#i feel like a lot of the big conclusions there are really gonna be important for the direction of the story’s main message

[applestorms]

morality in the world of good omens

so i wrote another (admittedly very messy) essay on good omens not long ago right after watching season 2 but after finishing that, rewatching all of both seasons multiple times, and reading through the book, i have a couple more distinct ideas to get out...somewhere...if only for my own sanity. this is me throwing my thoughts into the internet before i pop, if you will. just 3 sections, below the cut.

1. environment, characters, & transformative fandom creations

to start this post off a bit more broadly, i've been thinking a lot recently about transformative fandom and the reasons why we write fanfiction/create semi-original works in the first place, as well as why certain aspects of fandom (writing, art, analysis, etc.) will be more appealing to me for certain shows/series than others. correct me if you have a totally different view of this, but in my experience i've found that i tend to naturally gravitate towards different parts of fandom depending on what the original medium of the story was- podcasts tend to lead to some of the most interesting art trends, for example, since there's more room for interpretation and character design tends to be more of an ongoing community project than something set in stone like for a tv show with live human actors.

in my own observation, i've noticed that a lot of the really big & excitable fandoms, the ones that generate tons & tons of fanworks more naturally (a.k.a. just because of the story itself & not other factors like a pre-existing franchise or hype about new great gay representation, etc.) tend to surround stories that fall into a kind of "sweet spot" that makes the creation of fanworks really appealing. if you've ever wondered why there are so many ravenous artists bending over backwards to draw gorgeous fanart for stuff like homestuck or south park or even minecraft youtubers, it's likely because those stories all fall into a sweet spot for drawing, with character designs that are recognizable at a glance and yet still simple enough that there is plenty of room for personal creative touches. (think also, if you're familiar with such kinds of homestuck terms: hyperflexible mythologies, A4:1524, and/or this archive link cause the official thing is down now for some reason)

the conclusion i've come to is thus that even something as basic as the original medium of a story can dictate a lot about what kinds of fan activities are more common or popular within said story's fandom.

so, back to good omens- for me, this all relates back because of a question i've been messing with in my head recently, about why i've been less interested in fanfiction for good omens than i have been for the last few fandoms i've been, almost all of which have basically broken my ao3 bookmarks.

this question has been fucking with me for a while now, largely because i'm not entirely sure what's motivating it. a lot of times i can figure out pretty easily why i might personally not be interested in some parts of fandom, but that's not really the case here. from what i've seen this fandom seems to be pretty mixed in terms of age, & the writing that i have read is certainly no worse than i've seen elsewhere, perhaps even better in some places- and yet, i can't seem to get entirely into it, even getting frustrated as i can't find something to my tastes for an ao3 bedtime story as i've grown so accustomed. what caught me off guard is that this was an issue that i ran into while watching season 1 as well, back when the series was still quite popular but not blowing up like it is right now.

a lot of this may seem like (and likely is, at least in part) basic overthinking, but i mentioned it all here because the answer i eventually came to is reminiscent of my previous reflections above on the nature of fandom & how/why fanworks are created.

a couple paragraphs above, i used the example of art as an example of how fandoms that generate a lot of original artwork will often do the most when the original story falls into a sweet spot of character design, but notably i think that this sentiment applies to a lot more than just art. if you've ever seen the copious amounts of kpop & hockey rpf fanfiction that lives on ao3, it should be clear that this applies to writing too.

i wrote this essay a while back responding to an observation about the lack of a more extensive symbolic language in fanfiction & i've toyed around with the idea more since, particularly in considering the question of why a lot of what we see as the staples of fanfiction exist in the first place. in that post, my response largely revolved around an argument of why we create fanfiction- namely, that fanfiction is created as in tandem with deeper analysis of the original story/series, as a way of trying to practically apply character analysis to a new context.

the key part of that last sentence to me is how a lot of this revolves around character analysis (and shipping, but really it's the characters that motivate the shipping in most cases so. same difference).

i tend to instinctively separate fanfiction into two separate categories: fanfiction that is based out of the original world/canon of the story (including but not limited to fix-its, deeper analysis fics that take a scene & extrapolate from it, continuations, etc.) and fanfiction that takes the characters from the original story & plops them in an alternate universe/AU. while i separate these out as two distinct categories of fanfiction, i should also clarify that i don't think these two groups are necessarily equal in terms of number of fics- rather, the vast majority of fanfiction tends to be AUs, keeping the original characters & changing any & all aspects of the world around them. again, this may vary depending on the story & Vibe of the fandom at the time, stories like game of thrones or harry potter or homestuck might have a lot more in the canon category by nature of any major dissatisfactions the fandom has with how the original story was told, but in most cases AUs are more popular. this was a lot of the basis behind my argument that fanfiction is created as character analysis in fact, since the characters are the most important part that carries over from original story to fanwork, as well as can end up being one of the most debated/scorned parts when it comes to fandom drift (i.e. "that's out of character"/"he wouldn't do that"/and all other such arguments about fanon vs. canon characterization).

basically, my conclusion in this case was that i was a lot less interested in gomens fic largely because i have a really hard time separating the characters from the world in the case of this particular story. aziraphale & crowley being an angel & a demon and dealing with all of the bullshit of their world when it comes to heaven & hell are such integral parts of their characters in my mind that i have a much harder time getting behind AU fanfiction that plops them in a totally different context. it's just a much harder sell for keeping the characters in character for me. (i also tend to not like s2 fix-its just cause, idk they're just not my style, which is where a lot of the recent blast of energy has led us.) to clarify, this is not a judgement, just a matter of personal preference and a reflection of why, even if a lot of fandoms will look the same from the outside/involve the same things like art, fic, etc., an individual's mileage can vary wildly when it comes to how they interact with different things online.

*additional note, also for clarification: i do want to acknowledge that a lot of this depends on pure popularity as well, popular fandoms will often end up with basically everything in terms of fanworks just by nature of how many people are interacting with & thinking deeply about the story. my point here is more along the lines of the fact that even within the more well-populated fandoms, certain types of fanwork will often Stick Out more to me than others, or even be visibly much more common than in other fandoms, due largely to the original medium/structure of how the story.

so, speaking of aziraphale & crowley in more depth now- why does the world of good omens feel like such an integral part of their personalities when it comes to characterization? up next, let's talk about morality within the context of good omens' perhaps surprisingly secular take on heaven & hell.

2. the amorality of heaven & hell (ft. the crowley quote apples you know the one)

(warning in advance that this section may be a bit limited since i'm not going to get super far (or very far at all, really) into the whole religious-analysis aspect of good omens.)

i've been binge-reading the original pterry & gaiman book for good omens over the last few days and it's been very fun seeing all the slight changes between the tv show & the original. you can really see the hand of the original creators in how the tv show was translated, even just by looking at which parts made it and which parts were deemed worth cutting out. i suppose having one of the original creators right there helping build everything really helps make a book -> show translation work, since the ASOUE tv series was also pretty well received- something about knowing what's the core of the series & truly important to keep in, and having more time to tell the story itself?

anyways, i have a short list of notes that i've been taking as i read, conversations that stand out to me or footnotes that particularly amused me, but i keep coming back to one line that stood out to me quite early on. in context, this line comes from crowley during the conversation where he is first attempting to fully convince aziraphale about stopping armageddon, specifically when they're talking about exerting equal forces on warlock to make him normal:

"You're saying the child isn't evil of itself?" [Aziraphale] said slowly. "Potentially evil. Potentially good, too, I suppose. Just this huge powerful potentiality, waiting to be shaped," said Crowley. He shrugged. "Anyway, why're we talking about this good and evil? They're just names for sides. We know that."

(pg. 67)

"They're just names for sides." if i had to pick one line to sum up the view on religious morality of this series, this would likely be it.

on the one hand, i tend to interpret a lot gomens' take on heaven & hell within the context of its political stance, something that is particularly obvious through a line from gabriel in s2e2 where he tries to clarify to aziraphale that heaven isn't trying to hurt job directly, but instead is just not stopping hell from doing horrible things to him. while there may be some additional nuance to add to this take within the context of british politics that i don't really know well enough to add about, i'm inclined to see this from the side of my own familiar american politics, which might hold some weight considering how long mr. gaiman's lived around here. point is, my current interpretation of that line is that it helps in more clearly establishing the analogy of heaven & hell as the story moves forward into newer seasons and thus more contemporary politics, equating heaven with mainstream liberal politics & politicians and hell with conservatives.

this stance seems to be emphasized even more in the tv show than the book which makes sense considering its been coming out more recently, and especially in season 2 which is still quite caught up in a lot of quarantine-based reflection. (the tv show puts a lot more emphasis on heaven & hell in general, actually, perhaps initially a byproduct of actually being able to see those environments in their entirety and all the angels & demons that populate them- but we'll get to that.)

the book takes a slightly different stance that, fittingly, seems more reflective of the time it came out. in particular, i was struck a lot more when reading the book by adam's rise (fall?) to power, and how much of it was motivated by a burgeoning nervousness/pessimism about climate change and the anxieties of younger generations that comes with inheriting an earth that feels so fucked up. honestly if anything it's only gotten more relevant in that respect, what with the current vibe on the internet & the hopelessness of the doomer gen z gang, but it also has a distinctly different flavor to me from the tv show, which i think is largely because it's less connected to Formal politics since again we see a whole lot less of heaven & hell as such distinct, bureaucratic entities.

instead, there is a very distinctly amoral aspect to heaven & hell that we get through lines like the one above and especially from characters like crowley. this is why i argue that good omens, despite having so many religious elements, is such a deeply secular take, especially when it comes to its ethics & morality- Good and Evil, notably with the capital letters in this case, has very little to do with actual actions and much more to do with the name that you stamp on top of said actions. heaven & hell and the angels & demons that we see directing and watching and generally fucking with aziraphale & crowley throughout the story are distinctly separate from humanity, and as we see even more as the story progresses, distinctly unaware about what it even means to be a human, in both a deeper philosophical & very basic and literal sense. Good and Evil is simply another name for the sides- and thus the true ethics is something separate, and based in a deeply human experience.

in my opinion this is also why aziraphale & crowley, lovers of humanity and also to some degree spokespersons of it from how much they've "gone native," tend to be so deeply at odds with both heaven & hell and always end up agreeing with each other over their own supposed sides. what makes aziraphale & crowley so distinctly different is that they ascribe to the same ethics & morality that humanity does, or at the very least are trying to figure out ethics & morality & How to Be a Good Person in the same horribly messy way that humans do, separating them from the black & white "this side Good & this side Bad," logic that the rest of heaven & hell instinctively ascribe to.

there's a lot of nuance here, which is also why i think there is such an emphasis on moral ambiguity (and love, but we'll get to that) throughout season 2. the story of job, grave robbing, & questionable attempts at matchmaking- aziraphale is working through a lot of Shit right now when it comes to trying to figure out what the Good thing actually fucking is, and i think it's key that a lot of that is motivated by crowley himself. crowley might'e been cast out of heaven for asking too many questions, but aziraphale is there & listening to them & giving them the serious thought they deserve, and that can't be overlooked.

sidenote: i couldn't figure out a place to shove this in, but i also wanna point out that a lot of this is tied to the idea of growing over time too. on the same page as the quote transcribed above is another line from crowley leading up to aziraphale's question that puts a lot of emphasis on the fact that warlock is going to be a product of nurture, not nature. again, this is an argument against basic black & white assigned-at-birth morality for the ability of humans to grow & change over time and be influenced by the people around them.

it's notable that despite adam's supposed origin as a Son of Satan, what really gets him to stop the apocalypse in the end is the fact that he doesn't really give a shit about all this big plans but instead just wants to hang around his friends. there's a lot of emphasis in the book placed on how beautiful & nice tadfield is as a place for a young kid to grow up, how well loved & fiercely protected it as as something beloved to adam. while he might be overwhelmed when faced with the full picture of how horrible the world can be, ultimately what he cares about is loving & taking care of the people & places that he grew up learning were precious, and the only way to do that is to keep growing & changing yourself within that world and trying to help it also grow into something better, not throw it all away just for the slightest chance that you could restart. a message worth taking the time to think about, at the absolute very least.

3. finding morality w/in humanity: crowley & aziraphale and speculation for s3

i have complicated feelings about both aziraphale & crowley throughout a lot of the show and especially in season 2. i think a lot of people, myself included, are inclined to see crowley as the voice of reason in this season, and for good reason- as i mentioned before, a lot of aziraphale's deeper questioning of the status quo and goodness (Goodness) as a whole is motivated by questions from crowley.

i kiiind of mentioned this in my previous essay, but to state it more clearly, my take on crowley is that he's arriving at the right answer for the wrong reasons, and, conversely, aziraphale is arriving at the wrong answer for... kind of also the wrong reasons but also slightly for the right reasons. let me explain.

crowley is clearly much more aware of the flaws in both heaven & hell than aziraphale is, which seems to be the basis behind a lot of his motivation in asking aziraphale so many questions in the first place. he's also, as maggie & nina point out in s2e6, deeply lonely, often running away or getting ready to fight literally anyone that isn't aziraphale (or humans, but that's a little more complicated). from his reaction to beelz & gabriel getting together, i think it's pretty clear that he still hasn't entirely given up on the whole alpha centauri idea, and it makes sense- as i said in that last essay, crowley basically won the argument at the end of the previous season when it comes to aziraphale & crowley, "making [their] own side," so he doesn't have much reason to face any of his personal fears until maggie & nina basically point out that they exist directly to his face. once they do point it out, however, he's very motivated to act & does so almost immediately, even after hearing what aziraphale has to tell him and being pretty thoroughly devastated by it.

my point here is that crowley is correct in seeing the toxicity of both heaven & hell, he's just flawed and largely motivated by fear (up for debate if that's all it is, but i certainly think it's a big part of it) in his desire to run away from it all. it's not quite armageddon, again he's going more flight > fight here, but he's still ultimately giving up and that's not a great conclusion.

on the other hand, as some others on this site have pointed out, aziraphale is certainly showing a lot of strength in his willingness to keep fighting & try to change things for the better, but it's not hard to see how that belief has been twisted. one of aziraphale's biggest flaw in motivation at this point imo is that he doesn't just believe in goodness but Goodness, the kind that's tied to heaven always being right & all actions being morally Good so long as they're done under the name of heaven, and that clearly also isn't great.

thus what i think the both of these two really need ultimately is that deeper connection to humanity, and the ethics born from humans interacting with humans. we can already see how strong these two are when they collaborate, even when they're doing their absolute best to be as subtle as possible, but what i think they need is to once again be grounded by humanity, not to get so caught up in the bullshittery of heaven & hell and Good & Evil, but once again find a goodness defined by the world that they mutually love so much and stick with it.

i keep tossing a question around in my head about whether or not aziraphale & crowley are going to end up human by the end of this series. it feels natural that they would, they're already so at home and in love with earth & around humanity, but i'm also not entirely sure if that would be a happy ending for them considering how long they've watched & loved the world as it's changed. perhaps taking this post into account is another push towards humanity as a happy ending, not running away to a cottage to get away from the world (i just can't see running away to a cottage to be together as as happy ending, sorry- it might work for beelz & gabriel but not for aziraphale & crowley), but choosing to settle down within that world that is so dear.

#'just three sections' LAFFS. YEAH #astronaut rambles #good omens #gomens #no but i like this one a lot better than the last attempt at a gomens essay #this one feels a lot cleaner. more focused? #got a bit sappy at the end but i don't mind humanity is always worth loving #also off topic but i read this really interesting paper at work the other day #about pratchett’s writing in discworld & zizek & religion #forget what it’s called now but it was an interesting take on how fiction/fantasy can allow for deeper insights/reflection of reality #got some discworld books today so looking forward to reading those once i slurp up the last hundred or so pages of good omens #also thanks to my dad for having some interesting commentary on the job interpretation in s2e2 today #i all but literally slept through sunday school so i think a lot of the more noteworthy religion takes in this show go over my head =3=‘’ #man i am so very much looking forward to how season 3 continues this story #i feel like a lot of the big conclusions there are really gonna be important for the direction of the story’s main message #season 2 is just. such a transition season it’s hard to get super distinct conclusions sometimes #like it’s still going somewhere there’s shit developing #it’s not like sherlock where it just teases deeper meaning forever but gives you nothing #but. it’s just so obviously Not Over Yet and I Need More #anyways much love i need to go to bed now arghfjdkd lots of shit to do in the future but all i wanna do is keep writing gomens essays. sigh #brainrot central #oh yay my phone’s at 69% now ☺️ wheeee #good omens meta

[bryce-bucher]

500 CALIBER CONTRACTZ Post #12

Dialogue!!!11:

The main thing I did over the past week or so was put together this dialogue system. The system itself was fairly easily to implement, and I think the only interesting part of the process to share is how I went about making the UI. As per usual, I wanted to have a cool mechanical feeling ui, but at the same time a friend of mine suggested an AOL instant messenger inspired chat window. I loved both of these ideas so I decided to combine them into a screen that pops up and contains the aim-like window. The modeling process for the screen was similar to how I went about making the other two bits of ui that are on screen in the above photos, but I decided to include a VGA port.

VGA PORT:

I didn't originally plan to include a VGA port, but I was in the middle of researching monitors and accidentally left a window open on my computer that just had a big photo of one and I went "wait a minute.". With my final two braincells I suddenly decided to slap together a model for the port which I ended up being proud enough of to, for some reason, make an entire section for it.

Sorry if any of the above sentences read horribly. I am going to need a third braincell if you want this stuff to be coherent. Anyway, Blender is so cool. Using the array modifier to make all these lil squares for the holes in the port is just such a satisfying process. I've come to really like makin pre-rendered assets like this.

New Movez:

This is actually a pretty big inclusion, and I probably should've ranked it in my mind above the VGA port. I added some new movement options to the game!

Firstly, I added this melee move where you swing the back of the sniper forwards to propel yourself a bit. It is mainly useful as a bunnyhop that allows you to conserve momentum.

Next up I added this kick that happens if you melee while in the air. It's basically just the one from mario64. It lets you gain a little bit more height and distance. It also becomes way more effective if you have a lot of momentum. A good tool for correcting jumps and reaching new heights.

Finally, we have the big schmovement slide. This slide gives you a huge burst of speed that you can jump out of in order to send your self flyin. Surprisingly, it didn't really break any of the level design and ended up being a really fun addition imo. In order to perform it, you have to do a ground pound and then melee as you hit the ground. Also, I feel like I basically stole this from pseudoregalia. Played through that recently and it has been a good source of inspiration.

Nova!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:

This is a cameo skin I've been really excited to finally make myself put in the game. Anodyne 2 is a really important game to me, and I love it much. I'm really happy tha folks at analgesic let me put her in here, and I'm p happy with how her model came together. If you haven't peeped the Anodyne games I highly recommend them. The first one was a major inspiration for parts of Fatum Betula.

Conclusion:

Lately I've been playing this game way too much. It has made it impossible for me to tell if it is fun or well designed. Some problems cropped up during playtesting that ima need to address, and I hope that it all comes together into something that one could say is "fun and cool". I think takin this weekend off is gonna do my brain good. Oh yeah also I feel like I should advertise that I'm still doing commissions if anyone is interested. Anyway, have a good 1 and enjoy urself.

#screenshotsaturday #indiegamedev #gamedev #indiedev #game development #indiegames #lowpoly #y2k #y2k aesthetic #indie game #3d platformer #3dplatformer #sniper rifle #50 caliber 3d platformer #500 caliber contractz #50 cal #anodyne #anodyne 2

[seyaryminamoto]

Fic-to-Art #39: Gladiator's ELEVENTH Anniversary! (+ BONUS: Fic-to-Art #36...)

And here we are! March 26th arrived and I did not forget about it, but I paid for my ambitious madness with my wrist and forearm. Somehow, I finished my intended pieces on time, but I do not advise that you ever try to make 9 artworks in 3 days. No, sir. Bad life decisions, that's what that was... but this fic, as anyone knows, moves me to do things I never thought possible, starting with writing the fic itself!

It's really crazy every time it hits me that I've been doing this for as long as I have. It's been a complicated, chaotic journey, with its many ups and downs, but ultimately, it has been our journey. For some people, this is just one more fic in the pile: for me, it's been the best adventure of my life so far. Everyone who has ever been touched by Gladiator, who has ever cherished this story, who's looking forward to the big conclusion, who wants to see how the chaotic war is going to end... you're all part of this crazy adventure along with me, and I can only thank you for joining me.

This year, I had no time to make as big a project as I usually go for. Thus, I did a sort of free-for-all edition of Fic-to-Art over at Patreon and challenged myself to draw as many scenes as I could, out of their suggestions. I even sprinkled in a few scenes I impulsively wanted to draw because I loved writing them or because I look forward to writing them... and this is the result!

In order, the scenes are as follow:

Sokka combing Azula's hair, a common occurrence throughout the story.

Azula watching over a convalescing Sokka in the Chase of Jeong Jeong arc.

The outcome of Sokka's final battle in the Superior Gladiator League, namely a moment where Sokka and Azula more or less gave away their relationship's true nature to the public by raising their hands towards each other...

And now, spoiler territory! Some were by my choice, some by Patreon requests:

An important moment shortly after Sokka and Azula reunite.

Azula confronting her father, with a LOT of backup.

Xin Long's long-awaited freedom.

The aftermath of the final battle.

The full-blown confirmation of their relationship to the general Fire Nation populace.

Sokka, Azula and Hotaru's first night together

And the big final one is ACTUALLY Fic-to-Art #36 but hahaha woops I didn't post it here on time because it was super hard to finish since I had a LOT of things going on... but here it is now! :'D it's a glimpse VERY far into the future of this fic's timeline!

Alright, that should be enough talking and explaining. Some things are vague, some things aren't, but ultimately I really hope you guys will be looking forward to the scenes you haven't seen yet, and to Gladiator's eventual outcome.

So now... with all this being said and done, I'm gonna go take a trip down memory lane and watch my Tenth Anniversary video once more! Feel free to do the same thing if you'd like to commemorate the fic, I think it's a good way to experience Gladiator all over again, hahaha.

Thank you if you read all this, and if you read all THAT: 5 million word landmark, here we come! Thanks for hanging out with me across ELEVEN years of Gladiator!

#sokkla #sokka #azula #gladiator #fic-to-art project #zuko #aang #katara #rui shi #fei li #tai wei #and a rando #yes that guy is a rando he's there to symbolize all the randos in that scene #do not look too deep into it it isn't deep at all hahahahahaha #Xin Long continues to be the bane of my existence I love him I hate drawing him #I don't know if he's good enough but I hope the emotional punch of THAT MOMENT #is enough to make up for any flaws ahahahaha welp #... also yes I'm not even sorry this was my excuse to go wild drawing as much Sokkla as I could #and my patrons were so damn nice to give me so many excuses to do just that! #how could I refuse? :'D #anyway I really hope you guys enjoy #the new pieces are glazed #nightshade killed itself when I asked it to work with them #I got annoyed and left it as it was #the last one did get both things #OKAY! DONE! #I HAVE AN HOUR AND A HALF LEFT OF ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION IN THIS TIMEZONE #Seyary out (?)

[syruubi]

Man its been weeks and I’m still soured by the conclusion to Fontaine’s main story. I'll just rant here

There were a lot of things I didn’t like about it (Arlecchino's altruism being played straight, Traveler being out of character, the lore exposition ass-pull with the prophecy slates, the weird logic about how destroying a Gnosis could potentially wake up the Heavenly Principles but not fucking destroying an Archon Throne when Celestia forced everyone to fight a GODDAMN WAR TO ESTABLISH THEM-) but the biggest offense to me was how Furina was handled. This was marketed as the grand finale of the arc, the climax with Furina at the center of it all. And she got shafted. Big time. Furina had no agency in the plot whatsoever, nothing she did had any effect on how things turned out, and she didn’t even have the dignity of fully understanding why it all had to happen that way.

(Also I will preface this with yes Furina and Focalors are technically the same person with the same origin, but after the split Furina lost all her memories as Focalors. They are two separate consciousnesses with different experiences, and therefore I will treat their individual choices as their own)

I’ve seen people try to argue that no, she chose to take on this role knowing she would suffer, that she didn't HAVE to go along with it. And she was even working by herself to solve the prophecy without relying on Focalors, she wasn’t a puppet/pawn! But the thing is she was essentially in a hostage situation. If she didn’t do things exactly as dictated by Focalors people would DIE. Like there is a reason why criminal punishments are lighter when it’s found the perpetrator was coerced into it! And her researching how to avoid the prophecy changed nothing about the outcome, she could have sat around eating cake and the story would have word for word turned out exactly the same. All that information served to do was highlight her suffering and draw the audience’s sympathy. That's what I mean about her not having agency, it's not about her ability to act as an individual but how her actions had an effect on the overall plot. None of her choices outside of the role designated by Focalors did anything to change the situation for better or worse.

And to top it all off she didn’t even understand WHY this all had to happen. Why do people dissolve in the Primordial water? How does her pretending to be an Archon play into solving the issue? Why can’t she confide in anyone? What the hell is Focalors even doing? She doesn’t learn the answers to any of these until after everything was over, and not even from Focalors’ own mouth, it was relayed to her by Neuvillette.

Speaking of Neuvillette, I’m not gonna lie I’m sorta annoyed at his existence because it felt like Furina was shafted for him. Everything is very tilted in Neuvillette's favor. He gets his powers back, full control over Pneuma/Ousia, final say in trials, the ability to hand out Visions, and just straight up the ability to manipulate life itself. And okay all these things were his to begin with lore-wise, whatever, but he also becomes the "lore important" character after this at Furina's expense. Furina doesn't have her memories as Focalors, she can't tell us anything about how the world works, about Celestia, about what happened 500 years ago. Even though other Archons didn't give us much either for one reason or another, they at least HAVE that knowledge, and are therefore guaranteed to have involvement in future events with the Abyss and Celestia. Furina at the moment, doesn't. Neuvillette has it now. And all that talk about Focalors judging Celestia? Also Neuvillette's job now. And it feels like it was all stolen from Furina from a story-telling perspective because again, she didn't know of the plan to return his powers. She didn't even get to explicitly agree with her other self that he should have them back. The writers really seemed to go out of their way to place him on a pedestal at Furina's expense, which irks the hell out of me.

There are some opportunity for future interludes to turn the current state around, and they probably will since Furina is still being marketed as an Archon, but as it stands I want Fontaine to be over so we can move on to the next disappointment.

#I'm actually ok with the trial #I thought it was dumb but from the characters perspectives Furina was willingly hiding key information #and they already gave her a chance to come clean with it privately #so they had to corner her #and the writers needed to build up to the climax #so even if it was contrived I give it a pass #It was undoubtedly dramatic and I was very moved by Focalors sacrifice #but I couldn't disagree more when people call it peak writing #maybe it depends greatly on whether you liked Furina before her past was revealed #Bc despite the implications that there was more to her even early on people looked at her act at face value and thought she was insufferabl #and it was after we were shown the extent of her suffering that opinions took a 180 #and while I'm glad for that I can't help but be a little bitter that it took THIS for it to happen #amy rambles

[oshiawaseni]

Japan’s concept of confession and why Ochaco might not confess

“Confession” is a big deal in a country as subtle as Japan. Not all people have the courage to confess, but when starting official relationships confessions are often expected. This is what I know confessions to be like in the world of manga: Person A talks alone with Person B and shares with them the secrets of their heart. “I like you please accept my feelings.” This usually ends either with them going out or A being rejected by B. The usual reason for the rejection is “I like someone else.”

I’ve been having some more ideas about the day Izuku fell into Kacchan’s arms and how what Kacchan did for him was almost confessional in a way. He told Izuku what was in his heart, why he bullied him and that no matter how much he tried, he just couldn’t escape him. He called him “Izuku” and we saw the impact this had on Izuku’s face. 

Izuku just couldn’t believe that Kacchan was calling his name properly for the first time in 12 years, it completely shocked him, and after apologising for everything, he told Izuku, “Come home, let’s do this together. We need to help each other in this fight against AFO.” 

The conclusion of this confession was that Izuku acquiesced to 1-A’s request for him to return, but it was only really possible because his attachment to Kacchan triumphed over his motivations to stay away. It was Kacchan who broke down his walls with his apology. It was Kacchan who filled him with hope that things would be better, and Kacchan who finally hammered into Izuku how important it was for him to be part of the collective. That his inclusion was very wanted and needed, and that he in turn can rely more on everyone as well. That together, they can push forward, trusting in and helping each other.

I think what hurt Izuku the most during his solo arc was being away from his friends, but especially Kacchan. Because that day in the rain, he literally gave up on his solo vigilante mindset for him. After hearing Kacchan’s unbelievable words he had patiently longed to hear for years, it was impossible for Izuku to stay away from him any longer. As he passed out, he stumbled a few steps towards Kacchan who, without missing a beat, caught him in his arms and gently held him. This embrace told us “From now on it’ll be different. I’m gonna be here for you, Izuku.”

So to recap all of that... Kacchan became vulnerable and spilled what was in his heart, Izuku accepted his desires, with it all culminating in them becoming closer. Which is just like a successful romantic confession!?

I think after watching this all go down, something inside Ochaco clicked. A lot of the class are rushing over to Izuku when Kacchan catches him because they’re just so worried about him, but a few of them, Ochaco included, stay standing back. It doesn’t make much sense at all. But we’re given a zoom in of her without knowing any of the thoughts going through her mind.

They got Izuku back, but she doesn’t really seem all that happy. Momo says to her “this is just the first obstacle we aren’t done yet” and she agrees. Ochaco knows that there’s still more they as a group need to do for Izuku to make his return happen. But the fact that there’s a few panels dedicated to zooming in on her staying put, her almost emotionless face (mirroring Shoto’s) while she’s watching Kacchan save Izuku and his new unbridled intimacy he has with him - could be telling us that there’s something else she’s processing.

Is this moment somber for her because she realised the person Izuku needs the most is none other than the person he has openly admired since she first met him? The very same person who always bared his fangs at Izuku because he was scared him getting close?

Was Ochaco witnessing the beginning of something new between them and suddenly finding herself sidelined as a contender for Izuku’s affections?

Somehow… this could be what it was all about. And that’s why I think there’s a good chance Ochaco gave up her crush on Izuku for good when she witnessed Katsuki return his love and embrace him after that emotionally-charged apology. After this, a more defined distance between her and Izuku appears visible in their next scene together. A respectful distance of Izuku’s own choosing.

It was like a definitive line had been drawn out that can’t and perhaps shouldn’t be crossed. Maybe they both understood that the person Izuku wanted close by his side has always been Katsuki. That desire wasn’t simply a pipe dream to Izuku anymore, it had become reality. And who is Ochaco to get in the way of that?

And then it’s almost like she is bookending Katsuki’s confession to Izuku with a confession of her own about Toga, putting a close to the Izuocha chapter and she makes a comment which feels double in meaning. “I guess that means we are the same.” or You love a boy, just like I might love a girl. (To put it bluntly)

And Izuku remembers this line again after he gets separated from Kacchan and Ochaco is telling him to go. Go back to Tenko. Go back to your Kacchan.

The concept of “knowing how someone feels because you love them and always watch over them” comes up from time to time in manga. In a way, that’s also a reason why Kacchan and Izuku understand each other as deeply as they do and they aren’t afraid of showing it off. They were always watching each other from a safe distance and learning things about each other in this way. I think during chapter 322, this concept is what was happening to cause such a realisation in Ochaco. (And it’s also for this reason Tsuyu, who never had feelings for Izuku, still doesn’t get it.)

It was hard for her, knowing everything she does about Izuku’s deep attachment to Kacchan, to learn that Izuku’s affections for him weren’t one-sided and they were now closer than ever before… That’s why I don’t think she’ll want to get in the way by confessing anymore. If Kacchan’s apology was intended to be compared with a romantic confession, then Ochaco is probably aware that Izuku already “has someone he likes”… and that person isn’t her.

#bakudeku #idk if this is Hopium copium or whatever it’s just my thoughts and feelings lately on ochaco’s state of mind #and why I don’t think a confession is going to happen #prone to being wrong at any time ofc lollol #but that said I also fantasise about Izuku rejecting her if she does haha 😂 #it would make for the best kohei troll ever #I think she’s going to accept togas feelings too #so there’s that #Katsuki’s feelings for Izuku aren’t going to be shoved aside #it’s mutual lol it has to be #kacchan loves deku #deku loves kacchan #op #Bnha meta #kana writes #I WAS GOING TO WAIT TO POST THIS BUT NO MHA THIS WEEK #LETS FALL INTO DELUSION TOGETHER MY SISTERS #i hope this makes even a little bit of sense but even if it doesnt then #I still hope you got a kick out of reading it! #this is all only my thoughts/theories - hopefully something nice to think about :) #<3 #must read meta #bkdk canon #oopsss

[filmmarvel]

Ted Lasso Finale Pros and Cons

PROS:

Nate telling everyone about Jade :))

Their performances in the final match, including Isaac kicking the ball THROUGH the net

Barbara’s scenes, and her continuing to work with Keeley!

Rebecca selling her shares and getting a happy ending with Boat Guy- just because it isn’t the ending I wanted doesn’t mean I’m gonna let it ruin the whole thing for me.

The shares going to the fans!

Even though I disliked the Jane thing, it made sense that Beard wanted to stay in England, he was always better acclimated than Ted. He seemed natural, and he had a home and community there.

Sam going to the Nigerian team!

Fun moment with Zava and his avocados

The ussie guy, and a bunch of other fun nods to the first episode

The fine thing at the beginning of the episode

Dr. Sharon finally appearing!

Women’s football happening?

Of course, the believe scene was really sweet

Colin being one of the few characters to get a satisfying arc!

CONS:

Unresolved storylines

The entire Roy/Jamie/Keeley situation? It was really unnecessary to bring Jamie back into the mix this late in the game. Plus that weird bar scene? Not to mention how they had really teased Roy and Keeley getting together for awhile (their whole arc this season was all over the place). Roy was being pretty immature, which kinda undid some character development. And I felt pretty unsatisfied by the lack of resolve there.

The fact that they’re still implying big moments that happened and not actually showing them!! There were a lot of big moments that we never saw- super unsatisfying (ex: Sam deciding to go to the Nigerian team).

Deliberately teasing Tedbecca like that:( The opening scene, her pouring her heart out and him saying NOTHING, her literally buying a first class ticket just to say goodbye to him. I’m not saying Tedbecca HAD to happen for it to be a good finale, just that all that was kinda cruel and irritating for the writers to mislead people like that.

Ted being uncharacteristically unresponsive to a lot of stuff, not talking a lot and joking like most other episodes.

Nate not really having any super impactful moments this episode after a long arc this season (and no Jade scenes). He’s one of the few characters this season who’s really gotten a fulfilling emotional arc, so for him to not really have any big moments this episode felt a bit like whiplash. Not to mention that we didn’t really get any indication of where he’s going from there career-wise? He’s still the wonderkind, so to have him back as a kit man was fun for the episode, but I expected a bit more for his future (at least a tease or something).

Beard marrying Jane (and Ted not being there??)

Ted’s whole ending, the way we have no reason to believe he’ll be at all happy there. I’m glad he’s back with his kid and everything, but what the hell. Like it’s one thing if we had been able to see his friends visiting and staying with him or something but nope! He’s just alone, in a place and with people who have caused him significant unhappiness throughout the show. I feel like they could’ve set it up better, maybe having him discuss things with Dr. Sharon or SOMEONE (just to see his perspective and understand what he’s thinking a bit more) but instead it’s just yet another example of not showing the important moments here.

Not getting any resolve about Jamie’s path in life, future plans, etc and instead only using this episode to make things weird with him and Keeley. They were fine as friends.

I’m not a Ted/Trent shipper (I feel for you guys), but Trent deserved at least one nice scene, a goodbye with Ted, something!

So in conclusion, despite how fun certain parts of this episode were, I was pretty unsatisfied with the lack of resolve among a lot of these storylines and characters, not to mention some poorly justified plot choices. As I mentioned below in my initial reaction, this whole season was so poorly planned out. I assumed that they would’ve at least planned for the finale, but it’s clear now that the whole thing was all over the place. They should’ve decided what they wanted in the finale and then spent the season setting it up. For example, when they decided it was going to end with Ted going home, they could’ve chosen to spend the season slowly working through this decision leading to an ending that would’ve felt justified (and they could’ve spent time setting up a way for him to be happy there). But instead, they introduced it in one of the last episodes. And I could use any number of examples here- Sam going to the Nigerian team, Beard staying, anything with Jamie, etc. This just felt rushed and random.

#ted lasso finale #Ted lasso #Ted lasso spoilers #ted lasso season 3 #Ted lasso pros and cons #Ted lasso review #Ted lasso opinion #rebecca walton #Ted and Rebecca #Tedbecca #colin hughes #trent crimm #Keeley jones #Roy kent #jamie tartt #dr Sharon #coach beard #Nathan Shelley #Ted lasso finale reaction

[bengiyo]

Our Dining Table Ep 9 Stray Thoughts

Last week, Minoru and Yutaka broke up in the most painful way possible: with Minoru misreading Yutaka and believing he had offended him with the kiss. Yutaka didn't feel that way, but he's not yet able to express how much Minoru means to him. Instead, everyone is suffering, including the dad and Tane.

We literally just started and I'm mad about the motion ghosting.

It's only a week between Christmas and New Year, so there's a lot of angst being crammed into this week with Yutaka being bummed that Minoru hasn't reached out to him.

Tane is such an easy kid to love. He wants to see Yutaka, realizes something happened between them, and says the obvious that they should just go apologize together.

I'm not sure how I feel about the older brother's added context about Yutaka also being distant. He definitely wasn't great in Yutaka's memory, but I feel like I have to respect his frustration at Yutaka being closed off their entire lives.

And now Yutaka realizes that a core memory of being cared for, that he recently projected onto Minoru, was actually his stepbrother. Fascinating. I like that there's no apology. Just an acceptance of what has happened. In any case, to Hozumi family seems to care about Yutaka's well-being.

Yes, Yutaka! Run! RUN!!! RUNNN!!!

Minoru has been in the same slumped position and in this grey look while missing Yutaka. I'm gonna need him to get it together.

Thank you, Papa Ueda. Pick his ass up by the scruff and tell him to fix it before the year ends. He said, "Bring my future son-in-law back and mend it."

I love how we can see the light returning to Minoru over the course of this conversation on the swings.

Well that kiss was lovely. The build up where Yutaka reveals that Minoru is also important to him, and that he does want Minoru to touch him. I like the reciprocation from Yutaka at turning to meet the kiss. Breaking the moment after with giddy humor at the relief of being close again really worked for me.

I like that Tane is starting to call Yutaka brother as well. "ni-Yukata" is adorable. He and Yutaka have such an easy rapport.

The pinky touch still belongs to the gays!!!!

I also like Ohata a lot. It's been fun how her issues somewhat feed Yutaka's anxieties, but also encourages him to take care of his things.

Genuinely looking forward to the conclusion for this. Pain and loss have been big themes of this series, so having them face the fear that they might lose each other as the final hurdle feels appropriate.

#our dining table #bokura no shokutaku #japanese bl #bl series #Ben watches

[autumnalmess]

Unpopular opinion: does anyone else just fucking hate the 1985 original London recording of Les miserables or is it just me?? I'll give my propaganda reasoning below, give that a read first:

Okay, my reasoning:

OBVIOUSLY Colm Wilkinson is incredible. Not disputing that. So slightly remove that from the equation when I say I don't like this recording. Of course, a lot of the singers are really great (specifically Marius, Eponine, Cosette, jvj, fantine, Enjolras, loads of the Amis), and there are some songs that I like, but as a whole it feels really clunky.

In terms of timing, I know it was more of a concept album for England and they obviously changed a lot of bits afterwards, but in the recording it feels like all of the singers are very unsure of the timings. Whether this is because they actually were or because of artistic decisions to phrase things strangely, in the listening experience, it really comes across with an uncertain feel. Nothing seems to come in quite at the right time, and a lot of the singers will be just a couple of beats delayed in their coming in, which they may have been instructed to do by the musical director, but it feels strange all the same. And a lot of the singers play around with the timings so much that it feels at odds with the accompaniment.

Second, this is gonna be an insanely unpopular opinion, but I think Roger Allam in this specific recording (not commenting on his performance live) is a bit abysmal. He's an insanely talented actor and I love him in the thick of it, but here he does not show off his ability as a singer well at all. He speaks most of the lines, which is fine for some songs but feels awkward when he's really baring his soul in the soliloquy. Also his technique as a singer is really questionable. The way he holds his consonants completely restricts his vocals, giving it no vib and no room to grow especially on the big notes, it does not do justice to the build of the music. Furthermore, I feel he skims over the tops of the notes a lot, which really pisses me off because in a piece of music so carefully curated like Les miserables, every note is important to the flow and the harmony. This is not to slag him off. I'm sure he was good in performance, but I feel this specific recording does not reflect that.

Musically, they don't go ham with the drums enough. If you want to understand what I mean, just listen to the french version. Also, the music in this version, again, feels a little uncertain. Like there are points where a couple of instruments are playing a melody, and theres a countermelody that doesn't really sound like it fits. And you know it just needs a third harmony to bring it all together. It's just little things that make it sound less refined as a whole. (Side note but this pisses me off: a lot of the time the songs are a lot slower in tempo than all the other recordings and it just feels like it lacks energy a bit)

Propaganda time: The main reason I don't like this one is because it's not as good as the french version, which feels consistently refined and energised and raw. The emotion comes through from all of the singers so much more, without losing track of the notes or the rhythms. All the singers have wonderful technique, specifically jvj and Javert, which makes their songs so much more powerful. Just listen to Comment faire? (Same as Who am I) and youll get what I mean about the drums and the countermelodies. Also they have some baller theme and variation in that song which really brings out the music student in me.

Conclusion: I'm absolutely so sorry if I've just ripped apart your favourite recording. Do feel free to ignore everything I've just said because most of these are just like teeny tiny little things that annoy me specifically. And I'm sure most of this is just because I've spent too much time listening to the french version that now I turn my nose up at perfectly respectable other versions. If you love this one, you're valid. And I do listen to some of the songs on it. I love their little fall of rain and finale. I just can't stand roger allam's soliloquy or stars.

#les miserables #les mis #sorry again if you feel ive been harsh #i just cant bloody stand it #victor hugo #les misposting #original 1985 recording #jean valjean #javert #propaganda #french version propaganda

[raetoria]

Let’s talk about the Veil

I’m gonna start out by saying this fully theorizing, complete spinfoil, little evidence but big dreams.  This post is not going to be about the campaign, I have different post on my blog talking about it if you really want to know.  As you might expect, huge spoilers for the campaign.  Alright, it’s lore time babey!

Alright so the Veil is super mysterious.  As mentioned in the campaign, there is very little we understand about the Veil.  Osiris has never seen anything like it, the Neomuni really just use it as a battery.  We really only know three things:

The Witness used it to open a portal (of some sort).

In interacts with both the Light and the Darkness.

It powers Neomuna and specifically is integral to the operation of the CloudArk.

That is really not a lot to go on.  However, I do think it is actually enough to figure out what is going on.  I believe that the Veil acts as a gateway between the Light and Darkness, or more specifically the physical and the metaphysical.  Now that is a pretty wild claim but here’s why.

During the campaign, Osiris muses on the nature of Light and Dark.  Specifically, he mentions that the Light deals with the physical: causing things to grow, letting us bend the rules of physics, etc.  On the other side, the Darkness deals with the metaphysical: dreams and nightmares (Nezarec alert!), feelings of control, emotions, etc.  He notes that these two forces are fundamentally incompatible.  Frankly, I disagree, I think this is a case of Osiris purposely coming to the incorrect conclusion to have a reveal in Final Shape but that’s a different theory entirely.  For now, the important thing to note is that there are a lot of questions around what happens when Light and Dark collide (Strand, Tormentors, Savathun, both “sides” using both powers, etc). 

Now let’s look at the Ishtar Collective facility and Neomuna.  In the final mission, Nimbus notes that a device we see is a CloudArk prototype.  Later we see some wacky chairs that probably were part of that project.  I cannot fully remember but I also remember the implication that the Veil is used in part of the upload process to the CloudArk.  Here, we see minds crossing into a digital space, disconnected from their physical body.  They go from entirely physical to entirely mental.

Okay Witness time.  We see the Witness carve a giant triangle into the Traveler and then open a Veil portal, passing beyond it.  I am reading this as the Witness has entered the Traveler. I’ll come back to that.  But again, the Witness has passed into an unknown space, Darkness goes into a space that is ostensibly defined by the Light.  Furthermore, the Radial Mast is specifically identified as a source of Light during the campaign and our ghost (a creation of the Light) is used to channel the Veil’s power with Osiris telling us to get our ghost away from the Veil.  Again, the convergence of Light and Dark.

Alright let’s bring it all together.  In all of these cases, we see the Veil being used as a sort of translation layer between physical and nonphysical states or more specifically, Light and Dark.  I think the Veil allows for Light and Darkness to coexist in a way that is otherwise impossible.  This is why Strand is present on Neomuna (our Light powers getting reflected into a metaphysical state), this is why our ghost can be semi-hijacked by the Witness, this is why Neomuni can be uploaded to the CloudArk which really feels a lot like the VexNet, and this is why the Radial Mast / a source of Light (us) was needed for the Witness to interact with the Veil.  It plays really nicely on the phrase “beyond the Veil” which, while often used in conjunction with death, actually just refers a mysterious division between worlds.  Again, plays really nicely with the ideas I mention here about moving between worlds, and moving between the domains of Light and Dark. 

So that begs the questions, what the heck is going on with the Witness and the Traveler?  Well take a trip with me into deep theory territory here cause I’m moving from little evidence to zero evidence.  In the final cutscene, we see the Witness send its Pyramid ships into the portal before following.  We know a couple of things.  According to Osiris, the Light deals with the physical.  We also know the Pyramid ships respond, at least in part, to our thoughts and desires.  What if the inside of the Traveler is a massive space, able to fit in the relatively small Traveler ball Tardis style because of the physics warping nature of the Light like the thought warping nature of the Darkness in the Pyramids?  The Witness needs some way to enter that space, but literally cannot because it is such a channeller of the Darkness. So, to get its ships and forces inside, it needs a translation layer.  Something that will allow it to enter this space and allow the Darkness and Light to mix.  That’s why it needs the Veil, to pass beyond, to actually get to the heart of whatever the Traveler is, whether that’s a Witness-like creature or of something more abstract. 

Also, I am wondering if the reason why nothing we do gets past the Veil is because we are all physical and Light based.  Would explain why the Witness converts its ships into smokey wisps to pass through.  So perhaps the answer is we have to become heavy on the Darkness side or... think our way through?  Not sure about this one tbh XD. Either way, I am sure we will see more about the Veil in the lead up to Final Shape. 

#destiny #destiny 2 #destiny spoilers #destiny 2 spoilers #lightfall #lightfall spoilers #I mean look in reality we have no idea what the veil is and neither do the characters #and maybe the raid and nezarec will have some more info but it really is a situation of like #well maybe this 10 seconds of video content will explain a giant mystery and the entire next campaign hmmm yes #I do think the idea of it acting as a gateway is sound though given the cloudark of it all #we have the gate just gotta figure out the key #and maybe the key is some sweet loot #or a god in a gun given destiny's track record

[pokemenlovingmen]

YAAAY TRANSMASC ACE MAN BLOG!! (IM THAT TOO!!!)

Speaking of ace(sex repulsed ace) how about an x reader with arven were the reader comes out as ace?(trans+gay reader ofc, he/they/it btw! :D)

Btwwww before anyone claims this,,,,, I’ll be,,,,,,, “🐾🦴 dog bone anon” :3

Hi dog bone anon!! With all the ace transmascs I’ve been getting in my inbox it’s pretty clear I’ve found my target audience—and they’re all just like me fr fr.

I’d love to write this coming out story with our favorite sandwich man! I love writing about the queer experience, at least the experience I can say I’m familiar with. Ace acceptance rules :)

A Bit of News — Coming out as ace to Arven

🥪 — Okay point and laugh, give him the olympic medal for jumping to conclusions, when you said you had something “important you wanted to talk privately about” he automatically assumed the worst.

🥪 — Unbeknownst to you, he might actually be even more nervous than you when you sit down to talk. He doesn’t do well with sudden news.

“So, Arv… uh, I don’t know how else to say this. But I talked it through with some friends, and you’re my boyfriend, so you deserve to know. I’m… asexual. Y’know…? I really hope it’s not too disappointing to hear… I mean, I don’t want this to change anything about our relationship, but if it’s something that makes it harder to stay together because you’re not comfortable with it or it’s too restricting for you, I understand.”

🥪 — He blinks. You stare at him, biting your lip nervously.

🥪 — Oh, wait… that’s all?

🥪 — He lets out a massive sigh of relief and smiles at you.

“Oh, that’s it? Phew! Sorry, I kinda got nervous there that something really bad had happened. That’s a load off my mind.”

“So, wait, you’re… not upset about the asexual thing?”

“Huh? Why would I be upset about it?”

“Well, it kinda interferes with a big part of a lot of relationships and all…”

“S/O? Do you really think we’d be here, having this conversation, if I was just in it to get you in my bed? There’s probably hundreds of guys out there I could look at and go ‘oh man, he’s so hot’, but there’s only one of you. And I’m not saying I don’t find you hot or anything—but ehh, that’s besides the point—it’s just that there are a billion other things that I like about you past your body. And that’s a billion other reasons to stay with you.”

“Arv, Arceus, you’re too good to me… so you really don’t mind?”

“Definitely not. It’s gonna take way more than that to get rid of me!”

🥪 — After your talk, though (and the deep kiss and wonderful cuddle session that followed), he’s probably got some questions. I imagine he’d be the type to repress his own sexuality for a long time to begin with, so be doesn’t exactly know much about the rest of the LGBTQ+ community. He wants to know more, both to be involved more in the queer community, and also to establish and respect a comfort zone for you!

🥪 — He’s always very polite when he does have questions to ask and always reminds you that you don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable. But it’s a lot easier to talk about your sexuality, the way you express it, how you figured it out, how it makes certain things feel, when you have Arven there being so genuinely curious and wanting to learn about these things.

🥪 — You can also tell when he did research because he’ll be confirming some really silly facts about the community with you the next morning (i.e., asking you if you really like cake to confirm the memes he saw online. He sorta conducts himself like a confused grandpa trying to be supportive but not really knowing what to do, and you tell him so. He hates you for saying that. >:| ).

🥪 — So speaking of the classic asexual “I’d rather have cake” meme, you find him baking you cakes with alarming frequency because he thinks he’s being funny.

🥪 — Overall, this really doesn’t alter your relationship with Arven much. You’re still his handsome and perfect boyfriend, which he’ll make known anytime you like. He already loved you so much and like he said, hearing you are ace changes none of that.

“Anyone who would only want you for your body is insane anyway, S/O. Really, only your body? I’m mad at anyone who would think like that and they’re just hypothetical people, like, you’d have to be the dumbest person in the world to get with someone as perfect as you and think your body is the only thing that’s worthwhile. Even if I was disappointed about you being ace, there’s literally hundreds of other things about you to love that mean way more than sex ever could.”

“You’re getting worked up about this.”

“I just—I love you, okay?? And I’m getting upset thinking there’s anyone that would treat you like that!”

“Yeah, you really showed those hypothetical people what for. You tell ‘em, Arven.”

#pokemon x reader #pokemon male reader #arven x male reader #arven x reader #asexual reader #tw sex mention

[androdetective]

Basic notice: I'm aware the show isn't serious and is basically just jokes. It's just fun to psychoanalyze

Cindy as a character wasn't developed much past being Tulio's girlfriend (and/or ex 💀) Which is really unfortunate, as the show doesn't have as much developed female characters. This is really unfortunate as from what we've seen of her, she seems like an interesting character with more to bring. And even more unfortunate was that over time she was made into the "spiteful obsessive ex lover" character. From what we're aware of her, in the beginning of the second season she had a summer fling with Tulio. She took it very seriously and was head over heels. When Tulio was trying to host the news, he would be interrupted by many incoming letters for him. They were all sent from Cindy trying to get his attention. They got so invasive that he couldn't continue on with the news. Eventually she gets inside the studio and manages to talk to him. Tulio, embarrassed, by all the attention he's getting from Cindy and his friends cooing at him, tries to get her to leave and deny things that happened between them. He then says something rude to her that gets her to break up with him and leave. Tulio only did this to impress his friends, and has now realized his mistake and wants Cindy back. Later, Cindy does give him a chance to make it up to her. Initially, he fucks it up stupidly bad, but then wins her over. (Bc he remembered her cell phone number, which is insane)

The next big appearance she had was in episode 33. She arrived at the studio, saying she was upset at tulio for lying about the show being educative. Tulio again tries to win her back, this time by reenacting a play of Don Quixote. It went badly and Cindy left him. (I'm amazed by how bad Tulio is)

The last bigger appearance she had in the show was in season 4. She pretends to be a dangerous, escaped criminal who wants revenge on Tulio. She is aided by the help of the other studio members to teach Tulio a lesson. Tulio, the entire episode, is scared shitless. Until in the end, it's finally revealed to him it was actually Cindy. Cindy tells him the reason she did this was because he forgot her at a restaurant 6 YEARS AGO. and to make matters worse, a TV in the restaurant was playing a live interview Tulio was doing. In it, he said he "would never miss a chance to talk about himself" and "he had nothing important to do." After that, she reasonably held a grudge towards him. But to have such a strong grudge for six years seems depressingly desperate. She evem had pictures of Tulio she'd throw sharp objects at. Why did she hatch such a dramatic plan to get back with such a shitty guy. A guy that forgot about her for six years. We're aware that she loves people strongly, to the point of it being excessive. But to do that with such an awful partner is concerning. We don't know her background, but I do wonder if if she was given one, would it explain why she attached herself to someone so quickly? Does she not have other better people in her life? Why Tulio of all people?? At the end of it, Cindy just wants to be loved and have attention. She does it in unhealthy ways, though, and attached herself to an overall bad partner. Tulio is far from mentally healthy and has rocky relationships with everyone. He has a push and pull relationship with people in his life. This generally isn't Cindy's fault. If either were more functioning, they'd communicate their unhealthy habits and reach a mutual conclusion. But they're not that at all, so that's never gonna happen. Tulio ended up hurting Cindy, a lot. This isn't unusual with the closest people in his life, but this feels particularly egregious. I hope Cindy ends up leaving Tulio for good one day, manages to recover from him, and evolve mentally.

#31 minutos #cindy miraflores #tulio fumbling a bad bitch on live tv so fucking hard will never not be funny to me #i still want him gone though #cindy needs to move on from that stupid monkey and get with someone that treats her with respect #someone like amapo- *gets dragged away by demons *

[baby-xemnas]

Hi is me no Bepo fashion this time I'm afraid ,BUT I do have angst!(this is gonna be long and i apologize for that)

So I believe in one comic it was implied that shachi had a crush on law, I imagine that at some point he was just like "ok I NEED to het over this. It's ridiculous! He only has eyes for Bepo!" And just trying his hardest to just move on and it just not working damnit!!!!!

So he comes to the conclusion, " I need to tell him and get rejected,but will hurt but I NEED it!". This imaginary situation is after the Yuri incident.

And thus after days of hyping himself up he finds it in him to get a moment alone with law. "Law listen I know what the answer is but I just need to say this, I....I have feelings for you and I need ..I NEED to..."

And after a beat law just replied with a " No Shachi." Not COLDLY or anything but just that topical Law way. And Shachi just takes a moment to nod, apologies and walk away.

Later penguin just finds Shachi in their room just softly crying but looks at him and confirms to him that , he did it, the outcome they KNEW would happen did and now he needs to face the hurt and needs a hug from his best bro.

No one talks about it later, they don't need to. They all just move on. Stronger than ever.

Tbh I can see something similar happening with a strawhat too, probably sanji if I had to guess, and later he and Shachi kinda form a 'we were rejected by our captain' club and help each other move on.

Maybe make out a lil idk just a thought

Holy Shit this was LONG I'm so sorry have a good day.

LOVE IT THANK YOU

if you have more like this im all ears, not guaranteed that ill agree with it all (i do agree here) but i love a long message thank you so much (this is @ you and @ everyone in general)

but omg holy shit i didnt even realize that the yuri incident (tm pending) ties to my previous comic w fem law..happy accident

LOOOOOVEEEE

yeah god you are so on point law really wouldnt make it awkward and try to beat around the bush to -not hurt his feelings- he is so matter of fact at least when he cuts you its with surgical precision there is barely any trace of it left

100% agree with lu*san and luffy's method of rejection is also matter of fact but with gentleness of a sledgehammer. i like sanji having a helpless crush, like he never managed to get along with zoro and zoro getting all of luffy's love on top of feeling inferior to zoro's strength, on top of not being luffy's first most important right hand man.....sanji would internalize all of that and drive himself crazy...he loves luffy and believes in him and being with luffy gives him strength to do anything cuz thats just THE LUFFY EFFECT - but you know..you know..insecure bitch :)))))) hehehehe looove love that you mentioned it im a big fan.

law is direct and its brutal but its the best way to do it, he cares about shachi a lot but he doesnt need to say it, trying to comfort him saying shit like "this wont change anything about our relationship" to comfort shachi is also not his style

penguin watching the mess shachi made of himself cant really help him, yes ofc he's there for him OF COURSE but also it just sucks, feelings are hard you cant control them, and also, its understandable isnt it? their boss baby really is amazing huh

#lawbepo #luzo #i loveeeee people having crushes on a part of my otp its the best #so thank you #imagining law getting to his quarters or to the control room because while he feels FINE that was a little weird and he wants to see bepo #he sees him and bepo is just casual and silly and normal and law is like #/sigh of relief/ #he is not shaken at all you couldnt tell if anything unusuall happened or he just got told that weather tomorrow will be bad #he trusts in their friendship and homogenuity of their crew for this to not cause any incident #bless

[soapypomegranate]

Crowley was a Seraphim (theory)

I adore the theory that Crowley was Raphael before he sauntered vaguely downwards, but after season 2 my mind has changed a bit.

-- Spoilers for Season 2 --

In the first Ep, we see Pre-fall Crowley "creating" the universe. He also says "Let there be light" Assumedly this is the first time it was said so that's a pretty big deal, he later goes on to explain that he "worked very closely with upstairs on it". Of course, God was the one who came up with the idea for the universe and humans but it was Crowley who actually said the words and materialized the universe. No doubt an extremely important job, which can only lead to the conclusion that pre-fall Crowley was a very high-up angel that God herself trusted enough to do this job on his own.

The next piece of evidence is still in the first episode when Crowley talks to Beelzebub and they explain that Heaven is willing to use "extreme sanctions". Crowley then responds by saying "That isn't actually a thing. That's just something we used to joke about to frighten the Cherubs." This Implies that Beelzebub and Crowley used to scare the Cherubs but also means that both of them had a higher position over the Cherubs, high enough that the Cherubs believed them when talking about "extreme sanctions".

Now in Ep 6, when Muriel pulls up Gabriel's file and tries to open it they say that to open the file you'd "have to be a throne, or dominion or above." And Crowley is able to open it.

This would also be a good place to explain Christianity's Hierarchy of Angels:

Highest orders:

Seraphim

Cherubim (a.k.a Cherubs)

Thrones

Middle orders:

Dominions

Virtues

Powers

Lowest orders:

Principalities (Aziraphale)

Archangels

Angels

Mr. Gaiman has explained that he and Sir Terry Pratchett "were of the opinion that, in the world of Good Omens, archangels and Archangels were different things". He explains that Archangels like Michael out-rank Seraphim, and that's why Gabriel is Aziraphale's boss. This also could mean that Crowley was Raphael, an Archangel the highest-ranking angel in the Good Omens universe, but that's not the theory I'm talking about right now.

Anyway back to the theory, so after all this we can assume some things,

a) Pre-fall Crowley worked close with God and she trusted him

b) He used to scare Cherubs with the idea of "extreme sanctions" implying that he had some power over them because (I'm assuming) the Cherubs believed him

c) He's either a Dominion, Throne, Cherubim, or Seraphim (or Archangel if he was Rapheal) because he was able to open Gabriel's file

So I'm kinda believing that pre-fall Crowley was a Seraphim, one of the most high-ranking angels under the Captial A - Archangels. This also explains some things in Ep 6:

a) Crowley is the first one to identify the Metatron, most likely because pre-fall they used to work together (and maybe had something to do with his fall especially since the Metatron said when talking about Crowley "Ah well, he always wanted to go his own way. Always asking damn fool questions too."), so that face definitely isn't gonna leave his memory any time soon.

b) During Crowley and Aziraphale's fight Aziraphale says "I don't think you understand what I'm offering you." and Crowley shoots back "I understand. I think I understand a whole lot better than you do." which in all honesty is probably true because most likely Crowley never was honest with Aziraphale about what it was like for him in Heaven and the fall, etc. Crowley also outranks him by a lot so there's probably a lot that he knows about the underbelly of Heaven but doesn't share with Aziraphale to protect him and his innocent beliefs about what Heaven is.

Anyway, that's the theory, I really like the Raphael theory, but I also feel like this also explains a lot too.

Thank you for reading this chaos of a theory!

#neil gaiman #good omens #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #gos2 spoilers #ineffable bureaucracy #good omens season 2 #arch angel gabriel #beelzebub #good omemes

[observers-journal]

Do you think that the whole controversy with Tenoch has caused ER to either be more popular among social media and the public or just less as if people are turning away from her? Especially since the 'so-called' evidence that she posted was used against her to call her out on her lies as well as her crimes and history. Also, I wonder if politicians who have tried to be associated with her, such as that one deputy who schemed with her to try to pass the stealthing law by dragging Tenoch, are avoiding and turning away from her due to probably realizing how toxic and criminal she really is. Because it's amazing how they are all silent instead of supporting her, even with the access to the media power that they have that they could use to promote her such as they did with her case as there is not much news going on except for what she posts on Twitter, even with her acid case. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that no one prominent is really on her side publicly, except her lawyer and followers, which makes her really all alone. She probably does these horrible things as a way to feel good about herself and have some self-importance, which would have been sad, if it wasn't for the fact that she tramples and hurts others with her family to do so. If there is one important thing that I have learned in my two and a half decades of life on Earth that is very true, it's that the bill always comes due, and I feel that her bill for all that she has done might be on its way.

Thank you for the submission, anon! You pose a very interesting theory, which I agree can be true.

I'm gonna be a bit more cautious here about my answer, mostly because everything is so chaotic, nuanced and layered it's hard to tease out a specific reason for this. Whatever I say is purely my opinion, so please take it with a pinch of salt.

She could be the case of "bad publicity is still publicity". If she truly is trying for a political career, this might bring her some exposure. Politics is usually dirty and messy, and any kind of exposure helps. I have a feeling she's not very big on her own, but tries to show herself by using the few contacts she has gained, and the nexus she has from her own family. She cares a lot about her carefully constructed image, coz that's what she has going for her. That public sympathy and an activist image.

On the other hand, an equally valid argument is the one you raise. And that I suspect too: this is gonna come back to bite her. Everyone acts to preserve their self-interests, and so we have seen people distancing themselves from her. The amount of stuff she and her family has going on is a biggg problem for her. It's not like other politicians are not toxic or criminal, they just hide it better.

She definitely created a big ruckus and then nothing came of it. So to some extent, I think her temporary social media popularity is down. Will it continue to be that way? I can't say. Does it reflect the ground reality? I don't know.

I don't want to pass any personal comments on her as a person, and keep myself limited to her case with Tenoch. I feel bad for her acid attack, but what she did to him was nasty. Terrible.

Here's what I suspect. All of our conclusions are based on publicly available info. Behind the scenes? She could have quieted down and shifted her focus elsewhere (other cases that are more important). She might have found solace in the fact that she was able to successfully deliver a blow to Tenoch's career. She might be covering up her criminal traces. She might be working on her network politically. Or she might be quietly planning another attack on Tenoch (I actually doubt that).

But boy do I hope he sues the hell out of her.

Sorry for such a long post! I had thoughts. I hope you keep the world bright through your goodness and optimism! 🫶

#tenoch huerta #tenoch huerta mejia #jose tenoch huerta mejia #maria elena rios #elena rios #long answer #i had thoughts #anon asks #answered

[lunarsilver]

What awaits you in September?

Pick the pile you're feeling drawn to and see what awaits you in the next September.

REMEMBER

I’m not a doctor, a psychiatrist, a therapist nor a psychologist. Tarot readings will never replace meetings with them.

It’s a general reading, so not everything will resonate.

If you can’t choose between two piles, probably both of them have some messages for you. You can also not identify with any of them and that’s okay too.

Readings can help you make a decision, but they shouldn’t be the main reason of making it.

Side note: Somehow all the groups got a charm we have our place on earth, you all have something in common 😆.

All of the arts are official arts of Kazuha from Genshin Impact.

1 ~ 2 ~ 3

PILE 1

Cards: The Hanged Man (R), Two of Pentacles (R), Seven of Pentacles

Back of the deck: Temperance

I feel like for a lot of you it’s about work or school. These Hanged Man and Two of Pentacles, both in reverse, talk about multitasking, draining your energy on some minor things or putting too much attention to one area of life, leaving almost no time for other things. Try to better organize your time or think about smaller or bigger goals you have, and keep them in mind. Take some time for yourself and establish your priorities. Probably it’s good for you to put some thought into your finances.

As much as the beginning of the September looks not the best, the last card, Seven of Pentacles, shows that you will draw conclusions from it. It’s an invitation to look at the bigger picture and set your goals in a long-term perspective. It can be irritating because it will take time, probably more than you want to, but the patience is needed. For some of you, you can achieve something at the end of September. The character on the card looks kinda like a scholar to me, and he reaps the fruits of his labor.

The card at the back of the deck is usually like a theme of the reading, and it shows here. Temperance is about finding balance, patience, planning, peace and purpose. Good luck with it!

Charms: a good plan is essential, let’s go! (the sentences on the charms are in my native language and this one means literally we’re flying, just putting it here because it can be literal for some of you), we have our place on earth

PILE 2

Cards: Seven of Pentacles, Death, The Sun (R)

Back of the deck: Strength

Woah, a lot of Major Arcanas, some important stuff will happen. While the first pile is about setting goals and plans, this one kinda looks like the next stage of it. September probably will be for you the time of harvest, a culmination of your efforts, when the hard work will pay off. Death is about transformation, ending cycles, big changes. It came to my mind that, for some of you, a big work project can come to an end. Whatever it is, some big phase in your life will end. It can be overwhelming and make you feel worse. It’s temporary, and the reversed Sun encourages you to have some fun, take care of your inner child. Alternatively, your last success could make you overly optimistic and over-confident, and you will need to come down to earth.

Not gonna lie, Strength is one of my favorite cards and I’m always happy when I see it. This card isn’t really about the physical strength, but the inner one, bravery and intelligence. Whatever the obstacle, you can overcome it. It’s about understanding your emotions and dealing with them in the mature way. Side note, but after looking at the card I feel like this major change from before can be about your relation with your body, being more confident in it. It’s rather specific, but I get the feeling like some of you will decide wearing bra is not for you.

Charms: send joy, we have our place on earth, shall we dance?

PILE 3

Cards: Four of Pentacles, The High Priestess (R), Two of Cups

Back of the deck: Ace of Swords

A pretty balanced pile, we only miss here a card of Wands, which can mean that something from them is lacking, so let’s see what Wands symbolize. They’re related to growth, inspiration, ambition and also what is fundamental to you, spirituality. And when I look at the reversed High Priestess, it’s clear for me why Wands are not here. But let’s start from the beginning.

Four of Pentacles is all about savings, the feeling of security. Just remember to not change it into stinginess or possessiveness, balance is always needed in terms of money. The card shows a big tree, and just as a tree needs time to grow, you have definitely worked for a longer time to save. If you struggled with money earlier, they shouldn’t be such a problem in September.

Remember how I wrote about Wands being about spirituality and what is fundamental? The High Priestess also is about that, it’s your inner voice and here the card is in reverse, which can mean you’ll be disconnected from your intuition and gut feelings. There’s also a chance that you will experience some dishonesty or gossip. Be honest with yourself and other people. Instead of making assumptions, talk with others about your worries. It will probably result in some good relationships. Look at the last card: Two of Cups is about a nice, meaningful relationship with other person. A friend, love interest or lover, maybe business partner? Whatever the case, this card is a sign of close bonds and mutual respect.

At first I was kinda confused what is the theme of your September, but now I feel like it’s empowerment. Ace of Swords is a very positive card. Just as all aces, it’s a new beginning. In September, you’ll gain clarity and new ideas, you will experience some breakthrough. Since we had cards related to finances, your inner world and relationships, Ace of Swords at the back of the deck means improving your life in these areas, and being more true to you. I’m happy for you!

Charms: it was a good evening, do you want to be with me? (huh, now we probably know what these Two of Cups were about, don’t we?), we have our place on earth

#pick a card reading #pick a picture #cartomancy #divination #general reading #pick a card #free tarot reading #tarot reading #charms #pick a pile #pac reading #pac #free tarot

[itwoodbeprefect]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 🤍

thank you!! ❤ sooo @actingcamplibrarian also sent me this one, and i'm going to take this opportunity to cheat (shamelessly!) and just. give another five fics. because there are more than ten of them on ao3, and because i can.

so again (mhuahaha), from five different fandoms, in no particular order:

-

Silly wrong but vivid right [sga, john/rodney]

i adore this now, but i went through a weird thing while writing it where i really loved the first half, and then i had to end it somehow and i came up with something that i didn't like very much, and i ended up posting it anyway because i still liked the first half a lot and felt it deserved to see the light of day. which is interesting to me because when i reread it now it doesn't feel wildly out of balance at all, and it all fits just fine, and i just still really really like the idea of 1) gay john getting some freedom and actually taking it, 2) rodney on the sidelines having Weird Feelings about it and drawing a very wrong conclusion, and 3) both of them still being idiots, at the end of the day.

-

Tell me the sky is falling now [starsky/hutch]

i like the way i opened this! and the way it ended too, and nearly all of what's in the middle. most of all though i like starsky Finding Out and being confused and maybe trying to freak out but hutch is right there, and he loves hutch, and he doesn't want to freak hutch out, and then he comes to some other conclusions, because it's hutch, and he's starsky, and that's the important part. this is one of those fics that i keep sort of almost rewriting in the sense that i have very similar ideas for a story and then have to try to figure out how to bend that new idea into a shape that's at least slightly unique so i don't actually end up writing a pale imitation of this one.

-

Cause if we’re all gonna die (Now’s the time to be alive) [h50, steve/danny]

in terms of my h50 fic this is definitely on the older side, but i still firmly stand by the headcanon behind this, i like that it has a good dosis of team banter, and it has some lines that i think of fondly from time to time, like this: He tumbles until he’s kissing Danny, awkwardly boxing Danny and his soft heat in against the cold and rough wall, not quite sure yet if this big bang is a creation myth or a mass extinction event. and, of course, taking the sappiness a step further still: Everything that comes after this point in time will forever be witnessed by eyes that have to send images off to be processed in a brain that also stores the memory of this kiss, which logically and inescapably prevents anything from ever being experienced the same as before.

-

Coming Up Aces [911, eddie/buck]

i don't know if i'd call this one a favorite writing-wise (at least overall - there are definitely parts that i do really like), but it does rank on a list of favorite fics i've written in the sense that, just. the way people connect with fic like this means something to me. and one of the things it means is that there should be more ace rep in (mainstream) media so people don't have to have these huge epiphany-like moments only while reading fic, but another is just feelings, big and warm and human.

-

Abandon your sad history (and meet me in the fire) [top gun, iceman/maverick]

top gun is A Movie, for sure, and i'd been trying to write some fic for it for a while when this finally came together. i loved playing with identities here, and the extended metaphors pretty much wrote themselves (iceman!), and every time i reread it and come to the line that mentions iceman is drinking an old fashioned while trying to fend off maverick's very queer advances i give myself a little pat on the back for subtle jokes.

#my fic #i was going to give the mr. blandings fic as the last one but then i came across the top gun one and that edged it out #but mr. blandings is here too in my heart. you ask me for five fics and i give you eleven #* #tag stuff #h50 #starsky and hutch #top gun #911 #sga