#i was always kinda tangentially aware of it as a thing

[invinciblerodent]

I have been thinking fucking incessantly about this one Todd May quote ever since that scene meeting Mystra:

"Why, for the Immortals, are all undertakings in vain? Given an infinite amount of time for existence, everything will happen of its own accord. There is nothing an immortal being cannot eventually do; and, in fact, nothing he or she will not eventually do."

This is from his book "Death", from the chapter "Death and immortality", about... well, immortality, and the morals of it, as contrasted with its mortal conceptions.

Essentially, in the most straightforward way I can phrase it, May describes how for mortals, life is fraught with urgency. We are always at least tangentially aware of our existence being temporary: which is in part what makes our actions meaningful. We are aware that there is a finite amount of things that we are able to accomplish in our lifetimes, and we are at least kind of aware of our existence being singular in time (even considering religious beliefs of things like reincarnation or an eternal afterlife, the here and now when I am both this and present is still unique), so the end, or the idea of it, in its way, generates the meaning of the limited number of events within this particular chunk of time.

An immortal, like a goddess, would likely be more of a disinterested spectator of life than an active participant in it. Without the urgency of a time limit to drive them forward, and the precariousness of living to make the future uncertain, a goddess has no real interest in things that happen in the world of mortals. With good turning to bad, and bad turning to good over the centuries, it's easy enough to kind of stop caring about what is currently going on, because, well, it'll eventually be different, and then the same again.

Of fucking course she doesn't care for Gale the way he cares for her: it's impossible for her, which is what he, with his limited, human perspective, is (imo) initially incapable of understanding. In his very short, limited life, there is room for one, maybe two such great loves, but in hers? There is an endless, constant stream of near-faceless people, flowing through and not making a permanent mark, because permanence for an immortal is a word largely devoid of meaning. Bad or good, the guilt/pleasure will always fade, the people will all die and get replaced by a brand new crop of similarly expendable people, and the goddess will still have an infinity of time to go.

Even considering that she was once Mystryl, and that technically this incarnation of her was once mortal, and keeping her brush with a kind of death in mind, the future for Mystra, as she can conceive of it, is an empty, vast expanse of nothing but the certainty that she will live, and she will be present in some way. Even if slain (if I recall correctly how this works in DnD), her essence just kinda returns to the cosmic soup, and eventually, she'll... reform, or be resurrected, or changed as she has been already, or she'll remain as an immaterial fragment, or something. Point is, she is unending, and he is no more than a blip on her radar.

That's why she's so callous about asking him to die, and in turn essentially dooming Faerun: she doesn't care. She can't care. He was going to die anyway in what feels to her like the blink of an eye (whether it's 5 days, 50 years, or 500, it's not important), and what does she care if the Grand Design comes to fruition? Whether there are people or mind flayers inhabiting the world, it's of no real concern to her. Eventually, either people will strike back, or go extinct, or the mind flayers will cease to exist and something different will come from it, all without truly affecting her. In a year, a hundred years, or a million years, she will be here, and there will be another bright mageling to amuse her.

Fun as it is to joke about it, I don't think that the toxicity of their relationship is her fault, strictly speaking. It's not the ocean's fault when a tsunami destroys a village and kills hundreds. It's not the storm's fault when lightning strikes and kills a tree. Her very nature is this nebulous, capricious existence, only truly occupied with having the power to indulge her whimsies, and filling an infinite amount of time with things to do- unconcerned about how that affects others, because their whole lives barely affect her for a short segment of her eternal soup of undefined presence.

It can be argued that any relationship that may exist between mortal and immortal is necessarily tragic, toxic, desperately unequal, and grossly unhealthy for the mortal. By its very nature, such a relationship pushes the needs and feelings of the mortal party into essential inconsequence to their partner. There can be no regret to feel when the mortal is hurt or gone, because there have been others like them, and there will be others to come still, and everything will happen, or has happened, and will happen again.

Gale was always doomed to be her devoted plaything, only to be discarded once he stops being fun. That could have been once his appearance stopped pleasing her, or once his wit stopped entertaining her, or for any reason whatsoever, and him recognizing that this relationship was never anything more than entertainment to her, while it was devastating and singularly defining to him, is such an important thing for his future happiness.

(This is mainly why his throwaway "Let me make myself indispensable" line is so important to me, tbh. He yearns to matter, and that is only possible if he either finds contentment entirely within the mortal realm, or becomes a god himself, which in turn just dooms him to essentially become Mystra and continue this vicious cycle.)

(Fucking tragic-ass low-wis wizard man, making me fkin... re-read my philosophy books. Honestly the gall, Larian.)

#mystra #bg3 mystra #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #bg3 gale #baldur's gate 3 #what else uh #i'm not tagging philosophy because that's fucking pretentious as hell #and that's coming from someone who just unironically used the phrases “capricious existence” #and “the precariousness of living” #AFTER quoting Todd May #don't worry I hate that I am like this too #squirrel plays bg3

[justmenoworries]

Okay, I'm about to say something very controversial.

I think the Terrans and the Maltos are kind of the weakest part of EarthSpark.

"What? But they're the main characters!"

Yeah, I know. That's the problem.

The main characters are this group of children who are, for the most part, not in the loop when it comes to the show's more interesting conflicts.

The Transformers fitting in on Earth, post-war tensions between Decepticons and Autobots, G.H.O.S.T. being corrupt, parts of humanity being suspicious of and/or downright hostile toward Cybertronians- all of those are things the Maltos are either only tangentially related to or stumble across accidentally.

And that makes sense!

The Terrans and the Maltos are literally children, they shouldn't have to deal with all of that. And the way the show makes clear how brutally the realities of war hit them once shit starts going down is absolutely heartbreaking and well-written.

Still, I can't help but find their story-arcs... kinda boring and repetitive.

Now, I'm aware EarthSpark wasn't really made for people my age. It was made for young children, kids who are just starting to become Transformers-fans and need or might need an introduction to this universe and its characters.

And its message about the power of love and family is a really important one to tell.

But part of me can't help but feel that the Transformers stuff kind of ends up falling by the wayside.

When I think of episodes I enjoyed, the ones that come to mind are always those where the Maltos either interact with Cybertronian characters or ones where the Maltos completely take a backseat, leaving the plot room to focus on the Cybertronians and their troubles ("Decoy", "House Rules", "Missed Connections", "Warzone").

While the episodes that focus more to entirely on the Terrans were often the ones I was least interested in ("Moo-ving In", "Friends and Family", "Bear Necessities"). That's not to say any of these episodes are bad, but like I said, they weren't particularly interesting.

At times it feels like the show itself is aware that the Maltos don't really contribute much and flips a switch to artificially boost their importance. Like in the finale where all the Cybertronians (and Terrans) just so happen to get incapacitated so that Mo and Robbie can save the day with their magical healing sleeves.

There is this constant tug-of-war between a heartwarming slice of life cartoon about family, coming-of-age and love and a dark space opera epos about the consequences and casualties of war, racism and genocide. And when these two clash it often doesn't work.

We'll spend one moment talking about how Megatron used to brutalize his troops and the next doing a comedic sequence where Bumblebee falls off his hay-chair and does a funny exclamation. One moment we're examining the unjust detainment of one faction while the other walks free, and then suddenly it's "Look! The funny mini-casette-bots are making craaazy mischief!"

We get hints that there's something more going on, we get hints that some characters deal with heavy stuff, but if those characters aren't the Terrans or the Malto kids or in any way related to them, hints is all we ever get until everything comes bursting out at once.

Just to make this clear, I am not saying that EarthSpark is a bad show overall or that I hate the show. But no piece of media is perfect and the reason I'm criticizing EarthSpark isn't because I want it to go down, it's because I want it to do better.

Back to the Maltos: If they were interesting enough characters, I wouldn't mind them being the protagonists at all. They have potential, I'll admit to that.

But once you get past the novelty of Transformers born on Earth and being bonded with humans, there's just not much to them.

They're not very deep as characters go and their personalities aren't strong enough to carry them just as they are. They're your standard bickering but loving kid siblings.

It doesn't help that they're not really allowed to be anything but a family unit, to the point of being quite literally a hive mind.

And yes, the show wants to send a message about being open with your emotions and family bonds. But after the umpteenth time a Malto-character started a monologue about how much they love their family and how much their family makes them strong and how they're confident they can get through anything with their family I was like

I hope they develop these characters further in season 2. I want to like them, but right now it's really not easy for me.

Those are just my two cents, feel free to give your own.

#tf earthspark #earthspark spoilers #transformers earthspark #Youtube #earthspark #tfe #earthspark critical

[strawberrycircuits]

tell us about this npc...

sam localvoidcat i owe you my LIFE!!! i have a lot of meta analysis thoughts about her but i said pretty much all of it like 4 days ago for a bingo card ask game so uh. heres all of that. tldr: malon has a lot of potential as a character and theres something v interesting with her in that her and links storys run parallel which is sooo compelling but nintendo and the loz/oot fandom tends to reduce her to Link's Wife and nothing else (as for why they do that uuuh. twilight princess link is canonically the link from ocarina of time's descendant, which implies time had kids after majoras mask. tp link is a rancher (like malon) and knows eponas song at the start of the game without it having to be taught to them (eponas song was written by malons mother + malon teaches it to time + malon sings it in oot). insert its always sunny conspiracy board meme here. i was already fixated on her when i was little and i thought the malink thing was a lame theory for a while but then i thought abt them both a little too hard and now im here ig)

ok time for me to go crazy insane. im gnna use this post to talk abt canon stuff and then im gnna use libras ask to talk abt my own headcanons LO)L!!!!

-shes described as very headstrong and driven and she very strongly believes in doing whats necessary even when its not what you want (which. the parallels man. vaguely gestures to all of the links) which conflicts with her father who doesnt rlly care as much as he should. and so shes kinda left to pick up all of the slack which is RIDICULOUS becauses shes LIKE 9 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! a child should not have to run a fucking farm and she def shouldnt be left alone in CASTLE TOWN to worry to death abt her father (bc she had to DRAG HIM there to do smthn he shouldve taken care of anyway)!!!!!! what the hell !!!!! me when the game about adults failing children contains adults failing children

-^and like. she is acutely aware that this is not normal. she is so overworked that she does not get to have friends her age (iirc she refers to epona being her "best friend" and epona is. a horse). where oot link is kind of like "woohoo adventure !!" up until zelda gets kidnapped and she pulls the sword (but theres inklings there before that. like having to leave kokiri forest and watching her dad die), malon Knows this isnt normal and that she is missing out on her own childhood. and YET!! she holds no contempt for her father. she knows that he is failing her and she loves him anyway. WHAT THE HELL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-its also greatly suggested shes extremely isolated bc she works all the time and doesnt have time to play or be around people her age. + it doesnt help lon lon ranch is far from hyrule castle town + hyrule field is Fucking Dangerous so its not like she can easily cross it herself. Why did they mess up this girls life so bad!!!!!! (the answer is to parallel link. im insane)

-she had a trophy in one of the smash games that uses her 3DS model im so proud of her. sorry i love when nintendo acknowledges her even tangentially lol ⬇️ also she was referenced in smash ultimate i think idk

-shes not just in ocarina of time!!! shes also present in the minish cap, oracles, and four swords adventures!!!!! why did she have multiple incarnations? who knows ! also i think she can die in fsa. sad

-shes in the manga and she gets kidnapped in like the 1st chapter and when link comes to save her shes like umm no youre ugly go away and meanwhile links like IM LITERALLY TRYING TO HELP YOU YOU ARE IN FUCKING DANGER!!!!!!!

-she also proceeds to fall in and out of love with link in the span of two pages. the manga is not very good sometimes i think. himekawa saw the dialogue line abt malon secretly waiting on a "knight in shining armor" to save her and ignored everything else abt her which sucks ass but is also very predictable for how himekawa writes. i will probably still redraw one of the panels from it anyway lol

-^btw the knight in shining armor thing is an interesting thing to note bc thats something she (malon) seems to be, like, ashamed of? maybe?? which imo feeds back into her whole thing of overworking herself while also understanding that its not okay or normal for her to be doing so. like. "no you cannot want for other things you have responsibilities (even though you undeniably do already)" but omg girl youre nine. except for seven years later when youre sixteen and even still. please take care of yourself please let urself relax and CONSIDER happiness i am begging yuo

-malon is so funny shes just a massive mario reference in game. when u go to the ranch u find Talon and Ingo respectively (talon is her dad ingo just works there) and they look like this. also she has a bowser pendant ?? literally whyd they do this lmao

-one of oots minigames involves beating the horseriding record at lon lon ranch (set by malon at 50secs) and when u win she gives u a cow which she puts in ur house. the thing is that 1. links house is in kokiri forest and 2. links house is a treehouse with a ladder. which implies she SURVIVED THE LOST FUCKING WOODS (WHICH MOST EVERYONE CANNOT) and carried a goddamn COW up a LADDER. how fucking strong is she i love her

-shes gives u an item called the Weird Egg 🕺

-in BOTW you can find the ruins of lon lon ranch where she lived!!!!! :] its called "ranch ruins" on the map :P you can easily find more comparisons but believe me when i say they, like. put a weird amount of effort into getting this one as close to how it looked in oot as possible

-shes also a reference to marin from links awakening but i did not play that so i cant speak on it </3

-its implied she never actually bothers to learn links name in the games. she only ever calls her fairy boy and thats it

-iirc during the child segments of the game she's taller than link but during the adult segments shes shorter. rip

-there is a single piece of dialogue that implies young link has a crush on her which is cute lmao

-so in oot she sings in the lon lon ranch theme (but its the n64 so it like. it sounds like a human voice but also not.) and twilight princess's hyrule field (night) theme uses the same singing effect which i am incredibly normal about forever and ever

-after the 7 year time skip, ingo gets the farm via ganondorf giving it to him (which he can do. apparently. this is a n64 game man leave me alone) and he kicks talon out. malon stays even though everything is considerably worse solely bc she wants to protect the animals, which is also why she was so insistent on keeping the farm running as a kid too.

-generally speaking malon is a very kindhearted and overwhelmingly understanding character and those traits are almost always at her own expense. she knows her dad is the reason shes as alone and stressed as she is, but she loves him anyway. she knows itd be best if she just left the farm once ingo takes over, but shes scared for what will happen to the animals so she stays somewhere that makes her sad and miserable instead. she wants to have friends her own age, but she understands how important keeping the ranch running is so she doesnt pursue it at either of the points in which we see her.

-i like to think things considerably change for her after ganondorf is neutralized prior/after majoras mask

-but thats for the headcanons post

so u may be thinking. Wow strawb this is kind of, like, nothing. why do you like this character. and you would be correct,

#a lot of this is maybe not well worded or misremembered #to which i say . as well as . #ocarina of time #malon #malon oot

[monsata]

9 of 1001

Today's album: Lou Reed - Transformer (1972)

Finally, after a few days of post-breakup depression, some wannabeatles figuring out their sound, and experimental noisepop, finally back to something I'm at least tangentially familiar with again.

And boy, am i familiar with the songs I'm familiar with, and the ones I'm not familiar with are a total mystery. It's kinda sad how often that's been happening, but radio has been steadily declining in quality since well before i was born, so i anticipate it to be a common occurrence here on Dancing to Architecture, the blog within a blog.

Perfect Day always makes me think of Trainspotting, one of those songs that gets forever changed by the addition of an excellent visual accompaniment. (Tarantino especially is really good at doing this.)

Hangin' 'Round is an anthem for every shitty person who graduated high school and then never changed a single facet of their lives.

Walk On The Wild Side - trans rights are human rights and if you disagree with me, I've got a curb you can bite.

So, satellite of love hit me in a few ways back to back to back to back:

One: oh, i get the MST3K reference now.

Two: "satellite's gone way up to Mars, soon it'll be filled with parking cars" just makes me think of Elon musk's stupid space car and obvious desire to be the bad guy in total recall.

Three: "satellite of love is what Elon would call the Death Star lol"

Four: "no it isn't, he doesn't have anywhere near that much cultural awareness. He'd call it "Lazerball" because he's literally the shitty, intellectually bankrupt, over-the-top villain from a mid 90s kids cartoon. (Read as "a 90s cartoon of middling quality", not "a cartoon from 1994-1997", btw.)

I'm So Free: The name must be accurate, because right off the bat Lou busts out the rare 4th chord in a song. Wasn't honestly expecting that. (And i gotta say it: The Who did the exact same concept better 3 years earlier on Tommy.)

Throughout the album (but especially on Goodnight Ladies), i love the occasional farts and poomps of the tuba. A truly underrated instrument that absolutely has a place in rock. Apparently that place was here, because it's the only non-polka tuba I'm currently aware of.

Favorite Track: we have a tie!

Perfect Day. (More like perfect song. Show me a better one.)

And

Walk on the Wild Side: So... *deep inhale* FIFTY MOTHERFUCKING YEARS AGO, LOU REED KNEW BETTER THAN TO DEADNAME TRANS PEOPLE, YET THESE REPUBLICAN GHOULS (WHO WERE ALL ALIVE WHEN THIS ALBUM CAME OUT) WANT TO ACT LIKE BEING TRANS IS SOME BRAND NEW THING, AND THAT CONCEPTS LIKE DECENCY AND RESPECT FOR OTHER PEOPLE DON'T EXIST AND AREN'T NECESSARY. Simply put: Lou says Trans Rights.

Least Favorite Track: probably wagon wheel? Not terrible, just didn't grab me, especially with how interesting the rest of the album is.

#1001 albums #dancing to architecture #lou reed #transformer

[ridiasfangirlings]

Since Mikoto and Fushimi are both from a rich family, what about a Mikosaru arranged marriage?

Imagine Mikoto has been aware of this for a while but Fushimi had no clue so he's freaking out while Mikoto's just like 'oh yeah that.' Like maybe Mikoto's parents worked with Kisa at some point and they had a strong business relationship, at the time Fushimi was just a small child. Kisa and Mikoto's parents decide that a great way to cement their business relationship would be to betroth their kids (pretend in K world it doesn't matter that they're both guys and no one bats an eye at it), though Mikoto's a few years older Kisa doesn't see it as a bad investment and she agrees. They sign some legal paperwork and the idea is once Fushimi turns twenty he will be officially betrothed to Suoh Mikoto. Mikoto is like tangentially aware of this whole thing, his grandfather mentioned it to him once but he never really thought too hard about it. When Fushimi and Yata join Homra Mikoto thinks that Fushimi's name sounds familiar but he can't recall where he heard it oh well if it's important he'll remember eventually.

So then Everybody Lives AU and when Fushimi turns twenty Kisa shows up to inform him he has a fiancee. Obviously Fushimi's first reaction is basically fuck that never talk to me again but Kisa is insistent, she's made this agreement in writing and Fushimi needs to follow through. Fushimi is convinced to at least meet his fiancee and if they can come to an agreement to terminate the marriage contract Kisa might be willing to consider it but she's still fairly set on the whole thing, even though Mikoto's parents are dead he still has a lot of inheritance that Kisa thinks could be useful for her ambitions. As it happens she never tells Fushimi the name of his fiance, just gives him an address to meet and waits outside for him. Fushimi ends up at this fancy restaurant where he's taken to an outdoor table...and there's Suoh Mikoto, half asleep on the opposite side of the table.

Initially Fushimi thinks Suoh somehow decided to crash the party, like what are you even doing here. Mikoto looks up at him all oh it's you, Fushimi doesn't get why Mikoto would even be here in the first place like shouldn't you be off bugging Captain somewhere right about now. Mikoto shrugs and says he figured he shouldn't leave his fiance waiting all alone. Fushimi starts to say something cold and then he's like wait fiance and Mikoto just grins up at him. Fushimi is in total shock like why the hell would I be engaged to a lazy bum like you and that's when he finds out that Mikoto is in fact loaded thanks to inheritance stuff he just never really touches the money because he isn't interested in it. Fushimi assumes that means he's not interested in the engagement either and Mikoto gives him a wry smile like 'didn't say that.'

Fushimi assumes that Mikoto refuses to cut off the engagement just to toy with him and he's kinda half right, like obviously Mikoto isn't going to make Fushimi marry him if Fushimi doesn't want to but he's always found the kid intriguing and maybe he thinks that spending some time together might get Fushimi to be less afraid of him. Fushimi absolutely doesn't want to be engaged to this guy but he's bound by the agreement for now, he probably makes Mikoto vow not to tell anyone about this. Except since Mikoto doesn't tell anyone now Homra's getting all nosy because Totsuka's noticed King sneaking off a lot lately and suddenly he's being tailed as he goes on what appear to be dates with Fushimi. Fushimi meanwhile is also being watched by S4, who are all curious where he keeps running off to and why he's been in an even worse mood lately, and now he's also spotted going on dates with Suoh Mikoto. Both clans are all on fire with rumors and that's when Totsuka overhears Mikoto talking to Fushimi about an engagement and everyone assumes the two of them have been dating for ages now and hiding it from them all. Meanwhile Fushimi is being forced to go out on dates by his mom, like the two of them have to be seen at various functions together, and he's not happy about it but imagine spending all this time with Mikoto is making Fushimi get closer to him too, like he's insisting he doesn't want to marry Mikoto but then at the same time he can't deny that the dates have not been... as horrible as he was expecting.

#Mikosaru #Talking K #SHIP MIKOSARU ALL YE HEATHENS #and Mikoto is just starting to enjoy all this #maybe he's being protective of Fushimi too in his own way #like if Fushimi wants to break the engagement Kisa might not ever leave him alone #but if they can find a way to work things out themselves he can get Fushimi away from his awful mom #also maybe he likes seeing Fushimi huff and complain too it's cute :3c

[leatafandom]

B, J, and Y

Hello love! 

I had to think about these, it was such a good list. 

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

I have a few pairings that I didn’t think about or see like that until after I read or saw fanart featuring them, but I don’t think I have any one pairing that one particular person changed my mind about. Sam and Cas are one that comes to mind, I really never thought about it in a more romantic pairing until I saw more art and read a few fics. I always appreciated them platonically and saw the sexual appeal but the romance didn’t always click with me. But I enjoy it, I see it. 

J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.)

Jeeze, this is hard. I found so many things because of Tumblr. Hannibal I think would have to be my answer, but its kinda Twitter and Tumblr since the few times I did go on Twitter at the time all I saw was supernatural and Hannibal. I completely only watched the show and fell in love with it because of Tumblr. 

Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

If we’re talking strictly because of Tumblr: Stranger Things and Witcher. I still don’t really know a lot about them, but it's on my dash and I know things. Though I think the most correct answer would be Harry Potter. Throughout my life, my friends and family have loved Harry Potter. So many people throughout my life have enjoyed the movies or books that I have seen all of the movies probably more than once if I mash them together without wanting to. The story just never vibed with me. I used to see it more on my Ao3 and Tumblr besides it being brought up among friend circles. It's a fandom I have no part in that I could probably talk about for at least an hour just because other people talk about it. 

Thank you again for the ask! These were so fun to answer

#thank you for the ask! #this is such a fun list #asks and answers

[knittinglizards]

on the subject i have been thinking idly about therian-adjacent stuff bc from what i understand of it similar ideas have been a Significant part of my self-concept for as long as I can remember Having a self-concept. i am liking not having a specific label as of the year? two years? that ive been doing that so nothing like. outward would change about like. anything for me it's just a concept sort of thing. idly thinking about neopronouns again (did for a month or two around the same time i started going labeless) but if i did i would want like a Bespoke set and (this is the reason I didn't actually try them out the last time) i am certain I'd forget how they declined constantly and get constantly mad at myself because of it. tangentially related it's kinda crazy that i dont have a fursona. seems like my sort of thing. the reason i dont is prob not wanting to commit to one (<- well aware from furry mutuals that most people have several) combined with Furry stuff being a very SOCIAL thing which always easily scares me off from Anything

#p #secret gender thoughts under cut

[ueeheeheee]

i realized just today how much the communication between my sibling and i is based off just us reciting quotes to each other (my sibling is autistic and i wonder if this is an nd thing we do)

when were just talking to each other a good amount of it is just (one of us says a funny line from something we both know) (other one either finishes/continues the quote or brings up a different tangentially relevent quote) (other one bounces off similarly with another quote etc etc)

its just like i dont know i have literally never once in my entire life actually dedicated thought to the fact that that is not how the majority people interact from what i understand. i mean ive been aware that me and my sibling interact kind of differently and i remember our parents used to say that its like we have a secret code or something cuz they barely ever understand the references we pingpong back and forth to each other, and i guess i kinda always chalked it up to us being weird and introverted and having weird introvert interests together

i actually dont know if this is normal or not btw, im sure neurotypicals do it a lot too. maybe? im just tired and thinking about how weird and kind of incredible it is that im almost constantly learning things about myself that were right under my nose

[spoonyruncible]

I finally get why I've heard so many people say that Link is autistic. I'm playing Ocarina of Time for the first time and in two social interactions when someone expressed affection Link just straight up bolted, screaming in one case as he escaped an incoming group hug.

#i never had consoles growing up #so i missed out on this franchise #i was always kinda tangentially aware of it as a thing #like i knew most of the monsters names and stuff #but i never played until the ds games #then griffin mcelroy did his stupid guy fieri link to the past randomizer #so i obviously had to play link to the past #and it was great #it was as great as everyone said it would be #it was obnoxiously good for such an old game #and i pretty much decided as soon as i beat it to play all the zelda games #and right now i'm on OOT #i love this mute twink so much #he'll do literally anything any random person asks him to do #dear god i hate the camera though #i get it #the n64 is a fossil #but dear lord i have been injured by the camera so many times now #also by my own ineptitude #i'm having fun and that's what matters

[captainkirkk]

I’ve had one of my works kinda plagiarized but honestly I mostly found it really funny because I didn’t notice for like way too long

So I’m reading this fic right and I’m enjoying it but a few things stick out as familiar, a couple plot beats that I coulda *sworn* I had seen somewhere before. But also there’s enough stuff that’s totally unfamiliar that I was like ‘maybe I’ve read smth else this person I’ve done and I’m picking up on the style’

And it isn’t until the very very end of the fic where it ends in a *really* strange place— like, a side battle that was tangential at best to the main storyline— and in a really odd and specific way that I was like ‘hmm actually hey don’t I have a fic vaguely like this? Maybe’ so I go back and sure enough I Have written a fic like that. I’ve written a fic *very* like that. I’ve written a fic *very* like that that just so happens to be A, older and B, unfinished, with the last chapter being that minor side battle…….

Alright, so it’s not 1-1, and they’ve got enough differences that you *could* say it’s just coincidence, unless you happen to compare the fics side by side. You know that very lazy thing that people sometimes do for essays or some such where they copy-paste a sentence, but then switch the wording up a bit? Or there are several scenes in theirs that need context from mine to work.

I haven’t reported it or anything mostly because I find it incredibly funny. How bold this author is! ‘I’ve had this idea for a few years’ you sure have! And then, in the comments, upon being asked if it’s alright to translate it to russian— ‘of course! Just link back to the original fic ^^’ yes we wouldn’t want any stealing here would we oh plagiarism would be just awful! Every time I need a good laugh I go dig it up again, never fails to entertain. (Ofc if they do that to anyone else i Will slam dunk them in the trash since it is kind of a shitty thing to do, but god. The entertainment value is off the charts. I wonder if I ever add more to my own fic if a mysterious second chapter that they’ve been stewing on since 2019 will pop up)

I've had this happen to me. Quite a lot. I often don't say anything or report them, because it's not copy-and-pasted, like you said, it's a clear rewrite. I don't get it - writing your own ideas are wayyy more fun and gratifying - but I was never too upset about it

I've seen it happen to other people's fics too. Personally, I think ao3 is a hotpot of ideas and people often steal each other's ideas, sometimes without realising that they've done it. It's not necessarily a bad thing (so long as you make the idea your own), but I also think it's very important to acknowledge your sources. In fact, I've pointed this out to others before and suggested that they briefly add credit in the authors notes, and they flat out refused. Which annoys me. Like you said, it always stings worse when you see someone ripping someone else off.

Authors borrow ideas all the time, I just wish people were aware and honest and upfront about it, instead of blatantly plagiarising or refusing to credit their sources of inspiration

#i never lose respect faster then when i see someone refusing to admit that the ideas were borrowed from somewhere #there's nothing wrong with borrowing ideas! (unless the author says that the idea is off limits ofc) #fandom often has communal ideas and headcanons #but when we don't acknowledge that and instead try to hide that... idk rubs me wrong #ask #anon #i've seen this happen to writers i really respect #like muffinlance #there's one fic that still makes me mad to think about

[bigskydreaming]

Hi, I was reading your post about Jason punching Dick in the face when Dick revealed he fake his death was bullshit ( which it was) and it reminded me of an issue/question that has bothered me for sometime.

Why did people believe Dick was actually dead?

I’m not the most avid comic reader so maybe I missed something but it was always weird to me that everyone just accepted this especially given how Bruce was acting or should I say wasn’t acting.

This is a man when his child died another child had to come along and told him sir you are being too violent and emotional you need supervision. When his other child died he went all over the universe to bring him back to life because he knew it was possible ( which was happening at the same time), so why didn’t anyone think it was weird he wasn’t doing that for Dick. Can you imagine Dick really dying that soon after Damian it would be injustice Batman Version. You are telling me that Tim, Jason or Barbara didn’t think it was weird that Bruce didn’t also bring Dick’s corpse to the bring Damian back to life mission or mention it to themselves. Like what more likely Dick dead and Bruce is handling it well or that he fake his death to do something stupid and Dangerous after his partner/brother/ little bit my son the feelings are complicated died after he was knocked out and woke up to his corpse.

Oh man, this is like, the entire nature of my beef?

(Slight derail just to emphasize the fact real quick that Dick DID actually die, he was just revived quickly, but like, the trauma of his death was very real and its not like anyone was clued into Luthor having a resurrection backdoor built into his literal murder of Dick in the actual moment of it happening. So Dick’s death wasn’t fake, and additionally, he didn’t have anything to do with like, telling people about it, because he was literally comatose in the cave and recovering while Bruce was telling people....by the time Dick woke up in the cave, we already know that Alfred at least had already been convinced by Bruce that Dick was dead, so I have a kneejerk need to pushback against the Dick faked his death narrative by reminding people wherever possible that Dick had no agency in the spreading of that narrative. 

It happened without him being involved, and the only actual contribution he ever made to it was just not revealing he was alive before Grayson #12, after Bruce like.....emotionally, mentally and physically badgered him into accepting that doing so would be directly harmful to his family and he didn’t want to be the reason more people died when like, people had just died because he ‘let’ himself be captured and interrogated by Power Woman’s Lasso of Submission, did he?

SORRY TO BE PEDANTIC, just wanted to start this off on a clarification, even though I know the aim of your ask was very much in tune with the rest of my response. A lot of people don’t read the actual comics, so like, I’m never gonna skip over an opportunity to emphasize that the shorthand people use to refer to Dick’s death and the year he was with Spyral, is like, literally just shorthand for describing it. Its not actually an accurate description of how all that went down and who had the most hand in it).

BUT ANYWAY. BACK TO THE MEAT OF THE BEEF.

Okay so like, not only was the entire family and Bruce himself giving Dick shit for his death and Spyral, like, PAINFULLY egregious because it was literal victim blaming in every possible sense of the word....

None of it made a LICK of sense with ANY of their characterizations, and they ONLY all accepted it on face value because the Plot Demanded It, and when you're like, no, as a reader I say The Plot Demanded It is not a good enough reason for me to be like well sure, that makes sense......looking at the characters ACTUAL actions at face value pretty much just makes them all look like assholes?

Like, Tim has never gracefully accepted anyone's death. Ever. This is core characterization for him. He will go to the ends of the earth for his loved ones and to bring them back, prove they're not dead, refuse to let death be the final verdict for them. He was tempted to use the Lazarus Pit to bring his parents back to life. He refused to accept Bruce was dead long before he had any proof whatsoever of that theory. He tried to clone his BFF/future-husband Kon in his fucking basement like, dude was two whole inches away from going Full Dark Side in his quest to bring back a lost loved one no matter WHAT the cost.....and then you've got Dick unmasked onscreen, killed offscreen, and Bruce then reporting to the rest of them with zero inflection 'oh Dick's dead now. Its very sad' and Tim's just like, sure. Sounds legit.

I mean?!?!

And you're SO RIGHT ABOUT THE DAMIAN THING! Bruce LITERALLY LITERALLY LITERALLY went BEYOND the ends of the Earth, like, he full on chartered a fucking space ship to fly his whole family out to APOKOLIPS to bring Damian back from the dead by going to EXTREME lengths.....WHILE everyone else thought Dick was dead....

And not a single person looked at Bruce and was like, okay, not that we're not down to do this for Damian because we miss Stabby Smurf something fierce ourselves, but.....what the fuck is UP with you dude? Why aren't you displaying ANY hint of this same kind of energy in regards to your eldest son that you said you watched die right in front of you?

Like....I don't know that we were actually ever told that Dick's coffin was empty or had a fake in it, but like....this family of detectives who refuse to accept death, defy death, COME BACK FROM THE DEAD....not a single one of them said like, okay, if I'm gonna like, ACCEPT accept that Dick is dead and gone for good, I need to at least just see him one last time? That's literally all it would have taken for someone to realize hey something's a little wonky here. Where's the dead body, Pops?

Since when has Jason ever missed an opportunity to prove Bruce is a) full of shit, b) acting like an emotionless robot and all his kids deserve better especially when they've just like....died, c) just factually incorrect and wrong and jumped to a conclusion before it was conclusively proved, d) lying like a liar or e) all of the above?

Nobody even ASKED if Dick's body could be put in a Lazarus Pit? Yeah, Jason wouldn't necessarily recommend it himself, given what it put him through, but actually fuck that, I take that back, because I'm NOT actually of the opinion that Jason full on hates his life and actively spends every second of every day wishing he hadn't been resurrected, even if it had come with a huge buffet of additional trauma and pain.

And that's kinda what's implied when people just take it for granted that he would never be on board with any scenario involving using a Lazarus Pit to bring Dick back, because it suggests that based even just on his own experiences and feelings, he honestly believes Dick would prefer being dead and not have ANY further opportunities to be with his loved ones, his friends, help save the damn world again at some future point.....that Jason, projecting based just off himself, legit feels Dick would rather be dead than have another shot at life even WITH the downsides of Lazarus Pit usage? Nope. Sorry, I don't buy it.

Speaking of not buying it.....you know what was missing from all those soliloquies the others monologued at Dick about how they felt and were hurt and just devastated by his death, to such a point they can't seem to muster a single shred of happiness that he's NOT dead still -

(seriously, Damian was the ONLY person in ALL THE LANDS OF EMOTION-HAVING who expressed ANY kind of positive reaction to having Dick back. We were so fucking cheated of like.....ANY opportunity to have the characters show just how much they valued him by just being fucking HAPPY he was alive, no matter what else was involved....and then most of fandom compounded that by for years being like mmmm, no, Dick didn't get yelled at enough by his family for what HE put THEM through. Needs more yelling. More punching too. Bad Dick. Bad. This is the only way you'll learn not to die and get shipped off on a mission that you don't want but at least is to protect your family after being beaten into it by your dad whilst victim blaming you for dying in the first place. WHEN WILL YOU LEARN TO THINK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE AND THEIR FEELINGS FOR A CHANGE, DICK?!?)

- But like, BUT I DIGRESS aside....you know what was missing from all those monologues about how hard DICK'S death and ensuing year of basically exile from his loved ones was for EVERYONE BUT HIM?

We never got a single line of explanation as to what everyone else officially thinks even happened to him in the first place?

Like, did Bruce straight up just say oh bad news kids, your brother umm. Expired. Spontaneously. There's no one to blame, he just keeled over, its all very sad.

Is that how that went down?

You're telling me that the explanation of Dick's death didn't come with a single pointed finger at someone for this family of blame-happy vigilantes to like, BLAME for the loss of this brother they all mourned oh so much, they just couldn't help but blame him for all the hurt it caused them?

The family that in every other fic is like OBSESSED with avenging and being avenged and all things vengeful and even tangentially vengeance-y....like didn't ask for a single detail on whomst the fuck deprived us of our brother-having?

Where were the attempts on Luthor's life by Jason (who I mean, yeah I know it was in a previous continuity, but erasing that timeline doesn't erase my awareness of the time Dick killed Jason's murderer so like.....mmm, just saying, woulda been nice)....where was the rage directed at the Crime Syndicate and references to how seriously and personally the Batfam took making sure that they were PUNISHED for all this and would never be free to wreak havoc on their world or their family again? What did they tell Damian when he came back to life, and how are you going to tell me that this fraternal little ball of fury didn't aim himself like a cannonball at whomever the fuck had DARED take HIS Batman from him when Damian wasn't around to have his back?

Not only does everyone else's desire to be avenged start falling really flat the second you factor in hey maybe Dick feels "mmm what about MY avenging" sometimes, and why doesn't anyone ever care about doing that for him.....but also, y'know what REALLY sucks about the ONLY person we actually SEE being blamed for Dick's death and ensuing absence being like....Dick himself?

Not only were his family all super keen on making all of this HIS fault and HIM the bad guy because of how it made them all feeeeeeel (and meanwhile fuck his feelings, am I right Batfam hfaklshfklahfkla).....

They somehow found a way to justify prioritizing this OVER ever even getting around to blaming some villain for his death in the FIRST place, in the entire year or so they thought he was still dead!

Like, you couldn't come up with a single target in all that time, but Dick's back two seconds, and you don't even give him a chance to EXPLAIN before you're punching him, shutting him down with 'I expected better from you' and turning away with 'I don't want to hear it, why am I surprised Dick Grayson disappointed me again'?

afshklfhalfhalfhla

Make it make sense!

And like, it won't, cuz it doesn't, and it never will, and like I said at the top, the ONLY reason it all played out this way is because DC doesn't give a fuck about character development and deemed it necessary to go down this way for the sake of the plot (which was totes worth it, I mean, glad we sacrificed characters for this A+ plot which was clearly the greatest plot of all time and definitely justified every story choice made or not made around it loooool).

BUT.

BUT BUT BUT.

The problem isn't JUST that DC is stupid, even though that is an eternal mood and quite the problem.

Its that the SECOND large parts of fandom decided to play along with DC and just accept the story at face value, only add to it and play into it exactly as it happened in canon with no significant deviations, and like, heaping on the LITERAL abuse from Dick's siblings while ignoring the LITERAL abuse from his father....

THAT....is when all of this becomes relevant.

Because the second people decided TO engage with the reasoning DC gave for what Bruce did and how and what Dick did and how and just not mess with any of that and have it all play out exactly like that...

The second people are like, okay we're FINE with not just dismissing this story as OOC writing that doesn't make any sense, and actually VALIDATING it to various degrees by engaging with it as is....

That's when 'OOC writing' stops being an excuse or explanation for alllll of the above gaps in character logic and actions.

Because its like, when you had abundant chance to REJECT this story and say nope, this was bullshit from start to finish and I'm not here for it, when you were just as capable of transforming literally ANY aspect of this story you didn't like into something that made more sense to you....

And you chose not to.

That's.....accepting it as valid writing. You were like, okay, I'm game to just treat this as a thing that happened, just like they said that happened.

For the chance to give Dick shit for it, see. For the angst, see.

And that's when I'm like okay cool, so when engaging with this story as is and accepting it on face value and just delving into the characters as they were SHOWN interacting with and around these events......for the angst or whatever....

You guys just all decided en masse to just hop, skip and jump over allllllllll the opportunities for angst inherent in examining even ANY SINGLE ONE of the above lapses in judgment or hypocrisy on the parts of the characters (who don't get to be excused by OOC writing if you're not going to call the story an example of OOC writing, whoops).

And its just like, uh, what's up with that?

#lol thank you for this ask tho #I havent gone on a good Spyral rant in months #it does wonders for my pores

[thebestfriendstoloverstrope]

Something I've been thinking about is this: why was Steven fronting so much in the first episode? Especially when they were in the Alps? Usually when someone fronts there's either a trigger, or they need to step in because the alter currently fronting can't handle things anymore. So, since there's practically nothing about the Alps situation that would have triggered Steven to the front (except, *maybe* the scarab, since it's related to Egyptian mythology. That might be enough to trigger Steven. But I kinda doubt it), it's either simply because he's more aware that he's having blackouts and he doesn't want to be having them/wants to know what's going on... Or, maybe, assuming that it was Marc operating in the Alps and not Jake (which, this is tangential but: I think there's a strong argument to be made for Jake being the other alter fronting in the Alps, just because of how much blood there was. Jake has already demonstrated that he's pretty readily willing to kill willy-nilly, in ways that Marc is uncomfortable with, so I kinda doubt that it was Marc in the Alps... but I digress), maybe Marc is having a harder time keeping control of the body because he doesn't want to be himself anymore. In Ep. 5 they made it clear that the first time their lives starting bleeding into each others' was when Marc was in so much pain and grief and trauma that he desperately wanted an escape, and that's when Steven showed up. If Marc is so tired of working for Khonshu, and so tired of being himself, it makes a lot of sense that Steven would be fronting so much. He's doing what he's always done: giving Marc a break from his nightmare of a reality.

#moon knight #moon knight theories #oscar isaac #steven grant #marc spector #jake lockley #moon knight episode 1 #moon knight episode 5 #disclaimer #not a system #not an expert on did #just basing this theory on the stuff i've learned from actual systems/people with did

[absolutebl]

This Week In BL

May 2021 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 12 fin - that was a long arse final ep, but solid performances. I liked that we focused on the fallout amongst the side characters. (Very clever of them to depict Chap with Tae, his Y-Destiny pairing. Especially as both actors are slated for new BL roles with different partners again, The Tuxedo and You’re My Sky.) The camera certainly enjoyed wallowing in Sib & Gene’s separation, but that’s an Asian drama for you. They like to DWELL. (Frankly, I like a bit of wallowing myself.) I thought the inclusion of the “actual” writer at the very end thoroughly unnecessary. I don’t think they had to beat us over the head with the 4th wall meta quite that much. Still, this is probably one of the best BLs we’re getting from non-GMMtV Thailand this year. RECOMMENDED 

Y-Destiny Ep 8 - (Thurs) I found the first half uninteresting but once Casper the Friendly Gay showed up it was fine. The ghost reminded me a bit of Fuse from MIR. 

Close Friend Ep 4: (Just One Life) - is it just me or is Talay insanely charismatic? Anygay, the director got ahold of a drone for this one and would like us to KNOW ABOUT THAT FACT. Look, I just don’t think YoonLay have great chemistry but this was alright, cute enough. 

Fish Upon The Sky Ep 6 - This was a better installment than we’ve had in a while. I like the obsession vs love explanation from Mork, insightful if creepy. Meen & Duean are okay, I guess. A bit annoying. Everyone in this show is a bit annoying. But the wipe toothpaste then wipe eye crud got to me. Toothpaste in the eye, yech! And then I was all, oh that’s basically this show: toothpaste in the eye. It just reviewed itself. (Also why do they keep switching aspect ratio between the two pairs? It’s like they were filming with two completely different camera types... oh. ah. Weird, GMMTV usually doesn’t make mistakes like that.) 

Call it What You Want Ep 6 fin - I skipped to the last ep on this, I told you I do that sometimes to find out what happened. So CIWYW ends happy for the main couple, but trigger warnings on: eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, depression, mental abuse, and a few other things. If you don’t mind your BL dark, gritty, self aware, and honest then you should be okay with this show. But if your preference is for fluff, then there are other fish in the sky. Speaking of... 

Nitiman Ep 2 - Giving me My Engineer vibes. This is OLD school Thai uni BL. I kinda feel like it was meant to come out in 2018, the gap year that was, but I am SO GRATEFUL we’re getting it now. Pay TF attention FUTS this is how you redeem a tsundere uke. Also I love that Bboom is just a terrible flirt and the football match twist was great. I love this show.  

Top Secret Together Ep 1 - it’s out there but no eng subs. It’s an office set romance with multiple couples all tangential to one building. A bit stilted and low production values but I’m intrigued. I hope we get subs... eventually.  

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 9 - gets the safe sex gold star for lube + condoms AND a verse discussion? Not to mention asking for sex advice from queer fam? Is this a first in BL? Might be. (I still think it’s weird that product placement hasn’t jumped on the lube bandwagon, too slippery perhaps?) I like the embezzlement drama. I always enjoy good outside conflict playing to setting, and this is the kind to be easily resolved in next week’s finale. What a roller coster this series has been. 

Papa & Daddy (Taiwan) Ep 5 - I LOVE THIS SHOW. A heartbeat after i thought, “they better address what he’s doing to the girls he’s dating,” they did it. Clever scripting that. The messaging is gorgeous, the idea that pride and media coverage and knowing about a changing world can broaden minds and lead to acceptance was basically Taiwan making a case for itself paving the way for marriage equality in Asia. Genius. 

Most Peaceful Place 2 (Vietnam) Ep 1 (AKA 4) - dropped with subs and improved production values, someone is learning (or got more dough). The younger brother’s drama is a bit confusing, but I am here for cute boyfriends being cute boyfriends together. And I love that they took the seme’s previous pair (from Nation’s Brother) to be the faen fatale, very crafty of them. Even though it’s not a trope I like, there’s great chemistry all around. 

My Lascivious Boss (Vietnam) Ep 6 - I weirdly love this show, okay? I’m just hoping Long has known Minh’s secret all along and is playing a reverse long con cat & mouse game, waiting for Minh to tell him the truth. Because that would be THE BEST. I could do without the faen fatale but ya can’t have everything. (I’m so glad it’s not the standard 6 ep arc, MOAR!!!) 

Gossip 

Rumor is GMMTV Thailand started shooting Baker Boys (here’s the teaser trailer). This is a remake of Antique (AKA Antique Bakery) a 2008 Korean movie (you can watch it on Viki) which is a remake of Antique (a 2001 Japanese series) with is an adaptation of wildly popular manga Antique Bakery. Knowing the plot I’m not sure this will qualify as BL. I’m still predicting Lee gets his first gay kiss in this series from Singto. More details about this series here. 

Breaking News

Love Area release pushed out, reportedly due to C19. (source DramaCool) 

Be Love In House: I Do (Taiwan, of course, with that title) got a new softer trailer (no subs). It drops next week, May 19, 2021 on Viki. All the information I have is here. 

Tangential to BL 

Two BL-adjacent shows, both from Taiwan. 

I’m watching Love is Science? on Viki which has a het foundation, but it’s a good one. There’s a BL side couple who are on an enemies to lovers slow burn trajectory; featuring a disaster bi slut meets elegant bad ass super gay. So there’s THAT. The mains are an older career woman and the sweet boy from her distant past who has pined for her for years. (He is the softest sweetest service sub you ever saw.) Props to Taiwan for a seriously underused het dynamic. As usual in Asian rom coms the straight boy love interest is a Perfect Cinnamon Role (yes I’m looking at you True Beauty & Love O2O) but I find Taiwan’s version more palatable than Korea’s or Mainland China’s. It’s not finished yet but... RECOMMENDED. 

Starting this week is Love Outlet a 50 (?!) episode show about a mall that sells relationships. It is supposed to have a main gay romance, but it might be a side dish. Very little else known about it. Coming to Line TV.

Honestly, I’m at the point where if Taiwan makes it, I’ll probably watch it. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed later than actual air date for International accessibility reasons.

Starting:

Be Loved In House: I Do (Taiwan) 

Golden Blood (Thailand) we think, like Love Area this may be delayed due to surging C19 cases 

Love Outlet (Taiwan) we think 

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

#My Lascivious Boss #vietnamese bl #Papa & Daddy #HIStory 4: Close To You #taiwanese bl #nitiman #lovely writer #y-destiny #close friend the series #thai bl #thaibl #asian bl #this week in bl #episode recap #bl update #love area the series #most peaceful place is you #call it what you want #most peaceful place 2 #Fish Upon The Sky #top secret together #baker boys #gmmtv #love is science #love outlet #taiwanese drama

[equalseleventhirds]

fdsjflsk hello i have had the magnus archives and the web specifically on my mind AGAIN and this is only tangentially related to the convo last night BUT

a lot of ppl have shown up on my & other ppl's posts abt 'wow manipulation and spiders? why??' going 'well but there are spider tricksters in mythology'

and like... yeah, ok, there are. but are there that many, compared to other animal tricksters, and spider not-tricksters? enough to justify the exclusivity of spiders to the one entity??

so i. made a list, as i do. (you can't judge me for this you should know by now i make lists at the SLIGHTEST provocation) actually i made TWO lists, one of spiders in mythology & how they line up with tma's entities, and one of tricksters in mythology. (i knew some of these already but i also got a lot of them off of wikipedia. also tried to avoid detailing the uh. worse aspects of mythologies. we all know abt it but that isn't the point here.)

(we are ignoring for now my theory that the web's actually shit at manipulation and mostly just does control, and considering any spider that does manipulation OR control to be web-aligned)

spiders in mythology (and how they align w/ tma's various entities, if they even do):

anansi: okay i'll give you this one! yeah he is the trickster spider! yeah he lies & manipulates! he's not really uhhhh evil in any way or would inspire ppl to generate fear for the entities to shape themselves to, but ok yeah i'll give you that one as web!

arachne: she literally just wove tapestries? got into a competition with athena and wove a tapestry detailing the infidelities of the gods. like, if anything she is eye, going around revealing truths and stuff.

uttu: mostly seems to be about creation? weaving & plants. hid herself in her web, which isn't manipulation at all, it's just hiding. not rly entity aligned at all, at worst she's probably a victim of like, the hunt? maybe?

iktomi: another trickster! p much the same boat as anansi, where he's not particularly evil, but we'll let him be web.

spider grandmother: she just is helpful!! she creates & guides & protects! no entities.

ai apaec: creator & leader god again. only sometimes a spider.

djieien: just a very strong spider who hid its heart so it couldn't be killed? like, if anything, end.

great goddess of teotihuacan: associated with spiders, maybe not a spider herself? doesn't seem to be much known abt her, but potentially underworld, darkness, earth, creation, lots of things. no mention of manipulation or control.

nareau: another creation god. i guess he does do some arguably flesh-aligned stuff in that creation, but like, so do a lot of other creation myths.

areop-enap: again creation! hmm what a pattern emerges. doesn't seem particularly aligned with any entities.

tsuchigumo: ok i can give you web here i guess? bcos it does trick ppl, even if that tricking also kind of slides into spiral/stranger territory. and hunt territory obvs it literally is there to consume prey. also can give you evil here.

jorogumo: can also be web! there is lying & shapeshifting here, like the tsuchigumo, but slightly less pure evil? there's like, a couple of neutral depictions, but also evil ones. anyway. web.

gamba: not on wikipedia but wikipedia only talks abt the filipino story of the spider who wanted to marry the fly, NOT gamba, and i LOVE gamba. anyway she just created things. got too into her work and turned into a spider. idk what entity is 'fear of being a workaholic' but it's not the web. maybe lonely, since she neglected her family relationships abt it?

conrad of constance: not a spider himself, but drank out of a cup with a spider in it, showing that the cup was not poisoned even tho ppl thought spiders were poisonous. i don't... i don't think this is an entity. hey jonny maybe take some hints here, spiders are not that bad--

robert of bruce: my dude saw a v persistent spider and was inspired! it's chill it's cool! spiders helped scotland gain independence one time! wow no wonder fucking smirke hated them--

pan twardowski: again not a spider himself, but he lives on the moon and a spider hangs out with him and brings him news. a friendly spider! pan twardowski himself can be lonely ig, maybe the spider is eye, but like, a friendly eye.

vedic philosophy: now this is not technically mythology but i thought it was interesting, in this one a spider's web hides the true reality from ppl. could be argued as web but seems pretty much spiral to me? but like, a not v evil spiral, just like. neutral? it's fine.

overall... majority creation gods, actually. very few even evil depictions? wow jonny, rude.

anyway, list of animals (besides spiders) shown as tricksters in mythology:

humans! majority humans!! also like. specifically clowns several times? like, specifically clowns.

just kinda non-animal spirits/beings/whatever? sometimes vaguely humanoid.

rabbits & hares

foxes

coyotes

wolves

g...goats? sort of?? half a goat, anyway, thank you pan.

cats

ravens

mouse-deer! look up mouse-deer you will LOVE them.

monkeys

raccoons

also raccoon dogs

snakes

horses

praying mantises

tortoises

lizards

also a bunch of tricksters who shapeshift into like, a multitude of animals, but given that those are not their primary or even main secondary forms i guess we will not go into those (mostly that would just. take so much time omg.)

i didn't do a full tally, but foxes especially show up a TON, and rabbits or hares quite a bit, so either of those could've been the fear-god of manipulation. if like, we're relying on the 'there are stories about spider tricksters' thing (which we are not, in fact, i think jonny just picked a Cool Literary Symbol and did not think abt the worldbuilding implications so much)

EDIT bcos ppl keep misunderstanding: i don't think tricksters are the main source of the fear of manipulation. i don't even think tricksters should be considered a reasonable source for the web's manifestations. BUT people kept bringing them up when i had issues with the web's spider exclusivity (when both spiders and manipulation SHOULD have multiple metaphors and not be exclusive to each other) and that is why i made this list, thank you.

(also i'm aware there are ways to justify spiders meaning control sometimes. given the worldbuilding of tma, i don't think there's a way to justify them meaning control always. but that's a different post.)

#fdskjlfs hello good morning i'm making lists again #but ppl bring this up SO MUCH and like... it's not as relevant as they seem to think? #like STATISTICALLY spiders should not have wound up where they are in the tma fear pantheon #but oh well

[anthemxix]

Any sky angst headcanon

anon, i wish i had a better answer for you, i’m so sorry 😔 i haven’t played ss yet so i don’t know enough about sky to have too many headcanons. instead i will subject you to my long, meandering stream of consciousness~

i like the idea that he feels guilty about demise’s curse. god, there’s so much angst potential there. seems like jojo is going to talk about that in the comics and i can’t wait. >:3 i’ve read a couple fics where he kinda resents people calling him lazy, or he has a chronic illness or breathing problems or something, and i like all those ideas, too.

there are a couple things with angsty potential that i’m aware of but haven’t seen people talking much about. i get the impression from fics that he knows he’s going to establish hyrule with zelda. (does he know that actually, or is that just headcanon?) i imagine he would feel immense pressure knowing he has such an incredible responsibility ahead of him. knowing your future at all would be difficult, i think. wouldn’t you be tempted to learn more, too? there must be records or at least myths or something about the first king and queen of hyrule. if i was in his position, i’d be so tempted to learn what people were saying about me in the future, what sorts of things i accomplished and what i messed up. but at the same time i wouldn’t want to know. it would be such an anxiety-inducing situation. but surely the others must know about hyrule’s first king, right? wouldn’t it be so weird to have learned that history and then you find out it’s your friend?? that could lead to some interesting conversations.

the other thing is i think he’d be freaked out by storms and lightning (more shameless self-promotion). but then again my default response to anything slightly troublesome happening to any character is to assume they’ve been traumatized for life, so maybe not, lol.

tangentially, can we talk about how badass sky is? not to be rude because people can, of course, portray characters however they want! but i think sky’s character gets oversimplified a lot. he’s always reduced to the “mom friend,” which is funny to me because that is absolutely not a term i would use for him, lol. like sure, i think he’s got a gentle demeanor and is a sensitive person, but he can be just as sassy and sharp as the rest of the boys. and more importantly, he is a total badass. he killed a god. with lightning. that he caught and threw with his sword. that’s literally the coolest thing ever???

i’d love to hear other people’s angsty sky headcanons though. or angsty hcs for any of the boys. or just like. anything. send me anything you want lol

#usually i edit my answers to these more #believe it or not #because i can ramble endlessly about this stuff #clearly lol #but today i’m just #dumping out all my thoughts #lu #sky #headcanons #anthem answers

[artfully-charming]

Five More Interesting and Useful Podcasts

Because I promised that I’m going to talk more about other podcasts I listen to, it’s now time I present you with them.

1. The Business of Fashion Podcast

Fashion is one of my biggest passions and anyone who’s into fashion, which on this side of Tumblr I think it’s most of us, should give this podcast a listen. It’s incredibly current, and all of the interviews are with industry professionals. Personally, I find the podcast to be entertaining but also it teaches you so much about the inner workings in the fashion industry. I hope that one day I can work in said industry and in a behind-the-scene role, so it’s right up my alley. But even if you just like fashion, it will make you sound so much more knowledgeable and people will be impressed if you can throw a fun fact here and there.

2. Even The Rich

This podcast holds the title for being the funniest podcast I’ve listened to so far. Each season is a saga of a particular well-known rich person or family’s documented story. They’ve so far covered Paul Getty’s kidnapping, Jay and Bey’s relationship, Paris Hilton’s story, and some others. The stories are wild, crazy, kooky, and always focuses on money somehow. But, it has personally taught me some new things about the uber rich that I didn’t know before, so it’s still tangentially educational and guaranteed to make you laugh, so what’s not to like?!

3. The Goop Podcast

Before y'all say Gwyneth Paltrow’s crazy (which she might kinda be), I recommend you to listen to a few of her podcasts and find out for yourself how some of them are actually not that crazy. The range of topics the podcast covers as well as the different guests it features make me love this podcast. I obviously don’t listen to all of them, but some of them are really helpful and informative. Also, a lot of rich people are kind of crazy, so it can be a little enlightening to listen to this podcast to be fair to know what the latest trends are when it comes to wellness etc.

4. The Ezra Klein Show/ Vox Conversations

I first found out about this podcast from a Tumblr post by @middleeasterndime​, specifically the Whole Foods podcast episode. The episodes are LONG (like 1.5 hours long), but they’re incredibly informative and high-brow. The guests are highly respected industry professionals, and the topics are relevant. Sometimes I can lose focus when listening to the podcast because of how deeply it goes into the topic as well as the “big words” it uses, but it is so worth listening to. This podcast will make you a better conversationalist too because it can help show how worldly and knowledgeable you are on various topics.

5. Dressed: The History of Fashion

This podcast is my baby, and I treasure it so, so much. This is the first podcast I started to regularly listen when COVID and quarantine hit last year. The hosts are fashion historians and the breadth and depth of knowledge they possess is incomparable. You’ll find out so many more things about the history of what you wear and how it relates to the bigger society and era these items exist in and how it affects the clothing of today. On the other hand, it also makes you aware of the impact fashion has on our planet because the podcast also delves deep into the topics of fast fashion, waste generated by the fashion industry, gender inequality, workers rights, and so much more. I think when someone presents themselves as high value or of a high class, that person has so much more responsibility to stay informed and to help try educate others on issues plaguing our world today. Awareness is a privilege, and we should treat it as such.

#my post #personal #podcast #level up #knowledge #hypergamy #high value #high class #upper class #education