightly less clear cut IMO when it comes to the question of Jin seeing Non "cheating."

You can even see within the show that the reactions to that video are by and large slut-shaming and not "omg that kid was assaulted."

So to recap: Taking the video = bad. But I think people get a bit too self-righteous about the reasons why Jin took it.

Second is purity/cancel culture.

I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that in the internet age, if you make one mistake you're a terrible, irredeemable person and should be canceled forever. I think that's playing a part in this. All of the characters make mistakes, and because of that they're all irredeemable pieces of shit who deserve to die. Except for Non who is just a victim and has never done anything wrong (sarcasm).

In seriousness, I think that's part of it. And the fact that Non is SO sympathetic it kind of overrides people's sympathies for the other characters. I'm not 100% sure why people hate Jin the most out of everyone else considering he's the one who has tried to help Non the most out of the friend group... I guess they just have higher standards for people who try to help? Idk. Either way it seems to me that they expect Jin to be a perfectly-well-adjusted little hero who always does what's right and never makes mistakes. Instead of what he really is: a kid.

And last is fan favorites/shipping.

A big part of the reason that PheeJin shippers are getting so much hate is because TaCode shippers and PheeNon shippers have decided their ship is The Ship of the series, and think that Phee is just using Jin for revenge and anyone who genuinely ships PJ is fucked up, etc.

It's just ship war bullshit waged by largely Barcode stans, but it's certainly tiresome.

To be clear, I have nothing against PheeNon. I am of the opinion that Phee and Non were a cute high school romance that wouldn't have lasted because they had conflicting styles of showing affection and love (I'll write a post about it someday lol) but that doesn't mean I hate the ship. I thought they were very cute and it was fun to see TaCode on screen since I wrote MacauChay in my KPTS days ahahaha I just like the spice and fire of PheeJin better, and Jin is my favorite character.

I just wish that PheeNon shippers would live and let live instead of acting like they're waging some moral war. They were even crying in BOC's comment section on IG today after they posted the PheeJin poster for episode 9 saying "nooooo Phee is there for revenge he can't really have feelings for Jin!" It's exhausting... 🫠

General disclaimer: if you don't like Jin or like PheeNon better I'm not saying any of the above things applies to you. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, I'm just dissecting some of the over-the-top hate I've seen/experienced in fandom spaces lately.

[sorenblr]

since we're on the subject what are your honest thoughts on eva. me personally i think its really great in a lot of ways but also completely full of shit and really falls apart when analyzed non-emotionally (in more ways than just it's *extremely* loose Christian theming)

I think it's fantastic, at least the original series and EoE. Many of the criticisms commonly levied against it are justified- this is a series that castigates its otaku audience for leering at its grossly sexualized portrayal of adolescents while at the same time constructing one of the most vociferous merchandising apparati ever conceived around exactly that purpose- but it's greater than the sum of its defects.

In the matter of broad aesthetics, direction, and composition, I would place Evangelion near the apex of the medium. The industry mechanism necessary to create something that looks like this simply no longer exists. The philistine reaction against the long takes, which would elsewhere be recognized as part of the basic grammar of any serious film, is a credit to Anno's sensibilities as director. There aren't any characters that I particularly dislike, and I think Shinji and Asuka are near to brilliant. And the first thirteen episodes are simply exceptional, even fairly undemanding genre fare. The fucking Israfel one is just an outstanding episode of television. The dramatic idiosyncracies that the series is known for don't manifest in greater quantity until the latter part, which is I imagine where less receptive audiences will start to check out, but I think they're both necessary complements to the whole.

I think about Eva-02 catching that missile to the face on a semi-regular basis. The entire MPE scene is one of the most compelling pieces of animation ever put to film. This and the Gouf battle from 08th MS Team around the same time are the acme of the thought that emphasized plausible heft and momentum in mechanical animation.

The extent to which the original series is celebrated as 'deconstructive', or as a radical departure from previous, less 'cerebral' works, is grossly exaggerated and I think dependent on a historical ignorance of the genre. That isn't to say that it's complete equivocation, but Amuro's first character arc in 0079 is going catatonic after being compelled to fight in the ambulatory war crimes machine, and Pen Pen is not some sort of embedded reflexive criticism- he is a fun penguin who basically loves to hang out. Much of the thematic material is indebted to Ideon-era Tomino, who was at least as catastrophically depressive as Anno during the period of his most prolific cultural output.

The greater innovation in Eva is its radical orientation towards psychodrama, which I think does finally reach a deconstructive apogee in EoE. Still, the basic theme of the series, the communicative impediments to human intimacy, is also the overriding concern of the first several incarnations of Gundam- but only Evangelion will have a character literally describe the hedgehog's dilemma aloud. So a lot of the perceived deconstruction is a maximal treatment of what was marginally less explicit in earlier works, and I think Anno's direction does produce striking and beautifully affective turns on that material. But the old joke that this mecha anime is about the characters is still descriptive of the entire genre. This isn't meant to be a criticism- I think it's infinitely more engaging to consider Eva as the ultimate Lost Decade continuation of earlier forms than some sort of iconoclastic rupture from tradition.

The Judeo-Christian imagery is another point of radical continuity with hyper-influential genre fare, in this case Ultraman. Anno's recent directorial output is enough to evince the tremendous debt owed to the series, but whereas the religious iconography was a genuine article of faith for Tsuburaya, in Eva the material is valued more for its aestheticizing effect. It was only when transplanted to a Western audience that the desacralized treatment of religion assumed a transgressive quality that happened to be a perfect 'in' for adolescents nationwide. Shinji is a Midwest emo icon and I can make an AMV of the series set to Chop Suey by System of a Down? This phenomenon is, to me, more interesting than the actual thematic connections the series draws from myth, which is certainly not what the thing is 'about' in any case.

Also, I am an episode 25-26 truther. EoE is great but the television finale is its obvious complement. If you're out here telling people to watch EoE immediately after episode 24... grow the fuck up! bitch!!!*

*parody parody

[mielwriting]

Natlan Archon Quest Act 1, 2 Reaction

Had to split it into multiple parts cause it's so long...

That empty expanse between Sumeru and Natlan that doesn’t have any people or wildlife is jarring. I only realized AFTER I got there that there was a teleport waypoint past all that that had automatically unlocked, but I couldn’t see it cause it was hidden by the archon quest symbol. 

Can’t believe the Traveler and Paimon didn’t wanna ask how the Echoes’ Chief suddenly recognized us. 

Love the cutscene of the Traveler switching between elements. 

Kachina reminds me of Bennett. I expect us to learn about his origins in 5.X

There are fantasy giraffes?!

Nice to see them calling him Dvalin, not Stormterror

*running away from the researcher guy cause I don’t want to be forced into a conversation and he literally starts chasing when you get too close*

Oooooooh so when Neuvi said “Natlan is plagued by wars” waaay too many of us assumed wars between the humans, not wars vs the abyss. 

So if someone who isn’t an Ancient Name Bearer makes it to the Night Warden Wars, does their name become an Ancient Name for future generations to potentially receive?

“Danger is the nature of war” Mualani says. But Kachina told us all ancient name bearers are required to compete - even kids like her. I can see how this mentality might have been manipulated by others to force Vennessa’s tribe into oppression. 

Also what the fuck? Not sure I’m buying the whole “not a single Natlan person wants to leave” after hearing they force people to fight like this. Mondstadt (& Liyue to a lesser extent) continues to be the only nation I’d feel safe in. What the hell. 

And yeah sure the archon can resurrect them. But like. That doesn’t fix the trauma. It’s still fucked up. 

THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO THE REVIVING

Citlali was introduced in the trailer by her strong insistence on not participating in the Pilgrimage. I can see why. I already like her. 

This whole situation sounds like the recipe for burn out (literally too. Death). 

Kinich cannot be older than 25. And he’s just casually stating he’s died before… 

You people need therapy

Also what’s up with Ajaw? He’s such a bully. What the hell man. 

I say that now but I assume his situation of “I am mighty and I will conquer the world!” (and everyone treating them like a kid) is like King from Owl House. 

Though of course, I only started sympathizing with King from Owl House because of character development. Something that Genshin Impact rarely gives its playable characters. 

Anyway, this whole “ancient names are forgotten if the bearers fail”. Is that a conscious effort to erase these people from records, or is it more like an Irminsul erasure?

“Feast until the bill gives the Archon a heart attack” finally, an archon with mora!

Kachina “I can’t keep using my age as an excuse”. If only Lisa or Alhaitham or Venti were here to teach her the importance of giving yourself grace and letting yourself rest. 

“I have to prove I’m not trying to avoid the wars” babygirl you are 9 years old

Kachina you have a 7 or 8 Pilgrimage losing streak?! Do these things happen once a year? How young were you when you first participated…

Kachina always prepared with her backpack… she’s like Dora but with gifted kid issues…

All these other playable characters with their “trauma” from “near-death” experiences”. Try actually dying a few times; then you can cry PTSD!

But of course, being raised in the US, I recognize this is partly the influence of a very individualistic culture. 

And about the whole revival thing. That’s Chekov’s Consequence-Free Traumatic Death Scene! Place your bets now; who’s gonna die in the archon quest, and then be revived?

So, what if someone with a (not pyro) vision wins the competition? Do they become pyro archon, overriding their previous elemental vision? 

Does this mean Mavuika has 3 names: her regular name, her Goetic name, and her Ancient Name? 

Is it possible for people without a vision to be gifted an Ancient Name? 

Oh my god you send a team of FIVE to fight the entire abyss?!

So you CAN have a vision that doesn’t match your tribe’s element. Atea, of the Peoples of the Springs, has a pyro vision.

[littlesparklight]

Is Hippolytus asexual because from what I’ve read of the play he seems to be celibate for religious reasons not because he doesn’t have any sexual interests

I think "is so and so asexual/aromantic" in Greek myth isn't... actually a question that can be answered with "yes/no" in terms of the actual understanding/intent/cultural meaning in Ancient Greece.

Like, strictly? Neither Athena, Hestia, nor Artemis are on the ace-spectrum.

That is just not what is being portrayed, at least in intent - and the same goes for Hippolytus and Narcissus.

That doesn't mean it's not valuable and without insight/worth to interpret any of these characters this way, especially in a modern lens! (It also, I think, is worth it to acknowledge that people would always have been this way, and that, unintentionally but having no other way to express it, these characters could still reflect asexuality or aromanticism.) But to be strict about it, what, say, the three goddesses are about isn't actually them being on the aro- or ace-spectrum; it's about cultural views and ideas of women, and the mobility (or not) of them in/outside of marriage.

When it comes to Hippolytus (funnily enough I did read almost all of Euripides' Hippolytus the other day)... well. Like above, obviously he isn't actually asexual or aromantic. At least not in intent in the context of the culture his story developed in.

You point out the potential religious angle to his celibacy in the play - and sure, probably? I don't know enough to say I saw any religious reasons as such, nor any otherwise expressed desire, but I do think you're right. So that's one angle. Another is the unfortunate fact that Hippolytus is also a raging misogynist (and clearly sees his goddess not as a "woman" in any way). This absolutely has a huge part in why he is refusing to have anything to do with worshipping Aphrodite/sex (with women, that is. we don't know what his feelings/desires are when it comes to sex with men).

At the same time, whether any of these are the overriding reason for him rejecting sex in general - he's being told his stepmother is attracted to him. Even if they haven't grown up in the same house for years, this is still "incest" that falls under an incest taboo, in the way Ancient Greece would look at it. I think it's completely fair for Hippolytus to be disgusted and reject Phaedra over it. (Even if he does it in a ragingly misogynist way.)

So, would I interpret Hippolytus as potentially asexual? Yeah. I would. I don't think it actually goes against the text to add such a dimension, even if we acknowledge that the religious and/or misogynist reasons are the "main" ones. In fact, it just adds to it, I'd say? Hippolytus, living in the culture he does with the idea of how all-encompassing Aphrodite and desire/sex is, would basically have no other way to express (or understand) any actual/potential asexuality than what his culture gives him.

This is also why I, personally, interpret Athena, Hestia and Artemis as various flavour of aromantic and/or asexual, as well as with Narcissus.

Narcissus especially because there's several variants where you have him simply not attracted to anyone else, but also is cursed to fall in love with his own reflection. Being cursed doesn't say anything about his natural proclivity. Another version has him kill himself because he regrets having caused Ameinias' death. Looking at it from a modern angle, Narcissus should be free to deny anyone he wants, man or woman, if he doesn't want them. He doesn't owe anyone returned affection or desire.

But that isn't how it works myth-wise, and so he will be punished - as will Hippolytus, refusing to honour Aphrodite not just in formal worship, but in his refusing to have sex.

Whatever his reasons actually might be for said refusal.

[olderthannetfic]

Regarding the usher ask: YEAH (x3).

I kept seeing armies reacting to an offhand tweet by someone saying something like "natural movement (referring to usher) vs learned movement (referring to jk)" and the crazy armies going wild and spamming that actually jk created the choreo and had to teach usher, and usher's old and couldn't keep up. Stop. Just stop.

Look. Jk's is the "learned movement." End of story. That's part of why kpop is honestly never going to get very popular in the west. There are no "usher stans." His career predates that. "Usher stans/fans" are the western general public who have exposure and (varying degrees of) knowledge on black art and culture, people who see usher in a music video for a song that's obviously r&b+funk+boogie+soul with choreo that's hip hop. Two black art forms that are a part of usher's culture and 30 year career. Sure jk's good at what he does, but it's always going to be a "cultural imitation," as the other anon put it. To a western audience, usher's mere presence there is more authentic that jk's despite it being his song and a choreo he created. Regardless of everything, jk's borrowing aspect's of usher's (and black american) cultures to create his art, which is something all of bts understands, so I don't get why their fans are so angered by westerners pointing out the obvious. jk did have to learn how to dance like this and make music like this by mimicking usher and his contemporaries. That was, literally, the whole point of their reality show the anon brought up. It's kinda embarrassing to state otherwise.

Adding on to that, another part of the disconnect is how precise and fast jk's choreo is when it's a boogie and soul song. I don't expect armies to actually do it, but listen to some Earth, Wind and Fire or Isley Bros or A Taste of Honey or Rick James or Bootsy Collins or CHIC. You're not supposed to dance so sharply to this kind of music. it's really weird, as another black army, to watch. It's like watching a couple do the waltz to Crime Mob. Usher's "lazy" dancing regarding the choreo fits more with the vibe and mood of the song, which the americans watching resonated with more because they're informed by decades of this music and dance. That's why, when EXO worked with Teddy Riley, their use of a full routine felt more natural than this because it was a New jack Swing song. Genre and performance are connected. Sorry to say, but enthusiasm for a kpop idol can't override decades of art. Also: why do a lot when you don't need to? If a simple one, two step can convey more charisma and sexiness, you don't need a whole bombastic routine. Just groove. It's boogie and funk music lol. For all of bruno mars' nonsense, even he understood this most of the time.

--

[golden-songbird]

i strongly believe that patton sanders, fans of patton sanders, and the general attitude towards patton sanders says A LOT about modern fandom “culture” and how toxic and uncreative it is becoming.

just to preface this post is absolutely no hate to thomas sanders. he’s an amazing creator and he can’t control how his fans interpret his work. moving right along!

in many fandoms, there are archetypes (typical roles that characters in media play), and there is nothing wrong with an archetype until the fandom prioritizes archetypes over characterization. a surface level example would be something like “prince charming from cinderella is a kind, sensitive man who doesn’t have the most common sense, but he’s got a big heart and a lot of love to share. but instead of creating fan work or headcanons or “kinning” that character with/because of those traits, the fandom just sees him as the one who saves cinderella. the savior. and that’s it.”

the big, number one archetype that modern fandoms have developed is “the uwu, smol, soft bean who is so innocent and can do no wrong.” an amplified and much more annoying version of the professional term “ingenue”. an ingenue (or ingenu) is a character in media who is very young and innocent, and tends to make big mistakes as a result of their youth and innocence. romeo and juliet are ingénus. anne shirley cuthburt is an ingénue. i like to argue that roman sanders is an ingenu but that’s a story for another time.

the difference between the “smol soft bean” and the ingenue is that it is clearly established in media that the ingenues are in the wrong, and despite their youth and innocence, their mistakes are present, front and center, and it is obvious to all that they’re in the wrong. of course, it isn’t always black and white. ingenues have been coerced by outside forces, or they’ve had turbulent pasts that have caused them to not know any better, but it is generally understood that these things are explanations. not excuses.

when fans talk about their “smol soft beans”, there is generally an attitude of superiority when it comes to them. “no no, that’s my wittle cinnamon role, they could never be a bully/abuser! they’re so clearly innocent and sweet!” when that character has indeed said and done awful things to others repeatedly. “my smol soft bean is always the victim and everyone else is always mean to them!” when that character clearly is not always the victim and is being mistreated by other characters as a form of retaliation or breach of trust. oftentimes, the modern fandom’s perception of a character overrides the actual actions of the character in the canon and i will explain why that’s problematic in the next paragraph.

this worlds generation has a huge, giant, collective victim complex. but it’s only natural. that’s just what happens when people go on the internet and see all of these “smol soft beans” being protected and adored, and their mistakes are being ignored. everybody wants that. deep down, everybody wants their mistakes to be erased, and for only the very best parts of them to be on display at all times. so they infantilize themselves, trying to make themselves act and look sweet and innocent and cute, so that way, they can never admit to being wrong. it’s a very imitatable behavior. one that people can emulate easily. and people do.

by now, you all may be like “but ez, what does this have to do with patton?” well, everything. patton is generally seen as the “smol soft bean” archetype in the sanders sides fandom, even though he has done an array of terrible things. here are just a few:

- he regularly ignores and teases logan, endlessly taunting the one singular vocabulary mistake logan made because he thinks it’s funny to make logan look stupid when intelligence is his entire livelihood.

- he guilt trips roman relentlessly and coerced him into making a huge mistake (choosing the wedding), and then when they all faced the consequences of roman’s mistake, patton distanced himself from it, and pretended like it was all roman’s fault that it even happened.

- he was one of remus’ biggest haters, insisting constantly on pressing him down and pretending he doesn’t exist. while all the sides essentially were remus haters (except eventually logan), patton was clearly the most prominent one.

- he infantilized virgil, even when virgil told him he was uncomfortable. he gave a false apology that he didn’t actually act upon, and he made virgil feel small.

again, that’s only a few, but those are some of the biggest ones. oftentimes, the fandom just IGNORES that these things ever happened, or gloss over them, even though they’re some of the most important lessons in the entire sanders sides storyline. people refuse to acknowledge such important truths because they want patton to be a “smol soft bean who does no wrong and is so innocent”.

and patton kinnies tend to take it a whole new level because they’re seeing this character that is being infantilized and reduced to nothing but the sweetest little gumdrop and deciding “i want to be that.” so they say that they kin patton without accepting the mistakes he’s made, or his controlling and abusive tendencies. they want to distance themselves from his mistakes, but capitalize on his innocence, which is an unhealthy way to look at things.

everyone makes mistakes. everyone is in the wrong. nobody is perfectly innocent.

and that’s why i hate patton sanders, the fandom’s attitude towards patton sanders, and pretty much all patton kinnies (unless they’re open about the completeness of pattons character).

please don’t dox me. thanks.

[breannasfluff]

I have some questions about the winged boys if you don't mind

How many people have wings? Is it everyone or just the heroes or a random percentage? Does the amount change between worlds

If more people have wings what decides the species of the bird that the child gets? Especially if the parents are two different species that in our world cannot reproduce

How much of the instinct of the bird is taken over in the hylian? We have seen some of the food being taken over, but what about things such as mating rituals or treatment of siblings?

You've got some great questions which I've....maybe thought about, haha. I'll do my best!

Hylians have wings, but Gerudo, Zora, etc do not. Ravio and Malon have wings, so I'd assume it's the same across all of the worlds. Wings would be a part of the culture, meaning everyone is used to accommodations to life for them. Clothes, furniture, etc. In Wild's era, not as many people fly long distances. Guardians can shoot you out of the air and from high up you can't hear their beeping. They have incredible range.

For the species of the child...it's influenced not by the parents, but the personality. There's a legend that the Goddesses pick a wing type for each hylian to best fit who they will grow up to be. Some resent what they are stuck with, some embrace it. Some feel the bird doesn't fit them till later in life. Whether it's true or not, they do get some of the instincts and mannerisms from the bird. Especially flock vs solitary birds. Just like introverts vs extroverts! A solitary bird can still form a close bond with someone, they just won't be as happy as a flock bird in the middle of a chatting group.

I've done a nice sidestep on mating up to this point 😅 Some of it might depend on mating ritual of the bird (bowerbirds like Legend go all out decorating a room to look nice) and some is more based on personality (Time is disgustingly doting on Malon). Siblings are close, even if they might not be the same bird type. Wind LOVES his sister and followers her around. There may be a propensity for similar bird types to show up in similar families (raptors might lead to more raptors, etc.) There's a potential for a dividing line of passerine vs non-passerine birds as far as inheriting wings buuut I don't know if I want to commit to that.

Instincts are just that, instincts. A natural, automatic reaction, but one that can be tempered with the mind. It's how they learn to coexists, especially if they might not normally be comfy around another type of bird. Or Sky, stealing food, still knows to stay away from Warrior's food. He could override the instinct every time with enough active thought and attention, but they are all used to indulging their avian sides a little. If it doesn't cause a problem, it's generally fair game on holding it back or not.

These were some thinker questions, thank you!

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

The far cry 5 confused me, like ever played Assassin Creed 3? Like they did a good job showing the difference between American ideals vs what Congress did.

Like they outed George Washington historical orders to burn down native villages during the Seven Years War and how Congress screwed over the natives after the revolution

But like there was a subset of side quests called the Homestead missions, that showed the American dream. People from different walks of life coming together to make something different, something better, second chances and such.

And journalists was surprised that the normal town folks wasn’t racist to you if your character was non white? I mean, they would be weary of you regardless of race or gender as you are a Marshall so still an outside. Also one of the first marketing for 5 had a black priest show he getting armed to protect his town from the cult

But…the game humanized American townsfolk better than Hollywood been doing for the past decade.

Like a parade of American gun control…despite a French Canadian company executing our ideas better our own entertainment industry.

When you have a chance can you answer this anon? I’m a black American and I thought they did it well.

I've played Assassin's Creed 3 and I didn't really like it, but AC3 really doesn't have anything to do with my point about Far Cry 5 other than providing more evidence of Ubisoft's political leanings.

Ubisoft is a French company run and staffed by mostly left wing people. When they make political statements in their work, those statements are always pushing the left wing side of an issue. Far Cry 5 is very clearly supposed to be a game making fun of rural, religious life and American gun culture. They have two different characters who are large parts of the story who exist solely to make fun of Southern Americans, one of whom is a blatant MAGA stand in. The other is that character's son, a stereotypical stupid redneck who only gets some character development beyond that when he starts going against his father's beliefs. The bad guys are all white and religious and mostly male, while the good guys are multicultural with a lot of female characters. The main character is a federal Marshall and it's that main character who is the catalyst for the good guys finally pushing back the cult. It's not too difficult to see the message there being something along the lines of "rural prepper types who pride themselves on being self-sufficient need the government's help to protect themselves". The intent with Far Cry 5 was very clearly, at least in part, to mock "right wing" ideals and American rural culture.

But what they actually ended up doing was writing a love letter to those ideals and that culture. They ended up portraying most rural folk as accepting and competent people who just want to be left alone to live their lives, and who will do the right thing when they come up against a difficult situation. They ended up illustrating why the second amendment is so important by showing how an armed populace is necessary for fighting against tyranny when the police/government/etc can't, or won't. And yes this tyranny was a cult and not the government, but the point still stands. The fact that Ubisoft ended up "executing our ideas better our own entertainment industry" was by accident because they really don't understand the issues they're commenting on. They're a bunch of left wing French people who have never experienced rural American right wing culture trying to portray that culture from within their own left wing echo chamber, while also needing to tone down the political commentary to sell a video game to the very people they're trying to mock. But even the mockery that does get through ends up backfiring when the metanarrative overrides the written narrative. They focus so hard on making their bad guys out to be right wing religious nuts that they don't realize they're making their good guys out to be a much more numerous population of normal right leaning people fighting back against the extremism on "their" side.

[jedibongrip]

a 'notwithstanding clause' - a controversial IRL political tool to add for a bit of realism in fic

Ive noticed (in many fandoms/fic but especially) in star wars aus and fics, many people toss around a notion of a planet joining the republic, but is given special privileges that allow them to continue practices that may be illegal. Sometimes when an author is describing the situation, it seems as if they're struggling to convey what they mean and figure out a name for it. In an effort to relieve some of that stress, and to help add fic writers add a dash of realism to their fics, may I introduce you to: The Notwithstanding Clause

(Explanation under the cut)

First, I want to begin with saying: obviously not every fic must or wants to achieve realism! Many authors are happy with the political systems of their fics being completely removed from any contemporary or realistic grounding. If that's your case, do not feel like I'm bashing on you. I just think this is an interesting (an EXTREMELY controversial) political tool which others may draw on when creating their fictional systems. So, without futher ado

Bongrip, I hear you ask, WHAT is the nothwithstanding clause?

the "Notwithstanding Clause", also called an 'override power', is a section of the Canadian Constitution which allows the federal, or provincial government, to override certain section of the charter of Rights and Freedoms for a specific limited of time

OR: it allows a government to make laws that contradict or override (IE. notwithstanding) one or more of our fundamental rights (for a max of 5 years, in the Canadian context). This prevents the new law from being struck down in courts and allows provincial governments to act more freely than they otherwise could

While some other countries have similar theories or laws, none are as broad, supported both legally and politically (IE in a constitution), nor do they cause as much controversy as the Canadian Notwithstanding Clause

(If you're interested in why this law exists, long story short: the specific mix of colonial powers and legal/political traditions, mixed with cultural/linguist tension, and well as fights over jurisdiction and power between different levels of governments during the 1980s when Canada was trying to write a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, led to the Notwithstanding Clause being added into the Charter as a compromise. Since it's part of the Constitution, it is both a legitimate legal and political tool, so long as it is used in a way that does not exceed the limitations set out by the Charter [IE: does not exceed 5 years, does not attempt to override any inviolable rights, and names the specific rights that it does violate, so it cant just be at random])

DISCLAIMER: IRL the Notwithstanding Clause is EXTREMELY controversial and, as one might guess, given that it's a law that says "yeah governments can ignore these rights and freedoms that are constitutionally protected", often support conversation and extremely prejudicial systems, institutions, and norms! It is also, necessarily, a colonial law, from a colonial system, in a colonial state! this is not an endorsement of the law but just a tidbit to help w/ world building, given than not many people outside of canada even know it exists

But Bongrip, I hear you ask, WHAT does this piece of Canadian Legal/Political Tradition have to do with my Star Wars fic?

glad you asked

as I said, i see some fic writers try to involve world-building when it comes to the political systems, institutions, and procedures of the Republic. I commend that; I enjoy that! But sometimes authors lack the knowledge or language to describe WHAT they want

For example:

Do you want to write a fic where Never-A-Jedi!Anakin overthrows the Hutts and Tatooine joins the Republic, but does not have to follow certain customs or rules? BAM! Notwithstanding Clause! Either in the Treaty Agreement (Basically: Tatooine will join the Republic, but can do X, notwithstanding Z laws as upheld within the Galactic Republic)

Or maybe: A Jedi goes to a planet with warring factions and is tasked to bring peace and understanding between the different nations. They must find a way to make a system and laws that can unify all, while respecting their differences and, perhaps conflicting, ways of life. A notwithstanding clause could allow for one governing set of rules, while giving each group an opportunity to dispute and implement their own understandings and views, within a set of limitations

Or anything else you can imagine!

Primarily, this gives a NAME and a BASIS for fic writers to describe something that I've seen many people struggle to explain in their fics: the HOW can i make X interact with Y, when law A is still in place but this place wants to do B?

i hope this helps!!! if anything isnt clear u can hit me up or consult google lol. i hope to see and encourage more world building and consideration for the legal and political systems in a galaxy far, far away!!!

[mariacallous]

By Wednesday night, a sweeping anti-trans bill appeared dead in Kentucky as lawmakers debated whether it went too far. So it surprised Democrats, transgender activists, and their allies when Republicans managed to hold a committee vote, then rush the bill through approvals in both the state House and Senate the following day.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear isn’t expected to sign the bill, which passed mostly along party lines, into law, but the GOP has enough of a majority to override his veto.

People in the gallery were furious when the measure passed and yelled, “You’re all fucking pieces of shit!” at lawmakers on the floor, according to Courier Journal reporter Joe Sonka.

Democratic state Sen. Karen Berg, whose transgender son died by suicide in December, cried after the vote, Sonka reported. Berg had delivered powerful testimony as the bill was being debated.

“[This bill] is viewed as the single worst anti-LGBTQ legislation that has come out of a statehouse in this country,” she said during a floor debate.

“This is absolutely willful hate for a small group of people that are the weakest and most vulnerable,” she added.

The bill that passed this week expanded upon one that Republicans in Kentucky first introduced in February, which would have allowed students to misgender transgender students despite the detrimental impact it would have on trans youth.

The new version of the bill still allows trans students to be misgendered. But it goes much further: It also bans gender-affirming care, like puberty blockers or hormone therapy, for trans kids and requires doctors to begin detransitioning any of their trans patients who are children. It mandates that schools create policies that will not allow trans students to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity. It does not allow educators to discuss sexual orientation or gender identity in any grade and forbids discussion of human sexuality until sixth grade. After that, parental consent is required.

The Kentucky GOP’s last-minute push to advance the bill is following a disturbing nationwide trend. Hundreds of anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced just this year in states dominated by Republicans as part of the broader culture war on trans Americans and the push for “parental rights” — a catchall term that centers the wishes of conservative white parents when shaping policies in public schools.

Gender-affirming care for minors is appropriate and not dangerous, according to the American Medical Association. And genuine mental health risks come with widespread discrimination and health care bans: Transgender youth are at higher risk for depression and suicide.

Instead of serving the most vulnerable among us, Berg said her fellow lawmakers ignored the science behind gender-affirming care for trans children and only rushed this bill for one reason.

“My child came up here 10 years ago,” she said on Thursday, referring to her son’s 2015 testimony against a bathroom bill in the Kentucky statehouse. “You had time to understand the science… this is absolute, willful, intentional hate.”