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dana-chan-the-control-brain · 4 months

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Hello! I know you're one of the people who ship Moon and Solar (TSAMS) And y'all have gotten me into the ship as well! XD I'm not caught up on the lore of the show(s) So i haven't even seen Solar IN SHOW before (i am very behind to before Lunar was Sun and Moons brother :' D) But I have some ideas I'm debating writing for the ship buttt....I have no clue how Canon Solar acts??? Do you know if theres somewhere I could find a Summary on his personality? (and I suppose...new Moon?) I'll probably unintentionally make them OOC...never written for anything TSAMS related, but i'll try!

And is there a ship names thats...like used for them instead of Solar X Moon or is it just called that?

Anywho, I hope you have a good day/night!!! You make awesome stuff! (And I know theres been some people making drama over the ship, I hope you don't let them get to you too much tho!! <3 /P)

🦈Anon

AWESOME!

Heheheh. Thank you. I've been shipping these two since June 2023 so I'm glad I can share the brainrot and some people are more welcoming and cool then I expect. (mostly the ones who can't think critically are the youtube audience but that's expected. Since a lot of the youtube target audience are... like.. minors or really young adults who can't conceive the concept.)

I rewatch that Episode where Solar changes his name and rebuilds the Daycare in a week just for Moon constantly cause it's just... so much admiration and appreciation Moon has for Solar in that episode. I swear I don't know if it was a flub on the actor's part... but I swear Moon calls him 'sexy' as he's dragging him to charge. the stock sound effect of "OOOOH" doesn't help my APD and I've listened so many times and I have no possible idea what Moon could be saying to Solar other then 'come here you stupid, sexy-...." (trails off) sooo... idk. I might have misheard that severely but that's just what I'm hearing.

Like, in terms of New Lore of the show, it gets pretty complicated.

So complicated in fact, TSAMS themselves released a new video on the subject.... But it's NOT a very good guide, as it misses a lot of things. (and no I don't mean the stupid guest cameo stuff) this is more or less an abridged take on what happens with no emotional impact:

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Like, this is a good starting point if you want the barest of bones, but it misses so much stuff. I think they don't even mention how Solar gets introduced into this family. lol. Just like "yeah Im here and I helped kill Eclipse" fheahehf. It's a super well made video though, and I don't mind the editing mistakes (clearly when the actors change the avatar on screen.... whoops. Happens a few times)

There is also the Fan Wiki, but as of now, it is incomplete, (@twinanimatronics is working tirelessly on updating the wiki and I wish they got more reconignition from the tsams community as a whole ) but it does give a decent look into Solar

There is also the huge TSAMS Lore Document, which Ceph(twinanimatronics) also worked on which contains a further detailed explanation of the story so far, for those who don't have time to watch 2 years worth of youtube content that aren't in a concrete playlist. (TSAMS. PLAYLIST YOUR STUFF PROPERLY. YOU HAVE TWO YEARS OF LORE HERE)

Liike.... yeah... this is okay but like..

This is VRchat. Aka the lore. Which also includes when they play videogames in VRchat, which don't impact the story... Like Uno, Amongus and SCP stuff.....

And it doesn't divide the arcs. Something that TSAMS severely needs more then any other SB Show channel.

Also, in the early days, the gameplay videos USED to be part of the lore. As the concept of Eclipse itself, being a rouge evil ai that lived in Sun's head (as it was presented initially but we know the truth it was the killcode moon planted in Sun when they separated.)

These days, they kinda dropped the gameplay videos being directly connected to the over arching plot. Other then just saying that their vids are pre-recorded or "we're back" after an annual halloween takeover.

Not to mention... When Earth and Lunar got a show, they became intertwined with the Sun and Moon show. LAES is very much it's own thing, but it's the ONLY Security Breach Show that consists of two Original Characters spawned from the Sun and Moon show. A rarity. So their lore continues off from the Sun and moon show, giving more info on Lunar these days and Earth (their sister)

Then you have the Monty and Foxy show (which is my least favorite of the shows... Personal Preference. I try not to complain cus I know some people like it. But I do not like the plot points in that show, or the character writing and weird directions they take while being connected to the same universe.)

And Monty is a character voiced by Davis, who also voices Sun. So Monty started out as a prominent character on the Sun and Moon Show, and then got his OWN show... at a point in TSAMS history after Eclipse got the star and killed Lunar.

So yeah. I wish the playlists were better organized here. So we knew when each era starts.

(people say Matpat should get on this show lore... And noooooooo no thanks. Keep him away. We got you covered. Ceph honestly has enough info to make a video guide at this point.)

But long story short, Solar is a "Good Eclipse" from another dimension that the Old Moon introduced to Lunar, when Lunar was struggling with his trauma of leaving Eclipse. Good Eclipse and Lunar become friends.

Anyway, here are some key episodes that outline NewMoon and Solar's relationship, as Solar had never met the Old Moon.

Old Moon had never met Solar. It was New Moon who introduced himself to Solar to help defeating Eclipse once and for all. (and by this point lunar had died)

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He was actually surprised that this Moon was a chill Moon and could be reasoned with and talked to, considering he was living a rather oppressive life from his own Moon.

There's also a whole episode saga of just these two bantering and talking while they work on the satellite together. I can't remember which specific episodes those are.

You can also see the difference between the Evil Eclipse and Good Eclipse here in one of my all time favorite episodes:

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Moon saving Solar's life: (also the death of the bad Eclipse)

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Everything is good and happy after Eclipse dies for awhile. (aside of Ruin and Bloodmoon wrecking shit) He goes back to his own dimension... and you get to see what his sad life is like:

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From his Moon calling him "byproduct" and failure very often.

But... Something happens and Solar is forced to come to Moon's dimension

here's Solar at his poor little meow meow "I have nowhere to go" stage and just... thought to go to Moon immediately due to their history.

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Moon's only question about Solar moving in, is that if he wanted him to blacklist his dimension once he heard what was going on with his Moon.

And immediately, Solar jumps in to help Moon with his problems.

Also during the halloween takeover part 2 electric boogaloo, Solar was the one to help get Sun and Moon back after being teleported to a different dimension with no hopes of returning

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Also, after Ruin was cured and Bloodmon ran off, Solar rebuilt the ruined Daycare in a week. And Moon is so grateful for it. (i rewatch this episode a lot. It cemented the ship in my mind and built the commodity that they've been building up for months)

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We also get what Solar's daily life is like so far... How out of place he feels, being someone from a different dimension, despite the Brothers (and sister's) insistence, he still doesn't really feel like he's part of the family. He feels like an outsider. (He also has less opportunities to hang out with Lunar. As he expressed interest in playing games with him like the good old days, and as of recently, they have not yet)

also a good example of the Celestial family changing minds on family dynamics because they are robots. Lunar flat out rejected Vegeta-Animatronic is his brother even if he technically is. Like, they're robots. They can change their relationships to each other based on their word. I like to see it more flexible then it is in reality with actual people/humans.

Moon also trying to make Solar feel comfortable and feel like he's adjusting well here. Expressing his concern for him doing so much for him and his family. And hoping to not pressure him into so much work.

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As of recently, his Sun died, and he killed his Moon. And in his therapy session (on the Lunar and Earth Show) he expressed regret over "Leaving" them...

But he has not properly told anyone about this.

My reasoning is that he probably thinks that the family will jump on the chance to call him "Evil" .....They don't have good luck with Eclipses.... and every Eclipse they met other than him has been Evil. (that must weigh on you. Every version of yourself is deemed as evil across every dimension. You are the only good one. Maybe there is something wrong with you)

I'm already at the video limit, but on Lunar and Earth show, there is an interesting episode where Lunar goes into Solar's head, and his mindscape looks like the Willy Wonka TV room, because it was a movie he watched with his Sun before they separated and Sun died. Showing that he did care about his Sun a whole lot... Which is probably why he doesn't interact with our Sun that much alone.

He also compartmentalizes everything before he can feel emotions, playing his own memories in third person as if he's not experiencing them.

Not to mention, he organizes and separates his thoughts on NewMoon and HIS Moon, just so he won't associate the two.

I also missed what episode it was, but Solar is always the first to call Moon out when he's being angry, or irrational, and Sun admits in his therapy session, that Solar is the only person who can calm Moon down. (mainly cus he's used to it, but unlike his old moon, this moon listens)

Anyway...

I love Solar a lot, can you tell?

#danachan's replies #danachan's asks #solarmoon #solar x moon #Solar analysis

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magicstar16 · 6 months

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Okay Okay Okay I just had a thought and I legally CANNOT sleep until I share it

Sooo Gooseworx has confirmed the ages of the humans in The Amazing Digital circus

Brace yourself, this is gonna be long.

And she has also confirmed that Jax and Zooble were the youngest (With Zooble being half a year older)

Now I read a theory on the WMG page of Tv tropes that theorized that Jax might have been a teenager or young adult (I believe this was written before the age confirmation but stay with me here) when he got trapped in the digital circus (They didn't say anything about Zooble but the same could be applied for them) But here's my thought:

What if Jax and Zooble got trapped in TADC as kids. Not teenagers, but ACTUAL CHILDREN.

Think about it, The Amazing Digital Circus has a lot of it's aesthetic and general inspiration taken from 90s/2000s kid's edutainment games, and signs are pointing it to TADC having even been that kind of game In-universe.

So here's my theory:

Jax and Zooble were the age of the TADC's target demographic when they played it (probably early to mid elementary school age). My guess on what lead to them to getting trapped is:

A: When in playtesting/test audience phase, Jax and Zooble were two children chosen by C&A to playtest the game and act as a test audience of sorts, when it turned out they were straight up trapped in there, C&A said "Oh shit, our test players are trapped" And tried to do as much damage control as possible until the game was finished They filled Jax and Zooble's heads with false promises of escape, but eventually they both realized that the company was lying through their teeth and they were never going to get out, whether or not the game was completed.

Or B (AKA the simpler answer) : The game was already released and Jax and Zooble played it as kids (Whether they played it on school computers or home computers IDK) and they got trapped.

If you want to connect some more red strings to this theory, it could provide a potential explanation as to why C&A is in the run-down state it is now. When finding Kid!Jax and Kid!Zooble's bodies collapsed and unresponsive, Their parents/teachers/guardians reported it, and the news spread like wildfire. (Excluding Queener, the other crossed out portraits could have been other children who played the game during it's heyday and got trapped). The incidents of children going comatose while playing TADC lead to lawsuit after lawsuit being thrown at C&A, until they eventually went bankrupt.

As for explaining their behavior, the theory is MUCH MUCH more loose, but you can see what I'm talking about if you squint. Jax is a snarker and a prankster, and Zooble is just moody in general, most people would associate that kind of behavior with misbehaving or "troubled" children. Gooseworx DID say that TADC would be "Like Toy Story but everyone is a jerk".

How Jax and Zooble currently act, while not exact, could be VERY close to how they acted as kids. Because they practically grew up in the digital circus, considering the kind of game The Amazing Digital Circus is, they didn't really grow up at all, they arguably didn't HAVE to.

So yeah basically Zooble and Jax are emotionally stunted, since Jax says the whole cast has been there for years, Zooble and Jax (or at least just Jax) are like That because as kids they were trapped in a world that wouldn't let them grow up.

I'm not saying this theory is correct, I mean, this theory is built on a little information and heavy speculation, if this theory were a building it would be sloppily held together by Duct tape and glitter glue. But I feel like I'm onto SOMETHING here.

#zooble and Jax didn't have to necessarily be the same age when they got trapped but you get my jist #the amazing digital circus #tadc #tadc jax #tadc zooble #tadc theory #the amazing digital circus theory

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sillymints · 29 days

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guys, this is my persuasive speech for ian flynn (which i had to do in english class)

Some people only see the violence in video games. Some people view it as a waste of time and intelligence. And some people only look at their comics as a bed example of storytelling through art. They are just saying the negatives. Video games are a major source of entertainment, offering a diverse range of experiences. But, most importantly, video games opens up a world of possibilities for narrative and a unique powerful medium for messages, both simple and emotional. Some even life is changing, thanks to the writers behind the screens. Although it is not clear, if we take a deep dive, there are some role models who admire and inspire many to follow their same footsteps to write an amazing masterpiece through words, to overcome obstacles and have the passion for everything video game. Let us welcome Ian Flynn.

Without characters, who is going to drive the plot? Ian Flynn is a freelance writer and a concept artist for all forms of media (mostly video games and comics) but is mostly known for writing Sonic the Hedgehog. From playing on the Sega Genisis as a kid to submitting scripts, he knows all major and minor characters by heart. He has the ability to create original and fun characters (examples include Dr. Starline, Tangle, Whisper, Surge and Kit) as well as fixing familiar faces to make them interesting and likeable for the targeted audience. Let us take an example, Miles “Tails” Prower (Sonic’s sidekick, close friend, and a tech genius). On both Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Tails was written exceptionally well in his character arc as he learnt to believe in himself and step out of his comfort zone. He thrived from once an anxious and lonely kid to a confident and determined hero. Yet, in the 2010’s, new writers were hired without any knowledge of these characters which ruined everything that made Sonic… well Sonic! And poor Tails had it the hardest. His character development was inconsistent, his only usefulness was his inventions and always stood by the sidelines (like Sonic Lost World and Sonic Forces). Fortunately, James Ian Flynn (or “that Sonic guy”) changed things for the better. In Sonic Frontiers, his character was renewed yet still acknowledge his past mistakes and now is on his way to find his clarity. Characterization from Ian Flynn’s perspective is vital for the narrative and wanted many more to understand the importance, including video games. This is because if a video game has engaging characters, the player can be fully immersed and entertained during gaming. And I even agree with his statement. Characters, even fictional ones, can change someone’s life, like mine. Tails made me realize that I needed to get out of my comfort zone and believe in myself that I can do anything. Plus, what is funnier is that an eight-year-old fox has 300IQ and being the smartest one in the group (aka Tails).

Get your eyes peeled and make sure you are sitting up straighter because this next sentence is going to blow your mind! …Ian Flynn was actually a really bad writer. The hardest challenge was not actually his job but about getting the job. He first applied to Archie Comics in late 2001 but, it was a ‘laughable bad attempt’ as he describes in his website, The BumbleKing. The script were rough and embarrassing in retrospect; material thrown together with little to no thought behind the creation and it was not self-addressed. But he had hope and was determined. In 2003, he made a truly focused attempt, getting an English degree and his scripts improved drastically. During this time, the Archie Comics team were shifting and replacing their roles including their editors, artists, and writers so, he was lucky enough to get a spot in 2004. Quickly, he became one of the most talented members of the team, submitting scripts in 2005 and by March 2006, he was the head writer for the Sonic Archie Comics. Though his hardships was not insane or dramatic, it was life-changing since it shifted his perspective. Resilience and patience is key to being a writer.

2010’s was the worst decade for Sonic the Hedgehog as fans were left unsatisfied due to the poorly written characterization (as mentioned earlier) bland storyline and “trying to be funny” dialogue. Once known as a hedgehog for a like of adventures, a cool chill back attitude and the heart of a hero was suddenly demolished, and it is glory ripped into pieces. There was no hope left for this famous blue icon, no idea how to change it from junk to a wonderful masterpiece again. Until Sonic IDW comics. Sadly, Archie Comics was out of business in 2017 due to lawsuits (and had to cancel Issue 290 for the Sonic Archie Comics, which still holds the record of the longest video game comic series) so, where was “that Sonic guy” going to go next? Well, of course he had to take part in the Sonic IDW comics! Yet, since this took place after Sonic Forces (the worst Sonic game due to the storyline by reviews), he had only one goal. To revive the franchise. Issue after issue, fans eyes widened as Sonic was beginning to take back his place, especially since he became the head writer on April 9, 2018. New and old characters were now cool and interesting, storylines hooked the readers, especially in their intense situations and professionally written dialogue tied all together. I even fell in love with the comics when I first got into fandom. The passion for the fastest thing alive was alive. And as Sonic Frontiers was released on the 8th of November 2022, everyone joined hands with Ian Flynn for flawlessly saving the fandom. And all it took was dedication and passion. Let us draw it all back together. Video games is an escape to brilliant storytelling and characters and can actually benefit you. The ability to change points of view in games has changed everything. And a lot of people are actually heavily inspired by people like Ian Flynn to join the gaming industry to write a script that can positively impact everyone and everything around. With passion, determination, hope, resilience, patience, talent and a bit of good luck, game writers make themselves fairly good role models for future generations. Ian Flynn is a good role model. And so can you. Because if tv shows, movies, novels, why cannot video games and their comics do the same? That is your chance and your time to show the world what video games can do. What you can do. Because everyone can be just like Ian Flynn. I even tried to write a comic about Sonic the Hedgehog, and it is not easy as what meets the eye. But again, and again I tried and completed a short, simple yet cool comic and now banging my head on the desk, paying respect for this guy’s hard work. So, if you cannot do anything else… play Sonic the Hedgehog. I am begging you.

#sonic the hedgehog #tails #sonic #tails the fox #ian flynn #sth #shitpost #funny shit #school #lol #haha #lolz

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my-mt-heart · 11 months

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Romantic Caryl

Not just a dealbreaker, THE dealbreaker. If you’re asking me what I want, I want Carol’s hero arc, I want Norman and Melissa to have equal billing, I want Carol’s name in the title (or a title that encompasses their shared journey), and I want UNAMBIGUOUS romantic canon. If it’s ambiguous, if there is any room for interpretation, if I or anyone offscreen has to convince me that we got canon, that doesn’t work.

You’ll recall that the ‘I love you’ scene got mixed reactions. If I’ve learned something from marketing anon, that means AMC missed the mark and feeding us the same slop and calling it a meal as someone else put it will not maximize the impact AMC needs to launch the show into more seasons.

Romantic canon is the thing. It’s the desire, it’s the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s what Caryl fans aka the target audience are waiting for and should’ve gotten at the end of S11. I don’t need a S3 to tell me Daryl and Carol are best friends. I already know that. It will always be true. They were written to be MORE than that. Honor that. Let the characters grow.

I’m not subscribing for S2 and I will not watch past S2 if unambiguous canon is not delivered in S2. The reunion is the perfect opportunity. Use it. Not lowering my standards on that one no matter how many gimmicks are used to try to placate us. Carol’s on Daryl’s bike. Great. IF it leads to canon. Also, if you’re going to go to great lengths to bait Carylers (i.e. that bathtub shit), go to great lengths to pay it off (i.e. Caryl bath time).

Audience and story integrity over personal interests and baggage (🤨🤨🤨) EVERY time.

#caryl #caryl spinoff #carol peletier #melissa mcbride #darylneedscarol

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kakiastro · 3 months

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Pluto Aquarius + the Power of your Stan’s

I usually follow pop culture because I think they are amazing examples to see what’s going on in our society.

Pluto has been Aquarius for a week now and you can feel the energetic shifts already. There’s already been some crazy ish going on and I think we’re seeing this transit in action already lol

Just a quick summary of the archetypes of this transit

-Aquarius is the sign of the people, groups, fandoms, social media, tech/Ai, thoughts and innovation.

-Pluto is the sign of transformation, rebirth, death, the underworld.

So Aquarius is the opposing side of Leo.

Leo is the performer and artist, the stage

Aquarius is the audience and consumers

You can’t have one without the other, they’re polarities

There’s been 2 recent big incidents that’s let me to this prediction.

1. Taylor Swift (Leo aka the artist) was just recently the target of a heinous AI video(Aquarius) where it showed her nude and doing inappropriate things(Pluto) on X(Aquarius). The Swifties(Taylor fan base) banded together (Aquarius) to get the account shut down I believe. Now there’s been a huge public outrage that’s even reached politics on what we should do about true dangers (Pluto) of AI(Aquarius)

Taylor has her NN in Aquarius 3h. So Pluto is transiting the house of the media, journalism, community. NN is destiny. No, I’m not saying this was destined to happen to her but due to this incident, will she be the example of the dangers of what lies ahead and what we can do to not let it happen again. Not just to her but to any of us, if ppl can make fake videos of you, that can be harmful and dangerous. NN leads the way and aqua is progressive. It wouldn’t surprise me if she became a spokesperson for the safety of AI. 3h rules over speakers. She’s also a Venus Aquarius, it makes sense now why Pluto is obsessed with her love life lol

2. Now this incident happened on Friday during the Leo Full Moon. So this means Leo moon was opposing Pluto Aqua. Megan thee Stallion released her new single “Hiss” which is essentially a diss record to the ppl who’s been trash talking her these last few years. Now Megan is an Aquarius Sun/Mercury 10h with a Leo moon 4h. So this single is poignant to her career, it’s already generating lots of buzz in the public(Aquarius) now here’s where it gets crazy. There’s a line in Megan song where’s she referenced Megan’s Law. Now if you don’t know what this is, it’s where you can look up sx offenders and horrible ppl like that. Now why is this important? Well, Nicki Minaj saw this as a slight about her husband and has went live and posted countless of threads(Aquarius) pretty much beefing with Megan, which included Megan deceased mother being brought up. Now Nicki is an Aquarius rising so Pluto is going through her 1h. Her as a person is going through changes, she has lots sag energy as well

Now there’s a Barbs vs Hotties thing going on (Aquarius). Now there’s always been rap beefs but I don’t know if it’s just me but this feels different, it’s personal in a deep malicious way if that makes sense. I feel it’s going come down to how these 2 fandoms responds to each other. I’m going to be real, it can get ugly between the fandoms

This leads to my predictions

-the people that support you will bè your army so to speak.

-the artist(Leo) will always be here but it depends on the connection the have with their Stan’s because they’re the ones who’s going to lift the artist up and defend them. We are in the era of the “people” that’s not just with famous people, it’s with you as well. Who are your ppl? I don’t care if it’s only 3 ppl on your team, having that support will be beneficial for you!

-I feel we are about to see a lot of Stan culture rise like never before. So yea, the celebrity culture (Leo)may be dying but the fan culture will be gnarly . We’re going from one extreme to the other yall lol. Celebrities won’t have to do really anything because there Stan’s will keep them relevant. So really celeb culture is “dying” but more like transforming into something else. I feel like the celebs who will be more in-tuned with ppl will be the most famous ones.

Let me know what y’all think? Do you think Stan culture will rise in the next 20ish years?

#astrology #astrology community #knowledge #love astrology #astro observations #birth chart #advanced astrology #kakiastro #pluto in aquarius #fame astrology #celebritybirthchart

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leemillion · 8 months

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CALLING ALL PRESTON GOODPLAY LOVERS (aka me)

IM MAKING A PLAYLIST

FOR THE ONE AN ONLY 😌

AND I NEED SONGS THAT REMIND YOU OF HIM. WHETHER THAT BE DIFFERENT STAGES OF HIS LIFE (canon or headcanon) OR YKNOW JUST WHATEVER GIVES YOU THE ✨VIBES✨

I’D LOVE SOME OUTSIDE OPINIONS ON THIS

HERE’S THE SONGS I ALREADY HAVE IN ORDER:

Introduction to the Snow - Miracle Musical (gives me the ✨vibes✨)

Look Who’s Inside Again - Bo Burnham (Think it would describe his childhood. At least a part of it)

Am I Supposed To Apologize? - Maria Mena (It’s %90 percent here because of a few short lyrics that would imply him discovering his love of theater. The other %10 is because I have a headcanon he’s a child of divorce parents.)

My Play - AJR (C’mon man it seems pretty self explanatory if you’ve listened to it. Plus it adds onto the divorced parents theory)

The Main Character - Will Wood (It’s literally him. C’mon man. The vibes. Also you cannot tell me he wouldn’t be a huge Will Wood fan.)

Hard to Be the Bard - Something Rotten! (He’s a writer✨ An artist✨ It can’t possibly be easy 😔)

Soldier, Poet, King - The Oh Hellos (Now this one is more the Performance Trio as a whole but still. Preston is the poet, obviously 😌 while Nerris is the soldier and Harrison is the ruler.)

I/Me/Myself - Will Wood (Because he's just so ✨gender✨ Plus if you headcanon him as gender-fluid it makes this even better.)

Oh No! - Marina & The Diamonds (A desire to succeed. To make it big in this world. He knows what he wants and he won’t stop at nothing to get it. He definitely has a fear of failure. And who’s to say he doesn’t feel like he’s the worst? He already acts like he’s the best. Who’s to say that’s not a cover up?)

Everybody Loves Me - OneRepublic (Consider this the beginning of Preston Goodplay’s Good Play. He finally has a performance piece that people seem to like. He’s finally getting the love and attention he so deserves 😌 But at what cost?)

Non-Stop - Hamilton (Turns out his new performance is the only thing people seem to want. So why not just keep writing up new ideas for it? Sure he’ll eventually run out. But right now’s not eventually! He’ll just have to keep coming up with new ideas for it! Thing is it’s getting a lot more stressful than he intended.)

Left Brain, Right Brain - Bo Burnham (Oh Y��know just that one scene where he’s arguing with his own fucking reflection. Unsure whether he should sell out and give the people what they want, or follow what he wants with the risk that no one would like it.)

Show & Tell - Melanie Martínez (Ok this is getting ridiculous. They’ve started showing up to his practices and commenting on HIS writing process. It’s overwhelming. But what can he do about it? They’re his target audience. Well his only audience but still-)

Everyone is Dumb - Mazie x Everybody Likes You - Lemon Demon (Seems self explanatory. Everyone actually pays attention to him now. They’re excited for his performances. Everyone likes him. But they’re also stupid. It’s a stupidly simple performance that’s virtually the same every time. Yet they never get tired of it. Yes they like him, but is it worth it if this is the reason they like him.)

Shine A Light (Reprise) - Heathers (Oh y’know just the silly little nightmare he has :,D And then the hallucinations of his own reflection laughing at him. Plus him pulling out that prop knife uh- was he just being dramatic or??? Like he did have a bit of a psychotic break, man’s was hallucinating. How do we know he didn’t think the knife was real? Like was he actually trying to- y’know? Seriously is he ok-??)

Are You Satisfied - Marina & The Diamonds (He talks to David for a bit. And something’s called to question. Is he satisfied with this? He’s worried about his future yes, but then again what’s the point of making art if he doesn’t actually like it himself. It’s pointless. And he realizes no one else should get a say in what he wants to create. It’s his problem. No one else’s.)

Drama Club - Melanie Martinez (Honestly just doesn’t give a shit about anyone’s opinions anymore and that’s kind of a good thing. Even if they hate it. “Any reaction, positive or negative, is still a reaction :D” As tomatoes are pelted towards him. Honestly a healthier mentality than he had before. And I think that’s the end of the Preston Goodplay’s Good Play section of the playlist!)

Recess - Melanie Martinez (I’m here for Preston’s grandmother raising him and teaching him everything she knows 🗣️🗣️🗣️ Stg every lyric fucking fits. Also I think this could apply to his new mentality of “Fuck you it’s my art not yours I do what I want.” A nice little summary to the fiasco that is Preston Goodplay’s Good play.)

Mirror Man - Jack Stauber’s Opal (Mostly just gives me Preston vibes. His desire to become famous and what not.)

Art Is Dead - Bo Burnham (Vibesss man. “I am an artist, please god forgive me. I am an artist, please don't revere me. I am an artist, please don't respect me I am an artist, you're free to correct me. A self-centered artist. Self-obsessed artist. I am an artist. I am an artist. But I'm just a kid. I'm just a kid. I'm just a kid, kid. And maybe I'II grow out of it”)

Finale (Can’t Wait To See What You Do Next) - AJR (Honestly just thought it’d be cool to have the last song in the playlist be called Finale 💀 But I think it’s a nice little summary of his character. A final bow if you will 😌)

Anyways that’s about it. If anyone else has suggestions or input on the songs already here feel free to! Hell if you happen to disagree with anything feel free to. I love discussions about things I like :D Also feel free to suggest songs that you think I should add 😌 Gonna go pass out now baiiii

#preston goodplay #camp camp preston #cc preston #cc preston goodplay #Camp camp #camp camp headcanons #theater kid #i fucking kin this mf wtf #Tw implied sewerslide #Preston Goodplay’s Good Play #Playlist #character playlist #Precious theater boy✨#Gonna go pass out now brb #i’m going insane

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samasmith23 · 7 months

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We need to talk about EssenceOfThought's ongoing bullying & slander campaign against Rachel Oates...

I normally don't make posts covering this kind of stuff since I mostly try to keep my Tumblr blog here relatively positive and cheerful. And I normally try to avoid YouTube drama in general. But recently I've become increasingly frustrated and angered by the behavior of a certain YouTuber whom I regrettably used to be a fan of awhile back known as "Essence Of Thought" (aka, Ethel Thurston), whom in the past 2 months has been continuously releasing multiple videos & shorts which slander and defame another YouTuber named Rachel Oates. I know that Rachel herself is currently trying to combat this situation and has even filed multiple claims against Ethel's videos, but I felt the need to try and show my support for Rachel by help signal-boost her story in response to Ethel's revived targeted harassment campaign against her.

Content Warning: Mentions of Transphobia, Cyberbullying, Self-Harm, Suicidality, and Child Abuse.

Also, while this post is going to be very critical of Ethel and her conduct, I will NOT tolerate any misgendering or deadnaming of her! Just because I think Ethel is a bad person does NOT excuse any transphobia that is directed at her, and I will immediately block and report anyone who engages in such reprehensible behavior!

Section 1: Confessions of a former fan, or my personal falling out with Essence of Thought

For those who are not aware, Ethel Thurston is a transgender atheist content creator who regularly produces video essays analyzing and criticizing TERFs and the broader far-right. This content greatly appealed to me as both a supporter of trans-rights and as someone who vocally opposes both TERFs and Neo-Nazis. However, exactly 1-year-ago I unsubscribed from Ethel's channel when she began made a series of videos accusing Lily Orchard of being a child groomer. While I do agree that Lily is an AWFUL person who has received multiple credible accusations of sexual abuse from both former partners and even her own younger sister Courtney, Ethel's videos which accused Lily of "grooming all minors in her audience" were actually heavily criticized by several former victims of Lily's abuse who have argued that the way Ethel & her editor "ABirdCalledLevi" (aka, Levi) presented their information against Lily was not only overly inflammatory, but only served to misrepresent and damage the testimonies of her other victims.

Specifically, critics like "Patchwork Heart" (aka, Shiloh Conner) took serious issue took issue with Ethel & Levi's constant liberal usage of the word "grooming" to describe Lily's actions towards individuals like Glade, who accused Lily of encouraging him on her Discord to watch a livestream where she repeatedly flashed her audience (Glade was still 17 at the time of this incident). Essentially Shiloh stated that while Lily was undeniably guilty of sexual harassment, neglectful misconduct, and indecent exposure, her behavior technically does not qualify as "grooming," since "grooming" is a term specifically meant describe the gradual breaking down of a victim's boundaries through manipulation and isolation from others (online it's usually conducted through private DMs rather than on public servers like Lily's channels). Furthermore, Shiloh and other fellow victim's of Lily's abuse also criticized Ethel & Levi's usage of the phrase "parasocial audience grooming" to argue that Lily was grooming her ENTIRE audience instead of individuals, as "parasocial audience grooming" is NOT a legally or medically recognized term, but was instead invented by the commentary YouTuber "Korviday" in 2020 to describe Shane Dawson's sexually abusive behavior towards several underage members of his audience. Essentially, it's impossible to groom an entire audience all at once since grooming is defined by the specific and deliberate targeting and manipulation of individuals in private or isolated settings with the intention of eventually sexually abusing them. But when criticized for the way they badly mishandled the testimonies of victims like Glade, Ethel & Levi instead doubled down by not only continuing to misuse the word "grooming" in their videos, but actively smeared and defamed their critics and other victims of Lily's like Shiloh as "abuse/groomer apologists.” Ethel even went as far as to compare Shiloh criticizing how she misrepresented Glade’s testimony to “defending Harvey Weinstein.”

Like... YIKES!

I'm not going to lie... when I saw the way Ethel & Levi actively bullied and slandered other victims of Lily Orchard, I was deeply disappointed and disgusted. While I was already starting to grow weary of Ethel's tendency to overly moralize in her arguments, and I knew she was unpopular in a lot of online spaces, for the longest time I tried to give both her and Levi the benefit of the doubt since I knew she had been harassed by TERFs like Graham Linehan past simply for being an outspoken non-binary trans-woman online. But the way Ethel bullied people like Shiloh Conner was simply inexcusable! And personally, I completely agree with Shiloh's criticisms against Ethel & Levi. Even though I dislike Lily Orchard and think that she's an abusive scumbag, spreading misinformation about issues as serious as CSA only serves to inflict further harm onto the people that Lily has hurt. Victims like Shiloh have very publicly stated that they either want their testimonies to be reflected as accurately as possible, or not at all. And I especially understand their concerns about misusing the word "grooming," especially because of how that word in particular has been so easily co-opted as an anti-LGBTQ+ slur by Republicans and the far-right in the past 2 years alone, which only serves to promote bigotry and obfuscate actual instances of child sexual abuse (Ethel claimed in their video that they "saw no harm in extending the definition of the word" BTW). Here's a link to Shiloh's video responding to Ethel if you want further details on the ways in which both she and Levi so badly mishandled the testimonies of Lily Orchard's victims BTW:

So how does Rachel Oates fit into all of this exactly? Well...

Section 2: Reevaluating Ethel's past conduct and the targeted bullying of Rachel Oates

Once I witnessed the ways in which EssenceOfThought bullied and smeared the victims of Lily Orchard's abuse, it honestly caused me to reevaluate and question a lot of their past content, especially because Ethel & Levi already had reputations of being overly inflammatory figures who've burned tons of bridges with lots of other leftist YouTubers. It was then that I was reminded of the biggest controversy Ethel's been involved in, and one I was only tangentially aware of before the Lily Orchard drama. That being Ethel's 4-year-long and currently ongoing defamation campaign against feminist and atheist British YouTuber, Rachel Oates.

The conflict between Ethel & Rachel all started back in 2019, when Rachel's friend and former atheist YouTuber "Rationality Rules" (aka, Steven Woodford), got into serious trouble when he posted a video arguing against the inclusion of trans-people in sports (which relied on heavily fallacious scientific data and even cited clips from Fox News, Ben Shapiro, and Joe Rogan). Unsurprisingly, the backlash against Woodford's video was enormous, and it even resulted in him being deplatformed from hosting a panel at an ACA conference in Austin, Texas that same year. However, a lot of Woodford's friends within the YouTube atheist community, including Rachel, argued that Woodford did not make his video out of intentional malice or bigotry, whilst fully agreeing that it was a terrible poorly-researched video that did serve to reinforce transphobic narratives even if it was unintentional. This led to Woodford not only delisting and demonotizing the original video, but also releasing both an apology and retraction video to try and help mitigate the damage his original video caused.

Ethel however, refused to accept Woodford's apology and retraction, and made several response videos accusing his apology of being fake and him continuing to spread transphobic misinformation. And while that's perfectly understandable if Ethel personally didn't find Woodford's apology to be adequate or genuine, where this crosses the line into unacceptable behavior is that Ethel then went onto repeatedly attack Rachel Oates simply because she was both friends with Woodford IRL and didn't want to get directly involved in the controversy. Essentially, Ethel is engaging in the "guilt by association" fallacy here. In actuality though, Rachel not only repeatedly stated that she disagreed with the content Woodford's original video and agreed that it was very bad and harmful, but that she is supportive of the trans community and felt unqualified to weigh in on the subject matter of trans-people in sports since she has barely any knowledge or interest about sports in general.

This response was not good enough for Ethel however, who instead misinterpreted Rachel's comments as a backhanded attempt at silencing Woodford's critics.

Things got even worse when a random fan messaged Rachel a screenshot taken from a private Facebook group from a trans-self-help group which compiled a list of public figures for the trans community to avoid following the Woodford controversy, and her name was included on that list. Rachel, not knowing that the list was from a private chat, immediately went on Twitter to defend herself, which led to Ethel accusing her of doxxing by publishing private information. This is in spite of the fact that not only did the screenshot already exist before Rachel discovered it, but she went out of her way to censor the names of the members of that Facebook group. Furthermore, Ethel had also blocked Rachel on Twitter which led to the latter asking some of her followers to show her what Ethel was stating about her so she could try to adequately defend herself, which in-turn resulted in Ethel accusing Rachel of sending her millions of followers to circumvent her block and harass her.

The situation escalated even further however, when Ethel posted a now infamous tweet to one of Woodford and Oates' friends' Lizzy Lang, not only described Woodford as a "violent transphobe intent on stripping away dozens of human rights,” but called Lang and others (presumably Oates) "members of Woodford's church a transphobia" before ending the tweet with the words, "do this world a favor and exit it."

That last line in Ethel’s tweet, “do the world a favor and exit it,” got a lot of people justifiably angry since it was very easily misconstrued as Ethel advocating for Woodford's defenders to commit suicide (she claimed it was meant to say “exit Woodford’s church of transphobia”). And while EoT later apologized and clarified the incredibly poor wording of that last comment, she still refused to apologize to Rachel after several months of targeted bullying and defamation. When Rachel saw the infamous tweet, it only served to amplify her pre-existing feelings of depression since she mistaken that tweet to be directed at her instead of Lizzy Lang. And a few days later, in an act of desperation Rachel posted an impromptu unedited video begging and pleading for Ethel to stop bullying her, not realizing that she was still badly bleeding from cuts on her arm due to feeling completely hopeless and isolated (Rachel already had a history of engaging in self-harm and cutting).

But not even Rachel engaging in self-harm nor her feelings of suicidality were enough to sway Ethel, who still continued to double-down on their harassment by arguing that Rachel "weaponizing self-harm, transmisogyny, and benevolent patriarchy," and was using "upper-class cis white woman tears" (even though Rachel has openly admitted to being lower-middle class). And to this very day, Ethel still continues to slander Rachel and falsely label her as a "serial transphobe" and "abuser" all throughout her videos, even going as far as to not only claim, "Rachel Oates' [abuse] was the second most psychologically destructive thing [she's] ever suffered, only being second to being raped as a child," but that she would rather relive her trauma of "being outed as bisexual, groomed at age 15, and sexually assaulted."

Seriously... FREAKING YIKES! Those are incredibly extreme and inflammatory statements to make! I do understand that Ethel is a CSA survivor (and on that level I 100% empathize with her because that is of course absolutely terrible and is one of the absolute WORST things anyone can suffer from), but claiming that someone circumventing a Twitter Block and or begging you to stop bullying her whilst feeling suicidal is even remotely comparable to “being raped as a child"?! That is so unbelievably insensitive on so many levels that I don’t even know where to start! It’s insensitive to not only Rachel herself, but to other CSA survivors as well since it trivializes their trauma! Ethel should know better than this!

Also, that screenshot of Ethel tweeting a link to a Guardian article discussing the weaponization of white woman tears? That was literally the top pinned-tweet to her Twitter account immediately days after Rachel posted that desperate video of her pleading to Ethel to stop her harassment campaign whilst feeling suicidal. What a truly vile and unempathetic thing for Ethel to do!

Section 3: Showing support for Rachel Oates

After I did more research into the whole EssenceOfThought Vs. Rachel Oates situation, as well as hearing Rachel's side of the story, I ended up subscribing to Rachel's YouTube channel and have since become a fan of her work. Before I eventually unsubscribed from Ethel's channel due to the way she similarly bullied several of Lily Orchard’s victims, I was given the impression by her that Rachel Oates was just another garden-variety TERF YouTuber based on he way Ethel constantly talked about her. But that’s NOT accurate at all… Rachel's channel from what I’ve seen is mainly just about discussions of secularism and religion, feminism, book reviews, and cute dog videos!

Seriously, her dog Kyra is so FREAKING adorable!

Look at her! Kyra's such a good girl! She's such a cute doggy!

But yeah, this is a prime example of how Ethel’s pattern of engaging in bad-faith moral absolutism while misrepresenting events and evidence can be seriously damaging to uninitiated viewers. And I say that not only as someone who was largely unaware of the full extent of what she had done to Rachel, but also because Ethel frames her content in a very pseudo-academic/intellectual manner and uses a lot of professional sounding words to try and disguise severely misguided and inflammatory arguments. She tries to portray her YouTube videos as if they’re akin to college-level essays with lots of citations and crap, which can easily fool people into thinking that her content is well-researched and sophisticated. Except looking below the surface, in hindsight Ethel’s videos are mostly just pretentious word-salad, cherry-picking evidence, and relying heavily on academic terminology in order promote her thinly-veiled absolutist black-&-white views on morality, attacking anyone who is “not progressive enough” for her (in addition to Rachel, Ethel & Levi have also done this to other leftist YouTubers like Lindsay Ellis, Philosophy Tube, & Suris the Skeptic). According to Ethel’s logic, you’re either an entirely good or entirely bad person, and there’s zero in-between and if you dare disagree with her to even the slightest degree then she’ll automatically consider you to be just as bad as the far-right. Basically, it’s moral absolutism.

All of Ethel’s fallacious claims against Rachel Oates are textbook examples of bad-faith moral absolutism, and I deeply regret the fact that I was ever once a fan of Ethel’s content. She is a bully and a liar. And that’s a conclusion I arrived to after seeing how Rachel’s stories about being repeatedly slandered & bullied by Ethel heavily paralleled the similar experiences of individuals like Shiloh Conner, thereby revealing a pattern of toxic behavior on Ethel’s part.

Section 4: Ethel’s renewed and current bullying campaign

So why do I bring all of this stuff up?

Well, even though the worst of the harassment Rachel suffered was back in 2019 and she has since tried to move on from this whole fiasco and continues making her usual feminist book reviews and dog videos (she even deliberately avoids mentioning EssenceOfThought by name in her videos...), Ethel has not only repeatedly tried to drag all of this drama back up, but has this singleminded obsessive vendetta to defame and destroy Rachel's YouTube career at all costs. For instance, in 2022 Ethel tried to further slander Rachel by yet again engaging in "guilt by association" fallacy because notable transgender TERF YouTuber "Rose of Dawn" (aka, the British equivalent of Blaire White) once tried to befriend Rachel in 2020 after the initial harassment campaign by Ethel, and later in 2022 Rose openly defended self-confessed genocidal serial rapist Lily Cade when the latter was platformed in an infamous transphobic BBC article. What Ethel completely neglects to mention however, is that Rachel had permanently stopped interacting with Rose when several members of her audience informed her that Rose is actually a TERF (and the way Rose suddenly tried to befriend Rachel after Ethel's bullying of her strikes me as very cult-like since TERFs sadly do have a history in engaging in incredibly abusive cultish tactics to recruit new members, as many people who have escaped that disgusting hate movement have reported...) and she has since apologized for ever giving Rose any attention. Regardless, Ethel still tried to falsely implicate Rachel alongside "Rose of Dawn" in a video condemning Lily Cade & the BBC, which led to Rachel rightfully filing a defamation claim to YouTube, getting Ethel's then-latest slanderous hit-peace against Rachel blocked in the UK.

But even worse however, is that starting in August 2023 Ethel has begun releasing a constant stream of videos continuing to smear Rachel even further by both repeating all of the exact same aforementioned slanderous claims along with a whole bunch of new ones. Like, not only has Ethel already released 3 main videos out of a planned 6-part series ranting about Rachel Oates, but she has also released 24 shorts taken from the main videos!

Geez! Not only is this beyond obsessive, but this is just straight-up targeted bullying and harassment on Ethel's part! And the new claims she makes against Rachel in these videos are equally slanderous as the ones before! For just one example, Ethel & Levi’s cite a now-deleted livestream of Rachel's that they re-uploaded as a mirrored-copy to their channel, accusing Rachel of denying trans-women's existence by making the offhanded comment of, “No, the only thing a man can provide me that a woman can’t is a p*nis. Only thing.”

Except… I actually went and watched the ENTIRE 3-hour mirrored livestream myself just to see the full context of Rachel’s quote, and it turns out that Ethel took that quote completely out of context! Not only are there lots of points in the livestream wherein Rachel repeatedly states that “gender is a social construct and that trans and non-binary people exist,” but during the stream she's doing a counter-response to a Christian fundamentalist incel who once responded one of her earlier videos. And that potentially problematic quote of Rachel’s, “No, the only thing a man can provide me that a woman can’t is a p*nis. Only thing,” was actually a sarcastic response to the incel’s homophobic argument that “women don’t want to love their equals [(aka other women)] because they actually all want what only a [dominant alpha male] can provide them.”

Essentially, Rachel was criticizing the incel’s sexist & homophobic “logic” that, “all women secretly only want p*nises,” in a snarky & sarcastic manner, but Ethel took Rachel’s comment out of context to try and instead paint it as some transphobic-slip-of-the-tongue/TERF-dogwhistle, accusing Rachel of “completely ignoring the existence of non or pre-op trans women,” in order to try and support the fallacious argument that, “Rachel Oates doesn’t actually view trans women as real women, but instead as props to objectify in order to make herself look like a better ally.”

Not once does Ethel ever mention the context that Rachel was responding to & mocking a bigoted incel during the livestream... at all...

I don't have time to go into all of the other new lies that Ethel & Levi are currently spewing against Rachel Oates since this post has already gotten incredibly lengthy (for instance, Ethel also claimed that Rachel “downplayed JK Rowling’s transphobia” simply because she used the words “incredibly problematic” to describe the Queen TERF’s bigoted views; which is such a weak and pedantic argument), but it’s a whole lot…

Conclusion

Overall, I just wanted to bring attention to this situation because EssenceOfThought's harassment campaign against Rachel Oates has been ongoing since 2019 and it shows ZERO signs of stopping anytime soon. Ethel & Levi are serial bullies and liars who regularly engage in bad-faith arguments, misrepresent evidence, and engage in moral absolutism in order to paint anyone who disagrees with them or makes even the slightest mistake as the worst people imaginable. So the more people who are made aware of this mess, the better.

Please show support for Rachel, whether that be through signal-boosting this post, subscribing to her YouTube channel, or even donating to her Patreon if you so choose.

And to EssenceOfThought, aka Ethel Thurston, (along with her editor Levi...) specifically, the famed basketball player Michael Jordan would have some choice words for you:

And I mean that sincerely. Seriously... just stop this targeted bullying & slander campaign against Rachel. It's incredibly unhealthy and obsessive. Just let it go already...

#rachel oates #EssenceOfThought is a bully #EssenceOfThought is a liar #EssenceOfThought is a moral absolutist #cw: cyberbullying mention #cw: self-harm mention #cw: suicidality mention #cw: child abuse mention #lily orchard is a predator #anti lily orchard #mini essay #tangent #serious post

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