More Pet Peeves!

Wei Wuxian – a troublemaker, a genius, a beggar

So, another thing I've seen come up quite a lot is a penniless Wei Wuxian. This is more prevalent in modern AUs (in my experience). And like, I see where you people are coming from, the whole "sugar daddy Lan Wangji" is quite appealing, however! Why put Wei Wuxian down for it? In the novel, Lan Wangji has no trouble spoiling Wei Wuxian regardless of his financial standing and the money is actually never brought up as an issues. The whole "Am I your charity case, Lan Wangji?" is just not a thing. In the extras Wei Wuxian has access to Lan Clan's money, making him filthy rich once again, but Lan Wangji keeps on spoiling him and Wei Wuxian lets him, because he knows it makes Lan Wangji happy.

Also, why would Wei Wuxian be broke to begin with? The only instance he actually struggled due to tight finances was when he was secluding himself with the Wens on the Burial Mounds. Because, how is Wei Wuxian supposed to earn (a suptential amount of) money to begin with when he is shunned by the whole cultivation world? (The one that holds all the power?) And has to care for 50+ people.

Wei Wuxian is very smart. Not just book smart, but also street smart. He is a genius in all fields. He says in the novel that "back then" (in the days that he was a rich young master) he always had money on him ("to buy gifts for girls" ...yeah right). So, he is very resourceful. If, in a modern AU, he somehow found himself in a bad financial situation (the cause of which is very often Yu Ziyuan throwing him out) then, first of all, he most certainly would have seen that coming and would have prepared. Second, seeing that he is a genius, I don't think it would have been hard for him to earn enough money to live (comfortably) on his own quickly.

So, what do I mean by "putting Wei Wuxian down"? Well, there are two types of fanfics when it comes to this trope (this is called a trope, right? Idk), one where the writer does their best to portray Wei Wuxian with his canon characteristics (even though I still don't think he would struggle financially) and the one where Wei Wuxian is some oblivious idiot with a shit load of insecurities. So, this fanon Wei Wuxian refuses any help from everybody (be it his sister (or brother🙄), Lan Wangji or a stranger) because he "doesn't want to be a bother and make trouble" and will struggle silently. So this then leads to our hero of the day, Lan Wangji, 'tricking' Wei Wuxian into accepting his help. How more cliché can this be?

Wei Wuxian, why are you acting like my mum?

Why do opinions of some random people matter to him more than those of his loved ones? This one always comes hand in hand with "insecure Wei Wuxian". He develops self-esteem issues because of all the crap Yu Ziyuan throws at him (even though he doesn't in canon, but who cares about canon nowadays?) And thus, miscommunication and misunderstandings with Lan Wangji ensue, because "Why would this god of a man want a rat like me?" Or when they are ALREADY dating, he overhears people shit-talking him and starts putting distance between himself and Lan Wangji because "Lan Wangji deserves better" and needs constant reassurance from Lan Wangji. This... this is just so insulting to their characters and their relationship, I have no words.

...Maybe I should stop trying my luck and instead get to the mountain of books that is my TBR (≡・x・≡)?

As someone who enjoys religion blogging/discussions, I've come to realize that it's a good practice to be aware of the general signs/symptoms of religious-OCD thinking (aka scrupulosity), because if the conversation is taking on all the hallmarks of scrupulosity, it's actually a definitive sign that we cannot meaningfully and compassionately engage in a conversation about religion in a healthy way. I've actually had this play out a significant number of times online, and when I realized what it was, I also began to realize that the intrusive thoughts/obsessive and compulsive thinking are only ever fed by continuing the discussion with that person.

[[ Important edit to clarify why I am saying it's not healthy — made after I went back to look for more concrete facts about OCD or anxiety (I have GAD, not OCD, but many resources overlap since they're both anxiety disorders):

When Reassurance is Harmful — this explains how/why reassurance-seeking specifically about an OCD fear is a compulsive behavior, and engaging with reassurance-seeking interferes with recovery/management/treatment.

This table from the Anxiety Disorders Center lists key differences between Information Seeking and Reassurance Seeking.

This IOCDF page on Scrupulosity info for Faith Leaders identifies "symptom accommodation" as enabling. Two of the examples of doing this by participating in the OCD behavior are: "Engage in excessive conversation focused on if-then scenarios (e.g., "If I did this, then would X or Y happen? And what if Z was involved? How about W?")" And, "Repeatedly answering questions about ‘correct’ religious or faith practices."

That page also goes on to outline more info about reassurance seeking. "Although providing answers to (often simple!) questions may seem harmless, providing reassurance serves to maintain the anxiety disorder cycle." (This BMC psychiatry article cites a lot of related studies establishing this.)

The IOCDF page on What is OCD and Scrupulosity? ]]

Imo, the responsible thing to do is to recognize that (even if the other person hasn't outright stated it/isn't diagnosed)* the conversation is not about religion, it is about needing mental health support from professionals and experts. Talking to me, the layperson who enjoys chatting theology and my religion — is not only not helping, but is actively harmful. I'm not just talking about the person who I replied to today, either. Like I've said, I've seen this happen dozens of times in various online forums.

*[while I am against diagnosing strangers on the internet, it's important to realize A) lots of people don't know what Scrupulosity is, so it's possible they've never considered this is a mental health concern that could be treated, and that B) for the purposes of my concern, it doesn't matter if they actually have diagnosed OCD. The only thing that matters is that their thought-process causes them genuine distress/fear, and every response given to them seems to only incite new/additional distressing questions/thoughts, or further entrenches the original distress.]

Ultimately, any discussion aside from "you might want to speak to a mental health professional about scrupulosity OCD" seemingly puts me in the position of feeling as if I am being used for their self-harm. I hate that feeling. I do not want to be leverage for fear and pain. I have GAD, I despise the idea that I am making things worse.

No matter how much I love religious discussion, the answer in these cases is always "please reach out to an OCD specialist/mental health professional. I am not qualified to discuss this." And then to stop there. I have never once seen anyone stuck in this compulsive thought spiral be reassured or feel any better by hearing from someone else's approach to theology handled with things like empathy, compassion, logic, or even atheism. It doesn't matter what we say, how we say it, or how we relate to our own religion. The urge to engage in this kind of conversation in order to chat about religion is a sign that we are not equipped to help.

You can't have a conversation here, because intentionally or not, ten times out of ten, you are adding fuel to the fire. Just like people can't simply tell me something that would erase/talk me out of my ADHD/depression/anxiety disorder, you also cannot simply argue/reassure/persuade people out of scrupulosity. We should not try. We have a responsibility to consider that it's outright harmful to do so, and to disengage.

when you use the term “content warning” you are warning for the content, right? content that needs a warning. a warning for the content. things that do not count as warnings are: children (just in general, like, as living little human beings), ocs (not something scary!!! it’s okay!!!!! you don’t have to announce that you’ve made up people to populate the world you’re writing!!!), the reader character having a personality.

in fact, im just gonna put it out here now: you do not need to warn your audience about people. you warn for behaviours and actions and visceral violence/gore and explicitly sexual content.

everything else is a trope or a story aid, and does not count as a warning. if you want an extra “content clarifier” that’s fine and dandy, but please don’t list human beings under content warnings, because words!!! have!!!! meanings!!!!!!!!!

me when people treat casifer as though he's Cool Edgy Cunty Cas™ when he's literally just lucifer in a different meatsuit

Not to start anything but if people stop writing what they like it doesn't mean they'll start writing what you like.

no cool

Me when twt SB fans complain about how Slappy is just ripping off Looney Tunes when there is at least 700+ Peter Lorre caricatures in animation

genuine question but is there any fandom where a character is well written by the majority. im thinking about fandom culture and the spread of frustration when people dont write characters well but. honestly in all the fandoms ive been in there's only like, a Select number of authors who i trust to write Well, let alone write Well AND In Character. character analysis and writing and getting inside characters' heads are all separate skills (all of which are trained by roleplaying fyi can CONFIRM playing pretend with your friends is good for you). there's been more than once where I've disagreed with an interpretation that others agreed with, and then I turned out wrong. or i turned out right. like it doesnt matter WHO is right it just matters that differences in character analysis exist, so even if you DO write well AND write in character, your in character is still going to be someone else's out of character

there's this sort of. vibe. that to play in the sandbox you Need to be able to make a castle, and if you can't make a castle then you shouldn't bother, and it completely dismisses the idea that youre in that sandbox to PLAY in the first place. there's this Weight of disappointing someone if you can't build something that they like, but that forgets that you aren't there to build them a castle. like, be KIND. if you disagree with someone then please make an effort to do so kindly. i dont give a shit about fandom discourse but there is a reason kids get removed from sandboxes if they keep throwing sand in people's eyes. but if they don't like your misshapen sand pile, then youre not obligated to change it. even if you yourself end up hating that same sand pile later- youre not building a legacy. youre playing. and sometimes the result of that play is out of character drivel. theres a reason there are so many authors and so few who i like to consistently read and thats because everyone is Fucking Around in their hobby space. hash tag brag or whatever but i can build castles. ive built several that im v proud of. ive also dug holes in the sand for fun and then tripped on them when trying to get up. I often dug a hole and then got up and fucking- whoops, its a castle now, and i didn't realize i'd made something to be proud of until after the fact. the whole time while creating shit i was Convinced it was bullshit that didn't make sense. and then other times i was Convinced it was bullshit and then i was Right and i can look back and go. huh. ew. but it doesn't matter what the end result was, because i had fun playing in the sandbox

this wasn't meant to turn into a ramble but i have Feelings about bad art and art that's badly perceived and how public perception can screw with your head and how making art youre proud of is fucking. it's so difficult!!! it's hard!! it's really fun, which is why i try to make it, but i promise you it is Okay to not tryhard creativity. even if you CAN, it's okay not to do it all the time. or ever, even. fuck around find out have fun etc

How I Would Fix Houseki no Kuni

By now, you guys are probably more familiar than you’d like to be with the numerous posts I’ve made about what I see as the many narrative failings of Houseki no Kuni.

I’ve already written extensively about my gripes with this train wreck of a manga, and as much as I’ve said already, I could keep going. However, over the past few days, I’ve found myself wondering what I would change to make the story stronger. After all, it’s easy enough to identify a problem with a story, but it’s a great deal more challenging to come up with a solution. I’ve already suggested some potential changes in other posts, but I thought I’d assemble all of my brilliant ideas in one convenient location.

So, without further ado, here’s how I would fix the garbage fire that is Houseki no Kuni:

First, I’d have Phos keep the encyclopedia job longer. It always seemed weird to me that this story mechanic was dropped so soon after being introduced, and I don’t think that was to the story’s benefit. Phos becoming more devoted to and more competent at the encyclopedia job would showcase his growing maturity, plus it would lead to a growing curiosity. A big part of what sets Phos apart in the original story is how willing he is to question things that the other gems don’t, such as Sensei’s possible connection to the Lunarians or whether there’s another job for Cinnabar. You could have his desire to learn more come from his desire to get the encyclopedia job right because he’s already fucked up everything else he’s ever attempted, so this is his last chance to be good at something.

Similarly, I would not make Phos a fighter, or, at least, I would wait until later in the series to make him a fighter. Manga and anime is already oversaturated with stories about people who learn how to fight. Having a protagonist who’s strong suit is not fighting would make Houseki no Kuni stand out from other seinen series. Instead, Phos’s usefulness to the war against the Lunarians would be as a tactician, using the information he’s collected from other gems (such as Alexandrite’s obsessive knowledge of the Lunarians) and his own observations to help the other gems fight more efficiently. Phos accepting that he isn't cut out to be a fighter would be yet another sign of his maturity. In my version, after he gets his new agate legs, he decides he can ditch the encyclopedia job and become a fighter like he’s always wanted, just like in the original story. However, after he sees the Amethyst twins shattered by the Lunarian weapon made from Sapphire, he realizes battle isn’t cool and badass like he thought but scary and really tough, and he decides the encyclopedia thing is where he’s needed.

Of course, Phos would be forced to take up arms and finally fight later in the series as the war with the Lunarians is ramping up. Phos would have a moment to muse on the irony of finally getting to be a fighter just like he always wanted after already deciding he didn’t want it anymore.

One more thing about combat is that the gems would wear actual armor into battle. Red Beryl’s job wouldn’t be just to make cute moe moe outfits for the gems to strut their stuff in but to forge armor to protect the gems from the Lunarians’ weapons. The Lunarians would find ways to get through the armor, of course, but it would be better and more believable than sending these rocks into a war zone wearing but ties and shorts too tiny to pass a public school dress code. The gems can still wear their uniforms when they’re just hanging out at the school, that’s fine, but when they go on patrol, they suit up in fucking armor. The fact that they don’t wear their armor around the school could actually lead to some tense scenes where the Lunarians attack the school directly and the gems there are caught unprepared and underdressed.

Phos’s motive for not hibernating during the Winter Arc would be, again, to observe Antarcticite and the winter season for the encyclopedia. However, and this is big, by the time winter ends, Phos would come to blame Sensei for Antarcticite’s shattering. This is a change I suggested in a previous post. The exact scene I described back then is that Phos sees Sensei shatter Antarcticite himself, but I don’t think you need to go that far. Phos’s blaming of Sensei doesn’t even need to be justified; he could just be lashing out at Sensei out of misplaced grief. But something needs to happen during the Winter Arc, while everyone else is asleep, to make Phos suspicious of Sensei. Perhaps Phos actually sees the Lunarians surround Sensei and tug pleadingly at his clothes, like they did in the actual manga, and comes to realize that the Lunarians and Sensei are connected. Perhaps Sensei hesitates to strike back against the Lunarians, because he’s guilty about not being able to help them or whatever, and that hesitation leads to Antarcticite being shattered.

At any rate, by the time winter ends, Phos is the only witness to this suspicious side of Sensei, and he finds that nobody will believe him about what he saw because the others are all refusing to accept that Sensei is less than perfect. The only one who’s willing to listen to Phos at all is Cinnabar because Cinnabar is grateful to Phos for listening to him. Plus, since Cinnabar is already isolated from everyone else, he’s less willing to keep so strictly to the party line. While he still loves Sensei, he’s less complacent than the others. I suggest these changes to the Winter Arc and its fallout because I always thought the chain of events that led to Phos being suspicious of Sensei in the latter half of the anime was pretty week, plus Phos being able to turn to Cinnabar for support would make Cinnabar a more prominent part of the story instead of getting shunted aside like he is in the manga.

Speaking of the Lunarians, I would change basically everything about the Moon. The Moon is not a high tech, utopian society full of karaoke bars, ramen joints, labor unions, advanced laboratories, and all that other stuff, but a surreal, Lovecraftian landscape that looks as beautiful as an ink painting of the Pure Land but is actually nightmarish and hostile. The Lunarians are supposed to be the tormented souls of human sinners unable to pass on to the afterlife, and their world should reflect that. In my version, the Lunarians have been driven insane by their long perdition, and while they look like divine figures from a Buddhist scroll, their behavior is so weird and alien to the gems that they find it hard to believe that these creatures were ever human. They can’t even communicate with the gems because their minds have deteriorated to the point that they can’t even understand language. The only Lunarian who’s coherent and rational is Aechmea, and even he’s starting to lose his sanity after running the asylum by himself for so long. 

Aechmea himself would also need to be radically changed. Somewhere along the way, the manga kind of forgot that Aechmea was supposed to be the villain. They try for this reveal that Aechmea was actually benevolent all along, and it 100% doesn’t work because A. a lot of his wicked acts are just gratuitously cruel and don’t further his supposedly well-meaning goals at all and B. the Lunarians aren’t really suffering anyway. To fix Aechmea, his sympathetic qualities and his villainous qualities both need to be enhanced.

So, my version of Aechmea is a well-intentioned extremist who chose the path of the bodhisattva but doesn’t have the supernatural patience and wisdom necessary to handle it. His backstory would be the same, but because my version of the Moon is a hellscape where he’s the only sane person around, his desperation to get Sensei to pray to free both the other Lunarians and himself is way more understandable. At the same time, the story would condemn the cruel things he’s doing by pointing out that he’s got no right to make the other races suffer just to save his own people. Aechmea would be portrayed as a lost soul, pitiful, yet misguided. And, above all, the Lunarians’ salvation cannot come about because of Aechmea’s manipulations. The story needs to show that the path Aechmea is choosing to try and save them is the wrong one.

On a similar note, Aechmea can’t make Phos into a human. I’ve already made a separate post about this note, and the reception to it was pretty positive. If Phos becomes a human/enlightened/bodhisattva/whatever, it needs to be in spite of Aechmea, not because of him. Phos needs to become human through his growing experience and his own choices, not Aechmea’s. 

Instead, in my version of the story, Aechmea chooses Cairngorm as Sensei’s replacement. Aechmea chooses Cairngorm because Cairngorm has been sealed inside of Ghost Quartz for most of his life, and thus, has never had any real agency. Hell, maybe Ghost Quartz is shattered specifically so Aechmea can then swoop in and claim Cairngorm, all so he can groom him into becoming a new prayer machine. It’s a sad fact that abuse victims are often abused multiple times in their lives by different people, and oftentimes, their current abuser is someone who “rescued” them from a previous abuser. When Aechmea “frees” Cairngorm from Ghost Quartz’s influence, he portrays himself as a savior who will show Cairngorm what he’s “really meant to be.” Aechmea and Cairngorm’s relationship in the manga already comes across as super predatory and sus, so I think the story would be better if it actually acknowledged that Aechmea grooming Cairngorm is bad instead of portraying their wildly unequal marriage as the “happily ever after” that it does.

Phos, on the other hand, would become a foil to Cairngorm because their growth and change happens because of their own choices and not because of Aechmea’s (you know, like the opposite of how it is in the manga). Phos would also choose to replace his body parts, instead of his body parts being lost through circumstance or being swapped out for him by other people. Him losing his legs can still be an accident, but it has the effect of showing Phos that his inclusions are special because they can assimilate basically any other material while still leaving Phos’s consciousness in control. However, after he gets his agate legs, every other new body part has to be a deliberate acquisition. For example, when he finally decides that he has to fight, he intentionally seeks out the gold alloy to replace his arms, whereas in the manga and anime, his arms were taken away by the ice floes, and replacing them with gold alloy was Antarticite’s idea.

Finally, the ending. In the manga, Phos is essentially tricked into enduring 10,000 years of mind rape to become the new prayer machine. In my version, Phos chooses to undergo the 10,000 year transformation, knowing that it’ll be tortuous and awful, because he’s willing to make that sacrifice to bring the Lunarians peace and finally end the conflict. The gems don’t become Lunarians in this version. My version of Lunarian society isn’t idyllic the way it is in the manga, so the gems wouldn’t want to join them, plus my Lunarians don’t have that kind of technology anyway. The sacrifice in this case is that Phos praying will also cause the gems that have been shattered to pass on as well, meaning Phos will never see Antarcticite again, and all the other shattered gems will be dead for good. But Phos is okay with that because 1. They realize from their interactions with the Lunarians and Yellow Diamond’s declining mental state that immortality is a curse and 2. They’ll still be around, and they’ll still remember Antarcticite, which is specially poignant because Phos has lost so many of their memories by now. 

There’s also some tension because when Phos makes this choice, no one is sure that he’ll be able to handle the nightmarish transformation without going insane the way the Lunarians did, and there’s a chance he’ll emerge after the 10,000 years as some kind of monstrous eldritch abomination. And because he looks so weird and alien after the transformation is complete, the surviving gems aren’t sure if he’ll actually be able to pray the Lunarians away or if he’ll become a new threat.

But, ultimately, he shows that the transformation was a success, and he prays all of the Lunarians away. Yes, even Aechmea, because for all the evil he’s done, he also lived every day in pure agony, so there’s no point in punishing him any further.

The surviving gems would still be alive, as would the Admirabilis. (Yeah, the plot point about the living races descended from humanity also being wiped out in the prayer is really contrived and makes no sense, so I’m chucking it entirely.) Phos, however, would no longer live among the other gems because he’s become so enlightened that the other gems can’t relate to them anymore. So, Phos remains aloof. But the other gems know where he is. When a gem is finally ready to die, they seek out Phos, who will ensure that they pass on. Phos vows not to pass on himself until the last gem has been shattered. Phos, the little gem everyone called worthless, has become the benevolent bodhisattva that both Aechmea and Sensei failed to be. End.

gonna make this its own post actually.

it is 2024. stop calling the ocean gay flag "the toothpaste flag" and stop spreading misinformation about it that has been long, long, long debunked

every lgbt identity is allowed to have a flag. anyone can make a flag for any reason

Gay persons are allowed to use the blue and green ocean flag to identify themselves. especially because rainbow flags represent the entire community

i'm a gay man that looks like a woman. i fly the ocean flag in queer spaces to ensure that i am gendered correctly/recognized for who i am. it clarifies without words my orientation, identity

you don't have to use the ocean flag. no one is making you. but stop being an asshole. especially if you are not Gay. you have your own flag, too.

I once saw a youtube comment wish that Doubt Comes In didn’t include Eurydice’s part so that we could experience the trial from Orpheus’ perspective and feel the same doubt of whether she’s actually following him. I thought about this for a bit and would like to appreciate that Hadestown doesn’t go down this  route. All things considered, Eurydice is the true main character of Hadestown: she gets the dramatic final introduction in the opener, Any Way The Wind Blows is very much a traditional protagonist “I Want” song, and Act 1 closely follows her changing perspective of Orpheus whilst he just kinda stays static throughout. Although Act 2 sorta forgets about this set-up and leans more towards Orpheus as the story’s hero, she still gets an upward journey from a jaded woman bitter towards the lonely world into an intensely passionate optimist who would walk with her lover to the end of time. It would be a disgrace for her voice to be taken away at the very end of the story, as the suspense comes not from dreading that Orpheus’ doubts may actually come true, but from hoping that Eurydice’s renewed faith and assured attempts at comforting her broken lover will be enough to save her.

examining a seemingly normal image only to slowly realize the clear signs of AI generated art.... i know what you are... you cannot hide your true nature from me... go back where you came from... out of my sight with haste, wretched and vile husk

Watching this doc about the comedy store and somehow it spends like less than 15 minutes on the comedy strike which is nuts and I’m sure has nothing at all to do with the fact that the guy who made it was one of the guys who broke the strike… also how are you going to barely talk about Steve Lubetkin at all the most interesting thread of the whole story. And praise Mitzi Shore so much and not even bring up the fact she was making piles of money off these people and refused to even just give them a cut of the cover charge. WHATEVER!!!

Hhnnnnggg

I need to say it, I really do

Not every infected is a clicker. The infected that killed Tess WAS NOT A CLICKER

The infected that killed Tess was a stalker or stage 2 infected, OR somewhere between stage 1(runner) and stage 2(stalker).

I know quite a lot of people watching the show haven't played that game so yall don't know but I'm here to tell you, lemme break it down even more for you

Stage 1, Runner: recently infected, they are alive but have no control over their bodies due to the fungus having taken over, they look very jaundice and very sickly, and (in the games especially) you can hear them crying, gagging, hating what they are being forced to do by the fungus.

Stage 2, Stalker: after a while of being infected the fungus starts to grow on the outside of the body, generally around the head, you see fungal plates starting to grow but they haven't covered the face. They are no longer human and just focus on the attack, as per their name they will hide from you until the time is right, i.e. your back is turned, and then attack. They are pretty rare in game.

Stage 3, Clicker: infected for years(I think about 2 is when they start to form) the fungal plates that started growing in stage 2 have now fully developed blocking out eyesight completely, causing them to use echolocation to find their targets. The fungal plates also act as an armor, keeping the head of the infected safe from things like one gunshot etc.

Stage 4, Bloater: these are the big guys. We saw one on episode 5 and I'm hoping it's not the only one but understand if it is because they're doing all practical makeup. Bloaters have been infected for a very long time (talking bout like straight from the beginning) they have fungal plates all over their bodies and spore spots that they rip off and use as bombs to attack you.

Now I'm not like 100% sure the show has introduced stalkers, at least not how we know them in the game, I think a majority of the infected we see are runners that are in between stages 1 and 2. Hence the one that killed Tess looking like that.

sophie lived on the back of a meat store for the better part of 3 years, she managed....

As insane as I feel about this new information there is a very petty and childish part of me that is deeply satisfied by this confirmation that 'foster dad felix' is FAKE and always has been. I was always bothered by it since it just made no canonical sense whatsoever but was always in the realm of 'theoretically technically vaguely possible if you really stretch your disbelief' but now the dragon has been slain

Didder art! I am stim! Didder art! Best art!/pos

Dude your art

Perfect????

Like???

How?? Share your secrets pls

I love it!

/Gen

kghvjgf my art is far from perfect, but tysm <3

my secret is i was taught by th internet lmao

i don't have any formal art education. learned everything from youtubers/streamers/random tutorials n tips on tumblr n pinterest/etc.

but. if u ask abt something specific, i might b able to share some of those things i'v learned :3