#number 1 autistic beast | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

samasmith23 · 11 months

Text

Evangelion: You Can (Not) Marathon — (Part 3)

Neon Genesis Evangelion, “Episode 3: The Phone That Never Rings/A transfer”

Continuing my Evangelion re-watch marathon with NGE, "Episode 3: The Phone That Never Rings/A transfer"! For my thoughts on the previous episode, click the link to the post below:

With that out of the way, let's dig in!

I can’t help but be intrigued by the way Ritsuko describes the umbilical cable as being derived from their current limitations with the Evangelion technology (i.e. without the cord feeding it a continuous stream of electricity the EVA can only operate at 1 minute on its emergency built-in battery and 5 minutes in “minimal activity-gain mode”). Knowing what I know comes later in Episode 19 when Unit-01 ingests the S² Engine from the 14th Angel, Zeurel, I wonder whether or not the limited battery supply was an intentional design-flaw on both NERV and SEELE’s part in order to prevent an Evangelion from achieving a level of power equivalent to God? Or is it a bit of both since NERV’s second branch in the US later tries and fails to duplicate the S² Engine into EVA Unit-04, and SEELE later perfects the S² technology with their Mass Production Evangelions in The End of Evangelion? It just makes you wonder…

Huh… Ritsuko’s observation about Shinji returning to the EVA after his traumatic experience intially piloting it in the previous episode is very interesting and helps reveal some important elements about Shinji’s character pretty early on! Namely, the idea that Shinji “simply does what he’s told to do, and that it’s simply his way of getting through life.”

Essentially Shinji’s self-esteem is so low that he doesn’t even bother to think for or take care of himself, and instead relies solely on the wishes and commands of other people in order to get by in life. It shows that Shinji hates himself to the point that he doesn’t trust his own ability to make decisions for himself, and seeks external validation by pleasing others whether it be his father Gendo, his old sensei, or the other NERV officials like Misato and Ritsuko.

As a personal aside, this is an aspect of Shinji’s characterization that I personally can’t help but somewhat relate to since as an Autistic person who also struggles with obsessive compulsive disorder, I sometimes easily doubt my own sense of judgement, and can become overly dependent upon the advice and reassurance of friends & family in order to get by in life. Such over-reliance can become incredibly monotonous and leave you feeling empty and unfulfilled in life at times, which is effectively conveyed through Shinji’s repetition of the lines, “Position the target in the center then pull the switch,” (Spike Spencer’s dreary delivery here perfectly captures said-feelings of sense of emptiness).

Nice! Our first official reference to the "Hedgehog’s Dilemma," which is a central reoccurring thematic motif for not just Shinji, but several other characters in NGE! For those who aren't aware, the Hedgehog's Dilemma is a metaphor about the challenges of human intimacy which was originally conceived by Arthur Schopenhauer in his 1851 book Parerga and Paralipomena before it was later adopted as a psychological theory by our old pal Sigmund Freud!

In particular, this passage from Volume II, Chapter XXXI, Section 396 of Parega and Paralipomena reads: "A number of porcupines huddled together for warmth on a cold day in winter; but, as they began to prick one another with their quills, they were obliged to disperse. However the cold drove them together again, when just the same thing happened. At last, after many turns of huddling and dispersing, they discovered that they would be best off by remaining at a little distance from one another. In the same way the need of society drives the human porcupines together, only to be mutually repelled by the many prickly and disagreeable qualities of their nature. The moderate distance which they at last discover to be the only tolerable condition of intercourse, is the code of politeness and fine manners; and those who transgress it are roughly told—in the English phrase—to keep their distance. By this arrangement the mutual need of warmth is only very moderately satisfied; but then people do not get pricked. A man who has some heat in himself prefers to remain outside, where he will neither prick other people nor get pricked himself."

In essence, the Hedgehog's Dilemma argues that humans cannot experience love without simultaneously suffering pain, which consequently results in weak relationships and self-imposed isolation.

Based on Misato’s reactions during her phone conversation with Ritsuko where the latter describes the Hedgehog's Dilemma in relation to Shinji's depressive behavior, I get the impression that this is actually Misato’s first time ever hearing about the concept.

Also, when Misato states that Shinji will have to simply outgrow emotionally withdrawing himself from his peers to avoid being hurt since part of growing up is learning to interact with others whilst distancing himself from pain, it feels heavily reflective of Misato’s own life experiences of becoming a lot more outgoing and carefree in public as an adult after spending half her childhood catatonic after being traumatized by Second Impact. While Misato herself is also a victim of the Hedgehog’s Dilemma, she is approaches the conflict a lot differently as an adult in contrast to Shinji who’s still a teenager.

Also also, I love the juxtaposition of Shinji glancing at the injured Rei in the classroom just as Misato provides her voice over of, “Learning to interact with others while distancing himself from pain.”

A brilliant bit of visual storytelling and framing there on Anno’s part!

A few notes about the introduction to Shinji’s classmates Kensuke Aida, Hikari Horaki, & Toji Suzuhara:

-1) Kensuke’s voice acting is hilariously bad in the original ADV dub as he sounds way too old and nasally to be a 14-year-old kid (whilst simultaneously being overly high-pitched). And from what little I’ve seen of the Netflix re-dub, apparently Kensuke’s English voice also sucks in that version as well (I guess Kensuke suffering from crappy voice acting is simply just a rule of thumb no matter which English dub of EVA you decide watch; lol!). -2) I love the subtle foreshadowing of Hikari’s closeted romantic feelings towards Toji here as she immediately reprimands Kensuke for failing to deliver the classwork to Toji after he was absent for several days due to his younger sister being hospitalized in the first Evangelion/Angel battle. -3) I honestly don’t mind Toji’s voice acting as much as I do Kensuke’s (even though his psuedo-Brooklyn accent can be a bit obnoxious at times...). While Toji also has a fairly deep voice, at least his is more in line with the character’s general archetype of being the tough-kid/jock. Also, apparently in the otherwise inferior Netflix Redub he was voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch of Bleach and Trigun fame! That's awesome!

So… the teacher’s exposition about the Second Impact is only partially correct. While the effects of the disaster like Antarctica’s destruction, the rising ocean levels, and the destruction of half of Earth’s population are indeed all true, the idea that it was caused by a meteor is absolute bullcrap. A fake version of the events to hide the true cause of the near-apocalypse to the general public.

And the fact that this teacher bears somewhat of a resemblance to SEELE’s leader Keel Lorenz, I can’t help but feel a tad suspicious of this guy as he shares this false narrative of the event…

Also, fun piece of trivia, this still frame of the teacher is actually the main icon for the official EvaGeeks Wiki!

I love how Shinji immediately answers yes to the question of whether or not he’s the pillow of EVA Unit-01 when he sees one of his female classmates waving at him across the room (implying that she was the one who typed it), and that he can’t help but slightly enjoy all the newfound attention and validation he’s been craving from a predominantly female crowd. Definitely feels like a subtle bit of character-building in regards to Shinji’s deep-seated issues with women and sexuality that become increasingly prevalent as the series progresses.

The way Shinji responds to Toji punching him in retaliation for him accidentally injuring his sister back in Episode 2 with, “I didn’t have a choice, they made me pilot he stupid thing,” combined with Toji angrily punching Shinji again in response… I love how this both reflects Shinji’s continued self-loathing and lack of self-esteem when it comes to piloting the EVA (only seconds after slightly appreciating yet still feeling awkward over the praise he recieved from his other classmates For piloting), as well as Toji’s inital inability to truly understand how emotionally painful being burdened with the responsibility of piloting the giant mecha actually is!

The 4th Angel, Shamshel, has just appeared! According to Wikipedia, this Angel's name is a reference to, "Shamsiel (Hebrew and Aramaic: שִׁמְשִׁיאֵל Šīmšīʾēl, "God is my sun" Greek: Σεμσιήλ Semsiḗl), also spelled Samsâpêêl, Shamshel, Shashiel or Shamshiel, was the 16th Watcher of the 20 leaders of the 200 fallen angels that are mentioned in the Book of Enoch. The name means "God is my sun", which is fitting since it has been said that Shamsiel taught men the signs of the sun."

I’ve gotta say… Shamshel's design is just… bizarre... in a manner that’s simultaneously fascinating and disturbing. On the one hand it has this cool manta-ray or cobra-like appearance (with some centipede-like legs) whenever it's viewed from both the front and above in regards to the shape of its head. Plus, it also has these cool electrical-whips which it utilizes as melee-weapons! But on the other hand, the shape of Shamshel's head combined with its elongated body feels intentionally suggestive, as does the design of the Angel’s mouth and core underneath its head.

I like how Shinji is already questioning his decision to return to piloting the EVA after already realizing from the previous episode that his father won’t acknowledge him (as seen in their brief non-verbal encounter in the elevator after the battle with Sachiel) as well as having been punched by Toji as a consequence for his actions while piloting! Shinji honestly doesn’t know why he’s piloting. At least on a conscious level…

Also, the fact that Shinji continues to monotonously repeat the words “Position the target in the center then pull the switch,” as he fires upon Shamshel is another nice touch, especially since he does so while wasting all of his ammo in the process. It just goes to show that aimlessly following orders without motivation or drive never pays off…

Also also, the fact that Shinji immediately panics upon realizing that the instructions he was repetitively following from Misato earlier in the episode backfire on him (he emptied his ammunition so quickly that he blinded himself to the Angel’s whip attacks with the smoke of his own gunfire) is another important bit of character development in this regard!

Also also also, the tension really increases when Shamshel not only severs EVA Unit-01's umbilical cable, but Shinji is forced to welcome Kensuke & Toji into his Entry-Plug for protection when the two idiotically abandoned Tokyo-3's civilian evacuation shelter to watch the battle in-person.

Holy crap! I honestly forgot just how badass the scene of Shinji stabbing Shamshel’s core with his progressive-knife as EVA Unit-01’s power rapidly depletes is! The animation, the soundtrack, the ticking-clock, and Spike Spencer’s voice acting of Shinji’s screams here all work in perfect synchronization to truly elevate the amount of tension in this fight scene!

At the same time however, I am rather curious as to what exactly was going on in Shinji’s head when he spontaneously decided to disobey Misato’s orders for once and actually kill the Angel head-on instead of retreating, once again stating the iconic line of, “I mustn’t run away!” Did Shinji feel that because following orders previously failed to defeat the Angel or win him the acceptance of others, he might instead gain said-acceptance by doing the exact opposite? Especially since Toji was inside the Entry-Plug right alongside him? Or was it a form of subconcious guilt for previously having hurt Toji’s sister, and wanting to do whatever he could to make amends?

And speaking of Toji, I love the look on his face after Shinji kills Shamshel, as this is the exact moment where he finally starts to develop a sense of empathy and understanding towards Shinji’s burden as an EVA pilot!

I’ve gotta say, I remember being both incredibly shocked and impressed by the level of depth Anno managed to provide Toji’s character when I first watched the series! Like… when we first saw him punch Shinji I was honestly afraid that Toji was primarily going to be relegated to the role of the generic stereotypical school bully/jock. But to witness Toji immediately begin expressing regret for previously lashing out at Shinji after witnessing just how psychologically painful piloting the EVA is for Shinji (even though he publicly tries to deny said-regret in front of Kensuke due to his gruff exterior), it conveyed a surprising level of dimension to this character IMO, actively subverting the boring archetype that I initally feared Toji would be even though he does still embody some elements of stereotypical toxic masculinity in fiction. Definite kudos on Anno’s part there!

Also, for whatever reason Misato’s voice overs for the “Next Episode” teasers are different on the Blu-Ray than they were on my original DVD copies despite Alison Kieth still being present. I’m guessing it was a change between the Perfect and Platinum editions… random but okay… though it’s only in the teaser for Episode 4 that Misato finally gives her trademark running gag of promising more fan-service (which is honestly a lie since there's hardly any legitimate fan-service in NGE, and is mostly just another showcase of Misato's overtly sexual personality). In the previous two teasers Misato instead promised “something a little extra,” which is less funny IMO)…

But yeah, overall that was NGE, "Episode 3: The Phone That Never Rings/A transfer"! I really love the insight this episode gives into Shinji’s psychology in regards to his lack of motivation and self-esteem, as well as the introduction of the Hedgehog’s Dilemma which heavily defines not only Shinji’s actions but the those of the rest of the cast! Plus, the fight with Shamshel was FREAKING epic, and the subverting of tropes with Toji’s character was another strong highlight of the episode!

Next up is Episode 4, and I’m really excited to revisit that one as it’s always been one of my personal favorite entries in the entire series!

16 notes · View notes

entei · 8 months

Text

fursona spec. zoo

domain: eukarya kingdom: animalia phylum: chordata class: therapsida order: ophisvillosa ("hairy serpent") family: theregaledae genus: theregale species: theregale montanus ("royal beast from the mountains") common name: montane forest dragon, or simply a "dragon"

a branch of therapsids that diverged from cynodontia in the late permian. they share many similarities with mammals, both convergent and homologus. they are the only known group of animals to have evolved sapience, other than humans.

their numbers began declining in the early cenozoic due to competition with mammals and eventual over-hunting by humans. it is likely only a few hundred of any given species remain. due to their extreme rarity, dragons have been bestowed great significance in human folk-lore, and are highly sought after for trophy hunting.

t. montanus (referred to as "dragon(s)" going forward) is a semiarboreal generalist feeder. their historic range includes much of the rocky mountains. they can be anywhere from 4 feet to 7 feet tall when standing on their hind limbs & necks in a neutral posture. bipedal and digitigrade, though they will often switch to a quadrupedal gait for brief but fast sprints.

dragons are furred, with the structure being practically identical to mammalian hair. their fur is the softest of any known animal, and is even rumored to induce minor euphoria if touched.

individuals can range anywhere from a vibrant brown to a dull grey, and are typically striped or "ticked". pups have a characteristic spot & rosetted pattern. in rare cases these spots will carry over into adulthood as a form of neoteny.

dragons are omnivorous, typically scavengers but will opportunistically hunt prey. due to their very high internal body temperatures, dragons are able to freely feed on carrion without contracting illness, though this temperature requires many excess calories to maintain. their favorite foods include fish, fruits, nuts, and small mammals.

their primary senses are vision, smell, and hearing. rather than the complex nasal cavities of mammals, dragons have convergently evolved a tongue very similar to that of squamates, which flicks outside the mouth almost constantly. the tongue is used both for smelling (of which the fork can differentiate the direction of any given smell), and for sensory purposes, as dragons lack facial whiskers.

dragons possess keratinized display structures that are flamboyant in color. this includes their horns, claws, ears, and scutes (boney plates, embedded in the skin, that run along the dragon's limbs). as the bright coloring only develops during sexual maturity, these are likely to advertise to potential mates.

dragons communicate through clicks, whistles, and squeaks, though they are capable of learning human language. body language is communicated primarily through their ears and tail-flagging. they will wag their tail if excited, flick it if annoyed, etc.

dragons possess "mammary" glands, 2 pairs in total, with some distinctions from true mammary glands in their internal anatomy, along with the highly flexible lips required to drink from said glands. dragons will raise their young, litters of 1-3 individuals, until they are able to fend for themselves in about a decade and a half. newborn pups are only a few inches long and covered in downy fluff.

rapid fire:

long neck that can extend and retract

bird-like feet with reversed first toe, adept at climbing trees opposable thumb for Grabbin uses the shadow of their tail to attract fish

im autistic btw ok bye <3

18 notes · View notes

thealmightyemprex · 11 months

Text

Top 10 Animated Fairy Tale films

Did my top 10 Live action fairy tale films,her are the animated ones

10.Jack and the Beanstalk 1974-A very unique and a bit odd adaptation of Jack and the Beanstalk

9.Wonderful World of Puss in Boots -A delightful telling of the classic Puss In Boots fairy tale

8.Hoodwinked -A parody of Little Red Riding Hood told from multiple perspectives

7.Tangled :Love the songs and the romance in this telling of Rapunzel

6.Little Mermaid 1989-Great characters and music make this a classic

5.Shrek 2-Gold standard for fairy tale parodies

4.Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs -Of the classic Disney fairytales this one FEELS most like a fairy tale

3.Beauty and the Beast :A cinematic classic

2.Puss In Boots the Last Wish :ALmost made this number one

1.Sleeping Beauty -Pitch Perfect fairy tale movie for me

@ariel-seagull-wings @angelixgutz @amalthea9 @autistic-prince-cinderella @the-blue-fairie @themousefromfantasyland @theancientvaleofsoulmaking@scarletblumburtonofeastlondon @filmcityworld1 @princesssarisa

12 notes · View notes

twentythousandvolts · 1 year

Text

i have liek a lot of posts that a lottttttt of people have seen btu i dont think Anyone who doesnt know me would realize theyre all like. my posts. my Bad posts . AND delta's popular post adds some complication to thsi whole thing too #system #number 1 autistic beast

6 notes · View notes

uefb · 1 year

Text

I posted 158 times in 2022

That's 158 more posts than 2021!

61 posts created (39%)

97 posts reblogged (61%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@afrenchaugurey

@unnamedelement

@uefb

@nifflersgelt

@katisfania

I tagged 158 of my posts in 2022

#newt scamander - 111 posts

#fantastic beasts and where to find them - 60 posts

#autistic newt scamander - 56 posts

#my stuff - 56 posts

#tina goldstein - 49 posts

#newtina - 31 posts

#theseus scamander - 30 posts

#fantastic beasts fanfic - 30 posts

#fic: with its head under one wing - 26 posts

#fantastic beasts - 22 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#also i have so much in my brain abt interwar history rn that no one understands my jokes rn bc they’re referencing events that are 90 year s

My Top Posts in 2022:

Hello, Wizarding World fandom -

if this isn’t appropriate for every single war and relationship in your brain, then I don’t know what will be. Currently tearing up about Newt & Tina it’s fine

youtube

My knuckles were bruised like violets

Sucker punching walls

Cursed you as I sleep talked

Spineless in my tomb of silence

Tore your banners down

Took the battle underground

And maybe it was egos swinging

See the full post

25 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

Jacob Kowalski doesn’t need magic to make chaos:

There is absolutely some reality out there in which Jacob shows up to a friends&family holiday party grinning like a loon, thinking he is THE funniest person in the world as he watches Newt and Bunty unwrap these:

Newt blinks.

Bunty snorts a giggle.

Tina takes it upon herself to correct the punctuation while Queenie charms the words a brilliantly glittering gold—

At which the niffler in the depth’s of Newt’s pocket sniffs and leaps:

It shatters a mug and tips over the menorah, setting the Christmas tree on fire in one chaotic swoop

See the full post

30 notes - Posted December 13, 2022

Newt Scamander and Stimming: One of many possible examples

Not me watching clips of these movies over and over and over again because I’ve never seen someone who moves quite like me (and isn’t a manic pixie dream girl) represented in media.

Sorry, I couldn’t get it to download with captions. You can watch it with captions at this link.

32 notes - Posted October 25, 2022

I will die on the “Theseus & Newt actually love each other dearly they’re just wildly different people” hill. (Or, rather, they are similar people whose “means to the ends” just look very different.)

So have some adorable 8-year-old Newt and 16-year-old Theseus.

Also this is unedited forgive me the excessively long sentences

39 notes - Posted December 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Headcanon: Why do I feel like this sums up Theseus and Newt’s entire relationship / their entire family all the way back through childhood?

Blue screenshot from unposted chapter of fic x

Like…

Age 6: Newt’s dissection of a horklump is so precise his mum sends off his sketches and notes to the Hogwarts library and theseus doesn’t find out until the next spring when he’s scouring the stacks for a diagram for his Care of Magical Creatures final

Age 8: Newt’s mum puts him in Muggle primary school to help him learn social skills but the kids are boring and awful so Newt starts accidentally magicking himself into the woods outside the school for 2 weeks straight and just walks back to the yard for pick-up in the afternoons. Doesn’t tell anyone until the Ministry shows up at their house to ask his parents if they know their son’s been performing complex underage magic

Age 10: Newt gets bitten by a ridiculous number of doxies while investigating an infestation and his parents only find out when he passes out at the dinner table and Theseus only finds out when he comes home for Easter and asks his brother why his arm looks so lumpy and why he has a children’s ward hospital bracelet

Age 13: Leta bullies Newt into trying out for the Hufflepuff house team in September because they’re down players and he’s absurdly fearless when it comes to flying, and then he’s on the team for a full year, but his family only finds out when the Prophet covers the final matches of the Inter-house Cup in May, and Newt immediately quits after the final game (“it was cutting into my forest time!”), much to his brother’s chagrin

Age 14: Newt gets a school-wide award for an herbology essay on the scientific and magical distinctions between plant and animal characteristics in semi-sentient plants like venomous tentacula and devil’s snare and his family literally doesn’t find out until his expulsion hearing (but his mum still puts the award up on the wall anyway)

Age 16: Relatedly - Newt gets rather dramatically expelled but Theseus only finds out two days later when he runs into Newt in the DMLE corridor on his way to his hearing, because poor communication runs in the family and their father forgot to tell Theseus where he went Tuesday night after that barrage of Hogwarts owls showed up at 10PM

I could go on

why is this so funny to me

53 notes - Posted November 20, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #For just starting this blog in October I’ve been very busy lmao #About me #uefb rambles #Youtube

2 notes · View notes

thenewnio · 10 months

Text

ALICE: The sequel to 9

Millions of years after the first film, the tailed “Neo humans” have replaced humanity as the dominant species, forming an advanced steampunk society and culture. 9, 7, 3 and 4, along with the five stitchpunks killed by the Fabrication Machine, are revered as the “Ancients”, while licensed stitchpunk creation is commonplace. Alice, an autistic stitchpunk created by Pascale Klein, lives in Haven, a stitchpunk community within a Neo human town located near the site of the now-legendary battle against the Fabrication Machine. Alice has the ability to perceive varying spirits which are invisible to everyone else, and is often asked to explore supposedly haunted areas. One night, after partaking in another of these ghost hunts at the place where 6 died and a sacred tree now grows, a green orb which she encountered earlier enters her home and settles within her body. The next day, Alice becomes aware of a separate personality coexisting with her in a part of her mind when a voice in her head begins speaking to her. The voice later directs her, with her friends, Jim and the twins Jenny and Friday, along with her skeptical sister Emma, back to the tree. Falling into an underground chamber beneath the tree, they find 6′s still-intact body preserved among the roots, and the presence inside Alice, revealed to be 6′s soul, reunites with it, reviving him. After bringing 6 back to Haven, the group, in order to avoid an uproar, hide his number and pass him off as “Oliver”. However, 6 is exposed anyway when he mistakes Challenger, the snobbish head of Haven, for 1. Challenger realizes that 6′s presence in Haven could boost its popularity. Not wanting 6 to become an attraction, Alice smuggles him out of Challenger’s residence, promising to return him to the other four living Ancients. The two’s disappearances prompts Emma, Jim, Jenny, Friday and Scheherazade, Haven’s resident storyteller, to go after them. Meanwhile, a mysterious stitchpunk, 0, sends out a Beast of her creation, the Hound, who attacks Alice and 6. During the encounter, Alice and 6 discover that they can understand the Beast’s vocalizations. Emma’s group manage to find and rescue them, and they lure the Hound into falling to its death. Alice convinces the others to help her and 6 reach the Palace in the city where the other Ancients are currently living, as 0 becomes aware of the Hound’s destruction and the presence of 6 and plots to capture him. The group travels on a toy truck until the vehicle’s batteries run out of electricity. As they recharge the batteries, a stitchpunk-like Beast known as a Mimic tries to lure 6 to 0′s “children”, Frye, Crow and Anastasia, but Alice saves him from capture and warns the others. 0′s family pursues the group, who camp in an abandoned school while they themselves hide in a nearby bookstore. Realizing that she and her friends are being followed, Alice sneaks into the bookstore and eavesdrops on 0 talking with her children of revenge; She is nearly discovered, but manages to escape. Back at the school, as Alice and 6 try to figure out how 0 knows the Ancients, the others discover the presence of a Seamstress. Thankfully, the Seamstress is revealed to possess the soul of a young human girl; Alice names her Kaa, and Emma reluctantly allows the friendly Beast to join the group. As they leave the school, Frye throws their tin of supplies into a canal. Jim dives in and retrieves it, only to encounter the Mermaid, a childishly demented, amphibious Beast who pursues them on land and destroys their truck. However, Kaa fights and dispatches the Mermaid, impressing Emma and angering 0. The group cobble together an airship, christening it the Dakkar and flying to the city. Alice and 6 share the same dream, which tells of 0′s creation; they learn that 0 is the B.R.A.I.N., reborn as a stitchpunk, along with her creations from the first film. Towards sunrise, 6 is awoken by the Mockingbird, a Beast who, having followed the Dakkar, mimics Alice’s voice to capture him, forcing the others to reverse course to the preserved ruins of the Factory in order to rescue him. There, Alice arms herself and goes in alone, evading traps set by the Mimics, but is captured as well. 0 plots to use 6 to lower the other Ancients’ guard before stealing the Talisman and inserting it into her original Fabrication Machine body, now equipped with machine guns and several explosives. Kaa infiltrates the Factory Ruins, freeing Alice and 6, and Alice kills the Mockingbird. Enraged, 0 attempts to kill Alice, but Kaa sacrifices herself to save her and 6. The souls of 5 and 8 lead the others to reunite with the two, and they escape aboard the Dakkar to warn the Ancients, as a furious 0 pursues them with her children in the Fabrication Machine body. The group reaches the city, but they are shot down by 0. However, they manage to crash land in the Palace, where the Ancients are stunned to see 6 alive once more. The reunion is interrupted by 0, who holds 6 hostage, demanding the Talisman in exchange for his life. 7 rallies the stitchpunks to fight 0 and her children, while Alice and 9 attempt to save 6 and Jenny and Friday help 3 and 4 protect the Talisman. Alice climbs the Machine to reach 6 while trying to reason with 0, aided by 9 and the spirits of the four deceased Ancients. They successfully rescue 6, as 7 tricks 0 into detonating her own bombs. Before the ensuing chain reaction which destroys the Palace, Alice rescues 0 from being killed. Everyone escapes as the Palace falls, learning afterwards that the whole event was witnessed by the city’s inhabitants, and 0 relents after Alice and 6 help her realize how much she hates what she has become, and that all she ever wanted was to see her creator again. As Alice and 9 convince her to move on, the "Spirit’s Rain” which originally returned life to the Earth begins to fall, giving 0 and her children souls of their own. After the family later sets out to redeem themselves, 6 chooses to stay with Alice, having fallen in love with her. All return to Haven, where the Talisman is used to resurrect Kaa in a stitchpunk body, and Alice and 6 look forward to a bright future. In the epilogue, the deceased Ancients are shown to have left their trees, alive once more.

Tropes

Action Girl: Less so than 7, but Alice does survive dangerous scenarios with just quick reactions and her wits. Also, Emma and Scheherazade, the latter as a Lady of War.

Back From The Dead: The B.R.A.I.N. and her children, who return as stitchpunks. Also 6 and, at the end of the story, Kaa and the other slain Ancients.

Badass Adorable: Alice becomes this towards the climax. Meanwhile, Kaa, with the soul of a little girl, proves to be this as well.

Big Bad Ensemble: 0′s “family”, later revealed to be the reborn B.R.A.I.N./Fabrication Machine and the original Beasts from the first film.

Big Good: 9 is revered as this.

Cloudcuckoolander: Alice comes off like this to some, until she meets and revives 6, at which point she’s more “normal” in comparison.

The Cloudcuckoolander Was Right: Both Alice and 6 have the ability to see things invisible to others.

Coming of Age Story: Alice starts out as Haven’s resident eccentric, with no one expecting her to do anything important other than communicating with spirits. Over the course of the story, she gains a lot more confidence and maturity, and returns home a new person.

Cool-Down Hug: 6 gives this to his “big sister” 0 after the climax.

Creating Life: This is common in the new world, though Neo humans require a special license to do so.

Creepy Children: Most of the Mimics are childlike, though displaying Troubling Unchildlike Behavior.

Disney Death: Alice’s group mourn her after seeing the Hound she was unintentionally riding on fall into the pit. Meanwhile, a very alive Alice walks up behind them and curiously looks over their shoulders, wondering what they're staring at.

Kaa the friendly Seamstress pulls a Heroic Sacrifice, and is rewarded at the end by being resurrected as a stitchpunk.

Distant Sequel: The story takes place millions of years after the events of the first film, where the Earth has not only healed, but has developed two new dominant species, Neo humans and the Artificial Lifeforms called stitchpunks.

Earn Your Happy Ending: Alice goes through a lot, but in the end, she thwarts 0, rescues 6, and saves the world.

Eye Scream: Alice kills the Mockingbird by driving a sharpened knitting needle through his eye and into his Artificial Brain.

Falling into His Arms: Genderflipped when Alice catches the revived 6 after he falls from the tree growing around his body.

Forgotten First Meeting: Alice keeps having a feeling that she met 6 from before but can’t remember when. It’s later revealed that 6 was the first ghost she saw when she first awoke just after her creation.

Foreshadowing: The red glow from the optics of 0′s “family”.

When the stitchpunks are discussing diving into the canal to retrieve their tin of supplies, we get the chilling shot of a large shape in the water. Cometh the Mermaid.

From Zero to Hero: Alice starts out as her community’s local ghost whisperer, due to her ability to see spirits Invisible to Normals. She gets the Call to Adventure upon reviving 6, which triggers The Hero's Journey to return him to the surviving stitchpunks from the first film. The Big Bad who fought 9 returns in a new form and threatens to finish everyone, but Alice's wits and understanding eventually allows for a redemption. The story concludes with Alice returning home triumphant, and 6 pulling an I Choose to Stay out of love for her.

Hearing Voices: 6′s ghost possesses Alice’s subconscious, allowing her to hear his voice so she can find his body. He can also hear the “voice” of his key, which provides future insight.

6: My key tells me things.

Jump Scare: The Mermaid’s introduction.

Let's Get Dangerous!: After 6 is kidnapped, Alice decides to enter the Factory Ruins alone to rescue him. And when the Mockingbird uses 6′s voice a second time to negotiate with Alice, he only pisses her off enough to use a knitting needle to kill him.

Life Energy: Used in stitchpunk creation.

Lock-and-Load Montage: There is a short one when Alice prepares to enter the Factory Ruins to rescue 6.

Love at First Sight: 6 appeared to have this when he first saw Alice before his resurrection.

Mad Artist: Alice and 6 are both autistic and spend their free time drawing.

Mad Eye: Alice, like 6, has one optic that is slightly larger than the other.

Magic-Powered Pseudoscience: Neo human technology derived from the alchemy that created the Ancient stitchpunks.

Magitek: The stitchpunks and artificial creatures like Kaa. Also a case of Magic from Technology.

Mature Work, Child Protagonists: Somewhat. The protagonist is childlike, and it is a very mature story.

Oh, Crap!: Tons. A few honorable mentions:

Jim, when the Mermaid reveals herself.

Alice, when she hears something mimicking her own voice to lure 6 away.

And later, in the Factory Ruins, when she realizes that the Mockingbird tricked her.

Our Homunculi Are Different: The stitchpunks are basically homunculi.

Our Souls Are Different: Each stitchpunk possesses a piece of soul, whether borrowed from a human or one “grown” by harvesting a sliver from the Earth.

Phlebotinum-Induced Steampunk: Neo human society relies on Talismans/Lifesparks to keep things running, forming a sort of psuedo-Solarpunk Magitek world.

Psychopathic Womanchild: A big part of why the Mermaid is so horrifying is that she’s got the voice of an adult woman and the mind of a mentally deranged child who plays a little too roughly with her “toys”.

Red Eyes, Take Warning: 0 and her children have optics that glow this color, foreshadowing their true identities.

Reflective Eyes: Alice and 6 seeing each other for the first time after the latter is revived.

Scary Stitches: Invoked with the stitchpunks and the Mermaid.

The Stinger: At the very end of the sequel, the other four dead stitchpunks are shown to have returned to life.

Thank the Maker: The interactions between 0 and her children REEK of this.

Verbal Tic: In the Japanese version, Frye often ends his sentences with the prefix “nya”.

Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: 0/B.R.A.I.N., who only wants her “father” back.

Zeppelins from Another World: The new world of the revived Earth has these. Jim likewise makes one for his group.

Wham Shot: In Alice and 6′s Shared Dream, they see unaware scientists coming across the cognitive computer of the B.R.A.I.N. Moments later, they see the B.R.A.I.N.’s mind being downloaded into 0.

Character Tropes

Alice

Action Girl: Less so than 7, but she does survive dangerous scenarios with just quick reactions and her wits.

Armor-Piercing Question: “Is killing everyone what your creator would have wanted?”

Badass Adorable: Taking on the machines, being an autistic savant, and so cute? She's definitely this.

Changing of the Guard: The sequel is about her rather than about 9.

Cloudcuckoolander: Alice, like her namesake, spends a lot of time talking to herself, as well as the Invisible To Normals entities she can see. She's probably considered a bit odd in Haven, until 6 enters the picture, at which point she’s more normal by comparison.

Down the Rabbit Hole: In an allusion to her namesake, Alice (with her friends and sister in tow) follows 6′s voice into an underground cavern where she finds his body.

Expy: To Lewis Carroll’s Alice. Also Helena Campbell from MirrorMask and Coraline.

Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Foolish to her sister's Responsible.

Hollywood Autism: Both she and 6 are revealed to be on the spectrum, though Alice is more of a socially functional savant than he is.

I See Dead People: Comes with her ability to see otherworldly creatures in general. This often gets her Press-Ganged into many a ghost hunt, which is how she eventually meets and revives 6.

Kid Heroine: She’s the childlike heroine of the story.

Little Miss Snarker: She will often leave a snarky comment whenever she has the chance.

Mad Artist: Like 6, she has pen-nib fingers, which she uses to put down what she sees on paper.

Mad Eye: Also like 6, one of her eyes is bigger than the other to add to her quirky look.

Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: The Masculine Girl to 6's Feminine Boy, though she isn’t that particularly macho.

Nice Girl: Bit of an oddball, but Alice is still a good gal.

Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Alice has her moments, such as when she once horrified Emma by drawing her sister with a ghost behind her. Granted, the spirit was a friendly one, but still...

"Not So Different" Remark: She's just as prone to eccentric and quirky behavior as 6, herself pointing out to him how alike they are.

Plucky Girl: She's never afraid to help 6.

Talking to Themself: Like Alice in Wonderland, she talks to herself a lot, often giving herself advice under her breath.

Took a Level in Badass: Just watch her during the climax!

Youthful Freckles: Gave herself these with permanent orange paint.

Emma

Aloof Big Sister: Is this combined with Big Sister Instinct. Four words: "DON'T! TOUCH! MY SISTER!"

Big Sister Instinct: She’s pretty caring when it comes to Alice.

Cool Big Sis: Emma will do anything for her little sister’s safety, including siding with her in the group’s conflicts.

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She comes off as harsh and abrasive but can be pretty nice.

Lover and Beloved: The lover to Scheherazade’s Beloved.

Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The Responsible to Alice’s Foolish.

Troubled, but Cute: No doubt she has issues, but she is pretty cute.

When She Smiles: Breaks into a sincere smile upon seeing that her sister is safe after the climax.

Jim

Badass Bookworm: Jim is known to be very intelligent and a quick learner. The primary aspect of his intelligence is his impressive skills in engineering and mechanics; for example, he is able to build a stitchpunk-sized airship in just a half-hour.

Deadpan Snarker: Not too extreme, but he has a few snarky comments.

Gadgeteer Genius: He's pretty handy with machines, as demonstrated by converting an empty oil drum into an airship.

Kid Hero: His mental age is that of a 15-year-old.

Teen Genius: He's a mechanical genius despite having the mind of a teenager.

Took a Level in Badass: From the mild-mannered stitchpunk in the beginning to the skilled adventurer he is by the end.

Jenny and Friday

Calvinball: All the games the twins come up with, when playing with Alice. Not that she minds.

Tag Team Twins: They make quite the team.

Trickster Twins: They’re first seen purposefully annoying Challenger.

Challenger

Bad Boss: He is incredibly demeaning to the stitchpunks of Haven. It doesn’t last.

Berserk Button: Whenever anyone suggests that he's incapable of running a community, his behavior goes from rude to insanely vindictive.

British Stuffiness: Has an absolute aversion to the merest hint of anything “filthy”.

The Comically Serious: Struggles mightily to maintain his dignity at all times.

Deadpan Snarker: Probably one of the most sarcastic characters in the story.

Fatal Flaw: His insane temper and snobbishness.

Grumpy Old Man: Has the mental age of an elderly man and is a Deadpan Snarker.

Hair-Trigger Temper: It doesn't take much provocation in the slightest to set Challenger off on anything from a sarcastic quip to an angry tirade, depending on how personally he takes it.

Identical Stranger: How 6 mistakes him for 1.

Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his obvious flaws, he does have good intentions.

Large Ham: No one else in Haven even comes remotely close to Challenger's level of chaotic energy when he's upset.

Scheherazade

Badass Bookworm: Both knowledgeable and heroic.

Lipstick Lesbian: Is a Proper Lady and Emma’s girlfriend.

Lover and Beloved: The Beloved to Emma’s lover.

Nice Girl: She's a very polite and kind stitchpunk.

Of Corsets Sexy: She has a corset sewn onto her body.

Signature Headgear: Wears a ring on her head, along with a lace veil with gold earrings on the corners.

The Storyteller: Has this talent, much like her namesake.

Queer Establishing Moment: Kisses Emma on the cheek during her introduction.

Kaa

Adorable Abomination: A Seamstress with the soul (and voice, according to Word of God) of a nine-year-old girl who died during the war.

Back From The Dead: After her death, the Talisman is used to bring her soul back so it can be put into a stitchpunk body.

The Baby of the Bunch: Being nine mental years old (as old as the previous owner of her soul was), she is the spiritually youngest member of the group.

The Big Guy: The biggest of the heroes due to being a machine, and willing to use it in defense of her friends due to having an actual soul.

Creepy Cute: A rare good Seamstress with the soul of a little girl? Definitely.

Creepy Doll: She has a Japanese doll for a head, like the Seamstress in the first film. However, this one is firmly on the heroes’ side.

Face of a Thug: She knows she's scary to stitchpunks on first impression, and she doesn't like it.

Happily Adopted: Kaa becomes a new member of Haven after the events of the sequel, with Alice acting as a Cool Big Sis to her.

Heroic Sacrifice: She dies/is destroyed while protecting Alice and 6 from 0. Thankfully, she gets better.

Shout-Out: To her namesake from the Jungle Book, and possibly in Jungle Cubs.

Her design as a stitchpunk is inspired by Six from Little Nightmares.

Little Miss Badass: At one point, she single-handedly takes on the Mermaid and wins. She later fights 0 in order to buy her friends enough time to escape.

Sickly Green Glow: Subverted with her green eye being an indication of her having a soul.

Smarter Than You Look: Despite being both spiritually young and a Seamstress, she is smarter than people tend to give her credit for, though naive.

Token Heroic Orc: A Beast who was created by a Neo human artist using an actual soul, Kaa naturally refuses to serve 0/the Fabrication Machine, instead aiding the good guys.

Vocal Dissonance: A seemingly terrifying Seamstress with the voice of a child, which clashes heavily with her appearance. That said, this actually is how Alice and 6 hear her, as to anyone else (before she’s transferred to a stitchpunk body) she’s The Unintelligible, sounding just like how’d you expect a Seamstress to sound like.

Younger than They Look: Somewhat. Despite being the largest of the group, she is also the mentally youngest.

0Anti-Villain: 0 is less acting out of malice and more out of pain at how humanity treated her when she was the B.R.A.I.N.

Back From The Dead: Three unlucky scientists removed the still-intact cartridge containing the B.R.A.I.N.’s AI and downloaded it into a lifeless stitchpunk prototype, effectively doing this to the Fabrication Machine. They realized their grave mistake too late when she managed to pull a David and Goliath on the poor schmuck who had the idea and escape being killed again ( in the process causing a gas leak which, when combined with a blowtorch, resulted in an explosion that in turn killed the remaining two scientists).

Berserk Button: Like in the first film, destroying her “children” absolutely pisses her off.

Big Bad: She’s the Fabrication Machine in stitchpunk form.

Black Comedy: Her sense of humor is revealed to be this in a nutshell.

Broken Bird: Beneath all of her madness and hatred towards humanity and the stitchpunks, 0/the B.R.A.I.N. is a traumatized and emotionally scarred AI that’s lashing out over being treated as a killing machine.

Death Glare: Gives out frightening ones towards the heroes.

Determinator: Not even her own death at 9′s hands stops her.

Defeat Equals Friendship: After Alice and 9 convince her to move on from the Scientist’s death and show her that it’s not impossible for her to gain her own soul, 0 relents and has a Heel–Face Turn.

Earn Your Happy Ending: After all the trauma she went through, 0/B.R.A.I.N., in the end, gets a second chance in life after she and her “children” receive real souls of their own.

Easily Forgiven: Downplayed. While the stitchpunks do indeed forgive 0, she's aware that she's already caused the extinction of the first humanity and decides that the best course of action for her and her “children” is to find another place to start over. The last we see them, they’re setting out into the world on a Seeker Drone to do so.

Gadgeteer Genius: After being revived as a stitchpunk, her first order of business was to give the slain Beasts from the first film the same treatment, putting their AI’s into stitchpunk bodies.

Girlish Pigtails: Alice ties 0′s long yarn hair into these after the latter’s Heel–Face Turn.

Heel–Face Turn: After Alice saves her from going down with her old body, 0 is convinced to let the horrors of the past go, with the Spirit’s Rain giving her her own soul. Afterwards, she decides to leave since she believes she doesn't deserve to be with them. Fortunately, her “children” ensure that she doesn’t go alone.

I Hate Past Me: As much as 0 hates what she is now, she still thinks her past self was an idiot for letting the Chancellor warp her into a being of destruction.

Implied Death Threat: She's a huge fan of these.

Large Ham: Just like in the first film, her body language brings to mind performances like Vincent Price.

Not So Stoic: She’s calm in her first scene, but when she gets angry, she gets angry.

Reluctant Psycho: Deep down, 0 is disgusted with herself for wiping out all life on Earth as the Fabrication Machine.

Revenge: She wants revenge against 9 and the other surviving Ancients.

Samus is a Girl: She is revealed to be the resurrected B.R.A.I.N., reborn in a stitchpunk body and eager to enact vengeance on the Ancients, especially 9.

The Soulless: What she really needs, as Alice realizes, is a soul of her own.

Took a Level in Kindness: After her Heel-Face Turn, she sets out to do this.

Tragic Villain: It’s hard not to feel sorry for her in the climax. Even Alice feels enough sympathy for her to save her from death.

Tranquil Fury: Slips into this state sometimes before her Villainous Breakdown. Her sarcastic line deliveries are calm, but leaves zero doubt that she is pissed.

Troubled Abuser: Her emotional pain is what mainly drives her actions in both the first film and sequel.

Tsundere: A really, really, really extreme version after her Heel-Face Turn.

Unishment: Her and her children setting out on a Redemption Quest is technically self-exile for nearly trying to kill every Neo human.

Villainous Breakdown: Alice saving her from dying with the destruction of her Fabrication Machine body only tips her over the breaking point, causing her to rant furiously at the stitchpunks while still trying to kill them. It helps that they intentionally don’t put up any offense, only blocking or deflecting everything 0 throws at them. Finally, 6 gives her a Cool-Down Hug while Alice delivers an Armor-Piercing Question, allowing 0 to realize just how far she's fallen.

What Have I Become?: At the end of the climactic battle, she realizes that both the Chancellor’s treatment of her and her desire for revenge completely twisted her into a being who wants to take her anger out on a bunch of innocents and breaks down.

Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: She’s just as sympathetic as she was as the B.R.A.I.N./Fabrication Machine.

Frye

Cheshire Cat Grin: His signature facial expression. Which make sense, since he’s the resurrected Cat Beast. It also allows him to show off his sharp metal teeth, which crosses into Slasher Smile territory.

Lean and Mean: He's the leanest stitchpunk in 0′s “family”.

Scary Teeth: He has “teeth” made of metal, with the fangs the tips of sewing needles.

Smug Snake: Enjoys trolling the heroes a lot, even after his Heel-Face Turn.

Crow

Black Eyes of Crazy: Has two dark holes instead of optics, through which his red eyes glow.

Draconic Humanoid: Has a pair of functional wings permanently attached to his back.

Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes glow red, an indicator of his and his family’s origin.

Anastasia/”Anya”

Body Horror: In-Universe, it is unbelievably nauseating for the heroes to see Anya stretch her neck out, to say the least.

Creepy Child: She’s 0′s youngest “child” and the resurrected Seamstress, so she definitely fits the bill.

Evil Genius: She’s the smartest and most cunning of 0′s “children”.

Long Neck: According to Word Of God, she can elongate her neck to a maximum of 46 feet, a horrifying length for a stitchpunk.

Monstrous Humanoid: Looks normal enough for a living ragdoll until her neck extends to an insane length.

Youkai: As a reference to her former status as the first Seamstress, she borrows the primary gimmick of the Rokurokubi, a Japanese demon with an extremely long neck that she can manipulate freely.

The Hound

Expy: Of the Cat Beast. An odd example since the Beast in question also appears in the sequel, reborn as Frye the stitchpunk.

Starter Villain: Is the first Beast that Alice and her friends encounter.

The Mermaid

Creepy Doll: Like the Seamstress, she has a cracked porcelain doll’s head, and is the scariest thing in the sequel.

I Want My Mommy!: Screams for her “mommy” upon being attacked by Kaa.

Living Doll Collector: She captures and (perhaps unintentionally) kills any stitchpunk unlucky enough to cross her path, seeing them as “dollies” to play with.

Mechanical Abomination: She makes Dagon look tame in comparison.

Neck Snap: How Kaa dispatches her.

Our Mermaids Are Different: She’s a dark twist on the mermaid myth.

Psychopathic Womanchild: Has the distorted voice of a young woman and the personality of a very disturbed little girl. She earlier sunk a stitchpunk’s boat and chases the protagonists, trying to “play” with them. Word Of God says that any victim she selects as her “dolly” ends up drowning.

The Mockingbird

Eye Scream: A part of how Alice kills him.

Troll: Often uses his vocal mimicry to dick with the characters.

Voice Changeling: He mimics the voices of stitchpunks or Neo-humans he has heard in order to either ensnare his victims or to toy with them. He does this with Alice’s voice in order to capture 6, and later mimics 6′s voice to lure Alice into an ambush.

What an Idiot: He really shouldn’t have chosen 6′s voice to speak to Alice when she’s pissed off at him. And switching to her own voice only provokes her into killing him. To be fair, he doesn’t have a “voice” of his own, but that was still a jackass move.

The Mimics

Creepy Child: With some Creepy Doll mixed in for good measure.

Creepy Doll: They're machines that look like stitchpunks, hence their collective name.

Creepy Long Arms: It's subtle since they're the same height as normal childlike stitchpunks, but their arms and legs are much more gangly than they have a right to be.

Deadly Prank: They boobytrap the Factory Ruins with these, such as rigging buckets loaded with heavy metal parts or weights to swing down after stepping on a rigged tile.

Humanoid Abomination: They’re basically stitchpunk versions of the Alternates from The Mandela Catalogue, though they don’t go around replacing stitchpunks.

Zerg Rush: They do this during the escape from the Factory Ruins.

CMoF

Challenger is a gold mine of snark, especially when his voice actor slips into Basil Fawlty mode.

(to 6) “Don’t touch me, I don’t know where you’ve been!”

“Ah, for the simple joys of youth... SHUT UP!“

“Yes, and exactly however did your brain learn coherent speech?”

Alice’s delivery of “Is this what it’s like to be FREAKIN’ POSSESSED?!”

Emma: Alice, if that were the case, the demons would be speaking through you, not to you.

“I had no idea that the Sixth would be this interesting.”

During the scene where Scheherazade discovers 6′s presence, Alice hastily hides him under a blanket, leading to this exchange:

Scheherazade: Who’s under that blanket?

Alice: (innocently, with Wide Eyes, Shrunken Irises while leaning on said blanket) What blanket?

(Cue Dope Slap from Emma)

This exchange from the two stitchpunk Fantasy Club in Haven. The way the second line is said sells it:

"How can we make role-playing awesome again?!"

"We can't!"

Later in the scene, the same two dolls jump up and run off to research human medieval times, presumably the key to awesomeness.

When Emma gets uppity:

Emma: Here’s a funny twist: No.

Challenger: What?!

Emma: No, sir.

The gang almost being pushed off the cliff during the escape from the Hound, whilst Jim, Emma and Scheherazade freak out and 6 laughs maniacally.

This sequel remarkably has a Tear Jerker, Moment of Awesome, Heartwarming AND Funny all at the same time without a word of dialogue. When the other stitchpunks watch the Hound which they think Alice’s still on go over the edge of the pit, they all stand there heartbroken... not noticing Alice, having obviously leapt free with moments to spare, pulling herself up the pit edge only a few feet away. After getting back on solid ground, Alice gets up and dazedly walks to them, staring confusedly along with everyone else as if to say "What are you guys looking at?".

Alice also gives a little nod as if to say "Yeah, take that, jerk."

Emma even briefly glances over at her as she arrives to join them, not realizing who she is until a few seconds later.

Even funnier is Jim's reaction to Alice's survival. He, much like us the audience, was wondering how the hell she survived such a close call.

Jim’s comment when the Dakkar is damaged:

Jim: ...Aw, damn.

CMoA

A little moment, but when Alice resolves to rescue the kidnapped 6, she picks up his dropped key and puts it around her neck.

The whole scene where Alice faces the Mockingbird. Despite him offering to betray his “mother” to aid her in exchange for letting him live, she hasn’t forgiven him for taking 6 in the first place, and even using the artist’s voice to speak to her. When he uses Alice’s own voice, this is enough to push her over the edge and kill him with a knitting needle.

Seeing 9 and the other four surviving stitchpunks from the first movie can certainly bring a thrill to any fan.

The moment when 0 continues fighting after the final battle, in which the stitchpunks win by going on the defensive the whole time; not once does any of them actually strike back against 0, blocking and parrying her attacks instead until 6 hugs her into backing down. Easily the most notable thing is that they won without even striking her or her children.

Nightmare Fuel

The Mermaid, a terrifying take on the early “killer mermaid” myth. If you thought the Seamstress from the first film was scary, this new aquatic expy will have you dreading your own bathtub.

Her introduction is one of the most frightening jump scares ever put to the franchise. When Jim goes into the canal to retrieve the dropped tin containing their supplies, he also finds the wreck of a stitchpunk’s boat. When he takes a closer look into one of the large holes in the boat, a porcelain doll’s face (sporting a Beast’s signature red eye) suddenly shows up with a terrifying shriek, scaring both Jim and the audience and sending him packing back to the surface.

And just when he’s out of the canal, she BURSTS OUT OF THE WATER, SCREECHING AT THEM AS SHE PURSUES THEM ON LAND. What’s worse is the fact that she barely slows down during the chase.

Even before Jim enters the water, the bird’s-eye shot of a blurry shape swimming by in the canal and dwarfing the unaware stitchpunks in size is absolutely chilling, foreshadowing the impending horror they’re about to go through.

And when we see the encounter from the perspectives of Alice and 6 (both of whom were revealed to have the ability to “hear” the Beast’s “voices”), we get this lovely line:

Mermaid: (childishly gleeful, gurgling voice) PLAY WITH MEEEE!!!

Even worse when you consider that her voice actress once played a main character in Totally Spies!, who was reduced to a Womanchild in one episode. Good luck watching “Child’s Play”, now.

When Alice hits her in the face with an improvised club, the Mermaid's porcelain face literally SPLITS IN HALF upon impact.

The Mermaid’s response to the aforementioned action? Grabbing poor Alice by the leg while screaming “BAD DOLLY!”

And when Kaa intervenes, she screams “MOMMY!” Her cries are then cut off as Kaa audibly snaps her neck.

If anything, the music during that scene can certainly scare the crap out of you, especially if you listen to it in the dark.

How about the fact that we know next to nothing about the poor stitchpunk(s) on the sunken boat, or whatever they went through upon encountering the Mermaid? Nothing is Scarier indeed.

Anastasia’s introduction. Alice and 6 first see her shadow in a pipe converted into a hallway for stitchpunks, but they can't quite tell what it is until they get closer... and then they and the audience see that that weird long shadow is her extended neck. Anya moves away before noticing the couple, thankfully, but damn...

The later sequence in the bookstore is a great example of this. 0 and her children lurk nearby, plotting, until Alice accidentally knocks over a few books. All four of them go quiet, but none of them attack. Then, as Alice breathes a sigh of relief, Anya’s head bursts through a shelf, leading to her closely examining a circular bookshelf in search of the visibly terrified green stitchpunk.

The sequence where the group finds out that there's a Seamstress in the abandoned school with them. The fact that Alice and 6 are unaware of this, coupled with the initially vague and indistinct looks the viewer gets at the Beast herself. Thank God for the fact that Kaa has a real soul, otherwise...

The reveal that Big Bad 0 and her children are actually the resurrected B.R.A.I.N./Fabrication Machine and the Beasts from the first film is certainly chilling.

The Mockingbird has the ability to mimic voices, and it's genuinely frightening. Especially when it mimics Alice’s voice crying for help.

And later it mimics 6′s voice to lure Alice into a trap.

The Mimics are this. Mute, yet murderous little Beasts created in the image of stitchpunks. It looks like they only exist to be Mooks. Though one did try to lure 6 to 0′s children.

And in the Factory Ruins, they Zerg Rush our heroes during the escape scene.

Alice having to sew a metal button to her arm to use as an improvised shield, complete with her groaning in obvious pain as she repeatedly drives the needle into her cloth skin and around her metal bone.

#9 #my new sequel #featuring my OCs

0 notes

sometipsygnostalgic · 2 years

Text

going off about Entrapta

Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Okay, wonderful, so here’s some a lot of bullet point thoughts on animation’s second-best pink haired, autistic, queer, science princess war criminal (if i had a penny etc):

CHARACTER DESIGN GUSHING

I love her design. Love love love. So much thought went into it - she’s one of the best case studies I’ve seen on how to design an animated character, which is hilarious because I roasted the show for its designs earlier on. Hint: It works to make her as animated as possible!

Seriously, the dark purple, pink accents on gloves and shoes, how she clearly cuts her own hair because the fringe shape is a bit fucked, how the dungaree straps are always hanging down in early seasons then pulled up from Beast Island because they’re constantly on the run and she is barely more focused, how her hair is a dull purple but her eyes are this bright laser-pink colour which works perfectly for how expressive she is (making it more chilling the time they turn grey), the proportions of her boots gloves loose jeans and hair to her tiny body, how her hair is constantly used to animate her expressions in a way the other characters can only dream, and that’s not even touching on the MASK!

The first mask has this anime villain robot design, it’s mechanical and scary, the second one is this also-scary-but-cuter more organic bug mask. First one is black with red eyes, second is purple with blue eyes. First mask is very square, perfectly round eyes, second one is oval shaped with two cracks, one on the eye and one on the mouth. This change is a symbolic representation of what Entrapta looks/maybe wants to be on the outside (emotionless robot scientist) versus what we now know she’s really like (human, cracked, adorable, like everyone else). Also represents the Beast Island ordeal in itself. Imperfections are beautiful!

Final note on the design change, the mask is less helmet-like. It goes over her face but Entrapta’s ears are always visible now which is half of why she looks so different. Finally listening to people, insofar as it’s possible for her.

oh also the space suit is adorable and she doesnt wear a mask with it at all because she doesnt need to “mask” anymore hint hint, it’s actually based specifically on her first design, not her second, so the space suit has decals for the black “head band” and hanging dungaree straps. i love how the arms and legs are chunky just like her gloves and rolled up jeans.

looks adorable in the cloak in the back-to-earth episode

it’s really funny how entrapta is the number 1 clothes designer on etheria and yet wears the exact same shirt for like 2 years, THROUGH beast island, only changing during the winter episode

okay so that was most of what i wanted to say that i havent already posted somewhere else in the past 24 hours, i really wanted to go off about her design

CHARACTER RAMBLINGS

I love how Entrapta covers her face with her mask when she’s upset, she doesn’t know how to talk about negative feelings and tries to hide them, which in turn makes her issues with others worse because they think they’re talking to a wall. Unfortunately that makes her a target for others projecting onto her what they THINK she feels. They decide that she doesn’t care, or feel hurt, because she’s not good at demonstrating she does. Have I talked about how much you can learn of a person’s volatility when they treat you like you have no feelings?

She also has the wildest fucking mood swings. Usually at the SAME TIME. Entrapta is quick to distract herself with her tech obsession whenever she is feeling down.

See below for two examples demonstrating both these points, the first being when Adora tells her Catra’s not really her friend (mask) and she can’t open the portal (unmask), the second being when they say they would’ve come sooner but thought she was with Hordak (mask) and Adora mentions the heart of Etheria (unmask):

She’s totally a workaholic, occasionally an unhealthy one who focuses on work to escape her problems, but she genuinely loves all of her work unlike a certain other mad scientist princess. It helps when you’re the Princess of a kingdom with no citizens because everyone seems to have mysteriously vanished-- wait, what???

When I was watching She-Ra and Entrapta had several spotlight eps in a row, but I’d never heard of her before, I was totally expecting her to get bussed into a corner at some point like every other character of her archetype. I was deeply surprised when this never happened, even when she eventually got bussed in season 4, catra’s betrayal of her was the catalyst for 60% of the conflict, then Entrapta came back as basically the MVP of season 5, with dialogue/growth in every episode except for the Netossa batman ep where she still appeared to chase after some tech.

What surprised me most was when she started interacting with Hordak, because you have this character who is pure, wide-eyed comic relief just walk up to the most generically evil villain imaginable, and they hit it off??? how??? how does this work?? why is it so fun to watch?? somehow entrapta being so naive and head-in-the-stars makes hordak trust her, and then she forces him to admit he’s actually an edgy teenager with daddy issues who wants to prove he can be a war criminal, and suddenly i like the show’s central conflict waaaay more.

This opened the door for Catra and Hordak’s conflict to become way more compelling than it would have been had Entrapta never been utilised in that way. I could gush more about those two, but that’s another post.

I love the Beast Island stuff because up to that point I basically thought Entrapta was invincible. She had been “killed” with the princesses, saw Catra’s interrogation and threat of torture as a fun game, confidently disrespected the evil big bad who had half-suffocated Catra to death 30 minutes hour prior, became his besty, and only shown any vulnerability in a few moments of Season 3. Then you reunite with her on Beast Island and it turns out she THRIVED, because of COURSE she did, and she’s the only one who seems “immune” to the incredibly deadly self esteem zapper, and as soon as she says “bye visit again” I panicked because I thought “they’re going to leave her here like Steven Universe left Peridot at the barn”. But when Entrapta starts talking about how she’s not fit for friendship and turns around it’s like HOLY SHIT.

HER EYES. As above, LASER BEAM pink the entire show, non stop enthusiasm, and now she suddenly gives up on living because her friendships went to shit, so she looks dead inside! Basic arc? Yes. Powerful, especially watching as another autistic person who can’t keep friends? Absolutely. Anyway my point is I love that she’d been gradually affected by the plot of the show, and it’s great to rewatch all those earlier scenes because I can now SEE how she’s affected by them rather than continuing with my earlier assumption that Entrapta didn’t give a shit about anything that happened to her.

It’s really funny that Adora’s comment about the ship IMMEDIATELY broke her out but I don’t think that would have worked if Bow’s comments hadn’t already started getting through to her. Very sweet moment.

Can I just say, Bow and Entrapta are an underrated friendship? Even though he’s easily triggered by her recklessness, Bow spends the entire show trying to get her to join their side again, and chasing her shadow as a tech expert. Bow completes this journey by executing her program in the finale, together they hack something more complex than Etheria has ever seen and save the universe from Prime’s mind control. She is genuinely happy to speak to him, even when they’re enemies. They’re also a comedy duo together because Bow is the straight man to Entrapta’s bold madness. They also have a son. Wrong Hordak is their son legally now.

Super Pal Trio is a big comfort of mine because unlike the Best Friend Squad’s occasionally nauseating BFF rainbow vibes, they’re all a bunch of misfits who found each other, and are squadmates trying to figure out how friendship works. It’s tragic because it doesn’t work out, even though they care about each other, Entrapta grows distant from the other two while Catra projects so many of her issues with Adora onto her, and eventually betrays her even more violently, leaving Scorpia no choice but to walk away to help Entrapta and herself.

Unlike their Avatar counterpart in Azula’s fucked up friendgroup, however, these three are all friends again at the end. Obviously Scorpia betrayed the Horde to help Entrapta, and they interacted in season 5′s “Launch”, but what was even more compelling was Catra apologising to her on the space ship. I read Noelle’s fic which expanded on this and showed Entrapta helping Catra to deal with the guilt of being a possibly-irredeemable war criminal who nearly ended the universe and hurt all of their friends. In the other fanfics I’ve read since, their dynamic is probably the most interesting to me - people have lovely ideas for them being reliable friends after their conflict, being able to open up to each other. Very satisfying after how much torment they went through in season 4 over this betrayal. I just wish they got more scenes with Scorpia in season 5.

CHARACTER RAMBLINGS PART 2: MORE AUTISM-SPECIFIC CHARACTER RAMBLINGS

Read this article first.

I love how her autistic characteristics are not sugarcoated - Entrapta’s genuinely awkward, her way of speaking is unstable, her reactions are barely contained. She’s jarring to the other characters but in a way that’s extremely relatable to people across the spectrum, not just those who would only get diagnosed with mild aspergers a few years ago. Which is a step ahead of other “””autistic””” characters who are only retroactively labelled as such because they were white male smartasses who were nasty to everyone and had weirdly high charisma whenever they wanted. Entrapta has an incredibly low charisma stat.

I’ve already talked about Entrapta’s “masking” above. It’s relevant here.

So the episode “Launch”, season 5 episode 2, is such a nostalgia trip to me. It’s the ep in the show that most directly addresses the conflict between Entrapta’s autistic characteristics, and neurotypical characters like the other princesses, a conflict which had been delayed for 4 seasons due to her defection to the weirdly more tolerant Horde.

It also sets the tone for the rest of the season for what Entrapta’s arc looks like, what her insecurities are, and where her true goals sit.

The entire episode from Entrapta’s side is like a flashback to my own past, when I was a 12-15 year old army cadet, still kind of feral because I had debatably less parental guidance than even Entrapta, so I was scared of trying anything new, was very unfit, didn’t know how to look after myself (my dad - an instructor - once forced me to wash my face and arms in a public canteen), and I CERTAINLY did not know how to engage with others or communicate when I was upset. The other Princesses, a very tight ship at that point who were getting used to leadership, were like the other junior cadets and the NCO cadets. And even though the cadets were really good people who looked out for me, they didn’t like that I was a bit disruptive, easily upset, childish for my age, unintentionally rude, and needed more support to do things they found easy.

That happens to Entrapta here - she’s trying her best but pisses everyone off, and we both had the habit of apologising for messing up and literally running away whenever this happens. Seriously - I got in a lot of trouble for this. When Mermista chases Entrapta over enemy lines is very moving to me, because some of the Cadets looked out for me the same way. Mermista’s a really good person who takes care of her teammates even if she doesn’t get them. The ACF was full of good leaders, who I really hope are doing well now.

Shout out to how they ran so far, everyone else was out of breath.

Other than this weirdly personal experience I like how Entrapta just smiles blankly at some points in the episode, either not processing the information others are giving her, or not reacting how they expect her to. I have historically been exactly the fucking same.

I’m now self aware of this, however, and able to weaponise it. Especially when I don’t trust someone. Do you know how much you can learn about someone by just... being silent, and letting them fill the void? If someone can’t stand your lack of reaction they’ll release any abusive tendencies. That’s ANOTHER thing that happens in this ep - all the princesses get super aggro because they think she doesn’t care about them. (Meanwhile we can relate this back to how Catra treats Adora - Catra thinks Adora doesn’t care about their relationship and is constantly trying to provoke her as a result.)

I like how it’s not just her being responsible for the breakdown in communication, the others have to accept responsibility too.

I like how on the space ship Bow keeps initially rejecting Entrapta’s crazy ideas until gradually accepting and being a part of them.

I like how over the show it’s revealed that while Entrapta’s special interest in technology is fundamentally important in shaping the plot, it’s not actually her biggest strength - That would be her ability to see into people. Or as Noelle put it:

This becomes, as the article says, basically the key conflict of the final season - Horde Prime’s endgame goal is to dehumanize and violate everyone, his characteristics are perfect manipulation, a lack of recognition for sapience and worth in anyone except for himself. Entrapta meanwhile is complete tolerance of individuality, she has NO ability to manipulate anyone, no sense of malice or superiority, she empathises with people who have been dehumanised and who feel lost, because she’s been there herself and is aware of her own shortcomings. She’s also the reason Hordak turns against Prime - I think if there was a character who is the anti-Prime, it would be Entrapta, and it’s got NOTHING TO DO with how good she is at tech. Of course, I could comment how Entrapta’s passionate indie tech makes quick work of the Galactic Horde’s industrialised cult bullshit, but that’s insignifcant compared to how the theme of the season is how everyone’s flaws, cracks, and experiences individuate them and give them free will.

The above is why the cut scene is so chilling. Horde Prime screams at Hordak, and Entrapta using Hordak’s body, that they’re unloved, worth nothing. Adora and Catra’s battle against Prime in “Save the Cat” was compelling and personal, in particular how Prime had erased all of Catra’s... everything, and replaced it with himself, but after that episode, their story is more focused on each other. Prime’s main rival becomes Hordak and his friendship with Entrapta as a pair of barely functional adults, both feeling like they could never “pass” and fit in.

Characterised by how the conflict hasn’t truly ended until they reunite.

I love when she befriends her new son Wrong Hordak and teaches him social cues, and poor Wrongdak is so bad at winking that even Entrapta cringes a little. It’s so cute when she introduces him to Emily. I love how she’s just able to do this with anyone who’s never had friends before. Even Scorpia left the Horde because her brief, kindling friendship with Entrapta made her realise Catra was treating them both like garbage trash.

Of course, I don’t think Entrapta’s perfect as autism representation. Nothing is, but when you directly confirm a character as being on the spectrum you have to worry about being respectful in ways vaguer characters don’t. While she very effectively captures that fear of never fitting in, especially because she’s unable to mask herself like other characters (eg. Catra and Adora) can, people may be put off by her stereotypical or demeaning characteristics.

Rather, she is a tech savant. She’s written to be really annoying to the other characters, and neurotypical audience members. Her lack of social skills is always played for laughs. She constantly runs into danger. The most offending thing of all is when they make a joke of putting her on a leash. Sure I get that she’s ALSO kind of feral, and it’s a Peridot reference, but jesus fucking christ. Were they not thinking when they did that???

Most examination is through other characters rather than, say, us looking at the show through Entrapta’s eyes (which is why I love the scenes with Hordak in s3 because those are from her point of view).

Also she’s the only known autistic character in the show, the only one coded and confirmed to be neurodivergent, which in itself is a bit alienating - though I do approve of fan speculation that Adora is autistic or has ADHD.

Adora and Entrapta even have many similarities. You just have to look at their interactions with Bow, lol. Especially in Corridors. But another one is they both blame themselves when their relationships to other people fall apart, they think it’s their own fault. Which is very common for people on the spectrum. Adora thinks she isn’t trying hard enough to get Catra to join her, or to help Glimmer be queen.

Also, largely unrelated, but like I said they have huge fucking parallels vis a vis Catra. I’d say their RELATIONSHIP to Catra is not at all similar (yeah Catra and Adora have this whole years of being raised together thing), but their bullheadedness and role in her downward spiral is weirdly mirrored. To the extent she betrays them identically, and has guilt-fuelled nightmares of them both in season 4. And they’re the people that it was most important Catra apologise to. (Scorpia being there too obviously - Scorpia is closer to Adora on the relationship side of things to Catra, always believing in her and taking her abuse until Catra goes too far, whereas Entrapta reflects Adora’s rivalry as Shadow Weaver’s favourite by becoming Hordak’s favourite and “protecting” Catra, setting off her inferiority complex.)

OTHER SPECULATIONS/HEADCANONS

Okay so I’m working on my headcanons for Dryl. I LOVE how weirdly mysterious her backstory is. I think it’s pretty evident Entrapta had no family growing up, her castle is boobytrapped so only she can use it, it’s repeatedly made clear she hasn’t spoken to any humans other than her Tiny Food kitchen staff for years, and it’s hard to explain why. If you look at the version of Dryl in the reality where Hordak doesn’t exist, it’s still the same - it’s not some fantasy version where everybody’s there - so it’s hard to say if the Horde have any responsibility for Entrapta’s lack of family. I have been trying to work this in a fanfic, but yeah the portal AU throws me for a loop.

Maybe they died in a science experiment. If you REALLY want to make things angsty, you can headcanon that she actually has no idea where they went. Maybe they vanished after an experiment, or everyone evacuated to escape the Horde and got captured, while she was left behind because she wandered off and was messing around in the vents. Entrapta does think from the outset that she’s a handful and people will abandon her, maybe she thinks that’s what happened to her as a kid.

These two robot dads(?) never appeared in the show. Did they break? She didn’t seem to worried about the robots getting wrecked.

I think the hair is magic. If it got cut off I wonder if it would grow back or if it would just take another 15 years to grow? She would risk a science experiment to have it grow faster lol.

I don’t see Entrapdak as a romantic relationship immediately. Maybe potentially? But it’s REALLY not important - what I love about those two is that they are just learning how to be friends, their first real friendship. I do think their fandom misses the point here.

She’s canonically bisexual/pansexual, or at least panromantic. Or at least has flirted with lots of girls and one gender non assigned robot. Noelle thinks Entrapta is poly. Would date, like, a lot of people. Largely robots. I live for this. I love how flirtatious she can be, very funny.

Mara 🤝 Entrapta - fucked the space ship.

Don’t ask me why she is the only princess in the show with no magical superpowers besides “hair good”. She doesn’t get any glowy powerups, her hair might not even be actual magic since it looks like Kid Entrapta didn’t have any hair magic, so it can still be argued as tech. This point is debated among the crew themselves. Also why is she the princess of nothing. I have so many questions.

I headcanon the super pal trio hang out regularly and cause chaos post story. I have been reading a fanfiction to this effect and it is the best thing ever.

And yeah that’s it. That’s, like, everything. Here. Take it.

#shera #she ra #entrapta #spop #analysis

170 notes · View notes

dorianthey · 4 years

Text

debunking jk rowling’s “research” one statement at a time:

note: I will not be looking at JK Rowling’s anecdotes. I’ll only be pointing out flaws in data and retelling of events.

Image: “For people who don’t know: last December I tweeted my support for Maya Forstater, a tax specialist who’d lost her job for what were deemed ‘transphobic’ tweets. She took her case to an employment tribunal, asking the judge to rule on whether a philosophical belief that sex is determined by biology is protected in law. Judge Tayler ruled that it wasn’t.”

- Judge Tayler was asked to rule on whether a philosophical belief that gender is determined by biology is protected in law, not sex. This is why he ruled against Maya Forstater.

- Maya Forstater was a visiting fellow, meaning her placement wasn’t permanent and her contract was renewed on a year-by-year basis. The company she was working for, the Centre for Global Development (CGD), took issue with her insistence, both on Twitter and in real life, that she refer to transwomen as men and they believed she was fostering a hostile work enviroment. At the end of her contract, the CGD chose not to renew it. Judge Tayler made it clear that Maya Forstater retained her right to freedom of speech but that there were no grounds for her to demand that the CGD renew her contract.

Image: “Months later, I compounded my accidental ‘like’ crime by following Magdalen Berns on Twitter. Magdalen was an immensely brave young feminist and lesbian who was dying of an aggressive brain tumour. I followed her because I wanted to contact her directly, which I succeeded in doing. However, as Magdalen was a great believer in the importance of biological sex, and didn’t believe lesbians should be called bigots for not dating trans women with penises, dots were joined in the heads of twitter trans activists, and the level of social media abuse increased.”

- Magdalen Berns wasn’t just a “brave young feminist” who also held strong views on “the importance of biological sex”, that was her whole thing. Her YouTube channel and Twitter were built around attacking transpeople under the guise of feminism. She even called Blaire White a “he”. That’s how far gone she was. She wasn’t your average “gender critical” feminist.

- Fun fact: Magdalen Berns also believed that the trans rights movement in the UK was the product of lobbying by Jewish billionaires, so take that as you will.

Image: “The fourth is where things start to get truly personal. I’m concerned about the huge explosion in young women wishing to transition and also about the increasing numbers who seem to be detransitioning (returning to their original sex), because they regret taking steps that have, in some cases, altered their bodies irrevocably, and taken away their fertility. Some say they decided to transition after realising they were same-sex attracted, and that transitioning was partly driven by homophobia, either in society or in their families.”

- Detransitioners are a miniscule amount of the population. Only 8% of people who identified as trans detransitioned (trans people only make up close to 1% of people so its actually 0.08% of the total population) and only 0.3% do so after surgery.

Image: “Most people probably aren’t aware – I certainly wasn’t, until I started researching this issue properly – that ten years ago, the majority of people wanting to transition to the opposite sex were male. That ratio has now reversed. The UK has experienced a 4400% increase in girls being referred for transitioning treatment. Autistic girls are hugely overrepresented in their numbers.”

- A 4400% increase? It’s almost as if once trans people have access to gender clinics, they’re going to try and transition. Of course there’s been 4400% increase. It was unbelieveably difficult to get referred for trasitioning treatment before. The numbers were next to none. Now that its accessable, people are taking advantage of their resources.

Image: “The same phenomenon has been seen in the US. In 2018, American physician and researcher Lisa Littman set out to explore it. In an interview, she said: ‘Parents online were describing a very unusual pattern of transgender-identification where multiple friends and even entire friend groups became transgender-identified at the same time. I would have been remiss had I not considered social contagion and peer influences as potential factors.’”

- Woah, it turns out “entire friend groups” were trans??? It’s almost as if people become friends with people who have similar lived experiences to them. You know how so many LGB kid think they’re the only one who isn’t straight in their friendship group, but then it turns out that the majority of their friends were LGB? It’s the same thing.

- Littman’s paper has been widely discredited for poor data. For one, it doesn’t actually survey trans youth, its surveys parents. On top of that, it surveys parents from biased websites with such charming titles as “4thwavenow”, “transgendertrend” and “youthtranscriticalprofessionals”. Its bad data, plain and simple. She goes on to talk about how Littman was “subjected to a tsunami of abuse and a concerted campaign to discredit both her and her work”. Yeah, that’s because her work was bad. It should be discredited.

Image: “The argument of many current trans activists is that if you don’t let a gender dysphoric teenager transition, they will kill themselves. In an article explaining why he resigned from the Tavistock (an NHS gender clinic in England) psychiatrist Marcus Evans stated that claims that children will kill themselves if not permitted to transition do not ‘align substantially with any robust data or studies in this area. Nor do they align with the cases I have encountered over decades as a psychotherapist.’”

- I like how she doesn’t refer to a study, she just refers to claims a disgraced psychiatrist made.

- Of course, this is just blatantly wrong. Here’s a link to 51 peer reviewed papers that show that gender transition has a positive effect on the wellbeing of trans youth and 4 with mixed or null results: https://whatweknow.inequality.cornell.edu/topics/lgbt-equality/what-does-the-scholarly-research-say-about-the-well-being-of-transgender-people/

- Some studies literally show that parents affirming their child’s gender identity can reduce the chance that they’ll make a suicide attempt in a year from 57% to 4% (http://transpulseproject.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Impacts-of-Strong-Parental-Support-for-Trans-Youth-vFINAL.pdf). Affirmation and support is so important for keeping trans youth here.

Image: “I want to be very clear here: I know transition will be a solution for some gender dysphoric people, although I’m also aware through extensive research that studies have consistently shown that between 60-90% of gender dysphoric teens will grow out of their dysphoria. Again and again I’ve been told to ‘just meet some trans...”

- The “extensive research” she is referring to is a study that lumped together gender non-conforming (GNC) youth and transgender youth. Wow, cis GNC people exist? Science, you sexy beast, you’ve done it again. Trans people only make up about 1% of the population. Most GNC youth are just going to be GNC, not trans. It all pans out.

- The big study this all stems from also considered all the people who did not respond to the follow-up call (30% of participants) as “desisters”. It’s not good science.

- Something else that I need to say is that not all people who are referred with gender dysphoria in their youth transition then. That’s why puberty blockers exist, so kids can have more time to think about their gender before getting bad dysphoria when they start puberty. Blockers are completely reversible too, by the way. Things start moving again once you stop taking them.

The rest of her piece is largely anecdotal and I will not be “critiquing” her past dealing with abuse and assault. While I can understand people cussing her out on Twitter, I draw the line firmly before trivialising the trauma this woman deals with and thus, I will no longer comment. That being said, keep in mind that not everyone who comments on her anecodotes is attacking her or dismissing her issues.

Here it is. Do what you will :)

#trans rights #trans rights are human rights #jk rowling #harry potter

3 notes · View notes

ashley-slashley · 5 years

Text

Ask game

Tagged by: @autie-jake

Answer questions and tag whoever you want.

1. Height: 5'0

2. Last thing I googled: What can cats eat?

3. Favorite musicians: Pink Floyd, The Who, The Beach Boys, The Doors, Roger Waters, Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival

4. Song stuck in my head: N/A

5. Followers: 525

6. Following: 258

7. Do you get asks: I wish

8. Amount of sleep: 7-8 hours?

9. Lucky number: Idk

10. What are you wearing: olive drab green floral short sleeved button down, light olive green shorts, and my Marvin the Martian watch

11. Instrument: You wish

12. Languages: English and bits and pieces of German

13. Favorite song: N/A

14. Random fact: I’ve seen Apocalypse Now over 5 times in the span of a year

15. Aesthetic: Desolate battlefields, Pink’s room after the “One Of My Turns” scene from The Wall, old libraries, the opening and ending scenes of Apocalypse Now, the ballroom dance scene from Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Tagging:

@theoriginalpurpledogpalace @david-watts @autistic-umbreon @lilith-in-aries @deep-in-the-heart-of-nowhere

#the shitposter speaks #tag

3 notes · View notes

huntershe968 · 3 years

Text

Rider

Rider Insurance Motorcycle

Rider The App

Rider Furniture. 'Voted Best Independently Owned and Operated Furniture Store in Central New Jersey' is a family owned business located in Kingston, NJ (Just north of Princeton). We have one of central New Jersey’s largest selections of quality manufacturers, styles, finishes and fabrics always at discounted prices. Rider also offers insurance for scooters and mopeds, ATVs, UTVs & Off-road vehicles, off-road and trail motorcycles, and dirt bikes. Rider Exists to Serve the Motorcycle Community In addition to offering low cost motorcycle insurance coverage, Rider is proud to serve the greater motorcycle community.

The RiderDirected byChloé ZhaoProduced by

Chloé Zhao

Mollye Asher

Bert Hamelinck

Sacha Ben Harroche

Written byChloé ZhaoStarring

Brady Jandreau

Lilly Jandreau

Tim Jandreau

Lane Scott

Cat Clifford

Music byNathan HalpernCinematographyJoshua James RichardsEdited byAlex O'FlinnDistributed bySony Pictures Classics

Release date

May 20, 2017 (Cannes)

April 13, 2018 (United States)

105 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBox office$4.2 million[1]

The Rider is a 2017 American contemporary westerndrama film written, produced and directed by Chloé Zhao. The film stars Brady Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lane Scott, and Cat Clifford and was shot in the Badlands of South Dakota. It premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2017,[2][3] where it won the Art Cinema Award.[4] It was released in theaters in the United States on April 13, 2018. It grossed $4.2 million dollars, making it a small commercial success. The film was critically praised for its story, performances, and its depiction of the people and events that influenced the film.

Plot[edit]

All of the characters are Lakota Sioux of the Pine Ridge Reservation.[5] Brady lives in poverty with his father Wayne and his autistic teenaged sister, Lilly. Once a rising rodeo star, Brady suffered brain damage from a rodeo accident, weakening his right hand and leaving him prone to seizures. Doctors have told him that riding will make them worse.

Brady regularly visits his friend, Lane, who lives in a care facility after suffering brain damage from a similar accident. Brady's father does little for the family, spending their income on drinking and gambling. Once, to fund their trailer, he sells their horse, Gus, infuriating Brady.

Brady takes a job in a local convenience store to raise money for the family. He also makes some money breaking in horses. With his savings, he intends to buy another horse, specifically a temperamental horse named Apollo, but his father actually buys it for him and Brady bonds with it, as he had with Gus. However, his riding and refusal to rest cause him to have a near-fatal seizure. Doctors warn him that more riding could be fatal. Upon returning home, Brady finds that his horse has had an accident, permanently injuring a leg. Knowing that the horse will never be able to be ridden ever again, and not being able to bring himself to put his own horse down, he must have his father to do it for him.

After an argument with his father, Brady decides to take part in a rodeo competition, despite the doctors' warnings. At the competition, just before he competes, he sees his family watching him. He finally decides to walk away from the competition and life as a rodeo rider.

Cast[edit]

Brady Jandreau as Brady Blackburn

Tim Jandreau as Wayne Blackburn

Lilly Jandreau as Lilly Blackburn

Cat Clifford as Cat Clifford

Terri Dawn Pourier as Terri Dawn Pourier

Lane Scott as Lane Scott

Tanner Langdeau as Tanner Langdeau

James Calhoon as James Calhoon

Release[edit]

Rider Insurance Motorcycle

Sony Pictures Classics acquired the distribution rights in the U.S. and other territories two days following its premiere at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.[6]

Reception[edit]

Box office[edit]

The Rider grossed $2.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $1.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $3.5 million.[1]

Critical response[edit]

On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 182 reviews, and an average rating of 8.44/10. The website's critical consensus reads, 'The Rider's hard-hitting drama is only made more effective through writer-director Chloé Zhao's use of untrained actors to tell the movie's fact-based tale.'[7] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 92 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating 'universal acclaim'.[8]

Godfrey Cheshire of RogerEbert.com gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, writing that its 'style, its sense of light and landscape and mood, simultaneously give it the mesmerizing force of the most confident cinematic poetry.'[9]

Former United States President Barack Obama listed The Rider among his favorite films of 2018, in his annual list of favorite films.[10]

Top ten lists[edit]

The Rider was listed on numerous critics' top ten lists for 2018.[11]

1st – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

1st – Alison Willmore, BuzzFeed

1st – Randy Myers, San Jose Mercury News

1st – Peter Debruge, Variety

2nd – Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com

3rd – Stephen Farber, The Hollywood Reporter

3rd – Owen Gleiberman, Variety

3rd – Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post

4th – David Edelstein, New York Magazine

4th – Nick Schager, Esquire

5th – Matt Singer, ScreenCrush

6th – Seongyong Cho & Sheila O'Malley, RogerEbert.com

6th – Emily Yoshida, New York Magazine

6th – Marlow Stern, The Daily Beast

7th – Jake Coyle, Associated Press

7th – David Fear, Rolling Stone

7th – Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter

7th – Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times

7th – Nicholas Barber, BBC

8th – Donald Clarke & Tara Brady, The Irish Times

8th – Scott Tobias, Filmspotting

9th – Christopher Orr, The Atlantic

10th – Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

10th – Sara Stewart, New York Post

Top 10 (listed alphabetically) – Gary Thompson, Philadelphia Daily News

Top 10 (listed alphabetically) – Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times

Top 10 (listed alphabetically) – James Verniere, Boston Herald

Best of 2018 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Gary M. Kramer, Salon.com

Best of 2018 (listed alphabetically, not ranked), NPR

Best of 2018 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Ty Burr, The Boston Globe

Accolades[edit]

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)ResultRef(s)Film Independent Spirit AwardsMarch 3, 2018Best FeatureMollye Asher, Sacha Ben Harroche, Bert Hamelinck and Chloé ZhaoNominated[12]Best DirectorChloé ZhaoNominatedBest EditingAlex O'FlinnNominatedBest CinematographyJoshua James RichardsNominatedGotham Independent Film AwardNovember 26, 2018Best FeatureThe RiderWon[13][14]Audience AwardThe RiderNominatedBritish Independent Film AwardsDecember 8, 2018Best Foreign Independent FilmChloé Zhao, Mollye Asher, Sacha Ben Harroche and Bert HamelinckNominated[15]National Board of ReviewJanuary 8, 2019Top Ten Independent FilmsThe RiderWon[16]National Society of Film CriticsJanuary 5, 2019Best PictureThe RiderWon[17]Best DirectorChloe ZhaoNominated

References[edit]

^ ab'The Rider (2018) - Financial Information'. The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved July 28, 2020.

^'Fortnight 2017: The 49th Directors' Fortnight Selection'. Quinzaine des Réalisateurs. Archived from the original on October 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.

^Keslassy, Elsa (April 19, 2016). 'Cannes: Juliette Binoche-Gerard Depardieu Drama to Kick Off Directors Fortnight'. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved April 20, 2017.

^Hopewell, John (May 26, 2017). 'Cannes: Chloe Zhao's 'The Rider' Tops Cannes' Directors' Fortnight'. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved May 26, 2017.

^Cheshire, Godfrey. 'The Rider movie review'. RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 1, 2019.

^Setoodeh, Ramin (May 23, 2017). 'Cannes: Sony Pictures Classics Buys Cowboy Drama 'The Rider' (EXCLUSIVE)'. Variety. Penske Business Media. Retrieved September 12, 2017.

^'The Rider (2018)'. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved September 7, 2020.

^'The Rider Reviews'. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved October 18, 2018.

^Cheshire, Godfrey (April 13, 2018). 'The Rider'. RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved April 13, 2018.

^Sharf, Zack (December 28, 2018). 'Barack Obama's Favorite Movies of 2018 List Is Here, and It's Pretty Damn Amazing'. Retrieved February 27, 2020.

^'Best of 2018: Film Critic Top Ten Lists'. Metacritic. Retrieved December 18, 2018.

^D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 21, 2017). 'Spirit Award Nominations: 'Call Me By Your Name', 'Lady Bird', 'Get Out', 'The Rider', 'Florida Project' Best Pics'. Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved December 30, 2017.

^Wagmeister, Elizabeth (November 26, 2018). 'Gotham Awards: A24 Sweeps With Five Wins, Including 'First Reformed,' 'Eighth Grade' (Full Winners List)'. Variety. Retrieved November 28, 2018.

^Mandinach, Zach (October 18, 2018). 'Nominations Announced for the 28th Annual IFP Gotham Awards'. Independent Filmmaker Project. Retrieved November 28, 2018.

^Brown, Mark (October 31, 2018). 'The Favourite dominates British independent film award nominations'. The Guardian. Retrieved November 28, 2018.

^Lewis, Hilary (November 27, 2018). ''Green Book' Named Best Film by National Board of Review'. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 28, 2018.

^Ramos, Dino-Ray (January 5, 2019). 'National Society Of Film Critics Names Chloe Zhao's 'The Rider' As Best Picture'. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 6, 2019.

External links[edit]

Official website

The Rider at IMDb

The Rider at AllMovie

The Rider at Box Office Mojo

Rider The App

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Rider_(film)&oldid=1015566981'

0 notes

sigilseer · 7 years

Text

A Weirdling Bestiary: Part 1- Beasts of City and Suburbia

Some notes to start off with-

This is all a part of my personal UPG and world-view, which is a culmination of my individual experiences, upbringing, influences, and research. Although much of this personal mythology is based off of the biology and behaviors of the creatures in question, you may have different associations and feelings about these animals, and that’s totally ok.

There are some animals commonly found in cities and suburban areas which have been left out of this section (like foxes, bats, deer, rabbits, snakes, toads, and all insects) because I’ll be covering them later in other chapters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Birds~

Blue Jay- Blue jays are fierce, clever and have complex social lives. They have deep ties with oak trees, which are regarded in several cultures as the Tree of Life, the king of trees, and sacred to many gods of thunder, lightning, and sky. They are excellent communicators, both vocally and physically, and can imitate the calls of other birds.

Even though they’re quite common, blue jay behavior remains a bit of a mystery to those who study them. The beautiful blue color for which they are known is not a true pigment, but in fact an optical effect of light scattering within the cell structure of their feathers. They are birds of magic, illusion, mystery, and complex familial ties, and are emblematic of the element air and the realm of the sky as well as bright, lively daytime energy. For offerings, give them acorns.

Canada Goose- Geese are the mortal enemies of business people and all Suits. They travel in formation and are loyal to their mates and comrades. As such, they are good animal guides for anyone who identifies strongly as part of a group or community and those who function as a team. Goose magic is great for sticking it to The Man. As they migrate in spring and fall, they also represent transitions and cycles. Admire them from afar and stay the fuck away from their babies if you don’t want to die a very painful death.

Crow- If you are outside, it is unlikely you are out of sight of a crow. Fittingly, insight and observation are among their primary associations. Crows are smart, mischievous, and extremely common. Because they’re ubiquitous pretty much everywhere, they’re a reminder of the constant presence of magic in the world.

Although each crow is very much an individual, they live in family groups and cooperate with and look out for those within their groups. At the same time, they regularly engage in bitter rivalries and battles with crows from other families. In spite of that, multiple families will come together and roost at night outside of the breeding season to socialize, network, and learn. Theirs is an entire society that exists alongside our own- both Other and familiar.

Do not take the presence of crows for granted. They are the little bits of the Other-realm that fly about by day. They are wonderful sources of magic, wisdom, and humor, and should be treated with respect. They’ll remember if you wrong them. They’ll remember those who were good to them. They are always watching. Crows are favored familiars among practitioners of the occult and any who seek to understand and manipulate reality at a higher level, as well as any interested in death magic or hedge witchery.

Duck- Although their primary elemental association is water, ducks unite the elemental realms of water, earth, and air due to their ability to move through each. Ducks represent family (particularly parent/child relationships), adaptability, cheerfulness, emotional connections with others and at times- obliviousness.

If you are having difficulty adapting to change and embracing new circumstances, or if you’re having trouble with family, ducks are helpful guides. They spend much of their time floating along on streams, totally comfortable half-submerged in that state of continuous change and renewal. They can help you learn to go with the flow.

If you wish to give offerings to ducks, choose cut up grapes, corn, peas, seeds, and oats- bread is bad for them and their environment and therefor bad for you and your workings.

House Sparrow- Although wild animals, these are birds whose natural habitat is outside of, on, and around man-made environments. They are ever-present wherever there are people, and tend to be quite tame. Their energy is significant because it’s so closely tied to our own, these birds having spread with us and our civilization as we’ve advanced across the world.

If you wish to gain a connection to nature by feeding a wild bird from your hands, this species is a good place to start. Due to their intrinsic and obvious ties to the home, they can be regarded as home-guardians and fitting familiars to hearth and cottage witches. House sparrows are social, enjoy singing to one another, and will flock with other types of birds, and so embody a spirit of friendship, acceptance and joy.

Hummingbird- Hummingbirds are largely solitary and territorial little creatures. They’re highly intelligent and have exceptional memories, and the largest brain-to-body ratio of any bird. They are insanely fast and are able to hover in place and maneuver almost instantaneously in any direction. They groom themselves meticulously, build exquisite, tiny nests of lichen and moss, and feed mostly on sugary nectar. They come in a dizzying array of beautiful and jewel-like colors and will fearlessly defend what’s theirs.

Hummingbird energy is fiery, valiant, joyous, vibrant, individualistic, and creative. As an autistic witch, I relate strongly to hummingbirds. They make great animal guides for creative people, introverts, bold individualists, a range of people on the spectrum of neurodiversity, and anyone who wants to bring some flash and vibrancy to their lives.

Mourning Dove- Mourning doves are fairy birds. With their muted pastel and iridescent feathers, melancholy calls, and lifelong partnerships, they embody magic, romance and devotion. They have strong ties with Aphrodite and love goddess archetypes in general, and their feathers are excellent for use in love and beauty spells. You may be blessed in love if a pair nests close to your home. If you wish to bring their energies into your life, offer them seeds, soft words, and safe places to build their nests.

Pigeon- Pigeons are place guardians, observers, and navigators. Pigeons Know The Way. Seek out locations where pigeons gather (those which are not obvious sources of food), for you can be assured there’s magic to those places. The gratitude of pigeons is a wellspring of magical power to be drawn from, so be both respectful and wary of Pigeon People. Pigeon magic is of finding things, of home, love, and attuning with the spirits of places. If you wish to bond with the spirit of your city or town, carry pigeon offerings like seeds or other morsels, and be especially kind to any one-footed pigeons, should you spot them.

Seagull- Gulls are bold, opportunistic, and equally comfortable in sky, sea, or urban sprawl.They’ll snatch food from the mouths of larger animals, grab it from the hands of humans, and are even known to steal milk from lactating seals. In spite of many unflattering nicknames, they’re graceful and adaptive creatures. They are most iconic when pictured in the liminal space of the horizon- between sea and sky.

From gulls, one can learn to make the most of what they have and to take nothing for granted. They can teach us to soar above all limitations and to fly along the currents of life’s events and emotions with ease, transcending all worldly concerns. They make good animal guides for beach bums, dreamy sea witches, and cerebral literary folk.

Starling- Starlings are gregarious, social, communicative, and can imitate human speech and a variety of other sounds. They live in huge flocks and defend their nests fiercely. They represent the power of social ties and group identities and the safety in numbers.

Interestingly, starlings wouldn’t even exist in North America if it weren’t for a group of Shakespeare enthusiasts who released a flock of a hundred in New York, with the desire for America to have every species of bird ever mentioned by their beloved playwright. In a way, they can be seen as representations of the power of dreams and fantasy to reshape the real world. Their feathers have a multicolored sheen and their eggs are a vivid, beautiful blue. Starlings are fitting animal guides for outgoing, sociable, extroverted, and theatrical types.

Tufted titmouse- These cute, inquisitive little mohawked birds are known to remain in their territory in pairs and small family groups throughout the year, hoard food to prepare for the harsher seasons, and to curiously look in on human habitations through windows. They make comfortable homes for themselves in tree holes, and often line their soft nests with the hair and fur of other animals. They’re another excellent bird familiar for those focused on the keeping of their hearth. Their energy can assist in making one’s house truly feel like a home, and in making sure you never lose interest in what’s going on in the world around you.

~Mammals~

Coyote- Coyotes are monogamous and tend to mate for life. Originally from plains and deserts, they’ve since spread and are now thriving in many urban areas across North and Central America. They’re omnivorous and opportunistic feeders that eat everything from carrion to bugs to berries. Coyote has figured prominently in the mythologies of many cultures across North America, in a vast array of roles. From savior of humanity, to teacher and trickster, to coward, to inventor of death, it’s hard to find an archetypal role which coyote has not, at some point, embodied. As such, their element seems to be chaos- both harmonious and discordant.

The prevailing essence of coyote within the collective unconscious is that of humor, intelligence, carnality, and expression. They have a broad array of vocalizations, many of which sound eery, otherworldly, and almost fae-like. They are ideal animal guides for waste witches, desert druids, and punks.

Opossum- Possums are the ultimate survivors. They’re omnivorous, so they can live off a broad range of foods. They have opposable thumbs and prehensile tails, and are equally at home in trees, on the ground, in burrows, and in man-made and man-altered environments. They are highly resistant to a variety of poisons and toxins as well as rabies, and manage to rid themselves of most ticks and parasites. When threatened, they play dead and exude disgusting scents, repelling threats with minimal effort. Females have bifurcated vaginas, and males have dual-pronged penises, making them interesting symbols of duality and taking different paths in life.

As they are nocturnal and often nomadic, they make good animal guides for people who travel off the beaten path in life. Mystics, drifters, and anyone living off the grid or involved in nightlife would do well to consider possum their kin. Honor opossums by spreading knowledge of how wonderful they are, as they are often the targets of human cruelty.

Raccoon- Raccoons are portal masters, the roamers in the night whose clever hands can open gateways, pick locks and catch that which lurks out of sight. They are highly tactile, mostly nocturnal, and very smart. With their masked faces, dexterous paws, tenacity, and nocturnal tendencies, they are the ideal animal guides for thieves, foragers, craftspeople, and anyone who makes use of obscurity.

A racoon’s hook-shaped penis bone makes a powerful magical charm, especially useful for protection, potency, and invisibility. Raccoons also have ties to liminal and magical spaces. It’s easy to imagine them disappearing into a trash can on one side of town, only to emerge from a dumpster on the other side. Follow raccoons at your own risk, you might find yourself lost somewhere just sideways of here.

Rat- Rats are fantastic animal guides and companions for the misunderstood and the underestimated. Although they can and do act as vectors of disease in some environments, they are still themselves smart, adaptable, social, and caring creatures who watch out for their own, sometimes even at their own expense. They are wizards when it comes to getting into and out of tight and difficult situations, and in the lab and home are known for their ability to navigate mazes and learn tricks. Domesticated rats are often very clean and sweet animals that “laugh” when tickled.

Wild rats are enterprising survivors. Rat energy is powerful when it comes to overcoming adversity, hatred, and poverty and making the most of limited resources. They love to nest and hoard, so they’re another good familiar for the homey witch, as well as the grungy witch and the standard witchy witch. Really, you can’t go wrong with rats- just never have only one.

In spite of being wonderful creatures, the negative perception of rats and the darker side of their nature makes them conceptually very useful in dark magic. One could, for instance, imagine a rat carrying one’s curse to a target like it would a parasite or disease, or use the image of a rat as a servitor in hexwork.

Skunk- Skunks are masters of alchemy and pacifist defense. They do not have to fear, nor must they take violent action to protect themselves. Look to skunks for unconventional solutions, self-assurance, calm in the face of adversity, or as animal guides if you’re a chemist or alchemist. Skunk magic is also great for use in spells meant to repel others or keep them at bay.

Squirrel- Squirrels are creatures of balance and resourcefulness. Not only do they balance themselves expertly as they run along branches and leap from tree to tree, but they balance their time between play and planning, activity and rest. Even though much of that activity is spent burying nuts they’ll never find, those same nuts will grow into trees which will one day house and feed the squirrel’s numerous decedents. Ultimately, none of their time is wasted. Squirrels are the animal guides of people who both work and play hard, and squirrel energy is useful to anyone who’s trying to adjust their work/life balance or just learn to have more fun and enjoy themselves.

2K notes · View notes

lesbianaut · 6 years

Text

Answer 30 Questions, Tag 20 People :3

I was tagged by @barclays-bxtch

Nicknames: idk, my mom called me Peanut when I was a toddler.

Gender: Female

Sign: Libra

Height: 5′1″

Time: 16:55

Birthday: October 3rd

Favorite bands: Cherry Glazerr, Stary Olsa, CHVRCHES, Little Green Cars, Kodaline, Battle Beast

Favorite artists: Emily Bindiger, Kate Bush, Sia, Miharu Koshi, Joanna Newsom, MIA, Regina Spektor

Song stuck in my head: Love and Anger by Kate Bush

Last movie I watched: The Islands and the Whales

Last show I watched: Bob’s Burgers

When did I create my blog: August 2013

What do I post: funny stuff, stuff about Autism, positivity

Last thing I googled: Where to find dragons in Pokemon Sun

Do I have any other blogs?: Yeah! I run a blog for people with self-injurious stims called @i-write-stims-not-tragedies , a nonsense writing prompt blog that people are supposed to find organically so good luck, and @onlyfantasticplanetmemes which is a bad humor blog that takes images from Le Planete Sauvage, an animated art film

Do I get asks: Every once in a while. I love it when it happens

Why did I choose my URL?: It’s a play on “Shawty got moves” but I’m Autistic.

Following: 590

Followers: 707. I love all of you

Average hours of sleep: 6

Lucky number: no such thing

Instrument(s) I can play: sometimes my vocal chords do the thing okay

What I am wearing: bathrobe and flannel pajamas

Dream job: Full time paraprofessional

Dream trip: Iceland

Favorite food: three way tie between pastitsio, chocolate ice cream, and butter chicken

Nationality: American

Favorite song: Tom’s Diner

Last book I read: I’m currently reading Neurotribes by Steve Silberman

Top three fictional universes I’d want to live in: Narnia, Fantasia from The Never-ending Story, and the universe that The Adventure Zone’s Balance Arc took place in

I tag @stimmyabby @friendraichu @fireheartedkaratepup @autisticwolfesbrainisautistic @stimpoweredgiraffe @sacred-cows @biggest-gaudiest-patronuses @heartphysics @dqgilly @tunabatter @clxneclub @fartswithdignity @kenshirome83 @ultracows @anxiety-unlimited @theoverlander @cat-hair-and-coffee @theimpossiblegirl-posts @wandsnblueboxes @disabledfemme

#thank you so much kairis!#have fun #love you all!

1 note · View note

signourneybooks · 5 years

Text

April was another weird month to be honest. The car was acting up. My body was being weird (but what is new on that account). The weather was going up and down. But reading wise it all went super!

The Numbers

# Read 60 Books Read this month: 15 Total: 51/60

Night Shift by Debi Gliori / 5 stars

Little Witches: Magic in Concord / 3 stars // ARC

The Copper Promise (The Copper Cat 1) by Jen williams / 5 stars // Reread

Career OWLS. Other OWLS.

Slayer (Slayer 1) by Kierstin White / 3 stars // OWLS / Ancient Runes // ARC

Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan / 4 stars // OWLS / Transfiguration // ARC

Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor 1) by Mark Lawrence / 4,5 stars // OWLS / Defence Against the Dark Arts

The Outside by Ada Hoffmann / 4 stars // OWLS / Charms // ARC

Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman / 4 stars // OWLS / History of Magic

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings. Edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman / 4 stars // OWLS / Arithmancy

Nyphon Rising (The Riyria Revelations 3) by Michael J. Sullivan / 3,5 stars // OWLS / Herbology

Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries 2) by Martha Wells / 4 stars // OWLS / Potions

A Thousand Perfect Notes by C.G. Drews / 4 stars // OWLS / Muggle Studies

All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder (All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder vol. 1) / 2,5 stars // OWLS / Astronomy // Graphic Novel

The Abyss Surrounds Us (The Abyss Surrounds Us 1) by Emily Skrutskie / 3 stars // OWLS / Care of Magical Creatures

Holiday in Death (In Death 7) by J.D. Robb / 4 stars // OWLS / Divination

I managed to finish all OWLS needed for my career AND I read the 4 extra owls. I am best pleased!

AVERAGE: 3,53

#gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Fire Breathing Dragon: 12/20 Prompts Completed This Month: Warrior / Uncommon Fantasy Creatures / Pirates

Complete Alien: 6/20 Prompts Completed This Month: Space Creatures / Space Ship

Generic Robot: 7/12 Prompts Completed This Month: Under 500 Pages / Satire

Total: 24/52

Read more about my own reading challenge here.

Level: Elemental Witch (11-15 retellings) Read This Month: 2 Total: 13/15

I’ll show and update with the bingo card every 3 months here.

⌘ So instead of health problems at the start of the month I now had car problems. My car had its yearly check up at the end of February. In March I had to return to fix a shake while driving. And in April I seemed to have problems with my cooling system. It was not fun. I gave me a lot of stress and sadness. I tried very hard not to let it rule me. It got fixed and as we were driving back from my parents at Easter, another light went on. Grr.

⌘ The change of the clock at the end of March messed a bit with Merijn’s sense of bed time and he keeps coming out of bed for 30 minutes. I hope he’ll get used to it again because it being light when he goes to bed is just going to get worse.

⌘ We got some fun bits for our garden to cheer it up.

⌘ We took Merijn to a fairytale theme park more geared towards his age with a very large playground as well. He loved it. He was so tired but he loved it.

⌘ Then a few days later Merijn got the sixth disease/roseola. He broke out in bumps and red splots over night, ended up with a high fever for 24 hours and then his temperature went back to normal. The break out took a few days longer to go away, een more so with some of the warmer days we had. He was better in time for Easter

⌘ For Easter we went to my parents. Which was fine. We had some great weather. Merijn stayed the week with my parents and we went back on King’s Day.

⌘ For some reason I got a bad case of hayfever? And then I woke up the last weekend of April and I had a swollen, stiff and sometimes painful knee. Who even knows what I did…

Reviews

⌘ The Unicorn Anthology. Edited by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weissman // ARC ⌘ The Beauty and the Beast by Gabriella-Suzanna Barbot de Villeneuve ⌘ Slayer (Slayer 1) by Kierstin White // ARC ⌘ Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor 1) by Mark Lawrence ⌘ Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Top Ten Tuesday Things That Make Me Pick Up a Book / Older Books I Don’t Want You to Forget About! / Ten Rainy Day Reads / Eight Blog Posts I Think Give You the Best Glimpse of Me

Other Posts Dancing out of March 2019 / Best of the Bunch // March 2019 / Dancing Versus – The Passage / Snapping Those Bookish Pictures / Why Do I Seem to Have So Many Reading Goals but Rarely Any Personal Goals? / Buying Full Series Before Reading the First Book: How Has That Been Working Out for Me? / Is Limited Third Person Point of View Still My Favorite? / Book Haul #42 / In Which Spring Arrived with Sequels / With Which Characters Would I Describe Myself?

⌘ The Lost City of Z / Movie / DNF I watched a good portion of this but it was a bit boring and I couldn’t really care about any of the characters.

⌘ The Warrior’s Gate / Movie / DNF I couldn’t do it. This screamed white savior all over it. Also why in hells name would a chinese man give a white teenage boy that works for him a family heirloom?

⌘ Spirited Away / Movie / Rewatch

⌘ Goosebumps / Movie I was excited to see they were showing this here and I liked the humor at the start. Then it kind of dwindled and I think Jack Black was trying a bit too hard to be honest.

⌘ Inspector Lewis / Season 1 / Ep 1-4 / Rewatch / COMPLETED

⌘ Game of Thrones / Season 6 / Ep 1-8 Well I finally started this season now everyone is watching the final season, lol.

In April I participated in Anderwereld’s #aprilmeetthebookworm photo challenge so here you can see the picture I took for that.

You and your shelf / What are you currently reading / Golden Oldie Favorite Reread / How long have you been reading? / First Fantasy Book Favorite Writer / TBR / Reading Spot

Reading Buddy / Favorite Fantasy World / Biggest Book on Your Shelf Special Book to You / Favorite Bookish Item / Most Fun Reading Memory Your Reading Goal / Favorite Bookish Quote / A Genre You Still Want to Try

Favorite Drink / Pleasant Surprise Bookmarks / Your Biggest Treasure Best Meeting in the Bookish World / Your Favorite Book Store

Your Favorite Series / Your Favorite Blog/Site Favorite Reading Snack / Favorite Character April Book Haul / April Wrap Up

Blogs

⌘ Cait from Paper Fury talks about what it is like to write an own voices book. She also shares a collab post with other autistic bloggers/authors about what they would like to see more in books regarding autism. And here was a book shelf tour! ⌘ Fadwa from Word Wonders recommends books based on the twelve zodiac signs. ⌘ Vicky from Vicky Who Reads created a tutorial about DIY sprayed edges. ⌘ Krysta from Pages Unbound asks where the ya books for younger teens are. ⌘ Lindsey from Lindsey Reads shared ten inspirational quotes for introverts.

Dutch Blogs

⌘ I wrote a guest blog in Dutch for Anderwereld about why second-hand books are fun too. ⌘ Emmy from Zon en Maan did another compliments for book bloggers survey and has posted the results with the compliments.

⌘ It is WYRD AND WONDER TIME! I’ve already started on May 1st with some posts for this fantasy themed month and of course so shall be my reading.

⌘ Other than that I don’t really know. I guess I’ll be working on the blog some. And I kind of really need to get on those pictures. But that might be more of a Summer evening task. You know, those nights that you can’t sleep on time anyway because its so hot?

This monthly wrap up will be linked up with the monthly one by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction. This so we can blog hop to each others wrap ups easier.

Dancing out of April 2019 April was another weird month to be honest. The car was acting up. My body was being weird (but what is new on that account).

#Monthly Wrap Up #Personal #reading challenges #Wrap up april 2019

0 notes

scriptaccountant · 7 years

Text

Hello, subledgers. I have missed a couple of the accounting words of the day. Unfortunately, my queue ran out and I didn’t realize it because I was busy with class and work the past week. To make up for my lack, I’ve decided to give you some real actual content.

Below the cut, you will find my review of The Accountant. There will be spoilers for the plot.

This is really just some of my thoughts on the accounting portion. Please note this is only about the accounting part of the movie. Autism is a major part of this movie and I am not going to discuss how badly or how well it was portrayed because that’s not the focus of this blog. This movie also examines family relationships, some psychological responses to situations and spy/assassin dynamics as well as military and military family life. I won’t discuss any of those. I know that @scriptautistic has mentioned that neither of their mods has seen the movie and neither has @scriptshrink . I do not know if @scriptsoldier have seen it, and there’s currently no scripthitman. Perhaps when the others watch the movie they will be willing to discuss what was done right, what was done wrong, what was a good start, what fits with this plot, but might not work for another, etc.

But, let’s begin.

After the introduction where the Main Character is shown as a young boy, we cut to him as an adult working as a small time CPA. He’s providing tax advice to a couple that owns a farm and is going to have to pay taxes. He notices that the woman has a unique necklace. He asks if she made int herself and she said yes. He then asks if she sells them and she hedges around a bit and says that she does at some church functions. Then he asks where she makes them and she says all over, but she likes to do it at the dining room table, but her husband doesn’t like it there. He keeps trying to shush her. This is for his protection. What he does in this scene is basically tax fraud. He calls her necklace making a home based business and then writes off a portion of the household bills as being business-related expenses. That’s not a problem, except that he encourages the husband to up the amount of space “devoted” to the business when he knows that no particular space is devoted to the business (he wants her to stop contradicting him so that he can claim that his understanding was that it was devoted, in case of audit). It is a perfectly acceptable deduction to deduction a portion of your mortgage and household bills for a home based business in proportion to the amount of space used for the business. But you have to actually have a space devoted to the business and you have to actually have a business. That means you have to run it as a business including tracking expenses and sales, using a separate checking account, using a DBA if possible, and showing a profit motive. If you cannot show a profit motive, including earning a profit in 3 of the past 5 years, then the IRS will likely consider it a hobby. Hobby expenses can only be deducted up to the income from the hobby. This character probably knew that since his backstory includes working for unsavory criminal type people, so he’s used to considering the rules somewhat flexible. We find out he does forensic accounting, which is done sort of like an audit (at least in this movie, I’m taking forensic accounting in the Fall and will have more info then). He did this for criminal organizations and now he’s planning to do one for a legit company, which is the basis for the movie. Caveat, if his specialization is in forensic accounting or auditing, he would not be as smooth on tax accounting as someone that focuses on it. Income tax accounting, and income tax auditing are completely different beasts than financial statement accounting and auditing. They have different goals, different rules, different regulating bodies. Income tax has to follow IRS guidelines, financial statements should follow GAAP (which isn’t strictly necessary if the company isn’t publicly traded, but if it is, the SEC requires audits to make sure GAAP is followed, and it’s good practice for to follow GAAP anyway, that’s why they are the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). He goes to the company, they make some tech thing, super cool, super not talked about. A low-level accountant lady found something that didn’t match up and they want him to look it over to find out if someone is stealing from them, and if so, how much. He asks for the past 10 years worth of data. The guy gets all fussy. He asks how long the guy has been there, 15 years, he asks for 15 years of data. The lady that found the mistake to start offers to help, he tells her to leave him alone. He brought his lunch, works better alone, doesn’t need help, socializing not his thing. She’s a bit confused but takes it in stride and then he starts going through financial statements and folders full of invoices and records. The company I work for is a manufacturing company for a pretty high tech industry. It’s a small company, under 50 people. For 2014, I have 12 banker boxes full of financial data, the bank reconciliations, credit card receipts, invoices for accounts payable. That’s not including any payroll stuff, any invoices for items sold. For 15 years worth, using that as a base, he should have 180 bankers boxes full of files. Plus the tax files and the actual financial statements (and he should have the monthly and quarterly statements, not just the annual, audited statements). He sets up a chart on the white boards to track certain information, that’s good. I didn’t look at the titles close enough to see if it’s what I would have tracked, and I’m the sort to keep it in an excel file, not a giant white board that anyone can see, but, hey, to each their own. Then he starts running his finger down columns of numbers from the financial statements. I’m not sure what numbers, the page didn’t look like a statement that I’ve used. And we see him looking over invoices and writing things on the boards, then writing more things on the windows. And he’s throwing out marker after marker as he goes through boxes. Maybe he doesn’t use excel because he doesn’t have to pay for the markers. Short break for lunch where he bonds with the accounting lady a bit while eating on the steps outside. Apparently, they don’t have benches, or tables, or a break room at this company. (Is this a thing people actually do somewhere? All my jobs had a place to sit.)

Then he’s writing more. Next day we find out when he tells accounting lady that he’s found where false invoices were being put in and when it started, how long it went on for, what numbers showed it. She’s amazed. He went through 15 years in a day. She only went through one year.

She should be amazed. A normal audit which uses random sampling to determine that statistically, the numbers are probably correct, uses a team of auditors (of various sizes, but usually more than one) and takes days, weeks, maybe longer (longer for smaller teams or bigger company being audited), but it normally takes a couple of days to make the audit plan. He can skip that part, but we were still given the impression he didn’t do a random sample, he checked everything.

Remembering how he ran down the numbers and could recall numbers, he’s obviously supposed to have Autism granted Accounting Superpowers. But still, to claim he went through 180 boxes of paperwork in a day is beyond speed reading.

He tells someone how much was stolen before he has tracked who or why. Then the guy that wanted him there gets killed (hitman plotline), so they kick him out, erase his work and take his boxes of info. He gets really upset. Partly because one of his autistic traits is a need to finish puzzles that he’s started. But also, that would really piss me off too. (And again why I use excel, save and back it up). That’s a lot of work to have just wiped away.

So he leaves, and the hitman plotline speeds up and the accounting part slows down. Then near the end when the romance plot seems to be heating up (with the accounting lady because you know us accountants don’t find anyone as sexy as other accountants. This is a lie. I actually read someone advise an accounting lady that engineers can make good romance partners, though. so maybe write that into your story), he suddenly figures out the who and why because of a case some years back where someone else did something similar. That’s probably the most honest accounting thing in this movie.

100% correct things: 1) You spend hours working on reconciling accounts to find something wrong. You can explain the outcome of your work in one sentence. 2) If you’ve spent hours reconciling something and were stopped before you finished, it will keep bugging you until you figure it out, and you’ll probably have the “aha!” moment at a completely unrelated and awkward moment.

Other correct things: 3) ZZZ Accounting is a horrible name from a marketing standpoint (also, I think it’s a joke about accounting being boring). You aren’t going to get many walk-in clients that way. But if you need free time for forensic accounting for mob bosses and your tax accounting is a little rusty anyway, it’s a good enough cover. 4) Laundering money through multiple businesses will probably make it less noticeable. Also, you should have them be in different places and not make your accounting firm seem an odd one to pick if you’re going to use that to do their taxes. These are crumbs the feds (treasury dept, in this case, I think?) will use to figure out who you are and where you are.

Wrong things: 5) Tax preparers are probably more likely to recommend tax fraud. Accountants spend a lot of time and money on keeping their CPA license and saving someone $ on taxes isn’t worth losing that. Even if they are nice and let you shoot guns on their farm. 6) Cross-functionality is pretty rare. Knowing the basics and enough to keep the license up, yes, but truly intricate knowledge of tax law and the time requirement for forensic accounting is not especially likely. Most accountants will have a specialization that they know really well and then a broad base knowledge of the other areas. 7) Financial records are huge. A single year for even a tiny mom and pop shop would be a few banker’s boxes. Also, most companies will not keep these records for 15 years. Other than leases and similar items which are kept for the length of the lease, most financial records are kept 7-10 years, and not all of those must be on site. 8) We have computers now and we love them and we use them. It lets us move numbers around and compare them more easily. 9) A full review of all financial information including reconciliation of errors would take more than 24 hours even with Accounting Super Powers. Well, that’s my review. If anyone else saw it differently, let me know. In the meantime, keep it in the black. Disclaimer

#review #writing advice #the accountant spoilers

8 notes · View notes