#the way people react to media can be insight on how they are as a person. sometimes.

[dan-crimes]

It is sooo interesting watching people so openly talk about how they view people in media whenever I watch reaction videos bcuz it really gives me an insight on what types of things annoy people

[mecachrome]

not sure whether excerpts from oscar's book have alr been posted here but i found some of the quotes from the author's exclusive interviews with j.sera & rené quite interesting and thought i'd gather them in one place ❓__❓

i always love hearing insights on his karting days and how his unique rc bg & transition from australian to european karting shaped his racecraft... also notable that Every Single person who ever speaks about oscar is just like "well more than anything... he was SMART" 😭 obsessed with baby oscar already learning to dispense his energy in understated / calculative / strategic ways... more below the cut:

another thing i find quite interesting is how because oscar started karting in a relatively smaller scene that wasn't quite as competitive or talent-heavy as in europe, he was always too young/small for the classes he competed in (as with rc racing). of course he was never quite as egregiously undersized as lando but it's kind of fun that they have very similar karting lore in that aspect. not from the book but self-provided visuals:

also love how much the seras talk about his style, from his smooth inputs and clean driving to how much open-wheel potential he exhibited from the very beginning T__T

as for rené's insights on oscar's time at prema, i also find them interesting because while they corroborate a lot of surface level details about his junior campaigns that we're alr familiar with it's cool to be reminded of his growth from f3 (zero front row starts, winning more off consistency and competitor error than any personal dominant performance) to putting it all together in the second half of f2 (consecutive run of poles/fr wins to end the season).

also interesting to hear that THE most angry rené ever saw him was after his f3 monza penalty, because oscar's demeanor & reactions to adversity get discussed a lot and while he's always been very level-headed and i'd argue his core personality has not changed much if at all over the past 5 years, you can still see how he was just that touch less filtered and more defensive during his junior days. oscar is definitely still someone who refuses to take blame if he knows he wasn't at fault and who will never give credit to others when the work was mostly done by him ("i was the one driving" re: mweb helping him) but there has been a fairly noticeable growth curve from the guy who said he felt Physically Weak at the fr finale because of how nervous he was, who said he was grateful to be in school because it distracted him from his "habit of overthinking" that he was trying to get rid of, who complained extensively at monza about the novalak / beckmann incidents and then said "seems to be quite a common theme with liam if i'm honest 😐" re: continued contact in the press conf, to the guy today who reacts to deleted laps with a dry 👍 and stealthily downplays racing incidents to the point of not even calling them "incidents" at all.

there's also a bit from rené about how close he is to chris piastri and how he traveled to melbourne from italy Solely to attend his 50th birthday party, and basically how the piastris are just Good People and that oscar's demeanor is what sets him apart. which i thought was sweet :')

also bonus interesting media quote from laurent rossi, which i've seen before but don't remember in its entirety — specifically the part saying that the other academy drivers "weren't as curious" and basically calling oscar the only smart one of the bunch.... 😭😭😭 this freaking guy

[bl00dlight]

So when I said that many green stans lack media literacy, it's crazy how right I was given so many think Aegon is a good father. Again, like? Loving your son because he is an extension of yourself ≠ being a good father. And we see that, as he not only mistakes Jaehaera for being Jaehaerys ( the servants & Helaena react to this ON SCREEN how could you miss it), he doesn't know where Jaehaerys is even educated, Helaena actively tries to keep Aegon AWAY from Jaehaerys, he doesn't spend time with his kids (as shown in S1), he also HAS BASTARD CHILDREN HE WATCHES IN FIGHTING PITS? HUH? Caring only about your heir does not make you a good father. Its almost like 🤔🤔🤔 Viserys did the same thing🤔🤔🤔 he only gave a fuck about his heir 🤔🤔🤔 and everyone thinks he is a bad father because of it 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔. He has only gained interest in Jaehaerys because he is having fun with the novelty of ruling (as Tom said and even the other characters in show acknowledge this). He also let's his child fuck around in council room just to be a menace. Actively teaching the kid that it's all g to do whatever the fuck you want cause you're gonna be King one day? Is that NOT what people critiqued Rhaneyra for when she was younger lmao? It's like... how can you get "awww he is such an attentive father" from mistaking your son for your daughter LMAO. Like the framing of all the scenes are setting us up for Helaena's reaction during B+C. Not only is she disassociating and traumatised, but she is also very much aware of the in coming doom they are all about to meet on behalf of Aegon's choices as King. Does anyone recall the fact Phia and Tom state multiple times Aegon doesn't really give that much of a fuck about Helaena, on top of how uncomfortable she is being Queen? She knows Jaehaerys will be primarily influenced by Aegon? Remember how she says "What if he does not wish to be King?" that's her trying to sway Aegon from influencing his own son cause Helaena knows Aegon is a TERRIBLE example. Expanding on that, I kinda view her saving Jaehaera as her saving herself? It's also very possibly Jaehaera and Jaehaerys would have been betrothed. Imagine Helaena thinking her daughter might one day have the same fate as her, because she could not prevent otherwise???

Mfs just see Aegon = good father for 1 known interaction. Instead of Helaena being a good mother by literally spending most of her life raising her children alone only for Aegon to suddenly swoop Jaehaerys away from her and steer him wrong. Then being forced to let her son be murdered while his FATHER is drunk (and from leaks presumably at a brothel with Aemond) I'm SORRY? She gave up Jaehaerys so easily because she A) already had insight into something bad happening, B) also knew they'd kill both of her children either way? Would she have been a better mother for sacrificing her daughter because males are valued more? Only then to have both children killed regardless? She saved her daughter as SHE SHOULD HAVE. And anyone who speaks against Helaena's mothering but is pro Aegon as a father is just another example of how misogyny shapes our world as well as in Westeros.

Okay just because yall wanna fuck Ageon doesn't mean you can't be critical of him. Lord knows how I am publicly horny for Aemond and I have stated multiple times how that man is like... categorically the worst.

[amber-jinx]

A bit of a controversial question

Who do you think Chloe was in love with more, Max or Rachel? And what do you like/dislike about Amberprice and Pricefield?

Boy, been so busy I left this sitting in my inbox, oops!

This is indeed controversial cuz at the end of the day we won't be completely sure of either of the ships' dynamics unless we are Chloe herself, so it's all up for people's interpretations. (*whispers* therefore I hope we can all be sensible here)

Personally I don't think love could be measured in a way, like you could be head over heels for someone you've met for only over a month, and we can't exactly say that is more or less than a long-term friendship. I think even Chloe might not be able to choose one. I view Pricefield as a deep friendship, as with Ashly Birch's take; And AmberPrice as more of a romantic dynamic, even though they weren't official girlfriends.

If we refer to the intensity and passion of Chloe's love, due to the state of her life she was in when she got closer to Rachel and the AmberPrice dynamic, I'd say it's definitely more than Pricefield. With regards to how long-lasting it is however, we see that Chloe never forgot about Max even after not getting a response from her for 5 years; this is the kind of enduring love that friendships (which I personally appreciate a lot for) usually have -- is more prominent in Pricefield. These are not mutually exclusive and so all the infighting is really unnecessary haha, why not AmberPriceField! They're both what Chloe needs in her life ^^

I got into Amberprice because of the amount of chemistry they have, the mutual attraction they have towards each other and how they always have each others' back despite being in darkness themselves -- they're each other's angel and it's definitely touching. Sharing clothes and stuff freely and crashing each others' places? Cute. Mentioning the other around other friends often? Hella cute! There are also multiple elements of surprise, like you'd think a rebel like Chloe wouldn't care for a perfect student like Rachel, who instead turned out to have a wild side, and Chloe turned out to be a softie on the inside. Stuff like these makes their chemistry much better than generic straight relationships I've seen in the media growing up. And the fact that Chloe still held the belief that Rachel wouldn't leave without her after all that she's gone through, definitely says something. Rachel was very genuine with leaving town together. Also true love on this end.

On the other side of the coin though, I really wished they had communicated better, the both of them. (It's a pity they were too young and without guidance to navigate all these) Yes Rachel I know you care about Chloe's feelings and wanna protect her, but being honest and open can go a long way. Chloe could've better regulated her emotions and how she comes across, such that she'd not come off as pushy or react as negatively e.g. give Rachel "the stinkeye"; if they worked on themselves and are actually allowed to improve, a healthier relationship would've blossomed. I also felt like there wasn't anything holding them back from them doing overboard with doing wild things together, like drugs and weed. They kinda spur each other on without the voice of reason or given the chance to mature after getting out of arcadia.

These AP shots come from Life is Strange: Rachel's story "the diner" ep, which gave me new insights on some of the nuances that could've been present in their dynamics. Pretty well-made given its constraints!

As always I can't say too much about Pricefield cuz I've not seen all their interactions, so I can only make individual comments. Take them with a pinch of salt!

On the good side Chloe's enduring love is always impressive, like remembering Max's birthday after all those years and immediately gifting her William's camera and taking her back. Moments where she emoted and expressed her appreciation with Max felt really genuine and I like how she's really supportive of Max, lifting the latter's confidence when Max was insecure, not to mention standing up for her in front of Nathan, David, Joyce etc. Very wholesome. On the other hand Chloe could've better nuance the manners of her speech, especially when she's angry -- Max is helping her so much after just reconnecting her for 5 years, it's not really an obligation and so I think she could've held back on some of her words at Max, which still comes down to emotional regulation, but I also understand that she was going through really tough times. I also didn't particularly like how she'd only change her wallpaper to Max after Max followed her wishes, even though that's not super abnormal for an 18 yo.

Max the sweetheart is honestly endearing when she doesn't hold back on positive words for Chloe, and when Chloe's off-balance she'd also be able to provide the voice of reason to put them on the right path. It's giving secure attachment style-- except the bad texter part. I just wish she'd stand up to Chloe a little more to avoid getting them into even more trouble, but that's just a personal take. My main issue with Max is her not writing to Chloe as much in those 5 years, but friends grow apart and it's only natural. As with DE, we'd have to take into the account of survivor's guilt and that nothing last forever, so if they ever separate, it is also understandable and inevitable in life.

The OG did a good job on developing Max and Chloe's bond, and it makes sense why so many ship Pricefield, which I'm not against :) hope my slightly rushed response has answered your question pal! And as always, thank you for asking <3

[kaycynyrs]

Let's talk about Christopher Diaz in fanfic

I want to preface this by saying I'm pretty new to the fandom. I joined a few months or so before season 7 started dropping. So I'm probably not the best source for information when it comes to the show, but I definitely wanted to throw my hat into the ring. I'm aware that Chris is aging during the course of the show, and that he was much younger when he was first introduced, but it seems to me that a lot of fanfic writers and/or people in this fandom kinda struggle to realistically write and/or portray accurate representation of a preteen/early teenager as Chris is now.

I have absolutely no idea if maybe it's some kinda weird way of seemingly (kinda horribly) trying to portray disability, or maybe people in the 911 fandom just do not spend time around pre-teens, but as someone who does spend a lot of time with a pre-teen (specifically my 12 y/o brother) I definitely figured I could give some insight into this topic.

Now I do want to clarify before I begin, that in no way shape or form am I talking about the disabled portion of Chris' experience. I don't have the knowledge or firsthand experience or anything like that to even begin to try and be a voice on that topic, and if anyone else could give insight into that portion of Chris' experience, I welcome it gladly. Especially because it's an integral part of him and introduces some experiences that other pre-teens won't have to deal with which can change how Chris reacts/deals with situations.

What I can accurately talk about though is the things I've noticed in my brother as he goes through this phase of his life. I can also compare his experiences to what I remember from when I was his age, and I'm noticing he's going through certain things that I went through too. I know everyone is different, but hopefully this insight can help some people begin to understand Chris as he is now.

Now, on top of all the slow but noticeable bodily changes, these little sass masters are emotionally volatile. As in, the littlest things seem to be the end of the world. Especially if he's (my brother) is overtired. He tends to have tunnel vision, and he wants things to go his way. If it doesn't immediately go as planned, he tends to get very very frustrated. When that happens, he tends to blow up then go into his room until he's calmed down. After he's calm, then productive conversation can happen.

Kids Chris' age also tend to enjoy video games (like Roblox, or console games) more than they do coloring or legos or any physical toy. Not saying my brother has stopped playing with them all together, but it's definitely slowed down. If he were to play with legos, it'd more likely be a complicated lego set. Or complicated arts and crafts. His most recent projects being origami swords and origami paper dragons. Like, please don't forget that Chris is a good artist and is capable of drawing accurate human hearts.

I've also noticed that kids will go through a collecting phase. They'll collect anything and everything and it'll be the weirdest shit you could never predict. My brother when he was a bit younger literally stole every single sock in the house for his "sock collection" and stuffed an entire drawer full of them. Now he's moved on to collecting golf balls.

And, whether we like it or not, these kids are on the internet. My brother at least is very very influenced by online trends. Half the things he's interested in he saw on social media first. But that means that these kids have a rich meme culture. They have their own in jokes and concepts, same as we did growing up. And sure, some of the jokes are the same. I mean heck, my brother won't shut up with the "your mom" jokes, but they also have things like skibbidy toilet, chippi chippi choppa choppa, and other memes. (I have a list of current tween memes in my notes, but that can be a separate post if people truly want it)

Like it's such a missed funny opportunity! To have Chris reference current memes or current sayings like "gyot, what the sigma, and womp womp," and just having every single adult within the immediate vicinity be confused as fuck, and of course the kids won't explain, because why would they. It's funny to them that the adults are confused. Which also pairs with the amount of sass contained in their tiny orifices. Their come backs are insane and not to be trifled with. My brother has burned me so many times and so well that for all intents and purposes I should be a pile of ash on floor, honestly and truly.

Now, when it comes to romance, I have no idea when that changes. I think Chris is around 14 in the most recent season? And he's gone through a little heartbreaker phase, but currently, my brother at 12 is absolutely disgusted by romance. I myself am demisexual so I'm not a good reference for that, and can't really comment on when people start feeling attraction for others. But considering it's being portrayed in the show, I think it could be something to lean into as well.

All of this to say, Chris won't be this picture perfect baby all of the time. He'll get angry, frustrated, sad. Give people the silent treatment. He'll be weird and strange and say stupid shit. He'll also probably occasionally get confused over certain sayings he's never heard before. (E.g similes commonly used in writing) He'll try to get out of chores, and homework, and he'll whine and complain. His body is changing, he's probably experiencing growing pains, and he's probably starting to discover more adult things. But he'll also have his moments of insightfulness and humor. He's a little adult! And he should be allowed to be portrayed that way! Let Chris be a multidimensional character! It's what he deserves! And just to make it clear, this goes for every pre-teen on 911. I've just noticed the infantilisation of Chris a lot more than say Denny.

Please let me know your thoughts on this matter! I'd love to hear them! Have a wonderful day!

[otogariado]

i am always skeptical of media where the monstrous creatures of evil are painted as irredeemable and truly inhuman because they aren't capable of thinking and feeling like humans—it's easy for it to fall into so many -isms, notably ableism and racism. it's like the age old argument against robots except make it fantasy, and to have it painted in such a cut and dry way sets off alarm bells.

but i think the way frieren (the show) handles its demons and the concept of them only being able to mimic human speech and other parts of human culture and not understand it is actually good. in that, intrinsically, frieren (the show) is about human connection. they put a lot of emphasis on human understanding as well as compassion. and i think it's fundamental that frieren (the character) is presented the way she is—an elf who is also inhuman, but is so very human in her sentience anyway. she doesn't perceive a lot of things similarly to humans because of the gap between her morality and the morality of humans, but still she is able to shift her perspective the more she interacts with people and the world around her and the more she opens up to it. when your main character is presented as an "outsider looking in" and is going through an arc of self-(re)discovery, it changes the game when you introduce demons.

at first i was heavily against demons being painted in such a frank way. it's been a while since i watched that arc when it was released, but since then i think the concept of the clones in the dungeon during the second exam in the exam arc adds more insight to it. the clones don't have actual minds, but try to perfectly recreate them instead. and now i understand and accept it. you can mimic and recreate a person from the ground up so perfectly, but it comes with the caveat of no matter how perfect your mimicry is, if it's all logic and algorithms then that's just not human. even if a person is very logical and rational in their way of thinking, people are imperfect. there's always factors that influence how we think and feel (even if we're someone who doesn't 'feel' as much as other people), "noise" that would count as human error. and that's something the demons never account for. as people have put it, how terrifying is it to recreate something without fundamentally understanding it.

and now it's very interesting how timely this theme is in frieren with regards to discussions about the (mis)use of AI and topics like AI art. it's a whole other discussion entirely, but it's really fascinating timing that these discussions kind of align. i don't believe AI is inherently "evil" (and i don't like how most people talk about it like it's a boogeyman) because ultimately it is supposed to be a tool and it depends on those who program it and wield it. but i firmly believe that AI is not meant to replace humans, because it just can't. it's meant to augment our lives for improvement but never completely replace anyone. AI art in particular can almost be related to frieren directly: AI art is generated through an algorithm. yes, AI follow decision-making algorithms and that's how it learns and comes up with outputs. but ultimately these decisions could never come close to the thought process a real human could have. an AI can mimic a pattern it sees from a certain artist, but it can never recreate the artistic vision that the original artist had that lead to that very specific decision. and people are inconsistent; it's only natural to us humans. the downfall of AI is that since it is decision-based, it has to follow a certain set of rules, and that in of itself already hinders it from ever coming close to humans. because humans are constantly changing, and people can react to an event they're re-experiencing differently than they did originally. i used to hate onions as a kid and now i love eating them. do you think demons have a concept of that in the universe of frieren?

[hallowpen]

Why are there fences around the trees in all of the dramas? I know that there are better pictures but this was the only one I could directly find from memory.

I also use they/them pronouns. Have you talked about/would you be willing to talk about navigating the linguistics of a gendered language like Thai? ARE there really no neo pronouns outside the ค่ะ/ครับ binary? A lot of times actual queer lived experiences dont make it through the search engine algorithm no matter how hard you look for them.

Do you have a patreon/buy me a cup of coffee etc? I'm willing to tip for your labor. (Not much, sadly because I am very very poor, but still I appreciate anyone who is willing to help with translation/questions.) It can be frustrating when you are a self learner and there is literally no one tgat you can ask a question.

I think you're the first person to ask me this! It made me smile.

It's a sort of dual-faceted protection. Like other places, it's mostly to protect the soil from being trampled on so that it stays as porous as possible and can retain water (especially for newly planted trees). The more cultural reason is that certain trees hold auspicious and spiritual value to us, so we would want to preserve them by limiting disturbances (though most of those won't be found in urban environments). There's a big movement in certain cities to revitalize green spaces for both cultural and climate reasons.

As for your second question... I've spoken a little bit about gendered language in Thailand [X] The problem, for me, doesn't really exist in what you could call language 'norms'. Because pronouns/particles (ฉัน/ผม | ค่ะ/ครับ/จ๊ะ) are, more increasingly, used interchangeably OR what are classified as "female" pronouns can be used as 'acceptable' gender neutral identifiers. The problem is how certain people react to the use of gendered language in more modern expression. Does that make sense? Collectivist views and traditionalism look down upon non-adherence to gender correlated language, in a lot of instances. The fact that our culture was established from patriarchal perspectives doesn't help.

I don't know if I'm comfortable or ready to talk about my personal experiences (some of which were very unpleasant) living as a non-binary transgender person in Thailand, especially in online spaces, but I hope that I can get there one day.

Please don't feel pressured to compensate me in any way!!! I'm not asking or expecting to be rewarded for sharing my cultural insight. Some might see it as generous, and I'll accept that, but the reason behind it is very self-serving...in a way. Because I desperately want to combat the false information and discriminatory views that exist in fandom spaces about my culture. So really...

Thank you to anyone who refrains from making generalized assumptions about a culture that you do not belong to. It's hurtful to to see a lot of the misinformation that exists, not just here, but in other social media spaces. Coming to terms with interfandom has been a struggle... because Thai voices are often disregarded when discussing media that originates from their own country. And I hope that I've created an environment where you'd feel comfortable enough coming to me for any sort of clarification. All I have ever asked, is that you be respectful.

[goodluckclove]

How I Critique Writing (A Loose Collection of Tips)

Someone asked me for insights into my methodology when it comes to giving feedback on writing and I realized I had way more than I could say in a reasonable amount of private messages. Are you someone who I've spoken to about their writing? Did someone send you their work and you don't know how to respond? Maybe this will help? Based on how people react I feel like it might be controversial but it seems to work.

When someone sends me their writing, no matter the size, subject or genre, I:

Take it seriously. It's a generational epic about the Vietnam war and its effects. It's a cute, young adult romance. It's Zim and Dib from Invader Zim realizing they've always been in love with each other. All of these things can be written with earnestness, strength, honesty and skill. It's fucking hard to write and if someone writes a single sentence that wouldn't otherwise exist its worth holding in your hands and examining with the same eye as if you were taking an interesting book off the shelf.

Respond with curiosity. It's common for critiques to follow a theme of ambiguous disdain. This doesn't work. Delete this. Bad. No. Gross. Guess what? That's not helpful. If you got that feedback, even if you followed it, you wouldn't be thrilled about it. Oftentimes you can take a line that makes you want to say Bad and ask something else. What is this supposed to express? What were you trying to do here? Am I supposed to feel happy/sad/uncertain when I read this? Curiosity can reframe something that you don't think works as a reader and turn it into an opportunity for the writer to look inward and solve their own problem. They might explain what they were trying to do, and if you were to say that it didn't pan out for you they're way more likely to tweak things themselves and feel like they still have control over their project.

Give comments. I've started giving more in-depth comments on the writing people give me depending on how anxious they are about it. If you're a pretty confident writer I'll give a summary of what I gained and what I was left wondering, what I thought and what I felt, what associations it made me think of in terms of tone and other forms of media - stuff like that. For newer writers, especially those who are far more doubting of their own abilities, I go buck wild. And in my opinion notes should be less like Good! I like this! Wow! Nice! (What are you, grading my book report? No thanks), and more like what you think when you're reading a book you're truly invested in. Make jokes about the characters (Not mean ones. I will send bugs to you in the mail.), chart exact lines that provoke physical reactions, even a small one. Can you imagine reading someone treat your work like it has its own fandom on Tumblr? You can do that for someone else.

Fucking have some fucking awareness of the fact that it might not be for you and that doesn't mean it's bad. I'm angry about this one considering the novel a friend sent me last night that they've been too terrified to try and post online, despite it being fucking brilliant. I'll try and calm down. Listen - you read what you like. I mainly read literary and experimental fiction, some poetry, horror and some sci-fi. Not a lot of genre fiction. But I will always be down to read someone's high fantasy story, because even though I don't really like fantasy I know what the good ones sound like. I've forced myself to gain a sense of what someone else would like, even if I don't like it. And I can still critique it. If I'm a builder and I see a house that's painted a shade of green I find sinful for a home (i.e. mint), I can look past that and focus on the state of the walls and the stability of the foundation. You aren't a reviewer, man. You are neither Siskel, nor Ebert. They write for readers, you write for writers. So you don't like historical fiction? Cool, man. Congrats. If someone trusts you enough to give you some to read and critique, you should still do so objectively. If you give it an automatic F because you wouldn't buy it, then you are legally a stinky little trash man. That's just the law.

Ask them what they liked to write and what was the hardest. There's apparently a weird trend on online writer communities that say there are specific rules that all writers need to follow. This is not true. It just isn't. If the dialogue in a story you read is weak, and the writer says they hate writing dialogue and really struggle with it, maybe tell them they don't have to use it. You might change their entire life.

RESPOND WITH CURIOSITY. You see the Ask games where people try and get more detail on the WIP of certain authors. If you have a WIP and I ask you a worldbuilding question that doesn't relate to the direct plot of the story as it exists now, I bet you'd like to talk about it. If I ask if you were inspired by a certain tone or movie, you might know the work I was talking about and feel happy. Or you might not know it, look it up, and feel inspired. I don't think people realize that a critique of new/unfinished writing is not a one-and-done exchange. You are taking part in an isolated process in a way few other people on the planet will. It's not homework. It's. Not. Homework. We spend so much of our time alone just fiddling our hands and making our magic, and in instances like these we share something in one of the ultimate forms of artistic trust. They're taking you into a world that hasn't fully formed yet. Is it cool? Can you tell me about it? Can they?

Be nice. Storytime, friends. In the way early 2010s, there was something on the internet called sporking. It was pretty much a line by line roast of someone's writing - typically fanfic. And I hate to say this, but I read a lot of it. I was 13, somehow untreated and overmedicated, and I was miserable constantly. Just cold in my chest. At one point I had the chance to critique a stranger's story - probably another child - and I essentially mocked the whole thing. They ended up deleting the story off the website. I cannot begin to describe to you the shame I feel about doing this, even ten years later. It burns in my heart and makes me sick to my stomach. If you are a serious writer, especially a young writer, and you insult another writer's craft to their face just as they're getting started - you will regret it. I promise you that. You will think about holding something alive and full of potential in your hands and squeezing your fists until it is just flecks of meat and crushed bone. It will haunt you. Maybe only a little, but constantly and for the rest of your life. So don't do it.

Wow what a grim note to leave on! That's essentially my philosophy on writing critique, do with it what you will. Want to send me some writing to receive this kind of excessive treatment? Cool! I have an email in my pinned post and I'll do that! I'm also down to chat if anyone wants to send me asks or DMs on writing/writing struggles/publishing tips.

[techramonic]

Yellow is a Collective: An Analysis on John's shirt in "Elephant"

Disclaimer: This analysis is limited only to commentary and analysis as a means to reflect and understand the characters and the internal and external factors that affect their decisions and actions, this is true rationality. Just like all of my posts, I am detached from the media I write about and solely focus on the characters to understand their backgrounds and psychology, for others to gain insight. There is no room for me to romanticize anything I write because I am only here to explain in my understanding. Thank you.

Gus Van Sant's movie leaves a lasting impression on its viewers through the use of simple and complex symbols that generate layers upon layers of interpretation. A particularly interesting symbol in the film for me is John's shirt. To some, it may seem like a normal shirt chosen by the stylists to make John stand out more as a character, but I believe it carries a more profound meaning. This stylistic choice can be interpreted differently when considering various aspects of the film and John's character.

On the surface level, yellow is a color symbolically tied to youth, representing the naivety and confusion of navigating a world painted with unsightly colors of upset, terror, anger, hatred, and pain. Throughout the film, John is consistently confused. From start to finish, he is confused by his personal life, the events about to unfold, and the events that have already transpired. He reacts in ways where it seems as if he doesn't fully comprehend anything, yet he still tries to make sense of them because, as humans, it is innate for us to seek solutions to our problems and an answer to all our questions. This drive gives us a sense of purpose in a seemingly pointless world, which is where the aspect of optimism comes in.

Yellow is a complex color with connotations related to various emotional states, symbolizing either happiness or shock. It represents the line between humanity's optimism and its terror and confusion when disrupted. John embodies humanity itself and how it copes with everyday mundanity by using shallow optimism to mask the fear of uncertainty. When faced with the reality of its own cruelty, humanity withdraws in terror and recoils from the pain it has inflicted upon itself. It becomes confused, shocked, and horrified by its own selfish capabilities, finally becoming aware. It is now awake.

Moving unto the bull symbol on John's shirt where it is double entendre. The bull represents not just violence and power, but also resilience and sacrifice. It embodies humanity's vulnerability to succumb to cruelty and brutality due to its innate selfishness, driven by its insatiable desire to consume. This desire is rooted in both the deprivation and misunderstanding and a yearning to be understood. The bull symbolizes the relentless pursuit of power, driven by societal constructs that perpetuate these selfish desires. Though despite facing cruelty, people still show resilience amidst the challenges, remaining steadfast despite disruptions. However, this resilience often directs us to sacrifices, as humans tend to fulfill society's selfish pleasures, which they have systematically created for themselves.

With this, John's shirt is a complete epitome of humanity and it's attraction to both chaos and peace.

[sneezemonster15]

Okay yeah this. Gotta share this. So I love watching cute animal vids like all the other thousand people per square mile, and recently I stumbled onto this one. And of course it reminded me of them, like duh, look at them.

Also now look at the comments and how not so eerily similar they are to the dialogues that go on here. @teddywiththumbs is the op, owner of the cats.

Now just to be clear, yeah cats can be gay. Along with most other animal species. Homosexual behaviour and courtship has been widely documented across species. And yeah, there is the issue of anthropomorphism (the attribution of human-like qualities to animals) as well. But I just can't help but notice how people like the commenter simply don't see what they are actually responding to when they get offended with a woman, the owner of the cats, simply stating a fact about the cats she owns. They don't see it so they think they aren't being homophobic but they are.

This is a response that I am sure some of you will relate with.

Hahahaha. No seriously, this is the case isn't it?

Sometimes when I see these posts made by SNS fans here, and in spirit they read like the creation of bards of the yore who crooned graphic songs of eternal, fantastical love about two boys who once were and were made for each other.....and I wonder if the term shipping came from 'worshipping'? Maybe it did.. Heh.

They are talking about the love, the absolute spectacle of the romance of Sasuke and Naruto, aren't they? But all that is reduced to an outcome of the mental illnesses that plague these fujoshis and dirty lesbians. What this says is, this kind of bias doesn't exist just in fandoms, it is simply a reflection of the larger society, fandoms are made of the same people. This gives us a look at how people generally think of homosexuality, fandom is simply one of the many microcosms.

Hehehe accurate. Or friends, brothers, comrades, etc.

No seriously, just to see how quickly reactive people become when it comes to homosexuality, like what a potent trigger it is. How easy it is for people to be so upset at something that is simply natural, a fact of life. And this is just cats they are talking about, but how well it translates to other things...

Like the outrage, the desperate need to explain it away in a 'safe way'......they really harassed the op for talking about her own cats. Like no one even waited a second to google how it is possible for animals to be "gay", just like some fans here who could have saved a lot of trouble if only they had used the internet for things other than reading het smut.

What I am saying is, look how similar the narratives are. It doesn't matter if it's cats or humans, it's not about that. It's about ingrained homophobia. It doesn't say so much about cats and love, it says how uncomfortable it makes people to even consider normalising homosexuality, that seeing it so clearly portrayed or documented in media really triggers their prejudices so unquestioningly, so unerringly, so insidiously, so organically, that they don't realize what they are actually reacting to and how deeply biased they are. Good thing the op was quite insightful.

It really says a lot about people's attitudes and sublimated prejudices. The op knows homosexuality makes people deeply wary, feel deeply wronged, they feel as if they are entitled to their outrage. It results in reiterating the "natural order" of things and showing righteous indignation at what they think 'maligns' it. It is the same blueprint, settings may differ.

[wildpeachfarm]

I was catching up on the latest, and something i saw while scrolling past a fair number of previous asks is people feeling guilty about wanting to know / questioning caitis intentions.

To put some perspective on this, I'd like to relate it to another major event that had conflicting emotional and moral sides painting the situation as black and white. The warring media & news outlets during the height of the pandemic. I bring this up not to debate sides or politics in any way, but because it taught me a very valuable lesson about intent. To sum up, I was a very scared young woman with serious medical issues hearing doom and gloom over the news, conflicting information and updates, and my mental health plummeted drastically. I was so angry and upset all the time, and it was a constant topic throughout my days. But while ranting to someone more mature than me, they brought to my attention that my reaction was the intent. My obsessive viewership for the latest updates was the intent. They taught me to ask myself, what does this person or information source gain from my knowing and reacting and it changed how I process these situations.

Now, I won't rehash every little thing, and I'm not disregarding anyone's experiences or feelings, but time and again, caiti has made me question her intentions with the way she's handled the situation. Because I'm reminded of when I was a teenager and posted a couple long-winded rants on Facebook about emotional abuse from my parents. Did that make my experience any less valid? Absolutely not. Was there a lot of "my reality was not THE reality"? YES - I was an ADHD teenager with unaddressed emotional and mental health problems lacking in communication skills (but not lacking in a platform to "share my experience") and my parents were/are emotionally constipated assholes. Was I publicly posting that content to get attention, validation, and a sense of retribution against my parents? Yes. I was angry and hurting, and I wanted to hurt them back.

These examples are not the same as the situation at hand for a reason. Because perspective and intent are important. Its healthy to ask yourself what someone gains from sharing a narrative, not to be overly suspicious and question motives, but so that you as a person (or in this case, an audience member) can remain objective, keep an open mind, and not overly invest your mental health and well-being into the outcome of that narrative.

Sorry for the long rant 😅

good insight anon! Not something I had ever thought of comparing it to but I appreciate you adding this :)

[drdemonprince]

I found your post about forgetting about privileges after gaining them very insightful, but I don't really agree with what you said about transmisandry.

Because I've never seen transmisandry used as a shorthand for dening that trans men can gain privilege by transitioning (which is how your comment read to me). The usage that I'm familiar with is as an umbrella term for transphobia specific/specifically trageted at trans men/trans masc people.

An example: The visceral disgust often expressed about the concept of pregnant men and the way this bleeds over into treatment and discussion of pregnant trans men. Is this transphobia: absolutely, but it also just not something that trans women have to deal with (not directly at least). So why not group issues like these with a specific word?

You could absolutely make the case that most of the things that could be called transmisandry are a combination of transphobia and misogyny and should be named accordingly. But as it stands transmisogyny is currently used as "transphobia trageted at people perceived as trans women".

(Sorry about the spelling, English isn't my first language)

What you are describing is transphobia. I guarantee you that if a trans woman could get pregnant (or once medical innovations allow trans women to), people would also react with extreme disgust and violence. Just as transphobes get disgusted when either trans men or trans women breast feed.

It helps no one for us to act like every single highly specific experience of transphobia is its own unique oppression, because that denies us the ability to talk about the actual systems and beliefs that make this stuff happen in a broader sense.

Both trans men and trans women face loss of reproductive control. Trans women are forced to be sterilized in order to change their gender marker in nearly every country in the world. Yet almost no one talks about it, including women's reproductive justice organizations. Many of those same organizations are quite vocal about preserving reproductive care for trans men. Why?

This is not intended to erase trans men facing restrictions on reproduction. We have to realize we are all under attack collectively. We need to stand up for trans women's reproductive freedom as well as our own. These attacks have the same origin points: transphobia, and misogyny.

Oprah's "pregnant man" was the first trans man I ever saw in media and it fucked me up, so I get why this topic hurts. But our pain must be a bridge to our fellow trans people, especially women. Let's not lift that bridge up and separate ourselves.

[marshmallowprotection]

Do you have any tips on getting characterization right?

Practice, practice, practice. I know that's not the magic answer most people want to hear, but it's true. You need to keep writing every day to get better at grasping the characters you want to be! You need to play the game and screenshot how they respond to things, note little instances where they have quirks that might not be obvious but look important, and write down what feels right.

For example, Jumin. He has a GREAT SENSE OF HUMOR! But, it's a subtle sense of humor that kicks in during conversation when you're not expecting it. The misconception about Jumin is that he's dry and unfeeling, when in reality, he's filled with every emotion you can even imagine but the way he shows it isn't the same as someone like Zen! He's witty, insightful, and loves debating. He likes to push buttons or tease with the best of them.

Look for instances when he does that and BOOM, you're onto a better grasp of Jumin Han as a person. It's not just his humor, there's a lot more to learn! But you start with something and build from that point.

To learn more about a character, you need to get to know them as a person and study how they respond to things! What do they do when they're happy? Sad? Angry? Jealous? If you can learn how characters act and react, you can get a better idea of how to write them and feel like you're onto something canon!

Don't aim for "this is the only way to write them" when you're trying to work on characterization. Aim for what feels right as you continue to learn more about them as people. There's no perfect way to play the character you're writing, but if you go with what you've learned after studying them and follow that gut feeling, you get somewhere!

Honestly, outside of analyzing the character and studying who they are within the media you are trying to work with, roleplay can definitely make you work on your toes. That is actually my favorite part about roleplay, you are constantly bouncing off ideas with another person, and since you don't know what they're going to do next, it helps you think on your feet and better understand the character that you're working with as you try to figure out how to adapt.

[shadowfromthestarlight]

People share a great deal of their personal lives with people who aren't close friends and family members, and even with people they don't know at all. The merits of that have been debated and can still be debated. But we're not only sharing more. We're actively planning parts of our lives around sharing. That's not brand new. People have been known to visit beautiful or difficult-to-access places for the sake of a photo, and even died taking selfies on the edges of cliffs. But that hasn't stopped everyone from doubling down, it seems.

I started thinking about this the other day after I watched a Facebook friend's pregnancy announcement: a video compilation of her reacting to the positive test, telling her husband, and telling her parents. I thought it was sweet, at first, but then it occurred to me that she had had to set up her phone ahead of time to record her reaction if she got a positive result. Then she had to position her phone at a good vantage point to capture her husband's reaction. And, days later, she had to position her phone at a restaurant table to capture her mom's reaction to finding out she was going to be a grandmother. It all meant that these moments were planned in advance for maximum sharing potential.

And of course, this is just an example. People do things like this all the time nowadays. And it might seem harmless enough now. But is it harmless in the long run?

Relatedly, I follow a person on LinkedIn who has garnered a following over the past couple of years posting not only about his niche field of law practice, but how he runs his office, tales from his past experiences at other firms, how he manages his personal time, his dog, and the dinners he cooks on weekends. He has a new post up almost every day. This week, he's already posted twice about his vacation - one about why vacation is important, and one about his experience with the TSA. I like this guy. I think he's insightful a lot of the time. And other times I get the impression that he was reflecting on his day, wondering what detail he could spin into a story on LinkedIn that would keep the attention coming. Whether he's doing it because he thinks his audience is waiting to hear from him, or because he wants to get his name out there for business reasons, is it perhaps a little sad that he's constantly analyzing his day-to-day life this way?

And I'm not above similar behavior. This year, I've been taking a lot of pictures of trees, flowers, birds, and village scenes not just so I can enjoy them personally, but with the firm intention of making a 12-month compilation to be posted on social media. I'll see something I want to put in the compilation and keep trying until I get the "shareable" photo. I wouldn't say it's gotten to the point where I'm missing the joy of the moment because I'm thinking about the photos, but I know it's something to watch because it could certainly get there.

All this has me thinking...

What are the long-term consequences of being a culture that encourages and rewards turning the most intimate and precious moments with our families into a production for public spectacle?

What are the long-term consequences of being a culture that incentivizes turning the most mundane and routine aspects of your life and work into fodder for more followers, more clients, more money, and more influence?

And are we really doing anyone a kindness in the long run when we feed into this culture by liking and sharing this type of content?

I don't know that anyone truly has the answer right now, or if there is only one answer, but I think those are questions worth pondering.

[indigoelegy]

amane gymnasium is a deconstruction of early bl

pictured is part of the back of volume 3 : )

amane gymnasium follows the title character, the dollmaker amane, and chronicles her life after her creations come to life. it hasn't been fully translated yet (though the first chapter can be read here on mangadex) but based on what i know about it (from being in a fortunate position where one of my friends can translate), aside from being really charming on its own, it unpacks and questions the bl genre from around the time furuya would have been engaging with it. (spoilers under the cut - i'll try and keep discussion of specific plot events to a minimum but i will definitely be spoiling like, the overall plot direction and concept)

on the surface level, the plot that follows amane's dolls and how they relate to each other has a lot of similarities to works by hagio and takemiya that set up the shounen ai genre and are often considered the 'first bl'. there's bullying, exploitation, and relationship struggles, all set against the backdrop of a european boarding school; all things that were typical to these works. even theo's design (in particular) seems to call back to that earlier time. but this story is within her story - 'amane gymnasium', the story that her dolls ultimately end up following, was written by amane in her journals; we see as she reacts with horror to the things she wrote that befalls these characters, and how she scrambles to fix things between them.

amane's horror, along with the way furuya portrays the events happening in the gymnasium, call into question the aestheticism and beauty these events are treated with in earlier works. it's easy to forget the horror and get lost in that beauty and relish the brief moments of 'respite' a work like kaze to ki no uta presents you with - but amane gymnasium doesn't allow you to forget. you watch these things befall them, you're a helpless onlooker, and it's distinctly not beautiful, and then you watch amane fall apart about it during her daily life. the events are the same - but furuya strips back the rose coloured filter and leaves you with the horrifying reality contrasting against the same elegant background, and amane's dolls who are beautiful in the same way. it doesn’t end there either - eventually it’s revealed to us that all of the things written were things that happened to amane herself, and the story was a coping mechanism of sorts - and it manifests in front of her through her dolls as the most literal reminder possible that all of it is unresolved and festering within her.

in the end, though, amane gymnasium is a story about facing your past and overcoming it, and moving forward. and despite digging in to that genre, it’s evident that furuya has a lot of love for it - and a lot of love for the people who consume it, as well (a similar situation can be found in genkaku picasso, too!). and I think that’s who should be attempting something like this - we see it often that somebody creates an edgy, cynical parody of a genre and then other people who hate that genre pile in and be like wow…. so cool and deconstructive….. and I don’t think they’re qualified to do that. the hot take of this post is that people who earnestly love (or have earnestly loved) and understand genres of media are the only ones who are truly fit to deconstruct them

might come back to this post later when it is in fact translated and make some more specific insights (there’s something with zepp I feel like has some significance but I’m not 100% sure enough to comment in case it’s misinformation) but who knows <3

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Gaia: (a letter to a fictional planet, because why not)

Your name is never specified in the media in my world that tells your story. I'm sorry for not knowing it. If Gaia is not your name, then what should I call you? You may call me Lumine. It was a name gifted to me by someone other than my biological parents; it felt as though it is not incorrect, so that is what I use in public spaces nowadays.

I am from a planet that is called Earth in my native language. It is a beautiful planet that orbits an unremarkable star within an unremarkable solar system that floats around in the arm of an unremarkable galaxy. I come from a very garden-variety place, but the living creatures where I am are anything but garden-variety; life is preciously rare in my galaxy as far as I know, and each and every single soul in my world shines with the kaleidoscopic brilliance of light passing through a prism. If you look closely at each and every one of us and the things that we see and think and feel and do and create and build, you will understand why I speak so highly of them, despite all our problems.

Though I am of Earth's womb and not yours, and though I'm sure you have a million other things to worry about, I am still coming to you with an earnest plea:

Please have mercy upon your wayward son. I know that he is in so much pain right now that he maybe thinks that he hates everyone and everything, but we saw in the way that Loz cries easily and genuinely wants to play, in the way that Yazoo is curious and asks questions, and in the way that Kadaj reacted to Aerith's kindness, that that's not at all true.

I know that he has made a lot of terrible mistakes in the throes of his agony, but do consider that you put his soul into a body that would be tortured, abused, exploited, and deprived of the basic warmth and gentleness that is essential for every living creature. And, do consider that he tried his absolute best to be kind and good and gentle anyway - even to people who did not have his best interests at heart - despite not having any role model to teach him how.

You had mercy for Genesis. Despite the fact that he was initially prideful and ill-tempered (likely due to the trauma of his own upbringing; who can blame him?) and the terrible things he had done to other living creatures with the gene copying and using them as means to an end, you still cured him of his degradation, and in so helping him, he changed for the better.

I am asking you to do something similar for Sephiroth. Please break him free from the illusion that Jenova is his mother. Please give him safety and space in which to mourn and weep for the horror that was his upbringing. Please give him the insight to understand that none of what was done to him was his fault. Please help him to see that he is not a monster, and that he does not have to act from that narrative. Please help him to rise up from his hands and knees, even if it is on shaky, unsteady legs. Please help him reconnect with his sense of compassion and belonging to the world.

Please help him to see and accept love and help from the people who cherish him - especially Zack, Genesis, and Angeal. Please show him that despite the fact that there are many cruel and terrible things that exist in the world, those are nothing more than problems that can be solved, and please show him that there are still beautiful and wonderful things in the world that deserve to be acknowledged and nourished - things that he, himself can experience. Please help him to redirect his amazing power such that he can once again use it in service to the protection of life and all that is wholesome and good. Please help the words of all the people who wish for kind and good things upon him to reach him. Please help him to make better choices.

No one is supposed to carry this much horror and abuse on their shoulders alone. Anyone who feels as though the world is their enemy, as though their back is against a wall, might end up doing very strange and destructive things to protect themselves and the things they care about. That is what happens when people are in pain - they often end up making very bad choices.

So help him to see that the world is not his enemy. Help him to see that his back is no longer against a wall, because he is no longer a helpless little boy being tortured by very sick and troubled people in white coats. Help him to see that Jenova - the thing he cares about - does not reciprocate his feelings, and help him to see that the people who will reciprocate his feelings - people like Angeal, Genesis, and Zack - are infinitely more worthy of his loyalty and effort, even if they, in their own obliviousness and suffering, dropped the ball on him in the past.

Please help him. The same way you were willing to help Genesis, please help him.

Thank you for considering my plea. Please keep on shining in the way that only you know how to do.

With love and with utmost sincerity, Lumine