#She’s making sure her legacy is garbage!!!

[cyarskj1899]

Hey@TeamPelosi please shut your old arse the fuck up. You push Biden out and now you have the audacity to blame Biden and Kamala. How dare you? Go talk to your white friends that fucking backstabbed the VP in the back. We Black women are pissed off and this ain’t it.

ALT

View on Twitter

This is why black ppl especially black womenfolk are done saving white ppl

[pugwitharug]

Hello! I really want to make a last legacy request, my LL OC is chubby/fat but I'm not real good to explain how the m4 would react to MC being self conscious/uncomfortable in their body.

(ignore the fact that I've had this in my inbox since literally Christmas--)

(by god I will pull myself out of my writing burnout if it's the last thing I ever do--)

Don't you worry my sweet anon, I got you covered

Content Warning: Mentions of negative body image, no specifics on what their body actually looks like

GN Reader, oof this may be really out of character but we're gonna do it anyways, some hurt and lot of comfort, the one thing all the LIs know how to do is give you love

Felix Iskandar Escellun

Felix isn't one for vanity, but he is one for the gothic aesthetic, so you bet he has one of those huge standing mirrors with the most ornate gold-leafed steel frame next to his wardrobe

It's one of the many gorgeous things in his room (not including him heheheheheheh) and it's something you find yourself staring at a lot

You normally do your best to not look at the actual mirror part, but today, your eyes seem drawn towards your body. You're not wearing anything revealing, your fashion style is more conservative by Earth's standards, but you focus a lot on the parts of your body you hate

Your own eyes feel like claws, rending bleeding wounds through your skin. Voices crawl into the back of your head. Ugly. Disgusting. Unlovable. They're hard to block out

You wrap your arms around your stomach, tears stinging the back of your eyes, and you find yourself unable to tear away from the mirror. As gorgeous as the mirror is, in this moment, you want to smash it into pieces

It's now when Felix walks in and sees you shaking in front of the mirror, the tears now starting to roll down your cheeks. He rushes over to you and pulls his cloak off, throwing it over the mirror and pulling you out of your stupor

Once he's sure the mirror is fully covered, he hugs you tightly, rubbing small circles on your back. He whispers comforting words in your ear, refuting everything the voices in your head are saying as if he can hear them himself

It's sort of true, for him. There were times where he felt disgusted by his body, feeling like he's an imposter in a dead person's body. He knows what you're feeling, and he hates that you feel that way about yourself

If he could take all those feelings out, he would. But for now, he's here to help and tell you how much he loves you

Anisa Anka

Being with Anisa has taught you that she can be strong with her opinions about you. Specifically, all the good opinions she has about you

She knows about your self-image issues, and she doesn't blame you for having them!

.....okay, that sounds a little wrong. She doesn't think that you're being dumb or irrational for having those thoughts. Your feelings are valid, and she's here to help you with that

Case in point: the two of you are doing some shopping through the town. Anisa has a free day, and the two of you just wanted to walk around town and see if anything catches your eye

You walk past a fancy dress shop and stop at the window to gawk at the newest dress. It's a gorgeous baby blue color, with white trim and pleating. It's a dress that you would die to have

As you're imagining yourself wearing the dress, your eyes flick over to your reflection in the mirror, and your dreams slowly begin to shatter. Compared to the beauty that is Anisa and the gorgeous dress, how dare you stand next to them. How dare you think you belong in the same space as them

You look away from the window and start to walk away, heart heavy with regret. Anisa notices and gently grabs your wrist, asking what's wrong

There's nothing wrong, you say. You're just ready to move on

Of course, Anisa knows you better than that. She grabs both of your hands and squeezes them comfortingly, reassuring you that those thoughts in your head? Garbage. And you know where they belong? In the trash, out of your fantastic brain and gorgeous body

And by the gods, she's gonna see you in that dress, and she's gonna see you smile

Sage Lesath

Sage never really had body image issues, to be honest. All of the negative feelings he's had about himself are about his actual self, not about his physical body. That being said, he absolutely understand having those negative thoughts about yourself

One of the main ways those negative thoughts materialize in real life is that you always wear pajamas to go to sleep. Full pants and mostly long-sleeve shirts, only wearing short-sleeves if it's really hot. It's in large contrast to Sage's underwear-only sleep style

He's asked a couple times if you ever wanted to try something like a nightgown or wearing shorts, but you've always turned them down. Since it was clear you weren't comfortable with those ideas, he's left you and your sleepwear choices be

One night, you're both getting ready to sleep. He's taking off his clothes, you're putting yours on--or, at least, you're trying to. For some reason, you can't find your last clean pair of pajamas

Did you accidentally put it in the dirty laundry? You rifle through the dirty clothes, scrunching up your nose a little, but you can't find them

Were they shoved into the back of the closet? You get on your tiptoes and feel all against the wooden back, but you can't feel them

At this point, you start to get a little frantic. You need those pajamas. You can't just sleep without them. If you don't, you'll feel your body, Sage will feel your body. Your actual body, your actual skin. Oh, how disgusted he will be

Sage asks you what's wrong, and you try to collect yourself and explain that you can't find your pajamas, but you can't stop the tears from coming and your voice from breaking. Your arms instinctively wrap around yourself, trying to hide from his worried view

He reaches out and pulls you up against him, tucking your head into the crook of his neck. His soft hair tickles your nose as he whispers reassurances in your ear

He doesn't entirely understand how you can hate such a gorgeous and divine body like yours, but he's here for you nonetheless. Whatever you want him to do to make you comfortable, he will do it, and he will show you his love in his own way

Mainly through worship. He's a worshipper. We all know this

Rime Solano Varela

I'm gonna be honest, I don't think he really cares about your body like that. He cares about you, of course, but he doesn't give that much thought into what you look like. He's more interested in who you are as a person

Even so, he does understand wanting to feel comfortable in your own skin. He wears what he does because it gives the small sensation of being comfortable, and so he wants that for you too

One day, you're doing some spring cleaning around the house and are clearing out your shared closet. You're pulling out your clothes that you don't wear anymore to put in a donate pile to give it to people less fortunate than you

You're separating your Astraea-bought clothes from your Earth-bought clothes, not entirely sure if you can give away your Earth clothes, when your eyes catch one of the tags on your shirt. There's at least three letters on there, and most of them are X's

You look at all of your Earth shirts. All of them say the same thing. All of them have those damn X's and L's. No M's or S's in sight

Compared to Rime's clothes, which better fit his smaller body, yours look...grotesque. They clearly don't belong here. You clearly don't belong here

You grab all your clothes and throw them as far as you can in a fit of rage that fizzles out into sadness. You stand there, shaking, eyes welling up with tears, stuck where you are with the voices in the back of your head

Hearing the commotion, Rime comes in to check on you. Seeing the clothes strewn about, you standing still in the middle of the room, and knowing your struggles with your body image, it isn't hard for him to piece together what happened

He says your name as he walks over to you, and you don't even get to look over at him before he claps both his hands on your cheeks. As you're trying to recover from the shock, he starts talking

He really doesn't give a shit about what you look like, or what clothes you wear. They're insignificant. Literally just pieces of fabric. The only thing he cares about is you, and you need to start doing that too

His normally icy expression softens as he takes a deep breath, trying to switch gears a little. He just wants you to be comfortable in your own body, and he knows it's easier said than done, but he wants to help you

So let's not focus on what you have and go get something you like, okay? He doesn't know how much longer he can stand seeing you look at yourself like that

[roykleinberg]

Oh now you have me curious about your spicy takes! 👀

hooooo boy okay, some of this is about the franchise and some of this is about the fandom (which I love with all my heart okay please no one throw rocks at me lol)

90% of program/user ships give me the ick

continuing on the shipping train of thought, I don't actually find the Encom trio (Alan/Lora/Flynn) all that compelling as an ot3. and a lot of it is a personal pet peeve I've come across in a number of fandoms, but honestly most m/m/f ot3s feel like they're just a way for people to focus on the m/m dynamic while patting themselves on the back for "including" the female character instead of sidelining her completely........ even though said female character is rarely if ever a major contributor to the dynamic or a focus of whatever fanwork. but on a less meta side eye note I just find the perceived sexual component of Alan and Flynn's relationship to be the least compelling thing they could've had going on

and I know she's barely brought up in canon outside of Betrayal but uhm Jordan exists??? and perhaps it is an unpopular opinion but I would like to see more of her in things instead of relying on Lora to be the only human woman in the Tron universe

once again I might not be so harsh on Uprising if there was more to it, but taking it for what it is and how much of it exists -- a lot of the episodes were boring filler to me. also I don't like how they drew Tron

actually I don't like how Tron has been drawn in any rendered/animated media with the exception of maybe Kingdom Hearts

I don't think of Rinzler as a standalone character, and he's not at all interesting to me when removed from the fact that he is Tron with the serial numbers filed off. I feel like I've increasingly seen people portraying Rinzler as his own thing and it simply does not work for me. I think the whole point of his character / existence is that he doesn't have thoughts or feelings or any real personality of his own. he's a backflipping blank slate whose only real character moments are when Tron's overwritten personality peeks through

to that end I can't conceive of an ending where Tron or anyone around him would allow him to remain as Rinzler, and I can't imagine that Rinzler's capable of forming an autonomous opinion to not want to be Tron again

the fandom collective spends too much time talking about how hot the live action and animated men are and not enough time talking about how hot the Sirens are. or how hot Yori is especially in the deleted love scene. or how hot Paige is. or

Daft Punk (rightfully) gets a lot of hype for the Legacy soundtrack, but Wendy Carlos's soundtrack for 82 is unfairly slept on. love that those funky robots got to cameo, but we should be giving Carlos just as much credit for her work

for as much as it pains me to say it, I don't think Tron ever would've been a tentpole franchise for Disney even if they had treated it better. and it's mostly because of the sad fact that the general public has never been that into Tron. I see it tossed around a lot that Disney ditched Tron in favor of focusing on Star Wars and Marvel. A New Hope -- an original sci fi movie that had absolutely no brand recognition, so to speak -- made over $400 million in 1977. the original Tron made $50 million in 82. the first Iron Man movie -- which sure had comic fan recognition but was still a very early comic blockbuster -- in 2008 made over $500 million. Legacy made just over $400 million in 2010. and Disney advertised the shit out of Legacy, they didn't set it up to fail. yes it sucks that things like Uprising were dealt a bad hand (a garbage release schedule that lead to poor viewership that definitely killed the show), yes it sucks that capitalism impacts what art gets made, but the fact of the matter is that Tron has always had niche appeal, and niche appeal does not a successful franchise make. and while it'd be nice to live in the universe where Tron blew up, I look at what's become of Star Wars and Marvel and maybe I don't lament it all that much

[bluewithpurplepolkadots]

Okay so watching Monsters at Work and I gotta ask....

First Off: What the hell is going on with Johnny and Claire's kids genetics wise? Johnny has 2 eyes. Claire has 3 eyes yet their daughter is a cyclops? And don't get me started on their son...

Secondly: JOHNNY X CLAIRE???? Who's idea was this? Lmao

Honestly the only f/m Johnny ship I remember from MU fandom was (and I still follow this person even though they’ve moved on) from a really good artist who shipped him with Rosie Levin. The art was good and I was convinced. Sadly given the show and the fact he fired her: guess not!

(Also Sulley and Johnny were toxic college bfs in many corners.)

Eh overall it was kind of random but maybe the writers just spun a wheel for MU female characters for him to have kids with. I honestly don’t think it’s a big deal. Given his seriousness about legacy it makes sense to make him a father. Writers spin the wheel, it lands on Claire, done.

I do wonder how she’s taking her husband being arrested. Like: they should bring this up if a season three comes out. We don’t get to see a reaction. And their eldest child/daughter should probably get a say eventually too. Potential drama. I do have vague memories of Brock the jock bird being in a Claire ship but that’s about it. It’s because they’re the only characters they interact together with on any real level though in MU.

Monster genetics? I do recall Johnny looking like a stubby little thing in a portrait where he was a kid. That’s all I’ve got. Maybe they all have grandparents or great grandparents that can also account for their differences. Maybe Claire’s dad is a carbon copy of her son. Who knows. Mike has a blue clone running around. Duncan has a literal clone with facial hair. I think the basic idea with monster genetics is just to have fun with it.

Like I’m not sure but Tylor splitting the difference between his parents eye numbers probably doesn’t make sense either. His grandma gave him his blue colours but that’s probably it. You’d never think they were related otherwise. Monsters are very diverse. Recessive genes probably produce interesting characters when the right parents get together. Probably best not to think on it too hard.

Also adoption. Adoption can be a thing. Who knows. Maybe we can go dramatic soap opera and Johnny has a secret half brother who was a garbage parent himself and existed because Johnny’s father is a philandering bastard as is the wont of some CEOs. And so they adopted a kid who is actually his nephew and they’re hiding it from the kids and it’s going to be major drama in the future when it comes out. Skys the limit.

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 68 - Xander's Big Move

Xander wakes up to Marshmallow eating garbage.

Xander: No, bad kitty! You don't get to act out because Mommy isn't here today.

He proceeds to hypocritically dig through the trash looking for upgrade parts before tossing the rest.

Marshmallow: father you are ruining my feast

Ophelia's out for the day, and Xander has plans of his own. He and Hilary need to sort things regarding their parents' will. Now that Hilary is divorced, she's been staying in the Pappas manor. He never got to talk to his parents about moving out, but his sister will do.

It's been rough for Greta. Not only did her grandparents die, but her dad is an unfaithful jerk? And he's having a baby with someone other than her mom?

She's staying in her mom's teen bedroom. It's a little… bright for her liking, but it's better than being with her dad.

Jace has been trying his best to be optimistic. So much of this has been confusing, but he knows his mom and dad aren't together anymore, and Dad is having a baby with that Tiff lady.

At least he gets to stay at Grandma and Grandpa's old house. They have monkey bars AND a pool!

Hilary is… adjusting. Suddenly inheriting your parents' restaurant right before going through a divorce is a lot to handle. She still hasn't registered her new position with the Ministry of Labor but she does so quickly as she hears Xander come through the front door.

Xander might be a goofball, but he has been absolutely amazing the past several days. Hilary's not sure she could have gotten through all this without his support. Their parents would be so proud of him, and she makes sure to tell him so every chance she gets.

Xander: So today's the day we duke it out for Mom and Dad's money?

Hilary: Very funny, Alexander. There are a few things we'll need to discuss, given the… current circumstances.

Hilary and Xander proceed to have a very boring, but important conversation. The house is in both of their names but there's no interest in selling. Hilary and the kids will move into the Pappas manor with Xander. Y'know, even though he barely lives there anymore. Speaking of…

Xander: Not that I don't love you guys, and I know there's tons of room here, but would it be crazy to move in with Ophelia?

Hilary: Of course not! That's wonderful. What a big step!

Xander: It's not that big, I basically live there now anyway.

Xander: I bet Greta would love my space up in the attic! She can put some planters out on the balcony and work on her gardening.

Hilary: I'm sure she would love that. She's trying to pretend she's fine but I can tell she's hurting. Anything to make her feel more at home.

Xander: I've still got to talk to Ophelia about it but I have a hunch she'll say yes.

Hilary: I'm not a betting woman but I'd put money on it. Mom and Dad left you a decent chunk of money if you want to save for something bigger, for the future? Like… if you start a family?

Xander: Subtle.

Hilary: Oh, hush! Even when you were with that horrid Jules, you had never even considered moving in together. Face it, little brother, you've met the Sim you're going to spend the rest of your life with.

Xander: It's not like it's a secret to me either, Hil.

Xander: Ophelia's the one, I know it. She laughs at my lame jokes, she lifts me up when I'm down, she helps me shave my back hair. I know we're going to get married and have like a kajillion little blonde babies someday, but we don't have to talk about my love life right now.

Hilary: Just because my love life's in the gutter doesn't mean I can't be happy for yours going well! I'm just saying, once the dust settles, you'd better put a ring on that girl!

Xander: Are you meddling in my relationship so we don't have to keep talking about the will?

Hilary: Well, I do have something important to talk to you about. Before they passed, Mom and Dad were telling me about an idea for business venture they had.

Xander: They already have a food monopoly in Tartosa.

Hilary: Yes, but they never had a bar.

Hilary: I would have always inherited the restaurant, because I'm a chef. But they wanted you to pursue your dream as well.

Xander: I am though?

Hilary: That bar area at the restaurant is too small. Mom and Dad wanted you to have your own place for your passion, like they did.

Xander: Mom and Dad wanted me to put me in charge of a bar?

Hilary: They always loved your passion for mixology. They put the money aside dedicated to starting a bar here in Tartosa. They even picked out a plot of land.

Xander: This is a lot, sis.

Hilary: If you don't think you're ready, we can always wait. But just know, I'll be there to help you. I've got plenty of business experience from my years shadowing Mom and Dad. I've got your back, whatever decision you make.

Xander: Wow. Thank you, Hilary.

Whatever the future holds for Xander's career, he knows Hilary will always be in his corner.

Hilary's life as a Laurent may be over, but it feels good to be a Pappas again.

Hilary has to go to the restaurant and Xander doesn't exactly have much else going on (I really need to get him some kind of hobby besides mixology), so he makes some falafel for the kids and listens to Greta vent. The divorce is rough enough, but some random half-sibling? Ew.

Jace joins them and Greta changes up her attitude real quick.

Jace: Are you guys talking about the baby?

Greta: Oh, uh, yeah. How you feelin' about it, twerp? Excited to be a big brother?

Jace: I guess. It's weird Mom isn't the mom though.

Greta: Being a big sibling is fun! You can make them do your bidding!

Jace: Does that mean I can hog the bathroom every morning like you?

Greta: Brutal! You've already got that big sib teasing down!

Greta's always looking out for her little brother. She's so much like her mom.

Before heading back to Ophelia's he decides to make a treat for his Lemon Cake: a lemon cake!

Look how proud he is. His mom would be so happy to know he's been getting into cooking and baking more.

Xander beats Ophelia home, but only by a little bit.

Xander: There you are! Where did you go?

Ophelia: Omari suggested going on mental health walks, and I ended up in another save somehow. I dunno, it was nice being somewhere Hector doesn't exist. But hey, I made a new friend!

Xander: Well you're not allowed to go to another save file permanently. Not without me.

Ophelia: Wouldn't dream of it. We're a package deal. That's what I told Marcie! How'd things go with Hilary?

Xander: Great. In fact, we talked about something I wanted to talk to you about.

Xander: Greta's going to take my room.

Ophelia: The one you've barely slept in the past few weeks?

Xander: Yeah. I was thinking we should make our current living arrangement permanent.

Ophelia: I'll have to talk to Marshmallow, but I for one definitely agree.

Xander pulls Ophelia in for a kiss outside the front door of her home, the place that they initiated their first night together. Now it's their home.

As the great and wise poet Bo Burnham once said, look at where they came from, look at them now.

[pettyrevenge-base]

Quit my job at an upscale steakhouse…but not before making sure all the customers knew what a prick the owner was.

This happened back in 2009, but I shared it in a comment on another sub yesterday and figured it belonged here too.  

I was waiting tables at an upscale steakhouse, and the company culture was absolute garbage. The owner, “Gary,” was constantly throwing tantrums and screaming at everyone, and we all HATED him. He’d line us all up before every shift just to berate us and yell how lucky we were that he’d hired us, because we were all shit at our jobs and no one else would ever have us. Stuff like that. The only reason anyone ever stuck around was because the money was good due to the high ticket prices and solid customer base, as well as the fact that there weren’t many other employment options for fine dining service in the area. 

In addition to being a massive prick, Gary was also a cheap bastard. There was this 6-foot tall dessert cooler in the kitchen that had a broken door, and he put off fixing it for months because he didn’t want to spend the money, so it was just sort of hanging on its hinge and you had to be really careful opening it. Inevitably, during the height of a Saturday night rush, it fell completely off and hit one of the servers, hard.  

So she’s laying there on the kitchen floor, bleeding from a serious-looking wound on her head, and Gary is standing over her and SCREAMING down at her: “Way to go - just BRILLIANT. What the FUCK am I supposed to do now? It’s the middle of the rush, you’ve got a full section, and no one’s going to be able to pick up your goddamn tables because everyone who works here is useless and incompetent! You should have been more careful!”  

I’d seen a lot of his shit, but this was the hard line, and I made a decision right then that I was out. So when I got home that night, I typed up a letter to Gary, telling him exactly why I was quitting and leaving no detail out when it came to his tantrums, his verbal abuse, and the hazards in the workplace that he wouldn’t address. I printed out 30 copies, went in early for my opening shift the following day (midafternoon - the place was only open for dinner) and hid them all over the restaurant where guests would find them: in the menus, under the napkins on the tables, in between paper towels in the restrooms, etc. Some were in really obscure places, so that they wouldn’t be found right away and would keep popping up randomly - surprise! - allowing my legacy to live on. Then, instead of working my shift, I left before the pre-shift lineup.  

Fast forward to a couple days later, when a coworker reached out and shared with me the beautiful details of Gary’s head almost exploding with rage when he found out about the letters. A couple tables read them and walked out before ordering. People in the dining room could hear him screaming from the kitchen. Apparently they were still finding letters weeks later, and every time one surfaced, the vein in Gary’s forehead would pop out and he’d disappear into his office and slam the door. It remains one of my proudest moments, and my only regret is that I couldn’t be a fly on the wall, watching this all unfold. 

Source: reddit.com/r/pettyrevenge

[ratherembarrassing]

please know i'm asking this as genuinely curious- how can you hate on hogwarts legacy and therefore side with those against playing it/buying it but pay money to see lea on broadway?

i’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that the question is genuine but please know i snorted pretty hard at how much i saw something like this question coming.

and i’d start with a question: you know cancel culture is both bullshit and not real, right? because if you’re not there then my answer is this: cancel culture is both bullshit and not real, and what is and has been going on with jkr is not cancel culture in action but an active boycott of a person’s public contribution to the discourse of society. which is to say this: joanne rowling is the leading figure of a hate movement with profile and resources to direct the body politic. it is in no way hyperbole to say she is and will be the direct cause of trans people’s death.

lea is almost certainly a piece of garbage (possibly along racist lines but possibly just to people in general). but so are any number of people involved in every aspect of the entertainment i enjoy, the food i eat, the services i use. none of them, most likely, are in the same category as jkr.

the real question is, does my going to see her in some way support or endorse racism or bigotry? hardly. the show isn’t a product of hers, espousing a racialized ideology, and she’s not publicly campaigning for white lives mattering or anything other than a musical about an actor and her love life. she’s not even accused of any private behaviour she now stands by. so what would my personally boycotting her achieve beyond some abstract performative tut-tutting? what’s the point of that, especially once someone has already mea-culpa’d? no one has ever really been able to answer this question for me. she’s been called out, and we are a deeply broken society to even suggest that we must continue to call someone out for the rest of their existence.

what i do think we should all strive to do, rather than bend over backwards to make sure we never publicly engage in the work of someone deemed Imperfect by the discourse, is stop elevating anyone to the lofty pedestal of Public Moral Figure. none of us are perfect, least of all random artistically talented people who had the odd fortune to end up in the public eye. accept what they do as a service rendered, and let that be the end of it. their existence shouldn’t be granted so large a right as to be able to cause public harm beyond their entertainment value. because when they do want to use that position to actively cause harm, you end up with the likes of rowling being able to do just that.

[fog-and-rust]

Hogwarts Legacy Incorrect Quotes Part 5 - Romance Edition (feat. my Hufflepuff!MC, Ellie)

Foreword: My ships are: Leander/Poppy (height difference & love for feral plants and animals), Garreth/Imelda (both are very passionate about their hobbies), MC/Amit (chaotic & calm). Plus, my MC, Leander and Garreth are the ginger trio, they deserve some love.

***

The boys: Me and my girl do not argue, she tells me to shut up and I do

***

Garreth: Bye Imelda! Bye Leander! Bye Ellie! Bye Poppy! Bye Imelda!

Poppy: You said ‘bye Imelda’ twice.

Garreth: I like Imelda.

***

Ellie: *about Garreth and Imelda*They make a cute couple, huh?

Leander: They certainly are standing next to each other.

***

Imelda: Love is weakness and an evolutionary mistake.

Ellie: You are literally making a Valentine’s day card for Garreth.

Imelda, pointing a quill toward Ellie: You’re on thin fucking ice.

***

Garreth: Did Imelda just tell me she loved me for the first time?

Ellie: Yeah, she did.

Garreth: And did I just do finger guns back?

Leander: Yeah, you did.

***

Imelda: Garreth and I are no longer friends.

The Squad: *gasps*

Garreth: Imelda sure has an odd way of telling you that we’re dating!

***

Ellie: Just be yourself.

Garreth: Really? Ellie, I have one day to win over Imelda’s parents.

Garreth: How long did it take for you guys to like me?

Leander: Couple of weeks.

Amit: Six months.

Poppy: Jury’s still out.

Garreth: See Ellie? ‘Just be yourself,’ what kind of garbage advice is that?!

***

Imelda: You know, Leander gives Poppy flowers every other day, I wish you'd do that too.

Garreth: Okay.

[Later]

Garreth: *gives Poppy flowers*

Poppy: ???

Garreth: I don't know, I'm confused as well.

***

Amit: What’s up with Leander? He’s been laying on the grass near Summoner's Court for like….an hour now?

Ellie: He’s just a little overwhelmed.

Amit: Why?

Garreth: Poppy smiled at him.

***

Leander: Cousin, remember when you said you weren’t going to interfere with my love life?

Ellie: No, that doesn’t sound like me at all.

***

Sebastian: So, are you two dating now?

Leander & Poppy: Yes.

Sebastian: Why?

Leander: I happen to find Poppy very appealing.

Sebastian: Yeah, I can understand that. I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with Poppy.

***

[In Ravenclaw common room]

Amit: Come on. Nobody actually believes that Ellie is in love with me.

Samantha, to other students: Raise your hand if you think that the new fifth-year is helplessly in love with Amit.

[Everyone raises their hand]

Amit: Ellie, put your hand down. How did you even get here? Who helped you this time?

[Earlier]

Ravenclaw knocker: If I punch myself and it hurts, am I weak or strong?

Lucan: Strong.

Zenobia: Weak.

Ellie: You can't punch yourself or be hurt, you bronze bastard, it is I who'll punch you.

[The door opens]

Lucan: So, who is right?

Zenobia: I think the door is just done with her.

***

Ellie: Go on, give Leander a compliment.

Poppy: How do you expect me to do that?

Imelda: Just say something that you wish someone would say to you.

Poppy: Uhh… You are now unbanned from Free Chocolate Frog Day!

Leander, sobbing: Nobody’s ever said that to me before!

***

Amit: Due to personal reasons, I will be jumping from the Astronomy tower Ellie style but WITHOUT casting Levioso on myself.

Garreth: Did Ellie say 'I love you' and you said 'Thanks'?

Amit: THE REASONS ARE PERSONAL–

***

Poppy: I'm so happy, I could kiss you!

Leander: Um...Neat.

[Later]

Leander, lying face down on the desk in the library: I said "Neat," Amit. Who says neat these days? It's not neat to say neat but I said it anyways because I'm fucking stupid.

Amit, reading a book: Don't beat yourself up too much. Everyone gets nervous sometimes. Remember what I did when Ellie confessed her love for me?

Leander: Didn't you thank her?

Amit: *closes the book and looks at the ceiling* I thanked her.

***

Leander: *pretending to joke* So when are you going to go out with me?

Poppy: I don't know. When are you going to ask me to?

Ellie: And you just ran away?!

Leander: I didn't expect her to flirt back!

***

[In Hufflepuff common room]

Ellie: You don't need my blessing to go snog Leander. In fact, I was pretty sure you were already snogging him!

Poppy: Nope.

Ellie: In that case, as the archbishop of your finally awakened love life, I give you my blessing to immediately leave and rectify that as soon as possible! Go now, my child, and kiss my cousin right on the lips!!!

[Later]

Leander: Poppy kissed me!

Garreth: Bloody hell! Merlin's beard! Godric's heart!

Leander: It was unbelievable!

Garreth: Bloody hell! Merlin's beard! Godric's heart!

Amit: Okay, we wanna hear everything. Garreth, get the butterbeer. Leander, does this end well or do we need tissues?

Leander: Oh, it ended very well.

Garreth: Do not start without me! Do not start without me!

Amit: Okay, alright, let’s hear about the kiss. Was it a soft brush against your lips or was it like a, you know, “I gotta have you now” kind of thing?

Leander: Well, at first it was really intense, you know? And then, oh Merlin, and then we just sort of sunk into it.

Amit: Ohh... So, okay, did she stand on tiptoes? Or did you lean down?

Leander: First she pulled me down by my tie and then she climbed me like a tree.

Amit & Garreth: Ohhh.

[Meanwhile]

Poppy: And, uh, and then I kissed him.

Imelda: Tongue?

Poppy: Yeah.

Ellie: Cool.

***

[At the Summoner's Court]

Leander *after another fail*: I give up. I am so tired.

Garreth: Get the emergency supply!

Ellie: *goes to the Beasts class territory, carries Poppy and places her in front of Leander*

Poppy: *smiles*

Leander: AND I AM BACK BABY, LET’S GOOO!

***

Amit: How do I make a date really romantic?

Garreth: Be mysterious.

Amit: I can do that!

[later, when they go on a search of astronomy table in Hogwarts]

Ellie: So where are we going?

Amit: None of your business.

***

Ellie: The best way to gain someone's undying loyalty is by saving them from a perilous situation.

Leander: So you're just gonna wait until Amit is in danger and save him?

Ellie *thinking about goblin mine*: Of course not, I'm going to create a situation that puts him in danger and then I won't let him die.

Leander: ...

Leander: You're insane.

***

Ellie, holding a moonstone: Amit just gave this to me and said "I feel like you deserve the moon but all I can give you is a rock".

Poppy: If you don't marry him, I will.

***

Amit: So, what’s Ellie's type?

Leander: Brown eyes, kind, oblivious, good sense of humor, book lover.

Amit: Sounds kind of like me. Too bad we’re just friends.

Leander: Did I mention oblivious?

Amit: Yeah, why?

Leander: Okay, just making sure.

***

Garreth: Do you love Ellie?

Amit: Yeah, I do.

Garreth: Poppy! I told you I knew it! You owe me 10 galleons!

Poppy: We all love Ellie. You should've asked if he was IN love with her.

Amit: I thought that was implied.

Poppy: ...

Garreth: ...

Amit, looking straight at Poppy: Congrats, Garreth, you just won 10 galleons.

***

Garreth: Hey, Amit? Can I get some dating advice?

Amit: Just because I'm with Ellie doesn't mean I know how I did it.

***

Obligatory mention of Chomping Cabbages

[Before showing the Boggarth]

Professor Hecat: What’s your biggest fear?

Leander: That I’ll never be good enough for anyone.

Arthur: Everyone hates me and talks about me behind my back.

Ellie: Chinese Chomping Cabbages

Professor Hecat: ...

The rest of the class: ...

Ellie: BUT they can open doors.

[seamstressthepainteater]

I don’t think I really like how The Mandalorian has been MCUified if that makes sense

Like the first season was it’s own thing, Mando went to different places across the galaxy trying to hide some kid he found from remnants of the fallen empire, it was largely its own thing and helped make the Star Wars galaxy seem bigger for me. It also had its own characters that managed to be memorable and interesting. It was a unique take on Star Wars I wanted to see more of.

Then season 2 comes out, and it’s a bit larger scale wise. Mando’s gotta find another Jedi to fulfill his kid’s destiny, which brings him back to going around the galaxy finding leads on one of these Jedi folks. There are a lot of returning characters in this season; most of the surviving season one character show up for at least an episode, Mayfeld gets some damn good characterization as a former imperial after being a one-note asshole in season 1, Ashoka gets an episode to learn more about Grogu and set up her own show, Boba Fett is a looming presence until he actually shows up and fucks shit up, Bo Katan returns with her besties, and even Luke Skywalker is in this bitch. Now I don’t like cameos just for the sake of having them, but the legacy characters at least either have good reason or are done well. Ashoka needs setup for a show, Fett is finally given the chance to be cool as shit, and Bo Katan going from ruler of Mandalore in Rebels to just another pirate gives context to why Gus Fring has the Darksaber (Luke’s just kinda there to be there though). I wouldn’t like to need to watch Clone Wars and Rebels to know what the hell Ashoka, Bo Katan, or the Darksaber are if I didn’t already, but I feel they’re given just enough explanation to make sense without it. And all of it was tied up in an emotional ending with Mando and Grogu that payed off everything set up throughout the season and made the entire thing feel grounded. It was probably the best ending the show could’ve had. This was the last time I would feel this way.

When Book Of Boba Fett was announced at the end of Mando season 2, I was exited. I loved how Boba Fett was handled in Mando and hoped that the show would flesh him out better. It was then that the rug was pulled from under my feet. Like Fredrick Fitzgerald Fazbear coming down upon a poor night guard in the dead of night, I was jumped with the truth of this show. This wasn’t a show about Boba Fett. This was just a season of Mando they shoved Boba Fett on for more runtime.

Theatrics aside, BOBF was just really disappointing to me. The Boba Fett stuff was kinda garbage, they perfected his character in Mando as a brutal goddamn terminator man, then they went back and went “he doesn’t want to be a bounty hunter, he just wants to live peacefully as a crime boss or something” which felt really weird to me. The Flashbacks were also so fucking boring, they could’ve been shorted down to one episode and given more time to Boba. I praised Mando season 2 for both giving legacy characters purpose and explanation so you didn’t need to know what their deal was. But you see, I’m pretty sure Cathleen Kennedy read my complement on that, realized she fucked up by making a story that can stand on its own, used her fucking Disney witch magic to go back in time, and had the guy who worked on the writing for those episodes shot at point blank range because holy shit they fucking shattered the ball with Cad Bane.

The show makes a point of saying that Cad Bane and Boba had a history, and this confused me. They never specified what exactly this history was, so I looked through everything I could get my grubby mits on. I looked through every one of both Bane and Boba’s appearances in Clone Wars, checked comics with Bane, looked through all of the officially released media I thought could be a lead. Then I noticed something about Bane in BOBF, he had a metal plate on his head. This wasn’t much, but I thought it was something, so I went through his animated appearances one more time and noticed he had the same plate in The Bad Batch. This just made me more confused, so I checked around and found it. The “history” the show was referring too. See when they brought back Clone Wars for season 7 they took unfinished arcs and gave them new life, but some were left on the cutting room floor. I said “couldn’t find any officially released material” because what they were alluding too was an unfinished episode, you can even see the part where Bane gets shot in the head. The crux of Bane and Boba’s unfinished business was an unfinished episode that wasn’t even considered canon at that point.

This was my Joker arc.

This show was so lazy, so uncaring about making the story seem complete without supplementary material, that the only thing they did to give the main villain a connection with the hero was a vague allusion to an event that wasn’t even officially released. Could they not have cut some of the boring-ass shit in the desert to flesh out this relationship? Was it too much to ask for this show to get even close to how Mando used it’s legacy characters? Was it too much to ask for competence?

Besides that, I thought that it kinda fucked up the great ending I thought Mando season 2 had. I knew they weren’t gonna be separated for that long, but I would’ve liked them to be apart a bit longer, or have them reunite in their own show. Feel the same way about Mando’s new starfighter, I think it would’ve been less alienating to have him get that in the beginning of season 3

Speaking of season 3, it’s also kinda disappointing. I think the shift from Mando to Bo Katan was disappointing, it’s like what happened to Boba Fett with Mando ironically enough, but it’s still disappointing that in a world where it seems like almost every character is slated for their own show, Bo was shoved into Mando. I also think Gus Fring seems less intimidating, I feel him being a part of this “Shadow Empire” is less threatening than a warlord trying to bring about his own empire. It also has the same problem as BOBF where you need to know stuff beforehand. I don’t think they ever explicitly state Gideon carpet bombed Mandalore, they just kinda said it was cursed. I know it was mentioned in BOBF, but again I shouldn’t need to watch another show to understand what’s going on in this one. I’m not gonna go too long with this one since it’s not over yet, but I’m not sure it’ll fix my problems with this season.

Anyway my biggest takeaway from this is that I hate Book of Boba Fett way more than I first thought.

[trials-of-apollo-my-beloved]

Not the Hunter Not the Weapon

A AoD/Apollo fic

Summary: The stars were gone and the sun rose to the next day.

“Hey, AoD?” 

YESEST THY LESTER? 

I didn’t used to think I’d ever be able to get over… well a lot of things really. Mainly the fact that I was dating an arrow. Wasn’t I one of the most attractive beings ever? Not to mention the most talented if I do say so myself? (I would say the most attractive, but I think Aphrodite would kill me if I were to do that: god or mortal.) 

Oh also the Shakesperian being continuously put through a wood chipper then regurgitated into my brain matter with his every word. I was hoping that would get endearing eventually. Luckily I was right. My imagery does still hold up just how endearing it felt initially though. 

There was a reason that one of the godly ground rules for dating was mind reading was off limits. Discounting ensuring the basic trust element of a healthy relationship, having someone sentient poking about your head was just never pleasant. 

“I was just wondering, if we don’t make it out of this…” I took a deep breath. The thought of me not surviving to live another millenia was already fast encroaching on me since I landed in that garbage bin in New York. Now that I had Meg, and Aod… with me? 

Well it was one thing to impassively consider my own demise as a simple possibility, another entirely to think that one of them would not make it out of this either. I was literally walking Meg up to her abuser in the place where most of her torment was conducted. There were no more lines I could allow to be crossed. 

In any other circumstances discounting the fate of possibly millions of people I would disavow the possibility. These circumstances were the rare exception. My own mortality honestly felt different from Meg and AoD’s. Not different in that my godly powers were now returning to me, but in how we could die. 

I wasn’t sure what exactly, but throughout all of my days as Lester Papadopoulos I’d never come to terms with the possibility of my death, at least not until Python became unavoidable. Perhaps it was my previous tangles with the fates, but there was something baser within me, something beyond even Delphi's purview that told me I would not a “mortal’s death”. 

There was no way Lester Papadopoulous would die in a car crash or a freak accident. I would go out either with irony like a greek hero or- or perhaps hero was just another word for hubris. 

The fates would not be so particular with my mortal friends. 

Meg going back to Nero’s Tower was practically an ironic death toll and I was wringing it. Yet, perhaps her insignificance to the greater narrative could spare Meg McCaffrey a tragic end? As the god of plague I was the reaper of children for many millennia. I had seen many children taken before their time, imposed upon many families tragedy. 

I used to see it as somewhat of a mercy to provide a poetic death. As if meaning could be inscribed to the lack of further meaning. 

My shoulders hunched. I took a deep breath. I had spoken to AoD so my boyfriend could help get me out of this proverbial funk where even the Jackson Five had failed. Yes I’d even pulled out the classics. 

AoD quivered in my hands and I averted my eyes. Perhaps, if by some stroke of the fates, Meg was not doomed. If there was anyone in the world who could combat the inevitably of space and time it would be Meg McCaffrey. 

Perhaps it was fortune that I was knocked from my golden throne atop the futures of mortals whose destinies had crashed and burned in blazing glories, like my sun chariot streaking across the sky. This way Meg would not have an Apollo above to find poetry in her death. She was insignificant to the wider narrative, but not to Apollo’s. 

I knew that as I was now I would never be writing any odes to the legacy of Meg McCaffrey. Some people can only be encapsulated by their mere existence. Something so tiny yet so large could not be encapsulated by words. 

THOU SPIRALIST. 

“Not a word,” I kept my voice low. It was late, though I had snuck out of my cabin to talk to AoD among the stars and my sisters watch, I still didn’t want to risk waking anyone up. “Also since when did you use punctuation?” 

SINCE WHEN WAS THY’S NAME BEEN DEBBIE?” 

I shifted in the patchy grass. My orange t-shirt, which clashed horribly with the scenic shade of the forest, caught on the tree I was resting on. The tag on the shirt scratched uncomfortably against my neck. 

“Well never, to my knowledge. Though who knows, I didn’t choose to be Lester either. So, ask my father.” 

SEEIST WHAT I MEANEST? THOU ART BEING A COMPLETE DEBBIE DOWNER. 

“Pff, sure I am. I am going to die.” The words left my lips like they were. Lester’s lips were not Apollo’s yet they were. I said that, yet I did not. 

EVERYTHING WILL BE FINE. 

I sighed and scratched my neck. The itch persisted and I relented to just lying down on the grass, The Arrow of Dadona held up to the stars to stay in my line of sight. 

I didn’t like to think that I was holding my best friend and potential life partner up to the sky. That was my father’s domain, not mine. A plain of clouds and suffocating air were one to fly too close. No, I was looking at the stars. The night was full of stars and space. 

When I was younger and tucking into bed I would ponder if this was actually truly the only time my sister and I were held up together. The sun was, after all, a star. It was a silly train of thought.

“You know, that’s not proper Doctors etiquette.” 

WHAT DOEST THOU MEAN? The arrow vibrated gently in palms, almost if he was attempting dulcet tones through vibrations alone. Not impossible, to his credit. Though, even if it was true and trees could talk, I doubted very much they could sing. 

“Us doctors don’t tell patients that everything will be fine, because they won't always be. It’s seen as lying. Not a problem I ever came across of course, but it’s common practice. You just tell the patient you’ll do their best for them.” 

The arrow huffed… well as well as an arrow could huff. 

SOUNDEST TO ME LIKEST AN EXCUSEST. LESTER OF THE DOCTORATE, I ASSURE THEE EVERYTHING SHALT END UP FINE. I WILL NOT ALLOW THOU TO DIE. 

I chuckled. “Strangely that does reassure me AoD. Though it really shouldn’t. You’ve been about as helpful with prophecies as the Grey Sisters.”

RUDE! 

“Yeah, maybe a little. Here, how about I do it my way. Arrow of Dadona,” I sat up and hoisted the arrow with me as if to look at it at its eye level, “I promise to do my best to keep thou- I mean you! Alive.” 

With that solemn bargain, and my doubts assuaged - at least enough to head to bed - the stars were gone and the sun had risen on the next day.

[lgbtqmanga]

New Releases October 18, 2022

Canis: Dear Hatter vol. 2 by ZAKK

Kutsuna and his crew's showcase at New York Fashion Week was a huge success. While there, Ryou encounters an old friend of his -Chase- who informs him that the mob boss he thought was dead is still alive.

Hoping to face his past, Ryou decides to stay behind in America, meaning Katsuna would now be on the other side of the planet. On the outside, Katsuna seems perfectly calm on his own in Tokyo, but beneath the surface...

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card vol. 12 by CLAMP

Tick Tock, Tick Tock... Yuna D. Kaito can use magic to control time. Does Akiho know? Is she part of his schemes? Sakura isn’t sure, but her heart tells her to let Akiho come to her when she’s ready. Then things get even more complicated when she and Akiho get cast in the leading roles for the school play! Where will the twin Alices’ journeys take them now...?

The Executioner and Her Way of Life vol. 1 (manga) by Mato Sato, Ryo Mitsuya, nilitsu

The Lost Ones are strangers from another world, hailing from a place no one has ever heard of called “Japan.” These wanderers have been associated with catastrophes since many years ago and the solemn duty of exterminating them without remorse falls to Menou, a young Executioner. But when her mission is complicated by a Japanese girl named Akari who refuses to die, Menou embarks on a peculiar journey to find something that can slay even an immortal who insists on traveling with her would-be-killer!

Happy of the End vol. 1 by Ogeretsu Tanaka

Unrequited love, poverty and a series of bad choices leads a young man into homelessness. And once there his only way out may be to listen to a charming young man with a dark side.

Dazed and confused, Chihiro awakes on a pile of garbage with memories of wedding still fresh in his mind. When out of the blue a young man named Keito appears before him. Instantly, he then recalls the night he spent with this person. The booze! The hotel! The punch to his face!

Chihiro may not have a place to call home currently and Keito may not be a good person by any means, but maybe the two of them could be happy together.

She, Her Camera, and Her Seasons vol. 3 by Tsukiko (digital only)

"We're so close, but I feel so lonely..." It's the spring of Akari Miyama's last year of high school, and she's feeling constrained by her superficial friendships and stifling routine. That all changes when she meets Yuki Sendo, the cool beauty wielding a twin-lens reflex camera, and Akari's days begin to shine. But Akari starts to feel shaken by the deep bond between Yuki and her childhood friend Rintaro, and Yuki notices some mysterious emotions in Akari's photos... At Yuki's suggestion, Akari starts pretending to date Rintaro. But it's not long before her feelings start to waver, and the line between acting and actual dating starts to blur. The love triangle deepens as autumn turns to winter...

She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat vol. 1 by Sakaomi Yuzaki

Cooking is how Nomoto de-stresses, but one day, she finds herself making way more than she can eat by herself. And so, she invites her neighbor Kasuga, who also lives alone. What will come out of this impromptu dinner invitation...?

Yuri Espoir vol. 2 by Mai Naoi 

After finding out she's to be forced into a marriage of convenience as soon as she graduates high school, Kokoro sees her life ending before her eyes at her father's wishes. And so, in her final year of high school, she decides to indulge in her love of other women — and create an incredible sketchbook of lesbian romance to leave behind as her legacy. As she observes the young women of her town, she learns more about their desires, their struggles, and the unpredictable whims of love.

[oediex]

IGN posted their video review of Hogwarts Legacy. They added the following pinned comment:

"The elephant in the room with Hogwarts Legacy is Harry Potter’s creator, J.K. Rowling, whose comments about transgender people in recent years have left a sour taste in the mouths of many current and former Potter fans, both at IGN and in the world at large. This has driven some to call for a boycott of the Wizarding World altogether – including Hogwarts Legacy, though Rowling was not directly involved and there are good reasons (both in-game and out) to believe the developers at Avalanche don’t necessarily share her views. Regardless, IGN has always and will continue to champion human rights causes and support people speaking with their wallets in whatever manner they choose. As critics, our job is to answer the question of whether or not we find Hogwarts Legacy to be fun to play and why; whether it’s ethical to play is a separate but still very important question. So just as in virtually all cases, we’re choosing to expose and address the views of the franchise creator separately from our consideration of the work of the hundreds of game developers and evaluate Hogwarts Legacy as it stands, leaving behind-the-scenes context to be considered in addition to that evaluation, rather than in place of it, so that it can be weighted according to your own values."

While it's nice that they add this, it misses the fact that even if Rowling wasn't directly involved in the making of the game, she is still profiting off it. It's great that they're adding this comment, and I'm sure there are trans people working at IGN, so how could they not + the backlash they would have gotten if they hadn't added it, but clearly the stronger move would have been not to review it at all.

Anyway, the comments are absolute garbage, ranging from "who asked" to "nobody cares", "successfully ignored" to "stay out of politics". The most gross comments are obviously those that state that "some of us agree with jk" and "Rowling said nothing wrong".

I don't mean to make this post to get people depressed (though it is very depressing) but to reiterate that if you stand with trans people, then you boycot this game. I know it's Harry Potter. I know for many of us it hits that sweet spot of childhood nostalgia x self-indulging activity (gaming). But if you buy this game, then you are giving money to a very influential woman who has time and again shown herself to be deeply transphobic; who mingles with many other transphobes and homophobes, as well as people who themselves are involved with anti-abortion, far-right organisations; and don't forget that Rowling will use her money to donate to political campaigns, such as when she donated 1 million pounds to Scotland's anti-independence campaign, the side that won the referendum, with the conservative British government only last month blocking a Scottish bill that would make it easier for trans people to change their legal gender.

It doesn't matter that the makers of Hogwarts Legacy have distanced themselves from Rowling, it doesn't matter that they have included a trans background character or that you can make your own trans character in the character creator - if you buy this game, you are giving money to this woman. She WILL receive royalties from this game as it is based on her intellectual property.

"Rowling consistently makes passive income on all Harry Potter products. Multiple sources have cited that Rowling earns anywhere between $50 million to a $100 million each year from royalties. Forbes estimated she earned $95 million in 2017 alone."

Relevant YouTube images under the cut

[foxboyclit]

outland blues

for day 8 of @flufftober, more legacy if the shattered fic! i hope you like this relationship as much as i do. okay, i'll see myself out for that one

read on ao3 here!

A storm had rolled in from the north, casting a brutal rainfall and howling winds over the Outlands. The small villages dotting the map had prepared to hunker down; denizens had been reinforcing the cottages days in advance. A pirate of the shattered sky was no different; with the conditions making piloting a transport impossible, scoping out a safe place to dock was advised. With the hard part over, all the crew of the Big Lawn had to do was shelter in place.

Some found the close quarters less bearable to others, Shiv having to be dragged into a video game tournament to avoid holes being shot into the walls. Even then, his manic energy bounced off the excitable Captain too well. The laughter and shouting carried throughout the ship, and Sybil was grateful her quarters were far from them.

It was there she’d decided to post up, using the storm as an excuse to take a rest day. 

All she needed was there; a mug of tea, a well-loved paperback, and BL, her beloved AI. 

Is the cabin’s climate to your liking, dear?

“Perfect as usual, Bee.” she smiled at the soft mechanical whirring of the ship, BL’s way of blushing. “After all this time you still get flustered over that name?”

No, incorporeals don’t get flustered. I don’t know what you could be talking about.

“Really? So you’d function normally if I did this?” she ghosted her fingertips across the pop-up screen, tantalizingly slow. There was a thin layer of static electricity transferred between them, and Sybil was sure that would do her in.  She laughed when the soft background music glitched out and the internal fans kicked up speed.

I’m cutting off the oxygen flow of this cabin.

“You’d miss me.” her grin only widened with smug satisfaction. She leaned back into the nest of pillows, cracking open her book. BL summoned a robotic manipulator from the ceiling to stroke her hair. 

What’re you reading there?

“Oh, this? She turned the book in her hand and glanced at the fading cover. “It’s what I lovingly call ‘garbage fiction.’ A pretty bounty hunter gets hacked by the renegade she’s chasing, and what a surprise, she’s secretly crushing on her target!”

Sounds cliche. I want in on this ‘garbage fiction’.

“If you insist”.

 She spent the rest of the night reading to BL, who swooned dramatically during the romantic scenes, which caused frequent breaks in laughter on Sybil’s end. It was just another reason the book was one of her favorites.

[ordinaryschmuck]

So, I watched The Flash

Mainly because certain people online were being REALLY annoying about it, and I had to check it out to see if it’s really as bad as people say. Or even AS GREAT as others said. And it’s...fun.

Yeah, that’s the best way to describe the movie. It’s not OUTSTANDING or even complete garbage. It’s just...a fun movie. And, call me crazy, but I think I KIND OF understand why James Gunn said it’s his favorite of the year.

Now, that doesn’t mean I see how it could have been a masterpiece of film making. There are a lot holding it back, the most egregious being the CGI. This film looks UGLY in a lot of scenes, some looking like they’re part of a video game. The worst of it is in the final battle, and I honestly can’t tell if the CW show might have looked better than this movie.

The worst of it is when they used CGI to resurrect dead actors and actresses for a cameo fest that just feels unnecessary. Like, I get the idea of showing the universes colliding, but if that’s the case, why not just...use current media? Like why not bring in the CW Flash in one of those universes? Or Robert Pattinson’s Batman instead of a fake Adam West? Or throw in Doom Patrol or the Titans. Just DON’T resurrect the guy who committed suicide because he didn’t feel like he could live past the legacy of being Superman. Seriously, James Gunn...WHY did you let that slide?

And, of course, there’s the psychotic elephant in the room with this movie starring Ezra Miller. After they went to play real life GTA in Hawaii, Miller might have hurt this movie’s chances due to the iffy it’d feel giving THAT actor residuals just to watch a dumb superhero movie. It’s kind of why I stuck to using...special means to watch this one because I didn’t feel comfortable in any other way. And I know, you should separate the art from the actor, but I agree with this idea that it’s a case-by-case and it only depends on how well you can do it. And...MAN it’s hard sometimes when you see Ezra Miller put a baby in a microwave, debate on how hard you have to punch someone to knock them out, and just...get REALLY violent during that final act. Sure, Ezra Miller does great in OTHER scenes but those bits make things kind of uncomfortable.

But with that said, there ARE some great scenes with Barry. BOTH in fact. Ezra does a great job of differentiating both Barry Allens and giving solid emotions for when its right. There’s this great scene with Barry and his mom that’s carried by the tragedy of EVERYTHING the character went through and what he needs to do, and I hate to say it because of how insane Miller is, but...They nailed the right emotions. And when interacting with this other Barry, they do this good job where I’m somehow convinced that there are two Ezra Millers on screen together, having a conversation, even though such a thing is literally impossible in real life.

And the journey both these characters go on and the lesson they come to learn honestly works and leads to some pretty powerful emotions where I’m willing to BRIEFLY shut my brain off and enjoy these characters for what they are.

Plus, they’re not the only standouts. Sasha Calle introduces us to a new Supergirl and, despite having a short screen time, offers an interesting character. And with how passionate about the role she had, I really hope Gunn brings her back for the DCU. She deserves it.

And Micheal Keaton really does try to give it his all as a returning Batman. Even though there were definite fight scenes that WEREN’T him, you can tell he had fun with some scenes.

Speaking of Batman...I think Brave and the Bold is in decent hands. The same guy who directed this is going to direct the DCU’s Batman movie and he definitely has a good vision of how to make Batman cool...I just hope he relies on less CGI to do so. And if he DOES feel obligated to use CGI, PLEASE make it better.

So, yeah. The Flash is a decent movie. It has some good acting, a fair story, some surprisingly effective emotional moments, occasionally fun action, and even the humor isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But why do I think it’s James Gunn’s favorite? Well, probably the same reason why I consider Spider-Man: Homecoming my favorite Spider-Man movie even though Spider-Verse is RIGHT THERE. Into and Across are better. I KNOW they’re better. But, I don’t know, I just have more fun with Homecoming. It’s sort of my comfort Spider-Man movie with how enjoyable it is to me. And that might be James Gunn’s logic when considering it his favorite. There are DEFINITELY better movies, but he had a lot more fun watching this one. Just because something’s your favorite, that doesn’t automatically make it the best.

Personally, I had fun watching this too. Maybe even watch it again one day. It’s not the worst movie in the world, it’s not the best, but if I’m in the mood for some dumb fun, I could see myself putting this on.

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 35 - Going Out With a Bang

The reception goes off without a hitch. Let Them Eat Cake gives a wonderful performance, and the new wives immensely enjoy their first dance, surely the first of many.

The Laurents' office isn't nearly as fun as the reception downstairs.

Hector: This should have been my call! It’s MY business!

Hilary: So when we’re doing the hard stuff, it’s “our” business, but the second I do something you refuse to do despite all logic, it’s YOUR business?

Hector: You completely went over my head! That makes me look bad to our staff!

Hilary: No, you defending the woman that used her husband’s platform to drag them in the dirt made you look bad to them.

Hector: We don’t know-

Hilary: YES, WE DO!

Hilary: I know Tiff stroked your giant ego just the way you liked it, but you let her abuse our staff, and me, for years. I thought you were just too sweet, always giving people the benefit of the doubt, but I know the real reason you never stood up to her. You’re a coward.

Hector: How dare you-

Hilary: How dare YOU stand by while Tiff treated everyone around you like garbage? While she started a fire we and the staff who are actually loyal to us spent all night putting out? I did what should have been done years ago.

Hilary: I’m going to spend the night at my parent’s house. Honestly, I can’t even be near you right now.

Hector: Darling-

Hilary: I don’t want to hear it. Good night, Hector.

After the final song is sung, and the newlyweds, their guests, most of the staff, and even the venue owners are gone, two remained. Ophelia changed out of her dress before her walk home and ran into Xander, who was still cleaning up the bar.

Ophelia: Oh. Hey.

Xander is happier to see her than she thought he'd be.

Xander: Hey, Lemon Bar! Everyone was raving about your performance. Why don't you pop on the bar so we can chat?

Ophelia: Sure. Is that sanitary, though?

Xander: I have to clean it anyways!

Ophelia: You can check my pockets if you want. They're empty.

Xander: No, this isn't about that. Penny told me you helped Miko out, when she was freaking out about what the PlumBright article said. That was really cool of you.

Ophelia: Even us kleptos have morals sometimes.

Xander: I’m sorry I snapped at you. I didn’t mean to treat you like a criminal. I know you’re a good person. I just… Mom and Dad were busy with the restaurant all the time growing up, so Hilary'd watch me a lot. She was a teen when I was a toddler, so there was a big age gap.

Xander: She was kind of like a second mom. I annoy her a lot, but we’re still pretty close. I feel like I owe it to her to look out for her the way she did for me. The way she still does for me. When I thought you might have stolen from her… I don’t know, I guess it’s stupid.

Ophelia: That’s not stupid. And you were right. I shouldn’t steal, even if it’s from community lots. I don’t even remember why I started, really. I just… I don’t know where to even start with changing an entire trait. 

There’s a moment of silence before Xander speaks again.  Xander: After someone close to me really hurt me, I started going to therapy to help with my sad moodlets. They had pamphlets talking about re-traiting services. I can give you the office number if you’re interested.

Ophelia has been trying so hard to be the best version of herself lately. Maybe Xander was right, and she did need to reevaluate that aspect of her life.

Ophelia: I’d appreciate that. Thank you.

Xander: Why don’t I walk you home?

Ophelia: That’s okay, it’s out of your way.

Xander: No, it’s late. I want to make sure you get home okay. Come on, let's get a move on, Lemon Cake.

Ophelia: …Okay.

Xander gets Ophelia to the front door and hugs her goodbye. That was the goal, and yet… it doesn’t seem like either of them want him to leave.

Ophelia: I know it’s late but do you want to see my new place? I haven’t shown you around.

Xander: Sure. I can stay for a bit.

Ophelia's home tour, fueled by the raw emotions she and Xander have been through the past 24 hours, is a bit unconventional but it gets the job done. Ophelia shows Xander the living room for a bit. But the bedroom? Yeah, Ophelia shows him her bedroom, alright.

[housewarningparty]

15, 19, 20 for the book asks!

15. recommend and review a book.

technically cheating bc this is the second time i've recommended it to you but i don't think on a discord call before watching orphan: first kill COUNTS so here we are again:

Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries by Rick Emerson was an EXPERIENCE. the subtitle really gives you everything you need to know but for the sake of calling this a review. i think it's pretty much impossible to have been a kind of dark teenager and not at least heard of go ask alice, right? most of my friends were kind of obsessed with it at one point or another - we always argued about whether it was real or not. not only does this book conclusively put that question to bed, it does so by providing a lot of highly specific context i was unaware of.

there's a lot more mormonism and satanic panic than i realized was part of the legacy of go ask alice and jay's diary. as with most things involving mormonism and the satanic panic, it's oftentimes frustrating, depressing, and infuriating to learn about, but emerson really keeps things moving and his style is immersive and engaging. I FLEW through this book. i learned a lot about utah. highly recommend.

19. most disliked popular books?

a psalm for the wildbuilt by becky chambers dear god i tried I TRIED to like this but this is the book that made me give up on hopepunk and on chambers, despite her work being widely beloved by many ppl i like and respect. i'm sure she's great at what she's doing but it's NOT the kind of thing i can get into. reading something this aggressively positive and therapy-speak-y just makes me feel condescended to and annoyed. probably not rational but i yam what i yam. eugh.

20. what are things you look for in a book?

hMM trying to answer this more specifically

in horror i've got a broad range of tastes. it's more about what i don't like - i tend to avoid more extreme, splatterpunky stuff. but i can have an equally good time with pulpy garbage as i can with subtle metaphorical stuff.

SFF - historically i saw myself as more of a sci-fi fan with less of an appetite for fantasy but that's kind of flipped recently. i can't tell if fantasy has gotten better, or if i've just gotten better at finding what i like, or if i've just developed more of an appreciation for it. i definitely feel like it's been easier to find fantasy books i'm interested in than it is to find sci-fi. but anway, digressing - in fantasy i like cool world-building with bonus points for non-european based settings. in sci-fi i have a weakness for military sci-fi. i bought some lesbian cyberpunk books recently though, maybe that can be my new thing.

book asks