they really did write an entirely different character for s3, huh?

If you think Connor is boring, I'm sorry but you're objectively wrong. This dude is the funniest bitch out there.

Do you think all the characters are assholes?

Because i think they are despite their tragic backstories and i also don't think they appreciate Yuu enough, except for maybe the first years

I mean, the TWST characters are (mostly) inspired by Disney villains... Plus, they’re immature high schoolers still in the process of emotionally maturing. Of course they're not going to be perfect balls of sunshine. They're all going to be rude or have faults in their own ways, but they also have their strengths and charm points. I do call them assholes (lovingly), but I would hesitate to slap a singular label on any of the characters when they're all very well-rounded and morally ambiguous.

On the topic of Yuu, I think it makes sense that most of the cast doesn't really "appreciate" them. To begin with, most of the characters are not the openly sentimental types; they wouldn’t overtly express that gratitude even if it were present. Then we have to consider that Yuu isn't directly involved in their character growth or arcs in most cases; it's often the other characters who are confronting the OB boys or instigating, physically battling them to snap them out of it, and then comforting them afterwards.

As early as book 1, that pattern holds true. Ace is the one that initially pissed Riddle off. Adeuce are dueling Riddle. Ace decks Riddle and claims his last straw. Trey is the one calling out to Riddle as he's losing it. It's the members of Heartslabyul who gather around Riddle when he reawakens following the OB. (I'm not going to go through and list off what happens in every single book, but I'm sure you can think of many other instances... Lilia insulting Leona, Deuce and Epel having the heart-to-heart on the beach, Octavinelle's plot against Jamil, the twins checking up on Azul post-OB, etc.) To me, it feels like it is the boys and their bonds with one another responsible for the change, not Yuu's involvement. Yuu is usually along for the ride and actually does and says very little despite all the fandom jokes about "being the school's unpaid but overworked therapist" or Crowley's shallow claim that Yuu can help the boys learn to cooperate (which feels more like a vague ruse only shown in the prologue to shoehorn Yuu into the plot). There's actually very little in-game that shows them being active in helping the students change for the better. Much of the time, the boys can resolve their own struggles to get along without Yuu being there (like all those pair-ups in book 6–sure, it may have taken a while, but the fact remains that they did eventually resolve their own issues and cooperate without Yuu having to orchestrate for them; this also happens many times in events like Port Fest, Wish Upon a Star, Ghost Marriage, the Halloween events, etc). A very common complaint (at least among English speaking players) is that Yuu isn’t “involved enough” or that they don’t have a big impact on the events of the story. Therefore, most of the boys not feeling close or indebted to Yuu makes sense from their POV. What has Yuu actually and explicitly done to help them? Not much. It’s mainly in individual fan interpretations where Yuu/a Yuusona/an OC in Yuu’s role is actually able to play a more substantial part in each characters’ life and growth. In general, the standard in-game Yuu is more of a "fly on the wall" character that witnesses events unfold rather than someone who plays a large role in each book. The boys are seemingly the main characters, not Yuu. It's just convenient to have Yuu/a blank slate in the story because they, as an outsider, need TWST concepts explained to them (thus making it easier to give exposition to the players who may also be unfamiliar with the information). The first years, by comparison, are closer to Yuu simply because 1) Yuu is implied to be in the same year level as them (so they're more likely to be exposed to one another) and 2) their preestablished relationships with Grim, Ace, and Deuce opens them up more to first year interactions. "Friends of friends", if you will. It makes more sense than Yuu being appreciated and loved by everyone/most people in the main cast of 22ish. (How many people do you know irl that have 22ish significant friends?) They spend the most time together. Everyone else tends to stick to their own groups (with maybe the exception of Heartslabyul, since Yuu is already close with Adeuce). They’re just... not as intimate with Yuu, and therefore not as inclined to find much appreciation for them.

I want to clarify that this doesn’t mean there are zero instances of the characters outside of the first years expressing gratitude toward Yuu. Like, of the OB boys, it’s only Vil who consistently apologizes for the trouble he caused (note though: it’s not specifically to Yuu, but to everyone in the VDC/SDC squad. Yuu is then given prize money from most of the other boys as thanks for letting them crash at Ramshackle… Of those, only Kalim cites being grateful that he was able to stay and have fun with everyone because of Yuu green lighting the decision. This makes sense, as Kalim’s one of the few who wears his heart on his sleeve and is friendly to most. It just isn’t true for the majority of the cast, and we shouldn’t expect it to be.

As late as book 5, you can see characters like Leona not being so happy to be called out to or for Grim to act all buddy-buddy with him. That indicates to me that the rest of the cast is not that close to Yuu + related parties and doesn't have a real reason to be. (Note: I'm not counting character voice lines here as proof of friendliness with Yuu, as it can be argued that the relationships and events explored in the cards don't run in tandem with the main story and are meant more as fanservice for the players.)

Again, while it's not that fun to read in a narrative, it does leave things open-ended for anyone who wants to self-insert or to expand on those blank relationships for their own characters. I believe this is by design to appeal on an individual level to players. You get out of it what you put into it!

If there's one part about Vegeta's arc that I absolutely love, it would be this:

His regression in season 8 was very well done. It wasn't shoehorned in and it made sense. I remember seeing on Reddit years ago people complaining about this specific part of his arc, saying that it made no sense for him to regress the way he did when he was redeemed at this point. But consider this. It makes perfect sense when you factor in one thing: he wasn't redeemed yet. He was still going through his redemption arc by this point.

Vegeta wasn't raised to be a family man. He was raised to be a killing machine. He was raised with the idea in mind that he would one day be the king of the Saiyan race. All of that got taken away from him. His belief that he was the strongest Saiyan alive was taken when Goku became a Super Saiyan and defeated Frieza, and again when Gohan became a Super Saiyan 2 and killed Perfect Cell. And then Goku makes the choice to stay dead instead of coming back to life via the dragon balls. So now, Vegeta's one rival, the person who he swore he would one day surpass and defeat is gone for good. So all Vegeta has left at this point is the family he created with Bulma. Something that he most likely never envisioned for himself. So he decides to live a life on earth with her and their son.

Everything seems to be going fine for Vegeta....until the World Martial Arts Tournament happens. And Goku decides to return on this one day so that he can participate. Suddenly, all of the feelings that Vegeta bottled up over the last 7 years since Goku's death comes rushing to the surface. Finally, after all this time, Vegeta could finally prove that he's better than Goku. They even get matched up to fight each other in the tournament! How lucky is that, right? And then this guy happens:

And just like that, Vegeta's chance to fight Goku is now shattered thanks to this new threat to Earth. Instead of his attention being on him, Goku has his sights set on defeating Buu before he can be revived. For the entire time Vegeta, Goku, Gohan, and the Supreme Kai are in Babidi's lair, Vegeta is angry. He's waited 7 years for the chance to fight Goku again, and now that he finally gets the chance to do so, this happens. We see Vegeta's mood get worse and worse throughout the time they fight Babidi's minions, and it's gets so bad to the point where Babidi is able to get Vegeta under his control. Now, as Vegeta pointed out later on, he actually could of fought off Babidi's mind control. But he chose not to. Why? Because he saw how powerful Babidi's minions were while they were under his control. So Vegeta figured he could use some of that power to do this:

Fight Goku without any interruptions. Which is what he wanted from the start. Even though he knew that fighting would give more energy to Buu and thus revive him, Vegeta didn't care. So long as he got to fight Goku. Keep in mind that this is the same guy who let Semi-Perfect Cell absorb Android 18, despite the fact that he knew it could end up being a bad decision. But Vegeta didn't care because he wanted a good fight.

Now there's one line that Vegeta said to Goku during this fight that always stuck with me from the moment I heard it back when I was a kid. When Goku asks him why did he do all of this, Vegeta responds with "Because I wanted him to reawaken the evil within my heart. I wanted him to return me to the way I was...BEFORE!!! I WAS THE PERFECT WARRIOR! COLD AND RUTHLESS! I LIVED BY MY STRENGTH ALONE! UNINHIBITED BY FOOLISH EMOTION!!! But slowly...over the years... I became one of you. My quest for greatness gradually giving way to this life of mediocrity. I awoke one day to find that I had settled down and formed a family. I had even grown quite fond of them. Would you believe, I almost started thinking that the Earth was a nice place to live. Do you understand now, Kakarrot? That's why I needed Babidi! To set me free! By releasing the evil within my heart! He has freed me of these petty attachments. And I have to say it feels pretty good."

That entire speech he gave to Goku summarized PERFECTLY the internal conflict that Vegeta had going on within him. On the one hand, he wants this. He wants to feel strong again. He wants to defeat Goku and prove that he's better than him once and for all. He wants the life of a warrior back, because for so long that's all he knew. But on the other hand, he knows that the way he's going about it is wrong. Like he just admitted to Goku, there's a small part of him that loves the life he made for himself, and that he loves his family, too. Which is why Goku then says to him "Do you really believe what you're saying?". Now, Vegeta doesn't respond to this, but he doesn't have to. His silence is his answer. After that, the long awaited fight between these two begins. And after a while, Vegeta does come to the realization that he fucked up big time, and that he needs to do something to make up for it. Which is why he does this:

He knocks Goku out while his back is turned. Why? Because he wants to fight Majin Buu alone. Because if it hadn't been for Vegeta's desire to fight Goku, Majin Buu probably wouldn't have gotten the energy he needed to be revived. So Vegeta decides to take full responsibility for everything and take on Buu himself. To me, this is when his redemption arc comes full circle, because of his sacrifice. He knows that he can't beat Majin Buu through normal means, so what does he do? Blow himself up in an explosion that he's certain will destroy Buu along with him.

Vegeta even says in his mind that he's doing this for Bulma, Trunks, and even Goku. Something that I'm pretty sure a lot of us never thought we would ever hear him say. That he's doing something for other people. That he's not doing this for himself. I'm pretty sure that he saw this as his way to atone (hence why this move is called "final atonement" in the video games) but the fact remains that he did it anyway. Sure, we see Vegeta get angry when Perfect Cell killed Future Trunks, but still. That moment can't compare to this one. All in all, Majin Vegeta is the best part of Vegeta's redemption arc and the way how it's written really did an excellent job in wrapping it up.

What are your opinions on more „popular“ salt takes about Adrien and Mari, like the typical „Adrichat is an ass for for flirting with LB after she rejects him“ and „Maribug us a horrible stalker“?

Well, I'd be lying if I said that I have no idea where they're coming from. There are definitely times when I'll watch an episode and wonder what in the world the writers are trying to do, especially when it comes to Adrien's behavior as it's played a lot more straight than Marinette's. While I don't like her behavior at times, it's almost always treated as a joke, not a dramatic character beat whereas I cannot say the same for Adrien.

But these are characters in a TV show, not real people and we need to keep that in mind when judging them. It's why my go-to thought is "what is wrong with the writing staff" and not "Adrien is an incel." Because Adrien is very clearly not supposed to be an incel. Unless the writers are plotting something truly asinine, the Love Square is our end game couple. We are supposed to view Adrien as a charming and funny romantic lead. When he falls short of that role, it's not Adrien "showing his true colors." He's a fictional character. He has no true colors. If his actions and words are ever unbecoming for a romantic lead, it's because the writers are failing to write Adrien the way they want us to see him.

They consistently do this to all of the characters. Alya's supposed to be an awesome friend and a smart journalist (I think), but she can't see through Lila's BS. Marinette's parents are supposed to be loving and supportive, but they randomly believed that their daughter stole from their bakery to make a dress and didn't even try to let her explain herself. Nino is supposed to be the Chosen of Protection, but he didn't care to protect his best friend and just happily sent Gabriel on a rampage without a second thought.

Give me a character and I can point to a bunch of episodes that justify every salty take this fandom has because they're not pulling this stuff from thin air. They're picking and choosing the worst writing in the show and venting about it, which is frankly understandable. Like I get why there are so many Alya salt fics. Her writing in the Lila episodes is infuriating and I do find those fics a little cathartic at times. But it's really, really obvious that she's not supposed to be a terrible friend. She's a victim of the writers drawing the Lila plot line out for far too long and making Lila's lies far too obvious.

Similarly, a lot of the issues with Adrien and Marinette stem from the fact that you simply can't draw a romance plot out for five seasons without causing issues unless you make the romance a background plot. But they didn't do that. The love square is front and center for most episodes, but since it can't actually resolve, the writers keep adding drama that makes our leads feel horribly unhealthy.

On the Marinette side, her not being able to talk to Adrien was fine as an initial issue, but we are five seasons into this show. Over 100 episodes! You reach a point where it stops being cute and starts being concerning. It's also not helped by the fact that Marinette's crush is written like a celebrity crush and not a crush on someone she actually knows. Daily exposure to Adrien should mellow her out. Especially since he's supposed to be her friend! But if the writers let Marinette talk to Adrien, then they'd grow closer and might feel like they had to get together, so they couldn't let that. Thus Marinette being a disaster for four seasons and the terrible shoehorned plot to try and justify it in season five.

On the Adrien side, they let Chat Noir confess too soon. Prior to that, the Ladynoir relationship was a playful one where it was feasible that Ladybug just viewed her kitty as a massive flirt. This was especially true since he flirts with everyone. But once she knew that he was serious? The playfulness vanished and Chat Noir started coming across as entitled and pushy. It didn't help that they had him ignoring her preferences ("Don't call me Bugaboo") and getting them in trouble by not taking his job seriously (his flirting getting them hit in Oblivio).

In summary, the love square should have been resolved much sooner or been relegated to a b plot that got far less attention. I also would have reversed the square since it makes for a far more interesting story that you can organically draw out longer, but that's just me. I don't have any issue with people ignoring the canon problems and just writing Adrien and Marinette as the cute couple that they were obviously intended to be. I also enjoy fics that treat Adrien's pushiness as a character flaw that can be resolved because that's what canon should have done. His issues aren't the mark of a terrible person. They're the understandable flaws of a teenager who is in love for the first time and doesn't know how to express himself. If a show would actually address this kind of common tween/teen issue, then a lot of kids would get an incredibly valuable lesson that would help them when they grow up and fall in love. If you're ever watching Miraculous with a kid, I strongly encourage you to approach Adrien's character from that perspective. Talk about why his actions are understandable, but ultimately wrong and more likely to push someone away than win their heart just like we see with Ladybug.

I read your opinions on Ahsoka and while I like her I agree, I think her fandom is making me dislike her, the final straw for me was reading takes that Ahsoka was Anakin's child more than Luke ever was because he spend more time with her than with Luke despite Anakin ALWAYS aknowledged Luke as his son, I mean remember the iconic "I'm your father" scene? And how after that he always called Luke in his mind as "my son"? Anakin may had not raised Luke, but he always loved his son, ever since Padmé told him that she was pregnant he considered his baby a blessing and the happiest moment of his life, so no wonder those feelings resurfaced when he found out that Luke lived between ANH and ESB, I mean, he came to the Light for him! His baby boy. I even read a Youtube comment saying that when Anakin said Luke before dying "Tell your sister...you were right..." now it refered to Ahsoka when those words were for Leia! Yes, we know Leia sees Bail as her father and has zero connection with Anakin, but even so, those final words were for her. Canonically Anakin saw Ahsoka as much a younger sister, he always refered Luke as his son and Leia as Luke's sister and thus, his daughter. I dislike reading how people are trying to server Anakin from his family (from Padmé to now Luke and Leia) to place Ahsoka in the picture, guys, you can have both! (sorry for the rant)

I totally get it. My issue with her character mainly started from the fact that she is shoehorned into anything that involves the skywalkers. Imagine if she was in the movies, I would think her arc would be very redundant in the PT because we are closely following the Jedi masters and council as well as politicians as they are central to the plot and conflict. The fact that she wasn't in it establishes she is an afterthought. And I think she wouldn't have been so bad if she was a character with a standalone arc and story but now she's just everywhere and I disliked her introduction as Anakin's padawan because the PT establishes Anakin is quite young and flawed and its his journey we are exploring from little Ani to Darth Vader throughout the six films. He is allowed to be an innocent kid, brooding emotional teenager and also a hero. He is the Chosen One but not once is he a Gary Stu, in fact he goes through phases that annoys other characters like Obi Wan. He isn't overpowered either because we see him suffer two huge defeats in the films. He makes mistakes and the wrong choices and can be selfish at times, and other times he tries to be a good padawan and follow the rules and sometimes he disregards them, he lets others boss him around too, he is scared but wants to be a good father and husband etc etc. you get the idea. He's not perfect and that's the point and I think Hayden nails the repressed monk persona. The only reason Ahsoka was introduced was part of "fixing" Anakin's character and to make him more fun but it seems so unbelievable the council would assign someone like Anakin with an impressionable youngling (who is strangely rebellious despite having the same upbringing as the rest?). I just don't see Anakin as being a big brother to anyone or bantering with kids when he seemed understandably awkward and reserved. Also, Ahsoka's thick plot armor and her continuously inflated significance just confirms how much of a creator's pet she was and her whole character (especially when she's interacting with Anakin) feels very fanficy and the fact that she has almost zero flaws and she takes over the roles of every other important person in Anakin's life in the original story. I try not to pay attention to Filoni's pet because it just feels like pure wish fulfillment for him at this point. We could just have more of other cool female jedi like Shaak Ti, Depa, Aayla, or Yaddle as they were preexisting characters and weren't dependent on the Skywalkers for their arc - because I doubt Ahsoka would have been popular at all if she wasn't Anakin's padawan or acting like an Anakin wannabe (and getting away with it almost always while Anakin the CO was given no special treatment). At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if Ahsoka is revealed to be the new chosen one or she's some insanely overpowered demigod lol. And I mean I guess her fans like her for many reasons but she just feels like a Mary Sue to me like you know a character is doomed when a creator admits he's too attached to the character for anything drastic and openly shows favoritism. Let's be honest she is kind of a nepo baby and acts like one too in the SWU. I guess some people are just seeing her as one now but I always thought she would be a Mary Sue because even the emotional moments she has and the few hardships or "deep" moments she gets is just by interacting with the Skywalkers or just dealing with things everyone else is going through. So I don't really feel the emotional value if she tells Luke he is like her father when literally anyone else who knew him could have said that. At least characters like Boba don't rely on mentioning Anakin in everything they appear in. I don't think her arc would even be well developed if she was detached from the existing prequel characters so it's like she just reinforces the same emotions we should feel except she's supposed to be fun and badass so the audience and her fans would empathize with the events more.

Like do people even really like her screentime in Rebels except from her fight with Anakin? And that scene's so memorable because it's with Anakin, a much more realistic and developed character. It's really Anakin who carries the scene and the emotional impact. Replace Ahsoka with any other padawan and it seems like she has no inherent value. She only seems to shine in moments she is interacting with PT era characters due to the backstory and flashbacks and the rest of the time she's just a token strong female jedi character. What is Ahsoka when she is not breaking Jedi rules constantly like she's special or getting in Anakin's business or running into other characters and reminiscing about the past? I could watch a standalone show on Anakin, Padme, Obi Wan, Qui Gon, Yoda or even Dooku just in their solo adventures because they bring a slightly new perspective to the SWU and there's some room for individuality. I could be wrong maybe they explored some of her personal ambitions than being a Jedi and making Anakin proud but I'm really not interested when her role is just so interchangeable. Even Padme has an entire movie around her (TPM) where we see more about her. Despite being Anakin's love interest, we can see how she is a main character and can carry a film without any romance with Anakin. Same with Obi-Wan. He had an entire movie solving mysteries and plots while Anakin and Padme were romancing. That's why they should be the main prequel trio because its always been two force sensitives and a non-force sensitive member. Just like Han, Padme brings a new perspective and skills in the team.

I wouldn't be too bothered about such claims as they always existed. Ahsoka is closer to Anakin than Obi Wan, Padme, Leia and now more than Luke. It's sad and funny how far Filoni will bend space and time to make room for the OC. As far as I'm concerned, she doesn't exist.

This channel has some good videos on her and I highly recommend these: part 1 and part 2

I really do find the jokes about Travis running from backstory tiresome because it's not even running, he isn't avoiding engaging with it. It's a more patient and slower pacing and choosing to engage with present (thus more urgent) matters. Generally, Travis characters operate on a pacing and rhythm that's very different from many other PCs at the table. Backstory arises when it would offer illumination or momentum, and this is true for all characters—but the flow and rhythm of this differs between characters.

Like? The alternative would be to awkwardly shoehorn the character backstory in? That would be disruptive to the narrative and especially to the development of the character Travis is playing.

Also, I feel like this sentiment unintentionally comes out of a bit of impatience and out of the fandom forgetting that information takes time to reveal? Do we remark this about backstory dodging for television main cast because they don't talk about everything in their pact or aren't as forthcoming as others? Or major characters in a novel? Backstory revelation serves the character and plot at hand, and if it's not relevant, it doesn't come up—and it feels very much like Travis is playing to that specific sort of rhythm.

The only time he exited a little early is at the end of pirates arc, and that was because he had an eye on overall narrative pacing, how long this arc was, and anxiety over having been the center of attention for like fifteen sessions. That's not really a reluctance to engage, it's a pacing and rhythm consideration.

And, Travis does often play characters who are unprepared to face their pasts. But there's a difference between the meta "Travis, the player" and the fictional "PC, the character". A character running from their past isn't the same as dodging dealing with (i.e. not engaging with) backstory. Choosing to run from a past is, actually, narratively engaging with it even if you don't name it—see: Caleb.

And, frankly, does not naming it mean the ways it is engaged with suddenly not count? Fjord clearly spends the entire campaign recovering from a horrific abuse he suffered in his childhood, but is this suddenly not dealing with backstory simply because Fjord never deigns to describe what he experienced? Is the history and backstory only considered dealt with and engaged with in the game if a literal specter or villain arrives on screen, if it is described in full?

Also, Travis plays characters that are so present tense but still feel like they act with the weight of an unspoken past that they don't necessarily require as much to name their backstories with great and explicit clarity. Fjord carries himself as a child who was belittled into compliance to the point he never developed a sense of self-worth. Chetney carries himself as someone who filled lengthy stretches of loneliness with obsessive work. These actually say a great deal about their histories. It even extends to many of his non-CR characters.

I find that Travis only names details when it provides more clarity—but he already provides great clarity in what is implied in the way he sketches his characters. There's an insistence on dealing with it as simply context, obliquely, because he has a preference for the now, his characters focus on what is current and what is next, not what is past even as it guides them. I often feel like the way Travis plays a character is about empty space, and what happens in that empty space—things unsaid but very much felt, important and unstated and weighing down, things we can and do glimpse the shape and form and color of enough to understand what it is, even if he never gives it a name. That's, frankly, backstory.

It's not running from engaging with it if you sketch your characters as always carrying it with them.

franflam (they are not sisters)

ahahahahaHAHA this is exactly what i was expecting people to send in when i said "controversial ships". no one is ready for one of my signature franflam tangents

under the cut:

you know the last time i did this ship bingo thing someone asked me about franflam too and i just flat out refused to respond because i didnt want to touch the discourse with a ten foot pole. either me putting my opinions here will get me cancelled or it will summon some people hopefully sane about this discourse. i love gambling

to preface, my honest opinions on the matter are that whatever the hell those two got going on in canon is queerbaiting. i say this as someone who bought star allies on a whim at gamestop as their very first kirb game like two years after it released, not even knowing kirby still made games at that time, and thus played the game with zero biases towards anything but yeah those two were written with a weird attachment to each other and it would be stupid to outright deny that. do i think franflam is canon though?: absolutely not and also i hate everyone who claims that with a passion. you could make a claim with a reasonable amount of evidence for either side of the argument and the fact that its even remotely possible both could be true at once, along with kumazaki himself either refusing to elaborate or confirm, or giving even More support to Either side is absolute bullshit and any sort of grey area here is totally his and the writers faults so hey can we all stop arguing about what the "correct" answer is when there literally isnt really one

anyways with that out of the way, heres all of the reasons i hate franflam without mentioning "potential incest" as a concern even once

their dynamic in canon is stereotypical angry black woman is overprotective of stereotypical dainty elegant white woman. hate that. gives me bad vibes. the whole "to show one character is in love with the other, they talk about their love interest nonstop every half second" trope is absolutely HANDS DOWN my absolute least favorite romance trope EVER. it drives me absolutely insane. thats the #1 way to get me to hate both of the characters and their relationship the fastest. holy shit shut up and focus on the story and whats happening around you instead of shoehorning mention of the other person into your words nonstop. hate that. i also hate the "person a is overprotective of their love interest" trope too, esp when it extends into jealously of the other person hanging out with others (sparkling pupupu world does this, for example). feels gross. can feel infantizing. if people see that as romantic good for you but i can not see it ever. its overly possessive. i think having a trio of mages and having two of them being separated and off fucking around on their own all the time as their "happy ending" is bad writing, especially when it comes to zans character being so heavily affected by her isolation from others and how hyness treated her AND YOU JUST GO AND SEPERATE THEM INTO FRAN+FLAM AND ZAN+HYNESS ALL THE TIME FOR SOME REASON HELLO. JUST MAKE ONE MAGE CHARACTER IN THAT CASE IF TWO OF THE TRIO HAVE NO DEVELOPMENT OR PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO FUCK OFF BY THEMSELVES. and then people who ship franflam also often end up shipping hynzan cause of that EWWWWWW GROSSSSSSS. also fran+flam being more close because the jambacult is a broken family that needs to heal Or them being more close because flam is an overprotective older sibling are INFINITELY more interesting to me as concepts than: "fran+flam are closer to each other and not zan because theyre dating and thus inherently dont care about zan as much because platonic relationships are always secondary to romantic". hate that. and the fandom. oh my God as people might be able to tell by all of the arrows on the bingo sheet i have fucking FEELINGS about this this needs a whole new paragraph

okay so. so 😍. i have this thing i call "red flag ships" where the ships are fine as a concept on paper but for some reason the shippers are just absolutely Rancid and that throws me off from liking the ship in its entirely and i get really sussed out by anyone who ships it. franflam is a red flag ship. i think the shippers have gotten so used to being yelled at by people who think theyre siblings that theyve pavlov'd themselves into being insanely hostile and aggressive to anyone who doesn't ship them. at least thats what i can tell from anyone whos Open and remotely loud about shipping them. istg i am not joking in the slightest when i say 95% of my interactions with people who Happen to be big or even decently into shipping franflam have been godawful. the convos dont even have to be around franflam i just think the ship inherently attracts awful people because its only aggressive toxic people who arent scared about shipping it openly. is that generalizing?: Yeah but thats just my personal experience. i have never met someone loud about liking franflam or who makes content for it that wasnt an awful asshole or yikes person in some way

that said, people who really like the ship but are quiet or lowkey about it usually end up being super chill and cool. its just the goddamn Fandom i have an issue with really. so anyone whos normal about it i am so sorry for you lmao

in a somewhat unrelated manner, i used to be somewhat close with someone who had franflam as their ultimate otp and God they fucking sucked. apart from redirecting every convo ever to be about franflam, they were also insanely nasty to anyone who even remotely saw them as siblings because they inherently saw it as an attack against franflam, so theyd always be making comments like "can you believe anyones stupid enough to see them as siblings" and "kinda misogynistic and lesbiophobic that metadede and marxolor are more popular than franflam when franflam is so blatantly canon" and yadayadayada they would say that shit completely unironically even right in front of me when they knew i hc'd them as siblings. i could complain up enough of a storm about that person and all of the insane things they said and did to fill up another 10 paragraphs but in general they were awful and really awful to me and multiple friends and you know what. i fucking hate the ship because of that too. sue me i cant stand seeing it around and i get grossed out by it.

on another note if i see anyone trying to push franflam as canon i will kick your ass. it might seem like im complaining about a problem that doesnt exist since tumblr is very anti-franflam, but on other sites its the opposite and if i had a nickel for every stupid "franflam is definitely canon and the only canon option and here's why" argument ive ever heard and could Easily debunk i could buy a fucking mansion. how to tell franflam shipppers its Okay if their ship isnt canon challenge: impossible (generalizing ofc, this whole rant is generalizing. take with a grain of salt. man i hate franflam)

Summary: Power to Yield (Feb 2024)

We assembled on 2024-03-01 to talk about our February book pick: Power To Yield and Other Stories by intersex author Bogi Takács. The book is a collection of science fiction & fantasy short stories.

This was a first for our book club in that we spent the whole session gushing about the book. Everybody loved it. We haven’t been giving books ratings thus far but this one would get a 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟.

Overall takes:

vic: I loved it, I loved it so much. The stories all felt so different. Disability and intersex were very normalized and not shoehorned, it just felt so good. 

Michelle: the worlds in this book felt so richly crafted. This book reminded me that short stories can be the bomb! I got gender euphoria from seeing characters use neopronouns!!! So refreshing and exciting to see them in text. That was how I got started with them, I wrote characters like that and then I was like.... moi? It’s just so joyfully affirming. 

Bnuuy: I only read “Folded into tendril and leaf” and started "The 1st interspecies solidarity fair and parade" but it deeply impressed me. 

Elizabeth: I'm not really a short story person. I find I take a while to get immersed in a book, and I don't like the switching from story to story so much. And as someone who does not like the short story genre, I liked this collection, which I feel says a lot. 

Intersex themes:

Intersex representation throughout the book that feels both casual and important at the same time. It’s normalized in a way that feels tremendously validating. Takács also importantly depicts a variety of intersex characters in terms of gender (binary vs genderqueer), type of variation, and age. Folded into tendril and leaf depicts a romance with an intersex character that does not sexualize or fetishize being intersex. ❤️

Intersex sea creatures, always a classic 🦑 - clear example in the Good Friday story.

Plants as intersex. 🍃 A bunch of stories throughout the book involved somebody turning into a plant. We talked about how this turned out to be a fruitful (lol) metaphor since so many plants are cosexual or dichogamous, there’s so much variety and difference in plant reproduction and it disrupts our ideas of what sex is. Bnuuy pointed out that botany can also just be an affirming thing for intersex people to learn about, e.g. a flower with both male and female reproductive parts is called a “perfect flower”! It’s valued rather than described as a deficiency.

In the fantasy story Power To Yield, the doctor feels the pain of his patients as he treats them, which per Elizabeth: “feels like such an intersex and/or disability fantasy”. Pain may not always be avoided but having doctors feel and be aware of our pain would change the patient-doctor dynamic so much.

Neopronouns: there are a lot of neopronouns used in a variety of settings for a variety of characters, disrupting ideas of gender and sex in ways that felt joyfully inclusive and affirming. As Michelle put it: “we get a glimpse of the world outside the binary in a kind of ecstatic way. Like, hey, you don't have to be male or female. You can be intersex and something else. And you can be trans. Like, it's just so, like, joyfully affirming. Genuinely like a rainbow-colored feeling.” 🌈 (also, reading neopronouns in context is a great way to learn how to use them!)

Other themes:

System change happens through people relating to each other differently. As vic put it: “Bogi really showed that the people are the system and the system is made of people”. Such as in the Spy-Turns-Into-A-Plant story the ways that Hasidic people were combining old and new cultural practices to include intersex & genderqueer people, in the Solidarity Fair story everybody noticed the trader was missing, and in Power To Yield there’s a need for all of the possible neurotypes. 

Mentorship: the book defies the conventions of the mentorship trope. A lot of times in media, mentors are marked for death once their apprentice has learnt what they need, but here the mentors stick around and continue to be in their apprentices’ lives in different ways.

Survival stories that were communal in mindset rather than rugged individuals. We see characters putting the pieces back together after catastrophic events such as wars and invasions. There’s an optimism that we can survive catastrophe. We liked the depictions of joy and competence. Michelle identified a Talmudic theme of "You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it”, throughout the book.

Other things we liked:

The prose. Michelle praised it as approachable. Xe also commented: “Bogi has an authorial voice that feels well read. People who don't read so much have a particular style and it can be hard to read, they have a hard time expressing themselves... and this was the opposite of that!”

Disability representation that felt realistic. For example, a character being constantly exhausted due to being drained of blood, and a character worried about breaking an ankle while walking through uneven terrain. Disability wasn’t skimmed over nor was it romanticized, just treated with good humour as a quotidian kind of limitation.

Representation of old people. There’s a big range of characters’ life stages. Old characters are active and given things to do, and got to have personalities beyond “old”. For example, the old sociologist in the solidarity fair story was open-minded and competent. She didn’t want to sit around and be a granny. 

Not being US-centric: in speculative fiction there’s a way of talking about or relating to things that can feel very American (vic: “even though they’re in space, they act as though they’re in California”) and Takács doesn’t do this, which we appreciated. As Michelle put it: “There’s a definite immigrant vibe to the book.”

Representation of Jewish characters. Not everybody could relate to the Orthodox Jews but not every story needs to be relatable.

All these forms of representation come together. As vic put it: “the disability politics, intersex, the trans stuff… It all felt so normal and was incorporated in a way that felt so seamless. It felt really good reading it,  didn't feel like any of it was shoehorned in.. Just like, yep, normal people living their normal lives and we're not making anyone feel weird about their differences. Usually with books that have people that are different from the mainstream in some way it's kind of clunky: even if it's #OwnVoices, it still reads as self-conscious and apologetic. But this book all read very un-self-conscious and very comfortable.”

What we didn’t like:

Elizabeth doesn’t like the order in which the stories were presented. Ze felt the first few stories were fine but didn’t showcase what the book has to offer. Ze recommended to the group to start with:

"Folded into tendril and leaf" (medium length)

"The 1st interspecies solidarity fair and parade" (medium length)

"The ladybug, in flight" (very short)

"Power to yield" (novelette)

Bnuuy and vic started reading with Elizabeth’s recommended stories, and this may have influenced the conversation.

After the book discussion, vic went back and re-read the stories in order, and mentioned they also didn’t vibe with the order of the stories as presented in the book.

Stories of note:

“Folded into Tendril And Leaf”: we liked the water caltrop description and visualization. It was Elizabeth’s favourite: “The reason I put that on my list of recommendations is it was just such a big, warm hug of fiction. It's such a tender story, but at the same time it grapples with really serious stuff. I've brought it up before that I'm a sucker for any sort of intersex at puberty story because that's the kind of intersex I am. But also the intersex people as plants theme really landed here.” Elizabeth also praised how there was a character who realized their privilege that they didn't have to follow the news.

“The 1st interspecies solidarity fair and parade”: we liked the realism of the organizing, and we all wanted stories from this setting, especially about the aliens that were genocide survivors. It was Bnuuy’s favourite, enjoying its comedy and how it flips stereotypes of Gen Z/Alpha by having them be the older generation in this future. The depiction of an alien who presents as though she is a cat was amusing; vic described it as: “Yeah, the image of a gigantic, floating metallic orb  meowing so that it can be more relatable to humans is, I think, a huge non-binary mood.”

“Power to Yield”: we appreciated the depiction of autistic special interest (and it has its own word: abuwen!) that is realistic without either romanticizing or spectacularizing it. It shows how a special interest can happen suddenly, it can be overpowering, it can sometimes be inappropriate, it can be unpleasant for the person as they neglect other parts of their life. We could all relate. The depiction of asexual BDSM also stood out; per vic: “oh, I guess it can not be a sex thing!”

“The Ladybug, in Flight”: Michelle was horrified (in a good way) by the slow consensual cannibalism. Whereas vic read that one as practical and utilitarian in an autistic way, like sometimes autistic people will horrify others for practical things.

“Volatile Patterns”: Michelle is very crafty and this was xer favourite: “the story talks about  reappropriating motifs and being like, no, you're doing it wrong. We can show you how to do it right. It's fine. Just stop doing it the wrong way. Like, especially clothing attacking people was very funny to me because it reminded me of a game called Fall in London, where in certain areas of the world, everything is sentient.”

“A Technical Term, Like Privilege”: This one vic highlighted as a favourite: “I often feel sad about the place where I live, because it is a rental and it's not getting cared for the way it deserves to be. So the metaphor of the house needing your blood was apt. I've read a few rental horror metaphors, and they were all bad. So I was really happy to read this one.” Also, the disability representation: “when the character in the house story came up with a good, reasonable solution and then was SHOT DOWN it was so real”.

Overall: out of all the books we’ve read thus far for the book club, this is the one everybody was most positive about. It was a joy to read and we recommend it! 💜

My Thoughts on the new NATM film 'Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again'

You can imagine my surprise, when after 8 years of virtual radio silence we received a trailer and subsequent animated movie all within the span of several weeks. Unfortunately, I think the new movie is not as compelling as it's predecessors.

Animation: The film was beautifully animated, but the character designs left a LOT to be desired. They could have stuck more to the live action designs especially with Jedediah and Octavius. (although I only think that because I'm such a huge fan of them.) The redisgns feel really uncalled for, I'm wondering why they made that choice, and who decided a redesign was needed at all. I also feel like there were a lot of style inconsistencies, especially between the original characters and historical ones. This feels like a movie that could have been live action.

Plot: the movie was pretty short, and thus had a pretty surface level plot. I don't like the addition of Joan of Arc. She functions only as a plot device. I would have appreciated a little more from her. I thought that the setting of the movie was weird? It seems to take place before the third movie?? Why? I thought that the foreshadowing was pretty cheap. I also hated Nick's DJ plot arc. It felt super shoehorned in, and when he saves the day with his musical prowess it feels SUPER forced. Not a huge fan of the plot overall, but it seems pretty comparable to the NATM sequels so I can't complain too much.

Comedy: this is where it gets heinous. This movie is painfully unfunny. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that the originals were super hilarious, but I didn't think this was funny at all. This film feels dumbed down for a child audience, which makes no sense because the original films were for a child audience?? Also the first fans of the franchise are all adults or teenagers now.

Stuff I liked: I LOVED the historical and cultural accuracies that this film brought to the table. It's clear that the makers of the film put a genuine effort in. This movie has a ton of real historical references in it. It's awesome! I also want to shout out Steve Zahn for his voice acting because he sounds SO similar to Owen Wilson in this movie. Again, fabulous animation quality, and the backgrounds are beautifully painted.

Random comments:

God is cannon now?? What the fuck??

Where the HELL is Ahkmenrah?? WHY ISN'T HE IN THIS MOVIE WHEN HIS BROTHER IS??? HIS TABLET GETS STOLEN!

If this movie takes place before the 3rd movie how is Laa still there? Also, Laa isn't a real historical figure. He wouldn't have a backstory like they try to give him.

Nick is just not a very good DJ tbh. The song he made gets grating.

WHY DOES DEXTER LOOK LIKE A DIFFERENT MONKEY?

Why are the Huns designed so differently?? It's weird. It makes me feel weird.

Overall? I think it is a pleasant stand alone film, but it isn't something I will be rewatching a lot. It works fine for what it is, but it is very disappointing for long time fans like me. I think some of the magic is lost in animated format, and that some of the creative choices that were made kind of ruin it as an extension of the universe. It is best to approach this film not as a sequel, but as an AU. I have literally read fan fiction more compelling.

5/10 ⭐

Mass Dumping my Manhunt (2024) thinky thoughts thus far here...

...cuz they have nowhere else to go lol

Let me start off by saying none of this is intended as hate on the show. Manhunt is the first series I've actively enjoyed in a long time, my friend and I gleefully look forward to our Friday Manhunt watch dates and are very sad to know that will soon end. But, that said, as a Lincoln / Lincoln's Cabinet / Civil War nerd I do have frustrations with the show. My primary frustration is the way the show has chosen to allocate time and attention to certain people and events rather than others. My biggest complaint is the entirety of the Wall Street / Knights of the Golden Circle plot. Certainly the KGC were a real organization, they were a significant concern around the time of Lincoln's re-election, and it is also true that Wall Street speculators made money on post-war economic upheaval. At first I appreciated that the show was acknowledging those elements, you don't tend to see them in Civil War film and tv, but then when the show diverted so much time and attention into this Da Vinci Code style plot with a, quite frankly, ridiculous mustache-twirling villain and tried to shoehorn in a whole codebreaking thing I felt so frustrated. Because you already have good villains with Booth, the conspirators, and Johnson, and the things the show left out to make time for this mostly unfounded historical speculation are so much more interesting. We essentially got nothing with the other conspirators. We didn't even get to see Grant who was another intended assassination victim and who rushed back to DC once he received word of the attack on the president. We miss so many of the interesting moments of Booth and Herold's flight into the South like when they have to navigate the river in the dark of night and nearly drift into a federal gunboat.

They also could have followed Lincoln's funeral train, there are so many moments that would have been beautiful to depict, like when a very young Teddy Roosevelt looked out his New York City window to see the funeral procession go by.

We also could have so much more to establish the history of Stanton and Lincoln's relationship. Lincoln and Stanton did not start off on good footing, in fact Stanton brutally humiliated Lincoln when they were both younger lawyers and when Lincoln brought Stanton in to replace his first Secretary of War, Stanton was still convinced Lincoln was crippled by imbecility. To show some of that would have really made their relationship as two men burdened with the weight of this horrible war all the more poignant in the series. Would have shown the depth of their respect and trust for each other and how that was earned. Also I would have loved to see Stanton and Seward's relationship, I would have loved to see some of that friendship. After Seward was nearly killed in a carriage accident (which is why he's wearing the neck brace that saved his life the night of the assassination), Stanton would go to Seward's bedside, bring him news, hold his hand and wipe his lips for him. An attendant remarked that Stanton's kind care for him brought Seward to tears. All of this Tobias Menzies would have played brilliantly and we'd have more of the nuance of Stanton the man. We did not need a fictional scene in which Stanton challenged a man to shoot him in his office. Also we could have had so many more scenes of Lincoln and Stanton which would have been amazing because that relationship is meant to be the emotional heart of the show and I would have loved to see Linklater get to play more of Lincoln at different points throughout the years of his presidency. Some other smaller frustrations are more in the writing and casting choices. I respect Hamish Linklater's performance as Lincoln. I was unsure at first (also I've been burned by a lot of really bad Lincolns) but I feel like it really gets stronger and stronger each episode and he found his stride. He was the best part of episode 4 in my opinion (ep 5 had no Lincoln, like why would they do that to us?) But I feel like some of the choices of the production hurt his performance a bit. The makeup team does not do a good job making Hamish look like a weary, aged, post-war Lincoln, he looks too young and healthy and the actor they chose to play Robert pretty much looks older than his dad, if not the same age. Those things are not Linklater's fault. I also feel like Stanton's wife got shortchanged. They really didn't give her anything to do other than be the nag, to be the wife who doesn't understand why her husband can't step down when he's essentially navigating one of the most important moment's in the nation's history. I feel like Ellen deserved better. Again, don't misunderstand any of this as hate, it is absolutely not intended as hate. It's just so rare we get a well made piece of Civil War media that I would have loved to see them take on these things. To trust that the actual historical material was interesting enough. When the show is good it is SO good, so I just know they could have portrayed those things so well and I'm sad we won't get to see it. Also P.S. WHERE IS THE BEARD???? I will never understand this choice to not have the beard.

sigyn stans are one of the most thin skinned people on the internet and they don't realize no one would mind their bland fave if they weren't the ones shoving her down everyone's throats, putting down other loki love interests to prop her up as the only one who can love him right, throwing fits when she's absent from loki media as if the actual myth sigyn wasn't a very minor character that only appears in one myth, and finding ways to shoehorn her in every loki story ever even when she wouldn't fit. then they have the gal of acting like people being fed with her and her stans is misogyny or feeling threatened by her non existent presence, with a side of projection in accusing those who dislike her of wanting their self insert oc to bang loki instead when sigyn is the ultimate self insert oc. like, cmon, you can't claim that you ship loki and sigyn because you like the way their personalities match when sigyn canonically doesn't have one (unless you consider "misogynistic to other women" a personality)

Exactly, and this is to clarify for those lacking context, I am talking about Marvel's Sigyn. Interpret the myths however you want.

Being misogynistic to other women and ridiculously unintelligent and waifish caricature of women (she was given a way out on a silver platter and everyone was begging her to take it) are her only personality traits. Marvel's Sigyn was written by cishet white men that thought it was "saintly" to stay with abusers. I really hate how it's treated as "saintly" rather than as a neutral trait. By that definition, I am also "a saint" due to past experiences. I will never get over j*nquilcl*gane praising Marvel Sigyn slut-shaming Amora and Lorelei, and Sigyn being glad that Amora is being given off to a giant forcefully in "Ages of Thunder."

Also, if you look that user up on Tumblr (I think her blocking me, allowed this to show up in the top results lol), she harrassed an RP blog for shipping comics-based Doomki in and was very gross about it. The way she constantly accuses everyone that doesn't care for their prop of a character as "lusting over Loki" is nasty and disgusting.

I got accused of "lusting over Loki" for pointing out that Vali being considered Loki's son is a transcription error and thus he's actually Odin's son (so she's not accurate either), and asking why she's losing her shit over people using myth-based names for children OCs for their ships. Also, she just makes shit up such as "Sigyn is associated with foxes."

Like I love Loki, like yes, he's pretty, but I just project traumas onto him and like reading meta and fic about him. And I'd be very disappointed in TH if he dared to think of cheating on ZA with me.

I have no idea why I could see her replies to my submission to an ask blog (seems like they finally posted it lol, took a long time, it was in response to someone complaining about Ikol for "having their friends beat up Sigyn" when Sigyn and the exes tied him up to hang from the ceiling of a warehouse, and attacked Ikol's friends).

Example of a Sygin stan being gross to a Doomki RP blog:

ted lasso (really just way too many thoughts on season 2 of ted lasso)

me, in the middle of wrestling with yet another unwieldy twitter thread that no one will read: fuck it, what if i just made this a tumblr post? i hear tumblr is hot these days

so anyway, i am the last person in the universe to watch ted lasso.

i put off watching it for a very long time because i really hate obnoxious levels of twee in television — at least twee when it's not tempered by cynicism. this is why i barely made it through 2 minutes of OFMD, and why i really hate parks and rec and spent most of the 2010s telling anyone who would listen that it was a bad cheap white liberal political fantasy, only for everyone to eventually arrive at that conclusion themselves, much later.

the first season of ted lasso almost had me, though, because it was just cynical enough to make ted's methodical whimsy feel like a battering ram against pessimism. the whole of season one was very strongly and obviously, dare i say it, hopepunk. and that was just surprising enough to be a hook.

the second season is a lot trickier. maybe it's because i'm bingeing it, but it seems to me like everyone who argued the second season didn't have a point/central theme missed the glaringly obvious explorations of toxic masculinity in every episode. i read a lot at the time it was airing about how the show revealed itself midway through the season as being unexpectedly about depression? but even more than depression i think this season was about toxic masculinity — and especially about nate's struggle with toxic masculinity. when i went looking for reviews for season two, few of the reviews i found even mentioned nate even though it seemed abundantly clear his growing turn towards the dark side was the motivating issue of season 2 — and then, of course, it turned out to be the driving force behind the events of the season finale.

i think a lot of this was underwritten but it was always present; every episode of season two was focused on the ways the men of richmond — especially nate, who also had to deal with his imposter syndrome and everyday acts of racism, alongside his growing ambition and his justifiable sense of feeling sidelined and minimized by the white men around him — grappling with the ways they're socially allowed to express and experience their emotions.

perhaps that theme got muddled because of the show's obnoxiously twee trappings, which became so much more obnoxious this season once all of richmond adopted ted lasso's guide to whimsy (the funeral scene was the most atrocious example, as was the gratuitous way they kept shoehorning in excuses for hannah waddingham to sing, like are you kidding me? I HATED IT and hated it long before we arrived at rebecca 'my best friend's wedding'-ing her dad's eulogy, are you serious, who let this show out of the house). but it's very clear when you marathon.

(when i was discussing this with @earlgreytea68 she suggested that perhaps the show has a tone problem, and that the audience expectation built up by all this wholesome whimsey is for a doubling-down of the "ted vs the vague abstract evil nihilism of the capitalist sporting industry" of the first season. thus, viewers just aren't prepared for a show whose second season is like, "sure, exhausting amounts of wholesome fun, yes, but also in the corner is this character who finds all of this whimsy exhausting, and whose position as a marginalized brown man facing daily microaggressions makes all this performative bullshit a form of petty torture and a way of further alienating him."

I find that show absolutely fascinating, but i think EGT is right and that's maaaaybe not quite the show that season two became, because it was also sabotaging itself by idk implying that santa was real and having hannah waddingham gratuitously sing yet again, and idk that surrealist episode with beard and the pants, and having them stop to reverently touch the "believe" sign yet again. like, we get it, clear eyes, full hearts, etc, but this is not friday night lights, and the pathos that seemed built into 'ted vs the sports industrial complex' feels unearned when the show suddenly does a pivot towards plumbing the psyches of its characters while also still trying to be the king of twee tv.)

speaking of shows that were abundantly twee but never ever obnoxiously twee, i also keep thinking about how ted lasso is probably the closest cultural heir to the gilmore girls we've gotten? irresistibly charming small town meets perky chatterbox main character who distracts everyone from their insecurity with non-stop banter and pop culture references! i am not alone as it turns out because someone made a ted lasso/gilmore girls fusion. (edit: me trying to figure out how New Tumblr works: you mean i can embed this tweet but not interact with any part of it?! YOU MEAN I CAN'T DO CONTROL-K TO HYPERLINK TEXT ANYMORE?! wow wordpress, wow.)

all that said, i do think ted lasso is a show that is far more traditional than progressive. it glibly missteps too often to really age well, even aside from all the obnoxiously twee moments. like, this is a show that wants to confront toxic masculinity, but for plot points it can't think of anything better than drumming up random sexual tension between various straight characters. (and EVERYONE is straight, why is everyone so straight?) it's forced and lazy and so boring, and imo totally unrealistic. the other day i attended a lecture given by a trans woman who casually discussed living with her wife, her other wife, and their husband. these relationships exist, they are real and valid, and by now you'd think media would at least be better about being able to, idk, comprehend them instead of still being stuck decades back, tripping over concepts like cheating and divorce. honestly, catch up, just catch up to what real relationships are like in the 2020s! if murderbot can do it, so can you!

so anyway, I honestly feel really strongly that a resistance to queerness and even the idea of fluid relationships is a canary in the coal mine for forms of regressive patriarchal storytelling. if, in the modern era, a TV show or piece of media can't conceive anything beyond a 1:1 cisgender heterosexual monogamy as its outer limit for what relationships should be/are allowed to be, then i have come to see that as a bit of a red flag that this work is more than likely to be regressive rather than progressive, even if it's masking itself in idk progressive aesthetics or something.

to me, ted lasso exhibits that all over the place. there's the random forced pairings. there's its ambivalence about whether beard/jane is a toxic relationship or a quirky form of chaotic idiosyncratic good. there's the way everyone is straight because, again, really?????? two seasons into an all-male locker room and you can't find a gay character anywhere? (there have been multiple references to juno temple being flattered by the idea of lesbianism without ever actually making her ID as queer, and there was a baffling one-off joke in s1 about a character using grindr, which.... what is the punchline supposed to be???? these things are frankly pretty offensive.)

then there's the age difference combined with the power dynamic between rebecca and sam. both of these are far too great for the show to handwave so easily, let alone treat like some revelatory joyous thing for both of them, without any amount of self-reflection or serious consideration for how it might make sam vulnerable.

there's also the quite frankly absolutely unacceptable number of harry potter references in the second season of the show. we had absolute proof that JKR was an outright transphobe by June 2020, two months before the show was even renewed for a second season — so well before it was being written and produced. so what the hell were these writers thinking? seriously, what the hell?

(there's also me punching the wall over how glibly the show makes TRENT CRIMM, THE INDEPENDENT, just casually toss away his journalistic integrity by giving up the identity of an anonymous source like what the hell do writers think journalists are? a real journalist would never ever ever in a million years think of doing this, just to be clear!!!!!!! if this is meant however to shade the independent for its subpar editorial standards, well then, i have to admit they have a point, sob, but at least the fictional independent quite rightly fired the reporter who did this unethical thing, sob, trent crimm i trusted you, why did you let down the team like this)

even the stuff that does feel genuinely healthy about season two, like all of the therapy and dudes learning to be emotionally expressive often comes off as really gender essentialist. take the two conversations about "girl talk" and "guy talk" that bookend the season. ted's revelation, which he then passes on to the diamond dogs, that sometimes conversations can just be about venting (without needing to lead to an action-item list of things to change) might feel more interesting if it weren't framed as a girls/guys dichotomy. again, this feels so regressive. this show's gender stuff overall feels very idk late 90s to me. or like it exists in a universe where cultural views on relationships are primarily dictated by reality tv; such a show might feel clever and smartly forward-looking in such a universe! but not in the real world of the 2020s where your trans university lecturer casually talks about their three spouses and meanwhile you're quoting jk fucking rowling like it's 2007.

i wish i had something smarter to end this on than "so yeah that's what i think about ted lasso" and also "o hai tumblr it's been a minute"

but it's my day off so i don't have to come up with a snappy kicker. so yeah, i guess that's what i think about ted lasso! hi, tumblr! it's been a minute.

oc asks :3cc 4. a character you rarely talk about? / 5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be? / 13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

4. A character you rarely talk about?

In all honesty, being a rper means that I have a wagon of "rarely talked about" characters who show up only for a scene or two at best, lucky if they got names or distinct enough traits.

One most memorable: a saw spear wielding hunter who was encountered facing off against a succumbing to blood church hunter, leaving it unclear who initiated the fight and who was to "blame" for the outcome. She stuck with me for a couple writing choices I made with her.

But that's not what you're asking me, is it?

Lynn is an oc originally written in ds3 universe, who eventually migrated to ds1 (for reasons <3) and, as it stands, split into two separate characters for each game. I rarely talk about her since she started as a joke oc during my pyro/dark playthrough in ds3. A friend of mine liked her enough for me to add a story to her, so I did exactly that, with a side effect of shoehorning her into ds1.

She is a risen undead from Carthus, a desert land in ds3 I'm somewhat fascinated by. Since it's linked to Izalith, to make a jump from ds3 to ds1 wasn't very hard in my head, thus she exists in both verses (although as quite different characters now).

5. If you could make only one of your OCs popular/known, who would it be?

Oh God, literally none of them. I don't trust the internet and modern fandom culture with my ocs and worlds. Nope. Not getting trapped in this hell.

For a more lax answer, I wouldn't mind as much Sundown getting popular, and its characters gaining traction.

Lara is a fun choice for popularity, I like to think they'd be a fan favorite.

13. Do you have any troublemaker OCs?

All of them in some way have created the conflict that their stories revolve around, not gonna lie. That's a non-answer, I'm aware xD.

I don't think I have characters who create issues just for fun or for the sake of it, no? I'm not fond of this kind of characters either, it feels poorly written at best, or completely off the mark at worst.

I don't count characters who act on inpulses or create issues for themselves.

That said... there's one oc that isn't exactly mine, but I wrote some of their parts. Valdis sends their regards.

All the White Rabbit Evidence We Have So Far: A Masterpost

If you know me, you know I LOVE ARG’s and analogue horror. The Mandela Catalogues, Mystery Flesh Pit National Park, Local 58, and so many others are some of my favourite forms of storytelling. So, imagine my surprise now that WWE has seemingly entered into an analog horror narrative of their own! I’m salivating over this so I figure I should compile all the evidence into one grand post for everyone who is as excited as I am about it to speculate without having to dig for links and hints! Here’s a semi-in order timeline of events so far (Updated up to September 19th, 2022)

Friday, September 16:

WWE plays a vocals only version of “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane during a Smackdown commercial break. Everyone is confused:

Saturday, September 17th & Sunday, September 18th:

WWE plays it again at two separate house shows, one of which is linked below. Speculation heats up as to who it might be:

Kyle Scarborough, a designer who has worked with WWE in the past, posts this cryptic tweet, captioned “feed your head” in distorted writing, which is coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) the final lyrics of the song that’s been building interest:

Monday, September 19th:

This is the day it’s all heated up. WWE once AGAIN airs the teaser during a RAW commercial break. Note that none of this has been on TV thus far:

Now this is the big one. Up to this point, there had still been debate as to whether or not this was just a standard sound check thing that is otherwise unrelated to anything else. At 9:23pm EST, however, we learned that most certainly is not the case. At that exact time, someone walked by in the background of a shot during RAW holding up a QR code on a sign (this QR code was also seen behind Austin Theory at one point)

The QR code leads you to this video when scanned:

The video culminates with a flashing “9.23 9:23” likely insinuating something is going to go down on that date at that time. Smackdown will be airing at that time as well, hmmmmmm 🤔 The video asks the question “Who killed the world?” which is answered with “You did.” through a game of hangman. The letters crossed out by the end are DEIMNOUXY in a 2-1-3-1-2 pattern

This is what we have as clear evidence thus far, HOWEVER it is not the end of what we have to work off of.

Karrion Kross is a fan favourite pick for the culprit of all of this due to his previous white rabbit gimmick, however he has seemingly denied any connection to it, which you can read here:

That being said, the presence of the hourglass in the teaser would potentially suggest involvement. He could certainly be lying about a lack of involvement, but it just seems strange to give away such a clear connection to an otherwise well-executed analog mystery as well as it being weird to switch up his gimmick so soon after re-debuting and certainly in the midst of his current deal which is working well for him so far.

Which, if he’s a red herring, leaves us with one other big, exciting, likely possibility. Bray Wyatt. I’m a major fan of his so I’m guilty like everyone else of shoehorning him into everything he might fit into in hopes that he’ll be back. HOWEVER, this might have been something he’s been building up to for some time! Let’s take a look at some clues:

Bray’s bio on Twitter has recently changed to “He who opens the doors below” which is very rabbit hole-esque to me. What is MORE interesting is that seemingly random red circle pictured below:

which matches with the red circle in the teaser vid:

another major clue revolves around a tweet Bray sent out back in July which, if this is related, is the absolute biggest brain 5D chess move I’ve ever seen. On July 4th, he tweeted the below:

this tweet has been nagging me since I first saw it because it feels like a glaring clue for SOMETHING, but I could never figure out what! Someone on reddit may have, though. TL;DR of the reddit post is that when searching up The Devil’s Hole in Self, Arkansas, OP discovered a forum in which some weird freaky strange stuff was said about the location, posted in 2004 by a moderator with the username… drumroll please…

WHITE. RABBIT.

5D chess y’all, i’m telling you. It may be a stretch, but if it ends up being true this man has to be seen as the greatest creative mind in wrestling history.

There are also the lingering threads such as Bray dressing up as The Mad Hatter back in the Funhouse or the fact that they had plans to make fucked up masks of all the Funhouse puppets, which would’ve included Ramblin’ Rabbit.

Whatever the case may be, WWE is doing some cool shit right now y’all! I really don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about a wrestling related thing in my life because of the way it’s providing me with the pieces but letting me and my community work together to theorize and solve it! Analog stories are fun guys, and wrestling is an unmatched art form :) See you all on Friday at 9:23pm EST 🫡

Submitted via Google Form:

How can I create species with varied diets (taking into account both required nutrition and chosen habits, i.e. vegetarian or high protein for a bodybuilder) With food on earth, we know what kind of nutrition is in what food, but what species actually need seem to be all over the place. I can never tell whether other species don't need a certain nutrition or if they get it from non foods. Sure, I can make it all up give them whatever diet/food strikes my fancy including odd stuff, but it would be difficult to include storylines of malnourishment or anything regarding a deep dive into nutrition.

Tex: Before all of our fancy scientific equipment used to measure things like calories and mineral content, we mostly just made educated guesses on what people were craving in various situations - the more people document what, say, a heavily fevered person want to eat (when they do have an appetite), the larger the pool of available data is for physicians and regular people to discuss on what the best course of action is. To follow the example, this is where “feed a fever, starve a cold” comes from; a fevered person is heavily dehydrated so broth with salt in it alleviates that.

To address another point of your concerns, not all nutrition comes from the consumption of organic matter - or at least, humans haven’t optimized everything as such. A lot of minerals are best suited in water rather than some bitter vegetables or even blood (but even that has exceptions based on local adaptation to one’s environment). Vitamin D, which is not necessarily considered a vitamin at all (Wikipedia), is synthesized for use by exposure to sunlight. 

I think a nutritional profile is going to require a baseline regardless of what an individual chooses to do with their body, be it medical recommendation, personal desire, or vocational expression, given the assumption that they’re all the same species and thus generally of the same biological requirements (i.e. carbon-based).

How much protein does an adult member of your species need per day based upon a given age range in order to get minimum nutrition? What about carbohydrates? Vitamins, minerals? Fats? How do they metabolize, in general and under desired constraints such as high physical activity versus low physical activity? How much of this is impacted by what’s actually available in terms of flora and fauna in their environment? Do they perform agriculture and sedentarism in their society? Do they trade with others from different ecological niches? What are typical cravings in standardized situations?

Wootzel: Perhaps this is a question you’ve already answered for yourself, but since you didn’t strongly mention it in the ask, I’m going to question your intentions a bit! Friendly-like, of course. 

Why is it that you want detailed nutritional needs for your species to show up in your world? Are your plots heavily focused on cuisine? Is it an important plot point for a character to become ill due to a nutritional deficiency, and/or for characters to struggle to share food because they are vastly different species? 

I ask because I honestly can’t think of a reason that having all of this information plotted out would improve your story, and I want to offer at least a brief caution against overloading your story with scientific worldbuilding to the point that you lose readers who don’t want to wade through it. Unless you’re writing for a very niche audience who are just fascinated by nutrition in speculative biology (which is fine, if you are!), you’ll probably use, at most, 2% of your nutritional information in your final project without making it feel shoehorned in. You could certainly include a plot about malnourishment and a character falling sick because they’re missing important nutrients, mention what those nutrients are, and have literally zero other nutritional details; most audiences wouldn’t bat an eye about the lack of detailed context.

That aside, here are a few things that might help you get your nutritional variances off the ground.

You mentioned that life on Earth has huge variation in diet but that species’ needs “seem all over the place”, so here’s some information that might help demystify that stuff. This is a tumblr post talking about why pigeons have the dietary needs that they do, and it gets into some general information on why different species need specific diets in order to be able to digest them correctly. It isn’t in depth, but this information might give you a jumping-off point to researching what structures an animal will have if it has a particular diet. 

Another major factor is toxins. Earth plants have evolved a huge variety of toxins, and the species that eat them have evolved to avoid those toxins in a variety of ways. On earth, Humans are very good at being able to ignore lots of different toxins, and it’s not unrealistic to expect that sapient species from other planets would evolve to be good at using all kinds of different food sources as well, since food abundance is a huge factor in the evolution of high intelligence. We can eat things like avocados, garlic, and chocolate, which could kill a lot of our pets! 

If you have a specific dietary situation in mind and/or more details about your world, feel free to ask again with more details (use the submit feature or the google form linked on our blog if you need extra space for information). We can work best with a narrow idea of what your end goal is. 

Wootzel’s wholesale note: Just to note, because you mentioned vegetarians and bodybuilders, that you should avoid insinuating that a character's diet is predictable because of their lifestyle. While those aren't bad examples of lifestyle factors that influence diet choices, remember that there could be dozens of factors in a person's life that could result in different dietary  choices. Also, that there are vegetarian bodybuilders.