#I mean I'm mixed but one thing my family (and similar) families make a lot that I hate is sambal ladies fingers (okra)

[ryuusei-niu]

I want to talk about Leo and spanish, because I see a lot of "bilingual Leo" that doesn't make much sense.

Soooo, let me start with this: Leo was not born in a country that speaks Spanish. And only his family talked Spanish. Therefore he would know what the language is like.

But let's not forget that he lives in a place where people speak English.

Well, let me explain this theory based on my life:

I'm argentinian but my mother is Brasilian. Since I was little, Portuguese was spoken in my house. Portuguese was my first language because we were moving to Brazil and I spoke fluent Portuguese until I was 6 years old. But then we stayed at Argentina. So, I had a lot of problems because I did understand Spanish, but I had a lot of mispronunciation and I mixed words between Spanish and Portugues. Over time I had to adapt to speaking Spanish full time, almost completely forgetting Portuguese. Nowadays I'm almost 19 and I haven't spoken Portuguese for years, but there are a lot of words that I thought my whole life were Spanish and weren't.

Based on Leo's story, he might be similar to me in this stuff.

Having said this, let me tell you situations that happen to me with Portuguese that I think would happen to Leo with Spanish:

He forgot how to form complete sentences in Spanish. And even when he tries to relearn Spanish, it is difficult for him and he can't speak or write things in Spanish.

He almost completely understands if someone speaks Spanish to him, though. Maybe he would miss some words but he understands a lot reading or hearing.

He has Spanish words that he always thought were English.

"And then we went to the ferretería and... Why are you looking at me like that... I said something in Spanish again, didn't I?" "Yeah, you did."

Piper and Jason got used to it and know the words he always gets confused.

And there are other words that he refuses to say in English, probably the most common ones, just because he likes how it sound at Spanish.

So whenever he needs to talk about it, he asks Jason or Piper to do it for him.

"I want the... Jason, fresa" "Strawberry flavor, please" "Thank u so much, man"

There are a lot of words that sound funny in English because they resemble words in Spanish

"I'm embarrassed." "You're embarazaste?" "...Yes?" "Wow, Frank, what are you going to name the baby?" "I hate you very much."

Mispronunciations everywhere. But it's something that happens some days. But when it happens it is horribly noticeable.

I mean, he does speak English very well. But sometimes...

SOME LETTERS ARE REALLY DIFFICULT TO HIM SOMETIMES.

People bullied him when he started school because he mispronounced some letters. Like R.

(I think he would have the opposite problem than me, since I was pronouncing the r very soft or as a j without meaning to because in some Portuguese words it sounds like that. So I guess he would have a very strong R.)

Sometimes he would get angry with his mother for instilling Spanish in him so much and that's why the kids make fun of him for talk like that.

Now he miss that his mother speak in Spanish to him.

"DIOS MÍO.", "POR DIOS, JASON", "CHIN", "CARAJO", "JESÚS, MARÍA Y TODOS LOS SANTOS".

Sometimes he says a lot of things in Spanish and makes it seem like he knows how to say them but in reality he used the translator.

"is that a Spanish dictionary...?" "*Kick it under the bed* No, of course not, why would I have one? I know Spanish, muy bueno. Mucho."

"It's very plane." "What? It is not a plane, Leo." "Yeah it is? Like, It is not curved, it has no disturbances. Plane surface." "FLAT, LEO." "NO WAY IT IS THAT. THEN WHAT DOES PLANE MEAN?!#@+$-1(?!"

Now he understands why people looked weirdly at him when he said plane.

He also forget words in Spanish and remember them in English. When this happens he stares at the space and feels his whole soul had lost its essence.

'espanish'

As Spanish speaker, it's very difficult to say 'isn't'. #Team It is not.

"Taired. Terid. Teerid. Tarid. Tæ—" "Tired." "That thing."

"you know, the— the thing. El coso. The coso of the cosito of the cosa—" "You forgot in Spanish too, right?" "Shut up."

SONGS. MEXICAN SONGS THAT HIS MOTHER LISTENED BECAUSE HIS GRANDFATHER LISTENED BECAUSE THEM MAKE HIM REMEMBER HIS HOME.

He doesn't know most of this song, he never listen to this song like, wanting to. They were on the radio, or a CD that his mother was playing while working. But he has those songs on his soul and he recognizes most of them. He even knows how to sing them even if he didn't read the lyrics.

(I'm not Mexican, so please I want Mexican people to make a playlist of which songs he would know. Please I need to know)

He sometimes hears Nico speaking in Italian and for a moment he is there processing because he thought it was Spanish.

(also, this whole thing could apply to Nico and Italian).

[anyydidi]

Okay, I might be crazy, or someone might have already pointed it out (after all, I am sighs a new fan), but hear me out on this.

Am I the only one who kinda compares the relationship between Gideon and Mabel to Billford?

I feel like they are the easiest way to show that you can agree that Billford is indeed canon, while still acknowledging all the terrible things Bill has done to Ford.

To be completely honest, my focus is more on the similarities between Gideon and Bill, than Mabel and Ford. I'm sure I could find some, but let's focus on the two that are more prominent.

Gideon is the perfect example when you want to point out that Bill has "loved" (in quotes, since people like Bill or Gideon (till Weirdmaggedon) aren't capable of real love) Ford even through all he has done to him in the past and in the present.

We know that since the introduction of Gideon, he had this incredible obsession with Mabel. Instantly he wanted her to be his and would go to great lengths to get her. He wasn't afraid to lie and manipulate. He wasn't afraid to hurt her through her own brother. When he didn't, in fact, get her for himself, he turned on her and her entire family. Now, his obsession stayed persistent. He still claimed to love her, even though he was ready and literally planning to rid her of her home and family. He prioritised his own selfish goals in obtaining the Mystery Shack and power, than her, well, welfare. He also wasn't opposed to physically hurting her on multiple occasions. Yes, he did always give her a chance to join him by his side, but the second she refused, he'd try to hurt her, or worse, just straight up kill her alongside her family. Remind you of someone?

The point I'm trying to make is that, while Billford is on a whole another level, these two relationships are kind of similiar. Dare I say parallels? I don't know.

The differences are that Mabel has never fallen for Gideon's flattery and did not take his bullshit, while Ford obviously has fallen and taken Bill's. Gideon at the end did switch up and redeem himself by finally seeing love for what it truly is and put Mabel over his own selfish wants, while Bill stayed on his path and was more content to torture Ford than give up his centuries-old plan to dominate the universe.

Bill might have adored in the past, probably still adored Ford in some way till his death, even though he was incredibly abusive towards him. The line between love and hate is incredibly thin, and can get mixed up on multiple occasions. Gideon hurt Mabel, while still claiming that he loved her and Bill probably did the same with Ford. For Bill, Ford was a plaything, a pet. But children can still care for their playthings and owners can care for their pets, while throwing them away in the end when they cross their path. Bill had tried to keep Ford by his side, but alas, Ford truly did not want his world to become a playground for an interdimensional being, so he crossed Bill's path. Bill had his priorities sorted, and his number one spot was taken by his dreams of domination, so he threw Ford away, which might have hurt a little (maybe even a lot, who knows), but he was still a meaning to an end.

So, this is my surprisingly long rant on how the people who claim that there is no way that Bill and Ford might have had something more intimate going on in the past, when Bill has hurt and wronged Ford on multiple occasions, do NOT understand toxic love!! And I am showing that through a strange relationship between children!

[mistressroxielove]

Hey everyone~ I'm back, and this time with a new fixation!

Long story short, I've discovered the new Fairly Oddparents reboot, absolutely loved it and was inspired to make this AU idea for the show! With a slight reimagine/redesign of the characters as well. And the first one I decided to do was Peri!

Here's some more info about my AU:

Fairly Odd Parents AU/Rewrite

Au Name: FairlyOdd Brother

Summary:

Perri (previously known as Poof) recently graduated from Fairy Godparents School and is eager to start granting Wishes for his very own godchild! Only problem is that with his lack of experience Jorgen is weary of giving him an assignment and keeps finding excuses/reasons to not give him a godkid. Realizing it might be a 1,000 years before they give him a chance to be a Fairy Godparent, Perri decides he needs to be a little bold and perhaps, bend Da Rules, to get his foot in the door so to speak. And his answer comes to him from a new neighbor in his human home, a family with a sweet shy 10 year old girl who is absolutely miserable. Perhaps Perri might be able to offer this girl a little comfort and fun as her new Fairy Godbrother!?

(Basically the same premise of the show, except Perri’s first godchild is Hazel, and through a technicality in the rule book, becomes her god brother instead of her godparent.)

ALSO please note this AU is more of a slight reimagine of the original show, meaning I did tweaked / changed some of the characters personality to match the new story I made for them. Nothing majorly different, but again just a heads up before you read on. Hope you like it~

Name: Perri Poof Fairywinkle Cosma (He goes by Perri now but still keeps Poof as a middle name to honor it)

Age: Human equivalent of 22 years old

-Usually it takes at least 1,000 years for a fairy to grow from a baby to an adult, however since Poof spent his first couple of years being raised alongside Timmy, his body magically enhanced itself to basically go through a growth spurt and age as a normal human. But now that he’s fully mature he won't physically age anymore and will stay a 22 year old for at least a couple hundred thousand years.

Sex: Male

Human Physical Description:

-Basically just did a mix between Wanda's and Cosmo human designs. Something simple and fun, I also added some blue to his color design just to make him stand out more.

-I also gave him crocs, I just found the idea cute and thought it would give him a more casual look for his human design

-I was originally gonna give him glasses similar to Cosmo but for the life of me I couldn't make the design work with his hair style, so I just gave him a earring with the same design his wand has

Personality:

-Similar to Cosmo Swavy car sale business man personality from the pilot.

-He’s a smooth talker with a deep rich voice to match, could sell a refrigerator to a eskimo

-Knows his way around rules and is always eager to grant wild and crazy wishes with the most imaginative interpretation possible, this eagerness to break rules can be a blessing and a curse, as this is what gets him in trouble the most

-Is a bit of a smart ass (But in a nice and lovable way), always has to have the last word, can be really petty when he’s mad

-Is really good a persuading people into doing things, though he doesn’t use this power to be malicious, only uses it to get small favors and mostly for Hazel to wish for crazy stuff, again it's never meant to be malicious

-Though he still has a lot to learn before becoming a godparent, he’s extremely sweet and caring to hazel and his friends, and will do anything to keep them safe and happy

-Is eager to proof himself to be useful and mature, is tired of every fairy treating him like a kid despite being older now

-Is a bit flamboyant and cares about his appearance, likes to paint his nails and wears earrings similar to his mother

-Though he does have a good head on his shoulders, he does have a tendency to interpret wishes in uniquely bizarre ways sometimes, something he inherited from his father.

Other fun facts:

-Peri really likes marine life/fishes, since he spent the first couple years of his life living as a fish, he has an appreciation for the creatures. And even has a pet goldfish!

-Despite being 22 years old, the fairy’s still treat him like a baby since a normal fairy baby would have taken at least 1,000 years to grow to maturity. This is what caused him to change his name, desperate to make the other fairy’s take him seriously and to not literally treat him like a baby

-Lives in an apartment building in the human world that is also connected to the fairy world, he’s the first of his kind to have a home like that. For most fairies it's extremely hard for them to ‘act human’ 24/7 which is why most prefer to turn themselves into childhood pets whenever they’re living with their god kid. As being human means they have to walk everywhere, not being able to use magic, and if they mess up once it could expose the existence of fairies and magical creatures in general. Peri however, once old enough to move out of his parents house was vocal that he wanted to live among the humans. He told Jorgen and the fairy council he wanted to live there to understand humans better to be a better godparent to them, but he mostly did it because he missed earth. Missed all the stuff that he grew accustomed to when he was a kid and also likes being able to find people ‘his own age’ to talk and relate to. After his endless demands and persuasion the council finally budge and allowed him to live on earth. But was warned if he was ever discovered to be a fairy, he would lose his godparents license and would never be allowed back on earth ever again.

-He wears a curler in his hair similar to Wanda when he sleeps, just a cute detail I wanted to mention

-Also just like his mother he has a tendency to call the kids/Hazel Buddy similarly to how Wanda likes to call people Sport but still has his own fraze, just a small detail that I thought would also be a cute nod to his parents

-He's also crazy for Chocolate, this is based off an episode in the original show where Wanda went insane just to eat some chocolate. It was just a one off gag but I really love that gag and decide to include it. He loves chocolate and has a dangerous addiction to it, but its still not as bad as Wanda's addiction to the stuff

Short summary of how he ended up with Hazel:

Peri has just recently graduated Fairy Godparent School and is eager to get a godkid, since his parents are still on their 10,000 year old trip he wanted to surprise them with the news of him having a godkid to make them proud of him. However Jorgen is extremely reluctant to give Peri a kid due to his extremely young age, inexperience, and his tendency to always try and bend ‘Da Rules’ as he pleases. So he puts Peri off again and sends him home, much to his annoyance. Irritated and now back at his human home in Dimmadelphia, Peri begins to hatch a plan to get himself a god kid since he knows it would take 1,000 years at least before Jorgen would finally give him a chance. But how could he possibly bend the rules to allow him to mentor a kid without Jorgen assigning him?

The answer comes to him from his new neighbors, a small family with a sweet but shy 10 year old girl who’s having a tough time adjusting to her new surroundings. Due to some hijinks Peri ends up babysitting for Hazel as her parents are now busier than ever with their new jobs and don’t have as much time to watch Hazel. They don’t mean to leave her alone so often, and actually apologize to her constantly for the unforeseen high work time. But it does little to help Hazel with her adjusting to her new environment. With the addition of her having a bad day in school and her brother, do to the storm, is unable to come up and visit until his next break (which is a few months away) Hazel, being miserable and finally had enough and in a fit of rage and desperation, wishes she could just fly to her brother. This wish for the first time activates Peri magic, before he can stop his wand appear and grants Hazel's wish, turning the girl into a fly.

The part of the episode happens similar to the original first episode, with Peri trying to get Hazel home before her parents come back from their work. He eventually does but again similar to the first episode Hazel gets stuck in a venus fly trap as Peri tries to get her to wish to turn back into her original form. After the talk with the ant Hazel realizes her mistake and finally wishes to become human again before her parents could discover what went wrong.

After the commotion, the next day Hazel goes to Peri’s apartment to question who he is and what the heck just happened. Peri tries to deny it but during their conversation he realizes that technically speaking…..Hazel did have good and caring parents. They weren’t the reason why she was sad and miserable, she was miserable because her brother wasn’t with her anymore and she desperately missed him. And technically speaking, there was no rule or need to ask Jorgen or the fairy console to become a kids Godbrother. He only needed their permission to be a Godparent. And besides……..he more than understood the feeling of missing a big brother.

Making his decision he officially introduces himself as Hazel Godbrother (In a similar manner to Dev introduction) and promises to bring a little magic to her life~ Much to Hazel shock and joy, as for the first time since moving to Dimmadelphia, she felt true joy and happiness.

Sooooo ya, tell me what you guys think! Any questions or suggestions for the AU I would love to hear, good to be back!

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[skiiyoomin]

teruhashi X fem reader pls 🙏🙏🙏 can be anything from a proper fic to just headcanons I'm so desperate 😭😭😭💥💥💥

ღTeruhashi as your girlfriend

ʚContent: fem! reader, fluff

⤑Back to navigation

a/n yo schools been kicking my ass but FINALLY its here!! i did a little mix of both headcanons and small fics, hope you enjoy!! :))

Teruhashi is literally so so so sweet

sweetest gf EVER

she gives me "best friends to lovers"

literally connected right away

you know the classic, you're new to school and need to make new friends, well Teruhashi being the open and friendly person she is, walked up to you!

You're sitting at your new desk when suddenly the most stunning girl you had ever seen stood in front of you. "Hi there! I'm Teruhashi, let's be friends!"

And obviously how could you say no to someone like her. To your surprise, you both connected almost immediately, whether it was because you had similar interests or because you complimented each other. Either way, you became attached by the hip!

Being around Teruhashi naturally made you a pretty popular person and by the week everyone knew who you were.

With this popularity, you were prone to constant love confessions

which made Teruhashi jealous but she didn't know it yet

at first she thought it's because she's jealous of the confessions you receive

but it's not until you go on a date with a guy that she realized it's because she wants you for herself!

she had a little bit of a hard time accepting these feelings but once she did, she became 10 times more attached

though now, everything you did flustered her

she definitely confessed by accident, while she was thinking about doing it for a while now, she never had the guts to do it until it accidentally slipped out

"How come you never go on dates Kokomi? I'm sure there must've been someone who's caught your eye by now"

"There is someone, though I don't think they like me"

You were baffled at this, someone not liking her? Impossible!

"No way! I don't believe that, there's not one person who could possibly not like you"

"It's true!"

You kept it going until Teruhashi snapped, taking you by surprise.

"I know they don´t like me back because that person is you!"

She seemed surprised by her own words as well because she quickly covered her mouth, her eyes as wide as saucers. Though yours probably looked the same.

"I...I´m so sorry I did not mean to say that, I -"

You cut her off by pressing a tentative kiss to her lips.

You can imagine how the rest goes

After this y´all started dating and became THE couple of the school

for the most part your relationship stayed the same expect you were much more affectionate with each ohter!

LOTS of shopping dates

Teruhashi is your number 1 hype girl

her love language is physical touch, it doesn´t matter where you are, she always has her hand somewhere on you

if you have a similar size, you´re ALWAYS sharing clothes

your fashion styles end up mixing up

now you have your own unique styles!

in general all of your dates are super cute and fun

there´s not one single moment where either of you aren´t having fun with each other

her brother definetly had a hard time accepting your relationship BUT, once he did you were basically a part of the family

also, your periods sync up

because of this, you both spend the day cuddling each other and being each others warmth

it may not seem like it, but shes super attentive to your wants and needs and basically knows you like the back of her hand

always has the things you like in her backpack in case you ever crave them!

SO SO SO many cute nicknames and sweet words!! never fails to make you feel flustered

but shes just as easy to fluster

it doesn´t matter if you´ve been dating for a couple months or years, the butterflies never go away

she´s both your best friend and lover and your biggest supporter and confidant and there´s nothing as perfect and wonderful as that

Teruhashi supremacy >>>>

[doberbutts]

i hope this isnt weird to say but i really appreciate your dobeposting, especially about the history & current disposition of the breed. my mom has had dobermans my whole life and it led me to kinda... really dislike them for years, her last three and current youngster all were/are so nervy and quick to bite unprovoked (thankfully the young girl is coming around pretty nicely, no actual aggressive bites, just still learning to take things gently)

anyway, getting to the point, reading you explain about the breed's history, who dobermann actually was & how they were created & what they were originally bred for, and the way unfortunately the temperament has gotten messy due to that mixing of people wanting dobes to be family pet dogs and one-person protection dogs at the same time, or just try to make them into a pet dog they just aren't cut out to be (my mom is very much one of the former lol) really helped me understand and appreciate the breed. my dad has american akitas, and imho they have a similar issue of people trying to breed them for social, cheery pet temperaments which just tends to go very badly for a very large, high aggression, high prey drive, not suited for the average suburbanite breed like them, and realizing dobermans basically have a kind of more severe extent of the same issue (albeit I'm oversimplifying here) really helped me understand them.

i dont think I'd ever choose to have one, but I've definitely got a lot more respect and appreciation from afar.

so, sorry for rambling and probably being repetitive, hope i made some kind of sense, just wanted to say thank you for being a great breed advocate :)

here's a dobe tax, my mom's ~18 month old little girl, kira. she looks like that because, from what the rescue told my mom, she was from a backyard breeder and had to be removed from her first two homes due to mistreatment. still manages to be a real sweetie most of the time

Hey thanks for the compliment and the dog tax!

It really sucks because I think dobermans can be fantastic pet dogs... to people who want a doberman and all that entails. But a lot of people in the outcross groups I'm griping about want something more like a gun dog or a retriever in a doberman costume, and it's very frustrating to explain again and again that that simply is not what a doberman is.

I'd be all for a doberman outcross that actually respects what a doberman is for! The problem is that there have been very few of those, and most of them started with junk and ended up fairly lackluster in what they produced because you can't shine a turd and call it gold.

Dobermans don't have to be nervy, loose cannon, fear aggressive, bite risk demons. My doberman is not! My doberman before him was scared, but that was largely a socialization problem caused by living 2 years of her life exclusively in a box, and she wasn't dangerous, she just shut down and shivered. My doberman before her wasn't like this. And my doberman before him was, but again with the known abuse in his background from being a court case dog it's likely that he didn't start out that way and didn't need to become that.

It is possible to have a doberman that is actually a really fun dog to have and be around. You just. Have to understand that they are a doberman. My best friend @khayr has a doberman that's a pet, that does not do any sort of protection work. Her dog is very safe to be around! She's a lovely creature and I think well matched to my buddy's needs. But! She's also a doberman! That means she doesn't like the mailman or the UPS drivers! It means when missionaries knock on her door, her dog throws a fit! It means when she's out late at night and someone rapidly approaches her, her dog puts herself between her and the oncoming stranger! Because she's a doberman! She's supposed to do that!

[moreespressoformydepresso]

Been sitting on this AU for a while and a discord conversation brought it back to my attention (thanks @felixravinstills) so here I am, typing it out on my one free day instead of writing like I should be doing.

The Capitol speaks in Panem's version of "standard" English, while the districts all have dialects that are so different from standard that they may as well be different languages entirely. Now, the districts can understand one another's dialect due to similarities and influences left over from the rebellion days, as well as due to inter-district trading and stories passed down through generations. However, the Capitol views these dialects and the accents they cause when a district citizen speaks standard English as a sign of being "lesser" so they stay as far away from it as possible, so they don't understand a word of it.

Come the 10th games where the mentors are forced to interact with the tributes, this seemingly random factoid about Panem turns into the thing that stops the games for good and brings Gaul's life to ruination. At first, the mentors are very snooty and classist about the tributes' accents, but when they start to care about their tributes it becomes an endearing thing to them. Slightly infantilizing but it's better than dehumanizing so the tributes that notice decide to take it. Now, I could go the depressing route and tell you the mentors try to learn their respective tribute's dialect post-games because it's the only thing they have of their tribute that isn't stained by the games. The stories they shared are nothing but memories, any item they have is sent back to their families. Anything they may have made for them was created with stuff from the zoo where the tributes were forced to stay and humiliated daily in the leadup to their brutal death. But their dialects? That's something the mentors can learn, and it's the only concrete thing they can have of the child that died on their watch that's from before they were forced into these horrifying circumstances. However, I'm gonna make this a fix-it instead :)

Now, this whole situation happens because none of the mentors die during the bombing, which means the Capitol is far less up in a tizzy about rebel activity. It doesn't mean much, but it leaves them just the tiniest bit more open to hearing positive things about the districts. While in the zoo, the tributes talk to each other in dialect because they can understand one another and it feels more like being at home that way. They won't let the Capitol force them into speaking standard when they don't have to and nobody cares if those Capitol pricks can't understand what they're saying. It's a positive, if anything. Some mentors are visiting and when one (probably Arachne because I'm ignoring the stabbing bit) gets prickly about them not speaking "proper" English with a comment about it being "a sign of lesser beings," Brandy responds by snippily asking her which one of them can understand the other either way. "If only one of us can speak both, who's the stupid one again?" Arachne is affronted (though her ego gets out of the way the next day and she realizes Brandy has a point, causing her to try to start over with her tribute by being a little nicer) but the other people present stop immediately to think about that. Especially those who know a lot about language. That whole dialect thing means the tributes know more vocabulary, more grammar than the Capitol citizens. And they have to seperate them too so they're not mixing languages! Clearly they're not that stupid then, so even if they are still lesser beings... Maybe it's worth being a little more nuanced?

Of course it never stays at just a little, in fact it starts spiralling quite uncontrollably. If the district kids are smart enough to essentially speak two languages... What else are they smart enough for? And with the extra scrutiny on the tributes their individual personalities and interests, and even more so their interpersonal dynamics and relationships, become utterly unavoidable. Coral's care for Mizzen despite how game-faced she is in every other facet of the games, Reaper's concern for Dill despite appearing to be the most dangerous amongst the tributes, Bobbin's anger that only seems to be gone entirely when it comes to Wovey, Treech and Lamina's complicated road of trying to figure out where they stand with each other when they clearly both know they'll have to leave one another eventually and the way it so obviously eats at them both, Marcus and Sejanus and whatever it is that's going on between the two of them. As all of this starts gaining traction in the Capitol, it becomes harder and harder for Gaul to keep up her narrative of "undressing humanity" and the districts deserving this. Especially when her biggest supporter, the president himself, ends up paying a visit to the zoo at Felix's insistence and sees first-hand the way these kids interact with one another as well as the visitors in the zoo. Their obvious disdain for their situation and those who came to oggle at them while they're literally being treated like animals, but also their small soft spots for the kids who don't know any better. The way they can't quite bring themselves to be mean to small children, even when those children see them as dumb animals put there for their entertainment.

President Maximinius Ravinstill is not a kind man. Nor is he a gentle, merciful one. He's cold and he's vicious. President Maximinius Ravinstill is a cruel man. But at the end of the day, he's just that. A man. One who has a son himself, though he's not been the best father he could have been. And while at first he'd thought he'd stay for five minutes to satisfy Felix and go back to his life again unaffected... Maximinius stays for hours, noticed only by those from the Capitol. Entirely unnoticed by the kids, though they watch him with curiosity at first due to the reactions of everyone outside the cage upon his initial arrival. Most of them don't even know who he is, and not a single one of them cares. That's how little they've been allowed to know of the outside world, and that's how little they care for the Capitol. All any of them are to these kids is the cause of their misery, and President Ravinstill may be a cold dictator, but Maximinius is a father who can only see his young son, hurt and bleeding and starving, in the faces of these young children. Especially in young Mizzen, whose face lacks the youthful chub it should have due to lack of nutrition the same way his son's had all those years ago. In Otto and Treech, who are of similar age and share just enough features with Felix to be discomforting, despite the district characteristics that had let Maximinius and everybody else in the Capitol write them off as "other" for a decade now. Long before that too, if he's honest with himself.

And President Ravinstill shouldn't care, but Maximinius can't help himself. For so long he's allowed differing physical appearances and a lack of education he himself reinforced to let him believe these kids were somehow lesser, but now that he's seen the parallels and the similarities he can't unsee them. And Maximinius is just a man, with the emotions of one and a heart that beats no matter how cold he's allowed it to become over the years. Part of him wants to go back to delusion, to ignorance and cruelty, but his heart won't let him. It aches and screams for him to do something because he knows he can. If anyone can it's him, and he'll never go back to the way he used to be before this realization. Since he already knows what Gaul will tell him, he talks to Dean Highbottom, the creator of the games, in hopes of solving this dilemma. It becomes the final straw that pushes him to accept the truth: he'll never truly live again if he allows this to continue, so he doesn't. He puts a stop to Gaul's machinations and ends the games right them and there.

Naturally, the situation in the districts also improves due to this shift in perspective, though it's a far slower and less sudden change. The tributes are finally given medical care, which saves Otto, Ginnee, Panlo and Sheaf from death. They all have to stay in hospital or under close supervision for about a month due to the drastic impact staying in a zoo enclosure, with no protection from nature while not being properly fed, has had on their health. When they're let out of hospital but deemed too unstable to travel they get to stay with their mentors. Of course, once they're finally deemed healthy enough to go home they're positively ecstatic but sad enough about leaving their mentors that they find ways to stay in contact and offer to show them around their home district at some point in the future, which the mentors of course happily agree to.

[yoinkschief]

What’s your general HCs for the fellas ? (Identity, race, sexuality etc)

Whooaagh, that's gonna be a long list, I have a ton of like small headcanons for them that mean like absolutely nothing, but I'll try to keep it to a simple list

Just quickly though:

I HC them all to be generally around 27/28 and in their late 30's/early 40's during WTFuture/in the future,, there was no real way to put that in a good list with them lol

And they're all best friends - just cause they're a group of people doesn't mean they only get to have one bestie yk, they're all super close

Also Ellsworld is canon alongside Eddsworld, they co-exist with each other

Tom - Mixed Race (Black/Irish from his mom, White/American-Hawaiian from his father - Trans Masc-Nonbinary (AMAB) He/They/(sometimes)It (It/Its depends on who it is) - Bisexual (massive masculine lean) (worst taste in men EVER) - Styles his hair to look like his fathers (otherwise his hair is usually textured around the 3's,,, like 3A/3B) - Very pear shaped like his father, and hairy too lol, the alcohol certainly doesn't help with that - Wears reading glasses (later this turns into him genuinely needing a prescription,, another thing he gets from his father - he looks very similar to his mother in terms of facial features and skin tone, but has a lot of his father's aspects) - Fear of eye contact (has gotten a lot better about it now that he's an adult, but still struggles with it with people he does not like/does not know) - Autistic - 5'5" (the shortest of the ensemble) - Works at a diner while part-timing music independently - "Monster" form is man made and extremely painful to turn into (there is no way he could control it,,, in some iterations of my headcanons like in different stories there are ways that he can have like a pact with it,,, like in my Mattsworld AU (WHICH I NEED TO POST ABOUT AUGH) he's "controlled" it a bit by making a deal with it,,, of what I haven't quite figured out yet oof) - Has quite a few tattoos on him,,, (Polynesian shark teeth on his left upper arm, cyan colored harpoon tattoos on his left side, a pinup mermaid girl on his right side, and the Nordic rune for "Wolf" on his right outer thigh) - Also he inherited his anger issues from his father as well, forgot to add that earlier with the list of things he's inherited from his old man lol - Momma's boy (/affectionately, not like he can't do anything without his mom, moreso like he really loves her a lot and obviously they're very close since they both lost Tom's father that day so for a while they were all the other had to remember him by) - Tamara is his cousin from his mother's side of the family - His first friend was Edd - His mother died when he was in highschool - father when he was in elementary, it really hit him hard (it was just before his senior year and had he not done so well the years prior he would've failed HS because of it) - Diesss ???? It's like the whole "OMG they killed Kenny" bit more than anything - like if I had to describe it, he has the Loony Toons death curse, where he dies on screen but in the next panel he's fine cause no one can actually die on a kid's show, yk ? - Tons of piercings,, mostly on his face but also in other places on his body too, though it's more like two other places other than his face area - Loves Ska music obviously, but also punk and rock, thinks artists like Destroy Boys, GRLWood,

Edd - British,,, and probably has some Italian in him somewhere, y'know like family rumors/talk of like "well I'm 1/4 Italian" or "your some odd greats grandma was Italian" that kinda thing,,, not quite sure, not curious enough to care to get some DNA test kit - Homophobic (/j) Gay, man kisser, masculine hug enjoyer, he holds hands with other boysss - On the AroAce spectrum, not really a hard no on either, just more of something he doesn't think about on a day to day basis nor really care about unless the thought is put in his head - Moles scattered across his body (not many, just one or two here and there - and none that are particularly bad or harmful) - Wears reading glasses (more specifically blue light glasses cause he's looking at a screen all day every day) - The only one of the gang that doesn't have any genuine mental disorder,,, he's got his problems sure but he's neurotypical through and through - His problems being main character and plot armor - More seriously though he has a raging hero/savior complex that gets him into a lot of trouble at times - 6' even, second tallest of the group - Very apple shaped,,, when I draw him I think very round thoughts if that makes sense - Had a major emo phase in highschool,,, he kinda snapped out of it during Senior year, or rather the summer leading up to it, but man it was wretched LOL - A child of divorce (they still made it work for him - it wasn't like they fought or it was a domestic abuse thing, they just fell out of love with each other and couldn't stand being in the same house anymore, but they love Edd so they made it work for him the best they could) - Works as an animator - professionally and freelancing ! Hard fucking order but he LOVES they process of creating art, seeing the end result is so gratifying to him and being able to see all the love and attention he put into it - Has a Youtube channel where sometimes he reviews animated movies/shows/shorts - he doesn't update it a lot, it's like a "if I feel like it" cause he only does Youtube as a hobby and as a place to hold his animation portfolio - His first friend was Matt, they've been friends since like diapers - REALLY really good friends with Tord - doesn't really know why but they are like bound by the hip - He's only got ear gauges - he doesn't try and stretch them a ton like Tom does, he's fine with just normal sized gauges that don't stretch his lobes all that much - Has a VERY BROAD music taste, anything from Lemon Demon to Oingo Boingo, to PinkPantheress, to Joey Valence & Brae, to Weird Al,,, anything under the rainbow of music genres he's probably heard one song from each - PowerEdd is canon still !! Not the superhero, but the powers he and Eduardo now suffer with lol,, but they're not really potent, his body chemistry is just kinda fucky now cause of it,,, bro glows in blacklight and sometimes just in general

Matt - British/French,,, basically he's incredibly white - Pansexual (he used to also be GenderFluid in my headcanons,,, but in the past year or so I've decided against it - he's more of just a guy who likes makeup and to wear dresses more than anything else) - Ginger with freckles, they cover his body in splotches mostly, but he's got a few individual ones here and there on his body as well (they've clustered around his face, hands, elbows, shoulders, hips, knees and like two separate patches on his back) - His hairstyle has changed so much with me over the years and it's my own damn fault lol, I don't draw him enough but that most comes with the "I don't wanna draw him wrong" thing but if I don't ever draw him how will I draw him right ?? It's a cycle is what it is - The only one with prescription glasses since middle school - he just wears contacts instead, he HATES how he looks in glasses - his parents had him get LASIK surgery to correct his vision,,, since then - His personal account where no one (except like the gang) knows it's him is very unhinged, he says some devious shit on there (it's a public Twitter account) - Also Autistic, but in a DRASTICALLY different way than Tom is, they're like opposite sides of the spectrum (Tom doesn't mask often, Matt masks like all day every day, Tom can't make eye contact, Matt makes intense eye contact, that kinda thing yk,,, even despite the fact they both have texture issues they have very different issues with textures - also Tom was very early diagnosed and Matt only got diagnosed after Tom kept pestering him to do so) - He's some kind of narcissist, just haven't been able to really pin point it down yet,, I need to do some more research on it - this could change in the future because of that so this is like a maybe canon - His father left him when he was very young like maybe 5-8 range, and his mother married his step father WAY too soon after, him and Matilda is his step sister (He HATED her at first, she tried to be very kind to him cause they're the same age and everything, and this is the first time she's had a sibling, but every time Matt looked at her all he could see was his father leaving him,,, it took until after college for them to actually grow closer as siblings and friends) -6'1" just an inch above Edd - Edd was his first friend - they've been through thick and thin together, they comforted each other when both their parents divorced, so obviously they've got a bit of a trauma bond through that, and are really the only ones who understand that kind of issue - at least in their eyes - Twink. Through and through. Despite being partially French he's got very back luck with growing hair on his body, and when he does it's thin and very lightly colored - Works as a model and "social media influencer",,, basically he's a walking propaganda poster - Has earrings, mostly wears a lot of gold - Doesn't like listening to music often,,, this hurts me to write as someone who can't NOT listen to music, but he just doesn't have a music taste,, I've mentioned before how he listens to some female rappers and other song artists like Mitski and Girl in Red, but that's only because he's listened to them on like the radio or had someone else recommend them to him, he doesn't actively listen/search for music - Still a vampire,,, er, really just half vampire ?? I'd like to think they lads did a séance of some sort on him and for the most part it worked but like Edd his chemistry is still a little fucked cause of it, y'know ? Like he's still got pointed ears and teeth, can't really do much about that, and a BIG craving for red meat and the like, but he can survive without a constant need for blood, and his skin was already sensitive to the sun anyway so there's nothing really new there

Tord - Just a Norwegian fool - Trans Masculine (AFAB) He/Him - Bisexual (with a MASSIVE fem lean,,, he IS the bad taste in men) - His hair ? Yeah that's natural - he's got some WICKED cowlicks,,, when he was younger his mom would try to brush them back to make him look more normal, but even when his hair was longer it didn't really do much for him - ADHD haver, VERY late diagnosis and still doesn't really believe it, but that's a whole lot to do with misinformation of negative dumb jargon shoved down his throat - Narcissistic Personality TRAITS, not the disorder, but TRAITS of the disorder (as in he doesn't actively have the mind set and intentions of people with NPD, but he does have the mannerisms and habits of one,, but that's because of how he was raised by two Narcissists - it's a damn miracle he doesn't have the disorder, but either way he's gotta go to therapy about it,,, and he will,,,,,, eventually,,,,,,,,, after you drag him there by his hair but I mean he'll be there) - Tattoos on him as well (Left shoulder to a half sleeve of a snake, tramp stamp of Ouroboros, and between his shoulder blades beneath the back of his neck is Jason Voorhees' mask) - Can not regulate or understand his emotions,,, the only way he really knows how to deal with intense emotions of any kind is through very physical and aggressive means,, it's why him and Tom get into so many spats, but mostly cause Tom doesn't put up with his bullshit as someone who is very good at reading and understanding his own and others' emotions - Bro's got a very broad chest,, he's like incredibly male passing, even before having gone on Testosterone - Redditor. Sorry I don't make the rules except I do and he's a Redditor. - Also has an Instagram account and it's all thirst traps,,, and I'm torn between how much interaction he'd get on them,,, like I wanna say he gets none because he's a damn loser weebcell dorklord, but I've also seen how EW fandom craves him and that makes me think that this would be no different, ykwim ?,, sigh,, realistically speaking he would get a lot of interaction with his posts and I hate that for him I hope something bad happens to him - Technically Tom was his first friend (??) in the sense that Tom was the first person he met in highschool and was the one he talked to the most during then,, at least when Tom's life was stable, it gets kinda iffy after Tom's mom died and that's where the first part of their rift really started - But him and Edd and SUPER close, despite Tom being his first friend, Edd and him just click REALLY well - Has a similar death thing like Tom, except his is more of like the anime death curse - if he dies off screen, no the fuck he did not, he is coming back as the villain - LOVES Twenty One Pilots, favorite band of all time, usually he's not a die hard for a lot of things, but TOP is one of them, he also likes poprock/poppunk, things like that, think like Imagine Dragons and Mindless Self Indulgence (YES THEY'RE TERRIBLE I KNOW, LOOK AT WHO'S LISTENING TO THEM AND GET BACK TO ME ABOUT IT) but he also listens to hyperpop like S3RL and Machine Girl, but that's just cause of all the base it usually has - that's like background music for him to work to

That's pretty much all I can think of off the top of my head of just general thoughts for them,,, I'm sure I could think of more specific ones but then we'd be here all day

[shrimpmandan]

I think at this point anyone who calls themselves a proshipper but is like, staunchly aggressively no-matter-what anti-RPF is either deluding themselves or thinks that the concept of "real people being reimagined as fictional characters" hasn't existed for decades at this point.

Everyone was fucking raving about Hamilton and Clone High barely a few years ago. A lot of extremely famous, influential movies are based off of real people, such as The Wolf of Wall Street. Every single fucking cartoon you've seen that references a real life historical figure like Cleopatra or Napoleon is technically doing RPF to some degree. THE MAGIC FUCKING TREEHOUSE IS RPF.

All this is ignoring how much we WORSHIP AO3, but-- but but, the founder of AO3 very much supports RPF. And by supports I mean they actively WRITE RPF. Tons of American Idol stuff that's all obscenely popular!

Now of course, there's gonna be some people who have a kneejerk rebuttal about how it's "different" with historical figures, that it doesn't matter because they're all dead, or that movies and books are different from fanfiction that may or may not be sexual. Except all of those arguments make absolutely zero sense when you think about them for more than two seconds.

Shouldn't the subjects being dead make it... more disrespectful, on a base level? You could made a valid case that with historical figures, nobody is left alive to mourn them. In comparison, people who have died relatively recently still have loved ones alive to mourn their deaths, and who would very likely be negatively mentally impacted by stumbling across an RPF fic. Understandably so--

but wasn't our whole argument that other people's feelings are their own to deal with, and not our responsibility?

You can make a similar case for serial killers, too. The victims of Jeffrey Dahmer still have friends and family that are alive. I would imagine they wouldn't want to see posts sexualizing or glorifying him-- but I doubt they're seeking out anything related to him /at all/, frankly. And then we're back to point one about how all that matters is that shit is consistently tagged and that people simply don't read what they don't like.

In my opinion, the sole, sound argument against RPF would be sexual RPF of minors. Even if no contact or even grooming is happening: that is still sexual content of a living minor. That is CSEM. That is a completely valid thing to be against. I honestly fail to see why sexual drawings of real minors are illegal, but not writings. Still, writings and drawings do not involve the same amount of /direct/ abuse as 'regular' CSEM and CSA, but making the argument of psychological harm is fair, especially when this is a case of a child being directly sexualized against their will.

But then we're still back to square one.

Don't like don't read.

Honestly, I'm neutral on RPF. I'm against anything that involves a sexualized depiction of a real child, and I'm generally not super interested in or comfortable with reading fics about real people, but it's also not a topic I can just disassociate myself from and say that it's somehow disconnected from proshipping. It isn't. Proship communities are built off of the backs of RPF shippers, like it or not. And honestly, I couldn't care less so long as the shipper in question is still respectful of the privacy of the subject(s) they're writing about. The version of the person they're writing is fundamentally not real, and that's a weird thing to wrap your head around. One could even argue my own reasons for singling out child sexual RPF is hypocritical or contradictory, and I wouldn't disagree. I think having mixed feelings on the subject is understandable. But being completely, over-archingly against it due to knee-jerk discomfort? It just seems a bit silly to me.

[frogletscribe]

I finished the main story of A:FoP last night and I have more thoughts but don't want to spoil anything for anyone who is not there yet so im putting them under the cut again lol. Also a lot of this gets into like general Avatar lore things and not always specifically A:FoP. I just have a lot of thoughts and not a lot of people to talk to about it lmao.

Warning: this is very long, i am apologizing now if you choose to read the whole thing.

Spoilers for Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora under the cut

TEYLAN oh my god my boy. He scared me so bad when he showed up again but I'm so glad he had a hand in stopping Mercer. It felt like such a moment of growth for him finaly setting himself free of his abuser. Poor guy feels so guilty about everything that happened, and I'm very nervous about whenever Nor comes back in future DLC stuff because he still doesn't know that Teylan 'betrayed' them. Especially after everything with Alma.

Speaking of Alma, I have somewhat mixed feelings about her story? Obviously the Sarentu have every right to be pissed at her, I am pissed at her, she used them (and honestly is still using them) to ease her own guilt. What bothers me is the "You will never be one of us" rhetoric? Mostly because it makes me think of Jake and the Sully kids (Lo'ak and Kiri specifically) who all are/look more like Avatars rather than Na'vi. It makes me wonder how the Sarentu would react to them? The situations are very different, Jake gave up almost everything that made him human to live as a Na'vi where Alma has stayed human, albeit unhealthily attached to her Avatar form. Jake worked to earn his place with the Na'vi where Alma is trying to take it from this group of children she has been lying to from the very start.

But more than that, her still talking as if she was a part of their family at the end made me so mad. I don't think Nor had a good reaction to her by any means, stabbing her was definitely not good, and it leaves all of the other humans scared of him but like,,, i'm on his side tbh. His anger is justified, he's just not coping with it in healthy ways. Like at least the Sarentu did shut her down, Alma is not a part of their family by the end, but giving her the grace they did at the end i think was more than she deserved. Idk, I am glad that they are able to be the bigger persons (pun not intended lol) and move forward, I'm just not a fan of forgiving a person who was partially responsible for the murder of your entire family?

Back to Nor. He is such an interesting character to have next to Ri'nela and So'lek. His anger is palpable and it has nowhere to go. He refuses to connect to Eywa again because he feels he has been poisoned by TAP and humans as a whole and it colors everything he does. He copes with his pain by ignoring it until it becomes too much and he snaps.

And then there is Ri'nela, who is also clearly hurt by everything that comes to light about the Sarentu and TAP, but she is so much more reserved about it. She has a really lovely audio log about how she feels the need to set her own emotions aside so she can take care of others and their emotions. You can really tell how much pressure she puts on herself to be that emotional stability for others. Still she works through it and at the very least tries to talk with the Protag about it in a much more healthy way than Nor does.

Compare that to So'lek, who is similarly reserved in is emotions to Ri'nela, but less to protect others and more to protect himself. Hopefully we will get a little more insight into his character with the comics coming out, but So'lek is i think very similar to Nor in a lot of ways. His clan was wiped out in the Great War, and he was the only survivor to not assimilate into another clan, and we can assume, i think, that those other survivors were most likely children and other non-warriors, either too old or unable to fight for whatever reason. He is entirely alone by choice, and he is angry, but he keeps it together.

So'lek sees the bigger picture, he knows that the resistance is the one other group that's actually fighting back (Besides Jake and the Omatikaya), even if its entirely a group of humans, who we can assume he is not terribly fond of in general. He makes a point of saying the RDA is what needs to be removed from Pandora, not humans. He knows how to separate his allies instead of generalizing 'all humans bad', something Nor is implied to struggle with at least a little. That is especially clear when So'lek calls Nor out after he stabs Alma. But that still doesn't negate how angry So'lek is and is capable of being. He says it after HQ is attacked, he is trying not to follow Nor and his rage. He knows that if he has that conversation with Nor, it will be very easy for him to let his rage consume him as well.

Given that Nor is pretty much gone from the game after he stabs Alma, I'm hoping that in the upcoming DLC we get to find him? Maybe he is being an angry loner out on the woods or if he has found other missing TAP students? There are 4 mentioned in game, either by name (Ri'nela asks where two of them, Telisi and Yefti, are at the very start of the game, and 2 more are mentioned in TAP School Records, Okni and Yuayt) Of course they could all have died while the main four were in cryosleep, 15 years have passed and if they werent with that group when Alma saved them, theres no telling what exactly has happened to them. I just think it could be cool for them to pop up and join back up with the Sarentu.

On, like, an entirely different note, the joy it gives me that there are multiple nonbinary characters! Ahh!!! I think right now the only ones are Tsu'kiri from the Aranahe and Okul from the Kame'tire, at least that I have found, but the way that they are handled, I really really love. They are both just people! Existing in the world! As a nonbinary person myself i also really appreciate the game using they/them for the protagonist and letting you flavor your character however you want so that you aren't locked into male/female like so many games tend to do.

Getting into less A:FoP specific and more general lore territory: Something else I found really interesting while digging around on the wiki is that Mokasa is not the Olo'eyktan? He is listed as Anufi's chief advisor, which made him a sort of stand in Olo'eyktan while she was exiling herself, but he isn't actually the Olo'eyktan the way Ka'nat and Nesim are for their respective clans. Even on the wiki, the Olo'eyktan for the Kame'tire is labeled as Unknown. At most we get Okul being named ? Tsakarem? Thats at least what I took from it. But it makes me curious about the other clans and their leadership (also just very curious about them in general lol). There are 16 clans that we know of (that are all still canon) but we really have only really in depth explored 6 of them in the whole series so far. (Just counting the movies and A:FoP right now because I do not have access to the comics or I think the like one? other games that is still canon) Idk im interested in more Olo'eyktan/Tsahik dynamics beyond just mated pairs like we have seen. Like the Zeswa sisters is really cool to me, or father/daughter dynamic with Ka'nat and Etuwa. Obviously, Jake, and later Tarsem, are not mated to Mo'at but there was the intention of Neytiri eventually taking over as Tsahik before the Sully's left, which would have continued the married couple leaders dynamic that we have been seeing.

We also know that Olo'eyktan don't always have to be men (See Nesim for the Zeswa and Ikneyi from the Tayrangi clan that we see in the first film), so then are there examples of male Tsahik somewhere? Okul being presumably named Tsakarem as a nonbinary/gender non-conforming character would imply that on some level, but im curious if we will ever see examples of it.

And finally, somebody has got to let me smooch the characters in this game PLEASE.

If you actually read all that kudos to you and thank you for indulging my screaming.

[nthspecialll]

Hola! I'm a big fan of yours, I'm not sure if you answer questions or not, but I'm watching rdr1 and I can't help but wonder: how do you think an AU would be where Bonnie MacFarlane could be in the Van der Linde gang?

Bonnie is one of my favorite characters from rdr1, and I always wanted to see how she could interact with the gang, I look forward to your answer ^^

I am so glad you like my content and I absolutely do asks! I love them so much.

Firstly: Bonnie would have been 15 in 1899 and we don't know much about how she was at that time, but it is an au so for my own sake we are going to create a universe where she is interacting with them as we know her in 1911.

Bonnie is a very responsible person and with the death of five of her brothers and the only surviving one moving to New York, she sees herself as responsibe for her family's ranch, meaning, unless she was forced to leave, she would not. To get Bonnie to join the gang, the ranch would have to be ruined, so i assume a situation similar to the Adler family except in a much larger scale considering how many live on the ranch.

Of course we can't know how Bonnie would react to a traumatic situation like that, but as we know her, I doubt she would stay with the gang like Sadie did. Bonnie is not seen as a very revengeful person, nor has she shown any desire for committing crime. While she is often seen as a badass, carrying guns, wearing pants, standing up for herself and so on, she does still lean into societal expectations. While John and her father talks, she is the one who makes tea and brings it in, and when everything is done in 1914, she marries and as far as we know live a regular life.

She isn't a criminal, she doesn't have any reason to become one, she has a support system she could return to to help her get back on her feet.

But, let's say for some reason she does stay with the gang, I once again don't think she would go Sadie. I think she would be a lot like Karen actually, with a mix of Tilly.

She would probably take guard duty and other "male" chores like chopping wood, moving bags of gain, hunting so on and so forth. But I also think she would happily take part of the "female" chores, sewing, cooking, washing clothing, she would do whatever would be needed of her, probably more of the "female" chores due to the sexism of the gang, but I don't think she would do crime. I think the most she would do would be helping with plans: "With your trigger itch and my feminine intuition, we should make quite a team."

I also think that she would do a lot of the day to day legal stuff for the gang, like getting groceries, getting mail, if they need to buy a horse or chickens or something like it, that would probably be her.

Now how she would act with the gang:

Anyone trying to make a sexist or disrespectful comment or joke, she would take none of it. She isn't afraid to speak her mind, she is a very no-nonsense person, even when it is about "taboo" subjects, like this moment right after John saved her from being hanged: "If you think I'm going to lower myself by making a joke about being 'all tied up' - you've got another thing comin'"

During campfire convosations she would be very compassionate, listening closely and using it to help her get a better understanding of who they are. Similarly to when John opens up to her, which also proves that she is a person people tend to open up to as she is the only one John opens up to.

She is quite playful too, making a lot of sassy jokes and remarks like asking John if he talks in riddles to make up for the fact he has nothing interesting to say.

So between her no-bullshit attitude, her playful yet kind and compassionate personality, I don't doubt there could be some fun interactions.

[fancyfade]

Oh yeah! Idk if you've been following King's Wonder Woman, but if you have what are your thoughts on Damian in the Trinity back ups?

I read the first two issues of Wonder Woman, and I did read the Trinity special (which collected some of the backups) out of curiosity when it came out to see what the new character was like.

For the trinity special, here's my review from LOCG

I think King is aiming for a quippy, "funny" writing style he simply can't handle. The characters are way too wordy and things that I assume are supposed to be quick jokes take up whole panels and slow down the action. It's also demoralizing that Trinity gets so little development with the Wonderfam characters. Like yes, seeing characters work in teams is nice! But we actually got introductions to Jon and Damian's characters in their established super families before throwing them into the mix with new characters.

That didn't mention Damian so I'm working mostly on memory :P

Overall like. Maybe not too many immediately obviously OOC moments? but there was plenty that was just... boring and unimpressive.

Like Damian is written like he's still 13 or 14 when he should be an adult by now. And i would describe the way of writing it as very similar to supersons, where the writers went very hard into the 'jon is the nice good kid damian is the edgy mean kid' except like. even more so. And like. so much focus on 'oh he's vengeance (WHAT IS HE EVEN AVENGING? that's not part of damian's motive!) he doesn't have hope'.

and also just. the repeated 'oh that's an s sound' joke? like. its both unfunny and doesn't really make sense for Damian IMO. he's multilingual he knows that one symbol can have different sounds/meanings in different languages. but like. i read this comic almost 4 months ago and still remember the specifics of how boring and stupid that joke was.

(Overall NGL comedy is really not one of tom king's strengths and he shouldn't even try. I mentioned how boring and unfunny i found most of the jokes in my LOCG review)

like i'm not saying damian should never be bitchy (I love bitchy damian) but king barely knows anything about his character besides that he's supposed to be edgy. and the addendum to damian's childhood about ra's torturing him for not tying his shoes right was so out of pocket.

anyway tl;dr i think a lot of the nostalgia for supersons is carrying the backups. overall its not like the worst thing ever but it also does not feel like it works with the characters as adults and everything is very surface level and boring

[thoughtsaboutautism]

The romantization and trivialization of Autism Spectrum Disorder in the book "Unmasking Autism"

It's taken me a while to post this, even though I had the whole text written already. The problem is that every time I pick up this book or write anything about it I have a really hard time dealing with my emotions. This book is so bad and harmful that every time I have to think or read it – even if I'm doing so to criticize it – I have a hard time.

Anyways, I came across this table of "common, healthy autistic behaviors" (I didn't get that far in my reading yet) and I decided to make this post based on what I had already posted on Twitter.

The first thing that I need people to understand is that however you feel about your autism, however you identify, autism is, inherently, a severe developmental disorder that causes severe disability. You CANNOT have autism if you do not have deficits and impairments and I DO NOT CARE how you feel. Autism is classified so because people who have it need help, need A LOT OF help, REGARDLESS of whether we live in an accepting society or not and autism does not exist without impairment/deficit because if it did it would not be autism, it would simply be a personality trait.

The second thing that I need to say is that the traits listed on this table absolutely do exist in ASD but they are being put in an extremely romanticizing way and if one experiences ASD purely as described on this chart, then they likely do not have ASD. This is the exact problem with Tiktok, Twitter and other social media current content about autism, it's shallow, lacks context and is romanticizing. This kind of content is why so many people end up self-diagnosing with autism without actually having it, it's why people like myself – who have more difficulties – have a harder time fitting in, because current autism advocacy, such as this book and other social platforms, are advertising a type of autism that is cute and fun and easy to deal with, while autism is an extremely difficult condition to live with not only for the autistic person but for their family and friends as well. By advertising this cute, quirky autism, you are once again, like the autism community has always done since "Aspies for Freedom", leaving out those of us who are most marginalized. And I dare to say that this does not only happen to high support needs, but low needs people too who don't fit the new ASD criteria you have created.

Now, about the chart, the first sentence says: "intense studying of a new favorite topic". Not only is this type of wording extremely vague and could apply to literally anyone, but it's also undermining the intensity and the reality of having a special interest. Having a special interest is time consuming to the point of losing sleep, not using the bathroom, not showering, eating or interacting with others. A special interest itself causes so much self-stimulation that many people end up having meltdowns from overstimulation, a support worker once contacted me for help because their patient was so excited about Doctor Who that they'd talk about it to the point where they'd hyperventilate and trigger a panic attack and even lightheadedness due to lack of oxygen. Well, for myself I have experienced similar symptoms, like when I almost failed high school because all I could think about was this one TV Show I liked? Or when I almost passed out from crying and excitement from seeing Katy Perry at a concert when I was 15? Or when I was taken out of class on my first day of University because I was so excited about the topic we were studying I started making noises and disrupting the class? Or when I triggered a meltdown because I spent the whole day studying this same topic to the point where I overwhelmed myself?

"Not noticing sounds or social signals when focusing on an engrossing task": oh, do you mean when my dad and uncle accidentally mixed two chemicals to clean our pool causing a mild explosion in our backyard and a toxic fog that came into our house and I didn't hear my mom calling for me because I was too focused on a book I was reading? Or do you mean when I was a kid when I would be so focused on lining up my toys or watching the fan that I could literally spend hours and hours without having any other type of interaction which could lead to neurological damage because I wasn't using language and interacting with anyone? Or do you mean when autistic kids are usually so interested in objects that they barely recognize and acknowledge other people, leading to difficulties with development of language, cognitive and motor skills? A lot of autistic kids need to go to speech therapy, ABA or early interventions because we could very easily spend our whole days focused on a task or a toy to the point where we won't interact with anyone, which could lead to serious neurological issues such as completely lack of functional language. Social interaction is key to development of language and other important skills that will improve an autistic person's life, including those who are nonverbal and have very high support needs, and the fact that many autistic people won't acknowledge sounds or people interacting with them when they're focused is dangerous for their physical and mental health. See here the problem of intensity? How this book is shallow and lacks true understanding of ASD? Everybody happens to ignore one or two things if they're focused, doing it constantly to the point where it's dangerous and almost impossible for anyone to interact with the person is ASD.

"Needing to know exactly what to expect before entering an unfamiliar situation": yes, absolutely, every time I have to go to a new doctor my family has to call them beforehand, make sure they can see someone like me, ask them whatever procedures or exams they plan on doing and STILL I have to take extremely strong medication to allow doctors to touch me and for me not to have a meltdown because it's a new situation. Do you know what else? Needing a support worker with me on my very first day at University because the thought of going to this unfamiliar situation was so overwhelming I needed support, and still do every once in a while. Of course this is an extremely healthy behavior and doesn't cause any distress at all. Of course that I will always have people to tell me exactly what's going to happen to lessen my anxiety a little bit but still have a meltdown in the end (irony).

"Sticking to a very rigid schedule and rejecting deviations to that schedule": this wouldn't be a problem in a neurotypical person who can easily adapt to changes and eventual issues that come up in our daily lives. Unfortunately, I hate to say that most autistic people like myself deal with inevitable changes by banging their head against the wall causing themselves a concussion. Good changes? Bad changes? Ugh, it doesn't really matter. "I was finally hired to this job I have been rooting for in a long time", too bad dude, all your schedule will change and the only way you can cope with that is by having multiple meltdowns and eventually needing to be put to bed under the affect of Xanax. "Amanda, your cousin stopped by to make a quick visit", ugh, sorry, I wasn't expecting that pleasant surprise, I unfortunately must have an anger attack and self harm to cope with my feelings. "Amanda, your grandmother died and now your mom is staying home for a week on a grief work-leave", hum, not really on my schedule, will have to spend the next days trying to not sound like a dick to my mom because she disrupted my routine and I am having many conflicting feelings while she is dealing with the death of her mother. "Amanda, you have to come home right now because your grandfather just died and we have to travel for his funeral", ugh absolutely normal and healthy behavior to have a full blown meltdown in the Uni hallway because I wasn't planning my granddad's death and needing to be helped by a Professor who then called 911 because she didn't know what to do with me.

"Spending hours or days alone sleeping and recharging after a socially demanding event or stressful project": clear example of trivializing ASD. For most autistic people, even for people who have low support needs, socially demanding events cause episodes of mutism, inability to do any task at all, inability to shower, eat, take care of themselves, work. Autistic people aren't just chilling on their couch watching TV after a social interaction. Autistic people are laying in bed, feeling sick, having symptoms such as fever and panic attacks, feeling overwhelmed. I would argue this applies mostly to low needs people because for people like myself and other higher support needs people I know and live with, social events are not even a possibility in the first place.

"Needing 'all the information' before coming to a decision": this one absolutely pisses me off. When I need to make a decision I do need all the information, but not only the information available, I really need ALL the information that I WANT, regardless of whether it makes sense or not, such as wanting to know what will happen if X is chosen, but how will you know for sure something about the future? And no, I cannot let it go, autism causes something called cognitive rigidity, which makes every thought and feeling get stuck in an eternal loop which we are mostly unable to stop. On my second year of University I had to make a decision to follow a degree in Hebrew or Linguistics. I needed all the information. But the information that I needed was "how will I do on the linguistics tests if I choose this degree?" and "how will I be able to complete all the Literature courses on the Hebrew degree if I have a hard time with reading and comprehension?". This was one of the hardest times in my life when I got stuck in thoughts to which there were no answers for and this caused me extreme anxiety and distress.

"Not knowing how they feel or needing a few days to figure out how they feel about something": this is the number one reason to why I will bang my head against the wall. Not knowing how I feel, not understanding how I feel is an extremely distressing experience if not to say dangerous. Many autistic people don't notice serious illness and symptoms because they just don't understand that whatever they are feeling is normal. Luckily, I have had fewer experiences with that, but I know people whose appendix were bursting and they thought it was just a stomach ache. Last week I got up feeling weird. I didn't understand what it was, I thought it was anxiety. I went to my therapy appointment and came out still feeling a little bit off. I get home and vomit for 10 minutes straight in the bathroom and proceeded to have one of the worst food poisoning I've ever had. I had to be taught what feeling happy was, I had to be taught what feeling sad was. I have to be taught how to comprehend simple human emotions and how to understand them in my body because I simply cannot understand them. I am 22 years old. This is not healthy, this is not normal. This causes extreme distress, this is dangerous. And at least I can communicate to some extent how I'm feeling but there are family friends whose kids' are completely nonverbal with very little functional language. Whenever something changes in their mood, they have to be taken to the hospital to make sure it's nothing physical because they cannot communicate or comprehend their emotions.

"Needing a rule or instruction to 'make sense' before they can follow it": again, cute and quirky if you're an adult and the only situation you can think about this is things like "ugh, why would I treat my boss any different just because of a made up hierarchy?", not so fun when it's an adult person who cannot understand danger and thinks that riding the car with the seatbelt doesn't make sense. Not so fun when it's a 30 year-old man who doesn't understand what the police is and might act improperly around them, risking his life. Not so fun when it's a 12 year-old kid who doesn't understand death and thinks that playing "killing his sister" (by choking her) is fun. These are all real people I've met in my life.

"Not putting energy toward expectations that seem unfair or arbitrary": again, quirky if you're an autistic woman who doesn't see a point in make up, not so quirky when these things are like me, who sees exercising as totally pointless and I could very much spend the rest of my days not doing absolutely anything to move my body. Not so quirky when the expectations are actually adult people who don't understand the need to shower or personal hygiene.

I think I have made it a bit clearer with my examples how incredibly romanticizing this book is. It's a shame that so many people see this as some kind of autism bible when it's a book made by someone who we don't even know if is truly diagnosed with autism, with an extremely shallow understanding of ASD and complete disregard to the impairing nature of ASD. As I said before, ASD is inherently a condition that causes deficits and impairments and people who – most of the time aren't even diagnosed – don't get to redefine and trivialize the reality of living with autism, specially with someone with higher support needs. We can talk about different experiences of autism, we can talk about differences between high and low support needs, but we need to do it carefully in order to not trivialize what ASD really is – which is exactly the opposite of what this book does.

[lover-of-mine]

I fully agree that it was a lot to have buck hurt eddie like that. Like I get why they did it cause let's be real if eddie had been able to walk it wouldn't have been Tommy at buck's door but I wish they'd go about it in another way...

On another note, do you think buck will analyse his whole relationship with his family and friends with his new found discovery (I still can't believe we have bi buck still feeling shaky omg) and also im sure you've gotten something similar asked but I kinda would like a reassurance well as close to one as I can get, but do you think that means we are headed toward buddie? Or will they be like hey at least you get this kinda thing?

Thank you for your posts they've been great and like I feel we all lived through this together and I'm thankfull for your takes :)

This is actually the first time I thought about them hurting Eddie as a plot device to stop him from reaching out occurred to me. I see it, I don't like it, but I see it.

Okay, yeah, I kinda think he will, finding out you're bisexual as an adult, specially when Buck did as well with women as he does, will be some cause for panic (I say this as someone who was good with men and only found out she was bi as an adult) about particular reactions of people around him (kinda terrified what this means for him with his parents about to come into town) because even if you know some of the people who love you will be supportive, is still a scary experience, even more if you've been trying to find this one thing about yourself for decades, so, yeah, I do believe he will be forced to reevaluate a lot of stuff in his life, and Tim and Oliver seem to be ready to try and tell this story right and I am super interested to see how this will go (I can't believe Bi Buck is real, it literally rewired my brain, I might be losing my mind because I need to sleep because I've been up for who knows how long because every time I try to sleep my brain goes BUCK IS BI and then I start freaking out about again)

I know a lot of you come to me for the logical side of it all to get some reassurance and I love that I can be this person, really, especially in moments like this, so, I love that you came here 🫶. But the buddie of it all, I don't see why they would make Buck queer and not go there with Buck and Eddie. I maintain what I've been saying, that the loft scene is gonna tell us if they are turning up the heat or if we are keeping the energy we had so far while Buck explores his own feelings about being bisexual, even more if we are gonna get 2 for 2 and they are planning on making Eddie demi (god imagine if they actually put a character like Eddie in the ace spectrum, I would die), because then you can use a Buck who's settled into being bisexual to drag the realization from Eddie, because this can cascade into Buck realizing what he's looking for is what he has with Eddie, and since men are an option now, he could look at their relationship and be like "oh so I needed to figure out that I like men, for me to realize that the love I want is with this man" and then trying to figure out if Eddie could feel the same about him, and Eddie having his own queer arc about how no one has felt as right as Shannon because he needs a deeper connection that he does have with Buck and them going there. Buck being bi puts at least halfway there on the road to canon buddie, because now it is an actual canon possibility that Buck will develop, or find out he already has feelings for Eddie. Especially with how intertwined with the discovery with Tommy, Eddie is. Everything that points to Tommy, points to Eddie if Buck just looks to the right, yk? Obviously the showrunners and actors will keep saying there's no plan, and they are seeing where it's going, but if they handle the next episode well, just sit back and enjoy, because they're cooking. They could've made Buck bi be only about Tommy, but they didn't, they made a very intense point of adding Eddie to the mix so I will continue to believe they have a plan and this is a slow burn that's gonna happen, because I honestly, even more now with canon confirmation that Buck is bi, I think it's the only way to look at them, yk? I don't see why they wouldn't go there now that they are not hiding behind the "they are both straight" excuse. And personally, as a writer, I think it would be a waste of a setup not to go there now that we know they can go there.

[owmylasagna-blog]

oh nooo i'm sorry you're sick lasagna :( i'm glad your skates came though that's exciting!! i'll still hit you up for some headcanons if you feel like sharing 👀 id love to hear more of your lore for the eds' parents and perhaps bro...

i'm trying to think of my own indulgent headcanon to share that i haven't already told you 🤔 i will say that your use of shania twain in lps made me hc that edd would secretly be a big fan of hers. i know it's kinda ooc but it's really funny to me. he's a sap and her songs can be pretty sappy. there's also a lot of pedal steel in her music which automatically makes me think of him.

oh also will ed and may's wedding be included in lps?

Thanks! I appreciate the message ❤️ I’m so jazzed the skates came! I immediately did a little shimmy around my tiny ass apartment and might take them for a spin on my street once the rain clears up.

Hmmm time to rack my brain for some other headcanons for the Eds’ parents. Let’s see:

I wrote this in like me still but I think Edd’s parents get a divorce once he’s 18. I sort of hint at this but in my mind his folks are more amicable colleagues than romantic partners: not that they don’t care for each other, but they know pretty early on after having Edd that they are more friends than husband and wife. They do a lot of things out of obligation and respectability.

While I imagine most of the parents in the cul-se-sac to know one another (possibly even have grown up together - we love intergenerational beaf), Edd’s parents are an enigma and literally never socialize. This rubs most of their neighbors the wrong way, really pisses off Eddy’s parents, especially his mom, who takes it super personally (and probably rightfully so).

Sort of a popular one, but I also like the idea of Ed and Eddy’s dads being business partners selling used cars. Or actually, Ed’s dad sort of being Eddy’s dad’s superior 👀.

I think Eddy’s parents (I come them Eddy and Carmela, or Lina for short) are middle school sweethearts. Eddy Sr. threw rocks at Lina during 7th grade recess and she beat him with a fence post and the rest is history.

I imagine Ed’s parents having a pretty big age gap, with his dad being like 10 years older than his mom. We all agree Ed’s mom is a miserable housewife, right? And that his dad is a shellshocked vet? Yes?

Okay this is gonna start out sorta dark but stay with me: in college I read this book called Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings which informs a lot of my headcanons on Bro. No I don’t think he did anything THAT drastic, but the book outlined more the conditions that cause kids with mental illness to be ignored for the sake up upholding the community appearance if that makes sense? Sweeping concerning behavior under the rug to not raise concern or point fingers at the parents or adults for failing. I sort of see peach creak as a similar town.

@gettingfrilly wrote this too and much more eloquently I might add but I always thought both Bro and Eddy have undiagnosed ADHD.

I could go on but I’ll stop there for everyone’s sake. I get more into Eddy’s family in the next chapters of Ed is Thicker than Mud (;

Hahahaha no I love Edd being a Shania fan 😂 sometimes headcanons that are a little ooc add to the world building. Dude contains multitudes. I also like to imagine Edd’s taste in music being a strange mix of experimental obscure + borderline cheesy (I was just listening to the OST for Xanadu by Olivia Newton-John/ELO that makes me think of Edd for some reason). But I’ve never thought of connecting the pedal steel guitar in Shania Twain’s music with Edd. Maybe he can serenade Eddy… 😛

Yes! The EdMay wedding is meant to be the last chapter *cough* I mean. The thrilling conclusion. Heh. Though I imagine at least 4 more chapters between where I’ve left off and the end of the fic.

[sweetwitchythings]

Kitchen Witchery: Basil Pesto Lasagna

If you know anything about me, you'll know that I love being in the kitchen! I love trying new recipes and cooking, especially if it's part of my craft. So I thought maybe I would post a couple of my favorite recipes that I use to enchant for my family. My whole family loves this delicious lasagna that I made the other day, and it's super easy and not too expensive to make. If you're a witch on a budget, then you'll definitely appreciate the yummy leftovers from this meal!

I do not have any dietary restrictions, but my sibling has a gluten sensitivity, so if I make it for them, I substitute the regular noodles for certified gluten-free noodles. If you're vegan or vegetarian, I'm sure you can substitute the meat and cheese with something else, but I am not either of those things and don't know anyone who is, so I don't really have any suggestions for substitutions on those. So! Without further ado, let's get into the recipe! I will also list the correspondences that I associate with all of these ingredients, as well as common associations.

This recipe makes a rather large pan of lasagna, so feel free to downsize. My family has several people in it, so I often make larger meals to accommodate.

You will need:

Oven-bake lasagna noodles (I associate prepared foods with pretty much anything. Just sent your intention on this ingredient and keep going. Since pasta soaks up whatever it's put in, I like to think that pasta specifically is kinda like a white candle: it can mean anything!)

2 jars of tomato sauce, in any flavor you like! Witch tip: Get a glass jar to use for spells later! It's a super good way to recycle! (Tomatoes are acidic, so I associate them with protection. People often associate them with love, especially sex, but it's all about your intention, so it doesn't have to mean that for this particular recipe.)

Ground meat of your choice, a larger size package if you're feeding a lot of people. I like ground turkey because it's less oily, but I've also used ground beef and I'm sure ground chicken would work too. I like to give special thanks when I make something with meat, to the universe and to Life and the cycle of Life. (I don't really have an association for meat, so sorry about this one.)

Ricotta cheese, in a regular sized container. Last time I made it, I accidentally got a small container and it wasn't enough in my opinion. (Cheese is filled with protein, which means strength and resilience to me, so that's what I associate it with.)

Small jar of basil pesto. You won't use all of it for this recipe, so the smallest one will be just fine. (Basil is a very versatile herb, so you can use it for many things! I usually try to make the whole recipe mean similar things, as to not muddle the intentions, so I would recommend setting a protection or banishment intention for this one. Also, pesto is usually made with olive oil, which is sacred to certain deities, so extra magick is involved!)

Mozzarella cheese, shredded. You're welcome to shred your own, but this witch has chronic pain, so bagged is the way for me! I use low-moisture, personally. I get about 2 pounds of it. (More cheese means more strength!)

The recipe:

Put your choice of meat in a large pot or pan to brown. Break it up to ensure even cooking and stir clockwise to manifest your intention. For the sake of an example, I'm going to use my intention from the other night, which was strength and protection. Preheat your oven as the directions on the back of the oven-ready lasagna tells you to.

While the meat/substitute is cooking, get out the rest of your ingredients and set them out to make things easier to reach.

Get out a good-sized mixing bowl, large enough to fit the entire container of ricotta cheese. Open up the container and dump the whole thing in there. Mix in about two or three large spoonfuls of the basil pesto with a spatula or mixing spoon. I wouldn't recommend using a slotted spoon, because that cheese can be hard to wash off, especially if you don't have a dishwasher. Think about your intentions as you stir. I personally like to imagine power in the form of white or yellow light coming from my heart/chest, down my arm, into the spoon and into the mixture, filling it with intention.

After your meat is done, drain it well and get ready to layer up your lasagna! With every layer, I concentrate on my intention, layering it with the food. Get a good-sized casserole dish. I use a glass one, but I'm sure a metal one would work just as well.

The first layer is going to be the meat. Put half of the meat or meat substitute in the bottom of the dish, then set aside. I would recommend coming up with an affirmation or a short incantation to say or think between layers. Let's say that this could be something like "I imbue this meal with strength and protection for all that eats it, so mote it be!"

The next layer is going to be your sauce. If you make your own, that's great! But I don't because I don't know how and also that's a little more labor-intensive than I usually have time for. Pour one jar over the meat, saying/thinking your incantation as you do so. Make sure the sauce is evenly spread. You can use a spoon or a spatula to do this.

The next layer is going to be the pasta. Say your incantation again as you lay the dry pasta over the sauce and meat. The awesome thing about oven-ready lasagna is that you don't have to cook it before you put it in. It cooks in the oven and soaks up the pasta sauce and it's sooooo delicious! Again, if you have dietary needs, gluten-free lasagna is totally an option.

The last layer is going to be the ricotta cheese and pesto mixture. Use a spoon or spatula to spread it across the top of the pasta. I find it easier to spread the soft mixture over the hard pasta, so that's why the layers are like they are. Don't forget your incantation!

Repeat the layers one more time, saying your incantation each time. When you're done, put the entire bag of mozzarella over the top, saying your incantation one last time.

Look on the back of the pasta box and bake for the recommended time, or until the cheese on top is nice and bubbly and the whole thing is warmed through.

Serve and enjoy! I like making some cheesy garlic bread with it, to sop up the sauce. The leftovers are just as delicious and will keep in the fridge for a little less than a week.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I love simply kitchen witchcraft, and this protection lasagna is a wonderful, hearty meal for the whole family. If you use this recipe, I'd love to know! Feel free to reblog and share your own variations! I'd love to see them!

Happy cooking and witching! 🔮✨🍳

[ghnosis]

my spoiler-free review of RHRH, a neutral-to-negative take

most important point: I had fun at the ghovie

there are not plot spoilers below, but if you want to go in totally totally blind, don't read below the cut!

important note: I don't care for the Chapters. I don't watch them, they're not my kind of humour. I was curious to see how Tobias would spin the ghovie - most people aren't aware of the Chapters or of the entirety of the backstory, and most people won't care about that stuff. my biggest question going in was how is Tobias going to make the die hard fans happy AND make this an accessible experience for the more casual fan?

spoiler alert: in my opinion, he didn't! the Guardian review is evidence of this, though its tone is typically pissy. RHRN is weighted towards the big-time ghestie.

there was a brief attempt at the beginning to explain the legacy of the Emeritus family, but it outright states that Nihil was "the first one," which ("my father's father's father-") isn't the case. oversimplication for the sake of runtime, sure, fine, but I have OCD and this stuff bugs me.

as a concert film, RHRN fails for me. eyeing the runtime and my knowledge of shows, I figured RHRN would start with 25ish minutes of silly Chapter skit stuff, then 2 hours of ritual. I assumed this order would be good for physical/streaming sales - if you put all the stuff nobody but the die-hards care about in the beginning, it's easily skippable. nope! the chapter/skit stuff is throughout the film, breaking the immersion of the concert experience.

I use Green Day's Bullet in a Bible as a measuring stick for this sort of thing: watching Bullet in a Bible does feel like seeing an enhanced experience of a Green Day show. watching Nirvana on MTV Unplugged feels like (I imagine - I was a toddler at the time) seeing Nirvana play live. hell, watching Riding in Vans with Boys feels like seeing blink-182 live. I want a concert film to give me a better angle of the show itself than I could ever possibly see live, plus some behind the scenes stuff. I don't feel like RHRN provides a good ritual experience. one thing I personally think about a lot in this fandom is the multimodality - we can't all afford to go to a ritual, especially as Ghost plays huger and huger arenas. if you were hoping RHRN would be like a recorded ritual, it is not. this feels like a big missed opportunity to me.

the sound mixing is not what I would expect from a film like this. I saw RHRN in a theater where I also saw Dune II and a few Star Wars. I literally had a headache leaving Dune bc it was too loud. but RHRN was too quiet. there is no sense of "wall of sound" in the recording, which fucking sucks; this is a mixing/editing issue. every time I turn on American Idiot or Bullet in a Bible, my ears get blown clean off. hell, every time I turn on Impera, my ears get blown off. this is possible! it just wasn't done here.

the film editing is erratic. shots were sort of stapled together - one moment it would be a Dewdrop solo and then two seconds later he was somewhere else on stage entirely, or ghouls had moved around behind him in a way that broke my flow. for a stage show as choreographed as Ghost's, this seems weird at best. I'm willing to concede that I have OCD and stuff like this might bother me way more than it bothers you... but I heard murmurings of similar opinions as we all left the theater.

the camera doesn’t linger on an individual Ghoul or Papa as long as it should. the distribution of Ghoul time on screen is also... odd? Dewdrop takes center stage, with Phantom/Aeon a close second. Mountain lovers got great food. there was.... okay? Cumulus content. I felt a distinct lack of Cirrus, Aurora and Swiss. we were denied any shimmies!!! as we were leaving I heard someone say "I starved." there was not enough swiggity swooty.

the erratic editing also means you really can't focus on your fave ghoul, because the close-ups keep moving around. Dewdrop hand lovers, you will eat. Rain only gets a big-deal closeup during "Con Clavi," which is to be expected but is also a bummer. we do get the classic Dew pissy pick throw, a middle finger, and a flash of YouSuck, but the ghoul on ghoul interaction isn't really present in the film. each ghoul felt isolated to me; the interaction is what I love at a Ghost show.

the crowd shots are gorgeous but are also inauthentic to my experience as a Ghost fan - lot of really conventionally pretty gender conforming white women in the audience. "it's hollywood, blah blah-" shut up. the experience of looking around my theater at all the beautiful true humanity was way more fun than the crowd I saw on screen. any Ghost show I've ever gone to has literally every possible segment of humanity in it. SHOW ME THE QUEERDOS TOBIAS. WE PAY YOUR MORTGAGE. there *is* one person in makeup and braces who I loved, and there's one long shot of a face literally just like :O during I think Cirice? which, mood.

credit where it's due: there is a truly cool effect where Häxan (1922) is showing interspersed/on top of the band playing "Year Zero." this ruled. it felt like it took editing hints from Bram Stoker's Dracula, the movie of all time for me. "Twenties" ruled. "If You Have Ghosts" was fucking haunting - that (opera?) singer was incredible. wished I saw her name!! cello ghoulettes 100/10. skeleton dancers 1000/10. they put their whole pussies into it. there are a ton of waving Plushias and Popias and they all look as off-brand as possible, which is great.

tl;dr. RHRN fails as a concert movie for me, but going to get my little popcorn bucket and sippy cup, and picking an outfit, and seeing all the ghesties in our finery at the theater was fun!!! the air in the theater felt like the air before a ritual. hearing people giggle at the jokes, even jokes that didn't land for me, was fun. hearing the reaction to the plot stuff was fun. if you are a casual Ghost enjoyer, I don't recommend seeing the movie - but if you hate the Chapters but like Ghost, I don't think the chapter parts will be too much/too prevalent for you to enjoy it. try to go when the theater is full, so you can get the best experience possible.