#dude the fact that there are like. highlights on the tears.

[keeps-ache]

wailing at the sky I'm tired ! ! ! ! ! !

[whatisthismandoinghere]

I've made the executive decision to rewatch Daredevil and I'm taking you all with me because I have nobody to yap about it with, so without further ado...

S1.E1 Into the Ring

(quotes that go together are highlighted in red to make it easier to see where they start and stop)

Dude all the flashback scenes between Matt and his dad always get me you guys, the way he calls him Matty 😭 and the way Matt is so selfless from the get go you know? Like his origin story so to speak is him saving someone else's life AND THEN WHEN HE STARTS SCREAMING "I CAN'T SEE" 😭

And then there's the classic "can't have Matt Murdock without the Catholic guilt" bit 😂 but the way he just can't get the words out that his dad is dead at the confession, the hitch, the wave of emotion that comes over him (I've said this before and I'll say it again, Charlie Cox is a phenomenal actor) and then he just keeps talking about his dad and the silent tears and *ughhhh*

Anyway this scene is my favorite part, when he puts his glasses back on and says, "I'm not seeking penance for what I've done, Father. I'm asking forgiveness... for what I'm about to do." And then the Father's just like "that's not how this works. What exactly are you going to do?" And then that transition to him beating up some traffickers? Hell yeah

I'm obsessed with the way the fight scenes are choreographed. The way they slow things down a little and amplify heartbeats and other sounds to show how his power and senses work *chefs kiss* I'm also a fan of the fact that the violence and gore is on screen and in your face (and I get that it's not everyone's thing and I don't mean that in a psychotic way) and the way you can see Barrett trembling as he walks around the docks looking for Matt. I also love how when the girls hesitate and to leave and follow his instructions he literally just whacks the door of the freight containers and shouts "now!"

I'm so obsessed with the theme too, it's so good

I cannot express how much I love Foggy 🤣 I mean this interaction alone:

Foggy: I gotta go bribe a cop.

Matt: Ah, Foggy.

Foggy: Kidding, NSA, if you're listening. But seriously, yeah, I gotta go bribe a cop.

And then he just promptly hangs up 🤣

The way Foggy just automatically tells Matt what people are doing and what's happening 🥺

Matt's hang up on defending innocent people only too 🥺

Speaking as someone who's already watched this show all the way through Karen has really been through the wringer man

Again with Foggy and his little cues:

Matt: Miss Page, my name is Matt Murdock. This is my associate, Foggy Nelson. Do you mind if we sit down?

*Karen shrugs*

Foggy: She gave a vague shrug. I say we go with it.

Look I know I'm about the most easily entertained person on this planet but look at this interaction and tell me it's not hilarious 🤣

Karen: Who the hell are you guys?

Matt, after he's already introduced themselves, mind you: I'm Matt, he's Foggy.

And then Foggy just smiles and nods 😂

The fact that Foggy is giving Brett's mom cigars has me howling 🤣

Matt: You gotta stop giving Bess cigars

Foggy: She likes to smoke, Matt. It's a free country

Meanwhile Karen is just very concerned about who these guys are and the fact they have only been practicing law for seven hours 🤣

Matt and Foggy's dynamic is my favorite you guys, they're such a good duo

I appreciate that Karen's a fighter and wouldn't let Farnum kill her and I also appreciate her willingness to do something when she sees something sketchy going on, she's such a strong character really, a refreshing female character imho

And the way Foggy just gently hugs Karen and comforts her 😭

I live for Matt's dry humor 😂

This part when Karen asks Matt if remembers what it was like to see always gets me you guys:

"You know, I'm supposed to say I don't miss it. That's what they teach you in trauma recovery. Define yourself by what you have, value the differences, make no apologies for what you lack. And it's all true, for the most part... but it doesn't change the fact that I... I'd give anything to see the sky one more time."

LIKE OH MY GOSH that's such a solid bit of writing, like sometimes people just wanna admit that things suck and we do miss what we had, such a valid acknowledgement of those feelings and what I think makes it hit even harder is that he takes his glasses off as he says those and then right after he puts them back on again, such a small movement but it's a good little bit of emphasis I think

And Karen getting used to him being blind and just nodding in response to a question Matt asked and watching it slowly sink in that he can't see her 😂

I love the subtle add ins when the heartbeats get louder and Matt is hearing to see if they're lying or not, such a good detail, really just Matt's perceptiveness overall, he's so intelligent and observant, I love his character

Leland is so stupidly blunt that it's kinda funny really 😂

I have to give Karen credit for making the flash drive and also for where she hid it, it was a pretty good hiding place, however... I must deduct points for her not being aware of her surroundings

And there they go out the window 😂

Oh another flashback 😭 the transitioning and connection between the flashbacks and present time are really good though

Can we also talk about how sick the shot looks of Matt lifting himself out of the puddle, both water and blood dripping from his face??

It really is sickening how good these guys are at covering their tracks, how much power and influence they have, what they're willing to do with that power

Matt working out with the punching bag and the angle just widening back ever so slightly to show a poster announcing a fight his dad was a part of 😭

This is such a good pilot, it really is. Especially at the end where they really establish the conflict. The way they cut between scenes of all the different mobs and then clips of Matt working with the punching bag... *chefs kiss* and it ties into the episode title so well too!!

[scekrex]

Part 2 of ‘kill anyone for you’ plz! I love your writing and u write adam AMAZINGLY plz never stop- its the highlight of my mornings-

Yesssss here ya go n don't worry - as long as prompts keep coming in I'll continue to write

Part 1

'Cause a sinner needs a saint to tell him what's at the end

pairing: Adam x male!reader

warnings: language, canon typical violence

note: beta read by @drxgonspine

When the first man opened his eyes again, he questioned a lot of things - the first question that shot through his mind was ‘why is there a shirtless dude with bat-like wings in my room?. The next thing he questioned why his room was red instead of white.

“Because,” you raised your voice as you grabbed a clean shirt from your closet and pulled it over your head, “It’s not your fucking room dingus. It’s mine.” The golden eyes of the first man widened, what did you mean by that? Also had he voiced that question roaming through his head out loud or were you reading his mind - were demons able to read minds? You chuckled softly at the angel as you tossed the shirt covered in divine winner blood - Adam’s - and impure sinner blood - the cannibals’ - onto the pile of dirty clothes that was slowly forming in the corner of your room. The first man tried to push his upper body away from the mattress to sit up straight but before he was able to properly do so, his back hit the mattress again, causing the brunette to groan in pain.

“The fuck are you doing,” you mumbled as you rushed over to the former leader of the exorcists to make sure he did not fall directly onto his wounds. Too much movement would cause them to tear open again and Adam had already lost way too much blood, there was no need to push his luck any further. Not when you had been doing your best to get him in a somewhat stable condition.

“Get the fuck outta here,” the angel responded pissy as he tried once more to sit up straight, this time it was your hand that stopped him from moving his body too much.

“What are you-” the feeling of warm, sticky liquid puddling up underneath him made him choke on his own words. “Great. You’re bleeding again, good fucking job,” you grumbled. With gentle touches you lifted his upper body slightly off the soft yet bloody mattress to carefully pull his wing out from underneath him.

Adam wanted to bite back, wanted to pull away from your touch, bat your hand away from his wing - his wing which not even Lute had been allowed to touch. But he didn’t. Not when the knowledge of you saving his life was in the back of his mind. The least he could do to thank you was to act less bitchy than he would have liked to. So the first man remained not only still but also quiet as you patched up the torn open wound. He allowed himself a small glance at his wing - a thing he regretted only a moment later when his eyes took in the appearance of his wings.

They looked mangled, not only were they covered in bite marks that were still visible on his feathers, pieces of them were missing, there were straight up holes in his wings. Some spots were bald, the cannibals had ripped out the feathers before they ate his flesh. Adam reached out with the intention to touch the still open and irritated wounds, you were quicker though. His hand was batted away from the bites before it was close enough to touch the wounds.

“No,” your voice sounded firm, like you were ordering him not to touch his wings and if you were honest that was exactly what you had aimed for. You knew Adam - or rather you knew the sides of Adam that he wanted you to know. He was the first man you had fought against his army in multiple exterminations. You knew that he needed a strict hand to guide him and at this point you were in too deep as if you were able to leave him to himself. You had spared him from being eaten alive despite the fact that he was the most horrible person you had ever met. And if you were able to spare him from falling into death’s hands, you surely were able to patch him up again.

“Will I ever be able to fly again?” he asked quietly, you suspected he was talking to himself - mostly. Yet you still answered his question honestly. “Most likely. The wounds will close, the missing parts won’t grow back,” you mumbled bitterly as you spread your own wings, showing the first man the countless little holes and pink scars that they were covered in. His beautiful golden eyes focused on your wings and it appeared as if he tried to burn every little detail shown to him into his mind. With a small wiggle of your upper body you tucked your wings back in, pressing them close to your sides.

“You need time though, so no fucking around. If you need shit, you will fucking call me for help, I don’t give a shit about your ridiculously large ego and its thoughts about help. Is that fucking clear?” Adam could not help but stare at your face, no one had ever talked to him like that. With a tone as demanding as you had just used on him, as dominant. And he had to admit he liked it. He liked tít a lot. So he nodded, agreeing to the words spoken by you.

Your hand left his wing and strangely the first man found himself missing your touch immediately, he was too prideful to actually say so though - you were a sinner after all. And he was the most divine human soul in heaven, well he had been.

Before they had left him in hell to rot because they thought of him as dead. Why did his body long for a sinner’s touch? Why did his mind long for the sinner? A male one on top of it. Yet he felt too tired and exhausted to think it all through properly.

For now he would go with the flow.

The brunette was about to turn around and go back to sleep to get some more rest for his still recovering body, but he flinched when he felt somebody else getting into bed. It was you - of course it was, there was no one else in the room after all. He opened his eyes again and they met yours.

Your beautiful eyes looked way too tempting, way too beautiful to belong to a sinner, that was for sure. Carefully you reached out to push Adam’s sweaty brown hair out of his face and the first man let you, fuck he even closed his eyes and leaned into your touch.

“Sleep well,” you whispered as you gently extended your wing to cover the first man under the surprisingly soft leathery skin. And for the first time in ages the brunette found himself able to fall asleep in an instant, something he had not experienced in so long.

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

It will never not be funny to me that Nils asked Wille "So, Twinks? Bears? Asians? Latinos?"

Like, Nils, get your head out of your ass and take just one closer look at Simon for Heaven's sake.

(And yeah, I know of course that Wille didn't just fall for Simon because Simon falls into some sort of category. He doesn't see Simon as being one "type" or another. He just loves Simon. I know that.)

But still, the fact that Nils could seriously look at Simon, the hottest, cutest, smoll TM Latino boy they have at their school, and then still consider that Wille might be into bears, will just never not be funny to me. I've got tears in my eyes when I think about that scene.

Like, Nils, dude, open your eyes and switch on your brain for five minutes.:D

Sometimes I lowkey want Nils and Wille to go to Verbier and for Nils try and set Wille up with all sorts of hairy, bearded lumberjacks and for Wille be utterly perplexed and baffled (because he is actually still rather innocent) and to go "WTF? Nils, what gave you the impression I would be into that guy?!"

Also, I sorta like the idea that Nils keeps throwing these guys at Wille, but all Wille ever wants to do with them is cry about the fact that Simon is on a date with somebody else.XD

Anyway, the "Twinks? Bears? Asians? Latinos?" question is a highlight of s2 for me. There are so many levels of clueless in there.

It is kind of funny. But I also think it's kind of sweet. This is the first time in the entire series that someone has asked Wille about boys. Not about Simon, not about living an "unconventional lifestyle" but about boys. It's kind of the first time we get to see Wille be unapologetically queer with someone who isn't Simon. And even with Simon he kind of has a crisis in the beginning.

And Wilhelm just kind of laughs it off and doesn't answer (because the answer is Simon and everyone but Nils knows it) but it's nice to see him get that unspoken permission. Nils gives him permission, in that moment, to just like boys. No strings attached.

So it gets a nice laugh, but I also think it's a sweet moment. It's definitely one of my favorites in season two, and probably one of my favorites in the series.

Also, I'd like to think Nils keeps asking, and Wille finally relents and describes Simon in perfect detail without ever saying his name.

[gamesception]

lets read rgu, chapter 26

So, yeah, the main story is complete with chapter 25.  Chapters 26 and 27 are in fact side stories incorporating some elements from the anime that didn’t make it into the manga before.  This chapter, we’re bringing in Ruka, a character who ime is often underrated.  People I’ve watched Utena with in real life often see him as a superfluous blue Touga who randomly shows up 3/4 of the way through the show and disappears without a trace or fanfare two episodes later.  Though my appreciation for him may also be tainted by misinterpretation - the first time I watched the show I thought Ruka was the guy who had come between Juri and Shiori in the first place - the guy who liked Juri but Shiori in her jealously had “stolen”.  That’s not the case, but Ruka was still a lot more than just an unnecessary extra Touga.

Unfortunately, the same difference from the anime that made Manga Juri’s own arc so much less compelling and work so much worse will likely hold back Ruka’s bonus chapter as well.  “The guy I like doesn’t like me” is just so much less compelling as an underlying motivation for manga Juri’s angst than “I can’t confess my feelings to the girl I like because those feelings are a love that ‘dare not speak its name’, so I will keep that love secret and obsess over it, while the girl I love misinterprets my increasingly guarded and withdrawn attitude towards her as condescension and contempt and reacts by trying to hurt me by “stealing” the boy she thinks I like, which none the less succeeds in hurting me by making me see the person I love with someone else, but because it’s all based on misunderstanding I’m still left with the thought that if by some miracle she learned my feelings for her she might return them, and so we spiral around each other in obsession and animosity forever.”

There are different ways to interpret anime Ruka, because the show is deliberately opaque about him, but I always read him as playing a villainous role as an affect hiding a princely motivation.  The dude finds out he's going to die, and his only regret is that the girl he liked was all heartbroken over some falling out between her and her best friend that led to them hating each other, but they’re both too proud to resolve the conflict directly.  So with his last few weeks of life he 1) deliberately becomes a villain, 2) torments both the girl and her former friend, hurting both of them worse than they hurt each other 3) defuses the hatred between them by redirecting it towards himself, and 4) literally takes that hatred with him to the grave, giving them the chance for a fresh start.

If you take all this as deliberate, as I do, then it’s a ridiculous xanatos roulette of a plan, but it succeeds.  By the end Juri’s locket shatters - representing either that she’s given up on Shiori returning her feelings or accepted that she can’t keep her feelings locked up if she hopes anything to come from them, and she publicly expresses her anguish by openly sobbing in front of everyone, the dueling arena metaphorically drenched in her tears.

All the duelists in the show - or at the very least all the student council members - highlight or comment on some aspect of the fairy-tale prince archetype, typically by failing to live up to it in some way.  If the core identity of the Prince is in their selfless, even self sacrificial devotion to the Princess, then Saionji is unfit because his devotion is possessive and cruel.  Likewise Miki's is conditional and idealized, Juri's obsessive and fearful, Nanami's jealous and immature, Touga's ambitious and insincere.  They all demonstrate potential tripping points by which Utena might have failed to live up to the Princely archetype.

Ruka, on the other hand, is more subversive and deconstructive, exposing a tragic aspect of the archetype that had previously gone unexamined: the Prince MUST save the Princess(es), even if they don't want to be saved, even if he will become hated as a result, even if he must die in the process.  Where the other duelists demonstrate ways Utena could have failed to become Anthy's Prince, Ruka foreshadows the dark fate waiting for her when she succeeds.

Though of course that’s all assuming that Ruka’s manipulative villain persona was an affect and he actually was there to help Juri & Shiori by drawing their hatred away from each other and towards himself.  You could just as easily argue that he was sincerely after the power of Dios to cure his illness and save himself, that that any benefit Juri and Shiori experienced in the aftermath of his two week rampage through their lives was purely down to their own growth in the face of the difficulties he selfishly subjected them to.

Manga Ruka is playing out a version of this, but it doesn’t work as well because manga Juri’s anguish - ‘My pride is hurt because Utena beat me in a duel and Touga likes her more than me’ - just isn’t as compelling and really shouldn’t require any sort of grand manipulation to save her from.

But Manga Ruka puts on a grand show of manipulation none the less, getting Juri out of her house by challenging her place in the fencing team, stoking her jealousy of Utena by spending time with the new girl, setting Juri up for an unexpected rematch against Utena in the fencing room which she loses, using the shame and disappointment of that to goad Juri into a match against himself where she wins, and from there getting her to challenge Utena to a proper rematch in the dueling arena.

But before the duel Juri overhears Ruka bragging to Touga about how easy it was to manipulate Juri, and this aggrieves her pride so badly that she refuses to duel Utena again after all.

Which, I mean, good for her.  Even if you accept my reading of Anime Ruka’s motivations, that still leaves this gaping criticism over how he goes about achieving his goals.  The condescension, manipulation, and frankly cruelty of it is anything but Princely, and that the anime /rewards/ his behavior with success, again if you’re assuming as I do that the eventual outcome is what he was aiming for in the first place, is pretty sketchy.  Manga Juri gets the opportunity to call out and reject that manipulation in a way that Anime Juri didn’t really get.

Also, I’m literally all for any of the characters in Utena being on the receiving end of a Dramatic Slap with the soul exception of Anthy.  Ruka’s face is exceptionally slap-worthy.

But there’s gotta be a duel, so Ruka duels Utena in Juri’s place, using imitating Juri’s attacks and style to show her that she could still beat Utena if she wished.

Ruka effectively wins the duel, but at the last moment his unnamed illness catches up to him and he collapses to the ground, forfeiting the match by removing his own rose in a nod to how Juri’s second duel ended in the anime.

And like in the anime Ruka leaves and dies without telling Juri.

On the one hand, a sacrifice to spare her pain, but on the other hand a patronizing kind of manipulative move, making the choice for her and denying her the chance to say goodbye.

The duality of Ruka in a nut shell.

Honestly, this bonus chapter was pretty good, probably the best it could have been given how much less Manga Juri’s character had to work with.

[jils-things]

❨♡❩ valentine's week ; platonic day

okay my biggest regret for this letter is that I don't actually have enough platonics to fit in here, like really major platonics because they all went to the familials AHDHFHSJDJJS but hey as long as i have someone, i'm more than willing to talk about them 💚

im gonna throw a little curveball here and start off with hero! before i got into poke.mon wholely, i was in a very deep o.mori mood. i loved the game so much, i played it blind and found myself to really adore hero. words cannot describe how happy i feel when i see him. he's a nice mix of comfort character and platonic f/o to me. i think he's the first guy that made me really feel so attached to him and talk about him like he was my best friend - i was literally branded as the hero friend in my circle just because of it 😭 as i played the game, i couldn't help but feel so connected to him. he's so mature, he's a great big brother, hilariously the charming type and he's not big headed. he's in fact a little self insecure... and part of me really just understood him well there. my sympathy and care for him grew all the more when i see him in the current timeline, especially what he had to go through for mari and kel. i remember being so happy when i saw overworld hero debut for the first time, heck i'm pretty sure i almost teared up in joy. hero is most definitely the highlight of my o.mori journey, his character just so happened to connect to so many favorite little topics i liked (him with sharks? cooking? love interest in mari?) so many things to love about him! its safe to say that hero is truly the first platonic i ever cared so deeply for. i'm a little sad that I don't have that spark at the moment to go back to him due to fandom jumps but just know that i'm absolutely down to talk about hero anytime

anndddd of course, as many of you all expected... it's blue! if not appleshipping, then it's the silly caramelapple goofies! blue was not gonna escape my grip if i were to romantic f/o red. like come on, this guy is the second closest to being associated with red. but that aside - i really like sun and moon blue more! i'm not exactly too fond of his younger alternative but for the character development i 100 respect him. sun and moon blue however is just the perfect mixture of - fun, mature and cocky. he's a bit of a flashy guy but at least he knows how to hold his ground. blue is just cool. he's definitely a lot more sociable than red but that's what makes the dynamic even funner! with jaide inserted in the group he becomes the token responsible adult and i think its funny 💚

since my platonic list is too small im gonna cheat a little and bring my friends' poke.spe ocs who i included in my platonic fo list AKFLFLFKDLLD hi bee hi nero uhh im cheating shhh sorry 😔

ok so like!! this maroon berry and clear salt!! (jaide stone is on the far left) if im being honest... reading poke.spe is not the same to me anymore because i always have the pok.espe parents in my brain no matter what. it can be over the littlest, trivial things yet my brain will go "ooh, what would maroon/clear do in here" like genuinely a lot of our fanon ideas are just real to me at this point. red has a brother?? fuck yeah dude. crystal's mom is meh but her divorced husband is better?? yeah. yeah REAL. the best part about having clear and maroon close to me is that i actually tend to imagine what would jaide be doing with them together, i mean clear has a little connection to d.evon corp and that's already a great bridge to ponder over how jaide and clear interacts. we may have not written anything TOO canon yet but the ideas are there. and then there's maroon with red meeting gold. there's a perfect bridge to make jaide at least interact with them. i know we're just floating on the bridge of ideas and we didn't actually canonize as much with the parents together but it's just so fun to think about, y'know?? maroon and clear are just written so amazingly well to me and well we're here to deliver therapy to our kids 🤧🤧 i promise you there's a lot of times where i wanted to cook smth that unites all 3 of them together but I just didn't have the time 😭 btw maroon is definitely the person i'd run to for comfort because she wouldn't judge no matter what and would find a way to comfort and of course give a nice nice delicious meal. clear is probably a little more difficult to befriend but if i imagine if you at least get past his cold ice exterior he's a very sweet man (and maroon can vouch for that ☝️☝️)

sorry this ended up becoming a little message to my actual friends but ahakskdjdjd i tried 😭

oh oh and big big BIG shoutout to my fucked up cartridge family created by my circle of pokep.asta obsessed mutuals AKKDKFJDJD 💚💚💚 from fuckin mike and steven stou.ghton, to kalei to jasper to grey to megabyte to rainbow to teo to jayden to blake to jett to orion to EVEN RHYS' PAPARAZZI to FUCKIN GREYYYY AAHHH GREYYYYY (UGLY CRIES) I'D PLASTER IMAGES BUT I FEEL BAD SHARING TOO MUCH ART DRAWN BY YALL HERE BUT I LOVE THEM UGHHH

yeah I didn't have much of an elaborate outline going on here unlike my last one its a little more passionate and sporadic AHJSDJJSHS anyways yayyayayay love my frens :]]] thank you platonics :]]]

[hudson-whorenet]

Random Cars thoughts I think about all the time pt.1

It’s currently fairly late (early?) and I can’t sleep so imma talk about things in the cars universe that I think about near constantly. Ok 1 2 3 GO

Mater private eye

Dude I think about this short all the fucking time man, but do you know what the best part about it is imo?

This character design RIGHT here. DUDEEEEE ok this might just be my sheer adoration of classic/vintage cars but this bitch showed up and I went feral a bit. First of I cannot believe they created such a bomb ass character for this five minute short and he’s just never seen again but dude it fits the 1920’s theme so perfectly, the way they’ve exaggerated the front fenders to resemble the turned up collar of a trench coat, the way his roof resembles a flat cap like it’s literally so COOL MAN. I actually can’t stress enough how excited my pathetic little monkey brain got when I saw this design for the first time. The fact (In my opinion) that they were trying to mirror the car seen in peaky blinders (1927 Bentley 6.5 litre) is also extremely cool as you can see the whole gangster element really come through in the character before he’s even properly introduced RAHHHH. I’m so incredibly biased about this because this design alone hits like three of my hyper fixations at once but RAHAHRBHAHAHSBS HES SO FUCKING COOL I NEED TO OWN HIS DIE CAST AHHH

The Thomasville racers

I would just like to state my love for the thomasville racers. YES I know they play a moderate role in the third film and get plenty of screen time I guess but in my humble opinion THEY DESERVE MORE. Do you have ANY idea how hard a prequel movie/series would go (I KNOW ITS EXTREMELY UNLIKELY AND KINDA IMPOSSIBLE) I would give a kidney to see these characters in their prime, just from the flash backs of their races I just know it would be so much fun to watch. Seeing them interact with Doc would be an absolute highlight, being able to gauge their own personal relationships with him, Louise’s feelings towards him (fucking pop off babe love her) it would all be so interesting to see and I would start backflipping irl if Pixar EVER announced they were going to expand on them as characters. Also river is the best I didn’t talk abt him here because I don’t have any immediate thoughts but be’s silly and I enjoy him.

Car biology

Now there is one thing that comes to mind in this fucking fandom when you talk about car biology, and that is the obvious how the fuck do they reproduce. DOESN’T MATTER I HAVE A BIGGER QUESTION. Are their eyes wet. Hear me out here ok, cars cry, we see it happen and there’s implications at multiple different points throughout the franchise that they have tears. Does this mean their eyes are wet??? Or are they crying wiper fluid or something? I feel like that would make sense but the line between what are bodily fluids and what are yummy delicious beverages is so painfully blurred that It wouldn’t surprise me if they’re chugging wiper fluid too. The eyes are wet argument is overall kinda silly because we see lifeless car wrecks in some of the shorts and the windshield is still intact! So this presents something worse than eyes are wet, it implies that the car itself is like an exoskeleton and all the meaty important parts are on the inside! Yay! I only say this because we know they have brains obviously and it’s mentioned in some official book that I can’t remember the name of right now but it’s CANON they have brains. So are the brains MEAT? Because if the brains are meat then the eyes are probably squishy too!! But if they have windshields and we think about the exoskeleton thing are their eyes just freakish gelatinous cubes smushed behind the windshield? BUT IF THATS THE CASE WHY DO THEY NEED EYELIDS? I’m aware that this is all highly stupid and trivial but Pixar made too many decisions with absolutely no was to explain them in a child-friendly way and ultimately backed themselves into a corner about stuff like this and now there’s sleep deprived neurodivergents on tumblr dot com trying to pick up the pieces.

Anyway that’s it for this one I might post more of these in the future because it’s fun to just rant about ridiculous shit for no reason lmao

[winxrus]

Miraculous Awakening Movie - Review

WARNING

There are big spoilers in the text below and its author sucks at expressing her opinion which, guess what, absolutely no one asked for!!!

When this movie was announced, not only I struggled to welcome it as it was hard to understand how this would fit with the universe of the show, but also the character design was just odd. We adore the one from the series so why alter what is loved?

All this to say that I was never particularly hyped about the movie, but as a miraculer and a person who wanted to experience something that involved so many fans celebrating this show we all love, I just had to go.

I was square punched in the face by the visuals. This movie is a MUST to see on the big screen. Despite my hesitation towards the character design (which eventually grew on me), the musical numbers, particularly the romantic ones taking place in the sky brought me to tears. The colours, the low lights, the quality of the animation, the detail, the intensity of the characters (namely in the eyes)...*chef kiss* absolutely hit the spot.

Plot wise? I mean, it is literally if you wanted to compile the first 3 seasons of miraculous (no senti theories, lukanette, adrigami or,zoe though, more like season 1 plus Chat Blanc because we do get a WARNING SPOILER ALERT

"Chat Noir is Adrien, my son?" but with a Gabe completely out of character (based on his previous reactions to this in the series) and we get another reveal scenario which was very sweet but I felt like they could have played it differently ~SPOILER AHEAD~ I really loved Marinette putting his mask on and saying you can also call me ladybug but this doesn´t really prove she is who she claims to be right? I think she could have ended the one-sided reveal by using my favourite quote from the movie

Chat Noir "To everyone you´re the girl with the mask that saves the world, but to me, you are the girl who saved my heart" DUDE I sobbed (screaming internally because Marinette could have played with this quote as Chat Noir told this to her in private).

I sobbed with the romantic scenes in this film. Despite having to rush the romantic development between Adrinette and Ladynoir, it still felt very natural to my eyes which I was really happy with. Plus miraculous ladybug always knows how to play with my heartstrings regarding the love side of the story. It completely made me swoon (a big personal factor to have enjoyed it).

Nevertheless, the character development of Marinette, namely her overcoming her fears and believing in herself - exaclty what made me fall in love with her in the show and admire this charcter- instead of balancing out the romance, it became repetive and a bit exhausting. We are in the last 10 minutes of the film and Tikki is still preaching the same thing (don´t get me wrong, it is important to emphasise such message to the audience but I think they saturated it a bit).

Anywho, I think the fact that I went with no expectations for the film and accept whatever might come made me actually enjoy it more than I thought. A great part was also due to the atmosphere, which was so much fun. The audience was super vocal with their reactions, bringing a sense of community despite each of us being in our own little groups. We laughed (a lot, I completely forgot to highlight the humour of the movie *looks at careless whisper playing in the background everytime Adrien thinks of Ladybug*), screamed, cried and gasped together. So much fun.

I left the theatres quite elated but frustrated with the bloody teasing "almost kiss* scene at the very end. I actually believed I was gonna see Adrinette´s first kiss on the big screen but :)))))) JDNDJESINVIFESN. I also left incredibly confused because as I said, the movie doesn´t match whatsoever the series, and ended on a vague note - HEADSUP - After Gabriel is revealed to be Hawkmoth to both Chat Noir aka his son and Marinette/Ladybug, the dude just disappeared and we don´t get a reaction from Adrien?? It immediately skips to Adrinette (no complaints LOL) and then you hear Gabriel narrating a message to Nathalie to protect Adrien and never let him know that he hides Emelie´s body in the basement? The dad´s a bloody terrorist what difference doesa another crime make? Does this mean there will be a second movie? Will we forever live with God knows how many miraculous ladybug universes? "AMERICA EXPLAINNNN"

I have heard people who didn´t like it beacause it was purely fanfiction and didn´t make sense, I personally advise you to go with an open mind, chilled and with the intention to have a good time. I sure did! I will carry this experience with me forever <3 all this to say that my score may be also highly biased by that hahah. Byeee!

P.S - I did not comment on the music because I was a bit disappointed that the original French voices (warning the French dub is my favourite) were not the singing ones. They used Lou and Lenni-Kim which despite them being talented I didn´t feel like it suited them. So...I´m gonna wait for the English soundtrack to formulate an opinion. I liked the lyrics of the new song though (Last Dance soundtrack)

[peachy-aryn]

Dawntrail Discussion below. Spoilers for areas, characters including the WOL, and dungeons/trails.

This is going to be quite long so bear with me💀

I just finished Dawntrail and i can say i thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the fact that we weren’t the main thing for once. Being a mentor figure was a fun way to go into the expansion. You’re still highlighted as an extremely powerful character. There’s more than one occasion where a characters says something about your strength and how your the biggest threat out of your group. But the idea that you and the scions have done your deal of saving the world (and while you do that in this expansion on a smaller level) and now your sorta a mentor figure for Wuk Lamat was really fun for me.

Plot wise it is a little boring at the beginning, i quiet enjoyed going to the different locations and learning about all the cultures and stuff and i love how that was such a big part of the story! It does take a while to really lift off. 95 is where it gets really gripping and interesting i think, whenever the succession is over. It just builds from there in my opinion.

Character wise, i loved the new characters introduced, Wuk Lamat was a extremely lovable character and seeing her love for her people and her want to learn about all the different cultures and really know about the citizens of Tural was extremely heartwarming to see. The other characters were also super fun! The development the others go through in this story is nice! For two of them atleast, looking at you Zoraal ja. The idea that they all want to prove themselves and don’t truely know how to do it is something i think a lot of people have experienced! Bakool Ja Jas character was a really fun one to see expanded on! His story when we get to his home area was such a good addition. Ended up really enjoying his character.

Also loved the amount of Erenville we got, his lines and facial expressions cracked me up. I love how he is just some dude the entire time and doesn’t fight. The cutscenes and dialogue when we got to the last three areas, Heritage found, solution 9, and Living Memory, with him and his mother were fantastic. I’m ngl i shed more than a few tears when we were shutting down the things in living memory and his mom disappeared.

The areas are fantastic this expansion, once again. Each area is such a good place! Especially the area where Bakool Ja Ja is from! (can’t remember the name). Living memory is also such a heart wrenching place.

The dungeons and trials are a lot of fun as well. The last trail is literally crazy and the mechs are insanely fun. I had been calling it all along that Sphene was going to be the last trial in the game and she did not disappoint!

All in all an extremely enjoyable expansion, i cannot wait to see what the future brings for the next part of the story! Now onto role quests, lvling classes, and getting Aether currents!

[naddpod-encounter-tourney]

Reborn:

for this, I wanted to shoutout the impeccable propaganda from round 2 by @stone-stars, which is as follows:

the wrestling match (3 identical rolls)

hardwon being a mama’s boy: “in some ways you’re so like your father, and in some ways you’re so much better” “i think those are the ways that i’m like you, mama.”

the reincarnation ritual (almost rolling a gnome, and then half-elf hardwon)

“if i was gonna come back as anything, i’m proud to come back as half of you”

“this is how i see myself, you know? i’ve always been half elf, ever since i met you.”

the dwarven daddy hot tub (the kingshammer accepting hardwon)

beverly buying a comic about being a cleric for erlin (bonus: the comic is about brunhilde, emily’s cleric)

beverly reuniting with his mom and the return of erlin, egwene, gunther, and red

beverly telling erlin about his kiss with terran in zone of truth

“i’m not mad at you, dude. it’s the end of the world.”

lucanus reveal / him and meemaw yelling at each other

moonshine kicking down the door and yelling ‘hey mom and dad’

scoutmaster denny returns (and gets tackled by hardwon)(and later turned into a boot by moonshine)

the escalation of the war against thiala and revelations as to what’s been happening on the prime material plane

moonshine and lucanus’ first conversation

lucanus revealing he likes being razzed

“someone who felt they could never have a child… is holding their child”

“i didn’t want to need you, dad, but now that you’re here… it’s kind of nice”

wizard tournament setup

nana kindleaf return

martha toegold reveals she knows what happened to bev sr

“everything will be alright if you do what needs to be done”

beverly finds the book on how to defeat devils

“your father has given you a strategy guide on how to beat him” “i have to look away so that the tears don’t ruin the pages.”

also, honorable mention to the fact that the first half of this episode was almost lost forever. the wrestling match and hardwon's reincarnate were almost going to be lost forever and re-played. shoutout to emily axford for preserving some of the most magical dnd moments through pure determination and internet forum diving. in the words of jake hurwitz: "we saw the face of god that night."

I am personally going to add one more moment here: Balnor talks to Bev after the whole debacle with Erlin and has a touching Dad moment.

Your Own Personal Hell:

The Boobs fight off acid and Bastion in Gluttony, then fly out into a storm where they sink through to their own separate rings of hell.

I do literally mean "fly out" as they get swept up by wind when they get out of the literal belly of the beast. Moonshine spends several spells to find Bev and try to save them before finally just allowing themselves to sink into the quicksand.

Ilsed talks in everyone's head about how they will be separated, and the gang decides to call him "Ms. Rosell".

Balnor fully goes missing.

Hardwon sees the dragon Wilhelm Bronzebeard and remembers the first time he held a Kingshammer.

Moonshine goes fully fungal, remembers meeting Pawpaw, and then loses him.

Bev comes face to face with his father, and remembers the first person he watched die. He then nearly takes his fathers hand before Moonshine tells him what a child has a duty to his father, but a hero has a duty to the world.

The actual time Jake says “You ruined my night, Brian.” It's earned.

I'd also like to highlight @theatricuddles' comments from last round, which can be found here

[magicboobiess]

After school

So many things happened to me after school. Too many to recall if i'm being honest. However one of my favorite things to ever happen to me was making a friend that I used to walk home everyday with. I used to ride the school bus home everyday from school and it wasn't bad but I was the type of kid who just wanted to go home after school and not have to wait hours to get home. The thing is if you've ever ridden in a public school bus you know that they don't just have one stop, they have MULTIPLE. Sometimes I wouldn't get dropped off until the sun was setting. The thing is after being dropped off at the bus stop I still had to walk home too. So eventually this became very annoying to me.

So the moment that my parents were ok with the idea of me being able to walk home I was all for it. I was super ecstatic, I was so ready for this new found freedom. The first ever day that I was allowed to walk home from school I reveled in the freedom it brought. I made sure to bring my pair of headphones with me and have my music ready. Those steps that I would walk towards the bus stop were always the highlight of my day. Once the bell rang to release us from our last class of the day I would always make my way down the stairs from my 3rd floor class room and quickly take the exit which lead directly to the sidewalk I would use to walk home.

It was so much fun not having to wait on a school bus to take me home. I honestly slashed my school commute by about 2 hours. I will say that first day that I walked home to my surprise once I got to the bus stop I saw a girl from one of my classes waiting for the bus. I was excited, "a friend!" I thought to myself. So being who I am, I walked up to her and sat next to her as we both waited for the bus. We quickly started chatting and were both equally pleasantly surprised that we would take public transport home. That same day we both decided that if we're going to be walking home we might as well just do it together. So that's exactly what we did.

It became a cute routine, the bell would ring letting us out of school for the day and I would make my way towards her locker at the other end of the school. We only had one class together but the simple fact that we would share the walk home in a way brought us super close together. I would always look forward to seeing my friend at the end of the school day and walking home with her. We would sometimes share jokes, share how our day went, share new music with each other and make each other's commute home that much better. I didn't know it then but It really did help having a friend like that.

This continued on till the end of the school year. Which i'm glad it did, while I no longer keep in contact with that person and I found out recently that they've married and have a child now. I am grateful for the time they spent with me, walking home with me all those days after school. It showed me that a friend can appear in the least likely of places and situations.

To my after school walking buddy. I love you dude, you made all those walks home less boring and you always made me laugh my ass off. You were the best friend I could've ask for at the time. When we would walk together everything else didn't seem to matter and I just loved your company. You made me realize it's ok having friends even if for a short while. People in this life come and go so it's important to share the moments you have while you have them with those you love. I do miss you but life is life and we all go our separate ways eventually.

I feel tears starting to want to come down as i'm writing this. I blame my cancer rising for making me such a sentimental crybaby.

Much love MagicB00biess xoxoxo

[manuscripts-dontburn]

Luckenbooth

Author: Jenni Fagan

First published: 2021

Rating: ★★★★☆

This is a story of a building, the No. 10 Luckebooth Close in Edinburgh, through the decades of the 20th century and some of its inhabitants. It is a dark story, with distinct horror features and would make a perfect read for a spooky season. It also uses one of my favorite tropes: a myriad of stories that all tie into one, but all have something unique to offer as well. There were one or two that were a bit less interesting to me and while I am not against sex and sexuality explored in literature, there are some things that I simply do not need to read about. Still, this is a book worthy of notice, especially if you like your literature to be a little weird and wild.

With Fire and Sword

Author: Henryk Sienkiewicz

First published: 1884

Rating: ★★★★☆

As a girl, I fell in love with the film adaptation of Fire and Sword myself (greatly owed to the God among men the most handsome dude ever Michal Zebrowski), and ever since wanted to read it, especially since one of my all-time favourite books - Quo Vadis - was penned by the same author. Because I have watched the movie multiple times, there were no plot surprises for me in the book (as the adaptation follows it quite closely), but I gained a new perspective of all the characters and could appreciate the truly beautiful writing. I just wish the battles were not as long as they were. Modern sensibilities may be offended that the "good guys" are openly convinced they are better than the common folk, because "God created the nobility to rule and be honorable", but in the context of times the story is set in, it is certainly an aspect that speaks to historical accuracy Sienkiewicz strived for. The highlight is undoubtedly the character of Zagloba!

The Tea Dragon Tapestry

Author: Kay O'Neill

First published: 2021

Rating: ★★★★★

Every time I am in a fragile emotional state, these books are there to help, to warm up my soul, to make me cry tears of healing.

The Good Wife of Bath

Author: Karen Brooks

First published: 2021

Rating: ★★★★☆

While the book is a bit lengthy, it does a great job describing the world of a medieval woman. the characters are all vivid and you cannot but help rooting for Eleanor throughout. The relationships are really the solid spine of the story - both the good and toxic ones. Really, really liked this.

Nazi Wives: The Women at the Top of Hitler's Germany

Author: Frances Hardinge

First published: 2019

Rating: ★★★☆☆

A good starting point for anyone interested in the women behind the Nazi criminals, though I would have liked something more fleshed out. What I found the most revealing was the fact each and every one of these women never admitted their husbands were murderous monsters. Nay. They were honorable heroes in their eyes - and that was the hill they decided to die on. Well, now, at least they are dead.

Ninth House

Author: Leigh Bardugo

First published: 2019

Rating: ★★★★☆

People tended to be really disappointed by this book when it came out, but I personally enjoyed it in spite of the weaknesses it has. Out of the top of my head I could mention for example how convenient some of the magic was to fit every problem. Still, this was an interesting concept and I had fun.

Devadesátky! Roky nespoutané svobody

Author: Johana Fundová

First published: 2019

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Po této knize jsem sáhla zřejmě ze stejného důvodu, jako všichni ostatní: s touhou utopit se trochu v nostalgii. 90. jsou mé dětství. Bohužel, jediné, co opravdu stojí za pozornost v této publikaci, jsou fotografie. Text jednotlivých kapitol není nic než výčet jmen, značek a parazitních poznámek typu "to už se dneska nedělá", a upřímně řečeno náznaků humoru, který se na minulost neohlíží s laskavostí, ale za účelem výsměchu. Jednotlivé medailonky různých osobností (z nichž většina je běžnému člověku zcela neznámá) se velmi různí v kvalitě slohu a v několika případech se vůbec netýká "devadesátek" (např. Zibura hovoří o pozdějším desetiletí, Nesvadba zase o době předrevoluční). A někteří tito lidé ze svých příspěvků znějí vyloženě na ránu. Má rada: Prolistuje knihu v knihkupectví, potěšte se letáčkem Family Frost nebo titulní stranou Bravíčka, ale peníze si raději šetřete na něco jiného.

This Wicked Fate

Author: Kalynn Bayron

First published: 2022

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Unfortunately, this was a letdown. I truly enjoyed the settings and the subtle use of Greek mythology in the first book, however, the sequel loses all that subtlety, all that atmosphere, and the whole first half is really nothing but sitting around and talking about how we don´t know what to do anything. The action-packed second half read better, but by that time I was also supposed to care about a whole bunch of people and I really did not. Finally, whatever attempts at humour conversations and one-liners fell flat. 

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride

Author: Roshani Chokshi

First published: 2023

Rating: ★★★★☆

Delightful and gorgeously written piece painted with a gothic paintbrush with broad strokes of psychological (dare I say?) thriller. My first time reading from this author and probably not the last.

Malibu Rising

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

First published: 2021

Rating: ★★★★☆

I really liked Evelyn Hugo, absolutely loved Daisy Jones, and the next in line - Malibu Rising - is too a really solid book. I enjoyed the unusual way of piecing the story together, I enjoy the fact the book was like a little advent calendar with characters opening with their little windows into the past and the sense of urgency and madness as the book - and the party in the center of it all - progresses, definitely got to me. Perhaps I only did not need every character to appear to have their outfits desribed, which I felt was done only to impress upon us the wild 80s aesthetics.

The Enchanted April

Author: Elizabeth von Arnim

First published: 1922

Rating: ★★★★☆

Extremely enjoyable if you like slow books in which the inner voices of the characters are what matters.

Music of the Ghosts

Author: Vaddey Ratner

First published: 2017

Rating: ★★★★★

This is one of those books that is a learning experience for those like me, who are almost completely unfamiliar with the history of far-away Asian countries, but more importantly it is a beautiful, sensitive, and painful story. Unlike the author´s previous In the Shadow of the Banyan it offers some detachment from the brutal years of Khmer Rouge and gives its characters some comfort and ultimately a chance of healing from the trauma they had gone through. Just like its predecessor, it moved me, terrified me, and made me love humanity - so scarce in humans - even more.

The Bell Jar

Author: Sylvia Plath

First published: 1963

Rating: ★★★★☆

This one is difficult to review... On one hand one cannot take away that the book is gut-wrenching and the author´s own mental illness gave her a unique position to describe depression and subsequent hospitalization (as it looked like back in the day). On the other hand, the first few chapters bored me and the casual racist remarks definitely irked me. I guess one has to understand this book is important in how mental health has been discussed (or not) and it drew attention to the issues previously not spoken in "polite" society.

House of Many Ways

Author: Diana Wynne Jones

First published: 2008

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Unfortunately, just the first book in this series was worth reading.

[awesomenessg]

‼️SPOILER ALERT FOR HELLUVA BOSS S2 E3 EXES AND OOHS‼️

I know this post is pretty late considering that the episode came out last Saturday and I apologize for that, but I still wanted to just make a nice quick and easy recap giving my overall thoughts.

But in short, omg this episode was fantastic! The entire time I felt like I was on a crazy roller coaster ride of emotions. I went from laughing, to crying, to laughing again, to being on the edge of my seat, and so much more. The deep emotional moments hit so hard for me. And it feels like the animation keeps getting better and better with every new episode. The fight scene near the end where Millie went off on a full-blown killing spree was the top tier highlight of the entire show's animation for me, even topping the fight scene from S1 E6 Truth Seekers imo, and that's saying a lot. What I also loved about that scene was that it shows just how powerful and a badass Millie can become when you anger her enough. You do not wanna be messing with her! >:) She is so protective of her husband, and you do not dare touch him or she will unleash her full fury out on you. And that scene really drove the point of the whole episode home that Millie and Moxxie's relationship is just so healthy and strong and not a force to be reckoned with. Not a single thing in Hell can tear them apart from each other.

And don't even get me started on this episode touching on Moxxie's backstory! When I said I was crying at one point in this I was not joking. I already had a feeling that his dad Crimson was not somebody to be trusted before this episode came out, but holy shit, I was not at all prepared to see just how evil and vile this character truly is. He is not only homophobic, sexist, and abusive to his own child, but the fact that he had the gall to straight up murder his own wife??!! Yeah... he's officially at the top of my list for worst Helluva Boss character now. Geez and I thought Stella was horrible, but Crimson has got even Stella beat at this point. And poor Moxxie did not deserve having to grow up in such a hostile environment and go through all that trauma. By the looks of the very end of the episode it seems like this won't be the last time we'll be seeing Crimson. This seems to be a set up for him to be a returning villain and I am all here for it.

As much as I didn't like Chaz because of him being an f-boy who sleeps around and just a really cringy character overall, I have to give credit where it's due and say that he was written very well and I do love his design and voice actor. Though I'm gonna be completely honest, part of me was kinda relieved that he got killed off at the end lol I just did not enjoy watching this selfish arrogant horny dude who was all talk and no show try to interfere with M&M's precious marriage.

Oh yeah and one other thing, why is nobody else talking about how Moxxie is such perfect bisexual representation? 💗💜💙 Being bi myself I just couldn't help but feel so seen the moment he confirmed it. Loona has always been my favorite character since the very beginning, but after this episode, I think Moxxie might just be a close second (and also because he's voiced by my all-time favorite voice actor Richard Horvitz).

Now the only thing that disappointed me about this episode was that Loona was barely in it at all. I was really hoping for more Loona moments, I missed seeing my baby wolf girl so much! 😢

So to sum this all up, I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. It was definitely worth the long wait. This show has not yet once failed to impress me. I hope it continues to head in the right direction and I cannot wait for the next episode! ❤️🖤🤍😈

[saistreight]

Had one of the weirdest, but oddly personal-ish experience last Sunday at the local club. Long Post ahead.

Anyway, so standard weekly goth night on Saturday followed up by a sort of extension on Sunday- featuring a local musician.

I wasn't even sure at the time if I'd end up going out on a Sunday, but I figured I could just make it a low effort sort of affair and show up just to see if there's anyone I already knew. And also to dance a little- key word there. Little- before ending the weekend off like that since I wouldn't be able to go to goth night the week after.

I show about an hour after opening, which was already earlier than usual because it's a Sunday. There's cameras on the dancefloor so... no dancing for the moment and from the lack of familiar faces I'd figured most people there were all related to the local musician that was performing.

His performance goes fine and more people have come in at this point, but at the same time the people that came for the musician were all leaving. The cameras came off the dancefloor too, leaving it open.

Things to know about the 7 ish people that were left:

1. I knew pretty much all of them by face if not by name. Except for one dude.

2. The people left, that were not staff or the musician who was lingering around, were all regulars- particularly ones known for enjoying dancing.

The bar was dead at this point, but the resident dj who is also the bar owner, offered to play music for a little longer, with certain conditions. As most everyone who came for the bar part of the venue had left, the building would be closed and we would have to exit through the backdoor. And then we could all each make a request that I assume the dude would tried to honor if it was possible.

By some of the other's own words and by the dj's words, it was pretty much a full on private dance party held in the club venue- club speakers, club lights and disco ball, but room enough for 6 people on the dancefloor to do windmills if they really wanted.

I genuinely think it's one of the most fun nights I've had at that place so far- from the set that the DJ played to the ambiance to the familiar faces there.

The set leaned towards less popular tracks than the Saturday set- thankfully because if this was the second time this weekend (and countless times in the past weekends) I heard any Cure song off Disintegration or Cities in Dust or Love Will Tear Us Apart I think I would have bundled all 5 of my necklaces and thrown them at the man like some sort of black and silver shrapnel bomb. Not really, but I would be thinking it.

From the requests and from the DJ's own selection we had songs from Revolting Cocks to Twin Tribes to Nox Novacula to Alien Sex Fiend and classic Sisters of Mercy. The impromptu party lasted for about a little over 2 hours, with most of the group staying on the dancefloor the majority of the time.

Think there were always at least 4 people on the dancefloor. It was great watching everyone dancing and also being able to dance the entire time with so much space.

Highlights for me were definitely when the DJ spun Baby Turns Blue by Virgin Prunes, Spirit by Dead Can Dance, and Under The Milky Way by The Church. And then when my friend requested, Beers, Steers, and Queers.

Baby Turns Blue is pretty high on my list of favorite goth songs in general and I'd literally just told the man that fact the night before at the end of Saturday's club night. Did I make a face at him from across the club when he played it again? Yes. Yes I did.

Spirit was a song that I'd been listening to for the past few months as my overall tastes started leaning more ethereal and it is always a treat when Dead Can Dance plays, since it's a one song from them once a month sort of vibe, since it's not exactly clubbing music. Plus it was my third request. Didn't have Saraband by Corpus Delicti, Persephone by Cocteau Twins was not with the dude at that time, but he sure did have a lot of Dead Can Dance.

Under The Milky Way because it was the soundtrack to how I made friends with another regular at the club when I dragged her onto an empty dancefloor just to dance to this song. It also gets relatively frequent play at the end of the night when the club is a little emptier and it's always felt a bit sentimental.

Beers, Steers, and Queers was just funny to me, as a queer person. Apparently formative to my friend, a classic to her (she's a lot older than me).

The night definitely ended later than... initially planned. I'd also asked the day prior what the hours for the event were going to be and the idea was to end 11 and maybe 12. But, by the time 10 rolled around, it turned into the private dance party and ended around 12:15 instead.

One of the regulars was moving away too, she'd said then and I finally got her name after seeing her at a few other events in the local scene.

It's definitely going to be one of the weekends that'll stand out when I look back on it in the future.

(( And it just so happens to be the one weekend out of the past month or two that I didn't crimp and tease my hair and do full makeup for the club night. jkjk, the fact that it was fun is enough for me in the end ))

In hindsight, I wish I'd gotten a photo of all of us that were at the party. As a memento to keep after the fact, but suppose a written account will have to do for when the memories start to get blurry.

[septembersghost]

jesssssssss.....I am unwell. She really DID THAT. SHE GAVE US A SONG BECAUSE WE ASKED. I love AOTG. I am gate keeping her from tiktok( I don't think its possible). Do you think she's gonna chart? Maybe not 1 or anything but top 10?. I feel like it's a strong possibility. This version is much more clear and GOOD. Remember when I said I will scream into your inbox if anything happens? THIS IS THAT MOMENT. IAM IN MY FEELS ALL OVER AGAIN. SHE LOVES AND RESPECTS HIM SM ITS NOT EVEN A DEBATE. Hearing Taylor sing 'some dude whose name I can't even remember ' in 2023 is too much. AND THAT CHUCKLE. SHE IS KILLING ME. I HATE HER('and by hate I mean love). I am soo so so excited.

I TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULD COME BACK AND SCREAM!!!!! AHHHHH HI BESTIE I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HAPPY AND THAT WE HAVE THIS MOMENT AND THE SONG 🥰 the fact that taylor does these things specifically for us will never stop bringing me to tears.

we KNEW it was fantastic from the leak, but the official studio version highlights how perfect the song really is. her voice, the melody, the production, the sweetness of it, i am OBSESSED. the way you call me baby, treat me like a lady...it's so coy and euphoric and assured, i actually think she's coming from an even more confident and contented place with it now, and you can hear it emanating from her voice. she's so thankful for everything they went through, everything that brought them together, how it may have hurt but faded away when their hands intertwined. BUT I LOVE YOU MORE!!!

also my baby lover getting the RESPECT AND ADORATION SHE DESERVES, WE KNOW THAT'S RIGHT

it's so so good, pop taylor at her quintessential best imho, and SERVING vocals. i'd love nothing more than to see it chart and become a hit (and prove yet again that lover era will always be elite and remembered 😌💖). I HAVE ALL OF THE FEELINGS, the love she feels is so beautiful and i'm so grateful that she's found that, and it's a little breathtaking to me sometimes thinking about what their invisible string has given us because we have all of this phenomenal music. my heart could burst, i love her and you and the nights when we get to share excitement like this.

[cryptid-killjoy]

Valentine’s Day for the other Laveaus aka “The Growed Up Kids.” Also Meaning - Cinderella’s Death Date and Abandonment Anniversary Era For What Used to be Celebrated as Their Parents’ Anniversary. 

Scout

Scout has a lot of support. She’s surrounded by a new family after the “Series of Unfortunate Events” if one could even call it that anymore. 

She wouldn’t. 

The fact she’s moved on seemingly so well doesn’t mean this doesn’t affect her like Cinderella never existed. She’s a very good chameleon like Flotsam used to be and perhaps Valerie tries to be sometimes. It reveals itself in less than obvious ways. 

The way she deals with the loss of her father Jetsam is seen in her clothes, her makeup, her language, and her music. It’s seen in her attitude more often than is caught. Her teachers have given her a few side eyes and wonder where the Hell a nice child came up with a mouth like that all of a sudden because it doesn’t stream like a fountain. 

But with Cinderella it’s a hard place to stand in. It’s not like never knowing your mom like Flotsam. It’s not like she just up and died like Koda. Grief was natural, but betrayal of the family - leaving that duffle bag of money and disappearing - Then dying? It was hard because the good memories still existed. But that’s what made the betrayal that much worse. If everything was so fucking bad then how dare you stay this long to torture a child’s heart with memories like that just to make it more painful? 

Like if you really had problems from the start and couldn’t deal with her father from the get go why fuck? Why did she even bring her into this world? Why didn’t stop while she was ahead? How selfish was she? Did she think having a child would keep them together? Because it won’t. It didn’t. It never does. But her father always did call her stupid. Guess it was true. 

So how it affects Scout is the same mental issues her lovely “real mother” has, Valerie. She questions her existence. She questions her value especially now as she’s struggling in New Zealand and feeling like the outsider here. She clings like holy Hell to Thomas, she’s knows of two parents that left this family already. Cinderella and Jetsam. Okay, Jetsam died, but she’s not unaware of how Chip and Dale came about and how he and Cinderella ran off and left River. Elsa left too. That’s three even if she came back too. She’s heard stories of people leaving and coming back. Jetsam didn’t come to see her on the Day of the Dead. People can’t always come back. She’s sick of hearing but they came back. 

She’s got a big fuck that on her shoulder. 

She’s scared to be left behind. She’s scared to death to know who’s next? Because good memories don’t mean shit. She had those too with Cinderella and they’re fucking worthless now. She’s heard I’ll love you forever. Words are shit. Memories are shit. Smiles are shit. Everything can turn to ash in a second. That’s what Scout knows as well as Valerie now thanks to fucking Cinderella. 

So how did Valentineiversary Death Date go for Scout? Shitty. 

GoGo was the highlight. 

She walked through the motions of gift giving kids at school as mentioned before same as her parents and family as was tradition. 

But internally? 

A mess. All she’d really been doing since her and Thomas’s talk was thinking I don’t need anymore time. I wonder how long I have to pretend I’m thinking about it to make him think I’m really thinking this through so he doesn’t think I’m being a dumb rash teenager? If I do it will it matter? Does he want me to think about because he secretly hopes I change my mind? That way I can just eventually die and get the fuck out of everybody’s hair? Jokes on you dude. Mom sealed me to her. I’ll probably end up a ghost like River. Fuck. Did Mom forget that? She’s so caught up in being a wolf. Didn’t even invite me. What happened to we all die together? Fucking bitch. How’s that gonna happen if you don’t invite me? Then came the silent night tears with her eyes closed like the whole world is trying to leave her. 

But is this her regular thinking? No. This is the spiral brought on by all the emotions that went soaring on high triggered by V-day - ex-that - Dreaderellatines Day. 

Valerie might have found her peace in a new spouse but there were still some residual effects left behind even if they were hard to spot with kiddos that like to keep them well hidden. 

Also note: She doesn’t actually have her bag money. She switched it out for Monopoly money a long time ago. She keeps the bag and it looks full. No one ever snoops. She did while all the windows were shut and sleeping. She really thought someone might have snooped by now. It goes to show how much they stay out of each other’s business. (minus trying to steal her voodoo doll from Chip but it got destroyed in the fire which only proved Chip was teasing her his whole life and never put the magic on it or she’d be burned alive. He’d have never harmed his sister. It was always just a threat)

Damn she loves her brother 

That said some random people who buy Monopoly boards in Walmart are going to be very happy. 

Dale

Dale was far less active and more passive for once in his life. 

He had a lot going in his head with the whole Piper thing and walking that off still for a heart day. 

So besides anything mentioned before for general V-day stuff - how the death day affected Dale was general grouchiness. He’d have been giving short answers to people, not rude, but just rushed, and move it along type answers to get back to being by himself. 

He printed off a target of Cinderella’s face and XFuck’s face for old time’s sake and beat the shit out of them with a crowbar he wrote Zig on because the name Xigbar was stupid. Ended up saying something like “Stop beating yourself up. Stop beating yourself up.” Like an old school bully who kept making someone punch themselves. 

It didn’t make him feel much better. But it was something. 

So there wasn’t a great reaction or big to-do from Dale, but he’s still affected. He was always the one that held the most anger in about it. 

He still is. 

It’s only easing because he sees his mother and father now, Thomas and Valerie coming along so well, and Scout too. 

But as long as anyone’s affected and he knows his sister and brothers are, but his baby sis? Yeah, he’s never going to truly be settled. He just doesn’t know what to do about it. He’s just carrying it because beating the shit out of things until they cry mercy or die doesn’t make it go away with this one and that’s all he knows how to do. 

Chip

Chip’s big man on campus in his family. He’s got a lot to think about on Valentine’s Day. Lots of gals and kids to be paying attention to and give love to not to mention his siblings and Valerie and Thomas. 

For him that makes things different. Everything’s different for Chip. 

Everyone lost Jetsam and everyone can place this on how he behaved towards Flotsam near the end, how it got out of control with Valerie, and Chip finally made a call, but that’s not how he sees it. 

There’s a Cinderella element in this to him because he knows Savvy as Jet’s husband on earth through his father Flotsam and now he’s the vessel for this Jet’s husband. So, he’s closer to any of this than he ever was before. 

He knows in far more intimate detail there was no soap opera going on in his family’s household growing up about who loved, who left who as a child might have been led to believe for ease of understanding how their non-traditional family came about.  

He knows it was far more sinister. Plotted and controlled by Jetsam. 

He fucking knows and knows it’s because he hated Cinderella not loved her. Okay. He just saw Flotsam wasn’t going to let her go and chose a new route since killing might literally destroy his brother because contrary to popular belief Jetsam believed if he did all those really mean things to Flotsam he’d hate Cinderella after. It blew up in his fucking face and Cinderella never even knew it. She always missed how evil he was. Always. That’s how conniving Jetsam can be. 

At that point he knocked up the bitch with twins after proving to Flo she didn’t love him best. She ran away with him. He left Flotsam open to go for who his heart’s been bleeding for for years. He comes back. He drove Flotsam’s true love, the one that got away, Elsa away AGAIN????? That wasn’t in the plan. Eh fuck it. He already got some good shagging out of her. Good enough. Flotsam should really love him now AND HATE Cinderella. But no. Elsa fucked it by leaving. Flotsam went right back to Cinderella and forgave everything like okay? It blew Jetsam’s mind. What the fuck? Did Flo actually care about Cinderella or something? That’s how Jet’s mind worked. Like he didn’t get it. 

This is what Chip knows. So it is really hard for Chip to give a fuck about Valentine’s Death Day about a mom who cheated on River’s dad first, who his own dad did not love in the slightest when they procreated to have him, and was trying to get rid of her by creating him, and only married into it all because Flotsam did. Then she turned around and abandoned them all especially after River’s dad forgave the first time she left him whether they want to call it cheating or not he does. Chip sees it how he wants to see it. Flotsam forked his eye out. Surely that was not something mutual. 

So the fact he sees Valerie good this year helps him be good. River’s dad. His dad. They both mean a damn lot to him. Thomas is the best thing that ever happened so far since but Chip’s got his every watchful guarded eye. He’s Chip. The protector. He’s always been the one making the rounds of Laveau property even back then. He watches out for everyone. 

 Of course he loves Thomas. More than he can express. He doesn’t mind the others calling him dad. It’s a little harder for him to go there when he has direct access to Jet more often than the others. He lives a different life. He almost feels guilty about it when he thinks Valerie and Jet being separate might be negative instead of helpful. He realizes it has it’s pros and cons now. 

So mostly Death Day for him brought up quiet contemplation of the current events, situations, and of his own part in it all. Due to that though, with the effect everything has on others he’ll continue to blame the one person not here to defend themselves and not care because in conclusion no matter how much better things have turned out - he stands - it could have reached this moment from a different path - and it’s Cinderella’s fault it had to be this hard on everyone.  

Chip knows everything from being one with Savvy who’s been in Flo and married to Jet. He’s so close to everything all he can think of by the end of his contemplation is Good fucking riddance. 

He’s got better people to spend his time Valentine-ing about. 

He does have however the same little worry for Scout Dale does. He’s a big brother. He can’t help it. He doesn’t have the aggression about it like Dale. He’s got a full plate though. If there was someone to snipe he would. There’s not. They’re already dead. As Chip sees it it’s as done as it can get. He can’t do much about the residual effects. It’s too long term to predict and out of his hands. If he sees something he could help he would. He made that decision long ago. No more fucking around. No more second chances no offense to Maddy or Elsa he loves them both, but he’s been watching and to him gambling on any more rare few aren’t worth the damage caused by the ones that will fuck up their chances by him giving out too many. No more bullshit. Not if he’s involved. 

That’s where Chip’s at. Everyone can thank Cinderella for that. He can link her to every bad thing that’s ever happened to every person he knows in his family, from their ideals, the way they used to think because of her, decisions they never would have made because they were raised by her, the list goes on. Even people they’ve dated, or their partners would never have been compared to and judged by Cinderella’s life similarities first. Cinderella effects everything they all touch and everything that has touched the Laveaus. The boy’s got a grudge. Chip has a chip if you will. 

He’ll be spending Valentine’s with his wives getting lots of sex not commemorating D-day. 

River

He’s a ghost yo

He’s so not thinking about it

He’s in stagnant mode yes, but that is not what he’s stagnant on about

His brain is more stuck on I need to spend time with Valerie. I need to protect Valerie. I need to make Valerie proud. Thomas too. Yes, Elsa too. But, mostly Valerie/Flotsam/Thomas. Family. It’s all wrapped up in a primordial soup of details as the only reason for his daily existence. 

Yes, he can think back on the past. Of course he can. But, he doesn’t dwell. His inner landscaping doesn’t work that way anymore. He’s so focused on wanting to be this one thing he has tunnel vision now. 

He does have his memories but some can seem blurry now when it doesn’t apply to his ends now. Its like how Frollo never seems to stop focusing on being a pervy cad and unholy holy man on a power trip. It’s his thing. He can’t be anything else. Well, now River has a thing that strong too. 

So he’s not so affected by Valentine’s Day in this context about the death day - only might be if a family brought it into his existence and forced him go back into that part of his life for them to fulfil his goals of being super brother now. He won’t be triggered otherwise. And this year no one brought it to him so he wasn’t. 

He did sit next to Scout’s bed when she cried with her eyes shut in the middle of the night from the veil - all ghosty - she never knew it. He just had no idea why she was crying. He can’t read her mind. But he did not leave her alone. 

Summary - Dale and Scout are affected the most. River is least affected. Chip nah. He’s gonna be fine. He’s too close to Jetsam and Savvy not to be. Dale has anger management and trust problems he’s not letting go of over it. Why the fuck you think this boy don’t want a commitment in girlfriendland? Scout has serious abandonment issues.