#you can have defenses and opinions without putting people down | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

evertomorrowart · 4 months

Text

Best of YouTube 2023

Yes, I did spend the first week and change of January on this. I wish I could have had it done for New Years, but too many people came out with incredible work in December, so waiting turned out for the best.

What these creators do are a huge influence on my life, I would honestly have difficulty doing what I do without them. That isn't to say that my favorites of the year are *only* on this image--It was almost impossible to narrow down my favorites. Many creators I wanted to include couldn't fit on a single page, and too many of them made more than one video I wished I could draw too!

But, to all of you, thank you for what you do. You're an inspiration.

For those who don't know, further is an explanation.

At the bottom center is an artistic masterpiece by Defunctland: "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History." Over the last several years, Defunctland has risen from delightfully-entertaining commentary on decommissioned theme park attractions to occasionally dropping profound statements on the creation of art itself. "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History" is worth treating like the cinematic experience it is: No second screen, you sit your ass down in front of a TV, set down the phone, and then you *watch it.* Any Disney, theme park, or independent film fan needs to pay attention to this one.

Bottom left is Caelan Conrad with their piece "Drop the T - The Deadly Consequences of Gay Respectability Politics." While I do think they've done more visually or artistically-daring pieces before, "Drop the T" is one of the most important videos released on YouTube in today's current climate of hate. We as queer folk (and our allies) need to understand how integral every identity of the queer experience has been since the start of the Civil Rights movement (and before!). While we are not identical, we *are* inseparable, and we deserve having our real history easily accessible.

TERFs and other conservative mouthpieces need not reply. Your opinions are trash. 😘

I cannot stop watching and rewatching this video by @patricia-taxxon, "On the Ethics of Boinking Animal People." It's not just a defense of furry fandom and its eccentricities, it's a thoughtful and passionate analysis of what the artform achieves that purely human representation can't. Patricia goes outside of her usual essay format to directly speak to the viewer about the elements that define furry media (the most succinct definition I've ever heard) and just how *human* an act loving animal cartoons really is.

As an artist who can draw furry characters, but never really got into erotic furry art, this video is a treasure. Why did I choose to have her drawn as a Ghibli character, hanging out with one of the tanukis from "Pom Poko?" Guess you'll have to watch, bruh.

Philosophy Tube continuously puts out videos that I would put on this list--I'm not even sure that "A Man Plagiarised my Work: Women, Money, and the Nation" is the best work she released in 2023. However, this video got many conversations going between myself and my partner, and the twist on the tail end of the video shocked us both to such a degree that I had no choice.

At the very tail end of the year, Big Joel released "Fear of Death." On his Little Joel channel, he described it as the singularly best video he's ever done, and I'm inclined to agree. However, for this illustration, I ended up repeatedly going back to a mini-series he did earlier in the year: "Three Stories at the End of the World." All three videos are deeply moving and haunting, and I was brought to tears by "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot." While it may be relatively-common knowledge that the original Gojira (Godzilla) film is horror grappling with the devastation America's rush to atomic dominance inflicted on Japan, Big Joel still manages to bring new words to the discussion. Please watch all three of the videos, but if, for some reason, you must have only one, let it be "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot."

Y'all. Let me confess something. I hate football. I hate watching it, I associate seeing it from the stadiums with some of my worst childhood experiences, I despise collegiate and professional football (as institutions that destroy bodies and offer up children at the feet of its alter as a pillar of American culture)--

I. L o a t h e. Football.

But.

F.D. Signifier could get me to watch an entire hour-plus essay on why I should at least give a passing care. AND HE DID IT. I might think "F*ck the Police," the two-parter on Black conservatism, or his essay on Black men's connection to anime might be "better" videos, but this writer did the impossible and held my limited attention span towards football long enough to make a sincere case for NFL players--and reminds us that millionaires can *in fact* be workers. That alone is testament to his skill.

Sit down and watch "The REAL Reason NFL Running Backs Aren't Getting Paid." Any good anti-capitalist owes it to themselves.

CJ the X continuously puts out stunning, emotional videos, and can do it with the most seemingly-inconsequential starting points. A 30 second song? An incestuous commercial? Five minutes of Tangled? Sure, why not. Go destroy yourself emotionally by watching them. I'm serious. Do it.

Their video Stranger Things and the Meaning of Life manages to to remind us all why the way we react to media does, in fact, matter. Yes, even nostalgia-driven, mass-media schlock. Yes, how we interact with media matters, what it says about us matters, and we all deserve to seek out the whys.

Folding Ideas has spent the last few years articulating exactly why so much of our modern world feels broken, and because of that his voice continuously lives rent-free in my brain. While the tricks that scam artists and grifters use to try to swindle us are never new, the advancement of technology changes the aesthetics of their performances. Portions of Folding Ideas' explanations might seem dry when going into detail of how stocks work in This is Financial Advice, but every bit of it is necessary to peel back the layers of techno-babble and jargon and make sense of the results of "Meme Stocks."

Jessie Gender puts out nothing but bangers, her absolute unit of a video about Star Wars might be my new favorite thing ever, but none of her work hit so profoundly in 2023 than the two-parter "The Myth of 'Male Socialization'" and "The Trauma of Masculinity." There's so much about modern life that isolates and traumatizes us, and so much of it is just shrugged off as "normal." We owe it to ourselves to see the world in more vivid a color palette than we're initially given.

Panels drawn after Kate Beaton and "Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands."

"This is Not a Video Essay" is one of the most intense and beautiful pieces of art I've ever put into my eyeballs. Why do we create? What drives us to connect?

I don't even know what else to say about the Leftist Cooks' work, it repeatedly transcends the medium and platform. Watch every single one of their videos, but especially this one.

The likelihood you are terminally online and yet haven't heard of Hbomberguy's yearly forrays into destroying the careers of awful people is pretty slim. Just because it has millions of views doesn't mean that Hbomberguy's "Plagiarism and You(Tube)" isn't worth the hype. Too long? Shut up, it has chapters and YouTube holds your place, anyway. You think a deep dive into a handful of creators is only meaningless drama? Well, you're wrong, you wrong-opinion-haver. Plagiarism is an *everyone* problem because of the actual harm it creates--the history it erases, the labor it devalues, the art it marginalizes--which you would know if you watched "Plagiarism and You(Tube)".

Watch. The damn. Video.

In fact, watch all of them!

Thanks for reading this if you did.

929 notes · View notes

pochipop · 10 months

Text

＃MYSTIC MESSENGER !! ♡ — BEING VULNERABLE WITH YOU.

#. synopsis! — how they show their trust .

#. characters! — jumin, zen (hyun), yoosung, saeyoung (707), saeran (ray), jihyun (v) .

#. warnings! — slight angst.

#. others! — navigation & masterlist .

#. a/n! — come join my discord server? it's newly opened with a fantasy bakery theme! we have emojis from genshin impact, honkai star rail, sanrio, overwatch, pokemon, mystic messenger, and more! a collection of funny stickers, channels to promote yourself, meet new friends, share your writing/art, + lots more! plus, our staff is very chill and friendly! we'd love to see you there! <;33

＃ JUMIN !! ♡

Jumin, who never really thought himself to be the romantic type, but loses himself so easily in his relationship with you that he’d do anything imaginable just to see you smile for him. This sophisticated, pressed-suit wearing, stone-faced man who just crumbles when it comes to you, —who once thought love was some sick ruse made to rope people in and keep them hostage to their feelings, suddenly realizing that this rush is marvelous, and he can’t quite clearly remember a time before his heart seemed to beat for you. This man who swore he’d never love someone enough to put aside everything else on his mind and just live in the moment who sheds that dry cleaned business attire at the end of every workday and lets himself come undone for you. His walls come down and he welcomes you inside, and for once, he’s not scared of what will happen when you see the parts of him that perhaps aren’t as pretty as others. He lets you see the beautiful mess he’s made of himself over the years, and it’s then that he begins to pick up all these tattered pieces, finally preparing to put himself back together again. And recognizing you’ll help him do so is the sweetest comfort he’s ever known.

＃ HYUN (ZEN) !! ♡

Hyun, who stops pretending to be perfect over time and lets you see him in all the stages of healing. This man who often shields himself from the world, hiding behind a mask of narcissistic confidence, who finally lets his imperfections seep through to the surface and breathes another sigh of relief every single time you stay in the aftermath. He lets you in on the insecurities that lap at his ankles much more often than he'd ever had liked to have admitted before. He lets you hold him when he shatters instead of pushing you away, —dulls all his rigid edges to feel your warmth surround him, as if lowering all his defenses for the very first time. The world can be a cruel place to those that have made mistakes, but Hyun feels like he's finally found someone who can look at him for more than just the pretty, well-kempt face he maintains for the public. There's no sense of shame he feels the need to drown in when you let him fall apart in your arms. There's no crushing feeling of disappointment or suffocating feeling of disdain. He's more human than he fears he's ever been when your thumbs wipe the tears from beneath his eyes and you whisper to him that everything will be okay.

＃ YOOSUNG !! ♡

Yoosung, who learns over time how to not let things fester until they’ve built up so much he can’t keep them in any longer. For all he is and might not ever be, he’s come to realize that it’s okay to express his emotions before they reach a boiling point. He comes to you at the onset of upsetedness, —allows himself to feel frustrated without stuffing it down and pretending the problem doesn’t exist until it explodes. He finds that it’s so much easier to be earnest when you never talk down to him or make him feel like he’s any less of a person in your eyes because of it. Sometimes he needs advice, and other times, he just needs someone to talk to. No matter the case, he seeks you out before anyone else, knowing that you care enough about him to value his thoughts and opinions without qualifiers or regulations. He holds grudges sometimes that aren’t good for his own sake, and being shut down when he tries to address them only adds fuel to the fire. Having someone who truly listens and tells him that it’s okay to feel the way he does goes such a long way, —perhaps longer than you’ll ever know.

＃ SAEYOUNG (707) !! ♡

Saeyoung, who lets himself be honest eventually, —who lets himself chip away and then lets you smooth him over. He’s done a lot of things he’s not proud of, and he doesn’t need anyone to tell him that it wasn’t his fault. Whether it was or wasn’t doesn’t matter as much as what he knows he has to do going forward, and the last thing he really wants is to be coddled out of pity. He just wants to be heard, no sympathy necessary, no fawning over the way he sheds the skin he used to wear when he felt like happiness was millions of miles away. He just wants to be listened to. To Saeyoung, it’s the ultimate show of trust to admit to all the things he regrets, let them spill out like word vomit and not have to worry about the consequences. He doesn’t need you to understand, and knows you likely can’t given the specifics of his life’s course thus far, but knowing that you’re keen on carrying the burden with him is such an insurmountable feeling of relief. Finally, someone knows every grimy little corner of his soul and they still love him, still hold him, still want him. . . There’s nothing quite like it.

＃ SAERAN (RAY) !! ♡

Saeran, who lets little things slip as time goes on, —stares a little longer when he passes twin popsicles in grocery stores because he knows you won’t ask why. As much as he likes to pretend that he can fix things by pretending they never hurt him in the first place, there are always scars that linger just below the surface, ready to burst at the first sight of mint-colored liquids or at the first sound of deceptively sweet voices offering commands from the shadows. He carries a lot around with him wherever he goes, and just loving him until the sun dies isn’t a cure-all. You can’t turn back time and shield him from all the things in his life that have left him feeling like a shattered stain glass window. All the love in the world can’t fix the past. But there’s nothing that means more to him than knowing he can lean on you, —even if he doesn’t always do it. There’s such a sweet comfort in knowing he can turn to you when he feels like he’s drowning. And if sometimes that manifests only in letting himself shed a few tears while he eats an ice cream cone outside next to you in the sunshine, then so be it.

＃ JIHYUN (V) !! ♡

Jihyun, who talks about it all a little at a time, —about the good and the bad, the ugly and the beautiful; because it wasn’t always bad. There were times before you came in which he’d been so in love that he’d have done anything to stay exactly where he was, to freeze those moments up and keep them in a capsule that could never be shaken. And it’s important for Jihyun to tell you about those things every now and again, to let you in and reminisce on the way he’d once been so sure of it all, so ready to settle down and stay exactly where he was. But it’s equally as important for him to bare the remnants of the betrayal for you to kiss, and hold, and make peace with. He likes to think you understand him better in the wake of it, —that you’ve seen him in a new light every time he sits with you and tells you of the loss, the desire, the yearning, and all the ways he wishes things could have been different for everyone. In the end, he’s here, and there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.

751 notes · View notes

wrengrif · 2 months

Text

It's Thought Time again

So I've been rolling over this in various posts and reblogs, and I'm finally going to pin down my thoughts and write them here. Some might call this my 'Aziraphale Defense Post', but that's not accurate.

This is my William James take - meaning, everyone's reality is different due to perspective. What is true to me is not going to be true to you, 100% of the time. However, there is a facet of truth in everything we do believe, because we wholeheartedly believe it. That gives us a rainbow of truths from one opinion, each in their own radiant color.

So here's what I believe to be true. 6000 years ago, Heaven and Hell, on two completely different missions, sent the angel and the demon they found the most annoying to Earth. Not the weakest, not the most problematic (not yet anyways), but the ones they all collectively rolled their eyes at. Crowley was too flash. Aziraphale was too soft.

So God plopped Aziraphale in Eden, told him to protect the humans and not let them eat the apple tree that was sitting right there in front of them. Didn't tell him to put up a fence, or wave the flaming sword at them.

Satan booted Crowley upwards and told him to vaguely, 'start some trouble'. Vaguest of orders, no real direction in them. Crowley could have just thrown rocks at Adam and Eve and it would have counted.

We all know what happened from there. However, instead of Heaven and Hell going, 'Okay we're going to really pin down these orders now, sending more troops, let's get humanity really going' ... they basically left Aziraphale and Crowley alone in the office for 6000 years. Oh, the head offices occasionally pop up. Threaten, in their own unique ways. Mostly though, Crowley and Aziraphale were the only immortal beings on a planet filled with human mayflies.

Human mayflies that nine times out of ten would just set fire to themselves, or show greater compassion than either one of them had ever known.

Crowley and Aziraphale were all alone, except for each other. Even among humans, who they clearly understood more than their superiors -- you had to know they both stuck out. Yeah, think on that. Crowley couldn't have been the only one outcast, with his red hair and his yellow eyes. Aziraphale has the most white-blonde, curly hair in existence. Tag along with blue eyes and fair skin and come on. So at the beginning, they only ever really had each other for safe company. As they moved towards Europe, it got easier to fit in but even then you know people were still giving them the side-eye.

They were both transitory - following where-ever a mission went. Probably a home for maybe ten or so years, but then they'd have to move on again. We talk a lot about how Crowley didn't have a physical home until the creation of the bookshop.

That means neither did Aziraphale.

So what happened? They became home to one another. A touchstone in the centuries that passed. Aziraphale never rejected being approached by Crowley, despite being a demon, and Crowley never held Heaven's stupid missions again Aziraphale, so they kept coming together. Over and over again. Think of Rome. Aziraphale is so happy to see Crowley, and it's only been a few decades. Crowley's mood improves the longer the conversation goes on, letting down his defenses, relaxing enough to smirk.

The Arrangement, thought of by Crowley, agreed to by Aziraphale, despite the dangers they both knew they would face, because at least it meant they could see each other without having to make an excuse or just 'happen to be in the area'. Now they could meet up at theatres or in graveyards. They had to be careful - they always, always had to be careful - or the other one could be hurt.

It is the worst thing that can happen to either one of them, if the other one is hurt, or worse, killed. Remember Aziraphale's face in the graveyard, that look of sheer horror when he realizes Hell has taken Crowley.

Remember Crowley yelling as he runs into a burning bookshop.

The bookshop and the Bentley are theirs, but they can lose those and still go on, as long as they have each other. Maybe it is co-dependent, but honestly who else can they depend on, if not each other? That's why I believe Aziraphale begged Crowley to come with him to Heaven, not because he wanted Crowley to be an angel, but because Crowley would be safe - Aziraphale's Home would be Safe. That's why he says, 'Nothing lasts forever'. No Thing.

Crowley is not a Thing, to Aziraphale. Crowley is Aziraphale's Person. His safe place, and he's Crowley's. They both know it. It's why Aziraphale never wants to run away because he knows he's not fighting for a place called home, he's fighting for Crowley. It's why Crowley walks away and always comes back - not because he's weak but because he knows that being with Aziraphale is what matters. It's what makes life worth living.

Which is what makes the Final Fifteen so heartbreaking because they are both saying the same thing, but they're on different wavelengths. Yet, Yet ... as time has passed and I've been able to look at the Final Fifteen with some space, I see that it's not as hopeless as it seems.

Because Crowley came back. Because Aziraphale looks ready to do what he has to do. I don't think it'll be violence, because they've never solved their problems with violence and I don't think they'll start now. I just know that They're Not Talking is not going to last as long as we think, and that anger and betrayal is not going to be the first thing on their minds when they finally see one another again.

Probably going to be that kiss, though.

This why I could never say I can't forgive Aziraphale for his actions, because he did what he had to do to keep his home, his Crowley safe. I know Crowley knows that, too. How is that all going to shape up - how they're going to find themselves in balance again?

Well. I guess we'll have to wait, and see.

#aziraphale #crowley #good omens #good omens meta #my perspective is that love will save the day

62 notes · View notes

calisources · 7 months

Text

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑻𝑼𝑫𝑶𝑹𝑺. all sentences have been taken from the showtime drama, the tudors. change names, locations, pronouns as you see fit. this is a redo of another meme.

“Without knowledge, life is not worth having.”

“I have come here to die. I die a Queen, but I would rather die the wife of Culpeper.”

“One day I shall lie beside you again, I promise and we shall sleep together for eternity.”

“Your Majesty's life is far too precious to be put at risk against such a common rabble.”

“Of course, if you choose to go, you'd be like a lion among wolves.”

“My friend, if all ambassadors were beautiful women I'd be serving my country day and night.”

“You hate him like a scorpion. And why? Because he would not satisfy your ambition.”

“Diplomacy is nearly always settled by such proximity.”

“I call Mary my English mare, because I ride her so often.”

“You are a poet as I am a woman. Poets and women are always free with their hearts, are they not?”

“There's something deep and dangerous in you, Anne, those eyes of yours are like dark hooks for the soul.”

“As a humanist I share your opinion. As a King, I'm forced to disagree.”

“Though I love Your Majesty and I'm loyal to you, in every way, I cannot disguise my distress and unhappiness.”

"I should only ever tell the king what he ought to do, not what he could do. For if the lion knows his own strength, no man could control him."

"Blessed lady, Queen of Hearts, there will be even greater crowds than these to welcome you when you return to London."

"For every scholar that votes for you...I could find a thousand who would vote for me."

"You and I are both young, and with God's grace, boys will follow."

"You have no one to blame but yourself for this.”

“I was a true maid without touch of men. And whether or not it be true, I put it to your conscience.”

"Seduce me. Write letters to me. And poems, I love poems. Ravish me with your words. Seduce me."

"I have never known another man....and nor would I ever want to."

"If I had to choose between extreme sorrow and extreme happiness, I would always choose sorrow, for when you are happy you forget about spiritual things, you forget about God.But in your sorrow, He is always with you."

"Chastity? You talk to me about chastity when you have a mistress and two children, your Eminence."

“This, I vow, that my eyes desire you above all things.”

“As a humanist I have an abhorrence of war. It's an activity fit only for beasts yet practiced by no kind of beasts so constantly as by man.”

“What if the King doesn't know what's in his best interests?”

“If you want to keep the love of a prince, this is what you must do: You must be prepared to give him the thing you most care for, in all the world.”

“Lady Anne is so beautiful, it is the duty of every man to love her. Of course I loved her, but from a distance.”

“You treat me so unkindly and in public neglect me.”

“My only satisfaction is that in frustrating you I hasten your fall from the King's good graces, an outcome I desire above all others.”

“Mistress Boleyn, you should not abuse the Queen's honor with such language!”

“He was a lion in my defense. Now he will die ashamed and alone in a prison cell.”

“Then here's the truth. You must shut your eyes and endure like your betters have done before you!”

“Don’t you know that I can drag you down as quickly as I raised you?”

“I am more convinced than ever that he is the agent of Satan. If I could, I would strip him from the King's side- and burn him.”

"I know of no Queen of England but my mother. And I will accept no Queen but my mother."

“If the King's mistress would intercede with him on my behalf, then I would be grateful."

"Lady, you must know how beloved you are to the people—as was your mother before you, God rest her soul."

“I'm a lot older than I was when I first knew you. And wiser.”

“have no heir. The Tudor Dynasty, all my father's work, finished, and it's MY fault!”

“He will tire of you, like all the others.”

“You know perfectly well what the King desires and what he shall have.”

“You can't have 3 people in a marriage!”

“I am surprised to receive such a request from such a wise and noble man as you.”

“ I am but a poor woman, lacking in both wit and understanding. How am I supposed to respond to such a request made to me out of the blue?”

“I know what you are trying to do, but do not think to take the King away from me. Let him play with you. Let him give you gifts. But he cannot give you his true heart.”

“I make you this promise. When we are married, I will deliver you a son.”

“I was wondering if you'd like to become my mistress.“

“The brat is now officially a bastard.”

“Everything will change for her. That kiss is her destiny and fortune.”

“People of England, your King is unharmed!”

“An important question, whether it is better for a king to be feared or loved.”

“I do imagine there are some at court who would like to see the Queen replaced.”

“Lady Bryan, if I cannot please the King, will he kill me?”

“For he who possesses the heir to the throne will very soon possess the throne itself.”

#rp meme #sentences memes #meme call #roleplay memes #sentence meme #( cali meme. )#rp memes #rp prompt #rp musings #roleplay prompt #roleplay meme

99 notes · View notes

ash-says · 2 months

Text

Hello dear ladies. I am back in the town with my rants again cause where's a girl gonna go in this patriarchy world to shout her opinions. Plus can't run the risk of letting them in on the game. What's the fun in that??

Anyways, first of all Happy Women's Day!!!!

Happy Mahashivratri ✨✨✨

As today is an auspicious day both internationally and personally for me religiously maybe I will talk about some deep stuff.

Let's get into it. Shall we??

1) Get a belief system. I can't stress enough on this for the love of God. I was listening to a podcast this morning and the host made a really nice analogy that I would like to share with you all. He said that we all have an immense amount of love in us that we want to shower and that's one of the reasons why we so desperately look for partnerships especially romantic ones and we are highly affected by break-up. But when you submit all your love and pain to god the equation changes. Because it's difficult to have earthly expectations towards God and the shift starts there.

Story time ->

I personally found it way easier to love God. Once you start turning in to him you realize how selfless your love can be. But the main reason that struck me was when you love people you are restricted. Let's be honest today's dating scene is the worst you can't express how you feel and for a person like me who has intense emotions it's suffocating and that's where God comes in picture because I just submit my love, struggles and suffocation to him and he is there all the while with me silently witnessing the upheaval without any judgement. That allows me to tap deeper into my issues, understand the roots, look at them from both emotional and logical angles and then detach from it as the supreme being is now in control of the situation.

So on this occasion I beg you ladies to fix your relationship with God. You will thank me later for sure.

2) Be Loud. Be Bold. Be Audacious. Take up space. Unapologetically. Don't let other people feel comfortable in making you uncomfortable. Nope. We do it the other way around here. They should know better than making you uncomfortable.

If there's something I am really proud of myself for at least 90% times is that I never let anyone make me uncomfortable. I have time and again consciously worked on it to make it a second nature to me.

Nobody is born outspoken. It's the situation and the person's decision, self will that makes them like that. So when anyone tries to put me down subtly even if it isn't registered in my conscious brain my subconscious answers it befittingly without my notice. Then I realise what actually happened.

Strive to make offense your second nature. Defense is first mixed in with kindness. Practise it consciously until it becomes a muscle memory.

Ending note: Be insufferable in public and a soft girl in private. That's how you even it out. Wail like a child in front of God but move like a queen among humans.

40 notes · View notes

everydayyoulovemeless · 6 months

Note

Can we get a "Cait idolizes you" post please?

[Cait Idolizes You]

➼ Word Count » 0.7k ➼ Warnings » None ➼ Genre » Headcanons based on how Cait treats you once idolized

Cait feels like she owes you her life and will be at your beck and call, waiting for anything she could possibly do to even make an attempt at paying you back for sticking with her for as long as you have, even if you tell her none of it's necessary, and you love her for her.

Now that she's officially off the chems, she'll try and do more community service-type deeds to clean up her act. She's not much of a fan, but she does need something to do, and what's more exciting than helping Preston and Sturges set up a few more houses? (everything, but she's still grateful to be a part of it)

She's the first to volunteer whenever you say you're headed off to do a quest, and the first to grab a bat whenever someone says something even slightly negative about you.

Every Sunday, she'll drag you down to the Dugoutt Inn, throw you in one of the booths, and offer to share a bottle of Moonshine. Usually, the two of you just talk, but sometimes the Bobrov brothers will come over and tell you guys stories of things that had happened throughout the week. It always reminds you of those Football nights you used to have before the war when you'd gather in someone's basement and just hang out with everyone.

Cait's not the best at it, but whenever you're beaten and bleeding, she'll do her best to try and patch you up. There will always be people out there who're way more qualified than she'll ever be, but she knows the basics.

She definitely makes her opinion known when she thinks you've been drinking too much or have been taking too many drugs. You'll be kept in line with her around, she refuses to let you fall into the same rabbit hole that she did.

Whether you romanced her or not, she'll still jokingly flirt with you all the time. She'll run her hands along your shoulders and whisper the most lewd comments until you start blushing or get a tad flustered.

One of these days she'll take you aside and teach you a few more effective self-defense methods just so you're better prepared in any sort of fight you find yourself in.

Cait may still put up that tough-Irish-girl front of hers, but behind it all is a genuine friend who would stop everything she was doing to sit and listen to whatever it was that was bothering you.

She's so willing to throw down for you. You give her the word, and she'll gladly make someone 'disappear' for you. You guys are like the secret service of the Commonwealth, anyone does anything to either of you, and they're gone.

The jokes she makes are almost always horribly timed. Like you'll be sitting in your room all sad and she'll say something like, "It's totally your fault". She intends for them to be sarcastic quips of some kind, but they don't really land. She's just not that great at cheering people up, but she definitely tries.

Her drug habit might've stopped, but her thieving practice won't. It's for better or for worse, but you can't deny how relieved you get when you notice the extra hundred caps that'd been snuck into your pockets when you weren't looking. They save you in most situations and you almost have to be grateful she hasn't kicked the habit yet.

The one thing with Cait is that you're gonna have to teach her some healthier coping skills before she punches a hole in your wall, or anyone else's for that matter.

She loves to sit with you on the bridge right outside Sanctuary and toss stones. She likes the edges of the rocks in her hands and finds it a bit soothing when they sink and cause ripples in the water.

Overall, Cait ends up being the best friend you never knew you needed. She's there for literally everything and couldn't ever imagine her life without you.

#fallout #fallout 4 #fo4 #cait fo4 #fo4 cait #cait fallout 4 #fallout 4 cait #fo4 sole survivor #sole survivor fo4 #sole survivor #cait x sole #cait x sole survivor #fallout headcanons #fallout 4 headcanons #fallout companion headcanons #cait headcanons #cait fo4 headcanons #cait x reader

64 notes · View notes

doberbutts · 11 months

Note

Looking for your opinion on raising a dobe as a PTSD service dog (trained to do things like deep pressure and body blocking/alerting to people behind me) because I'm looking into breeds. I've raised an Aussie Shepard and Border Collie before, as well as smaller dogs my whole life but you seem to really know what you're doing

I'll be honest- I think it is a bad idea. I do not recommend dobermans (or any guardian breed with limited exceptions) as service dogs for those with panic, anxiety, or stress-related disorders at all. For every one that you find will work well for such a job, you will find ten more that could not do it.

Please understand, the breed's temperament is designed to work against you here. These are dogs who are meant to guard their owners from assaults. If you are broadcasting down the leash that you are nervous about that guy who just came up behind you, even if he's minding his own business, what do you think you are telling your dog to do? What do you think will happen if you have a meltdown in public and Freak The Fuck Out and start seeing everyone as a potential threat? These are dogs intended to intercept threats before they reach their owners- so if an innocent person walking down the street towards you triggers you, that is now a threat in your dog's mind. This is a potentially very dangerous situation you've just put yourself, your dog, and other people in.

Can you find a dog to do it? Sure. That dog would be worth more than gold. We call this unicorn hunting in the service dog world. You are looking for a relatively uncommon dog to find, and if you have never done the service dog thing or the guardian breed thing before, you are going against pretty strong odds.

Whenever this sort of thing comes up, I always think of @millenniallust4death's post on one of her past blogs, about how her late husband's dog went for her in defense of her husband as he was ailing from cancer and she had moved towards him to help him. He was able to call the dog off, so she was unharmed, but still. This was a German Shepherd from lines intended for intense protection work. He saw his owner in distress and acted without thinking when someone- someone he knew and loved and trusted- made too swift of a movement towards his vulnerable owner.

I am not saying every doberman will do this. But I do think you would be playing with fire.

I had a doberman service dog. We actually just passed the anniversary of him winning an award from the national doberman club for his service work. We did a lot of work to try to prevent this from happening. He was neither the first service dog I trained nor was he the first guardian breed I trained. Prior to my current vet job, I was a dog trainer that specialized in aggression. I loved him very much and he was well suited to the work. But, also, there is a reason I deliberately did not get another doberman as a service dog when I needed to retire him due to his failing health.

181 notes · View notes

shiplessoceans · 2 years

Text

I absolute love episode 5 "The best revenge is dressing well" because it could literally have been named "The unwitting seduction of Edward Teach by Stede Bonnet".

At the beginning of the episode, Blackbeard intends to kill this fancy man, disfigure him, take his ship and assume his identity. He sees Stede as a means to an end at that point, and he's desperate to stop living the life he is.

And then over the course of the episode, Stede does the following:

Pays attention to and shows an interest in Blackbeard's life and skills

Takes time to teach him etiquette while never being judgemental

Encourages him not to let himself be angered by a racist bully and mocks said bully in a language he understands (not a single tureen, honestly).

Makes an effort to check in with Ed to gently inquire about how he's feeling because he paid attention and noticed that Ed was hurt.

Explained the type of bullying and empathized with Ed that it IS diabolical and he is justified in feeling upset.

Agrees to go to a fancy party he's not interested in simply because Ed wants to.

Lends Ed clothes and finery so that he may blend in.

Escorts Ed into the party, making sure to check in with him and that he's comfortable and doesn't want to leave or isn't too overwhelmed. Warns Ed not to put too much stock in this crowds opinion of him.

Excuses himself as he is just not comfortable in the party situation, especially after being laughed at, but stays close by so that Ed doesn't have to leave and has backup if he needs it.

Is outraged on Ed's behalf when the rich people hurt his feelings, never once saying 'I told you so.'

Though we have never seen Stede stand up to or defend himself against the upper crust society types, he tells Ed to stand down (probably to prevent further humiliation) and instead gets intel on and destroys the lives and reputations of the people who hurt Ed by exposing how unworthy of admiration they are. They could have just left the ship. But no. They hurt his friend and Stede's not gonna stand for that.

Approaches Ed again to check in on how he's feeling and APOLOGISES TO HIM for the way the evening turned out. This gets glossed over but keep in mind Stede didn't even want to go to this. And yet he's apologising for those awful people's behaviour. Because he wants to make it clear that it's NOT ED'S FAULT.

Makes sure to tell Ed that he's very sophisticated. Coming from Stede that means a lot.

At this point Ed is handling his red silk and earlier in the episode we saw him quickly hide it away when he heard Stede approaching. But not now. Stede has been nothing if not kind, considerate, caring and accommodating all episode and he defended Ed's honour. Subconsciously Ed doesn't feel the need to hide this secret thing from Stede anymore, the metaphor for his heart/hopes/weaknesses.

Then Stede compliments the silk.

Ed, defensively mocks it, saying that it's old and tatty. Unworthy of admiration.

Stede disagrees and asks respectfully to handle it, fashioning it into something Ed can be proud of and wear.

"You wear fine things well" is brilliant because it's a double compliment.

Stede is telling Ed: "Your heart, who you are, what you secretly want and hope to be is a fine thing. And I think it looks good on you."

No-one in all of Ed's life has ever told him that. Not even his own mother. For someone to accept Ed, not only as Blackbeard, but the quiet, private part of his heart that longs for softer, gentler things and yearns for connection and a life without violence.

It's the quickest and most thorough seduction and Ed is head over boot heels from that moment forward, so much so that he goes for the kiss.

And the best part is that Stede did this completely by accident and has absolutely no idea.

Poetic cinema. Chef's kiss.

#ofmd meta #ofmd #blackbonnet #ofmd spoilers #blackstede #stedward #ed/stede #edward teach/stede bonnet #our flag means death #our flag means death spoilers #ofmdspoilers #edward teach #stede bonnet #you wear fine things well

1K notes · View notes

blorb-el · 6 months

Note

Don’t know if you made a post on this but what’s your opinion on DCAU Clark and how unapproachable(?) they made him in the later JL/JLU series without ever resolving it? Like I know the Cadmus arc hinges on him never considering himself a possible threat but it seems there was room for no much introspection outside a couple moments (that were later backtracked).

I've had like 6 half finished posts about this buried deep in the drafts for a year because I have capital B Brain Rot about this, but every time I tried to write it out I got six sentences in and wanted to rewatch the entire DCAU in order to get my facts straight. This time I'm resisting the urge, so forgive me if I forget specific episodes

Also, unfortunately for you, it’s nanowrimo, which means my brain is in Type All The Words Mode, and not Communicate Effectively and Succinctly Mode, and also I need a break from WSBF chapter 8, so. You’re getting a 3.5k essay sort of answering this question but not really. you will see

Thank you to my fellow lawyer for the defense of Rectangle Clark @januariat for helping to put this together

I do rewatch STAS and JL a fair amount, but much less JLU, so I actually don’t have much to say about the specific execution there. I’m planning on rewatching it soon. But for now…

To me it boils down to two answers. The Doylist answer, and what I think the writers really did have in mind, is that they came up with the Cadmus plot, knew it was an absolute banger of a storyline, and decided that it was worth compromising Superman's personality in order to write a good story. which is not something I can fault them for - as a fanfic writer, I make the same calculated tradeoffs every time I set out to write a fic. Characters are tools for narrative, even if these particular characters come with an additional weight of the tradition of collaborative storytelling that their most effective stories honor.

However, I do think it’s possible to, post-hoc, cobble together a Watsonian, narratively satisfying (if fucked up and sad) character arc for DCAU Clark if you also take STAS and JL into account. I think the key to understanding his character arc is his relationship with control. Throughout STAS, JL, and JLU, and then one more time in Batman Beyond for good measure, over and over again, he's manipulated and his powers and body are used as resources for other people. Obviously that’s not much of an excuse for becoming more authoritarian/overbearing/etc, Fascism Is Bad and I personally think a more IC superman would retreat more than double down (as in Kingdom Come), but looking at the totality of things that have happened to him before Cadmus, it's a little more understandable why he'd get close to snapping under the strain. Here's my personal reading of his arc, and the events that might have led to Clark behaving so irrationally in JLU.

cut for sheer length, but also mentions of manipulation, sexual assault, victim blaming, that sort of thing

One of the recurring themes in the DCAU is villains dehumanizing, depowering, and/or manipulating Clark. In STAS, Parasite, Lex via Bizarro, Talia and Ra’s al Ghul use him as a source for their own power. The Preserver and Maxima treat him like some exotic prize, disregarding his wishes. Jax-Ur and Mala use him and then betray him. But the most impactful, by far, is Darkseid.

In Apokolips Now, Darkseid defeats Clark, puts his bleeding body into public stocks, and drags him through the middle of Metropolis. Clark’s only rescued by the last minute intervention of the New Gods, and as a parting shot Darkseid murders Clark’s friend in front of everyone. Even though Clark prevents Earth from turning into Apokolips, it’s a huge emotional loss, and they don’t shy away from showing his rage and helplessness. But it’s when Darkseid returns in Legacy, the finale of STAS, that Clark’s life truly takes a turn for the worse.

Forgive me if this is all plot recap to you, anon, but I feel like a lot of people don’t know that STAS ends with Clark being mind controlled, heavily implied to be sexually assaulted, and forced to try to take over the Earth, killing god knows how many people in the process. When the military finally brings him down with a Kryptonite warhead and imprisons him, they nearly kill Supergirl in the process. Then Lex almost gives him a lethal injection, with a US general looking on, implying that the government approves of killing him. Lois breaks him out, he tries to get help for Kara from Dr. Hamilton, and then goes to Apokolips. Most fights in STAS have him shrug off blows. He ends this one bleeding from his mouth, looking almost dead. When he finally casts down Darkseid, tells the Hunger Dogs (the slaves on Apokolips) that they’re free… they turn away from Superman. They cluster around Darkseid to protect and heal him.

Those universal truths of a lot of Superman stories, that goodness and liberty and the American Way* always win? They don't in STAS. A representative of the US government (as far as he knows) has tried to kill him. He lost his temper and spoke in a harsh tone of voice once, because Kara was dying and he was hurt and desperate, and now his friend Dr. Hamilton, the man he trusted to repair the Kryptonian ship, study his body and his powers, one of the people who knew him best in STAS, is afraid of him - and, as we find out later, takes immediate, drastic, and violating action against Kara and against him. The series ends with the small town man standing on the roof of the Planet, hearing people hate and fear him, wondering how people will ever trust him again.

*I hate this phrase personally when used as a Superman Motto, but it's used here as a contrast to the fascistic imagery of Apokolips Now and Legacy (as well as Brave New World, which, hoo boy, we aren’t even getting into that one).

Six months (iirc) after the STAS finale, in Secret Origins, the US government has agreed to let a visibly older and wearier Superman help disarm the nuclear stockpile - only for this to backfire on him because it was a Plot by the White Martians. Clark’s let down the country again. He’s helped aliens invade again, and to make matters worse, he sped away in the middle of an attack to break into an official government facility to free J'onn. Clark founds the Justice League beginning from a place of personal failure, as a check on himself. Clark has power and wants to help people with it, but he’s been turned against people he cares about, and has twice now failed to protect the world. It’s worth noting that Legacy put him into the world stage; before, in STAS, I can’t think of any true worldwide threats besides maybe Jax-Ur and Mala.

Most of the rest of season 1 of JL isn’t particularly Clark-focused, although he does appear in a lot of episodes, but the themes of some of these episodes are potentially relevant to understanding his character later, so: brief bullet point summaries.

During In Blackest Night, Clark sees his respected colleague turn himself into an authority that turns out to be incompetent investigators looking for a scapegoat. Interesting. Surrendering to governmental authority/oversight didn’t turn out too well here.

During The Enemy Below, on Clark’s advice, Aquaman tries to solve his problems peacefully with diplomacy and is immediately shot in a life threatening assassination attempt. Peaceful diplomacy doesn't work so well for him.

During Injustice for All, Lex is dying of cancer. Clark tries to reach out and is rebuffed, with Lex going on to try to found a team to kill him and the rest of the League.

During Paradise Lost, Clark sees his respected colleague turn herself into the authorities and immediately get banished from her home for the crime of trying to save it with all the resources she had at her disposal. Interesting. Surrendering to governmental authority/oversight didn’t turn out too well here, again.

During War World, Clark’s again captured for exploitation. This is essentially a retread of The Main Man from STAS, doubling down on how some people see him as a thing to be exploited.

During Fury, Clark’s completely ineffective at preventing an attempted genocide of half the world’s population.

Season 2 opens with Twilight, one of the most important episodes for understanding Clark’s mindset during the Cadmus arc. Imagine, if you will, the above happening to you. Darkseid shows up at your workplace. And the man you’ve worked with the longest, your friend, your ally, tells you to cry him a river, build him a bridge, and get over it. Tells you to get over being brainwashed, manipulated, and humiliated. Tells you to get over having your broken and bleeding body paraded around the streets of Metropolis, tells you to get over having your friend killed in front of you for trying to defend you, tells you to get over almost getting your cousin killed. Sure, Brainiac is a planetary-scale threat; Darkseid and Apokolips are in real trouble. Clark was wrong to write off Apokolips and its people, and the League should absolutely have intervened in the situation. But the way Bruce went about it was… one of the harshest things DCAU Bruce has ever done, and one of the only times the narrative seems to actually agree that he was an asshole about it. And even then, you really need the context of STAS to understand why Clark is so furious and hurt in this scene.

Clark relents and goes along with Bruce’s plan to trust Darkseid, only to end up betrayed again, the whole ruse just another ploy for Brainiac to gain control of Clark, torture him, and use Clark’s body to upgrade himself. Clark had spared Darkseid back on Apokolips at the end of Legacy, on Kara’s advice. But now Darkseid’s come after him, again. Used him again to put not only Earth but who knows how many other worlds at risk, now that Brainiac’s even more powerful. It’s the downfall of Krypton, over and over again. And when Clark goes to end it, I think he doesn’t care that the base is about to go, as long as Darkseid goes down with it. That isn’t a price Bruce is willing to pay, so he teleports Clark out. And he’s wrong, again. “No one could have survived that.” Well… no, Bruce. Darkseid does, and Clark knows it.

During Tabula Rasa, Lex manipulates Amazo the exact way he tried to use Bizarro. Clark once again fails to guard against a terrible, potentially world-ending threat, and in fact makes the situation worse by his very presence.

Then we come to Only a Dream, another key episode in understanding this version of Superman. Clark’s deepest fear is that his powers will keep on growing beyond his ability to control them, eventually destroying everything around him. In his nightmare He kills Lois and Jimmy, destroys the Daily Planet, and grows into a brutish, hulking, clumsy figure, first crying out for someone to help him, and then losing hope. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone. He goes back to the Kent farm and curls up in the spaceship in the fetal position, convinced that he’s only going to hurt anyone who tries to help. Is it any wonder, since that’s literally what’s happened to him in Legacy? Is it any wonder that he’d want to give up, to retreat? If we’re to take the World of Cardboard speech literally, he’s already having to focus on this restraint every day, in every interaction. This is my personal explanation/hc as to why in every single fight he lets himself get knocked around a bit first; he’s calibrating how hard he can hit back without doing irrevocable damage. Anyway. Deeply fucked up 2 minutes of horror. Wish they’d explored this a little bit more in later seasons.

Then, directly after this, it’s A Better World. After we’ve just seen that his worst nightmare is hurting people by being unable to control his powers, we come face to face with a world where he’s hurt people by the precise and controlled application of his powers. Justice Lord Clark uses the same Superman Robots we saw Kara use in Legacy. He’s become quite adept at his lobotomization techniques. Later on in JLU, we see ‘our’ universe’s Clark attempt to lobotomize Doomsday the exact same way Justice Lord Superman did. Again, Clark fails to protect the world from himself, and to make matters worse, the guy to save the day is Lex Luthor. I’d be a little miffed if the maniac who wants to kill me so so bad turned out to be instrumental in saving the world and now I owe him some unspecified favor in the future. Clark’s met with failure and distrust trying to fix things his way, now he tries to do things in an uncharacteristically sneaky way and… gets met with more dislike and distrust.

Eclipsed continues this trend of hurting his friends; he’s temporarily mind controlled and hurts Wally.

In The Terror Beyond, he fucks up and puts the world in danger again, all because from his point of view, he tried to prevent Solomon Grundy being manipulated and used (like he himself has been used over and over again).

In Secret Society, his frustration comes to a peak, amplified by Grodd’s telepathic manipulation. He’s been trying to do his best, but he snaps that he’s had better luck fighting armies alone (dubious plural there, but he did pretty much evaporate an army in Legacy, so at least once, ok) and that he’s had to hold back his abilities in order to be on the League. Again if we take the World of Cardboard speech at face value, this is true, and we see it in the episode when he accidentally hurts Shayera with heat vision despite shouting a warning beforehand. It’s also telling how other members of the League have the ability to constantly voice doubts about its usefulness and cohesiveness as an organization (hi Bruce) but when he expresses the same doubts everyone gasps. When he expresses his doubt and frustration, when he steps away, the organization that’s collectively saved the world several times falls apart; they’re reliant on him, and he has to be aware of the entire existence of the League as an extra burden of responsibility.

Since both this episode and the Cadmus arc as a whole are meant to show his flaws as a leader, it’s worth examining the foundations of that leadership as established in the DCAU. Clark’s the leader of the League, but narratively, Bruce is its brains and its ethics and Wally is its heart. As a result, Clark is filling the role of leader of the League without the narrative scaffolding that gives him the respect comics incarnations of the character are generally accorded. (I’m admittedly only drawing here from the JLA runs I’ve personally read, Morrison/Porter 90’s JLA and the early Fox/Sekowsky 60’s JLA). Superman might not technically be the First Superhero according to these continuities, but he is respected as though he is (and as we comic book nerds know him to be). The League in these comics treat him as something of an ethical standard bearer, a primus inter pares, as well as being the muscle. In the DCAU, Batman, having founded the DCAU with BTAS, is the First Superhero, and the entire plotline of the Justice Lords centers Wally as the emotional anchor of the team. Clark doesn’t have that pre-established stature. What really qualifies him to be the leader, besides the fact that Bruce doesn’t want to do it? His position seems precarious, relying more on Superman’s pre-established reputation than his actual onscreen characterization. Centering Bruce and Wally are legitimate creative choices I don’t even necessarily disagree with, but it means Clark-as-leader functions quite differently than more traditional JL structures.

Hereafter is something of a healing point for him. It’s a little fucked up that Superman almost bashes Vandal Savage’s head in with a rock, but you take what you can get at this point. He comes out of it fine, but everyone else is forced to reckon with what he means to them. Hereafter coming directly after Secret Society is a very good reunification for the League. Shame about what’s gonna happen in three episodes.

In Wild Cards, he’s useful to address the immediate threat but ineffective to stop the real, countrywide (worldwide?) threat. (I should note that of course I don’t expect every episode’s threat to be solved by Clark; I’m just pointing out a trend that I think his character would perceive as failures on his part. If the writers ever let him reflect.)

JL ends as it began, with another massive alien invasion that Clark helped facilitate in Starcrossed, by working with the Thanagarians during the first part of their plan. As a fellow exile, a fellow alien, he’s hurt and angry with Shayera’s betrayal… even though, in the end, in probably one of his best moments, he votes to allow her to stay in the League.

(Sidenote: almost every interaction Clark has had with other aliens have been despotic societies or individuals: Jax-Ur and Mala, Apokolips, Maxima’s planet, War World, and now Thanagar. The Guardians built robotic police/foot soldiers to enforce their will. Even New Genesis is ruled by a benevolent dictator. Martian society is nearly extinct, overrun by… more alien despots, surviving only with J'onn. Argoan society is nearly extinct, surviving only with Kara. At least Lobo isn’t a fascist? Small consolation.)

JLU begins after a short time skip. I’m not as familiar with JLU episodes since it’s been a while since I’ve watched them, so I’m not going to attempt an episode-by-episode breakdown. Also this post is already way too long. But the point of this post is to look at Clark’s overall arc until this point, and see how it informs his decisions in JLU. For a more JLU-specific informed point of view check this post by januariat!

What we have is a man who naturally wants to take responsibility on his own shoulders, a doer and a fixer who wants to get into the ring and solve problems, who wants to use his abilities to help, being confronted over and over again with a string of personal failures, manipulation, and betrayal. When he tries to set a boundary about not being willing to help the man who took over his body and forced him against his home in Twilight, he’s told to get over it by his most trusted ally. When his deepest fears are revealed in Only a Dream, we see them having been already realized in Legacy. And when he’s presented with his dream of a peaceful life farming, a family that loves him, and no responsibility to save the world, it’s ripped away from him in For The Man Who Has Everything.

Ultimately, I don’t have a good answer for exactly how he doubles down in JLU S2, because I need to rewatch all of it with this understanding of the character. But I think you can see the shape of a traditional Superman character in there, trying and trying again and again to do the right thing, putting himself on the line - only instead of learning from his experiences and letting them inform his actions, he’s carrying the weight of years of suppressed trauma while trying to hold up the entire Justice League. This long, long run of failure, manipulation, betrayal, and distrust adds up. And there’s only so much weight one person can hold on their shoulders, even if they are a Superman.

(And then as the nice little capstone to his story, in Batman Beyond's The Call, he’s kept under alien mind control for years! With the way Starro clings to his chest, he probably hasn’t been touched in years! Trapped in his own mind, forced to watch as yet another alien species uses him as a tool to hurt his own teammates and invade the Earth! And that’s the last we see of DCAU Clark! What a fun little ending to his character arc that doesn’t make me go insane whenever I think about it. Very very very normal about this.)

#id in alt text #like i said. brainrot. i'm so normal about clark kent #you really do have to like. put this arc together in your own head though. they did NOT put this on screen.#long post #dc meta #DCAU #STAS #JL/JLU #clark kent #my fucking kingdom for a fic where j'onn helps him develop mental shielding against mind control. and also gets him therapy. one day #my writing #<fuck it. putting it in the writing tag so i can find it again #thanks for the ask :^)

58 notes · View notes

dreamchaserguild · 6 months

Text

We recently backed a project on Kickstarter and I wanted to ramble about that.

(This is not paid promotion and I have no association with the team making this project. This is just me gushing about something I think is cool.)

I grew up playing Heroscape. This game was my childhood. If you don't know what Heroscape is, here you go:

It was a simple tactical minis tabletop battle game where you make a team of different heroes with their own unique abilities. But what really sold this game was the landscape you could build yourself.

I used to have a table that sat out on our front porch that was filled with Herocape stuff as I constructed and deconstructed and reconstructed my maps.

And I didn't just have the starter set you see above. (Above is actually several starter sets. You don't get quite that many pieces from one box. I'm guessing it's three starter sets since there are six ruins, and Heroscape only came with two.) No. I had the ice set, the volcano set, the castle set, a Marvel set. The second starter set with swampy environment.

Heroscape was an amazing part of my childhood. Then Hasbro let it die.

They tried to revive it in the form of Arena of the Planeswalkers, a knock-off with a flat cardboard battlefield. But it got cancelled after two expansions. They're going to try again, but I have no faith that they'll stick with the Heroscape revival.

Which brings us to SOURCE.

SOURCE is a hex system made by indie-developers who themselves were Heroscape fans and inspired by Heroscape. Rather than connecting at the sides like Heroscape, the SOURCE tiles are held together by edges as you can see here. (I sure hope they don't mind me lifting the images from their kickstarter.)

A disadvantage to this is that you lose some of the modularity in being able to build in any shape you want. The advantage though is that it allows for terrain to easily be added and removed throughout gameplay.

(They're also working on special grip mats for those who just really want to build in any shape they want without being confined to shapes of the edges.)

And in my opinion, the detail looks way better than Heroscape ever did. Just compare the lava tiles above to Heroscape's:

There's no contest.

The SOURCE hexes aren't just the same thing in different colors. They're actual works of art.

And I'm not saying this to put Heroscape down. Like I said, it was my childhood and was fantastic for its time.

The game on the Kickstarter, Timestrike, is very similar to Heroscape. But with so much more stacked onto Heroscape's foundation.

Characters have move, range, attack and defense like Heroscape. You have the six-sided dice where three sides are swords and two are shields. Only now there is a special lucky sword and a lucky shield. These aren't relevant for most characters, but some characters will have abilities where they'll gain some bonus on lucky rolls.

If that's not enough, there's also a Contest mechanic where you can push another player's figure. This is great if someone is on a ledge and you want to cause them fall damage, or if you just want to steal the high ground from them to increase your attack.

You can also mine materials, build roads with the materials you mined, and go fishing for buffs. (Literally. You can stand near water and try to fish. If you succeed, you take a card from the fishing deck.)

There are wild monsters you can try to tame. There are even large figures you can mount and ride. See this guy:

That's a base on his back for you to place a smaller miniature on and ride him around!

The game is centered around not just beating each other, but also fighting a boss called a Sentience with space for three figures on its back.

(Note: the Gorilla Brute is not part of this first set, and will likely come with a future expansion.)

The sentience takes full advantage of the destructible terrain, leveling any space he lands on.

And they're tossing in solo and co-op rules for people who don't want to fight each other and just want to fight the boss alone, or to team up to fight the boss.

Oh! And it comes with STACKABLE WALLS!

That's a small thing, but it's a cool thing. (Okay, this is technically a stretch goal for $200,000 that they haven't put on the official Kickstarter, but $200K feels likely to me.)

The creators also seem genuinely committed to making this a reality and keeping it going for a long time, with talk of several expansions in the pipeline, introducing more playable characters, more rideable Brutes, and more bosses which will each have their own abilities and their own solo/co-op modes.

And possibly boats.

That's a picture of a prototype boat that can fit three figures and will NOT be included in this Kickstarter. But it is planned for a future expansion.

I don't know if the boats will come to fruition. I don't know if they'll look like that when they are released or if they'll look completely different by then since that would be a long way off.

But I appreciate knowing that there are plans to make this a long-term investment. I'm not worried that the creators will give up on SOURCE and Timestrike like Hasbro did Heroscape and Arena of the Planeswalkers.

And it's not just Timestrike. The SOURCE terrain can be purchased on its own and the SOURCE system is intended to be used for a variety of games by different creators. And it's already naturally compatible with Heroscape, Arena of the Planeswalkers, Battletech and other hex-based games.

I am incredibly excited and hopeful for the future of this project!

Here's the Kickstarter for anyone who wants to see more of this.

And here's a video review going over the Timestrike rules and how it plays:

youtube

93 notes · View notes

elle555 · 8 months

Text

how each mercury sign might talk in a disagreement🧠💭 (this is fun and light hearted, if this isn’t true for you that’s okay scroll.

aries mercury/1H: might be defensive , trying too hard to stand for what they believe in, too loud , gets irritated but doesn’t give up easily. They also might talk with their hands plus makes justifications from time to time

taurus mercury/2H: Stubborn asf , can’t change their opinion what they think , might sound mad but sounds unbothered. Waits til in private too actually get angry and loud about it might even try too forget about it most likely says what they observed and noticed just like gemini but they don’t say too much though.

gemini mercury/3H: witty talks all that shit , will most likely laugh or not take it seriously which can make the other person more angry. overall nonchalant with what they say and voices their opinion based off what they observed/know I love them for that🤧

cancer mercury/4H: may talk based off of feelings or experiences they’ve had or similar to the person most likely will try too justify it or not make too much of a big deal out of it trying too be the empathetic person in the debate.

leo mercury/5H: will not hesitate too argue back or say what they think is wrong or right , what they think should happen. they will most likely talk in the debate based off of what they heard so basically rumors?? Lmaooooo

virgo mercury/6H: points out tiny mistakes or words you said wrong or “weird” while you we’re talking. Will most likely ask why you think like that or just criticize your opinion and what you think like a judgmental person in a way lmaoo and will go off of receipts haha.

libra mercury/7H: might take sides or again might say a lot of “well” “I mean if you look at it this way”, tries too act like they don’t like the drama but lowkey will put in their 2 cents and say some shit.

scorpio mercury/8H: they have a lot too say but don’t say much because they know they’ll hit a nerve and say some hurtful shit they know about that person.

sagittarius mercury/9H: blunt might read you to filth may get loud and use humor in the situation if it’s a philosophical or fun debate. Also might just go off of what they heard from other people and form their own opinions quick asf!!

capricorn mercury/10H: hmm let’s see will be mature and logical about it and try too understand why you think like that. They will sometimes base it off of empathy and old situations that occurred and think that’s still relevant when it’s old plus might take sides

aquarius mercury/11H: I legitimately don’t know to many aquarium mercuries but only 2 I knew and they seem like the people that will talk and be so stoic and not care about the debate , won’t bother too agrue or engage because they know they can’t say what they want without everyone getting hurt. The ones will base their opinions off of what they think or feel like is right or wrong the type too not talk much honestly👾

pisces mercury/12H: they’ll say their peace based off of eavesdropping or observation as well lol or might even agree with the people but deep down the think differently and is analyzing bs sometimes.

#astrology #astrology community #astrology observations #air signs #mercury signs #earth signs #gemini mercury #scorpio #pisces

137 notes · View notes

elekinetic · 10 months

Note

hi! i was just wondering what your opinions are on hopper, like, as a character? i've just seen so much slander for him and i was wondering about your own thoughts on it since you seem to have a good grasp of the show's characters. also, no pressure to answer if you don't want to, i'm just genuinely curious :)

hi!! i am so honored you asked!

so. hopper’s a shithead. i love him.

no but actually so, i think hopper is one of the most interesting characters in the show, and i think a lot of the hopper slander (and character slander in general) comes from having fundamentally different approaches to the show. and I don’t think there’s any one correct way to watch the show, but there’s a difference between looking at characters as people who are accountable for their actions and characters as vehicles for communicating themes and ideas.

(I wanna start with a disclaimer that I’m not really gonna touch how he exists as copaganda, especially as a character, who really does not subvert the hero cop trope. That’s a separate post and a whole other conversation — one that’s important when contextualizing our discussion of hopper, but for now I’m just gonna focus on his characterization and behavior within the context of the show. alright, moving on.)

hopper is not always the nicest person and doesn’t always make the right call, but he is so caring and protective of the people he loves, and he believes in goodness in the world. i think it’s really interesting to see that over the course of the show, part of his journey is relearning that there are good things, and that even though it’s painful, those things are still worth protecting. (it’s less so that he’s learning that those things are worth protecting and it’s more so that he’s learning to be okay with the pain of it.)

after losing sarah, hopper shuts everything down and everything out. and like, obviously. of course he would. there’s this really interesting part of his spinoff novel that talks about how when he was in the war, he was stationed in an area that exposed him to chemicals that could lead to birth defects or infertility in the future. and then he comes home and has sarah anyway, and then she dies of cancer. obviously he feels really guilty about that. I think it’s really really important to remember that that is a key part of his experience when it comes to analyzing hopper and considering his behavior.

i was re-watching the first couple episodes of season two with abby strangeswift and bats demobatman, specifically el’s conversation with him about wanting to go out for halloween. and i was really frustrated, right, because here’s this girl that’s been trapped in a lab her entire life and just wants to feel normal, and there’s really no end in sight to this new kind of confinement. but then abby and bats were talking about how there’s really no other choice and especially after losing sarah, he is not willing to put el at risk.

I think this haunts him through the next couple of seasons. he becomes so blinded by his need to protect and keep el safe that he loses nuance. especially with a kid as extraordinary and as hunted as el, hopper is so on guard all the time. and that’s frustrating! because then we see him as the reason el loses out on experiences that she should get to have. she should get to be a normal kid and do normal things like go to the mall and kiss her boyfriend etc. etc. but hopper is so keenly aware of the fact that el is not a normal kid and the world is not safe for her. he’s not willing to be the reason another daughter dies.

like i said, i think hopper makes bad decisions and doesn’t always consider the agency of the people he loves, but i think the reason that we see so many parallels between him and mike is because they are both protectors. fundamentally, i think their arcs are the same. it’s them learning they don’t always have to be the protector, that they can trust the people they love to love them back without being a defensive force. learning there’s a way to be protective without being overbearing or imposing on agency.

and listen, hopper fucks up a lot. I don’t think the way he speaks to Joyce season three is OK and I think he owes her an apology. and I think he and eI will need to have a real conversation about why he acts the way he does and why he put the rules he does in place. (I don’t think people understand just how much danger el is in even when the upside down shit isn’t happening.)

hopper makes a lot of sense to me and his inner conflict is really, really interesting. if you’re looking at him as a person, then, yeah, it gets a lot harder to excuse his actions because they do cause harm, tangible harm. but i read an article recently that i think articulated really well why our progress as a society about discussing mental health hasn’t really solve the problems we need it to solve; that, despite introducing these therapeutic terms and emphasizing boundary setting, we still center ourselves in our experience of the world. (when you fuck up, youre learning—when your friend fucks up, they’re a narcissist, kind of thing.)

so let’s let both things be true. that hopper is not always making the best decisions and doesn’t always say or do the right thing, that he should apologize for that (which he has on occasion). but he’s also learning and he should be given the space and grace for that. and yes, he’s 40. but people don’t stop learning and growing when they’re 40. you don’t hit 25 and suddenly you’re a perfect person. and this is a man who has been through a war, lost his four-year-old daughter to cancer he is sure he caused, struggled with addiction and depression, and at this point has been literally tortured by russians for months.

but then again, hopper isn’t person. he’s a character. hopper does not exist to be accountable to his actions. he exists to convey a story, to communicate ideas. stories like this aren’t interesting without complicated people. he adds complexity to the plot and the relationships between characters. he informs el’s relationship with society and adults in her life. he gives joyce the space to be taken care of, to not be the mom, the hustler, the protector of her own family all day everyday. he fills out hawkins as a three-dimensional place, where not everyone is a wheeler-esque suburban wet dream. he shows that there is a path out of grief and depression. he shows that it’s important to lean on people and that isolation will just lead to further suffering. It shows that protecting other people is important, but so is moderation and communication. how do we learn those lessons without a character making mistakes that hopper does?

anyway, those are my brief scattered thoughts on hopper. i think he deserves more grace than he’s given by people in fan spaces, but i understand peoples hesitation to treat him as a beloved character the way they would treat el or lucas or will. he’s a very real character and doesn’t really fit the schema of a fave, i think. and i think the way people communicate their appreciation for his character doesn’t fit easily into the way people show their appreciation for other characters in fans spaces.

I hope this makes sense. 👍

#jim hopper #thanks for asking me!!

87 notes · View notes

melonteee · 3 months

Note

If nothing else, OPLA’s marketing campaign was downright diabolical. Because the community shift from skepticism to outright hostility towards that same skepticism really started when the show runner went onto that YouTube Reverie a couple years before the show came out. Not only was that the first time the showrunner began doing similar “interviews” with YouTubers (who are, generally speaking, The Worst interviewers), not only is it where many of the common talking points in defense of the show originated from (most notably “It can’t be a 1:1 adaptation” in response to any changes), but he told all these YouTubers that he was *such* a Big Fan of all of them - even the ones who were critical of the live action - and that he was using their videos as inspiration for writing the live action episodes.

Now, I’m not saying that the showrunner was lying when he said those things. But I do think that such a move meant there were no boundaries and a MASSIVE conflict of interest between someone who should be considered a representative for Netflix and creators and fans with huge reach in the fanbase. Because suddenly the OPLA was getting reframed not as another Netflix product, but as a really expensive fan film (that Netflix happened to be funding) - a fan film that Fans Like Them were having an indirect hand in helping create because the showrunner was also a fan of them. Combine that with how heavily it was pushed that Oda had to approve everything, and the whole thing started gaining this undercurrent of the live action adaptation almost being an endorsement of their interpretation of the source material… even as it became more obvious OPLA would deviate heavily from that same source material. But that sentiment only got more pronounced as those same YouTubers started getting opportunities to privately tour the sets and some even spoke to the writers that led to being labeled as unofficial-official consultants. Now, with another One Piece YouTuber from the same Reverie that the showrunner took part in a member of the season 2 writers room, there’s kinda this unspoken atmosphere surrounding that corner of the community that if you heap enough praise onto this adaptation, you too could be scouted for the next season and get endorsed (maybe even meet) Oda too!

It would be funny that the whole thing was that such a painfully transparent move on the showrunner’s part (most blatant example being that he hosted an anime podcast that totally wasn’t made just to endorse the show guys! He just wanted to talk to all his friends about anime and just HAPPENED to make the last episode the same day the live action aired!) if it hadn’t been so effective.

Like I said: diabolical.

I can't speak on whether or not those YouTubers are good interviewers, because I literally cannot blame them for jumping at the opportunity since the early stages WERE exciting and I have no doubt they were barred from asking certain questions. But my opinion is...perhaps stick to journalists for interviews since that's their job hh.

But god the marketing was absolutely insane. Was having Iñaki meeting Oda and putting a hat on his head, AS WELL as Mayumi Tanaka, not insanely performative to anyone else? Does anyone seriously think Oda willingly asked to do this and 'pass down' the hat for a project we KNOW he was continuously not listened to for 😭 all I can see is Netflix doing the MOST to make One Piece fans side with them, and it WORKED!

When the live action came out it got INSANELY review bombed. It'd only been ten minutes since the episodes had come out and the final episode already had hundreds of reviews and hundreds of 10/10s. Netflix did all they could to make sure NO ONE cared to look at this critically, and it's so frustrating that it worked cause I can't even have a reasonable conversation about why this adaptation simply did not work as an adaptation without tons of people biting my head off.

I've said it before but I will never forget the shift of people questioning why the hell this live action was being made, and why the hell the Merry looked like that (la Merry had been leaked) because...guys she looked like shit!! There's no colour or personality in it and she just looks creepy as hell.

And that's what everyone was originally saying! But suddenly you have the show runner reaching out to YouTubers, you have the announcement that Oda's approving EVERYTHING (we know for a fact he didn't), and suddenly the public opinion shifted like THAT!

Honestly if anyone wants an a grade course in how you market to a loyal fandom, just look at what Netflix did! Because EVERYONE can have their own opinion and say they liked it, but as an ADAPTATION? I stand my ground in saying it failed miserably. Because the fact people who NEVER saw the animanga are coming out of the live action with DIFFERENT perceptions of the story and characters- to the point you are genuinely talking about two different characters - the adaptation has failed.

Because, yes, an adaptation can't be 1:1, Matt Owens is correct. But what he DIDN'T say, is when you adapt something, what you need to keep in mind is fidelity. If your goal for an adaptation IS to bring an existing property into a new medium, and WANTING to replicate the characters and EXPRESS the same story - which the producers said this would be MULTIPLE times! - you better damn well hope the non One Piece watchers can jump from the live action to the manga/anime and go "Oh! Yes this is the Luffy that was presented to me in the live action!"

And they don't, especially not with other characters. The amount of non One Piece fans who then picked up the anime and were SHOCKED at just how focused on Sanji and Usopp were in the original should speak volumes, should it not?

Again, you can like the live action! I think it did its job in essentially being an advertisement for the original One Piece. But as a story and an adaptation of One Piece, it just failed. And I simply hate being unable to bring anything into question because Netflix's insane marketing has made this environment of "it's good cause I said so and everything's fine, shut up" 😭😭

It's genuinely an insanely good example of anime to live action adaptation and why, in my opinion, it just doesn't work. But I can't go into any kind of depth about that in a long form video essay the way I'd like to because my anxiety would go off the charts - even if I speak reasonably about it, because of the air created from Netflix's insane marketing. I just think it's kinda sad hhh

#ask #melonask #oplatalks

33 notes · View notes

coffee-writesthings · 5 months

Text

Fuck it, engiespy but it's the Cinderella plotline with my own twist on it.

Spy in place of Cinderella (I'm gonna give him the name of Jean Laurent, and Engineer in place of Prince charming (so he's Prince Conagher/Dell Conagher cus that's his canon name that we know of)

The wicked stepsisters and the wicked mother are Miss Pauling, Maggie (Saxton Hale's ex-wife in the comics) and the Administrator. I hope I characterized them in a way that is nice to read :)

Also this is gonna have more than one part. I think like 7? They'll all be reblogged from this one though so less of an issue on my end

Jean didn't truly know what he was doing when he had heard of the ball being thrown by the Conagher Family. He must've been outside when it happened, if the commotion meant anything to him. All he wanted to do was get the shopping done for his bosses.

A few words could be picked out from the cacophony of voices, "The Conaghers are throwing a ball". It was repeated so many times. Along with "What am I going to wear?"

He just groaned, instead opting to sneak his way back home with what he had. If nothing else, everyone would be happy to hear about an opportunity to throw themselves at the most influential people in the land.

The Conaghers are known, far and wide, for their incredible abilities with machinery. They'd mostly focused on defensive turrets, and many sorts of dispensers for anything from fresh water and some food to magical healing substances. And don't get anyone started on the teleporters. At all the hot spots of every town there are three high-level teleporters at least. Someone could get from town square to the castle and back multiple times before any official guards would be able to get there.

It was a problem which necessitated itself, in Jean's opinion. So when he saw one of these teleporters, he didn't mind a bit of sabotage. With a trusty wrench he got to work, under the shadows cast by mid-morning, the sentries wouldn't work nearly as well. He wouldn't die for his crimes here.

All it took was loosening a few bolts here, taking out a screw or two there... et voila! One teleporter that wouldn't work for several hours.

A smug grin crossed his face as he put the tool back into his pocket and took the food bags from off the ground.

"Well howdy there," came a southern drawl which nearly scared him out of his skin, "what's your business with these here teleporters?"

Quick, find a convincing lie for this guard. "Oh, don't you know? I'm new to the engineering field. I wanted to see how all the experienced people do it."

He gave a tilt of his head and lifted one eyebrow, clearly not convinced. "Alrighty. Tell me about this thing as if I'm... oh, five years old."

"I'm sorry?"

"I can repeat myself, if you want."

"No, I heard you. It's just... isn't this the sort of thing a teacher tells me first?"

"Nah, I don't believe in that crap. Tell me how you think it works, I'm curious." He leaned against a wall, and gestured towards him.

"Well..." he wracked his brain for the English words to describe teleporters, "it takes people from one place to another, much faster than anything else. You would only have to stand on an entrance for a moment to travel to its exit."

He nodded, a small smirk on his otherwise-neutral face.

"And I've seen upgrades take place on exits that will have the same effect on an entrance. I don't know how that happens though, and I don't think you do either."

"Yeah, that's accurate. Those blueprints I dug through never did explain that either."

"Blueprints?" Then the realization dawned on him. This wasn't just some guard patrolling for miscreants and the like, this was Dell Conagher. He was the man who took his grandfather's nonsense ramblings and built things from them. The man could definitely be allowed to do harm without consequences, being first in line for the crown. His eyes widened, just a little.

"Yeah, my granddad passed 'em down to me, one way or another." His expression darkened momentarily, "But that's all history anyway! What's your name?"

"I'm... I don't have a name." That was a stupid, stupid lie. If he so desired, the man in front of him could use one of those teleporters right now, and start listing names of his relatives from a registry.

"Alright, I won't push. Now, do you wanna know my least favorite feature on these things?"

What in the-? What is he doing?? It wouldn't be a bad idea to listen, but why would he even tell him in the first place? He figured it would be best to humor him, lest he decide cruelty is his nature for the day. "What is it?"

"They're all the same damn color. I can never tell which one is which, and I don't know how to make them differentiated. Sure, signs could help but there's not much that'll do if somebody can't read or if it's dark out. And nobody's listened to me or suggested anything that we could do, it's frustratin' as all hell."

He cocked his head to the side, "I never thought about that. I've only been annoyed by how many there are. It's ridiculous."

"Right? I've been meaning to figure out how to make them bigger or something but nothing's worked. It's technically better this way for other reasons, but god it's gotta be annoying to use every day."

He hummed in agreement. The crowding was the main reason he never used them in the first place, after all.

"And I mean that's probably part of why this ball is being thrown for me. Lord knows I'm not planning on getting married to some lady any time soon, long as I have more work to do. It's what I tell them at least."

He squinted, just a little bit. Was he saying what he thought he was saying?

"Ah, sorry, I'm rambling. You don't need to know about any of that." he rubbed the back of his neck, while asking nonchalantly, "Will I see you there? I bet if you had something nice to wear you could have your pick of the crowd, easy."

"Are you encouraging competition at your own ball?"

"That's part of the fun, isn't it?"

"For the record, you won't be seeing me there. As much as it would be nice, I have a laundry list of work to do today."

"That's a shame. Have a nice day now, sir."

He'd called him 'sir'. Why?? If anything, he should be the one referring to the other with respectful words. Once the man was out of his sight, Jean scurried back home on foot, with the bags in hand.

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

Back at home, the complaints began immediately.

"Jean," Pauling asked, "we need warm water for our baths!"

"Jean, I need you to mend my dress and shine my shoes for tonight!" Cried Maggie.

"Jean, I don't want you getting any ideas of possibly having tonight off, just because we are off at the Conagher ball. You're going to clean the whole manor tonight," Helen's voice dripped with venom, "s'il te plaît."

He hadn't even had a chance to set down any of the food he bought. Taking a breath, he noted the requests that he could take care of immediately. When the bags were on the counters, and then sorted into the fridge, cabinets, and bread box, he could then move onto something else.

"Miss Pauling, I am taking care of your water right now. Do you want bath salts, or florals?"

"Florals, please."

"Pauling, you don't need to give any respect to him. 'Pleases' are for people who don't make a living washing our floors."

"I- florals."

"And?" Helen pressed.

She didn't look into his eyes when she said, just loud enough to be heard, "I want florals, you good-for-nothing servant."

"Right away." He clenched his jaw a little. "And, Madame Maggie, I will start on your dress and shoes as soon as I am able."

She huffed in response, "Administrator, why do we only have one servant? Two or three would be much better."

"I've told you why many times, there are rules. For a family of three, there can only be one servant."

"I should be so lucky to get married into a large family like the Conaghers."

"Lucky indeed."

Spy took care of the bath fairly quickly, though still needing to boil some water for it, which Miss Pauling tried to help with. He barred her from it with a stern look.

He closed the bathroom's door quietly, leaving her to her bath. What next? Ah, yes, shining shoes for one of the least pleasant women he knew, then mending the holes she always managed to get into her dresses. He groaned, but moved onto the next task. If there was any hope of a night's rest, he'd have to get through all of it quickly, so he wouldn't scrub the floors until dawn.

"Madame Maggie," he knocked on the door to her chambers, "I need the shoes you want shined, please."

"Such manners!" She exclaimed as she opened the door with momentary glee. Even seeing his face displeased her. That was fine, the feeling was mutual.

He waited with two hands held out, waiting for some ridiculous contraption to be placed in them. For a ball being thrown by the Conagher family, it was hard to expect anything less than seduction by all means necessary and extremely painful.

The shoes plopped into his hands with an eye roll were actually fairly simplistic. Tall, chunky black shoes, made soft by many wears. He gave them a tentative bend in the middle, and found that they were sturdy as rocks where the majority of her foot would be. These were great shoes for her purposes, which seemed to be to dance forever-- maybe to impress the prince, maybe to attract any mate.

"Thank you." He grimaced. "They'll work."

#tf2 fanfiction #writeblr #tf2 #engiespy #cinderella retelling #youre fucking with me i thought this was still in drafts AGH

19 notes · View notes

whiskeyswifty · 4 months

Note

Do you think Taylor might be a narcissist?

in like the diagnosis sense, i've got no way to say anything of merit cuz i'm not a psychiatrist lol.

but if you want my opinion, as a layman, i don't think she's a narcissist, clinically or behaviorally tbh. i think she cares very deeply about other people's health and happiness and wellbeing and in fact puts herself in uncomfortable situations quite often to meet what she estimates are other people's needs. less so than in the past, but still does some of that today. i do think that she lives and operates in a very limited bubble these days though, and her world is very small. her human experience is very controlled and often not realistic. she no longer experiences basic human interactions on a daily basis that keep the rest of us a cog in the vast network of humanity. things like walking into a coffee shop and buying a coffee (assistants do that). calling a lyft (she has several cars on call, and planes, and whatever else she needs). making a restaurant reservation (assistants do that to and anywhere will build a table out of driftwood for her if none are available). dressing appropriately for the weather (she spends so little time outside beyond what she wants to, it's not a real concern anymore). all those kinds of basic steps or considerations in a regular person's day, and thousands of others, that force you to interact with others and the world, she doesn't do anymore. at least not more than once a year at most, as a little treat where she cosplays as normal in a small town abroad somewhere, i can imagine, or i hope for her.

that is different from narcism though, as that's a product of her fame and self preservation attempts given things she's gone through in the past, not because she thinks she's the center of the universe. i see what you might be getting at though and how some of the things she's said as of late sound like she's not thinking of anyone but herself or thinks she's the only person something has ever happened to. Again, to me that's not from a place of narcism but just because her status as a superstar has isolated her from much of the world, and I think she likely doesn't engage with much of the world digitally either. she alludes to that in songs and in passing, but mainly because she doesn't have to if she doesn't want to. And it seems like she doesn't want to but that's the extent of that, not because she thinks she's more important than whatever else is going on. many people would choose to live in ignorant bliss if we could, i'm sure. many other wealthy and isolated people do in fact. unfortunately that does lead to a mindset and a worldview, when encountering personal strife, that is quite narrow. she may feel like the only person something is happening to, the only person experiencing pain and struggle, or at least disproportionately to everyone else, because she can't see what everyone else is going through. empathy for others requires understanding where they're coming from, even if they're coming at you aggressively. and you can't understand where someone is coming from if you isolate yourself like that. to her, antagonists are merely masked intruders banging at her door. that's where a lot of the occasional defensive and self victimizing and unprovoked aggression comes from, i'd venture to believe. instead of recognizing the complicated intersection of something in the world and speaking her piece about her place in it, her immediate response is often to simply cast someone as the villain in an attempt to shut down anything she perceives as an attack. It's even harder to become self aware in that situation and confront your narrow and skewed perception of the world. Not without some deus ex machina event that jolts you back into reality or people around you that care and want to patiently and gently bring you back into the real world.

It's lonely at the top, they say. and when you're above everyone else at any given time, when everyone else looks so small and so far away, it's easy to look down no longer see the faces of your fellow man. especially when your typical interaction with the world these days is staring out into a sea of faceless, nameless, noise. However, she will never be normal again, so i don't expect her to return to earth, two feet on the ground, ever. and her memory of a normal life fades further and further from memory with each passing day. To me, it's less narcism and more that she's perhaps an unknowing victim of her circumstances, and for that i don't take anything she says maliciously. just a bit misguided at the very worst but that's just who she will always be.

#took a while to respond cuz it felt kind of mean but i guess my answer doesn't have to be #it was an interesting thing to parse why i didn't think she was a narcissist though #cuz i don't but i've never laid it all out so here you have it #that's just what i think anyway and i'm not even one of the people on here who hands out grace blindly

15 notes · View notes