#I KNOW THIS IS SO PREDICTABLE I KNOW I LOVE THE TRAGIC OLD MAN

[dekariosclan]

Thinking about God Gale again…(especially since you made a great point about how he still loves you as a god! Which is so good and SO ANGSTY!) You may or may not be able to answer this, but I’d love to hear your thoughts: do you think God Gale would give up his godhood to be with a mortal Tav again? Would his love for Tav overcome his need for immortality and feeling like “he’s enough” as the God of Ambition?

As always: thank you for the wonderful meals about our boy 🙏 Dekarios the Divine bless you

OH DEAR GODS AN ANGSTY ASK

(ok, ok. I can do this. keep it together *hyperventilating into paper bag* just act normal goddamnit—)

Greetings fellow human! Hi! Thank you for this lovely ask, and rest assured that I am an extremely normal person who can totally handle emotional discussions about pixel people! NO I’M NOT CRYING—

Do I think God Gale would give up his godhood to be a mortal with Tav again?

Yes, I do—but only if he was able to be self-aware enough to realize that Godhood was not making him feel as happy or as content as Tav’s love did. Then his scholarly mind might finally begin to question what in the heavens he’d been thinking by giving that up just for ‘divine power’ which, as it turns out, really isn’t all that ‘divine.’

Would his love for Tav overcome his need for immortality and feeling like “he’s enough” as the God of Ambition?

The problem is that Godhood changes Gale (as it would change anyone) from a self-aware mortal to a divine being who can no longer relate to human experiences, including the passage of time. So while it’s confirmed that Gale still loves Tav, that love is now buried under weight of Gale’s hubris and godly ambitions, which would be very hard to overcome.

I know Raphael has the ending monologue where he predicts that Gale will eventually tear apart the pantheon, BUT, I personally don’t take that at face value as a guaranteed outcome. That speech reeks of sour grapes to me, and Raphael just being the smug bastard that we all know and love, so I think it’s less ‘Raphael’s Guaranteed Prediction’, and more ‘Raphael’s Fantasy Fanfiction’. Is it still possible? Sure, and I think if Gale did not romance Tav and did not get to experience their love then it is probably a more likely possibility.

But if Gale did romance Tav, then what I think is the tragic and more probable outcome is that Gale would eventually ‘wake up’ and realize that Godhood is not all that it’s cracked up to be, and decide to return home to Faerun and to Tav—but so much time has passed (and he did not realize it) that Tav and everyone he loved has now passed away.

AH GOD THE ANGST HURTS MY SPLEEN

But let’s focus on the GOOD outcome of him giving up Godhood and doing it in time to be with Tav again. It would be hard, and it would require Gale to REALLY overcome his insecurities and his pride, but I do think it is possible. Just looking at Gale’s ‘Godly Form’ you can see literal cracks in his exterior. He is not 100% unbreakable.

I still think at least a decent chunk of ‘human time’ would have to pass—we’ll say five years or so—before he would come to the realization.

And then one day (assuming Tav had not moved on and found new love) they would open their door, and—

“Hello,” Gale said, softly.

Tav blinked, for a moment trying to find their footing as their entire world spun out from under them.

“…Dekarios the Divine?” Tav asked, uncertainly. Gale’s clothes were simple robes, his skin no longer glowing with divine power. He looked almost as he had in Tav’s dreams, in all of their memories of when he’d still been a mortal.

Only this man’s eyes were much, much more tired. And filled with regret.

“No…I’m just plain old Gale Dekarios now. A most brilliant wizard of intentionally limited reknown.” He reached out, hesitantly, and took Tav’s hand in both of his.

For a moment they both stood silently, relishing the warmth of each other’s touch.

“Apologies. I hoped I’d be better at this.”

A smile was beginning to pull at Tav’s lips, even as their eyes filled. “At introductions?”

“At begging for your forgiveness.”

————— *One additional note: I simply must add that @lady-sapphyre wrote this excellent fic that tackles Gale giving up Godhood and I highly recommend it!

[pelcrow]

i forgot how much i love Simon oops

[yandere-daydreams]

tw - fem!reader, emotional manipulation, possessive behavior, prolonged imprisonment.

“Mistress prisoner?”

There was a knock, the sound of hoofed feet shuffling against a tile floor. You shrunk into yourself, suddenly thankful you’d chosen to take such a claustrophobic linen closet to seek refuge in, that Neuvillette’s awful gowns provided so much fabric for you to bury yourself in.

“Mistress prisoner? Are you alright?”

Another knock, a round of hushed whispering. Clearly, he’d sent more than one, this time.

“Should we get a healer for you, mistress?”

You swore under your breath, burying your face in your knees. Curse your bleeding heart.

Slowly, taking pains to wipe the lingering tears from your cheeks without wrinkling the fine silk of your sleeve, you pushed yourself to your feet. He was a bastard of a man, an underhanded thief masquerading as the living embodiment of justice, but tragically, Neuvillette had caught on to the only weakness you had in this palace of unearned punishments and hollow promises. You would be able to bear it if he thought of you as a petulant child, too stubborn to accept his protection or his love, but you couldn’t bring yourself to be quite so heartless when it came to the melusines.

You pulled the door open, resting your shoulder against the frame. He’d sent three, this time – all wearing modified garde uniforms and none standing taller than your waist. They were clustered close together, but as you emerged, the centermost girl stepped forward, this one totting pastel pink skin and curling horns and cheeks you’d give anything to squeeze. “We spoke with Monsieur Neuvillette,” she started, clearly shy despite having appointed herself as the leader of their little group. When she paused, her gaze fell away from yours, dropping to her feet. “He said you wouldn’t mind if we asked why you don’t want to attend the opera with us, tonight.”  

Oh, you were going to throttle that old man.

You forced yourself to smile. No part of you wanted to be seen in public with your captor, to hear onlookers praise his kindness, his willingness to care for even the most irredeemable of criminals while knowing he wouldn’t make it past the first aria before finding some reason to pull you into some unused dressing room and abuse his authority yet again. But, explaining the length of your hatred to the creatures he showed so much fondness toward would be like trying to tell a child that their favorite candy was the source of their aching cavities. You were better off saving your breath. “Neuvillette didn’t mention that you’d be coming with us.”

“It was supposed to be a surprise.” It was the blue one, this time – with flowers dotted across her arms and legs and a tone so meek, it was all you could do not to take her into your arms and promise her that you’d go to as many operas as she could stand to attend. “He said it’d help to raise your spirits.”

You let out a soft coo, crouching down to their height. “It was a very sweet idea,” you said, fighting not to melt at the sight of their little, doe-like noses and big, star-filled eyes. “And I very much appreciate that you three would care enough to try and cheer me up. It’s only…”

You paused, clicked your tongue. Predictably, the third member of their little trio (who had yet to uncross her arms or drop her adorably pointed glare) chimed in. “What is it? We don’t have all day, y’know.”

“Well, I might not be at my best, but Monsieur Neuvillette’s been awfully lonely lately too.” Lonely – that was one way to put it. It was hard to imagine he’d even be capable of feeling anything so fundamentally human. “I’m afraid, if I’m having so much fun with all of you, he might feel a little left out. You can understand why I wouldn’t want to do that to him, can’t you?”

There was a round of nodding heads, of words of affirmation. The leader piped up first, both hands balled into fists and wide eyes bright with a resilient spark. “We won’t let Monsieur Neuvillette get lonely!”

“We won’t leave his side!”

“We’ll stick to him like glue!”

With a breath of a laugh, you pulled the little trio into your arms and press a kiss into the tops of their heads. “That’s exactly what I wanted to hear, girls. I’ll see you at the opera house tonight, and remember–“

This time, you didn’t have to fake your smile.

“Don’t let Neuvillette go a moment without your delightful company.”

[lonelychicago]

I've been listening to the prophecy by taylor and i have thoughts, so bare with me on this one.

some people might look at this thing like a superpower, like something cool to trick people with or scare the shit out of them.

tommy thinks of it more as a curse than anything else. a punishment from above— maybe he's done awful, terrible things in some pasts lives and now he's paying the consequences.

truth is, he doesn't know. he can guess, can try to feel his way through the dark like a lost, blind man, but he's probably never gonna know why he is the way he is, why he can see the things he sees.

it started around the time he was nine, he thinks. when he went to hug her grandma, and suddenly he had this vision— like a short movie playing in his head, of how his grandma would die.

tommy hugged her and then there it was in his mind, he could hear her heartbeat and saw her laying in bed, so calm and at peace in her sleep, when her heart slowly stops.

tommy remembers crying out, screaming, pulling away from her in fear, much to the confusion of everyone in his family. his grandma was okay! she was right there! no one believed him when he told them what he saw, what he felt.

(nana june died that very night, in her sleep. just like tommy predicted.)

tommy realized pretty quickly that this was not something he could share with anyone else. not when he ran into his teacher at the grocery store three weeks later and saw how the woman would die in a tragic car crash in just a couple of weeks. not when he kissed a boy for the very first time when he was sixteen and saw he would die from a freak accident at a football game, of all places— a fatal hit to the head would be the end of a life cut too short.

his life became a swirl of death and fear and loneliness.

he pulled away from everyone. what was the point anyway? if he knew the end of their stories? why get atta hed, get close, when he knew the specific details of their deaths and would have to bare that weight on his shoukders all on his own?

(he made the mistake once of falling in love when he was in college. with matthew— a guy who would die of old age, at ninety-five years old. at home, holding the hand of his husband... that was definitely noy tommy.

it was okay. he figured he could have some fun and enjoy whatever time he could. but it only earned him a broken heart and matthew calling him a freak when tommy explained why he couldn't say i love you to him, why he couldn't truly commit.

he has trusted matthew with his deepest secret, with this curse that tommy has no other choice but to live with it. and it ended up in tears and half the campus thinking he was a psycho.)

since then, tommy vowed to never make that mistake again. to keep his distance with people.

and he's been successful, for the most part. he has some friends, of course, but he doesn't let his relationships get too deep, keeping everyone at arm's length.

it's for the best, really.

and he's... not happy, but content. maybe. comfortable.

until evan buckley comes crashing into his life, figuratively and literally speaking.

the guy is— adorable.

tommy has no other word to describe him.

evan is energetic and enthusiastic, passionate about every single thing he says and does. he's reckless and loud and everything's tommy has soent a lifetime running away from.

when buck touches him for the first time, it sends electricity to every one of his nerves. it's intoxicating and amazing and warm, and tommy never wants it to end.

then, the curse kicks in. a little later than usual— as if mocking tommy, almost. teasing him with a tiny taste of what normal looks like and then reminding him he can never have it, not for real.

the first time buck touches him, it's at chimney's wedding— he's drunk and sweaty, cheeks pink and flushed and a boyish smile plastered on his face. he practically draps himself next to tommy's side, leans all his weight against him as he hums the lyrics of the song plahing in the background out of tune.

it's fun and heavenly for a couple of seconds, until tommy gets the vision.

buck in a month, maybe a month and a half. hanging from the firetruck ladder as the sky falls around him, lightning striking him right in the chest and making his heart stop.

[vodika-vibes]

Crosshair as a LOVING partner lives rent-free in my head.

A Loving Man

Summary: Crosshair comes home to you after a long day.

Pairing: TBB Crosshair x Reader

Word Count: 1361

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: So, I wasn't going to write this until tomorrow. "vodika," I said, "You wrote five stories today, take a break before you hurt yourself". And then I saw this and I needed to write it immediately. So. Here you go.

You hum along with the music as you prepare dinner. This is your favorite time of the day. When the rest of the world starts to slow down and you have time to think, rather than to react to whatever disaster happened to come your way that day.

When you can just relax with whatever meal you decided is on the menu that night. When you can look out the window and see the fireflies flickering to life around the yard, dancing to a tune that only they can hear.

When you know that the love of your life, of any of your lives, will be home at any moment.

And true to your prediction, you hear the front door open only moments later. The familiar sound of the old wooden chair near the front door creaking as he sits down to pull off his boots. The sound of the closet door opening and then squeaking shut as he hangs his jacket. And then light footsteps padding down the hall into the shared bedroom.

He’ll take a quick shower, wash off the strain of the day, and dress in clean relaxing clothes, and then, and only then, will he join you in the kitchen. He hates touching you when he’s covered in a day's work, though he’s no longer a soldier and the worst thing he’ll get on you is motor oil.

You tilt your head to the side as you hear the shower click on. If dinner didn’t require an active participant tonight, you would go and see how he felt about having a shower mate.

Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

You pop a roasted pepper into your mouth, before you focus your attention back to the meat. It’s getting to be the time of year where you can pull the grill out of storage. Only a few more weeks. Maybe you’ll finally talk Crosshair into learning how to cook if it’s something as enjoyable as using the grill.

And then strong arms slide around your waist and you feel a warm kiss against your cheek, “Snacking, kitten?”

“It’s a tragic side effect of being a cook,” You joke as you pick up a piece of pepper and offer it to him.

He eats it from your hand, and hums thoughtfully, “Needs a little something extra,” Crosshair decides.

“Oh? You think so?” You nod to your spice rack, “Pick your poison, Cross.”

He chuckles under his breath, and presses another lingering kiss against your cheek, before he releases you and heads over to the spice rack. “What did you already use?”

“Mm. Garlic and onion powder, paprika-” You list, “How was your day?”

“Uneventful.”

“Well, better that than over-eventful,” You quip with an easy smile, as he returns with salt and pepper. “Look at you, I’ll make a cook out of you yet.” You take the spices from him, though he doesn’t release them.

Instead he leans in and kisses the tip of your nose, “You’re not tricking me into using that death trap you call a grill, nice try though.”

“It’s not a death trap. It’s only blown up, like, twice.”

“Sure, sure. Buy a new grill and we’ll talk about it,” Crosshair finally releases the spices and he turns to set the table.

“Ha! I’ll hold you to that.”

He shoots you a fond look, “I know you will.” He sets the table with the ease of long practice, “Need anything else done before we eat?”

“Hm…” You run through a mental list, “Will you run into the basement and grab a new carton of ice cream, I think someone ate the last of it last night.”

“Oh. Someone did, did they?” Crosshair teases, “Is this someone you, or do we have rats eating our ice cream?”

You press your hand to your heart, “I would never eat the last of the ice cream.”

“Of course you wouldn’t.” he heads towards the basement, “I’ll get you your ice cream, kitten. But you’re going to share this time, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Totally.” You smile at him angelically as he shoots you a look and then he vanishes into the basement.

Crosshair showed up at your clinic 2 years ago. Badly injured, overly cautious, and absolutely terrified, though he did an excellent job at hiding his fear. You knew, just by looking at him, that he was a deserter from the Empire, though you were very careful to not let on that you knew.

It took you six months of patient care to get him to agree to see a therapist, and it took an additional two months after that before he admitted to you that he deserted the Empire…and before that he abandoned his brothers.

Your relationship started not long after that. Though he never mentioned his brothers to you again. And you never pushed, it’s not your place, even now. Crosshair moved in with you six months after you started dating, and now people are starting to wonder when he’s going to pop the question.

You don’t expect him to. You don’t mind either way, you don’t need a legal document to prove what you know, and what he knows.

You hear the basement door open again, and Crosshair reemerges into your home with a carton of ice cream, which he promptly shoves in the freezer. “Thank you, Cross.”

“You’re welcome.”

You beam at him, “Dinner’s done. Bring me your plate.”

“Oh no you don’t,” He directs you to take your seat at the table, “You sit down, I’ll get us food.” He lightly runs his hand over your hair, “It’s not your job to serve me, kitten. We’ve talked about this.”

“I know. I just…I like doing it. I like taking care of you.”

“And I love that about you, but you’ve been on your feet all day, and I know your feet hurt.” Crosshair serves the food, making sure to give you more of the veggies than the meat, and then he sits next to you. 

You smile at him lovingly and tangle your feet with his under the table, and huffs out a laugh, “I love you, Cross.” You say adoringly, mostly because he deserves to know that you love him, but partly because even now his face burns with embarrassment when you say that to him.

“I love you more.” He replies with a slightly ducked head. You don’t mind, a year ago he wouldn’t have even been able to get that much out. So this is a massive step forward.

You decide to have mercy on him and you take a bite of your peppers, and you eat in silence for a time, before Crosshair hesitates and sets his fork down, “Something wrong with the food?”

“No, it’s delicious, as usual.” Crosshair replies, “I…uh…I talked to the Doc today.” You nod, Doc was the only licensed therapist within three hours, and Crosshair has been his patient for over a year now, “He suggests that I reach out to my brothers.”

“Oh.” You set your fork down and fold your hand over his, “Is that what you want to do, Cross?”

He turns his hand over and threads his fingers with yours, “I…don’t know. We…there are some things that can’t be forgiven-”

You nod understandingly, “Do you maybe want to write a letter, and if you decide not to send it, then that’s fine, but it’s there if you want to?”

His shoulders relax, “That’s what Doc suggested. I’d like them to know you, even if they don’t forgive me. They deserve to know the person who encourages me to be better.”

“Well, I’m flattered, Cross.”

He smiles softly, and he reaches out to trail his thumb over your lips, “When I get there, when I’m ready, I intend to ask you to marry me.”

Your lips part in surprise, and then you beam at him, “When you’re ready, Crosshair, then I will be waiting to say yes.”

***********

Three weeks later, on Pabu, Hunter receives a letter from Crosshair. Inside is a simple one page long letter, a picture of you and Crosshair, and an address, if he should want to write back or visit.

[raconteur-wanpi]

ONE PIECE 1124

I'm probably gonna start writing these thoughts / reactions with each new chapter at this point. At least as long as I have something to say!

Sentomaru is alive waaaahhhh!!! Mr. Golden Boy! I'm so glad! He skyrocketed his way up my favorite character list in this arc, but then again I'm weak towards any characters based on folklore / fairy tales and mythical heroes to begin with. It's nice to see him escape Egghead, but it's devastating to see him mourning like this. He lost so much, he really is a tragic character. Seeing him cry is genuinely a bullet through my heart. He lost his adoptive father, he lost the island he has spent much of his life on, he failed to protect the civilians who he risked his life to save, he's now a fugitive running from the government, and the man he considered an uncle and mentor figure was the one to pull the trigger. Poor guy, his experience with the Buster Call and loss of mentors almost makes him feel like a parallel to Robin. I hope he gets to heal, there are some revealed surprise good news he might want to hear eventually.

And speaking of tragedy within this little family unit, here it is. Borsalino's regret. This really reminded me of Garp and Ace, but unlike Garp being just passive and complacent in Ace's death, here Borsalino was the man who actually did it. You can see the sorrow and devastation but also the complacency. He was always going to do it, no matter how he feels about it. What in interesting character, I want to dissect his brain. His lack of a sense of actual justice and code was something introduced as a joke, but here we see what that actually looks like. A man passive enough to follow any order, even if it's something he isn't going to be able to bear.

And of course, the aftermath of such a conflict. This is the first time we've ever seen him sad and / or furious. He's sobbing and screaming to Sakazuki, someone who he's always tried to appease in the past. I wonder where will this lead him as a character. I adooore seeing the Marines betrayed, broken and fed up by their own system one by one. Maybe they will eventually realize they're on the wrong side of history. Or maybe Borsalino over here will stay complacent and passive as he always has been, who knows. Either way, I love the way Oda has approached all this interpersonal tragedy within all the grander politics of it.

Yep, there is it! The big twist! ...That most people myself included completely expected. Punk Records is still intact! The Gorosei need Vegapunks mind, so they explicitly tried to protect that part of Egghead. And that means, of course, all the Vegapunks' consciousness is still up there in the Cloud. There's a chance any of them could talk through Lilith, Stella included. Hell, she could probably build new android bodies for them if she gets the resources. Or at least, that's what I'm assuming she means by "everyone's alive", since she doesn't elaborate further.

Aaaand Robin getting excited to meet Saul again. 🥹 God I hope it goes well, I'll be devastated if it doesn't. PLEASE let this reunion happen properly.

And to close things off, somebody is waiting for them on Elbaf. People have pointed out the silhouette looks similar to the mysterious kasa-hat-wearing man we see chatting it up with Crocus in one of the cover stories. The most common guess I've seen is that it's Scopper Gaban, the man from Roger's crew, and potentially that he is the "man marked by flames". Others have suggested things like Shiki or even a 90-year-old Yorki who survived. I don't know if I personally have any predictions, but Gaban feels like a good guess. It could potentially also just be a character we haven't met yet. Really looking forward to the future!

[bestgameostcrownduel]

Round 1, Side B: Undertale (2015) vs Hollow Knight (2017)

Undertale | Hollow Knight

Campaigns under the cut!

Campaign for Undertale:

i don't know what i can even say about the undertale soundtrack except that Toby Fox's mastery of mood and leitmotif is just masterful, and as good as it is on its own it feels absolutely mindblowing in-context.

Look there’s a REASON why “megalovania” became a meme and it’s because it genuinely is that good, and it’s not even the best track in the game!!! There have been multiple cases of professional musicians blind reacting to the soundtrack and A: loving it and B: managing to accurately predict the events happening while a given track plays in-game based purely on the leitmotifs and composition techniques used. Sooo many video essayists and such use undertale music in the background of their videos, and not even the big well known tracks but the calmer more incidental music, because it’s just so good. The soundtrack is good enough to justify a whole orchestral concert of just music from this game. My personal favourites are the title track “Undertale”, “Hopes and Dreams”, and “Waterfall” and even narrowing it down to just those three just now took me ages because every track is a banger

it's undertale

TBH Undertale isn't the music that has changed my brain the most but it is the one where all the discourse is so old it is now stupid. Anyway. Sans Undertale website. Psionic warriors vote for the funny bone man and his funny bone music.

It's got so many good songs. Fallen Down is my personal favorite but it's got amazing boss music and I have to mention Megalovania. A lot of it is composed with the same notes just in different patterns. Which, I know that's whay music is but I can't explain it better. all the music fits together well.

Campaign for Hollow Knight:

every song is specifically made to fit with the area/boss it plays for. Crystal Peak includes "shimmery" noises to evoke the image of crystals, Soul Sanctum has a haunted sort of feel to it, Nosk feels like skittering and it's very quick- anxiety-inducing if you will. it has an uncanny feel to it, which helps with Nosk's role as a mimic luring you in as prey. Sealed Vessel is very emotional, high-energy but resigned and tragic. as the Hollow Knight weakens, its song does as well and it directly leads into the Radiance's theme. point being that all the songs have a purpose and very well designed for said purpose

Hollow Knight has an incredibly atmospheric soundtrack. It's got great area themes that just feel exactly like what they're trying to represent, and its boss themes, especially, are phenomenal - which is important for a game with so many bosses, as it works well to distinguish them and make them memorable. It's also important for a game where you'll be fighting said bosses over and over again lmao

[multifandomhellhole]

Hey I saw you added resident evil!! Out of curiosity I wanted to know how you feel about ships? Specifically:

-aeon

-cleon

-leshley

-serennedy

Sorry if this is weird but seeing that the fandom is kind of... hostile at times I just want to know what you're comfortable with and where you stand before I ask anything!

Hi hi!! No worries I understand haha. I've technically been a part of resident evil for a minute ( I mean I do like creepypasta and at the time internet horror crossed over into horror in general much more frequently so thats how I got exposed lmao) I just never felt the urge to add it or write for it till recently. Also just a heads up I don't do character x character regardless if I like the ship or not ✨ this is strictly x Dom reader

Also hi this is my first real post in almost two years how's it going guys lmao.

-aeon: not a fan. Originally I was open minded but the fans of this ship have been disgusting. In general and in my personal interactions so it killed the ship for me. See the appeal of the tragic one day love at times but one time situationship is not my thing. It's overrated and kind of icky in a different manner to so I rate it 20/100

-cleon also not really my thing. Once again I see the appeal just not into it myself. Fans were more welcoming though so I can enjoy it better. (Still some instigators but not nearly as many). Ultimately I'm indifferent and just like the community lmao. 60/100

-i decided to throw chreon into the mix just cause I know that one exists. Not a whole lot of interaction between the two for me to form an opinion but I can see how it came about. There is an old man yaoi quality to it that is like fine wine. An acquired taste but pretty good. Has a certain level of bitterness that tops it off. 65-70/100

-leshley. My favorite ship so far regarding Leon. Very cute. Very wholesome. Can dip into angst or problematic and what's a ship without controversy. The shippers are sweethearts for the most part. Don't see a lot of them actually but I do know the general view of leshley is not positive for stupid reasons. Love my two pookies 98/100

-serennedy. I see the appeal. Very funny dynamic and a lot of angst. Kind of generic and predictable ngl so not super intrigued by it. Plenty of good artists though and once again the fans are pretty sweet. A little much at times and a few pushy peeps but not too bad. Personally I like ada and Luis more but honestly both good. 75/100

you didn't mention this one but I'd also like to say I love metaltango. It's just a tad above leshley cause who doesn't like enemies to enemies. Plus the artists always cook with something holy and profoundly poetic in ship art. Even the name metaltango solos sorry 100/100

Also for ships I'm not sure exist with Leon I'm putting them down here. I have yet to see a maria x Leon fanbase begin after death Island with her basically sitting on his face, but I rate maria x Leon 100/100 as well. I'd love to see someone create food for it since there was some tension in that fight.

is hunnigan and Leon a ship?? I haven't seen content for that but I assume there's a few fics on ao3. Im personally not a fan of the concept but ultimately I don't have anything bad to say either so 27/100. Need to know more and interact a bit more to give an accurate rating

[mysweetobsessions]

Parting thoughts and analysis on The Penguin season finale

Spoilers ahead.

As I predicted, The Penguin ended with tragedy for Vic at the hand of Oz, literally, which was unexpected.

Also for Francis, ultimately due to Oz. The only relief I got was that she told him how she really felt cuz boy I feel the same. He is the devil.

And of course, tragedy for Sofia, although I was slightly relieved for a glimmer of hope for her at the end. I really hope Selina gets her the hell out of there!! I don’t know if that’ll happen or where this is going but I’m excited for the possibility of a better ending and a different storyline for Sofia. I truly don’t think she deserves what she went through and is going through, again for Gods sake!

Some other comments on what I interpreted:

- Those insults Oz threw at Sofia the last time he saw her… yeah, he was talking to himself. He’s the sicko. His actions towards everyone bring out visceral feelings ... That man can talk himself out of almost anything in the most infuriating ways. I’m putting it very lightly when I say I want him to suffer the worst of consequences.

- I actually felt like Sofia did get some sense of closure and release from burning her house down and from giving the empire of the Falcones and specifically her father’s away. It’s a shame she couldn’t completely let go. But Oz was her unfinished business and her desire for revenge (a VERY slow revenge -which frustrated me at times) was never satiated and led to her current fate. —Let this be a lesson in revenge for us all! (Forgive and let go… or kill your enemies quickly 😁).

- This deserves another bullet, because the fact that Sofia ends up back at Arhkam to me is the cruelest thing the writers could have pulled for her storyline, not to mention she is once again painted as a The Hangman in the media with a story that is not (entirely) true. It’s her absolute nightmare all over and my worst nightmare for her character whom I loved so much and sympathized with.

- Vic… 😢 my poor boy. I actually HATED what Oz turned him into before the end. And I just knew that Oz would be responsible for his death, just not like that! But Vic dug his own grave every time he helped Oz, and I hated it every time Vic corrupted himself for Oz. Devastating to watch the one person he had left and who he cared for like family betray him like that. I think the slowness of the death is also a symbol of Oz losing his last bit of humanity.

- Oh Francis. I don’t think the solution was to kill your 10 year old son years ago, but I honestly don’t know how someone could cope with something like what Oz did. Anyway, I think it was obvious that the tear at the end was out of sadness and not happiness. She probably wished she’d died and instead is stuck with a son she hates, unable to express herself, and listening to him pretend everything is fine, until she dies.

Come to think of it, every single person got the worst possible fate for their character. Absolutely tragic.

- Oz having Eve (the prostitute- that he has slept with many times) dressed as his mother and dancing with him, telling him she loves him.. (insert meme of that guy grimacing please cuz this emoji isn’t enough 😬). Oedipus Complex much?

- I think it’s interesting to also notice how Oz was willing to put his mother through physical pain rather than admit the truth (another kind of pain) because Oz is so good at lying that he’s convinced himself of the story he tells. He never actually admits to what he did to his brothers. He’s convinced himself that everything he’s done or does is for his mother and is therefore justified. Anything that contradicts this conflicts with the identity he has of himself and so is completely rejected even when he’s confronted (especially when he’s confronted).

- At last we see a sign of Batman(’s signal!)

Excited for what’s coming! But I’ve actually had enough of The Penguin for now.

[wordy-little-witch]

I'm gonna be annoying for a bit here but Fair Folk Buggy, and the sheer hilarity it could cause -

Roger Pirates Edition

Roger very distinctly could Hear smth OFF about Buggy the moment he met him. In my fic, I make it so Buggy KNOWS his species, has a Tragic Past, etc, but for this let's make it Unknown.

So Roger can Tell.

Buggy... cannot. He's just the red nosed little weirdo kid who this semi-feral man who is apparently a pirate captain took one look at, went "is anyone gonna adopt this kid?", and then didn't wait for an answer.

Buggy is a pirate now. Neat.

He's always been drawn to the Sea, to the Earth and Sky. Something about the three feel Balanced and Equal in a way he could never articulate or explain. He doesn't remember the safety and love of a parent's embrace, but he thinks maybe the feeling The Three give him is close.

He's always been a sweet talker, and on the ship, this doesn't change. Sometimes Buggy will flutter his lashes and poke out his lip, will clasp his heads and tilt his head Just So- and the crew will cave. Roger and Ray can Feel something just below the surface when Buggy gets That Tone, something Old and Formless, but their careful questions to the youngest on board yield nothing. He doesn't even realize he's doing it.

Shanks and Buggy click immediately in a wide manner of ways - they are thick as thieves and fight like cats and dogs. But there is an undercurrent between them, made all the brighter and thicker by proximity. Roger swears he can damn near taste the invisible waves which swallowed the spaces between his boys. It isn't dangerous, but it is different, and he never could put a name to it.

The fiasco with the devil fruit was painful for Buggy. With time to stop and think, he learned to realize it was not done out of maliciousness on Shanks' part, but when that fruit went down his throat, Buggy could feel the moment it hit his stomach, the moment it changed his body, the moment the sea, once a comfort and home and the closest he could fathom to a mother, recoiled from his energy. The loss was stark, heavy, and he mourns it to this day.

It was an accident, and he and Shanks both discussed it at length, forgiveness was given, but a small, hurt, explosive part of Buggy will always resent it. Shanks knows this. Shanks knows it is not active blame, not maliciousness, that it is simply one of the other parts of Buggy, and he carries it. He also knows the current Buggy uses the devil fruit as a ready-made excuse. The game they play in the canon timeframe is precarious at best.

Back to Roger, though, sometimes he'll catch odd little Quirks. Buggy loves performing, loves being the center of attention, but very few seem to notice how much he GIVES when he's center stage. His words drip with honey, sparkling like fire across sequined gowns, eyes searching, piercing, cutting, and cataloging each microexpression with a near terrifying ease. Buggy can assess a crowd and become precisely what they need with nary a hiccup. Sometimes, his infamous temper will get the better of him, but more often than not, Roger sees his child for what he is - a well of untapped potential that not even he could predict.

Buggy doesn't really know that what he does is Other. He thinks it's just something everyone does, or something he fucks up into.

It isn't until Cross Guild that Dracule "Hawkeyes" Mihawk and Sir Crocodile see, experience, and study his actions that Buggy finally begins to get answers to questions he never knew to ask.

[randomgentlefolk]

CPC CHAPTER 167

YO PROPS TO WITCH!!!

Hm, I wonder how Leelathae writes in her diary? I mean, does she write them in just dialogue, or narrative, or what? Either she is writes in dialogue, or she described the witch pretty well for Gwen to recognize who the witch is.

I mean, I didn't expect these ingredients, but sure. Does this imply there's a cemetery near The Pastel Kingdom? Cause Leelathae isn't allowed to be far from home, right? And I doubt she would ask someone to get dirt from cemetery for her...

I wonder what Leelathae plan was? Cause she didn't get the chance to execute it since her portrait was stolen by Leland. Or maybe she did execute it while in the Plaid Kingdom?

I agree with the witch so much. The painters fr did Leelathae dirty 💀

THE WITCH WASN'T LYING. SHE DOES LOOK COOL AF. LIKE. BRO?? HOW AM I NOT SUPPOSED TO FALL IN LOVE.

Huh. How does the ingredient turn into a paint-like liquid?? None of the ingredients are liquid based. Maybe the dirt?

This whole spell thing is sick man. It's so dang cool!! I wonder if anyone notices Leelathae sparkling?? I mean, one of the maids has got to notice right?

Also I've never knew there's tea inside snickerdoodles (chai is tea, right?). Well, it's not like I've ever tried snickerdoodles, but last time I read the recipe, I don't remember tea being in the recipe. But that was years ago so it might just be my memory.

Well, the mystery of the portrait is finally solved! And yet there's another mystery.. what writing did Leelathae put behind her portrait? Yes, the diary is one of them, but there are other things too. Like those brown and green papers. I'm guessing it's a message toward her kids?

Ohh, that's why!! Leelathae was glowy because of the spell!

BRUH SO WAS IT LIKE, A MISUNDERSTANDING THIS WHOLE TIME?? I did kinda predict it in my really old post, but I was joking T_T

Something's kinda bothering me about what Leelathae said in her 3rd wish. Why is she only talking about her daughters? What about Jamie? Or is there a hidden meaning that I am not getting here? If someone would enlighten me, that would be nice.

Aw. It's actually pretty sweet when you think about how they didn't even know how to speak to each other at first, but they still fell in love with each other <3

Oh. Oohhh....okay. This doesn't justify what Leland is doing right now, but it sure give a big reason for it. Yikes. Damn. That must've hurt.

Okay okay, let me just remember the past episodes to realize all the causes here.

Leland's parents died due to tragic carriage accident (didn't a carriage accident happen more than once? Tho I can't remember to who besides Leland's parents)

His best friend, Jack, didn't arrive to Leland's parents' funeral, which is the moment he needed him the most (not Jack's fault though, since he was literally stranded in an island)

Leland obviously has a little crush on Jack, which is why it hurts him when he found out Jack brought Leelathae to Pastel Kingdom (again, not Jack's fault). I think this is where he jealousy starts, the point where Leland thinks he has to be better at every love things than Jack.

He overheard Jack saying he didn't need him, which is probably the nail in the coffin for Leland. I mean that monologue Leland has? That's kinda internal mental breakdown right there. (I gotta say, this scenario is kindaaa similar to Gwen overhearing Frederick calls her ugly. I wouldn't say it's the exact same thing of course. It's just the overhearing that makes it similar)

So! Looking at these 4 reasons, it is highly likely that Leland has some problems (no shit sherlock). HEAR ME OUT. I don't know what it is yet. I was thinking of abandonment issues, but I have yet to read much about it, so i'm not sure yet.

HAH! Glad Leelathae decided to haunt his dreams tho!

OH SHIT OH SHIT. NAH LELAND NAHHHH. HE BETTER NOT. ....well at the time i'm writing this the next episode is already out so.. guess we're gonna find out...IN THE NEXT REVIEW!!

Yeah I haven't read the episode yet lol. I bet it's gonna be chaotic though.

That's it for now, until next time.

Mono out! (But still in to hear your thoughts)

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

Anti-Snape propaganda: his whole reasoning for opposing wizard fascism was ‘oh no, my tragically unrequited crush (who hates me because I called her a slur when she was trying to help me and cruelly married a man who bullied me in highschool) might be in danger!’ If Lily was a Pureblood, he would have no reason not to stay a Death Eater. He’s the one who puts her life in danger in the first place, while spying for the mass-murdering blood supremacist, and he only feels regret and switches sides when it affects him personally.

(In addition, it’s highly insinuated that there was more to the end of the friendship than Snape calling Lily a slur, although, you know, that’s reason enough. She mentions that he’s already hanging out with future death eaters who make her uncomfortable, which definitely presents the possibility he’s already entrenched in the gross racist views whether or not he likes her personally).

This is the quote where he goes to Dumbledore:

“The — the prophecy . . . the prediction . . . Trelawney . . .”

“Ah, yes. How much did you relay to Lord Voldemort?”

“Everything — everything I heard! That is why — it is for that reason — he thinks it means Lily Evans!”

“The prophecy did not refer to a woman. It spoke of a boy born at the end of July —”

“You know what I mean! He thinks it means her son, he is going to hunt her down — kill them all —”

“If she means so much to you, surely Lord Voldemort will spare her? Could you not ask for mercy for the mother, in exchange for the son?”

“I have — I have asked him —”

“You disgust me.”

Yeah, he was totally cool with trading away the lives of his high school bully and his supposed true love’s newborn baby (who she died for! But he cares so much about her happiness, right?) as long as he got to keep Lily Potter like a muggleborn pet. Because let’s be honest, muggleborns weren’t considered equals by the Death Eaters, and I can’t imagine the woman who sacrificed herself to save her child’s life would be super fine with just letting her family be slaughtered in exchange for ‘mercy.’ How would he deal with her horrified trauma? Would he be keeping her under lock and key, or…? I think it’s reasonable to assume some pretty fucked-up implications for the whole ‘I asked the Dark Lord’ comment.

Also, lots of people justify his creepy sadman act (where he used his academic authority to bully the abused orphan who dared to be related to his highschool bully) by saying he was abused and bullied himself, like that doesn’t make it worse? He knows what that’s like, and he inflicts that pain on others, while remaining constantly self-pitying. Additionally, as though his motivation for actively trying to make the eleven year old orphan’s life miserable wasn’t stupid enough, Harry is absolutely not the only one he treats this way. He torments a ton of Gryffindors over the years, so either he just enjoys preying on the weak, like Neville (who in no way resembles James Potter, and whose family life was ruined in part due to the prophecy Snape revealed), or he’s taken his childhood bullying trauma to the next level by assigning it to a quarter of the school population! I’m not saying getting bullied isn’t terrible. It’s very traumatising in some instances and I do feel sympathy for his experiences. But Snape is not a sympathetic figure or hero to bullied children, he’s just a hypocritical self-pitying incel who wilfully plays straight into the circle of generational trauma. If anything, the fact that Harry didn’t grow up to bully children who reminded him of Snape makes him the true champion here.

Sorry, this is stupidly long. I guess I have a lot of repressed rage about the TERFiest of books and how much crap I’ve heard justifying poor writing in the past.

[deathmetalunicorn1]

hello! can i request a nikola tesla and the other scientist x male reader (plotonic with albert einstein,galileo & Alfred

as male! reader would see them as a father/grandpa figure's but with the othes scientist would be a poly relationship

[with Issac Newton, thomas Edison, Marie curie & Nikola Tesla]. if you don't want too or your not comfortable with it, it can be just a Nikola Tesla x male reader)

(this is kind of a "long" request but half of it is just information)

(alright to the the actual request)

Nikola and the other scientist with an m!s/o that acts dumb and oblivious but is basically william james sidis who is the smartest man to have ever lived and the man who had the IQ of 250-300 maybe more?and has a little tragic past?…like imagine the surprise of the others

(if you don't know who William James sidis.that's fine as i found facts about him that explains him and his discoveries and life in short with out writing a whole paragraph(which it still kind of is) so here you go(ps.if you want to know more information just type his name and you'll find it on Google♡︎:

facts:

William James Sidis

Said to be the smartest person who has ever lived, William James Sidis is the benchmark for child prodigies. He was reportedly able to read the newspaper aged just 18 months and entered Harvard University aged 11, graduating at 16

Why was William Sidis so smart?

Both his parents were highly educated, with his father being a prestigious psychiatrist and his mother graduating from Boston University in medicine. Williams's main areas of interest were mathematics, linguistics, and as an inventor. He was said to have known 25 to 40 languages

he actually went to harvard at 11 or 12 year's old… and knows around 25+ languages and dialects, including Esperanto, Latin, Greek, Russian, Yiddish, German, French, Hebrew, Welsh, Turkish, Armenian, and Sumerian, and he invented another

which he called Vendergood.In his work, The Book of Vendergood, Sidis essentially merged elements of Latin, Greek, French, German, and other Romance languages to create a new language.

his IQ has been estimated to be between 250 to 300+ or even more. And he's also known for

the book. The Animate and the Inanimate, that he published in 1925 (written around 1920), in which he speculated about the origin of life in the context of thermodynamics.

Sidis predicted the existence of regions of space where the second law of thermodynamics operates in the reverse temporal direction of our local area.

and By the time William Sidis was two he could read English and, at four he was typing original work in French. At the age of five he had devised a formula whereby he could name the day of the week for any given historical date. At eight he projected a new logarithms table based on the number twelve. He entered Harvard at the age of twelve and graduated cum laude before he was sixteen. Mathematics was not his only forte. At this age he could speak and read fluently French, German, Russian, Greek, Latin, Armenian and Turkish. During his first year at Harvard University the boy astounded students and scientists with his theories on "Fourth Dimensional Bodies."

The "man behind the gun" in this boy's amazing intellectual attainments is supposed to have been his father, a graduate in psychology at Harvard and a close friend of William James, after whom the boy was named. Dr. Boris Sidis believed in awakening in the child of two an interest in intellectual activity and love of knowledge. If you started early enough and worked intensively, Dr. Sidis claimed that by ten a child would acquire a knowledge equal to that of a college graduate. The boy’s father published articles urging other parents to follow his methods. He castigated the school authorities for their "cramming, routine and rote methods," which he said, "tend to nervous degeneracy and mental breakdown."

Sidis pointed to his son, William, as a successful example of his methods. He wrote: "At the age of twelve the boy had a fair understanding of comparative philology and mythology. He is well versed in logic, ancient history, American history and has a general insight into our politics and into the ground-work of our constitution. At the same time he is of extremely happy disposition, brimming over with humor and fun?"

Whether or not his childhood life was psychologically normal, William's life after Harvard was a series of unhappy incidents. He engaged in obscure mechanical jobs because, it was reported, "he did not want to think." At the age of twenty-four he estranged himself from his parents and to his last days the gap between parents and son remained unreconciled, though toward his sister he always felt a brotherly love which was expressed by a bond of friendship and mutual interests. Toward the press, William Sidis bore an everlastingly strong hatred.

From this story the newspapers and the general public drew some ill-formed conclusions about William Sidis and genius in general. Newspaper writers pointed out that his "genius had burned out," that he was "tired of thinking." By comparison it was stated that musical geniuses are less likely to burn out. The father’s system was held responsible for making the boy a prodigy. The parental pushing was blamed for the mental breakdown and antisocial attitude. From his desire to keep out of the limelight and taking obscure jobs that would pay for his subsistence, William Sidis, the boy prodigy, was made out to be at the time of his death a lonely, eccentric, prodigious failure" whose intellect had deteriorated.

so when m! reader got to Valhalla that's why he acted so oblivious and dumb as he was actually so tired of thinking back when he was alive but now since he was in Valhalla he can finally do whatever he wanted when he wanted and finally rest but it did take him a year or two to get back to his genius self Back.

(to the surprise of the others who first met him as a "obvious man and Dumb man" so there very VERY surprised seeing his theories and achievements he had at such a young age that he kept secret from them while he was finally relaxing only wanting a time where he didn't have to think all the time)

(and how did they find out? they accidentally walked in on

m!reader casually solving a problem they we're having trouble with so they just look at him in shock as he was known to be oblivious and being not so smart to say…they also did get confused when m!reader speaks in Vendergood)

(and i thought it would be funny to see nikola's and the other scientists finding out that nikola's/there

M!s/o who is known to be oblivious and dumb is actually more smarter than them cause why not)

-Valhalla was a place of peace for you- a place where you could just relax, enjoy yourself, there was no pressure to do more- to be the best- no people breathing down your neck, watching your every move, wanting to know how you were so smart.

-You made friends, good friends with other geniuses throughout history, Nikola Tesla, Albert Einstein, Galileo, Isaac Newton, and Thomas Edison- and you enjoyed watching them work, but not for any goal they had specifically in mind- no they did it for fun.

-You kept quiet on how smart you really were- not wanting to relive what you had to live through on earth, being pressured by your parents, your teachers, everyone around you- to be a genius.

-You remember the pain well, when you finally broke, unable to handle their pressure- their expectations, and you turned away from science and knowledge, just wanting to be a normal guy!

-That’s why you hide your intelligence in Valhalla, pretending that you weren’t as smart as the others around you- you were afraid of their expectations of you if they were to find out, afraid of their questions because in actuality you were smarter than all of them.

-You adored your friends, growing close with all of them, they were like brothers or father figures to you, real father figures who just sat and talked with you over coffee and cake, asking about your day, the weather, and other random topics.

-They never made you feel inferior however, never looking down on you that you were not as smart as them, they made you feel welcomed, asking for your opinion, or rambling on about their newest discovery, as you would sit there and listen to them without a care in the world.

-You loved watching them work, seeing their joy- their passion, in the pursuit of knowledge, wanting to know more and more. It reminded you of when you were young on Earth, you were so full of hope and joy, only to be snuffed out by pressure.

-You walked in with a large box from the bakery you all enjoyed, “Food!” and heads turned from all over the lab, seeing you there, heading over to the large, mostly empty table that was half taken up by Marie’s own research.

-You looked over at the problem they had been researching for days now, each of them taking turns being in charge, each of them researching the factors and theories that went into the equation, but with nothing adding up.

-The equation looked simple, but you could see errors all over, which was the reason why they weren’t getting any results.

-You ushered all of them away from their work, pushing on Nikola’s back, “Go take a shower and get something to drink- I got everyone’s favorites!”

-Not wanting to leave their work, they did as you told, all of them leaving the lab to clean up, as you told them it might help to take a break then come back with fresh eyes and with baked goods in their belly.

-Once they were gone, you got to work, helping clean up their dirty dishes around the lab, straightening things up like their paperwork, but for the most part leaving everything alone.

-You then looked at the massive blackboard you saw Thomas and Nikola working on and you bit your lip lightly, looking at the mistakes, before looking at the closed door.

-They had been all working so hard and you could see their frustration mounting, you felt bad as you worried about them, before you sighed softly, “If I can be quick!”

-You grabbed the chalk and the ladder Thomas was on before you ascended, going to the top of the board, where the first mistake was, and you corrected it, before you noticed that due to that mistake, everything was now messed up.

-You looked back at the door, before you quickly started erasing, filling out the correct formula, turning it into a race to be done before your friends got back.

-You reached the bottom, going into zone before you pulled back, setting the chalk down, “Finished!” a mug hitting the floor had you leaping out of your skin, turning to see Thomas pointing up at the board, seeing the corrected formula, ending with the solution, as he had been the one to drop his mug.

-You blanched, terrified and they could see the terror before you were quickly scooped up by Isaac, “Y/N this is amazing!!” you cried out, being spun around before you were sat down, your eyes twirling around in your head.

-You were nervous as the others quickly, Nikola wrapping an arm around you, pulling you close, all of them elated that you solved the problem so easily!

-You twiddled your fingers bashfully, “You’re not mad?” Galileo turned, taking your hand before leading you to the box of treats you had gotten, “Mad? Why would we be mad? This is amazing! We knew you were smart but this is…” he trailed off, just in awe.

-Marie giggled softly, pinching your cheek as you looked shocked, “Didn’t think we didn’t know about you, right Y/N? We’ve known since we met you- but we saw how nervous you looked- for good reasons- so we never pushed you.”

-You felt foolish, your cheeks growing red which made them all poke fun at you, teasing you harmlessly before Nikola looked up at the board, “How did you figure out where we went wrong?”

-You pointed at the point of the chalkboard where you started writing, “That math equation there was calculated wrong, so it gave you the wrong answer, and with the wrong answer going all the way down, you would have never gotten the correct solutions.”

-They all gaped up at you, blinking owlishly before it was your turn to playfully tease them, “And that’s why I tell you all to take breaks!” laughter quickly filled the room, research done for the moment, as you sat with your friends, enjoying your snacks in this rare quiet moment, your fear and anxiety now gone.

[just-an-enby-lemon]

I liked Odyseus as my favorite mythological hero because I was a prentencious kid that had just discovered heros could lie and use trickery and win by outsmarting people (and as a autistic kid the moment I learned I could actually lie - way older than most kids - that was a super power, I mean I did think everyone else was masking as well [the joys of afab autism and late diagnosis] but alas). I was the kid that believed they were being bullied because they were smart and the mean kids were jealous (I just had autism and kids in prejudiced small towns are mean) so Odyseus was my king.

Nowdays, I still like Odyseus, I ADORE a trickster archetype, but now a lot of it it's about how much this man didn't want to fight and had to anyway.

The Illiad is a tragedy for everyone involved and namely for our favorite bi boy Achilles but the reason my boy Odysseus gets his own tragic epic later is because of course the guy who just wanted to be at home with his wife and raise his kid would have to suffer to get to that and still lose so much of what he should have. The big names on the Illiad want to fight. They want to be remembered and fight the good fight and if needed die a good death (Achilles didn't want to fight but it was not about not wanting the war but the petty infight related to his fellow warriors, and if nothing more he liked and wanted to it more than Oddie). But Odyseus? No way.

He created the whole mess because he wanted to AVOID a war and as he couldn't predict Eris mendling nor Paris stupidity (I have a lot of insults to Paris get ready) there was no way he could know his genius "let's garantee that this marriage deal won't cause a war via the treat of being obliterated by everyone else" idea was actually creating a mutual distruction accord via third party. Not only that but he tried to avoid the draft , tried to lie his way out of it so he could stay home with his people and his wife and raise his son (I would argue he was the only one who did this btw, as Achilles avoiding the draft plan was mostly his mother and Achiles went with it because being alive and all that also Achiles was invited not drafted unlike Oddy he could've said no and he said yes anyway). And still he was forced into Troy and later into oceanic hell trying to reunite with his family and while he did, when he finally makes it his son was an adult he never got the chance to raise. It's a hopefull tragedy but still one. And I love my merciless trickster that just wanted a calm life with his family and dog and to be a good governor. Athena's pet liar deserves to grow old with his family and develop some relationship with his son and help to raise his grandsons, he deserves to be the Athena workshiper king that tells ludicrous stories to his grandkids and all the Itaca kids that want to join and no one is certain he is lying or not while Athena watches her favorite human with a smug smille and keeps some of the lies in mind to trick her sibblings.

[pluviophile-bookworm]

Schmicago is Over and Done... so here are my thoughts on all of it (extra long post)

Episode 1: Welcome to Schmicago

In all honesty, I was fully prepared not to like this season bc I’m really not (or at least was not) that into this era of musicals, but all I needed was the start of Welcome to Schmicago and I was so completely in. Thank you to all the geniuses who made it possible.

No but… the second time round that the word ‘farrago’ comes up in the lyrics of the episode’s title song, I well, I was literally thinking ‘what the hey’s a farrago’, and the Narrator says ‘look it up’ — it’s like they’re reading the viewer’s thoughts. I love it. That’s the self-aware humour I’ve come for. Also, I did look it up and farrago means a confused mixture. I like it. It fits.

This is killing me (in the best way) — when they say ‘endings that are tragic’, the Narrator holds up a strand of Melissa’s hair. I love the double meaning.

I love love love this! At one point you can clearly hear Kristin Chenoweth saying ‘peas and carrots, peas and carrots’, and Josh and Melissa are like ‘Please don’t talk all at once, we can’t understand you’. Love that bit of theatre inside humour.

‘Do you have a cigarette, darling, I’m simply desperate’… what an introduction to Dove’s new character, Jenny Banks. Or, as I immediately dubbed her when I saw her, Liza Jr. I feel like I’m going to like her.

‘Fifty’s not that old’ — this coming, of course, from Keegan-Michael Key, who is 52 in real life. And ain’t he living proof of it, too.

I am loving Does That Shock You (I assume that’s the name of the song) [It’s Do We Shock You, actually, but there was no way for me to know that back when the episode aired, now was there?] — it’s like, ‘look, there’s a man and he’s wearing a dress’, ‘I like both boys and girls’, and, most hilariously, ‘I’ve experienced an orgasm. A female one.’ Goodness, this doesn’t shock me or Josh and Melissa, but it sure as the stars would render the people of Schmigadoon catatonic. And I love that, for some reason.

No but the cabaret girls… Annie, Kate, Molly, Tessie, Pepper, Duffy and Elsie. Like… a certain bunch of orphan girls from the same time period as all musicals referenced here take place. Plus Cabaret’s Elsie, of course. That’s basically as if… the girls grew up to become showgirls, which actually isn’t too far-fetched. And Ariana DeBose as the EmCee is slaying it. I love all of this. And Ann Harada is Madam Frau. Lady Lady. Cool! I love it.

‘My true passion is power [dramatic pause]… electricity’ I love love love all of this.

And Jenny Banks does a Cabaret-style number with chairography a la Mein Herr. Which is funny because Dove is just one of a whole bunch of people in this cast who would do (or, in certain cases, have done) a killer Mein Herr. Either way, I just know this will be one of my most replayed songs once the soundtrack comes out. When is that, btw? [That was yesterday, and I can fully attest to the above prediction being true.]

This number isn’t even subtle about what it’s doing. About as subtle as Va-Gi-Na or the Coming Out Reprise were last season ‘We’ve had a fine affair, but please get out of mein hair.’ I love this more than words can say.

Episode 2: Doorway to Where

The Narrator is just everything… ‘schmigadee-death… penalty’, anyone? Lovely.

Ahhh we’ve got Aaron!! That man’s voice makes me swoon in a way I didn’t think was possible to someone of my… identity. If you get what I’m trying to say. [What I’m trying to say is I’m aroace, but I do have a thing for voices, and for unconventionally attractive faces, except the latter isn’t relevant in very conventionally attractive Aaron’s case. He’s all voice to me. He could sing the phone book and I’d be done for.]

No but… his solo once again mentions squirrels and robins, and I’ve got to wonder why… like, is it just a reference to You Can’t Tame Me (my beloved), or is there something else? But also, his new character, Topher, strikes me as the only one who hasn’t changed quite as much — he’s once again a free spirit singing about squirrels and robins and wow, this is just utterly self-referential, isn’t it? I love that. 

‘Please. Mr Flanagan was my father… after he lost his medical license.’ I love that. And I’m going to love Jane Krakowski’s character in this, I feel like. ‘First we court the press, then I press the court.’ I adore sentences like that. Sue me. But only with Bobby Flanagan as my solicitor.

Ok, so this one I caught. Melissa’s showgirl audition is set to a number evoking I Hope I Get It from A Chorus Line. Good going, me!

‘Dad was in the military. You know, the type with a whistle. He used to force my brothers, sisters and me to perform for guests at dinner parties. God, I hated when he did that.’ I see you, Sound of Music. I see you clear and bright. ‘So this one night I begged him for a taste of champagne’… ok, so you’re Liesl, are you? Well, funny, because all I can think of is Cecily as Liesl in that one SNL sketch with John Mulaney.

Ok but when Melissa meets Topher, she’s like ‘You look… groovy’, and I was like, his ‘pants’ are not really high-waisted in this one, though. But there’s a good chance he’s both high and wasted at any given time. I mean, so I imagine, he’s a hippie. Not to stereotype people, but hey, everyone is a walking steretype here.

When Topher’s buddies come to bust him and Josh out of jail on the happiness bus, Josh is like ‘it’s literal? I thought it was a metaphor.’ To which I say… ‘It’s not a metaphor, oh no, it’s something more — it’s a literal bus’. How’s that for a reference?

Episode 3: Bells and Whistles

Ok we’re on to episode 3 and… ‘ Rizzo, ChaCha, Doodie/ Zuko and Kenickie’… why, hello Grease! I didn’t quite expect you there, but of course that was a mistake. And also, in a number starring Danny Bailey/Zuko Aaron Tveit himself, no less.

I see you, Miss Kristin Hannigan! And I’m loving it. Mrs Lovett x Miss Hannigan has never made so much sense before. Add in some Mme Thenardier for good measure, and you’ve got the ultimate composite character.

No, I swear, between Kristin and Alan, this is giving me huge Thenardier vibes, even if it’s actually meant to be a homage to Sweeney Todd, I believe. I’m loving it either way.

Ok, so… Alan’s character, Butcher Dooley Blight, is Jenny’s father here. I love it. But oh wow, this got really bloody and dark and gory really fast.

This might as well be one of my favourite courtroom scenes. I mean, ‘On the grounds of Brooklyn’ is still my go-to, but Bells and Whistles, and Fosse jazz hands are truly something else.

‘Why am I flanked by fools’ is the new ‘I’m surrounded by idiots’, and I love it. No but, his song is actually about wanting love from women who don’t want him. He’s giving Phantom. And, oh gosh, the resounding bass note it ends on… almost more impressive than a high note.

Episode 4: Something Real

Well, it’s true that Dove and Aaron are, in my humblest of opinions, the two people whose characters from this season and the previous one are most alike — I mean, she’s a cheerful girl whose cluelessness may or may not be (and in this one definitely is) just an act and whose father would kill for her sake, and he’s a free spirit who sings about robins and squirrels (even though Danny’s ‘pants are really high-waisted’ whereas Topher would rather forgo any trousers at all because ‘flowers don’t wear pants’... which I think is a valid choice, wanting to emulate a flower. Go for it) — so, in a way, what I called has very much come to pass. Now how this is going to turn out by the end is a whole other matter, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Also, here’s a post I made the day the s1 finale came out, and... I was a bit blindsided, but I had the spirit:

Ok so the Narrator may be a bit of an arse to Mel and Josh, but I love him. I want Tituss Burgess to narrate every show in song.

Topher, arriving at the junkyard: ‘The prodigal son has returned. Someone write that down.’ The Fansie in me, knocking over about three walls at once: ‘I got a pencil!’

S1 Josh: ‘I’m not singing if you’re not singing.’ S2 Josh: ‘Talk to Daddy, talk, talk to Daddy’… now that’s what I call character growth. And that aside, this is just such a fun number. I can see myself listening to it on repeat once the soundtrack drops (which I need now btw). [Ah, yes, the ‘I’m not having an argument that’s part of a musical number’ to ‘I am not a man of many words’ to ‘Talk to Daddy’ pipeline. We stan.]

Whoever decided to pair up Dove and Aaron for a duet is a freaking genius. I need to know who that was so I can send them flowers to thank them for this vocal match made in heaven.

‘More romance’? If there’s one thing I don’t like about Schmigadoon/Schmicago, and it’s just this tiny little thing, really, but… it’s that it seems to emphasise romance as the ultimate solution, the single bringer of happiness. Only, I suppose, it will end up subverting that by the end of the season. Which would be nice if it does, indeed, happen. [Well... not exactly. But next season maybe... hope springs eternal.]

Ok, a scene centring around Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming together in any sort of context is always welcome, but I’m just a bit too distracted by Dooley eating his mash using his cleaver as a spoon. It’s too funny!

No but the way he said ‘Life is just a pile of shit’… it spoke to my soul… somehow.

I have never, ever in my life laughed at the sight of someone openly discussing making children into meat, but if anyone can sell such a number, why, it’s those two. Marvellously morbid.

I hear you, ‘It’s a Hard-Knock Life’. I hear you loud and clear. Or should I say… It’s a Hard-Knock-off Life… ight I’ll see myself out. But who would have thought that mixing Annie with Sweeney Todd (and a sprinkle of Oliver!) would make such a delightfully dark and scrumptiously sinister song? Also, those tap-dancing children are so amazing! I wish we would get more than a number per season from them, but I always take what I can get. [This is another contender, along with Kaput and Talk to Daddy and Bells and Whistles, for my May Top Tracks on Spotify... what will end up happening remains to be seen, but the number of times I’ve looped those just since they were released there yesterday is already large enough to put them all in the top 20 if not the top 10.]

So this now marks two different songs I know where ‘scrumptious’ is rhymed with ‘presumptuous’ (Truly Scrumptious from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, of course, being the first), and in neither of those songs do these words sound like they should rhyme. This must be what Mel meant by that comment about imperfect rhymes, you know.

Doesn’t this just go to prove that you could sell infanticide to me if it’s accompanied by a musical number, and I’d eat it up with a spoon, or even a cleaver if I had one handy… what does that say about me, I wonder…

Episode 5: Famous as Hell

Cecily is such a star! (hey, nice alliterative phrase there) But for real, she is. Also, is this supposed to be Maybe This Time? I’ll know for sure once I watch the Schmeakdown, but I think it is, if not intertwined with something else as well.

Ok but the tribe seems to have imprinted on Josh like a bunch of baby ducklings. He’s their mama now. I love that.

I’m thinking the Narrator’s name should change to the Instigator. Love that for him.

‘Another damn rhetorical question’ might just be funnier than ‘Schmigadee-death penalty’. Either way, I love Tituss Burgess and what he does as the Narrator, or the Instigator if you will.

Ooh… I love this. Famous As Hell seems to be the sort of number which references everybody’s themes, and I love that in a number.

Ok so nobody should be subjected to 12-show day, but, like, as an obsessed fan I’d be there all day for it. Still, don’t make people perform until they bleed. Then again, this is Schmicago, so…

Wait a sec… so that’s what ‘substitutes become expedient’ meant? Not just the obvious ‘children-for-animals’ substitute, but ‘orphans-for-Kratt’. Well. I’m thinking Kratt wouldn’t make a very desirable load of sausages, though. Oh, great, now I’m considering it. I’m in so deep I’m losing awareness of how gory this all is.

Are those the twins who played the white-faced women in ASOUE, playing another pair of white-faced women? Why yes, it is them, Jacqueline and Joyce Robbins. Nice.

Ooh… ‘You’ve been getting my roses? — Moses supposes I have.’ I loved that. I’ve been wondering if Singing in the Rain could make it into the farrago, and it seems like it has.

Ok, now Kratt is definitely Phantom. Kidnapping Mel just after she’s become a star on stage and essentially going like, ‘you marry me or the man you love dies’. Also, what kind of a cliffhanger was this? I’m dying. How on earth will I make it to the finale? And there are so many knots to be untied, too many loose ends to be tied up… that’s an ambitious setup for the finale. [It was, indeed. Bit of a rush to untangle and tie up everything, it really was, but I loved it nonetheless.]

Episode 6: Over and Done

Ahhhh Ariana DeBose solo at last!! I’ve missed that so much. And a Dreamgirls solo at that! I found she was really underutilised this season, which sucks because she’s a queen, but is also completely understandable because there were so many plotlines even without her being at the forefront. Still though…

‘I shut down a dream ballet, I will shut down this’ Yes Mel, be in control of the narrative devices even if you can’t control the narrative… that is so poetic in its way. I love it.

Idk how I came to this thought, but Sgt. Rivera upon being told he has to kill Josh is giving the huntsman from Snow White. Can’t say I love that for him because it’s a really tight spot to be in, but his reaction is still one of my favourite moments.

Ok but like… is Ms. Codwell reluctant to let the orphans be killed now? What exactly was it that made her change her mind? And also, these poor kids are so death-happy, I can’t even begin to comprehend the black comedy of it all. It’s not even black comedy anymore, it’s saccharine tragedy.

Also, if Dooley and Ms Codwell get married, does that mean Kristin is going to be Dove’s mum once again? Because at first I enjoyed the subversion of them being completely unrelated here, but I’m starting to miss them as a mother-daughter duo. Maybe s3 can amend that? Whatever, just please let there be a s3.

Ok but Topher being a JCS homage all season and his tribe digging everything he says, and then once he pulls a literal Jesus, ‘turn the other cheek’ and whatnot, they’re sceptical? Idk, but I kinda dig that just bc I find it (1) funny and (2) totally reasonable.

I can’t… the Somewhere Love Is Waiting for You riff as Dooley reunites with his daughter… it’s too much. I’m going to cry. I was already going to cry, but this really is too much.

Ok but even when he doesn’t intend it, Dooley sure is good with that cleaver. And the narrative pulling a Phantom on the Phantom shout-out character… now that’s what I call poetic justice.

Yeah, sure, I’ll drink to that too. From now on I want all the villain death announcements to be done via Kaput reprise. Ding Dong the Witch is Dead who?

Rocky Horror Sgt. Rivera isn’t what I ever expected, but I’m digging it. I’m actually tearing up. What is with Schmigadoon season finales and making me sob my heart out? I need to have more of that.

Now excuse me for crossing my fandoms over here, but the tribe’s ending is giving Ordinaryish People by AJR: ‘Your hippie friends call you a sellout cos you buckled down and got a job’… indeed.

Goodness, Something Real with Topher and Jenny was one thing, but with Mel and Josh it feels that much more… real. I mean. Tell me it doesn’t. I’m not crying over the cheesiness that is a musical ending number, you are. Except I am, too, of course. How could I not be?

I did not have Narrator x Rivera on my bingo cards for this season, but like, ‘I don’t hate it’. I actually wish I could see it play out.

What’s better than Leprechaun Martin Short? Leprechaun Martin Short x2. I am living for every bizarre, out-of-left-field thing this finale throws at me. I really really really want more.

Ok but, as a lover of child-centric musicals, I now need a s3 with Josh and Mel and their little one in a land with more than one child-centred musical number. It’s not a want, it’s a need. 

[blue-unifox]

perhaps......yuour babygirl.........

vibrates

First impression

Funnily enough, Oralech didn't really grab me much at first. Only thing I knew about him was that he had white hair (my friend who got me into Pyre was like "pspsps it has a white haired man just how you like" and I was... INTRIGUED, but that didn't sway me much) and that he was edgy and had some kind of sad backstory. That started to change like... in the process of learning who he was and finishing the game.

Impression now

AAA well you could've noticed by now... 👉👈 I have the old man brainworms now, what can I say. His story just touched me and the fanfiction just made everything worse HJSDJKHSD. I think he is a tragic character and that there's just enough breadcrumbs for further depth?? Like as is, he's pretty flat. BUT WE CAN DEVELOP HIM!! He actually has a kind heart? That was blackened by hatred and pain?? And it all was outside his control??? Sign me up. Also in my opinion he is quite handsome, no I'm not biased at all. i gotta make that post abt why i like him so much... who said that??

Favorite moment

UHHH well out of like all 5 appearances he has... I'd say my fave is where he's talking to Ti'zo about joining him. IT'S SO SAD!!! TWO GOOD FRIENDS ON OPPOSING TEAMS!! Also that scene shows Oralech has some softness in him still... just that it's quickly shoved aside bc of stubbornness (or maybe something else?). Or uhh your love be damned one but its not as good so there.

Idea for a story

SO I have a few ideas as you know... but most of them are ingrained into the coughs many volfralech ideas coughs. Tho I did have an idea for like... post-game situation, where he is the Chief-Physician and some years had passed, but he realizes that doing politics isn't what he truly desires. But also he's been doing this for so long! And helping out Volfred! Surely he can't back down now. So this whole story would be him realizing the importance of self-worth again (and also that he could've just asked to be on a different position and Volfred would've complied, no questions asked lmao). And that would include learning how to use a cane, since his transformation is receding and there's nothing wrong with using mobility aids like that, it's not a sign of weakness.

Unpopular opinion

Uhmmmm despite what i said earlier he's not that pretty...?? SDHJDSDHJSK I mean, have you seen how his face becomes from afar?? it's terrifying, also if u look at his features long enough you'd see they are pretty disproportionate (i love him anyway)

Favorite relationship

WELL.... UM.... old men yaoi I'M VERY PREDICTABLE DHSJDSD They just fit so well together, they're each other's foils, and have a potential for like an actually functional relationship. I like that they have a lot of history between each other and angst, but also hey canon says they become friends after all... It's a dynamic relationship!! And again, potential....

Favorite headcanon

I like to think he can sew (useful for patching up wounds and also he did get those raiments somewhere... so I like to think he just stole pieces of clothing from diff triumvirates and just. sewed those together) and that he needs glasses for that at some point later :3c