#some of it is like. not much difference but lots of it can be seriously discounted

[ryin-silverfish]

One nerd's musing about Chinese religion and "respect"

-I try to stay away from fandom discourse, but, much like how you can smell the stench from a dumpster fire without walking into said dumpster fire, I've noticed something that seemed to come up a lot in western JTTW + adjacent fandoms: "respect Chinese religion".

-Usually as a reason for why you shouldn't ship a character, because of fucking course it's shipping discourse too.

-And my first reaction is "Man, you are taking Chinese religion too darn seriously, more than people who are born and raised in China."

-My second reaction is "I mean, most of us are atheist/agnostic by default anyways, with a good number of what I'd call 'atheist/agnostics with superstitions': people who said they were not religious, yet believed in Fengshui or divinations and burnt incense at temples for good luck."

-My third reaction: "But why do I get the feeling that when you mention 'Respect', you are thinking about something completely different?"

-Then I reread an essay from Anthony C. Yu, "Religion and Literature in China: The "Obscure Way" of Journey to the West", and the metaphorical lightbulb just lit up over my head.

(Everything below applies more to Daoism + associated folk religions, but by the time most classic Chinese vernacular novels were written, the blending of the three religions had become well and truly mainstream.)

(The conception of gods differs from dynasty to dynasty. What I'm describing here is mostly based on Ming and Qing ones; if you went back to Han or pre-Qin times, most of these would not apply.)

(I am one of the "atheist/agnostic by default" people. I just have an interest in this kind of stuff. I am also just one Chinese person, and an actual Daoist/Buddhist/Religion Studies researcher would probably have a lot more valuable information and perspective to offer when it comes to contemporary practices and worship. Like any people on the internet: take my words with a grain of salt.)

-Even in the past, when society was far less secularized, Chinese gods are not omniscient, perfect beings whose worship is a solemn, humorless affair. Some's worship are Serious Business, but that has more to do with the sort of gods they are and the patronage they enjoy, not godhood in and of itself.

-And even the ones that you are supposed to "treat seriously" are still very human. To use an analogy I've used plenty of times before: you respect and fear them in the same way you'd respect and fear an emperor's official, or the emperor himself, because if you don't, you are not gonna like the consequences.

-However, unlike Jesus, the emperor & his officials were capable of being temperamental, flawed, or an outright asshole, divine or not. Ideally, they wouldn't be, and if you were one of the "serious" believers——people who actually got an official permit, became ordained clergy, and went to live in a temple, you were unlikely to think of your gods in that manner.

-But it wasn't a complete, utter impossibility. The lower you go in the pantheon, the closer you get to popular religion, the less "serious" the gods and their worship become. By that, I mean general attitude, not sincerity of faith. You still shouldn't be rude to them, but, well, they are more likely to take a joke in stride, or participate in the "vulgar" pleasures of commoners because they weren't as bound to Confucian moral standards or religious disciplines.

-To stretch the same analogy further: you should still respect your village head, they could still give your ass a good spanking for being a disrespectful brat, but you were not obligated to get on your knees and kowtow to them like you would do in front of a provincial magistrate, the emperor's minister, or the emperor himself, nor did they have the power to chop your head off just because you were rude.

-On the other hand, the emperor would never visit a random peasant just to help them fix their broken plow or treat them to a nice meal, but your village head could, and your relationship would probably be warmer and a lot more personal as a result.

-Your respect for them was more likely to stem from the things they actually did for you and the village as a whole, instead of something owed to this distant, powerful authority you might never get to see in your lifetime, but could change its course with a single stroke of a brush.

-Now exchange "village head" for your run-of-the-mill Tudis and Chenghuangs and friendly neighborhood spirits (because yes, people worshipped yaoguais for the exact same reasons), emperor + his officials for the Celestial Bureaucracy, and you'd have a basic idea of how Chinese religions worked on the ground level.

-This is far from absolute: maybe your village head was a spiteful old bastard who loved bullying his juniors, maybe your regional magistrate was an honest, upright man who could enjoy a good drink and a good laugh, maybe the emperor was a lenient one and wouldn't chop your head off for petty offenses. But their general degree of power over you and the closeness of your relationships still apply.

-Complicating the matter further, some folk gods (like Wutong) were worshipped not because they brought blessings, but because they were the divine equivalent of gangsters running a protection racket: you basically bribed them with offerings so they'd leave you alone and not wreck your shit. Famous people who died violently and were posthumously deified often fell into this category——shockingly enough, Guan Yu used to be one such god!

-Yeah, kinda like how your average guy could become an official through the imperial examinations, so could humans become gods through posthumous worship, or cultivate themselves into immortals and Enlightened beings.

-Some immortals aren't qualified for, or interested in a position in the Celestial Bureaucracy——they are the equivalent of your hermits, your cloistered Daoist priests, your common literati who kept trying and failing the exams. But some do get a job offer and gladly take it.

-Anyways, back to my original point: that's why it's so absurd when people pull the "Respect Chinese Religion1!!1!" card and immediately follow up with "Would you do X to Jesus?"

-Um, there are a lot of things you can do with Chinese gods that I'm pretty sure you can't do with Jesus. Like worshipping him side by side with Buddha and Confucius (Lao Tzu). Or inviting him to possess you and drink copious amount of alcohol (Tang-ki mediums in SEA). Or genderbend him into a woman over the course of several centuries because folks just like that version of Jesus better (Guan Yin/Avalokitesvara).

-But most importantly, Chinese religions are kinda a "free market" where you could pick and choose between gods, based on their vicinity to you and how efficient they were at answering prayers. You respect them because they'll help you out, you aren't an asshole and know your manners, and pissing them off is a bad idea in general, not because they are some omnipotent, perfect beings who demand exclusive and total reverence.

-A lot of the worship was also, well, very "practical" and almost transactional in nature: leave offerings to Great Immortal Hu, and he doesn't steal your imperial seal while you aren't looking. Perform the rites right and meditate on a Thunder General's visage, and you can temporarily channel said deity's power. Get this talisman for your kids at Bixia Yuanjun's temple, and they'll be protected from smallpox.

-"Faith alone" or "Scripture alone" is seldom the reason people worship popular deities. Even the obsession with afterlife wasn't about the eternal destination of your soul, and more about reducing the potential duration of the prison sentence for you and your loved ones so you can move on faster and reincarnate into a better life.

-Also, there isn't a single "canon" of scriptures. Many popular gods don't show up in Daoist literature until much later. Daoist scriptures often came up with their own gigantic pantheons, full of gods no one had heard of prior to said book, or enjoyed no worship in temples whatsoever.

-In the same way famous dead people could become gods via worship, famous fictional characters could, too, become gods of folk religion——FSYY's pantheon was very influential on popular worship, but that doesn't mean you should take the novels as actual scriptures.

-Like, God-Demon novels are to orthodox Daoism/Buddhism what the Divine Comedy is to medieval Christian doctrines, except no priests had actually built a Church of Saint Beatrice, while Daoists did put FSYY characters into their temples. By their very nature, the worship that stemmed from these books is not on the same level of "seriousness" as, say, the Tiantai school of Buddhism and their veneration of the Lotus Sutra.

-At the risk of being guilty of the same insertion of Abrahamic religion where it doesn't belong: You don't cite Dante's Inferno in a theological debate, nor would any self-respecting pastor preach it to churchgoers on a Sunday.

-Similarly, you don't use JTTW or FSYY as your sole evidence for why something is "disrespectful to Chinese religion/tradition" when many practitioners of said religions won't treat them as anything more than fantasy novels.

-In fact, let's use Tripitaka as an example. The historical Xuanzang was an extraordinarily talented, faithful, and determined monk. In JTTW, he was a caricature of a Confucian scholar in a Buddhist kasaya and served the same narrative function as Princess Peach in a Mario game.

-Does the presence of satire alone make JTTW anti-Buddhist, or its religious allegories less poignant? I'd say no. Should you take it as seriously as actual Buddhist sutras, when the book didn't even take itself 100% seriously? Also no.

-To expand further on the idea of "seriousness": even outside of vernacular novels, practitioners are not beholden to a universal set of strict religious laws and taboos.

-Both Daoism and Buddhism had what we called "cloistered" and "non-cloistered" adherents; only the former needed to follow their religious laws and (usually) took a vow of celibacy.

-Certain paths of Daoist cultivation allow for alcohol and sexual activities (thanks @ruibaozha for the info), and some immortals, like Lv Dongbin, had a well-established "playboy" reputation in folklore.

-Though it was rarer for Buddhism and very misunderstood, esoteric variants of it did utilize sexual imageries and sex. And, again, most of the above would not apply if you weren't among the cloistered and ordained clergy.

-Furthermore, not even the worship of gods is mandatory! You could just be a Daoist who was really into internal alchemy, cultivating your body and mind in order to prolong your lifespan and, ideally, attain immortality.

-This idea of "respect" as…for a lack of better words, No Fun & R18 Stuff Allowed, you must treat all divinity with fearful reverence and put yourself completely at their mercy, is NOT the norm in Chinese religious traditions.

-There are different degrees and types of respect, and not every god is supposed to be treated like the Supreme Heavenly Emperor himself during an imperial ceremony; the gods are capable of cracking a joke, and so are we!

TL;DR: Religions are complicated, and you aren't respecting Chinese religions by acting like a stereotypical Puritan over popular Chinese deities and their fictional portrayals.

#chinese religion #chinese mythology #chinese folklore #fandom discourse #journey to the west #xiyouji #investiture of the gods #fengshen yanyi

[alexas-fandom-and-random-blog]

I need to get it out of my chest so here's some Striker theories/speculations fandom has come up with that I heavily dislike and why.

Striker has some royalty blood from one parent or both.

Oh God that would suck so much if it became canon cause it absolutely defeats the purpose of his character so far, that of being a lower class imp hating royals with valid reasons even if his actions are violent and sadistic.

As he is he has such an interesting antagonistic role in the story and offers a bunch of good lines directly opposing and questioning the heroes values, choices and morality.

His mere presence and open bashing of the upper class is just good social commentary! If his hatred stems from a combination of his narcissistic nature and bitterness that being born an imp (even mixed or hybrid) robs him from ascending further into the social ladder or even if he survived a traumatic encounter with a royal as its implied and it's fuelled by anger or a combo of all those things all are good for telling a compelling story! All can be done in very interesting ways!

But making him yet another character tied closer to royalty than just being a random person that got screwed over is honestly an underwhelming concept.

Getting screwed over for no good or justified reason should be common with Hell's racist and classist system as its been presented so far and we should get confirmation of that instead of having Striker added to the trend of each of the main characters having special connections with higher ups. It's not only redundant at this point but would make his motivation and social commentary that much weaker.

I swear if it just becomes another daddy or mommy issue imma rage quit so fast!

Striker is half shark demon

His sound design is explicitly constantly emulating the noises a rattlesnake makes. Since he's most likely a hybrid and he says to Blitzo how they are "superior to most of our kind" he's definitely part imp. So we got two halves and we got snake demon and imp, so it's basically covered? lol I don't know how this theory became so popular😅

He doesn't even look close to the design of the other sharks

he only looks like Chaz a little bit.

And lots of characters share similar characteristics like that snout.

This one had some merit with the ringed eyes and imma be real I haven't noticed those elsewhere but like even if he had a grandpa shark what purpose would that serve?

Bah I just don't like it. Let the man be a slimy snake! Its more unique and it suits him better!

Striker is asexual cause he got grossed out by sex jokes

No...just no..

To be clear you could totally read him as asexual! But the reason being the damn sex jokes is giving me whiplash. Striker got flustered and frustrated at best cause the timing of each sex joke was inappropriate as all hell and cause everyone did it as he tried to be intimidating and threaten/kill them. If anything they were bruises to his ego not any indication to his libido.

But like... In all seriousness asexual confirmation deserves more than a reaction to sex jokes.

Hellaverse does it better with Alastor. In his case it does tie in with his sexuality.

Same goes with all the theories that he's homophobic too.

He did the sexy villain thing trying to seduce Blitzo like so explicitly and smiled when Blitzo called it hot then! What are you talking about?

Different situation, more receptive to sexual undertones and instigating them too. That's what I'm trying to say!

And again. Asexual reading can apply. But it can't be just the sex jokes alright?!😭

(yeah yeah it's a joke on itself. still valid I get it.)

Striker is related to Crimson and Moxxie.

Oh this one is the worst one and absolutely gives me a heart attack and thank goodness for the crew's soft confirmation that they aren't via strixxie fanart cause no joke I'd cry since its my favourite ship!

It's just similar horns!!! Striker was designed as a mix between Moxxie and Blitzo and that's the only reason why!

Striker also had sexual tension with Blitzo on screen are you gonna tell me they are related too cause he was designed with half of him in mind?

I hate this theory so much.

Granted purely for shipping reasons but holy shit it got popular and I hated that!

I've had enough with turning every ship into potential incest just cause and harassing fans over it!

Got such "Fizz and Blitzo are siblings" deja vu😬

Ahem...

Anyways yeah that's all.

To end it more positively I love the snake man! Didn't spot him on the trailer but still hope we see him in the upcoming episodes🥺

Preferably doing shit like this and traumatizing everyone lmao! (with no godawful statue jokes in sight thank you very much)

#rant #Striker #alexia posts #helluva boss #helluva boss striker #helluva boss critical #fandom critical #this is mostly unserious #😂

[seramilla]

All is happy, Emily and Vaggie are dating and agree charlie is cute but a combination of them sucking at flirting and charlie thinking angels don't do poly makes it hilarious to those watching

Vaggie has had a crush on Charlie since the last Heaven delegation meeting, but they don't happen often enough for her to ever think she has a chance with the literal Princess of Hell. She's not sure how that would go over with Heaven's elders, either. In the meantime, she and Emily have gotten close, since they're both working at the delegation in some capacity: Emily as the sister and apprentice to the High Seraphim, and Vaggie just volunteering with the transition of Hell's souls wherever she can.

They hit it off, Emily talking about how excited she is for Hell's new redemption program, and Vaggie sharing some of her experience with the Exterminations when they were still ongoing. Vaggie felt guilty about it, for a long time, but Emily never judged her; she could see Vaggie trying her best to change for the better, so what is there to hold against her at this point?

At the next Heaven delegation, Vaggie sits with Sera and Emily this time, which is a huge difference from sitting with Carmilla and her girls. The main difference, and the most important one, is that now she's only about eight seats down from Charlie, and oh yeah, she still has a massive crush on the Princess of Hell, and it's a lot more difficult to hide this time. Not that she hid it well last year.

Vaggie's face is about 10 different shades of gold throughout the proceedings. And the worst part is, Charlie's blushing, too, and keeps looking over at her behind her notes, before looking away again. And the other worst part is, Emily has noticed. And the other, other worst part is, she's teasing Vaggie about it relentlessly.

"She's cute, right?" Emily asks, poking Vaggie in the side with her elbow. "You wanna go talk to her afterward?"

Vaggie face-plants into her auditorium seat in shock, to the concern of everyone else sitting around them, including Charlie, who now looks over at her more with worry than enamorment.

"Emily!" Vaggie whisper-shouts, trying not to be heard by the rest of the high council. She puts her face up near her mouth, as if that will muffle her at all. "We are literally dating!"

"I don't mind," Emily says bluntly, wiggling her eyebrow at her girlfriend. Vaggie's body does another spasm, as if she's been hit in the head by a lightning bolt, or a piece of angelic steel. Probably the latter, with how much Vaggie's head is reeling in embarrassment. "Do you want to?"

"I mean...do you want to?" Vaggie asks, looking over at Charlie again, who's obviously started staring at them when she'd thought they weren't looking. The princess "eeps!" and hides behind her notes again, fruitlessly.

"Yeah!" Emily says, pumping her fist. "She's soooo stinkin' adorable! I've honestly had a crush on her for a long time. I'd probably die if she said hello to me, but you can carry me home."

"Emily...you're seriously okay with us having a crush on the same person?"

"Absolutely, girl!" Emily says, wrapping her arm around Vaggie's waist discretely. "Honestly...it's kinda hot."

Vaggie's brain does short circuit at that point, and she practically hides beneath her auditorium desk for the rest of the proceedings. Emily snickers under her breath, patting her head in endearment.

As soon as the proceedings are over, Emily calls Charlie over. The princess looks around for a moment, like Emily must be gesturing to someone else, but when no one else responds, she walks over to them slowly, looking just as nervous and out of sorts as Vaggie is.

What the fuck are we getting ourselves into? Vaggie asks herself, as Charlie holds out her hand in front of her, blushing profusely, and says to them, "Hi-hi there! I'm Charlie Morningstar! Pl-pleased to meet you!"

#hazbin hotel #vaggie #emily hazbin hotel #charlie morningstar #sera hazbin hotel #carmilla hazbin hotel #odette hazbin hotel #clara hazbin hotel #ask #fan theories #happy in heaven au #chaggily

[strqyr]

I just wanted to reach out and say, i really appreciate the Taiyang Positivity you post :3

He’s one of my favourite characters and i find that people have a lot of negative things to say about a depressed man grieving his **second** lost love, so i really like seeing you say just how much he loves and cares for his daughters despite his flaws

Thank you so much for spreading some much needed Good Tai Thoughts :D

skgjhgds thanks, my strq brainrot will continue to provide this in the future as well, no doubt about that 🫡

and honestly, it's the lack of sympathy / empathy that really gets me. ghira and kali don't get half the shit tai does for not being there for their daughter for five years, even when the show makes it abundantly clear that they missed blake growing up and she's now a different person that they knew her as, and like. they just watched her go join a violent organization, i guess? willow doesn't get half the shit tai does when she wasn't there for her kids for nine years (whitley was 5-6 years old), leaving them to deal with their abusive and controlling dad on their own while she was drinking and dealing with her own issues. summer doesn't get half the shit tai gets when it was her choice to leave, which led to her family having to deal with the aftermath while grieving.

none of them are getting called horrible parents at the rate tai does; it's flat out just double standards, and at this point i'm just like. there's no way i can even take it seriously anymore it's just so blatant lmao

#rwby #taiyang xiao long #ethans-express #ask.strqyr

[ap-kinda-lit]

Saiyan headcanons

Saiyans love hot baths. The kind of temperatures they best enjoy would be boiling to most people but to them is a perfect sauna.

They often take very personal trophies from their victories, like heads, limbs, or skin.

When a Saiyan is banished/exiled, they have their tails cut off as a mark of shame.

Some traditional Saiyan dishes do include bugs.

Before the Cold Empire’s conquest, Saiyan architecture was similar to that of the Aztecs/Mayans and India. You can also see it in the style of their artwork.

They also didn’t use armor much as they didn’t consider it necessary, but when they did the armor they wore included leather, metals, and furs. Common Saiyan armor was styled like the Vikings, while the armor used by the elite were more like the Mongolians.

Like in a lot of species, female Saiyans are not only just as strong as their male counterparts but can even be more dangerous. Females are more agile, methodical, strategic, and better at stealth. Like lionesses, they are capable of both attacking and defending. While female Saiyans are the primary caretakers of children and homesteads, this is because they are seen as reliable and highly capable at leading and protecting. If an army tried to attack a Saiyan camp because it was only wives and mothers, it would be the worst mistake.

Most Saiyans do not know what a “husband/wife” or “boyfriend/girlfriend” is or even what marriage means. They have mates and while there is courting involved it still basically goes if two people like each other a certain way they hook up, move in, and, more often than not, produce children. That’s it. Plain and simple. There are no certain terms, ceremonies, or pageantry.

Surprisingly, Saiyans are normally very loyal partners. They are monogamous and they more often than not mate for life.

A lot of Saiyans actually care about their children and can be super protective of them. As in, think of a mama bear or papa lion on PCP. Don’t mess with their kids.

They also carry them on their bodies, mostly their backs, not much different from how regular monkeys and apes do with their babies.

And when they’re not carried, Saiyan children hold on to their parent’s tail, kind of like with elephants.

Traditional Saiyan music kind of sounds like rock music and their dancing is the same as mosh pitting.

Yes, they hiss like cats. Why wouldn’t they?

Their battle cries sound like gorilla grunts and monkey howls and they bang on their chests like them.

Saiyans are fairly casual about nudity. They have mixed bath-houses and don’t have much problem with walking around naked before or after a bath or being injured. They even consider fighting nude and act of bravery and strength.

Saiyans have a very high tolerance for narcotics and alcohol. It takes quite a bit to make them intoxicated. Which is why their alcohol is extremely strong to the point it could give a man alcohol poisoning in little to no time.

While they prefer meat, they’re omnivores above all. They can eat just about anything. I mean anything. They have super strong stomachs that can store/digest anything. Like sharks, they’ll eat the most unusual things from time to time. If you cut open a Saiyan’s belly, you wouldn’t believe some of the stuff you would find in there, like a lost and found.

A Saiyan’s way of showing affection to their SO or relatives normally includes sharing food, bringing them presents from their hunts and other adventures, and grooming (namely picking out debris or whatnot from their hair). With their mates, they tend to bite (think of like with cats).

Speaking of which, Saiyans are very fierce in the bedroom as they are in the battlefield. Because of this, along with their brute strength and expansive energy, physical intimacy with a Saiyan can be tantamount to wrestling a bear or lion. You will most likely die or at least be seriously injured.

Saiyans have matches that are a lot like flyting, or rap battles. Essentially, they roast each other in rhythmic style. In Saiyan matches, expect some mother/father jokes and unflattering references to Frieza or King Cold.

#ideas about saiyans that have been rattling around in my brain for a long time #headcanon #saiyans #dragon ball #dragon ball z #dragon ball super #dbs #dbz

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

My memory is terrible so I wanted to do a breakdown of my stuff every once in a while. Might be monthly, might be whenever I feel like it.

QL - Currently Watching

🇹🇭1000 Years Old [11/12] - I know some of you are enjoying this one and I'm glad. And I have no idea what the finale has in store for us but this is just not the show for me. One episode to go and I honestly can't remember the last time I was this unenthusiastic about a finale. It's not even that it's that bad, it's just incredibly boring to me. I'll update this tomorrow with my thoughts on the finale.

🇹🇭23.5 [8/12] - The main couple lost me but I love Aylin and Luna. View is a delight to watch and whenever they're on screen together I'm in heaven. Also... THE TEACHERS!!! THEY ARE GIVING THEM TO US! We are blessed.

🇯🇵25 Ji, Akasaka de [2/10] - I like it a lot. I'm doing my best to not compare it to 'I Became the Lead in a BL Drama' for obvious reasons, but the tone seems different enough. I like the aesthetic a lot and I really like their dynamic, at the beginning it reminded me of Kabe Koji a bit. I'm mildly obsessed with Shirasaki's eyes and facial expressions. And a 'secret' crush is usually a win with me.

🇰🇷Boys Be Brave [2/8] - So far so good. Gi Seop is obvisouly not the best boy but there's something about his energy on screen that is compelling to me. I really liked that Jin Woo was honest about his feelings and I like the 'I love you but I don't like you' dynamic a lot. The second couple gave me some ODS vibes so I'm bracing for some angst.

🇯🇵Living with him [3/8] - It's great. Much like what I said above, I love that things are out in the open so soon and honestly Natsukawa reaction to the confession being basically 'how can I help?' was amazing to me. Also for anyone interested, this one is being fansubbed which is good cause according to my dear @colourme-feral the subs are not good at all.

🇰🇷Love Is Like a Cat [2/12] - I'm waiting to binge this one. Didn't like how this started and the rhythm just isn't working for me.

🇹🇭My Stand-In [1/12] - Pretty is pretty. But I don't trust Thailand with high concept so I have reservations. I hope I'm wrong. I liked the first episode so we'll see.

🇹🇭Only Boo! [4/12] - Moo is my child and he must be protected at all costs. I'm fighting myself with the singing and dancing because I should not be enjoying it at all and yet he's so charming. I hope Book's character is not here to do what I think it is because that would seriously damper my enjoyment of this otherwise bright spot in my week.

🇹🇭We Are [2/12] - I like the group scenes. They all seem very comfortable with each other. The main couple is the least compelling to me, just nothing new or interesting to see there. Aou is great at the comedy and I'm enjoying Poon a lot. Overall this show just doesn't flow, it keeps jumping from scene to scene/couple to couple without much of a threat and so I'm not really connecting. @bengiyo said it best here when he said it's like watching the actors ig reels.

🇹🇼Unknown [11/12] - I still think it's an incredible show, the best one airing right now probably, but I have to admit that the sex scene was a blemish in my overall enjoyment of it. I saw both versions, and although the reedited one is better is still not good. I don't think it was the right tone for the moment nor for the characters. Also it just doesn't flow well and the sound drove me crazy.

QL - Finished

🇹🇭Deep Night - This one surprised me a bit. There was a refreshing amount of good communication and they gave the people what they wanted, poly and older lesbians. I wish there were more acrobatics and the editing was weird in places but overall it's an entertaining show.

🇰🇷Gray Shelter - This is weird one. Because I feel like I have to fill in the gaps myself and that just shouldn't be the case. I enjoyed the actors a lot, and Lee Jae Bin presence on screen kept me engaged for most of it. There is definitely potential here if they had the time to explore all the different elements. But this runtime it's just not enough to fully flesh out these characters and the complex issues it wants to tackle.

🇯🇵Love is Better The Second Time Around - Started great but lost itself by the end. I don't think it needed that external conflict by the end with the brother and the mother because they weren't on firm ground to begin with. If I were to make a list like this one by @lurkingshan I don't think Myiata and Iwanaga would make it there. Iwanaga was amazing to watch though. He pretty.

🇯🇵My Strawberry Film - One pining gay boy does not a bl make. With that said, even as a drama there's nothing interesting here.

🇹🇭To Be Continued - Meh. It was fine. I wish I had more of the side couple because Gumbie is adorable. Midway this was getting into The Promise territory, and while it's not that bad, and I guess the reason for the separation is a valid one, I don't think Achi being the 'bad guy' for most of the show actually makes sense.

Rose Watches OJBL

Junjou (2010) - Second chance romance. I liked it. It's a nice watch, nothing particularly outstanding or new about this one, although that's not really fair considering it's more than a decade old, but alas I've seen other versions of this particular type of bl. Nevertheless I liked the characters, specially Tozaki,

Athlete (2019) - The visuals were the best part for me. There are several things I like in this, the main actor does a really good job imo and I truly enjoyed the bar scenes. But it doesn't all come together for me. I don't have a problem with the ending as much as how we got there.

Other - Watched

This was a slow month for me. I started a new job and some other stuff happened so I haven't really been in the mood to watch new stuff. Mostly comfort watches and rewatches. Oh I did watch Heartbreak High S2. It was good.

That's it for right now. My ask box is always open. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday tomorrow💜

#rosy watchlist #1000 years old #23.5 degrees #at 25:00 in akasaka #living with him #Unknown the series #boys be brave #my stand in the series #only boo the series #we are the series #athlete 2019 #junjou pure heart #to be continued #gray shelter #my strawberry film #deep night #love is better the second time around #multi bl #Rose Watches OJBL #rose rambles

[anim-ttrpgs]

An absolutely incredible review of the beta version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy by review Willy Muffin on youtube, complete with visuals and actual analysis!

I'm going to also add to this post a comment that I left on the video, offering further insight into the design intentions of the game, though the comment might not make as much sense if you haven't watched the video yet.

Hey, lead writer of Eureka here, first of all I wanna say how good and professional this review is, it’s almost indescribable how it feels to see our project taken so seriously and given real analysis, complete with visuals and everything! We would be super impressed and happy with it even if you didn’t like the game—but luckily it sounds like you loved it hahaha

I’d also like to address a few things throughout the video, not as arguments or rebuttals, just further developer insight for everyone

Re: “Urban Fantasy.” “Urban Fantasy” is basically just another term for “modern fantasy”, just a fantasy story that takes place in the 20th or 21st century and deals with the intersection of contemporary life with the supernatural, and it might be an Americanism, or even a Southern-ism, since it has a lot of connections and origins in the living folklore of New Orleans, so I shouldn’t be surprised it isn’t a term everyone is familiar with. Just think of it as the kind of genre where instead of the vampire living in a secluded scary castle, his name is Phil and he’s your roommate haha. What We Do in the Shadows, Shadowrun, and the World of Darkness games are all some other good examples of “urban fantasy.”

Re: Scooby-Doo. Oh we would LOVE for you to run a Scooby-Doo-like wacky mystery with Eureka. Even though the main tone is dark and gritty and noir, we did intentionally build it so that it could run more lighthearted stuff as well! There’s even a few Scooby-Doo references to be found throughout the text, and if we hit a certain stretch goal on the Kickstarter, we’re going to be adding a bunch of Scooby-gang-inspired traits, including the option to play a Talking Dog!

Re: Combat being the largest section, even larger than Investigation. First of all, that’s kind of an illusion that is the result of the game being unfinished. I have a tendency when I write rules to use really long sentences, overexplain things, repeat myself, etc, and that dramatically bloats the rules text and page count, but that’s why we have an editor! She goes through after the fact and trims most of the fat off my bloated writing style to make it flow smoother and read faster, and take up less space. The PDF that was read for this review has had the Investigation chapter copy-edited (and cut down in size by about 25%!), but the editor hasn’t gotten to the combat chapters yet, so they still have a hugely inflated page count. When she’s done with them, you can expect each combat chapter to also be cut down in size by about 25%, so they won’t be nearly so large a chunk of the book.

Secondly, I’ll explain our reasoning for why the combat chapters and advanced combat rules are such a big chunk of the rules text, it’s intentional design which I will now explain. If anyone still doesn’t agree with that design, that’s fair, and that’s why we made the Basic Combat Rules an option.

The reason that the advanced combat rules are the default, and the reason they exist at all, is because it incentivizes and rewards Investigation. If combat is super deadly, it makes Investigation, snooping, and spying more appealing than kicking down the door and getting your head blown off. But of combat is super deadly, it also needs to be very deep and tactical, because if it’s deadly but shallow, then there’s no player agency. “Combat starts, roll some dice, okay your guy is dead.” That’s no fun. So by adding rules and modifiers for cover/elevation, distance, the difference between a pistol and an assault rifle, etc. we make it so that not only is combat its own high-stakes puzzle, but make it so that when the PCs HAVE to engage in combat, all their investigation can really pay off and save their lives. Spying on a building to find out the number of goons stationed there and how they are armed helps you plan and assess risk, stealing the blueprints to the building helps you know how to get the drop on the goons, and know the best places to attack from so that they are stuck out in the open and you are not, etc. and having rules for those things means that all the PCs’ snooping and planning makes a real mechanical difference in whether they live or die.

That’s just my opinion though, and one of the biggest reasons WHY we decided to write the combat with as much depth as we did.

Anyway, thank you again for this review and analysis of our project, our Kickstarter jumped up by about ten more backers in the evening when this video went up after several days of no new backers, and we have to assume we have this video, and all of you watching and reading this, to thank. You’re really making our dreams come true. :)

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is kickstarting from right now until May 10th! Back it while you still can!

If you want to try before you buy, you can download a free demo of the prerelease version from our website or our itch.io page!

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

You can also support us on Ko-fi, or by checking out our merchandise!

Join our TTRPG Book Club At the time of writng this, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the current game being played in the book club, and anyone who wants to participate in discussion, but can’t afford to make a contribution, will be given the most updated prerelease version for free! Plus it’s just a great place to discuss and play new TTRPGs you might not be able to otherwise!

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

#traveler #willy muffin #monsters #ttrpg #rpg #eureka: investigative urban fantasy #tabletop #eureka #roleplaying #ttrpg community #ttrpg tumblr #dungeonsanddragons #dungeons and dragons #indie rpg #indie ttrpgs #ttrpg design #vampire #monster girl #noir #neo-noir #neo noir #columbo #tabletop roleplaying #tabletop role playing game #tabletop games #roleplaying games #lgbt art #lgbtttrpg #lgbt ttrpg #lgbt creator

[bitchthefuck1]

It's kind of funny that Kendall and Shiv are both equally delusional about their ability to charm people for business and somehow think they can do it even though they choke almost every single time, whereas it's like the one thing Roman is consistently good at despite being the "least legitimate" option.

I think part of this comes down to the fact that Shiv and Kendall both have very clear ideas of the versions of themselves they're trying to be and the images they're trying to project, and they're trying so hard to be seen that way that they end up coming off as a little desperate and off-putting. Meanwhile Roman "knows" that there's something wrong with him and he's worthless, so he doesn't get sucked into the trap of trying to force people to see his idea of himself and instead molds himself into whatever he thinks the other person wants from him because that's the only way he can compensate for "being him," which works very well in the short term but also means he's the least capable of maintaining any relationship for very long because he has no sense of self.

#this was going to be a joke about kendall consistently failing to charm anyone that isn't stewy (and still for some reason thinking he's #good at it) but then i thought about it too hard and started connecting dots #but it is really interesting on a character level to analyze the different ways the siblings act when they're trying to win someone over #kendall and shiv will try to find common ground but they always end up pushing too hard and overplaying their hands because they're #focussing too much on wanting to get the person to take them seriously or see them the way they want to be seen #and roman will test the waters a bit but not say anything definitive until he get the person talking and can see what it is they want #and then just says whatever it is he thinks they want to hear #which also makes a lot of sense with the abuse dynamics since he was the one most likely to actually get hit so the goal is to just make #sure dad never gets angry at you and tell him whatever you need to to avoid that because the consequences will be worse #anyways its 2 am here you go #succession #kendall roy #shiv roy #roman roy

[raayllum]

so we both originally hate elves and are the siblings of a monarch of katolis who we lose, and we're devoted to protecting the border and humanity at all costs, even when it comes to sacrificing the personal safety of our young charges, and i'll lie to you and you'll lie right back to me and we both knew king harrow equally well and mourned queen sarai, we both interrogate restrained children who slip up and say "we" when we know they should be alone in their endeavours, when we both respond to loss by being closed off and isolationist and "stoic strong and lonely" only for you to get out earlier than i could even begin conceptualizing for myself, we're both snarky and sharp witted in ways other can find insensitive or callous, "i would've asked you to choose the egg over my own life if you had to" / "but amaya you won't survive [...] she said the rest of us will," we're both taken captive and submitted to the light trial by the sunfire elves, only i kill one sunfire queen and you protect a future one, and we ultimately advocate that "we gain nothing if we throw away the chance to learn and grow" and "no matter where you are on the path, every step forward is a choice" while refusing to prioritize our own personal futures over what we deem is more important in S5 (re: keeping the sun seed safe even if that means risking janai and not killing sir sparklepuff to guarantee your own existence). amaya and viren prequel when

#tdp amaya #the dragon prince #tdp #tdp viren #tag ramble #viren #amaya #the royal family of katolis #mine #forgot how much i loved them #was combing over 1x05 for the viren meta the other day about kpp'ar and was reminded just how much i love these two #it's about the Implications #i wonder if i can incorporate some of how i see their teenaged selves into my varrow fic #cause i really do think they would've gotten along well #before gradually getting on each other's nerves more (amaya doesn't do well at taking his self importance seriously #and then sarai's death really wrenching them apart) #also why it always confused me when fans of one of them really hated the other bc it's like #they are (in a lot but not every way of course) a lot more similar than they are different #esp in arc 1. arc 2 gives more differences/distances #but their own similarities

[crownedwille]

I've come to the conclusion that loving young royals doesn't mean I can't be critical about it, maybe especially bc I love the show so much I have such strong feelings about it, good and bad and I can love parts of canon and agree with it and appreciate it but I don't have to love it all. I have accepted that it's okay if I don't accept the ending and I don't have to force myself to support it. It's okay to not agree with all of canon and it's okay to not side with all of the creators' intentions/views. Loving a show doesn't mean you have to take everything the writers say on face value and that's the only version that is allowed to exist. Canon isn't everything and fandom is about curating your own experience that makes you happy and not miserable. You don't have to dismiss canon in every aspect and ignore it entirely, that's certainly not what I want but there is a fine line between being canon respectful, allowing some parts to exist and sometimes, yes, you just have to say "fuck canon" and move on for your own sanity and wellbeing

#especically in the first two weeks of a new release everyone is feelings lots of intense emotions ranging from ecstatic to angry #everything in between is a part of it and i know i'm also feeling very strongly about it right now #i always try to stay levelheaded and rational and see things from an objective pov and be diplomatic about discourse #i don't want any of what i say drift off too much into meaningless hate instead of the constructive criticism it's supposed to be #but when you feel so strongly about something and sometimes you really just wanna say yeah i fucking hate it lol #but i always try to explain why and give understandable arguments and not just blindly hate on something #for example - I'm aware there are fans who have some problems with s2 and don't love the season whereas i do and it's my fave #and there is a difference between expressing some criticism and justified concerns which you can understand where it comes from #and those who are just like 'oh it's a horrible season. it was so shitty and we should get rid of it' which is dumb hate and just not true #and i can't support people like that and take them seriously #i can have my own issues with s3 from a subjective pov which can also include some justified criticism as well #but also still acknowledge it as a truly good piece of tv media and the quality is top notch #and that's why you have such high expectations and have critique because it is so good and sets such a high standard #yrtalk #with that being said i understand ppl not wanting to see any critic about it if they are riding the high of happy wilmon endgame #but that doesn't mean that i can't express my own opinions on my own blog and i will continue to do so #and maybe one day i will feel differently and accept or even like the ending who knows #but it doesn't have to happen. it's fine if it does but it's also fine if it doesn't

[theres-whump-in-that-nebula]

Just applied for a summer childcare position (like for a camp type thing) that pays 20–28 dollars an hour based on qualifications (I should be towards the end of that scale because I work in a school; and the only requirement the job lists is to be 16 and have experience with children). So hopefully they’ll consider me. That would be wonderful.

#I hate applying for jobs so much. Everyone uses a different website that makes you sign up for newsletters that clog your email #that you have to manually unsubscribe to #But yeah that’s way more than I get paid as a para lol #which is kind of sad because being a para or teacher is a lot more strenuous and complex than supervising kids during structured play #Because usually the kids enjoy stuff like rock climbing and swimming #so you don’t have to guide them through ten different layers of mental gymnastics to complete their work #or sometimes physically keep them from leaving the learning area after every problem they complete #(of course I do the last thing very gently; and I don’t like having to carry kids from under tables back to their seats #but they’re not going to learn anything if they stay underneath tables all day long… that kind of defeats the purpose of being in school. #I give a lot of verbal warnings before too. Some kids just refuse to learn all the time regardless of their mood because it’s funny to them #Anyway: Kids should not be playing video games past bedtime on a fucking Oculus Rift #Like seriously the tech withdrawal in some of these babies is palpable #Horrifying #Anyway this summer job will be a breeze if I get it #Hopefully no one will be begging me for chromebooks during rock climbing #(I know it sounds like I’m irritated with the kids; and I am. But it’s more irritation with their parents letting them become addicted #to iPads for the sake of convenience; and also frustration directed at capitalism that makes the parents so tired #that they let the iPad babysit their kids so they can rest. It’s the whole system man. It’s fucked.)

[adore-gregor]

study smart not hard (altough both is best actually) this saying is so true

#my advice #but this saying is sooo true #i know some people at uni who study for exam so long and hard but then fail or just barely make it :( #like what are you doing? i don't mean this in a mean way but it doesn't have to be this difficult #i don't understand how some people can study for an exam for 2 weeks or even a month and still fail and i don't think they're stupid #or i don't see myself as particulary smart #but i guess they just waste their time a lot and i realized studying effective is so important #now everyone is a bit different and has to find what works best for them but there are certain techniques which are proven to work well #there is so much information on the internet on this look it up seriously #it made my life sm easier i never struggled in uni like i did in school and i get good grades #and if i ever struggled a bit it was because i started so late it was almost impossible to pass 😂 #which is why to do both is still best 😂 #but i actually always made it and i never failed an exam at uni (which i studied for) #(two i was fooled into to just try without studying bc it's easy lol) #i mean i shouldn't speak too soon but i already made it through some of the most difficult of my studies #ofc it depends on what you study how well this works but i'm speaking for myself #i once passed an exam with a B studying only 2 days as one of the best students while others studied 2 weeks #and got worse grades or failed #still studying only 2 days is stupidity don't do it 😅 #so the techniques i find very helpful are ofc exam questions probably the best one #if there are none make your own #then blurting for which there are different ways but i like to just go over a topic and then write down everything i remember #then fill the gaps #quizlet is also great it's an app which allows you to create cards and then tests you in creative ways #videos can be helpful as well for summaries and using summaries in general is normally enough it saves you sm time #normally you don't actually need to know everything but you should be careful it's not a bad summary leaving out too much 😅 #and i also like mindmaps bc i'm a very visual person #but all those tipps are mostly for remembering information so it doesn't work so well for other fields of study #well i hope this is somewhat helpful idk 🙈 #oh and reading texts over and over again is the most useless in my opinion i don't remember much at all and it takes sm time

[toyherb]

I swapped my ps4 for a ps5 and basically paid $15 for it* but now that I have it it's like. well what now.

#*i traded in lots of games plus my switch and ps4 and i got it preowned/refurbished so my discounts applied #at the moment i only have souls games nier automata persona 5 and ff14 and almost all dmc games #when i get my paycheck im gonna get lies of p and soulstice #but im also like #wahhhh #idk maybe a preowned baldurs gate will show up at gamestop skdjkabdba #i forgot how much cool stuff you can get preowned #some of it is like. not much difference but lots of it can be seriously discounted #i feel like this sounds like a lot of games but ive already finished all the souls games except like 2 more bosses in sekiro #and most of all i feel sad the ps5 is not as customizable as the ps4 #like the ux is kinda ugly in comparison.... #i think also now that ive like. worked towards this goam and gotten it im underwhelmed by the result #*goal #also the controller i got has jitter and im a little annoyed #also in order to feel worth it i wanna get games that utilize the ps5s power #but most games on the market are very simple looking and are also on switch so its like. hm. #i like those graphics but i dont need a ps5 for them huhhhh

[waterberry-strawmelon]

Every man who hated on Birds of Prey but loved Bullet Train owes me five bucks

#bullet train #birds of prey #harley quinn and the birds of prey #david leitch #films #movies #for the record I actually liked bullet train a lot #(apart from the whitewashing which I learned about after the fact. fuck this shit idc if brad pitt played the role well #We all know he was only cast to bring in the cishet white male audience.) #but I couldn’t help but notice how similar the movies are stylistically and how much less hate this movie is getting. Fucking wonder why #Again. I liked the movie but it actively bombed the bechdel test which itself is SUCH A LOW BAR #AND it had THREE—count ‘em THREE—distinct instances of fridging. Are you fucking kidding me #Cant make this shut up ahskjsksjskdbsk #ANYWAY if you’ve seen both these movies you can also prolly see the similarities in fight choreography and tone and editing/cinematography #As well as the converging storylines/character arcs and slightly unlinear plot progression #Even the comedy is pretty similar! #The biggest difference (and imo where BOP suffered the most) is in the pacing for sure #But seriously. The films are so fucking similar and we all know why one got shat on instead of the other. Hmmmmmmm #mine #just some thoughts #media analysis

[derringerrmeryl]

four years ago I was writing a paper on how otherkin and anti-otherkin responded to each other and how they did it (linguistically and how bias worked) and now I'm writing a paper about discrimination in online communities with the same sources. Return to your roots

(more desc in the tags)

#Vertigo screams #If you remember answering a Google form a few years ago about your experience with being otherkin #Hi that's me! I got a 92% on that paper #And this one is using different quotes so oooogogo more people featured #I'm happy with it so far but I'm probably not going to share it besides some choice paragraphs #Mostly about how misinformation and extreme ends make the community not taken seriously #And how because of that misinformation people make fun of the community and call them choice words #Despite being wholly incorrect #Much like discrimination in other more larger contexts #This essay was basically an exercise in 'do even niche communities experience discrimination for their beliefs/practices/etc' #And 'can I get a source on that if so??' #If you read all this thank you I know it's a lot and I'm rambling

[bpdanakins]

it really does suck a little to see the severe likes-to-reblogs ratio that happens so often on people’s work like i get for my edits they’re either niche or mediocre and i get that going in but if it still bothers me a bit then i can only imagine how frustrating and hurtful it is for people who genuinely want and need the engagement, who are genuine artists and creators.

like, seriously, is it THAT hard just to hit the reblog button? it’s literally right next to the like one. and i get that people like mobile tumblr more now (for some batty reason), but it still doesn’t take much effort. just two taps. so?? just reblog people’s work if you actually like it, bc we all know you’re not liking it to keep it on hand to interact with later.

it just kinda feels 😕

#it's honestly the same w a lot of work people put into content - fan content in particular bc this is tumblr / #like my bpd anakin meta has 200 likes to the 95 reblogs // #which don't get me wrong is definitely a lot and i still appreciate that but it IS an insane difference #and again. that and some of my edits - particularly the st ones - took me days to do #i went in realizing i wouldn't get much engagement for anything i make bc again. i know my skill level and i just want to have fun #but people who are making gifs / videos/ meta / are Literal Artists who need engagement to make money? #c'mon man. this isn't like giving a kudos on ao3 or a like on twitter #it does nothing for the creator on here and it can feel kinda. sucky #i'm not writing this for me btw like again i know going in what i'm making and what i expect out of it #one of my favourite icon + banner combos i've had for this blog is made to deliberately look ridiculous #bc that was my skill level and it's funny so i know where i am as someone who makes edits or whatever #(which is either silly or mediocre or niche) #but it *does* still feel weird to me despite that so i imagine people who create tons of shit #and are like. seriously amazing or really hoping to see if people like it or new and wanting to know what people like/dislike etc etc #can be quite hurt by this. sometimes financially even. so just hit a reblog for them pls #liz.txt #or would this be considered a - #liz vents #? 🤔