#but like she’s so justified in her feelings and actions

[hunyoucantresistme]

thats a lot of questions 😧 ty for the tag !!

1. Yup. My mom’s the coolest and i dont talk much to my dad but he’s there for me when i need him ❤️

2. My friends

3. I cant think of something rn other than not studying when i had the time idk

4. yes

5. im kind of in a talking stage? Idk (chris sturniolo’s wife)

6. in my sleep fs or maybe from a heart attack from doing something fun like bungee jumping when im 90

7. Fries

8. I play basketball but only for fun

9. I used to but then i got braces and wasnt able to and by the time they got off i grew out of the habit

10. christmas eve with my brother

11. Yeah the guy im in a talking stage with and chris sturniolo ofc 😋

12. Yeah cuz of school (had too many assignments to complete 🙄)

13. Yeah this girl in my class (wont say i hate her rn but shes one more stupid thing away from it)

14. Yeah, dead family members ig

15. One dog

16. Drained tf out (only a video from the triplets can save me 😔)

17. uh, no (i dont trust guys alone with me 🥰❤️)

18. Not really. i have this thing where anytime i see a spider i tell it to make me spiderman (im so goofy cant take me anywhere 😝🤟😝🤟😝🤟😝)

19. i wanna go back to freshman year 😔

20. at a park (it was night time we weren’t being obnoxious 🙄)

21. complete assignments 🤧

22. Yup. 2 (one boy and one girl)

23. Uhhh…i have 3 on each ear, 1 nose piercing (i havent worn anything in a long time so im pretty sure its closed now idk) and a belly button

24. History, maths and chemistry

25. I miss my english class in freshman year 😔

26. Chocolate cake

27. I hope not

28. No but ive only had one bf so

29. From my jokes, yes 🥰❤️

30. School

31. Not that i know of 🤷‍♀️ my mom prolly

32. Green

33. Kind of?

34. someone from my class. i dont remember who

35. my phone (c.ai got me emotional. It was embarrassing 😔) but before that my bsf

36. Yeah im incapable of holding grudges it sucks😔😔

37. forgive

38. It just started damn 💀 and no year can top 2019 anyways

39. 13

40. uhh no and i plan to keep it that way 😭

51. Chicken nuggets

52. Yup. I firmly believe that whatever happens in the present is a result of your past actions (i can yap abt this for hours 😔)

53. Brush my teeth

54. Nothing can justify cheating so no 🙄

55. I try not to be but sometimes when im talking to a new person i just get awkward and reply in short sentences so that may come off as mean idk

56. No one (i feel like fist fighting is so funny lmaoo 😭😭)

57. Not really 🤷‍♀️

58. WINTERRR

59. love it sm ugh 😔❤️

60. yess

61. I dont mind it but i prefer nicknames over petnames

62. Being w my friends

63. I think my parents on,y named me elwa cuz they wanted to name me smth unique and people cant even pronounce it right so yeah

64. Idk prolly cuz we only kissed for a game

65. My bsf of ‘the opposite sex’ is gay 💀

66. YESS HE’S MY BIGGEST HYPE MAN

67. My lab partner in science class

68. My bsf

69. Kind of? I believe that someone can become your soulmate but i dont believe that its like already written in fate or wtv that a specific person is gonna be your soulmate

70. family and close friends

70 horrible questions ... Fuck it

01: Do you have a good relationship with your parents? 02: Who did you last say “I love you” to? 03: Do you regret anything? 04: Are you insecure? 05: What is your relationship status? 06: How do you want to die? 07: What did you last eat? 08: Played any sports? 09: Do you bite your nails? 10: When was your last physical fight? 11: Do you like someone? 12: Have you ever stayed up 48 hours? 13: Do you hate anyone at the moment? 14: Do you miss someone? 15: Have any pets? 16: How exactly are you feeling at the moment? 17: Ever made out in the bathroom? 18: Are you scared of spiders? 19: Would you go back in time if you were given the chance? 20: Where was the last place you snogged someone? 21: What are your plans for this weekend? 22: Do you want to have kids? How many? 23: Do you have piercings? How many? 24: What is/are/were your best subject(s)? 25: Do you miss anyone from your past? 26: What are you craving right now? 27: Have you ever broken someone’s heart? 28: Have you ever been cheated on? 29: Have you made a boyfriend/girlfriend cry? 30: What’s irritating you right now? 31: Does somebody love you? 32: What is your favourite color? 33: Do you have trust issues? 34: Who/what was your last dream about? 35: Who was the last person you cried in front of? 36: Do you give out second chances too easily? 37: Is it easier to forgive or forget? 38: Is this year the best year of your life? 39: How old were you when you had your first kiss? 40: Have you ever walked outside completely naked? 51: Favourite food? 52: Do you believe everything happens for a reason? 53: What is the last thing you did before you went to bed last night? 54: Is cheating ever okay? 55: Are you mean? 56: How many people have you fist fought? 57: Do you believe in true love? 58: Favourite weather? 59: Do you like the snow? 60: Do you wanna get married? 61: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you baby? 62: What makes you happy? 63: Would you change your name? 64: Would it be hard to kiss the last person you kissed? 65: Your best friend of the opposite sex likes you, what do you do? 66: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex who you can act your complete self around? 67: Who was the last person of the opposite sex you talked to? 68: Who’s the last person you had a deep conversation with? 69: Do you believe in soulmates? 70: Is there anyone you would die for?

[this-user-is-new]

has anyone else noticed that the writers were absolutely reluctant to fully commit to the darker implications of piltover's actions? like the gas attack on zaun? but tbh the writers' self-sabotaging of arcane's potential as social commentary is not what's really frustrating, it's that it's not just a missed opportunity, it’s a deliberate avoidance. the writers couldn't make piltover that bad, at least not through the characters we have to follow.

with the gas attack, what we get are scattered hints: a single man coughing, kids praying to janna in a song (in a way that’s super easy to miss), and worship of a painting of janna. but the show never fully depicts the suffering caused by the gas. it never commits to the atrocity and by refusing to depict the actual impact, the show softens piltover’s culpability and allows a big part of the audience to either overlook or justify it.

but the gas attack aside, the writers had two opportunities to make an explicit statement about systemic oppression, environmental racism, and the true cost of unchecked industrial power but they avoided doing so. and those two clearest instances of this avoidance are in how the show handles viktor and orianna:

in season 2, viktor’s story is literally warped to avoid blaming piltover. viktor, a character who should represent the suffering zaunites endure because of piltover’s neglect, is instead pushed into the role of an irredeemable villain for a marvelesque shit show. his transformation discards his humanity so blatantly that the audience is distracted from the actual injustice: he was dying because of piltover.

his ending is framed around jayce’s “beauty in imperfection” speech as if he should have just accepted his disability rather than seeking a cure, when the reality is, he wasn’t just disabled, he was dying because of the system piltover built. that was his entire struggle in season 1, but by season 2’s end, the narrative no longer engages with it to protect piltover.

as for orianna, she is reduced to an easter egg as a gift to league of legends fans (which is funny because the show ruined her lore for them), but more importantly, to avoid critiquing piltover.

her lore was an explicit condemnation of piltover’s disregard for zaunite lives. she was a little girl who helped zaunites, got sick due to piltover’s pollution, and had to slowly replace her own body with machinery until she lost all humanity. but arcane erases this. she’s barely a cameo, and the audience isn’t even told how she died. the show doesn’t just sideline her suffering, it removes it entirely, sanitizing piltover’s guilt in the process.

more importantly, all of this lets a big part of the audience defend piltover. for instance, by never showing the gas’s impact, the show gives certain viewers the option to ignore it: no bodies, no long-term sickness, no undeniable, inescapable horror. and i'm sure we've all seen how this allows for interpretations that justify piltover’s actions in the fandom, whether that means erasing the gas attack’s consequences or framing it as acceptable because the victims are zaunites (who are often conveniently portrayed as violent criminals).

also, ekko’s line about rescuing more people because of gang fighting is a perfect example of how the show subtly misdirects the audience. yes, gang violence is an issue, but it’s not the only crisis. the gas remains, it spreads, it poisons the people, especially the children working in factories. those are also people the firelights must have rescued. but the show chooses to highlight one crisis over another, and we know why ...

anyway, it's sad that the writers had no balls. they let so many people feel comfortable not thinking too hard about piltover’s crimes, and comfortable enough to insult anyone who criticizes characters participating in those crimes, especially caitlyn and her squad.

[tls12lessthan3]

kim dokja [side character] [self imposed]: protagonists like yoo sangah really are a different type, haha................and me? im just your average salary worker.....well, maybe slightly less than average.........

(is stuck in a self-perception of eternal bystander to his own life. this keeps him rooted in place, unable or unwilling to either desire more for himself or take active steps to achieve it. he avoids forming relationships, putting unnecessary effort in or generally doing anything that could draw attention to himself due to this self-perception as doing so may violate it. a coping strategy from when his mother's book got popular and he became an unwilling main character who desperately wanted to once again be relegated to the background. this is obviously bad for him and both causes an absolutely miserable stasis and prevents him from connecting with others. however, because it forms a core part of his self identity, it will not easily be shaken off)

han sooyoung [villain] [self-imposed]: nyehehehe i love doing evil and murdering puppies #girlboss #villainsontop!!!!..........what, what do you mean how do i feel about almost killing lee gilyoung and shin yoosoung back at the beginning of the scenarios........well, it was what a villain would do, so.......

(views the world as a story almost as much as kim dokja does and adapted her role from 'heroine of a trashy power fantasy novel' to 'villain of an extremely different trashy power fantasy novel' when the world changed in order to cope. genuinely likes being a bit chunni and cackling about her evil schemes but neutral-to-negative on the actual murdering that comes with them, so uses this self-perception to prop herself up and justify her behaviour. invested in keeping it up because it prevents her from having to reflect on her past actions or how she might feel about them - all she has to care about is staying alive and grabbing power wherever necessary. bad for her as it prevents her from any self-reflection and causes guilt to build up without any outlet)

yoo joonghyuk [hero] [externally imposed]:.............................hm.

(stuck in a protagonist role and absolutely despises it. cannot shake it off entirely at any point because it is quite literally what he was made for but constantly yearns to drop the hero worship and just be seen as he is. his protagonist status is tied to his captive nature in the star stream and something he must transcend to finally escape the novel. metaphor for genderisms (subtle))

yoo sangah [heroine] [externally imposed]: i think people are little too kind to me sometimes........but i do try my best to do my best where i can!

(shoved into a heroine role against her will by society around her, a role which coincides with the uncomfortable expectations her parents have put on her as Their Daughter and one that often leaves her feeling isolated. she's aware of how people see her and the issues it causes for her, leaving her frustrated with this role. even when she thinks she's escaped it, she often finds herself shoved back in without warning (e.g. her entire relationship with dokja) and so she dedicates much of her time to tearing down that wall. metaphor for genderisms (overt))

[fuck-customers]

We have a new hire at work (relatively new, she's been here about 3 months and is still the newest) and and I think the phrase is she was hired for her "soft skills," she's super friendly, nice, easy to get along with, everyone really liked her at first but the problem is she doesn't do her job. At all. She just uses the equipment herself or sits and plays on her phone while the rest of us are fighting for our lives trying to help customers, answer the phones, and keep up with the paperwork.

She was supposed to help manage the workload, but not only does she not help, she adds to it because we have to take time to train her on tasks she then proceeds to totally ignore unless you specifically say "answer that call" or "register that customer," then she'll do the task exactly once and never again. And none of us are managers so we'll get yelled at for bossing her around if we tell her what to do every time. This has happened in the past, we are literally not allowed to tell anyone else to do tasks, only how to do it or we get reprimanded if a boss hears.

Every single member of our department and some people outside our department have noticed and commented that she's friendly but she doesn't do anything even when calls are going to voicemail and customers are waiting, and I know at least two people in the department have submitted official complaints that she's getting paid for not working and it's tanking our whole department's numbers.

Yesterday she was actually talking to a customer for once (while using the equipment herself) and she said "yeah I'm new but I really like it, everyone is super nice, like really really nice" and now I'm torn between being impressed that no one's been mean to her despite our intense and justified frustration, and feeling awkward that she thinks we're so friendly when actually everyone is furious at her and complaining about her behind her back and wishing she hadn't been hired.

I'd feel better about the whole situation if she was snobby or rude about it, but she's not so I just feel kind of guilty like we're being gossipy high school bullies or something. But we're not! Nobody hates her personally! We're just drowning in work and want her to do what she was hired to do instead of being dead weight!

I heard through the grapevine management's put a trace on her employee account after the most recent complaint was filed and they are going to compare her completed tasks against tasks that went undone during time she has no logged activity for the next week (I feel like they should already have that information though? Every single thing you do including picking up the phone gets logged to your employee ID. She's here 3 months. There should already be plenty of data?) and if they determine she actually isn't working (she's not) they'll "take action," whatever that means.

I'll feel bad for her if she gets fired because she seems genuinely unaware there's a problem, but come on. It's been months. You've been trained. If everyone else is running around like crazy and clearly stressed out, and you're sitting there playing on your phone not doing anything, shouldn't you be at least a LITTLE aware you should be trying to help out with what you were hired to do, and that people will notice and get irritated if you don't?

Posted by admin Rodney

[ilikekidsshows]

"It even comes with the follow-up that Adrien’s justified anger at her no longer has a target. Adrien is no longer 'justified' in being mad at Marinette, because Marinette can’t remember doing that, so holding her responsible would be unfair and mean. Adrien has to, once again, be the bigger person and let his hurt go to help Marinette."

THIS. This is exactly why I've been dreading the whole "Marinette loses her memory" plotline. Because, kinda like the other anon said, I can -definitely- see it happening because Marinette is unable or unwilling to deal with the consequences of her actions and lies. I'm losing any remaining faith that it'll be for any other reason. But inevitability she'll be framed as the victim, and Adrien's completely justified feelings of anger, betrayal, grief, and/or what not will just be...swept under the rug. Poor blameless Marinette!

GDI I don't need him to be the main character or anything like that, but when they time and time again ignore his arguably worse issues in favor of her increasingly self-centered pity parties, my patience and compassion dwindles.

WHY GIVE HIM THESE SUBPLOTS IN THE FIRST PLACE if it's always going to be about Marinette wangst. God forbid everything's not always about her, or that she's not the biggest victim in the world.

---

I don't really have anything else to add, so have these Sublimation edits of poor, widdle upsette Marinette, who needs you to stop being upset before she can feel better!

[tacitusk1llwhore]

I don’t blame Mary for needing Arthur’s help. We all need help sometimes and Mary was uniquely helpless. She had nowhere else to turn, especially as a woman of her time, but it still feels manipulative in the way she goes about it. 

Mary clearly did love Arthur. She's even shown crying at his grave in the end credits. But, loving someone doesn't automatically mean you can't be shitty to that person or use them, and Mary did certainly take advantage of the fact that she knew Arthur loved her back and she got him involved in her family drama and made him fix things for her. Sure, you can argue that back in those days a widow didn't have many options if the the men in her life (brother, dad, etc) were losers, but getting in touch with an old boyfriend to ask him for help like she did is kind of selfish no matter how much she needed said help. One can cut her some slack due to the circumstances and by assuming that maybe she did on some level want to see if they could get back together but ultimately gave up because she realized Arthur would never quit the gang, but I don't think it's fair to say she was innocent and didn't purposefully use Arthur knowing that he would probably find it impossible to tell her to get lost. And it also did feel a bit… Sad, to have Arthur tell her that he wanted to run away but that he needed to get some things in order first, and while I do understand how Mary might have realized that he had other priorities, it still felt a bit silly to tell him to run away then take it back when he can’t do so immediately. Once again, I don’t blame her for that. Plus, the only reason he could help her with her family drama is the same reason why they can't be together from both their p.o.v.'s: Arthur is an outlaw who is no stranger to violence. I like Mary as a character because of the role she plays in the story and I don't think it's as simple as "bad woman used my precious Arthur" like so many people like to argue, but I also don't think it's fair to say Mary wasn't using Arthur on some level at that point in their lives. If your ex from many years ago calls you to ask for help because she has no one else and that help requires you to do stuff that is the exact reason why your relationship ended back in the day, the exact thing your ex would talk down about, I'd say you might have some complex feelings about the situation and you'd be justified in telling her you don't want to get involved. The game allows you to opt to say no to her request for help, after all.

Now, if you want to define "use" as manipulating someone for your benefit by letting them think you actually care for them when you don't give a crap about them, then sure, I agree that Mary didn't use Arthur. Her actions in today's lens could be looked at as "using" him. But Mary, like most women of that time, were mostly forced to rely on men to simply live in society (someone like Sadie is an exception, as she became an outlaw and thus, lived outside of society.) Mary couldn't just get a job, buy her own property, etc. She truly wanted Arthur but needed someone who wasn't an outlaw, constantly under threat of being jailed or killed. I think looking at it through the lens of 1890s society portrays her actions towards Arthur more out of desperation and desire, and less out of manipulation and/or malice.

But then again, she absolutely did use Arthur. Not in the way Dutch did by getting him to go rob a train or something. But in a way that served her own interests. Saving her little brother from a cult, etc. Just because she wasn't manipulating him into doing illegal things doesn't mean she wasn't using him. In my opinion Mary isn't any more at fault than Arthur is, and vice versa. Sometimes, just loving someone isn't enough. But I don’t agree with the fact that they’re star crossed lovers, nor do I personally think that the writers were trying to ONLY write them as that. It seems that there’s more to it, of another story of someone he loves treating him selfishly, and him trying to give love back. So the writers probably know exactly what they’re doing. Doesn’t mean I don’t think he loves her or vice versa; I just wish we could see that energy go into someone else once it plays out. Well. Someone other than Dutch.

I love this so much because it points out just how complex their relationship is. Mary and Arthur, I don’t think, were ever designed to be these perfect star-crossed lovers. Mary is a woman of high society; she was most likely taught only how to be a mother, wife, and homemaker and has no experience with anything outside of that. She needed help, and I understand entirely asking for it with Jamie. I don’t think at any point was Mary asking for help with malicious intent. I do believe, however, that intentions matter less than the outcome, which did turn into “Oh, I can’t be a part of your rough life, but you’re the only person who can help me because of your rough life.” Which is hypocritical. The running away together thing included.

Their relationship is so full of this push and pull that you can look at it from so many lenses, and really none of them are wrong. But I do truly believe that in some capacity, she did know what she was doing and did use Arthur’s nature against him. She knew he would help her, knew he would at least show up, and while I can’t blame her for asking or using this, I can also say, it’s not my favorite thing for a person to do. Arthur does tend to fall into relationships that are based on someone guiding him for their own bidding, and we can assume that’s because that’s the love he was raised with. Neither of them are at fault; they simply aren’t as compatible as people make them out to be. I don’t think they ever could’ve worked, and not just because of Mary but because of Arthur too. He can’t fight this nature, he has to wrestle with the idea of doing good, of going straight. He’s got a temper and we see it even towards Mary, they’re so complex and when people try and simplify their relationship it drives me crazy.

The love is absolutely there, but the unconditional love is not, and for good reason. I also think they were made to contrast John and Abigail which I might talk about more later!

Love this, love the discussion on their relationship so so much, it’s so interesting to look at! Thank you! :)

[wildyueblonder]

Febuwhump Day 1: Lost Voice

My first ever fic so please be kind! After watching all of slow horses I've been INFECTED and I can't get it out of my head, so 2000 words of River whump just fell out onto the page. No idea if I'll write any more although the Febuwhump prompts are gooood. May upload to AO3 if people like it (and once I have my account set up)

*****

River let out a long sigh as he eased himself down into his desk. Just that small rush of air made his throat burn, and he resisted the urge to drop his aching head into his hands.

He probably could have justified staying home today. It was a grey drizzly Monday morning in the streets of London, commuters going about their business with heads down and hoods up, trying to shelter from the ever-permeating English dampness. It was not the kind of weather that inspired action, and he couldn’t imagine even terrorists wanting to brave this when they could be sat at home with a cup of tea and some daytime telly. Nothing would be happening at Slough House today. Nothing ever happened at Slough House.

Despite it all, somehow River had dragged himself from his bed that morning, eyes sticky and head throbbing, with a throat like he had spent the night swallowing shards of glass. As a child, the O.B. had been strict on illness – the words ‘if you’re unwell enough to complain, then you’re unwell enough to stay in bed’ echoed through River’s mind. He had never been a patient child, and had usually been keen to avoid a day stuck in his bedroom. He had learnt to push through any signs of illness, and had noticed a glint of pride in the O.B.’s eyes whenever he did so. The old man had valued toughness. Even now, River couldn’t help but try and prove himself, although his grandfather was no longer in a fit state to recognise his efforts.

And so, here he was, at 9:07am, slumped in his desk chair at England’s most useless intelligence branch, staring with slightly glazed eyes at the loading screen of his computer, as Louisa noisily clattered her way into the office.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, out of breath, dropping her bag on the floor as she unwound a scarf from her neck. “Tube was rammed. Has Lamb noticed?”

River shook his head, doing his best to seem focused on his screen and hoping Louisa couldn’t see that all he was doing was entering his password. He really just needed to keep his head down and get through today, and Louisa had this annoying way of caring that threatened to throw off his composure.

(Briefly, his mind flashed back to memories of a cool hand on his forehead, an arm around his shoulders, a soft voice washing over him. His grandmother had not always agreed with the O.B.’s childrearing methods, and would go behind his back when he went to work, sneaking River ice cream and comfort. As he had gotten older, River had rebuffed these attempts at care, fearing that they would make him weak. But what he would give now for one more day with Grandma Rose, making him feel warm and cared for and loved.)

“Cup of tea?” Louisa asked. River grunted in affirmation, watching her make her way to the kitchen before turning his eyes back to his screen, where he had finally managed to pull up last week’s surveillance footage reports. Focusing on the numbers made his eyes feel hot and prickly, but he rubbed them with the heel of his hand before pressing on with his work.

He didn’t notice Louisa’s approach until a steaming mug thumped down onto his desk. He attempted to cover his flinch with a quick ‘thanks’ but all that came out was a croak.

Louisa turned on her way to her own desk, eyes narrowed and raking over his slightly slumped form. River made an effort to sit up straighter. “Everything okay?” Her voice was suspicious.

Attempting to clear his throat, River gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “Fine,” he tried to say, although all that came out was a whisper. “Just a bit of a sore throat, nothing to worry about.”

Louisa still looked concerned, but made her way round to her chair and sat down. “You sound like you shouldn’t be here. Lamb wouldn’t mind, you know. Even slow horses are allowed sick days.”

River felt his shoulders tense, but forced himself to stay calm as he answered her. “Seriously, Louisa, it’s fine.” He instantly regretted the emphasis he put on the last word, as he felt it aggravate his already shredded throat. Grabbing the mug, he swallowed a large gulp, hoping it would soothe his voice.

It didn’t. Immediately his body rebelled at the scalding liquid and he began choking. Each cough bounced inside his head and made his eyes water. He blindly reached for his desk, needing some support to stay up, and he distantly heard something crash to the floor. Desperately he hacked and coughed, trying to bring air into his lungs, but he couldn’t, he couldn’t breathe, and his throat was on fire, and the world was fading to black at the edges…

A hand. A hand was gently rubbing at his back, and River focused on it, trying to slow down his heaving chest. He steadily became aware of a voice, murmuring “Easy, easy…” above his head. Louisa’s voice. When had Louisa made her way over to his desk?

Gradually, River’s breathing slowed, and he blinked away tears from his eyes. A droplet of cold sweat tracked a path between his shoulder blades, making him shiver, and Louisa hummed as she moved a hand from his back to his cheek.

“Jesus, River,” she muttered, crouching in front of him. “You don’t do things by halves, do you?”

River tried to answer, but this time when he opened his mouth, not even a whisper could make its way out. Worry danced in Louisa’s eyes. He looked around for the cup of tea, hoping to take a more measured gulp this time, but couldn’t see it. Casting his eyes around, he saw a flash of white on the ground, and peering under the desk revealed the mug upended, its contents soaking into the already stained carpet. River stared, eyes wet, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss for his traitorous beverage.

“Right, come on then,” Louisa said, interrupting his train of thought by slapping her thighs as she stood up. River tried to ask what she meant, but again when he opened his mouth no sound came out. He settled for a puzzled look up at her.

“I’m taking you home,” she said. “You need to be in bed, and it gets me out of work, even if only briefly. It’s a win-win.”

Now that she mentioned it, bed did sound nice. And truth be told, River really did feel rubbish today, didn’t he? The pain in his throat was steadily being outmatched by his headache, which had only worsened in intensity after his coughing fit. His face was burning, but there was a cold clamminess settling into the rest of his body, along with a heaviness in his limbs that made him want to curl up and never move again. But the thought of Lamb’s reaction to River’s weakness, along with the dark, empty flat waiting for him at home, was enough to steel him for one final fight.

He glared up at Louisa, then pulled out his phone, cold fingers stumbling over the keyboard. Louisa’s phone pinged, and she pulled it out, sighing at the message on screen.

Not going. Don’t need to.

And a second message, almost immediately after the first.

Please just leave me be

Louisa perched herself on the edge of his desk, exhaling heavily through her nose. “Fine,” she said. “I guess it’s your choice.”

River felt a flicker of hope, along with a treacherous sinking feeling of disappointment in his stomach that he instantly tried to smother. Maybe now he could-

“Of course,” Louisa continued, a hint of amusement in her eyes, “Catherine will be very upset to hear you’ve come in feeling so ill.”

River’s eyes flicked up to hers. She wouldn’t. She knew that was too far.

Catherine Standish was notorious at Slough House for her attitude towards injury and illness. She was keen to instill a sense of self-preservation in all the slow horses, a task which anyone could have told her was doomed to fail from the start. But River didn’t mind her intention. It was a perfectly noble, if ridiculous, thing to wish for.

No, what River couldn’t stand was the execution. Make no mistakes about it, Catherine liked to fuss. She would look at you with disappointed eyes, like each time you got in the path of a bullet, or got punched in the face, or picked up some bug from the cesspool that was the London public transport system, you had done it specifically to hurt her. And then she wouldn’t stop, offering you cups of tea and blankets and bandages, trying to do your shopping or drive you home. It was too much, and right now it sounded like more than River could deal with. If someone offered him that kind of care right now, the wateriness of his eyes might spill over into real tears, and he didn’t think he could get past the absolute mortification that would be crying at Slough House.

He scowled at Louisa. She allowed herself a small smile as River huffed and slowly, reluctantly nodded. He didn’t have much choice right now, and Louisa was preferable to Catherine. Pushing himself up from his desk, he wobbled slightly, waiting for the world to come back into the focus around him. When it did, Louisa was next to him holding his coat out.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go. Before Lamb decides to give me something pointless to do.”

They made their way together down the creaking metal steps outside Slough House, Louisa one step behind River, walking slowly as he held onto the railing with a tight grip. As they reached his car, Louisa held out a hand for his car keys. River opened his mouth as if to challenge her, then thought better of it, anticipating the pain and futility of trying to protest. He handed them over wordlessly then made his way round to the passenger seat.

Louisa got in and started the car, pulling a seatbelt on and turning on the radio to a low hum. As she drove off, the passing scenery set River’s stomach churning, and he closed his eyes, pulling his coat tighter around him as a shiver swept down his spine. He felt Louisa reach over to adjust something, and a blast of warm air began to fill the car. River sniffed, finally allowing himself to feel a bit miserable. He jumped a little as he felt a hand brush some sweaty hair of his forehead, and opening his eyes a crack showed Louisa breaking focus on the road for a second to glance warmly at him.

Smiling, River allowed his eyes to close again. Sure, it wasn’t Grandma Rose, but somehow, within Slough House’s motley crew of misfits, he’d managed to find some of that same love and care, just packaged up in a slightly less homely manner. The streets whizzed by outside the window as River, uncaring of his surroundings, drifted off, a warmth spreading through his chest.

[stars0fthesea]

Hello! I’m so extremely bored so I’m gonna post a song analysis kind of thing? But it’s about Jason and Amelia. Uhmmm idk how to explain it soooo JUST READ!!!

Song: A Humans Touch (on Spotify by TWRP, McKenna Rae)

(TW: Mentions of child abuse and neglect. I don’t go into super details but it is mentioned.)

(ALSO ALSO These are my own versions of Jason and Amelia. They were childhood friends that grew up together!!! I’ll make another post about that or whatever.)

Jason and Amelia ^

The first bit could be applied to both of them.

“Am I toy to you, my love? Just a thing to play and then throw away.”

For Jason it’s the feeling of betrayal. he did everything for Amelia, kept her safe from the world. He was loyal to her and yet she betrayed him when he was at rock bottom. He believes that Amelia took all the “love” he gave to her without giving anything back. Essentially she “threw him away” after she realized she no longer needed him. Even though that isn’t what happened.

Jason just can’t ever blame himself for his own actions and the consequences that follow. He didn’t keep Amelia safe, nor was he ever loyal. He wanted control over her, and when he no longer had that control he became angry. That anger mixed with the exhaustion and burnout he faced ended up killing him.

For Amelia, she felt terrified— she was terrified. Always feeling as though Jason never truly loved her, only used her, manipulated her into having no one around her. Scaring her from ever making true friends and only having Jason, until the end. Which goes with the “Am I just a toy to you, my love?” Jason played with her, toyed with her emotions. Turned her once confident personality into a more confined one.

“I never asked for this”

Jason never asked his parents to neglect, abuse, and kick him out of the house all because he wanted to become a toymaker. Amelia never asked for Jason to treat her the way he did just because she was one of the only one to treat Jason nicely.

“I always did my best.”

Jason always listened to his father. Fixing any flaws his father would point out. He did everything to try and get his attention, try and make him proud— until he realized that nothing. Nothing. He did would ever make his parents happy. Everything he did was a mistake in their eyes. And so he tuned them out. Jason didn’t need them anyways. For gods sake he would show them just how amazing he really is.

…

“Without your love, I am a broken mess.” Self explanatory for Jason…after Amelia killed him he ended up being broken. His heart became more rotten after losing Amelia’s love for him. He turned into a mess, looking for a woman that can replace what Amelia left. A void in his heart, waiting to be filled.

This entire part is just Jason. ^

“I never did you wrong”

These words fit Amelia more. During their entire relationship Amelia didn’t do anything to Jason. She was supportive of his dreams, offered to help him succeed, she was an amazing friend.

Yet Jason still treated Amelia as if she was nothing but a toy. She did everything for him, but Jason treated her like a child. Hell she could have done so much more than the pathetic redhead and he’d still see her as something he has control over. Amelia knew that they would never be equals in his eyes, and she didn’t dare say anything about it. (If you couldn’t tell he’s a misogynist.)

For Jason these words just circle back to his entire belief being: His actions are justified because everything he did was to protect Amelia from the cruel world she didn’t understand. He didn’t do anything wrong to Amelia, she just didn’t understand anything. She didn’t understand the love he was giving to her.

“Until the new me came along.”

Amelia again! This kind of goes with the first part but I wanted to write it separately. We know Amelia didn’t do anything to Jason, yeah.

She eventually did free herself from his control, realizing what he was doing to her. It took a lot of courage and strength but she did it. She escaped Jason. And eventually she killed the man that manipulated her. Thus why the lyrics: “I never did you wrong, until the new me came along.” Fits her so well. This new version of herself took over control and got rid of the evil redhead.

“it was just you and me”

Jason from the very start of his life was neglected. His own parents didn’t want him. He was alone. At school nobody would speak with him. The teachers felt bad, but they didn’t do much with the children teasing and bullying Jason. He had absolutely no one.

But then.

Amelia showed up in his life. Amelia who was smiling brightly since the day she met Jason. She was talkative and sure a bit annoying, but Jason finally had someone. And it wasn’t bad. Despite all the other children whispering rumors about Jason, Amelia stuck by his side.

It was just Jason and Amelia.

Jason needs Amelia. Or at least that’s what he thinks.

He takes the lives of every woman that reminds him of Amelia. Whether it be their personality, their face, their looks, whatever. He desperately tries to feel how it once felt to have Amelia by his side. Call it obsession if you will…but really he just misses having such power and control over someone.

[inarmes]

🚩 (for anything you feel like !)

i personally do not hold gale accountable for the death of prim and the firebombings within the capitol. the responsibility, whoever's bombs they belonged to lies in the hands of district 13 and very specifically when it came to the creation of weaponry and bomb blueprints, beetee.

people seem to forget that gale hawthorne is an early adult/still in the range of teenage behavior. his brain, as i've said with the minors before, is not fully developed. he has been weaponized as a savior of his own people after he fought to keep its surviving population alive.

his hatred for the capitol, his desire for revenge was utilized to create someone willing to create damage in war. he has a certain naivety in his ideas, as he alone could not make a dent in the existence of the capitol and could not enact ideas with thoughts. beetee, as an adult, could. we saw him rig the screenings for the capitol, we saw him intervene with technology. we KNOW that he has a lot more power within the situation of enacting damage, than gale ever could. gale had the ideas, not the violence or actions to carry them out.

and guess what? all of his anger and passion manifests from hurt and oppression. everyone is so quick to jump to gale's violence, gale's way of dealing with things as if he ever WAS a violent boy. he has been repeated beat and beaten down by the capitol's government, of course he'd feel justified in putting a stop to it. of course, he would answer with extremity to combat a higher power. he has seen his best friend's sister and then herself plucked for a death game. he watched her personality contort and mold to a false ideal to protect herself. he watched over her family all the while, and kept humble and understanding of what she was going through. he has been whipped, set alight through the fires of his home and built up by the only thing he can hold on to - retribution. he was used for his ideas, and yes they led to violence - but not by his hand.

send 🚩for more unpopular opinions!

[pain-is-too-tired]

Why Luke did have bad childhood, and definitely an interesting character, what he did is far from anything close to any of the other characters. Even Octavian(who lot more people hate more then Luke.)

We don't know Octavian's backstory but based off what we are told he likely came from an upper family who enforced the thoughts he had when we see him.

New Rome/CJ pushed anti-greek sentiment lot more than chb even thought about Romans. And then Leo's is possessed and attacks New Rome, his home, all that is confirmed in his mind. By BOO he's very clearly spiraling, but despite all that he truly wants to defeat Gaea. He just feels the greeks are another enemy to his home.

He was 18 when he died, and outside his blackmail tactics everything he did took place in a few month span of time. And he's already falling apart at the seems.

Luke is 23 when he dies. He's believed to be 19 in tlt. Which likely means when he leaves Percy to the very venomous scorpion that he just barely survives, he at least close to 20,as his birthday is probably end of summer but before Percy's.

In those years from 19-23 this is list of what he does-

-attempt murder on multiple children(as well as indirectly cause deaths of multiple children)

- was going to make Percy watch Annabeth and Grover get eaten alive before killing him just to make him suffer a bit more.

- sends unknown amount of demigods into the labyrinth where majority of them died/ went insane.

- Was complicit in what was pretty much human trafficking(both Di Angelos are nearly taken and forced into the Titan Army. Then the next year Nico is near sold to the army,as the ranch guy mentions Luke been offering payment to those who bring demigods to the army. We really dont know how long that been going on by botl)

- Manipulated and blackmail children into working with TA

- was pushing for Thaila to join knowing full well Kronos wanted her for his host(a fate described as worse than death-)

- only really seemed uncomfortable and wanting to backtrack when he was going become Kronos' host.

- we don't see him break through Kronos until he snaps at Chiron. Not even a change in facial expression or hesitantation when dozens of demigods on both sides are killed by Kronos. Not even when Annabeth is stabbed.

He maytrs himself. But that doesn't make all he did justified or to be brushed under the rug. He doesn't really get to face the consequences of his actions(if he is sent to Esylum/reborn, which personal don't believe. At least think he should go to the Fields. Even then they're not really all that aware in the fields)

Luke is a represention of someone so blinded by hatred that he looses himself. Looses his humanity. By SoM, maybe even tlt, he cared more about besting his father then anything. Yet in turn he turned and did the same onto those who looked up to and trusted him.

Percy and Annabeth are at the stage where their prefrontal cortex is less developed. That effects emotions, impulses, aggression and instinctive behaviour. And all have adhd so they're level in that regard. Yet feel as though in some cases they have much more emotional maturity and think through things more than Luke. But they're still gonna to make rash decisions and react more emotionally to things before thinking.

Trauma doesn't go away. But it's up to you to make sure you don't continue the cycle. And Luke failed at that. He failed at that for 3-4 years. But those qualities are what make his character interesting and why I feel just sweeping it under the rug is a disservice to his character. It's not naive to expect more from the grown adult then from the 12-16 yr old children. Trauma doesn't excuse actions. Especially when you have Jason and even Thaila as a comparison

not only did they grow up with a mother not at all present, but unlike May who went insane out of the love for her son and what she saw, their mother hardly gave them much love. Thaila had to raise Jason, and then Jason was abandoned just to please Hera.

Thaila later runs away and then dies. Jason spends almost all his life being raise to be nothing but a soldier for New Rome and Juno. He dies for his friends, not as a last minute choice but something he knew was coming.

Jupiter cared so little over him that Hera grieved more than him. The goddess known for hating children of her husband even says "your son" to Zeus. And in a way was more of a godly parent to Jason then jupiter

Why Hermes, who definitely wasn't perfect father to Luke, still loved Luke after everything. More than all his other children combined i argue.

I mean Chris doesn't get claimed until he's at the lostest part of his life why Hermes gets angry at a teenage girl for choosing not to trust and help the guy who nearly killed her friends and nearly had her eaten alive and crushed under the sky just cause he was upset over what happened his son(and also kinda emotionally avoiding both his own guilt and how Luke put himself in the situation he was now in- emotional avoidance i feel was a trait passed on to Luke as well)

And again,despite being younger, Jason never let's his anger be aimed at those who didn't cause his pain. He focused on making sure no one had to feel like he did.

Naive observation about PJO character flaws

I have noticed something very interesting in Percabeth and Luke discussions when it comes to flaws.

The common rhetic employed by Annabeth defenders against anti Percabeth arguments is that Annabeth had a traumatic childhood so she doesn't know any better and we can't blame her for the way she is.

But then I bet those same people will say Luke has no excuse for his actions and was evil trash who deserved to die...although his childhood was arguably worse than Annabeth's. Thalia seems to be the only one who came close to being his equal. Despite all the injustices the demigods face, Luke's anger and bitterness are waved away by PJO fandom it seems.

Pretty sure I saw someone say Percy's life was terrible but he didn't fall down Luke's path. Percy had trauma but he turned out ok, not like nasty Luke. Just another way to emphasize how much "stronger" Percy is compared to Luke. The same way Snaters will use Neville and Harry to downplay Snape's trauma.

So I guess based on that logic Annabeth is weak for letting her trauma influence her poor treatment of others?? Why does Annabeth's trauma give her freedom to treat Percy the way she does but Luke's trauma is irrelevant and downplayed?

I have a soft heart for characters with innate goodness who have been screwed over by life. Characters who could have been so much more but never got the chance to truly be happy and LIVE. I guess that's something Luke and Snape have in common. I guess another thing Luke and Snape have in common is that the hero protagonist gets all the glory for their pain and sacrifices.

[drcooldog]

Ok finished red dead for real. Now time to be very normal about it

[jesuis-assez]

↠ Tim & Lucy ↳ 2x10 - The Dark Side

[tornoleander]

Nya has the best writing out of anyone in skybound an I will not hear otherwise

(this is just a rant but I will finish my argument with evidence soon but I was feeling like yelling at phone)

Just watched a video completely butchering her character.

I’m fuming about Nya’s treatment in general like RRRRR SHE IS LIKE THE BEST WRITTEN. Most people I see talk about her never tried to see Nya’s motivation.

And because she’s grumpy and won’t take bullshit treatment. And a large part of the audience Treat her like she’s a brat for it like…

Her ark against all odds is great. The only reason so many people don’t get that is ALL because of the awful framing and them focusing on Jay at all the wrong times I PROMISE YOU.

The audience is made to focus on Jay’s feelings in moments that should’ve been about her.

Nya always thought she would end up with Jay like she said later on. She always loved him She wasn’t trying to hurt or play with his feelings but she had bigger problems, and she simply didn’t want to be dating him. Because she hated how that would make her be perceived. Which was the issues that she overcame by the end.

She is frustrated by way she’s perceived by the city. They only see her as her gender. A self insert of sorts. (There’s a scene about it first ep subtle but boils my blood) Not a person. She HATES IT.

BRRRR

Nya has A lot more going on like it was never her Job to walk on eggshells around Jays feelings. She was having a lot harder of a time that first episode but more screen time was dedicated to Jays moping about her.

Just AAA ggghg

LIKE EVERYONE REWATCH SKYBOUND AND FOCUS ON NYA Specifically. Ignore how much the narrative drags you to look at Jay. I swear Nya’s struggle is shockingly the most well written bit

[st4rstudent]

i feel somewhat responsible for this, even if i’m not the one saying these things. I’m genuinely so sorry.

No need to apologize! It's not one singular person doing it and truth be told I don't think it's a large majority that thinks that (albeit the ones that do are quite vocal). I didn't mean to upset anyone or anything when complaining about it, I was just letting off some steam.

Having a yap session under the cut sorry I feel like rambling under your ask anon.

Admittedly, I do think there are reasonings for people thinking this way. A lot of the focus with Clash has been on the cogs, especially after the 1.3 update. Which I can't say I blame them! Managers were something new and exciting and (from what I can tell) really separated them from the other servers. I don't blame them for wanting to put focus on that because that was their thing. Alongside other things, but majorly when you hear Clash the managers are mentioned in someway shape or form. But as we all know, toons ended up taking the short stick from this. This isn't helped by the gameplay itself, being mainly a fetch-quest deal so you often only talk to npcs once or twice unless if they're repeated ones and the taskline wasn't entirely accessible on the wiki for a while (shoutout to the wiki maintainers. The taskline script is a savior). Which I'm quite excited to see if they deal with this issue with the rewrite. I imagine they will, but anyways. Social media posts would often contain more managers than toons, which I also believe they're starting to fix. And ontop of this, I believe most of the team in the early era of the sever is gone, so there's been some stuff lost in the change. So yeah, dialogue/writing has been kind of rocky. AGAIN- I am completely aware of the rewrite going on and I am not judging them harshly based off of their current state. I'm very appreciative of the fact that they took the time to listen and are focusing on trying to fix it up. And then there's also fandom mischaracterization- especially of the cogs. Forgive me for mentioning mischaracterization because normally I wouldn't really care (I've mischaracterized characters before..especially in my younger years. I think it's just a process of learning an having fun and I hate to limit anyone because of it). With that being said, there's a lot of baby-fying and coddling of the managers. Especially with those who have more 'sympathetic' stories (Misty, Chip, Winston specifically). Don't get me wrong, I like these characters and I can appreciate the story they're trying to tell, but I feel like so many people will hear their dialogue and then misplace their anger. People get mad at Bessie for trying to protect HER lighthouse or at the Elders for trying to keep YOTT safe (lets not forget Winston was there to brainwash toons). Yes, yes technically there would've been better ways to do it but consider this: The toons are scared. Their homes, stores, lives are being taken over by a big corporation that has more resources that they do. They don't have the privilege of waiting, seeing, and gathering. And then people forget that the company has such a huge role in both toons and cogs lives. If you're mad over the mistreatment of Misty or the fact that Winston is still in the dungeon, your anger should be directed at the company who doesn't care. I may be completely wrong in saying this, but I feel like the stories with almost all of the managers is a reflection of the company. The toons are only trying to protect themself and their environments and yet this seems to go forgotten when people start bashing them. And of course, I'd consider myself a toon guy so me saying all this and complaining may come off as "I HATE the cogs and everyone who posts only about them!" and for clarification that's not true. You all know how much I like that little brain thing. The cogs are interesting, their designs are fun, I don't blame people for liking them because I do too. I just wish that the thought process behind so many of these discussions wasn't so cog focused because I believe that this anger at the toons for, RIGHTFULLY, defending themselves helps push this mischaracterization of them as a whole. That they're mean, boring, unlikeable while the opposite is true. Yes there are some, what I'd consider, "filler" dialogue from the shopkeepers. This is just because of the gameplay. But there are some funny and cute moments with them if people would just listen and read.

Which also brings me into another point: people skip the dialogue. I've caught myself doing this before (on my first account. I have 4 accounts total, so I reread the dialogue on like 3 of them). But people will complain about lack of toon personalities while doing this. It's like reading through a comic book, only looking at the drawings, and then complaining because there "isn't a storyline". Luckily, there's been efforts to keep track of the dialogue on the wiki but I doubt a lot of people are going through and reading the entire script. It just feels very disingenuous to criticize the dialogue when you haven't even read it. Likewise, people don't seem to read the blogposts either. This is both from a dialogue aspect and from an update aspect (people continuously asking about hammerspace/mix-and-match under unrelated posts).

[cathodic-clairvoyant]

There's a lot about discussion of hdwr that baffles me (not all discussion to be clear, because i do think there's a lot of good discussion about hdwr. But equally so are there the ones that make you wonder if you're reading the same story) and I think one that is especially annoying is the constant infantilization of miwa as this passive eternal victim. It drives me up a wall because this is quite literally an issue she's struggled with within the text of the story! She had an arc about how she dislikes how people treat her this way like towards the beginning of the story! And like even ignoring that, this story is about like nuanced and realistic portrayals of being in relationships and learning how to navigate them and so it's like what's the point if you're going to immediately reduce the characters to "the victim" and "the victimizers?" Is that even interesting? Is that a useful lens to look at interpersonal relationships?

[fingertipsmp3]

Also I feel like I have to say this but FUCK Toy Story 4. Awful movie, bad execution, poor excuse for a sequel.