#this is kind of tangentially related to that post

[aceghosts]

Actually, speaking of that last post, I firmly believe that sometimes it is a good idea to go outside and spend some time away from your phone/PC.

#the kate tag #this is kind of tangentially related to that post #but my point still stands #sometimes you gotta clear your head outside away from your phone/pc #this isn't directed at anyone #I just think more people should do this #I like to use my walks with Beetlejuice to decompress outside #it's just really nice

[secretmellowblog]

@breadvidence recently wrote a great bit of Les Mis meta where they pointed out how Jean Valjean’s “compliments” to Javert in Montreuil-sur-Mer really are just..... conciliatory flattery, and don't reflect his real feelings about Javert at all. And that's a great point, and something I wish more people explored! Lines like "you are a good man and I esteem you" aren't Jean Valjean's earnest feelings towards Javert. Instead they’re examples of the way Jean Valjean often retreats into excessive deferential politeness to authority as a survival strategy. As I mentioned in another recent post— Jean Valjean is a genuinely kind person, but he’s also someone who often has literally no choice but to act overly polite to authorities/the police, because if he’s not polite enough they might start to find him suspicious. If he doesn't lick their boots enough, they might start investigating him. He's instinctively deferential out of fear of violence. He's flattering out of fear. He's polite "at gunpoint." He's polite to cops the way you're polite to an armed police officer who pulls you over.

And Jean Valjean's polite tranquil behavior towards Javert during Javert's "resignation"— saying things like “you are a good man and I esteem you, I want you to keep your job” and etc etc— is later explicitly confirmed to be at least somewhat of a calculated tactical decision Jean Valjean made out of terror:

He was carried away, at first, by the instinct of self-preservation; he rallied all his ideas in haste, stifled his emotions, took into consideration Javert’s presence, that great danger, postponed all decision with the firmness of terror, shook off thought as to what he had to do, and resumed his calmness as a warrior picks up his buckler.

I love the phrase "he resumed his calmness as a warrior picks up his buckler"-- it's such a great way of summarizing how Jean Valjean's ability to have polite conversations even when he's breaking down internally has been such a useful defense mechanism for him. I also love the contrast between the excessively polite way Jean Valjean talks to Javert when he’s acting out of terror/self-preservation….vs the more honest way he talks about Javert when he’s alone during Tempest in a Skull:

“That Javert, who has been annoying me so long; that terrible instinct which seemed to have divined me, which had divined me—good God! and which followed me everywhere; that frightful hunting-dog, always making a point at me, is thrown off the scent, engaged elsewhere, absolutely turned from the trail: henceforth he is satisfied; he will leave me in peace; he has his Jean Valjean. Who knows? it is even probable that he will wish to leave town! And all this has been brought about without any aid from me, and I count for nothing in it!”

It's just extremely funny. The contrast between “you are a good man and I esteem you” vs “that Javert, who has been annoying me so long” <3 The contrast between “you are an honest man” vs “that frightful hunting dog” <3 The contrast between “I want you to keep your job” vs Jean Valjean fantasizing enthusiastically about how hopefully Javert will leave town and never ever annoy him again. <3

It makes the “Punish Me, Monsieur le Maire” stuff even funnier. Jean Valjean is dissociating out of panic and saying whatever polite platitudes he thinks will flatter Javert....but those polite platitudes keep making Javert spiral further into long-winded deranged rants about how he dESPISES this kindness and it enRAGES him, as Jean Valjean just sits there very politely & quietly losing his mind. It’s peak comedy really.

I feel like Jean Valjean’s deeply weird thing with Javert often gets flattened in different directions, when people interpret it. Either Jean Valjean is an all-forgiving all-loving angel who thinks Javert did nothing wrong, and all of his flattery is sincere expressions of admiration—- or Jean Valjean is (like in the BBC version) the kind of violent pitiless person who would angrily order Javert to kill himself. It's rare for writers to get anything resembling the hilariously baffling ambiguous Weirdness of his relationship with Javert in the book. I think it's because adaptations often don't grasp the idea that a genuinely kind compassionate character can also (underneath it all) still be deeply tormented, broken, and angry-- and that their anger doesn't mean they're any less kind, or any less capable of pity and mercy.

#is this coherent? #who knows #les mis #jean valjean #people might take this as me being anti valvert or whatever. but it is the opposite. it is a valvert post #this is Thee dynamic #the comedic potential #the hijinks that could ensue #also a tangentially related thing: #I think the thing that often puts me off a lot of valvert fics #is that I think most writers believe 'jean valjean being excessively kind to javert' would be a sign their relationship had *improved* #whereas to me its like #almost the opposite in a way? #I think maybe you would know Jean Valjean actually had a healthier dynamic with Javert #if he was comfortable enough to be angry with him or upset with him #without needing to be afraid that he'd suffer consequences for not being excessively respectful/deferential/ polite #and thats my hot take #like comment and subscribe! -dabs #read 'Annoyances' by secretmellowblog on Ao3

[syrupyyyart]

Oooo just realized this blog is fanart-less at this point. Anyone have any show/fandom recommendations lol

#got really into sugar apple fairytale for a bit but the 2nd cour was kinda bad so that killed it for me #already have an mlp blog. no point posting the art in 2 separate places on the same platform #fashion dolls/toy collecting also goes on the mlp blog since its kinda tangentially related #maybe i should just become a ladybug stan blog #aaaa whatever. ill hyperfixate on something soon probably lol #3 posts in ONE day? yeah im kind of a blogger myself

[cyberdragoninfinity]

i always have to transcribe the way dub!dennis talks in a particular way.

#ygo posting #tangentially related but i think yuri and dennis had a little gay thing that dennis is still kind of invested in. to me #dana's little ygo funnies

[mymarifae]

when you start centering your online (and offline - your internet usage does not exist in a vacuum) persona around being mean and you start making harsh jokes at your friends’ expenses and at STRANGERS’ expenses you just become an unpleasant person. there is no “irony” and there is no “humor” - or if there is, it’s such a fine line that you’re bound to stomp all over it. like the overlap between being an asshole and just joking about being an asshole is almost a perfect circle. take a good hard look at yourself and figure out why you’re sooooo quick to label being kind and genuine as “cringe” and why you would rather parade yourself around as an unpleasant, rude, disrespectful prick

#this is only tangentially related to the last post i reblogged it just got me thinking about like #That specific kind of internet user #people who wrap them up in so many layers of quote unquote irony that they just start parroting the shit they insist they 'really' condemn- #if you call them out on it #like. like if real people started embodying the spirit of south park. that's what's happening #you can say you're just joking all you like but you're really just an asshole and no one likes you except other assholes 🤷🏾‍♀️

[theghostofashton]

.

#tangentially related to that post too i think online conceptions of bigotry sometimes fall into everything being intentional and malicious #when a lot of times it just isn't #the society we live in is ableist and racist and homophobic and transphobic and all kinds of bigoted that is the world we've been raised in #and that results in people having blind spots and being ignorant and having things to unlearn #sometimes you don't even realize what you're saying or thinking is racist it's not this cartoon villain rubbing hands together type evil #it's literally just existing in this society and recognizing you may have biases and it's important when someone points that out to examine #to take a step back and think about what they're saying and what you believe and why you believe it #so often i feel like there's so much defensiveness around being called out for racism or any other bigotry because it's Bad #and no one wants to be Bad #but people also don't want to do the work to really understand what it is #it isn't an identity something you are or you aren't it's about actions and words reinforcing harmful systems #that anyone is capable of #but we can't get to that point without doing the work of understanding what these bigotries are and how they function #instead of deeming them Bad and moving on and not doing any further investigation

[anghraine]

I've talked before about why I'm annoyed by the defensive leap to "things have to be changed for different mediums!" as the go-to response to any criticism of any adaptational changes ever.

The short(ish) version is that a) it's virtually always presented as something critics of the change have never heard before, despite being incessantly repeated about everything, but more importantly, b) the underlying rationale that a specific change is intrinsically good because some change there was required by the medium (or because change in general is required by the medium) strikes me as unreasonable in the extreme.

With regard to the second issue, the statement that adaptations require changes, in part because of differences in medium, can be 100% true without supplying any reasoning whatsoever for why a specific change was a good one. Yet it's far and away the most common response I see—this sort of kneejerk insistence that all changes should be accepted uncritically because in general, changes have to be made at some points. And that's just a weak line of reasoning, IMO, which makes its inescapability all the more irritating.

That said, I was thinking about this particular argument in the context of something I mostly agreed with, and realized that there is another reason I find it both unsatisfactory and annoying.

The argument is sometimes accompanied by other arguments about how adaptations are fundamentally artistic works in their own rights, anyway, with nothing worthwhile gained by examining their relationships to their sources. However, I don't think these arguments go together particularly well.

The first one, the one I find so deeply annoying (I don't like or agree with the second, but it's not as irritating to me personally), essentially denies the artistry of adaptation. The thing is, if you assume that particular adaptational changes follow automatically and inevitably from the medium, and don't represent actual choices between alternatives, there's no artistry at work. Doing something when you have to do it and have no other real option isn't a meaningful choice, in my opinion—not just morally, but artistically.

Art requires the exercise of judgment. You have to actually make choices to do things in a particular way, when you could have chosen differently. It's your choices as an artist that speak to your artistic vision, and this is true whether we're talking about adaptation or not.

In adaptation in particular, though, keeping something the same as the source material is a choice. Changing something is a choice. These are artistic decisions that could have been made differently, that were made for reasons. Those reasons may or may not be persuasive for other people, and the execution of those choices may or may not be effective in the judgment of others. These are not just direct consequences of medium carried out by automatons.

Art requires vision and vulnerability. Among other things, you constantly have to make choices that depend on your vision for your project, and open you up to criticism in terms of that vision, its connection to the reasoning that culminated in particular choices, and the execution of those choices.

Note: I've said "you" in an implied singular kind of way, but this is true whether we're talking about a single artist, or a large collaborative production like cinematic adaptations. Artistic decisions intrinsically open you up to criticism if they are decisions in any meaningful way, while if your hand is forced to the point that you aren't exercising artistic judgment and choice, then we're not talking about art.

And I get that total fidelity purists can be annoying and equally uncritical of the source material. But you can't fairly argue that adaptations are art and then deny that artistic judgment and decisions are being made.

#anghraine babbles #anghraine rants #i was going to have a whole discussion of how this relates to my faves but figured that was getting long and tangential #it's in drafts though and i'll probably tack it on to a reblog later #general fanwank #adaptation #long post #also i'm kind of flashing back to my classical rhet course's discussions about what counts as art #or tekhne but. well. get a bunch of lit and rhet/comp people into a room with plato and 'what is Art' will happen

[prophecydungeon]

the more i chew over the mercs trilogy from rvb14 the more i think my initial reaction to it was kind of a complete misread actually lol

i had to dig through some old posts to find where i talked about it but initially i approached/read it as showing a pivotal, critical moment in felix and locus's history where they tipped over the line from being This to being That, and in that regard, the episodes are definitely still super fun and charming and Good but they also fall very flat. what exactly was pivotal about that? honestly, not much unless you want to do an insanely close read with some reaching. i guess maybe the whole "surprise, guess we're down to do a ransom and also kill a guy" part but... not really? they definitely murdered n+1 people at the club and are not new to murderizing (eg. the "mason wu, trained killer of men" comment). that was not a moral high ground situation in any way and nothing about it really points to it being The Moment that something changed fundamentally.

but what it was, actually - and i feel silly that i didn't read it like this at first - was honestly just a show that felix and locus did actually come from a place of doing net positives at some point in their lives. and that's not something to be dismissed! the fact that they weren't terrible horrible no-good dirty rotten mercenaries from the day the left active service is really interesting! and the trilogy showcased all of that in a super fun and charming and Good way and sometimes the point is just to show that things used to be different.

#tangentially related but i also really like the way it cements felix as being not just a smooth-talker (lol) but also a quick thinker and- #-extremely calm under pressure esp. when a situation changes drastically (suggesting the ransom; the phone call; etc) #and locus as being impulsive (killing the son whose name i cannot remember right now) #sorry 2 fic writers whomst's fics i love dearly but locus is actually textually tremendously impulsive and impatient 🤷‍♂️ #(see: diving headlong after wash when wash taunted him over the radio; being ready to jump into the true warrior test immediately) #which is also interesting to consider in the scope of how strongly he feels about taking/following orders from H. and makes me think that- #-the whole insistence on Following Orders is something he hammered into himself as some kind of antidote™ to the impulsiveness #whereas felix is a VERY quick thinker and happy to follow a plan but only up until the point it ceases to give him the advantage #in a literal way or in the sense of fulfilling his own drive to come out on top of a situation (incl. monetarily) #(eg. following the hostage plan up until whatshisface was like 'my son sucks lol' then changing tack instantly to sth he knew would work) #anyways. i should be editing and Poasting instead of this. #we love tags that are as long as the post here in chez basia j. cat #red vs blue

[made-nondescript]

sometimes i go a little bit insane thinking about the towns of early western america and how many just aren’t there anymore people’s whole lives washed away by sand and sun with nothing but dry, old wood and stone foundations and mines, now empty, to prove they’d ever been there.

sometimes i go a bit nuts thinking about all the cemeteries no one has visited in decades because they are miles from any development, now. wooden headstones reduced to kindling and the stone ones worn down so far that you’re lucky to make out a single letter. fences that have long since stopped serving their purpose.

places built to be temporary but even still were at one point were full of people’s friends and family and hope. i don’t know. a little crazy about it rn

#every time i think about cowboys i am like overcome with. i don't even know #something about how the media has given them so much more credit than they deserve but also by doing so obscured their genuine role #the diminished importance of the miner whos life often ended violently and abruptly #the hundreds of ancedotes we will never be privy to #standing in what is essentially the living corpse of something that once was.... #am i even making sense #i dont know #this was brought on bc i was thinking about tumble town. again. #i never have anything interesting to say about tumble town but its a wonderful catalyst for me losing my mind over ghost towns #i get to bring up the highwayman as a little treat. to myself. bc the highwayman is SUCH a good western au fic #i'm not an expert. NOR am i going to hold the highwayman up as a paragon of historical accuracy bc that's just not what its aiming for #nor should it have to #but it is so much more grounded than a lot of western fics. it is so atmospheric and at least to me it captured the vibe #of being out in that kind of enviroment SO well #LIKE! i don't even know how to describe it. just vibes!!!! #it reminded me of what it was like standing in one of those old towns. the way things were laid out and everything. idk! i like the highwaym #have i made that clear LOL #ANYWAY! #this post that is only tangentially related to the blog's subject is sponsored by the dutch bros drink i ALSO got myself as a treat!

[godofsmallthings]

ultimately being able to compartmentalize my swiftieism and learning to separate my music/cultural critcism brain from my swiftie brain has been the most useful thing i have ever done for myself

#obvs it'll always be a work in progress i'm a person with feelings #i have a lot of thoughts abt that article i posted a snippet of the other day (a super interesting read btw. i'd highly recommend bc it's #really interesting especially from the current knowledge we have of how things in the pop sphere have progressed) #but anyway all this is to say that i think there is inherent value in albums like reputation or midnights which speak directly to a fanbase #vs albums like 1989 or folklore that speak directly to the human condition #and obviously the latter are (and should be!) more widely regarded as Good music #but people's emotional connection to music is only tangentially related to what is regarded as Good #(kind of.) #anyway i need to do work and not be talking in circles about this but i think being able to walk both sides of that perspective is really #valuable #vi is typing...

[oflgtfol]

it is really unfortunate the way suicidality is talked about nowadays because it’s either all a joke so it’s hard to discuss in a serious capacity or it’s so upsettingly serious that you can’t even discuss it without fear of like being institutionalized

#brot posts #im really glad to say this but ive had such a huge improvement this past month that like #for the first time in YEARS. i am not suicidal #dont know if its permanent but like it genuinely feels permanent because i have not gone this long without #thinking about it at least in passing #to go this long without a single thougjt of it at all feels like its permanent and i have to remind myself its literally been A Month #but anyway #sorry i saw a post thats only tangentially related to this but im like. irked right now #like its hard to stress this in the current har har i m gonna kill myself era. but like if you seriously think negatively about #people who are suicidal or have killed themselves; if you're religious and believe suicide is a mortal sin; if you cannot offer #any sort of reasonable sympathy for someone who is suicidal #then like. im sorry! but that is ableism! #it feels kinda wild to associate ableism with suicidality what with the current environment and weird funny-zation of being suicidal #but like legitimately. this is a mental illness. it is not a laughing matter and it should be met with kindness and an appropriate #level of weight that it deserves - not levity. not annoyance. and not brushing it off for whatever reason #im saying this with the clear head that i now have a month into zero suicidal thoughts after years of daily suicidal thoughts #having that stark contrast in the quality of my life really shines a light on just how utterly fucked it was to live like that #and it really smarts at me to finally reach the light at the end of the tunnel and then have people act like it wasnt as bad as it was #people who have never experienced it before themselves - like who are you to tell me my own life and experiences and illness? #to act like it wasnt even an illness in the first place?

[sparring-spirals]

imogen being drained by her rudimentary hold on her psychic abilites vs resorting to mind reading bc she just has to get answers to any question that pops in her head and she has a hard time w frustration vs relying on what causes her immense pain as her only way to trust that they're being honest even if it means risking learning something she really didn't want to vs being repeatedly told to announce herself by ppl who unknowingly don't announce themselves on the regular vs so much more

and to add onto my messy "imogen vs" ask idk if it's the right wording and this is pure projection but: the way her relationship to her powers is transpiring kinda makes me feel the same way my ocd makes me feel like idk it's very very interesting and fascinating to me. i'm not sure exactly how to put it and which exemples to give (the character limit doesn't help my rambly nature) so this is a bit of an empty ask but yeah.... anyways keep sharing your thoughts it's always interesting! take care

First of all: thank you! You take care of yourself too. :D

Secondly: Hmmmmm. Okay. Gonna be straightforward here, I'm not sure my askbox/this space is the best option/conduit for this particular ask/line of thought, if only because. I think there is something specific in this you are resonating with/prodding at that draws from you personally, that you're trying to puzzle out.

Which! Is generally a valid and fine way to engage with media and is how some excellent metas are written. I think a lot of Imogen's struggles and characterizations resonate with a variety of mental/physical struggles, and there are so many goddamn layers to read it with. (This excellent post by @mysticalspiders comes to mind).

But also, I am not you, and so I don't feel particularly confident in interpreting something that is serving as a catalyst for your thoughts, in part because I'm absolutely going to interpret it differently, which can land differently if you're drawing from a very personal place when interpreting it.

(You don't have to feel bad about it, or anything, this is also a more general PSA so folks are aware before sending in headcanons/more indulgent projections/extensive theories- not because I dislike them necessarily, but because. I take asks for me to provide Opinions Or Analysis on things.

I definitely interpret things My Way, which can be different than intended, or even a more general "I have no thoughts about this, actually", which can land unpleasantly when people are invested or personally invested in their line of thought.

So, largely to play it safe, I'm going to say here, and also more generally, that I might not engage as much with what I understand as largely indulgent/personal hcs/metas that come through my askbox).

That aside, to the first part alone, I will say that: Yeah Imogen's brain is almost certainly going through a number of tug-of-wars and damage control at all times, and it makes her a very, very fascinating character to pull apart and poke. Definitely feel you on that. 👌

#this got long sorry. i hooe this doesnt come off as rude or blasé i understand the desire to kind of put the words out and see if i/someone #can grok the right parts and pull it out. but also i definitely think some interpretations/analysis can be more indulgence/projection based #which again. is FINE. and a fun way to engage with media (although knowing how to recognize when youre doing it/recognizing the text on its #own. but thats its own thing and not fully the point here). but also those things arent necessarily the best to send out into askboxes #bc if its inherently a deeply personal interpretation. other people are probably not going to get it right. #anyway anon if you decide to write out a meta on this it would probably be very interesting and good. #probably better than me spouting off of what is inherently your brainchild. ;P #spar speaks #ask away! #logistics #im not entirely sure how to tag this one its not very imogen related sorry anon 😅 #imogen temult #VERY tangentially sorry #i probably should have waited till i felt less fried to post this but its been a while and if i left it longer i might never answer #im wiped i apologize if this is rude or doesnt make sense #like a lot of MY readings and analysis tend to be very indulgent and projectiony. even when i try to drag it under control by laying out #all the steps in my thought process. so believe me when i say that im not judging the act of analysing characters indulgently

[hua-fei-hua]

i prefer not to talk about this stuff. but some people really are very discompassionate towards gacha addicts, and it is kind of concerning.

#this isn't a vagueblog abt any of my followers it's just smth i see every time i go into the notes of a post talking abt the gnshn fandom #tangentially related but it bothers me that people outside of the gacha community assume that rolling is the defining aspect #of gnshn for everyone playing; tying that into the dismissive disdain they have for whales it turns into this kind of like #automatic haughty presumption of superiority over anyone who so much as mentions touching the game nvm enjoying it #*presses my head into the wall like a stubborn horse and sighs* #it's the lack of compassion that upsets me. the way some people brush it off as a personal flaw or their own fault or just 'stupidity' #like we aren't all just human beings trying to feed the dangerously hungry void inside that yearns #for the for the satisfaction that connection and mutual understanding provides #花話

[infiniteseriesofhalfways]

I still may not be a long chapter person, but I AM a relatively even chapter person

Tell me why the original chapter 2 is twice as long as chapter 1

But that's fine really because tell me why chapter 1 was one singular page front and back. 1500 words. Where is the rest????

What exactly was I doing in 2020??

#im reworking something i started back then #that was orginally a fic but is no longer for many reasons #i still love the base idea and writing other tangentially related stuff has made me fall in love again #but anyhow i printed a version of the og out and it is. interestingly formatted. #It's very clear i was writing as i posted. which. was a choice #as per usual past me fucks current me over #idk honestly it's kind of a good thing that i dont LOVE the og version because id feel worse about murdering it for parts

[agender-vampling]

A while ago I tried out the concept of a "Shotasona" and honestly, the design was awful, not at all what I wanted, so I'm trying again.

This is also just. My ideal form tbh. Anyway info on him under the cut if you're interested

He was bitten by a vampire at the tender age of 4, immediately placed in isolation to keep him from transforming others, and then promptly forgotten about for 6000 years after his human caretakers passed away.

Despite his age he is still very much 4, though probably mentally closer to 6 by now as he's taught himself to read and can crudely write, but due to the nature of his vampirism he's never able to develop very far mentally or physically past 4 years of age, so his moter skills and processing power isn't great. The isolation hasn't helped either, of course.

Sense finally getting to leave his very infantile room (think N's or Victini's room from Pokemon BW) he's basically always overwhelmed. The world is massive, everything's too loud, too bright, too new, and he's expected to be a wise old sage due to his age and isn't exactly being as taken care of as he should be.

He's trying his absolute best to play along with how everyone expects him to be, but could really use someone who treats him his mental age. He hasn't found that person yet, though.

#Emile's Arts #Vampling #Shotakin #Shotasona #I should be careful probably with those tags on an original post #But eh. #Paras welcome to interact btw I'm just not gonna put this in the main tag #But like. You can send asks or DMs or whatever if you want to #But this is like tangentially related to those kind of... I am just a littol guy #The world is too big and loud and scary #BTW he's actually supposed to be barefoot because I hate shoes but I am ENTIRELY too tired to draw feet rn #So untied sneaks it is because I irl cannot tie my shoes #I can't do a lot of basic things #This might be trauma dumping if you really read between the lines #But you'd have to already have access to Emile Lore to know that really #Also I have an OC who uses this same concept but he is a fully grown guy #And I want to get back to him at some point I think he'd make a great book character #Vampires are REALLY GOOD story telling for Age Lock based Traumas btw very fun

[pinnochiro]

Please untag ur rant from genshin impact. Thanks.

that post is two months old with 0 engagement congrats you’re the first person who has ever seen it

#tbh im kind of surprised anyone has even found that post lol #were you digging thru months of the genshin impact tag chronologically and found something that was very tangentially related #among dozens of other only tangentially related posts #and decided you needed to speak to me because it was a post about how you should touch grass lol