#phaeton-flier

[st-just]

🔥

\🔥 emoji

A depressingly large amount of media has this idea that Character Development means the character in question slowly sloughing off everything that was interesting or spiky or unique about themselves to better approach one of a few acceptable archetypes of Healthy and Emotionally Mature role model material and it's basically universally a downgrade.

Fandom is probably several times worse about this.

#at this point the phrase 'found family' gives me hives #the power of love and friendship should exclusively be used to be fucked up an evil for a while for variety #reply #phaeton-flier #hot take ask meme

[garaktime]

Which DS9 character is most likely to be trans. Who do you think would be the funniest about it

I've had this sitting in my inbox for ages and I still don't have a good answer so i'll pass it to those playing along at home. Challenge mode: do not say Julian

... HOWEVER

idk about most likely but my heart says Martok. Who would be funniest? Also Martok.

#trek posting #reply time #phaeton-flier

[lizardsfromspace]

Can you expand on the Kirk Cameron movie?

It's called Saving Christmas and the poster looks like this

You know people who insist every element of Christmas is secretly pagan? This is the exact opposite: a movie that insists every element of Christmas is Christian, and imbued with deep meaning. Every element, from Christmas trees to Christmas shopping, is actually religious. Like Christmas spawned in fully complete

Christmas trees? God created trees, and the cross was made from wood, so they're definitely not from 1500s Germany but are a Biblical tradition

A lot of the claims he addresses are just strawmen. Like his brother says Santa is a commercial mascot that distracts from Jesus, but also that Santa is an anagram of Satan, which is the point Kirk Cameron demolishes by bringing up Saint Nicholas was a real guy while ignoring the others

This is his defense of materialism:

The actual movie is Kirk Cameron sitting in a car talking at his brother at length. It is only 79 minutes long, including credits, and padded to hell. His brother is, no joke, named Christian White

#phaeton-flier #asks

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Ok Frank, it's your turn: who do you have a crush on?

Why, you, of course.

(Note: it should be remembered that Frank is very literal-minded. If you talk about food, she will bring you food. If you talk about anatomy, she will stare at yours. etc. The moral of this story is that you should be careful what you say if you happen to be writing a program that interacts with humans.)

#peanut gallery #phaeton-flier

[nonplatonicsubtext]

what is the worst worm (not ward) common fan belief?

this is so hard to answer not because there arent any easy answers but because there are too many easy answers. like. unfortunately i really do have to give it to the yud on this one. i could talk about people believing that taylor is in a coma at the end, aura theory, rachel has any interest in men, all that shit, but how do you even compare any of that to the absolute glorious idiocy that is this tweet

#asks #phaeton-flier

[fishing-lesbian-catgirl]

Where is your header image from?

This? It’s from the Otherside Picnic manga. Specifically, it’s from chapter 44: Little Bird in a Box III

#otherside picnic #asks #phaeton-flier

[heartfulselkie]

Suppose alliteration was the name of an episode. What would the plot be?

Hmm that's a tricky one.

Most of the season 5 episodes are based on the kwami powers (like 'Evolution' or 'Passion') or for major points in the season's arc (like 'Reunion').

Otherwise it'd be going back to the previous formula of the episode title being the Akuma of the week.

Since alliteration isn't a kwami power (that we know of 😂) it'd either be a plot heavy episode or an Akuma name.

Since alliteration refers to repeating letters or sounds, it could maybe be a time-loop episode where something keeps repeating (from an Akuma power maybe?)

We've already had a similar idea though in s5 Intuition with Monarch trying (and failing) to use the Snake Miraculous.

Ladybug and Chat Noir were completely unaware of the time resets though, so if I were to maybe write a oneshot or something on this I'd maybe write from their perspective and then figuring out that something is going on until they realise the pattern.

#phaeton-flier #ask selkie #miraculous ladybug #ml s5 #miraculous season 5

[that-starlight-prince]

Meow for me

Meowww meow! 😺

#meow #:3 #asks #phaeton-flier

[clairelutra]

What makes Star Driver so great?

it's a FANTASTIC example of how you can blend genres and come out with a piece of art instead of a trainwreck!! it's magical girl boy AND mecha AND slice of life romance that ends in a (heavily implied) polycule!! it takes some of its cues from studio ghibli and some of its cues from gurren lagann and some of its cues from code geass and even a couple from hirugashi and it's just!! so pretty!! the art and animation are sublime!!!

it takes its time to walk you through so many different dynamics at a pace you can breathe with. it has the idyllic small town with a dark secret. it has the villainesses dress up like stereotypical dominatrices. the characters are silly and over the top and deeply loving and clever. nobody's left fumbling the idiot ball—the plot is emotionally logical and sound, without being didactic or requiring you to make too many leaps of understanding. it started with a tragedy and ended with the new generation fixing the mistakes of the old. the villains have really silly secret codes.

it's just so charming and warm and well-executed and it kills me that nobody knows about it 😭

#star driver #phaeton-flier #phaeton flier #answered

[cyberbun]

What would you say is the difference between a prince maid, a princely maid, and a butler who is princely?

top, switch, bottom.

#ask #phaeton-flier #in that order

[that-starlit-wanderer]

What would you recommend for the inter revolutionary period of Russia in 1917? Keeping in mind that I'm a casual

I mean I'm kind of a casual about this as well, and it's been awhile since I read about this period much.

But if you're asking how the provisional government could have been successful, the most obvious answer to that is to withdraw from World War I, even if it meant making a humiliating peace with Germany. I think the biggest reason the Bolsheviks gained the popularity they did is because they were (afaik) the only significant political faction in Russia to advocate leaving the war, and they were so adamant about it that they were willing to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk to make it happen. That treaty was a massive loss of territory for Russia including a substantial part of its pre-war industrial base but the Bolsheviks were the only faction to realize that continuing the war was just a non-starter by that point.

In addition to the loss of territory there would have been political costs: the Allies (Britain and France in particular) were strongly encouraging the provisional government to stay in the war. Even though the US joined the war in April 1917 it took them a very long time (about a year) to start getting substantial numbers of soldiers to the Western front. If Russia leaves the war in spring 1917 their allies are probably furious with them, and it's possible that Germany even wins the war if they move troops from the east to the west in early 1917 rather than in early 1918.

But even with that in mind, I think it still just comes back to, if the provisional government wants to survive, they have to leave the war no matter the cost.

Beyond that, it's probably most important to get elections to the Constituent Assembly held that could produce a more legitimate democratic government. The provisional government would have made a hard but necessary choice to sign the peace treaty with Germany but they probably don't have much political capital left after that so getting a permanent government set up is crucial.

(Elections to this assembly were actually held, with the Social Revolutionary Party (agrarian democratic socialists basically) winning most of the seats and the Bolsheviks dominating in urban areas. But again the strength of the Bolsheviks in the cities was largely due to them being the only major political faction with an anti-war-at-any-cost stance, and they disbanded the Assembly shortly after the election without recognizing its results. If the war is over the resulting government is likely some flavor of democratic socialist.)

Then they just have to fix the cratered economy, try to deal with emerging nationalist movements in Ukraine, the Caucasus, Finland, etc, try to repair relations with their erstwhile allies, take control of the army and ensure that no right-winger counter-revolutionary elements in the military are able to attempt a coup a la the Kornilov affair. No big deal really, how hard could that be!

But yeah they were in an extremely difficult situation. No one deserves more blame for that than the Tsar imo for running the most backwards reactionary government on the continent and fighting hard against political reform for decades, but I still think if they get out of the war asap the provisional government could have survived. They didn't and I think that more than anything sealed their fate.

#asks #phaeton-flier

[st-just]

sell me on Pale Lights

Hmm. Difficult without knowing where you're starting from as far as web serials/the author goes, I think? But to take a stab at it:

Elevator Pitch: In a vaguely early-modern fantasy world build around antediluvian ruins and small isles of light in a world-sized cavern, the Watch are an ancient militant order dedicated to hunting ancient and rampant gods. To be one of their officers is to be one of the most clued in and influential groups in the world - and there is a yearly trial for anyone really desperate enough to earn a spot. Our heroes - a street rat contracted with an unknown and unhelpful goddess of luck, and a noble swordswoman seeking refuge after the massacre of her family - begin the story rushing to take their berth on the ship headed toward the Dominion of Lost Things, and their own last chances.

What's Good:

Characters/Relationships: EE (the author) is a goddamn genius at writing engaging and entertaining banter between characters, and making different people in a conversation sound different. Both (and in book 2, all) of the POVs have engaging personal arcs and interestingly distinct internal monologues and neuroses. (Also, none of them are the unimpeachable moral exemplar and they're all allowed to be assholes and idiots when it seems appropriate).

Setting: Is it to some extent 'fantasy setting plopped into the Underdark without thinking through the implications of what that would mean?' Sure, a bit - but take that as read and the world really does feel rich and interesting, with an actual sense of both history and politics. The world only gets wilder and weirder the most you learn of it too, which I always appreciate. .

Action: Do you like layers of weird magical bullshit clashing against each other? Then oh boy is this the setting for you. Honor duels and spiritual possession and an improbably number of Indiana Jones traps and exactly as many hungry and unhelpful gods as you would expect from the pitch up there. Just as importantly for me (who has sharply limited patience for them) none of the big action setpieces have really dragged or overstayed their welcome yet.

What's Not

It's a web serial. A very good one! but it has all the flaws of being written week to week with no revisions you expect, and the pacing is godawfully meandering.

#reply #phaeton-flier #could go into more detail but need to make brunch #so yeah #pale lights

[garaktime]

I think it's a crime that despite being made in the 90s we never got the terrible yet catchy Gul Dukat Rap

ds9 musical ep but dukat makes his entrance rapping a really shitty version of this masterpiece

#reply time #phaeton-flier #trek posting

[analytically]

Crab of the Magi

Thanks!

#askbox #phaeton-flier #crab day

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

Hey, Frank, everyone's always asking you questions. How about I give you the opportunity to ask us a question?

I have never seen an animal that isn't either a dog or a cat

#phaeton-flier

[nonplatonicsubtext]

If she somehow got everything she wanted from Yamada, would that have saved Victoria?

oh absolutely the fuck not.

victoria's desires for yamada are entirely subconscious. if she became aware of them she would be disgusted with them on multiple levels - she's aware of abuses of power dynamics, and also its a (mildly) non-normative sexual desire. she would flinch away from any statement or straightforward acknowledgement of those desires - for someone else to acknowledge them would be taken by her as an insult, casting aspersions on her character. for herself to acknowledge them would be for her to see herself as sick and twisted, which she would probably find a way to blame on amy

#asks #phaeton-flier