Pond of Reflection

I have thoughts. Tumblr is the unfortunate medium I choose to exorcise them to.

[suzieloveships]

"We need more monster romances with monster girls and human guys"

You guys can bearly handle when a woman with powers falls for an average guy! Anytime a witch/superheroine/etc falls for a guy who is just a guy y'all complain that "he is holding her back" and that the story would be better had she fell for a another girl and/or someone who has powers as well, someone who can "handle her", most of a time a villain who abused her

Ever noticed how Gwen Stacy was a love of Spiderman's life but Peter Parker was just Ghostspider's best friend?

Ever noticed how there is bearly any female superhero x male civilian ships, how What If had to turn Steve into prototype Iron Man because a concept of Captain Britain just having a romance with a disable sweet boy who is just here to show moral support was apparently not an option?

Ever noticed how Ladybug x Adrian is the least romanticized part of a love square? How no one ever brings up Mavis and Jonathan whenever people talk about well written fictional couples? How they made every elf fall for Galadriel in Rings of Power while ignoring her canon husband who is best know for being her husband?

And you want to know why? Because you guys don't actually see those girls as characters, you see them as self inserts, a way to live your fantasy away from this boring life. If you had powers, you wouldn't "waste" yourself on a guy that brings nothing but moral support to the table when a handsome guy with powers I standing there and/or you are projecting your own experience with prejudices on character who is facing some form of discrimination because of their powers

And I can bet that any story with a monster girl would be given the same treatment. Learn to actually see fictional characters as fictional characters and not an extension of yourself, we can talk about male monsterfuckers

[magpie-trove]

I’ve heard people worry about heaven being boring because “singing holy holy holy forever sounds very dull” but I think that’s forgetting what it’s like to look at or experience something beautiful, so that you wish you could stay in that one thing forever, and you just repeat the same things about it over and over, to yourself, marveling, and it doesn’t get old because the more you look or experience it it’s a continual rediscovery all the ways that thing is good, and your only outlet for that is to repeat the same words and you rediscover it.

Like! Why do people fall to repeating I love you? Because that is a marvel! And what can you do but repeat it with each astonishing rediscovery! To say heaven is boring is to discount the perpetual surprisingness of God.

[magpie-trove]

#my pastor once described it as the vast multitude of witnesses to God’s goodness and glory throughout history gathering to compare notes#and share our stories and snippets of the larger picture#putting it all together and joyfully proclaiming a mutual conclusion: He is holy!#to which others will reply: Holy!#and the echo will continue: Holy!#there is nothing dull and repetitive about it#holy holy holy#honestly cannot wait! it’s going to be magnificent! :)

Via @freenarnian 

[magpie-trove]

“ “When you painted on earth-at least in your earlier days-it was because you caught glimpses of Heaven in the earthly landscape. The success of your painting was that it enabled others to see the glimpses too. But here you are having the thing itself. It is from here that the messages came. There is no good telling us about this country, for we see it already. In fact we see it better than you do.“ “Then there’s never going to be any point in painting here?” “I don’t say that. When you’ve grown into a Person (it’s all right, we all had to do it) there’ll be some things which you’ll see better than anyone else. One of the things you’ll want to do will be to tell us about them… .”

—C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce

[scumbagsblog]

where's that masterpost of quotes that have no right going as hard as they do. I'd like to submit "Protagonism is best left to teens and the insane"

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Every time I consider making a sandwich I think of this fucking tweet.

The stupid thing is that it puts me in the mindset of being an NPC looking forward to a balanced, delicious, good-looking sandwich, instead of some vegemite half-heartedly smeared between a couple of bits of bread. So now I'm like "well if my goal is Sandwich, it should be a good sandwich". I mean it's gotta look good in the thought bubble right? Some guy wandering around in a computer game would be imagining a picture of a ham and cheese toastie AT MINIMUM, probably with tomato and some greens in there. Possibly he'd imagine a full on sub sandwich.

I have started putting actual effort into making tastier, prettier sandwiches. Because of this fucking tweet.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

#tricked into eating healthy by autism wanting the meme to be happy

Okay listen,

[bumblingbabooshka]

A single throwaway line in a Star Trek episode the writers didn't intend to explore even a little bit can ruin a person's life

[pondofreflection]

This extends far beyond Star Trek

[elbiotipo]

pro-tip: don't ever use the sentence "thousands of years" in your worldbuilding unless you really know what a thousand years is like

[elbiotipo]

Quick cheat sheet:

The middle ages were one thousand years ago

I don't know if I need you to tell you this but Jesus was alive 2 thousand years ago during the Roman Empire

3 thousand years ago the Mediterranean and Middle East were recovering from the bronze age collapse. None of the philosophers of Western philosophy (or Eastern for that matter) were born yet

Earliest writing dates roughly to 5 thousand years ago.

Agriculture started roughly 10 thousand years ago

So yes, you can write whatever you like but if you're telling me that an individual dynasty has been ruling since 8000 years ago (HOLA JORGE) I have to wonder if they even had writing back then

[imsobadatnicknames2]

To be fair you can find one guy like that in the comment section of most metal bands on youtube

[gentlemanbones]

An artist I like had a vampire OC so old that when she was born, humans were first inventing rope and baking. That's too old.

[tlaquetzqui]

On the one hand, yeah, 5000 years turns a city into a hill. On the other hand speculative fiction is full of people who live on a different time scale. People who live most of a millennium instead of most of a century will take fifty thousand years to let a tell form from their ancestors’ cities.

(Also your vampire heavy hitters should all be so old their burials involved cave bear bones. The oldest ones shouldn’t even be Homo sapiens. The First Vampire should be a 5′0″ Homo erectus.)

[pondofreflection]

Thus ruining the whole "Vampires are Sexy" thing forever

[lousyglitch]

The wildest thing about Ben 10 is that it took until 2005 for someone to have the idea "what if a kid could turn into a bunch of aliens" like this isn't obviously the coolest and most marketable premise for anything ever. Each design is a new toy. A new powerset. Come on.

But to prove that it wasn't a fluke, they continued to have the best ideas for every aspect of it. How does he transform? A cool watch you can also sell as a toy. That watch's name? Omnitrix. Say it. It's so satisfying. How many aliens? Ten. Nice round number. The kid's name? Ben. The show's name? Ben Ten. His full name is Benjamin Tennyson, a normal, plausible name, but he also turns into 10 aliens.

Bigger brands dream about this synergy. Better writers would kill for this coherence. So holistic. So intuitive. The identity alone!!! The retro alien sound motif? Chilling. The green? Any other color would be wrong. The kirby krackle pattern? It seems so obvious in retrospect. The roadtrip format? Genius. Lesser writers would've done the spider-man high school thing. His arch nemesis being Cthulhu darth vader? Inspired, iconic, intimidating!

The execution has its highs and lows, but the idea??? Game changing. So self-evident that it seems inevitable. If Ben 10 didn't exist, it would be necessary to invent him.

[aromancy]

And in every possible iteration he would have a rival named Kevin Eleven.

[mortimermcmirestinks]

no fucking way

[calamitys-child]

I think the best most human thing in the world is strangers doing a silly thing together

[calamitys-child]

Examples:

- guy at work "Yes, and -" ing the bit me and my coworker were doing where we pretended to be owners of a fantasy medieval tavern not minimum wage retail staff

- at the gay club when Die Young by Kesha came on and two hundred people, all dancing and drinking separately, jumped up and down to make the "- beat of the drums *STOMP STOMP*" as loud as possible

- person who watched me stomp round the beach singing a made up song about breakfast foods to name a cat after and suggested more breakfast foods that would be good cat names

- guy who started a dance off with everyone across the road while waiting for the lights to change

- very tiny girl at the pharmacy interviewing everyone in the queue and every single one of us in turn sat down and answered this toddler's questions like we were on Letterman

[calamitys-child]

The three pillars of humanity, in no particular order, are Joy, Absurdity, and Sharing

[stuckinapril]

Most anti phone advice is so inane and regurgitated to me but one thing I’ve been thinking about for days is “social media is okay, but the real danger comes in when you think your phone should be your go to during your limited pockets of leisure” like that’s literally the truest thing ever

[stuckinapril]

It really is true that after a long shift or a hard study session or a tiring workout the first thing I think to do is doom scroll to “reward” myself………. But as much as I try to combat my screen I’ve never truly delved into why my phone should be my go to during my downtime. Like why is it the reward . Why is it not taking a nap. Or getting a treat. Or calling a friend . Or even reading a book. It’s like I do those things w the idea in mind that that’s when I’m “on” but what if they rly should be my downtime rewards instead of phone time

[stuckinapril]

And this comes from someone who does not necessarily think social media is the devil bc I totally understand why people use it and how it makes connecting easier…… but I see older patients all the time and it’s so striking to me how they don’t have attention issues and how their reward system is wired so differently. My 52 year old boss rewards herself for an 8 hour work day by taking a run after work. Like immediately after work. She does have a phone, and she does use it, but it’s not her reward during downtime at all. She does not need a phone break in between things, because those things are what nourish her. And that’s just fascinating to me bc for my generation a peek at their phone is the ultimate reward

[stuckinapril]

LAST THING bc i feel like if this reaches more people they’ll be like ummm reading or talking to a friend arent downtime activities and like okay that’s so fair……. I think the whole point is finding a default downtime activity that feels right for *you* while also not taxing you mentally. Like this is not me saying go full blackout on your phone. Also it’s just true that doom scrolling is not as passive as people think it is (I literally do it too) and your brain is still burning out from taking in so much at once, so investigating if it’s the holy grail “brain off” activity really is valid

[charlataninred]

Love how tumblr has its own folk stories. Yeah the God of Arepo we’ve all heard the story and we all still cry about it. Yeah that one about the woman locked up for centuries finally getting free. That one about the witch who would marry anyone who could get her house key from her cat and it’s revealed she IS the cat after the narrator befriends the cat.

[meraarts]

Might I add:

The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed

The woman who raised the changeling alongside her biological child

The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship

[eater-of-hopes-and-dreams]

The adventures of a space roomba

Cinderella finding Araura (and falling in love)

I don’t know a snappy description but the my nemesis cynthia story certainly lives in my head

[blitzlowin]

hilariously, these are almost all in my fic tag. so, a compiled list from the notes (and some extras):

The God of Arepo (graphic novel 1 / 2 / 3) (ebook)

The Monster of Sentan

The Witch’s Cat

Raise Both Children

Stabby the Roomba (honorable mention)

Cinderella Marries the Prince (comic)

My Arch Nemesis Cynthia

Pirates and Mermaid

Eindred and the Witch

The Demon King

The Cornerwitch

Grandmother Beetroot

Apocalypse Daycare Worker

Grandmother Accidentally Summons a Demon

New Year Saga

A Story About Changelings

Ranger in the King’s Forest

The Difference Between a Hare and a Rabbit

Goblin Men (Canines)

[charlataninred]

I am in love with you /p

[inkvoices]

Adding Faceblind Prince Charming and Cinderella

[inkvoices]

21. The human who died of radiation poisoning after repairing the spaceship

22. The defeat of the wizard who made people choose how they’d be to be executed

[lightningladybug]

adding the Doctors Without Borders one

[inkvoices]

I LOVE tumblr storytime, so here’s a bunch more your weekend reading. Enjoy!

24. The Queen with Three Cursed Children

25. Tiny Dragon with one coin hoard

26. Haunted house

27. Shark hero was about to go rogue

28. Grandma lives in the woods comic

29. A Different Aftermath comic

30. Battery (microstory but I love it so much)

31. It’s A Date comic

32. Supervillian kidnaps rival’s kid and they want to stay

33. Narrative Town

34. I have been hired to clean the wizard tower comic

35. Robot Apocalypse

36. The Statues That Do Not Weather

37. Kushiel

38. Tooth Fairy

39. Alien abduction

40. Felonious wish-granting

41. When humans met actual space orcs

42. Space cousins

[dannnnnnnnnnnnex]

WAIT REBLOG THIS VERSION INSTEAD

[vincentvega0721]

Legion Of Superheroes vs. The Imperial Guard

[followthebluebell]

i think furniture legs should be carved into little animal feet again.  i think that would solve a lot of problems. 

[msmargaretmurry]

this post made me think of this amazing cursèd chair i saw at the taubman museum of art in roanoke a few weeks ago. look at it. i don’t disagree with op but also i think this particular chair would cause problems on purpose

[followthebluebell]

I think this chair would solve my problems directly related to not having a chair that looks like it can attack my enemies.

[vr-trakowski]

love the eyeballs

[miscbones]

@dykevandyke

[dykevandyke]

Hey! My grandpa made this! His name is Jacob Cress and the chair is called “Oops!”

[leah-of-troy]

@baddywronglegs

[baddywronglegs]

Absolutely delightful

[foone]

Being an immortal with ADHD would be annoying.

Like, you've got unfinished projects from the 17th century. Someday, hopefully, you'll get back to them

[foone]

You finally get the motivation to finish that painting but you spend so much time stealing it back from the museum that you run out of focus and now it's just sitting in your attic instead of the Louvre

[purlturtle]

And now you can't get the pigments anymore.

Great.

Ugh.

[foone]

You hire private detectives to track down another deep-cover immortal and they're freaking out and worried you're gonna kill them out of some ancient grudge or highlander situation, but no. You just wanted to ask if they remembered how that really nice light-blue color was made, back when you were both into Rococo paintings.

[meme-ento-morii]

witnessed @supreme-leader-stoat on facebook

[pondofreflection]

It actually coaxed me back to this place.

I recognize exactly 12% of it.

Sometimes I resent how easy it is to change URLs or delete blogs. I need stability.

[supreme-leader-stoat]

>your post is the reason I came back to tumblr

I am so, so sorry.

[pondofreflection]

Don't be sorry, be better

[meme-ento-morii]

witnessed @supreme-leader-stoat on facebook

[pondofreflection]

It actually coaxed me back to this place.

I recognize exactly 12% of it.

Sometimes I resent how easy it is to change URLs or delete blogs. I need stability.

[friend-crow]

I am slowly losing my mind over the shift towards video as the default media format.

I do not find this to be an efficient way to absorb information. I am bored and distracted by the time the largely unnecessary introduction is over. I can't use ctrl+f to find the specific information I'm looking for. If there are instructions to follow, I don't want to have to constantly pause and back up to the part I need.

At least give me a fucking transcript.

[pondofreflection]

Undersigned

[frozen-felix]

life comes at ya fast. 

[lastsonlost]

Yeah I don’t think this hirah person could handle a true gender swap Beauty and the Beast and I don’t think she should be alone.

Personally I see other challenges for a female Beast story.

Betraying the female Beast as the toxic ass hole that they are without trying to excuse or justify it.

Give her bad actions consequences and not just some cheap slap on the wrist.

Creating a genuine and honest Redemption Arc we’re both she and the story addresses her toxic behavior AND GENUINELY WORKS TO CHANGE.

No easy forgiveness. SHE HAS TO EARN IT JUST AS THE MALE BEAST DID.

5. FEMALE BEATS HAS TO ACTIVELY WOO MALE BELL

AND NO HINTS.

That’s something I don’t see happening a lot in real life if ever.

She personally I see this as the type of game-changer that no one has the guts to make and others would be too cowardly to sit through.

6. The female version of Gaston has to be the exact same narcissistic, violent, abusive sexually harassing, Psychopathic piece of shit as the original.

I think that last one is the biggest hurdles for a halfway decent gender swap Beauty and the Beast.

The story would need a female villain as violent and rapey as the original Gaston who is constantly sexually harassing the male protagonist and that’s something I don’t think a lot of people are willing to accept.

Don’t get me wrong, if such a story exist I would love to see it. However don’t expect me to hold my breath.

[takineko]

Great, now I want it…

[lastsonlost]

They ain’t ready for that kind of realness.

[apokeypse-now]

Lol, pretty much.

[lastsonlost]

Like imagine half the on-screen Beast time is the female version of this.

Who would have the ovaries to admit female Beast is wrong and not have the knee-jerk reaction to ask “well what did he do to deserve it?”

Might fuck around and have some internal soul-searching. Ain’t nobody that woke.

[tabbythekouhai-deactivated20201]

Now I wanna see it too.

[celtic-pyro-deactivated20230725]

Bitch gimme this movie!

[kaiser-king]

It must be made!

[redrosewitch]

Well yes.  Beast became a beast by being an grade A asshole as a human. And he’s a rotter right up until Beauty softens him.

A female Beast would have to downright unlikable for quite a while. Not just ‘misunderstood’ or a ‘strong woman feared by weak men’. This is someone who’s been justly punished and has to work to earn redemption.

[lastsonlost]

And that’s a far cry from the hug and kiss for give you redemptions we normally get and there lies the problem.

You can’t simply say she’s a flawed character if you’re constantly making excuses and making her flaws the fault of someone else.

You don’t have many deep female Redemption stories because we’re too afraid to generally hold her accountable.

[rosescauldron]

Quite so.

If Beast has become a beast for any reason other than a punishment. Then it ruins the story.

Because this is about ugly behaviour manifesting in physical form.

And redemption has to come from earning love. Purely by force of personality.

Start making excuses for Beast and it just becomes a pity party. Not redemption and the purity of love. Which is what’s made the story so awesome for all these years.

I really can’t think of a Beauty and The Beast version where Beast is a woman and is saved by a man.

[throwitonthepile]

…also, because for female Beast would instantly be called “Bitch.”

[emeraldmercury]

[problematic-faves-appreciation]

And a disaster for the discussion of non-anime TV shows in fandom.

"Cool-down episodes" aren't filler.