#proxy media

[kirby-the-gorb]

[axolkitkat]

hey. Don't cry. Most Mysterious Song On The Internet/Like The Wind has been identified. Okay? Listen, today might be rough. But not all is lost, okay? Some is even found. We'll get through this together, okay? I love you.

[a-memory-a-distant-echo]

hey not to be deeply weird about it but just to check, has everyone else already seen this interview with xiao shunyao in which he (correctly) argues that actually di feisheng is a deeply loyal and affectionate character, and also that li xiangyi gives di feisheng a reason to live?

i'm so fucking normal about it

[rad-roche]

if you dig the kind of stuff i put out and are looking to fuck up your mood for the whole rest of 2024, you might like texhnolyze

i think about it often but can't pluck up the courage to watch it again, which is an enormous recommendation on my part. Ichise, a boxer in an illegal fighting ring, pisses off a mob boss and as a result loses multiple limbs. he's rescued from near death by a doctor and, very much against his will, partly roboticised

the early 00s had a great run of cyberpunk anime, and this is certainly up there with the best of them. well worth your time

[queen0fm0nsterz]

Over the years, I always find myself wandering back to Yume Nikki.

I entered the RPG Maker horror games scene when I was very young; I still remember watching my first Mad Father gameplay at age 8. The entire genre has always been a foundation for the shaping of my interests, but Yume Nikki is... different. It always felt personal to me, but the reason as to why that is changed as I grew up.

When I found out about it, I was at that age where I'd always wear my hair in pigtails. So there I was, a little girl with brown hair and pigtails, watching a game about a girl with brown hair and pigtails. A few years later, I, a barely teenage girl on the spectrum and in the closet, was watching a game about a girl feeling ostracised by her peers with the need to hide. And a few years later I, halfway through high school and tormented by vivid dreams of horrid things that had been done to me against my will, was watching a game about a girl who had vivid, abstract dreams about the things that had been done to her.

Now I, an adult woman who has been struggling to leave her home due to a breakdown and severe suicidal ideation, am watching a game about a woman who can't leave her room unless she gives in to her own ideation.

Maybe it's just because Yume Nikki has no evident plot that I can see all these similarities. Maybe the feelings of loneliness that have been tormenting me are pushing me to attach myself to something, anything. But when I think about the fact we were "born" on the same year, I can't help but chuckle.

...Maybe I'm not that alone and misunderstood after all.

[vonloup]

Okay chat I need y'all's help with something. Especially creepypasta fans since this thing that I need help finding is creepypasta related

⚠️ MENTIONS OF GORE, DEATH, DARK THEMES, AND MURDER⚠️

So when I was younger I was looking on Quotev looking at creepypasta fanfics and I read this one that was a proxies x reader and I remember the plot was something like how y/n and her friends went out to this cabin out in the middle of the woods and I don't remember why they were there but what I do know is that they were talking about how they killed someone A few years ago and I'm pretty sure it was y/n that said something about how she didn't hide the bones properly and that could have been the reason why they were there at that cabin. But I'm really not sure, and then creepy stuff starts happening and I remember something happening with the phone that was there but I don't really know what, and eventually The proxies come in and they start picking off all of y/ns friends I remember hoodie had a shotgun and I remember that he shot one of y/ns Friends in her chest. But she didn't die at first because she had breast implants in but her chest was completely gone, like it had exploded but the breast implants had stopped the bullet. I don't remember what happened after that but I remember y/n had gotten into the back of someone's pickup truck and escaped. That's all I remember from that book and either there was a second book or the book had continued on and it was about y/ns life after that whole accident happened and eventually The proxies come back for her and that's all I can remember.

I've tried looking for it on there and there have been a lot of proxy stories uploaded on there since, I can't remember the name of it but if someone does please let me know because I've been looking for this for ages. Also sorry if it's all a bit much I used the voice to text thing on my phone because I didn't want to type all of that out. But please let me know anything about this story!!!

[where-dreams-dwell]

There are so many missed opportunities in Part 1 of Bridgerton Season 3 its frustrating to behold.

As one half of the season is out it’s possible that some of these will be fixed in the second half however having to wait until then (not just in terms of release date but also narratively) is not good planning. Having to wait for Part 2 to have most of the interesting things happen with our supposed 'main characters' makes the structure of the season feel unbalanced, and annoys the audience trying to root for the main couple. And a lack of attention to our romantic leads leaves the audience feeling uninvested and unconvinced in their love.

Spoilers below.

....................................................................

1. No flashbacks: by the end of Episode 4 in S1 we knew all of Simons backstory, why he didn’t want children or marriage, and his key character motivations. This helped us understand why Antony was so against the match (he knew of Simon’s vow), why Simon duelling him instead of agreeing to marry Daphne was actually a sign of love, and helped the audience understand his struggle to accept love. Similarly by Ep 4 of S2 we have had Anthony’s tragic past with his father revealed, explaining his fear of love impacting on those around him and explaining why he is fighting the clear feelings he has for Kate. For both of these romantic leads we (the audience) now know why they are refusing their clear and obvious feelings for the heroine, what internal struggles they are going to need to overcome this season, and by proxy have been reassured that they must truly love the heroine otherwise they wouldn’t be tormented.

This explanation and fleshing out of key character-beats reveals the internal motivations which are governing these characters; this knowledge is essential for future scenes where their actions will appear dismissive or unloving and the audience needs to know that they are operating under their own internal world view in which those actions make perfect sense.

Simon rejecting Daphne's hand? He’s not being cruel, he doesn’t want to deprive her of children as he has foresworn having them. Anthony rejecting his feelings for Kate and continuing to pursue her sister? He’s not unfeeling, he’s actually feeling too much and trying to run from it. This knowledge helps us forgive actions that could make us doubt their ‘true feelings’ and is essential to the audience rooting for the couple. When the romantic lead is being an ass it helps for us to know what may be making them act that way.

No Colin flashbacks means we have no idea what motivates him, what his internal journey for this season is, or any reassurance that his love to Penelope is true. What might have been motivating Colin to act like an ass, not just to Penelope but to other people, and what m ight be be grappling with now which is impacting him either realizing his feelings or coming to terms with them? We have no idea, so his journey to love is a little less compelling.

2. Colin didn’t get humbled: through season 1 + 2 we’ve seen Penelope pine after Colin while he bumbles happily along seeing her as a cherished friend but ignoring her for other romantic options. We finished season 2 with a Colin deeply hurting Penelope and implying to the audience that he actually doesn’t respect her even as a friend - what friend would imply their fiend is unattractive or unmarriable to others, especially in that time and society?

As the audience has been following this one sided romance from Penelope’s perspective we’re predisposed to be on ‘her side’, hence wanting Colon to be humbled and have to properly apologise. We want to see Colin chasing Penelope (in a role reversal from the previous two seasons) and be made to eat his own worlds.

Instead we get one scene of Penelope revealing her hurt over Colin’s actions, and then their next scene together Colin is all but forgiven. He apologises but immediately move the conversation on, asking to atone for his actions by offering help and then bam! For all intents and purposes it’s business as usual between the two again. Penelope is happy to chat and banter with him, smile at him lovingly, and agree to a secret (and scandalous) partnership.

Whats even more concerning is that they’ve set up Colin to property hate Lady Whistledown so when Penelope reveals herself she may even have to humble herself before Colin for his forgiveness. Having started the season (with two years to dwell on Colin’s actions) wanting Colin to have to beg Penelope for forgiveness, it feels disappointing that not only do we not get that but we may get significantly more scenes of her begging for his.

3. Penelope and Colin together: this may be more personal preference but I’m not feeling the same for this couple as I did for Daphne+Simon or Kate+Anthony, or even Charlotte+George. Some of it is line delivery (Anthony felt like Brooding Fuckboy, or Fuckboy who’s fighting their inner demons, whereas Colin just feels sleezy), some of it is script (Colin hasn’t been given nearly as much dialogue and little of it is noteworthy), and some is just preference in that this lead doesn’t feel mysterious or challenging or interesting. He’s really just there.

Simon and Daphne, Kate and Anthony, Charlotte and George they all had this tension when they were on screen together that you could feel through the screen. Maybe it’s the lack of anger or hatred or antagonism between the two of them and due to them being a friends to lovers storyline but the tension just doesn’t feel like it’s there.

4. Time with the main couple: It doesn't feel like the 'main couple' this season has had as much time or scenes to help us understand why they are meant to be together.

This is an ensemble show and as season continue and characters develop or are added this will become a bigger issue; there are more named characters and players than S1 to juggle, plus some characters need time this season to set themselves up for future plot lines.

But Season 1 felt like Daphne and Simons season. Season two felt like Kate and Anthony's season. This doesn't feel like Colin and Penelope's season. Its more like this is a drama-filled season, and one aspect of it is Colin and Penelope.

5. Colin's Character: This is actually a much bigger problem so lets break it down further

5.1 Why Colin? In a friends to lovers plot (a childhood friends to lovers plot too) we really need to see why our heroine is fixated on this man; why is he better than all her other options, why did she originally fall and then remain in love with them for all these years, and why should we want him to realise his own feelings? Crucially what is so special about him?

As Colin hasn't yet been fleshed out, really at all, we don't know why he is this great love for Penelope and why we should root for him to fall in love with her in turn. So Penelope's pining for him comes across as less understandable and more 'I don't get what you see in him but okay'. And that's bad, especially for a show which wants you to go feral over their central couple; fewer members of the audience falling in love with the lead means fewer people understanding Penelope maintaining this crush (especially when its detrimental to her future) which means fewer people rooting for the main couple.

5.2 Colin’s character dissonance: this is kind of a show don’t tell issue but we keep being told all these things about Colin’s character, instead of seeing examples of this behavior ourselves, and on top of that what we are told doesn’t match with what we are shown.

Violet tells Colin he’s ’always putting others first’ but we have never seen this in 2 1/2 seasons of this show. Colin has left to travel in every off season, a very self centred action focused solely on what he wants to do and not what others may want. We’ve seen Benedict put people first more than Colin (being the shoulder for Eloise, helping her out in ballrooms, being Anthony’s second for his duel and his sounding board with Sharma issues) so that character assessment feels untrue.

Violet also calls Colin her ‘most sensitive child’ but we have not one scene of Colin showing this sensitive side. There’s no scene of him comforting Daphne about her failed season or Anthony about his problem with the Sharmas; no moment showing him helping out anyone outlet out of the kindness of his heart, or reacting to another’s pain or worry or problems so again this feels like Violet is describing a totally different character.

Penelope says Colin’s eyes are more beautiful ‘when you’re being kind’ but we haven’t seen Colin be overly kind to anyone. He told Marina in S1 he would have still married her if she had told him of her pregnancy, but this is stated when he’s angry so he’s probably not feeling or looking very kind right then, and it isn’t him actually doing this action, it’s just him claiming what he would have done. When he’s goes to visit Marina in S2 his actions come off more desperate and clingy than anything close to kind. If you argue that his tutoring if Penelope is kind, it’s actually self serving as he offered to do this to atone for him being decidedly not kind at the end of last season. He’s helping her out but he offered this to make up for hurting her before so I don’t think you can view this as a selfless act.

When he reveals Jacks scheme in S2 and demands he pay back money while preserving the Featherington Ladies good name he is undoubtably doing a good act but ‘kind’ isn’t the way he’s portrayed: he’s shown as decisive, protective, angry, courageous, bold, etc.. all very good things but still not that ‘kind’ Penelope talks about.

The last time Colin did something entirely kind may have been Season 1 asking Penelope to dance after Cressida ruined her dress. If that's it, that's very little to go on and a very long time ago.

It feels like people are trying to tell us that Colin is a good guy, without showing us moments where he actually is good. It comes off as clunky and doesn’t match the character we have seen, so these claims have little impact on our assessment of him as a person and as a lead.

5.3 Colins Writing; Stop trying to make Colin's Great Writing happen. Its not going to happen.

At least not when the only snippet you give us is basically porn.

I haven't read the books but I've heard that Colins writing snippet that Penelope finds, while starting as porn, eventually turns into a rumination on how unfulfilled and alone these actions make Colin feel and how he feels lost. That would have been an amazing moment to have in the show, giving us honesty and a secret from the romantic lead and adding depth to Colins actions (which are a little jarring to watch while we actively want him to be falling for Penelope).

If Colin is this great writer then have him writing more. In the back of conversations at breakfast, have him reading his travel journals or scribbling in a notebook. In the hot air balloon scene have Colin seek out an adventure novelist to talk about his experiences. Maybe he gets a letter from Sir Phillip asking about his travels since they enjoyed speaking so much last season, and Colin sends long and detailed responses people joke are like novels (also great for future seasons).

Right now it feels like window dressing and a throw away comment that he's 'an incredibly talented writer' and doesn't match what we've seen of him.

(Side note: it is objectively hilarious that Penelope reads one page of smut about a naked woman the author is sleeping with, then later describes this page of writing as 'incredible' while claiming she 'would love to read more'. You sure you're 100% interested in Colin there Penelope...?)

5.4 How is Colin a Tragic Hero?: This figure always works best for romatic stories and all other Bridgerton Seasons have followed the formula. Simon had a negligent and abusive father and no good examples of marriage or family, Anthony had traumatically had his beloved father die in front of him and been parentified at a young age, and George had the weight of the crown destroying his mental health. All of these leads had a demon they were wrestling with and it gave them intrigue and interest.

Colin has no demons; at least none we've been made aware of.

There's a vague allusion (from Eloise, Lady Whistedown and Violet) that Colin is in some way 'putting on a front' this season. What would have been amazing for the audience would have been a scene or two showing Colin struggling to fit in (in his family, in the Ton, etc) and him feeling alone or isolated because of it. Maybe traveling was his attempt to have interesting stories to tell, or something to distinguish himself with but upon his return (Season 2) no one had an interest in listening and groaned when he tried to share his stories, and so he turned to writing them down instead and decided to shut himself off from trying to relate to everyone as 'himself' and instead to become 'The Traveler' character and pretend so he can fit in.

This would not only give Colin a Secret or a Demon that he needed to work through, but offer us (the audience) a way in which he would be able to understand and support Penelope; another person feeling isolated and unheard who turned to writing to express themself.

While there are the bones of a great love story here the little work put in to flesh out Colin as an individual, giving us no idea of what experiences made him and what he is currently grappling with, means the audience doesn't have much to go on when Penelope professes to love him. Who is this man, as descriptions of him don't match his actions and those actions he does have are both seemingly self serving (travel) and not fully fleshed out (writing); and both annoyingly happen largely off screen. And as the current structure pits Penelope as likely the one needing to beg forgiveness by the end of the season, while we entered it expecting Colin to begging for her forgiveness, their current relationship doesn't feel as salifying or as earned as we could have hoped.

Here's to Part 2 doing some very heavy lifting.

[ask-mrxmts]

It's my 10 year anniversary on Tumblr 🥳

//blame my friends from middle school for telling to make a tumblr account (back when tumblr was actually cool lmao) (jkjk i love them and wouldnt change a thang bby) Thanks so much for an awesome 10 years! (Even though there are small gaps of inactivity but alas I love you guys to bits!)

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

[guardianofnightmares]

The only thing I have ever contributed to an Ergo Proxy fandom were two sketches on a blackboard made around 4 years ago. Which is a shame because this anime is an absolute pinnacle of its genre and has had my undying loyalty since my very first view of it (for more then 10 years by this point).

Here you can see an Entourage-type AutoReiv called Kristeva. An android-companion of Raul Creed, Director-General of the Citizen Security Bureau. The development of this duo dynamic was an intriguing one to observe and both of these characters are certainly one of my personal favorites from that amazing anime.

Fun Fact: AutoReiv Kristeva is named after a Bulgarian-French philosopher known as Julia Kristeva.

P.S. This is sort of a mixed media art. You can see an original image I drew on paper under the cut. Angle the photo was taken under is not the best one but oh well, it was done in order to show a scale of actual canvas I am working with.

[fleshadept]

if any filmmakers follow me for god's sake if you are on a project and you have control over this: get a good DIT. get a DIT with editing experience. get a DIT who knows how to create consistent and intuitive file structures and for the sanity of your editor(s) get a DIT who will do things right the first time so your editors won't have to redo all of that work because it was disorganized and done so badly they have to, for example, resync all the clips for an entire feature film because the proxies weren't set up properly

[nightshademyn]

“Some people act mean at first

'Cause they're too afraid to feel

It's survival, it's protection

That's why roses grow their thorns”

Hi hello sharing my OCs on my blog again. His name is Autumn and I prommy he’s a good guy under all the prickly thorny tendencies

[doyouknowthisjewishcharacter]

Do you know this Jewish character?

[melsimps]

Pov: you're a super hero and you meet your biggest fan (his aunt is your coworker):

[sege-h]

Like some kinda shark fin a now unrebloggable post on my dash has let me know whats going on on Twitter right now

Which is people going "UMMM NOT EVERYONE LIVES IN AMERICA OFC I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ODYSSEY IS NOT ALL OF US HAD TO READ YOUR AMERICAN BOOK IN AMERICAN SCHOOLS" about being told it kinda sucks they dont know what the Odyssey is

Brother

Brother

I'm from Macedonia. That's like NOWHERE. WE had to read the Odyssey for school. And I knew of it BEFORE we had to read it for school because it was common knowledge. There was also some multi part Hallmark adaptation of it they kept playing on TV

[philsmeatylegss]

Ngl, studying history, especially contemporary history often about how powerful countries played a roll in sabotaging a developing nation, means a few times a day you see a post posted by someone who obviously doesn’t study history but is using a historical event to further a political point (that I usually agree with but it is completely out of context and usually super disrespectful) and it will literally have thousands of likes and you just have to learn to sigh and move on.

[rad-roche]

i think it's very flattering that a few of you guys are curious about what i think of the ending and some plot stuff, but it hasn't even been a day. that's eight hours of television, a little more. i'm not doing that to my brain