#i don't have the whole thing sorted out its mostly vibes at this point but i think it might be cool | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pretentiouswreckingball · 1 year

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one day when i get my shit together I'm going to write a marauders rock band AU but set in Latin America in the 80's-00's and it's going to be amazing, just you wait

#i have this idea since last year but i need to sort my shit out before i even start to outline the thing #Like. Imagine #Los Abuelos de la Nada/Enanitos Verdes/Jarabe de Palo/Héroes del Silencio etc etc #i don't have the whole thing sorted out its mostly vibes at this point but i think it might be cool #rock en español marauders band au

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strawb3rrystar · 12 days

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HII!! I absolutely ADORE your writing!! Could you please write a jellyfish!reader x helluva boss (mainly Stolas, Blitzø, Ozzie and Fizzy but if you want to add more characters that’s fine!!)

(https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/897834875718584016/)

like a reader who’s whole colour palette is blue, purple and pink which contracts the red, black and white vibe in hell and is UNDENIABLY beautiful. Like, reader is absolutely ethereal and has the jellyfish haircut!! The reader COULD rival an overlord (maybe a sin if they made deals with others!!) with their strength and the fact they could electrify, shock and sting others- the fact they’re so CALM yet so elegant is an understatement. They rarely get mad or upset and when they do, it’s so passive aggressive that its just the slight insults, leaving out the person or just harming them straight away. Btw reader would be able to glow in the dark, doesn’t have a brain but is EXTREMELY intelligent (could be immortal as some jellyfish are), doesn’t feel pain, no heart (bones or blood) and is just made of 95% water YET looks so human-like and beautiful (has the human body yet no organs etc. think of a mirage, an illusion. They are demon(human) like, they have a body but it’s completely water. Not that you could tell. Their skin is pale, almost white, they’re almost ghostly yet so beautifully created. I don’t think jellyfish can sleep either and I’d like to think that jellyfish!reader died in the water while observing jellyfish, they were so SO obsessed with jellyfish yet they died by one and I’d also like to think they would have some sort of power with water, due to the fact they’re mainly water (and electricity, poison).

How would they react to jellyfish!reader?

Don'tcha know? Jellyfish are brainless.

Pairing: Stolas, Blitzø, Asmodeus, Fizzarolli x GN! Jellyfish! Reader

Warnings: None I think, mostly platonic!

Word count: 450

✰Masterlist

Stolas thinks you look extremely cool. Lets say he saw you on one of his outings. You immediately catch his eye because of your practically see-through body. He had never seen a Sinner look like you before. Of course he has a book about jellyfish in his collection though. So he already knows a lot about them. But he'll ask you a bunch of questions and write them in a little notebook. He finds it quite interesting that you don't have a brain, but are completely capable of functioning. Though, if he really thinks about it, if you did have a brain it would just be floating around. Which would probably be very strange.

Blitzø thinks you look badass. You were one of his clients when you met. He was enthralled by your jellyfish look and your need to take revenge on the living world. Lets just say, the two of you hit it off. He might even ask you to work for I.M.P as like his assistant or something. He'll ask you a ton of questions, most of them revolving around sex... He doesn't realize you don't sleep until you stayed in the office for a full 24 hours. He then felt stupid for not taking that into consideration. Basically, you make him feel stupid because you don't have a brain, but you're smarter than him.

Asmodeus thinks you look adorable. The first time you guys met, he assumed you were from the Envy ring and was just visiting the Pride ring like him. But he was wrong, very, very wrong. To find out you were a sinner was a shock to him. Like jaw on the floor type shocked. Will buy you jellyfish themed things when he finds out you love jellyfish. Maybe he'll even get you a pet jellyfish. His trips to the Pride ring become more frequent, just to see you. When you tell him you died looking at jellyfish, he's surprised once again. Considering they were your cause of death, your love for them didn't waver.

Fizzarolli thinks you look amazing in every way. You first met at one of his shows in the Pride ring. You caught his eye with your jelly-watery body. He probably points it out during the show, mentioning how cool you looked. You were a bit shy to be the center of attention, but you still decided to come up with him after the show. You two make jokes and laugh until someone else comes up for an autograph. Years later, you meet again. And he's just as mesmerized as the day you met. He wants to know everything about you. So expect a ton of questions heading your way.

Star's notes -> Sorry I didn't add much in the fighting side of things. I completly forgot about that part :[

(Thank you, @scr4luv for requesting!) (Requests are open!)

Taglist -> @samohxt2-0 @sunshines-bright @astrolovedy @saints-wrapped-in-plastic @sweetadonisbutbetter @little-miss-chaoss | Join the taglist

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ot3 · 3 months

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I mean this in entirely good faith, I promise, but I'd love to hear the "shortcomings" you think those shows have

she ra i mostly just found boring i don't think i could point to a single thing it did (out of what i watched, that is. i didn't finish the show) that i found to be an objectionable writing choice, but it just didn't do anything to keep my interest. which is a shame because i went into it REALLY excited!!! i had long been a fan of nimona so hearing that ND stevenson was getting the chance to make a cartoon i was SO prepared to be all over it. and i watched it and it all just fell pretty flat for me

steven universe and the owl house i feel like are shows with some pretty major structural issues. i really think they try to have their cake and eat it in terms of episodic moments vs overarching series narratives that are kind of at odds with each other.

with steven universe i feel like this manifested in some pretty bizarre tonal whiplash that prevented either of the shows angles from sticking its landing. i think if steven universe had either been an epic space opera about a kid inheriting his mother's war, it would have fucking banged. i think if steven universe had been a more slice-of-life oriented show about a boy coming of age by realizing he's sort of the living manifestation of the war trauma of the people around him and learning to navigate and help people heal from that through fantastical, alien super-powered twists on mundane life that would have banged in a completely different way. but as it stands i think trying to do both at the same time detracted from the overall experience.

it feels weird to have them fucking around at the barn when there is something that is going to literally hatch from the earth's crust like an egg and destroy the entire planet and theyre just ignoring it. it feels weird in a different way to have them visit an alien zoo full of human beings and know that the structure of the show means we will absolutely not be taking the time to fully unpack that one. for me this cognitive dissonance really reached its peak an episode where steven explicitly calls his mother a war criminal, but that was a throwaway line because the A plot was that lars, the guy who works at the donut shop, bakes as a hobby and is embarrassed by that. to be perfectly clear i don't think it's impossible to balance more mundane slice of life moments with big adventures to combat existential threats. but whatever that balance looks like is not what steven universe was doing

the owl house on the other hand i don't feel like was ever really willing to commit to a particular vibe long enough to get invested in it. it's trying to be a show about a girl who is a witch's apprentice, but that doesn't really feel quite fully realized because it's also trying to be a show about a Magic School, but we don't spend enough time at the Magic School to get invested in that setting as a framework for the character interactions and narrative events, but then it also starts trying to be this big adventure/questing show. and then before too long luz is the one teaching magic to everyone else? it refuses to really commit to any one thing it's trying and just kind of throws everything at you with out actually getting to spend time with its concepts

in general i also think luz was a weak protagonist. in terms of writing. i think she wasnt given enough meaningful flaws, didn't make enough mistakes, and didn't really have to learn any hard lessons or make decisions that fundamentally went against who she thought she was. her whole thing is basically being Nerdy and Kinda Weird which i think is kind of an outdated substitute for meaningful character writing in the current zeitgeist. im sure she is an absolutely fantastic power fantasy for a lot of 12 year old girls who consider reading books to be their main personality trait and i absolutely do not fault that for existing. i think that's a critical thing to exist and all those 12 year olds really deserve it. but it has no appeal to me as an adult woman who has grown out of that phase, yknow?

i feel like once again the comparison to akko from little witch academia invites itself very easily, and anne from amphibia too, which was also a disney teen girl isekai airing at the same time. i loved both of those two as protags a ton and i think its because they really fumbled repeatedly and went through the wringer in a way luz didn't

#long post

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cinderspots · 2 years

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The ladies with a un-bothered germaphobe s/o -- like if something dramatic where to happen the s/o is all like "um Chile... anyways-" but if someone touches them without clean hands or gloves they just loose their shit-

Mood. Also, rip lmao MMs is so much longer and I got a teensy bit off-topic

Hope you enjoy ❤

Tag List: @minitrescu @ultimatebottom69 @imsososolesbian @luni-draws-crap @fatherse7en

Included: Mother Miranda, Mia Winters, Donna Beneviento, Alcina Dimitrescu, Bela Dimitrescu, Cassandra Dimitrescu, Daniela Dimitrescu, Alex Wesker

Mother Miranda

There's a whole thing where you kinda just vibe over hating people being unclean about their lives or whatever

But anyways

You and Miranda get along pretty well once you get to a point where you two talk and not vaguely feel threatened by the priestess

So Miranda kinda just goes by believing that youre indifferent (bc I mean so far-) and it continues like that until one day

One terrible day

A very gross lycan decides that YOU are its best friend, idk why it doesn't want you dead don't ask me hard questions

And he follows you around like a puppy at first and youre like "ok weird" until it escalates to a hug

.

Uh oh

You lose your mind, Miranda assumes danger and kills it making it WORSE as now it's gotten all over you and bestie youre having a bad time

:(

Anyways Miranda is very confused ngl

Mia Winters

You shake hands and she immediately notes the gloves and the way you use a disinfectant like a weapon

Sprayed some mf in the face was lowkey funny

She respects it and doesn't push you, besides I'd like to think that after the fucking debacle of Lousiana and the RAW meat she had to eat

Mia is a little testy about germs too, so she's got you

If someone ever has the audacity to skin-to-skin contact you not only will you be almost crying, they WILL be crying thanks to your great gf the badass mold queen Mia

Overall she's got your back

Donna Beneviento

Takes the avoidance of touch personally at first which leads to a whole series of rom-com levels of misunderstandings

Once it's explained she gets it

Angie doesn't and has to be put on a leash but it's fine

:)

Donna is extra careful which is ridiculous bc she's barely around other people so she's forcing herself to giant her own damn house

Youre mostly like "girl I'm not allergic to the air you breath"

If someone sets you off they're dead no questions

Doesn't matter if it was an accident they upset you

🔪🔪🥄

Take the spoon as you will

Alcina Dimitrescu

Ngl she's not understanding at all when you first meet

Sure once youre like lovers n stuff she's like "back off use your hand sanitizer" (idk how germaphobes live sorry)

But before she's downright disrespectful

Same as Donna, someone touched you skin to skin:)))) what? No, she's fine, the claws just needed some air :))) shell be back in a min don't worry :)))

Bela Dimitrescu

Takes it at face value and sees it as something she could like

You don't like germs which makes you one of the cleaner maids around which makes you an asset to being fucking ridiculous about cleaning rooms

You'd have to supervise for it to get done but Bela likes the mildly irrational idea of it

That's...not quite how it works all the time but she's stronger faster and drinks more human blood than you

You don't tell her that

Eventually she just sort of buzzes around you and hisses at Dani to stay away bc homegirl cannot keep things together

Unsurprisingly Dani escapes Bela's sight and lunges for you in a non-murdery way and makes contact

Game. Over.

You scream bloody murder and go into a panic attack while Dani hisses at the loudness and doesn't understand a thing

Dani briefly has no hand at dinner and everyone sort of pretends like they don't see

Cassandra Dimitrescu

Just like her mother, fucking horrible about it on purpose before she grows fond of you

THEN she gets livid at the idea of someone messing with you

Accidentally sets you off mindlessly and freaks out when you freak out making it so much worse

I think it would take a lot of time to get her to not automatically do something to set you off so idk about your relationship life span

Daniela Dimitrescu

This my bestie is a commitment

You either last like a week or for life

Because she is uh VERY into skin to skin I am living in your organs kind of thing

Daniela doesn't MEAN to set you off. Kinda does it often because she can't help herself

If you commit anyways (very unhealthy of you bestie) then after time she's the most respectful fly woman you'll ever date

And the only but that's not the point

The point is she gets angry when others set you off and everyone kinda pretends like she isn't a serial offender

And we get personality growth as she learns some self control after trial and error

Alex Wesker

She recognizes it and shockingly assists you and respects it the quickest out of them all

Like genuine shock

I'd think it'd be a game of chance working with her though, so many new people coming in and NOT knowing you don't like to be touched

She appreciates your aloofness but takes it harshly when youre touched and pretty much takes that as an instakill

:/

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tcfactory · 23 days

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as a side note may i suggest a siberian husky for sqh. mostly because those things whine like nothing else. hardworking? yes. adaptable? absolutely. anxiety? tremendously. ready for harsh snow and winter at any point in time? delightfully. will relay to you the song of his people at the top of his voice and from the bottom of his lungs? god. dammit. yes. that thing will HOWLlike you have mortally wounded it. what was sqh doing? trying to give him a bath. also "he looks just like you my king!"

ahjsgfasdjh That's perfect. Shang Qinghua and his daemon, the whiniest husky in the whole wide word. Mobei-jun would be amused and pleased at having a good doggo stand guard over him while he sleeps in Qinghua's house, because he knows that if someone approaches who shouldn't, then the howling will wake even the dead. Perfect alarm system for demon princes who sneak into righteous sects to nap! Kind of a shitty alarm clock, but eh, he has heard worse.

I was thinking yesterday what Mobei-jun's daemon should be, because sure I could say demons don't have them (why would they want to have their vulnerabilities out in the open like that? also it would mean TLJ would have had to pose with snake form ZZL when he was wandering the human realm) but I think I can do something really funny with it.

Please consider: Mobei-jun is perfect assassin material, right? So he would, ideally, have some kind of ambush predator. But he's also a king, so some kind of territorial herbivore would match the vibes of that position. Besides, Airplane was watching a documentary on African wildlife the night before he decided to add the daemon elements to PIDW and only remembered that male elephants can be really aggressive and dangerous he absolutely forgot that it's specifically tied to a sort of reproductive cycle. So Mobei-jun's daemon is just. Straight up a woolly mammoth? That can turn invisible because he still needs to keep some of the stealthy assassin vibes.

He was considering invisible fluffy hippo, but decided that his king deserves something more majestic. So it was either mammoth or rhino.

A rhino might be easier to hide tbh and, you know, it can have literal blades on its head, but I don't remember if rhinos ever get territorial or not.

Anyway, rhino or mammoth, it loves chilling down in the forest around CQMS because it can eat its fill whenever its demon is up on the mountain to bother his human and the people this close to the sect are feeling safe enough that it had to tell them once that it belongs to a wandering cultivator visiting the mountain and they even give it special treats sometimes! Mobei-jun's daemon is living the good life here.

...honestly I just find the idea of an ambush rhino really funny.

#daemon au #other demons: have all sorts of predators as daemons and have to conserve their energy and chose who to fight and when #between hunting and interpersonal conflicts #meanwhile MBJ's mega herbivore (though I guess it could be an omnivore if it's a demonic variant)#just has all the energy to flatten you into a pancake whenever because it's eating well

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jounosparticles · 5 months

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actually yeah the kitsune thing makes sense, it didn't even occur to me that foxes are portrayed differently in media than they actually are.

on that same note, i think tecchou is very dog coded. not like, golden retriever, but more like a working dog of some kind, you know? maybe its just because i like the thought of him helping jouno around unfamiliar areas idk

because apparently im assigning all the hunting dogs animals now, tachihara is a dog too in my mind (im sensing a pattern.. maybe there's a reason they're called the hunting dogs /j). tecchou was mostly just vibes but i have some logic for tachihara here - he's loyal and very much focused on his family, he says himself that “orders make him who he is”. he'd probably be a lab of some kind.

teruko... hmm... i honestly see her as some kind of bird, like a crow or something? i don't really know why. but i think she'd look sick with bird wings as part of her design.

fukuchi is definitely an old grumpy stray cat. or a snake. i don't absolutely hate the guy, i think he's a fun antagonist, but i can't get the imagery out of my mind. he's nasty and a liar and sneaky and i think that makes very nicely for a stray cat slash snake.

i completely agree with all of these actually!!

tetchou being dog coded in the workforce way 100%. he’s straight to the point and incredibly loyal. i love that.

i see tachi as 100% a golden lab type. he’s loyal to both the hunting dogs and the mafia, his whole outgoing personality screams dog coded. i so understand you here.

teruko is an interesting choice here actually. when i thought of birds for her my first choice was a raven for some reason. ravens are confident and threatening, much like teruko is! also vibes for some reason

i get what you’re saying for fukuchi too. he’s 100% cat coded to me. combined with what you said and the way he’s drawn at times i’d say he looks that way. the little moustache reminds me of a cat’s mouth sort of.

like here

#i love what you’re saying here #bsd hunting dogs #the bunting dogs #asks

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wellthatschaotic · 4 months

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hi! i'm going to Sleep but are there any like. environments/biomes (idk if that's the right word) that don't exist irl? (ik its not the same thing but in my wip there's like. enchanted forests where a bunch of fucked up shit happens and i kinda want to learn abt other things people have??) (this is abt your parascom (?? spelling) in case its' not answered right away)

hope taht wording makes sense, i've taken my melatinin already and its Kicking IN

kdljsklfs hope you have a Good Sleep!!! and YES

we also do have Fucked Up Forests(TM) AND in multiple flavors!! you got the. "fucking annoying pixie forests" (<- direct quote from alisha) (i think theyre actually called sparkling forests). the whispering forest. the dead forest.

sparkling forest: as you can tell from alisha's. quaint description. that's where pixies live. they're very colorful and bubbly and. well. children's fantasy esque. do not be fooled because "the pixies are SO fucking annoying you think it'd be a nice place for a picnic but NO you turn away for ONE SECOND and your sandwich is GONE and theres a little pink PEST fuckin GIGGLING at you" (pulls alisha away from the keyboard). there are also creatures that are Very Cute but . Very Sharp. so uhhh be careful

whispering forest: one of my favorites tbh. it's like. Far Away from other societies? on the border of The Worlds- okay so imagine a venn diagram right. one circle is earth one circle is etheria one circle is asteria etc (those are our 3 main dimensions(?) so theyre the example). the whispering forest is like right on one of the the borders of etheria/asteria but technically in etheria but also like at a point nemo super far from Everything place (not an island but you get it right) (also i could go in more depth about the world connections if you want!!)

ANYWAY back to the forest. it's Dark and Spooky and...telepathic. it's where spirit elves & spirit foxes live (theres other wildlife but not like. sentient ones) who are both telepathic species. they speak different telepathic languages(?) though but can learn each other's. they can't really. speak out loud? their vocal chords and mouth structure just aren't made for that. the trees are also telepathic-y but in like a plant way so it's not like full thoughts its telepathic Vibes. and if you're not used to telepathy and you go there hearing the wind whistle through the trees combined with the Vibe Of Telepathy sounds very eerily like people whispering bc your brain is trying to make sense of what it's. Vibing. which is why it's called the whispering forest. and also why no one outside of it really goes in

the dead forest: it's. uh. dead. but alive? i don't think anyone truly remembers what happened to it but some sort of Magic Nuclear Fallout left everything dead-looking but just barely alive And Wants You Dead. as in look that tree's just sticks Oh Fuck Them Branches Are Coming For Me. there are even zombie/skeleton creatures held together mostly by magic that also Want To Get You. so.

oh also asteria is Mostly Forest (yknow how this world is Mostly Ocean?) and it's just. alien. like forests here can have big trees right? okay so like triple that. them trees BIG. and almost all the wildlife have white spots on them that can appear to glow in the dark (to human eyes). the plants too can generate light for human eyes but the normal light sources (sun, fire) generate light that humans can't pick up or generate very very little. so humans and (moon) elves evolved to see different light spectrums. which is pretty cool

hmm what other fucked up biomes do we have. well there's living islands. they're actually Creatures that float along and like. yknow how some turtles and stuff grow moss on their back? that but so big that it's like a whole ass island. not sure if that really counts as a biome? thankfully they're not usually predatory but if you hurt it. well. earthquake + raising sharp spines. it will not go well. so usually just leave them alone just in case

those are off the top of my head that aren't like. Earth Biomes But With Fantasy Creatures. ig weird shit also happens where the world borders are thin/collide but i wouldn't really count that as a biome.

might make another post about the worlds and how they interact if anyone is interested-

#chaos chitters

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elenajohansenreads · 2 months

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Books I Read in 2024

#15 - Better Sex Through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire, by Lori A. Brotto

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

As with one of my previous reviews about a book on menopause, I'd like to point out up front that the structure and content of the book assumes the reader is a cis woman and refers to the reader's body throughout under that assumption, which might be alienating to any reader whose physiology doesn't match, be they cis men or any trans or intersex person. "Woman" in this book exclusively refers to cis women; only in one section does it allude to the distinction between cis and trans women by using the term "natal women" in reference to the specifics of one study. Which isn't to say that the core subject matter isn't potentially useful for or applicable to trans women or trans people in general, or that the book is setting out to be trans-exclusionary; only that what little research is being done on this topic is focused on cis women as the group who needs it and would benefit most greatly from it. (Which, given that most clinical medical science is done on cis men as the default, is still a good thing in my mind, that any research on sexuality is being done with cis women as the focus.)

Since the take-home message of this book is "Mindfulness practice could probably improve your sex life, and also the rest of your life while you're at it," in my mind that's equally useful advice for everyone, but the mindfulness exercises in this book range from generic at the start (anyone who can eat solid food can do the raisin meditation) to guided exploration of the body in both nonsexual and sexual contexts, which are specific to cis women.

If that message seems obvious, why does it need a whole book written about the science that "proves" it, well, I'm still a crunchy science nerd at heart and was interested to see the design structure of the studies done to research the topic and the results of those studies. That sort of narrative would likely seem dry and boring to someone more interested in the self-help, instructional aspects of the book; likewise, the mindfulness exercises themselves might not interest someone who was reading this for the crunchy science, though the book is definitely marketing itself to cis women experiencing some level of sexual distress or dysfunction who are hoping for a solution, to whom the book offers mindfulness.

Without getting too personal on the subject, I was interested in this book on both fronts; as with my previous reading about menopause, I'm trying to be proactive about engaging with the changes in my body as it ages, and I have noticed a pattern of changes in my sex life that I'm not pleased with. I don't have access to the sort of highly regimented clinical mindfulness study that the book refers to, but the barrier to entry for self-guided mindfulness practice is basically nonexistent--I already have one app on my phone I could be utilizing but mostly don't, and if it turns out I don't vibe with their library of guided exercises I know there's a wealth of other options. And even those aren't necessary, they're just helpful tools.

I know that I, personally, will face challenges attempting mindfulness practice despite all its potential benefits--mindfulness is widely considered to be especially beneficial for people with ADHD, but also difficult for them, as the differences in the ADHD brain from a neurotypical one aren't conducive to learning to achieve a state of mindfulness. But another, narrower take-home message from this book was inspiring to me: that self-belief about your own state of sexuality and sexual satisfaction is more impactful to actual sexual satisfaction that any combination of other studied factors (relationship status, age and hormonal changes, etc.) The book repeatedly assures the reader mindfulness is learning to treat negative thoughts as "mental events" to be noticed, acknowledged, and then moved on from, which in a broader, non-sexually-specific context, means that even my belief that "mindfulness will be difficult for me because I have ADHD" isn't an obstacle that can't be overcome. Forming a habit of mindfulness practice might also be difficult for me, but again, that can be overcome to at least some degree with motivation, and all those scientific studies did show that women engaged with mindfulness showed strong desire and follow-through in making time for daily practice (even accounting for the self-selection of feeling the need to participate in the study in the first place.) The benefits of mindfulness appear to be their own reward, in terms of successful habit-forming, so I'm hopeful.

#booklr #book review #nonfiction

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the-eldritch-it-gay · 6 months

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17 & 28 for majexatli tav asks!

17: Do they enjoy life as an adventurer?

Ooooo. That's a tough question. I think Majexatli's feelings about being an adventurer are complicated, for a few reasons.

For one, they are quite unused to being around people, given how the past like 20 years they've spent mostly in wildshape and away from settlements. But also, for that reason, they are rather accustomed and comfortable with traveling and fighting and survival and hardship and such.

Another thing is that they are somewhat like Karlach in, while they are accustomed to a life of just like, surviving and fighting, they do kinda crave settling down somewhat. I think though that Majexatli's desire is a lot more buried than Karlach's, in part I think they largely believe that the way their life ended up is their fault and their choice. It was touched on briefly in that little snippet I posted with the two of them, but while Karlach sees so much similarity with her past and with Majexatli's, Majexatli doesn't because they just, straight up have not come to terms with so much of it and don't see themselves as a victim or having gone through horrific events.

I also think it's complicated because when they think about it, they're not 100% certain if their desire to settle down is something they actually want, or if they want it because they know Althyran settled down and they know they theoretically, if things had gone slightly differently, might have married him and had a child with him (for better or for worse). And it's just... hard for them to analyze that, and their feelings around settling down.

I know this perhaps seems close to being a tangent, but I think Majexatli's feelings about adventuring are inextricable from their history of wandering for 20 years and how the restlessness they feel about not wandering/adventuring might be rooted in the fact that they are still running from what happened 20 years ago and perhaps even that if they slowed down too much they would finally have to actually process and think about what happened and perhaps more upsetting, how much they missed out on because they kept running. (I'm reminded of the Sleeping At Last song "Nine": How do I forgive myself / for losing so much time?)

SO yeah in summary, Majexatli has complicated feelings about adventuring because in truth their restlessness and drive for moving and doing things and adventuring is at best a distraction and just muscle memory and all they know and they're afraid of what will happen hen they finally slow down. At the same time, though they also do enjoy helping people, though again there might be some deeper reasons behind that.

I also think Majexatli would be loathe to admit how fond they've grown of the party and traveling with the group and doing silly little quests together. Forgive the wolf reference I know its on the nose with them being a druid and also their whole lycanthropy vibe, but they were a lone wolf for so long they almost forgot that wolves are pack animals.

28: Is your character the de facto leader of the party? Or do they consider someone else to be the leader?

I think they are somewhat the leader of the party. In part, I think they just have a sort of leader aura about them, maybe because they look older and experienced (while they are at youngest like, somewhere in the range of 39 to 45, they look older than they are). Plus while not everyone in the group is used to living on the road, they've been doing so for most of their life so, you know, they very much have all the survival skills that the others in the group might lack. And if no one else steps up, they're more than glad to do so, unless the situation is one that requires a lot of like, dealing with people and talking and anything charisma based.

In game Majexatli did not have a positive charisma modifer and it wasn't until mid act 2 and onward that they had any real ability to lie (they took the actor feat at some point which is x2 proficiency for deception and performance, and also the skilled feat to give themselves persuasion proficiency). Before that they mainly relied on intimidation when it was dire, because being a Zariel tiefling they have thaumaturgy to give advantage on that, but I in universe imagine that Majexatli can just be rather imposing and intimidating with their whole being a huge scarred tiefling.

I honestly don't think I have many characters that see themselves as leaders, I really did want to switch things up and have someone who is at least comfortable and willing to take on a leader position.

I do, however, imagine that they very much are open to anyone else taking charge and prefer for decisions to be group decisions rather than something they just decide for the group. And I imagine that Majexatli isn't actually with the group all the time, I imagine sometimes they stay back at camp while some of the others go do things

#eldritch it speaks #eldritch it answers #oc: majexatli #i think I only got one ask in me tonight but I shall continue to answer these as my brain allows #anyways metaphorically majexatli's life in the past 20 years is like how with an adrenaline rush in an emergency you like #can not notice pain or injuries or fatigue etc. but then as soon as the ordeal is over then it all hits you #but like. they're afraid to let the ordeal be over because then they have to realize how much they've been fucked up

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green-ray-blog1 · 1 month

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Mark Rothko exhibition

I went to the big Mark Rothko exhibition in Paris today. I'd seen some of his work before, and I have been to the Tate before (although I don't remember it well), but I'm not that familiar with it, so it was a good occasion.

So it's a huge retrospective, starting with his first figurative work. It's a type of curating that can be interesting. I remember a major Mondrian/De Stijl exhibition in Pompidou, where there were a lot of early Mondrian paintings, which were very cool and helped visualize the progression of his work. The Rothko exhibition's early paintings are just the intro, completely figurative work showing people in NY, the subway. Then, some more surrealist, then abstract compositions. Mostly, it shows the influence of early 20th century European painting in general; the figurative stuff gave me vibes of Manet or Munch, the surrealist paintings had some Chirico manerisms, and the abstract phase could look like Miro in terms of layout. I especially liked Aeolian Harp (1946).

Then, we get to the color field part.

So the exhibition is packed (ok, there was a tour, on the left, there so that picture is a bit exaggerated, just a bit, though). It makes enjoying any singular painting kind of a struggle, plus half the time, the person in the best spot is spending a minute tapping their smartphone to get the right setting for a picture.

Anyway, that's the part I'm curious about. Rothko's one of those painters that the art market has turned into a demi-god of modern art, to the point where it's hard to take his work on its own merits. The paintings are worth so much any large exhibition is the sole domain of huge galleries with bottomless funds. In this case, the Fondation Louis Vuitton. And the paintings rely so much on their physical presence that you don't really get anything from looking at photographs, even good quality ones. You just can't see that stuff unless colossal amounts of money are involved. So an exhibition like that is rare, so people are going to flood whenever it happens, making experiencing the work kinda weird.

Because how are you supposed to experience Mark Rothko's paintings anyway ? What are they, really ? What's so interesting about them ? First, they're big, usually bigger than you are. When Rothko started doing the whole color field thing, he also ditched the framing, which is good. It makes it more difficult to tell where the painting ends (the sides of the canvas are painted too), it denies the viewer a clear border between what's the piece and what isn't.

I like this one. Of course, this is a shitty picture, and worse, you don't get to be in the same place as it. I think the best way to look at Rothko's paintings is to get right in front of them, not too far (Which is easier said than done in an exhibition like that), and start by looking at the middle. That way, you get face to face with what feels like a slab of paint that kind hangs out in space. And the edges of the canvas, they're where your vision gets unfocused. I feel Rothko's paintings sort of play with the viewer's peripheral vision.

Another one I liked. There's some humour in those paintings, for me. On the one hand, there's a lot of depth in those colours, and they can feel like an opening, but on the other, the visible brush strokes always show that it's just a flat surface right in front of you. There's a mystery, there, but not in the sense that there's something to solve. The mystery itself is the point. What are you looking at ? Why are you looking ? It's just paint.

The colour transitions are what make me think of the peripheral vision thing. There's not really much point in examining them in detail (except for the technical aspect), but when you let your eye take the picture in, stuff kinda... moves in subtle ways. To be honest, many of the paintings didn't really keep my attention, but with some of them, after managing to get a good spot, I didn't really feel like looking away. During the 50s, Jasper Johns, another American painter, painted targets on canvas. I think there's something comparable at play. "Look into the painting" the painting says.

Most of the text in the exhibition was descriptive of Rothko's intentions, and of the paintings. There wasn't much about how they fit in the art world of their time. How weird were those canvases in the eyes of the public, back then ? Now, what's weird is how important it all is. Pieces worth millions, inside a brand new building that cost hundreds of millions.

The scenography was extremely sophisticated. All dim lights, careful light spots that make sure not to hit the paintings too hard. There's this notion about Rothko's paintings that they're meditative, so I think they tried emphasizing that with this intimate lighting. Now, how intimate can it really be with that many people, I'm not sure.

Some rooms nailed it. Now, again, these are shitty pictures, and you have to imagine that it was darker and more yellow-ish in real life. Still, room 4 was pretty great. Nothing's perfect, though.

In room 5, which had some of my favourite pieces, this big one was catching some pretty big reflection, from the light spots, which kinda ruined it.

Then there was room 6, with the blackforms. So I get the idea. Make the room even dimmer because the paintings are dark. Thing is, when you point the spots at them, the blackforms are suddenly the brightest objects in the room ! They're not dark anymore, and so, for me, they lose their presence.

Room 9 was much better. The whole dim light thing worked best with bright paintings. Although...

The entrance of the room lets a decent amount of sunlight through, which splashed a bit on the first two paintings of the room. It's hard to translate with a picture, but honestly, I feel Rothko's work would look so much better with natural light ! (ok, maybe not all of it, there were two small rooms where it was probably better that way) Now, sure, that's impossible, UVs damage pigments, and people want these pieces to stay as they are for a million years... But they try to be so fancy with this amazing lighting setup, and I think there's a point where the obsession with the meditative aspect ended up smothering the work a little.

I don't really have a conclusion. Nice exhibition, exhausting too, which is hard to avoid when there's so many people and so much to look at.

#mark rothko #modern art #art exhibition #painting

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mytragedyperson · 3 months

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Also I've been reading fanfiction from years now. I started reading them on fanfiction.net when I was 12 or 13. And back then I didn't know they had ratings or what was going on but, other than a few dirty fics and a couple edging into dark territory, we came out mostly unscathed. Kinda wish child me knew about AO3 where fics are clearly tagged and rated and have warnings and a whole thing that warns you the content may be too much for some people. That's beside the point. But I wanna talk fanfics and figured why not now? So this isn't an official top 10 or anything. This is just me talking about some of the fanfics I liked from various fandoms, a little talk about why I like the fanfic in question without spoiling it. So this is my random talk about fanfics I like.

Let's start with some I read recently. Strawhat_pirate has two or three fanfics I've liked. At least one of these is on Wattpad, and I know they have an AO3 account. They write stories with OCs and stories with ships and stuff. I think they write multiple fandoms but the three I've read and liked were all BNHA/MHA OC fics so I'll talk a little about them.

I'll start with Lark as I have the least to say about it. It's only on their patron for now and is new. It only has 3 chapters so far but it sounds interesting. So Lark is both the name of the OC and the name of the fic, and he's a male. He's Bakugous new next door neighbour who is homeschooled and wears strange clothes and says and does odd things, who lives with his grandma. He has some sort of quirk that let's him see glimpses of people's futures and possibly their pasts but I'm not as sure about that. He doesn't seem to control this or be able to turn it off in any way and it seems to make life fairly hard for him. It's not always clear and he doesn't always know what the "lights" as he calls them mean. He meets Bakugou, who despite not wanting to, ends up becoming curious about him and his quirk. Lark seems like an interesting guy with an interesting quirk and his interactions with Bakugou are fun because he just doesn't care. He kinda gives a Luna Lovegiod vibe. Also there's lots of Bakugou saying he doesn't care about things while clearly caring or at least being curious. Also his quirk is interesting because as I said he doesn't activate it and he doesnt/can't go out much because he keeps seeing the lights and getting distracted and trying to wander off. For something that's only 3 chapters it's interesting enough. As I said for now it's only on their Patreon but I'm guessing when they've written more of it they'll post it to Wattpad or AO3 or both.

How I found them was through Feral though. Feral is an Iida Tenya x male OC fanfiction on wattpad. The male OC is called Kittrick Suzuko or Kit and he is, as the title says, Feral. He loses his shoes a lot and gets into fights and is kind of a delinquent and has broken a few laws. He's also quirkless and Bakugous cousin who becomes friends with Midoriya. There's also Dabi, Hawks a Nomu they call Denise, Hawks' OC brother who's in a coma because of Endeavour and a newspaper planning to expose Endeavour that all of them are working on. Also fanfic canon is that Bakugou is scared of Kit and just quirkless people in general and his bullying Izuku is a fear response. They're also gaslighting Shoyo which I can't explain without spoiling shit anymore than u already have. Its fun, it's chaotic, Iida and Kit are cute together, kinda curious what they'll do when LOV kidnap Bakugou. Kit doesn't go to UA so that could be when he meets Iidas class properly. The patreon has early access and AUs based on it but it's on Wattpad an, do far, only missing one chapter compared to Patreon.

The final one by this author is I don't know a Shoto. This starts when Tobio is five and just been burnt. A homeless female OC finds him alone and just kinda takes him and then just gets away with it. Like people do find out but when they hear the explanation they just go with it. Like Shoto and Tenya become friends so Tensei knows, and Eraserhed finds out and they take in Dabi. Shinsou and Toga are also adopted. It's on their patreon and I'm pretty sure at least some chapters are on Wattpad though not many yet. It's just the female OC trying to do well by these kids and worrying someone will find out about Shoto and take him back, but she doesn't do anything to change his appearance or name, and she gets the kids in school and it actually helps her get her life together too. Aizawa is the tired begrudging uncle. The kids are unhinged. Honestly their versions of Iida Tenya are always interesting to me because it's never as simple as he's a goody two shoes. I like that. It's too easy forget Iida Tenya was ready to kill a man for hurting his brother and helped save Bakugou from the LOV. He usually follows the rules but some things are more important to him. Also they are all quite a bit younger than they are when the series starts. I don't know there's something about kids being treated as well as they can even when they aren't as innocent as other kids and have trauma and stuff and a group of adults trying to do their best for them, do right by them. Like even Touya, I can't reveal too much because a lot of it is later chapters thing that I don't think are in released chapters, but he's making some real sacrifices, going above and beyond. They just kinda talk their way out of it by confusing people when questioned. The wattpad version only has 4 chapters so far so most of what I mentioned won't have happened yet as I read it on Patreon

Anyway, enough about OCs and Patreon. Its time to talk about a crack OOC chatfic on AO3. No Heteros Allowed by DeceivingTerror and EnceladusLife. This fic I actually forget the name of and look up one tag to help me find it, mina x mothman. Everything else in terms of names tags and authors I forget. I remember scenes. This is crack plain and simple. Aizawa needs real help in this one. Mothman and other cryptids are real, can't remember them. There's a Toys'R'us that is so not toys'r'us. Like it's called that but I'm pretty sure it's some backroom pocket dimension stuff. There are demons and ghosts. Mineta is kicked out of 1A early on and replaced by Shinsou. They have parties and stuff. It is just pure crack and chaos in a chatfic. There are ships but they're not really the main focus. There is a chapter on Midoriya and Todoroki getting together but other than that the focus is on chaos. Which I personally love. I get that this might not be for everyone but I like a little chaos.

Next we actually have a series. if only someone would hold me, i could be saved / a todobowl series by A_I_Neptune. It has 4 fics so far and is todobowl though the only person he's actually dating is Izuku. The others are simping while Todoroki is oblivious. The first fic is from third person but focused on Todoroki as he discovers a love for Izukus oversized sweaters. He's very touch starved but, as he let's his soft side out, the others start treating him softer which he doesn't understand at first due to his past. They all buy him sweaters of his own and Shinsou, who is in class 1A in this fic, decides to be a little shit and buys him cat boy stuff. The second fic focuses on the class's reaction to this cat boy ensemble as they suffer and Shoto is oblivious. Midoriya doesn't really get jealous, he just likes that his boyfriend.is loved and finally seen as the soft boy he is. This series is mostly fluff, maybe a little angsty but not too bad I wouldn't say. It's very soft. In the third fic, Shoto has a movie night with some of his classmates and they watch Howls moving castle. Izuku isn't really in that one. I'm actually just now realising I never read the fourth fic so I'll have to remedy that but its very soft and, if you love Shoto Todoroki, he finally gets the love he deserves, which we love to see. very much a soft fluffy affectionate fic. Probably one of my comfort fics.

Now a different fandom. Interperspective by SnufflesThePig is a Merlin fanfiction. only Melin/Arthur and and Morgana/Gwen have been tagged as ships but others may be added later as it's not complete and is still being written. it's a reaction fic. Magic has brought Merlin, Arthur, the knights, Gwen, Morgana, Hunith and Gaius to a cave to watch the show and Merlin's life in general. some episodes/scene of the show have been rewritten slightly and there are some original scenes/chapters in general, showing Merlin's backstory as well as events between episodes. There are some OCs but they're not main characters or anything. there are some really beautiful descriptions of places, people and just things, scenes of Merlin just having fun with magic. There are art interludes where the author posts art they made based on their own fic which is cool. the end notes are funny too as they often post vines and stuff and just silly things. It has moments of humor, some angst and fluff. it's one of the few reaction fics in the Merlin fandom. I love this fic so much

Speaking of fics I love. Channel JACKAL by Aka_aKa_akA is a Haikyuu social media fic based on the MSBY Black Jackals and specifically SakuAtsu. the MSBY Black Jackals make a YouTube channel so each chapter there'll be a YouTube video followed by reactions on Twitter. there are other fics in the series but these are just smut scenes from the fic so you don't have to read these to understand the fic. It's basically showing how they get together through YouTube videos. Atsumu isn't bullied, he's actually loved by everyone. Lots of jealous Sakusa. Side ships. One for the Atsumu or SakuAtsu fans who like or don't mind social media fics. I actually want more like this.

Now, one I've mentioned before i think. Jealousy: The Fic by MakeMeStagger.your typical story of fake dating to make your crush jealous only to end up as friends with benefits and fall in love for real. The Adlers love Kiyoomi and are really accommodating about his germophobia. The author actually said that, at first it was gonna end up being Sakuatsu and I think Kagehina endgame. Kinda glad we got this instead. there are smutty scenes because Kageyama is inexperienced and asks Sakusa to help him practice for Hinata. Jealousy from Atsumu especially. One for the sakukage lovers and lovers of the fake dating trope, not so much for Kagehina and Sakuatsu fans but I'm pretty sure the author has written other fics that were Sakuatsu, though I haven't read them.

That's all i can think of for now. I'm sure i'll do this again. feel free to recommend fanfics that you like too.

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blorbologist · 1 year

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Being a scientist and science student irl, what are some tell tale science that Percy himself is a scientist (engineering?) and/or science major (if we're talking AUs)? What type of engineer/techie(?) do you think he would be irl?

Hi anon!

I’m assuming you mean signs that he’s a scientist?

I’m coming to the table with my (still new) experience as a behavioral ecologist, my dad’s education as an engineer (not a scientist, but very Percy-ish, as you’ll see), and my grandfather’s as a physicist.

TBH, every field of academia has its own quirks (and biases) and stressors and whatnot - I don’t think there’s any sort of generally applicable ‘scientist’ traits any more than there might be, say, pet owner traits. There’s just such a broad variety, especially given you have people in their respective fields for vastly different reasons (say, Ripley sorts who just want Power and Control, vs someone motivated by curiosity, or by wanting to change the world, or who enjoys academia).

BUT.

Percy has such on point engineering major vibes.

(Rest under the cut this got Long)

Engineering sort of… cultivates a certain type of batshit crazy with the insane workload, deadlines, late nights fuelled by caffeine. The better-than-you attitude fuelled by overcoming all those challenges and usually being at least a little bit smart, that drive and enthusiasm when they have An Idea that’s So Very Clever, and how the composure erodes either with exhaustion or delight when having fun and they reveal they’re a little nutty after it all. My father has several stories of hijinks he got up to while getting his degree that are very ‘sodium teakettle bomb’ type. I think Percy would fit right in.

However, with modern AUs, there is one hurdle: a big part of Percy’s backstory is the whole guns thing, and guns have been around for… a while. In some more historical AUs he can still be responsible for deadly firearm advancements (say, I have a WIP one set in the late 1600s where a pepperbox actually would be a fair leap forward, so he still gets that angst).

But Percy, no matter how rich or smart, can’t really rival the military spending of the USA, lmao. It’s harder for him to have a big negative impact on the world in a way that’s believable.

Like! Maybe he developed some new material with crazy military applications, or that's really Cool but also toxic (and he Knows the toxicity will be downplayed so it can be used to cut corners), or a new battery with risky potential. Really, so long as he can make something that's not *directly* a weapon, but can be used to cause great harm, I think you can pull it off. (Or don't, if you want a happier modern AU without juggling that aspect of his character.)

BUT. I've got a soft spot for one idea.

So recently I’ve actually picked up the idea that he’s less focused on the physical side of engineering (though he still enjoys metalworking and tinkering as a hobby, which he can afford to do because Rich Bastard) and more on computer engineering.

It hasn’t come up in Cat’s Cradle, and I don’t think it will be relevant, but in that AU I had Percy be a big programming nerd. So when the Briarwoods happened to his family, and Cass was missing presumed dead, and cops collectively shrugged… Percy wanted to try and identify them.

So, in this modern AU, he’s responsible for one of the first facial recognition programs. Called 0RTHX. Or ORTHAX. Idk I haven’t thought why he named it that yet. Point being, he knew from the getgo that cops and other fascist entities would use it for ill, but he didn’t care so long as he found the Briarwoods and could hopefully, maybe, finally, get the justice he craved.

Not sure how that worked out - well enough that Cass is pursuing a degree of her own, and he’s mostly freelancing thanks to his reputation (which is positive and praised, to his disgust) with the stability afforded by his inheritance.

But! Yeah. Major engineering vibes, though what he does with that can be really up in the air. Definitely see him picking up a fair bit of coding experience, given it’s very useful in this world (hell, I’m a biologist and we’re expected to be competent in Spyder and R and JASP). Just because of family biases I’ma toss in physicist in the ring as a more out-there possibility, because I think Percy would make googly eyes at plasma physics or really want to make fusion (holy shit fusion with a net gain is a THING NOW) more practical. But that’s a lil harder to tie to his vengeance thing.

#critical role #percival de rolo #cr percy #tlovm #campaign 1 #vox machina

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variousqueerthings · 6 months

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AND LAST OF S5: THE BIG BANG

Soooooo I don't dislike it. All the kid!Amy stuff I really really like even!

but does it stick the landing?

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 7/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or having her emotional agency ignored by the plot): 5/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 6/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 7/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 3/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 5/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 5/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 6/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10

FULL RATING: 56/100 (if I can count….)

Better than Pandorica Opens!

OBJECTIFICATION: Not too bad, good start. Amy is wearing (most of the time) the same outfit as last episode, and River is also just vibing

PLOT-POINT: This episode is ostensibly all about Amelia Pond's first Moment with the Doctor as an eye of the storm, and I like that

but Amy never really talks about it or does anything related to it. she does have a bit where she says she doesn't regret their journeying, but for some reason she's the main person who never really seems to... feel anything about it, like actually this genuinely was sorted back in end episode 1 for her

and the whole purpose of her having had this encounter is to bring the Doctor back from non-existence. there's a version of this story, where Amy's conflicted feelings about being abandoned, and even tbh about marriage are at the centre of the conflict

River is just there to be mysterious, you'll see later what's going on with her... maybe...

COMPLEXITY: A lot of forwards and backwards in time and the Tardis is exploding and we still don't know why, in the end they're baaasically running through a museum and the Doctor hooks himself up to the Pandorica and yeets himself into the heart of the storm

It's not egregious/it's possible to follow... there are unanswered questions.....

I also think it's hilarious that after all that supposed set-up, Rory just... takes him out of the box again. Into the box and out of the box

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: I need to ruminate on this a bit. getting married as plot is not a bad thing. I'm not a massive fan of the Amy/Rory romance and how it progressed (mainly because it mostly didn't and then suddenly shifted into a slightly different parallel universe where they're madly in love), so I'm not sold on Amy's adultness being centred in marriage

but this is not only a M*ffat thing. this show is very based in alloromance. it's just whether it makes sense that Amy... wants this... or if the plot just decided that now she does

do I think characters got closer? kinda yeah. Amy and Rory are married now, even though Rory is still characterised as permanently unsure of where he stands with Amy's "moods" (angry moods, sexual moods, sad moods, etc)

Rory: Are you okay? Amy: Are you? Rory: No Amy: Well shut up then!

I was kinda struck by how venomous she was at him, and then they hug and it's fine, but that's kind of what it feels like between them a lot of the time

Amy: are you just saying yes, because you’re scared of me? Rory:... yep

anyway, it changes things for the next season perhaps, now they are firmly married and not in the "will Amy or won't she" boat

and the Doctor came to the wedding! didn't disappear when he was called!

there is plot To Come that is set up... why did the Tardis explode? what is the Silence?

COMPANIONS MATTER: they're there for most of it, there's this whole backstory of Rory protecting the Pandorica for 2000 years, which is the basis of Rory and Amy now being this epic romance, and taken on its own it's pretty cool

Amy is there to experience things happening, so that she can remember it later on, and then she gets married, because in the end all of s5 is centred around the Marriage Of The Ponds and Amy learning that she can grow up (get married) and have adventures with the Doctor and those things don't cancel each other out

the Doctor does things and they all follow

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: eh, the Doctor solves everything and everyone's just tagging along, but I like the "we're all just stories in the end" bit. the Doctor is also just a story

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: not much of previous Doctor Who in this so... not terrible technically

“SEXINESS”: Why is Amy doing her whole "I'm gonna snog the Doctor" schtick? There's this bit also where she and Rory make out for ages and the camera lingers on it, because now they're passionate lovers, and fine, I guess, it's not the worst thing M*ffat has done

I am deciding to add River's whole... making the Dalek say Mercy. it's kind of a fantasy badass moment where she's being badass with a gun

and here I'm unsure whether to put Amy making Rory afraid or not, because it's definitely a M*ffat fantasy, but it also relates to Amy's whole... why this a good relationship? anyway. we'll put it here, because I'm sleepy, fuckit

Amy sauntering up to the Doctor and saying "We haven’t even had a snog in the shrubbery yet" is unfortunately just. it's in my brain

INTERNAL WORLD: we've met Amy's aunt! in that other world where the stars don't exist and the Universe is ending. and we've met Amy's parents! (wonder if we'll see them again)

it's kind of rebuilding things after episode 1 already gave us something of her life, but none of those character reappear. it's also hard not to know what comes next, which is.... nothing with any of this

especially considering Amy not remembering her parents is presented as a Big Deal in this episode, so her life is now straightened out (I was going to say normalised or returned to the ideal status quo, and realised all three of these are hiding the truth, which is that Amy's life is normative now -- she got married at last, and she has two parents like Normal)

POLITICS: Nothing much one way or another in this

FULL RATING: 56/100 (if I can count….)

I think this episode is defined by being not the worst of the season. It's strongest suit is not being super offensive, but it's also not extraordinary. Its weakness is in the companions again. Are they there to experience the Doctor doing cool stuff, or are they there to have narratives centred around them? How does Amy feel about her entire existence being bait? About being helpless to do anything in this whole thing that revolves in some way around her memories? she just kind of bounces into whatever the plot needs someone to do, never being particularly affected by what came before

#im watching nu!who #im watching eleven who #im watching the big bang #the measurement

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thefearandnow · 1 year

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Audio Drama Sunday: 11/29/22

So its been almost a full month since I stopped checking Twitter and one of the things that I always loved reading on a Sunday was all the lovely Audio Drama Sunday threads where I discovered a ton of amazing fiction podcasts. Inspired by those and my goal to write more on tumblr I thought it'd be fun to put together my first Audio Drama Sunday post and try to make it a semi-regular thing. Mostly to just get my thoughts down and get through my listening backlog but also for podcast recommendations!

Quiet Part Loud

I posted about this a couple weeks ago (I'm including the past two weeks in this post) but Quiet Part Loud is high on my list for favorite podcasts of the year. The Monkeypaw created, Mac Rogers written, Jordan Peele executive produced Gimlet show really delivered on the hype and I'm excited that there's possibly going to be a season 2. Though the premise sounds very similar to like a Limetown/Black Tapes sort of podcaster/investigator type of thing going on, the way it's written actually reminded me more of last year's comedy series Dark Air starring Raine Wilson (though of course this one is squarely horror, also very Burned Photo in terms of plot). They do an excellent job conceptually and aesthetically grappling with audio as a vehicle for social terror across history and mediums, which is the type of shit I live for! I thought the story was really well paced, the second half of the series had some incredible stand out episodes and the last two episodes were very satisfying. I think this show has a ton of re-listen value and I'm excited to see what happens in the next season. The only bad part of this podcast is that it's a Spotify exclusive so not as many people can listen and I'm not really sure it's worth a subscription if you don't already have it. But if you already have Spotify and love horror I can't recommend enough!

The Goblet Wire

The Goblet Wire is probably one of the more unique podcasts I've listened to: a surreal horror scripted role-playing collection of bite sized portraits (it'd be a stretch to call some of them stories). Very similar to John Darnielle's Wolf in White Van. And last week I finally listened to the last two episodes, which I thought really helped give the whole first batch of episodes a true sense of a series arc. Which I don't think it necessarily needed, but it felt like the end of a season y'know? I love the writing, the simplicity of the format but complexity of the imagery. It's such an open ended concept and I'm looking forward to hearing what the next set of writers do in the next batch of episodes. On top of the show itself being fun to listen to it's just like an incredible thing to exist as a platform for indie fiction podcast creators to collaborate on and make crazy shit. I've got a ton of other podcasts to check out from the plugs at the end of each episode and it just feels so like underground comics community vibe.

We're Alive: Descendants

We're Alive was the first audio drama I ever listened to but I dropped off somewhere in the middle. I tried to get back into with with Gold Rush but felt too lost from the original story line and felt intimidated by going all the way back. But when I saw that they were doing this most recent Descendants season I decided to give it another shot and... it's sorta like my guilty pleasure listening. Like it's nostalgic mainly. It's like their Hunger Games moment which I'm into but for the most part everything that I'm excited about so far during the season gets watered down in clunky dialogue or slow moving plot points. And overall the episodes end up being too long and kinda boring. This last week I listened to Episode 7 (parts 1 and 2 which is a whole other thing) and I can't tell if it all went over my head because of a ton of lore and character work I missed but I definitely felt confused. I'm still gonna keep listening cause at this point I'm invested in figuring out how it all goes down from a story perspective and it feels like this next episode will finally connect the two concurrent story lines. I'm curious to see if longtime fans have enjoyed this season; I've found it an easier entry point than Gold Rush and I like hearing about the regional evolution of the infected, I'm definitely enjoying it even if it's a bit slow.

Welcome to Night Vale

Seems a bit basic to be adding WTNV here but I have been inspired recently to go back to some select episodes, all of them recommendations from this post. And yeah: Night Vale is still such a classic with hilarious writing, fun concepts and undeniably influential style. So far I've only listened to a few early episodes (The Glow Cloud episode is 100% gold) that I was already familiar with and it's been really interesting to listen back to them after listening to Start With This for the past few months. I have a completely different appreciation for what they were doing with this show as it was coming out, like when I was heavy into Night Vale I think I took it for granted that this show existed and was perfectly weird and couldn't really wrap my head around the talent and thought that went into making it so special. I'm really enjoying my trip down memory lane but I'm also really excited to hear some new ones y'all recommended so I'll probably be carving out some space for future posts about my wtnv backlog.

Honorable Mention:

This isn't audio drama but I do want to note that the "Qatar's World Cup" episode of Throughline was really a great listen and worth the hour or so for anyone who's even vaguely following the World Cup or if you saw that John Oliver video. Throughline is one of my fave non-fiction podcasts and episodes like this one feel especially valuable in terms of their research and production.

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ourflagmeansgayrights · 2 years

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been seeing too much positivity in this fandom so i'm here to spread bad vibes

what's ur least favorite episode and why is it episode 3 the gentleman pirate i'll go first:

goes the hardest with secondhand embarrassment as a source of humor. the first 3 episodes in general do this, but this episode is absolutely The Worst. lucius's little speech in spanish jackie's makes me want to die. someone wrote rlly good meta abt how they stop using secondhand embarrassment for laughs once ed shows up, which is true and is great, but ed doesn't show up until the very end of this episode so we have like 20 minutes of laughing at stede to get through.

on a similar note, this episode teeters a little too close to beating a dead horse re: stede being a shitty pirate. like we've had two full episodes of him bumbling around like an idiot and i'm ready to move on. we know blackbeard is coming soon and that's where my investment lies; i don't rlly need to see stede flailing around in the republic of pirates to know stede is completely inept. i got the point last episode, thanks. Where Is Taika.

compared to the rest of the show this episode feels aimless and i think it's because the characters are kinda aimless. like, it feels like the first session of a new dungeons and dragons campaign and the DM doesn't have the full storyline planned so you're just running around doing random shit until something sticks. i think the main reason for the directionless vibe is that all the other episodes have ed and/or stede (aka the Protagonists of the show) going through some sort of emotional change or mini-character arc as the real core of the episode and i started listing them but realized that's insane so i made a different post for that. things happen to the characters and the characters do stuff, but there's not any change or growth.

overall this episode mostly just sets up things that are important later (spanish jackie, jim's backstory, izzy and stede's animosity), but the payoff doesn't come until later in the season, so on its own a lot of this episode doesn't stand out. the only payoff in this episode is ed showing up at the end which is GREAT but like it's the last thirty seconds. i have a whole episode to get to before then

and not 2 b like "this show is problematic!" (but like nothing's perfect yknow, it's important consume media critically) (and like this is kinda done intentionally and played for comedy) but stede in the republic of pirates gives me poverty tourism vibes. like i know that's the POINT but god it's so frustrating. i've already made a post abt how i want him to get called out for shit like this so i'm not gonna get into it here but like. rich white man walking through poor slums full of people vomiting and dying and being like "i'm so at home!" "lucius sketch my picture next to this corpse!" is not rlly that funny to me. personally.

i've been forcing my family to watch the show and after this episode my mom said she found this episode boring. that's right folks my mommy agrees w me. so there.

anywayyyyyy there are a lot of things abt this episode i DO like (jim being jim, ed saving the day, "genital pirate") and it's a very important episode for the show as a whole. but when im rewatching the show i spend most of this episode on my phone lol

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mrdrhenwardhykle · 1 year

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This totally off topic to mostly everything else that I talk about, but can I just say that I generally don't know how I feel about the 'Sonic.exe/X' character mostly because of obvious boring repetition, lack of actual moral or reason to the plots, and sooort of maybe because of the twisted junk some of its multiple handed-down owners have done; but I am absououtly in love with EXIT CAVE ZONE/Hill.gym so much I literally need to describe how this song and its variations affect the narrative so well

(So you know what I'm talking about pre-ramble, here's the song/s. Feel free to make a choice. The original is somewhat lacking because it's the first and generally before this character got close to being interesting to me; but OTM is my personal favorite. There's also a remix that I like, but it gets a little getting used to compared to the other chorus')

youtube

(the original. Not as emotion-evoking as the OMT, but I still like it)

youtube

It begins to unnerving; still sounding like a Sonic game but as if some kind of deranged monster was pounding on a piano again and again to the point of breaking bones or skin. It first gives off the feeling of something approaching; slow but guaranteed to eventually catch up no matter what pace you choose. It's not completely antagonizing, however, as a synthesized violin and the chorus come in almost as a display of pity to the victim. There's really nothing that can be done at this point, the voice of the chorus doesn't seem to make that it's goal. It's sympathetic, as if this morally grey onlooker to this tragedy is giving a prayer to the damned. In a way, it's sort of the last relief the player can find (at least compared to the constantly negative 'sonic is god and will eat everybody-ooga-booga' narrative given so far).

But the beat starting off so slow is nothing but wrong. Out of place with everything so far- It's based around a franchise constantly themed with speed. The fastest thing alive has literally turned against you in the worst way imaginable- But your approach to this terrible given fate is a slow and sympathetic pace, as if there was some kind of game to it. As if it was waiting behind; watching as its prey fleas and struggles to its last ability to pick up as much hope as possible- just waiting to see how desperate for hope a person can get. It's just a slow lead and reveal to an inevitable death.

And with each different rendition- is it really enough to call it a death? It's a loop-an unintentional cycle of misery and pain. Death itself doesn't promise the end of the misery-soon enough or later the same slow pace and feeling will come up once more; proving once again to be useless.

Yeah. Sort of silly observation ig. I just think it's kinda weird that it's pretty much the only original song from the first version of this game (That I'm aware of-remember that I'm just babbling but I'm pretty sure). And also gives crumbs of another expectation or feeling towards the story other than 'OOOOOOOOooo Sonic the Hedgehog is gonna getcha OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'

OMT is doing okay though. It still is making itself a hopeless story, but there's at least a little bit of a plotline and twist to it.

Like I said; I like some of this creepypasta's concepts, I just don't vibe with the whole thing. The idea of making a game character's strongest quality their friend's worst nightmare is generally genius and I think that's what some non-sonic copies miss out on (ex: say if you just did the same thing but with Crash Bandicoot it wouldn't make much sense-because speed isn't something he's known for or can be seen as a scary twist to his character).

I personally like to associate the song with the overall thought of an old game playing the player in general, as it literally kills that theme. And I love seeing accurate and interesting twists to older games.

#personally like the PC port above most because it sort of was hinting to Tails surviving for a while and weakening it #or at least upsetting it #also aced the sega-themed horror and didn't butcher it with the 'hyper realism' and like #idk if I remember; didn't the original say it was half life music in the loading screen #like in the written creepypasta right? am I making that up because that's what I remember #anyways- I think monsters are lame if you jump into it knowing they can't and won't be defeated #and also stories are lame if it's just in the sake of getting shock factor #sonic the hedgehog #sonic.exe #opinions #blab #ramble #music #creepypasta #Youtube

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