post-max

[silawastaken]

GOOD NEWS: I believe I have contracted the flu, and therefore I can and will be writing for a majority of all the time I am off school because my brain is too melted to do anything else.

BAD NEWS: My throat really hurts :(

[catboybiologist]

So.

Re: tumblr bans of transfemmes.

Let's ignore PhotoMatt for a moment. Manbaby tech CEO doubling down on a stupid decision and making himself look like more of an ass doing so is not a new phenomena.

Tumblr has consistently said, in both public statements and leaked internal communication, that they're essentially running a skeleton crew.

They keep saying that they don't have the resources to moderate, manually review posts, have any kind of appeal process, or anything. So, as people have widely received communications about, they seemed to have automated a significant portion of the moderation to operate solely on the quantity of reports (probably with a basic filter, eg quantity of reports regarding a certain post, within a certain timeframe) to automatically ban or shadowban accounts.

And so, they wipe their hands, both to the users, the public, and their own consciousness, and go about their automated operations.

All of this is likely true. Tumblr, at this point, is essentially abandonware internally, a kind of weird vanity project/dumpster ground for server infrastructure for Automattic. Likely, they don't want the bad press of "shutting down" fully. Or maybe the trickle of revenue they get here just barely exceeds operating costs, so why not keep it around?

Whatever is the case, the bans are a result of an automated process working in the background. I'm giving them some benefit of the doubt here, of course, we can't know anything for certain- but it seems like the individual bans are not based on any specific, manual action.

And that doesn't fucking excuse anything.

Because at some point, multiple people sat down at tumblr, and decided how to cut costs.

And they decided that the bare minimum of report abuse prevention was one of the first things on the chopping block.

Before the boops. Before GUI reconfigures.

They decided to cut something that is necessary to manage online communities.

They decided to cut something that ensures any targeted group will have any kind of community online.

And then, after all of that, the only manual intervention is doubling down on the shitty decisions that the automated systems make, and plucking reasons out of their ass for why they were the right decisions all along.

It's pure silicon valley brain. Blame the computer often and always. Use it to shield the active decisions you made when designing the computer that way. Treat it as a fact of life as opposed to something they actively made decisions for.

Is tumblr staff hitting the banhammer on each transfemme one by one? No.

Is tumblr staff deliberately crafting a system that allows TERFs and other conservative bigots to get rid of the "undesirables" for them? Yup. But they sure as hell are trying to not say the quiet part out loud. If they can always point the finger somewhere else, to the advertisers, to the automated systems, to the TERFs, then they can always have juuusssttt enough plausible deniability.

But being the "queerest place on the internet" requires concious acknowledgement that queer people will be targets of harassment, and you will have to protect against that.

Side note, this is why I do try to keep my blog at least somewhat SFW. Its one of the main reasons why I choose not to reblog all of the posts I'm tagged in- if the post is overtly NSFW, I've probably seen it, appreciated it, and consciously decided my level of interaction with it mostly based on how "tumblr friendly" it is. Is that bowing down to them? A little. It's also my choice. I value the community I have here. The pushes that y'all have given me gave me the strength to transition, and honestly gives me a lot of motivation to research HRT biology as much as I can, among many other things.

Yeah, I post pictures that are clearly meant to be found attractive in ways that are generally not socially acceptable , but never actual NSFW. I would like to think that I'm pretty safe from bans, but hey. Who knows. I don't want to lose my follower base, and the community around it.

And yeah, I'm gonna annoyingly remind you of the other places to find me, make sure to check my pin. If you don't know where to go, just find me on reddit and go from there, I'll post about it if anything happens.

[throwing-in-the-towel]

this may come across rlly weird but i’m honestly so impressed w ur ability to go places like by yourself. like i can barely go anywhere by myself and i rlly aspire to be like you in that way (idk if this is weird sorry!!!)

not weird at all!!! i will actually share something a little personal with you because this just made me very happy 🥲

before this summer and going to see the outsiders a bunch,,,i had never gone to a show alone!! i always went with either a friend, relative, etc. had some unfortunate falling outs in personal relationships and found that i was just sitting home a lot and missing out on things i really wanted to do. so i decided "you know what, if the only thing stopping me is that i dont wanna go alone, thats silly" and since i've told myself that, i've gone to a bunch of shows alone and i've found i really enjoy my alone time! it's nice being able to do what you want at your own pace without accounting for another person!

i'm an extremely anxious and introverted person, so going places alone (like even to the mall or to pick up food) makes me sooo self-concious and it's always been something i struggled with. it may sound crazy, but going to the show and doing it all on my own has given me such a new found confidence! obviously, im an age where it's easy for me to do stuff alone like use public transportation and stuff like that (i know if you're a teenager you kinda can't really do that without a parent's approval), but it's been so good for me.

this is corny, but if i can do it, you absolutely can.

[iwasthewind]

I'm sad about Apollo not getting the attention he deserves, so I'm gonna give it myself. The following is a ramble on why I love Apollo, and the way Rick handled his character <3

This hasn't been proofread and is unstructured as fuck because I lack the time for something better- and all of the following is something I said to a friend regarding TOA sjsjsjjs

Rick honestly handled abuse so fucking 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 in the series, gotta love the man for it. The parallels that he shows in Zeus and Nero, the way he addresses that Apollo himself was stuck in a cycle of abuse. I love how Apollo at first is so entitled, so used to getting his way, so shocked and disproportionately offended at the smallest things- but he's not necessarily evil. At the same time, a fair deal of the shit he did was inherently bad, yeah?

And it wasn't even because he was a control freak like Zeus, who was just toxic, paranoid and proud. It was because he never realised it was wrong because the concept of it being 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 was never introduced to him- which is no excuse by the way. He saw Zeus' actions as wrong 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮. Zeus set the example for him, and he never thought of it as (inherently) 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 'wrong,' but as something that "inconveniences/offends/hurts me."

And then his mistakes start biting him in the ass. And he's upset, because he wonders if he really deserves this?? And then his ass begins to bleed because his mistakes bite him 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥. And he's in denial but he begins to realize the gravity of his actions. He begins to empathize with his victims and it's not like he can apologise or do something to take back his actions either. His mistakes firmly remain what they are.

It's then that he slowly begins to realise- the abuse he faced at Zeus' hands, the abuse others faced at his hands, the abuse Meg faced at Nero's hands...is all inherently wrong. It's amoral. He's forced to face the fact that 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨, no matter who's dishing it out.

When he confronts Harpocrates it's made especially clear- he was a fucking bully and it slapped him in the face. How entitled he was in trying to coerce the Sybil, how cruelly he dismissed her pain because guilt was an inconvenience to him. Up until he had to deal with them again, he barely thought about them. They weren't relevant anymore, because they were not desirable or sources of entertainment anymore. They weren't useful to him anymore.

And then he's forced to address the pain he's caused. He can't save them, and he's not forgiven for his actions.

They acknowledge him and peacefully (more or less) die and now he has to live with that. He can't make things better for them. He held their future in his hands and he carelessly shaped it into an ever descending spiral staircase which ended in 𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘯 and he has to live with that.

And he sees it and he acknowledges his emotions and he lets his guilt get to him- because he understands that he deserves it, even though he can't atone for it directly, to 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.

And instead of dismissing his discomfort and booking it- which was a toxic pattern he had established and followed for YEARS, my dude addresses the fact that he needs to improve. And he 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 improve.

It's not a gradual thing and there's hints of relapse but he genuinely apologizes, puts aside his pride several times and tries to improve. He can't do anything about the past but he can damn well try to make his current and future self a different God, a God that nourishes and cares for the well-being of those less fortunate than him, a person who cares and is learning to be happy with himself and takes responsibility in a healthy way.

And it's not easy- it's a concious choice he makes, every day, every time he's faced with old thoughts. They've been habits for so long and he's breaking them and it takes a herculean effort but he 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 it.

He's still extravagant at the end and he still catches hold of luxury items but he's gifting them too now! He got Meg a unicorn <3

And then in the end he addresses that Nero and Zeus are similar, and 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮. Apollo sees his mistakes and tries to improve. Zeus and Nero 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 they are in the wrong, but it benefits them and so they do not care. They can't be forgiven because they don't deserve it. All you can do is distance yourself because there's no actual, plausible way to deal with them for good.

I just love Apollo sm jwkjdksdkndk <33

Some day I'll write a proper essay on him but today is not that day. My apologies if I get something wrong, it's been a while since I read the books :')

[tomatoswup]

Cheer up!📣

summary: A cheerleading injury sure does hurt, and theres no one to cover you! Oh dear who else could help you in these daring times!

warnings/tags: cheerleader!reader,,,sharp shooter! Vash,,, injury,,,,University!AU/Modern!AU,,,,kinda suggestive? ur bf vash just looks good bestie,, self-concious vash,,, reader drags wolfwood with them b/c they made him drive,, Cheerleading at a football game,,,possessive vash(barely),,cheerleading outfit Vash :P,,,vash x reader,,,

⋆｡°✩inspir. from robin william's performance with the cheerleaders of the broncos

A/N: sorry for not putting anything up, it was a bit of a busy week and i needed some time away from looking at a screen for so long hehehe,,,here's another lil thingy i wanted to write when it popped up on my feed and by write i mean really wanted to write Enjoy!

p.s: i also opened a ko-fi if anyone wanted to donate a coffee!☕️

✨i’m also back on working on requests sorry for the late delays for those who sent one in! I will be working on them and trying to get them out as fast as I can!

The hard steps of heeled shoes on clean cut grass, the twirls of bodies and hips, and the glittering shine of outfits under the heat of the blistering sun.

Did you never get enough of it? No you didn't, maybe it was the charm to it!

...Okay definitely not the heat but the rush of the performance? Pretty fun!

Cheerleading was no easy feat especially if you get hurt during it.

And you were well known for not having the best luck.

"Coach please, I really need to perform, the routine isn't gonna look right if I'm not there-" You pleaded, limping behind your coach Roberto as he slowly walked to the sidelines.

A normal day of practice had quickly turned upside down when you accidentally tripped over your feet in the middle of the routine, bending your ankle in an odd way that you did not want to look at.

With a clipboard in his hands, the music continued to blast through the air as the rest of your teammates practiced just a bit away on the field. "As much as you wanna protest about it, I'm not putting you in. You hurt? Take a break." He rasped out.

Shit.

You watched as the realization grew on his face until he put a hand up to rub the bridge of his nose with a sigh "Now who the hell am I gonna find to take your place. No one in this damned place knows any of these moves besides you guys..."

You put a hand over your eyes in attempted to stop getting blinded from the sun, momentarily looking back at your team. The upcoming performance was against a pretty much bigger university and you knew ya'll couldn't let everyone down.

Who else could take your spot-

And it were if a lightbulb went off on top of your head, you gasped out at the memory. Maybe there was one person.

Out of all the times you've been unsure if you were doing a routine right, those insecure times in need of help, you've always gone to one person with a bit of a sharp eye.

"I think I know someone..."

///

Vash liked to help people.

Well, it wasn’t a like really but more of a love. Sometimes he found himself trying to do the best he could for those who he loved and cherished even though he doesn't really know if he could.

A bit of a fault in the Saverem's head.

But he never really thought he would've been presented with something like this.

"Uh, I don't know about this... I don't think I'll pull it off."

"I think you'll look great Vash! Honestly, I really wouldn't know how to repay you if you did!" You cheekily smiled at your boyfriend, both of his hands clasped in your own as the both of you sat on your dorm room bed.

Really? He couldn't help but nervously laugh "I don't know if these-" You let go of his hands as he reached over and held up the garments that you had laid out next to you, the tips of his ears turning red from the thoughts. You wore this?

Thighs out, a cut top that showed more than he would've liked to the public, jeez Vash wanted to just wrap you in a blanket and hold you down until everything was over!

You definitely pulled this off but him?

"-Will fit me."

"Don't worry about it Vash, they’re stretchy!" You reassured him.

But you still saw the look uncertainty on him, his mouth tilted in a small pout and an eyebrow raised upwards, making you exhale and give him a soft smile.

"You don't have to do this for me ya’ know? Seriously, I can always perform next season, I mean this sprained ankle isn’t gonna heal quick so maybe I should listen to Roberto about this. “

“No.” Vash abruply cut you off, taking you aback when he turned the other way, hiding his face away from you.

Shit, did you bother him? This was a big favor after all, you couldn't blame him for saying no. You would've said it yourself if you had been asked too.

'Maybe it's too much for him...' You thought, before putting a hand up to put on his shoulder.

“Actually Vash, maybe I'll just rest. I can always tell Roberto change the routine or something! I know you have your shooting competition soon-“

Hearing Vash mumble under his breath, you leaned in closer, not having caught what he said. "What did you say?"

“...I didn’t say I wasn’t gonna do it. I'm worried if the outfit looks bad on me.” He spoke up before turning back to you, giving you a cheeky smile before setting a quick kiss on the tip of your nose.

"But I really don't think the shoes are gonna fit.."

And before you knew it, two weeks had passed and you watched on from the large bleachers at the field below as the fans roared all around the arena before the start of the game.

"So Vash did this willingly?" Vash's roommate Wolfwood flatly asked, leaning back lazily in his seat as you fixed the red jacket on your shoulders belonging to the spiked hair blonde.

"Yeah, he did."

Wolfwood crossed his arms, staring out towards the field as the countdown began ticking to its final seconds in a moments thought "Hope you taught him well."

You leaned to the side towards Wolfwood "I swear I'll pay for your gas Wolfwood."

"I don't think you understand, I had to really drive your ass all the way over here instead of indulging in my beauty sleep." He put a offended hand to his chest.

Did he really think you could've drove there with a swollen ankle?

"...I won't tell Milly you took her welcome lollipops from the entry way the last time you visited."

Wolfwood's head snapped to you, shooting you a glaring squint under his black sunglasses whilst earning a mischievous thumbs-up from yourself.

It was only a few seconds before he swiped his hand out and slapped the side of your knee "Just watch your damn boyfriend already."

Thank you for your patronage~

And when the buzzer rang, you really couldn't hear shit but the screams of football fans as the music began, and that infamous intro you've trained to for the last few weeks boomed out.

God, you kinda hoped he didn't second guess himself, as much as he was clumsy at moments, throughout all the time you've gotten to know him his memory did not fail him one bit.

Just breathe and go with the flow.

Thats what you told him the night before when he left back to his room, having practiced one more time with you.

You hoped he took it what you said to heart.

"Look! The cheerleaders are coming out!" A small girl that had been sitting behind you exclaimed with a pointing finger.

And out ran your team from the break hallway and into the field and in line. One by one, you quickly scanned the running line of cheerleaders crossing the field until you spotted the very out of place tall blonde.

Gotcha cutie!

Running out and following the line leader, Vash's white gloved hand waved towards the crowd as everyone screamed out, both in anticipation and surprise.

"WHO IS THAT?!"

"That's the uni's #1 sharp shooter! Vash The Stampede!"

"What is he doing there!?"

"Maybe he's promoting his team?"

Or maybe you should've gotten some binoculars because why was your boyfriend putting that outfit to work? Sure he was fit and all but damn.

A short white cropped top that ended at his waist with decorative diamond lining and a matching skirt and white heeled boots, the white shiny outfit was one reminiscing a more western look this performance and honestly you weren't mad... How did you never notice your boyfriend had hips?

Nope, not mad at all..

"GO VASH GO!" You screamed at the top of your lungs as the cheerleaders got in place. Picking up the pom-poms from the ground, with one hand on the hip and the other thrown up into the air, you watched as he was the last to put his hand up.

"LET'S GO!"

And with one hip sway, did the Vash slay.

[popculturebuffet]

Averyfest Special: Top 12 Uncle Phil Moments (Comission by WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy pillow mounds of mashed pot-a-toes. Today kicks off Averyfest. For those like me who didn't know about this treasured event, Averyfest is a now yearly event held in Sufolk, Virginia, home of the one the only James Avery, a celebration of black culture in honor of this fine actor.

And since both Kev who comissioned this and myself happen to be big fans of avery, we decided to honor him with a little celebration of our own. THE TOP 12 UNCLE PHIL MOMENTS. While Avery had a long storied career in tv we can come back to next year, including being the first animated shredder, guesting on night court, being to my suprise the first actor to play Jim Rhodes overall in the 90's iron man cartoon, leading his own sitcom Sparks and more we'll probably find as we dig. The man is talented as hell and IS more than uncle phil.. but it's also hard to define his legacy without his best roll.

Over 6 seasons Avery gave us one of if not the best sitcom dad ever: Uncle Phil worked in a lot of contexts and played off everyone in the cast uniquely: he was respectful yet stubborn with his wife vivian, often livid at Will's antics but more than there to support his adopted son in all but paper when he needs it most, alternating between having a close bond with carlotn and being another straight man to the increasingly cartoony dweeb, grappling with ashely growing up and serving as easily hillary's best foil, exasperated at his daughters vapidity. Ther'es also of course Geoffry, his butler who hasn't met a joke he won't make about his boss and is too good at his job and too loyal, and has frankly put up with too much crap at times, for Phil to complain. Over the series Avery got to show his strong dramatic chops with the more grounded moments of character and his immense comedic chops. Avery was a wonderful man, a wonderful talent and he's dearly missed and this is entirely in his honor, showing off every inch of his performance with my 12 faviorite momnets from the show.

12) And I"m Telling You (The Script Formerly Known As.. 6-5)

This is an episode I honestly barely remember, i've watched the series casually on and off. But this is a moment i've rewatched a few times on it's own.

Now i'ts so low on this list because the moment's more Will Smiths, an actor I respect as a performer, who fucked up royally at the oscars (As did Chris Rock), an incident I was going to get into but frankly.. this isn't about Will Smith. I'll still give him credit where he's do, but this isnt the place to unpack that whole incident, plenty of people have, and I'm only adressing it because it's hard not to.

Anyways this was more Will's moment, giving a hilaroiusly over the top lipsinc to phil after Will Smith Shenanigan #129. But while Smith's capering would be fucking brilliant on it's own what sells it and lands it here is Avery's facial acting. Giving the most baffled and bug eyed performance, Uncle Phil is left somewhere between confused and pissed off before ultimately giving up and it's glorious. This moment would be good anyway but it's doubly good thanks to his reactoin to the madness before him.

11) Soullllll Train (Soul Train, 5-8)

The Soul Train ep is a fun one for Uncle Phil.. and for all involved as the banks as a whole get invited on SOULLLL TRAINNN after Phil had a great showing years ago. Phil's self concious, but goes anyway and gets a great moment dancing with his wife and showing age dosen't matter, how you feel is. We also get him dancing with a guy for funk practice, something that will never not be hilarous.

10) Hell Toupee (Geoffery Cleans Up, 2-16) I honestly forgot this was in the same episode as Geoffery Dates a Rich Lady, a plot that's nice if forgetable. This on the other hand is pure comic gold. I don't know who in the writers room shouted "let's just put james avery in a goofy toupe and riff on that" but bless them. Trying to make his dad look younger, Carlton puts him in this monstrosity while Phil is fully against the whole idea, feeling self concious. I do like how Phil's Self Conciousness is a big part of his character, that he dreads not being seen as the upstanding rich lawyer he's become. Sometims it holds him back like the Soul Train ep above or an episode coming up on the list. Other times like this.. you get it. He's fine being bald, looks honestly damn good with a bald head and beard, and dosen't really need it, Carlton just got in his head. Will's scream at seeing his second hairpiece is also worth it.

9) Pillowy Mounds of Mashed Potatoes (4-10)

Look this meme had to get here. This wasn't an episdoe I watched a lot as I didn't want to watch Avery have a heart attack, Doubly so since Avery died of problems during heart surgery. But i'll be dammend if his weird worshipful description of how much he loves potatoes dosen't get in here. He's on a diet, he misses mashed potatoes, you don't need much.

8) Judge Phillip Banks (Season 3 Arc)

This one is lower because it's not really ONE moment but the only arc I can see Phil got to himself all series and it's a great one. After finding out his mentor Judge Robertson is both an asshole and refusing to leave despite being not fit for the job, Phillipi runs. And thus shenanigans insues as he doeas with constant set backs, robertson shooting low and anything will does, or in one case Jazz using Will's car, not helping. Ironically it is Will who wins it.. by calling Robertson, a truly hilarious villian and great guest sport, out then accidently killing the man. It's a solid arc that moves Phill forward in his career while looping in everyone else for at least one bit.

7) Beauty (The Big Four-Oh, 2-7)

This is a moment i'd forgot about. The Big Four Oh is rightly remembered as Janet Hubert's best run as Aunt Viv, dancin gup a storm as she persues an old dream to see if she still has it, insecure at turning 40. Something I can relate to as turning 30 was stressful enough. 40.. 40 scares me.

But this small moment is so wonderful it made it here: Phil telling his wife just how he feels, how he gets lost in her eyes like a thousand thoughts turned to dust, her beautiful skin and just how much he admires her. It's powerful acting from avery and a reminder that while the two argue like any couple, there's real true love there. And always would be.

6) Break Out Lucille( Bank's Shot, 1-22)

One of the best moments of the whole show and another one of those little moments that reminds you while Phil is a stuff shirt now he wasn't always and is eternally not to be fucked with. I honestly don't remember most of this episode: will did a gambling, lost a lot of money, so Phil has to bail him out. Phil does so however by showing that while Will got hustled, Phil was a hustler, making his money on pool, suckering the man who suckered will into ab ad bet.. then having Geoffery break out lucille. This alone is a nice detail I didn't really examine before writing this; normally Phil tries to keep his past at arm's length, our next entry gets into that more. He's not ashamed of the lengths he had to go to get where he is, but dosen't like to dwell on it. Yet when it comes to Pool.. he clearly still enjoys it. It's something that still has a touch of class to it and he can enjoy, something that's both his past having to hustle to pay for school and something he still keeps up. So while this is to tecah will and some assholes a lesson, Phil is clearly just letting his lack of hair down and enjoying himself with this one.

5) Zeke (Not Without My Pig You Don't, 1-4)

Not Without My Pig You Don't is one of my faviorite episodes of the show and one of the most important. As I mentioned, Phil likes to keep his past at arms length. It walks that line in that while he's not ashamed of having worked hard, done everything he can or protested, he's left most of that behind and adapted to the largely white subrban world he's in now.

The series dosen't let him get away from it for long as only 4 episodes in we meet Phil's parents and his past: Turns out Phil was a farm boy, first black president of his 4h club, desgreated a local bathroom (albeit because he had to pee real bad), and had a pig. It's all pretty charming stuff: while I grew up in suburbia my dad grew up on a farm with my grandma I visited frequently and while not having pigs, just cows, it was charming to meet Will's grandma a kindly, lively woman.

What makes this a moment for Phil is how he grapples with it. He's mildly embarassed at his past when Hattie brings it up to his kids.. but he's absolutely furious when will, in a truly kind moment finding out a newpaper inteview Phillip did is going to be cut as the reporter finds it boring, tells the stories. What makes this so good is that Will isn't pulling some prank or trying to get under Phil's skin: he saw the story was going to be cut and while he laughed at Phil's antics as "Zeke", he's clearly proud of what the man acomplished even back then. It's already clear that while Will will razz phil constantly, he loves his uncle even this early.

Phil however dosen't want to be known as a "hog handling hick from yamacraw" so blinded by who he is NOW that he hates who he was despite again being from the farm being nothing to be ashamed of. He had two loving parents who worked hard to support them.. and Hattie hearing this is furious and calls him out. This being a sitcom Phil does manage to patch things up with a warm speech, but it feels more earned here, wtih Phil accepting his past and himself and how hard his parents worked to get him where he is today. Just because being a farm boy dosen't fit iwth who he is now dosen't mean it didn't get him there.

4) Goodbye (I, Done 6-24)

I, Done is a solid series finale, giving all the banks their happy endings: Geoffery to London to connect with his son, Ashely and Hiliary to New York for school and her show, Carlton to Princeton and the rest of the Banks somewhere east. That leaves will in Calfironia, still in school and wondering if he'd gained anything at all and hidning the fact he didn't have some grand plan. When confronted he feels like a looser.. and instead.. Phil sets him straight

You have no idea what my first memory of you is. I remember... a kid loaded with all the potential in the world. Now I see a person on the verge of realizing that potential.

While Phil always had issues with Will it';s clear from the pilot, which we'll get to he loved the boy as his own and confirms it at the end, saying Will's his son end of story. It's a powerful goodbye..a nd yet not one as he gets will to promise to call him every sunday. While we never saw it... I never doubt the two met again. And still call every sunday.

3) I Heard the Brother Speak (The Fresh Prince Project, 1-1)

This to me is Phillip Banks defining moment. It's an important one as we're only on the first episdoe and Phil spends most of it being what you'd expect from the series premise: a stuff shirt who Phill seemingly needs to get to loosened up. And that isn't untrue: there are time Will gets Phil out of his own bubble and to accept the wider black experince. But what makes the show works so well is that it's nuanced: it was a goal from the start to show there's not one kind of blackness. And that just becaue Phil is a rich man now dosen't mean he forgot his roots.

He keeps a bulk at arms length.. but there are parts that won't leave him. When Phil tries to counter part of his rebellion is simply Phillip being so bougise, claming he's forgot himself, he's not entirely wrong, as the previous episode shows just two episodes after this, but he's not right either: Phil makes it clear will DOES NOT know the full measure of him and that while rich, Phil was old enough to have been on the front lines, at the marches, encountering racists, probably getting hosed, and to have "heard the brother speak". While there's no doubt Will encountered racisim and the series never darts around that, we'll get to THE episode tackling that soon enough, it's still enough of a gap to give will pause and feels like the moment Will stops seeing phil as just this adult to rail against, but his eventual new dad. It's also a good moral for a sitcom, one not done enough: that sometimes you can' tjudge a person just by what little you know but by their ful character and past. That there's always layers beneath. And this was the first time we saw Uncle Phils.

2) BULL! (Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse 4-24)

I already put this episode at the top of my top 12 fresh prince episodes, so this isn't remotely suprising. Will's dad returned, claimed to take him on a trip then prepared to flee again. Phil spent the whole episode PISSED Lou was back. Vivian wasn't happy either, but both tried to give Will their blessing and space. But when Lou planed to abandon will AND have Phil tell him, Phil fucking explodes. he has before, lots of angry rants at Phil and Carlton most of which they deserved. But this is Phil at his most pissed off with only our #1 coming close: he tears the man apart, refusing to let Lou leave when he tries to brush him off, making the man sit and shouting BULL when Lou tries to say he'll still take the trip and tearing into him. It's one of the best reason you suck speechs i've ever witnessed tearing Down how Lou thinks he can just duck in and out of his sons life, what he's done and how yes Lou was scared, young and it's understandable.. but so was Uncle Phil who as seen by flashbacks got his fortune young but also still struggled at first, and who didn't remotely run from his responsiblities. He then forces Lou to break things to will himself before hugging the poor boy in one of the best moments of film history after WIll's epic speech and very real tears.

1) Your Grandchildren Will Need Lawyers (Mistaken Identity 1-6) This speech above is easily my faviorite fresh prince moment and one that's only gotten better with age as sadly shit like this still happens. Mistaken Identity shows the series tackle race up front and early, with Carlton and Will getting pulled over by a racist cop and accused of car theft. The two get great stuff as Carlton tries to play it normally for him while Will gets this is being caught driving while black and is used to it but still scared. The two get thrown in jail, have to fake a confession to get out, as Uncle Phil is busy at the party they were headed to in Phil's boss' car.

Vivan and Phil's response to this bullshit.. is great. Vivian is 5 seconds from beating the piss out of every last racist cop in the prisinct. Phil tries to keep it calm.. but when the racist cop at the front desk both refuses to talk to him and then is disrepsctful to vivian Phil explodes "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO?" it's a perfect rage, and one clearly built from having to deal with this shit FAR too often and the realization that no, his kids aren't safe and never have been. No matter how rich he'es gotten, no matter how far he's come, they'll never see him as nothing but another black man to sneer at and throw away and he'll be fucking DAMMNED if they mistreat his sons.

Granted there is some white backup from Firth, the partner whose car it was, but it's realistic: this fucker was not taking Phil seroiusly and was bein ga royal unhelpful ass. While Phil defintely would've ripped this man to shred it's all to ssatisfying to see this fucking tool have the color drain out as he realizes how BADLY he fucked up and that he happend to pull over two innocent black men this time who happened to have backup. One dope as hell speech pointing out EVERY fucking thing Phil can sue him for later the kids are freed.

The ending is also part of this: Will rails a bit, understandably pissed if used to it... but more pissed Carlton won't accept reality: Carlton claims the system worked, that htey got out... but it's very clear had they not had a rich powerful father figure and even more if said father figure didn't have someone to coberate his story, they may of been stuck there for a crime they didn't commit. The cop didnt pull them over because carlton made a mistake: he was pulled over because a cop saw him in a fancy car and assumed it'd be an easy arrest. And it's phil's reactoin that's heartbreaking: not only is he pissed this still happens.. but he simply.. can't agree with carlton. He tells carlton he asked the same thing the first time he was stopped leaving his son stunned as he goes to bed, clearly sad that history repeats and might again.. and as present day shows it just.. keeps happening. Thanks for reading and rest in power james avery

[measlyweasel]

Honestly, I don't know what's happening with me.....or do I?

I can finally say my life has been turned upside down, though I didn't lose anybody or anything.

I often have depressive episodes. But I don't have depression because I'm clear minded the other times. So I can't exactly say anything to my therapist, I don't know how to explain. I get certain type of shivers. They are just so intense! One shiver and I feel like my soul nearly got sucked away. I feel instantly drained. I feel strangely nostalgic of some strange things that shouldn't normally be nostalgic. And, THE DEJA VU EPISODES!

What are visions exactly? I have suddenly gotten these images in my mind that won't bother leave, they suddenly appear. And when they do, I feel very, very emotional. At the beginning I even used to cry at them. I'm sure I haven't been to those places. And haven't had such deep experiences with them (if I somehow saw them online) that I should be feeling this emotional. I don't usually cry, you know? They trigger me deeply.

I'm noticing certain numbers on the clock. Like, 11, 111, 222, 333, 443, you get it now. Apparently those are called synchronicitic numbers, some even call them angel numbers. Not like I never saw them in my life, but now I'm noticing them. Like they hold some deeper meaning. Crazy. Because they do. I learned this later.

Every such crazy thing that is happening to me has an equally crazy explanation, I think I'm unsure of accepting it all. Like, are they real? Are they really happening to me? What if this is all a dream? Or may be I'm pretending? Or just straight out gone nuts, should I search for a suitable mental ward? I can't help overthinking. Now I'm utterly lost, though I guess the answer is right infront of me, and I'm just afraid of accepting it for unknown reasons.

I'm having suicidal thoughts, they are very intense, when I go into that state, I feel so confident of attempting it, like there is nothing to even consider living. But once I'm out of it, yup, I actually survive every single one of them, to my wonder. So, once I'm out of it, I feel so confident that I just don't die that easily, even by myself. Like there is so much reason to live. In conclusion, I can feel someone keeping my thread of sanity intact, barely. Literally, ain't figuratively, I can feel such presence. It is coming from inside me. Crazy. Isn't it? This is why this all feels like a dream.

By dream, I now remember. I think I'm experiencing psychic episodes? I'm having very vivid and intense dreams. I think it's two times? I got into this weird state between sleep and sober states, where I felt myself going somewhere. Like, once, there was a lady playing piano and another time it's my friend's house. I have two guesses: 1) It's a lucid dream. 2) I really went there, somehow. Because I was concious during those times *shrugs*

Someone calls me but there's no one really calls me in real life. Sometimes I hear someone yelling in my mind. I'm pretty sure I literally told myself it felt like it came from somewhere near yet far, another dimension, I still feel it might be the case after all. I'm seeing some colours out of the corner of my eyes. Some shadows running don't know where to. I'm feeling certain presences (this is an interesting story for later) which are either super comfortable or super unsafe. I'm smelling while tasting, tasting the scents. Not like I never did it but they are more vivid now. I have been mostly ill throughout my life, now I'm surprisingly healthy while everyone around me is falling ill. Everything is so crazy I will conclude I'm going nuts if I don't get some clarity on this soon!

That's it folks. See you with part 2 again. Yup, this is a series of my weird story. Well may be boring to many ;)

[mischiefthedreamerx]

The Protector

Synopsis: In the middle of the night, Layla finally encounters Marc's second alter, the one who's kept himself hidden, the one who is misunderstood. The protector.

A/N: So i came up with this little idea and thought I'd try it out. Also I've never read the comics and we've only had a very small scene of Jake so this is just my take on him.

Word Count: 800 words.

"Who are you?"

It was the middle of the night when Layla first met him. The full moon's light cascaded through the windows, illuminating parts of the wooden floor in its white light. Marc and Layla formed a plan together; they would take turns staying awake in Steven's flat. Every hour Layla took watch whilst Marc slept wating for this second alter to take over, Marc would then stay up an hour each time so Layla could take a rest and the alter would hopefully not take over, they used the leg restraint but they didn't think it would be much help. They had been doing this for days, both were exhausted.

Marc's body stood a step away from the moon’s illumination, his back to Layla, frozen in place.

"Who are you?" She repeated with hesitation, keeping her distance. From what they mostly knew about this alter was that it was merciless and hostile, who was not afraid to spill blood without a second thought, without a guilty concious. Layla was expecting the worse. Marc was agaist this idea at first, fearing for her safety but it was the one way they thought they could catch them out.

"Marc Spector calls me a monster, that is who I am." The voice was harsh and cold with a spanish accident. The accident definitely caught Layla of guard though she probaly shouldn't be too surprised.

"Are you? A monster?" Layla asked carefully, staying in her place. The alter made no move to turn around.

"No lo sé, depends on who you ask...A monster to the lives that I have taken, yet that is only half of the story."

Layla's breathing began to escalate but she firmly stood her ground.

"What do you think I am, mi querido?"

Honestly, Layla wasn't all that sure. "You kill without mercy. What else is there to think of?"

The alter's head tilted to the side, still facing his back to her. "Is that not what your husband does? Why is it so different?"

"He feels remorse. He was enslaved to a god, he had no choice."

There was a deafening silence that passed through them, the alter did not reply right away as he shook his head.

"You think I had a choice?" From the begining there was barely any emotion in this man's voice yet now it had changed to sounding something close to anger, causing the accent to thicken. "I wake up to war zones." The alter turned his head to the side, making eye contact with Layla. Sharp eyes of a wild animal trapped in a cage.

"I black out for months, years. And when I wake up, I am in the middle of a fight where I am given no choice but to defend this body because the other two are far too weak to save themselves."

Layla could very clearly hear the hurt in his dark voice. Perhaps both Marc and Layla had been the ones to jump to conclusions. Layla forced her body to relax, she wanted to show him that she could be trusted. She wondered how alone he must be feeling on the inside. How long had he been around unnoticed?

Layla felt hopeless, there wasn't much she could really say. "I'm sorry. We can work this out together with Marc and Steven. You don't have to hide."

"I have to hide." The alter turned away, his gaze down, looking at the floor.

Layla frowned. "Why?"

"To protect this body."

"I don't understand." Layla was struggling to make sense of any of this.

"You are not suppose to understand, Layla." The alter finally turned around completely. "Believe me, it is better this way. " His voice no longer held onto its anger, fading into something that sounded sorrowful. The animal behind its cage loosing the fight to escape.

"You won't tell me why, will you?" Layla hopelessly asked.

The alter shook his head. "No. Because I have to protect this body. It is my purpose, what I was created to do."

Layla would not push for answers, she knew better than that. It was a miracle to even be speaking to him..

"Can I at least get a name?"

The alter considered it for a moment. "Jake Lockley."

Layla made the decision to walk over to him. The small slice of moonlight was the only thing seperating them.

Jake's body was held together more defensively than Marc's usual posture and far too different from Steven's relaxed body.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Jake." Layla held out her hand. Again, Jake did not make a move right away, perhaps analysing her before doing anything else, detecting any potential danger. Though he decide to complete the hand shake with Layla.

"Thank you, Jake. For protecting Marc and Steven."

Layla noticed Jake's eyes slightly widening as if she had said something shocking. No one had ever thanked him before.

"Looks like you outsmarted me. Rest, I will do no harm tonight."

Layla believed him and nodded. Then to her surprise, a small crooked smile crossed his lips.

"To put your mind at easy, Layla; don't worry, I won't be kising you anytime soon."

Layla couldn't help but smile back with a confident comeback. "Spanish doesn't really turn me on."

Jake laughed. "No, you prefer french."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

So for the purpose of this one shot; Jake saying he has to stay hidden is due to not wanting to tell them about being Khonshu's avatar becasue Jake is the physical protector of the body and wants Khonshu's help protect it whilst in return Jake helps Khonshu carry out justice. Hope that makes sense XD

[hellsbellschime]

ive been going back and forth on it but right now I dont think the joke was that bad? it was barely even a joke, it wasn't even mocking or making fun of Jada. I get why she would feel embarrassed and self concious but I dont think Chris rocks remarks were derogatory in that sense. More like they just drew attention to something she was insecure about, and something everyone would have forgotten about but will now be immortalised ironically because of the slap.

Honestly when I first saw the news I figured he called her a whore or referenced the cheating drama because Will Smith does not seem like the type to snap easily.

Well I'm guessing that you're exactly right and it drew attention to something she was insecure about, or there was some additional context that most people have no clue about, because as you said it was a very out of character moment for Will Smith. Honestly it is a little weird though, I know Chris Rock has kinda gone in on Jada before which is strange because she's really not super well known? Ultimately Will Smith's reaction was definitely over the top but also it was just unnecessarily shitty and weird for Chris Rock to make a jab at, like if someone made a joke about one of my friends who was dealing with hair loss then I wouldn't slap them but I'd probably pop the fuck off about it. Sure, it's expected that comedians will make jokes about celebrities at awards shows, but Chris Rock wasn't even the host nor was he presenting anything remotely related to Will or Jada so the fact that he took his 30 seconds of airtime to make fun of Jada being bald is pretty fucking weird and dickish. Again, I don't think a slap was warranted but I can also see being ragefully pissed if some dude went on national television and made fun of my loved one's medical condition apropos of absolutely nothing too.

[sourplops]

Thanks for directing me here! I had another question, more about the designs of ur mdzs "daemon" au (honestly, it made me think of the youkai from Inuyasha, BUT that's Japanese so.). Why do the Pixiu wings not show in their human forms? WWX's wings show up, so I got curious. Is it a concious choice they make, like LSZ hiding his one antler? I was just imagining how majestic JL would look with his tail and wings out. Also, ligers are bigger than lions, so would that make JL bigger than his dad in his Pixiu form? (Tig-xiu?). I'm. Very obsessed with ur au and artwork as u can see; it's so cool!!!!

Haha similar to the Japanese Kanji which was derived from the Chinese Hanzi, the Japanese Youkai is also derived from the Chinese Yaoguai (the native Japanese term would be Mononoke). Which again, I’m hesitant to label them under cause Yaoguai has more malevolent connotations and that ain’t what I’m about for this au lol (ALL FLUFF TRAIN) so eh~ it’s difficult sometimes to put a name on things since I’m not 100% following the rules.

The pixiu wings barely show because of 1) aesthetic reasons (it’s just hard to stick it in without it blocking off 70% of the image ahh-) 2) easier to make sense of their layers without adding in the wings. 

Most times I draw for the aesthetic rather than the logic- if there’s space in the pic for wings, I add the wings. And if I add wings for one brother I’ll add it for all. If there’s no space for everyone’s wings in the picture, no one gets wings etc. Everyone gets an equal chance to show off or be shown. Stuff like that. (e.g like the pic below where A-yao would have at least half his face blocked off if JL had his wings out)

It could be a conscious choice since wings are the most vulnerable and important part of a flying beast, and to show the wings could also mean showing their weak points/being over confident? I dunno, meta-ing on the spot for this now lol.

Hahaha I’m tempted to draw JL now with everything all out!! XD And yeah, that makes him bigger than his dad! I’ve been wanting to draw all 3 of them together (JL and his parents) but I keep getting distracted by JC’s beauty LOL.

Awww thank you for the love!!! :D

[leestei]

ok hi, different anon, I'm also jewish, and I'm honestly not sure what anon means on your benrey. habit is a bit complicated bc I don't really see it in your style on him either, bc the way you draw his nose isn't Hooked, it's just Big, but... habits canon design is... frankly, as much as i love him, Already antisemetic. It's hard to make "big baddie with Green Skin and a Big Nose" not antisemetic. I do agree the big claws are a bit much now that it's been brought up, but otherwise (1/2)

(2/2) ur just drawing habit as... habit. and there's like... a conversation to be had there on better ways to draw him, but it's not like you sat down and Chose to design him like that. but the way you draw benrey seems... fine, to me? Not all big noses are hooked, and benrey is... Barely even a villian. hlvrai is just funny jokes. I do appreciate you being concious of how you're drawing these characters though! Thank u for making the effort to be better!

i do realize now that habit may have some antisemitic elements to his character design that i didn’t recognize before. i don’t think that was intentional at all by the creators, but they’re still there, yes. i recognize it now.

and about benrey, i’ve seen... a really odd amount of similar asks going around to other artists? despite their designs not having the harmful caricature-esque features? it’s strange, but i do want to be more careful with how i portray certain characters and listen to any criticism i receive from people that would be affected. thanks for the words :-)

[bat-connoisseur]

I remember white walls. Or perhaps they were blue? The light was white, the soft white of daylight, and the sheets were white too, the sterile white of hospital linen. The ceiling was probably white, once, but had yellowed in that way plasterboard ceilngs had a tendancy too. I never saw the floor. In all honesty, I never even saw the walls, or even the room, I just have a vauge impression of white-or-blue walls, and a memory of natural light on a yellowing ceiling. To this day I'm not even sure if I saw the sheets. Maybe they were blue.

The whole memory is hazy. There are lots of things I know, even if I don't strictly remember them. I know I was pale, my face swollen, eyes puffy. I had been laying on my front, after all. I know that this time, all the lines came out without issue. The first time I was in that room, one particular cannula came out and just didn't want to stop bleeding. I don't remember how long they applied pressure, or how long it took for someone to dash and find a pressure dressing. I don't remember how it healed, or when the dressing came off, even though those came later. I don't remember the first time all that much at all. I do remember the scar it left, a little white pinprick on already white skin, sitting just above a faint blue line on my wrist.

But this isn't about that.

I know the second time I was in that room, I talked. I couldn't tell you what about. Perhaps they were just trying to gauge my awareness, see how I was coming around. I know one of the nurses gave me a chocolate coin, for later. I couldn't have kept it down at the time, and I don't remember why she gave it to me.

Of course, these half-memories of light and colours and people are peripherary to the memories attached to the overwhelming fear I was feeling at the time. Its the same fear, accross both memories, although the first time, perhaps, it was worse. I hadn't considered it before now, but I would imagine having a little hole in an artery bleeding blood that doesn't want to clot would make everything feel worse.

The fear was simple, creeping and terrifying in its certainty. You see, coming around from general anaestetic has a couple of side effects, one of which being that you drift off to sleep very, very easily. It makes sense, right? Unfortunatley- and I don't know if this was the painkillers or what, but every time I began to drift off to sleep, my breathing would become shallow, and... something would begin to drop. You see, another thing I remember are monitors, beeping, making sure I'm alright. And every lapse in conciousness was accompanied by concerned beeping. A long tone to indicate that something was amiss. I may have been groggy and confused, but I knew what it meant.

And it was terrifying. I thought I was going to die. The simple fear of death every time i started to feel myself drift off. I fought to keep myself awake desipte there being very little to do about it with the intensity of someone fighting to keep themselves alive, because I thought I was. In my mind, to sleep was to die.

Honestly, i think fear is too weak of a word. Terror feels more fitting. It was terror. I remember it as clear as day, that feeling. I had been fourteen for no longer than two weeks, and I was convinced I was going to die. I had less than 6 months before my 18th birthday, and I was sure I was going to die, some fearful, unconcious death, in a room I can't describe surrounded by people I didn't know. My face swollen, and a neat line of stitches all the way down my back.

There is a difference, I think, in dying suddenly and simply slipping away. One implies some kind of accident, some freak event, and one sounds soft and gentle, death like a warm bath, rather than the ocean at the bottom of cliffs.

But I think, given the choice, I would choose the cliffs. There is little more terrifying than feeling yourself simply just.... dissapating, like a drop of blood in a stream. Clinging, barely concious, to the sides of the slide on a ride you didn't even want to embark, dehyrated, in pain.

The memories are unpleasent. I think about them, sometimes, but I don't know why. A soft haze with something sharp within. All I associate with the recovery room are terror and the gentle, white light through windows I never even saw, that I don't know even existed.

Was it sunlight? Or was I just hoping I wouldn't die under artificial fluorecence?

[thegalaxysyst3m]

Grasping That Galaxy- Morning

     Time slowly works it's way around, letting me wipe the sleep from our eyes, as the light streams in. Hmm..It can't be that late; the bitter cold chill of London gives way to reason. Sherlock isn't even up yet and he's peaceful in the blue robe he fell asleep in. He must have been up later than usual. I take breath and -ever so regrettedly- open his bedroom door to walk down the hallway. It's pretty and John's muttering about in the kitchen puts just enough pep in my step to keep hold.

     "Sherl?" He called.

     Interesting...what's Handsome done to upset him this time? Chemistry glassware in the sink again? That would explain the clashing noise at least.

     Unfortunately for John, I'm not our favorite consulting detective, and give him a grumble.

     He's talking to us when I turn the corner, scattering his brain to find somewhere to put the irresponsible glasses. He decides on a towel on the counter, "Honestly Sherlock! It's not that hard to wash 'em and set 'em on the shelf! They bought you the shelf and you still throw them in the sink."

     I wipe my eyes a second time, slouching. I'm not awake for this yet. "John, buddy, he's still passed out." Another yawn passes mine, someone elses words taking my place, and Jessie falls into our collective couch in a blink. He kicks his feet up in headspace and, for a second, he laughs in front for all to hear. He manages out a good morning to me and I'm nudged back in control as he gets comfortable. Back to my perspective, my thoughts, my concious in the forefront.

     I tilt my head back up and reach for a mug in the cupboard. "You want one, John? Figured tea sounds good." Good! The accent's back. John picks up on it too, subtle understanding dawning his face. "Sure! Thanks, June." I smile toward him before grabbing the kettle next to our favorite glassware. Back on the chemistry set arguement again? He's gotta realise at some point it's a pretty shot point by now.

     "It's- I don't understand why he doesn't use the damn shelf. I mean, honestly June. It's been 6 months since you got it and all it's gotten 's a good coat of dust." Yikes. Adam wasn't wrong, John really does get more posh when he's cross. John and us laugh at the shelf and we set them back up as usual. Even Jessie quietly supplies half a thought too before headspace fades him out. He was probably saying something like 'Sherlock'll have 'em all over the place by tomorrow,' but there's no use trying to get ahold of them now. I couldn't even tell where he was even though I knew he was sitting right next to me subconsciously.

     The Blur made its way through the cracks in the doors, through the shadow under the the chairs and couches. It comes without reason. It comes with foreboding. Usually there are days where we all feel it creeping from all around before it reaches us and weighs us down and blurs any vision in headspace we have. Other times it comes without warning. A split second feeling of oddity before it grabs our feet and we're stuck in the sludge. 

     The quicker it took over, the harder it was to escape. There was almost no time to stop it and no time to prepare. I was stuck. 

     We stood- no. I stood. Somewhere, in the seconds passed, I grabbed the counter- nuckles white with trepidation- though I had no concious memory of doing so. It felt like a headache almost. A headache without pain. The foggyness and pressure and no sure existence.       Tunnel vision at nothing in particular.

      It made it hard to move. Hard to respond. The sudden lack of awareness of subconscious.

     John. Move. Give him a glance. Something.

I can barely think. Steady thoughts drop off the rails quicker than I can gather. Stuck. The jar in my hand is falling from my grasp. How do I hold on to it? My nerves feel like lead and light as air all at once. I'm not here. I'm not here. Someone new found there way close. I feel them. Or is it me, my own presence, that I'm feeling? Ive got no idea. I couldn't tell. 

     "I'm not here." Fuzzy and unfocused; the words barely left, but that was all he needed.

     A faint hand at my back sent it's clarity and the world went into focus. Eyes unblurring, blinking, ears alert, everything suddenly going back to normal like it had never gone wrong. Too fast! We stumbled back into reality, grabbing the falling glass and finding our footing. Where were we again? Counters. Tile floor. Someone close. A window and sink. In a kitchen? Whose?

     Give it a moment. Look around. Process your suroundings. Everything was new to my eyes. Like whoever I was had walked into a room that hadn't been seen in a week or more. Things had moved. I stared at John again, confused. 

     Obviously we- I - know the room. And part of me knows that I've been here before, that nothing's changed, that it's just another new morning. But all that knowing is backed up like a loading bar still buffering, trying to get it together. 

     "June?" 

     She perked her head up from her seat on the couch, no longer in front. I looked wide eyed for a second more at John. My voice hadn't worked its way up yet either. Quick, sudden switches with me often loaded and lagged. Im someone else- I mean, subconsciously, I know who I am. But I can't conciously tell even myself that own information yet. John got the point.

     "Je-" He paused, furrowing his brows, searching for any indication. "Adam?"

Oh. Yeah. That's it. He found it. Thanks John! My shoulders relaxed a little at the name and I took a second or two to get the rest of my bearings while the past few minutes loaded in. He waited patiently as ever. Calm, steady. A solid ground to hold to pull us back the rest of the way.

     Another yawn finally finished up the loading bar.

     " 'Morning Johny-boy....apparently I just woke up." The nickname served as enough answer. It definitely beat the "randomly say your name" option. 

    "Wait- you waking up just did that? Good lord."

     Our collective laughed again. Awesome! Hearing headspace is back in action!

     "Dude I'm literally host. I usually get thrown up front the minute there's a vacancy." This was essentially all common knowledge at this point but our increasing sarcasm each time we said it really sold the point. 

     "Kid that was absolutely not 'getting thrown to front'. That was 'Somebody take care of this' and you just happened to be available." He had a hand on my shoulder, partially joking along.

     "Alls well that ends well, Soldier. Are we done in here or are we waiting for something?" He shook his head and put one last glass on the shelf as we heard a door open from the hall. 

     Well good morning to you, Sherlock.

     A collective slew of bargaining over front quickly seemed to wake about 6 other people up and once again June blurred her way with me in front as Jessie left the couch to chat with everyone else at the table behind it.

     Damn. We really can't go five seconds without being utterly chaotic can we?

     Back to the kettle I guess.

     "What are we doing with a kettle? It's like 5 in the morning.'" Adam apparently missed a hot bit of the morning. Sharing voices again.

     "It- Starlight, I'm fairly certain it's way past 5. John, what time is it? Sherl? What in the hell are you doing? Stop throwing papers around!" 

     I grabbed another cup for tea, turning my head to look at the mess he was making as Sherlock death-glared us. 

     "It's 7. Good morning you three! Wake up. We've got a case!"

     "What case?"

     "Isn't it obvious?"

     "Well, I think we could all list about 5 possible options, Sherlock."

     He just stepped over the table to look us dead in the eye; it was an open invitation to speak. We took it.

     "You want a list? Top 3: drugs, smokes, or for some reason a dead rabbit." He made a face, not too far off.

     "Rest are either a nice, new, good, inventive murder or you're about to go off on some random search for something to do. Which could vary anywhere from dragging us out to lunch (where we'll both rant about current social and economical problems- as well as various new studies on about 7 different mental and neurological disorders)- to teaching littles advanced chemistry they probably shouldn't be learning- to pitchforking a dead pig."

     "They like chemistry. It's fun." His face was stoic but the smile in his eyes showed just how much he enjoyed the banter. "Which is it then, June? What's my case?" He quirked an eyebrow, testing the waters before I quietly stirred two spoons of honey in his tea cup and handed it to him. "Hmmm...."

     I tapped my pointer to my lips in fake thought, "Well judging by the quiet entrance I'd say you're in a relatively good mood if not still waking up. You're still in your robe though so you evidently had something more pressing on your mind. Which, in this case, seems to be gathering papers together."

     A silent nod, taking a sip from the constellation cup in his free hand.

     "Papers you've printed yourself. Research papers. The ink is smudged, running out in places, jammed. You take the papers out too early, as always. Anyone else giving you prints would make sure they were actually legible. But you're too impatient, too busy to wait a few seconds extra. You remember most of it anyway."

     John walked silently to the couch, taking in the scene. Sherlock still stood.

     "So why do you even need them? You could honestly do without them. Either your giving them to John or to us; considering you walked to us with papers in hand, they're for us to read at some point."

     "And?"

     "You're taking us to lunch!"

     The detective almost scowled. "Wh- What lead you to that? Fill in the rest, come on."

     John and I laughed.

     "Last time you took us to lunch you practically had a whole tote bag filled with papers, Sherlock. You claimed you'd gotten them ready when you woke up then said something about ...I don't know what. Dogs in the park maybe?"

     Another watchful sip.

     "That and you fixed your hair before you walked over. New reads? Bad dream? Nah. Eager to impress maybe?"

     That one earned a smile. Soft, sweet. A gentle hum. "Thanks for the tea. Lunch at 1?" Our curly-haired detective fell into his chair.  We sat down in the opposite one, grabbing our tea, while John made a face, "Thought lunch was usually at noon?"

     "Lestrade just messaged," he said with a smile, " A nice, good, murder!"

     You gotta be kidding me.

     "Damnit!"

     John shook his head, hearing the accent shift. He thought this was fuckin funny, but even I was laughing too.

     "You- JOhn this- John! He double crossed us!! This is fucking blashphemy, you two! You- Sherlock, when'd you get that text? You seriously let June go on and on about a frickin date and just watched her walk right on by the actual case she casually mentioned?"

     He shrugged, "Jessie, your powers of deduction never cease to amaze me." That sly, sarcastic laugh. "Whatever." 

     Even the headspace crew was laughing now. Very funny, fam.

     "How long have you been uhh perusing front, Jessie?" John asked. I kicked my legs over his chair. "I'm always close by. I thought we all got that gist by now? Anyway, I've been here all morning. How 'bout you?" 

     "Morning to you too, mate. Assuming we need dressed then, Sherlock? For the case?"

     A tired nod later and we all went our separate ways.

God they really were lovely weren't they?

[bemony]

2:52 pm and I'm finally going to sleep

[popculturebuffet]

Restocking the Buffet: Of Reporter Cats, More WBD Tomfoolery and Karate Kids

Hello all you happy people. So i've tried multiple times to find a consitent format to talk about stuff that's not this blogs normal structure (i.e. reviews of various media), trying to do just updates for the blog , smaller movie reviews, all kinds of things.

So instead i'm reintroducing restocking the buffet, what was intended to be how I did updates, but now is that plus whatever's on my head, as the shockingly massive popularity of my post railing against Warner Brothers discovery made me realize a lot of you LIKE my ranty stream of concious thoughts and opinons so there they are. Some are angry, some are less so, and some are just plain confused.. and starting off with the latter..

Warner Bros Discovery II: The Search for More Money WBD has thankfully been mostly quite these past few weeks, which is good. I barely can manage the stress of having anxiety and depression, I don't need a large major corporation essentially poking me with a stick and saying "Is this making it worse, is this making it worse, is this making it worse?".

There's still some news on that front. For starters their CFO was quoted in an article saying he really dosen't care about exclusivity just what makes them money.

With WBD having let Amazon stream The LOTR films in time for the Rings of Power which I dont' really care about. Do like the Peter Jackson OG Trilogy though, watched the second two in theaters and feel their excellent, still gotta read the books.

And honestly... it's the only time since the merger WBD has made sense in a way that dosen't make me want to shirtlessly chop down a tree to sooth my shattered Soul Ala Bill Murray. See he kinda has a point about JUST keeping a property or film to your service that isn't an original from said service just to make people buy the service. Sure i'm sure some people would've tuned into HBO Max just to watch the movies for it, but most fans that hardcore would just buy the films somewhere already or likely already have all the editions for these films and the animated films and know all the words to "Where there's a whip there's a way". There's no harm in letting two services hold the ring of power. Granted I do feel this is in part because WBD is run SOLEY on profit and not artistic integrity of any way shape or form, so it could be troublesome down the line, but two services having the same film dosen't really hurt them and hasn't. Hulu and HBO Max and Disney+ have shared films due to lingering lisecnding deals, but people will likely just watch the film on what they have avaliable. So I support this philosphy, I just want it in the hands of people who aren't using it to try and justify scraping content off the platform to have more money to swim in.

That said there was something horrible I found out as turns out there was a cameo for a kid with a fatal disease in Batgirl... whose parents now want her to be able to see it. Just when I thought it couldn't be worse.. jesus. Not much more to say but anything I can do to shame WBD more helps.

We also have the news that the Batman: Caped Crusader is getting shopped around. Sadly unlike Kevin Smith excellently suggested, Disney seems uintrested, but I did see this coming: Disney dosen't want brand confusion and also dosen't quite need it: They have a superhero show every few months, and almost every marvel cartoon ever, including two i'll talk about in a moment. That said the other names in the fight are interesting: Netflix, Amazon and Apple TV+. ANY of them would be able to give it a good home: Netflix is killing it in mature action animatoin and thus Batman would be right home, Amazon likewise, and Apple TV+ has exactly two animated properties (Central Park and the various Peanuts things) of note, so they could use this. And all of them still give WBD a fine and hardy fuck you, so i'm fine

FInally we have rumblings that Comcast may buy WBD. I'm. .iffy on it. Part of it is that one of their branches, Universal has been excessively shitty lately when it comes to YouTube and a certain channel (more on that later). Another is we really don't need more corpprate mega mergers. That said if it dosen't happen while i'm not thrilled about it, ti's still obviously better than the alternative and Peacock is finding it's footing, doing more day in date releases or next day releases than ever for it's tv shows, and is honestly doing better at the day and date streaming than HBO did, actually asking creators as far as I can tell with most seeming to be their decision or have their consent (If i'm wrong or missed one feel free to tell me) and while I still FULLY love and support seeing films theatrically, Streaming does make it easier to see some. Peacock also hasn't abandoned the 45 day window, which WBD did. I'm also okay with it if it happens as frankly at this point Discovery is selling warner for parts. The biggest danger of one of these mergers, as i've realized afte rsomeone called the disney fox merger and I realized, x-men getting to go to the mcu aside, they were right, is that a lot of projects might get canceled and reboots put in cryo. But given the current owner is canceling thigns, making shows unavaliable and generally being a dick, it's really no diffrent except those properties will likely come out of the box and they'll at least let full movies and stuff you know.. get released instead of trying to write it off for taxes. I don't WANT this merger, but it's sad when another megacorp rising is somehow a good alternative.

Disney+ Gets MOST of the Spider-Man!

Moving on from something infurating, we have some good suprising news; Spectacular Spider-Man and Spider-Man: The New Animated Series are coming to Disney+ in october!

This is also one of the omissions from the service that made some sense instead of just Disney going can't make me dont' wanna: Sony owned the rights to these two, and thus tried keeping them to Crackle and other services, and recently put Spectacular on netflix, likely as part of the two being friends now. Which is fine by me as it means I can watch Bullet Train again over and over when it comes to the service and watch the Invitation when it comes out and Watch Morbius out of morbid curosity without having to pay extra money to say keep Starz or buy a dvd that would curse my house. I'm happy to realize this deal exists even if finding it out via a failed vampire movie starring a Cult leader was the weridest way I coulda.

As for why this is a big deal it means that Disney+ is now ONE series away from having all the animated spider-man shows under one roof, two from having all of them (three if you count electric company, but I could see them just getting the rights to put just the spidey skits on there). The 60's and live action series are both missing for whatever reason. I geinely do not know, though I assume with the former it's the same kind of weird type of rights hurdles that have kept the 87 turtles from streaming (Which is frustrating if say, you've only saw a few episodes and would like to watch the one turtles series you haven't seen a good chunk of without paying money to own the series as you already own some of the dvds (Ponits to self).

I never honestly expected either series to come to D+, but i'm excited they are. Only season 1 of spectacular is, but I highly doubt it'll just one one for long and it could be a misprint for all we know.

So breaking both down for the unintiated: Spectacular is one of my faviorite superhero shows period. Granted I procastinate on those a LOT (as evidenced by the fact i'm horribly behind on doom patrol and haven't watched the much loved Harely Quinn), but it's still a classic to the genre, a clever reinvention of spidey's career that manages to take the same concept of pre-miles ultimate spidey (telling peter's early career with a modern bent) and do it even better, taking a page from the 616 and the Ultimate universe to craft something intresting well thought out and sadly short lived. It's also where Gwen Stacey being into science, something ASM codified and has kept with the character since, came from. I intend to fully review it someday, either as a season or in the various arcs wiseman cleverly packed in to make it easier to put on dvd. Check it out. It's a short binge and a worthy one. I also find it enjoyable two of Greg Weisman's two season classics (in gargoyles case one I need to see badly and yes there's a third but he wasn't involved so ... yeah two seasons), are on the same platform. Maybe we can get Gargoyles Meet the Spectacular Spider-Man Marvel? Eh Eh?

The New Animated series i'm less familiar with, having watched it once or twice when i'm younger, but is intresting enough that I want to check it out. NAS was based directly on the first Rami Film, being a sequel to it that takes it's own path.. and also actually turns Curt Conners into the lizard. Fancy that. Being the only spidey property based on one of the film series for now makes it something unique, a time capusle for the character and something fun to check out. It also has NPH as Peter, a great choice.

All this gives me the idea for a possible spider-man month at some point as he has tons of shows (and of course comics). Let me know if you think that's a good idea. I'd love to do it!

Real Dead Meat So we pivot next from some really good news to something that's been consitently frustrating, heartbreaking and obonoxious.

So as i've made no secret of i'm a huge fan of the Horror Review Channe Dead Meat. I've used their gifs..

And ocasionally used one or two of James catchphrases as a refrence.

In case your curious Dead Meat is a channel that has two primary series: The flagship Kill Count where the energetic, joyful and snarky James A Janeese breaks down a film, giving us analysis, cool behind the scenes information on the film, and lots and lots of jokes. It's sister show is the Dead Meat Podcast, where James and his Wife Chelsea (who runs said podcast) discuss horror films or subjects pertaning to the genre. Both shows are excellent and worth seeking out and some of my faviorite things to unwind to. I can't tell you how much i've watched certain kill counts. The counts ar einformative while still doing what the title says, and since his return from a hiatus (having his editor and now co-writer Zoran take over to review tremors and Chelsea also getting a shot with the american psycho films), has stepped it up in even the counting, with comparisons to other films that have been counted, the franchise and other fun stuff.

So naturally I was really amped when James decided to revisit one of my faviorite horror franchises and one he loves and appricates as much as I do Child's Play. James has as of last year (which is also when I found the channel ironically enough as I assumed it was just litterally counting kills. I feel bad I ddin't realize it wasn't sooner as I was missing something dope) started Re-Counting films he did in the first year or so of the series, as the early reviews didn't have the behind the scenes stuff or as much analysis of the films themselves, and he wants these films to get the proper treatment, Especailly Chucky and the due to be re-counted Scream as their two of his faviorites (and as we've established two of mine).

After the first two though thigns went from great, getting two counts a week... to REALLY fucking frustrating and horrible. As almost anyone who watches a content creator or has been one on youtube can tell you their copyright system sucks dirty ass in thunderstorms, being VERY slanted towards corprate intrests and making it a nightmare to run up that hill run up that building to refute claims. MAKING A CLAIM, is childlishly easy and more oftne than not automated. Fighting them can take weeks, and if their claimed it means no revune till it's resolved if it can be.

EVERY Child's Play and Chucky Film since has been claimed like this by the dickheads over at Universal. It's extra baffling because they parntnered with Shout Factory's Scream Factory imprint to do cool fancy new blu rays/4ks of Childs Play 2 and 3 and sent James those early so he could use them for the re-counts... and despite being endorsed iwth review copies this STILL fucking happens. Said counts are there to hype up Season 2 of Chucky, to ACTIVELY PROMOTE THESE FILMS NOT REPLACE THEM, and even when he dosen't like a film like CHild's Play 3 he still credits the good parts. Hell having the behind the scenes bits from the dvd means more people might buy these new versions.

The reason I feel the need to rant about this as thanks to twitter i've had to watch two creators I enjoy who as far as I can tell are some of the nicest people on the interent feel defeated and beaten down by a company whose bullying them for free promotion. And i'm not saying go scream at universal: as james himself said it's a big company: one hand likely dosen't know what the other is doing, to the point two diffrent hands made copyrights on some of the counts.

But I do want people to know about this, to watch these counts as they come out so their work pays off (You can find it just by googling dead meat), to help promote them since doing so for something they geninely love has caused them a lot of pain, and to get my rage out about this as it's likely going to be something James has to grapple with till the recounts are finished. It's not going to get much easier, so i'd like to send my best to a man who has done nothing but try to make people laugh, get them informed and hang off the bars in his new professionaly made set like a monkey, his just as warm and talented wife, and the whole dead meat crew. I'm sorry you guys have to put up with that. If your looking for a count to start with i'd recommend the Child's Play recount, which keeps a few jokes but mostly has a ton of great brand new jokes and content highly praising one of my faviorite horror films.

Seriously check these guys out, and hopefully this situation will get less obnoxious so james can get back to

As usual

Breaking Cat News

Finally I just wanted to gush about something else I like that isn't getting clubbed over the head: Breaking Cat News

BCN is a brilliant, decently long running and now as of the last few years Syndicated strip by Georgia Dunn, part of a wave in the last few years of brilliant new strips like Crabgrass and Rosebuds. I thought once in a while I could just spotlight what i'm reading righ tnow to help more people read it and full review it later.

As you can see BCN follows three (later 4 cats) who live in an apartment in a big pink house and report on the things that really matter like strange company, the leaves trying to kill us all every year, fuzzy new toilet covres making a great cat bed, horrible new cat food that's good for you, and that strange cat outside who won't go away, and MANY more.

It follows three good boys: Elvis, a cranky old siamese who flies into rages at the drop of a toy mousey, Puck, a kind, gentle good boy who while scared of company is the voice of reason of the trio, and Elvis, a white cat who can blend in with his surroundings and frequently runs around and breaks things and acts like h'es in the middle of a sugar high 80% of the time. They live in said house with The Woman, a kind and somewhat anxious nerd based on Georgia herself, The Man, an often annoyed by his cat children and somewhat snarky but still deeply kind and lovable husband to the Woman, and the boy and girl, the couple's children who the cats are ocasionally annoyed by but just as much doted on, especially by elvis who seems himself as more of a dad ot them than their actual dad. As you can tell the comic is mostly autobigoraphical, following various real incidents through our heroes eyes.

That isn't to say the world isn't deep as Dunn also incorpeates her upstairs neighbor, her best friend, and their various pets into the mix, giving the strip a decent sized continiutya nd a wide bench of supporting characters: We have Sir Figaro and Tabitha, the two spanish language reporters who live above our heroes, Tommy, a cat who at first annoys our heroes (patciually elvis) by showing up outside their window but later becomes their field reporter, Sophie, Tom's shyer artistic roomate, Beatrix, a cute kitten and former intern to the group living at a bookstore and serving as their fact checker and social media gal, Bert, the sometimes stoic patient barn cat who does their av, Baba Mouse, a cranky but wise old barn cat, The Robber Mice, a girl gang of Rodents, and most recently and adorably Goldie, a stray who heartbreakingly was simply left out by her family who moved without her and clearly didn't treat her well (As I found out recently 3/4 of the cats are rescues with Puck having had to be taken from his owner by a well meaning neighbor lest a leg infection kill him (and thus only having three legs, a detail i'm shocked I never noticed until it was pointed out to me) and Elvis being kept in a closet, catching a fever and sadi fever leaving him deaf. She quickly adapts, is warmly adopted and after a while becomes the station's investgative reporter. It's a fun, wonderful strip and I highly recommend it. Read it and thanks for reading this

[dangerouslyaddictivethings]

monday night before we went to bed, my partner was telling me how he might've given me a hickey bc there's a little mark on my neck and i didn't make it a big deal bc 1. i'm brown so nothing shows up on my skin ever 2. i was half asleep so i barely processed his words and thought it'd would go away in the morning. i wake up later in the day and my housemate screams FATEMA IS THAT A HICKEY????? and i was so shocked that i raced to the washroom and i see a mark on my neck 😶 but tbh it looks like i burned myself with a curling iron. honestly i don't care bc there's worse things in the world than a hickey and it's not like i look like i got mauled by a pack of wolves but i'm midly self concious about it. i went to the gym last night and kept hoping that nobody noticed it. today it's definitely a lot more noticeable and darker but i don't own any turtlenecks. let's hope that nobody looks at me today 🙈