#(it's not that it's annoying its that it makes us have to go through that mental checklist of 'are we doing this for attention or')

[zhukzubast]

penultimate

4/5 (part 1, part 2, part 3)

Rick C-137

There's our guy!

As the only Rick in this series who's still alive and well(?), C-137 is getting the honour of being the focal point of the art.

As for the moment depicted: it's canon that our Rick has this train, and that Evil Morty was somehow, unbelievably, included within the "classic Rick & Morty adventure" package. Just imagine, Citadel heard about a Morty gone rogue, with an eyepatch that controls Ricks, potentially mixed in among their ranks at that very moment - making him possibly the biggest threat to their society since its inception - and went "that's a baller toy idea" then apparently didn't improve any security measures whatsoever! I'm not saying they had it coming, but they didn't not have it coming.

(i wonder if Citadel Toyz LLC got the info on Evil Morty from an investigation team that had discovered the discarded eyepatch, or from C-137 himself who put the pieces together and tried to warn the Citadel, but like… didn't try that hard. I wonder if Evil Morty's existence had been common knowledge on the Citadel before his takeover, a boogeyman hiding in the shadows, or if only a select few knew.)

Back to C-137, how much of his brainspace do you think Evil Morty has been occupying since Close Rick-Counters of the Rick Kind? When he was invited to dine with the Morty President, he seemed to expect the reveal since before he even saw him.

And how much brainspace do you think Evil Morty has allocated to Rick C-137? To Ricks in general? He has a whole-ass directory of them compiled, sorted by evil-ness. He knows them well enough to predict most of their moves. It's almost like he's obsessed. And C-137, boy if he didn't hunt him down specifically, twice. It was definitely out of pragmatic motives, since this Rick had the knowledge he needed to break through the CFC, but were there other motives as well? After all, he did eventually go on to say that our Rick was "a little different" and that he could "maybe use it someday", and in the language of emotionally constipated assholes that could mean "I think you're ok" and "maybe we can hang out again someday".

By their second face-to-face interaction these two have somehow managed to establish a ridiculous amount of rapport. They fall together like puzzle pieces: collaborate on tinkering with gadgets, synchronize their fighting styles, bicker like they've been at it their whole lives. They even have a running gag going, with Rick shooting Evil Morty's forcefield seemingly for no other reason than to annoy him. And yet for most of their time together C-137 acts like he can't wait to be rid of Evil Morty again (though he very curiously doesn't support his Morty's idea of getting rid of the guy permanently).

Do you think it bothers C-137 that he sees himself in Evil Morty? The Rickest Morty, doing whatever he can to escape the rotten hand he had been dealt, to wrench back control of his own life no matter the cost - such a very Rick thing to do. Or is it worse that he sees bits and pieces of Evil Morty in Morty Prime? His "little buddy" has been sick of him not once and not twice before, so who knows how long it'll be until he wakes up with a control chip in his brain. Or perhaps it's the other way around. Perhaps the most unpalatable thing about Evil Morty is all the bits and pieces of his own Morty that he sees in him. That the only guy with a Rick body count to potentially rival his own is a version of his-not-his grandson, and that at the end of the day, despite everything, he can't help but care. That he might not be able to take the shot unless he knows the shields are up.

[senseandaccountability]

What's your verdict of Dragon Age the Veilguard now two months down the road? How do you think fandom has reacted to it, compared to the other new titles that you can remember (I know you're a long-time fan)?

(Two months + a fair amount of weeks at this point, sorry for the delay, anon.) This is going to be salty, I’m afraid and a bit like beating on a dead horse but you did ask, thank you for that and sorry about being whiny.

My first impression was that it’s a 6/10 game. I think now upon replaying it two times, the score is even lower. It’s a very mid game that’s also clearly a salvaged product from a long and erratic production cycle. It has some good lore, some good writing, but it’s hidden almost entirely in optional side quests, subtext and the tiny margins of the text. 

Overall its way too much of a high stakes/low tension kind of game for me. It’s fun and it never truly grabs me except for the bits that are about previous characters. I don’t care about Rook. I like them well enough for a protag, I can fill them with headcanon to make them real but I would easily sacrifice them at the end without a second thought. There’s no pull, no tension, nothing to hold on to. I've tried to write fic about Rook but I just don't know anything about this person apart from the fact that they're very young and likes to say the word team a lot. Maybe Rook works in HR.

For all its high stakes, the game also repeatedly fails to show me these stakes. It keeps telling me how important it is, how busy we are and during the Siege of Weisshaupt and Blood of Arlathan, I really do feel it, momentarily. Those quests have weight to them, and they are tied in with the overall narrative of the series. We know the wardens, we know the Dalish. They matter. 

“Sometimes it takes the wrong sort to put it right,” the game says and doesn’t even dare to show me a single shred of moral ambiguity in Rook. Call me annoying but I don’t necessarily want to feel like a hero. I don’t need to feel morally righteous about my player character. I want the narrative to be complex and challenge me and hold compassion for the world it’s telling me about, dare me to change my mind about its characters and their various plights. What if the hero is wrong? What if the world is too complex to be reduced to simple choices? What if the trusted mentor lies and the liar tells the truth? What then? Somewhere in the far distance DAV wants to offer some complexity but hey we have EVIL ANCIENT GODS TO FIGHT YO! I actually hate the tone. I said early on that it’s one of my main gripes and I stand by it.  It’s chipper and full of HR-department tidiness and in general it just doesn’t move me because it’s just telling, not showing me the emotions. THIS IS THE EMOTION CALLED DOUBT, the game screams in my face. LET'S HAVE A TALK WITH THE TEAM TO PUT IT RIGHT. Immediately after finishing DAV, I went and played Disco Elysium and the contrast was quite honestly heartbreaking. Because the tone in that funny, sarcastic and over the top writing? It’s compassionate. It wants to be truthful about what it’s like to be a human living in a broken, inhuman world. It cares. Veilguard more often feels like an action movie revenge plot where you get to punch some EVIL ANCIENT GODS in the face because they want to drown the world in demons, man, let’s just leave it at that lol omg you can even PUNCH Solas lol whatever thanks bye.  

I also just find the text flat. It doesn’t have the transtextuality I’ve come to appreciate in the other DA games, it doesn’t play much with differences in dialogue for the different characters - like making one stand out as being anachronistic or having a different way of expressing themselves or being very unlike the others in some fundamental ways, it doesn't challenge and/or characterize through banter in the way the other DA games have done and it doesn’t give us companions that seek meaningful conflict or are difficult to understand. Veilguard is the only DA game where I haven’t felt any kind of strong emotional reaction while interacting with the companions, and while you could argue that this is a good thing because teamwork and professionalism or whatever, I’d say that for a text, this is a factor that makes it flat. No great piece of writing has only likable characters capable of self-reflection because no actual human being is only likable or not likable to everyone and by god are actual humans not always capable of self-reflection. In fact, some humans shy away from it for entire lifetimes.

The story of DAV is consistent in its themes, yes. It’s just that it’s also without nuance and - again - without stakes. The companion quests raise big moral dilemmas but the answers are so bland they might as well just be ignored. The outcome changes nothing, doesn’t affect the characters. There’s no price to be paid for becoming first talon, no punishment for being a lich, it’s just another wardrobe choice. Should I wear blue or black, perhaps become an immortal creature? No matter darling, you are always adorable. I think most of all the state of the game is a testament of a really fucking tragic industry that doesn’t care enough about storytelling and authenticity or its workers. I think it’s clear that the writers were trying very hard but I also think it’s clear that it wasn't the narrative the powers that be decided to focus on.  The DA fandom at large, quite frankly, has always just made me exhausted and miserable. I think a lot of the criticisms of DAV have been unhinged. I think a lot of the defences of the game have been so deranged that it makes me wheeze as I read them out loud to my husband. I’ve seen plenty of people dragging up some 17 year old noob’s post from the depths of reddit just to do some edgy take about how stupid people are for disliking the game and it’s just been so many bad faith takes. Overall, I’m truly sorry to say, I have no desire to play this game anymore nor do I feel very tempted to play the other DA games. I’m happy to see that my mutuals are having fun - I wish I felt anything stronger than oh well about the new characters, but I don’t. Maybe I will not be this actively bored in the future and pick it up again, but for now, no. I'll try to finish my fanfic and then probably be done for good with this fandom.

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

ramblings about the nonsense today that I didn’t think I have strong opinions on but am now feeling like spitting out to contextualize idk it’s under a cut for a reason

(In other words, nonsense about media and politics and discourse to reiterate that everything is a distraction and don’t let internet outrage get you down or pull your focus from what is really happening)

First of all, I resent being presented with any of this information about football and its participants in the first place MY LIFE WAS SO MUCH QUIETER BEFORE ARGH. (Kidding) (Well kinda not lol.)

OK here’s the deal: I frame my feelings in two ways, personal and contextual, and spoiler alert, they are directly opposed.

Personally, as an individual answering a singular question, I thought Travis gave a lousy answer. In a time where the US is openly descending into fascism, with the Despot in Chief hollowing the country out from the inside at breakneck speed, even a “respect the office of the presidency” type answer annoys me, especially coming from a privileged white man, even though I understand it in theory (if we weren’t living in fascist times). Do I think Travis voted for or even likes the man? Absolutely not. Do I think a “what a privilege to play in front of the president no matter who he is” type of answer is harmful in these times? Yes. Do I think there are other ways he could have side stepped the question without unfortunately sounding like he was placating a wannabe dictator? You betcha.

Guess what, I was also frustrated with (actually infuriated at) his answer about Butker last summer. Ultimately, his keep-the-peace answers to these issues reek of extreme white male privilege because of course, he’s not a person who’s ever going to be harmed by these policies. These answers are ignorant and speak to a larger dismissal of the severity of the meaning behind these words.

But here’s the thing: what I think doesn’t matter; what I feel has no impact on this person’s life nor does what they do on mine. They are free to say what they want, and nobody online, least of all me, has any right to infringe on that. Just because I personally don’t agree as an individual response doesn’t mean they aren’t free to feel the way they do or express themselves the way they do as long as it’s respectful.

NOW THAT THAT IS OUT OF THE WAY.

Contextually, his answer makes a lot of sense. And I’m not saying I like it or agree with it or am excusing it. Because I don’t, I wish he’d had a different response, one more measured. (Not the least reason being to avoid such discourse.) What I’m saying is that nothing exists in a vacuum, and that while nothing justifies the placating (and I’m not trying to… This isn’t my fight, they’re not my words), there are reasons around it that at least make it understandable for someone like him.

And that context is that the Despot in Chief always seeks to inflict maximum chaos, especially now. It’s in the fascist handbook. He’s trying to enrage and distract to pillage with impunity, while also being reminded of his own self-importance. He wants to do whatever the fuck he wants. And this stunt with going to the Super Bowl as a sitting president is part of that: he wants to lord his power around, he WANTS the attention of going to the game and having all eyes on him, he wants the chaos of the security measures that will need to be in place for him, and most importantly for the purposes of this tempest in a teapot, he wants people talking about him.

He wants people to come after him, so he can bully his way into “owning” them. He’s spoiling for a fight.

And unsurprisingly, the media is playing right into it, because, obviously.

The media doing these junkets during the Super Bowl ask outrageous questions of the players as a matter of course, trying to get a good sound bite for their stories. And obviously the Despot’s upcoming attendance plays right into that. Instead of seeing right through it, of course they’re going to use it to goad players into an answer. The only thing that will get more clicks than asking players in the Super Bowl what their quirky pregame superstition is or whether they’re allowed to have sex before a game or whatever is asking them what they think of the most controversial president in history watching them do it.

In other words, they’re fishing for a controversy for headlines.

And what they’re looking for specifically is one of two scenarios, largely: either players who bend the knee, or even better, ones who come out strong against the president. The first will flatter, the second will draw rage. Which will draw attention.

I’d wager that most of these organizations don’t want to draw that kind of attention in either direction, for the most part— even the ones whose values align with the Despot’s. Coasting in a relatively neutral/placating stance is the path of least resistance. It’s not necessarily the right (or righteous) one, to be clear, but it’s the one that allows everyone to mostly just get through the day.

Within the current climate, though, it’s even more loaded, because te Despot in Chief is also demonstrably keen to use his position and resources in office to go after people. The cruelty is always the point, and he is always looking for a new target. He also has a cult of armed followers who will demonstrably commit crimes, including undertaking violent acts, in his name.

And not to make everything about Taylor, but Taylor is undoubtedly on his hit list, and he’s looking for the first opportunity to set his sights on her. For instance, he used the White House’s official account to go after Selena Gomez last week after she posted a video about the plight of migrants. That is not nothing; that is a shot across the bow. That is a threat, even if it seems like internet nonsense. It’s the beginnings of political retaliation against private citizens for speaking out, let alone those who may actually be taking actions to fight. There will assuredly be more threats like this in the future.

So Taylor, the most famous woman in the world at the moment, a billionaire in her own right, a woman who moves world economies and whose words reach millions, is everything he hates in an opponent. And on top of that, she has made her opinion known that she hates him. It’s everything he can’t stand, and he’s just waiting for new fodder to use to go after her, the way he has Selena, the way he will countless others in the coming weeks and months.

So any answer that Travis would give indicating he was displeased with the president’s attendance would play right into that. And who knows, maybe Travis really doesn’t care that the president is there— maybe he is glad. I’d like to hope not, given his curt answer about the Kanye question which shows how he feels about someone else who has threatened Taylor, but you know, I’m not him, and I’m not here to analyze or defend him.

The other factor in all this is that Taylor has legitimate and increasingly serious security threats against her, both the ones we know about or can infer and I’m sure far more we will never know about. We got a glimpse into it in Vienna, and it’s been evident in so many ways since her endorsement of the Dem ticket in the fall. We know it’s a factor into why she hadn’t gone to away games all season. We can visibly see an increased security presence around her at public events which I’m sure is a fraction of that which we don’t see. There’s that bit by the analyst today who detailed the security measures around Taylor just to attend that baseball game in the fall. The implication is that there are also threats against her on a regular basis that are directly spurred on by the politics she’s chosen to share, which are opposed to those of the president’s and his followers who are primed to act. (Let’s also not forget that the Despot’s head crony also publicly threatened to impregnate her and the violent implications thereof.)

So bringing all of this together: you have Travis who is asked a leading question by media that is primed to play into the Despot’s attention-seeking behaviour because it also serves their stakeholders’ priorities. (E.g. more clicks/eyeballs on their content.) He is also probably been given a script by his organization’s PR team to avoid as much controversy as possible. And unlike anyone else on the podium, he has a partner at home who is in the crosshairs of the most powerful man in the country who is already under considerable pressure on a normal day, let alone in these trying times.

(Yes, she is incredibly privileged herself, I know this. But that doesn’t mean her safety isn’t threatened as a result of her position.)

I have no idea if the answer he gave is actually what he believes as an individual. Maybe he does truly not mind the Despot in Chief’s attendance and does think it’s an honour. (Again, I’d tend to doubt it, if not for political reasons then at least for how the president and his cronies have threatened his soon-to-be wife partner publicly, based on his reaction to others.) Or maybe he does truly just want to toe the party line and not rock the boat with his team. But I would wager that when it comes down to it, his priority is Taylor’s safety, and that like most people, he’d do whatever he could to keep his loved one safe to the extent of his abilities. And if that means pissing off an army of chronically online TwitterWarrior5697s in order to spare his family the wrath of a vindictive political figure with the weight of the highest office in the land and his own militia behind him, I would also bet he gives absolutely zero fucks.

I’m not saying this is some altruistic gesture or totally justifiable or likable. What I’m saying is that these situations are so charged and we’re in unprecedented times where there are going to be more and more situations where this kind of mental calculus is going to be involved in what opinions you can share. TwitterUser5697 can tell the president fuck off or say that the fucking hate that the president is coming to watch the Super Bowl. Hell, Player 78 from Team Sports Ball can maybe even say he’s embarrassed to play in front of the president and might get some backlash that will quickly be forgotten in the next news cycle once they win a trophy. Taylor Swift’s soon-to-be husband Boyfriend is in a different boat, because what he does ends up implicating her. He might never say her name in the conversation, but his firmly standing against the president means a greater risk to his family’s safety, and while some may believe that trade off is worth it or righteous, we’re ultimately not the ones in that position.

So the TL;DR is that this nothingburger of a quote is really like the confluence of celebrity, media and politics. A boneheaded answer on the surface actually speaks to a whole system in place around it that both drives it and twists it into a much deeper issue. And the reason why I wrote this long winded post about something I did not care about ten hours ago is because this kind of media and political literacy is going to be SO important, now more than ever, in the coming weeks and months and years, given everything that is happening in government, in media and online. People need to understand how social media platforms are going to be used to enrage and distract from the real issues at play, and learn how to parse what’s really happening.

The fascist handbook is to distract by throwing as much shit at the wall while they pillage. The Despot in Chief going to the Super Bowl is exactly part of that because it’s meant to draw a reaction. And he wants someone to fight him so her can fight back and prove he can “win”. (Look at the posturing over the tariffs with Canada and Mexico this weekend where he scored an “deal”… Which is exactly what was already in place.) And the media is playing right into it by asking players about him. So sure, roll your eyes at your fave’s fave’s conciliatory answer, but the real issue is what the Despot is doing to distract and pull attention in the media, and what that often is is finding another celebrity feud while he has his cronies do whatever the fuck they are with no one to stop them. Meanwhile, they’re also threatening private citizens with the weight of the White House accounts and will keep doing so as long as all the checks and balances of the democratic process are dismantled.

The personal is political, but the political is personal, and everyone needs to weigh these things for their own survival, including billionaire pop stars and their millionaire partners. Don’t let online discourse that will amount to nothing but noise in 48 hours distract you from what the people in positions of power of what you see are trying to hide from you. It’s all connected. I’m begging people to stop reading into an offhand comment by a football player and focus on the person who is driving the reaction in the first place, because that is where the real ire should be directed.

*also I know I’m joking about Taylor and Travis’ relationship status here but it’s actually vital to understand, because the seriousness of their relationship is exactly why they’re both at risk in these situations. And these people are going to use that relationship to get at both of them by poking them like this. Travis isn’t just a football player in the big game, he’s an individual man whose beloved life partner can be put under threat by his actions, even in one as innocuous as a sound bite for his big game. I absolutely don’t use the familial terms lightly actually. It’s a signifier of motivation and the things at stake in this calculus for the people involved if you catch my drift.

[rosenclaws]

❤️

I have multiple autoimmune diseases

I'm obsessed with Disneyland

I'm scared of going down escalators

join my valentines event!

I see the vision and it's Worst Logan

I think you would have met through Wade. Wade being the annoying nosy neighbor who pretty much just forced his way into your life. So you're used to Wade just hanging out at your place but when he comes over with a very handsome man its a complete shock.

This Logan is trying to acclimate to this new world but he struggles sometimes. Logan has lived a very long life and nothing really phases him anymore. So he has no judgement learning about your autoimmune diseases and will take care of you when you need it. He doesn't say much about it but he sees you struggle and he just helps. Still he'll claim he's not a good guy and that he's just helping. He doesn't laugh or make fun of anything, if you don't like escalators then the two of you will just take the elevator instead. Maybe he'll have some banter but he reserves most of his angry quips to Wade.

Worst Logan being dragged on a trip to Disneyland is the funniest thing EVER. Wade is 1000% a Disney fan and makes Logan wear the ears and carry the bags and Logan wants to kill Wade but then he sees how happy you get and he just goes with it. He'll share snacks even if he pretends he doesn't like it. He'll wear the damn ears and ride the rides if you ask. He fucking hates soaring over the world btw. He doesn't like flying and being strapped in to this weird fucking contraption is the WORST. You make it up to him by buying him dole whip though.

He has his moments where things get hard. His doubts and insecurities get to him but he can fight through them with you by his side :)

[selfcenter]

The immediate eyeroll already taking its place in the conversation laid the groundwork for however much longer Pacifica could handle talking to Dipper. It's not like she could back out now, she was the one to approach him and she was hoping that was the thing that would help her win the inevitable argument that would soon reveal itself. She actually thought his snide comment about Eric was funny but she wasn't going to let him have any satisfaction in knowing that she was unhappy in her engagement. Instead, she focused on her anger and the way his observant ways were correct, that she wasn't having as much fun as as she really wanted to. The only thing that seemed to bring her joy at parties anymore was knowing she would be accompanied by Maximus but even that brought on a host of complications that ultimately left alone and without many others to turn to that could take her mind away from stress like any sane person would do at a party. Maybe that's what had her approaching Dipper in the first place. Here was someone that knew her, and as much as Paz hated it, there was a strange dependence on knowing exactly where the interaction would go: He would annoy her and she'd annoy him right back.

"I've danced, okay? Maybe not as wild as you but I was on the dance floor a couple of times. My feet just hurt now because I didn't have much time to break in these shoes with how much wedding planning I've been doing." It was all a complete lie that he could possibly see through but Pacifica was set in believing the reality she should have been in. She took a quick sip from her drink to help calm her nerves before she having to make up more excuses. "And, Eric is a busy man, he doesn't have time to whip up extremely intricate dance routines. He did promise me the last dance of the night so if you're that eager to see us dance then you'll just have to wait."

Like at any event where the alcohol was free and available to everyone, Dipper found himself truly loosening up and enjoying himself without any care in the world as to who was watching or what they may be thinking. Typically that just meant he stopped sulking in corners and actually talked and mingled with people - but tonight, with the open dance floor just calling his name, he had given it his all as he put on a bit of a solo show for everyone. It had been silly and ridiculous, but so fucking fun. He was awarded with quite a loud cheer when he was done, so it couldn’t have been too bad or embarrassing - or at least that’s what he told himself after he bowed and ran off the dance floor, heading back towards the open bar to replenish himself with more of the liquid courage.

The night was starting to come to a close, midnight just a few minutes away, but he was completely unaware of that fact. He was going stag tonight, here with just his sister, so it wasn’t like he needed to worry about getting back to a certain someone before the clock struck twelve for a kiss or anything. A tradition Dipper liked to say was stupid anyway - though whether that was because he genuinely didn’t believe in it or simply because he’d never had anyone to kiss at midnight was up for debate. Finally having his next drink placed in front of him, all he could get was one sip in before his peace was interrupted. “Maybe,” he answers with a shrug, not letting her obvious judgment get to him. He’d had fun and so had everyone around him, there was no reason to be embarrassed. Or at least, that’s what the overly confident drunk version of himself thought. “Not that you’d know anything about it. You know, I don’t think I’ve seen you dance once tonight. Does your fiance have two left feet or something?” He almost asks if maybe Finnick just didn’t want to be seen with her so obviously in public, but holds back on account of finding that to be a bit too mean right out the gate.

[mcybree]

I prepared this ask in the Notes app only for Tumblr to not let me copy and paste the text so here’s a screenshot bc I’m not typing all that again lol

there’s this funny trend i see in trafficblr art, in that, when there’s a lineup of every past winner, most players will be surrounded by symbols that were relevant to their POV, and perhaps drawn with the last emotion they’d felt just before death (or maybe just whatever emotion the artist most associates with the character). The winners might be doing something, or in a pose that reflects how they won—there are a million ways to make a life series winners’ piece. What’s funny about it is that no one ever seems to know what to do with Scott. He’s most often just standing there looking mildly disgruntled. And for the symbols he’s most depicted with, it’s typically poppies, which are only relevant to the first season; last life scott does not place any importance on poppies, poppies dont ever come up beyond a brief interaction in episode 1, and jimmy as a whole is less relevant to scott’s pov in last life than he is in every other season.

not that this is an issue with the art; the pieces are beautifully done, it’s just representative of how little fandom discussion there is about scott’s win thematically. Most discussion I see are about the watchers and how they hate scott for defying him or whatever, but watcher lore is not discussion of the series itself as much as it is a fan creation that is retroactively applied to create meaning.

Scott’s Last Life win, to me, was achieved through accomplishing what Third Life Scott could not.

Scott spent 3L waiting for his day one ally to die. He kept Jimmy at a distance, often fully gearing himself up first before backtracking to help Jimmy along. There’s a funny disparity in episode 5, where Jimmy spends the entire episode trying to get good enchants on his iron armor, while Scott sets up a villager and gets good enchants for the full diamond set that he’d already had in storage, in about half the time Jimmy took trying to accomplish his own goal, iirc. This disparity is also something scott acknowledges with the “I’ll always be more powerful than you” line, but it’s been a while since ive written a post like this so i unfortunately do not have the episode number memorized on that one anymore. But Scott goes on to explain that he’ll always have better armor and weapons, which is why Jimmy could never kill him. This is all to say that Jimmy and Scott do not stand on equal grounds in their alliance, and, more importantly, Scott does not depend on Jimmy. The progress Scott makes in Third Life is entirely his own, with Jimmy as more of an afterthought than a teammate.

This is what landed Scott his all time lowest placement. After Jimmy dies first, Scott loses sight of his priorities and dedicates his remaining time alive to avenging Jimmy, rather than focusing on his own longevity (like he’d go on to do in future seasons). And, in that way, Scott’s attitude towards Jimmy (disposable, going to die, unreliable) was an indirect contributor to Scott’s low placement.

In contrast: Scott could not have won Last Life without Pearl. Scott has to rely on Pearl from day 1, having only two lives to start with himself. Pearl gives Scott two lives total. Pearl and Scott are almost always together. They made it to the final four by each other’s side. And that forced day 1 reliance on pearl breaks down the role scott typically assumes (*he’s* supposed to be the person people rely on, he’s supposed to be the one bringing everything to the table) which curbs his tendency to see himself as above others, which then allows for the most genuine happiness i have ever seen him have in an alliance.

The comparison between the way Scott talks to Pearl and the way Scott talks to Jimmy is like night and day. Scott doesn’t compliment or otherwise say anything supportive towards Jimmy (save for the “I believe in you! MCC has trained you for this moment!” during Jimmy’s dare to flare attempt) until after Jimmy has already died. With Pearl, however, Scott is much more open about his care towards her, saying that she’s his best friend and that he loves her as early as episode 2. There’s more examples but between last life and third life, Scott’s attitude towards his primary ally is completely different, and i think it’s symptomatic of Scott allowing himself to love and be vulnerable rather than keeping himself at a distance. And i think that it’s so special that scott won the season where he was so close with his day one alliance, directly because of his day one alliance.

because, to me, one of scott’s defining characteristics is his self reliance. He will have allies, yes, but he often assumes a supportive role and acts as a supplier. He doesnt like taking things from other people. Last Life is different because Scott relies on Pearl, too. It’s also not a coincidence that last life is the only season where scott is normal about jimmy but that’s a different post

tldr yes scott won last life with the power of love but not in the way people say he did (ignoring the boogeyman curse was strategy ☝️)

I SHOULD NOTE, though, that the boogeyman curse was still a fail. Although purposeful, Scott receives the penalty and apologizes to his team. He says he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. I do think that his words here aren’t fully honest— he’d admitted earlier that this choice was fully for strategy. But I also think his apologetic attitude here is genuine. Scott is a perfectionist, he needs to succeed; failing, though purposeful, still hurts. He feels the need to apologize. It means so much to me that his win in last life directly follows the choice to fail on purpose. I’m insane though idk

third life scott embodies scotts flaws while last life scott is him overcoming them 👍 is what im trying to say 👍 last life scott is everything that third life scott could not bring himself to be, in allowing himself to love and depend on other people and overall just be a person.

[lesbiangiratina]

They really deformed testament’s face in some frames of their win animation btw

[silent-sentinels]

we have gotta actually finish the other account, it has been months and we want to tell revi that we're also plural hgkjgk

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

Every bookbinding tutorial i found online: "DO NOT TRY THE COPTIC STITCH AS A BEGINNER ITS TOO ADVANCED"

Me who has only bound one book before and used a completely different method: "ehh it can't be that hard"

2 hours later

.....I was right. Its not that hard.

[ieatwormsandtheytasteverygood]

Guess which bitch now has room on its phone for instagram for the first time in like 3 years. This is only good bc now we can post art there again.

Not that instagram is nice to artists or anything. Just that our art tumblr is so very tiny and unused. Gonna probably have to clear it out somewhat when I finally get around to posting art.

[itsahotminuteinbetween]

very tired of not being allowed to have Certain Characteristics

[minamaybe]

anyone else feel all consuming dread the day before something they've been looking forward to is happening or is that just me?

[devilsskettle]

i feel like i’ve been WAITING for the other shoe to drop wrt people’s opinions about watcher for this very reason. not that i think the reaction is completely not understandable but the greater the parasocial relationship, the greater the fallout as soon as public opinion shifts. you don’t have a relationship with these people they’re just content creators, chill

[beatcroc]

this single panel has caused me so much grief but i refuse to get rid of it

[cosmik-homo]

Honestly i really do know im being annoying with this but the logistics of swapping out Avon and Raistlin and watching what theh do is the greatest form of Playing With Dolls I've ever ever had. Its a serotonin treadmill. You've heard of watching a brilliant, dark tortured genius asshole slowly create his own downfall what about landing in the middle of such a slipperyslope and starting to turn it into an entirely different one. AND THERE'S PVP ALLOWED, one of my main options rn is Avon-as-Raistlin starts planning how to re-open the connection and either undo this or pass some more things between the worlds- and Raistlin-as-Avon is like FINDERS KEEPERS BITCH. Paying It (The Lichdom Curse) Forewards, im staying in your life and im winning at it, fuck off. And Avon's like, ex-fucking-scuse me?

[l0rd-0f-c0ws]

I frequently feel completely isolated no matter how much I talk to people. So that's fun