#fascination and frustration

[ninicaise]

what's so refreshing about will as a character is that he doesn't throw a denial tantrum about it at any point like most characters with Darkness Within Them do. he's not a moral paragon, his angst and secretkeeping don't get annoying at any point. and i think it's because there's no contrast between who will Really Is, which is Good and True, and the dark king as his shadow or his dark self.

will is the dark king. he behaves like the dark king. he lies and he manipulates and he's a "sneak" and he's scaringly charming and he's possessive over james and a ton of other messed up shit and he tells himself it's for a good reason, and maybe it is!! and will is clearly you know. a Good Person. while his methods are sneaky, he does not actually do anything wrong. but those are his methods still, and they are cool moments and badass and also kind of eerie.

with the way he's written, i would argue will doesn't have or even need a corruption arc, he's just like that from the get-go and he's not gonna change. and i don't mean he was born evil or whatever other bullshit i mean that he was born a full person, including the dark king and will both, and there's complexity, but no clear line separates them.

#it's fascinating truly #i'm really glad we get a more full view of his psyche in dark heir even if there's a lot of stuff he's repressing #dark rise #dark heir #dark heir spoilers #will kempen #and maybe. i won't even agree with this by the time the 3rd book comes out #and that's rlly frustrating bc i hate not having the full picture of anything before i have an opinion #but that's part of the fun of it i guess

[braceletofteeth]

Evilive (1x03) || Strangers From Hell (1x08)

#evilive #biography of a villain #strangers from hell #han dongsoo #seo doyoung #yoon jongwoo #seo moonjo #parallels #gifset #* #not always a Seo... but always a Seo 😀 #it fascinates me how the words are different but the structure of these dialogues are the same #it goes [confusion & frustration] > [bargaining] > [begging] > [selfishness] > [fixation] > [realization] #the realization being they can't reason with the other person. there is no argument they could give that would make them change their minds. #there is no escape.

[1960z]

how people go about interpreting dr bashir I presume? really frustrates me sometimes ngl especially the “jules bashir died” scene.

like that whole scene is about julian revealing the depth of how deeply his augmentations fractured his sense of identity and who he is - which feeds into the themes of the whole episode surrounding how disability and then by extension disabled people are often viewed as a problem to be solved and because of that are often denied the ability to have fulfilling lives because the able bodied people around them don’t believe that they can.

but… idk, when the fandom talks about it there’s always seems to be a push to read a trans allegory into it that I don’t think is really there? I keep mulling over this post in my mind and when I initially reblogged it I didn’t really want to talk about this because the post is about how stories about racism can be hijacked by white people to be made about their own transness and it felt like as a white person, using that post to complain about ableism would be missing the point. but it really helped me articulate in my mind why the trans reading of this episode feels off to me because the same general principle seems to apply and that is taking a story trying to discuss a specific type of marginalisation and putting a trans reading above it because you can relate more to it personally.

“jules bashir died in that hospital because you couldn't live with the shame of having a son who didn't measure up!” this scene is the culmination of julian expressing his pain about what was done to him as a disabled child by his parents due to how they viewed his disability. but often when I see it being discussed, people aren’t really interested in talking about that. instead supplanting it with a trans reading instead which, in my opinion is an allegory that doesn’t even really work when you think about what’s going on in the broader context of the scene.

julian didn’t stop going by jules because he came to the conclusion on his own that the identity didn’t suit him similar to the way a trans person questions or rejects the gender they were assigned at birth, he stopped going by jules because he felt like the identity attached to that name was taken from him because of what his parents did. it’s not julian affirming who he wants to be it’s grieving over who he can’t be and to me at least, it’s honestly kind of harrowing.

and as an aside: when people read transness into a story about parents who change their child’s body and mind at a very young age without consent, which is literally a narrative projected onto trans people by transphobes to justify the curtailing of trans rights, that also doesn’t sit well with me. I think people latch onto this reading because of the idea of “killing a name” but again in the context of the whole episode the trans reading really doesn’t feel appropriate.

I think it’s okay for people to have trans headcanons about julian of course or literally any character they want to really, but I think saying that specific episode codes him as trans isn’t all that great honestly.

#shut up abe #julian bashir #ds9 #star trek #I’m nervous to post this tbh and I’m not trying to come for anyone specifically #this is just a general trend I’ve noticed and have been frustrated w for a while #and I’m not trying to say that like you can never relate to a narrative that’s textually about a marginalisation you don’t experience #like something that fascinates me about spock is how his arc is written in a way that is relatable to many different marginalised people #and that overlap in experience is interesting to talk about #but we also shouldn’t forget that *textually* a lot of what spock goes through is a metaphor for being biracial #and I’ve seen people get frustrated bc like. people often do forget lol #it's just a thing where I think we should think about what readings we give the most attention to and why yk

[applebyeye]

Sonic fascinates and frustrates Shadow

Sonic fascinates and frustrates Shadow

Sonic fascinates and frustrates Shadow

Sonic fascinates and frustrates Shadow

Sonic fascinates and frustrates Shadow

Sonic fascinates and frustrates Shadow

Sonic fascinates and frustrates Shadow

Sonic fascinates and frustrates Shadow

#sonic fascinates and frustrates shadow #sxsg #sonadow

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Jellyfish Prince 💙

#better drawn mdzs #mdzs #lan wangji #Happy 'It took me a whole month to figure out what Mermay was all about'! #fun fact about me: prior to all this blog stuff I use to be really fascinated by jellyfish. #to the point they were one of the few things I could draw. #when I was trying to practice art before I started making these comics #I was constantly baffled by hair. I did not understand its form or its mysteries. #Then the ghost of my past jelly-loving self suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders and went 'Dude. just like jellyfish'. #cue me going 'Oh my god. Just like Jellyfish'. And then I kinda got the jist of it. #This is all to say that the majority of LWJ's appearances (especially early on) are 100% directly inspired by jellyfish #This idea has been lingering in my mind for months...being able to pull off an idea and translate it onto the page.... #nothing beats that feeling B'*) #This is teenji btw. He isn't complete unless he's on the verge of extremely frustrated tears. Sopping wet and biting. Just like...jellyfish #And now that I know mermay is a thing I finally have an excuse to dunk him into the water.

[public-trans-it]

Man, I genuinely owe my life to FtM Girlies. Without them I wouldn’t have figured out my gender shit anywhere near as well and would probably still be going “Yeah I’m a trans gal. That’s… close enough. I’m happier as that than a Cis guy so I must be, right?”

Without them I wouldn’t have really taken the time to sit down and realize just how fucking weird gender can be, and the kind of things you can do with it.

I will forever remember the moment someone I was chatting to was discussing their pronouns, and pulled out a damn FLOWCHART. It could more or less be summed up as “Cis people: I am a trans dude, I use He/Him pronouns. Binary trans people: I am nonbinary. I use They/Them pronouns. Everyone else: Use whatever weird shit you think applies best to me.” and looking at it forced my third eye open and allowed me to realize just how vast the potential of gender was as a means of self-expression and identity, and how much of our identity rests in our relationships with others.

That was the moment that made me take a step back and go “Well now hold on a second. DO I want to be a girl? AM I a girl at all?” Sitting down and questioning “If I was AFAB, would I be cis?” And realizing that the idea of being a cis girl was just as revolting to me as being a “cis” guy for so much of my life was. Had I been AFAB I absolutely would still end up as trans! Which got me thinking about what my transition goals actually WERE.

Even now years later I stilled haven’t explored the full extent of my gender, and the potential that still lies within it. It’s become so tangled up in my relationship to DID as well as my views of animism. It’s something deeply personal, and I’m not sure if I’d ever even be capable of sharing the full extent of it, though am happy to try for the curious.

The more I talk with friends, the more I realize I’m not alone in this. Bespoke genders are AWESOME and incredibly common actually! Even my ‘cis’ friends that I’ve talked to, when we really explore it, and up saying stuff like “Yeah I’m like 90% cis. There’s certainly SOME complex stuff there but it’s small and not worth the hassle”, but even as they say that I can see that bit of joy of not HAVING to bottle up that tiny bit anymore. And it’s beautiful!

EVERYONE should be comfortable exploring the full extent of their gender. Everyone should take pride in that little tiny sliver of gender fuckery dwelling inside them!

Fucking… reply or tag this post with what your own personal brand of genderfuckery looks like! I wanna hear it! I wanna give everyone that outlet!

#honestly as much as I despise them… this post is TERF inclusive #so so so many TERFs have genuinely fascinating relationships with gender! #and they also deserve that outlet to fully talk about it #because that’s one of the fastest ways to pull them out of the cult #once TERFs start discussing gender genuinely and openly with each other A LOT of infighting starts #specifically BECAUSE they are compressing very complex views into a stupidly simple framework #and a lot of their frustration with trans people is wondering why the framework works for us but not for them #and lashing out because of that #when the truth is the framework DIDNT work for us which is WHY WE ABANDONED IT #and I don’t think that these TERFS are all secretly trans people! they probably arent! #but the entire point of this post is that gender is way way way more complex than just fitting into two options #even for so called ‘binary cis’ people #that said THE REST OF MY BLOG VERY MUCH IS NOT TERF INCLUSIVE #FUCK OFF

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

What’s up with the ties between Sally & Eddie?

There are quite a few - to the point where I’m starting to suspect that they may be foils, or at least inherently tied together in the story.

First let's bring things back to the clocks. The “day” side has an obvious resemblance to Sally, like how the “night” side resembles Eddie. There’s not really much I can say here since we don’t know much more yet, and who knows if this has changed behind the scenes. But just think about that, the rarity of the color purple, night vs day, and the “monster”. Keep it in your head, I think it may be important. 

Also the fact that Eddie is the only one with a watch, but Sally’s face has an incredibly similar face on her door.

Obviously Sally has some sort of beef with Eddie, despite him being nothing but friendly and (to our knowledge) being undeserving of it. One thought I entertained was “maybe Sally is dismissive of him because he’s a worker,” but that holds zero water when you consider how perfectly friendly Sally was with Howdy (karen Sally debunked <3). The second thought I had was “maybe Sally senses the queer in Eddie and it intimidates her” - which would make sense if Sally is a lesbian like I suspect. Internalized homophobia, anyone? This holds up if Eddie is going to turn out to be - not open about himself, but comfortable in his skin in a way that, say, Frank isn’t. Which I have a feeling that will be the case, which would likely make Sally put on airs even more so than usual. 

Anyone else seeing a continuous trend of (social) masks and performances unfolding in the Neighborhood? I sure am.

But let’s talk about why I think they might be foils. They balance each other out in an interesting way, despite their only solid similarity being that Both will work/perform no matter the weather. They have a lot of closely related differences:

Eddie has been mentioned (and implied within the story so far) to have a deeper well of knowledge than he lets on, but acts humble about it. Sally has been mentioned (and implied) to know less than she portrays, but acts like a bit of a know-it-all - she pretends to know things that she doesn’t. 

Eddie’s role is about helping others at his own expense, while Sally’s is using others to reach fame. 

Eddie strives to connect with his Neighbors and is all about accuracy/precision. Sally is in her own little world and has proved to be more than willing to improvise / not think things through before acting.

Eddie is slow to anger, and Sally is easily irritated. 

Selfless vs Selfish.

Night vs Day. 

And to put them in the Johari Window - i believe that Sally resides in the Blind Spot (known to others, not known to self), and Eddie resides in either the Facade (not known to others, known to self) OR the Unknown (not known to others, not known to self). Personally I’m starting to believe that Eddie may reside in both. 

It’s far too early to draw any real conclusions, and theorizing on all of this is difficult. I feel as though - as usual - we have puzzle pieces but no frame of reference for the way they fit together, what picture they build. And who knows, tomorrow’s update may shred this to ribbons, but I doubt it. 

One thought I had was that they’re in cahoots about something - it doesn’t have to be something malicious or some sort of secret plot, it could simply be something they both know and are trying to keep quiet about. Eddie is trying to connect with Sally since they have this in common, but Sally is actively putting distance between them to preserve their secret / plausible deniability. Do I actually believe this? Meh. I’m just throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks.

So current base thoughts: Sally is dismissive of Eddie either because he intimidates/scares her on an internalized level, or she’s actively trying to put distance between them for a currently unknown reason. There’s probably a secret third option I haven’t even considered!

#she's just so fascinatingly dismissive of him in a way she isn't with anyone else #she exclusively calls him 'mailman' she brushes him off when he tries to talk about her halloween costume- #i bet if anyone else has so much as Mentioned the word 'pedrolino' sally would be on them abt it #much like how barnaby had to Escape a convo w/ her bc she was that passionate #so what is it with eddie... why does she feel so strongly about him in such a negative way... #ITS KEEPING ME UP AT NIGHT <3 #there is so much to unpack there i feel but i dont have the right scissors yet... #homebogging #welcome home speculation #wh speculation #man i feel so bad for eddie #he's trying to be friendly!!! he's trying to be her friend so hard!!! MAN. #i suspect that if eddie snaps in some way (he probably will) it will likely be in relation to sally #bc no one else treats him that way. like. even like... howdy keeps up an amicable pretense #but sally is straight up out here treating him like a pack mule named 'mailman' and brushing him off with obvious disinterest/frustration #LIKE DAMN. GIRL. WHAT DID HE DO TO DESERVE THIS #i love it. its fascinating. i cant wait to see how that unfolds

[glitchedcosmos]

I think a really cool idea for sonic 3 is not only is sonic, shocked and fascinated by shadow being another hedgehog like him, but he also learns some things about hedgehogs with powers like his in general. Shadow is a creation, the ultimate life form, meant to be capable of everything you can think of. And sonic, while knows a fair amount of powers and capabilities he has, doesn’t know everything about his kind. So when he meets shadow another hedgehog, another one like him, weather it’s them fighting eachother, by themselves, or even seeing shadow fight, sonic discovers some things he didn’t even know hedgehogs could do, he thinks it’s cool and through the movie tries it himself and discovers new things he can do because of who he is. shadow not only learns from sonic, but sonic learns from shadow as well, in more ways than one.

#idk just spitballing here #i think thatd be neat #after all they are both frustrated and fascinated with each other #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonic movie 3 #sonadow #sonic #shadow the ultimate lifeform #shadow #sth #sonic movie 2 #sonic movie #sonic cinematic universe

[carsonjonesfiance]

Sorry but if you’re so lost in the online leftist sauce that Anthony Bourdain doing shows about international cuisine is somehow morally reprehensible to you I don’t think even touching grass can save you.

#being Weird About Food is something that has come to the forefront of Leftist politics recently and it’s as fascinating as it is frustrating

[fromtheseventhhell]

Do you ever think about how Arya being left-handed most likely had an impact on her needlework and other tasks? And how she needed special attention not only because she wasn't as naturally gifted as her sister but because the way she was being taught fundamentally didn't work for her? And how instead of being given the attention she needed she was instead held to an unfair standard by her teacher and used as a measure for bad behavior? And how this all impacted her self-esteem and her views on being a Lady?

#arya stark #septa mordane #catelyn stark #asoiaf #a song of ice and fire #I think about this all the normal amount I'm definitely not obsessed with Arya and her internal conflict on being a lady #I'm not saying her being left-handed is the sole reason she was bad at those tasks but I do think it had an impact #that's why it gets pointed out by Syrio and how it will impact her swordplay...it has an impact on the way she does things #Arya not being able to fit in kills me because she genuinely tried to be the Lady that her family wanted #she was literally trying her best to do tasks that didn't come naturally and she was constantly told she wasn't good enough #if her family hadn't forced the issue and been so hard on her it would've been so much easier for her to do what was expected of her #it's just so fascinating and one of my favorite internal conflicts...I can't wait to see the resolution #so many people try and make Arya the problem but she was literally 9 years old #and her behavior in canon isn't the disruptive wild child people portray her to be she was doing her best that just wasn't enough for some #she was frustrated because her work wasn't as good as her sisters and her teacher mother and sister made sure she knew it #of course that's going to impact her views self-esteem and behavior #like no she was not a burden that her /poor/ mother and teacher suffered through lol

[the-crimson]

(Characters not ccs and not negative just an observation XD)

I find this so interesting because this is the second time Forever has accused bbh of a crime with zero evidence then proceeded to treat him as guilty and punish him for it.

First with the furniture in which it makes ZERO sense for bbh to steal it when all that would do is make everyone on the island want to outlaw furniture theft even more - plus he has an alibi as Tallulah/Chayann’s room was untouched and bbh has access. It was such an obvious frame. Forever to this day believes that Bad is guilty (I think? Either that or he’s just being petty about previous theft)

Now with the gun and Bad also has an alibi! Foolish literally broke into the vault and posted a picture of himself in the vault with the suitcases. He could have unlocked Forever’s case and taken the gun and that is 100% something Foolish would do! He stole two of the suitcases it’s 100% plausible he could have stolen the gun before bbh ever even had the suitcase. The fact that Forever immediately accuses bad even tho there is a much more viable (if equally innocent) culprit is telling

It’s both interesting with which the speed and resoluteness Forever blames Bad and the fact that… bbh doesn’t do these kinds of pranks.

Bad will steal valuable items from people then give it back after ten minutes of taunting. Hell steal a piece of furniture or two every once in a while but never steals in bulk and has resisted important pieces of furniture many times - looking at you blue chair in front of Max’s house. His pranks are harmless and if it does unintended harm, he’ll repay the victim ten fold.

The magma cube prank didn’t do any irreparable harm and mostly just gave everyone a heart attack and a moment of annoyance before either killing it or capturing it again. When he tormented Bagi with the cube, he upgraded her frying pan with op enchantments as compensation.

The fact that Forever doubles down on bbh being guilty for the furniture and the gun just goes to show how little he actually knows Bad. He thinks he knows Bad enough to tell these are his pranks but he’s just proving how little he actually knows him and it’s so interesting to me

(Edit: I’ve been informed that forever doesn’t actually think bad stole the furniture or has his gun but that kinda makes it worse cuz Forever treats bad like he’s guilty anyway when he knows he’s not XD never change Forever, keep feeding us the drama u little rapscallion)

#qsmp #crimson speaks #badboyhalo #forever #their relationship is so fascinating to me #both of them always see the worst in each other #but they still care so much #and -bad at least - always gives forever the benefit of the doubt #he might get frustrated and hate that forever is President #but at the end of the day he always gives forever the benefit of the doubt #that he’s doing his best #from bbh’s pov #it looks like forever does the opposite #which is INTERESTING #and idk if it’s accurate from Forever’s pov #just like forever mains probably don’t know bbh has so much faith in forever #the biases of perspective #it’s so interesting

[johnskleats]

can y'all IMAGINE zuko's reaction if he were a@ng's teacher during the katara burn incident

can you imagine

*if zuko had been there, it wouldn't have happened because he's very visible proof of what fire can do, BUT

IMAGINE.

#he'd lose his damn mind #zutara #zuko validating katara having justified frustration? #zuko acknowledging katara's fear and pain? #this is also in the beautiful world where katara healed her burns but they scarred over #so interesting for the narrative #zuko with intentional burns from malice and katara with accidental burns from negiligence #different abuse with the same outcome #fascinating #i am not saying a@ng burning katara was explicitly abusive however he does go on to manipulate and gaslight her later in the narrative #and the parallels and contrasts between zuko's feelings of fear obligation and respect towards ozai are soooo tasty when paired against #katara's fear obligation respect for a@ng #fear as in acknowledgement of power #delicious

[feekins]

imo one major point of tristamp (and trimax) is that no single person can be considered 100% "good" or 100% "evil" - we are EXPLICITLY shown that it's a million times more complicated than that. to exist is to be messy. everyone has thoughts and emotions and varying motivations and different things that drive them, and no one is totally right or totally wrong. in a world that very much wasn't made for humanity, all anyone can do is the best they can with what they have. nothing is perfect - in fact, nothing CAN or SHOULD be perfect bc "perfect" is subjective. there is no universal perfection. in other words, it IS NOT and CANNOT BE black-and-white - and acting like it is is what keeps fucking everyone up on Noman's Land.

#trigun stampede #tristamp #trigun maximum #trimax #text postan 2k23 #there's more to it than that but nowadays I don't fking trust ppl not to jump down my throat for DARING to think different from them lmao #don't fking @ me #I'm just enjoying the commentary on humanity #humans are fascinating and frustrating and awful and wonderful

[triptych-of-voids]

is this my sona drawn as medic, or is this medic drawn as my sona? the line is not just blurred it is completely nonexistent

#doodles #this is my sona i think but. i dont really use it very often do i #experiencing a complete disconnect from it..no more fursona only medic tf2........... frustrating. fascinating! but horrible #<- having the worst migraine in the history of ever #the void #fursona #i suppose i shouldnt tag this as medic but. [brain gets ground into a fine paste] #i wont i wont i wont i prommy #i wish i could make myself a new sona but it would genuinely just be a jpg of medic tf2 because

[cycle-hit]

0610 is so funny because mahiru is determined to be a housewife/maternal figure and kotoko is determined to parallel all the other prisoners' shitty fathers. both of them having the traits of "parental figures" that is a mold/box to be shoved into in and of itself which shows the traditional/black and white aspects of their own families. mahiru is determined to be full of love and give others that same love and kotoko pretends she doesn't love at all and bares her teeth whenever you show her love. mahiru has sun symbolism and kotoko has moon symbolism.

and then instead of ever acknowledging the absolutely insane character foil toxic yuri between those two at all, milgram refuses to let them interact ever again except for one interaction from four years ago at the very beginning and kotoko beating the shit out of mahiru. like. thanks milgram. if YOU wont do anything with your very interesting character foils that can also fall into classic "romance tropes" (which mahiru is obsessed with, cough) with their personalities/stories i guess ill do it myself.

#it does piss me off a bit honestly. kotoko and mahiru are both very fascinating characters that have a ton of interesting potential- #for interactions. and then milgram just goes “yeah theyre not interacting ever again. lol. lmao. fuck you”. THERES SO MUCH POTENTIAL!!! #AND YOU SQUANDER IT!!!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE YAMANAKA LET THEM INTERACT BEFORE MILGRAM ENDS!!! I DONT EVEN CARE IF THEYRE NOT TOXIC YURI!!!! #THE ROMANCE ISNT NECESSARY!!! PLEASE JUST LET YOUR TWO MOST INTERESTING CHARACTER FOILS INTERACT!!!!!!! #AAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHH. WHATS THE POINT OF MAHIRU TELLING US MULTIPLE TIMES ABOUT KOTOKO IN HER T2 VD IF SHE NEVER ACTUALLY INTERACTS WITH HER. #WHATEVER. #milgram #kotoko yuzuriha #mahiru shiina #0610 #this gets maintagged i guess. idk. i want people to see my 0610 visions even tho this post is also full of frustration

[bonefall]

Does Midnight ever adopt children? I feel like she would be a very good parental figure. I need Midnight to teach me how to do geometry.

Problem is that she lives in the middle of nowhere, no humans nearby, no place for cats to live permanently. It was once a shrine that used to be visited but its isolation was the point.

I think she would have issues as a parent, she's kind but very, very lonely. Kids need to grow up and find themselves, but Midnight doesn't want to be alone. She would dread her little kitten getting older and needing more independence and not properly prepare them to live their own life as a result.

She wouldn't teach how to hunt, or how to properly regulate their emotions, or how to interact with other cats.

But BOY could they do math lmao

#That's why people don't stay #She isn't a bad entity. She isn't malicious. But she is quite draining #And isolated and lonely #Middy baby you're offering eternal life... in the middle of nowhere #That's why Fallen has frustration with her #BB!Midnight #God of spring and new beginnings who has become disconnected with the need to start anew #I really am fascinated with her. Talk about a background character but she has something interesting going on