#but I still feel this is a valid complaint... like where are the activities?! Where are the hobbies and ways to pass the time?!

[alltimefail-sims]

WHY don't we have pool tables or more hobbies/activities in general in this godforsaken game!?!?!

[luceafarul-de-dimineata]

U know me, we talked (am vorbit in privat) I have a very nice headcanon only bcz I want validation from demon men. How about the kings + whoever u want reacting to a MC who is sore and sensible after their waxing appointment. (I'm in so much pain rn)

If u don't want to do it is fine. U do what u want to do

You won't believe where I am... I'M AT MY WAXXING APPOINTMENT! This is fucking insane

Whb kings after MC got waxxed

Satan

Satan would be a bit of dick

He would pinch your skin playfully to try and rile you up

He likes seing you angry, but if it made you uncomfortable he'll stop

He would try to give you a message

Satan just wants you to feel good, there's no fun in you being in pain

If you don't like getting waxxed, he would tell you to stop waxxing

With or without body hair you are still his lover

Mammon

He would order you get the best skin treatment to try an soother your pain

He would bring Buer over to give you the most muscle calming message ever

And Mammon himself would take care of messaging your butt

If you don't fall asleep from the message, Mammon would take you anywhere you want

If you want to cuddle and watch a movie, he takes you to his cinema room and drowns you in blankets

If you want to get spoilled, he takes you out shopping for anything you may want

You could ask him for the moon and the stars and he'll bring them to you

Anything for his master

Leviathan

He also waxxes so he knows the struggle

Would put both your appointments one after the other

He'll scold you for not taking care of your skin properly while applying some cream on your skin

You know that you're special to him when he asks you to rub the cream on his skin as well

It grows into being one of you're favourite activities with eachother.

Beelzebub

He'll throw a funeral for your body hair

Probably asks you to give it to him so he can use it in his cooking

His first insting when you tell him you're sore is to try and have sex

If you don't want that, then he'll just distract you with some bizarre meal that's surprisingly delicious

He doesn't really know how to deal with pain since he just runs away from his, but he'll try to be a good boyfriend

Would call Leviathan while you're eating and asks him to give him a quick rundown of what to do

Lucifer

Depending on how much you complain about the soreness he would either give you a message fit for a king/queen, or he'll just give you a small dose of painkillers

He would listen to any and all of your complaints about the waxxing

The next time you do it he makes you do it in Paradise Lost

He waxxes you gently and pets your head whenever you wince in pain.

If you start tearing up during the wax, you'll see a small smile on his face and he might remind you about it later during the night

But he is the gentlest waxer ever, 10/10 would recommend

[mulderscully]

been thinking about some peoples complaints about how the movie handled alex's coming out as opposed to the book.

part of me understands because the movie did sort of neuter this as well as the depth of henry's mental illness, but at the same time i understand why. the movie is already two hours long and tbh if they wanted to do a fully faithful adaptation (which imo is not necessary) it maybe should've been a mini series.

and aside from taking out liam, tbh i still think that all happened just wasn't shown, and the fact that this is why alex has always known he's "lowkey into dudes" i feel like people don't fully grasp what alex goes through in that time after new years in the movie.

not every bisexual person has the same experience, but i can relate to alex pretty well both in the book and in the movie in terms of his sexuality cause they actually are pretty similar.

a lot of times when you're bisexual you just feel like everyone feels this way. you sort of feel like being straight is what being bisexual is, because the idea that others do not experience attraction to the same and different genders sounds... fake. like. i'm not even joking when i say i have a hard time believing straight people exist. i fully, of course, believe gay people exist, but people being straight and not queer at all makes me ??? sometimes, even now that i have identified as bi for over ten years.

then, there is a pretty big difference between knowing you experience same gender attraction from time to time and actively identifying as a bisexual person, as a queer person, a member of the lgbtq community.

bisexuals, to this day, are made to feel like we do not belong by both heterosexual people and our own community (which is why ellen telling alex the b in lgbtq is not a silent letter realllly matters) so sometimes you really do just shut out that part of yourself and choose to see yourself as straight because it's not worth fighting all the biphobia that you face, but it's still a part of you that you are shutting out and repressing, which is what alex was doing with henry the entire time and where his alleged dislike of him comes from in the first place. henry hates how much he loves alex so he's mean to him, alex doesn't understand why henry is mean to him because he wants henry to like him because he ALSO has feelings for him and those things clash.

during the time that henry ghosts him alex has time to evaluate himself, his feelings and his identity. he has the time to say "this is not something that i am going to ignore about myself anymore" and it may not be as magnified as it is for henry because they're in different positions in terms of support systems, it's still powerful.

when he comes out to henry, you can tell he is getting used to thinking of himself as bisexual but you can also tell that he is nervous to say the word, because telling someone you're bi is ALWAYS terrifying because you don't know what they might say to it. on top of that, you can feel that it is important to him to say it, to tell henry who he is now that he understands it.

being bisexual and identifying that way, and that being part of who you are and carrying it in your heart is a different thing than being like "yeah, whatever i'll make out with someone at a party" even if the latter is still a valid way to be queer. and sometimes you just look back and realize that [x] experience was NEVER straight.

and the best part of the movie to me is henry's complete acceptance of this. henry never ever questions alex's attraction to him, he never questions if alex will be able to stay committed to him, if he will leave him for a woman, if he's confused, or any of the things that STILL happen in media with bisexual characters as leads and as a bisexual person that has been one of the most freeing things to watch.

so yes, alex's bisexuality is still very important and handled as such in the film, in my personal bisexual opinion.

[alianoralacanta]

Hi! So I am a newer fan and I know you've been a Charles fan for so long, was it really unusual for him to be this outspoken about Ferrari and his true feelings after the races? Because the way some people responded to his statement you would think he flipped the middle finger to Sainz and his entire family.

I also know he has this reputation to be more PR-oriented than Sainz. I think it was China where Charles said he and Carlos had talked and everything was fine in response to a journalist, and Carlos had said the complete opposite, that they hadn't talked at all.

Judging from my activity panel, a few other people have had similar questions…

Charles sometimes gets outspoken out of anger after races. It's not common, but also within character for him. For people who've followed Charles long enough, he tends to "leak" the emotions he's feeling no matter how hard he tries to hide them, to the point where even I, who in most circumstances is pretty bad at interpreting body language, can reliably do so. Usually he keeps an impressive amount of verbal control while still making it obvious what he feels. Sometimes, though, this does not happen. Before Spain 2024, the target of the outspokenness was always one of two people: himself, and whoever his team boss happened to be at the time. The outbursts against himself became notorious, especially Baku 2019 and Turkey 2020. If you hear about journalists talking about Charles being self-deprecating or looking to improve his own performance before looking to others, that reputation got founded on him being vocally harsh towards his own mistakes on the radio and in subsequent interviews on several occasions. To the point where a lot of Charles' fans outright fear the "Leclerc radio" message appearing following a mistake. He's got better at keeping things in proportion now, but knowing how harsh he can be helps with understanding what happens when others raise his ire. There are two occasions where he had significant outbursts like this towards a boss: Singapore 2019 and Silverstone 2022. On the first of these, Charles thought he'd got a third win in a row in the bag. However, Sebastian Vettel made an early stop in order to protect his ability to fight for a podium spot (something Charles wasn't offered since Ferrari had no especial reason to believe his win was under threat in that direction) - and it was so effective Sebastian ended up leading, and winning, the race. it soon emerged that Charles did not have a valid complaint to make, but he was so angry that he complained anyway. (Charles ended up apologising later that week, after his error was explained to him). This, I think, is what some of Carlos' fans think Charles was doing on Sunday but wasn't. They think Charles complained without cause, took the shine off what was otherwise a special occasion for them (Carlos' last Ferrari race in Spain until further notice) - and thus they think Charles owes them an apology. However, Charles has always been careful to leave a certain amount of ambiguity in his post-race verbal conduct towards team-mates, even when he's upset with them. He's sometimes had to assert boundaries with Carlos in the past when Carlos has overstepped a boundary, and sometimes queried something Sebastian did, but always with an eye to keeping channels of communication open. A "we'll talk about this" or "I need to see the data" can change a blunt criticism into a perspective that could potentially require other perspectives to understand the full truth. The latter tends to be more palatable to observers and thus PR people, even if both allow Charles' true opinions to be voiced.

[max1461]

Like I guess, what's the point of this discourse?

The anarchist community gardening enthusiasts talk about various motivations. Yeah, some of them say they want to bring all of civilization down, man! But it seems like most of them talk about stuff like, as I mentioned, "food autonomy". They want to have greater control over their food, where it comes from, and what's in it. And they want to acquire it by their direct effort, rather than indirectly through a production chain and so on. Are these invalid things to want? Yeah, a lot of the rhetoric that goes along with it can be silly, and I'm not saying we shouldn't correct people's factual errors. But, at a basic level, are these unreasonable things to want? No, they're fine! Maybe you don't want them, but they're fine.

A while ago everyone in this sphere of tumblr was taking turns dunking on the anarchist community gardening enthusiasts and I thought that was unfair. They're out there living their life, you know, self-actualized and doing something that makes them feel fulfilled and empowered, and everyone is dunking on them because it's an inefficient production method.

Ok, I get it. They're proselytizing the community gardening thing, saying everyone needs to do it in order to stick it to the man, and that can be annoying. And they're wrong when they say the whole economy can work this way, so if they say that it should be corrected. But they're not wrong when they say that it gives them more control over and knowledge about their food, in the sense that they care about. That claim seems reasonable! And if they value having that, it's good they can have it!

Right, so, my post was like. Well you can go read it. Basically "I think we're being unfair to people who complain about living in industrial society".

And the response to that post was much to the effect of "well, they shouldn't complain, because they can still go live in the woods and do all this pre-industrial stuff within industrial society, so the complaint is invalid".

Right, right, I agree they can do this stuff. They are doing this stuff. But you all complain when they do it! You all dunk on them for doing it! Even when they respond to their sense of dissatisfaction/alienation in precisely the way you prescribe! You see why that feels sort of annoying.

So, it's fine. You are 100% entitled to be a hater on your blog. If you want to dunk on the anarchist community gardeners that's not wrong. But this is part of why I feel alienated on tumblr. It's this feeling of like "the only valid lifestyle to want is the Bay Area programmer/STEM academic lifestyle, everything else is dumb". Well I am literally an aspiring STEM academic, but there's also more to me than that, and I don't like the dunking on everything else. It makes me feel bad. And it's not justified—as I said, these anarchist community gardeners are in fact getting the thing they want to get out of their activity. At least it seems to me. So the dunk feels aimed at the desire itself, not the efficacy of the act. It seems like an expression of "have my preferences or you're dumb".

We don't all have the same preferences!

[verdemoun]

Don't know if you've already talked about bill but how is he coping with modern times? I always imagined a modern bill becoming a car mechanic, or something adjacent, maybe even becoming a small influencer where he posts abt trucks and such (and also his dog. I just know that man gets a dog in any type of modern au)

i have not spoken about bill because bill as a character just makes me so sad fam like was he doomed to be the power hungry bastard of toxic masculinity we see in rdr1 or did the events of rdr2 actively make him that way why was everyone so mean to him like you can see the way people treats him chipping away at him it makes me want to scream but back to timewarp au

therapy. my otp is bill and therapy. man needs anger management and to unpack that emotional baggage. it would take a while but once bill made the connection sometimes when he feels angry and acts out he's actually feeling sad/upset he'd start to develop as a person really quickly.

he would be so conflicted about seeing the gang again. why does no one talk about what happened to bill in the gap between rdr1 and 2?? dutch fucking left him behind bill would've followed dutch to the ends of the earth and been the perfect obedient loyal son he always wanted and dutch just threw him away because hunting down arthur and john for betraying him was more important!!

the new main gang would've picked him up because they knew he was going to be timewarped but it would be so uncomfortable.

poor kieran would've been so terrified he had to stay with annabelle and grimshaw until bill left. he usually regresses a little whenever someone timewarps because he has obvious reason to be nervous about the gang but it would've been a full breakdown just knowing bill was coming back. bill would've felt bad about it too because he never made the connection between how the gang's teasing made him feel vs what his bullying was doing to kieran.

the rest of the gang would've gone straight back to teasing bill because that was the dynamic last time they were all together. he would've hated it and lashed out a lot. he became something after they died they better respect it but of course they just don't. bill would've barely understood modern era before he bounced.

happy stuff now i promise. he ended up hitchhiking for a bit and learning about the modern world from truckers. he would love going to bars and truck stops and dodgy mom and pop diners along the highway.

he ends up getting a job on a ranch (ironically the modern day MacFarlane which became a massive multimillion dollar operation) and still gets to ride horses almost every day. he picks up herding super quickly and gets all the validation and care he deserves. the owners love him and are really supportive and patient when it comes to dealing with his temper.

he gets a little power trip out of learning to drive the semi-truck and unlike most of the hands is always super excited and happy to go on cross-country road trips delivering things to processing facilities. his favorite thing though would be the combine harvester he will work 14 hour shifts without complaint harvesting grain.

bill loves dogs almost more than he loves his horses he cannot drive past a sign that says puppies for sale without at least stopping to look. this habit has resulted in him having five dogs and they are his new gang. his first dog was a stray he picked up on the side of the road it's a wire-haired gundog mutt just called Mutt. he also has two cattle dogs (Clem and Roanoke), a long hair shepherd called Mercer and finally a catahoula called Abel. they are all working dogs and he does not go anywhere without all of them. they all sleep on his bed and are just as happy to go on cross country road trips in the semi as he is.

he can control all of them with a whistle or non verbal commands and they are insanely well trained. Micah fucking hates him sure Baymax can bark and growl and look scary on command but the second one of Bill's dogs curls up its lips Baymax is hiding behind Micah terrified and Bill is so fucking smug about it.

through therapy and having his ideals challenged bill starts making an effort to be less racist and sexist and actually confronting some of the gang about the way they treated him in 1899 and mending those relationships because look yeah he went off the deep end after the VDLs but he does still care about them and wants to have good relationships with them he's just got to work through a lot of issues go bill i believe in you

and most importantly he finally got over the internalized homophobia and admitted to himself he's a bit/lot gay. he's not wearing beads at pride levels of comfortable with it yet but he is a classic bear who will protect the gaybies from violence with violence.

it's like a many, many years slow burn but him and alden get together because charlybird's art is one of the only reasons i gave bill a chance as a character and i am a better person for it

[honestgrins]

kc + caroline has MANY complaints about klaus but her biggest one is that the only time he responds to her follow up emails is to ask whether something is illegal

Per My Last Email || Klaroline

Weirdly canon-esque, and I have no defense. But we all know Klaus would be Caroline's neediest client.

.

Dear Mr. Mikaelson:

Per the agreement you signed, my services have been retained for legal representation on your accumulated traffic tickets ONLY. Please note that these emails fall under attorney-client privilege, but you should still avoid excessive details that would test my standing as an officer of the court. I trust that you will respect my professional boundaries, as difficult as that will be for you. To make sure I have all the relevant information at hand, please forward me the details of your current ID, vehicle descriptions, and all license numbers. 

As your court date is tomorrow, please respond as soon as possible. Otherwise, I would highly recommend paying your tickets before 9 a.m. via the online portal. My retainer fee, however, is nonrefundable.

ID, vehicle descriptions, and license numbers, ASAP.

Best,

Caroline Forbes Salvatore

Attorney, MF Group

.

Sweetheart, settle a bet for me. Kol insists his baseball bat is considered a deadly weapon, but surely it's just the force with which he can wield the bat that makes it deadly - therefore, its presence alone cannot be considered "assault with a deadly weapon."

A speedy answer would be appreciated, I just noticed the local bar installed a security camera that may limit your legal arguments after the fact.

x

.

And don't think I didn't notice the "Salvatore" in your signature. 

I did.

x

.

Dear Mr. Mikaelson,

My married name is registered with the state bar association and a matter of public record. In fact, my ability to practice in Louisiana is predicated on the fact that "Caroline Forbes Salvatore" holds a valid law degree and active license. If you have a problem with that, please feel free to retain other representation.

That said, I do want to remind you that I may advise on hypothetical legal scenarios, but will not abet any illegal activity such as assault with a deadly weapon. The threatening manner in which you imply your brother might wield a baseball bat, hypothetically, would be enough to enhance any assault charges possibly caught on camera.

As your lawyer, I don't recommend putting these hypotheticals in writing, and I really don't recommend letting Kol loose on New Orleans with a bat. Hypothetically, the whole city has cameras and it's a miracle certain activities haven't come to light. Yet.

Since you failed to send me the necessary details before your court date, I asked Elijah. You're welcome for getting the parking tickets dismissed, by the way, even though your behavior in court was detrimental to your case. The judge was not amused by your sense of humor, and neither was I. To prevent a repeat performance, I would suggest storing your luxury sports car in your massive compound instead of literally the middle of a pedestrian plaza. Just a thought.

Elijah has also taken care of your court fees and my incidentals since I had to void your last payment. Next time, please just pay the invoice. You don't tip your lawyer.

Best, 

Caroline Forbes Salvatore

Attorney, MF Group

.

Love - quick question. Rebekah is throwing a bit of a tantrum and stole the doppelgänger blood I had stored. Is this a civil suit situation, or can I press criminal charges? Honestly, I think she'd have a lark in prison, but I think the inconvenience would be consequence enough for her to feel my ire.

x

.

Mr. Mikaelson,

Again, I'm sure this is a hypothetical situation where your sister, who lives in your shared family domicile and therefore has rights to whatever is stored inside, takes something of no actual value, such as human blood stored for medical study and nothing else, then - hypothetically - a grown man with substantial resources like yourself can surely see that neither a civil suit nor criminal charges would be wise to file. None of those details of a...supernatural...sort would belong in the public record.

Not to mention, sending your sister to prison would only get me and several other people killed.

Hypothetically.

Seriously, I'm too busy for this, and I'm not even on retainer anymore. I will be sending Elijah an invoice for this email communication.

Best,

Caroline Forbes Salvatore

Attorney, MF Group

.

I've wired a retainer fee directly to your account. And since you're on the payroll, I have some paperwork to go through. Working dinner? I'll buy.

x

.

Caroline: Klaus, you cannot send me a million dollars in a personal check. 

Klaus: Clearly, I can. Dinner?

Caroline: ...

Caroline: ...

Klaus: I'm thinking Italian. 

Caroline: If you think this counts as a retainer fee, I do not have the time to explain how wrong you are, but I will if I have to. To be clear, that is a threat, and you know I will follow through, complete with slide deck and appendices. If you would indeed like to retain my services for the family, Elijah and I have already worked through an initial contract with LIMITS, you absolute ass. All official business will go through him, I swear, or you will regret it. 

Caroline: Again, that is a threat.

Klaus: So, see you at eight?

Caroline: ...

Caroline: I'm donating the money you sent.

Caroline: But yeah, Italian sounds good.

Klaus: Change your email signature.

Caroline: Don't push it.

[historicallyaccuratecheese]

I’m now halfway through The Magnus Archives’ 1st season, so I thought it would be cool to just post my thoughts on each episode so far :). (Spoilers, I like all of them, and this podcast is going to be all I care about for a while.) Also NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!!

Link to Masterpost (contains all of these thought posts)

- Episode 1, Anglerfish 🚬

Statement of Nathan Watts, regarding an encounter on Old Fishmarket Close, Edinburgh.

Really strong start, not the scariest episode so far but definitely unnerving, and it gives a good first impression and layer of intrigue. While the story is simple in comparison to the later ones, it was still enjoyable, and I was just appreciating the atmosphere and framing device of the episode as well.

- Episode 2, Do Not Open ⚰️

Statement of Joshua Gillespie, regarding his time in the possession of an apparently empty wooden casket.

This is still one of my favorites. The whole time I was on edge, and this was the first episode that really kept me up at night. I went from wanting to know what was inside the coffin desperately, to wanting to stay away from it as much as possible. Joshua’s insuring dread and creative solution to his problems was fantastic, and it ends with some intriguing plot threads being set up.

- Episode 3, Across The Street 📓

Statement of Amy Patel, regarding the alleged disappearance of her acquaintance Graham Folger.

I think I share a common sentiment when I say that Amy stalking Graham was almost as creepy as the actual horror lmao. Overall I don’t have that much to say about this one, but it was very enjoyable, and I feel really bad for Graham in retrospect :(.

- Episode 4, Pageturner 📕

Statement of Dominic Swain, regarding a book briefly in his possession in the winter of 2012.

I…feel like I should hold off on talking about this one for now. While it was definitely well written and creepy, it just seems to be so full of setup for future plot lines that I almost don’t feel like I can form a concise opinion on it until I really get what’s going on. Honestly, my only complaint with this episode is that maybe it’s setting up TOO much in one go, but I still had a good time with it overall.

- Episode 5, Thrown Away 🗑️

Statement of Kieran Woodward, regarding items recovered from the refuse of 93 Lancaster Road, Walthamstowe.

This one actually did a pretty good job at getting me to think about waste disposal workers lmao, I never really thought about them like that before. This one was just really creepy, but also kind of fun in a weird twisted way. It did a great job keeping me on edge as well.

- Episode 6, Squirm 🪱

Statement of Timothy Hodge, regarding his sexual encounter with Harriet Lee and her subsequent death.

I am simultaneously horrified, and unfortunately aroused by what happened here.

- Episode 7, The Piper 🔫

Statement of Staff Sgt. Clarence Berry, regarding his time serving with Wilfred Owen in the Great War.

Having an episode set nearly 100 years ago is a really fun idea, and it’s executed perfectly here. It was interesting how it also featured a real person, and I liked how the paranormal activity felt more metaphorical here, it really did feel like it was showcasing the horror of war.

- Episode 8, Burned Out 🌳

Statement of Ivo Lensik, regarding his experiences during the construction of a house on Hill Top Road, Oxford.

I found this one to be very nerve-wracking, since not only was the whole scenario with the tree just, like…three creepy things happening at once, but the fact that the statement was given by someone with schizophrenia did a good job making me question it’s validity, even though I’m certain it’s true after listening to a later statement. I also hope that I get to see how the history of the house is unveiled in the future.

- Episode 9, A Father’s Love 💡

Statement of Julia Montauk, regarding the actions and motivations of her father, the serial killer Robert Montauk.

This one made me feel really sad :(. I really felt Julia’s despair in this one (Jonathan Sims does such great voice acting for every statement btw, both the character and the actual person), and I was even more saddened by the implications of why Robert did what he did. If my assumptions are correct, then…SCREW THE MOTHER! It was also the first one that got me thinking about where exactly all of the paranormal stuff comes from, and later episodes only add to my theory that it’s all due to demons/cults/higher powers.

- Episode 10, Vampire Killer 🧛🏻

Statement of Trevor Herbert, regarding his life as a self-proclaimed vampire hunter.

Much like Episode 8, this one did a really good job at making me question the validity of the statement, although I became more sure of its truth a bit earlier. I also just love how nonchalant Trevor comes off as, compared to all of the other traumatized horror victims. (Also, I’m guessing that the name Trevor and the episode title are meant to be a Castlevania reference?) While vampires aren’t the most creative thing for an episode, at least in comparison to everything else, the beast-like execution here more than made up for it in my opinion.

- Episode 11, Dreamer 💭

Statement of Antonio Blake, regarding his recent dreams about Gertrude Robinson, previous Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute.

Yeah…Gertrude Robinson did not die a normal death. My guess is that she was caught by ✨the horrors✨, but I’ll wait and see. This was another very tense episode, with the prophetic dream world being really, REALLY creepy. I do hope we get to see more of “Antonio” in the future, as I think he could be quite important. (I also hope he gets punched for DUMPING GRAHAM IN HIS TIME OF NEED-)

- Episode 12, First Aid 🏥

Statement of Lesere Saraki, regarding a recent night-shift at St. Thomas Hospital, London.

OMG GERARD KEAY HI HI HI HI HOW ARE YOU!!! Yeah I audibly gasped when he showed up again, it was such a cool moment. Anyways, hospitals already creep me the fuck out so this was pretty effective. Definitely some great setup here, and it helped to make a bit more sense of Pageturner, now that I have a better idea of what Gerard’s whole deal is. It also added some good fuel to the whole cult idea, and my god this poor nurse. Having to deal with all of this in a single night sounds like hell.

- Episode 13, Alone 🌫️

Statement of Naomi Herne, regarding the events following the funeral of her fiancé, Evan Lukas. Statement taken direct from subject.

Having a new voice in this episode was really cool, and Katie Davison did an excellent job as Naomi! It was also cool to see how Jon interacts with other people, he was…nicer than expected. This episode honestly felt like it was calling me out, as I am also someone who’s confident in my independence, but if I was in Naomi’s place I would also probably be scared shitless. I really hope she’ll get a happy ending :(. Also, The Lukas family is quite intriguing, especially since we now know they have a connection to The Institute…

- Episode 14, Piecemeal 👆

Statement of Lee Rentoul, regarding the murder of his associate Paul Noriega.

Firstly, this is probably my favorite of Jon’s vocal deliveries. His performance of Lee Rentoul just feels perfect. (Once again, this applies to both the writer and the character, I’m genuinely convinced the latter is an ex-theatre kid.) Outside of that, THIS ONE CREEPED ME OUT. The body horror was very effective, with the only thing holding it back being the fact that Lee isn’t the most likable protagonist in the podcast, but if this happened to someone else I’d be even more upset. Still though, it was a very creative concept, and the whole vibe and execution of the episode made it great.

- Episode 15, Lost Johns’ Cave 🕯️

Statement of Laura Popham, regarding her experience exploring the Three Counties System of caves with her sister Alena Sanderson.

What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fu-

- Episode 16, Arachnophobia 🕷️

Statement of Carlos Vittery, regarding his arachnophobia and its manifestations.

The way they tackled the concept in the title was really well done. Arachnophobia is seen as an irrational fear by a lot of people, so having it portrayed as an effect of childhood trauma was a good call. And as someone who is not arachnophobic, this episode got me close to feeling that way. What ever force was making Carlos relive his trauma is a sick fuck. Also the cat was a real one, glad he survived the whole situation. (Also THE WORMS, HOLY SHIT IT’S THE SEX WORMS!!!)

- Episode 17, The Boneturner’s Tale 🦴

Statement of Sebastian Adekoya, regarding a new acquisition at Chiswick Library.

This episode really compelled me to get out the rubber bands connecting images lmao. I really liked all of the connections to past statements here, like the presence of another book from the library of Jurgen Leitner, to the mention of Micheal Crew. The body horror here was once again very creepy, (outside of the flat rat, that was morbidly funny), but my favorite part of the episode was the introduction of Elias, which was a humorous, but also very intriguing scene. Also, the themes of books containing power was great as well. Great stuff all around.

- Episode 18, The Man Upstairs 🥩

Statement of Christof Rudenko, regarding his interactions with a first floor resident of Welbeck House, Wandsworth.

…ew. Ok in all seriousness, this is probably my least favorite episode so far. Still very far from bad, but after all of the extremely interesting themes and plot threads, having an episode where the idea was just “What if a guy had a house covered in meat? Wouldn’t that be fucked up?”, felt just a little bit underwhelming. Which like, the fact that my least favorite episode’s biggest problem is that I find it slightly pales in comparison to previous ones is just a testament to how much I’ve been enjoying the podcast. Still though, there were definitely a few things I really liked. The reveal of the room was creepy (especially considering the meat that seemed…alive…), and as someone who has had to deal with upstairs neighbors making noise for hours during construction, this episode definitely scared me.

- Episode 19, Confession, and Episode 20, Desecrated Host ✝️

Statement of Father Edwin Burroughs, regarding his claimed demonic possession.

This, alongside Lost Johns’ Cave, was one (or I guess, two…) of those episodes that seriously fucked me up. While I am not religious, I have always had fears of how religion can negatively affect me and the people around me, despite the good that it seems to do for so many people. So seeing Edwin be charged for every “sin” he committed by a higher power that wishes to steal its faith, and then not get judged by it, but by the people around him for his one true sin, was absolutely haunting, and I hope he turns out ok in the end. Outside of the horror, the episodes were fantastic. Listening to the events of Episode 8 from Edwin’s perspective, and seeing how Ivo’s actions saved him, was really cool, and solidifies in my mind that Ivo’s experience was real. The connections to demonic magic and Latin script thickened, and it was overall just a great mid-season finale. In conclusion, I hope that Martin feels better soon, and if he isn’t actually sick and is being plagued by ✨the horrors✨, well then I hope he survives :).

Thank you for reading my silly little thoughts if you’ve made it this far, it really means a lot to me :). I’ll probably update this every time I finish half of a season, so hopefully my thoughts on episodes 21-40 will be here in the Reblogs soon. :)

[my-mt-heart]

Here we go again...

I'm going to echo what I said on Twitter about "The Big Three" post on my blog since this is where I feel safe speaking up. I'm very sorry I had to direct it at Valhalla who have been Melissa/Carol/Caryl fans' biggest ally on social media up to this point, even using #TheBookofCarol tag to let us know they see her as the main protagonist that she is. I'm also very sorry that as of today, we've reached the two-year mark since the news of the original spinoff's cancelation and this fandom still has to fight for the respect that they and Melissa herself have more than earned. Again, this is why we need a new showrunner with the intuition and authority to change the messaging on the show and on SM, so that Caryl fans not only feel safe, but also eager to watch, pay for, and engage with new material.

I saw that Valhalla acknowledged Carylers' complaints on their post. I wasn't expecting that. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any other official account has ever put the needs of the fans over their own need to save face, so I respect and appreciate that. The comments were filling up with voices from other parts of the fandom trying to give Valhalla an out, but it's easy for them to ignore or in some instances mock the issue because their favorite character is represented and they get the satisfaction of a character they hate being left out and her fans being upset about it. It's easy and probably fun for them to accuse us of throwing tantrums, invalidating a very real source of pain for many of us.

There is a long history of fandom bullying and ageism directed at Melissa/Carol/Caryl and their fans to the point of many people, including Melissa herself, having to leave SM. The other factions claim we're a minority, but in reality we're just less active in public spaces because we're made to feel like we don't belong. Caryl fans are very much like the characters in that way and unfortunately other fans and other official accounts take advantage of that.

What happened exactly two years ago has broken our trust and our spirits even more. A lot of us are teetering on the edge of leaving because we're tired of being gaslit and strung along. We're vulnerable and we have triggers. In order to keep engaging with TWD content, we have to feel like its worth it, which means we need to know that the show and everyone affiliated are meeting our needs: that Melissa and Carol are acknowledged for the HUGE impact they've had in the story since S1, not how much they are marketed, and that Caryl is treated like a valid ship.

We need strong leadership for that. Valhalla is a female-led account, so they have the authority to tackle the issues that the actresses and their female fanbases face. A female showrunner would help with that as well. TBOC is fast-approaching. The promotion should focus on hyping the core audience of that show, not alienating them further. We deserve so much better. Melissa deserves so much better. Caryl deserver so much better.

[clearancecreedwatersurvival]

Okay so here’s my thoughts on the staffcon thing.

I still think collapsing reblogs so posts look more like other social media isn’t gonna work as a feature but they will probably roll them back a little and at least add a toggle off for it if they try it and enough people submit feedback. Edit: this is actually less of an issue, most of the discussion is based on a misrepresentation of what’s happening. They’re just making it easier to scroll past long posts. EDIT AGAIN: actually some people already have the initial roll out of the feature and it. Is bad.

I think submitting feedback is a takeaway. There was a pretty clear effort to just remind the user base that there are real humans on the other side of a paycheck having to read and respond to the inputs of every feedback method on the site, which is fair. It’s easy to be an asshole online in any semi anonymous platform and that is something that tumblr culture takes a certain bloodthirsty pleasure in.

And yes, of course, user complaints about issues such as accessibility and the many ongoing glitches and bots and the search function, etc. are valid and do need to be addressed. But at the very least it would be cool if we as users maybe try to cultivate a slightly less pitchforky social norm when submitting feedback about changes to the site. The ceo is not reading every @ to his blog. One of his employees is. The people reading all of the feedback are just people doing their jobs. All jobs suck under capitalism, maybe we could try not to make their jobs actively worse.

Would you be rude to an overworked server in a restaurant? No? Cool also try to not be a dick to the person getting paid to answer customer or user complaints.

Related to that, funding. Many current and former members of staff have been pretty frank about funding in the past. The company is trying to at the very least breakeven, which not a single company who has owned tumblr has managed because the hosting fees for this site are insane due to all of the stuff on it.

If they don’t get it to breakeven they’ll hopefully best case just open source the website which is a method they’ve done in the past. And it would probably work, and then the website would to my understanding be being maintained by users. Now this is where my understanding gets fuzzy so anyone with more knowledge of how this would shake out feel free to chime in. But my understanding is that the source code for the site would be opened up and maintained by the community likely through mostly volunteer work. I would guess largely uncompensated.

So personally I think maybe the vitriolic response to every change they make going forward to try and monetize the site and pay even some of the cost of operation is perhaps a bit overblown, because they’re still trying to find a way to keep paying those people to work on tumblr, and I think people continuing to be paid for the work they do is better than volunteers doing unpaid labor.

I do also think there’s a secret third option for automattic and every other company finding themselves with a worse outlook now the Silicon Valley bubble has started to really burst, and that is for all existing staff members to unionize and then turn the whole thing into a worker coop. Much more stable organizational structures. Worker coops are also one of my favorite short term solutions to many other systemic problems we are currently experiencing.

I do hope this site continues to exist for many years, especially as it is one of the only places on the internet where the culture makes it safer to talk about some of the more permanent and long term solutions to various systemic issues that function within societies. Also funny text posts.

[anhed-nia]

I just finished a barely-interrupted binge of all four seasons of this show, and now I hardly know what to do with myself. A while ago I began research for a project on true crime television, which brought me into contact with an unscripted show veteran who strongly recommended UnReal, a drama about a field producer on a Bachelor-like program who is both extremely good at her job, and extremely mentally ill. It was way better than whatever I expected. I don't watch a ton of TV--which is not a declaration of my superiority in any dimension, it's just that I need to spend most of my time on movies, and I'm kind of particular (not due to "good taste" necessarily, just particular). UnReal initially comes off like a regular old cable show--to me it looks more or less like a CW product or something, with no hint of auteurship like there is with Fargo or Better Call Saul or whatever else usually lures me to television--but the writing pulls absolutely zero punches and I could not take my eyes off it. There is an occasional lull where things are more predictably soapy and I'd think "OK, well that was nice while it lasted," and then as soon as my guard was down something legitimately shocking would happen and I'd be back in my seat, watching unblinkingly.

The show is based on actual experiences of co-creator Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, a one-time producer on The actual Bachelor, which I only found out after the fact but I was thinking all along, "This is so grotesque that I'm sure it (or something like it) really happens." UnReal's other mastermind is Marti Noxon, who has credits on a lot of dark and/or construably feminist shows that have met with more success (don't ask me, I thought Sharp Objects was OK and I've never been attracted to Buffy, I just can't handle anything Joss Whedon-flavored), and she seems to have a real knack for telling psychologically realistic stories of seriously disturbed women. Which I appreciate a lot. My main complaint about UnReal was just that I wanted MORE, of all of it. Parts of the core mythology are just so fascinating that I craved a deep dive into all the details and consequences that I guess was just not in the cards for something with a large cast and a ton of moving parts. I'll just have to luxuriate in the intrigue since this ended in 2018.

...On which note I'll say that I think UnReal is colored significantly by Trump-era anxiety in ways that are more and less obvious. The show's chief concerns are more generally about the contributions of reality TV and social media to a culture of widespread bullying, but there is definitely something more specific in there about living under the reign of an unapologetic rapist who validates and empowers rapists at large, and feeling like the only way to preserve yourself in that world is to become a predator yourself. But anyway, the one question that is still burning my brain is about the fact that some of the set dressing features Silver Saaremaeel and Kaya Saaremaeel's gothy webcomic Run Freak Run. Which I've never read, actually I specifically found out about it because of posters hanging on office walls in UnReal. I really want someone to tell me how a gothy webcomic made it into the scenery of a major Lifetime drama. My pathetic websleuthing skills have failed to turn up active accounts for either of the comic's creators, so if anyone has a line on this information, please let me know! Meanwhile, you can watch UnReal on Tubi, the king of streaming sites.

^^^ Run Freak Run

[super-paper]

I think what upsets me most is that Twice died cursing his own kindness-- cursing the fact that he empathized with someone, cursing the aspect of himself that allowed him to see the humanity in others. Because that was the part of him that allowed him to trust Hawks so easily. Narratively, Twice was “the heart” of the LOV— the one who was most likely to rally them all for a better cause and bring out their best aspects. And that heart was ultimately gouged out by a hero who Twice easily and readily saw the good in.

The tragedy behind Twice and Hawks also has larger narrative implications re: the dichotomy between heroes and villains being something that’s actively maintained by the heroes-- because Twice is the one who took the first actual step in bridging the divide between heroes and villains by choosing to empathize with Hawks and see him as a person instead of “just a hero”. Ultimately, Hawks wasn’t able to see this as a breakthrough that could have averted the war all together-- and instead, he chose to view Twice almost solely through the lens of what a threat he *could* be. The dichotomy/divide between heroes and villains is something actively maintained by Hawks in this instance, rather than broken down. Even as he offers Jin the opportunity to start over (because there’s a part of him that wants to validate Jin’s belief that “anyone who helps their friend is a good person” so, so badly) he continues to maintain that dichotomy by framing his offer as something being offered by a “hero” to a “villain.” 

“Sure you can start over! I’ll help you! ... If you come quietly! And after you’ve paid for your crimes!! :)” oh Hawks, you were so close. ༼;´༎ຶ ۝ ༎ຶ༽

When Twice begins to weep about how he simply had to trust Hawks, because he felt bad for him, because living life where no one trusts you and you can’t even trust yourself is just too sad, because he had empathy for Hawk’s suffering-- Hawk’s response is to sarcastically thank him. This callous response is ultimately what sets Jin off, and causes all potential for communication between the two to completely shut down.  Hori chooses to linger on the panel of Jin’s reaction to Hawks’ apparent cruelty, which keys us in on the moment Jin shifts from abject despair to blind rage. Yes, Hawks begins to soften and we start seeing cracks in his “devoted, unsentimental hero” façade as the scene drags on-- but by that point, he’d already shut the door on any chance for a peaceful resolution. 

While Jin may have died cursing his kindness, there’s a bit of solace in the fact that the league itself has never punished Twice for being kind-- despite their occasional ribbing on how he “cares about others way too much” or their half-hearted complaints about how him being powered by love/friendship “sounds way too heroic,” they all still go to bat for his feelings and they make a point to strike back at those who abuse his kindness. And in the immediate aftermath of Jin’s death, the league never condemns or mocks him for being too trusting of Hawks— while Hawks, the hero, does mock Jin for “never suspecting a thing.”

Dabi’s very first thoughts are to immediately absolve Jin of any blame for the LOV’s current situation, placing the blame  on "scummy heroes” alone. Himiko’s immediate reaction is to embrace Jin’s clone and thank him for saving her. Spinner’s reaction is to emphasize how they all need to stay together-- not just for Tomura’s sake, but because Jin viewed the league as his home (which also doubles as him wordlessly asking that Toga not make another reckless/suicidal attack against the heroes like she did in the immediate aftermath of Jin’s death— because she has to come back to them alive for Jin’s sake, because the league is only a “home” if they’re all together). 

And of course, that acknowledgement of the league as a “home” when they’re all together makes the complete breakdown of the league all the worse once AFO worms his way back into the story and starts using them to punish Tomura. :’)  

[gnbrkrs]

Very late Endwalker tank role quest impressions because I am a slowpoke who couldn't finish it for 2 years

Decided to move this post to Tumblr because I felt I might structure it better without having to think about the pesky character limit on Twitter. Also, as a warning, this perspective may be partially biased due to me picking the questline up again, way long after doing the first part because a lot of IRL issues popped up over these 2 years, and I chose to focus my remaining free time on GPose over anything else.

Overall the questline was... Okay. I would still rank it below the healer questline, which I thought was good at the time I did it, but I am not sure if I'd rank it above the caster role quests(which had a problem of rehashing storylines and motives that were already present in older questlines). There were certain moments where I feared the story would take specific routes, but thankfully, that did not happen.

I feel like the moment where people come to support Kan-E-Senna is very heartwarming, and it was nice to get into her backstory a bit. I am certainly curious what she was like when she was a student, and kind of hope that this may be used as a hook for potential character development similar to one Nanamo and Merlwyb underwent. At the same time, given how much the game keeps shilling the Elementals completely righteous creatures despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary (which I talk about next) makes me unsure whether SE is ever going to take that direction at all.

I feel like a lot of it's potential is downplayed by the fact that FFXIV's story seems to consistently try to gaslight the player into believing that every messed up thing the Elementals do, or every oversight that happens while Gridania prioritizes faith in them above all else, is either something to be expected or For The Greater Good, Actually.

Not only was Ea-Sura-Supin aka Elenyja cast out by the Elementals once for a relatively small mistake as a student, which is a pretty out there thing to do in the first place, especially since at the time, he saw it as his life's calling. They also were powerless to save his wife (possibly because they were growing weaker, but regardless, we have what we have), which broke him the second time. This should show how being overly reliant on them may not be the best course of action, along with the many other instances over the course of the game. The Hyrstmill villagers bring this case up up to Kan-E-Senna, and are completely valid in doing so, and yet their concerns are talked over in a matter of a few minutes, with the answer being to have more faith in the Elementals. Which is... Something that has multiple problems on many levels.

Through the entire game, both in the MSQ and the various job/ role quests, there here are cases in which the Elementals either do nothing for one reason or another, do not help or actively harm because they think a person is bad (which they are right sometimes, but there are also cases where it normally wouldn't be up for creatures like them to decide), or otherwise cause some other sort of messed up stuff to happen. Yet this is continuously treated as something heroic and unambiguously good, and all the bugs of such system are just treated as something that is bound to happen. I get that the world isn't fair, and that there are always going to be things that are perceived as something different than what they actually are, but when literally every other nation in the game, including the other main heroic factions and previous arc's big villain faction, has a "we are actually fucked up and we need to do something about it" arc, the continuous presentation of the Elementals as an unambiguously good force gets old. People love to rag on Werlyt for making Gaius look good (which I partly see as justified because there are certain moments that required elaboration, and I have my own complaints about Werlyt's writing, but also at the same time not justified because a lot of them use the writing as bad faith arguments to bash on the character and portray him as an irredeemable monster worse than Zenos, Emet or Thordan), but IMO the Elementals have been getting it on a way greater scale. Since launch. To a point that most players don't even seem to notice it.

Overall, I think it could have been very good. We see interesting bits in it, we see it expand upon existing lore and characters. And what little we see of Ea-Sura-Supin IMO makes him an interesting character, even if posthumously. But being told once again that the Elementals are perfectly fine and good tires me, so it brings the questline down to my book from good to just okay. Anyway, on to the melee DPS quests, as I've been leveling Viper since DT's launch, and it's about time I started them. Or I might finally say fuck it and jump into DT's MSQ without finishing Viper and Picto leveling, because I am tired of spamming the same dungeons in Trust.

[bucketbrigayd]

UNPOPULAR OPINION BELOW

TLDR: TBB writers have actively worked on numerous issues fans have raised, but said fans don't appear to be giving them any credit for it.

I don't think people on this website give TBB writers enough credit, truly. Granted, they are already at a disadvantage by being a tiny part of a large corporation that has NEVER been known to make significant efforts in removing harmful stereotypes involving race, gender, or sexuality from their content. The exception is, of course, when performing 'activism' = profit. (DISNEY is an evil corporation and if you are going to boycott one measly SW show, you might as well boycott them all).

Taking that aside, TBB writers have consistently listened to their viewers and their VALID concerns, which is clear in the writing and animation of Season 2. Now, we've all heard of the movement to un-white wash the bad batch. From the start of Season 1, viewers have been speaking out about how the models for the clones in TBB, who were deemed 'genetically superior,' looked far lighter than their original actor, Temuera Morrison. The writers and animators directly responded to these claims, and have appeared to have taken action to re-visit their animation choices in season 2. The colors for TBB, as well as Omega, have better represented Temuera Morrison and PI's range of skin tones in this past season. Some may disagree with me on that, but just looking at side by side comparisons of the skin tones in season 2 compared with Tem's in TBOBF, I'd say they did a pretty good job.

Another major grievance fans had with TBB season 1 was the continuous placement of POC into villainous, stereotypical roles. To my knowledge, season 2 villains were nearly unanimously white. Additionally, POC were placed in more positive positions , such as Phee, a black woman who was characterized as a community-driven leader. Additionally, she was voiced by Wanda Skyes, a black woman and activist. Putting people of color into roles that actually represent them is so important, and was a choice that didn't necessarily have to be made.

There were many complaints about ableism in Season 1 of the bad batch. Echo was picked on and comments were made about his prosthetics and disabilities. While I personally found these complaints a little silly, I understand that fans were upset about them. This season featured Echo taking on a much stronger role, in which his disabilities were a strength that he maintained autonomy over, eventually deciding to leave the batch despite his traumas about his experimentation. Additionally, Tech, who is autistic-coded, had wonderful dialogue that provided great representation for neurodivergent people. The scene in which he spoke to Omega about his brain not 'working' or 'processing' like other peoples was particularly refreshing to see on TV.

Overall, I think it's clear that TBB showrunners, writers, and animators have listened to fandom complaints, and have made active efforts to ammeliorate them in season 2. They appear to be invested in putting on a show that people want to see, and that minorities feel represented in.

Are there other things that could probably be adjusted in TBB to better represent minority communities? Of course! Do we live in a world where that is the standard? NOT AT ALL! If we did, this wouldn't be an issue! But unfortunately, in this day and age, racism, sexism, homophobia, etc., STILL EXIST and PERSIST. It takes active diligence to unlearn and reverse harmful stereotypes, and one of the first places they are going to show up in is media. I think the bad batch team has at least listened to fans and responded accordingly.

I truly believe that the writers and animators of the Clone Wars and the Bad Batch genuinely enjoy their careers. Not only that, but interacting with fans has consistently been a defining feature of their production group. Their team has had the most outreach to fans of any other show or group in Disney's new Star Wars, since many of the team that makes TBB were leftover from when TCW when Lucasfilm was sold. Tumblr is an echo chamber. While you may think your voices have been loud, there is just no way that individuals voicing their dissent with the series were numerous enough to provide a serious threat to viewership . I believe that the showrunners made the aforementioned changes because they genuinely DO care about the issues that these fans have brought up. NOT because they were scared into making them for profit reasons. THAT is what really matters. There are so many examples of shows, both produced by Disney and from other multi-billion dollar companies, that simply do. not. care. about these types of issues, or about how fans feel watching their shows.

Ultimately, I think the vitriol directed at the Bad Batch showrunners is misplaced. At the end of the day, it is the NORM of Disney and their content to put out lackluster shows that make little to no effort in providing representation, and often default to tired plot-lines and stereotypes that harm underrepresented communities. I'm not really sure what TBB team could've done differently to better address viewer complaints regarding representation and stereotypical portrayals of minorities. Nearly every concern that I have been able to find has been addressed.

I know many may disagree with what I've said here, and I'm cool with that. This concIusion is certainly not popular opinion, at least not from what I've seen on my dash, and mostly I wanted to put out an alternate take on points previously raised. I am unashamed to say I love Disney's Star Wars, and specifically, how the bad batch has handled season 2.

[eisforeidolon]

It really bothers me that people feel like JA is floundering without Jared around to clean up or cover his messes for him. As if Jensen is unable to manage his own career or do things unless Jared is there to help him thorough it like a helpless child. I love Jared and think he is doing great post SPN but to think Jensen is only able to make good decisions if he has Jared involved is ridiculous to me. Jensen is his own person why do ppl feel the need to belittle him like he is not smart.

I mean, I'm guessing by people you mean Jared stans obsessed with the whole idea of competition between the Js. Like the hellers/AAs, neither group is happy with their fave being successful alone, the Other!J has to be actively failing to prove just how inadequate they always were compared to Fave!J. In their heads, Other!J was always just a lesser sidekick who is ridiculous for thinking they could succeed post-SPN without Fave!J to make their projects a success. Everything they've both done since SPN proves this is true!!11!!!

Jensen said a few different times there were various things he'd wanted to do while filming SPN that couldn't be fit around it and still maintain a decent work/home balance, and his approach since SPN ended seems to have largely been to take anything that crosses his radar that sounds cool. Make some albums, voice act Batman, do a western, work with Kripke/be a live action super hero, play a sheriff, do a live action version of a video game character, etc.

Of course, if Jensen is Other!J to you? Well, he can't possibly be doing a bunch of different projects because he wants to. Nope, he's broke and desperate and taking literally anything he's being offered because he has no judgement and is probably secretly having to beg for offers. Putting aside TW, which is a whole tempest in a teacup on its own, but ultimately just a CW-typical YA fantasy drama on a network that no longer wants to be the CW?

When there's really nothing controversial, they go with shit like: The Boys is a terrible show and Jensen was both awful in it and had a blink and you'll miss it role anyway! Actors doing albums is always a pathetic joke, enough said. He only did animated Batman because no one would hire him for the real thing and he's only pretending to like superheroes now after never mentioning it before (lol), and superheroes are a stupid tired trend that is so over.

When there are questionable aspects to something, they're more than happy to bolster any controversy they'd dismiss and/or mock if it were Fave!J: Didn't you hear how Big Sky is misogynist for its first season centering on women being abducted and racist for not making those misogynist abductions Indigenous women because it's filmed in an area where a disproportionate number of abductions have occurred within that population, so it should be about that instead of the novel the show was already being loosely based on?! Obviously there were problems on the set of Baldwin's western, anyone should have known when they were looking for a replacement actor that late something awful was going on and never taken that job (and that's about the least shitty thing said on that one). Why didn't Jensen do in depth research into a game company before agreeing to do a trailer to make sure a random FPS game in a bog standard sci fi setting wasn't controversial? He's just so dumb/careless/desperate and actually a terrible person that he would take such awful, awful projects!

See? See? He's incompetent and literally all of his choices are bad and/or pathetic. This is, of course, COMPELTELY DIFFERENT than hellers/AAs claiming the exact same thing over everything Jared does. Ours are all totes valid complaints, theirs are just bitter stans whining because they refuse to admit they know our fave is better than theirs! Nah, everybody in this bar is ridiculous.

[donnerpartyofone]

It has been a little more than a year since I started going to St. Mary Star of the Sea. Since I moved it hasn't been as easy to roll out of bed, get something to chew on there, and start my day, and the ladies are a little mad at me. I know it's just how they show their concern, but I'm tempted to explain that demanding my attention is a great way to make sure you don't get it! I find attention-seeking extremely unattractive and I have complicated feelings about my own exhibitionism vs. my constant need for solitude. This topic has been a central part of many relationships; insofar as a lot of human interactions are driven by the subconscious urge to play out the individual's unresolved psychodramas, people who crave validation love to start shit with me because they sense that it's not easy to get my approval. Over the course of years of friendship or even just one night at a party, I seem to become symbolic of their problems with rejection and they'll try to bait me into reenacting their personal narrative with them--and it kinda works because I will instinctively slam the door on anyone who acts entitled to my attention, or who enjoys testing my loyalty. But uuuhhh that's kind of a different story, I go to the church for reasons that are private and hard to explain and I just cannot take it personally if I seem to disappoint anyone.

On Tuesday the brilliant monsignor I'm obsessed with spoke about scandal and hypocrisy, and I thought he kind of soft-pedaled it (he usually doesn't) but it's probably still good for people to be reminded of church failings by their priest instead of their perceived enemies. He said everyone needs reconciliation including the clergy: "My priest is the Virgin Mary, that's where I go." I really liked that, I had never heard it before; Mary the priest. I like the hint of gender confusion ("priestess" would be an intense word to hear in a church I guess) and the reminder that she is an authority and not just a nurturing repository for complaints. It got me thinking about the coronation, Mary as the Queen of Heaven. What does it mean to be the Queen of Heaven? Isn't everything both perfect and eternal in Heaven? In that kind of stasis there would be no need for authority, everything would be sort of a foregone conclusion. It's strange to think of being an administrator in Heaven, to have to litigate things that go on there. But a Queen isn't always an active ruler, a Queen is maybe more often a figurehead, a sort of living template, an example.

Today the brilliant priest I'm obsessed with spoke about how you neglect your own potential when you model your whole persona on the expectations of your demographic. He talked about the role he is expected to fulfill during Black History Month as one of two Black priests in the whole diocese, and the experience of growing up with certain protocols of what Blackness is within his community, indicating that while that all is a part of him, it sort of distracts from his individuality and all the other things that he is--and then he turned this around on the pews full of old white Italian- and Irish Americans. His point was that everyone is susceptible to performing a certain fixed identity informed by their statistical profile, and that this can radically limit your potential and your understanding of yourself as a person. He then extended this to God: "God is not that guy with the big beard who always looks like he smells something bad." He said God is both a man and a woman, and also more than that. He isn't really a "He", we only personify "Him" as an unavoidable convenience so we can talk about Him.

That priest always has very cosmic, borderline psychedelic things to say that are very exciting to me, and both he and the monsignor regularly challenge their majority old, white parishioners to check their prejudices and not let their sense of religion become this dead, rote thing that they never examine. Setting aside my very esoteric reasons for being there, it's helpful to me to know that there are more provocative things going on in some churches than what I would expect if I never visited one.

I always try to listen for at least one part of the readings that I find piquant, and today it was Jeremiah 17:9:

"More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?"

In 17:10 God answers that, of course, only He can understand it, but I find it more powerful to leave this as a question.