#bc there's def both in the show and it is an Important Distinction

[danothan]

@cessmaga i felt like this could be its own post!

this is so funny bc i've said this all before but for some reason it hurts me to read it </3

incoming pondering

i have mixed feelings. the punching bag portrayal of hal definitely feels… selective compared to other characters. lauren faust has said that the way she figured out everyone's personalities was to take their most popular iterations and exaggerate them into distinct roles. and it honestly works well for the show! yes even when it’s ooc! superman being a proud hotshot? well he did have a bit of an ego on him when he was younger, and this superman is 19-20, so that checks out! wonder woman being a fish out of water? i mean, she was even the audience stand-in for g1, it makes sense from a writing standpoint! hell, even "playboy bruce wayne" and "theater kid oliver queen” feel random and ooc, but it’s hilarious and plays on some recognizable tropes of the characters, so i’m definitely not complaining. it’s more important for an adaptation to hold up on its own than be a 1-to-1 reference to the source, and i think there’s smth for both comic fans and first time watchers to enjoy

but hal is more complicated. i didn’t get this impression from him when i first watched dcshg. i can see why they chose him for the jock character, someone had to fill that role after all, and i can see how his moments of silliness in the comics can add to the Dumb in Dumb Jock. like i get where they’re coming from. but it became more abt making hal fit the jock role than making the jock role fit hal

i don’t think it’s all bad tho. his debut ep endeared me upon my second watch. like hal was SUCH a senior, it was mean-spirited, but seniors are just like that 😔👊 sometimes it felt like they were pushing it, but it serviced karen’s character. they’re not making a show called dc superhero GIRLS to make it abt the boys (and i’m certainly not asking them to). so there’s definitely a right way to do it, but i feel like they lost the plot somewhere down the line. how did he downgrade so hard lmao, i can accept the premise but you have to actually like your oc too

this problem isn’t just a hal thing ofc, other decisions felt questionable to me too. like why is diana boy-crazy. the whole “she came from an all-girls island so she fell for the first boy she saw” thing is WILD for her specifically. she came from an all-girls island, connect the dots.

but i do feel like hal consistently gets the brunt of it. maybe it’s just my hal vision, but it feels targeted. how come barry gets to have all these barry-specific quirks and references, but hal is just some generic jock. they’re best friends in the comics! if you know sm abt barry, SURELY you knew that too!

bad characterization aside, my main problem is his (mis)treatment in the show. it’s straight up unpleasant to sit thru, he’s a metaphorical AND literal punching bag. the contrast going between an episode for hal vs anyone else is crazy, it’s like someone read only the worst versions of him and decided to punish the character for being poorly written. oh my god it’s like zack snyder making a superman movie. waittt it’s exactly like that oh god 😭

design-wise… he’s so ugly, every friend i’ve shown a picture to always responded in disgust 💀 and after watching g1, the choices in his redesign speaks volumes to their view of his character. but here’s the thing…

it’s actually rly grown on me I KNOW I’M SORRY. like, okay, his hair style is not doing him any favors (idek what version of him it’s supposed to be inspired by??), and anyone that changes brown eyes to blue/green is my personal enemy. buuuut… he still has his signature cleft chin <:) and his raglan tee is a clever translation of the cut of his GL suit <:)

idk, going from g2 to g1 back to g2 gave me more of an appreciation for the tooniness of the style. we think g1 is better bc it’s inoffensive. it’s bland. i def think the slapstick for hal in g1 felt like laughing with the character instead of at him, and his overuse of constructs is sooo classic hal, but in terms of visual personality, i didn’t get much just by looking at him. i miss that damn jacket tho, no idea why they didn’t keep it

but picture daze wrecked me so bad that it gave me rose-colored glasses and now i can’t remember what it was like to ever think he was ugly

is it so wrong to think he looks like a sweetie :( a silly little guy :(

sidenote, i haven’t seen this ep before but wth is this:

this is not a 17-18 year old highschooler, this is a 30-smth divorcee. i think that might be the joke, but tell me why his hair looks more recognizable here than the default 😭

all of this to say: world’s biggest hypocrite over here defending dcshg hal after talking essays worth of shit abt him LMAO. i accidentally gave him a consciousness and now it feels like he’s the victim of bad writing rather than the perpetrator of it. i’m not even mad that they made him a dumb jock anymore, i just want him to be happy ☹️

#dcshg #hal jordan #green lantern #dc #danbles #idk how im going to redesign him now that i actually like him #woe is me for having terrible taste in characters 😔👊

[tigirl-and-co]

Happy birthday, Astro!!!

Here he is, handing you a fic!

This is just a short piece of fluff for my All Siblings AU, mostly just to get into writing the characters. Astro... isn’t actually in it all that much, bc it was an idea I had and then I remembered it was almost Astro’s birthday.

Enjoy! Or don’t I guess. I’m not your mom.

Horse Discourse

"What are you talking about?" Uran did her best to sound snide and condescending, but all things considered she just sort of seemed indignant and vaguely offended. She had nestled herself in the corner of the couch, comfortable enough to make even the most hedonistic of bed-buyers jealous.

Atlas sat at one end of the sectional sofa, body turned to face her. He was glowering, but what else was new?

"I'm talking about holding a spell for days with no sleep to protect a city she had only known about for a week!" Atlas asserted his opinion on the debate with emphasis and no small amount of vitriol. He crossed his arms and glowered harder.

Cobalt spoke up from the other end of the couch. "Yeah but... she also got trapped in the mines for a week, too. And she definitely could have pushed that minecart when she first got stuck down there..."

"They're big mines! She probably got lost!" Atlas gestured emphatically and nearly bared his teeth as he shouted.

Uran turned to face the tallest sibling. "Yeah, shut up Celestia Enjoyer. At least Cadance does something every once in a while. All Celestia does is make Twilight do her job for her." She started sitting up, getting invested in the conversation. She knew what she was talking about and was going to make sure everyone else knew, too.

Cobalt wasn't going to take this slander! "Hey! At least Celestia didn't try to plunge the world into eternal night!"

Uran launched forward onto her hands and knees, not even trying to contain herself. "Luna was abandoned by her sister! Everyone ignored her and she was desperate for any sort of attention! Anybody would have snapped!" Uran's propensity to solve problems with her fists was just barely being held in check.

"Heh." Atlas sneered, "Cadance never did anything bad. Because she's the best. I win."

"Cadance is lame as heck! She's the most boring princess! Who cares about love? That's a stupid thing to be the princess of!"

Cobalt nodded. "Yeah, sorry Atlas, but being in charge of the sun is way cooler and more important. The ponies and everybody else can only grow food because of Celestia."

Atlas looked at him blankly, opting to ignore the youngest sibling. "Cobalt, you're a robot. Why do you care? You don't need food."

Cobalt frowned slightly. "Well, yeah, but a lot of my friends do, and so do the animals at the shelter..."

Uran was about to explode, not happy in the slightest about being ignored. "Celestia didn't even show up until after Nightmare Moon had already been def-"

The conversation was interrupted as Astro Boy himself stepped into the room. He was partially singed, and there was a distinctive layer of concrete dust on his hair and shoulders. He was definitely fresh out of some sort of city-endangering battle.

He looked tired. "Hey, everybody. What's going on?"

Cobalt answered him, wanting to get him out of the room and into a shower and a nap as quickly as possible.

"We're discussing who the best princess in MLP is."

Astro blinked -- partly in surprise, and partly because some rubble had fallen in his eye.

"Oh." He knew his siblings were big fans, and he watched it with them on occasion, but it had never really captured him. He did like the main character, though. "Um, I guess I like Twilight Sparkle...?"

Uran and Atlas both groaned loudly and emphatically, Uran throwing herself back into her corner. Cobalt grimaced a bit, but didn't say anything.

Uran had no sympathy for her bedraggled brother. "Of course you would pick the coward's choice! That's the most boring opinion anybody's ever had!"

"Uran, why are you always so mean about everything?" asked Astro, who really didn't save the city just to come home and get bullied about his opinions on a show he didn't watch.

Not bothering to get up, she shrugged. "'Cause it's fun."

"Hmph. Well, I'm going upstairs. Have fun, I guess."

And with that, the eldest sibling left them to their own devices.

After a minute or two, Uran stuck her hands emphatically out in front of her face. "Okay but listen, Luna had such a good character arc-"

#astro boy #my writing #tezuka star system #atlas #uran #astro boy 1980 #astro boy 1963 #brain fried i am no longer able to explain why i wrote this #but if you know you will understand #i have faith in the people in this fandom #to have brains and critical thinking skillz #all siblings au

[noiselessbuck]

So Monster High and MLP are actually in the same boat, they're both cartoons based on toys instead of the other way around! (and they're both after several revivals of shows and movies and toys but that's not important.) Monster High G3 has the distinction of currently having dolls, a live-action movie series, and an animated TV show. Here's what Clawdeen looks like in each version

And to actually answer your question- yes, the dolls can stand on their own, but they're a bit wobbly. Which is good since they don't come with stands in G3 :/

gotcha

tbh thinking about it in comparison to american girl dolls and barbies as well i think the my little ponies are just inherently gonna have better doll design bc they're quadrupeds any basic design class will tell you the triangle/three points is strongest four is alright two not great

but here's the other thing as someone who is tormenting over trying to draw irl horses- aside from maybe like the shetland ponies and the big guys they have draw carriages horse ankles are always tiny and wobbly and tbh worse than human ankles. my little pony decided to go hoof up continuously.

vs human shaped dolls less have decided to tube ify legs. aside from maybe gumby lol legos are actually a p tube ification example bc theyre all rectangles. the monster high dolls do make the shoes kind of like hoofs in that theyre chunkier than the probable fictional feet would be like for stability. clawdeens shoe from the side is roughly an isosceles right triangle

also side note i dont think ive seen any articulated mlp dolls? that also gives a stability advantage but a coolness and interesting to play with ness disadvantage

other last thing is that there's def gotta be something where fat phobia affects the way dolls are made for "prettiness" instead of various playing functionalities being prioritized

#side note clawdeens little bun on the doll looks so silly hehe #the lavender creator #answered asks #mutuals tag

[iampikachuhearmeroar]

okay so. last night i scrolled past some random podcast video ad on my fb feed, where two women were talking about “i want to teach my kids to have a healthy relationship with money”; which of course is a great thing. but then one of them went on with the classic, tired tangent you see online about “oh so we learnt pythagoras’s theorem, but NOTHING about high interest bearing accounts and home loans etc at ALL in school!!! how dare they teach us about Pythagoras but absolutely NOTHING about life skills like saving for a home!!!???”

like effie or whatever your name is. we did learn about basic interest in school, specifically in year 9 & 10 maths and probs in senior general maths too- even though i dropped maths for years 11 & 12. we did learn about how to calculate double time & half pay in maths. we did learn about saving money and budgeting in maths. but lo and behold, you were 15. and so, like many 15 year olds (very esp myself back in 2010 for example) you ignored this stuff and didnt think that it was important. like what teenager goes to apply for a car loan with a low interest variable rate of 7.5%??? not one. what 15yo actually cares about interest and how to calculate it???? not many. but maths teachers, to the best of their ability, do try to teach these things to the stubborn kids who don’t want to listen or even do the work. but it’s because they’re abstract concepts, in many ways, to kids. they defs were to me. i didn’t want to know anything about them (or mind you i didn’t want to know anything maths based bc to quote 15yo me i “loathe, despise and detest maths. so therefore i don’t have to try at it!”). and i think many teenagers who struggle with maths think like that.

but then we latch onto the obvs memorable names like pythagoras or fibonacci or just the all-encompassing term of algebra, and totally dismiss it, when we’re older, as pointless. like yes. don’t get me wrong. algebra, even without my distinct lack of trying at it, did send me into deep confusion and to *sleep acting* sleep. but for fucks sake, you can’t expect teachers and the school curriculum to cram EVERYTHING into a school day like life management skills.

i think this is one reason why teachers are so burnt out. because people like this (and generally the internet at large now) keep spitting out these stupid as fuck lines about “WE DONT NEED ALGEBRA AND PYTHAGORAS!! we need life skills classes!!! why don’t schools and teachers totally disrupt core maths skills learning and teach life skills like how high interest accounts work?!” like no. that’s a parent’s job. or even an extension project for more engaged kids thing. or even, if a kid is interested in this stuff, they’ll research it themselves. high schools don’t need to jam “life skills” into their curriculum. especially when globally, it seems, teachers are burnt the fuck out bc of low pay, bad behaviour from both kids & parents and already overloaded class planning and admin etc etc etc that goes with being a teacher.

because although i still see maths as a complete mystery tbh, i can now appreciate that it’s there in school curriculums to try to teach logic and order and systems… in a way much different to english and other artsy subjects like drama and history, that i was good at, do. but this is always ignored, bc the underlying logic of maths is also devalued as being “unnecessary and impractical” all bc no one particularly enjoys or likes algebra…. and just also conveniently forgets that you are taught money skills in maths; albeit if it is annoying…. because why the hell would you buy 70 pineapples and then split the dividends of selling those 70 pineapples amongst you and 3 of your friends??? did you buy them with a 10% discount??? what is the profit and loss of those 70 pineapples??? how do you budget and save up to buy 70 pineapples???? who knows. no one knows. except if you show your working and reasoning- which no one (and not definitely not me both now at 27 and back then) wants to do at 15 years old- let alone at 30 or 40 or whatever other age.

just yeah. i am so sick and tired of people whinging and bitching about the “we should replace pythagoras with life skills in maths!! teach me about high interest bearing accounts and how to apply for a home loan when im 15!!” when teachers are already over-burdened enough already… and if you’d just bother to find your old year 9 maths textbook from whatever year, you’d find that you did learn basic money management skills, then and there. but it went over your head, like it should have when you were 15. and like. applying for a home loan is almost null and void at this point, with how real estate and interest rates are globally (or domestically here in aus) rn. shut the fuck up and let kids be kids, vicki. and let teachers be teachers, when they’ve already got enough on their plates as is, vicki.

and also. the above doesn’t really factor in how kids would feel about so-called “life skills” classes being forced into their already jam-packed class schedules. maybe some kids would thrive in a class that gives them assessments on how to set up a bank loan for anything- a house, a car, a boat idek. or do a report how insurance premiums are set up. or what the process is for working out your superannuation (here in australia) accounts and paying your taxes.

but on the other hand, i think many kids (like 15yo me for example) would resent and hate to have another class that’s scheduled between maths and geography- or maybe gives them an extra period at school some days (eg like the catholic school i was at from years 7 to 10 did on fridays until i was halfway through year 7, i think, in 2008). no kid wants a 7 period friday. no kid wants to have a mandatory life skills class on a friday afternoon about how to file taxes and how to apply for a bank loan. when they’re already up to their eyeballs in english, history, geography, PE, religion (since i was at a religious school) and whatever other subjects they’ve got in junior years assessments and/or exams. 

and if it’s in senior years: how would it be assessed??? would they try to stuff it into a year 12 end of year exam and cause kids to have mental breakdowns all because they can’t remember the difference between CTP car insurance and regular car insurance in a HSC exam in new south wales?? or remember the correct definition of variable rate home loan??? like if i had to sit through that as a COMPULSORY exam at the end of year 12 back in 2013 i would’ve had even more of a mental breakdown than i already had back then. and it would’ve sent me into a further panic attack mode around my ATAR (uni entrance mark).

just. i think all these comments people always throw around about “they need life skills classes in schools so you learn about home loans and taxes and wages and everything Adulting™️ at school… which is FAR MORE important than pythagoras in maths or shakespeare in english and/or drama class” is really not factoring in both the capacity of teacher workloads and also kids workloads at school when EVERYTHING has to be assessed, examined AND reported on these days. it would be a nightmare.

#life #about me #shut up ilona

[theghostofashton]

What you said about Blaine and misogyny made me think - in later seasons he is not only more emotional etc, his body language changes too, he talks in a higher voice, often sits with his legs closed etc. I wonder how much of that was Darren and how much any specific idea of the directors/creators. Was it to flip the stereotype that Kurt was the "girly" one in the relationship? As Sue later says, that they're both "blouses" lol.

I've come across some old meta saying that Blaine was fem codes from the beginning with things like the fact that he asked his friend to the SH dance where girls are supposed to ask boys; the way people tried to change/criticize his appearance and clothes (like Brittany with her hair gel ban); the songs - Katy Perry, "I'm not gonna teach your boyfriend... ", "Big girls don't cry"; or the way that Sebastian pervs on him. I'm not sure how strong these arguments are and even less sure if the writers deserve the credit of doing it on purpose. Oh and there's the fact that Sue made Blaine the " bride" in her hurt locker which is interesting ;P

I'm very curious what you think, I haven't seen much discussion about it and I personally love Blaine's feminine side! (and please make it as long as you like, I really like reading your thoughts)

hi anon! thanks for the ask!

i think.... there's a lot at play here. i have my own interpretations based on the performance darren gave, and i have some suspicions based on the writers, bc like you pointed out, i don't know how much credit we can give the writers.

whether it was an issue of "flipping the stereotype" is.....possibly true? of course, this is all speculation, but there's definitely something to be said about how s5 blaine really leans into traditionally feminine behavior (s4 too, but i see it more plainly in s5), and how s5 kurt is leaning into more traditionally masculine behavior (combat class, him fighting back against the guys in 5x15 after being adamantly against violence in earlier seasons, and the overall way he carries himself).

this is a generalization i'm making (there's def more nuance to both of them in this season), but i would not put this kind of binary past the writers bc i feel like their engagement w stereotypes as a whole was very surface level. the nuance in all of these characters came from the acting rather than the writing, if you will. (also note - this is not me saying kurt and blaine fall into traditional heterosexual gender roles because that is objectively impossible for two gay men. this is just an observation of biases the writers may have had)

as for the idea that blaine could've been fem-coded.....i think that's interesting, especially with the examples you give. i feel like s2 blaine, ultimately, feels like more of a mask than an expression of his personality. the comment about how blaine likes football so he isn't a stereotype just feels like such a direct call out to distinguish him from the other gay character who has some more "stereotypical" interests (which, as an aside..... feels super heavy handed and entirely unnecessary? it was def possible to depict these two gay characters in distinctive ways without implying anything either way lmfao)

but anyway, i think it's important to note that when we meet blaine, he's carrying the baggage of being gaybashed right after coming out. we don't...... really know blaine before he was traumatized in that way? the narrative doesn't tell us exactly how long it's been since he was attacked and came to dalton (and then 6x12 comes in and messes with the timeline even more lol), but regardless, i think the argument that s2 was a mask he was intentionally putting on to blend in as much as he could and not draw unwanted attention by showing off his true personality can definitely be made. also worth noting that darren was working with what he was given in s2 (which wasn't a lot), and couldn't be sure of whether blaine would even remain on the show, let alone who he would become, and that definitely played a large role in his acting choices.

something i've believed strongly in is the fact that the reason blaine seems so devastated in 2x18, during somewhere only we know, is bc meeting kurt and getting close to him helped him to unlock the part of himself he was keeping underneath the dalton blazer; his real self, that he felt like he had to hide after the sadie hawkins incident. and now the thought of going back to who he used to be is just.... so sad because he's gotten a taste of what things could be like for him. kurt is so sure of himself and so confident in showing that to the world, and blaine wants to be that, too. (this also factors into why i think transferring to mckinley in 3x01, even if he's ostensibly doing it for kurt, was a great decision for his growth as well)

.....i feel like i just went on a huge tangent lol but my point with all of this was that i totally think blaine behaving more traditionally feminine could just be his personality and something he unfortunately felt like he had to hide based on sadie hawkins and other bullying he faced.

back to him being fem-coded tho, i definitely think it could've been possible? i wouldn't put it past the writers lol

i think a lot of it is darren, partly in his attempts to keep blaine and darren separate. but the point about people trying to criticize/change his appearance is very interesting, especially in contrast with kurt, whose appearance was also criticized but never pushed to change (aside from him trying himself in 1x18). the other things you mention (except the sebastian thing), i think do a good job of indicating that this may have just been blaine's personality pre-dalton, and s2 blaine functions as a response to the trauma of sadie hawkins. (i don't necessarily think it was written with that intention, but darren's performance and the subsequent seasons can make that reading plausible imo)

they may have tried to make him fem coded and kind of enforce a binary dynamic, but darren's performance to me reads like a nuanced gay man who is in touch with his emotions and unafraid to embrace his interests whether that be his music taste or his sense of style. things like asking another boy to the sadie hawkins dance feel like just.......him trying to exist as a gay man in a society set up for straight people. in a lot of ways, i feel like his character was ahead of his time in the nuance he has? a lot of criticisms revolve around him being too weak and overemotional which really does say a lot about a society that claims to want complex male characters but doesn't actually lmfao

#response to this character will forever baffle me lol #the fact that a lot of criticism is solely related to traditionally feminine behavior 'ruining' him is......telling #but unintentionally i think the writers gave us a pretty nuanced gay man in him and i attribute that to his development #in the later seasons #i hope this answered your question anon i feel like it was a lot of incoherent rambling lol #answered #anonymous #glee #long post

[ninepentz]

Solved missing persons case

His name is Dedrick Benard Smith

He went missing 16 years ago on October 3rd 2006 around midnight after leaving his gfs house, she went on a late night snack run and when she got back he was gone.

His gf mentioned that when she got home his phone was still there and he had changed his shirt before he left. She was surprised he didn't take his phone bc that was something he always kept close at his side.

Apparently he had paranoid schizophrenia and amnesia which could be what lead to this. With out his medications he would have violent mood swings.

I found his birth chart and he's a Leo sun with cancer moon, libra mars square, yikes. That could def explain his violent mood swings.

I didn't find much information on why it took so long to find him but all I found was the police didn't have many leads so the case went cold.

So let's see what his chart shows us

In case you can't read my handwriting I'll explain below👇

Asc in Leo: Dedricks ruler is the sun in this situation, the sun was in the 3rd house which means he was traveling a short distance in his car at that time.

Moon in the 7th house: What's crazy to me is the moon placement describes exactly what he was doing when he left his gfs house. 7th house would describe another person, a relationship/partnership. Being in the moon which represents our comfort zone and emotions, things were just fine before she left. If she knew he was in danger or having an episode I'm sure she wouldn't have left him alone.

When she noticed he was missing I think she might have been shocked and confused, not sure what to think.

Mercury in the 4th house: He was supposed to be headed to his mom's house that following day but he cancelled at last minute and called to let her know he wouldn't make it bc he was spending the night at his gfs house.

Venus in the 3rd + mercury in the 4th: Tells me he was probably wanting to go to his mom's house/home in general.

Sun conjunct venus: Since Venus is conjuncting the sun in the 3rd house this describes his car exactly, it was a unique color turquoise Pontiac trans am. Venus is beauty, asthetic and the sun represents dedrick here so maybe his car was special to him or his car just stood out in general from the other cars. Something obviously different from the others 👇 even his family mentioned this, that his car was a distinct color.

Sun conjunct mars: Dedrick in the car and having a sudden severe car accident. Full force, driving fast. Both in the 3rd house describes a vehicle. There was a sharp point on the road that turned directly at the lake he was found, the divers thought that might be what happened. There was no barrier or anything to protect drivers from falling in.

It's important to note what house shows up when it comes to the chart ruler in relation to mars, it can give you a big clue to what type of accident happened.

4th house in Libra end of the matter:

Shows where the body was found and reveals how things ended in criminal astrology

He was found by the adventures with purpose team at Winston lake north carolina. As I was reviewing the footage of them finding Dedricks car, the diver came up to surface after locating the vehicle and said-

The weather was good, waters were calm and still, no whirlpool or currents to complicate the dive/recovery, car was upright, all windows of the car were up to preserve the remains. The community/law enforcement all came to together to assist in this recovery, so everything went quick and smooth. It was basically the perfect case scenario for any diver were their exact words during the closing statements. Esp for a 16 year old case👇

This gave me chills as I'm looking into this to make sense of Libra in the 4th house

To me that's what Libra represents, balance, teamwork/cooperation, giving/taking, comfort, partnerships/relationships, beautiful surroundings, nice buildings/structures. The community overall obviously cares for this park and they put time and effort to make it look nice. There's many activities to do there I feel like these things have a lot to do with Libra in general, wanting to promote enjoyable and calm experiences. With golfing it's not a aggressive/impulsive sport and neither is the walking trail or baseball. In golf for example you have to take time to calculate your steps and focus on getting a ball into a small hole. Lol idk what you call that but you get the point, similar with baseball and horseshoe pits, it's more of a mental sport than physical.

🐏Aries(mars)=physical ⚖️ (Venus)=mental

Some info about the park below, click to expand 👇

There was 2 different parks and 1 water park, so this was obviously a pretty fancy/expensive area. Very much a Libra (Venus) thing. But yeah I'm just trying to give an idea of what to make of the end of the matter, so interesting isn't it? And another thing I noticed is the 4th house basically describes the whole environment, conditions, possible happenings. It told me so much, i'm providing you with facts and also what that chart says, they line right up.

Moon conjunct Neptune: Delusion, huge imagination, sensitive, easily influenced.

Mars opposite MC: This aspect could explain why it took so long for his case to be solved, MC=The public, Mars his car. Maybe they were looking in the opposite directions, in general finding him was not easy.

Mercury opposite MC: Wasn't found by police/law inforcement as easy as they would like to. Information was lacking, they were left in the dark, not many details about his disappearance. It took them 16 years to find Dedrick. Both mars/mercury opposing MC explains exactly that to me.

A trine or good aspect to the mc would would probably have been easier to find him

Sun inconjunct Uranus: He could of definitely been having a episode/identity issue or forgot who he was. They did say he had amnesia so his ego (sun/heart/outer identity) was detached (uranus/brains/insight) and it was common for him to have these experiences, ending up in random places. He could of been very unstable when this all went down.

I have episodes like that sometimes where I'm extremely sensitive to everyone around me (I have Neptune-moon aspects like Dedrick does on this day) and I want to be away from everyone when I'm feeling like this. It can be very uncomfortable this feeling coupled with his mental issues I think it could of been extreme, Uranus is shocking, unpredictable, gives you anxiety, unable to stay still, in hard aspect to the sun it's like you feel this unshakable urge.

And this was his car the day he was found on April 2nd, 2022.

RIP Dedrick, I'm sorry this happened to you. He was only 26.

✨Nine of Pentacles✨

#october #missingperson #forensicastrology #astrology #dedrick smith #north carolina #solvedcases #criminalastrology #nineofpentz #adventures with purpose #awp

[starbuck]

I momentarily considered making a “character parallels chart” for Black Sails to attempt to summarize my thoughts but then I realized that it’d look like a very fucked up shipping chart so I probably should... Not Do That.

Gotta say tho, there’s smth really funny to me about the idea of a chart that looks like a shipping chart but it’s just me drawing increasingly insane parallels between random characters. 

#this theoretical chart would probably have different colored lines depending on if it was smth Mimetic or just a normal parallel #bc there's def both in the show and it is an Important Distinction #some characters are paralleled by the narrative whereas others are actively doubling each other but it all leads to the #same 'oops! everyone is everyone' conclusion #but honestly - i don't think this kind of chart would cut it - as fun as it sounds #like. some parallels are super minor and unimportant but still There whereas others i could write essays on probably #i have Much To Say #i'm thinkin about this one thing and like... Boy..... #i'm sorry i'm being so vague about all this but like #i need to say this One Time and i need to get it Right #and i'm considering new thematic elements to the whole thing now and i am Thinking.... #i should honestly just rewatch the whole show with all of this in mind and then report back lol #yeah ya know what - i'm gonna do that #rewatch starts like. tomorrow ig lol #better get my Thots in order!

[elixirsoflife]

my current pdx101 picks (ep.7)

i think i'm more or less narrowing down my top 11. tbh i have a fair few that i just wouldn't mind any combination of as the final line-up with a few fixed picks.

fixed picks

1. choi suhwan: it's only been a couple of hours since i watched the episode so i am still very very very annoyed :) bc the live voters :) did him so dirty :) and he ended up in 20th place :) out of the entire vocal position :) when he legit did nothing wrong :) and was fantastic :) i swear down if he doesn't make it past the next elimination, i will throw my phone at the wall

2. cho seungyoun: the best all-rounder currently in the competition lbr. what would the final line up even be without him

3. song yuvin: this episode solidified him as a fixed pick for me. i love his dynamics with the other trainees (he is the biggest dork ever and i love his friendship with suhwan 💕) and his voice goes well with others in the group

4. kim yohan: not the strongest vocalist or dancer but i definitely think he can improve to that point and his personality is honestly a 10/10 for me. i think it's impossible not to love him tbh

other strong contenders

5. lee jinhyuk!!! i already had a good feeling about him last episode, i just needed to see more of him to solidify my opinions and thank god i did that. he handled the whole fiasco with turtle ship so well, a lot better than i would've, and i think he's the type to inspire his fellow members which is always important. def leader material, i love him ♡

6. won hyuk: mnet did a bit of an evil edit on him in this episode but it didn't work with me. tbh i understand why he's so desperate since he, more than anyone, understands the value of benefit points. but i got the feeling that baekjin and yuri maybe don't... like him very much? i don't think the tension was as one-sided as baekjin implied. but yes he got 1st overall in rap which i was so so happy about bc he needs it more than dohyun lbr

7. nam dohyun: speaking of him, he is also on the list. i do love a good rapper and think he definitely can be that

8. han seongwoo: vocals are beautiful, he is beautiful, everyone loves him. what's not to like? my only worry is his age and the whole issue of military enlistment tbh

9. kim hyunbin: not given enough attention but i love the passion and he is both a decent singer + good rapper. i rate it ♡

10. kim sihun: i've always quite liked him, i think he brings a lot to the table in terms of dance, composition and so on.

others i am keeping an eye on

11. lee hangyul: i lowkey wanted him to place first in the dance position. idk what it is about him that draws me to him. honestly i think i just need to watch his fancams to solidify him as a strong contender

12. son dongpyo: he was amazing in believer. i think he's a solid dancer, meshes well with the older trainees (aka serving a good link between younger ones and the older ones) and would probably do well in variety. i think a lot of the criticism he gets is a bit undue tbh

(tbh the distinction between strong contenders and these two is vv small)

13. lee midam: i am just drawn to him idky. again, he's another person i think can bring a lot to the table and he really is a good vocalist. i heard he arranged twit which means he has talent, right?

14. kim wooseok: i had him as a strong contender last week but i think i mislabeled him. i've pretty much accepted him as part of the final line-up, i just don't particularly stan him. he's pretty subdued on the show, though i've heard he's actually a right laugh and tbh given his "scandal", i understand why he is

15. choi byungchan: never given enough screentime but i like his personality and his voice is lovely. he was the best for me in his team's performance this week so his rank was so undeserving. honestly the only reason he isn't in 'strong contender' for me is probably bc of his lack of screentime.

as you can probably see, i lean more towards older trainees and rappers. tbh i'd be cool with any mix of these trainees as long as they gel well together and have a cool concept.

ep 5 picks | ep 6 picks

#produce x 101 #pdx101 #producex101 #cho seungyoun #choi suhwan #han seungwoo #kim yohan #kim wooseok #lee hangyul #lee midam #son dongpyo #nam dohyun #lee jinhyuk #song yuvin #choi byungchan #kim sihun #kim hyunbin #won hyuk #plums throws some words into the tumblr void

[kpopisthereasonihavenolife]

Omg Tay, I have so much to say about Oberon! Seriously, I made a new note on my phone so I could remember all my reactions to it. First of all, AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! IT'S SO FREAKING GOOD AND THE WORLD BUILDING YOU DID REALLY PAID OFF AND I'M SO PROUD OF YOU FOR FINISHING THIS BEHEMOTH OF A FIC!!!! I digress, the world building was so beautifully done. The different take in fairies (regarding the leaf fairies) and the tree traveling! All the different species of creatures in the central village!

2/6)  It was all wonderful! I especially loved how you spent some time on how the OC was cleaned up to show the difference in how it's done there. Speaking of cleaned up, I LOVE ALINA! SHE'S SO CUTE AND I WANTED MORE OF HER TAY! I love how you made all of the OC's dresses resemble flowers in some way, it really ties in the importance of nature to the Fae. I got mad Beauty and the Beast vibes at some parts too. On-Looker's Lake, when the OC sees the books, and Joon saving the OC being the best examples

3/6)  I deadass thought that the thing in the lagoon was a kraken! Idk why, but I did😂 and then I was like "update: it's a kelpie". I wanted to also mention how you took a twist on environmental activism in the human world. I'm definitely a sustainability conscious person and I thought that the dichotomy of the Order and the RAO was fascinating. I also really liked how you made it that the "waves cannot keep secrets" instead of the trees or flowers cannot keep secrets we see so much in literature!

4/6)  Also, the fact that the OC was like "Namjoom sounds fake" 😂 I laughed so hard when I read that! I also wrote down "THE MANDRAKE LEAF!! HARRY POTTER IS BACK BITCHES". I was just really happy about it. Also, I really liked the part where Joon showed the OC Titania via their dreams. I thought it was well done and I loved the intermingling of the real memory and then the possible (which definitely happen) interaction with the OC. Tbh, I thought Titania's soul was doing some weird stuff to the OC

5/6)  But it just turned out to the air,,, I'd really love to see more(?) interactions with the OC and Titania via dreams or while unconscious. I think it would be really cool. Lastly, I was highkey hoping Joon would kill the Order dudes. It would have been nice to see, but I guess diplomacy is fine too. I do have a few questions for you. With the tree traveling, is it via the root system or the trunks and branches? You mentioned going up so I wasn't 100% sure

6/6)  Also, what is the time difference between the human and fae realms? I know that the Fae realm is slower than the human realm, but by how much? Overall this was such an amazing piece of work and it definitely took Blight's spot for #1 out of your fics. Your hard work paid off and I'm so glad that I could help keep you motivated and (somewhat) sane while at work or writing. Lastly, I really love that (literal) cliffhanger you left us at😂😂 Much love Tay💜

WAAAH LILAC THERE IS SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE AND I LOVE IT.  I love that you took note while reading- that makes me so happy uwu. First, I’m happy you were happy with the world-building! I only complained about it to you about aBAZILLION TIMES LOL.  And the Leaflets design was inspired by me actually pulling apart leaves as a hobby when I’m forced to sit in nature LOL.  

I ALSO LOVE ALINA.  I WANT TO MAKE THIS CLEAR.  I didn’t intend to have as many OCs as I did (three to be specific + Titania ig) in this piece, but although I love all of them, my little mute Alara fairy girl is def. my favorite.  10/10 would die for her. I actually didn’t realize any parallels while writing it, but yeah I can def. see the Beauty and the Beast connections now that you point it out- how neat! 

For the Kelpie, I had a lot of options when choosing what species of fairy to make the quote ‘bad guy’ when looking through te Unseelie Court, but the Kelpie was the one I was most familiar with (thanks anime LOL) so I just went with them.  Plus, the thing under the water holding her down while the KEplie attacked her, wasn’t actually another Keplie but instead a dead tree that had fallen into the lake because a branch of the Order’s pollution killed it.  It sensed the OC’s humanity, thus deemed her the enemy.  

For the inclusion of the Order and the RAO, the whole premise of this is absolutely an anti-pollution thing as that is the *biggest* issue the RAO has with the Order and their constant want to burn down/shrink the forest or just kill it (I mean how dumb amiright?). I didn’t want to play into it too much, well bc who wants to read a 42k fic about pollution and rebellion in the form of going against the government? Sounds too much like irl politics if you ask me LOL. 

For the ‘waves keeping secrets’ I kept it like that instead of the forest greenery because unlike the forest’s grass or trees or flowers, the water has a distinct connection between Liana and the human world!  All sorts of gossip come from the water LOL. 

LOL The ‘namjoon sounds fake’ line was actually for the original concept where this was gonna be a wonho fic.  He was gonna announce himself as Wonho and not Hoseok, so she would accuse him of a ‘fake name’ and later on he’d really tell her his birthday.  However, when I changed idols, I decided to keep it in for comedy!! (also the mandrakes actually weren’t inspired by HP, but from an RPG horror game Mad Father, bc ya girl hasn’t seen/read any HP material oops) 

If I’m being honest, the parts featuring Titania and the dreams the OC was materialized in are some of my favorite parts.  Not just because I loved Titania and the way she held herself in her short little scenes, but because it opened more of Oberon’s story.  Briefly touching on his reluctance to be King Oberon to fast-forwarding to the point he had to rule on his own when she died.  

The reason the OC got so sick was a mixture of things.  In the story, obvs it’s explained it was the air.  However, there is more too it! I kept it brief because in the moment, Namjoon didn’t have the time for a proper explaination- both when the OC was dying and when he was explaining things to Changkyun and her on the cliffside.  The reason really tied back to the Kelpie.  

It was explained that the Kelpie took a chunk of her magic when it attacked her at the grey lake, right? Well, it’s because of the chunk of magic it took that Liana’s air became toxic. OC’s magic was tied into her by the soul fragment she was born with that held Titania.  When the Kelpie attacked her, it took a large part of that fragment out- the piece that was able to breathe and live in the forest's air like Titania once did.  So, in a sense, it was Titania keeping her safe from the pure air, and when she lost it, it all went downhill.  so, you were really wrong to assume it was Titania! 

Tbh, the ONLY reason Namjoon didn’t kill the Order platoon was bc before he could the OC was already marching towards them and he didn’t want to risk anything.  If she hadn’t started going to the leader for his radio, he would have made tree-kababs out of them. 

For the Tree Trunk Travel System (as our OC calls it lol), it was a mixture of root connections and teleportation.  All the trees int he forest are connected via their underground root system.  For traveling to be possible, you’d get into a tree, think of the place you want to travel to, and through, magic relay that to the tree so it could find the root of the nearest tree to that location.  Then it’d be a gust of wind from below (because of the roots finding the passage) before you disappear and reappear somewhere near! It’s a lot less complicated than it sounds lol.

The time difference between Liana and the human world is a big funky I’ll admit.  I didn’t put a lot of thought into it frankly.  However, as stated when OC returns after her ‘almost dying attack’ Changkyun mentions how she was gone for two months.  Before that, OC mentions how she had been in Liana a month. So, it’d be easiest to assume that Liana moves and works a full month behind the humans.  So, for example, April in the Human world would still be March in Liana.  

WOW THIS GOT LONG LOL. I hope I answered all your questions (and if not just ask me again LOL).  I’m so so so grateful to you for reading it and keeping me motivated to write it! And ofc, your moral support while I edited this monster LOL.  Who knows, maybe next time I’ll ask you to beta if something ever get’s this big again LOL (probably not bc i have a guilty conscience alsdkjf).  

I’m glad you enjoyed Oberon as much as you hoped and although Blight may not be #1, I don’t think Jungkook would mind since Namjoon took his place LOL.  

Much love coming to you from me!!! 

#TL;DR: Oberon has a lot and this is full of answers to quesions LOL #fr though I LOVE answering questions about my stories #so this was super fun to do!! #Oberon #lilacdreams-00 #ask

[iobottle]

atissi

replied to your post

“it kinda makes me sad when artists giving out tutorials on character...”

oh could you talk more about this? :o

ABSOLUTELY thank u for enabling me to go off about designs i love this shit this may get a bit long so its going under a readmore (sorry if ur on mobile i hope it works)

gonna start this off with im no expert Nor have i taken any sort of official art class this is me just analyzing characters from what i found that makes them memorable to ppl (most of these examples are going to be from games sorry i got them on my mind)

ok so basically making a memorable revolves around personality and appearance now theres different ways to go about showing these things and i think from consuming media you like will help narrow down how you wanna go about it, basically thinking about your character inside and out!

SO shapes and hyperstylization is a good way to get a fun appearance across in a cartoon esp media and is often what a lot of artists stress on an example of using shapes and a good silhouette to make a memorable character is sonic!(specifically comic sonic)

(had to google idw sonic for a non...u know image)

but not only do they use lots of triangles for this hedgehog they also made him blue! you’d be more likely to remember a blue headgehog over a realistically colored one!(also almost all of the sonic characters have a combination of fun shape + unusual color to help you remember them! the designs werent afraid to use color to make a bold statement)(he’s also segas mascot so of course they put a lot of work in his design)

now sonics appearance is not the only reason why people like him or remember him so much he’s also got personality! he’s cocky, fast, always getting into trouble, “you’re too slow!”, accompanied by shitty butt rock and a cool guy persona ie he’s got personality! and they weren’t afraid to give him some weird interests(see the butt rock) and he’s not perfect( see arrogance) if youve ever played a sonic game you have almost always remembered the crush 40 theme that went with it

all in all to go with his unusual appearance he’s got some unusual traits! it helps make him believable! admittedly he’s not the most embarrassing of the sonic crew (see knuckles or shadow) but he’s definitely rounded and not boring from an objective standpoint(you can not like sonic or his games i dont care)

(another example of something that requires good shapes is pokemon altho they arent really like very depthy since there are 600+ and some only have like a pokedex entry worth of info but still they have good and memorable designs)

NOW something that doesnt have the most “good shapes” design off the top of my head is link

now in the most recent zelda game his most memoriable physical attribute is that he’s on the androgynous side w his longer hair and smaller build but in his older designs he looked something like this

(art for a loz:link to the past)

not really that much of a striking silhouette, but what do we look at and kinda leaves an impression on us? his hair and hat! its very silly to see someone in such a big green hat with that big of bangs/mullet, the hat at least became so ridiculous of a look that in botw nintendo didnt include his hat in links main outfit bc it was too hard to make look good, its silly! thats good! its fine to have a normal human looking characters because sometimes stories are about humans, but if you want us to remember them include something that will strike us as strange for them

also probably a good thing to note is the noises link makes when he swings his sword, jumps, pushes something, ie any action they have always been something that has stuck with me

(another example similar to this is in mgs solid snake in mgs is this cool super spy but is rocking a full on mullet which is considered a joke hairstyle. this leaves an impression on us. a spy with a mullet! how ridiculous! another example is raiden who was specifically made bc a woman wrote that she didnt want to play as an “old man” so the protagonist of the super spy game is a longer haired pretty boy (with a huge ass))

now ive explained a little on a character with good shapes and personality and a character with a more “boring” shape design that makes up for it with almost quirky design choices but i feel like theres another series thats what originally got me thinking about how even a memorable silhouette doesnt need hyperstylization

ace attorney! (which is out on switch now if u havent played it i would def recommend it)

if you dont know the protagonist is the guy in the blue suit(phoenix), which well he looks like just a guy...with ridiculously spikey hair enough so that in his silhouette you can recognize him but also his posture (the pointing) makes for a sticking recognizable image bc if you’ve played the games you can practically hear objection just from looking at phoenix’s silhouette

which is another thing id like to talk about! not only are a good shape a way to have a good silhouette but posture is also important! how the character holds themselves can say alot about them just from a glance! such as meekness, arrogance, confidence, sadness, anger, happiness its a very important too especially when you arent relying on stylization

now onto the characters of ace attorney ive gone over phoenix's design a bit but theres a few others id like to look at with some Weird style choices that make us remember them(just going to glance over them since this post is so long)

now, this woman, franziska von karma, she dresses kind of strange for a prosecutor but her outfit is not too out there and her silhouette is not striking

but you see that whip? remember how i said she was a prosecutor? yeah she will strike people in court for getting off topic and will even hit phoenix when he starts breaking down her witnesses testimonies, which what literally strikes up about her

another prosecutor, godot, now his hair could provide a somewhat memorable shape but what we first notice is the strange mask on his face which is weird, but not the Same weird as franziska bringing a whip to court thus having both of these prosecutors being Weirdly memorable for different things (another note is his liking of coffee that he does not give up even in court ha ha)

now onto the other protag for the aa games

apollo! who also has weirdly spikey hair, but even if you put a silhouette of him next to phoenix you could tell there some was a difference between the two! its showing a pattern with the protags while also keeping them distinct enough to be able to tell who is who! although you cant say the pointy haired guy from ace attorney and not get just One answer unlike saying the prosecutor who has a whip but still they are distinct to people who have little experience with the series

sorry i dont have any sort of conclusion on this this was just sort of me rambling on about character design, but my main point is if you are discouraged bc all your characters dont have wildly different silhouettes thats ok! there are other ways to establish a good memorable character! dont be afraid to make them a little weird! give your character pink hair in a medieval setting, have them be ridiculously in love with tigers they have a striped shirt and pants, let them love childrens tv shows and have them never miss an episode, give them wacky hair or an extreme love of gum, show us some personality!! but dont forget about how they act and their values and dont forget that posture can go a long way for establishing a first impression

there are also many other methods to making a good character! like colors and dress!

silly is the way to go! have fun with it!!

there isnt just one way to make a good character!! theres plenty of more series that have good character design that i didnt mention pay attention to why you like the characters you like! also watch this video bc its really good

#atissi #im sorry this is so long and incoherent #im sure this is hard to parse so im realyl sorry if i end up confusing ppl

[friskarm]

the writing meme: nico!! ur nico has one of the most distinct voices ive ever read n i gotta.... deep inhale.. gotta kno ur thought process behind that. also maki if ur down for it, bc ur anime mack interp got me S h o ok td

hdsjfk okay u,wu i will talk abt Thos Kids....

nkmk are defs my favs out of all the love live kids....maki is rlly important to me for a whole host of reasosn that u will find out when i finally finish writing maki fic, and nico is just. god i love nico yazawa so much

the two of them make an incredibly potent pairing, and it’s honestly kinda tough to imagine any kind of canon-compliant situation where they’re not super important to each other!! even in AUs where they’re not paired together, i still find myself making them bffs at the very least ;;

so!! this got kinda long so heres the Read More

i’m actually gonna start with maki bc she’s by far the easiest to sum up

- for one, maki is actually...pretty kid-like. for all the “maturity” she tries to give off, it is very much something she constructs and not something she naturally exudes. maki is pretty idealistic, despite trying to make herself come off as cynical? it’s difficult to write, but you know someone just Knows Her when they manage to frame her POV like she’s being cynical, but when you read what she’s actually saying it comes off idealistic!! yeah. she also has a tendency to get really excited!!!! and then pretend she isn’t. she’ll go and try really hard on her own but she gets suuuuper embarassed when people call her out on it

- which brings me to my next point - maki is really worried about how people see her! she works really hard to construct this persona of ~maturity~ and ~elegance~ and ~intelligence~ but when u talk to her for like .2 seconds u realise she’s kinda adorable? definitely this part of her comes from probably being around adults more than other kids when she was young - and she’d probably get praised for being mature and so naturally she’d think maturity was some kind of end goal. regardless, her facade drops when she finally feels comfortable with people, but it Does take a lot!! the sleepover episode in s1 did a lot for her but i don’t think maki had truly opened up until they sung snow halation in s2...at least from the anime timeline!

- maki’s love for music - i suppose this is kind of an obvious one, but it’s still entirely critical to her character. maki loves the Shit out of music!!! she wants to make people feel things, she wants to Move them with the things she composes. i don’t think she has a particular preference for any type of music, either. she does say she prefers classical + jazz, but keep in mind maki has a Persona to uphold. she sings aishiteru banzai with all her heart when she thinks she’s alone - i think she deeply appreciates any type of music.

- extending on that point abt maki’s persona - her pursuit for “maturity”, if you could call it that, goes beyond that. she genuinely believes she should be trying to be more mature, and i definitely think this part of her is a huge reason why she conflicts with nico a lot! regardless, maki has a tendency to deny herself things she likes based on the premise that it’s immature. she’ll isolate herself in order to prevent participation in activities that seem immature, but because she still actually does want to participate, she’ll just kinda satellite around it. she also kinda wants to grow up as fast as possible, i think.

- maki gets really attached to her friends!! i like to think that bc of a strict up-bringing, maki never had the opportunity to make all that many friends, so being in high school with muse is such a good experience!! she’s the one who pushes to assert her friendship with rinpana in episode 4 season 1, and despite getting embarassed over it, she really does care for them!!! i can imagine not being after school navigators was hurtful for her bc it’s literally her three best friends....she was probably placated by the fact she got to be in the ~cool hot~ group solge but still, y’know?

- i could go on and on but the rule said 5 max so :ccccc

anyways niconii time!!

- nico is super, duper passionate about becoming an idol. this deep-rooted passion and desire to succeed is at the root of her character, and really, if your nico isn’t gunning with all her might for a particular goal, you’re not writing nico right!! being an idol, to nico, is probably the most important thing to her after her family. most importantly, as long as she thinks she has even a .1% chance to succeed, she’ll go for it with everything she’s got. i think that’s really important

- nico is very family orientated, too!! she loves her mum and siblings (and probably her dad, too, wherever he is) with all her heart! a lot of people felt conflicted abt nico’s episode in s2, but i think it showed the extent she’s willing to go in order to protect her family!! nico doesn’t come from money - a single mother with four kids is going to be incredibly difficult to live with. in order to give them something to hope for, she constructed a persona for herself in which she lives as a super idol - probably so that her little siblings have something to hope for!! or smtn. idk the gravity of nico’s situation is definitely dependent on ur preferences but regardless niconii loves her fam a Ton

- nico is also pretty mature, actually. this is kind of a weird one bc nico acts like honorin for the most part, and even maki calls her out on being immature (which is hilarious, honestly). the thing is, nico has had to look after her siblings for a Long time - which probably meant she didn’t have all that much free time when she was young to go and...be a kid and do kid things?? and part of her realises that her time as a Kid in highschool is ending soon and that when she leaves she’s going to need to take on adult responsibilities...but for now, she can be a kid. so she does - she goofs off, acts like an idiot and a child because she can! nico is also very pragmatic!! for all everyone mocks her she really does have a good understanding of the way the idol world works (she’s just maybe in the wrong show bc honoka kousaka is actually a deity or smtn), and whilst she can sometimes be a bit cynical, she’s actually really good at acknowledging when she’s being shitty abt smtn, owning up to it and apologising and learnign from it. ya

- nico might be cynical but she’s actually kinda hopeful when she lets herself be? it’s not constructed necessarily, it’s a genuine lack of faith in the world, but it’s not so strong that she can’t deny it - especially being with muse and honoka even more so inspires her to just...have a little faith in fate again. or have a little faith in nozomi, both are good.

- also, nico has a potty mouth. sorry i don’t make the rules

and then there’s nkmk as a concept!!! dam i luv these kids. they’re kind of difficult to talk about bc the way they’d interact is almost entirely dependent on the situation, but i’ll try and speak generally!!

- nkmk conflict, fundamentally. nico and maki have so many contrasting personality traits, they’re awful. but they’re also really similar in a lot of aspects, and have a lot to relate to each other with, and a lot to learn from each other. before they hop the honesty fence, they’re probably just gonna fight a lot, after the hop the honesty fence, they’re probably gonna have a few minor disagreements every now and then but generally get along really well! when they’re sitting on the honesty fence? well, thats the interesting part!!

- nico is somebody who acts childish but is probably mature on the inside. maki is somebody who acts mature but is probably childish on the inside. personally i feel like this is a big thing they’d come into conflict with each other about - they have different values and come from entirely different places so it takes a lot of work for them to understand each other!!

- nozomi annoys the shit out of both of them. she’s a meddler and stick her nose into places she shouldn’t. they love her, and also love to hate her.

- they’re both very driven people, but different things get in the way of them achieving their goals!! nico, i think, tends to have external obstacles - physical or otherwise something outside of herself!! maki tends to have internal obstacles - preconceptions or mental obstacles that prevent her from achieving her goals.

- it’s 2:30am and i need to sleep but hopefully this is what u wanted...thank for reading if u made it this far wao i wrote a ton...

#nicomaki #yazawa nico #nishikino maki #amp it up miki #character ask #i was gonna use this as a warm-up for maki fic but i Need to Sleep now... #banditchika

[jamfingers]

Some Background on That One Super Famous Cluster B Personality Disorder and Some Brief Meta Tying It to Kai Parker’s Problematic (but Fine AF) Ass Because I Said I Would Do This

Okay, this isn’t a research paper, so I’m not going to put ref points throughout the post, but I’ll write down the full names of the texts and articles I used at the bottom in case you’re interested in checking them out yourself. Some info/pics come from old annotated notes, but I likely will only use those for examples provided by previous professors. NONE of these visuals are mine, they’re copyrighted and I’m posting them for educational purposes. I’m making no profit off of this. Obviously. This is a damn fan blog. 

First off, lets talk behavior and psychopathology, then I’ll get into like...the barest bit of some of the complex anatomy and physiology behind them. Then I’ll talk Kai Parker a little and how he fits this. This post is gonna be hellaciously long, since it’s an academic reference/meta, so read more under the cut:

Personality is something pervasive, long term, and generally not mutable in a person. And individual’s personality will develop in childhood and are measured by rating the general patterns of disordered conduct/socializing of traits known as the big 5: neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. These traits, like anything dealing with the mind, are measured on a spectrum and patterns of extremely high pervasiveness of traits in some areas and extremely low pervasiveness in others that results in a diminished or troubled quality of life is what results in a personality disorder.

Personality disorders are sorted into 3 groups called clusters:

Kai falls into cluster B - he has antisocial personality disorder (ASPD from here on, can also be noted as APD), historically called “sociopathy”. ASPD is more commonly diagnosed in men than in women, (although this might be in part due to societal/gender biases of both the patient and the clinician, but I digress), with a prevalence in the clinical population of 3.9-5.9% and in the general population of 1.0%-1.8%. It’s rare, but not the rarest personality disorder by any means. No unicorns here.

I personally denote ASPDers as the biggest con-artist assholes you’ll ever have the displeasure of meeting, but that’s not very academic, so I’ll copy my one of my textbook’s format and break this up into a few categories. More information can be found in references.

Clinical Description And Criteria:

“I am entitled to break rules.”

That right there is the sun with which ASPD revolves around. The disorder is characterized by extreme selfishness and disregard for others, highly impulsive and risky behavior (like drug use, reckless stunts, fighting), and unusual emotional responses and fits of rage, but no deficits in reasoning ability. People with ASPD know what they’re doing, understand the social norms/ rules behind them and don’t care. In regards to the Big 5 personality traits this is what they look like (L is low, H is high):

And diagnostic criteria for ASPD on the DSM-5 looks like this:

YOU HAVE TO HAVE DISPLAYED CONDUCT DISORDER AS A CHILD TO BE DIAGNOSED WITH ASPD AFTER 18. Remember an individual’s personality develops in childhood and is long-lasting. Conduct disorder in children is diagnosed with this criteria:

ASPD has a pretty high heritabilty (about 40-50%) and it’s fostered in hostile environments characterized by lack of warmth, exposure to violence, high negativity, parental inconsistency or parental ASPD, and/or poverty.

While ASPD is associated with poor impulse control, there is still no deficit in reasoning ability. ASPDers with a high intelligence quotient (IQ) are less likely to get caught or engage in illegal or destructive behavior because they know the game. They’d rather be free to fuck people over than in a system and can be quite adept at hiding their traits. This leads me to psychopathy. There’s still some debate about whether psychopathy should be considered different from ASPD, but most clinicians these days agree that psychopathy as a subset of symptoms that fall under ASPD. So just like all squares are rectangles, but not all rectangles are squares, all psychopaths (at this point) are ASPDers, but not all ASPDers are psychopaths. 

Psychopathy:

Defining characteristics of psychopathy include:

If you’re having a hard time reading this, the red and blue branches indicate what aspects of psychopathy are influenced by what bit of anatomy dysregulation. AMG - amygdala, PCC - posterior cingulate cortex, MPFC - medial prefrontal cortex. The coronal slices (red, bottom blue) are as if you’re looking at a person face to face - your left is their right. Top blue is scanned from the right side (See that scrunchy round thing behind the straight part? Below the “PCC”? That’s the cerebellum behind the brain stem. It’s in the back of your head, to help with orientation.) Middle blue is as if you and the person are facing the same direction, but you’re taller and looking straight down on their head. Hope that helps you out!

In general, with regards to criminal behavior, high IQ psychopaths are called “subclinical” psychopaths and are not generally studied bc...well, they blend in. They find other, legal or discreet ways to fulfill thrill seeking behavior.

Psychopathy has some actual distinct differences in the brain that can be physiologically measured. It’s typically shown by differences in the the right amygdala and the anterior rostral prefrontal cortex (arPFC from here on), especially on the right side. (The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for emotional recognition and expression, while the amygdala controls fear responses/recognition and the PFC in general controls different aspects of higher cognition. In this case, it’s likely the conversion of emotionality to morality, since emotions play a large part in fostering sympathy and from there moral judgement.) See?

Integrative Biopsychosocial Model of APD:

Bio (Genetics and neurobiology): Twin and adoption studies show that ASPD is highly heritable, but it’s the gene-environment interaction that is integral for ASPD development. ASPD is an endophenotype - the underlying aspects of disorder are genetic (low levels serotonin and dopamine (the chemical neurotransmitters), or in the case of psychopaths, low levels of serotonergic or dopaminergic axons (the anatomy that receives the NT)) and provide the unique emotional aspects of ASPD, but the social behavior presentation is guided by the environment (early childhood stress, lack of social guidance, etc). The arousal theory, if you’re interested, is based of the endophenotypes and can explain how certain behaviors arise from them (i.e. ASPDers, esp. psychopaths, are stimulation seeking bc of low response in reward systems (serotonergic/dopaminergic)). *I add on dopamine bc it’s an important chemical in the brain’s reward system, but serotonin is the key one.

Psychosocial (mental and environmental): Inconsistent parental punishments, lack of punishment for aggressive/antagonist behavior, environments that propagate violence, high risk-reward and fearless psychology all lend themselves to the development of the disorder. 

The disorder is like a measuring cup and each influence is water filling it until the water level reaches the mark where the disorder presents itself. 

When it comes to ASPD, prevention, not treatment is preferred. Redirecting behavior patterns in kids with conduct disorder is your best bet compared to trying to get a fully formed, highly aggressive ASPD adult to behave.

Here’s a case study from my abnormal psych textbook depicting what the you’d most likely see in clinical ASPD case (i.e. in “the system” , like prison or a hospital):

(See why I said con-artists asshole? Ryan’s a fucking dick.)

References:

“Abnormal Psychology: An Integrative Approach” 7th Edition, David H. Barlow & V. Mark Durand {This is the book I used in my psychopathology class, which is for...understanding pathologies of the mind lol.}

“Neuroscience” 5th Edition, Dale Purves {Great book for detailed anatomy and physiology of neural circuits, and I didn’t get into like I could, but the emotion chapter is dense and that’s a lot of info to slam you with.}

“The Foundations of Behavioral Neuroscience” 9th Edition, Neil R. Carlson {Easy to read and a great general capstone text} 

Okay, so now that we got the science, on to Kai Parker:

Right, so I think it’s safe to say that, canonically, Kai mostly fits the criteria for ASPD, but you’re def free to go back over all that up there and do your own comparison. We all know how Kai is an admitted “sociopath”. Considering Joshua Parker’s behavior, we can probably take a gander on the genetic component and considering the entire Gemini premise, plus the way Kai in particular was raised as the outsider in his family, we have an idea of the hostile and warmth-lacking environment that fostered it.

Because it’s TVD, I do think Kai was written to cater that whole “handsome, suburban white boy gone wrong” schtick, but I also think he’s one of the most subtly well-fleshed characters that show ever produced. There’s this one article I read for a neuro lit course (“Loneliness and associated violent antisocial behavior: analysis of the case reports of Jeffrey Dahmer and Dennis Nilsen.” authored by W.H. Martens and G.B. Palmero) that really stuck to me in a pervasive way and it’s about how chronically festering feelings of neglect and loneliness, of feeling like an unaccepted outsider, drove Dahmer and Nilsen to take their victim’s lives in a misguided way to dissuade the loneliness.

Having read that makes me wonder how Kai, the fictional serial killer, reflects his real life counterparts. The drive for merging and becoming coven leader is something that would force others to acknowledge him, which ties into his “black sheep” speech, his “I was never hugged as a child and my siblings were kept away” complaint (There are a lot of inconsistencies in his dialogued back story that bother me, but it makes me wonder if he ever lied about his past: “my favorite memory is when I finally beat him to death” and the preceding story about Mario Kart with the bby bro seems like something he might have just made up to fuck with Elena), and other vocalizations he’s made about his past which point to him being the misfit and desiring a sense of belonging. While we know Kai’s ASPD is a part of his characterization, this to me seems out of the norm for this disorder, simply because it indicates an understanding of sympathy that is unwittingly emotional.

Of course, Kai could also just want to be able to lord the world’s biggest “FU!” over his abusers.

Either way, anti or not, when using the ASPD/sociopath argument to defend or dismantle Kai as a character, I think it’s a good idea to keep in mind that Kai was written inconsistently. He shows very little impulsivity or recklessness in 1994, one trait which is almost a given with ASPD, nor was he flightly/irresponsible. He always had some end-goal or plan in mind. This was pre-merge. But he was also manipulative and showed no regret about the people he hurt. Obviously, each case of the disorder is unique because they exist on a spectrum, but the pattern and criteria are there due to broad commonalities in each case. The way the media tends to portray ASPD is not all consistent with the way the disorder presents irl.

#Kai parker #ASPD info #antisocial personality disorder #kai parker meta #tvd meta #bonkai #which I mean...i guess