#the amount of ships i have in this show

[animangalover-writes]

Yes yes we all ship the toxic/doomed yaoi in squid games, it's very fun yippee. But where are the freaks who ship the hwang brothers??? I need more of them. They have so much potential, someone feed me.

[ironunderstands]

Sunday’s worldview sucks, his outlook and perception of himself and others sucks… and that’s why he’s so interesting

In honor of his drip marketing releasing tonight (or maybe yesterday for you depending on when I get this out), I’d like to talk about why I think Sunday’s beliefs and perspective is very, very flawed and how his own biases rather than the actions of those who oppose him are what led to his downfall.

Sunday is entirely responsible for his own failure, and that’s exactly why he’s incredible.

This contains mentions of leaks and spoilers for the Penacony quest line… you have been warned

To start with, oh my lord do Sunday’s preconceived notions kick him in the ass. 

I think the best example of this is his conversation with Dr. Ratio in which Ratio pretends to betray Aventurine, selling out his plan to Sunday. Now, what’s incredibly interesting about this exchange is that Ratio doesn’t fully lie to Sunday once in this exchange, rather he says half truths and makes vague statements which Sunday himself interprets as being in support of him. 

Take what Ratio said the whole, “A scholar knows their position and wouldn’t forsake it for the sake of petty pride.” In retrospect, we know this line is actually referring to Aventurine- aka Ratio is saying he’s not just going to sell him out to Sunday for the sake of information about the Stellaron (which he would get anyways if the IPC attained Penacony, plus Mr. Incredibly Dedicated Knowledge Spreader probably has other means of gaining it then through The Family). 

However, since Ratio answered the invitation Sunday gave him, Sunday assumes that Ratio is on his side, believes his cause is righteous, and that he won Ratio over with offering him information about the Stellaron, therefore making that previous statement of Ratio’s null, because Sunday interpreted it as, “convince me this is worth my time + prove to me you’re correct,” when it really meant, “there is no way in hell I’m about to sacrifice my friend to you, and there is nothing you could offer me to make me do so you crazed lunatic.”

But why did Sunday not weigh the options? Why did he unquestioningly believe his perception of the situation was the correct one?

Well- partly it’s because Ratio and Aventurine were doing their damndest to make it seem like they hate each other and that their plan was going off the rails.

But the more important part is that even without Ratio saying a word or even accepting the invitation, Sunday already believes he’d be on his side. 

Let me demonstrate this through Sunday's perspective:

I am a righteous person, I am doing the correct things, my worldview is the correct one. Dr. Ratio is also a righteous person who seems to be doing the correct things. Therefore, since we are both on the side of good, and Aventurine is clearly not on that side considering his status as Stoneheart and his negative relationship to Ratio, then Ratio will naturally want to be on my side. After all, the good guys work together, do they not?- and together will vanquish this evil villain.

This perspective is a simple one, but Sunday’s unshaking belief (up until the end of 2.2) that he is 100% in correct and in the right, that any and everyone who he also perceives to be in the right (like Ratio) would believe/side with him without truly needing to be convinced. Sunday doesn’t come out the gate offering the Stellaron information- he only keeps it as a backup just in case. 

However, this is complicated because Sunday is also not an idiot, and he’s extremely paranoid, so he’s going to make sure that the way he views the world is 100% correct on the off chance he’s wrong which could foil his plans- which is why he invited Ratio in the first place. Nevertheless, this isn’t him hunting for new perspectives, but rather him desiring to prove himself right again, which is a bad thing because Sunday is very much not right. 

A perfect world is a perfect pris- *gets shot*

Reference that approximately 2 ½ people will get beside, Sunday’s ideology that he is fully confident in.. sucks. It sucks ass, it’s terrible, and let me explain.

I’m not going to try going over all the little intricacies to how the dreamscape works because I a) don’t know and b) don’t particularly care because they aren’t relevant to the argument I will be making- which is that Sunday’s ideology is inherently flawed and immediately falls apart under scrutiny.

Essentially, he desires to create the perfect fake reality, enveloping the whole galaxy in Ena’s dream and fulfilling their every desire and whim within it, with himself as the sacrifice to allow it to exist. The seven rest days, no illness, no pain, no challenge, you get the idea. 

And, this perfect world paradoxically sucks ass because of its perfectness.

Improving society is great, eliminating hardship is great, increasing quality of life is great.

But declawing reality itself- absolutely not.

I’m going to try to explain this through my favorite strangely specific anecdote- the process of obtaining diamonds in Minecraft.

Stay with me now.

You essentially have two options- go out and mine them yourselves the hard way, which takes hours, gives you less diamonds per the amount of time spent on it, and likely with you exhausting some of your resources like food, torches, and tools which you will need to replenish.

Or.

You can just.. get them from creative mode or commands, and you can get as many as your heart desires.

However, despite the fact that option one is harder, gives you less diamonds and takes significantly more time, I, as well as hopefully you, would pick it every time (at least in a survival world, although honestly idk why you would even need pure diamonds in creative).

And that’s because the first option is rewarding. 

You did not earn the diamonds you easily and magically summoned into your inventory, there is no struggle, no journey, no challenge to it, therefore it feels entirely unremarkable, as compared to the feeling you (hopefully) get from mining diamonds, which makes you happy because you earned it. Yeah, it was harder, but the process itself is fun- the anticipation of not knowing when you’re going to find them, if at all, the danger, the fighting and digging and mauvering you will have to do in the process.

And with this unconventional example, the fatal flaw with Sunday’s ideology is revealed- it’s boring. 

It’s boring as shit.

Yeah, for the first few months or even years it might be enjoyable- having everything you could ever want served on a silver platter. However, humans are a) inherently a bit greedy and b) desire challenge, and this scenario fulfilles neither of those things. Naturally having everything means your desire for more can never be fulfilled, leaving the wanter forever unsatisfied, whereas in the real world, things are truly out of your reach, meaning that even if you never end up getting them, they are still a tangible thing just out of reach… as strange at it sounds, we like being tantalilus-ed more than you think. After all, if what you want is so easy to get, you will never run out of things to want, and eventually that gets draining. 

Continually, if everything is easy, if everything is just right there whenever you want it- existence itself no longer has stakes. 

And that’s the problem, because much like how a story with no stakes is extremely hard to find compelling, a life with no stakes feels boring at best and downright pointless and meaningless at worst.

I’m just saying, there is a reason why the Nihility was such a strong presence and problem in Penacony.

Anyways, like with the diamond problem, a lack of stakes means that nothing you do feels rewarding, because you didn’t truly earn it. 

Which is where the Sunday’s idea of a “perfect” reality falls apart, because the most enjoyable reality for humans to live in is not one literally devoid of any possible flaw.

So why does he believe in it? When it’s so clearly flawed?

Well, it’s because Sunday doesn’t think a better alternative exists.

The world made you this way.. and you chose to continue what it started.

I’m sure I don’t need to repeat the story of the Charmony Dove all over again because trust me, we’ve all heard it before. Nonetheless, it reveals something important both about Sunday’s personality and his ideology- he’s fundamentally a defeatist.

He doesn’t believe that there is any alternative for the dove, that it could ever be able to fly again with its deformed nature, so instead of being “cruel” and letting it “inevitably fall to its death,” he’d rather keep it in a cage all its life where it has no freedom, but at least it would he alive and “happy”.

And this is where his defeatism reveals itself- Sunday doesn’t believe reality itself can get better because improving it when there are so many factors and things out of your control is hard at best and impossible at worst. Therefore, he resorts to creating an escapist, false version of it- a perfect golden cage, because constructing that is far, far easier than trying to help the dove fly again. 

The universe has endless possibilities, if Robin and Sunday had tried hard enough, they probably could have found a solution. Sure, they were both children, so the capabilities necessary to even attempt that were likely far out of their reach. However, it was still possible, but Sunday doesn’t believe in possibilities- he believes he’s right above all else, which is where that stubbornness and arrogance comes into play again.

Sunday doesn’t think better solutions than his exists, and he believes everyone would could possibly stand in his noble way are either villains, or horribly misguided; so it’s his job to show them the light.

This is why he lets the Express Crew + Firefly try to change his mind- Sunday wasn’t actually interesting in shifting his perspective, or really what they wanted to say. Rather, he just wanted to let them say there peace, because well, Sunday���s a good, righteous person (at least from his perspective), and good, righteous people listen to others. Good, righteous people will let these poor, ignorant souls offer their foolish words before exposing them to the harsh truth- or at least that’s how Sunday sees it. 

Moreover, this also explains his arrogance. If he believes his worldview is the sole correct one, then why listen to anyone else? He’s this world's savior, or at least he’s been raised to believe that- so why not relish in it? He enjoys punishing Aventurine, enjoys the bastard who stood in the way of Sunday’s plans, shrinks away in “defeat” and get what he “deserves.” Despite how miserable it sounds, Sunday also takes pride in having to be a martyr to bring about his beautiful dream. The belief that he is a selfless, good person is a selfish desire of his, even if a genuine one, and it’s what leads to his downfall.

Sunday could have actually listened. He could have reevaluated his loss to Aventurine and realized it was not through the others clever deception, but through his own biases. He could have actually taken the Express’s and Firefly’s advice. He could have looked for other avenues to help the people he truly does care about. 

Despite Gopher Wood’s manipulation- Sunday’s decision to go forward with the pain is entirely his own, because he truly believes- even with all the evidence for the contrary- that he is correct.

And that’s why he fails. Not because of the Express. Not because of Ratio. Not because of Aventurine. Not because of Gopher, or even the rest of The Family.

No, Sunday fails because he is flawed, and he is wrong, and he is the arrogant, selfish and biased one, and his worldview is wrong.

So what now?

This might have seemed like I think Sunday is pure evil and irredeemable, but I think it’s quite the opposite.

He has very good intentions, and he does genuinely care about it the well being of other people around him. He gives Aventurine a chance to prove his innocence, even if he never intended on changing, he does listen to what the Express + Firefly have to say. He pauses when Robin shows up, as she’s the one person (until the very end) he’s actually willing to accept the perspective of. The whole reason he ended up here in the first place is because Gopher Wood twisted Sunday’s good intentions into a fatal arrogance and utmost belief in a flawed worldview. 

However, what really sells me on Sunday’s goodness is when eyes widen at that final moment, the light draining from him as he realizes he is wrong. 

And once Sunday realizes he is wrong, those flaws that bind him can finally be examined and improved upon, as they all stem from that worldview he no longer believes in. 

His whole life, Sunday has been enacting out someone else’s plan for him, even if he’s come to internalize it over time, at the end of the day- it was never his, and without it, he’s empty.

Which is exactly why the only place he can go now is the Express, and the only thing left for him is redemption and growth.

Dan Heng is right- Sunday has a noble soul, and now that he has stopped believing in himself, he’s no longer shackled by the past either. Improvement or utter demise (in a likely nihility-flavored manner) are his only options remaining.

I understand a lot of people want to see him become a Stellaron Hunter, but imo, that just does nothing for him. He’d still be following someone else’s path/script, and Mr. I Will Sacrifice My Whole Existence To Become The Sun To Illuminate These Wandering Souls probably wouldn’t be so on board with the whole.. terrorism part of being a SH. Like yeah, they are our friends (kinda), but they absolutely kill innocent people and cause millions of dollars in property damage to people who don’t deserve it. 

Also, being on the Express Just Makes Sense. This is a game about choices, a game about accepting the mistakes of your past, but not letting them define you in order to move on and forge a better future for yourself and others- with the Astral Express + Trailblaze as a concept being the literal embodiment of it. There’s a reason when you switch to the Trailblazer’s POV in stories, it includes Kafka’s most important words to us- “When you have the chance to make a choice, make one you won’t regret.”

Therefore, I hope the choices Sunday will make in 2.7 are ones he’s proud of, and I can’t wait to see how exactly they get him on board with the crew, because there still is a LOT of development he needs to do before then. 

Anyways, thank you so much for reading, and if you have any thoughts I’d love to hear them. This was a stream of consciousness mess, but I hope it was still valuable nonetheless! Also if you are reading this on the day it was written, I hope we don’t get disappointed by his drip marketing!

[starry-bi-sky]

"Odysseus and his crew could've just fished!"

"lmao Athena is yelling at Odysseus for not fishing instead"

"why didn't they just fish? they're on the ocean!"

Me, tiredly: no.... no they could not have 'just fished', you don't know what you're talking about. please... please just sit down. Athena would've "my goodbye"'d his ass on the spot for suggesting to fish instead

[xenophur]

i miss toxic bookworm

[galadriel-blue]

Why is the TROP fandom so toxic all of the sudden?

(Rant in the tags and spoilers for S2 E7 of TROP)

[porcubus]

it is so strange and funny to have a main couple be so hated that searching for anything of them finds more people pissing themselves over its 2 fans than fanwork from the 2 fans themselves

[theotherbuckley]

Someone force me to delete twitter please.

[lolo-chi]

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR THE DCST MANGA AHEAD

I think it's so fucking funny how the science future OP sounds so, cheerful, so nice, everyone seems to have fun, bc this season is undoubtedly the most fucked up one. I don't think we'll get to the 7 year thing in the first cour, but the first cour should absolutely include senku getting shot so it's going to be a funny day when we see senku get shot and then we get hit by the opening like, yeah!!!! Dancing!! Such a silly anime!!

I love Xeno and Stan but these men had a sentimental reunion while Stanley and his team had just killed a dozen teenagers and I think that's so funny and just as horrifying, like you guys are crazy asses. No wonder Xeno had to have Gen stuck to him at almost all time to damage control whatever he'd say to the world leaders after they settled the why-man matter, man's insane (I love Xeno believe me)

Anyway I need to see them animated so bad, I need to see the Gen "adoption" by Stanxeno so bad ("but Lolo, that's not what happened!" I call that arc however I want to call it!!!!!!!!!!)

I just want to see so much animated, like Luna my beloved, Chelsea and Sai and everything but also!! also I fear. Because it's a 3-cour season, a 3-cour final season, and like, i'm scared, idk how they're gonna fit everything in there, they should have divided it in 2 more seasons i think and i really hope quality doesn't drop towards the end.

Or maybe they'll pull an Episode Ryusui at the end (make a movie) to actually get everything tied? They could make a movie about 4D science at least, idk!!!

I just love dcst sm

[vile-wizard]

I like watching Osomatsu San bc the boys n I have the same mental problems only they've got it 10x worse than me and that makes me feel better.

[beanghostprincess]

Do you think there’s a chance OPLA will make non canonical ships into canon? I saw people noticing zo/lu got a lot more obsessed with each other scenes together and said it’s possible. Or mish/anks with how the actor openly supports the ships, with likes, comments, being open to fan bringing it up. What do you think?

Nah 😭 First things first, I HIGHLY doubt our dearest (sarcastically) (derogatory) Net*lix is going to make queer couples if it's not necessary. We're lucky we didn't get the show canceled with the amount of sapphic energy Nami and Kaya had going on, honestly. Two girls holding hands is enough to get a show canceled on that platform. And if they do make queer couples canon they're not going to be between the main characters, keeping in mind how much they're risking doing so.

And also,, I don't want any of the ships to be canon, either. The whole point is to not make romance between the straw hats in canon so it doesn't take the spotlight of their development and you view their dynamics however you want. I'd be annoyed if something as awesome as the next arcs that are to come get sidelined because Net*lix wanted romance. I mean, I wouldn't be annoyed if they made Namivivi canon or at least confirm some main characters to be queer, but it just feels like they'd do it to put their "we are so woke and cool we made your favorite character LGBT" pin and then... Do nothing about it later. As per side characters, idk, maybe there are some non-canon couples here and there and I don't really care but I wouldn't want it to be with the main characters. Especially with Luffy. Do not touch Luffy.

Luffy has such deep bonds with all characters in different ways, and you can see them as romantic, but making it canon just takes away that magic by putting a label on his feelings, something that I feel he wouldn't even do.

Worst case scenario they make Vivi x Koza or Zoro x Nami canon because if Net*lix doesn't have its daily unnecessary romance in shows it dies or smth.

So I don't think it's happening and I don't even want it to happen. The next arcs are so damn good and I really don't want to have to deal with ship wars or shit like that next season.

[coulsonlives]

Omg, Dante Basco ships Zutara! My life is complete.

[bakafurai]

I dunno where some people seem to have gotten the idea that Kenji doesn't like/care for Rio or smth because like. have ya'll actually gone through her social link???

like,,,

and it's at this point Rio's teammates and Yuko run and yell at him, Kenji panics and then runs off. When Yuko grumbles about Kenji comparing Rio to a bowl of ramen, Rio says this:

Ramen is his favourite thing in the world.

Kenji telling Rio he likes her "about as much as ramen" means that he likes about as much as his favourite thing in the world.

I think people also seem not to understand how things seem from Kenji's perspective.

To him, his childhood friend comes up to him and suddenly asks what he thinks of her, if he likes and how much which. is kind of a random thing to suddenly ask your friend that you've known since you were kids??? assuming they were like 5 or 6 when they met, that's basically a whole ass decade? Like it's clear in the way he speaks that he's confused and honestly I would be too???

Another thing to consider is that he and Rio where alone, Kenji likely said it the way he did bc he knew Rio, his childhood friend, would understand what he meant.

Like, I can get that he can sometimes come off as dense or insensitive but tbh I think he's just bad a picking up social cues? (oh he's just likely me for real- what do you mean i'm projecting?).

Like yeah sure Kenji very likely only sees her in a platonic sense (sorry Rio my heart goes out to you honey) but to outright assume he doesn't care about her is. raaggh.

(side note: in reload there's a dialogue from Kenji during the koromaru walks where he says "I mean, I keep telling them that we're just childhood friends, but they won't stop prying about it." and it is very likely he's talking about Rio bc this is 100% "my parents keep asking me if i'm dating my childhood friend that is also a girl" talk. Plus Kenji doesn't seem to be that close to many people so. interesting piece of info though ngl so I thought i'd mention it.)

[ismyteadoneyet]

I've ranted a whole lot about the importance of physical media in the past. I love physical media. I have a CD and vinyl collection of stuff from my favorite bands, and am currently getting back into reading and found I vastly prefer physical books over both ebooks and audiobooks. I got the entire DVD box of ATLA last year just so that I can watch it whenever I like.

But it took me until today to realize that the reason why is because of how badly all these digital streaming service-platforms have affected me.

Like, I found art from a webcomic a while ago that I thought looked really interesting, but have been putting off reading the thing for MONTHS. I couldn't quite put my finger on why until I found out yesterday that there are printed, physical copies for sale of the entire webcomic itself in book format. And despite absolutely insane shipping costs, I could at some point buy it, and keep it.

And now I finally started reading it, and I'm loving it.

Turns out, I would rather put myself through sickening, nauseating FOMO than risk the piece of media getting taken off the platform it's available on in the middle of me reading/watching it.

What the fuck.

[maliciousalice]

People thinkin' they're being funny or whatever by posting 't*vix's blood' on recent my piece.

MAYBE---think hard---it's about what guilt can do to the mind;- the weight of a complex and rare situation of a female in command of a doomed ship and she has lost people , that she cares deeply about, because of the decision she made to strand them. Idk like the narrative???

[comradecowplant]

okay Seven litcherally describes potential dating partners using the word "individuals" rather than referencing gender but because this show is made in the 1990s Doc & Tom are exclusively revolving her dating practice around men 🙄🙄🙄

[crxw1ey]

currently fighting the urge to rewatch a show but ONLY the handful of episodes my character of all time is in