#because that's waaay too broad

[sporco-filth]

media with slob stuff

there are lots of tv shows and so on that have slob-related stuff and sometimes you see them once and can never find them again

anyway this is a list of a few i remember:

Joe's Apartment: a movie about a guy who moves to New york and he's (to quote one of the characters) "the dirtiest freakin' slob on the planet". His apartment is infested with talking cockroaches and developers want to tear down the apartment block so the cockroaches (who love him bc he's a slob) help him save his apartment. the cockroaches also sing. it is all-around pretty gross and i'm here for that

Him & Her: a series about a couple who are slobs and kinda gross in a domestic-cute sort of way. i don't think you can find many eps of it online and the very first ep which had some scenes i really liked i haven't seen anywhere. i only really watched ep 1 all the way through tho so i can't really vouch for the rest of the show

Portlandia: one episode has the gay brother of a character (and his boyfriend) coming to stay and she and her husband are disappointed that they're not the stereotypically neat and stylish gays. the gay guys make a mess of the house. there's not much more than that but it was hot to me when i first saw it

Pigsty: an old sitcom that didn't last very long centred around a bunch of guys sharing an apartment. ive never watched a full episode but the opening sequence is slob-related enough for me to include it

Buzzfeed stuff: 'Weird things guys do when they're alone', 'Lazy things all guys have done' and 'You at home alone vs. with people': all of these involve a range of gross habits and behaviours.

The Simpsons: there's a lot in the simpsons because homer is a fat lazy slob to a t, but special attention must be paid to Bart after dark for its trash angels scene and Bart's dental hygiene. Also the opening of Bart gets an elephant. there are too many episodes that have aspects of slob in them so i'll stop here

Parks and Rec: Andy and April's house. To quote Andy "it's a mess!" Sadly Ben cleans it up (boo...)

The Office: I never got this far but at some point Jim moves in with Darryl and then they have an odd couple dynamic going on. nothing really exciting but i remembered it so eh why not add it

Futurama: Fry is a total slob and i love him for it. sorry if this is too much information but the first time i ever came i was thinking about him being a slob. like the Simpsons there are too many good moments but a stand out is 'How Hermes Requisitioned His Groove Back' where an inspector has an affair with Fry because she has a fetish for slobs. what can i say, she has good taste in men

The Heron's Cry: a book, it has one character who is a slob, but he only appears in one scene which i'll quote excerpts of because it's short (there's more i didn't quote but this is the best bit):

...there was a kitchen littered with pizza boxes and foil containers from takeaway restaurants. Empty beer cans. A smell that would set alarms ringing with environmental health. [Steve] expert was wearing a filthy fleece dressing gown. Nothing else as far as Ross could tell. He stood, blinking. "Fuck, man, what do you want? This feels like the middle of the night." "It's mid-morning…"

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole and its sequel The Growing pains of Adrian Mole: Adrian helps an elderly man called Bert who is a total slob. They clean out his house and it is an endeavour. Favourite part of this scene though is this line: "Bert has been sitting in a deckchair criticising and complaining. He can’t see what’s wrong with living in a dirty house. What is wrong with living in a dirty house?" Nothing, in my opinion. There are other scenes too. Adrian's mother is a slob and there's even a bit where she chides him on being so fussy and not messy like a 'normal' teenager. I know there's more but my memory fails me right now

Friends: there's two main ones that come to mind: the one with the dirty girl (obvious reasons) and the one where ross and rachel you know (which to me is known as the one where joey and chandler get recliners).

Kotaro Lives Alone: Karino is a lazy manga artist whose apartment is a mess. The part that got me was when he wondered if he should take a shower and then he goes 'nah, i'm good'. He gets more on top of things after he meets Kotaro, but he's still pretty lazy after ep 1

Very random thing, but this ad for JBS underwear. It's a woman dressed in male underwear behaving like a stereotypical man and it covers a lot of categories for me

Stardew Valley: Shane. that's all i really have to say but in particular his spouse room and his comments about his weight

Spiritfarer: a video game. one of the spirits you can get on your boat is Jackie and he starts out with a messy, trash-filled room. he also dislikes healthy food. he ends up cleaning up his act though.

[vnzndt]

He said they weren’t dating. He said not to ship it seriously and dig into their actual personal lives

I feel like that should just be a given tho. If you believe dnf is real that doesn’t mean you have to harras people lol and also anyone trying to dig into their private relationships is weird anyways.

agreed!!! and just building on what i said in an earlier ask we’ve seen time and time again public friendships grow distant due to constant digging and speculating but more specifically when it’s done in broad daylight for said friends to constantly face (and while i don’t think dnf would ever fall into this category solely because of the nature of their relationship, it’s still worthwhile mentioning) like at the end of the day speculation is still speculation and it’s gotta be eerie constantly seeing it about yourself and your best friend (especially given dream’s circumstances & his very unfortunately public journey into being queer) i feel like it would set a lot of internal expectations for your friendship

people will always be weird and take things waaay too far like i will never see a point in spending your time harassing people who disagree with you over your opinion on these two strangers’ relationship that you have no control over nor insight in. as much as i think dnf got a little somethin somethin going on i think it’s counterproductive & potentially harmful to both them as public figures and our reputation as a fanbase for us to ever let any serious speculation grow over into a place where both dream, george, and anyone who already thinks we’re all freaks see it lol

and i especially think that anyone assuming dream is lying and that he’s dating george are seriously missing the point of the conclusion. even if that was the case (as disrespectful as it is to assume) if it’s private, it’s private for a reason. we as fans owe dream, at the bare minimum, respect for his private relationships and that should’ve been a given from day 1

i don’t think it’s inherently harmful to think/observe that dnf may be more than platonic so long as you keep it out of sight from cc’s and those who can use it as ammunition against you/us, as well as not taking it so seriously to the point that your earth is shattered when dream/george inevitably say, as they have time and time again, that they aren’t together currently

[omgthatdress]

Re-living my childhood and working on doing a fashion history spam of the American Girl dolls!

Oh my god I can’t begin to tell you what a huge part of my childhood those dolls were. Before I go on, let me clarify my family’s financial circumstance growing up: I was a pretty solidly middle-class only child. I definitely wasn’t rich, but my mom was willing to spend a lot of money on buying me a shitload of American Girl stuff because A.) she thought they were cool, and B.) they provided a much smarter alternative to Barbies. And when I grew up and got too old for them, I was able to give my stuff over to my younger cousins.

Looking at what the brand has to offer now, it’s pretty clear that the brand has changed over time and that the emphasis has gone from the historical dolls to the modern ones. Honestly, that’s not a 100% terrible thing. I fully embrace change as a part of the universe, and if it’s a part of the survival of the brand, so be it. As long as the historical dolls remain in tact and the brand integrity is respected. And for the most part, until very recent years, it looks like it has been.

Mattel bought the American Girl brand in 1998, and from then on, you can see the brand shifting away from the original five dolls. I’m going to get waaay more into this with the spam, but really, the historical dolls until very recently have actually remained pretty great. If there’s one really broad critique I could give, it’s that the overall color palette skews towards the modern, with a lot of very bright colors and a heavy emphasis on pink, but when taken individually, the pieces remain very accurate.

HERE’S THE THING! In 2016, a new historical girl was released: Maryellen, repping the 1950s. She’s blonde and has blue eyes, following shortly on Julie, who repped the 1970s and also had blonde hair and blue eyes. You can kind of see a theme developing here. The girls from the 30s, 50, 70s, 80s, and 90s are all blonde with blue eyes. You’d think that girls in the 20th century were only blondes. But anyway I’m getting away from the point. Maryellen was released with only TWO books! The fuck?! Maryellen’s collection remained the same very immersive collection that I love about the brand, but clearly, shit’s changing.

The next historical dolls, Nenea (repping Hawaii after Pearl Harbor), Melody (repping Black girls, Motown, and civil rights in the 60s), Courtney (repping blonde hair blue eyed girls with 80s nostalgia and very little historical engagement), Claudie, (Black girl in the 1920s Harlem Renaissance) and Isabelle and Nicki (again blonde girls repping 90s nostalgia with little historical engagement) all only have two books. The brand has LITERALLY been diminished. The books were an equally important part of the playset, not only providing context for the garments and objects you were playing with, providing REAL, often complex lessons about history, making history feel real and relatable, but they fleshed out the girls, their lives, and the worlds they lived in. They made what you were playing with more than just a playset, more than just a dollhouse or Barbie accessories, they were a whole universe for girls to explore.

Like I said at the beginning, I didn’t grow up rich. I definitely had more privilege than others out there, but I still wasn’t the rich kid villain from a 90s kids movie. I had a lot of American Girl shit because my mom saw the value in the brand and was willing to spend a lot of money on it in a way that she wouldn’t be willing to spend a lot of money on Barbies.

Honestly, I don’t know the toy industry, I don’t know what little girls today want out of their dolls. I know that times change, and that what’s beloved in one generation isn’t necessarily going to be carry over to the next. But I find it hard to believe that little girls straight up no longer are interested in history, and that moms no longer want to give their daughters toys that will actually teach them things. I’ve read a lot of articles about how the brand is struggling, and I don’t think it’s a generational divide. Mattel has fucked up the brand, and I am not just saying that out of Boomer toxic nostalgia that says that everything from the past is GOOD, everything today is BAD, and that anything that changes is inherently not only bad but a personal insult. The stuff that made these expensive dolls worth buying just isn’t there.

[fujii-draws]

Just found and read your chatot rant and I'm curious. How would you rewrite him to be a more understandable/likable character?

Anon you are the light at the end of the tunnel.

I wouldn’t change a whole lot about him. Personality wise I think he’s funny/well-rounded. It’s more of how many times they made him do needlessly cruel stuff to h/p that’s never addressed again.

I say, let Apple woods stay the same. Like I said before in my rant, I enjoyed the conflict there. My problem only stems from the fact that??? He doesn’t have any real reason to distrust them???

Give him a reason. Show that h/p were fucking up a lot of jobs when they first joined the guild- and chatot (begrudgingly) took their excuses because they’re new. And he gives them a lot of chances despite his callous demeanor.

THEN, let the incident in Apple woods be the moment where he finally decides those two had enough second chances. And doesn’t hear them out. And other than that I’m alright w/ chapter 6.

NOW… CHAPTER 17…

Ughhhhh man. I already made my grievances known with this chapter but I genuinely hated how they handled chatot here. Will start off by saying (again), I LIKE that he’s distrustful about majority of what partner said. The future, Grovyle being good, The “magical hidden land”, etc. IT MAKES SENSE LMAO. ITS SO OUT THERE.

What pissed me off was how he immediately tried to play off that he trusted them the whoooole time. And it’s called out as a JOKE. And never addressed again. I’d do either 2 things here.

1. Let Chatot actually test the guild’s trust in h/p.

Do you know how awesome it would’ve been to have him IMPROVE from Apple woods? Have the entire guild that once had your back— now distrusting our main duo? And have CHATOT be the one to actually stand up for them there???? And HE be the one to point out Dusknoir grabbed those two in broad daylight? (Further emphasizing him as Wigglytuff’s right hand man(bird) and how much more competent he is than his pink leader? LIKE MAN THAT WOULDVE INSTANTLY REKINDLED MY LOVE FOR HIM. But what we got in main game was so much more disappointing.

2. Chatot doubling down on what he said.

Okay this MAY sound weird but hear me out. Having chatot still be distrustful until Brine cave would’ve, in my opinion, also been EONS better than him going “oh lol I trust them hehehe!!!!! I’m so silly!!!!” <<(accused two Pokémon they lied about the traumatic ass experience they went through.)

Have him still not trust a word they said. And that in turn comes with some actual consequence. (Like Wigglytuff being upset/disappointed in him and it driving a wedge between the two until Brine cave) Have him suffer some kind of consequence. Not some off screen rant he had w/ Team skull. Not some random sacrifice that’s disconnected with the stuff he done. A consequence that actually makes him realize “wait am i being an ass” before he continues to double down.

(I’m a sucker for characters doing bad things as long as they get consequences or try to make up for it.) (doesn’t have to be both at the same time.)

AAAND THATS PRETTYYY MUCH IT! I love Post-Game chatot a whole bunch and If I’m being honest???? I still like Chatot when he’s not being a colossal jackass.

I love that he’s stressed and snippy. I love that he’s trying his damn hardest to keep the guild running. I love that when h/p fail the graduation fight— he’s the one smiling towards them like a little shit. I love that he regards h/p in a positive light and acknowledges the good they did for the guild in the rare few moments he’s being honest with them.

It’s why I liked him at the start and near the end. The middle was just waaay too rocky for me. But on my replay of the game I’ll try to keep an open mind for the bird. I wanna give him a chance.

[artist-issues]

In a nutshell: Lady & the Tramp says that there is value in loyalty to someone you love, regardless of how important you are to them—and so is Bolt.

The Lion King says you have an identity that you don't get to define for yourself; you only get to accept it or reject it; the sooner you accept it, the better off everything will be—and that's what Moana says (much more imperfectly,) too.

(now, The Lion King is really more epic in scale, and it's more about who a King's Son, a selfless leader, is supposed to be—while Moana shades itself waaay too much with notes of "everyone gets to make themselves whatever they want." But broad-strokes, Moana is still saying something very similar to the Lion King.)

Basically, Mufasa's ghost insisting to Simba that he is "more than what he has become" implies that, even though Simba chose to be a shaggy hippie hiding in the jungle, it was the wrong choice. He wasn't actually changing who he was—because he can't do that—he was just playing pretend. Warping and twisting and hiding his true identity under layers of denial and the illusion of "choice." And the fact that it's coming from his father, and that unique relationship where a son is a Little Version of the father, weaves a whole new intrinsic layer of Undeniable Identity Outside Yourself into it.

The more you look into that aspect of it, the more Moana's faults start to stand out. But they're not many, and like I said...broad-strokes, they have the same bones. Te Fiti had a true self she was forgetting, instead of the one she "chose." But, Moana tells Maui he makes himself whoever he wants to be. Anyway.

[dracocheesecake]

Don't Deal With The Chameleon

Summary: When Zhen still lived with the Den of Thieves, (when they were still above the streets) she asked a very simple question. Han gave her an answer, one he hoped she wouldn't forget- because he couldn't.

Warning: Potential spoilers for KFP4, though this is only canon to my rewrite, also mentions of child abuse, and implied violence.

“Why don't we try one on her?” 

Zhen was only seven years old. It had been a simple question, asked absent-mindedly, as she and some of the other thieves polished up glass pearls to make them look real; they had another con they were going to pull tomorrow, selling them for some quick change to the suckers in the market. Han had a rag in hand, polishing a large glass orb, and glanced up at her. 

“Hm? On who?” 

“The Chameleon.” 

Everyone gasped. They all stopped what they had been doing and stared at her, open-mouthed. Zhen clenched her rag tightly in her paw, muscles going tense. She never liked it when so many people stared at her. Nothing good ever happened afterwards. She glanced around, searching for an escape. 

Han provided it. He glanced around at the rest of the gang and then waved his claws dismissively. 

“Alright, everyone, clear out. I need to have a talk with Zhen, real quick. I think it's time to explain the Rules to her.” 

One of the older members- an antelope, a woman Zhen only vaguely knew- gave Han some sort of look she was too young to decipher, though she was street smart enough to guess she probably wasn't supposed to. Han chewed the inside of his cheek irritably and waved her off, too, more vigorously than the others. 

“Yeah, I can handle it. It's fine. I'm just going to explain a little something. It's educational. It'll be good for her.” 

Now Zhen wondered if this was going to hurt; none of the thieves had ever actually hurt her before, Han especially had never even made such a threat, save as a joke- but Zhen had been around angry adults before, who had defined “educational” as hitting a child after she stole an orange to feed herself. She clutched the rag she held tighter, bearing her teeth just a little as he approached. 

The pangolin just stood and looked down at her for a moment, searching. Then he sighed.

“Relax, kid. I’m not going to beat you. You asked a question, so I’m going to answer. It’s just a long story. I’ll make it shorter: once upon a time, there was a monkey named Bo, a snake named Biming, an antelope named Zimo, a leopard named Jun, and a little owl named Nuwa. Got that?” 

Zhen nodded. She did relax some, now the threat was averted. Han smiled and nodded. 

“Good. Now, here's the tricky part: they were some of the greatest thieves the Den had ever seen- the entire city had ever seen, probably, possibly the entire world- but that's boasting. Anyway: they made a great team, and they were very talented. Could steal the very pants off you before you even realized it- and in broad daylight. 

They were good. When the Den had them, things were running smoothly. Everyone had more than they could eat and plenty of money to spend- Yeah, this was waaay before you. And then, Bo- remember, that's the monkey- he got this funny idea one day, right? He says to me, ‘Hey, let's pull a heist on the witch up on that hill’.” 

Han sighed and flicked the rim of his hat so it bounced somewhat, then shook his head. 

“...I said: ‘Bo, that's stupid. Don't let that leave your mouth around anyone else or they'll laugh you out of here’. You know what happened next?” 

Zhen nodded. “He did it anyway?” 

“Yeah. And somehow, this numbskull talks the others into doing it with him. Zimo comes to me about it, and Jun was in for it just because Zimo was, and Biming- I thought she had some sense, I was wrong on that one- and then Nuwa! I couldn't believe it, but hey, if anyone could do it…”

There was some sort of shift in the atmosphere of the room, something Zhen caught onto immediately. Han's whole demeanor changed- but it wasn't immediately dangerous to her, so she had no real concern with it, yet. Still, it made her fur bristle. 

There were round windows here, in the old warehouse, and on one side they got a good breeze- and on the other, a great view of the city. Han climbed up onto the crate just under one of them and stood to look out of it. The rag dripped a little in his claws. 

“...They said it was just going to be a quick heist, simple: just to scope the place out, you know?- Nothing serious, not yet…just to make the attempt, just to see if a real job would be worth the effort. Surely, a place that big, her, with her reputation, the way she…She had to be loaded, she had to keep all that scratch somewhere, right?”

He swallowed. The rag made a wet squelching noise as he wrung it out.

“...They didn’t come back for awhile- I knew they wouldn't, heists could take any length of time, even just the run-downs, if you had to make a quick escape and lay low for a bit…But…this…I remember-” 

He chuckled. It wasn’t a funny chuckle, more of a swallowing sound, like the noise a cat would make before vomiting. 

“I thought, ‘Hey, they should be back by now- I hope they weren’t dumb enough to get caught. Wouldn’t that be some bad luck’?- And- And then…” 

The rag he was squeezing went tighter and tighter into a spiral, as he wrung it between his hands. His feet were getting wet, as was the crate. Suddenly, he went perfectly still. There was a soft inhalation of breath. When he spoke again, his voice was perfect and glassy. 

“...Bo came back. Just swaggering back in, bragging to everyone about how they did it, he was so, so, bouncy, swinging around everywhere, the way he always was after a heist- how he always had such energy afterwards, I could never wrap my- never- that's not the point. Look, he comes in…but what about everyone else? I ask him that, we're all askin’, he puts his hands up, all ‘I'll get to that in a minute’- ‘Well, did they get caught? Where are they?’- He says, ‘Relax, I'll get to it-’” 

Han made that noise again. The rag squelched again. “...I noticed something, then. I was close enough to him to see it- look, he had this scar, right? About here?” He gestured with a claw to a spot just under his jawline. Zhen nodded. 

“-Yeah. About there.” Han chortled, a genuine one this time. His eyes clouded over, somewhat nostalgic through the darker haze,, a patch of sun through the rain. 

“He used to like to play with knives when we were kids- cut himself bad. I remember, one time I flicked a coin at him, burst it back open, and it never really healed right- the point is: it was a bad scar. Real nasty.”

His eyes darkened again. He tightened his grip on the rag.

“...He didn't have it when he came back. I noticed that. No one else did. He was talking over everyone, going on about how they snuck by the guards, climbed the walls, picked a lock or two- the usual step-by-step, that's how he was, he liked to explain himself real well, make an epic saga of it…That was right.” He nodded to himself. “...That was right…but it wasn't. 

He swung around one of the columns, and then slithering around the other side of it was Biming, continuing the story right where Bo had left off…She had a nice voice. A clear voice, she was a good singer. That was right.” 

Zhen furrowed her brow, but she wasn't confused. Han saw it, and he nodded again. 

“...Then Biming went around a corner, and back around here's Zimo, continuing where Biming left off. He had a slight limp, but that didn't stop him from being a good pick-pocket. He noted, too, that they had almost got caught because of that lame hoof, but Jun managed to carry him, so they got pretty far in, alright…Jun continued where Zimo left off, and he confirmed it…Jun was a big guy, but a nice guy. He loved Zimo, you know…” 

He bit his lip. He blinked, hard, a couple times. 

“...And then when Jun went into the shadows, out came Nuwa, stepping forward…” 

His breath shuddered. Again he had to blink hard before he could continue. He imitated a hoarse, feminine voice: 

“...’We got in alright, that part was easy. We snuck past the few sleeping guards, and then we came to one of the corridors- probably around the north side. We crept along, searching for the treasure trove…’” 

Han paused. He was shaking. Then he took the longest breath he had taken thus far. When he spoke, the imitation of a feminine voice changed into something harder, colder. 

“...’And then they ran into me.’” 

His voice broke back into its own. “The Chameleon, standing right in our midst, grinning right in my face- I knew. I knew, then…I knew it, I knew it, I knew…She didn't have to string ‘em- she…she didn't have to do anything. I knew.” 

Han wrung the rag between his hands. It was bone-dry at this point. His eyes remained glued to the window, the last rays of sunlight striking the deep brown of his eyes golden- the glare must have been intense, but he seemed blind to it. There was a thick silence, and she saw his lower jaw trembling, heard the softest sound of his teeth chattering together- a nervous reflex. She didn’t know Han could be nervous, or afraid. 

“...Those were my friends, Zhen.” He said, softly. 

Zhen clambered up onto the crate with him, but even then she had to stand on her tip-toes and haul herself up with her paws to see over the edge of the windowsill, to see what he was looking at. 

The sun had set beyond it, now, and she could see the compound that loomed over the city clearly: more than that, in the blue shade the muted colors came out more distinct, and now she saw the slight discoloration on the wall facing their den. She had never seen it before, never noticed it, it had been so weatherworn, scrubbed so perfectly clean…or so it had seemed. 

Her eyes widened. A small gasp escaped her, and she turned to look up at Han. He was looking at her, and he saw she understood. He handed her the rag. 

“And that,” he said, “is why we don’t deal with the Chameleon. That’s the greatest rule of them all, and the one you can only break once. Don’t ever forget that.” 

Then he got down off the box and picked up one of the glass pearls. He held it for a moment, rolling it this way and that in his palm. 

“...Anyway, these still won't cut it. HEY! Everybody! Get your lazy tails back in here-” 

And after that, everything seemed to go back to normal. Han was joking around, making threats and promises and swearing along with everyone else as they polished their goods, though Zhen was certain she wasn’t imagining the slight dampness in the mood. Her eyes kept glancing at the window, at the sliver of wall she could see where she sat, and the story played over in her mind, along with that one rule, more precious than its weight in gold. 

She went to sleep that night still thinking of the stains on the wall, and Han’s chattering teeth. And she wondered to herself: if she messed up, if she did the wrong thing just once, didn’t manage to get away…would it be her face the Chameleon wore when she came back here, while the real Zhen was left hanging?

[drksanctuary]

Please read this angsty TSATS thing I did. I worked on it for waaay to long.

Nico heard it again and again in all different voices. Listen. LISTEN listen!!!!LISTEN!

He was listening. All he ever did was listen. Everyone around him spoke, and he listened. No one heard him! He-

“Listen,” an all too familiar voice says behind him quieting all of the other voices. The cacophony of voices disappears. “I need you to listen” the voice continues. Nico turns, his breaths shallow. He sees-

“You.” He says, voice tinged with anger and disgust.

The figure looks at him with knitted eyebrows; worrying for him…pitying him. A small boy with olive skin and wide innocent eyes that hadn’t seen all he had. He sees Himself. Age 10.

“What do you possibly have to tell me,” he snaps at the image of his younger self, “That I haven’t already heard?!” His wild eyes glare into his younger, innocent ones. His heart beats heavy against his ribs.

“You need to listen... to what you’ve been ignoring in your heart, ever since you shut me out.” The younger Nico says. Disgustingly earnest. Deplorably ignorant. Deeply maddening. Nico hates himself more than anyone in this world or the next.

“Speak then.” Nico commands, if it means he won’t be tormented anymore then sure. He’ll listen.

“The truth you’ve been ignoring-” he hears himself say, voice small, “About Jason.”

Nico inhales sharply.

No. He didn’t want to talk about Jason. Didn’t want to think- But it was true. He had been ignoring Jason. But once he acknowledged it, it would be true… It would be real. It would hurt.

He stares at himself, with anger then envy, then acceptance. He’s listening now. Can he say it? His fists clench, nails digging into his palms, his whole body stiff and fighting with itself.

“Jason…is dead” He chokes it out, and it feels like he is drowning on dry land.

“And?” Younger Nico presses.

“I’m not good at accepting the death of friends.” He never will be.

“That’s not it.” Younger Nico frowns, disappointed.

“What do you want from me??” Nico asks.

“It seems Cupid didn’t get through to you.”

“Don’t talk about that stupid Cupid.” Nico snaps again, that wound still aches, his anger burns beneath his skin. He wishes Jason was-

Younger Nico giggles. “Haha you rhymed.”

Nico growls at himself. And not just at the younger version of himself. What does his younger self mean? What is it that- …No.

“Just like with Percy,” Younger Nico starts.

“No.” Nico says out loud this time. He doesn’t want-

“You were afraid then. And you started having feelings for Ja-“

“No!” Nico interrupts, he doesn’t want to hear this, “I like Will. I finally like someone who likes me-”

“Listen-“

“No!” Nico is desperate, “You listen! I did not finally get over Percy Jackson just to fall for another golden boy, hero of the gods, who would never ever feel the same way about me! I’m not some sort of Masochist, no matter how faithful a companion pain is to me!”

Younger nico is quiet. His eyes are worried again and then he looks down. “But…” younger nico starts. “But I did like you.” he finishes, but in a voice not his own.

Nico blinks and his young image is replaced. A tall, broad shouldered boy stands there now, watching Nico with bright blue eyes through the glass lenses resting on his nose. His mouth curls into a half smile accenting the scar on his lips.

It has been ages since Nico looked upon that face. His heart throbs, heavy and painful. “Jason?”

“Nico.” Jason says with his warm smile. “Listen,” he begins.

Nico’s heart drops. He’d said listen the way one does when “They Need to Talk.” The way they say it, when they have bad news.

“I’m listening,” Nico manages. He always is.

“I…like you. I was struggling with it because I had so many expectations on me but…whenever I was with you I- I felt like I could be myself.”

“You were my best friend” Nico agrees “…I never had one before.”

Jason nods, still smiling still lovely. “Yes. Exactly. And I really thought that if I…wanted to change that, you’d lose something more important, but…Nico, I liked you.”

“Liked?” Nico repeats.

“Yes, in that way.”

Nico narrows his eyes. No... This is a figment, if he needed to listen why would he need to hear things he had no knowledge of. Jason had never said that, never even implied it. And even in the off chance he had ever liked Nico like that…what good did that do him now? Jason was… gone.

“Liar.”

“What?” Jason says

“You’re not Jason.”

“Do you really think yourself so unlovable, that you think I’m lying to you? That I’m some illusion meant to torture you?”

“Yes. I’m in Tartarus…that’s exactly the kind of thing that would be in here. Not the ghost of a good, wonderful demigod who died a hero and belongs in Elysium.”

“Well that’s true.” Jason says, “I even knew that going in but-” Jason’s eyes search around as a skittering sound echoes around the chamber they are in. Nico isn’t sure who this illusion is, but he seems to have caught the monster in a lie. “I really thought, I could get rid of her hold on me if I told you the truth…but…you don’t believe me…and it… just makes her stronger…”

The figure of Jason shakes as if his arms are pulling at something holding him back.

Nico is alert now and draws his sword. He doesn’t know whom “she” is referring to, but he knows he needs to defend himself.

“Nico, I wish…I could convince you…but we don’t have time. You have to-“

“If you say ‘listen’ one more time, I swear I’m gonna scream.” Nico snaps.

A large, red, bony arm swings down from the darkness and almost crushes “Jason”. The towering, terrible visage of Akhlys stares down at him with her mouth twisted into a sadistic smile.

“-Run!” Jason finishes just before Akhlys pulls an invisible string tugging him back like a puppet.

“Did you listen, Nico di Angelo? I’m so glad you heard my call,” Akhlys’ head twists upside down and then back right side up. “You’re still my favorite…I still think you’re perfect…just the way you are.”

Nico's whole body freezes for a moment, eyes wide in terror before he finally listens…listens to what he was told.

He runs.

[thedovesaredying]

I just wanna say hi and also ask if you have pictures of your chickens bc I love chickens

I'm glad to see more chicken lovers out here! I'll have to put the pics under the cut because my current count is 31 chickens and I have waaay too many pictures of them, so I've tried to be somewhat selective.

I actually breed Gold/Blue Partridge Brahmas on the side because where I live the nearest breeder of brahmas in general is about a 2 hour drive inland and there's a fair demand for them since they're much less likely to get taken by hawks due to how MASSIVE they are.

Anyway, floofy babies below!!

This is my sweet girl, Buttercup, a Speckled Sussex. I have near enough every different Sussex colour under the sun lmao. Pale, Silver, Buff, Coronation, and Platinum. They're named Crystal, Salt, Pepper, Ivory, and Gracie respectively.

This is Gracie, the Platinum Sussex I mentioned. She is the LOUDEST girl known to man. She has many opinions and need to make sure they're known!!! Will come and stand outside the back door and shout into the house for attention.

This is Cricket, my Plymouth Rock hen. I named her Cricket because when she was a little newly hatched baby, she would cuddle up in my hand to fall asleep and start trilling/purring. The sound was exactly like the sound of a cricket chirping.

Maisie, my fluffy little Easter Egger girl. She lays bright blue eggs, and her sibling Bean, lays bright green ones.

My head rooster and main breeding male, Sergeant Major. This image doesn't really do him any justice, but he's absolutely massive, both height wise and because of how broad he is. He has balls of steel and fears nothing. Magpies try to swoop him? They're the ones that have to swerve to avoid colliding with him, because he doesn't move for nobody. He's a big baby for his mamma tho, he lets me pick him up and carry him around like a toddler lmao.

A terrible picture, but it gives you a good idea of how large he is, even though he's smaller than Sarge. This is my second in command, Stevie McQueen (named after the actor in The Great Escape, since as a chick he could and would find a way to escape his enclosure). He might be large, but he's smart enough not to mess with Sarge, so he gets along well with the rest of the flock.

Bluey!! The roundest of girls!! She's a little anxious around humans she doesn't know, but she's so, so very gorgeous. Went through a major molt recently, and is looking a bit scrungly, but here she's looking lovely uwu.

Blondie, one of the roosters from my hatch last November, I decided to keep because he's such a sweet, gentle boy. He's a mix of Brahma (from Sarge) and Pale Sussex (Crystal), but because his mum had some sort of gigantism mutation, he has also outgrown both of his parents and is only 7 months old!! Afraid of his own shadow.

This is Smokey, another of the babies from November. Stevie is her dad and Bluey is her mum, so she has fluffy, round genes from them both lmao.

Froggy!!!! My darling baby girllll!!!!! Another of the November babies, one of the purebred brahma hens. She would've been an excellent show bird, but sadly was born with two of her toes on both feet fused together, forcing her to hop around, hence the name Frog. We corrected the issue so she can now walk correctly now, but her feet aren't good enough to be used for showing or breeding, so we're just keeping her as a pet. She thinks she's a human too, and demands entrance into the house for kisses and hugs ever night. She won't go to bed at night without behind held for a good while and told what a good girl she is.

Bonus pic of Froggy as a tiny baby being snuggled by my mum. Just look at that sweet baby girl and tell me you could say no to her.

[pkmatrix]

New Fan Editing Project: Godzilla (1998)

Yep, I’m at it again with fan editing!

I recently completed my third fan edit, an edit of The Relic (1997) (if you’re interested in checking it out, just send me a message), and started thinking about what I could work on next.  I considered returning back to my Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla fan edit, but that got me thinking instead about Godzilla (1998).

G’98 is a movie with issues.

I’ve had a bit of a roller-coaster relationship with G’98.  I saw the movie in theaters when I was 12, but unlike most I’d actually already seen EVERY Godzilla movie (including the then-recent and not yet released in America Heisei movies, which my parents had bought me imported fansubbed bootlegs of) and walked of the theater having thoroughly enjoyed it.  It wasn’t until I read the next issue of G-Fan and saw that every other Godzilla fan in the world had hated it that I suddenly switched gears (so fast my parents were confused) and decided I hated it too.  It wasn’t until five years later that I revisited it and my opinion softened, deciding I didn’t hate it after all but just didn’t care much for it.  The last time I revisited it - now almost a decade ago - I was struck by how boring a movie it is, and that that’s its greatest sin.  Not Godzilla’s radical redesign, not Godzilla’s personality - frankly, nothing to do with Godzilla himself - but the story of the movie is just DULL.

Why?

Lots has been written about how much people dislike Maria Pitillo’s character and performance, but that’s just a symptom of the real issue:  the movie WANTS to be a Romantic Comedy.  From the start of the film until about 30 to 35 minutes in, the movie is deceptively...fine.  More than one person has told me (and it’s happened to me too) that upon revisiting the first Act is actually quite decent and lulls you into thinking maybe you’ve been too hard on it.  Then the second Act starts and the film decides it’s going to be a bad Romantic Comedy from now on, often forgetting about Godzilla for LOOONG stretches.  Which maybe could be tolerable if Matthew Broderick and Maria Pitillo had chemistry, but they really don’t.  What’s worse, neither character really DOES anything - all of the actual decisions in the movie and actual agency rest with the two main supporting characters played by Hank Azaria and Jean Reno.  I’ve felt ever since that the movie would’ve been significantly stronger and more watchable had those two been the leads, and the Broderick/Pitillo story reduced to a subplot.

Part of why I hadn’t attempted this before was because, well, I didn’t think there was enough to work with.  The movie’s only an 1h 50m, I kept telling myself, and if I made all the alterations I had in mind I’d be left with, what?  An hour?  There just wasn’t enough there.  Except, I’M A MORON.  It was while thinking about it again earlier this week that I actually stopped to check what the runtime is, and my jaw dropped:

Godzilla (1998) is 2h 18m long!!

That’s WAAAY too long, and means there’s over 40 MINUTES I could theoretically cut and still be an acceptable feature length (around 1h 30m)!

So that’s what I’m doing.

BROAD STROKES PLAN

Cut back on scenes with Matthew Broderick, Maria Pitillo, and their storylines to reduce them to supporting characters.

Rearrange scenes to improve pacing and create a greater focus on Godzilla, Hank Azaria, and Jean Reno.

If possible, radically reorganize the second half of the film to eliminate the Baby Godzillas storyline which always felt tacked on, derivative of Jurassic Park, and there to pad out the film.

Alter the ending to make Godzilla’s death more ambiguous, or maybe even change it so he lives (had the idea of ending with his eyes reopening, then cutting to black with the sounds of his roar and people screaming).

Examine the feasibility of changing the music choices, as I felt the musical tone is too...whimsical?

I was planning to work on this today but, alas, some stuff has gotten in the way.  Still, I’m hoping to give this a try this coming week and see what I can do with the movie.

[rroechan]

Messrs. Shipwright & Seuss

Magic detective OCs

me rambling below (theres a lot)

originally, they were hp fan characters, with houses, wands, patronuses and everything but for varying reasons, they evolved past that and I basically made up a whole world, similar but not entirely. a Lot of changes were just me fixing and then adding waaay too much detail into the magic system (because I go rabid for world building)

eg. i threw that whole witch = girl, wizard = boy thing FAR out the window. Those are basically titles now that classifies what sort of magic user are you. Regular peeps are Mages, 'Wizard' is basically like a phd, Witches are homeschooled, Warlocks are the equivalent to 'fucked around, found out'. I could go more in depth if ppl r interested,,,

Dr.Shipwright

one on the right

pseud Jeers Shipwright, real name Noah Silkryce

Holds the title of wizard, is an actual genuine doctor whom specialises in the treatment and study of magic cores (a magic user's source of magic located very literally inside their bodies)

he lives in the two story apartment above the storefront thats basically their detective office

his apartment is meant for like a family of 4 but he has So Many Books. Even copies of the same book because theyre "collector's edition" or something other. My god, one quarter of his collection is untouched and still in their packaging because he hasnt finished the ones hes already opened yet.

He'll read about anything you throw at him but he enjoys fiction the most

Eccentric (read, i projected all of my neurodivergence onto him)

aside from loving books to no end, he also enjoys wearing funky patterns. different coloured & patterned socks, arcade floor pants, etc etc. Even at a funeral, if you looked close enough, his necktie has black cat patterns on it.

(He started doing it cause one of his favourite book characters did it. Perseus is ever grateful Noah didnt pick up the character's accent as well)

he looks charming but has nearly zero social skills. Best part is that its not that he doesnt try, he just doesnt bother with it. he leaves all the talking part to Perseus

Mr. Seuss

one on the left

pseud Seuss Dreammaker, real name Perseus O. Coy

Originally part of the Magic Police but left to join Noah in becoming a detective duo. He still retains some favorability from the magic police, specifically the current police chief whom he used to apprentice under.

She, the police chief, is one of the ways the two get their cases

While Noah uses a wand for most magic, Perseus uses a foil sword disguised as a cane

the magic police use magic swords.

Perseus also just. Knows fencing cause hes from a pureblood richie magic family

yea theres blood politics in this too but in the timeline, its cooled waaay the fuck down by the time Noah and Perseus got out of secondary school

coming from a pureblood family, his tastes lean a bit more to the expensive side, especially for food.

him and his parents travelled a lot thus Perseus having a very broad flavour pallette. At some point he'd began his own secret little food journal rating and writting down dishes and recipes he's picked up. (he learnt how to cook purely because the school food was far too bland. Just imagine younger him as that one person on tiktok who cooked a wellington in their dorm)

He acts plenty reserved but he can be very excitable when it comes to new things, not just food. Though, he doesn't show it well unless prompted to.

"Decorum, remember decorum" old lessons die hard. His form of being excited or interested is just very subdued, Noah is always first to notice and will push Perseus into trying something.

I wanted to say that Noah is "La la la la" and Perseus is "Ok ok ok ok" but I failed to clarify that they're both cousins, related by their great-grandparents. This isn't something I threw in, this is relevant to the plot and how they meet each other

one last fun fact abt these two: they're technically legacy characters based off my other hp ocs who are like, great-grand uncle and aunts to these two.

its a nightmare, its insanity, but its very funny to me

[violet-moonstone]

more httyd OCs

ok so I've got more next-generation dragon riders for the fic im working on

but they're the kids of the antagonists - the warlords of the northern alliance (im probably gonna come up with a different name for them, idk)

their perspective on dragons is somewhat complicated because they grew up with their parents telling them how horrible the world was before they subjugated dragons and how they have to be harsh with them to keep them in line...but at the same time, they grew up as dragon riders who have pretty close relationships with their own dragons. So they kind of see dragons in general as a force that has to be put under the "right" kind of control (ie, subordination, not cooperation).

sooo here's my lil guys!

Oktai (16/17ish) is the younger son of Griselda the Grievous and Chaghatai Khan (yes, I put them together, it just made sense to me, idk). Oktai gets along much better with his dad, who is more easygoing and laid back, whereas mom is suuuper intense. Oktai's sort of the runt of the litter of the warlord kids. He's not a fighter at all - somewhat similar to Hiccup in HTTYD 1, but a lot more cynical and moody. He's extremely jealous of his older brother but also looks up to him. He excels at learning about dragons — specifically how to manipulate them. It upsets him but he tries not to think about it too much cause he's just trying to get by and not piss anyone off, especially his mother. Any time he feels a twinge of empathy he shoves it waaay down. Damn pesky conscience.

Appearance: Medium height and thin. Messy, black shoulder length hair, usually in a ponytail. Light brown, cat-like eyes. Pointed facial features.

Fun fact: Oktai is a Mongolian name that means "he who understands." Yes, this is important.

Oktai is the only one who does not ride a dragon.

Alaric (early 20s) is Oktai's older brother. He's handsome, tall, charismatic, honest, a great fighter, etc, etc. He's brave and a good leader—definitely next in line to lead the Warlords. He adheres strictly to the worldview his parents taught him—that dragons are a force that must be conquered. His father goes about this from more of a "greater good" perspective, whereas his mother wants to do away with any forces that stand in the way of her ability to exercise power. Either way, Alaric is not about questioning his worldview. Whereas Oktai avoids doing so out of fear, Alaric just doesn't understand why anyone would. He believes that they're the good guys. Not like those reckless anarchists on Berk...right?...Right?

Alaric doesn't really understand his baby brother but he looks out for him as best as he can.

Appearance: Tall, broad-shouldered. Long, dark brown hair in a braid. Light brown eyes. Rectangular features. Annoyingly handsome. And his teeth are just like...stupidly perfect. What a show-off.

Fights with a sword and rides a Typhoomerang...I think. Might change that later.

Bjorn (late teens/early 20s) is the older son of Ragnar the Rock. He's tall and beefy...like not muscular—BEEFY. He's kind of an asshole to Oktai but not when Alaric's around. He's very serious and easily-angered. His little sister annoys the hell out of him, but he's still protective of her.

Appearance: Tall, and as previously stated, beefed up. Covered in tattoos. Short, curly ginger hair shaved on the sides.

Fights with a mace and rides a Crimson Goregutter. He really likes the name.

Edda (about 15) You CANNOT stop her, she can only be contained. Younger daughter of Ragnar the Rock. She's mischievous, impulsive, and sneaky. Also tends to be mean to Oktai, but not always on purpose. She kind of just opens her mouth and stuff comes out. Who can keep track?

Appearance: Short with an athletic build. She has a cute baby face (but don't let that fool you. She will set your house on fire). Short, curly ginger hair. Absolutely covered in freckles.

Fights with knives and rides a Raincutter, whom she has secretly named Puddle (they're not supposed to name their dragons). She loved Puddle too much not to name him though.

[bragganhyl]

18 - Fluff mostly cause I wanna see how you write Gaura blushing👀

Aaaay, thanks, it took me waaay too long to write this, but yeah have some tooth-rotting fluff.

Word count: about 1850 words

18 - “I think it’s adorable how easily you blush.”

Gaura stood by the bar of the Wild Mare, just having ordered some dishes for three. She glanced around as she waited, taking note of the different members of the crew enjoying some food and drinks, in the different corners of the tavern. Some swayed to the music, others were trying to drown the music out with their futile attempts at conversation. The Watcher, however, couldn't see Edér or Aloth anywhere. A light frown crept onto her face as she turned fully away from the bar, only to bump right into a familiar, broad frame.

'Lookin' for me?' Edér grinned down at her, with a hint of smugness hiding in the corners of his lips.

'You're getting good at the whole sneaking thing,' Gaura noted and smoothed down a tiny flame rippling on the back of her neck. She could vaguely hear a chuckle coming from the farmer.

'Easy with all this noise,' he said as he wrapped an arm around the Watcher's waist and left a kiss on her forehead. 'Aloth and I checked out the balcony, it's empty. He's supposed to keep it that way until we get back. And I figured you could use an extra pair of hands.' He let go of her and leaned against the bar. He took out his pipe with one hand and fished out some whiteleaf from his pockets with the other. As he filled the pipe, he glanced at Gaura with a curious, almost mischievous glint in his eye. He was about to look for some flint, but just as he started patting his pockets, he stopped and looked to the Watcher again. She could almost see the idea forming in his mind. 'You think you could lend me your hair a bit? Please?' He added hurriedly.

Gaura sighed through her nose. She preferred to keep the list of people who could use her hair to light things up limited to herself. Edér, however, gazed at her tenderly, even if his smile was still somewhat teasing. She couldn't help but smile back, curiosity and trust mingling in her so intensely she could almost feel them take shape in her chest.

'Alright, but only because you asked me so nicely.' She offered her palm, waiting for him to place the pipe in it. Edér took one look at it and his smile widened. He grabbed her wrist and guided her hand to his waist. As he leaned in, Gaura heard a chuckle half-muffled by his teeth closed around the pipe's stem. His cheek brushed against hers as he inhaled and all the noises in the room were drowned out by the sound of whiteleaf catching fire. The farmer straightened up a moment later, took out the pipe from his mouth with his free hand and let a small, earthy puff of smoke drift from his lips to the air above the both of them.

'I plan on thanking you real nicely too,' he said as he leaned down again, and lightly rubbed his nose against hers.

'That sounded like something you should keep upstairs,' the barkeep's voice dragged Gaura's awareness back to the tavern and with that, it sent ripples down her scalp that she hastily smoothed down.

'Right, apologies for that. I assure you, we do have manners, just...' as she spoke she noticed the dishes she ordered on the bar, 'we just forget them sometimes.' She said as she picked up two of the plates, then elbowed Edér in the side, spurring him on to the same with the last bowl and the cutlery.

'Yeah, real sorry about that,' his voice carried a hint of amusement. He followed the Watcher carefully holding his bowl while she loudly proclaimed his approach.

'Everyone watch out!' She yelled as loudly as her lungs allowed. 'Big guy with soup, coming through!'

Even with the music and the cacophony of different conversations, Gaura's warning reached those she needed out of the way, and soon the two of them were climbing the stairs leading to the upper floor. They found a lot fewer people upstairs, but the air felt hotter and heavy, as if the whole floor was filled with a single labored breath. The Watcher heard a light cough coming from behind her. She glanced back only to see Edér frowning at the pipe he no longer felt like smoking.

'Sure hope Aloth kept that spot.'

'I don't see him here, so he must have,' Gaura said as she pushed down the handle of the door leading to the balcony with her elbow.

Only to nearly bump into a wall of magical energy right behind it.

Edér burst out laughing, nearly spilling his soup on himself. 'That sure is one way to do it.'

Gaura noticed Aloth's head perking up at the veteran's voice. He slammed the book in his lap shut and made his way to the entrance.

'I'm sorry, I'll dispel this in a moment.'

'I'm guessing you really did not want to be disturbed,' Gaura comments, drawing a shy chuckle out of the wizard.

'I may have gotten carried away a bit,' he said as he drew a seemingly complicated pattern on the barrier that disappeared the moment he finished. 'Allow me to help you with that,' he reached for one of the plates in Gaura's hands. It was his order of oysters, that was served with various fruits from orchards outside Neketaka. He quickly made his way to their table and Gaura followed. Edér, however only took a step onto the balcony and remained by the door.

'Hey, Aloth, you think you can put that wall thing back?' He asked.

Aloth looked to Edér who pointedly looked to him then at the door. The wizard then turned to Gaura. 'I suppose I wasn't all that carried away,' he shrugged. He put down his plate then went back to the door.

As the Watcher followed him with her gaze, she noticed Edér watching her with a faint smirk. He gave her a playful wink that reminded her of his offer downstairs. She turned her attention to her plate of mari crudia, as her imagination ran wild fueled by the implications she saw in that wink. Maybe she did so a little hurriedly, because she heard the farmer's laugh by the door. Aloth finished his spell, just as Gaura looked to them again, and he was ready to join her again, however Edér called out to him.

'Wait.'

Aloth stopped in his tracks and turned to him with questions in his eyes. Edér leaned in and whispered something in his ear.

'Well, I could, but... why?' The wizard asked back.

'Cause it'd be fun, why else?' As he spoke he looked to the Watcher, prompting Aloth to follow his gaze.

A slight blush appeared on the wizard's face and he rolled his eyes at Edér. 'You are incorrigible.'

The farmer merely chuckled at that. Aloth took his seat next to Gaura and Edér placed his bowl on her other side as well. He left the cutlery on the table, then stepped away to empty his pipe over the railing of the balcony. Aloth busied himself by sorting out the cutlery, and while he did that, the Watcher moved a piece of mari crudia from her plate onto Aloth's. The wizard froze for a moment, caught off guard by the gesture, then his lips curled to a wide and warm smile. He grabbed a koiki fruit from his plate and squeezed a few drops of juice out of it on one of the oysters on his plate.

'I know, it looks a bit repulsive this way, but trust me, it adds just the right amount of sourness to make the flavor nice and balanced,' he explained as he placed the oyster on her plate. The Watcher could only chuckle in thanks at first, giving Aloth the time to leave a quick kiss on her cheek.

'Let me know if you want some sauce on your mari crudia too.'

'No, thank you, it makes it too salty for me.'

'You two are adorable,' Edér sat down by the Watcher's side. 'I'd offer some soup but that would get messy,' he said as he picked up his spoon. But just as he was about to take a spoonful of soup, a thought crossed his mind. He looked at Gaura's free hand, then at his own, too far from her to hold her while they eat. He took the spoon in his other hand and grabbed hers. In her surprise, she nearly spat out the oyster she was chewing on.

'Is everything alright?'

The Watcher heard Aloth's question from her other side. She vehemently nodded, trying to ignore the flames around her head fluttering just as intensely. She swallowed and smoothed them down.

'Yeah, I just... Did you see that?' She gestured at Edér who was snickering smugly beside her.

'It's cute how easily you blush,' he said unable to supress his grin. For all his teasing, he sounded adoring.

'Wha-? I don't blush,' Gaura bumped her knee against his under the table. Edér quietly chuckled as an answer.

'Maybe not quite like most kith, but you do,' Aloth stated matter-of-factly before he slurped up an oyster.

'Yeah, your hair does that thing...' Edér put down his spoon and lifted his hand to his ear, wiggling his fingers to imitate the Watcher's flames.

'It ripples when you're flustered.'

'And it gets kinda droopy when you're embarrassed.'

'And it seems to point upwards when you're frustrated,' with that, Aloth dropped the subject and instead he cast a protective spell on himself. He reached for Gaura's hair and smoothed it down for her. 'There is really no need to be,' he took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, 'we don't mean to make fun of you. Isn't that right, Edér?' He added as he shot a pointed look at him.

'Right, kinda hoped the three of us could have some fun,' he lifted the Watcher's hand to his lips and left a soft kiss on the back of it.

'Yeah, I get that,' Gaura sighed, 'I don't mind it all that much.' She chuckled to herself after a moment of silence. 'It's just a little ridiculous how you two affect me. Even though we're grown people who have known each other for years and who have been living together for a while.'

'Nah, there ain't anything ridiculous about it.'

'Indeed. Would you like a complete list of all the times you've rendered us a blushing mess?' Aloth let out a short, awkward laugh, as he reminisced.

'No need, I have them all memorized,' Gaura stated proudly. She let out a sigh as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sea breeze and the touch of her lovers. 'But I will need my hands to eat, so...'

'Oh. Right.'

'Sorry about it.'

Aloth and Edér let go of her as if she burned them. Gaura stole some glances from the corners of her eyes and a satisfied smile crept on her face and she glimpsed a hint of red on their cheeks.

[destinyc1020]

The vibe I get from Kaia and Austin is that they are more of a showy couple, it that makes sense. I get the feeling she really likes to get their pictures taken and seems to do things that draw attention to them as a couple. I am sure part of that is youth and maybe part of that is liking the attention. I am not saying that they aren't a real couple, just a couple that likes their PDA out there.

Mmm.... they don't seem showy to me... 🤔Not at all. They actually seem pretty private?

He and Vanessa seemed to be way more hounded by the press and paps IIRC 🤔, they attended more Hollywood events together, and they were waaay more touchy-feely out in broad daylight public. Vanessa also used to post them on her IG a LOT lol. 😅

But maybe he was just younger then and was way more carefree with PDA, but when he got older he came to realize that it's not great to have your relationship be such a HUGE focus and linked to your career. 🤷🏾‍♀️

He and Kaia actually seem pretty private and low key to me? They're not attention-seekers, they're not flashing their rlshp in our faces 24/7, and he wasn't bringing her to too many of his award campaigning events. To me it seemed kind of obvious that they weren't trying to make his rlshp the sole focus of the media during work (which is smart imo).

Obviously, ANY guy who's linked with her is gonna get a lot of pap pics because Kaia gets papped just for breathing or walking her dog rofl 🤣 But they don't even attend a lot of events together in Hollywood because I think they're trying to keep their rlshp life a little separate from the work life. Again...I think it's smart.

You think she's purposely calling the paps to have them photographed while out and about? 🤔 Or you think she just calls the paps just in general? Idk that much about her tbh.

[impulsivedecisionsat3am]

As a high schooler who hates school, I have some things to say:

The number one thing about working is that you get a reward. Yes the economy is shit and many workers have unfair wages but, at the end of the day, you're still making money. Whereas in school, your reward is 'education' and your diploma. Two words that have been etched into our minds until the become practically meaningless. The concept of education is too broad for us to truly contemplate and understand what it really entails.

Building off of education, we have been told our entire lives that we need to go to college to get a job, and we need good grades in order to go to a good college. A mediocre college will do nothing, you have to go to a top notch state of the arts one. High School feels like the final stretch, which means that you have to be better now than ever before. For many students, this translates into "if you get anything below a B (or even an A) you'll never make it in life." This is part of the reason that we fucking kill ourselves. We can't handle the stress.

Next up is the time. Most schools open waaay to early. My school starts at 7:40, but i need to get to the bus stop by 6:57 at most. I wake up at 6 every morning. I know a friend who wakes up at 5. I have another friend who goes to sleep at like 2 and also wakes up at 6 I think (you know who you are). it's not fucking healthy to force a bunch of teenagers, who are notorious for staying up late, to wake up before they're fully functioning. It's nearly impossible for me to even stay awake during first period, and i have a pretty good sleep schedule.

And then there's the monotony of it all. Wake up at the same time every day, go to the same classes at the same time, eat an almost identical lunch, sit through boring classes with boring conversations and boring work. If the class is too hard, it makes me cry. If the class is too easy, it's so fucking tedious I want to die. There is rarely an in between. When every day is practically the same, it becomes unbearable. It feels like a cage (because it was designed to resemble a prison). What's the point of being there if you already know what's going to happen anyways. And yet, if you miss even a single day, it takes the rest of the week just to catch up. School is just an unbearable mess of stress and boredom, and how tf is a teenager who's going through one of the roughest parts of their life supposed to deal with that?

So OF COURSE. OF COURSE we'd do anything. I have no idea what school was like for you, someone older than me with a different mind who went to school in a different part of time. I only know my experiences so far, and the experiences that my friends have brought up. But it's fucking terrible, like being blindfolded and trapped in a cage for so long that you're used to it, but still fucking terrified.

I cannot stress this enough; YOU'VE GRADUATED. YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE AN ADULT. BUT WE DON'T. We have never experienced that life. School is all we have ever know. And at the end of the day, sometimes all we can do is ask ourselves "is it really worth it?" Because honest to god, sometimes it really doesn't feel like it is.

(people have already talked about tests and I feel like they fall under the category of grades, so that's why I didn't mention them.)

adults are always talking about how “kids will do anything to get out of school” and okay, first of all that’s not true, but I think we really need to ask why that idea holds so much sway.

children’s brains are hard-wired to take in new information and acquire new skills. consider, for a moment, just how thoroughly our society had to fuck up the concept of education for it to be a normal thing to assume kids are universally desperate to avoid learning.

[sleepyivoryrose]

The rose season arrived. There are beautiful, big roses, white, and red, and cream colored, right before my house in a little sitting area (you can't even call it a park.) Sadly, that's where all the drunkards gather, even in broad daylight, so I seldom sit there.

It's not as bad as Munich Central Station, thank god it isn't, but clearly this is the block where they like to attend their meetings.

That doesn't take anything away from the roses though. They smell wonderful, and look even prettier.

It's always one of the few highlights of summer for me. Of course they remind me of my comfort character, but my parents also had roses in their garden, and it reminds me of them. Even if I don't always get along with them, they're often in my thoughts.

Near that place there are also extremely fragrant bushes with small, white flowers (but boy do they have power! smelling power!)...a lot of cat owners seem to live in that area too, since I sometimes see some roam about...they aren't exactly open to strangers though, so I mostly look like an idiot trying to attract them.

Not that it stops me to keep doing it. They remind me of the girl-cat of my my parents, Kiwi. (I know- a lot of people say that it's funny that a cat is called after a a bird. We were thinking of the fruit though)

I wonder if the fruit is called after the bird or the other way around. They do look a bit similar, don't they?

Today I got myself Eiyuden Chronicles, I think it is called? I'm a bit excited, since this series is supposed to be the emotional successor to Suikoden, and I loved that one. I only played 4 and 5, but I like them both...5 has a special place in my heart. It's so 2000s moe, I love it. But yeah, let's see what kinda game this one is. I actually wanted to buy the physical copy of pokemon scarlet with the dlc already on it, but 100€ is waaay too much. Specially since I also got myself a squishmallow (finally I found one that I like! I couldn't let it escape!) But my finances...I hope I still have enough for my plans in September. I want to visit a friend, but I have to book a hotel, and those are kind of expensive, specially in the town I'll be sleeping. I should start looking for hotels...

I am not very responsible. What happened, I used to be such a hard worker! Now I got lazy. The psychiatrists always say that the meds kind of make you a bit...heavy-hearted? Like, you don't have motivation to do anything. It's like a little depression, really. I have to do house chores too...help...

My roommate can't stand me...understandable...I mean...at the start I tried really hard, but she kept ignoring me...so I got tired, and now she asks me often when I will leave the house, so she has a few days for herself. Funny thing is- when I'm gone, she doesn't even notice it, if I don't tell her beforehand. If I'm already so quiet that she doesn't even register I'm here, then why does she want me out of the house so badly?!

arrggghblrubhrghblrurbh

HHHHAAAA

I'm spiraling again. Nobody cares, Sae. Chill for two seconds.

But it is very handy, when I look back at it in half a year or so. Then I've got maybe a clearer head and a better idea why exactly I said the things I said.

Do I have fandoms right now I could talk about...?

I got back into Food Fantasy. AGAIN. It got me by the metaphorical balls. Honestly, my friend and I are still surprised it's still here, it's been running since 2017. It's been almost ten years! Can you believe it? There's a ton of food souls (I can't find Weißwurst on the Fandom Page of it...! Why would they remove *him*?! Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte I get, but...) I like

I first got into it because of the bar simulator. Even though I don't like alcohol and I don't like when people drink (at the end of the day, it's none of my business though...it's more like a pet peeve) I find bars and barkeeps weirdly aesthetic. Or maybe not so weirdly? Actually, it makes a lot of sense.

And the restaurant mechanic is also fun. And the collecting of food souls...the only thing I'm (hilariously enough) bad at is the actual fighting. I suck so much at building a team.

My brother and my friend live for the grindset though (my brother's back at it in Food Fantasy, my friend turned to Genshin) They always get crazy strong really fast. I wished I had their dedication for the grind.

My apothecary diaries hyperfixation calmed a little bit down. I'm still working on my Li island in Animal Crossing. I like breeding the roses, even though I've come to a stalemate. The violet roses I bred don't give any "special whites", white roses which are necessary to breed blue roses. Even though I could have sworn that I've only used the right roses...I even did a test phase! Honestly, I am getting a little impatient. I've been sitting at it for what, two or three months now? To be fair, I barely timetravel, and I don't play everyday, but...

I'm also trying to complete all my pokemon games. Lord know's when my DS-es while give out, so I gotta hang in there.

----

Aside from the fandoms...I've been training against my social anxiety again. It's tough, I get so easily annoyed and irritated. I can barely do anything alone, it's that paralyzing. Barking dogs don't bite, but scared dogs surely do. And I'm one of them. Man, I just want to live a peaceful, comfortable life. If I can't even do the easiest of things, then how I am supposed to cope in a work environment? People there use me as much as they can't, because they know I can't talk back. It's frustrating.

But one step at a time. Easy does it.

--

My foot hurts for some reason. And my back, but that comes from sitting so much, 100%. Maybe I've gotten so overweight that it's hurting my feet. Poor things. I guess I have to power through the walking to lose weight. Developing a routine is so difficult...

--

Well, I think that's about it. I complain a lot...I have to train my optimistic and creative muscles. My head muscle. Brain, exactly. But I think I am doing slight progress. At least last days I feel more of my emotions than usual. Having no one to forbid you from getting sad or angry like my gaslight, gatekeep girlbossing mother actually does wonders for my emotional health.

There! I'm doing it again! GOD DAMN IT!!

Anyways, this one is a hefty one. I guess I'm off for today!

[ziracona]

Do you think that Bioware regrets how they wrote Vivienne and would write her differently if they could?

That’s kind of too broad a question, because BioWare is a lot of people. Do I think the people in charge do? Do I think the people responsible/who actually wrote her do? Do I think the people writing now do? Some overlap, but it’s not all the same question. I guess do I think the specific people responsible do? No, not even a little. That’s putting waaay too much faith even mercenarily in them. When people get preach about bad politics they’re pushing in their writing, generally they aren’t the kind to reflect and regret. Do I think the owners based on fan response would? Idk, maybe. If it seemed like it would make more money and good press.