#over analyzing again

[velvetsssapphic]

I feel like this song gives me Velvet vibes through her perspective along with Floyd (if you switch the perspective to him at the last post-chorus and the outro) and just hear me out on these lyrics:

“The scandal was contained,”

“The bullet had just grazed,”

“At all costs, keep your good name,”

“You dont get to tell me you feel bad.”

[maalidoesart]

its his world, we’re just living in it

[mxtxfanatic]

Hm, I know I said at least in my first reading of mdzs that I felt like Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng were actually friends as kids, I would like to remind folks that the catastrophic breakdown of their friendship was not because of some misplaced care but because Jiang Cheng is a stagnant character whose whole role in the story is to be the one who never learns, changes, and grows past his insecurities and resentments. They were always going to fall out with each other, even if the Sunshot Campaign never happened, even if the Wen Clan didn’t exist as a subjugating force terrorizing the other clans, because no matter how much Jiang Cheng cares about anyone, he will always place his personal resentments first.

I’m so serious: reread the pre-fall of Lotus Pier parts of the novel (flashback extras included), and tell me how many times Jiang Cheng says something genuinely nice about or to the benefit of Wei Wuxian without prompting. Point to me places where Jiang Cheng puts himself on the line for Wei Wuxian that is not him distracting the Wen. Compare the number of unambiguously positive interactions they have to the number of interactions they have in total, and I bet you’ll see that the positives are laughingly scant. Most every interaction they have together, Jiang Cheng is being a negative nancy. He’s the type of friend who, if you said “Today is a good day!” would snidely respond back, “What’s so good about?” before loudly complaining about what a nuisance your happiness is. Jiang Cheng is the type of friend that tells you that everyone else hates you because you’re so annoying, and you need to do something about that because he also finds you annoying so you should be lucky he “puts up with” you. And all of this negativity can be directly traced back to the resentment Jiang Cheng feels caused by his own mother projecting her insecurities onto him. Jiang Cheng, who cannot grow, learn, or change, is unable to extract his own self from his mother’s insecurities, ending up inheriting them as his own, instead.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like teen!Jiang Cheng is some irredeemable monster (that is reserved for his adult self), but Wei Wuxian already shows signs of being tired of his attitude as kids. He snaps at Jiang Cheng rudeness in the lotus pod seeds extra. He constantly admonishes Jiang Cheng about his blatant disregard for the lives and safety of other people. Most of the time, Wei Wuxian won’t even engage in the petty little remarks that Jiang Cheng makes, just treating it like nobody had spoken at all. The only times Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian move as a unit is when they have a common enemy—like Jin Zixuan—but without that, they are only held together by the fact that…they’ve been friends for a long time.

And this kinda leads me back to the point about the yunmeng friendship not being able to withstand the test of time even without an outside conflict: I would place the point of no return for their relationship at Wei Wuxian killing the xuanwu of slaughter, not at the fall of Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian is one of two individuals that killed a mythological bloodthirsty creature responsible for hundreds of deaths, spent a week in a coma from his injuries and lack of immediate care, and what does he get for it? Jiang Cheng shows up with soup gifted to Wei Wuxian by Jiang Yanli, except he’s eaten all the meat out of it. Jiang Fengmian gives the most lukewarm praise to Wei Wuxian for his achievements—which Wei Wuxian neither complained about nor called him out for—because they were both trying to be mindful of Jing Cheng’s insecurities, and Jiang Cheng still made it about himself. When Madam Yu storms in to yell about how Wei Wuxian is a “bastard child” and he’s just trying to show off, Jiang Cheng consciously and unambiguously sides with his mother. Wei Wuxian had to drag his feverish body out of bed—after just awakening from a week-long coma—to placate pity-party Jiang Cheng, and the only thing that makes him feel better is not promises of continued friendship but of servitude. Even if at this point Wei Wuxian was still viewing Jiang Cheng as a—admittedly caustic—friend, Jiang Cheng’s view had fully transitioned from “annoying friend my mother hates” to “the servant I need to keep in line lest he overshadows me.” If anything, the fall of Lotus Pier, the debt placed on Wei Wuxian by the Jiang leaders, and the subsequent war probably allowed their friendship to last longer than it naturally would have (remember, they are only united against outside forces).

All this to say that while Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian may have started out as genuine friends in their childhood, their transition to enemies has absolutely nothing to do with that care. Sometimes we fall out with people because we just do not like them as people. Jiang Cheng’s resentment prevented him from appreciating Wei Wuxian as a person, leading to the end of their friendship and their descent into eventual enemies. Not misplaced or warped care, just pure, undeniable resentment.

[impossibledial]

some interesting things i’ve noticed upon rewatching last christmas and paying particular attention to clara’s dream with danny.

first thing to note; in the dream, clara and danny seem to be living together. not only that but in a house i don’t recognize — correct me if it is in fact, clara’s apartment.

(i now notice that the lamp is the same in both of these scenes but the rest of set looks completely different to me.)

second; when clara predicts the gifts that danny has brought her she mentions tickets to the indian orient express. when was the last time clara was on a replica of the orient express? with the doctor.

she also mentions a painting they saw in paris. over the course of series 8, there is no indication that danny and clara had ever traveled or even spent a holiday together.

third; when the doctor intrudes on clara’s dream he points out that clara has made danny a fraction taller. the doctor is only about an inch taller than danny as you can see from the screencap above.

i’ve also googled and peter capaldi is an inch taller than samuel anderson.

(i am fully aware that i may be looking too much into the details on this third one.)

fourth; when danny tells clara to move on, he says, “do as you’re told.”

the only time that phrase was uttered before this was by the doctor or clara. every time it was said, it was them saying it to each other.

danny never said do as you’re told. i believe it would go against his character to say such a thing - hating officers and all. this could be a sign that danny is a figment of clara’s subconscious, her subconsciously making dream danny closer in personality with the doctor, or both.

[kinokoshoujoart]

scribbles based on my Another Wonderful Life file where i discovered Rock and Nami showing up together at Vesta’s farmhouse late at night on multiple occasions to cause various types of chaos and disturbance and havoc until Marlin and Vesta’s bedtime (which they both announce in unison to kick everyone out) this included

Rock levitating and attempting to rizz up vesta

Nami making a beeline for Celia’s room where she stands around making very subtle remarks (celia isn’t even in her room)

Marlin Enduring

haunting crime scene photos of the shenanigans:

[your-stranger-halfblood-things]

If we see a girl with a skull ring on her finger, holding hands with a little boy, both dressed in 40s clothes...

I'm gonna be so so happy

[nebulainatree]

Ok in honor of this post getting pretty widely viewed I'm posting my (self proclaimed) funny tumblr text meme edit here

[bonefall]

So, your Clear Sky post is absolutely horrifying, but it was very needed, so thank you. What are your general thoughts on tackling his abuse for the AU? Like you've said, pretending he's a good guy is not the way to go, but are you planning on toning down *some* of the situations, just to give some of the cats a break? Clear Sky is a very realistic depiction of abusers, but that seems to come across even without victim number 25, yknow? I'm very curious about how you'd like to go about this.

My most recent big change was bringing Slash back into the fold, because I realized that it was actually a disservice to not address where DOTC's themes dip into Colonialism. It's a hard topic, and I'm still trying to work out the details, but I realized it was important.

With how BB!DOTC is such a MASSIVE overhaul, to properly address abuse and the ways it impacts you, ableism and its violence, and xenophobia broadly, a huge reworking of Slash belonged here too. He's one of the greatest examples of how badly WC demonizes non-Clanborn cats. I shouldn't dance around it.

That's what I need to do with Skystar.

MANY of his victims have happier endings than canon, though. Bumble is one of the most famous, bumped up into a major character and directly responsible for the formation of ThunderClan. Bright Storm is taking most of Gray Wing's roles. Birch and Alder are getting examined, with either a father who wants his kids back or Milkweed as the mate of Misty.

A lot of people will die because of him, even more will be hurt, but I see BB!DOTC as a story about victims and survivors.

Others might grab POVs here and there, but as a response to canon which I feel is Clear Sky's story told in many parts, I center this rewrite around Thunder Storm. The path of kindness he marches down, with love and with anger, and the people he helps.

So BB!Star Flower...

Previously I was playing her as ENTIRELY just manipulating Clear Sky. She was loyal to One Eye and trying to get at Skystar to bleed him dry for 8 lives to sacrifice; but connected to Thunderstar over recognizing him as a victim who deserves her idea of justice. So, she offers Thunderstar the final kill, so her father will be grateful to him and he'll get power AND the death of his abuser.

(When Thunderstar looks upon Skystar, pathetic and neutralized down to one life, he thinks about the collateral damage that will descend upon the forest if he accepts the deal. He decides that he has found the line between Justice and Justification. Of course he wants the power to make his enemies cower, protect his people, and eliminate Clear Sky so he never threatens them again; that's not the problem.

He can still do these things. He wouldn't NEED the power of a war god to do so.

But if One Eye returns, he will be endlessly hungry, ruthlessly dedicated to revenge, and set out to devour the whole forest. Everything would get worse, and even more people he loves would die. It's where his desire to destroy a monster would lead to him BECOMING one.)

Even on its face, it was previously missing an element. There's a step between "Starf decides to bring One Eye back" and "Starf offers Thunderstar the final kill" that was bare. This is the piece that was missing-- That she, herself, is trying to reach out to the only person who's ever really understood her.

But more importantly... I do feel this topic belongs here, in BB!DOTC. Abuse is a MAJOR theme. SKYSTAR is a monster already. He's harmed two wives in BB (Bright Storm and Falling Cry) and played toxic games with all three kits (Thunder Storm, Pale Sky, Tiger Sky).

And I'd avoid Star Flower being abused... why? Because it's uncomfortable to confront the pattern that Clear Sky displays? That in-canon, he tries to cut all his victims into the same ideal shape, from Storm to Thunder to Star Flower? ...it should be uncomfortable. Everything that I described in Clear Sky Is A Monster is rooted in the same desire for control, power, and punishment most abusive people share, he just happens to be a severe example.

Yes. That includes how he treats his child and romantic partners. The parallels that are drawn between Starf and Thunder are there because he wants power in the form of obedience. Starf replaces the son as a narrative award for his "growth" of not killing random people anymore for a while.

A cookie cutter is an effective tool because IT ONLY MAKES ONE SHAPE.

You know what's more uncomfortable? Reading canon!DOTC and seeing someone who hurt you reflected almost perfectly in the character the writers think did nothing wrong. Because of "good intentions" that were not there.

I will say though, just to be clear; I don't see a purpose in being more than PG-13 about serious topics for this project. I promise none of my intentions have changed. Nothing will be more graphic or gorey than canon WC-- just more intentional.

I'm keeping the sacrifice because it's dope. No one is taking this from me. Girl Moment: Killed her awful husband 8 times to count as 8 sacrifices and offered the last life to her buddy as a show of good will. How else do you make friends outside of high school

But I know now that Star Flower NEEDS to keep the canon fact she has very little agency, UNTIL that moment she snaps.

She's sacrificing one abuser to try and bring back a bigger, badder one, because in spite of everything, her father One Eye always made her feel safe. Even though he promised her off to Skystar, and expected her to be willing to die for him. She's followed every command, every order, past the death of his mortal vessel.

The first, and only, selfish choice she's ever made was in reaching out to Thunderstar to offer him the power of her father.

Thunderstar's Justice is a story about a Thunder Storm at the pinnacle of his arc, how the survivors of his Clan are settling into the new normal after the carnage of The First Battle, how Skystar's arrogance brings a violent god to the Forest... and the connection Thunderstar makes with the daughter of a monster.

[skeletoninthemelonland]

In case it hasn't been made clear, Behind The Codes is not a horror series. Despite having some disturbing themes, it doesn't focus on them the same way FNAF games did.

[hassians-sernuk-boyfriend]

okay bc the game has decided I'm not allowed to play I guess: today I am thinking about Oral Hygiene

idk if I've seen evidence of toothbrushes, but everyone SEEMS to have straight, healthy teeth. I am absolutely sure this is something we're not supposed to over-analyze but I'd like to see them Try to stop me.

Zeki has a gold tooth which implies extraction and replacement technology. (probably grimalkin tech??)

Chayne is the town doctor so presumably he's in charge of the town's dental health - the shrine he works at has, like, 4 cots and some jars and does not seem ideal for any sort of surgery but I assume they have some sort of sterilization technology I am not aware of.

possible brushing implements are things like sticks, grasses, reeds. I think bamboo?

pastes/etc I can think of them using..... idk, various soaps. baking soda and salt. alcohols? things like fennel seeds I think

Braces: this one is driving me crazy. With age and poverty, Badruu and Delilah seem like they would have a lot more dental issues at this point, so they're my main evidence that Something is different than how this works irl

Majiri live 150 years how many sets of teeth do they have........................ are they like sharks........

in closing: I think in palia, teeth just naturally are more healthy than irl. I'd love casual chewing-stick/etc mention in game. I'd love some sort of enamel repair mentioned. I'm staring into space thinking about the evolution of human grain chewing teeth and the implications of the same teeth in another species that was possibly Created by the Moon (????) (do they even have evolution in this world..............)

[velvetsssapphic]

I cannot get over IO2's film's format compared to the original like why is it so long 😭😭😭

Im not complaining it just looks more stretched out

[sherbetyy]

as someone on the spectrum i really felt for red guy in the photoshoot scene with his family, specifically when he’s moving around a lot and just. not doing what everyone around him is doing, and gets scolded for it.. especially his line “i’m just happy. i’m sorry..” like godddd that’s relatable. so many times i’ve had to apologize for simply being happy and i just want to give red guy a hug please. idk if the writers intentionally made it feel that way but damn it got me

[lilliesm]

to have the sensation of watching dead poets society for the first time again

[mysticfoxdesigns]

IN THE VEIN AS MY GRIFFIN ROCK FOUNDING POST

What day is Earlyween?

I had asked Nicole this over on Twitter, and this was her reply.

Summer is officially from the middle of June to the middle of September, but this is also Maine, so we have to take into account their weather around this time.

August and September are some of the cooler months, being around 70-80 degree Fahrenheit (21-26C) over in Griffin Rock due to it being a costal area. This would be an amazing time to do something like trick or treating, as the nights get around 50-60 degrees Fahrenheit (10-15C)

Another thing to hint towards the day is that Cody goes to school. In my Griffin Rock post, I showed that Maine schooling starts around August 27-19th. Therefore June, July, and August are cut off from being possible months.

This leaves the first half of September as the strongest candidate for when Earlyween takes place.

It is very possible for Earlyween to take place from August 30th-September 22nd. Which would make sense as Chase mentioned the students not being able to pay attention much. If it happened early in the school year then it wouldn't really matter as much if they pay attention. The first days of school are all about getting to know your teacher, the lesson plans, how the class is structured, etc. An off day during this time therefore wouldn't matter as much.

[trans-leek-cookie]

i don't follow dungeon Meshi discussions closely and also haven't seen much in depth analysis of the marginalization of halflings specifically but I feel like the Infantilization aspect is focused on without acknowledging the ways they are often also Dehumanized (little weird considering the usage of "human" in the context of the story but I think it fits well enough). Like they are considered unskilled and immature due to their appearance + shorter relative lifespans, but also they are considered shady, used as literal bait (for sirens and succubi), and fucking disappeared when they come into contact with dangerous artifacts. Like both are significantly negative, but one is a bit more Obviously Violent in a way that I feel like is under discussed.

[jessamine-rose]

*lovingly tackles Aine*

Read my Yandere! Pierro longfics first ♪( ´▽｀)

Last week, my beloved mutual @ainescribe surprised me with Savior! Darling fan art and AHAI9232@2-!/! CRYING SCREAMING I WANT TO LOOK AT THIS ART AND WORSHIP YOUR VERSION OF SAVIOR THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BLESSING ME WITH YOUR ART—

*clears throat* Anyway, now that I finally have the time to properly sit down and comment on the fan art, I’ll do just that. Feedback will be in the tags and it will be unhinged. Once again, thank you so much to Aine for drawing this <3