#also I understand dads of the 80’s

[breadinpain]

Boss gave me 4 day long weekend so WOO!! Also boo, slightly smaller pay check but h think I could care less right now, I’ve worked so many hours lately I don’t care! I’m taking it soooo easy these next handful of days

[thats-godscomma]

Since rewatching Psych, I've been thinking about how weird and arbitrary Shawn's interests are. Sure, late 2000's writing had something to do with it, and maybe a bit of Henry and Gus's influence, but hearing Shawn be so vocal about how he hates certain popular things or (more importantly) refuses to give them a chance BUT at the same time knowing so many pop culture references, it got me thinking.

What if the reason Shawn has so many pop culture references on hand is because of his eidetic memory, and he doesn't actually have as much of an interest in pop culture? Throughout the show, he actively avoids getting roped into big interests and franchises (see: comic books, soap operas, etc.) despite the fact that he genuinely seems excited once he's part of it. In fact, we don't get to see a lot of Shawn's interests at all unless it's based on an idea.

Take being a bounty hunter, for example. According to him, he's obsessed with the idea, but he doesn't make many references to an actual bounty hunter show or franchise. Instead, he just remembers the one bounty hunter he saw as a child and maybe references a movie or two. Because once he remembers something, he's never going to forget it, or at least not for a very long time.

That's why he thinks in references. Everything is a reference if you have a good enough memory. Everything reminds you of something. If Shawn hears someone make a Spock reference, it's in his repertoire forever. But he wouldn't be caught dead watching the shows or movies because that's just too much information. Why on earth would he endure that?

Of course, it also intertwines with his ADHD. He has bouts of energy and trouble focusing. He can't sit still to save his life, and he hyperfixates...or he would if his memory didn't make him averse to it. So if he doesn't want to hyperfixate on an information-based interest, then what does he hyperfixate on? Physical activities. Instead of learning about his favorite daredevil, he tries to be one himself. When he learns about oil rigs, he doesn't get a book from the library. He tries to find oil in his backyard.

This is also where he and Henry differ regarding Shawn's "potential." Henry is correct when he talks about Shawn's "wasted" potential, but he doesn't understand the toil of having this eidetic memory and ADHD. Here's what I think happened: Henry probably noticed Shawn's stellar memory at a young age, realized he has a gift, spoke with his wife about her eidetic memory, learned that you need to challenge your child's eidetic memory at a young age or it'll go away, started the hat game to make it fun and exciting, but then Shawn's ADHD appeared. Suddenly, it made him much harder to raise (because let's be real, Shawn was not an easy child.) Henry didn't know what he was doing anymore, and since it was the 80's, he didn't have the resources to properly understand his kid's behavior, so he tried to find a common interest, and started training Shawn to be a detective "because kids love cop shows." But Shawn struggled to stay attached to one single interest, and when he grew up, he stopped trying to articulate his problems because his mom (the only person who remotely understood his struggles) left, and he blamed his dad for it.

And academics? Those are a joke because what is the point of studying if he already remembers everything? Until, of course, he needs to apply it to a problem-solving test or writing an essay. Suddenly, he's memorizing a math teacher's answer sheet and copying Gus's report.

Yes, Shawn could have been a great cop. He could be an amazing scientist or anything really. He could have been a national spelling bee champion like Gus wanted to be. Even 15 years later, Shawn remembered exactly what word Gus messed up, how to spell the word, and what letter he made Gus slip up, but he didn't want to be on that stage with Gus because that requires so much learning. And so much time. And so much memorizing. And he refuses to sit still for that long when he knows that overloading his head is going to give him migraines.

Also his "I've heard it both ways" probably comes from the fact that people with eidetic memory can still make lots of mistakes if they don't actively commit something to memory. If Shawn only overhears something, he'll still naturally try to fill in the gaps like everyone else, but because he's so confident in his memory, he just believes what he remembers to be true, leading him to repeat incorrect information with confidence. That could also be why some of his references are incorrect due to mixed-up homophones.

Anyway, this post was supposed to be about how Shawn is just a walking movie reference because his memory won't let him forget quotes, but then I fell into a rabbit hole of the negative effects of having an eidetic memory as a child, and I am very passionate about how Henry actually tried his best, and people need to stop calling him a horrible parent. Love y'all. Let me know what you think.

[zoropookie]

WHAT YOU WON'T DO FOR LOVE (WYWDFL) — ONE

YOU couldn't be having a worse halloween night. choose your fate with your fellow readers and see if it gets better!

chapter two

soulmate!wanderer x gn!reader

"Yeah, I understand that it's the third day I haven't paid my rent, I'm telling you my banks been closed."

Your voice to your landlord, Kamisato Ayato (who is also your boss), on the phone reeked with desperation. And yet, even though this was the case, you still had time to snack on chicken strips at a picnic table.

"(L/N), there's nothing else I can do, your extension is up. I need a payment by tomorrow." His voice crackled through the phone, stern but never sympathetic. "I have other tenants to consider."

"Wouldn't have guessed that one." You laughed as a jab at the other, a thin veneer of your humor and the intense need to scream gnawed at your mouth. “You’re rich as hell telling me that you have other tenants to consider, but you’re still making me clean toilets? Couldn't give me a promotion to accountant or anything? I know about 16 of your slimy practices.”

“You're being dramatic.”

“The only other tenants are Itto and Yoimiya with her dad. This is a side thing for you with how often my shower head is broken.” Your eyes dulled. “If anything, I should be telling you to pay me.”

The other end went silent, as your boss Ayato cleared his throat. “I never said it was free housing in the lease.”

“Ooh, slimy practice number 17! Hey, maybe if you make it to 20, I can wring 700,000 mora out of you.”

“You can make as many threats as you want, you still haven't paid in time. I can’t keep extending deadlines for you.” Ayato’s voice hardened. “If you can’t pay by tonight, you will have to find somewhere else to stay.”

You felt helpless in the moment, but still managed to hold on to the call for just a few more seconds. “Really, Kamisato.” Your voice dulled. “You’re going to lock me out of my apartment, keep me in a Halloween costume, and deny my valid reason just because I didn’t pay up 1,000 mora? Me, who cleans your event hall everyday.”

“Perhaps you should have been more conscious of your money management. Please be more responsible in the future, (L/N). Good luck to you.”

And with that, he hung up. You let out a growl of frustration and slammed your phone down on the picnic table. It happened to bounce up and land face down on the floor. You gasped lightly, reaching quickly to pick it up as you checked it frantically.

Cracks up and down the screen of your phone you still managed to be making payments on. "Wow..." You stared at the cracks in disbelief, feeling a disastrous amount of weight that prompted you to throw away the greasy chicken strips. You've been going to this place for so long to save money that you wondered if you were ever really saving anyway.

You gathered your thoughts quickly before continue your walk back home. You had just came back from a big Halloween party that your neighbor Yoimiya invited you to. You weren't listening entirely, but she was yapping hard about this concept about soulmates and how it's been actually proven that what the mark you were born with yadda yadda yadda. Because of this, anyway, she had made these weird concoctions that made the fireworks different colors. From purple, orange, green, and so on to get everyone in the spirit.

You were too scared of her to say no; one of these days you were convinced she's going to accidentally make a nuke and kill everyone. You'd rather not make an enemy if it meant you had a chance living in her oddly huge bunker (how did she make a bunker underground her bottom floor apartment?).

If anything, your spirit was crushed as soon as you left the party. With how the only guy blowing up your phone was Ayato and he just wanted the money that he gave you back, and looking like a very horrible version of an 80's professional acrobatics instructor with an equally as bad haircut, you were pretty much having the worst Halloween night of your life.

Especially seeing your crush for 13 years, Xiao, kiss the literal only other guy at the party, Venti. How long were you even waiting to get your chance? He didn't even know Venti that well compared to you, and he was probably crushing on him just because he could sing. And now you have the very moment that you were happy to not in the blink of an eye, so miserable seeing it that you could swear you felt yourself sober up.

And to Creep by Radiohead blaring in the background, they were kissing to one of the most unconventional songs you can kiss to. For what may have been a song for them to remember their first kiss was a song that you wanted to shove an ice pick through your ear canal every time you heard it now. You guessed the soulmate stuff Yoimiya was talking about was true. They saw the exact same mark on each others wrists...

You could sing too, probably even better than he could. Singing isn't even that hard.

As you started singing a very off-key and melancholic version of Teenage Dream by Katy Perry to prove yourself right, you weren't even worried about the long winded alleyways and dark streets you were weaving through. The eeriness of the night was mocking, but comforting. Long, distorted shadows, making the streetlights cast them oddly.

Your footsteps echoed against the narrow walls of the alleyways, a gust of wind sent a shiver down your spine and stretched the night on. You kicked a pebble absentmindedly, watching as it skittered along the cracked pavement. It was ironic being at a party you actually felt comfortable being at and getting your hopes absolutely shattered in the meantime. It seemed so out of reach from what did occur.

The sight of your apartment was a burden, and even though you were guaranteed going to be kicked out tomorrow, you didn't want to linger on the reminder any longer.

As you were about to climb the steps, you paused once you heard something similar to a whine. It was faint when you first heard it, almost blending in to the light pollution of the street. You turned your body towards the nearby alleyway, awaiting for another noise to confirm your delusions. Moments passed, each second stretching into eternity. Just when you were about to dismiss it again, another cry of what sounded like a man alerted you, followed by a groveling sound that sounded similar to a guttural gurgle.

Hell. No.

Now usually, you would mind your business and go to sleep with a knife in the bed next to you. You were not a stickler for being the person in the horror movies that said 'let's go see what it is'! But you weren't entirely convinced that the neighborhood was terrible, and with your current dilemma? Maybe dying a horrible death would feel better than whatever you're about to go through in the next twenty-four hours.

But at the same time...you weren't convinced that whatever is doing that wasn't an injured puppy or something. You may have had a heart for what happens to animals, but you aren't stupid.

[queenimmadolla]

Do you think some of Eddie peers are jealous that he’s got wife and 3 kids at home, sure Eddie feel into the rock and roll lifestyle but he didn’t let partying, groupies or drugs consume him, he’s got a loving wife and adorable kids waiting for him and they see that all of eddies love and devotion is for his family and music. Eddies just like “I do my job, rock out and go home”

Say he got invited to a big after party where he’ll party with Ozzy or Metallica but he declines because he just found out his kids are having their own Wrestler Mania back at the hotel room and he can’t miss that again

Or Eddie takes you to the party and y’all are getting approach and people like your relationship vibe and yall are getting hit on that you get both get a invitation to go to a “different party” in a hotel room and it goes over your head like “oh actually we aren’t staying long we gotta get back before the new Simpsons episode start”

Or when the band gets interviewed we see the kids in the background and the world gets to see Eddie being the best dad and loving husband. Every 80/90’s musician in the rock/metal scene are single, loves to party, and is reckless so Eddie was a change they weren’t expecting.

Sooo….You’re not gonna be very happy with me. Let’s go through this together and hopefully you wont hate me too much because it does get better.

Yes, Eddie’s peers do experience a little jealousy at the family he has, the constant love surrounding him—but he does succumb to the partying, drugs….and almost a groupie (THIS WILL BE TOUCHED ON MORE IN THE FIC IM PERFECTING, DONT THROW THE TOMATOES). He does his job, rocks out, and sometimes he craves reaping the rewards (drugs and parting and soaking it all in—not the groupies, that’s a related situation but not a part of what he craves) of his success. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, he gets caught up in it. And it eats at him because he also knows his wife and his beautiful kids are also a once in a lifetime opportunity. That’s what kicks his ass back into gear.

It’s a life that you enjoy sometimes, love being on his arm, at his side, watching him glow underneath all those flashing lights. That confident smirk on his face, he belongs. It’s completely his element, what you knew he was always meant to do. And for the most part, you love being his wife, the wife of a Rockstar. How he’s always ravenous for you, the way he handles you when he’s fresh off the stage—be stadium stage or a some big fancy hall stage for an award ceremony—the parties he takes you to, the material things, not having to work your ass off to survive anymore, not having to work at all. You hate how women literally throw themselves at him, constantly expose themselves to him (the amount of flashing is INSANE, you see more titties than you ever did in the girls’ locker room back in high l when you’re tucked under his arm) but he only ever has eyes for you (shhh, we’re not talking about the groupie rn, that will be explained and you will understand).

And sometimes, being the wife of a Rockstar is hard. The tabloids are relentless, he tours the world and you stay with the kids, he’s doing coke with his pals and their gals while you’re washing the dishes halfway across the world. He’s partying after tour nights, you’re reading bedtime stories. You’re the wife of a Rockstar alright, and while he doesn’t have a mistress, sometimes the world acts as one. Sometimes the world gets him more than you do and he forgets that. Sometimes you don’t want to be the wife of a rockstar. You just want to be Eddie’s wife.

He gets there though, he gets to the points you’re talking about. Maybe not all of them, but he doesn’t become that messy playboy the world wants him to be. Still looks like a bad boy, but interviewers always note in articles they write, about the toys lingering around the house. Empty spaces on the walls, tables and shelves that had no doubt held picture frames prior to the journalists’ arrival, he was intent on keeping every precious moment and memory with his family private and away from the vicious prying eyes of the public. It’s interesting for you to read, because the first thought of an outsider’s mind is maybe something along the lines of Eddie not being sentimental or ashamed of the family, when it’s the entire opposite.

He starts ditching parties early to go back home and party with his favorite people before their bedtime (and then party with you all night long), starts having you and the kids closer during his shows again (you used to come to a few when Corroded Coffin made it bring, would bring the kids, until the shows got even bigger somehow, rowdier and fans get invasive). its difficult, especially with having to wrangle Maple—but Eddie doesn’t mind it when she runs onto the stage. if he’s feeling particularly nice, he’ll share her with the crowd for a song—but not much longer than that. He’s stingy with his family, protective, doesn’t need people thinking they can throw their unwanted opinions about his own damn kids out there—he’s assaulted people over it. And that’s not to say he hasn’t flaunted all of you, either. Fame is such a bittersweet accomplishment, he wants to show you all off to the world and sometimes he does, but the world is not kind, so he’s gotta keep you close and away from the cameras. He struggles with the back and forth a lot.

Again, the media is not kind to him, even while watching him be a father. But a couple of years from then, when his kids are older, the media/internet/etc. will pull up the photos/videos of him from the past with his kids, being so tender and playful with them. Loving. And he’ll be properly appreciated by them then. The two of you will have risen to be one of Hollywood’s golden couples, by then too. Heavily romanticized—and they’re not wrong.

It gets messy, gets cleaned up, gets messy, gets cleaned up, stays relatively clean. That’s the late 90s and Y2K, baby 😎

[vaulthunterlands]

BORDERLANDS COLLEGE AU

Stupid idea I had a few nights ago, don't think too hard about the inconsistencies in ages and stuff. Probably just doing Vault Hunters and a few other characters.

ROLAND

Majoring in cybersecurity. Good student, studies and gets consistently high grades. Has a well-formulated meal and workout plan. Also an RA on campus. Roland is the guy you go to if you have issues. He might not be great at "talking you through them" or "showing empathy" but he always has solid advice and is well-respected by his peers.

BRICK

I was going to say "Brick wouldn't go to college in canon" but this isn't canon babeyyyy. Brick is going into veterinary medicine. You may think this is completely off as a major for him, but I argue that his love for dogs is far greater than any challenge he may face in his education. Still a gym maniac. Roland is his RA, which means Roland is in charge of calming Brick down when he gets mad. Dating Mordecai. Also, unrelated but Brick in a philosophy class:

"Brick, can you tell us what you think about what Descartes said?"

"I PUNCH Descartes."

LILITH

Y'all are going to hate me for this but Lilith is a chemistry major. Girl loves fire, electricity, and acid so you can't tell me she wouldn't be a menace in her labs. (Also, before the first game was released her full title was "Dr. Lilith Cashlin, Mercenary Scientist") Only goes to class half the time but still does really well. Rooms with Mordecai and Brick. Huge crush on this RA she keeps seeing around

MORDECAI

BIRD MAAAAAN. Y'all already know this guy is doing two things on campus. 1) Majoring in Ornithology 2) Going to parties to get drunk. This man is the epitome of "college is for partying". Keeps birds in campus (not allowed) and is doing okay in his classes (he is hung over 80% of the time) (Mordy pls) Dating Brick.

PATRICIA TANNIS

Honestly, what field of science ISN'T this girl majoring in? She's insane(ly smart) and constantly gets perfect scores on all of her exams. Closest friends are Roland and the gang.

MARCUS

Why is he here??? What??? Marcus is the guy who runs the restaurant that is directly across the street from campus. *Phenomenal* food, but GOD is it pricey. Tends to not care about many of the students chilling (as long as they BUY SOMETHING)

SCOOTER

Doesn't go to this college but he's good friends with Roland and his pals. Likes to go out drinking with them on the weekends and is just all-in-all a cool guy to hang around with. Friends with Janey.

AXTON

BMOC. Captain of the football team. You can trust him! (He's the water boy.) Total jock but he's not an asshole about it. Majoring in Rehabilitation Science. He's... not the *best* student, but he does try and genuinely care about what he wants to do. Lives with Salvador, Maya, and Zer0 in a dorm.

SALVADOR

Culinary major. My man can COOK. He's the best cook in the dorm and no one will ever argue if he offers to cook. Really good student even though he parties all the time with Mordecai, Brick, and Axton. Lives with Maya, Axton, and Zer0.

ZER0

*Insert weeb joke here* They're a literature major. Not just because of the haiku, either. I feel like Zer0 would be fantastic in literature courses and understanding thr deeper meanings in texts. They are seen as a "weird kid" on campus. They do not care. Lives with Maya, Salvador, and Axton.

MAYA

The reason I made this list (big surprise, V does a huge post and it's Maya's fault), Maya majors in entomology. (S/O to @forbiddenpurplesoda for this because I've always thought Maya would be a bug girl) Maya is a phenomenal student and she always gets great marks in her studies. Lives with Axton, Sal and Zer0. Has at least one pet beetle that makes Axton panic.

GAIGE

Mechanical Engineering/Robotics major. Obviously built Deathtrap as a buddy because she felt a little lonely in her dorm. Calls her Dad every night. Has a huge crush on a girl in one of her math classes. Lives with...

KRIEG!!!!

Listen. Listen. Krieg majors in psychology. The *actual* football captain. Doesn't talk much and when he does, it's complete nonsense. (Everyone just goes "haha classic Krieg") Gaige gets along with him extremely well. Maya and him have a thing where they will just look at each other and think "holy shit they're so gorgeous). Always wears a face mask.

TINA

Child prodigy chemistry major, buddies with Lilith and Roland. But seriously, who let this kid in the lab? Like, okay, yeah, she knows what she's doing, but what she's doing is COMBUSTION REACTIONS. How is she still in school.

ELLIE

Engineering major. Lives in the building across from Roland and the gang. Absolute sweetheart and huge flirt but will also drop you on her ass if you threaten her friends.

MOXXI

I could see Moxxi as a professor of engineering, actually. Every student thinks she's gorgeous and she's learned to ignore it. Scooter and Ellie's Mom. Thinks their friends are funny.

HANDSOME JACK

Oh man, this one was tough. I decided on absolute tool you meet in college who's the head of a frat and thinks he's God's gift to women. Lives in the same building as Roland, Lilith, Brick, Mordecai, Salvador, Axton, Maya, Zer0, Gaige, and Krieg. Constantly getting into arguments with... basically everyone listed above. Majors in business.

ANGEL

She's an art major!!! She's super intelligent and aces all of her classes but she absolutely loves art. Jack is her brother in this AU. Has a crush on the cute punk girl in her math class but could never tell her. Lives in a single.

ALISTAIR HAMMERLOCK

Double majors in conservation biology and zoology! Finds the creatures that he studies absolutely fascinating and always has a bright disposition on his face. Lives in a single that looks exactly like you think it does (his room on Sanctuary III). Strained relationship with his sister.

ATHENA

Acient History Major, specifically interested in Ancient Greece (wonder why?). Works at Marcus' restaurant. Hates it. Pay her more. Has her eyes on a girl that frequents Marcus' restaurant. Tried to live with Wilhelm, Jack, Nisha, Timothy, and Claptrap for a semester, she is now a commuter. Still friends with Timothy.

WILHELM

Jack's second-in-command. People look at him like he's a dumbass, big hunk of meat, but he's also in a robotics major. Aside from being buddies with Jack, he's... kind of chill? Man likes what he likes and he works out pretty often. Boxes in his free time. Lives with Nisha, Jack, Timothy, and (formerly) Claptrap.

NISHA

Criminal justice major, naturally. Jack's girlfriend and the baddest and scariest bitch on campus. Likes watching old western movies. Never, ever shows up to class but still passes. No one knows how. Lives with Jack, Timothy, Wilhelm, and (formerly) Claptrap

CLAPTRAP

Theater major! Always has a smile on his face, even though he's nooooot very well-liked. Tried to get in with the popular guys but eventually figured out he was being used. He confronted Jack and Jack kicked him out of the dorm 😔 Lives... well, he kind of just lives around Roland's dorm. Roland's too nice to say no.

TIMOTHY

I feel like Tim would be a Biology major. I don't know why but I can see him in that field. Looks SCARILY similar to Jack, and hates this. Unfortunately put into a room with Jack, Wilhelm, Nisha, and (formerly) Claptrap. Misses Athena greatly and wishes she still lived on campus. They're still good friends.

AURELIA HAMMERLOCK

Oh good lord, who let her on a college campus. Has an extravagant single room because she's *rich* and she's not sharing with someone else are you insane? Studies law because this bitch wants to be a judge someday. Absolutely hates to be seen with her brother Alistair. Rivalry with another rich law student makes this even more tense.

JANEY SPRINGS

Doesn't go to this college but she knows a few people around campus and hits up Marcus' restaurant for a bite to eat every so often. The food is just so good, right? No other reason. None at all. Friends with Scooter.

RHYS STRONGFOK

Rhys is a business and economics major. Is in Jack's frat. Is getting increasingly sick of Jack's shit. Buddy buddy with Vaughn, Fiona, and Zer0. Dating Sasha.

VAUGHN

Accounting major. Man has a mind like a steel trap, and also enjoys bodybuilding. Best friends with Rhys, good friends with Fiona and Sasha.

FIONA

I genuinely feel like Fiona would be a nursing or Healthcare major. I have no basis for this, it just feels right for her. Hates Jack and keeps telling Rhys to tell him to fuck off. Friends with Rhys and Vaughn, Sasha's older sister.

SASHA

Social work major! Loves helping people and wants to make a change in the world after she and Fiona grew up in less-than-ideal circumstances. Dating Rhys, also keeps telling Rhys to get away from Jack. Friends with Vaughn.

MOZE

Transfer student. Served in the military for a while before deciding she wanted to go to college. Undecided major but she's just trying to focus on the pretty women I mean her grades haha am I right? ALWAYS at Marcus'. Always. Lives with Zane, Amara, and FL4K.

FL4K

FL4K has Mr. Chew, Broodless and Meat-Thief as emotional support animals. I can see FL4K as a double major in zoology and veterinary medicine. Loves their pets. Super chill unless you speak badly about them or their pets. Will shank a bitch. Lives with Zane, Moze, and Amara.

AMARA

Healthcare studies major, with a focus on pathology. Also a bodybuilder. Also a boxer. Amara is that girl and she knows it. Always asking Moze to work out with her and she is completely oblivious to Moze being head over heels. Will fight someone being mean to a customer service worker. Lives with Zane, Moze, and FL4K.

ZANE

Pop pop went back to college! No but in this AU Zane is probably older than everyone but not that much older. His major was tough for me, but I honestly think he'd be a good candidate for a major in rehabilitation science with Axton. Also LOVES parties.

WAINWRIGHT JAKOBS

His Father wanted him to go into Business to take over the family legacy but he decided to go into law to "protect the little guy". Has daily arguments with this stuck-up, pretentious "harpy" that's in most of his classes. She's awful. Has a crush on this well-spoken man in zoological studies. At least that will take his mind off of the harpy.

TROY CALYPSO

Troy is a media and communications major. Has a fantastic time making videos and being admin of many social media pages but doesn't do very well in class because he dislikes most of his professors. Has a very close relationship with his sister, Tyreen.

TYREEN CALYPSO

Double major in Art History and Theater. Loves to be the center of attention and often stars in her brother's videos and projects. She loves it. A little full of herself. Close with her brother, Troy.

TYPHON DELEON

OKAY WAIT WAIT DON'T CLOSE THE POST HEAR ME OUT.

Cringe boomer history professor that can be easily distracted by him telling his stories of his many adventures (no one knows if they're true or not). Troy and Tyreen's Father. NOT a piss poor Dad in this AU, just embarrassing as all hell. Pretty decent guy but he's okay as a professor. (Please guys let me have my "Typhon is a good cringe embarrassing boomer dad to the Calypsos" AU)

OKAY this was a really long post and I probably forgot someone but I'm sure I'll hear about it LMAO. Also I don't know every single college major and its appropriate title, I just went off of vibes. Pls be nice 2 me

[lemotmo]

I don't understand why they keep walking into this. Wow. 🤣

Q. When you remove the scene context from his dialogue you deliberately diminish the character. The context provides the importance. Of course you already know that. It's why you chose to remove it. You're not very good at this, are you?

A. You're correct, anon. I shouldn't have removed the context. Allow me to provide it for you now.

'can never have too much closet space, right Evan'.

The context of this scene is: Buck is on his first ever date with a man. He's clearly nervous, as most of us would be. He runs into his best friend, whose opinion, as Tommy is well aware, is insanely important to Buck, and he was not prepared to run into him in the middle of said first date. So he panicked and made things awkward. In other words, he acted like Buck.

'look, Evan I think you're adorable, but you're clearly not ready'

The context is: After Buck's nerves get the best of him, and, again he acts like Buck, Tommy had the opportunity to grant him the grace he obviously didn't get when he himself came out. Instead he called an Uber and left Buck standing alone on the restaurant's curb. (No one in that scene was trying to 'force' Tommy back into the closet. That take is super gross and the definition of overreaching to force a narrative).

'mm okay so not like that'

The context is: This is just Buck also being Buck, and wanting to fix something he thinks he messed up. He wanted to try again so he called and asked to meet. He messed up the coffee order. And this was the way they worked Tommy into the bachelor party.

' they had Henley's in the 80's'

' who are you all supposed to be, The Wedding Singer?'

The context is: Tommy shows up to Chimney's bachelor party (he gets props for showing up at all, it was nice of him). Buck had told him the theme, but Tommy chose not to participate in the costume part. The context for the Wedding Singer line was to point out that not only was Eddie dressed on theme, he actually coordinated with Buck. Then the writers wanted Tommy away from the bachelor party so they sent him to fight a fire. The rest of the bachelor party was a deliberate parallel to the story Eddie would later tell Christopher about the day he met his mother. Buck and Eddie separated themselves from their friends and spent the entire night talking and hanging out with one another. As it turns out, paralleling that story was the entire point of the bachelor party.

'sorry I'm late, that fire was a beast'

The context is: they needed a second kiss and something else 'light' to put in the ending song overlay. They also needed a way to allow the group at large to find out without Buck having to tell everyone individually. Thus making Eddie the only one Buck intentionally came out too. They made a point of showcasing Buck's parents and Eddie's reaction to this. And Hen confirmed she knew he was queer all along.

'well enjoy it while it lasts'

The context is: Buck and the group involved in the cruise rescue were given medals for their efforts. Buck was, once again being Buck, and wanted to soak up the attention, because Buck has a praise kink, but Tommy wasn't interested in playing along.

'well I certainly hope so' (daddy kink joke)

The context is: The audience had just spent the previous 45 minutes watching the man Buck considers his dad basically die, and Buck wanted to talk about it. When he attempted to start the conversation, Tommy turned it into a daddy joke.

The scene context doesn't help him, anon. When you provide the scene details it actually makes him look even more like a plot device. And makes the obvious Eddie of it all even more apparent. But ask for context and receive it. You're not very good at this are you?

I know Nonny! They should know by now that they're fighting a losing battle. They don't seem to get the context of what will happen when they send passive-aggressive messages like this to Ali. :b

She is lethal with words. :)

I don't think this needs any additions, so I'll just shut up. LOL!

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

Heads up! For anyone who is giving me the shifty eyes for reposting Ali's updates instead of reblogging. Read this.

Remember, no hate in comments, reblogs or inboxes. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of Ali’s posts, you can find all of her posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[bisnes-socks]

Terve! Would you consider doing a Mic Mac write up? I would be so interested to read it! When I first found Jere I listened to CCC and Party, and then I went to search things on him and the Mic Mac video was one of the first I listened to. I think I was in love after this. Kiitos!

Sure i can! Click right through ->

Mic Mac is early 2000's nostalgia to the max. I'm not sure how common knowledge it is with international fans, what Mic Mac actually is, so i'll go over it briefly.

Mic Mac, sometimes styled as MicMac, was a finnish clothing brand (not to be confused with a french luxury fashion brand of the same name). Mic Mac clothes were particularly popular with young people and teens. They became popular in the 70's and remained super popular with all young people until the 80's. In the 90's Mic Mac became more associated with hip hop inspired fashion, as they were the only local brand that managed to really score with their loose fit baggy jeans etc. They were still popular in the early 2000's especially with hip hop kids. Mic Mac closed down in the 2010's.

So the fact that he talks about Mic Mac loose fit clothes, and then all of the sound effects in the beginning of the song, like landline phones and dial-up internet, it all immediately takes us to like the turn of the century, maybe like 1999 or 2000 at the earliest, 2005 or 2006 at the very latest. So his childhood from maybe 6 or 7-ish to about 12 or 13-ish..? Immediate nostalgia!

He uses some clever language in this song. I want to give an example from the first verse: "olin merkillinen enkä esimerkillinen" meaning "i was weird, not exemplary". But as you can see, merkillinen (weird) and esimerkillinen (exemplary) are quite similar words in finnish. in fact they are built around the same root word: merkki. merkki means sign (a sign like a symbol or a sign like "give me a sign". not a street sign).

If you break down the word merkillinen, it actually means "with signs", but in practice means odd, weird or strange. Now, esimerkki has that same word in it, merkki, but it's a compound word: esi + merkki. Esi is a prefix that means pre or fore. so if you break down esimerkki, it means "fore sign" or "pre sign", but the meaning of the word in practice is example. And as i said, esimerkillinen, which would literally translate to "with fore signs", means exemplary.

So, he gets a very clever bar, being able to rhyme merkillinen with (esi)merkillinen, and getting a looot of information across like that.

In the first verse he also uses a word you might come across in his other work too: morkkis. His song Morgan means the same thing, morgan is a slang word for morkkis, which is short for moraalikrapula, meaning a moral hangover. Not sure if that term exists outside finland, but a moral hangover is feeling ashamed and not at all good about something stupid. Usually it's to do with drinking: you have both a physical hangover from drinking, and a moral hangover over the amount you drank and also doing dumb shit while drunk. But morkkis can be used quite flexibly to talk about other things you're ashamed of and recognise as being stupid things to do - as in this case, trying smoking as a kid. Again, a simple word but very informative, once you know what it means!

The chorus about the clothes and the whole second verse of him describing himself as someone intentionally annoying bigger boys, getting into fights and doing stupid shit like setting his friend on fire for a trick of some sort, stealing pokemon cards etc.- all of this is paving the way to understanding songs like Takavoltti. I so know this type too, i knew boys exactly like this when i was a kid lmao. But he's telling us he's always been mischievous, wild and a little bit crazy - and in this song he says the apple didn't fall far from the tree, saying his dad is like that too.

So i think Mic Mac is probably one of the more personal songs of his, those key songs to understanding the character. Mic Mac is all about him remembering the past, and i guess Takavoltti is like.. how did the crazy little boy from Mic Mac cope with everything that happened to him.

All in all, Mic Mac to me is a very sweet, very nostalgic song, that paints a lot of vivid pictures about Käärijä - or maybe Jere - as a person.

Let me know if there is anything specific in the song or any other song you'd like to know about, any questions or anything 💚

[seeminglydark]

1. since john tries to stay away from tech as much as possible, i think it would be funny to see what would happen if he got his hands on like a secondhand e-reader or laptop and what it would look like if he tried to use it. it would also be cool to see if or what kind of stickers he would use to decorate it.

2. i know it’s kind of a difficult topic. but since i’ve been reading your comic, I think the “Creaky” storyline is one of my favorites. Being able to escape a difficult upbringing and being able to find solace and comfort in found family. I’ve imagined that with the help of his newfound friends, John would go back to his father’s house and take back some of his most prized possessions because I think John would be the type of person that would value things and attach those objects to memories of people. I think it would be fun to see how John adapted to a new environment and being able to live freely (full-time) and thrift for clothes and other things. I think it would be interesting to see his thoughts of when he entered his first apartment and see how he decorated it and see how it has evolved into the glimpses that we’ve seen.

hahaha while i understand what you're asking here, he would of course one hundred percent fumble it, the last thing he had was a flip phone from the early 2000's when he was in highschool, so of course he wouldnt be good with laptops or anything. as far as an e-reader goes, john is severely dyslexic (undiagnosed, so untreated) and reading is already a huge struggle, which is why he uses the walkman and listens to audio books. the truth is, were he to get his hands on these things, he simply wouldnt use them. but its fun to imagine him like my 80 year old dad doing the ol' point and shoot typing style with two fingers! Caro and Maddie show him things on their phone and on the internet all the time anyway, so hes not missing the good memes ha! Creaky is also my fave storyline, I'm so glad you're enjoying it! To answer your first question, no, he wouldn't actually go to his dads at any point, and even if he did, none of his stuff would still exist sadly. on a brighter note, he DOES get to retrieve some of his old things, either after hooking back up with Caro (who has his battle jacket, fuck belt and a few other things) and because his Highschool pals Georgie and Dee would totally have a ton of his stuff in the back of Dee's van, so he'd get his walkman, some clothes, his cross earrings that belonged to his mom, and a few other precious things, and you are right, he does connect objects to people. His biggest problem is not remembering much about what some of those connections were. Another factor here is the fact that there is a protection order between he and his ad put in place by Maddie's stepdad Dr Parker, John's dad isnt allowed within a certain amount of distance to John so, going to his house wouldnt be allowed. Even with his friends (in Seemingly Dark, the Fenris chapter) facing down with his father is almost impossible because of his fear and trauma. There will be more about that in the future! on the second note, im actually in process of turning Creaky into a stand-alone book! Which is why I haven't drawn anything here in reply to Johns reactions to new places, new friends and new environments, its all things I want to explore more in depth in the new version of my fave story line. <3 Heres links to some of the progress on the New Creaky! and here!

[deansmom]

The fact that the spn fandom is entirely incapable of a nuanced discussion involving Dean and the relationship with his mother shouldn’t surprise me as much as it did when I came back to fandom, and as much as it still does when I’m forced to see it with my own two eyeballs

Mary Winchester was a person before she was a mother, and I’m going to be so honest with you, I think by the time she died, John didn’t like who that person was. So I think when she died, he did what a lot of people do, which is put the person they lost on a pedestal. And that’s who Dean grew up hearing about, that’s what all of his memories of his mom were contextualized with, this person who didn’t exist. And so then his mom comes back and I think it’s very, very clear to Dean almost immediately that this isn’t the same person John told him about.

In the real world, we have no context to draw from and nothing to compare it to, the experience of getting a dead parent back and to be part of your life again. We can’t know how he felt beyond what we were shown in canon - So of course Dean is thrilled, but he’s also a Winchester and deeply traumatized, and tries so hard to make it seem normal and not internalize his complicated feelings about her and her being alive. He’s dealing with:

Grappling with losing the mother he was told she was and resenting mary for it because she’s standing in front of him

Realizing that John robbed so much from him by denying him the version of his mother who feels like looking in a mirror

The guilt of how and why mary is there

Trying to reconcile his feelings of resentment and anger that he knows should be directed at John, but John’s not there, so they end up getting directed at mary, and feeling bad about that

A deeply traumatized inner child who has his safe person back, and just wants his mom to hold him and tell him it’s going to be okay, but he knows that isn’t fair to ask of her

And meanwhile mary was dealing with

✨trauma✨ from being brought back to life

Having to confront her own failures as a parent (which is silly it’s not her fault she died but y’know, feelings tend to be silly)

Having to reconcile her toddler with the man in front of her who’s older than her being her son

Seeing so much of John’s worst qualities in both of them and recognizing the trauma of a shitty dad

The fact that they had this idea of who she was, and it’s nothing like her at all, and trying to understand why John would lie to them while also probably coming to terms with what looks like confirmation of her own worst fears about who she was as a parent

I cannot stress this enough: the last time her feet touched the ground, she had been married, with a new baby, and a 4 year old, she wasn’t a hunter, John barely knew about hunting, and it was the 80’s. She woke up in what, 2017 and her husband’s dead, her babies are grown men (again: older than her!!!) and the most prolific hunters in the world. Oh, also, angels? God? The afterlife?? Funny story! Like I’m sorry, you wanted her to have well-adjusted coping skills for that????

The Mary hate just gets me because she’s Dean in a different font, and so many of y’all hate her for such superficial bullshit that you could let go of if you took 5 seconds to think about the situation critically for both of them. The only bad guy here is, was and will always be John Winchester. John was there, but Mary tried her best. Mary tried to do what was best for them when she left, because she didn’t want to damage their idea of who she was anymore than she had. Mary literally died trying to save Sam from the destiny that heaven had written for him - John couldn’t be bothered to think about his kids.

And if you think that Dean ever genuinely hated Mary, your critical thinking skills need some work. The thing that prompts his speech in 12.22 is Mary saying to his younger self, “I only want good things for you, Dean. I'll never let anything bad happen to you.” So he says

I hate you. And I love you. 'Cause I can't – I can't help it. You're my Mom. And I understand...'cause I have made deals to save the ones I love more than once.

I forgive you. I forgive you. For all of it. Everything. On the other side of this, we can start over, okay? You, me, Sam. We can get it right this time. But I need you to fight. Right now, I need you to fight. I need you – I need you to look at me, Mom. I need you to really look at me and see me. Mom, I need you to see me. Please.

Translation: “you’re right. I resent you for not being the person I was sold, I resent you for your death being the thing that ruined dad, I resent you for being the touchstone for so many of heaven’s plans for us. I resent you because you’re here, and John isn’t, and it’s easier to hate someone tangible than someone dead. And if I hate you, it’s only because I can see so much of myself in you, and I’m so incredibly angry that John treated us the way he did. My whole world, my whole identity revolves around you being someone that you never were, and wrapping my head around that is scary, but when I pull my head out of my ass and look around, you were just a kid. And you did your best, you’ve always tried to do what’s best for me and Sam, and I don’t hate you. I don’t know if I like you right now because you’re a stranger, which is scary - but I love you. So please, mom, I’m sorry that I’ve been taking my bullshit out on you. Just… try. For me. Please.”

Anyways!!! You guys don’t deserve Mary.

[cels-not-so-secret-love-affair]

coming home (wolfstar, harry, hope - muggle au)

a/n: this one’s a snippet from a bigger fic i’ve been toying with. we’re in wales in the 80s, and i hope i’ve done it justice. quick note before we start - in this fic, james was puerto rican.

‘Remus!’

The door is barely open when Hope rushes smiling out onto the doorstep to hug her son. She holds him close and tight, and Remus is almost a child again, breathing in the scent of her soft floral perfume and the warmth of her woollen jumper.

‘Hi, Mam,’ he mumbles into her shoulder. Pulling back, she pats him affectionately on the cheek and turns her attention to his boyfriend, who’s stood somewhat awkwardly to his left.

‘Hello to you too, Sirius,’ she says kindly, and he ducks his head obligingly to let her kiss him on the cheek. He’s a fair bit taller than he was his last visit to Wales.

‘Nice to see you again, Hope. It’s been too long.’

‘That it has, dear.’ She looks down. ‘This’ll be the little one then?’

‘Yeah,’ Sirius affirms. ‘Harry.’ Harry turns his head then, as if aware he’s being introduced, and gazes curiously up at Hope from where he’s strapped against Sirius’ chest.

‘Oh, he’s a precious dwt lad, isn’t he? Poor thing.’

There’s a sinking sort of silence then. It’s cold, bitter. Sirius swallows thickly. Overhead, the lead-coloured sky seems to press down on them with greater vigour, and the clouds are heavy and congealed.

‘Is Dad in?’ Remus asks eventually.

‘No, cariad, he’s out fishing. I told him you’d be calling, though.’ Hope suddenly becomes pensive with this, staring absentmindedly at her son. Sirius tries to figure out what she’s thinking, but comes up with nothing. Her expression looks a bit like grief, and he wishes somewhat painfully that he wasn’t so intimately familiar with the feeling. Whatever it is she’s preoccupied with, she snaps out of it, coming back to herself as quickly as she went and shaking her head.

‘Sorry, we’re all just standing out in the cold, aren’t we? Come on in you two, I’ll put the kettle on.’

Hope makes weak tea, Sirius is reminded as he’s settled down beside Remus on her settee. They’ve set Harry down on the carpet, and he’s crawling around and babbling to himself quite happily whilst the adults are speaking. A dull drizzle has started up outside, and it’s began beating its routine rhythm morosely against the window panes. Sirius’ thigh is warm where it’s pressing against Remus’.

Sat in her armchair beside a worn little lamp, Hope smiles as she watches Harry play delightedly. Any shyness he might have been battling before has been quickly overcome and he crawls clumsily towards her from time to time, keen to make a new friend. She coos at him appropriately when he does so, and he looks quite pleased with himself.

‘Ti’n iawn, bach?,’ she asks him when he tugs on her trouser leg a second time. He just babbles in reply.

‘Will you be teaching him Welsh, love?’, she inquires, looking over at Remus.

‘It’s not something we’ve really talked about. Although I suppose with us being back in Aber… Pads?’ Remus turns to his boyfriend and Sirius starts a little at his inescapable inclusion in the conversation. Fishing his gaze out from the milky swirls of his mug, he blinks rapidly and clears his throat.

‘Well, he’s a clever little bastard already - I reckon he won’t have much trouble picking it up. And yeah, if he’s going to be growing up here, he should speak it. I’ve been thinking that I, uh… well, I might even try teaching him a little French, if he’s up for it.’

Remus’ eyes widen a fraction, before softening into a small, proud sort of smile.

‘That would be great, love. That would be really nice.’

‘And, erm. I’ve also been thinking about maybe getting him a Spanish tutor. I can’t speak it, not properly, so I’m no use, but he should. He should.’

Another quiet falls. It’s not exactly easy to sit with, but it’s warm somehow. It sounds like remembering. Hope looks across at Sirius with a subtle understanding. Her eyes are light and kind, but streaks of determination run through the set of her jaw.

‘I’ll help you with that. We’ll get him a proper one, a good one. And I’ll help you with plenty more, too. If you need me to mind him for a bit, if you need me to pop to Safeway on a Saturday, if you need anything at all. You call me. It’ll be nice for me to have a little one visiting. I’m sure he’ll liven us both up, me and Lyall.’

‘Thank you, Hope. Honestly.’

‘We’ll find you your place here yet, Sirius, love. You, and sweet Harry as well. Aber will treat you well so long as I’m around.’

[imalwaysinconfusion]

Music Artists the Miracles✨ listens to:

-Kagami

Kendrick Lamar (HEAVY ON HIM)

J.I.D.

some underground soundcloud shit like he would say “yeah was there when so and so been posting on soundcloud” type stuff

LATTO

NICKI MINAJ

MEGAN THEE STALION (that’s his wife, has to fight aomine all the time over her)

yk he gotta keep up with his black american girlies 😫

he loves paramore… MISERY BUSINESS?!… shut him up

-Kuroko

lana del ray… don’t ask me why, i’ve never listened to her fr, but i see it for him

some pleasant smooth indie bands

Lake street drive, their song hypotheticals to be exact (very good song btw

anything easy listening honestly

80’s city pop

-Kise

def a kpop girlie

girl group stan

a blink and a ive girlie

takao HATES that he’s a blink they don’t talk about it

loves wony VERY MUCH, does not play about her

but he also ADORESS KEP1LER

started listening to del ray recently, (tetsu put him on) likes her a lot

loves ice spice and pinkpantheress, together and separately

listen to a bit of t-swift, just a tiny bit

-Murasakibara

A LOT of underground indie bands

anything with a lot of percussions

atsushi is a drummer so yk he needs to hear a lot of dem drums

alt rock, or just alternative in general

PARAMORE… he loves them found them before kagami mentioned them to him

FALL OUT BOY HEAVY ON THEM

loves skillet to went to see them in concert started crying

love the type of rap that’s like out of pocket but like who tf cares cause it goes hard

CHOCHISE… LOVES THAT MAN

mura love to dance so yk

-Midorima

a swiftie but will never admit it, kise and takao found out… GIRLLLLL

but all in all doesn’t really listen to a lot of music unless takao make him

so with that being said, he has been listening to kpop, female rappers, rap in general

he LOVES meg, he just loves how she tells her life through rap

and he just mesmerized by how it moves like water😩

oh and he loves shakira for some reason, the guys don’t know why, but kagami understands and won’t explain to the rest

loves the lo-fi girl instrumental study music, its soothing to him

-Aomine

yk he loves sexyy red 😭

“IM LOOKING FOR THE HOOOESS”

he just loves she don’t gaf

MONALEO LOVES THAT WOMAN DOWN

FLO MILLI

MEG, yk he tussles wit kagami

Cobra rock ver. ON REPEAT

HEAVY ON MR. JERMAINE COLE, cause yk he always talks about how he biracial, and aomine can relate with that

loves cardi so much, bongos 🤭

YK HE HAS TO LISTEN TO KPOP BOYS

yk he got all the bts boys solo shit on REPEAT

ATEEZ🗣️

(aomine my twin so yk🫶🏾)

-Akashi

ik it’s cannon for him to listen to classical but i don’t think he be actually LIKING THAT SHIT MAN

like i do think it’s brings him peace from a hard day and helps him to study but like to listen just to listen???

N O

HE LOVES HEAVY METAL

SLIPKNOT😫😫😫😫

Mibuchi got him on it

rock, alternative, 80s CITY POP

anything that reminds him of his mom

also anything that tries to reach his inner child since he never got the chance to be one

and kise and mura help him with that

AND HAYAMA

the veggietales and backyardagains soundtracks speaks to him he found out

also his dad also gave some of old music like bobby brown???? like okay mr masaomi

like ig you cool but you still suck as a daddy a person

so yk he LOVES WHITNEY HUSTON NOWADAYS

overall he needs to heal and is moving towards it

:)

[fire-emblem-poll]

Johnny Cage analysis part 1

Let’s get a few things out of the way, one being the “bimbo-fication” of Johnny Cage. I’ve seen (mostly on TikTok) saying Johnny is very stupid and some saying he wouldn’t understand what you are saying 80% of the time. Then in turn making him a massive slut and doing anything to get fame.

This I can disprove just by playing the game, background info, and extra items around the house. Example: Sento, previous movies, and his college education.

Sure he’s not the brightest man, far from it, but this man had to be a little smart if he got a degree in Quantum Mechanics. He also knew the story of Sento, thus why it’s one reason to not giving it up to Kenshi (who I could also write so so much about) since he thinks Kenshi is lying.

Then you also have to be pretty smart and a strong willed to do a scene for 40 takes to get absolutely perfect. He want’s everything he does to be perfect and that also requires you to memorize a script.

Yeah he’s full of himself but I think it’s just a front he shows people. You can see it crack after the scene Kenshi’s eyes get stabbed out, showing he cares for someone else other than himself.

You know who he didn’t show that to? Kris. He gave her only what I can call excuses. I think at the end of MK1 he realizes she was right. Though it took her taking almost everything in the divorce to realize.

Though it shows he’s happy, still joking around in his intros and even in the tutorial of the campaigns(?). Plus he’s willing to ask for help.

—————-

Something else I wanna touch on is Johnny’s bad mannerisms. In his intros with Omni-man it can be implied that Johnny didn’t have a good father figure in his life.

I don’t know if this implies to the MK1 timeline but it’s implied that he didn’t have a good childhood with no one in his family seeming to like him.

Then with MK11 he is trying to be a better father than his father was to Cassie, basically saying “yeah dad made us (younger clone) bad, but Hollywood made us worse.”

I’m going back to MK1 now, it shows in his living room(?) that he has a bar, now I know people have bars in basements, garages, and maybe a whole room dedicated to it but never the living room.

Then right before Kenshi enters looking for Sento, I think it’s implied he was prepared to drink himself to sleep for the night. Since his wife left him, no one wants to hire him, and he’s having financial issues.

As well as having bad habits if he goes against himself he asks if “he’s still sleeping off (name)’s party.” Implying he has done several things damaging to his health.

Maybe not all the time but I think those two things, maybe even more examples

That’s it for right now, honestly shout out to my boyfriend for talking to me about the awful mischaracterization of him. Simply because I got pissed off at getting 3 posts in a row about babying Johnny Cage.

(Also I have several strong opinions on how people talk about Kenshi, sorry guys people not understanding Sento’s power is showing, also I’m scheduling this for when I go into work just in case people want to add something)

[theerurishipper]

I agree so much with your Adrinette post. Unlike a lot of the fandom, I've always been a fan of both Adrien and Marinette so it hurts twice as much to see what the writing has done to them. How did their huge moments get switched up?! She was supposed to be the confesser. I cheered her on for 4 seasons that she would finally confess. Then when the time comes, Adrien does all the cute and risky confession stuff that she was supposed to do. Like what? It might have made her life easier if she were a real person, but as a character? The writers just took away a HUGE character moment from her. A huge triumph everyone wanted. Just gone. After 5 seasons. It makes her less compelling as a character to not have that.

They gave the responsibility for that to Adrien and gave the responsibility of facing Gabriel Agreste and talking to him about Emilie to Ladybug?! Maybe someone wrote the character growth fulfillments on a sticky note and it smudged and they got them mixed up? I think Ladybug should have been there to face MONARCH, but the Gabriel Agreste moments and discovery should have went to Adrien. It theoretically makes his life "easier", I mean in the sense the show is going to position it as. I'd love if they tackled the reprecussions of this, but my money is on them letting that whole senti thing fade into the background never to come up again and he will just live happily in his bubble thinking his dad is a hero forever. But as a character, that just like flatlined him. He is 80 percent less compelling now. His moment. Gone. After 5 seasons. Possibly never to be spoken of again or revealed. Sad.

I don't understand Season 5's thing with not challenging the characters where it counts the most. Neither of them grew. They both did a lot... for each other's plot points. Adrien worked and adjusted his approach to woo Marinette, but that wasn't a character growth moment for HIM because he's always been that way. There was no big anxiety hill to get over there or big change for him. He's always worn his feelings on his sleeve and been kind as Adrien. No internal conflict besides "I want to be with my girlfriend." Marinette stood up to Gabriel FOR Adrien and faced him in the end, but again. Not a strong character growth moment for her considering she has no emotional tie to Gabriel Agreste. There's no internal conflict there besides "He's keeping me from my boyfriend." There's not even the triumph of her beating Monarch because he kind of... wins?

Because neither of them actually confront their assumed assigned character challenges, they both come off extremely uninteresting to me by the end of the season. I can't even agree that Ladybug's character is benefiting here. I am not happy as a fan of either. They didn't allow her any true character building triumphs that she should have as the protagonist. While robbing Adrien of his character arc and keeping him unchanged and blissfully ignorant in his bubble.

I honestly have nothing more to add, because you nailed it anon. Your observation about them completing each other's character arcs is so spot on. You're also completely right about the fact that they are going to breeze over the implications of Adrien being a Sentimonster. The one thing I will clarify is that when I say Marinette benefits from the writing, I mean that at least she gets to do something and has some kind of agency and choices outside of being someone else's prop, whereas Adrien gets none of that. But you've honestly said everything so perfectly and I couldn't agree more.

Thank you for your ask!

[duhragonball]

Dragon Ball Super Manga Ch. 77-80

When I first read this, I was pissed because I’m sick of Vegeta just knowing everything that happened to every Saiyan before they were wiped out.  I mean, he was a kid back then, how would he know Goku’s dad? 

Then I finally remembered Vegeta grew up with Goku’s brother, and it suddenly made sense. 

Okay, so let’s back up a bit and go over why Granolah wants revenge in the first place.  About forty-odd years ago the Cerealians were invaded by Frieza’s forces, including a lot of Saiyans.  I think they showed some other aliens in Frieza uniforms, but it’s mainly Saiyans using Oozaru forms.  The Cerealians managed to neutralize the giant ape business, but the Saiyans were still strong enough to kill them all.  There was also a small community of Namekians living on the planet Cereal, and they all died as well.  There were only two survivors: The Namekian Monaito, who inherited the Cerealian Dragon Balls from the village elder, and Granolah, who found refuge in a building with his mother. 

However, Granolah and his mom were discovered by a Saiyan named Bardock.  He probably would have killed them on sight, except they happened to remind him of...

His wife and newborn son, whom he saw recently before this mission.  Turns out Bardock was the one who came up with the name “Kakarot.”

So instead of killing the two Cerealians, Bardock tells the rest of his squad that he’s going to stay behind to take out any survivors.  Then he scans the area and locates Monaito.  He then takes Granolah and his mom to Monaito and asks him to take them in.  Then he leaves, or he tries to, anyway.

Afterwards, Granolah grew up craving revenge on the Saiyans and Frieza, and he must have had no memory of Bardock’s act of mercy.  Monaito’s known all along, and he kept it a secret this whole time, but he’s telling Granolah now because he wants him to stop his attack on Goku and Vegeta.  And as he explains all this, he notices that Goku bears a striking resemblance to Bardock, and that’s when Vegeta explains that Bardock was Goku’s father. 

But wait, if Bardock saved Granolah’s mother, then who killed her?  Ah, well you see...

Shortly after Bardock saved those guys, the Heeters showed up.  They worked as planet brokers under Frieza, so once Planet Cereal was vacant, they started making plans to sell it to the Sugarians.  Naturally, they planned to overcharge the Sugurians and give Frieza a modest cut. 

But then they happened across Bardock, Monaito, Granolah and his mom, and Bardock had to pretend that he was preparing to take Monaito prisoner to cover his tracks.  Elec then shot Granolah’s mom just to simplify things.  This infuriated Bardock, who then attacked the Heeters, which led to a fight with Gas.  Bardock won that day, although Monaito didn’t get to see that part, for some reason.

So why didn’t Monaito tell Granolah about the Heeters?  Why didn’t he say anything when Granolah started working for them? 

Because Monaito knew he’d go off on some half-baked revenge scheme and get himself killed.  This is probably why Monaito allowed Granolah to believe it was the Saiyans who did it, because once Frieza destroyed their home planet, there was no one for Granolah to go after, and he seemed to understand that Frieza was too strong.  But that backfired on Monaito, because once Granolah found out about Frieza returning and some Saiyans still being alive, he... went off on some half-baked revenge scheme. 

Anyway, Elec knew Granolah had talent, and since he never knew about the whole murdered-his-mom thing, Elec thought he could recruit him for his organization.  After that, Monaito couldn’t tell him the truth, because Elec would kill them both.

Anyway, while all this exposition is happening, the Heeters find the Cerealian Dragon Balls and make their wish...

... which is basically the same wish Granolah made at the beginning of this arc, only they asked for Gas to become the strongest warrior in the universe.  And since the wish was granted, that means Gas must be even stronger than Granolah is.

So they fight, and Granolah gets his ass kicked.  Gas’ whole deal is that he uses energy constructs, sort of like Green Lantern but without the ring.  This isn’t a new power he got, it’s something he’s always been able to do, and through much of this battle, he tries to win with the power he had before Elec made the wish. 

Goku comes up with a plan to handle Gas.  He wants Vegeta to eat his senzu bean and fight with Ultra Ego again, but Vegeta left the bean in his armor, which he took off while fighting Granolah.  So first he has to go find it, and Goku will try to hold Gas off in the meantime. 

But Vegeta gives the senzu bean to Granolah instead, insisting that he’s the one who wants revenge on these guys, so it should be him who settles things. 

On his way to fight Gas, Granolah makes up with Oatmeel and puts him back on, assuring the computer than they’re a team.  Awww.

So this is just Gas vs. Granolah, with Goku and Vegeta reduced to spectators.  It’s an interesting choice to say the least.  Gas should have the advantage on power, but Granolah stays competitive for a few reasons.

1) Gas doesn’t want to use his full strength, because he thinks he should be able to win with the power he had before the wish.  That doesn’t work, so he eventually relents and uses his full power, but he wastes a lot of valuable time and energy this way.

2) Gas hasn’t fought much at all in this arc, mainly because Elec always wanted to keep him in reserve as a last resort. We know he fought Bardock decades ago (and lost), so he’s clearly gotten a lot stronger, even without that wish to beef him up, but he lacks experience with this power.  Granolah had the same problem when he fought Goku and Vegeta, but now he’s got the advantage, because he... just got done fighting Goku and Vegeta.  If he can beat those two, he can hold his own against Gas.

3) Granolah has his Cerelian perception, which makes his attacks far more precise than anything Gas can do.  

It’s also possible that Gas’s heart just isn’t in this.  He seems distant from the priorities of the other Heeters.  When he has difficulty fighting, Elec removes the headband of teeth from his head.  The other Heeter wear these like necklaces, and apparently they’re not decoaritive.  Somehow they restrain their powers, and if you remove them, they become stronger, but also go berserk.  Wonder Woman’s bracelets used to work this way.  If she lost them, she’d go apeshit and kick everyone’s ass.

According to Monaito, the same thing happened when Bardock fought Gas forty years ago.  Gas took off his headband thing and transformed into a gonzo monster.  Bardock won somehow, but Gas is far more powerful now, and this time he attacks everybody.  But Elec isn’t worried, because if Gas is truly the strongest in the universe now, then he ought to be able to regain control over himself.

And that’s exactly what he does.  Not sure how he got his clothes back after he hulked out of them, but maybe the dragon gave him the Clothes Beam technique along with all the other upgrades. 

And this brings me to the end of volume 18 of Dragon Ball Super.  Volume 19 won’t be published in English until September, and I don’t want to wait that long, so I guess I’ll have to find the next several chapters elsewhere. So hopefully I can pick this up tomorrow...

Oh, right, Bardock. 

So, Bardock showing up in this arc caused a lot of agitation in the fandom.  I think this was mostly because of lingering frustration with Dragon Ball Minus retconning all the Bardock lore from the 1990 TV special.  That, and there’s also a lot of Bardock Fatigue in the fandom, because the franchise has been shoehorning Bardock into every video game and merchandise possible.  For many, working him into the DBS manga was just another crass marketing ploy. 

Also, chapter 77 marks the moment when Goku finally learns about his father, which is a big deal for the character, but a milestone like that is always going to be controversial, because there will be fans who think the series was better off when Goku didn’t know.  It’s like when Clark Kent told Lois he was really Superman.  You can’t unring that bell. 

I... don’t particularly care about any of that.  For my part, Bardock’s a cool character, and I don’t mind seeing him or his cute wife.  Anything Toei or Shueisha does with Goku’s parents is a fair play in my book.  It’s no different from having Tien or Android 17 show up.  But there seems to be this special status that’s been assigned to Bardock, where he’s either too cool or too overexposed, and that makes him off-limits.  Well, I don’t buy into made-up rules like that. 

I get the sense that there’s this edgelord contingent of the fandom that wouldn’t accept any version of Bardock short of him murdering Granolah’s mom and eating Monaito’s face or something.  I don’t understand these fans, because the “Father of Goku” special is just Bardock getting the shit kicked out of him from start to finish.  Tooru kicks him in the head, then he goes to Planet Meat and Dodoria beats him up, then he flies to Planet Vegeta and dies to Frieza.  How is this guy a badass?  Because he dominated Dodoria’s goon squad?  Well Guldo could one-shot all of them, so why isn’t everyone fawning over Guldo then?

People got mad because Bardock said “tummy”, which isn’t a very badass word to use.  You never hear Guldo say “tummy”, and he’s hard as nails.  My thing is, if you imagine Sonny Strait delivering the line in that cool voice he uses, it sounds a lot more natural.  Yeah, if he said it in the Krillin voice, it’d be goofy, which is why he doesn’t use the same voice for both characters. 

I’d chalk it up to a translation issue, really.  I mean, it’s probably accurate, but the people at Viz should have used different wording.  Sometimes you have to punch up the dialogue, make it sound more like something Guldo would say. 

The point I’m trying to make is that Bardock isn’t some sacred cow, and he’s also not a third rail that the franchise is forbidden from using.  Dragon Ball Super brought back the Mafuba and the Grand Supreme Kai and the guy Zarbon kicked on Namek.  Of course they were going to do something with Bardock.  I’m more surprised that they didn’t just have him time travel to present-day Earth and live in Goku’s house for a while. 

[pocket-lin]

Hey!! 💕 for the fandom ask game, 5, 9 and 20? 🤩

hi!!! thank you for sending me this ask!! once again apologizing if the format for this is all janky, assume I have no clue what I'm doing 80-90% of the time!! also I found out so many of these writer's have tumblrs that I wasn't following so that was exciting!!

please note: this is all about the harry potter fandom so if you don't follow me for that, please look at my pinned post!! tldr is fuck jk and fuck terfs, I won't let her steal our joy!!

5. something I see a lot in fics and love

hmmmm... this is hard to narrow down!! so here's a few things I've been enjoying in hp fics I've read lately!

harry potter who is just so fucking earnestly in love. like, he's tripping over his feet so he can hold the door open for draco and looking at him with big heart eyes from across the pub. harry's got draco's order memorized from that takeout place he loves and he's been pining for draco for years in such an embarrassing way and all his friends are rolling their eyes and placing bets on when harry will finally make a fucking move.

adult ron weasley taking after his mother!! he makes delicious food and makes people scarves and shows his love through his actions!!

draco being absolutely rocked when he finds out that harry is queer! especially when harry is confident and completely unashamed of his sexuality. also throat goat harry

magic being tangible in some way!! like, a strong spell giving off the smell of ozone, being able to feel it in someone's hands, everyone's magic having a unique vibe.

harry as the ultimate dad. like, that dude 100% has so many complicated feelings about family and his kid(s) would be everything to him.

9. a ship that isn't your OTP but that you enjoy

I've been dipping into alllll kinds of ships lately. I love to just go look at individual ship tags on a03 and read the stuff with the highest kudos and then some of the most recent fics. I think you gotta do both to understand the ship!! here's some I've been vibing with lately (also realizing how many of these are drarry+someone else hahaha)

harry/draco is my otp BUT harry/ron and harry/ron/hermione are tied for second. that's harry's family!! they were his first friends and the first people to show him love and they literally went through war together. they know each other!! two favorite harry/ron fics of mine are Sun Kissed by @static-abyss and A tangled mess by @orange-peony! two harry/ron/hermione favorites are nineteen years later by wendydarlings and try to fix you by @maesterchill!

snarry - I was sooooo not into this in my early fandom days because so much of the ship stuff I saw was underage teacher/student stuff and that's very much not my thing. the first dip into this ship was actually through @writcraft's harry/draco/severus fic, A Life Worth Remembering, which is almost a complete subversion: Severus gets de-aged to 25 through a potions accident and has to stay with draco and harry, who are middle-aged and in an established relationship. its a gigantic change for everyone involved and the way their all find their way to each other is sooooooo good. from there I read all their snarry stuff. one of their other snarry fics I love is How We Were Warriors. I've actually been back into this ship the past few weeks and have loved On the Deficiencies of Translation Spells and old fires and phantom limbs by @liladiurne, as well as A Turn of the Page and Severus’s Story (or, A Hero’s Tale) by avioleta!

neville/harry and harry/draco/neville - I think about @kittycargo's Love to Give soooooo often. also absolutely love When it Returns by @academicdisasterfic and Touch Your Lips Just So I Know by @saxamophone!!

harry/draco/charlie - everyone go read Licurici by @lou-isfake and tell me you aren't a changed man!!!

ron/draco/harry. I can't even begin to talk about this one because we'd be here for a million years!!

20. your very first fandom!

I started doing irl fandom things for harry potter with my mom and sister when I was a little baby (I learned to read with the harry potter books!!) but my first solo (and almost exclusively online) fandom was the the teen titans!! I was obsessed with the marv wolfman and george perez comics from the 80s and completely lost my shit when they announced the teen titans animated series. that show cancellation still hurts 😭

[findafight]

I’m a sucker for Steve learning about the party’s interests, do you have any thoughts about the kinds of things he’d do for each party member? (E.g. he has the ability to recognize tony hawk, despite his inconspicuousness, because of max’s skateboarding)

Actually now I'm obsessed with the idea that Steve is one of the few people who are not personal friends with him who is able to identify Tony Hawk without a skateboard. Like. Steve is an athlete and respects athleticism, and gives credit where it is due. (He does NOT allow making fun of Olympic athletes, even the weird sports, just because some people don't appreciate how hard you work for it.) So he's like "wow that Tony guy sure is talented. He is so high in the air. Good for him." And never forgets his face. At some point someone shares one of those "didn't recognize actual skate legend Tony Hawk " stories except it ends with "and then the guy in pastels standing beside Eddie Munson slapped his (Eddie's) chest and went "hey!! That's Tony Hawk!! Let's see if we can get an autograph for Max!" And I realized I had been making awkward small talk about cocktail weenies with sports legend Tony Hawk while working up the courage to ask Eddie Munson for an autograph."

He also tries to learn how to Ollie but he's actually really nervous and wears all the protective gear possible and is only able to go forward. (This is from my personal experience being post concussive and not a good skater. It's scary! My brain meat is delicate!) But Max tells him it's okay and talks about the skatepark in California and some of her old friends from there, and he tries to teach her how to make fried rice.(one of the only actual meals that isn't breakfast food he can cook really well completely from scratch) She gets him to do her hair with El because Steve is the only other person who understands that for El hair is a means of control, and that taking care of it is something important to that feeling.

He and El do jigsaw puzzles together and listen to folk music I think. El would appreciate having the option to talk or not, and likes listening to Steve talk too. Also I like jock El so he gets her overly invested in the Cubs like tells her all the lore and she's obsessed with the goat and she joins a softball team. When she first yells at an umpire for a bad call Steve almost cries of pride. Like. Finally. He's not the only one who Gets It.

Lucas and him bond over basketball yes. But Lucas doesn't yell at refs, and Steve gets why but thinks it's very fun when people yell at officials. Also I think they watch clouds together after practicing. Just nice peaceful, laying on warm blacktop and staring at the sky. Maybe El joins them and Lucas and El can bond this way too. Steve and his little jock siblings. (Why does no one consider max a jock for skateboarding? I guess it wasn't really seen as a sport for a long time...hm..)

Steve also bought a flat of new coke before they stopped selling it and keeps it for Lucas on movie nights or whatever and everybody always yells and groans because where is getting that!! It was discontinued!! Also they watch anime together. Erica and Robin join.

I can see him getting into some video games with Dustin and Mike and Lucas. Only the two or more player ones though he doesn't like playing alone. Like. Okay this whole post has anachronisms but please imagine him playing Lego Star Wars (complete saga) with Dustin. The chaos. The yelling.

He's absolutely a pinball guy. They go to the arcade and everyone does their thing but then end up cheering Steve on as he goes for idk star trek pinball glory. Without even tilting it! Idk what to tell you but Steve def loves pinball.

Also before his dad cut him off or after he gets some kind of inheritance he does a very financially secure impulse buy: he purchases an arcade game. Full size. I am partial to Asteroids because that's what my dad impulse bought in the 80's and had it in our basement growing up but let's keep this going he has a themed pinball machine. Icon.

He 100% reaches Dustin to drive. Mrs. Henderson asked him because Steve just looked sad when she mentioned teaching him and she was like well...we could BOTH teach him :) (because she has mentally adopted him. She told him to call her Ma and he does and Robin is like Steve. That's your mum now. And Steve's like no... Everybody calls her that. And she saysnSteve. Only Dustin. Her actual literal son. Calls her that. Guess what that makes YOU.)

Steve and whole party Lego Building Buddies? Mayhaps?

I wish tamagotchis were out in the 80's because Steve would be so diligent a Tama babysitter Erica would sell his services to her friends if they needed it lmao. He'd get all squinty and concentrated you know he'd highscore jump rope but not get the shapes game (me too buddy). Alas. Not to be.

Instead he listens to her talk about her elementary and middle school drama while looking for four leaf clovers. He also has watched MLP with her and may have teared up a little. Also, of course, she is his one true Game Master. Sorry Eddie

Mike is harder...maybe they bond over making snarky comments about people in movies, and then talk about how actually is car racing a sport? And it'd be sort of awkward because Mike has Nancy as an older sibling (even if they don't get along) and he's holding on to animosity that's pointless now. Plus Dustin and Lucas both seem to see Steve as a big brother and friend figure, but like. It's a bit weird for Mike. But still, Mike knows if he bikes to Steve's at two am he'll be hauled in and forced to sit down and asked if he wants a hug and hot chocolate.

Same with will, except Will has Jonathan (El does to but it's different) so at first they're sorta🧍🧍 staring at each other. Steve has to be like sooooo wanna. Tell me about Wizards? Or something? Cool...rocks? And Will would realize that this guy's just, y'know. A guy. Probably similar to Mike except he's not begrudging about it.

I guess a lot of Steve and the party is him listening to them and letting them actually be silly and kids, making snarky comments about the highschool dramas happening, and encouraging them to try different things (he did!) And figure out what they like outside of what they think the rest of the party likes.