#other in more equal and genuinely constructive terms

[cacaitos]

only respect for the girlies and their devotion to images and ideals and their ego-destroying sisyphean pursuits.

[ozzgin]

Also I love your blogs sorry I’ve been spamming 🩷Hii Author, could you do another part for the small prehistoric reader, where she is actually really strong even though she’s small and innocent looking like stronger than Yujiro and Baki but she’s only really like that when she’s in heat. I wonder how the would react Yk 🤔

Sure! It’s been suggested in the comments as well and it does have a fun twist to it. Female characters stronger than the main cast is the one uncanonical construct that I deeply enjoy.

Baki Characters x Prehistoric! Small Reader Headcanons (II)

Featuring the Baki characters and a prehistoric but small sized reader that turns out to be unexpectedly strong.

[Baki Masterlist] [Part I]

The fighters keep a respectable distance from you in order to assure Pickle of your safety. They’d rather not pose as a threat to his mate, especially after seeing how protective he can get. He always keeps you under his watchful gaze, ready to interfere if you need to make use of his strength. At times he’s particularly anxious around you. Professor Payne has explained in more scientifically appropriate terms that you might be dealing with female specific issues. No one pressed it further.

This peaceful resolve does not sit well with Yuujirou. How very pathetic and boring that everyone concomitantly agreed to mind their own business. He itches for a little bit of action and what better way to rile up the prehistoric warrior than messing with his little protégé? He doesn’t want to risk fighting a half-assed Pickle, he wants the wrath, the readiness to kill. So with arrogant mockery he decides to give you a little nudge in front of everyone. Just a mere push, he does show mercy to weaklings like you. Baki is enraged and the other men join him. Everyone is waiting for Pickle to make his move, though bizarrely enough he just stands there, eyes wise in shock. Yuujirou didn’t expect this lack of reaction.

The Ogre is a man with battle experience and nothing can take him by surprise. It is to be noted, however, that sometimes a trade off for the sake of efficiency has to be made. A rational agent in artificial intelligence may have to take millions of variables into consideration in order to compute the most optimal solution and react to the environment. Realistically speaking, therefore, some less probable events are taken entirely out of the equation. So, for example, the idea that you would attack Yuujirou was not something his body expected to react against. The impact of your small fist was doubled by this element of surprise. His eyes roll back and his large body is thrown at quite the distance, leaving significant damage behind.

There’s a deafening silence that lingers for what seems an eternity. Baki feels a mild discomfort on the walls of his throat and he realizes his mouth has been hanging open for long enough that it almost dried up. Did you…did you just knock his father out with one single hit? He slowly turns his head to the other witnesses, wondering if this is a dream and the others will confirm it. Judging by the equally dumbfounded expressions surrounding him, he suspects fearfully that it is, in fact, something that just happened. Jack feels like he’s been kicked in the crotch. Katsumi is overwhelmed by a certain nostalgia, the nervousness he felt when he was a little child attending the Dojo for the very first time. Retsu purses his lips as a solemn frown creases his features. Tokugawa can feel the beads of sweat gathering in the folds of his wrinkled forehead.

The least impressed of the group is Pickle. Almost as if he expected it to happen, he walks up to you and grabs your shoulders before you can approach Yuujirou’s passed out body. Your face relaxes once again and you look up to him with a genuine smile, as if soothing his worries. You’ll stop here, no worries. You pat his large hands and turn around, prepared to leave the scene.

The frightful question now plagues the fighters within the arena: was Pickle protecting you from them, or has it been the other way round all along?

[nanowrimo]

How to Avoid Token Representation

What's the difference between token representation and authentic representation? NaNo Participant Nayantara discusses token representation and how to avoid doing it in your own writing! The smart Asian character. The sassy Black character. The Gay Best Friend.

Too many stories written today that supposedly have “diverse” casts fall prey to “token representation”: a symbolic effort towards inclusion that gives the appearance of equality, without actually exploring diverse narratives.

Recently in the publishing industry, readers have been calling for more representation within their novels, whether it is the LGBTQ+ community, racially and ethnically diverse readers, people with disabilities, or other marginalised groups of people, and many authors have responded with this easy-way-out tokenism — leaving readers unsatisfied and indignant.

So, what exactly is the difference between token diversity and real representation?

Essentially, tokenism includes a character that checks boxes titled “diversity” in face and name, but does not acknowledge their lived experience.

For example, Cho Chang in the Harry Potter series and Lane Kim in Gilmore Girlsare reduced to harmful stereotypes of their characters (both their names and characteristics) without acknowledging the diverse experiences that East Asian people have. Their Asianness becomes their entire character, yet at the same time, that same Asianness is entirely misunderstood.

In contrast, the recent Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once stars East Asian characters whose lives are affected by their race and background. However, they are fully fleshed out characters regardless of it.

As actor, Anna Leong Brophy, said in an interview, she enjoys it when her “Asianness complements a role, but is not the full role.�� Real representation acknowledges how someone’s lived experience as a person of colour, queer person, woman, or member of another marginalised community affects their life — but they have genuine feelings, thoughts, and characteristics far beyond simply their race or identity.

The terms “Black dude dies first” and “Bury your gays” are also commonly associated with token representation. Quite self-explanatory, they are tropes in which the cast’s “diverse” characters are killed early, to save the writer from having to explore or acknowledge their experiences.

Not only is this lazy writing that erases diverse narratives, it also creates the subconscious belief that marginalised groups of people have no place in these stories or in commercialised publishing in general. Everyone deserves representation, whether or not the cis-het (cisgender-heterosexual) white reader can relate to the character’s specific cultural experience.

What counts as good representation, then?

Good representation involves any story that includes a diverse cast and follows each of their story lines fully, allowing them to be well-rounded characters that contain depth and get adequate development.

My personal favourite example of this is Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology, where her cast of six main characters includes Black and Brown people, bisexual and gay people, people from different countries and religions, and people recovering from trauma — all of whom have their own, carefully constructed character arcs that acknowledge their identity, but also give them substance and characteristics far beyond that.

However, this is not to say every story has to be as international — The Poppy War trilogy by R.F. Kuang has a solely East Asian coded cast due to its setting. But even within this, her characters are from different ethnic, religious, and social backgrounds, and each have their own, carefully-constructed character arc extending far beyond their identity on paper.

As you begin writing for Camp NaNoWriMo, ask yourself the following three questions:

Is my cast truly representing the diverse types of people who exist in this world (either real or imagined)?

Are each of these characters individuals beyond simply their ethnicity, sexuality, gender, disability, etc?

Do each of these characters have a fully fleshed out character arc?

You don’t have to be an author from a marginalised or minority background to write characters with diverse experiences. Just make sure to approach each character with empathy and respect, and devote adequate time to research (or to world building, if you’re a fantasy author!)

Good luck, and I know that you are going to absolutely smash your writing goals next month!

Nayantara is an 18 year old student, green tea connoisseur, bookworm, Spotify-playlist-maker, dancer, and writer hoping to study economics and political science at university next year — and hopefully find some time to work on her many unfinished novels in the meantime! Follow her on Instagram @ moonlitsunflowerbooks.

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto from Pexels

[underdark-dreams]

Hello! I would first like to thank you for getting me into the Rolan boat, this arrogant emotionally-constipated (affectionate) wizard has taken over my mind and he is all I think about now.

That being said, I was wondering if you would be able to do a rolan x tav like a few years or even a decade into their relationship? Does settling into Sorcerous Sundries and becoming a better mage make Rolan softer? How is he connecting with the rest of the magic community (I am personallya Rolan and Gale rare books reading club supporter) What would be some of the major long term disagreements in their relationship and how do you think they would work through it? What would this man's ideal 'happily ever after' look like?

Thank you so much!

This was great food for thought! 🖤 Thank you so much!

I kind of want to work on future Rolan x Tav as its own little standalone fic, because that idea is so sweet—but here are some headcanons on that & all these other what-ifs. Apologies that they're a bit jumbled, I can't concentrate when Rolan

Rolan loves his tower! He definitely feels the weight and responsibility of being the new steward for all this collected research and knowledge. But he also loves that he can go through his books and satisfy his curiosity whenever he wants, after so long yearning for someone to teach him and nurture his magic. He learns to do that for himself

I think the big thing that will soften and kind of humble him over the years will be once he accepts that personal growth will never stop. There is not a mystical point X where he could stand and say, did it, I have reached the pinnacle of archwizardry. He learns how to stop rushing forward and enjoy other things in life, most of all his relationship with Tav.

Once all the Absolute business is finally settled, Rolan will definitely want to lock that down. It doesn't need to be a legal marriage per se, but he is extremely committed to the relationship & wants the same from them. If he had his way Tav would have moved in yesterday. He's ready to wake up next to them for the rest of his life. Buys a house in the city right beside his old place where Lia and Cal still live & can't wait to merge his found family with his new family. His happily ever after is being surrounded by the people he loves and watching them thrive, especially when it's because of him. Having the capacity to care for Tav and Cal and Lia makes him incredibly fulfilled.

Some big potential sources of conflict in his and Tav's relationship:

Jealousy and insecurity. Rolan has some deep abandonment issues from his past, so if he ever felt like Tav was straying emotionally or making him jealous on purpose, that would really hurt his trust. Deep down he needs to know they love him, and hear it once a day preferably

Control issues/willfulness. Older brother mode activated. Rolan likes to do things his way and is very stubborn and proud about conceding to others. He does see Tav more as his equal, unlike his little siblings, but it's hard for him to translate that into actions. There will be a lot of fights over any big decisions where he & Tav disagree. Part of working through it would probably mean Rolan confronting why he needs to control things so badly (growing up without much control over anything in his life maybe? Hmm). He would genuinely benefit from therapy & from learning how to translate all his feelings into constructive words. Being with someone who would stand up to him would really benefit Rolan in the long run, though.

In the magical community: He's got a reputation as a rebel amongst the wizarding community, because 1) he's very much self-taught which is pretty unusual, and 2) not everyone approves of how freely he hands out information about the Weave, casting, etc to the curious younglings who visit his tower. Of course he'd never let anyone get into anything too powerful unsupervised, but after his experience with Lorroakan and realizing that this famed so-called archmage was actually just an idiot who stole everything from more powerful mages, he's like. The strict apprentice system can kinda get fucked honestly. He just doesn't agree that the basics of magic should be kept behind lock and key. Becomes a sort of magical literacy advocate. Let the children read

You might be surprised at how patient this man can be with children by the way! Lots of little magical prodigies hanging around Master Rolan's tower whenever he lets them. He'll kind of scowl to intimidate them into behaving themselves, but inside he loves to see curious minds reading and learning. As a primarily self-taught wizard, he also has an excellent grasp of pedagogy and how to describe concepts in a way a beginner would understand. He puts together his own beginner's magical textbook over the years. Holding the first printed copy in his hands is probably one of the proudest moments of career

To Rolan, Gale's reputation definitely precedes him at first—even before the events at the Grove he knew the name Gale of Waterdeep. Rolan is younger and admires Gale's skill a lot, so in the beginning of their professional relationship he's a bit intimidated. But you know Gale, he is friendly and endearing from the get go. Rolan often thinks if he'd had a teacher like Gale in his youth, he could have nurtured his magical skills much earlier.

Definitely, definitely also subscribe to the Rolan/Gale book club! They become kindred spirits in that regard over the years. Gale makes a visit to Rolan's tower to inform him of this fascinating manuscript that has just surfaced in Evereska, and Rolan is like "Really? I thought the Fae destroyed that centuries ago…" and the two of them just sort of wander off in conversation. Not to reappear for hours. Probably plotting like naughty children over a bottle of wine about how they are going to get their hands on the Ancient Forbidden Book without Tav finding out

[cyberbun]

An anon asked me what my top 10 favorite anime are and I agonized over this question for months but I think I have an answer. Then I accidentally published this without finishing it so I have to write it again

In no particular order:

Gatchaman Crowds (2013) and it's second season Insight (2015):

Hands down, my favorite anime of all time. As a fan of the superhero genre this has to be the best deconstruction/reconstruction of it I've seen in terms of how it reevaluates the concept of heroism in a digital society and how well it handles its themes of futurism along with personal identity and construction of the self in virtual environments. It is a series with a central thesis about the inherent goodness of humanity expressed through the language of superheroes and social media, and it's one of those stories that really gets the way people engage with the internet in a way that other similar sci-fi stories about fully online societies fail to do even to this day.

The first season's almost naive optimism is then thoroughly torn apart by the second's darker, more introspective tone, which makes the entire show play out like a series of political essays arguing back and forth with the backdrop of colorful superhero action. What makes it particularly good, though, is how it handles this darkening of the narrative, as it asks tough, incisive questions of its own story and still comes out parading genuine optimism about the future of its world and ours.

Because, at its core, it's a superhero story about how everyone has the capacity to be a hero and better themselves and each other. It's a truly transformative experience and, while a lot of its themes can seem... tragically over-optimistic, its datedness almost makes it feel like a time capsule of a time where we were at the cusp of using mass internet penetration to better ourselves as a society, and perhaps remains a reminder of how these technologies may still have the potential to make us all into heroes. Also Rui is a hot gender black hole and I want to be them so badly.

Samurai Flamenco (2014)

In a lot of ways, Samurai Flamenco is sort of the anti-Gatchaman Crowds; it's a straight deconstruction of the tokusatsu genre that's less interested in analyzing the role of superheroes in a society and more about using its own genre to examine the ways fiction allows us to project ourselves as something greater than what we are, while also commenting on said genre's iterations over its history; so ultimately it comes across as both a tribute to it and a deep examination of what exactly makes its fans tick.It is also bat fuck insane and I can't tell you a single thing that happens in it because it goes places. Watching this as it aired was an incredible experience.

Slam Dunk (1993-1994)

The best sports anime ever made. Dead serious. Not only is this a love letter to the game of basketball as a whole that manages to capture the intensity and adrenaline of every single thought that goes through the head of a player in the final minutes of a game, it is also a touching love story with one of the most compelling central casts of characters I've ever seen.

The anime was largely inferior to the manga for a long time on account of it being left unfinished, while the manga remains largely remembered for having one of the most bittersweet endings ever put to page; an equal parts tragic and triumphant culmination of the main character's journey from delinquent layabout to passionate athletic prodigy. Then, last year, we finally got one of the best looking anime films I've seen in my life adapting the final volume of the manga while also expanding the backstory of one of the secondary protagonists of the series.

Part of my love for this series is highly personal. I grew up watching this on TV back in the old country, and seeing it finally be finished after 20 odd years brought me to tears. A lot of it might be outdated by now, but there is yet to be a single anime I am so comfortable watching over and over and over again. I will go to the grave singing its praises.

Soul Eater (2008)

It's Soul Eater, you know Soul Eater. Probably the single most stylish show I've ever seen, visually; and to me still at the peak of the shonen genre as a whole. It's got both some of the best action ever put to animation and some of the most engaging core casts of characters I've seen despite how small its ensemble is. If it seems like I have less to say about it than others in the list it's mainly because it's already popular enough I don't feel like I can contribute much to the conversation; everyone likes Soul Eater. You like Soul Eater. Explaining why Soul Eater is good is like explaining why it is good to eat. Every time I watch Crona's episodes I cry a lot.

RahXephon (2002)

Talking about RahXephon is difficult because conversations surrounding it are usually centered around its relationship to Evangelion; and this is partially because it is, in many ways, a response to it and a reformulation of a lot of the questions that it asked about its story. This is not wholly unfounded, as director Yutaka Izubuchi is a longtime friend and collaborator of Anno's who did do some work in Evangelion prior to this, so the influence is definitely there. For a lot of people, this was rebuild before rebuild. I personally prefer the adage "Evangelion on antidepressants".

I do, however, overall feel this is unfortunate, because taken outside that context, RahXephon is one of the most complex and deeply layered reconstructions of the mecha genre I've ever experienced, with a beautiful score and haunting visual design propping up a story that's equal parts impenetrable as it is deeply layered; made up of so many small character arcs woven into each other completely seamlessly that you always feel like you're watching but a tiny fragment of a large tapestry of stories coming together into a single complete whole. It makes the world of the anime feel simultaneously small and huge, which fits the melancholic post-post-apocalypse visual aesthetic of the narrative It's one of my favorites not because of what happens in it, but because it is one of the most enriching experiences I've had with an anime or any other form of visual storytelling; I always feel like rewatching it makes me take something new away from it that I didn't notice before.

Ergo Proxy (2006)

Part of me has to admit I like Ergo Proxy less as a story and more as an aesthetic. If I had to put a name on how it feels to watch this show it'd definitely be "contemplative"; it's a slow going, compounded puzzle of a narrative which at times borders on self-indulgence with how many layers of things happening at once you're keeping up with. To give you an idea; the seemingly random text crawls during the opening of the show are key pieces of understanding what exactly the plot is by the end of the story. Peel away those layers, and you get a much simpler narrative than it might first appear, with one of my favorite one-sentence summaries: "what if three different Ends of the World crashed into each other at once".

While that seems reductive, one of the things that makes Ergo Proxy feel rewarding to watch, then rewatch to fully understand, is how it does ultimately completely nail the landing with the story it's trying to tell, despite having a complete non-ending that somehow manages to feel satisfying all the same. It's a story that explores themes of identity and human nature through the genre of ecological horror with one of the most stylish depictions of a bleak, dead world I've ever seen put in any narrative. So long as you're okay with a story that doesn't give you a full sense of narrative closure and one where a single watching won't give you all the pieces of the story, it is one of the most rewarding experiences to go back and pick apart, in my opinion. Like a puzzle, you will be left wanting to put all the pieces together by the end.

Ouran High School Host Club (2006)

Don't fucking look at me like that. I watched Ouran at an impressionable age and now I'm bigender. It has a place in my bunny heart. It is foundational to the person I grew up to become.

Cardcaptor Sakura

I watched this dubbed into Spanish back when I was young, and admittedly I don't remember 60% of it, but that doesn't mean I don't think fondly back on it moreso than any other show I ever saw back when I was a child, and one that I've had a lot of joy in going back to it as I've grown older.

I don't have as much to say about it as I do some other shows, and like with Soul Eater, it feels like everything there is to be said about it has already been said elsewhere and better; it is one of the foundational texts for the modern magical girl genre, it is one of the most beautifully animated and designed shows I've ever seen, and the best at keeping the distinct house styles CLAMP is recognizeable for intact in animation as far as I'm concerned. It's my personal choice for what other people would call a "comfort" show; but I do not wish to diminish the story or reduce it to an aesthetic the way a lot of people do for shows like this, considering just how strong the character dynamics and their progression throughout the story are, and the wealth of emotional depth that can be found in just about everyone's arcs.

While the overarching plot and the world of the story aren't as interesting as some other shows of its type, its strengths lies in how it uses that as a solid foundation through which to explore a distinct aspect of the human condition through each of its characters - love, grief, loneliness, devotion to another and many others.

Kekkai Sensen (2015)

This is one of those cases where I feel like I'm going to repeat myself. Take everything I said about Soul Eater, put it here. It is stylish, it's got a strong central cast of characters that are all equally fun and contribute the same amount to the narrative. It's got some of the most intense, lovingly rendered large-scale action scenes I've seen, along with some of my favorite small, touching narratives; thanks to one of the best urban fantasy settings ever put together.

The first season's storyline is a blend of manga chapters with an anime-original plot, while the second season mostly adapts the manga much more closely so it doesn't come together as tightly as the first does, but it is more of the best show of its type of the past decade as far as I'm concerned; and nothing takes away just how incredibly tight that first season feels, even if the final episode was months late and had to go double length while the animation melted a little. And yet, it all comes together beautifully in the end.

Angel Beats

What a surprise this show was. I'll always feel a little bittersweet about it, due to the circumstances that led me to see it, but I'm forever grateful I did. Angel Beats' greatest strength is the way that it disarms the viewer by presenting a fun, albeit somewhat dark supernatural comedy about kids in the afterlife, letting one get comfortable with the silliness of the world before really taking the "children in the afterlife" premise to its logical conclusion: This is a story about death, trauma, tragedy, and moving on- Quite literally, in this case- from the things that weigh us down.

I make no hyperbole when I say that this show has the single strongest emotional climax I've ever experienced, and every time I watch it again I am moved to tears, sometimes more than last. I can't say much, since a lot of what makes this show fun is experiencing it, and realizing the depth of the world along with our point of view character; but the biggest endorsement of it I can give is how gracefully and tactfully it deals with complicated subjects such as abuse, disability and addiction in stories where you know how they all end, and yet give you a satisfying emotional conclusion while also keeping the mood balanced between cheerful when it has to be and heartbreaking, with the latter becoming more and more common by the end of the story.

It's a story about growing up, as much as it is a story about dying. It knows the tragedy of its premise and it chooses to ask the viewer to find joy in the time they have with its cast - a beautiful metaphor for life itself woven deeply into the narrative and never once stated out loud. We know where this story is going, but we're here now, so we might as well have a little fun along the way. That is ultimately what youth is about.

[seventeendeer]

okay genuinely curious and interested. how can you consider hrt but not know which direction? aren’t bodies dominant in one or the other by default? i looked up if it can be equal in intersex people and struggled to find an answer because google Sucks

intersex people are more varied than you can imagine. biological sex is fluid and determined by a bunch of different mechanisms, not just hormones, so you can easily wind up with a combination of traits that point in all kinds of different directions. not to mention our society's view of what is "male" and what is "female" is intentionally skewed in a way that excludes large portions of the population from being perceived as perisex and cis (think of how Black women are often perceived as more masculine than white women and policed accordingly, for example in sports, because of racism; the popular perception of the gender binary is cultural and constructed, and is not rooted in science at all).

it's like asking if the color wheel isn't mostly "dominant" in either red or blue. sure, there are many hues we've arbitrarily defined as red or blue, and many colors have elements of red or blue or both, but this doesn't take into account how yellow, black and white mix with the others, or how different hues are perceived differently because of cultural norms. indigo and cyan are both called "blue" in english, but they're as far apart as red and pink, and most english-speaking people wouldn't call pink "red." this is comparable to how even perisex women having some amount of facial hair is actually very common, but it's still perceived as "unwomanly", so they have it removed. men can be indigo or cyan and still be blue, but a pink woman needs to be saturated before she is accepted as a proper red. all because of arbitrary shit we made up so we can have a cool little fascism party about it

I don't even know if I technically count as intersex (there's some debate about how far the umbrella term goes and I'm on the margins), but I also don't read as cis perisex to the average person. a combination of mixed secondary sex characteristics and a society that has weird views on the intersection between fatness, disability and gender means I'm perceived as not quite a woman and not quite a man. and I wish I could get HRT to increase the fucking thing in both directions because making the comfortable uncomfortable and the uncomfortable comfortable is exactly how I wanna be :]

[radical-revolution]

Whatever the circumstance. Society is anything.

The teachings of Dzogchen always advise to try to help yourself, to give yourself a helping hand. But how do you do it exactly?

You should seek to be self-aware of your own state always in whatever circumstances you are facing, and if you are overly excited or confused, you should try to relax and give yourself a break. If you're tired, you should rest.

There is no need to follow strict rules, although, as we have said, sometimes they can be quite useful. We must always remember the goal we are striving for - how to live life with a genuine presence of awareness.

In our relationships with society, we should also behave with awareness so that our inner development can truly reach full maturity.

Many political theories encourage people to fight for building a better society. But the path they propose to do so involves the destruction of old society, in particular, through revolution.

However, in practice, the benefits of such means are always relative and temporary, and genuine equality between the layers of society can never be achieved.

The truth is that a better society will emerge only through the evolution of an individual. After all, society consists of millions of people. To make it to a million, you have to start with one, which means you have to begin with an individual, and only that can start any real change.

Hence, it is not at all that you need to be selfish and put yourself first - understanding your own experiences, you need to come to an understanding of the state of all humanity.

Guided by this experience, we are able to show awareness in any situation and in any social structure.

You need to be able to handle your situation and others according to the circumstances we may encounter without bias and deception.

Thus, in order to learn to practice Dzogchen, you need to observe yourself. To do this, it's enough to pay a few minutes to notice how, like emerging and disappearing waves, our thoughts, assessments and perceptions come and go.

The characteristic of our mind is that every thought can serve as a secondary reason for some action. Therefore, if we show awareness and presence towards all aspects of being in our lives, we will certainly have fewer problems.

It is much more important to try to be present and aware at all times than to devote a limited amount of time each day to a specific practice.

Perfect knowledge of the methods of meditation, visualization, etc. д. - a secondary matter. In Dzogchen, there is a saying: "The main thing is not meditation, but knowledge," and indeed, without such knowledge, meditation becomes a mental construct, an unnecessary construct.

Where does true knowledge come from? It arises from awareness on a relative level which serves as a concrete basis for understanding meditation and the nature of the mind. Very often, the phrase "nature of mind" remains only beautiful, enchanting words, but the trouble is that people do not understand their true meaning. If we do not really live in the nature of the mind, then we only have a imagination of it, and although we can talk and think about it, all of this has absolutely nothing to do with reality. For example, if we are hungry, we will not be satiated with reasonings such as: “To eat or not to eat is the same” or: “There is no such thing as food on the natural level of the mind.” It is better to understand your material situation as it is.

“The nature of mind” is a term that refers to a state that lies beyond the existence of body, speech, and mind, and knowledge can only arise during experience. Knowing the limitations and signs of a relative condition, one can truly realize their true nature.

~ Chogyal Namkay Norbu Rinpoche

[thetypedwriter]

Fourth Wing Book Review

Fourth Wing Book Review by Rebecca Yarros 

This book is incredibly popular. Unbelievably popular, actually. We’re talking about Colleen Hoover levels of popularity. On the one hand, I get it, I truly do. On the other hand, I think this book is beyond basic and shouldn’t be garnering the attention it currently is. 

Yarros’ novel is set in a fantasy world with typical mythical names like Navarre and Tyrrendor where dragons and magic and a never-ending war exists. In terms of a fantasy world, nothing about Yarros’ universe is astonishing, interesting, or even remotely novel.

While this sounds incredibly harsh, it’s actually very smart from a marketing perspective and only adds to the book’s high demand because while it’s a fantasy world and therefore intriguing, nothing about it is very unique or complex—allowing new and old readers alike to delve in without stressing about the world and its intricacies. Instead, readers can focus almost exclusively on the action and romance, two things this book has in droves. 

So while the fantasy setting allows for high stakes intensity, fighting, and dragons, dragons, and more dragons, nothing about it is complicated or even very important.

How does the magic system work? Some vague explanation of wards and that’s about it. Why is there a war? Don’t worry about it. Why was there a rebellion? You don’t need to know the intricacies of the whys and hows, only that the children of the traitors are alive and intermingling with the rest of the citizens, increasing tension. 

However, as I mentioned above, while the setting is mundane it does allow Yarros to submerge her chapters in action and intrigue without much of a break. This is one of the main reasons why I think Fourth Wing is topping the bestseller’s list: it is constantly entertaining.

All of us have short attention spans these days, and Fourth Wing fills the gaping need to be consistently amused and engaged at all times, which Yarros delivers upon brilliantly. Every chapter contains some fight, life-or-death situation, a competition, someone trying to murder the main character, a break in, a break out, or a sex scene. That would account for 90% of all chapters in Fourth Wing. 

That being said, it’s not necessarily a criticism. People obviously love the constant action and it keeps the book engaging and fluid. While I can recognize that Yarros is writing to fulfill a societal need and that constructing multiple chapters of action is genuinely difficult, it’s also not my favorite thing.

I have said time and time again that I’m a character driven reader. I would say the equation for Fourth Wing is 80% action and 20% character interaction. Personally, I would prefer a more equal distribution of action to character progression and growth, but I also recognize that’s a me problem. 

In terms of Yarros’ characters, they are…meh. I think they’re extremely basic, but once again, I’m not surprised why people are foaming at the mouth for their story. The main character is Violet, nicknamed Violence, and she is the epitome of a perfect character. She’s extremely intelligent, generous, kind, brave, determined, stubborn, and sexy. You name it and she’s got it.

Her only “weakness” is literally that: she has a “weak” body. However, this weakness barely matters as she often overcomes it without any problem whatsoever. Yarros does have some descriptions of Violet wrapping her knee or being at a disadvantage physically during fights, but by the end of the book Violet is a certified badass who can take down anyone. 

Violet’s “flaw”, if you can even call it that, doesn’t make her a more interesting character. It makes things infinitesimally more challenging for her and attracts some enemies, but she already has enemies because of her mother’s high status.

Other than this physical burden, Violet is literally perfect. There is nothing wrong with her, which makes her extremely boring and hard to relate to. I want complex human beings that have strengths and weaknesses, not unimaginable goddesses with brittle bones. 

The only other character of importance, Xaden, is also the epitome of hot and flawless. He’s sexy, handsome, brooding, smart, and crazy talented. His only so-called detriment is that he can be a bit closed off and reticent, but that’s it.

He’s shouldering the lives of over a hundred orphans and can do no wrong. He’s also the hottest, the strongest physically, the most popular, and the most talented because of course he is. 

Both Xaden and Violet also have two most powerful dragons that exist and their dragons are a mated pair, meaning that Violet and Xaden are inextricably tied together for life.

In addition to this, they have the rarest signets (magical powers) consisting of wielding shadows and controlling lightning, the likes which haven’t been seen in ages. Sigh. 

I hate it so much. I’m so sick and tired of the trope of the main character being the strongest and most beautiful and then falling for the hottest and strongest guy who’s slightly cold, but actually the world’s best person.

The fact that they have the strongest dragons and the most powerful abilities also irks me. It’s not interesting. I predicted it from a mile away. Do something different, something better. But no, that’s not what we get in Fourth Wing. 

You could argue that it was surprising that Violet bonds with two dragons, but think about it. Is it really? Also, I think Andarna plays no role other than to make Violet even more saint-like than she is. The other characters in Fourth Wing don’t matter. I make this statement often, but it could not ring more true for Fourth Wing. 

Yarros throws so many characters at you and yet nothing about them sticks. Other than Xaden, and arguably Liam, Rhiannon, and Dain, no characters have any depth, nuance, or significance. In a book as large as Fourth Wing I find that hugely disappointing.

Even Liam, Rhiannon, and Dain are all one-dimensional characters at best. Some people tout that the relationship between Dain and Violet is interesting, but I don’t think it is at all. It is clear from the first chapter that Xaden is her game-end and Dain becomes increasingly aggravating and villainized as the book goes on. 

Something else that Yarros does with her characters is make them very black-and-white. They’re either angels capable of doing no wrong or the most vehement villains to walk the planet. This opposition is incredibly boring and didn’t fuel my interest in any of the characters. 

Fourth Wing’s plot, which I haven’t spoke much about yet, essentially follows the simple idea that Violet is meant to be a scribe, became a rider instead due to her mother’s negligent insistence, avoids being murdered while going to classes and participating in nonsensical competitions, and falls in love with Xaden Riorson.

That’s it. That’s the whole plot. 

Multiple elements of the narrative also make no sense. For example, you're telling me that the youngest, most athletic, most talented people of your nation are being slaughtered for arbitrary reasons?

It makes zero sense. Riders are simply allowed to kill each other during fighting practice and during competitions. Think about that for one second in a logistical lens and realize how ludicrous that is as a nation.

The only reason Yarros puts it into her novel is because it's edgy and increases tension but it's genuinely really stupid.

There’s some heavy action at the end with Violet throwing lightning left and right after being betrayed. Except the betrayal can barely even be defined as such and is probably only happening because Yarros is trying to keep tension up. Maybe she thinks readers will get bored if Xaden and Violet are simply together and in love.

I’ll never understand why authors do this. We want to see them together. Let me see them navigate a relationship and the pitfalls that come with that. I don’t need some bullshit reason for them not to be together when everyone knows they’ll eventually reconcile and get back together anyway. Urgh. 

Fourth Wing has a lot of elements that I find banal and that bother me, but as I also stated, it was highly entertaining at all moments. For this reason, I didn’t hate Fourth Wing. It does sort of blow my mind that this is the book that is being swept off shelves and beginning a cultural phenomenon, because at its core, I think it’s generic in almost every way.

However, maybe that’s what people want. Perhaps people want a simple fantasy with hot enemies-to-lovers moments and overpowered characters.

The end. 

I just want something better. 

Recommendation: If you want a watered down version of Game of Thrones and have been craving some alluring enemies-to-lovers moments with constant dragon-centered action thrown in, then Fourth Wing is a gold mine.

If you want something better than a generic fantasy with perfect main characters, a stereotypical universe, and a cliched plotline then avoid Fourth Wing. Not everything popular is worth the hype. 

Score: 6/10

[tonydaddingham]

LWA: That conspiracist "magic trick" document is...that's why I rarely interact with fandom spaces. S2 does indeed have a bunch of problems, a lot of which have to do with the material conditions of production and some of which are endemic to the source material. S1 was not a well-plotted or well-paced show, because the /novel/ is not well-plotted or well-paced. S2 didn't have enough material to justify six episodes, and only the Job minisode justified its length in terms of either character's characterization. Etc. Both seasons are flawed scripts saved by the leads.

The other problem here is that Gaiman has transformed a single season into a trilogy, and if there are going to be narrative payoffs we don't see them yet; it's as if PRIDE AND PREJUDICE ended with Lizzie Bennet rejecting Darcy's first proposal (which is, after all, what we got, except that Aziraphale and Crowley are both Darcy and Lizzie simultaneously). In an incomplete trilogy, there just isn't sufficient evidence to understand whether the author has missed a trick or if they're setting up a third-act resolution. For example, take Crowley's proposal, which insists that he and Aziraphale have spent their "existence" denying that they're a team. I know everyone got hung up on Tennant's intense delivery, which is great, but Crowley's narrative of their friendship in S1 ("How long have we been friends? Six thousand years!") doesn't track with anything dramatized for us on the screen, and neither does this. Is this another "Crowley is an unreliable narrator" problem, as Gaiman has confirmed he is about the Fall, retroactively constructing an emotional bond that neither character felt? OK, if so, what's the underlying narrative argument motivating this behavior? Or do Gaiman and Finnemore think that that's what the series is actually dramatizing?

Here's what I mean. In S1, there's nothing to indicate (in the script, the actors' performances, or even the score) that they have a genuine, mutual emotional connection until 1601, some centuries post-Arrangement, which is the first time that Aziraphale expresses concern for Crowley's safety and also the first time we see him successfully break out the puppy eyes. (Post S2, it's now "expresses concern for Crowley's safety as a demon.") Before that, they have unequal and fleeting moments of connection: Aziraphale is more interested in Crowley during Creation than vice-versa. Crowley is charmed by Aziraphale in Eden and pleased to see him again at the Flood, but he is guarded or hostile when they meet at the Crucifixion and again in Rome. S2 now adds that he isn't all that excited to see Aziraphale again during Job, either, although Aziraphale comes across as quite chipper about the run-in. Aziraphale is equally guarded at the Crucifixion, excited to see Crowley in Rome, and then mildly annoyed about running into him during the Arthurian period (and it's apparently still canon that the Arrangement won't begin until a few centuries later). In 1793, they've become attached enough that they've started the damsel-in-distress game, and in 1827 Crowley invites Aziraphale to Edinburgh for fun, suggesting that they are now actual friends and not just doing transactional job swaps. But in 1862 Aziraphale is cold again for reasons not explained by the 1827 minisode. (As an aside, S2 Aziraphale is just mirroring S1 Crowley in asking for big things--Crowley requests collaboration, a celestial nuke, treason, and child murder, all but one of which he gets, and the last not for lack of trying--and /Aziraphale/ is the only character making inappropriate requests for help?!) 1862 is the first time we see them seriously miscommunicating, as opposed to arguing--Crowley's approach to his request is bad and Aziraphale overreacts equally badly. And then we are shown that the emotional stakes of their relationship intensify after they reunite in 1941, when all the gazing and romantic music tell us that Aziraphale has fallen in love. Given that the script makes clear that Aziraphale and Crowley are having the same conversation in 1967 that they were in 1862, and Aziraphale still believes he's handing Crowley a suicide pill, Aziraphale's decision to yeet himself out of the car immediately when Crowley tries to ramp things up again is probably the /least/ codependent thing either character manages post-1941 in the first two seasons.

The fanon narrative in which they've been mutually pining for six millennia uncritically tracks Crowley's story, but it doesn't track the script. They /aren't/ a team or even especially attached until the Arrangement kicks in, and the first in-script signs of the codependency that will cause them to implode in S2 don't show up until the end of the eighteenth century. (In the novel, Aziraphale doesn't even understand that he genuinely /likes/ Crowley until they're thwarting Armageddon!) These are two characters who canonically get along just fine without seeing each other for years, decades, centuries, or millennia! But without the third part of the trilogy, there's no final evidence about how we should view Crowley's approach to relationship story-telling, let alone how we should judge whatever Gaiman (and Finnemore) are doing.

HI LWA✨!!!!!!

i mean first off, in general response to the entire thing:

i joke, but what you've said does really highlight, i think, a key detail that the fandom (including myself) get carried away with; that if we were to watch the show specifically with brand new eyes, without any influence of a surrounding fandom that has existed for the last six years (or 33, paying the book due consideration), the relationship between crowley and aziraphale would be regarded very differently.

but first re: Magic Trick Theory. i felt really bad for saying it at the time, but i was so full-body convinced that eps 1 and 2 were fake following the screening because they felt weird. i genuinely couldn't understand why people were saying what they were (obviously there were great moments, no questioning that), because all i could feel was a sense of unease. and that's not even because it didn't follow the tone of s1 (which i loved for its delicate balance of being the most ludicrous, dry-funny story with undertones of serious philosophy and subtle complexity), but because it felt like someone had taken a section of the story and stretched it out so forcefully across a frame that was too big for it.

i won't list off any particular issues i had for fear of causing offense, because my rather insignificant opinion is genuinely not intended as a means to shit on s2, but once i let go of the notion that this season was meant to do anything other than set up s3, have a couple of silly (but still potentially Important for s3) subplots, and just be a fun and wild ride in developing aziraphale and crowley as characters, i began to enjoy it. that was entirely to do with me and my expectations, because neil never really told us to expect otherwise. in any case, for me, this feeling kicked in around ten minutes into ep3; let go of expectations and just went along for the ride.

with the benefits of hindsight, i don't think that s2 was badly written; it was still subtly nuanced and clever, but just in a very different way to s1. it still asked questions. it still questioned the black, white, and in-between. it still had the undertones of a fairly cohesive plot. production quality, given the state the industry was in when filmed, was really commendable and honestly astounded me given the limitations that were in place at the time. david and michael's respective performances were amazing, there's no doubt, but i don't think they necessarily saved it, because in many respects i don't think it needed saving.

yes, there were flaws, but altogether it was a very enjoyable season. and whilst i realise that some people understandably watch shows for plot and thematic intricacy, artistic direction, particular acting set pieces, or anything that gives Depth (myself included on some shows), i just liked it simply because it entertained me. it made me laugh, cry, angry, bemused - whatever emotion you can think of, i can probably tell you a time during that fateful Friday morning (clutching my fourth coffee that night, having driven the m5 for a horrendously inappropriate amount of time, and in my 16-22nd hour of being awake - just setting the scene) where i felt it. i just enjoyed the ride.

(and by the by, still personally think the screenings were a mistake - fun, exciting, and communal in spirit, but a mistake)

but this brings me to the Theory. im sure this comes to noones surprise, but i love speculating. it's fun, it's self-rewarding, and frankly just helps my head Quieten Down a little. a form of self-care, if you like. i like that it's possible to look at the same scene, episode, season, and interpret it differently. to think that a character does something for one reason, but also for another, or that the plot could go this way, or it could go that way. ive personally tried to stay away from speculating based on anything but what the story has shown to us so far. yes, sometimes i joke that "haha, neil would definitely bait and switch us" etc etc., but ultimately im not the authority on what he will and won't do, and i don't try to assume that i have spotted an ulterior motive other than what has been shown to us in the show/book.

so when it came to the Theory, i loved the parts that referenced the show itself; because the interpretation and presentation of such was really well speculated. it has references, clearly had a lot of knowledge and research behind it, was eloquent and well-reasoned (however inaccurate it may turn out to be), and honestly was intimidating - in a good, awe-inspiring, jealous-of-their-intelligence way - in the depth of dedication the author had to writing it. but as i remarked in an ask from someone (@swansdreaming shout out!✨) that asked for my thoughts on it, the only real reaction i could give as to how valid i found it was that it was "A Lot".

s2 ended narratively on a problem (well, a couple of them), so it's not bold to assume that they will be largely resolved in s3. what i think was bold however is to be embroiled in how odd s2 was that there has to be a higher purpose for it narratively. i think a season can be written perhaps a smidge weaker just because it was, with no lofty reason as to why. it's entirely possible - as i got over myself - to just sit back and enjoy it for what is put in front of you, and not think much more than that in terms of the technicality of the show... just relax and trust that the loopholes, or the armoury chock-full of chekhov's guns will be explained. speculate about the future of the plot in terms of the material itself put in front of you? yes, cool. but justify the plot by way of "there's no possible way that the script/writing could be flawed?" - whilst a commendable notion and likely rooted in admiration, i think that's potentially a little audacious and even a little bit of unnecessary glorification.

but let's talk about the relationship itself. again, controversial and brave, and yet so inescapably true. i definitely think there is Something There right from the beginning, but my god, it is not love. curiosity and fascination, absolutely (to varying degrees). attraction and tension (in any form), i daresay so. but it's not love, not even friendship - frankly it's barely even respect. we see flashes of potential friendship and respect:

crowley's reaction to aziraphale giving away his sword and aziraphale being grateful for his platitude on his choice to do so

aziraphale lying to the archangels in job, and aziraphale's reaction to crowley's constant attempts to show job and his family mercy

aziraphale offering crowley dinner in rome, and crowley's stunned/amused reaction to "let me tempt you"

their mutual bemoaning about their respective roles during arthurian albion, and agreement that the weather is pretty miserable (incidentally but irrelevant - my favourite funny line from s1 is michael's damp comment, gets me each time).

but even then, all of these are rooted in other things too, if not in actual fact; the main one that immediately springs to my mind is self-interest. the overall tones of these scenes are not very warm, barely even tepid; they are just two supernatural beings, alone in their experience of being so and being on earth amongst humans (who do many problematic things that seem to confound them slightly which - fair), and relating to each other as a result. but there's not much else to it, to their relationship, when you step back and look at it as the big picture. as i said, other than a couple of lines, there's little if any genuine connection beyond relatability - and even then that's questionable.

edit bc important: reexamining crowley's line in the coffee shop re: "you only ever call me for three reasons...", this indicates that he's aware that aziraphale only contacts him out of self-interest which... whilst i think is slightly derivative to suggest at this point, it is also true and aziraphale doesn't negate it. whether crowley says this as a reflection on himself for not being worth aziraphale's time, or as a reflection on aziraphale himself (both?) is almost immaterial - but he is able to admit to himself that their relationship might not be as rooted in love and partnership as he would otherwise like to think.

the one thing i do think is correct is that they have been in a six-millennia-long dance, circling each other and mirroring each other, a constant give and take.. and aside from its overt parallels to jane austen/regency aesthetic, that's why i particularly like that the dancing in s2 was the dance it was - a quadrille (?) instead of any 1-1 dancing in the time period like a waltz was such a great reflection of this... mirroring each other in their sways and swings, circling each other, drawing together and retreating, and the occasional brush with each other (hands)... it was just so symbolically appropriate to represent this symbiosis they have been cultivating for millennia, rather than them be represented as fully cohesive together in the form of a partnered ballroom dance... incredible. and completely - once again - set up the dilemma for the Feral Domestic in ep6.

i realised this earlier today (i don't want to admit what number rewatch im on but i feel like i could get s3 greenlit singlehandedly at this point), but when i ruminated what feels like eons ago on aziraphale's tendency to place crowley on a pedestal? yeah, once again the mirroring theme continues. these two have such idealistic images of each other built in their heads, and to me (without going off for the thousandth time in Detail) it's aziraphale that starts to re-examine that image in s1 and 2.

to me, he starts to consider that actually his image of crowley was not true to reality, but still found that he loved the Real Crowley even more. but crowley ends up destroying that image entirely by the end of ep6 with his 'i love you but not that part/s, and so fuck it, "no nightingales""... i don't know if that was the intention of the script/narrative, but it's certainly how it looked to me - that aziraphale was almost fully accepting of who crowley was (bearing in he doesn't have the facts - *sideeye*).

crowley's image of aziraphale however is so inaccurate and, as with just about everything that is crowley and his story, he doesn't like or want to hear or accept the truth if it doesn't suit him. run away together? aziraphale is practically the shaking-chihuahua antithesis of running away from things. reject heaven because they're toxic? yes, but it won't change unless they perhaps try to change it themselves. we could have been us? aziraphale was literally offering this to you, and a chance (as aziraphale genuinely believes at that time, naivety notwithstanding) to actually be free and safe in being so. whether crowley clings to this narrative out of loneliness, a hope of true redemption, stubborn pig-headedness, or a combination of these and others besides, he really set himself up for disaster.

aziraphale has his hand in the issue too, there's no doubt - he's pretty incompetent about seeing things truly outside of his own comfy little world (bookshop or in his head, either works), and doesn't make any overt measures to try to infer and understand the things that are left Unsaid. whilst crowley is keeping things from him and hiding behind a mask, aziraphale by all accounts is a smart guy, and even without the full facts you'd think he'd at least be able to surmise why crowley cannot say yes to restoration... or maybe he does, but by the point that he's caught up enough to understand, crowley already lit the touchpaper and aziraphale retreats in his own hurt and sense of rejection.

the fact of the matter is that these characters, for having known each other for so long (in varying degrees of intimacy, granted), just do not know the first thing about what their respective cores are. it's very easy to focus on the star-crossed lovers element of the story (including myself in that number) and hyper-romanticise that aspect, than actually recognise the constant, problematic miscommunication and subsequent misunderstanding that - the way it's currently going - is going to lead them straight to their demise.

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 59 Review

Originally posted September 13th, 2018

Awful parenting meets great storytelling.

Goku is an awful parent.

Up until now, that idea has been present in Dragonball Z: Abridged mostly as subtext, with it being most blatant in the way Gohan reacts whenever he has been forced to think about his relationship with his father, but here, in The Hard Cell, that subtext is made into explicit text, as Piccolo speaks out in righteous fury as Goku sends his son in to fight Cell, and then gives Cell a Senzu bean in order to give Gohan a fair fight.

I knew this was coming, as it’s one of the few moments in Dragonball that is so famous I couldn’t avoid having it spoiled, but even having it spoiled, the sheer shock of Goku’s recklessness and lack of care for his son was downright paralyzing when I first saw it, with the only relief being hearing Piccolo criticize Goku for his absolutely horrendous decision making and logic.

This is, without any doubt, an act of child abuse, and that reality is acknowledged here not only by Piccolo, who is even more furious with Goku in the abridged version than he was in the original (and he was downright pissed there), but also by the entire world around Goku, as Jimmy Firecracker publicly lambasts Goku for sending his son into a battle he himself was already losing, and Chi Chi madly picks up her TV and swings it around the room in a fit of blinding and justified rage.

That moment is pivotal, and thanks to Team Four Star’s stellar editing, voice-work, and writing, it feels exactly like the betrayal it is meant to be, with Goku’s decision to heal Cell using a Senzu bean coming off as particularly awful, since we hear Gohan’s thoughts just before as he realizes that he might have a chance against Cell. We even see that Goku’s plan is a complete failure, as Cell closes out the episode by wailing on Gohan, who lies caught by Cell’s attacks, being beaten to a pulp.

Without a doubt, Goku’s betrayal of Gohan here is the most important part of the episode, but the way it’s built to is equally compelling. This episode starts with Cell and Goku finally stepping up their game and beginning to actually fight each other, with Cell’s own obsession with Goku driving him to destroy his meticulously constructed arena, not realizing that Goku is far more interested in a casual fight than anything so grand and long-term as Cell dreamed.

It’s ironic, hilarious, and compelling to see their mutual attraction capped off like this, and it fits perfectly with Cell’s already obsessive behavior for him to want more than from this relationship than Goku, who has always been similarly non-committal, as we saw when he abandoned Freeza the moment he got bored.

There is a perfect balance maintained here that makes it absolutely satisfying to see Cell disappointed by Goku, while still feeling completely betrayed when Goku throws his son to the wolves, and yet even more compelling than that is the strange faith the Goku has in Gohan. As bad a parent as Goku is, he is about as far from being insincere about anything as you can get with a character, and for all the horror that throwing an 11-year old against a murderous monster is, you can’t deny that Goku genuinely believes in the capabilities of his son.

Goku’s actions here are objectively pretty horrendous, and the narrative does everything to reinforce that, but even with all of that going against him, the sheer faith Goku has in his son leaves us with a sense of hope that somehow, someway, Gohan is going to pull through against Cell.

A fool’s hope, to be sure, but a necessary bit of hope indeed.

Rating: 4.5/5

Stray Observations

As dark of a joke as it is, it feels entirely in character for Master Roshi to be in the sex-offender registry, and his reluctant acknowledgement of that throws a good bit of shade at Toriyama for unironically embracing Master Roshi’s perverted behavior, and by association, anime’s legitimately awful trend of normalizing pervy characters, especially old men.

Critical Eye Criticism is the work of Jacqueline Merritt, a trans woman, filmmaker, and critic. You can support her continued film criticism addiction on Patreon.

[wolveswatchspace]

How to Spot a High-Quality Replica Watch

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[leqclerc]

fred straight up confirming that eventhough he's managed to adjust the car it's still not good for charlie and his driving style but Carlos seems to be fine with the tractor so it suits him fine, which makes sense because everytime charles suffers carlos is having the time of his life and every time the car seems good carlos struggles. Mattia Binotto is not seeing heaven and ill make sure of it, both for the car and for making the stupid choice of having two incredibly different driving styles in one team

Agreed.

I personally have a theory that Binotto knew he's close to getting the boot when the championship campaign started going south—somewhere along the way rumours started emerging that, actually, he and Elkann haven't seen eye to eye in a while and that Elkann toyed with the idea of showing him the door as early as 2021. Take that with a truck full of salt, but, y'know.

Anyway, we know that Carlos was Mattia's dream pick for replacing Seb, we know he "courted" him, held talks with him, and oversaw him putting pen to paper on his initial contract as well as the extension in early 2022—which in hindsight can be seen as him offering his seemingly preferred driver a secure future at the time while also making sure his successor's hands are tied in terms of the lineup at least until 2024. They've both openly spoken about their close relationship, how Binotto always believed in and backed Carlos wholeheartedly (even sparking rumours that the two are likely to reunite as driver and team principal in the future at some other team.)

If he sensed that he was on the way out, it makes sense that he did what he did—enforced "equal status", vocally prioritized the WCC over the WDC (at least on the surface because having no rules, no hierarchy, and next to no team orders only ensured his own drivers took points away from each other while Red Bull sailed on ahead but whatever), publicly undermined Charles even when it was obvious that the blame was on pitwall or other parts of the team, etc. And then of course, the cherry on the cake—he got to oversee (and potentially influence) the design and construction of the SF-23 back at the factory. He missed several races to do so, just a few weeks before the rumours of his imminent departure started circulating (although they were initially denied by both Elkann and Binotto, generally speaking where there's smoke there's fire and...well...we all know how that went.) Then he apparently continued to do that until his contract officially ran out, I believe on the 31st December 2022. Let's not forget that we got that quote from Sainz Sr. about how this new car is going to be suited to Carlos's strengths/be more to his liking than the previous (ahem, championship contender) car. How he got that info when he's not a team member and shouldn't have had access to high-level classified info such as......literally the details of next year's car design...

We know the man has an ego, so it's not unimaginable to think he wanted Ferrari to win with him at the helm... or not at all.

Whether Binotto made the car he genuinely believed would perform well or whether he left Ferrari with a one last fuck you Trojan Horse gift...is anyone's guess. But there's enough meat on the bone there to speculate about it imo.

[vivacissimx]

I genuinely love anything related to ASOIAF world. Still, due to the ongoing drama and harassment I've seen writers experiencing on Tumblr I decided to withdraw myself and protect my peace. Lately, I've been missing it here, but I'm still sceptical about jumping and pursuing writing for the fandom again. Can I ask you how you manage to stay drama-free and have a peaceful blog that I truly enjoy, despite the ongoing situation?

I definitely understand where you are coming from and have been in that position before, where the personalities of the fandom got under my skin. Existing in a community requires a balance that varies from person to person & you alone can know what works for you. What works for me personally is to have a circle, or several circles, of people who enjoy the characters/themes you enjoy. Having people to bitch about fandom with is not this! In my experience, your relationships need to have a positive foundation. And, yknow, these are people who you should show up for when they create things too. You don't have to force yourself to do more than you want to, but engaging with their metas, artwork, fics, headcanons, even just adding a bit in the tags/comments or having an open mind to something you hadn't considered before is a great way to foster good times in fandom! Being positive and generous is the best way to invite positivity and generosity back.

Which is probably the other thing about enjoying fandom-- you should be a creator! When you create and grow and share it'll naturally attract similar energy to you. There are people I've never had a conversation with ever, but they show up in my comments sections sometimes and that alone makes fandom feel like a place where I can connect with other people who nerd out in the same direction as I do. Not only that, but you'll hone a creative skill in ways that surprise and excite you. Learning about writing by writing fic & learning how to read by constructing meta has been hugely rewarding for me. Of course, harassment is a different thing. I have had to moderate my comments or turn off anon at different points. "Don't feed the trolls" is golden advice, in my experience. When they don't get the attention they want, they tend to disappear.

And, because I'm not delusional, I suppose the last thing is to just ignore 99% of the bullshit. It doesn't matter. It'll blow over. It'll start up again. It's a constant cycle. Block liberally. People talk online in ways they never would dare in real life. When you catch yourself getting mad and gearing up to say something, just leave it for 24 hours. Chances are you won't care anymore. That's not me saying to tolerate bullshit, but engage with fandom on your terms and not because you feel cornered by someone else's ridiculous opinion. If I'm really incensed by someone's hot take I will open a new text post and try to formulate a meta about the process of how I came to my (diametrically opposite) conclusion. That's way more productive/effective than engaging in discourse, I've found. On the flip side, if you catch yourself in a weird situation with someone you consider a friend and you're starting to resent them: communicate, communicate, communicate. I can't stress it enough. Don't let things fester to the point that it's tainting your relationship to something you love or someone you care about. There is no relationship on Earth without it's disagreements and it's equally as toxic to try and create total uniformity as it is to constantly argue with people.

That's pretty much how I find my balance. I still take steps back from fandom when I need to or when I'm not having fun, and that's healthy. Hobbies in general should happen at your capacity, on your schedule. Now your balance will be different than mine, most likely, but I hope there's something here you can use regardless!

[laufire]

top five favorite Yellowjackets dynamics?

(thank you for sending it again! I think I intended to delete one ask and then I did. idek what xDD)

IIRC @legendsofamultishipper also asked me about my favourite dynamics in her ask.

If I were to pick a true number one, it'd be "the team". The group dynamic itself and how it's progressing due to the complications of their stay in the wilderness is absolutely fascinating. The pull and push of the embryos of "factions" building, the tension, the mutations or distance or deepening of past dynamics, the slow build (kind of wish it was even SLOWER, I like that xD) to the cult we've been hinted at... I'm into that shit xDD

Small aside: someone else has probably raised the possibility, but I've wondered whether there will be just one (1) antler queen (Lottie as the favourite, Shauna as the spoiler, IMO XD), OR if it'll be a rotating position so everyone is "equally" to blame, iykwim? Idk, I think if there'd been just one (1) girl in charge the dynamics among them in the future would be different (although I'd have to see more of the others vis a vis Lottie to be sure. Natalie is hostile towards her but that's not as clear-cut, and I think if Lottie had been Completely In Charge it'd make more sense for her to be waaaaaaaaay beyond hostile and snarky lol). I mean, unless my half-joke theory turns to be true and it was Mari until there was an uprising against her xDD

(not so small after all asñdlfkajsf)

After that... I must go with Jackie and Shauna. I find it really engaging, everything I could've asked for in terms of messy toxic teen girlfriendship LOL. The only caveat it's that Jackie's death and the consequent stagnation of their relationship is a double-edged sword: yes, it adds a fascinating component, especially in the future when you see how NOT OVER IT Shauna remains... but it means there's no advancement, no possible deeper exploration from half of the relationship (barring the show going full supernatural and resurrecting Jackie I guess xD, but it's doubtful). Jackie's doomed by the narrative and that's part of what I like about her, but it also means that Jackie-the-person, instead of Jackie-the-construct, has little to contribute from now on. All of this is to say: right now these two occupy the second position, but other relationships have more possibilities to grow in my esteem going forward.

For number three, I'm choosing Misty and Natalie. It's hilarious and weirdly heartwarming in the creepiest of ways xD, and I simply enjoy every second of them on my screen. Misty's fixation and admiration of Natalie could be enough to write an essay, and I also love wondering about how much their moments in 1x09-1x10 were Natalie genuinely warming up a little to Misty and how much it was Natalie needing her help LOL.

Positions four and five could vary going forward (there are so many dynamics that have gone underexplored for now but that I'm IMMENSELY curious about). But as of now, I'm going to pick Taissa and Van. This interview was an eye-opener. I already like them from what we've seen, but I'm really banking on their potential as exes in the present timeline because you guys all know I loooooove a good exes plot. Add that whatever is going on with mirror!Tai wanting to see Van again... I'm Looking 👀

I'd say either Lottie and Laura Lee or Lottie and Natalie. The first has that prophet/disciple flavour going on that I find superb, but we run into a similar problem as Jackie-Shauna (even more, given how comparatively little we have of Laura Lee vs. Jackie). Lottie and Nat still have a lot to say, IMO. I feel like we've barely scratched the surface in comparison, and I want to see more, but I'm not quite there. Shauna and Tai are a good pair too, but they've given me less in the last few episodes.

Since I already tagged her: @legendsofamultishipper also asked me about my favourite and least favourite characters.

My favourites could also be encompassed by "the team", although I obviously have preferences lol. Misty and Lottie are likely at the very top (Misty is unhinged and I can't look away from the crash, Lottie has the heretic messiah thing going for her), with Taissa and Natalie not far behind, Shauna as the !!!!! option, Jackie as a great Dead Girl TM, Vanessa has a lot of potential, and Mari and Crystal are simply hilarious...

As for "least favourite"... I don't hate anybody, but I reiterate that I don't care for the normies AT ALL. Like, nothing. "Oh this character is having a Rough Time" were they in the crash? Did they have to survive in the wilderness? No? Then I'm not paying any attention to them. My empathy is fully turned off, trust me xDD. My hierarchy is girls in the crash >>> boys in the crash >>>>>>> normies. But I'm mainly neutral about (and sometimes amused by) them. The ones I'd say I dislike the most are the cop characters, especially that moustache one, or Randy, or Adam... but it's a ~mute dislike, iykwim. They're unlikeable people, I just don't care about them as characters.

[digirankguide]

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Some Of the Off web page Activities Recommended By Digital Mogli Experts

Brand Mention

Business Listing

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Social Bookmarking

Blog Commenting

Image Submission

Also Read:

Ultimate search engine marketing Tools You Should Know About

Outcome of Digital Marketing On Your Business

[wifelinkmtg]

gotta get back. back to the present samurai jesent

*wh-cha*

I am ten goddamn sets behind but I have to catch up because we’re almost back to The Horniest Goddamn Plane In All Of Magic Canon (that’d be New Phyrexia, babes!) and if I don’t cover that in uncomfortable detail, then what was this blog even for? We got some ground to cover, so let’s get going.

CORE SET 2021

Good news! Unlike Core Set 2020, this one isn’t a complete wash!

Indulging Patrician (art by Miranda Meeks)

Meeks giving vampire-fuckers exactly what they want here. Rose-tinted diaphanous silks & equally-diaphanous bats, the delicate damask patterns, the bridal carry, the victim’s languid pose, the collarbones, the blood - but for me, it’s the contrast between the vampire’s self-possessed hauteur and the trickle of blood down her throat that really makes this work.

Liliana, Waker of the Dead (art by Anna Steinbauer)

Liliana almost always makes the list, of course, but usually she gets here through raw displays of power and dominance. Steinbauer’s taken a different tack here, though, constructing this pastoral idyll centered around Liliana as a Gothic heroine. Is that sharp-edged pensiveness hesitation? Regret? Whatever it is, it’s a vulnerability we don’t usually get to see with her. This is easily, easily my favorite Liliana. It’s also about forty percent more Audrey Hepburn than typical, which. Yeah, that works for me.

KALDHEIM

man i just really do not care for the art direction in Kaldheim if I’m being honest. “viking plane” has a lot of potential and most of the art here is well-executed i just can’t help but feeling like the briefs the artists were given were kind of half-assed. like they have gods of DEATH and FEAR and they just look like whole foods hipsters. still, though! couple of hot valkyries.

Eradicator Valkyrie (art by Tyler Jacobson)

You really have to appreciate when someone just fully commits to a vibe. She could have stopped with the corpse paint and the black and gold everything but she went that extra mile for the blue flame wings and the smoldering pillar of the damned.

Youthful Valkyrie (art by Anna Steinbauer)

Yeahhhhh, I knew I could count on Steinbauer to deliver something ineffably sapphic. Hot, broody warrior angel fits the bill. Thank you for your service as always, ma’am.

HONORABLE MENTION: Jorn, God of Winter (art by Magali Villeneuve)

I gotta give credit where credit is due: in one of the drier sets in a very neutered Magic the Gathering era, Villeneuve has made a god who one million percent fucks. This rules.

STRIXHAVEN: SCHOOL OF MAGES

You know, I figured there’d be more candidates at wizard college, if for no other reason than there’d be more girls with glasses - but no, not even Goth Entomologist House OR Bitchy Poet Vampire House produced a single hit between the two of them. Here’s what we do get:

Professor Onyx (art by Kieran Yanner)

Liliana Vess: MILF professor version. I don’t need to say more than this, the scenario writes itself. Still, I do wanna pause and note the shoulder battlements. This is a woman who knows the value of fortifying gun emplacements, by which, yes, I do mean her tits.

Dragonsguard Elite (art by David Rapoza)

Oh yeah this is genuinely horny. Big owl glasses, perfect facial features, picturesque windblown hair, a dramatic display of power, those curves. I’ve really missed art that manages to be self-indulgent but not boring. More of this!

ADVENTURES IN THE FORGOTTEN REALMS

I have a great deal of resentment about the D&D crossover sets in terms of flavor. You can’t make Lolth, Zariel, and Mordenkainen planeswalkers in Magic canon and then be like oh well but no not really it’s not like they can go to Ravnica or something like that. Motherfucker then they’re not planeswalkers! You didn’t even bother to make Lolth hot! That was a fucking slam dunk! Three different D&D sets and you didn’t even include a single marilith!

I could keep going, at great length, but instead I’m choosing to be responsible and talk about the hot girls.

Ingenious Smith (art by Nicholas Elias)

I’m going to confess to spending an unspecified-but-lesbian amount of time watching Simone Giertz build weird shit on youtube. This scratches that same primal dyke itch of wanting to watch a clever, funny woman make something with her hands, but with bigger biceps.

Djinni Windseer (art by Livia Prima)

Look, man, sometimes what you want is a hot blue lady in a tornado.

Kalain, Reclusive Painter (art by Justine Cruz)

Cruz is almost a complete newcomer to Magic the Gathering here, which is really impressive because Kalain is the clear stand-out of this set. I personally wouldn’t choose to paint in my finest red doublet, but obviously this is a deficiency in my commitment to the Byronic artist Aesthetic. Obviously I don’t glower intensely enough. Obviously I don’t dress enough like a mildly-genderfluid Prussian vampire. Rest assured Kalain will be making none of these rookie mistakes!

I genuinely have so much gender envy about Kalain, holy shit.

OKAY progress made. This was the tail end of the drought. We got two Innistrad sets next, and whatever else you wanna say about those sets, I’m pretty sure we get more hits in even just one of them than we did in the four sets covered here together. Next time we got: girls accessorizing with bones, girls accessorizing with snakes, Hot Crossbow Autumn, woman laughing alone with shovel, dog mom, and so, so many vampires.