#because i doubt it. that sounds super super fake to me

[cyborg-squid]

saw a video thumbnail, with a picture of Molar Boatwork Ishmael of course cause it's talking about Vellmori's harassment and departure, wih the text "Gender War" over it

like. no. it's no "Gender War" (and it's not about Molar!Ishmael not being "fanservice" enough either), it's violent misogyny pure and simple. and while these Korean instances of it (dating back to well before PMoon was involved) are super shocking to some of us because it may be the first we've heard of the situation over there, it's not like a unique thing either. there's shit like this all over the globe, it's not uniquely Korean or Chinese (see the Black Myth Wukong stuff) or anywhere else, some people are just noticing it in those places when it affects the media (mostly games) from there they consume, but you can find it here in America or in the UK or across Europe, we just tend to be more desensitized to it in our 'homes'. cuz the PMoon thing led me to looking up some of the history prior, and wow, the levels of misogyny in Korea are super high and super scary! and then you can go look at another country, and maybe the forms it takes are different cuz of socio/political/economic/cultural/etc reasons and the ways it manifests may look different, but it's scary bad there too! and you remember that misogyny is a global force that is nowhere near done being fought.

that was a long digression. but anyway it makes me mad when people say that the PMoon situation was part of a "Gender War" when it really was. not. One, things in Korea is not a "War" it is feminists getting beat into the ground (metaphorically and literally) at any sign of resistance and using alternative methods to push back, that is not a "War". and Two. well i almost said that, in the case of the PMoon stuff, misogynist "fans" were jumping at shadows or seeing things where there was none, but that's not the right way to put it actually. it's that some men will find any excuse to use violence against women (and those who associate themselves with them) and if they can't find a "reason", they will make one. because there was no "reason" to go after Vellmori and PMoon, and hell it's even unlikely that any of them knew enough about her to dislike her as a person, and it was not like she was a female in a position of power they were striking at yadda yadda, but they were able to take out their hate for women as a whole on her because she was one they were able to reach, and almost wholesale fabricated "justification" for doing so.

and while i'm willing to cut PMoon a lot of slack, and I truly believe their views and intents are in no ways aligned with the harassers, they really really fucked up with how they handled things. for now i believe what they said about Vell leaving voluntarily, I don't think she was 'fired' and I imagine being on the receiving end of such harassment, specifically because she is more 'visible' as one of PM's artists, would make anyone inclined to leave a position. but then I can also imagine that a legal/PR department/whoever at PM breathed a sigh of relief when she did because "Whew, she's leaving voluntarily, saves us the trouble of firing her". not that they were planning too, idk who knows, but her leaving on her own (IF! IF that is what happened) removes that option from the table. but then any goodwill they could have earned by not!firing goes out the window with their vague statements and long delays and threatening legal action against some fans who just wanted the truth. like i said, i don't think PM was a bad faith actor in this or trying to acquiesce to harasser's demands, i am willing to chalk some of their response up to just. idiot management in a time of crisis, bumbling and focused on appearances but not actively malicious, which is again understandable, but still a really fuckin bad look. and i guess while leaping to Vell's defense and really pushing back against the misogyny would have been the right thing to do, it probably woulda made the harasser crowd even more mad at them, and would confuse more normal fans who hadn't heard about what was happening (which explains a lot of PMoons long silences, "If people don't know, why bring it up?". Roosterteeth did a lot of the same thing and, i mean, it's not a dumb move. just a shitty one)

Anyway. It's not a "Gender War", it makes me mad when people call it that, especially when people Youtubers are only talking about it in respect to their/our vidya games. It is misogyny and violence.

[wonuwrites]

hiii, if it's not a problem, can I request seventeen's reaction to their s/o being adored by cats? like, every time they go on a walk, there's at least one kitty that comes to them and wants to be petted

love your work!!! 😊

Ahhh not a problem at all! This sounds SO freaking cute I'm so excited to write it <33

Warnings: it's gonna be cute af, cats lmao

p.s: bc im writing about cats I wanna show off my babies ~ the Tuxedo is Shadow and White Cat is Stewie.

ღ S Coups:

omg Seungcheol would get heart eyes everytime a stray cat came up to you and rubbed up against you. You both would be doing your daily late night walk and an orange tabby would run straight to you you would drop Seungcheol's hand just to give the tabby some attention. Even though Seungcheol would fake pout everytime you chose a cat over his hand, he found it so precious how soft you were with cats and vice versa.

ღ Jeonghan:

When you first told Jeonghan cats loved you, he thought you were all talk. He didn't realize how true it was until one came up to you after one of your dates and just rubbed up on you. He jokingly called you a Disney Princess and it honestly was the best and most real compliment you have ever received. Whenever a cat ever came up to you, he would laugh in disbelief but he would love the fact that animals loved you just as much as he did.

ღ Joshua:

The majority of Jisoo's camera roll was with you and cats. You often would joke with each other that if you had to choose between cats vs him, you would choose cats. While that was not true in the slightest, Jisoo still would "respect" his place. There would be times where he would have to be voice of reason when you would want to take a new kitten or cat home which would be bittersweet but you would know he was right.

ღ Jun:

As a cat as well, Jun would completely understand why cats loved you. You were so calm and cute so it just makes sense. When cats would walk up to you, he swore he fell in love with you even more especially as you would crouch down and coo at them. He found it to be such a green flag that you were so good with animals.

ღ Hoshi:

Tell me why he'd be jealous of a cat? Not actually "jealous jealous" but would be like "yah, get your own partner. (y/n) is mine." He found it amusing whenever it happened because not only was the cats completely enamored by you but you also were. You would coo and would make up "back stories" about each cat that came up to you. If you ever saw the same cat twice, Soonyoung would be like "Oh yeah, it's Frederick the Third who really loves mischief and belly rubs" which would make you laugh because he remembered the back story. He would never admit it, but finding cats on your evening walks was the highlight of his day.

ღ Wonwoo:

tbh, the cats would be coming up to BOTH of you constantly. Something about Wonwoo and you just radiated such peace that cats just knew. You both found it a bit comical but also super wholesome that it happened as often as it did. If it ever happened when you weren't together, you both would either take a picture or FaceTime the other. Honestly, it would always make you both talk about adopting a cat together one day. Both of you would always get excited about the thoughts of making future plans like that together <3

ღ Woozi:

Similarly to Jeonghan, Jihoon would have some doubts about your claims of being a "cat magnet." He knocked the first few times as a "coincidence" but after awhile, he realized you were right. He found it so precious and would smirk when he would see an adorable four legged friend stretch before running up to both of you. He'd find it precious seeing you smile wide as you stared at a skittish cat that got nervous when Jihoon crouched down next to you too look at the kitten that decided to walk up to you. You would softly tell the kitten that Jihoon's muscles were all for show and he was a softie which would cause him to scoff and make mental note to show you how much "for show" they were later on.

ღ DK:

Seokmin would find it hilarious when you would just be walking and a cat would just be following close behind you begging for your attention with 'meows' and purrs. You would just give him a look of "I told you so," before playing with the kitten that so desperately wanted your attention. He found it so precious that he would film it and send it to both the 97 group chat and Seventeen group chats. His friends would be so jealous at your talents with cats and would ask you constantly for tips on how to get random cats to love you which would just make Seokmin feel so proud lol.

ღ Mingyu:

Mingyu was shocked when he realized it was not just cats and him that were obsessed with you. Whenever you both went on a walk together animals would ALWAYS come up to you. It could be cats, dogs, or even a crow. You would always mimic the noises of the animals and the animals would just act so happy that you were communicating with them. Honestly, it made him fall more in love with you.

ღ Minghao:

You know his infamous giggle? The bestest giggle in this whole wide world? Well it would star when you both would hear meows from behind you and noticed your charms worked on a grey long haired cutie. You would coo at the kitty and Minghao would coo at you. He found this sight to be the cutest thing EVER. He would take pictures and would even name the cats with you. For instance, this gray kitty y'all just found was named "Jinkies."

ღ Seungkwan:

Seungkwan would be flabbergasted that his partner was some character from a Disney movie. He would find it absolutely precious when he would see cats run up and look at you when you went on walks with each other. He often would find it funny because half the time you would get 'tired' of this talent you had. Sometimes you wanted to just enjoy time with him and when a cat came up, you just had to pet the kitty and ignore your busy man. It would make you feel guilty but he would always reassure you that it was okay.

ღ Vernon:

The first time it happened, he thought it was a freak occurrence. As did you. In fact, it was with Hansol when you realized you were the cat whisperer. It would be weird if a cat did NOT come up to you when you both on your nights. He would laugh if you got sulky because you didn't see an four legged friend on your walk. He would tease you that you were "losing your touch" which would cause you to roll your eyes and playfully push him.

ღ Dino:

Chan swore you had catnip or tuna in your pockets because there was just no way. So before your went on a walk, you emptied both of your pockets to prove him wrong. When he was satisfied you both left and ironically three damn cats showed up on your walk. He would be so flabbergasted and would laugh his infamous laugh. You would tell him it's a sign and you both should get a furbaby child soon which he would agree.

[crepes-suzette-373]

There is a panel that I didn't bring up in my "Ichiji's thuggish language" analysis because I had doubts about it. But with Kizaru's dramatic speech in the newest chapter (1124), I'm feeling a bit more confident about my analysis so I'm just gonna mention this now.

(still a bit nervous about jumping the gun, but hey, my theories are just for fun)

Sanji's bros don't really talk often enough, but the impression I'm getting is that for the most part Ichiji is the only one who does not use slang/informal language.

There's two times where he says words that sounds rough/informal/not polite. One is when they all got caught in candy (see the linked analysis above), and the other one is this:

The way he says "I've got to go (to my brother's wedding)" is 行かなきゃ. This is very casual/informal. The more polite form should be 行かないと or 行かなければ (the latter is the more formal one).

Originally I had wondered if maybe I was wrong, and this means that his rough talk is not a big deal after all. But the latest chapter reminded me of the trope of "someone who has been putting on an act gets provoked into anger so strongly that it breaks the mask and their real self comes out".

I'll go back to Kizaru in a bit, but following that line of thought, then this might mean that Ichiji is genuinely so angry that his fake polite attitude dropped, just like what happened in the candy scene. In that case, he's not just intimidating the guy. He really meant it when he said that he needs to go to the wedding and this fight holding him up is upsetting him.

Following that, if being held up makes him that angry, it possibly implies that when he says this ⤵️ he wasn't being sarcastic, but he might have actually meant it too:

Why, though? That remains to be seen, but there's strong suggestion that really weird stuff is happening here. (More exhibit of weird stuff in my list, scroll down to the Germa specific stuff)

Hiding this just in case of spoilers/you're not caught up yet.

So in chapter 1124, Akainu calls up the Marines at Egghead and Kizaru picks up because everyone else are still downed by haki. Akainu accused Kizaru of slacking, and Kizaru exploded. Having to obey the higher ups' orders to get rid of Vegapunk had really hurt him.

Kizaru was using his typical casual/somewhat playful manner of talking at first. Dragging out the end of the words (imagine something like "you knooooowww") and using omae-san お前さん (informal) to say "you". But then the way he talks changes. He drops the dragging words, and switched to using temee てめェ (super rude) as "you" as he went ballistic on Akainu.

Also, the translation seems to go for a more polite term, but Kizaru calls Akainu kusogaki クソガキ. It's probably more precisely "shitty brat". He really got mad.

Anyway, Kizaru has already dropped the dragging tone a few other times when he gets serious. This gives me the impression that Kizaru's "cheery" act was fake. This laid back unserious goof act is the typical trope of someone who is actually dissatisfied with life, but adopts this personality because they see no possibility of changing, so they might as well just go with the flow. I see this pretty often in manga or games.

He was already like this when he first met Vegapunk (as shown in the flashbacks), so it's very likely that he's already given up for a long time.

I have no proof of that though, so for now at the very least we know that his friendship with Vegapunk is genuine and he was faking a lot of his behaviour during Egghead.

So, is Ichiji hiding something else? Without any additional info, all that's "provable" with the above panels is that Ichiji is actually more aggressive than he lets on, but has to pretend to be polite because of his status. There's other little gestures that do give off the impression that he's hiding something else, but there's nothing clear yet.

With other superficial similarities with Kizaru (constantly wearing sunglasses + light/laser beam attacks) added on top, the parallel is kind of intriguing to ponder.

[tacharie]

Thoughts for The Montkraken Episode

so, I just finished the chapter and… wow I have a lot to say. I took screen shots for every part I wanted to talk about and I think this rant will be SUPERRRR long so bear with me. Tumblr won’t let me add screenshots so when I have better service I’ll edit the post to add them. These paragraphs are theories and side notes that I wrote after reading a certain section so you’re gonna see my thought process throughout the story. As always, spoilers ahead so I recommend skipping this if you haven’t read it already.

Alright so I was once a hater of this ship BUT… the Shobaru shippers may have a point in this guys 😭. LIKE.. I HAVE THE SCREENSHOT OF SUBARU BLUSHING UHHH. That is not a heterosexual stare feller 🤨…

AHHHHHHH THE FROSTHEIM DUO ARE BACKKKKK!!! I missed them so so much they’re so silly and deserve the best. Honestly the only two I trust in this school cause I CANT. I literally suspect anyone but them, but Imma be so disappointed if either of them are hiding something. I’ll be sad, but like I’ll help 🙄. I was actually so sad when the MC mentioned being the reason they could be in danger like GIRLLLLL DONT SAY THAT PLEASEEEEE. ITS LIKE THE ANGST WITH ADEUCE AND YUU LIKE STAWPOPP. Also when the Vagastorm kids were like “aw yeah Mido wouldn’t lie like that” it makes me happy that people can at least trust him enough to be honest and idk I found that kinda sweet :3. We’re also getting a bit of a timeline, like the One-Eyed Sleeping Beauty Murder being BEFORE the clash (sorry if this was already mentioned I don’t really remember stuff from the past chapters) which could’ve been a trigger.

Also, I feel like they’re trying to tell us that Jiro is Zenji’s brother because when he had that little laugh about the MC being scared of bodies, he said too. When you click the “too?” option, he just says that he isn’t the one afraid. It’s not Yuri as well cause he’s literally a doctor that is in the same room when autopsies are in session. Whatever the case, I assume he was referencing to Zenji, though it being a blurry memory. Little theory tho.

OK SO THIS IS JUST SO FUNNY TO ME. In Chapter 9’s title it says, “Girl Learns Shocking Truth About Monster”. I like to think the shocking truth was the fact he didn’t shower for 3 days 😭. CAUSE THATS THE PART SHE SOUNDS MOST SHOCKED. Idk that part was silly to me. THEY’RE OUTFITS FOR THEIR DORM IS SOOOOOO PRETTY. They ate I fear, a bit more than the other dorms. Also side note, they dropped A LOT of info with just how they word things. For example, Yuri saying “Jiro, you are well aware that I will not be associated with those germs AGAIN.” Soooo Yuri was in Frostheim? I don’t doubt it bc there’s another line that says “I’d rather not recall how bitterly cold that place is” which can MEAN TWO THINGS. I’m super sure that they’re implying that yeah, he was, but then something happened blah blah blah.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH HYDE AND DANTE??? Like ok bitches, spill your shot to us too don’t be shy. So, confirmed by them, Dante and Hyde used to go to school in Darkwick (which I assume the rest of the teachers are too). That explains their back and forth. WHAT REALLY CAUGHT MY EYE WERE THESE LINES.

Hyde: “…You really are a softie, Dan-Dan.” (Haha Dan- Dan)

Dante: “It would seem that way to someone as cold as you.” (???) “…There are lines that shouldn’t be crossed, Hyde.”

Hyde: “…I’ll keep that in mind.”

WHATTTTT. WHAT ARE THE LINES. GO IN DETAIL ARGHHHHH. This gives us more info on the character individually too. Dante describes Hyde as cold… DANTE. So, it was obvious that this whole happy go lucky attitude was fake, but I expected to be more like Haru’s kind of attitude not like that yk?? now I know how much of a cash grab this game is, but I really hope they aren’t going to stretch the story out too long to the point where you have to P2W cause I haven’t paid a cent and I don’t plan to. I still want to learn more about them and stuff so :(. On the topic of Dante, there was a small flashback where I missed a word in the sentence that Dante said while talking with Alan. “I’m the man you supposedly killed.” Supposedly?? Now, I didn’t my catch this in my first run, but now it’s like wdym supposedly?? Shouldn’t you know? This is giving hella Jiro vibes and honestly, I’m getting sick and tired of these characters having a bad memory.

SPEAKING OF JIRO- he seems to have problems remembering things and they come back to him in the very weird moments (honestly a kin moment). I would like the think that he’s just suffering from the damages he had to go through from the clash. His relationship with Yuri is so… sad to me. Yuri seems to doubt him a little bit and I feel like he sees him as just a specimen, not much of a friend. Meanwhile, Jiro smiles a lot to Yuri and listens to him like a master, like that’s what he’s supposed to do. NOT AGAINST HIS OWN WILL DONT GET ME WRONG. He’s just so neutral about it it makes me a bit like awwww :(. They’re cute tho idrc.

Ok moving on to Haku and Tohma. (Ok at this point I’m getting nervous cause why are we seeing so many characters now. That’s probably just a coincidence). OK THESE TWO HAVE GOT IT GOING. Like there’s tension when you get their chat in the campus but this is like woahhhh… Also I don’t like how Tohma says “our wheelhouse? I see..” it makes me think he’s like implying “so you think you’re a part of them now?” IDK THATS JUST MY LITTLE STRETCH. Also poor Zenji, he’s like “aw yeah I died in vain lol” LIKE OUCH.

Nicholas. I DO NOT LIKE HIM. I REPEAT. I DO NOT LIKE HIM FOR A MINUTE OF A SECOND. The only staff I like are the cats, the grocer guy, and MAYBE Dante. LIKE HES SO… NORMAL?? LIKE THERE’S SOMETHING WEIRD GOING ON IK THERE IS. When MC says “I can’t believe Professor Nicolas would do something like that” I DO 😡🙋‍♀️. I am in full support of Yuri finding crimes against this guy.

Also, little other side note, I just realized that Yuri and Jiro have matching earring in opposite ears. It’s so cute.

Ok I might have to go back to the beginning and see what the “goat like anomaly” Jiro is talking about when he mentions the prophecy, cause I said “… the chancellor is a goat??” BUT ANYWAYS. Speaking of the prophecy, I’ll jot it down.

“The whisper of the new moon shall lead the champion to the academy on the solitary island. So long as the champion resides there, the world shall be sheltered from profound tragedy.”

Stating the obvious here, but this is most likely referencing to the last cutscenes we get when we choose our characters. I’ve checked the cutscenes again and there’s no visible moon, meaning it could correlate to the “new moon” portion. (Search up new moon to see what I mean). Assuming Solitary island means death, that would also help with the theory. So, whoever we chose in the beginning might just be the person who won the Laurel Crown.Honestly, this is just a silly little Drabble for a theory and VERY vague. Maybe the champion resides in the events of the past that we still don’t know about but this kinda helps?? Idk I’m just putting what I think at the moment. I’ll probably reread the game so I can get a better timeline. Also, Yuri’s rant about demon particles… doesn’t exactly sit right with me. Were they chosen to be resilient or was it just a birth thing?? Idk but I feel like a lot is missing from his theory. I mean, we’re using human logic to a supernatural cause so I don’t think pacts acting as allergies would work. If they’re not chosen, could it be that the ghouls can make pacts with more than one demon? I wanna see what happens if that was the case. Please comment if I missed something 😭.

Ok Towa appeared. (Why are we seeing so many characters I don’t like this) and we went back to that tree… WHAT IS THAT TREE?? And what the hell do you mean the fruit grew? What is that fruit supposed to be? An anomaly going to birth?? Is it supposed to represent the houses?? Motivation?? It seems so weird to me cause we just got introduced to that tree last episode. Sighs.

OK REN AND RITSU. WHAT IS GOING ON. I GUESS SINCE THIS IS THE LADT CHAPTER FOR INTRODUCING CHARACTERS BUT LIKE … STOP. I feel like something is going to happen with the MC pls 😭. Anyway, those two talking about ramen is so cute please don’t ever change you virgin and lizard looking freak 🫶( with love of course). GROCER GUYYYYYYY. YIPPEE :3!! I love that the cat is the owner and not the human lmao.

Also I will always be a MC defender cause she is so relatable. “Why are hospitals so creepy at night?” GIRL IKKKKKK. Idc what y’all say, the fact that she’s normal is keeping me sane from these freaky deaky events. ILOVE NORMAL CHARACTERS! LIKE MATSUDA FROM DEATH NOTE OR THAT ONE GUY FROM MASHELE. Anyways, I love her little comments and everything she’s so silly. Idrc if she doesn’t have much of a backbone cause honestly, she’s surrounded by danger so the best she should do is listen to the people that are constantly surrounded by it.

ALSO NEW THING. (Well idk if it’s new but yeah).

mention of a Dionysia Breakout. <—— Idk what that is, but it sounds like a little more. I love little details and slip ups thanks characters <3!!

HA! HAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA! I WIN NICOLAS 😈!!! YOU DO HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE. AND I WILL FIND IT TRUST YOU WILL BE DELT WITH. I WILL KNOW THE PRIOR PAST >:(!! Also, Moby is being soooo annoying tbh. More character descriptions to add: competitive as a teacher. NO ONE WILL MAKE YOU HATE YOU JIRO ‼️‼️‼️ HES SO SWEET He literally asks if we’re scared and says we can hang back awwww. Though he doesn’t understand much, he can use logic and he can at least understand how we feel. It’s a nice sentiment :)!

I can’t take the transformation seriously I’m sorry. I’m still impressed by Yuri’s deductive skills and the transformation just sounded like he was constipated.

THE WHOLE BATTLE SCENE WAS EPIC!! MC HESITATING BECAUSE OF LEOS WORDS BUT STILL PUSHING FORWARD. YURI GETTING FLUSTERED. JIRO SMILING AND TRUSTING YURI’S ORDERS. THE FUNNY EXCHANGE ABOUT MUSCLE WHEN THEY WERE CARRYING THE POD. Those annoying ass pussy sticks we call Darkwick students 😡. JIRO LOOKING BADASS AFTER THE SHOT. URGHHHH I LOVE THIS CHAPTER.

HARU AND PEEKABOOOOO!! AHHHHH IM SO HAPPY I SEE THEM AGAIN!! I’m so glad he’s going to Hyde too cause I’m not ready. Also… the mermaid thing is so weird. For the Montkraken Mermaid, they seem to refer to it as “it” or “that mermaid”, but when they speak of the second mermaid, they use personal pronouns like “he /him”. Haru’s expression as well when he heard someone was abusing mermaid flesh… it’s a new one with a little crease under his eye. It’s such a sad face like, did he know this mermaid personally or was this fear?? Either way, I wanna meet him cause the other one was so pretty.

…You guys know the “I see who you are… you are my enemy” sound that’s on TikTok or reels or wtv? YEAH THATS SONG WAS PLAYING IN MY HEAD WHEN HYDE SAID WE HAD TO DO A SPEECH. HYDE IM IN YOUR WALLS. URGHHHH I HATE HIMMMMM. Call to action my ass IK either Taiga or Leo are gonna get their asses out of the door after the speech. OR BOTH. I’m starting to tweak.

NOOOOO THE SPEECH IS THE NEXT CHAPTER?? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I feel so bad for Zenji… like I’m so deadass. Dude he sounds so sad about how he’s dead it’s so.. URGHHHH. ALSO I CALLED IT. THEY ARE BROTHERS. AHAHHAHA!! Well it was kinda obvious cause everyone thought it too but WOMP WOMP. Also I love his real name, Taro Kirisaki. It’s pretty :)!! But these lines killed me

“and though I have taken my final blow, my brotherly heart can’t help but worry for my kin. … Not that he has any idea I’m still around.” YEOUCH?? I DIDNT COME TO CRY BRO…

I’m tweaking out because of this speech bro. I’m gonna choose the corniest stuff and hope for the best. “I feel bad please stop for me 🥺” headass.

Taiga is officially my enemy as well. I called that shit about him leaving URGH. WHAT A FLIBBERTYJIBBET!! His outfit eats tho so it balances out. LIKE DAMNNNN. HE LOOKS SO GOOD.

DOUBLE?? TRIPLE??? QUINTUPLE???? HELL I MIGHT BECOME A GHOUL TO GET THAT MONEY GOLLY 😍😍😍!! CAUSE IN THIS ECONOMY??Also thanks Jin you a real one twin. Bouta split this cash with my wife and I’ll send you a wedding invite.

EDWARD. ED PLEASE. STOP PUTTING ME IN THE SPOTLIGHT… well it’s out now so woopy!! I really wonder what the others have to say about that cause they just gave really vague surprised reactions. Well, Ritsu documented it. I love that little guy please don’t ever change you silly.

NUMBER ONE CORNELIUS HATER IDC. Unless I know your intentions I DONT CAREEEEE. YOU ARE AN OPP IT IS ON SIGHT WITH YOU. SAME WITH YOU NICOLAS!! “I didn’t know whether to tell you or not I’m sowwy 🥺” CHUPA MI PITO HOE 😡.

… you’re telling me I didn’t have to do that awful speech because DANTE AGREED?? IM DONE. IM WHOOPING EVERYONE IN THE ROOM AND AURING THE PLACE OUT. FIRST ONES OUT ARE HYDE FOR NOT TELLING ME, NICOLAS, AND CORNELIUS. ARGHHHHHHH. Also, dude, who is that Janitor guy like seriously.

ROMEO??? AND HYDE???? WHAT IS THIS ABOUT BUTTERCUP?? Wdym worked for him?? What is going on… SPECIAL MISSION??? SHO??? OH NAW. I CANT TRUST NOBODY ANYMORE 😭

Towa crying :(. What does the fruit shrinking have to do with it now?? I’m so confused.

ALRIGHT IF YOU MADE IT TO THE END WOW YOU HAVE DEDICATION. Yeah this is my personal yap session to this chapter and it’s so URGH. I’m so excited to see the next chapter and I hope we get to see more and more. Now with the Gala in place, we can finally start WORKING. Based on the timeline, we have about … 8 months left?? So hopefully, for MC’s sake, she gets cured. BYE BYE UNTIL NEXT EPISODE!!

[chenziee]

To Love a Geisha

Written for the adorable @opfluffzine!! It's a free digital zine that you can download right here ☁️

ALSO check out the amazing spot art by @beasttrash!! It's so so cute 🤖🌸

[ READ ON AO3 | KO-FI | COMM INFO ]

—————

“Hey, Franosuke, are you married?”

The question didn’t take Franosuke, a carpenter in the Flower Capital of Wano, completely by surprise. After all, a few of his coworkers had just spent the better half of their break complaining about their home lives—how their wives were on their asses about drinking and spending time with geishas instead of helping take care of the kids. Which was entirely in their right to do, in Franosuke’s opinion; a man should take responsibility and help his family, be it wife, kids, siblings, or parents!

But voicing those thoughts would go against his ‘role’, wouldn’t it?

And so, Franosuke simply laughed, shaking his head. “No way, man! I’m free as a super bird!”

“Good for you!” one of the men said, slapping Franosuke’s shoulder.

“Oh, but,” another one noted with a knowing smirk, “I hear you’ve got quite the favourite in old Tsugaru Umi’s teahouse.”

A small choir of ohh immediately followed as all his coworkers turned to look at Franosuke with wide, almost evil grins on their faces. A second later, a barrage of questions followed.

“It’s O-Some, isn’t it?!”

“I bet it’s Kisegawa!”

“The Oiran’s procession is going to be next month, I bet you switch your favourite then! Always happens.”

Honestly, Franosuke had no idea who or what they were talking about… but a happy smile still pulled on his lips as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. Because, while his coworkers speculated wildly about who his favourite geisha might or might not be, he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering.

Wandering to the silky black hair, two-coloured blue eyes, and mind so sharp it could destroy a man in a second.

Shaking his head, Franky laughed loudly as he brought himself to the reality where he was surrounded by a bunch of dudes with the smell of wood and sweat in the air. “You’re making me feel super weird now, guys! She’s a super lady. I’m not going to replace her because some pin-up girl walks by!”

His coworkers exchanged a confused glance. “What’s ‘pin-up girl’?”

Oh.

Shit, he shouldn’t have said that.

“A beautiful, sexy woman?” Franosuke tried, wrecking his brain for an excuse. “It’s… a dialect.”

Several doubtful looks and murmurs of, “where is he from again?” were his only response and he felt sweat building on his back, his shirt sticking to his skin uncomfortably. What could he say? How did he change the topic without it sounding forced?

What a super dumb slip of the tongue that was…

“Hey, assholes!! Stop slacking or I’m gonna fire you!”

All the men on the construction site jumped at the angry shout, everyone immediately rushing to pick up their saws and hammers and get to work. Meanwhile… Franosuke was never more grateful for Master Minatomo and his awful personality.

—————

Walking down the familiar streets of the Flower Capital, Franosuke marvelled at how easy finding his way was now. After all, it had only been a few weeks since he had arrived here and at first, the roads felt incredibly confusing. Them all being named 1st Street and 2nd Street and 36th Street wasn’t helping either because… 36th from what?

It made no sense to him. The city he grew up in was huge too but Water 7 had never felt as hard to navigate as this.

Now, though, he could walk these streets blindfolded—at least the parts of the city he knew. Actually… how many times had he walked this route? Even his coworkers had started to notice he visited the place often… Some might even say too often; they might say he was pathetic, hopeless, throwing away money for no reason, for a fake dream.

But it wasn’t fake, a dream, or hopeless to him.

Instead, the sight of the teahouse attached to a certain okiya made him feel happy. Excited.

“Sir Franosuke, we’ve been expecting you.” The teahouse worker bowed deeply in greeting before leading him to his reserved room and bowing again.

Franosuke wondered whether this treatment would ever stop freaking him out; it was like he was a nobility whenever he walked in here, it was super weird. But, he supposed that was what went with exclusive patronage—honestly, it was a miracle he was even allowed in here. Not many were, certainly not people who appeared suddenly out of nowhere with no background and no connections.

Yet another reason to suffer old Minatomo and his tantrums; if it weren’t for his patronage of this place, his recommendation, and friendship with the owner, there was no way for Franosuke to even get a glimpse of the garden, never mind getting to walk through the doors to this small, private room.

Well, no reason to dwell on that. He was here and that was all that mattered!

The moment he sat down at the tiny, low table, the door slid open quietly once more. And when he glanced towards it… a wide smile pulled on his lips. 

Kneeling on the ground just outside the room was a geisha, her head slightly bowed, eyes turned modestly to the ground. She waited a few seconds before she rose to her feet, entered the room and kneeled again to close the door behind herself, then turned to face Franosuke directly for the first time.

“Welcome… my Lord,” she said in a sweet voice before her eyes turned to the side once more. This time, however, it was in a more of a coy way than anything.

The sight nearly made Franosuke start laughing.

“Seeing you act like this, I feel like you’re about to assassinate me every time, Miss O-Robi.”

Now, it was O-Robi’s turn to quickly cover her mouth with her kimono sleeve to hide her chuckle. “I think Luffy wouldn’t be very happy if he came here with Sanji only to find out his shipwright was now in pieces, being sold for metal scrap.”

Franosuke frowned, crossing his large metal arms over his chest. “Hey! Are you doubting my abilities? I’m not so easy to just take apart and sell, lady!” He paused, then added, “You would make a lot of money with me though.”

This time, O-Robi couldn’t hold her quiet giggle back. She didn’t bother hiding it either as she finally joined Franosuke at his table. “I’ll make sure to sell you to the underground. I know people would pay hundreds of millions of beri for that laser beam of yours, Franky,” she said, her voice light with amusement.

“You’d better,” Franky huffed, nodding to himself. “Those people’d appreciate my super armoured body at least!”

Shaking her head with an easy smile still playing on her lips, Robin grabbed the sake bottle off the table, pouring Franky a cup with practised ease. Up until now, Franky had never realised how elegant such a simple action could be; it was like watching art in motion. Robin’s graceful hands were holding the bottle gently, the sake trickling into the cup with precision, not a single drop wasted. She was leaning forward slightly, the collar of her kimono falling low in the back, exposing and accentuating her long, delicate neck.

Franky jumped when someone tapped his shoulder right then, breaking him out of his reverie—when he turned to look who it was, however, only a detached hand growing out of his own arm greeted him, before it scattered into flower petals.

“Staring is rude, you know,” Robin said, shooting Franky a teasing look.

The man huffed out a laugh as he leaned forward, pressing his lips to Robin’s cheek, careful of her make-up. “Sorry, Robin. Just admiring how beautiful my super geisha is.”

“A geisha mustn’t be touched, my Lord,” Robin said sternly, but the corners of her mouth twitched, her eyes dancing.

“Kick me out, then.” Franky grinned and, without missing a beat, kissed her again. 

Robin laughed. “You’re impossible.”

Finally, Franky grabbed the sake bottle from her, pouring her own cup for her. With a small thank you, Robin raised her cup to her lips, taking a sip—and then, as if completely letting go of her ‘role’, she leaned into Franky’s side, sighing contently.

For but a second, Franky froze. 

But then, something warm spilled inside of his chest and he raised his arm, pulling her closer to him. He almost forgot how it felt having Robin next to him, how comforting and exciting feeling her body heat seep into his skin—numb and hard with metal right underneath—was. The archeologist was so small next to him. Small and beautiful and oh-so deadly.

Franky knew that if she wanted to, she would be able to kill him in seconds. But she didn’t—wouldn’t. Not anymore. And Franky loved knowing that, loved that she chose every day to be here, with the crew. With him. She had gone through so much pain, but she was willing to open herself up and trust them even so.

He would make super damn sure she never regretted that decision.

Letting his smaller, human-sized hand out of his regular hand, Franky reached out, touching Robin’s cheek softly, making her tilt her head back to look at him. Robin hummed questioningly, but Franky only sighed. “I really wanna kiss you.”

“You did already.”

Franky clicked his tongue. “You know what I mean, Robin.”

“You’ll mess up my make-up,” Robin noted.

“And your teacher will yell at you, I know.” 

With a sigh, Franky retreated his hand; he really didn’t want a repeat of the first time he came here… Robin wasn’t allowed to leave the okiya for days after that, apparently something about proper geisha manners and perceived perfection and innocence. He didn’t really get it but he sure didn’t need a detailed explanation. Definitely not from the tiny old hag. She looked like she would go on forever given the chance.

Quickly covering her mouth with her kimono sleeve, Robin chuckled at Franky’s disappointment.

But then, Franky blinked when one of Robin’s hands came to rest against his shoulder, another on his chest as she rose to her knees with a soft smile on her lips—and a playful twinkle in her eyes. A third and a fourth hand cupped Franky’s face, gently guiding him forward—and a second later, their lips met, moulding together easily as they kissed properly for the first time in weeks.

Franky grinned into the kiss; the smell of the powder on Robin’s skin mixing with her perfume was tickling his nose, her lips soft against his own. The feeling made his heart race as if this was their first time.

It would probably always feel that way to him. With Robin, every day was like their first—especially now. After not seeing her for two whole years, it was as if he couldn’t get enough of her presence, her voice, her touch, her brilliance. 

She was just as beautiful, just as smart, just as perfect as she was when they first met. The only difference was that she was much more herself.

And Franky couldn’t help but love every last bit off her.

When his coworker asked if he was married earlier, Franky wasn’t being entirely honest. But… it wasn’t like he was completely lying either. He did have a wife but they were pirates, after all, and pirate weddings weren’t exactly official. Moreover, they were officiated by the captain. And their captain being Luffy… The whole thing pretty much consisted of Luffy saying ‘Marry you? Yeah, why not. Done.’ and then immediately asking if there was a wedding cake. 

Franky hesitated calling that a wedding. More like a super speed run of one. But—

It was enough for them.

Whether they were an assassin and a dismantler, an archeologist and a shipwright, or a geisha and a carpenter, Franky knew Robin would always be right there, by his side.

And Franky would always be grateful for it, ready to love her exactly the way she was in return.

[typicalopposite]

Got an idea I will flesh out into a more coherent full length fic closer to Halloween BUT imagine with me if you will…

Buck wanting to go to this haunted house… attraction or the real deal whichever.. and he wrangles in the whole team. (Tommy, Eddie, Hen, and Chim)

They go and on the way they are listening to scary stories, and the three believers are sharing experiences and so hyped up… meanwhile Tommy and Eddie are like … 🙄🙃 yall are ridiculous gullible scaredy cats.

So they arrive at the place. (Let’s go with an attraction but it’s AT a supposedly haunted place) and the believers are screaming and running and swearing they see/hear/smell(?) things not part of the experience! They are having a blast but also scared out of their minds… and the whole time Tommy and Eddie are still 🙄🙃

They disprove all the “real” activity. They call out the cheesy fakeness of the actors/jump scares… and by the end Buck Hen and Chim are pouty from the two being party poopers (Chim’s words) and boring.

So…

Buck gets an idea… a way to really see if they are as brave and non-believing as they insist they are.

He finds a school… abandoned after the earthquake, but it had been claimed to be haunted even when it was open to students. It was built over a cemetery and was extremely eerie and supposedly super active; especially now that the ground was split open beneath it and the graves were disturbed.

“One night,” Buck proposes. “From sunset, to sunrise… you two last without experiencing anything, and we will stop giving you shit about being skeptics.”

Tommy rolls his eyes, says this is juvenile and probably illegal (what would Athena say). Eddie, on the other hand, leaps at the idea.. eager to prove these three wrong ONCE AND FOR ALL! “Come on, man!” Eddie all but begs. “Let’s show them how ridiculous they are always being!” Tommy teases it’s easy for Eddie to be so quick to prove them wrong… he doesn’t have to go home to one of them after… but he ultimately agrees.

So they go to the school. Some flashlights and snacks- Eddie brings his baseball bat incase any other people decide to get the same silly idea, and pose a threat. Buck reminds them: from sunset… to sunrise. They have their phones to call in case of absolute emergency… but if they try to leave before that for any other reason then they lose the bet.

Fast forward to a few hours in. They are bored and tired… and nothing has happened… until—until Tommy hears footsteps from somewhere in the school. He’d be lying if he said the sound coupled with the over all decrepitness of the old building didn’t send a chill through him. But because it could be some person with bad intentions— after all… real people are FAR scarier than pretend ghosts and goblins.

He hears it again— this time closer. Light tap tap tapping of footsteps coming down the hallway outside the room they are currently sitting in. “Hey… do you hear that?” he asks Eddie, who rolls his eyes and says it’s probably the others trying to scare them. He tells him to chill out. Tommy rolls his eyes at himself, thinking Eddie is probably right— that’s definitely something Buck and Chim would do… he’s not sure about Hen but he wouldn’t fully doubt it.

The night continues and Tommy doesn’t hear the footsteps again… for a while. They have wandered around a little and suddenly he hears them coming from behind them. Next to him, out of the corner of his eye he sees Eddie go still. They turn slowly and there is nothing behind them. No where for someone to have ducked down to hide either… and nothing to rationalize as the culprit for the footsteps. They (shakily) shrug it off and continue to explore the school.

There are pictures of the gravestones that were removed to make way for the foundation of the school. And plaques telling about spooky occurrences that have happened. Eddie scoffs saying they deserved to be haunted for disturbing a burial ground like that.

From down the hall a door slams shut. Both men jump, look at each other, then shine their lights towards the noise… it takes them a moment to decide whether it’s worth investigating, and ultimately decide if it’s the others… they don’t feel like listening to their teasing that they were to scared to check the noise out. So they make their way towards the room of the door that slammed, and Tommy reaches for the knob as Eddie readies his bat… just in case it’s NOT Buck, Chim, or Hen.

He pushes the door open and a breeze blows out, sending goosebumps all over Tommy’s body. He lifts his flashlight and shines it in the room… and it’s empty. He sticks his head in to be sure and yep… empty. Well— It’s empty minus a single red balloon floating ominously in the corner. He holds the light on it… Tries to make some sort of logical sense of it… asks Eddie what he thinks of it…

“I think I’m gonna kick those idiots asses come morning…” Eddie concludes, and lowers his bat, grabbing the door and pulling it shut. He walks off mumbling to himself about them needing to grow up, this being stupid… blah blah blah… and Tommy is about to turn and follow when the knob to the door slowly turns and it creaks open. Eddie stops and calls back to Tommy, asking what he’s doing.

“That— that wasn’t me…” Tommy says, shining his light at the door. Eddie walks back over and they watch as the door fully opens itself— both lift their lights and the balloon from the corner is now in the center of the room. They stare at it, and it sways forward— towards them. “Are— are you seeing this too?” Tommy asks.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah I see it. It’s— it’s just a draft, or— or something, yeah?”

“Yeah. Yeah yeah yeah… for sure.”

The balloon gently lurches forward again, now just on the other side of the open door. Tommy and Eddie— flashlights still aimed at the balloon— slowly back away from the door, down the hall to the point the rooms no longer visible. The school sits eerily silent, save for their staggered breathing. Then there’s a loud crash from somewhere behind them, causing both of them to turn. Theres nothing fallen over or broken… they turn back… and now the ballon is right infront of them.

~~~

Outside the school, Hen is shushing Buck and Chim who are in a fit of giggles as they pull dark hoods up over their pale and grotesque painted faces. “Shut up or you’re going to give us away!” She hisses, her phones camera aimed at the two as they sneak around the side of the school, creeping towards the entrance into the school so they can scare the shit out of the non believers.

The hear two loud terrified screams wail out from inside and watch as the schools doors are flung open, Tommy and Eddie running out and towards Eddie’s truck. One falls over his own feet grunting and groaning as he collides with the ground, one is possibly sobbing as he frantically tugs on the trucks door handle. And in less than five seconds they are loaded in and peeling off down the road away from the school… leaving Buck Chimney and Hen staring after them… extremely confused… but it doesn’t matter… because they won the bet.

👻👻👻👻👻

Idea sparked from THIS FANART omg it is GOLDEN!

Also inspired (the school on the graveyard and the balloon) from THIS TIKTOK that follows the same premise and is CREEPY AF! 🫶👻

[bluegekk0]

I've been in such an emotional slump lately. I fear that I upset my friends without realizing and now every interaction I feel like they're mad at me. It's like every time we chat I get the impression that they're annoyed with me, I keep thinking they're being sarcastic and trying to tell me to shut up in subtle ways, but I'm scared of asking cause what if I'm overreacting like I usually do? I just hate it so much. I feel like I'm such an exhausting person to be around and a little voice in the back of my mind keeps telling me it would be better for everyone if I distanced myself.

And I'm also fighting really hard against the idea that people in general are getting bored of me. I know engagement is not everything, I know that drawing for myself should be a priority. It makes me happy, and I draw what I love BECAUSE I love it. But it's so hard for me to not hope for validation and feedback when I've been compared to others all childhood. And it stings so much when a drawing I'm super happy with maybe doesn't perform as well as I hoped (at least compares to the number of people who follow me). I don't know if it's not reaching people here or if it's just getting too repetitive for people to care anymore. Or perhaps people see my self-reblogs as desperate and get discourages from interacting for that reason? Maybe they're right for that.

I've also been looking into and educating myself on the experiences of autistic individuals since I suspect I'm on the spectrum, and I do relate to many of them, plus every test I take indicates that I might be autistic. So in theory, self diagnosing would help, right? I could stop worrying that I'm broken somehow or a failure of an adult, and just accept that my brain simply works differently and maybe even be more kind to myself. That sounds good. But then the doubts keep creeping in. I don't remember if I showed any signs in my childhood, I barely remember anything from it. So what if I'm wrong, what if there were none, and I'm just overanalyzing symptoms or even faking them? How can I consider myself part of the community if there is a chance I shouldn't be there at all? What if I'm just lazy, what if I'm an introverted, anxious loser who put themselves in this situation by being incompetent at everything, now trying to find excuses?

I don't know. There's so many exhausting thoughts that have been dragging my mood down for the past few days. And I guess I'm just waiting for it to pass since I'm so scared of actually going out there and getting help.

Well, there goes another oversharing session. I usually feel bad talking about this with my friends cause I don't want to put them under the obligation to respond. And with how terrible I am at responding to their struggles (not that I don't care, I'm just so, so bad at responding to emotions and putting my thoughts into words that don't make me sound robotic) it often feels too one sided. So I guess this is a way for me to scream into the void and give people a choice if they want to ignore it or respond. I could just write it down in a diary or something, but part of me is hoping that maybe this experience resonates with someone and I'd feel less alone. Or maybe I'm simply just desperate for advice or validation that would feed my ego.

[sky-kenobye]

Fic idea that I've been obsessing over in the last couple of days:

TLDR: Obi-Wan gets dumped on his wedding day, Anakin suggests they get married instead to save Obi-Wan the humiliation (and money), he agrees, they get married and nobody realises the stunt they pulled (except for the few people they told), and they both realise that actually it's great to be married to each other and that they wouldn't have it any other way, and probably get their happily ever after.

(A lot more details under the cut for those who are interested!)

Obi-Wan is getting married to someone (I was thinking Satine at first but I don't want to bash on her just because she's in the way of my ship so let's say an original character 🤷), Anakin is his best man, and it's a kinda big and traditional wedding and they did the 'you can't see your bride until the ceremony' stuff, so Obi-Wan is already at the city hall(?), while the bride will be coming later, just before the start of the ceremony.

It's less than an hour before the start and some early guests are already getting there. One of the bride's guest (Padmé?) is arriving when she gets a phone call from the bride, telling her that the wedding is canceled, sorry for calling at the last minute but she had to call all the guests and she was the last one. At the same time Anakin is coming out of the building for whatever reason and Padmé is like 'wdym it's canceled? The best man is here, and I can see other guests!'. The bride kinda panicks and hangs up, and Padmé flags Anakin down to ask what's going on.

He's also baffled because Obi-Wan didn't say it was cancelled, he's ready to get married and everything and he saw him about 10 seconds ago. They try to call the bride back but she doesn't answer, then they try to call another guest of the bride that Padmé knows. She answers and they learn that apparently the bride called in the morning and said that Obi-Wan had cancelled the wedding and dumped her at the last minute and they were each calling their half of the guests to tell them not to show up (which is clearly a bunch of lies from the bride).

They go and explain all of this to Obi-Wan who's confused and angry and heartbroken. He manages to get on the phone with the bride who properly dumps him, and by that time there's very little time before the ceremony was supposed to start. Most of the (Obi-Wan's) guests are there, and it's kind of (very) humiliating to have to go in front of all these people that he knows and tell them "wedding cancelled, I've been dumped, you can go home", and on top of that it wasn't a super cheap wedding so that sucks, and the catering is already ready so he'll have to throw away a ton of food? Not a great situation.

So Anakin has an idea: what if they get married instead? It's crazy so Obi-Wan tries to argue against it:

We can't get fake married! Then let's get real married!

People will still know I've been dumped and I'm pathetically trying to save face! None of the bride's guests will be there so i doubt it.

It was still her name on the wedding announcement. Okay then, maybe she dumped you like idk a month ago and I took the opportunity to declare my secret love for you!

And we got married less than a month later? It's hard and expensive as shit to cancel a wedding on such a short notice so we took the opportunity! It's not so unrealistic for me and I could probably convince you to do it.

But then we'll be married. Yeah, so? There are worst things in the world.

Obi-Wan is skeptical but not saying no yet, and Padmé is like 'honestly coming from anybody else I'd think they lost it, but from you two? I can see it. Not even sure I'd be all that surprised tbh'.

Obi-Wan's not having a great time and getting married to Anakin sounds a thousand times better than telling people what actually happened so he says fuck it let's do it.

They form a quick battle plan: Obi-Wan will go talk to the officiant to change the bride's name to anakin's (is it legally possible in any country? Probably not but let's pretend it is and that the marriage is still valid), Anakin will find them new best men/women (probably quinlan for obi-wan and ahsoka for anakin? Or padmé since she's already in the loop) and brief them on the situation, and Padmé will find a ring that fits Anakin (she borrows one of the guest's, maybe Owen Lars'?).

Only a few minutes late, they come out in front of all the guests, do a quick speech explaining the unexpected change (with a few lies of course), and the ceremony begins. Everything goes smoothly, Obi-Wan improvises very moving (and actually 100% honest) wedding vows, Anakin is crying and forgot they needed wedding vows but manages to put a few sentences together which are equally as honest as Obi-Wan's and make people cry too (they think he forgot his vows because of the emotion). They put the rings on each other, kiss and all of that, and when they leave the building they're both beaming so wide that it doesn't occur to anybody to be suspicious, the grooms look so happy and in love!

Then it's time for the reception and everybody has a great time, the grooms have a very sweet first dance, and they're all over each other the entire evening, how adorable! And if they disappear for a little while (Obi-Wan may be happy to get married to Anakin but he still just got dumped, so he may want to have a few minutes to breath in a quiet corner and get a good hug) then everybody assumes they're making out in a closet or something. Owen laughs at them for forgetting the rings (which is what he assumes is the reason they needed his ring), and they get a lot of friendly ribbing for 'keeping their wedding a secret' from pretty much everybody.

And maybe after a few drink they do really disappear to make out and decide that marrying your best friend that you've always kind of been into without ever admitting it is pretty amazing actually.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Mary L. Trump at The Good in Us:

Like most Americans, I too want the national temperature to be lowered. I want to see the violent rhetoric to stop. And I want to see our nation unified. But the other side seems to be saying that, in order for that to happen, we’re not allowed to talk about Donal'd’s record of lawlessness, cruelty, and incompetence and we must make concessions to the would-be dictator. On Monday, while Republicans tried to shame their critics into silence by making false and increasingly incendiary claims that it was Democrats who are responsible for creating the context in which Saturday’s shooting took place, we were reminded just how dangerous things will get if Donald wins this election. Today, Aileen Cannon, Donald’s personal pocket judge, took the shocking (but not surprising) and illogical step of dismissing the charges against my uncle. Her behavior since acquiring this case has been abysmal and partisan; she has frequently skated across the line of malpractice. Her repeatedly putting her thumb on the scale in favor of the defense (who am I kidding?—she acted like she was lead counsel for the defense) felt even worse, because we know Donald is guilty. We know he stole our national security documents; we know held them in non-secure locations; and we know he refused to return them. We know these things because we witnessed Donald commit the crimes—and he confessed to them over and over again.

There is no way to interpret Cannon’s decision other than as a political favor from a corrupt judge who, along with the illegitimate super-majority of the Supreme Court (especially Clarence Thomas) is determined to put Donald above the law.

[...]

What happened at Donald’s rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday was deeply wrong and un-American. The same can be said of his plans for this country if he’s put in the Oval Office again. We can’t be quiet. We can’t let the side that continues to traffic in violent political rhetoric blame us shame us or scare us into silence. We must continue to sound the warnings—there will be no pivoting to unity and peace. There will only be Donald and his sycophants and enablers being exactly what we have known them to be. This morning, while pundits and columnists were, once again, falling for the promise to pivot to unity, Donald simply couldn’t help himself. In response to Cannon’s horrifying ruling, he called for the “dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts—the January 6th Hoax in Washington, D.C., the Manhattan D.A.’s Zombie Case, the New York A.G. Scam, Fake Claims about a woman I never met (a decades old photo in a line with her then husband does not count), and the Georgia ‘Perfect’ Phone Call charges.” 

[...] Not long after Cannon’s corrupt gift to him, Donald announced the selection of Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his running mate. If his goal was to pick a hypocritical bully and revanchist sycophant, he could not have made a better choice. Clearly, Vance thinks he’s immune to the kind of consequences suffered by Donald’s former Vice President—you know, the guy who almost got hanged by Donald’s mob—but I’d still suggest that Vance watch his back. Vance is stronger than Pence when it comes to pursuing his own interests, but he’s as transactional as Donald. Pence has very few principles, but on one important days, he had least one when it really counted. Despite the enormous amount of pressure that was brought to bear on him, he showed up to do his job on January 6th. Vance will have no such compunction. If you have any doubts about that, consider his comments to George Stephanopoulos:

“If I had been vice president, I would have told the states, like Pennsylvania, Georgia and so many others, that we needed to have multiple slates of electors, and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there. That is the legitimate way to deal with an election that a lot of folks, including me, think had a lot of problems in 2020.” Of course, Donald gave this fellow-insurrectionist a promotion.  Jen O’Malley Dillon of the Biden-Harris campaign, put it this way, “[Donald] picked J.D. Vance as his running mate because Vance will do what Mike Pence wouldn’t on January 6: bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and no matter the harm to the American people. In other words, Donald didn’t want to take a chance that his new running mate would ever put the country first like Pence did. That’s one more guardrail that no longer exists. 

Mary L. Trump nails it in that we cannot unite around the fascistic and divisive Trump/Vance agenda.

[thatfreshi]

"Did I Smudge the Scars?" (Uni AU P. 19)

Hello. The long-awaited Halloween party (I know it's almost spring whoops). This took a different turn than I was expecting, but it felt right to me.

TW - alcohol, references to grooming, references to self-harm

When you get to Karlach's dorm, you're met at the door with a lot of scuffling and 'ow!'s, as well as other pathetic hurt sounds.

"Tav, they've been fighting and I can't get them to stop."

A disheveled Gale and Shadow are on the shitty dorm floor, pulling at each other's hair. You glare at your tallest friend.

"Are you... you're serious? As if you aren't literally an athlete?"

She shrugs.

"Well, I'm not going to tell my girlfriend what to do, and I think if I touched Gale he'd fall into tiny pieces. C'mon, please? Just say something to try and get them to break apart?"

The heaviest sigh you've ever let out released from your lungs.

"Hey losers! Astarion and I kissed!"

And as if magically, they stopped clawing at each other. The pale girl is the first to talk.

"What?! And we weren't there?"

She gets off of the artist and fixes her braid.

"Yeah, you guys weren't there because it didn't happen! Karlach's phone call interrupted what was about to be the best kiss of my life, but thanks for getting into another stupid argument that I have to solve for some reason! If I get brought into your bullshit one more time, I swear I will burn this university to the ground."

Gale's eyes go a little wide.

"Can we... at least be outside when you burn it down?"

Your strong gaze doesn't falter, causing him to abandon his lame joke.

"And next time Karlach, please just manhandle her. That's probably what she wants anyways."

You open the dorm door and proceed to slam it, hearing Karlach laugh at her lover.

~~~

The next evening, the seven of you are in Astarion's dorm getting ready for the Halloween party. Shadow and Gale seem to have put their feud away, at least for the night. Your best friend is helping Karlach put on fake horns. You remember her explaining her costume a while ago.

"Listen, I know I'm like super nice! That's why I'm gonna be a demon, because it's like the opposite of me!"

You stare for a while, since your outfit is already put together. Gale catches your gaze lingering for a little too long and gives your shoulder a push, and the two of you laugh a little under your breath.

"Alright, if that amount of eyelash glue doesn't hold those in place I'll give up on makeup forever."

Astarion finishes testing the horns, and they seem to stay in place.

"Tav, come here darling."

You're taken aback, considering your costume was finished first.

"What? Did I smudge the scars?"

Your look for tonight is a scrappy adventurer, something you'd find in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign.

"No no, they're fine my dear."

You sit on the couch beside him, and he grabs his eyeliner.

"If you're going to be some fierce adventurer, your eyes have to stand out at least."

You're not sure if it was just in your head, but it felt like the entire room got silent. He grabs your head and goes to work on his craft.

"You know you have to close your eyes for me to do this properly, right?"

You didn't realize you had been locking eyes with him.

"Right, sorry."

A light chuckle comes from your throat as the cold, black liner hits your skin. After what feels like only a moment in time, he lets go of you, taking in his work.

"Hm, I probably could've done that a little more evenly, but it'll do. Besides, I doubt eyeliner is all that even in the wilderness."

You open your eyes again, and he smirks when you do.

"Well, thanks for making sure I look 'fierce' or whatever."

He smiles.

"Are we all ready to go then?"

You look at a bored Shadowheart, who is unsurprisingly dressed as a sexy nun. Apparently the lovely couple's costumes matched more than you thought.

"Yeah, I think everyone's done getting ready. Gale, you good?"

You're checking on your friend in a shitty cheap wizard costume, who has been intently staring at his phone for the past 20 minutes.

"Yep, ready to go!"

And suddenly his phone is back in his robe pocket, and the air around him dissipates. So, after a long walk to the parking garage, Gale drives you all past GU, onto the rich area outside the city. When you get to the location on the invite, you're all a little baffled.

"Is Halsin secretly a millionaire? Because he should teach us a thing or two about finances in college if so."

Everyone laughs a little at Wyll's quip as the seven of you exit the van. You all decided to get to the party about an hour after it started, leaving plenty of time for things to pick up. Astarion is a little paranoid before you get inside, and you tug at his vampiric blouse sleeve.

"Hey, it's fine. No one has any reason to think you're here. And if it just so happens that someone less than friendly finds you here, then we leave, simple as that."

"Right, of course. No reason to be worried."

He's trying to convince himself, but before you can further reassure him, Halsin meets your group outside the front door.

"Ah, if it isn't Tav and their lovely friends! Please, come in."

"So like... do you own this place? Or like your mom?"

Halsin turns to respond to Karlach.

"Hah! No, not in the slightest. A friend of mine let me borrow the place. He's from a much richer family than I am, and I figured a party should be held in a vast mansion such as this. Anyway, there's plenty of food, beer pong, board games, and plenty of stunning people looking for a fun time."

He winks at Shadowheart playfully.

"I'll be around, let me know if you all need anything. Please though, go have fun!"

Karlach and Shadowheart look at each other knowingly and start eyeing a couple across the room. Wyll and Lae'zel make their way to beer pong, and Gale wanders off to wallflower somewhere, very unlike him. That leaves you and Astarion, gazes skipping around the room.

"Certainly a much larger abode than I expected. Don't get lost in here darling, I can't remember the last time I went to a party that wasn't purely for PR."

Astarion seems excited. The news of his social media blackout seems to be relatively hidden for now, and there's almost a manic sense about him. For once, he's not a model, he's not repping a brand, he's not watching his figure for some shoot, he's just a college kid.

"Well, what do you want to do then?"

"Perhaps go check and see if the punch is spiked?"

There's a little bit of lust on the tip of his tongue, lust for life, and maybe even you. It's hard to tell though. Emotions have been so high as of recent, and Astarion is difficult to read at best.

"Perhaps we shall."

You playfully extend your arm to interlock, and he accepts. There are most definitely whispers as the two of you go across the main room, and you start to wonder if the articles are coming out, if everyone knows. You try desperately not to grab your phone, and succeed, at least for now.

As you two take a sip of unspiked punch, you take in the scenery. It's quite dark, obviously. Halsin and his friends have very intensely decorated the entire first floor, with all eco-friendly and thrifted items as he constantly reminds everyone.

"Hey! You're that ghost lookin' model boy right?!"

Some party-goer yells, who is clearly drunk. Astarion ignores him at first. The random drunk then yells even louder, as if the music was drowning him out.

"He's gonna fucking kill you!"

He perks up after that, making eye contact with the stranger.

"What did you say to me?"

"I said that weirdo is gonna fucking kill you! Szarr or whatever? I mean good on you though, making a cool statement or whatever. I used to date a model that worked under him, and a couple months after we broke up she went 'missing!' Crazy right?! Anyways man, I hope he doesn't kill you because you're a fuckin' looker. Have a good night!"

After the guy walks off, you and Astarion look at each other.

"Did you know about that?"

"I mean, I knew one of the models he used to work with disappeared, but it was never determined what happened. You don't think..."

You put a hand on his.

"Let's not right now. Let's not go down that route right now."

"Right. I think I need this to actually be spiked."

He leans down and grabs a flask out of his boot.

"I didn't know you brought booze."

"Eh, an emergency stock in case they didn't have any here."

You twiddle your hands nervously.

"Just don't get like, drunk drunk, please? I really cannot handle that tonight."

"Dear, you think I can't handle my liquor? How little you must think of me."

He takes a sip of his newly mixed punch, tapping red acrylics on the cheap plastic cup.

"Let's see if our wonderful Wyll and Lae'zel are winning beer pong, shall we?"

It's as if you've seen a new man tonight, overconfidence to mask fear. Of course it concerns you, because he constantly concerns you. You want to reason, to say that he's enjoying some kind of newfound freedom, but this isn't the Astarion you've come to know. He's not the simple dorm room you've come to love, the glasses he won't tell anyone about, the late-night hours spent on reviewing law papers. Something about it makes your stomach sink a little, wondering if this is who he is now, somehow. That maybe-

"Are you coming darling?"

"Of course."

And your lips curl into a smile, one that you find yourself faking the way he does.

"Bullshit! You moved the cup you fool!"

Lae'zel has already started arguing with various frat bros. Her and Wyll are a surprising duo, already wiping out the competition and taking several cups of shitty, watered-down beer.

"Lae, it's fine, be a gracious winner!"

The guys across the table disperse and leave the champions to reset the table, clearly being the sour ones in this situation.

"Well well well, already winning silly little games are we? Might as well start putting money on it."

Lae'zel turns to Astarion.

"As if I would waste my money on chance. Some people have brains around here."

He simply rolls his eyes, and turns his attention to Wyll.

"I'm sure daddy wouldn't feel too good about you being in a place like this."

Wyll mocks him back.

"I'm pretty sure 'daddy' doesn't even care what I'm doing right now."

He then goes to somberly refill the rest of the cups on the table. You push Astarion's shoulder and give him a look that should clearly say 'hey, that was mean, what the fuck are you doing?' but all he does is shrug at you.

"Don't mind him Wyll, his father doesn't care about him either. That makes you even."

Before the three further bicker about parental relationships, you hear a familiar voice off towards the corner of the room.

"Because Gale, I miss having a friend! I miss knowing you were in control of your life, not some stupid professor. And right now? Right now I'm yelling at you, at a party, instead of hanging out with my hot girlfriend and that sexy GU couple we just chatted up."

"As if you haven't been hiding things from me too Shadow."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying, maybe there's a reason you picked sexy nun instead of sexy cat this year."

"What does that even mean Gale?"

"Oh, don't think I didn't notice during our little scuffle earlier, your arm?"

Suddenly, she gets very quiet, extremely aware of how many people at the party can hear her and Gale yapping. She then grabs his arm and drags him outside the side door. Your stomach is in knots at this point, because for some reason everything is wrong. Everything was supposed to be right after the blackout. Your friends would all be happy and get along, Astarion would be a free man, you'd finally get that kiss you'd been waiting for, and yet here you are, at some Halloween party hosted by your ex, and everything is just... wrong.

Without thinking, you go to the nearest exit of that room, the staircase. You're trying to block out the loud music at this point, but it feels almost impossible. The closest door is the first on your right and you open it, slamming it behind you. You're met with a large bed, probably belonging to some rich couple. The giant windows are covered with blackout curtains, and the carpet is luscious. Things are quieter in here, except for a soft knock at the door once you sit at the edge of the bed.

"Go away!"

"It's me Tav."

Of course Astarion followed you up here, how inseparable the two of you are.

"C'mon Aster."

When he comes in and quietly shuts the door, your head is in your hands. You feel the mattress move as he sits down next to you.

"I'm sorry."

You wipe at a watery eye, the tears just beginning to come in.

"For what? I'm the one that ran off."

He doesn't say anything at first, pondering how to best word this new thought.

"You- you're the first person who has helped me recognize my own patterns, that when I get scared I have this wall up. I've been feeling it since we sat down and cleared all my socials, this overwhelming feeling, like I'm being hunted to the ends of the Earth. And that fear, it makes me someone I don't like. Especially tonight, being outside of campus for the first time since, I just-"

He cries too, the first time you can remember seeing him cry. You lean on his shoulder. He continues.

"I thought I was ready, and I'm not. I'm not ready to be a normal person right now, a college kid that goes to parties."

You scoff slightly.

"I thought things would be normal too. Like somehow we had fixed everything, ya know?"

"Yeah... I do."

"I would like to find normal though, someday... with you."

He turns toward you, forcing you to pick your head back up.

"What does that mean?"

"It means, I think it's time to admit that this isn't just a close friendship. Not to me at least. And that scares the shit out of me too, just like everything else right now."

"Out of billions of people in the world, you would choose to try and find normal, with me?"

"Yeah, if that's okay?"

He hesitates, fear.

"Why?"

"I don't know. Is that bad, that I don't know? I just know you're different, and special to me, and that's enough to me."

"Well... maybe we can give you some time to find out?"

"Well, could I kiss you then, and maybe I'll learn something?"

You two laugh, quiet enough as to not disturb the room, but loud enough that the two of you feel the happiness radiate. He wipes at a tear and nods. It's different than the first time you met, vastly different, as if you've gotten to know someone entirely new. Although, you're not sure what words could really describe the kiss. Fearful, yet excited? Nervous, yet brave? It's over before you know it though, leaving a little flit in your heart. He interrupts your thoughts.

"We should definitely try that a couple more times."

And so you do, alone in a stranger's bedroom, and for once you forget about the various issues spiraling back at RU, about Gale and Shadowheart hating each other, even about Szarr. There's just this soft time in between, where two barely adults having fun just kissing each other, even if it's only a short moment in time, it's yours forever.

[anixknowsnothin]

Tell us about the show! 🩷

I WROTE A FULL REVIEW OMG

Mean Girls the Musical

The entire production of "Mean Girls the Musical" was absolutely amazing. The sets, the actors, the production, lighting, and sound were all outstanding. I was completely captivated and didn't blink once. The musical was incredibly funny, and both my parents enjoyed it, although some choreography in "Where Do You Belong" and "Meet the Plastics" felt a bit inappropriate to watch with them. Thankfully, it wasn't as intense as "Heathers."

I wore all pink because, as the famous line goes, "On Wednesdays, we wear pink."

Detailed Comments

The Beginning: The show opened with Janis and Damien at a Mandatory NSHS Friendship session, which was hilarious. I adore Janis—I'm practically in love with her—and Damien was iconic, especially with his recurring George Michael poster joke.

A Cautionary Tale: This song is a favorite of mine. Janis and Damien's voices blend beautifully, and I couldn't stop smiling while mouthing the lyrics.

It Roars: This song had significant lyric changes and was shortened. Cady only had a mom in this version. Despite the sets feeling a bit empty, Cady’s talent shone through. The play also emphasized Cady's outsider feelings through her awkward first interaction with Aaron, which was a good substitute for the original animal-human comparison.

Where Do You Belong: Damien stole the show here, especially in the girl's washroom scene. The supporting cast quickly changed costumes to represent different high school groups, which got my respect . Although some lyrics were altered, the essence remained, and Damien's desire to join the dance team was a cute touch.

Meet The Plastics: The Plastics were iconic. Initially, I wasn't fond of Regina due to my bias toward Taylor Louderman, but as the musical progressed, I fell in love with Regina's embodiment of the mean girl spirit through her voice, expressions, and actions.

Stupid with Love: This song was shortened, likely for time, and possibly merged with its reprise (still having brain fog). It remained one of my favorites.

Apex Predator: This performance was powerful and my favorite of the night. The combination of Janis and Cady's voices and the choreography illustrating the animal-human parallel was just, WOW.

What's Wrong with Me?: Gretchen's performance was emotional and relatable. The actress vividly portrayed her insecurity and self-doubt, and Cady's awkwardness was quite uh evident.

Stupid with Love (Reprise): Adorable song, though I don't have many additional comments.

Sexy: This song was incredibly catchy. Karen's comedic timing was spot-on, and the costumes were fantastic. I couldn't stop singing it after the show.

Someone Gets Hurt: This song showcased Regina's gaslighting and was one of my favorites. The performance illustrated Aaron's shifting emotions and Regina's vocal experimentation was impressive.

Revenge Party: A super fun and energetic song. Janis's desperation to ruin Regina's life was palpable, and the supporting cast excelled. It highlighted the fakeness in people.

Intermission

Fearless: Gretchen started to stand up for herself, and Cady's transformation into a mean girl had begun. Karen was purely there for vibes.

Stop: This song wasn't there I think, atleast not memorable to me, but it was replaced with Cady planning a party. (Again, brain fog.)

What's Wrong with Me (Reprise): The parallel between Mrs. George and Gretchen was clear and shows how Regina is surrounded by people who are willing to do anything.

Whose House Is This?: A wild and fun number that marked Cady's final transformation into a Plastic. Karen's cluelessness about whose house it was added humor.

More Is Better: Cady's fakeness was evident, and Aaron's attempt to connect with her highlighted her flaws. The line "You are like a clone of Regina" was pivotal.

Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise): This song showcased the breakdown of Janis's and Cady’s flawed relationship. While Janis used Cady for revenge, Cady also went too far. Damien's humor provided a lot of relief too.

World Burn: Regina's best performance imo. Her acting, the fire effects, sets, and vocals were all powerful and compelling.

I'd Rather Be Me: This song boosted my self-esteem and conveyed a positive message. It marked a huge turning point in the play. I also believe Janis used this song as an opportunity to flip us off.

Final Few Scenes: Cady visiting Regina, and only she and Janis showing up to see Regina, spoke volumes about their characters. The drug case and Cady's suspension led to her realization that it was time to change.

Do This Thing: Cady's speech about not pitting women against each other while her opponent focused on solving the puzzle was quite entertaining. Plus the topic of “Limits” being the final question was symbolic, it had me asking “what is the limit of meanness”

I See Stars: A cute and happy ending to an amazing show. I was bopping my head along.

Overall Impression: "Mean Girls the Musical" was an incredible experience, and I loved every moment of it. I officially died dead.

[statementlou]

i’m sorry to bring this up again, but i wanted to ask how are you making sense of harry having his former girlfriend’s name tattooed on his thigh if you don’t think they were really together? i’m not a larrie and i follow you for your louis content, but i respect your opinions, so i guess i’m coming more from a place of curiosity rather than seeking reassurance. do you not even entertain for one second the idea that you might’ve been wrong about things? that harry was really in a relationship with olivia? that he might actually be attracted to women? that he might’ve been with louis once upon a time but not anymore? have you ever challenged your confirmation bias? again, i’m not trying to attack you, i really just want to understand where you stand. i hope u don’t take this the wrong way.

well first of all you bring up the very good point that there are actually multiple Qs at play and not just one, despite the fandom's (and my) attempts to simplify things. I personally am open to the possibility that Harry and Louis are no longer together- we don't have enough info to say for sure either way about that, and I am constantly recalibrating and considering and I'm going to be totally honest, getting flat out ANNOYED at how often I find myself being like oh damn they ARE still (or again) together ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Because it seems so improbable and illogical! You think I don't KNOW I sound fucking crazy?! Absolutely infuriating, and yet there are just all these little Things all the time. Plus ofc the fact that they both constantly wink wink larrie stuff to the fandom which could just be playing to the crowd... except then they both continually take it that little extra way that makes me go oh but... you really didn't NEED to go THERE that seems VERY pointed?? But also sometimes I go well. Okay, maybe not. Since they both seem super happy at this point, it doesn't stress me out to think they might have split, the way it would if they seemed miserable and were still churning out heartbreak songs, but it's schrodingers relationship and with all the savvy they've acquired around this stuff and all the balls they're keeping in the air wrt to fandom etc that's unlikely to change in favor of us knowing anything for sure for a very long time, if ever. But I do not doubt that they WERE together, it's simply not realistic. The evidence of it is overwhelming and imo undeniable when taken all together. And the thing is that knowing one thing with certainty (that they were together back when), having really looked at the things that happened during that time, does actually have a lot of bearing on the rest of it even if they aren't together anymore. Because knowing that and having seen the way fake relationships to make them seem straight were managed back then means that when I see the EXACT SAME things being done in the current day, like they are working from a fucking blueprint, no, I don't look at that and think it might be real. I know that Louis and Eleanor wasn't real in... whenever they allegedly got together lol, that story still isn't even quite straight, so why would I believe they were together in 2020? And if I know Louis has a tattoo for a fake girlfriend why would it change my mind about a million things I can see with my own eyes if Harry did the same (if indeed he even has who tf knows)? So despite what I said at the beginning, in the end it kind of does just come down to the one question people are always asking, are you a larrie? Because when you've actually been down the rabbit hole of details that ends up with you saying yes to that question, it's like acquiring a rosetta stone that unlocks the ability to read everything else, like putting on xray glasses, and I look at what is so obviously a publicity relationship (holivia) and whether H and L are still together has nothing to do with why I don't think it's real. Like could a celeb relationship be both used in typical ways for publicity and be or become real on some level (looking at you Liam, heyyy), sure, but for this question the fact that I have never seen Harry show the slightest sign of attraction to a woman in his whole life and he so clearly embraces and identifies so strongly with gay male culture in every possible way and never shuts up about how much he loves cock does play into my thinking; I simply do not think he is attracted to women, no, and I have yet to see him do anything that doesn't seem consistent with things a closeted pop star might chose to do. So in conclusion yes I have challenged my bias and decided I'm right lol! But for real- all the time I consider that they perhaps aren't together but that isn't really the point when it comes to believing they are gay.

[dappledpaintbrush]

If it becomes more than a dream, what do you think a Super Paper Mario movie would be like?

Please write down everything you have to say, it doesn't matter if it's a 100 page essay I would like to read it.

When I finally get not only yapping permission, but also yapping endorsement

I think about the SPM movie a LOT. Not because I think it’s going to happen but because I’m insane. I also think it works better as a show, but I always must migrate to thinking of it as a movie lol. I talk a lot I’m gonna divide my thoughts into sections (Again, I’m turning off reblogs because reblogging an ask gets rid of the read-more, I’m sorry!! It’s for the best LMAO)

Rating:

I would LOVE if they addressed it like the FNAF movie. I remember people talking about how “oh it’s gonna be for kids because it’s a kid’s franchise and they’re gonna make more money if they made it for kids” but they made it PG-13 and. Everything was fine. They made a shit ton of money and everything was fine. Point is, I think SPM would work best as a PG-13 movie. And yeah it sounds like that one clip of SpongeBob and Patrick screaming in terror on a baby rollercoaster, but SPM does have elements that would be Difficult to put in a movie format and still make it rated PG. With the game, it can be passed off as cartoon mischief and thus be E for everyone, sure, but in a movie? I don’t see it. And let me clarify- I know they could make the hypothetical SPM movie be rated PG and still have its original plot, but I believe that is only if they cut down on a lot of things and make it very goofy and overall remove the heart of the story. But do I think it would be fucking PEAK as a PG-13 movie? Hell yeah. They could have a lot more leg-room to truly pay homage to the game, which is known as one of Mario’s darker stories for a good reason.

But do I believe they would make it PG-13? No. Definitely PG. Again, I know this is a Mario game and it’s not some super evil sick twisted story oh my god cover your eyes little timmy blah blah blah, but STILL. Pulling off some of its core scenes on the big screen where there’s SO much more detail in the animation and the voice acting etc etc etc would be hard to accomplish without making said scenes less impactful or even shallow. And if you still think I’m being dramatic, the mario movie is rated PG. The Mario movie. And all Mario did was get punched and got a bruise on his eye. I’m sure if there was a storyboard scene of him, Luigi, Bowser, and Peach getting set on fire and going to the afterlife, it would have been SCRAPPED. OR, it would have absolutely no emotion other than “erm… THAT just happened!” Take your pick.

All in all, if it were to happen, the SPM movie will lose some things. Nintendo would NEVER allow Mario to be in an PG-13 movie. It’s unfortunate :(

Speaking of the Afterlife:

Nintendo will have to cut out the Underwhere, Overthere, Grambi, and maybe even Luvbi and Bonechill. OR, completely revamp that whole thing to make it as religiously ambiguous as possible. No fucking doubt about it. At ALL. I can already see the change.org petition run by a Christian mother screaming at Nintendo for blaspheming God and making a joke out of heaven and hell “which are very real and you’re teaching kids it’s some silly fake thing in a fake Mario movie BUT NO PEOPLE HAS TO KNOW THEY WILL BURN FOREVER IF THEY DONT OBEY!!!” (Note: just in case it wasn’t obvious, I am mocking the Christian mother in the quotation marks). I’m surprised Nintendo even got away with it in the first place, ESPECIALLY regarding Luvbi and Bonechill. I put “maybe” regarding those two because it’s likely 2 and 2 won’t be put together about who inspired their characters, but at the same time. It probably will. Yeah it definitely will

Bonechill is directly inspired by Satan, and Luvbi makes indirect references to Jesus. Regarding Bonechill, to quote from his Wiki:

“Tippi's tattle says that Bonechill may have once been a Nimbi, which is supported by the fact that he has feathered wings on his back. This fits into the overall motif of The Underwhere and The Overthere, which draw heavily from both Ancient Greek mythology and the Christian religion. In particular, the concept of a fallen angel (Nimbi) is inspired by the Biblical story of Lucifer, who became the devil after betraying God. Furthermore, in Dante's Inferno (of the epic Italian poem, the Divine Comedy), Lucifer (now known as Satan) is depicted as a giant, six-winged beast imprisoned in ice in the deepest circle of Hell. This is all paralleled by how Bonechill has six wings, was imprisoned deep below the Underwhere, and is a self-styled "master of the cold dark" who uses ice breath to attack and is "something of an evil celebrity in certain circles of the Underwhere". Similarly, his being released during an apocalyptic event (the emergence of The Void) may be derived from the Book of Revelation, where Satan escapes from hell and he and his army are battled and defeated in heaven.”

Do you see that shit. Do you think Nintendo would risk doing this in a movie, let alone ever again in any game?The backlash would be INSANE. And they could easily call Luvbi a blasphemous mockery of Jesus because she sacrificed herself to save the world, AND CAME BACK LATER😭😭😭😭😭

Anyways, yeah. In the SPM movie, that whole chapter of the game is what’s going to be changed the most. It likely will be solely based off Greek mythology with no Christian themes involved. Or even LESS than that if they’re too scared. God I wish they weren’t. That chapter is one of my favorites in the whole game (mostly bc it’s crazy to me how Nintendo didn’t chicken out of making it), and it sucks so bad to know it’ll likely be almost nonexistent if the SPM movie were to happen.

Run-Time:

This game is. Long.

In my perfect world, I like to think of it as one big grand movie and it’s the longest animated movie ever made and it’s animated by Dreamworks in the style of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and it has 5/5 stars and critics are crying and screaming of joy and everybody who clowned on this game has personally showed up to my door to apologize for their wrongdoing and beg for my forgiveness. But unfortunately we can’t have everything we want

I don’t think they will cut out any of the dimensions, I just think that most side plots will be rushed through like a montage :/ It’s why I think it will work best as a series. Every episode could be dedicated to a Dimensional Door. But that also means it’ll likely have less of a budget which sucks

Blumiere and Dimentio:

Something will have to change.

First of all, Blumiere. I don’t exactly know HOW, but they will have to change about his story. The game itself has already gotten criticized for “romanticizing a toxic relationship” between Blumiere and Timpani, and that criticism will be MAGNIFIED with a blockbuster film. Again, I don’t know how the will do it, but they’ll have to adjust that plot to please the masses more than likely. It fucking sucks. But this is modern Nintendo. They are going to go the safest route possible.

That’s not the only thing regarding Blumiere that will have change. Yk how the game also gets criticized for giving Blumiere a happy ending but not Dimentio despite the fact that, regardless of their motivations, they both tried to kill everyone? That criticism will also be magnified with the release of a movie. They’ll have to modify the story to make Blumiere’s actions significantly less evil than Dimentio’s, which could be accomplished through making it so that Blumiere is mind-controlled by the Dark Prognosticus. OR, they’ll have to give Dimentio a happy ending too, whether that be he survives and changes his ways (BOOOOO🍅🍅🍅), or he also gets the “he’s alive somewhere” treatment like Blumiere and Timpani did. However, in order to accomplish that successfully with an audience of five years olds, they’ll have to directly talk about Dimentio’s own tragic backstory with as much weight as they do Blumiere’s. And l. Don’t see that happening. It would be absolutely CRAZY if it did and I would probably pass out in the theatre if we got to see the Pixl Creator, but yeah, it’s unlikely.

Mr. L:

Some good news! I see them making Mr. L recognizable

They probably won’t.

BUT THEY LIKELY WILL

In the first movie, Mario and Luigi’s bond was shown in ways they have rarely done before. Their love and care for one another is clearly shown, not just “that’s my brother Luigi wahoo!” or something. I mean come on, think of the hug scene. And you mean to tell me in the 2nd or 3rd or idk movie, Mario can’t recognize him with a blindfold on? Be serious

In a game, yeah haha funny gag, but in a movie, it’ll be met with more annoyance than anything and it’ll be really disingenuous, and it already does get that criticism in the game where it’s arguably “more acceptable.”

Conclusion:

There’s a lot more that can be discussed, but this is all I’ve put a significant lot of thought into about what I think the SPM movie would be like if I thought about it realistically. Basically, if it’s gonna truly be an SPM movie, Nintendo’s gonna have to grow a backbone. But even then, I still think it would be a great movie, especially in the eyes of those who haven’t played the game and thus don’t have the same “ARGHH BUT YOU FORGOT FLIP-FOLK NUMBER FORTY TWO” mentality that I have LMAO. And even THEN, I still think it would be a great movie. Nintendo will just have to be reaaaally careful to adapt to the limitations (that they put on themselves 💀) and still make it a movie about Super Paper Mario.

[youremyheaven]

I wish she hadn't done Animal because I don't think she gained anything from the film. The whole "national crush" thing is fake PR hype and most people don't find her attractive or feminine and slut shame for that movie :((( the amount of comments I see on IG reels about her calling her "cheap" or "masculine looking" is insane 💀

Damn!!! She's also Pushya Moon no wonder the body type!!!!! I'm screaming rn lol....these mindless assholes!

Also fun fact one of the most famous Bond girls Ursula Andress is also Pushya moon hence, the body type. Lmao I doubt anyone would call her manly but anyway Indian men ☕

Indian men and Indian audiences (men & women) are reallyyy hard to please 🥲🥲 probably because we have a culture of worshipping stars like they're Gods (in South India especially, many successful actors actually have temples dedicated to them 💀💀💀) so the kind of people the audience exalts to superstardom have to fit into a very narrow definition of beauty and appeal.

A long time ago I heard a film critic say "in America, someone like Reese Witherspoon is considered America's sweetheart and a big star, but someone like her could never make it big in India" 💀💀💀 I know that sounds like a very bizarre thing to say but basically Indian actresses who have a more "girl next door" beauty never become big stars. There's always a handful of such actresses who have their moment of fame and then quickly fade away ://

These are the only women who have ever achieved "superstar" status in India (and Aishwarya & Deepika are still not considered legitimate superstars due to their limited acting ability)

All of them have a very soft full face with a heightened "feminine" appeal. They're also strikingly beautiful.

People however have criticised Deepika for being tall and "flat" and not being womanly enough, even though her face is considered to fit Indian beauty standards to a tee (small face, big eyes, small forehead, dark eyebrows, full cheeks, full lips etc)

So you can imagine how hard it is for others lmao

I wouldn't call Triptii "masculine" looking by a long shot but she does not fit the mould of what Indian audiences find appealing in their actresses. It's crazy how the male actors here look like goblins but women are subject to unholy standards 🙄🙄

Triptii looks more like a model or influencer and these days her face is so heavily botoxed she looks a bit uncanny (I don't mean to be rude and I'm not criticising anyone for getting plastic surgery but as an actor, your job is to emote and if you can't move your face, then like what's the point 💀) And her Saturnian body type is also not ideal according to Indian standards 😔😔😔

Compared to the other women I've mentioned on this post, Triptii does not have the same "heightened" or "exaggerated" femininity. On top of all the other slut shaming, botox shaming etc that she's been subject to, her looking "unconventional" (according to Indian beauty standards with her longer face and features and strong jaw) adds to the criticism she receives 😔😔😔

Lookshaming is huge in India. People pick you apart for every perceived flaw regardless of whether or not you're famous lol. I had a friend in college who had a small forehead with a lot of baby hair and she told me she's been made fun of it her whole life even though her face is super harmonious and there's literally nothing wrong with her forehead 💀💀💀 people just tear people apart for anything lmao 😭😭

[nocturnalghoul]

Mushy May Day 23: Falling asleep/ watching the other sleep

Rain comes to Swiss after getting high with Mountain. He promises not to fall asleep while they hang out but alas. Some super fluffy Rulti because I love them. Those two are incredibly goofy with one another and you cannot change my mind!

I need it to be known that an outline for this has been sitting in my ideas folder since like early March and I was super excited for an excuse to finally make myself turn it into something. This is also another one that I hope to revisit and bulk out later. Snippet of song at the end is from One & Only by Fortunate Youth. Once again the Rain Chill Vibes playlist is one that you can rip from my cold dead hands.

Words: 669

Rating: Gen/ Everyone

Read below the cut or on AO3 here

Swiss takes in the very high ghoul in front of him, already clambering to snuggle up next to him on his bed. He had been reading a book, but knows that the time for that is now apparently over and quickly marks his place before closing it.

“Now, I can’t help but notice you didn't even share, Raincloud” he teases, already shifting so that Rain can situate himself more comfortably. 

“Mmmm, wasn’t mine to share, babe. You’d have ta bother Mounty ‘bout that.” Rain mumbles as he crawls into Swiss’ lap, accidentally knocking the book out of his hand as he goes. “So whatta you up to?”

“Well I was gonna try to get some reading done, but then a ravishing water ghoul appeared. I guess it’s best that I stop that silly plan and talk to him instead, huh?” 

“Hmmm, wise plan. This water fella’ sounds super handsome, I would hate for him to have to go talk to somebody else.” 

Rain shoots him a playful look, his smile a little overly wide before breaking out into a fit of giggles. Swiss leans over to give him a quick peck on the nose before turning to grab his phone from the nightstand beside him. 

“The playlist I had going was one of the ones you made for me but it’s kinda slow and chill. Let me change it to something a little less sleepy.” Swiss explains, following the small discontent huff Rain had let out at all the wiggling he was doing. 

“No it’s fine, I was enjoying it. Leave it on?” Rain asks gently. Swiss shoots him a quick knowing look. Both of them are well aware of how sleepy Rain gets when he is high in general, and clearly the multi ghoul does not believe for a second that Rain won’t immediately nod off with the music still playing. 

“‘M not gonna fall asleep” Rain lazily asserts, but only gets a singular raised eyebrow in response. 

“Swisstopher K Ghoul, do you doubt my word? Here, I pinky promise!” Rain challenges in fake outrage, face scrunching up in an adorable way that Swiss can't resist. He holds up his pinky and wiggles it at Swiss to prove he means it. 

Swiss hooks their pinkies together then pulls Rain's hand up towards his face. “This sounds serious, I better seal that promise with a kiss” he remarks before kissing both their entwined fingers and the back of Rain’s hand. Rain pouts up at him after taking his hand back, so Swiss gives him one more in between his horns. 

A grand total of 10 minutes passes before Rain’s responses to what Swiss is saying stop making sense as he predictably starts to fall asleep. Swiss knows that if he were to challenge the water ghoul on this, he would blame it on how nicely Swiss is playing with his hair, the comfort of his bed, and his own excellent taste in pleasant music. 

Eventually Rain stops responding completely, letting out a barely audible noise that is either a snore or a gentle purr, Swiss can’t tell. Either way, he continues to play with Rain’s hair as he looks down fondly at him sleeping. 

The water ghoul is smiling even in his sleep, and Swiss is completely entranced by him. He listens to Rain’s soft noises and the music playing from the speaker across the room. 

You know when I sleep at night/ With you, right by my side I'm fine/ Hoping to be forever/ You and Me

The sentiment expressed in the music could not more perfectly encompass the current moment. Swiss thinks he may just have to finally admit that there is something nice about the hypnotically chill playlists Rain makes, even if it’ll inflate the ghouls ego. 

“I’m so happy I get to call you mine, Rainbow” he whispers against the water ghouls hair. Rain snuggles closer in his sleep at the words and for Swiss that's more than enough confirmation that the feeling is mutual.

[nagisadelune]

Headcanon: Vyn Opening Up

(Definitely not edited)

Oh ho? Writing about a super deep topic? Either way, I'm back to write another Vyn headcanon! For this one, I drew inspiration from Kaguya-sama because let's be honest: they have a lot of great ideas for romance and stuff, especially with the couples in the show. However, this topic leads to several different ideas that I had such as Vyn actually being able to express himself or just starting to feel comfortable and relax.

In the end, I think I ended up with the one idea you'll read because I think that it's shorter. Although the other one works just as well with the topic we want to talk about, I think it deserves to be written better and be more expressive in terms of what we see from the relationship; basically, I would want to write it as a proper fanfiction rather than just the quick headcanons that I write. With that aside, I hope that you enjoy reading this!

For the timeline, I think that this should be around the beginning of your relationship since I feel like this would be established well before you guys get engaged. Also, Vyn's partner can be anyone including Rosa, so that means whoever you are, you can imagine that it's you and him! Alright, let's get to the story!

⭐⭐⭐

She would never love me like this.

Those word ring through his mind as he carefully adjusts the clothes on his body. Although you two already confessed weeks ago, he can't help but feel doubtful about himself as a lover. He knows that you were being truthful about your feelings that day, yet he doubts that you would love the other sides of him: the side that made everyone in his home country reject him, the side when he's stressed, and even the side when he's slightly irritated. With these sides overwhelming him, he wishes he could just let them all out and expose himself to you.

He can't lose you though. After everything that has happened, all he wants is for you to be by his side, but he can't let the one he wants nearest to him to see his weak side because no one would like it. Plus, no one wants to see a tired person after such a long week; he needs to hide it.

"Dr. Richter!" you call out when you spot him in the lobby of your building, but you falter when you notice his tired expression. "Dr. Richter?" Your steps approach him before your figure stops in front of him. When he turns to look at you, the dark eye bags under his eyes contrasts his pale skin, making the concern starting to bubble inside you. He gives you a small smile, hiding the exhaustion from the week.

"Hey, how are you?" he asks quietly, the fake smile extending to his eyes. You look at him, noting his tired golden eyes blink as he looks back at you. Although you haven't said anything to him, you have noticed his tired eyes for a few weeks now, and you're starting to feel restless with what has been happening.

"I'm okay. Are you okay though?" you ask, choosing your words carefully. Your hand slightly reaches to his cheek, feeling the dryness of his skin against your hand. With a frown on your face, you place your hand on his forehead, concerned about him getting sick. His hand reaches up to grab yours and brings it down from his forehead, staring at it and squeezing a bit.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he answers softly, not making any eye contact with you. Your mind races as you try to figure out how to help him before a plan forms in your head. Deciding to act on it, you grab his hand and tug on it. His eyes meet yours, slightly confused as he tries to piece together your actions.

"Let's head back," you whisper, swinging your interlocked hands. With a sigh, he stands up and nods in agreement, a small smile pulling at the corner of his lips. With another slight tug, you two walk back to your apartment, the sounds of the city filling your ears. Although you guys didn't share any words, the silence surprisingly does not feel awkward like it needs to be filled with conversation. Besides, Vyn's thoughts consume his mind, and it seems like he wants to sit with them for a bit.

The moment you step inside the apartment, you immediately drag Vyn to the couch. Despite his confusement, Vyn willingly follows you, taking a seat after you tap the couch cushion besides you. Watching him, you notice his eyes rarely meet yours, making you concerned. With a squeeze of his hand, he looks up at you before sighing.

"Vyn, be honest," you start, hoping for him to open up about his feelings. "Are you feeling okay?" With Vyn's gaze on you, he smiles slightly before squeezing your hand, trying to reassure you.

"I'm okay," he answers with his eye smile. "Don't worry about me, okay?" Although he normally answers well enough to hide his feelings, you know that he's lying to you, and his answer blatantly reveals his feelings. With a huff, you can feel the anger boiling your blood, and Vyn keeps his eyes lowered. As much as he can hide it from you with his words and actions, his eyes would reveal everything to you in an instant. You tug at his hand again, prying an answer out of him.

"Please just tell me," you mutter, looking at your intertwined fingers. You can't help but feel slightly upset that he insists on being strong in front of you. Deep inside, you know that there is something troubling him, and you want him to feel comfortable enough to talk about it with you.

"I'm serious," he answers, squeezing your hand. "I feel fine." That makes you hit your breaking point. With an angry huff, you look at him with a pout, ready to lecture him about how keeping everything bottled inside will make him feel worse. However, you try to keep your anger at bay; there's no way he would immediately feel comfortable with your request, so you need to take baby steps.

"As much as you're going to try and convince me that you are okay, I can tell you aren't," you start, clearly explaining the situation from your perspective. Despite the anger that wants to come out of you, you know better than to explode at him for his feelings. "I've been worried for weeks about this, and I just need you to understand that I'm here for you. You might not feel comfortable to talk about it, but I just want you to know that I'm here to listen whenever you want someone," you continue after a shaky breath, your eyes still looking at your intertwined fingers. "Please," you whisper, "don't try to hold it all in." The anger inside you dissipates to sadness as you work out your feelings over the topic. You shoot him a small smile which Vyn returns with a sigh.

"Alright then," Vyn responds back quietly, brushing away the strands of hair away from your face. "I didn't want to bother you with this problem since I thought you only wanted to see the stronger side of me." He reaches for your other hands, forcing the two of you to directly face each other on the couch. "I'm sorry that you have been so worried about me," he apologizes as his thumbs run over the back of your hands. You watch him bring your hands to his lip to kiss them before tugging gently on them to close the distance between you two. His arms wrap around you as he gently rests his chin on your shoulder. Despite your flushed cheeks, you wrap your arms around his neck, your fingers playing with the hair on the back of his head.

"Tired?" you whisper into his ear, your hands gently smoothing the strands of his silky white hair down. You feel him nod into your shoulder as his hands gently lower to your waist. In an instant, you feel his hands grip your waist before moving you towards him, settling your figure close enough that your legs legs are touching. With his sudden actions, your cheeks happen to become redder than before, leading to you hiding your face into his shoulder.

With a shaky breath, he asks, "Is it okay if we can talk about it?" Shocked, you pull yourself away from him to look at his face. When you two make eye contact, you notice the honest gleam in his eyes, making you smile a bit. You nod a bit before you rest against him again. Although he feels scared to admit his weakness to you, your words were enough to ease his worries a bit; he's definitely not close to completely opening up to you yet, he feels comforted to witness your willingness and care.

For the rest of the time you're together, Vyn speaks in a hushed voice as he conveys his feelings without the restraint he normally shows. Although he decides to not reveal certain details, the weight of keeping it to himself finally lifts off his chest.

Maybe it's okay to be weak in front of her.

⭐⭐⭐

And that's a wrap! I was kind of hoping that this one would end up better, but it is what it is. This is what I get for not thinking things through, but I still hope that you liked this one! I'll see you in the next one!