#again it was bad even for their standard of bad

[takeyourcyanide]

they were already incredibly suspicious to me, every last one of those supposed “professionals.” i think I’m more suspicious than I ever was now - somehow that was possible. I’m even more apprehensive, perhaps even fearful.

solidarity between people who want to take psychiatric meds to function and those who don’t.

What’s important is that we both have autonomy, informed consent and safe access to treatments we want, and to not be forced, coerced or pressured into those we don’t.

[thezombieprostitute]

The Arrangement - Part 12

Summary: Jake's done a lot of things to keep his sister, and then his niece, safe from his parent's influence and manipulation. If he wants to keep them safe, he has to marry you.

Warnings: Anxiety, Bad parents and siblings, Talking about abuse. Let me know if I missed any!

Part 11 - Part 13

Series Masterlist

It had been just over a week since your wedding. You and Jake have improved your communication. He's also managed to really set himself up in the home theater where he'd spent that first night. Apparently one thing your parents got right was the massive pair of recliners specifically for that room. Jake swears they're more comfortable than most of the beds he's slept on over the years. It makes you feel better about taking the master bedroom for yourself. Clay had visited again bringing a few duffel bags of Jake's things, including his computer. The massive screen for the theater worked really well for his setup.

While you were cooking, Clay had made sure to update Jake on the status of his family. Things were working pretty well, but there were going to be a lot of paper trails to hide so that they couldn't be followed. Or at least, not followed easily. Aisha and Cougar had both caught a couple of people following his family around that were confirmed to be employed by his parents. Hopefully now that Jake had his computer he could get some better intel on the parents' finances and connections.

But you weren't privy to that update. Jake and Clay agreed it was safer to keep you in the dark about the details. Though Jake didn't doubt your sincerity, there were still too many unknowns about you.

You really didn't mind that they got quiet whenever you were near. Your mind was already at maximum anxiety with Travis, your brother, still being in the Intensive Care Unit. Your parents had been acting unusually as the week progressed and Travis didn't get better. According to the police report he'd been seen drinking heavily with friends before trying to drive home. Usually one of his friends would be the designated driver and keep everyone's keys but, somehow, Travis had gotten his keys.

And now your parents seemed to be readjusting their life plans, and yours as well. The one time you were allowed to visit the hospital you'd overheard your parents murmuring about "he can't be seen like this," "he'll be seen as weak," and other similar thoughts. It made you worried you and Jake would be even more under their scrutiny, set to even higher standards. Your breath hitched as you realized they may demand a grandchild to help change the public perception of the family to one of hope or something like that.

You and Jake were getting ready for your first public event as a couple. You're helping Jake pick out the right suit while doing your best to answer his questions about what to expect, what is appropriate conversation, how much both of you needed to talk to others before you could leave. You know you're missing things. Jake does, too. But neither of you can think of the questions to ask so you establish a silent signal for help. Jake squeezes your hand three times and you either step in or whisper some advice in his ear. It's not a great system, but it's all you can do for now.

Jake hates how he looks in all of this but he knows it's not about him or his comfort. At least he doesn't have to wear the torture device you call a dress. The thing looks impossibly tight on you. He's worried about your ability to breathe. And the stiletto heels have you warning him you'll be on his arm all night to help you keep your balance. Jake actually takes comfort in that because he really doesn't want to be left alone at this event. Probably any event, but this first one especially.

As the car pulls up Jake takes a deep breath and you attempt the same.

"We can do this, right?" He says quietly.

"I believe we can," you nod. You gently squeeze his hand in reassurance like you did that first morning with the parents.

He nods, "let's do this."

As soon as he's able Jake is out of the car and opening your door for you. The last time he did so you were scared of each other. Now you make sure to give him a small smile of thanks as he takes your hand. The elevator ride to the party is as quiet as the one you took together your wedding night, but less oppressively so. It isn't until the elevator doors open that you both put on your fake smiles. Both of you taking small comfort in the fact that neither of you is suffering alone.

After the first couple hours Jake is ready to punch someone, anyone, just so he can be forced to leave since he's not allowed out yet. He's incredibly grateful you insisted on eating a little something beforehand. The food here is barely edible and dissolves faster than cotton candy. He hates the wine? Champagne? Whatever the hell it is, he hates the taste of it but, in following your lead, he knows he has to at least sip often enough to warrant a replacement glass every 30 minutes or so. Jake was grateful to have your weight on his arm to help keep him grounded.

Especially when Charles Blackwood, a "friend" of his from high school, showed up. Charles had been nothing but a leech throughout all of high school but Jake was desperate for some kind of friendship.

"Jacob! Where have you been?" Charles holds out his hand and Jake grips it firmly.

"I've been okay, Charles. You?"

"Holy crap, you're married now? Is that why you finally came out of hiding?"

"Sort of," he admits.

He goes to introduce you but Charles stops him. "I know this lovely lady quite well," he admits. You avert your eyes. "We were engaged for some time."

"You were?"

"Didn't she tell you?" Charles smirks. "Would've been married for two years now if her parents hadn't stepped in."

"For once I'm glad they did," you interject. "You're a conman who shouldn't be here."

Charles gives a small laugh, "well look who finally grew up. Too bad you didn't pick up on what was going on before I got you into bed." Your cheeks burn with embarrassment. "How are those dolphin projects going?"

"Sharks," Jake snipes. "Her focus was on sharks."

"Ooo, nerd standing up for nerd. How cute."

"You need to leave us alone," Jake fumes. "She is my wife and I won't let you insult her."

Charles scoffs, "since when can you fight?"

"Since boot camp."

That gives Charles pause. He searches Jake's face for tells that he's lying but finds none.

"Yeah, alright," Charles concedes. "Just don't ruin this party for me. Lots of other potential targets."

As soon as he was out of hearing range you let out a breath. "I'm so sorry," your voice quavers. "I should have...I should have told you."

"Told me what? That your ex-fiance is an asshole? That's not something you need to divulge."

"No...that...that I'm not..."

Jake leans in so that you're the only one who hears him. "You're more than just your virginity status. I'm sorry your first time was with him, he doesn't seem the type to make your pleasure a priority, but I'm not upset that you've had sex before."

You take as deep a breath as you can to steady yourself. "Thank you for that."

"So, can we leave the party yet?"

You check Jake's watch, trying not to be obvious about it. "We've got at least another half hour."

"When we do get out of here, would you be up for going out for some real food?"

You chuckle, "maybe delivery? Or take out? I'm not going to be able to eat much in this dress."

"Fair. And thank you for helping me get through all of this."

"Thank you for listening to my advice," you counter.

"Always," Jake affirms.

Part 11 - Part 13

Series Masterlist

Tagging: @alicedopey; @ashdoctor; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn; @embarrasingmf;

@irishhappiness; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @lokislady82;

@ronearoundblindly; @thiquefunlover63

[alexanderwales]

I use Windows Night Light to help my sleep schedule, and it sucks so much. Half the time it doesn't even turn on. When that happens, I have to manually go click "Turn Off" (even though it was clearly not on), then click "Turn On" again, at which point it works.

So I went to go see whether there was a fix for this, and I saw all kinds of inconsistent suggestions, and I tried some of them, and it didn't actually fix anything. There are complications that come with having certain graphics cards, or drivers, and ...

Alright, look, I was a software engineer for many years, I know that sometimes things are more complicated than they seem. However, I cannot fathom why "adjust monitor colors at X hour" is so difficult that there are pages upon pages of complaints about it not working. It should work in the vast majority of cases, and what shouldn't fix it is just clicking a button to stop it and then clicking a button to start it again.

What I'm saying is that I'm in the market for a program that will do this very simple job, since apparently the bad behavior of this one is something that's just not getting fixed.

flux is not it. While I'm exasperated by the continual issues with Night Light, I am actively angry with flux. I live fairly far north by American standards. Sunset for me, right now, is 4:30PM. I like to have normal colors on my computer when I am, e.g. watching a show, playing a game, looking at pictures, etc. I only really need the warm colors in the three or four hours before I go to sleep. Flux is free software, so I try to keep my cool, but "please let me set my time manually rather than by location" is their single most requested feature, and every time they say "oh actually flux is for having your screen be in harmony with the natural environment, you don't need that". Maybe this is just steadfast refusal to engage in scope creep, but I've read a bunch of forum messages asking for the same feature that I want, and the answers are always "I don't understand why you would want that" or something equally infuriating in spite of how many times someone says "I'm a Finnish graphic designer with weird working hours" or equivalent.

The standard workaround seems to be telling flux that you're located in a different part of the world than you actually are, but this is terrible UI, and you would also need to change it in accordance with the time of year unless you spent some time figuring out the correct spot that you don't live which works year-round for you.

(I saw another hilarious workaround on the flux forums where a guy set up a scheduled Windows task to kill and restart flux at specific times.)

So I hate flux, in spite of my commitment to not hate free software that did not cost me anything and has never asked for anything from me.

[dcdreamblog]

How many types of kryptonite are there? I know this isn't quite history, but you seem incredibly knowledgeable and there so much misinformation. The wiki page is constantly vandalized, people making nonsense up; crazy stuff like plaid kryptonite ruins Kryptonian fashion sense and then it's cleaned up and locked. Even when it seems normal it gets messed up. Someone once edited blue kryptonite from "only hurts Bizarros" to "only hurts Bizarros, will mutate normal people into Bizarros and then hurt them"

Ah yes, the green stuff. So in the public imagination, seemingly omnipresent despite the fact that there's never been enough of it in one place for study to fill a gym locker. Yes, I would like to set this particular record straight because for god's sake I'm sure Superman would to.

(A brochure of the 6 types of Kryptonite on display at the opening of Metropolis' Superman Museum)

So, groundwork for those of you who may not know. Kryptonite is a radioactive element that was created when Superman's home planet Krypton detonated due to a chain reaction in its unstable core. The detonation irradiated the planet's crust and mantle as they were flung outward into space and various aspects either of that radiation or the material irradiated formed it into different kinds of kryptonite each manifesting a unique form or effect.

To cover up the first and biggest misconception. No it is not "everywhere", nor is it actually that common.

The amount of Kryptonite, all told that exists on Earth at this point in time is theorized by STAR Labs to be less than 10 tons. Which sounds like a lot but is less than what 2 elephants weigh.

Krypton was a large planet, larger than Earth by orders of magnitude and even then the amount of Kryptonite that would have naturally made its way to Earth probably wouldn't have fit in a coffee cup. Most of that weight hitched a ride on the warp engine the brought baby Superman to Earth and all of the exotic stuff has been brought here intentionally by alien villains and gotten lost or confiscated.

There are 5 "Core" varieties, two that have been seen in a few prominent instances and a few that are know to theoretically exist

About 95% of the Kryptonite mass on Earth and the universe is standard Green Kryptonite, made up of the standard, stable earth elements flung outward in Krypton's explosion. Metal, stone, etc. It is radioactive, giving off "K Radiation" that is highly damaging to the solar energy held within Kryptonian cells. It causes weakness, fatigue and a weakening of Kryptonian powers and over prolonged exposure can be lethal.

Misconceptions Debunked: It is still radioactive, if you keep it around you WILL get cancer. No, Superman is not instantly helpless to it. Better men than you have tried. No, technically it is not illegal to own but unless you own a mid sized country you can't afford any and none is legally for sale anyway, G Gordon and Alex Jones lied to you.

The next 4% of Kryptonite mass is Red Kryptonite formed by the already radioactive elements within Krypton when it exploded. Uranium, Plutonium, etc. The mingling radiations created a truly dangerous and unpredictable material that has wildly mutagenic effects on a Kryptonian exposed to it. Literally anything can happen, good, bad or indifferent. The same chunk also cannot effect the same Kryptonian twice. It's theorized that once the mutation is corrected for, the hyper effective Kryptonian immune system is able to stamp it out if it ever crops up again.

Misconceptions Debunked: This one is even MORE radioactive, it will kill you FASTER. Yes, all of the stories you have heard are true. Yes, even that one.

The final 1% of natural Kryptonite mass is Gold Kryptonite formed when standard Green and Red K, still molten from Krypton's explosion, collided, alloying together. It causes a chain reaction that destroyed the Kryptonian ability to metabolize solar energy, destroying their powers. Permanently.

Misconceptions Debunked: This one is the MOST radioactive, time until lethal radiation poisoning at arms length is lower than the elephant's foot under Chernobyl. Every single ounce of this stuff is accounted for, we know how much of it is on earth down to MICROGRAM and where every one of those micrograms is at every second of every day.

The final of the varities that exist in any quantity are artificial or do not exist on Earth in any permanent amount.

Blue Kryptonite was created to ward off Bizarro, only Superman know how to or has the resources to create it. Only a single sample of it exists for study and use in emergencies, all extras made in those emergencies are destroyed for the sake of them not being used against the Bizarro race accidentally or on purpose

White Kryptonite is lethal to all plant life on any world due to is radiation basically melting Chloroplast it has only been seen in a single large meteorite that Superman averted, no one knows for sure what he did with it and most people do not want to.

Jewel Kryptonite is formed only from the shards of Krypton's Jewel Mountains it has some ability to manifest connection to the mysterious Phantom Zone. Because of this security risk it is not allowed to exist once discovered. All other varieties quickly listed below are either fictional, theoretical or have never been studied because they existed for times measured in minutes or less.

Black Kryptonite: Causes violent psychosis in Kryptonians, created on Apokolips.

Artificial Kryptonite: You would have better luck atomically turning air into gold bars but yes, we do know what it's made up of so we could theoretically make some.

Silver Kryptonite: Might exist in the form of magically altered artifacts? Historicity unclear.

Pink Kryptonite: In your AO3 fanfics only, you know who you are.

Kryptisium: ULTRA theoretical, would allow for the increased absorption of solar radiation. The creation of this material is a green energy holy grail and the main reason Kryptonite is actually studied.

Slow Kryptonite: Some dingbat artificially decreased Kryptonite's atomic mass. To "effect humans the way K effects Kryptonians". What he had done was "invent" Plutonium.

Anti-Kryptonite: Kryptonite from the Antimatter realities. Does not exist for very long for obvious reasons.

Blood Kryptonite: You are in a cult, please, grieve and move on. Its what your loved one would want.

Looks up

If that is not the whole shebang I don't wanna know what is.

[chrismerle]

on the whole, I'm willing to let a lot slide under the umbrella of 'the blight is now effectively its own living entity, as it's being altered in real time by Ghilan'nain,' and some of it I'm willing to just go 'that's clearly a loose thread for later' since it's clear that another sequel in probably another fifteen years is intended (mostly with regards to 'something even weirder is in the blight now'). generally speaking, though, I do agree that the blight needed to be handled with a little more consistency than it was (and lbr, 'sometimes red lyrium just means it's angry' was a cop out because they wanted the lyrium to look like blood and ignored the fact that keeping it unnaturally blue would have been plenty spooky) and SOME explanation for how the Neve/Bellara got healed at the end would have been nice. but a lot of this seems ... I don't know if nitpicky is the right word. it just seems really convenient to only bring some of this up solely with regards to veilguard

like, 'oh, the blight is suuuuuper contagious and deadly, except for Rook and Co.! booo!' okay but then tell that to Morrigan, Leliana, Zevran, pre-Awakening Oghren, and Sten, who were all not Wardens and who were all getting wounded by supposedly highly infectious darkspawn. plus your literally blighted dog, which you cured incredibly easily with one(1) flower that is then never mentioned ever again. if that's an inconsistency now, it was an inconsistency then, too. when in reality allowances just have to be made for the fact it's a video game. in-universe, it's super easy to get infected with the blight, but as a player, if you keeled over and died every time a darkspawn touched you then the games would have been unplayable from the beginning. or i guess they would just be another series of souls-likes.

or the talking darkspawn or the heavily blighted Wardens. the blight doesn't just make you drop dead, it turns you into a darkspawn. the calling isn't the point at which wardens drop dead. it's the point at which the blight catches up with them and turns them into a darkspawn finally. that's why a lot of them go off into the deep roads when they start hearing it; they want to go get killed so they can't turn into a darkspawn, while taking as many already-existing darkspawn down with them as they can. it's a zombie plague, but it's set in a medieval fantasy so no one wants to call it a zombie plague. some of the zombies are just smart zombies; this is not a new trope. the heavily blighted wardens helping isseya are talking darkspawn, which have been around in every game, if you include the DLC. the Architect and the Mother in Awakening? they're talking darkspawn. Corypheus, the big bad of the entirety of Inquisition? he's a talking darkspawn. Isseya is the same thing; she even kinda looks like the Architect. if intelligent, talking darkspawn are an inconsistency now, they were an inconsistency then, too.

(and this isn't even getting into the fact that the Architect baldly states 'darkspawn can be returned to full rationality by drinking the blood of a Grey Warden' and it is then never addressed again)

was veilguard messy in places? yes, but that's not unique to veilguard. dragon age as a whole, as much as I love it (and I do love it, so much), has just always been a goddamn mess. there's a random event in Origins where totally-not-kal-el falls from space and is then found by totally-not-john-and-martha-kent and it is never addressed again. the qunari basically turned into a different species between origins and DA2, and the entire thing was just hand-waved away with 'sometimes they're just born with no horns.' in Origins mabari are said to be super intelligent by dog standards, to the extent of being able to understand spoken orders, they imprint on a single owner, and they're relatively rare, but by the time Inquisition happens basically every dog in Thedas is a mabari and they've just become really big pit bulls, and Cullen just finds and adopts a random one. only mages can do magic, but it's apparently not magic when the rogues turn invisible, teleport, back flip 16 feet into the air and still shoot with unerring accuracy, drop a respawn point in the middle of battle, or make spectral clones of themselves, and it's also not magic when the warriors spontaneously become invincible.

I dunno, I don't expect anyone's opinion to change from my tirade. it just feels disingenuous to see so many people go 'can you believe how messy Veilguard is for these things that have been there since Origins but that I'm only conveniently taking issue with now?'

the lore inconsistencies with the blight in this game are actually exhausting. 'the rules have changed the blight has changed' okay but make it make sense within the changes please like

the blight is the titans dreams gone mad with rage okay. red lyrium is lyrium infected with the blight. except that section of red lyrium in harding's quest which is... angry... but somehow not infected with the blight... even though we know what red lyrium is from inquisition

the calling eventually kills you but there's a bunch of super blighted wardens who've been alive for ages underground. isseya has been alive since the 4th blight. these wardens aren't even proper darkspawn they're just Really Corrupted

there's that ominous 'theres something in the blight' quest you do in the wetlands that just turns out to be a giant blight growth. darkspawn appear from blight pools now. also apparently in the wetlands there's just a bunch of flowers happily thriving beneath the blight that are fine once the blight is removed. did we forget the western approach. that the land is barren after it's infected with the blight.

it's super easy to become infected with the blight, except if you're rook and co apparently because that blighted status sure doesn't really have any consequences. spEAKING OF which neve/bellara become super duper infected by the blight to the point they can control it and yet afterwards... they're fine?? they're fine!! there's no cure for the blight except apparently you can just shake it off. the hero of fereldan has been searching for a cure for decades but could've just shrugged it off apparently!

[hella1975]

it's been pointed out on here before that a lot of terf arguments are actually rooted in sexist idealology that feminists fought and died to unnormalise decades ago and that's its own kettle of fish but one thing i also find very frustrating about this so called 'radical' feminism is that it's so... defeatist? like the moment you categorically label an entire section of society as Bad and Inherently Evil then there's also the implication that nothing can be done about it, and it completely takes all accountability away. saying all men are evil is just another way of saying boys will be boys. he raped her because he's a man. he hit her because he's a man. he didn't listen because he's a man - it's almost offensively oversimplified. there's no point trying to fix this issue in society because men are just Like That, okay! so now what? it's not like they're going anywhere, so you just accept that 50% of the population are evil and will forever treat you terribly and there's nothing to be done about it bc they're biologically predisposed to it? like is that fr the argument here? you're soooo radical for that

[valewritessss]

The amount of criticism and hate the wottg book is getting makes me scared to like it bc it feels like if I do then I’m doing something wrong��

[supremechancellorrex]

Okay, then, it's online space, we can go back and forth forever as it's all public discourse and there's no such thing as trespassing. Please give me examples of Mai saying fascist rhetoric or looking down on other nations racially. Aside from her just existing as a FN character born on the wrong side of the border. "Zuko did x" is actually a good measure when there's a double standard. Funny enough, I've met even people who call Zuko fascist and dislike Zuko's redemption story as it ends up with him as an absolute monarch, who mishandles the Fire Nation colony problem and puts FN citizen interests above Earth Kingdom interest for much of the Promise. The word is hardly stirring in this fandom now. Others have called him an abuser for how controlling he was in the Beach in who Mai could talk to. And they tell me all of that is so apparent. It seems in some opinions Zuko is badly written, despite the feels and "kindness" conclusions.

Also with Sokka and Suki it is not a "false equivalence" because Sokka and Suki were friends and then lovers who meet up again and kissed in the Serpent's Pass after spending days together and that whole spiel about Yue, his first girlfriend. He rebuffs Ty Lee in the Crossroads of Destiny by saying he's "with Suki now". Sokka went into a fit of rage and cried in Day of Black Sun over Suki, yet he didn't think of her missing until Azula mentions it despite it being weeks. Then as soon as they meet up again Sokka tries to smooch her immediately. They are in a relationship, it goes without saying. This is the nature of Avatar. You could complain the relationship between Suki and Sokka is fast, it could also be complained that Sokka forgets about Suki for a long time despite being committed to her. Arguably makes Sokka seem rather callous if one is to ignore this is an episodic kid's show, same with Zuko.

As for your conjecture of "We're supposed to think", that's just your interpretation, a rather absolutist one, but the context, voice acting, body language/smiles and structuring of those scenes, including the quotes I have shared but you're free to watch them yourself, make it unlikely for quite a number of others, myself included. Since you've talked about what you hate, I'll tell you what I dislike in the fandom. Absolutist takes where everyone in the audience is told "We're supposed to" with no evidence provided. This is what Azula stans say, they say "We're supposed to sympathise with Azula", "We're supposed to see that she's an abuse victim child and not judge her at all", despite it just being their interpretation. Mai does not dismiss everything Zuko says, there are many times she tries to understand and comfort him in Book 3, and Zuko's actual reasons for leaving are stated in the show.

Zuko: "Everyone in the Fire Nation thinks I'm a traitor... I couldn't drag her into it."

This is a protective measure for her, not "anti-war rhetoric" fears.

I think it's quite clear he didn't think she was going to do anything to him. He expresses no actual fear towards Mai at all. Even when he runs into her in the Boiling Rock, still no fear. It's because Mai and Zuko actually have a level of trust, because Mai has been often supportive of him despite a couple mistakes here and there. The more Zuko and Mai got to know each other in the show, the more time goes the more they ironed out problems like how most relationships work.

I also disagree with your accusations of how I allegedly "misconstrued" your argument when I actually think you misunderstand and misconstrue mine. You don't have to say someone doesn't need to be as bad as Ozai or Azula to be an abuser, although it's rather irrelevant, and I never said Mai's difficulty emoting was a good thing. Just like I would never say Zuko taking out his anger on others is a good thing, if we're talking about the relationship and responsibility. The funny thing is, Mai learns how to emote more and express herself. She even smiles more as the series progresses, she confronts Azula, she chooses Zuko over fear and bitterness. As for 'just "being human" and a teenage girl", think you restructured my sentence there, but regardless I never said Mai was perfect, there are reasons why, and I just don't believe it takes her out the running from having a relationship with Zuko just because they both have baggage or aren't perfect at communicating in every interaction. If you don't think Mai is "nasty", then why would Katara be supposedly justified in punching her in the throat and never liking her? I think the word is actually a good summary of your view of her, since you claim she's an "abuser" and "mean" to everyone, demanding a relationship with Zuko as if this is an entrapment case (despite Zuko clearly wanting the relationship as well and making his own decisions).

Zuko [surprised, happy]: 'Mai! You're okay! They let you out of prison?"

Mai : "My uncle pulled some strings. And it doesn't hurt when the new Fire Lord is your boyfriend."

Zuko: [happy, smiling] "So does this mean you don't hate me anymore?"

Look at Zuko's response, look at the context. Think we can take it that Mai isn't demanding anything here if they both know each other and what each other wants. Zuko is receptacle because he wants to be back with her, and she knows it, which is the context of the dialogue. It feels like you're forcing Mai into an aggressor/abuser role that doesn't fit her character. Mai herself is critiqued in the narrative for suppressing her emotions, and as the narrative continues we see her learn to express them more to the point she not only yells in the Beach but later goes against Azula. But Mai is never an abuser. Whether you appreciate this or not, these are canon scenes. You can argue bad writing, but it doesn't change that the writing is geared to Mai being a certain character, and that is likely not the one you're accusing her of, even with her earlier villain rep that felt rather mild in the narrative ultimately. She didn't even want to chase Katara and Sokka through slurry.

As for Ukano, guy hardly seems like a threat, Mai handled him and everyone easily while holding a toddler. Perhaps Mai didn't think Ukano would achieve much, or join with Azula, who was supposed to be in asylum. Do I think it's bad writing? Sure. Entire New Ozai Society is. Same with how I think Zuko regressing his character arc and getting advice from a genocidal maniac like Ozai is bad. At worst, they're just both muddled about their bad fathers and manipulated at times, Ukano plants doubts in Mai's mind in Smoke and Shadow (that undermine Maiko), Ozai plants doubts in Zuko in the Promise (that consequently undermine Maiko). Not sure how this adds to your Mai is an abuser narrative, Ukano and Ozai are a better fit for the blame by messing with their kids' feelings and relationship.

"I think Katara would get along with Azula/Mai because female solidarity!"

Cool. I think Katara would punch fascists in the throat.

[caspersscareschool]

he literally sews his kids stupid little outfits from scratch does anyone even fucking care

[mamawasatesttube]

sorry i need to be a hater for a minute. tim drake: robin is a plague upon this earth because it is late 2024 and i Still can't go into kon tags without seeing that stupid fucking blond bitch. enough

[libra-cant-just-dance]

Me: I refuse to write the Just Dance characters cursing. They’re from a kids game, they’re going to act like it.

Also me: *puts them through the most fucked up body horror I’ve ever written*

[utilitycaster]

Sort of a distant tangent off my post about Ashton, but I'm growing more and more suspicious of the fandom claim that there's no time for small RP moments in Campaign 3. I do think that it's been challenging to get deeper party bonding or serious conversations that aren't about the big philosophical questions they're facing, since those do take much more time; but then I think about Calamity, or Candela Obscura. I can genuinely give you at least a couple paragraphs about pretty much every relationship in the two Circles, or in the Ring of Brass. I can also point to no shortage of small moments between characters in the Mighty Nein Aeor or Vox Machina Vecna endgame episodes, which were all extremely plot-heavy and fast-paced, and D20 consistently nails character relationships in a fraction of the time.

I think it really does come down to, as Brennan Lee Mulligan always says, the character creation phase. Laying down a solid groundwork in which everyone has a detailed, rich backstory and sense of personality and relationship history (in the case of characters who knew each other prior to the start of the series) is absolutely crucial, and even in the case of characters who don't know each other before going in, a good amount of time spent in character creation ensures that it's easier for them to develop those interpersonal relationships on the fly. I know in actual play there's some degree of finding the character as you play, but there are games for which there is a very short runway, and I don't think it ever hurts to do more extensive character prep than the bare minimum. And if there are gaps, I think it also helps to go back and fill those in mid-way, away from the table - Travis clarifying Chetney's backstory being a great example that allowed the history of Chetney and Deanna to feel realized and full, despite only a few episodes.

I'll also be blunt: most of the time when people complain that there aren't moments because the plot keeps moving...they're mad about shipping. Which has always rung hollow to me. It was a common complaint in C2, that no time was taken for character relationships, despite them taking an entire half of an episode for the Beauyasha date and despite no shortage of moments for all three of the other couples (and plenty of platonic moments between friends). The issue was never a lack of time; it was that the characters they wanted to talk to each other didn't actually have the relationship in canon that the fans had dreamed up, and so, when the chips were down, they went to other people.

It takes two seconds to say something like "I hold their hand", even in the middle of plot-heavy adventuring. If someone doesn't say it, it's rarely the GM rushing them; it's the player either choosing not to do so, or not remembering to do so, and either of those is quite revealing regarding how the player feels about that relationship and where it stands in their priorities.

[coquelicoq]

lmao walking home today at 9:30pm in the dark i hear a voice say "it's a good thing you're walking on this side of the street." which isn't ominous at all. the voice goes on to tell me it's because there's coyotes in these parts. like okay i guess coyotes see a residential street and are like i can't walk suddenly i don't know.

[inhcritance]

There was a shift in Harry's face as Peter approached, one that was merely a raised eyebrow and then a smile, small but present there, and Connors noticed it even before Harry's smile turned wider, because Peter's arrival -and him recognizing the familiar pattern of steps- was the best news of the days, most likely.

He could see how much Connors wanted to ask him how he'd known, and Harry would tell him, if he didn't put together that he did know how to use his hearing, but knowing the doctor it wouldn't be necessary.

Truly, it had been just some days, and everything felt different and yet the same, and both guilt and frustration warred with the relief and the joy, because their last conversation had definitely been... complex. So many choices, so many matters, all of the navigating with the kind of nebulous half-understanding that was Harry's mind, even as he tried to piece together what was going on, and what had happened.

Now, after some days, he could claim he remembered so much more, and it made him far more aware of everything he didn't. Of Peter and FEAST and a different FEAST, and a different Peter. Of Connors and the Lizard serum and yet another Lizard, a different Connors, a different ESU.

Sometimes, Harry wondered if he had just dreamed so much of it, before deciding they were questions that could wait, almost every time, and watching Peter sit down even as Connors stopped halfway through and explanation that had Harry add to the pile of notes of things he did not remember. And Connors was smart enough to know when Harry did need a break, and there was a perfect excuse for it. Even if he wasn't smart enough not to glance at the little camera that had moved before he shook his head.

"It was about time for a break, nevertheless, and we can go back to this later."

To Harry being the mix of frustrated and focused that was his day to day now, and the occasional sharp relief when he remembered something. At least, he thought, tiny, clean note-taking seemed to be his standard, and with a glass in the middle it felt almost comfortable to have a conversation. Almost.

"I'll go get coffee, do you two want anything?" Connors offered, as he gathered up his notes again, and Harry nodded.

"Coffee and as much cream as you can add before it's too unhealthy." Harry asked, his smile almost amused, almost relieved.

It had never been his usual order, but the coffee here did taste horrible.

"I miss my coffee maker." Harry admitted, voice low, once Connors was gone, before his attention was on Peter, and the notes were set to the side, and he leaned his chin on his hand, once again renewing his memories of him, matching the new with the old and what his eyes told him.

"It's good to see you." He admitted. "I hope the trip here wasn't too bad."

@localwebslingers

It had been about as awkward as he expected when Norman did show up, with a couple of doctors behind him by the looks of it, but Harry had been right. Despite how Peter had initially assumed it would go, the man didn't throw him out immediately, and even was what would pass for civil about him being there. Maybe not completely pleased that Peter was, and maybe hiding his surprise at the fact, but civil. It was the best that he could hope for really. By the time it was late enough he needed to leave, not because he wanted to but becuase Harry needed sleep and so did he, there was one more issue to talk around and Peter did his best. Explaining that he lived fairly far and he unfortunately wasn't always free to make the trip back to visit. But did so as often as he could, for as long as he could, and promised that he would be back as soon as he possibly could be.

There was nothing he'd have wanted more than to be able to stay in that universe for several days, even weeks, while Harry started readjusting but it wasn't possible. Not realistically, and as much as Peter loved Harry he couldn't just up and abandon his responsibilities back in his own universe. Knew that if there wasn't amnesia complicating things that Harry would agree and wouldn't hold that against him. For a moment as he explained, he thought that maybe there was understanding about it still there, in it's own way, but couldn't be sure.

Only a few days had gone by when Peter was able to step away again, and with the way his own city was it seemed like he could be away for more than just the afternoon. As long as he checked the news later that night to make sure that really was still the case. The time let him get the photos fully developed though, all of Harry's city rather than his own, figuring it would be the one to be slowly recognized the easiest. Taken when he'd left, before actually going home and after touching base with MJ to fill her in. Something Peter also had asked Harry about, because it wasn't for him to decide if people got to know sooner or not, or about how much they got to know. Now the photos were developed, and after stopping at the penthouse to grab a couple of small things, Peter made his way back into the lab.

It was even easier the second time around, both because he knew the way in and this time, they knew he was coming and to just let him in. Not that Peter exactly used the front door anyways, but at least when he passed someone in the hallway they didn't threaten to call security. He still wasn't even sure if there was security on site.

Peter pushed the same set of doors open to this time see someone already in the room. It was weird to see Conners in person again, even if it wasn't the same one. He shut the door softly behind him and this time, grabbed a chair to bring with him along the way before smiling a little at the two, "Hey, don't let me interrupt the talk, I can wait my turn." the camera in the corner was already focused on him and he again wasn't sure if that was security or if it was Norman watching his arrival. The chair was set at about the same spot he had been in the last visit, and Peter set the bag down on the floor for now to sit and wait for the conversation he walked in on to wrap up.

|| @inhcritance ||

[bookshelfdreams]

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[mumpsetc]

The Way Redemption Works in MLP Where the Redeemed Party Has to Be Ok With Ponies Referencing Their Wrong Doings Like They're Fresh and Recent Forever and Any Frustration or Pushback or Response That Isn't a Placcid "Yes I Was the Most Evil Pony Ever" is Treated as Backsliding Kinda Sucks, Esp With How Nonuniformly It Gets Enforced.

Why Does Discord Get to Become a Whacky Cast Member Despite Continuing to Be a Weasely Cunt But Luna, Starlight, Sunset and Even Trixie Have to Develop Self Policing Guilt Complexes That Ruin Their Confidence and Constantly Put Them on Edge to Have the Dignity of Not Constantly Getting Their Past Behavior Shoved in Their Faces