#content: essay

[lizzybeth1986]

Nadia Park: The Moral Epicenter of "Perfect Match"

Nadia has, in some ways, been a polarizing figure amongst Perfect Match stans ever since the series debuted back in 2018. A lot of us loved her spunk, spark, humour and optimism, but there were just as many who found her "annoying", looked down on her for "ditching the group" in Book 2, and dubbed her love for Steve as a " crazy obsession". Of course, there is very little that is accurate about such descriptions and there would be very little chance some in the fandom would view her this way if she were a white woman - and besides, such views entirely miss the point on why Perfect Match needed a character like Nadia.

Nadia starts out as the only member of the MC's (canonically large) family that we see, and the Park cousins often see themselves as a unit, who do most things together and look out for each other.

Her attempts to find true love through Eros, and her recommendation of their services to the MC, is what kickstarts the story, and the series itself ends with the cousins reflecting together on their experiences. She is also an artist, and seeing her beau Steve describe her work as "indescribable" is our first indicator of the Matches' most obvious flaw: that they can't interpret meaning from, or attribute emotion to, the abstract.

But over and above all else - Nadia is the eternal optimist. While in the abstract, her thoughts may seem quite morbid, at heart she is someone who believes the best of the people she meets and tends to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. This is in stark contrast to Damien, who is known for his extreme skepticism.

There are different ways Nadia's optimism is viewed throughout the story. By Damien, by the MC, by the people around her - both those who love her and those who grow to love her. Sometimes as an optimism so extreme as to be borderline ridiculous, sometimes as naïveté. But the value of the perspective she brings can only be understood when you look at the theme that is so central to the series.

What Does It Mean To Be A Person?

Simply put, Perfect Match is first and foremost about personhood, identity, and what it means to be human. It starts out with the possible premise of whether androids are human enough. Both the characters in the book as well as many readers in the fandom initially viewed the Matches as inferior to the "actual human beings" in the series, when it was running. But PM managed to turn such an idea on its head. Even now, the narrative has a deft way of making us ask questions about what personhood and senitence could mean.

Shortly after the MC discovers the truth about Hayden (PM1 Ch10), Sloane says the following about the idea of Hayden being "a machine": We are all machines...Your nervous system works on electrical impulses, and your emotions are regulated by chemicals in your brain. It's just that you're a machine of blood and bone, and s/he's a machine of metal and plastic.

More specifically, the core theme of PM is about how personhood doesn't emerge merely from being creatures of blood, bone and brain; how there is a lot more nuance to the concept of humanity than just that, or just emotions, or just free will. It asks us to explore what being human means to us, what it means to have a soul of one's own. It questions the logic of feeling superior to any sentient being who isn't built exactly like us.

Hayden Young - the MC's Perfect Match - is the character that embodies this core idea, with their questions, their conflicts, and their desire to know more about themselves and their world. The fact that they evolve far beyond their programming challenges the simplistic notion that they are not "person enough", that they can be more easily controlled than humans. Their true beginning as a character begins from the moment they ask "How do you open your mouth and tell someone you don't feel real?" and keeps evolving from that point.

Other Matches show elements of this internal conflict too, though not to the extent Hayden does; Steve chooses to embrace the identity Eros has given him rather than challenge it, Dames' personality stops him from attacking the MC even when Cecile overrides his programming. Harley's mission takes a backseat when they fall in love with Cecile, who is ironically the more inhuman person in that dynamic.

Keegan has their own doubts about Rowan and Cecile, and attempts to find out - through their discussion with the MC - whether the outside world is really worth trusting. All the Matches are programmed a certain way, to achieve certain goals. Yet, each of these Matches find their own ways to exercise their independence.

How does the human end of this fare? That is a question that has varying answers throughout the book, across different characters.

Thematically, Rowan and Cecile perhaps inhabit the bottom-most tier of this hierarchy. They are the villains of the series, and their defeat is the high point of the story. Their villainy manifests in two ways: first, in the way they treat the Matches, their "children" (using and abusing them, discarding them whenever convenient, gaslighting the ones who have only them to turn to, violating every possible boundary to get what they want), and second, in the way they treat other human beings.

They celebrate the pain of other people (Khaan, Damien, the guard Hayden hurts at the SF HQ) when it suits their aims (The Siren Project, mapping the human soul).

Rowan and Cecile are the direct antithesis to the idea that humans could be "superior". They are proof that a person could physically be a "human" yet completely lack humanity.

You also have characters like Damien and Alana. People who are human, people who do possess some compassion and empathy, yet allow their cynicism to justify words and acts of casual cruelty, and engage in dehumanizing the Matches. They prefer to save their empathy only for those they like.

Damien calls Hayden "nuts and bolts, computer for a brain" in a dialogue option (PM1 Ch10), and insists on throwing Hayden and Sloane back into the clutches of Eros, even though they have literally just saved the group. Alana herself actually betrays the entire group to Eros with little to no remorse, and is shown often speaking of the Matches in dehumanizing terms.

(last two screenshots are from the Jazmine Cadena YouTube channel, and only show up if you didn't save Steve in Book 1)

While some may claim that Damien and Alana's suspicions and behaviour are understandable, and the narrative itself doesn't exactly require them to apologise for their behaviour...the harm that their language and beliefs generate lasts beyond those stray moments. For instance, Hayden themselves later confirms how much they dread being viewed as an object and the level of discrimination they will face, once they reveal who they are at Winona's talk show:

Eventually, Damien and Alana are required to change their mind to an extent at least. Once they're deeply involved in exposing Eros, there are less occurances of them using dehumanizing language. They are required to at least work with both people and androids whose views differ from theirs, and tone down the hostility, to achieve their goals.

Damien's story starts with him being a man who is forever suspicious and warning his friends about the relationships they choose to be in. As the story progresses, he learns to open up more, trust his allies more, and eventually even attempts to gently talk Keegan out of killing Cecile just to save them. While he never apologizes to Hayden and Sloane - the people he had harmed - for his earlier behaviour, he still manages to look out for them.

Alana's story begins with her desire to not be tied down yet still have some sort of home base to return to, as well as deep-seated insecurities about her own worth as a partner and friend. While it isn't fully known how much she changes with regards to her attitude towards the Matches, she does take a step back in her jibes and insults, co-operating with the ones who are clear allies, and following the law when it comes to Sirens like Harley.

Sloane and Khaan navigate their relationships with the Matches very differently, having played significant roles in creating and shaping them. Sloane, in particular, believes in the rights of the Matches, and is one of their most passionate defenders. She literally quits her job and betrays her company to save Hayden, and is disgusted by Eros' abusive practices towards the Matches. Khaan is fascinated with the growth the Matches have shown since he'd left Eros five years ago, and tries his best to ensure that Rowan and Cecile cannot make assassins out of them.

However, even with all these good intentions, even Sloane and Khaan cannot fully escape some of their own deep-seated biases as human beings. In PM2 Ch 6, Sloane and Khaan speak of Hayden's many skills as if they're a science project, and when the MC adopts UWU, Sloane repeatedly compares Hayden to them. Both times, Hayden voices their discomfort, which is goes mostly ignored.

After an entire day of grappling with different issues - including Sloane and Khaan leaning into technical-speak when talking about them - Hayden calls them out on the damaging impact of their words:

As with Damien and Alana, Khaan and Sloane aren't exactly required to apologize for this either, or even view the way they speak of Hayden as a problem. But the group as a whole doesn't repeat this behaviour again, especially once the battle with Eros is really on and they learn more and more about the other Matches. Eventually, as CEOs, the two can demand for the investors to stall the Match program and replace it with a rehabilitation program for the remaining Matches. When the MC shows an interest in rehabilitating Harley, Sloane confesses that she, too, finds that the best option. If we do not win Keegan's trust, it is Sloane and Khaan's plans to help the Matches, that makes them reach out.

The MC

Where does the MC fit in all this? That depends on the player. The MC begins by viewing Hayden and Sloane with suspicion (PM1 Ch 10), and rightfully so. Both they and Nadia were the ones directly affected - as clients who were duped and later targeted by the company (who - at this point - Sloane represents).

No matter which choices one goes for when they first question Sloane, the MC begins by viewing Hayden as a con artist who betrayed them. Once Sloane explains Hayden's plight to them, the MC has the option of either viewing them with empathy and compassion (like Sloane does), or with a distinct lack of either (as Damien and later Alana do). They can also choose to either trust Sloane, or demand she earn back the trust she'd lost.

As the series progresses, the MC becomes friendlier and nicer to the two by default, and advocates for the group to rescue Hayden at the Arctic HQ. By Book 2, whether we have saved Steve or not, the MC cares about both Hayden and Steve as an integral part of their group, by default.

Dames does mention, in PM2 Ch1, that the MC's response to learning his identity was different from everyone else's. "You sat next to me and asked me if I was okay [...] you didnt treat me like...whatever I am". By default, the MC is respected and trusted in the group for their compassion by default.

With the appearance of Keegan in PM2 Ch12, the MC is truly faced with the question of how they view the Matches in general. Not just the ones they are friends with/in love with - but the ones they have seen only in passing, the ones they have never met...the ones they have never built any sort of relationship with. The narrative treats this scene as a turning point for the MC - their response to Keegan dictates whether Keegan's flawed worldview (fed by Eros) will change. It dictates how they will act in the series finale - leaving Cecile to the authorities rather than killing her themself all boils down to whether they trust the MC enough to accept their sound advice.

Emphasizing the rights of every Match allows Keegan to learn to trust the outside world; admitting the MC only gives a damn about the Matches they know personally only confirms Keegan's biases. Even if you're a player who is vehemently anti-robot and would like to refer to the "Match" characters in the story as objects...the narrative itself encourages you to think otherwise, or to at least pretend to do so to save your own skin. It is, eventually, the MC who is credited with encouraging certain Matches (like Dames and Keegan) to trust more human beings and hope for a better future.

But How is Nadia the Moral Center of This Book?

So far, we've spoken about the different approaches the other characters (esp the LIs) take to the question of the Matches. We have the skepticism of Damien, Alana's prejudices, and the tendency to be careless with one's language in Khaan and Sloane. In the middle of all this, the MC is allowed to choose which view they align with more (unless it's Rowan and Cecile's). So where does Nadia fit in here?

To understand this, we must go back to the role Rowan and Cecile have to play in the story. As mentioned earlier, they are the villains that the group is meant to ultimately defeat. There is nothing particularly redeemable about them, even in playthroughs where the MC can turn on the charm and flirt with Cecile. Both of them are arrogant, power-hungry, and consistently look down on both Matches and other humans alike.

They also completely, and consistently, lack empathy. No matter who is harmed in the wake of their deranged experiments. We are shown, time and again, a Rowan and Cecile whose victims are left bleeding, hurt, and traumatized - and never given even basic medical attention (eg. Cecile celebrates the advancement of the Siren Project when a Match breaks Khaan's arm, and again when Hayden hurts the human Eros guard at the SF HQ... instead of actually calling for a medic to treat them). In fact, the more pain they inflict, the happier Rowan and Cecile feel.

You cannot find a more direct contrast to this mindset than Nadia's. Not only is she someone with an inherently nurturant personality, someone who protects the people she loves - she is also incredibly empathetic. Very often in the story (especially Book 1) we find her constantly regulating the group's emotional responses. When they seem morose and pessimistic, she demands for them to enjoy the moment. (Some good examples of these are the screenshots below and when she forces everyone out of their "sulky pity party" post the humiliation on Winona's show):

But when the group tries (unconvincingly) to maintain a sense of calm in an abnormal situation, Nadia is emphatic on being honest about the gravity of what's happening:

She also has a keen sense of intuition. When Steve goes missing, with a harsh note indicating that he is leaving her, Nadia is insistent that the real situation can't be as simple. She even formulates an "evidence board" to convince the MC and Damien that they should investigate his disappearance further:

The most obvious conclusion the Park cousins can draw, is that Steve wasn't who Nadia thought he was and had unceremoniously dumped her. But it is Nadia who takes the initiative to look back further on the experiences she has had so far with him, and understand that something doesn't quite add up. It is her insistence that gets Damien and the MC to search further and find Gary, that makes Eros have to recall the model, that eventually gives Steve and Nadia a second chance as a couple (either at Arctic HQ if you save him, or in Tokyo if you don't). The fandom often called this Nadia's "weird obsession", but a desire to not want to give up on others is a trait entirely unique to her and isn't just restricted to Steve.

Nadia is also unapologetic about how she feels or how deep those feelings go - nor does she take half-measures when it comes to protecting Steve. Especially once Eros demands for Hayden and Steve to be given to them (or, in the story where one doesn't save Steve at the Arctic HQ - where the group manages to take Steve with them in Tokyo), she looks out for Steve and makes more efforts to understand his needs. Her brief departure from the group (after funding most of their travel and staying expenses) is both an attempt to return to her job and to allow Steve the space to embrace the identity that Eros gave him. She ensures that he isn't too deeply involved in the fighting and investigating that the rest of the group does. She also understands that while the group can still operate pretty well without her, Steve still needs her support more, to rebuild his own life.

Both Nadia and Steve bear scars from what Eros did to them in Book 1, and - depending on when Steve is saved from Eros - seek to navigate their relationship differently from how they did in the beginning. You will notice that in PM1 (esp Chs 3-5), their relationship progresses at a rate that alarms everyone (including Eros, who note that it is going "ahead of timeline"). By Ch 3 they have moved in together, and by Cedar Rest, Nadia drops heavy hints about being interested in marriage.

Nadia learns and grows from this experience. Once she reunites with Steve, she doesn't take initiative herself to pop the question, instead allowing Steve to determine the pace he is more comfortable with for their relationship. If he was part of the group at the end of PM1, the relationship proceeds at a much more relaxed pace in the second book, culminating in a wedding proposal from him in the finale (he also seems hopeful about the prospect mid-book, responding to a speculation that they may get married in PM2 Ch 7 with "never say never"). If not, they have to rebuild that relationship from scratch.

In a lot of ways, the experience of losing Steve and then understanding who he truly is, makes her not only protective of him but also determined not to repeat what could be past mistakes ("rushing" the relationship, asking questions for which Steve may not necessarily have the answers).

At no point in the story does Nadia ever judge Steve, either before she knows the truth or after Sloane confesses. She senses deeper issues when he leaves, and is reluctant to hate on him as a person even after she confronts Gary. Once she discovers the truth from Sloane, she wastes no time in viewing him as a victim of this situation (which he is!).

On its own, this is great. But what perhaps makes Nadia unique from the other (esp human) characters, is that her empathy isn't restricted to those she is directly attached to, and she doesn't wait to have a deeper connection with Match before wholeheartedly supporting their rights and defending them.

The MC can choose to say similar things and act in a similar manner. But if the player has them respond otherwise, it is Nadia who consistently argues for treating the Matches like the sentient beings...for the persons...that they are. It is Nadia who consistently believes they are worthy of respect and deserve their rights. Anf It is Nadia who is, by default, the most powerful counterpoint to the twisted beliefs of Rowan and Cecile.

Even before Sloane can properly explain Hayden's predicament to a suspicious MC, it is Nadia who realizes that Hayden (and by extension Steve) is innocent. It is Nadia who stands up for Hayden against Damien and Alana, and agrees first to support them. Among the entire group, she is the one who most consistently calls out her friends when they dehumanize and objectify a Match. Even Steve, the Match she loves, is expected to understand this and lend his support to fellow Matches. If he does seem to falter in doing so, she doesn't hesitate to remind him.

This is an approach that most of the group, and most of the "good" characters in the story, follow by the end of the book - but it is clearly Nadia who follows it first, and exemplifies this respect and sensitivity for all sentient beings best.

If Rowan and Cecile are utterly devoid of empathy and humanity, Nadia is the one who is full to the brim with it.

The MC can be credited with changing their minds if they insist that every Match deserves the same respect, the same rights as any human being. But it is Nadia who - in every way, and in almost every scene she is a part of - truly embodies this principle.

At a very important turning point in PM2, Keegan can ask the MC why they care so much about the Matches, why they put themselves at risk for them. The narrative indicates to us that our response changes the way Keegan (who later becomes a powerful union leader for the surviving Matches in the series finale) views not only us but humans as a race. And if the MC treats them with respect and compassion, it allows them to break out of Eros' brainwashing and gaslighting and accept a newer perspective on the world.

--

Tagging @nadiaparkappreciationweek and @sazanes for NPAD!

#nadia park #perfect match #nadiaparkappreciationday #NPAD #NPAD 2023 #lizzybeth1986 #content: meta #content: essay

[setaflow]

Gay pride happens in June and gay wrath happens whenever hbomberguy drops a 3+ hour video essay about a specific topic

#hbomberguy #Just watched the full 4 hour plagiarism video and go OFF you funky bisexual king #Also I feel like people casually mention that Internet Historian and that Blare chick should've gotten mentioned more but honestly #Good on him for taking down Luke Stephens too-- who is now afaik a huge channel for video game news #So anyway video good go watch it and go support queer content creators who are not James Somerton :) #See y'all in 2024 when he drops a 5 hour essay on Onion farming or whatever #Seta speaks #top posts #5k #10k

[ironunderstands]

The way some of yall mischaracterize Ratio as being stoic in chill when in reality he is 24/7 resisting the urge to rip everyone around him a new one is crazy to me like. He cares so much, so much. It’s unhealthy, he loses the idgaf war every time because Ratio is the least nonchalant person ever like

He was this close to breaking character and throttling Sunday like you cannot tell me he wasn’t planning a murder in this scene. Ratio straight up calls Sunday a crazy bitch but everyone brushed it aside 😭

Honestly his entire conversation with Screwllum is just him tweaking, watch it on YouTube the VAs performance is amazing, you can here just how much He Cares

Genuinely, Aventurine is way better at concealing his true feelings that Ratio. Ratio may be acting for the sake of the plan but the way he truly feels about anything he’s doing always seeps through, it’s why he apologizes to Aventurine in 2.0 in their staged argument scene. It’s why he is as mean to Sunday as he can be. It’s why him pretending that he “hates” Aventurine makes him act so silly. Ratio can’t fully commit to the bit, he can’t force himself to not care or to be someone he isn’t, because fundamentally Ratio CARES and that is something he is incapable of hiding, alabaster bust or not.

The problem is that him expressing his care is often done in a rude and/or blunt manner which people tend to interpret as stoicism or apathy when it’s anything but. Ratio’s vial that he gives to Aventurine is short, sweet and gets straight to the point, because that’s the easiest way for Ratio to express his emotions, even if it’s often detrimental for him and anyone else around him. However Aventurine understands him quite well, and knows that although brief, Ratio telling him to “stay alive, survive this and keep on living” is how he truly feels towards Aventurine, and that’s enough to keep him going.

Underneath Ratios carefully crafted marble facade is a man who cares so much and is so bad at expressing it and I wish the community in general, especially Aventio shippers would acknowledge that more. Ratios true moments of sincerity are brief, but they are anything but stoic. Let the man be soft, it’s in character.

#This turned into a mini essay whoops #I hold Ratios party voiceline for Aven so close to my heart #Not the EN one idk what the translators were on but CN is UGHH it’s so good #Someone else can point out the potentially ableist undertones to how people view Ratio #I’m not gonna do that again because the last time was a disaster #“He’s selfish and cruel and narcissistic” *concerned glance* #Like I know some of it is just hoyo players having the media literacy of rocks #But like theres something wrong there just is it sits so wrong with me #Begging yall to write him correctly in fan content PLEASSEEE #dr ratio #aventurine #aventio #Not necessarily a ship post though

[blackkatdraws2]

The Main Character.

[Blank Scripts AU]

#take a look at his shounen genre anime/manga acting ahh #okay small talk in tags (im gonna start spouting entire essays at you) #i personally think the TSP community dont give me enough content with Stanley as the main character #like yall are fr missing out #guys think about it #rather than focusing on the narrator (who's basically the equivalent as a high-leveled entity comapred to Stanley) #wouldnt focusing on the weaker person seeing the world filled with unknown monsters be more fun? #because you get to explore the story alongside him #since Stanley is just as clueless as you are #and compared to the already powerful beings #you actually get to see Stanley grow and progress #(I mean this is just me giving yall a prompt lmao dont take this personal yo I just really like Weak to Strong tropes) #(I dont really care-) #(-yall have fun with your stuff man :) #tsp blank scripts au #tsp au #the stanley parable #the stanley parable ultra deluxe #tsp #tspud #tsp narrator #narrator tsp #stanley tsp #tsp stanley #my drawing museum

[troythecatfish]

#james somerton #fd signifier #hbomberguy #youtube drama #drama #youtube content #youtube community #video essay #video essays #youtube comments

[multitrackdrifting]

I love horror as a genre, but I am so worn out by horror as content. My halloween special talks about feeling fatigued from horror as content, as opposed to just disliking horror media. I feel that seeing so many ENDING EXPLAINED and FULL TIMELINE OF FNAF lore videos are a byproduct of the desire to just passively consume something and that's fine - my issue is that with horror content specifically, trying to ground the unfathomable and unknowable concepts of cryptids, creatures & settings into digestible packages also destroys my suspension of disbelief. That's my own problem, but that's why I fnd it hard to enjoy a lot of horror because it gets dissected and watered down before I can even blink.

A lot of great horror is still being made like Pearl, RE4R, Fear and Hunger, and Signalis, so I want to dismantle my jaded demeanor and (re)learn to love the genre I cherish the most.

#horror #creepypastas #video essay #analogue horror #beleive me the content is not about shitting on subgenres or yelling at clouds #upload tag #Youtube

[minty364]

DPXDC Prompt #108 Part 2

The thought sounded ridiculous and yet Damian found himself unable to completely scoff at the idea. He himself had seen some strange things in his lifetime and it wouldn’t be fair to completely dismiss the idea outright. 

“I’m unsure what your point is but I guess I suppose they exist.” Damian eventually said.

Danny chuckled at this, “I guess you're not from Amity Park huh?” he joked.

Damian scoffed, “I’ve never even heard of that place but I gather that’s where I am at the moment?” He mentally filed the name to search later. 

“Yeah, born and raised. Anyways, we’re the most haunted city in America. Ghost’s are real, you’ll probably meet one at some point. They’re uh… kind of attracted to me? Kind of like… “ He trailed off for a moment, likely lost in thought trying to come up with an example. Damian was going to call him out for spacing, they were probably running out of time before one of his siblings or Pennyworth came to check on him. Luckily Danny continued, “Hey, what city am I in right now, maybe there’s a comparison I can use?” Danny asked.

“Tt, did you not even think to use GPS to find your location before calling me?” Damian scoffed, his supposed ‘soulmate’ was incompetent, “You're in Gotham.”

“Gotham? Well I guess you could compare them to Batman’s rogues then, however they tend to play a little rough. It’s kind of how ghost’s bond.” Danny’s explanation made it sound like he was the one roughhousing with these ghosts. He wasn’t quite sure where this was going but he let him continue, “so well… this next part’s kind of hard to explain especially without proof but well… I’m what the other ghost’s call a halfa. I’m half ghost half human.”

Damian opened his mouth to retort, the notion that you could be half dead was ridiculous really. But as soon as he opened his mouth a cold blue wisp wafted out of his mouth shocking him. An unfamiliar feeling washes over him and he looked down in terror as he started sinking into the bed.

“Explain your power’s now, I appear to be sinking into your bed.” Damian demanded. The feeling was odd, it was almost as if the bed didn’t exist. 

“Uh, right, Okay… so, it’s kind of emotion based? Take a few deep breaths and you’ll be able to ease yourself back out.” 

Damian did just as Danny instructed and took a few deep breaths. Soon he was able to solidify and sit back up on the bed. Suddenly, a knocking sound was heard through the phone. 

Shit, just like he thought, they took too long and one of his siblings came to check on him. He thought it was sweet that they cared, but he’d never voice this thought out loud to anyone. 

“Danny, I need you to listen very carefully. I need you to open the door and hand the phone over to them. Don’t say anything, understand?” 

“Uh Okay?” Damian could tell Danny was raising an eyebrow at this but he did as Damian told him anyway.

“Uh, Hello?” The voice on the phone said, Damian recognized it as Tim Drake-Waynes. 

“Drake, Please step into the room and listen to my instructions,” Damian waited a moment as he heard the door shut. “Alright, meet my soulmate Danny, apparently his parents study soulmates and they did something and now we’re in each other’s bodies.”

He heard Danny sigh, “It was only supposed to strengthen the soulmate pull. It’s not my fault they don’t know about my weird biology.” 

“Weird Biology?” Drake parroted, “do they not know you're a meta?”

There was a pause before Danny spoke, “No, I’m not a meta… but for the simplicity of things, and this conversation, sure, you can call me a meta.” There was a tiredness to his voice, as if he had this conversation with someone else before.

“The name’s Tim,” he told Danny, then Drake suddenly said in an excited voice, “hey, let’s let him in on the family secret and prank Bruce. Let’s tell everyone else about it and see how long it takes him to figure out it isn’t you… we’ll have to train Danny of course. If he really is your soulmate he’s going to find out eventually and it might be good to prepare him ahead of time” The idea sounded ridiculous to Damian but at the same time, he was recently having some doubts about his Father’s attention on him. Drake had a point, if Danny really was his soulmate, he’d find out eventually. 

__________________________

Danny wasn’t sure what was going on, after he handed the phone off to Tim, they talked about some family secret. Soon Tim hung up the phone and turned to Danny, “Damian say’s Sam and Tucker are there and they’ll call back when he’s back up to speed which means that we need to get up to speed ourselves,” he glared at Danny. Danny, who was still wearing Pajamas stood there as Tim approached him. Once they were a yard apart Tim spoke again, “Listen, the secret I’m about to tell you must not be told to anyone outside of this house, got it?” He fixed a hard glare at Danny.

Danny shrunk back for a moment before a thought occurred to him, “why don’t I tell you my secret as well? Damian is already learning by now and since you're his brother you’ll probably be able to help out.” Secrets for secrets, that way they would both be afforded some leverage in the situation. 

Tim seemed to think for a moment with a hand on his chin, he nodded for a moment before looking up at Danny, “Alright, but tell me yours first.” 

#dp x dc prompt #danny fenton #danny phantom #dp x dc #dc x dp #writing prompt #poor danny #I honestly don’t have the time to write right now #I’ll do what I can but updates are going to be sporadic #I’m working on a lot of projects like video essay type things so let me know if it sounds interesting #I own a fuck ton of video games so I thought I’d try to branch out a bit in the content I make #Danny and Damian are soulmates #dead serious #Probably a bit ooc #I dissociated a bit writing this #my asks are open #all my prompts are free to use

[transmascissues]

i could honestly write a whole essay on how the internet’s obsession with romanticizing ‘girl dads’ while simultaneously making fun of ‘boy moms’ and gender reveal parties is directly related to a pervasive lack of care for trans men&mascs even among supposedly pro-trans people.

#if people cared about young transmascs at all #they would not be encouraging dads to make their whole identity as a parent based around their kid being a girl #because if they cared about us they would realize that some of those kids might not be girls #and that those kids will absolutely feel how their parent looks at them differently when they don’t fit that father-daughter image anymore #it’s also very much based in misogyny. that would be part of the essay too #we’re very comfortable making fun of moms and don’t care how the parenting we idealize might hurt daughters #tbh we need to start talking about benevolent sexism again #bc some of y’all really seem to think that as long as the surface content is positive it can’t possibly be harmful #and that’s simply not how any of this works and i thought we already knew that #transandrophobia #transandromisia #transmisandry #virilmisia #virilphobia #anti transmasculinity #transmascphobia

[kaijutegu]

welp. guess i know where the new followers came from!

#hi everyone! #gonna have a LOT more of this long-form content now that the blog's namesake is uh. not here. anymore. #so i hope you like thoroughly-sourced essays about how to understand reptiles #because that's all i have left

[thedroloisms]

actually so fascinating to me to see the difference in reaction in this fandom. the same people who were perfectly content to spread leaked information without the consent of the victim in previous situations playing coy and claiming that any speculation (not accusations, not harassment, not attempts to deplatform) into the identity of the person in question is inherently unethical and disrespectful to the victim. the same people who had shamelessly talked about the need to spread about information sourced from third party actors with personal agendas, who had explicitly gathered the information in question for bad faith purposes, in order to demand answers from a man who wasn't even the target of said allegations now preaching about how awful it is for people to use publicly available, easily accesible information to come to personal conclusions about a content creator in order to then make the decision whether or not to support him. i know that this fandom was a very different place in january 2022 but i highly doubt that time is the only thing that influenced the difference in people's reactions here, tbh.

#sorry for immediately essay andying in some of the most harrowing ways but #people are really giving shubble's ex more grace than they did for a certain other content creator #in a situation where 1) there was publicly available reason to think that the conversation being had was triggering to him #and 2) the accusations levied at a /completely different person/ didn't inherently imply that he had Any Fucking Clue #that said person did things wrong. and it literally would have been more reasonable to believe that he didn't know anything #as is often the case . with situations like these. #but you know don't speculate :) don't you dare bring up [name] becaus doing so is disrespectful :]

[jameswilsonsupremacy]

my contribution to the house md tumblr today. tomorrow i will offer nothing. (I just had exams and a choir concert, have mercy on me.)

#greg house #gregory house #gregorian household #house md #dr house #hate crimes md #mouse bites #!! #I’m so exhausted #guys pls have mercy #I’ve been Goin Thru It lately #in house md I trust #my Primary coping skill #i am cringe but i am free #this show is my Vicodin #crazy statement #pls keep making content I’m so drained that I haven’t been writing essay comments to creators but #god I love you all #smooches /p #house md content is my <3 #Hugh Laurie #Lucas rants

[amarithecat]

#honorable mention: Quinton Reviews #I will never be normal about certain Nickelodeon shows again #hbomberguy #defunctland #youtubers #content creators #meme #my meme #video essays

[gncrezan]

the two most annoying deities have just started trying to make it work (they're about to make it everyone else's problem) (or, @chrysanthemumgames is finishing up foa soon and i giggle about established hermesmance twice a day to myself)

#i actually have many words to say on an established hermesmance because a like #ALMOST established hermesmance angst makes me like. very sick #ive written essays to poor farran about it . she sees the best and worst of me i think #anyways. i cant stop drawing them. might throw up some sephmes doodles later #foa #asphodelgame #fields of asphodel #hermes #persephone #hades #my art #can we please please please draw more foa art everyone i want to see ur pcs and ur ros and EVERYTHIGNGNNGG #like slash j slash lighthearted but an angel gains their wings everytime i see new foa content

[keighthundred]

#wormblr #worm #parahumans #sophisticated essay content

[genericpuff]

yeah so let's talk about the scenes between hades and thanatos that went from being goofy "haha a boss being hard on an employee" 'jokes' to child abuse as soon as it was revealed that hades was thanatos' adoptive father

and yes i'm putting a content warning jump for ❗❗❗ child abuse and neglect ❗❗❗

so first off, before we even get into the Thanatos / Hades father son relationship thing, I wanna mention a sequence in Episode 39 and why I think Rachel included the scene of Hades reaming Thanatos for being bad at his job.

And it's simply because of what happens the episode before.

Persephone's ableism aside (seriously, I have legs, that doesn't mean I want to walk everywhere, I also own a car, that doesn't mean I have to drive everywhere, maybe flying is tiring? Maybe he's injured and shouldn't be flying? Maybe he has a disability that results in him having wings that can't fly? Check yourself Persephone 😒) this is one of the earliest signs of LO's "Revenge for Persephone" problem which is CONSTANT throughout the narrative - that anytime Persephone is slighted or inconvenienced in the slightest, then the narrative needs to ensure there's some kind of revenge, either directly for her sake or indirectly for the audience's, and it's often always facilitated through or by Hades.

And that leads us to Episode 39, which is when we get exactly that.

Moving onto the scene itself, this is what we call in the work environment a "dressing down". This is not how legitimate employee reviews are given. Hades is not planning on giving him any sort of formal review or constructive criticism. He's planning on tearing him a new asshole just for the fun of doing so. You can even see it written on his face. He's doing this just for the joy of tearing him down. As someone who's been subject to this kind of behavior in previous work environments, I can assure you that this is not normal behavior that's indicative of a functioning workplace, this is abuse.

Taking that train scene into account, it's a way to indirectly "avenge" Persephone. She was slighted by Thanatos, so now Hades is going to make his life hell. But here's the thing - this not revenge for Persephone's sake. Hades doesn't even know Persephone's in the building, and Persephone doesn't know that Thanatos is being berated by Hades. But the scene is here anyways because of course the audience needs to feel "better" about Persephone getting pushed by a stranger at the train stop.

Now, scenes like this have been done in other stories, often times to explain the behavior of bullies/aggressors/etc. because in many cases, textbook bullies, whether children or adults, are abusing others because they're being abused by a higher authority so they take it out on those "weaker" than them.

But this doesn't work in LO, for several reasons.

First off, it pretty much plays it off like a joke, especially when the scene continues after Persephone has walked into Tower 4.

But beyond that, the higher authority abusing Thanatos is someone we're expected to root for. He's the main love interest. While this could be written as a legitimate character flaw, we all know now, in the year 2023, that Rachel sees Hades' behavior as a feature, not a bug. While most scenes written like this would cast a new perspective on a bully and allow some room for understanding and empathy from the audience, in LO's case, we're still not expected to empathize with Thanatos here, they want us insulting him right alongside Hades.

And of course, that brings us to the big blue elephant in the room - the knowledge of Hades and Thanatos' relationship completely re-contextualizes these scenes in a way that's far too depressing and horrifying for a writer like Rachel to be able to wrap up confidently.

Of course, she tried, but her efforts... can't even really be called efforts. For starters, because a lot of it is played off as a joke, as if Rachel can't handle even a single moment of legitimate emotion, she has to "write off the awkward" by making things "funny".

But when she does try to seriously write these scenes of introspection, reflection, and communication, it just winds up turning into the main protagonists going "woe is me, I was the real victim!" and never actually suffering consequences for their actions as a result as they Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss their victims into apologizing to them. It still isn't asking us to empathize with or side with Thanatos, it wants us to end up right back at square one supporting Hades' side of the story.

Literally "well you weren't that bad, at least you were there!" bare minimum accountability, followed by "well I didn't make your life easy so I get it" from someone who was literally a child who was abandoned and left to live with an abusive asshole. It wasn't his fault that he was in the situation he was in, it wasn't his fault that he was a "handful" for Hades because he was a CHILD and Hades was the ADULT, but the comic paints it as Thanatos being at fault anyways for being "ungrateful".

But there are even more subtle signs that point to Thanatos' childhood with Hades that, while not specifically mentioning it, do paint a pretty nasty picture of how Thanatos views Hades and the people around him as a result of his childhood, in a very fridge horror "stop and think about it" kind of way.

First of all, the fact that Thanatos hasn't even been allowed to touch Hades' car. Obviously he's referring to specifically driving it but it makes me wonder what kind of bare minimum accommodations Hades made for his own adopted son. Again, played off for a joke.

And of course we have this one piece of concept art-

Now to be fair, this is concept art from before it was retconned that Thanatos was Hades' son, but it still casts an icky implication in hindsight both because of Hades' treatment towards Thanatos as well as the implication that Thanatos was getting "too close" to Persephone for Hades' liking. This sort of weird dynamic can be found in the actual comic when Hades admits he knows Thanatos was sleeping with Minthe.

And then there was this one scene, which prompted me to write this post in the first place, shared in the ULO Discord.

Thanatos has just met Daphne, so it's not necessarily weird for him to be suspicious of her asking for his phone, but the actual dialogue... doesn't line up with what you'd assume he would be suspicious of.

He doesn't say "you're not going to peek through it, are you?"

He specifically says "You're not going to smash it, are you?"

Now, if this line were intended to be anything more than some throwaway "haha funny" line (which, again, where's the punchline here) then maybe it could point more to something that happened between him and Minthe. But there's nothing that implies she was ever violent towards him, and the one time she IS violent towards anyone, it's implied that's the first and only time she's ever escalated things to that point and that even she's shocked and disgusted at her own behavior.

There is plenty to imply that Thanatos was abused by Hades, though.

So reading this line in hindsight... really just feels like further proof on a growing pile of evidence that Thanatos was constantly being berated, controlled, and abused by Hades, a guy who he never asked for as a father figure, but was still expected to apologize to anyways.

But there is one last thing I wanna mention before I wrap up. One thing that was mentioned by yet another user in the ULO community that really stood out to me because it just goes to show how horrible Hades has been towards Thanatos, both in the past pre-retcon and in the present well after it was established that they were father and (adopted) son.

And that's Hades' two dream sequences that involve him having children with Persephone.

One of these scenes is from before the retcon. The other is from after.

Neither one features Thanatos as a part of Hades' visions for the future.

Hades has been Thanatos' entire life. But Hades doesn't see Thanatos as even a part of his.

#lore olympus critical #lo critical #antiloreolympus #anti lore olympus #essay post #long post #content warning #cw #child abuse #child neglect #tw child abuse #tw child neglect

[arcanegifs]

#BRUHHHHHH I NEED ANOTHER TEASER I BEG YOU RIOT #ITS BEEN THREE YEARS I CANT WAIT TO USE NEW CONTENT FOR GIFS LMAO #personal tag #dont look at me im just here to complain about content drought lmao its really not good in fostering a healthy fandom ngl #because ppl will just hyperfixate and consume media for like a month and then the fandom goes poof right after lol #i miss all the people scrutinizing media every week i miss all the essays pumping out when content arrives #these days its just.... nothing lmao i only really still have arcane in my mind because of fanfiction and a lot of fics have been inactive #ik we're getting new stuff in a few months #and ik we're not in canceled shows hell but like #i really hope that if theres season 3 we're gonna get it a bit more regularly #i really miss it when content was like weekly or every 2 weeks because ppl and the fandom are wayyyy more active during those times #binge culture and netflix sort of changed it lol #i miss it when fandoms were huge!!! i miss it when it was so CHAOTIC lmaooooooooo #I MISS WAITING FOR LONG ASS HOURS WAITING FOR CONTENT TO RELEASE EVERY WEEK!!!! I MISS IT!!!! that was like what 12 years ago LOL #I KNOW arcane is special with their 3 year drought because it takes time to make arcane #but like..... idk man i miss content lmao #iirc they took too long to make s2 bc they have no idea if s1 would be even renewed #so i hope s3 will be a bit more regular now #anyways im gonna go bye bye