#in ways that don't seem realistic

[cantsayidont]

Another dilemma with centering stories around the idea of Superman-as-immigrant is that while Superman is certainly an immigrant, and there is a substantial body of older Superman stories (mostly from 1958–1986) that present his homeworld and its culture as generally noble (and frequently Jewish-coded), it has become very common since the 1986 reboot for Superman media to treat Kryptonian culture as either decadent and corrupt (as in most of the post-Crisis comics) or actively invasive and evil (as in MAN OF STEEL or MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN).

In these stories, Superman has avoided this decadence or evil mostly by virtue of having been raised by white Americans in Kansas, and his nobility lies in his express rejection of his evil/corrupt heritage in favor of (white) American culture. These are intrinsically anti-immigrant narratives (and sometimes antisemitic as well), regardless of how much feel-good gloss the story may attempt to apply to it.

The first season of the current SUPERMAN AND LOIS TV show, for instance, plays out an alarmingly literal "Great Replacement" plot in which Superman's half-brother Tal-Rho attempts to carry out a genocidal scheme devised by Superman's eugenicist mother to resurrect Kryptonians in the bodies of living humans, while MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN presents Kryptonians as brutal invaders who have attempted to militarily conquer the Earth more than once. Neither of these series departs from the general details of Superman's origin, but they assert unequivocally that Superman being an immigrant from Krypton is of moral value only because it gives him super-powers that enable him to defend the American Way from others of his kind, and to uphold white culture in ways other Kryptonians do not or would not.

#comics #superman #it would of course be possible for superman to have #a complex relationship with kryptonian culture #but the modern stories have been very reluctant to do that #this is a major flaw of superman and lois #which tries to avoid talking about clark's feelings about his heritage as much as possible #in ways that don't seem realistic #(that show also suggests that clark and lois's sons are weirdly incurious #about the fact that their father is literally from another planet) #as for MAWS #i find its depiction of kryptonians as invaders and superman as a weapon disturbing #for these reasons #and because it's an homage to the iron giant #a movie i strongly dislike

[uncanny-tranny]

I jokingly thought before that reading Junie B. Jones as a kid turned me into a feminist, but unironically, it kind of did.

I honestly think it comes down to the fact that Junie B. was not only allowed to be "weird," but her character arc never concluded like other girl characters would. In other media featuring "weird girls," the girl always ended her arc tamed - by force or convince, she would be prettied up, she would smile and be polite, and she would never speak out of turn. She would be perfect then, and would shed her veneer of individuality with the freedom that is conformity. As a kid, I noticed that girls weren't permitted to be "weird" like boys were. So when I read Junie B. Jones, I loved that she was frankly just fucking weird. She said things out of turn, she was rambunctious and imaginative and she was a realistic portrayal of a little girl. I loved reading those books because the narrative taught her lessons without punishing her for being weird, if that makes sense. So often, narratives punished weird girls for the crime of being a socially unacceptable girl, not for any true wrongdoing like lying.

Anyway, I just think it's interesting, because I watched and read a ton of books and shows and movies featuring girls and women, but none of them truly empathized with (or even tried to empathize with) weird girls on their own merits and capabilities and terms, or embraced the idea of a "socially inept/unacceptable" girl without punishing her in some way for her supposed ineptitude.

#feminism #and like junie b. got in trouble A LOT but she wasn't punished FOR being weird (honestly i thought she was adhd as a kid) #i haven't read the books in WELL over a decade but this is what i truly remember liking about the books #and i felt as a kid it said something that she was a seeming rarity among the sea of other portrayals of girls #am i looking too deep into this? honestly i don't care #and it makes me wonder if all the pushback those books got was partially because junie b. wasn't an 'acceptable' girl #like she's no more 'out there' than the portrayals of little boys that are out there and there were lessons and things from what i remember #i'm not saying you HAVE to like the books by the way but i think sometimes other people can get really angry about GIRLS acting like kids #i was ranting about these books to my dad because he didn't like them but he did still let me read them so thanks dad 🫡🫡 #i just remember them being a huge part of my personal library because of how realistic and relatable junie b. was #like i acted really similarly to her when i was a kid and i felt like i was being understood (which is why i hc she's adhd/audhd/autistic)

[softerhaze]

#guess i'll finish this since we don't have babies 😤 #i hope people like this lol idk why it's got me so nervous omg #it seems a lot more saturated than my other mods but i used my own photos as references #so in that way it's probably the most realistic but 🤷🏽‍♀️ idk what people like i'm just out here typing numbers in a file #i'm also going to be doing a side by side comparison of each mod. finally. as much as that pains me. #so yeah! hopefully it'll be done in like a week-ish but who knows

[azaracyy]

today, cupimon prays for your happiness too.

#digimon #cupimon #oc:elise #made myself draw more personal oc art when not working on comms haha #tbh the motivation behind this was a moment of weakness. like. wanting people to tell you you have done well and everything will be ok #but i also want to heal others that way. it's complicated. the world only seems to get harsher and harsher #holy or angel type digis are good picks for such and cupimon are adorable #imma be realistic this is a pretty tough time to be alive. let's not even try to compare with past eras or the like #the truth is so many of us are struggling so friggin hard we don't even know it anymore bc it's become so routine to our life #but it's honestly? really twisted? if you think of it that way. we're so used to suffering in life. it's so sad. #can only hope things get better someway. somehow. may good news even a little arrives to each of yall this week #btw really sorry folks. after the ai fiasco this site has gotten itself into i'm gonna post even lower res version for my newer works jic #artists writers creatives. do stay safe. keep yourselves and your work safe as much as you can #do what you need to do regardless it matters to you or not ok! #png

[skunkes]

unsure how to word this but there is something about having ocs with unsavory events happening in their past where it's like. talking about it, even when asked, seems almost gratuitous and inappropriate. and i'd much rather describe it through the oc themself and/or draw Them saying it. which is like. fitting for the subject matter? like of course its weird to talk about somebody else's business...!

and falls back into humanizing em/exploratory writing and development where u consider the impact of words said/words unsaid/HOW those words are said etc etc

#because not all real persons would give u every detail of their trauma obviously #which makes sense but im an overexplainer but also it feels inappropriate to overexplain when it comes to dis #i hope that makes sense #talkys #i once described what went down with al as just directly as possible and it still felt weird. ykwim?? idk why. #well i do know why! i dont want it to seem gratuitous or like That Cheap Writing Element. fine line #same with talon so he'll just keep implying it thru text + dialogue which is how it should be ! #the only difference is i think with al i wrote it like he would've said it bc he has more access to that side of himself #and is aware of how it affected him #whereas characterwise talon absolutely would just speak in riddles about and around it #i don't even think he's conscious about the direct effects of it #(but i wouldnt know bc he hasn't made that known to me in my brain) #people respond differently to different things and all that #also im so sorry if half the shit ive said recently is so like. Well Duh. i havent made a new oc in a decade gimme a break LOL #also i realize the. irony? of me even vaguely talking about it in the way i did but 1. i think that's also realistic when you #dont want to do a whole deep dive on someone else's business and 2. people are becoming #curious about my oc(s) and im just thinking about well; significant events and how to handle not speaking about em #FOR them. <- weirdly #idk. they're real to me. #its just so much more interesting to leave it up to them! people can lie people can downplay

[sunsetzer]

On one hand, I want a final fantasy 6 remake, because the game is criminally underrated and the amount of fan content (which is all absolutely fantastic btw) is Not Enough for my neurodivergent, hyperfixating brain.

On the other hand, that would inevitably encourage more people to join the fandom, which would be great, except it seems these days the bigger a fandom gets the more toxic it becomes, and I really like what we have going on over here in our little corner. We all just love the game and its characters and nobody fights about who should and shouldn't date who or who you shouldn't like because they're ~problematique~. Nobody's trying to make one ship morally better than another, nobody's calling anyone names or threatening to doxx people who don't agree with their opinions. It's so peaceful and I love that for us. We're just vibing. Moisturized. Unbothered. In our lane. Flourishing.

#as someone who was in an extremely toxic and chaotic fandom and lowkey still traumatized #to the point where I'm afraid to mention which fandom it was/what my ship was #i have to say #i genuinely love it here #i was nervous at first sharing my ships and headcanons but everyone is so chill i was worried for nothing #thank you to everyone I've interacted with who has made this fandom a healing experience for me #i shudder to think about what some of the people i interacted with in a previous fandom would do with ff6 #probably would take edgar's flirting at face value and call him problematic for objectifying women #instead of considering the narrative and what we know about him and the way he actually treats women #my man drinks loving and respecting women juice he's not a creep #or that weird moment with relm that admittedly made me double take before i realized what he meant #theyd have a whole campaign against him lmfao #bc those people boil characters alive until they're just a formless pile of tropes and stereotypes #and seem to disregard all positive aspects of a character they don't like which is fine #but then they go and try to force other people to think like they do and ugh #theres a lot of silly moments in the game and aspects of these characters that make them well rounded and realistically flawed at times #and i fear that would get lost in the chaos if the floodgates opened after a remake #maybe im just jaded lmao #im jaded and i have anxiety so im always thinking about The Worst Case Scenario #the collective positive spirit of the dwellers in this fandom might actually foster a positive space if more people were to come in #ff6 #my post #i was gonna say maybe this is bc we're mostly adults #but that falls flat when i remember how some of the most toxic and immature people in some fandoms are grown ass adults #who bully each other and younger fans #and some of the most mature and cool people were actually younger #maybe ff6 fans are just built different lmao #also idk how old anyone else actually is there might be teenagers here i just don't think about it a lot

[kyouka-supremacy]

--

#This is about the last thing I could have imagined happening to me but. #A girl just slid what pretty realistically is a love letter under my door and. I really don't know what to do about it #God. I like her a lot but I also really just love her as a friend?? #I don't. I have no idea what to reply because on one hand if I said something like #“yeah every second we spend together is precious to me too I love you <3 ” I would probably. Definitely come across wrong #But at the same time I can't just reply coldly I don't want to be rude. I do enjoy the time we spend together. #I just feel that if I don't reply with the same love and dedication I will come off as rude and make her sad and I really don't want to #But also I'm like. 100% sure I'm not into her romantically #It's just. The way she talks to me in the letter makes me feel... Odd in the bad way. #She spent words of admiration on me I really feel like I can't own you know. #She seems to look up to me a lot and I don't think I should be looked up to at all. #“You're a wonderful‚ very strong‚ and intelligent person” HOW DO YOU EVEN REPLY TO THAT. #“Uh I disagree but you're entitled to your opinion”... ? #Thank you? #This is. Ugh. I'm really not fit for this kind of stuff. #I LOVE exploring characters being in love and putting them in awkward ridiculous situations that make them miserable. #I HATE to be in such situations #As if exams weren't enough. How do I deal with that #Posting this just in case anyone has genuine advice btw. How do you reject a girl you actually like a lot #And how should I even write her back. Because she said to and I'm the WORST at writing back #Sis this is stressing me off so much. I want to dig a hole and disappear in it. I'm not getting out of my room for the next six months. #(For context we live in the same students dorm) #random rambles #I'm so distressed right now this is the absolute worst. #Like I was pretty fine with where we were at but now I feel like I really don't want to spend time with her again for a long time. #Deleting this soon hopefully

[shimmerluna]

WAIT Elle has box braids in s3??? I could cry

I don't think she had bad hair in s1 or s2, but I'm excited that they're actually giving the Black girls Black hairstyles instead of having them wear it out.

Before, it felt like the (all-white, for context) hair department was just ignorant about Black hair, so they put wigs on the Black actresses and only did styles that also work on nonblack hair for their own sake/convenience. This theory was especially supported by the fact that Tara, whose 4c hair couldn't really be styled the same as nonblack hair, wore a twistout that would take literal hours to do every day, but she had box braids in s2! and Elle has box braids now!! I'm so excited!!!

I also feel like this fits her bold, fashion-loving personality so much better than leaving her hair out. Our hair is basically its own accessory, and the long box braids are very feminine. Again, I'm not saying not having a protective style isn't feminine or fashionable (I myself am a fashion girlie with an Afro), but having one is another outlet for her creativity, and I'm glad they're recognizing that now.

#shimmer's thoughts #heartstopper #elle argent #i have heard that apparently black people aren't allowed to have braids in uk schools? which is legitimately fucking wild #although it kinda looks like this had a big turning point in 2022 according to a quick google? but i'm not 100% sure #it depends on how much influence the ehrc has over the government. which doesn't seem to be much #we do have hair dress codes with huge anti-black bias here but no braids usually isn't in there explicitly #or something that's enforced afaik #all that to say it might just be that this happens to be a summer season and that's why their hair is like that #although even then I don't think Tara would be doing a twistout every day #i think slicking takes way less time so she'd probably be doing that if they didn't like afros either #she might though. i don't know exactly why she would do that but she might decide to do that #also to clarify again i'm not saying not having a protective style as a black girl is bad or negative or anything #i'm saying in the context of the hair and makeup team being completely white #and alice oseman being a white person who originally only gave the comic characters wavy/barely curly hair #them not giving them protective(/realistic for Tara) styles was sus. and this is a welcome change #i mean. we haven't seen Tara's hair for this season yet. and they really love that twistout #so maybe i shouldn't get my hopes up yet. but i'll give them their flowers for this at least

[icewindandboringhorror]

I know multiple of these are likely important to people, but I'm asking in terms of like - which of these do you tend to focus on the MOST, enjoy the most, that is most essential for you to actually care about the media, etc.?

(For example: someone finding "Relatability" most important would likely not enjoy a show much if they have trouble empathizing with the characters/relating to it, even if it were good otherwise. Or, someone might be able to overlook bad acting and ugly costumes, as long as the Character Dynamics are fun to them, because they value that more than Aesthetics- while for others, bad costumes would be a dealbreaker.)

Also feel free to reblog and explain your answer or more information in the tags- I've always been curious about people's relationships to media, how they conceptualize it/what they get out of it, how some people value some parts more than others, how that informs their overall taste and genres they may be more inclined towards, etc. :0c

#I was having a conversation with a friend about our favorite type of media and they said the reason they DON'T like historical or fantasy #media or etc. is because they can't imagine themselves being in those situations like it's too detached from anything that they can relate #to personally. they put themselves in the shoes of the characters and apparently like feel emotions while watching stuff and actually #get into the way the characters are feeling so they kind of judge how 'good' or 'bad' a show's writing/setting/etc. are by how it makes #them feel and if they think the characters reacted realistically based on what they were feeling in the moment/what in their head they #would be feeling if they were in the postion of the character. SO apparently the distance of it being in an unrelatable setting or too #detached from our reality makes it harder for them to relate to and less able to really engage with it on that level. WHEREAS I watch #things exclusively in a very like.. detached way?? I'm INTERESTED.. it's like im intellectually analyzing everyhting that's happening and #can be intrigued by events but it's not in an emotional way? More of like a distant 'intellectual curiosity'. Maybe the premise or the #aesthetics or something about it has piqued an interest for me to observe it. to see what it's like or how it plays out. how the idea #is executed or etc. But like.. I cannot remember EVER really relating to any character or situation or projecting onto a character #or having those sorts of feelings or investment in it. That is just not a central part of why/how I watch things or what I care about #BUT after this I was thinking maybe this is my disconnect? I do not seem to conceptualize media the way some other people do and I often #walk away with an entirely different take on things. etc. So I wonder if maybe it's part of how everyone values different things probably? #maybe I literally just watch stuff and percieve it from a different frame of mind that others. More of a like detached curiosity #vaguely bemused analysis mode. Instead of a 'I am deeply emotionally invested in this and am feeling for all the characters' mode #And also I bet people who care more about plot/story are also the people who mind spoilers. Whereas for me I literally seek out spoilers #intentionally because that element of 'suprise ooh what will happen next!' is not central at all to my enjoyment. I could know literally #everything that will happen and still can find it interesting to observe - since for me #that's not the point. I'd rather know the ending so I can determine whether I want to invest the time in it in the first place. etc. #ANYWAY!! If I had to choose - I would say I'm usually heavily focused on world details and aesthetics. With only a slight preference #towards characters individually being interesting. Group dynamics can sometimes be okay but I get tired of everything being about relations #hips and romance - especially when sometimes it seems to be like. people who could not stand on their own as a character/are fundamentally #boring otherwise lol. I would watch a series of just one guy locked in a closet talking to himself as long as he was interesting and saying #things that were amusing or notable for some reason lol. I actually tend to dislike plot because most 'plot heavy' things like action focus #ed shows ALWAYS feel to me like they're moving so fast just to get from one thing to another that I'm not getting enough details. Part of #why I tend to not like movies. the time limit makes them too quick. I need a 95 hour expostion dump of the history of the entire world #and a series of 17 episodes straight where a guy is trapped in a room & the audience is just psychoanalyzing him. hghj.. Maybe I find all #characters annoying/unrelatable bc people w my personality type make bad characters/are not often represented (or are done BADLY). so then #I'm just picking 'who is the LEAST insufferable? who could i study like a lab rat?' whilst my main focus is the worldbuilding&costumes lol

[llycaons]

love looking at a relationship and going hmm kind of fucked up. best if they never met again for many reasons that they have little control over. and then ppl decide to make them a couple 😔 you can't 'it's true love' yourselves out of everything!!!!

#this is about bflf unforch #their final scene together was SO good it didn't need to be anything else #and how are they supposed to be comfortable around each other given the hideous trauma they respectively went thru #either because of or directly incflicted upon each other #ppl got rly excited about toxic matching lesbians when thats not what was actually happening #like on some level I do think hc cared abt sqx and vice versa ofc but #for hx to be at peace sqx HAD to lose everything. so where could that leave them huh #like I do see the appeal but I don't find it realistic or satisfying #and most ppl seem to just like it for the aesthetics anyway #its a mess and not even in a fun way like that separation is the culmination and end of their respective arcs #and I LOVE hx and sqx. they're both incredibly compelling and engaging characters #hc is like my no.3 fave. but he did some rly awful things to sqx!! #cor.txt

[vamptastic]

it's just like. okay. when i say i like men in a gay way and women in a lesbian way i don't mean that i think straight attraction is icky or my attraction is somehow more enlightened and progressive. i mean that I've spent the formative years of my sexuality in a place with my gender presentation where people are equally as likely to see me as a man or a woman and often seem to think of me as both, and i cannot separate both my attraction to men or to women from that. ive always felt drawn to butchness because its this concept that your love for the same gender shapes your gender presentation and vice versa, but it's specific to womanhood and attraction to women as a woman in a way i can't entirely relate to. like, in many ways i am both a man and a woman, and i am attracted to both men and woman in a way both shaped by and reflected by that fact.

#there's not really a clear label for that is there #i suppose i don't need one it's just to have that cos you can find similar people #i suppose bisexual as a gender is the closest i can get #like both sexes and also attracted to both sexes and those two things each are linked to and affected by the other #i don't know. i expect my feelings on this will change as i transition and people start to really see me as a man #and not the in-between ive been in since puberty (thank you pcos combined with massive badonkahonkawonkadonks) #it's just sort of frustrating to feel like nobody gets it #like lesbians are into me cos they think im butch #a specific type of man-autistic nerds (affectionate)-seem to just see me as a regular ol woman #and when confronted with the reality that i am not seem to not really care either way about my gender #other trans people are into me and they do generally get it but not always #and gay guys are into me sometimes but i don't really pass consistently enough for it to happen often #like im not actively seeking a partner n i don't both passing day to day cos everyone knows im trans already #n binding is a living hell when you're fat with a fucking. idk the size like E or F probably. cup size. #so mostly ppl approach me thinking im butch but occasionally ppl think im a guy in photos i post and such or #strangers will ask my friends abt me thinking im a guy #but like generally speaking no matter what i don't get to just be A Man. and i don't know if i really want to be! i like being trans #and it sucks because ive missed out entirely on dating in middle/high school like when you find out who you like #simply for being trans. ik most queer ppl end up doing it all in college its just frustrating yk. cos all my cis friends get to do it #realistically speaking im p much just t4t i really only have actually tried to date trans people + trans people are hotter + they get it #which im fine with. i love trans people . just sucks to be excluded sometimes even when u don't want in

[lucalicatteart]

Poll adventure (paventure? lol) Day 12: read the small story tidbit below the poll for more details, OR just vote based on initial impression

(✦ see past poll results + further information HERE (link) ✦)

Yesterday's poll decided that The Adventurer should rest for the night in an abandoned barn ...

~

Somewhat nervous about being out in the woods alone at night, he decides to try finding a more hidden sleeping spot, further off from the path. Though with his injuries, and his exhaustion, he knows he shouldn't walk too far. He tells himself that he'll just adventure a little, only an hour or so, and if he can't find anything better by then, he'll just give up and set a tent in some bushes somewhere......

After 30 minutes, he finally stumbles across an old barn. He can't see it very well with just a trickle of moonlight and the dull glow of his flickering lantern, but it seems to have not been used for many years. Structurally sound enough (at least he hopes), yet shrouded in moss and blankets of various overgrowth.. It takes a few moments to pluck away all of the ivy blocking his path, but he soon closes the rickety doors behind him to focus on the interior. There's no space to light a fire or set up a real tent, and he'll have to block a few holes in the walls so wild animals don't sneak in, but, there are a few surprisingly clear looking sections scattered amongst all the musty hay bales and cobwebs. He chooses a "cozy" spot in the corner, hidden behind a few dusty crates. Though he tosses about uncomfortably in his bedding for quite a while, he's eventually able to fall into a peaceful sleep.….....

.. Suddenly, he's startled awake by rustling, catching a dark blurred movement in front of him. He's smart enough to always sleep wearing his backpack over his chest so nobody could just grab it without him noticing, but it seems for the first time in all his travels... someone is actually trying to. Still half asleep, he clings to the bag and yelps, pushing and tumbling away into a moldy wooden barrel after an initial struggle. He pulls himself up to face the hooded figure now looming above him, entirely obscured aside from their vague cloak-ish shape outlined by the faint moonlight behind them.. The Adventurer calls out in a shaky attempt at an aggressive tone, "Wh-wh.. whAT are YOU DOIng? WHo-whu..UHHH??? aahhhG" "Give me the bag." The hooded figure speaks in a smooth, stern, yet calm voice, slowly taking a step forwards. The cat scrambles to The Adventurer's side, hissing and giving a low growl.. "w-WELL , uh,, sORRY , n-NO , I would rrrather not DO THAT, I h-- I uh-- I don't have even anythi- I don't even have ANYTHING, I mea- wh-wh HWaAt d-do I look RICH to you?? EUggh-" he gulps loudly, holding back nervous vomit, "B-BACK OFF!! you-.. f- uh.. THIEF!!!!!" The hooded figure pauses for a moment, as if re-strategizing how to approach the situation. "Look, kid, I don't want to hurt you. But I need you to give me that egg." "WHWh-what egg? I-I don.. DON'T have an EGG, I'm uh…aCTUALLY a-allergic to eggs, s-sso-" "The egg that's in a wooden box. In your bag. Don't waste your time bullshitting me.. Come on, let's make this quick." The hooded figure extends their arm, motioning to be handed the egg. Still desperately fighting not to throw up everywhere, The Adventurer simply sits on the floor, staring up at the hooded figure blankly as he tries to think.. Is he seriously being robbed for the first time? Is that like, a cool milestone, or a bad one? He's read about it in adventuring books before but... the reality feels so much different.. How can he get out of this? Strategies scatter through his mind, but he's too shaken to find any clear answers.. What should he do?

-

Additional Information

the adventurer's current main quest: follow his map to reach the abandoned castle ruins and see the rare animal specialist about the mysterious egg he has

#paventure posting #poll #polls #choose your own adventure #for the record - if he had gone to the stranger's cottage. walked all the way to the villiage. or kept walking all night. the hooded figure #wouldnt have had a safe place to corner him and would have had to wait for another day. all the other options #(abandoned barn. sleep out in the woods. etc.) would lead to the same thing #The dice lady was letting him know someone has been following him. perhaps multiple someones #I was also going to include the options 'threaten to blow up the entire barn with magic and then nobody gets the egg' #and an option for him to just throw the egg on the ground and break it #but those seem more out of character and also breaking the egg would end his quest anyway since he would have nothing #to bring the Innkeeper's brother anymore lol #also a 'tell the cat to attack the robber' option but I was afraid too many people would choose that thinking it was #funny or a cool way out of the situation when like.. realistically the cat would get hurt actually and I don't want to endanger them #or have to write about them getting harmed lol. WHICH I know is a choice. I could be like 'wow the cat is actually a #magical cat and they explode the person and win hooray!' . but it feels too far fetched given the hooded stranger's background #they're not going to be like completely incapacitated by one small cat #things must be goofy and silly and fantasy but also.. underlying realism to an extent #I held back on not making him get more injuries after sailing down a river in a dinky little raft because I really think thats probably #quite dangerous hjknjk. I stated it was a very slow moving river specifically to make it seem a little more plausible but #I feel like in real life the current would just smash your raft into a rock in like 10 minutes lol #ANYWAY.. uh oh. boy in danger! #he can get out of it though. I believe in him #somehow an unskilled swagless penniless nervousboy can still make his way in the world #(he does have SOME skills ghhgh.. just like. not really adventuring suited ones. since he just started adventuring like #less than a week ago and has no training or practical experience aside from reading a lot of storybooks) #also I know his belt thing is on the wrong shoulder... shhhh... I still don't feel good and drew very quickly and am not #going back to make changes lol

[witchwhaat]

guys... would you still love me if i dropped out of that degree i was whining about for the last 3 months🥲

#i have not decided YET but. SIGH #i know it's only been 4 weeks but it's not what i expected it to be :( #and it requires MUCH more work from me bc of that and i simply don't have enough time #the way this degree works is kind of insane #and just looking at it realistically the most reasonable decision for me at this point is to drop it #and i know it may seem rushed bc it's only been a month but i kinda have to make a decision asap #and on one hand i want to stay delusional and tell myself i can do this but let's be real😭 #there's no way i'll be able to survive there til the end of semester #i'm ALREADY not passing after 4 weeks of classes 😶 #and i'm barely catching up with my master's degree which is a priority for me so. #god damn i hate it here i hate having to decide things like this #might delete later bc alsjdhajfjjd yall don't need my Dilemma and Complaining here #agnes talking

[neodarkdark]

Is Black City just as weird as White Forest? What sort of things have you experienced there?

"Well, it's definitely weird in its own way. It's not the same as the Forest is — they're fundamentally different environments... I'd say there's much less sense of the entire place being literally alive. You don't get the same feeling while you're here as the Forest gives."

How to describe that? Both felt like you were in the presence of something that was paying attention, but they weren't the same.

"Oh, but, it definitely watches you, just like the Forest does, and it'll interact with you if it feels like it; it just translates differently. If you don't know what's up with the place, you probably won't realise that person you chatted with on the street was a face of the city itself. What did it learn about you while you made idle conversation?"

"It's typically less obviously eerie than the Forest is. Still dangerous in its own way. A real city is composed of a billion different parts, acting together, as has been streamlined by human systems, with many smaller ones acting of their own accord within that. It's an ecosystem. Well, Black City is too, except those elements are all more or less aware of each other... since they're part of the same whole, and they work in tandem with one another. You don't form part of that whole; you're just a visitor."

"It's got an eye for reading a person, and if you're the greedy type, the place might just ruin you. It soaks that up. You'll never be satisfied... either you'll leave, if you're smart, or you'll waste yourself away."

He'd exchanged words with the man who called himself the boss of the city, and they'd looked each other in the eye, reading one another in the way that only the avatar of a living city and a human who saw a thousand things that would escape most others' notice could do.

"...it lets me live here, though. It knows who I am. It's not like Blanc's connection to the Forest, but we have... an understanding."

"And you have to be careful navigating it. There's no such thing as a reliable map, and you can't trust the directions you're given. A path you took to get someplace yesterday might lead somewhere completely different today; you'll follow those directions to a dead end, or anywhere other than where you were looking to be. You have to be able to see with more than just your eyes, to not rely simply on what you're told, or what you think you already know, if you want to get around."

"That's been my experience, anyway. It's not an unnecessarily cruel place unless you give it a reason to be. I'm sure that plenty of unsuspecting, naive types would be able to find their way around just fine. It's the ones who aren't so innocent that need to watch their step."

#who's that knocking at your door? (inbox) #twilighttheater #catch me if you can (ic) #out of the dark day and into the brighter night (v; alt) #svern vc if it dislikes you enough you'll pick up a stalker. or maybe get hit by a car. or maybe just lose any belongings on you #otherwise you can visit or even live here and it won't seem that different to any other city. as long as you don't look too closely #and stay away from the more kooky neighbourhoods and places. #less ghosts and shadow people than the forest. it's more tangible. in the same way a realistic dream is

[icharchivist]

i mean i get why it sucks but i've been having an existential crisis that keeps me up at night for most of my life too and i'm not producing people expressly to abuse them and use them as tools about it. Astrals are just on something else i guess

i'd say it's a question of scale in general, as in an existential crisis coming so deeply from a whole different life in your head would fuck someone up much more. but anyway i keep saying Lucilius' way to treat other is bad, in those same posts in fact, just that his issues with depersonalization/derealization are also extremely compelling and actually make me feel bad for him. Those two feelings can coexist, and i don't mean that you have to be nicer to him or anything. i'm just saying he's still an interesting character.

#like idk as someone who suffered from both scenario ie: abuse from family and lover #and this feeling of twisting yourself to try to overcompensate on the neglect you've been through #AND as someone who genuinely feels like i'm walking my life as dissociated from reality #and have to constantly remind myself to remain close to earth while being scared when the apathy knocks in #especially after too-realistic dreams that can really make it seem like something is deeply wrong with me and i shouldn't be here #i have actually deep feelings for both situation #yeah Lucilius's way to treat others is wrong. i've never denied it or implied that because he was a sad meow meow it was forgiveable #all i've been saying is that damn actually this feeling of complete disconnect resonate with me to the point of shattering my glass house #and while compassion and empathy are stuff i deeply deeply prioritize in my life #i have those episodes of pure apathy especially after a disconnection like that #that genuinely scare me and that i have to work twice harder to feel myself back into controlling my thoughts #and therefore am deeply scared of the flipside of not managing to fight it #which actually make me much more empathic to characters who can't. actually. #like i have this thing where i see characters who struggles with similar issues than me and make all the wrong choices #because i pity them like i'd pity myself in the mirror on a bad day #like i'm sorry i don't want to be tmi or justify myself in such a way but i've tried just being more general #and if we're going to put personal experience into all of this i have all day #i have a trauma for all of the stuff i have lighthearted but strong opinions about #i insult Lucilius every other day i feel like it's a bit sad that the day i say i do actually like how interesting his drama is #that i have to argue for the reasons why those issues - while not erasing his flaws - are worth being emotional about #and i'm not asking you to feel this way and you should stick to how you feel bc your personal experience is what should shape your feelings #but you also need to accept that i have my own as well #ichareply #anonymous #ichafantalks gbf

[layeredwanderings]

Got up to MHT5 before remembering I have a project I need to work on. So that's all for tonight. I find it interesting that Doc Slaughter writes her private notes expecting - hoping - that someone will read them. Maybe that's what the "more paranoid universe" bit means.

#User: Pilot #zampaniosim #Location: EastEast #easteast #I like camille. she seems fun #'Ria burns the world to ash when stressed' #is a sentence with intriguing implications #does the world get better? #or does she only attempt to burn it? #either way it's interesting #I like stories and characters where things don't try to be realistically possible #would love to write one someday. sadly I'm too much of a fan of internal rulesets and those tend to put limitations #on how much power and strangeness a world or character can contain #I have tried a few times though #with the red-eyes and the archival automaton #and also the angels. though that world wasn't one of mine #and it did end up falling apart (so I put them all into one of my own instead) but I'm still grateful for the chance to work with #a premise as strange to me as that #...yeah no one outside of the other mods is gonna know what I'm talking about here and maybe not even them #dont worry about it #just me thinking about worldbuilding and characters and the like #my point is I like this story even if - or maybe because - I don't get what's going on in it #'pilot didnt you already go thru the whole textsim a while back' yes but you see I am very forgor everything