#at them together and tell me this line doesnt fuck severely

[ziptieparty]

[imustbenuts]

nuts reading trigun in japanese 7 - filial piety, and meryl

my alternate readings/translation/interpretation of jp lines are for triangulation purposes and nothing else.

ch 10-12. a more general scattershot of a post than over analyzing the japanese texts this time round. i think meryl in these 3 chapters is the most interesting character for me. but mainly bc she seems to be carrying a baggage: her struggle with filial piety.

^OH's version

ソレが普通ですわよ That'd be the most common sense thing to do. それにもともと家訓からして『自立せよ』ですからね But our house's motto is to first be independent above all. ドライといえばドライなのかも Mine would just be dry beyond dry...

me: hm. an office lady in the context of being written in 1990s by a japanese guy. i understand.

(i actually prefer OH's version bc the implications of what shes saying is the exact same, but more importantly leads into this page)

いきついて見れば When I realized all that 何か大切なものを忘れてるのかも… Realized that perhaps I've forgotten something (filial piety) so important... 私… I...

(you can see how this raw translation fucking sucks. I'd reword it in a way that's along the lines of 'feeling so ashamed as to forget getting angry', but OH's version is a downright banger. 11/10 the implications of what she feels is still the exact same. love it a lot!)

right so.

filial piety.

filial piety for a lot of asians is... kind of hard to break down. but perhaps can be explained as "abandoning ones' parents is the worst sin one can do".

not being filial is an invitation to the most extreme judgement from relatives and outsiders in a society which upholds it as the absolute virtue. at least, for the most part. (late stage capitalism fucked it all up yayy)

abandonment can be in the form of presence and/or financial. if a child doesnt make bank to pay back for their parents raising them up, they're not filial. if a child is absent and not there to take care of their parent, thats not filial.

and not being grateful, not being filial, equals shame and warrants divine punishment. (check out folklores like momotaro and kaguyahime that touches on these themes)

meryl i think struggles with that bc shes likely an only child who is expected to work an office job after studying super hard for it, and is now living independently away from her parents. meaning, she is technically not present to take care of them, which in this context makes her feel immensely guilty.

to make matters worse, it sounds like shes one of those types where her parents possibly had to work a lot to pay for this and that, resulting in a severe lack of communication. so this compounds, and she can only write dry stuff in her mind.

milly, by the way, does not have this problem as much:

she has a lot of siblings who can shoulder the weight of it all together, so in terms of that filial piety stress shes not doing so bad.

Badwick, the focus of this arc, by the way, faces the same struggles with meryl:

i mentioned the financial part bc from how chill the parents are with him, i think its possible he was trying to sell the land for large sums of money for his parents to retire. theres an added level of resentment going on that complicates their dynamic, with a dead brother and a land that means too much to sell for any sum of money.

and also his parents are... too nice and understanding, jeez.

i dont think meryl has the resentment. i think her case was similar in that her parents worked hard to provide and kinda neglected her in the connection part.

ofc this might then bring up the question of, 'isnt filial piety kinda transactional?', and, yeah. it... frankly can be. some parents have weaponized it, knowing that a society which forces unconditional love and financial support from a child is a good retirement plan. and it sucks. nightow must have realized this and sidestepped it.

whether bc it will not be well received by the then jp audience or if he just doesnt want to tell a story about this, i dont know. there could also be the fact that the 90s was a bad time to be talking about securing retirement for parents when the economy was circling the drain.

trigun gets dark later. we are getting love and peace above all else, at least for now.

...hm something seems to be rising over the horizon. but we can deal with that later. domestic violence

also i think vash is the kind who would also be a filial son to rem. this aspect of him is just lurking silently in the background in hindsight. in a barrel.

(incidentally i think this is also why luida and brad got promoted to surrogate parents position in stampede. much to ponder ponder...)

[emilinqa]

hiiiiiii do you have any tips for drawing Kirk? 🙏 TvT William Shatner’s stupid face is getting every single one of my goats

to be honest i’m really not particularly confident in my ability to draw william shatners elusive face and i think he looks different every time i draw him so what i’m gonna say is less specific and more just about capturing the likeness of real people/characters or models based on a real person’s likeness

long answer under the cut but my short answer is if you’re drawing kirk and you can tell it doesnt looks right but dont know why make his forehead bigger. im serious it fixes the problem for me like 85% of the time LOL

this is perhaps just obvious advice but just having a reference collage for people/characters you draw often is really helpful. i find i often need detailed references for clothing/environment designs but the principle is the same for drawing a face. it helps to understand something from several angles, this is just a collage of references i use but if im being a hundred percent honest i almost always just skim the kirk daily or spirk daily accounts on twitter when im looking for a particular angle. LOL

also im prefacing this by saying this is not something i sat down and meticulously thought out i just draw a lot of fanart and subjects from observation. i do a lot of this on subconscious level and have just absorbed some things also from seeing what features other artists emphasize!

when you're stylizing a character, whether they are the likeness of an actor or a model or whatever it helps to just try to break down their defining features. this is easiest when you have another or several other characters to contrast against. bones and spock are the most obvious here, since the three of them are often in the same shot. for example, bones and spock are more angular than kirk, but spock looks lankier, while bones always looks a little haunched over. shatner doesn't have a very defined jawline (which is most obvious from a 3/4 or profile view) and his cheeks are fuller which shows the most when hes smiling. he has a pretty low brow too, and a wider forehead. from a profile view you can see the shadows that emphasize his sloped nose. the length of his hair fluctuates throughout the show, so i tend to just pick a partiuclar way of drawing it and stick to it lol. i like to draw the little curl that sits on his forehead and make the shorter sides slightly wavy

as far as movie era kirk goes, generally what is said before still rings true. again, it helps to have another person to compare too. as nimoy got older, his laugh lines deepened and his cheekbones hallowed slightly. again this contrasts a lot with shatner when they're next to each other because his face is fuller and i find the more defining wrinkles on his face are around his eyes and forehead. his hair is obviously a tighter curl, he often does still have one curl fall on his forehead.

other than that the biggest advice i can give is to practice... for every successful kirk i draw know that i fucked up at least three times before that.

a lot of this work in observing what features are defining on a face or what i want to emphasize is sort of intuitive to me, and sort of personal preference. its just how i do it, and you might find a process that works better for you. drawing a bunch directly from a reference and then stylizing from there is generally something i find is most helpful though

typing this all out is making me sound kind of crazy like i spend hours a day dissecting william shatners face but its kind of just the small quick decisions and comments everyone makes to themselves while drawing from observation i think... but now vocalized. which sounds a little insane all together like this. i promise im really normal i just drew him like 30 times over from various angles when i was making my tsfs comic. LOL

[randum-famdoms]

HEY IMPORTANT POST ABOUT MY P5 FANFIC!!!!

It’s a long one so I’m adding a cut for people who don’t read my fic <3

TLDR: do you want a side fic which is a series of one-shots showing an alternate timeline of my main fic which includes the Royal characters Sumire and Maruki?

That fic would not be written for a while, due to time and other factors, but I want to gauge interest early on so I can make an outline

More details below ⬇️

—

So I don’t plan on including the Royal characters or yaldy/god (I don’t feel like googling how to spell his name) in my fic (dw I already have an explanation for the velvet room that doesn’t include the evil god) in my main fic

I have several reasons, but it all boils down to the fact that their storylines don’t fit well with my vision for the fics themes and plot. It would be interesting, but it would feel too much like trying to fit two separate fics together and would end up dragging both sides down and creating a worse overall whole. My fic is primarily about akechi and Akira’s stories, and that story ends at Shido. Adding on anything else would simply not work.

But I LOVE Sumire so so much, and maruki is fine I guess, so I’m debating on whether to include an alt-timeline side fic (wayyyyy down the line when I have time and at least 15 chapters pre written in the main fic) where I include Sumire and maruki. It would be like a one-shot series, since if I wrote a whole ass fix it would A) be way too fucking long, and B) really boring because not much would change between it and the main fic

I’d either post it all consecutively over a few weeks, or a new chapter alongside whatever chapter in the main fic lines up with the alt chapter in the timeline.

Also don’t plan on including yaldy except if it’s super vague and I don’t include the fight scene cause I think it’s boring and I hate writing fight scenes anyway.

To give an idea about what the fic would look like, here’s some ideas I’ve come up with for one shots in the side fic below:

—

Maruki’s dream lives for the mains (aka the canon PTs + Sumire + Mishima

maruki’s dream-verse waking up scenes

How Sumire meets akira and Mishima and they be fired her and introduce her to akechi and they become a big depressed dysfunctional family

Sumire persona awakening (it’d be different from canon)

Sumire being a sort of work-for-hire persona user that works with the main trio when they need more hands, but who doesn’t usually work with them since she’s so busy

Sumire accidentally being adopted by akechi and futaba as a third sibling (none of them are happy about it except Sumire even tho she’s not the one that instigated this dynamic)

Sumire becoming good friends with ryuji and shiho because she’s just so much fun to work out with and she makes the physical therapy tolerable (this ends up making her Ann’s favourite [after shiho of course])

Futaba high-key judging maruki because she remembers enough from her mom to know that he is NOT a qualified person to be talking about psychology, not to mention working with children as a therapist

Maruki tells Mishima to get more sleep and Mishima is soooo offended by that, and then after the dream-verse is even more offended because HELL FUCKING NO HE DOESNT WANT WHATEVER SLEEP THIS CREEP IS TRYING TO SELL HIM

—

I’ll include a shorter version of this post in the end notes of the upcoming chapter alongside a link to this post, but please let me know if you want to see this fic become a real thing.

Regardless it’ll be a WHILE, I’m already super busy and adding a whole new fic on top of that will be a big deal, and I haven’t even got an outline yet plus most of these one shots would take place a whiles a way down the timeline and I’d rather have a grasp on what that would look like in the main fic before I add a second layer of canon divergence on top of that.

Anyway sorry for the long post, love y’all!

[fivveweeks]

hi its me it's verdante angst anon (angstnon? idk) again

shaking ur hand SHAKING UR HAND you get me you get me you fuciigndnsn get me

"They're a tragedy, the both of them. Dante's fine with that. (They have to be, they have no choice in this) Given enough time a tragedy turns into a comedy. Maybe they'll be able to laugh about this in the end. Maybe it'll even be divine."

you don't undertsysnds how feral i am about these two. i am firm staunch zealous believer in verg not seeing himself being worthy of like anything good not until he has payed for his sins or wtvr he wants that to mean. i think he exercises a lot of self control to make sure he has like an arm and a leg and several bodies worth of space between him and anyone trying to get close to him (xcept Charon ofc). actively turns and runs from that shit bc 1. he doesn't deserve it. 2. he literally does not have the time for that shit

dnate on the other hand— chronic workaholic, to the point they can and will push personal feelings aside for the sake of their job. if u look up the word professionalism you WILL see Dante Limbus Company as a synonym. they keep their feelings in check (under several locks and keys) in the back of their mind aging like fine wine. they're aware they're not a choice and they're okay with it. it's their fault anyway, they're such a silly little fool.

it has always been doomed from the start. do you understand? it has always been hopeless. it was never meant to be.

dante knew/knows/accepts this, they do not have a choice. (but then again when do they ever?)

ANON YOU'RE SO FUCKING INSANE I NEED TO TWIRL U AROUND LIKE HOLY SHIT U GET IT!!!

YOU HAVE NO IDEA how much of a firm believer i am about Dante being a chronic workaholic. NOBODY FUCKING TALKS ABOUT IT YET BUT literally i do not think they need to sleep/they cannot sleep/gets little to no sleep at all and instead spends all their time up night reviewing battle plans and rewatching past battles on their little PDA. its a combination of anxiety and wanting to step up as a better manager (if we take into account of limbus players dissecting the gameplay meta of EGOs and ids we can literally translate that into Dante pouring over how to better manage the sinners). god forbid them from stepping out of line due to personal feelings bc they a) do not want to piss off vergilius and risk his wrath b) do not want to piss off vergilius bc they respect him (and like him) as a coworker, a boss, a color fixer and their guide too much. they are the EPITOME of professionalism. their work and responsibilities as a manager COMES FIRST

Vergilius too, you put it into words on him as a person. Literally he doesnt think he deserves it AND he doesnt have the time for that shit (for real verg in canon seems to really hate ppl wasting his time over trivial shit). i think even theres some distance between him and charon but he mostly crosses the space bc he's too guilt bound to deny charon some form of connection (bc it is his fault in the first place), so he is soft to her and her only.

it's like watching two parallel lines running along each other and no matter how close they get they will NEVER touch ever. ISNT THAT A TRAGEDY???

but its not all angst, they at least find a little light in the situation. verg would come to appreciate how dante respects him and his circumstances and would be pleased that they are like-minded enough to keep things professional between them, so he is comfortable in confiding in dante on certain topics (in canto 2 where verg and dante stands together by the side to watch the sinners get their ass peeled and verg telling dante why they should experience it for once lives rent free in my head bc he actually bothered to explain to dante wauhgshfh). he admits that dante is the only sinner that he can have a convo with. he fucking told dante to not befriend him after sharing a little history on charon. dante would appreciate the little moments they get to spend with him

just brief pockets of time with each other, despite everything. i like to think they are both the kind of ppl who would accept that things are just not meant to be, so they will take what little they can (what little they're allowed).

in the grand scheme of lcb and the city they are both nothing but a pair of pawns trying to make the best of their situation without getting in the way. they have no choice.

and to come across another who understands this is a rare, rare gem in their crapsack world, so how can we blame them for having a little bit of pining among the acceptance. mutual respect blooming into requited love that is unable to be acted upon. a divine comedy in its own right. im going to kms

[chucklepea-hotpot]

Okay you asked for asks and i'm desperate for dfk 2023 crumbs so like. Tell me everything. The best part, the worst part, something you really weren't expecting, how the characters changed, some memorable lines or scenes, anything you want to talk about

I need to talk about them so desperately, so thank you for this ask! My answers are hidden unter the cut in case someone wants to avoid spoilers :)

i had a long ass essay prepared but my app broke down so now i'll try to get the most important stuff together, so sorry <3

the best part:

- the music and the sets plus landscapes in general? i loved it, it gave me a warm nostalgic feeling, felt very childhood comforr movie

- the nichtraucher's relationship to the children, we see how the meet him for the first time and how they get closer with each other and how fond he grows of them (aka how he becomes their dad)

- the justraucher relationship. it was gay. very.

- little hints and details that referenced the book, i got very excited about it whenever i spotted some

the worst part:

- making headmisstress kreuzkamm a little bit a comedic relief? i felt like they didn't do hannah herzsprung justice by that, she is actually a very good actress and the re-interpretation of her as professor kreuzkamm could have been better

- some changes to fot the movie's narration better but to me they somehow still felt off, idk how to explain this in better detail

- i think it was sad that they changed the dynamic between justus and the children, at least in the beginning. i kinda missed their trusting bond, think of matz saying that he would literally die for him in the book, he would definitely not say it in this version. but they had the martin and justis scene from the end of the book somehow in there <333

something you really weren't expecting:

- the nichtraucher being so so funny?

- he is the movie's narrator and there's a scene where he says to get his mind free, he likes to smoke, play piano or go for a swim. and then he advices the viewers to do the same, except for the smoking because he also tried quitting several times already. iconic.

- while the kids are fightibg he's randomly walking through the scene because he wants to go for a swim. i love him.

how the characters changed:

- martina: she now has the eldest daughter syndrome and is mainly sad that she doesmt get to spend the summer holidays with her little brother (oskar <333), she and jo don’t go along immediately because martina wants to keep s low profile since she doesnt want to lose her scholarship (scholarship martin truthers unite!!!!). oh, ans she can skate now (very cool!)

- matz: he is called matze and i fucking hate it. but he is very matz, very kindhearted and his main priority is still taking care of uli, so very in character. his main goal however now is not to become a boxer, he just loves training for becoming one and dislikes the fighting part (dunno how to feel about that but well)

- uli: he is basically the same? he bow climbs a wall and falls down because the rope isn't secured well enough and the nichtraucher takes care of him :))

some memorable lines or scenes:

- jo: her forster parents are djs????? that really caught me offguard ngl. she is a troublemaker now and dropped some very cringy anglecisms, which was funny to me at least. martina ans her becole eventually friends, sadly no justraucher paralellism for them :(

- justraucher ofc, but i'm sure i'll talk about that seperately again and again

- "noch 11 tage bis sylt" (only 11 more days until sylt)

- "als ich fünf wad haben meine eltern mich in einer disco ausgesetzt" (when inwas five years old, my parents abandoned me in a disco)

- "wir zwei hatten doch pläne!" (But the two of us had plans!)

- literally everyone who also watched the movie please comment more, there were so many one-liners

anything you want to talk about:

- der schöne theo?? so very book accurate?? he was such a disgusting little boot-licker who looked like he votes for the fdp, he was perfect

- the outfits for the grown-ups were so cool? i loved headmisstress kreuzkamm's whole wardrobe, it was giving art teacher and justus had very very nice plaid pants on that made him look very queer tbf

I hope that answered some of your questions, please always come to talk to me about dfk <3

[thenixkat]

apparently, Booster's not a fan of having rude women cling to him but he is a professional and he's gonna pretend to be friendly and excited about shit

the 1000 kidnapped the makers of the Booster Gold comic in-universe to drain what info they have on Booster Gold b/c teh senator is still very pissed off about Booster ruining his plans

huh say what you want about Booster Gold but his villains be killing people. Like killing people killing people, on a frequent basis

also Superman is in this town and apparently not investigating any large underground lead lined structures after the last one got publicly revealed to be a villain's lair

also its wild to me that the senator is going through all this effort when he could just plant a bomb in Booster's apartment. Like Booster doesnt have a secret identity, his address is findable

like you dont have to go through all his associates and their families again Booster's villains dont play around.

Senator yer beefing with a celebrity who doesnt even know yer the bad guy

Again Booster doesnt know how big yer organization is or even what it does. He's not investigating you. He's minding his own business and stopping the very blatant crimes yer guys are committing. He didnt even know who was behind the assassination attempt for the president and yall might have gotten away with it if the Legion hadn't been there instigating

again yer beefing with a dude who's been minding his own buisness and do more commercials than patrolling. You could literally just bomb his apartment or poison his food instead of all this convoluted fuckshit

the Boostermobile got repainted to match his costume

Booster's secretary makes him dress like a normal person to avoid getting press if they're gonna eat together

also why are so many of Booster's villains visibly disabled/deformed? That's certainly a choice that the writer and artist are making

sure he's joking but between that and bith him and Dirk having her work way outside of her shift hours I dont think Booster Gold is a good boss

yeah teh way Booster mangles phrases does suggest that he's some kind of foreign. But frankly, it should sound like he has an accent of some kind given that he's speaking English from several centuries in the future (and a later comic says that his first language is Esperanto so dude would have def an accent)

also Booster feels comfortable enough to tell his secretary some of his secrets like his birth name Just, Booster Gold should have a hell of a notable accent given everything. Facetiming Skeets, a robot that doesnt have a face

I'm going to assume that floater nets are for catching people if they need to jump out the windows of a highrise building or skyscraper as like a safety feature or used by emergency services

also the star on Booster's costume is different now again Booster's villains be killing people

like its not like villains werent killing people in Ted's comics or in JLI and stuff but like those didnt really have impact panels of corpses or bodies in the backgrounds of panels or a page with cops pulling a vehicle out of a ditch and describing exactly how the folks in it died.

Also, DC comics have a lot of coloring errors for something that explicitly has editors supposed to be checking shit also how the fuck did the Senator get more goons after one minion killed 900 of them at once and another minion melted a guys head for mentioning something he didnt like. Like yes, yall have benefits but i think a workplace that homicidal you just dont sign up for it

Again where the fuck is SUperman for half teh shit happening. WHy is Superman not showing up to help with a burning highrise apartment? Does he hate Booster Gold that much?

huh, would Skeets like more robot friends?

Booster's put together that the 1000 is after him b/c they sent some chatty ass robots

huh. Are you telling me Booster hasnt been charging his suit's batteries like he should be

…did he bring a charger for those power rods from teh future? …pls tell me Booster is aware that batteries lose charge over time that his 'powers' would decrease if the charge goes down. That he should be keeping track of the charge on those power rods

writer… if yer implying that yer tech using superhero doesnt bother upkeep for the suit that gives him his powers to the point that he doesnt know why he's gotten weaker… that's …

secretary lady, why are you crushing on yer boss? Why are you upset about him being asked questions about the celebrity that he's fake dating for publicity?

why you mad that Booster is a slut for the camera? you know what he's about why be mad about it if you like him? why date a model if yer gonna get upset about people openly drooling over him and him playing into it b/c it gets him paid more?

yer bad mouthing him for doing the shit that gets him money

[viktormaru]

alright im gonna bite, gimme the character analysis of ur fave fella

thank you anon

i cant get over how ppl seem to think omen is mean or rude?? Omen is pretty nice actually (at least to his colleagues). He seems a bit closed off and gets embarrassed by compliments and stuff ("oh what do you care") but he doesnt really talk shit to anyone in his team. In fact he encourages them to do their best (see his interactions with Yoru and Reyna).

The worst offense Omen commits is talking very ominously and cryptically to his teammates (see his lines with skye or sage, or even "I'm curious, riftwalker, when you travel, can you feel the pieces you leave behind?") which makes him sound like hes cursing them somehow, but honestly i feel like hes both kinda warning them and curious bcs he knows things they dont seem to notice.

Cmon, a guy that says "Rest now. I will keep watch." after a match ends is a guy that cares for his team. Im telling hes just a bit closed off and awkward but hes not mean.

Those things dont apply to his enemies however, Omen seems to go a little above and beyond to give his enemies nightmares, that man is full of misery in his heart and he lets it out with violence. No sympathy for the enemy. He also clearly REALLY fucking hates himself which is really sad, so killing his double is like a fucking mission, specially cause apparently doing that might give him memories about his past he might otherwise not have. So Omen can absorb people's memories.... very weird. That and the fact that Omen seemingly can detect people's feelings ("There is a Raze, I sense her laughter. To laugh again...", "I already feel their hope dying and we haven't even begun. This will not take long.") paints a very strange image of omen, my man knows whats going on underneath the surface.

Yet somehow the things omen says abt his double are so sad, my man really is suffering, like "There is another of me. How many times did I get ripped apart? How many times did I die?" is terrible, he really doesnt wish what happened to him on anyone. but worst of all is "You can finally let go." when he kills his double. he sounds so saaaad saying it, only he understands how hard it is to keep it together, only he understands its a blessing to be able to let go, that death is a mercy. thats so fucked up my blorbo is going through severe ammounts of suffering help him.

So yeah thats omen, weird to friends, a nightmare to his enemies, and his own biggest foe. I am sad he doesnt seem to have any goals other than "remember who I was" specially bcs Viper KNOWS and refuses to tell him, meaning it cant be anything good (since viper seems to like him enough afterall). What happens when he finds out ? (i wrote a whole fanfiction about it).

I think Omen deserves some weird little friends so he doesnt feel that bad all the time

[dragonmons]

i was gonna put additions in the tags but i hit 30 and tumblr stopped me. so

hi. i am a certified dental assistant in the state of florida! all of this is accurate, and well simplified.

things that caught my attention tho (and stuff i just wanna mention, i also like teeth and talking abt teeth):

you have multiple periodontal ligament fibers what hold your teeth in place, not just the big one. they are tiny little fibers that attach to the tooth and the bone. they can be bruised by biting down too hard, aggravated by night grinding, and destroyed by severe gingivitis that is in the process of becoming periodontitis. some periodontal tissues can grow back, but things like periodontal bone loss are essentially irreversible. that is the main reason you want to avoid gingivitis- besides the fact that its active infection and it hurts!

water flossers and electric toothbrushes are expensive, but oh my god are they fucking incredible at keeping your teeth clean with far less wrist movement. if you have chronic pain (like me!) or you get fatigued easily, getting the pair of them means you do not have to put as much physical effort into flossing or brushing, which may be worth the cost for you. i know this is not financially an option for everyone, but i want to really call attention to the fact that they are great for avoiding fatigue.

a water flosser is a point-and-click between your teeth- that simple! and it works as well as regular floss (at the base of your teeth, not where they make contact) on the higher settings! just make sure to flush and clean the water lines in the unit.

an electric toothbrush handles most of the mechanical removal of biofilm for you! you still have to angle the brush head towards the gums, then follow the curves of the tooth and sweep away from the gumline, but there are far fewer circular motions required. the handles of electric toothbrushes are also larger and heavier, making them easier to grip. they are so effective, hygienists can usually tell when a patient has started using them!

staining! not gonna get into intrinsic stains, but extrinsic stains are stains that are removable by brushing (rarely) polishing (more likely) or whitening (more on that in a bit). they are caused by what was mentioned above- acids and tannins together are not friends to your enamel (or the stuff underneath...)

baking soda is known to whiten teeth because it is an extremely good abrasive. it is not techically an anti-bacterial cleaning agent in the ways that certain toothpastes are, it is an abrasive. when you use it, you are essentially using sandpaper on your teeth to grind off biofilm as well as the staining. this can remove layers of enamel if used too often. use it if you see light yellow/tan staining, and then back off of it after a week or two. make sure to use fluoridated toothpaste as well to try and offset damage.

whitening. get it if you want, really. its unnecessary, but you might like the look.

the simplified version of the process of whitening- your teeth are porous. whitening agents penetrate enamel, then work their way down into dentinal tubules (channels that run from the soft inner dentin to the enamel cap), scouring them clean- which removes whatever staining may have been showing through the enamel that came from stuff in the tubules.

the major problem with this isnt that it messes with the enamel- it does, but it can be remineralized if cared for properly- the issue is the unblocking of the tubules. this, technically, doesnt hurt the tooth too bad... but it does allow much more sensation- in particular, thermal sensation- to travel through the unblocked tubules.

This Can Hurt Like All Fucking Hell, because, as said above, the nerves in teeth are super chatty. also- dont whiten your teeth repeatedly. ivory, yellow, and yes, even darker orange-tan-browns sometimes, are normal tooth colors. celebrities dont even whiten their teeth, if that's who you try to emulate- they get veneers. you can not compete with veneers by whitening- no one can. even teeth with more naturally opaque "white" enamel are going to be light ivory.

dont get veneers unless theyre to close up a gap in your teeth by the way. its unnecessary, removes tooth structure you cant get back, and theyre so delicate they'll likely need to be replaced in 10 years. im all for body modification though, so if you really want them, go ahead- just know that they are usually more of a body mod than something with medical use.

back to whitening- there are toothpastes that can reblock dentinal tubules after whitening! sensodyne toothpastes should have potassium nitrate and stannous fluoride, which partially block nervous signals, and form crystals along the tubules, closing them up over the course of a few weeks of use (usually 2).

any toothpaste with those ingredients should help with sensitivity by the way, not just sensodyne. if you stop using toothpastes with those ingredients, though, the anti-sensitivity action will eventually wear off as the blocks degrade. if you are experiencing noticeable and "sharp" sensitivity to sweets as well as thermal sensitivity after using a toothpaste like this for over two weeks, there may be an underlying issue, and you should bring it up to your dentist.

get cavities treated as soon as possible. they are expensive, yes- but getting a root canal is even more so. untreated cavities will eventually penetrate the soft, porous, easily infected dentin, which leads directly to the pulp of the tooth. when the pulp is infected, it can cause an abscess- which, as mentioned, can kill you, and is also exceptionally painful. the only treatment at that point is a root canal (or an extraction, but thats something that no one wants to have to do because of the bone loss that entails), since the pulp of the tooth is either very infected, dead, or partially both. cavities are not issues to be ignored. they are active infections. talk with your dentist about payment plans- if theyre a private practice, you can usually negotiate paying over a period of time (though some offices are shitty about that). even corporate offices sometimes have planning options- your mileage will vary there.

anyways thats been me being way too passionate about teeth for five miles of dashboard. sorry but i paid 7k for my classes and im making that everyone else's problem

STUFF NOBODY EVER TOLD YOU ABOUT TEETH (and how to take care of them if you are poor and/or depressed)

Contrary to what the US health industry would have you believe, your teeth are NOT luxury face bones. You need them. Healthy teeth are a cornerstone of good health in general for a lot of reasons. You can’t eat well without them. You need them to speak. And tooth bias is real.

This makes me very sad because I love teeth. I am not a dentist. I’m a biological anthropologist whose expertise is oral disease and the evolutionary anatomy of teeth. My dad’s an oral surgeon and I worked in his office from the tender and illegal age of 8 to the ripe old age of 18, which is when I went to college. At 12, I was assisting with the disposal of biowaste, aka packaging up the teeth to send them to dental schools. I live, breathe, sleep, and occasionally eat teeth. I found a human incisor on my floor this morning and wasn’t even surprised. I study how teeth go bad partly so that I can help living people protect the teeth they’ve got. It’s my goal with this post to teach you about a couple of different types of procedures and oral injuries, as well as what you can do to help keep your teeth functional. So in this post, what I am going to do is outline a few common things that can go wrong with your teeth, how they happen, and how to catch them before they get bad. A lot of the advice in this post is for people who maybe can’t get to the dentist for a cleaning and checkup every six months. This post is also gonna be LONG AS HELL and there is going to be a separate post called “luxury face bone hacks for the busy/broke/b’mentally ill” or something like that, so like. If you don’t like super long posts, just hit this one with a like and actually read through that one.

First, let’s talk about dental anatomy.

What Are Teeth?

Teeth are extremely cool. They’re these amazing little packages of dentin pulp, protected by enamel, nestled into the jaw like truffles in a box of chocolates, held in place with a teeny tiny ligament. They’re gorgeous– enamel is a beautiful substance, translucent and opalescent. Teeth are also extremely weird when you think about them. You have these weird not-bone things emerging from holes in your jawbones. They’re snapped into place with a biological bunjy cord and you can actually SPRAIN THEM if you put too much pressure on them.

Here are some important things to know about teeth!

First, the nerves in your teeth were never meant to be exposed to the air. They only process stimulus one way: pain. This means that when you get a cavity or do anything else that exposes the nerve, it is going to hurt like a bitch.

Your teeth may come loose! Usually they stay put and go back to normal in a day or two. Don’t panic. This is usually the result of you spraining your dental ligament that holds the tooth in place.

Root canals suck but they can prevent dental abscesses. Dental abscesses can kill you. If they spread and get into your sinuses, they can cross the blood/brain barrier and you will die. This doesn’t happen much any more, but in rare cases… it can.

The phrase “like pulling teeth” is a misnomer. Pulling teeth is extremely easy if you know what you’re doing. Extractions are usually a very simple procedure. What’s complicated is things like root canals and setting up implants, which, in the case of implants is the literal opposite of pulling teeth.

Pregnancy will fuck up your teeth because a.) the fetus is leaching your vital essence and other nutrients and b.) your hormones are telling a lot of ligaments in your body to loosen up to get ready to give birth. Sometimes wires get crossed and other ligaments at non-mobile joints get the loosen up message, too. Just be sure to keep up your dental hygiene regimen during pregnancy and you’ll be fine.

Your gum tissue isn’t just weird wet skin. It’s a mucous membrane that protects the mouth. It can get diseased and inflamed, so pay attention to it! Also, there’s a lot of blood vessels so if you poke yourself with something, you’ll bleed like a stuck pig for a minute. The kind of bleeding you should be worried about is prolonged bleeding, where you see blood welling up around your teeth for no apparent reason.

Now that you’ve been equipped with some fun facts, lets talk about diseases and procedures.

Braces: if you’re reading this, you probably don’t need them

First: Pediatric orthodontia is largely a scam. People who put standard braces on their child before that child has lost all of their baby teeth are stupid and causing their child needless pain because those teeth are going to fall out anyways and the alignment of the adult teeth was decided long, long ago. The kids who NEED orthodontic intervention are kids with bad crossbites/underbites/overbites. This requires specialized headgear most of the time and is more intense than the standard braces because they are made to solve a much bigger problem. The standard bracket-and-wire braces? Don’t put those on a child. They won’t help. Also, your kid doesn’t have their third molars yet, and those are the molars most likely to come in twisted anyways.

As an adult, you may want braces for cosmetic reasons or for comfort reasons. This is a CHOICE that is YOURS TO MAKE. If your dentist suggests you need braces, ask why. You don’t have to get them. Now,If you have certain kinds of dental overlap- like, your lateral incisors have been pushed behind your frontals- then yeah, you should get braces. But is it the end of the world if you don’t get braces? No.

Wisdom tooth removal: you might not need it

The human jaw is in a state of evolutionary mismatch right now. Basically, our last molar, the third molar, doesn’t come in until we’re an adult. Unfortunately, thanks to ten thousand years of agriculture, give or take a few millennia, we have much more gracile jaws than our ancestors. There’s not always enough room for it. Now, this isn’t true for everyone, because no two skulls are identical and all, but sometimes there is a condition where you really should get those suckers out. If they are impacted, or coming in sideways, they can push your other teeth out of alignment and cause jaw issues down the line. If they come up straight, don’t worry about it.

Cavities: you need to get these taken care of

Cavities are a pain in the ass and are honestly the main reason you should go to the dentist for checkups, so that they can take the x-ray of your mouth and see how any potential trouble zones are progressing. You should call a dentist and seek help if you notice pain that persists over three days, as that’s an indicator of something more serious than just a sprain.

Tooth Grinding: this is a problem

If you grind your teeth, your dentist may recommend a night guard. Actually listen to them about this. Grinding your teeth can cause major jaw alignment problems that are a pain to fix, so just bite the silicone and suck it up. Also maybe talk to a therapist if you can, because grinding can be a result of stress/anxiety.

Whitening your teeth: bad idea

First off, your teeth ain’t supposed to be white. Enamel is not white. Enamel is translucent and pearlescent, so its actual color is very hard to pin down. Your teeth are naturally going to look more ivory-colored over time. That’s just part of being human and having teeth. Embrace it. You are a badass omnivore with thirty-two gorgeous enamel teeth. They weren’t put in your mouth to look pretty, they were put in your mouth to feed you.

Second: Whitening your teeth weakens your enamel. Once your enamel’s gone, it ain’t coming back, baby. There are some gentler whitening methods, like whitening toothpaste, but these are only going to give you about one to two shades worth of improvement. If you have extremely stained teeth and you want to whiten them, make sure you talk to your dentist about all the risks. Unfortunately, there is no truly safe and effective home-style (read: not a million gotdang dollars) remedy for whitening teeth.

There are a few that are kicking around, but seriously, some of them are dangerous. Do NOT rub wood ash on your teeth. That’s lye. Don’t put that in your mouth. Do NOT use actual bleach, hair dye developer, or non-dental peroxide gel. They are poisonous. DO NOT PUT ACETONE ON YOUR TEETH i have seen this exactly once and the person came into my dad’s office with chemical burns on their gums and lips. I do NOT want to see this again.

It is a misconception that brushing your teeth keeps them looking white. Brushing your teeth removes plaque and biofilm, but those buildups don’t actually stain the enamel itself. Instead, really the only way to keep your teeth looking light is to pay attention to what you’re putting in your mouth. If you’re a tobacco user, vape! Tar is a major staining agent. Coffee’s also a major stainer, and the big trick there is to put a little milk in it. See, enamel staining doesn’t come from the color of the food. It comes from chemical properties. Acidic foods stain because acid damages enamel. Food with high levels of tannins, like coffee or tea, stain because the tannins change the PH of the mouth. So what you should do to avoid staining is balance your mouth PH by eating something basic after eating something acidic. Add a lil milk to your coffee or tea to weaken its acidity just a bit. Swish with water afterwards to help clear the acid. Don’t eat lemons or any other acidic food after drinking coffee. Why would you want to eat lemons after drinking coffee, anyways? Seems like a weird flavor combo to me.

And while we’re on the subject…

MOUTH CHEMISTRY

What’s in your mouth? Your teeth, your gums, your tongue, your spit… yeah, your spit. Saliva’s important. It’s probably THE most important thing in protecting your teeth because salivary production constantly washes the teeth, clearing off as much bad bacteria as possible. If you have an issue with saliva production, you should drink as much water as you can throughout the day, and get a bottle of dry mouth tabs for nighttime. Or daytime, if they don’t bother you. This is really important because dry mouth is a major side effect for a lot of drugs, like anti-depressants. This is actually a huge part of my research- the population I study used a natural painkiller, but in the end its use caused them more pain because the way it works, it decreases the efficacy of the salivary glands. They stop making sufficient saliva, the teeth dry out, the mouth PH changes, and the bacteria that destroy enamel go buckwild. If you can’t make your own spit, store bought is fine. Water for the day, tabs for the night.

Now, you might think that ok, acid isn’t great, let’s eat more basic foods to balance that out. You can, but it… isn’t great. Your saliva is naturally acidic for a reason, and if you neutralize it completely, that ALSO messes with your teeth. You should be drinking plain water as much as possible.

Seltzer and Soda

Some people think seltzer may hurt your teeth, but it really won’t… unless it’s citrus-flavored. Reason: citrus seltzer uses citric acid as a flavoring agent, and that messes with your teeth. So if you want to drink citrus seltzer, drink it with a meal or with food. Don’t sip it slow over the day.

Soda, on the other hand is a goddamn nightmare. The acid’s kind of a problem but the sugar… dear god the sugar. So. your teeth are covered in a bacterial biofilm. Some of these bacteria excrete acid, and that’s what gives you cavities. This is another part of my research- looking at how cavity prevalence changes as sweetening agents and sugar availability changes. As different carbohydrates enter the diet, populations’ disease responses change. I know more about this than probably anybody else in the world, and here is what I know: the best thing you can do for your teeth is stop drinking American soda.

It’s the corn, you guys. The chemical compounds in corn make the cavity-causing bacteria kick into overdrive. Sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup create the perfect environment for these dudes to excrete out a storm. Sugary beverages in general promote cavities, but NOTHING does it like sodas sweetened with high fructose corn syrup or any other corn byproduct. Try to limit your soda and juice consumption and if you can, make sure that when you do have them, you’re getting some food,too.

Other Acids

Ok this next part is going to deal with eating disorders. I’m going to be talking about some of the side effects of bulimia, what they can do to your teeth, and how you can take care of them. Eating disorders are serious business and I hope if you need this section you are in supportive recovery and have the love and support and resources you need. If you don’t want to read about what this can do to your teeth, scroll real quick until you seen the big green text.

If your teeth are in frequent contact with stomach acid, acid etching can be a real problem. Your enamel is tough but stomach acid is gnarly, and your gums don’t have that same protection. If you find yourself vomiting frequently, for whatever reason, try to swish water around in your mouth afterwards to help clean it out. I know that’s not the thing that’s likely on your mind after that, but a lot of what we’re doing here is damage control. I’m not here to judge you in the slightest. I’m just here to help you with your teeth.

Do not brush your teeth immediately after vomiting. The enamel is weaker, and you can cause even more damage by brushing too hard. Wait for at least an hour until after you’ve rinsed your mouth to avoid spreading the acid around.

You can also add some (1-2 tsp) baking soda to the water you rinse with, if you feel ok with doing that. It will taste gross and salty but it will help neutralize the acid. You just rinse with this, you don’t swallow.

ok that part is over

TOOTH HACKS

This is the funnest part, I get to tell you good ways to take care of your teeth that require very few spoons and very little money!

Brush ‘em twice a day. Once when you get up to clear out whatever happened the night before, and once before you fall asleep. You can brush more but you don’t have to. Use a soft-bristled brush and whatever toothpaste you like. If you hate mint, kid toothpaste that tastes like bubblegum or berries is totally fine!

Don’t want to get out of bed? totally fine. Use a finger toothbrush! these are designed for babies which is actually great because they are SUPER soft. If you have sensitive gums, these are going to be really helpful.

Don’t have access to a finger toothbrush? honest to god you can just dip your finger in water (though a mix of water and baking soda or water and salt is better) and brush your teeth with just your finger. The point of this isn’t to freshen your breath or anything, it’s just to get the biofilm off of your teeth and protect them.

Floss. This gets the biofilm out from between your teeth and promotes good gum health. Don’t just run it between the teeth- you need to floss below the gumline a little bit to help clean out plaque.

If you don’t have the spoons to do your whole mouth, floss between your molars if you can.

There’s lots of products that are great for people who can’t go through the whole flossing routine. Pre-threaded flossers are ideal because they’re designed for minimal effort and maximum gain. These are also killer for people with physical disabilities that affect hand dexterity.

If flossing hurts because you have sensitive gums, a water flosser can really help. This is more expensive but will last a very long time.

You can also get topical numbing gel that you can smear on your gums when flossing. Just be careful that you’re not flossing too hard because you can’t feel it. This brand is kind of expensive but it has a nice minty flavor. If you have a dollar and a way to get there, I saw Orajel at Dollar Tree yesterday… when I was buying a bunch of those pre-threaded flossers to throw in my car. I oughta do a Dollar Tree field trip to show you like, what products are available at the absolute cheapest in the US. Dollar Tree has a LOT of good dental options.

There’s a tiktok that says you can use a strand of hair to floss. This is a bad idea. A single strand of hair is likely to break and can cut into your gums. If you want to use hair as floss, you need to use a couple of strands twisted together. Go slow and gentle if you’re using hair. Obviously actual floss is better but this isn’t “perfect dental tips for perfect people,�� this is “life sucks but your teeth don’t gotta.”

If you can’t floss or can’t brush, gargle. Put two tsp of baking soda in a glass of warm water. Swish it around, spit it out. If you can do that, you’ve helped clear out biofilm and bacterial waste.

Prioritize your teeth. You only get two sets and you lose the first one by the time you’re twelve. If you can only do one hygiene thing today, make it be your teeth.

Eat some pineapple. Bromelain, which is only found in pineapple, is super good at protecting enamel.

That’s… all I got for you now. Take care of your teeth!

[nyxi-pixie]

BUCKLE UP BASTARDS THE CLOWN CAR IS IN GO MODE

ok i KNOW im reaching here dont tell me but

is it too out of line to say that will looking to mike for how to deal w snowball girl lowkey parallels mike looking to will for how to deal with el😭😭😭

like (sorry in advance for shit gifs i made them in like 5 mins flat okay)

oh dear a crisis! how should we respond to this woman???? we dont know😟😟

ah a masterplan has formed i shall take advice from my best bropal!!

that worked so well i will now follow said advice only bc they gave it to me while they look sadly on bc theyve just fucked over their own chances in the name of doing what they think is best for me (and/or others)😁😁😁

and obviously these scenarios vary A FUCK TON in how serious they are. like obviously els like straight up passing away so thats yk a lil more high stakes. but like reaction wise???

thats. they. they just naturally respond to each others 'wtf do i do' moments by reassuring each other. which is so🥰 i love them theyre so attuned to each other

BUT ALSO they react by encouraging each other to pursue straight relationships. bc when it comes to their feelings for each other theyre both fucking stupid but also very self sacrificial. obviously we see this more with will. bc like. ofc we do that boy fr hates himself like

this man is fully ready to throw out every chance possible w mike to keep the milkvan on the road. (hes literally their mechanic. like without him it wld have fully exploded and all the mouldy milk wouldve just gone all over the road and probably really screwed up the local ecosystem. ok the van analogy is going too far im so sorry back on topic.) and i think this Is definitely motivated by a care for mike and a genuine want for him to be happy (no matter who he finds that happiness with) But i think its also important to realise that mike isnt the only one with internalised homophobia.

wills insistence on mike loving el despite the fact that mike has implied otherwise to wills face several times kinda shows that wills mindset on this is partially based in the whole "he Needs to stay in his safe straight relationship bc otherwise i would have a chance (in that mike wouldnt be restrained by having a gf and thus wld be able to date other people) and that would just be so terrible and awful"

and we literally see him do this. mike is going to this man basically being like 'omg our relationship is so broken i dont think we can come back from this fight Will!! u Definitely shldnt tell me to break up w her or anything that would be so crazyyy😁😁(PLS TELL ME TO BREAK UP W HER PLS I DONT LOVE HER)' and wills just like "🙃😁yeah um u can tell her u love her when we see her again😁😁😥😥😥😥😥😥"

like i know we joke abt will being the reason melvin are together. but. he literally is. bc mike honestly seems (n maybe this is just my insane delulu interpretation) like he wants to break up w her and was looking for support on that decision from will. and els on her slay arc which is why she doesnt give a singular shit abt mikes cringe monologue. will fr the only one invested in microdickvan because hes Intentionally Sabotaging his chances w mike.

which brings me to the actual fucking parallel bc MIKE DOES THE SAME FUCKING THING AT THE SNOWBALL. he pushes will into accepting a dance w a girl bc then he doesnt have to keep thinking abt how He wants to dance w will. (and we know he does bc he and dustin are sat there with Identical 'my crush is dancing w someone else😥' faces. so like. rip to mike but his very intelligent foolproof plan of not thinking abt dancing w will absolutely flopped)

anyway both of them have the exact same 'if i push bestie into relationships w women then i will magically resolve my gay feelings and not have to confront them' mindset. i think people forget that will Does sabotage himself a lot just bc we always talk abt mikes internalised issues. like will canonically thinks of himself as a mistake and thinks he deserves to get treated like shit🙃🙃🙃

anyway this kind of makes the whole shit writing point of making will the 'sad gay boy pushing for the love of his life to have a happy straight relationship' make sense in a way that isnt totally awful. the diffused shitbags could never.

[coureirsix]

that last post made me insane so here is what I have for latinxchesters: john winchester, still the whitest man alive, went down to mexico city on a holiday and as a result encountered the loveliest woman at a bus stop. yes ma’m this is maria esther castillo, she has dark eyes, dark hair and john is the palest motherfucker alive next to her. john stays a while. a long while after that. when she gets pregnant with dean he makes the move completely down there. maria doesn’t wanna leave mx and he doesn’t think she should have to. john gets a job as a mechanic down there, learns a better broken spanish and maria, who already had a solid grasp on her english because that’s what they do in technical schools in mx, keeps her job as a secretary to some big business. dean is born and he’s named dean because mary had a friend who dated another white man named dean and she loved the name. mary’s father’s name is still samuel, so that fit for sam when he was born. 

john and maria got married in this BIG catholic celebration under god and everybody in the fucking barrio, novela style wedding because john researched what a good mexican marriage was and he found a bunch of novels and novelas on tv.

dean grew up watching el barrio sesamo and topo gigio all while still listening to led zeppelin and metallica. his mom would make him atole when it got cold and when he got stick one time, she tried using vicks but dean got fucking bronchitis so she’s sworn off of it. after that when dean got sick she’d make him sopita. 

dean grew up with a few christmases, a few posadas where he got to hit the pinata and he was the baby passed around several pairs of arms who were ready to call him cute and adorable and their güerito because as we know he was blonde as a baby. then sam was born and dean never made it to the next posada. 

dean was taught to pray the angel de la guardia every night before he went to bed and john catches him and sam in the act one day, both of them little and praying together and he drunkenly tells them they don’t need to do that shit anymore. it’s the first time dean feels the culture clash, but he’s a child so to him it feels more like embarrassment. john talks to them about maria in the same way. she becomes a saint in the metaphorical way and in the way sam grows up praying the ave maria before he goes to bed whenever he feels he’s done something wrong.

dean and sam's first language is spanish and remains as such because it’s the language mary spoke to dean and the language he taught sam. when john takes them back to the states dean KEEPS the language because it’s what he uses to communicate with sam and as he gets older and he realizes he’s not home anymore, he doesn’t have his mom anymore, the language is really all he has left. so it’s a ten year old dean winchester, hair dark, eyes a dark shade of hazel green, tan skin going, “esquenoentiendesquesamsesientemal--” and john just. snaps at dean to speak to him in english because dean speaks too quickly and john can’t keep up. it’s when john begins dumping them at tio bobby’s house. 

dean, in his mostly still broken english, because he doesn’t go to schoooooool, goes up to bobby and says, “i can have... eh,” and he can’t remember the english word for juice and bobby gives this little brown kid a smile and goes, “whatcha need kiddo? agua? soda? jugo?” because bobby knows SOME spanish and dean’s eyes light up and he goes, “si! tantito jugo.”

and bobby notes how this is. overly important to dean as he gets a little older and comes to know him more so when dean is like. maybe 6 or 7 he takes dean into the kitchen, lifts him up in his arms and points to a pot and goes, “como se llama?” and dean gives him this silly look and goes, “olla.” and bobby picks up a fork and goes, “esto?” and dean goes, “tenedor.” and it becomes a game for them, it helps bobby’s spanish and it lets dean keep the language. sam joins in on the game when he’s old enough to. bobby asks about mexico and dean tells him what he remembers. he likes talking about the posadas because everyone was extra nice to him and gave him tonnes of food. 

one day john dumps them at bobby’s for christmas and bobby has bought, a whole chicken and mashed potatoes, some pie, and some frozen tamales for them and its the happiest day dean spends that year. dean tries to explain champurrado to bobby but he ends up just making chocolate milk for them. 

by the time they’re old enough to start school they still dont know much english and have to go through the process of showing up at a school with the name Winchester and have the white kids laugh at them because they don’t know english. dean gets by because theyre never there for long, he looks the way he does and all the girls think he’s so exotic and sam gets bullied relentlessly and he ends up screaming spanish obscenities at a bunch of kids more often than not. that is, until they get shacked up in a place like new york, or los angeles or houston. where sam gets approached by a ragtag bunch of kids browner than he is who know less english than he does. dean picks up english a little better than sam, and both of them eventually grow to be fluent but it never is the fluidity of a native speaker u know, they both have accents when they speak. 

so when stanford comes along sam is as usual ready to get the fuck out of there because the MACHISMO on john winchester doesnt change but dean buys into it even further. i wont go into the details of abuse when latinx but it’s nasty and even more complicated than it already is. dean and sam don’t get into fist fights. ever. because you just don’t do that when you’re family. and so when john tries to shove sam back and sam fights back that’s dean’s breaking point and he lets sam go. dean doesn’t necessarily agree with john but there are lines you don’t cross. dean still feels abandoned, he still feels resentment, but sam crossed a line. it takes him a while to unlearn that. 

and down the road, when sam gets slammed onto the ground that fateful night and dean looks down at him with the shit eating grin the first thing sam says to dean, annoyed, angry that his older brother is here is, “no mames.”  and its the first thing sam has said in spanish in like, the entire time he’s been at stanford. 

[fuck-customers]

Posting on behalf of my wife who works at one of the dollar stores. Excuse the rambling tone to this, I have a habit of overexplaining.

A bit of backstory thats kind of vital to why this took such a toll on my wife: At the beginning of the year, her SM was out for three months with shoulder surgery. During that time, the DM was so horrible to her and refused to find them consistent coverage. My wife is a keyholder, but cant move up due to not driving. So she tries her best to work with the little bit of coverage she does have, but it nearly drove her to quit several times. She stuck through it because she respects her SM so much. During all of this, my wife missed several important events from important dates with me to her own brother's wedding, all because she was the only one able to cover her store and she didnt have much of a backbone to stand up to anyone.

A new ASM (M) has been hired recently and the SM (S) has shown to have heavy trust in them despite M consistently getting bad surveys and actually losing money in their deposit (not theft, they just cant count for shit apparently). So my wife and her coworker have been wary of this but putting up with it because if S wants to fuck up their store, so be it.

Now to today's story.

She went in at 1:15 and around 6, when her associate N is supposed to get there, she finds out the N quit the night before. They just told the manager J they were working with that they wouldnt be coming in again. Wife called N and they explained that they quit. So my wife calls J and asks if this did happen, did they tell S and she asks them if they can come in. J cant come in and also didnt tell S. Wife calls S, who is scheduled off, strangely enough since they usually work Saturdays. S BLOWS UP ON HER. Starts yelling about how thats on N to tell them they quit, not J. My wife is on the register by herself, ringing up a long line of customers. Shes exhausted physically and emotionally, but shes managing not to cry. She tells S that she knows thats not on J, but since they didnt tell them, she wanted S to be aware at the very least and see if they can help her find some coverage. S continues to berate her and asks her all accusingly why she didnt call M, the ASM. My wife doesnt understand until S explains theyre on vacation, out of town until Monday. They never told anyone this, except M. So my wife starts crying because now she was expected to know something she was never told, shes being yelled at, customers are piling up, and she just wants to get someone to her store so she can take her break. Shes been there for 5 hours by herself by now and she needs to sit and eat. She ultimately hangs up on S, sick of the berating, and calls M, who comes in to cover the shift. S spewed some script in their group chat about everyone stepping up to cover it and how theyre going to hire the best associates they can as soon as they get back. They never once make a move to apologise for making my wife cry, ehich they very likely heard when they were talking on the phone.

This was the ultimate eye opener for my wife. Her backbone has grown spikes and shes done. Shes covering one shift tomorrow because M has a family emergency, but after this, no dropping everything to cover for anyone. Shes looking to get a job elsewhere already. All respect for S is gone at this point. Shes half tempted to not even give a two weeks notice. My wife has a coworker she adores who stuck through the same shit while S was on sick leave. The two made a pact that they would stick through it, but if it got too much, they would quit together. Theyre still agreeing to that now. My wife has guaranteed that once she has a new job, shes gone, and her coworker is going too. S wants to disrespect the people who kept their store running? Well, theyll have to learn from their mistake when they lose their two keyholders on the same day.

[tmabutlesbian]

im feeling rly tired n i got an exam tmr so i wont be drawing more today bUT i can expand on the um bfu au a bit more to explain their characters a bit more

like season 1 and 2 of bfu both true crime and supernatural is like:

jon + gerry are basically dating but at the same time they assume the other does not feel the same way even tho they live together since jon finished uni and they share each others clothes n shit and go everywhere together

jon + martin are very complicated. here we don't have like the um boss/subordinate dynamic, theyre mere coworkers so martin is less nervous abt jon HOWEVER jon gets very moody around martin since he's in gerry's place (gerry is away because of family issues and also he later on gets another job so he doesnt come back fully, only makes cameos here n there).

since jon is just a petty lil asshole around martin at the start their convos are sometimes a bit stilted and tense, before this show started jon was neutral/nice to martin, his problem is that he's not gerry.

once martin gets fed up with jon's bullshit however, jon is guilty and just as he gathers the nerve to apologize gerry calls him like "YOU IDIOT!!! JUST SAY SORRY TO THE POOR GUY, WHAT HAS HE DONE TO YOU!!" which in hindsight is hilarious, it's almost like gerry read jon's mind but in the moment jon got very defensive and admitted that he missed gerry a lot. very emotional moment between two ppl who are weird with emotions so things get awkward.

funnily, its martin who helps jon out with his feelings, a martin that, very much like canon, has a crush on jon. he's still mad at jon and now he's a lil heartbroken because its obvious jon likes gerry so he assumes he has 0 chances here but he's an adult and he gets past that and he helps jon n gerry with their relationship.

season 3 of bfu:

jon + gerry are datingggggg (finally ffs), gerry gets a new job doing tattoos but on days he doesn't have appointments he's the one behind the camera when the boys are filming, on other days its sasha and tim.

jon + martin are exploring their new found friendship and it grows fast like wildfire. they have great chemistry, their banter is lovely, their funny, and more importantly theyre only jokingly mean to each other. jon is very much a suffering believer while martin does believe in the supernatural he just doesnt believe that these supernatural creatures would leave so much evidence behind and highly doubts any footage or sounds. this is also a way to lessen his fear of these monsters but jon doesn't need to know that

martin is still crushing. hard. jon is very happy in his relationship that he doesn't see his feelings for martin blooming, even tho there are (at this point) several compilations on yt titled "jon looking at martin with heart eyes for 10 minutes bisexual part 5", or along those lines. timsasha tease them constantly, sometimes they make the cut, others don't. on those bloopers videos it's more obvious and the teasing is non stop

martin is begging them to stop because he doesnt want jon to feel uncomfy or anything, while jon finds them very amusing, since he's so secure with gerry theres just No Way that he has feelings for martin, even if his heart fucking somersaults and the thought.

season 4 and 5 of bfu:

jongerry going strong, gerry has evolved to teasing as well and does more cameos here n there just because, he's also behind the camera more n more after the positive response from fans. gerry more easily sees his feelings for martin than jon and purposefully abuses this, voicing out his musings to jon just to watch him blush and fluster (gerry's fav part time hobby let me tell ya)

jonmartin are in the same situation that jongerry were in season 1. basically married already but assume there's no feelings evolved. martin fully on has accepted the unrequited love situation he believes is going on, jon is still in denial despite gerry's help on the matter, timsasha are becoming desperate, hell, the fans as well. it's critical at this point, somebody PLEASE shake them hard, they need to see it.

season 6 and onwards of bfu:

jongerry still going strong folks, gerry is way more direct to jon abt his feelings for martin and they (youre not gonna believe this-) talk about it. jon feels very stupid and after watching those compilations is also a lil embarassed but then he finds martin's versions and just gets flustered because "holy shit, its.... mutual?? maybe??" and gerry just facepalms and says "yes jon its mutual now go kiss. or talk. maybe talk first then kiss, yh"

jonmartin (again this is very shocking i know) talk (WOW OMG) and both realize their feelings (very awkwardly let me tell you but martin was a brave lil boy abt it n they got somewhere), they very much did kiss (wrow) and it was very sweet and all before the start of season 6.

so basically season 6 comes and they dont mention it to the fans, timsasha knew immediately and sigh in relief so now they turn to their new victim: gerrymartin, who everybody assumes is one sided, gerry as well.

gerry is a very bad influence so now its jon who teases martin and talks abt gerry very romantically just to watch martin blush. however it takes wayyy less time for martin to come around because. come on now. gerry's hot n shit n also very nice n weird and a nerd, he's like a taller, goth jon whos a lil less awkward and a bit more confident, u think martin wouldnt fall for this man as well?

anyways at this point, martin is at his what i like to call "lil shit phase but like it's obvious this time", so instead of confessing like a normal person, he teases gerry off and on show. it takes gerry off guard at first cuz "???? is martin flirting with me???? is he just being a bitch???..... i love it" but then he hits martin back equally, so jon is ever suffering between these two when they're in the same room, which is a lot since jongerry live together and jonmartin are dating. timsasha are finding this all very hilarious, so are the fans

season 7 bfu:

jonmartin get togetherrrrrrr, yes bitch. jgm polycule lets go!!! in on of those postmortem vids they casually mention this along with jonmartin n shit (they talk abt martin moving in with jongerry) and the viewers LOSE THEIR SHIT. they trend on twitter n everything. is all very funny. n they're very happy together. at this point a lot of the bloopers is just them being cute n gross n also arguing like an old married couple which they then have to cut or the vids would be like 1 hour long

n thats it. im gonna take a bath now. n then do a covid test!! n hopefully its negative!!! im nervous!!!

[spacedlexi]

What are your thoughts on Clem getting a new girlfriend in the graphic novel?

dont talk to me about the comic it doesnt exist

but to honestly answer your question: it pisses me off. for a few reasons:

violet is SUCH a perfectly written match for clem that i cant see either of them with anyone else. i didnt think the writers would Ever be able to write a good love interest for clem esp after s3 but im not kidding when i say violet and her are a perfectly written match. violet is very similar to s3 clem with her trust and abandonment issues, the angry loner who cares but pretends not to to protect themselves from the grief of loss/pain of being left behind, and so they put up walls and push people away. theyre both natural leaders who never wanted that position. loyal. fiercely protective. where javi helped clem learn to trust people again in s3, clem helps violet learn to trust people again in s4. clementine can see herself in violet (the "i know where youre coming from" line), and they help each other. which leads into my second problem with the new comic romance

violet has SEVERE trust and abandonment issues (even more than the other kids who all by default pretty much have trust and abandonment issues), which is obvious even without letting her get taken by the raiders (and is only made that much worse if you do). i cant imagine what it will do to her emotionally to wake up and realize clem is GONE without even SAYING GOODBYE. thats gonna hurt her so bad regardless if you romanced her or not. like clem is their leader now and shes just...leaving?? without telling anyone?? EVEN AJ???? HER ADOPTIVE CHILD??? fuck this stupid ass comic it is SO OUT OF CHARACTER for clem for like a million reasons. like skybound/tillie are saying theyre excited to focus on clems sexuality (which :/) but like to do it theyre really damaging representation that was already THERE and GOOD.

like way to just rip away really nice wlw representation just so you dont have to worry about determinant choices. (violentine is my favorite wlw rep in media theyre just......so nice. so cute but like so natural?? they are so in love and the writing just feels like it really came from the heart like the writers really cared abt their relationship even if it WAS a little rushed but like s4 was rushed in general) every scene they have together just makes me 😳😭😭🥺💕💕💕 no matter how many times i see it

another reason it pisses me off is that like everything else about this comic feels like a cheap rip off of s4!!! like theyre just sweeping s4 under the rug (which imo is the best season) just to rehash it again but BADLY. apparently theres gonna be "evil twins" now theyre REALLY going all in on the s4 rip off

ALSO i just love violet!!! shes a GREAT character. shes funny and mean but meaner than she intends to be. thinks shes not great with people but is a great leader. cares so much even though she pretends not to because shes afraid of being hurt. so she puts up walls to keep people away and it ties into her coming off harsher than she means to, but also longs for connection. also shes better with people than she gives herself credit for esp her interactions with aj so cute. LESBIAN!! got a bit of a gnc thing goin on i love it. her little rainbow pin and untied boots with different colored laces. her voice gideon i love your voice So Much 😳💕

s4 was the perfect end for clementine, and the writers of the last season INTENDED for that to be her ENDING. thats where she spends the rest of her days, surrounded by her found family who love her, safe at the school. shes DONE RUNNING she literally hung up her hat like shes DONE. she NEVER wanted to be on the road shes always longed for a place to be safe with aj and she has it she would never leave.

so yeah this comic is not canon in my eyes and apparently for a lot of other people as well. im just trying to pretend it doesnt exist i wish people would tag it because i want to block it. im glad not many people are even gonna be aware of its existence i wish i was one of them. let me eternal sunshine this shit away please erase it from my mind.

they didnt even draw clems peg on the right side :///// theyre making her grow her hair out :/// fuck off

[jokeson-u]

NON PLL WATCHERS. PLEASE DO ME A HUGE FAVOR AND WATCH THIS 1.5 MINUTE LONG CLIP AND TELL IF YOU THINK ITS QUEER CODED OR NOT. CUUussss..

(also pointing out rq thats the girl she holds hands with loved her so much she literally went crazy HA)

before i get into analyzing this, id like to take a moment to say that this scene was incredibly important to me when it aired and i remember how hard my heart was pounding when i watched. its one of my favorites, and continues to mean to much to me.

okay ill start with the incredibly obvious. the SOUNDTRACK CHOICE????? ('girls girls girls, women women, are babes. cute babes.) like they were like 'emilys a lesbian lets have her driving playlist just be gay as fuck' except it only played when the focus was on hanna.

after ali came back, we obviously saw hanna dealing with the shit it brought up in different ways (drinking, dying her hair, redoing her wardrobe, etc). add the factor of mona being on her radar in a negative way again, and hanna had a lot of turned over memories to dissect.

all of her flashbacks in 5x03 was with mona. i know that the story they were building there was hannas confusion over what mona wanted from her, as looking back she realizes she was made to become alison. that.. right there is pretty telling?? that hanna is so strung out over not knowing who she was to mona through their friendship, if she was a replacement, if mona loved her for who she was and not who she made her to be.

thats only related to the first half of the clip. god i get goosebumps thinking about it but just the way hanna debates with herself for a moment before the music drops and she says 'what was it like to come out?'

emily was visibly taken aback and asks where thats coming from. as suggestive as the dialogue was, i think it was also an actors choice shays part to seem so.. knowing, and on ashleys part to play hanna as nervous when asking about coming out, and hesitant when asked where her question was coming from. we know ashley irl is queer, so i do think it was intentional to make hanna come off conflicted rather than passively unsure about who she is.

hanna takes a second before giving a half assed answer ('i just never really asked you.') i think it threw emily off the 'is this a coming out story' train for a moment, until hanna kept asking if she knew, if she always knew. that looks of.. idk, confusion? suspicion? curiosity? on emilys face, when she finally says yes, part of her always knew, and she looks at hanna, and hanna looks at her and just says shes never known who she is.

emily continues to linger on her while hanna turns to look out the window and. idk man. it was a scene that couldve happened with anyone, in any other context, if it truly was strictly about her identity in relation to ali. "aria, what was it like going from hiding ur relationship to being in the open?" "spencer, how did you go from so strong to so broken, to putting yourself back together again?" both of these relate to why hanna brought anything up in the first place- her identity.

thats what season 5 is for her. hanna figuring herself out. and, i think saying, "no, hanna isnt queer, she asked because of xyz and thats why shes upset," it damaging to the implications of the scene. i truly believe that the things that go unsaid are just as important as the things that are spelled out. the music, the closeness with mona as she reflects, her timidity asking emily specifically about coming out, emily picking up on something deeper, hanna desperately wanting to know if emily always knew she liked girls, her line about how she doesnt and never has known who she is.. the subtext was so, so heavy, and 100% intentional. hanna is never labeled. most pll characters arent, but for a character like hanna whos, in my opinion, been bi coded for several seasons, whats the point in saying "no thats not it, shes straight, its about this." why was the scene played like that? why was the dialogue so suggestive, the looks and final cut with actors choices.

its so intense and heavy and god i love this scene and hanna so much. its so important to me that we get to see a character who tries to act so sure of herself, question who she is and be vulnerable about discovering herself. i miss them.

[thenixkat]

I am of the opinion that Booster Gold's costume should be like at least 50% gold also do like that this issue had a one page recap of the last i do like that Booster as soon as he hears that these heroes that are fighting him are from the future his first thought is 'oh shit time cops'. Booster Gold is very aware that he is criminal

Booster's football skills come in handy dodging Ultra Boy also the real assassin has used grenades to get rid of the police tail

since Booster is using a version of Braniac 5's force field belt from a different point in time their forcefields get wonky when they run into eachother

instead of repelling eachother their force fields merged together with them both inside

would it be that bad if a villain assassinated Regan and Bush and impersonated Regan?

couldnt really be much worse than actual Regan

Skeets meanwhile all this had been going on was tailing the president's kidnapping.

The Legion really said 'hold on we're not time cops' and no they want to be not violent at getting answers

also yes Booster has a point, they attacked him first why the fuck does he have to tell you why he time traveled, you arent time cops. Also yer just assuming he came here to assassinate Regan b/c he's a criminal

after several pages of fighting fuckers are communicating

Booster's worst crime to date, saving Regan and Bush

Chameleon Boy turns into a fucking dragon

also there's alien dragons just ou there in the DC universe Booster isnt arrested b/c there's no records in the future of him having been brought to justice for his crimes

ok, so I know that DC likes to use the stable time loop shit for their time travel, which I just generally disagree that that's how time travel works and wont be convinced otherwise for any story. Especially since there are parallel timelines/universes and shit. But the idea that Booster can't get arrested from his time crimes because he was never arrested for his time crimes and no one wants to risk a paradox is wild apparently, there's a nuclear war at some point between the 1980s and the 2460s

Booster originally planned to call himself Goldstar but flubbed it and has to live with it for the rest of his hero career

Dirk's daughter has been kidnapped. I assume by the senator who's still mad at Booster for fucking up his plans to become president by faking not!Regan's rescue

apparently, Booster's not a fan having rude woman cling to him but he is a professional and he's gonna pretend to be friendly and excited about shit

the 1000 kidnapped the makers of the Booster Gold comic in-universe to drain what info they have on Booster Gold b/c teh senator is still very pissed off about Booster ruining his plans

huh say what you want about Booster Gold but his villians be killing people. Like killing people killing people, on a frequent basis

also Superman is in this town and apparently not investigating any large underground lead lined structures after the last one got publicly revealed to be a villain lair

also its wild to me that the senator is going through all this effort when he could just plant a bomb in Booster's apartment. Like Booster doesnt have a secret identity, his address is findable