#we get to be alive at a real turning point in how humanity views and treats small humans

[goldkirk]

It is so incredible to be able to leave a situation, center and ground myself, and start recovering my energy, mental focus, and peace within minutes to an hour. What other people said or did wasn’t about me, I behaved well myself, I let things roll off as much as possible during the situation, and as soon as it was over I started doing nervous system first aid. What a difference living this way makes. Life is so much more peaceful when you actually protect boundaries, keep perspective, and care for yourself while properly in tune with your needs.

#right now I need slow breathing and Enya #yesterday I needed two hours straight of EDM and jump dancing #and I clocked BOTH of those things so my body and brain are much happier #I could’ve been burnt out and stressed and partly dissociated this weekend #but I’m NOT GONNA BE #and it was that simple. just knowing what to do and checking in with myself #frequently enough to know when I need it. #imagine if I learned how to do this in grade school!!! I’m so happy some kids get to grow up like this #and have the freedom and tools from their caregivers to actually do it right too #that number of kids is increasing every year and in a couple generations it’s gonna be a LOT #we’re so fucking lucky guys #we get to be alive at a real turning point in how humanity views and treats small humans #and how those small humans behave and live when they grow up #the world is going to become so much more beautiful #and it’s already pretty cool despite the unresolved anger and pain most of us currently live with #personal #trauma recovery

[see-arcane]

Antlers Holst was Jupe’s Equal Opposite (and Just as Selfish in the End)

I’ve had time to sit and digest this awhile. I think Antlers Holst was almost as much of an accidental villain/anti-villain as Jupe. He’s just standing on the opposite end of the ‘spectacle’ spectrum. Where Jupe skipped the lesson he should have picked up as a child and twisted his trauma and hunger for fame into the vehicle for exploiting Jean Jacket and ultimately setting off a nightmarish demise for him, his family, and audience, Antlers’ last minute sabotage of the ‘impossible shot’ takes a hard swerve in the other direction—and it’s exactly as selfish as Jupe’s motives.

Because all we know of Antlers is that he’s a jaded artist striving for his own meaningful work to counterbalance the commercial cinematography he grudgingly does for the money. For whatever reason, his history and personal view has made him view the public as ‘unworthy’ of the impossible, and himself as some auteur-martyr for depriving them of it and letting himself be an Ahab who lets his white whale kill him. Is it a depressing scene of self-destruction, added to the horror factor of this man clearly having no idea what kind of torture is waiting for him in JJ’s guts? Yes.

Is it also a microcosm of the whole issue surrounding who got the real credit and attention for the Muybridge clip? Also yes.

Because just like Muybridge, Antlers turned the capture of Jean Jacket’s image into a personal project—his masterpiece. But what did he actually do? He slapped together a reel camera and sat under a tarp.

Meanwhile, Em and Angel arranged the tube men across the gulch and set up surveillance while OJ did the teeny tiny little task of, you know, going out on horseback to lure, race, and (hopefully! Because they did not know if it would work!!) scare the giant carnivorous UFO out of trying to eat him and his horse alive.

The Haywood crew were doing 99% of the work—with OJ taking on 99.99% of the pants-shittingly terrifying risk—and all Antlers does is turn a crank and follow the action. And not just for the ‘money and fame’ Antlers the Artist disdains. Angel points it out at dinner; this is meant to help others. This is going to prove to the world that there’s a huge lethal threat to every living thing on the planet and if the information doesn’t get out? There’s no telling how many would get Roomba’d to death as a result.

Which Antlers Holst clearly, bull-headedly ignores. He still thinks he’s the grizzled and noble misanthropist who knows better~

But he isn’t. This isn’t a commercial, this isn’t art, this isn’t betraying a noble beast.

Right now? He’s supposed to be a journalist. The kind of person who works with a team under fire, making sure important events are documented and delivered to the world at large so it brings attention to something that needs to be learned about. That’s not spectacle! That’s tapping humanity on the shoulder to say, ‘Hey, thought you should know the sky can’t be trusted and there’s a cloud coming to eat you.’

Which isn’t enough to dislodge Holst from his decision to fuck over and endanger his team who had worked so hard, been through so much, and now have to deal with the fallout of his suicidal bout of artistic huffiness. He’s an amazing stand-in for the penchant of one person shouldering all the accolades for collaborative creative works, because they’re the ones who get to stick their name on the finished product.

Silver lining? Antlers also seemed to forget JJ’s little rule about never digesting inorganic material. There’s a good chance that his camera and the film might just be intact when they find Jean Jacket’s remains.

Guess whose names are going on the impossible shot now, buddy?

#ramble ramble ramble #he was a cool character but in the end...well #all of that ^^^ #not everything is about Making a Statement #or a spectacle #sometimes people just need to know about the danger #antlers holst #ricky 'jupe' park #oj haywood #em haywood #angel torres #jean jacket #nope 2022 #nope #jordan peele #spoilers

[floatingstirnerhead]

how do you get HRT or insulin when civilization, and it's industry, is abolished?

Anon I rewrote this post like three times because it's so important to me that people understand this. I want so much for everyone and am always so frustrated by the constant bad jacketing of nihilists so here it goes.

The first and most important point is that anticiv rejects all vanguardism. There will be no seizure of state power that mandates all power plants be turned off. It is a part of the real communist movement and involves the subaltern population rejecting alienation and finding their power, not destroying things they actively need.

Classical communism imagines that we will simply collectivize our current industrial society and distribute the spoils evenly. In the era of climate change, this is a highly insufficient analysis. If we don't stop clear cutting and strip mining, we'll go extinct, and bring most of the biosphere with us. At the very least, this means serious degrowth, regardless of whether the industry is collectivist or not.

I don't care about the poor little loggers who lost their jobs from tree spiking.

It is the productivist logic that must be challenged if we are to survive the 21st century. That every human being and every scrap of land be put to work. Human, plant, and animal diversity is being crushed by it, and we need that to live. We need to live in a way that's not driven by a "work or starve" mentality, in biodiverse places, where we are not defined by our labour.

This is not possible within an ideology that places the production of things as the cornerstone of everything. It does NOT mean never making things ever again, or even abandoning modern techniques such as insulin production, but it does mean applying serious critique to them:

Does this form of production require the destruction of vital ecosystems, even indirectly such as through power generation, pollution, traffic infrastructure, or use of goods that have such impacts?

Does this form of production require forcing people to do it under threat of death or starvation?

Does this form of production require large swaths of land to be barren, like parking lots or monoculture corn?

Does this form of production require people to subscribe to a specific ideology or way of being to participate in it?

The question of insulin comes up again and again but it is framed wrong. There will be no primmie Vanguard that topples the provisional government and shoots everyone with an insulin pump. It is a tool for the here and now for the powerless, about reclaiming our power outside of totalizing institutions that look at our beautiful earth and just see spoils to be harvested. It's a critique, not a program.

Anticiv praxis could involve black market medical production (including insulin, or HRT which already exists) to combat the increasing failure of the industrial model. In the same way that regenerative agriculture reimagines human relationships with the non-human or FNB reimagines food consumption, the same could be done for pharmacy; the earth is full of medicine that can be produced without destruction. This doesn't require abandoning modern techniques, it requires abandoning the constant liquidation of the non-human to run them.

The real movement is already emerging, in the shared bureaucracy hacks and desperate mutual aid posts, and the truth is right in front of us:

We don't do these things because we are obligated to, but because we need to keep each other alive to live ourselves.

That is the meaning of unalienated labour. It's true of each other and it's true of the earth. There's no primeval reset, but a refusal to view others, human and not, as disposable. To recognize that thinking of human beings as superior is going to get us killed. To recognize that we are within a vast web of life that demands respect, from human diversity to animal and plant diversity.

To keep ALL of our friends alive and flourishing, not meet the demands of tyrants and demagogues.

#anarchy #egoism #anarchism #communism #revolution #capitalism

[haleigh-sloth]

I know I asked this a while ago and I’m sorry to bring it up again but I’m still having trouble understanding AFO’s backstory literarily. I don’t know why Hori would give us a backstory that shows he is just as traumatized as the League if not more and then not do anything with it. Plus the way the fans interpreted it was that AFO was just born evil. I’m not sure why Hori felt the need to write this if he wasn’t going to treat AFO like a human being the same as the rest of the characters, and make it so he had zero knowledge of right and wrong same as Tenko, if he didn’t want there to be some sort of humanity there. Any guesses? I’m genuinely at a loss here.

This is a tough one, and it's understandable to feel conflicted over it.

I think the most important thing to remember is that the manga isn't over yet, AFO isn't really gone yet, and the vestiges aren't super mega confirmed gone for good yet, AND assuming they're not gone yet, they're all in the same place as AFO at this very moment.

I think Yoichi's words describe the complexity behind AFO perfectly:

He kept Yoichi alive, however, he viewed Yoichi as his property, something he was entitled to. There is definitely nuanced feeling behind that, I mean they're brothers and the ONLY constant they had their whole lives was each other. That goes for AFO too, Yoichi was the only certain thing he had. So yeah, there is some form of twisted love there, but AFO's upbringing led to that somewhat understandable/normal feeling turning into something way beyond what we would consider acceptable lmao. And I think the thing with AFO that separates him from the other villains is the lack of compassion for others that Yoichi points out. Even though I wouldn’t call the LOV’s actions compassionate toward….anyone, even if the intent is buried deep in there, they still feel for other people and are incredibly sensitive to others. It influenced their behaviors. AFO is not phased by others.

My personal guess is that AFO will disappear by the end of the manga in the vestige, but in a more refined/dignified way than the way he did in the real world. His pathetic and dramatic death after facing Bakugo kinda made it obvious he will have another exit that will look much differently. There is no point in repeating what we already saw, so I wouldn't expect it to be anything like him having a break down. Also Bakugo won't be involved since he's not in the vestige realm, so it'll be different.

I'm thinking like....closer to Nana/Kotaro except not really any love/forgiveness/sorrow involved, more just like....idk how to describe it, but some sort of peace where he and Yoichi say good bye for good together.

I can't help but think that Bakugo kind of carried out what the 2nd user couldn't (hence the visual similarity and him reminding AFO of Kudou) and then Yoichi will carry out what he needs to by finishing him off for good and disappearing with him.

This also all hinges on my assumption that OFA is going bye-bye, which I'm in hope of so I'm biased lol.

I don't think AFO is there to thwart the themes of the story. I think he's a humanized villain whose actions and influence have far surpassed his lifespan and it's just time for him to get some form of clarity and then go.

#bnha asks #afo #yoichi shigaraki

[phoenix-is-the-hottest-thing]

What's Kosma's relationship with Kevin? I couldn't find much other than he once looked up to him and after Ato's and Dystopia's death he left and rejoined cause of Griseo. Before that he was chatty and talked about him alot but what about after the rejoin? Also, is there a youtube channel having the videos on this arc? All i find is "mei asking/etc"..

Mm, I’ll just tell the whole story in order. This is taken from Kosma dialogues and recollections.

Kosma looked up to Kevin a lot. They first met during the fight against the 4th Herrscher (Wind), when Kosma was still young enough for Kevin to call him a child (teenager really, their age gap isn’t that big) and Kevin sent him away, telling him to stay alive.

He tried to be a vigilante, but it rarely ended well, as playing hero was a shallow solution to the problems around him (for example he thanklessly saved a woman by stabbing the man attacking her, but then the man’s young daughter tried to stab Kosma in revenge for killing her father).

Kevin and Kosma later met again in the MOTHs, which Kosma joined because of Kevin. Kosma also looked up to a senior soldier, Ato (Griseo’s father and another of the first MANTIS). Griseo notes to Mei that Kosma used be a real Kevin fanboy.

However, their relationship became Complicated around the time of the 9th Herrscher (Earth)’s defeat. Kosma had already lost his friend Dystopia to the 8th Herrscher, and his life wasn’t getting any easier.

We don’t directly see it happen, only the aftermath (Kosma’s recollection Daybreak Transformation) but what seems to have happened is that Kevin made the choice to let Ato die to ensure he could kill the 9th Herrscher, calling it the lesser of two evils.

The Herrscher was lying down on the ground, finally dead, but there wasn’t even a body left of Ato.

Kosma was enraged to the point of undergoing an Active Honkai Reaction (turning into a Honkai Beast) for the first time. He attacked Kevin in his anger, left his MOTH badge behind and then fled, only being found by Mobius months later. Aponia and Mobius teamed up to bring him back to human form.

Kevin welcomed Kosma back to the MOTHs, but Kosma didn’t join his unit again.

Kosma had become a silent boy by the time he left his Sim behind, taking care of the orphaned Griseo for Ato as her big brother. He still admired Kevin as a hero but couldn’t bear being close to him again— saying “I respect him, but our views differ.” He also came to have a very negative self-image, refusing to call himself a hero at all.

His mannerisms remained very similar to Kevin’s though, and in ER conversations he often thinks of what Kevin would do when he doesn’t know how to continue a conversation.

Don’t know of any youtube channel for this, but we have transcripts:

#honkai impact #hi3 #hi3 lore #kosma

[samantha-rae-velcher]

General's Gaze

General Zod x Fem reader

Requested by: @mask-knife-is-heimdalls-wife

Warnings: Smut, swearing, threats, mentions of killing.

A/n: 18+ (tho I don't really care)

Summary: Y/n is human, Kal and her grew up together on earth. (In this story Krypton wasn't destroyed and Kal's family is still alive. Kal brings Y/n to his planet and Zod can't help his fascination in the human female.

__________________________________

"Kal! Are you for real!?" Y/n yelled while she slammed her suit case. "I actually get to meet your folks and see your planet!?"

He stood behind her smiling and shaking his head.

"Yes, but they've never met a human before. It is quite different there."

She turned to him and grabbed his forearms, not being able to reach his shoulders. "Is there sufficient oxygen!? I don't wanna get there and die cuz I can't breathe!"

"Don't worry, Krypton has oxygen."

Y/n nodded and put her hands on her hips

"Good good....h-how are we getting there? Not like we can't book a plane ticket or take the bus."

Kal walked into the living room and sat on the couch, Y/n fallowed him. She went into the kitchen and snatched a soda out of the fridge, throwing one to him. Y/n cracked hers open, she leaned against the counter and took a swig, pointing at Kal.

"So, you gonna fly us there? Or we takin a trip to NASA to snag a rocket? Or are you gonna phone one of your relatives?"

"We're taking the ship I came in." Kal replied.

"Alright, let's go."

______________

Kal and Y/n entered the ship, she sat down in one of the seats and cracked her knuckles.

"You know how to fly this thing?" She asked.

"It flys itself, I just have to punch in the location."

"Let's do it."

___

A couple hours went by, as Y/n just watched the stars pass by the window. She began to doze off, leaning back in her chair. Y/n heard a voice in her head, a man's voice. It was dark, controlling. When she finally drifted into sleep, a tall man came into view.

"Hello, my dear." He said. The man gently caressed her face, she couldn't help but be attracted. He had short dark hair, beautiful blue eyes that cold kill. Every curve of his muscles was perfectly outlined with a black suit that was a material she couldn't Identify.

"W-Who are you?" She stuttered.

"General Zod, you're on your way to Krypton?"

He began circling her. Y/n's nervous levels rising, Zod's gaze was so intense she thought she would melt.

"Yeah...your suit...it looks like Kal's. Are you from Krypton."

Zod stopped behind her, leaning forward. She could feel his breath on her neck....dang he was close.

"Yes, I look forward to seeing you."

"Why am I dreaming of you?" She asked, spinning around.

"I have the abilities to enter your dreams....turn them into nightmares if I desire."

Chills ran down her spine, she quickly turned to him. Y/n nodded and rubbed her hands together, she looked him up and down assessing just what the fuck she was looking at.

"Alright, you've gotta be just a figment of my imagination. Because this?" She motioned up and down. "This pristine chunk of man can't be real....I'm sorry."

Within a blink of an eye, Zod whipped out a knife and impaled her in the side.

The air caught in her throat, and she tasted blood. A smirk spread across his face.

"Now am I real?"

".....we'll see."

With that Y/n yanked herself out of her dream, she flew forward almost hitting the panel in front of her. Kal grabbed her just in time and pulled her back into her seat.

"Woah! You alright!?"

She didn't answer, she immediately touched her side. There wasn't a wound...but there was pain.

"We'll see." She repeated.

"We're here." Kal said.

_______________

Y/n walked with Kal and a couple of guards, they were lead into a large room, as they entered she scanned everyone she passed. Looking around the room, it was bright. Blue and gold lined the wallls, doors, and windows.

As they got closer to what she assumed was a throne of some sort, she locked eyes with a man...The man. That same smirk, those blue eyes, that dark expression that could kill the devil.

Kal had to stop Y/n from walking into someone, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"Y/n!"

"Huh? Yeah....what!?"

He pointed at a rather handsome man in front of them, the man smiled and nodded.

"This is my father."

Y/n held out her hand, to which he looked confused. She glanced over at Kal then back at his father. She smiled, took his and and slowly shook it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Y/n Y/L/n."

"Jor-El."

Y/n heard slow heavy footsteps behind her, Kal's father looked over and smiled.

"Ah, Y/n. This is General Zod."

She spun around, his expression not faulting Zod looked her up and down.

"If you come with me, I'll show you to your room."

Y/n looked over at Kal, she was scared. She didn't know this man, he was fuckin scary. She didn't think he was real.

He watched as she felt where he had stabbed her, that smirk returned.

"Come." Zod said, she could tell by the way he said it he wasn't suggesting shit, it was a command.

"Mk, I'm comin."

___________________

They trudged through the halls, she started to question if they had a destination at all. Y/n swore they passed that painting three times before.

"Mind telling me just who the fuck you are?"

"I suggest you don't speak to me in that manner."

They rounded the corner and she was suddenly pressed to the wall, she could feel the cold metal of his blade pressed to her side again.

"You wonder why I chose you?" He asked.

"Yeah, just outta no where you just decided "Oh well shit, this is a good time to jump into her dreams, stab her to make a point that wasn't made until twenty minutes ago."

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her jaw, she flinched.

"Please. Don't."

"Shh, I've chosen you. You're mine. Any man touches you and I will kill them."

"Christ, you that obsessed?"

________________

Time passed and Y/n felt his gaze on her back constantly, she tried to tell Kal but he thought it was funny. She attempted to tell other women but they got jealous and brushed it off.

Everytime another man came close to her or attempted to flirt, he randomly came out of thin air, scaring the absolute fuck out of her.

"Why hello." A man with blonde hair said. "Im Kad-Von. I've seen you around, you are most beautiful."

Y/n smiled and crossed her arms, the man came closer setting his hand beside her head on the wall.

"Wow, you're really close."

"I see the way you cower in the gaze of Zod. I can protect you from him."

This man was getting way to friendly, she could kick his ass if she knew that they wouldn't shoot her into space.

"I believe that-"

"What do you think you're doing?" The man was interrupted by a deeper voice.

"Zod! W-what are you doing here?"

"Keeping you from making a serious mistake, take your hand off the wall and step away from her."

Y/n actually felt relief when he came around the corner, she couldn't saw why but she felt safe.

"Woah woah, Zod. This woman isn't your property."

"Remove yourself from our presence or I'll show you just how wrong you are."

Zod stepped closer, the other man chuckled and shook his head, he leaned in for a kiss but Y/n smacked him and ran.

She could hear a scream coming from behind her, Y/n didn't know what the General was doing to that guy, frankly she didn't wanna know.

Y/n went crashing through a crowd of people, more men looking at her like she was fried chicken. She bolted inside, and pushed her way into her room. Y/n went to slam the door but Zod caught it and pushed it back open, making Y/n stumble to the floor.

The General closed the door and slowly stalked towards her. Y/n stood up, her back hit the wall and Zod came so close she could feel his breathe upon her neck.

"He didn't deserve you, I do."

Zod's lips crashed into hers, making her moan. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her leg anto his hip.

"I've been watching you for a long time. Long before that day in your dream." He whispered.

Zod spun her around to face the wall and pulled up her skirt. She pressed her ass against his groin, he leaned forward so his chest was against her back.

"You want this? Huh? You want my cock?"

"Y-yes, please."

She suddenly felt his cock slide into her, they both let out groans as he started to thrust.

"Mine." Zod whispered in her ear. "Mine."

He held her hands above her head and thrusted hard into her, with his other hand he gripped her throat and gently squeezed.

"Say it."

"Hmm?"

"Who do you belong to?"

"Ah, fuck. Y-you."

His grip became tighter, he pulled her head back against his shoulder.

"Who?"

"G-General Zod."

THE END ❤️

#fyp #fanfic #foryou #foryoupage #x reader #smut #requested #general zod #general zod x reader #general Zod x Fem reader #Zod x reader #zod x fem reader #dru zod #dru-zod x reader #dru-zod x Fem reader

[coffeecakecatt]

Mephistopheles got a command code for the Valentine’s event in JP and I’m so excited because this means that he’s in the event.  And I’ve been reading it as it comes out, and there’s been a lot of allusion to Mephistopheles in it, and he relates super heavily to what the core themes are and I cannot stop thinking about this event and theorizing about how it’s gonna turn out. 

It’s all very weird, and almost there, and dream-like just wading at the edge of reading as the proper reality. Johanna is absolutely a person that Mephistopheles would sympathize with, and want to help in some way because she’s an entirely fictional person. And Mephistopheles cares about creations. He loves narrative servants and those created to fill a specific role. He’s friends with Nursery Rhyme and Moriarty. He helped Enkidu find their identity in their interlude. He killed Frankenstein in London and left Fran alive so she could go have an adventure with the Master. I’m sure he’d care for Johanna too. 

I think the event is a dream that Mephistopheles has made for Johanna because she wants to be a real girl, a real person, and she made a deal with the devil to grant this wish. It’s about what it means to be human, and what things are core to being real as a person, which absolutely parallels with Meph who is a homunculus who was made too human. He would know what it means to be human and want to be a real human being, since he’s an artificial being who was denied by his own creator. Not to mention that Mephistopheles controls dreams, has made micro-singularities in the past (which this event is) for other servant’s interludes, and is someone who challenges characters’ core values and morals. And everything feels just kind of off in the event, alluding to it not being how it seems. Johanna is just established to be there - no fan-fare, nothing, like it’s perfectly normal and reasonable that she’s in Chaldea providing Valentine’s blessings, even though that goes against her role in Traum. Goredolf is fully confident, he doesn’t seem to care about any holiday shenanigans, and everyone is really easily and casually ushered into what everyone thinks is going to be a very simple chill micro-singularity. 

Mash is in the event, but Mash isn’t really...getting as much of the spotlight as she usually gets. She’s only on screen for two or three dialogue boxes at most, she’s almost exclusively nudging you onto the path of the story, and she’s not getting her usual long Mash getting to say her opinion on things. Which, is how Mash acted in Mephistopheles’ interlude, where Mephistopheles made a fake Mash to keep the Master on track in his dream, and the Master didn’t notice. Which is something that is REALLY HARD to do and Mephistopheles has shown he CAN do, in the past.

Another thing - Nursery Rhyme is there! Only four servants were compatible to Rayshift: Rama, Jalter Santa Lily, Nursery Rhyme, and Johanna. Nursery Rhyme has been unphased by every weird thing to far. She’s just rolled with it a little too well, which would make sense, because Mephistopheles would need a storybook to help him write a story for Johanna.

And, there’s been a lot of Alice in Wonderland comparisons and references. And music specifically from Jeanne’s Casino in Las Vegas Summer, a place that Mephistopheles helped run, Nursery Rhyme took part in plays, and it was a casino run by a Saint who was having her time as a real girl.

The whole event is also in the perspective of a narrative, like a book, being recounted to you by Johanna with little narrative cut-ins from her at key intervals of her experiences. While there are dialogue options to choose, nothing is from their perspective. Any time we get narration, it’s from Johanna’s point of view.

Johanna also acts strangely. She knows things without evidence, and immediately pegs the grail in the basement of the Singularity’s church as evil, stops a mysterious sorcerer from wishing on it, and has her own wish prioritized over the initial wish that was going to be bad for the Human Order. A wish that Johanna claims she doesn’t even have, because she’s a Ruler and a Saint.

Then that wish caused a giant statue of her to be erected in the middle of the tiny peaceful town and now she’s beloved as Love Love Johanna-Sama!

Everyone has a little fun laugh as Johanna is in agony and embarrassment over this idea of being beloved and worshipped in such a loud and larger than life way, but I think she’s actually kind of flattered by it. She’s just grappling with this idea of only wanting what a Saint would, rather then what she actually wants. Because I think that Johanna wished to be a real girl, and to be a real girl she has to be known, and she has to be loved, and she has to accept that love. 

Love is what defines the weight of her life, and she has to accept and carry that love with her (in a little bag of luggage she’s given) in order to actually be real.  Which is what Mephistopheles is giving her, I think. He’s giving Johanna her wish of being a real girl for Valentine’s day.  TLDR: I’m pretty sure Mephistopheles has crafted an elaborate dream to grant Johanna’s wish to be a real person. Which means she has to learn what it means to be human. Love defines if you matter and are real, not the classification of reality of fiction. 

#fgo #fate grand order #fgo meta #fgo jp #fgo jp spoilers #fate #mephistopheles #mephistopheles fgo #johanna #pope johanna #pope johanna fgo #johanna fgo #rambling #fgo rambling

[zalrb]

I have some familiarity with The Boys, but not much. Isn’t the point that people, when they have godlike powers from being injected with Compound V, will abuse their power no matter what? It doesn’t matter to me that Homelander couldn’t consent to receiving Compound V as a baby when he was a fully cognizant adult when he commited atrocities.

So I think it’s an odd choice that the latest episode of Gen V is trying to have the audience sympathize with supes when the virus is the only line of defense that humans have against them. None of the main characters display any care or thought toward regular people; they just want to major in crimefighting at Godolkin and then because members of The Seven. They want fame and notoriety. All of them have suffered in some way, but they haven’t seemed to extend understanding and kindness as a result of that suffering, like when Andre accidentally ruptured that lady’s neck at the party, nobody seemed concerned about her and now it’s been forgotten. So I’m confused as to why the show expects me to feel bad for the characters, especially Sam, when I’ve seen the violence he’s capable and the lack of genuine remorse and not seeing him try to do better outside of Emma. I was honestly just watching for the mystery of The Woods, but now that that’s been revealed, what else is there?

Isn’t the point that people, when they have godlike powers from being injected with Compound V, will abuse their power no matter what? It doesn’t matter to me that Homelander couldn’t consent to receiving Compound V as a baby when he was a fully cognizant adult when he commited atrocities.

Honestly, one of the problems with The Boys is that it loses its own messaging and it muddles what it's trying to say (sound familiar?). But, like, we are supposed to believe that Homelander's upbringing contributes to his psychosis because he was raised like an experiment or an object without the warmth of a parent, hence his deeply disturbing obsession with milk, and then being in The Seven with Homelander at the helm and Vought as backing corrupts the other members like Maeve who has a conscience but has also done terrible things and she goes through her redemptive arc but then you have Starlight who is supposed to be "good" and doesn't allow herself to be corrupted after potentially going down that path in season 1 etc.

So I don't actually see the point of Gen V. Even when I thought the show was going to be about Marie wanting to be in The Seven to prove to her sister that she wasn't a monster, I thought the premise was flawed because The Seven is made up of supes who have literally committed crimes against humanity and are virtually indestructible so I was just like, wouldn't that just reinforce Annabeth's view of her? And then when we get to the school we see, as you said, Andre etc. getting high, Andre nearly killing someone and all of them only thinking about themselves and then when we meet the other students in the university, they're already pretty terrible so to turn around and be like Godolkin is the real villain has me like ... how? WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE SCHOOL. Or the characters. And how is this different than watching The Boys and Vought? I never cared about The Woods because in The Boys, they already had a storyline like that with the Sage Grove Centre where they experiment on civilians and then Lamplighter (a Supe) burns them alive to destroy evidence so The Woods just had me like, well, yeah, we've established that they experiment on people, why is this any different?

It would've been more interesting if they explored teens/young adults whatever having to deal with the fact that their parents juiced them with V as babies and they now have powers that actually ruin their lives and saddle them with trauma like Cate telling her brother to leave and never come back and him listening to her and then her parents turning on her, I would've rather see her deal with that in real time, see Marie dealing with killing her parents in real time, instead of The Boys 2.0 that has even less character development than The Boys.

[make-me-imagine]

You Are What You Reap

13 Days of Halloween: Day 12

Plot: When crew members on the Enterprise are celebrating an old Earth holiday to liven up the ship, they get trapped in an unusual space oddity that seems to transform everyone into what they are dressed up as

Pairing(s): General Crew x Reader Antics; implied established relationship between Erica Ortegas x GN!Reader

Warnings: Very Mild Cursing.

Words: 2.1k

A/Ns: This is inspired by the BTVS Halloween Episode "Halloween" of a similar plot. Also, I could not get this down how I had it in my head and I hate how it came out, but you're getting it anyways, 'cause I got nothing else.

-

As you walked through the ship, you were amused at the various confused and alarmed looks from the non-human crew you passed.

Your makeup made your appearance much paler than usual, the enhanced bags under your eyes, making you look as you intended, dead.

The human crew you passed knew well enough what was going on, as many of them were dressed up as well. Various monsters, characters and original ideas passed you in the halls.

On Earth, though it was very far away, it was Halloween. Since the Enterprise was on no current mission, and far away from any real life, Captain Pike found no harm in allowing the celebration for the crew, and even decided to embrace it himself.

Rounding the corner, your smile widened as you saw Erica talking to Uhura in the doorway.

Erica was dressed in a black suit with a cape paired with fake fangs in her mouth to complete her Vampiric look. Uhura was donning a classic black witchy outfit, and pointed hat, and had a broom in her hand.

As you approached them, they turned to greet you with smiles. Erica placed her hand on your back in greeting as you stood beside her.

"Nice hat" You complemented, as you eyed Uhura's tall pointed witch hat.

"Thank you, nice...what are you?"

You chuckled "Just a ghost."

"Ahh."

"I have a sheet with eye holes too."

"Oh, very classic." Erica added, amused.

Hearing Pikes voice over your comms, you all went silent "Ortegas, Uhura, L/n, get to the bridge please."

"Yes Captain, something wrong?"

"I'm not sure." His voice replied.

You all shared uncertain looks as you made your way towards the bridge. As you exited the lift, your eyes immedietely fell to the view outside the ship.

"Woah." You said softly, as you eyed the unusual phenomenon ahead of the ship.

"What is that?" Erica asked as she made her way to her station.

"It appears to be an ion storm of sorts, but it is emitting an unusual frequency." Spock said.

Looking around the bridge, you noted the various costumes some crew-members were donning. Una had cat ears and a tail, Captain Pike was dressed as a Pirate, and Jenna was wearing a halo and fake wings.

"Nice hat Captain." You commented as you made your way to your station.

He nodded and smiled "Thank you Lieutenant."

"The storm seems to be getting closer Sir, should I get us out of here?" Erica asked.

"Sounds like a good idea." He replied.

As you heard the ship's engines begin to rev up, you all started as the ion storm flashed brightly and expanded quickly towards the ship.

"What the-" Erica began, before the ship suddenly shook violently.

"Erica" Pike's voice rang out with clear concern.

"I'm trying."

You could hear the Enterprise engines roaring as it attempting it's escape, but the ship remained still.

"We're not moving." Erica said, clear frustration in her voice.

As the ship shook again, a bright light exploded from the storm again, you all watched as something seemed to wrap around the ship.

"What was that? Spock?"

"I'm uncertain Captain, but I no longer believe this is an ion storm, I believe we may be in the grasp of a creature."

"A creature? You think it's alive?"

He nodded "Yes."

"Can we communicate with it?"

"Of that I am uncertain."

"I can try." Uhura said uncertainly as she tried to communicate with the creature.

Shaking her head after a few moments, failing to gain any response, the ship shook again. Suddenly, all of the lights on the ship shut down for a second before coming back on.

"Una?"

"All systems normal, I don't know what that was."

"Maybe it's trying to communicate with us?" Uhura asked.

Staring as Uhura, you noted that she appeared a bit different "Uhh, Uhura...was your nose always like that?"

She looked at you in confusion before she grabbed her now much more crooked nose. Standing up abruptly, she looked clearly alarmed.

Looking back at the others, your eyes widened as you stared at Una. Pointing at her you stared agape "Umm, ears...moving."

Una reached up and touched the cat ears on her head before gasping as the ear twitched "I felt that."

Captain Pike stood up, before slowly reaching up underneath the false eye patch he was donning. Seeing his visible eye widen, he looked over at Una who shook her head "No."

"Yes."

You could see Jenna pulling at the wings on her back, that now seemed attached to her back.

"Ow!" You heard Erica exclaim as she reached towards her mouth. You watched as she touched the now real fangs in her mouth before she looked over at you.

Standing up alarmed she stepped towards you "Y/n."

"What?" You asked alarmed, seeing she was staring down at your body.

Looking down, you felt a jolt of panic as you looked at your hands. Your body was seemingly opaque, you could still see your body, but you could also see through it.

"What's happening?" You asked alarmed as you looked over at the Captain.

He shook his head, clearly unsure as he looked over at Spock.

As the lift doors opened, you all turned to see M'Benga walk into the bridge, with very real large horns coming out of his head, as sharp teeth protruded from his mouth.

He motioned his hands towards everyone, speaking with a muffled voice "At least it's not just me."

"Jesus." You muttered.

Looking at you, he pointed, clearly seeing you were nearly invisible.

"I know." You commented as you shrugged your arms.

"What the hell is going on?" He asked bewildered.

"I'm not certain, but I do know it has to do with that." Captain Pike said as he turned and looked out at the unknown creature surrounding the ship.

As the ship shook again, the lights flickering, you swallowed "Uh-oh."

Pike tapped his comms "Hemmer. Can you get us out of here?"

"It might help if I know what is going on."

"It seems that a large space...creature has us in it's grasp."

"Ah. That is certainly concerning. I suppose I can try."

Pike sighed "Please do, it's affecting the crew."

"How so?"

Pike looked around as he shook his head "I wish I could explain without sounding insane."

There was a moments pause before Hemmer's voice came through again. "Seeing as one of my previously human engineers just came in with very real claws and fangs, I think I can figure it out."

Pike sighed as he looked around "Lets hope this....transformation stops here."

--- --- ---

After an hour of panic from everyone on the crew, failed communication with the creature holding the ship, and various attempts at escape, you made your way from engineering back to the bridge.

Feeling the ship shake, as the lights went out again, you tightened your grip on the rails, and let out a sharp breath.

As the lift doors opened, you walked out onto the bridge "Captain, Hemmer and Spock have another idea they are ready to try."

You watched as the Captain and Erica turned back at the sound of your voice, but all stared with wide eyes.

"Uh...what?" You asked

Erica stood up "Oh Shit. Y/n?"

"...Yeah?"

"Where are you?" The Captain asked as he faced you.

"What do y-....oh no. Am I completely invisible now?" You asked with panic lacing your voice as you looked down at your body.

It still appeared opaque to you, able to see through your own hand still.

You watched as everyone nodded lightly, mouths agape.

"Oh great."

"Captain." A deep hoarse voice came over the comms.

Pike furrowed his brow "Yes?"

"It's M'Benga. It's getting worse. I have a patient here whose fake wound became a real one. And I myself am continuing to change."

"Yeah, Y/n is now completely invisible. Anyone else showing conerning signs?"

"Not yet."

Pike nodded as he looked in your general direction "This plan Hemmer and Spock have, is it promising?"

You nodded, forgetting they couldn't see you "I think so. But it will take some time, I'm not sure how long."

Pike frowned "Lets hope we get out of this before we all become a bit too realistic."

Hearing the sound of the lift open up, you turned to see Nurse Chapel exit, with a black cat in her arms.

"Oh no." You said as you eyed the cat, which meowed in response.

Chapel looked around in concern "Y/n?"

"Yep. Here."

"Uh oh." She replied softly as the cat, aka Una, jumped from her arms.

Everyone watched at Una jumped up onto her station, and looked at Captain Pike before meowing.

Pike sighed "Hello Una."

You turned and looked at Chapel "I thought you were dressed up as well."

Chapel looked in your direction as she nodded "I did, but as soon as everyone else started to become their costumes, I took mine off. Though I think I was a bit late." Showing her hands, you saw long sharp claws at the ends of her fingers.

"Yikes." Erica said as she eyed them.

"Nice fangs." Chapel commented.

Erica nodded her head "Thanks, I hate them."

"I think they kind of suit you." You commented, making Erica smile softly.

"Lets just hope I don't start craving blood." She commented, half-joking.

"And let's hope M'Benga does not turn into a complete monster." Chapel added as she turned and began to leave.

--- --- ---

"Spock, how long are we gonna have to wait?!" Chapel yelled through the comms as she watched Captain Pike get restrained by some crew-mates as he yelled and cursed at them, no longer knowing who they were.

Hearing a roar from nearby, she looked over in another area, where a monster that resembled Doctor M'Benga banged his hands on the force-shield, trying to escape.

"Almost there!" Spock's voice came through.

"This is crazy" You said softly from beside Erica, who was now restrained in a bed, hands strapped down.

Everyone who had been dressed as a monster, slowly became that monster. All non-human crew members had control of the ship as they attempted one last time to break free of the creatures grasp.

"Y/n, are you still here?" Erica asked with a soft voice.

You knew she could no longer hear you, so you grabbed her hand and squeezed.

Nodding her head softly as she felt your touch, she pressed her head into the bed. She had felt herself losing control over her emotions, nearly becoming violent with Jenna, and had herself restrained.

Not long later, you could no longer be heard by anyone, and could only communicate through touch and moving objects.

Captain Pike had forgotten who he was, and tried to take over the ship. An action that proved fruitless, but he became violent once restrained.

Una showed no sign of human conscious, and ran around the ship in a panic. You now donned a long scratch down your arm from trying to subdue her.

Uhura yelled and screamed at people as she attempted to curse them, smacking many of them with her broom.

Various crew-members were now imprisoned for becoming violent, or, like M'Benga, transformed into another creature all together.

As you felt the ship violently shake, you heard the impulse engines revving up. You closed your eyes as you felt the ship jerk violently as the lights flickered momentarily.

Stumbling, you grabbed onto Erica's bed for stability, seeing her eyes widen as she looked around.

Everything on the ship seemed to go silent, as you saw the fast passing stars outside the ships window. You had successfully warped away from the creature.

"Did it work?" You asked, seeing Erica look over at you.

"I can see you!" She said with a soft voice.

Looking down at your body, you saw your opaque features slowly becoming more solid.

Looking around, you saw M'Benga crouch down, grabbing into his head in pain as the horns on his head fell off with a metallic clank.

Looking over at Chapel, you saw her look at her own hands, smiling, as they were no longer clawed.

You looked down at Erica "How are you feeling?" She thought for a moment before she reached up, and took out her fangs.

She smiled and nodded "Well I don't feel any blood lust anymore."

"I think that's a good sign." You chuckled softly before letting out a sigh "Thank God." You leaned your head on her arm. You shook your head "I'm never dressing up for Halloween ever again."

"I second that."

You looked up at the sound of the Captain voice as he entered the room, ripping off his hat and eye-patch, and looked around with a sigh.

"And I third that!"

Looking around for the source of the voice, you saw a hand pop up from behind a pile of boxed up medical equipment, before Una's head, paired with crooked fake cat ears, popped up into view.

She let out a huff of air in frustration as she groaned and shook her head "Never again."

xx End xx

I hate how this came out, but you got it anyways.

General Taglist: @criminaly-supernatural, @caswinchester2000, @imaginesfire, @onuen, @witchygagirl, @alexxavicry

Star Trek/SNW Taglist: @starfleetimagines, @groovy-lady, @asgardianhobbit98, @agent-catfish-kenobi, @starship-argo, @cs-please, @gatefleet, @tinymushrooms

#Star Trek Strange New Worlds #Star Trek #Erica Ortegas #Enterprise Crew x Reader #SNW #Star Trek SNW #star trek halloween #snw halloween #13 days of halloween #day 12 #erica ortegas x reader #erica ortegas/reader #strange new worlds x reader #strange new worlds reader insert #halloween fic #star trek imagine #strange new worlds imagine #erica ortegas imagine #erica ortegas fic #star trek snw fic

[essentiallykpopandbl]

I apologize for the person I am becoming while watching 180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us, but I NEED to talk about episode 4.

To start, there is something so sinister about Mol. She says a lot of things with a smile on her face, even though her words don't match that expression. I can't decide if she doesn't know about In and Siam or if she knows and wants In to feel awful about it. Their talk in the beginning of the episode about Mol using In to get close to Siam is bringing up old painful memories. Ones In doesn't want to admit to for fear of having to face why he closed himself off to the world. But she keeps bringing it up, maybe as a punishment. We already know she is manipulative based on her relationship with Wang. I just have this feeling she will do whatever she needs to to be in charge of a situation.

I find it so fascinating how all three characters view Siam, who we as the audience won't meet, and how his death has impacted all of them. Mol uses it to trap her son. Instead of supporting him, she has forced Wang to support her. Whatever he is feeling, whatever he wants, must come second to her. She will break down, yell, and belittle Wang and his thoughts in order to keep him by her side. Her asking In to "fix" her son and make him normal is a way to stop him from questioning the world. She wants his spirit to be broken so he doesn't venture into the real world where she knows Wang will never return from.

When In lost Siam, he lost a major part of himself. He was ashamed of himself and their relationship and the only comfort he found was to hide away in his house. Never venturing too far away, never allowing himself to feel again. He built walls, both physically and mentally/emotionally, to protect himself. He has seen the harshness of the world and it scares him. His wants scare him. His needs scare him. And his desires is what terrifies him the most.

Wang, precious beautiful Wang, who came crashing into In's world ready to tear it all down. Wang is searching for his place in this world. Hench the reason he loves coordinates so much. He feels like he has been free floating since Siam's death. He is not sure of himself, or the world, but knows he needs to explore it to find himself. And that has caused him to stumble upon In. Two souls still grieving the loss of a loved one, and who thinks that the other is the closest they can get having that person back. They want each other, they need each other, and for In that is terrifying. For Wang, that desire is helping him feel alive and grounded. That is why Wang is dragging In out into the dangerous zone. He needs that spark and human connection. But Wang doesn't know what that spark could turn into because of his age. In has already been burned by the spark, but he is drawn to it again. These two are electric together, but that is danger all by itself.

Wang and In are truly fascinating to watch together. Especially in regards to how this show is filming them. I can't be the only one that feels like we are intruding when they are having intimate moments. In the bedroom, we are often looking through the divider. Or we transition from close up to long shots, causing us to feel like we are watching something we shouldn't. It makes the tension between the two so sensual.

And the use of boundaries in this episode. How In is about setting boundaries and staying within them. While Wang will walk right up to them and continue past them. At some point this is going to come to a head where Wang's need to push boundaries will butt up to In's need to set firm boundaries. We see it starting with the crossing of a river, but when these two get serious about their feelings for each other, we will see which character the narrative sides with. I think that will be really telling in the reason for this whole show. Are we supposed to set our boundaries and stay where we know we are safe? Or do we need to fly free and risk injury just to find our place in this world?

#180 degree longitude passes through us #not at all where i wanted this post to go #once i started talking i couldnt shut up #maybe ill make another post all about the crossing the river scene #i hope this makes sense #my brain is all over the place after watching the episode #pond ponlawit #can i just talk about my love for him

[hisui555]

Hazbin Hotel thoughts : Foils 5

Masterpost here

Been a little while, I got myself into some RP for the first time ever. Managed to burn Lucifer's tower down on the first day while being a litteral little gremlin from the dumpsters. That sums it up pretty well.

Oh, and it's the first time I've RP-ed ever.

Anyway, for your inane Foils rambling of the day, my dumb brain cooked up a weird one : Adam (and Exorcists) VS Hell. Obvious, I know, but let's get more into depth about it, shall we ?

So to call Adam an obnoxious psychotic fratbro with all the emotional development of a bratty toddler would be kind of an understatement. Which in itself is an understatement too, to Inception levels. Adam is the First Man, one of the two oldest existing humans alive, turned angel to everyone's bafflement as the very first human soul in Heaven, and given the mystery that looms in the background of the show, it's yet to be seen just how in the bloody world he managed that. From the beginning, he's someone trying to impose his will on someone else, in his case Lilith, who made the utterly sacrilegious decision to stand up for herself and be an independent, emancipated person with boundaries to respect. I know, right ? Crazy.

And given how he reacts to Lucifer's taunting (if this short king really did score the two, it'll be hilarious), Golden KFC-man is tryharding to compensate. But he's also endearing in his brattiness, in his own way, leaning into it so heavily he'd topple Pisa, that he crosses back into funny, despite the genocidal tendencies (which for their part are played for all the horror necessary). And this... is kinda reminiscent of Hell in the show : it's a sordid, horrible place, but a good bucket of dark laughs are derived from it because of how horrible it is. Adam even admits to Charlie that he "likes the vibe", but prides himself on being in Heaven when he clearly didn't deserved any of it.

His own physical appearance, past the gold-blue-white color palette, has horns and shark teeth for the helmet, spikes for the rocker imagery - that, in passing, is often associated with demons and Hell too - and his color scheme dives down to dark blue in the last episode, when ready for battle. While he does look like the most average human ever underneath, it's quite interesting to see that Adam with a color swap and changing nothing else would fit right at home in Hell. Same thing for the Exorcists when in uniform : monochrome, outright more creepy looking than most demons, they actually look like classic demons (minus the tails) unlike the creative diversity of physionomies in Hell, that Heaven mirrors with its own twist on it.

It's kinda like watching a clichéd stereotype costume versus the real thing : Heaven is so out of touch with what's going on below that the Exorcists end up being a mockery of what they mass-hunt, for extra petty points (kinda reminds of what Native Americans went through. Yep. Not a happy thought). And they are just as bloodthirsty, if not more, than the demons themselves (giving you a hard sideglance, Lute), to the point of fanaticism - something that could actually be seen in HELL. Let's repeat, this is their whole activity that shows up once per year, and let's speculate that they do some training, but outside of that ? Plus, they're so confident in themselves that their fighting tactic looks more like "stick weapon into demon and move onto the next" than anything advanced, and didn't see it coming that their own weapons can perma-disconnect them from god's Wi-fi. This is suicidal overconfidence right there - again, something better seen in Hell.

Which makes it very interesting if you put Adam VS Charlie from a virtues and sins point of view : Charlie the Hellborn demon, daughter of Lucifer (who is the embodiment of a Sin himself, namely Pride), checks all virtues while Adam checks all capital sins :

He's wrathful and a revenge-seeker, hating being dismissed or put into question (seething with rage when Charlie and Emily call him indirectly out on his behavior, along Lute), while she's kind and patient, only calling onto anger in rightful situations.

He's often seen stuffing his face with food (ribs) and drinks on various photos and in person, and has a noticeable gut - something Lucifer remarks on that he "kinda let himself go". Charlie is all down for a good drink after a hard day of work, and while Husk mentions that she can get drunk to the point of spouting insecurities, it doesn't happen often and she knows that overindulging is bad. She also makes efforts to get rid of Angel's stash of drugs.

Talking about Adam's libido would be like trying to barge into open doors : he jumps on whoever he wants and even throws a tantrum when someone has no interest in him, like a certain "Virtue chick". He constantly makes crass remarks, finds Charlie and Vaggie's relationship "hot as fuck though" and basically his moral compass has a dick-shaped arrow. Charlie practices temperance and advocates the healthier parts of chastity, since losing oneself into lust isn't a good thing in the long run, but she also seems to lead a happy intimate life with her girlfriend.

The lust thing also ties about Adam's envy issues : Lucifer literally out bow-chicka-wow-wowed him, his first wife left, and Adam is overcompensating hard, pun unintended. Whatever others have or do, he'll want better or do better. He's in for his own comfort and fun, and whenever there's a threat of something better he doesn't have, he wants it. He HAS to be on top, or else the world might as well stop functioning, and is seen seeking Sera's approval. He'll try to sabotage everything out of pettiness, just like he outed Vaggie's true identity to Charlie, because the latter pointed out the truth. Charlie, on her side, is selfless, generous and genuinely wanting to help out, no matter the sometimes litteral cost. She took in Angel and Pentious, offered them a chance to be better, and doesn't resent them for their faults. For someone born as a Princess, she'd rather be addressed as a commoner and hates using her title to force things ("But that's so meaaaan !").

Adam is a selfish bastard that's all take and no give, hinted at his first rejection with Lilith. He thinks that, as the First Man, he's entitled to everything and should be given whatever he wants immediately. Charlie is very much the opposite, even being a bit too much give and almost no take.

Laziness ? Well, goes right in hand with letting himself go. Outside of the Exterminations, he barely does anything, and when he does, he makes it all about him. He's sitting on his own laurels due to the "achievement" of being the first human soul in Heaven, and hasn't bothered adapting his behavior any bit since. Charlie on her own side is diligent, committing to her wishes and dreams to save Sinners and redempt them that she's literally outside during (or right after) an Extermination, as seen when she meets Vaggie. She's also no stranger to pulling all-nighters and go through whole boards of plans to make it work.

And finally, pride. Oh boy saying that Adam is prideful is like stating that the universe is big. His first meeting with Charlie should tell you all you need to know. He's self-entitled, a pure breed of absolute self-centered jackass, and needs to have the spotlight on him or else he'll combust. Something not going his way, as seen when he gets his "original ass" trounced by Lucifer ? He goes for a balls-out tantrum, saying that people should worship him since "all of humanity came from these fucking nuts !" Compare Charlie who's too meek to truly put her foot down when only for herself (for friends she'll do it just fine) and hates to use her status as Princess of Hell. Whenever she gains confidence, it's never in a self-centered way : Ready For This has her asking "if you'll permit me" to others for the leader role, wanting to face the threat together with her army, on equal grounds. Even against Adam she's holding back (as hinted when tapping into more power when stopping him from landing a sneak attack on her dad), and is never bragging about her abilities.

So, in the end, what do we have ? A very flawed First Man (who is an outright villain) looking very close to a demon, versus a way more humane actual demon Princess. Which raises the question : what makes a bad person, and a good person ? As seen with Helluva Boss, so far outside of Mammon all of the seen Sins are very decent people that do indulge in vice, but know the limits and only do it with the ones that can handle it : Beelzebub encourages overindulgence and gluttony for its own sake, not escapism or self-destruction. Asmodeus is very vocally against forced lust, and under the façade also doesn't mind romance. Lucifer himself is very creative and has done astounishing feats, flaunting his power in Hell's Greatest Dad, but while he's low on self-worth and confidence after millenia of seeing only the worst, also teaches his daughter to stand up for herself ("You don't take shit from other demons.") AND is willing to use said power to help.

Bottom line : they don't harm others with it. And, ain't that kinda the whole thing ? Adam literally slaughter ex-humans, his own kind, out of twisted amusement, and hurts everyone around him to come out on top. Charlie is mindful and willing to help, while not forgetting herself in the process (more or less). Adam is clearly going overboard on all his vices while Charlie, who does have some too (drinking to the point of being actually drunk), is more balanced.

What makes one a jackass ? BEING a jackass. Nothing else.

Welp, this one is kinda the odd one out, dunno if I'll have more like that one but I hope you had fun.

Again, Masterpost here.

#hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel thoughts #hazbin hotel charlie #hazbin charlie #hazbin hotel vaggie #hazbin vaggie #hazbin hotel adam #hazbin adam #hazbin exorcists

[julianobungus]

I came up with this idea back in the summer when we were discussing Phillip/Amelia ship. That was before you decided to take a break from writing long posts, and I thought I'd just write it when everything would befine, but this idea makes me suffer from brain rot, so I'm finally telling it.

So, this is a crossover of the Owl House and Infinity Train.

Philip, after returning to the human realm, recovers faster than in the canon. And he learns how much the world has changed. He is glad that humanity has created so many things without any magic, but the realization that his views are outdated, that magic is no longer considered evil, that witch hunters are not considered heroes, makes him feel very bad.

He studies everything that has happened over the centuries. This world is not the world that he left once. There are completely different problems in this world (Which he could solve with magic, but he can't even think about it). It makes him feel even worse. Some part of him wants to believe that all this is not true, some part of him wants to return to the Boiling Isles and continue to rule the witches, as he has done for many years, some part of him just wants to be a hero or at least a good person.

He uses the ability to turn into slime to get into different places and steal different things. He feels bad that he has to do this to people, but this is the only way. After some time, he decides to leave Gravesfield and move to another place that will not remind him of the home that is no longer there.

And that's how he gets on the Infinity Train. I think that Philip would be the first passenger whose number would cover the whole body immediately after getting on the Train.

This place amazes him, each car has its own separate world with different inhabitants. But he doesn't know what to do with them. The variety of these creatures reminds him of the inhabitants of Boiling Isles, but he knows that his actions on the Isles would be considered evil if he told anyone about them.

He remembers what he heard from the video from the Conductor, about the Denizens and about the essence of the number. All this sounds strange and so unlike what he managed to learn about the modern Human Realm. He's not going to just believe the words of some sphere. If he was naive, he would have been dead long ago. So, he decides to study the Train the same way he once studied the Boiling Isles.

Honestly, I'm not sure if he would have called his real name or called himself Belos. But he would act the same as in Elsewhere and Elsewhen. As Lilith said, “The confidence, the compliments. He says everything you want to hear.”

He wears his suit, he has bags with things from the Human Realm and he is ready for anything. And at some point, he meets Amelia. Maybe it was just a chance meeting, or maybe she was purposefully looking for him, a passenger with such a high number, after she saw him on one of the monitors in the Engine.

She is a human being just like him, so he asks for help. And Amelia is shocked to hear Alrick's voice. At first, she thinks that Philip is another Turtle Person who can transform into a human, like Hazel. But his number looks so real, unlike Hazel's number. She agrees to help Philip, simply because it is the only way to hear Alric's voice besides Aloysius. And it is more enjoyable for her to talk to a human than to a turtle.

What do you think about it? Oh, and I do not know where to put it, but Simon is alive and he has Catra as his partner. This ship still seems interesting to me

Wawawa I love this! For real, this was a delight to read. Philip finally meeting a human who kind've(??) understands him? He has no idea of the effect his voice has on Amelia though, not that she needs to tell him right now. Amelia herself honestly can't explain how it's happened, but she doesn't want to leave the guy who sounds so much like him - *and* is a human man, as a plus.

And don't you worry, Simatra is still very much alive in this lil joint AU. They're still travelling the train, with Simon having a high, body-spanning number, and Catra dreading the day he'll have to leave (she understands what happens now), although she doesn't really talk about that with him. Not right now, anyway.

imagine all four of them meeting up.

#Simatra #Philmelia #crossover ship #crossover shipping #i'm back on my crossover shipping bullshit #belmelia #Amelia/Belos #Belos/Amelia

[seraphtrevs]

this question's been asked everywhere for years but i don't get how "family is everything" salamancas let Hector stay in that nursing home instead of getting him a live-in caretaker or something? or why Lalo didn't let him live with him? particularly lalo bc he clearly loves his uncle the most yet he didn't see him for months until after the incident too

It's a real head-scratcher. I mean, the "real" answer is that as a prequel, they were locked in - Hector HAS to be in a home because that's where he is in Breaking Bad. But I've cobbled together some in-universe reasons, too, because I live for headcanons:

Lalo's job in the cartel seems to be cleaning up messes. Maybe he was in the middle of something he could not walk away from, even for a minute, and this was the soonest he could make it. But who knows, maybe Lalo flew in for a few days to see Hector when he was in a coma and correctly determined that the only thing to be done was wait and see, which he could do from anywhere

Gus hooked Hector up with the best medical care money can buy. Without the intervention of the fancy doctors he hired, Hector would likely still be in a coma. We as the audience know that Gus instructed the doctor to lay off once it was determined that Hector was mentally alert but trapped in a nonfunctioning body, but the Salamancas don't know that. All they know is that Hector's recovery was a longshot and he pulled through. Lalo might feel like he's getting the best possible treatment and doesn't want to move him away from that

Lalo also might think that being in the US is safer for Hector. Lalo severely underestimated Gus, right up until the end, assuming he was a meek little house cat. I'm not sure he was ever able to make heads or tails of why Gus saved Hector's life. Maybe he thought Gus was trying to kiss Eladio's ass by proving he was a team player. He certainly didn't guess that Gus wanted him alive because he viewed his condition as torture and it pleased him to see Hector powerless; Lalo definitely would have moved him if he knew that was the case

It's extremely painful for Lalo to see his powerful tio as an invalid. Lalo might have put off visiting him because he knew once he saw it for himself, the reality would set in. It would be unusually cowardly of him, but for all of his larger-than-life traits, Lalo is still a fallible human being in the end

Lalo might have had plans to move Hector to his hacienda - there isn't really any evidence that's the case, but there's not any evidence that it's not the case, either. Maybe when he took Nacho home, he also planned to get things set up for tio...

...but maybe not. We don't get an exact location for Lalo's home, but I get the feeling that it's in the middle of nowhere. What if Hector had an emergency and they couldn't get him to the hospital on time? Lalo could, of course, hire doctors and nurses to give him round-the-clock care, but short of building a hospital wing off his hacienda, it's still a risk to his health to keep him somewhere very rural...

...and maybe Lalo doesn't really want him there. He's very devoted to his tio and doesn't seem to shy away from his disability, but it's one thing to visit a sick relative and another to have them in your home. Lalo's home is his sanctuary - where he goes to get away from stress. Having tio there, even though he loves him, might be too distressing. Again, this is selfish and cowardly, but he wouldn't be the first person to fail an ailing family member, even though he loves him

None of the other Salamancas we meet are capable of handling Hector's care - like, not even in a hiring the right people kind of way. Maybe at one point Tuco could have handled it - he seemed to do a pretty good job with abuelita - but by the time he got out of jail, he was severely unstable, even for him. He did take Hector out of the home, and we all saw how well that turned out. I don't know why Hector's child/ren didn't get involved (we know he has at least once since he has a grandson). Maybe they're dead or estranged. We don't really know anything about his grandson, but there could be a host of reasons why he wasn't up to taking charge of Hector's care. And there aren't any other Salamancas. He really is alone in the end.

#hector salamanca #lalo salamanca #better call saul #asks

[randomly-a-fan]

The Deal of the “After” Life-time (Ritual and Finale)

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

The night finally came, and Papawise has gotten the robes for everyone who is taking part. Candyman, however, didn’t know how the ritual works; nor does he know that it involves fire. “Wait, you didn’t mention that there’s going to be a bonfire involved.” Candyman freaked out in his own characteristic way. ���To bring back a human being who isn’t a demon or is invulnerable, the bonfire is the key to MJ’s freedom.” Papawise explained. “Nope, sorry, I’m not taking part of something that involves fire; I was burned alive a long time ago, well, not again!” Candyman exclaimed. “You can’t turn back now! You already gave up your Reeses’ Wrapper to make ash; if you turn back now, the ritual won’t work, and MJ won’t come back!” Papawise explained in an annoyed tone.

Malon wanted to help Candyman get over his fear, and she knows how. “Candyman, you know how my mommy is terrified of bees? Well, since you liked my mom, and she sees some good in you, she needed to get over her fear of bees a lot better. She got used to your wasps and bees, will it make a difference if you witness fire for just one night?” Malon asked, making him see from MJ’s point-of-view. Candyman sighed and closed his eyes. “I’ve admired your mom for her sweetness in baking, and her personality… I never knew that she was afraid of bees… Yet, she likes my company most times…” Then Candyman approaches the fire pit and looked over at Papawise. “I’ll do it… But not for you, but for my victim.” Candyman proclaimed. Papawise shrugged before he gets the fire started.

Aquarius couldn’t find a sitter for Kandy, so she thought of having Malon take her daughter back to her Cabin and watch over her until the ritual is over. “You think you can handle Kandy for a little bit, while we all summon your mom to come back?” Aquarius asked to be sure. “Of course, it’s no trouble; I’ll keep Kandy distracted by putting on the Winnie the Pooh Series.” Malon said excitedly while carrying Kandy back to her house; Kandy wasn’t into Disney to the slightest, so she’d try to squirm out and escape, but Malon is too strong and wouldn’t let her loose.

***

Dream Realm

MJ has been awfully quiet; all she did the whole time is sit on her bed. Her autism symptoms are also affective, she’s been shaky and is starting to kick her legs. Freddy came in after seeing that MJ is being more ‘active’. “Nice to see you’re gaining more composure…” Freddy sat next to her on the bed, which made MJ whimper and scooched further away from him. She screamed after she was being grabbed by the shoulders with Freddy on the other side of the bed. ‘How did he do that?’. If MJ wasn’t affected by the poison water, she would’ve prepared herself for Freddy’s unexpected phenomenon, and his ways of speech, but now, MJ is like a frightened, confused puppy. “Hm… I guess the water has made your ASD worse… No matter; I know that you wanted to be free from this hell I’ve literally put you in, so, I thought we make an arrangement.” Freddy suggested.

MJ wasn’t paying attention to Freddy, but she is still listening, but Freddy didn’t know that autistic people can constantly be distracted. “Hey, you have to listen…” Freddy laid a hand on her cheek to make her look at him, but then she turned back to where she was looking. “What the fuck are you looking at? LOOK AT ME.” MJ flinched by Freddy’s tone that she started to whimper and tear up. “Just listen to my proposition, okay?” MJ nodded nervously while wiping the tears away. “Once I take you back to the real world, you will do my bidding, and remind everyone that I still exist, that way, I’ll be more powerful again. Am I being clear for you, my dear?” Freddy asked. MJ was feeling hesitant; can she trust him? Something in her head tells her to not to, but what will happen if she refuses? Will he hurt her? “If you say ‘no’, there’s no leaving this boiler room.” Freddy warned. He assumes that pressuring her will make her answer quickly and say ‘yes’. But after Freddy finished talking, she stares back to where she was staring before. “NO… ANSWER THE QUESTION YOU BITCH.” Freddy roared. MJ got so frightened that she ran out of her room to get away. “You can’t run from Freddy; This is my world, and there’s no escaping Freddy!” Freddy yelled out as he gets up to look for MJ.

Real World

Papawise got the fire started, and he got the moonlight shine down upon them. “Alright, now just remember, when MJ appears and you see her on fire, DON’T touch her; otherwise, she’ll feel the burning flames and cause some possible death. Once she’s free, I’ll restore her memory.” Papawise announced. “But what if ‘you-know-who’ comes out?” Aquarius asked. “I’m afraid you’re not going to like it; to keep Fred—uh, I mean… You-know-who from roaming the real world again, one of us has to take MJ’s place, or… Which may not happen, she has to fight him off into the fire, in order for her to be free without needing one of us to sacrifice for her.” Papawise answered. 

So, after explaining the warnings and the rules, Papawise started saying the ritual while sprinkling the ashes into the flames, where the fire changes its colours and causes the flames to rise. “Now we shall… Revive the innocent soul of ours; MJ Voorhees…” Papawise praised.

Meanwhile in the Dream Realm

“Come out, come out, wherever you are… I see you…” Freddy called out in a spine-chilling accent. MJ was tearing up while hiding in one of the lockers in fear. That is until, she saw the light-of-passage, and she was being lifted out of the hell she was in, just as the moment Freddy barged open the door, and that he saw MJ disappeared. However, he has a way up, and he knows that MJ will not survive a few seconds in the real world.

Back to the Real World

When everyone saw the fiery figure coming out from the bonfire, Jason nearly teared up, he just wanted to hug her and kiss her, but he knew he can’t just yet; especially when he isn’t sure if she’s even comfortable around him at this time. As the flames faded away, she was standing still while looking around, unaware that she was naked. Of course, Papawise was aware that she’ll come out naked, like all revivors do when coming out from the flames.

But as she was focusing on the hockey-masked figure in front of her, she panicked while trying to back away. “Don’t let her back into the fire, or she’ll burn to death!” Papawise shouted. Before anyone could save her, out comes Freddy. “SURPRISE.” Freddy shouted with a laugh. “I believe this one here… Is mine.” Freddy said as he grabbed hold of MJ by the neck, as he was suffocating her. Jason was going to wrack Freddy until MJ bravely bit him by the arm hard. “OW… You bitch!” Freddy was going to smite MJ with his glove until The Candyman charged at him. “Don’t you dare lay a butter knife on MY victim!” Because of that move, Not only was Freddy being dragged back to the Dream Realm, but The Candyman sacrificed his own life… By choice. “NOOO, SHE WAS MINE, MINE!” Freddy screamed before the fire burned out. Aquarius cried to see The Candyman gone. “He… He gave up his freedom… for MJ… Despite the fact…” Pennywise rested Aquarius’ head onto his shoulder for her to cry on. “Despite the fact that he was afraid of fire… I know…” Pennywise finished the sentence for her, while rubbing her back.

***     

After everyone cooled down, MJ was huddled into a ball in fright, she still can’t remember anything. That is until Papawise came in on the act, like he promised. “Once I restore your memory… You’ll know who your friends were… And who your family was…” Papawise said to MJ. What Papawise didn’t mention to anyone, is that restoring MJ’s memory, also weakens him. Honestly to him, he’s got nothing to live for, with Aquarius not allowing him to see his grand-clown-kids, or letting them see him. He can’t hunt as good as he used to. He’s finished. The Grays were shocked when they saw Papawise collapse on the ground while heaving and gasping for air. “Papawise, what’s happened to you?” Pennywise asked.

Jason didn’t care what was going on with Papawise, right now, he only cared about his wife. When MJ reopened her eyes, she gasped in surprise and quickly wrapped her arms around her lover. But once the hug departed, she just realized that she’s naked, she would have screamed, but she’s still a mute. Jason took off his robe and put it on his wife to hide her ‘dignity’. Jason then looked over at Papawise, asking why MJ can’t talk. “I’m afraid I’m unable to restore her voice, all I can do is restore her memory… On the plus side, at least she’s here, and that she’s with the man she loved.” Papawise explained. Jason nodded before carrying his wife back to the cabin. “We better get back to the cabin too, to fetch our daughter.” Aquarius explained, as she was thinking about Malon with their daughter Kandy. “You go, I’m carrying Papawise back to the car.” Pennywise said, before he picked Papawise up bridal-style. “You know, this is pretty ironic, you carrying me like I’m some damsel-in-distress, which I am at this moment.” Papawise chuckled. “Shut it, you’re very heavy!” Pennywise groaned. “Sorry… Must’ve eaten too many overeating teens.” Papawise admits.

***

When Aquarius opened the door for Jason with MJ in his arms, she noticed that Kandy was wide awake watching ‘The Black Cauldron’, instead of the ‘Winnie the Pooh Series’ like Malon said she would. Malon has been hiding her face under the pillow the whole time, being afraid of the villain of the movie. “Kandy made you watch a scary movie did she?” Aquarius asked with a smirk. “Uh huh… She keeps screaming over the ‘Winnie the Pooh Series’, so I made her choose… And now… Could you possibly shut the movie off? Now that you’re going home with Kandy.” Malon explained then asked while shaking. Aquarius laughed before shutting the movie off for her. “Alright you naughty girl, time to go home and get ready for bed.” Aquarius said to Kandy.

Before the two head out, Kandy sensed MJ’s inability to speak, so she quickly squirmed to reach for MJ. “You wanted to say goodnight? Well, okay then.” Aquarius approaches Kandy towards MJ, expecting her to give her a kiss, but instead, she laid her hand on her forehead as her eyes glow blue. Once that’s done, she was expecting for MJ to speak when she wakes up. “Goodnight Jason, goodnight Malon… And goodnight to you MJ.” Aquarius said as she rubbed her head gently.

After Aquarius left, Malon got up to see her mom. “Is mommy okay? I know how much she’s been suffering.” Malon asked while tearing up. Jason just gave his daughter a blank stare before carrying his wife to their room to lay her down to rest. Jason was unaware of Kandy’s secret power to heal, so he’s still heartbroken, including Malon, after he have explained to her that she will never talk again. The first thing Jason did is that he gives her a big hug, and then escorted her to bed, but not her bed; he wanted Malon to sleep with her mom just to snuggle, while he takes the couch; since he’s too big and heavy for Malon’s little bed, and that it can break from his weight.

***

In the middle of the night, MJ heard a faint noise of Malon crying in her sleep, saying her mom’s name over and over as she was tearing up in her sleep. MJ can see that Malon was very upset over what has happened to her before. “It’s okay baby… It’s okay, mommy’s here… Mommy’s here…” MJ spoke in a soft tone, which was actually her first time she spoke since the Dream Realm experience. MJ’s mind went back to Jason, so she decided to get up and check on her husband.

She saw that Jason was just sitting up on the sofa, when he’s supposed to be sleeping at this point. MJ carefully approaches her lover when she came from behind the couch. “Hey… Sweetie…” MJ whispered. Jason jolted when he heard a familiar voice. He can not believe that his wife just spoke, he got up and removed his mask, so he can hug and kiss her. Poor Jason was in a crying mess, so MJ rubbed her husband’s back to comfort him. “I know Jay, I know… I didn’t think I could talk again either… I’m sorry for what I’ve put everyone through…” Jason shuts her up with a passionate kiss, wanting her to not blame herself. MJ took the hint and decided to not dwell on it anymore, what’s important is that she’s back and everyone is happy. “I love you Jay…” MJ said as she teared up. Jason kissed her eye that had a tear in it. They both decided to snuggle on the couch for a while before heading back to bed with Malon, if Malon wasn’t so big, they could’ve slept together as a family of three.

Bonus

It wasn’t a total loss for The Candyman, he’s been giving Freddy Krueger a hard time in the dream realm. The bees were attracted to the heat in the boiler room, and they keep on getting into Freddy’s food. “Damn it Daniel! Get your bees out of here, I’m trying to eat!” Freddy yelled out. “I don’t feel like it… Try asking me later.” The Candyman suggested with a grin. The Shadow Man had to admit that it was pretty funny to see Freddy Krueger so annoyed by this change.

When Freddy was finished with his deeds on killing people in their dreams, he wanted to have a rest, only to have found some bees under the sheets. “DANIEL.” Freddy growled. “That’s it, this is the last straw!” Freddy teleported himself to the real world to talk to his ex-friend, Papawise.

Papawise gets to finally be at home with Pennywise and his family for a time, until he got his strength back. That is, until he received a knock on the window. When Papawise saw that it was Freddy, he was fumed. So, he went out to meet with him with his walker. “What do you want, Crispy? The Grays are asleep!” Papawise asked in an angry tone. “Pops… You gotta help me, Candyman is ruining my life in the Dream Realm; there are bees everywhere, and they are taking most of my soul food, they even took my bed, and you DON’T want to know where I’ve been stung at!” Freddy grieved while looking down; giving Papawise the hint where he got stung. “So… After taking MJ’s soul and try to destroy her, you wanted me to help you, in what cost? Look what your actions did to me, I can’t even walk anymore!” Papawise said in a mad tone as usual. “Compared to you, I’m like a normal human-being, thanks to you.” Papawise added. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s all in good fun. I tell you what, I’ll give you back your strength, if you help me deal with The Candyman.” Freddy offered. “Well… I suppose I could give you a hand, but FIRST… My strength…” Papawise requested. Freddy rolled his eyes before regaining his strength. “There, now you’re yourself again, now what do you suppose we do about Bee-Man?” Freddy asked.

Papawise chuckled. “I’m not going to deal with The Candyman… You will… Just let him loose, then he’ll be out of your hair, wherever you still have any… WAH HAH WAH HAH—” “Okay, okay STOP. But if I just free him, all my work will be for nothing!” Freddy complained. Papawise wrapped his arm around Freddy to make his own offer. “Hey, Crusty Fred, how about you just let The Candyman go, then I’ll give you the privilege to roam the real world again? The only condition is that you go back to your usual hometown in Springwood; your powers are only good there, doing your deeds here will only weaken you, which will make you useless. Fair enough?” Papawise said as he took out his arm. Freddy still hated Papawise, but he wanted to roam again, so he decided to shake on it.

***

Once The Candyman was free, he went over to The Voorhees place to go to their bathroom mirror. When Jason saw The Candyman, he decided to see him while his two girls were still asleep. Jason wanted to know how he was free, but The Candyman just wanted to go to the bathroom to return to his world. “I drove the demon mad, so I’m free to be on my way. So, if you excuse me…” The Candyman walked passed Jason, with him following. “Oh… One more thing, tell MJ, that what ever she put herself in to, I’m able to help her while I can. Tell her that.” The Candyman requested. Jason only tilted his head in confusion, but his head tilt is the answer that The Candyman will take, before he heads for home.

When The Candyman is gone, Jason decided to make his family a hearty breakfast, just how his wife will love it, and his daughter too, only, not so hearty, but with more love in his style of cooking.

The End  

#Friday the 13th #A Nightmare on Elm Street #IT #IT Chapter 2 #The Candyman #Daniel Robitaille #Jason Voorhees #Freddy Krueger #Pennywise #Pennywise the Dancing Clown #1990 IT #Papawise #MJ #Malon #Aquarius #Aquarius the Singing Clown #Kandy #Fandom #Fanfiction

[realbeeing]

BEING AN ARTIST IN THE AGE OF AHRIMAN It seems like the devolution of society into a techno-dystopia is happening more and more rapidly, most notably through the now omnipresent opportunity to indulge in dopamine gratification through social media, games, p*rn, and anything else the human ego could conceivably desire; all stimuli, whether benevolent or malevolent, will be captured and milked dry by the tentacles of our new AI system. The common sense answer to this conundrum is to simply tune out of it, embrace nature, real life relationships, etc- for as much as this is the age of Ahriman’s dominance, it is also the time that the Christ spark is alive in every human- if we have the eyes to see it/the heart to feel it. It gets complicated though when the technological tentacles have a full grip on almost anything to do with communication and expression, which are vital parts of human life, and especially to artists .

 If you’re an artist there’s seemingly a need to play the game of social media, even in the act of just posting your work, if your artwork is to ever be seen. Though there is a romantic notion of making art for oneself first, I can’t deny that I also create things to communicate, otherwise it would feel kind of pointless. The old modes and institutions of art, even so-called alternative ones, are completely subsumed in the social media ego gratification paradigm so it’s also not a question of going a more traditional route with your art; no matter where you turn people, even subconsciously, are measuring you against your metrics. Thereby turning the act of creation into a mechanical process, completed with an algorithm in mind, striving for certain numeric values rather than the crystallization of a living idea. The fact is I don’t want to sell myself out so I can be an artist and if I don’t have integrity than my art is gonna suck eventually anyway. By sell myself out I simply mean tailor myself in a certain image or give a shit about any online reactions. In person that would be completely different and I would care deeply about reactions , art can open a dialogue but here on social media we’re talking to each other thru the medium of a literal black mirror ...Boohoo, that’s an unpopular unpleasant opinion I’m spouting, I realize.

Basically I’m talking about how the current technology impacts, or rather tries to murder, the inner creative process. And without that process - there is no art, there’s only posers. The actual scary part is that because I hold the view which I just stated my art will be by default filtered out of the algorithm and the online systems. Because I don’t make stupid tiktoks and whatnot, I don’t make art about trendy social issues, I don’t play their game. My work/ideas will not be seen. And that’s ok.. but artists (and every other sector of society- agriculture, medicine, education, etc. ) will have to carve out our own means and modes of communication and community in the near future...alternative systems... if we are to create a future apart from this all-consuming machine. 

I’m being overly negative in order to make a point here that I rarely see online. Obviously I will continue making art and will evolve through it and nothing can take that from me. But to share your creativity often feels like walking a fine line between authenticity and a dangerous veering-off into the fantasy land of fake, robotic achievement-- an addiction as much as anything else. Ahriman is the force Rudolf Steiner writes about as that which traps us in a materialistic outlook. There is nothing more Ahrimanic than taking your art, which (hopefully) comes from a place of true inspiration, and feeding it to the “swine” of the likes and views interface. Is it a coincidence that so many once-brilliant artists and pop stars become the most unhinged and start flashing Illuminati signs in their videos? Lol. The dangling carrot of “making it” in whatever format is a LIE... not because it’s not possible, but because it’s truly not something good for the soul and its natural evolution into greater integrity, humility and love of life (versus narcissistic “love” of self). This was just my chaotic thoughts typed out on my phone so there’s more to say but maybe I’ll write an essay ✨

#art #artists #dystopia #black mirror #technology #ahriman #consciousness #rudolf steiner #collage #christ spark

[twdmusicboxmystery]

ToTWD 1x06: La Dona, Part 1

Okay, so this episode was weird. That’s the first thing I said to my fellow theorists after watching it. This episode is so weird. I’m not even sure what we’re supposed to glean from it. And that doesn’t happen very often. It’s very bizarre. Feels like a supernatural horror flick. I knew I’d need to watch it a bunch more before I really “got” it. But I was busy the first part of the week, and @galadrieljones​ beat me to the interpretation of it. So, I’ll give you predominantly her observations today, and then I’ll do mine tomorrow. Enjoy!

@galadrieljones:

So first off, this episode begins with some extreme psychological disorientation re: the exaggerated crane shots that sort of spin around over the woods and then zero in on Dali and Eric climbing a steep hill. I saw this as them sort of clawing their way out of hell, in a way, and I knew immediately that things were not going to be as they seemed, once again.

That brings me the names. This was very interesting to me!! Idalia is actually of Italian origin, meaning “of the sun.” Further, the nickname “Dali” conjures the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali, who painted “The Persistence of Memory,” or the painting with the melted clocks, inspired by the theory of relativity. I think the allusion to the Surreal here is purposeful.

The melting clocks, too, are so loaded for me, in terms of all the ways tptb likes to use clocks, and to mess with time.

There are a couple instances of blatant Find Me callbacks—notably the isolated cabin in the woods, the screened in porch, and this painting of a fall landscape with a river running through it.

 (I had to brighten up the shot of the painting considerably. But I do see a distinct river.)

When you were writing about the non-linear storytelling of Davon, @twdmusicboxmystery​, I was thinking about Find Me and how it’s also told out of order. I thought of the railroad spikes and how they’re also out of order (we see three and then two). Something is going on here. They’re teaching us to appreciate stories being told out of order, via flashback, and also through goggles of extreme disorientation, memory loss, repressed emotions, and psychological trauma. Do with that info what you will. This episode informs Find Me. Ann I also agree it reminds me of “Ghosts.” It somewhat reminds me of “On the Inside,” thought the twist in “On the Inside” is that all of it was actually real. Everything in “La Dona” is a delusion.

In terms of the timeline, I can't prove it, but I get the sense this is happening relatively soon after the turn. Like within a year maybe. They were with a community and things went bad. The dialogue in the end is vague but it sounds and seems like something went bad with the woman named Maria, that Dali killed her, and the other ppl in the community were asking questions, so Eric killed them. We see him killing humans in his flashbacks just before he “sees” Maria “alive” outside the gate.

In terms of characterization: The roles of the characters are deceiving. Both seem like the antagonist at some point. At first, it seems like Eric is unhinged and indifferent to human life, but later it seems like Dali has somehow deceived him into killing for her, that she has some sort of control over him.

Eric really reminds me of Chris from Fear. He even looks like Chris. Chris wrestles with indifference, Darwinian thinking, and he has a very hard time coping with the fact that his dad “killed” his mom (who was bitten). This causes him to overcompensate as a “protector.” He kills Reed, a member of the hostile pirate group who tries to commandeer the Abigail, and after that, everyone starts to view him differently, and he’s never the same. He slowly starts creeping everyone out, esp Alicia. At Celia’s compound she’s convinced he’s going to kill her, and it’s all based on a huge misunderstanding. Eventually, Chris, who is super confused and struggling to cope with the realities of the new world, begins to think that nobody trusts him, and in this, becomes a person no one can trust. He eventually gets himself killed when he falls in with a rough crowd who, after he is terribly injured in a car crash, execute him. Chris is a cautionary tale. He’s the bizarro Carl. He’s Carl after the prison if Rick had not had Hershel as a mentor. A lot about this episode feels cautionary, or as usual, inverted.

Eric also seems like a kind of alternate version of Daryl, like a younger version of Daryl, if Daryl were more confident and sure of himself. Or maybe if Daryl were who he is in "Alone," but all the time, and with awareness of how charming he actually is. Eric is handsome and aloof. A classic bad boy. This is affirmed by the parrot: “Hola, guapo," ie: "Hello, handsome." One of his outfits later in the episode even reminds me of Daryl's outfit in Alone: Black jacket over tan/neutral shirt. I personally thought the actor was super hot, too. Lol. But that's just my opinion.

Dali is a less obvious character to me. She’s not a clear Beth proxy, just as Eric isn’t a clear Daryl proxy. Eric is the one who wants to “live” and not just survive, but Dali has a spiritual connection to this place and seems to be in touch with the powerfully feminine “witch” forces at work in the house. There are subtle implications that she herself may be a bruja or have some connection to Alma, or like she has some sort of “powers” that she doesn’t understand. I think it’s just illusion. I don’t think there are actual paranormal things happening in the episode. It’s psychological horror, like that old story “The Yellow Wallpaper.” She has “witch” energy. It’s unclear what her role was in the events from before La Dona. She blames Eric for something really bad that happened, but he says they did it “together.” How much is she controlling him vs. how much is he controlling her? It’s unclear.

I don’t know if perhaps Eric and Dali are being drugged. They do eat the soup, and they do drink the water. Toward the end, Eric comments that the water tastes bad. There’s a whole to-do in the beginning, too, about how the water “works.”

This would bring us back to "What We Become" and the possibility that Daryl may have been drugged or drinking too much alcohol during Find Me. All the mushroom symbolism, Carol dosing the caffeine pills in "Ghosts," etc.

Okay, so as an “Alone” replay, or more if an “Alone”-gone-wrong situation: Things really crystallized for me when Eric basically proposes to Dali, asking her to “settle down” with him in “this sick ass house.” The sick-ass house reminded me of the suck-ass camp, as well as Alone as a marriage allegory. In Alone, Beth and Daryl come upon an undertakers residence and a funeral home. It’s been lived in, but the owner isn’t there. They eat some of his food, but leave some, too. Daryl proposes that if he comes back, they just “make it work.” In La Dona, Dali leads them to a bruja’s house. How she knows about this place is questionable and has something to do with Maria, the walker who is following them. Inside, Alma offers them food but no more. When Eric shows he’s unwilling to “make it work,” she “dies,” seeming to “curse” them. The house is filled with ominous, Catholic iconography, some of which seems to be alive with malice. The funeral home, on the other hand, is a genial, warm place. It feels physically and spiritually clean, with the funeral room uplifting and full of music. Even as the home is situated in a cemetery, it doesn’t feel haunted at all, or, like I said, Beth and Daryl are “new haunts.”

Toward the end of La Dona, there are framed photos of Eric and Dali lying in bed, but it looks like they’re lying in coffins. In Alone, Daryl lies in a coffin and refers to it as a bed.

Now this is the one where I like laughed out loud as I was nursing my baby. When Eric names the bird Paco, he says he's naming it after his sister's dog. I said to myself, this better not be a one-eyed dog. And then...it was lol. Yet another moment where I felt tptb were talking directly to us. Eric calls the bird Paco, after his sister’s one-eyed pug. The one-eyed disposition of the dog along with the parrot actually meet, too, via the pirate theme. The parrot is a proxy for the one-eyed dog. Both also provide warnings to the characters.

Another interesting Alone parallel happens when Dali is slashing at imaginary walkers in the heavy fog. This is an allusion to the other half of Alone, when Maggie, Sasha, and Bob fight off a bunch of actual walkers in very heavy fog.

In Alone, I always took that as a metaphor. There are many hidden dangers in this episode. Beware. Ofc in "La Dona," the dangers aren't merely hidden. They're imagined.

On a simpler note: The Bruja as a figure of Mexican folklore fits with the Chupacabra as well as La Lechuza, from Fear. I haven't worked this one out yet. There is a lot of crossover with the Native American imagery in this episode, like when Alma's voice can be heard whispering "Get off my land," or something to that effect.

Um, so...the Jesus frogs. That was crazy? Idk what to make of that. Does anyone have any ideas on what the heck was going on with those hopping Jesuses?? They DID look like frogs, and frogs are a thing, ofc. "Go Tell it to the Frogs" and "Them" both have big frog themes. Frogs are a Biblical plague, etc. Maybe it's that simple. Idk. But it was crazy and I was not expecting that!! Also, Ann, I thought of you fondly when the peacock feathers in the wallpaper started blinking like creepy eyes.

Here's something else I wasn't sure of. Eric seems to have two dots tattooed (?) under his right eye. I thought they were maybe just freckles but the actor Danny Ramirez doesn’t have freckles there, so that’s a choice.

My final note is on folie a deaux.

This is very interesting to me. It's the type of disorder that Gina thinks she and Blair are sharing in Blair/Gina. It's a kind of shared psychosis between two people, or MORE. If you read the above snippet you'll see folie a deaux can be shared across many people, and the delusions are usually brought on by an "anchor," or one person who originates and "spreads" their psychosis to others. It's a real phenomenon.

This episode seems like a strong play on folie a deaux, or a shared delusion, except neither one of them is sure who the anchor is. Eric says, “You’re the one seeing things. Don’t start planting seeds in my head," which makes it seem like it's Dali who's the anchor; however, Eric is having his own brand of hallucinations, tied mainly to the bird. In the end, it doesn't really matter, as they imagine they are being sucked into an abyss of walkers and sucking vines, but the truth is, they are actually stabbing each other to death.

With the episode aligning so closely to Alone, I am now wondering how the folie a deaux works into the Alone template. I’m still thinking about it. I really don't know. But I think it could also be tied to "Coda." We've talked so much about how Coda is from Rick's clearly skewed point of view, and how in the episode, he seems genuinely out of his mind...

Anyway, that's all. Sorry for the length. I found this episode to be truly fascinating. Interested in any/all thoughts and additions!!

@twdmusicboxmystery:

This is wonderful! Thanks so much for posting it. And honestly, other than some of the clues you mentioned, I wasn’t sure exactly how to interpret it. I kind of wanted to do with this episode what I did last week with Davon (watch it like 4 times, lol). It was only after watching it several times that it really came clear to me. But I haven’t returned to La Dona yet. 

I do have some of the things you said (and laughed at) in my notes. Like when Eric said he wanted to stay (I thought of Daryl wanting to settle down as well) and I picked up the one-eyed dog reference. Definitely felt like a twisted version of Alone to me. But a lot of these other things, I missed. I’ll try and watch it again later tonight, but you’ve given us a good direction for interpretation here. 

I love the fog pointing to the Maggie/Sasha/Bob side of Alone. The foile a deux reference is super compelling. I hadn’t thought to connect that, but no way Blair and Gina randomly mentioning is and a few episodes later we have a couple with a shared delusion, is a coincidence. 

Actually, I love that because it shows they were using one episode to foreshadow another, seemingly irrelevant episode. 

I’m not sure what to make of the Jesus frogs, either. You could see it as a really twisted resurrection symbol, I suppose. And she definitely rejects them. I’ll think about it more as I rewatch. 

I’m also thinking about what you said about Maria. Even though she’s not a “main” character in the episode, I kind of think she might be pivotal to the interpretation. Not sure why yet. 

@wdway:

Great job of explaining this episode. I needed this. You guys are so much better at this type of thing than I am. I've only watched it once but I think I'll wait till after I read @twdmusicboxmystery’s notes and then watch it again and have a much better understanding of what tptb wants us to grasp from it.

@galadrieljones:

I’m glad my notes resonated!! When Alma’s voice says to Dali “This is my land,” that just reminded me of that weird thing Leah says in Find Me. She asks Daryl what he’s doing out here on “[her] land.” Is Leah a “witch?” What does she mean by that? Alma has walls. Leah just has a cabin? What “land” is she referring to?

I know we’ve talked about her as Hecate/Huldra, like a keeper of the dead. Wondering if this isn’t a more pointed way of making that same argument. And then there’s Trail of Tears stuff, the Chupacabra, both Daryl symbols. Idk where I’m going w this, but I feel this ep has a lot to do with both Find Me and Alone.

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #BETH IS COMING #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl