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kithtaehyung · 2 years

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Was gonna do this in order of how offended I am but it’s really hard to choose…so this is just in order of how I saw them 😐

1) Him tracing ily on her skin 😭 why did my brain immediately think of him doing this before he has built up the courage to say it out loud, like he can’t say it out loud yet but he’s bursting at the seams so he just- ✋🏽😭

2) I was expecting the 3tan yoongi violence but this cannot be tolerated 😐😐😐😐😐 #1 post I’m mad about as of rn. This Tae is illegal 😭😭😭😭 (spoiler alert: it gets worse 😭)

3) Lmao no but Ryensuela for the Nicholasname 😂☠️ (I am still partial to when I see people call you Ryen Kith Taehyung in all caps, it makes me giggle every time). Didn’t have a particular post to tag for this, just know I thoroughly enjoyed seeing people try to lengthen your name 😂 nicknames are my fave.

4) Sad I missed this ask game but the ones asked were so good 😂😭 (wish there were more sneaky 3tan bro and jk ones but it was still a good mix 👀)

5) I’m sorry wut is this 😐 this is going pretty high on the list. You teasing a Netflix and chill 3tan drabble and bros identity? 🤨

6) I- 😐😐😐😐 your audacity has reached a peak once again 😭 PEAK I SAY agahsdklggl

7) 😳😳😳 this should be illegal. How dare you throw this out into the world.

8) Nope 🙅🏽‍♀️ Absolutely not. Nopenopenopenope. Nope 😐. If I refuse to acknowledge it did this really happen??? 🫢🫢🫢 I-

9) AND I DIDNT THINK IT COULD GET WORSE THEN IT DID 😭😭😭 RYEN! Explain yourself 😐😭 *aggressively shakes tree* agshdkdlgg

10) 👁👄👁 GET BACK HERE 😭 you and your damn tags IM AT MY WITS END ISTG

11) Not the Wendy’s 😂☠️☠️☠️ I’m sorry…but this is just SO funny to me. After the horny hours too. The timing is UNREAL 😈 not so much fun when you’re not the one being the menace is it (Also having the live in those screenshots is taking me out, his face in them is perfect 😂😂😂☠️)

12) IM SORRY WHAT!!!?????? I missed a whole ass huge spoiler 😳😳😳 (I’ve said it a million times but I’ll say it again, your tags I- asgdjjfkg YOU WANNA FIGHT OR??? What do you mean is it!??? You literally said “highly requested FULL basketball scene coming up” DONT PLAY COY NOW 😭)

13) Okay yeah…I…I have…a lot of…feelings…about this 🙂🙂🙂. This is fine. Everything is…fine 🙂 (AGAIN THE TAGS WE’RE GONNA THROW HANDS)

14) 😐☹️☹️☹️ this was uncalled for, unprovoked and just RUDE

15) ☠️ I’m not even sure I have anything more to say than just 😩😩😩😩

16) Ryen…😐 This…this takes #1…the teaser!!??! Agshhsjfkflg 😐 don’t talk to me….DONT EVEN LOOK AT ME 😭🥴 (wait help I just saw the estimated help date nooooo, you can’t do this to me I’m ✨unprepared✨. THIS IS WHAT YOU MEANT WHEN YOU SAID SOMETHING I HAVENT GOTTEN TO YET. Never been more thankful for a delay in release dates, if I came back to a full ass YOONJIN fic dropped I would have yeeted my phone off a balcony)

17) 😐😐😐😐 uncalled for and unprovoked pt 2 ☹️

18) Last peak of audacity reached…the way you tagged this 🍊🍊🍊…SEE…this is how I knew. Just knew it smh 😐. When I saw you were conveniently releasing 3tan9 visuals on jk’s bday 😒

And on that last note…guys…I’ve been saying this but 3tan jk is gonna be at the release party duh!!!! For how long and what interactions we get 👀 only Ryen knows but IM READY 😈

And this has been ‘what you missed in practically 2 weeks on this godforsaken blog’…hope this puts things in perspective 😐. It was a rollercoaster of emotions let me tell you, 10/10 do not recommend going through it in a short time span…it’s…✨a lot✨ 🥴😂 and you’ve created monsters. We’re all menaces™ 😂

Let’s hope tumblr doesn’t randomly eat this ask bc I lowkey don’t wanna hyperlink everything again 😂🤧

OH MY GOD MIKAYLA LMFAOOOO okay… yeah…. We… don’t have any excuses for what the fck you missed🥴

I was gonna respond to all of these when I realized that it’s much more hilarious to just make a scholarly blanket statement and say “If you’re gonna skip, just know you have a lot of make up work to come back to.”💀💀💀

But seriously, we missed you so much! Definitely would’ve been more screaming involved (and faster justice for Friends!!!) All the tags screaming I am CACKLINGGGG HAHAHAH you know to read the tags!! Always read the tags!! Yoonjin piece is still in the works but I’ve realized that I wanna make it perfect so🤪 Stay fcking tuned.

The theory you have is super interesting so we’ll see what happens in the next parts👀👀

#ryensuela here!!#mikayla!#asks:3tan #asks:hitrecord #*ryenfictalk #mailbox💌

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jonathankatwhatever · 9 months

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Continuing 18 August 2023

I had to go weird to get further. I took the 1989 photo and flipped it so you’re carrying it on your back and it reads 6861. So I dialed 19898986861. And then a few variants. Like you’re most free when you take on the biggest burden.

Then I ran across a reference to Cantor pairing, and realized it’s only possible in gs. If you look at a drawing of it, then it counts out a Triangular. That is, if you count 1 on the xK, then count 1 forward along the xK, then count 1 along sK to the 1 count in yK, which we do because we’re counting 1Space, then we have a side connecting to 2 count in xK of root5, meaning there’s an attached 5gs. That’s crossing over a Brick: one Cantor pair! Next is root13, so there’s an attached 13gs. Then I believe 5, so an area of 25. So if I build these in both axes, then what? 41 of course because it’s a series which begins at 5, adds 8 and then adds 4 repeatedly. So: a hand plus I//I of a gs with each End and Segment turned into a gs, with IC plus IC plus IC. Makes sense to me because then the other way is the other hand and then the 8 makes sense as a 16 because this literally pairs across to 2 Things.

So, we identify a hidden 10gs and a hidden 16gs in Cantor pairing. I can’t find a word to describe how interesting that is: in the first move, it puts a Brick along xK and one along yK and the connecting line that is root5 runs in 2 orientations within the sK connection from 2 to 2. So the Triangular line approaches sK and zK. Happens pretty fast, so the little angle at the Brick goes away. Or look at it as the fit to very close to sK and zK occurs and as it approaches 0, then it splits apart into more distinct pieces, with a maximum of 5gs being tilted in xK and yK. That’s why it’s a hand: it comes out of the fundamental facts of counting that we go one way then the other, or vice versa, so the only reason I can’t add them is my own resistance to doing that.

So we’re talking about 16, which is fine because it’s over the Ends. Then 13gs, to 26. And 25 goes to 50, so we hit that form of Halving there. That’s at 4*3 and completing the triple, then doubling for the directionality, and we get 50. Not sure where that goes. Can say there’s another and can say there’s a putative other because we can count 50 in 2 directions to make 100, which says the 50 could be yes or no or some other choice.

That is a functional Pathway for choice at any scale, including infinite scales, I think, because this is an infinite process that reduces to this level. I mean: those are rationals, and it associates all rationals down to a hand you play one or the other. The essence of choice is one or the other, this versus that. So, we take this old construction for Cantor pairing, which links alternating steps in the orthogonal construction of gs, and we head out for a ways on the xK, which draws us back to one less on the yK, and then instead of bouncing back to xK, we count out more along yK and then count over to xK. That constructs all the rationals as having orthogonal gs constructions which thus project as a line in the pairing.

We’ve built out the importance of 2 and 3, which together make 5, but never much thought into 5 outside of it being a hand. Basic gs logic says it’s the combinations of D3 to various D2, which means it idealizes to the polygon form as the solution in which the other states are contained. That’s the same as with the CR of a gs: the n-dimensions reduce to infinities of all included D-counts. A D-count of n-dimensions clearly includes all included D-counts, and those are clearly finite modules. I can count by any number infinite times as long as the number is finite. That is the hand: it’s not D4 because that organizes events or Ends or Actualities in orderings associated with a count forward along an xK treated as time, so the events which are orthogonal lay out in yK large to small, etc. D5 means Attaching to a D3 in 2 places, at 2Ends. Makes a middle, so it manifests 1-0-1 by making 1-1-0-1-1, and I think I’m trying to say that’s necessary because the other choice is to Attach a 0 so we see a repeating pattern of 1-0-1-0, which is fine, but what if we need to identify a 0, a middle? Then if you Attach a 1, flip the 1-0Segment from 0 to 1, and that draws connections at either End which extend away from the same End without sharing the characteristics of being the middle, of being a 0.

So, say we count 1-0-1 and want to add a 1. The 0 Between is suppressed into the -. So that link on either side, which makes a larger Triangular, thus identifies the center End of the 3 as the middle. At least for the count of 1-1, because there can be a pattern of any number of 1’s surrounding a middle we label 0. That’s a coordinate system: we label that 0 when we do exactly this. If that’s true, we just generated a coordinate system using Ends and Triangular and gs.

It’s exactly right and it completely fits the RH explanation. That’s the naturals and the integers. Just make a 0 and extend the 1’s. So, let’s get this straight: as a proof of HC, we took Cantor pairing, which is fundamental and old, treated it as Triangular over gs, and generated a deep insight into the nature of 0.

So if we tug on the middle instead of one End, then we get a past, present and future when it also tugs on one End. I know this is correct, but I can’t get the mechanism in my mind. I’m now seeing a double pull on either End to a single pull in each direction. Oh, that’s choice. A double pull in one direction. Let’s see: if the middle is D3, then we Attach D2 to one End and that’s this way. If the middle is an End, then we attach D2 and get D3. So what exactly does that mean? We take an End, and in D1, that End has a CR that doesn’t specify at the Boundary. So then D2 specifies and goes to the next non-specified Boundary, meaning the inner edge of the outer Boundary. It’s like we’re attaching a Thing, so it’s a choice of a Thing in D-structure.

This is frightening. I’m not able to keep it straight in my head. Try again, and then take a break.

Identify a 0, a middle, and don’t worry about the fact that it’s an End which is being ignored. Tugged in both directions within a 5 count. In fact, if we only count 1’s, then we can say the 1 which is now a 0 connects or not to the 3rd 1 in either sequence. Like 1-1-1-0-1-1 and the other way to make a 6 and 7.

I need to let this sink in, but this appears to be basic choice because this draws over any sequence.

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mars-ipan · 1 year

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I posted 10,425 times in 2022

That's 170 more posts than 2021!

1,371 posts created (13%)

9,054 posts reblogged (87%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@magiskarp

@dromaeo-sauridae

@thought-u-said-dragon-queen

@sugarglider-s

I tagged 4,247 of my posts in 2022

#marzi - 65 posts

#ask - 41 posts

#goodnight tumblr - 30 posts

#toh spoilers - 25 posts

#marzivents - 22 posts

#wrennyn don’t look - 22 posts

#sodapop - 21 posts

#artstyle inspo - 20 posts

#cy - 18 posts

#mcc liveblog - 17 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#like it’s never ‘this guy bad >:(‘ it’s ‘this person is a victim of incredibly tragic circumstances. while it doesn’t excuse their actions-

My Top Posts in 2022:

that feel when the guy you’ve been crushing on turns out to be batshit insane

(individual panels under cut)

See the full post

27 notes - Posted May 17, 2022

ibuki mioda ultimate matchmaker

33 notes - Posted May 18, 2022

“humans are inherently selfish because it’s in our nature to only look out for ourselves” shut the FUCK up even if by “ourselves” you mean “other humans” you’re fucking wrong and trying to find excuses to be cynical so your misery is justified to you

ahem. sorry. got ahead of myself

anyways humans (and animals in general) do this little thing called mutualism where we make friends with another species basically. this is how we domesticated dogs. and cats. and basically every domesticated animal. when dogs were wolves they easily coulda killed us and vice versa but we both recognized that we could be stronger together so we worked together and now we have little animal companions we keep with us. when people used canaries to measure co2 in coal mines they built boxes to seal the canary from the co2 and connect it to an oxygen tank so it wouldn’t suffocate. we rehome bugs instead of squishing them. people see squirrels on the street and smile. we pack bond motherfucker it’s like a huge part of what got us to be the Big Species we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t love not only each other but also every living creature on this planet

love is human nature and human nature is love Do You Understand

35 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

WAIT i just realized.

belos was able to possess hunter through a cut. he got to hunter’s blood through an open wound and spread undetected until he could take over his body.

you know what else does that?? disease. viruses and bacteria, specifically. belos is a literal pestilence to those he targets. he’s a fucking disease !!!! he spreads just like one !!! oh my FUCK

41 notes - Posted October 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

tumblr_video

ideas that refuse to leave ur brain until you’ve made them a reality

117 notes - Posted March 18, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #guess who finally got around to it #anyways komaeda insane being my top post is. something #3 of these are dr related. mental illness #ALSO teehee august i rbed from u the mostest <33

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findingjoynweirdstuff · 3 years

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Dream SMP Recap (April 18/2021) - Skeppy and the Egg

With only a week left to prepare for the Red Banquet, Bad takes a trip down to the Egg and ends up in a tense confrontation with Skeppy.

A brief summary of the week’s total events can be found at the end of the post.

---

VOD LINKS:

HBomb94

Foolish

Badboyhalo

Captain Puffy

---

- HBomb hosts Niki, Puffy and Hannah’s episode of L’Cast!

- Bad rows to shore in a boat. He gets out near Fundy’s base.

- He examines the server, remarking on how the Blood Vines are gone. It’s all in preparation. One week from today will be the Red Banquet.

- Quackity has been causing nothing but problems. Meanwhile, the Egg Room has been renovated with Nether brick walls. The plants have been growing nicely, and a dance floor has been prepared.

- Bad looks at the dining area. There are many chairs, but Bad isn’t sure if there will be enough seats for everyone.

- The Egg whispers to him.

“I will give you your heart’s desire. I will give you what you want.”

Bad: “I know. You don’t have to say it anymore, I know!”

- Bad walks over to the Egg and notices Skeppy there. Skeppy tells him that he wants to be near the Egg. Bad says he worries about him, but Skeppy says he’s fine and to leave him alone.

- Bad tries to convince him to go on a walk. Skeppy tells him that there’s nothing he can say to change his mind. He’s staying with the Egg.

Bad: “I mean I...All of this, all of this is for him...and it’s so frustrating. I just -- I know that Egg, it’s not evil, and everybody’s just misunderstanding it, and I know -- at the Banquet, we’re gonna show them! We’re gonna show everybody exactly what the Egg is all about, and exactly what the Egg wants, they’re gonna see it for themselves. Everybody’s gonna see it...but I just don’t like how much time he spends by it now. He literally just hangs out by it. I mean -- if it wasn’t for Skeppy, it probably wouldn’t have even survived that explosion...Oh my goodness...he was able to repair it.”

- As Bad talks, he watches Skeppy fiddling with the Egg’s surface. The Egg whispers again.

“I will give you your heart’s desire. I will give you what you want.”

- Skeppy asks why Bad is still talking to him. Bad reluctantly leaves to look at the decorations again. Skeppy tells him that no one has entered or left the premises.

- Bad reminds Skeppy of the statues he built for him. Bad says he thinks it looked a little better before...Skeppy asks what it’ll take to get Bad to stop talking to him.

- Bad tells Skeppy he found something wrong on the perimeter. Skeppy says nothing could possibly be wrong, but Bad insists they do one last walk around. He says if they go for a walk, he’ll stop bothering Skeppy.

- The Egg starts to whisper, but Bad tells it to stop and the Egg goes quiet before it can say anything.

- They start walking. Bad says that no dancing is actually going to take place, it’s just for show. He shows Skeppy the table too, but Skeppy gets impatient.

Skeppy: “What’s the mistake? I feel like you’re manipulating and lying to me right now.”

- He shows Skeppy a wall. Skeppy says the wall is “crisp and perfect,” and nothing is wrong with it. He goes back to the Egg.

- Skeppy says he invites Bad to get on the Egg. He gets Bad to stand on it. Skeppy asks if Bad feels good. Bad says he does, but Skeppy insists.

- The Egg starts talking and Bad tells it to shut up again.

“Nourishment...”

Bad: “Quiet! You muffinhead.”

- Skeppy asks why he keeps doing that. Bad snaps and says he doesn’t like how Skeppy’s been acting lately.

Bad: “It’s not about power! It’s not about control! I’m your FRIEND, Skeppy!”

Skeppy: “I mean...you can think that.”

Bad: “...What do you mean?”

Skeppy: “I mean, what do you want?”

Bad: “No, what did you just say? You said ‘you can think that,’ what do you mean?!”

Skeppy: “You can think whatever you want in your silly little mind, okay? It doesn’t matter to me.”

Bad: “No, we’re friends, right?”

Skeppy: “Sure.”

Bad: “Sure?! That’s it?”

Skeppy: “You can call it whatever you want, alright? In your head, we can be best friends, okay? We can be friends for life. Just leave. Me. Alone.”

...

Skeppy: “It’s up to you, ultimately, because I can’t change your mind. So stop trying to change mine.”

- Bad is furious. Is the Egg Skeppy’s friend now, the only thing he hangs out with?

Skeppy: "The Egg is more than just a friend. The Egg is life itself.”

- Skeppy tells him he doesn’t expect Bad to understand the feeling within.

Bad: “I...I have done so much, because I did for...for you! For our friendship! And now you’re trying to tell me that we’re not friends anymore?”

Skeppy: “Did I say that?”

Bad: “No, but you’re saying you’d rather spend time with this Egg!”

Skeppy: “I’m not saying it, I’ve been proving it.”

- Bad and Skeppy start arguing and yelling at each other. Bad says he’s done so much, sacrificed so much to protect Skeppy from the other people on the server.

Skeppy: “You left me for a long, long, long time before you even checked up on me, okay? And now, all of a sudden, you care about me? All of a sudden we’re best friends and all you have is my best interest? I don’t think so!”

Skeppy: “The past doesn’t matter. It’s only about the future and the present. And right now, I know what I want.”

- Skeppy goes back to the Egg.

Bad: “Skeppy...I just wanted us to hang out like we used to.”

Skeppy: “Yeah, well...Times change. So do people. So get used to it.”

Bad: “I just -- I did this all for you and I didn’t want the Egg to take that away.”

Skeppy: “Do you hear how selfish that is? You are trying to take away what I enjoy, and what I like, for your own benefit? Do you realize how selfish that is of you? you don’t actually care about me! Stop hitting me! That is the definition of selfish!”

Bad: “YOU TAKE THAT BACK. Skeppy, if you have any idea of what I have done, and you calling it selfish?!”

...

Bad: “I...I want an apology. I don’t want you to call ALL the sacrifices that I made for you selfish! Take that back, right now! Apologize!”

Skeppy: “They were ALL selfish, and they were all for your own benefit! You didn’t even consider letting me spend a little bit! Just a little bit of time with the Egg! That was completely cut out!”

Bad starts shaking.

“IT’S JUST A STUPID EGG, SKEPPY!”

- He pushes Skeppy into the lava and Skeppy dies. Bad screams, horrified.

Bad: “Skeppy, wait! No! I’m sorry! Skeppy no! ...What happened? What did I do?”

The screen goes black.

--- ---

CANON DEATH: SKEPPY

Cause: Pushed into lava by Badboyhalo

--- ---

Skeppy: “Bad? Bad? Bad...Bad, answer me!”

- Skeppy is blue. He’s standing in a wooden house, calling for Bad.

- The view pans around. Skeppy is standing in front of a white bed. He quietly asks for Bad to answer him.

- The view zooms out, exiting through the door marked as Bones and Skeppy’s house.

It’s Big Daddy Island.

The screen cuts to black again.

- Bad visits Puffy at the mansion.

- Bad asks if Puffy’s excited for the Banquet. He sounds saddened. Bad tells her Skeppy died, though. He fell into lava. “Gravity killed him.”

- Puffy asks if Skeppy was shoved.

- They argue about whether gravity would be the killer if Puffy pushes Bad off a roof. Puffy does so and then tridents, accidentally falling to her death.

- Bad talks to Puffy about how he and Skeppy got into an argument because Skeppy kept doing nothing but sitting on an Egg despite all that Bad did for him. Then Skeppy slipped and fell into lava.

- Puffy asks if this means the Egg that Bad loves so much killed Skeppy.

- No matter what, the Banquet has to happen. Bad says he’ll cover the lava up. Puffy will still attend, but the gravity of the situation has changed.

Puffy: “There’s going to be no accidental deaths?”

Bad: “No...”

Puffy: “There was hesitation there.”

Bad: “No accidental deaths.”

- Puffy writes the death report.

Puffy: “Friends aren’t forever but that dump truck sure is.”

- They switch out of canon as Skeppy comes over to hang out.

- Puffy suggests that Bad and Skeppy get a room. To play chess in. They go inside of the Rat statue to play chess. They play Battleship? And then chess but with their minds.

- There’s a lot of interesting talk in the Rat statue.

- After a lot more banter, Skeppy logs off with Mr. Pointy. Puffy says she should start charging for couple’s therapy.

- Skeppy logs on and they get into a chase. He falls and dies and Puffy retrieves Mr. Pointy.

- Bad and Skeppy start bargaining for it from Puffy.

- Bad, Skeppy, Puffy and Sam all hang out together

Upcoming Events:

- Ranboo’s lore stream (April 23rd)

- The Red Banquet (April 24th)

- Dream SMP one-year anniversary (April 24th/25th)

- Tales From the SMP: “Space Race”

- Dream’s lore video

END OF WEEK RECAP:

4/12 - Quackity recounts the events leading up to his visit with Dream

4/13 - Nothing much happens.

4/14 - Foolish hires HBomb to be his maid.

4/15 - Nothing much happens.

4/16 - Nothing much happens.

4/17 - Hannah goes sleepwalking

4/18 - Bad and Skeppy fight, Bad kills Skeppy

#dream smp #dream smp recaps #long posts

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skimblyshanks · 2 years

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I'll just say.

I was an anti ages 13-17.

I was always a rather passive anti? By 16-17 I was annoyed by most ppl I saw and probably would have called myself neutral. I don't think it's a coincidence that by this point I was in a DBT therapy group where skills were taught to own and manage our own feelings and behavior to the best of our ability.

I look back at the behavior I condoned towards artists who hadn't done a thing wrong and I still get hit by waves of guilt like. I wasn't even active in the harassment per se, but I absolutely rationalized it as being deserved when it just. Plainly wasn't.

Constant crosstagging while feigning innocence toward such behaviour; constant posts and answered asks about how ~dangerous~ an artist was for drawing a ship. Same artist mocks antis for being so pressed abt a 7 year age gap btwn a fictional 18 year old and a fictional 25 year old? They're as evil and bad as plebcomics.

One artist was deemed an active danger to children bc they did nude figure studies and made them homestuck characters. Hatred toward artists was obsessive; new accusations against them to justify continued obsession were often just. Being mad they still existed on the platform.

Anyway, just. I can't get back into the old headspace I occupied. I don't know if I ever will be. But what I've seen since 2020 has only served to make antidom and the behaviors it encourages just. Inexcusable to me.

And I look back at 13 year old me and I just feel bad. Guilty. For all the claims and behavior I'd end up spewing and supporting in those next 4 years. Especially now not only being on the receiving end starting literal months after I turned 18 and getting a refresh every few months, but also seeing shit like the harassment of Bryan Fuller; iamlunasol; seeing an artist, who isn't even proship but merely offered support to one bc they were dealing with a hacker, get "outed" as gay by antis to their family while living in Iran. Quotation marks bc the family member they told already knew, but that wasn't common knowledge; seeing the horrifying reactions to the possibility that a 15 year old killed themselves over harassment received over an rpf shockfic.

I still feel pangs of panic and shame and paranoia while making innocuous content. I have lost a large amount of my capacity to trust and befriend new faces bc of the willingness to turn on me no questions asked. But mostly I see teen antis and just. Either you're going to grow up without understanding why and how what you're doing is genuinely harmful, or else you're going to look back on your teenage years and feel awful. Antis are hurting real people, and it gets harder to ignore that the older you get; the more control you get in your own life. And like idk I just find the whole thing skeevy and v much built around exploiting young people by grabbing them before they can realize all the radfem and otherwise reactionary and conservative rhetoric that antidom is drowning in.

Idk how to end this lmao. Uh. If your side is pointing at everything it doesn't like ad is seeing pedophilia. Ask why the ppl most likely to agree with that assessment believe in pizzagate, the wayfair conspiracy, and satanic panic

#fandom discourse--#discourse--#fandom drama--#drama--#skimblysalt

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cocochannel00 · 3 years

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Things that Husband!Harry would definitely do (a thread)

(If you don’t think that Tiny Desk Harry doesn’t give off mad husband!harry vibes - he looks so fluffy- then we can’t be friends)

- He’d sneak into your room the night before the wedding because he missed you even though he knows its bad luck and when you’re mad at him for it he would just smile and place a kiss on your forehead and say “I don’t need any luck, I just need you”

- At your wedding reception he would walk around the room introducing you to everyone as “my wife” as if they didn’t already know who you were

- During your wedding dinner he’d spend the whole night whispering dirty jokes in your ear trying to make you laugh because he knew that even though it was your wedding day you were still spooked by all of the attention

- On your first year anniversary Harry wanted to surprise you by making you breakfast in bed so he started making pancakes as you slept. You woke up to the sound of your fire alarm going off and Harry blowing the smoke off a pan with a pillow. He’d give you a sheepish smile before mumbling a “maybe we get takeout this year?”

- During the holidays he’d hang mistletoe all around your house and force you to kiss him at every one. “Look love it’s mistletoe, you know what that means” he’d state with a grin. “Harry I just kissed you literally 2 minutes ago in the other room” you’d grumble “Doesn’t matter love, it’s mistletoe and those are the rules. Now come here and kiss your husband”

- Anytime the two of you would get into any sort of major fight where you would say “I hate you” he would shoot back “Well I love you so I guess you’re stuck with me” before going to sulk on the couch

- Whenever you went to his shows or stayed with him on tour he would force you to sit back stage and watch him from the wings so he could watch your reaction to his corny jokes and steal a kiss from you in between sets and on his bathroom breaks

- You agreed to be the designated drive for your group for a night out so Harry gets drunk and becomes extra clingy. He spends the entire night stuck to your side, shoving his face in your neck whispering “I’m going to marry you one day” to which you’d remind him quietly that you were already married. He’d then nod thoughtfully and mumbled “Well then I’m going to marry you again just in case”

- One night you would be tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep and you would accidentally wake up Harry. You’d apologies because you knew he had to wake up early the next day, but he would just shush you with a quick peck before repositioning you so that you could lay your head on his chest. He’d then softly start humming the tune to one of the new songs he was working on until you’d fall asleep

- Harry would convince you that he was capable of building the Ikea coat rack the two of you had bought for your new home on his own so you’d go into the room next door to take a nap. When you woke up and hour later you found him laying on the floor facetiming Mitch as he tried to figure out why the last piece wasn’t fitting properly only for you to look at it and realize he had built half of it backwards

- Harry would come home late from one his movie shoots and would mumble a quick hello as he walked in through the door. You’d be sitting on the couch watching and episode of Dateline and he would throw himself next to you and lay his head on your lap. You’d start running your hands through his hair as you finished watching the last couple of minutes of the episode before asking Harry how his day was only to realize he had passed out on your lap and was now quietly snoring, a small trail of drool slowly coming out of his mouth

- The next season of your favorite show Handmaid’s Tale had come out so you and Harry started watching it. Every five minutes Harry would ask you a question about the show until mid way through you looked at him and bursted out “Harry if you ask me one more question about the show I’m sending you to our room”. Harry would pout at you and sink into the couch, grumbling about how it wasn’t his fault he couldn’t remember what happened last season before he shoved some popcorn into his mouth

- You’d need to go shopping at Target one day to get some decorations for your niece's birthday party and Harry would decide to come along. “This is our list Harry, we’re not buying anything that’s not on the list” you’d say in the car before getting out, but it would be hopeless because every other aisle Harry would pick something up and say “babe we need to get this” and you would stare at him and say “is it on the list?” and he would grumble a no before sulking back down the aisle to put it back

- On road trips when he let you pick the music he would grumble when you would change the song every 30 seconds. “Love just choose a song, it’s not that difficult, gave you the bloody playlist” he’d state as you would continue to skip through the songs mumbling “I’m tired of that song though, just wanted to hear the chorus”. “Is that what you do with my songs too, just skip all the good parts to get to the bloody chorus?” he’d ask mockingly as you gave him a sheepish smile and mumbled a “sometimes” before finally picking a song

- It would be nearly 4 am and you would still be awake reading your book in bed as Harry slept soundly next to you. You could feel the tears running down your face as the main character just had their heartbroken and a soft sniffle left your nose which caused Harry to startle awake. “Babe what time is it?” he’d mumble as you continue reading, paying him no mind. He’d turn on his phone and groan as he saw the 4 flash at him before turning to see the tears on your face. “Oh no love did she get her heartbroken again? Sure they’ll get back together by the end” he’d state, knowing this was your third rom-com book of the month. You’d mumble a yes as Harry gently dog eared the page before you could protest. He turned off your lamp before tucking you into his side, pulling the covers up to your chin, letting you crying into his chest over your fictional characters

- You and Harry going to your 15th high school reunion together and he gets jealous when he sees you talking to your ex-boyfriend from when you were 16. He’d come up behind you and wrap an arm around your waist while placing a kiss to the side of your temple before reaching out his free hand to introduce himself. “Hello I’m Harry. The Husband” he’d say as he shook your ex’s hand just a little tighter then necessary

- Harry would be overly invested in your work place gossip so when the two of you would have dinner together he would constantly ask questions about what happened with your coworkers that day. “So did Stacy and Justin get caught yet or does Janet still have no idea? Did Kathleen ever get that promotion? If I ever see Garrett I’m going to punch him”

- He’d force you to wake up early with him so the two of you could workout together in your home gym, but you’d just sit on the floor against the mirror in your workout clothes staring at him. After several attempts at trying to get you to stretch with him he’d give up and say “If you’re not gonna workout at least give me some motivation babe” so he’d do his abs workout in front of you and every time he came up from a sit-up you’d give him a kiss

- Harry would come down with a cold and he would turn into a 5 year old boy and try to milk it for everything it’s worth. “Think the doctor mentioned that cuddles would really help with my headache, love.” “Harry I don’t think that’s what the doctor said” you’d reply as you placed a cold wash cloth on his forehead. “Don’t think I would have forgotten such an important order from her. Now, come here I want to cuddle my wife”

- He’d come home from the studio fidgeting with his beat-up blue iPod in his hand as you were finishing up a quick dinner for the two of you. He would gently place the iPod on the counter next to you as he poured himself a drink to calm his nerves. You’d stare at it for a minute before asking “Is it finished? Can I listen?”. He’d nod before you gave him a quick kiss and took the device to the living room, leaving him there with his thoughts. An hour later you came back into the kitchen, tears streaming down your face as you ran up to hug him. “Liked it?” he’d ask nervously, this being the first time you’d heard the finished album. “Absolutely loved it” you’d whisper back causing Harry to release a deep breath before taking your face in his hands and kissing you roughly

- He’d start every award acceptance speech with “I’d like to first thank my wife for always supporting me” and then try to catch your eye in the crowd, giving you a soft smile that was only meant for you before going on to thank everyone else

- “We need an intervention Harry. Why are your suits in my side of the closet?” you asked as you came down stairs with one of Harry’s Gucci suits. “I was running out of space and I didn’t think you would notice” he replied with a blush. “Well I did so either you move them or I’m throwing them out” “Love but they’re Gucci you can’t just-” “Ah ah ah I don’t care. My side of the closet” you’d state before dropping the suit in his lap and walking back upstairs

So many others come to mind but these are just a couple that came to mind. I’ll probably do a Dad!Harry version at some point as well

#harry styles imagines #harry styles x reader #husband!harry #harry styles #harry styles blurb #harry styles fic #harry styles masterlist #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fluff #harry styles imagine #harry styles fanfic

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rein-ette · 3 years

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Are you still working on your Commonwealth study? Do you have any thoughts on Arthur's relationships with his colonies apart from Canzuk + US?

Not properly, unfortunately with exams and then work I haven’t had mental/emotional capacity to do real research (and probably won’t for a while 😔). But I have continued to think about and develop certain relationships, and I think I also have old hcs I’ve never shared, so I’ll put those down!

Born into the Empire

Australia

@oumaheroes has already done such great hcs on him idk what I can add, but basically he was a little bit of a rowdy child, always breaking windows and shattering fancy pots, never able to sit still. I think rainbow once mentioned that Ken (short for Kenneth, my name for Aus) was a lot like England as a child in his curiosity and energy, and I wholeheartedly agree. But I think Arthur’s intensity was more inwardly directed, pushing him to pursue and master new talents and learn whatever he could, while Australia is a little more carefree in his love for the outdoors, exploring, jumping around and off things, little wild animals. Unfortunately for him, he was born in a period of the empire when Arthur was very serious about his kids education, and therefore often praised those who studied hard and learned fast, which really just wasn’t Australia’s cup of tea. Australia took this kinda hard and thought he was the “dumb” one in the family that Arthur was always scolding, but in reality Arthur knew and appreciated that Australias interests lay elsewhere — he was just a frustrated, tired, parent who really wanted to give his kids the best while also holding his empire together, two goals that were never going to fit well in the end and would completely exhaust him.

As Australia’s grown older he’s realized a bit of this (not entirely, though) and also that 1) he really did break a lot expensive things and cause general mayhem 2) scolding us Arthur’s way of showing he cares, if he didn’t he wouldn’t have payed attention to him at all 3) despite being a penal colony, he was still one of Arthur’s more “legitimate” children (being white and a boy) and was therefore still incredibly privileged — never having to question, for example, why it was that Arthur was his dad, if it should be this way, or if he had a seat at the family table at all (more on this later).

New Zealand

Zee, from birth, was a clear favourite. Obedient, calm, quietly intelligent, he would also later develop a blistering sense of humour which combined with his appearance made it overwhelmingly clear who’s child he was. If Ken questioned his place in the family because of his poor academic record and others did because of their appearance/race/other complications, Kaelan never had such problems; his siblings called him the “prince.” Zee, however, also had a charm that, like Matthew, endeared him to his siblings and mostly protected him from jealousy, though he certainly still had issues with being called a try hard, daddy’s boy, bossy, arrogant. Certainly as a child Zee was a little prideful and, under that unperturbed demeanour, willful, but he grew out of it by the 20th century and became one of those most trusted by Arthur, second only to Matthew. He’s also always been inseparable from his brother Australia despite their differences, and today they both have one of the healthiest and most amicable relationships with Arthur of any nation, let alone former colonies (family road trips, every summer).

Bermuda

I absolute fell in love with this girl after reading about here, once, in this fic by @shachaai, and after that my mind just ran away with me. For me, her human name given to her by Arthur just has to be Ariel — for the little mermaid reference, yes, symbolizing her connection to the sea and stunning good looks, but also because:

1. Ariel is a biblical name, meaning lion of God. This makes sense to me, because Bermuda began as a Portuguese trade post, so Arthur definitely consulted our resident bad catholic Port before naming her.

2. Ariel used to be boys name. This also makes sense, because I hc Bermuda was and still is a tomboy. Bitch is fierce, takes no prisoners, and has zero filter. Her letters to Arthur, which all the colonies sent so Arthur could keep an eye on things, were full of shit like “I swear to god if the Spanish don’t get out of my waters I might eat one of them,” and “father, I asked you for destroyers two months ago, and yet you sent them to Hong Kong — could you explain this most unusual occurrence, surely it’s not that you forgot”, and “thank you for the harpoon on my birthday, I caught a small shark a couple days ago and have sent you some of its teeth for your collection.” Arthur tolerates this attitude because he’s weak when it comes to girls; he absolutely spoils his daughters (and flushes like a 16 year old when a woman so much as bats her eyelashes at him). Yes, p*ssywhipped Arthur is a hill I will die on.

3. It also suits her because? Ariel? Shakespeare? The Tempest? Bermuda Triangle? Shipwrecks? Daughter-like figure of powerful and vengeful sorcerer? Yeah. And this girl is a fire spirit — she is so lively, snarky, clever. As she’s grown older she’s mellowed out a little, but still: a no shit taken, no fucks given type of gal.

4. Speaking of growing up, she’s also become quite the beauty. Shacha, if I’m remembering correctly, described her as dark skinned, wavy-haired, and green eyed and that image has been burned onto the back of my eyelids ever since. Those Iberian genetics really be pulling through for her, that’s for sure. Engport love child if I’ve ever seen one. Definitely one of the prettiest in her family.

Singapore

I’ve already mentioned this to needcake, but I’m not too big a fan of canon Singapore, so this is my oc version. Singapore is fascinating to me because it had only a very small local population before it became a colony (The original settlement had actually been destroyed by the Portuguese about two centuries before the British started building a port there.) So nation-tans like Singapore and Bermuda really are Arthur’s children in the most direct sense of the word. And yet, Singapore is mostly ethnically Chinese, with Malays being the second largest group. Growing up Asian in a white, Victorian era family surely cannot have been easy and more than once Singapore probably wondered if there hadn’t been some mistake. To make up for the constant fear that he wasn’t “really” British, Singapore studied ferociously and had a truly terrifying work ethic. I’m not sure if this is common knowledge outside Asian circles, so I’ll mention that this hc comes from the fact Singapore is well known for having truly exceptional students and some of the most prestigious schools. Singaporeans score highly in literally everything and they have an advantage with good English learning environments, a highly desirable trait in Asia, but these results come from brutally long hours — and its really saying something that they’re known for working hard, considering the studying ethic of students in Korea, Japan, and China aint nothing to sneeze at, either. To me this actually fits really well with Singapore’s upbringing in Arthur’s household, because Arthur himself prizes intelligence and hard work above all else, being a workaholic himself.

As for their relationship, it was probably the best when Singapore was young and peaked in the 1930s with the massive naval base the British built at Singapore, at the time the largest dry dock in the world. Singapore was a well-behaved child, not necessarily introverted but not rowdy either, and all the way into his teenage years he truly admired Arthur and was proud to be a part of the British Empire, despite his lingering unease and insecurities. The British defeat in World War II, however, was a massive turning point. He had worked his ass off to be a good son, a good brother, to contribute to the only family and system he had ever known, and he had thought by the 30s he was finally on his way to becoming a fine adult. And suddenly, the British surrender brings his entire world crashing down. He had followed the rules faithfully thinking it was his destiny, but suddenly it was clear that all rules were made up. Of course, his insecurities exploded. If the empire was a ruse, what the hell was he? A part of the illusion? He couldn’t have a truly Asian identity, because many of the old East Asian nations shunned him for his Western upbringing, and he could not entirely understand their values either. So he was a kid who kinda had to figure out late and very very suddenly who the fuck he was and wanted to be.

And, well, he’s done pretty well for himself, hasn’t he. After having a total crisis and questioning everything, I think Singapore slowly started to realize that just because the British Empire as a political entity didn’t last forever, that didn’t mean that his entire childhood and identity weren’t real. The love he gave to his siblings and the love he got back, the hard work he put in, his bond with Arthur and the safe, happy childhood he had — those memories and feelings didnt have to be diminished by what came after. Essentially, he learned the lesson all nations have to learn, which is that one needs to be able to discern between duties as a nation and feelings as a human being, and to some extent keep them separate to protect both.

Whoooooo ok I’ll stop there because this turned into a dissertation, sorry. Let me know if there are any specifics u want me to elaborate on or anything I missed, but I’ll leave this here for today :)

#hws england #hws Australia #hws new zealand #oc: hws Bermuda #not gonna tag anymore I’m lazy #fun times with the commonwealth #I probably won’t write so much for all of them I just put it there to remind myself #needcake #ask #my hcs

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geekynightowl1997 · 3 years

Text

♥️🖤Falcon and Winter Soldier♥️🖤 Reviews and Questions (!!SPOILERS!!) (DUH!)

1. Opening scene? Abso-fruitly loved it. Walker trying to rationalize exactly what he done and Sam explaining how he change it for his benefit? Honestly, understandable.

2. Bucky and Sam teaming up to get the shield, because they knew Walker tarnished it? Yes!

2a. Bucky dropping it by Sam? ABSOLUTELY, YES!

3. Torres is a sweetheart and I love him.

4. Guess who is the new Falcon?!?! That's right, my sweetheart, Torres. 😍😍

5. "You built me. Senator, I am Captain America." "Not anymore." I have something to say about that line, I have something to say about John Walker and the Mantle of Captain America. Just not in the post.

6. Val? (Was that we are suppose to call her, but not call her?) Yeah- she is either Power Broker or is Power Broker's personal assistant. I don't know why I think that. But I do.

6a. "A little known secret, the shield was never government property." What now???

7. Isaiah Bradley did the exact same thing that Steve did. And it makes me sad that he was experimented on. I kinda wish Steve and Isaiah had met. Just outta curiosity of what would have happened.

8. "If you ain't bitter, your blind." In this day and age- you can be both.

9. Yes, John. Please lie to Lemar's parents about who actually killed him. Because that's the right thing to do. 🙄😐

10. Sarah believes in Sam. Sam believes in Sarah.

11. "She has been radicalized beyond salvation."

12. Also- Zemo had two kids? He only ever mentioned a son?

13. Also- slight side note here: I realize that forgiveness is not the main theme of this show. But I can't help but think about Bucky going to Wakanda in Black Panther 2.

14. The boat. Fixing the boat.

14a. "Why didn't you use your left arm?" "I don't really think bout it, I'm right handed."

It's interesting to point out that- when he's in Winter Soldier mode, Bucky uses his left arm.

15. "Don't flirt with my sister."

16. "She's mean."

17. Also, Sebastian Stan is the only man I know that can pull of skinny jeans and that's not fair.

18. Sam is an excellent therapist. I love him.

19. The whole, "co-worker" conversation? Uh. Yeah. Besides the mutual friend being dead- they literally described their real life friendship and I'm all here for it.

20. Also- almost forgot. It's definitely not a theory anymore. I would like to know who Sharon Carter is working for, thank you very much.

21. OH BOY! KARLI IS IN NEW YORK?? You know who else is in New York? Oh, I don't know. Peter Parker. Sue and Richard Reeds. Stephen Strange. Most if not all Marvel Superheroes.

22. This could end badly for GRC (is that their initials? Like, I get that they are important, but also I don't care enough about them....)

23. Yes, John. Build a shield out of metal. Not like that will end badly. 😑🤦🏼‍♀️

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terramythos · 3 years

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TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 16 of 26

Title: Tales From Earthsea (Earthsea Cycle #5) (2001)

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Genre/Tags: Fantasy, Short Story Collection, Novella, Third-Person, Female Protagonist

Rating: 8/10 (note: this is an average)

Date Began: 7/2/2021

Date Finished: 7/6/2021

Tales From Earthsea is a collection of five short stories and novellas which take place in the Earthsea universe. In addition, there’s a supplementary timeline of Earthsea’s history, tradition, and cultural details of note. The last story in the collection, Dragonfly, serves as a bridge between Tehanu (#4) and The Other Wind (#6), the final book in the series.

Of the five stories, my favorites (both 10/10s) were The Finder and On The High Marsh.

The way one does research into nonexistent history is to tell the story and find out what happened. I believe this isn’t very different from what historians of the so-called real world do. Even if we are present at some historic event, do we comprehend it— can we even remember it— until we can tell it in a story?

Content warnings, individual ratings/commentary, and spoilers below the cut.

Content warnings for the book: Death and violence, child abuse (including implied sexual abuse), police brutality, slavery, reference to torture and execution, brief reference to inc*st, misogyny, animal cruelty, mild body horror, very brief implied mind control via a "love charm" (it doesn't work).

#1 - The Finder (10/10)

In The Dark Time, magic is widely mistrusted. Petty tyrants use the once noble art in pursuit of power and glory. Medra, the son of a shipwright in Havnor, has magical talents honed in secret. One day, he curses a ship built for a warlord’s fleet. Unfortunately, he gets caught and sent to a prison camp. There he is forced to use finding magic to locate veins of cinnabar.

The prison exists to refine quicksilver, a substance the most powerful mage on the island believes will turn him into a god. While in the refinery, Medra feels a spiritual connection to a dying slave, a young woman named Anieb. The two of them devise a plan to kill the mage and escape. Medra’s journey eventually takes him to the island of Roke and the founding of its prestigious wizard school.

‘The dead are dead. The great and mighty go their way unchecked. All the hope left in the world is in the people of no account.’

I really enjoyed this novella. The Dark Time is largely unexplored in the stories of Earthsea, so it was interesting to read about it here. I get the feeling that we’re approaching or in the middle of one such time in the real world, so seeing a version of it on the page is depressing yet hopeful. The story is dark; mass feudal warfare, a literal concentration camp in the opening half, widespread enslavement, and abuse of power. But it also offers hope and the promise of change. The story also explores the integral role of women in not only the preservation of magic in a bleak age of humanity, but the very foundation of Roke.

Medra’s story spoke to me; how he resists the despotic powers-that-be, his connection with Anieb even after her tragic death, and how despite his disillusionment with humanity, he ultimately fights to create a better world. I also thought Gelluk was a horrifying villain. He’s characterized as a soft-spoken, almost kindly man who loves children and animals— yet his narrative thoughts involve burning hundreds of slaves alive in order to better fuel the quicksilver refinery. “Nice doesn’t mean good” taken to an extreme, and a mirror of many villains in the real world.

Le Guin was anti-capitalist, but that way of thinking seems peripheral in the Earthsea series. The Finder, however, definitely has a Marxist reading in it. A recurring theme is the disenfranchised rising up against the powerful. Indeed both antagonists, who are despotic wizards of great power, are soundly defeated by groups of people they consider powerless. Magic is only considered relevant for the value and power it produces, an idea antithetical to the rest of the series. The quicksilver refinery also embraces anti-capitalist rhetoric; this section focuses on how mass enslavement and death is used to manufacture a meaningless commodity only one person “benefits” from. That’s not even getting into the prison-industrial complex.

I dunno. This story slaps. It’s not at all what I expected from a Roke origin story.

#2 - Diamond and Darkrose (5/10)

Diamond, the son of a prosperous lumber merchant, struggles to find his true calling in life. His father disapproves of almost everything he does, including his close friendship with the local witch’s daughter Rose. While he loves music, his father derides his talents and forces him to abandon the pursuit. When Diamond shows some promise in magic, he travels to a neighboring town to serve as the local wizard’s apprentice. But when this path estranges him from Rose, he grows disillusioned.

Rose had looked after herself from an early age; and this was one of the reasons Diamond loved her. With her, he knew what freedom was. Without her, he could attain it only when he was hearing and singing and playing music.

I did not like this story very much. I gave Diamond and Darkrose a 5/10 because it’s competently written (duh), and the protagonist has a character arc not entirely dependent on the central romance. But that’s about all I can say for it.

None of the characters are especially appealing. Diamond’s mentor figures are all extremely narrow-minded. Rose, supposedly his true love since childhood, drops him the moment things become difficult. And Diamond himself is a pushover who only grows a spine and pursues his dreams at the end of the story. I understand that’s his character flaw and his arc is about overcoming that. But due to all these factors, I was annoyed by every major character. The only person I didn’t dislike was Diamond’s mother, who only shows up for a couple of scenes.

Someone please tell me there are love stories out there where the romantic tension is NOT based on a fucking MISUNDERSTANDING. That shit drives me up a wall! It’s so overdone and painful to read.

#3 - The Bones of the Earth (8/10)

Dulse is an aging wizard on the island of Gont, reflecting on his life and relationship with his former apprentice, a young man he calls Silence. But he senses something amiss on the island; a massive earthquake poised to destroy a nearby port town and its inhabitants. To avert disaster, Dulse realizes he must turn to an ancient form of magic taught to him long ago— and he needs Silence’s help to save the town.

In there he knew he should hurry, that the bones of the earth ached to move, and that he must become them to guide them, but he could not hurry. There was on him the bewilderment of any transformation. He had in his day been fox, and bull, and dragonfly, and knew what it was to change being. But this was different, this slow enlargement. I am vastening, he thought.

So I’ve always liked Ogion in the main series; I love the idea of an immensely powerful wizard who lives an unassuming life of silence, contemplation, and appreciation of the natural world. In The Bones of the Earth, we get a glimpse of Ogion through his mentor’s eyes. Ogion’s heroism and how he stopped the earthquake is mentioned several times in the main series, but this is our first look at what actually happened.

Dulse is an unexpected and fascinating perspective character. It would be so easy to tell this story wholly from Ogion’s perspective, but I think making Dulse the protagonist was the right call. In particular, Dulse’s mind is starting to go. Le Guin presents this by utilizing flashbacks and connecting them to the present. This technique conveys Dulse’s disorientation and confusion so the reader experiences it alongside him... it’s hard to describe without actually reading the story. I also loved the little twist at the end regarding where Dulse learned the ancient magic that saves the island. There’s also a strong thematic connection to The Farthest Shore; death and becoming one with the rest of the world.

#4 - On The High Marsh (10/10)

A half-mad wanderer named Irioth comes upon a small settlement on the volcanic, marshy island of Semel. A murrain has been devastating the local cattle population, and Irioth offers his powers as a curer to heal the animals. He settles into a calm rural life with Gift, a widow working a small dairy. Though Gift likes Irioth, and the animals instinctively trust him, she senses something amiss with the man. Soon, Irioth’s dark past threatens to return and disturb the peace.

“Oh, yes,” Irioth said. “It was my fault.” But she forgave, and the grey cat was pressed up against his thigh, dreaming. The cat’s dreams came into his mind, in the low fields where he spoke with the animals, the dusky places. The cat leapt there, and then there was milk, and the deep soft thrilling. There was no fault, only the great innocence. No need for words. They would not find him here. He was not here to find. There was no need to speak any name. There was nobody but her, and the cat dreaming, and the fire flickering. He had come over the dead mountain on black roads, but here the streams ran slow among the pastures.

This story is a banger. It has a Western vibe— a stranger coming into a cattle town haunted by a mysterious past. Also cowboys. It’s an atmospheric story, and I think hits on the “small rural town” vibe better than Tehanu did. But there were several writing choices I especially liked.

We don’t learn Irioth’s name until a little while into the story; his physical description, temperament, and ability to immediately identify Gift’s true name just by looking at her makes one assume he’s Ged. He’s also got an interesting redemption arc, because it’s presented in a reverse order. We see Irioth’s genuine desire to do good, and his gentle and patient manner with animals and other people. He doesn’t even consider asking for payment for curing the murrain until Gift tells him he should. But there’s a sense that something is off; he’s paranoid, clearly running from something. The use-name he picks is Otak, a fictional ferret-like creature— which Gift asserts looks nice, but has sharp teeth.

Near the end, Ged actually does show up and explain what happened to Irioth. They have pretty similar backstories; both were powerful, arrogant young mages who messed with forces they shouldn’t have, then went through great personal sacrifice to right the wrong (oh god the initial deception was intentional they’re narrative foils oh god). Ged embraced the darkest aspects of himself to avert calamity. Irioth came to Semel to escape Roke and atone by helping others. One detail I especially liked was that Irioth once considered healing beneath him, but now he takes a deep joy in using it to help.

#5 - Dragonfly (8/10)

Irian lives a solitary life-- her father is a drunkard living in the ruins of their family’s once prosperous estate. Her closest relationship is with the local village witch, who named her in secret in the dead of night. When a disgraced young wizard named Ivory comes to town, he sees Irian as a potential conquest. To gain power over her, he hatches a scheme; disguise Irian as a man, travel to Roke, and sneak her into the male-only wizard school— humiliating the great Masters.

But Irian is restless. She knows she has power, but her true nature is a mystery even to her. Irian sees Ivory’s plan as an opportunity to find answers from the most powerful wizards in the world. When the Doorkeeper actually lets her into the school, she finds herself in a magical and political conflict over the future of Roke— and discovers what exactly she is.

“Dark is bad,” said the Patterner. “Eh?”

Irian drew a deep breath and looked at him eye to eye as they sat there. “Only in dark the light,” she said.

This is one of those stories that has a rocky start, but a great second half. The first part of the novella felt dry to me; I’ve read plenty of tales about social outcasts with weird, unexplainable powers. On top of this, a chunk of the early narration is from Ivory’s POV, and he’s a complete tool. That can be a fun perspective to take, and I like the fact that he thinks he’s manipulating Irian when she’s the one pulling the strings. But since he’s an irrelevant character who disappears from the story halfway through, it feels like a waste to devote a huge chunk of the story to him.

However, once Irian arrives at Roke, the story gets much more interesting. Her presence at Roke causes a huge scandal that divides the Masters. Women being forbidden from Roke is a Series Thing at this point, but Earthsea is in an era of change (although I DO question that she’s the first woman to try it). The Finder demonstrated that women were pivotal in the foundation of Roke, something largely erased from history. Barring women stems from a power hungry bigot codifying it into tradition.

Irian finds some unexpected allies--minor characters in the previous books. The Doorkeeper continues to be the coolest motherfucker there. The Patterner is a major character in this story; he was in just one scene in The Farthest Shore, so I liked learning more about him. The Namer is the kind of guy you’d expect to be a stodgy traditionalist, so him siding with Irian is surprising. The Summoner, a heroic figure in previous books and stories, is a sinister villain here. As for the ending, well… if you didn’t see it coming, I’d wonder if you even read Tehanu. The same hints are there.

There were little particulars I liked, such as Irian moving into a decrepit hut that’s definitely Medra’s old home. My favorite detail is that this story has a parallel scene with The Finder. In The Finder, there’s a scene where an antagonist, Early, invades Roke in the form of a dragon. He lands on Roke Knoll, a site of power that reveals one’s true form. It turns him back into a human, leaving him defenseless when the residents of Roke attack him and repel his invasion. The reversal happens in Dragonfly. Irian gets attacked by one of the Masters while at Roke Knoll — and its magic turns her into her true form, a dragon. Props to whoever picked the cover design, since it references both scenes.

#6 - A Description of Earthsea

I’m not rating this since it’s basically a lore dump. It’s a deep dive into Earthsea’s history, languages, cultures, and other relevant world details. It’s the kind of bonus info a lot of fantasy series tack on as reference material. According to Le Guin, she wrote this to get some idea of the timeline on each of these stories.

As a series, Earthsea has relatively little worldbuilding exposition. Sometimes characters reference legends or historical events, but usually the reader lacks the context to fully understand them. The focus is more on the lives of the characters and their personal experience of the world. I think something like A Description of Earthsea has benefits and drawbacks for the reader. On one hand it's nice to have some definitive information to tie things together. On the other, this does represent a loss of some of the mystery in the story.

I think this is the first thing in the series that even mentions homosexuality, so props for that I guess?

Closing Thoughts

A short story collection is always going to have high and low points. I tend to look at each story individually and score that way, but an average is always misleading. Diamond and Darkrose dragged the score down since there were only five stories total. But I enjoyed the majority of them. I am interested to see where the human/dragon subplot goes in the final installment; I assume Irian will show up at some point? We’ll see.

#taylor reads #8/10 #2021 reading challenge #almost done with this series!

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inkribbon796 · 3 years

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Egotober 2021 Ch. 26: Canary in a Coal Mind

Summary: Most of the time, dreams are just dreams. A way for the mind to repair itself and rest. But for Fundy, they’ve always been more than that.

A/N: It is canon that Fundy is afab but I have chosen not use this as a conflict plot point in the character for needless extra trauma for everyone. Fundy’s pronouns are he/him.

Prompt: Nightmare

Characters: Schlatt, Fundy, and Wilbur

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

The ballroom swirled with people, as if they were all just ballerinas in a music box. Fundy saw only faceless mannequins, all of them in masquerade masks. But there were things that tagged various dancers. An oversized purple sweater. A mannequin with a white bandana over his head. One had a pink mustache and was turning in unpredictable circles

At first Fundy was confused, looking around. He wasn’t in Las Nevadas, and it took him a couple of seconds to realize what was going on.

Well, a couple seconds and the sight of something that absolutely didn’t belong in a fancy ballroom: a hot dog restaurant van. The Camarvan, a creation of Wilbur Soot, in a convoluted bout for power. Fundy didn’t quite understand how Wilbur had gotten from A to B. But he was barely out of Phil’s metaphorical and literal nest, and his first act was to commission a drug van to be built. He had taken Tubbo and Tommy with him and the three of them sold drugs after closing hours.

But after they’d joined Dream’s Server, and got into all kinds of trouble, Wilbur had started grabbing for power and Dream hadn’t been too happy. But in the end Wilbur was almost like a second-in-command of the Server, and there was a lot of talk about dics. Fundy didn’t really understand how a no-name drug dealer got to be Dream’s right hand, he had been a newborn spawnling at the time and in a matter of months Wilbur was dead and Fundy was an orphan.

But here the Camarvan was, and a single occupant attending it, which meant one thing:

This was one of Fundy’s dreams.

Fundy crossed the ballroom to the ill-placed food truck. He passed by a twirling duo, a tall mannequin in a dark brown coat, and a much smaller dancer that looked like a fox. In a crayon blue dress.

His mind flashed back to memories of when he was little. Memories of little handmade dresses and an ill fitting body that Wilbur had found him.

But Fundy forced the image to change, of him dancing with his father, as he felt white fur bunch around him. Fundy wasn’t sure where Yogurt had come from but the little fox demon was his son, just like he was Wilbur’s.

“Welcome to Wilburger Ranvan,” Wilbur smiled at Fundy as the fox demon walked up. Smoke trailing from a cigarette pinned between his lips. He looked like himself instead of a faceless mannequin. “Can I take your order?”

“I’d like a half-decent dad and a good night’s sleep, please,” Fundy told his father as he held Yogurt in his arms. The first time he’d seen Wilbur and the Camarvan, he’d freaked out and it had been awful. Now all he felt was numb.

“Ohhhh,” Wilbur looked uneasy. “Sorry, we’re all out of that.”

There was a clatter and Fundy turned to see an unexpected sight. Schlatt was grumbling before the ram demon just climbed into the punch bowl as one of the faceless mannequins in a black suit turned into a maid and spun.

Immediately Schlatt perked up and got out of the punch bowl. He followed the maid as the mannequin led him back to the dark woods and approached the mannequin with a black dragon mask. Flecks of blue and red on either side of the mask.

Fundy felt an uncomfortable weight in his stomach. He looked back and his stomach dropped, unlike every other dream he’d had, the Camarvan, which had been a fixture in his dreams since his father’s death, regardless of whatever lunacy was currently going on in his dreams, was gone. As if it had never been there.

The world changed, as dreams tended to do, and he was standing in a grassy clearing. The party was gone, the Camarvan was still gone, but he saw a large golden canary with his right eye missing and a thick scar coming down his face. The bird was trying to pick up a coin as he tweeted in frustration.

Yogurt let out a couple of confused yelps, as Fundy took a step towards the bird, but after that first step he heard a growl and turned around to see two animals approaching. One was a raggedy fox with a bleeding cut down his chest. The fox was flanked by a large ram with curled black horns, the ram swaying slightly.

The scraggly fox left out a yip of anger before he lunged for the bird, the ram changing after the fox as they attacked the canary.

Right as they would have landed on the bird, Fundy startled awake, he bolted upright, throwing Yogurt’s head off his chest. The little fox bolted out of bed and slammed into a wall. Causing Fundy to have to comfort the little spawnling before getting him to go back to bed.

Once Yogurt was back asleep, Fundy slipped out of his room and down the hall in the top level of Las Nevadas to where Quackity’s room was.

Fundy started pounding on the door the instant he hit it. “Q! Big Q! Open up! Please!”

It took a couple attempts for Quackity to answer his door. He was still trying to wake up, he had on a dark blue robe, his beanie, and shorts. “Fundy? What the fuck, man?”

“I had another dream, a nightmare,” Fundy explained frantically.

“Okay, okay, shit, entra chico, entra,”[1] Quackity rubbed at his face and led Fundy in, closing the door behind them.

Sapnap was leaning against the bedroom door frame, in a hoodie and sweatpants, blinking the sleep haze out of his eyes, “Everything okay?”

“Yeah, go back to bed,” Quackity grumbled and yawned. “Okay, ¿qué quieres? What happened?”[2]

Fundy immediately began launching into telling Quackity about his dream, Quackity getting increasingly more awake and serious as Fundy told him of his dream.

“And that’s everything, you’re sure?” Quackity asked, a coffee in front of him and a cup of hot chocolate in front of Fundy.

“Yeah,” Fundy answered, a little calmer than before as Quackity stood up and dumped his coffee into a thermos, setting the cup in the sink.

“Amores,”[3] Quackity called out, walking over to his closet to pull out a shovel, a backpack, and a shotgun. “I have a fucking grave to dig up, be back soon.”

“You want me to go with?” Sapnap asked, giving his fiancé a quick kiss.

“No, watch after Karl, I’ll be back before breakfast,” Quackity promised, quickly ducking into the bedroom to give Karl a quick kiss. “Te amo.”[4]

Quackity was quick to head down with Fundy to the private car garage and found his car quickly.

“Get in the car,” Quackity ordered and he was quick to drive them out of Gainesville and drive into the rest of Florida, heading north to Orlando.

Fundy was quiet for a bit as Quackity was playing music. The casino owner was clearly upset.

After a couple minutes, Fundy spoke up, “Uh, so where are we going?”

“The old L’Manberg base,” Quackity said.

“Why?” Fundy asked with a hint of fear in his voice.

“I’m gonna destroy whatever’s left in that grave and make sure any remnant of him knows I hate the fucker,” Quackity glared at the road. “Fucker can’t bring him back if he doesn’t have the parts.”

“Are we allowed to even do that?” Fundy asked.

“Who’s gonna get mad? Tubbo?” Quackity said as he hit the bag. “He’d help me grind those fucking bones up and then he’d piss on the grave.”

The drive south towards Orlando was almost two hours, and they stopped once or twice along the way but when the two reached the outskirts of the city they turned to a pocket of old swamp and there was an old ramshackle building there. Quackity stepped out and began loading his shotgun with shells that were in a backpack before handing it over to Fundy and grabbing the shovel. Most of the body that Quackity had been trying to dig up had already been fed to the local fauna, but inside the grave were three bones. One long arm bone, a rib and a long clavicle bone.

“Okay, the two I took before, these three now, and I ate his heart,” Quackity mumbled under his breath as he pulled the three bones out of the ground.

“Wait, you did fucking what?” Fundy shouted.

“Well what else was I gonna do with it?” Quackity spat, before looking at the three bones and smiling. “Okay, so if I grind these up, then Schlatt’s fucking dead forever. That green bastard said he needed some remnant of someone, and he won’t have that if I take these.”

“But what if,” Fundy started nervously, holding the gun to his chest.

“Don’t worry about it,” Quackity smiled. “Schlatt’s not coming back and so long as Ghostbur exists then Wilbur won’t. And if he does I’ll protect you, I promise, mijo[5].”

Fundy looked away but Quackity pulled his chin gently to have Fundy meet his eye.

“I promise,” Quackity told him firmly. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promised you that when you joined Las Nevadas that it was your home. That it would be a permanent home. I was so dead serious, I swore on it. And I’m not gonna let some drunk fuck, or your deadbeat shitbag of a dad, take that away from you. Even if I have to kill Ghostbur to do it. Okay?”

The young teen didn’t answer at first, but he nodded and Quackity smiled back.

Quackity didn’t force Fundy to give him a verbal answer, just taking some of the equipment in his backpack to grind up the bones. He didn’t bother to cover the ground back up, after they got back to the car, Quackity tossed the bits of bone into the closest trash can and they began heading back north to Gainesville and the rest of the city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations:

1. Okay, okay, shit, come in kid, come in

2. Okay, what do you want? What happened?

3. Loves (can also be read as: Sweethearts)

4. Love you.

5. son

#superhero au #masks and maladies #egotober2021 #footnotes #fundy smp #yogurt the fox #jschatt #wilbur soot #Quackity #weird dreams #magical dreams #grave desecration #gotta keep your ex buried #canon trans character

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burlesque-articulation · 3 years

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Alright, I pulled out my corkboard and red string again, this time in hopes of dissecting the MAG timeline to see if there is anything there to support my fan theory of:

~Could Jurgen Leitner be Martin’s Dad~

And so far, signs point to a solid "it could be possible”. So in lieu of this, I will be presenting all my evidence with exceptional bias so it better illustrates my desired outcome. Okay? Okay! Let’s get into it.

Let’s begin with 1985, when Jurgen Leitner supposedly begins renting an office in Pall Mall, central London. Presumably this is just where he sets up an office, and not the actual location of the Library, which isn’t something we get-- anyways, getting sidetracked, uhhh.

Right, we know, vaguely, that Martin was born in 1987, two years after Leitner would have set up shop in Central London; and interestingly enough, in that same year of Martin’s birth, Leitner attempted to hire some people to dig a big ol’ hole in the floor of his office to lead into the tunnels built beneath the building. And this could just be wishful thinking, but I believe it is implied that these tunnels connect to the other tunnels of Millbank Prison. Interconnected, and with many exits leading to various parts of the city. Basically, a needlessly intricate means of escape (I guess balconies and back doors just didn’t exist yet, you know) should shit get real. Anyways, the point I’m trying to make, is that it would make sense for Leitner to suddenly be very interested in having direct access to these tunnels from his main office after receiving news that he’s a father, or whatever. Or maybe it’s just because he’s always been a loser that loves vibing in tunnels.

[Obligatory readmore, because this shit gets long, and even more ramble-y. Also I’m not sorry, because y’all are more than welcome to continue scrolling past this mess]

Alright, now fast-forward to 1994, the destruction of the Library. At this point in time, Martin would have been 7. Now hold up! According to the Magnus Archives Wiki, Martin’s father abandoned the family when he was 8 or 9; so isn’t that a whole in the theory right there? No. It’s not. Because the only thing that is implied about Leitner around 1994, is that he went into hiding after the destruction of the Library. At no point is it implied that he even left the country (or even London, but like, I refuse to believe he’s that stupid; even if that alternative is hilarious). To set up my point, I’m going to shift the focus onto Martin now, and what his life might have been like when he was younger.

So, by present events (present actually referring to like, pre-season 4, actually), Martin’s mother is in a care home in Devon. Could be because care homes are cheaper there, or something, I have no idea. Honestly people in my family don’t live long enough to ever even consider this option, so I don’t know how assisted living works at all lmao. But let’s say, for simplicities sake, that Martin actually just grew up around Devon; and I’m throwing a dart at a map and declaring Plymouth as the city he grew up in. Anyways, why does this matter? Because I do in fact believe that Leitner is stupid enough to think that changing which county he lives in counts as being in hiding. And he gets maybe one (1) good summer with his family before the weight of his sins bare down on him, and he realizes that staying in one place really isn’t an option. So maybe he tries travelling around a bit; but inevitably he always ends up coming back to Plymouth. It takes him a year, maybe two, to finally realize that this won’t work forever. His habits are too predictable, and what’s this? The mother of his child is getting sick; and her condition only seems to worsen over time (you know, like how it usually works when someone is taken ill.); and Leitner gets it into his head that he could be the cause of it; so what is the safest course of action, but to completely abandon his family? Surely things will turn out for the better for them all if he were to just... disappear. To cut ties entirely, so as to make sure no one ever comes after them in an attempt to get to him.

And that worked out fucking great, didn’t it.

Bunch of unimportant stuff happens, and eventually Martin ends up dropping out of school, presumably only a year early from graduation (weird but fine); and it’s safe to assume he eventually ends up traveling to London in hopes of better job opportunities. Plus, if he’s gonna be lying on his CV, probably better to head out of county to some place where no one knows him from anywhere to begin with, right? That makes sense, and none of you can say otherwise.

And where does he find himself sliding into a new job position? Oh, that’s right; at the Magnus Institute. In the Library. I’m just saying. I am just saying, that’s a little interesting. I mean, he lied about having a degree in parapsychology on his CV; so if Bouchard really wanted to play along like he thought the CV was entirely legit, it actually would’ve made more sense to put him in Research, or even in Artefact Storage with a degree like that. But nope, Bouchard put him in the Library. Though, I guess we don’t know exactly what all might’ve been on Martin’s faked CV. But I swear to god, if we get bonus content that’s just Martin’s faked CV and it even hints at him working at a “family library/bookshop” I will spontaneously combust.

Regardless, in 2009, supposedly (according to the wiki), Martin began working at the Institute. Personally, I always thought he started working there in 2010, but that doesn’t matter. I actually like 2009 better, because then a year later, Leitner apparently begins working with Gertrude Robinson. Which I find interesting. I mean, really there’s no reason for them not to work together, I just find the timing of it interesting. Of course, Leitner (in MAG80) alludes to the fact that Gertrude was likely only working with him because there was a lack of anyone else around. But that really only explains Gertrude’s interest in Leitner. What attracted Leitner to the Magnus Institute in the first place, I wonder? Aside from the fact that it’s essentially the Library of Alexandria of research on the Entities.

But Leitner had managed to stay out of public eye for about 16 years, why would he chose right around then to start playing peekaboo with the Beholding? Rhetorical question, of course. Y’all should already know exactly where I’m going with this line of questioning. Martin. Martin is what lead Leitner to the Institute, and to Gertrude. Dude just wanted to check up on his son, and now he’s just as trapped as everyone who works for the damn Institute because of all these weird rituals and shit. Plus maybe there was another reason why Leitner went through so much effort to help Gertrude, even putting himself on the line for it; and I think we can all agree that Leitner is a pretty selfish dude who’s only real character trait is being like a fucking cockroach. Straight up, the only way to kill a cockroach is to beat those suckers until they pop like a fucking pimple-- sorry, I’m actually getting ahead of myself, I don’t want to talk about that yet, um.

Leitner’s biggest character trait, and on some level, character flaw, is his Self-Preservation instinct. When the going gets tough, his own health and safety comes first. But maybe he gets a bit sentimental in his old age, and maybe he struck a deal with Gertrude; if he helps her stop the Unknowing, (or actually I think it would’ve been the Dark’s ritual first), she will bring his son down to the tunnels so Leitner can see how he’s grown, and maybe even talk to him. I just think that would be interesting character motivation; because at the end of the day, it’s still a pretty selfish motivation. But at this point, Gertrude’s only other option for help is a teenaged Shadow the Hedgehog wannabe; so she’d likely agree to just about anything for the extra pair of hands. And given what later happens in regards to the Dark’s ritual, which then results in Gertrude’s death; Leitner gets scared back into his hole in the ground.

But hey, I guess things actually kind of worked out for ol’ Jurgen. Because like a year later, his son* (*allegedly, according to apparently no one but me) starts living in the Archives. It’s like he’s living in his son’s basement, he can just pop up for tea and say hi whenever. Maybe complain about all the bugs that keep crawling around. Or not, because Jürgen Leitner is a coward. But I 100% would not put it past him to shuffle his old bones up into the Archives to stand creepily at the edge of wherever Martin was sleeping and angst quietly at the sight of his son. It’s creepy, funny, and sad. Basically a peak TMA scenario right there.

Then Leitner gets brutally piped by Bouchard. Actually, can I say it like that? “Piped” isn’t some kind of... new-age slang for something, is it? God, I hope not. Anyways; Leitner isn’t just beat upside the head with a length of pipe, but literally pulped by Bouchard (or at the very least implied so), in a way that makes identifying the guy difficult enough that he remains a John Doe straight up until Elias confesses to the murder. Now, obviously there are plenty of reasons for this; given that both Daisy and Basira are familiar with the name Leitner, so presumably other sectioned officers would be as well; so there was at least a slim chance that whatever officer got sent to the Institute upon the discovery of the body might just recognize Leitner immediately. But, and sorry to sidetrack here, but there was just one thing that really stood out to me about Martin. One thing that always stuck with me, that for some reason was the main thing that made me thing Leitner could’ve been his dad.

Martin looks like his father, whoever that may or may not be. It is explicitly canon, that Martin looks like whoever his dad is. So wouldn’t it be better safe than sorry for Bouchard to beat Leitner to a pulp wherein no one could easily discern any major features of him once he was found. After all, it would make things rather messy and a bit too complicated if everyone who saw the body was like, “wow! That looks just like you, Martin.” So really, it’s for the best that not only did Bouchard kill Leitner, but he thoroughly did so.

And so, I will end this already way to long of a ramble with the one thing that solidified me on this theory, and Spoilers for Season 5 of MAG, but... In MAG181 Salesa says, “Now you mention it, you actually remind me of Jurgen a bit. In his younger days of course.” to Martin. Of course, Martin did just shoot out a snappy one-liner about books, but... it’s the clarification of Jurgen “in his younger days”, that gets me. Mikaele could just have easily said something about Martin just “sounding” like Leitner. But the way this reads, and how it’s spoken, even, it seems more like someone that might’ve been looking at Martin for awhile, squinting at him as if he’s seen that face somewhere before, and then right when Martin mentions books, it finally clicks. After all, it would’ve been almost 20 years, or possibly more, since Salesa would have left Leitner’s employ.

So yeah, I admit this theory has a much weaker backbone then my Banks/Folger post, but... I just think it’s neat. And it’s another one of those things that actually doesn’t have any affect on the major plot whatsoever. I dunno, maybe it was meant to be some sort of subplot early on that got ditched or something? Point is, that’s all for now, and with any luck, I will never post another crack theory again, and the TMA tag can be safe from my ramblings once more.

#burl posts #the magnus archives #tma spoilers #tma fan theory #martin blackwood #jurgen leitner #no editing; we post rough drafts like idiots #also i didn't actually write this with nearly as much bias as I intended too #i'm too facts-based; and the moment i try saying something that isn't absolutely factual #i'm too quick to add a ''this is only alleged we have no canon proof''#did the same thing with my last redstring theory #i actually think i might start calling my tma theories ''pink-string nonsense'' because it's less #red string means; IT HAS TO BE TRUE IT DEFINITELY MAKES SENSE #whereas pink string is more; IT COULD BE TRUE BUT REALLY I THINK IT WOULD JUST BE NICE/COOL

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jaegerbroshoe · 3 years

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Episode 70 (S4E11) Thoughts

1) I feel so bad for that Garrison dude. This is what happens when you’re nice. But also, shouldn’t they have been more apprehensive with her considering they knew she killed Sasha (so she’s no ordinary child)?

2) Falco was in on it, right?

3) Were they imprisoned in the old SC headquarters...?

4) Anyways, I like the ost they used during this scene.

5) “I heard Gabi and Falco’s voices”. Umm PATHS?

6) I still don’t get how the military wasn’t able to track Gabi and Falco down. Paradis really was a whole mess here. And now that I think about it, it clearly wasn’t even in their priority list because the higher-ups (e.g. Hanji) weren’t informed... You’d think that the escape of prisoners from an enemy nation would be considered a national security issue though.

7) I’ve said it already, but MAPPA drew the scenery so beautifully in this episode. I love the vibrance of it especially.

8) Damn, Falco 😂. Shots fired.

9) I love how they built the tension between the two sides (Kaya/the Blouses vs. Gabi/Falco) with the music.

10) That stew actually looks really fucking good. Is that meat I see?

11) Falco during this episode really be like: “God fucking dammit Gabi, can you behave for just one second 😤.”

12) This line always cracks me up.

13) I’m so curious. The plan was to do a mini-Rumbling demonstration. But what were they planning on doing with the Wall Titans they released afterwards...?

14) At least the common people sided with Eren and appreciated his efforts to keep them safe.

15) Oh, I didn’t know the Reeves Company was put in charge of rebuilding Shiganshina. Interesting. It also appears that the general public didn’t know about the mini-Rumbling demonstration...

16) This man speaking the truth 👏🏼. Hanji literally became just like the old MPs.

17) Nah bitch, this was all for the sake of the rest of the world. You never prioritized your own people once you learned the truth.

Also, Hanji clearly had no faith in themselves; they couldn’t even reassure Flegel to trust them. Poor leadership all around.

18) I didn’t realize Louise was pronounced this way until now.

19) Is that all of the SC? Pathetic.

20) Floch was speaking the truth here once again.

21) Random thought but I wonder how many times you can transfer between military branches in Paradis. I wouldn’t have thought it possible in the first place (what with the emphasis on choosing one) but Floch and co were able to transfer to the SC during RTS.

22) With this conversation, you can really see why Eren was able to open up to Floch out of everyone from the 104th about his plan. He’s the only other person who saw the reality of their situation (his crazy obsession with the Eldian Empire aside).

23) Also, Floch was probably inwardly laughing at Hanji here because they still didn’t realize that Eren was planning on unleashing a full scale Rumbling.

24) Damn, Floch really wanted Eren to rule huh.

25) Louise is so horny for Mikasa omg 😂. But it’s actually pretty sad how much she worshipped Mikasa, when the latter didn’t even give a shit.

26) Damn, girl really understood the fundamentals of life though.

27) Mikasa is so rude to her, God.

28) The flashback scene is less creepy to me in the anime, but I like it better this way. I feel like it doesn’t portray Eren negatively (or should I say ambiguously?) like in the manga. His voice even sounds reassuring.

The way it’s portrayed here does make me think though... Was this scene here to actually confirm that Mikasa is so protective of Eren because of the Ackerbond? Because it’s after Louise brings up that topic that she recalls this memory. So it’s like her brain was providing her with the answer, that a part of her is genetically attached to Eren. Which is something she has always avoided acknowledging... If this is true, then this scene wasn’t so much showing the start of Mikasa doubting Eren, but her doubting herself.

In any case, I’m really intrigued by the added shot of the birds 👀.

29) Look at how clean the drawings are. I love it.

30) What the fuck is up with the “Information Available for Public Disclosure” in this episode 😂.

31) What an absolute mood.

32) The real Devil of Paradis.

Honestly though, this horse is a champ.

33) This scene is even more hilarious animated 💀. Falco saying Gabi in exasperation is so well-deserved.

Also, isn’t there a saying that animals are good at judging one’s character? 🤔

34) Still don’t get how Gabi later became an expert at riding horses in 0.2 seconds when she never learnt how to.

35) Does Gabi not realize that her beloved cousin was a traitor too? 🙄 Why are the Brauns so dumb.

36) Yas Queen Historia 👏🏼.

37) Gabi would suck ass at infiltration 🤦🏻‍♀️.

38) Kaya is such a badass though. She didn’t even flinch or get scared when Gabi tried to skewer her 😂.

39) I wonder if Sasha visited Kaya often. Kaya wouldn’t be this attached if they only saw each other once.

40) That scene between Kaya and Gabi was very well done. The music, directing, and voice acting all combine together to create the perfect tension👌🏼. The way you can actually see the desperation in Gabi as she tries to validate the beliefs she built her whole identity around... I actually pitied her for once.

But it’s interesting to me that she spouts all this stuff when in Liberio, she tells Falco that she’s doing all this to prove to the world that her people are good. I guess that contradiction within her was something that always existed but she ignored it.

41) Anyways, I like how Isayama broke down the ridiculousness of the whole “your ancestors did this” argument here. If you wanna make someone realize how invalid their discriminatory remarks are, you should just make them explain their rationale until they realize they’re just grasping at straws.

42) Thank you Falco for giving Kaya the real answer to her question.

Kaya’s line of questioning here had me thinking about how Eren was anguished by the same thoughts for years though (so it kinda feels like she was speaking on his behalf too). Except, no one gave him that closure. He had to find the answer himself 😔.

43) Wait, so Gabi understands that Marley did this with bigger plans in mind... 🤦🏻‍♀️

44) That scene with Sasha really is amazing though. She was so fucking cool.

45) Wait, I just realized how the lighting goes from mid-afternoon to sunset all of a sudden 🤔.

46) “I wanna become a person like her” 😭. I actually teared up though, and that’s rare.

47) So is that Warhammer statue just gonna chill there for eternity? (Never mind, it must’ve gotten flattened by the Rumbling).

48) Yeah...they really are highlighting how the season 3 ending was showing Eren seeing the future.

49) I’m sorry I’m just laughing at Marley realizing Zeke double crossed them 😂. They always went on about how he ratted out his parents, but they weren’t ready for him to do the same to them. Serves them right.

50) Why didn’t Marley consider that Falco and Gabi might have been executed... They sure do have a lot of faith in their so-called “devils”.

51) Yeah, cause y’all suck ass.

52) Reiner being so quiet at first and then becoming all gung-ho at the end has always felt so out of place for me.

53) I’m confused as to what the next episode will cover. It’s not even gonna breach chapter 112, is it? Ugh... I can’t wait for Zeke’s flashback.

Pretty great episode overall. They’ve really been spacing out the pacing though, which is good in the sense that it’s not rushed, but I was really looking forward to seeing PATHS animated ☹️. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what they have in mind.

#snk thoughts #snk ep 70 #snk season 4 #my opinion

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secretradiobrooklyn · 3 years

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Secret Radio | 7.24.21, 8.7.21 & etc.

“Better, Better, Back” Secret Radio | 7.24.21, 8.7.21 & etc. | Hear it here.

- Mort Garson - “Plantasia”

1. Jean-Pierre Djeukam - “Africa Iyo” - “Cameroon Garage Funk”

The main musician I think of from Cameroon is Beti-Beti, and this is a whole different thing. Endless props to Analog Africa for providing fiery track after track. This is the sweat from their newest collection!

2. Eyedress - “Jealous”

Paige hears something in this and when I unfocus my eyes I do too. (Literal?) high school skate kids gettin in their shallow feels. I will admit that the chorus “time-time” is killer.

3. Nahid Akthar & Tafo - “Takra We Gutt Bhar Le” (I think)

Nahid Akthar’s voice is so completely bewitching that the amazing arrangements almost sneak by. Tafo is the producer of this track I believe, and the narrative structure of the music is just so confident and encompassing. But then also: man, that VOICE. She’s right up there with Ros Serey Sothea in expressiveness and character.

4. Oruã - “Escola das Roas” - “Sem Bênção / Sem Crença”

My thanks to you, Marc, for pointing this band to us. I have fallen in love with this particular recording, it just gets more thoroughly better with every listen. Calvin Johnson mentioned this band in a recent K newsletter — they’re a Brazilian band who corresponded with Doug Martsch as mutual fans until at some point Doug decided his own band needed replacing and he brought them out as Built to Spill and also as Oruã. This track also has shades of Sonic Youth’s “Master-Dik,” one of my all-time ultra faves. It really hits me in the ’90s, and I rilly want to see how some of this music is performed live.

5. Jacques Dutronc - “Le Responsable”

I’m so thankful to have Jacques Dutronc in my life. His rock songs knock me into gear like nothing else — and the whole band has its own very specific flavor. It kicks!

6. Sleepy Kitty - “Alceste in Silverlake”

At very long last, there is a new Sleepy Kitty album on the way! It’s in line at the record plant as I type this. And this is a song from the perspective of a musician-seeking drummer in LA, crossed with the most brutally honest man in all of France.

7. Sakuran Zensen - “錯乱前戦ロッキンロール” (I Wanna Rock & Roll)

We only knew one song by this band (that we’ve played here) because the video was rad, but I looked to see what else was there and this song is just freakin great with me. The chords are really cool and his vocal delivery is just so over the top it’s impossible not to love. And the guitar solo is basically a full-on tonefest, which I appreciate more than a bunch of flying fingers. The video helps fill in the picture nicely too, I think, though I like the song while not looking at it even more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPCqT3e89SU

- Mort Garson - “Concerto for Philodendron & Pothos”

8. Clothilde - “Fallait pas ècraser la queue du chat”

All hail the French instinct for chamber music instruments as pop instruments, and then as a kind of technicolor weirdness. The orchestration of this song is a work of art in itself, and that doesn’t even account for her self-harmonizing melody. If you haven’t already, picture a brunette bob and deep mascara.

9. Public Service Broadcasting - “Spitfire”

I can’t remember now how I found this music, though I think it might’ve been from Josh’s playlist? This is from 2012, but they have a new album coming out almost exactly a month from now. In Bound Stems Tim and I got really into interlacing snatches of other people’s words into the music we were making, and this is very congruent with that interest. I feel like this song passes tests as it goes.

10. Shocking Blue - “Send Me a Postcard”

I first heard of this band when I was learning everything I could about Nirvana, and I’d heard both versions of “Love Buzz” and knew they were both great, but we only recently caught this track. It’s the bridge between “White Rabbit” and “Territorial Pissings.”

11. Metak - “Tetrapak”

Our favorite Croatian band! Everything about this song is delightful. I feel like if this song was in English I’d probably cringe at the lyrics, but in this format I can only hear how much fun the song is to play. I am one-quarter Croatian, which means I can’t understand any of the lyrics either but I do see little ghosts of myself in the pictures of the band somehow. It’s weird.

12. Katerine - “Louxor J’adore”

-Anything I could say about this song is eclipsed by this excerpt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD7QuV6f_MA

The performance to the cemetery knocks me out

13. Erkin Koray - “Seni Her Gördügümde”

Whenever we’re listening to Anatolian psych, the songs with the most creative ideas and satisfying riffs and great vocal passages are always Erkin Koray. The four-piece arrangements are so good, and then he doesn’t hesitate to step up with his guitar to narrate a passage. Also, I really like how Turkish rock sounds so Indian and also Arabic and also French.

14. WITCH - “Chifundo”

Zambian prog rock! I haven’t heard anything like this track anywhere else in Africa yet. The thing is, this version of prog includes the exact flavor that Yes totally lacks, and thus I really love listening to this track in a way most prog rock doesn’t hit me. The time switches and the lead part over the top are just so smooth!

15. Ezra Furman - “Psalm 151”

We’ve been listening to a lot of Ezra Furman’s music lately, and it’s only getting better and more engrossing with every listen. We toured with Ezra Furman’s band about 5 years ago and every night was a pleasure. They’re finishing up a new album, which makes this a great time to listen to the others. This entire album, “Transangelic Exodus,” is a masterpiece as far as we’re concerned, and I find myself thinking the whole time too about Tim Sandusky’s production. Tim’s such a home town for us, and to hear his full attention on this album is just such a pleasure.

16. Ralph Stanley - “White Light, White Heat”

It was one of my favorite musical influence moments ever when my dad’s bluegrass band, The Prozac Mtn Boys, played VU’s “What Goes On.” Knowing that there is a recording of one of my dad’s true banjo heroes playing “White Light White Heat” is just an endless blessing. And actually hearing it is even better.

17. Kim Jung Mi - “Ganadaramabasa”

I know basically nothing about this track except that she’s Korean and this is from 1973. She’s got a real Diana Ross thing going on, and her band has a real Supremes vibe too… but it doesn’t sound like one of their songs.

18. Penny Penny - “Yogo Yogo”

We just got this record recently, and based on this track I wouldn’t’ve necessarily pictured the remarkable-looking guy who actually made this music. This is from the album “Shaka Bundu.” I’m sure it’s been cranked up and sent through some great house remixes — how could this not be? — but I like how this tempo operates at its own pace. It’s so truly and thoroughly ’80s, very 20th century. In the 21st century this tempo is practically cerebral.

19. Baris Manço - “Binboganin Kizi”

More Anatolian action. It’s really interesting to me how Turkish stuff was always associated with psych music but I didn’t really know how except for the opium thing, and I now understand that it’s in the chord relationships, well, and a lot of the vocal melody and delivery. In that way, Turkish rock pretty much defines what psych music sounds like. Wow. And check out that keyboard solo, so next level!

20. The Velvet Underground - “Countess from Hong Kong”

People are always asking Beatles or Stones and the answer is Velvet Underground. (And the Beatles, and the Stones.) They were just operating along a different balance beam than those other guys — performing different tricks for a different audience. While the Beatles were defining pop music, the VU were destroying it… but then later, they reveal their deep affinity for Western music, even as they never drop in to the blues-centric reading of it. It’s truly punk. I guess they are to punk what the Beatles are to pop — the definition of pop is whatever flows to or from the Beatles; punk is whatever flows to or from the Velvet Underground. Certainly more than any single band in 1976 or 7 or whatever.

21. Bella Bellow - “Denyigban”

The piano phrase that kicks this song off is surprisingly close to the opening of Bound Stems’ “Appreciation Night.” We got that phrase from the demo mode of Radz’s keyboard, and it’s surreal to hear a high-overlap version in a song from Togo. Her voice is so clean in tone and pitch, and what’s strangest to me is that I register the instrumentation in an almost Disney mode — but then realize that’s because Disney will draw on Caribbean and African elements at times as they establish characters and settings. Such an elegant song though!

22. Rail Band - “Mouodilo”

One of the first insights that got us into WBFF was the realization that James Brown had even more fundamental influence on the music of the world than the Beatles did — certainly in Africa. Hearing how his delivery interrelates with so many bands from all across Africa is such a revelation. This track just keeps winding around you til you can’t hardly live without it.

- Asha Bhosle - “Salma Jarir Jhalak”

All I know about this is that it’s in Bangla and it’s from a movie.

23. Unknown - “Chemirocha” - from “Love Is Love”

Several years ago, when African records looked interesting but we literally didn’t know anything about them, we bought a record called Love Is Love, in part because it was a beautiful cover and in part because the music seemed mysterious and full of possibility. Now, when I go to look for it online, I see no sign — I think it’s just a really small pressing from a… pirate group, I guess one could say? But really I think just hardcore music lovers. Anyway, it has this song “Chemirocha” on it, and there’s a story about this song that is really probably just best to link to because it’s so amazing. I guarantee you will find the information in this article worth your read:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/chemirocha-how-an-american-country-singer-became-a-kenyan-star

24. Sparks - “Do-Re-Mi”

We’ve known about Sparks, but we’re late to a close listen. We’ve been listening a lot in anticipation of — not the band bio pic but “Annette,” the new film by Carax, one of our favorite directors ever. For that matter: make sure to watch “Holy Motors” by Carax. It’s probably best if you watch “Lovers on a Bridge” before that, but if you have to go straight to “Holy Motors,” dive right in. It’s amazing.

Meanwhile: This take on the Mary Poppins classic is TOO MUCH — I can’t stop smiling at the end, when the bells start tolling over the crashing drums and crescendoing vocal waves as their third finale fades away. How can anyone make this song, the very definition of not-rock, rock so fully?

- Mort Garson - “Ode to an African Violet”

25. Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost - “She Brought Me to the Wire”

I will forever be glad that we not only landed in a city where we could find out about the person and the works of Bob Reuter, but that we got to know and work with him. Bob Reuter was one of the definitions of St. Louis to us, and when he passed, so did some of that city. But also, he left music and photos and stories in Eleven and chapbooks that I truly hope last forever. He was the hard-living romantic that you hope lives in the heart of every hard-luck case… and in his one instance, it was true. Bless your soul, Bob Reuter.

photos by Bob Reuter from The Pageant and El Leñador

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infriga · 4 years

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Well yeah but that was after seeing the gross monster that particular food made he was happy at the suggestion of ordering a pizza though in together breakfast. All that mattered to him was spending time together, it seemed like he had to BEG for it in early SU. And then of course in SUF, after all the effort earlier in his life, and time spent doing nothing felt like it was undeserved and it hurt to just try and spend time with people you love. They took too long to reciprocate.

My post about the together breakfast was mainly poking fun at how people had an existencial crisis over Steven not liking things that he used to like as if it made him a completely different person. In reality out of the three things they suggested that he supposedly used to like only one of them was something he was ever actually into beyond like one episode, if at all. He was never into Pupcopter during SU, he was into Dogcopter. Pupcopter is basically the version meant for extremely young children, and would be like asking a 16 year old to watch Paw Patrol with you. And he didn't even want to eat the Together Breakfast by the end of its titular episode. It only showed up one other time during one brief scene during the wedding as a call back, vanished before the ceremony started, and was otherwise never seen again as far as I can remember. Only the cheeseburger backpack was something he liked and used that he stopped using in Future, but he'd still kept it and still used a hot dog duffle bag, so it wasn't like he hated it or didn't still use food themed bags, he just didn't want to use a bag that was 4 years old, possibly because it's actually really annoying to use a bag with too many pockets when you're using it for something important like school. So I always felt like it was a bit of an overreaction. I don't mean the jokes and stuff people made, I'm sure many of them weren't serious and were just joking around about our little boy growing up, but I remember there were plenty of people taking it way too seriously. I specifically recall one person literally stating that Steven had become a "husk of his former self" after that episode which is patently ridiculous, and I got a bit peeved about it back then. I noticed the ending of Together Breakfast during a rewatch so I thought I'd make a sassy post about it. But I do want to address something you mentioned in this ask seriously, as well as some other things related to it that are on my mind regarding Future.

Edit: I’m putting the rest of this under a cut because I didn’t realize how long this got when I wrote it on my phone. TL;DR: I believe Snow Day is more about Steven’s imposter syndrome than about the gems taking too long to reciprocate his desire to spend time with them. Below is a bunch of my thoughts about Steven’s shift from seeing gem missions as adventures and a way to hang out with the gems to seeing them as a responsibility and something he was obligated to do for the greater good whether he wanted to or not.

You're right that in the beginning he got left alone a lot and often had to beg the gems to spend time with him, and he felt as if he had to be a crystal gem and be useful in order to go on missions with them, which he thought was his only way to hang out with them as shown in An Indirect Kiss. But later on things changed in that department. The gems did start spending more time with him outside of missions, the problem was that his desire to be useful and help with missions morphed into something else. Take The Test as an example. In the beginning of the episode the gems are playing a board game with Steven, spending time with him and having fun with something that wasn't related to missions. But then their time hanging out together is interrupted when Steven finds the statue from the moon spire and expresses guilt over leaving it behind, leading to the revelation that it was a test he failed. In a way that scene is the perfect analogy for the change in his views regarding missions, because that episode is when Steven's treatment of missions shifts from cool adventures to an obligation, and it's also when his priorities shift from himself and what he wants, to others and what they need. It stops being about his desires of being included, and starts being about putting his own problems aside to help others, and about him wanting to live up to the expectations others have of him. He was expected to pass an easy test and he failed, and because of that the spire was destroyed. The gems didn't know how to handle him, so he ignored his own hurt and feelings of inadequacy to make them feel better and boost their confidence. And from that point on, he mostly acted based on the greater good, and on not falling short of what others expected of him because he was afraid of the potentially destructive consequences of failure. You can really see the difference between how Steven saw missions during Cheeseburger backpack and how he saw them later on after the test when you go back to rewatch that episode. In Cheeseburger Backpack he saw it as a chance to do something fun and cool with the gems, to be a member of their exclusive group, which is a view he still has by An Indirect Kiss, though he's already started to see it as him having to live up to his mother's legacy, at that point he just sees that as his method of being able to hang out with them by being useful. After The Test he takes things much more seriously as a duty that he's obligated to do for the sake of the earth, and as something he sees as a responsibility. You can especially see this in Marble Madness just 6 episodes later, where Connie treats the events occurring as something cool and adventurous, while Steven treats it as an important issue that they've been dealing with, one that by the third interruption he's clearly not happy about. Sure, you could argue that it's because of what happens between those episodes causing him to take things more seriously, like Mirror/Ocean Gem or Warp Tour, but The Test has been noted by Rebecca and others as a turning point for Steven for a reason. Now I’m not saying Steven didn’t want to help people for the sake of helping people, he did because he’s a good kid who’s empathetic and kind, but he also clearly grew to view the missions and gem drama as more important than how he felt, even when they were something he didn’t want to do or resulted in him getting hurt and upset. He ended up thinking that helping people was more important than what he wanted or needed, and that came to a head in Future when his problems came back to bite him all at once and he couldn’t dismiss them anymore. The problem wasn’t that he wanted to help people, the problem was that he pushed his own needs aside to do it at any cost.

So I don't think the issue in Snow Day was that their reciprocation was too late, because they'd reciprocated before that point. I think the problem was that the way they reciprocated played into his feelings of inadequacy and his fear of falling short of the expectations of others. He grew up feeling like he couldn't live up to his mother's legacy, and even after he managed to break free of that he started feeling like he couldn't live up to his own legacy. He thought people didn't see him for who he really is now, and we learn in Everything's Fine that on top of his ptsd he has a really bad case of imposter syndrome. So when the gems want to spend time with him and they base it on the person he used to be years ago, it just further plays in to the idea that they haven't been paying attention to he is now, that he's still being seen as the 14 year old who saved the galaxy, and that's who they want him to be again. It would feel very isolating and alienating for the parents who say they miss you to act like they miss who you used to be rather than who you are currently.

That said, it was good that by the end of the episode he told them how he felt and they adjusted their behaviour. personally I do still think that episode had a happy ending all things considered, and I don't think it contributed much if at all to his issues down the line, it just wasn't enough to prevent them. I think it served more as a hint to some of his insecurities regarding how he felt like a fraud because he thought everyone saw him as something he wasn't.

I find it interesting how some people reacted to that episode and to Steven during Future in general. We the audience should know that he is a good person and not a monster, and that his mistakes don't define him, and that he should be allowed to change without being held up to an impossible standard, because that's what the show has always championed: the ability to grow. Yet a vocal section of the audience reacted in a way that bought into the kind of insecurities Steven had cultivated. They reacted as if a few minor changes were the end of the world, and that because he wasn't exactly the same kind of person he was in SU that meant he was somehow a worse person, a "husk of his former self" so to speak, even though he was still a kind person who wanted to help people. He wasn't refusing to hang out with the gems because he had become asocial and hated them, or because he was an edgy teenager, it was because their attempts at spending time with him were done in a way that made him unhappy. Once they adapted to something more comfortable for him he was perfectly happy to hang out and have fun with them.

The biggest difference between Steven then and now was that Steven issues had built up to a point where they couldn't be pushed aside or ignored anymore. The way he'd helped people in the past had proven to be unhealthy in the long run due to the fact that he always minimized his own needs and desires over those of others. So a chunk of the fandom had done exactly what Steven accused everyone of doing in Everything's Fine: they expected him to be the same kid from before who was perfect, mature, and always knew what to do. They thought of him as an angel who only helped people. In that episode he says "I'm not that kid anymore" but the thing is, he was never that kid. Much of that so-called maturity and decisiveness and perfection was actually just a traumatized child trying to live up to impossible expectations while utilizing unhealthy coping methods to push his own feelings aside in order to help others and save the world.

When Growing Pains aired, a lot of those people went suspiciously silent. No more people calling him edgy, no more people saying he was turning into White Diamond, no more people saying he was making the same mistakes as his mom, no more people accusing him of having developed an ego, and no more people saying Steven was going to be the "villain" of Future. Or at least there were way less people saying those things. That's why I think that episode was so important. It blatantly stated "this is the behaviour of a traumatized 16 year old who has experienced multiple traumatic childhood events. Trauma shapes our behaviours and our physical reactions and has a long lasting or even permanent effect on our body and mind." it made everyone take a long hard look at what Steven had been through through without the rose-tinted lenses of nostalgia. Obviously there were still some people with bad takes calling Steven an asshole, but there were way less of them than there were before the episode slapped us in the face with the reality that the show was taking this seriously and always had been. And I hope it caused a lot of people to take that same hard look at stuff in real life, so they could be aware of the effects of trauma on others instead of harshly judging trauma survivors for not being perfect and having difficulties and struggling, so that they can hopefully stop demonizing the less convenient and less pretty symptoms of trauma as character flaws that make someone evil, and so they can hopefully see things in less black and white or good and evil like the internet is prone to do. And maybe some people can even see those same issues in themselves and feel encouraged to actually seek help, and maybe they can feel like they're seen and heard even if it's just by a cartoon about dancing singing lesbian space rocks.

Sorry this got so long, I have a lot of thoughts about this and I wanted to just get them out there.

#Steven Universe #Steven Universe Future #Meta #Long post #Repy #anonymous

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