#this whole post is great and very thoughtful

[seewetter]

Hello and thanks for the reply.

I agree with you that transfem separatists do not exist. What the comic seemed to pointing at is not an organized separatist movement but a sort of vague gesture towards people making unreasonable personal demands of other people's private lives and lifestyles. And certainly I've encountered doomerist types in trans circles, including people IRL who say absolutely extreme things about whether or not you can trust people in your life. If you think that the comic should mind its own business instead of vaguely hinting at probably irrelevant behaviours especially in transfeminine circles...we agree. As I said, I don't find this comic very insightful.

What a needlessly longwinded post was expressing was that I'm neither a fan of the comic nor particularly liked this comic strip!

These encounters I've had with doomerist types are why I seemingly "defended" the comic. When trans people who I know exist in the flesh say "no parents truly love their trans children", saying that is cruel. And if such a person were to say that this doom and gloom is justified because of all the transfeminist theory they've read -- I think its fair for anyone to critique this insular mindset. Even in a comic.

I don't know you. You said this seemed like a 4chan meme to you, so maybe this is a comic you stumbled on. As I said in my last post, I wager in that case...this seemed chan-y because it's cheaply made and the hashtag below the comic seems to be an author "I'm not transmisogynist but"ing her way out of responsibility for how her comic comes across.

As I said, you and I both don't really like this comic, but I can tell you (from it appearing on my dashboard every few weeks) that it's a transfeminist comic written for a transfeminist audience. The hashtag asking people not to take this as transmisogynist and to look at context... is a terribly worded, but sincere attempt at conveying that. Apparently a failed attempt.

But it's possible that you and I are very different in ways that make it impossible to agree on how we perceive this thread. After all, I don't think anything serious is happening here that touches on trans liberation in any way.

So to me, attacks on the author that come from an angle like "we need an apology, this author is a terribly irresponsible comic artist, this is transmisogynistic social forces that are shaping the artist and their audience" are projecting onto this comic panel a social context in which it is widely read and thought about by... young impressionable trans people who get transmisogynist ideas about transfeminism and vulnerable members of our community? Or by cis queers and cishets who entrench their two-faced behaviour towards those more vulnerable members? It's sort of treating this comic not as an artefact of the obscure side of Tumblr trans culture that rarely gets viewed outside the audience of transfeminists its made for...and instead treating this comic which talks in metaphorical veiled language about trans issues... as some highly accessible cultural product that must be held to the same standards as major representatives of our community or mainstream journalistic outlets.

Like the comic on this page isn't doing anything great, but it's also not doing anything - period. So it's not harmful in any meaningful way -- but I can't fault you for thinking that it is, because hoo boy, those hashtags out of context are just atrocious "pay no attention to how bad this looks, just check my whole blog for context". Yeah no, you can't be expected to do that and the artist should have known better.

Anyway, sorry for being longwinded. I'll work on it.

rationalize

[ID: Three panel comic with crudely drawn stick people

Panel 1: A leaf green person is talking to a grass green person with a hat and glasses.

Leaf: "And then Orange said that-"

Grass: "Orange"? Your friend is orange?"

Leaf: "Yeah?"

Grass: "Why do you have non-green friends? Don't you know about misoviridy??"

Leaf: "…I have plenty of non-green friends. I have grayscale friends, even."

Panel 2: Grass Green solemnly holds Leaf Green's shoulder.

Grass: "Look. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but every single misoviridy-exempt friend you have secretly hates you.

Leaf: "Uh. That is not true."

Grass: "It's basic viridist theory. Every single moment they're around you, they're thinking about it."

Panel 3: The grass green person tips their hat down.

Grass: "Look. I get it. You're naive and uninformed. You don't know better. But read "Pruning Greens." Then you will understand."

Leaf: "I already read that. It did not say the things you are saying."

Grass: "You will see. It is inevitable."

Leaf: "No I think you're just finding a new way to rationalize really unhealthy thought patterns here actually"

End ID.]

Start - Previous - Next

[quarkfancam]

hello everyone. ummm. my star trek ocs. the crew of the uss hawking (shitty ship that gets put on all the worst missions and gets all the leftover people)......... character descs under cut.....

(lined up in very top image from left to right)

Lt. Jr. Morris (he/him, Chief Engineer... somehow) - an amicable old human man who has somehow never been promoted to senior officer ranks despite having been in starfleet for almost his entire adult life. charming and playful, likely the easiest to make friends with on board. unfortunately not great to work with, yet, somehow, knows at least one person on every federation planet. he fucks somehow

Lt. Cdr. Dakail (he/they, Chief of Security) - a gentle and soft-spoken bajoran. a little bit too chill considering what they get into. just here to have a good time most of the time and if the good times aren't coming he will be a little miffed about it. probably the most normal person on board unless you look closer he's a little bit of a freak

Cpt. Karal (he/him) - a cardassian man, middle-aged, rather distant. Has a bit of an ego problem, but not related to being Cardassian in the slightest. seems to want to push away any Cardassian association entirely (for some mysterious reason!). strict, a connoisseur of the arts, slightly frustrated with his post.

Cmdr. Wollenbach (she/her, 1st officer) - a human woman who rose through the ranks through hard work and her friendly attitude. appears a little too friendly at times to the point where it seems fake. definitely not a Changeling who has been impersonating a dead woman for the past few years. Don't worry about it

Lt. Cdr. T'Sik (she/her, CMO) - a vulcan woman who has been working with starfleet since forever, lowkey ptsd'd to hell and back but won't let that bother her. she just wants to do her job. unfortunately her fellow officers are all kind of a little annoying. a bit of a gossip. don't tell anyone

Lt. Nul (she/her, Science officer/Nurse (eventually)) - an ambitious young woman, one of the first Ferengi women to join starfleet. constantly on edge and despite everything holds on to a lot of ferengi culture which makes it a little awkward for her sometimes. mischievous & even goal-driven when it comes down to it. failgirl numero uno

there's more people on the ship i haven't given much thought to but this is all i got rihgt now. enjoy... and here is one last secret thing if you read this whole post

okay so the thing i didnt tell you is that they're actually revamps of my 10 year old tng ocs except i changed their species and snapped one of them out of existence bc i didnt know what to do with them. if you are a real lt. cmdr. 10 fan let me know i will bring them back . #TENHEADS

[br0nzefox]

I think Hannibal is a show all about transformations and becoming. And throughout the show the characters that transformed, that changed, that evolved and adapted survived. And the characters that didn’t change died/got badly hurt. To break it down:

Will is the most obvious. He started off wearing a neatly tailored person suit and attempting to be normal. Throughout the show he accepts his real self and takes off his person suit. And he survives. (I don’t believe Hannibal and Will died when they fell off that cliff but I already made a post about that and I don’t wanna repeat myself)

Next up Hannibal - it’s a little more subtle but still pretty obvious. He finally met an equal, a friend. He fell in love and for the first time in a long time he was ready to give up everything for another person. He literally went to jail when Will rejected him even though freedom is one of the things he values most. He also survived.

Alana - she is probably the character that changed most. She went from pretty much the walking moral compass of the lot to somebody willing to throw others under the bus (e.g. chilton when dealing with the great red dragon). And by the end of the show she is also alive.

Margot - went from being afraid of her brother, lost and alone to having a family and love and finally being able to kill her brother. Also stays alive and well.

Jack - now he is way more subtle than the rest because his transformation was mostly internal. But I do think he changed. At the start of the show he was very defensive about how he is using Will to solve crimes. He wouldn’t admit to anyone, not even himself that he is putting Will in danger. By the end however in one of his final scenes with Hannibal he is almost directly admitting he views Will as a means to an end. Also stays alive.

Now for some characters who didn’t change:

Chilton - he was an arrogant prick and stayed an arrogant prick. Throughout the show his main motivator seemed to be arrogance and jealousy of other’s success. He was hungry for fame and that hunger is what drove him to be maybe not killed but very seriously injured by the end of the show.

Bedelia - she seemed to be someone who always attempts to manipulate the situation to their benefit. She seemed to be driven by the idea that she isn’t like the others. She thinks she is smarter, cleverer, better, that she’s special. She thought she could get close to Hannibal with no negative consequences. She thought she could dance with fire and escape unburned. Well she paid for that.

Mason - he started off a sadist and he ended his life a sadist. If he hadn’t wanted to torture Will and Hannibal and killed them as soon as he got his hands on them he would be very much alive. Alas he is not.

The one character who doesn’t fully fit this framework is Freddy Lounds: from the beginning to the end she was a journalist hungry for fame and fortune seeking a good story. The reason I think she managed to escape unscathed is that I don’t think she fully is a character. I think instead she is more of a representation of journalism as a whole. She is an idea. No matter what happens, what changes, what horrors occur the yellow press will always be there to sensationalise the news and turn a profit. That is the one constant. And so Freddy Lounds remained constant.

So here is my little analysis. Hope u enjoyed!

[haedia]

I was gonna leave this in the tags but it was going to be too long for that, so here we go on a reblog.

*checks the tags as they were going to be*

Ah, okay. Yes! To start, your post is a great assessment of the ecology of Thedas! The griffons will definitely help balance things going forward.

They have the most anathema for beings twisted or made wrong by magic but I could see griffons getting annoyed by dragons settling in and being gluttonous when they shouldn't (plus the Taash and Bellara dialog during the Fangscorcher quest may be planting a lore seed that at least some dragons may be attracted to or have some effect on wild magic in an area, which by extension would make griffons more keen to keep an eye on them)

And I agree with you that there has to be more across the ocean.

I just don't think the writers would let the only griffons in the world become horribly inbred in the next generation after they'd returned from extinction. They invested enough resources of studio time and money to put out a book about their rediscovery and the history of how they actually went extinct. There's no way they just let that clutch of feathery children grow up and commit such a genetic sin. I shudder at the thought for many reasons but the genetic bottleneck that would create really gets to me.

Thankfully, the griffons are still kids and have several years left before they're grown. So hopefully the next game (and I'm refusing to give into doomerism about that right now, thank you) will be set at a time when they're not yet horned up for their siblings and we get to find other griffons across the ocean for them to become smitten with in time.

But, even if they are adults next time we see them, it's been established that the griffons are very smart. Hopefully that means they'll know it's Not A Good Idea to look at their siblings that way and one of the main quests will be to investigate rumors of other griffons or something, after we're on those distant shores.

(An aside here, but how much you wanna bet that the next game has us, with the help of Bellara, use the Vi'Revas to connect to a very far flung eluvian to make contact with that other continent, thus bypassing the whole "leaving by boat is a death sentence in one form or another" thing?)

I wonder if the griffons returning signifies the beginning of the end of the Dragon Age.

This largely speculative on my part so bear with me. Thanks to @racoonmaster88 and @uchidachi for helping me coalesce this thought.

So one thing about the griffons is they seem to have a mongoose to cobra relationship with the dragons. Which means the dragons as they currently are have been unchecked. Even when the griffons were alive they were tapped to serve the Grey Wardens, probably dying in far greater numbers than they ever would have otherwise. So when dragons returned to Thedas, their natural competition was gone.

Thedas’ ecology is wildly out of whack. Dragons are a super apex predator. They are undoubtedly consuming far more food than can be reasonable for sustainability. Between the dragons and the darkspawn, the biodiversity of the continent has to be suffering.

I also just don’t believe Assan and his siblings are the only griffons out there. I’ve talked before about how the devs were purposely ducking the question during the AMA. My other piece of evidence here is the Qunari are not from Thedas which means there has to be more dragons across the sea (going off the theory the Qunari have dragon blood in their origin story) which very likely means there’s more griffons if my theory holds water.

[slylittleprincess]

Posting HDG Stories Soon

I’m going to start sharing my stories here so I can give a little more backstory on them and talk about the themes. I’m also probably going to share some of my thoughts on Human Domestication Guide as a whole and what makes it special and unique.

HDG, broadly speaking, is an art collective focused on the mutual creation of written, visual, and audible works within a shared universe with a defining set of axioms. More than that, it’s a particular flavour of Queer, Disabled, Non-Con kink. It’s a set of foundational ideas that create a frame, and within that frame a great and beautiful plant woman can grow. Because of that frame, the very thing that makes HDG so special is antithetical to the creative atmosphere of Tumblr, where the freeform anarchistic spirit of fandoms has long been the ruling power and an undercurrent of latent purity the betraying dagger. But it’s precisely because of this that I feel compelled to share my work and thoughts.

My hope is that my passion for HDG and the lovingly crafted stories I’ve written will resonate with people here, and if they do, hopefully they can win you over to the idea that sometimes, like in a TTRPG, playing by a few rules can help multiply the fun.

[corviiids]

might i possibly ask what you meant in telltale when L says this?

“Do I love you?” Light asks. “It doesn't really matter to me,” says L. “Do you love me?” “That doesn't really matter to me, either,” says L.

if he had said it doesn't matter, i would have thought it was a comment about Light, but since he says it doesn't matter to him, i am curious about what L is feeling here.

i mean, L is a projection of Light's feelings in the first place, but "accept the premise for the sake of argument that you can think for yourself," amirite? ;p

hello GREAT question thank you so much for reading and for asking i appreciate your attention (fic in question) (and death note spoilers in this post) i don't know if this answer is going to be very satisfying because the whole thing is very abstract on purpose and the answers just don't really exist, but i can at least share some thoughts. sorry I've been sitting on this ask because i forgot to answer it

the dynamic i was going for in telltale was domesticity and romance without truth or feeling, which ideally should create a kind of sickening facsimile of intimacy. canon to telltale is that neither L nor light had romantic feelings for each other when L died. their soppier interactions in the dream world should feel sort of uncanny and incongruent in that light. L says: “Domestic life, it's more a matter of going through the motions, isn't it?” so the romance in the dream world is more a manifestation of/metaphor for some other unresolved thing

assuming L is real to any degree:

i pretty firmly believe L doesn't love light in general. i also pretty firmly reject any "happy ending" concept which involves L switching sides to protect light/kira, ESPECIALLY if his reason for doing so is because he developed feelings for light. i just can't see that ever happening, and i don't personally want it to happen. the thing is i also believe L wouldn't really give a fuck about light if he wasn't kira. so this thing they have basically would never work. there's almost no situation where they get and stay together.

even if L is in any way real, this is a world that only exists in light's dreams. L didn't of his own volition seek out light to date him. there's no coherent timeline to their relationship. in one dream they've been married two years, in the next it's ten. so basically, L only exists within this realm of "light's dream world relationship". this is the reality of that world and it only exists when light is dreaming, there's no timeline outside of it, it's not the afterlife, light isn't dead yet. so L is in this relationship whether he'd want it or not. it's a fact of the world just like whether or not their living room has a chair. and he's a pragmatist. so the feelings don't matter.

separately, i don't think L cares if light loves him, because L doesn't love him back, and their relationship is clearly being carried on for some other reason entirely, though light never really works out exactly what it is. i realise this is a super unsatisfying answer haha because im basically just telling you there isn't one, but I really enjoyed playing with the dream rules where their behaviour shifts constantly and is never really internally consistent - L is affectionate with light as though they've been established for years, but also freely tells him it's irrelevant whether there are any feelings in their relationship or if it's just being played out like a script, doesn't seem bothered at all by light's standoffish confusion. all of that happens simultaneously.

assuming L is a construct of light's:

i think it would still say something about light that his projection of L doesn't care if they love each other. i do think dream!light eventually grows feelings for dream!L, but not real ones. more just like....... emotions that grow from proximity or habit. it's still not a real relationship. light understands that. and once he wakes, his waking self doesn't have those feelings anymore. so i think light understands dream!L to be a construct, and he also believes L is not the kind of person who would feel or act in such a soppy way in a relationship, which is why again his behaviour should feel so uncanny. ironically dream!L saying this makes him then feel more real, because light probably thinks love doesn't matter much to L.

this is one fic i did intend to leave pretty open. some of my death note fic is less intended to be open (although people sometimes interpret it that way anyway if i didn't explicitly write down what happens), but in telltale i really did want to leave it mostly up to interpretation as to whether L is real at all. as a matter of interest only, i personally think he's a construct of light's but also not solely a construct of light's. there isn't necessarily anything supernatural going on, but you know. there's probably something in between those

[freedelusionshere]

Swagger. That’s what I want back from S1. But not Carmy swagger, I want Syd’s for S4. This discussion about the music in The Bear was kicked of by @ambeauty’s post here: https://www.tumblr.com/ambeauty/773403136349061120/thoughts-about-sydney-and-carmys-love-story-as

@fairestbeard brought up the Serengeti song that’s so good that drops right after Carmy and Syd first meet here: https://www.tumblr.com/fairestbeard/773696073828040704/every-song-counts-on-the-bear

The feel of S1 was wild but had a whole vibe. The subsequent seasons have great music but not as in-your-face-watch-me as S1. Which is also very much connected to Carmy’s “fuck you, I’ll show you” vibe.

I want S4 to be Sydney’s soundtrack, with her as the emotional core. The agreement that Syd and Carmy made in the alley which @whenmemorydies brings up here: https://www.tumblr.com/whenmemorydies/773676687166783488/when-the-mentor-is-a-lesson-we-all-deserve that has still yet to be fulfilled!

Which, I think the show is saying is the solution? Richie writing in his notebook about Luca > Carmy and Carmy > Syd is about Carmy needing to learn from Syd, not the other way around. Flipping that dynamic and putting Syd in the driver’s seat.

I would love to see what Syd’s swagger looks like in S4? Maybe swagger is not the right word? The Syd-specific songs we’ve had so far (most from S2 Sundae) are:

I Like The Things About Me by Mavis Staples

Secret Teardrops by Martin Rev

Twenty Five Miles by Edwin Star

Future Perfect by The Durrutti Column

Make You Happy by Tommy McGhee

Staples was a civil rights activist and Syd wears a Million Woman March t-shirt from 1997 in S2. Which is also interesting given the context of this scene and what they discuss.

Staples is also a Chicago native. So sensing that’s connected to her mom. Especially because You Are Not Alone plays over her and Emmanuel celebrating her dead mother’s birthday. It also plays over Richie and Carmy which foreshadows they are Syd’s family now as well.

There is always a lot of the promise of untapped potential/innovation in the songs we get for Syd? (Syd is more avant-garde than Carmy, he’s more utilitarian/frustrated artist).Thoughts and ideas brewing that have not been fully seen or realized (much like the cola rib risotto dish)?

Also being tired in Twenty Five Miles, but still moving forward (to a partner who sustains them, who they’ve been separated from).

I Like The Things About Me is about refusing to move/change for other people and also not measuring beauty by white beauty standards (I mean, think about that they put this song here in the episode where Carmy ditches to help Claire).

A lot of these songs suggest what is going on with Syd inside, even though she’s not outwardly sharing it all. So for S4 the guesswork needs to go away and she should have her own soundtrack with her in control.

[justanotherrcblog]

Thanks for the tag @haruyuki728 💖

Mine:

The Thunderstorms Saga: yet another great Jester m.c with smarts, self worth, a funny internal monologue who also sometimes says things out loud and wishes she hadn’t (so relatable), four great LIs - but this time two of them are fem and present from season one!? 🥳🙏♥️

Plus a (mostly) gorgeous wardrobe, juicy political (& possibly mystical) intrigue, & the chance to ride both the hot dragon rider and our own cool dragon!? 🐉 (Veeery different riding contexts just to be VERY clear 😅😉). I’m SAT.

W:Time Catcher - found family, the best nails in RC, a rich m.c backstory with compelling internal & external moral struggles, Shen, VESPER, Lucien, poly with Onyx + our bird man, great diverse & well written side characters too - everyone just feels so real & whole, + Ariana’s usual thoughtful & emotional prose 🖤🖤

Heaven’s Secret Requiem - knocked down from first place by its MANY faults, but my love of Dmitry, Cain, Anna, Greg, Lane & post apocalyptic media keep it here

Soulless: one of the most intriguing and refreshing m.cs RC have to offer - she’s so strong & yet vulnerable (& tall - the RELIEF at not constantly being reminded of my microscopic form next to my giant LIs is palpable), with a great character arc

The way each LI offers Vyx a way to learn about herself, whether we’re in a platonic or romantic relationship (at least if you’re taking their diamond scenes). Every route feels worth doing, and then there’s also multiple flings? With an amazing wardrobe?? And the humour!? 👩‍🍳💋

And on top of that we have a straight asexual author giving the wlw choice & writing such incredible hot & emotional scenes for her multiple male & female LIs (I know we’re waiting for Cynthia/Walter & Ava to happen, but I’m sure she’ll deliver, just as she did with the others)

That’s how it’s DONE 🎤

Tagging: @dutifullynuttywitch, @miss-nymphetamine, @aslanvlad & @ivomartins (sorry to anyone I missed! Just feels like most of my peeps have been tagged already <3

Bringing this back !

Here's a fun little thing I'm bringing back for the fandom - reblog this (or make ur own post) with your favorite ONGOING books, if you want you can add reasons as to why they're your favorites, and tag people who you think would like to participate ! 😁

reasoning & tagging below the cut to not clog the post ✨

honorable mentions: astrea's broken heart, the missing, w time catcher, kali: flame of samsara.

tagging: @theodoravery @suckitphaneuf @lanesrequiem @haitianempress @ratanslily @jillfvs @a-cloud-for-dreams @taemcains @webanglikethat @hexesandroses @renninflight @rosesandpearlss and anyone else who would like to participate ! <3

a) Soulless - where do I start ? Amazing. Showstoping. Spectacular. Totally unique, completely not ever been done before. I LOVE every single love interest, I love Vyxaria as an MC no matter the path, I looove how neatly the plot all ties together - it's just all amazing. Best ongoing story I think.

b) Shakespeare's Code - despite the fact it's been 6 episodes, this story is bumped to the TOP of my favorites. It's just amazing, Amabelle is extremely entertaining as an MC, the love interests all have different plotlines, and I love how many stats & combinations you can have !

c) 7 Brothers - of course, it wouldn't be fair to talk about my favorites without talking about this story I've been defending tooth & nail since forever. A misunderstood work of art, I really like the MC, Jaynie's so relatable & an all-around character, I absolutely cherish her. Of course, there's the love interests & Langley's amazing writing strikes again. It's always the first story I play every update <3

d) Love, Sin & Evil - another underrated work of art, my favorite thing about this story is the mechanics of saving the characters ! Super innovative, I love it. I also think Mina's a super entertaining MC and the fashion is just top notch, though on the more expensive side 👌 Eagerly waiting for the next update & the upcoming finale.

e) Heaven's Secret: Requiem - unfortunately, despite all its problems, specifically romance-wise, I still really like this story, at least for the plot of it. I'm still invested in what the fuck is the deal with Lane, and how it's all going to end.

f) And The Haze Will Take Us - Suuuuper invested to see where Alice is taking this story. I was kind of torn on season 1 but I'm actually really focused on season 2 to see where this story and this haze will be taking us ! Looking forward to the next update.

[huidol]

happy valentines 👍 day

[froschli96]

You know what, fuck it, I have to speak my truth! (this is gonna be a rant, so anyone who actually likes assassin's creed revelations and/or the secret crusade, be warned or maybe don't read this at all)

remember how altaïr talks to king richard at the end of ac1, and richard is like "[humans] come into the world kicking and screaming, violent and unstable. it is what we are. we cannot help ourselves."? and how altaïr answers "no. we are what we choose to be." and how that ACTUALLY has meaning bc he himself was "violent and unstable" at the beginning of the game but he has learned and is now CHOOSING to be a better person who cares about others and humanity at large? remember how his calmness and gentleness was something that he ACQUIRED over the course of the story?

and remember how in revelations they then suddenly had a PRE-AC1 altaïr say about the first of his targets "no man should pass from this world without knowing some kindness." and be all wise and calm and collected during a nice little chat with al mualim, who suddenly acts all fatherly? (like, this is suddenly supposed to be a positive relationship? what??)

also, during the confession the target says to altair: "you put too much faith in the hearts of men, altaïr. [...] humans are weak, base, and petty." and altaïr answers: "no. our creed is evidence to the contrary." KJASJFJDKL???? like, it’s almost insulting how close this exchange is to the one with richard. you know, the one that was actually earned after a whole game of character development. like WTF??? cool congrats now that development means nothing. like, apparently that was just altaïr reverting BACK to being the exemplary assassin who understands and believes in the creed that he was apparently just born as. (i also hate how having a young inexperienced altaïr saying this implies that altaïr's faith in humanity is a sign of naivete instead of a sign of the wisdom he has gained after being confronted with counter arguments for a whole game, and also something that distinguishes the assassins from the templars who use humanity's supposed wickedness to justify controlling them like in AC1, but whatever)

altaïr’s development in AC1 mattered BECAUSE he is not NATURALLY a good person, it actually said something about humanity's capacity for both bad AND good and how humans don't have to be forced to be good through mind control bc they can by their own free will choose to be better when taught how and when allowed the freedom to grow. but no. apparently altaïr has just always been calm, wise and gentle. and he just sort of forgot about that during AC1 bc…. ? bc of adha?? bc of abbas???

oh don’t get me started on the whole abbas thing. (it doesnt even make sense that abbas is so hung up about his father and "his family’s honor", like what about the whole point of al mualim not allowing parents to be close to their children bc it would make them weak? like, my dude, you’re not supposed to HAVE any family aside from the brotherhood)

they used the throwaway character that had like 5 lines and made him into altaïr’s main antagonist in revelations… like, abbas wasn’t supposed to be this ONE dude who had personal beef with altaïr, he was just supposed to show how while altaïr’s revered by many, a lot of his brothers also hate him, bc 1) altaïr is a shitty person at this point and 2) bc there’s no real feeling of community and family in this version of the brotherhood, but just a pervasive sense of competition and jealousy — these assassins don’t care about their goal of safeguarding humanity bc they’re too hung up on petty squabbles and divided by rivalries (you know, the things that made malik hate altaïr even before solomon’s temple and that he overcomes in the end which enables him to forgive and to reconcile with altaïr so they can work together and stop al mualim? (you ever just think about "we are one. as we share the glory of our victories, so too should we share the pain of our defeat. in this way we grow closer. we grow stronger." and cry? bc i do. all the time. malik, the man that you are))

and now abbas is altaïr’s childhood best friend turned lifelong enemy?? like, bowden bent over backwards to come up with an explanation for why altaïr is an arrogant ass at the beginning of AC1, when the explanation is right there: he was raised to kill without asking questions and was constantly praised for how good he is at murder, which resulted in him becoming arrogant and disregarding human life. like, it doesn’t have to be some shakespearean family feud type shit. and guess what, this "simple" explanation actually plays into the story’s themes, who’da thunk!

(like, abbas might not have been a "fleshed out" character in AC1, but he had a specific function and now that function is gone. mr bowden, mr mcdevitt, you know characters are allowed to simply exist to tell us something about their worlds and the systems they live in and sometimes that’s more important and also more interesting than having every single character have a detailed backstory to explain all their behaviors, right?)

with all of this revelations loses all nuance in regards to the levantine brotherhood and also the creed in general. like, altaïr being a master assassin at the beginning despite being a terrible person and not actually understanding the creed is a criticism of the brotherhood and the creed itself. like, it said something about the order that someone like altaïr was able to get that high in rank, simply bc he's good at killing, which also tells us what is considered important in the al mualim era assassin order. when you make altaïr’s arrogance the result of his personal conflicts instead of how we was raised by a brotherhood that only valued one's ability to kill, you lose that characterization of the assassin order itself!

and by suddenly making al mualim a semi good "father figure" you also downplay his manipulation of not only altaïr but all those under his care. (altaïr says something about al mualim being "as a father" to him exactly twice in the codex, but he doesn’t mean by that that he WAS a father to him, what he means is that he was the CLOSEST THING he had bc HE DID NOT HAVE PARENTS, not because his mother died in childbirth and his father was executed when he was young btw, BUT BECAUSE IT WASN’T ALLOWED, like his parents actually lived but weren’t allowed to be close to him, he says he came to view al mualim’s "weak and dishonest" love as enough and even better BECAUSE HE HAD NOTHING ELSE, BECAUSE AL MUALIM ISOLATED HIS ASSASSINS FROM THEIR FAMILIES. al mualim "loved" him bc he was good at killing people for him! hm, i wonder if this could be trying to say anything about cults and indoctrination and the inherent contradiction in fighting for peace and free will by taking children away from their parents and raising them to become killers?? like, altaïr wasn't ~the special orphan boy~ taken in by al mualim bc his father died a hero's death, it was "the way of the order" to have al mualim be the closest thing to a parental figure for everyone to ensure absolute loyalty! altaïr saying al mualim was like his father is not supposed to make you go "oh, he must have actually been a good guy for altaïr to consider him a father", it should make you go "oh that's kinda fucked up that he considers the dude who made him into a killing machine and who manipulated him a sort of father figure"!)

and then in revelations they suddenly portray that relationship as positive and healthy??? like, it would be one thing to give it some nuance by delving into the psychology behind al mualim’s "love" and maybe showing how al mualim did care about altair in a complicated, fraught sort of way (like, you know, there’s a lot of interesting things you could say about al mualim at several points addressing altaïr as "my child" in AC1 and how that parallels Garnier referring to the people he drugged and abused as his "children", and what that says about how the templars view the people who they say they want to save and in whose best interests they supposedly act (in any case, al mualim doesn’t use that phrase because he has any real parental feelings but rather to patronize and to invalidate any objections, like in a "mother knows best" way))

but they even fucking DARE to parallel that relationship with that of altaïr and darim in revelations, by having the reflection in the puddle of darim hugging altaïr showing altaïr hugging al mualim…. like their relationship wasn’t inherently abusive but just tragically cut short because al mualim was just "corrupted by the apple"… like WHAT???? so it’s not the very real problems like grooming, manipulation and indoctrination and the hierarchical structure of the brotherhood itself (all of which are antithetical to the assassin ideology), it was just the evil apple all along. great. that’s DEFINITELY a lot more interesting.

god im sorry i really dont want to spread negativity but this is driving me INSANE. like, somebody please tell me im not crazy bc i feel like somehow most of the fandom is in agreement that revelations and the secret crusade have better storytelling and characterization than ac1.

SPEAKING OF WHICH, can we talk about how, even IF we completely ignore AC1 and treat revelations altaïr as his own character…. the narrative still doesn’t really work?

basically, the whole point of his story in rev is that "he gave his whole life to the brotherhood", this obsession led to him not using his time with his family which has him ending up dying alone in a dark library and this in turn makes ezio reevaluate his life choices…. except. he doesn’t? neglect? his family? or whatever? like, his devotion to the assassins is sort of painted as this tragic flaw that leads to a lonely death bc it supposedly comes at the cost of his family, but… his wife has joined the assassins, (at least) one of his sons is in the brotherhood and even when he goes to protect the assassins against the mongols, he takes his family with him (except for the son who stays behind bc he has a family of his own and who, ironically, ends up dying bc of that)… like, you can’t describe altaïr as a good husband and father in the database and have his son tell him that "everything that is good in me began with you, father" when they say goodbye, and then want to make us believe that he put his family behind the brotherhood and that that is a character flaw that leads to his tragedy.

because you HAVE to have a character’s tragedy be the result of a character flaw. like. that is how tragedies work. otherwise it just becomes tragedy for the sake of tragedy which is… boring bc it has no purpose. and we know it is SUPPOSED to have purpose bc ezIO FUCKING QUITS BEING AN ASSASSIN AFTER WITNESSING IT!

it’s like they want to have their cake and eat it, too — they didn’t want to actually make altaïr a bad husband/father, but still wanted to make his life a tragedy where he loses his family which is why instead they outsource all responsibility to abbas who now has to be the reason for ALL the deaths.

like, they try to make at least maria’s death kind of sort of the result of altaïr���s rashness or whatever but like… these guys KILLED THEIR SON and TOLD HIM THAT ALTAÏR HAD ORDERED HIS DEATH. like, altaïr losing it in response to that is not rash, it’s fucking logical and justified! if anything the scene made me angry at maria for trying to stop him. like, GIRL, he was YOUR son too??? but god forbid we give female characters actual real emotions, she has to fill the role of "voice of reason who dies for altaïr’s man pain" i fucking guess.

like, it’s this weird mix where his tragedy is simultaneously painted as his own fault but also not really bc abbas is the one responsible for all the shit that happens. it just… it just doesn’t really go together.

the only way to make his story make sense narratively and to give it actual purpose is by looking at it in the context of ezio’s story, bc the things he sees in altaïr’s memories are supposed to be a revelation (ha!) to ezio specifically. and i guess that’s maybe the crux of it all — altaïr’s story in revelations was conceived of first and foremost to support ezio’s story and development. which is probably also why many people maybe don’t notice bc, having skipped ac1 and started with ac2, the majority of people mostly care only about ezio and only really appreciate altaïr’s story in as far as it serves to push ezio forward. (tho i’ve also seen a few people say that ezio is also written kind of weird in rev, but i’ve never really been an ezio girly myself so i can’t speak to the truth of that)

like, altaïr dying alone in the library doesn’t really have to make sense for his character, i guess, bc it’s only really supposed to be a cautionary tale for ezio.

so, i guess, for once, they actually had a MAN dying for another man’s character development, which is pretty woke actually. ubisoft, i take everything back jksdsfjhgdsahfhsdhfghfdsgjhsdgjh

[cubedmango]

one difference between the original and cover for my clematis that rlly caught my attention earlier was which chara sang the very last lyrics—mizi (the one who survives) in the original and ivan (the one who dies) in the cover. ever since i noticed that i've been trying to make sense of why they did that. in the context of the song it makes more sense for the survivor (till) to sing those lines since they're at the very end, after the other contestant has been killed, but with the meaning of the lyrics ("please, stay by my side") it makes sense for ivan to be singing them, since he's the one with the one-sided love. it felt to me like ivan asking till to keep the memory of him alive and with him even after ivan died

when the cover for cure dropped imagine my surprise when i saw that they did the exact same thing again!! they gave the very last line sung by ivan (the one who dies) in the original to mizi (the one who survives) in the cover, and again i'm trying to understand why this exact swap happened a second time. for this one the context is more of those being the very last words ivan says to till (tho that segment isn't actually in the music video version), with the lyrics ("consume me / yes, me") reflecting that final desperation for till to notice him, but from mizi's perspective it takes on such a different meaning.. is it mizi trying to plead with sua to wake up? to look at her again? to still be the one person who knows and understands her? fascinating stuff. i'm unwell

[gojooooo]

man i love open endings. the fact that thanks to yuuji there might indeed be the next time sukuna talks about in case some idiot decides to eat a finger again. and we need fics where yuuji is that idiot

[themyscirah]

Thinking about how Wonder Woman in the Pérez run/early 87 series really needed a secret identity. (Stick with me here!) Now, this isn't something that as a reader i would want (I've never had much interest in "Diana Prince") or that would be helpful for Diana's mission, and I actively think a true secret id would be something Diana would dislike immensely and hate to use and maintain. But I honestly think having one, at least at a limited level, would have saved Diana and her loved ones SO much pain down the road. Because while they loved Diana, her presence in their live brought so many villains back to their home which in turn hurt the people she cared about

Like I just think about all the horrible things that the Kapetelises (especially Vanessa, she was used as such a punching bag) went through just by virtue of loving Diana... Its truly awful the unintended consequences that came with loving her and taking her into their home, just because everyone knew she was Wonder Woman. Like this was very public knowledge, they were on the news all the time and newspaper and magazine covers and everything together

Which while cool still was damaging! I mean Nessie was in MIDDLE SCHOOL of all places and everyone knew she was hosting Diana. It was shown that whether or not most people at school wanted to be around her directly and saw her as interesting or desirable depended directly on Diana and if she was in town with them! And that's really just the tip of the iceberg there with Vanessa but she was put under so much pressure and given such awful conceptions of herself through her peers knowing she was close with Diana.

It's just such a mess. And like I don't think a secret identity would be something that she would ever think of having realistically at this point, especially because she's so new, and there isn't a strong and visible need for one, (and her public identity as ww was already attached to her loved ones) but I do think that many things may have turned out better for the Kapetelises later if they were publically joined by Diana Deneiros, Julia's niece from Greece, as opposed to Wonder Woman

[hal-boy]

My friend just told me that she is making a Muppet AU for her fandom (awesome), and demanded that I reveal to her which Metal Gear Solid character would be the obligatory human if they made Muppet adaptions of MGS. I didn't have a sufficient answer for her so I'm outsourcing: who do you fine folks think would be the best character to be a human in Muppet Gear Solid?

[formulatrash]

Weird to say Lando's hot

oh christ if they find out that professional athletes in photoshoots where a team of professional stylists, make up artists, producers, lighting experts and photographers spent time making them look great are hot then we are all going to jail

[narwhalandchill]

also mistake not my silence on the summer event story now that its all out for not paying attention bc. well firstly not going to be the subject of this post but seriously just the . Overall implications of the whole thing when it comes to teyvat and genshin as a whole? wild stuff like are they rly out there revealing the entire cosmology now 😭 (tho i kinda have. Mixed thoughts as well)

anyway secondly and most importantly because of course i have priorities (its ajax we all know) . soooo simulanka and names eh?

HUH!

well not that i was any doubter to begin with in that it like. meant something when hit game jenshin impact featuring guy already foreshadowed and being set up for some real curious world-overturning and celestia torching business etc etc etc coincidentally named. ajax. among other things. that the same game happening to Also begin introducing this whole other ajax/aias as an actual historical figure featured within the games lore and legends. would very much be just a massive fucking thing we Should be taking very seriously in terms of his future development but like thanks very much for confirming it too uwu

anyway let us look at my favorite french cultist scribbled note for no particular reason once more just to celebrate the occasion

i mean what can i say man . truly the endgame relevance long term allegations continue undodged 😤😤

anyway whats kinda funny to me is the way a lot of ppls reaction to this name confirmation seems to be like. omg ajax is in trouble now bc irl mythology ajax died and ajax/aias of genshin also seems to have possibly had a shit fate by the end im so worried omg . when like. literally the second part to this whole "name = inheriting destiny" thing we see in simulanka is that . with the right circumstances . the one that inherits the name and destiny is not necessarily doomed to that exact same outcome as the original . like we all did see how we saved simulanka durin right?? and how the existence of mini durin may now open up the possibility of teyvats durin to receive a different outcome to his tale???? right??

like why do ppl have so little faith in childe im 😭 like if you ask me hes Already giving indication of defying his fate in a multitude of ways (vision malfunction being a big one) so personally i simply think we need to let him do his thing and see where he goes with it . i have faith in him like if Anyones abt to subvert the fate hes been set up with be it due to his name or any other reason . its gonna be him lmao

like. its not even new stuff kwdwdjkdwjk

either way tho . even if this fucker straight up "dies" or goes MIA im not even that worried bc. ppl worrying about this "tragic fate" his namesake seems to be conferring to him by default with simulankas explicit confirmation of a names meaning . and its just are we straight up missing the fact that this historical ajax/aias is Literally connected to that rent free narzissenkreuz note that EXPLICITLY aligns this "tragedy" with the theme of REBIRTH. and becoming a descender straight up .

like maybe its just me but this Really isnt giving "omg childe is going to die due to mirroring the fate of ajax" its giving "childe is Literally being set up to become sth descender equivalent one way or another AND theyre doubling down on it now" im sorry 😭

like. even the implications of phrases like. "forsaking the self" to be reborn in the abyss just reminds me of this. weird panic people have around childes vision malfunction as if its like. vision is GOOD ambition and his GOOD ending and his GOOD characteristics and it malfunctioning means BAD EVIL SIN ambition and WRONG characteristics is taking over!!!!!!!11! hes being torn into two different directions and the abyss is bad and vision (=celestia) is good!!!!!1

and its like. say we even buy that (but like dang what a sustainer sponsored take to have in a. gnostic inspired lore environment JWSJKJKSF) . that his. "correct" and "healthy" destiny as vision wielder (that Every single recipient of a "gods EYE" gets like forcibly and irrevocably bound to by design and surely this isnt problematic at all) . is a part of that "self" that is being forsaken and twisted as his destiny pushes against celestias control and his connection to said vision falters . lets say we assume that is a "bad" thing for his "intended" path and destiny somehow .

(which YES it prolly is. but only within the bounds of a world order set up by the heavenly principles!!! of COURSE the HP would force people into destinies and paths that Only serve the continuity of its rule!!! and doesnt shake up the system!! like yes a vision likely represents and assigns to people a "Good" ambition but thats not from the recipients POV thats from celestias POV and at this point its just. fellas. we are not supposed to buy into that at face value lmao)

which like. again. i v much dont buy anyway i think every single time genshin calls something sin or forbidden it should be assessed v critically.

but even with that assumption we can still see how this very note is already implicating that "forsaking the self" is Literally a prerequisite . in this grand destiny featuring ajax/aias . for reaching True rebirth as a holy infant and a descender and all that . for defying the shackles of the heavens . for gaining a will that rivals the world . right???

+ also if like. forsaking the self being mayhaps and perchance more of a GOOD thing in a world with preordained and unyielding destiny set up by false divinity wasnt already established enough

welp thank you rene narzissenkreuz.

oh "excising the self" you say?? that sure sounds a bit like "forsaking the self" doesnt it ??? how curious that it would be considered less of a "death" and more of a "rebirth" indeed . and that a vision to a cultist very invested in the methods available to Defy a prophecy and fate is very much a bad thing to receive . like what a coincidence that we would have a note like this as an established character already tied to a note you wrote about acquiring a descenders will is experiencing vision compatibility issues its very funny indeed.

so like ig what im trying to say is just idk for me personally if ajax is out there forsaking his self by any metric im just gonna be cheering him on <3

but yeah jkqjkwdjkwdjkwd dont mind me im just kinda rent free with how its now just even more confirmed by hoyo that this insane ajax/aias note stuff is Not meant to be coincidental At All (even tho its very funny ppl doubted the signifance to begin with at all). but also i just dont get the panicking abt it being some bad thing lmao like this is just genuinely hype as fuck for him 😭😭😭