#those are my thoughts and i'm sure i'll have more but

[mysteryshoptls]

2025-2026 Player Birthday Login Message Lines

These are all the messages that you get from the boys when you log in on the birthday that you set in-game from 18 Mar 2025 to 17 Mar 2026! For those that want to hear them, you can find them in the Archive, under the tab その他　→　監督生バースデー⑤. (This will not be in your game archives until the birthday you set passes.)

You can find the 2021-2022 Birthday Login Message Lines here! You can find the 2022-2023 Birthday Login Message Lines here! You can find the 2023-2024 Birthday Login Message Lines here! You can find the 2024-2025 Birthday Login Message Lines here!

HEARTSLABYUL

Riddle

Happy Birthday, [Yuu]. It may only be a small token, but I've prepared a gift for you. Here is a spare tie. I'm sure you won't get yours dirtied often, but there is always the chance. In order to follow the rules and dress appropriately, you should make sure to carry it on you at all times.

Ace

Oh, there they are. Heeey, [Yuu]. You free? Let's go play some b-ball. Why...? I mean, today's your birthday, right? I thought I'd celebrate you in my own way, is all. Come on, let's go, we gotta get moving 'til our stomach growls. There's another bit of "fun" to look forward to after, too.

Deuce

[Yuu], Happy Birthday. I went and rented a blastcycle for you today. I just thought it'd be nice to let my hardworking friend feel the breeze on their face for once. Might be a good change of pace, don't you think? Don't worry, I'll drive totally safe. Here, get on the back. Once you're ready to go, we're off!

Cater

Happy Birthday! Thanks for all the work you do as a prefect. Don't you get tired from working so hard? That's why I got.... this! Some bath salts recommended by yours truly! The rose petals inside are super cute, and the fragrance really helps to soothe your soul～ Tell me what you thought later!

Trey

[Yuu], Happy Birthday. I was actually thinking of heading to a café today, want to come with? Apparently the sweets there are made by a first-class pâtissier. Aren't you curious how it'll taste? You think I'm just wanting to taste it for myself? ...Haha, no way. I'm just trying to celebrate you for your birthday.

SAVANACLAW

Leona

I thought it was sounding pretty rowdy, but I see it was just 'cause it's your birthday. Good for you. Huh? You want to eat lunch with me because it's your birthday? That's a pretty strong demand from a little herbivore like you. Well now, what sort of delicious meat will you treat me to, hm...? You're extending an invitation to me, of all people, so I'm expecting a lavish feast.

Jack

Happy Birthday. I'm just saying that as a fellow schoolmate. It's not like I'm looking to get along, or anything. Hm? The candy jar you got as a gift won't open? Fine, hand it over. ...There you go. I'm pretty nice for someone who doesn't want to get along...? What's that supposed to mean? Don't get ahead of yourself, just 'cause it's your birthday.

Ruggie

[Yuu]-kun, Happy Birthday～ Feels like you're growin' a bit more with another year under your belt. Oh yeaah, you should totally show off how mature you got. For example, maaaybe you can treat me to something. You'll buy me a lil' snack? Sheeheehee, thaaaanks～ This is why it's great havin' cute lil' underclassmen like you.

OCTAVINELLE

Azul

[Yuu]-san, a very Happy Birthday to you. ...Whatever is the problem? You have a concerned look on your face. You haven't finished your homework? Even though the party is right around the corner? Well, isn't this a predicament. Allow me to embody the spirit of compassion and assist you. Not to worry, proper compensation can be discussed at a later date... Right?

Jade

Happy Birthday. I've prepared a present for you. Here you go. This is a patch of moss that I cultivated and separated out just for you. Also, here is a booklet on how to care for it. Please show me how well your moss has grown six months from now. ...You absolutely won't allow it to wither and die, now, will you?

Floyd

Shrimpy-chan, Happy Birthday～ Here ya go, I brought a cake just for you. ...Eh, the cake inside's a mess? Ohhh right～ That might be 'cause I dropped it earlier. So? There somethin' wrong with that? It's not like the taste'll change. Eat it already, c'mon.

SCARABIA

Kalim

Happy Birthday! Pheeew, I'm feelin' so excited. Makes me wanna dance! Oh yeah, wanna dance together at your birthday party later? ...Ahaha, you don't gotta know what moves to make! I'm just gonna dance for you with all my best wishes, so that'll be fun enough!

Jamil

Happy Birthday, [Yuu]. Are you ready to be completely mobbed by everyone in the spirit of your birthday? Eh, you're not? Hey, that's why I'm always telling you to be prepared for any... ...Mm, maybe I shouldn't nag like this on their birthday of all days... Ugh, fine, I'll get you ready. First, we have to do something about those clothes, got it?

POMEFIORE

Vil

Happy Birthday. You seem to be having a grand time. Perhaps you didn't need my well wishes? Of course that couldn't possibly have been the case. That's why I've made my way here before heading to my club. I have a present to hand to you, as well. You should be grateful that I took the time for you like this. Keep on striving for perfection.

Epel

Happy Birthday! It's about your present, but... Wanna come with me to pick something out at Foothill Town? I was looking into a bunch of stuff, but I don't really know what's really in right now... You sure? Great! Then let's go right now! I'm really looking forward to shopping with you!

Rook

Happy Birthday, are you enjoying your special day? Your beauty still astounds as another year passes! This is my present to you. I made sure to thoroughly prepare something that you are guaranteed to love. As a hunter, I cannot allow my aim to be off the mark, after all. Hurry, please open it. I want to hear your thoughts as soon as I can.

IGNIHYDE

Idia

Happy Birthday... ...Eh, you have a favor to ask me? Ugh, that's worse than having to give a present... I'll at least ask, but... what is it? You want me to tell you what computer I recommend? I mean, I build my own... EH, YOU'RE INTERESTED IN BUILDING YOUR OWN COMPUTER TOO!? Suuuure, of course I'll teach you! I gotchu, whether it's air-cooled PCs, liquid-cooled PCs, or anything else you want! When it comes to personal builds, I'm your man～!

Ortho

Today's your birthday, right? Happy Birthday! I have a present for you, too. Here you go, DVD of movies! I searched through all the reviews online and compiled all the most popular movies in each genre. Once you're finished watching everything, I'd love to verify your impress... Wait, I mean, I'd love to chat about what you thought of them!

DIASOMNIA

Malleus

Happy Birthday. In celebration, I've prepared some ice cream. Why did I choose this? Because I remember being elated, myself, when served this in the past. I can only hope you feel the same. ...You are? Well, wonderful.

Silver

Happy Birthday. Is there anything you'd like as a gift? You'd like to train with me? A spectacular attitude... Of course, I do not mind at all. However... The celebratory atmosphere may lead to me being more spirited than usual. Let me know if it becomes too difficult for you.

Sebek

Hey, human! You're looking more lax than usual. Do you not think you're letting yourself go too much, simply because it is your birthday? You're surprised I remembered? Well, obviously I did, my memory is much better than yours, after all! I won't say this is an offering for your birthday, or anything... But I should feed you something that'll put some muscle even on a weak human like you. Follow me!

Lilia

[Lilia pops out from the ceiling] HAPPY BIRTHDAY, [YUU]! Kheehee, a good reaction, indeed. Birthdays should all be about surprises. It seems like my little tactic was a big hit. I've got a present and some cake waiting for you, too. Basically, the plan was to treat you after giving you a little shock like that.

OTHERS

Grim

Happy Birthday, [Yuu]! C'mon, hurry and get ready to go! As the boss of the Gastronomy Club, I made you some real good food! I threw in a ton of leaves and roots, too! You're a real lucky hench-human, huh! Myahaha!

Crowley, Crewel, Trein, Rollo and Fellow do not have new lines. Theirs are repeated from last year’s.

Crowley

Ta-daaa! What do you suppose this could be? That’s correct, it’s an exchange coupon for use at the Mystery Shop! You have been a consistent helping hand, so… This is a special gift for you. Happy Birthday. Incidentally, that is only worth 500 madol (5 Thaumarks). It cannot be exchanged for something pricier than that. Please don’t hold it against me.

Crewel

It seemed rather rowdy in here, but now I see it was just you, pup. Are you excited simply because its your birthday? I see, well, in that case, I have a special present just for you. As for what it is… It is a special alchemy homework assignment. You should be happy; you’ll be able to improve your skills even further with this, don’t you think? Haha, Happy Birthday.

Trein

I hear it is your birthday today. Do continue to put forth your best effort in your studies as a student of academia. Allow me to gift you with some words of wisdom instead of a present, as someone who has been on this mortal coil slightly longer than yourself. Merely aging another year does not a mature person make. However, time spent on fruitful endeavors will always be of benefit to your growth.

Rollo

Whatever is the matter, [Yuu]-kun? There is a strange glimmer in your eyes… …Ah, I see. Today is your birthday. A present? Hmph. I hardly think that it should be something you request of others… But no matter. Indeed, birthdays should be treasured. However, what would be an acceptable gift…? I am afraid I’m rather unaccustomed to this. I would hope I do not disappoint you with a poor gift choice.

Fellow (EN: Ernesto)

Oh, my, hello there, my learned scholar! I’ve been searching, and finally, I’ve found you! I was fervently hoping to wish you well for your birthday. Here, your present. ...As fellows lacking in magical abilities, we should get along together, don'tcha think? Happy Birthday! Fwahaha!

Requested by @butterflyremix.

[wowzerwyrm]

Okay, I'd like to start an open discussion here of some sort. Main problem being, I'm not really sure the best way to do that. Reblogs aren't really great for a discussion, comments are a little janky, and a direct message seems rude for multiple reasons and also isn't really open, since what I want to do is to get these thoughts out there for anyone to read if they want. So I guess what I'm settling on is I'm going to have an open discussion with myself here, directed at no one in particular but reblogged from this post since this is the thing that sparked it, and if anyone wants to comment on my thoughts with their own, either criticism consideration that would be neat (though I can't guarantee I'll have the energy/attention span later to actually respond, even if I'll do my best to) All that out of the way, this post makes me feel bad. Why does it make me feel bad? Let me figure that out, because my emotions are not what determines the morality of a situation, just what I'm already predisposed to think. I'm not an AI artist, I don't use GenAI for my own art or writing. But I also don't personally see GenAI as inherently a bad thing. Is it simply my proximity to the idea, so I feel as if I'm being called a nazi supporter? Maybe, it could be as simple as that. So, it's probably a good idea to analyze my understandings about GenAI art and the claims being made to see if I feel bad just because it sucks to be unfairly compared to something bad, or if it's because I'm feeling some cognitive dissonance that I don't like. (Ergo, am I a nazi supporter?) Regarding the claims in the post, how do my understandings and beliefs line up?

AI art is a great tool for people who think art's only purpose is to look good

Okay, so... this is objectively true, yeah. AI art is a great tool for people who think art's only purpose is to look good. But for some reason, it still feels inaccurate even though it is true. Let me break down the idea and look at some of the implied and inverse statements this one creates. 'People who think art's only purpose is to look good' definitely has a lot to unpack in it. As an artist, I'm familiar enough with the idea that art is so much more than just the end-product visual medium and how technically proficient it is. Along with the fact that 'good' is a distinctly difficult idea to nail down. Given the reblog about nazi art ideals, I think it's okay to assume that 'good' in this case is along the lines of 'good vs evil', black and white thinking, and the fascist view of cleanliness and purity. Something that decries art that doesn't meet the same specific stylization and standards as not just different, but 'wrong' and 'bad.' And is AI art a good tool for people who think like that? Yeah, sure. (though also I'm starting to think No, after getting into more of the comments and tags on this post and similar ones, but I can get into that later.)

But it will create very smooth, clean, 'sterilized' pieces of art, for sure, and that is definitely something that fascists want.

It's a neat sort of post, where a fairly straightforward statement is also a clever turnaround idea that is supposed to help you get the idea of what is really going on. I do tend to like those kinds of posts, where it's a statement that doesn't quite fit the mold of what you assume (in this case, as an artist that frequently expresses distaste and disgust for GenAI (along with just being in the general zeitgeist of anti-AI sentiment), it's odd for her to post something about AI being a good tool in any way, and that oddity makes you think, and the careful phrasing of the post draws your eye to the 'only', which reminds you that art's purpose isn't only to look good, which then puts the first half of the sentence in a different light.) If, for example, she had posted that "AI art is a great tool for people who think art is supposed to look good." That would have much different implications, as would just posting. "AI art is a great tool for people who want to make art that looks good." Which leads to another interpretation of the post

AI art is [only] a great tool for people who think art's only purpose is to look good

This is, objectively, not what the post is saying. It literally does not say this. OP even said in another post that there's nothing inherently fascist about wanting to create better art. But I think it's a reasonable assumption to make that this was the idea a reader was supposed to land on, and the implication the OP was trying to make. (I could be wrong, and please let me know if that is the case.) And I think this is where the post started feeling bad to me, because that specifically is something I disagree with. Sure, it absolutely can and has been used to make sterilized, clean, 'good' art for people who don't see any other purpose or understanding in why and how people create. But I also truly think that that is not it's only or best use. I think it can and often is used to create powerful, interesting, thoughtful and clever pieces of art. It takes it's own process to do, much like how hand-drawn art or photoshop takes practice and knowledge to create the thing you want to see in your head. A lack of skill in any of these will produce something uncanny and unsatisfying, just in different ways. (But it's still worth doing, because practice is good and art isn't just about how it looks and is also about the process and about your experience with it.) Is it being used for terrible, annoying, and fascist things right now? Yeah, absolutely. But pencils and paint and chisels and cameras and brushes and digital art programs are also great tools for people who don't think art has any purpose but to look good. Terrible, annoying and fascist movements are going to create terrible, annoying and fascist products using whatever tools they can, and that doesn't make the block of marble itself fascist. And the biggest thing, in the end, is that Fascism and nazis are bad because they destroy things they don't like. The problem wasn't that everyone all of a sudden started just creating the same bland, clean, sterilized style of art because it was easy or fun. The problem was that powerful people decided that this one specific type of art (and person) was 'correct' and then outlawed, destroyed, and slaughtered everything and everyone who thought otherwise.

AI art is... not doing that. Companies and industry were already paying as little as possible for bland and simple art to use for their marketing and using people in other countries with looser labor laws for their call centers, because that's what companies do, because art in marketing is only about what looks good. I remember countless ads with all the same artstyle not because it was created by AI but because it was created by an artist who was being paid to create something bland and simple and sterilized for the purpose of advertising and drawing in customers. AI may have been the next tool that made it even easier, but that was the same of each iteration of increasingly user-friendly art programs, all the way from cameras to Clip Studio. Fascism may be on the rise in the US, but even right now GenAI art itself is not forcing other people to only do that one sterilized art style any more than the brush forced people to create nazi propoganda. And, in the end, AI isn't even doing that good of a job for them. It's too good at doing exactly what it's told. Previously, little pieces of humor and 'soul' and interesting design would sneak into those bland pieces of advertising because the artists they would hire like to create, they would go do a little extra or experiment a little and occasionally that wouldn't get stomped out by the executives and so it would make it through. Now, the executives skip out on the practiced artist and create something themselves. In the past they didn't do that because actually putting pen to paper for the first time is a frustrating experience that shows you don't really know what you're doing yet. But because GenAI can create something that looks how they imagine something is supposed to look, what they want, they don't question it, and they send it out as is. But that's not the AI's fault, that's the fault of a lack of experience. It's the equivalent to a CEO firing their artist, then picking up that artists pencil/paintbrush/digital pen and slapping together a hasty sign that says 'buy my product' with a smiley face on it. And the public can tell that this is the case, and so they don't buy the product, and so it backfires on them. When an experienced artist uses a tool, it can create something interesting and thoughtful and purposeful. No matter the tool, paint, photoshop, or GenAI. (Of course, this doesn't go over how LLMs have been used in marketing and for google searches and pre-installed on every computer, or the biases and racism present in a lot of currently-created LLMS, and that's kind of a completely different conversation and is totally fucked because they don't look up facts they just make stuff up. It's also not a conversation about whether or not AI is theft, which I don't believe it is, but am willing to chat about.)

AI art is a great tool for people who think art's only purpose is to look good

[assassin-artist]

okay, I'll post what I've got for Sindra now. Plus an alternate version for if she were a Viltrumite herself (: lore rambling below the cut

Calling her species 'Vottan'. They're a healer-based society of people with hollow bones, it makes them very fast but also very fragile. Big culture based around worshipping life and birth, which is why being a healer is such a high position of authority. Most Vottan become healers, but only a rare percentage of the people are born with healing magic. Sindra, having been born with the gift, was raised in something like a monastery to become a healer from a young age. They take a vow of silence when they reach adulthood, which is the same time they get their markings that deign them a full-fledged healer (the diamond on Sindra's forehead).

Their healer culture is very judgment free, i think. They believe that it's not their place to judge whether an individual 'deserves' to live or die for what they've done, only that if they are capable of healing, then they will heal. Their fragile physiology combined with their willingness to medically aid anyone who comes their way made it very easy for Viltrum to take their home planet and subjugate the people. Most healers are left to their own devices, but the rare few that are born with the gift of magic in their veins are taken to be personal Viltrumite healers on the Viltrum warships. Vottan lifespans on average are longer than humans, roughly expecting to live to ~150 years before dying of complications due to old age. However, those born with magic have a significantly increased life expectancy, expected to live somewhere around ~2,000 years before old age.

Taking inspiration from hummingbirds here when I say that I don't think they sleep at all - instead they go into a state of dormancy every few hours where their heart rate and metabolism is slowed significantly to conserve energy for a while.

hm.... that's all the lore for her species i've thought up at this point. Let me know if you have any questions (: Now I talk a little bit about her personal story..

I made her mainly to be a Conquest ship, because I like the idea of the big scary strong man having a fragile partner. Her people being subjugated by Viltrum was just the convenient excuse so I could say Sindra and Conquest have known each other for years before the events of Invincible even happen. I don't have a set age for her but I'm thinking at least over a century by now, so they've been buddies for around 50 years or so. Maybe. I'll do the math some other time, I'm just vibing rn. Conquest still doesn't get someone to talk to because his companion is silent, but, despite her inherent fragility and Conquest's inherent overwhelming strength, she has never been all that afraid of him. I think a species that worships life would have a more accepting view of death as well - it's to be avoided if possible, but not something you should fear and dread. Plus, I've talked before on my blog about how I don't think Conquest would actually struggle to be gentle, so I think it wouldn't be that difficult for them to become close. In fact, I dare say I think Conquest would be gentler with her than any of the other Viltrumites would be... i rotate them in my head. my silly aliens

I like the idea that she eventually finds her way to Earth before season 1 begins, but I don't really have a reason for why she left the Viltrumites just yet. Maaaaybe someone lost their cool and attacked her for whatever reason and she just flew away, never looking back? I'm not sure, I'll have to think more on that. I just like imagining her on Earth trying to learn how to get along with humans and interacting with the main cast of the show.. She really just goes where she's told to go and heals anyone she comes across, so she would be a great find for the GDA. I think she would really like Damien Darkblood (:

I think she would eventually break her vow of silence and begin speaking again, but I'm just not sure if it's while with the Viltrumites (her first words would be to Conquest for sure) or while she's on Earth...

that's all the rambling i have off the top of my head. im sure i'll have more soon enough o7

[lamardeuse]

write your name on every blank page

by lamardeuse

911 || Buck/Eddie, Eddie & Christopher, Eddie & Buck & Christopher || Rated M || c. 11000 words

aka my contribution to the Eddie in El Paso post 8x11 fic wave, posted less than 24 hours before we get canon Eddie in El Paso :D

Eddie sets out for El Paso with his truck and a rented trailer full of essential items and valuables, the patio furniture the movers had forgotten to take and seven years' worth of mementos to remind him of that time he briefly escaped his parents' sphere of influence.

“I'm sorry you're going to have to buy a new bed,” he says as he and Buck stand in the doorway of his – well, soon to be Buck's bedroom.

“Yeah, there's no way I was going to fit a California King in here,” Buck says. “But it's fine. The mattress was getting kind of – uh, worn out.”

“I bet,” Eddie mutters. “Anyway, I'm sorry you've ended up with such a downgrade.”

Buck shrugs. “I don't see it that way. Your place is a lot more spacious overall. It has a yard. And it's just – nicer.”

“Is it?” Eddie makes a face. “Come on, the loft was cool.”

“Yeah, well, that isn't the selling point it was when I was twenty-six,” Buck murmurs. “The loft hasn't felt like home for a long time. Your house – it's got that warm feeling, you know?”

Eddie's breath catches in his throat at the thought of Buck rattling around this place alone, trying to find a warmth that left the day Christopher did. Trying to summon the ghosts of what they once were to one another, of what they might have been if –

“Buck, I –”

“Yeah?” Buck says softly, and Eddie can't look at him, he can't.

Instead, he turns and nods toward Chris' door. “At least you've got an extra room now. What're you going to do with it, turn it into a gym?”

“Nah. I thought I'd – uh. Make it into a guest bedroom so I can babysit Jee-Yun here, and have it for when you and Christopher come back for a visit. I can get one of those beds with the extra mattress that slides out and – anyway, I have a couple of ideas.”

“Oh,” Eddie says, because it's either that or bust out crying. “Well, you know, it might be a few months before I can even think of getting away from the – the work I have to do to the house, and the new job.”

“Good,” Buck says airily, “'cause putting together Ikea furniture is a real pain in the ass, it'll probably take me at least that long to figure out the directions.”

That startles a laugh out of Eddie, which he imagines was the point. “So, what time you want me at your place in the morning to help you pack?”

Buck scratches at the back of his neck. “I've been thinking about that. You need to be on the road early if you want to get to El Paso before Christopher goes to bed. The movers aren't coming til Thursday, so I can take my time.”

Eddie frowns. “You're saying you don't want my help?”

“I'm saying I want you to – not have one more thing to worry about,” Buck says, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I'll see you at six-thirty to load up, okay?”

“Sure, yeah,” Eddie says, suddenly struck by the thought that in a little over ten hours he'll be saying goodbye to Buck. There's so much to say and no time left to say it, not that he has any idea where to start. But even if he did, what would be the point? He might never be coming back to L.A., not to live.

It's not nothing, he'd said, and even that had felt ripped from him, a confession he needed to make for himself as much as for Buck. He can't afford to be more selfish than that, because no matter how anyone standing in this near-empty house feels, Christopher needs a father more than Buck needs Eddie – and maybe even more than Eddie needs Buck. It's simple math, the alligator eating the greater number like they taught you in grade school. But if that's true, why does he feel like the one being consumed, devoured, erased from existence?

Buck hesitates for a moment, his gaze assessing. They should hug, just like Eddie had hugged Hen and Chim and Bobby. But maybe they both know it could get messy, and the last thing either of them needs right now is more mess.

In the end, Buck awkwardly says his goodbyes and leaves. Of course, Buck being Buck, he turns up right on time the next morning in the pouring rain with his big smile and his big arms and his enormous heart and a dozen freshly-baked protein cookies. The hug they'd avoided the night before seems a little less dangerous in the light of day, at least until Buck's arms wrap around him, warm and strong.

Eddie's smile as Buck's warm breath tickle the rain-chilled skin of his neck feel like it's trying to smother him. Time's up, and all he can do in the end is keep that smile stuck to his face while he gasps for air beneath it.

As Eddie's passing San Bernadino on the I-10, he reaches into the bag for one of the cookies and savors it slowly, letting the chocolate melt on his tongue.

When the silent tears start falling, he's not even surprised.

read the rest at the AO3

[sparrow-in-the-field]

Alright, I waited to share my thoughts/criticisms on severance s2 because tbh for a bit I thought I just wouldn't, but I keep thinking about the show, so I might as well!

Typical disclaimer that this is all just my opinion. I know some people loved this season, and I know others are more like me and preferred s1. And both of those takes are okay! Either way, it's just a fun show to talk about!

Alright a couple links and then I'll jump in:

Here were my thoughts on s1. It's one of my favorite seasons of any show ever. I wrote that post right before s2 aired, when I was still young and naive and hopeful about the next season lol.

This post by failchild is a far better written and organized post that sums up my main criticisms as well. I reference it a few times in my thoughts and highly recommend reading it.

Discussion under the cut because it's gonna be a long one!

I managed to bucket my criticisms into four categories, with examples in each. Let's just jump in!

Too many new characters, too few consequences

I'm not sure it was even a show that needed new characters, yet we got so many this season! Imo, the heart of the show was always the four in MDR (see my s1 post). In addition to them as the main group, you had Cobel, Milchick. Devon and Ricken. Gemma/Ms. Casey, of course. Burt and Felicia. A substantial and valuable cast! Adding one or two new characters, sure, it's bound to happen, but with only 1-2 new ones, they could be fleshed out and worked in to the main story in a way that felt organic and like they were complex characters. Not a single character that was added this season felt that way to me. They fell flat, and ultimately barely made a mark in the story. For instance:

Drummond. Who is this man??? I'm sorry who is he?? Why did he start showing up with virtually no introduction? I think he and Helena might be siblings because he called Jame father but tbh with the weird cult stuff that could just be what they call their leader so idk for sure?? Why couldn't they have given him a proper introduction. One line. "Hey Helena your [half, full, who cares] brother is back from [literally any other implied Lumon site]." Or "Alright MDR, this is Drummond, Grainer's replacement for security." Like!! I know feeding exposition through dialogue is boring sometimes, but I sure can still benefit from it when it's a brand spanking new character! And then beyond that, what was his personality? Brooding, I guess. What was his job? To be antagonistic, I guess. The creator of the show has said that Drummond cares about Helena above everyone else, but I sure as hell didn't know that! They made eye contact sometimes, as people do. They said words to each other in a meeting, like twice. And I'm supposed to understand they care about each other on a deeper level, from that?? If you want to make claims about your characters, then you have to show me in the actual show instead of mentioning it retroactively. And then Drummond died. So none of it matters anyway. He was written in to be a brooding henchman and he died and that was it. No understanding of his motivations, his background, even really his role in the company or the family. And now he's dead so it doesn't even matter. Not to mention that Mark S. literally had no idea who he was when they fought. They'd never met before. To me, it made the fight feel less significant, and more violence for the sake of violence.

Ms Huang. I want to love Ms Huang, and I suppose in a way I do!! But I wanted to understand her, I wanted to know her. All I know is she is a child doing the same internship that Cobel did. Her presence I appreciated and could pick up on its significance without the show blatantly telling me (having a child manager is a shield for violence, Lumon has always and continues to use child labor, etc.). But what about Ms Huang herself?? What are her motivations, what is her background? Any question she was asked, she dismissed. And where is she now? Oh that's right. Sent away. I genuinely believe we'll never see her again, because her story was a dead end. She was a kid in an internship and it ended. What more would there be for her next season? So yes, the child worker was a "whoa" moment and it tells us something new about the company, but she's another new character who comes and goes with no actual consequence to the plot or main characters.

Dr. Maur. I hate this man. Who the fuck is this man. I get that someone had to be down there working on Gemma (I would have appreciated a nod to Cobel though, like she at least had some involvement since she sent Ms. Casey to the testing floor in s1) but this character felt less like a person and more like a nearly cartoonish villain. Just the creepy man doing creepy experiments. And then in the end? Mark and Gemma escape, get in the elevator before he can catch them. No real confrontation; he's not even in the room when Mark finds Gemma. idk if we'll see him again next season, but frankly if we don't, it won't make a difference.

Fields. I also hate this man. This was one of the new characters I was actually anticipating! I expected him to potentially be a very interesting and involved character! But nope. He's in one episode, is a real fucking freak, and then is gone. Doesn't matter. His character had zero consequences on the Burt/Irving plot, and I seriously doubt we'll ever see him again (good).

Lorne. Okay I do have a soft spot for Lorne, she is precious and good! But she only showed up when convenient. She talked to Mark and Helly/na when they showed up, and she saved Mark from Drummond. Last season there was a huge running theme about the departments coming together; Burt/Irving was about more than their romance, it was this idea of workers joining together. But Lorne only saved Mark because she just so happened to be there when he was in trouble (their departments never sought each other out again after their encounter). And then Mark leaves. And she...takes Emeile back to the other goats? I guess? Maybe we'll see her again, especially if the innies really are going to rise up in a more significant way. But who knows for sure.

A lack of consequences for everyone, actually

It's staggering, how little had actual consequences in this season. So much that happened either in s1 or started to happen in s2 just... didn't matter. For instance:

Reintegration. Everyone's talked about this already so I'll keep it short. But it felt so exciting that Mark was reintegrating so early, and that first shot on him on the table at the end of ep3 got me so hyped!! Only for nothing to happen. By the finale, even the way Mark is talking about it sounds like he's not actually done it (wild that after "flooding the chip" he's still acting right as rein [able to get into physical fights in fact] and having no issues, meanwhile Petey was out here fighting for his life just to take a damn shower). It felt like Mark could have just been considering reintegration and nothing would have been different in the plot. "But we needed it for Gemma's episode!" Except we didn't? Nothing about that ep felt like reintegration as we've seen it. He honest to god could have just stared wistfully at a photo of his wife and they could have jumped into flashbacks that way.

Helena's YouTuber ass apology video and general lack of outside world response. This ties into the whole world feeling a lot smaller this season that failchild talked about, but it's really frustrating that the s1 finale essentially ended up having zero consequences. I feel like with as many people as were shown in s1 to protest severance or hate Lumon, at least some people in the outside world would be calling bullshit on Helena's excuse for what Helly said at the party. But what? She made the video and everyone was like "oh okay" and dropped it? I'm not saying this had to be a huge plot point, but like, idk. At least show me some protestors outside the property! Have the news on in the background, have Helena mention being annoyed at journalists asking her more questions! Just any acknowledgement that what Helly did at least made ripples, because that finale felt so huge when it came out. And the way the s2 treated it, essentially nothing was accomplished from an honestly incredible thing that Helly managed to pull off.

Milchick. Again, I think people have already talked about this a lot, so I'll keep it short, but. I so greatly wanted to learn more about Milchick this season. I wanted to know his backstory, his motivations, his dreams, anything. He had a bigger part this season, so I was hoping to see some form of character development, whether for the good or bad, I didn't care! Just something changing within him. But despite everything he faced, nothing changed? I guess he told Drummond to eat shit (which again, a weird lack of consequences he faced for that), but then was like "whelp, back to doing what I always do!" I guess I just went into this season wanting to understand Milchick more, and I still don't. He had the same outcome as s1, still essentially a henchmen trying to control innies. Except this time we got to see people be racist towards him. ...cool.

Ricken's storyline. Not much to say here other than Ricken played such an interesting role in s1, with his book inspiring the innies. They started to go somewhere with that but got bored I guess?? Anyway, hope him and Eleanor are doing okay lol.

The board???? So. What happened to the board. Remember when everyone reported to the board? When every vital decision seemed up to the board? When Cobel used to speak to them through Natalie. When, hell, in this very season, Mark plugged in that speaker and that's how he got his friends back!! Why did the board just like, completely disappear by the end of the show? The board wasn't in the back half of the season at all, let alone in the finale!! Supposedly the most important day in Lumon's history, and the board just?? isn't there?? Isn't even mentioned. I have no idea why they dropped this concept. There for awhile it was one of the more fun mysteries of the show, and now it's like it hardly even existed.

The core group is gone: Irv, my beloved, I'm so sorry

Again, this has been talked about a lot already, but just. Man I'm ngl sometimes I now get emotional over s1 clips because look how much those four used to mean to each other!! They were a family!! And now that's all gone and it's like the characters don't even care?

Irv. By far the biggest disappointment in this season for me personally was Irv's story. It's almost hard for me to talk about because it bothered me so much. You had an incredible character, with an amazing actor, and you said "eh. Send him away." And then everyone just went with it?? I thought for sure they were going to raise hell to bring him back; they'd do the work as four or they wouldn't do it at all!! But no, they just...had a weird funeral. And moved on. I really thought what Irv did for Helly was the set up, the first half, of a full circle moment for the two of them. Imagine how emotionally fulfilling their reunion would be?? Imagine how much it would have developed their relationship! It would have been so cool. But no, Irv is just gone, and honestly nearly forgotten in a way that feels almost like an insult to s1 imo.

Dylan also was very much in his own world this season and I can't decide if it's in character? Like yeah him getting to see Gretchen was huge and I get that, but just. Idk, he loved his MDR family too, so much so that he stayed behind for them in s1!! He was always involved, he always wanted to be involved!! But then Milchick, who he hated by the end of last season, says "hey buddy maybe stay quiet" and he just does?? Idk man, felt a little convenient.

And then Mark and Helly were just. Idk man I'm not making this about ships. I liked when they kissed in s1; it felt authentic. But then this season they ramped it up to 100 and I just. Sorry. It felt so fast to me. It felt like they disregarded everything around them for the sake of themselves and that doesn't feel reflective of the characters I knew in s1?

The Lumon (and Cold Harbor) of it all

Other people have talked about this too, but there were some questionable choices in my opinion about Mark's sudden over-importance to Lumon, and also Lumon at large felt less coherent to me this season.

Why does everyone have to be in on the conspiracy? I'm mostly talking about Burt here. Why was he was Lumon cronie? I really thought that Outie Burt and Irv's story would have been an interesting character-based story, about this premise of loving someone but them being with someone else. Maybe a tale as old as time for some, but I think through the lens of two older queer men, and with the innie versus outie dynamic, it could have been a really refreshing story? It didn't need to be about Lumon. Not everything in s1 was directly about Lumon (Mark's relationship with Devon and Ricken, Mark dating Alexa, his attempts to talk to Petey's daughter, etc.). The only spy was Cobel and it made sense given her job within Lumon. But Burt?? Mr. Fine Arts degree Burt?? Was also the hit driver during his off hours?? The Burt/Irv storyline could have gone about a thousand different directions, and that was just... not the one I wanted, frankly. And tbh with how little screen time it got and how abruptly it ended, I seriously wonder how dedicated to the storyline the writers were either.

Cold Harbor's sudden urgency. Failchild's post covers the flaws of Mark as suddenly the most important guy really well, so I won't get to into that exactly, but from the very first mention of Cold Harbor, I had my hackles up. Before, a huge theme of the show was MDR just doing the mysterious work. There were quarters to meet, but no ultimate goal or end point. Then in s2, all of the sudden everything is urgent, everything is superlative. This Has to get Done. It is the Most Important Thing Ever. If it happens, Gemma will Die and Mark/all of MDR will be Fired and will therefore also Die (which the internal logic of that from both a science and business perspective... sighs I won't get into it). Maybe this is a weird take, but I didn't need the Ms. Casey/Gemma story to have urgency; I didn't need her life to be on the line for me to want her out of there!! It just felt so jarring to go from s1 of "they're all doing this weird work that has existed for at least a few years with several different people who came and went from the team" to "all of this is for Mark and Gemma and that is all that matters for the entirety of Lumon, and after today it will all be Complete and Done Forever". Like...what?

Additionally, in s1, Petey's map says "people live down here". There's this fear that people, plural, don't get to have outies. Yet when we finally see Gemma in s2, she's alone in this gigantic hallway maze. There are 25 rooms all for her and her alone! Again, suddenly in s2 She is The One. The rest of the MDR files are?? Fake?? There... aren't multiple people trapped down there?? Lumon's whole success rests on her and Mark's shoulders alone?? IF IT ONLY WORKS WITH MARK AND GEMMA HOW ARE YOU GOING TO TURN IT INTO SOMETHING USEABLE FOR LITERALLY ANYONE ELSE??? Sorry, I got carried away...my point is, in s1 it felt like a different story. It felt like MDR would care because Ms. Casey was one of them and she potentially represented a greater, darker world of permanent innies. But that was completely forgotten in s2.

Another contradicting detail was the marching band. Don't get me wrong, it was fun watching Tillman lead a band, but...why is there a severed marching band? It just doesn't align with the original theme of the severed floor, which was about keeping innies separate and departments small, for doing mysterious and important work. What possible other roles could a marching band have fulfilled on the severed floor?

Possibly my favorite point that failchild brought up was the way s2 dropped the corporate satire theme from the show, when that was originally what made it such a refreshing concept. I think my points in this section all nod to that at their core. The cult-y Kier stuff was fun as undertones in s1, but it taking over has made it harder to understand (or take seriously tbh) Lumon's actual power and goals as a corporation at large.

In conclusion

Okay that was a lot of criticisms! lol whoops. Tbh I think the writers had a huge challenge to accomplish after s1; it's a tough premise that had set at a ridiculously high standard in s1. And I think them getting to do this season at all, after 3 years, was so exciting and fun to watch! I wish things had gone differently, but hey, that's just how watching TV goes sometimes. I'll still stick around for s3--who knows how that'll go! (Please bring Irv back, please make Gemma a main character, please do something new with Milchick).

If there's something I didn't touch on in this that you'd like my opinion on, or want me to elaborate on something I did say, feel free to send me an ask! I genuinely like talking about this show even if it accidentally came off as haterism lol.

[theotherrookie]

Willow noticed the moment of hesitation, but kept it to herself. Knowing she could still look menacing even while everybody was doing their best at it as well was enough.

In any case, she was more concerned about preparing the most appropriate accomodations for Ratchet, so that he wouldn't try to escape while they took some well deserved rest. She didn't like the look he had. It might have been worth it to do another background check later.

Willow waited patiently for Antonio to get through the video she had sent, glad to hear they could work with her suggestion.

"I'm glad to be of assistance." she replied with a small smile, "Now, shall we help our guest settle down for the night?"

This had been a fun group activity, but it was about time to go check on Cyberspace for her and bedtime for Erica.

"Well, it was fun at first! Too bad you didn't get to enjoy it as much as we did." Ratchet taunted back, "I had a great time with your little protege, that's for sure!"

Ratchet's rant was cut off by a fierce kick to the chest. Willow wasn't one to start swearing, but she and her combat boots knew how to get the point across.

"Don't mind me, I'm just polishing my boots real quick. Feel free to proceed at your earliest convenience."

"Of course. Thank you for the offer." Lucien replied, nodding.

"I think he does. Anyways, we should help wrap things up. It's been a long day for Smokey, it's about time I take him home."

The Twins nodded.

"You hear that?"

"It's time to go home." Tommy gently nudged Smokey towards Erica, before standing up as he watched the kitten run back to her.

"It is." Rook confirmed, "I haven't heard Lucien speak it in a long time. It sounds like he's loosening up a bit. That's something to think about."

Whether Russell would also want to do something with that information was up to him, but she was going to be nice for once and not press him on the topic.

"I guess that'd work. I could also look into sun resistance potions. Somebody has got to have thought about it."

If not, she would get creative. It couldn't be that hard.

"As long as it inconveniences him, I'm happy. I think we should make a few more of these– A couple for each one of us should do. I'll make the base, you fill them and wrap 'em. Then I'll make the smaller ones later."

Those would need some adjustments, thus were best left last.

"Good thing we don't need sleep like the others, uh?"

"Certainly." The threshold was also offensively low with Ratchet. He was such a disappointment.

Willow was about to offer the remainder of the ziplocks to tie Ratchet down, despite their proved ineffectiveness. Perhaps using a few more of his gadgets against him would have sufficed, though she wasn't about to set aside the possibility of a few of his joints accidentally being dislocated just yet.

But then her face lit up with the sort of enthusiasm that was known to unsettle even the most seasoned mercenary of her world.

"Oh, I might know of something that might just do to our case. Check your phone."

That prompted Ratchet to share his opinion on the matter. "…You're messing with the wrong guy."

"Thank you, but I wouldn't want to abuse of your time for what are, in the end, matters that a fae should deal with alone." Lucien replied. He could have used the alone time and even then, he didn't want to drag anyone in his scheming before he had the confirmation there would be a point to it at all.

He also wanted to get away from insolent elves. Erica looked way too content with herself there. She and Rook really were two of a kind.

"Well, my eyes aren't that good, but that's hard to miss." Erica replied.

Rook listened on for a moment longer, before shaking her head. "I just never realized how distinctively french Lucien sounds when he's speaking in fae."

She would treasure the knowledge to annoy him later. She proceeded to grab another piece of paper and wrapped it up around the shell, before retrieving some duct tape to tie down the loose ends.

"Camping would be cool. I haven't done that in a while, but it'd be nice to hang out in nature, maybe go home for a bit…" Rook replied, before pausing, "I mean, assuming we could even organize something like that."

Perhaps what she was hoping for was simply some time off from the supernatural shenanigans.

"You know, maybe we should find a way to add in salt to the injuries to really drill it in Five's skull how shitty it is to aim at open wounds to poison someone. He won't learn a damn thing, but screw him."

[sage-is-in-fact-very-tired]

so like . maybe opening a Google doc for this is a bit much however (future sage after they finished, it was not. it was not a bit much) . consider . who cares

the paragraph analysis (that isn't 2k words) - morally grey, maybe leaning more villain, some vague concepts of like- power? (of the magic kind?), probably was part of a group / company and isn't anymore . also like . getting vague toxic ex vibes from at least two of those songs.

anyway. I've gotten very good at analyzing songs as we all know. and so - a short little analysis based on nothing but the vibes of those songs <3

-> [Bones]

-> giving very morally grey kinda vibes? something about like- “I'll take the long road home that's lined with blood and snow” have they killed people? maybe their past involves some kind of death? the whole thing of innocent but they'll still serve time, maybe they're being blamed for some kind of death? The line about being your own worst enemy - do they blame *themself* for something that happened? do they think they're a bad person and keep going on anyway? Also that first like “can you believe in something that you can't even see? Can you agree we're part of something bigger than you and me?” Very ‘part of a suspicious group” kinda vibes, especially with the other lines about blood and innocence. “The mirror's always showing me a shell of who I used to be” maybe they used to be a better person than what they are now? (Looks at Little Wolf. looks at Little Wolf so hard)

-> vaguely kinda . toxic (or more than just toxic) ex vibes if you look at it in the right lens . like the lines about “you can give and take” and “Crack my bones but my heart won't break” like. yeah

-> [AC/DC]

-> this one is giving me . a time . because okay the main thought is of course like- robot. or some kind of mechanical parts, connected somehow to something like that?

-> if we go robot route, you have the obvious of like- morally grey robot being used by slightly evil group / company to do their dirty work, but in combination with all of the other songs I'm not quite sure that really fits completely?

-> could actually be more *the group / company* talking to starbound!sherb as opposed to starbound!sherb themself, which in context to the other songs I feel might be a bit more likely? honestly this song is the most confusing one to me-

-> [Rats]

-> something about how the group they work for is a little evil and they're all kind of rats and rats aren't considered good or clean or anything (something about having blood on their hands?) “Guess he's only got himself to blame” Something about how they've done bad things but (they believe) it's kinda their fault because they kept doing it without any question

-> and the other thing . toxic ex vibes . just very toxic relationship vibes . something about “love me like the rats in the cupboard” but like they wouldn't be loved because no one *wants* rats in their cupboard. the “watch me me burn and feed the flames” something about a possible partner (or I guess this could be like- okay I have brain worms and they definitely *were* apart of some kind of group so this could be referring to that but . lemme have my fun <3 - and this doesn't feel like the kinda song sherb would pick if thats the case? soooooo /silly) letting them wear themself down and feed the fire of why they're not a good person? “Do you ever get sick of watching me cave in” like ??? okay now . something about getting close to someone and then just . They don't help you and just watch you from afar. mmm. “Pull me apart and spreed me thin” do I need to elaborate . like. same reason as the last one- “told me she was back and here to stay, said she loved me and she wants my money, well I told her not today” very like- maybe controlling past partner maybe? this whole song gives very toxic relationship vibes and I dunno how else you want me to say that- “love me like the rats in the cupboard, not enough to keep a dying flame” something something starbound!sherb finally walking away from this? finally going off and trying to distance themself from this person?

-> half vaguely coherent thought of maybe like- them leaving the possible group they could've been apart of and like- getting into a relationship that isn't healthy in the slightest bc they haven't been able to process and the other side is just toxic? you know? shrug

-> [Sinners]

-> very just . morally grey vibes. not like lyric wise just like Vibe wise you must listen to it to understand I feel. “I must be good for something” so they want to be useful huh? is that a thing they wanna do? hm? /silly “oh Sinners come down, come gather round” something about maybe formerly being in a group - maybe being in some sort of higher up position? who knows, not me, clearly. “Let's go have some fun before they put us in the ground” so there's people after their group or just them perhaps? (with the addition of leave me alone later on the playlist, this is highly likely that *someone* is after them) “lions sit in solemn lines, drinking gin and dropping lines” something about whatever they do being very like- controlling? (could tie back to AC/DC maybe?) like them being on a tight ship perhaps? there's a lot of repeating lyrics in this one so there's not too much for me to look at with my eyes :(

-> [Little Wolf]

-> so this is the outlier of the group it'd seem . and . okay I've been brain worms about this one. because there's like- two ways yoou can see this one. also they're for sure not Athena I hope we can agree on that-

-> so option number one that- I think makes the most sense, is that in the context of this song they'd be antinuous. Kinda of more of that “morally grey, leaning a bit more ‘villain’” kinda vibes they got going? Just very antagonistic and stuff like that? (To who is another question but we probably can't get that just from the playlist)

-> other option is they're telemachus - a younger version of them only hoping to be a good person (perhaps joining a group in hopes they'd be able to help out with space horrors?), being taken under the wing of someone older and willing to protect them. (something about how arguably, under this interpretation, they could very easily be *both* telemachus and antinuous, trying to be good at the beginning and only ending up a worse person despite. Perhaps this is some kind of internal dialog, who knows. it's funky thinking about what's up with them)

-> [Dark Science]

-> This is the part I get the vague power vibes from? it just has that vibes and I can't explain it more than that-

-> actually on second thought it could also just be like- the group they were / could've been a part of? like something about their leader or a recruiter talking to starbound!sherb? and or star!sherb talking to like- a victim, but I lean more to the first option? something about the pre-chorus “Of your cold heart, no spark Restarting your true dark With mismatched animal parts Cannibal starved, natural Death is just the start” Feels very like- trying to convince them that it's gonna be fine and whatever they're going to do to star!sherb will all be fine (maybe they're like- cyborg? or along this song maybe some funky alien things? which could maybe also add to the powers idea that I've slightly squashed) and the chorus telling someone to not be afraid feels very “someone trying to convince someone else this group / these people are good and this is completely normal and ethical :)” also this - “With every draw I paint a picture Perfect murder scene But if these mortuary walls could talk We both know that they’d scream Hindsight is the only judge and jury that I need” feels very like- their story has *something* to do with death of some kind, be that literal or like- something else I'm not sure we can figure out. also the bridge talks about control and being a “cog” and. yeah I think their story perhaps also has something to do with control . I feel like those are the two major vibes I get. (Add the toxic ex idea to that? mmmmmm)

-> [Cavalryman]

-> something about being a soldier something about doing people's dirty work something about being apart of a slightly evil group something something. I don't have big brain worms about this song its just very big vibes honestly. also a lot of stuff about death yet again? like I feel like this could perhaps be a big part of their story… just guessing here though who knows… /silly

-> [Do What I Gotta]

-> morally grey bitch <3 /pos - also, seems like they might be on their own now perhaps? not apart of a group anymore - something like they left it for something better? (being morally grey still <3) anyway. “This city got issues lucky for us though I'm a one man armada” something about them trying to fix everything on their own (points back to that idea in Sinners of “I must be good for something” perhaps?) “I'm a bottle half full cause I got a good feeling that this world will truly start healing long as I do my part and keep a head start” very funky vibes going on here - seems a but more optimistic than the previous songs seemed? maybe they're trying to change their ways (albeit still in a definitely morally grey kinda way) or something like that so they can reverse any harm they could've done? “Imma do what's best if I get knocked down i'll start from the bottom” something about how they're willing to start all over if they get knocked off wherever they are? thyre *willing* to start over and still climb their way back up to the top. and then the . “count your days, I don't care what city you stay, I don't care what path you walk, the fact that you walks enough to get slain” Oh so like they're definitely killing people . so like regardless of what they did before they're probably definitely killing people still- “”we are your friends, we're in your crew, we are like you,” or that what they say” so maybe they're killing the people they used to associate with question mark? “Your choice is easy just pick a side but pick the wrong one and you'll probably die” funky funky funky for sure guys . normal

-> [Leave Me Alone]

-> puts my fingers together . toxic ex makes an appearance perhaps . I dunno something about this song in combination with Rats (and also Bones a little) is giving very toxic ex vibes and also probably like- their past group too but. lemme toxic ex truth here for a little bit please <3 “you took the money but the money couldn't buy a friend” points, there was a reference to money in rats and it was In a very oh this person wants this but I won't give it to them and this also maybe has that kinda vibes. also the whole just . leave me alone idea . toxic maybe kinda controlling vibes from rats and bones - it's not a *long* stretch to assume they might be after star!sherb? “The devil that you is better than the devil that you don't” perhaps like- maybe star!sherb not wanting to hurt whoever after them despite everything (the devil they know being the person after them, and the devil they don't being star!sherb? something about how star!sherb definitely is like . okay with murder-) “go fly a kite until your tangled in the hanging tree” Well that's a way to tell someone to kill themself- okay no for real something about how maybe in this case star!sherb doesn't want to get their hands dirty? and they want someone else, or even the person after them, to do it themself as opposed to otherwise (if we go toxic ex situation, something about still feeling things for them despite everything?)

uhhhhhhhh, I think that's all. word count on all of that is like two thousand words . thought that'd be shorter guess I'm just too much of a loser for that. anyway I have brainworms about starbound!sherb I hope that's clear 🧍‍♂️

[anonymous-asexual]

Hello! I haven't been on your blog long but I poked around and saw you answered some questions, so if you could please make this public so others can see that would be appreciated, I am fine without anonymity :)

I'm a writer and I'm trying to improve my skills, and I was wondering what are some annoying tropes portrayed in fiction with asexual characters? Mostly so I can avoid them, but also so when I write ace characters, I write then accurately. And also, what variance would you like to see within characters of any sexuality/gender?

Thank you for hosting a safe space and sharing your stories!

Hi there! So sorry I didn't get around to this sooner. I wanted to make sure that I had a few good ideas before I sent them off to you.

One big issue with asexual characters in the media is that they can be shown as heartless or unaffectionate towards others, especially in regards to romance. Asexual individuals can be very affectionate depending on the individual, and many still seek out romantic relationships. Aromantic individuals may also desire affection and closeness without a romantic relationship.

A lot of asexual representation will also state that the reasoning behind the ace's identity is due to previous trauma, especially sexual trauma. However, while this can be true on occasion, it is most often not the case. If you do go the route of their identity being trauma-driven, make sure you take personal experiences of those who have experienced trauma into account. And please don't make the fix to trauma being to have sex in spite of their orientation. I doubt that you would, of course, but just thought I'd mention it.

Another big one is that asexuals tend to be played as underdeveloped or undeveloped side characters with little influence to the plot. This isn't to say that the asexual has to be a main character or protagonist, just that you should flesh out the character so that they are more than just asexual. It shouldn't be their only trait or their driving force in the storyline.

As far as gender/sexuality variance, having a few characters that have shifting genders or sexualities throughout the story would be great to see! Gender and sexuality are a spectrum, so showing how those identities can fluctuate and change given the character's experiences would be a great way to show character development.

Those are a few of the big ones that I could think of! There are more, of course, but I thought I'd keep this as short as I could. I hope that these help! If you have further questions in the future, feel free to reach out through the ask box or through DM's, and I'll be happy to help as much as I can. Also, if any followers think of anything they'd like to add, reblog with your own additions! Thanks for the awesome question!

~Luna Tiny

[midnight-fox-boy]

I know it's hard but I think we should, as a whole, be a bit more understanding of people who don't use the best wording or phrasing around LGBTQ+ topics but are coming from a genuine place. Maybe it's someone using outdated language when they don't realize that, maybe it's someone questioning their identity and struggling with how to phrase how they feel in an "acceptable" way. Maybe it's someone asking questions but really not using great wording or the question is actually pretty invasive but the person seems nice enough.

I don't mean that we should just be cool with that, or ignore it, but if we jump to aggression, chances are the person may not want to learn better language or even try to learn more about themselves.

As much as I wish the language was properly taught to everyone, that's not the case. As much as I wish everyone knew how to navigate search engines to find all the answers, there's many that don't, and I've found from first hand experience that Google searching these things can actually be REALLY difficult unless you're using specific questions/language to get those results, so to become more informed you sometimes have to be...more informed??. Not to mention there's a TON of outdated information and misinformation easily accessible.

I know someone who means well, who is kind, accepting, just really anxious and paranoid about health and safety stuff. In her own research on HRT, she scared the shit out of herself because she saw all these horrible things about testosterone that scared her. Information that IS partially true, but not in the way she thought or was written. Increased risk of heart issues? Yeah that's because our risk starts to match cis men. Reproductive health issues? Depends on the person and the context, but is blown up way more than it should be.

I know people who were scared to ask me questions because they weren't completely sure if the question was appropriate or if they would word things the wrong way. My response was they can ask me anything, I'm not worried about wording if I know they're coming from a genuine place, and if I'm not comfortable answering I'll tell them that and if I can, direct them to more general information.

I've seen people questioning their own gender identity and used the most wild problematic phrasing while trying to describe that. After a bit of digging into it, their phrasing made sense to their limited understanding and not knowing where to start. Or the cases of cis people saying things like "I wish I was a trans woman" (said by a cis woman), when what she really meant was that she is a woman, but she wasn't completely happy with the body parts she was born with and this was what her brain came to with her limited understanding of gender.

[imaginariumwanderer]

So, a little update.

This reblog is about how I'm doing for those who care, to talk about my relationship with the crk fandom as of late, and to announce that I'm taking a vacation (to twitter) once I'm done with all the requests, I'll come back in May or at a later date, it's uncertain.

Honestly speaking this isn't anything big, I'm doing well. I'm making this post because I don't want people to worry lol Please be warned I'm going to rambles about my *eugh* feelings under cut, hope it's comprehensible.

Let's get the shorter stuff over first: About my life. Same ol' same ol' stuff. My life is a predictable chain of work eat rest+occasionally dealing w family stuff, and I like it that way. My job brought moderate stress like any job. It's my fluctuating, erratic mental health that gets in the way of finishing my tasks on time. So ya, kinda busy kinda tired but it's nothing I can't handle. It is how it is.

Now let's get down to business: So with the 4th anniversary and the arrival of playable smc, the crk fandom has blown up. I anticipated this long ago but when it actually happen, well... Things have gotten hectic quickly, eh? Eventually and inevitably, I ended up feeling overwhelmed. I've seen other fans, mutuals or otherwise, expressing the same sentiment. So I felt a bit less alone on that front, but it's still hard to deal with.

Last year, the amount of shadowvanilla fanfics on ao3 barely reached triple digits. Now it has over 600 fics and growing. At some point I realized the fandom surrounding this ship has irreversibly changed, whether it's for the best or the worse is yet to be seen, but that realization kinda sent me spiraling. The place which I've familiarize myself with for over a year now feel so alien. I got this sense that I don't belong. I'm not sure if I deserve to be here anymore. I wanted to check how my mutuals are doing, but lately just the thought of checking the shadowvanilla tag or logging onto tumblr at all got me feeling awfully, illogically, anxious. I felt disconnected from everyone.

Make no mistakes, this is no one's fault. From when I made my first crk post up until now I've yet to receive a single negative comment, nor did I have any bad interactions with the fans. Every person I've come across have been nothing but welcoming and kind, my time on tumblr have been incredible so far (aside from those annoying porn bots-) It just that I can't help my intrusive thoughts. I still question my place in this fandom sometimes. Please rest assured, I've done my own crashouts back in late January-mid February (yah, I crashed out twice) and is currently in the getting over it/processing my feelings phase. Drawing is still fun, I still wanna have fun talking about silly cookies with my like-minded pals again c:

If you're new to this blog: hi, thank you for being here. Um, dw I don't tend to get all weird and personal like this that often, it's as a special occasion.

If you're an old follower or a moot: thank you for everything, really. I once mentioned before how I don't like bringing irl stuff or negative feelings onto this blog, but I think all of you deserve a bit of honesty from me. Moving forward I'd like to be a bit more open, if that's okay with you. I'm a pretty negative person in real life (haha)

As said above I'll move to twitter temporarily in the future/April. My twitter is fairly small and new, so it feel nice posting whatever is on my mind without fearing how many people will see it. Feel a bit calmer there too. I'm extra awful truthful there, if any adult crk fans reading this would like to chat, feel free to reach me there! (not in DMs tho it's the anxiety ok sorry sorry-)

Sorry for not being more active on the reblog/interaction department these past few weeks. I gave in to the sus on twitter and then art block hit me like my dad's belt (on top of other irl shenanigans..)

The inbox is open for asks again, anon is allowed too, I'm not confident on my reply rate but I'll do my best! As of now art request is not officially open yet. I do really want to get started but it's impossible with current irl stuff getting in the way. Hopefully I can start doing requests in May, I hope. Shadowvanilla-related art request is welcomed though, I don't have enough mental strength for most things lately but doodling them revitalize me(?) So please feel free to make requests for smilk and vani!

Some rules:

Please specify whether you want them in humanoid or cookie form. If there's no specification I'll draw it randomly.

Slightly suggestive is ok, they can kiss as a treat, but no outright nsfw please. Any graphic requests will be rejected/blocked.

A little bit of blood or light gore is ok👍

(angst prompts is encouraged their suffering fuels me-)

*Waiting time is 3 weeks, if there's no answer by then please consider the request rejected or I somehow didn't receive it. Thank you for your understanding.

Edit: request is now officially closed.

[pastafossa]

DDBA THOUGHTS, FIRST TWO EPS.

It's been roughly 90 minutes and I am still processing, jesus fucking christ.

Set behind a cut due to spoilers but my thoughts are pretty positive, even if that shit ran my heart over like a dump truck. Below you will find:

My frantic reaction thoughts I wrote down during or immediately after (character dissections will be marked)

My overall thoughts on the first 2 eps as a whole

Dissection of Matt and where I think he's at currently in this headspace

Yes that's right, I'm using the sad gif. Spoilers ahead. Feel free to skip down to whichever part you like!

I will have more thoughts tomorrow but I am still feeling fucking weird because I'm trying to process both the new series events and the fact that Our Man is back after 6 years in show format and I feel like someone who's gone from starving to suddenly full of food and my body is CONFUSED

The mood whiplash in the first 15 mins going from, yup we're all happy, to absolute fucking building dread and then horrified agony was, I won't lie, well done. You made me want to vomit, thanks writers.

Spent the whole fight with Bullseye just sobbing and whispering, 'oh no, oh no, oh Foggy, baby, no, Matt, no-', pretty sure some part of me inside is stiiiiiiiiill sobbing, it will always be sobbing, gonna relive that for days 😭

Matt crying on the rooftop? Him being so fucking distraught that all he could do was lean on Dex even though Dex was the killer? Just fucking gut me. Worst we've ever seen him, bar none.

DISSECTION MOMENT: He pushes Dex over the edge. I'd wondered if he'd try to kill Dex, with that being his, 'A Line Was Crossed', and tbh I think if any canon death could make Matt kill, it would be Foggy's. And he certainly tried. Matt's always walked such a fine line when it comes to murder, and he's come VERY close before, usually only dodging it because the baddie gets lucky or we can squint and say they did it to themselves. Welp, here we are again, and this time I think the only reason Dex is alive is because of all that technology we saw them packing into Dex at the end of S3. To Matt? To Matt, he killed. That Dex technically lived is a coincidence. Matt tried to break his rule. He tried.

Yes I am still parked in Denial Hill wondering if Foggy will come around somehow, I need some time to organize my thoughts, but even if he's dead dead, I'm going to wait and see if they pull an Elektra and find some way to revive him.

DISSECTION MOMENT: Matt's new apartment (RIP our beloved old loft cause someone's living there now from what I understand) is nice but something I noticed is it's... a little colder. And I think that's intentional. Matt's old apartment was rougher around the edges, warmer, and I'd argue a little more symbolic both of the Kitchen and who he was each night on the streets. Half the reason he chose that old apartment was the roof access. This new apartment is for a Matt who's trying very hard to be done with Daredevil and live life only as Matt. He's locked away from the streets with no easy way to go running, he's situated high and cool and distant, with all those floors to slow him down if he gets impulsive.

Matt just disassociating his way through his breakfast and morning coffee, yup he's totally fine, definitely not trying to block out all those screams.

DISSECTION MOMENT: EXCUSE ME, CARRYING AROUND FOGGY'S MEMORIAL CARD. 😭 Personal theory is he's not just carrying it to have a little of Foggy with him, but because he's trying to remind himself why he's not being Daredevil anymore since he thinks that doing that got Foggy killed.

Queenpin, good for her.

Really liked the touch of Matt cooking in the dark because he doesn't need light. And I liked the addition of the neon lighting flashing in his windows, a good callout to his old apartment.

I'm also digging both Kirsten and Heather, esp Heather who we get more of. There's chemistry there, and she rolls with Matt pretty well. I'm very interested to see how she handles the Shenanigans TM that I'm sure he'll get up to later. I'd love if he could have a healthy canon relationship for once but this is also matt soooo. And that KISS, damn, when is it my turn

THE DINER SCENE WAS EVERYTHING I NEEDED, THESE TWO ARE SO FUCKING PERFECT IN EVERY SCENE YOU HAVE THEM IN TOGETHER, GD

DISSECTION MOMENT: No but I really do think this is something that would keep Matt out of Hell's Kitchen for a bit as he struggles with his identity, his trauma, his fear, and with the 'costs' of what he does. All that work and he feels like he failed. He couldn't save the one person that mattered most to him. On top of that? He crossed his line. He tried to kill someone and would have succeeded if Dex hadn't been built different. All of that trauma around what happened... yeah I could see him trying to hang the cowl up and move to a new neighborhood in hopes that he'd be able to escape. And he is trying to escape. He's pushing all that down, pushing and pushing and I'm Fine-ing like he has with every previous death in his life, holding up like a good Catholic boy, but the cracks are showing. He's a powder keg.

YET MORE DISSECTION: And holy fucking shit when he blows up does he go. That fight at the end of the 2nd Episode had me feral. Definition of FAFO. I know I've seen some mixed opinions on the opening fight, but that fight at the end of ep 2 is exactly what I wanted, that was perfect. Him begging them to stop because he's trying not to do this, trying not to fight, he's afraid of what he'll do if it gets out, but the second that blood droplet hit the floor (LOVED that shot), you knew that was it, ding ding, Round One. I loved how vicious that fight was, I need to rewatch it 10 TIMES.

That final scream. What's that Matt? You're saying you're not fine? You're not handling this well? Whoever could have predicted that you mashing all that grief and rage down would come out like that, not me it was me though i predicted that.

Intrigued by that Punisher tattoo the dirty cop had on him.

OH MY GOD SHE'S THEIR MARITAL COUNSELOR, GOOD FUCKING LUUUUUCK

Man, Karen just fucking skedaddled and I'm wondering if this isn't because she's going to spiral out in CA like she does in the comics so she comes back having also gone through it (I realize it was because, in reality, they had to explain why she wasn't there because otherwise they'd have to rewrite and reshoot everything, but we're talking in universe here). Karen also has a tendency to run, much like she tries to do in S3. We know she'll be back though.

MY THOUGHTS OVERALL:

So.

(puts hands together and breathes because this was a lot and I'm still processing both the return of our man after 6 years and the show events themselves)

So.

So.

I'm obviously gutted over Foggy, I'll be crying over that for a bit even if I still have a lil hope, and am willing to just fix it in fanfic otherwise. But... I liked this. A lot. It's not exactly the Netflix show, which I'll always be nostalgic for, but quite frankly it was never going to be that show - too much time has passed, and batons have changed hands in terms of writing, directing, cinematography, etc. I'm ok with this being a little different. I'm ok with there being some small humps to get over, cause god knows S2 had its issues too (I love you, OG DD, but it's true). I'm really really optimistic about this.

I do think you can also see some slight tonal shifts between stuff that was salvaged from the original writing arc, and what Scardapane has added in during reshoots. And those moments Scardapane's got control are the best, even if I think they've done pretty damn good during the rest of it considering all the shakeups during production. I'm going to be very interested to see what happens in S2 where you've got a singular creator with consistent control, and I'm very excited for the final two episodes of S1 which are both all under Scardapane's hand. The best part is Matt is still Matt. The dialogue, what he's trying to do, even him pulling a, "that part of my life is over" is very him. His resistance to becoming DD again (though as my dad snorted when we were watching and Matt told Fisk that part of his life was over, 'HA! Horseshit.' Cue dad's smug 'HA! Told you.' During the ep 2 fight) feels... like a natural progression, and Charlie's playing it well.

MY THOUGHTS ON MATT, PLEASE STAND BY FOR ULTIMATE DISSECTION.

Oh boy. Oh boy. As predicted, our man is going through it and you can see it (God bless you Charlie, you're as wonderful an actor as ever). He's convinced, of course, that he's doing ok. He's holding down a good job, he's got a new apartment, he's managing to ignore the screams at night even if he has to drown it out with music and live up so high to try to muffle it, he's not laying in bed like a lump, he's not going out to fight, whatever you do, don't go out there, if I go I'll slip again. But this isn't a man who's ok. This is a man who's terrified and wracked with guilt because not only did his life as Daredevil (in his mind) lead to his best friend's death, but he broke his rule. He made the kill move, gave into his grief and his rage, and it was only through luck that Dex lived. It would only eat at him more that it was over Foggy, one of the people who regularly encouraged Matt to hold back from taking that final step. Matt knows Foggy wouldn't have wanted that for Matt.

He was warned that one day he'd kill someone. And he tried to do it.

Giving up Daredevil is what Foggy would have wanted. I have no doubt he's telling himself that.

But you can only cut away part of yourself for so long before it finds a way out. Matt will never be able to resist going to help those who need it. He'll never be able to fully turn away, and he enjoys those fights.

That's where that scream comes from at the end of Ep 2. He has done everything he's supposed to. He's given it all up, he's moved, he's focused on the law only, and he even fucking begged them to leave him be. He let them beat him and beat him and beat him, and still he didn't raise a hand.

Not until that gun came out.

And he snapped.

Everything done right, and still he finds his way here again, with blood on his fists and his adrenaline up and, I'm sure, no small bit of guilty enjoyment over suddenly being back in a fight that he won.

Our man is not ok, and I think he's going to realize that going forward.

This IS our man. There's some frayed edges here - there usually are in pilots, in shows that had this many production issues. But there is so, so much good here too to build on and I'm eager to see where Charlie and them take it even if it winds up crushing my heart a bit more in the process.

[elitadream]

Okay.

One more Bowser drawing and then I'll go right back to making Mareach fluff. Pinky promise. 😌💟

[elizabeth-mitchells]

i love when characters i personally kind of hate are still interesting to think about and analyze. like that's the least you can do

[celestialmuses]

To hear Brooks admit freely how much he loved his sister warmed Stella's heart. She was the same way; she would do anything for her siblings. "That makes sense, it's not like California still won't be there in a few years. Granted those earthquakes might do them in, but I'll remain optimistic." She joked, before turning her head and giving Brooks a soft smile. "Of course I'd move with you. You think I'm letting you out of my sight? To quote the great Stephen Sondheim, you'll never get away from me. I love you and I want to be where you are. As for kids..." It was a good question, one she had thought about. Both before Brooks and idealistic, and after him and more logical. "I grew up in the city. I had a good childhood, you know? It made me independent and open-minded. But twenty years later the city has changed, even I can see that. There's so little grass; half the city is gentrified and the other half dangerous. Maybe we could try Forest Hills, it's close to the city but people have houses there with backyards and stuff. It's still close enough to my family for them to come out and see us or vice versa. But I don't know. The thought of having an infant and packing up a house and moving somewhere else seems like a nightmare. I think I'd rather move somewhere and then have a baby. Because if we're going to buy a house I really only want to do it once." She added with some finality and a sigh. "I know, your mom told me and it's a very sweet offer. My mom also mentioned that when I have a baby, she can come and stay with us if we want. I just have to make sure she doesn't try to give the baby pesto too early. It wouldn't be the worst way to test for a nut allergy though, once they're at the appropriate age."

Considering the troublesome relationships Kelly has worked through Brooks is beyond happy that she ended up with Kirk. At first he was apprehensive to it only because he was so protective of his little sister, now he knew they were perfect together. It was only a matter of time until they started a family. For him and Stella that was certainly where things were headed. He didn't feel rushed to propose or get married - they were happy and the rest would come in time. The question about moving back to LA caught him off guard. "Huh," he started not having fully contemplated it before. "Maybe. I mean Kelly is the person I love most in this world. So for her to have a child I want to be there. Maybe we wouldn't move back right away. Probably as they get older and more fun. An important question for you, would you move with me? And should we start a family, which is something I want, do you think you would prefer to raise them here in the city or with a little more space with family nearby out there? For the record my mother will be beyond ready to help if we ask. Kelly has no choice though since that's her baby."

[kyouka-supremacy]

DELACROIX SPOTTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!