#especially now that all of the kids are in their 20s and therefore we don't even get a kids table

[mothmans-cumrag]

Jesus Christ I hope to fuck this is the last 85th birthday I attend without a partner

[opinated-user]

as always, let me make one of my lists to respond to each part i marked in red. 1. "a groomer". i have proof of LO grooming someone. here and here in all of these flirty interactions ginger was a minor, 17 at her oldest and 15 at her youngest, while LO was a fully grown adult past her 20 who did absolutely nothing to put any kind of boundary. i don't care that ginger wouldn't call this grooming. i don't care what kind of relationship ginger has with LO now. letting a child to flirt with you, ask you that kind of suggestive question, to be aware about your sexual preferences and still interact openly with them, no caring about them being a minor, is grooming. there's not nuance to be had here. LO was the adult. it was her responsability to stop all of this and she didn't. that's why she's a groomer.

2. "a racefaker". i have proof of that too. LO's own words. the fact that she was never in close relationship with her grandpa nor ever bothered to reach out to her aunt, who is a respected and very still alive member of the Nation, an activist for indigenous issues. the fact that she'd disrespect her "heritage" as to claim that a cheap trinket literally created by a white colonizer was a "family heirloom" left by that grandpa, and still decided to use that while stripping for youtube, quite literally sexualizing this supposed "heritage" of her. i still have the screenshot of that one, LO. do you want me to share it again? the fact that she'll openly admit she never contacted anyone from that Nation and has no intention whatsoever to actually participate of that culture, no intentions of even being part of that community, making any claim of "wanting to reclaim my heritage" utterly meaningless. 3. LO is calling "murder" when Courtney defended herself from a pregnant woman that attacked her in a shelter and later misscarried, although neither LO or Courtney know for sure if the assault caused the misscarriage. Courtney was mentally unstable and was attacked. he defended himself. LO has said before that the only way to deal with bullies was to grab the heaviest object you could find and beat them with it. when you beat people with heavy stuff, they tend to get hurt. but now it's a bad thing to do just that, when she can use it against the sibling that is accusing her of molesting them for almost a decade since they were children.

oh, and i guess we're meant to also forget that LO also threatened a pregnant woman with a knife made by her. twice. on the same day. "but those are all Courtney's word". exactly. the defending themselves from that woman is also Courtney's words. nobody would know about it if Courtney didn't say it. so... what? are we meant to take Courtney's word seriously only when it comes to bad things that they did years ago, that nobody can confirm, but conveniently put all of the doubt of the world whenever it comes to talk to the things LO did? no, you don't get to do that. you don't get to play that card. either we believe Courtney's words or we don't. you don't get to pick and choose which parts were totally real and totally happened and which are lies just to get attention, especially when those "lies" just so happened to be the most convenient for you. so let's imagine that Courtney did lie about you in order to get attention. why are you suddenly believing her about this? for all you know, she's lying about that too to get attention again.

4. "molestation". oh. oh. so now it's bad when a child touches another? so now that's evil? now that's molestation? when it was about LO touching Courtney it was all about "i was 7, no, 6, i mean 5, therefore you can't hold me accountable for that, you can't hold that against me as an adult, i was horrifically abused" and "even if i did that, i was a kid, even if i did, it was only because i was abused, even if..." when LO is the one touching Courtney as a child, we can't hold that against her because they were kids and "even if i did that", she was abused. we conveniently leave out the part in which LO continued to do that for years, almost an entire decade, everytime this comes up. you can't hold kid LO accountable for molesting and coercing her younger sibling because they were kids, because "even if i did that" LO was abused anyway. but Courtney touching a child when they were a child and stopping out of their own volition is molestation, something you do have to hold against the 30 year old person of today. even though Courtney also claims to have been horrifically abused by people who weren't even LO. no, coming from them, that's evil. when Courtney is the one doing it. just like you can't blame a 6 year old kid for anything wrong ever, but you absolutely can blame 6 year old Courtney for not stopping an adult predator from abusing kid LO, even though back them they didn't had the words, the power or the knowledge to do anything about what was happening to them. again, you can't pick and choose which parts of Courtney's stories are true and which are lies when those "lies" conveniently are the parts that paint you in a bad light. for the record, again, in case anyone was wondering. no, i'm not going to actually blame a 30+ year old adult for something they did as a kid barely older than a toddler. if you want me to do that, i don't know what to tell you. your age doesn't even have two digits, some kids didn't even learned to speak at that age, so many can't go to the bathroom alone. if LO had only touched Courtney when they were that small and then stopped out of their own volition, my tone would be a lot different when speaking about this. kids do stupid things, they hurt each other all the time because they don't know what they're doing, and that's talking about children without any history of CSA. when you do add CSA, it gets even more complicated. but LO didn't stop. LO continued on until she was physically unabled to keep going. she continued on fully knowing what she was doing and tried to groom Courtney into "consenting" to it. not happy enough with that, LO then continued to keep fantasizing about a kid version of her sister who would have consented. she continued on to romanticize incest, going so far as to actually defend it as a whole in videos. she continued on to groom a minor to later date her. she continued on to normalize sexualizing herself for her audience that she fully knows has minors. she continued on to put the minors on her audience at risk by not dennouncing predators who're quite literally targetting minors. i bet you thought i forgot about that one, LO. i bet you thought that we'd all forgot about that time we spend days begging you to dennounce sparky and you did nothing, simply because sparky was feeding you the narrative that you wanted the most at the time. this happened this year alone, LO. this year, with you as a fully grown 31 year old woman. that's where you can't blame abuse anymore. all of that was a choice that LO took and one she deserves to be called out for. also... how interesting that when LO is the one being accused of molestation, that's only more evidence that she was abused so she's blameless in the whole situation. but when Courtney is the one doing it, that's no sign of any abuse she went through. that's not more reason to believe him when it comes to what Cameron did to it. no, it was evil. simply because. because Courtney "never suffered anything", right?

are people seriously not seeing how blatantly convenient this narrative is? do i really need to come out and point out the obvious double standard?

5. LO suddenly caring about hypocrisy, ngl, is just hilarious. the same woman who spent years telling people that she doesn't care if she's an hypocrite, as long she's right. the same woman who has insisted over and over again that accusations of being "hypocrites" mean nothing because that doesn't contradict what they actually said.

but now it does, when the "hypocrites" are accusing her of knowingly hurting and abusing people as a fully conscious older person. futhermore, what hypocrisy even? none of us truly accused kid LO of being a monster of pure evil who was acting out of pure malice. that was never a thing. we accused the adult LO and teen LO of doing things that she knew were wrong and harmful to other people. we accused the adult LO of grooming, of lying, of abusing, of being a horrible person when by all means she should know better by now. i have lost count of how many times me and other people in this blog have said that LO didn't deserve to suffer the abuse she went through as a child, that we do feel for that kid that could have end up a lot better if only they were placed in a better home, if they received actual help. we always felt for that little kid who was broken and hurt before they could even understand what was happening to them. both Courtney and LO. this is not saying that we're beyond fault or "virtuous" in any kind of way, because that's just basic normal human compassion. anyone should feel bad when hearing about children being abused because no children ever deserves that. not condemming an abused child for acting in the same way many abused children do, when they don't have an actual idea of what they're doing, is not hypocresy. it's just sad and painful.

6. "there has never been an accusation against me that wasn't anything but hearsay". but when it's an archived video of you saying the things we accuse you of saying, it's AI. when it's an archives, it's still lies. when Patch literally has a bunch of receipts about you paying him for zoophilic artwork and his screenshots clearly show your discord username, that's still lies. when i can show screenshot of you stripping with that "family heirloom" for youtube and anyone can clearly see it's your face, that's still lies. when we have video evidence of you doing the thing we accuse you during streams (like emotionally abusing your wife), that doesn't matter. the evidence is out there. our blogs are filled to the brim with it. end of story.

7. "i have never done a damn thing wrong my entire life"

there she goes again, overcompensating in her attempt to present herself better than she is. it is overcompensating because everyone has done things wrong in their life. everyone. you're not a bad person for doing a thing wrong in your life, you're just a person learning to live in this world. but LO can't have that, she has to be the biggest victim in the room, the goodest one possible, and everyone can only be irredeemable monsters that only deserve death. this is so nakedly telling, it's just funny.

[black-arcana]

MATTHEW GREYWOLF Talks POWERWOLF's 'Once-In-A-Lifetime' Ascension To Become One Of Europe's Top Metal Bands

By David E. Gehlke

Leave it to Europe and Scandinavia to produce the bands to take over when metal's legendary core of IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and METALLICA call it a day. Germany's POWERWOLF and Sweden's SABATON are legitimate arena and festival headliners across the pond, solving what is now a regular issue for Stateside promoters: Who can headline outdoor amphitheaters and large arenas once the old guard is gone? SABATON got the early jump on POWERWOLF in North America, but the Germans are slowly gaining ground after a quick run of sold-out shows last fall. They will return in August with a full slate of dates in the territory with UNLEASH THE ARCHERS in support.

Therefore, the timing of POWERWOLF's ninth studio album, "Wake Up The Wicked" appears to be prudent. Perhaps not as over-the-top as some of their previous efforts, "Wake Up The Wicked" still exudes all of the POWERWOLF trademarks, but does it in a more efficient manner, thus explaining why it's their most effective release in a decade. Here to chat it up with BLABBERMOUTH.NET is guitarist Matthew Greywolf, who sounds like a man with his two feet planted firmly in the ground.

Blabbermouth: POWERWOLF made it to North America last year. Can you share the experience?

Matthew: "It was amazing. [Laughs] It's not only that Americans have waited; we have waited as well! We were really eager to tour the U.S. and it finally came true. We were really excited about it. Well, it couldn't have been better. We were overwhelmed by how we had been welcomed. Usually, touring the country for the first time is an adventure. You don't know what's going to happen or how people will react. But, I think from the first minute of the first show, we felt, 'Wow. This is amazing.' There was a very direct connection to the audience. The audience was very communicative. We enjoyed ourselves a lot."

Blabbermouth: Did you have any idea that the turnout would be like this?

Matthew: "I mean, we knew in advance that some of the shows were sold out within a few days, which was amazing. It even raised our excitement. Still, we've never been there, and you don't know whether it's going to click. Will the audience and the band connect? It was perfect. It was such a good time there. Then, we had a fantastic schedule when we came over. We went sightseeing in different cities for a few days. We enjoyed the entire trip."

Blabbermouth: The new album coincides with the band's 20th anniversary. Has it felt like 20 years? Is that a hard number to wrap your head around?

Matthew: "It feels like it hasn't been 20 years. [Laughs] It feels like it's been five years. It's been a super-busy 20 years. We've always been into the next project, so to say. We never looked back. When people tell us we've been around for 20 years, we go, 'You must be kidding!' But it's been 20 fucking years. [Laughs] But, no, we're busy all the time. It still feels like we're starting, even though 'Wake Up The Wicked' is our ninth album."

Blabbermouth: Moving over to the new album, where did you want to go musically? What did you have in mind when writing?

Matthew: "It's more direct and natural than the previous albums, especially the last one, 'Call Of The Wild', which was a pretty bombastic album with lots of orchestration. This time, we wanted to let the basics talk. One of the first songs we had written is the opening song, 'Bless 'Em With The Blade'. It's a very straightforward, very fast metal song that does not need any add-ons or larger-than-life orchestration. It's a statement song: This is the band, this is the energy. It's actually one of the songs we enjoyed so much when writing that it really gave a bit of attitude and direction for the rest of the songwriting."

Blabbermouth: Was it difficult to resist the bombastic side?

Matthew: "It was refreshing. [Laughs] This doesn't mean I dislike the albums where we had more orchestration. Still, 'Wake Up The Wicked', all the ingredients are still there. Falk Maria's [Schlegal, keyboards] orchestrations are still there. But it's done more dynamically. When the band is talking, let the band talk. When the orchestration is talking, give the orchestration a spot instead of piling up everything at the same time. That easily happens when you start working with these kinds of ingredients. On 'Wake Up The Wicked', we managed just to find the right balance. It makes the album more dynamic and raw.

"Falk loves to run around onstage in the live situation. So, he's almost begging me to bring passages to the songs where there's no organ and orchestration. That way, he has the time to run to the front of the stage and cheer on the audience. [Laughs] He's definitely not the keyboardist who wants to be busy all the time or tries to bring in more and more elements. There's no egos involved. It's like, 'Give the song what the song demands.'"

Blabbermouth: What made "1589" the right choice as the first single?

Matthew: "The storytelling approach of the song made it the song that was predestined to have a video. In the video, we really tell the story of the werewolf trail of Peter Stump. It was kind of a bold decision to take; let's say it's the slowest song on the album. It's the 'ballad' of the album. Having it as the first single is kind of, well, not the most typical choice. But we thought it was interesting. [Laughs] We thought, 'Let's confuse people a little bit and bring a more epic and slow storytelling kind of song.' That was done instead of taking the obvious choice, which is the opening song that blasts out a lot of energy. I feel like the song is very well received. People do enjoy the storytelling approach of the song. It's nice to tell the story with the song. We haven't done such a thing before."

Blabbermouth: The story of Peter Stump felt like a very POWERWOLF kind of topic.

Matthew: "Most of our lyrics and entire visual and conceptual approach is definitely based on a fantasy world. It's quite unusual to have some historical events in songs or songs about historical events such as '1589' or 'Joan Of Arc'. It felt like the right time to enrich our world a bit by telling some historical stories. We just enjoyed a lot. Every now and then, things like this happen. We just let it happen. There's no closed world to POWERWOLF. It felt refreshing to do that."

Blabbermouth: It reminds me of the cover you recently released of "Bark At The Moon" by Ozzy Osbourne. Where did that cover come from?

Matthew: "That was my idea. I was a huge Ozzy fan. When I started playing guitar, I was all about Ozzy and Randy Rhoads. They were my heroes. I just wanted to do it like them. But I'll say that it was a bit risky for me. I'm so much in love with the way Ozzy performs these songs. It was like, 'Let's give it a try, but I'm not sure if we'll enjoy ourselves,' but we did! It's not easy to cover an Ozzy song and do it justice. But I remember when Attila [Dorn, vocals] came to the studio and performed the song. It's like, 'Wow. He really has something to say about the song.' There's no such singer as Ozzy, but he made the version his own. That's what really got me then."

Blabbermouth: Are you a Jake E. Lee fan?

Matthew: "When you name the legendary eras, it's never going to be this one. But I love the songs. There are so many good songs. There's 'Shot In The Dark'. Jake's era has good songs. I also really like Jake E. Lee's guitar playing, but maybe Randy Rhoads's footsteps were larger than life. I enjoy all eras of Ozzy's career."

Blabbermouth: You and SABATON share some similarities, both in terms of your gradual rise in popularity and the fact that you both are self-managed. How is that working out?

Matthew: "We have been a do-it-yourself band, and we still are. It's kind of a challenge. The bigger the band grows, of course, there are so many aspects to be covered and so many things to consider. We refuse to let things out of our hands. I'm pretty convinced you never should. If you really want to make sure that the vision as a band gets realized in the way you want, then you have to do it yourself. It's as simple as that. The more people who are working on things, the more the vision gets blurred. That's why, for us, it's super-important to be in charge of everything. It can be a pain in the ass for people working with us. No matter the cost, you have to maintain your vision. For a band like POWERWOLF, our visual aspect is very important. We want it to be exactly like we have it in our minds. The only way to make sure it happens is to make it yourself. We get help here and there, of course. But we're involved in literally everything. The merch, the stage design — anything. And it's passion. To me, of course, writing and performing new music comes first. That's why we're a band. But I love all the side aspects. I love designing merchandise or being involved in every little detail of the tour production. It's really exciting. I always consider a gift to be able to take part in all these processes."

Blabbermouth: You've put in the work

Matthew: "We have. And what we've experienced is a dream come true — a once-in-a-lifetime thing. We're super grateful for that. We're happy to put in all the work and all the passion."

[cowboyjen68]

Hi Jen! I recently turned 30 and have never been in a relationship

In highschool and university I was more focused on school and extracurricular activities, and relationships didn't interest me all that much. Looking back I think it was because I didn't realize I was a lesbian, and the idea of dating boys didn't seem appealing. And maybe others saw that, as I was never asked out (by any gender), and to my knowledge, no one ever took interest in me.

In my early-20s I became interested in dating once I figured out my sexuality, and tried a few dating apps and meeting new people. But nothing really came from it. I have zero experience in dating and flirting, and I have no idea what it's like to be romanced or flirted with. Just like in highschool and university, no one had ever asked me out or seem genuinely interested in me. The older I get and the more Valentine's day I see passing by as a single person, the less hopeful I feel.

It sounds silly and stupid, but I feel like I'm unlovable. Can't see a future where someone falls in love with me, and vice versa; it's so easy to just give up the hope that this loneliness will end.

I don't know what I'm asking for here - reassurance that I'm not alone in this? reassurance that I will be OK being alone? Are there others who went through similar situations and found happiness?

On a different topic: where did you get your rainbow frog necklace? I study frogs and have tried looking for that necklace everywhere.

Thank you so much!

The only dating I did in high school was with one boy whom I met at a campground one summer. He was perfect because I was not interested but also wanted to look like I liked boys. He lived about 40 minutes away and was a farm kid so our time together was very limited. It saved me from having to constantly make up excuses like “I am sick” or “I can’t kiss because I have a cold sore starting”. Any time we were together I ducked and dodged his advances and he was a gentleman about it, never pushing my boundaries. 

In college I finally admitted I liked women but was nowhere near confident enough to come out. I dated one boy, on one date and never was asked again, by man or woman which was disheartening on some level BUT also a relief because I was having fun with my friends (who were all dating off and on) and was not ready for any sort of relationship. I definitely didn’t want a boy asking me and girls scared the hell out of me. I have been told by many of my older lesbian (and some younger) friends that being intimidated by women, especially those we find attractive or interesting, is normal and expected for many of us. 

Lesbians are often way behind in dating etiquette and practice simply because we often don’t date in high school or college (at least not anyone we want to). We wait until young adulthood and independence to wade into the dating pool. Lacking dating or relationship experience seems more prevalent the older we are. But I have noticed some of the “in the middle” lesbians (30 to 40ish)  are really struggling with finding each other, dating and feeling confident enough to ask others out. It seems a fair amount of my friends find themselves single after a long relationship (often their first serious one) in that age bracket OR are just now coming out as “late in life lesbian” and have no idea how to even get started. 

I would say you are in good company no matter the reasons you haven’t been in a relationship. You could be dealing with any number of obstacles but the good news is you can handle them. You might be a bit intimidating, either from your stature or your confidence. You might be just limited in the amount of women you are exposed to therefore your dating pool is a bit stifled. Or you maybe just haven’t had the luck of meeting someone who was the right person at the right time. 

As per usual I would suggest getting to lesbian/women events. Try women’s festivals or local concerts featuring women singers or entertainers. These events will attract a wide array of lesbians and bi women and at least you could meet some more like minded women.  Just ask. If you see a woman at the gay bar or at a non profit fundraiser or at a concert, say hello and introduce yourself. At worst they aren’t interested and you have lost nothing but a minute. You might not end up on a date but you could make a new friend. 

The beauty of women’s festivals is that almost everyone there is lesbian or bi (not all but for once we are in the majority). AND it is perfectly acceptable to meet and make friends and the more you expand your friend circle the better for you. Many women meet compatible partners through other friends. 

Dating apps are an option. I can’t speak for them because I have not used one but I hear they are loaded with people looking for one night stands etc, which does not seem like what you are looking for at this stage in your life. So while they are an easy way to meet others looking to date you might have to wade through a lot of muck to find someone worthy of your time and energy.

It never hurts to ask friends to keep their eyes open. They might assume you are happily single and therefore don’t say anything but you never know who they know. You can do this and you will be fine. It just might take a little work putting yourself out there on social media, dating apps and at events. 

The necklace was made for me by my friend Weird Dan who was an artist and leathersmith. IT had to be reconditioned with new leather and some repair on the beads over covid. My girlfriend at the time found this little frog charm so when the repair was done I had it placed in the center. I have not taken it off for years except for the repairs. You can google “frog charm” or “antique silver frog charm pendant”  and some will come up. It is nothing expensive but I love it all the more because of who gave it to me. 

Remember  You deserve someone who has mutual passion and love for you. Don’t rush, don’t settle and be honest with yourself and you will be okay.

[redlightspellsdaanger]

20 Questions for Fic Writers - Big thanks to the mega fabulous @kaossbells for tagging me!  

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 

22 (look at that, Jenson's racing number...) 

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 

635,019

3. What fandoms do you write for? 

Only F1 now. In the past I've mostly written for Muse. I've also written for BBC Sherlock. I have been writing since I was a kid, though, so there was a lot of stuff that didn't even make it online, let alone to AO3 lol 

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

Dance Me To The Moon (F1 / Sebastian Vettel), Zero Minus Ten (Muse), Everything of Nothing (Muse), Never Dream of Dying (Muse) and Resistance (Muse) 

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? 

Absolutely. Unfortunately it's very common that readers do not give the authors any feedback. So if someone goes out of their way to show any kind of support or, as some very kind people do, leave detailed reviews, I will be incredibly grateful and make sure to let them know. 

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? 

I often end my stories in a positive note, even the ones who have a vague or open ended finale. But I'd say a Muse one-off I wrote in 2009 called "Il Coma" was heavy for my standards. Also Never Dream of Dying, but that was part of a trilogy so not sure it counts. (well, the readers at the time were not pleased with the TBC, let's put it that way LOL)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? 

Currently, on AO3, I think Dance Me To The Moon. I don't want to spoil but it's a romance so.... haha  

8. Do you get hate on fics? 

I don't remember ever getting hate tbh.  

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? 

Oh, yeah. Lots. Ha. All kinds. M/M. F/M. Threesomes. I've done PWP. I've done kink. I've done romance. I've done dubious/non-con. I've (literally) written smut sitting in a church. I've gotten to the point where I'm sort of getting bored of writing it.  

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? 

Yes. I once wrote a Muse / BBC Sherlock crossover - Showbiz. It was incredibly fun to plot. It was well received, too, so I enjoyed that! The Mb-7 universe trilogy is also a crossover of sorts between Muse and Daniels Craig's James Bond, because characters such as M and Q feature.  

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? 

If I did, I never noticed.  

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 

I was once asked for permission for someone to translate a story, I felt very honoured! 

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

Yes, the whole MB-7 trilogy was co-written with one of my best friends. 

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship? 

In F1 I will have to say Sebastian with Jenson or with Mark. (although in reality I like him with everyone lol). But Mulder / Scully from The X Files and Matt Bellamy / Dom Howard from Muse are probably my OTPs.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? 

I don't really have WIPs because although I have a lot of ideas and have plotted things in detail that never materialised, I only start writing once I am 100% I will write it in full.

The only exception - and therefore a regret I never finished - is a sequel to the BBC Sherlock / Muse crossover. I wrote a few pages and sadly that was it.

16. What are your writing strengths? 

Hard for me to answer this. But I try to make the characters as realistic and true to life as possible. I also make it a point of having a decently structured plot.  

17. What are your writing weaknesses? 

Oh, god, where to start. I feel immediately restricted in how and what I write because my command of English (as second language) is not as good as I wish it would be. Then I'm also a very slow writer and edit endlessly. I tend to repeat ideas and certain expressions. I don't know, we could be here all day lol  

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? 

Very cool! I love languages and especially in F1 it's very fitting.  

19. First fandom you wrote for? 

It was a TV show and I don't remember the name, I was a kid. The first one I do remember was for an American band called Matchbox 20.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? 

This is SO hard to reply! I'm going to leave out one-shots (which kills me cos there is a few I still love) and mention only chaptered stuff:

Dance Me To The Moon (F1) because I never thought I'd be able to write a romance and I was so incredibly proud of myself, was fully emerged in it and I will carry these two with me for the rest of my life.

Resistance  (Muse) because it was the first time I wrote a novel length thriller that I felt had all I wanted and it was such an enjoyable process.

Everything or Nothing (Muse) because it was the first of the MB-7 trilogy, it was co-written, we adored our villain, the huge amount of nods to James Bond. And it kicked off a series with a level of plot intricacy that I will never be able to top.

Showbiz (Sherlock / Muse) because it was such a crazy crossover but I had so much fun dissecting Sherlock and I was very happy with the result.

Honourable nod to a figure skating fanfic I wrote with Alexei Yagudin / Michelle Kwan, years ago. It was self-indulgence of the greatest kind and I loved writing every word of it. I have no idea if it's online anywhere atm. I wish I could remember the title!

tagging @magnycours2004, and anyone who would like to participate!!!

[aikoiya]

LoZ - Gerudo Misandry Is Not Funny Or Okay

I find it really damn odd that so few people talk about misandry when they bring up the Gerudo or the societal norms of other Amazon-esque races.

And even when they do, it seems to always be done with a tone of levity behind it.

As if it isn't every bit as terrible as misogyny.

As if their biological situations don't make men absolutely vital to the continued existence of their people & culture.

So, treating men as less than is as terrible as men treating women the same.

And, honestly? I can't help but see this disregard by fans (especially the feminist fans) as very spiteful.

Like, how do these people not see how this isn't okay?

I mean, no wonder Ganondorf always ends up such a sack of shit!

Seriously girls, imagine what it would be like growing up the only female in a society of all guys.

No maternal figures, no female role models, no female friends, or even acquaintances. And you're unlikely to ever even see another woman until you reach 18-20.

Separated from the most important woman in your life at 3-6, if not birth. To be raised by a pair of warlocks who despise their neighboring kingdom & are intent on turning you into a vile, tyrannical witch.

And every guy around you knows nothing about actual women, just misogynistic stereotypes, so all you can do is apply those same stereotypes to yourself & there's just this general consensus that women are basically unnecessary beyond producing children.

They don't have a single clue about what it means to be a woman. They don't know anything about women's health. No one to explain things to you when you need them most. So, in the end, you're mostly left to figure it all out on your own.

And the only real examples of women you have are people that your adoptive fathers say are oppressing you & your people. So, all you can do is quietly just assume that all women = bad. And that includes you too.

So, all you can do is frantically do everything you can to make yourself useful to these people who, knowingly or unknowingly, look down upon others of your sex.

And therefore, unconsciously, you as well.

And you're expected to rule these people. To lead them into a golden age.

I can't even imagine how damn isolating it must be. I can't imagine the pressure. These are your people, yet even so, you are still alien to them. Still other. Still "not one of them."

And in many ways, a commodity.

Based entirely upon something that you have zero control of.

And upon reaching 18, you're likely used as a breeding mare.

And the only people who could ever truly understand your situation & the pressure that comes with it... are all dead...

Now, switch the sexes & you basically have every Gerudo Voe's reality.

It's no damn wonder that Ganondorf always becomes evil.

There's also the ridiculous superstition that "men bring about disaster."

And then we get into the detrimental affects this shit has on the Vai!

Look at how these women react to just seeing a dude!

And this chick can't even look a man in the eye!

Because, apparently, she's never even seen a real man in person before! So, Link has to freaking wear a full-face mask in order to get her to manage to speak to him!

And let's not even get into what the little Vai wear! The sirwal are fine, it's the tops that need to be changed.

Kids aren't supposed to show that much skin!

LoZ Cultural Masterlist 2

[meanlesbean]

For the WIP game 3, 18 and 11

For Cadence chapter 2:

3. Who's your favorite character for this chapter/fic?

So even though this fic is Twilight POV, and therefore very Twilight-centric, I am 100% writing this because I wanted more Time (including younger Time) content, and I have 20+ years of brainrot about Ocarina of Time to get outta me. So uhh my favorite LU boy is Time. by a longshot (lol). And that holds true for this fic. But the plot I came up with does not work at all with Time as the POV character, so it turned into a Twilight & Time relationship fic as well.

When it comes to the fic, it feels unfair to choose between Mask and Time, but I'll choose Mask because he is a delight to write. For this chapter in particular, I'll pick Hyrule, because he ended up with a lot of good dialogue.

11. What scene are you most hyped for this chapter/fic?

Previously answered, but I'll give you another. In the current outline for chapter 4 (estimate, don't hold me to this, chapter 3's outline is already so incredibly long) we have a Plot Critical Fishing Trip that I'm excited to write.

18. Share the scene you just wrote, written from another character’s POV.

Snippet of Mask's POV at the beginning of the Grown-Up Talk scene. Disclaimer that Mask should not be taken as a super reliable source for so many reasons, one being that he is 11. This also has zero editing so don't judge it too harshly. This now has some editing but nowhere near what I do for posted chapters. Anyway, bone apple teeth:

The one with the pink hair pulls the prissy guy away. “Finally,” Link mutters to Epona, and he gets about five full seconds to himself before there's another one taking prissy guy’s place.  

It’s the skinny kid, the only one with enough magic to cause a problem besides the wolf and him—the other one. Skinny kid's magic tastes like the waters from a fairy fountain. It’s rolling off of him in waves even though the healing session’s stopped, the tips of his fingers still glowing a faint green. He’s young, but he should have better control by now. 

Link unwinds another braid from Epona’s mane. Her coat and hooves look nice enough, but he’s going to have words with the wolf about mane lengths and stupid hairstyles. His fingers catch on another tangle. Maybe he should just cut her mane himself. 

The kid is talking at him now, but Link looks past him to the clearing’s edge where the wolf is arguing with pinky and prissy. It’s problem number two on his list, and not something he can deal with until he has a chance to talk with the other guy.

Problem number one is laying across the lap of the guy with the white cape. There’s no mistaking the sword even in its sheath. The guy is running his fingers over its etchings in a circular rhythm, back and forth, back and forth. Stupid, holding that sword like it’s some kind of security blanket. 

Unlike you?

Stupid, shut up. 

Something sharp flicks his forehead and drops in his lap. A still-green acorn sits in the curve of his tunic. He glares up at the skinny kid, gets another mouthful of fairy water, and flings the acorn back at his stupid face.

The kid dodges, but Link still gets him in the shoulder. Should’ve thrown it harder. 

“Fuck off,” he says.

Skinny kid smirks. “Managed to get your attention, didn’t I?”

“Managed to piss me off is what you did.” He sinks his fingers in the soil, clenches his teeth so he won’t start pulling up clumps of dirt and pelting him with it. 

“The rancher explained who we are, right?” the skinny kid asks.

“Yeah,” Link says. The dirt digs under his nails. He can feel the eyes of the other one on him. He wants a rock in his fist to throw, he wants to stop choking on fairy water, he wants to stick his hands in the ground and turn this whole clearing into an abyss, he—

He bites at the inside of his cheek until he tastes blood. 

Idiots, every single one of them.

And you?

Especially me, shut up.

The skinny kid is still talking. “You don’t want to learn about any of the other heroes?” 

Link can’t help but make a face. “No?”

[jacnaylor]

ok i have more svu thoughts (not as interesting as these thoughts on gender swap au)

basically, i know the format and i know we don't have time for these conversations. organized crime is essentially designed for an audience to be able to watch, for the most part, without much of the context from 1.0. most of the context for elliot's character is provided for you.

but this is my problem. you don't really get any of the background of bernie and the stabler kids other than eli. eli works as a character in oc because he was a baby in 1.0 and therefore can bring a new storyline easier than the others. if they were going to do a story with the other kids they would have to really delve into stuff that happened 20 years ago. BUT I WANT THEM TO!

the other stabler kids - maureen, kathleen and dickie especially (poor forgotten elizabeth :() had complicated childhoods. they had a father who, whilst he loved them, was mostly absent working a dangerous job. and you can see they really loved each other and the way he interacted with them when they were really little, but you lose that by the later seasons. kathy and stabler break up at one point. you have el having an emotional affair, the kids noticing enough of this for dickie to question him, think he may have cheated on their mother. kathleen especially has mental health problems. so there was a lot of chaos within the family. eli doesn't have that because they moved to italy soon after he was born. he got the good childhood. the others were late teenagers by that point.

so i wish they would delve into that more. the show seems to forget stabler has TWO sons. in all this work about reflecting on fatherhood, he doesn't reflect on his relationship with his adult son (and daughters). which is frankly such a missed opportunity to me. especially given that he doesn't seem that close with the older kids at this point in time.

also, they all now have a fairly close relationship to bernie. now this obviously doesn't take into account that for most of their childhood's the family was estranged from her. again, this is context only long time viewers would have, as in the last decade elliot's relationship with bernie has completely changed. so the older kids didn't have grandparents for most of their formative years (aside from kathy's side). are we ever going to talk about any of this. elliot's estrangement informs his grown up children's almost estrangement.

AND if you compare all of this to stabler having SIBLINGS!!! THE CHILDHOOD OF THE FIRST GENERATION OF STABLER SIBLINGS INFORMS THE SECOND!! especially if you compare joe jr to eli, the later child who is much younger and doesn't always have the same context for things within the family dynamic. like please why won't this show talk about this!!! the older children shielding eli from what was going on when they were younger, much like randall shielding elliot and joe

also i've said it before but i'd love for elizabeth to have a storyline. like eli she didn't really get one in 2.0 so they could easily do something with that.

[cityoftheangelllls]

Soooooo the Mario movie was awesome! Definitely the best movie-going experience I've had since Spiderman No Way Home! Illumination really outdid themselves and I think that this has to be the best movie they've done, even more so than the first two Despicable Me movies and Sing! And I can tell they and Nintendo put so much effort into this and making it a giant fan to Mario fans everywhere, from the kids to those who have been there from the beginning. It wasn't perfect (I mean, what movie is, and is there really such a thing as perfection?) but it was still a lot of fun!!!!

Below is what I loved about the movie and what I felt could have been better! Just a heads-up, there ARE spoilers. Even though it has pretty much the typical storyline of most Mario games and is therefore somewhat predictable, I don't want those who haven't seen it yet to miss out on being blown away as I was about it.

*********************************************************************

The Ups:

MARIO. HE IS THE BIGGEST SWEETHEART. HE LOVES HIS BROTHER SO SO MUCH. HE WOULD FETCH A STAR FROM SPACE FOR HIS BROTHER IF HE COULD. I WOULD DIE FOR HIM AND THE LOVE HE HAS FOR HIS BABY BRO. And from the beginning, he's so determined and motivated and never gives up! And it's his brother that motivates him to do most of what he does! I also liked the little details they added to his character that we never got to see before, such as the fact that he initially hates mushrooms.

Peach was amazing! At first I thought that they girlbossed her a bit too much to the point where she was a carbon copy of Daisy, but now I see her as a kind, maternal, and feminine young woman who fights when she needs to and is just doing her job protecting her kingdom. I hate how people are bashing her characterization here, like, have they forgotten how she was in the DIC cartoons, the 1986 anime, and SUPER PRINCESS PEACH? I also like her backstory and she's so cute as a baby! Also, since I HC that she and Daisy are super close, maybe she learned a thing or two from her!

Toad was so silly and chaotic, and he stole every scene he was in!

Luigi was precious and Charlie Day was perfect for his voice, as I predicted! I can tell that he was totally channeling Tony Rosato at times. I loved so many of his moments on screen, especially when he protects his brother during the final battle!

Jack Black KILLED IT as Bowser! He made him a villain who's hilarious but intimidating and ferocious at the same time and not many people can pull that off effectively!

Donkey Kong was a bit annoying and Illumination-y but they did a good job with him here. Also HE DID THE SETH ROGEN LAUGH TWICE FACK YES

The voice cast in general was fantastic! Charlie Day, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Jack Black were literal perfection in particular, Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong was lit, and Keegan Michael Key was great for Toad, as I predicted! He's a very versatile comedian and voice actor, after all! Also, Chris Pratt's Mario has grown on me in a good way. Although I vastly prefer Charles Martinet, as well as Lou Albano (who has my favorite Mario voice ever), Chris really didn't do that bad of a job! He DID TOO put effort into voicing him, and his "Wahoo!"s and cries of delight and triumph were on point! The only voice that I still feel like I have to get used to is Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach. She's a talented actress but I don't think she entirely suited Peach's soft, feminine, and maternal nature, but that's just me.

Mario and Luigi's parents are so precious! In fact, their whole family is so cute and hilarious! They remind me of my own proudly Italian (mostly) family. And Charles Martinet voicing their dad was the icing on the cake! I'm just so glad we finally got to see their family in general.

I also like how the boys' situation of still living with their parents, (presumably) not pursuing college and working blue-collar jobs while in their 20s-30s wasn't portrayed in a negative way. It's a great way of telling audiences that it's okay if you haven't gone off on your own yet in adulthood or attended college, that life isn't a sequence of steps that everyone has to follow exactly and at the same time, and that patience, hard work, and a positive attitude will lead you to great opportunities in life when you least expect them, like with what happened to the bros.

THE BROS' REUNION HUG OH MY GOD!!!!!! THE FOREHEAD TOUCH AND MARIO LIFTING LUIGI OFF THE GROUND DURING THEIR SECOND EMBRACE, I ALMOST CHOKED ON MY ICEE AND BECAME A SOBBING MESS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE THEATER MY GOD

And then them teaming up together to defeat Bowser and his forces, AS IT SHOULD BE.

I mean seriously this movie was a slap to the face of everyone who thought Mario hates his brother

Mario and Luigi getting their own little house in the Mushroom Kingdom! AND COFFEE CUPS THAT MATCH THEIR HATS!!!!

Mario and Peach's relationship thus far! I love how close they are by the end of the movie, even though they haven't developed a romance yet, and how Mario was telling her all about Brooklyn and how he'll get her a pet turtle once he gets to take her there. D'awwwwwww.

Peach completing the trainer course ALL WHILE WEARING A FULL LENGTH BALL GOWN AND HEELS. AND her admitting that she didn't master doing it until she had tried multiple, multiple times was such a great addition to character, proof that while she may be more of a girlboss here she still has more character development than Rey in the Star Wars sequels.

Peach telling Luigi that he's brave was so sweet :3 Even though they didn't really have a proper meeting scene like I hoped, I'm glad they got to at least interact a little.

Although I wish they would have used the wedding dress from Odyssey or even Paper Mario, Peach's wedding dress here is so pretty!

Donkey Kong becoming an ally of Mario and them helping each other get to the Mushroom Kingdom was super nice, although I do feel their friendship could have been built on a little more and that DK should have apologized to Mario for insulting his brother.

THE MUSIC!!!!! Brian Tyler NAILED the orchestrations of all those iconic themes! I especially got so happy when I heard the SNES Rainbow Road theme, the DK rap, and Toad's House from SMB3! I can only imagine how Koji Kondo, the man who composed so many of these melodies for chiptune almost 40 years ago and is STILL composing music for the games, is feeling now that they have these epic, sweeping orchestral renditions.

They outdid themselves with the animation and visuals as well! ESPECIALLY the visuals. They're so colorful and whimsical and just scenery p0rn all around, from the Mushroom Kingdom giving off major Alice in Wonderland vibes and Bowser's incredible floating lava castle to the Jungle Kingdom and the rainbow road! And I can't think of a single character (re)design that I didn't like! They all look so good!

The slo mo bits were SO funny. Especially "MMMMMAAAAAAAAMMMAAAAA MMMMIIIIIIIAAAAAA!" and "PPPPPRRRRRIIIIIIINNNNNCCCCEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!"

Bringing back such an obscure and relatively forgotten character as Foreman Spike was awesome!

Every time that Diddy Kong was onscreen was so funny!

ALL THE EASTER EGGS, GOOD GOLLY. From the references to the SUPER SHOW OF ALL THINGS to the guy who's supposed to resemble Jumpman (Mario's first incarnation) at the beginning!

That one bit where Mario is sitting in his room playing a video game also felt really reminiscent of the beginning of The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach (1986). If Nintendo was going for that I'm so glad they acknowledged such an obscure piece of Mario media!

The Downs:

Goddammit, you SERIOUSLY had to include minions in the Illumination logo.

It honestly felt a bit rushed in places and I wish more scenes could have had more time devoted to them. Some characters, ESPECIALLY Luigi, didn't really get as much screen time as I felt they needed, and that kind of sucked.

I was really hoping for Bowser to have a hard rock-style villain song, as that really suits his aesthetic and Jack Black could totally have done it! I mean he was in School of Rock for crying out loud and he's proven afterwards that he can really belt out classic rock tunes! Despite that, I'm glad he got to at least sing in the movie, and his song dedicated to Peach was hilarious.

I'm bummed that the movie wasn't really a musical as I had heard around the net so many times; only two characters sang (Bowser and Toad, even though the latter's wasn't really an actual song) and there were a bunch of pop/rock hits from the past few decades sandwiched in. They were still good songs that I like though, such as Thunderstruck, Take on Me, and Holding Out for a Hero (although I wish it could have been the original Bonnie Tyler version). I was ESPECIALLY pumped to hear Mr. Blue Sky!! But still, a lack of songs sung by characters bummed me out.

I don't like how some lines were changed (such as Bowser's "NOW WHO'S GONNA STOP ME?!?!") or cut entirely (e.g. Mario's "I'm not afraid! I'll do anything for my brother!") I'm especially bitter about the latter, since hearing that line in the final trailer made me super emotional and cutting it meant less devotion to how much Mario loves and misses his brother.

It was kind of a wasted opportunity to not see Mario and Luigi's family (and the rest of Brooklyn for that matter) bewildered over their sons bringing back a princess in a wedding gown, a little mushroom man, and an ape wearing a necktie. I bet their dad would have been wondering what someone put in his coffee, and their mom would have taken one look at Peach and been all like, "OMG IS ONE OF MY SONS GETTING MARRIED ALREADY??" It just would have been nice for them to interact a little.

The blue star/Luma was honestly so annoying and gave me an unsettling identity crisis, I just thought that was not fitting for a family friendly movie. Also, why was he/she in Bowser's dungeon in the first place?

As Donkey Kong should have apologized to Mario for fighting with him, Spike should have apologized to Mario and Luigi for doubting them. It didn't really make sense for him to just abruptly cheering for them.

Part of me kind of wishes it had taken place in the 1980s. It kind of makes sense, given that the Mario and Luigi characters formally debuted in 1983 and this is an origin story for how they came to be.

But despite all this, there were way more ups than downs, and the "downs" are just little nitpicks from me that don't take away from the movie being one hell of a ride. It was fantastic, and definitely one of the best animated movies I've seen in a while. 9/10 from me!!.

Some of my several VERY high hopes for the sequel:

YOSHI CUTENESS!!!

Also, if I have to predict a voice actor for Yoshi, it would have to be either Frank Welker or Kazumi Totaka reprising his role.

Luigi getting more screen time and also getting to share in his bro's adventures! Dude deserves way better!

Mario having second thoughts about Luigi accompanying him in dangerous situations because he's terrified of losing him again, and Luigi reminding him that "nothing will harm them as long as they're together"

PLEASE just more brotherly love!

Mario and Peach developing a romance and vowing to protect each other!

At least one callback to the "Mama Luigi" episode of the Super Mario World cartoon series. I mean, it would only seem right now that Yoshi is joining the gang, right?

Heck, I bet it's going to be chock full of references to the Super Mario World game, the Yoshi's Island games, and the Super Mario World cartoon.

DAISY AND/OR ROSALINA PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

Bowser's backstory (and possibly redemption)! It's clear to me that he's just a big softie that needs love and friendship in his life. And, since he's really their friend who likes to engage in role play just for fun according to word of mouth, I wonder how they will incorporate that into the Mario Cinematic Universe.

Some evidence that Mario and Luigi alternating between their lives in Brooklyn (probably just so that they can spend time with their family) and the Mushroom Kingdom

"I HOPE SHE MADE LOTSA SPAGHETTI!"

[zmediaoutlet]

happy wincest thursday, liz!! what do you like to see in weecest fic?

aww yay, happy wincest thursday to you as well!

Hm hmm. Weecest. Well -- maybe it's more instructive for me to think about what I don't like to see, up to and including:

any kind of sexkittening. Just... no. Lolita Sam can also fall into a sewer where nothing's #aesthetically on point.

too-sophisticated attitudes about sex & relationships where it feels like they're blue-collar Cruel Intentions characters. You know? Even if Dean's fucked around (or been fucked, all around), he's still ~20 and therefore an idiot, and Sam's ~16 and therefore even idiot-er, and I want them to fumble around and be confused and have their emotions come as an overwhelming surprise, because they're kids! what's the point of weecest where they're not kids?

speaking of fucking around -- I don't like it when they're like way too experienced. There was this tendency in particularly older fic for Dean to have been fucking college girls since he was 14 or whatever the hell (have to assume that was written by teenagers, because anyone over 22 is going to look at a 14 year old and go 'ah, an infant') -- and even if Dean's been doing sex work of some kind, it feels goofy if that's like way ott standing on a corner misery porn rather than a series of opportunistic one-offs. Sam and Dean are both way too normally socialized (honestly, they really are) for it to be some goofy grodelord backstory of that type.

and so, following that, I do like to see some kind of normalcy (assuming we're going for a canon-feeling fic, which is always my pref). Sam should have some awareness of school & what normal people are like; Dean should be fretting about food and money and the car -- so they aren't existing in some weird incestuous oubliette where the rest of the world disappears, because Sam and Dean just don't do that and especially didn't when they were younger. Sam's got a school friend, Dean's got a girl at the grocery store he flirts with. I find wincest (either adult or wee) so much more interesting when they exist in a real world and move through it more or less competently and yet still turn inward to the family. Choice is always cooler than inevitability.

following again from normalcy: if a fic includes the conversation about how incest is illegal and either character says anything like the nothing we do is legal anyway, who cares?, I am exiting out and really considering doing the Ron Swanson meme of throwing my computer into the fucking dumpster. GOD. NEVER AGAIN. There's a reason I avoid first time fics, lol.

sorry I went into a brief rage blackout there -- uh, following again from normalcy: they do need to be aware of the incest thing being a problem but I don't want it to be necessarily about incest qua incest... which doesn't make a ton of sense as I write it out that way, but it's a tonal sweet spot that I'm looking for. Of course they should be weirded out and it should be intense and they should be overwhelmed (per the above bullet point), but given that they're kids I don't want them to have like a full adult horror at what the incest means. Worried John will find out and freak, sure -- knowing it has to be a secret, of course -- knowing that it's weird and probably gross, definitely -- and yet the hormonal tide they're being sucked into is too vast for all of that stuff to fully matter. I absolutely definitively do not fucking want Dean to say something like but we're brothers because no shit, of course they are, and there's something more tangled going on here.

If you haven't sensed it by now, I'm an infuriatingly picky fic reader. But I guess what all of this boils down to is the thing that's my preference in all fic: for them to feel like Sam and Dean Winchester from the canon of Supernatural, and for the setting of the fic to matter. I want it to matter that they're kids and I want it to feel like kids and not shitty fake Characters instead of people. High school settings where everyone's an overwrought and overwritten 27 year old suck. I'm not trying to watch Euphoria here; give me Sam Winchester age 15 being so confused and horny and upset and in love that he nuts in his shorts and Dean panics and then hugs him because he doesn't know what to do, either, because he's nineteen years old. Someone should probably get a noogie at some point. Idk.

Seriously though, the legal issues of incest thing: I will throw you into the sea.

[the-sidekick-club]

I just read part four of enemy of my enemy is my kid 😁

I love how you showed my beloved egg man’s legacy living on in Shadow Man. I noticed you described his teasing as “egging on a villain”, that’s clever

Shadows is so sweet, joking with Mender to help her feel better. And he does the same with Hirra too? So cute 😻

🥚

We are so glad you liked it :D

It was a lot of work, but the end result was so worth it. Especially since you (and hopefully some others) noticed so many little things!

The egg jokes, while more subtle, and just as eggtastic as always (if we do say so ourselves). And as for Shadows and his incredible wholesomeness, he's not done with Sadie. In fact, I think they're doing something cute right now! Lets check it out.

Hirra and Sadie were studying together for their exams, and while Sadie had choosen to take a break, Hirra hadn't reached a breaking point yet. The two were outside on a rooftop near Lukas’s villan lair, and their respective mentors were both aware of their locations (not that it was needed; this was a time of truce for the two). So when Lukas dropped by with some cookies for the hard-working students, it wasn't too much of a suprise.

While Hirra had fully entered focus mode, Mender was off to the side just looking over the building's. They had thought about reading, but their mind needed a break after all the complex work they'd been doing; getting a medical degree was definitely easier when they could count most of their hero work as residency, but it still wasn't easy. This was especially true considering she took a few classes that she didn't really need, just finding them interesting (sue her if she liked something other than healing and wanted to learn more about it).

Shadow Wraith (who was also in costume, because while there was certainly more trust between them all, it wasn't "reveal your full face and therefore civilian identity and everything attached to that" level of trust) handed Mender a cookie and sat down at a small table near them. The rooftop they were on was an out-of-us rooftop restaurant, so there were many tables, one of which featuring a chess set! Calling over to Mender he asked, "How much longer do you think Hirra will be?" She turned, and not wanting to be rude, walked over and took a seat.

"Honestly Mr. Shadows, proably like 30 minutes. She started this 20 minutes ago, and the typical time for this sort of test is 50. And she'll probably want to double check questions and everything, so all that time should be used based on previous patterns." Mender replied.

Shadows opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by a yell from Hirra, "You've been charting my test taking patterns?"

Sadie rolled her eyes and looked back, "Hirra, focus on your test!" At that Shadows let out a light snort and then nodded.

"Well to take up the time we could play a game of chess." He gestured to the board in between them. Mender brightened at the idea, shoving the rest of Shadow's delicious cookie into her mouth and nodding.

"Yes that sounds great! But if I win, I want the recipe for these." The cookies were really good.

"Hmmm, fine, but of I win-" Shadows tried to bargin, but Sadie suddenly had a cunning idea and interrupted him.

"How about this? If you win, I'll tell you what Alexandria's perfect date is! Then you can finally ask her out." She glanced over at Hirra as she spoke, but thankfully the other sidekick had fallen back into focusing.

Shadows turned crimson and weakly replied, "I don't know what you mean."

Mender raised an eyebrow at that, "Mr. Shadows with all due respect, that's a lie. I literally helped kidnap you and Lady Alexandria so Kim and I could prove you liked her; which we did prove by the way. Also, don't think you were sneaky with that 'my lady' back in Dragonfly’s warehouse. I may've been delirious, and she may've been incredibly oblivious, but I still noticed." Lukas was fully marron by now, and Mender, as always, noticed. "Oh don't be embarrassed; it was cute! But please, don't try to lie to me. So, chess?"

The villan let out a deep breath at that, trying to regain composure, and lightly nodded.

Sadie re-brightened at that, and went to set up the game board, choosing to have Shadows play white so she could figure out his style.

She gestured to him, and he made his move. She made hers, and so on. Back and forth the two went. But by around 5 moves in, the hero realized something disastrous that could foil her plan. As much as she wanted those cookies, she wanted the villan to get a movr on and ask her friend Alexandria out! So she was playing easy on him... but clearly not easy enough.

In 2 more moves she could get a checkmate against the villain, and she doubted he would even see it coming. The gameplan had to change, because Mr. Shadows really sucked at chess. She pursed her lips at the board and glanced up at Shadows, still thrown off by the terrible move he'd just made. It didn't seem fake either; he was truly terrible. So she let out a breath, burried her pride, and made the worst possible move.

--

Shadows was confused. Up untill this point, his opponent had been playing fairly well (though he had countered her attacks quite well if he did say so himself) but that move was... interesting. He wasn't sure if it was a trick, or if the Masked Mender was good at opening strategy and nothing else. So he made his move and watched as she grited her teeth, and then placed her queen directly in his rook's path.

--

Sadie glared at the board, incredibly annoyed with her last move. But it was nessacry, for Alexandria. That was the mantra she chanted in her head as she watched Mr. Shadows take her queen with no punishment; the rook survived, there hadn't been any trick. And so she let him take her bishops, knights, rooks, and most of her pawns, while barely taking any of his. And then she let him take her KING. It was... frustrating but, for Alexandria, for Alexandria, for Alexandria.

But now came the good part. Once the villain quietly celebrated his win, she smiled falsely at him. "Oh no, I lost! And I really wanted that cookies recipie. " While the first part was false, the lie was covered by the true disappointment about the cookies, so Shadows didn't notice a thing. "So, a date for Alexandria. First, you need flowers. She is a big fan of flowers symbolism, and normally I would suggest white roses or something, she hates roses and says they smell bad. Which they do by the way. So sunflowers, or really anything meaningful, and she'll be happy. Because this is a first date, a restaurant is a bit much. Have a picnic somewhere out of the way, like on a rooftop here!" And that she paused and gestured around, clearly proud of the place she and Hirra had so cleverly found.

"Also she doesn't like seafo- why aren't you taking notes?" She looked at Shadows in confusion, and then handed him a spare notepad after quickly filling out what she'd already said. "She doesn't like sea food, and also if you hurt her I will have to hurt you. I really like you Mr. Shadows, but that woman is one of my dearest friends, and while I try to avoid hurting people, it isn't always avoidable." At that she looked the villain across from her in the eyes, "Make it avoidable, okay?"

Shadows nodded, particularly amused, but slightly scared. While he could proably beat Mender in a fight without even hurting her (she was capable, but he had many years on her) he knew she wasn't stupid. While the young woman was very kind and loving, that translated to protectiveness, a feeling many heroes and even the general public shared about heroes and Alexandria specifically. The Masked Mender would not fight him on her own; she'd bring the whole Hero Agency with her, and the general public wouldn’t let him rest. Lucky for Shadows, he was saved by the bell before Mender could go into more threats. Well not the bell, Hirra!

"Ooh cookies! Thanks Shadows! Also wow Mender you must suck at chess if he beat you, he is terrible at it." With that Mender was distracted from Shadows and glared at Hirra, and then realised she had to play along.

"Yes indeed," she sighed out, "I'm so bad at logic games like these."

And so the two villains left, the practice test being the last thing either of them had wanted to study together, and Mender's only company was a chess board.

"It was for Alexandria..." she said, still glaring at it. And then her work phone buzzed, and she lept from the rooftop, off to help defeat some random villain who was probably actually fun to play chess with.

[eastofthemoon]

I posted 1,911 times in 2022

28 posts created (1%)

1,883 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@galahadwilder

@fortunatelykawaiitiger

@mischif

@oswaldide

@bisexualbaker

I tagged 484 of my posts in 2022

#the owl house - 50 posts

#lego monkie kid - 34 posts

#this - 23 posts

#happy tag - 20 posts

#spoilers - 19 posts

#the owl house spoilers - 17 posts

#us politics - 16 posts

#writing - 13 posts

#encanto - 12 posts

#turning red - 12 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#they replaced judy's voice actress with a singer who was popular at the time and that movie not only flopped but fans are still bitter about

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Drew this for Froggyfall on twitter. I think it turned out cute.

15 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

#4

16 notes - Posted April 1, 2022

#3

Light The Lights

A silly idea that came to me. For those who aren’t familiar with the Gävle Goat   here’s a quick summary.

Anyway, here we go.

Title: Light The Lights

Series: The Muppets

Rating: G

Summary: Kermit sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "What do you guys think you're doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Fozzie said as he helped Scooter with a bunch of torches to the door. "We're going to burn the goat!"

Archive of Our Own

Truthfully, Kermit should have known something was up when everyone voted to go spend Christmas in Sweden in less than five minutes. They usually have to spend an hour just to agree on pizza topping.

After getting settled in the villa they were renting he caught his friends all dressed to go outside while carrying far too many fire starting supplies in their arms.  

Kermit sighed and placed his hands on his hips. "What do you guys think you're doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Fozzie said as he helped Scooter with a bunch of torches to the door. "We're going to burn the goat!"

Kermit could hear Sam's veins popping next to him. "What goat and why are you going to set it on fire?" "The Gävle Goat," Gonzo explained as he set down a box of TNT. "It's this tradition where they have a giant goat made out of straw and people kept burning it down."

Kermit shook their head. "Gonzo, I don't think they need your help-"

"It wasn't on purpose, people sneak in and did it," Gonzo continued as Animal walked by with a jug of gasoline. "However for a few years, the security managed to prevent it happening and well," the group exchanged exhausted expressions, "the last few years haven't exactly been great."

“That’s putting it mildly,” Rowlf said.

Kermit blinked. “Why are you bringing your keyboard?”

Rowlf shrugged. “Well, someone should play “Burn, Baby, Burn” for mood music, right?”

The group cheered at the suggestion.

“Need I remind you that this is very much illegal?” Sam snapped. “You weirdos will tarnish the noble dignity that is the American tourist.”

“Don’t worry, that’s why we got disguises,” Dr. Teeth said as he held up the clothes.

Kermit tilted his head. “You’re going as lobsters?”

“They’ll like never see it coming,” Janice said.

“LOBSTERS! LOBSTERS!” Animal cried.

Piggy huffed. “Most of us are, but I’m going as a beautiful Valkyrie.”

“I’m going as a chicken,” Gonzo chime in.

“Come on, guys,” Kermit said. “I know things have been rough, but that doesn’t mean burning a giant goat is going to change anything-"

"But that's just it, Kermie," Piggy said sweetly as she clutch the box of matches to her chest like they were jewels. "It did get burned down last year and things did get better."

"Exactly," Fozzie said, "so therefore we have to make sure it happens again!"

See the full post

16 notes - Posted November 28, 2022

#2

My current feelings if I want to see the Mario movie or not, especially given that Jack Black said we might see Bowser’s musical side.

41 notes - Posted October 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Wait, so Dracula is going by De Ville and right now all I can think of is

64 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[dwarf-vader-of-middle-earth]

Woah. Holy shit. Thank you for translating this, sincerely, and I just... wow.

Especially in terms of education and health, these are incredible conditions in literally every single aspect.

In the USA, if your child is struggling in school and needs to have a teacher's aide, or if they need to be in SPED (special education) courses to accommodate their disability, or if they just need any educational accommodation whatsoever, the child cannot request these. The parents need to approve it for them, to the school, and that is final. That is law. The child can't do anything but grovel and beg for help with the decision of adults taken into account and the child's being entirely meaningless.

You know what happens then?

"Oh, my child doesn't need this help!! Wait, why is my child failing every course? They're stupid and need to do better. Oh, now my child claims they're depressed because I keep calling them stupid, but they just have to try harder. Crap now my child is dead by their own hand and they blamed it on me before they died."

I've seen this shit happen constantly.

My own friends were put on suicide watch lists because of these sorts of issues.

I myself endured this shit growing up. I wanted to be in SPED math courses because it was far too difficult to manage the regular math without any help at all. My parents refused to admit I needed any help, but neither understood the math I was doing and therefore couldn't help me, and you know what happened? I failed years of math, my parents kept telling me I wasn't trying hard enough, and every day until I graduated I legitimately just wanted to die because by law I was not allowed to stop attending school, and I wasn't receiving the help I needed in order to succeed. My teachers taught classes of over 20 students each, and one teacher to 20 students who spends the entire hour and a half lecturing us can't spend the whole day with me alone trying to teach me concepts I can't grasp.

With health it's just as bad.

I've met kids who go to black market sources to get their medications and medical care because their parents won't allow it for religious reasons. 16 year olds who told me that because they are Jehovas Witness they can't take anything or get vaccines, and so they buy their prescriptions from overseas and have them discreetly sent to them, then they hide the medications.

I've had friends who the moment their parents found said medications, they dumped them into the toilet and disposed of them so their child couldn't take them, claiming those meds aren't necessary when they absolutely are.

Heart medications, muscle medicine, mental health meds, steroids for organ transplants.

And the child can't request refills because by law you must be 18 or older to advocate for medical things, or anything at all.

There is a reason the USA sets us up for failure, and this is it. When you're a kid you grow up powerless in legitimately every conceivable way, and the moment you're 18 you're told to just advocate for yourself suddenly.

No one tells you how. They just say to do it. Make your own phone calls for things, go get this accommodation, ask for that thing on your own.

They don't teach you what to say, how to ask for that, how to handle... any advocacy. Nobody is aware of the resources they have or how to find them. You're legitimately thrust into the world of adulthood with the knowledge that everything is suddenly your responsibility and good fucking luck with the rest!

That is why USA adulthood is so stressful because we did not have a voice as children and we did not have help as children, and now we are adults expected to take the full brunt of everything all at once without any practice, assistance, help, or preparation.

And that is unacceptable.

I wish the USA had Rights of the Child. In every regard I wish we would fucking implement this.

Because no child deserves to suffer in total silence with their issues ignored by the parents who are the end all be all of their advocacy.

I cant believe this tweet is how I find out

[fr3nchtoastcrunch]

My High School science/chemistry teacher was the definition of a no-nonsense teacher. Case in point: This is the method would use this method to deal with disruptive/lazy students.

At the beginning of the year (and occasionally on other days), he would say this:

-----------------------------

(HIS WORDS, NOT MINE)

Everyone listen up. Right now.

When I am teaching a lesson, there are two things you need to know.

One, I will not repeat myself. Ever. If you talk over my lesson, fall asleep, or you just aren't paying attention, tough luck. If you actually have a disorder that makes it hard for you to just sit down and listen to me without talking, falling asleep, or whatever, I will need some proof. Otherwise, I will not take any excuses.

Two, I will not help you on assignments if you talk or fall asleep during my lessons. When a student is talking over me or taking a nap during a lesson, I automatically assume that student knows everything about the lesson and therefore does not require my assistance. That's the only possible reason you could have for being so rude.

It is not hard to just sit down and listen to somebody talk. It is also not hard to produce proof that you have a medical condition. If you can't do either of those things, that's not my problem. Now, if you do have some sort of disability and you prove that you're not lying to get my sympathy, I will gladly make accommodations. Otherwise, you'd best be on your...best behavior.

In my 20+ years of teaching, I've found that I can only help a student if it is clear that they want to succeed. I've tried many times to help people who just don't care, and we both ended up worse than before I started.

So, if you want to succeed in this class, you better show it to me with the choices that you make. If you want to come out of this class smarter than before, then I will see to it that you become smarter. But if you couldn't possibly care less, that's your problem, not mine.

I am not your friend. I am your teacher. Don't forget it.

-----------------------------

Despite the fact that the subject he teaches is generally known for being incredibly tough, he had by far the highest passing rate for all of his classes compared to the other teachers. According to him, there was usually only one or two students at most who would fail his classes; most people who did were often expelled later due to bad behavior.

His tough-but-fair method to teaching was pretty ruthless, but he was always genuinely polite and helpful to those who clearly showed that they wanted to pass his classes.

The disrespectful kids who never put in any effort usually shaped up pretty quick, especially because he had four classes that you were required to pass in order to graduate. If you weren't in his good graces, you'd have a bad time, plain and simple.

This right here is the method that every teacher should use. Some might say it's unethical, but I say who cares? IT WORKS.

[lenythepillow]

Songs by The Smiths that remind me of Steve Harrington

This is mostly angst (if you don't like that content please just leave this post), so let's start

How Soon Is Now?

Even though "How Soon Is Now?" doesn't have many lyrics and only has around four different paragraphs, the lyrics itself remind me of Steve; imagine that the party is making a list of songs to use in case Vecna curses them; it's Steve's turn to decide the song that could save him. Everyone expects to be something from Madonna or The Beatles but it is "How Soon Is Now?" nobody understands why until Robin reads the lyrics. 

"There's a club if you'd like to go

You could meet somebody who really loves you

So you go and you stand on your own

And you leave on your own

And you go home and you cry

And you want to die"

Pretty Girls Make Graves

This song's message is not literal, not the full song applies to Steve's situation with Nancy (Especially since Steve is the one who wanted to take matters into the bed and Nancy was hesitant and uninterested at first)

Regardless, some parts remind me of how they broke up:

"Then, on the sand

Another man, he takes her hand

A smile lights up her stupid face

(And well, it would)"

And the verse "I'm not the man you think I am" could be Steve trying to convince himself he changed to convince others he changed.

I Know It’s Over

This- this is post-breakup Steve and all his desperate attempts to get a girlfriend, just look at this:

"I know it's over

And it never really began

But in my heart, it was so real

And you even spoke to me and said:

"If you're so funny

Then why are you on your own tonight?

And if you're so clever

Then why are you on your own tonight?

If you're so very entertaining

Then why are you on your own tonight?

If you're so very good-looking

Why do you sleep alone tonight?

I know...

" 'Cause tonight is just like any other night

That's why you're on your own tonight

With your triumphs and your charms

While they're in each other's arms...

It's so easy to laugh

It's so easy to hate

It takes strength to 

be gentle and kind

Over, over, over, over"

Never Had No One Ever

I remember some said that the "six little nuggets" speech wasn't that wholesome since it represents Steve's wish to never be alone again and get unconditional love; therefore Never Had No One Ever could represent this fear: the fear of dying alone.

"When you walk without ease

On these streets where you were raised

I had a really bad dream

It lasted 20 years, 7 months, and 27 days

And I know alone that I never, ever oh

Had no one ever"

Steddie content below ma mates, please don't read if you don't like it, and stay respectful :)

Angst

Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me

Scenario: It's Eddie's death anniversary, Steve visits his grave and apologizes for not being able to save him; he tells Eddie how much the kids need him (especially Dustin) and he wishes he could come back. That night he plays Strangeways, Here We Come, then the songs start playing and he breaks down.

"Last night I felt

Real arms around me

No hope, no harm

Just another false alarm

So, tell me how long

Before the last one?

And tell me how long

Before the right one?

The story is old - I know

But it goes on"

The Boy With the Thorn in His Side

Steve's parents finally show up just to make his life a living hell since they don't approve of his sexuality (much less the fact that Steve is in love with a guy who was accused of murder)

"The boy with the thorn in his side

Behind the hatred there lies

A murderous desire for love"

"How can they look into my eyes

And still they don't believe me?

How can they hear me say those words

And still they don't believe me?"

"And after all this time

They don't want to believe us

And if they don't believe us now

Will they ever believe us?"

Hurt/comfort

What She Said

Okay okay okay, imagine Eddie getting into Steve's music taste just to have more in common, he finds Steve's collection of The Smiths, and a song, in particular, catches his attention: it's "What She Said" Once he hears it he can't stop matching the lyrics to his poor boyfriend.

"What she said was sad

But then, all the rejection she's had

To pretend to be happy

Could only be idiocy"

"What she said was not for the job or

Lover that she never has"

"What she said:

"I smoke 'cause I'm hoping for an early death

And I need to cling to something!""

(Eddie knows that the lyrics "It took a tattooed boy from Birkenhead to really, really open her eyes" probably talk about someone who hurt the girl the song's about; but he likes to think he will be the tattooed boy who will make Steve open his eyes and see himself with love for once)

Fluff

 There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

The whole song screams steddie to me- I imagine Steve hanging out with Eddie after a horrible fight with his parents; Eddie doesn't just comfort Steve but he tells him that Wayne and he are planning to leave Hawkins since living there is such a risk, this leads to the question "Would you like to come with us? Just the three of us?" and Steve starts crying while nodding happily.

You have to listen to the whole song but here's my favorite part

"Take me out tonight

Oh, take me anywhere, I don't care

I don't care, I don't care

Driving in your car

I never, never want to go home

Because I haven't got one, la-di-dum

Oh, I haven't got one

Oh, oh"

I JUST WANT STEVE RUNNING AWAY WITH EDDIE WHILE THIS SONG PLAYS AND STEVE TELLS EDDIE HE MAKES HIM FEEL AT HOME DON'T @ ME 

[disaster-j]

I really think there’s an untapped market for bls with more mature characters. Look at Cherry Magic, people absolutely love it, and I think part of it is because it’s dealing with someone who has just turned 30, has a job, etc. People seem to like wbl2 for that reason as well. I know in Thailand it seems like fans are mostly young women, but I don’t think that means they wouldn’t be interested in a bl not set on a college campus. Also correct me if I’m wrong but I’ve read before that BLs are actually bigger internationally then domestically for thai bls. And from what I’ve seen from international fans, a lot of us would kill for shows not about college students. Just look at how feral people are going for kinnproshe right now. If gmm hired a good team and gave it proper promotion I think they could have a hit on their hands.

Also in offgun’s case for instance, they both look fairly young, they don’t have to state the characters ages. Just have them doing something that doesn’t involve them being is school. Off can pass for being in his 20’s, and Gun looks pretty young imo.

Anecdotally, because I don’t have stats to back me up, and this could just be my part of the internet, and therefore I’m completely wrong. But one of the biggest bls (if not the biggest) is The Untamed. Most people I know got into bl because of that show. And sure the characters start off as teens, but then they grow and are proper adults in the show as well. They have a teenage son for crying out loud!!! In WOH the characters are also proper established adults (also with teenage children). Personally I think one of the reasons chinese bls are so successful even with censoring, is because the plots and characters are unique. Thailand is just starting to expand what a bl can look like and what the plots can be about. I just think they are severely limiting themselves by not allowing for more shows about adults. Imagine a show like woh or the untamed but that’s uncensored. Maxtul would be all over it lol.

Anyway this is more of a rant then an ask sorry.

In conclusion, I want a bl about pickrome as adults and getting married or maybe having a kid 😭

Sorry it took forever to get to this ask it got buried under all the not me stuff! But I wholly agree with what you're saying. The market for more mature/adult setting BLs is absolutely there and especially with international audiences people do appreciate adult characters and settings in BLs more than teenage settings. While I don't have the stats for thai vs international viewership I do think that there's a lot more scope for thai bl in terms of capturing global audiences still. Additionally, international audiences tend to be made up of far more diverse groups whereas the domestic target is definitely just teenage girls/young women and occasionally actual thai queer people.

Even so, teenage audiences still watch shows with adult characters outside of school/uni settings. If we just want to look at thai numbers it is easy to gauge audience interest via the tv ratings of shows since that gives us a good idea of just thai viewership trends. The yt uploads are geoblocked and the viewership for the area specific streaming apps is quite split so that'd have to be left out for now. Consider the ratings for Bad Buddy vs Baker Boys here-

Despite not even technically being an actual BL it's ratings are pretty similar to Bad Buddy at the start. Ofc the show loses viewership gradually but that can be owed to many factors such as not being an actual bl, bad buddy being more coherent and engaging in the first half etc. But the initial ratings for Baker Boys is slightly higher, which proves that the interest for shows about adult characters and settings is definitely there. They just need to actually make bl shows that properly cater to these interests.

If they gave us a bl about pickrome adopting kids we'd go absolutely wild over it for sure.