#to make myself like. have better more cohesive Opinions About Things

[kohakhearts]

so basically. after watching all twelve hundred whatever episodes of the pokemon anime my final take is that ash has 7384849384 hands and they are ALL for pokemon battling

[bisnes-socks]

i've read people's thoughts on the album as a whole and i've analysed most of the songs myself by now, so here's my thoughts on the whole people's champion album.

1. in ready to go, well he is just that, ready to go and try, even if he fails. he's not afraid and going forward and doing his thing is what he intends to do and what he loves to do. he has agency over his career and image, autonomy over himself.

my longer and more in depth song analysis posts are linked here in the text.

i personally don't think the album has a single narrative through it. the songs are thematically connected, but it's not one chronological and cohesive story to me. i've seen people speaking a lot on the theme of agency. i'd agree, that agency and autonomy are the major themes of the album, but i would specify that in my opinion, it's about finding and claiming agency. i think he has agency in almost every single song, but it's about him realising that he does have it, even when it feels like he doesn't, and him finding it and holding on to it.

2. in cha cha cha, he's talking about different sides of himself. in this song the two aren't necessarily living in perfect harmony, because one man needs piña coladas to coax him out, but both are.. intentional. and ultimately it's about finding the bravery to be who you are, which he is always advocating for and has really succeeded in, it seems.

3. in takavoltti, yes he is being sort of incited into crazy shit, but he absolutely recognises himself as a person who just.. gets into crazy shit easily. this side of him is also very present in mic mac. he's not bullied or abused into insane stunts and things, he recognises his own agency and both mental and physical autonomy in all of it by comparing himself to the dudesons etc. i think the song recognises the toxicity of the situation, but he's in control of it - as much as you are in control of your own personality and impulses.

4. ruoska is getting into the territory of maybe lacking some agency - life treats him harshly sometimes, and maybe he feels a bit powerless in front of all that. but then! he claims agency, by essentially going well yeah this hurts but hehe i'm into pain bitch. he literally says "baby hei mä oon valmis, anna tulla" meaning i'm ready, give it to me.

5. in kot kot i feel like he is at his most helpless. he's trying to control his situation by running away from things, trying to dance his worries away, but it's all crumbling down. in this one his agency in the situation is pretend.

7. in sex = money he is taking back like aaaalll of his agency and autonomy. his image, his work, his power, his role, his personality, his sexuality. autonomous agency anthem! he doesn't give a fuck! let's make sex moneyyy. BUT at the same time the song recognises the risks concerning agency and autonomy in the world of music, where selling sex is so prevalent. i think he is choosing to hold on to his.

6. in skit + autiomaa, he has lost agency and control over his life yes, but he is learning to find it again. he is listing things that he has done, to help himself feel better and to improve. it might not help (immediately anyway) but he's doing it. and he has thought about it, he has sought for help, he has sought for solutions, he has taken the steps. he is actively trying to help himself. i think that makes the song all the more emotional and sad, but it is not without hope, it's not without his own personal action for himself, and not without progress.

8. bananas is more about togetherness and collectivity i think. but i think it's also a song where he is truly enjoying himself. feeling himself, you know? if kot kot is a pretty sad song about partying, this one is pretty sexy. he's feeling like the hottest boy at the club, you know? truly into himself and into his crew and everything they get up to.

9. huhhahhei is about new connections. making the choice to be open and even vulnerable with new people. setting your own boundaries and giving yourself the permission to enjoy new people. self-confidence! 

10. in icip, he's not so much in control of things that happen to him, but he doesn't seem to be toooo bothered about it. which i find quite fitting. he sees things for what they are but he doesn't seem insecure or scared about any of it.

11. people's champion is a recap of him finding himself in a whole new situation and finding his footing in all of it - and recognising the help he has had along the way, while also being proud of everything he himself has achieved.

so overall, i think thematically this album is quite heavy, maybe dark even, but to me, it's not a sad album specifically. he comes across as someone incredibly tenacious. he's able to stay very strong, and he is able to recognise when things aren't going great. i think ultimately, the album is him going through life changing events, both good things and bad things, and coming out on the other side stronger and wiser than ever. it's an album of many emotions, but at the end of the day, he persists. and naming it people's champion, the single tear on the cover.. he's facing it all, taking it all head on, claiming his pride and moving forward. he's strong.

it's a powerful album.

[dirthamen-enjoyer]

please remember that this is all my personal thoughts and i might be wrong about some of the things. it is critical. this started off as one specific topic about solas and then ended up turning into more of a ramble. i guess? anyways spoilers for veilguard under the keep reading line.

i wish my brain worked properly sometimes because i really want to know why i feel like they didn't write solas cohesively enough. to me, he is the best part of datv. and no, it's not because i romanced him in inquisition. actually, i could never finish his romance because he was such a know-it-all and it would annoy me lol. (it's because i'm a know-it-all and know-it-alls tend to clash. i plan on forcing myself through it one day though.) despite him annoying me, i liked him as a character. i liked his reveal, the moral greyness of him.

i think mainly my problem is how they presented his morals and why he wants to tear down the veil. it feels like they couldn't decide how to focus him. so originally he's tearing down the veil because it was a mistake and wants the world to go back to the way it was so the days of the ancient elves - specifically after the evanuris are gone - could return, at least that's what i got from it.

then at the beginning of veilguard, it suddenly it feels like tearing the veil down is just a byproduct of him needing to move the last of the evanuris to a better prison. huh? in my head i always thought that solas was ready to fight the evanuris when the veil is brought down because he's willing to take the risk of dealing with them just to bring the old world back. maybe that's too headcanon-y? also i never got around to reading the books or comics fully so i might have missed some details.

then at the end it's "i must do this for mythal or her sacrifice would be for nothing" or whatever he said. huh? i don't get why it's suddenly about mythal, even with the regret murals showing how close they were. it should be about him and all he sacrificed, only for it to not go the way he wanted. without even talking about what was revealed in the regrets murals, he sacrificed the world he knew to lock the evanuris (and forgotten ones) away to try and make life better for the common elves, the slaves.

i don't know how well that last paragraph comes off. i'm just saying that it felt like it didn't belong. his whole story is about regrets, yes. makes sense. he regrets the events that happened because of the veil mistakenly happening. he regrets what's in the murals (which i might talk about in another post because :/) but the game acts like him tearing down the veil is just selfish. there's no other nuance there, it's just selfish. huh? there is so much nuance to this position, in my opinion, that i can't even figure out how to write it.

okay so i've officially lost my train of thought about this original topic, which means i don't know what else to put. i'll just say that i feel dumb that i don't understand it while it feels like everyone else does. also i don't understand why i dislike how everything ended for him. it was like someone punched me when lost elf started playing because this ending didn't feel right. and i don't know why. (that one ending... "i am a god!" bffr he would NAWT FUCKING say that.)

also let me just quickly state that i do not think they should have made the evanuris, and elves, originally spirits. it takes away the fantasy in a the fantasy story, is the best way to say it. i know it sounds weird, but... mysteries are good. not everything needs an explanation. we could have had the mystery of "what were the evanuris?" if they kept them as just gods instead of explaining them. just have the reveal be that the gods weren't good to their subjects and are all-powerful. no need to explain all the time.

this has nothing to do with how much i wanted to fight actual gods (i did. i wanted to go up against actual gods other than the archdemons. and we know that reveal :/ ) or even how much more impactful it would have made solas's history.

[year2000electronics]

General thoughts on Luigi?

MY GENERAL THOUGHTS ON LUIGI.

- he is adorable. as is his brother. he and mario have a cute quality to them and the universe needs to accept this

- i think it’s always been kinda interesting how a lot of people seem to treat luigi as a character as if he’s still “the underdog in his brothers shadow”. i can see where they’re coming from, since it just makes such a compelling story of being a Victim of Circumstance, and his eventual “rise to the call” in luigi’s mansion really giving him legs to stand on, and games like spm exploring luigi’s specific lot in life as “player two”, but the culture and treatment of luigi has definitely shifted since the experimental period of the 2000s. not only is he treated as just as much of a hero as mario but i feel like the public opinion of him has grown so much that he’s likely more popular than even mario himself is (just look at how big of a lead he had in the schafrillas mario ranking).. i frequently find myself pondering the logistics of Underdog Luigi but i feel like more people need to recognize that it definitely isn’t the case anymore in mario canon writlarge

- he needed more screentime in the movie! and i’m NOT just saying that because i love him! genuinely think about it for a moment. luigi gets stuck in the darklands through no fault of his own. neither brother knew what was in the warp pipe, and their separation in the warp zone was almost random. so then, yes, he does spend a lot of the movie cowering in fear, but that’s because he HAPPENED to land in the darklands. hell, he even stands up to bowser (verbally) at one point! and why this is a problem for me is that luigi is supposed to be a shrinking violet and a scaredy cat, and i love how weird and socially awkward he can be in the movie, but because this is MARIO’s movie, mario as a character ends up more flawed (in the fleshed-out character sense) and needing to learn more than luigi does! it’s just WEIRD when mario has to learn all these lessons and be the better man and then luigi is just kinda. coasting? like no! no no! that man should be NEUROTIC!!! (and the icing on this cake is that mario’s dad is all “you’re holding your brother back” I FEEL LIKE IM IN BIZZARO WORLD. WHAT. WHY.)

- my fav version of him is paper luigi <3 he’s the closest thing we’ve had of a luigi who is able to start his respective series as the man in the shadows and then graduate into self-confidence. it’s not a perfect “arc” for him since the modern games don’t exactly follow up on SPM but i’ve always found it more interesting the way he’s positioned in the paper mario series. there’s not any room for him in your party so you see the most distinct divide between mario and luigi we’ve ever had aside from luigi’s mansion itself

- i miss his striped socks from early m&l art :(

- him and e gadd are so funny together i think more people should acknowledge how bitchy they are at each other. it’s fantastic. luigi and this old queen

- i can’t wait to hear more of kevin afghani’s luigi VA :] i have unfortunately heard a lot of his luigi’s screams of death in wonder though. sorry to luigi for killing you so much.

- i want to see nintendo continue to try and figure out what they want to do with luigi in 3d marios. in 64 and sunshine he just wasn’t there (boooo), in galaxy he has probably the best compromise? being someone you run into in the overworld as well as being an unlockable character after getting every star, and odyssey has him doing balloon world. which is not really anywhere near the action but he is admittedly very cute with his balloons and bow tie. i feel like neither of these answers are the “true, cohesive 3d luigi experience” though. i hope they don’t give up on it.

- mr. l has and forever will be cool. technically not a luigi thing but i’m ride or die for him.

i always have thoughts on luigi. i could go on like this all day.

[bismuthburnsblue]

while i was away the other week, i picked up a potential trim for my lady Stede dress, and i wanted to talk a bit more about it with you guys and see what you think !! (you can skip to the end for an opinion poll if you dont wanna read all the background spiel!!! tldr: do we like what i picked?)

so, Stede's costume is not particularly historically accurate, but the use of trim between mens & womens fashion is completely different anyway, so im not too worried about trying to find something that matches 100%. i mostly want something that brings the same effect to the garment, particularly in the colour. i went and found some high def images, so you can sort of see the structure of the trim.

The colour is somewhat hard to pin down, but i tend to see it as a sort of antique gold colour? it looks to me like tarnished metal (but i would love to hear about your opinions on the colour!)

The trim is much more subtle on the style of dress im making- most of the decoration is created through pleated stripes in the same fabric as the dress, with the decorative element lining the edges (and occasionally running down the centre). looking at extant examples, ive seen many different shapes of trim, though most of it seems to be looped cord or "fly fringe" - loose filament tied into little puffs or flowers (its super cute but hard to get a hold of and i dont think i care enough to make it)

im not quite sure how im trimming this garment yet- i dont want to commit to anything until ive played around with what looks good on the actual dress, but i know i want to do at least some of this pleated design on there, so these styles are what i went out with in mind.

(ok, context established, onto my specific picks!) i really struggled to find trims i felt would work for this project- i wanted gold, but everything i was finding was too bright and shiny and not at all what i was going for. I ended up picking two things in the same dark gold colour that felt a bit more worn in, but definitely needed work to get the shapes i was looking for- one i think ill dismantle entirely and use the cord to make something new, if i end up using these.

the other was much closer to the kind of thing i wanted, but still needs work. it had two lines of loops and my plan is to remove one of the lines to create something more like the looping of the historic trims. ive pinned one line out of the way in the pictures below to give you a bit of a better idea of what i want, but please know this was a 5 minute edit, and the final result may be different!! (i also want to add that i dont think ill leave the border edge as wide, either- i want the trim to be a hint, not overwhelming)

(these images have been edited a little to try and capture colour accuracy, as my phone Did Not want to make the blue blue :/ the last image is the most accurate to the trim, i think)

i think my pick was absolutely the best option out of the ones i saw... only now im looking at it with my fabric, im not sure. it was the best kind of gold colour they had, but i feel like stedes is even darker and cooler in colour, almost a brown-grey tone. (honestly, this one is pretty brown when you look close, but what matters is the bigger picture, so :/ ) it feels to shiny and sparkly, and like it might stand out in the wrong kind of way.

i want this dress to feel like a genuine historical garment first and foremost, id rather it look cohesive and intentional than be accurate to the show and im doubting myself with this trim- but also i know it was by far the best option that i saw when i was actually looking at hundreds of gold trims... so, what do you think?

[monsterlets]

pokemon team ideas:

the best pokemon to make lookalike furniture out of (e.g., the easy one of "snorlax beanbag chair")

the best pokemon to throw off your opponent; "but they're so cute!" [team murders opponents' pokemon]

a pokemon team for a gym in a decommissioned nuclear power plant

pokemon team of JUST "that is a man" pokemon that you don't immediately hate because of uncanny valley (challenge rating: near impossible)

a team of pokemon whose colors/designs are just Slightly Wrong but if improved would be great

a team of pokemon where the shinies are infinitely better than the regular forms. caveat: at least 3 pokemon Cannot just be your favorites. lol

a team of pokemon where their designs make no evolutionary or biological sense given their referents and environments.

a team of GIANT pokemon that would not hurt you (or not you, just opponents, whichever)

a team of teeny tiny pokemon that would KILL you (or not you, just opponents, whichever)

a team for a gym in a bustling street market

a team for an elite four/champions road member with the aesthetic and narrative of a union organizer (throughout the game they create some kind of union among trainers to overthrow the villains or something; broad possibilities for aesthetic available here, but that's their journey and vibe)

the best pokemon to make lookalike furniture out of (e.g., the easy one of "snorlax beanbag chair"):

it's just four bean bag chairs a coat rack and a table

the best pokemon to throw off your opponent; "but they're so cute!" [team murders opponents' pokemon]

here come the murder babies

a pokemon team for a gym in a decommissioned nuclear power plant

had to get my favorite nido in there and I think at this point I'm contractually obligated to put toxapex in every poison type team I make

pokemon team of JUST "that is a man" pokemon that you don't immediately hate because of uncanny valley (challenge rating: near impossible)

bruh.

this is the best I can do

a team of pokemon whose colors/designs are just Slightly Wrong but if improved would be great

folks these are all personal opinion but I am very opinionated. and I will explain myself. let's go

flaaffy: I understand that the line is meant to represent a sheep being sheared but it makes me uncomfortable that it stands up at the same moment it loses its pants. please either put it back on the ground or start shearing it from a different place. thank u

umbreon: three things- 1) get rid of the pupils. it's the only eeveelution with black pupils and I like them much better without 2) the yellow circles look so unnatural to me. the rings around the tail and ears are fine tho. get rid of the ones on the legs, fill in the one on the forehead to make it a spot (it even evokes the moon more that way) 3) for me this is too many colors for such a simple litte guy. either make the eyes yellow to match the markings, or make the markings red to match the eyes (I think the yellow could be regular and the red could be the shiny. blood moon. sick)

skitty: it's very cute, it reminds me of a neopet and I like that. but the facial features just don't look real to me. make em look a little less drawn on and I'd like it

female jellicent: pretty much the same issue, the eyelashes look painted on. why are they 2 dimensional

east sea gastrodon: for context for everyone else we were just talking about this last night. I just don't think the color scheme works as well as the west sea gastrodon. make the green a bit darker and cooler, make the blue quite a bit lighter, and then make the yellow accents a cool color so it's more cohesive (I think purple would be cool). I still like him tho it's still gastrodon at the end of the day. but I would never ever choose it over the west sea gastrodon

gorebyss: the clamshell bra. get rid of it

aaaaaand I've hit image limit I'll have to continue in a reblog

[lonewolflink]

your enthusiasm for itzy has reignited my interest in listening to kpop i MISSED this… like wow it’s just. really bright and fun!! <3 i love seeing gifs of the girls on my dash! i was a hyper casual fan who was never too into them outside of liking the music, but they seem lovely 💙

what are they up to lately? do you have any listening recs? :3

- puckpocketed on main 🦈

puck!! hello friend!!!! (trying out puck as a shortened name a la link but you lmk if something else is better)

i am so pleased that you are being infected with my itzy brainrot. maybe i should be more sorry about about it but alas, i love them, so i cannot find it in myself to be sorry. more under the cut!

i would say that not only are my girls lovely, they are Freaks (affectionate). tbh it is what led me to stan. they are so weird and i love them so much. i once answered an ask (also here) about how i got into itzy that i think scratches some of the surface of what i enjoy about them.

what has itzy been up to lately? well the last couple years have been a bit of a rollercoaster for the team. after a pretty serious kpop social media hate train following one of their comebacks (though evidence suggests the hate train started earlier), things were a bit rough. the company seemed to be simultaneously creatively mismanaging/poorly promoting the group while also overworking them—a recipe for disaster that culminated in main vocalist lia going on indefinite hiatus for anxiety issues in september 2023 (or as i like to call it, LTIR).

in her absence, as a foursome, itzy recorded a 10 track album called "Born to Be" and then went on a global tour for it, but with a twist! five of the 10 songs would be the first SOLO songs written by each member and performed individually (sans lia on tour of course). lia's song might honestly be the best of the five (though i probably listen to chaeryeong's the most). they're all quite different and i would STRONGLY recommend them:

-Crown on My Head (Yeji) -Blossom (Lia) -Run Away (Ryujin) -Mine (Chaeryeong) -Yet, But (Yuna)

the solo songs for the active members at the time also have like partial/mini-music videos that are up on youtube and are pretty cool (ryujin's or yuna's are probably my favorite? but it's hard to choose. yeji and chaeryeong also ate). you can, of course, listen to the other songs on that album...but i wouldn't. and that's because with lia now activated off LTIR, the other 5 songs that were recorded with the four active members have been RE-RECORDED WITH LIA and will be dropping as part of their new album coming out next week (oct 15th!). all those songs are good but "mr. vampire" is the one to look out for. the beat is weird, the vibes are excellent, and lia's voice is going to sound amazing on it.

in general, the new comeback feels...different, at least in its rollout so far. above i mentioned mismanagement and poor promotion by the company, and rumor has it that after the last album the division in charge of itzy got like. fired. wholly. and replaced with new employees (GM FIRED AFTER TOO MANY SEASONS OF NOT MAKING THE PLAYOFFS kinda vibes). the new look JYP Division 2 is like...kinda doing great??? there's clearly an actual cohesive (if bizarre) creative direction for this upcoming album, which feels new and fresh, there's been a lot of thought clearly put into Aesthetic rather than just "green screen something flashy and uh. the girls always look hot so just put them in some fashionable clothes i guess".

in sum: this is kind of an exciting time to be following itzy. it feels like we're on the precipice of a bit of a rebirth, which is quite rare with kpop girl groups in particular, who tend to rise and fall with the extremely fickle general public opinion of koreans.

some song recommendations/partial guide to itzy's discography!

let's start with their title tracks/singles:

—girl crush/dark/gym playlist music (aka cuntzy) -dalla dalla (debut single) -wannabe (biggest hit) -mafia in the morning (my personal favorite mv of theirs) -ringo (japanese track, low key sick mv. or maybe it's just yeji w a sword for me...idk) -voltage (japanese track, i LOVE this song, even more than ringo) -blah blah blah (japanese track)

—cute/fun/femme/doing your thing (aka funzy)

-icy (bop) -sneakers (supposed start of their demise, but it's fun and cute? people are haters) -boys like you (your mileage may vary, people love/hate this) -cake (UNDERAPPRECIATED BOP) -algorhythm (japanese track, the dance break in the mv is sick)

—hard to categorize bc they're not dark/girl crush but they are gym playlist (to me) -not shy (ITZYYYYYYY) -loco (this song just slaps idk man) -cheshire (justice for cheshire i love this song)

in no particular order, top 10 standout b-sides (in my opinion...though i should say most of their b-sides are really fucking good): 1. none of my business (the way i need itzy to do more r&b u have no idea. also the mv with the matching fits is SO 90s early 00s r&b groups i love it so much) 2. cherry (girl crush perfection, gym playlist staple) 3. bet on me (this song got me through my phd. mv is imo outstanding. meaningful song generally, but to itzy in particular after the hate train) 4. kidding me/shoot/sorry not sorry (i'm cheating by putting three songs here but they're all from the same EP and go SO well together) 5. snowy (this is MY christmas song) 6. kill shot (i want shin ryujin to decapitate me. women in suits??) 7. nobody like you (quintessential early itzy) 8. bratty (they invented being a brat, charlie xcx who) 9. psychic lover (fan favorite, just a great song, they smile so fucking hard when they perform it live it's so cute) 10. weapon (not even a song from an album, they recorded it for some dance competition show to use. STAPLE on my gym playlist) honorable japanese discography mentions:

-no biggie (japanese) -sugarholic (japanese) -spice (japanese)

OK THAT'S WHAT I'VE GOT FOR YOU SORRY IT'S SO LONG

I WILL ALSO STRONGLY RECOMMEND LISTENING TO NMIXX'S LAST TWO EPS THEY ARE REALLY GOOD AND THEIR VOCALS ARE CRAZY

[burst-of-iridescent]

at the moment, 5.7k people are following the kataang tag, not 2.9k, as you said, why would you lie? in addition, even on Tumblr (which remained almost the last popular zk place among all fan platforms), Zukka is ahead of Zutara in popularity, and a lot of talented and popular creators of fan art and fan fiction are now concentrated in the Zukka and Maiko fandom. It is fundamentally a mistake to focus on the popularity of the ship, because shipping should be for personal pleasure, but this only shows that most people are ATLA fans (namely fans, not casual viewers) they actively love ATLA and did not see zutara in the canon. In addition, can you give evidence of your words that «almost all of the main cast and most of the writers» love zutara? From the cast, only Dante actively confessed his love for zutara, but he also spoke about his love for zukka, Mae Whitman not against Zutara and joked about it, but she also said in podcast that she also loves kataang, the rest of the actors did not speak at all about their preferences in shipping (except Grey DeLisle who prefers zucest).

none of the screenwriters has ever confessed his love for Zutara, on the contrary, Ehasz has said several times that he loves Maiko, he also wrote almost all the most significant maiko and kataang episodes. The only one of the 13 main writers of ATLA who spoke about sympathy for Zutara is John O'Bryan. Zutara never featured in any of the original scripts, and in ATLA's "bible," the only love triangle that was originally planned was Aang-Katara-Toph (who was a boy in the original script). In a recent interview, Ehaz also answered the question of how he feels about zutara vs kataang, that he, as a professional screenwriter, "follows his characters" and their final canonical choice of love interest is the choice of the character himself, not the writers.

.

i wrote 2.9k the first time around by mistake. the original post has since been amended to reflect the actual numbers of the kat.aang tag, though frankly the disparity between the two tags is still so large that i don’t even think it matters. anyway, my bad. thanks for letting me know.

many cast members and former writers on the official atla podcast, braving the elements, have talked about shipping zutara — including, but not limited to, dante basco, jack de sena, michaela murphy, joshua hamilton, and john o’bryan. grey delisle, mae whitman & greg baldwin have also spoken about being zutara shippers. i’m not sure why them liking or showing support for other ships somehow means they don’t ship zutara, because people don’t need to ship only a single couple to prove they’re “real” shippers lmao. i like azutara, sukitara, ty luko & even book 1 kat.aang myself; that doesn’t make me any less of a zutara shipper.

i’m also not sure why you expect me to do the work of providing evidence for you when, given the fact that you’re here, i’m certain you have just as much access to google as i do. this information is freely available online. feel free to fact check me.

and let me say this again, in case it was not clear enough: i truly do not care about zutara’s popularity. even if none of the cast and writers shipped it, even if the tag only had 10 people, even if every single wonderfully talented writer & artist & AMV editor & GIF maker in this fandom left, i would still ship it. because it’s a better story, because it is more thematically and narratively cohesive, and because it makes me happy.

and if you disagree with that, that’s fine by me. but somehow trying to “prove” to me that zutara is unpopular and no one likes it is not only a) factually false it’s also b) not going to do a damn thing to change my mind lmao. the opinions of other people have never been a reason for me to ship zutara, and they never will be.

[val-of-the-north]

OKAY IMPORTANT UPDATE SO Crow convinced me that the more appropriate Type Of A Guy group is Allant, Gwyn, Aldia, Aldrich, Micolash and Shabriri, and it was actually Laurence who I unofficial 7th member because his portrayal and being pair item with Micolash is very speculative even if reasonable. As we in Russia say, пока запишем карандашом. I'd now ask you to write something funny and cringey for new super cool updated cast thanks to that CHICKEN, but this will just come across as me barely concealing my simping -_-" So I'll just ask for YOU to rate The Guys. You need to speak your opinions more, it is always good shit

Noooooo now I have to ramble about characters I hate that, fuck you. I hate rating people lol. But fineeeee:

Number 6 - Micolash lmaoripbozo

-

Ok ok, that's not actually true... I think my actual number 6 for the time being might be Shabriri. That doesn't mean I hate the guy, but he is simply a fucking dick. Like, so far he's the only one with not a droplet of cohesive motivation, and ending the suffering of everyone seems like a front for his true desire of seeing chaos consume reality. I like myself a seemingly pure evil baddie, but if I have to rate him with all the other dudes, he sorta pales in comparison. Maybe the DLC will expand on his philosophy and what he did before he had the Nomads entombed and decided to set the world ablaze with chaos. He IS very fun though, I will give him that lmao.

-

At number 5 I'd probably put Allant, though he might be subject to change whenever I get to play Demon's Souls. As was stated a bunch, he is a more depressed Shabriri, which makes him more genuine. His desire to end the suffering of mankind is true, unlike the previous prick, even if his methods of attaining that are fucked beyond compare. And that's the problem with him lol.

He only increased the world's suffering exponentially, because that's arguably what benefits the soul-hungry demons in the long run. He failed the one thing he wanted to do and probably doesn't even see it because he is too blinded by his own suffering and hatred of life. He is the reason his kingdom is run by corrupt officials, that his son gives up on life, and that most of his people have become food for unfeeling abominations. He is a weak leader. There's nothing wrong with being weak, but you are not supposed to drag the world down with you the way he decided to do...

-

Number 4 was hard to place since I am still not sure what I am rating them for... so far it seems to be the complexity of their motivations/actions and the way they went about them. I guess this spot could go to Micolash in this case. Most of his motivations (if they even are his, and not just those of the School of Mensis as a whole) are context-heavy, which isn't really good in terms of building a compelling case as to why he should be above someone like Allant... still, the amount of cut content centered around him points to him having had a much richer role than what meets the eye, which I believe boost the likelihood that his character is well-defined even in the full game.

(To be honest, even if we know very little of that version of him, I suspect I would have liked him more like that lmao.)

His pursuit of knowledge probably had a concrete goal before it spiraled into what we see in-game. Despite its horrible fuckups, the Healing Church did start out genuinely seeking ways to better humanity, but it distanced from it the more it continued. The Choir, where he and most of Mensis probably originates, already sought to abandon their human roots, and the school he was part of likely did so even more. But they wouldn't seek guidance from the Great Ones, they'd become on par with them.

And to rise above humanity they did unspeakable things... some of them didn't even make any sense. Why stitch together those horrible corpse beasts? Why switch the heads of two animals? Why cram all those human remains into one casket? Not to mention all the people that were kidnapped: half of them were strapped to chairs and the other half turned to stone and merged into the walls. Everything just to try and proceed with a deranged ritual that was only made possible by desecrating an infant and its mother.

And when you finally meet him he is just rambling to himself, all alone and surrounded only by corpse puppets, Edgar and the occasional attendant. He has been stuck between those halls for long enough that his body has been mummified, and doesn't seem to have made any significant progress. He has likely lost his mind, rendering whatever it was that he was seeking worthless. But hey, at least he was closer than anyone to finding out about Kos from outside the Hunter's Nightmare, so I guess we can give him that.

Also his cut dialogue is pretty emotional, and makes me wonder just how different he was before he lost his mind... I ultimately think I have a soft spot for him ahahah

-

Number 3 is Gwyn, but it was really close with Aldrich on this one, lol. I decided his goals were assuredly less complex/noble, even though his means weren't as grotesque. To be honest, I think he's a pretty maligned character, for good reasons mind you. He effectively screwed over everyone in an attempt to keep the status quo intact, and before that, he took several preventive measures that just made life miserable for people in the long run. All of this paints a rather unflattering picture of Gwyn, and I do not deny this. What I argue against is the reason why he did what he did... to me, Gwyn was genuinely afraid.

Kaathe says Gwyn "trembled at the Dark", he was surely afraid of what darkness and an age of men entailed, especially for his people and family. What he did feels less like something a power-hungry lord who seeks to keep his power intact would do and more like one desperate attempt to delay a force much greater than you. His was a sacrifice in the end, and while his legacy is and will inevitably be cinders in an empty world, what prompted him to do what he did was something understandable, and very human of him ironically enough...

As an aside, I'm actually not super convinced that Gwyn fits neatly into this group of guys either. Honestly, Dark Souls 1 might lack a character that embodies this vibe. Instead, it has several with only bits and pieces of it. I find it more fitting to group him with the likes of Marika and Laurence rather than these other dudes.

-

Number 2 is Aldrich as you could have probably guessed. He is an awful awful man, but his course of action is probably the most anyone had been doing before the Unkindled woke up to make DS3 happen lol. The world had reached a point of stagnation when nothing new was happening. The dark threatens the light, but then the flame is kindled again, rinse and repeat again and again and again... he was doing SOMETHING different and prompting change, even if it was in a way that could be considered disgusting, unpleasant and evil. The once beautiful Deep had been turned into a seedbed of filth because of the stagnant nature of reality and this seemingly endless cycle, and he alone saw salvation through a different kind of age. The start of a brand new, different thing.

The path was arduous, the means deranged, but he DID want something more than chaos for chaos' sake, unlike Shabriri. He wanted to change things, but not passively like Allant. He did not lose track of his goal the more he accomplished like Micolash did, and he did not wish to uphold the status quo but rather challenge it, unlike Gwyn. But I really, REALLY understand why everyone sees him and recoils in horror or thinks there's nothing more complex behind his actions than a simple hunger for power and flesh.

But you know Miyazaki, he likes to write characters who do some really awful things but still portrays them as courageous and heroic in their madness and skewed ways. I get the same vibe from Aldrich, but that doesn't mean he wasn't intentionally portrayed the way he was to inspire discomfort or hatred in most players ahahah. Both things can be true at the same time, and they are!

-

Lol number 1's Aldia. He's got everything Aldrich has except for his abhorrent mannerisms and vices. He is someone wholly dedicated to the pursuit of answers, and from what I can tell most of his test subjects were people who accepted his invitations to the keep, which was mostly other madmen with a similar desire to break the boundaries of reality. Of course, it wouldn't be a Soulsborne game without a good dose of war crimes, so he did do things to the giants who ended up as prisoners of war during the two conflicts his brother took part in, but he wasn't making chimeras out of them or wasting them in useless experiments at the very least. Heck, he pretty much turned one into a superior being who seems to be all chill.

All horrors he committed in his mansion were for a singular goal: breaking the curse and finding a way out of a played-out cycle, even by the time of DS2. And while the depths of this obsession show some pretty horrible results, he isn't at all the same as Aldrich, who relished in the suffering of his victims. One can find his experiments horrid, but the man himself not so much. He was simply devoted. So devoted in fact that he destroyed himself to the point he was left with nothing but an endlessly-smouldering body. And despite achieving a form that's arguably outside of the cycle, he still saw it as a failure, because it wasn't what he wanted for humanity.

I've heard him get called a fence-sitter because he promotes inaction, but to arrive at such a conclusion you have to ignore everything that led him to his current state, AND his words to the Bearer of the Curse. If anything, this dude probably did everything one could do in the hopes of changing things, I think he is allowed to feel disillusioned at the end of it all without being described as a fence-sitter. In what way is he one anyhow? Both potential ages suck. Any witless fool can just waltz in and burn themselves or let the flame die. Someone like him would literally have zero reasons to care about either outcome because all his work was meant to lead to something beyond it... but he failed and awaited someone else who would challenge the order of the world and succeed where he couldn't.

At the end of the day, I'm not saying he didn't do anything wrong lol, he still did some pretty weird shit... but I don't think it's insane to say that he is more respectable than basically everyone else on this list by virtue of actually being pretty selflessly motivated and for never losing the plot of why he was doing all those things in the first place.

-

I still don't know if I did good lmao, but yeah, this is what I think. If you noticed I get more verbose the deeper we go, that was intentional. It's not as if I don't have anything to say about Shabriri (you should know), it's just for the purposes of this "rating". Ultimately they are all prime characters.

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Ange, as usual I come with my post-episode thoughts-

This episode was quite good, I say that of course meaning it was pretty good, all things considering in terms of the character developmental issues we've all been highlighting so far. I know that generally after every episode airs we all talk about the shitty mistakes the show's made, myself included, and the way things could've been better handled, but I thought this week, I'd try and say some more positive things-

The acting, superb, as usual. Ryan Condal may be full of shit, but boy do these actors make do with what they've been given.

Aemond speaking High Valyrian? Yes, I did giggle and blush, it was hot as FUCK

Seeing Sunfyre, and that little moment where Aegon smiled with his dragon, I wished we could've seen more of their bond. Aemond serving cunt while fighting. Sir? You're slaying dragons (and possibly your brother) and you're serving cunt?

I like Alys so far, actually, seeing more of her makes me more curious to see her interact with Aemond

Daemon in Aemond Targaryen dress-up

Another Milly cameo.

Gwayne Hightower serving cunt

There are more, but these come to mind. Naturally, of course, I had my issues, but the usually are a continuation of what I had issues with before, such as-

The greens basically hating each other

The non-existent brotherly relationship between Aegon and Aemond

Helaena erasure, Jaehaera erasure, Maelor erasure (What, no Daeron mention?)

This episode made it more clear the angle being taken, that Rhaenyra is some form of the righteous, morally correct side, and the greens are the villains, versus both sides being morally complex, and the characters having good and bad traits, for example Aegon caring for his family, yet he's obviously not the best ruler Aemond being loyal to his brother, yet clearly ambitious, Rhaenyra actually being selfish, not just some saviour-esque figure. This angle annoys me because it takes away from what is in my opinion a key aspect of the story in the books, which is that all of these people are complex, do good and horrible things, and this is a war of succession, not this whole thing about Rhaenyra finally going to war because of the song of ice and fire, and all what Viserys told her.

I really can't handle the whole Aemond betraying Aegon thing. Both teams are flawed, yet the show makes it look like only team green is. Look forward to your thoughts too <3

-🦋 anon

Alright. I am here to dump my thoughts! Thank you for returning each week for this, I adore you for it!

I have made my peace with the deviation from the source material. I have a better time watching if I treat it as a separate piece of media.

Daemon is basically useless at this point, just tripping balls at Harrenhal and achieving absolutely fuck all. Having said that, I am enjoying the hallucination scenes, and Alys's character is so, so interesting. I love what Gayle has done with her.

I am growing a little frustrated with Rhaenyra's approach. I get that she wants to be a peaceful ruler, and to avoid war, but war is happening right under her nose. It's good to see some discord being sewn among Team Black - them playing the picture perfect, grieving family while the Greens are at each other's throats was beginning to grate on me a little. Jace's frustration was really well acted and totally believable.

I enjoyed the meeting of the small council - I feel like Aemond got his own back for Aegon humiliating him in the brothel. I do feel for Aegon though, he is being ignored and discarded by his family, and I feel if there was a little more cohesiveness then he wouldn't behave so rashly.

I really felt the absence of both Otto and Helaena this episode.

I teared up seeing the scenes between Rhaenys and Meleys, and Aegon and Sunfyre, knowing what was to come. I cried at Rhaenys's death. Seeing the light go out of Meleys's eyes broke me.

I don't think what Aemond did to Aegon was premeditated, he was simply frustrated and wanted to get him out of the way, so he couldn't cause any further problems. His means for doing so were incredibly extreme though!

Overall, I really enjoyed this episode. I am hopeful the rest of the season will be much better in the second half.

[acorpsecalledcorva]

While I do definitely wholly agree that no perspective or technique is universally useful and helpful for everyone, I definitely think there is value in being open to the perspectives and techniques that we've dismissed in a limited and specific way when we struggle.

For instance, I use parts language and view the system, including myself as a part as all being part of a collective singular me. It's why I tend not to use we/us a lot. I, and the other mes take ownership of all actions taken by petty much everyone in the system because this creates a sense of cohesion and continuality that allow us to function. It reduces daily amnesia because we're not constantly trying to distance ourselves from each other and generally reduces friction around decisions trusting that they're made with the system in mind rather than personally for each part. HOWEVER, I've always hated myself. I have incredibly negative opinions about who I am and punish myself a lot for just being me or not being a better version of me. Any mistakes I make are treated with severe prejudice and I don't accept nice things because I feel like I don't deserve them.

I would never treat anyone else like that though, I wouldn't think these things about a friend. And so for these issues it IS useful to view my parts as completely separate people, to think of them as friends or colleagues or family, because I can show them the compassion I cannot show myself. If an alter fucks up or does something harmful I can remember that they come from a history of pain and isolation, I can understand their actions and forgive them, think about what they might need from me to heal and help them move on because I truly believe that everyone is deserving of rehabilitation.

Sometimes though, I have to reverse engineer this situation. Often an issue with persecutors is that they feel rejected, their actions and behaviours were once a helpful coping mechanism but when our lives changed and we moved on it became less and less appropriate to do those things. They get stuck doing the only thing they know how to do and become increasingly frustrated that it's no longer working or being appreciated by the system. They're hostile to everyone else because they've been treated with hostility and aren't open to reconciliation because by that time it's like "oh what? Now you want to talk? Fuck you". To write them off is to confirm what they think about themselves. That they're bad and evil and so what's the point in getting better because they don't deserve compassion or acceptance from the system. Sound familiar?

So what do I do? Well, from my distanced perspective I then have to approach it with curiosity. Why might I behave this way? What scenario might lead me to do these things? What environment might convince me that this is a necessary thing to do? Can I find empathy with this position or similarities? Could that be a point of connection through which to make a connection? To show that I truly understand what they're going through and genuinely want to help?

Or even, am I subconsciously a willing participant in this dynamic? I hate myself, right? Do I think I deserve these things to do be done to me? At one point in time is this behaviour what I thought showing love was? Is this what it meant to be cared for to me back then? Does this situation feel safer to me in a way because pain and suffering is the devil I know?

In Existential Kink, Carolyn Elliott believes that we create painful scenarios for ourselves because our brains desire a more complete human experience, the good with the bad, and the more we conciously reject and resent the bad the more we desire it and create badness for ourselves. It is only by accepting this desire and gratifying ourselves by enjoying it and being grateful for the terrible things that happen that we can move on and seek out the good. Which is...definitely one of the takes of all time. I definitely take issues with the implications of victim blaming that are prevalent throughout her book, but there is insight to be drawn for sure. And in fact, the number one recommended approach to a persecutor is gratitude. To thank them for doing what they do, to show them that they're appreciated for their role and what they're trying to do, because from that position it may very well be more possible to provide constructive criticism. You have to mean it though, because by living in your head they can usually tell your true feelings.

And I completely understand why that might feel impossible to do when you feel like what they do is unforgivable, but there's a very important lesson that everyone needs to learn if they want to grow. And that's that sometimes it is up to us to take responsibility for a situation, even when we really shouldn't have to, even when it so completely isn't our fault or fair in the slightest. If what a persecutor needs to feel to change their behaviour is gratitude and acceptance, to feel that they really are a vital part of the system just like everyone else, and by providing this for them we can make things better for ourselves and the rest of the system, to create a net positive effect on all regards, then... shouldn't we? Not because of some moral duty to do the right thing or be the better person, but simply because things would be better?

Like, if there's a $1000 dollars on a table that's free for you to take, if you don't take it then no one will get it, it's only there for you to take or not with no judgement or consequences either way even if you feel like there will be, would you really not take it? And if not, then why? Do you think it's a trick? Do you think that you don't deserve it? You see how these all loop around and connect to each other?

This post is long and confusing because these situations are complicated and don't have any simple answers. All I'm trying to highlight and urge everyone to do is to never stop being curious. Always ask yourself questions, always approach something from a different angle. Especially when you come across obstacles that feel impossible. If anything that I've said feels completely wrong to you, rather than dismissing it as not being applicable to you ask yourself why you feel like it doesn't? If your persecutor is actually irredeemable and evil but mine are not, what makes you different than me? Is it easier for you to think that because then you don't have to put in the work? Does it make you feel special to have a kind of persecutor someone else doesn't? If what I'm saying right now offends you, is there a possibility, however small you think it may be, that deep down it might be true?

No, I don't think you can say for certain that every persecutor is a misguided protector, but what if the one you've decided definitely isn't actually is? What if you're wrong about them? What if you can fix it and make things better? Shouldn't you try? Why not?

[superstarzolar]

Your outfit design on the mci is so good!! Do you have any tips for how you put them together, picking colors, ect?

i’ve been putting off answering this because i know id ramble for about a thousand words because designing characters is my favorite part of the character making process + i spent almost a year refining the mci designs. BUT i’ll try to be cohesive and to-the-point about the tips and pointers i held myself to while designing the characters

info starts under the cut just in case ppl don’t care

1: keep the time period and age range of your character(s) in mind.

athazagora, or at least the part where the children originated from, is in 1985. knowing this, i wouldn’t use clothes in my designs that weren’t around/weren’t as popular, as that would make the date and clothes meaningless and out of date.

considering a character’s age is important, too, as styles and the “maturity” (for a lack of a better word) of said styles evolve with the character. for example, gabriel, a 5 year old boy, would not be wearing the more alternative, dark, and overall mature-type clothing that jeremy, a 14 year old punk, would be wearing.

adding on to that, it is also important to consider the personality of your character while designing them. unless you are specifically going for a misdirective character design (like that one bear from toy story. sorry he’s the best example), having characters wear stuff that doesn’t compliment their personality makes them confusing (in my opinion).

2: use a color palette that is easily identifiable and pleasing.

what is pleasing to look at and what is identifiable is subjective, i know, but this entire thing is subjective so…………….//Yeah

anyways. i’d say to always stick to 5 colors at the least, and 10 at the most. over 10 base colors in a design makes it hard to remember, and if you can’t even remember the design of your own character, who will?

secondly, a character’s color palette also has to reflect their personality. sorry. i’m gonna use gabriel and jeremy again because i designed them with a juxtaposition in their traits and designs in mind:

jeremy, a punk kid who is timid and sad, has a color pallete consisting of mostly grayscale and red. these colors, especially when compared to the other colorful cast of characters in athazagora, clearly set him apart as a character that is not like the others.

gabriel, on the other hand, is a bouncy 5 year old who is very happy all the time. this is represented through the minimal use of dark colors in his pallete. he even includes some sun buttons on his overalls, which usually signifies that something is bright and cheerful. this contrasts jeremy’s skull, which usually represents sadness and gloom.

but color palletes are nothing without proper implementation. to really utilize a color pallete, you need to create designs that catch, and keep, somebodys attention. I’ll use gabe as an example AGAIN because he’s my favorite design

on the left is his design from july of last year. it uses mostly the same colors as his current design (the shorter one on the right), but it is oversimplified and unappealing. he looks like a background character in mlp. in the current design, still using the same colors (as stated before), there is more contrast and patterns; the black stripe against the blue, yellow, and white; the horizontal stripes of his shirt against the vertical ones of his overalls; these little details require a viewer to actually look at the design to fully understand it.

3: (the final tip unless i think of any more) design what you like to draw.

there is little to no point in making shit you hate drawing. and i’m not talking tedious, if you genuinely do not like to draw something, don’t. you control your art experience, and you’re just fucking yourself over if you force yourself to make stuff you don’t enjoy.

for example, i really like overalls. i love designing them, customizing them, and that is why they are on most of the missing kids designs. i draw what i like to see.

hope this helps. this is just me yapping basically but there’s some actual coherency if you squint

[alligatorjesie]

*glances at the raging cunt who keeps posting harassment to this fandom's tags every month or so*

You know the last time I checked you're not a fucking reylo so beats the fuck out of us why you're up in our goddamn shit so often @watchingtheearthrise

Cait Corrain isn't active in this fandom. She's hardly a reylo, and if she's gonna act like that she's not fuckin' welcome here.

I think they may have wrote a few reylo fics a long time ago but they're not a big name writer and the fandom as a whole don't really know who the fuck this person is.

I've seen a few people online mention Cait's book is published reylo fanfiction but I can't find anything from the writer confirming it so we’re all just assuming it started out as a reylo fic.

Looking at it, it seems more like lore olympus fanfiction than reylo but again, until the author says otherwise we’re just assuming.

Cait did however talk a gullible friend into helping her sabotage other people's book reviews and when the lacky she coerced did it wrong because she didn't really explain her dastardly plan very well and the moment she realized how badly the 'friend' fucked up she threw that kid under the bus.

But even that shit is kinda sus because these timestamps don't fucking line up. This conversation looks doctored to a lot of people meaning the only person responsible for being a cunt here is cait and you @watchingtheearthrise.

The friend is mentioned to be a reylo but you can't really put much of the blame on them since they were just doing what their cool(shitty) published writer friend asked them to do, assuming this friend is even real.

Cait didn't get mad she did a bad thing. She got mad she did it poorly and got caught. Which speaks volumes about Cait.

You being here assuming the worst out of this fandom every time someone so much as sneezes without saying 'god bless you' speaks volumes about you @watchingtheearthrise.

Please for the love of fuck would you find a fucking hobby to pour this endless passion into.

You know something really fun that I've spent a lot of mental energy on over the years and has brought me great pride and joy is this Star Wars Episode 9 rewrite comic I've been working on.

Legit!

I got character sheets and new alien designs.

Most of the script is wrote out, I'm currently working on storyboards and page framing.

I'm only as far as I am because I have a life outside the computer and can't dedicate endless hours a pet project but it's got 2 of my favorite things in it:

A narratively cohesive continuation of The Last Jedi-

And furries.

Because fuckit why not it's my fucking comic.

You're welcome to laugh, and I know you will because you're a huge pile of shit, but doing this has been incredibly cathartic.

we live in a world were we have increasingly little control over basic shit in it. Media can feel like it wants to make money more than it cares about the story and character development and if I want media I’ll actually enjoy well goddamnit I guess I’ll make it myself.

I want it to be good. I want the salt of the fact a random furry wrote and created a better Star Wars EP9 to burn. I think thats funny.

I personally didn't like EP9

(Notice how I dislike EP9 but don't go out of my way to harass people who like it @watchingtheearthrise?)

So I decided to just make my own. Instead of being asshole to people in a fandom who do like it.

(Notice what I'm doing there @watchingtheearthrise?)

I don't see you in here when the fandom does nice shit like donating a shit ton of money to Adam Driver's arts for the military foundation.

I didn't see you in here when Thea Guanzon, a southeast asian reylo's published book became a new york times bestseller.

I don't fucking see you pop in when the dedicated members of this fandom post art and stories and celebrate the thing they love.

Don't let a single person who is acting shitty color your entire opinion about a whole ass fandom man. God fucking knows if I took this approach with finnreys I would just assume all of them are huge pieces of shit because nine times out of ten the people posting anti hate to the reylo tag are finnreys.

But since I'm not a complete fucking dumbass Like Some People Here

I'm able to use some common fucking sense and see it's not the finnreys that are shit.

finnreys are fine.

It's just like... 4 unique people with a lot of extra accounts.

real fucking bold to comment on someone making extra accounts to do nefarious things online from someone who already does that.

I’m pretty fucking sure at least 6 of the antis I regularly come across in this tag Are Your Accounts @watchingtheearthrise. You admit to 2 extra ones you’ve used to harass people in this fandom in the past In Your Fucking Bio

( I love hate how you have reylos in your DNI but paradoxically will not stop posting to this fucking fandoms’s tag I swear to Jesus Fucking Chri-)

God fucking bless you @watchingtheearthrise I hope you find someone who helps you learn how to not be such a festering cunt.

I started out this post not even know who the fuck Cait Corrain is. I still don't give a fuck because shit people can go fuck off into oblivion for all the fucks I don't give but since some asshat antis can’t be fucked to do a goddamn second of research I guess much like that ep9 I'm rewriting I’ll just fucking do this too.

Cait's a reylo about as much as you @watchingtheearthrise and you’re both welcome to let the door hit y’all on the ass on the way out.

[shouyuus]

as a writer who writes x reader, what do you think is the most suitable to write in? first, second or third person? ik my own personal preference and that people mostly dislike first person, but I’ve recently started preferring third person entirely. I feel like writing (or reading) the MC/reader described in third person makes the story somehow more cohesive if it makes sense? so what do you think is the general opinion?

so, i think what i see most often (and use myself) is second person "you". because it feels rather distinct to the format of x-reader (and esp if you're trying to make the actual reader feel included, "you" points directly to them and kind of incites that interaction/immersion into the story.

third person might feel more "cohesive" bc a lot of published fiction is written in 3rd person, it's kind of the standard "format" for published novels (even though 1st person is also a big player, but i feel like 3rd person dominates). so you might just feel better reading it because it's what you're most used to? and also, for 3rd person, it's "distancing" right? like you're telling a story, looking in from the outside, ostensibly. this is a story about characters in the story, not about you or me.

first person is very personal, right it's someone telling a story about themselves. and for me at least, it feels a bit too close for me? mostly books like these read almost like diary entries or like a "recollection" almost. it's (i often find) told from the perspective of someone being like "here let me tell you a story about something that happened to me when i was younger" that kind of a thing right. the great gatsby is written in 1st person, and so is the secret history by donna tart. both in both cases, the narrators aren't necessarily the focus -- they're just the lens through which you see things, and you can play with a lot of things like an unreliable narrator, bc it's all subjective, coming from one person (the narrator's) point of view.

i would definitely say it's the norm to write in 2nd, but honestly, as the writer, you get to make that decision based on the kind of story you want to tell! :) that's the fun of it, right? you get the "play god" a bit and tell the story the way you want to tell it!

hope this was helpful! pls don't be afraid to ask if you have any other questions!!! <3

[mcrmaidlesbian]

I felt like I played myself for hyping this movie up.

Yes there will be the million of “analysis” out there on tumblr which are just people picking out select messages out of a very scrambled mess because no one can just sit down and admit this movie wasn’t cohesive in what it was trying to say.

The dialogue rarely felt dialogue, it felt like ChatGPT writing a modern feminist movie. And that’s not to say the things said were shallow; I don’t think they were at all. But it was all how it was executed that made it that at the end of the day.

The scene where Barbie goes up to the girls and she got roasted by Sasha was just so random, because if you thought this woman wasn’t Barbie, and was just an annoying mentally confused woman, then I would just expect a “sorry ‘barbie’, but you aren’t as progressive as you think you are?! And you’re weirding us out leave us the fuck alone!” But nah I guess

People praise the old lady scene, and I’m not gonna go too hard on the people who did, but the scene felt too cheesy for me IM SORRY. Not only did it feel cheesy, it felt like it came out of nowhere. Like if this scene were followed eventually by Barbie learning about what old age was and if she wanted to deal with that or whatever, it would make sense. But nope….never followed up again. It was a random planted in scene. And yes I know the purpose, for this stereotypical Barbie to be intrigued by this type of woman she never met before and then realizing she personally actually finds the woman to be beautiful, despite her not even being an existing g concept in Barbieland. When saying that, yes intention of the scene is very heartwarming, but goddamn it I hate to keep using the word “random” but yes it was. It was weirdly placed.

Im not even gonna go into how they got intersectionality weird, and how I guess white women do not know that no, men of color do not hold more power than them, and yes it was funny to see a black Ken be willing to be so eager to be treated as a half assed side piece by a white Barbie when I know they were weirdly trying to have an interracial pair because “progressiveness” and what not. In that regard, I call this “Taylor Swift feminism”.

But I know the movie did not have the time nor the effort to delve into that. And I’m kinda playing myself here since it was obvious they were going to be a racially diverse group of Kens, and they were all to be seen as “just ken”, but I didn’t expect a lot of what they were going to do with that.

Time for the opinion I’m not sure whether is unpopular or popular, but that I feel a lot of people will side eye me for: the plot or Ken going to the real world and back was way more interesting than Barbie going so. Don’t get me wrong, I actually liked the parts where barbie goes back home to see the mess of what it became, and to see how her and the rest of the women there were going to fix it. Also found it interesting during those segments, Barbie was going through the most existential crisis.

That being said, in regards to whose arc with “going into the real world” was better, I’m going to have to say Ken’s. Not only was it interesting, it was downright hilarious. But of course, it wouldn’t worked as well if the idea of Barbie coming along wasn’t a thing, but that idea wasn’t necessarily handled all that well or was even that exciting.

All in all, I thought it was alright.

[bubaboos]

hello, here to share my opinions on troye's new album (sorry if it gets too long) 😌 as i said im absolutely OBSESSED with this album. like i always enjoyed his music, but to show this level of iconography????? CMON????? there is one problem i have with the album tho: every time i try to listen to it from start to finish, i get delayed by the fucking masterpiece that is "one of your girls" :/ every time this song comes on, i have to listen to it at least 5 times. wtf troye???? i would say it's my fave on the album, but that's an understatement. that's the best song of the whole year for me. god. isnt this giving daft punk like hello????? THE MV ALSO?????? 🤯 okay moving on to the other songs sjsjdhdhf u know that i loved all the singles, and they sound even better in the context of the album!! there is not a song i dont enjoy in this album, i couldnt even make a ranking because they are all so good. overall, THE BEATS in this album got me floating in space and shaking my ass at the same time. THE LYRICS???? i reallllly love the lyrics too i feel like they elevate the experience a lot which is so cool. the songs i find myself replaying the most (other than the obviously stated one above jsjdhf): in my room, honey, got me started (this one is a grower tbh). also i really feel like the songs are really cohesive and work so well together. i feel like every song will have their turn of being my fave in the upcoming months, because i intent to keep this on rotation ABSOLUTELY. this will be a contemporary pop classic and now troye is one of the main pop girls, sorry i dont make the rules... anyway, what are your thoughts? 😌

hello my beloved, finally answering to this ask!😭 sorry for keeping you waiting for so long aaaaaah

okay, first of all, i love your thoughts and i couldn't agree more about everything you said! <3 i keep coming back to this album, idk what troye put in it but it's SO addicting aaah! oh i absolutely understand the obsession with "one of your girls" bc GOD, it's amazing. chef's kiss on every level, the lyrics are perfect, the production is 10/10, the mv!!! (and yeeees, the daft punk vibes!!) are you kidding me?!! imo, the mv perfectly shows the transition between this album and troye's previous albums, he's confident, he's serving and he knows what he wants! and that's actually something i love about the whole album, it's very touching to see him being even more mature with his music and SO confident and it feels so freeing! genuinely, i'm so happy and grateful that i grew up with his music, it was veery important to me in my teenage years and it makes me so happy to see him grow as an artist (and person) waaah🥹 and i think that's also why i love this album so much, bc it's another step! ANYWAY yeeees, that's something i love so much about troye's music - how lyrics elevate the sound and vice versa. and oh yeah, the sounds and beats got me ascending aslkfkdsjfkjsah like come oooon!! and yeees the album is cohesive but i also like that every song has it's own story bc that's another thing i really like about troye's music haha which is narration! and with this album, i really like that there are themes that connect everything together, but that it's also all pretty "loose" and bc of that the songs are both good on their own but also work very well together! what can i say, troye gets it and he's The pop girl! fr, i was so excited about this album and had high expectations and he did not dissapoint! i love every single, although yeah, i also wasn't convinced about "got me started" at the beginning but it's a really good sample and i enjoy it A Lot now. it's soo hard to choose a fave, but i love rush (i could write a whole essay on rush AND i'm OBSESSED with the mv), still got it, can't go back and what's the time where you are? (perfect "me and this song against the world and life horrors aka going to work/uni" song) the most i think. troye saved this year with that album and he saved me during winter semester lol i'm so devastated that he's not coming to poland on his tour WHY troye WHYYY😭 (like what do you mean you won't come to poland but there's 5! FIVE germany dates come oooon)