#and now i need to go look up the exact quote and make another post i guess.

[secret--history]

the whole 'there are not very many Great Causes worth fighting for these days' from Julian scanned as WAY more out of touch than the moon landing thing for me the first time i read tsh

[bwat5-blog]

A Sister's Love: Jinx & Vi

**Spoilers For Arcane**

A while back I had a short but pleasant discussion with someone on one of their posts about Jinx's treatment of Vi, and how it can feel like Jinx doesn't seem to care about Vi in many instances. In hopes of further discussion, I posted in the community where many of you wonderful folks shared your thoughts on the subject and I got a lot of really good insight into this as well. I was thinking about that this morning and it got me thinking about Jinx in general, and more specifically the times when even if it's not as clear, her love for Vi shines through.

I've said this many times but it bears repeating. I am aware that I have been quite harsh on Jinx. The unfortunate reason for most of that is that a significant amount of Jinx fans have an obsession with comparing her to Caitlyn or Vi that borders on the fanatical. But my issue has never been, and will never be with the character herself. I think she is absolutely amazing as a character and loved watching her story unfold.

*I do this every-time but I think it's important. Especially because some of you have shared with me that your own mental health is what has made you connect with Jinx so strongly. I understand and recognize that her mental health plays an immensely important role in her character's journey. I am in no way, shape or form a qualified mental healthcare professional. So any disrespect or lack of sensitivity is not my intention*

Jinx & Vi:

The journey of these sisters is heartbreaking and inspiring in equal measure. It is many people's favorite part of the story and for good reason. They are so close when the show begins and ripped apart by the darkness in their world. Only to fight their way back to one another through love and sacrifice.

But their story is not without conflict. In fact at their lowest point they almost kill one another. There is much that can be said about Vi's love for Jinx, the times she fails her, and those important moments, but I want to focus on Jinx right now.

I don’t have exact quotes on hand, but someone in the community made an excellent point during our discussion. Even when Vi and Jinx are at odds, and Jinx’s hallucinations try to convince her that Vi no longer loves her—that she’s been replaced by Caitlyn—Jinx fights back. She defends who she knows her sister to be, even if she can’t always silence those voices. It’s only pain, fear, or manipulation that pushes her too far, making her lose her grip on what she knows to be true.

During the horrifying sequence when Jinx is being saved by Singed, she hallucinates. And who does she hallucinate in that terrifying moment when she is in terrible pain and in such need of comfort? Vi. Even though she just tried to kill Vi on that bridge. The vision is only corrupted when Caitlyn appears, which all stems from Silco and Sevika feeding Jinx's paranoia.

Okay. I know what some of you are thinking seeing me post ANYTHING about the dinner party on a Jinx positive post. Hear me out. There is no question that Jinx does ALL sorts of fucked up shit here. But we are talking about her love for Vi. What does she want here? She wants things to be like they used to be. She wants her sister. She is in such a dark and twisted state that she cannot see how terrible her actions are, but at her core, she wants her older sister to love her like she used to. She doesn't hurt Vi (I mean aside from the bonk). Additionally, and again- I AM NOT SAYING SHE DIDN"T DO TERRIBLE THINGS HERE- Even with all she did to Caitlyn, she knows Vi cares for Caitlyn, she views Caitlyn as the one who was taking Vi from her, and yet she doesn't kill Caitlyn and she easily could have. This is not about justifying anything she does. It's about looking for what lies beneath the darkness in her to see the person she has the potential to be again.

Here at their lowest moment, when Vi and Jinx have almost killed each-other, and Jinx is glad Vi is the one who is going to finish her, Jinx screams "NO!" when Isha does this. She doesn't want Vi to die.

Vi is at her worst during her pitfighter arc. I'm not going super in-depth on this because this post is about Jinx but Vi is in a self-destructive spiral and totally alone. It's quite clear in one moment that Jinx is there in the crowd but if you slow down the whole sequence you actually see her there a few times. This was primarily what I was discussing with some other people and I believe Jinx was watching over Vi in the best way she could process. I'm sure there was some degree of pleasure in seeing Vi cast out by Caitlyn at first, but with all other signs pointing to Jinx caring for Vi I don't think Jinx was here laughing at her sisters pain. More trying to be there and watch over Vi but with no idea how to approach her with all that happened.

*I fully recognize there is a degree of speculation on my part for this point but I think it's reasonable, feel free to let me know if you disagree!*

With everything that has happened between them, the fact that Jinx comes to collect Vi when she finds out about Vander speaks volumes. There is still much to be worked out between them but she wants their family to together again including Vi. And although I couldn't find the GIF for it, when jinx is in the dark with her lighter after Vi and Vander fight is such a heart wrenching moment. She is clearly so afraid that she has caused the death of her sister, her dad, or both. She cares so much for those that she has left.

Jinx and Caitlyn's history is the furthest thing from simple. But in this moment, Caitlyn cast Vi out, hit her, became the commander and placed Zaun under martial law all because she wanted Jinx (this is not a who is right and who is wrong I'm just making a point), Jinx would HATE Caitlyn. But she knows what she means to Vi. And she just saw Caitlyn save Vander. Jinx easily could have let Rictus finish Caitlyn then jumped in if it was just about saving Vander but she still jumps headfirst into the fight.

In the aftermath of Isha and Vander's death, Jinx could easily have escaped Caitlyn. But Caitlyn tells Vi that all Jinx wanted was to make sure Vi was safe after Vi sacrificed herself to protect her.

Jinx's mindset in this moment is a complicated topic. But I want to focus her feelings about Vi. Vi has come and broken her out of jail, risked everything for her again. And Jinx realizes Vi will never give up on her. Even at great cost to herself. So Jinx punches her and leaves her, and almost begs her to start living for herself. Because she knows Vi cannot give herself that permission. She wants Vi to choose her own life, and to choose love.

Free and clear, obviously Jinx was going to do something horrible but thankfully Ekko talked her down. Even still, she could have done anything. But what does she choose to do? She chooses to ride to war with her people, honoring Vi's faith in her.

And of course, the absolutely devastating final sacrifice (I know she's alive but you get it) of Jinx saving Vi's life when the pain and grief finally overwhelm the fearsome brawler. I have mentioned it many times, but Jinx's core belief is that everyone who gets close to her dies. She thinks she is a curse on all who love her. But in her last action, she saves the life of the older sister she knows will always love her, and who never gave up on her.

I have touched on most of this before but it was just on my mind this morning. I hope I didn't bore anyone. I know there are LOTS of strong feelings about Jinx and like I have said over and over nothing here is about justifying the wrong she did. It's just about looking at those moments that showed her true colors even when she herself couldn't see them. Hope you enjoyed, take care!

[afinestoutlove]

things i love about heartstopper 11/?

Isaac Henderson. I love this boy so fucking much. He's sweet, he's funny, he's thoughtful, he's stylish, he's kind... He's a goddamn delight and also all the feels. (Tobie Donovan is SO GOOD you guys!!?)

The moment in ‘Truth/Dare’ where he comes back into the party? Those tears? Then when he’s on the balcony alone?

The times he opens a book in S2 and S3 but ends up ruffling the pages because he can’t read it?

His face when he’s gazing up at the art in ‘Sorry’ and seeing himself? My heart!

Then when he's watching Tori and Michael (two more characters I could rant about forever) in 'Apart'?? Just inject that shit into my veins.

"I know they would be [supportive about being aro/ace]. I just can't be bothered to give everyone a vocab lesson." ('Love') So goddamn real. Even knowing all your friends would be there for you, having to explain yourself is isolating. (Side note, I love that Charlie does go home and google what aromantic means and lets Isaac know.)

Realising you’re gay or bi or pan or trans is hard. But realising you’re on the ace spectrum is a whole different type of hard. It's so invisible even now. Even his friends who are accepting and loving keep making him feel excluded without ever realising, because they never consider that this is something they should account for. A lot of us find so much safety in queer spaces because people know us (or parts of us) without us having to educate them, but for ace/aro/demi people, even really welcoming queer spaces can be as isolating as cishetero ones. (Side note, it can be a very odd experience having part of yourself feel so seen in queer spaces, while another is still invisible.)

“It changes everything I thought I knew about myself. And about my life and my future.” ('Talk')

It’s so true, and such a gut punch. I think most queer people have a moment like this when we're figuring out who we are, but for aro/ace/demi people there's still not many visible potentials. For gay/bi/queer people, we have visible queer relationships to look to. For trans people, we have visible trans people to look to. NB folk are closer in experience to aro/ace, but even there, we see more representation even a few decades ago. And these are all things that are visible in our local queer spaces in a way ace/aro/demi people's experiences aren't - they're mostly seen as "just single", as "not yets". Our community haven't learnt to see something else yet. Isaac's story is so fucking important and he’s such a beautiful character and I love him so much. (Also Tori is so great for this, but she needs her own post!)

Isaac is also courageous and principled. Lecturing Harry Greene on basic human empathy under the Eiffel Tower?? Iconic.

Bonus points for all the ways he’s the sweetest human. He knows Charlie isn’t okay and he’s trying his best to be there for him, even though Charlie can't accept it. “You said you were okay and I guess you just lied. I mean, I kind of knew that" ('Journey' - didn't check the exact quote sssh). Ugh, ugly crying.

Luckily it doesn’t hurt all the time either. His humour is tragically underrated imho. In no specific order:

*kicks over the monopoly board to end an argument without even opening his eyes* "Oh, whoops."

“They’re just in the honeymoon phase.” “It’s not like they’re even dating.” “Unless they are.”

His completely unsubtle smirk when he’s delivering antiseptic wipes.

"Ooh I might have been asleep...!"

“No, I want all the details!”

I would watch a whole series about him and his side eye and his adorable smile I love him.

[goddess-of-bubblegum]

Hate annons? Really hon? [Aka my opinion with new evidence] (y'all might need a snack for this)

okay, mod speaking. So. I know I said I didn't want any drama on this blog.

BUT THE MOMENT I FOUND OUT MY FRIEND WAS STILL GETTING HATE ANNONS , IM GOING FULL ON DETECTIVE MODE!

This post is about @/unhinged-waterlilly, and oooh boy am I going to be getting so much hate for this. But. I am fine with hate asks. Just don't be a coward and don't put annon on. I am a minor, and if you decide to harass me about helping a friend, here we go.

My points against her:

1 she sent, and still sends hate annons (which hurts his mental health)

2 she accused jacks bf (freddy) as being fake

So. I saw a post a while back where "lily" said things about the jack situation, and I thought it was fair. UNTIL I REACHED THE PART WHERE SHE SAID THAT JACK DIDN'T DESERVE ANYTHING HE HAS look, I know that he hurt you with the AU , it hurt me too, but going so far to say that he doesn't deserve anything he has??? That's petty and mean.

Not to mention that he was in a shit mental state at the time he made the AU. Which obviously does not excuse anything, but it atleast explains it.

also, onto evidence number 1:

HATE ANNONS;

Now, this is just one of 3 hate annons Jack got this week. Yes, Jack is aware that he has hurt people, yes he is actively striving to better, so sending these hate annons won't help Jack not being , and I quote : "a depressed little attention seeking bitch" he has owned up to his mistakes, and I've advised him to put the explanation on his blog. And since he is try I ng to be better, he is focusing on himself, his mental health, and moving on.

BECAUSE MOVING ON IS HEALTHY

Me and jacks others moots are aware that no one forgot what he did , that he hurt people. But all that you can achieve by hurting him is a short adrenaline rush, that won't be worth it coke a few days. He is actively trying to become a better person

ALSO I am aware that since this is an annon, it's hard to prove this was actually lilly. But if you were to compare this to her other posts about Jack, you'd see it is very close.

Numero 2

ACUSSING FREDDY OF BEING FAKE:

There were multiple posts accusing Freddy, jacks bf, of not being a real person. Now. All of jacks moots know he is real, due to Jack making posts about him, and him telling us about him and what happened. And honestly? It's plausible that Freddy knew how to use tumblr , because it only took me a day to figure it out

Okay, and now this:

okay, let me get this straight. What jack did was wrong. We all agree on that , including Jack. But he was in a shit mental state while doing it, and he wasn't thinking clearly. Jack is trying to improve, Jack is trying to better himself, Jack is moving on and like a few posts say we all should.

But we can't truly move on 'till Jack stops getting hate, till we apologise and understand and hear out, not necessarily forgive his actions

ALSO

From: @eligha-child-of-hades

A while ago when I recently started this account I got an ask with a link. The link led to @/unhinged-waterlily account and their intro post which had something about the MISTAKE that Jack made.

But with the ask, I didn't click it so I answered with a; ?

Bc I don't trust random links.

They sent another ask with the same link saying this exact thing; 'I suggest you read it. Better to know who you interact with.'

She says this, but she fails to inform others that she's hate bombing and hurting Jack.

Woukd you rather rp with someone whose trying to change? Or someone whi is causing someone more harm?

I'll be getting hate for this. I know I will be harassed and sent hate annons. But it will be worth it. If he can move on, but you can't, if you hold on to anger, and he doesn't.

Then aren't you also doing bad things?

@sillypuppetmeister @braydons-world @penelope-is-waiting @bast-the-best26 @reyna4ever @gaygirldoodles

[natsmagi]

sorry for making yet another textpost but i came across that post saying they dislike transfem natsume because he "canonically hates being perceived as a girl and tries to erase all sorts of memories related to that" and also went on to shame genderbends of him aswell. So, as someone who not only draws genderbends of natsume but is myself someone who is nonbinary and hates being perceived as a woman, i thought id offer my two cents

first of all; i think its important to note that natsume does NOT hate his childhood. in fact, hes quite happy that he had such an unusual upbringing!

what natsume hates is being perceived as weak. thats why he was raised as a girl after all, it was his mother trying to protect him from evil spirits. he doesnt hate the whole "-chan" or "wearing dresses" thing because he has a hatred for womanhood, its because due to his upbringing hes now come to associate those things as being weak. he begs tsumugi to forget about it because that means tsumugi remembers natsume being weak, and natsume thinks tsumugi still referring to him as "natsume-chan" means he still sees natsume as weak. (iirc natsume did however once say that he is a little sad that he doesnt really know how to relate to young boys due to this in poltergeist, but i couldnt find the exact quote. either way that just adds to the complexity of natsumes relationship with his childhood, because while he is happy to be "abnormal" in that sense, it has left him lacking in some areas)

i have to ask though, should this conflict of his not be something we hope he overcomes? should we not want him to develop a healthy relationship with various gender expressions? should we not want natsume to overcome his belief that feminine things = weakness? i want natsume to reach a point where he can wear feminine clothing and not feel like some damsel in distress because of it. i want natsumes character to grow. i want him to develop a positive relationship with his gender because natsume DOES enjoy some more typically feminine things, like baking! he used to bake with his mom when he was little! and i want him to feel like he can indulge in that side of him without feeling insecure.....

i LOVE transmasc natsume, my primary hc for him is transmasc nonbinary after all, but with all these things considered, shouldnt people be allowed to headcanon him however they want? if they hear his story and negative relationship with femininity and how that resonates with them and they themselves are transfem, should they not be allowed to hc him as such too?

which brings me to my next point; my own personal relationship with gender and femininity. i was raised as a girl and i fucking DESPISED womanhood. i hated everything about it. i hated how i felt forced into a box i didnt want to be stuck in, and i hated how it felt like my whole life had already been planned out for me due to societal expectations, aswell as me needing to present a certain way. i was peak "tomboy" growing up, constantly wearing super baggy clothes and wouldnt even brush my hair alot of the time. but despite that i remained miserable. i frankly hated how i looked and would constantly dye my hair vibrant colors in an attempt to make me like myself a little more. it wasnt until i realized "wow, im actually not a girl at all" that i finally let go of believing i needed to look a certain way (and thus, defying it) and started to dress for myself. i started to dress in clothes that made me happy and feel pretty! alot of which leans feminine, but clothes doesnt have a gender, and how you dress doesnt define your gender either, but it can still be a bit scary yknow? especially since i dont want people to think of me as a girl, and drawing a bunch of femstars has really made me learn to love myself more in a funny way. i can put these characters in clothes i think are beautiful, i can explore the more feminine parts of me that i adore but dont want to express in public due to how i want others to perceive me, but it has also warmed me up to femininity even more. because femstars to me feels detached from the expectations of society because its not a real thing!! there are no canon femstars designs!!! i can do literally whatever the hell i want with it and its been so liberating to me!!

all this to say; i think it really sucks seeing the way this fandom treats transfem hcs and explicit genderbends, because like ive said before; they can truly be something so personal. you dont know why that person is drawing what theyre drawing, so its a little unwise to make assumptions based on ........ Well, whatever it may be. i know very well that women dressing the way society expects them to SUCKS, esp if you have personal ties to it, but you have to realize the issue isnt femininity, but misogyny.

[creature-wizard]

No, modern witchcraft and the Law of Assumption are not "the same."

Since I've gotten this question from a few people (both genuine askers and a few people trying to pull a gotcha), I figured I'd do a proper post on this.

The Law of Attraction is similar to witchcraft in that practitioners are both attempting to affect change in some way, but that's where the similarity ends.

The Law of Assumption is based on the teachings of one man, Neville Goddard. Goddard is widely regarded as an infallible mystic, and the very specific metaphysical model he teaches is taken to be absolute truth.

Modern witchcraft, on the other hand, has a wide variety of influences and influential figures. It's informed by numerous magical and spiritual traditions, numerous scholars and thinkers, and sometimes even pop culture. There's no one model of magic or metaphysics that everyone subscribes to. Whatever it is you think witchcraft needs in order to work, there are models out there that don't include or require it. (Some witches even believe that the benefits of magic are primarily, if not entirely psychological.)

And where Neville Goddard is widely quoted as if he was an all-knowing prophet, many people who influenced the modern witchcraft movement are now widely recognized to have been seriously problematic, and their failings are frequently discussed. (If there are LoA practitioners out there looking at Goddard's writings in a more critical light and calling out his bullshit, then good on you - but you people are not exactly in the majority here.)

Where the Law of Assumption proposes that you can alter literally any facet of reality you just do it right - including rewriting history itself - witchcraft isn't really into this. While many believe that spells can have a powerful influence on the world, it's also generally accepted that spells won't work for a variety of reasons. Like maybe your spell just didn't have enough power, or the odds were stacked too far against it, or it was at cross purposes with another person's spell or prayer, or your spell was poorly-designed, or - and this is a big one - you didn't do the physical work needed to manifest the spell.

Where many LoA practitioners assert that you can just assume you have a job before bed and wake up with one in the morning, practitioners of witchcraft believe that a spell can help you land a job, but you still have to put out job applications, go to interviews, etc.

(If some LoA practitioners are out there teaching people that they also need to do the physical work to make their desires manifest, again, good on you! But many people out there are doing the exact opposite, taking Neville Goddard's own bombastic metaphysical assertions to their logical ends.)

The witchcraft movement also doesn't go in for Goddard's solipsism - Everyone Is You Pushed Out just doesn't fly here. The witchcraft movement generally believes that gods and spirits are very much their own distinct, independent entities, and that trying to project your human expectations onto them can land you in a world of hurt when they act in ways contrary to your expectations. Even among those who believe or suspect that gods and spirits are psychological projections, other people are still regarded as their own independent, fully autonomous entities.

So yeah, witchcraft and the Law of Assumption aren't exactly the same, and if you try to act like they are you're being dishonestly reductive.

If you are leaving or questioning the Law of Assumption and need help, please see this post.

[anticomedygarden]

memory of you part 3

read on ao3 | part 1

Do you remember Europe? Do you think of Spider-Man or Peter Parker when you remember all the destruction I caused? I kinda hope you think of Spider-Man. At least Spider-Man managed to save your lives.

-

When the bell for dismissal rang at the end of eighth period, Betty ran straight out of the classroom and still somehow managed to miss Ned. First, the asshole had the gall to ignore her during class - during which she took no notes, by the way, didn't even open her backpack - and then he disappeared? On Betty? Not to quote Carly Rae Jepsen, but they were never, ever getting back together.

She quickly changed her trajectory for the class Flash was getting out of, pushing through throngs of now very angry teenagers and didn't even make it all the way to Flash's class before she found him.

"We have to go find that kid," they both said at the same time.

Betty nodded, at once excited and a little worried that Flash has been so haunted by the ghost of Mystery Boy that he was skipping his post class networking to talk to her. "Get your keys out. I have a plan."

Frantically, he pulled his keys out of his pants pocket, and she grabbed his arm to drag him through the hallways and out the side door leading to the parking lot. Within seconds, they had tossed their school stuff in the backseat and climbed in the the front, not wasting any time on the trunk.

Even with their small headstart and Flash's honk inducing exit from the parking space nearly into someone else's car, they were still caught in the long line of people trying to leave the lot. From catching rides with friends, she knew it could be another 10 or 15 minutes before they even made it to the street, let alone the front of the school.

"Motherfucker," Betty muttered, perching her arm on the car door and looking mournfully at the brick boxing them in on the right.

Flash echoed the curse, then glanced at Betty questioningly. "Why do you want to find out about this kid so bad anyway?"

"Do I need a reason?" she snapped, then winced. "Sorry. I just don't like not knowing." She also didn't like her devices knowing more about him than she did. As a future liberal arts major, that just couldn't stand. "What about you?"

Flash went uncharacteristically quiet as he finally managed to pull out onto the road, still stuck behind more than a dozen other cars but at least out of the parking lot. After another minute, he said, "I'm not sure. Something about this just feels important."

She sensed there was more to it than that; after all, when did Flash ever do something unless it would benefit him? Hell, the guy had tried to publish a book about being Spider-Man's best friend. But she let it be since the road had just opened up in front of them, allowing them to pull out in front of the school.

Scanning the crowd, she didn't see Ned or MJ, but there were dozens of students milling around, so they could still be there.

Who was she kidding? They were long gone. But it was fine. Because Betty knew where MJ worked, and she knew that the other girl had a shift starting right about now.

"Go to the café on 6th and 38th," Betty instructed. "MJ has a shift right now."

Flash side eyes her but did as she said. "Should I be creeped out that you know so much about our lives? I feel like should be creeped out."

Betty scoffed. "You go to a school for nerds, just be glad I don't know your exact risk of mortality at this specific moment." MJ or Ned would probably know. They were the nerds at the nerd school.

Once they got to the café, Betty had him park on the opposite side of the street while she took out her phone and opened the camera. She pointed the lens at the cafe's big window and zoomed in until she could see the faces of the people inside. First, there was MJ behind the counter talking to someone and already in her blue uniform. On the other side of the counter was Ned, also talking to the same person as MJ. Whoever it was had their back to the door.

Momentarily, the sound of sirens distracted her, and she almost missed the person turning their head around. Miraculously, she managed to catch a glimpse of their face.

"That's him!" she exclaimed. "Mystery boy."

"What? Where?" Flash's head whipped around. "In the café?"

"Yes! That's him!" Betty started unbuckling her seatbelt. "Let's go, I-"

Suddenly, a fire engine sped past them followed closely by multiple cop cars. When she looked back into the café, the guy was gone, and MJ was barreling out the doors with Ned close on her heels.

"Nevermind, follow them!"

Fortunately, Flash was already ready to go, and the next two minutes were a nerve-wracking mess of sharp turns and missed stop signs until their classmates finally came to a stop seven blocks away.

She didn't even need to say anything to Flash for him to pull up right next to Ned and MJ, their shocked and winded faces barely registering as Betty leaned over and said, "Get in losers, we're going stalking."

-

Do you remember when we watched our first rated-R movie on my bedroom floor on my shitty laptop that we rebuilt with parts from a dumpster? It kept buffering, but we were too caught up in the teenage rebellion of it all to care. You were 14 and I was 13. My uncle died less than a year later, and you held me as I cried.

-

Ned was having the weirdest day. First, MJ told him to lie to Betty. Then, suddenly everyone was randomly obsessed with Peter from the café who they all apparently met before and had something to do with Spider-Man, which all led to right now, after a series of increasingly strange events, being packed into the very small backseat of Flash's convertible alongside MJ and Flash and Betty's backpacks while Flash drove - or, really, careened - toward the column of smoke several blocks away.

"So, what, you've just been following us?" MJ asked, accusatory. She was remarkably calm, or at least appeared so, after her sprint and near melt down after Peter vanished.

"Well-" Flash started.

"Yes, we've obviously been following you," Betty interrupted, white knuckling her car door as Flash took another 90 degree turn at 75 miles an hour. "But you're following Spider-Man, so I really don't see what the problem is. Also, you wouldn't tell me about Mystery Guy, so really, this is on you."

"Mystery Guy?" Ned echoed. "You mean Peter?"

MJ glared at him, but the effect was somewhat lost as the shaking car rumbled over the uneven road at cheetah speeds, and the wind from the open top whipped her hair every which way. "Ned!"

"What? They are clearly in this as much as we are. We should pool our resources." He couldn't be the only one to understand that. Besides, he'd seen enough movies of all genres to know that secret keeping always bites the hero in the ass.

"So that's his name," Betty said, sounding very triumphant. Then she thudded against her door.

"And you know him!" Flash cut in, palming the wheel like an expert Formula 1 racer. Ned wondered if he'd been street racing in his spare time.

"I wouldn't really say that we know him," Ned said, thinking about the twitchy boy who rarely said much, just grabbed his coffee and donut everyday, then sat and listened.

"Ned!" MJ admonished again.

Ned rolled his eyes. "Look, none of us really know what's going on, all of us have different information-," he paused for Flash to cut a corner close enough to scrape a trash can, "-and we all have the same goal. The most advantageous thing would be to share info."

MJ pursed her lips but bit out a "fine".

"I'll go first," Betty announced, which was probably for the best. Even after agreeing to this, MJ woild still want to construct her additions based on everyone else's, and she still might not give everything away. "Everyone I've talked to said they feel like they recognize him from the picture I found, but none of them know why. I also found an empty file on my computer labeled 'Spider-Man' that gave me strong Peter vibes."

Ned thought there might have been a better way to word that, but it was still interesting. Not much they didn't know already, though.

In the driver's seat, Flash had started vibrating a little, which was mildly concerning. "I think I bullied him." When no one responded, he continued, "Peter. May have been bullied. By me." When still no one said anything, he threw up a hand and said, "You could be a little more surprised!"

"We really couldn't," Ned said. He still remembered all of the jabs and whatnot from before Flash's random turnaround and was mildly mollified when the other boy's shoulders crawled up to his ears.

"We're sorry, Flash," MJ said in a tone that clearly said she wasn't sorry. "Can you please explain in great detail why you think that, you, the former bully, formerly bullied Peter?"

Flash huffed but answered the question. "When Betty showed me the picture, I got this whole flood of memories with Peter in them." Flash took a deep breath. "I think he went to Midtown. And I called him Penis. Penis Parker. So his last name must be Parker."

"So you did know why you know him!" Betty screeched and started laying into Flash for not telling her before, apparently ignoring the revelation of Peter's last name for the time being.

But Ned wasn't paying attention to that because MJ, putting the pieces together far faster than the rest of them, muttered, "Peter Parker," just loud enough for Ned to hear, and then everything got so much weirder.

Just as Flash described, it was like a barrage of memories smacking right into his brain, memories that he hadn't thought about in forever that were inexplicably altered, plus some that felt totally new and perpetually familiar at the same time. There were movies and video games that Ned thought he'd seen and played alone, there were school lunches and study sessions, there were Lego builds with pale hands next to Ned's darker ones, tears over black clothes, explosions across Europe and D.C., AcaDec practices, burned food in a little Queens apartment, awkward parties next to curly brown hair, investigations into alien tech smuggling and fake superheroes, and so much more. It was like watching his entire lifetime in the span of 30 seconds with one critical addition: Peter Parker, his best friend, who Ned didn't even realize was missing from his life until just now, when everything that had been knocked askew was suddenly right again. Also, Spider-Man, and the guy in the chair. That was also a thing. But more importantly, his best friend, who was probably so lonely right now, and where was he even living? What was he doing? Did he have any friends?

And the biggest question: why hadn't he said anything to Ned and MJ like he'd promised? What made him think that haunting the narrative was the better option?

On top of all the questions, Ned was left with three unacceptable truths: May was dead, the world forgot Peter, and Peter was alone. That couldn't stand.

Ned had been there for Peter when his parents, his Uncle Ben, and Tony died. He would be there for him now.

Fuck Doctor Strange. Fuck the multiverse. Ned's friend needed him.

"Guys," Ned said over the sound of Flash and Betty's bickering. "Peter is Spider-Man."

That shut them up real quick.

In front of him, Betty swiveled in her seat and made a 'go on' motion with her hand. MJ looked pensive; it was to her that he spoke and to her narrowed brown eyes that he focused in a valiant effort to keep his voice even. "I think I just got the same thing that happened to Flash when you said Peter Parker. I remember everything." Ned had to take a deep breath. "He's my best friend. And he's Spider-Man. And he needs us." Just that little bit of information was hard enough to get out, so he decided to save the revelation of Peter being MJ's boyfriend for a more private setting, or to just try and let her remember it for herself. She probably wouldn't believe it if it came from anyone but herself, anyway. She was already looking at Ned with suspicion in her eyes, mouth slightly parted.

"That's great and all," Flash started, voice raised, "but how does that help us right now?"

"Yeah, do you remember why we forgot him?" Betty asked, still peaking around the side of her seat.

Without even thinking, a memory floated to the front of Ned's mind of the Statue of Liberty, Doctor Strange, and despair. Suddenly, Ned didn't feel much like talking.

MJ must have picked up on his mood shift because she said, "It doesn't matter. All that matters right now is finding Spider-Man."

Flash started grumbling, but Betty somehow perked up even more and turned to him. "Speaking of, where the hell are you going?"

"What do you mean, where am I going? I'm going to the fire," Flash said incredulously.

Betty looked to dramatically. "And where do you think the fire is?"

"IHOP," Flash said confidently. "Where do you think it is?"

"McDonald's," Betty intoned with a pointed side eye.

MJ's sharp gaze turned to the front of the car. "It's obviously coming from the DMV."

Ned had thought the fire was coming from the Laundromat, but between the other three people in the convertible, he was never getting that out, so he let them argue about the psychology of localization and something about sensory and perception - he didn't bother to listen or contribute, everything that had to do with AP Psych from last year was currently overtaken by holy shit best friend Spider-Man Peter - while he took out his phone and found the Spider-Man spotting TikTok page.

A few seconds later, he leaned forward in his seat. "As of 15 seconds ago, Spider-Man is at a burning building on 175th and 90th."

Everyone stopped talking after that because their seat belts were in their throats.

-

Do you remember how many pictures you drew of me? You made fun of me because I was always in crisis. If you could see me now, you'd have so much more material.

-

After all that arguing, it was a bit of a surprise to turn a corner and see a billowing fire - not that bad, honestly, she'd seen worse - and blue and red lights, a frantic crowd, and emergency responders. Through it all, MJ didn't see Spider-Man, but he was probably in the building being a hero or whatever.

She jumped out of the car right onto the street as Flash did another terrible parallel parking job, Betty following close behind her. Like a loser, Ned waited for the car to come to a full and complete stop before joining them.

"Have you remembered anything yet?" Betty asked once they were across the street. It was a struggle to hear her over all the sirens and screaming.

MJ pursed her lips, stubbornly wanting to refuse to share her lack of information, but she could see that that wasn't right. She just tried to not sound too disappointed, mollified by the likelihood that the other girl could barely hear her as long as she didn't scream it. "No. You?"

Betty gazed intently at the smoky fire and partially destroyed building. "Some stuff's coming back."

And, see, MJ didn't understand how that was possible. Because everything she was feeling right now? That was the strongest she had ever felt anything: love, panic, loss, despair, desire, all of it; and she didn't understand why she of all of them was the last to remember. She clearly had a strong connection to Peter Parker and Spider-Man, maybe stronger than any other connection she'd ever had, so why couldn't she remember any of it, but freaking Betty did?

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a flash of tangible red and blue spandex wrapped around a screaming child. Within seconds, the figure had passed the kid off to a firefighter and swung back into the building. Inexplicably, MJ found herself taking a step forward as if to follow the vigilante.

That, more than anything, was proof that he was something big to her. If it was anyone else in that spider suit, even Betty, she would never have considered running into that building.

A hand jumped into her peripheral vision. "There he is!" Ned screeched.

Sure enough, Spider-Man was back on the sidewalk, landing gracefully next to the nearest firefighter on top of the bright red truck. He was actually close enough that she could hear him. "I think I got everyone, but I'm gonna do another sweep."

The man didn't get a chance answer before the vigilante was turning back around. This was her chance. "Spider-Man!" she screamed.

He jolted so hard that he almost smacked his head on the ladder. "MJ?" His eye lenses went wider than they already were. "I mean, yes, ma'am? What is it?"

Ned snorted next to her, and she could imagine that the others had similar unimpressed expressions. Her face would have mirrored theirs if she wasn't so pissed off.

"What the fuck, dude?" Ned said with a voice crack more characteristic of someone three years younger than him.

MJ quickly found that the mask could convey much. more than wide eyed shock. Panic, for example. "Gotta go!"

He started to take off again, but MJ gathered all the breath left in her and shrieked, "PETER PARKER!"

It was kinda comical how fast he stopped, like a Looney Tunes character realizing there was nothing beneath them but empty air. She could almost hear the, "Ruh-roh."

Now she found that the mask could show guilt as well. "I have no idea-"

"No," Ned spoke up for the second time, surprising MJ with a voice of steel. "You don't get to do that. You promised you would find us and tell us about all of this, and now you're gonna tell us in detail why you didn't."

For a second, MJ thought it worked and he was actually gonna stay and talk, but then he pivoted, laser focused on something in the direction of the building. He leapt away.

"That fucker," Ned murmured.

"What do we do now?" Flash asked. "I mean, we already followed him here. What else can we do?"

That was the question, wasn't it? This whole thing had been one long Achilles paradox, and now Peter had gone somewhere he knew they couldn't follow.

Was that true, though? MJ looked at the fire again, pushing past the pain in her eyes. The flames seemed to be contained to the top floor, and heat and smoke rose. Plus, the fire wasn't that big. She'd certainly seen bigger ones, both living in post Chitauri New York and traveling through Europe with Mysterio on the loose. And, Peter said he'd gotten everyone out, so she wouldn't be distracting him from those actually in danger.

So she took a deep breath and ran.

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: Hellfire

As IF I was ever going to skip over this video!!!!

Voiceplay's cover of Hellfire was released on the 7th of October, 2023 (being their Halloween upload for the year), and, fun fact, it was the first Voiceplay video I watched after a sort of personal "hiatus" of 1-1.5 years, where they had somehow fallen off my radar for a while (which can happen when A, you weren't originally subscribed to them and mostly just relied on the Youtube algorithm/recommended section, and B, you previously only watched videos for songs you were already familiar with (I know better now though, obviously), plus a few other random factors). Geoff's cover of Jack's Lament was the first from his channel I had seen in quite a while (thank you YouTube algorithm for actually being helpful!), and I stumbled upon Hellfire the following day. And man what a video to bring me back into the fold!

Both video and arrangement were done Layne, and although this is another "guest feature" for J None (he did 5 full-length videos with Voiceplay in 2023!), he's only a backing vocalist for most of this one. Who took lead vocals? Geoff! Apparently Layne was wanting Voiceplay to do a cover of Hellfire for quite a while, and had always envisioned Geoff as the main singer for it, but Geoff, for a long time, said no. I don't know/can't remember what his exact reasoning was; whether he just thought the song was too dark or he thought he wouldn't be able to do it justice, but obviously Layne eventually managed to persuade him (made him an arrangement he couldn't refuse, I'm guessing, because seriously this arrangement is STUNNING), and quite frankly I am forever in Layne's debt for it!

I have no estimate of how long this post might be or how much I'll actually have to say about the screencaps I share, but I'll try to make this worthwhile, and so without further ado, let's get into this!

Pretty "basic"/"simple" visuals here, but honestly that's all that's needed for this one! For one thing, the vocals/arrangement are amazing enough to shine on their own (kinda like with Nothing Else Matters), and for another thing, this may be a Disney villain song, but at the same time it's not really a "Disney Song", y'know? This ain't Friends On The Other Side, or Poor Unfortunate Souls, or Be Prepared; this is a song about deep internal conflict, "burning desire", and attempts to suppress said burning desire, which only leads to more trouble. This is a villain song taken completely seriously, and boy oh boy do Voiceplay nail it!

(I feel like I should also mention that I've never actually watched The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, but I know the characters, I know the story, and this song speaks for itself tbh.)

I mean of course all the guys understood the assignment for this one but Cesar really Understood����The👏Assignment!👏

I can't believe I'm having one of my "hang on a minute-" moments on freaking Hellfire of all videos, but somehow I never noticed the purple gemstone ring that Eli is wearing here before now! (And Cesar is wearing a red gemstone ring as well, which I only just spotted in a previous shot).

Yep, Layne's got a gemstone ring on as well!

I'm guessing J has got a matching ring as well, but I'm fairly certain Geoff doesn't, because he's got this gemstone necklace instead, which of course helps to further identify him as the lead vocalist/"main character" in this one.

(And even though Voiceplay seem to wear black/dark colours a fair bit (and Geoff does a lot), I still really freaking love the costuming in this video. They all look so good!!!!!)

Yep, there it is! J has a ring as well!

"BURN IT"

((If you've been reading/paying attention to all my Voiceplay Visuals posts, you might have picked up that usually, Geoff is the only one who gets bold font for quotes, but I'm more than willing to make an exception this time, because goddamn))

"This fire in my skin"

The way he looks down at his hands and arms as if feeling himself changing, as if there really are flames coursing right underneath the surface of the skin!!!!

"This burning desire, is turning me to s i n"

Not here to make fun or tease this time, certainly not! Geoff did a fantastic acting job in this one, and his delivery of every single vocal line was just absolutely *chefs kiss*

Everyone else was brilliant in this too, and Cesar absolutely had some attention-grabbing moments of his own! 😄

The "it's not my fault!" section of the song is really cleverly done here imo. (it's technically visual as well! I can talk about it!) It gives other members a bit more of a chance to shine, in a song which (aside from the Latin chanting in the background) is only meant to be a one-man performance. And the video (arrangement included) does this by turning Layne, J, Eli, and Cesar into a sort of Greek Chorus, or more specifically, a "singing chorus" (yes, that's a real thing, which I learned about when I was double-checking to see if I actually remembered the correct meaning of Greek Chorus). Singing choruses are sometimes incorporated into musical theatre and grand opera, and are "used frequently to interpret the mental and emotional reactions of the principal characters, after the manner of a Greek chorus." And while Eli and Cesar are taking over the lead for this bit here, Geoff becomes a little bit more subdued, head slightly bowed, just doing some little self-conducting hand movements as he holds down the bassline (I'm assuming, though I can't really hear him at all in the background until his arpeggios(?) when J takes over (look, sometimes you really can't fully describe/talk about what's happening on screen without talking about the audio that goes with it!!!))

Cesar with the sick air guitar! (Not all reactors seemingly noticed this moment, which is a damn crime tbh (you can actually see him doing it in the group shot just a few seconds before this too, though that part I myself didn't pick up on till just now))

I can't remember seeing a single reaction video (out of the ones I've watched at least) that actually figured out who the Guard was, even though it's in the description of the video! (Though I guess those who were watching from Patreon have more of an excuse). It's Tony! (Also, this means that this video featured 4 "generations" of Voiceplay baritones - Layne, Tony, J, and Cesar!)

I've heard one or two reactors say they wish they could have seen the guard's face, but nah, I don't think it's necessary. He's there to provide Relevant Information for progression of the plot/song/scene, and that's it! His identity is irrelevant!

(But still, shoutout to Tony!)

"what" (hhhhhh)

"I'll find her,"

"I'll find her and I'll find her if I have to burn down all of PARIS!"

(He did so well! <3 <3 <3)

At first when I watched this video I was like "wow I really love this video, but should I like this video so much? Considering the context/meaning behind the song and all that?" That lasted for like maybe a week maximum. I adore this cover and this video and I make no apologies about it!)

*swoon*

Very cool flame effect in the eyes! According to one reaction video I watched, that likely was not easy to do, but it's a great addition to the already-very-awesome video!

The zoom-out on Geoff is done brilliantly for dramatic effect here as well!

Do I even need to say it at this point? 😂😅

Well anyway, obligatory "he's so pretty!" comment

(Here's a slight shot of Cesar's ring btw)

Man I love it when he belts <3

Firstly, the absolute power and feeling that Geoff put into this, like it's absolutely amazing to watch and it delights me to no end. Secondly, I wasn't going to include that third pic above, but turns out Geoff is wearing a gemstone ring as well! (maybe more than one?) I knew he was wearing rings in the video, but I just assumed they were his wedding/engagement rings, as he pretty much always wears them in videos (unless he can't for costuming purposes), one on each hand, but now I wonder if he was in fact wearing them at all in this video?

Excuse me while I just- *muffled yelling into pillow*

As I type this, Voiceplay's cover of Hellfire is just 4,700 views away from reaching one million hits on YouTube! I hope it gets there, it certainly deserves it (and more!). (UPDATE: As of the morning of the 20th of February (AEST timezone), it's now at one million views! Can I hear a wahoo!?!) (SECOND UPDATE: and it's now at over 1.1 million, as of the 25th of March!)

It's not exactly a typical Halloween-type video for Voiceplay, no super-elaborate character costumes or coloured face/body paint, but just like practically everything Voiceplay did in 2023, this was EPIC!

But anyway, I'll be skipping over Whiskey In The Jar, and I'm not doing any posts about Christmas videos (for now), which means that I'm finally onto the first two full-length uploads of 2024! (And I really would have expected there to be a third 2024 upload by this point, but it seems we're just gonna have to keep on waiting.) Stay tuned!

[intertexts]

oh god i just realized I forgot to send you this. behold: the worst trivia ask out of all of them:

EPISODE 22 TRIVIA:

- they spend the first. 9 whole minutes talking about the logistics of snapping someones neck irl only to learn that its not actually possible and thats just something that was make up for movies

- "this is the most guy talk we've ever had at the beginning of a rolled. i feel like we need a trigger warning for boys"

- bizly wanted them seeing tide again to feel awkward and weird! like you're going back to your parents house after not seeing them for a really long time

- talking about how dakota has so many parental figures now and grizzly goes "except for ms. g. she has my whole heart" and WITHOUT missing a beat charlie goes "no. *i* have your whole heart"

- there was apparently a group of people on twitter who made a VERY long VERY well researched document about how all the medical stuff esp involving william would work and kept tagging bizly in posts asking how things would work and hes like "man i dont know!! i write a silly superhero show im not a doctor! it all comes down to his parents built a very strange machine that was designed to view worlds unseen!" (<< quoting the dp theme song in the most EXASPERATED voice possible.)

- "WILLIAM WISP SHOULD HAVE FUCKIN WORMS IN HIM. if we were playing this realistically william would be fuckin LOCKED UP with rigor mortis and COVERED in worms and FULL OF GASSES. he should be FOUL. and FULL OF WORMS. and I DONT WANT THAT" << hes a coward for this. btw. i feel like william should be grosser

- they just keep saying more things about how william should be so grotesque. at one point charlie goes "please dont draw this. its so gross". me, looks at my 4/7 jrwi freak week canvases that are william wisp themed. um. well.

- WARM BODIES MENTION. i love that movie. charlies like "thats how i want william to work hes undead but hes like. pretty about it"

- bizly: "because we've already explored this plot thread of William Being Dead so much, i dont want him getting a heart to just automatically fix that. its not like hes just magically alive now. i havent thought of the exact consequences yet but i want there to be some drawbacks to this to keep things interesting"

charlie: "william is just thrilled right now to be feeling stuff. i dont think hes considering the possible drawbacks"

- "ive never been prouder of any of my characters than when william wisp dented drywall"

- "why didnt vyncent get a fun surgery too" "because I'm a coward"

- they were on some absolutely insane energy for this rolled they keep going on like 5-10 minute long tangents and BARELY talk about the episode other than to mention how william should be a rotting corpse. I REMEMBER NOW that this was a SIGNIFICANT factor in my being frustrated with the heart surgery thing LMAO

- THATS IT. THATS LITERALLY IT. THE ROLLED IS OVER NOW. THIS WAS NOTHING !!!!!

TERRIBLE rolled youre right!!!!! help!!! this is so funny. great rolled guys lets wrap it up. william should be wormy and u cant snap peoples necks. good job everybody. it is really funny to me that people were... expecting medical accuracy?? how do u really seriously research putting one guys heart and another guys blood inside a body that's been dead for several years. frankly i would love to see it i'm very curious.

LOWKEY I'M GLAD HE *ISN'T* A BLOATED LOCKED UP DECAYING CORPSE!!!!! PERSONALLY!!!! i fully respect ur rights and taste to think he should be rotting and worm filled and stinky but frankly i'm on charlies side w this one. hes undead and pretty about it <33

anyway. i still have many thoughts about wiwi's soul/body/wisp relationship that i will NOT start talking about now because it would get LONG. but. its always great hearing their thoughts on it. eyes emoji. but yeah i really don't want him to be just magically fixed and alive now.... we'll see!! we'll see how it goes!!!!

[dumb-gemini]

Y'all are getting a face reveal today for anime STL pics :)

Anyway I had SO much fun!!! I just posted about it over on my writing account but this one I'm gonna post more pictures on, I trust all of you my lovely mutuals :)

Ok ranting time!!! (Im gonna try and keep it short but god do I have a lot of fun stories)

OKAY SO ACTUALLY THAT ONE WITH THE CHILDE COSPLAYER IS LIKE MY FAVORITE BC OF WHY I GOT IT

I went to a genshin panel that got done early, so the host/Neuvillette decided to do a mad libs with everyone. They said to try and keep the words genshin related so the first word I thought of was "tartagalicious" and after much debate with me and my friend decided that word would fall under adjective. So when they say they need an adjective I raise my hand and say it, and holy shit the Neuvillette took one look at me and was like "of course you of all people would say that." Anyway the Tartaglia thought that was funny too and they blew me a kiss and when I tell you I was FREAKING OUT- It's actually embarrassing how my friend had to calm me down. Anyway once the panel/mad libs was over I went and asked them for a picture, they said yes and now I have that silly little thing to remember :)

(also once again ranted about this on my writing blog but I'm still honestly processing it so uh yeah I'm talking about it here too) Anyway, I got to meet Alejandro Saab!! I paid $10 to get Jing Yuans quote with it but it was sooo worth it. That poster is like my favorite ever so I'm happy I could get him to sign it :) we also talked a little about the book "a court of thorns and roses" bc he was talking about it on stream the other day, which I sadly had to stop watching bc I didn't want spoilers. He said it's really good so far so I'm super excited to keep reading it!!

Also the second picture was another favorite of mine, I won't say who they are but they were actually so sweet and did a whole presentation on decora fashion after the j fashion show we watched. Plus I made some candi while we listened so I do also have a new bracelet!!

Another super exciting person to meet was cyber girl!!! (I don't remember her exact user sorry I swear I'm a real fan 😔) anyway they were so nice and I bought the cutest sticker for my laptop from their brand candy☆trap!

Most of the other pictures are just other amazing cosplayers I met some I chatted with others I just thought they looked cool so I asked for a picture

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of people that wanted to take a picture with me! I had 5-6 come up when I was dressed up as Zhongli, and 3 as Cirrus. To know people liked my cosplay so much that they want to take a picture that they'll keep makes me so happy. Like those people seriously made my day.

Okay I think rant is over, all in all I had a great time and I'm excited to go again next year, and (hopefully) not spend so much money there. (I currently have 11 dollars to my name but I'm working again soon so we're good >:D)

[bwat5-blog]

**Spoilers for all of arcane**

Vi and Vander

I am continuing to see lots of talk about Vi not moving off of the platform at the end, which makes her vulnerable to “Vander’s” attack leading to Jinx’s sacrifice. People are blaming Vi like she was being stupid, or stubborn not listening to her sister. It is just so, so much deeper than that. I have already touched on this moment in another post, so will not go as deep. But man people are so badly misreading what happened it needs repeating. Before we dive in let me say none of the emphasis on Vi in this post is taking away from Vander and Powder’s relationship. Vi is just the focus here.

For a quick refresher:

1. Vi and Powder’s birth parents are killed

2. Vander rescues them from the bridge and raises them, becoming their dad.

3. Vander teaches Vi the lessons that will become who she is:

A- He literally teaches her to box which is her whole thing

B- “When people look up to you, you don’t get to be selfish”: This becomes such a foundational part of who she is that it’s bordering on a flaw. She has SO. MUCH trouble putting herself first in any instance. That’s why her finally giving in and having sex with Cait was such a win (among many other reasons). Rather than chasing her sister running in circles again, she finally made the decision to be happy

C- “You’ve got a good heart, don’t ever lose it”: Obvious but come on. Vi spends the WHOLE SHOW fighting tooth and nail for those she loves, only giving up when she is at her absolute lowest

D- I can’t find the exact quote but when he speaks on the cost of war and who is she willing to lose. This talk is what leads her to try and turn herself in beginning a long cycle of always putting herself last and shouldering the blame.

There is of course more to it. He speaks on protecting Powder. On continuing to fight even though it doesn’t get easier. Not to mention he is a big, strong, protector of the people who fights with his fists. On top of being a loving and attentive father figure who validates Vi’s feelings while still teaching her responsibility, he is just everything she wants to grow up to be.

Now that being said. Time for the pain:

1. She watches her father/hero die shortly after her brothers, and after she herself narrowly survives a brutal fight herself

2. She gets him back in a completely mutated form that almost kills her

3. She watches as he seemingly dies horribly AGAIN, barely any time after they get him back

So when the time comes. When they seem to have defeated Drone-Vander for the last time, Vi just.. breaks. After being strong almost the entire show, fighting for her loved ones endlessly through stabbings, beatings, heartbreak and loss, looking down at her dad, dead, again, is just too much. We even see her flashing back to that first horrible death and she just can’t move. It seems like she doesn’t even hear Jinx when her sister calls. And when the Drone-Vander attacks that final time Vi isn’t even defending herself. She is afraid, and hurt, and just wants her dad to love them again.. and he cant.

This is a heartbreaking, human, fragile moment. I’ll speak more on the Jinx aspect of it when I write about her soon. But people are taking this moment and just dragging it through the mud in the worst way. The show and the character deserve better.

[totaldramafan-lauri]

My "unwritten" writing rules

While I'm waiting on more people to finish my fic before I can give trivia about it, there's been something else I've wanted to do for a while, and that's talk about the rules I made for myself in regards to how I write X Reader fics. J-just cuz I've gotten compliments about it, and I wanna explain a few things I keep in mind when writing.

Now, this isn't me telling you what to do. Write however you want. This is what *I* do. XD I've been doing this for a few years now, and I figured out what stuff works best for me. These three are what I got so far. I'll make a second post if I can think of more of them:

I don't use the "Y/N" placeholder. Never have. I have no problem with other people using it, but it just doesn't work for me. It always comes across as awkward and out of place in my style. Not to mention that it takes extra brainpower for me to read, and know I have to replace it with my name in my head and not read it as literally "Y.N." That's more annoying than it seems sometimes. XD But mostly it's a style thing. Y/N works best in more casual formats like imagines and scripts. My fics are too literate to have a placeholder like that look natural and not like it's breaking things up, like serious dialogue interrupted by a censor bleep. So, instead, whenever another character calls the reader by their name, it's just not quoted. I simply say something like "they said your name".

2. I never do anything that can hint at the reader's appearance. This sometimes huuuuurts, cuz I'm a sucker for a good height difference, but yes, this includes things like height. Body type, hair color/texture, eye color, skin color, etc. This means there are certain phrases I can't use to deliberately avoid mentioning those traits, substituting for more inclusive ones. For example, saying "You felt your cheeks getting warmer" instead of something like "Your cheeks turned bright red" (as well as not mentioning whether other characters present can see it or not). The reader in MUOM is kinda an exception to this, cuz it's mentioned that they look "distinctly Hollyberrian", but that doesn't really narrow a lotta things down. If you look at all the NPCs in the Hollyberry Kingdom, you can see how varied the cookies there are. Pretty much the only thing that means is that they have berry-colored hair and eyes. What color? You decide. -v-

3. I never go outta my way to describe the appearances of canon characters, either, even when first meeting them. Some writers do this, but I don't. I have a couple reasons. One is that I'm writing for fans of these characters who already know what they look like. So, I don't see it as important to grind the fic to a halt and spend a paragraph telling people things they already know. And my other reason is that my writing style is ALREADY wordy enough, so I'd rather cut out stuff I see as pointless if I can help it. XD When the reader meets someone for the first time, I focus instead on how they're feeling, rather than describing everything in detail. For example, with Golden Cheese in MUOM, I just simply say she looks "gorgeous in a way no one else (they've) met has been" and then describe how overwhelmed the reader feels. Cuz, everyone reading already knows how she's gorgeous, so I don't need to explain. XD And with Affogato in Drowned, I have the reader emphasize how different he looks from everyone else, which is more important to the story than his exact appearance. Make sense? >.<

[palomahasenteredthechat]

Same anon that sent the long post and I have another one I'm sorry. Thank you for answering. I'm glad I explained myself okay, I was worried I was just going to sound entitled and rude. I just wanted to say that I was going to mention the Off Menu podcast but I decided to keep it Eddie related since that was my ultimate point and to mention it would require more explaining. Hence this long message. Basically yes I am one of those people that felt that way and I kept that to myself because everyone loved it. I don't want to ignite anything here about it because over time I have seen people mention this since it happened, but it was the picky eater comment for me. I know the internet tends to have this mindset lately that everything everyone says, is said with the worst possible intension. Like you say you like cats you must HATE dogs and you're being cancelled now for it. So I tried not to read into it, I really did. But he brought it up again in another interview after and then another just recently and to me that was him doubling down on his stance so I think it's fair for me to say he has thought about what he said and still agrees with it. Let's be real for a sec, I'm a picky eater. So of course this looks like I'm just butthurt and taking it personally. But I'm autistic. I can't help it. I have a brother that has it worse than me, he SUFFERS with ARFID. Yes, I know that Joseph probably wasn't including people like me or him in his statement. He doesn't need to preference everything he says with "obviously I'm not talking about people with disabilities, eating disorders etc" because he didn't indicate any disdain for those kinds of people specifically and no one should immediately be taking what he said in a negative light like that and assuming he's an asshole. However, again my own personal views, thoughts and feelings. People like myself subconsciously think before I speak "If I say this, could it offend or hurt anyone? Will it perpetuate and or make worse an already existing issue?" Of course everyone has moments where they don't realize what they're saying could be harmful. But, idk. Let me just paste the exact quote from the transcript here and see what we think about it: Joe Quinn Eat it, it's delicious, do you know what I mean? Or, 'Oh, I don't like fish.' But, it's clearly something psychological that they just need to-, get over it, eat it, it's good. Joseph. Some people DO have psychological issues with food. For myself it's certain textures. But to think that I had not just considered or tried to "get over it" is at the very least tone-deaf and at the worst, straight up ableist. 🤷‍♀️ I tried to rationalize it in my mind as him just venting, talking out his ass, whatever. But ultimately it made me realize that he is very privileged to be healthy and what he probably considers "normal" and I don't see him actually understanding that fact. Especially when he doubles down on it years later. He gives me "telling someone suffering with depression to get over it and smile more" vibes. It came off as pretentious, uninformed and to be honest just plain rude. I will also add that taking disabilities out of the equation he still failed to consider social classes, wealth and food availability. Would he tell an adult that grew up without access to fresh vegetables to just get over it and eat them because it annoys him that they won't? I don't claim to know. But my gut says yes.

I think it started off as his sense of humor, and maybe it was an in-joke with his friends, but as was discussed earlier, he seems to be 'leaning in' to the persona more.

The cilantro thing - 'I don't believe those people'; well then you don't have the gene that makes it taste like dish soap.

I have experience with food allergies, and I always take food preferences seriously, because unfortunately for some folks it's life and death.

[crimsonxe]

I'll put this below a cut cause its aimed at particular grievance and is long:

@scottsumrners Since I'm not one to veer away from going at know-nothing up-own-ass chucklefuck bitches like yourself: I need nor want Biden to fuck me, I just need him to:

not remove the women's rights that are left

not throw away LGBT+ rights and criminalize being LGBT+

not turn this country into an authoritarian military enforced hellscape

not quote Hitler (like orange bastard on the opposite side

maintain a status quo as opposed to falling into a fascist authoritarian regime

Oh and little ignorant bitch, being center-left is not "right-wing cuck"; its called having ones head in reality and not up ones own ass in some delusional idiotic view on things. Like realizing that a President nor government body is capable of waving a magic pen to make real far left shit. Universal healthcare/single-payer? Not going to happen so long as there's a right-wing and independent actors that stand against it; because a President doesn't get a magic wand to wave to make it real. Student loan forgiveness? Shut down by the right. Voting rights bill? Oh look another thing that'd require more dems to vote for it. On and on in this vein, where your dipshit type fail to grasp how systems work. Not even diving into you actually sabotaging the left and all of its causes, because you serve as the perfect example of far leftist types. The type that makes sane reasonable ones like myself's jobs that much harder, while we're trying to make steady smaller advancements that actually do shit; your moronic type bitches and whines over that not being far enough. An easy example to go to is how universal healthcare/single-payer isn't going to happen by one wave of a magic pen, cause the right exists to block it and a President isn't supposed to be an authoritarian supreme power forcing through things. However one can gradually elect more people that are for it and steadily build it up till finally being able to have it actually pass. But ones like you are incapable of grasping that reality thinking the dems just choose not to pursue it cause its not their fancy; rather than the system not allowing it. I may despise the Trump right-wing, but I'll give them credit in actually seeding a lot of shit over decades of time that allowed them to have such a massive upheaval that set the clock back in recent times. Its something far leftists should consider cause as bad as the right version was is as much potential beneficial good as a left version could be if they'd drop the damn purity tests.

Also ftr a 3rd party option isn't a damn thing, since there's not a chance in hell they'll actually get enough votes from the EC to actually win anything. They're a wasted vote, which in this upcoming case is a pro-Trump vote by indirect consequence. Something you'd think your dumbass type would've learned from 2016.

So take your far-left head-up-your-own-ass ignorant/naive bullshit and shove it right up next to where your head is associated. Oh and ftr "him", are you pushing a gender onto me? Cause that'd be a very right-winger thing to do. For most people I don't really give a shit as I go by all pronouns, but when a self-righteous little prick decides to try to step into my territory I'll call that shit out. Now do crawl your sorry pathetic shitbag ass back to whatever cesspit you call home. The only thing you've shown here that I've already said in the past is that far-left and right are just mirrors of each other, using the exact same tactics and attacks towards anyone not getting in lockstep with you. I was going to ignore the other post cause your little bitch ass pal ran their mouth off without having a clue about what they were talking about (or even having the comprehension skills to grasp that the "supporting Trump" part of my post had nothing to do with RWBY side), but then you did a 2nd post so I shifted instead to a fuck you.

Oh and a last note if your sorry ignorant ass thinks that the orange bastard is going to be better in regards to Gaza, then I'll metaphorically laugh my goddamn ass off at your idiocy.

[keefsteef]

please bestow upon me your favorite silly van halen stories o wise one 🛐🛐🛐 just instances of the guys being goofy goobers !!

Oh em gee hi 🤩❤️

1. David behaves like a big giant baby over no milk being in his dwellings 👺 (excerpt from van halen rising)

The way I would've told his ass WELL GO BUY SOME DAMN MILK! This is more agitating than silly but I guess with them that's the same thing ❤️

2. David and Edward behave like KINDERGARTENERS and poor Steve Perry had to deal with being doused in guacamole 😭

I turned to face the band. David and Edward were slumped in their chairs, trying not to make eye contact with me. I didn’t blame them. “All right, boys,” I said, mustering up all of my courage, and preparing for the very real possibility of our being kicked off the tour.

“Out with it. What the hell happened?” If that makes me sound like a parent dealing with children, well, that’s pretty much the way I felt. After a few moments of tense silence, Edward spoke up.

“David started it,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger. “He threw a bowl of peanuts at me.”

There was a pause, and I noticed David trying to stifle a laugh. Are you fucking kidding me? I thought.

“Fuck you, Dave,” Edward said and looked back at me. “See, I had to retaliate. He deserved it.”

This was excellent logic—for a six-year-old. (And, I suppose, for a rock star.) “What did you do, Edward?” I asked.

By now they were all laughing. The tension began to clear from the room— no doubt being absorbed straight into my shoulders and chest instead. “I threw a bowl of guacamole at David’s head,” Edward explained, shrugging and smiling that goofy grin of his. “But I hit Steve instead.”

Oh boy.

“Steve? As in . . . Steve Perry?” I braced myself for an answer I knew I wouldn’t like, and Edward nodded sheepishly. Someone giggled. Well, I thought, that’s the end of that. We’ve had a good run. Time to pull the soil over the freshly dug graves that Edward Fucking Van Halen had dug for us and call it a night. “Shit,” I said, rubbing at my mustache and trying not to lose my cool.

Something funny happens to you in the middle of a disaster—sometimes you’re able to hold it together just long enough to try to fix the shit show.

“Where is he?” I asked.

David nodded toward the bathroom. “In there, I think.”

(excerpt from Running With The Devil - Noel Monk , van halens manager tell all).

I'LL TAG YOU IN ANOTHER POST A LITTLE LATER WITH A FEW MORE since I need to find the exact wordings of a few more stories in mind, I don't like to just quote without like...solid source, so I'll get back to you on that 🤩!!!!

[positivementalaxolotl]

I've reblogged this exact post before and I'll post it again:

As someone who NEVER liked Harry Potter to begin with, engaging in the content makes literally no difference. If there is a difference it's minimal and won't have a huge impact on the outcome of the whole thing. The people who believe JK Rowling knows more about the collective insides of the minds of the series fans are purely people who already hsve their minds set

JK Rowling is also LOADED. She won't be deplatformed PERIOD because she already got all of the support she needs to live comfortably and can throw out whatever nonsense to the press that she wants. Getting rid of any and all doubt about the "arguments" she's making is really the only way to "deplatform her" and quite frankly the most it'll do is make people take her less seriously.

The people who follow her, if her efforts stops, is just going to go to another terf, another transphobe, another organization. We need to just be spreading true information to those who are willing to listen, the ones who aren't willing to listen will believe anything, including the idea that this celebrity can read the minds of her fucking audience.

It's also important to note that these people are ABSOLUTELY not looking into harry potter fan content because if they did, they'd find that most of it nowadays is people spreading pro-trans messages through it. The vast majority of Harry Potter content now is FULL of pro-trans content. These people are simply believing her because she believes what they already believe, which is transphobia. No matter what she says they'll believe her, up until she ultimately learns she was wrong, in which case they'll abandon her and look for someone else to worship. It's not that people are believing there's a huge support in the fan content, it's that people are using her fame to spread their ideologies and they'll gladly say they learned a lot or they didn't know that if it means they look more open minded then they actually are.

Again, I don't even fucking like Harry Potter. I'm a trans person. I already know that whether you engage with fan content or not doesn't make a difference, what makes a difference is spreading truthful and reliable information. Focusing on one individual does nothing when the problem is a LOT of people. Yes she's influential, but without her people would be doing the same things, just quoting someone else.

Reminder that jkr basically funds a large portion of the terf movement in the UK and promoting harry potter and actively giving her money is helping fund that movement and is actively encouraging her and her followers because they see this as support