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iamafanofcartoons · 1 year

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We need to address how media, and media critics, portray female characters poorly. What can be done about it? What are examples of media works that portray complex female characters well? What are writing tips for people trying to write complex female characters? Why do media critics hate on women?

Its just something I noticed.

Male writers drop the ball with female characters all the time. They'll give the men all the good lines but women get weak roles and no sense of humor. When we complain they then make a female character who has too many boyfriends and too much ego and too much power but no resourcefulness, or she's super powerful but still needs a man to save her, and of course they make her complain about everything and fight with everyone who helps her. I could go on and on.

A lot of people are incapable of viewing female characters as anything other than an innocent saint or a portrait of pure evil. Arguably the best characters are morally ambiguous ones who live in the gray area between good and evil, but women are much less often afforded that distinction than their male counterparts.

I'm been having a huge problem connecting to media. The only women around are very young or very old and their main defining feature is usually motherhood. If a woman my age exists who isn't a mom she's usually either obsessed with men or desperate to have a baby (or will be once the right dude comes along).

Fanfiction has great female characters , but you keep running into people who will only write a complex woman who's tied to a male main character.

Michael Burnham from Star Trek: Discovery . POC Female Protagonist. You probably have heard or seen a lot of hatred against.

Korra from The Legend Of Korra. Sequel Series to ATLA. POC Female Protagonist. Despite losing fights and suffering extreme trauma and making mistakes, critics passionately bash the show, calling her a Mary-Sue, and accusing the show of being Protagonist-Centered Morality.

A lot of the time if there is a military high ranking female character or just female leader that is masculine or butch she will be the villain to be defeated by the traditionally feminine or at least more feminine heroine/love interest of the hero. I hate this because it basically implies that a woman can only be good if she’s conventionally attractive or a love interest. It’s saying being butch is bad/evil.

Even movies trying to be feminist, like “Contact” which I had to watch for homework? With Jodie Foster from the 1990s told the brilliant, focused woman scientist to not be so “confrontational” (as two male characters stole credit for her work right after they stole her funding) and to be happy with “small moves.” They continued to pat her on the head and tell her to be quiet through the whole movie. The one time she even spoke to another woman was to ask where she could find a really pretty dress. This was supposed to show growth in her character arc.

If I recall correctly, one of the playable characters in the next release of the grand theft auto series is gonna be a women. People online were flipping out over this saying they are being too "woke", among other things. Its funny to me because there has been 5 gta games with only male protagonists, and now there's 1 female in it and suddenly its a problem. Its like these people think there are only 2 genders in games, male and woke.

Heck, people love basic trope laden protagonists..... until they are women.

People love unreasonably over powered characters that are loved or feared in equal measure by the entire cast..... until its a woman.

Then all of a sudden, she's a Mary-Sue and the show/game/book is "Protagonist-Centered Morality"

Some characters who are torn apart for their initial naïveté like Sansa Stark or Usagi Tsukino (Sailor Moon) are immediately written off as stupid girl characters. Never mind that one becomes a political powerhouse and the other routinely saves the world. People just write their characters off as too “girly” or “annoying” before they even have the chance to redeem themselves in their stories.

Feels like at it's core, people don't like women trying to build self confidence and play out power fantasies. The only difference with the original Mary Sue was that she was imagining being liked by everyone, which was every woman's dream back then and to a certain extent, now. The power was being well liked, and that made her annoyingly boring because there was no struggle for her. Men think struggle is needed, even in fantasies and dreams, but it isn't.

The term Mary-Sue gained a new popularity by shaming female characters (such as Rey, Galadriel, Captain Marvel,…). I am not saying the term is not used towards male characters as well, but it is more rare, and it is rarely as violent as when it is used to characterize a female character.

More importantly it is used against female characters unevenly compared to male characters, its accepted as a genre trope for a male character to be extremely capable or to acrue experience and ability rapidly throughout the narrative. But when it's a woman suddenly "realism" must apply, a real person doesn't simply gain strength and talent through endless perfectly leveled hardship. In simpler terms, Batman can launch a thug across the room with a single punch and it's awesome, Black Widow, however, is breaking the laws of physics when she does her famous around the neck takedown.

Neither are realistic, arguably any grown man launching another grown man bodily through the air with a casual punch is less realistic than a woman pulling off a skilled takedown, but the unequal application of standards says all that needs to be said about the critic.

Writing a "mary sue" to be male often results in a praised character that people don't really worry about. Like Goku or Kirito. People are fine with it. Enjoy it. And there's massive amounts of rather popular fanfiction taking random male characters in series and sue-ifying them, making them the protagonist over the actual main characters, and slapping in poorly developed romance arcs. It's "mary sue" 101, but hardly anyone talks about them in that light.

Meanwhile a woman shows a level of competence similar to another character in the same series (e.g. Rey to Luke or Anakin) and the accusations are everywhere.

Calling these characters one-dimensional is one of the dog-whistles of the modern [whatever]-gate colony creature.

They know that they'll get savaged if they come out and say they're mad because this character is a woman, so they couch everything in these subjective terms. She's one-dimensional. She's flat. She's badly written. She's a mary sue. I just couldn't relate to her.

You can argue with them, you can point out that, say, in Star Wars, that Rey's ability to handle weapons intentionally established in the early scenes of TFA, that we see the setup for the skills she's going to display later in the movie/series, and that her first win is against a badly wounded Sith apprentice. By contrast, Luke successfully fights his way through a huge space station against professional soldiers, then hops into a starfighter he's never flown before, outflies a bunch of experienced pilots, and pulls off a physically impossible shot to save the day.

But sure. Rey is the one who strains credulity.

You can point all that out, but none of it matters. They're not arguing in good faith. They're just mad that there's a girl, and know better than to say that out loud.

He pulls off the shot because he has a throwaway line about murdering animals the size of a camel for fun in his civilian craft that just so happens to have controls similar to the military superiority fighter because they were manufactured by the same company. Because that doesn't strain credibility. Also guess which parts were filled in later by novel writers who were like, "holy **** that makes no sense at all"

Sailor Moon and Sansa Stark are two female characters that start out as whiney cry-baby girlie girls who evolve into political powerhouses and heroes in their own right. But most people write their characters off immediately, because they’re disgusted by their girlish-ness.

While our media gives male characters a chance to grow, female characters are generally written off unless they either show masculine traits, or are used for fan service. It’s why women in movies and TV are usually a kickass tomboy or a girlfriend character.

So anyway, I guess my point is that there are amazing kickass women characters who are well-written and evolve and grow, but their growth tends to be written off as frivolous and not as cool as their dude counterparts.

Imagine an anime where the woman is the main character and she's strong, smart, and not sexualized ?

How about Guardian of the Spirit (seirei no moribito in Japanese)? The MC is a mercenary woman who fights with a spear. She's a complex character, maybe somewhat emotionally stunted because of growing up on the road. She meets a wonderful, compassionate male healer and I love how they break stereotypical gender roles. There's also a complete badass old lady with magical powers and a temper. One of my favourite characters in any genre.

But I'd like to add SuleMio to the list.

Some people did not like that Gundam had its first female protagonist last year, or that she's engaged to another girl, or that they have a romantic moment where Miorine makes Suletta "promise to be with me forever".

It's my first Gundam show and I was nowhere near the fandom, but even I heard the howls of rage from the otakus over that show while it was airing.

“ I highly recommend reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson. Strong female main character with a supportive cast of male characters. His Skyward series is also good for this. Sanderson is great but there are some female fantasy writers that do this even better IMO. NK Jemisin has tons of great female characters. Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series has a majority female cast and I’d say 4 or 5 of them are in the top ten most interesting and complex female characters I’ve read. “

You heard of The Bechdel test: Two women have to talk about something other than a man. There is no time window. It came up in a 1985 comic Dykes To Watch Out For and although it is not a great indicator of more feminist content, it's a wonder much media fails to pass that test.

Have you seen

Arcane? That is a wild crazy masterpiece with awesomely complex awesome characters. It's animated, yeah, so what? But I mean, to say "it's animated" is a heavy understatement. Have you seen Jinx? Have you seen her portrayal of psychosis and godknows what else was happening in her head? No one in history came even close to that.

Queen's Gambit? Anya Taylor-Joy brought Beth Harmon flawlessly through immense complexity of the character

Mare of Easttown - Kate Winslet there is, I kid you not, the best acting I have ever seen. Her character is going through complex situations and emotions and learning to deal with her human side. Bryan Cranston raised the bar ridiculously high with Walter White, but Kate Winslet pushed it further up, set explosives on it, and walked away like a badass without looking at the explosion. No one is topping that anytime soon.

I'm sure there are more examples. But what I love about these, and a big part of what makes them perfect is that they are their own characters and aren't defined by men around them. Their greatn

I wish female characters were given better in terms of development and characterization. Honestly, I feel like a lot of people hate female characters simply because most male dominated media does such a poor job of writing women, and those characters aren't given the same excuses as poorly written male characters.

Anyway, yeah, sorry for my rant. Having grown up on Anime, Harry Potter, Star Wars, you name it?

I later in life realized what was missing, what is needed, and really needed to hear other people's input on this stuff.

I never understood the need for every main character to be only a cishet white guy. I had already come up with several characters of my own, all of them LGBTQIA+, and half of them women, and several also POC. But my writing and art skills are poor so I can't visualize them properly...

We need more female authors, and we need to promote the ones that are out there more!

(there are plenty of really, really good female authors, in all genres, but often they get less attention, because, well, misogyny)

Edit: If you want an example of how the double-standard towards women and LGBT is applied? Go watch RWBY or Legend of Korra. Both involve a deconstruction of tropes. Both involve women standing up against an authority that demands respect based on being authority, not based on respect. Both shut down the white male savior trope so hard, that men and women who love the patriarchy despise both shows.

But of course, anything that Team RWBY or Korra does is immediately held to a double standard and ripped into for anything that they do NOT because they’re flawed or because of writing decisions. Its because they’re LGBT women that they’re held under a microscope. Or have you noticed that every fixit fanfic for both series involves defending the Patriarchy while supporting toxic masculinity and trying to revive the White Male Savior trope that both shows have tried so hard to bury six feet under?

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theoryofarson · 4 months

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10 BL Characters I Want Carnally

I don't even need to be tagged to be horny. Let's go!

In no particular order:

Third (Theory of Love)

He's so pathetic! He cries so much! He's so rude and mean and bitchy! His shirts are so big and his shorts are so small!

In conclusion, I would treat him right - the way Khai does NOT.

Nick (Only Friends)

Speaking of PATHETIC!!!! THAT'S MY TOXIC BABYGIRL! MY CANCELLED BOYGIRLWIFESBAND! Sand really wasted an opportunity in that van. It should have been me...

Pa (Bad Buddy)

You know who's taller than you, Pa?? Me!!! The thought of being the one to make her flustered...pick her up and brush her hair back...dear lord.

Ok this list is really starting to look like I want to be the one doing all the manhandling. I promise you I am also down to be handled. Let's switch it up a bit.

Porsche (KinnPorsche)

Listen. You know I LOVE VegasPete as a ship.

But if we're talking about who *I* desire - first of all, your bitch is NOT prepared for the kinkery VegasPete get up to. Second of all, I genuinely think Apo Nattawin is one of the most objectively attractive men on this planet. Add to that Porsche's layered dip of a personality (fidgety jokester, devoted big brother, practiced fighter, willing killer, dutiful guard dog...), and I am quite sold. Give me the problematic mafia sex.

Hyeong Da Un (Blueming)

Dude. I barely even remember this show. I had to look up the character's name. But he's BAD. And he always had like...this teasing superiority toward the main character? Like he knew they would end up together and was just waiting for MC to catch up to that realization? Yeah. That...that's hot.

Ueda Minoru (Our Dining Table)

I believe this man was crafted in a lab to be as attractive to me, specifically, as possible. He looks like a bit of a delinquent, but he's a sweet and dedicated family man. He is troubled by the notion that he'll never be good enough. He's in love and afraid to say it. He's a bleach blonde with earrings and a bump in his nose and an Adam's apple that makes me want to follow the footsteps of Eve in the garden.

Mhok (Last Twilight)

Lord, there is not enough time in the world for me to say all I want to say about this man.

I just want it to be stated, on the record, that I have been well aware of Jimmy's attractiveness since Bad Buddy days. Unlike others, I never let Wai's horrendous personality distract me from his absurdly hot face, which, at the end of the day, is the important thing.

And now that we have Mhok? Literally the perfect character - rugged yet tender, clueless yet hypercompetent, jealous yet selfless - full of desire and restraint and humour and sadness in equal measure - I genuinely cannot think of what else I would ask for.

And did I mention his hot face?

Finally, to round out the list, a special triple whammy:

Neo, Miw, and Shin (3 Will Be Free)

Yes, all three. At once? Separately? I don't give a shit. For all I care, it could be me in this trunk and them looking down at me in disdain. That'd keep me going for like, a year. Just let me be in the orbit of these three ridiculously hot people and their ridiculously hot dynamic. Joss, Mild, Tay: if any subset of you is ever free, at any time at all, I am also free. At that time. Forever.

Whew!

That was really fun. Tagging: Whoever wants to do it!!!! Go. Be horny. Be free.

#tag games #10 bl boys i want carnally #theoryofarson.mine

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purplerakath · 9 months

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Toxic Ships

Before I get to the meat of this thought I can’t get out of my mind, this isn’t about Toxic Ships in the sense that ‘characters harmful to each other’ as that’s not what I care about, and often that’s good storytelling with a purpose. Lost on parts of the audience due to poor critical media literacy but that’s a fight for another day.

This is about Ships toxic to the show as a whole. With a larger ‘excuse to talk about old ABCFamily/Freeform series’ as the main course but an overall wide topic under the cut here about how these sorts of things happen to shows, books, and movies.

So overall, a toxic ship on this rubric is one that, through focus, actively harms the story it’s in. Either actively because the show is putting time into it when it has other more important plot beats it should focus on. Or passively because the nature of the ship is antithetical to the themes and message of the work.

It isn’t a measure of how pure and good the romance is, because I will say this right now: Romeo and Juliet isn’t detrimental to the plot of Romeo & Juliet. It is in fact *the plot*. And all things in it web off from this nineteen year old and this fourteen year old who really want to bone.

Like- yes, a ton of death could be avoided if they didn’t, but that’s the plot.

I’d say the most basic is a forced heterosexual love interest to avoid the active leads being seen as gay because if it was just two dudes hanging out in an adventure plot without a girl that’d be kind of gay. Usually it isn’t that damaging because those sorts of love interests aren’t given a ton of time or plot energy, but it would count as what I’m looking for.

But my comparison will be two relatively comparable ships from shows on the same network in close to the same time frame. Where both ships are equally ‘bad’ for the involved characters, held up as good in their respective fandoms, but one of the two hugely hurts its show.

Study One: Switched at Birth Bay and Emmett

So Bay & Emmett get together halfway into Season 1, break up before the end of the same season, are awkwardly possessive of each other through S2 and S3 while broken up, get together in S3 by Bay cheating on her current boyfriend with Emmett. Have the worst possible break-up in S4 for the worst possible reasoning all around. Bay gets called out on her shitty vindictive behavior, then end S5 not reunited.

They are messy, complicated, actively harmful to each other, and completely fine as a baseline relationship for the show as a whole.

While Bay and Emmett aren’t together, it’s clear they care about the other’s health and happiness (save that S4 thing I alluded to), and when they are together it’s generally sweet outside of pressures from outside of their relationship. Emmett spends all of S1 struggling with his parents divorce. And then Bay is suffering through being a main character in an ABCFamily series in S2 and S4.

It’s messy but it’s also *fine*, it doesn’t hurt the show overall, their chemistry is strong. And outside of their relationship are about the best written characters in the main cast.

And our other (less shining example)...

Study Two: The Fosters Callie and Brandon

So similarly they get together in S1, break-up afterwards. Are off most of S2 but perpetually pining for each other while trying to do their own things. Pine more for each other in Season 3 before sleeping together when both are having a rough go. Then can’t be together cause of the lede I am burying right now. Spend Season 4 doing their own thing, and then we revisit this will they won’t they in the series Finale in S5, at Brandon’s wedding. To someone else.

Because they started as foster siblings and become adopted siblings.

Now, if this was just the first two seasons. Callie wanting to blow her life up in spectacular fashion because Callie’s bad at self-preservation, realizing things can be good, then letting this die and never touching it again I’d be okay. It’s a messy teenager feeling plot and I am fine with those. It is doomed out of the gate and not a good tension mark for the series as a whole. But the plot kept going. Forever. All five seasons. And that’s the problem. They can’t be together it undermines the very message of the show. It’s not a great Brandon character beat because his sudden lust on first meeting her is just that. It doesn’t do anything. Every time it blows up a ship with an actual chance it just feels insulting. Because of how clandestined it is they can’t be called out on their behavior.

And the writers really liked it and I cannot get behind that at all!

And both of them have better tension points to come back to. Callie’s a self-destructive mess due to years of being ground down by a system that convinced her she doesn’t matter, so she fights tooth and nail to protect others at the detriment of herself. This is a much stronger line to explore, but we can’t as we have to keep going back to this plot.

And Brandon is trying to save every pretty girl that crosses his path, which never really gets addressed out loud? The why of it. But he dates Talya (insecure basketcase), Callie (see above), Lou (token normal girlfriend), Cortney (single mom), and Grace (literally dying). Brallie makes Brandon a weaker character through how his plots warp into moony-eyed possessive jerk.

I’m not going to go so far as to utopia.meme if Brallie wasn’t a major plot beat. But it’d be way better. Callie’s plots are better without this ship. Brandon’s plots could be amazing without it. Callie and Brandon interacting outside of this specific plot would be better without this plot looming over them in the eyes of the rest of the cast.

And why bring it up in the Series Finale!?

And I guess my lesson is...

It’s great to have romantic subplots, friendships, friendship+, love, and what-have-you ground and humanize your character whatever ways you get it. But make sure that the narrative doesn’t undercut or overstay it’s welcome.

It doesn’t need to move your story forward on it’s own, but it absolutely can’t have it hold your story back. That’s kind of the gist of this.

#writing theory #writing advice #switched at birth #the fosters #i didn't talk about twilight because i'd need to read twilight #and honestly I don't think it's that bad #but mostly because like R&J it is the plot #i also didn't do PLL because I don't have time for that #and literally so many ships would hit toxic for the show #just not the lethal toxicity of Ezra

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rockbottomwithashovel · 9 months

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What is Nutrition: Part 1: Carbs

First up, some quick notes: there are 2 main things spoken about in nutrition: macronutrients and micronutrients.

Micronutrients are minerals and vitamins (plant colours are linked to what micros are in them, like green = vitamin K and iron, orange = vitamin a, purpler = antioxidants, red = vitamin c). The kind of stuff you get in little gummy pills, but are way better naturally (still, take what you can get my dudes).

Macros are called this because while they're just as important as micros, they're needed in much higher doses. While there's heaps of micros, there are only 3 macros: carbs, fats and proteins.

What Are Carbohydrates:

Greatest energy source

Gives us glucose for energy, or stores as glycogen

Glucose is used for “strenuous exercise”and aids in concentration

Tryptophan (amino acid found in protein) gets turned into serotonin (mood stabilizing hormone) by carbs converting them. That’s why bread and carbs make you feel good

No research to say extra carbs and tryptophan gives higher than average/better mood, but there is research saying lower levels equals lower mood??

Serotonin then gets converted to melatonin (circadian rhythm)

If you're not eating carbs, and you feel like shit, this is why (bad sleep and lack of serotonin)

SIDE NOTE: if you feel too scared to have carbs like bread and potatoes, because of the calories, rasperberries are really low calorie, and high in carbs and fibre (15g carbs in 125g punnet, for only 66 calories)

Types of carbs and breakdown:

There are 2 types of carbs: complex or simple. Simple can be stuff like lollies--not the best, simple sugars. Complex is more fibre and nutrients, it takes longer to digest

Monosaccharides are single molecule sugars

Disaccharides are 2 monosaccharides put together. Both mono. and dis. are simple carbs

Polysaccharides are complex carbs (3x mono. or more)

There the starchy carbs (simple) and less starchy (complex).

Quick notes of digestion:

Complex carbs get broken into simple ones in the small intestine

Most carbs are full of fibre, which is any complex that can’t be broken down in the small intestines. It goes to the large intestine and makes “highly useful” short-chain fatty acids and lines/looks after the gut. (So, detoxing this shit can be bad. You need the lining)

Basically, yah need fibre. High fibre carbs are the most nutritious ones, and if you're constipated, chances are you need more fibre (still do not over-do it, look after yourselves <3)

Back to types of carbs:

Refined carbs (stuff like flour and white bread) are good for short term energy but less nutritious. Complex carbs like fruit and veg release energy more slowly but have more vitamins?

Simple carbs go to the bloodstream faster than complex (giving a fast boost in energy)

GI and GL:

GI = Glycaemic Index

GI is a measure of how fast the carbs make your blood sugar (glucose) rise

Higher GI, faster impact

GL = glycaemic load

GL is a measure of GI AND carbs in the food

So watermelon has a higher GI than pasta, but pasta has more carbs, so it has a higher GL.

Last but not least

✨it's graph time✨

taglist: @r41n7h1n @idkpleasekillme

#rock rambles #nutrition notes #I hope this helps!!

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bettercraic · 1 year

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ok so i don't have time to update my Fic at this time (and i hate being the person who won't *know* when it'll be updated but i don't exactly have hundreds of people waiting at the edge of their seats for an update anyway so i think we're ok) but i thought it would be cute to post snippets of old fics i fiddled around with and will likely never actually finish and post

anyway this one's like a pop star au where chrissy is a disgraced pop star who had a mental breakdown and is on her comeback era. obviously eddie comes in as her guitarist and band leader and obviously they fall in love:

“He’s not even coming to see me,” Chrissy mumbled, scrolling through the article. “We barely talked—who’s this ‘anonymous source’ anyway?”

“Probably one of the label guys,” Nancy said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “They saw an opportunity for press, and they took it, maybe? Steve’s single, so it doesn’t look bad for you to be seen with him—”

“But I don’t want to date Steve Harrington,” Chrissy argued, suddenly feeling tired. “And I don’t even want to pretend to date Steve Harrington.”

“Maybe you, um, should,” Eddie said, fiddling with his lighter.

“Should what?” Chrissy asked, tucking herself tighter into her blanket burrito.

“Give it a shot,” Eddie said, not taking his eyes off from his hands. “With Steve, I mean.”

Chrissy felt her body freeze. She cleared her throat before asking, in a quiet voice, “What?”

“I was pretty skeptical of him at first,” Eddie said, through a laugh. “Rich parents, popular, chicks love him—not a douche? No way, man, no way. That, like, flies in the face of all the laws in the universe. And my own personal Munson doctrine.”

Chrissy let herself giggle a little at that.

“But he turned out to be a pretty cool dude,” Eddie continued. “So, um, it just seems like he’d treat you right, you know? Outside of the whole PR angle, I mean.”

“Oh, um.” Chrissy felt her heart begin to beat a little faster in her chest, and she started to pick at her thumbnail. “I don’t really… see Steve like that.”

“Really?” Eddie sounded skeptical. “Damn, if Steve Harrington can’t catch the eye of Chrissy Cunningham, what chance do the rest of us have?”

Eddie’s choice of the word us made Chrissy’s heart skip a beat, and she lifted her gaze to look at Eddie, who’d dropped his lighter and fumbled around in the dark in search of it.

“I mean, like,” Eddie stammered, gaze avoiding Chrissy’s searching eyes. “Like, proverbial us, you know? Like, the male population, I mean.”

“Oh.” Chrissy silently despaired at the unmistakable tone of disappointment in her voice.

“Sorry,” Eddie said. “I’m being nosy.”

“No, I get it.” Chrissy tucked her knees under her chin. “I know you just want to take care of me.”

“You don’t need me to take care of you, Chrissy,” Eddie said through a little laugh. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

That statement was enough to bring tears to Chrissy’s eyes, and she quickly blinked a few times to keep them at bay. “You’re so sweet.”

Eddie shrugged. “Nah, I’m just being honest.”

Chrissy watched silently as Eddie lit another cigarette, once again marveling at the elegant way he held the thing in his long and graceful fingers. It felt wonderful and terrible to love him, she thought, because he was so beautiful and kind and good, but he wasn’t hers. He’d never be hers, and that truth was getting harder and harder to live with.

Here, in the dark, she let herself, for a moment, contemplate the possibility of Eddie ever seeing her as someone he could fall in love with. She pictured it: Eddie smiling as he pressed a kiss against her mouth, Eddie holding her hand as they walked down a random street, Eddie whispering sweet nothings against her ear. The pictures that her mind conjured up were terrible and wonderful in equal measure.

But they were fantasies. Eddie loved her like a sister, she knew. And, though they’d been fewer and less lately, the girls Eddie invited to his hotel room were decidedly nothing like Chrissy. They were edgy and cool, they were almost always older than Eddie himself, and Chrissy knew she could never compete with them for Eddie’s attention.

#hellcheer #chrissy x eddie #eddie x chrissy #i wrote #hc #honestly if anyone with a better understanding of the music industry wants to take this concept and run with it i would be so on board with

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bagheerita · 10 months

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thoughts on SGU "Epilogue":

Volker telling Rush "you're just jelly we survived without you" is like… my dude you died 5 minutes after they arrived what is this "we"??

(I feel like this is a line they should have given to Brody, except it wouldn't vibe with the way they made him the strawman fanatic for the episode.)

My love for TJ grows in proportion to how shitty the narrative is to her and the narrative REALLY enjoys being shitty to TJ.

Related I guess, but TJ/Young gives me the bad vibes. I'm usually the one who says "I'll ship anything" but I do not ship TJ with Young and I feel like the show really wants me to believe that this is a good relationship. It baffles me. Young is a walking disaster of a man and I neither understand what TJ sees in him nor believe that she understands it either. like, Varro is standing right there ffs

I do really like James/Varro. I think James has the potential for great compassion, which is something i think Varro liked about TJ, as well as her competence and strength. They fit together, other than just being each other's second choice.

For all the hetero-normative baby-making they focus on here, I really appreciate that the show took the time to establish that it is possible to contribute significantly to society in ways other than genetic offspring. From the moment they meet their descendants, Yaozu greets them with the name of Camile's father, a tea ceremony she recognizes, and a blessing in Mandarin. Camile is the last survivor of the Destiny, contributing to their survival in every important way.

I loved the brief talk she has with Chloe and TJ about finding a partner and how she really feels no need to. She's already found and been parted from her soulmate, who could possibly fill the place that Sharon's absence has left open?

If you had told me last year that the healthiest, most developed and adult intimate relationship in all of Stargate was between lesbians I would not have believed you. Looking back, maybe it was necessary to remove the m/f element from the equation because I often have the feeling that Stargate writers flat out do not understand healthy interaction between men and women.

I am amused that "Epilogue" is not the last episode of the season/show. Though I feel like they knew at this point that the show was cancelled, because they completely skip the "dropping the descendants off at the settlement planet" part of the story, which annoys me in equal measure to my amusement. That would have been so interesting, and good for another 5 episodes at least. (Though Stargate has a habit of turning season/half-season arc ideas into single episodes looking at you "The Game" to instead go back to the idea "What if interstellar robots want to kill us??")

#eternal stargate rewatch #stargate universe #stargate universe epilogue

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unhingedselfships · 1 year

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5, 10, 13 :)

This got stupidly long. Sorry?

5. Does their existence make any major changes to the 'canon' story? Minor ones?

She inherently causes small tweaks simply by existing. You're throwing a whole new character, how ever minor, into the story.

With Daigo, its pretty consistent she keeps Mine alive.

Majima, I tend to default to the Y0 version, and she makes some changes here and there, not really altering things in a significant way, but making the road just a little smoother.

With Akiyama, honestly we probably see the fewest changes, but thats subject to change.

Kiryu, she honestly doesn't do much for him specifically, but she provides a much stronger support to the kids and Haruka, and absolutely goes over Kiryu's head when it comes to the orphanage.

When she flies solo, the options are nigh endless, from doing nothing but adding fun substory hijinks, to completely rewriting storylines in ways that make exactly no sense. (so yanno, perf for RGG lmlfao)

10. Who do they get along with? How close are they?

Her most notable non-romantic connections off the top of my head :

Nishikiyama : Makes the least sense from a narrative stand point, so I just ignore that part. She does the "talk-no-jutsu" in her own clunky way, and its basically just a big ol' rant about how he's been treated and it turns out basic respect and decency go a long way with him. She has no fear, she can get catty and snippy with him. And it works. She treats him like a person, an equal. They're "bitchy besties".

Saejima : She just kinda dubs him "bro" and refuses to let go. He accepts it. Ends up fairly protective of her. There might be some "lost a sibling" trauma bonding happening here.

Hana : It starts with Kimi just being generally helpful in ways Aki slacks on. Despite being just as lazy (read ; depressed) she feels bad about Hana's work load, so picks up where she can. Particularly in sorting and organization. The build a bond over time and "girls days out" become routine. (on Aki's dime ofc)

Mine : I love how complicated these two are. Calling them frenemies usually works. He loves and hates her in equal measure for her connection to Daigo. Hates that its her and not him, but Daigo is happy, and he can't hate that. When she isn't with Daigo romantically, they estabilish a friendship relatively similar to the one she has with Nishiki.

Nishida : Kimi just low key adores this dude. He's so reliable and he ends up something of a 'neutral party confidant' for her. She tries to make his life dealing with Maji easier where she can. Usually by distracting the man in question.

13. Do they have a fave 'mini game' activity?

There are so many mini games in this franchise. Lets get into a few more.

Poker/Black Jack/Roulette/Etc She doesn't hate card games, but they bore her fairly quickly and she's not very good at them.

Batting Cages She gets hit with the ball more often than she hits it. She tries but after a few bruises whoever she's with hauls her out.

Mahjong and Shogi Will try, and then get completely lost when people try to explain either one. "I'm too dumb for this, sorry"

Bowling, Pool/Billiards, and Table Tennis She is absolutely atrocious at both of these, however unlike the other games she's bad at, she has a ton of fun with them.

Pocket Circut She likes it, and she likes the tinkering, but she doesn't get super into it. She prefers to support someone else doing it, rather than participate herself.

Dancing/Disco Kimi can keep a beat pretty well, she has rhythm, but she's uncordinated as hell. She sticks to swaying happily off to the side. (she gets wigglier the drunker she is)

Darts She has piss poor hand-eye coordination, which makes her being pretty good at darts a surprise. She enjoys it, and gets smug when she does well.

Fishing Is the most tedious boring thing, and she hates it. (loves fishing mini games in video games though!)

MesuKing She finds it silly, and doesn't really play, but enjoys collecting things so she has a huge collection of cards just sitting around.

Karaoke She can actually sing pretty well. If she could stop crying. She has crippling stage fright and performance anxiety so its a no-go. She does enjoy tagging along to cheer people on though.

#ask game answer #the expanded answers #kulemiwrites

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thedilucharem · 2 years

Text

Detangling the Knots (Long Post)

I personally believe that there's no way that Diluc would take the hour and a half his hair needs for maintenance at the rate he's running himself into the ground in canon, so here have this long post.

(somewhere around the base of Mt. Tianheng)

Itto: (suddenly) Alright, I've just about had it!

Diluc: . . . what do you mean?

Itto: (gestures wildly at him) Your hair! It's seriously driving me crazy and you don't even care. No offense, my dude, but your hair doesn't look like it's doing all that good.

Diluc: (slightly puzzled) Are you saying that it looks bad?

Itto: No, no no, your style's great and it definitely works out with what you've got going on! (shakes head fervently) You pull it off pretty well.

Diluc: (confused) Then what's the problem?

Itto: (dead serious) Bro.

Diluc: (equally deadpanned) What.

Itto: How long has it been since you at least combed it out? I can practically see the knots from here!

Diluc: . . .

Itto: My dude-

Diluc: I get busy-

Itto: No wonder you hate it whenever I pat you on the head! It looks soft, but you also really hate it when I do that, huh?

Diluc: (glares defensively) Well, I don't like it when you do that because you insist on doing so constantly.

Itto: I- (thinks about it for a second) (concedes) Well okay you do have a point . . . I guess? But that's not what I'm trying to say here! (points in his direction) You, my dude, do not like dealing with your hair!

Diluc: (immediately) That is not true.

Itto: (bluntly) Then why doesn't it look like it?

Diluc: (inhales and exhales deeply) (measured) You don't really think too much about hair when you have work to do, Itto.

Itto: (raises eyebrows in a silent challenge) Really? So the rest of our friends can, but you can't for some 'reason' or whatever. Really?

Diluc: (protests) Well no one else I know carries a brush with them wherever they go, so yes, I think that I have a very legitimate reason not to.

(a moment of tense and somewhat disquieted silence)

Itto: (sudden realization) Wait a sec.

Diluc: (already walking away) We're not talking about this anymore.

Itto: (immediately catches up to him) Oh no, we're just starting to get to the bottom of it!

Diluc: (quickly) Whatever conclusion you've come up with is already wrong, so-

Itto: It hurts like hell, doesn't it?

Diluc: (stops in his steps, visibly disgruntled)

Itto: (skids to a halt) Aha!

Diluc: (glares sharply) (seethes) Don't even start.

Itto: Whoa, whoa whoa! (raises his palms in a show of mercy) Geez, man! You look like you wanna kill me or somethin'.

Diluc: (inhales loudly before exhaling slowly) I would rather not discuss this (gestures weakly) subject matter if I can say it plainly.

Itto: (quizzically) Huh? Why not? (confidently) I don't see nothin' wrong with admitting that it's a thing. Better to come out with it than not I say!

Diluc: (somewhat hesitantly) Yeah, how did you kno- assume that about my head anyway?

Itto: Well I'd know all about that after all! (runs a hand through his hair) These luscious locks of mine weren't always like this, ya know.

Diluc: (ears become tinged with red) Your point, Itto?

Itto: (chuckles lightly as he pulls Diluc closer in with his arm) I used to have the exact same problem that you do! (drawls) In fact, your hair is a classic textbook case and I happen to have the cure.

Diluc: (winces in the casual embrace) That offer is very much appreciated, but-

Itto: (digs into his pocket and pulls out a new tin) Here you go!

Diluc: (takes the tin and scrunches his face) A hair mask? (skeptically looks up at Itto) If the . . . (almost spits) knots are the problem, then why are you giving me this?

Itto: Simple! (affirming) You have the driest hair out of anyone I know! (cuts himself off) Well, not the driest obviously, but I could tell that it was pretty parched up in that scalp of yours! Yep, classic case alright.

Diluc: Hmmm. (hesitantly) And this maintains your hair well?

Itto: Dude. (gestures to his hair) Would I give it to you if it didn't?

Diluc: (pink in the face and the ears) Right, of course. (steps out of Itto's embrace and awkwardly rubs the back of his head) . . . thank you.

Itto: (heartily) No problem! Oh, and take this too. (pulls out a crumpled paper with scribbly writing on it) Just follow these steps and you should be good!

Diluc: (ducks his head in thanks and takes the paper)

(an awkward beat of silence passes)

Diluc: Well, we ought to get going now. (quickly starts walking in the direction of Liyue Harbor)

Itto: (lights up) Oh, right! We were going to go to that Mond and Liyue fusion place for lunch! Well come on, let's go and grab some grub! (starts to run ahead)

Diluc: Itto, hold on- (tries to catch up)

---

The writing on the paper:

"Top secret tips for only the best hair care, provided by Arataki 'The Best-Looking Oni' Itto:" - Use the mask only twice a week (Trust me, you'll thank me later) - Wash and shampoo the hair before you use the mask - In cases of large knots, fingers work the best (it also hurts less) - Brushing it once daily outside of bathing is ideal, but I only recommend it if you have the time

---

You will have to pry Itto being prideful of his appearance and not hesitating to help a friend in that area of experience as well as Diluc being self-aware of this and initially resisting dealing with it out of being unused to people caring that much out of my cold, dead hands.

(inspired by this collection of headcanons)

#long post #arataki itto #diluc #mt tianheng #liyue harbor #liyue #diluc harem au

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finsterhund · 8 months

Text

I take my ADHD meds, this morning, why? Idk I forgot that my doctor said I should only take them when I want to focus on something.

I take weed gummy evening because it is too hot and I thought that it might improve my heat resistance but I stupidly forgot it also does things to my brain. I want to chew things so bad.

I extrapolate the radial perimeter of the possible area where my grandparents farmhouse could be located based on silly little personal anecdotes and geological survey information and by manually cut-copy-pasting the scale index from a map until I get the length I want because I cannot do math. I google the furthest distance the human eye can see before needing to account for the curvature of the Earth. This is the absolute furthest distance that someone in optimal conditions on the open prairie would be able to see. I google the conversion of that into meters because they fucking told me miles for some goddamn reason and because I cannot do math. I make sure the copypasted scale index is that length. Approximately though, because I cannot do math. In order to achieve this I made the map scale index pieces into sizeable chunks that I could keep track of the totaling length of by continuing my trick of cut copy and pasting them in equal length pieces. I put a piece of masking tape on my screen and measure it out so it is that length because I stupidly decided to do all of this in MS paint and I can't rotate my special furthest-human-vision-distance scale index line on an angle. My roommate interrupts me because he wants me to buy doordash and I clench my jaw so hard my teeth make a popping sound. The piece of tape makes it way harder to order from doordash and he changes what he wants after I've already selected it. I take the tape off. I accidentally throw the tape away but not before I fucking cropped my screenshot of the map out of the larger size of screenshot that I no longer need to worry about. I have the goddamn radius. And have a rough estimate of the full radial of possible land. Technically I only need to worry about south and west areas of this circle. not north and east. Because I know that it can only be west or southwest of the one landmark. I now have one quarter of radial section of land where the farmhouse could be located. It is shaped like a piece of pie. Or like the captain health circles from the HUD of Pikmin.

I then derail my entire brain because I'm looking at the map and "hahahaha road go brrrrrrrrrr" and my brain DEMANDS on VIBES ALONE that the little homestead right off of the road (when it go brrrrrrrrr) MUST be the place. Why? I don't fucking know. The Force? Subconscious memory? The Spot Power?

It falls inside the fucking radial quarter though. Jesus fuck. But then my fucking browser crashes and I loose all 38 of relevant tabs containing five different maps. Fucking screaming crying throwing up. I still had my fucking little mspaint documents though thank fuck. So I manually find it all again right at the spot where I was. Then I go to the place where road go brrrrrrrr

So I zoom in and

YEAH FUCK BRO DUDE I THINK ITS THE FUCKING HOUSE IT LOOKS LIKE A HOUSE AND IT HAS TREES WHERE I REMEMBER BEING TREES AND I SWEAR TO FUCK. I MEAN I CANT FUCKING FLY SO I DONT HAVE STRONG MEMORY OF BIRDSEYE VIEW OF THE HOUSE I THINK I SAW A PHOTO OF IT FROM THE AIR LIKE FUCKING ONCE BUT BASED ON THIS TINY ASS GRAINY LITTLE SATELITE IMAGE I FUCKING THINK THATS IT. IM NOT GOING TO ASSUME I KNOW THIS WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT BECASUE THE UNIVERFSE LIKES TO FUCK ME SO IM GOING TO TRY AND GIVE FAIR ASSESSMENTS TO OTHER POSSIBLE SITES IN THE DERMINED AREA BUT MAN. HOLY SHIT.

My fucking browser keeps fucking crashing as I write this but turns out the only good thing about Tumblr site updates is that the auto draft feature seems to work. Sometimes. On desktop.

There is food here now but I am focusing 👀👀👀

I really need to eat though I fucking bought this with money not even technically in my bank yet I fucking deserve this wait a minute why the fuck didn't my roommate pay for the food? Also going camping on Monday.

So I think I may have finally found the farmhouse. 🥺🥺🥺🥺

I drew it on my phone because my computer crash again

#text post #research #long post #geography #omnipotence

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artcalledmusica · 1 year

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I can only Snap I can only snap upon right hand I can’t from left I can write both with right hand slow in time I can paint either hand I can trace with a left hand It’s my writing hand Could’ve hugged away with both hands But you know who you are I love your attitudes smiles that got me through the rough times it was daily I need glasses to see, I wore them daily I placed items in holes, all the whole time It was daily easy, seeing the un working; every hour upon clock, working in beginning from register, internet, to dock, best if internet again, comeback stop the weed smoking on clock Round Robin Kicking punching throughout my thumbs Ohh I’m so tired I’ll jump into body skins next, I don’t work there no longer I was snapped out All scary but also funny and nue it coming, Skits and play’s In musicals Was hugs gathered Some play for some play against And those remained in silence My had snaps to, I was genuine Good day... woman man, dude gal, those that, in between some mishaps, in disguise still masked, in clear clouded, mindset mind open, wanting gainful Snapping for the next person Who’s the face? I have more time now And others helped make it so ;) When I would, take my boys to a party: no pushing shoving kicking punching screaming yelling, if another is doing bad walk away come tell us (dis-Respect un Equality sinnistered technicians) or rather take a REST near mom & dad, stay out of trouble, accidents surely to followed I didn’t abide by same rules upon entering building, taken vacation never had time, gave 110% Every help, to guidance measures, stay safe or let’s bandage that up, watch your fingers and hands, keep yourself intact I’ll give it rest, I just out snapped In a writing Live long do more for a World Peace ☮️ No red and blue needed Guide, i still do Find love, you would understand More that I say Just once, just in’s, just still there From a just gone Snap! I love you all, when standing still for along time don’t lock your knees move When moving a bunch, stretch before hand Now I’m hanking it Body first Management second They seconded my snap It was an uneventful ambush I didn’t (rhyme again here) May all live • until you think of statistics, someone, it’s human, always fall in there Animal can’t calculate and we have been humans for how long, statistic an always need until fixing, who has the time for fixing let’s keep them going..... Pathetic wanting and those being paid for i get confused too here! I saved lives with my (can you guess it)’s Hey 👋 you did Now your catching on You each have a pedestal I just snapped out loud Sun will rise tomorrow, be safe Your wills are your own Your will is yours So be good Make a better than waiting For Fore Ohh watch out ohhhhhhh snap All the different read this for, it’s all for you above, between some sly others overcoming in meanings and so on and such stuff, enjoy the L•FE Hey you read it as life, you know you did! But did you say read or read red or reed like myself exhaling to wind or rather moving along in, I still have more Just wait WordsbyMM MMybsDroW Martinez, Mark Kram Zenitram (a reverse) Zen i tram Zen Love Peace Eracism also It’s being worked upon :) There was a song ‘I need a new job’ Which blog does this post fit? Questions I still reach out for answers It’s why I’m writing Four years of time and writing All so oblivious I love you anyways & have always Pay attention Goodbye

#wordsbymm #mmybsdrow #artcalledmusica #say cheese #too easy #snap #I snap #I left #I pushed out #watching all the kings men #in cinema #hit it again #contractual weed eaters #just weeding time #like out in my front

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sinnerandafool · 1 year

Text

So Good Right Now: Jesus Christ My Dude, That’s Dark

So Good Right Now is about abusive relationships (not necessarily romantic). That’s my take (hot or not??). CW emotional abuse beneath the cut ig

I got this doom and gloom in my mind / I got this doom and gloom but it feels alright

When you’re in the depths of a relationship, you get the good and the bad in equal measure. Maybe some rom-coms would have us believe otherwise, but nobody is perfect. Any partner you have is going to have flaws that make you go “What?” at any given point in a relationship. And honestly? That is normal.

A healthy relationship occurs when the partners are open, vulnerable, and compassionate with one another, right? You can pick your nose and fart in front of your partner and they aren’t grossed out by it. You’ve got the trust.

An unhealthy relationship is when you feel like you can’t fart in front of you partner, and then you say “What does that mean?” to them in the “wrong way” and they act like it’s the biggest betrayal since Troy.

The crazy thing is that in that unhealthy relationship, you feel like you could fart in front of your partner, if you just weren’t so weird about it. And, come to think of it, you shouldn’t feel weird about it, you should trust this person implicitly even though they have insulted and belittled you in the past.

You get so wrapped up in the narrative, you actually believe it.

I got love in my heart / So let’s sneak in from the cheap seats honey / and we’ll drive until the engine just gives out

The high of the love bomb, breaking into legendary from mediocrity. The devil-may-care attitude of a person with no boundaries and no concern for their own well being.

Feeling so good right now / until we crash and burn somehow

The chorus looks in on the situation from an outsider perspective (I actually think nearly all of the choruses on SM(F)S are disconnected from the verses lyrically). It has a prescient and doomed view of the past.

I know, I know I’ve made mistakes / I know, I know, but at least they were mine to make

I don’t think the repetition of “I know, I know” is accidental here. It reads as a tired defense to an accusation made too many times.

Also, classic blaming yourself for everything. The reality is it takes two to make a fight, you just have internalized trauma.

Oh, and all of our wildest dreams / They just end up with you and me / So let’s drive until the engine just gives out

There’s a depressing irony to someone’s wildest dreams being a relationship with someone else. It reeks of codependency. Again the reference to an apathetic attitude typical of someone with low self regard who is driven by their partner with a god complex.

Driftin’ from the start, I ripped myself apart / I’ll be whatever you need me to be

I cut myself down, cut myself down / To whatever you need me to be

I’m sobbing because this feels so real. You like it when I do this, you hate it when I do that. I’ll train myself to do only the things you like.

In conclusion, I’m fucking dead from this song. It hits too close to home, it hits so many emotions I’ve heard echoed in all my friends. I feel like everyone has experienced a codependent relationship like this, and Pete has really just written the anthem of the obsessed.

#fall out boy #so much (for) stardust #lyric analysis #cw emotional abuse #so good right now

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inkskinned · 3 years

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it is almost summer, somehow. i disintegrated in march and slept through april. i miss plums. i miss coming home. i miss my family. i miss fruit stands by the side of the road.

a lot is better now, just-personally. i can buy my own plums. i am surrounded by people who actually say sorry. i am in love. i am in therapy.

my friends and i lie in the grass and watch the crows overhead. i am 27 and learning how to longboard, even though it makes me kind of afraid to lose my teeth. i am confused by certain video game mechanics, which i used to pick up so easily.

it is okay, to miss a thing. i eat a grape (small plum, maybe?) and think about - the world is so easy to feel empty in, or too-full, or swirling. the days seem to exist in extremity - either where did the time go or why is this happening so slowly.

plums come back into season. i have been singing in the shower again. i often feel this strange edge in my thoughts; where the good-nature of my recovery comes slinking back in. like remembering how to hold without clutching.

i put one hand on the walls of my heart and i keep walking.

#good and bad in equal measure my dudes #love u #best regards #spilled ink #edit.... for word choice.... bc im like. nah i fuckken WHOOSPIE MONTH'd march #<3 poet as <3 a complete fucking wreck <3 #<3 portrait of an extremely mentally ill moment <3

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m0r1bund · 2 years

Photo

[Image: A sketch page of a funny little mechanical construct of a guy, named MarkOS. He wears a hooded cloak and a respirator, with big ‘ol circular lenses for eyes. A whole forest of antennae sprouts from the pack on his back, and he totes around a formidable-looking rifle.

In one vignette, the Chief wags a finger at the R.A. and MarkOS, saying:

Chief: And take the drone with you. I want the Chronicler to see this.

The R.A. scrunches up her face.

R.A.: Do I. Have to?

MarkOS draws in close behind her. He can’t smile through the respirator, but it sure feels like he does.

MarkOS: So :) Chief wants me to keep an eye on you 👁️

In another vignette, the R.A. physically positions MarkOS in front of a snag with some mushrooms growing on it.

R.A.: I need you to make some. Growth observations. Stand here for the next 46 hours and don’t move.

Finally, MarkOS catches a glimpse of the R.A. after dark, doing something she probably shouldn’t be doing. She hides behind a wooden crate with a crackling cattle prod-like instrument, while her pursuant looks for her.

MarkOS: What do we have here? :) :) :) ]

◆

You’re never gonna guess what I’ve been up to.

Unfortunately my most recent nonsense is becoming populated with more dudes. This is MarkOS, and he’s like… if you took one of these guys and made them catch feelings and get therapy. He acts like a living surveillance unit for the crew, his every waking memory encoded and then transmitted back to the Imperial Archive for review. Despite the existential nightmare of his existence, he has a sunny (if unsettling) disposition and is easy enough to work with. As long as you don’t do anything “against code,” anyway.

Rank-wise, he’s technically the most expendable one on the team. Many of the more 'refined' members of the crew treat him more like a tool than a semi-autonomous being, though they seem to show some compulsory level of concern for his well-being, in the way that you would take care of an expensive piece of research equipment. There’s an unspoken understanding among the crew that it’s a Bad Move to do otherwise.

Chief and the R.A. are among the few who interact with him on equal footing, person-to-person. The Chief seems to have an uncharacteristically soft spot for him, and this is what ensures his safety around the rest of the crew (most of the time.) Unsurprisingly, the R.A. cannot stand him and can’t fathom why the Chief willingly keeps him around! … Little does she know the two have history.

There’s a human heart under all that metal, and the Chief knew the man that it belonged to, way back when. He used to be an Archivist with the Imperial Archive, a very intelligent and big-hearted guy with equally big ideas about how to push the Archive in a new and (slightly) more progressive direction. Unfortunately for him, those ideas had him branded a traitor and a heretic. The Powers That Be ended up, err, taking him out of commission. And they have ways of making what’s left of you useful, whether you like it or not ):

I’m not sure if the Chief goes out of her way to get MarkOS into her deployment, or if he’s stationed there as an implicit threat. Either way, he doesn’t know about any of this. He gets the strangest feeling that he knows the Chief from somewhere, and that he’s forgetting something really important, but he keeps those thoughts closely guarded from prying eyes. In the meantime, it’s enough for him that she’s good people and looks out for him. He’s happy to do the same for her, in his own… weird… way.

At some point, the R.A. figures out the truth of the matter and also how to bypass Imperial security measures, so she can finally jailbreak his brain. In the meantime she’s his cranky coworker at best, and actively jeopardized by his existence at worst.

#chief tag #markOS tag #oh . boy #Chief and the R.A. tag #maila reyes tag #research associate tag

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unrestedjade · 3 years

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More baseless Ferengi headcanons no one asked for: LATINUM EDITION~~~

- Almost every home is a rental, as almost all usable land is corporate-owned. Might as well daydream about owning a moon, it's no less realistic than owning the house you grew up in. (No I'm not frustrated with my $1500 rent at all, no I'm not miserable watching 40-year-old trailer homes selling for $250k to a property management firm that's going to rent it out. Surely a place like Ferenginar wouldn't be equally ridiculous, hahahahahahahahHAHAHAHA. Ahem.) - Latinum as religious fetish. We see Quark offering slips of latinum while he prays to the Blessed Exchequer before bed. He even has a little shrine. What's unclear is whether you're meant to reuse the same slips each day or if you have to actually "give up" the latinum over the longer term for the offering to count. You can break a piggy bank, but it's probably bad to break an image of the Exchequer, unless he's very chillaxed compared to the majority of gods. - Assuming really giving up the latinum is better, is destroying it extra good? Or are you sinning by removing it from the Continuum? Are there Ferengi extremist sects that sink latinum into bogs or launch it into a star?

- What do they think and feel about latinum with regards to the Exchequer? What does a god need with it? Is it meant to be his lifeblood, figuratively? Or literally, via transubstantiation? (Catholic Ferengi. Cathipitolists.)

- How was latinum treated in the days before they knew to process it with gold so it could be handled safely? It's very pretty and ethereal-looking in its raw form, and also very, very toxic. Depending on the symptoms of latinum poisoning, I wonder if it had anything to do with it gaining religious significance? Ancient Ferengi priests seeing visions and going a little funny in the head from handling raw latinum for years and years?

- The way Quark and Brunt talk about taxes in S7 suggests there's not a lot of taxation in Ferengi society (officially, anyway. idk what else you'd call their ubiquitous bribes/tips than unofficial taxation). In any case, since one of the major purposes of taxation in modern economies is to control inflation by removing money (governments create/destroy money; they don't really keep a little checkbook register of surplus/deficit the way a household does) offering latinum to the Exchequer as an act of worship could be a good way to take money out of circulation for a while. - Latinum vs fiat money? Latinum is canonically used as coinage by multiple species. (It would seem like Ferengi are putting themselves at a bit of a disadvantage by also attaching a spiritual importance to it, but who knows, and this is a tangent on a tangent.) Is all their money backed by latinum? It can't be, right? Just conceptually, their stock markets and banks can't possibly be tying every value in every account to a real, physical measure of latinum, that's horribly inefficient. Can "latinum" also mean any legitimate liquid asset? Or does the Exchequer insist on the real thing? Much to ponder. - Brunt implies in Family Business that Ferenginar has houseless people and beggars. There's no point in begging if no one ever gives you anything, so some people must give charity to beggars. What's that look like, is it something kind-hearted Ferengi do in spite of the RoA explicitly stating that charity is only acceptable when you come out richer than you started? What's their rationalization in that case? Are they left feeling shameful about it? (Obviously the people stuck begging feel shitty, by design. Ironically, they might feel less shitty than we would, since the Exchequer doesn't appear to care how you get money, only that you get it.) - If you're moved to give money/material aid to a needy person, you'd probably do it quietly. Here in the good ol' US of A a common view is that "hand-outs" hurt the needy person in the long run because you're removing their impetus to stop being lazy sponges. And that's from people who follow a religion that commands them to care for the needy! So it's gotta be even harsher under a religion that's completely mask-off in its worship of individual prosperity. - (You just know Keldar was one of those people tossing a few slips of latinum for someone sleeping under a shop awning each morning. His business sense sucked but Ishka made him sound like a warm person. Folks gotta eat.) - Reincarnation... Alright, so if you were a dude and you die broke it's implied you can't reincarnate/are damned to the Vault of Eternal Destitution. Cool and fair, nothing to unpack there. What about women? They're half the population but seem to have been overlooked on this point in this here 10k-year-old religion. Which is telling in itself, of course, but you'd think someone would have addressed this? Who reincarnates female? Is the accepted understanding that females reincarnate female and are totally removed from the requirement to bid on their life? But that still doesn't solve the problem, because even if reincarnation were assigned-sex-segregated (god what a shitty idea, compels me tho) you're still losing X number of men to the Vault each generation. - I want to see what Ferengi religious debates look like. Pel is shown to be a serious scholar of the RoA as they've dug into not only the text itself but all the commentaries and refutations and deep-dives others have published about it. That's gotta fuel some spicy convo around the tongo table once everyone's a few drinks in. - Are there multiple sects? People arguing whether this or that rule is meant to be taken literally vs as metaphor? Everyone can't be in lockstep on this stuff. Quark seems to have been raised within the currently-hegemonic sect, but surely there's others.

- There don't appear to be any clergy or equivalent persons, so I wonder if there's different sects how they organize themselves? Do they host different subs on Ferengi Reddit? (Ferengi Reddit...shudder) - Ferengi atheists slacking at work or living as drifters because there's no point saving money for a next life that's not real. Life must drive them to drink. That's when you go out into space to live with the sane people and never call home.

- Is the rest of the population chill with atheists, or is that a no-go? I guess it would depend on how loud the person is and whether they follow the Rules or not.

- You know who they're definitely not chill with: socialists. Do they have Satanic Panics about this or that media turning the youth into commies? If you're an outspoken socialist, are you looking at exile? Arrest? An unexpected date with an Eliminator? - Conspicuous consumption seems to be a thing, and it's interesting in light of the whole "needing a good high score for a good reincarnation" idea. It still boils down to showing off how much you can afford to waste, but the stakes are undoubtedly higher for the faithful. - If something happens and you're at risk if losing everything, is it safer to just off yourself while you still have money? What if you're going to lose more than you'd ever be able to make back? (In economics this is called a perverse incentive lulz)

- The Great Monetary Collapse must have suuuuucked. It's the Great Depression x100, and also your god is mad at you, maybe??? And your next life is totally screwed now, too. Fuckin' dire, man. When Quark mentioned it in the show, it was with this flippant air like he was waiting to see how Miles and Julian reacted. He might have elaborated more if they hadn't reacted...the way he probably assumed they would. (Partially a self-fulfilling prophecy given the way he primed them to treat it as a joke, but I digress.) - Suicide rates are measurably higher in societies that elevate achievement and work ethic (see the Protestant vs Catholic divide on this, it's interesting and very depressing as a lapsed protestant in a protestant-dominated country). Just saying. - On this same bummer track: hedonic depression could be very commonplace among Ferengi. Every minute not spent working is spent on distraction because life is just such an exhausting grind, and a lot of factors determining whether you're a good/successful person are out of your control. Booze, porn, and gambling are all very distracting, and thus very popular. If a lot of this just sounds like regular degular capitalism: yes. It's actually proving difficult to push the fictional society further out because we're already living beyond satire. Maybe that's why I like these awful little guys so much. (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

#star trek #ferengi #meta #meta being a generous term for me making shit up because that's just how i party #i got halfway through the virtue of selfishness for the first time since i was 14 just for this #couldn't make myself power all the way through but i think the depth of my ardor should be proven anyway #suicide mention #because their society is an ancap hellscape

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