#anyway idk what i would've done if it was real

[rorydrawsandwrites]

Now it makes me kind of sad that I probably won't make much art (if any) because my self-insert lore for this was really funny

[thebluebygracieabrams]

on one hand completely ignoring your emotions is soo good for my mental stability and productivity but man i miss staring at the ceiling and listening to sad songs on loop

[nobodybetterlookatme]

As a fellow TA, who does get paid: If they do not pay you, they exploit you. If you work 10+ hour days, they are exploiting you badly.

You do not owe it to future students to work for no pay. Either they pay fairly high tuition and the university should pay you with that, or the institution is funded by the state and they should pay you with that funding. If your department refuses to pay you a decent hourly wage, they do not deserve you.

Wish that were me getting paid 😭 it is a community college tho and not an actual university so maybe things are different idk. And honestly I wouldn't be as upset if I hadn't been told I would be getting paid after a certain amount of time?? Like if they had said it would always be a volunteer position then fine whatever, I just wouldn't have tried so hard and done so much. Like I love being a TA, it beats being out in the field, but at some point the volunteer experience isn't enough, I need a somewhat steady job that pays me 😔

[aangarchy]

Ok but the fact aang is a child. And thinks u have to forgive someone who killed ur family. I bet Monk gyatso and the others were rolling in their graves devastated they can't ever tell Aang the real deal that he would've been told when he got older.

Monk gyatso probably: NO AANG. ITS JUST ABT LETTING GO

Ah, yet another shining example of someone who missed the entire point of the show.

If you think monk Gyatso would be "rolling in his grave" (which he doesn't even have, and i'm pretty sure air nomads don't do graves anyway) to see Aang grant Ozai mercy, you have completely misunderstood what air nomad culture represents. Air is the element of freedom. Yes, it's about letting go, not having any attachments. But not having attachments also means letting go of your feelings of hatred, letting go of grudges, and not letting your feelings consume you. Aang understands that remaining angry and bitter will not bring his people back. All he can do, is try his best to preserve and protect his culture, and part of that culture is an oath of pacifism. Aang choosing to spare Ozai does not mean he forgives him, or his predecessors for what they have done to the world. Instead, he lets go of his anger and hatred towards them so he himself can be free. Maybe eventually Aang will forgive them, but i personally don't believe it's then and there.

If anything, monk Gyatso would be proud of the decision Aang made in the end. It's the ultimate middle finger to the fire nation to show that they failed at destroying the air nation. Aang is not only a symbol of hope for the other remaining nations to end the war, but also for his own culture to prevail, and keep existing in whatever limited form Aang can preserve.

I think what you're referring to is TSR, with "thinks u have to forgive someone who killed ur family", when he tried to teach Katara about letting go and forgiving. Aang wasn't doing that bc he's against Katara getting justice. If anything, he agreed Katara needed to face Yon Rah for her own closure. But he's not trying to teach Katara forgiveness so he can save Yon Rah, he's doing it so he can save Katara. He knew that if Katara went through with this she'd get consumed by hate and anger for the rest of her life. Zuko even admitted in the end that Aang was right about what Katara needed, and it wasn't killing her mother's killer. And Katara did end up forgiving someone at the end of the episode, namely Zuko. Katara still learned and accepted Aang's lesson by the end, when at first she insisted forgiveness was impossible.

Also I think you're forgetting that Air nomads swear a non violence oath. Gyatso swore this oath as well. So again, idk where you're getting this idea that Gyatso would be "rolling in his grave" to see Aang stick to this oath.

[vesna-v-irkutske]

im not talking about the murders or who's really at fault, just about how it looked for artyom and the court overall. like, you're trying to be more careful, don't appear on cam, it's not your cam, only for it all to be ignored cause one-year age gap. and now you're rotting forever, while nikita would've been free after like 20 fucking years. its so dumb. he got a fucking life sentence only cause made mistake of befriending one braincell who just left the most significant evidence and fucking forgot about it. idk how much wind you need in your brain to do this. i wouldn't have done the same as artyom, but like fucking even more, why should it suddenly matter. i bet artyom felt sad about his death only cause wasn’t the one who did it. an even retarded thing is nikita's attempt to give himself a life sentence. like, what the fuck, if you're so lucky in life, just calm the fuck down and forget about artyom. moralfaggotrie is last thing you need in prison imo.

I completely understand what you're trying to say. But I think sometimes we get too carried away with our "sympathy for the devil" and forget that real people have been harmed. Yes, they got caught because of a small thing. But maybe it was a good thing. That the woman on the video was their last victim. Because they weren't gonna stop. They were looking for another one the same evening they were caught. × Nikita didn't hide the evidence because he knew his mom wouldn't check. It took 2 more people (his grandmother and uncle) to make something happen. They would have been caught sooner or later anyway, because they weren't careful. × Artyom even sent the video to his online friend, and he distributed it. They talked to the victims. Participated in their own search parties (200 ICQ). Artyom trolled these people. He even clarified under one of the posts that nuh-huh, the man killed near his house wasn't old, he was middle-aged. And Artyom suggested his buddies to try to kill someone for "training". Someone on the internet made a map of attacks, and Nikita copied it. He also made a list of victims. Yeah, the sneakiest people on Earth. Artyom would have received a life sentence anyway. We can talk all we want about how strange it is that a small age gap could make such a BIG difference, but that's the law, it has to draw the line somewhere. And a couple of victims asked for a more severe punishment for Nikita, but nothing happened. Ultimately, none of this matters anymore.

× P. S. As for what Nikita did (his attack on another prisoner and "suicide"), I think it's much more complicated. In my opinion, it was a desperate attempt to be ANYWHERE but where he was, because he was having an EXTREMELY hard time. And maybe a couple of other factors. This is all alleged, of course, we don't know the truth and never will. I just think that what REALLY happened does NOT fully match what they want us to believe, something's being kept from us.

[bikananjarrus]

i think my biggest critique of the first arc was the ferrix crew storyline. i didn't really feel like we spent enough time with them, and on a personal level with the characters (namely bix, brasso, and wilmon, less about cassian in this case), where they are now, how they feel about that, i felt like it was missing something.

(quick disclaimer that i've only watched the episodes once; my opinion might change upon a rewatch and upon seeing the rest of the season, but for now this is my first-viewing takeaway.)

it felt a bit like the writing sacrificed getting deep and personal with our ferrixians in exchange for pushing the discussion about them being illegal workers/immigration/etc. we've obviously got some very real world parallels with the discussions around illegal workers, and important discussions at that, but it would have been nice to hear from bix, brasso, and wilmon how they feel about being forced to leave ferrix. what does it mean for them to live somewhere that's not their home? it would've been nice to hear them mention jezzi or any of the other ferrixians, and how they wish they could speak with someone back home to see how things are. i think the serious topic of immigration and illegal work would've hit harder if we'd gotten to see first-hand how these displaced characters are feeling.

i also wish we had gotten to see the three of them (four counting bee) interact with each other more, especially in the lead up to brasso's death. again, i felt like we sacrificed seeing the bond that bix, brasso, and wil have with each other to make room for them interacting with new characters, namely talia and beela. (nothing against her) but i didn't really see the point to talia's character, other than having a friendly face to leave bee with at the end (even though they could've left him with beela). this show has done an incredible job in the past at making me care about a brand new character in about 2 minutes flat (see even the beginning of 2x01 with niya's introduction), but i don't think that thought and care was put into talia. i didn't get a sense of her personality at all, and it felt like she was just there to be there. they could've still had her there, and just made her friends with the ferrix crew. but i didn't really get much out of her and brasso being an item. (i actually thought brasso's friendship with kellen had more depth, so we could've just focused on that instead, if they wanted to establish that the ferrix crew had a foothold in the community.)

beela had only a bit more personality, but not much. i think the connection between her and wilmon could have been more interesting, and could have had more depth, even in a short amount of time. if we'd gotten a better chance to understand why wilmon is drawn to her and her to him, it would've made him running off to her when they're getting ready to leave more understandable. and then the consequences of him leaving to see her, causing brasso to go after him and get caught in the stormtroopers' crossfire, would have hit harder.

and as for brasso's death, i predicted that he would die in this first arc, so that wasn't surprising. but it was a real blink and you miss it death, which felt a little odd. (*i* missed it anyway; idk about anyone else, but i didn't even realize he'd gotten hit until cassian saw his speeder crashed and smoking.) we've had very quick sudden deaths before (look at most of the aldhani crew) but this felt so distant compared to how beloved brasso is. and considering that we didn't get that much screen time with him before it happened, i really was just left wishing for something more from the whole ferrix crew's storyline before they lost brasso.

i hope we get to talk about brasso and ferrix more in future episodes, since bix and wilmon (and cassian, of course) are still around. but it does make me a little nervous about these year-long time jumps.

[anacamofficial]

First Non Rec Fic

Alone Again

cw: smut, p in v, unprotected sex, creampie?, lmk if there's anything else idk about

background: you and rafe cameron had a fling last summer but it came to and end when you started school again. now its summer again and your having a sleepover with your best friend sarah cameron

you and sarah were in the kitchen baking cookies for your movie night when she realized you guys didn't have any more popcorn or your favorite drinks.

"hey i'm gonna go get some popcorn from the store real quick k y/n?" she asked, grabbing her keys.

"okay sarah, i'll take out the cookies when they're done." you answered back, knowing she didn't invite you because you would've said no anyway.

sarah left and you leaned forward against the kitchen counter, scrolling on your phone as rafe entered the kitchen. you guys didn't end on bad terms but it was definitely awkward on your side because of the feelings you still had for him.

"hey rafe" you said, not looking up from your phone but knowing it was him because he was the only other person at tannyhill tonight.

"hey princess" he replied, a smirk creeping up the corners of his lips. he knew that was your favorite nickname from him and that it would definitely catch your attention.

you looked up from your phone at him, a gentle blush heating up your cheeks when you saw him standing in front of you shirtless. he grinned as he watched you get all nervous, catching you not so subtly looking at his muscles.

"princess? been a while since i've heard that one." you stated, rolling your eyes and trying to hide the longing for him.

"well its been a while since you've been around y/n" he rebutted, grabbing a beer out of the fridge.

"been busy" you replied, shrugging and looking back down at your phone.

rafe walked closer to you, "busy with what? boys?" he questioned just low enough for you to hear as his lips brushed past your ear. you were now facing towards him and his hands were on the counter on either side of you, pinning you in.

"why? jealous rafey?" you asked teasingly, trying to hide the blush creeping onto your cheeks again.

"of anyone who gets to see THAT body," he said looking you up and down with lustful eyes, "always." he whispered into your ear, lowering his face to kiss your neck.

"rafe-" you breathed out barely holding back a moan.

"come on y/n, don't tell me you haven't missed me. i definitely missed you" he said moving one hand off the counter and onto your waist, pulling you into him. he kissed your neck again, moving up to that sweet spot just under your ear, your jaw and then finally capturing your lips in a longing kiss.

"of course i missed you rafe, i never even wanted to break up" you said, pulling away from the kiss just long enough to get it out before meeting your lips to his once again.

he pulled you up with ease so you were now sitting on the kitchen counter, legs wrapped around his waist and his arms around yours. your hands tangled in his hair as the kiss deepened, his tongue slipping its way into your mouth.

he gently broke off the kiss, lips moving to your neck to leave small marks you knew you'd have to explain to Sarah when she got back but you didn't care. one of his hands slipped from your waist down to grip your ass, pulling you in closer if even possible the other hand sliding up your thigh.

"r-rafe, wait," you stuttered out. he pulled back immediately, "what y/n is everything okay? did I do something?" he asked worriedly, looking at you. "no you're perfect just we can't do this right here" you said motioning to the kitchen counter. "yeah yeah right" he replied, shaking his head and backing up to let you get down. "one more thing" you muttered, walking over to get the cookies out of the oven and setting them down to cool on the counter. "okay now i'm ready" you grinned and he sweeper you up, carrying you up the stairs and into his room.

He laid you down on the bed climbing on top of you and peppering kisses all along your neck and jaw as one of his hands worked to get off his belt. You reached down to help him get off his own pants and yours and he released his lips from your neck just long enough to get both of your shirts off.

pulling you into a passionate kiss his tongue slid past your lips needing to taste you and his hand slid under you to unclassified your bra, he took it off and threw it to the floor with the rest of the clothes. You fidgeted clumsily with his boxers to get them off his hard on springing up to hit his toned abs and he slid off your lacy panties.

He reached down to grip his length in his hands and teased your slick folds with his tip that was already dripping precum. "this wet for me princess?" he smirked down at you "i knew you missed me" he groaned into your ear as he pushed some of his length into you with no warning.

"F-fuck rafe oh my-" you moaned out at the sudden feeling of his thick cock stretching you out. He continued to thrust into you slowly, bottoming out, and remaining still for a few seconds to let you adjust to him. "Damn baby, you're tighter than before. Really must not be getting any good dick" he mutters against your skin.

"Shit rafe," you gasped as he started to pull out and thrust into you slowly picking up speed "I've missed the way you fill me up". he groans and kisses you "keep talking like that and I might just give you a baby y/n" he manages in between moans and kisses. You moan his name loudly as he increases his speed even more, hitting that sweet spot inside of you.

"mm rafe please," you practically whisper barely able to speak from how much pleasure your in "I'm on the pill". He reaches a hand down to rub tight circles over your clit as he pounds into you. "Fuck y/n I'm so close" he groans, thrust growing slipped as he plants messy kisses along your jaw. you moan loudly "r-rafe me too" you push out as your hips buck up to meet his thrusts, deepening both of the two of yous pleasure.

Hes now thrusting into you full force, hitting your cervix with each thrust and you both are moaning messes. You both reach your high in sync and continue to ride out your highs neither of you wanting the feeling to end but knowing there isn't time for a second round today. "Damn princess, I missed you so much" he mumbles, pulling out of you and planting a kiss on your forehead. "I missed you too rafey" you whisper back.

He gets up and throws back on his boxers handing you your shorts to put back on but his shirt instead. "Not gonna be able to resist if you put that tight little top back on". You laugh and pull his shirt over your head, the two of you walking back into the kitchen just as Sarah opened the front door. She looked you up and down noticing the little marks on your neck and her brothers shirt on your body. "really y/n? gross." She rolled her eyes, teasing you but smiling.

Rafe kissed your cheek and went back upstairs. "Sorry?" You offered up blushing slightly and giggling at sarah. "Don't be," she laughed along with you "if you're happy I'm happy"

A/N: finally finished this hope y'all enjoy @rafeysbangs

[carlyraejepsans]

mind if i get sappy both negatively and positively for a sec?

if you've been following me for a while you'll remember just last year when i was still in highschool and i was so, so lonely and this blog was getting more popular than i meant for it to be. i was a wreck. i had straight up nightmares about hypothetical call outs and people taking my words out of context to turn people against me and that I'd lose the few people i genuinely thought of as friends. i used to go over my old posts deleting them and obsessively editing the wording when i felt it could be twisted to mean something else. even worrying that the fact they COULD have a double meaning meant i was secretly a horrible person in some sick freudian sense. not a good time to have moral OCD! or anon asks open, lmfao.

and i look at my past self now, after my biggest fear realized so many times it's now a monthly annoyance at worst and well. of course i did. i had no one else! that was the extent of my friendships at the time. the people i met and came to love online were the only place i felt truly safe to be myself around without having to fight for my right to be respected or putting on a persona.

but guess what? that's not the case anymore. I'm out of my parents' house, i have authority over my own decisions and presentation, i have friends at school (real friends! more than I've ever had simultaneously in my life!) that enjoy my company in person and include me in the things they do, fully respecting my chosen name and identity as a trans person. i have a queer community to share my burdens and my joys with, i am finally, finally getting started on HRT which is a dream I thought I'd never reach... and guess what. even my online friends didn't give a fuck. i was so paranoid about being alone again that i forgot to consider that they... also care about me, just like i care about them. that they're not gonna dump me out of nowhere because some random asshole decided i was their parasocial nemesis of the week, and if they had doubts or questions wbout something, we could discuss it in private and either agree or agree to disagree on friendly terms.

idk I'm just doing the best I've ever done in my life. this period of my life is perhaps the first time I've ever felt like a complete and whole person. it gets me a little tender hearted looking back and seeing how much I've grown since the time "something like this" would've been world ending.

anyway if any of this rings familiar to you, know I'm proud of you as well. in the way you've grown AND in the way you will grow, given time. hold the line, soldier. things get getter. that's a promise.

[slight-gaming-addict]

Hello! Can I please request for prompt 6 one shot with Idia x reader please? Idk if I’m doing this right so please ignore this if I am

~ you're unaware of the past inhabitant still living in your newly bought house ~

pairing: idia shroud x gn!reader

warnings: mentions of a dead body and blood, supernatural elements, gunshot wound, possible grammar errors, probably more warnings

word count: 1.4k

event masterlist | main masterlist | ko-fi

ʜᴀᴜɴᴛᴇᴅ

Everyone you know called you crazy for even thinking of getting a house like this. The cursed house that hasn't had a single owner keep the house for more than a month before it was back on the market again. The real estate agent was ecstatic as she led you through the house after your interest in it, showing you each and every thing that's been done to it over the last year that it's been on the market to try and attract new buyers.

With all the new modern renovations that have been done, you would've thought that it would be at least double the price than it was, and you soon learned why it was so cheap on the market.

Some years ago there was apparently a gruesome murder of a young man that happened in the house, and it's never been the same ever since. Every single person that's stayed in this house has left as quickly as they arrived, claiming that they'd awake to things being thrown around the house and voices echoing throughout making it known that they were not wanted there.

You've never really had a paranormal experience before, but you'd be lying if you weren't the slightest bit curious if the stories about the house are true. You don't have another option anyway, the house being the only place in the neighborhood that's in your budget, and you don't really see the appeal of sleeping in your car.

The real estate agent is practically bouncing on her feet as you officially sign the deed to the house as well as the check for the down payment that you still feel should have been higher, but you're not going to complain.

A couple of weeks later, you have practically everything unpacked—not that you had much—and are settling into the house nicely. You haven't had anything that they said has happened in the house happen to you, so you figured the rumors were just that, rumors.

It isn't until late one night that something happens. You're rinsing off a dish in the sink when a mug that sits next to you on the counter suddenly falls off and shatters to the ground.

You jump, dropping the dish you had in your hand into the sink. You look down at the smashed pieces on the floor next to your feet and take a step away from the glass. Looking around the room, you see nothing out of place that would cause it to happen, and you didn't think it was that close to the edge of the counter, but after a couple minutes of contemplating how it happened, the only reason you come up with is you accidentally bumping it, even though you don't remember doing it.

The next day, you're back in the kitchen making breakfast when the blender suddenly starts from across the room. You jump once again at the sudden noise, turning around from what you're doing. You walk up to the blender with confusion, not even remembering plugging it in. Trying to turn it off, you hit the power button, but the blender continues to whirl. You hit all the buttons, but nothing seems to turn it off. Eventually, you reach behind it and yank the power cord out of the wall, letting the blender finally come to a stop to plunge the room into a sudden silence.

You shake your head, trying to rationalize it, but not knowing how. You guess faulty wiring could come into play, though it's not that likely it's the only excuse you have. Your mind wanders to the rumors of the house and the reasoning why countless other people have left previously, but you don't have a choice right now, needing somewhere to live. You just hope you don't regret the decision to stay later down the line.

A week passes and small things keep happening around the house, things being knocked off counters, lights turning off as soon as you flip them on, and furniture being shifted from its position. The thought of leaving crosses your mind a couple of times, but all the things that happen seem so minor that you don't feel like you're in any real danger.

It isn't until one night that it changes. You're walking into your bedroom from the bathroom, getting ready to go to bed when you hear a low voice emitting from the corner of the room.

"Why won't you just leave?" Your heart jumps into your throat as you turn to face the noise, letting out a small scream as you see a figure in the corner.

Idia lets out a small scream similar to yours when he realizes that you can actually see him in the room. "You can see me?" He asks in disbelief as you push yourself against the opposite wall with wide eyes.

"How did you get in here?" You say, his questions not even registering in your mind that's completely scrambled at the moment. You would have probably recognized him from the images online from all of the articles about the house if you weren't too busy thinking someone broke into your house.

"Hey, wait-" He tries to speak, but you're preoccupied with grabbing the first thing you can and swinging it directly at him. You watch the object phase right through him and hit the wall behind him before dropping to the ground. Your eyes widen as a puff of light smoke covers the area where he just was before dissipating completely.

"What the-" Your eyebrows crease in confusion, looking at the now empty spot where the person just was.

"I'd appreciate if you didn't throw things at me." His voice sounds from next to you this time causing your body to jump and spin around, finding him standing next to your bathroom door this time.

"How did you-" You look back at the spot he just was in wonder as to how he got across the room without you seeing him. Looking towards the person once again is when his appearance finally clicks into your brain. "You're Idia..." As soon as the words leave your mouth, he's groaning out in annoyance.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm the poor guy who was murdered in his own home because he couldn't hear the intruder walking into his room from his stupid noise-canceling headphones." You just stare at him, trying to process the information of you physically speaking to someone who's not alive.

"But, how are you here?" You ask, your voice quiet as if you're scared of scaring him off.

"I wish I knew." He sighs out folding his arms over his chest in almost a defensive position. The last thing Idia remembers was sitting in front of his computer, ready to drown out the world around him and finally use his noise-canceling headphones when suddenly everything went dark.

He didn't hear the person breaking in through the headphones and the next thing he knew, he was staring down at the scene in front of him. His body was lying face down on the keyboard, blood dripping down onto the floor from the gunshot wound in his head, and even from seeing all that, he was the most upset about his brand new headphones getting blood all over them, and the very expensive keyboard getting completely ruined.

He's been wandering around the house ever since, watching the police come in and do their investigation, and the first people to move in since the incident. He didn't even mean to do it at first, but he knocked a painting off the wall when he saw them get settled in what was once his room. He saw their reaction and figured he could continue to move and knock things over, trying, and succeeding to run them out of the house.

He'd do it for every single person that would move into the house, working flawlessly, until you that is. He's not even sure how you're able to see him, no one else could.

"You're the reason why no one's been able to stay in the house." You say, everything starting to come together in your mind, like seeing a ghost, or spirit, or whatever you'd call it, standing right in front of you is an everyday occurrence.

"Yeah, well they were loud. Especially the ones with a newborn, it was like a screaming fest in here, I couldn't even hear myself think." Idia speaks out in a small huff.

"You realize every time you scare someone off you're just going to have to deal with more people coming in to check out the place." You say, looking at him expectedly.

Idia opens his mouth like he wants to say something, but then closes it again.

"Fine," he says after a few seconds.

"So I can stay?" You ask with a small smile. Idia just sighs out before disappearing through another light mist. You're taking that as a yes.

⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘⫘

buy me a coffee ♡

[bizarrelittlemew]

Hello, I’ve been unable to watch the NYCC panel but I see everywhere that is was awful and weird?!?! What actually happened ? Could you make a little recap for people like me who didn’t get to see it? Thank you!

I'll try my best ✌️ this is just the impression I got though (and sorry this got long lmao)

it was awkward because they weren't allowed to talk about ofmd, which made the whole thing seem more and more ridiculous as it went on. in addition, they had to do a sort of game where they were asked questions like "who is the most likely to do [x]" and then write a name on a board and reveal it at the same time. this could've been fine for maybe 10 minutes but they had them do it for the whole hour.

the issues with this game were that 1) the questions were very "generic corporate ice breaker questions", 2) they spent a lot of time in silence writing down, and 3) when a question finally did lead to stories or conversation, it was quickly shut down in order to move on to the next boring question and writing in silence.

they could've asked them about non-struck work (Rhys even brought up the books he's written several times and it wasn't followed up on), they could've collected and vetted fan questions beforehand, they could've just let them talk idk, they could've found a more fun game or ditched the boards (one of my fav moments was Rhys saying something like "I have a mic, why do I have to write it down?" honestly this would've made it 25% less boring lmao).

adding to that, there were sound issues meaning that Con and Rhys couldn't hear what was going on a lot of the time. Rhys said it again and again and nothing was done about it.

you could just tell how frustrated they all were and what this panel could have been if not for the shitty studios refusing a fair deal for the actors. I think the cast did what they could, and there were some sweet and funny moments. but it was clear that Rhys was pissed about not being able to talk about what they all wanted to talk about (I felt bad for everyone but especially for him).

they did a whole "ha ha we were all in New Zealand at the same time what a coincidence" thing and Rhys said that (paraphrased) if only they could be paid fairly, they could create something great with all the talent in the room, going off on the studios for a bit. it was honestly a bit of a relief for someone to voice it (to me, it felt like someone had to say something lmao and he did).

in the end they got a question about fantasy worlds. Rhys said he already lived in a fantasy world in his head and it was nice, though this was one of the odder moments. Matt and Nathan basically agreed and said it was all very weird (in different words). Rhys then said fantasy worlds are important because the real world is shit right now and there's no denying it; that in fantasy worlds we can all love each other and use kindness; and it's important to keep creating and believing in them until the real world becomes like that too.

and then he said "goodnight" (= "fuck this shit I'm out"), got up, put on his sunglasses, and started beat-boxing and rapping saying "why can't we talk about the show". their time had run out anyway, he said it had certainly been an experience, that he couldn't hear much of what was going on, and they all thanked the audience and it ended ✌️

anyway this is just my take and I hope SAG-AFTRA get a fair deal soon so the cast can celebrate the show with us like they so clearly want to. I also hope Matthew Maher does more panels after this (it was his first I think!) despite it being such a weird experience because he was great to watch!! anyway they're all happily doing photo ops and autographs now I guess 🤸

(if you want to watch there is a way)

[truffle-worm]

Now that I’ve finally read Night of the Nindroids I've decided to make a little analysis on the way Zane is portrayed in that comic. I know it technically isn’t canon but I just found it so interesting, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Spoilers up ahead!

The comic starts off with the ninja telling each other jokes. Frustrated with Zane’s lack of humor, Jay makes a somewhat rude comment towards him and then immediately apologizes. What really stuck out to me is how Zane responded. He said “I am not sure I have feelings to be hurt”, which tells me that Zane himself seems to doubt his own personhood.

Next night, Zane gets caught by the Nindroids and faces the Overlord. The Overlord rhetorically asks him what he’s afraid of, immediately following by a statement that Zane is incapable of feeling anything. Not love, not hate, not fear. Everything he ever experienced has been an imitation of real feelings. He's only a robot. The Overlord uses extremely manipulative language in order to make his offer sound more tempting. That offer being: turning Zane human. Transferring his mind to one of his friends’ bodies and killing them in the process. Zane of course rejects that idea, but the Overlord continues to push, pointing out how he’ll never be like his friends, how he’ll never truly understand them. Zane fled, but the narrator points out that those words really stuck in his head. 

Next day, Zane asks Cole about doubts and fears and Cole responds, saying that pretty much everyone has those and that Zane is lucky he doesn’t have to worry about them. Zane hesitantly agrees, though you can see by his face that he’s clearly bothered. Honestly this conversation characterizes Cole in a weird way imo, almost like he’s denying Zane’s feelings? I know Cole acted way different in early seasons and this comic is very old but even then it feels a bit out of character? Idk just my opinion.

Now, Zane does end up taking the Overlord’s offer, choosing Kai’s body as his future vessel, but it’s later revealed that he only pretended to betray his friends. In reality, Zane and the ninja hatched an elaborate plan together to take down the Nindroid army. They pretended to have a serious fight and then they pretended to be defeated by Zane. Honestly I wish we got to see a flashback of that conversation. I mean, in order for them to hatch that plan, Zane would’ve had to reveal the Overlord’s offer and therefore expose his deepest insecurities, which would've inevitably lead to a serious conversation about the way he viewed himself in relation to others. It’s a shame we didn’t get that, it could’ve been really interesting.

Now, Zane didn’t tell the ninja the full extent of his plan (I’m assuming it’s because he was constantly being watched by nindroids) but in order for it to work, Kai had to get really close to losing his life. It was a pretty reckless plan and at one point Zane even marked how he was unsure about whether it would even work. I think it could’ve been interesting if Kai held a bit of a grudge towards Zane afterwards, but then again, this story is about trusting your friends so I understand why he didn’t.

In the end though, Nya helped save the ninja, revealing that Zane had asked her for help. To keep it secret from the nindroids, Zane used a code that him and Nya had created together one time. I think it’s sweet how they have their own code. I love their duo.

Anyways, when Zane triple-crossed the Overlord, the Overlord started yelling about how Zane had forfeited his chance at humanity, to which he responded with “If I had done what you asked, I might have had a human body, but I would have been far from human”, which might be one of my favorite Zane lines. It's powerful. It’s a stark contrast from the beginning of the comic, when he seemed to question his personhood and the reality of his feelings. Now he’s confident about them. Because he knows he cares about his friends. And no matter whether he’s a machine or not, they will always have his back. And he will always have theirs.

Overall, Night of the Nindroids wasn’t perfect, but I still find their portrayal of Zane pretty compelling. The comic dove down some pretty interesting topics regarding his insecurities, which is something I wish was more elaborated on in the show. I also wish the comic gave us a heartfelt moment between him and the ninja, where he reveals his insecurities to his friends and they give him reassurance, as I think that would really cement their mutual trust.

If you think I’ve missed something, feel free to add on.

[thekirammanjinx]

idk if you wanna get rambling asks abt arcane so if not im so sorry pls ignore me but im throwin hands with the next person to call caitlyn a fascist LKJFKJLKFJKFJF like,,,, im sorry but u completely ignored how she didnt want the power and how she didnt want things to continue, she literally says the police state has gone on months longer than she ever wanted and LITERALLY the worst thing cait does is,,,, before she's even in power LKJFLKJFKLJF like the use of the grey i the worst thing she does, every other pressure of power is done,,,, by ambessa with caitlyn following at the start but very obviously already working to get out of her grief following her when act 2 starts lkgdkjdsglkjdsg like even when shes in her evil era, shes reforming the prison, shes trying to keep the peace, shes only lashing out when her grief is spun about by jinx and tht is constantly happening bcuz shes become the face of the revolution and Ambessa is constantly manipulating her to stoke the flames of her rage dglkjsldkjglksjgd even at her WORST, cait tried her best to mitigate deaths, to remove only those connected to jinx, and wanted to press for the release of the police state to try and calm the people,,,,, and then when she does give up her power, she literally HANDS IT TO SEVIKA to give her seat on the council, loses an EYE to protect her people, and is probably lauded as a war hero, which is why she won't be investigated like my girl was never a full blown fascist dictator, she was literally trying to wear the mantle her mother left behind her, literally shown in the scenes where she dons the cape, trying to be the person she had to be as a leader in the council where she has to be someone other than herself, something shes always loathed about topside, and she hated it, hated herself, the entire fucking time lgkjksjgdlkjgd i'm not excusing her actions, she fucked up and she will probably spend the rest of her life atoning bcuz thats just who she is but like the lack of nuanced thought when it comes to caitlyn in this fandom is so wild, esp since shes a narrative foil to jinx and so many people love jinx

This got long, ofc, thank you for the discussion anon:

Its like when people call her "kkkiramman" like nothing she did or believed ever aligned with the extremity of that hate group. She definitely became less sympathetic and understanding and colder, but she never full on hated zaun in it's entirety. We can still visibly see her reservations. She did have her hand and role to play but to believe she in anyway compares is absolute blasphemous.

We can hold caitlyn accountable without being god awful extremist about it.

People want to throw alot of buzz words around. But let's be for real for a moment and talk about how ambessa utilized and took advantage of caitlyn's grief to groom her into this person who would write off ambessa war crimes. The way ambessa continued to twist the knife and dangle jinx like a carrot in front of Cait.

Ambess orchestrating the attack on the memorial was the first match lit. Like she did not give a single fuck the collateral to get what she wanted. She took someone she could manipulate in her conquest to start a war so piltover would be forced to make the weapons she desired.

When we see Caitlyn waver in front of ambessa "the sword cuts both ways" ambessa is quick with her trained manipulation. Always coaxing the flames of caitlyn's hatred for jinx. Making sure that she can't even begin to consider if it would be worth it in the end. But also ambessa brought her this far so backing out now would've felt like a waste. Truly a defeat. She would've pushed vi away for nothing, in her mind.

Caitlyn is not absolved of her crimes. She literally says this herself?! Hello people. But people who write her off as irredeemable make my head spin.

If you think saying "she grew up privileged and had the luxury of grieving" suddenly makes every emotion in her go away then maybe you shouldn't be watching any shows or consuming media. Like the class war between piltover and zaun is very important but that's not what the take away is supposed to be and so many people miss that. Everyone wants to think they're truly fighting some irl classist war when they dont extend any nuance to Cait.

"She faced one death and couldn't handle it" girl she faced one murder, by jinx that she believes she could've prevented. She faced being abducted from her own bathroom by jinx. Like jinx truly terrorized her, yall expected her not to see red when it came to jinx. Maybe if they added little squiggly and distortions people would get the message that she was traumatized by jinx.

If this were any other show "the mental illness made them do it" would not be a write off for jinx.

I guess it's fine if silco and jinx terrorize their own people in zaun because they're on the same class level?

I love jinx but I wish people would look at her critically. Look at why she's such an interesting character. Jinx and Caitlyn are so much foils but people don't get that. Caitlyn is really wearing the crimes of every enforcer on her shoulder, at this point I wouldn't be surprised if fandom personally blamed her for killing vi parents.

I think we always saw that caitlyn was never too far gone which made every complacency hurt more. Wanting for her to wake up from her blinded rage that had her being ambessa accomplice, so to speak, so to say she is irredeemable... i cannot.

Someone will misread this and think I'm not holding caitlyn accountable or that I'm dismissing her actions. Which I'm not.

[wereh0gz]

Have a surprising amount of thoughts on this year's annual

Kinda love how surge and kit's "redemption arc" isn't going down the path of true redemption (yet) but is instead having them want to be heroes for entirely selfish reasons and double down on wanting to kill sonic and tails. They're still not realizing their issues and in fact seem to be getting WORSE now. The writers could've easily gone with them starting to be good for real at this point (though it would've felt kinda rushed imo) but instead they're making it clear that surge and kit still have a long way to go and I really appreciate that

Knuckles' story is genuinely so sweet. Like I think ppl often interpret him as having some level of resentment towards his duty as guardian of the master emerald (I did at some point) but the way he sees it as being part of the reason he met all his friends and went on all of his adventures is so nice. Also sonic and knuckles interactions <3

And mimic. Idk if I can properly put into words what I think abt his story other than it's intriguing. A look into his psyche was not something I was expecting but it's incredibly cool. Also seeing the old diamond cutters while they were still alive, seeing them be silly and having fun and whisper especially be so happy kinda hurts after everything mimic did. It's just. Augh....

Also. Anyone else find it kinda weird that the first two stories take place after issues that haven't come out yet? Like they don't outright spoil much of anything but I don't think they've done that before? It's an interesting way to tell the stories considering now they won't be able to place the whole annual with one specific saga unlike the other annuals and mini series. Idk how to feel abt that as a writing decision too like maybe these stories could've been saved for later? Idk anyways comic good

[howlsmovinglibrary]

how do you survive writing a thesis? my dissertation is due in three weeks and i am losing sleep and also my mind trying to make sure everything is spick and span and going to require as little editing from my committee as possible

Oh my God, this is a question.

How do you survive writing a thesis? When you're three weeks away from the deadline and REALLLLY in it??

Honestly anon, you get up every day, and you do what you can. You accept the comments/feedback you can action this late in the game, and which ones you really can't - which ones are essential, which ones are the nice to haves, and which ones are unrealistic. Which ones are said by your supervisor without them really meaning it, and which ones genuinely won't make a difference to your fucking thesis. And then, you gleefully start deleting everything that isn't essential from your brain and, if necessary, your document. Because now, finally, you truly do not have time.

I'll be real with you, anon, and give you the advice I would give to my past self, that I also know my past self wouldn't ever, ever listen to. I also aimed for no (or as few) corrections (as possible). I didn't want to work on my thesis anymore either. I didn't want to have to edit it. This made it hurt all the fucking more, when I got them and had to do it anyway. I also got minor corrections which..... wooooo!, but it also meant I had less fucking time to do them in, even though it was still work. Almost made me wish I'd gotten major and given myself time (although I'll be real, this probably would've sucked too).

Idk if you're UK or US or European or elsewhere, so your experience and the rules of your institution may definitely differ from mine, but I think the way you get through submission is by accepting This Isn't The Final Draft, no matter how much it absolutely feels like one. Your final draft is the one where, for better or worse, you've been examined and gotten that committee input. Stop imagining the feedback you're heading off at the pass, and instead embrace knowing that the feedback you may or may not get from your committee will in fact set the goalposts for the actual endpoint, and that this really isn't it. Idk if this is helpful, but I too worked slavishly to try and avoid ever having to look at my project again, and then got really bitter when I didnt magically stop any of that from happening, because ultimately, I'm not the person who controls that. I can't see what is or isn't perfect in my project, this late in the game - that's what those fresh eyes are for, and you unfortunately cannot escape them.

I realise I'm telling another fellow academic achiever to forego perfectionism. I realise the futility in that. But honestly? My corrections, to this day, strike me as stupid. There was nothing I could've done in my final draft or my viva to avoid them, which tells me it's extremely unlikely (at least in the UK) to come out with no corrections. This is quite freeing in hindsight, bc if I'd known, I wouldn't have tried so fucking hard to get no corrections in the first place.

If your work is already at no corrections territory, you're there. And if you're not, no panic or magical last minute ass pull at this stage is going to get you there. Horrible, right? But again, also very freeing. Just proofread what you can proofread, format what you can format, get yourself under the wordcount... and then try your best to let it go. This end isn't the end, even if you really badly want it to be.

As for how you survive (less brutal harsh truth version), please just fucking look after yourself!!! The Final Parts of thesis writing are like a really shitty, protracted labour, and this is one of the contractions. It will be painful, but it will end. In three *and a bit* weeks, you won't be here anymore. With this knowledge under your belt, endure what you can, but also accept your limits and make sure it's not only just endurance. Give yourself little treats. Eat a fuck tonne of comfort food. Make sure you do, in fact, get some sleep (full disclosure, I got sleeping tablets prescribed). Touch some grass at some point in the day. Please, don't run yourself into the ground, bc the end of a thesis is a marathon NOT a sprint.

Wishing you genuinely, all the best of luck!!! Xxx

[gigigle]

I really hate how ursa is done in the comics idk

Like I'm done with the arranged marriage and her and ikem but I hate the other stuff.

1. Her and azula

I kinda wish they made her and azulas relationship more complex and nuanced instead of it being that ursa loved her all along and never favored zuko

Because I just think that's a little lazy. I feel like if ursa had favored zuko it would've made sense like if we keep the ikem part of all of it then I think it would be interesting that ursa favored zuko because he reminded her of her past and ikem. Also that with zuko she could at least pretend he wasn't ozais.

But with azula she couldn't pretend at all. And then coupled that with the fact that azula had a spark in her eyes that zuko didn't and she saw how ozai reacted to that and how he treated zuko that she would feel like she would need to protect him even more. I think it would be an interesting thing if zuko reminded her of her old life while azula reminded her of her present life.

And that would cause a rift between them. And then we would have azula acting out for her mothers attention and acting more and more similar to ozai which would just further increase the rift. Because ursa would struggle to separate her daughter from her abuser like she can with zuko. Especially since azula would also spend most of her time learning from ozai and listening to him.

Im also not saying she would a horrible mother either. Because I think even with this scenario that she is still nuanced because she got forced into a situation she would have never chosen and is just trying to get through it day by day. I think it would be that like ursa, azula was just a casualty of azulon and especially of ozai. Because had ozai not been there I think she would have been a much better mother.

Like idk I just feel like with how the comics wrote ursa and ozais relationship this would make even more sense than her being just a slightly flawed mother but she was trying her best. Idk I'm not very articulate.

2. The forgetting thing

It sucks. I hate it so much actually. It's just so bad, like I feel like the writer couldn't think of anyway to make it make sense that ursa would never go back to her kids but tbh I can think of some ways.

Like ursa is definitely terrified of ozai and he knows where she went and she would still go back to her hometown.

So maybe ozai knows this and every now and then he sends soldiers around there to just do a bit of patrol maybe even have them raid her parents house as a way of telling ursa that if she does something her parents and ikem are gonna be the price. Which I think would work.

Also I think with azula and zuko that she just kept telling herself that zuko had Iroh and that azula was ozais favorite. She probably just repeated those constantly like how zuko does with azula always lies. And soon after like a year she believed it.

Also I think she wouldn't get any information on them because ozai would make it harder and like we see in canon not that many know of or recognize azula and zuko. Like in the beach episode kids who seem to have noble parents don't even know about them so I think it would make a lot of sense that the royal family is way way way more private esp during ozais reign. Because yk ozai killed his father,stole his brothers birthright, and In ozais opinion had a failure of a first born. And maybe ursa was also too terrified of what shed find out or just to leave hir'a/her hometown.

Also part of me thinks it was lazy writing so that they wouldn't have to have ursa have difficult conversations about why she never went looking for them or just a conversation with azula because we never actually get a real ursa and azula convo.

3. Kiyi

I hate her. Like she just feels like such a a replacement and lazy writing. Like they wanted zuko to have a healthy brother sister dynamic with someone and they didn't know how,didn't think of, or just didn't want to write that with pre established characters, they decided to make a character that was everything azula wasn't and was the perfect little sister and daughter.

Like I think she could be fun but I also think she was just so that zuko could have that dynamic without having to put in the work of writing azula a semi redemption arc or smth.

But also I think maybe they could've given zuko that brother sister dynamic with katara or toph. Like we see zuko jealous of sokka and katara and maybe we get stuff we're zuko and katara will act like sibling or like the relationship he always wanted with azula but then gets reminded that he can't have that.

Also It feels like a way to also give ursa the perfect daughter but I do think rewritten she could work. I think she's a fun concept.

End

Tbh I just wanted to rant because I feel like so much was done that was just kinda boring and lazy.

[daemon-in-my-head]

While I'm here-

Idk y'all. I'm not surprised or disappointed there's no Gortash kisses. To be honest I'm not sure I would've wanted that shit to be 'canon' like that either (and let's be real here no matter what Larian would've done they would've faced backlash from someone anyway).

The ambiguity is what makes both Durge nd Gort so fascinating to me, and there's nothing mods, you know which ones, can't fix.

And I mean, the studio stated before they wouldn't produce new content for the game's story and focus solely on QoL improvements and that stuff, which is fair. Cuz I imagine atp touching such huge chunks of the game's code, foundation nd all those massive tree diagrams would do more harm than good for the game in its released state. And I can't have them rip something from me within a few hours again. I'm still very much not over him missing this and I'll never be. Or introduce new absolutely game wrecking bugs or smth. I still can't forgive Aaron for breaking my runs like that.

Anyway, back to our usual schedule tmr.