#cannot overstate how much of an option that is

[h0neyfreak]

Spotify discourse below the cut because I genuinely don’t have a settled opinion and am just organizing thoughts

I feel like a lot of “just use bandcamp” takes on Spotify are kind of only seeing half the value in Spotify as a service. Like the main concern I see is the tiny payout to most artists. Royalty payments to artists are generally terrible all around and record labels are the embodiment of plague infected leeches, just to be abundantly clear. But idk if streaming should be the vehicle for paying artists in the first place. The Algortihm™️ is honestly why I (and most people I know) use Spotify. I love finding new music and building playlists and then if I really like a band/artist I end up getting vinyl and concert tickets and merch etc etc. but in my mind “listening to music” and “financially supporting the artist” are two different activities? And you can think that the “Spotify method” of listening to music is crass and antithetical to art or whatever but like it is a huge reason why a lot of people enjoy it. Telling them (consumers) to just jump over to a not-very-comparable service is maybe not the most compelling option?

Bandcamp is great once I’ve actually discovered artists but it does require a certain level of being A Fan. It feels like telling people to just stop using YouTube and switch to Patreon like….okay these aren’t the same though.

In my mind the “best” option atm (aside from a magical service that combines the algorithmic knowledge of my innermost soul of Spotify with the ability to click buttons and send money directly to artists of Bandcamp) is to just be intentional about supporting artists in ways outside of streaming. And like maybe kick a record exec very hard in the balls if you ever find yourself in a situation to do so.

[forlorn-plushie]

@femboty2k put me in the Saw trap so here we go

[nartml]

I'm stressing about the US elections. And I'm not even there.

I cannot possibly overstate the importance of voting for Kamala Harris. If you guys fumble this, it's over.

And it will have catastrophic consequences for all of us.

I can't believe this is even a fucking debate.

Why on fuck's green earth are there people discouraging others from voting Kamala? I'm actually laughing in despair.

Are we really going to discuss Kamala's faults when your only other option is motherfucking goddamn Donald Trump?

What do you not understand about how racist, sexist, homophobic, narcissistic, disgusting that convicted felon is?

Do you want him anywhere near office?

No?

Then shut the fuck up.

Edit: Coming back a few days later, I feel it's important to clarify that discussing Kamala's faults, contrary to how I came off in the above post, is okay.

I honestly didn't realize how much I made it seem as if saying anything remotely critical of her is some kind of crime.

What I actually take issue with is the people who criticize her while coming from a "don't vote for her" perspective.

She is not beyond criticism.

But if Trump makes it then both the people who live in the US and the people who are fighting for their lives in Palestine will all be a trillion times worse off.

Not to mention any possible ripple effects his potential election will have to the rest of us.

Also, a friendly reminder that "I'm not voting" is an incredibly privileged take.

[prettyboykatsuki]

i really cannot overstate how utterly pathetic gale is. i say this with so much affection and love. it's just so bad. he had a good upbringing. he is a prodigy of magic. very talented, very intelligent, a loving mother. he even has a tressym that looks after him (not the other way around) he's relatively handsome too. he's had other relationships. but he fumbles his own relationship with a goddess (extremely unethical) and traps himself in a tower for a year. he grows out his beard and his cat has to basically force him to be a normal human. he has to eat your magical boots and doesn't tell you why until he feels guilty about it. you find out that not only does he have a BOMB in his chest, it's basically at risk of exploding if he dies and he has special instructions for resurrection. but then you ask, whats with the bomb? and he goes "oh it was because of a failed gift to my ex lover, the goddess of magic?" and feels WORSE about FUMBLING HIS EX than the pain. and then later, one of the most powerful wizards of the land comes to tell him news from said ex. half-way through the game and this bearded old man grips him by the shoulder and says "sonny your ex wants you to kill yourself. sonny boy its for the greater good." AND INSTEAD OF BEING UPSET ? HE JUST CONSIDERS IT? AND YOU HAVE TO TALK HIM DOWN AND SHAKE HIM TO HAVE SOME SELF WORTH BECAUSE HE REALLY WANTS HER TO FORGIVE HIM THAT BADLY!!!!

so you play the game after that and in your menu you have Blow That Wizard Up Option. where in a major or minor battle you can blow him up. but it pretty discouraged to do because it cuts the game off very early if you do it in the second act. but lets say you do it at the Final Boss. you let gale Blow Himself Up. it creates fucking aurora borealis, which doesn't exist in the game. the one he makes for you to share earlier in the game. he is the first and only instance of it ever. and then as if that wasn't enough to make you want to throw up, if you're ROMANCING HIM and he explodes - his fucking hologram finds you!!!!!!!! and says "i can see why i loved you" and you just have to live with that shit forever!!!!! fuck off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[exilepurify]

“You know a lot of big words.” — Determining Shigeo’s Kanji Literacy

An analysis in four parts:

Jouyou kanji and Japan’s compulsory education system, explained.

An introduction to the analysis—what I did and why I did it.

A presentation of data, evidence, and counterarguments.

The truth revealed: can Shigeo write a reasonable amount of kanji for his age group?

Jouyou kanji and Japan’s compulsory education system, explained

Let us begin this analysis by establishing a basic understanding of how Japan’s education system is structured.

As you may already know, only elementary school and middle school are compulsory in Japan, meaning that high school and college are completely optional. Therefore, compulsory education in Japan consists of grades 1-9, with grades 1-6 being 小学校 (primary school) and grades 7-9 being 中学校 (middle school).

The term 「常用漢字」(jouyou kanji, “Daily-Use Kanji”) refers to a list of 2136 kanji that the Japanese Ministry of Education requires be taught throughout education grades in Japan due to their importance and frequency of use in Japanese daily life. Knowing all 2136 is defined by the Japanese government as the baseline for basic, functional literacy in Japanese. The jouyou kanji list is further divided into two sub-categories: 「教育漢字」(kyouiku kanji, “Education Kanji”) and 「中学・高校漢字」(chuugaku • koukou kanji, “Secondary School Kanji”).

教育漢字 (kyouiku kanji, “Education Kanji”) (A.K.A. 学年別漢字配当表 [gakunenbetsu kanji haitouhyou, “list of kanji by school year”]) is the Japanese term for the 1006 kanji that are taught over the 6 years of primary school in Japan, grouped into different grade levels by difficulty and complexity.

「中学・高校漢字」(chuugaku • koukou kanji, “Secondary School Kanji”) is the term for the 1130 kanji that students are expected to learn throughout middle school and high school. This list of kanji is not strictly divided by grade level, though a general grade level is often provided, because students in secondary school—whether it be middle or high—are expected to learn kanji more independently. Though the responsibility of learning these kanji is shifted from the classroom to the individual, the importance of knowing these kanji by the end of one’s education, if that be middle school or high school, cannot be overstated. Once again, these 2136 kanji are considered the basics of Japanese kanji fluency.

According to the “Kanji Frequency Number Survey/漢字頻度数調査” conducted by the National Cultural Affairs Division in 2000, in 385 books published by a major publishing company, 8474 different kanji were used (not including duplicates). However, speakers are able to understand 99% of them if they know the top 2457 kanji, and 99.9% of them if they know the top 4208 kanji. And as is true for speakers of every other language, people can generally read more words than they can write.

I determined the “grade level” of each kanji in this analysis according to the grade level provided in my Japanese-English dictionaries, but consideration will be made for Secondary School Kanji due to the lack of official grade divisions and the less organized circumstances involved with learning them.

An introduction to the analysis—what I did and why I did it

In this analysis, I focused specifically on Shigeo’s ability to write kanji, not to read them. This is most obviously because it’s much harder to determine whether or not someone can actually read something, especially in anime, without it being explicitly mentioned. However, it is also because the meaning of kanji can be inferred from knowing the meaning of radicals, and as mentioned above, it is common for people to be able to read more words than they can write. The true mark of knowing a kanji is being able to write it.

To determine Shigeo’s kanji-writing ability, I studied screenshots from a few scenes from the anime, specifically a couple of scenes from the Reigen OVA where Shigeo is writing a LOT, and a couple scenes from the regular anime where Shigeo is explicitly seen writing stuff down and the audience is shown the writing.

The data has been organized into two different excel charts—one for kanji he uses correctly, and one for kanji he doesn’t know or messes up. The kanji in each of these charts have been color-coded and organized by grade level, with readings, translations, and explanations provided. There is only one kanji in the entire analysis that is not considered a part of the jouyou kanji, and this kanji has been marked by “N/A” in the grade level section.

I will provide each chart alongside a percentage likelihood that Mob will know any given kanji from each grade level based on the information gathered from the anime. Please note that the sample size is obviously limited, but I’m working with what I have. If there is a kanji with some sort of detail worth consideration, I’ve marked it with a (**) in the chart and will explain below.

Lastly, I included kanji used in names in the chart here after some deliberation. Name kanji are tricky in general, because multiple kanji share the same pronunciation and people usually don’t know what kanji are used in someone’s name unless they are shown by that person (unless it’s some crazy common name like 高田 or 森 or 田中).

A presentation of data, evidence, and counterarguments.

Shigeo’s known kanji:

Shigeo’s unknown kanji:

IMPORTANT NOTE: There are one or two instances of Shigeo NOT using a kanji at all that I’ve decided not to include on the chart. This is because it is common for Japanese speakers to omit kanji for super common verbs and write them in kana instead, either for personal style reasons or for convenience. Since the verbs are so fundamental and commonly-used, it’s unlikely that they will be misunderstood or mistaken for another word if written in kana. So, if Shigeo wrote the verb for “to read” or “to eat” without using kanji, I didn’t include it, as I highly highly highly doubt he doesn’t know those kanji and I felt like it would unfairly skew the results against him.

米** = I don’t blame Shigeo for not knowing this kanji. It’s fair to assume that Mob might not have seen Mezato’s name written out and therefore wouldn’t know which kanji to use. On TOP of that, “me��� for 米 is a special nanori (used for names only) reading and is super obscure and uncommon. I couldn’t even find it in my name dictionary by searching “Mezato”, I had to find her name written in kanji in S1E3 and go from there. I wouldn’t expect this kanji to be in anyone’s top ten possible kanji guesses for the “me” in “mezato”. I included it because rules are rules, but wanted to mention this to make it fairer on the boy.

世** = I want to make it known that Shigeo does successfully write this kanji in the image shown here, when he writes 「世紀」(century):

HOWEVER. However. He messed it up SO BAD before that I think it actually overpowers him using it correctly and brings it back around to a “not properly known” kanji, especially because it’s a kanji taught in second grade that he shouldn’t be messing up at all:

The subtitles intersect it but I’ve rewritten what Shigeo wrote there at the bottom. He tried to write 「世の中には」”In the world…”, but tried to write the kanji, messed up, crossed it out, and then rewrote it in kana. Didn’t even try to write it a second time. This is egregious and, in my juror’s power, cancels out his later usage. This would be like misspelling “world” in English. I’m willing to entertain arguments that he just wanted to write it in kana for some reason, but as it is now, I don’t think that excuse is compelling enough against such damning evidence, so in “missed kanji” it goes. (It’s partly cut off but what gets me is that it doesn’t even look wrong in the first place lol but if he crossed it out, it means he didn’t know it well enough, which allowed him to doubt, which is still damning enough.)

造** = Just like above, Shigeo actually does successfully use this kanji once in the show when he’s filling out his paperwork for the Body Improvement Club in S1E2 (forgive my awful kanji, it’s hard to draw on the phone lol): 

However, that was not only on an official school document, it was also in the presence of a student council member and Saruta (#2 in the grade lol) so I have to assume he either asked someone for help or got corrected. Either way, the instance where he doesn’t use the kanji is when he’s in his bedroom alone, writing in his personal notebook—a much more casual environment, and one that takes place AFTER s1e2 (can’t argue he learned it):

This leads me to believe that Shigeo does not naturally know the kanji, as he can’t reproduce it in casual day-to-day or when alone.

焉** = This kanji is not only not included in the jouyou kanji, but it is also used in an obscure word. In fact, it took me a minute to locate it in my Japanese-English dictionary app. It is absolutely not reasonable to expect Shigeo to know this kanji off the top of his head, and he probably wouldn’t know it even if he were a kanji ace. It is included and working against him, however, because the kanji he initially tried to write in its place was 「円」, a.k.a. the kanji for YEN/¥:

Sure, 「えん」is a reading for「円」, that part makes sense. But 「終焉」means “the finals years in one’s life”, so I’m really struggling to understand why Mob would think the yen money kanji would be a part of that word and why he would try to write it with that kanji instead of just writing it in kana first, like the majority of the kanji he didn’t know. It’s truly an enigma to me. I’m bewildered he even tried that, and for that, I’m holding it against him.

BASIC STATS:

GRADE 1 KANJI:

- Total known: 17

- Total unknown: 0

- Grand total: 17

- Shigeo knows: 17 out of 17

- Percentage likelihood of Shigeo knowing a grade 1 kanji: 100%

GRADE 2 KANJI:

- Total known: 16

- Total unknown: 3

- Grand total: 19

- Shigeo knows: 16 out of 19

- Percentage likelihood of Shigeo knowing a grade 2 kanji: 84.2%

GRADE 3 KANJI:

- Total known: 13

- Total unknown: 6

- Grand total: 19

- Shigeo knows: 13 out of 19

- Percentage likelihood of Shigeo knowing a grade 3 kanji: 68.4%

GRADE 4 KANJI:

- Total known: 11

- Total unknown: 0

- Grand total: 11

- Shigeo knows: 11 out of 11

- Percentage likelihood of Shigeo knowing a grade 4 kanji: 100%

(Baby apparently had a great year in fourth grade.)

GRADE 5 KANJI:

- Total known: 3

- Total unknown: 4

- Grand total: 7

- Shigeo knows: 3 out of 7

- Percentage likelihood of Shigeo knowing a grade 5 kanji: 43.9%

GRADE 6 KANJI:

- Total known: 0

- Total unknown: 2

- Grand total: 2

- Shigeo knows: 0 out of 2

- Percentage likelihood of Shigeo knowing a grade 6 kanji: 0%

😭

GRADE 7 KANJI:

(No known or unknown 7th grade kanji found)

GRADE 8 KANJI

- Total known: 5

- Total unknown: 6

- Grand total: 11

- Shigeo knows: 5 out of 11

- Percentage likelihood of Shigeo knowing a grade 8 kanji: 45.5%

^ To Shigeo’s credit, this isn’t bad at all considering he’s only halfway through his eight grade year at this point in the story.

% OF JOUYOU KANJI SHIGEO KNOWS:

% known from observed data:

65/86

75.6%

# of jouyou kanji: 2136

75.6% of 2136 = 1615 jouyou kanji

Here’s a graph for your visualizing pleasure:

Finally:

(All values are rounded up)

There are 1006 kyouiku kanji. There are 1130 secondary school kanji. Because high school in Japan is not compulsory, we’ll assume that the secondary kanji are to be learned over the three years of middle school. That means about 377 words per middle school grade. If Shigeo is halfway through eighth grade, let’s say he should generally know 1006 + 377 + (377/2) kanji, which comes out to 1,572.

There are 80 kyouiku kanji assigned to first grade, which Shigeo should know 100% of—80 total.

There are 160 kyouiku kanji assigned to second grade, which Shigeo should know 84.2% of—135 total.

There are 200 kanji assigned to third grade, which Shigeo should know 68.4% of—137 total.

There are 200 kanji assigned to fourth grade, which Shigeo should know 100% of—200 total.

There are 185 kanji assigned to fifth grade, which Shigeo should know 43.9% of—81 total.

There are 181 kanji assigned to sixth grade, which Shigeo should know… 0% of…. 0 total.

This all totals out to:

80 + 135 + 137 + 200 + 81 + 0 = 633/1006 elementary school-level kanji. That’s 63% of the kanji required for elementary school.

(Didn’t include a calculation for middle school kanji due to having 0 data on seventh-grade kanji and also him being halfway through eighth.)

The truth revealed: can Shigeo write a reasonable amount of kanji for his age group?

Uh… no. Maybe? Well… probably not, no.

I mean, of course there are flaws with my methods. I had a super small sample group and applied the stats there to all of the jouyou kanji, which is almost guaranteed to be lower than reality. I just didn’t really have another choice. Also, I’m very certain that Shigeo MUST know some 6th grade kanji, even if in the results here I considered the probability to be 0%. That’s assuredly not accurate. There were just, by chance, only two instances of sixth-grade kanji in all of the sample writing and he happened not to know either of them. This is just for fun, anyway. I can say with confidence, though, that he certainly isn’t a writer, and he definitely knows less kanji than the average eighth grader, but I wouldn’t take my numbers for anything more than entertainment.

But yeah. Shigeo is…. a little kanji-impaired. Which explains why he struggled with Emi’s writing and is only ever seen reading Shounen Jump volumes lmao. I believe in him though. He makes it work. My illiterate king. Who needs the other half of your elementary sight-words anyway?

All jokes aside though, he really started to scare me with the 世 and 円 things 😭😭😭😭😭

[bardic-inspirjaytion]

A non-exhaustive list of things to check before you adopt a cat or dog:

What initial vet care will your new friend need, and what will it cost? A good vet will be happy to give you quotes and a timeline for checkups, vaccines, deworming, spay/neuter, and any other care you can anticipate your buddy needing in their first six months. A lot of shelters and vets will waive the initial exam and vaccine fees, but you can't assume that will be the case with yours.

How will you afford this veterinary care for them?

What is the monthly cost of good-quality pet insurance in your area, and how will you adjust your budget to include that?

If reliable pet insurance is not available to you, or you don't feel confident navigating it, I need you to look up the average costs of an emergency vet visit in your area and do a gut check. Are you able to cover that cost when your animal gets injured or sick?

Note: I'm not saying IF, I'm saying WHEN. This is a fact of life - pets get into things, get hurt, develop illnesses, and need to see the vet! You CAN'T assume "it won't happen to me." Eventually, it's a near-certainty that it will.

It sucks so bad that it costs money to give our friends medical care. It really, really does! In an ideal world, money wouldn't be a factor at all.

However, the world we live in isn't an ideal one.

A key part of responsible pet stewardship is making sure you've taken the time to realistically sit down and crunch the numbers BEFORE you bring home that adorable new puppy or kitten.

You'll be making a promise to this animal that you're going to look after them, and this is part of it. And we need to be comfortable realistically talking about that!

And for what it's worth: I went into significant debt to pay for it when my perfectly healthy four year-old cat had several nasty urinary obstructions in a row - he racked up thousands of dollars of vet bills in a single week. I don't regret doing that to save him, not for a heartbeat, but I do regret not having prepared better.

I cannot overstate the difference between how stressed I was in THAT situation, and how stressed I was when the same (now insured) cat had a small tumor removed a couple years later. I knew the exact amount that surgery was going to cost me with insurance, so I could focus on what mattered most in that situation: taking care of my friend.

Learn from my mistakes, and run those tough numbers with yourself BEFORE you're looking at treatment options in a potentially life-or-death situation. Especially if you live somewhere where health care for humans is covered, it can be such a nasty shock how much those vet visits actually can cost, and you owe it to your fluffy friend to be prepared.

[almostfoxglove]

hey queen do you have any joel fic recs? can be au or canon long or short im just desperate for some joel fics lol

oh ho HO anon HELLO yes of course I do :,) I'll give you a variety of flavors so you've got some options. thank you so much for the opportunity to gush about some fics I love :,) these are in no particular order and I am 100% gonna miss brilliant ones because I have a terrible memory I'm so sorry

okay, let's start with SERIES!

I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive by Kiwicane on ao3 (ongoing series)

universe: canon universe, jackson!joel

flavor: ANGST holy fuck. also, incredible action sequences? like actually jaw dropping. and some... enemies to lovers? that's all I'll say!!!!

I actually cannot overstate how much this fic has me pinned to the fucking ground literally anytime I get a notification it's updated on ao3 I fucking RUN okay I run. it's so fucking good. THE TWISTS AND TURNS? you're not ready (you are please read it, it deserves so much fucking love)

Futureproof by @luxurychristmaspudding on tumblr (ongoing series)

universe: modern!au, actor!joel

flavor: girldad!famous joel starstruck by badass rockstar reader? yes I'll take 20.

the prologue for this just came out and FUCK I'm hooked. seriously, just buckle in. the vibes are immaculate, the world building's insane, and joel gets BOTH THIS DAUGHTERS??? I could cry.

Maintenance Request by @burntheedges on tumblr & ao3 (series complete)

universe: modern!au, hotconstructionguy!joel

flavor: fluff & FILTH just... trust me on this one. giddy rom-com feelings and absolute filth. but filth with love. AH

I literally rec this fic to anyone who gives me 0.2 seconds to talk about joel listen it's just. chef's kiss. the rom-com of my dreams.

Halcyon by @justagalwhowrites on tumblr & ao3 (ongoing series)

universe: modern!au, girldad!joel

flavor: childhood best-friends to lovers and s l o w b u r n PINING. so much fucking pining (my kryptonite)

this fic actually broke my brain I think. it is at once so sweet and tender and fucking heart wrenching. strap in for a slowburn but WOOF it's so worth it.

take me back to eden by skyspacelunar on ao3 (series complete)

universe: canon universe post-outbreak, smuggler/pre-jackson!joel

flavor: ANGST, enemies to lovers, TEARS

listen. listen. don't let the OC tag spook you away, this is so fucking good. delicious forced proximity, hate sex, then HEART EYES. there's violence, action, spice, LOVE, and goddamn tragedy. do it!

now... ONE SHOTS!

looking for the light by @sixhours on tumblr & ao3

universe: pre-outbreak!, brandnewdad!joel

flavor: angst with a happy ending, tiny baby 23 year old joel being a newly single dad to baby sarah

okay don't let the word count fool you, this one fuckin WRECKED ME (and put me back together? oh my god) my heart. I wanna hug him so fuckin bad. READ IT AND WEEP (but not in a vengeful way, in an angsty way)

until then by @studioghibelli on tumblr

universe: no-outbreak, priest!joel

flavor: ANGST angst angst. if you like fleabag.... wink!

bell wrote this for my angst challenge and it fuckin ruined me. ha ha HA it's so good. holy fuck. get ready for tears

hungry, lonely, violent by @dontloooknow on tumblr & ao3

universe: canon universe post-outbreak, jackson!joel

flavor: angst and fluff and smut. you get it all!

this is a BEEFY one shot (22k hell yeah) that has pretty much all you could ask for from sweet ol jackson!joel. the tenderness in this? off the charts. I do need him! biblically!

this has made me realize I need to read more joel one shots... oof! time to get through my tbr.

aaand I'm guessin since you're sending this you may already know about my joel fics, but just in case, I've got 3 ongoing series (one almost complete!) & 1 one shot

cover me up: jackson!joel (angst and smut and tenderness)

see you at three: no-outbreak au, young!joel (rom-comish, fluff and angst and eventual smut)

lock the gate: bostonqz!joel (angst, bitter allies to lovers, eventual smut)

I also have a bookshelf on my blog with shelves divided by characters, so you can also check out the joel miller shelf there (will include fics on my tbr list as well as ones I've read) this was so much fun. sorry it's long, but I hope you enjoy these!!

xx freya

[lily-alphonse]

Please hear me out Sebastian x Elliott.

I cannot overstate how I absolutely lost my mind receiving this ask because TELL ME WHY IVE NEVER CONSIDERED THIS I literally love these men. They are my husbands. I know I marry Sebastian every time but if he wasn't an option I would marry Elliott in a heartbeat I am so down bad for him. (Have yall seen how much poetry I've written for him like come on). So this was mind-bending, earth-shattering, all of the above.

I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO MAKE THIS WORK THO FUCK lmao rein it in Lily you got this

Lets build the gothic romance of our dreams all in this the year of 2024.

Elliott likes to do something some people might find odd. Which is part of the reason he keeps it to himself. But he’s always found the idea of messages in a bottle charming. What if there was such a thing as fate? Would it not bring his love letter to his soulmate? He lives on the beach now; he has the perfect opportunity.

So he bottles his love and sets it free on the ocean, just every few months when he’s feeling whimsical. Sometimes it washes right back up in the next few days, and he takes it as a gift from himself, or the universe. Something like that. Either way it makes him smile, and he recollects the bottle and sticks the scrap of love letter in one of his books at random.

One rainy day, Sebastian stumbles on a bottle. It looks like it has something inside so he takes it home. Part of him thinks he’s being silly. The other part of him is giddy. A quest! A mystery! His geeky ass is all over this.

He takes it home and carefully removes the paper inside. It doesn’t look old, just regular notebook scrap.

Perhaps Im only built to seek you And never really see Fumbling, reaching, I feel the truth But what if my eyes laid upon thee I fear no feeling could compare Instead I close my eyes and imagine you and me

The writer signed it “a dreamer.” Sebastian isn’t sure how to feel about it. It’s intriguing, still. He already suspects Elliott right away, though it is entirely possible the bottle washed up from elsewhere. He rolls the bottle in his hands and considers the man. He imagines him writing these words and for some reason his heart clenches. He feels flushed suddenly.

It feels like an invasion of privacy, almost, to read something so heartfelt.

Maybe that’s why he writes him back. Some kind of guilt, a feeling like he has to bare his soul in the same way.

The words of the letter tumble in his mind, only getting sharper with time. It feels like nothing he could come up with would ever be enough.

He watches Elliott at the saloon. How his hands grip his beer. How his eyes close when he laughs.

Open your eyes

The words come to him suddenly and he jots them in his phone. When he gets home from the saloon he finally writes his letter back.

In reality Id like to have a few letters back and forth before Elliott discovers its Sebastian, but for the sake of this lets say he signs his letter with his actual name.

Open your eyes Touch me I am as real as you imagine Are you? -Sebastian

He takes a chance. If fate worked once, maybe it would again. Because what if it wasn’t Elliott? Maybe the bottle would be carried back on the waves where it needed to be.

Of course it finds its way back. Elliott smiles and picks it up, fully expecting his own words inside. His heart races when he sees that isn't the case.

It is an agonizing few days before Sebastian comes back to the ocean in the haze of a drizzle. Elliott finds him in the rain but he doesn’t have the words to address him.

Sebastian smiles at him. “Are you my dreamer?”

“I— yes,” he laughs breathlessly, slowly getting soaked from the rain. “Yes, I suppose I am.”

“And what do you make of my proposal?” he asks, stepping closer so Elliott has to look down at him.

Elliott swallows. He decides to take a chance and continue this poetry between them. “I fear if I touch you, nothing will ever feel the same again.”

Sebastian takes a moment to consider, inspecting his face and the grey horizon beyond. Finally he responds, part poem, part just himself because he’s never been much of a poet.

He smiles at him. “I don't know about you, but I'd be happy with that."

Send me any Stardew Valley rarepair and I will tell you how I would make them work! (Even non-marriage npcs) If youre lucky you may get a mini fic out of it. Check the list below to see if Ive already answered yours

Rarepair Masterlist

@totallyhumanexe

[monstermoviedean]

i don't like dean's plan for jack. i don't like that he and sam tricked jack into it. i wish they hadn't done it. i am not interested in defending those decisions. i do see why dean did it though. i think dean feels at this point like someone has to stop jack. the apocalypse world hunters are going to try to kill him. the angels are manipulating him. the demons would try, if they could get to him. and i think in a very awful, twisted way, dean thinks it is a mercy to seal jack away. it spares him from death or injury or being used as a weapon. it is not actually a mercy! but i think dean is thinking there are many outcomes for jack, none of them good, and this is the least bad option.

i also think he is remembering the reason he originally built the ma'lak box (which frankly wasn't that long ago), and how he was not allowed to lock himself away so he couldn't hurt anyone. how he was treated for even suggesting it. how much guilt he felt for the people that were hurt while michael was still free. and i think he believed that some small part of jack was still the jack who was afraid of hurting people, and felt some empathy there. that if it were dean, he would want to be locked away, so maybe jack would want that too.

i cannot overstate this enough: this does not make locking jack up okay. i am not excusing the decision. but i can see how in dean's head, when he's still reeling from mary's death and from being possessed for months, he thinks he's doing the right thing. he also thinks he is the only one who will do the right thing - sam is too stuck in his grief to make any sort of plan, and cas is in "jack is a blameless child" mode and won't hear any suggestion that jack might be dangerous. so like dean predicted, he has to be the one to do it. he doesn't want to. he doesn't enjoy it. but in his mind, someone has to, and that someone will always be him.

[thelureking]

I had this idea to make a list of all the games I played in 2022, half as a recommendation list, and half because I struggle to remember when I played what. I have a really bad time ranking stuff, so I'll just list them chronologically (or, as chronologically as I can remember).

Note: Sometimes I dont have a lot to say about a game, but that doesnt mean I didn't like it or that it isn't good.

So, with that being said:

1) Our Life: Beginnings and Always

This game has put visual novels on another level entirely. How must I go on knowing that I will never be treated like royalty by any other game like this did. Our Life tells the story of your friendship and/or romance with Cove Holden, your new neighbor. This Visual Novel remembers an insane amount of stuff you choose, and it can put you in the state of mentioning something you did as a kid that you completely forgot about. I actually really liked how you can go the entire game as just friends, or choose when your character develops romantic feelings. I cannot overstate how well made this entire thing is. Can't wait to play the DLCs and for the sequel to be released.

Absolute recommend.

2) Iron Lung

If you have a computer, you can play it. It is not an option.

Claustrophobic above all, this game captures the pure dread of the unknown, building tension and atmosphere as you travel through this unknown planet's red sea. Highly recommended.

3) An Outcry

Amazing game that I don't see enough people talking about. The first game that made me actually physically ill while playing an alternative route. I don't know what hit me the most, the subject matter or the type of person I played in that route, a person I know exists and maybe I've met, a person I hope I never become. I knew what the game was specifically referencing, but I found it good that it was able to trigger that response on someone who lives in an entirely different place, with different historical events, but with enough similarities that made the feeling of dread and disgust that much real. Its message is clear and loud as it should be, and one that I think maybe now more than ever needs to be heard. I cannot recommend this game enough.

4) Stillwater

Now this is a Visual Novel that I really liked and would have loved for it to be longer, but I love it as it is. It left me wanting more about the world and its characters, and I think that's a good thing. It feels unfair that this is the one I typed the least about, knowing how much I liked it. It's really worth the read/play.

5) The Caribbean Sail

Have you ever wanted to be a sailor or a pirate? Have you ever wanted to grab a ship, sail into unknown destinations, encounter supernatural phenomenons and watch as your fellow crew members die of disentry five seconds after leaving your first port? Because if so, I have the perfect game for you. It's inspired by the Oregon Trail game, and that's literally what the gameplay is like, except on the sea. Which was enough of a selling point for me.

6) Carrion

My child, it has every disease. Loved the concept when I saw the trailer, forgot I can actually buy games now, and then proceeded to do that. Being able to live my fantasies of being a flesh creature that destroys and eats everything in its path was a delight. The creature is my child and I love it very much.

We need more games that let you play as the monster, I'm serious.

7) The Life and Suffering of Sir Brante

This game is both my beloved and the thorn on my side. Who would have thought that in a game like this you would proceed to suffer through life? I said to myself as if I hadn't known what I was getting into. You'll experience loss, you'll struggle to make a name for yourself, your family will fall apart, and you may never kiss your best friend Tommas who gave you a totally platonic ring to commemorate your friendship because the game doesn't want you to.

Or you'll have a different experience than me on my first playthrough.

You follow the titular Sir Brante from the moment of his birth to his last breath, exploring the world he lives in, full of injustices that at times made me go "I do not care about the lots, give me a fucking gun so I can take you to the fucking Twins". There are many branches regarding life paths, the fate of your family and that of the entire city you live in. But don't worry about it now, keep looking at those toy soldiers at the store as a little kid, I'm sure nothing will happen in the future.

8) Princess Maker 2 Refine

And apparently I didn't get enough of walking a kid through life.

Who looks at a game about raising a little girl by managing her monthly schedule and balancing her stats, health and money and says "yes, this is the game I'll play to destress"?

I do that. Don't ask why.

I have only reached two endings, in one my beautiful daughter became the royal painter, her art held as the most beautiful and inspiring in the entire world. In another, my girl made a name for herself by exploring the lands surrounding the kingdom, so fast on her feet nobody could even scratch her; she married a dragon prince and became the teacher of her own fighting school.

And even with all of that, her goddess mother was not happy.

So yes, this is the "divorced dad who got custody" experience.

9) Planescape: Torment

What can change the nature of a man? That is a question posed by one Ravel Puzzlewell, night hag of the Gray Wastes. It is one of the many questions that this game asks, intertwined by the many philosophies it presents. Planescape Torment does not stick to one question, it asks many, and it lets you answer.

It is a beautifully written game, one of the best I have ever read. There is one moment that I do not wish to spoil, but it still sticks to my head months after I experienced it. As a writer, I found myself fascinated by how a certain event was told, all because of the way it was presented.

It feels like an injustice to not talk in length about Planescape: Torment, but I seriously don't want to spoil anyone who hasn't played it yet. A blind experience is fully worth it. All you need to know is that this is the game that made me post for the first time here, two dumb memes for myself and one short analysis that sometimes reminds me that yes, people can interact with it. Shameless link to it here

10) Growing my Grandpa!

If I had to describe this game without saying too much, I would say it's "heartwarming horror". Two words that don't usually go together, but that they perfectly fit here. The story is, like the title says, about growing your grandpa, more like helping a girl grow her grandpa, but still. Strangely sweet and unnerving, I was tense the entire time, and even when I had to replay it to get the second ending (this was entirely my fault, since I could have gotten it way easier) that tension never left.

11) FAITH: The Unholy Trinity

I don't remember how I found out about this game, but I remember waiting patiently for it to get a steam release so I could buy it and play its three chapters all together. The day finally came, and all that waiting was worth it.

The gameplay is simple, yet the developers found a way to have me both crying in fear and frothing by the mouth out of anger every time I saw the game over screen (affectionately). In terms of difficulty, I would say the game is easy until it isn't, looking at you Chapter 2 and 3 Final Bosses, you bastards. Then again, I saw people say they struggled in places I didn't, so I would say it depends on the player.

The story is so interesting and it's still marinating in my brain please I need people to talk about how the prologue of chapter 2 and the one note in chapter 3 relate please. The cutscenes are also so well done, and I had to restrain myself from using one as a second picture because I didn't want to spoil any of them.

All in all, a must play, fully recommend it.

And remember:

GARY LOVES YOU

12) Inmortal Mantis

This is a tricky one. On one hand, the game starts off by basically spelling out every action you have to do, and suddenly it goes full on "fuck around and find out" mode. On the other, the game implements some interesting mechanics that I would love to see developed on a longer game, but I am not going to put the length against it while knowing how hard it is to make a game. And maybe being short plays in its favor.

13) Who's Lila?

This game is my King in Yellow. I cannot stop thinking about it. I finished it with all endings and achievements in a day, and it wont leave me alone. It is always there, forever crawling at the back of my head, stretching itself over my brain and weaving my thoughts into a spiral as easily as a spider weaves its thread. It made itself a home in my mind and I won't kick it out any time soon. I played it because the concept of controlling a character's face in place of a dialogue wheel was interesting, and the story and the way it's presented (hand in hand with the gameplay) lured me deeper and deeper. I cannot even describe it without giving it the praise it deserves. It takes full advantage of its medium. Playing this game is an experience that I can't recommend enough, and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten the recognition it deserves.

14) Someone stole MY LUNCH!

This visual novel is pure fun. The humor is so good I found myself reading the entire thing out loud while wheezing. I actually found out recently that it's made by the same people that made Stillwater, which, looking at it now I should have known. It's good and I'm not still over not seeing that one joke coming; well played.

15) MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF MILK INSIDE OF A BAG OF-

... INSIDE A BAG OF MILK is a short visual novel about a girl going to the grocery to buy milk, and the challenge this seemingly small action can be. It is your responsibility to help her through this.

The steam page description perfectly summarizes it: "This is an artistic manipulation with word and form, only then - a game."

Reblog with more games

Or, you can jump to the 2023 list!

[mesetacadre]

Hello!

Firstly, Im USAmerican I’m not trying to be like “oh woe is me,” Im just trying my best to understand what would be the best option for everyone. I’ve heard so many varying things and this is my second time voting, so I just want wanted to know what other people think. This isn’t meant to be malicious or condescending in any way either! I know you can do multiple things at once it’s just that I worry that when I walk into that polling booth, that I’ll be putting more innocent people at stake.

I’ve seen people tell,call,email etc Kamala to say that she isn’t getting their vote unless she stops funding Israel and their assault on the Palestinian people. And I’ve seen some people say that there is literally no point in trying to reason/ransom with her and that she (like all other US presidents) is a monster no matter what.

I’ve seen some other people say that voting 3rd party or not voting at all is the only way to go. But I worry that a 3rd party candidate wouldn’t stand a chance so late in the game. And I also worry that not voting would be a waste of a privilege, especially since so many people don’t have the access to voting inside the US and out.

I’ve also seen people worrying about project 2025 being pushed into place and I’ve also seen other people say Americans are cowards for worrying about such a thing.

I know you don’t live in the US but I also know this election impacts people outside of the states so I just wanted to know your thoughts. I’ve asked this to another blog as well, so if any of your followers have thoughts Id like to hear them too! I just feel a little pulled in every direction and I figured asking around would be a good idea.

Thank you so much and have a nice day!

If I were in your position I would stop going back and forth about who to vote for and start organizing. Were social rights protected with Biden? Very clearly not, since people are already suffering from things that are in that think tank's document. Abortion is no longer protected, trans people are begin targeted across a good portion of the states, the border is going to keep getting bloodier regardless of who wins, etc. Sure, you might argue that these things are not in control of the president, like the Supreme Court or the individual states. So then, how are elections supposed to help? And this is just talking about domestic policy, but the imperialist cogs of the US hegemon will keep turning no matter who's in DC, and you really cannot fucking ignore the current genocide in Palestine, plus the US' entire history of foreign interventions and the suffering that has come from that. You all should really realize the scale of the situation and stop engaging with the US on its own terms. There are class interests to which every mechanism of liberal democracy are subordinated to.

It is extremely unique for you USAmericans to spend this much fucking time and energy on your elections, you can't overstate it. Practically every year is filled with election bullshit. Election periods in basically the rest of the world only last like a month at most, where I live it takes two weeks. Elections aren't even the only or most important way to participate in politics within the very basic framework of liberal democracy. But you're all constantly acting like it's a team sport, always with the election. Don't take this personally anon, I'm not annoyed at you specifically and I appreciate the effort in your ask, but it's so incredibly childish to every single time spend 2 years or more hueing and crying about the upcoming election. Do something about it then! stop hyperfocusing on a single day every 4 years! People were already talking about the 2020 election after Trump won in 2016, that's absurd!

Read Lenin and read decolonial theory, organize yourself and the working class, build political-revolutionary consciousness amongst your class, do whatever you can to strike at the stability of the empire which you live under without getting arrested or killed, and stop legitimizing this pantomime by making it the exclusive vehicle of your political thought. Voting is just a single day, and the run-up (not 3 years!) should be spent campaigning for your own interests, denouncing this bullshit system you all keep saying you also don't "like". "Surviving", which is what some left liberals keep saying they're trying to do (I know you did not say that, anon), looks like organizing yourself and everybody you can to stop relying on the scraps the managers of capitalism and imperialism sometimes throw at you.

Voting as an action and voting as a strategy are two different things. What you're worried about, as I understand it, is the action of going to a booth and putting your choice of ballot in the box. Voting as a strategy, is the decoration and structure so many people build around it. I can't recall exactly who I saw doing this, but a USAmerican mutual of mine who's also a communist got an ask about who they're voting for. This mutual laid out the options in their state, went over their policies, and explained why they'll vote for the candidate they disliked less (I think it was an independent but don't quote me on that). You know why none of us "election interfering foreign agents" jumped at them for this? because they understand the very limited potential for voting, spent a little bit of their time researching each candidate avaliable to them, and then spend the entire rest of their political energy focusing on other things outside electoralism.

Yeah, shit's fucked for social rights, so is basically anywhere else in the world right now. I also don't have good choices in my elections, half the parliament is talking about the islamization of Spain and plans to gut any public service, and the other actively anesthesizes and absorbs any social movement that could combat reactionarism. So I stop worrying too much about who I'm casting my ballot for and I dedicate all my political energy to militancy in my communist party, slowly creating class consciousness and setting up ways to eventually protect our own class from the inevitable strike. All of this while being the 12th economy in the world, and consequently, an integral part of the imperialist NATO and EU, facts that no sector of our liberal democracy even questions. And do you think our siblings in the countries victim of the imperialist doctrine of NATO have it any better? When entire elections and governments have been interfered with not by "social media bots", but by actual bloodshed and terror? They don't spend years yelling at each other about who to vote for, they also organize themselves and attempt to emancipate their own class

[naamahdarling]

Kitty update:

Raleigh: We have done what diagnostics we can, and the results have been mostly inconclusive, somewhat positive, with only one negative confounding factor. That is a very mixed bag. We know that chemotherapy is likely to be ineffective. The only way to tell if the tumor is truly operable is exploratory surgery and removing anything that looks removable. If the vet answers a couple of follow-up questions positively and it is something we can afford, I would like to give him that chance. I don't love the debt that this will put us in, this is very stressful, but he is also a relatively young cat and otherwise good health. Incidentally, his eyes are doing much better. He is stepping over obstacles he cannot "see" with his whiskers and is jumping around with more confidence.

Dried Pickle Man: Smooch has historically been uncooperative but we changed the type of needle we used and did it in a different way and tonight he responded much more positively to the fluids. He was purring the whole time and didn't appear uncomfortable. If he continues to be cooperative like this, we should be able to get a little more meaningful time out of him provided we can get him to eat enough. It is possible fluids will help with his appetite. I monitor his quality of life extremely closely.

We don't have as much information as we would like about either of them, and that makes it harder to feel like we are choosing the option with the best chances of success. I do think we are doing as well as anyone could. Our veterinary team have been very direct and realistic about all of this, the conversations have not been awkward or uncomfortable. The vets at our home clinic care very, very much for our cats, and we love the vets very much as well. Even in a sad situation, it is a pleasure to work with them.

I cannot overstate my gratitude for everyone's support. I truly cannot. I wish that I had the energy and the ability to fully express to each one of you individually how much your words and material assistance have meant to us. It breaks my heart that I can't. Nothing is overlooked, nothing is unappreciated or taken for granted, everything is received with love, and that love is returned. I could not ask for better people to support us.

Thank you to those who have reached out with sympathy, advice, and pictures of your kitties to amuse and delight. It has made a confusing, frustrating, and very sad situation no less terrible, but much less lonely.

Knowing that my cats' presence on the internet has been meaningful to even a single one of you is something that I am grateful for, too. The idea that my trash tier shitposting about my crew of insufferable bastards has improved anybody's life is incredible to me, and wonderful, and frankly it is also deeply amusing. That I find love and meaning in Dried Pickle Man sneezing into my open mouth (today!) is funny enough on its own, knowing that you find it funny and meaningful when I tell you about it is actively hilarious.

Thank you for going on this absolutely terrible journey with us.

[cross-my-heartt]

Crosshair’s dialogue

I cannot overstate how important The Outpost was for me because we now have proof that Crosshair is someone who says things he doesn’t mean and that’s so so important. Which is why I’m going to talk about it.

“No point in carrying dead weight.”

“Remind me not to die on your watch.”

If there’s one thing we know about TBB it’s that plot heavy episodes (especially those relevant to the main story which we can safely categorize 12 as because of its ending and how pivotal Crosshair is to the show) it’s that they don’t waste time on frivolous dialogue. Even more so when it’s Crosshair’s dialogue given how taciturn he is as a character.

Now we all know how the episode ends and why the first line of dialogue is monumental here. But I’d also like to focus on Mayday’s response because it reminds us that most things Crosshair says, and that I’m going to reference here, are taken at face value.

We know that because Crosshair managed to provoke Rex enough to earn himself a punch. We also know that because his long speeches on Kamino convinced his brothers that he was fully committed to the Empire’s cause. Hold that thought for now.

Episode 12 shows us in a very non roundabout way that Crosshair will go to great lengths to ‘carry dead weight’ if that weight is a brother. That for all his remarks about regs and their disposability he cares enough to go through extreme hardship to try and save one and even avenge him with catastrophic consequences to himself.

But what if he’s only recently had a change of heart, you say, what if he literally changed his mind when Mayday pushed him out of the way to save him in the avalanche. That's certainly possible. Only we’ve seen this behavior with Crosshair before:

He says all those things about Echo and regs only for us to see a glimpse of him putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He implies that the batch will become his enemies if they refuse to join the Empire and then saves Omega and we’re given no indication that he’s reported their survival to the Empire.

All throughout the show we see instances of the writers trying to convey who Crosshair is, despite the things he says, through his actions and less obviously through symbolism and other more subtle means.

Which brings us back to Kamino.

How much of what Crosshair said on Kamino was the truth and not him posturing and deluding himself? How much of it was his usual bravado, the biting brutal cynical things that he keeps saying and people keep believing about him? How much of it was the refusal to show vulnerability and sympathy and just a damn defense mechanism?

You could see episode 12 as a sudden change of heart for him but I like to see it differently: to me episode 12 was a crescendo in the arc of a character that’s been slowly built up as someone who says cruel things and tries to convince himself of them (maybe even succeeds at points, because it’s easier that way, safer) but at the end of the day, when push comes to shove, his actions speak louder than his words.

Crosshair cornered himself into a situation where he had little choice. Obey or die. That’s something he carries responsibility for no matter what, even if we suppose everything he said on Kamino was a front and claim that the batch were wrong for taking it at face value.

Crosshair did have a choice on Kamino, he made that choice and it left him with two horrible options. And he opted to die (because what else can you expect when you do something as egregious as shooting a superior in cold blood) in the name of a brother.

Good soldiers follow orders but he spat in the name of that in one glorious moment of defiance. He called Lieutenant whatshisname just so he would turn and look him in the eye when he delivered the biggest ‘fuck you’ to the Empire.

Chip or no chip, change of heart or no, that’s one of the most bamf moments in Star Wars, period. And as with most things Crosshair, it was his actions that were speaking in that moment, not his words.

[skiptomy]

Y'all I don't know what the fuck to do right now. My cat Avalene, who I've had since she was a kitten, has started to get so anxious around our other two cats. We're not sure what started it but it's gotten worse over the last six months.

We've taken her to the vet a bunch, we've gotten her a special diet, had her on meds, got pheromone plug ins, made sure all the cats had plenty of play time, they have fancy litter boxes and they are cleaned regularly.

But she clearly has a bladder issue and won't stop peeing on the floor, on any clothes or towels or blankets she can find, she pees on the couch, and worst of all, on beds, even when you are in them.

She's still eating, she drinks normally, she's active and still just as loving as ever. I cannot overstate how much I love this cat and how much it breaks my heart that we are even starting to consider that she just might need to be re-homed. If she would be happier and healthier in a single pet home that's just what we need to do.

Our only other option is probably surgery and daily anxiety meds, but that's not something we can afford. Right now I'm late on rent and haven't had money to buy groceries except like ramen and canned chicken at the dollar store. I would give my whole fuckin world for this cat but there's no saying that she'll be okay after all that. I just feel so hopeless about everything, and I don't know what to do.

[rainbowsky]

Hi, how do you know Jackie Chan is a part of LOCH? I’ve been trying to find as much info on this film as possible and I never came across anything mentioning Jackie Chan. Also this film is already a big budget film, which is also the reason why I feel Tsui Hark chose Xiao Zhan specifically because he’s number one in popularity and with immense popularity he comes with good acting so it was a win-win but although I want this film to be released internationally really badly especially my country, I still fear being disappointed. Would they really invest in an international release? and is there a way if fans could get their messages across to them asking for an international release? because i will honestly cry if xiao zhan’s first movie (during my time as his fan) is released and i as a die hard fan can’t even watch it on big screen!! 

This is in reference to a previous post.

The full cast has not been officially announced yet, but it was all over the media at the time of GG was announced as Guo Jing. You can find articles mentioning it just by Googling. There were several big name actors mentioned in smaller supporting roles, and it actually caused a bit of controversy at the time among netizens (who, of course, always stress out over who can do justice to their favorite literary heroes).

Feng Shaofeng - Genghis Khan

Hui Yinghong - Li Ping

Jackie Chan - Hong Qigong

Official accounts haven't confirmed (or denied) these widespread rumors, but we will likely know a lot more soon. The film is slated to be released for Spring Festival, which is the second weekend in February. No doubt there will be some promotional materials, etc. coming out in the next couple of months.

As for whether it will be released abroad - I honestly don't get why fans are always hand-wringing over whether their films will be released internationally. I find that confusing as heck.

It is safe to assume that pretty much all of their movies will be released to international audiences. It would be odd for them not to appear outside China.

Keep in mind that - alongside non-Chinese speaking international audiences who take an interest in international films - there is a huge population of Chinese people living all over the world. In my region, for example, 20% of the population are Chinese Canadians. There is a demand outside of China, for Chinese films.

Legend of the Condor Heroes is one of the most popular novels in China, and is appreciated all over the world. It's an outstanding book. I urge everyone to read it (or enjoy the audiobook). I can't overstate how good it is.

GG is also very popular, and his international fame is growing. Films stand to make more money the more screens they're seen on. It's simple math.

This film WILL be seen outside of China. Any agonizing over whether it will is a waste of one's mental health. It's going to be a big release. It will be seen far and wide. It's will probably make a lot of money. It's got a good formula, a good director, etc.

And even if it doesn't come to some countries - as with all of their projects - it will eventually end up on streaming services. You will get a chance to see it.

Edit: as I said in the comments of this post, there will always be some countries where there really won't be legal options for viewing. That's just the unfortunate reality of the situation. In those cases, there is no shame in watching a pirated version. I feel that it is better to watch their projects, thereby being able to write a review and promote the project to other people, etc. than to not watch them at all.

As long as we are supporting the film financially if there is any option to do so at all. There have been people who have bought tickets for their films in regions that they are unable to travel to, just to support the film. People can also buy tickets for other fans who cannot otherwise afford to go.

There are also often official merchandise and things like that which can be purchased from anywhere in the world.

You can also contact your favorite local streaming services and request for those projects to be made available to you. The more fans who express an interest in their films, the more likelihood a streaming service will make an effort to obtain rights.

There is no guarantee, of course, but it's worth a try. I also encourage people to be patient, because it can take a while for a movie to make it onto streaming platforms. Just because it is available in some regions and not others doesn't mean it won't eventually make it on to yours.

As long as we are supporting to the best of our ability, that's all that anyone can do.

[littlebitsmile]

in flames [C.L.] | Prologue

Hello and welcome to my very first content post on this page! I couldn't be more excited. Join me on this journey of F1 drama (and help me bridge the gap until the 2024 season starts) and let's see where this will go?

Here's the link to my Masterlist, in case you want to get in touch with more of my work.

Have fun!

story: in flames driver: Charles Leclerc [C.L.] trope: #haterstolovers summary: Always working three times as hard as everyone else, Emma does not intend to blow her chance of driving among the best of the best in her very first season in Formula 1. Concentrating on first and foremost getting ahead of her brother, she does not even notice that there are some people even in her own team who think she does not deserve this spot and would rather see her fail. And one driver in particular seems to have a need of always reminding her of that.

────ʚ P R O L O G U E ɞ────

There is something in the air, and for once, it is not only the smell of gasoline or burnt tires. An almost electrifying feeling spreads, one that permeates even up to the stands. My heart is pounding in my throat, my eyes wide open, and my hands have a firm grip on the steering wheel, as if it would slip away if I relaxed for even a second.

It is the last race of the season, and although I have a clear view on the first corner with not a single other car in front of me, I am more tense than in any other race. Whether it's because it is my final race in F2, and I am emotionally charged anyway, or whether I am more apprehensive about what to expect next year, I cannot say for sure. However, I can feel that expectations are already higher than they have ever been.

The first red light goes on. Then the second. Three, four, five. And then they all go out. My foot presses down on the gas pedal as if of its own accord, while my hands clutch the steering wheel even tighter. I breathe faster, my eyes fixed on the first bend. I can feel the engine beneath me, every single stone on the asphalt, how my car leans into the bend, skids over the curbs, and how I am pressed into the seat as soon as I brake. A smile spreads across my lips.

At this very moment, I'm proud of myself. Proud of all the countless hours in the simulator, on the track, and my entire life devoted to just one thing: racing. Whether it's racing cars, karts, or even supermarket trolleys – I take pride in it all. I'm proud of how my whole team rallied after a horrendous season start with "DNF" next to my name like it belonged to me. Despite numerous mistakes with tire choices, pit stops, understeering, oversteering, or just misjudging when to brake, giving up was never an option.

I can't recall my first day in a racing car, but my first win is etched in my memory. It was the year my brother switched karting teams, and since he was predicted to be the next rising star, they probably thought getting me that seat would boost their popularity even more. It wasn't until the second year in karting that I got the chance to stand on that small podium and finally win a race.

Whenever I think about that day, I see my mom cheering me on and my dad coming to me afterward, checking statistics, racing strategies, analyzing the track line, and telling me that I still wasn't giving it my all compared to my brother. But at the same time, my skin remembers the tingling feeling when I got to hold the trophy in my hands, which I could barely wrap my hands around. My cheeks were burning from all the smiling, and I probably had tons of bruises on my shoulders from people patting me on the back, telling me how much I deserved this. That trophy still sits on the top shelf in my bedroom, and every time I look at it, a wave of gratitude and happiness washes over me instantly.

“Emma, are you listening to me? Box, box.” The voice coming from my earplugs drowns out the noise from the motor. My race engineer, Enzo, has been with me for quite some time, and somehow, I cannot shake the feeling that I will do a lot worse without him next season. I will hold him accountable if my only chance in Formula 1 goes to waste because he did not want to “be part of seeing you crashing under the pressure of people who do not know you.”

“Copy.” I navigate the car into the pit lane, where I can already see a team of blue mechanics with “DAMS” written on their backs waiting in their positions for me to come in.

The car screeches to a halt as I position myself between the white marks on the floor. The jackman lifts the car, allowing the tire changers to swoop in and perform what they have been training for in countless hours of practice and all the races during the season. Metallic clatter fills the air. Relying on such an iconic and well-oiled machine, a team, and their actions which are completely out of my control, while I am sitting here not being able to interfere has been the hardest part to accept. To be honest, that took a lot of time and work on myself, being able to trust these people every week, not blaming them or myself for any mistakes that happened. For two years they have been nothing short of supportive, understanding, and calm, kind of like a mountain in a storm. A wave of emotions hits me.

As the last nut tightens, the jack is released. I feel the jolt and with a nod from the pit crew chief, I am out of the box again. My car rejoins the track.

“That is Vesti in front of you, 13.9 seconds for P2.”

“Copy.”

The hum of the engine, the wind against my visor, the grip beneath me, thanks to the fresh rubber – most of the time, this is the moment where I appreciate where I am. For the first rounds of a race, anxiety and adrenaline are overruling every other thought, every other feeling, every other impulse. But after the first pit stop, the weight falls off, the clouds in your mind clear, and you can fully focus on what is ahead. The car starts to feel like I am an inseparable part of it. A sense of purpose and determination burn bright in my heart. I want to win this race – not for me, but for the team.

Frederik Vesti has been one kind of a competitor this season. The Dane coming from F3, where he got crowned champion, was nothing short of passion for racing. The battles with him were ones to be remembered, with one of us always having to retire from the race. Our respective teams were not very fond of our rivalry, but I saw some mechanics taking bets on the outcomes of these battles for the last few races.

I gain ground with every corner, chicane, twist, and turn.

“Emma, you’re closing in. The gap is down to six seconds. Push, push!” Enzo’s voice crackles over the team radio. I nod, until I realize that he cannot see me.

“Alrighty, let’s do this.” My grip tightens, the engine roars in response to my foot applying even more pressure on the accelerator pedal. It feels like eternity until I am somewhat close to a position I can overtake from.

“Fastest sector 1 and sector 2. Gap to P2 is two seconds.” Adrenaline along with anticipation is pumping through my veins. Approaching the straight, cheers blend in with the sound of the engine and the voice in my headphones coming from the team radio. With each passing meter, I am getting closer to Dennis in front of me, with the vibrations of the chassis reminding me of the power, elegance, and trust that lie within my hands.

I dart out behind him, unleashing the full power of the car. It is risky, but my gut tells me that this will work out just fine. My eyes focus on the next corner, trying to give my senses a feeling of where I would have to brake at the latest to not mess this opportunity up. The crowd cheers. I get ahead, timing my move perfectly, hitting the brakes like never before, giving it my all. As I move into the corner with my opponent being stuck behind me, I try to block any gaps he could use for a counterattack. And then there it is.

“YOU DID IT! P2! LET’S BRING THIS HOME!”

In this moment I can feel Vesti’s acknowledgment. Many of the men I met on my path were belittling and smiling at me whenever I voiced my dreams of becoming a Formula 1 world champion, but I met so many more who told me that they have never seen such potential within a young woman. And every time I won a race, made it on the podium, or succeeded in a maneuver, I knew that I should rather listen to the second group.

The last lap unfolds. My emotions are running wild, and I can already feel some tears coming. “Guys, I just wanted…”

“Not now, Emma. Bring it home. This is yours.” Enzo’s voice is not as strong as before, maybe because he as well is a bit emotional.

Suddenly the whole world comes to a halt. The last straight lies ahead of me, but all I can think about is how I am going to miss my team. I think about how everything will change from now on, how all these people will continue with their life, and the next driver that comes along, whereas for me, they made such a big difference in my journey.

A fleeting moment of victory evokes as the checkered flag is waved as I cross the finish line.

“P2, Emma, P2. Congrats, you did an amazing job! What an ending to this season. Thank you, thank you so much.”

“Great job, Emma! I hope you will show some of those F1 monsters where you came from!”

“YES, WE DID IT! P2, what a result!”

Tears are dwelling up. I take a few breaths in to calm my nervous system, but it does not seem to work. “Thank you so much, every single one of you. I don’t know who I would be without you. I’m going to miss you so much, guys!”

The crowd roars, celebrating Théo Pourchaire’s win. There are congratulations over the team radio, people waving flags of different drivers in their respective team colors.

As the victory lap ends and the car comes to a halt in front of the banner with a big “2” on it, I need a few seconds to sort myself out. I sit and breathe. This is the last time getting out of this car, the last time celebrating with this team, the last time hearing applause, and cheers. After that, it is back to square one with an even more demanding car. The next season starts as soon as I step out of this car. Shaking hands with my future race engineers and team principal, and talking about how soon I can fly out to get some hours in the simulator done. Reaching out to my personal trainer to redo my schedule, training not only 6 times a week but rather twice every day. Going for a mental coach. And on top of that, getting back in touch with my family. The weight of the moment settles in.

I unbuckle the safety harness, take out the steering wheel, and lift myself off the seat. I stand on my car, having a look around. Then I jump off and run towards pit crew, the mechanics, and engineers who all gathered behind the gates. They embrace me in a tight hug, patting my shoulders and my head that is still covered in the helmet. No one can see the tears of joy that are soaked up by the material inside the helmet.

As I make my way back, I take my helmet off. I am sure the mixture of sweat and tears let my face burn in a bright red color, but the smile on my face should let the people know that I am filled with gratitude.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see my father standing there. I smile at him, but I get nothing in return. Time seems to stand still; I do not even hear how the third-placed driver is being interviewed. I furrow my eyebrows. Why is he not smiling? He shakes his head, his eyes dropping to the ground. Then he turns around and walks away.

And suddenly I remember why my father was not smiling. It is because I did finish second. I did not win the race. And as he used to say: Being the first loser is still being a loser. And a tiny voice in my head tells me, what I am trying to shove away during races: Your brother could have done better.

“And now, on to the second place, the surprise of the season: Emma Verstappen!”

────ʚ [Masterlist] [Chapter I] ɞ────