#and her mom being surprisingly insightful

[swan2swan]

I'm going to chew cardboard and cement and concrete and anything else we could have had this for the past decade plus we could have had this look at this all three word bubbles are exact and perfect.

[tinmate]

AFTG Social Media Headcannons

Part Two: The Foxes.

(Organized in order of their jersey numbers)

Dan: Twitter and Instagram. Both are verified after she becomes the first female captain in Exy. Her twitter is a healthy mix of Exy and her personal life. She doesn’t shy away from her past as a stripper and occasionally but passionately advocates for better protections and regulations around strippers and sex work in general. She posts a lot of candids of the team on Instagram and has Matt tagged in both bios

Kevin: Twitter and Instagram. Verified. Had a twitter while still with Ravens and was the only Raven other than Riko allowed social media. It was similarly monitored and ran by Tetsuji. Neil gets the password before leaving Evermore but Kevin doesn’t log in again until after changing his tattoo. He unfollows the Ravens, Edgar Allen, Tetsuji, Riko and anyone else even vaguely related to the Ravens. He also deletes everything but the username. He eventually starts tweeting but has trouble balancing his true self and his public self. He finds his stride after he begins to publicly decry the Ravens and defend Jean and Neil after the championships, loudly backing up and reinforcing his statements to the press. He advocates for mental health awareness in sports and anxiety and PTSD in men. He goes hard for the Trojans, much to the public’s amusement. He posts pictures of the places he’s traveled on Instagram, especially fond of historical monuments and tourist traps. He writes surprisingly insightful and concise captions, having had years of practice writing to Jean.

Andrew: Gets on every single social media before it’s trending and popular just to claim his username and then never ever posts.

Matt: Twitter and Instagram. Gets verified after going pro. Only has instagram so Dan can tag him in her bio. Has her tagged in both bios as well. Rarely tweets about Exy but retweets Dan when she does. Goes hard for his mom’s boxing career. Really into the monster truck community. Mostly tweets about his personal life and keeps a pretty normal twitter feed but also speaks up about drug addiction, mental health, and how to help children during a divorce. Someone calls him a nepo baby because his mom is also in professional sports (even though Exy and boxing are entirely different things) and the Foxes laugh about it for days. Dan posts him on instagram, calling him a nepo baby and it goes viral.

Aaron: Twitter. Very aware of his public perception. Very aware that future employers can see his twitter. Keeps it professional during the murder trial, following his lawyer’s advice to not say anything publicly. Not many Exy fans follow him because he rarely tweets about it, trying to keep his current and future professions clearly separated

Honorable mention, Katelyn: DOES tweet about Aaron and Exy. Has more followers than Aaron does because she’s so willing to talk about him. Goes hard for the Foxes online. She has a fan account ala Tess McCracken (Miss/Mrs. Pommel horse) to keep her Exy tweets separate but it’s more popular and stays popular because she remains a diehard Fox fan even after graduation and also posts about the professional teams Matt, Kevin, Neil, and Andrew go on to join

Allison: Similar to Andrew, she has every social media platform ever. Unlike Andrew, she uses them. Verified on all accounts. She had a strong following pre-Foxes and her Tumblr was the most aesthetic thing you’ve ever seen. Gets even more followers post-foxes. The Ilona Maher of Exy. Pretty, strong, and unapologetically feminine while being a beast in her sport. Leverages her popularity online and minor in marketing to start several businesses and turn into a millionaire in her own right, independent of her parents. Think the Kardashians without the sex scandal. Has her own fashion line, makeup line, and hair line. Redesigns Exy uniforms to better fit women and has a whole line of makeup dedicated to withstanding intense games of all sports. This line gets equally popular with dancers and performers of all kinds. Starts a charity for young girls and a scholarship for college women who want to play Exy but don’t have the money. Starts another charity for children who get cut off by their parents. Despite all her business success and turning into a brand, her social media remains surprisingly grounded and human. Goes viral regularly for being “an icon”

Nicky: Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Vine (RIP), TikTok. Verified not for being a Fox but for being a meme lord. Gets the upperclassmen to do trends with him. Does a harmless prank of Neil that turns into an outright prank war before Wymack shuts it down. Several years after graduation, new fans regularly ask just HOW he knows so many professional Exy athletes and also theeeeeee Allison Reynolds. He has a funny answer to all of them but old fans are the ones who need to give an actual answer. His fans regularly beg to see Erik but Nicky shares him only occasionally as Erik doesn’t tend to like the spotlight. Erik will occasionally appear in a video or a trend, more commonly in a photo, but Nicky repeatedly states that Erik is not a toy and if his fans get too intense, he will stop posting entirely. Most fans respect this, the ones that don’t get blocked. He contributes regularly to forums about raising your family members (siblings raising siblings, cousins raising siblings, generally becoming a parent to a family member not that much younger than you are). As times passes, he talks more openly about his sexuality, his struggles with his family and his religion, conversion therapy, and where he stands now, still practicing (I'm not just making this up, he mentions in the books that he's still religious) but openly and proudly gay. He starts a not insignificant side hustle as a content creator. He participates in the “Things that surprised me as a American living in Germany” trends.

Renee: Twitter. Very private but very sweet. Doesn’t actually post about her religion that much but will answer when asked directly about it. Retweets her mother’s articles. Posts a lot about charities and relief work. Is the Fox most likely to respond to a fan. Rarely posts anything personal but responds when tagged in things by her friends. Secretly has a Tumblr and a reddit where she offers support and advice in communities regarding born again Christians, former gang members, foster kids, and recovery from abuse.

Neil: Twitter. Verified. Gets a twitter after the FBI make Neil Josten a real person. He avoided social media before this to avoid his father. Not as much of a menace as you would think, in part due to him wanting to deliver his roasts live and in person. Very careful about what he posts, not wanting to leave a trail and accidentally contradict himself in case he’s ever questioned about the Moriyamas or the Hartfords again. Still a bit of a menace though, he can’t help himself. Mostly gets tagged in videos and posts by Nicky and Dan for being a Weird Person. Unsurprisingly, most of his tweets are about Exy. Gains a sudden influx of followers during the Olympics, like Stephen Nedoroscik (pommel horse guy) or Henrik Christiansen (muffin man) for being a legend on the court, a menace to the press, and a weird ass guy online. Secretly has a Tumblr that goes very viral every few months because of “shitposts” about the mafia, his ganglord father, and the FBI. Blocks everyone who thirsts after his dad in the way that some people thirst after serial killers or irl gangsters. Nobody knows it’s him and one time Nicky shows him his own post about an FBI agent being obsessed with you and Neil has to keep a straight face.

Coach Wymack: Twitter. Verified. Mostly posts official Exy and Foxes news. Randomly posts crappy photos of the team plus Abby and Bee. His few non-Exy related posts have big Dad energy. People loudly thirst after him and it makes everyone, even Nicky, very uncomfortable.

Part One: The Ravens

[rosegardendeprofundis]

My Favorite Celebrity Memoirs

1. I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

This is a pretty obvious choice because it created a lot of buzz when it was originally released in 2022 (and for good reason). This is a brilliantly written memoir that tackles complicated/toxic familial relationships, mental illness, and childhood stardom in a way that is self-aware and even humorous at times.

2. The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

This touching memoir is written as a collection of stories that describe Grohl’s life at different stages from childhood to fatherhood. Grohl details his musical influences with humility and enthusiasm and shows how those influences shaped him into the musician that we know as the drummer of Nirvana and frontman of Foo Fighters. You can also genuinely feel the love that he feels for his daughters in his stories of adulthood, which is very refreshing to see in a rockstar’s memoir. This book resonated with me particularly because I have a father who is about the same age as Grohl and loves all of the same artists, so reading this book almost felt like listening to my dad talk about the things he is passionate about.

3. Down the Drain by Julia Fox

This book is an absolute whirlwind (Fox has lived QUITE a life) but is also surprisingly very insightful. I read Fox’s memoir when I didn’t know much about her beyond her bold fashion and brief fling with Kanye West and was pleasantly surprised by the resilience she shows through her tumultuous life and the intelligence she reflects on her life with. This book can be difficult to read at times as it covers drug addiction, death, abuse, and complicated family dynamics, but I think it is well worth the read if you can stomach it.

4. Dinner for Vampires: Life on a Cult TV Show by Bethany Joy Lenz

I read this memoir despite having never seen an episode of One Tree Hill, and I could not put it down. Lenz tells a very compelling story about her time being in a religious cult during the height of her fame and how that affected her life. I think both fans of One Tree Hill and people who know next to nothing about the show (like myself) will find this memoir fascinating.

[serpentsillusion]

Sebastian, Ominis, and my x MC

🐍✨

What are their zodiac signs and birthdays? *Near the end of 5th year* 🤔💚

Ever wondered what our 2 favorite idiots were, based on the stars? I studied astrology and similar things before it was mainstream. From what I've gathered based on their characteristics and personalities in the game this is the assumptions I've gathered (and some random other observations I've gathered). These are not fact but just my personal ✨Lore✨ plus a little bit about my MC. Welcome to my spicy brain and my spicy imagination. 💚 I hope you guys enjoy the lore! Hopefully it will give you more insight into my next coming shorts. 🐍

Sebastian: born March 28th 1874. He's MOST definitely an Aries. Aries personality traits include confidence, passion, and independence. But this sign can also be impulsive, impatient, and self-centered. They're Competitive. As a fire sign, Aries are fueled by intensity. They love to challenge others to friendly competition. Positive Traits: Energetic, Bold,  possesses Leadership Skills. Negative Traits: Impulsive, Stubborn, Impatient. Aries brings dynamism. His Mother and Father were named Johnathan James Sallow and Mary Anne Sallow. I figure his middle name is probably of his father's also. I kinda dig the thought of Sebastian James Sallow. 🤔🤭

Sebastian 100% smells like Sandalwood. Have you ever smelled that on a man? Holy Merlin TAKE ME AWAY! 😭 Sandalwood screams masculinity to me. But like a mysterious and seductive, curious masculinity way. The first time MC smelled his cologne on him she immediately had to know what it was. He told her, because she asked, very bluntly to be honest.... And now sometimes her girls bed room smells like burning sandalwood when she misses being around him or his dumb ass gets detention and she has to go to classes without him. (my real life partner wears this and it is INTOXICATING) Give it a try. 😏🤭

Nicknames: Seb, Sebby Boi, idiot #1, Sebs, sex panther (MC keeps that one to herself)

Sebastian's talents: he's really good at wood work and tinkering. He likes carving things for his friends out of tree branches. One of the very few things he doesn't use magic for. He once made a tiny carved bear for MC for her 16th birthday, she put it in a trinket box next to her bed and cried about it when she went to bed that night because it was so precious. Ominis got a teeny tiny carved peepee one time as a prank. He was not amused. ALSO Seb's surprisingly good at making food. (had to survive on his own for a little while)

Favorite food: literally anything. Jelly beans, haggis (he's Scottish, and his mom used to make it ALOT) Tablet (look it up) MC's Dad once sent a whole loaf of homemade banana nutbread to the Slytherin common room for her and she only had like maybe a bite. That was a new thing for Seb he had never tried, and unfortunately he ate most of it and was very upset with himself afterwards because it was for her. It was DELICIOUS 😂 MC couldn't help but love that he loved it. He wanted the recipe but she told him no. It was a family recipe, and if he wanted it, he'd have to marry her. That was a challenge accepted in his mind. Ominis doesn't like Bananas but he tried it and was nice about it, after spitting it in the trashcan without MC seeing. (he really hates Bananas...it's a texture thing.)

Seb=Dom. Likes to be in control 24/7. Turns into a complete and utter almost feral animal when confronted with matching Dom energy. Especially with a female.. aka MC

Probably most definitely has sad boi depression and anxiety. Which turns into fear, which turns into anger. Probably has PTSD. MC shares his pain from her upbringing and that's another reason why they have bonded so incredibly fast.

Ominis:  born September 25th 1874. Definitely a Libra. Libra's are extroverted, cosy, and friendly people. Libra's, like the Scales that symbolise the sign, are often concerned with attaining balance, harmony, peace, and justice in the world. With their vast stores of charm, intelligence, frankness, persuasion, and seamless connectivity, they are well-equipped to do so. I'm going to assume his father was British and his mother was Irish according to ✨le internet.✨ His father's name was probably something fancy like Elias and his Mother was probably something super classy like Violet. Idk 😐😂

Ominis probably smells like vetiver, tobacco (for some reason) and leather. Like a high society lounge for men. With ✨class✨ The epitome of sophistication.

Nicknames: idiot #2, omnomnom he hates it when MC calls him that but it's cute, snakey boi.

Ominis=Sub. Too nervous to touch a girl. Doesn't know what to do. Too gentleman like. Wants to wait until marriage. Probably screams and runs if he tries to be kissed by a girl. Like Poppy.

Ominis and Sebastian are already best friends but Ominis feels drawn to MC in a way a brother is drawn to protect his sister. Ominis feels obligated to help protect MC because he views her as a sister, and the fact that his best friend is absolutely smitten with her. Ominis will 100% be the best man at Sebastian's wedding to MC. She just doesn't know she's gonna get married to that idiot yet.

Ominis talents: is surprising very very good at playing the piano. It was something he was made to do as a child for his parents extravagant parties.

Favorite food: Anything, except fucking bananas.

My MC: aka Jessica "Jess" Garyn Burke born October 16th 1874. The youngest of The Silver Trio, and also similarly of Borgin and Burkes owned by Mr Borgin and Mr Burke, who were known to deal with unusual and ancient artifacts.😉 I picked Jessica because it's actually an OLD name meaning "To Behold" and Garyn meaning "warrior" Everything she knows she learned from her Dad, including protecting herself magically and *physically* like when she decked Leander Prewett in the face for calling her a rather "prude" name and teasing her in front of everyone including Sebastian and Ominis. 0/10 does not like being sexualized by other men, finds it incredibly disrespectful. She can handle her own. Obviously. It only cost her 2 weeks of detention. Leander and her are cool now btw. He's fine. His pride is not. Sebastian purposely got 2 weeks detention shortly after that so he could be around her more. 😂🤭😁✨ She is incredibly sassy, blunt, domineering, sharp as a whip, and not traditionally "ladylike". MC is not afraid to dig her nails in the dirt if she has to. And she will 100% knock a man on his ass for grabbing her butt. "Bitches get shit done." Is her Mantra.

MC=Dom a dangerous mix when tangled around Sebastian. They constantly fight for dominance but he usually always wins. Only because he's taller and a lot stronger than she is. Not sexually active because she's afraid of her father finding out and killing the poor guy. But she does know how to tie a cherry stem in her mouth without using her fingers. 10/10 proud of herself for that after almost choking on a few in her time trying. She learned that from one of her friends back in London. Father doesn't approve of said friend. Useful skill for seduction. Will keep in her back pocket for later. Is actually kinky. She's read A LOT of books about it. Can "work her magic" so to say if need be.

MC usually has her butternut ash brown hair up in a beautiful and detailed bun with intricate pieces framing her face. Slightly pale skin with mild freckles and bright blue eyes. She loves fresh flowers but fresh roses are her ABSOLUTE favorite!! Which is her perfume of choice. Just straight up Rose.

-She also cries when she gets yelled at. Because she's sensitive, but also immediately gets immensely pissed off. You would prefer having her as a friend, and not an enemy. That is why Sebastian and her formed an incredibly strong bond shortly after becoming friends. They are actually very similar. Did not speak to Sebastian for a whole month after he got mad and called her ignorant that one time. Made her cry after he left the undercroft. Did not understand why she would walk past him in the halls and ignore his owls until he apologized.

MC talents: loves drawing. She doodles some of her classmates in her spare time outside the grounds of Hogwarts, while on picnics or laying against trees. She's drawn Ominis and Sebastian. Especially Sebastian. Several times. She hides those ones because she doesn't want him to know she gets butterflies in her stomach around him. MC is also really good at singing, she just doesn't do it in front of literally anyone. She plays the lute but doesn't really care for the high pitched twang if it. Sometimes she wants someone to invent something very similar. They both should have 6 strings so it wouldn't be hard to learn a different instrument that's very *similar* to a lute. Does not like playing in front of anyone. Sebastian heard her one time when she was sick and stuck in her room practicing all day because she was bored. Everyone was "supposed" to be in class. He was befuddled and so incredibly impressed he couldn't move. MC is also formally trained in hand to hand wandless combat, trained executively by her father, Incase expelliarmus gets casted on her. Doesn't want anyone to know she can whoop ass. Also MC is like REALLY good at dancing, LOVES music and making people laugh. Will purposely embarrasses herself dancing just to make her friends laugh.

MC parents and Family: David Burke and Ramona Nielson. Wizard and Muggle. Divorced cuz Ramona is not dependable as a mother and is scared if her magic welding children, had to be obliviated regarding that part of her children. Ramona still got custody even though she wasn't really around for her daughter growing up which made MC want to stay longer with her father during summer vacation, away from school and sharing holidays between both homes. MC has to have that little bit of stern staleness from something...🤷🏻‍♀️ MC was "raised" by her loving and supportive father who served in the Royal Wizard Military as an elite and very powerful wizard. After he retired from the RWM her father decided to travel, collecting ancient artifacts which is why MC is so good at tracking them down so fast. Her uncle is Caractacus Burke who is the founder of Borgin and Burkes. MC has 2 other siblings. An older brother Roderick, and an older sister, Seraphina. Both past Slytherin alumni. Seraphina is diplomatic but deceitful. Spending most of her time working for the Ministry of Magic directly under the Minister. while most unfortunately Roderick is estranged from the family due to criminal "acts" on house elves. MC's father was in Gryffindor. He is somewhat a little disappointed that none of his children were accepted into Gryffindor, however he is still grateful they ended up possessing magic. Does not know his youngest child can see ancient magic. Wouldn't be surprised if she did. MC's bff is her father and her cat Oliver. MC constantly stops to pet cats in hogsmeade whenever she can.

ANYWAY! I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKED THIS!! It took me literal hours as I'm still trying to figure out how to navigate Tumblr editing 😂 my eyes and hands hurt. Lol

Stay stunned for more ✨lore✨

[tibby]

there's a moment in the harry styles rpf This Time There's A MILF movie where anne hathaway breaks up with Not Harry Styles because she needs to put her daughter first (her kid is getting bullied for reasons that are obvious based on the premise of this movie) and he's like "i can quit everything. why can't you fight for us?" and for a moment it was like there could have been a message in this movie. like, if we're working with the idea of it being a romantic drama in which we root for the characters and not a relationship with multiple power imbalances. if we're working with what this movie wants to be, then this moment could have presented an insightful reflection on how young people view love vs how older people view it. this desire to fight for a romance where you can make these grand gestures, this idea that romcoms and disney channel raised us on. and then contrasted with the realistic perspective that the single mom character has, in which those grand gestures and the idea of fighting for love! just isn't reasonable anymore. and i was like, wow, could this movie make a point?

but then i remembered that not twenty minutes earlier a character said the line "how could you break up with a talented, kind-hearted feminist?" and i realised that this movie was no terror train 2 (a surprisingly scathing commentary on modern day true crime culture and how the desire to turn real life tragedies and people’s trauma into a career and social media clout is doing incredible damage to victims) and it would offer me nothing of value. i also realised i should probably stop watching movies when high.

[doks-aux]

Commission by the ever-wonderful @delena-hupp! 💖

I have a The Walten Files OC now. This is Silas Radley, preferably Rad. He's an HVAC technician and general fix-it man. He's around 40 and divorced with one kid, a daughter, and recently relocated to Brighton to be close to her after she and her mom moved in with his former in-laws in Howell. He's originally from Southern Appalachia. Michigan is cold, and he hates it.

He quit smoking, and it sucks. He eats a lot of lollipops and chews a lot of gum to have something in his mouth and to hold between his fingers. Blow Pops were literally just invented, and he loves that shit. He quit drinking, too, which wasn't quite as rough, but it was for his ex, so he keeps it up in solidarity. They're still close and have made a lot of sacrifices to straighten themselves out for their kid.

He's lanky and tall, about 6'1", with very casual body language. He's very observant and insightful, watching people carefully, and pretty on-guard around others. When alone or with trusted company, he's as relaxed internally as he appears on the outside and prone to distraction and daydreaming. He has a scar through his left eyebrow and part of his ear missing on the same side, both from becoming very well-acquainted with a window. His nose is slightly crooked from being broken once or three times.

Since settling in Brighton, he's leaned into a bit of a bad boy, dirtbag image, partially to mask how genuinely lonely and awkward he feels in his new surroundings and also because he's used to the assumptions people make about him (whether due to his blue collar background, where he's from, accent, etc.) and has no interest in impressing or proving himself to them. He's a bit of a loser, and pretty comfortable with that. He's very blunt and frequently can come across like an asshole even if he doesn't mean to (though sometimes he does). He's actually pretty friendly if approached in good faith, if abrasive, and very loyal.

He's got a truck, a motorcycle, and a dog named Shadow (Shady). He likes camping, stargazing, all sorts of outdoorsy things. Though not hunting; animals are too cute. Fishing is fine, but he likes just sitting by the water and skipping stones more. He can play guitar and banjo, and his ex taught him some piano. He's a devoted dad and surprisingly nurturing and can turn on caretaker mode for anyone regardless of age. He can cook and will feed you. You look hungry.

He can open a bottle with his belt buckle and utilizes this for entertainment and flirting. He's bisexual and probably genderfluid but doesn't quite have the language for that second one. It's whatever. He's got shit to do. He's cocky and playful and the very concept of yearning given physical form.

He and Jack hate each other on sight like two betta fish dropped into the same tank. It is irrational and instinctive. He keeps a lid on it best he can because he has to install this motherfucker's air conditioning in his weird robot rabbit restaurant. Do those things have to be staring at him while he works?

He accidentally gave Felix fleas. It's fine, it's fine, he's got a shampoo for that. Ignore the dog on the label. No, it's fine, really, it smells like oatmeal. C'mon, just stand still. Fighting only makes it a challenge.

[mikailys]

MCL NewGen Ep 9 Commentary

I poured blood, sweat, tears, and money to finish this episode. I fought my inner demons to convince myself that they didn't deserved my money but here we are: with a concluded episode and me with 30 euros less in my bank account 🥲 As always, this post will obviously contain spoilers under the cut so beware~

Ngl after the disaster of episode 8 I had zero (0) hopes for this new one, I wasn’t even excited after everything that happened last month (e-girl pack, episode 8, Halloween event and so on) but I have to admit, this one surprisingly exceeded my low expectations by a landslide by finally giving some insight on the LIs about time i might say.

But first thing first, the cost. This episode was hella expensive, I spent 2604 aps, of which 1832 were free. I'm following Jason's route so I know it's more expensive than the others but I didn't imagine this much. I genuinely hope the others will be shorter and that this was just an exception given the backstories cause I can't handle every ep being like this 😩

As a Jason's girlie, I was ecstatic about this episode. For once, his presence was well-contextualized, he didn’t come off like a stalker and we weren’t the damsel in distress. I didn’t expect him to start trauma-dumping on Candy so soon, considering they don’t see each other as often compared to the other LIs, but I’m glad we got to know him better. I really hope Candy’s attitude toward him will start to soften 'cause she’s always on guard around him and it’d be nice to see her relax and trust him a little more, especially after the intimate moment they experienced in this ep.

I must admit tho the premise didn't really appeal to me and I was skeptical this would be another silly ep with all the Devenementiel crew doing stuff but luckily it wasn't. It all starts with Devon telling us that, starting the next day, a group of interns will be joining the team and it turns out these are Devon’s younger brothers, Gebril and Joen.

Overall I liked the time spent with them. I agree that there were a lot of unnecessary moments and some parts I could’ve gladly skipped but it was a cute scenario, and finally we get to meet some new characters for a change also idk but Joen's attitude kinda reminds me of Armin oh I miss himm

Since we're here let’s already get to the sore spot of this whole ep: the whole Tasha situation. I don’t care if it’s wrong to have beef with my fictional sister, but I’m honestly speechless at how she and their mom acted during the internship situation. You knew for months that you needed to pick a company for your internship and yet, the night before, you have no plans because you delayed the application?? And now you’re asking me to call up my boss at 8 pm to beg him to include you in the internship that’s supposed to start tomorrow? Are you out of your mind?!?

Also isn’t the whole traineeship supposed to be organized by the school? I’m not sure how it works in France, but I was quite confused—here in Italy the school usually guides you through the process and handles all the paperwork. It’s unusual for students to be left on their own in a situation like this...

And the mom is even worse cause she just says "I don’t want to judge you for how you’re acting with her because if I were in your shoes I wouldn’t know what to do either" like uhmm you’re the mother, not me?? If you knew about this the whole time –and she knew for months– why didn’t she help Tasha earlier? Or better yet, why didn’t Tasha ask us weeks ago instead of the evening before? And yet they’re just chilling while playing cards omg you have no idea how much this stressed me out it's so stupid but yet so infuriating like the fact that they only have a bathroom in a mega villa but whatever i guess.

After we refuse to help her, Tasha mysteriously ends up joining Goldreamz for her internship. I’m honestly confused, once again, about how this happened because the night before no company had accepted her and now suddenly she's got the job?? Did Jason see her candidacy last minute right before clocking out the office? If I missed something pls let me know cause I genuinely can't wrap my head around it lol.

What a way to twist things...

But anyway, I honestly liked this option. I admit I would have never imagined this plot for his route but I’m glad they went this way. I loved seeing Candy’s reaction when Tasha told her about working with "the devil" and I also enjoyed her reactions to the ambiguous conversation between Candy and Jason in his office watch Tasha being the first to get the hints about their situationship lol

Maybe it's for the better, we don't want to let our lil sis know we blew up big time our first solo project.

Once Tasha leaves, Candy asks Jason wtf he’s doing and he assures her that he doesn’t have any ulterior motives. He just thought it would be an amusing situation for both him and Candy. After a quick recap, we get a better understanding of Candy and Tasha's relationship. It seems like there’s a bit of a rivalry/competition between the sisters—something I would have never guessed, considering we've only seen Tasha about three times since the beginning but okay. I only wish to see more of their sisterhood but I guess we won't any sooner since she's going to her father for a while, that sucks.

After some usual bantering, we find out that Jason envies our relationship with Tasha since he’s an only child, which leads him to open up a bit about his past. We learn that he found comfort in solitude, often isolating himself by going out on his father's boat in the middle of the ocean. I admit this was unexpected, I never would’ve guessed he’d be so into the marine world - as we'll see soon in the rowboat scene. It adds a surprisingly nice contrast to his otherwise business-like persona.

Touched by Jason’s childhood story, Candy spontaneously suggests they take a boat ride right then and there, to experience the peace and solitude he felt throughout his childhood. This was a cute gesture from Candy ngl, I thought she would simply nod and listen to his story but no. This is the first time she takes such an important first step with him in their relationship and I'm proud of her.

But, once arrived tho she has to ruin everything destroying the cute little moment...

Oh my God. You strangely enough managed to get him to open up about his difficult childhood and you still can’t help but joke about him being the big bad guy? Ugh I take back whatever I said about you Candy, you're dumb.

Thankfully, Jason doesn’t seem that much bothered by her comment and they get on the rowboat. I was lowkey hoping for a cute moment where he offers her his hand to help her aboard but nope, doesn’t happen. Honestly I’m convinced this is his subtle payback for that insensitive joke, if so props to you J.

Anyway, he starts rowing and soon we find ourselves in the middle of the lake. This is where the heart of the episode unfolds imo. We finally get a glimpse into his family history. Jason opens up about his father, a scientist deeply passionate about the ocean, that tragically passed away shortly before he turned 19.

This is the moment where I truly lost it. I swear, I was a sobbing mess.

Jason’s vulnerability hit me harder than I expected. We already knew about his father, but hearing him tell the whole story was tough. I can barely imagine what he went through at such a pivotal age. The emotional distance between him and his mother after she got remarried definitely played a big role and when you add his strained relationship with his stepfather into the mix, it’s impossible not to feel for him. It's such a tragic backstory, I hope they don’t mess it up from here on out. My pookie deserves better :(

As for the special scene, it wasn't that much but I liked it. Unfortunately, I can't post the screenshots since I’ve hit the limit per post sigh but it was such a sweet and heartwarming moment. It offered a smooth transition from the heaviness of the conversation to their usual playful banter and I really appreciated how it slowly lightened up the mood without taking away from the emotional depth of his story. I have to admit, I wasn’t really a fan of the illustration. The setting and moment were adorable - it totally gave me Rapunzel vibes with all the whimsy and charm - but Jason’s expression feels off, it’s almost like he’s a villain plotting revenge rather than being swept up in the moment lol. Plus his proportions seem a little strange mmh. Candy, on the other hand, looks gorgeous so gg.

And that’s it. Afterwards, Jason accompanies Candy back to her house, reminding her that despite the little walk down memory lane, things haven’t changed between them in his eyes, and he expects the same from her. Oh, and let’s not forget she owes him an intimate story too as if the whole Ioan drama wasn’t enough.

With that, he leaves and the episode ends with Candy having her same old crisis whenever she spends a little time with Jason.

Now, I’m really curious to see if Jason opening up will actually shift things between them or if it’ll stay the same old. At this point, Candy doesn’t have much of an excuse to keep trash-talking him - he hasn’t done anything to harm her or Devenementiel, yet, and he’s actually been there to help her on multiple occasions. I’m hoping she drops the whole “he’s the devil” mindset because he’s honestly shown more support than hostility in the latest eps.

But honestly I can't hide that rn I'm more worried about the next episode. Thomas having an incident was on everyone’s bingo card -even though I didn’t expect it to happen this early- but here we are. I’ve got so much repressed trauma from everything with Lysander that I genuinely have no idea what to expect next 🫠

[mickmundy]

spy headcanon thread! just some of my personal thoughts and musings about his character :-) enjoy!

starting off by saying that spy is Absolutely Everything to me.. i've put his thread off for so long because i have SO much to say and im afraid i'll leave stuff out BUT we're going to take a Stab at it (😏) and i guess i'll just add more stuff later if i need! As Usual this is just pasted from my twitter so i'm sorry for any wonky formatting issues!

the most important thing to me about spy's character is that it is Varied and can be Contradictory. i say this about all of the mercs tbh but spy is among the Most important given his role/occupation as a spy. he IS A Spy, but he's also Just Some Guy (gender neutral).

spy is a bit dry; very sarcastic, a bit stoic, but he's definitely not heartless. i think he's very "emotionally in-tune" to those around him and prides himself on being able to read a room exceptionally well!

... but just because he knows what people might be thinking doesn't mean he's going to do anything about it! he likes being in the know but seldom ever enjoys interfering; it's best if he keeps out of the fray, or so he tells himself!

that being said, i Do think spy makes exceptions to this rule (which To Me is what makes his character Interesting!).... as we see in expiration date! he spends his "last living days" helping scout become a worthy date for miss pauling!

if he sees someone Floundering or really stuck in some kind of emotional squander, he'll pass by with a hand on the shoulder and a concise, discreet, kind word of advice in their ear and move on. no need for thanks, he's just Sharing an Observation! if you try to thank him, he'll give you a coy look and be like "for what?" but he knows. he's just letting you know you don't need to thank him <3

loves breaking balls. he'll help you if you ask him, but not before he gives you a LOT of shit for it. he'll volunteer himself to help you (even if you tell him you need his Stinking Help!) and he'll roll his eyes and say "ha! you are So helpless! i know you're glad i'm here to see this through with you uUu" LOL

but he will give you genuine insight and Surprisingly Good advice. huh, you didn't know he knew you so well! despite his job as a spy, he'll tell you to be authentic and will encourage you to listen to your instincts.

is an Observer First and an Action-taker second. prioritizes being in the know and likes being in the background (despite how good he is at being in the spotlight!). always thinks before he speaks, very calculated in everything he does!

got wiser with age. when he was younger i think he was quick to save his own skin and thought only about himself. among his first "selfless" acts were running out on scout and his mom to "protect" them, but with the wisdom of hindsight, that wasn't the smartest idea!

firmly believes in the power of respect. seems to have a positive relationship with all of his teammates (yes, even sniper, engineer and pyro lol) and scout's mom, too (regardless of how u see their relationship). tells scout that he has to earn pauling's respect to be worthy of her!

won't hesitate to stick his neck out for/work with people he appreciates. in the comics, he works with (and even prioritizes the safety of) miss pauling, helps sniper, and obviously comforts scout when he's dying in the way that Scout would want to be comforted. good job pops!

which brings me to dadspy... how i love you... i could make an entire other thread about my dadspy thoughts BUT i'll keep it "brief" here. i don't think he ever "treated scout like shit" nor do i think he was abusive to scout's mom or scout. he's just the world's most mediocre absent father to me... KDSKF

i think scout's mom knew What Spy Was and knew that at some point, he'd have to leave her. i think she's a perfectly capable woman who spy is genuinely still in love with (they have an open, long-distance relationship!) and is quite the deadly catch herself! perhaps i'll make a thread on her if that's something people would want....

i don't think she resents spy for running out and i think spy has complicated feelings about running out. he's convinced himself he did it for everyone involved's safety but in hindsight he Does feel a Bit (emphasis on Bit. it's not Earth Shatteringly Dramatic, just a little demon that sneaks up on him now and then...) guilty and tries to "make up for it" by Trying to get along with scout even if it's... not easy LOL. him turning into tom jones when scout died was to comfort scout the way Scout would want, which i think says a lot about spy's character.

however, once scout finds out the truth, i think he tells spy that he shouldn't have lied to him about it ("what kind of dumbass lies to their son on his deathbed! 🧍") and spy's like "ah... i suppose that... was also a mistake." and they smirk/smile at each other.. Road To Forgiveness begins..

also i personally love the running gag that everyone knows that spy is scout's dad (except for scout), not because i think spy would tell all/even some of the mercs but because it's SO obvious that all of them are like "i mean yeah.. doy". extra points if their knowledge Also surprises spy. "WHO TOLD YOU? HOW DID YOU KNOW?!" and the mercs are like ??? "erm... we have eyes...?" LOL

DESPITE being Stoic and Unknowable and Mysterious, he is also Quite the Doofus. one of my favorite and most important thoughts on his character. i think his authentic laugh is his snort laugh and i think that's what made scout's mom fall in love with him... :') has a great sense of humor.

loves playing pranks, causing mischief and being a Smug Cunt. will hide behind his Carefully Crafted Facade, but those who really know him (heavy, scout's mom) can see right through it! teaches scout some of his "best ones" (though not before pranking HIM with them first! it's okay though. scout's a good sport and gives him props LMAO)

a short list of spy's "best ones":

cleaning a glass door REALLY well and tricking the mercs to run into it at full force

oil on the kitchen floor so that anyone who comes running in will slam into the oven that engineer Just Fixed God Dammit! and destroy it

mentos in soda

scout and spy have the "same laugh" when they REALLY start howling. snorting, wheezing.... they sound almost identical. usually if they're laughing THAT hard, the rest of the mercs are looking at them like this >__> (covered in soda, can't get up from the ground because oil, etc)

obviously enjoys literature! language is one of his favorite things, though. loves learning about different dialects, slang, accents and learning the intricacies of grammar, too! likes studying the other mercs for this reason. the base is a fun, mixed bag for him!

the best secret keeper. contrary to popular belief, spy will NOT air your business if it's Serious. he might "let it slip" to medic that sniper sleeps with a stuffed animal, but he won't let anyone know that heavy has ptsd. he likes giving people shit, but not genuinely causing harm!

ah.. breaking balls as a love language.. this is something that i think is shared between spy, scout, and scout's mom. they LOOOOVE to give you shit, but it comes from a loving place. i think a lot of scout and spy's banter in exp date is like this:

it's not actually Insulting to either of them (spy calling scout a failure, scout telling spy to go to hell, etc) and is in fact more like a thing of Endearment. if you know people like this then you know what i'm talking about. idk how else to describe it KSDFKS

he is very girlfailure that thinks he's a girlboss but is actually a girlfailure and is coming to terms with his girlfailing. as i've said, spy isn't heartless. he knows he's made mistakes and knows his job has costed him a lot and now he's trying to reconcile with it. sometimes it's funny, sometimes its angsty!

is a total foodie and has a LOT of opinions about all kinds of cuisine! loves cooking with engineer and pyro (YES i think pyro is an INCREDIBLE chef. they only burn things because it's fun/funny! for the bit. you understand), and heavy has a perfect palette (just a personal hc of mine heh) so he always gets to tag along and taste test! <3

if spy is involved with any of the other mercs, scout's mom knows about it. they're in an open relationship and spy values her just like he'd value any of the mercs in a romantic relationship. she knows all of them and they're all very polite to her (ala like they are with miss pauling), but she quickly surprises them by being snarky and playful like spy and scout! she also doesn't hesitate to begin telling the mercs the most Humiliating Dirt on spy AND scout! HEHEHE

i don't think he'd cheat on her nor do i think he'd bother cheating on any of his partners. he's very open with communication when it comes to his interpersonal relationships (this is ironic to everyone but him because his relationship with his son is currently in shambles). he's good at it when it comes to romantic relationships though!

his love languages are, well, any and all of them! he loves being in love, he's a huge romantic and is not shy about showing it. will absolutely DROWN his partner in gifts and pretty words (that he really does mean!) and so on... perhaps to the point of it being a little overwhelming! at his partner's request, he'll dial it back... but he still loves to spoil his lovers, and THAT is something he WON'T apologize for! >:)

as i touched on earlier, has a good rapport with all of the mercs and pauling. he's patient with soldier and the other mercs hear him out about the bucket list idea (and are all Quietly Amused by how scout promptly ruins that for him. team dynamic ykwim). i think he's the closest with heavy (i'm a spoovy enjoyer), engineer, pyro, and sniper (BUT in kind of a "unique" way. perhaps i'll elaborate) but he enjoys the company of all of the other mercs as well!

is Informed about engineer's, demoman's and medic's research (though not on the levels they are of course) and likes being in the know about things going on around the base. he mostly shares enemy intelligence with these three over anyone else. they talk frequently and Love to gossip (engineer SWEARS its not gossiping but demo and medic are like "no. its gossip!" SKDFKSDF)!

will absolutely always enable you to treat yourself. scout, spy, medic and demo are the KINGS of "go on!! treat yourself!! :D" no matter what it is. if spy sees you really struggling about whether to get something, he'll slip it in with his own purchases and gift it to you later. "this one is from me, so you don't need to worry about compromise. <3"

in battle, he's a bit more sadistic than his teammates; likes making people squirm and is more than capable of getting under your skin. information extraction is part of his job and he treats it as such: Part Of The Job. he doesn't get a LOT of pleasure from hurting others, but he Does enjoy starring in a good revenge tale!

no, i do NOT think the world's most absent father cares about his 30 year old son's sex life nor do i think he's even "fiercely overprotective" of scout just in general. i think he knows scout is a grown man who has to make (and account for) any failures and fumbles he makes in his life. he'll be there with a kind word (and a few snarky ones!) when shit hits the fan, but he's not running around fighting scout's battles for him. scout loves battling too much to let him anyway! LOL

he teaches him things that Spy Himself values (like respect) because he... values it and since spy IS trying to be a bit more of a Dad to scout, it's also a reflection on him (to spy. scout doesn't care or think of it that way). insists on the value of self improvement! (something he himself didn't learn until he was Much Older... but scout doesn't need to know that!)

[hath-e]

Mobile Suit Gundam Gquuuuuux, episode 6: The Plot to Assassinate Kycilla Part 1

(source, episode 6 screencap)

So wow a packed episode this week, like really really packed. The amount of reveals this week is honestly ridiculous, even so this episode gives us a mid season break, not too much action but so much said and shown.

The callbacks to the original UC timeline were a lot surprising and defiantly not what I was looking for this week.

Along with this we have a return of the love triangle plot-point between the main trio and more insight into how the world now works post Zeon winning the OYW.

Honestly this might be my favorite episode so far, and I am way way excited for next week.

You might have noticed that I included a "Part 1" in the title of this post, and that is simply is that this episode has so much going on that I decided to split this into two posts, with the 2nd one coming tomorrow

Thank you for reading my short spoiler free yap :>

And now without further ado, spoilers as always below cut:

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS, WHY DID THEY STUFF SO MUCH STUFF THIS WEEK. THE TITANS-TO-BE ARE HERE????????????

Honestly I am really happy I decided to stick with talking about plot points in order cuz I would have no way to figure out where to start this week, this will be a long one so lets not stall too much:

So we start of almost right where we ended of last week, Machu and Nyaan meet in the ducts of Side 6 and through argument Amate gets the Gqux back to Pomeranians HQ, seeing a bit more interactions from the crew is nice but this scene is used more to foreshadow the interaction between Annqi and Nabu down the line, as well the talk that Nabu is to give to Machu.

Honestly seeing Simus Al Bakharov as the UC C-lister to comeback as a close aide to Challia isn't that surprising as presumably the two would still work together on some level in this timeline, still this episode loves it's UC C-listers so we take it.

Important lore drop, Psycommu weapons are already banned post Zeon winning the war, this in the normal UC timeline wouldn't occur until 0096 post the Laplace incident. More than likely this means that the feddies being unable to take over the research would opt to ban it inside the peace treaty. Which all in all isn't too surprising.

So big problem, as this conference will be attended by a lot of important background characters, more than likely including Machu's mom, so I will be surprised if she makes it past the next episode, being in the crossfire of the Kycilla assassination attempt by probably both the Titans-to-be and the Challia faction who seem to be in bigger cahoots with Ghiren.

Additionally we now have 100% confirmation that in this timeline Zeonic is on the same or at least similar level as Anaheim, as why else would these two be stated to be direct competition, which isn't all that surprising, since Zeonic now has a monopoly on Gundam production*

*we don't know anything about the Psycho Gundam yet so this might be wrong coming next week.

So Xaviers informant is someone who's sided with the Kycilla faction and obviously Xavier himself isn't quite sure what to think, but we also know that his boyfailure ass was not doing a good job of being covert, odds are the MP's also know that something is up with Machu due to last weeks locker incident. In this scene we also just get the lore drop that Xavier is a leash around Challia's neck, set up by Kycilla which gives extra clarification onto his current actions.

Machu depression arc combined with Nyaan's regret over the last clan-bat is the biggest part of this episode, not surprisingly as they are the main characters of the show, so I'll go into it a bit more:

Firstly, Nyaan. not only does she regrets "wronging" Machu, but also says that she "lost her mind in a state of panic" obviously trying to justify to herself what she did. But also she doesn't seem to comprehend that she killed someone, or at the very least she is reacting quite calmly to it. Almost as though it either hasn't "hit" her yet, or that her first kill is already behind her.

Secondly, Shuji and the Red Gundam. CHAR CHAR STOP TALKING TO UNDERAGE WOMEN PLEASE BRO YOU CAN'T BE DOING THIS, SHE'S ONLY 17 CHAR. Joke aside however Shuji as always seems to just follow what the Gundam is "telling him", and since the last battle went so well of course it would see Nyaan highly, even if she's in denial of what happened there.

Thirdly, Machu. Her avoidance of the situation is well to be expected, her heart is broken and she doesn't know how to deal with the situation. This episode puts Machu's escapism full front as that is her entire point this week, she runs away from everything and everyone in her life, except the Gundam.

Machu clearly sees Kira-kira as something for her and Shuji only so any other intrusion is an attack on her person, on her "space" even if Nyaan was trying to do right by her, and Nyaan is regretful as Machu's words really did convince her that she betrayed her closets friend. But Machu obviously knows that, and yet to her there's no other way to see it, it is Nyaan attacking her, not helping, no matter the truth, she just can't see it any other way.

Machu's escapism is continued in the following scene, she is trying to isolate her mom from her life as much as possible, even to the point that she expected her to not show up for the parent-teacher meeting. In the same Scene we also see Tamaki receive a new set of documents, which more than likely refers to the meeting we were informed about between Kycilla and Side 6.

Now we get the Nyaan depression montage, and by that I mean the scene from her meeting her boss (whose name for the life of me I can't find right now, this post is long enough catch me a break pls) to the final shot of the apartment:

Up first is the dinner scene, this seems like an attempt to humanize the Nyaan's boss some more before he inevitably gets blasted at some point soon, but also him already knowing what Nyaan was going to say and countering it implies that this is not the first time they duo spent time together to chat. This scene characterizes the both of them quite well, giving us well, some actual meat when it comes to this quite important character as well as further reinforcing Nyaan's attitude both in general as well as in this low moment for her.

Secondly we have the actual run down and lonely apartment that Nyaan lives in. It's a borderline coffin room she's living in on her own, showing that she has no family but also showing us just how actually broke Nyaan is, she's alone with no support and is barley able to take care of herself, juxtaposing this with Machu, who has a living mom who tries her best and her own room that's size of Nyaan's whole home. Nyaan clearly has lost everyone in her life prior to the plot, and in a way she has it the worst than then the other two protagonists, and yet she's the one who hasn't stopped once.

And up third we have Nyaan's thoughts, I'll also include shot composition here because the way this whole scene is presented is amazing. From the moment Nyaan gets inside her apartment she's smaller in the shot, and the last time we see her before she gets in the bathtub is as the shot moves away from her, it's like the second she gets inside this home it's much more about her struggles as opposed her, we see sales marked in the calendar, deadlines for residence permits, job fairs overtake the whole shot. We see her necessities in front of a row on books covering the hobbies she could be engaging in with stuff she needs to focus on instead to make it through the day. It's like the entire scene in the apartment is there to point out how she's small in comparison to her lifes struggles, where her worn and knocked over shoes are much more of a worry than herself. But that's not all, this whole scene is underlined with the fact that she finally HAS friends, and how worried she is that in trying to do right she might have lost them. I might be looking too much into it but I do like this interpretation because this show loves to characterize it's characters through background stuff like that I should have been focusing more in my previous posts.

So Annqi is selling out the Gqux and Machu to Challia in a developing area of the colony. She shows here that she knows a lot more than the average person in the plot, expecting a war and knowing well enough that bringing someone along would be a waste of time. We also get the reveal that she's ex-Zeon and that now she's a purely free agent. We also see that despite not having access to the Gqux they still were gathering combat data on it.

So a new lore drop, of the Twelve Olympians and Amala Kamala, so obviously the Twelve Olympians refers to the major Greek gods of mount Olympus, which for now bears little significance cuz we don't really know anything about them except that they're a front company, although the whole "Greek MYTH" aspect might just be biting at the fact that it's a mythical company that doesn't exist. The name Amala Kamala however does have more significance:

I've been able to trace it to the story of Amala and Kamala from 1920's of two girls supposedly raised by wolves in Midnapore. This story was however concluded to be a hoax all the way back in 2007. Which is probably a foreshadowing that this person doesn't exist.

Again amazing composition here, because while Challia might be in better standing than Annqi she has the upper hand by holding the Gqux.

I love the foreshadowing for the Psycho Gundam here, while I originally assumed that it was a large AC unit would mean a normal sized MS I surley didn't expect it'd be a large MS.

And a tiny detail here, the name on the manifest of the ship Kobayashi Maru could possibly be a Star Trek reference, as in the movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan a Kobayashi Maru is introduced as a training exercises presenting a No-win scenario, this was pointed out to me and not my observation as I am not a Star Trek fan, but I looked into it on my own so it does seem like it could be further foreshadowing in the future.

I really like that Challia caught on that the Gqux has two pilots, which seemed to have Annqi questioning the situation for a while.

And this is where I'll put a stop on things for today. Like I said the episode is packed full of important stuff that I don't want to be missing.

So thank you for reading all the way to the end, I will be here tomorrow to wrap things up :>

[lookstairs]

Nightbitch (2024)

The movie starts off with Amy Adam’s character going through a montage of her day

She cooks breakfast for her son, cleans up, takes him for a walk, cleans up after him, tries to sleep, then wakes up the next day to do it all again

She’s just on autopilot the whole time

While she tries to be present with her son you can see mentally she’s not doing well

She goes to a kids book club at the library and envies the well dressed business woman type mother in the group while looking down on the peppy stay at home moms

One day she notices a tuft of hair growing on her lower back

The next day her husband comes home and while he loves them his presence leads to more stress

As the days go on the mother notices more and more strange symptoms. Abnormally long hairs, strange cravings, advanced senses and red lumps on her stomach

We learn that the mother used to be an artist and that staying home with their son was her idea

She confides in her husband but he is dismissive about her symptoms. Soon he has to leave for work so the mother is left alone again

The mother gets a book from the library about the transformation woman go through after having children

After reading this book she gains a new appreciation for her changing body

She embraces her new senses and starts to play a “game” with her son where they act like dogs

After telling the peppy moms at the library her new views she’s surprised over how welcoming they are

This all leads to her turning into a dog at night and running through the streets

Her husband notices her strange behavior and confronts her leading to an argument between them

She calls him out for his insensitivity over her needs and he calls her out for shutting him out

They do a trial separation so the mother can focus on her art

During this separation she realizes her mother went through the same transformation she did and her son inherited his wildness from her

During the separation she finds a balance between her animalistic side and her artistic side and holds an art exhibition where she invites old colleagues and her new mom friends

The husband drops by and apologizes for how things went and they reconcile

The movie ends show long the birth of their daughter

Surprisingly I really liked this movie

I didn’t know much about the plot so expected a modern day werewolf situation

Amy Adam’s is great as always

The way she showed her frustration with her son while still trying to keep a happy smile was hard to watch

The entire first half of the movie was her being close to a meltdown

The audience was given insights into her real thoughts and frustrations throughout the movie

I also liked how it didn’t make the other moms out to be these catty bitches like the Mother originally thought

So many times they play a “I’m not like other moms” card but not here

In fact those “annoying moms” were the first ppl who accepted the Mothers new vision of herself and what motherhood represents

And the Father was frustrating to watch (especially when viewed through the mothers eyes) but he wasn’t a bad guy

Inattentive and a little neglectful? Yes. Bad person? No.

He didn’t understand what it meant to take care of their son day in and day out all by himself. Sure he had love for the both of them but his presence just added to the mothers frustrations

I’m glad he was able to see that being a single parent (even for short periods of time) is challenging

This movie gave a very realistic portrayal of what happens to a lot of women. Amy Adam’s character wasn’t some super career focused woman who was forced to give up her dreams after becoming a mother. She chose to take a break and in that time she lost herself.

Though it can be frustrating at times and may not be relatable in every aspect this is definitely a good movie for EVERY parent to see

The Turning into a dog part might make some people uncomfortable just because the “symptoms” she has look like really ingrown pimples but it’s not bad

There’s also a couple scenes with dead animals cause the mother goes through a time catching prey which are birds and other small things

It’s not shown to much but some viewers might be more squeamish

[ghostace]

tirrine blah blah blah

i don't like writing down oc stuff sometimes because it's always subject to change or a better idea. whatever tho

- daughter of shara jenn and komairu

- barely looks like she got any of komairu's genes, because what's the point of an imperial eugenics program if the desired genes don't override everything else

- may or may not have inherited the purple eyes as her sole mirialan trait because i can't decide. otherwise has dark brown eyes. looks extremely human

- born sometime after the destruction of ziost, after komairu's disappearance

- he visited shara sometime before ziost but after her initial deprogramming work. nice little vacation and they very much do love one another but they also know they can't live the other's lifestyle so they don't have any particular hold on the other

- unfortunately for him, komairu unknowingly had essentially a botched vasectomy. shara doesn't tell him immediately and he disappears before tirrine is born

- so he gets introduced to a wide eyed 5 year old and has a little breakdown, then dedicates the rest of his life and money to making sure they're both taken care of (and then gets the vasectomy redone, correctly)

- on shara's side, keeping and having the child is a statement of autonomy, a sign and proof she is moving past and rejecting the mental conditioning she's still working through

- shara and komairu both have different flavours of autism so tirrine get a flavour too. komairu has perfected masking to the point he makes it his career and shara is incapable of masking, so tirrine is somewhere in the middle

- she's very serious and quiet as a child, but as she grows she inherits shara's dry sense of humour

- komairu rarely steps in on tirrine's upbringing, since he didn't want kids in the first place and he thinks shara is entirely competent and trusts her decisions, but he does request that tirrine get some training in case his enemies track her down, so she gets to go to operative knife school

- for all that her parents are who they are (and grandpa ex-minister comes by a lot too), she has a surprisingly normal upbringing. smart kid, nothing too exciting happens, doesn't ever seem bothered by her dad visiting inconsistently and somewhat rarely

- shara works in something like finance where her enhanced mind can run circles around everyone, so they're very comfortable. somewhere far enough away from the empire they won't get tracked down but also where no one will be concerned about imperial accents

- does not have any siblings. one was enough for shara and komairu

- inherits the imperial accent from mom and grandpa, though less strongly

- may have inherited her aunt's force sensitivity but both her parents refuse to let the jedi or the sith near her

- as an adult she runs off to go have an adventure, working mercenary jobs and dabbling as a bounty hunter or contracted assassin. this makes komairu so stressed he just ends up shadowing her on all her jobs. when tirrine catches him, she's not happy that he won't let her take risks, so he backs off..... but still surveils her remotely

- on at least one occasion he has to break her out of prison. while skilled she doeamt have the level of training either of her parents got, but she does still want to prove herself

- does wear a full helmet at least so she's less likely to be recognized or followed in her regular life

- playing through the class story is her somehow reliving her dad's memories (some sort of czerka replay device? some side effect of komairu getting just so much force shit happening to him? whatever), which gives her some insight on exactly what her parents went through so she does, eventually, cut them some slack on being overly paranoid about her. they have good reason

- at some point meets malkah, riyk and chiira's adopted kid. they're a similar age and get into similar trouble so they go on some adventures together too

[voided-selfships]

Favorite scene/storyline with your F/O in canon? Or in your personal canon with them? with Bojack

GRABS BOJACK. YES YOU ASKED ABOUT THE RIGHT GUY /SILLY going off of personal canon. And by personal I mean selfship. True Timeline let's fucking GO!

My favorite scene? Forgive me in this gets long imma be talking about a LOT of different shit because I cannot simply choose ONE

So I'm going by season. Heart emoji

Gods where to start, Our A-Story is a 'D' Story? /silly [we all know it would've been The Telescope but surprisingly Warren veto'd going on that trip. (Unsurprisingly, he missed Herb to death but was not ready to be in a room with both him and BoJack.) I digress.]

Anyway it's my favorite just because of the idea that Warren gets out of bed to see BoJack passed out on the couch before immediately seeing AND hearing news of the D from the Hollywoo(d) sign being stolen???

[That "What- what- what the fuck did you do?"

"What did I do? How do you know you didn't do it?"

"BoJack I was actually sober last night-"

"Sure, sure-"

"And you know I can barely carry half of my weight- how the hell did you do this??"

Anyway, the 90s Trio (BoJack, Mr. Peanutbutter, and Warren) scrambling to get rid of this fucking letter is- this is why it's my favorite. Like comedically??? Yes. Yes. Classic Season 1 Shenanigans.

Season 2? Brand New Couch or The Shot. Brand New Couch...Warren trying his best to be supportive of BoJack's uh....brand new attitude!! Even if its weird- not a bad weird! Just not something he's used to! He tries to be supportive for the entire time BoJack works on Secretariat. [Really I need to draw a comic for Brand New Couch because fuck it's so so good. They make me insane. Moving on.]

Season 3? Not even a Question. Episodes 9-12. I don't even wanna ELABORATE. [Warren trying to console BoJack after the conversation he has with Todd only to be kicked out. Getting the news about Sarah Lynn's death and wondering what he could've done differently. Wondering if he could've been there to prevent it. Knowing that to an extent it was BoJack's fault but not understanding the full story- in the end just wanting and needing to be there for him]

Season 4....The Old Sugarman Place. It's already my favorite episode but in Lore Context? Warren goes with BoJack to his family's lake house- which opens the flood gates to a lot more...person bonding. Which they really hadn't done before. Stories about BoJack's family that Warren only heard snippets of- now more in full, a deeper insight into his friend [crush?] They kiss this episode [and it's a lot more meaningful than any other time. They did it just to do it- not as a lead up to sex] Then of course this season has his mom moving in which was. So so so fun. [And Hollyhock! Warren had a feeling that wasn't his kid but didn't want to say anything. Otherwise enjoyed spending time around her- gave him that weird domestic feeling he oftentime tries to ignore when he's around BoJack for too long]

Season 5... they get together in season five. Free Churro has to be my favorite. If only because they don't go to the funeral together, so what ends up happening is Warren ends up in the right room and after a solid 15 minutes has to scour the entire place to look for BoJack. [He does miss a good chuck of his speech finds him halfway through just to listen instead of telling him it was the wrong place. And Beatrice's funeral was so so empty, no one was there aside from BoJack and him]

Season 6. What episode ISN'T my favorite lmao. I guess I can talk about whenever BoJack gets back- so The Face of Depression? I guess lore wise it's important. When BoJack gets back Warren is startled but not upset- goes with him [not by choice] on his trip around the country. It's mostly fine. They have a fight about...a lot of things later in the season [I wanna say...episodes 11 and 12.] Break off- not up! Just off. Don't hear from eachother again until Angela and The View From Halfway Down. Then don't see eachother again until Nice While It Lasted. [Which!!! All my favorite favorite episodes by the way! Fuck!! /pos]

I just realized I started talking about lore instead of my favorite scenes so whoops fjebdjdjd I'm just so passionate [insane and mentally unwell] about them

[ratmor]

Wolves of Greed

Part 1. The Sheep Skin

They will come to you in cloth of sheep, but from within they are the wolves of greed.

The literal translation from ancient greek of Matthew 7:15

N. Index

I. Losing Rose-Tinted Glasses

II. The Illusion of Choice

III. The Emotional Morning

IV. The First Seance of Nonconformism

V. Salem

VI. The Aftermath of Fester Addams

VII. The Ravensdale Camp

VIII. The Kidnapping

IX. Truths and Lies of Owen Sinclair

X. The Roadtrip

XI. Playing Games

XII. The Suit for Vigilante

XIII. Smuggling Operations

XIV. The Feral Alert

XV. One Day of Forensic Photographer

XVI. Cry Uncle

XVII. The Choice

XVIII. Big Brother's Insights

XIX. Murdered Hopes of Joel Glicker

XX. The Unlikely Friendship 

XXI. Don't Touch What's Mine

XXII. Not So Ordinary Wednesday

XXIII. The Parents' Day, Year One

XXIV. The Furs' Protection

XXV. The Nevermore Quad Fight

XXVI. Boston Holidays

XXVII. New Happy Tree Friends

XXVIII. The Lack of Reciprocity

XXIX. The Help of Understanding

XXX. The Supernatural Creatures Care Club

XXXI. School Days

XXXII. The Sheriff's Kid Full of Greed

XXXIII. The Not So Little Furry Problem

XXXIV. Tricks of the Cannibal Raven

XXXV. The Cleansing Agent

XXXVI. The Future Lost

I. Losing Rose-Tinted Glasses

Enid was waiting for her sixth birthday with great joy and energetic annoyance to everyone around.

Her eldest brother recently turned twelve, and on his birthday they went to the Muir Woods, to the usual camp of the San Francisco Pack, to celebrate with the whole pack and be closer to nature so that the young werewolf turned. At that time, Enid did not know all the details, but she really enjoyed spending time with the other children, that's why she asked her mother, Esther for the repeat.

She, surprisingly, agreed.

Years later, Enid realized what caused her consent.

Austin Sinclair, the oldest brother, didn't turn at twelve, but Esther Sinclair read all the necessary brochures to speed up the turning process and decided to follow one of the tips.

A young werewolf needs diverse interaction with peers and elders, and due to the fact that Austin did not turn until the age of twelve, she decided to add such interaction with the help of a rather conflictual gathering of the whole pack. And it seemed conflict-based even when it was without the participation of teenagers and children.

And what if not a bunch of hormonal teenagers, children with propellers in their asses and a general lack of a criticism filter against each other, could provoke a boy to turn?

Austin turned right in the middle of a werewolf croud, right during a scuffle with one of the teenagers who had already turned. And who decided to have fun at and even suggested that Austin is the late bloomer.

Austin turned and became the first pack alpha in his generation.

All attention turned to the boy, congratulations poured out like cornucopia of sorts. And obviously, everyone forgot about little Enid, even the rest of the brothers. It was new for them, as well as for Enid herself, but she was always quite emotional and sensitive.

Mom often pursed her lips and noted with a dismissive snort that these were the traits of the future omega of the pack. Murray, the father, always shrugged his shoulders at this and seemed to be showing that there was nothing terrible about it, even if you were the omega of the pack, but preferred to keep quiet.

Enid didn't want to be the omega of the pack even when she didn't quite understand what it was.

The understanding that being the pack omega is not the worst thing, came with time.

She remembered later that she had run away from the jubilant loud gathering, depressed and splashing emotions, all in tears because everyone had forgotten about her, and she hadn't even received her promised cake, nor had she received any gifts. These moments, small and even stupid, have not been forgotten for a very long time, although they have lost their sharpness, of course.

Enid turned ten minutes later than her eldest brother.

A couple of hours later, she was found by Owen Sinclair, a distant relative and former member of the pack, a lone wolf that Enid had never heard of before his introduction and attempts to calm her down. If it hadn't been for her heightened senses and certain traits that could only be discovered by a werewolf who turned, she would never have believed his story.

After all, when Enid was six years old, no one thought of scaring her that she would become a lone wolf and leave the pack if she didn't turn. The maximum of her fears was, as already mentioned, to become the omega of the pack, a kind of fool to be ordered around, as she understood it. Even for such a straightforward and assertive woman as Esther, it turns out there were limits to what was reasonable or not.

Enid didn't know at that time that you could be kicked out of the pack simply because, in theory, for biological reasons of your turning, you could challenge the right to the power of the pack alpha. And if you do not transfer power over yourself, do not obey, want to remain equal, then this "could be kicked out" turns into "definitely kicked out and deprived of your last name."

Such utter betrayal was new to Enid.

Owen asked to be called uncle and was surprisingly helpful when the girl turned into a human form and whimpered softly from the pain of the first turn, feeling every blade of grass and pebble on her heated and overly sensitive body. After she recovered a little, he told her the whole thing. As soon as her head cleared a little, Enid started asking questions. Why he told her all this was the first question.

Owen grinned, without malice but also without joy, smoothed Enid's disheveled hair, adjusted the blanket she was covered with, and lifted her by the armpits to the level of the side mirror of his pickup truck.

The scarlet sparks still lingered in her eyes.

Enid felt overwhelmed with emotions again, tears rolled up to her throat, and soreness in bones, joints and muscles added reasons to burst into wailing, but the man gently shook her, put her on the ground and looked into her eyes.

His pupils lit up with the same scarlet sparks as hers, but it was clear that he was letting them glow, and they were not doing it themselves without his knowledge.

This made little Enid hold her breath and stretch out her palm in an attempt to find support in the older werewolf. Her emotions were still getting the upper hand.

Owen gave her his palm and in a gentle tone began to explain to her the way to control these sparks. And the transformation. And her emotions.

Three hours flew by unnoticed, as if in a fog.

It was only later, years later, that Enid realized it was the alpha's power. That's how he gave her some of his knowledge so that she could hide her turning from her mother, father and brothers. They were insanely happy because of the presence of the next pack alpha in the family. That's how Owen made her not be gullible and childishly prattle everything to the family on the same day, as it would be logical for a child who still believed his parents, even though offended. That's how she, under the pretence of interest in the new status of her elder brother, asked all the adults available for conversation about what would happen if another alpha of the pack suddenly appeared. That's how she managed to ask her brother to show her the half-turn of the eyes.

That's how Enid realized that Owen Sinclair wasn't lying to her.

The next time they met was six years later, on her own twelfth birthday. Her parents let Enid go into the woods, hoping that there would be no problems with her - just as there were no problems with the other brothers, Brandon, Colin and Dylan. Each of the brothers, except Austin, were beta wolves and turned on the night of their twelfth birthday.

The same was expected of her.

Every full moon of the previous six years, she got out of her house to be closer to the moon, but did not give free rein to transformation - this was Owen's knowledge, developed over decades. Every full moon, she did not allow herself to turn, so that she would not be kicked out of the family - the laws of the pack have not changed since Owen. She was sure, she checked. Even though emotions still took over sometimes and she wanted to loosen control and stop torturing herself.

On the night of her twelfth birthday, when she was left alone in the forest, as it traditionally happened to everyone before her, Owen offered his support and help, said that even if she would be kicked out, she would have a place in his family. He was not as lonely as the stories of other relatives about lone wolves painted it. He had a wife, the witch of one of the psychic clans, it seemed. As Enid understood from his meager explanations. And he sincerely claimed that there was simply no difference between the Mates of werewolves and how he felt about the witch. Enid had doubts, not about his love for the witch - it was not for her to talk about matters of heart, she could not have an opinion on this, and she accepted Uncle Owen's version without much resistance. Enid was doubtful about their ability to provide for another growing and demanding werewolf - as Enid understood from his stories, Owen had his own twins much younger than Enid herself, who had yet to turn for the first time. And he didn't say much about the identity of his wife. All this together has become decisive for determining future actions, to some extent.

Enid couldn't risk her future like that.

Enid was persistent and stubborn, as alphas should be, which Uncle Owen noticed with a grin when she made her decision and informed him. And there was no taking that away from her.

That is why her decision to continue pretending was not revoked even when she realized the depth of contempt and neglect from her mother and even brothers that this decision brought.

Enid preferred to endure, realizing that it was still better than completely losing the opportunity to finish school and make friends with other outcasts, to find herself for hell's sake! Enid was jealous of her brothers when they were sent to Nevermore, and she definitely didn't want to say goodbye to such an opportunity without even trying.

Her position in the San Francisco Pack didn't mean that things would be the same in Nevermore. There, her turning situation will not be as important, and she will be able to surround herself with outcasts of various species and characters.

Enid understood that this was a postponement of the inevitable, yes. But during all this time of bullying, teasing and outright pressure that piled on her, she changed her mind about wanting to be in the pack. Fundamentally changed.

Enid cooled down to any attempts by relatives to urge her to respect the Sinclair leagcy, controlled any attempts by the inner wolf to get out and show primacy, which led to control over emotional outbursts that could lead to the wolf breaking out. By fifteen, Enid knew all her weaknesses and triggers, felt when it was better to close her eyes and when the inner wolf began to feel and act for her.

Enid gave herself free rein only in this small, if compared with what could have been, of course, uprising in the form of bright colors in clothes and decor - it was not wolfish in the slightest and irritated both narrow-minded brothers and mother as much as possible.

After the domestic torment of trying not to give herself away, the room in Nevermore was simply paradise. Without a roommate and without any obligation to visit the local containment cells - after all, Enid was not officially capable of turning. Within the room, Enid could even turn at the full moon and curl up on the bedsheets. The mentoring of another alpha, and such a detailed one, which began with that very "unsuccessful" twelfth birthday, aside for those few hours in early childhood, helped a lot with such antics.

By the time she entered Nevermore, Enid was convinced that she did not need such a pack as it was. That's why every quarrel with her mother over her non-turning was not something traumatic or deserving of special attention.

Enid knew her own worth.

And she knew that there's always a price.

***

If anyone thought to ask Enid Sinclair what exactly was the most important turning point in her life, she would have answered something like "Nevermore admission." 

And then she would smile brightly so that what she said seemed truthful. 

No one asked Enid such questions, so the honest answer would be something like this. The most important day in her life happened when she turned six, and her eldest brother turned for the first time.

That day Enid got lost in the woods and lost her rose-tinted glasses forever.

Next chapters on AO3

[amsalexbashir]

Bio

Character Name: Amsale Bashir Character Age: 30 Faceclaim: Ashley Moore Family: Beydaan Bashir (Mother) David Alexander (Estranged father)

Full Biography: Born in Boston to her single mother, Beydaan, Amsale learned the power of independence from a young age, ingrained in her from her mother who was a tour de force all her own. Her mom was an immigrant from Somalia and had to work her ass off to get where she was, she taught Amsale that nothing was just given, everything must be earned through hard work as well as the importance of community and offering what you can for the greater good. 

Growing up, her childhood was pretty standard except for some cultural differences which when she was younger used to embarrass her but as she got older she took more pride in, encouraging friends to try the traditional foods they used to call weird or gross and being happy that they now asked for a serving themselves. She did well in school, not daring to bring anything back that was below a B. She wasn't popular in any sense of the word, but those that knew her liked her and knew they could rely on her when they were in a pinch. In high school she took on a bunch of extra-curriculars and as many AP classes as she could to get her college career started early and save her mom some money for pre-requisites . One of the projects she was most proud of was starting a community garden shared amongst the different schools. She found a lot of satisfaction in helping things grow and problem solving to improve the crops as well as donating the food that was produced to the local food banks and shelters. 

Once she went to Boston University she decided to follow the career path to become a physical therapist while researching alternative medicines on her own. Thanks to her finishing up most of her pre-requisites early in high school, she was able to finish the bachelors program at 21 and started her master's program finishing that at 23. She decided to take a few years and dip her feet into the professional world, getting some experience and some more insight. She found success in a private clinic and was able to get good results for her patients, though did get criticism for her blunt-ness and her poor "bedside manner". Fluffing around issues was never something she found much ease in, finding it a waste of time.

She was just in the process o applying into the doctorate program when the world began falling apart. Her mother heard about it over the news first, she wasn't the type to wait around and find out, so she convinced Amsale to join her in leaving the city and moving with some old family friends out in the country side. A decision she was sure was unnecessary, this would all blow over after all, just a few people got sick, they could catch it in time. Of course that wasn't the case and a short stay turned into a struggle to survive. The first few months were okay, but after food ran out, she, her mother, and their friends had to adventure out for supplies meeting with another small group and joining each other. They did surprisingly well for how small they were, Amsale went back to gardening and was able to use her medical history to help with any injuries, a few others hunted, and others worked as security while the remaining had their own roles to keep the group sustained. A few years passed before a raider group attacked taking their supplies, killing some of their group, and sending them scattered to the wind. 

Amsale and her mother were luckily able to find each other again, after a few days of living on their own they were taken in by another larger group and stayed with them for some time. Unfortunately a year in, Beydaan became ill, something with her lungs that Amsale suspected was aggressive lung cancer but was unable to be sure. It took her mother 6 agonizing months to succumb to the disease, leaving Amsale with the responsibility of sending her off so she wouldn't turn. Losing her mother tore her up, she was the one constant in her life, the one thing that grounded her in the insanity the world had become, and in just a flash, she was gone. After her mother's passing, she tried to keep to as normal of a schedule as possible, continuing her work, but there had been whispers of the plans of the new leader of the group talks of raiding other groups, of becoming more aggressive. As the rumors became more frequent, more detailed, Amsale decided enough was enough and left before she suspected things would turn south. Only with whatever she could carry on her back, she made it out on her own, just before winter began to hit. She realized a little too late that she wasn't the survive on your own type but had hopes she would find a new group she could join. Finding an abandoned small house in the woods, she set up camp and waited out the winter. 

A week ago, she overheard gunshots in the distance, some sort of fight, it only lasted a few hours before things got quiet again. Uncomfortably low on food, she decided to check it out, maybe if another community was ransacked, they might have left something. Heading towards where she heard the noise, she came across some trapped hares, and took the opportunity to help herself, that's when she was discovered by David, the father she never knew.

Headcanons:

• Amsale was raised in a Muslim household, she did her best to hold on to her religion even after fleeing the city, but after her mother's passing, she's lost her faith. She keeps her mother's  Qu'ran in her memory and will sometimes read it for comfort.

She is very straight to the point and isn't known to mince words. Her mother always told her she had more of her father's personality, something she didn't understand

She's fluent in English and Arabic and knows a bit of Somali but has lost most of it over time.

She has a slight idea of what her dad looks like, her mother used to show her pictures of him in their photo album, she thought she had more of his jawline than her mother's. She's not sure how long David and her mother knew each other before she was born.

She's very much the type that doesn't have time for drama and will call people out on it when they're annoying her with it.

She's pretty stubborn, she has a hard time seeing things from another person's perspective and will hold on pretty strongly to her viewpoint

[lorie217]

With Bella, anything is paw-sible.

I've been thinking of possible ways to describe Bella, my feline, four-legged, accursed, grumpy, iconic, jealous, lithe, naughty, active, beautiful kitten, friend and buddy. Her antics and behavioural patterns

Bella is only a stray cat so it's kinda difficult to say her exact age. But based on objective deductions, physical features, and characteristics. I would say she is approximately 6-7 months old. Bella was found stalking around the neighborhood by my little niece at a very tender age, probably being abandoned by her mother. After talking to a few neighbors about it an attempt to find the owner failed. We planned on calling the animal rescue team at first but on further consideration, I decided to take upon myself the duty of nurturing, caring, and taming what seemed to be a hopeless, homeless, and pitiable piece of the creature; to love and to adore. I was drawn by her shiny appearance and wide eyes. Without wasting time, I got her rehydrated and provided shelter. Fortunately, there was a Vet store around that took over caring for this adorable kitten. After she was certified well and fit, she was transferred to a new home we had put together for her. And then I thought of a name that would suit her being. Nothing made more sense than the word "Bella" which means beautiful. It described her all-round adorable charm. It seemed a difficult task initially as she failed to develop appropriate social skill but with time, she adapted and became the center of attraction as every one was in awe of her antics and sneaky but interesting behaviors. I would be talking on a few which I found most amusing .

1. Silly Sleeping Positions: Bella was a master of finding bizarre and amusing sleeping positions. She would contort her body and stretch out like furry noodles lol.

2. Bella displayed great skill of acrobatics and coordination. They termed it to be "tail chasing ". I would spend minutes watching as it was not only entertaining but made me wonder why.

3. Pouncing Surprises: She would hide behind furnitures waiting for the right moment to leap out or even attack your feet.

4. She was a natural hunter and her playfulness often mimicked hunting behavior. Animal experts explained that it helped to keep them physically active and mentally stimulated.

5.She had an inherent passion for moving objects and shadows were no exceptions. It was a good way to relief my Dad of his depression after mom passed on.

6. Annoyingly and surprisingly, Bella could interupt human computer activity as she would not only sit on the keyboard, paw at the screen but also on important documents demanding carefully handling and attention.

7. Love for heights: She would perch on high places like bookshelves, countertops, and top of furnitures. From these vintage points, she keeps an eye on everything happening around.

These traits are only but a few among others. I'm still on the lookout for something new. I find these very fascinating and mean a whole lot to me. What more can I do but share on this amazing platform, as my very first Tumblr. I only hope it reaches as much audience possible as I embark on this journey to meet a circle of worthy family and friends, communities, spaces with whom I would share my life. Cheers to happy readings and better insights as we toe along this great path together.

[cjbolan]

Just finished American Mermaid. SOOO good!! A lot of plot twists and turns, emotional highs and lows, perfect balance of comedy and drama and fantasy, a welcome subversion of typical magical realism, a book-within-a-book that I wish were a real book, and many thought-provoking questions about women’s place in society and about the difficult choices between seizing opportunity vs. being true to yourself. As someone who loves mermaids, who’s been to Los Angeles, and who’s worked in the film industry I found this book deeply relatable. It’s a perfect companion piece to R.F. Kuang’s Yellowface, which also follows the insane escapades of a woman who suddenly becomes a famous author. And of course I also kept comparing this book to Liz Kessler’s Emily Windsnap series also about mermaids! I wonder if Liz Kessler has read or could relate to American Mermaid.

*WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW*

1) Derek is a refreshing subversion of your typical bumbling idiot: making things both better and worse for Penelope, usually by accident, but by the end even his accidents help Penelope learn important lessons which ultimately change her life.

2) The ending was surprisingly heartwarming!! When Penelope’s mother and sister come to see her in the hospital, she realizes that her loved ones will always be with her, that her life is not predetermined by breast cancer, and more importantly that she will have many more ideas and wonderful opportunities in her life than just her one debut bestseller. Especially loved the Epilogue where she uses all her past trials and tribulations in L.A. as inspiration to write another bestseller!

3) This book ends with Penelope letting her mermaid story stay in development hell , so she can keep making lots of money and not let her story get completely rewritten. I don’t know true that is in real life, but it would explain why so many film/TV projects are still in development hell.

4) The breast cancer subplot hit uncomfortably close to home. Like her mom my mom is also a breast cancer survivor, and inheriting her heightened risk of cancer has been a looming specter over many of my life choices.

5) Are we ever going to get closure on why Penelope and her dad don’t get along? I sense something deeper than just ideological l differences. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t accept her being asexual (which I’m 100% convinced she is). Or, given how Penny’s book is clearly inspired by her real life, maybe she’s being forced into her dad’s line of work and wants to do something different. He must’ve done something pretty awful to warrant Penny calling him an asshole on a public broadcast. Kinda sad Penny’s mother and sister but not her father come to see her in the hospital. And it seems her near-death experience didn’t repair their relationship.

6) I feel like we get tremendous insight into Penelope’s personality and relationships just from her book-within-a-book excerpts alone. Very clever use of character establishment.

7) That ending was…*Chef’s Kiss* PERFECT!!! In a way it’s Penny’s ultimate revenge: Penny keeps making bank as her story keeps cycling through development hell under a constantly changing pair of “fresh eyes”, while her character Sylvia comes to life and continues her killing spree against everyone who dared change her story. Murphy got lucky. I feel a little bit sorry for Dick Babbott, as he did try helping Penny the last time he saw her when he really didn’t have to.

8) Speaking of Sylvia I liked her character-establishing moment using her Siren song on two men yet only chooses to kill one of them. Unlike her mermaid sisters who just kill all humans on sight.

9) Do Vanessa and her friends ever get caught for trespassing and then doing hard drugs in a Hollywood celebrity’s private home?