#sorry bout the rant

[downloadspiral]

Okay but can we talk about gender and desirability? Since I've started my journey of self-discovery and becoming more and more of a total gender fuck, I feel like I'm becoming less and less desirable.

And I'm not even talking about dating cishet people. It's quite the opposite, actually: the genre of people who I attract most are cishet men, because I'm perceived as ~womanly~ enough for them to find me intriguing, but to them, I'm still not quite a threat to their heterosexual identity - to them, I'm merely an exotic trophy in the collection of people they fucked, if you will.

The queers (esp. other trans people), on the other hand, totally recognize my transness and generally perceive me as a trans person. Which is technically a good thing as it feels really validating to me, and knowing that I'm perceived as trans in some contexts is at least a small source of gender euphoria for me.

However, I still fail to do gender right, even in queer contexts. Specifically in the context of (queer) dating. I feel like my gender hinders me from being anyone's 'preference' - for people who prefer butches, I'm not masculine enough. For people who prefer femmes (which I genereally identify as), I don't perform femininity coherent enough. My gender performance is deeply flawed, from whichever angle you look at it.

And in dating, this leads to me feeling like I either fall through the grid completely or I'm just some trophy. And that shit hurts. The gender binary and the social compulsion to reproduce gender as a coherent, fixed entity hurt me so much. I simply can't do it. I can't be perfect anymore. And thus, I can't be desired.

[i-am-thevoid]

so sick of being the only queer in the building so sick of being the only native in my class if i hear ONE MORE person fucking compare powwow to those scenes in movies where cannibals are dancing around a fire/ pot im going to fight someone but if i do then theyd be right in assuming im violent fuck

[the-system-of-dumb]

this is what the hobbit should of been i would of loved it if it was like this because the live action film is just too serious like i didn't watched it OR read it because it felt too serious you know like i couldn't have fun, but this looks like fun i would love to go on a adventurer with that little guy you know, but who would want to have a adventure with THIS MAN

no one i know

i read the hobbit in 3rd grade and i thought it was really lame. however i liked bilbo baggins for some reason and i was fully convinced he was some sort of rabbit/mouse thing until i saw the lotr movies and was really, really confused

[inthehouseoffinwe]

Aite, female character and general inclusivity rant incoming. Hate it and want to make a post? Sure. But give me the respect I gave those who inspired this and don’t tag me in it:

People immediately bringing the ‘female character’ argument into things drives me insane. Like we know she’s a female character, but trust me, that’s got very little to do with why people dislike her.

Are some people misogynistic? Absolutely!

Are most people misogynistic? No.

When we talk about Galadriel, and Luthien, and Elwing, and Aredhel, and Nimloth, and Melian, and Nerdanel, and Ahsoka, and Padme, and *insert literally any female character from any fandom here*, being female has nothing to do with it. It barely crosses our minds.

So for the love of all that is good, stop bringing ‘but she’s a female character! Anyone who sees her as anything but perfect, or thinks the male characters made better choices than her is obviously horrible and misogynistic and would never do this to a man :(‘ Into arguments.

I don’t care how few there are in the work. You can explain why you like her without blaming people for hating on the fact she’s female when 95% don’t. There are very literally hundreds of other reasons people interpret fictional events which portray the fem char negatively.

Especially in work like the Silm which is written by a canonical in-universe historian with basic backstory. We have every right to see him as unreliable and play with what that could mean. Doesn’t make it misogynistic if we want to see female characters as more shifty than they’re outwardly portrayed. Many of us often do the same with male characters, and even if we don’t, you have no right to judge someone so harshly when you barely know a thing about them outside an online persona. 99.9% of people don’t even consider male vs female when they write these things. And it’s not because of some weird subconscious misogyny either.

This is mainly aimed at those who bring this up over. And over. And over again in some weird attempt at guilt tripping people into ‘liking’ characters.

On the topic of things people do that make no sense, if characters are stated as being white, and an artist draws them all white. You have no right to say they’re being racist or whatever else you want to come up with.

Nor do you have the right to slander anyone who casually points out the character is white if others draw them as anything else. If we can call out whitewashing, we can talk about the opposite too. As long as the person isn’t being outright rude, have a conversation.

And don’t get me started on tagging pieces of fanart and fics specifically created platonic with a ship. Like the work? Great! Now respect the intentions of the person who created it.

No one in a fandom space, especially artists and writers, owes inclusivity of any kind when running off canon source material. You want to blame someone for a boring cast, blame the author! But even in general? You don’t get to force or guilt others to create content - original work included - that fits your ideal.

Yes I’m a writer and artist of original and fan content. Yes I’ve experienced all of these directly or indirectly.

Sincerely, a young brown woman tired of all the double standards.

[brainrot-has-overtaken-me]

Look I get it, a lot of us wanted the ShinyDuo 1v1. But let’s be honest, we were never going to get it.

With the nature of the wild cards, there was no guarantee that both would even still be alive by the time they both reached red, and with the chaotic nature of the finale with wild cards overlapping, there was never going to be that moment of peace for them to have a friendly 1v1. Cause even with this being a death game, that’s all it boiled down to was ShinyDuo having a friendly 1v1 while on red, but the nature of this season would never allow for it.

I’ve seen people say that the wild card made the finale disappointing, especially when it comes to Gem. When Gem got out, yes it was to a vex from the wild card, BUT she was not only dealing with the mobs from the wild card but the majority of the server, dead AND alive, going after her.

For the 1v1 to have happened both Gem and Pearl would’ve needed to be in the somewhat peaceful top 8 finale, and even then, I feel that they only would have done it if they were top 5 or even top 3. Cause this is still a competitive series and I don’t believe that either of them would’ve risked going out of the game too early for a friendly match while on red.

I’m just upset that I’ve seen so many people say that Gems finale was disappointing or being upset at Gem and Pearl for not having their 1v1. The thing is though is that it was never promised to us. It was only a potential and never a guarantee. And not having it doesn’t make either of their finales disappointing, in fact I think it makes it better for not having it happened.

[shedontlovehuhself]

Yeah, it sucks that Bobo and Misha were not given the space to talk about the confession scene in the same way Oliver and the 911 peeps are doing with Buckley right now. Cas' coming out and his "I love you" to Dean should have gotten a bigger celebration than just Misha speaking about it on his own. Hell, Ruthie and other cast members tried to show support online and got shut down by haters and antis. Misha should not have been the only one out there in 2020 and 2021 talking about it. But he was. And yes, prior to 15x18 he went from safely playfully supporting Destiel to full on doing so right after the confession scene. Even without backup from his costar. Just like he was the only one to actively advocate for HIS character's canon queerness. Where was EW for Misha back in 2020? They definitely spoke to Jensen about it. And no, chaos machine had nothing to do with Misha talking about queer Castiel. The way certain Jensen fans try to give credit where it isn't earned and using Misha to do so should be studied.

And I'll add that yes, Jensen has grown over the years. He's more accepting of fans canon of bi Dean and has always happily signed and praised destiel fan art. He's proud of what Misha did with Cas and has said that Dean and Cas should have a conversation about what happened. But he still hasn't said the words Cas is queer. He still can't say destiel. He also has said in so many ways he doesn't see Dean as queer and even has stated Cas' confession can be open for interpretation. So while I'm proud of his obvious growth, y'all not bout to give him credit for what Misha was out here doing on his own.

I remember when everyone was saying Jensen has no power at CE cons. So now that the narrative calls for it, y'all are now saying he has power at CE. Suggesting that he made changes with said power that coincides with Misha talking more openly about queer at CE is truly a reach.

- Momento con in 2021(non CE con) where Misha happily talked about queer castiel and cas and Dean wanting to bang each other.

- German con in 2021 when Misha again talked about queer Castiel, Destiel, and had a positive reaction to a fan's "Dean is bi" t-shirt that had the audience cheering, meanwhile Jensen stans were crying on twitter that Jensen should be doing more euro cons (this was during Jensen's silent era, mind you).

- Misha's cameos where he had destiel trending and also talked about queer Castiel. He also talked about when Cas fell in love with Dean. Also the Cameo where he jokingly said "Cas, you can do better" about being in love with Dean.

- his virtual interviews in late 2020. And his pride posts each June. his interview when at a French con where he talked about Cas being a queer icon(y'all got mad at him for that one, too).

[eyesore-boi]

MY EDGE OF SLEEP THOUGHTS

Usually I don't really do review posts, but I figured I should here since we need to get the word out more and I have things to s a y -

And yeah i know it technically already made it top 10...but it's going down again...sooo.....chop chop we gotta punch judge judy in the face again :]

SPOILER WARNING BELOW, OF COURSE, FOR BOTH THE TEOS SHOW A N D ORGINAL PODCAST, SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

Mainly this is gonna be talking about all the changes they made in the story and my thoughts on them, comparing the podcast to the show, but most of them are actually pretty positive! So, with that said, let's start with one of the biggest changes, that being:

The Maniac: So I know some people are kinda on the fence bout this, but me personally I don't mind that they cut out The Maniac! I get some people liked how their was a bit of a threat at the hospital while they were trying to figure things out, and Dave having the big risk of loosing his balls (tho i love the reference they did with the radio that was great XD), but...I kinda think that went against the point of this apocalypse, of it being a literal silent killer and not being like how the end of the world is seen in movies of chaos and violence, so having the Maniac out gave the group more time to process the situation at hand. That and how it allowed them to talk more and really show the character connections, like the talk Katie and Dave had after he recalled when he carved the triangle on his chest (more on that later)! And sides, least to me, I always kinda thought the Maniac was...a liiiitle tacked on? Like, with the story always kinda relating to Dave and his nightmares, having the Maniac just be some, well, crazy fucked up guy kinda felt outta place. Like maaaaybe they could've related him directly to being on the elephant's side (the sticker on his van doesn't count, that was just foreshadowing), like he was an elephant follower and he was following Dave even before shit went down, but with him just being some guy doing fucked up things, felt just like a tacked on extra threat. (Also I always kinda found it a little unlikely Dave was so easily able to go on and do a buncha other stuff after being literally shot, but eeeh is fiiine i guess-) With that said though, with the Maniac's absence, it does lead me tooooo

Ruth: I actually really liked Ruth's addition a lot! Was refreshing to see one other person in the survivor group, even if you know from the get-go she probably wasn't gonna make it, but that's good for the story! To show us another person's perspective whose out of the loop, how everyone else around her is struggling to keep it a secret, and how she took the place of the Maniac's for the MRI scan was much more impactful, having more weight to the situation since she was innocent and just found out when she sleeps, she dies, and seeing how hard of was on Linda to do, just mwuah amazing acting all around, but again more on that later-

The Dream People: Another change that I actually like, and even prefer! Tbh in the podcast I kinda felt like the whale people/dream warriors were...kinda vauge on what exactly they are? I know they were probably gonna explain that more in Season 2, but i feel like they didn't really...explain enough? Like they were just some higher people/power, nearing a deus-ex-machina, the old man and his son (forgot their names sorry) kinda broke up the story for me whenever we cut back to them (tho i do love the cigarette bit between him and Dave, sad that didn't make it into the show), and i was fine with that but eeeh coulda been handled a little better, and it was in the show! I like it a lot better that little Davey was always dreaming about them alongside the nightmares, since to Dave (and to the viewers seeing this story for the first time) he wasn't really sure on who or what to trust, which only adds more to the mystery of it all! I also like how their home base is more clear and giving slight cult vibes, but hopefully with good intentions (again we'll see in Season 2), so looking forward to learning more about them, even if this time I'm a bit more satisfied on how they're presented!

Mateo: HE LIVED!!! :DD I was actually really suprised that Mateo survived the plane crash! And I don't think i mind that too much, tho i kinda prefer the podcast ver a liiitle more since it added a bit more to the hopelessness of the situation that literally half of the party was dead, but eh more people living the better! Plus I do think Mateo was pretty fun in the show, I liked him and Dave's friendship a lot, especially with him being with Dave when shit went down at the party rather then going home to play video games pantsless, and i liked how we saw him stand up for Dave for being weird, true bros (i also really like the hug Dave gave him when he agreed to fly for them, that was really nice), so I'm sure there's more of him to explore with his veteran background and stuff, so can't wait to see more of him for Season 2! ....maybe then he won't be so lucky oh god- :'D

The Moobles: So probably, like others, the moment I heard that TEOS was gonna get a TV show, there was one scene on particular that I immediately thought of that I was excited to actually see, and that was the fucking Moobles scene- So was I disappointed that we didn't exactly get that scene? ...Yeah, a little bit, but I do understand why we didn't get it, and what we got instead still served the same purpose well! For one, I'd understand why that scene would be a lot for a +14 rated show, even if there is some pretty good gore throughout the series, bit i get multiple self-stabbings can kinda cross the line, but another reason is...I just don't think they had the budget for it. Like- How would they do the Moobles? CGI? Puppets? Either way I'd love to see it, but I knew it'd be pretty pricey, so I get why the Moobles had to be cut, wish they least had a small reference like the Maniac did (maybe the Moobles playing on TV somewhere or a display case showing the "toy" would be cool), but hey, if we can only experience that horrifying scene in podcast form, well, I wouldn't mind at all! Still fucking horrific in sound form and I love it :'D And sides, I actually prefer the new change for Dave's scar this time around! Tho I like the viciousness of having slash marks all over his chest, i think the single triangle scar fits much more with the stories and is great forshadowing of what's to come, giving a more concrete, direct link between what Dave has gone/going through and the killing sleep going on rather than just the warning the Whale gave him before shit went down! And the scene of him cutting in the injury was still pretty unsettling even if not downright horrific like Moobles-

The Clock: The clock was....n e w - I do like the visual of it tho, since at first it seemed like it stopped and ticked back each time a person fell asleep, but i do wonder...why is that? Is time literally going back each time a person dies? Or is it symbolic of just someone's time being up? If that's the case, then why does sometimes it ticks back a single tick, while others it goes back several? (Think an example of that was when Ruth was bout to die but i think i may be missremembering) I still like the addition tho, just wish it was a l i t t l e more clear, that's all :']

Katie: So even if there are some slight changes to her (like how she doesn't have the cast anymore, which i kinda get, they kinda really brushed over that after Dave talked to her about it once in the podcast, so i get why it was cut), I really liked where they went with her! Course may be a l i t t l e bias since we knew Lio as Lady, and for both roles they absolutely crushed it, but- It was great seeing more details about Katie! Like implying more and more that she had a drug problem in the past and using her rehab advice on Dave was very fitting, and though it was sad knowing she wasn't going to make it in the end, still loved all her scenes! Especially the incredibly tense scene where Dave has to run miles to get to her house to make sure she doesn't sleep, passing by empty streets and sleeping bodies, and Katie (reasonably) hitting Dave on the head when he broke into her house, ooohoho that was good- And i remembered at first i was slightly surprised that Katie died in the plane rather than locking herself in the car, and at first i thought "Oh it's just to make it more impactful, for Dave to fly with his ex's corpse right next to him, so close to safety, yeah that's screwed up :/" ....then the ending cliffhanger shots were shown and ohohOHOHOHO THE SHOT OF KATIE IN THE WATER STARING DOWN THE CAMERA WITH TRAINGLE EYES, IMPLYING SHE'S GONNA BE A H U G E THREAT IN SEASON 2, OHOHO LOVE THAT SHIT-

The Dream Chamber: A new addition/change that I don't mind tooooo much, but i am a little confused on. In the podcast, little Dave's treatment was to be isolated away from society for 18 months with just him and his mom, nothing else as to not be used against him in his nightmares. And while here i can understand a little why they cut that (i mean each ep is only 20 mins so chop chop), the Dream Chamber scene was pretty interesting! The doctor was weird but i think that was the point (never trust a man with a bowl cut wig) since i remember there was one shot where there was an elephant ceremic (i think) in his office, and when talking about the chamber he had these strange flashes, one including a whale dying in a graveyard, so i think that's implying he's on the elephant's side and was only going to harm Dave more, thus why the Dream People made little Davey stab him in the neck (which i was s h o c k e d on when i saw, btw), but my problem is...we kinda never really go back to Dave's past after that? In the podcast, it was proven that the therapy worked for Dave so he could live out his life as a normal person until the Moobles happened, but here...we don't really know what happens after? Did the doctor die when he got stabbed? I don't think so since there'd have to be some legal trouble braught up because of that, and nobody mentions the doctor dying after that, sides it was just like...a kid stabbing him, so yeah it'd be pretty painful but maaaybe not that deadly. Did Dave get better after that? Probably not, probably is just prescribed more pills once he was old enough, but...in both podcast and in show it's braught up the concern that if he doesn't get the nightmare fixed soon when he was young, it'd lead to huge developmental issues, but Dave seems...mostly normal when older, nightmares and triangle carving aside. He still has a social life, albeit a small one, got a girlfriend, and even a job, so...did the treatment work? A little unclear, kinda wished they just just stuck with the cabin therapy, but it's an easy lookover, and maybe they'll elaborate more in season 2, so we'll just hafta see!

The Elephant: For me personally, i think the elephant monster face is kinda hit or miss under the right circumstances, like the first scene with the nightmare about Dave's mom turning into one, that one was real spooky and the flashing lights actually aided to it in my opinion, but...when it's just in broad daylight and on any person....yeaaah i can kiiiinda tell it's just a mask, hell i think it is the same one being re-used, but eh i think it's fine, just kinda wish they got a bit more creative with the elephant imagery to make it more eldritch and stuff like with the Whale, like that one shot of the Elephant being barely seen on the static on the TV at the party, that was cool, but it's fiiiine it served it's purpose well enough-

Baby Dave: Okay not too much of a tangent on the actual show, just something i thought up on, but...fellas. Markiplier community. More specifically, MCU community. We have an irl face for baby Dave. Ergo, we have a face for baby Mark. Ergo....we have a face for baby Actor, Damien, and William...I am expecting fanart soon and quick 🔫👁

Linda: I really loved Linda in the show! Eve did an amazing job getting across how intense and high strung Linda was, probably even better since we can see how stressed she is! Seeing her actual break down over Brit's death was great, to show she still is deeply disturbed and broken about the whole situation, and i think that was especially needed when she did the MRI on Ruth since in that scene she is crying, but with the knowledge she experienced the same thing with Brit, you can tell this isn't easy for her, but she is willing to do anything to figure out what is going on so the small group of people she barely knows can live. Also, MORE LINDA LORE OOOOO- Was not expecting that, for her to work in a secret government project before, but think it fits well! Explains why she's a little intense and weird, plus let's the audience know this truly can't be some government weapon since she knows of all the gov weapons in the works, so that was really cool to learn of her!

OST: MARKUS E. PLIER. AMAZON. QRCODE. S O M E O N E. YOU BETTER DROP THAT OST SOON CAUSE I W A N T - But for real i l o v e d the soundtrack throughout the series, it all fit the vibes perfectly, keeping things tense at tense scenes and heartfelt at heartfelt scenes, and those beats just mhmhmh- Also i adore the intro, soft, old music being used in a creepy morbid context with visual seeming out of place but once you watch the whole series it makes sense ohohoho gimmie that shit anyday- Speaking of...

Visuals: Touched upon this a bit earlier with the Elephant and the gore, but i liked the visuals a lot! Course i knew it wasn't gonna be movie level stuff or anything (some shots of the Whale are a b i t imposed at time but it's fine), but i feel like they knew what they were able to do, and did it to the best of their ability, and they did! I do love the gore, even if a little small, the brain cutting scene was amazing, very spooky, the funeral hallucination at the end was crazy with everyone bleeding out of their eyes and ears looked real good and intense, and the final shots with all the bodies waking up with triangles in their eyes oohohoohohohooo i loved that shit so damn much i am so hype for more p l e a s e -

And, finally, last but certainly not least, Dave: As to a suprise to nobody, least to those already in the Markiplier Fandom, Mark's acting was on fucking point. In every scene he was in, whatever he needed to sell, he sold it perfectly. Whether that be in distressed and concerned, confused and scared, angry and in dispair, he did it all perfectly, I fucking loved it. Like fuck- The scene where Katie dies, the desperation in his voice as he pleads for Linda to give her more adrenline, as if that'd fix it, having to be pulled back in his anguish, f u c k - And the scene before when he carves the triangle into his chest, waking up just in time to give an almost dazed, dead look to Katie as he asks sluggishly "what's wrong?", adding to the horror of his self mutilation. GOOD SHIT GOOD SHIT- My only "complaint" i guess is that i wished he had a few more lines/scenes with dialog, but maybe that's just wishful thinking since i'm so used to him talking on and on and on and on both in the podcast and just in the channel in general, but even then i couldn't be happier with his performance!!

Infact, everyone did fucking incredible! If you're reading this and you still haven't watched TEOS yet...what the hell are you doing go watch we gotta beat the crap outta Judge Judy BUT also go watch for the incredible acting, special effects, soundtrack, story, just EVERYTHING that is Edge of Sleep! It is definitely worth your time, it's only 2 hours so it's super easy to binge, and tho i am a little pissed like everyone else that Amazon/QRCode/Hollywood execs are tryna bury this thing so Mark/other well deserved YouTubers can't have their work be put more out there, well...we're showing them now, aren't we? >:]

TLDR: This is the best sleedge i've had in my life so go watch so you can sleedge yourself. Alright bye. *backflips then dies*

[whosthere54]

So there's this quote that I keep seeing on my Pinterest and EVERY TIME I go lol hey it's Broters or lol hey it's Prison duo but I wanna talk about it for a min cause sjkfkfkfkf I'm so normal

If u wanna I'm gonna yell about it below the cut :)

(Disclaimer it's all just incoherent ramblings at *checks watch* sometime around 1 AM but there's some sense to it I promise just trust me /lh/silly/hj)

So the quote is short, it’s just-

"Icarus should have waited for nightfall. The moon would have never let him go" - Nina Mouawad, blue sun

And I shake it. I shake it around. There's so much symbolism of Icarus and the sun. Icarus and Apollo. I always make comparisons of "hey what is Icarus's sun" cause I think it's many things- not even just Fable, though in some ways it could be the sun for Icarus. The thing causing them to fall, but he's always more Daedalus coded consistently.

Icarus's sun and Icarus's ocean I feel are two very similar things. The whole the sun is what causes Icarus to drown in the first place idea, is basically what I'm getting at.

I say many words but to try to shorten it, Icarus's sun is their fathers words, the idea they were something more than they were (something *better*). Their sun was just a touch of praise and validation (something they had been starved of for so so long). At the time, with fable, it may have still been out of reach for them. But, it was attainable. And that's all that matters to Icarus, isn't it?

Basically, their sun is the idea they can fix their mistakes. The idea that they could do something right for once. The thought that they could fix their relationships with the people they cared about (who they repeatedly pushed away for a taste of sunlight)

But, that sun isn't really the sun. it was the water that swallowed them whole as they fell deeper and deeper into what they deemed as trying to fix things. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, they couldn't quite tell anymore. Their ocean was the thoughts that came with flying, the thoughts that drowned them in their own mind. (The thoughts that told them they were doing the right thing. Their lungs filling with salt as the things around them told them this wasn't right, told them that he was wrong.)

The water was the trust they would tell themself Fable earned. (Maybe it was wrongly placed- but who else could Icarus have believed they could place that same trust on then) That's my whole "Icarus falls for a taste of the sun, but they chose the wrong sun to believe in" idea.

So that's the sun and the water blah blah blah /lh I'm yapping too much. I say "I try to shorten it” and then yap for an hour/silly

Now to the moon symbolism. So- Rae is alwyas moon and stars coded. As it goes- void prince my beloved.

Centross I say is moon coded personally. In my heart.

So, the moon symbolism I know of and think of off the top of my head are Cycles, immortality/eternity, the soul, enlightenment but also like dark side of the moon shit. But we go with the hey it's she who guides my way through the darkest of nights type stuff-yknow. With a quick google search and clicking on the first page that came up it's all I said before also can be like realm between conscious and unconscious, capacity for reflection and adaptation, decline of life and sleep. Which- some of those are namely Icarus coded but. Yknow.

Now, Rae and Cen are Icarus's moon because they're the things guiding them. Keeping them together. Helping control the tides and the storms within them. The moon reflects the suns light in the middle of the night- helping people see. They're trying to get Icarus to see what fables actual motive is.

See the moon never stays the same. It's always changing. And that's not a bad thing. They were trying to help Icarus learn that- yet they do what they do and pick something that they've picked before (the repetitive cycle continues) and pick Fable over other people. He's not consistent, yet they don't *really* remember that. But he doesn't change. He's predictable even if just in tone and inflection, but also action. And looks and. A lot of things about Fable stay the same. Have *stayed* the same since their childhood, no matter what they do or don't remember they can grasp that.

Rae or Centross would always try to catch them. They've shown it in the past with actions and words and they've shown it at that time with fable when Rae would still try to check in on their brother and Centross would get Icarus out of their house before his death, and show up to them/check in on them after. They're there, and they try. Fable doesn't, and that's the difference.

Rae and Centross would not let Icarus go until it was life or death. Fable, was fully going to kill Icarus for power. If that's not immediately letting them fall, then I don't know what is.

This is all a stretch but. Shaking it. I'm so normal. Arararah.

Thank you for reading my silly worbs come back later for more silly and more words :3

[elenadoeslife]

I'm now at the point in life where people constantly question me about having kids. It's really bugging me, because we aren't even sure yet if it's something we want and we both got a late start in life. We only just started to bloom, in our (almost) early thirties.

I never quite understood why people struggle so much with this question, but now I do

[apollo-ache]

all the fics currently floating around in my brain:

aaron panic attack fic

kevaaron pwp

non-binary kevin figuring his shit out

kevaaron + andreil bakery au with baker andrew and kevin + undefined job aaron and nei

sethaaron inspired by a certain book i read

[cowboys-tshot]

if i see one more person go "🤓uh ackhtually micah was the good guy because he was reporting criminals to the authorities" im going to lose my mind

did yall just forget about how he shot up an entire goddamn town because he wanted his guns?? orphaned a child because some guy he used to know was going to let him hang?? how he was INCREDIBLY racist?? was overall creepy towards women??

micah may have been doing the right thing in the eyes of the law by snitching, but he was still an awful fucking person!!

and the same goes for agent milton, he may have been a detective/cop trying to bring justice to criminals but people seem to be forgetting that the pinkertons are literally known for how shitty they are in REAL LIFE—agent milton unloaded a goddamn GATLING GUN at a building that he fucking KNEW had a four year old boy in it, tortured a man to death (strauss), kidnapped a woman whose biggest crimes were petty theft and being in a gang (abigail)....how do people look at all of that and go 'well he was just trying to do his job'??? its insane to me

[barneysbigstompers]

Can we fucking replace JROTC with theatre I don’t find it cool anymore and it’s like a 4 year thing.

[unh0ly4ngel]

feeling alone while literally surrounded by people who technically care feels so fucking bad

[mzzcgay]

@ogniemimieczem spitting facts here. also i think that helena being most well balanced thinker of them all is very true due to the fact that bohun is very emotionally driven as we see. that man is all thoughtless impulsive action and no rationalization. very bpd of him, my disordered princess 💞💞

and jan, thought being more cold headed at least because his position requires it from him, obviously falls under a category of the righteous protagonist. so basically he's a good guy, he follows the rules, but protecting his loved ones and following the path of justice is still his first priority before everything else. the 'don't spill the wine' scene, him having sort of solidarity of honor with chmielnicky, his deep care about helena etc.

so yes, our favorite girlboss is not fully depicted as a typical damsel in distress and has pretty good amount of character depth in her too and it's quite interesting to think about her dynamics with others.

(and i'm saying that as someone who has watched the movie but has not finished the book yet, so I'm sure there will be plenty more to unpack)

[chaoticgeminate]

I just like the black frames the most because they actually fit his face. The other frames have a smaller eye-bridge measurement which leads to the temple pieces bowing out on the sides and I cannot turn off how infuriating that is to me since I have fit men with wider faces just fine in the past. (Former optician apprentice)

I also like this suit that Pedro wore for Fallon. I think green really suits him very well, as we saw in episode 3. The only thing that doesn't quite convince me is those huge glasses, I think they make him look more older than he is, they remind me of the ones that the grandpa from the movie Up wears lol. But anyway he is very beautiful ❤️

Ha, the grandpa from Up! 🤣 I do love the glasses but I love chunky black frames so I am biased 🤭 And maybe I also look like the grandpa in Up!

[herrscherofmagic]

At the risk of being overly pessimistic, I've got some thoughts to share about HI3rd and Part 2 and whatnot. This is more of a vent post than any proper discussion or analysis but I want to share these thoughts somewhere because it's been on my mind for ages, and learning that the new UI comes tomorrow with the new patch has finally pushed me to write this.

Regarding Part 2, I will say that I'm willing to give it a shot. I know quite a few people (at least in some parts of the honkai community) felt a bit iffy about the Salt Snow Holy City arc, but I ended up loving it. So even though I haven't even started the current Fu Hua story arc, I do want to catch up and continue with the story.

But when I think about the past of HI3rd... I can't help but feel a genuine pain at the wasted potential of this game, its stories, and its characters.

There's a charm about early HI3rd that I really enjoy, partially out of nostalgia but also thinking about what could've been. So far, it seems like Mihoyo is intent on going full steam ahead and moving on. I don't see any sight of older valkyries being given minor updates (i.e. voicelines and basic animations/emoting), nor the early story being reworked, and even the original UI is getting straight-up replaced with a new design theme.

What do I think about when I think "early HI3rd"?

Hyperion. St. Freya. Shicksal. AE.

Of course this includes classic stuff like the White Comet battlesuit, or the early story arcs like the Battle of Schicksal.

But I'm also thinking about the incredibly neglected Armada and Dorm systems.

I'm thinking about all the different Valkyries and Valkyrie squads that we're told exist, yet only serve the tiniest slivers of roles in the story. The Phosdjinns (Susannah's old squad). Wendy & the Valkyries at the Schicksal base she was stationed at. Jackal, before she quit Schicksal and joined AE. Ana Schariac. Alvitr. Ragna.

I'm thinking about the fact that we still know virtually nothing about Bianka's brief stay at St. Freya. Or about how Rita struggled to become an S-Rank Valkyrie as a relatively normal person who had no stigmata like Bianka nor Herrscher powers like Kiana.

In terms of aesthetics, I think about the bright colors we associate with Hyperion and the old menus.

I think about all the old weapons & stigmata, and even the new ones, and how they have tiny descriptions that hint as so many interesting things behind the scenes. AE's Project: MEI, for instance, or Schicksal's St. 1504 labs.

I remember how often some people used to go "oh Genshin, pffft whatever, Honkai is so much better and it has cool animations and songs and it's Depression Impact and all that stuff!!!" and I used to agree with that. In some cases I still do.

But then I think about how EMPTY HI3rd feels. Genshin has some issues, but it's story has continuously been getting better, and the early content is still a fairly solid foundation. There's tons of interesting lore archives and hidden details across countless weapons, texts, and archive entries. You can learn so much about the past of Mondstadt's Aristocracy or the civilization of Sal Vindagnyr, or about the Yakshas, and Adpeti, or the 5 Inazuma sword-forging schools, and Enkanomiya, and so on.

But there's almost nothing about Schicksal or AE. We know almost nothing about how these two factions operate, aside from "they have a bunch of fancy tech".

Hyperion's not the only flying ship Schicksal has. Aside from Helios we also see and hear about others like the shuttle that the Immortal Blades used in Arc City, or the large ships we see flying in the background of the Armada home screen.

Where are those ships built? Who's crewing them? What does Schicksal do with all these resources? How are the Valkyries in these ships and stationed in bases across the world fighting Honkai in their own way?

What about AE? Sure AE has robots, but robots alone aren't enough. AE still needs leaders and people to make decisions. We know about the obvious Welt, Tesla, and Einstein. But what about Raiden's father, Raiden Ryoma, who we saw play an active role helping AE in the Second Eruption? How does he use ME to help support AE's operations? Are there others like him who make their own investments and sacrifices to help protect their corner of the world?

What was Susannah's life like before and after she joined the Phosdjinns? What about the Phosdjinns themselves? We know a tiny bit about them: their squad leader, Matilla, seemed to come to lead the squad after the past leader died in combat. The other member, Zofia, seemed to promise the old squad leader to protect Matilla. And Matilla chose Susannah herself, so she may be at least partly responsible for getting Susannah up to the point where she could join the Immortal Blades.

What's their story?

What about Ragna and the Valkyrie Assault Squad? I remember there was a CG long ago, Idk if it was permanent content or a temporary event CG, but it revealed that Ragna knew both Rita & Bianka as well as Himeko. So the same person that trained Himeko and led her into battle also gave guidance to Rita and Bianka. What was her life like? How were these incredibly influential Valkyries changed by this role model they have in common?

And speaking of Rita... in the Meow Town Escape event, Rita told Susannah how she had to work hard to join the Immortal Blades and become an S-ranker. Rita has no legendary stigma like Bianka, nor is she a Herrscher like Kiana, nor a MANTIS like Hua. So how did she get to become an S-rank? What trials did she endure, what sacrifices did she have to make?

What about Sin Mal? What happened to Cocolia's orphanage after the failure of the X-10 experiment? How did Cocolia end up working with AE, and how did she end up serving as an agent(?) for World Serpent as well?

Speaking of Cocolia, what happened to her after the Second Eruption? She went from being a minor officer in the Red Army in the middle of Siberia, to running an orphanage that also ran a secret set of experiments. What did she endure in all those years?

There's so much more I could go on about. Wendy, Ana, pre-World Serpent Jackal, Alvitr, Amber, Dr. Nagamitsu, Sin Mal.

All these characters have hints of their stories throughout the game. Sometimes it's a small set of flashbacks, some are fortunate enough to star in a single arc, and some are unfortunate enough to get most of their character development in temporary events.

And of course St. Freya itself could do with more screentime since most of that story is told through manga, not even in the game itself.

But all of these details lead... nowhere.

HI3rd is full of countless seeds of stories, little snippets that tell us that there's so much more beyond the story of our main trio. These characters don't all need full story arcs, of course not. The main story is written and done (though I think the first few chapters deserve a solid remake).

But there could've been something more. Archive entries, weapon & stigmata descriptions, new Valkyrie Chronicles episodes, etc. Schicksal HQ OW could've been revamped to tell us more about the Immortal Blades, Otto, Amber, and Dr. Nagamitsu. Sakura Samsara could've been polished to meet modern standards, giving both Kallen and Sakura fans better content without having to write them into a new part of the story.

Heck, I even think Mihoyo could've even released a "St Freya semi-open world". Make a "Chapter 0" prologue that takes place in Nagazora when Mei awakens her Herrscher power and when she & Kiana meet Bronya. Then make a couple of short story missions mandatory in the Schicksal semi-open world, then lead that into Chapter 1. That way the Main trio gets a proper introduction and we're not thrown into an in-progress story with no proper beginning.

Then that Schicksal semi-open world could have been filled with all sorts of content that develop the early story without having to cram lots of stuff into the post-Selene events. Short slice-of-life stories in the St. Freya school days, little peeks at the past life of Himeko and Theresa, archive entries telling us more about Schicksal & St. Freya.

Players that want to advance the main story can do so almost right away, just with a bit of extra context going into the action. But old & new players alike could revisit this era of Honkai and learn more about these beloved characters, and the rest of the story could continue as-is without having to cram extra story arcs elsewhere somehow.

I've been thinking about all this stuff for months, hell maybe a couple years now. As someone who plays HI3rd, Genshin, and HSR, and enjoys all 3 games equally, I like to see how these games can all learn from one another. HI3rd has so, so much room to grow as a game and as a story experience, and Genshin & HSR provide a lot of examples of ways this can be done.

There's a lot of room to adjust the early story of HI3rd and add content without bogging down the pacing of the main sequence of events, just like Genshin & HSR have lots of side content like character stories, stuff that's important and enjoyable but also isn't part of the main story and doesn't get in the way of those events.

But as far as I can tell... none of this is ever going to happen. At least not anytime soon.

Part 2 is here, and the new UI is coming. We'll soon get introduced to a new cast of characters, and new stories will be told.

But I don't agree with the whole "let the past stay in the past" thing here, because these aren't finished stories. HI3rd has countless untold and unfinished stories already.

I think expanding on the stories of these characters and organizations will only improve the rest of the game.

Learning about Jackal's past will make her more than just a mustache-twirling villain that throws a tantrum when Senti breaks her toys.

Learning about Wendy will make her an actual character and not a shitty "look at this character and their sad back story, oh no they turned evil, oh no they died off-screen! how sad :(" character.

Learning about Himeko's past is obviously going to make her sacrifice feel more impactful. Final Lesson was already sad, but what if we had in-game story content that showed us what happened to her when her father died, and when she joined Schicksal? What if we got to witness her growth under Ragna's leadership and the way her life was changed when Ragna died?

All of these characters could benefit from a bit more backstory, even the Main Trio. Exploring these early stories would make HI3rd's setting feel so much more alive and thought-out. Not everyone cares that much about these characters, but Mihoyo has the power to give them a reason to care.

I know not everyone likes the way the Elysian Realm story played out, but I think nearly all of us can agree that the Elysian Realm did a great job at presenting the story of the Flame-chasers. We get archive entries that tell us key scenes of their past, and we interactions with them that show us their personalities. But so many other characters outside of the Elysian Realm get nothing like that.

Obviously implementing even some of these ideas would take a lot of time and effort. I understand why Mihoyo might've chosen not to address the early story, because for a given amount of resources they're gonna make more profit off of continuing to move on and make new characters and focus the story around them.

But knowing why things happen doesn't stop me from being disappointed about them. Even if Part 2 turns out positively, that won't fix all the broken things in Part 1.

As I write this, I'm listening to one of the Genshin OSTs from the Narzissenkreuz Ordo. Having finished that world quest series recently, I keep thinking about just how incredible that story was. The story of these characters and the tragedy they endured reminds me so much of the struggle of the Flame-chasers. But that was all side-content. It was unvoiced quests with minor characters with simple models. But they had so much life to them. They had interesting motives to push them through the story, and they had interesting connections with each other. The story of the Narzissenkreuz is just one part of the many intertwined stories of Teyvat, and it's a beautiful part.

And then I think about HI3rd, and I wish I could have this same experience with HI3rd, where I could think about the lives of these characters and their motives and the struggles they go through, but I just can't. Not without diving fully into the realm of fanfiction and dreaming up stories that give these characters the life they never got to live, and which they may never get to live in the canon of HI3rd.

All these seeds of stories that were planted years ago and neglected ever since. Never watered, never sprouting, never getting to see the sun.