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dizzycheetah96 · 1 month

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i’ve had this post in the drafts for like two months but with the release of poor things on hulu has come an uptick in really really bad poor things takes so here I am clocking in for the poor things discourse!!

while art is obviously subjective and can be interpreted like literally however you want blah blah blah etc. etc., I think a lot of the criticisms of poor things are pretty surface level and in the name of like performative anger and not genuine criticisms. will be addressing and commenting on the two biggest criticisms I’ve seen:

1. poor things portrays the born sexy yesterday trope

ultimately I think the film does enough to subvert the trope, and actually utilizes the trope as a vehicle to subvert it. what I think poor things is really doing is critiquing and commenting on how men seek out infantile and docile women as a means to exert control and assert their own self importance. these men then become disillusioned when said women gain intelligence, perspective, and experiences that don’t center them.

godwin, max, and duncan all sought to control bella in some way. they sexualize her, view her as an object, property, and an experiment. at the beginning of the movie, prior to bella leaving god’s house and exploring, we do get a bit of the traditional born sexy yesterday trope. but bella being who she is, she wanted more and she wanted to explore the world, grow, etc. this fundamentally changed the way these men interacted with her, and they were no longer infatuated by her innocence and curiosity, but saw her as threatening and something they needed to reign in and control.

first, when bella asks to leave the house and see the world, she is met with pushback from both godwin and max. when bella expresses her frustration, godwin fucking chloroforms her to get her to stop talking and fighting him. this pattern continues until bella leaves.

we saw this to an extreme with duncan. he noticed that bella was gaining intelligence and perspective, was threatened, and resorted to locking her in a trunk and literally fucking kidnapping her as an attempt to regain control. but after that, she continues to learn and grow. she meets new people who introduce her to philosophy and reading and intelligent conversation. this essentially brings duncan to his breaking point and he begins to mentally deteriorate.

2. all the sex was super gross bc bella developmentally had not yet reached the age of consent

people not grasping that bella having sex with all these men is SUPPOSED to make us uncomfortable is baffling. the depiction of this kind of relationship cannot be equated with endorsement. I actually think it was important that the audience know that at the beginning of the movie that bella had the brain of a child because it allows us to see how much duncan takes advantage of her. it also just further hammers home the critique of men preferring underdeveloped infantile women they can control, rather than independent intelligent women who challenge them.

I don’t necessarily have any problem with the movie depicting that bella enjoys having sex. discovering sexuality it is an ordinary part of adolescence (when she first starts masturbating I’m assuming she was like 12-14 developmentally) and ultimately what makes the lisbon scenes with her and duncan so uncomfortable is that we know that he knows he’s taking advantage of her. I do think it was intended to be uncomfortable for the audience to watch. she does not have the knowledge and understanding to know that the dynamic between her and duncan is very very bad, but she gets there eventually. I can’t fault her for in the moment not realizing what was happening to her.

but this is where my personal criticisms come in — once bella does learn how these men took advantage of her she does not fight back against them like I wanted her to. she isn’t outraged, she doesn’t tell them how violated she feels. duncan does get his comeuppance (which was hilariously played by mark ruffalo) but I think that max and godwin got off too easy. especially max who agreed to marry her when developmentally she was a child. I just don’t think she should have been so quick to forgive them.

I also just want to take a moment to discuss the common critique that “it’s so obvious this movie was made by a man like duh this is how men perceive what female empowerment is” etc. etc. this was actually addressed by emma stone in a conversation she had w olivia coleman — emma was a producer on the film and really feels like people are taking away her agency in deciding how to tell this story. she was an integral part in the production of the film, no one was demanding her to portray bella in a certain way, and ultimately what we see on screen is a product of her involvement in the filmmaking process. by reducing this to being a movie about how men perceive women you are completely removing and invalidating the women that actually had a say in how this story was told.

tldr; idk like obviously you can think whatever you want about it, but just don’t mistake depiction for endorsement and understand that sometimes the point of the movie is to make you feel uncomfortable. stories and narratives in fiction are complicated bc people are complicated!!!! we are messy and difficult and exploring certain topics in a fictionalized world allows us to better understand the world we live in. sanitizing ourselves of engaging with this kind of material will only hurt our ability to analyze and form opinions about contentious areas of life.

#poor things #*sigh* I am once again poor things posting #emma stone #yorgos lanthimos #poor things ily

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wen-kexing-apologist · 3 months

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Hi hello. I've been wondering something about the ending of this week's episode of The Sign and since you did that analysis on the lighting in the P&T sex scenes, I was wondering if I could pick your brain about it. The ending scene felt a bit sudden and while I can get behind the thought that they are both acting on emotions and not really thinking about things, I can't help but wonder. Is there either a scene missing, like we're not getting the full picture? Or is it even fully real? Since, and here's the lighting part that made me wonder, we only see a bokeh-ish effect on the scene (not even as full bokeh as earlier scenes though) but not Tharns bright pinkish colors. Idk, I might be wayyy off base and the scene has just a bokeh-ish effect bc the scene is driven by Phaya or bc of something else entirely, but I needed the thought out of my head. Hope you don't mind!

Thanks for reaching out! My interpretation of the final scene with Phaya coming to see Tharn and them two fucking is real, for a few reasons a) now that Phaya and Tharn can actually fuck whenever they want to, they dont need to be imaginging it and b) if it were a dream I do not think we would have seen Phaya looking as corpse-like as he did when he knocked on the door. We have had moments of reality where we have only had Phaya's bokeh effect in a real physical intimacy situation (goodnight kiss in Nong Khai) and moments where we have only had Tharn's coloring effect in real physical intimacy situations (bathroom).

Now, personally, when handled well I love a good sex as affirmation moment, and would have loved Phaya and Tharn having sex as a way for Phaya to affirm to Tharn that he is alive and that he is staying by his side. I would posit the reason that we only get Phaya's bokeh effect here is because he has become enlightened about Wansa and Tharn and so his emotions are the ones spilling out, his need to pleasure Tharn is the primary emotion. I would also be comfortable saying that Tharn ran with it because he has had a series of incredibly emotionally disastrous days where he was really not sure if Phaya was going to live or die and having Phaya here and physical with him he would naturally melt right in to the sexual intimacy with Phaya as well. And I do think that is what they ultimately were going for here. However, I think we missed out on a lot of strong emotions and clarity from this moment because of editing issues.

From my perspective, The Sign has been suffering from a storyboarding and editing issue for weeks now and so I think the confusion about whether or not this was real, is a very valid question to have. I especially think the confusion around this scene because of its suddenness is incredibly understandable and for me stems primarily from weak editing and writing around the scene. I can't know what they have and have not filmed, I can't know what they did or did not cut, but I know there is often a ridiculously large amount of content that is made and that must be trimmed down to fit inside a reasonable episode length. It is totally possible that they filmed a longer scene and trimmed it down, it is totally possible that this was the intended pathway from the beginning. Either way, Episode 9 was one of the more legible and cohesive episode we've had in weeks, but confusion still lingers because The Sign continues to miss the mark on maintaining the most coherent narrative possible.

TL;DR I think the scene is real and the uncertainty stems from poor editing.

#the sign #the sign the series #thanks for your ask!#my inbox is always open if people have thoughts feelings theories or questions

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happyhauntt · 20 days

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okay this is gonna be a mess but i've got to scream about it:

buck's whole story arc has me in a chokehold because i have never seen a character resemble my own life and identity so closely and still be treated with such respect and love by the characters, their actors and the showrunners and i literally don't know what to do with myself because of it.

buck's whole story has been about self-acceptance, since season 1. this is a man with deep insecurities who latches on and falls in love with the first person who shows him affection, who seems to understand him (abby), because he's been touch-starved and affection-starved his whole fucking life. all his relationships after this are a reflection of his own evolving self-worth (ali, taylor, natalia.) (my opinions on taylor & buck's relationship are more complex bc i genuinely adore taylor as a character and i think the biggest problem in their relationship was that taylor was so similar to buck, she's like buck in seasons 1/2, and while he evolves beyond their relationship because he starts to view himself in a more positive light, she is ready to evolve or put the work in yet and that, ultimately, is what destroys them but that's not what this post is about.)

buck breaking up with taylor because he starts to value himself more than just the affection other people can give him?? buck forming a deep emotional bond with his soulmate (whether you ship buck or eddie or not, you cannot deny the depth of their bond, regardless of it being platonic or romantic) and yet STILL doubting that relationship at semi-regular intervals, despite constant reassurance from eddie that he is important and loved and irreplaceable in eddie and christopher's lives??

he lowkey seems to have realised that love and affection aren't about gender. part of my queer realisation came from falling in love with anyone who'd show me a scrap of affection because i was so starved of it. as an afab person, i would assume my feelings for boys were because i liked boys and not because i craved the affection and validation that a relationship provided. growing up to learn that you don't have to be in a hetero relationship to receive that affection? learning that i don't have to be boxed in to one single thing and that i can receive that affection from anyone in my life, platonically or romantically, deeply, regardless of gender??? fucking everything. watching that play out on tv has been fucking everything to me.

however you feel about buck realising he's queer (and i feel really fucking good about it), you cannot deny that this has been a beautiful, organic thing to watch develop and i feel seen and however you interpret his arc on the show, this is how it's affected me and i literally want to sob i'm so happy.

#9-1-1 #9-1-1 spoilers #evan buckley #buddie #IMMA NEED A MINUTE TO RECOVER FROM THIS #* faye rambles.#* about faye.

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gwenllian-in-the-abbey · 2 months

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What do you think of Rhaegar as a character? I kinda like him in a sense that he is enigma and you could interpret his character in many different ways, however i feel he is an incompetent fool bc no matter how hard Grrm tries to paint him as this diligent , smart figure the choice of kidnapping/running away with Lyanna was stupid af , and shows how much of an idiot & short-sighted he is 😭

I think Rhaegar is one of those characters whose importance is in the impact he has and the impression he leaves, rather than him being anything particularly special in and of himself. GRRM paints him less as an actual character who inhabits the world, but more as a romantic figure, a sad ghost of who haunts the page. Rhaegar exists only in memory, and while that memory takes many shapes, they're always tragic. For Cersei and Robert, he's tied to the memory of what might have been. Robert hates him for taking Lyanna Stark from him, imagining that all of his troubles spring from that loss. For Cersei, he is the better, kinder, more worthy husband she might have had. For Dany, he is her heroic brother tragically slain, the embodiment of the Targaryen legacy she chases. For Jaime, Rhaegar is a ghost that reminds him of his broken oath to protect the innocent. For Jon Connington, he represents regret and failed duty. The memory of Rhaegar is inseparable from their personal tragedies, and Rhaegar himself is the culmination of the Targaryen family tragedy, born the day of the fire at Summerhall, and ultimately dooming his house and himself when his attempts to fulfill a prophesy start a war. Barristan Selmy tells Dany, when she's asking about her brother, that he was born with a sense of doom, with a "shadow that hung over him all his days," and I think this is really the thesis when it comes to Rhaegar. He's the "last dragon," the embodiment of Targaryen doom, and that shadow is the legacy of Old Valyria, the doom they tried to outrun but instead carried inside of them. They can chase prophesies and bring back the dragons but the Targaryens fatal flaw is that cannot break with the past, and so it's a sad twist that Rhaegar himself becomes the anchor to the past that drags others backwards.

#asks #rhaegar targaryen #anti targaryen #i don't think rhaegar is a normal character #who he actually was is less interesting than what he represents both in world and for the narrative

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raisinushigher · 10 months

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hi im just gonna put my thoughts on every clone high ship i can think of here

jfgogh - i think its cute. i can definitely see jfk like uplifting gogh and him falling in love over like the most basic display of kindness and jfk just being like “haha woah there guy i didnt mean it like that” but then he realises he Does

gogh x gandhi - LOTS of mixed feelings on this one but it is pretty interesting truth be told. like, the way gogh didnt just sit back and take what gandhi did to him and instead retaliated, i like that, i like the thought of two tiny guys having the most unnecessarily intense rivalry ever, but i know that isn’t really the way the ship is portrayed often rather than wholesome stuff . you interpret ships however you want though

gfk i think is the name for it - im so sorry as a gandhabe connoisseur i know how annoying it is when people say this about a ship that absolutely entraps you but i think jfk and gandhi are more accurate together as just silly friends who see eachother like once a month. jfk casually brings up a girl hes dating (or rather just having sex with frequently) and gandhi is like wait what happened to the other one? like hes very out of the loop but he listens and they both hype eachother up a lot

ceasgogh, gogh x christo, ceaser x christo, whether it’s any of those seperately or polyamory - i love this one so very much for literally no reason. maybe its like a nostalgia thing cuz i remember people talking about them sometimes in 2020 and being like Aw that’s cute but idk something about them feels so like. objectively correct. like yep that’s the little background trio standing together in an episode as they should be

abefk i think - i like it!! even though it’s barely known apart from jokingly i really like the classic 2000s rivalry between a nice boy and an asshole jock thing that was going on between them before ponce’s death, i admit i miss their interactions. i miss how theyd refer to eachother with their last names. also the part in season 2 episode 6 where they both were recalling memories of the grassy knoll and abe went “i used to get food thrown at me” and jfk continued “i used to be the one throwing that food”. i like them

joanabe - i know this one is like barely a ship but i still need to talk about them badly. their friendship is so important to me. the way its always been them whether it’s joan crushing on abe or the other way around, they’re just so special to eachother in any and every way, and both struggle with the choice of helping the other or doing things that hurt the other but ultimately raise their chances of getting together. tbh im so interested in whats gonna happen with them in the finale, and in the next seasons bc i doubt their back and forth crush thing is gonna last the ENTIRE show like itll be getting a new sort of premise or main character focus which im excited for

joanfk - some of the fanart is absolutely adorable COUGH COUGH ORT SMORT COUG but its just not for me man. biggest two factors as to why i dislike it being how it overtook the fandom, and how to me they just never had any substance. they have a fun dynamic and the season 1 finale was sweet but idk it just never affected me that much. also bc i always knew it was gonna crash and burn. like that is not a stable couple as cute as it is sometimes. like at all. and im happy episode 7 finally addressed it

abe x cleo - again, not really a fondly talked about ship, but they are pretty dear to me. it’s the way cleo was clearly playing with abe at the start but actually saw the charm in him and was actually upset when he finally digested his feelings for joan… i really hope they’re gonna be good friends in the future bc episode 7 seemed to be sort of a start for that friendship and them learning to be ok around eachother after the finale…

joan x cleo - ive always been scared to talk about this one bc some people see them as sisters, which i Really dont. they never acted in a sisterly way at all, and the living together thing lasted for like what. one episode. so i doubt it had any affect on how they view their relationship. but again absolutely fair if it makes you uncomfortable for this reason! but yeah i do like them. very very good trope and there can be some really cute stuff done with them dynamic wise

gandhabe my heart and soul my romeo and juliet my sun and moon my red and blue - AUGHGGGGG MY ALL TIME FAVOURITE. EVER. IN THE WHOLE SHOW FOR EVER they just have such sweet interactions and everything they do they do with the other in mind and i want them to have an emotional reunion in the season 3 finale sO SHRGFRHRVRRRRR RR RBR R R R. RR R. sorry this is mostly incoherent screaming rather than actual words I just DUCIGJGN LVOE GANDHABEEEEE EEYEHEEE THEYRE END GAME!! THEY ARE END GAME WHETHER ITS AS FRIENDS OR ROMANTICALLY RHEY ARE THE ONES

ok now onto the ones involving the new gen clones

harriucius - i like them its the second het ship in the show ive ever actually liked!! they just both go so well in so many ways, they both have almost the exact same struggles and cope in similar ways, but harriet has more of a hands on attitude with her problems, while confucius tends to avoid things. im VERY interested in how their relationship will go and i dont really think anything’s gonna happen to them bc i cant picture the show pairing either of them up with anyone else (mostly confucius tbh 😭)

joanharriet - i WISH this one was more acknowledged by the fandom like i think its the least popular one at least involving the newbies.. can you tell im a sucker for ships that are literally just two close friends who love eachother more than anything. lol. when i think of them i think of episode 5 which makes me extremely happy. like look me in the eyes and tell me that was not an absolutely beautiful wonderfully wrapped episode

johnfucius - gonna be honest i dont like this one. i know this is a really rich thing to say while talking about clone high season 2 but it just felt rushed, and especially with how they barely did anything after sleepover. like they were literally crying both of them being like OMG I FINALLY HAVE A FRIEND!! and then they proceed to have the most stale interactions with the most notable one being in the next episode and it’s literally just confucius encouraging jfk to avoid his problems like he does. not really good. but again if you enjoy them all the power to you, im happy you found something you like that hasn’t been ruined and seems pretty docile and chill compared to all the other ones :o) it’s very much a mostly fandom based ship

kahlopatra - BEAUTIFUL. BEAUTIFUL. I HAVE NO WORDS JUST BEAUTIFUL. there definitely was a lack of suspense like based off the intro and the slight buildup throughout the series BUT that literally doesn’t matter. out of every canon couple they are the absolute cutest im obsessed with the effect they have on eachother. especially on cleos side of things like ahhh!!!! she found someone she actually connects to genuinely!!!! i am so happy for her!!!!!!

tophucius - not much about this one its just pretty fun and silly . i feel bad for the people who thought something big was gonna be going on w them but the small details peppered in about them in sleepover were nice. i always liked how when confucius saw that topher typed your instead of you’re, he went “i thought so” like to me that confirms they do this all the time and they know it’s them. also really funny to imagine them being sworn enemies online but when they actually see eachother in school theyre Like oh shit hey man what’s up! hope youre well! like not even through gritted teeth or anything they’re just so chill irl for no reason

abetoph - Sigh i sure did save this one for last. while im a lot less comfortable with it now i still love thinking of them pre episode 8 and i do think their relationship is just ever so slightly more interesting now with the added double crossing n shit added to it. but im also sad they’ll never be the way they were may 24th to june 14th again . that specific time period of them is so comforting to me for no reason, all the memes and running jokes in the fandom involving them, all the wholesome fan work of them sleeping in tophers bed, watching stuff on tophers computer together, abe being tophers voice of the reason and the one person he actually likes, it’s just so … man. We Could Have Had It All. i love them for ever.

thank you so much for listening

#i also want to write an essay on why abe is autistic #clone high #clone high van gogh #clone high jfk #clone high gandhi #clone high julius caesar #clone high christo #abe lincoln #clone high joan #clone high cleo #clone high harriet #clone high confucius #clone high frida #topher bus #gandhabe #abetoph #clone high spoilers #mine

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hisbutler-problematic · 1 year

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On the topic of Sebastian being completely enthralled about everything Ciel is, I personally love it so much more knowing manga context, because O!Ciel was the 'spare'. He was not supposed to carry the family nane and, frankly, people didn't think he'd be capable of it due to his poor health anyway (Remember Frances and Vincent's conversation in the flashback chapters? It's obvious O!Ciel was quite saddened by what he heard).

By all means, in a twisted way, Sebastian might just be the first person to regard O!Ciel as someone deeply capable, a shiny singularity that doesn't live in anyone's shadow. The adults around him were - tho not unrightfully - seeing his fragility first and foremost while his brother, despite seeing him as worthy, didn't wish for him to leave and forge his own path. R!Ciel's reaction came from childishness sure, but that isn't to say that it didn't feed into the idea that O!Ciel was 'his backup'.

Going off from this, Sebastian is also the one thing in his life and is irrevocably his. Again, twisted, but all O!Ciel built has been under another's name. The manor, the company, the engagement etc. None of them truly his, but his brother's. And the other servants? They are loyal, however ultimately their own people. Sebastian? In an entirely different spot. He'll be there until the end after all.

This is an aspect of their relationship that tugs at my heartstrings so much. It's so toxic and depressing yet strangely soft and tender somewhat at least to me.

Sorry, I just really wanted to pour my thoughts and I appreciate your posts. So here I am!

anon, i’m in love with you

i literally think about this all the time like. that conversation frances and vincent had? imo vincent just flippantly saying "i guess ill just have to give the estate back to the queen lmao" could be taken 2 ways which is: at face value OR (what i think is more likely) vincent just saying what he knows will piss frances off to get her to stop talking. tbh vincent seems like a good dad imo and like he doesnt super underestimate o!ciel (he seemed absolutely fine with the idea of o!ciel going off to london by himself and opening a toy store in the future), but he DOES know that o!ciel is frail and sickly, and it makes me wonder how seriously he considered the idea that o!ciel might inherent the title of the queen's watchdog.

honestly, i feel in some respects, r!ciel treats o!ciel more carefully than their parents. he very much has an attitude of "my baby brother NEEDS me, he cannot survive without me!!" (gasps and shock, to learn it is actually the other way around /s)

all this to say, whether you lean more towards my interpretation or yours, or a fun mix, or whatever, it is undeniable that all of o!ciel's relationships were 'tainted' (for lack of a better term) by his illness and the way it made others view him and treat him.

AND THEN COMES SEBASTIAN

sebastian, who takes one look at o!ciel, and goes "lmao what a fucked up lil dude. time for little a snacky". sebastian, who then sits down to forge a contract with said little dude only to realize Oh Okay So This Child Is Clever. And o!ciel being sickly does kind of come up when they're making the contract, but sebastian focuses more on the actual logistics of that and o!ciel says 'nvm we'll deal w it when it comes up' (which is hilarious imo. he really said a sudden chill can put me on my deathbed but thats a problem for future me).

and then it turns out o!ciel is hella sheltered. but also a huge bitch.

and at this point, all i can assume is sebastian is so bewildered by this experience that the fact that o!ciel is frail and sickly and fragile is like. just another thing about this kid. o!ciel has never made sebastian's life easy and it would be stupid to think he would start now, sebastian thinks as his young master suffers from yet another cold just bc it rained yesterday. "i never knew you had asthma" says sebastian, who has read every medical journal to date on chest colds. "you never asked," says the bane of sebastian's existence.

and the thing is you can say "sebastian is only worried about o!ciel bc if o!ciel dies, he loses his meal" which is true and accurate and tbh if i was sebastian and i had put up w that much, i wouldn't want to lose my meal to a mere cough.

BUT ALSO

then you see the way sebastian is so fascinated and intrigued and bewitched by o!ciel. i think to sebastian the fact that o!ciel is frail and sickly is just another contradiction in the sea of contradictions that makes o!ciel so fascinating. and i think sebastian is the only one who really sees all those contradictions, he's the only one who sees everything that makes up o!ciel. and he loves what he finds.

(not to mention the fact that sebastian is the only person o!ciel allows to see his every aspect. or, well, some he tries to hide, but only because he thinks sebastian will try to use something against him. either way, sebastian is still the only person who he lets see the most of him. because sebastian is the only person who knows who he really is, who he doesnt have to put up a front for. he doesn't have to pretend to be his brother, he doesn't have to worry about being the spare.)

#kuroshitsuji #black butler #sebastian michaelis #our ciel #sebaciel #sky posting #sky talks #sorry if this doesnt make sense i started thinking about them and blacked out

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staarry-skies · 1 month

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— usagis jealousy during bmc, and if it really is just that? a meta

(read more bc i anticipate this getting very long)

before we talk about bmc lets set the stage a bit: usagi has just defeated the dark kingdom no more than a week ago (its unclear how much time passes btwn the two arcs but i can’t imagine its longer than a week, or even a couple days, as we see usamamo exchange their keepsakes at the end of act 14, something they promised they’d do the next time they saw each other during act 8, which means that this must be the first time theyve seen each other since defeating the dark kingdom, which again, i cant imagine took longer than a couple days) which means she has just experienced: watching her boyfriend die in front of her, being overloaded with a host of tragic memories from her past life (one of them including watching her boyfriend die and killing herself), her boyfriend getting brainwashed, having to kill her boyfriend because there was no getting through to him, killing herself due to the aforementioned trauma, and finally finding out her friends died— sacrificing themselves for her to bring her back. so thats all Crazy we can agree that is crazy for a 14 year old girl to go through? right? okay? good.

now that we’ve agreed on that can you imagine a little girl falling out of a large portal in the sky then threatening you with a GUN (fake sure but she didnt know that originally) and demanding you hand over the overpowered magical artifact you JUST endured all that trauma trying to protect? and then that same girl brainwashes your family? obviously usagi isnt going to trust chibiusa right away. i mean look at what she’s working with, and then when she tries to bring up these concerns no one believes her. i mean sure WE as the audience know chibiusa isnt a threat, and the others think she isnt because they cant see a little girl as particularly threatening but when you look at things from usagis perspective, then OBVIOUSLY she’d be suspicious— i mean she repeatedly refuses to answer any sort of questions (obviously this is not chibiusas fault, shes a scared child and the questioning terrifies her further, but again, think about this from usagis perspective). and again id like to reiterate that all of this is directly after the dark kingdom, usagi hasn’t had any time to heal from those fresh fresh emotional scars Of Course she’s a bit irrational.

now, to the topic at hand, was usagis jealousy really just that? regular jealousy at seeing mamoru spending time with someone who isnt her (even if the person in question was a small child that logically posed no threat to her relationship)?

obviously i dont think so, but let me prove to you its not just simple irrational jealousy but also usagis ptsd and specifically her abandonment issues that are what cause her to react in the way she does.

again, id like to remind the jury of the shit usagi has just gone through and how that all has caused usagi to develop some very serious abandonment issues. we see usagis worst fear(s) represented in nightmare sequences a handful of times throughout the series. exactly twice actually, once in infinity and once in dream and each have the shared theme of her loved ones leaving her in some way. in infinity they turn against her and berate her before ultimately dying, and in dream they’re simply dead. again both times it is very clear that the root of what she fears is abandonment.

these abandonment issues however, first begin to present themselves in arc 2. we even get a nightmare sequence in arc 2 similar to those of arcs 3&4. most interpret this as usagi just being jealous usagi. however really look at it, its not that she’s just afraid of mamoru being taken away by chibiusa, she’s afraid of them both abandoning her. look at what she says “wait! where are you going? dont leave me behind!” (or “wait! where are you going? dont leave me here!” in the eternal edition, i prefer the crystal translation simply because it makes it more explicit her issue is them leaving her alone) if it truly truly was an issue of jealousy why would she be afraid of them both leaving her behind? why say something like that? wouldnt it make more sense to say something like…. i dunno “chibiusa? dont take him from me!” instead?

once again, everything she goes through in arc 1 is a big contributor in this, however recall arc 2 begins with the senshi being picked off one-by-one (all except minako), and usagi can do nothing but watch and it eats her up inside. she quite literally begins to lose everyone dear to her all over again even while the last time is still so fresh in her mind.

and during most of this what does chibiusa do? she stays secretive, doesnt give usagi any information even when usagi tells her she cant trust her if she doesnt. (again i wanna reiterate that this is no fault of chibiusas however its not usagis fault either) so of course usagi begins to register chibiusa as a threat, and again with the information she has + her inarguable connection to the black moon clan this isnt a logical leap in the slightest.

thus when mamoru begins to spend more time with chibiusa instead of her it causes two things to happen. a) usagi is left without the emotional support she desperately needs in all of this (through no fault of mamoru, he completely misreads what usagi needs in this particular situation, he thinks that by helping with chibiusa it’ll ease her stress to have one less thing off her plate, however of course we know this does the opposite) and b) she begins to register chibiusa as a genuine threat to mamorus safety. usagis terrified of losing him all over again when she just got him back. look at this scene, i mean really truly look at it. look at what usagis saying, this doesnt sound like the ramblings of a jealous girlfriend it sounds like someone who’s terrified of losing their most important person all over again. “stay here with me. never go away. ill do everything i can to protect you…” (or “…i wanna be with you. dont go away. ill protect you with everything i have” in crystal, here i prefer the eternal edition again bc i think it more explicitly defines usagis problem) these lines just don’t make sense under the simple jealousy interpretation, what does protecting him have anything to do with envy at the time hes spending with chibiusa and not with her? nothing. shes not upset at that, she puts emphasis on protecting him because thats the true root of the problem, shes afraid of losing him again to yet another supernatural threat after the crystal.

and to close out id like to show everyone the viz dub version of this scene because i think it sums up my points incredibly well, as well as making it abundantly clear what the root of usagis problems Really are, specifically through the inclusion of the line “i wont lose you again”

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dappledpaintbrush · 2 months

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wow, looks like you can do an essay about Dimentio.

What do you think of the other characters?

For me in "short"

Tippi: The protagonist of the story and got her happy ending, I came to miss her presence after the end.

Count Bleck: Definitely one of Mario's best written villains. I cry.

Nastasia: I was in her place, I empathized a lot with her and sometimes I wish she would return in other stories.

O'chunks: I was surprised by her story, I didn't expect that background, for me he is a himbo in a good way. A good guy.

Mimi: I can't say the same with Mimi, a little disappointed, but at least there are headcanons.

Mr. L: Definitely wasted potential, I would have liked to see more with the other minions. It's weird if I got a penny for every time Luigi is hypnotized into being an enemy I'd have two cents, which isn't much but it's weird that it happens twice.

Dimentio: It's thanks to him that I have an obsession with Jesters, he managed to do what Bowser couldn't with just a snap of his fingers. Terrifying, I hope one day we see it again.

OMG YAYAYAYAYAY IVE BEEN WANTING THIS ASK

Okay so. I’ll try not to make this unbearably long. But this game is my special interest so. I apologize in advance. (I turned off reblogs bc reblogging asks removes the read more) (and it’s gonna clog people’s feed) (this IS unbearably long) (I Failed)

Tippi:

Omg I miss Tippi too :( it feels so weird playing the game without her.

Tippi is so . so interesting. All of the characters are interesting, but I especially love the way she’s written. I love how they were able to nail that she’s gentle and caring, but also firm and not about to put up with anybody’s bullshit. To me, that’s hard to write without it feeling disengenuine, and they pulled it off with Tippi VERY well. A particular line of hers I really like is, “Perhaps...my life would have been more carefree without you, that is true,” in response to Blumiere’s, “But I have caused you so much suffering..." She didn’t immediately console him. She told him the truth, as harsh as it was. Idk, that scene had just always stuck out to me. It’s not a line I expected to be written.

I wish her unexplained teleportation powers were. Explained. But that doesn’t really mess up her character so it’s okay. However. I hate how she developed a crush on Mario. I’ve always hated it. I like to pretend it’s not real LMAO. But then again, it can be interpreted in a deeper way- that she didn’t actually have a crush on Mario and she was merely projecting onto him. Her memory was flooding back to her and she was in a very vulnerable situation after all. Projecting those feelings for an, at the time, unknown individual onto Mario makes sense.

I love Tippi dude she rocks she’s my favorite forever and ever and ever

Count Bleck:

where do I even begin on Count Bleck good lord. One of Nintendo’s best villains even outside of the Mario franchise. God he’s so fucking good.

I wish it was more clear whether or not he was planning on erasing Team Bleck from existence as well. Whether or not he was going to do that that impacts his character HEAVILY. Him wanting all worlds to end but sparing the people who cared about him really helps his “redemption” and helps us have more sympathy for him. Unfortunately it’s not directly touched on outside of that one thing Dimentio said, but. It’s Dimentio LMFAOOO we can’t trust him. I personally lean more towards Bleck was going to betray the team just given the evidence about it. I yapped a lot about my reasoning IN A POST I CANT FIND. It had a bunch of screenshots and stuff and I can’t. Fucking. Find it. Oh well I guess that’s just GONE ❤️

Despite this I feel like it’s important to address Bleck with nuance. I don’t think he intentionally planned on betraying his team. I think he genuinely loved them. But he was so caught up in the Dark Prognosticus and the Void and Timpani and ultimately BEING this Count Bleck character the book spoke of that he felt like there was no way out of it anymore. This is supported by the fact he tried to fight Mario in the final battle despite knowing Timpani was still alive. It’s clear Blumiere had completely lost himself, as if he forgot why he was doing this in the first place and let Count Bleck take over (note: I mean this in a symbolic/psychological sense; I don’t believe the book was controlling him). It’s only when he’s on his death bed that he realizes he does not have to do this.

I put redemption in quotation marks because. I don’t think he was redeemed. Granted he didn’t have enough time to do anything, but to be honest, I don’t think he or any other member of Team Bleck is redeemable (before anybody comes at me with the lament au/ajl, THE POINT IS THAT DIMENTIO IS NOT REDEEMABLE NO MATTER HOW HARD HE TRIES!! YOU CANNOT REDEEM THE EXTERMINATION OF LIFE ITSELF!!!)

Also he’s a goofy guy. He’s just a dad

Thoughts thoughts THOUGHTS THOUGHTS THOUGHTS

Nastasia:

NASTASIA COME BACK TO ME. God I wish they kept her emo hair strand.

Her character is so. so sad (I feel like I’ve said that sentence forty seven times, this game is MISERABLE). I love her so much. I love her confidence, I love how she doesn’t take bullshit from anyone, I love how much she loves. It makes me so fucking sad how depressed she remains long after Blumiere’s sacrifice. Like, we don’t know how much time passed between the ending of the game and Mario returning (when you boot up the save file again, Merlon states that it has been a while since he’s seen Mario). It explains why Mimi and O’Chunks seem fine (I’m sure they’re not fine, but I mean it explains why they were able to have a “normal” conversation with Mario and co.), but Nastasia is still so heartbroken.

Of course that is to be expected, and I’m glad Nintendo didn’t make everything all sunshine and rainbows ooo we’re all happy now etc, even IF a long time has passed. It makes total sense that there are repercussions to experiencing a traumatic event and Nastasia portrays it well (for a Mario game). In her epilogue dialogue, her hope for better days is shallow. It’s fake. She shows how she truly feels and immediately backtracks (“I guess I should be happy... I mean, I am, but, um...”). She still wants to put on that confident and secure exterior, but it’s not working. She will always love Blumiere, and she will always miss him. I hope she finds happiness one day, too. She deserves to live her own life.

O’Chunks:

O’CHUNKS IS SO UNDERRATED. FUCK

I know I’m contributing to this I barely post about him but lord he’s so interesting. I know the Japanese and English translation tell different versions of his backstory, but I really like the English version where Blumiere manipulated him in his extremely depressed state to join him. It gives more layers to Blumiere’s character- the lengths he was willing to go to get this job done, lengths that he would have never gone to before losing Timpani (and himself).

O’Chunks has one of the most unforgiving backstories in the whole games and it’s rarely talked about. He was a fucking COMMANDER OF AN ARMY and the whole game he’s just played off as some dumb brute/comic relief. I actually believe he suffered some kind of brain damage from that final battle, explaining his eyes, his struggle to speak properly, and his overall behavior. Also, the fact one of his most trusted advisors betrayed him mirrors his relationship with Dimentio. JUST. GOD . RIPS HAIR OUT. I wouldn’t blame him if he never trusted anybody again after the events of the game. But he clearly has a heart of gold beneath that rough exterior, so I doubt that mindset would come to pass

Also I know it’s not this deep like at All but . Regarding O’Chunks and his backstory, the last war fought in Scotland was the Battle of Culloden in 1746. The Scots lost that battle too, so it fits O’Chunks backstory. It’s funny to imagine he’s hundreds of years old and he just Stopped Aging once he joined the “Mario Dimension” for lack of a better term LMAO. Side note, I also believe Blumiere lost Timpani centuries ago- especially considering the Ancients are extinct by the time the game takes place (although I’ve heard it’s possible Blumiere murdered the entire Tribe of Darkness? but that’s ambiguous) (and my feelings on it would be another yapping session so I’ll shut up for now). It just took THAT long to get the criteria for the Void met. So it’s interesting to think of the concept that O’Chunks and Blumiere have known each other for THAT long. Probably why he sent O’Chunks out to fight the heroes first. He trusted him the most. But then again, I know the game did not intend for O’Chunks to be born in the 1700s lol. Like I said it’s just interesting for me :3

Mimi:

MIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMIMI!!!! MY GIRL!!!!

I agree with you- her backstory is disappointing compared to characters like O’Chunks and Dimentio. But at the same time I enjoy the unknown. After all, she is the embodiment of mystery. Her whole shtick is mimicking. You never know if a character is truly themselves or it’s a copy (I mean, you do- her mannerisms are obvious- but still lmao)- hell, even SHE canonically loses herself sometimes in her mimics. But even then, I wish we knew more about her. AND I WISH THE CONCEPT OF HER BEING A FAILED PIXL WAS TALKED ABOUT MORE? WHAT??????? HELLO????? REMINDERRRR that you can’t just go about making Pixls. That was a practice for the Ancients, and the ONLY reason Merlon could do it is because he is a descendant of the Ancients with a shit ton of their books. How old is Mimi? How much has she seen? If she’s centuries or even thousands of years old- depending on how long ago you think the Ancients died out- what was she doing this whole time??? LIKE HELLO!!! MIMI!! SPEAK TO ME!!!!

I love love LOVE LOVE LOVE how she can be used as a parallel to the Pixl Queen in regards to Dimentio. Dimentio and Mimi have a sibling dynamic to me, and the story potential considering Dimentio’s biological sister got turned into a Pixl and. Yk. Mimi could possibly be a failed Pixl. Is INSANE and I WISH it was used more because holy shit it has so much potential.

I like to believe the Pixl Creator (aka Dimentio’s father imo) created Mimi even if there’s no evidence JUST LET ME HAVE THIS but I also made a post maybe a year ago that theorized Francis’ ancestors created Mimi. I don’t think it’s really recognized that Francis CREATED A PIXL WITHOUT MAGIC. Yk that spell that requires the magic of the Dark Prognosticus? Yeah just forget that shit I said earlier about Non-Ancients not being able to just go out and make a Pixl, because apparently this fuckass Redditor did it. Anyways. Tipton is a robot. Mimi is a robot. I rest my case (loud applause) (people throw roses at me)

I already made posts about Mr. L and Dimentio, so I won’t ramble anymore here :3 But in regards to what you said YEAH . Mr. L could’ve been so much more it’s genuinely painful. And Dimentio is fucking terrifying. I honestly like to believe he did genuinely nuke the protagonists and the game only said he merely teleported them because saying “Mario’s dead like for real” is probably something Nintendo didn’t want to put in their game. I mean come on- he used the explosion attack that causes actual damage in battle. They died LMOAOOAOA. I hope we see both of them again. I was hoping so BADLY for even a glimmer of Mr. L in the Mario movie-like a mask/bandana hanging out of a drawer cameo or something. BUT ITS OKAY GUYS 😁😁😁😁😁😁 (visibly shaking) (teeth chattering) (is missing patches of hair on my head) (rocking back and forth)

#spm #super paper mario

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acacia-may · 22 days

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Hiya Acacia! For the salty ask game; may I ask for 1, 4, and 11 please 🥰? It can be for any fandom, but if you want a specific one it can be Black Clover!

Alright Lyra! Let's get salty about Black Clover ^^

Necessary disclaimer above the cut: These are just my own personal opinions based on my personal tastes, perceptions, and feelings regarding the series, stories, and characters and their relationships. I genuinely have the utmost respect and absolutely no ill will towards anyone who has a different opinion than me. In fact, I have always said that one of the greatest things about fandom is that we can all experience and perceive these amazing stories and characters in very different ways but still love them. Even some of my dearest fandom friends enjoy different pairings than me or see our shared favorite characters in wildly different ways than I do. I personally find it very rewarding to have respectful conversations about our differences of opinion, and I hope that my opinions will also be respected. Also, I don't vibe with just mindless bashing things, so even though this is about to get very salty and a little snarky, I'll try to keep it respectful and all in good fun. I am not tagging anything and am hiding my thoughts under the cut so you all don't have to be subjected to my hot takes and "Salty Acacia," if you don't want.

OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

Yami paired with any of his Black Bull subordinates!! I mean I guess I get it if you don't see him as a parental figure to them, but in my mind, this whole group has Daddy Issues™️ and collectively adopted this man as their father-figure. The idea of adding romance in there just gives me the ick. Especially with Finral...It's just such a personal squick for me that I will just never understand it. Sorry not sorry.

Also, Langris x Mimosa. I do not vibe with that. It's not as visceral as the Yami x a Black Bull ships, but it's just not my cup of tea at all and I genuinely can't imagine them (as I personally perceive them) ever having a romantic interest in each other since she's kind of like a little sister to him in my mind. I know people, including friends, who ship this pairing and I respect that. I've actually read fics about them trying to understand it and the appeal, but ultimately I'm just never going to get this one personally. It's just not for me.

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?

YamiFin. See above. I know a lot of people ship it, including people I know and consider my friends, and I know it is because they view their relationship in a wildly different way than me and do not imagine those paternal, familial vibes between them that I do. Like I said in the disclaimer, I respect their differences of interpretation and opinions, so again nothing against them. For me, however, I personally do not vibe with that ship on every possible level. Again, in my mind, Yami is just such father-figure to him that this is just viscerally a NoTP for me.

Vanessa x Yami is the same way but less intense(?) I guess because she has shown a canonical romantic interest in him at least back when he was the only man she had ever seen... (which doesn't seem healthy, so that's a really big nope for me. Also again with the father-figure vibes!!)

I guess Mimosa x Langris is a NoTP too, but it doesn't give me as much of the personal ick as the Yami ones and I don't think it's that popular, so it feels a little unfair to list them here even if I really, really don't vibe with that one. Still, it's a no for me!

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

I'm not entirely sure who is unpopular in the fandom at large because I feel like we kind of have our chill, small corner of the BC fandom here and that's where I hang out. I guess I would say Langris because I think he is a pretty dislikable character and even though I feel like most people tolerate him a little more after the Spade Arc, he isn't the most popular when he's really one of my personal favorite characters in the series. I feel like he has a lot of depth to him, and he interests me. I don't excuse his bad behavior or the way he treated his brother, but I think I can understand the why behind his behavior and appreciate that he has been having a good arc. He isn't as terrible of a person as I thought he was in the beginning. Even I used to detest him, but now he's a favorite.

I'm not sure who else is unpopular? Um...I feel like Mimosa gets a lot of undeserved hatred sometimes because of the whole shipping war (which I also don't understand), and that irks me because I think she's actually a pretty cool character and it's not fair that she gets written off and/or disliked for shipping discourse outside of her control. If y'all are so obsessed with her gettting in a relationship with someone who isn't Asta just ship her with Yuno or something I guess??? It's really not that hard! I like her friendship with Klaus and Yuno and her cousin relationship with Noelle a lot. She's also had a good arc! (Sorry that's one wasn't very salty...😅)

#salty acacia #salty asks #there will be no more tags #please don't hurt me

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soloorganaas · 1 year

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Hi there. I really enjoyed reading through your pinned post, your metas are very informative, so thank you very much for speaking on this topic! A random question about bipolar Sirius: How do I write about The Prank happening during one of Sirius's manic episodes (which is a headcanon I've had for a long time) without seeming like I am trying to excuse his actions? Tysm! x

hey! this is SUCH a great q, and as it happens I'm writing something along these lines for a fic rn too

i firmly maintain that Sirius's actions in the prank, his belief that Remus was the spy, Remus's belief that he was the spy, and generally everything that went down for Sirius around 31st Oct were all bc he was manic

i think the most important thing is to address it as an explanation not a justification

so - Sirius was in a manic state for whatever reason and this meant his actions were rash/reckless/not fully conscious/however you want to interpret mania in this context (bc there are a lot of different ways). that can explain why he acted in a way that's out of the norm, and esp one that's such a betrayal of someone he loves, because he wasn't in a rational mindset to realise certain things like the true consequences of his actions, the hurt he would cause Remus etc etc

however, in order to explain that without justifying it, I think it needs to come from a place of engaging in Sirius's thought process, whereby you're not saying "Sirius was feeling manic and he did x but he didn't mean it", but instead getting into what his thoughts and feelings were in that particular moment, and how he justified those actions to himself at that time bc of it, whilst it being obvious to the reader what a bad idea they are

so ultimately to me it's saying Sirius made this huge mistake because he wasn't thinking clearly, not because he's selfish and doesn't care about Remus, but he bears the responsibility and consequences the same whatever the rationale behind it

(that being said, if Sirius in this context or any other story is being deliberately manipulated into a manic state, the responsibility is slightly greyer)

I hope this helps - come back with more qs if I didn't clarify things!

#bipolar sirius my beloved #sirius black #wolfstar #bipolar disorder #ch: we choose who we really are #hp #asks #hp meta

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nikethestatue · 2 years

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I’m apologizing in advance because this a long one, but once I get going sometimes I just don’t know how to stop 😅

I’m a new follower of yours and for awhile was just a casual ACOTAR reader. After a recent re-read I decided to jump into the online fandom and *wowzers* was I surprised to discover the massive shipwars happening. Being a casual reader like many, (and not having seen nor even possessing the knowledge of the Azriel bonus chapter) I was always under the impression the next couple to be was Elriel. After seeing all the hullabaloo and noise regarding Gwynriel, I was confused and sought out the BC. Here is what I would like to contribute to the conversation after reading it…

First let me explain what I do for a living and how it applies to my thought process. I produce unscripted television episodes - my official title is Story Producer. I work in post production and am responsible for assembling and tracking the story for my designated episodes. Now, obviously television and books are wildly different mediums, however, the art of storytelling is universal and as a professional storyteller I’m banking all my chips on Elriel. Their ship has been seeded many times throughout the earlier books and I do not believe that the addition of the Gwyn character is going to change that rather than merely shake things up. I see a lot of Gwynriel supporters screaming why would SJM even have the interaction with Gwyn and Az if it wasn’t important… I think the answer to that is simple - It’s classic misdirection. Even though it’s a chapter that clearly not everyone is even aware of and takes place middle of the book’s timeline, I believe it’s ultimately meant to be treated as a cliffhanger. And what storytelling device is often used in cliffhangers??… misdirection. A tactic we employ often in the shows I work on. Even the wording surrounding the dancing shadows and the glowing necklace image seems very deliberately misleading and can be interpreted in multiple ways - which we have already seen from all of the ship camps (I myself am a supporter of the Gwyn lightsinger theory).

Given the types of meetings I experience at my job discussing character arcs, relationships, likability, audience perception, etc., I think it’s possible that similar conversations happened with SJM and her editing/publishing teams regarding Elain’s book. (Yes! I, too, believe her book is next!!!) And based on what I’ve seen to be a large portion of the fandom’s negative and grossly misogynistic attitude towards Elain, it’s possible they felt the need to drum up more interest for sales. Personally, I don’t think you need more interest than having Rhys outright command Az to stay away. I know what non-Elriels are squawking about enemies to lovers reigning supreme or whatever, but to me a forbidden romance (along with a broken or rejected mate bond) sounds soooo deliciously refreshing… but maybe the publishers were worried it might not have been enough to convince Elain nay-sayers to tune in next time, cue the Gwyn/Az cliffhanger.

I am by no means stating that everyone should listen to me because my profession dictates that I am 100% right in this (I’m just a storyteller of a different kind waiting on pins and needles for Sep 8th just like everyone else!!). I’m merely chiming in on the discussion from my perspective. And despite some very vocal Gwynriels deeming Elriel a “sinking ship”, I truly don’t believe SJM seeded said ship for three books only to change her mind before it even comes to fruition. That would be some very strange and bad storytelling. And no - Tamlin, Chaol, etc. isn’t the same thing. Those weren’t just multiple books of only build up, so that is a useless argument. And I definitely don’t believe she set up Azriel to “only want sex from Elain” after all this time. That obviously wouldn’t make him very likable and I highly doubt that is the goal for one of her beloved batboy creations, especially after making us wait all these years for insight into his character.

I have several other thoughts about the delusion of Elucians and Elain “not looking good in black” theories, but I’ll stop here haha. Sorry for rattling your ear off 😂 I’m just such a fan of your blog and wanted to share my two cents while we all eagerly await the *hopefully* upcoming news!!!

No, rant away, because this is actually perfect!

Because that's what we've been saying for years! It IS misdirection and somewhat of a lame attempt at an additional conflict and a cliffhanger.

Because if SJM wants to make this book spicier in terms of 'choice' it's nice to have people wonder, since a choice between just between 3 people isnt always all that interesting. But if there is another figure seemingly in the mix, it would seem like something else is going on.

It's kind of like Rhys expressing shock in ACOTAR and just disappearing. I don't think this is at the same level obviously, but it also makes people pause and wonder.

And no, she will not have an unresolved romance which she'd been building up for years just not happen. That's ridiculous.

it's the same thing as with Elrocan in TOG. They were built up over a course of many books. They were the background love affair, and they didn't consummate until the final book. Now imagine, when suddenly.........nothing happened. Elide met someone else and walked away from Lorcan. How would people feel about that?

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ravenkings · 7 months

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Ok so someone told me you’ve read “erotica m: death and sensuality” and actually understood it. Pls give me your wisdom bc I’ve been trying to read the book and ???

yeah, i don't blame you. it's definitely not an easy read, especially since bataille is not really concerned with making his ideas particularly accessible (and, arguably, might even be actively working to make them less accessible.) also, a lot of the conclusions he comes to can seem anywhere from outlandish to downright terrifying at first glance, especially if you are not particularly receptive to them.

however, i think before i try to give you a probably inadequate explanation of my interpretation, i would direct you towards these two esoterica videos for a brief crash course in georges bataille's thought and the "death drive" (also dr. justin sledge is INFINITELY better educated and better read than i am, so he probably has a better understanding of these things than i could ever have:)

youtube

so here goes my take:

bataille sees "eroticism" and religious/spiritual experience (in his case, christian religious experience) as intimately related, if not, in some cases, almost exactly the same thing. he refers to eroticism as "assenting to life up to the point of death."

mystical religious experience often entails the feeling of becoming "one" with god/the universe and shedding our notions of our own individuality in blissful "one-ness" with everything. in some sense, one can see this as a precursor to death. (btw if you are not familiar with the freudian concept of the "death drive," bataille will not make much sense to you.)

anyway, for bataille, this idea of "one-ness" (or death, if you will) is the central preoccupation for eroticism, since the ultimate "consummation" of eroticism is, of course, the experience of orgasm, which he equates to death. (it also helps here to remember the term for orgasm "la petite mort" which translates directly to "the little death" in english.) however, for bataille, the main point of engaging in "eroticism" is not actually reaching the point of "consummation" but the moment RIGHT BEFORE, which, he believes, is when we feel most alive.

however, if we accept that all of this is true, eroticism also becomes, fundamentally, a form of violation and violence, since what it primarily constitutes is a change from one state to another (the individuated/separate/discontinuous to the one/united/continuous). eroticism, for bataille, means crossing boundaries and transgressing. also, if death and sexual consummation are somehow both equivalent experiences in some sense, the act of violence against the body can become a quasi-erotic (or explicitly erotic) act.

another way to think about this is with religious mystics and/or ascetics like medieval catholic flagellants who "mortified their own flesh" by whipping themselves to repent of their sins and thus get closer to god or just to attain mystical experience.

this also leads us into the concept of the "taboo" which bataille seems to understand (imo) as a category of things that exist primarily so that engaging in "taboo" behavior crosses some sort of boundary, which is an inherently erotic act. basically, the very FACT that the thing is taboo and forbidden is what makes it erotic and thus attractive and pleasurable.

another thing you might want to look into to understand this better is clive barker's hellraiser franchise (and the novel it is based on the hellbound heart.) the "cenobites" who feature in the franchise are really heavily influenced by bataille's ideas, and it might be helpful to see these ideas illustrated in more of a narrative format.)

also, here is a video about the connection between bataille and hellraiser which might be useful:

youtube

i don't know if any of this makes ANY sense, but i hope this helps!

#again i definitely missed some things and probably made some errors but this should be enough to get you in the right direction!#also general disclaimer that i am no expert and that i am just an enthusiast with an mfa and a comparative literature ba #georges bataille #anonymous #asks

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v4nnyzzz · 3 months

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How do you feel abt Vanny turning out to be Vanessa

hrmm ( = ⩊ = )

I appreciate you wanting to hear my opinion! it's a small gesture to most other people, but means a lot to someone like me.

y'know, i guess i never cared. my approach towards the media i enjoy is simple; i understand it as best as i can (i tend to love doing lore dives in my free time), then i take what i like and the things/characters that could use more development, and develop it myself. make my own version of it

i was certainly around to see the hype/confusion in the initial days of vanny and vanessa being possibly two different characters. i remember it pretty well. i liked the different interpretations, i still do. i like seeing vanny and vanessa designs, though i don't really care to ship characters in canon. or canon at all, honestly.

[ this is going to be a whole ramble that's longer than i epxected, so under a readmore for convenience's sake + SB:DLC spoilers ]

canon doesn't affect me much, if at all. i only refer to it to cherrypick things i like and want to use for my own interpretation. liking things for me can turn into a bit of a thought exercise bc i do my own thing, so vanny and vanessa being revealed to be the same person never bothered me >_>

however, because of the nature of fnaf's lore, i'm...not really inclined to care? fnaf's lore is convoluted and i gave up caring a long, long time ago. it's why it adds to my frustration towards how absent Vanny is as a whole, and i *really* hate that Steel Wool isn't really doing much with her. whether she's two separate characters or not, i likely would've been fine with it if only the character actually had writing. vanny doesn't.

The therapist CDs and the endings of SB (i hate them) and Vanny's small cameo in SB's DLC aren't enough to me. Not even the in-game video game parallel. Vanny just feels like a character tossed to the side in BOTH games and i find that infuriating. What does it matter whether vanny is 2 different people or 1 person? Steel Wool is doing nothing with it, neither is Scott.

When it comes to Vanny, I always get angry when I remember how little SW and Scott seem to be doing with her. I'm not the biggest FNaF fan who knows a lot of lore or something, but it still infuriates me that she was initially set up as this one big part of SB then gets cut out. Then having like 3 seconds of an appearance in the DLC which is as cryptic as anything else but ultimately amounts to nothing.

I don't feel anything about Vanny turning out to be the same person, because I'm not invested in canon Vanny. I'm invested in my own version of Vanny, and when it concerns designs, the fandom's as well. Scott and SW has done nothing about Vanny to incentivize me to give a single shit about her canon personality and self (that's confirmed, not hinted at). In my humble opinion, she HAS no personality and self. She's just there for the fuck of it and might as well have not been added at all if they are actively choosing to do nothing with her. You get what I'm sayin'?

Such an interesting character and premise that they could explore psychologically and even socially, and in the end nothing was done with her.

It's not like I care enough about FNaF to rewrite its entire plot (I do not care about other characters beyond appearance; and even then I only like some animatronics) or even have an AU or anything. I just like crazy fursuit lady. That's it.

Right shame I happen to like a character that has nothing to her name besides some hints and theories and some confirmed facts that barely mean anything compared to other characters in the same series.

I would've enjoyed an exploration of Vanny within canon of her mental state and her origins. With how vague they are about her, it could've gone any one way and I might've enjoyed it - though maybe not if they decided to go with the shallow fangirl route (something akin to Nina the Killer). Personally, I would've liked something to chew on, something that encourages you to dig deeper into her personality and reasons for doing what she does.

But that idea is going into fan interpretation territory, and treading close to my own ideas of what I would've wanted Vanny to be, and therefore not relevant to this thought vomit. So I'll end it there.

Anyway, if you (or anybody else actually) got it this far, have Evan giving you a thumbs up. Have a good day :3

#answered #anon #surprised to see an ask in my inbox! haven't received one in a long time #i LOVE talking so i'm happy to answer asks lol esp when ppl ask for my opinions #fnaf #vanny #fnaf sb #vanny fnaf

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kyouka-supremacy · 10 months

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Hey! I was summoned by the tags you put under my post bc I also very much enjoy discussing ethics. I might make this into its own post so I'll try to not elaborate too much...

I think that I can't just decide for everyone if the difference between doing good for the sake of goodness or in order to save oneself matters, but for me, in most cases, including Dazai's case, it doesn't.

I like to believe that morality is a choice one can decide to make, and I don't think it's fair to take that away from them, regardless on how they might feel on the inside. It's a wonderful thing to act morally because it's your "natural" tendency, but I think people also have the right to do so deliberately, for a reason that they choose, without their choice being minimised. They're two different processes for sure, but if the outcome is good, then the action is a good action, and, if being moral is a choice, then I don't think I have the right to decide that only one intention or emotion that will lead there is good enough.

Also, doing good for your own sake and for the sake of others are mutually exclusive at all. One feeds the other, and if we were to put every person's actions under such scrutiny, we would ultimately run in circles.

So, for people outside the story, I would say that the debate does matter, but for the sake of the people involved, it doesn't, because the outcome is the same, especially since Dazai is so opaque as a character, and what he really feels about the things he does is so hard to read, so at the end of the day all most of them experience is his actions.

[Post this is referring to] Thank you for your elaboration, I loved hearing your opinion on the matter!!! That's close to consequentialism, isn't it? The consequences of one's actions, how much good they produced, are telling of it being morally right or wrong. I don't necessarily agree, but that's definitely a valid way to see it!!! I personally believe one's intentions are the most relevant aspect to take into account when judging whether and action is ethically rightful or not. Note that that is judging the moral of the action itself, and not giving a judgement on the person; people can have a million reasons to act selfishly, and in my very “humans are always inherently good” worldview more often than not it's caused by society rather than an actual preference to not be altruistic. But that doesn't change the fact that even a good action, if it isn't moved by good intentions, won't ever be passable of being morally right to me. Besides, then, wouldn't the other way round work to? Someone well intentioned, who's however incompetent, and ends up with their actions putting more bad in the world– as long as they're acting with a true desire to help others for the sake of it, their actions can't be considered morally wrong for me.

To clarify, with reference to your ask; I don't think people who do something for selfish reasons, and end up doing good, are morally rightful; but if they decide to do good, well, isn't that a well-intentioned aim itself? Then I think they stop being selfish to the extension that they consciously decide they're going to do good. That's not morally reprinandable at all.

Now, regarding Dazai... Honestly, I don't think Dazai is a good person. Because he never meant to do good for the sake of it. But now, the thing is, I don't think anyone in bsd is meant to be interpreted as good or evil– nobody, not Atsushi, not Mori, no one. When it comes to bsd– I do think bsd expresses a more or less nihilist worldview. And I know pretty much everyone else disagrees with me on this, I know, I'm sorry. But I do think there lies an undergoing message that good and bad are ultimately the same, and equally meaningless– it's there in Oda saying “Neither good nor evil mean much to you”, it's there in the way it makes you root for mafiosi like they were the good guys, it's there in the way Dazai never even considered to make amends for the bad things he's done (because they were never bad to begin with, because good and bad mean nothing anyway), it's there in the way it constantly shows good people doing bad and bad people doing good in a way that basically equalises them. To me there's really no point in discussing whether Dazai is good, because he is most evidently not, but that's only because he was never meant to be interpreted as such to begin with. Please refer to this post for further details; it's not surprising at all that Dazai switching over to the “good side” didn't come with a radical change of heart, and that he basically stayed the same, because how could he become good when that's no different than being evil, and those both mean nothing anyway?

And I know most people see bsd's core theme as finding a reason to live, and maybe it is, but even then I think that wouldn't be by denying its nihilism, but rather accepting it and finding a reason to live in spite of it: to me all of bsd really sums up in “that, at least, is a little more beautiful”.

#Average Tumblr user reading this post: Wow Op really doesn't get anything about bsd's message #I know it's an unpopular opinion. I'm sorry. Sometimes it happens and you're fully entitled to think my takes are terrible #osamu dazai #bsd #bsd analysis #mine #people asks me stuff #Peoples I know every time I am prompted to say something of this kind I get ten different asks elaborating on why I'm wrong‚#and I truly appreciate them– without irony‚ I do‚ I dearly cherish getting to see things from a different perspective!#I just haven't gotten around to answering them because. It's just that there's only this much hours in the day–#and although I'm sure it'd open for extremely interesting dialogues‚ there's other things I'd rather be doing than discussing over–#whether bsd as a story is good or bad– I never signed up to talk about anything that wasn't ss/kk to begin with anyways.#I hope you understand!!!!#If I ever was to finish my infinite list of planned posts you can be sure I'll get back to them asks #but in the meantime they're probably going to lie at the bottom of my inbox.#Still I do immensely appreciate people's kindness in attempting to make me see things from a different angle!!!

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icharchivist · 5 months

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I agree, while I HC Lucilius as aroace he probably isn't sex repulsed as much as he doesn't care. He's repulsed by Belial though

I like that most characters' sexualities are kinda up in the air, but yeah, Gabby is super lesbian (so is Europa) and Lucifer is either gay or demi sexual or something in that general area. Not that it fully matters

But I'm claiming Belial and his crimes for the bisexuals, even if he might as well be pan or omni and it wouldn't slow him down at all

I agree that Bubs ultimately probably doesn't care about gender as long as you just submit to him

They're all so progressive despite being assholes <3

YESS THAT'S THE MOOD.

exactly my feelings yes.

Like yeah Lucilius, AroAce but not specifically repulsed, just uninterested outside of the scientific approach. Might have tried once or twice but mostly it's a waste of time and doesn't really consider it something he'd do regularly or anything. But yes Belial would repulse him because Belial takes it a tad too far.

Agreed most sexualities are kinda up in the air, but it's just like... when some of them are obvious, they're obvious lmao.

Gabriel keeps flirting with Europa, or talk about the beauty of the woman form to Halluel and Malluel so often, while never mentioning anything about men whatsoever. and her feelings for Europa are extremely romantic loaded. So by all account we have proof she's attracted to women, but none about being attracted to men. Maybe down the line she would, but so far all we know really is that she's attracted to women, and it's something both romantic and physical for her.

Lucifer and Sandalphon are in this situation where they're in love with one another. So it's just easier to HC sexualities that would work on how they end up being in love with one another. They don't seem to care about anyone other than one another, and the sexual tension in between them is up for debate for anyone who would interpret them, so like. It's godspeed on whatever people decide to HC over them. my only argument would be that they're mlm, any others details is up to the player.

Claiming Belial for the Bi is totally valid. The only thing about him is that he canonically is DTF literally everything in the skies, and is in love with one man (and possibly would develop feelings for MC so it means any gender). however you decide to read the nuance over it is then free game as long as it's a multiple gender attraction and that it informs you on how he's still allosexual, and is more likely either alloromantic or demiromantic. But then? Bi is good still. And just appropriating him for the Bi is 100% a valid reason to get him there.

and yeah Bubs is progressive only because it means he can be on top of everyone. that's so cool.

and like i added in the tags let's not forget Lucio who loves to be the object of desire and attention, who flirts with Sandalphon openly, and also who openly said he doesn't believe in the gender binary anyway. And with Shalem, his other half, being all about how sex is the most normal thing ever, i assume Lucio doesn't have anything holding him back on this. So i doubt he's monosexual, and i doubt he's asexual in any way. Anything else is free game.

it's so fun bc hc'ing for GBF is often like "well idk what THAT is but that's not heterosexual", even when it's for dubious reasons like this.

love them all so much for this <333

#ichareply #ichafantalks gbf #anonymous

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