#and you see *those* books there too

[skitskatdacat63]

I cant stop thinking about this F1 display I saw at the book store last month. I was so surprised to see a special display....until I looked down.

How are you going to put books by literal experts, like Bernie Collins and Guenther Steiner, in the same category as those random pulp romance books that have nothing to actually do with the sport 😭 It genuinely annoyed me so much. I can accept that those exist, and people read them, whatever. But to put them in the same display??? On the same level????? Outrageous. To me.

[laurents-secret-diary]

oh damen we're really in it now.mp4

[stubblesandwich]

[artigas]

it’s absolutely unfathomable that billionaires are using their wealth to dismantle democracy, if I was the richest man on the planet I’d simply send Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal a video camera and a blank check

[kagoutiss]

green beetle black beetle

[desultory-novice]

Silliness aside, while i was gathering images from Moonlight Mansion for that last post, I uh... realized something kinda BIG...

That towering manor, with the big "M" doorway? A symbol like that kinda reminds you of a certain airship.... ...But no! Surely that decorated "M" stands for "Moonlight!"

Oh, wait.... Oh no...

On the gate...is that......? IT IS!

IT'S DARK META KNIGHT! And all the BAT imagery everywhere too...! Ahhh! I can't believe I'm just now seeing this!?!

:cue "Damn, bitch, you live like this?":

But I will be taking those stained glass windows of the Guardians of the Mirror World as more evidence for my "Dark Meta Knight was a mole who truly cared about the Mirror World" theory though!

(And maybe the grave stone is for the Mirror Meta Knights, like when I theorized they'd all died and that's why DMK's such a loner...)

[yuri-is-online]

Been brainrotting lately and now I present to you what I think is an underused story beat for Yuu. What if “Yuu” isn’t even the prefect’s real name?

Considering that Yuu’s first experience in Twisted Wonderland is waking up in a coffin, wandering around an obviously foreign place, and being questioned by a suspicious man in a crow mask surrounded by people in black hooded robes… I just think most people would not give their real name in such a sketchy situation.

Fast forward to when Yuu is more comfortable with the cast and there is both comedy and angst potential here. On one hand, the reactions to the deception could be pretty funny. (Cue a “woe is me” from Crowley. Of course he can’t find a way home for you when he doesn’t have your real name!) On the other, this could be a great way of exploring the prefect having a crisis. Yuu already lost so much in being taken to Twisted Wonderland, and now in a way even the prefect’s name has been taken.

What do you think?

waking up in a coffin, wandering around an obviously foreign place, and being questioned by a suspicious man in a crow mask surrounded by people in black hooded robes…

Annon, annon, annon, when you put it like that it sounds like Yuu woke up in the middle of a cult ritual of some sort. Which I suppose if you were an edgy Night Raven student idia you might argue that the enrollment ceremony totally is as an excuse not to go

But to be more serious, I have seen a few memes about this concept and I like it a lot σ(￣、￣=) It's a fun character concept, it's not everyday you get a chance to re-invent yourself completely.

That being said, just based off of the few dialogue options Yuu has at the start, I think Yuu is implied to believe that they are dreaming:

Which honestly doesn't make this idea any less valid. If you're dreaming about waking up in the middle of some weird necromancer's rite, why not give him a fake name? It's not meant to be serious anyway. Just go with the flow and hope things don't get too weird (and get offended when your dream doesn't give you magic powers) until it's too late and you realize everyone thinks your name really is that bad joke you made.

If you want to get darker, maybe Yuu really did think they died. A black carriage pulling a coffin really only goes to a funeral, and death has been depicted as an unmanned coach with black horses. Maybe Yuu is only just coming to grips with the fact that they really are alive when they see Riddle overblot and he hurts them. Maybe they now are sitting next to two people who have started to think about them as a friend, a really close one. Maybe they think Yuu is really brave because they charged headlong into danger without a second thought, and won, twice now. Maybe Yuu cries themselves to sleep that night because in a way... you died so yuu could live.

As for reactions, Crowley and the other staff members I think would be the most dramatic, followed by Adeuce and Grim. Jack I can see accepting your reasons and not thinking too hard about it, maybe even respecting your survival instincts, while Epel... well he says he's mad but mostly he's just concerned. He knows what it feels like to have two dueling parts of yourself and trying to find the middle ground. Ortho would be excited, you have a secret identity just like a magical girl/super sentai/anime idol/superhero take your pick really. He certainly doesn't mind getting to know you all over again.

Sebek screams at you for being a threat to Wakasama but it's clear to everyone who actually knows him that he's really just worried about the amount of stress you put on yourself. He would hate for you to have the same issues with self loathing he does. And Malleus? Well he lied to you about who he was because he was worried you would be afraid, even though you didn't know he existed. It would be very petty for him to hold a grudge against you for doing the same.

In general I think this would be something the others would have an easier time understanding as opposed to Yuu's sense of alienation or loneliness at not having magic. Identity issues are common themes in fiction, so I could see them actually seeing it as a problem as opposed to an abstract problem like no government papers (since these kids with one obvious exception don't do taxes.) But it would make for a great way to explore the prefect having a crisis just as you say, in a way it's the perfect example for every problem they might have with being in Twisted Wonderland.

[bmpmp3]

sorry to be a bit of a hater but i do wish youtubers weren't so scared of making their videos just like, "reviews", whys everything gotta be a "video essay" all the time. every day my recommendations are filled with 40 minute videos titled "_____: An Underrated Masterpiece" where the first like five minutes are reading the wikipedia definition of "masterpiece" in a somber voice with dramatic themed text on screen. please just tell me how good or bad you think something is and use the rest of the runtime to explain why. you dont need to put on all these airs

[thatonefandomjumper]

The whole "Post being screenshotted and mocked" fiasco has lead me to actually check out what´s happening on the Pjo Twitter side of the fandom out of curiosity and holy shit I have never been more grateful to be a Tumblr user it´s like those guys hate fun and crucify anyone who disagree with them or their opinions??? Like, holy shit I'd like to issue a letter of gratitude to the fandom here, thank you so much for having basic human decency, my gods.

[galaxostars]

Do you guys remember the first time you read/watched Harry Potter and thought Snape was responsible for everything only to be hit in the stomach when you found out alongside the characters it was Quirrell all along?

Do you remember reading about Sirius Black escaping jail and wanting to murder Harry and do you remember being ready to throw hands at him? And then do you remember that sinking feeling when you realized he’d been wrongfully imprisoned for twelve years and was painted as the guilty one when it was Peter all along?

Do you remember hearing about the death eater Regulus Black, following in Voldemorts’ footsteps only to be hit with the crushing truth later, that he’d betrayed him and died doing so and no one knew about it and you had, yet again, judged him too harshly?

Do you remember hating Draco and progressively coming to understand the circumstances that led him to that?

Do you remember loving Dumbledore and realizing suddenly how badly he wronged Harry?

Do you ever think about those moments, and how we all judged those characters and fell into the easy trap? Time and time again? How easy it was to gulp down one version and not realize how biased it was?

I feel like if there’s one thing those books taught me it was to never get along with one version of a story. You can’t hear one side and admit it’s the final truth. You can’t judge someone through one lens and not admit it’s skewed. You can’t erase circumstances. You can’t shut out the other side of a story because one is sufficient for you.

If you want to crucify someone for something they did, remember all those times you were ready to crucify Snape, Sirius, Regulus, Draco and so on.

I’m not against holding people accountable for their actions, but I don’t want to get that sinking feeling of guilt that I had with characters on real human beings. And it is inhuman to hold one thing against someone’s head forever—especially when you don’t know the whole story.

We all make mistakes, we all fuck up, and we also, all have our own truth. And we’re also all capable of empathy towards others. 🖤

God knows I hate jkr with a passion but fuck if I love the message that was spread through those arcs.

[melonpond]

just finished the murderbot diaries and am absolutely IN SHAMBLES

....my murderbot blorbo made friends :')

[f-imaginings]

Hi! First of all, I hope you're recovering <3

Anyway, I was re-reading Book of Bill and the Billford parts (if we can call them that) and damn. All the conversations they have in the book are so… KMKY to me, I mean, I'm amazed at how you've studied and understood the characters so well that now, when the creator thinks about how their dynamic would be, it's IDENTICAL to KMKY. I can easily see those scenes as a KMKY scene and I'm in shock.

Just, congratulations on the writing, seriously, you're an inspiration to me in writing and character study!

Hi lovely,

Thank you for the kind words! I'm all done at the hospital and I'm cheering! Nothing was wrong and it looks like I'm healthy for the most part BC the treatment is working well ☺️

Omg no one was more surprised than me reading the book of bill about their dynamic. Especially their banter! You can call me anything just don't call me late for dinner and get out of my head, you first! were some of the highlight reels for me. It was just such a fun book to read and I'm so grateful it reignited my passion for writing so I can come back and finish the fic!

I've had ideas for spin offs and sequels too since getting such lovely feedback on the fic. I have plans and ideas for characterisation that hopefully are fairly unique (I haven't seen some of these ideas done before) and I'm cheering that folks have been enjoying what I put out so far.

I have always cherished the positive feedback ppl have given to the fic (I reread comments like non stop) but to have gone from getting maybe 1 comment a month to all of this attention has been wild. I think ppl assume this was always a popular fic but it had a lot of silent readers. I had the same four or five ppl tell me they vibed with it but they were the cherished few. Now however I've had folks actually tell me that they're reading and what parts they're enjoying and its given me boundless energy to work on chapters and put in 100% so I'm doing right by y'all and giving you my best work. I really appreciate folks like yourself telling me what you like about it so thank you for writing in to let me know. 💛💛💛

[l0ve-letter-4-u]

dumping AM thoughts in tags

[xxplastic-cubexx]

reading Krakoa era out of order bc reading lists online make it confusing and my local library only has so many books

just as god intended right on my friend you're doing everything right and don't let anyone tell you otherwise

[the-great-papyru]

Flowey and Friendship

prior to true pacifist, flowey does not know what friendship is. and how would he?

this is going to be a lot, so actual post under the cut. (figured out how to do that)

let’s start at the beginning. asriel was not known for having a lot of friends. to be blunt, he had one and only one. and that friend is not known for being an exceptional influence. this is not to say that they were horrendous, or cruel, or didn’t care for asriel. but they certainly had an odd way of showing that care.

their end goal was the freedom of monsterkind. and this is an admirable goal. and i’m certain asriel was more than a minor inspiration for this goal. this monster had shown them more love than they’d ever experienced! they felt the need to return the favor.

but enough about chara, they’re a topic for another time. the point is, they tried to help asriel. that was their motive. and what a nice motive! their methods, however… were less than nice.

sound familiar yet?

maybe not. just in case, let me dive deeper into their “methods.” these mostly included stringing asriel along and telling him whatever they thought he needed to hear to follow them in their plan. whether that was to toughen up, an assurance that he’d be with his friend the whole time, or a way to disconnect the souls from the lives he had to take. not to mention omitting information, lying in some form or another…

it was manipulation for a greater good.

exactly what flowey was up to in his early resets. flowey became “friends” with everyone. not even he believes that it was actual friendship. and he is correct.

during the early resets and reloads, however, flowey likely had no idea what he was doing. as far as he knew, friendship was a one-sided effort. a give and take relationship where one gives and another takes. he hadn’t learned it any differently. yes, he cared for chara, of course he cared for chara! and he had taken them in, he did try to help them out… but when it came down to it, they were the one in charge. and the rest was lost to flowey. besides, what was the problem with helping everyone out?

“flowey” wasn’t a product of boredom. he wasn’t a product of curiosity. flowey became who he was because he wanted to reach the best possible ending.

flowey became who he was because he wanted to help people, not because he wanted to hurt them.

and that’s the thing i don’t think he realizes. he never understands that the reason he doesn’t truly have a friend is because he’s working too hard at it. instead he blames it on his lack of a soul. how can he be expected to make friends if he can’t feel love for them?

in fact, this mentality is probably another part of what drove him to his behavior in the first place. before he even started “helping” others, he was confident that he’d never have a true friendship, if he couldn’t even love the people he tried to “befriend.” it was skewing his view from the start. a self-fulfilling prophecy. flowey considered himself part of the outside from the very beginning. he focused all his energy on helping everyone else and none on actually… building a friendship. it’s hard to focus on that when you’re not willing to share anything about yourself. there was a task, flowey needed it completed, simple as that.

flowey also has a lot of distrust and paranoia built up. most players should know by now of the dialogue you get from multiple neutral routes in a row. for just a second, he believes frisk might genuinely want to be friends with him.

and then he immediately shuts the possibility down. now, i think there’s two factors to this.

first of all, they remind him of himself. he’s convinced himself that he’s emotionless, that he can’t feel, so frisk is probably the same. he’s shut himself off from caring. he’s scared that if he believes that they care, he might care too. one of his greatest fears is losing control. if he cares and they lie, he’ll be left powerless. so it’s safer for him to close himself off entirely. he has lost one friend. he refuses to lose another.

second, there’s the certainty in flowey’s mind that he simply cannot reciprocate that caring. why should frisk care about someone who can’t care back? why should anyone? and he hates that feeling of not feeling. he’ll do anything to avoid that. of course he starts killing, of course he starts thinking of people as toys, if he thinks of them as people he has to come to terms with the fact that they are people, that he should care about but can’t. but you don’t have to care about a toy.

in summary, flowey imposes isolation upon himself and refuses to feel.

what about true pacifist, then?

true pacifist is what really give flowey’s arc some closure. because in true pacifist, he opens up a bit. he cares about chara, they’re the one person he’d allow himself to feel for. so it’s fitting that the person he thinks is chara is the one he reveals his identity to. he wouldn’t show anyone else he’s asriel, but chara deserves to know.

and then he shows off for them. not entirely sure why. maybe he feels the need to prove himself to them. prove that he’s not “weak” anymore. that he could kill any number of humans without blinking, if chara wanted him to.

asriel was loyal to a fault, and that loyalty just became greater the more chara faded from a person to an idol. eventually flowey just molded the idea into whatever he thought of it (see post-ruins genocide monologue). they were placed on a pedestal. he didn’t even have to do the placing, monsterkind had that covered already.

chara became a mentality. “kill or be killed.” it’s not some evil mantra. it just means “be strong enough, stop caring enough that you can never be hurt again.” LOVE is a measurement of your ability to inflict pain on others. it’s a measurement of how much you steel your heart against empathy. hp, defense… they both increase when you gain LOVE. you can hurt more. you can get hurt less. and the way to gain it… “kill or be killed.”

the final battle isn’t about defeating some cosmic soul-stealing threat. it’s about helping a lost kid understand that it’s okay to feel.

the souls?

they had nothing to do with it.

[the---hermit]

Not me adding annotations to a book to make it more accessible for my mom when she will read it