#was thinking about this in terms of my show & curious to hear other people's thoughts!

[podcast-bookclub]

Audio drama creators: what moment made you feel like you were *actually* a creator?

[unboundprompts]

Hello! Can you help me and/or give me examples of how to write a pre-teen? Specifically a slightly mature for their age but still socially-awkward, selfless, empathetic, extroverted 10-year-old

How to Write a Pre-Teen

Voice and Language

Simple but specific vocabulary: Pre-teens might not use very complex words, but they often know and throw in some “big words” they’ve recently learned or mimic words they hear adults use. Don’t overdo it, though—they’ll often misapply or half-understand these terms, which can create natural, humorous moments.

“It’s totally, like, a catastrophe that I forgot my project.”

Expressive dialogue: Pre-teens are enthusiastic and often exaggerate. They can also shift quickly between emotions, from excitement to frustration.

“That was the best movie ever!” might turn into “Actually, I mean, it was kinda boring in some parts, but, you know, overall…”

Thoughtful yet blunt: Kids this age often haven’t fully learned the “filters” adults use. They can be direct and say things that are surprisingly insightful or unexpectedly honest.

Thoughts and Perspective

Developing identity and opinions: They’re beginning to form their own beliefs but still echo the views of family, teachers, or friends.

“Mom says people should never lie, but I wonder if little lies are okay if they help people feel better…”

Questioning and introspective moments: Pre-teens are curious about life, relationships, and “big ideas.” They may ask questions, but sometimes keep their deep thoughts to themselves, exploring them internally.

“If friends are supposed to be there for each other, why do I feel alone even when they’re around?”

Struggle with abstract concepts: At this age, they’re just beginning to understand abstract ideas like justice or friendship but often approach them in straightforward, literal ways.

Behavior and Actions

Impulsivity and energy: They might shift quickly between activities and emotions, getting distracted or excited without much control over it. They may also blurt out ideas or act before thinking, especially if they’re extroverted.

For instance, a character might immediately jump up to help someone even if they aren’t sure what to do, or they might “borrow” something without fully considering the consequences.

Physical awkwardness: Pre-teens can be a bit clumsy as they’re still growing into their bodies. This can lead to endearing, awkward moments.

They might knock something over, trip over their own feet, or feel self-conscious in ways that show they’re still figuring themselves out physically as well as socially.

Friendships and Social Dynamics

Navigating social rules: Pre-teens are very aware of social “rules” but may not fully understand them. This is an age when they care a lot about what their friends think, but they’re also just beginning to question these dynamics.

A pre-teen might want to befriend the “cool” kids but feel conflicted when they realize their values don’t align. Or they may try too hard to impress friends and feel self-conscious afterward.

Conflicted loyalties: Friendships are often intense at this age, and they might struggle with conflicting feelings if friends argue or if they feel left out.

“I really like hanging out with Sarah, but I know Emma doesn’t. Maybe if I can make them both laugh, we could all just… get along?”

Small gestures: Pre-teens often show they care in understated ways, like sharing snacks, giving a small gift, or cheering someone up when they’re down. For a socially-awkward pre-teen, these gestures may come out clumsy but sweet.

Insecurity and Self-Awareness

Self-consciousness mixed with bravery: Pre-teens often fluctuate between trying to fit in and wanting to stand out. They might do something brave but then doubt themselves or quickly retreat if things don’t go as planned.

For instance, a character might volunteer to speak in front of the class only to feel panicked once they’re in the spotlight.

Hyper-awareness of themselves and others: They’re beginning to notice how others perceive them and may get flustered easily or worry about little things, like if their clothes look okay or if they sounded silly.

“I shouldn’t have laughed like that… I bet everyone thought I sounded so weird.”

Joking as a defense: Pre-teens often use humor to cope, covering up their awkwardness or discomfort by making jokes.

Reactions to Conflict and Emotion

Quick emotional shifts: They might go from laughing to frustrated to embarrassed in just a few minutes. They feel emotions intensely and may have outbursts or react strongly to things adults might dismiss as minor.

Heroic ideals vs. real-world disappointments: Many pre-teens have an idealized view of right and wrong, fairness, and heroism, and they may be disappointed when things don’t align with these ideals. They’re just starting to understand that people aren’t all good or all bad.

“I don’t get it… why would she lie about something like that? Friends are supposed to be honest!”

[a-force-dyad-in-space]

So I've been rewatching the Twilight movies and certain scenes from them recently, and there's something that caught my eye while going through the post-battle scene in Eclipse.

We have Jane and the others show up, being like "blah blah blah, you guys did pretty well against all these newborns, how curious, blah blah" before Jane notices that one of the newborns is still alive, pointing out Bree.

Now, here's where it gets interesting for me. Because Jasper immediately moves and stands next to her protectively.

And yeah, sure, he's the newborn expert, he's in charge of all-things newborn vampires, so in that sense alone it makes sense for him to associate himself with her in that way, but I think it's a lot more than that; namely something that is always mentioned in passing in the movies, but never really pointed out as something significant (unlike Edward's telepathy and Alice's precognition, which are always mentioned first in terms of desirable acquisitions of power). I of course speak of his pathokinesis.

Bree is scared. At this point she has realized that she's a vampire and what that means for her life, but she has no idea if she will come out of this stand-off alive, so naturally, she is nervous.

And thanks to his pathokinesis, of course Jasper can feel that. So I think he's standing with her, almost protectively, not just because he's in charge of her, but because he can feel her fear and tries to comfort her with his presence (she with her vampire sight can of course see that his skin is decked out in scars, so that intimidating display alone probably tells her him being on her side is a good thing).

And then we come to Jane starting to torture Bree, and me having another observation.

When she falls to the ground and is screaming in agony, we can assume that Jasper can feel that, too (not the pain itself, but the mental anguish connected to it). And look how startled he seems when he sees her fall and looks from Bree to Jane.

This moment here makes me think that this is probably the first time he's ever seen Jane's power in person. Of course he knew about her, knew what her powers are. Alice probably filled him in in detail about the events in Volterra from New Moon, and I assume Carlisle has shared many stories over the years, too.

But hearing about something and actually seeing it first-hand are two very different things.

For someone like him, who can feel what other people are feeling, from their happiest moments to their most devastating mental pain, watching Jane not only use her powers, but relish in their effect without a second thought since she can't feel the pain she's causing, must be absolutely nauseating, for lack of a better word.

Jasper's experienced several lifetimes of anguish by proximity and is trying his best to make others feel better, while Jane deals blow after blow with her powers without any consequence. It must feel wrong and unfair to him.

Anyway, back to the point.

This is the face of a man who has fully realized what the antagonistic force is capable of, and he'll be sure to be prepared, next time they cross paths.

And lastly, something sad.

He turns his back on Bree, probably because he can't deal with watching her die on top of feeling her fear and pain. Neither he nor the other Cullens can stop Bree's death from happening without declaring war on the Volturi in the process (because I'm certain that's how Jane and the others would see their push-back).

So all he can do is turn away, and maybe make an effort to lessen her pain (it doesn't look like he did, but I think it would make sense if he used his powers to make death less frightening for Bree).

Anyway, rest in peace, Bree, you would have made a wonderful addition to the Cullen family. ♥

[doevademe]

Hi! Been re-reading some of your future-fic oneshots. I'm just curious to ask: considering Nico as someone tired and settling for Will and canon Will (uhm, the fandom writes him well sometimes), what do you think would be the last straw (for either of them, or both) for a solangelo break-up? Is it possible even with only a very minor (or none at all) intervention from Percy?

Would love to hear your thoughts!

Okay, let's do a deep dive into Will and Nico and their relationship, and how, as they are written, they are already doomed as a couple.

However, if you want the TL;DR: Nico and Will are incompatible from a fundamental level. Their personalities and hobbies require way too much compromise to work together. In my future fics, Percy just sped up the inevitable. There's is no one "last straw" as there is an ever increasing pressure that eventually becomes unsustainable.

First, let's look at the dynamic they develop from their first on-screen interaction in BoO: Will nags Nico, tells him he's wrong about his own feelings of isolation and loneliness, and proceeds to basically gaslight him that people never shunned him and he did it to himself. Nico, who has been alone for so long, takes this as a show of concern and affection, and develops an infatuation with Will.

Fast forward to ToA, and it's more of the same. Nico is gloomy, or sarcastic, or a bit morbid, and Will is bothered by it. He's bothered by who Nico is, and decides to "fix him". Nico, meanwhile has grown dependent on Will as his other relationships grow distant (Percy, Hazel, Reyna, and even Hades), and begins feeling jealous of Will even touching others. Needless to say, that's a very toxic basis for a romantic relationship.

When tsats comes around, we get the relationship at its worst. The very first scene is Nico saying he is into fictional bad boys, and Will being disappointed in him. We see that Nico is now watching his every word, glancing constantly at Will to make sure it doesn't displease him, and Will is happier that Nico is "better", though worried he might relapse, lose him to "the darkness" inside him.

Will in tsats is just the worst. He's useless on the quest, he tries to make Nico turn his back on the Underworld (the closest thing he has to a home), he whines, and he simps for Persephone while his boyfriend is right there. Some of it is an intentional flaw, but most of it we're meant to read as romantic and genuinely "sweet".

At the end, Will "learns" that he needs to accept that Nico will always have some darkness in him, and he just needs to "shine brighter" for them both. This doesn't really solve their problems as a couple: They have very little in common, Nico's too dependent on Will and has isolated himself from family and friends, and Will's newfound "acceptance" is tied to seeing Nico as inherently negative.

This relationship is simply not sustainable in the short or long-term, and eventually it will give. Either Will gets tired of having Nico around disrupting his sunny energy, or Nico lashes out over being "the problem" Will has so graciously decided to burden himself with.

A break-up is not only inevitable, it's the healthiest thing either of them can do. People would say to try couple's therapy, but therapy can't make people suddenly like hobbies or personality traits they find repellent. Will is in love with the idea of a "fixed" Nico, and Nico is in love with the idea of a boy that likes and fights for him.

The break-up catalyst can be anything: One nag too far from Will, Nico doing a morbid joke too many, just waking up one day and realizing they were never really in love. Either way, it's not a matter of how, of whether Percy is there or not, it's a matter of when. When does it become too much for them to keep pretending they want the same thing out of this relationship.

[foropinionssake]

i have a question for you, and i’m genuinely curious.

do you think womanhood should be defined by the ability to reproduce/have children rather than by living within the social role of womanhood, such as wanting to be called “she?” and for women who can’t reproduce, or who have had a hysterectomy, etc. are they still women? what about people who, in every way, have happily inhabited the role of being a man and even you would call them “he” if you didn’t know they were trans, but they could still technically give birth. is someone living fully as a man actually a woman because of one thing that their body could potentially do? is someone living fully and happily as a woman not a woman because of one thing their body cannot do?

i think these questions are good to think about, because it is just a fact that many trans women get called “woman” and “she” by strangers without a second thought, and they respond to that term and feel happy and comforted by it. throughout the whole interaction, there is no claim made about what genitals, dna, or birth-capabilities they have. you have probably had countless conversations like this too, where you were called “she” without having claimed anything about your body or anyone needing to verify. this is because the word “she” is not being used to refer to genitals etc, it is just being used to indicate that you look and act in ways that make you read to others as a woman. that is, most often, the truth being recognized.

with that in mind, it’s easier to see that, when a trans woman asks to be called she, the truth being told is “i like to be called she and seen as a woman,” not “i was born female and have the capacity to give birth and have xx chromosomes.” i have many close and dear trans friends, and none of them actually deny or disbelieve their own biology. in fact, they are painfully aware of their biology. they acknowledge the truth that certain hormones and surgeries can change some things about their body and not others, thus making it easier for them to integrate into the social role that feels natural for them. i have never heard a trans woman claim that hormones or surgery can let them give birth. all of my trans friends, are fully cognizant of the reality of their biology and the limited capacity of science.

what i see is you falling into a strawman argument, assuming that trans people believe false things about their bodies, like trans women claiming they can give birth or have xx chromosomes

it made me realize that maybe you hear the word woman and you think “birth giver, child bearer” rather than “full human person who’s body is none of my business and who chooses to inhabit the social role of womanhood.” i don’t blame you, because our patriarchal society has taught us that the former is all women are for. but as women, there are so many sexist messages we are taught that we have to unlearn. i mean, think of your own experience. wouldn’t you rather have other people see you as a whole person who has connection to womanhood, rather than just a source for babies? isn’t it more affirming to have people see your womanhood as the complex way you purposely and naturally step into the world and show up each day, rather than just a medical category that was thrust upon you at birth by a patriarchal medical system that wanted to determine who you would be? because i know what i prefer. and, in my experience, that is all trans women are asking.

anyway, i am just sending this out of curiosity, so lmk your thoughts. maybe we can have a conversation, but i won’t engage with hostility. i hope you’re having a nice day :)

Women are adult females. Men are adult males. The ability to have children has nothing to do with making someone male or female besides the fact that males biologically cannot get pregnant and birth babies. I am a woman and I’m choosing not to have children, that doesn’t make me less of a woman. The entire issue here is people are mistaking gender roles with gender. You can change your gender roles. You cannot change your gender itself. You are born with it.

[candyfloss-kittens]

22 years….

I've known of the trio for… as long as I can remember, given my dad would watch them way back when they were still on Top Gear. I don't know when Top Gear first aired on TV in New Zealand, I guess when the show first started to get popular world wide? I don't know…. Though, I do have some very vague recollections of seeing news reports about Hammond's big crash back in 2006 when I was 8, but I really don't know. I might've just heard of it back then, not necessarily seen anything about it.

Now, while I had watched bits of Top Gear over the years, and back in primary school, I'd tend to hang more around boys at school rather than girls (I do recall at one point with the desk layouts I was the only girl in one group alongside five other boys), and if I recall correctly, a lot of them would talk about Top Gear. I think I might've even watched some of Top Gear with one of my closest childhood friends many years ago, we might've even watched the Botswana special together when it first aired in NZ, though I genuinely can't remember if that actually happened or not (my memory is… not great). But given me and him did do a lot of things together, and we were both interested in most of the same things, it's possible (I've not seen that old friend in years now, though. Last I heard, he's got three kids…).

I do remember back in 2015 hearing about Jeremy essentially being fired from the BBC, and James and Richard leaving alongside him. Though, I cannot remember what my thoughts on that while situation was, given I at the time I didn't care about them.

It wasn't until late 2021 that I actually started getting into Clarkson, Hammond, and May. I think right as the Grand Tour's Carnage A Trois released. Pretty sure it was a result of some YouTube compilation of the trio popping up on my YouTube feed. At like 1:30am in the morning after i had gotten home from working night shift at my previous job at a mussel factory (that has unfortunately, and frustratingly, now closed down). How, when I've never been interested in cars at all, I have no idea. Then I started mostly just watching YouTube compilation videos of them after work before getting to bed. Then, I had ended up finding a copy of one of the sampler DVDs that came with the Top Gear magazines, the Supercars one, at one of the op shops near me for $2. I kind of just… fell head first into the trio after that. Buying every book and DVD of theirs that I could find, which was a lot easier than I had thought. Found many of my TG books and DVDs at the op shops near me (still had to get a few online, though, because some weren't easy to find, like May's Cars of the People).

Then at one point, I got curious about if there was fanfic written about them. I'm no stranger to rpf fanfic, so while I was surprised to find that there is, I sort of expected there to be? Because if it exists, there's bound to be fanfic for it. What was a surprise though, is just how into writing fanfic of the trio I got. Especially considering at the time I was trying to move away from writing rpf. So, thanks for that, guys.

I still find myself curious whether or not the guys know that there's fanfic about them, and what their thoughts are on it, though. I'd like to think that they just don't give a fuck, because surely if they had a problem with it (if they're aware of it), then they would've said something about it by now.

So… yeah. Known of them since forever, but never really cared much for them until late 2021 at 23. And now in 2024, at 26, I'm still very much into them, despite not really caring about cars (with the exception of collecting die-cast cars, and putting together model kit cars). I don't even have my driver's license.

While I definitely got into the fandom late, it's been very fun. And in terms of my Ao3 fics for the trio, I still have many more ideas to come, so even though the Grand Tour has now ended, I'm not going to be stopping writing fic for them anytime soon. And definitely won't stop me from finishing off my collection of all their books and DVDs they've released over the years.

[how-to-fail-at-ship-jumping-au]

Hetch, as a note before I send this message, I've never once played a role to you or Ranboo or anyone else. My name's Jordan. They/them. I'm much younger than you but I've got eye bags and grey hair that match yours. I've spent most of my life trying, in one way or another, to help people in situations like yours and Ranboo's. If I were in your world, I would have tried to get you as many legal, financial, and medical resources as you could.

I don't know what to say. There's so much TO say and all of it is goodbyes. I want to ask about everyone - Cameron and Ashley, whether Mike made it back or not. Jerma and the entire cast and crew and what's happened to Showfall itself.

You've had a month to get ready to say goodbye but we haven't. I want to thank you for everything, to express how much we love you and love having been part of your lives. To wish you the best of luck as life goes on. To celebrate the time we've spent together.

But I guess I don't know how much you'll hear this from the others so I'll try to focus on one thing. And I think I speak for most of us, but I might not. In that case, it's from me personally.

I'm sorry. Deeply, from the bottom of my heart, I apologize. To everyone we've affected and to you specifically.

We entered your world without your permission, under a power that only Janine understood. We teased you, we played around, we didn't respect you because you were only fictional to us. We're the reason you almost died (not through our own fault, but still). I've been so morbidly curious about your life story that I've encouraged people to ask for a glimpse at your future if we'd voted differently, because I (thinking of you as only fictional) wanted to know more about you even if that required seeing you in pain.

We've joked to you about things that you were clearly horrified or disgusted by. We kept calling you "babygirl" to your face against your will - and I can't speak for anyone else about this, but I personally thought that this would be sexual harassment if you were "real." I hope it's the loving nickname we meant it as rather than a despised term, but my hope doesn't change the way it actually affected you.

Ranboo, we've known things about your life that should have been private. That also wasn't under our control, but we could have stopped reading at any time and we didn't. Our constant eyes on you as a vulnerable teen probably hurt you sometimes in ways I don't even remember or haven't considered.

Sneeg, I'm sorry I didn't ask if you wanted to be reached out to as much as the others. Charlie, I'm sorry I didn't ask if you wanted a break from us at any point. And I'm sorry that there are probably a million other sorries I don't have time to give.

I don't expect an answer to all of this. But I wanted to tell you this as part of my goodbye. Love you all.

And for the sake of making sure this message can get to you... please react in a way that only shows one person in the frame for us? Without much talking?

Everyone, please don't listen to this part but Hetch. And Hetch, please cover your ears if you don't want to know something about yourself that you haven't realized yet. Or maybe I'll need to send in a separate censored version of this before it reaches you?

Alright, if you're listening, this is about your own sexuality maybe not being what you think it is. Please cover your ears at any time. But I have good reason to believe that you're bisexual. It's a good thing, a beautiful thing. But no one can determine who you are but you.

[ratinacoat]

you cook with every post you make. a refreshing breath of cool air in this hellhole of an online CDD community. ily. /p

genuinely keep doing what you do because this is so wonderful to see . please keep speaking your truth king it's so needed !!!!!

i'd love to hear your thoughts on why smaller systems aren't as well represented in online spaces/why so many pwDID online have such large headcounts. i have my own theories (mainly, the communities that they're engaging with have normalized huge alter counts to the point where a small one is abnormal, and online systems will do anything to avoid being abnormal in a bad way), but i'd love to hear your take on it.

once again tysm for being so correct all the time it's so necessary

Thank you for the support! The positive messages truly speak louder than the hate driven ones.

I believe there could be a few reasons that larger headcounts are more common than smaller ones.

Because this will be quite long, I will list them below here.

Don't want to read through each paragraph? Focus on the green.

1. Validation

As you said, it is so normalized to have hundreds to thousands of alters in system communities despite this not being a very common experience within people with diagnosed DID. Many feel their headcounts need to be high in order to feel valid within those communities of people who make their online identity about their disorder. It may feel invalidating or as if no one will believe you if you do not claim such a high count. This can be overexaggerating symptoms or lying.

*I am not claiming all people with higher alter counts are lying*

2. Mislead

During my time in system communities of all kinds, there has been so much misinformation. I have witnessed groups of people telling one person that their thoughts being in a new voice means it's a new alter, their personality shifting is a new alter, identifying with/as a character is a new alter, being connected to a character is a new alter, zoning out is a switch, a headache is a split, ECT. This happens so much that I wouldn't doubt people think something is an alter that actually isn't. This especially applies to endogenic communities who will refuse to allow you to be normal. Everything makes you a system and if you doubt yourself they see you as ableist and invalidating to others/your alters.

3. Misinformation

The system community strongly believes in things like C-DID/polyfragmentation and HC-DID. These things aren't medically proven things though.

Polyfragmentation comes from Dr. Richard P. Kluft and Dr. Benner G. Braun's (Two psychiatrists who are well known to be abusive and a conspiracy theorists) theory of "Extremely complex multiple personality disorder" Outside of outdated or unreliable information/studies, polyfragmentation is not a recognized part of DID at all. I have tried looking for up to date professionally written sources on polyfragmentation and I have never found any. But if you have some then feel free to link them I would love to read it.

If you would like to read this here is a link. DO NOT USE THIS AS A SOURCE OF ACTUAL INFORMATION. This is outdated as hell. It's just showing where the term polyfragmented came from and why it isn't good.

HC-DID came from... Instagram. I think that says enough. It has never been a medically recognized thing and is not a diagnosis you can get.

4. Views

No, I do not mean doing it for views. Literally because of the views on posts. When people post about having high alter counts, it draws in all sorts of people. Whether that be other people who interact with system content, random observers, curious people, people who think the content is cringe, or really anyone. The more obscure appearing posts always go the most viral. That is why people like The Wonderland System, The A System, The Pillowfort System, ECT blow up. Their videos show CDDs in a more exaggerated way. That includes high alter count (not including The A System there afaik.) being a big part of their content. They blow up because more people are engaging for more reasons. While someone who doesn't present the disorder in such an overt way won't get that much traction online. It's not as interesting to people who engage in system content or people who just come across the videos. You see more of the higher headcount videos because they gain more attention online and get pushed to more people.

I want to make it clear, I am not saying that this is going to be for everyone who claims to have a high alter count.

[ecoterrorist-katara]

hello hello! can i just say, i love your takes so much. it feels like you’ve read my mind on how katara would actually react in certain situations. currently myself, im rewriting the structure of the show in a way that makes more sense (aka, getting rid of kataang altogether and focusing on actual growth for each character including aang!) and im struggling a bit on aang actually!

we know how brykke basically stunted aang’s growth because of their weirdness. but what if aang never had a crush on katara? what if he sees katara as the big sister he always wanted instead, making their relationship more wholesome than weird? i think he’s such a centralized character, but when i develop the others beyond the show, aang feels like he’s left behind.

maybe that’s part of it too! he is a boy out of time, and now more of a concept than a person as far as anyone else outside of his immediate group knows. in this au where i intend to age everyone up, i’m just curious to see what kind of man aang would grow up into if his motivations for katara was never there. i see him as trying to hold onto his lost childhood and then having to come to terms with the fact he can’t. but i’d love to hear your thoughts. who is aang outside of that? his journey has the opportunity to be so fascinating, but brykke kind of said hey! let’s not get into that! let’s make him a creepy god boy who gets whatever he wants!

(also to note, this version of aang is meant to be with azula and while i love the meta ive seen about taang i do personally hc her as a lesbian but i do like them but yeah!)

also sorry if this is too rambly i’m just very excited!

hi! This is such a nice message, and please never apologize for rambling! My blog is a safe space for all ramblers. Your fic sounds like a very exciting project!

I definitely agree with you that he’d try to hold onto his childhood & have a hard time with his grief; coming to terms with the depth of his loss would be an exceptionally interesting arc. His people were victims of genocide: his culture and his loved ones were brutally murdered. Nobody can replace that community, not even his chosen family of the Gaang, and certainly not a romantic partner.

But Aang certainly is somebody outside of all that tragedy too. I think his cheerfulness and optimism, his playfulness, his resilience, his reluctance to assume responsibility, and his prodigiousness are all important facets of his personality.

Here's my piping hot take: Aang is James Potter with a more tragic backstory and less of a cruel streak. Think about it: mischievous, funny, adventurous, brave, enjoys attention, popular, devoted to friends, prodigious, entitled when it comes to love interests, morally inflexible, dedicated to Good, can be too arrogant to recognize his own faults. We hear that James became a pretty decent guy, so there's plenty of potential for growth for Aang, especially if he doesn't get his forever girl at age twelve.

Aang has a big heart and stringent morals, but is still a bit of a trickster. Not in a malicious way, but in a “I have a zest for life way” that gives him a little bit of an edge beyond just being a sunshine boy. You can see this even in ep 1, when he sacrifices himself so that the village would be left alone, only to haul ass out of the Fire Nation ship as soon as they’re safe. You can also see it in The Great Divide, where he straight up just fabricates history lmao. Lying is not an issue for him at all, which indicates it’s not really part of his moral code.

On the other hand, he obviously feels very strongly about taking life, which indicates a black and white approach towards morality that is not uncommon in kids. I could see an older, more mature Aang being led to question his own approach to morality, particularly by someone like Zuko, who probably finds violence a lot more palatable than lying. I think there are very interesting cultural differences that can be explored here, which doesn’t necessarily mean that Aang will change his opinions, only that he’ll have greater respect for how other cultures see right and wrong, and that he can keep Air Nomad culture alive without taking on the burden of being the manifestation of that culture. He has the innate impulse to try to see the best in people, which is at odds with his black and white morals sometimes. Related to that, he really struggles with morally grey characteristics in his friends. I think that if he had a fleshed out opportunity to properly disagree with his friends, he may not necessarily change his own mind, but he might grow to value his friends' freedom of choice over imposing his own values on them, since one of the cornerstones of Air Nomad philosophy is apparently about freedom. I think his pacifist voice is an important contribution to their ragtag group of overpowered pre-teens and teens and I love it when that aspect is explored in fics.

I've seen some really good depictions of Aang-not-obsessed-with-Katara in fanfiction (Southern Lights has my favourite one; in fact it's my fave characterization of basically everyone except for Mai). I see most of his flaws as things he can grow out of, but only if he encounters difficult situations and learns to grow. Have fun with your fic, and please do share in any relevant tags once you start posting!

[aoimeru14]

I'm usually more calm about this sport, but today's race makes me want to sort of rant (and hear what y'all think)...

Serious question, do you genuinely think that McLaren actually has a strategy? (Any kind of strategy) (Please comment on it, I'm genuinely curious to hear your thoughts)

No, because now I'm starting to think that they just play Jenga during the briefing and then tell the drivers "Do what you want, you are your own man now. But remember, Papaya Rules" and then proceed to play Galaga at the pitwall during the race.

I'm saying this because even if McLaren objectively has the best car/drivers combo on the grid, it seems like they still don't have a plan on how to use it and what they want to achieve with it. (Like, today they achieved results just because the drivers aren't tractor drivers) (and no, it's not the same as Ferrari. They have clear goals, just poor strategies, from time to time, for achieving them)

You think they learned after Hungary, but no.

You think they came to a resolution after everyone, especially their direct competitors, told them about WDC, but no.

Today none of the pit calls made sense (most of them were just plain data feeding/asking for feedback) and this leaves me wondering:

"why I still cannot figure out what they want to do with this 2024 season in terms of strategy/goals?"

(Also, they clearly don't have a clue on how to start p1-p2).

Italy Sky sports commentators seem to think just like me because they kept asking the same question to everyone on the grid.

Am I really the only one who saw today as an easy p1-p2? Like, everyone was so confused/slow during the race and the drivers were clearly left by their own devices...

In the realm (of dreams) in which a strategy/goal actually existed, then the pitwall should have done more, in my opinion. They should have given more clear instructions to both drivers, especially before the actual race...

Yes, i'm also (but not only) talking about that risky, premature and overly aggressive pass in lap 1 at the chicane.

NO, it is not Oscar's fault, he just wanted to prove that he is a good driver. We know sweetie. You still have a lot to learn and today it showed. The fault is on the ones who instructed him, a rookie, that he COULD do it so aggressively and early in the race, risking both of the cars like that. (Thank you Lando for braking and saving it)

No, really, If that's what they are cooking for winning WCC then, oh boy. We are screwed.

Let's remember the clownery of: "Yes, we don't have a first driver, that's toxic behaviour. We let them race each other".

Yes, I agree.

You have a really good lineup so, why not? BUT there must be limits, for god's sake... There must be a strategy behind it. Look at what could have happened to BOTH cars... IN LAP 1.

That 1v1, so early in the race, didn't make sense strategy wise (and, in fact, just helped to open a position for Ferrari to slide in. Very "Ministry of Defense of the Papaya Kingdom" behaviour from everyone involved).

It was clear that today Piastri was feeling it, even more than Norris. He could have had all of the laps in the world to challenge Lando AFTER they secured a P1-P2 by distancing themselves from the Ferraris...

Also, why on earth do they still ask the drivers "Are we still on plan A or B?"... Guys, it's your job, YOU HAVE ALL THE DATA IN FRONT OF YOUR NOSE... YOU are the one who should know if your drivers are in a position in which they can safely do two pits or just focus on one and manage the tyres (yes, I'm positive that that was the full extent of the two impossible-to-decipher master plans... Call them MI5).

To quote Max Verstappen: "Can people in the background please be awake? it's important."

Speaking of the data... I unfortunately also think that the real reason behind why they had to rely so much on the drivers for feedback was also because they didn't harvest enough data for the medium (and so, acquiring solid data concerning the race pace) during free practice. From what I saw they preferred the soft all friday, obviously for a perfect pole at quali, and sacrificed all Saturday morning for petty strategy (sandbagging, really? In this economy?!).

Speaking of "In this economy"... (Yes I'm still not done ranting, I just recharged my battery for the last nail in the coffin, like Lando taught me last GP)

Ok, today was bad but what makes me more upset is the fact that McLaren's lack of ideas (and today's podium positions) slightly undermined both of the drivers chances to p1-p3 in WDC. (Yes, both. I would really like to see Piastri getting P3 in WDC in his second F1 season. Very demure, very polite cat.)

For those wondering, no, I'm really happy that McLaren is achieving all these points this year, it's been a while for the Papaya house and they really worked so hard to achieve this and more.

But this car/driver combo has not only proved to be suited for being on upper side of the grid, it's real winning material. So real that the beasts (us and, why not, the drivers) are getting hungry for victories. Let's just keep this mentality and translate it to a solid plan, because we don't know how long will it last. Maybe next year would be 2022/2023 all over again. Let's win everything while we can.

ALSO this lack of plans, Championship wise, is also starting to build up on drivers. We can see it on Oscar's tendency to be impulsive at times and Lando's struggles with believing in himself and performing accordingly. Does he really have to start ignoring the pit wall and go full multi21 for the WDC? Does Oscar have to do the same to win and prove that he can do better than whatever Hungary was? No.

The fact that none of the other McLaren strategists/team principal seem to acknowledge the harm that this lack of long term plans/goals is doing to everyone is what is making everything worse. And no, saying that Lando could do a Vettel Is not how you solve the problem. Same goes for "Oscar Is ready to help, if asked". Same goes for guilt-trapping Lando and calling him childish when he does not comply.

No, no one has to sacrifice something. No, one IS sacrificing something. Why is it always about blaming the other driver? Stop with this narrative. It's pure and simple gaslighting, the reality is that you have a rocketship and zero plan on how to use it at the fullest.

All for what? favouring constructor? That's really the only plan you have? Guys, do you know that if you do strategies that help the drivers (also WDC wise) you mathematically also get points for the WCC, right? That's how it works...

And yes, i really think that p1-p3 in WDC was (and maybe is, I don't know... Don't feel like I want to do the calculations right now) doable with the right strategy (and Verstappen constantly on a one-wheeled tractor, let's be realistic).

Both Norris and Piastri deserved a P1-p2 today, and both of them deserve to be adequately followed for the WDC (even if they cannot achieve P1. P2 and P3 is still LOVELY). Wouldn't it be more gratifying for them and their careers than just a podium?? That would be a real PAPAYA RULES in my opinion. (Of course drivers like to win, so probably they are ok with anything if that means holding trophies, but still... THINK BIG WHEN YOU CAN)

That said, even if I'm a McLaren fan (maybe I should correct it as "McLaren's drivers and engineers fan" now, we'll see), I'm still really happy that Leclerc won (sorry, i'm italian. Today, and just today, I'm also a tifosa too, forza Ferrari!).

Just a little pissed to see that we still don't have a plan other than a stupid propagandistic slogan... (Yes, I decided to risk my life on this site doing this ranting BECAUSE of that stupid slogan).

Sorry for the yapping/ranting, I hope I didn't offend anyone. Love y'all, and don't take anything too seriously, it's just a sport.

As anyone, I just want to see the team I'm rooting for improve, especially now that we have a NASA rocket in the house.

Also, McLaren fans, pls don't fight each other, let's be less toxic than our favourite team. The drivers didn't do anything wrong today and, even if it is difficult to admit it, they are just two twenty-something years old acting like their age living their dream/passion.

That said, I'm really curious to read your thoughts/opinions on today's race and ideas for possible future strategies. I see it often on Reddit and never on Tumblr, let's show that we too can get technical!

See you (?) for the next GP... Hoping McLaren does come to their senses.

[dr-spectre]

This feels like a mix of a hc and theory, but something I'd like to hear your thoughts on since it came to me earlier today. So we know that Callie went with Octavio to the Low Water Party which happens after Octo Expansion. I'm unaware if we have a time frame of how long after but anyway, the idea is what if it was Callie's idea to try and show Octavio that inklings and octolings were starting to get along now. It makes sense to me because I mean, how would Octavio know about it? And I feel like it'd be in character for Octavio to be like "Yeah, this was my idea" because old man pride and Callie just goes along with that because whatever. Anyway, I thought this theory was interesting and was curious to see what you'd think of it.

Hmm... interesting. Very interesting.

From my perspective, Octavio seems to be totally unaware that some of his Octolings vanish randomly and leave the Octarian undergrounds. Or maybe he does know about it and leaving the undergrounds is this very taboo thing that brings shame and resentment in the Octarian society, like its a thing that is frowned upon which Agent 8 hints at in their memcake entries.

I really wonder how Octavio would react to knowing that Octolings and Inklings are on very good terms with each other and seem to enjoy living side by side without any prejudice. Like how it used to be hundreds of years ago, when Octavio and Cuttlefish were on good terms.

Callie is known to have Octoling friends as said by Smollusk, she has zero resentment or hatred towards the Octarians and I'm sure she would be more than happy to tell Octavio and show him that Octolings and Inklings are living with each other in harmony.

I like to headcanon that Callie talks to Octavio in secret without Marie's knowledge and that's why he's free from the snow globe in Splatoon 3 ROTM and why Callie and Octavio attended the Low Water Party together.

I find it really interesting too that Callie seems to have no hatred or anger towards the Octarians. Despite being manipulated by them and of course getting hypnotised by Octavio (reminder, hypnosis isn't brainwashing or mind control. Just wanna remind everyone... you cant get a hypnotised person to adopt any ideals unless THEY want to. Thats why hypnosis is sometimes used to treat people who suffer from addiction and want to change their habits. But I digress.)

She probably knew that the Octarians were struggling and was more than happy to help them in any way she can. She wasn't even treated that badly during her time in the Octo Canyon too.

Anyways I've been rambling semi off topic for too long lmao. I headcanon that Callie and Octavio keep contact with each other and attend raves and parties lol.

[sophieinwonderland]

i have a question, if youre willing to answer.

i dont want resources, i’ve likely already read them.

we’re a traumagenic programmed system. typically the thought of someone without trauma having this disorder upsets us, because what we went through was so severe that it seems unfair to people without trauma to have to live the same hell as us.

it seems like the only reason someone would be a system without trauma would be by choice.

i would like to hear your explanation for endogenic systems. as i already said, ive read plenty of journals on non trauma based plurality. i dont include spiritual plurality as to me that is an entirely different field.

all i would like to know is your version or perspective of why endogenic systems exist without any trauma whatsoever. when i say this, i mean the type of formative years that would leave a singlet with fondest memories of childhood, nothing bad or stressful, a peaceful parents and environment, etc.

this is not for syscourse, i dont engage with negativity like that.

im open to learning, and i will always peacefully coexist with opposing views to my own, but again, i do my research and have already read many of both the popular and obscure journals on non trauma based plurality that i have found.

-

i dont know if you’ll answer this, though i do hope so, and im not sure how often you get anonymous asks like this, but just in case, you can consider me as anon M.

much respect to you, and i hope you have a good day/night.

-M

Sure!

I'm curious if, in your research, you've also looked into studies into "imagined companions."

These are what I actually find most interesting. Now, "imagined companion" is a loaded term from a singlet-normative perspective that ASSUMES a single consciousness per body. But recent research into ICs have shown a reality that is far more complicated than that, with a majority of ICs seemingly possessing will of their own.

Current research shows about a third of ICs appear to be fully controlled by the host child. These are pretty much what you imagine they would be when you hear terms like "imaginary friend" thrown around. These aren't what I'm interested in.

At the other end of the spectrum are researchers call "noncompliant" imaginary friends. These do have will of their own but exhibit harmful and often bullying behavior. I think many of these would be traumagenic in nature, or at least trauma-affected. If a child's IC is bullying them, that hints that something has likely gone wrong in their homelife, and they're emulating toxic behaviors.

What I find most interesting then is this middle third. Those who demonstrate autonomy while being generally supportive, positive relationships in the lives of their hosts.

It's in this group that we find the strongest evidence of natural multiplicity in children. And it's a pretty massive percentage of the population.

Some studies have shown more than 60% of children have had imagined companions in childhood before the age of 7.

Extrapolating, this means as many as 40% of children, 2 in every 5, would experience childhood plurality, with other people in their heads with their own will.

About 1-in-5 would fall into the category of having these sorts of positive childhood headmates.

To me, the issue isn't a question of why natural multiplicity exists. It seems to me that it just does. Some people are just naturally multiple in childhood.

To me, the issue is what happens to it afterwards. Where do these headmates go? Why do some people keep them?

For the first question, this seems a result of forced conformity. Tell children that their ICs aren't real and that they need to outgrow them, and the ICs will either be forced into dormancy or fuse with the host child.

Their singlethood is sociogenic.

But a fraction will remain. The ICs will be stronger than normal or the host child won't let go of them. And they'll stick around to adulthood. Since they "know" a simple imaginary friend can't be real or think for themselves, they may turn to spiritual explanations for what they experience.

Most will feel alone in their experiences, feel crazy, and never tell others about these headmates.

I'll also add that these systems are usually unable to switch. Switching appears to usually need a dissociative capacity from either intentional dissociative practices such as those in tulpamancy and many spiritual practices, or from trauma.

These systems can learn to switch but it's not inherent to their plurality.

Those are my thoughts anyway! Good day to you too, and thanks for the question! 😁💖

[ekwolfwriter-blog]

WIP Zutara Month Challenge: Meet Cute/Ugly

Honestly, this one is a bit of a challenge for me. Not that I could not do meet cute, but mostly because I associate meet cutes/ ugly with modern stuff. And while I have dabbled with modern stuff, I have been trying to stay closer to the time period of the characters - at least for me.

Definitely can recommend one or two meet cutes that are pretty sweet and fit that modern feel.

As for this challenge, I think I am going to twist the prompt a bit and show a bit of a meet cute that is a set up for a bigger plot.

For context of this plot: This AU is a no war AU - well not yet at least. A version where the North and South are kinda like the same in terms of a royal class that rules over the rest, and the royal blood must rule - does not matter if male or female. There is on tradition, in order to succeed, one must be married and approve by the council of the water tribe elders to be come the ruler (it is vague because it is a fairy tale). Katara is a princess in this story and Zuko, banished from his home and sent to the Southern Water Tribe for protection, ends up meeting Katara as a young princess.

Eventually, they will grow up together. Zuko becomes her personal knight/ guardian as she gets more rambunctious, but they grow and care for one another; and become close enough that they are in love. But traditions keep them apart... for now. So, here is how their meet cute went:

Zuko looked over at the training ground as he is trying to think of something to cheer his princess up from this news of having to be married to someone else. He saw the new soldiers fighting and sparing and some of them stumbling, but all the while a few laughs. Zuko chuckled as well.

"Do you remember the first time we met?" Zuko asked.

Katara glanced up at him from the ground, still had tears in her eyes a little. "What?"

"I was just thinking about the first time we met. How different things were then?" he said as he was recalling the first time Uncle brought him to Madame Kana many years ago, asking the matriarch at the time to take him under his wing after an incident scarred and banished him. Zuko was shut down then, and had a bandage over his left eye so he could not see or hear much.

Katara thought about it as she nodded. "I recall. Sokka and I were trying to see what was going on. And it did not help the grown ups were trying to shoo us away while your uncle and Gran Gran were talking."

Zuko nodded. "I don't remember much of what they were talking about. But there was something that caught my attention that day."

Katara looked up at him softly. "What caught your attention?"

Zuko glanced down at her, his golden eyes seemed to flicker with a teasing look. "A pair of soft blue eyes that was being too fussy about leaving and not missing out on something new."

Katara rolled her eyes and smirked. "Well not my fault I was curious."

"Curious enough to try and sneak glances at me as I was being escorted to the training halls?" Zuko teased as he thought about it.

It was a hard day for him as his uncle basically asked Zuko to hide him away. That much he knew. As he got older, the details were clearer to him as to why, and talks with his uncle and Lu Ten over letters, and even with the matriarch herself explaining to him why, it made sense. But the pain then as a child being left behind in a world so foreign from his own, and with people that did not seem to like him or want him. And yet a waterbending princess seemed to follow and break the rules to keep watching him. Staring at him like she was trying to figure out something about him that drew her to him.

Katara blushed as she turned her face away. "I just wanted to make sure you got there safely. It is only right."

"If that is what you say, my princess," he smirked as he looked away.

Katara returned her gaze up at him as he was looking away. "If I recall, you were not exactly the most talkative and seemed to have more bite to you than what the other guards were willing to put up with. And at least I was the only one willing to face you. Even Sokka would not spar with you until you were finished training."

Zuko chuckle as he nodded as well. "True. Even if I was doing the same exercises, no one really wanted to fight against a fire bender. Given our reputations."

Katara stiffened as she looked away again. She remembered following Zuko out of fear that maybe he would snap at someone, and while he did, Katara did not see him use firebending like the rumors said. If anything, he was just a scared kid, doing his best to not give the others reasons to attack him. Well give them reasons to hurt him more than she knew they did as she would find him in the sick bay, beat and hurt. And how she saw his scar the first time.

Katara took a breath as she spoke: "Firebenders are more than capable of showing compassion and care. You just need to let others see it."

Zuko looked at her and nodded. "You remembered?"

Katara nodded. "Of course, I remembered it vividly," she said softly. "It was the first time you let me heal you. Even if you were snappy."

Zuko chuckled again. "Well can you blame me when an nearly 8 year old comes up and heals you and has more wisdom in her words than half the grown ups? I thought you were mocking me at first."

Katara rolled her eyes. "If I was mocking you, I would have challenged you to sparring."

"You did that too. And then rightfully kicked my butt," Zuko added as he smiled.

Katara smiled. "I still think you let me win then. I was no where near good as I am now."

And going to stop there, otherwise, I will go all night. But this one, I do hope to make into a story. But I just need to figure out when. If people are interested, please let me know!

[innerchorus]

Not much to do with the new chapter but spinning Wolfsong in my head. Particularly the idea of Shapur asking the man who tutored him to also tutor his brother and son. I have to wonder where Shapur's righteousness came from— couldn't have been his parents in practice although as @honig-bienchen said they could just be hypocrites and not practice what they preach while Shapur actually committed to it, but for Wolfsong I think I want Shapur to have an outside influence as well on top of that. What do you think such a man could be like? I have the broad stroke vague vibes such as him being a younger son of an aristocratic or knightly family who didn't inherit and chose a different path instead but ???????

The only concrete thing I have of him is that, during the Wolfsong equivalent of the Sindhura arc, Isfan and Areyan hear about what's driving Sindhura to pick a fight with Peshawar (a succession crisis, brother against brother) and them decidedly Not understanding how that could've come to be because they sure as hell never even thought of such a thing (just as Shapur himself is having a mini confusion crisis over there in Sindhura bc he also can't understand them) and the tutor guy saying “The fact that you have never considered it means I have taught you well.” (grandmama Eihon would of course be talking about that whole when-does-family-stop-being-family thing we've talked about before)

Hmm, I don't know how much help my answer will be, but I do think it's an interesting angle to consider that Shapur's father at least may have provided the model for his son's righteousness, only to shatter it by turning a blind eye to what his wife did to Isfan and his mother. If he was also a military man, he may have spoken about being 'protectors of the weak' in broad strokes, yet failed to uphold that when it came to his own household.

A young Shapur who was very idealistic and saw things in very rigid black and white terms may not have opened his eyes and questioned what his father was saying before, because he saw his father as a protector of Pars and wanted to follow that same path. In Shapur's eyes, of course that would extend to protecting the vulnerable, the poor, the lower classes, the servants in his household. It's easy, when you believe something is logical and the only right and just thing to do, to believe that those you love, those you look up to, those you see as good people also think the way you do. It's easy to ignore the smaller signs that to them, some people matter less than others (I wonder what Shapur thought of the circumstances of Isfan's mother's pregnancy?).

In terms of your AU, it's a similar situation to how Shapur will later find out that [insert Marzban of choice] was responsible for the clan massacre. Someone he respected, likely someone whose prowess inspired him, someone who, like him, had been awarded one of the highest positions in the Parsian army, who had fought many hard battles to keep the people of their country safe, could still show such disregard to human life when they deem those particular lives don't matter.

If Shapur made the connection between the two, that's going to be a bad feeling for sure. Because he's seen it before, but he didn't see this coming. How many others are capable of the same?

But yes, a tutor figure would undoubtedly be influential and leaving the matter of Shapur's father aside, there's a lot of scope there for interesting conversations and perspectives. I personally don't think Shapur himself would have considered anything other than the army as his path in life, so he might be curious about why his tutor chose differently. I can't recall if this man is purely an academic tutor or if he would also have trained Shapur with weapons etc, but if so a young Shapur might find it puzzling that someone so skilled didn't chose to rise through the ranks of the army.

So, what I'm saying is that the reasoning behind it is interesting and worth digging in to. Was there a question of who would inherit, and he chose not to for a specific reason? Did he and his brother discuss it? Why didn't he pursue glory in the Parsian army? If he'd wanted to, as someone of noble birth he could certainly have entered the cavalry with men under his command right away. Did he specifically choose to become a tutor, and why? To make a difference in some way? Does he disagree with how he himself was taught when he was younger? What brings him to Shapur's household? Does he have connections there, or to that area?

I feel like I'm spamming you with questions, but I just thought they might be interesting to ask, and might help flesh things out. If the tutor is intended as a counterpoint to Shapur's father, it might work to have him as someone who ended up in that position (less prestigious than a high military rank or inheriting a bunch of land) because of his morals.

[wellcomeoneileen]

Just rambled about why I didn’t know if Brian was happy with fucking around or not at the end of S5, and i have some loose thoughts on why I didn’t know if Justin was also happy with it or not?

I think most people agree S4 and 5 largely didn’t know what to do with Justin, and this topic is a good example, bc what did he really want out of monogamy other than to give brian a conflict? (Which wasn’t even fleshed out lol)

I think it’s because Justin wanted more emotional connection than brian could/would provide, and I do think S5 is hopeful brian will get better and better at being emotionally connected to Justin (beyond sex and unspoken actions of love).

And so them only talking about non-monog in terms of fucking around or only fucking each other didn’t ring true to me for what Justin wants?

Like I know a married couple who has one husband who sleeps around and the other husband who has a boyfriend. They have different needs out of an open relationship. and I’m curious if Justin, who I never felt like was never thrilled with an open relationship, would be drawn towards getting some emotional needs met by another man or two whilst brian gets his physical needs met by others.

We do explore that with Ethan! But in a monogamy context. It was like - you can get both your emotional and sexual needs met by ethan, or sexual needs met by multiple people and only emotional needs met by brian, who really struggles with that. But you can’t get your emotional and sexual needs met by multiple people +brian.

An open relationship to brian and Justin meant fucking around only; which I felt like meant a lot to brian bc of his relationship with his body as self-worth; but was maybe a take it or leave it thing to Justin who didn’t derive his self worth from his body.

This is bc the writers were focused on brian and not as much on Justin, so his unique needs for monogamy/not weren’t really debated as much as he provided pushback to brian for Brian’s plot.

And if brian is allowed to center himself by getting other dick, I would argue maybe Justin should be allowed to center himself by getting other connections?

Like Justin created those S2 rules mostly bc those were the things he was craving! Brian was not the one falling for guys he was sleeping with, lol.

The Justin Loses His Hearing fanfic AU has a story about something similar - Justin gets a boyfriend who gets him in a different way than Brian does, and honestly that makes a lot of sense to me. Brian was overflowing with physical energy whilst Justin was overflowing with emotional energy. This kinda seems like a natural outlet for them both, be open but in different ways. Brian fucking a lot of guys frequently and Justin fucking a few guys intentionally. And they are one another’s constant.

Like I see them in New York, justin is right by brian 9/10 times, and that 1/10 time is him totally off in his own little world with his boyfriend of the year ( a rotation of artists in residence and study abroaders and they’re hot and heavy for the year then send friendly postcards and they always knew they were a love affair not LOML) and brian is right by Justin 9/10 times, and that 1/10 time is compiled of his little daily random hook-ups (all his steam room men and waiters and clients who don’t even register)

They ultimately sexually and emotionally satisfy each other more and better than anyone else, but if Brian’s monogamy crux is he needs sexual variety, why couldn’t Justin have emotional variety?

I just wasn’t totally sold on Justin getting something out of their version of non-monog, bc in every season we see him crave additional relationship components, and be upset by brian fucking other people, and we don’t see him just itching to go fuck others indiscriminately.

And this might not be what he would want either!!

But it’s my best guess given that his character wasn’t allowed to want much outside plot reasons towards the end, and I love guessing about this show :)

[tomdayaqna]

I’d love to hear your thoughts on TZs project since you’ve been gone! Did you watch TCR? Do you see Dune or Challengers? Which future project(s) of theirs are you most excited about?

I've watched them all. Here are my brief PERSONAL thoughts on each one in order of release:

TCR- Tom was excellent in this, he demonstrated a range I've always known he has and I especially loved seeing him in drag as Ariana. Whilst I think critics were needlessly harsh on it I do think the script was definitely the weakest part, the pacing of the show was all over the place with the start being almost glacial then they had to rush to wrap it up. None of the characters outside of Danny felt well developed, I think developing Amanda Seyfried's character and her interiority more would've made the dynamic between her and Danny much more interesting. The directing and cinematography/general visuals of the show were a bit dull, there was clearly not really a singular vision in terms of direction which makes sense knowing the behind the scenes drama.

Dune Part 2: Really well directed, shot, acted etc. I like that they changed Chani's role so she wasn't so reverent to Paul (I know some book fans didn't like it but the books depiction of the relationship between the colonised and the coloniser with no resistance is deeply problematic and disgusting) but I'm curious to see how they bring Paul and Chani back together in Messiah without completely undermining Chani's characterisation up to this point, or will they alter large parts of Messiah too? Overall I think I'm ambivalent about Dune as a franchise because of the orientalist origins of the books and I think the films just completely ignoring these origins (their refusal to use the word jihad is hilarious) rather than addressing it and having interesting commentary on the relationship between western sci-fi and orientalism/Islam is disappointing, but I do appreciate the films from a technical standpoint. And Z was excellent; I think about that final scene a lot.

Challengers: Such a sexy and sensual film. I liked how it looked at sensuality and how sex informs interpersonal relationships all without using sex. I loved seeing Z play someone so different to both herself and all her previous roles. I loved that the film doesn't attempt to over explain or justify Tashi's behaviour to try and make her sympathetic; we need more female characters written like that. The score, editing and cinematography was of course excellent. I will say the part of the film I found weakest was regarding Tashi and Art's child, she sort of felt like she was just there...I guess in a way parenthood was secondary to everything else going on but a bit of exploration into how parenthood changed Tashi and Art relationship dynamics (if at all), how motherhood changed Tashi and her relationship with her injured body etc. or just anything to make it believable to me that these people were parents to this child would've made the film 10/10. Still it was definitely my favourite of all the projects from them.

As far as what I'm excited for The Drama and The Odyssey! With The Drama I'm so curious given how little we know about it, and I've seen the director's other film 'Sick of Myself' which was such a fascinating character study. With The Odyssey I like Nolan, but I think with the fuckload of money and free reign he's being given this can be a masterpiece or a Megalopolis lmao