#ask fascination & frustration

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Not sure if this is where you want your asks to be sent or not, I'm new to your blog so sorry if this is the wrong place

There is another instruction for Wally that I haven't seen you talk about and I want to know your thoughts! Back in november, before the responses, the secret URLs (such as woxyve) had the word "delete" added to the end (ex: woxyvedelete) implying that they wanted Wally to delete the page. After this most recent update it changed again and now says nodelete meaning that Wally refused to do that task. Thoughts?

where else would asks be sent if not the Askbox! inbox! both!

i actually wasn't aware of this until a few days ago, when i saw a post pointing it out - i had never gone directly back to those pages. which serves me right! i'm gonna be double checking Everything from now on lmao

but my fucking GOD is it interesting. thus far Wally has been... fairly cooperative. he's had a moment here and there, such as closing the guest book and losing his patience a lil, but he does his best with the rest! especially with requests! so for him to straight up go "lmao nah" when asked to delete something...

characterization-wise, i think it's very telling. as of now, Wally has been commonly portrayed as a bit of a doormat - getting talked over, sitting off to the side, being a bit of a background character - in in-Home media. less so in his whrp/qa/You interactions, but he's still widely agreeable & willing. but him refusing to delete the urls gives major points to him Having A Spine. he's holding his ground. he knows what he's doing. he's not going to let the whrp shut him up. there's a Thought Process / Plan / Purpose being shown here, or at least hinted at. there's a sense of.... Control. of "this is the way we're doing things, this is what i'm saying and you're going to sit down and listen" it's just... such a shift from the Wally we see in his interactions with the neighbors. which again, lends credence to there being a time discrepancy, with whrp Wally being older and more "experienced" while past Wally is still figuring his shit [being alive] out <3

story-wise it adds some Delightful friction. like obviously there's already tension, what with the staff only page, "Let Me In", the mysterious black stuff, the guest book closing, and the whrp/qa being disturbed by it all. but Wally outright refusing to delete things is a Different sort of conflict. it's more... direct. which makes sense! his interactions with the whrp/qa are becoming more personal, too. but it lends to the feeling of a push-pull. as the whrp/qa investigates Wally and starts treating him like the person he is instead of a long-lost character, they're probably gonna clash (a lot) despite the apparent impulse to pursue Welcome Home. currently, Wally doesn't seem big on compromising. if he doesn't know what to do, it looks like he simply Won't or he'll do his own thing and be like "shrug". if he doesn't want to do something, it also looks like he simply Will Not.

of course, there's the strong possibility that the whrp Were Not Serious about it. the 'delete' command might have them testing the waters, poking the bear, etc. but then were they testing to see if Wally is there, or were they testing his level of compliance? both? a secret third option?

and if they Were serious about it... why? what is it about the marked urls that made the whrp go "get that outta here"? and why couldn't they delete it themselves? i mean, obviously they can't delete anything Wally adds, otherwise the extra stuff he's added probably wouldn't be there (unless the impulse / curiosity driving them is too strong to delete anything added). but there's still a why about it. what changed so fundamentally in the site's code - or laws of physics/reality - that made it impossible to alter Wally's additions?

it's just. i feel that there are a lot of implications in such a small interaction. it shows more than one would expect.

#I JUST. AGH #idk if i said any of this in a way that makes sense #how would/do the whrp/qa react to that? to him being like 'we are Not deleting this <3' #whether they were serious about it or not thats Gotta raise some feelings #were they scared? frustrated? shocked? vindicated? #MAN IM SO CURIOUS #wally said no! the whrp asked and He Said No! #i mean to be fair #from what we know about wally - both from shared trivia/thoughts and the main canon #he doesnt seem hesitant to say No in general #but still. with almost everything else asked of him he Tried. he made an effort. hm #homebogging #rambles from the bog #wh speculation #welcome home speculation #AND THEN - OH THIS IS A TANGENT! #about him flipping sally's portrait. HOW THE FUCK? its technically a 2-d image. there isn't a back #so did wally make a back - or did his Direct Interaction bend reality and make it so that there's one to show? #fucking Fascinating. i mean i already have a lot of thoughts on reality fuckery in this story but mmmmm man. implications. #or - oh or - are the character portraits The Characters. this is a crack theory but hm #the fact that there are tiny versions of some of the neighbors in their houses on the map. trapped inside. multiple franks. #you see what im getting at? #not to say that they're trapped in the site! but what if there's a direct Connection. the character and the art aren't explicitly separate #as implied with wally's 'every time you look into my eyes' / 'you draw mine' #if his art has a direct link to him - Is him in a sense - why wouldn't that be the case for the others #huh. i wonder if they'll ever sense it like he does. will they ever look back? will their pupils slowly start to look at the screen? #i mean the teeny eddie in the post office is looking straight out at us but yk. Inch Resting.

[mediapen]

for anon: carlos, with his life split into two halves. how life feels cut when a major event occurs — before and after — maybe before and after silverstone ‘22?

[x] // richard siken, ‘straw house, straw dog’ // richard siken, ‘unfinished duet’ // [x] // jenefer shute, life-size // [x] // liz bowen, sugarblood // ethel cain, ‘strangers’ // warsan shire, ‘to swim with god' // the smiths, ‘paint a vulgar picture’ // richard siken, ‘saying your names’ // [x] // [x] // [x] // rainer maria rilke in a letter to lou andreas-salomé // phoebe bridgers, ‘garden song’ // [x] // [x] // r/Games // bhanu kapil, the vertical interrogation of strangers // [x] // [x] // [x] // [x] // cota, 2022 // [x] // clementine von radics, 'the fear.’

#carlos sainz jr #web weaving #cs55 #cs #m #i hope... this fills the prompt. #wanted to explore like. fulfilling the highest-stakes dream imaginable which you've worked towards for literally your whole life. ofc theres #a bigger dream still unachieved (wdc) but how do you handle it when the weight of your most realistic achievable dream is lifted #do you try to let it carry you? do you let yourself live in it for a little while? what if there's nowhere to go from here? #... what if you never get to feel like this again? #and THEN you immediately have the. like. most horrendous dnf a string of shit races ANOTHER horrendous dnf a FRUSTRATING dnf... #like how much do you want it now. what even is *it* any more. do you know. do you let yourself ask. #carlos is fascinating to me in ways i cannot will not speak on but i think like. he has an Awareness that he is willing to speak on that #nobody else is. and *i* wont speak on it because its real life but. anyway. #z #sorry for using the titsphoto in my defence. the concept of motorboating exists and we're clear on my feelings on it

[blueskittlesart]

me, thinking that i have at least a base level understanding of botw: :)

blue, about to write a 1,000+ word essay that is going to completely revamp my understanding of the game and interpretation of its events: bada bing bada boom

i dont know how you do it. i am incredibly impressed and using all of this for fic inspiration. keep writing

every time someone asks me how i do this shit i have to regrettably inform them that the real genuine answer is that i am fucking insane. my 2 passions in life are writing and video games and the place where the 2 converge fascinates me to no end and i am that special kind of crazy that is capable of latching onto something and not thinking about anything else for 10 years. so. the only thing i have cared about deeply for the last several years of my life has been the way video games are written and constructed. and zelda is one of the most interestingly constructed franchises i have found to date. these games are just like. the absolute perfect story for my brain to work with and i truly do not know who i would be without them. and i am genuinely incredibly grateful that ive been able to build a platform where people like. CARE about what i have to say and take the time to ask me to think about the games because like. i would be doing it ANYWAY but knowing that there are people who actually read my analysis and appreciate the amount of thought i put into this stuff makes me really happy lol

#i sincerely think video games are an art form and that so many stories benefit from being told interactively via video games #and i'm especially fascinated with the way loz chooses to tell its stories because the games are almost always designed so that the player #actively makes every decision in the storyline even though every game only has one preset ending. that's SO COOL. #ive found myself frustrated recently by rpgs that are super cutscene heavy and i was struggling to articulate why until i went back and #looked critically at the way zelda games are designed and i realized that there isn't a single cutscene in loz that openly takes away the #player's autonomy. cutscenes are almost always reserved for dialog or the beginnings of fight scenes but link almost never makes choices #without the player's input and that's a huge part of what keeps the games engaging! YOU are link. he's not a vessel you occasionally #control. he is you. his decisions are always yours. #and that's generally easier to do with a less complex storyline but the way botw kept that autonomy despite its complex story is SO clever #by making the cinematic cutscenes MEMORIES there's never any percieved loss of autonomy because the player understands that this is #something that has already happened so obviously there's no way they can alter link's choices. that's SO SMART #ANYWAY. i didn't mean for this to be a tag essay about video game mechanics sorry but tldr i am so so so passionate about this LOL #if you cant tell. very few people irl will listen to me talk for this long. this is why i love tumblr #asks

[fictionadventurer]

All the tour groups in Springfield should be very proud of me for how well I refrained from sharing all my fascinating Lincoln facts.

#there were so many school groups! #a giant one came in RIGHT AFTER i entered lincoln's cabinet room #part of me was screaming 'children i NEED to tell you about all these idiots and their insane drama!' #a smarter part of me understood that would be super weird #so instead i regaled different individuals of my own traveling party after we had the room to ourselves #then at lincoln's tomb we lucked out in getting there during the ten minutes of the day when school groups weren't there #which meant we got a personal tour from a guide who seemed thrilled to have grown-ups to talk to #he and my dad chatted about fishing for a long while in the entry #it didn't feel disrespectful because it totally felt like the kind of conversation lincoln would have understood and joined in on #and then we went on our way but the guide then chased us down to share all the fascinating lincoln stories as we went along #(shout-out to lefty you were great) #and then a school group found us so we made a graceful exit #but outside a teacher was explaining to a different group about how robert was significant in his own right so he's buried at arlington #and the RESTRAINT i showed in not immediately informing them that he was present at three presidential assassinations! it was rather heroic #and then when we toured lincoln's house the guide (who accidentally made it clear he was a revolutionary war buff) #(which made it a bit hilarious he was stuck with lincoln) #asked for questions before we started and someone asked about lincoln's 1860 election campaign! #aka one of my SPECIAL NICHE AREAS OF OBSESSION! #you cannot imagine how desperately i wanted to tell him ALL ABOUT seward and thurlow weed #anyway it was fun to go back now that i actually know stuff about lincoln #but it was also a bit frustrating because now i know how much they leave out #(though there was cool new info and artifacts) #(the blood-stained piece of laura keene's dress was very morbid and very cool) #also it reminded me that i still have that book on the 1860 election i've yet to read and the hype is so real #presidential talk

[smute]

i am 31 years old. i've been learning english for 25 years. ive been speaking english on a daily basis for at least 15 years. i have a degree in english literature and im currently working on a second one. and after all these years i still keep finding out about hidden meanings behind completely innocuous phrases or how some random expression can actually be super offensive in the right (wrong) context. american english especially is a fucking minefield when it comes to racial overtones or like. downright racist connotations. and literal slurs oh my god just pick 2 vowels and a few consonants, arrange them in any order, and there's a 70% chance that the result will be an ethnic slur

#the tone of this poast is more astonishment than frustration #it's fascinating in a way #its just like... you find out about something like that #and then you wonder like oh my god have i ever used this word in that way? #how many people have i offended #entirely unwittingly #like #youre doing vocal stims and an american hears you and goes #omg thats an offensive name for italians #like SORRY #and no i wont be giving any examples thank you for asking #&

[chronomally]

drop the paper? 🅱️ls?

If you're talking about the one that discusses using AI to make decisions about which unhoused people get access to housing, it's available for free here

#links #answering fanmail #anonymous #It's equally frustrating and fascinating #and I think it strikes at the heart of like tech bro supremacy #i.e. oh people who don't know AI can't possibly have anything valuable to say #when practically the complete opposite is true #AI is all about gathering the RIGHT kind of data and asking the RIGHT question #Who would know that better than the people who do this every day? #The insights from the different groups are all really interesting as well #It's also a pretty easy read even if you're not overly technical #One I read had like three pages devoted to the algorithms they used and I was going cross eyed 😵‍💫

[shrinkthisviolet]

1, 11, and 15?

1. What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

Miscommunication trope! I think I would tbh, it’s useful when used to its full complexity :D provides some nice angst and growth moments too

11. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

i still love you (i promise), hands down. My magnum opus of the year 🥰 and my longest fic of all time. And Barry & Morgan-centric, which is always a plus to me

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

I know I always talk about the same ones 😅 so to shine light on an underrated one:

somebody heal me (from my pain) is one I love. It was an s9 finale fix-it…sort of. I couldn’t fix that entire mess, but…I could at least try to write Savitar better.

See…Savitar is a character I have a lot of love for, mostly because of what he ~could’ve~ been (hot take: he was boring for most of s3, idk why people say otherwise). I won’t belabor the point because we’d be here all day 😅 but in essence, I wanted to explore more of his actual interesting nature: he’s Barry Allen. What does that mean? How does he react to Zoom, to Thawne? Why does he go after Nora? How could he kill her so easily—sure, he’s never met her, but a version of him is still her father, right? Doesn’t she intrigue him at least a little? Enough to hesitate?

(Would he get emotional over the fact that Barry gets to have two children with the woman he loves, while Savitar is doomed to life as a time remnant forever?)

fanfic ask game!

#fanfic ask game #savitar #the flash #i could talk about savitar for AGES i’m not even kidding #he fascinates me #and s3 frustrates me for how much it DID NOT REALIZE the magic they had in their hands

[michellemisfit]

I haven't had a chance to listen yet but I just checked the fascination and frustration website and I see you're going through good omens season 2 episode by episode and I wanted to thank you both for doing that! I've literally been wondering what you and Ruth would have to say about it since the season dropped, I'm so excited to find the time to listen to those episodes! Thank you so much!

Aww, yay! Surprise podcast episodes for you!!

I do highly recommend starting with Preparing for Good Omens Season 2, as we briefly discuss why it’s taken us so long to decide on a format for discussing GO2, and also give a fair heads up on how we felt about it overall and what to expect from the upcoming podcasts.

Hope you enjoy! 😇😈

#Ask Mys #ask f&f #ask fascination & frustration #good omens #good omens season 2 #good omens 2 #Thinky thoughts

[queen-scribbles]

.

#''i know i give anders shit but at least he's *interesting* carver just sucks'' #ma'am MA'AM #if you want to influence a companion so they like you better you have to USE THEM #you can joke about carver being an ass(he is) and say he sucks and never bring him along #BUT you're never gonna get friend/rivalry points to shift your relationship #it's possible to practically max his friendship in act one but you won't see that if you never bring him anywhere #doesn't help she's playing a sarcastic hawke so like #sure be dismissive and joke about his frustrations #that won't enforce his irritation at ALL #like a big part of why carver is the way he is is being an 18-19 year old KID who's had to give up what he wants for the good of the family #without even being asked his feelings on the matter #HIS WHOLE DAMN LIFE #he feels like his opinions don't matter and he has no control/choice in his own life #GOOD JOB REINFORCING THAT #i have a sneaking suspicion she's gonna wind up with templar!carver and that's just gonna exacerbate her opinion of him #it's just aggravating watching someone feed the self-fulfilling cycle #of ''carver sucks so i won't use him so our relationship stays static so carver sucks so-'' #carver is one of the most fascinating characters in the game and it makes me aklnfjsbfjksbdsjkdb when ppl miss that bc they knee-jerk #write off any comps who don't instantly kiss up to the protag without trying to figure out why they're like that :| #i stand by saying she's doesn't have to like him! i do! #it's just frustrating when half of the REASON she doesn't like him is something she could DO SOMETHING about and she ISN'T #max friend!carver is AMAZING and it makes me sad so few people actually get to see it #/sigh #/end rant #sorry #maybe i should just skip to act two in this stream >.> #(a note: mechanically speaking i get not using carver bc she's using fenris and they're the same role #but again. not using carver means no friend/rival gains so not changing the relationship)

[peachcitt]

me: listening to tma again will just make me sad and frustrated especially in s2 because jon makes every bad decision possible

s2 jon: (spies on his coworkers’ houses)

me: fucking freak. tell me more

#tma #jonathan sims #ive been steadily relistening and boy are there a lot of things i missed the first time #turns out there’s been a central plot since the get go that i was simply too distracted by vibes to notice #anyway s2 jon is frustrating but he’s also fascinating. like a car crash or one of those pimple popping videos #you don’t want to see it because you know it’ll make you feel gross but you just want to see how far it does and what it’ll look like #in the end #i will say tho. the tim business will always break my heart #also i just recently listened to the helen richardson episode and it’s so interesting #knowing how in later seasons jon is so much about saving the original helen and asking for the distortion to release her #to see here in s2 how his primary thought is less on helen and more on michael/his concerns with the archive #like it’s just. wow this show is so artfully conceived . #jon begins so detached from humanity as a human but the further #he breached bodily into the inhuman the more he becomes concerned with the human #anyway. tma is on my mind ig

[baronessblixen]

Saw your tags:

I do know that GA was typed as an ENTJ: which makes sense because she has Se Child SO MUCH (spontaneous laughter, balloons and party-hard and Farside humor and innuendo jokes all over her Instagram) while also having her Te Hero/Ni Parent pairing, which makes her an "intimidating" power woman persona: wants to be taken seriously, etc. ENTJ women are also the types most likely to A. be in non-committal relationships or bounce from partner to partner because B. if they have self-esteem issues (because society still talks down about "bossy" women in power) they get stuck in really toxic relationships.

BUT DD hasn't been typed yet... but I'm 99.9% sure (based on my guess and I'm NOT an expert so I could very well be wrong) he's an INFP: super laid back, Ne scopes out the futures of all types, leads by his personal moral compass always, afraid of what other people think of him, and the types that, even though they're a small % of the population, overrepresent in academic fields. But that's just a guess! :DDDDD

I didn't know that, thank you! It's interesting cause I don't see Gillian as an extrovert at all. She always comes across as an introvert. I think she even once said she's introverted. If at all, I see DD as more of an extrovert.

#lovely asks #see this is why it's so fascinating #i mean yeah that sounds like dd #and like gillian too in a way #people are fascinating aren't they #i mean we're all weird and complicated and contradictory #it's so much fun #and frustrating 😂

[radical-dadical-rafael]

thinks so much abt Tim Stoker and the lonely

#I will probably touch upon it in my fic not quite right #but if Tim had been alive during s4 I think Peter would've been FASCINATED by him #his brother is dead and imo it's clear he never rlly dealt w the loss fully (he killed himself over it. he saw the first opportunity to die #and make the thing that took Danny HURT and he took it). his best friend is dead and was replaced with a monster and he didn't even know #the whole thing has turned him to someone mean; and cold; and distant #and no one!! Fucking!!!! No one!!!!! Asked if he was okay. Bc they were all so worried abt their stalker boss #he's alone!!!! He's been alone since the attack in s1 #and even if he weren't; he goes out of his way to make sure of it later on bc he's soooo scared. So scared of trusting something that wants #hurt him again #and yet. AND YET. he is so ANGRY. #I am of the belief that he cares too damn much abt the suffering others have gone through to allow himself to get lost in the numbness #of the lonely. and Peter would find it amusing and interesting and frustrating alllll at once #basically I think Martin is Peter's special-est little guy and that Tim is a bug he wants to study closely #under a microscope #does any of this make sense #also I'm sure this isn't a fucking. Revolutionary take or whatever akdjajsj it just drives me insane!!!

[cosmojjong]

i find myself to be incredibly satisfied when i get compliments about my korean

#it just genuinely fascinates me how i'm perceived by others about it #i cannot remember if i ever said it before but it makes me especially happy because this is a language i chose to learn for myself #i was not told by my parents or whatever figure around like i was all my life #i picked it up for myself for my own pleasure of learning and not because of actual studies #i still get frustrated that i wish i was better everyday but a friend asked me to lend her my old notebooks and i was going through them #and i realized a few things - just how much work i put into learning it over the past five years and how much i've improved #past me was at a certain level and now i'm much better so it helps to look back at how you were doing #it puts into perspective how beautiful and slow the process is #and just today i made friends with two exchange students here and they said that by the way i talked through text they thought i was korean #one of them said 'she speaks better than me LOL' and i just laughed #i doubt i would be better than native speakers but the reactions i get anytime i used a specific word are so cute #'how do you know this word???????' dnjsdhfjdf i just learned it #i think studying languages has really made it able for me to store these things because idk how else to explain it #i hear a word and i'll just remember it forever #which is also funny since i reckon my memory is bad to begin with

[sawtual]

I mean, if u could not care less about Hoffman thats fine but... Everyone else in the franchise is just as fucked? I'm legit confused about your reasoning

how did u get this from my post 😭 i think most all the characters in saw are sooo intruiging + SIGH yes that includes hoffman, but not for the reasons most ppl find him compelling which leads to my frustration 💔

imo i think john + amanda are my ultra fave characters to dissect and understand, i think its because they have so many layers to them, especially regarding how they view themselves and treat others. like how john sees himself as truly a vessel of good + saving people from themselves, no matter the cost of life and suffering. meanwhile amanda thinks shes the worst person in the world and there's no redeeming her, yet she treats people with far more compassion and care than almost any other character in the saw franchise.

hoffmans interesting to me as a character who works well with other characters imo, i dont think id ever care to see much of him doing his own thing, which is a main reason i think the traps suck so much in the later movies if youre open to ignore that its also just bad writing hdjfjgn. hoffman likes killing and tormenting people, but he doesnt really have the creativity or drive that fuels John, so he's seemingly going through johns shitlist, killing people off exactly how john requested, and then deriving pleasure from the torment.

i think hes interesting in his own fucked up way but tbh i dont see much "good" in him and i think its far more fun to me to discuss an evil fucked up guy As an evil fucked up guy rather than another victim of john. JUST MY OPINIONS THO. ik a lot of people see him differently, it simply doesnt come off like that to me at all, and i wish it was more common to discuss his character as it is flawed and cruel 💔

#asks #anon #saw #SORRY i had 200 things to say. i would actually write an essay on my thoughts on this guy so no i do think hes very interesting. #BUT its sooo so frustrating to me that he gets the majority of the fandom spotlight meanwhile amanda is actually #SUCH a fascinating character who was actually well written/played. the later saw movies are just so bland imo 😭

[clare-with-no-i]

hello!!! i read some of ur older fics back in the day on ao3 but Forgot The Names and was so sad bc I KNEW THE PLOT BUT NOT THE TITLE OR THE AUTHOR and i have found you again miraculously through tumblr and theogony is killing me and also bringing me to life. classics student lily is the au i never knew i wanted (especially since i want to go into history in uni). as a side note i also might want politics as a degree and i hopefully will not become severus. n e ways yes this is just a bit of joy at finding an old friend as it were

I have full faith that you will not become Severus. that is a very specific niche of male politics major that, while I'm sure you will encounter, even the awareness of them as a species precludes you from becoming one. godspeed.

lol otherwise this is so sweet, sorry that we temporarily lost touch but great to have u back bestie! I'm so glad you're enjoying theogony! classics student Lily is one of my fav iterations of her and yes that's because I'm self-centered :~)

#ask #anon #mwah! #this is so cute but I can imagine very frustrating for u #also rip u read my old stories and like…wanted to read more? fascinating

[michellemisfit]

Years ago now, I really loved your short Good Omens podcast, where you went through all the episodes. I was wondering if you all were planning on doing that again for season 2 coming up? You definitely have a listener right here. Regardless of your answer to that, thank you and Ruth both for the years of amazing podcast!

Thanks for your perfectly timed ask, what with the Official Good Omens Season 2 Trailer having come out today! How exciting!

We are very excited to watch GO2 and are definitely planning on covering it in some way or other over on Thinky Thoughts, we just haven’t fully decided on the format yet. Watch this space!

Or listen to us discuss the first season of Good Omens wherever you get your podcasts!

😇 😈

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens podcast #Thinky thoughts #fascination & frustration #ask f&f #ask Mys