#or i like them as complete dumpster fires of human beings

[party-lemon]

getting really into good omens and, predictably, really into anthony j. crowley, which is really just fueling the "i like my men a little girlie" allegations

[ryin-silverfish]

One nerd's musing about Chinese religion and "respect"

-I try to stay away from fandom discourse, but, much like how you can smell the stench from a dumpster fire without walking into said dumpster fire, I've noticed something that seemed to come up a lot in western JTTW + adjacent fandoms: "respect Chinese religion".

-Usually as a reason for why you shouldn't ship a character, because of fucking course it's shipping discourse too.

-And my first reaction is "Man, you are taking Chinese religion too darn seriously, more than people who are born and raised in China."

-My second reaction is "I mean, most of us are atheist/agnostic by default anyways, with a good number of what I'd call 'atheist/agnostics with superstitions': people who said they were not religious, yet believed in Fengshui or divinations and burnt incense at temples for good luck."

-My third reaction: "But why do I get the feeling that when you mention 'Respect', you are thinking about something completely different?"

-Then I reread an essay from Anthony C. Yu, "Religion and Literature in China: The "Obscure Way" of Journey to the West", and the metaphorical lightbulb just lit up over my head.

(Everything below applies more to Daoism + associated folk religions, but by the time most classic Chinese vernacular novels were written, the blending of the three religions had become well and truly mainstream.)

(The conception of gods differs from dynasty to dynasty. What I'm describing here is mostly based on Ming and Qing ones; if you went back to Han or pre-Qin times, most of these would not apply.)

(I am one of the "atheist/agnostic by default" people. I just have an interest in this kind of stuff. I am also just one Chinese person, and an actual Daoist/Buddhist/Religion Studies researcher would probably have a lot more valuable information and perspective to offer when it comes to contemporary practices and worship. Like any people on the internet: take my words with a grain of salt.)

-Even in the past, when society was far less secularized, Chinese gods are not omniscient, perfect beings whose worship is a solemn, humorless affair. Some's worship are Serious Business, but that has more to do with the sort of gods they are and the patronage they enjoy, not godhood in and of itself.

-And even the ones that you are supposed to "treat seriously" are still very human. To use an analogy I've used plenty of times before: you respect and fear them in the same way you'd respect and fear an emperor's official, or the emperor himself, because if you don't, you are not gonna like the consequences.

-However, unlike Jesus, the emperor & his officials were capable of being temperamental, flawed, or an outright asshole, divine or not. Ideally, they wouldn't be, and if you were one of the "serious" believers——people who actually got an official permit, became ordained clergy, and went to live in a temple, you were unlikely to think of your gods in that manner.

-But it wasn't a complete, utter impossibility. The lower you go in the pantheon, the closer you get to popular religion, the less "serious" the gods and their worship become. By that, I mean general attitude, not sincerity of faith. You still shouldn't be rude to them, but, well, they are more likely to take a joke in stride, or participate in the "vulgar" pleasures of commoners because they weren't as bound to Confucian moral standards or religious disciplines.

-To stretch the same analogy further: you should still respect your village head, they could still give your ass a good spanking for being a disrespectful brat, but you were not obligated to get on your knees and kowtow to them like you would do in front of a provincial magistrate, the emperor's minister, or the emperor himself, nor did they have the power to chop your head off just because you were rude.

-On the other hand, the emperor would never visit a random peasant just to help them fix their broken plow or treat them to a nice meal, but your village head could, and your relationship would probably be warmer and a lot more personal as a result.

-Your respect for them was more likely to stem from the things they actually did for you and the village as a whole, instead of something owed to this distant, powerful authority you might never get to see in your lifetime, but could change its course with a single stroke of a brush.

-Now exchange "village head" for your run-of-the-mill Tudis and Chenghuangs and friendly neighborhood spirits (because yes, people worshipped yaoguais for the exact same reasons), emperor + his officials for the Celestial Bureaucracy, and you'd have a basic idea of how Chinese religions worked on the ground level.

-This is far from absolute: maybe your village head was a spiteful old bastard who loved bullying his juniors, maybe your regional magistrate was an honest, upright man who could enjoy a good drink and a good laugh, maybe the emperor was a lenient one and wouldn't chop your head off for petty offenses. But their general degree of power over you and the closeness of your relationships still apply.

-Complicating the matter further, some folk gods (like Wutong) were worshipped not because they brought blessings, but because they were the divine equivalent of gangsters running a protection racket: you basically bribed them with offerings so they'd leave you alone and not wreck your shit. Famous people who died violently and were posthumously deified often fell into this category——shockingly enough, Guan Yu used to be one such god!

-Yeah, kinda like how your average guy could become an official through the imperial examinations, so could humans become gods through posthumous worship, or cultivate themselves into immortals and Enlightened beings.

-Some immortals aren't qualified for, or interested in a position in the Celestial Bureaucracy——they are the equivalent of your hermits, your cloistered Daoist priests, your common literati who kept trying and failing the exams. But some do get a job offer and gladly take it.

-Anyways, back to my original point: that's why it's so absurd when people pull the "Respect Chinese Religion1!!1!" card and immediately follow up with "Would you do X to Jesus?"

-Um, there are a lot of things you can do with Chinese gods that I'm pretty sure you can't do with Jesus. Like worshipping him side by side with Buddha and Confucius (Lao Tzu). Or inviting him to possess you and drink copious amount of alcohol (Tang-ki mediums in SEA). Or genderbend him into a woman over the course of several centuries because folks just like that version of Jesus better (Guan Yin/Avalokitesvara).

-But most importantly, Chinese religions are kinda a "free market" where you could pick and choose between gods, based on their vicinity to you and how efficient they were at answering prayers. You respect them because they'll help you out, you aren't an asshole and know your manners, and pissing them off is a bad idea in general, not because they are some omnipotent, perfect beings who demand exclusive and total reverence.

-A lot of the worship was also, well, very "practical" and almost transactional in nature: leave offerings to Great Immortal Hu, and he doesn't steal your imperial seal while you aren't looking. Perform the rites right and meditate on a Thunder General's visage, and you can temporarily channel said deity's power. Get this talisman for your kids at Bixia Yuanjun's temple, and they'll be protected from smallpox.

-"Faith alone" or "Scripture alone" is seldom the reason people worship popular deities. Even the obsession with afterlife wasn't about the eternal destination of your soul, and more about reducing the potential duration of the prison sentence for you and your loved ones so you can move on faster and reincarnate into a better life.

-Also, there isn't a single "canon" of scriptures. Many popular gods don't show up in Daoist literature until much later. Daoist scriptures often came up with their own gigantic pantheons, full of gods no one had heard of prior to said book, or enjoyed no worship in temples whatsoever.

-In the same way famous dead people could become gods via worship, famous fictional characters could, too, become gods of folk religion——FSYY's pantheon was very influential on popular worship, but that doesn't mean you should take the novels as actual scriptures.

-Like, God-Demon novels are to orthodox Daoism/Buddhism what the Divine Comedy is to medieval Christian doctrines, except no priests had actually built a Church of Saint Beatrice, while Daoists did put FSYY characters into their temples. By their very nature, the worship that stemmed from these books is not on the same level of "seriousness" as, say, the Tiantai school of Buddhism and their veneration of the Lotus Sutra.

-At the risk of being guilty of the same insertion of Christianity where it doesn't belong: You don't cite Dante's Inferno in a theological debate, nor would any self-respecting pastor preach it to churchgoers on a Sunday.

-Similarly, you don't use JTTW or FSYY as your sole evidence for why something is "disrespectful to Chinese religion/tradition" when many practitioners of said religions won't treat them as anything more than fantasy novels.

-In fact, let's use Tripitaka as an example. The historical Xuanzang was an extraordinarily talented, faithful, and determined monk. In JTTW, he was a caricature of a Confucian scholar in a Buddhist kasaya and served the same narrative function as Princess Peach in a Mario game.

-Does the presence of satire alone make JTTW anti-Buddhist, or its religious allegories less poignant? I'd say no. Should you take it as seriously as actual Buddhist sutras, when the book didn't even take itself 100% seriously? Also no.

-To expand further on the idea of "seriousness": even outside of vernacular novels, practitioners are not beholden to a universal set of strict religious laws and taboos.

-Both Daoism and Buddhism had what we called "cloistered" and "non-cloistered" adherents; only the former needed to follow their religious laws and (usually) took a vow of celibacy.

-Certain paths of Daoist cultivation allow for alcohol and sexual activities (thanks @ruibaozha for the info), and some immortals, like Lv Dongbin, had a well-established "playboy" reputation in folklore.

-Though it was rarer for Buddhism and very misunderstood, esoteric variants of it did utilize sexual imageries and sex. And, again, most of the above would not apply if you weren't among the cloistered and ordained clergy.

-Furthermore, not even the worship of gods is mandatory! You could just be a Daoist who was really into internal alchemy, cultivating your body and mind in order to prolong your lifespan and, ideally, attain immortality.

-This idea of "respect" as…for a lack of better words, No Fun & R18 Stuff Allowed, you must treat all divinity with fearful reverence and put yourself completely at their mercy, is NOT the norm in Chinese religious traditions.

-There are different degrees and types of respect, and not every god is supposed to be treated like the Supreme Heavenly Emperor himself during an imperial ceremony; the gods are capable of cracking a joke, and so are we!

TL;DR: Religions are complicated, and you aren't respecting Chinese religions by acting like a stereotypical Puritan over popular Chinese deities and their fictional portrayals.

[deadghosy]

HAZBIN HOTEL X CAELUS! READER

prompt: you were found digging in their trash and they took you in

(I got covid😭 so me posting xreader will be kinda slow)

You were digging for some food ever since you fell from heaven because you kept fighting people over trash…I mean damn reader…

You fell with a blank look as you had a rotten banana in your mouth as you looked down to see pentagram city…so what did you do? You pulled out your fire sword and slash the ground to soften your fall which worked. You changed it to a bat for protection as you found a dumpster!

CHA-CHING✨ MORE TRASHHHH

You dig in the dumpster not hearing a person whistling. The person dropped the garbage bag shocked to see a….? Whatever you are digging in the dumpster. Your face was completely dirty as you lift it up to show you found a cool old watch.

Charlie didn’t know what to do. Are you homeless? Is what she thought as she takes you out the garbage as you blankly stare at her “•_•” “uhm sweetie are you okay?” “……” “not much of a talker huh…” you just stayed quiet as Charlie introduced herself and shook your hand bringing you to the hotel so you can have a place to stay.

I feel like you were a new angel and only stayed for like 1 month…(free trial ass shit…) and so when you didn’t act holy and proper. That’s why you mostly got kicked out

Vaggie will know you are an angel because of your angelic look and golden eyes as you just stand there minding your business. You tell her you fell because you fought over your treasure….your trash practically. So Vaggie tells you what happened to her and you hugged her making her feel safe about herself a bit.

You two have matching bracelets you made from an exercise Charlie did.

Okay I headcannon that Lucifer is already in the hotel living with his daughter. And he felt your presence and he would be like. “Fuck are you doing here”🤨 “I fought for my life.”

Vox one time put you on air with him because of your golden shining eyes….i think he was flirting with you as you ate some gift cookies he made for you…

Velvette tried to make you a model, but you kept wandering off somehow. Literally she got tired of you but never of your face as she at least posted you wearing some nice 2000 makeup

Carmilla had a gut feeling about you being an angel. She wanted to kill you but then you gave her a ring you found in a dumpster because you said she reminded you of your earth mother/parent. Yeah she wanted to adopt you

You help sir Pentious, or who you call penny for his project builds. You dig in dumpster’s, trash bins, and garbage dumps

Angel dust and you sometimes just be on your phones all the time which is obnoxious. But hey, I don’t make the rules. Being on your phone makes it seem like you don’t want to be talked to which is true.

Lucifer made you a duck as he notciced how lonely you are….(you don’t give a fuck, you only need trash as your friends) so Lucifer made you 20 ducks that are based on your favorite things or like idk just ducks

The egg boiz follow you around as you literally calling you the, “TRASH BOSS!” Not in a bad way more like in admiration as you give them stuff from the garbage.

Your golden eyes shining in the night scaring husk as he didn’t even see you in his hind sight. Like he is a cat, but he didn’t even see you?!

You and alastor’s both eat weird things, like he is a cannibal….and for you..either trash or just normal weird food combos

Alastor would definitely try to get you to eat cannibal meat, but to be honest you can tell the difference between human and regular meat. You always know.

Niffty is the kind of person who would give you a trash flower crown, kinda like how she made a crown for Alastor ✨🦆

I headcannon your angelic/demon form to be a raccoon 💀

You send dumbass memes in the hazbin hotel gc…

You are quite the feral person tbh, but who didn’t know when you literally fought people for your damn trash.

You definitely had bit Valentino once as Angel dust brought you to a club and you were digging in trash to find something cool. But Valentino found you adorable in the face and wanted to make you a sex worker. And what did you do when he tried to hurt Angel?

YOU BIT HIS FUCKIN HAND ALMOST OFF AS ANGEL WAS TRYING TO PULL YOU OFF😭

Yeah..you definitely had blood dripping from your mouth when Angel dragged you out of the club

[wastemanjohn]

i'm not at all bothered about people disliking john because entirely valid tbh and someone else's opinion changes nothing for me. i just think the militant anti john brigade - that is, those that make up textually unsupported and entirely leftfield reasons to dislike him - are really missing out.

the thing is, we've got an absolute buffet of an interesting and irreparably fucked up character here. we could debate the absolute Horrors of john winchester and his a+ parenting for days on end literally from the two seconds of screentime he had. because he does suck! it's totally fair to say that canon john is selfish, neglectful and at best emotionally abusive. now i'm defo no apologist (see username) - but he's also the furthest thing from a cardboard shitty abusive dad. there is serious context for the things he does and the way he thinks.

john's life was hell man. his own dad, for all he knew, abandoned him. he went to war young and almost certainly came back with ptsd. these things alone don't exactly make life easy but then your wife burns to death on a ceiling and you're left a widower and a single dad to a baby and a pre schooler before you're even thirty? then discover that it couldn't even be a plain old housefire but no - there is actual Evil out there and you and your children are not safe and never will be?

the desire for revenge is understandable. the desire to do stupid and paradoxically dangerous things to protect your children are understandable. right, good or healthy? no. but understandable. and that's what makes a good sympathetic character.

basically i think a lot of negative readings of john exaggerate the badness of his intentions and ignore his humanity. it's also understandable that john is not a beacon of emotional regulation. it's also understandable that he cant always balance being emotionally and physically there for his kids with Fighting The Horrors. pour alcohol misuse onto this dumpster fire and you're not getting a perfect person, or a perfect parent. you're getting a broken human who was focused only on keeping his kids safe, alive, protected, and able to protect themselves. sure, he had tunnel vision about it. he did it very badly. he controlled sam as the youngest and parentified dean as the oldest. he made sam feel misunderstood and smothered. he made dean feel completely responsible for the welfare of his brother and dependent on john's praise and approval as his second in command.

john fucked his kids up IMMEASURABLY. he thought he was doing the right thing.

also - remember young john? remember how he's softly spoken and loves his cars and adores his girlfriend and respects his fucking elders and, to quote mary, "believes in happy endings"? remember the doting dad we see for like a minute in the pilot? is that not meant to show us that, had his life not taken the turn it did - he would likely have been an entirely different person? how is the tragedy of that not also completely DELICIOUS??

so why homophobic john? why john who beat dean senseless regularly? why john who gave no shits and wanted his boys to be miserable? why these embellishments that make him someone else, someone with nothing good inside of him, when what canon gives us is so much better?

come on guys. the tragic messy sad angry selfish HUMAN john we got in the show is an absolute treat. why are we making him an irredeemable, unfeeling and uncomplicated asshole who doesn't give a shit about his boys. ya'll saw him spending a good 50% of his screen time crying about how much he loved them right? and sam and dean KNEW he loved them. they also knew, or in dean's case came to realise, that he was a terrible father in many ways. real life is messy and nuanced. families are messy and nuanced. and imo spn got this so right.

[genericpuff]

There's a user going around currently reblogging/commenting on antiLO content with the intent of "digging up dirt" on people who simply read and enjoy the comic. Basically demanding the OP's of such posts to inform them of any 'stans' so they can add them to a 'list' that they absolutely do not have any good intentions to do with, along with making some very unsavory and completely unwarranted comments about the fans in general (and I don't mean the usual "lmao LO fans are weird/dumb/etc." stuff, I mean genuinely cruel wishes to have the fans of the comic doxxed/harmed/etc.) I have blocked this user for obvious reasons, and if you get a similar reblog or DM like I did from this person, I hope you'll do the same.

Please do not play into this. As much as I and many others talk shit about this dumpster fire of a comic and its questionable if not outright controversial writing and messaging, none of us have any right to go after any of the fans or stans directly. At best that would just be proving to the fans who already hate this part of the fandom that we're boogeymen out to get people, at worst it would be a betrayal to our own integrity as human beings who should be capable of discussing media without turning it into a harassment campaign. Making shitposts about the media and the fandom is fine, discussing the media itself and the creator who made it within our own little spaces of the Internet is ultimately harmless so long as it's managed within reason, but deliberately going out of your way to dig up personal information on innocent people within the fandom for the purpose of ruining their life is not okay and if you ever get to that point where you're trying to rationalize going after people directly, you need to log off.

[in1-nutshell]

Hi how are you I wanna know how would the tfa team prime react to sentinel prime falling in love with a female cybertronian who came to life by an allspark fragment and she is a sweet, cheerful person who wants to have a lot of friends and is oblivious to sentinel feeling believe he just wants to be her friend badly

I kind of thought back on the Fluttershy bot I did not too long ago when I saw this. But I did a different Buddy for this one.

The Buddy Protection squad is ready.

Hope you enjoy!

Bot Buddy brought to life by the Allspark and Sentinel Prime pinning over her

SFW, Platonic, Slight romance, Cybertronain reader

TFA

Team Prime was already on edge when they heard that the Elite Guard decided to stop by Earth again.

More now since they had a new addition to the team.

A food truck that had come to life with a fragment of the Allspark.

Sari had given her a name.

Buddy, for their friendly nature.

Buddy, while a bit naïve to her surroundings, was a gentle soul.

Often doing her best to help any human or bot that looked like they needed help.

Optimus was especially on guard.

He knew Sentinel wasn’t going to be like this and was already mentally preparing for the storm that was going to arrive.

Bumblebee and Bulkhead tried to hide her at least for the day.

That didn’t work.

Now Buddy was beside Team Prime as the Elite Guard came down the ramp.

Buddy made sure to be as respectful as she could with the new bots around her.

Jazz and the Jettwins liked her politeness and warm nature, defiantly a good change from being on the same ship as Sentinel.

Speaking of Sentinel…

He was pulling every single pick-up line he could remember as soon as his optics laid on the cute bot next to Ratchet.

Buddy, however, is completely oblivious.

There are two clear reactions about this interaction.

Team that finds it hilarious and watches this train wreck from afar

This team consists of bots who find Sentinel’s pain their joy. After all the things Sentinel has put them through, it’s only right to have him go through some too. Now some bots may have some pity on the Prime and maybe give him a pointer on how to be Buddy’s friend. Others don’t care and just want to continue watching this dumpster fire.

Team Prime

Elite Guard

Team that is going to protect Buddy from Sentinels advances

As much as these bots find it funny to see Sentinel like this, they are also aware that he has a history of overdoing things. Typically, when he overdoes things, others around him get hurt in the process. These bots care too much about Buddy to have her take any fall for Sentinels wrong doings. Those are the bots who are willing to be civil about this. However, there are other bots how will move Buddy out of Sentinel’s way or cause a series of unfortunate events to happen to the Prime to get away from Buddy. They don’t want Buddy getting with him and they are not taking any chances of that happening.

Team Prime

[phecdasolar]

Friendly reminder that if you see something bad or stressful on the internet you can ignore it. If you see something bad that’s trending you don’t have to click on it.

Your mental health comes first. This is going out specifically and especially to all my fellow hyper-empathetic people out there. If you know that going down a rabbit hole of information on a specific horrible topic is going to make you depressed or feel like crap then you don’t have to interact with that. (Edit: I have been informed that this is called “doomscrolling.” To repeat what I was told: Doomscrolling is not activism. It doesn’t end up helping anybody and it only hurts you.)

In this day and age where we have access to the internet and information about soooooo many different horrible things it can be so easy to get sucked in to all of it. We have wars, we have constant natural disasters (there’s a massive fire close to where I live right now, it’s barely contained, and is rivaling the fire we had a few years ago that destroyed an entire town. It’s terrifying), we have beloved creators being accused and revealed to have done horrible things (the fact that I can say this and multiple names immediately pop into my head sickens me).

The point is, take a break. Get off the internet. Breathe. Go for a walk. Maybe look at videos of cute baby animals, or compilations of “restore your faith in humanity.” Go read a book. Eat something you like. Take a nap. Drink some water. Take a shower. If you’re religious, pray about it. Take care of yourself and don’t allow yourself to drown in the dread.

And for the people who might come at me for this saying “how dare you not care about the problems going on or the pain other people are in!” That’s the problem. It’s not that I don’t care, the problem is that I care too much. Please refer back to the hyper-empathetic part of this message. I am a sympathetic crier. I will allow myself to get so sucked in to an issue and I will end up feeling terrible about it. I won’t want to leave my bed, I feel like crying and throwing up and there is an everlasting pit in my stomach the size of Alaska. I am no help to anyone in a state like that, and neither is anyone else. I will say it again, take care of yourself and your mental health first.

There’s a reason on planes they tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first before helping others.

But that’s not to say you have to ignore it completely! Take a step back, take a break, and then engage when and only when you feel like you’re at the mental/emotional/psychological capacity to do so.

When coming back a tip I have is pick one specific issue, and focus on that. Only one. Don’t overwhelm yourself. If you can, find a friend or someone you know is reliable and levelheaded and talk to them about it. Multiple perspectives can help a lot, plus you feel less alone when tackling a difficult situation.

It’s important when you’re gathering information on the issue that you know your sources are reliable, and you’re doing your own research. “Okay, multiple people on Tumblr are screaming about something but they’re saying different things about what’s going on.” Tumblr is not a reliable or credible source I am sorry besties. We are a bunch of dumpster gremlin raccoons given access to a platform to scream out our personal thoughts and opinions. Please don’t take them as solid immediate truth.

I have more I could say on this probably but it’s 1 am and I am losing my thought coherency. Have a good night/day and take care of yourselves <3

[fandom-thoughts389]

Miraculous Ladybug Critiques (Rant)

I followed along with the show pretty much since its debut, but I fell off on caring for it somewhere in the middle of the fourth season. I still kept tabs on it though cause by that point it was like a dumpster fire and I had to know what dumb decision they made next.

I will acknowledge though that looking back I now realize the show and its creators never had any intentions of making something compelling or with any depth to it. It was just show to be made and they'd continue it for however long they could.

So, I felt like listing out the various problems I have with the show and what I personally thought would've created a better narrative/story.

1. Powers

I can really appreciate the lore and origins of the miraculous/kwamis being concepts of the universe, but beyond that there's too much going on. Having way more miraculous exist beyond the 19 the show originated loads the show with too much going on.

-The Zodiac

Heck, the 12 zodiac miraculous overcomplicates the number of powers the show has to juggle. Not to mention that the concepts and powers some of them weald are either too broken or too redundant. The rabbit can just freely time travel with seemingly no limitations. Plus time travel just always complicates things in any media. Meanwhile, the dog just allows you to retrieve an object back to your person. There's no balance here.

There should've been a hierarchy to their powers, or at the very least the zodiac could've individually been weaker in some sense. Maybe there could've been combinations that form greater powers. The snake allows you to rewind a short window of time into the past, but another miraculous could've been about prediction or seeing the future, so when used together they could've allowed for some level of controlled time travel. Like how creation and destruction come together to form reality the zodiac could've been other concepts broken into pairs (or heck maybe even trios?).

-Power-ups

These were completely redundant. They alluded to 7 power but have only ever used 3 of them (2 of which are very situational with water and ice). The zodiac could've been better used in place of there since they were more about adding additional transformation sequences, that's really all they were.

-Other Heroes

The New York special feels so stupid introducing a justice league knock-off roster of superheroes. They make no sense existing cause why the hell wouldn't the come help Paris when they're literally dealing with a domestic terrorist with superpowers daily. By that point I knew the creators didn't care what they added to the world they made.

-The main 7

I just think these guys needed some balancing to fit alongside each other.

The ladybug and cat do well for their main powers of creation and destruction, but the extra powers of the ladybug needed to be mirrored by the cat. To restore/fix any damages should've been a combined power of the two used in unison. As for dealing with the akumas maybe only the wielder of the cat can break/destroy whatever they're in.

As for the other 5 I feel like they all should've functioned the same. Like all of them imbue their power into something then bind it to an object and manipulate it from there. The fox would have a focal point for its illusion. The bee's stinger could be what's implanted and I think they should have control over the person's actions. As for the Turtle, idk? a protective charm of sorts?

The butterfly and peacock a little much though. The butterfly can just bestow ANY sort of power, I fell like it should be limited in someway. And the peacock can apparently just straight up create fully functional, living beings/humans as well as monsters? Probably should just stick to actual monsters.

I'll also say that I think they were suppose to the 'five Chinese elements' (Wuxing)? Given their number and arrangement(?) in the original box. So maybe there could've been a flow/balance amongst each other where they can either boost or counteract the others.

2. Love Square

Marinette and Adrian's relationship just became another trait to drag on and perpetually extend the show's life. They did everything to keep them from starting a relationship and when they finally shoved them together (halfway through the 5th season?) they didn't do anything meaningful with them afterward.

I think the initial set up of who they love is good. Marinette only loves Adrian, while Chatnoir loves Ladybug. Creating a cycle of them pining for each other. However, that cycle should've been broken at some point way earlier to progress their dynamic.

I honestly think they should've had Marinette and Chatnoir start a relationship. Its an inverse of their crushed and to me they feel/act most like their real selves. Marinette isn't under the responsibility of being Ladybug and she's not falling over herself and stuttering like when she's around Adrian. Meanwhile, Adrian is expressive and outgoing as Chatnoir and uses that time as an escape from his restrictive life.

I could see this relationship starting after they confess to their respective crushes, but of course get rejected. Afterwards though they fine solace in the one they rejected and decide to give that person a chance, maybe thinking along the lines of: "Hey, this person liked my other identity, why don't I give them a chance".

I also think that the dynamic of Ladybug and Adrian should've been used as a 'Superman&Lois Lane' or 'Spiderman&Mary Jane' sort of situation. Ladybug saves him every now and then and the media blows it out of proportions. It’d be cute and funny and a nice nod to comics/heroes before them.

As for Kagami and Luka, I could see them dating the protagonists for a bit of time. An alternate choice to get their minds off their crushes that don’t work out and breakup later. Just not LITERALLY THE NEXT COUPLE OF EPISODES AFTER STARTING TO “DATE”. Geez.

3. Characters

I really don't care for how this show handled most of its characters, especially Chloe and Gabriel. I'll also say it's annoying that they inflated the roster of heroes/important characters with the rest of the class with the zodiac miraculous.

Marinette

My main problem with her is that the show is solely fixated on her. They never really divide the attention with Adrian's side of things, so the narrative weight of everything is always dependent on Marinette. She's always the crux of every situation with the Ladybug's powers being so inflated on their role/importance.

Also, I think everyone can agree with me on this one: They needed to turn down the creepy, obsessive stalker behavior of her towards Adrian. I could understand learning the times of some of his afterschool activities to watch/fawn over him, but how the hell does she know his entire monthly schedule?! It's all way too much.

Adrian

Like I said, they hardly ever do anything narratively with him. Heck, they give him no role in the main finally of everything! More episodes should've been centered on and followed him to give some balance between him and Marinette.

Also, I think it might've been a better idea to keep him as his original concept of Felix. Or at the very least lean towards it with a bit of a reclusive and abrasive personality. I think it could've involved him a lot more in the story if he was the cause of more akumatizations. It could've lead to a lot more character growth with him bettering himself after each experience. It also could've aligned him more with Chloe as friends and let them develop together.

Chloe

I still don't understand why they had her better herself so much just to turn around and regress her back to her stubborn self in an instant. I understand the idea of a "failed redemption arc", but somehow they failed at doing that. There just wasn't any proper build-up to it.

Honestly, I would've had Chloe be used vigilante/anti-hero if they didn't have her out herself immediately in the show. She's doesn't want to give up the bee miraculous, but she wants to prove herself as a hero.

She could've been a novice that inserted herself into every situation and got in the heroes' way or complicated things, but eventually got better at heroics. She could've learned that not every situation calls for her immediately and she could stay on the sidelines watching over the heroes in case they needed a save/backup.

All that development could build up to her making the tough call of her losing her miraculous to Hawkmoth in order to save Ladybug and Chatnoir. Then with the Bee miraculous in Hawkmoth's possession, fights with future villains could be harder if their perfectly under his control with the bee's venom ability.

Gabriel

Dear God this man should've been written as a father first and foremost. He's too much of a 'Saturday morning cartoon villain' when there should be a lot more depth into the weight of his actions.

The man wants to revive his wife and restore their family but he throws his son under the bus any chance he gets to use/manipulate him. In the end though they want him to be seen a sympathetic but flawed villain? They actively ruined and perception of sympathy.

I would have loved for him to actually be a sympathetic villain given his motivations and him being one of the heroes' parents, but they actively had him choose the most malicious and batshit ideas. They could've made him immediately concerned for Adrian's safety if he saw he was around one of his villains, ordering them to stay clear of him.

Him succeeding in the end isn't even that bad of an idea too. Maybe he should've been unaware/ignorant of the wish's price though. Like he brings back Emilie but at the cost of Marinette or Adrian's life. Ultimately encouraging him to reverse his wish, let go and move on. Also, there was no need to make it look like the world was ending when a wish is made. Felt a little over dramatic.

Also the tech rings were way too random for the narrative in my opinion for a fashion designer to have made?

4. Fashion

What ever happened to the show's fashion emphasis? Wasn't their school an arts school? or am I just misremembering that?

Anyways, there should've been more (and a better use) of fashion in this series. Like come on, the main villain is a renown designer, and the main leads are an aspiring designer and model.

The villains Gabriel created should've looked like they were designed by him. I can understand/appreciate the occasional abstract one but most of them just looked ridiculous (utterly ridiculous). Plus the superheroes' outfits are just mostly spandex suits, barely anything unique or involving their animal motifs. Not to mention the combos between a few of them are either bland or clunky.

I also think they could've had their outfits change occasionally, like after every season. If its suppose to be like sentai/magical girl transformations then new outfits over time is the norm.

Rant. Done.

[maria021015]

Tiktok is stealing tumblrs title as the brainrot website. I saw a post complaining about Rege Jean Page leaving Bridgerton. Which is already silly he completed his contract and his characters storyline. But in the comments someone was calling Dylan OBrien a diva for not doing season 6 of Teen Wolf? As if he had a choice in the matter. The post was already a breeding ground for entitlement but I wasn't expecting something that wild.

I didn’t know about this but it’s actually shocking. Actors are human beings outside of their characters and we have to respect them as such. It is entirely their choice if they don’t want to take on a project and though yes, we will miss the characters they portray dearly, no hate should come to the actor for doing what is right for them.

The fact that people are still upset over season 6 of Teen Wolf says more about the actual content of the season rather than Dylan’s absence. He wasn’t in 6A much either but the show found a way to make that work. I believe 6B was a burning dumpster fire of a season and Dylan’s absence shouldn’t be blamed for that.

To call him a diva for not taking on a bigger role in that season is entirely tone deaf considering his likely reasoning for not doing so was a scheduling conflict with The Maze Runner Death Cure (of which he is the literal centrepiece and this was a huge franchise so as if he was going to turn that down) AND a resulting accident that occurred on set. An accident that clearly impacted Dylan in a big way and that he still doesn’t seem to like talking about publicly. It’s just vile and ignorant behaviour honestly and we as fans need to remember these are real people behind the screen. They are human beings and deserve to be respected as such.

Props to Chappell Roan for standing up for her human right to be respected as such, honestly. We need a shift and I hope more standards will be lifted so these people aren’t viewed or treated as a circus act/zoo animals.

[thepurplewombat]

For the violence ask game, can I request your answers to numbers 3, 10, 14, 21 and 22?

ooooh lovely choices here!

3: screenshot or description of the worst take you’ve seen on tumblr

Oh, god, there are so many. But I think the worst and most frustrating ones are related to Jin Guangyao and Mo Xuanyu. I've seen a number of people say things about the whole thing being a lie from JGY's end to discredit MXY, and I've even seen some that called JGY a groomer, and tbh, it makes me sick on multiple levels. Allow me to explain:

So first of all, denying that MXY really did what he was kicked out of JLT for completely ignores some of the only things that we know about him from his own words (filtered through WWX of course, but isn't everything?). On Page 19 of Volume 1, WWX is reading MXY's demented scribblings and comes across the part where he is talking about having been kicked out of JLT. It is never mentioned that he feels resentment for this, or that it was all a lie - and if there is anywhere that it would say outright that MXY was angry because he was falsely accused, wouldn't it be in the private ramblings hidden in his own room?

Second of all, if JGY had really fabricated rumors that MXY had harassed him in order to get him kicked out, he would have had his own wound on WWX's arm. Which, let me be clear, he does not. We're talking novel canon here, and in the novel, all the wounds close once the Mo family are dead.

Third of all, I find it sickening because it is part of a pattern of placing JGY at fault for sexual and other violence committed against him. He was harassed by his own brother to the point of forcing him to expel him from the clan, he ended up married to his own sister - neither of those were his fault, but people tend to look at these situations and have just the most absolutely dumpster-fire rancid takes, like JGY committing sexual assault against Qin Su (he didn't - once he knew about their relationship he never slept with her again, and while yes, he should have told her the truth about why, his reasoning is completely understandable), or being into incest etc.

Actually also a lot of takes wrt JGY and sex are pretty rancid, but I think the MXY thing is the worst, and it keeps coming up and make me want to set the whole tag on fucking fire.

10 - worst part of fanon

There are a lot of fanon takes that annoy me - WWX is good at diplomacy, NMJ is a fluffy cuddlebear, LXC is a himbo, but none of them quite make me want to Hulk Out as bad as fanon JGY, who is essentially just JGS in a funny hat.

You want an uncomplicatedly and unrepentantly evil villain to pin your hate on? JGS is right there.

You want a rapist who never shows an ounce of regret? JGS is right there.

You want a monster who ordered human experimentation with resentful energy to be done? JGS is right there.

You want the author of all of WWX's post-Sunshot misery? Jin Guangshan is RIGHT FUCKING THERE!

But no, we're gonna go ahead and pin all of JGY's father's crimes on him.

ugh.

14 -that one thing you see in fics all the time

oh god, if I could have a penny for every time I have seen surprise villainYao in a fic tagged with xiyao I would be so rich. It's especially frustrating when it's in a modern AU, when a lot of the pressures that caused JGY to do the shit he did just didn't exist. With a lot of modern AUs you can't even say 'cool motive, still murder' (a valid take on JGY tbh) because 90% of the time he doesn't even have a motive? He's just out there killing people for shits and giggles and I'm like, 'You're thinking of Xue Yang. This isn't JGY, this is Xue Yang in a funny goddamn hat.'

21 - part of canon you think is overhyped

I've been sitting here for ten minutes trying to think of a specific part of canon that's overhyped and not just annoying to me personally, and I can't really think of anything? Like, there's this perception in fandom that LWJ is a loving and caring brother who did a lot for LXC, and that pisses me off because he is the worst didi in a work full of bad didis - JGY killed his elder brother, and still managed to not be as terrible a little brother as Lan 'abandon my brother who's just killed his best friend of twenty years with his own two hands to go fuck Wei Wuxian under a bush' Wangji. But that's annoying because it's wrong, not because it's overhyped, so I'm just gonna go with a big old 🤷‍♀️here.

22 - your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

I mean, I don't think it's ignored necessarily, but I would love for more people to pay attention to the fact that WWX literally made Wen Chao eat his own flesh, and that was really gross and horrible but also very sexy of him.

Because like, a part of the appeal of WWX is that he is legitimately monstrous. He does absolutely monstrous things during the Sunshot campaign, and people are right to be afraid of this extremely powerful and unpredictable person who commands the goddamn dead. But WWX is like an example of how you can be a monster but also try to be a good person, and a lot of people strip a lot of the complexity out of him by making him a Manic Pixie Dream Necromancer who's like, a little quirky but ultimately cool, and no, fuck that noise.

Wei Wuxian was a monster. He became a monster in response to the pressures of the war and his massive pile of untreated PTSD, but he was so terrifying that for a moment while I was reading the rescue of the Wen, I wasn't sure that they were going to go with him. And I wouldn't have blamed them for a second because this is the man who nearly single-handedly destroyed their clan, slaughtered their friends and families, and then commanded their corpses to slaughter even more. That's fucked up and villain behaviour, and nobody would have blamed the Wen for preferring the ordinary human torture and death and murder over whatever Wei Wuxian might choose to do to them. At least once the guards killed you the torment was over.

But a monster isn't all he is. He tries to do the right thing, he tries to be good, and while it doesn't solve the situation, it does mean something. Wei Wuxian's story is the story of a man who covered himself in blood to save his own life and the lives of others, and then found out that sometimes you don't get to go home. Sometimes the blood doesn't wash off and you spend the rest of your days with the shadows of your past hanging over you.

But he still tried! He still tried, and in the very end of the story, he is free, and happy, and loved.

But removing his darkest moments takes so much away from the light at the end, renders it so much less meaningful without the contrast of his darkest times.

Thank you for playing, sorry that my answers are so damn long, but apparently I get wordy sometimes!

[artzzyb00-27]

{🧡Silence in Darkness🧡}

Trigger Warnings: Attempted assault and rape. I know people who have gone through this and experienced it further sadly. My heart goes out to victims of assault and rape and I hope justice goes in your favor.

After meeting the turtles, reader was wrapped into their world and way of life quickly. A main reason being that talking wasn't easy for her. Their first meeting was after Mikey had fallen off a building and into a dumpster. Reader had been drawing in her sketchbook and heard the noise through her headphones. Sitting on the edge of her fire escape looking out to the city, getting inspiration from the colorful lights.

Taking off her headphones and looking over the fence to see what happened, Mikey was looking up laying on his shell in the dumpster with his legs hanging out. Obviously being too big to fit completely. Reader paused her music and rushed down to check on him. Freaking out over the fact he was a giant mutant turtle quietly in her head. His brothers came down quickly, making sure she wasn't going to take a picture or try to expose them, then realizing she wanted to get close to Mikey.

Donnie had checked his brother and then reader did the same. Pulling out some gum from her pocket, and offering some to the orange-clad turtle. Once doing the same to the three other mutants, they tried to talk her out of telling someone. When she only nodded and didn't respond, Donnie had come to the assumption she was mute.

"We should get going now, have a good night, um-" he paused waiting for her to at least give them some sort of title to her person.

"Reader." the turtles nodded and began to leave. Mikey had stayed behind and asked for her number then put her name as 'Mouse 🐭' on his phone. For shits and giggles, she put him under 'Turtle with Orange zazz'. Since then they've been close, but not enough for her to talk vocally.

She would either respond with head movements, or writing, and sometimes facial expressions. Mikey was the most persistent, why wouldn't he? Outgoing extroverts always love to make shy introverts come out of their comfort zone to make something bright of themselves that shows others they're more than a stereotypical quiet kid.

Music had also become a way of interaction between the quartet and small human. While reader had a variety of preferences, they weren't picky, so they bonded with each of the turtles over their music. Mikey was a hiphop guy, while Leo loved Metal and Raph preferred classic Rock like David Bowie, Queen, Metallica, and Joan Jett. Donnie was more indie than any of them, but occasionally listened to rap while experimenting on side projects.

Reader would sometimes stay the night a couple months after meeting and tonight was one of those nights. Some would say sleeping on the couch was uncomfortable, especially the couch the turtles had. Reader would disagree, it was more comfortable than her bed back home. For what reason? She didn't know, and didn't need to know. However, tonight she felt restless and couldn't go to bed. On impulsive thoughts, she decided to walk near the pier and take a breather. Not knowing Mikey was following from the rooftops.

He had gotten up to go get some water when he saw her walking out of the lair with her red and gray-lined jumper Raph had given her for her birthday. Being the chivalrous turtle that he was, he went to make sure she was safe. So far everything was good, and Mikey was just admiring her from afar. While also being a good friend and ready to step-in if need. She may be shy but that didn't mean she couldn't fight.

Just then a guy wearing a gray hoodie had stopped her to talk. Getting a nervous feeling, Mikey got his weapons ready, even though he most likely wouldn't need them.

"Hey little lady, whatcha' doin' out here?"

"Walking." Vague and simple, almost always gets the guy to lose interest. Sadly this guy wasn't right in the head and pushed her against the railing putting a hand on her neck. She punched him on the sides making him belch in pain. She tried running back to the lair but the guy ended up tripping her and got on top of her. Holding her arms with one hand and the other heading towards her pants.

Suddenly getting kicked into the railing and ended up falling down to the beach below. Reader got up to look over and saw the guy knocked out. Or dead? Who knows, he was off of her and that's what mattered. Finally noticing the giant shadow next to her, she turned and took Mikeys' appearance in. Still a bit shaken from the experience she took some deep breaths making Mikey look at her.

"You okay?" she nodded in response. Mikey didn't expect her to talk, not after that. He put a hand on her back and guided her lightly to the direction back to the lair. While in the alley heading to a sewer grate, she gained some strength in her voice to talk.

"Thanks for that." Mikey paused for a sec then continued while smiling.

"Just doing the right thing. You can always count on me you know?" he asked, though it sounded more of a statement then anything. She nodded and waited for the grate to be opened.

"Really though, I think I might need more training. Wanna help?"

"Sure, anything to spend time with my favorite human. Don't tell April." reader laughed lightly and made her way down the ladder.

"My lips are sealed." The rest of the way they held a conversation. Once arriving they said goodnight and the next morning they were talking to each other first thing. The others confused on what had happened for this to be the result, didn't question it vocally until reader left the lair to get ready for work at the bakery.

Mikey only said they took a walk last night and bonded. Call it what you will, but Mikey was glad she came out her shell in the right way after that experience. He'd hurt or kill anyone who tried that again.

[stellardeer]

Okay I'm about to be really honest and a little mean :/

I have always loved the aesthetics of like.. witchy/hippie/spiritual neopagan or whatever stuff, like fucking with crystals and candles and smoking a lot of weed and talking about the universe or whatever. But I have only ever been interested in these things purely for fun, I have never been very religious in general, but I just like wearing loose clothing and buying pretty rocks and pretending they do something because everything is meaningless so why not have a little fun with life, you know? Invent some meaning.

But I have hung around so many people in that subculture and I have just concluded.. that I am simply not stupid enough to be part of that lifestyle :/

I said it was mean, I know, I know, but like, I have had so many self proclaimed hippy/wook friends and I feel like every time the experience is just me repeatedly trying to convince them not to poison themselves or having to explain basic chemistry or basic physics or, fuck, basic fucking psychology to them so they don't hurt themselves or get scammed or make their life worse in some way while trying to ""manifest"" good things.

The last straw was my most recent roommate starting to get into that stuff and I was onboard and supportive at first, and even tried to join in, cause again, I just think it's harmless fun for the most part. And she seemed nervous about it at first like she had used to think it was dumb, and I was like "nah, even if it isnt real, whats the harm? It's nice to do little rituals sometimes even if you dont believe in them!" and the way we had talked about it, it seemed like she agreed. Until she started getting really into it and taking it way too seriously and she started buying a new candle like every week to try to do fucking spells to make her life better, which culminated in her leaving a fucking candle burning OVERNIGHT while we were both gone, in the MIDDLE OF OUR PLASTIC FUCKING BATHTUB and almost BURNT MY HOUSE DOWN (again!) And after that I had to sheepishly tell her that I was not comfortable having open flames in the house anymore because I had already had a housefire in 2020 and we lived in a trailer (a highly flammable box) and I didnt want to go through that again. (At which she huffily resented me, despite the fact the endangered our fucking pets and livelihood with her stupid ""spells"" that didnt even fucking work.)

So yeah, after that, I am just done, like I feel like I can't even entertain the people who believe in that shit anymore. I have known too many people who heavily judge people based on star signs, who can't make any decisions without a tarot reading, who get duped into buying snake oil shit that they think is the goddamn philosopher's stone??? Like sure, it's all "just harmless fun" until it isn't anymore, and you're doing tangible damage to your body or your relationships. Not to mention almost every person I've met who preaches about how loving and open and chill they are and how everybody needs to ride the wave or whatever always ends up being one of the most self-centered, manipulative human fucking dumpster fires I ever known.

Like I hate to call a whole.. genre of people or whatever stupid, but I have just not seen good things from this subculture. But also I feel like there is a certain type of person who gets really pulled into that kind of shit. In my experience they are usually formerly Christian, and spent much of their life Believing In Something really hard until suddenly they come to the realization that it was all a lie and lose their faith completely, but I feel like deep down they still have this desire to believe in a higher power, to believe in a universe in which you can ask for something and be granted it. They need an outlet for all that faith, so they turn to the witchy shit and the concept of "the universe" as a deity and I feel like 90% of the people I know who practice those sort of things are just essentially doing Christian rituals under a different name and format. Like the spell candles? Those are just prayer candles, they're literally sold as prayer candles, too, most of them have pictures of fucking Mary or Jesus on them. Or the idea that you can manifest anything by just.. thinking about it hard enough? That's just.. praying. The idea that we are all one consciousness and we can connect with the universe just sounds like the Christian concept that "god is in everything." Granted there is a lot of borrowing from other religions too and a common belief amongst this crowd is that all religions are secretly the same, just warped into different variations over time, but even that concept is very culturally Christian.

And I don't want to make the implication that I think all Christians are equally stupid, I'm not saying the reason they're dumb is because they are former Christians. Some of the most intelligent and well-rounded people I have known, who I immensely respect, were still Christians, and I don't think any less of them. Just wanted to nip that in the bud, so it doesn't seem like I'm conflating the two, I just find it interesting how that seems to be a pattern amongst the people I know who have been the most "devout" followers of the.. hippie/witchy/whatever lifestyle. Like you just traded your blind belief in what you were told as a child for your blind belief in what you think while you're high. 🤷‍♀️

[fearsomeandwretched]

Back at it wanting to kms over the same thing 🤪

I don't understand how every single adult countless of them basically ruined my life and sat back as I was traumatized and abused until I was a shell of a human being (and not one single person ever had to apologize or face accountability or consequences) but my life is a complete shit hole bc of it and I'm supposed to with no money extremely limited help and no foundation in my childhood lift myself up by my fucking boot straps and turn this dumpster fire into a livable life. It's so unfair it like paralyzes me I just sit around and cry about it every single day

[cultbusters]

Exposing the Discord Cult of TheDarkMoonKing

My source has provided me with screen shots and a Reddit link to the cult leaders social media accounts.

I have provided them below so that you, the people, can decide for yourselves.

Not going to lie...this guy seems sketchy

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheNewKingdom/s/opyip8Cqa6

Below are photos of cult mastermind TheDarkMoonKing on his reddit

Below is a post made by TheDarkMoonKing to his 'folowers' on discord. The language used to address those he 'loves' seems...cold and demeaning.

"mundane and non-special" hmmm

I was approached by someone and was asked to share their story

Below the cut is someone's personal experience being on the inside of this cult.

Be safe and aware, ego plays a key role in losing touch with reality

Picture this, me minding my own business on a Wednesday afternoon.

I'm enjoying my lunch break when I get a message from a friend.

They inform me that they have stumbled upon what appears to be a discord cult in the making.

Seeing as I had nothing better to do with my Wednesday evening I agreed

Thus my infiltration began.

I enter the discord and see many different threads of information. All pertaining to the occult, deities, magic, etc.

So being the nosy fucker I am, I did a bit of a deep dive.

You see, so much of the lore that Cult King was teaching came from videos games, D&D, Dresden files, and so much more.

The Cult King claimed this knowledge is true and factual.

He had at one point shared with some of his followers that he had been given a quest to find a magic dragon egg and deliver it to someone in Chicago, it happend to be Thor himself.

Odin, the allfather you see, rewarded the Cult King with 10mil.

What I find hilarious is that the Cult King wants to start 'covens' or communes of ONLY 13 people. These covens will be all around the world (apparently) and the Cult King will pay for everyone and everything, but there is a donations thread in the discord to help fund the whole thing. So he won't be paying for anything his 'followers' will.

So I'm guessing the 10mil from Odin fell through or something.

I and also noticed a post the cult King made to his followers a lot for.the language used spoke to the reader like this " no matter how mundane and bland you are know that your king loves you".

Also, and this is what concerns me most, a lot of the followers this dude has are underage. While some of this shit is hilarious, cults can get crazy quick.

So I knew my time in the server was coming to an end.

To my keyboard I went.

To my intrigue someone else in that chat had already begun to ask him questions about these...plans of theirs.

I had my in, and it was time to stir the pot.

Being the polite folk that I am I basically said that these ideas seem creative but not realistic or based in reality.

Oh man, the hive began to buzz my dudes.

I had angered the swarm.

The Cult King kept deleting the messages they didn't agree with. Completely sensoring any opinions that differed from theirs, and mine wasn't the only one.

The Cult King kept preaching that this was a place of respect and different opinions would be tolerated only if they met the Cult Kings RULES!!

The Cult came for me hard.

Although, some were sweet and tried to convince me this King of theirs was legit.

Others came at me phallac insult first.

I have been called all manner of holes and bits of the lower human public region.

It was thrilling to watch the hypocisry of their own words take place.

I am not usually one to judge or troll other people, especially on their personal beliefs...but this is wild.

Eventually the Cult King stepped back in and ordered everyone to be silent by typing in bold 'ENOUGH',

followed by,

'You are disturbing my peace'.

I was still typing what was actually going to be a de-escalation kind of message when this dumpster fire of a King called me out by my discord name and ordered me to be quiet.

Now...

You see, I don't appreciate anyone trying to sensor or control people PERIOD.

So I decided it was time to die on that hill.

Some valiant souls joined in and voiced their concerns and as the cult was hurling insults,

P O O F

The server was gone.

I had been booted.

But this is not where the story ends.

You see there are people in the discord server that have been following this King for years.

Before this cult the Dumpster King had tried to start another cult, unsuccessfully might I add.

The Dishonest King claimed to descend from moon people or something, and was an immortal vampire.

Shockingly the Vamp King shut down the discord server because the followers had found out the truth of his backstory and revolted like the true champs they are.

And years later the Fairytale King has once again tried to start a following.

Because I can't leave well enough alone, I found a reddit thread where this Scam King was trying to share 'factual information' about all the knowledge they have.

I found a reddit thread where someone was asking about a stone, and the Gem King claimed that this mineral or rock was SUPER dangerous and rare and that they had encountered it only a few times in their existence, and that it could only be found in the back market. Deathstone people.

So you know I did another deep dive.

And guess what I found evidence of this mineral from Marvel, D&D, Dresden files, but it is not an actual element that exists on the planet earth.

So I asked a question in the reddit threads.

I was moonlighting at this point, trying to appear a Marvel fan that fell down a rabbit hole and was now politely fact checking.

The Ego King truly believes in the bs that comes through the keyboard.

Maybe I am an asshole, I am in the eyes of the 'Kingdom' , but I honestly don't care.

I like to think that everything done in the shadows eventually comes to light.

The King will get what's coming to him, everything has its time.

But if anyone was skeptical in the chat or felt unsure I hope I planted a seed of critical thinking.

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk

___________________________________________

Thank you for being brave and sharing your story!

That is what 1-800-Bust-A-Cult is for!

[vorpalmusings]

The Hogwarts Legacy Dumpster Fire

So, I'm gonna talk about the attempted boycott of Hogwarts Legacy and why it's a dumpster fire.

This is going to get rough, so buckle up. 

There is a small sub-section of activists who have completely lost it over this. 

Because of the approach they've taken berating people and going to streamers' s streams and harassing them, at this moment the success of their boycott campaign is in the negative figures.

There's far too much emotional short-circuiting going on and some tweeters should take a step back, assess, and go "Well, that had the exact opposite effect..."

Some people are comparing themselves harassing people over a video game to the Montgomery bus boycott. I mean... come on.

There are literally anti-trans legislation in the works in many states, and across the UK, but the game is the hill some want to die on. Especially since JayKay has already been paid for the game so the boycott isn't really going to hit the bog witch directly.

 Unlike that 40% drop in Pottermore sales. See, that was beautiful, and that *does* go straight to her pocket. So, what the heck went wrong and why do some people need to center themselves and realize they've gone off the rails here?

Gamers have been told they're bad and immoral for playing games since the gaming scares of the 80s all the way through Hillary Clinton holding congressional hearings on games- and politicians still go after games nowadays. As a culture, they're conditioned to clam up.

So how do you think 'If you play this game, you are a bad person' is going to come across? You're going to bypass logic and immediately trigger an emotional response. You know what that is like. And the emotional reactance that happens as a response.

This would have been a lot more effective as: "So (hashtag)HogwartsLegacy launched today. While you play the game, you might also want to know some things about J K Rowling and how transphobic she has been-" 

Use the marketing, without telling people they're evil.

I saw people take at least a decade to wean off Marion Zimmer Bradley's stuff after the truth of what a garbage disposal of a person she was came out... you have to create a wedge at the point where identity doesn't meld with the thing being highlighted. And you use the information to organically cause a rupture instead of berating.

What's going on? Doesn't work, and it has the opposite effect- it's the most streamed game on twitch.

Let's NOT be like conservatives assuming it's everybody else's fault.And this isn't an argument from "Victims of oppression need to be PLEASANT to appease the master" either, the argument is simply "Do what is effective while not causing harm" - and this. is. not. effective.  Objectively speaking. 

And this is coming from someone who despises Jaykay and wishes she would go completely bankrupt and go the fuck away.  The books suck, the world-building sucks, the characterization sucks, and most importantly, *she* sucks as a human being.

He dicho. 

P. S. I know people are afraid. And yes, they should be afraid because there's a lot of bad shit going down right now.And it's super hard to do, but that's when people have to try to be at their most clear-minded, because mistakes can be great weapons to those who want to hurt us

[warbarbie]

So with the alleged S4 pt18 super final last season AoT “leak” going around over on 🤢twitter🤢, I figured now was as good a time as any to state my take on the whole AoE thing. Obviously major spoilers under the cut for the manga end so read at your own risk:

Controversial opinion, but I really don’t want an anime original ending.

Not that the manga ending was amazing or anything, far from it imo. It just that for an anime as heavy as AoT, having an open end with Mikasa, Levi, Armin, Jean, Connie, et al surviving was kinda the best case. Eren being hailed as a hero I could do without, but ultimately, having the remaining scouts have a chance at peace and a normal life after everything they went through is nice.

And in my shipper brain, having Mikasa and Levi survive leaves the door open for them to build a life and a family together in peace. It allows them some softness in their lives that had been completely missing. It gives them the space to grow beyond “Humanity’s Strongest”. To just be Mikasa Ackerman and not “The Woman Worth 100 Soldiers”. To be Levi Ackerman and not “Humanity’s Strongest”.

And when you have an anime original ending where, if AnR is to be believed, everyone dies or even just Mikasa dies, it feels super shitty. Like super super shitty. AoT has always sorta been an anime about hope. Hope for a better tomorrow. Hope for the future. Hope for peace. And yeah, maybe it lost that message in the dumpster fire that was the Marley arch, but the manga end just reflects that hope. Yes the world is in a shit place after Eren’s stupid fuckery, but you can hope that, at least for the remainder of the scouts time, and likely their children’s time, they got to know peace and love and rest.

Killing everyone off denies them that joy and ultimately, I feel it twists and taints the message that AoT was trying to deliver. What is the reason for it in the story? So Eren can have “man pain” for the rest of his life?? What kind of an end is that for Historia? She gets to watch remorse tear her husband/lover apart for the rest of his life, while simultaneously being saddled with the knowledge that she might have been able to prevent it?

Mikasa killing Eren was a gift (that gross ass kiss excluded). It was the moment when she FINALLY realized that Eren was not the pure sunshine boy she had seen him as. She finally took of her rose tinted glasses and realized the Eren she had known and loved had died a long time ago and the Eren before her was who he really was: A 19-20 year old playing at god, because he selfishly thought he knew best. And I think she spent the next three years not only grieving Eren, but beating herself up for not seeing it sooner, for not steering him away from the path he took. For breaking her promise to Carla. If she gets killed and then gets to meet Eren again in scout heaven then that whole opportunity for growth is gone and she dies as she lived, seeing Eren as faultless.

I’m not going to go into all the massive plot holes in the end, that’s a rant for another post, (seriously though EVERY nation sided with Marley?? Even the ones that had been colonized???) but the manga as written, however shitty, ultimately had a half decent ending, and if AoE happens and everyone but Eren gets killed, I’m going to be so disappointed. AoT was never going to have a happy ending, but it had a hopeful one, and I think that should stay in place.