#Repeated Consequences

[purble-turble]

Did you ever read repeated consequences? I feel like I saw fan art that looked a lot like your style but I can't find anything. So maybe I'm misremembering

Yes! I love that fic by @gremlin-in-blue 💖 I definitely recommend it, though mind the tags for sure because it gets heckin dark! And also yes, I did make some fanart for it ages ago, here and here.

Dang, I am seeing there’s actually more chapters on that fic than I remember reading, so I should go take a look again 👀

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

The stewards of the old world are always keen to give you a glimpse of their might... According to legend, the ancients built specialized chambers to seal away false prophets.

The Arcane is waking up.

[bright-eyes-strawberry-lies]

I'm still amazed that Rick managed to get Nyx explicitly baby-trapping Nico through non-consensual means and then those children were monsters and are being raised by Nico through the Disney censors. Like. Wow. Unironically, bravo sir.

[strawberryicemoon]

I'm still thinking about Pokemon Horizons 89. I mean. Pokemon's anime just did something for the first time. Something it could never done before because it never could have been allowed to do that. Pokemon Horizons is allowed to be traumatizing.

Not that nothing traumatizing never happened to any Pokemon characters including ash before, or that death was a huge taboo bc the ghost type literally exists, but there is a BIG difference between an episode about grief due to losing a loved one to age or illness vs. a tragic accident in front of the protagonists eyes. Or vaguely alluded to neglect/trauma played for laughs. It's not about what happened so much as the impact of the event on the story going forward.

And before you say Ash has died, or that Lucario died, or Friede isn't dead, there's a big difference between the death of a character we just met, or that dies in backstory, or is brought to life right after (and also the movies just get a bit darker in general) than a character who has appeared in a majority of episodes so far and is close to the main cast. Pokemon just killed off a main supporting character. A member of the main cast. And not from something like old age, but a young healthy man. Now I don't think Friede is actually dead ofc. They would never.

But the characters do.

For a year. At least.

They're letting the characters marinate in that devastating loss.

And even if we the audience find out Friede is alive in a couple weeks, they still let his fate hang in the air for several weeks. And even if we the audience find out his fate, it will likely will still be some time yet before the characters do and their characters going forward are going to be informed by this trauma in a way that Ash never could be. Because Ash couldn't change. So anything bad that happened to him had to be something that couldn't directly, tangibly affect him going forward. Things that could be pushed into the background and ignored by the writers. The writers can't ignore Friede's death, he's too central to the plot, the kids growth up until this point and the seasons iconography. The plot is going to have to completely pivot around this event.

Like yes we are getting a Time Skip, and that is HUGE for Pokemon. But that Time Skip deeply tied to Friede's fate. The time skip is a whole year where the characters have been pulled away from the plot because of the loss of Friede, the 6 heroes, and the framing of the Rising Volt Tacklers as the villains by Spinel.

So it's kind of a big deal to me is that they just functionally killed 3 people (and a Charizard) in one episode. Two of these are definitely permanently dead. One of whom was a member of the main supporting cast. Again, its not that people (villains mostly) haven't occasionally died. The point isn't that they're dead per se, but that their absence has radically changed the direction of the story. They've traumatized those kids and there's no going back. "Roy forced to grow up", "Liko is depressed".

The kids post time skip will not be the same as before, and them witnessing their mentors supposed death is going to be the reason why. Like I don't think the show is suddenly going to be depressing either, that's where the year timeskip comes, in so the loss is less raw. But still.

Friede isn't quite a main character but still they "killed" A MAIN CHARACTER OFF.

The irony of people stopping paying attention to the anime because Ash left, but Ash's departure opening the doors for the Pokemon anime to go wild is not lost on me.

[sandwhich-lady]

the day the nerdy prudes must die soundtrack drops on spotify, it is so over for my spotify wrapped

[squirrelstone]

me watching the Spider-Man franchise become a metaphor for determinism in direct conversation with the original concept

[sheyshen]

man the news coming out of bioware and all the layoffs I just can't help but feel that EA set it up for failure. Like they wanted an excuse to consolidate things down and push "agile". And I'm not saying BW management didn't contribute to this, it absolutely did, but like veilguard was in development hell for a decade, it went through a live service stage before they scrapped it, it went through multiple iterations before launch, you can tell those 10 years didn't go to the game itself (i'm not a dev but if i were to guess, pretty much around the time they announced it'd been named dreadwolf was when it truly was being properly worked on, so about as much time as DA2 had), there were a ton of things cut and left unfinished, in a very fluctuating dev cycle and being released during a massive wave of redundant culture wars and an unstable economy. And EA expected veilguard, an M rated niche RPG that's the 4th in a series to sell 3mil copies in 2 months? if they had released the game 5 years ago, i think 3mil would've been achievable, hell even 3 years ago. but right now? absolutely not. The anti-woke push, the decade of barely any updates, and the myriad of other problems being revealed from behind the scenes (crunch, push for AI, protests, restructuring and moving BW games to other dev teams (swtor), etc) over the years would've affected the launch and that should've been planned into their projections.

that's just my opinion at least as a someone who's peered into some of the management side of product launches and is a player of their games.

I just worry for the remaining team working on mass effect now, seeing everything that's happened following the latest dragon age. And I hope that the devs that were laid off, will be able to find jobs where their talents are appreciated and their passion behind the stories and worlds they create are nurtured. I look forward to the games and stories they develop in the future.

[constellation-skirmishes]

they're arguing over who gets to eat the last cookie

leia: i'm your sister, basically the leader of the rebellion, the brains, and the eldest.

luke: yeah okay but who blew up the Death Star? Twice? yeah, me. that's who.

[aphantimes]

i need an exploration of knuckles' life before the events of sonic 3 so bad ........ he was a kid that was all alone with zero civilisation for OVER A DECADE. like????? helloooooooooo????? pls i need this exploredddd

[age-of-moonknight]

“Knight Time in the City,” Phases of the Moon Knight (Vol. 1/2024), #2.

Writer: Jed MacKay; Penciler and Inker: Jorge Fornès; Colorist: Lee Loughridge; Letterer: Cory Petit

[henry-fox-biggest-stan]

Out of curiosity: why do you think Philip hates Alex specifically? (cakegate aside) Do you think he'd just be okay with Henry dating some upper-class English guy?

Why I think he hates Alex

He has no been kind to him once in the book. Also Alex ruined his wedding cake. Not a great first impression.

I don’t think there’s more to it tbh. Alex hasn’t been kind to him either, and Philip sees Alex being so “open” with the public, having fun with it, his public persona completely different to their (Philip, Bea, and Henry’s) public persona, and just being the compete opposite to what monarchy considers proper, so he doesn’t like him, let alone want him dating Henry.

Answering your second question,

I think it’s not based on Alex not being an upper-class English guy, but more based on how Alex is as a person, as in his personality. And also the fact than he’s the son of the president of the states.

“I don’t care if you’re gay,” Philip says, dropping that big fat if like Henry hasn’t already specifically told him. “I care that you’ve made this choice, with him”—he cuts his eyes sharply to Alex as if he finally exists in the same room as this conversation—“someone with a fucking target on his back, to be so stupid and naive and selfish as to think it wouldn’t completely fuck us all.”

Alex is, since the start of the book, very different to Henry. Interests and family aside, Alex kind of enjoys being in the public eye. At least at the start of the book. He likes being in front of a crowd, make them scream. Is true than Alex is probably the most private one out of the White House trio, but just because he doesn’t share his private life to the public, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t get along with them. One of the first scenes of him we have is him talking about how he and Nora like creating rumours and being in magazines and all.

I have a point I swear, just wait.

Monarchy (Philip, Henry, Bea), is the complete opposite to this. They stay out of directly interacting with the public, they don’t have fun with it like Alex does. Not because is a personal choice (which that too) but because they can’t, because they have a reputation to uphold. And isn’t everything about monarchy based on reputation?

Alex, Nora, and June, also have reputations, but theirs are handmade, you could say, while Philip, Henry, and Bea’s and premade, they had no choice on them, they are just something they have to do, something the have to look like.

Alex, Nora and June chose their own reputations, they decided how they wanted people to see them. They had control over that.

All three of them—himself, June, and Nora—have their roles.

Nora is the cool brainy one, the one who makes inappropriate jokes on Twitter about whatever sci-fi show everyone’s watching, a bar trivia team ringer.

He looks at June—ahead of him now, caramel highlights in her swinging ponytail catching the midday sun—and he knows her place too. The intrepid Washington Post columnist, the fashion trendsetter everyone wants to have at their wine-and-cheese night.

But Alex is the golden boy. The heartthrob, the handsome rogue with a heart of gold. The guy who moves through life effortlessly, who makes everyone laugh. Highest approval ratings of the entire First Family. The whole point of him is that his appeal is as universal as possible.

For example Alex is not his public personal (aside from heart of gold). That’s something he created. The whole point of him is than his appeal is as universal as possible.

Stopping myself here because if I don’t I’ll go on yet another rant about Alex (I love my boy so much).

But basically in the book there’s a deep contrast between Alex’s family and Henry’s family, one is warm the other is cold. Alex has, and has always had, a choice. Sure, being on the public eye was not something he chose, it just happened because his mother wanted to be president, but he could choose everything else. His public persona, his decisions, who to date and who to not date. They didn’t even stop him from dating Henry. Just told him than he has to know what he wanted, to choose. But they didn’t stop him.

Henry is the opposite. He can’t choose how to present himself, how the world sees him. He can’t even wear ties with patterns.

Patterns are considered a “statement.” Royals aren’t supposed to make statements with what we wear.

They aren’t supposed to make statements.

The Royal Family are, as a rule, expected to stay out of politics, and refrain from giving their personal opinion on certain topics, so as to remain impartial.

Dating Alex, son of a political leader, is a statement. Is saying “I support this and I do not support that”.

And, Alex wants to be involved in politics, he talks about how he wants to make a change, how he genuinely cares, and the fastest way to make a change is making it while being on positions of power, somewhere people can hear you.

Alex’s whole reason for wanting to go into politics, when he knows so many past presidential sons and daughters have run away screaming the minute they turned eighteen, is he genuinely cares about people.

He has a very visible political position. People know what he supports and what he doesn’t, what he wants to do and what he doesn’t. And since he likes being on positions of power, because that gives him the possibly to make a change (even if at the end the change he did was unrelated to politics but about who he was as a person), he doesn’t get out of it. He continues being on it, he doesn’t mind attention on him, as long as they see what he wants them to see.

Philip sees Alex always on the public eye for one reason or another, a photo shoot, a new rumour, etc, and sees how his public persona is different to theirs, “wilder”, not so formal.

And, conservatives hate Alex. He is everything they stand against, even before knowing he was bi. He’s a grandchild of immigrants, he’s mixed race, he’s brown, he’s outspoken about his views (which are opposite to theirs), he’s the son of the first president who’s a woman, and who is also a democrat, he comes from a mixed race family, etc etc. Monarchy is supposed to be neutral. Alex is the opposite from neutral.

Philip’s main problem with Henry being gay is than he wanted to come out. Henry’s gay? Ok but he can’t come out. And that’s not based on homophobia (no matter if it sounds like it), is deeper, Henry coming out would challenge everything. First, he wouldn’t be neutral anymore. Monarchy is built upon manipulation upon privilege upon capitalism, etc. Henry coming out would threaten everything, all the rules, all the stuff would have to change, people would be asking why he didn’t come out before, and if Henry said the truth, their reputation would be dammed. And many many people would stop liking them. Some would not like them for being homophobic, other wouldn’t like them because Henry is gay. People from both sides would be against them. Their reputation (as mentioned as repeatedly through the book as repeatedly as I’m mentioning it now) is something that must be perfect. They can’t make statements, they’re perfect, formal, they’ll continue the bloodline, etc. If Henry is gay and people know, it no longer affects him, but all of them.

And many people see queerness and something political. Again, Henry wouldn’t be neutral.

I think than if Henry married a woman (hopefully a beard, someone who knows he’s gay and doesn’t care to cover for him) and had affairs with men, and Philip knew (than he was gay), he wouldn’t mind. He did what he had to do. Henry’s reputation is good, their reputation is good, they’ll continue the bloodline, etc. Because Philip, like Henry, was taught to leave their wants aside, and focus more on monarchy and what’s good for it.

The thing with Philip is, he isn’t evil. And many seem to forget that. He did bad things, and I’m holding him accountable for them, but at the end of the day, he was just brainwashed by Mary, specially after Arthur’s death. He was vulnerable after his father died, his mother wasn’t there mentally, he felt like he had to step up, be the “man of the house”, and he clung to his grandmother (the only adult in his immediate family who was physically and mentally there for him), and Mary took this opportunity to make him into the version of him monarchy wanted him to be (rule follower, defends their reputation no matter what, cares more about monarchy and what people think of them than what he wants to do.), which is just what Mary tried to make Henry to be too.

But he was on about Martha, and land holdings, and the hypothetical heirs they have to start working on, even though Philip hates children, and suddenly it was as if . . . as if everything you said last night came back to me. I thought, God, that’s it, isn’t it? Just following the plan. And it’s not that he’s unhappy. He’s fine. It’s all very deeply fine. A whole lifetime of fine.”

She probably tried with Bea, but Bea saw the manipulation right away and it didn’t work, or she didn’t get to try because with Arthur alive, that man would have never let her do that to his children, and with Arthur gone, Bea was like Catherine, mentally somewhere else. After rehab, she was still mourning, but she had Henry, she didn’t need her like Philip did. Because I think Henry and Bea were closer than Philip and Henry/Bea even before Arthur died, after it and Mary’s manipulation, they just drifted more apart.

If Casey wanted us to believe Philip was bad he would have made him be bad until the end, made him not change. Philip did change. Henry is even trying to make amends with him. Maybe he hasn’t fully forgiven him, which makes absolute sense and just because Philip was a victim it doesn’t he mean he was a victim inside their relationship, than he couldn’t continue the cycle of abuse. But Philip realized the cycle of abuse, realized he was continuing all this time. And tried to stop. That’s growth. Maybe not forgivable, not after everything, but he’s trying.

Philip came to Kensington two weeks ago to apologize to both Henry and Bea for the years since their father’s death, the harsh words, the domineeringness, the intense scrutiny. For basically growing from an uptight people- pleaser into an abusive, self-righteous twat under the pressure of his position and the manipulation of the queen. “He’s fallen out with Gran,” Henry had told Alex over the phone. “That’s the only reason I actually believe anything he says.”

Mary isn’t trying, Mary didn’t decide to support Henry at the end, didn’t try to do better. No one forgives her, and we are not supposed to see than she’s trying to be better, because she isn’t. “Isn’t Mary also a victim of this cycle of abuse, wasn’t she like Philip, brainwashed by her own parents probably (and her parents by their parents and so on), and continued the cycle?” Yes, but she doesn’t actively try to be better, doesn’t realize that, doesn’t even feel bad about it, different to Philip.

Answering again with shorter answers.

Why does Philip hate Alex specifically?

Because Alex is the whole opposite to what they stand for, he’s a walking statement, and he’s so himself, different to monarchy with their perfect flawless formal public personas.

Would Philip be fine with Henry dating some upper-class English guy (before coming out and everything than happened after he did)?

As long as he kept it secret, Henry could date whoever he wanted as long as he didn’t want to make it public, as long as he planned on marrying a woman and following his duty, as long as that someone was responsible, and didn’t have a “target on his back”, and Philip says Alex has.

Again, holding Philip accountable for everything he did, just explaining the reason why he did it.

Does this make sense? Because in my head it does but I don’t know if it does when I write it down

[rimouskis]

I will say the fandom is way more peaceful when we're bad. When I tell you that if you weren't around in 2017 you wouldn't believe the animosity........... I mean it

[the-owl-tree]

U know what, im not done with mapleshade

“Appledusks only crime was cheating” AND THAT WAS MAPLESHADES ONLY CRIME UP UNTIL HER KITS DIED WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE NOT UNDERSTAND, THEY BOTH BROKE THE CODE AND ONLY MAPLE SUFFERED FOR IT THATS NOT EVEN DEBATABLE ITS THE TRUTH

Mapleshade only had half clan kits with him they both were breaking the same code and that holds truth all the way up until mapleshade starts killing cats, maple got exiled and that lead her babies dying and what happens when she goes to riverclan? They tell her to fuck off and appledusk just lets them he goes “i didn’t actually love her lmao, I’ve learned my lesson” and darkstar just lets him stay, no actual consequences fall onto appledusk for breaking the same rule as maple did

Men in warriors never receive punishment for the same exact code breaking as the women do

The thing about Appledusk is he would’ve been fine to me if they had just not put Frecklewish in the dark forest. Him using the partner he cheated on to vouch for him would’ve been fine, it would’ve been a great way to show him fucking over Mapleshade.

Like I’ve got no issue with him doing bad things it’s that they wrote that whole article on why Frecklewish deserved damnation for not jumping into a raging river meanwhile all of the male characters involved get to go to kitty heaven.

Also the fact that Crowfeather is being considered for leadership and Leafpool had to go on trial. Food for thought!

[daily-smallishbeans]

Day 99- VIBE

the new lovejoy ep is a BANGER dude seriously listen to it

[sepiasys]

Thinking about impulsive thoughts that aren't acted upon despite being deathly curious about them

[i-amtransexual]

watching sneegsnag and the video zooms in on him doing vr headset cam and for some reason the words "the sneegussy" came unbidden into my mind.