#which was also their only instance so far?? i think everyone including them let it go

[sweetpastillas]

pitting fob's return and p!atd's subsequent death against each other in my head like im drafting an old harry potter vs twilight essay lol

[tainbocuailnge]

we're told and shown very little of what shalem and phantom's bond was and is like, so there's a lot of ways to interpret it. but personally I think it's a bit of a waste to show them straightforwardly getting along when they're both extremely insane in conflicting ways. the only on-screen interaction they have is shalem reprimanding phantom, and then testing him, and phantom's response is that he'll do something really detrimental to himself if shalem asks. so to go with their first impressions as looming ominous guy and modest nervous guy and portray shalem as losing composure & getting all blushy at phantom's advances doesn't feel right to me.

shalem actually presents himself to doctor as the one you go to when /you/ lose composure. his profile is clearly written by the troupe instead of rhodes HR like everyone else, and it tells you "you don't remember meeting, but you trust him and rely on him," like a command for the situation to develop as such, rather than a report of how the situation developed. his colleagues think shalem is weirdly pessimistic sometimes, but he's capable and reliable. his role as "modest and gentle shalem" requires him to be composed. in those new CN lines where doctor hands him an outfit to put on he doesn't sound embarrassed about it either. I don't think flirtatious attention would get him to blush that easily.

all the glimpses of what he's like outside that role show him as pretty decisive. every instance of breaking character is him being more forceful than his image allows. if something needs doing and nobody is doing it shalem will go "this is stupid why are we letting this happen" and step in. when he loses composure in his oprec he tries to :/ through the pain before getting screaming mad. when he's scared he gets mad too. shalem tries very hard to be a meek person and his life would be easier if he actually was, but he's not. he's mentally stronger than a lot of people including himself give him credit for. he just doesn't like when it's quiet.

and phantom clearly trusts shalem enough to completely submit to his judgement. the one interaction they're shown having is phantom saying he'll sing if shalem wants him to. phantom will explicitly do what shalem tells him to even if he thinks its a bad idea.

his codename may be phantom and his cat's name christine, but lucian is the christine in this situation. he's the young actor kidnapped and forced to sing by his shadowy teachers. they're making him play the phantom of the opera but that doesn't mean he actually is the phantom. shalem is far more like the phantom of the opera than lucian. shalem can't exist without the mask that lets him pretend to be a real person or leave the theater that mask was made for. it's just that his mask is also salome, which makes him extra insane (love) because salome was a no-name normal girl used as a tool in political machinations until she got written into a play that reinterpreted her as insane and a willing participant. so shalem's nightmares try to convince him he actually did want that guy's head on a plate.

phantom's second module says he doesn't see any art in killing despite how much the troupe hyped it up to him, but he works as assassin and went back to kill the troupe. shalem does still see the art in it, but he works in logistics and ran away because he didn't want to kill. we know phantom left after he realized his teachers were villains and that he completely trusts shalem's judgement, so while there's no clear proof it's likely that shalem's betrayal is what inspired phantom to leave as well. everyone in the troupe was raised to look up to lucian, and told that they had no worth if they couldn't make it to his level. shalem didn't have what it took to become like lucian, but that's exactly what made phantom want to be more like shalem.

and again, we know very little of what their relationship was like, or is like now. we know phantom completely trusts shalem, but the only opinion shalem expresses about phantom is "we're certainly similar, but I'd like to stay away from all that" and their only interaction is shalem reprimanding and testing phantom. so it's possible that shalem doesn't like phantom at all, and is only saving him because the situation is stupid and someone has to do something. phantom is the only person who could begin to understand shalem, but shalem doesn't like being seen closely because he's scared he has no "self" behind the act, so phantom understanding him might not be a good thing to shalem.

I think that kind of resentment between fellow survivors is really interesting. they both left, but lucian is still the troupe's favourite while shalem is called a cowardly traitor. even if shalem does get along with phantom, that would still be simmering below the surface right? their experiences were similar, but lucian was the standard that the others were held to, and the punishment for not being able to live up to that standard was death. isn't it a sick joke to have to go back to save the man whose mere existence made yours harder?

phantom knows that he was the bait the troupe used to draw in fresh blood, and he feels deeply guilty over it. so I think his willingness to submit to shalem's judgement is also because he knows he's at least partially to blame for what's wrong with shalem. meanwhile shalem's nightmares taunt him by saying the troupe was wrong and he's a great actor, so I think part of him still wants to prove himself as an actor. he wants to escape the audience in his head, but can't fully let go of the promise of getting to be on the stage either. and while phantom is the more outwardly insane one, he's making new friends and picking up new hobbies in his oprec while shalem has to be in the eternal nightmare vortex. even in rhodes island phantom is the one who actually gets what shalem wants.

so you have shalem, who wants a normal life he can't have because he was raised to be an actor-assassin with no self, and phantom, who is willing to do whatever shalem says to make up for being the symbol used to ruin shalem's ability to live normally.

phantom in general tends to punish himself. he refuses both medical treatment and gratitude until folinic corners him and chews him out. he feels guilty over being a dangerous person to associate with, but also over rejecting the help he is offered in spite of this. he's willing to submit to shalem's judgement and accept any punishment from him, but shalem wants to be normal and just helps him because it's the right thing to do and this whole situation is stupid, but that only makes phantom feel even more guilty. that too is unresolved resentment.

there's a tension between them where phantom repeatedly shows a desire to leave his decisions to others, while shalem desperately tries to take his decisions from the hands of others. there's clear incentive for phantom to just hand all his agency over to shalem, especially if we assume that shalem leaving is indeed what inspired phantom to follow, and depending on how you read the scene it's phantom's willingness to do what shalem says rather than his reluctance to sing that confirms to shalem that phantom is back to usual. phantom through this respect for and trust in shalem gives shalem a lot of power over him that shalem doesn't actually want to have, because the only decisions shalem wants to be controlling are his own.

they certainly are similar, but they cannot recognise themselves in that mirror, because the part of them that wants to be like the other is at odds with their actual desires. phantom left the troupe like shalem did, perhaps even to follow shalem's example, but shows no indication of wanting a normal life. shalem is a valued coworker, and phantom is an elusive mystery that schwarz warns you as someone familiar with the underworld to stay away from. he speaks of guilt and punishment and truth, but not of what comes after, and he's largely dependent on miss christine to be his moral compass. he's making friends and getting hobbies only because miss christine pushed him to. phantom values justice, but struggles to make his own judgements, and seems to reason that since he's already a murderer he might as well keep killing.

shalem meanwhile values normalcy, but doesn't seem to care nearly as much about justice. his reasoning for defying the troupe and letting his target go wasn't that it was wrong to kill, but that the situation was ridiculous and there had to be a different way. what shalem's nightmares taunt him with isn't the morality of his actions, the way phantom stumbles over his words to justify himself in his own nightmares, but whether they were really his actions. violence excites shalem in a way it doesn't for phantom, and he has no hesitance about threatening murder to secure his agency.

so phantom values justice, and he values shalem's judgement, but he appears unaware that shalem doesn't actually share those values. a normal life just generally doesn't require or involve murder. so while phantom is frequently punishing himself out of guilt and is implicitly looking to shalem to deliver some of that punishment, shalem doesn't really give a shit, because he doesn't really want to think about let alone reckon with their pasts at all. what shalem reprimands him for is causing trouble for the doctor.

their relationship is, by virtue of both operating through externally imposed personalities, inherently somewhat out of sync. you might even call it somewhat parasocial. I think there's probably a lot of pity involved too, pity for the one made to chase your shadow, and pity for the one who cannot escape that shadow. as fellow survivors they're the only ones who could possibly understand each other, but their values and priorities don't line up, and so neither do their expectations and images of each other.

but crucially, i think if any moves are to be made between them, it has to be shalem who makes those moves. because phantom wants to leave his choices to others while shalem is far more decisive than he appears and in fact much of shalem's character tension is based in being forced to finally step up and do something. phantom has very decisively put the ball in shalem's court by establishing that he'll literally do whatever shalem says. all of which is a very long way to say. i respectfully disagree with some of the fanart ive seen on twitter dot com lately.

[lanternouslobster]

Ough this took way too long. Alright, here goes

Alright, welcome to the first part of my reboot analysis series! I'll be doing a series of essays (likely varying in length) on each of the 16 contestants in the Total Drama Island reboot. Each essay will consist of a main portion comprised of canon analysis, followed by a much smaller section talking about my own headcanons for how they turned out as they have. I'm choosing each subject by random draw, and up first is Ripper. Without further ado, let's get started!

This is certainly an interesting place to start. When the first season was initially released, I know a lot of people disliked Ripper. And I mean a lot. I don’t really blame them— the whole farting aspect to his character is pretty prevalent in his first run, and it’s not exactly pleasant to watch. However, it’s not the only aspect to him. Somehow, the writers managed to build up a really interesting character underneath the surface. A shame that the farting deters a lot of people from seeing it.

Meet the Victims immediately gives us a solid sense of who Ripper is. He’s obsessed with being perceived as masculine, between ripping his shirt off & flexing to show off when he first gets to the dock and later calling himself an “alfalfa male”, presumably in an attempt to call himself an alpha. He holds an extremely stereotypical view of what masculinity is, most notably indicated in his audition tape when he claims that caring about others is a weakness. He wants to be seen as strong and dominant, attributes befitting what he thinks a man should be. However, right off the bat, it’s clear that we as an audience are supposed to see straight through Ripper’s façade. When he rips off his shirt to show off, Priya and Millie are far less than impressed. He’s unable to snap back when Wayne and Raj make fun of him. It takes a single glare from Axel for him to back down from wanting to put up a fight. He clearly isn’t everything he wants to be made out to be.

Throughout the show, Ripper is shown to be incredibly stubborn when not intimidated out of his actions. During the challenge in Meet the Victims, he outright ignores Millie’s directions in favor of going his own way, and he doesn’t show any sense of regret for doing so even as it’s clear he’s just making it more difficult for himself. In Pirates of the Cabbage’an, he fights with Axel over being the team’s captain despite her clearly being more qualified, and not even a kick to the face deters him from quarrelling with her after the challenge. When anyone tries to tell him anything even resembling logic, he just shuts them down by calling them a nerd. Throughout the entirety of the first season, he shows no inclination to change, and his stubbornness in his actions makes everyone incredibly annoyed at his presence for his entire run.

However, annoyance isn’t the full extent of the impact Ripper makes on the other contestants. While he’s written to be a joke of a character, he still inflicts harm on the people around him. The most notable instance is him using Priya as a human shield in Numbskull Island, though him abandoning Zee in Severe Eggs and Pains is also a fitting example. The damage he’s done to people, while played as a joke, is still something that should be taken into account.

Speaking of Severe Eggs and Pains, there are a few lines from Ripper that uh. Stick out from any others. The first being his line about his mom being right about babies ruining everything, which is… alarming at best. The next is his line talking about how his dad used to drop him and his three brothers all the time. Both of these lines indicate he may lack a stable familial life. Assuming his mother’s sentiment towards children is something she currently has rather than a phase from the past, she likely doesn’t show much warmth and may even feel vitriol towards her own kids, Ripper included. And while a single instance of his father dropping him or any of his brothers could simply be a case of clumsiness, an accident not stemming from any sort of malice or lack of consideration for their well-beings, the fact that it was a repeated event tells otherwise. Any parent who truly cared for the health and safety of their children would either be more careful moving forward to not cause them harm or would outright avoid situations in which harm could result. The fact that it continuously happened indicates a lack of care from Ripper’s father. This could very well be where Ripper derived all of his ideas of what masculinity is supposed to be, especially his views on caring for others being a weakness.

When looking at the entire scope of his season 1 run, it becomes rather clear to me what he represents: toxic masculinity and all the harm that it does. He desperately wants to be seen as hypermasculine, and in his eyes, he can’t show something as weak as compassion towards anybody around him. This leads to him often hurting others without a care in order to get what he wants. However, it’s not only those around him whom he hurts; he’s hurting himself as well. His hardheaded nature and belief that he’s supposed to be strong and dominant results in him ignoring the advice and instructions of others who are more knowledgeable and capable than him, which is always to his detriment. His behavior also drives away any possibility of stable social bonds. The only friends he really makes are Chase, who is far from good friend material, and debatably Zee, who’s friendly with everyone no matter what. Everyone else hates his guts and hardly wishes to be in his presence. From his actions in hurting Priya in Numbskull Island to his elimination in Wheel of Vomit, he gets by on pure circumstance rather than a desire from others to keep him. In Numbskull Island, he barely survives the elimination because Millie flips. In Jurassic Fart, Damien’s initial desire to be eliminated overrides the fact that Ripper likely would be voted out otherwise. In The Launchback of Notre Game, the Ferocious Trout win, so Ripper has immunity. In Severe Eggs and Pains, while many of the others are irritated at Ripper, Wayne and Raj get med evac-ed before they can vote. Finally, in Wheel of Vomit, they’re given a clear shot at taking Ripper out and take it. All that to say, Ripper got by so far purely as a fluke and would’ve been taken out far quicker if the universe didn’t seem to be on his side. Despite clearly attracting negative attention throughout the game, Ripper makes no attempt to change his ways due to how rooted he is in the idea of being a “man”. His obsession with traditional, toxic masculinity burns his bridges with the other contestants, making a detrimental impact on his social life that carries into the following season. As he’s eliminated from the game, he leaves with an interesting remark: that he’ll wait until he’s home to cry. That he’ll wait until he can finally let out all his emotions unseen. He’s capable of sadness, of regret, of feeling, but he can’t afford to show it to anyone else. Not if he wants to be a real man.

But then, going into the second season, there’s an interesting shift. Yes, he’s still as headstrong and sure of himself as ever, shown by his indignation at how he was picked last for a team. He still sees himself as capable and strong. However, his priorities seem to have shifted from his initial goals of showcasing masculinity. Instead, he now has a new focus: his infatuation with Axel.

The thing that makes Ripper’s crush on Axel interesting is that it isn’t performative, like how his attempt at flirting(?) on the dock in Meet the Victims was. No, his love for her is genuine. Something about her has wholly encapsulated him, and he wants to be with her for reasons far deeper than the fact that having a girlfriend is an attribute befitting the traditional man. It’s especially interesting considering how all of their previous interactions, particularly in Pirates of the Cabbage’an, have consisted purely of the two fighting each other. Perhaps having someone stand up to him— a woman, mind you— made his previous ideas on what he was supposed to be falter. It clearly wasn’t something that immediately made an impact, given how his behavior hardly changed through the first season, but it was likely something he thought about after the show. The fact that her strength clearly outmatched his gave him a lot of things to consider surrounding what he truly stood for. She was new, unfamiliar, and her existence outright challenged his. And so, he wished to be with her. She was an impressive monument of strength and capability, someone that he grew to appreciate rather than fight against. With these new emotions that he started the second season with came a new attribute to him, something that went against everything he once aimed to be: care. He cared about Axel. And that one attribute changed everything about him.

Throughout season 2, Ripper’s actions become far less self-serving and harmful towards others. There aren’t really any new events similar to him using Priya as a shield or abandoning Zee to fend against the cassowary. While he does work to help his team, he has no place in the Raynebow-MKulia rivalry that goes down. Instead, he’s mostly focused on impressing Axel in order to woo her. This causes a shift in his writing that, generally, the fandom seems to enjoy more than his first season writing.

At first, his attempts to attract Axel’s attention fall in line with his previous season 1 mindset. In Taking it to the Rim Reaper, he tries to show off to Axel with an attempt at using a. uh. unique strategy to win the challenge, which follows the still-present value he holds in appearing strong. However, this seems to be the last time he really shows this sort of train of thought. After all, in You Poor Saps, he seems to be more interested in being alone with Axel to talk to her than he is in impressing her. His actions shift to be about her rather than about how she sees him.

This is especially clear in Choosin’ for a Bruisin’. In the beginning of the episode, Axel rejects Ripper by saying he’s not her type— and it’s understandable why she would think that at this point in time. The Ripper she knows is the one from season 1. The Ripper who’s solely self-serving, headstrong to the point of self-sabotage, and generally more successful getting himself into trouble than solving problems. In other words, someone who clearly would be nothing short of infuriating to be in the vicinity of, let alone date. However, this episode is what shows for sure that he’s now completely different. When Axel admits in her would-you-rather tape that she enjoys poetry, Ripper sees it as an opportunity. If this had been in season 1, he absolutely would’ve laughed. Poetry is the exact type of hobby that he would’ve labeled Axel as a nerd for. He would have teased her to no end over it. But this is season 2, and Ripper doesn’t see Axel as any less of a person for her enjoying something he would have once seen as weak. In fact, he decides to fully embrace her interest. I severely doubt Ripper had any interest in poetry himself predating this episode, but he still steps out of his comfort zone to make something for Axel based on her interests. He even includes stuff relating to her obsession with the zombie apocalypse in his writing, going even further to show that she’s doing this for her, not just as some performative action to get a girlfriend just because he thinks he should. He genuinely cares about her, and not once does he worry that such feelings are making him appear weak. The cycle of toxic masculinity is losing its hold on him, because for the first time, he’s letting himself feel genuine love for someone.

I think that’s all I have to say in terms of canon analysis. Of course, he has more screentime after Choosin’ for a Bruisin’, but I dunno how much I can do to critically examine him repeatedly making out with Axel. A lot of that stuff (esp. in Fun Fight at the O’Cake Corral) I’m planning to go over when I cover Axel, anyways, so I’ll save it for her future essay.

Anyways, now onto family headcanons I have for Ripper that may explain why he is the way he is! I’ll keep it short, since this is already 2k+ words.

Ripper’s parents are divorced. They split pretty quickly after he was born. It was bound to happen whether they had a kid or not, since the two were extremely incompatible and fought all the time— however, Ripper’s existence gave his mom something to blame the falling-apart of the marriage on so she didn’t have to face any accountability for it herself. Ripper went to his dad, since his mom didn’t want him. His dad remarried pretty quickly, and it’s that marriage where Ripper’s three younger brothers come from.

Ripper never saw much love from his father. He was an emotionally distant man, someone who believed that showing warmth made him weak. He’s who Ripper derived all his ideals of what he’s supposed to be from. Because of these circumstances, Ripper’s never really had a constant source of love and care in his life. The closest he’s ever gotten is tidbits of approval from his father whenever he emulates his callous attitude, which made him lean even further into that. He’s been left to fend for himself emotionally, thus causing him to develop his rude and insufferable behavior towards others. Axel is his first experience in being genuinely loved. His first time breaking out of the shell he’s been raised to build. He’s finally allowing himself to feel like a human being.

And that's a wrap! This was fun to write. I'm definitely looking forward to writing more of these. Sorry if any of what I said here is inaccurate or if I missed anything, it was difficult finding Ripper scenepacks on YouTube and I didn't really wanna watch through the whole show again.

The wheel of names has decided that Nichelle will be next! I don't think her essay will be as long as this, since she has far less screentime to go off of. I already have a few ideas, though, so there'll at least be something to write.

With that, I'm signing off! See you for part 2!

[lovemyromance]

Im curious about your take on how azriel is “overprotective”

I honestly don't understand how we got to this point where a male love interest being protective is a bad thing. Overprotective, sure. But I don't think any of the bat boys are overprotective.

There are really two parts to to understanding this argument:

Azriel's protectiveness

Elain's personality/character itself

Let's begin:

Azriel's protectiveness

Homeboy is protective, no one can deny this. But he is protective of them all. He attacked Eris to defend Mor's honor, he is Mr. "Careful how you speak of my High Lady", he handles even Nesta with the utmost care and respect. If there is danger, I'd sooner believe he'd throw himself into it rather than it get close to any of his pretty friends' heads.

But there is a difference between him, and let's say, Tamlin for example. Tamlin literally locks up Feyre in her room, doesn't let her train her own powers, keeps her far away from courtly affairs.

And I know what you are going to say - "Oh, but Azriel stopped Elain from scrying for the troves" - um yeah, no shit.

The Cauldron literally kidnapped Elain? You think he's going to let that dangerous thing in her presence again? He snarls at Eris everytime he shows his face, you think he's going to let that evil crockpot anywhere near her?

It's not like he said "Elain can't train." or "Elain should be locked up in a tower". All he said was, "Elain should not be exposed to that darkness". Which - brings me to my second point.

2. Elain's entire character

Elain is not a warrior. She does not want to be violent. She has no desire to train like her sisters, but she does want to be helpful. There are ways to be helpful without physically going into the Bog or Prison or fighting on the frontlines of battle.

But again, she is untrained. Even if she does want to be helpful, nobody is willing to send her into a situation that might turn violent without any training. They are not willing to risk losing her, because of what happened last time.

The IC is even more protective of Elain as a whole because of who she is. It is not a stretch that Azriel, someone who cares dearly for her, is also protective of her.

And again, let's not forget that all of the bat boys are protective over their women. If we keep reading past when Azriel says, "Elain should not be exposed to the darkness of the troves", you will see Cassian protest and ask "and Nesta should?"

Even Cassian is reluctant to let Nesta be exposed to that darkness. The difference is in Nesta & Elain's core personalities, more so than the protectiveness of Azriel and Cassian. Elain will pick up a dagger as the last resort only to defend someone else/herself, but Nesta? Nesta will charge at you with her sword, probably even if you look at her wrong.

That's the difference. It's not a question about protectiveness, it's about currently, what is Elain capable of.

Azriel is protective of Elain, as he should be. In case you forgot, he was the one who saved her from Hybern's camp. His wings were shredded, he was swaying on his feet, he was warned he would die, but he still went after her. Of course he would be afraid to let that Cauldron anywhere near Elain after that.

And by the way, that is the only instance the anti-s are using to call him "overprotective" and "he stifles her, doesn't let her do anything".

Azriel may not be shoving her off a cliff to fly (sorry Feyre lol), but he is still giving Elain the tools she needs to grow. Azriel is the one who figures out she is a Seer, freeing her from her murky realm and depression. Azriel saw her, understood her, when everyone else including her own sisters and mate saw her as crazy. Azriel gives her his own dagger (the one he NEVER let anyone else touch), to defend herself. Azriel sits with her in the garden, allows her to feel peace and calm.

I think SJMs past male love interests have created a kind of blueprint in the mind of antis, so much so that they are unable to comprehend a different kind of relationship, a different kind of love. Just because Rhys sends Feyre into the Weaver cottage with a "good luck lol" and Rowan punched Aelin in the face, doesn't mean all her MMC have to have the same brutish approach. Have they ever considered that love can be shown in different ways?

Even in HOFAS, Hunt cautions Bryce and voices several times how they should just give up in their plans against the Asteri. Is he being overprotective? Is he stifling Bryce? No. He is simply trying to keep the person he cares about alive and safe. Because he loves her.

Love can be spending time with the one you care for, in small quiet moments in the background, in the garden. Love can be soft embraces under the cover of the darkness, where only the Mother may witness them.

Like, I thought it was obvious.

[cautiouscrab2eletricboogaloo]

If you scroll back far enough you’ll see this account was mainly Umbrella Academy posting. I was OBSESSED with this show, especially when s3 came out despite the writing being objectively…iffy in some scenes. But I knew how GOOD the show could be, and hell, s3 WAS GOOD!

And then s4 happened.

And let’s just say

I’m disappointed :D

Spoilers for everything s4 here on out

Ok so watching this season was like being trapped in a burning building but you’re trying to rescue your things, but then you realize they’re also all on fire. I kept watching, thinking “oh, this is gonna lead to this” or “oh that’s a cool reference to that” and NOTHING HAPPENED???

Like in the beginning, with Alison. I thought for sure, everyone was just gonna not like her for a majority of the season, she does something really cool/saves them and then they go “ok, we aren’t gonna forgive you, because what you’ve done to all of us is not able to be forgiven, but we’re gonna try to be better and include each other in our lives”

Nope

They just forgave her off camera and she was just enjoying life with them

And so I’m like “ok, I can excuse that, besides there WAS a 6 year timeskip, maybe we’ll see something with th-“

Nope

Another thing, the sake bombs

My brother in christ Klaus THREW IT ON SOMEONE ELSE AND JUST??? THAT PERSON DIDNT GET HIS POWERS?? My partner legit turned to me and was like “oohhh he’s gonna get Klaus’ powers that’s gonna be so cool.”

But nope that guys never shown again!!

“Okay…” I say slightly nervous “but Klaus is objectively the fan favorite, they can’t fuck up his character”

But then they did. Now iirc, Vietnam wasn’t mentioned at all in s3, and if it was, it was minimum, but there were SO MANY INSTANCES TO BRING IT UP AND THEY JUST DIDNT??

And I tried to excuse it, but legit it was so obvious that they should’ve brought it up. Ignoring the fact Klaus GOT DAVES DOG TAGS BACK AND SAID/DID NOTHING BUT LOOK AT THEM?? you have the scene where everyone is shooting as each other and he’s hiding in the hallowed out part of a grave (which, idk, reminds me of TRENCHES??? Which I’m like 80% sure was used in the Vietnam war) and also, did NOTHING. He covered his ears and I’m sitting there, thinking “oh maybe a flashback”

Nope!

MY BROTHER IN CHRIST I CANT STOP EXCUSING IT, BUT I DO

Cuz when he got locked in the coffin, I’m thinking “oh perfect time to bring up the mausoleum-“

Nope

(Also the way the show tried to make it a joke that he was being used for sex to get money left such a bad taste in my mouth. Like we physically saw him get SA’d and just…it’s a joke??? Like already we had that gross SA of Luther in s3 does NO ONE UNDERSTAND HOW SENSITIVE OF A TOPIC THAT IS??)

Then, obvs there’s the fuckup with Five

At this point, I’m beaten and broken. I have a pounding headache, the dogs looking at me and my partner funny cuz we keep screaming and- HOLY FUCK FIVE IS KISSING LILA

Five, the physically-25-mentally-65 year old, whose ENTIRE CHARACTER MOTIVATION IS HIS FAMILY

Is kissing Lila, the 30 something WIFE OF HIS BROTHER

His brother. Who he saw DEAD IN A FUCKING APOCALYPSE.

I just ??? It’s so bad??? Why??? Did you think??? That was a good idea??? No one asked for that??

(+ there was no reason to include that arc, or the fact that Lila and Diego were unhappy in their marriage. Lila, maybe I can understand, but Diego had NO REASON. Get rid of those arcs, fucking nothing changes)

And I can talk about the bracelet inconsistency, or how they only made Luther a stripper for shock value, but this post is long enough so I’m just gonna mention one final grievance

The ending.

SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES

Now, I’ve enjoyed media where they permanently kill off the main characters. Like Magnus Archives (something I frequently would post here)

In the season five finale, they kill of Jon and Martin because it’s the only way to save their world. It makes sense, Jon is already the Pupil of the Ceaseless Watcher + for him and martin, it’s genuinely the only way they can have a decent ending

If they were to keep living, they’d doom the world to constantly be in the eyepocalypse. They address what could’ve been a plot hole by saying “no, living isn’t an option, as much as we want it to be.”

And it’s a satisfying ending! Ask any TMA fan, and they’ll agree that, while sad, it was a perfect ending. So when Umbrella Academy tried to do the same I was…confused? Because that truly WASNT THE ONLY OPTION??

The scene with all the Fives where they’re like “oh btw your family causes the apocalypse every time” I thought we all kinda new that by now….

But also it wasn’t. I am firm in my belief that what caused the apocalypse every time was

1) their powers

And 2) their REACTIONS to each other

S1, for example. Viktors powers inherently cause the apocalypse, but it’s the characters reaction TOWARDS VIKTOR (cough cough Luther) that REALLY seal the deal.

So, no diner Five, it wasn’t THE FAMILY, it was your POWERS. If y’all just…don’t use them and get some family therapy, you guys are FINE.

(Also my partner brought this up, but having a show that revolves around the trauma of the main cast ending with “killing yourself is the only option” is…definitely a choice!)

So yeah. This entire season was trash from start to finish. The songs were not good, the character arcs were not good, the story itself was not good. Everything done was either for shock value (ie making the astronaut a STRIPPER.), ruined characters in ways that didn’t make any narrative sense (Five kissing Lila), or were dragged on far too long (Diego and Luther in the CIA).

And I really don’t want to hate on it, because I love this show, but I really have nothing good to say. It was bad start to finish. Get me out of this burning building, ‘cause my stuffs already burnt.

[zeep-xanflorp]

so at this point everyone is accepting that rick and diane never had a healthy marriage right??

like i think what everyone assumed (including me) is that they retconned all the things about rick not believing in love in the first two seasons when they revealed rick's revenge quest in season 6. like i thought that because rick was doing all of that for diane and beth, that it was indicative of a healthy relationship. but i don't think that's the case anymore after looking into some old episodes. i truly believe it was the intentions of the writers to make him have a bad relationship w diane since the beginning.

so here's what i've been thinking right.

"listen morty, what people call love is just a chemical reaction that compels animals to breed. it hits hard, morty, and then it slowly fades, leaving you stranded in a failing marriage. i did it. your parents are gonna do it. break the cycle, morty. rise above. focus on science." (rick potion #9, ep 106)

the situation he describes is so specific. he describes "failing marriages" and compared his marriage to that of beth and jerry's which is infamously codependent and toxic.

"i couldn't make [marriage] work and i can turn a black hole into a sun, so..." (the wedding squanchers, ep 210)

he talks about how little he trusts in marriage. because despite his intelligence, he couldn't be happy in his own.

so these are the two hints we get about rick's marriage before diane even actually shows onscreen. both of these quotes demonstrate rather clearly that their relationship was dysfunctional in some capacity. that it was "failing".

so if we're call caught up let's move onto the season 3 premiere.

"why don't i go grab beth and we can go out for ice cream?" (the rickshank redemption, 301)

that's all she has to say after rick says he's giving up on science - his passion. which is rather odd because it was clearly something he was working on for some time and he just says he's giving it all up immediately. which is odd, right? this well seeming remark could be far more insidious than it seems.

i'm not the only one to point this out but that's it. she dismisses his feelings. she invites him out to a place with their daughter (where, with her present, they would be incapable of having an adult conversation which would put more distance between them) and in this regard, beth acts as a physical barrier between them both.

i'm not saying that diane is in the wrong here. i'm not saying rick is perfect. but that's one instance of their relationship where something pretty major had just happened. and it's immediately brushed off.

(abcs of beth, 309)

there are plenty of hints that rick was indeed an absentee father, even when he was still living with his daughter. take the abcs of beth, where rick talks about all the toys that child beth had to play with. beth insists that she asked him to make those because she wanted to spend time with him. let me repeat, beth explains that she wanted to spend time with her father so bad that she asked him to make lethal weapons for her to play with. plus the whole froopyland thing - an environment designed to be safe so he wouldn't have to keep an eye on her. it's obvious she channeled her neglect in a destructive way - aka in a way that she got from her father. but i digress.

the point is, rick has always been absent from his family in some capacity. whether it was emotionally as we see with diane or physically as we see with beth.

there are also some hints at infidelity on rick's end. take mr nimbus, who is confirmed to have known diane.

then when diane and beth die, he absolutely crumbled. and this scene does break my heart watching it bc we know it's not just a part of a fake memory now. it was all real. the pain he experienced in that moment - the hope he had of living a normal life and making everything up to his family - just got ripped away from him.

so even though on the surface, rick appears to have a healthy relationship w diane when she shows up in the show, that doesn't mean that's all there is. it's very unlikely based on all of the information presented in the earlier seasons that these two were stable together and i think that the presentation of diane as a perfect loving caring wife is intentional. it either represents how rick remembers her - as someone kind - or is only a small part of the equation.

oh and let's not forget the ghost ai that rick made for his dead wife. he designed her to berate him, to wear him down. to never let him move on from what happened. like that's something super messed up wow. maybe

in conclusion, rick has never had a stable family or home life. that thing didn't appeal or satisfy him. it caused him to neglect his daughter and continues to impact the relationship he has with his adult family members. by no means is this an excuse and that's hardly my point. i feel it's important that we know the reality of ricks marriage to understand how that impacts him in the show we're watching.

ofc this is just my take on what little we have seen from the two of them. i rlly want to see more so i can maybe make a better assessment. but yeah. whatever went on there? not healthy. no way in hell.

[allwormdiet]

Agitation 3.6

I've known girls in real life who had conversations very close to the one in this chapter. High school was weird.

I like this spiel from Lisa, actually. It explains how she's able to make sense of this world that she's been plunged into, and it does a decent job explaining the status quo of the setting

Ordinarily I'm leery of "a hero is only as good as their villains" but in the context of parahumans it makes a kind of sense. The Protectorate is in good when their heroes are doing important or flashy things, and important stuff isn't happening all the time which means that flashy fills in the gaps.

This is what everyone calls the "unwritten rules," right? Or at least part of it? The phrase hasn't come up in the text yet but that's what I see it as all the time, so I suspect that wording will come up at some point or another. Unless it comes up in a Reddit post in which case fuck me I guess.

It's an interesting concept, but of course it only works as long as everybody plays ball, doesn't it, and there's no guarantee of the good guys or bad guys sticking to it if they think they can get away with it

This actually made me laugh the first time through. Lisa is just like "girl why are we talking about the Endbringers, what is UP"

Also interesting that this chapter is the first time the Endbringers are coming up, and bringing them up at all is... not quite a faux pas, but certainly off-kilter, at least if Tattletale is anything to go off of

I feel bad for Taylor, but it's a little bit her own fault again for the whole "premeditated betrayal" thing

More concerning is the fact that two Undersiders being murderers isn't like. More public knowledge? This feels like another instance of the Protectorate not being as loud about a potential threat as they could be, although maybe it's not too far off from the cops-and-robbers thing like Lisa's speculating and they don't want the team to start escalating in response. I assume we'll find out at some point, but for now another doubt to plague Taylor, not that those seem to stop her

Still funny she refuses to include Rachel as one of her new friends, though

This is really cool of Lisa actually, lifting up someone who is unironically down in the doldrums... and I continue to wonder how much she knows bc if she's giving this pep talk to an aspiring hero who intends to betray her and the rest of her team? Oh my god.

...I swear I'm gonna get to a Lisa POV and immediately keel over from whatever emotional overload it does to me

These kiiiiiiiiiids

This bank robbery is gonna go so smoothly, and absolutely zero repercussions will arise in the wake of this that shape the entire world forever

It's gonna be great

Current Thoughts

Kind of short, or at least it feels short, but I don't know what else could've been added here.

This is the first time we've seen Taylor and Lisa on their own together and it's a fun dynamic, although I imagine it'll be more fun when Taylor feels more comfortable around the friggin psychic next to her

Can't wait to watch these two girls be so normal about each other as the story progresses

Anyway, holy shit, the bank job already. Let's fucking go.

[calamitaswrath]

Cal Lucia plays Fire Emblem Path of Radiance: Chapter 13

Not much of a lead-in for this chapter, huh? I'm just plopped right into my pre-chapter preparations. But then again, since in previous cases that was always accompanied by a change in location, and we're still very much on a boat, I suppose that makes sense. Let's start with Jill!

"Why are you still here?" - Blunt, Ike. Blunt. And calling soldiers stupid, too! Reminds me of that one post that's like "everyone who died for their country is a clown". It does make me wonder why exactly Jill really is still with us, though. The basic interesting is obvious, but where does it come from, and why is it enough?

Conversation with Daniel, about the best means to defend on a ship map. Very subtle, game. And they're playing an in-universe war game? Fire Emblem-ception?

Aimee continues to simp for Ike. The game really does make a running gag out of him not caring for women romantically or sexually, huh?

Sibling interactions between Oscar, Boyd and Rolf!! Those are always fun. Judging by the fact that it was a three star one, I thought that it would actually lead to something, but I haven't noticed anything yet. Do they get their own triangle attack now, or. . .?

Right, time to start the actual chapter. And we get more worldbuilding! Begnion's got an empress, Crimea and Daein used to be part of it, and we seriously gotta wonder why they want to see Elincia in the first place

Tanith. . . woag. . .

Hmm, we got a high priestess? The only context in which I've heard of priestesses in the context of PoR/RD is with Micaiah's classes, but I really don't think that she's going to make an actual appearance here yet

Heyy, Gatrie's back! And he got himself a new job. Have to wonder about that other character, though. . . her name in the German version is Stella, but I don't think that's gonna be the same in English. And after looking that up, her English name is Astrid. . . okay? Seems to be another instance of the German version carrying over the Japanese name.

Ohoho, defend map! And one with a lot of chests, too. Gimme gimme gimme!

Ah, there's Nasaela. Based on these early vibes, I can already somewhat understand my friend's obsession. I am curious though why the king of an entire nation is out here making deals with rather lowly soldiers for money like this. Is his country not doing well financially speaking?

Ergh, as I'm playing through this map, I'm beginning to realize that I really don't have the turns to actually get all the items with just Sothe. I think I'll need to restart and hand everyone chest keys. . . lovely.

Well, that second attempt went a lot better in general. I got all the enemies on the upper ship, including the boss, by just turn five! Let's see what else is gonna happen on this map.

Ah, so that other character flying near Nasaela is. . . well, a character. Kinda funny to see an old winged man like that. And pfft, he Nasaela doesn't like being called. . . what would it be in English? Hatchling?

Tibarn and Janaff. I would say these two have the look of playable characters to them.

Hold on, Tibarn's a king as well? Do the bird Laguz have multiple kingdoms? So far, I was under the impression that they only got the one. . .

This lot really was just there to show that they're there, huh?

. . .And I left the defend point unguarded on accident. I thought the enemy ravens would make a beeline for the treasure, NOT that point. Guess that's my first game over!

Jesus fucking christ, my luck on this second attempt was terrible. Astrid missed a ~90% to hit twice, Rolf also missed one, I took longer to beat the boss. . . but at least I managed to still turn things around in the end. Still just absolutely stucks about Astrid though, because she did get a lot more kills, and by proxy, exp, the first time around.

Sigrun! I heard the name before, but I don't have any associations. With Sanaki however, there are some half-remembered tidbits there. I think she's related to Micaiah somehow?

Ah. So the high priestess is the empress as well. Then why even make a distinction in introducing her?

Ike and Soren having a little heart-to-heart! That's nice.

Sanaki's found, and Ike really can be rather thick at times. . . let's see where that leads him

It gets him invited to court, is what it does. Fair enough.

[drstonetrivia]

🦇 Ever wondered why Asagiri Gen is sometimes compared to a bat?

Me too, so I did some research! :)

Firstly: the origin.

The usage of "bat" to describe Gen seems to mainly be in the first half of the series, and it's not a nickname given by only one person. Several people use it, including Gen himself.

Chronologically, the first instance was when Gen wandered back to the science shed alone after they'd completed the Sulfa drug, as he wasn't allowed inside the village. This happens in chapter 40/episode 15.

The Japanese word for bat is コウモリ (koumori).

However if you were watching either the English dub or reading the manga, this reference would have been completely gone! Instead, Gen refers to himself as an "opportunist", and the dub replaces "bat" with "rat".

The next instances were both during the katana fight against Hyoga, in chapter 48/episode 18. First, Kohaku calls him a bat after she assumes he'd gone and betrayed them.

(In Japanese, bat can also be spelt as 蝙蝠, and is pronounced the same way)

Again, the dub replaced "bat" with "rat", and the English manga translation uses opportunist instead.

The final instance I found was from Hyoga a short while later, when he gets betrayed by Gen, but for real this time. Both Kohaku's and Hyoga's usages are very negative and insulting, especially in the subs.

(For completeness again, I'm adding Hyoga's manga translation which is similar to his dubbed line, "filthy turncoat". As @DrStoneShots on Twitter said, Hyoga can be surprisingly eloquent lol)

So now the question is, why "bat bastard"? Why not "slithering snake" or "wriggly worm"? They've all got the same negative connotation of a crafty conman, right?

Let's start with the western view of the bat. Normally they're associated with Halloween, and thus remind us of things like darkness, death, witchcraft, and malevolence.

Native Americans consider them tricksters as well.

So far it sounds like it's suiting Gen's initial malicious mentalist persona quite well. I mean, he died, came back to life, uses poisonous flowers for his tricks and tricked Magma into thinking he'd die if he took so much as a single step.

…But then why call yourself a bat?

As it turns out, the symbolism associated with the bat in China and Japan is slightly different. Up until the 20th century, bats were popular in Japan thanks to influence from Chinese culture, where they are seen as a symbol of happiness, good fortune, a long life and good luck.

(Side note: I wonder if bats being associated with good luck, and therefore Gen by extension, is a narrative foil for Senku's extraordinarily bad luck?)

Now that we have both the bad and good of bats, why does the translation of bat->opportunist/turncloak arise when neither the western nor eastern interpretations mention anything about it?

Turns out, it's actually from one of Aesop's Fables, "The Bat, Birds, and The Beasts".

If you're not familiar with the story: the Birds and Beasts were fighting, and asked the Bat which side they were on, as they could both fly like the Birds and were furred like the Beasts. The Bat, uncertain, fought on both sides—choosing whichever was winning at the time.

The result was that afterwards, the Bat had no friends as they'd betrayed both sides several times, and ended up getting attacked by both the Birds and the Beasts, who now had a common enemy.

The alternative ending is that the Bat was not allowed to partake in the peace party.

Sound familiar? On several occasions, especially early on in the series, Gen felt like he had to keep a certain distance away from everyone, otherwise he'd get injured. He kept himself closed off and his true intentions hidden to stay safe. (Although he still got stabbed…)

The good news is that this particular bat's story ends happily, and with a whole kingdom's worth of friends. He learnt to open up and devote himself to a cause, even though it was risky to himself. His selfishness turned into selflessness when it truly mattered.

End of thread!

This was actually a request from @obviously6969 (on Twitter), who wanted me to find out more about Gen + bats! Now the only question is, can someone relate Gen to the Miracle Cave via bats… 🤔🦇

[thebigcjart]

Here are some extra bits on Kane!

ngl trying to match the fonts on the assets was super tough so I ended up just using the font listed on the wiki.

Infodump under the cut >:3

Strife Specubi

Kane's strife specubi consist of catkind and 2xlegkind. Kane brings Cazador into the Medium, but I don't know if they prototype him or not yet. I haven't really thought of sprites yet tbh.

Cazador does most of the fighting, but it's still registered as Kane "fighting" using Caz as a weapon through Catkind. Kane can also use cat statues, and other weapons that involve attacking the enemy with a cat of some sort. Cazador never strays (pun!) far from Kane, but Kane knows how to kick (with both legs only) through 2xlegkind. This also includes dual wielding legs as weapons, funnily enough.

Fetch Modus

The Claw Fetch modus was something that just kind of... happened? Whenever Kane captchalouges something, the captchlogue cards are thrown into a big hole with lots of platforms. Smaller items fall much slower than large items. Items must be retrieved by playing a claw mini-game, avoiding the platforms and undesired items along the way. The item fall speed thing is so if they captchalouge something by accident, they have a chance of catching while it's falling or following it closely if the item is small enough.

I had the thought that the deeper the claw goes, the more spaced out the platforms would be, to the point where if they go deep enough, there wouldn't be any more. From there, I imagine that the claw would leave the mini-game window and be able to grab things in the world. Either that, or there may be something down there in the deepest reaches of their sylladex. Waiting.

Or both of those things idk lol

Internet Browser (and Denizen)

So... let's talk about Khaos. I might have more to say on their presence and impact on the session in a separate dedicated post, but I'm going to talk about the design here.

So, the browser consists of a display window, which displays whatever webpage they're on, and a raw html console to interact with said display window. I don't know any html, and Kane only knows barely more than me, so most of their internet browsing has been through sheer dumb luck. Things just sort of work, and Kane doesn't really care but Jake, oh Jake is pissed that Kane can just... Use something without fully understanding what they're getting into. Jake isn't the kind of guy to really get "angry," but this is a conversation that Kane and he have often, to keep it brief.

This pet peeve is reinforced when the Khaos browser automatically downloads both a SBURB server program and a client application to everyone's devices ;)

Khaos is very clearly derivative of Yaldabaoth, but for good reason. I tried many things to try and move away from the stereotypically "edgy dark shadow version ooOOOoooOOoo" design tropes, and this is the best I could do while still keeping a recognizable homestucky design. All instances of the original denizen sprites on the wiki and online had a sort of dropshadow/transparent gradient outline that didn't exactly mesh well with mspaint's lack of transparency. I could have very easily removed the resulting black border, but I think it makes the grey tendrils pop more and serves to boost the void themes.

I really want to move away from setting up Kane as some edgelord figure with all the "no emotions" "Chaos" "emptiness and darkness and shadow" stuff, and just sort of treat them as kind of just another flavor of person, if that makes any sense? probably not, but just know that edginess is NOT my goal here.

Where Yaldobob is a sun-headed snake with Dirk's text color, Khaos is a black hole or black sun-headed snake with Kane's text color. As I talked about in my original Kane introduction post, the black sun is a symbol representing Nigredo, an alchemical component with an immeasurable quality of emptiness that is the first step toward creating the philosopher's stone.

In Greek mythology, Khaos is the primordial void state preceding the creation of the universe, perfect for Kane's voidness.

And much like Yolobroth, Khaos is also associated with creation and universalness. These parallels were designed this way on purpose :)

[earthbovndmisfit]

EEEE THAT DRAWING OF JONATHAN WITH A BUNCH OF MINI SPEEDWAGONS 😭 Imagine if like, he was hit by a stand that split him apart into multiple miniature copies and each mini-wagon exaggerates one aspect of his personality, so there's the dramatic one, the brave one, the scaredy one, the aggressive one, the loyal one, the affectionate one, and so on 😂

((in reference to this post))

I'm digging this so much OMG.

The dramatic one.... every single thing he does Has To Be Overly Dramatic and for some reason that would be very funny (to me, at least xd). He's also very loud.

The brave and fearless would be all over the top, too. Way too reckless, too. Definitely the "what are you gonna do? STAB ME???" kind of little guy. He's often climbing on top of things he shouldn't be climbed and so on. Similar to a cat, basically, lol

There's also the one that keeps stealing stuff and causing mischief. Always keep an eye on him!

Can't really say I see a "scaredy" Speeb, at least not in the sense part of the fandom mistakenly assumes, since the instances where we see og Speedwagon scared is when there are actual and massive threats (which is basically something everyone shows at some point, including human Dio when he faced the drunkard-turned-vampire, ie.). Add to that that Speedwagon is a regular human fighting actual supernatural and bloodthirsty creatures using only his wits and insane brute force, and that kinda shows that what some people consider a "scaredy" side is not precisely "scaredy" at all. In this sense, I think he'd have a "scaredy" side like pretty much every other JJBA character would but, even in this exaggerated form, it would be far from the "crybaby, soft, scared shitless boy uwu" the fandom sometimes wrongly pin on og Speebs, and would most likely only be triggered by supernatural threats, if that makes sense??

The aggressive one is probably more on the "Ogre Street" side, feral and basically a bit of a glimpse to what his enemies in Ogre Street saw when they faced him, or during one of those "not-so-voluntary interrogatories" that his gang may or may not subject their rivals/enemies to when they need a little information. I keep imagining this mini Speeb threatening others with anything and everything he can use as a weapon (though he himself has a tiny knife and other weapons on him at all times), and this probably includes Jonathan to an extent. I think Jona would find that amusing in a way, because it's like a small throwback to their first encounter in some way. Much less threatening this time too since, despite cheeb Speeb being aggressive, his aggressiveness never reaches dangerous levels towards Jonathan (plus, smol Speeb is...well, small lol), so smol Speeb probably just keeps biting Jojo every chance he gets. Sometimes hard enough to draw an "Ow!" from Jona every now and then, but never hard enough to draw blood or cause actual harm.

On the other hand, affectionate Speebs is always by Jonathan's side (or at least as much as he possibly can), nuzzling him, cuddling with him, offering encouraging words every time Jonathan needs them, playing with Jojo's hair, helping him around with anything and everything, bringing him small gifts and things he thinks Jojo might like, and just... basically letting Jonathan know how much he loves him all the time. Considering how deprived of affection Jonathan has been for the past 7 years in PB's timeline, I'd say he'd greatly appreciate all this.

The loyal one is similar overall to the affectionate, with the difference that he focuses more on throwing hands and defending Jonathan if he has to. So I guess it would be safe to think he'd be a bit of a mix between affectionate Speeb and his fearless side, as he doesn't mind putting his life on the line to ensure the safety and wellbeing of his Jojo. All with a pinch of Aggressive!Speeb whenever is needed, of course!

[carma-bis]

This is blatantly disregarding all the MTF's claiming they face misogyny (which is where this argument stems from) when, in the grand scheme of things, being prejudice against the male sex is misandry, not misogyny. Everyone here admits FTM's still face misogyny because they're female (Which y'all also hate us saying but ur allowed to say it here, rather than implying it's misandry? When the reverse for MTF's would be called misogyny in y'alls circles? Then u make the punchline like we can't admit misandry exists ((which arguably lmao...nvm :x)) when literally you couldn't even apply it properly according to ur own argument. You act like they're interchangeable when it's two distinct words for two different kinds of prejudice.)

prejudice against the female sex = misogyny

prejudice against the male sex = misandry

And, say it with me, a FTM/MTF getting "mistaken" for their "original" sex is not prejudice! It is not similar to racial profiling or sexual predation! By implying that sex should FIRST AND FOREMOST be determined by outward appearances and not an inherent fact about a body, you are reinforcing superficial gender roles which I also thought was the exact opposite of what y'all are going for? I made a post about this, but the safest thing I experienced in online circles was people automatically assuming I was a male. We cannot deem oppression by the sheer concept that if i just switched one way I said something/thought about something (i want to be seen as a dude for safety vs i AM a dude because I hate being a woman), now I'm oppressed. This would be unreasonable for me to expect, and it's genuine narcissism that we've let it go this far lol. It's rooted little in reality and everything in demanding to control a narrative. So, this is not prejudice. Gatekeeping and harassing females out of gaming communities and blatantly making hypersexualized content of women to try and make them uncomfortable BECAUSE they're female and you're male and you don't want females around your male hobby because you think they're less than you IS prejudice. Females keeping males out of female only places, due to the dynamic between oppressor and oppressed, is not prejudice! Unless you want to admit women en mass have NOT been oppressed by males and the patriarchy.

Hope this helps <3

P.S. you DO sound like an MRA trying to desperately find any reason to admit misandry exists except your only gotcha is a female being oppressed lmaooo like it writes itself. Give me one instance of a male being on the receiving end of literal prejudice from a female, not a MTF or male, and we can continue this discussion! Because most of what we have r: women not having sex with men, women not talking to men in public, it not being appropriate to hit on women all the time, a woman saying no to a man, no-fault divorce, welfare laws, hypergamy (don't even look it up it's not worth it), getting the kids in the divorce, gold-digging, women being naturally sneaking and conniving to get resources and attention from males because they're born to do that, and hey guess what all those sound like! MRA talking points (:

You might be taken more seriously admitting misandry exists, the dudes will come in troves to circle jerk about how right u r that somehow someway males r oppressed for being male somewhere out there, distinctly because it allows males to claim misogyny for themselves and rewrite what actual misogyny is/claim women have internalized misogyny for not accepting MTF's. It has nothing to do with you and everything to do with solidifying their sexist mindsets. They will allow u a portion of their stage that doesn't matter (because men know theyre not "oppressed" for being "male", they're "oppressed" for not being guaranteed the birthright of their fathers which was a woman to fuck and impregnate, a legacy to continue; arguably gay men getting surrogates are included here. aka, the gender role they were sold) because it allows them a larger platform to affirm and solidify a narrative that's ACTUALLY impacting and harming billions of women all over the world all the time; aka as long as it serves their self-interests. But whatever helps u sleep at night!

Some of y'all stg

[missizzy]

A Game Novice's Baldur's Gate Log, 154 1/2 Hours In: I don't know what's going to happen now, but I'm finishing this game first

Masterpost

(Note: this will definitely contain spoilers for all I've played through, and probably quite of a bit of the later stuff I've also seen.)

Most of the playing I did this week was early in it. It was a good distraction for two hours on election night. I spent much of the week's second half trying to get a few things in order professionally, as I attempt to see if there's any chance of landing a new job before I get fired from the current one for insufficient loyalty to the incoming dictator.

It will take them time. It may also take a while before my being on government records as psychiatrically disabled starts becoming really dangerous. What I can do about that is not yet apparent. So for now, I still have time to play, and probably to finish, especially since I can now kinda-sorta see the end in sight. Even to write another explicit fic connected to this playthrough, which I also did this week. Everyone please make sure you read it before the censorship starts kicking in.

With Orin now dead, the first thing to do this week was get Lae'zel off the altar, then deal with the rest of the temple. Perhaps earlier in her journey, Sara Tully might have just walked out and let the cultists still alive live, but she's a harder creature now, and still mad at them for slaughtering people in the park. After Lae'zel limped off for the tavern, we looked around Orin's chamber, had a sad conversation with her dead mother, and killed two more cultists, but that left Astarion at less than 10 hit points, so we had to leave the temple. I got far enough away so we could teleport back to camp to long rest.

Sara actually might have not needed thanks from Lae'zel, at least as long as she could think the Githyanki might do the same for her, but she took it. Then, after long resting, she decided to do her another favor by taking her back to the temple with her to help kill the rest of the cultists, since she thought she should get to do that. That didn't take too long, though poor Lae'zel at one point took a bad critical hit and was once again the most injured person present. It also got the party to level 12.

During my earlier wandering around town, I'd been to the Blushing Mermaid and found the flyer for the hag survivors, so I decided to go to them next. The long way around, as I also took some more time to explore a couple more corners of the lower city. We fought the sea creatures on the Heapside Strand, and when we spotted the hole into the basement of Philgrave's mansion, I used a scroll to shrink Sara and have her run around the basement and steal all the healing potions she could reach while shrunk. I made sure to take a photo (with my phone; I can't seem to screen cap in this game) before the spell wore off, though it didn't come out as well as I'd've liked:

So yes, I also had Shadowheart in the party, which led to one of two instances of my game acting up in a new odd way, by including certain companion banter that's apparently only supposed to happen if you're romancing certain characters I'm not romancing. The first was Lae'zel asking Shadowheart about what she'd heard last night, indicating the latter having a paramour. The second actually happened one long rest later, when I went out with Minsc and Halsin in the party, and the former informed the latter of a conversation Boo had had with a certain newly traumatized squirrel.

Hilarious as the second exchange was, these both required an explanation. Ultimately I went with the obvious one, which made its way into the Shadowzel first time fic I wrote taking place that night. So yes, there are references in it to Shadowheart fucking Halsin in his bear form the previous night.

By then I'd also met with the hag survivors, de-sheepified Mayrina (though I was sorely tempted to have Sara tell Sheeprina that this was hilarious), and agreed to track down the hag in town and rescue the kid she'd kidnapped. It was after the long rest that I did so with Minsc, Halsin, and Gale. After meeting with Lora and seeing the hag's influence on the Flaming Fist she was trying to talk to, I headed back to the Blushing Mermaid. Where, I admit, I almost got fooled by Captain Grisly, even wondering if Lora had in fact been the hag, though that wouldn't have explained the Fist's behavior.

Fortunately, Sara's character saved things, as she still balked at going and killing Lora for Grisly, and that got Auntie Ethel to reveal herself. One fight with redcaps later, I followed the indicator on the map into the cellar. I'd wondered about that tiny room during my first visit to the Mermaid, and this time I managed to find the part of it I could jump onto, and from there Gale managed to spot the false wall, so we got into the hag's lair. I left off on election night having just battled her thralls.

When I resumed Friday night, initially things seem to go well enough. Minsc was able to disable the tracks and pick the log, and we got into her rooms, and even perceived another false wall which I decided to go through later. When the battle began, I quickly threw the hag's bane on Ethel, and got her to vomit Vanra up. We even killed her, and destroyed one of her sets of mushrooms before they healed her back up. But then I kept failing to destroy the other two sets before they kept going back to full hit points.

I got to the point where they were both at full and Gale was completely out of spell slots higher than second level, at which point I reloaded back to where I'd begun that night. This time we again got in, but failed to perceive the false wall, and I suddenly got convinced there was something important enough behind there to reload again. This third time, Minsc kept failing the check to pick the lock. I exited without saving.

When I resumed last night, I first switched Minsc out for Astarion, then long-rested to let him feed and get Gale to full slots. This time, I spotted the open door further own-and discovered the false wall had just led back to the anteroom we'd entered the lair through. This time, after again getting the hag to vomit Vanra up, I largely had all the characters gang up on each set of mushrooms at a time, even having Astarion use his firebolt cantrip for possibly the first time in the game, and this time managed to destroy them all, and Ethel soon after-with another firebolt, once we'd taken her duplicates down.

After meeting with Lora and Mayrina again, I decided to explore what seemed like the final unexplored corner of the lower city, by the Steel Watch Foundry, although I'm still waiting on destroying that. I'd had an idea or two of what I might find there, but I admit, they did not include Volo about to be burned alive by an True Soul-led mob. Halsin perhaps summed that situation up when he admitted Volo's not really a friend, but we really still ought to save him. I even sped Astarion over to him while fighting the mobsters to get him untied from the railcart-only to struggle to figure out how to get up there to him, when there wasn't room on it for two.

Finally, after the fight, I decided to see if Sara could shove one of the smokepower barrels off or something-and discovered that she could pick it up and then end up on the cart next to Volo and able to free him. He immediately walked off without even a thank you, from what I could hear, but I don't think she cares much. She wasn't going to leave him to die, but she still wouldn't mind never seeing him again. Although I suspect he'll show up in the tavern now, which we'll probably go back to when I resume, since I left off after that.

Well, after taking the rest of the barrels, too. I'm starting to build a collection at camp, and I think I'm probably going to find a use for them before this game is over...

[sheacouleecametoslay]

Season 12 (2020)

Most rankings seem to put Season 11 towards the bottom and Season 12 towards the top, but I feel the exact opposite. Season 11 never had a dull moment, while Season 12 is nothing but dull moments. Especially the second half of it. This is blandest season (and cast) I've encountered so far, other than All-Stars 1 which barely even qualifies as a Drag Race season. The 90-minute runtime does not help either. The Werk Room portion of the episodes go on forever - all they talk about is the upcoming challenge, or their self-doubts, or the MANY, MANY mirror stories. This is easily the worst season of Untucked too – episodes 5 and 6 are the only ones worth watching. And once again, the guest judges appear on it every week. The giant shade button was wasted on this Untucked season. Season 12 really is “RuPaul's Best Friend Race”. Everyone gave supportive words to each other at one point or another. I'm not going to criticize the cast for being good people. But there's barely any drama or storylines. The only real storyline was Brita vs Aiden, which escalated into Aiden vs everyone. And honestly that rivalry was tiring by episode 6. You just know the producers wanted them to lip sync against each other. You could also include Widow's downward spiral as a storyline. And they tried to set up Nicky vs Gigi as rival fashion queens, but that went nowhere. And that's about it. The only other drama was from Widow and Jaida having attitude during the rehearsal of their respective premieres. And the Gigi vs Heidi tiff. I think the main reason why Season 12 is praised is because of the challenge performances. Almost everyone did well in both “Gay's Anatomy” and the Madonna Rusical, for instance. But I need more than just good challenge performances to fully enjoy a season. The Snatch Game was forgettable anyways, aside from Gigi and Jackie's performances. The Debate was a let down, but I get why Ru was pushing a political theme considering how important the 2020 election was to the drag community. I also don't like how they keep shoving the Ball to the beginning of the season. 36 runways in one episode was too much. But thankfully they skipped the late-season acting challenge. And the superfan Makeover was a nice moment; including the lip sync. Also, WTF was that cat mini-challenge? Oh, and apparently they didn't air the Reading mini-challenge because it was so bad. I will say the premiere was very hype. The first group was clearly the stronger one. “I'm That Bitch” might be the best girl group song they've done. Widow gave the best lip sync of the season. And the non-elimination felt justified. In past seasons, the first challenge was almost always a design challenge, unless it was All-Stars, so this was much more demanding. The split premiere fit the political theme of the season as well, as if they're competing political parties. I could do without the Fashion Show though, and the fake celebrities watching. The A-list celebrity guest judge was Nicki Minaj. She replaced Ru in the “Cover Girl” transition thing, and she was pretty harsh with Heidi. The editors also tried something new in the premiere where the producers interacted off-screen with the queens. The second group felt like a comedown though. I don't know why they did an odd number of cast members for a split premiere. I know Tamisha Iman and Kandy Muse were supposed to be on this season, but they were actually replaced. And then the producers had to erase Sh*rry P*e from the edit starting from episode 3, and DQ her from the finale. Her track record screamed favouritism. How did they let her talk for 17 MINUTES uninterrupted in that stand-up challenge? I've seen speculation that she would've won the season, but I don't think she was ever beating Jaida in a finale lip sync thankfully. Anyways, episode 3 starts off with some manufactured drama of the two groups coming together. Followed by Ru being a s**t-stirrer by making Widow and Jaida rank the other groups. Then an improv challenge that felt endless (“World's Worst”), where the winning team just did the same joke. Heidi winning would've been a much better storyline, since Jaida ranked her last that episode. Speaking of which, why were Sh*rry and Gigi winning everything for the first 7 episodes? They were even top 2 in their respective premieres. Also, Episode 3 aired on March 13, 2020, the same day a National Emergency was declared in the US. So maybe Drag Race was a comfort show to those stuck at home, adjusting to a "new normal", scared and uncertain about the outside world. It probably helps that this season didn't have a lot of negativity either. The restrictions only affected the reunion and the finale, because the show is filmed during the previous year. They did what they could given the circumstances, but Zoom call lip syncs ain't it.  Oh yeah, Leslie Jones might be the best guest judges ever? Not only was she funny AF on the panel, but she went on Untucked and asked Aiden why she's sour and signed Widow's shoe. Vanjie's cameo on the Snatch Game episode (and that Untucked) was fun too.

Queens Ranking: 13. Sh*rry P*e Who? Didn't even notice she was there. 😂 12. Brita The inflated sense of self-importance. Brita mentioned New York City all the time. She was delusional; disagreeing with her placements, bragging about her improv skills, and saying “I am serving you looks every single time”. Aiden was right - Brita expected her NYC reputation to put her on top, but that's not how this works. Brita's confessionals had a mean vibe too. She wasn't throwing fun shade, it felt serious. She made condescending remarks about Aiden: “Aiden's like a lost little puppy”; “I don't want to babysit Aiden”; “Aiden isn't working hard enough” etc. And she borderline bullied Aiden to her face after the “World's Worst” challenge, and again on the episode 5 Untucked, and again on the red couch. Then she said “I love Aiden” after Aiden's elimination like what? Brita also thought Widow was milking her knee injury and cringed at Widow doing Ike/Tina. She called Rock M's outfit a “science fair project gone wrong”, as if hers was any better.  And then she cried on her last Untucked for being in the bottom so much. In the competition: Brita had the worst track record. She flopped 4 challenges in a row. She had no idea what she was doing in the Ball challenge; all 3 of her looks missed the mark, and the judges didn't know it was a pineapple. She also overacted in “Gay's Anatomy”. She just laughed for every answer as Jennifer Holliday in Snatch Game. And she messed up the choreo in the Rusical. She was fierce in “I'm That Bitch” though (“cause they be givin' up and I ain't even done!”), but her lyrics didn't really say anything. As for Brita's runways, meh. Frozen was her best one. Spring and Buttons And Bows were a “no”. I actually enjoyed her lip sync performances though. 11. Jackie Cox Too dry and overly professional for me. And seemingly snobbish? She couldn't believe that Aiden didn't know Mae West (“call my lawyer”). She was confused by Vanjie's Julia Roberts joke. She gave people a hard time for being “unprepared” for Snatch Game. She insisted that Jaida volunteered to go last when she didn't (“roll that tape” indeed). She questioned why Aiden was safe, but later gave Aiden a reasonable explanation for why she's getting heat. She made an issue out of Widow not making connections, but had a heartfelt chat with Widow afterwards. Otherwise, Jackie mostly talked about her parents, LGBTQ+ discrimination in her culture, and Islamophobia. She even had that speech with guest judge AOC. I respect her for using Drag Race as a platform for these important issues, but I wish she had more un-serious moments I guess? She did occasionally throw shady jabs in the Werk Room though. In the competition: Jackie placed “high” in several challenges but never won. Her “I'm That Bitch” showed her identity, but it wasn't as memorable as the others. She was a natural talker in “World's Worst”. I thought she was the funniest in Snatch Game as Lisa Rinna – how she rambled on and threatened Heidi. Her genie concept in the advert was great (“For you!”) And in the stand-up routine, she told a personal story while keeping it funny. But Jackie struggled in the latter half. She was boring in the Rusical. She kept doing Canada jokes in the Debate. And her Makeover outfits were basic. She knew her time was up at the end too. Jackie was comedic lip sync-er, but “Kill the Lights” was cringe. My fave Jackie runways were her Frozen snowflake, her Michelle Visage look, the Purple People Eater, and the hijab. 10. Nicky Doll Nicky came in as a fashion queen that will “bring you glamour without breaking my hip”. While the producers spent the premiere pointing out her mispronunciations. But ultimately, Nicky got in her head - she felt defeated by the language barrier, and didn't think she could live up to everyone else's level because of it. She even named herself to go home in episode 5. She seemed crabby too? She was unhappy about her “World's Worst” role, she was annoyed by Jan's dissatisfaction over being safe, she was relieved to work solo for once, and she was bewildered by Aiden's favouritism. She also fought with Aiden on Untucked; and told Aiden she should be in the bottom over Jaida. Meanwhile, the judges read Nicky for not showing personality. She did joke around in the Werk Room – it just didn't materialize in the challenges. Her confessionals weren't bad though (like the popcorn one, saying “are you ready?” in French, etc). In the competition: Nicky was the fashion queen that bombed the performance challenges. Her “I'm That Bitch” verse was my least fave – the lyrics were generic and she didn't sell it on stage. In “World's Worst”, she didn't really add anything to the skit, and she cut Widow off. While in “Gay's Anatomy”, she thought she tried something different, but her baby character wasn't fun. Then it seemed like she gave up in her last lip sync. But yeah, Nicky served Parisian high fashion on the runway. My faves were her Fall look, her Sparkle look, and all 3 Ball looks. My least fave was her Spring look. 9. Gigi Goode Falls into the bland category for me. Gigi mostly talked about wanting to be on top (who doesn't?) Or being excited for a Fashion Show. Or updating us on her Ball outfit. Or just hyping herself up: “I'm not just good, I'm incredible”; “I see my drag going to the cover of Vogue. Period.”; “I think this means that I'm the queen bee of this season right?” Gigi also struck me as someone who cares about her image. She didn't really give reads; aside from comparing Crystal's singing to Kermit smoking pot. She was terrified of politics. She apologized for not knowing Patti LuPone. And she only got involved in drama once – when she told Heidi that she wasn't listening to the judges; a comment that Heidi found unnecessary –  and she tried to smooth things over ASAP. She also later said “we've built a family and families fight and families get over it!” Sure. Otherwise, Gigi started showing vulnerability towards the end, when she cried over what to do in the stand-up challenge, and talked about repressing her self-doubts. She also came out as gender fluid on the show. And her mom making her outfits was so wholesome. In the competition: Gigi having 4 wins is excessive, especially 3 times in 4 episodes. They weren't undeserving wins, but there were other options: Jaida could've won the Ball, Jackie could've won Snatch Game, Jan could've won the Rusical. Gigi's Ball looks were polished but not that inventive. Her saucy robot in Snatch Game was funny but came off cocky. Her poses in the Rusical were compelling though. And her “I'm That Bitch” performance was fierce, even if I wasn't into the lyrics. I laughed when she read the audience members in her stand-up too. On the flip side, Gigi's stuck-up character in the advert didn't land. Her Debate was lacking (“why not”). Her Makeover outfits screamed safe. She was just a corpse in “World's Worst”. And her “turn it into comedy” bit in the “Starships” lip sync was cringe. Also, Gigi's runways were very well-constructed, but her style didn't excite me? The colonialism costume was a choice. My faves were the button outfit, her Black Wedding, the Daphne Blake one, and her pirate entrance. 8. Jan The blandest cast member of the blandest season. But still likeable enough. Jan was this positive, energetic Drag Race superfan who was excited to be there. There was even a complication of her chipper moments after she left. But Jan's confessionals didn't have much personality. The few Jan moments that stood out were: her being flabbergasted that Aiden didn't know her outfit was referee. When she talked about being a sports kid. When she assumed she'd win the Rusical because of her experience, resulting in the infamous face crack. And when she insisted that she was upset over Brita leaving, and not because of losing the Rusical. I call BS on that. I think Jan was moreso crushed that she didn't meet her own expectations. She later said “It's a good thing that Brita's gone because now I don't have to worry about her”, as if that was ever the issue. In the competition: Jan was highly ambitious, but I think this came off as desperation to impress the judges. The judges said she was doing too much. Jan sounded overeager in “You Don't Know Me”, but that attitude works well in a song. The point of the challenge was to introduce who you are, which she did. Her high energy was annoying in the “Droop” advert though, but I liked the Jan puns, and I understood her product better than Widow's or Gigi's. Otherwise, Jan was a solid actress in “World's Worst” and “Gay's Anatomy”. Her screaming at Sh*rry was funny in the latter. And her choreo was impressively smooth in the Rusical. Her Bernadette Peters in Snatch Game was forgettable though. As for Jan's runways, Buttons And Bows was amazing, and Black Wedding was my other fave. I enjoyed her in the lip sync too, even if it didn't match the song. 7. Dahlia Sin “I'm Dahlia Sin and I'm here to take your man”. I can definitely tell she's from the House of Aja. Dahlia was very chill in confessional, usually laughing at whatever she just said. She forgot to wear underwear in the premiere, she wanted to poke Rock M's butt, she “meh”-ed everyone out of drag, and she talked about her twin brother. Dahlia wasn't very chill during her exit, however, when she stormed off the stage without an exit line. She also had a problem with Crystal receiving encouragement on Untucked, and she was bitter that Crystal didn't lip sync. But Dahlia had the last laugh: she made cameos in the broccoli costume for the rest of the season! In the competition: Dahlia was a pretty obvious first boot. She just wasn't performing at the same level as the rest. Her girl group verse was the worst one across both premieres – her performance lacked conviction and Michelle exposed her lying in the lyrics. While in “World's Worst”, she hesitated and looked lost, playing this sensual-voiced broccoli that didn't land. Then she kept looking at the camera during the lip sync. Both of Dahlia's main stage runways looked unpolished too. Her best look was the Fall fashion show black fur. 6. Aiden Zhane I want to sympathize with Aiden. Brita borderline bullied her, and the cast tore her down, even when she did well, reaching a boiling point on the episode 5 Untucked. I'm glad she stood up for herself there. But I think Aiden was too standoffish and defensive: “I repeat I'm not a dancer”; “I guess I'm gonna have to be, aren't I?”; “well I'm not just going down there with my face painted, naked”; “when I did ask for my lines, I only asked once”; “I don't think so, I know so”. She tried to brush off their opinions, but I think they affected her. Like Leslie Jones pointed out, Aiden had this sour demeanour. She had to fight the perception she's the weakest. She felt disadvantaged for not coming from a big city. She got exposed in the premiere for calling herself an actress. And she finished her Ball outfit super early, which upset some people. That said, the only real storyline of the season revolved around Aiden so... In the competition: Aiden's “You Don't Know Me” verse gave us an idea of who she is. And she had that Mae West voice in “Gay's Anatomy”. She sold it with her facial expressions in those two challenges. But she looked unsure during “World's Worst”. While in Snatch Game, it was like she had no idea how to answer the questions as Patricia Quinn, someone she knew personally! She also gave up in the lip sync. I wasn't a fan of Aiden's simple outfits either - her Spring look, her Buttons And Bows, her Frozen one, and all 3 of her Ball looks. The referee outfit did need more time on it. Her Tulle runway was her best. Her face was what made her drag unique. 5. Widow Von'Du I'm not sure how to process the assault charges. But Widow had a presence to her during her introduction (“get into AAAAOOOOOOOOLLL of this”). In the premiere, she was voluntold to lead the choreo... until Brita and Jackie overstepped (insert deep sigh confessional). Then she gave up and gave attitude (insert “go ahead go ahead” confessional). Then they said she wasn't taking charge on Untucked. Lol. But yeah, Widow was enjoying herself so much in confessional: “I enjoy when bitches tell me what their weaknesses are”; “MF Sh*rry P*e that's my role”; “you can just taste the fakeness in the air”; “apolo-lie”; “...and now i'm laying eggs in you bitch”. She was devilish in the Rusical episode too (“Jackie, karma's a bitch ain't it”; “I got my first choice”; “well guess what bitch I'm a dancer”). But Widow was moody when she didn't get the “Gay's Anatomy” role she wanted. She was upset over Jackie's preparedness comments, and responded vindictively. And she self-destructed midseason, all because Ru pointed out she hadn't won lately. The inner saboteur took over! I think Widow felt pressured to impress Chaka Khan too. In her last episode, she got frustrated at the judges, and didn't know what they wanted. Otherwise, Widow shared stories of her mom's passing, her abusive relationships and getting kicked out. In the competition: Widow annihilated everyone in the premiere, between her side splits in “I'm That Bitch”, and her multitude of moves in the “Starships” lip sync. She then carried her disastrous team in “World's Worst” (“and this is barbecue sauce”). And she delivered personality in “Gay's Anatomy”. Her Tina and Ike in Snatch Game was whatever, but she had the cake joke. And she was great in the Rusical, just overshadowed. But Widow fell apart midseason. Her advert came off lifeless. Then the judges didn't understand her angry politician in the Debate. Maybe she played it too serious, but she was funnier than Gigi or Jackie. That said, I was disappointed by Widow's runways. Her Buttons And Bows clown, her Cape, her Frozen life-preserver, and especially her Michelle Visage look were a “no”. She was one of my least faves in the Ball too. I appreciated her Stars and Stripes message though. 4. Rock M. Sakura “Is it cultural appropriation? We'll find out”; “this song is dumb, I wanna do it like this and dress like a hot dog”; “feeling that steam [...] like some sort of hot pocket”; “you just walk down the runway and scream: high fashion”; “I want that apple!”. Rock M's high energy OTT personality was entertaining to me. She was so extra during her entrance. She loudly duct taped herself in the Werk Room. She flailed her arms in confessional. But I think this was her anxiety acting out. She explained how she uses humour to mask her insecurities. But I don't think Rock M was emotionally ready for Drag Race. She told Ru that she needed the girls for support. She had that emotional story about her mom's drug addiction. She meekly asked for that apple role. I'd love to see her growth on a future All-Stars though. In the competition: I enjoyed Rock M's “You Don't Know Me” verse. She gave us a character (the fart joke didn't bother me), but I can see how her performance came off intrusive. While in “World's Worst”, she told this joke that wasn't a joke at all... and that was the joke. I was more intrigued by Rock M's looks though. The anime outfit she drew herself was impressive. Her tulle runway was bold (I disagreed with Ross on that one). As was her Buttons And Bows. So it was surprising to see her bomb the Ball challenge. The tether ball was a gag (which is why I didn't put her bottom 2), but her second look had misshapen hip pads, and her third one just looked like garbage scraps. Then she couldn't get the skirt off during the lip sync... 3. Crystal Methyd Despite the quieter edit, and not being involved in any drama, and only having a few memorable confessionals - “I'm a little devil that likes to raise hell in Bible Belt”; “Own it baby! My husband is Harry Hamilton or something”; “I'm not too impressed that Gigi was able to make a pretty girl into a pretty girl”; “Jackie is meeping?” - there's just something about Crystal. She's so genuine and humble with a positive attitude. She was the underdog dark horse too. It seemed like Crystal was going to be an early boot. She cried in front of the judges in episode 3, and she couldn't get past her self-doubt at one point. But once she realized what worked for her, she was unstoppable. Such a good growth story. Crystal was living for the other girls during challenges too. She had a One Direction tattoo in Arabic, a language she doesn't even speak. Ru was obsessed with her mullet (cue “Rhythm of the Night”). And she talked about her conservative parents and her father's Parkinson's. In the competition: Crystal had a rough start, messing up her line in “World's Worst” and blanking on the questions, as well as her Buttons And Bows runway. The fork bit in “Gay's Anatomy” didn't land either. And the judges didn't get her Poppy impression in Snatch Game (but at least she tried unlike Brita or Aiden). Her “I'm That Bitch” verse was kinda bad, but that's why I like it (“I'll have you all screaming Crystal Methyd!”) Then Crystal slayed the second half. Her wacky comedy carried her through the Rusical (the echos; the checking of her pulse), the advert (magic mullet!), the Debate (another mullet joke!), and of course the fitness instructor. Crystal had the most interesting runways too. Her style was ugliness turned into beauty. That's exactly how I'd describe her Makeover. Her Freddy Krueger look, her Black Wedding, and her purple look were all amazing too. I also like her Capes and final 5 blue. 2. Jaida Essence Hall “Chile I'm not finna be this damn orange no”; “this is not RuPaul's excuse race”; “Antarctica's at the bottom ain't it?”; “If a robot and a Barbie and a cheerleader had an orgy...”; “dinosaur doctor”; “nobody wants the butt slice of bread”; “keep your ass right and your mind will follow”; “who is Rose Nylund?”. Yeah... Jaida's my fave winner since Bob. She was so fun in the Makeover episode too: “Let me see, run your split Jackie”; “Mic drop. Bow. Boom. Cat. Cow.”; “baby you gonna get rid of that pinky toe”. Plus there's her ball jokes in the Ball episode. Jaida came in calling herself a classy, boujee female impersonator. She was wise and didn't have time for other people's BS. She started off the season by giving attitude in rehearsal, because she wanted simpler choreo that she wouldn't mess up, and no one listened to her. She called this a “slight disagreement” next episode lol. Then she refused to give Rock M the role she wanted. She got heated at Aiden interrupting her. She schooled Aiden on making excuses. And she clarified to Jackie that she didn't have a say in going last. But Jaida also gave supportive words to Rock M. Same with Jackie about her mom. And she told Widow to get out of her head. She didn't get emotional until the end, first with her Makeover partner, then in front of Whoopi. In the competition: Jaida's only bad performance was her pee story in the stand-up, imo. Just dead air from the audience there. She was “middle of the pack” a few times, like her confrontational apple in “World's Worst”, or her Cardi B in Snatch Game, or when she struggled to say “Diver-dick-ulitius” in “Gay's Anatomy”. But all those performances were good enough. And when Jaida was on top, she slayed. Her “You Don't Know Me” verse made a confident statement (plus the booty slap!) She arguably had the best look in all 3 Ball categories. She sold sexiness in the Rusical. No one came close to her in the Debate (“LOOK OVER THERE”). No one stood a chance against her in a lip sync. And her Makeover looked opulent. My other fave Jaida runways were Tulle, Frozen, Michelle Visage, Stars And Stripes, and the purple one. 1. Heidi N Closet Whether Heidi was getting phrases wrong: “Leprosy print”; “like watching the walls dry”; “right up my avenue”; “as a political politician”; “hepiphany”; “the initialation”. Or simply joking around: “ARR MATEY”; “overall she delivered – literally because she was pregnant”; “maybe she's not the trade of the season – what if I'm the trade of the season?”; “Gigi? Cocky? I would've never guessed”; “and that was the right numbers of fingers honey”. Heidi charmed the viewers in such a cute and harmless way. She laughs with us, and at herself, and doesn't take things too seriously. In the premiere, Heidi had the trill entrance, she pushed through an allergic reaction, she made chicken noises in front of the judges, she exclaimed “I'll never eat kale again!”, and she confronted Nicki Minaj on Untucked. That critique made her so mad. Heidi would also banter with Ru during her walkthroughs, and oftentimes stole Ru's ideas. Ru hated her name too lol. Heidi also had her emotional moments: She seemed irritated during the Rusical Untucked. She felt insulted by Gigi saying she hadn't improved her make-up. And she yelled “f**k you” at everyone on Untucked to leave Aiden alone, which was iconic. But Heidi was there for Widow. She had the uncle passing from HIV story. And she proved Jaida wrong for ranking her last. In the competition: I'm declaring Heidi the Lip Sync Assassin of Season 12. She had funny and entertaining moves in each one until she faced Jaida. She was also bottom 2 in challenges where nearly everyone did well - “Gay's Anatomy” (that fork bit did not land) and the Rusical (for not emulating Madonna, but her moves were still impressive). That said, Heidi's Makeover outfits were basic, and her stand-up routine was messy. Still, she should've won “World's Worst”. And she had the Widow's shoe joke in Snatch Game, the “tears of a drag queen” in the advert, and Jackie's 5 O'clock shadow jab in the Debate. I thought she was one of the best in “I'm That Bitch” too. But Heidi's runways were kinda mediocre. My faves were her Fashion Show looks, even if the headpiece fell off. Her Ball looks weren't the best, but not the worst either. Favourite entrance look: Gigi Goode (night 1) / Rock M. Sakura (night 2) Challenge ranking: 1. “I'm That Bitch” (Girl Group #1) 2. Madonna: The Unauthorized Rusical 3. “Droop” Adverts 4. “You Don't Know Me” (Girl Group #2) 5. “One-Queen Show” (Stand-up) 6. The Ball Ball 7. Snatch Game 8. “Gay's Anatomy” (Acting) 9. “Viva Drag Vegas” 10. Superfan Makeover 11. Presidential debate 12. “World's Worst” (Improv) (this challenge felt endless) Lip Sync ranking: 1. Gigi Goode vs Widow Von'Du ("Starships") (Widow kept finding new moves to show off!) 2. Jan vs Widow Von'Du ("This Is My Night") 3. Brita vs Heidi N Closet ("Burning Up") 4. Jackie Cox vs Widow Von'Du ("Firework") 5. Heidi N Closet vs Jaida Essence Hall ("1999") 6. Jackie Cox vs Heidi N Closet ("Kill the Lights") (Jackie was cringe) 7. Heidi N Closet vs Nicky Doll ("Heart to Break") (Nicky wasn't trying, but Heidi's moves were cute ignoring the wig fail) 8. Jaida Essence Hall vs [Redacted] ("Call Your Girlfriend") (LOL at Jaida playing off the other person) 9. Jaida Essence Hall solo ("Get Up") 10. Brita vs Rock M. Sakura ("S&M") (Rock M's skirt wouldn't come off! but Brita was enjoyable) 11. Top 3 Lip Sync #2 ("Survivor") 12. Crystal Methyd vs Jackie Cox ("On The Floor") 13. Crystal Methyd solo ("I'm Like a Bird") (it's meme-worthy at least) 14. Aiden Zhane vs Brita ("Let It Go") (Brita very theatrical/Aiden looks dead) 15. Gigi Goode solo ("Take On Me") (without the set design, it's not all that) 16. Top 3 Lip Sync #1 ("Bring Back My Girls") (it's just their faces...) 17. Dahlia Sin vs Nicky Doll ("Problem") Season ranking so far: 9 > 5 > 6 > 11 > AS2 > 4 > 10 > 2 > 7 > AS3 > AS4 > 3 > 8 > 12 > 1 > AS1

[fordtato]

The Symbol Cipher Theory - A Gravity Falls Mystery: What do the symbols on the portal page mean?

NOTE: Since Rob Renzetti replied to this on Twitter, new/corrected info is being added to this google doc (including everything in this original post) Go there for updates!

-------

There are a lot of things about Journal 3 that I have yet to figure out. What are those dumb little rectangles on the sides of the pages? I’ve tried applying everything I could to them - binary, international telegraph alphabet, morse? I couldn’t crack it. And what of those lines with a bunch of circles in them - you know, the ones that look like crop circles? And what of those numbers? You know the ones - they show up in this order from time to time: 6, 1 345 [or 3 4 5] 12 89 [or 8 9] 10 11. 13. 7. Sometimes they’re rearranged or missing elements, but that’s how they appear at their most complete (on the final page they show up on - across from those alchemical symbols), I hate those numbers. I have no idea what they mean. And boy, have I tried…

Aw well. They probably just mean nothing, right? 

But I would like to propose something: Maybe there is one more mystery in Gravity Falls.

Again: Link to theory google doc here.

The Symbols On The Portal Page

I want to guide you guys through a little exercise. Everyone got their Journal 3s? Alright. Open up to the portal schematics page:

t’s very familiar by now, and truly iconic. But, speaking of icons, look at the symbols. The truth is, these symbols show up a few times throughout the journal, mixed in with the rest of the codes and ciphers. But, similar to the aforementioned alchemical symbols, they probably mean nothing. After all, we’ve pored over them, again and again. 

These 13 symbols.

Huh. 

13.

On a half-circle.

Well, if that circle were complete, there would probably be 26 symbols.

Which means these might be letters.

Which leads us to the first question. Where are the rest of the letters?

My first move was to check the show. 

No dice. Neither of the journals show the other half of the circle - and on the bottom journal, they just flip the symbols upside down - it actually fooled me at first (I was very excited to see these upside down symbols before realizing it wasn’t new at all, simply upside down).

But whatever! We have 13 symbols. Hell, if we had examples of them in certain words, we might even be able to find the other 13 for the full 26. 

So… I went through the pages. And I found 4 instances of the code showing up in Journal 3. 

The Tie Code (on the same page spread as the Tie of Possession

Bill Page Code (On the same page spread as the one that names Cill Cipher)

The Hide Behind page spread

The Boat page spread (On the same page spread as the Island Heads and the scribbled out boat)

Let's analyze these one at a time.

The Tie Code

This is the only instance of a page including both an upside down and right side up version of a symbol directly from the portal page. It’s odd - we have that circle with the 3 dots, and two sideways T, the sideways table with 2 dots, and the sideways upside-down 7 with a dot here. 

I’m not sure we are able to get more meaning from these, but we’ve learned something: these symbols do show up in both right side up and upside down form.

The Bill Page

Of note, we have seen one of these 5 symbols before. The 5th symbol of the Bill code matches the third symbol of the wheel (in its upside down form).

The first symbol on the Bill page also looks suspiciously similar to the second symbol on the portal page - the upside down 7 with a dot. But it’s missing the dot. I’m inclined to think this is a new letter. (I am coming at this from the angle of someone who knows Arabic - where the number of dots on a letter makes a difference in which letter it is. So, you know… maybe it makes a big difference here?)

But at the very least, let’s count this as 4 new symbols: the backwards 4, the N, the 4 lines, and the symbol with a missing dot.

Added to our original 13, that’s 17 symbols so far.

The Hide Behind Page

This code is three rows, in a pattern of 5 symbols, 5 symbols, and 4 symbols (or 5, depending on if you count the first one as 3 vertical lines or 2 vertical lines near 1 vertical line. We also have some more familiar icons. The second, third, and fourth symbols all match a symbol from the portal page in upside-down form! 

We also have a repeat of that upside down 7 symbol! Again, without the dot, both in the second and third row (upside down and right side up). But surely they wouldn’t have a symbol with missing elements, like missing dots, right? 

I’d like to direct your attention back to the Bill Page Code. Notice anything similar to this code? No? How about now?

So we have our second clue: sometimes, a symbol may be drawn that is missing an element. 

So… I am unsure if the upside-down 7 with a dot (portal symbol #2, Bill symbol #1) is being utilized here, just missing the dot. If so, it might be showing up as the 6th AND 12th symbol in this. 

Regardless, because it shows up two times without the dot, and because the symbol is missing the dot in the row of symbols that the second row of the Hide Behind Code is emulating from the Bill Code, I will go ahead and again say I am treating it as a new symbol. But I also understand someone else reasoning that it is not. 

We also have a repeat of the symbol that is just 3 vertical lines (Portal Symbol #1), and a new symbol that is a sideways table with 1 dot in the center and a line next to it (Hide-behind symbol #1). We also have a strange symbol at the end of row 1: the three lines with 2 more layered on top in an asymmetrical pattern. 

The first symbol in row 3, the one that is either 3 vertical lines or 2 vertical lines near 1 vertical line, is bugging me. It can either be one symbol or two. It might also be 4 vertical lines missing the third line (We will see another instance of 4 vertical lines in a bit, so bear with me). Regardless, I’m inclined to treat this as one symbol because of the spacing it lines up with below the symbol above it.

All in all, it looks like there are 3 new symbols, depending on how we treat the first two (or three) symbols in the last line. It’s up to interpretation, but alas. Let’s add in the new ones. 

3 + 17 = 20 symbols so far.

The Boat Code

Last one!

We have some more symbols matching up! #9, 10, 11, and 12 on this page match up with #2,3,4 and 5 from the Hide-Behind page! 

Let’s take a look at the rest. We start with a dot. It is hard to say for sure if this is its own thing, or if it is part of the stylistic ink-splatter dots on the page. It seems just a little too perfect to count as a splatter, so I will go ahead and count it as a symbol for now. Even if the dot is NOT a symbol on its own, a dot+two vertical lines is new.

Next, we have a recurrence of a double-vertical-line symbol multiple times.

Lastly, #3, 5, 6 and 7 are ALSO new. As established previously, the rest are repeats. 

So, we have 6 new symbols. The dot (or the dot with the double line if we’re counting that), the double line (without the dot), the horizontal double line, the triple-horizontal lines with two dots, the upside-down table, the 4 vertical lines

6+20? 26 symbols.

Final notes:

Is this theory perfect? Not at all - there are several letters above that might end up being two, or perhaps symbols that I counted as different, which might be the same one. 

But it definitely seems like there are ~26 symbols, which may or may not correspond to 26 letters of the English alphabet. I know, I know, it’s a stretch. But it’s *my* stretch, one I’ve fixated on for way too long. 

So which symbols mean which letters? I tried assigning letters 1-13 to the symbols on the portal page, but it feels like gibberish (that being said, this is Gravity Falls we’re talking about here. Gibberish could be any number of ciphers). It might also be letters 14-26? Maybe it being upside down is a clue? 

But then I remembered, The Numbers:

This is the last iteration of the numbers. The last version to pop up before the journal switches perspective from Ford to Dipper. It is also the most complete version. 

6, 1 345 [or 3 4 5] 12 89 [or 8 9] 10 11. 13. 7

It’s interesting that they go up to 13, is all. 

A1Z26 makes this string of numbers into: F A C D E L H I J K M G, but it is missing one of the numbers.

Maybe that’s (roughly) the order of the schematics page? I don’t really have this figured out. Frankly, I’ve been at this for a couple years - that’s how long the theory has been polishing up in my head. It’s time to let this go free.

Thanks for reading, and I hope making this post spurs some more theories.

UPDATE: IF YOU CHECK THE REBLOGS, YOU WILL SEE THAT USER DUMBBUTTASS FOUND ANOTHER ONE ON THE PAGE WITH THE MONOCLE - EVERY SYMBOL ON THAT PAGE IS IN THE PORTAL PAGE HALF-CIRCLE. REBLOG THEIR UPDATE IF YOU CAN

[fiercynn]

okay. i am someone who is actually very interested in maintaining intergenerational connections in fandom and being friends with and in community with fans younger than me, including teenagers. i was a teen in fandom who had many, many positive friendships with adults in fandom – including people i'm still friends with years later. i also, as an adult now in my thirties, feel lucky enough to be friends with fans much younger than me, including a few teens, and i honestly would love to be friends with more teens and younger fans. these are the reasons why i care about this topic.

and i think there’s a tendency to immediately come to posts like this with some defensiveness and reactiveness, because of the way these kinds of conversations have been super fraught before. but fostering intergenerational community in fandom is going to require us to pause sometimes and be generous in our readings of what people are saying or asking for. and, frankly, while i think that should come from all sides, i think there is a responsibility on us adults to play a bigger part in actively creating spaces that younger fans want to be in, because we are, you know, adults.

so i want to use this to try and take a step back and actually look at what op was saying, carefully, and then look at the way other adults have responded to it. if you’re interested in these goals too, please read my whole post before reacting!

here's the my first question i have when seeing posts like this: is there a legitimate concern or point here? and i think there is.

that legitimate concern is: “teenagers don’t always know when they are talking to adults on the internet, and that can cause problems, so they would like to know when that is happening.”

note that op:

did not say that adults and teens shouldn’t interact online

did not say that teens don’t want to talk to adults at all

did not offer any specific reasons why they think that teens might want to know that they are talking to adults online

did not name what they think are the problems that can arise

so let's start by talking about that legitimate concern.

firstly, kids in general have access to fewer and fewer spaces where they can interact with each other without being under the eye of adults. in many countries, including the u.s., kids and teens are losing those spaces offline – there are fewer public places where kids can hang out, for free, without being subjected to anti-loitering laws or age-based curfews (by which i mean state-imposed curfews, not ones imposed by parents or guardians). and this is a recent development – this wasn’t true, at least in the u.s., for those of us who got to be kids pre-2000s.

the internet landscape has also drastically changed in this regard. @saathi1013 talks a lot about opt-in vs. opt-out digital architecture, which i find very relevant here. essentially, early internet spaces were "opt-in" for the kind of content you saw and the people you interacted with - you had to seek out mailing lists, or forums, or blogs, or livejournal communities, etc etc and join them intentionally. if you were a teen, you obviously still did not always know whether you were interacting with adults – either if they didn’t share that information, or if they were lying – but you had far more tools to set your boundaries intentionally. for instance, when i was a teen on livejournal, i had adults in fandom following me, but i also could selectively lock my posts, and even custom-lock them so that, say, only my friends from school could see a specific post. i also rarely had to see posts from people that i didn’t know or hadn’t actively sought out, unless i had specifically opted into to following a community or listserv where i didn’t know everyone.

now, we are in a majority "opt-out" world where most social media apps want you to see as much content as possible, and you have to set boundaries with increasingly fewer tools to do so. we don’t even have the option to set accounts to private on many sites, let alone custom-lock individual posts. blocking and muting tools are paltry and do not work well on many sites. that's not the fault of the teens.

so teens not only have a harder time simply finding ways to intentionally interact with other teens, but they are also in an internet landscape where they increasingly do not know who they are talking to. now i want to remind folks that that this has, technically, always been true: there have always been adults who don’t want to share much about their age online, and of course malicious actors who may lie about it.

but in our current internet landscape, that’s not all that teens might have to worry about. they might be drawn into interactions with adults that happen entirely by accident, on both sides. how many times have people gotten outraged about an opinion they’ve seen online, that has been shared onto their feeds, and then gone to op’s page and realized oh this is a fourteen-year-old? yeah. this is not an unheard-of issue.

so. why might teens want to know that they are interacting with adults online?

they might just want to interact with other teens specifically. like. did you always want to hang out with adults when you were a teen? i feel silly even trying to list out reasons why this might be the case! they also might be okay with hanging out with adults, but simply want to know that those people are adults. the friendships that i had with adults when i was a teen in fandom involved both of us knowing that. it's hard for me to imagine that those friendships would have grown as strong as they did if we hadn't known.

also – and please don’t write me off immediately here – there is also the undeniable fact that teens can be harmed by adults. like. it is not a conservative or fascist position to be worried about the harms that teens can face from adults online!

and those, again, can be intentional or unintentional from the adults’ end of things, including smaller harms that can still be super impactful for teens. but we simply cannot take the idea that teens can be hurt by adults – including the potential for sexual harassment and abuse by those adults – as an inherently fascist position.

it is, in fact, the exact opposite, since fascists and conservatives work to uphold rape culture, white supremacy, and cisheteropatriarchy, all of which allow sexual harassment and abuse of young people to thrive unchallenged. conservatives and fascists generally bring up harm to teens as a talking point when it is useful for their rhetoric, not as a true concern, which is why many of them will be fine with child marriage and abuse by spouses even as they spew homophobic and transphobic rhetoric about queer and trans people being groomers.

again, the problem of malicious actors does exist, so even if all adults without bad intentions shared their ages online, teens would still be at risk. but the risk might be lower from those unintentional harms, like potentially being dogpiled for having a bad opinion. or even vice versa: a teen could accidentally flirt with an adult online because they didn’t know their age, leading to discomfort for both of them!

okay, so we’ve established some reasons why the underlying concern op was raising is legitimate. now let’s look at the way that others have responded in the reblogs.

the instinctive reaction that many people seem to have is to assume that op is coming to this from a conservative/fascist rhetoric and intent. i sort of understand where this is coming from: op’s use of the word “lured” seems to imply that they think adults are intentionally trying to hide their ages to draw teens in, and “insidious” could be referring to something like “queer and trans adults are inherently groomers” rhetoric. op also said they think it's "weird" when people over 20 don't put list their ages. and like i said, conversations about adults and teens interacting can be really fraught, so i understand why people would jump to this conclusion and be upset by it.

but – without knowing anything else about op other than what they’ve posted – there is actually nothing to indicate that this is what they meant with their post. the “luring” could be referring to things like teens getting caught up in discussions that get them dogpiled for their opinions. the “insidious” problems could be any of the ones i've listed above. them saying people are "weird" for not listing ages could just be because they believe the underlying concern they've named is legitimate, and they are not aware of the reasons why people might not want to follow it, since op doesn't actually say why they think it's weird.

i want to note, too, that op is not forcing anyone to do anything. op is not even advocating for policies on these platforms that would require adults to put their ages in their bios! op is literally asking for people to do this. they even said please! i guess you could decide that op saying that they think it is "weird" if people don't do this is op putting pressure on us, but let's be clear, op's still not forcing anything, they are just stating their opinion.

and yet, people in the reblogs are accusing op of:

thinking that “everyone over 20 is inherently predatory and creepy towards children”

being a “fed”

“coerc[ing]” people into giving up their privacy on social media

encouraging people to “ignore[e their] own privacy boundaries and discomfort”

“think-of-the-children fearmongering”

thinking that adults who don’t list their ages are pedophiles

“telling people if you don’t do what I tell you, you might be a threat to the safety of our community”

being similar to u.s. president george w. "dubya" bush, a republican, conservative, and in my opinion pretty evil person

saying that adults and younger people shouldn’t interact in fandom spaces

saying that adults and younger people interacting in fandom spaces in itself leads to insidious things

having a “conservative agenda”

“destroying the links between generations”

“do[ing] the masters’ work”

i didn’t even go into the tags or check for other reblogs besides the ones i see here. but let’s be clear. i don’t know what op thinks, obviously, or what they have done or said outside of this post. but in this post, they didn’t do or say any of the things that people just accused them of.

now. there are legitimate concerns that people name in the reblogs as well! one is that listing your age in your bio may not be safe or feel safe even for adults, because it is sharing more of yourself on the internet. another is the fact that truly malicious actors will of course be able to get around what op is asking for.

so with all that in mind, here is how i wish people had responded to op’s post.

firstly, by not immediately assuming that it is a conservative psyop; or that op, by making a request, is trying to impose something on people that they don’t want to do; or that fulfilling the request will destroy intergenerational connections.

secondly, by acknowledging that there is a legitimate concern in op’s post, and that it is in the interest of people who want intergenerational fandom community to try and address that concern.

thirdly, by pointing out legitimate concerns for why op’s proposed solution might not work for everyone, while also acknowledging that it is still not an inherently bad request – there are people who do feel comfortable sharing their ages online, and just because it won’t catch the intentionally malicious actors doesn’t mean it couldn’t be useful for a lot of the unintentional issues and potential harms that i mentioned above.

and fourthly, by proposing alternate solutions that could still get at the legitimate concern op raised, while also being more comfortable for people who don’t like op’s specific request. just a couple ideas off the top of my head: people could put “adult” in their bios without listing their actual ages. people could write and pin a post about their approach to intergenerational connections in fandom - for instance, something like “i am an adult but welcome friendships with people younger than me", or, "i choose not to share my age online but i welcome interactions with people of any age", etc etc, so that teens could then choose whether or not to engage with them. i'm sure there are other ideas that we could all brainstorm together.

finally, i want to name some potential impacts of the way people have reacted to this post.

now, imagine that op is actually everything that people have accused them of – that they are conservative, that their intentions are bad, that they want to impose their request on everyone. that would suck, obviously. but it wouldn’t actually change my reaction to this post.

because the fact that people immediately turned on their post and jumped to these conclusions without any evidence means that a teen who sees this – or anyone else, frankly! – could very well have the reaction, “wow. these adults immediately dismissed a legitimate concern and decided that it was a conservative psyop without any evidence. they could do the same if i raise this concern.”

i’m going to assume good intentions for everyone who has reblogged this, and assume that everyone here genuinely wants to foster and improve connections between teens and adults in fandom and to protect both teens and adults from harm.

but this is not the way to do it. this is not the way to show teens that we respect them and their boundaries, that we care about their wellbeing, and that we would be good friends to them if they chose to connect with us. and if we truly care about intergenerational fannish community, we need to show them that, and live up to it.

@ my fellow adults who use tumblr a lot:

can you PLEASE put your age in your about/sidebar and make sure it’s accessible on mobile. imo if you’re an adult esp 20+ it’s a little weird that you wouldn’t have your age readily available on your blog. if you’re reading this now and you don’t have your age listed, please rectify that. i feel like teenagers get lured into talking to adults in fandom/lgbt spaces that they may not have intentionally sought out because they think they’re talking to other teenagers, and this can lead to a lot of other – much more insidious –problems