#he haaaates working alone

[foldingfittedsheets]

Ended up getting caught with customers and staying two hours late at work. The other coworker was with two folks when I was finally finishing up. A third guest walked in and I made sure to be like, “That’s all you.”

He looked mutinous and said, “I’m already doubled!”

“I’m off,” I said emphatically and he got super sulky. Like, my man, I am not here for a ten hour shift.

[wovenstarlight]

I love thinking abt yoohyun & yerim. in ageswap they're each other's staunchest allies but also always 3 seconds from killing each other violently because yerim keeps telling him that if yoohyun fucks up with yoojin any more she's stealing him and not letting yoohyun near him ever again and hearing this always fills yoohyun with blackout homicidal rage because that's HIS brother but also he VERY GRUDGINGLY appreciates knowing there's someone else looking out for yoojin

[wattscn]

I DOMT WANT 3 MORE HOURS OF THIS

[i-sveikata]

Hope you are well.

about a future chapter… is Kinn going to have any redeeming scenes?😂 I haaaate him but I would still be interested if you plan on that opinion of him changing? Is it even possible?! Are Pete and Vegas at it alone or is there a chance for them to team up with Kinn and Porsche against Korn? Idk if the logistics would even work it’s beyond me but would definitely be interested to know if you had any plans around this that you are open to sharing!

Also if you have any dialogue between Vegas and Pete from the next chapter you are willing to share then that would be much appreciated lol. I’m having withdrawals!

hi anon i am thanks hope youre doing good too!!

haha i totally understand anon as im not the biggest fan myself but im not really expecting so? not in the sense that he doesn't improve things with porsche or ever grow to understand what his actions are doing to people or whatever but this fic is largely about vegas and petes relationship and once they get their shit together they're really not going to be interacting much or even in the same kind of orbit as kinn- and if they are it will only be because of the singular fact that porsche and pete are friends (because of course vegas still hates kinn lmao imagine them all on a double date or something hahahha)

but yeah the things i have planned for kinn (and also porsche) kind of take them further away from the mafia world and in turn dont leave much room for vegas and pete. if there are going to be redeeming scenes for kinn they're most likely to be reported by porsche to pete (if and when he decides to take his controlling ass back lmao if you recall kinn got dumped very recently lol). i mean what i vaguely have planned could change of course but as of this moment there's no kinn-does-one-good-thing-scene being mapped out. i also wouldnt rule out the chance for teaming up though!! only it might not totally be in the way you think.

yeah sure here's a line that kind of makes you want to slap vegas in the face hahahahaah (or at least it does for pete lol)

“You’re mine, aren’t you baby?” he says, a quiet awe in his voice as another man attempts to fuck him but Pete still can't tear his eyes away from Vegas'. “Are you finally going to admit it?”

The fury and indignation seems to explode out of Pete again because suddenly he’s lunging forward, careless of the pretty man when he wraps a hand around Vegas’ throat, pinning him to the wall.

The tightness of his grip has Vegas throwing his head back, offering up the flesh of his bare throat, exposing himself for the palm of Pete’s hand even as it squeezes painfully around him. Tightly constricts his airway for a delightful second.

“You smug fucking-“ Pete snarls before seeming to remember the stranger hovering at his back.

[destinyc1020]

It’s just so exhausting hearing the same conversation from so called Tom fans every 3-5 business days. No one is saying that you guys need to love everything he does but it really does feel like some of you harp on every single thing about the man to a point it doesn’t feel like you’re fans. His agents, his friends, his family, just constant nitpicking. And I’ve never been in an fandom where people truly think they have a say or can control a grown ass man like this. And some of the criticism that you guys have are the same regurgitated criticism that film twitter bros have who have a gripe with MCU. It’s never actually productive or constructive. It sounds like you guys are mouth pieces for that sector who decided to hate Tom 2 years ago because they decided to hate Marvel and he went public with Z. It’s annoying. The man is one of the most successful unproblematic young actors of his generation. He keeps to himself and his family and friends and girlfriend but I swear there’s always this hate train going on him. You have to see how people can get tired of it especially when he’s done nothing to warrant the constant ragging.

Exactly Anon! 💯

It just gets old.... and exhausting 😩 And I think it mainly gets old not only because it's every 3-5 business days, but ALSO bcoz it's coming from people who supposedly call themselves fans of Tom. With fans like these, who needs enemies?? 🥴

It would be one thing if these people were open haters of Tom and just admitted it. Then the hate and constant nitpicking would at least make some SENSE (okay, you're not a fan of the dude.... got it).

But when it comes from so-called "fans" who are following a blog of someone who's obviously a FAN of Tom's, it just feels really weird to me....

Liiiiiiike....

Like you said, Tom is unproblematic, he minds his business, he works hard, he's talented, and he doesn't do anything wrong or offensive to anyone!

Atp, fans can't even enjoy any new project news for Tom, because fans of his are ready to complain 24/7. 🙄

The TCR Filming Announcement came out:

"Omg....I wish Tom didn't take this project on. It's just going to make people with DID look like monsters! Hollywood always does this! I wish Tom would drop this project." (Keep in mind, the series had not even started FILMING yet, let alone come out. 😒)

The FA Filming Announcement came out:

"Ugh!! I HAAAATE biopic films! I'm so sick and tired of them!! They're just Oscar bait films anyway..." 🙄

Tom Simply TALKS about a possible SM4 movie in the works later on down the line:

"I sure hope they don't do another trilogy. Tom needs to STOP playing Spiderman and do more serious indie films instead of getting sucked into SUCKY Sony and the MCU. He's being held back by his Spiderman contracts!!"

A simple TWEET comes out that Mark Wahlberg has said that the script for "Uncharted 2" is has been written:

"Nooooooo!!!! 😫 I hated that movie! It wasn't funny, it wasn't charming, and it wasn't even a 'good' action movie! I wish Tom would drop this franchise and do smthg else!" 😭

All it sounds like in Tom's fandom is this all the time.....

After a while, it just gets tiring.... 😓

[this-daydream-is-dangerous-13]

I don’t really know how to explain this without sounding rude again this TK dude but like… I always said I had basically the same taste in men as Taylor, like even YB with the limited info I had on him when they started dating I could see the appeal. She had a type very aligned to mine. So I have been completely shocked about her dating this NFL dude because there isn’t a universe where I could find him attractive, at all. He’s so not my type that I rather not see him, i don’t think he’s a bad guy but he kind of makes me think of one bc he looks like the stereotypical american dude that is a douche. And Like I get that’s maybe his appeal, the different type, but… wow. What a change in taste. Bc this guy is not only unattractive… personality wise? What i’ve seen so far seems very… attention grabbing but not in a good way. He seems to never shut up… and after years of not hearing anything about her rs this constant stream of news being like: TK said this, TK said that… is giving me whiplash. Like I get she doesn’t want to be again with a guy who won’t speak about her… but this completely the other extreme, and i doubted she wanted that either…

I just can’t get what she sees in him

Oh my goodness, Anon, YES. To virtually all of this.

I have never before had to work this hard to wrap my head around what Blondie sees in a partner. I can imagine it, sure. (Our views do not align. At all. But I can imagine what she sees.) But in the past? All the other times? I immediately understood. I didn’t always like the guys—JM creeped me out at one of his concerts I attended pre-Blondie, early on CH seemed unfaithful and kind of petty, and MH is a giant, privileged child—but it wasn’t hard for me to identify the reasons why she did.

Prior to this, these men seemed to be: handsome, lanky guys who were either kind and charismatic charmers (sometimes love bombers, which was a problem), were polite and articulate British men, or BOTH. The intersection of those two is my personal preference. Here are some of my celebrity crushes over the years (a few I discovered while watching things years after they debuted).

Charismatic charmers:

Articulate British men (some also charmers):

So her attraction to JJ or JG, or to Harry/TH/YB, and even her childhood crush on Justin T, who I loathe, made sense. (Was always a JC C girl myself, lol. And justice for Janet and Britney!)

This seems like whiplash; you are not alone in thinking that.

I am trying to view this as I do with my friends when they date partners I do not like: I am there for them. I love them (which does not shift even if I do not care for their partners). And yeah - my husband gets an earful. But I show up for them. I can do both things at once.

Hear that, Anons I have had to block? I am fine with this duality: being a Blondie fan while not being a fan of her partner. Both of these can be true.

But I haaaate that I am being forcefed TK content simply because I am a Blondie fan. I like HER. Don’t punish me by sending me content I am actively trying to avoid (men who look like him, and anything to do with the problematic NFL).

And Anon - thank you for this detailed ask.

[yanderepuck]

Everyone need to know the relationship between Salaì and Melzi 🤣

Oh GOD.

Salaì is hitting that boy with a steel chair.

If you don't know, Melzi was one of Leonardos apprentices. He took in Melzi in 1505, and is 11 years younger than Salaì, making him 39 years younger than Leonardo. Now if we go by ikevamp lore... Leonardo never had Melzi as an apprentice bc he went MIA after painting the last supper in 1499/1500, but Leonardo does mention Melzi in his Episode 0. WHICH MAKES NO SENSE

Anyway. Salaì HAAAATES Melzi. Even irl he hated Melzi. Salaì was jealous that Leonardo spent time with Melzi and gave him praise. Irl Leonardo has to make sure he put time aside to spend it with Salaì because he got so jealous.

Melzi came from a RICH family. His father was in politics which means Melzi was going to be as well but he wanted to learn how to paint for funsies.

Salaì hates the rich. Melzi would just spend money like it was never ending for him, and Salaì hated that. The boy steals.

If Vlad decided to bring Melzi back as a rival..it's on SIGHT. Salaì is throwing hands on the spot. Not even questioning how he's alive. Immediately fighting.

When Leonardo said that Melzi would be over, Salaì would then make sure to cover everything in cat fur bc I think it would be funny if Melzi was allergic.

Melzi would have to stay in the castle for his own protection.

Say his name and Salaì will pretend to vomit. He might be dead but Salaì still insults him. Leonardo just sighs and is like "he's dead...please leave him alone" and Salaì is like "nope. He deserves to suffer more"

Would 100% spit on his grave if he can find it.

Melzi is 100% the reason why Salaì bullies Comte. Both are blonde and rich. They are too similar. However Melzi was a little shit back since he was so much younger.

Imagine Salaì being 25 and having beef with a 14 year old. Because he does. Salaì has definitely stolen from Melzi. And Melzi knows it. Leonardo doesn't believe it

Melzi: HE STOLE FROM ME

Salaì: what proof do you have

Melzi: uhhh you are a THIEF???

Salaì: you have nothing I'd want

Leonardo: look. Yes he steals. But he hates you so much that I don't think he would ever want to touch your things

Salaì: exactly. Maybe you just lost it~

Salaì is borderline trying to kill Melzi. And Leonardo just sighs and occasionally breaks up their fights. Melzi IS doing his best to fight back. But like I said, he comes from a rich family, that boy hasn't had to work for much while Salaì is out here in bar fights weekly.

Anyone: what did Melzi look like?

Leonardo: about Salaìs height, short blonde bob hair. He always wore nice clothes

Salaì: a bitch

[sapphicandanxious]

Okay sooo I did a thing aaand wrote down every wenclair moment while i was watching Wednesday for the first time because I think they are girlfriends and also why not:)

Every Wenclair moment

Wednesdays child is full of woe:

The balcony scene?!! And Wednesday telling Enid her story about the last time she cried even though she didn't have too (->she trusts her already!!)

Woe ist the loneliest number:

Wednesday going to Enid to talk to her (twice!), Wednesday apologized to Thing bc Enid said so, Enid takes care of the bees even though she haaaates those to help Wednesday, Wednesday joining the team to help Enid win (-> THEM HELPING EACH OTHER!!) , WWWD (?!??HELLO??? AS A THASMIN FAN THIS ENDED ME!!!) and them going to the finish line TOGETHER HOLDING THE FLAG and also Wednesday not minding Enid holding her shoulder

Friend or woe:

"If he breaks your heart I'll nail-gun his" (do I need to say more)

Woe what a night:

Them almost going dress shopping (and Enid looking at Wednesday at the dance and smiling)

You reap what you woe:

not that much but just both of them not really wanting to talk to their families and talking to each other instead

Quid pro woe:

The birthday present!!! ; Enid made something for Wednesday (in black!!) And Wednesday wants to wear it to a funeral!! (bc it's too special for class and she loves funerals ksnskwnxkskdn) and also Wednesday took it with her to the cafe (yes she forgot it there but that's not the point), Wednesday apologizing to Enid (years, it's to get out of nevermore (like she wouldn't be able to find another way) and also to take Enid along obvi), her keeping the snood on , Enid and her will search upstairs (while Tyler can check the ground floor), her helping Enid to get out first & asking if she's okay,

Wednesday is sad after Enid left her/their room ("Goody said I was destined to be alone, but for the first time in my life, it doesn't feel good":(() , Enid "forgetting" stuff as a reason to go back to their room (more than once!), When Enid asks if she was an annoying distraction Wednesday says she had annoying habits (->not an annoying distraction!!:)), them both remembering many little things about each other (I mean yeah it's the "annoying" things but we all know that doesn't matter), Wednesday is sad when Enid said she's going to be Yokos roommate , "you and I both know that you care about Enid" (she didn't deny it!!) Wednesday misses Enid>:( ! and Enid says that They work:) (as a reason why she moves back in)

A murder of woes:

Enid crying when Wednesday is packing her stuff (helloo??!?) "Will you forget about me?" "Enid, the mark you have left on me is indelible" and her thinking about Enid whenever she sees/hears something bright/colorful, Enid saying learned so much from her,

Enid going to look for her AND WOLFING OUT TO SAVE HER AND SAVING HER, Enid RUNNING to Wednesday & hugging her AND WEDNESDAY HUGGING HER BACK AHHHH ALSO A LONG ASS HUG I CAN NOW DIE HAPPILY, and also Wednesday "has to" visit Enid in San Francisco

[vacantgodling]

using rose’s tags ( @void-botanist ) as an excuse to ramble about the psyche of my boy

the funny thing about hya is he’s very pointed in how he speaks and acts because his biggest goal with communication is to have to do as little of it as possible.

he hates talking to people. he hates when people act familiar with him. he HAAAATES when people push his buttons and violate his boundaries (which is a running theme in his life). so starting from his outer core to his inner shell, he’s crafted himself as a vessel to invite LITTLE to NO conversation if he can avoid it.

his outer appearance is intimidating. dripped out in wealth and eminence, his immaculate physique with muscles that aren’t just for show, down to the golden canines that spark when he clicks them together, it’s all meticulously put together to deter anyone weak willed from speaking to him. or if they do (like servants) to keep that shit short.

The first time Lavendula laid eyes upon Hyacinthus, he had been dressed more finely than her husband. Shocking amounts of gold and grandeur adorned him; gold woven lace hidden underneath a gilded silk and stark white blouse tucked into a tight white corset laced with gold. The threads of his trousers glinted with every step, the click of golden heels on the marble floor commanding. Even from behind his mouth that could spew such malice, golden grills protected his sharp canines, making every word feel more biting with the clack of them. If you didn’t know him, you feared him and even if you did, what raw power his broad shoulders could hold. He regarded her with a look one would give a dirty, disobedient child and the warmth in it, the scathe of it, was something Lavendula had never felt. 

his brash way of speaking and the curses he colors his speech with are quite “unbecoming” of a noble and deter those of his similar class from speaking with him for too long. usually a glare alone is enough deterrent (he got his mothers resting bitch face and love that for him) but if anyone is to try and overcome that hurdle, talking with him usually cuts it short.

“I have no qualms about coming across this table and removing your head from your shoulders.” Hyacinthus spit and Wdwr. Anvil-Gunn gasped. “So if you would like to remain untouched by my beastly countenance you should fuck. Off.”

finally, acts of violence and outbursts of anger are used as the final repellant. shouting at belladonna and covering her with wine, throwing a man over a banister and killing him then leaving the body to rot in the foyer, the numerous times that he slams amon into things, punches him, or rips his clothes (in a non sexy way LMAO — well non sexy to a normal person amon thinks it’s hot because he’s deranged) are all attempts to simply get people to stop talking to him. it usually works. literally almost every person he’s dealt with doesn’t deal with him more than they have to. he wants to keep it that way.

“You infuriate me!” Hyacinthus finally roared and finally the rest of the tension crashed to the shore. He charged forward, taking a wide swing at Amon who was too stunned to react. Hyacinthus’s fist connected with Amon’s jaw in a sickening crack making Amon stumble back. Blood bloomed from his busted lip and almost instantly a bruise that began to form dark and ugly along Amon’s jaw.

but then there are people like amon, aloe, and tagetes who are undeterred.

aloe is different than the other two because he’s sweet and genuinely cares for hya. much of the reason hya doesn’t like talking to people is wrapped up in one of the Main Themes of paramour, which is genuineness. it’s no secret that most characters are fake and shallow. and despite what his actions may say, hya is the most truthful character of paramour. he doesn’t beat around the bush, he doesn’t compromise who he is, he is unflinchingly honest even if it will fuck him over (looking at every interaction with the keeper). the other extremely honest character is aloe. hya is drawn to his brother and his care, so a lot of his rough edges are softened or tapered off around him.

amon and tagetes however, enjoy pushing hya’s buttons. for different reasons and to different ends BUT they both do. and unfortunately on them none of hya’s usual tactics work. violence doesn’t do anything (tagetes seems relaxed but similarly to hya they have killed and would again though they prefer to leave the dirty work to others; amon is a fighter by nature and is also turned on by hya roughing him up so… doesn’t have the desired affect). intimidation doesn’t work. vulgarity means nothing. so with little options, hya is only left to bicker with them; a declawed cat around the two of them, essentially.

(even tho the excerpt for violence i added was of amon my point still stands 💀💀)

[pencilpat]

Misc tidbits about the college AU! I'm working on the first part of the fic, but I want to share something about them

Roman and Remus's parents are rich. Like "my brother lives in the five room west wing of our mansion and I have the whole six room east wing" rich. They pay for Roman's house where they all stay and give him a monthly allowance that's a ridiculous amount. Remus, however, has been mostly cut off from funds and is treated like an outcast and disappointment. He was staying with Roman behind their parents' backs before being kicked out.

Virgil is pretty much the only one with a happy home life. His mums are genuinely so supportive and kind to him. He haaaates it though, he's definitely an angsty teen about their love, "get out of my room" and "ugh I don't want a hug" are common phrases. One of his mums is a trans woman, and he's their biological child.

Janus is a tea drinker and Remus is a coffee drinker, and yes, they fight about it often.

Logan was an alcoholic through her entire teenagehood and for a year of college, too. She's currently on five months of no drinking, though! They keep most of it a secret from everyone but Roman. Roman is also completely sober in solidarity.

Janus and Logan have one law class that's the same time slot, and they find themselves sitting next to each other and chatting most days. It's strange, with the strife in their friend group you'd think they would avoid each other, but since Lo talks to Remus sometimes to check up on him, they sort of see Janus as a friend by proxy. 'Proxemity friends', if you know what I mean.

Lo is sort of Roman's unwilling sugar baby. Roman constantly offers to pay for every single expense she has from rent on her apartment to a candy bar. They promptly remind him, "I am an adult with my own damn job," to which he pouts exaggeratedly. Logan has occasional moments of anger and annoyance when Roman shows that he was raised rich, such as not cleaning up around his house because "the maid will get it" or buying hundreds of dollars worth of clothes in one shopping trip.

Patton has sworn one (1) time in a life-threatening situation. No I will not elaborate.

Roman is the only cis person in the group and he never hears the end of it.

Janus was alone through most of her early school life until she met Roman and Remus by chance. At first, they bonded over similar appearing skin conditions, which quickly developed into friendships. When she and Virgil met through the twins, they hit it off instantly. They genuinely got along and related on a lot, at least the things Jan would share. Her lack of sharing any details of her personal life was concerning to all three of the others. Whenever they'd ask to hang out at her house, she'd drive them to a random place instead and say there was a change of plans. Virgil definitely noticed the sleeping bag and clothes in the back of the car. He never brought it up.

Patton and Virgil are so different, it shocks most people that they're dating. But they love each other and love just watching each other engage in their hobbies. Patton will be knitting on the couch while Virgil cuddles them and just watches how good they are at their craft, admiring them. Patton goes to every show Virgil and Roman manage to book, and they cheer so loud they lose their voice! They may be different, but their love is built on watching each other create and grow. And cuddles. Plenty of cuddles.

[bloodgulchblog]

Starship Troopers is an interesting book (note: I said interesting, not good or correct), and I really think most people don’t know what it’s like.

If you haven’t read it, you probably have some idea of the shape of it based on 1) the movie and 2) the sheer volume of things that were heavily influenced by it (or heavily influenced by a work heavily influenced by it, given that the thing is over 60 years old and is retired with grandchildren now.)

You would be forgiven if you naturally suppose that Starship Troopers would have a lot of military action and alien fighting. It seems like a pretty obvious conclusion to draw. Hell, that was what I expected from Starship Troopers when I first read it as a teenager.

Starship Troopers is, at its core, Robert Heinlein conducting an extended thought experiment about morality and government. There are actually very few scenes of military action, much of the book is consumed by characters talking about how parts of their society (and especially the military) work to lay out an incomplete sketch of a “utopia.”

And the end result is pretty fucking wild.

Strap in, gang, this is a long one:

Our protagonist, who narrates the whole shebang in the first person, is Juan “Johnnie” Rico. If Troopers can be said to have a plot, it’s a coming-of-age story for Johnnie. The first chapter is a relatively exciting (if you enjoy Heinlein’s style) 20 page jaunt in Johnnie’s boots as a cap trooper: a power-armored soldier who drops from orbit with his unit to fight aliens. (The original idea from which MJOLNIR armor and ODSTs would come from is exactly this.) After that, we record scratch over to you-may-be-wondering-how-I-got-in-this-situation and go back in time.

Johnnie lives on Earth in the space future. He’s a rich kid on the cusp of 18. His parents expect him to start learning to be a good businessman, so he can one day take over for his father as head of The Family Business. (I don’t remember what The Family Business is, and I suspect Heinlein never bothered to tell me.)

However, there’s a flaw in this plan: Johnnie’s very best friend Carl has been talking to him about enlisting for Federal Service. Johnnie has never seriously considered it, and his parents haaaate the idea, but the thought won’t leave him alone. He goes with Carl, and when they encounter one of their classmates (a very pretty and smart girl, Carmencita) who wants to become a starship pilot (because Heinlein really thinks he’s really doing something with having only women be pilots because they’re naturally “better” at it) it cements the decision.

This is where we hit upon the foundation of Heinlein’s experiment: The thing about Federal Service in this world is that it’s the only way to become a full citizen with voting rights. Most people (like Johnnie’s parents) don’t think the right to vote is worth the effort and risk.

(I want to let you know an extremely funny spoiler: Johnnie's conflict with his father is finally resolved when, late in the book.... Johnnie's dad enlists in the infantry too because his son was a much bigger man for it and he is so proud of him now and Johnnie is so proud of his father and we are clearly supposed to be cheered and enheartened by this wild fucking reunion.)

Heinlein would later argue in an essay that he was sick of people assuming that Starship Troopers’ Federal Service is always military, but… That very much is the implication in here and I think it’s fair to read it that way. The 18-year-olds are met with a recruiting officer with multiple missing limbs, who has the job because it’s supposed to give them pause. He even tries to warn them off, but they’re all very sure.

(It's actually like, really funny to me.)

BONUS ROUND: the doctor that gives Johnnie a clean bill of health talking about how silly and stupid it is to go in for Federal Service, and some extremely 1950s science fiction verification of documents:

Carmencita is sharp enough that she’s probably a shoo-in for a pilot and Carl has zeroed in on working with electronics since he was a kid, but Johnnie has never been a particularly good student. He puts infantry down as his very least preferred option for service (you don’t get to choose, you see, but placement considers your preferences) but quickly figures out they’ve decided he’s unfit for anything else.

It’s okay, though! He can still back out! There will be no consequences… except forfeiting ever getting the chance to vote.

The first half of this book concerns Johnnie’s training to become a cap trooper in the MI (Mobile Infantry), which is intense and full of opportunities to quit and also we get to hear Heinlein talk about how public flogging (with an actual whip) serves a super important social function in this society.

There's a Big Fucking To-Do when one of the men in Johnnie's class successfully punches their drill sergeant, which gets him posted up for 10 lashes and dishonorably discharged.

The thing about that, however, is how it gives Starship Troopers the opportunity to have Johnnie overhear a conversation about it where Sergeant Zim is trying to get transferred back to a combat team because he is so ashamed of this as a personal failure:

Johnnie himself fucks up bad enough during training that he is also flogged, but he 100% believes that it was Totally Good And Justified And Fine so it's Fine.

The back half of the book has some of Johnnie in the MI, but most of all it’s about when he decides to go career and goes to officer candidate school and then the big mission that determines whether he gets to be a lieutenant or not.

Style-wise the book is an easy and approachable read, but you quickly figure out that many scenes boil down to an older, more experienced man (usually a flashback to his one high school teacher, later usually one of his officer school instructors) lecturing Johnnie about how the world works, why it does, and why that’s so very good. (All of these characters have pretty much the same voice.)

Here are what I understand to be the central ideas that hold up the roof in this book:

1. A human being is, by nature, a selfish short-sighted creature uninterested in anything but own survival, and strict discipline is necessary to train somebody into being a productive member of society. (It’s pretty much the same thing as the Christian “people are by nature sinful” thing but Heinlein managed to turn it around into a “scientific” evolutionary biotruth mess for himself instead.)

2. Corporal punishment is useful because pain is the most evolutionarily natural way for a human to understand that what they’ve done is a threat to their own survival, so switching children and flogging adults is a Good Idea Actually.

(Bob....)

3. In this fictional world, the government is good because the only people who vote are veterans. This isn’t because veterans are smarter or superior or impossile to corrupt, but because sweating out a term of Federal Service proves that someone is capable of putting the good of their civilization over their own safety/wellbeing and that proves they have the right, mature, moral character to help make decisions. Heinlein really, really, really wanted to tell the audience here that being willing to fight for your country (and the women and children!) was the noblest thing a human being could possibly do and he spent a lot of ink about that here.

(Bob Please)

4. Emphasizing that people have “rights” and not making them work for them coddles them and makes having rights meaningless, and also what about all those ne’erdowells that will use their rights to make bad selfish choices???? Clearly this system would be so much better.

5. All the people in the service are So Good And Noble because Heinlein’s magical space military is so super good at weeding out almost all the bad eggs during the selection process, and if anyone Truly Bad is in there it’s an unpreventable freak accident (that should properly be resolved via execution, and they’re willing to do that so It’s Fine.)

6. An officer is to be the best of the best of the best as a human being and all of the officers we see are EXTRA noble and good because they love their people SO much and it’s so hard to be an officer but they’re all SO BRAVE and SO SELFLESS and and and and-

7. Imperialism and unlimited expansion are Fine Actually because if you don’t expand, you’re going to be expanded upon yourself by somebody else so you might as well, and all wars are Actually just about population and need for territory anyway:

(Bob please I'm DYING)

8. The alien bugs are a pretty stupid analogue for communists because Heinlein was fuck deep in the red scare at the time. Mostly, they’re an implacable brick wall enemy that we get to feel zero remorse about because they are So Incomprehensible And Alien. Also, the whole rest of Heinlein’s super noble space military doesn’t look quite so good when they don’t have anything to fight/if we might feel bad for whoever they’re fighting.

9. The best and happiest place for Johnnie in the whole universe is aboard his specific ship (The Rodger Young) with his specific unit (The Roughnecks) and every passage about his time with his unit between drops is dripping with yearning for this imagined perfect manly cameraderie. The death of his unit's Lieutenant hurts him worse than the death of his actual mother when the Bugs attack Buenos Aires.

But oh, Johnnie is definitely not gay, he waxes poetic about how beautiful and important and good women are at every mention, here he is talking about R&R on a safe planet and being Extremely Normal about the one guard posting on a ship where you watch the door to the part the female crew uses:

The main thing to know about Heinlein’s vision here in this book is that it is, of course, obviously completely bonkers. He clearly thinks he has figured people out and knows how human beings work. It's very earnest hard-sf white man nerd shit where he thinks that the problems of very large numbers of human beings are a puzzle you can solve if you put all the right pieces in the right place just so. He’s so excited about how he has invented this imagined future where women don’t face sexism and can do all kinds of jobs (while he clearly has plenty of sexist ideas about women on display) and people are not judged by their race. (Many characters, including Johnnie himself, are not white and there’s even a conversation where Johnnie and another character talk about how they both speak different languages with their families, and Heinlein is clearly convinced he’s writing a race-blind meritocracy, but also Heinlein does shit like compliment a Native American character by comparing him to his “scalp-hunting” ancestors like ???????)

Heinlein is so very wrong. He has a pretty poor theory of mind, which is easily evident because his characters are very samey and wooden. (I’m told this is pretty par of the course for him, and this matches what I remember of Stranger in a Strange Land. ) This extends to his inability to figure out why people do what they do, and his failures in that are how he arrived at these fucking buckwild conclusions. Is it any wonder his ideas about how to run a good society are fucked up when he’s operating from premises about humans being inherently selfish and the only possible reason to not just go along with The Rules is ignorance of their purpose?

Starship Troopers is dripping in rationalization. Starship Troopers desperately wants its military to be good and noble and necessary, it thinks that if it pushes around all the numbers of officers and men and arrangements of rules into exactly the right shape it can solve all the problems like equations and everything will snap into place and run perfectly and be totally moral and perfectly justified.

This is why this book was controversial, and why it launched decades of discourse in science fiction. The thing about milsf is that even if you hate Starship Troopers and want to read other milsf that hates Starship Troopers, it’s still in dialogue with Starship Troopers and the legacy of Heinlein.

I didn’t like this book for its content, I found it really interesting to engage with because of the connections I know it has.

BUT WE TALK ABOUT HALO ON THIS BLOG...

That's why we're here, so let me give you all a tour of various items of interest and relevance to our subject of hyperfixation here on bloodgulchblog dot tumblr dot hell.

Heinlein invented ODSTS:

The idea that has endured the most from Starship Troopers, more than any other (which is thankful considering what I've been talking about all through this post), is powered armor. Heinlein pretty much invented the space marine as a science fiction trope, and especially the powered armor:

When someone talks about a "bug hunt" when it comes to fighting aliens in a scifi story, that terminology was born here.

As you may have noticed here and in the section about Bugs: Heinlein's Terran Federation has the power to bombard planets with nuclear weapons to reduce the surface to radioactive glass, golly where have we seen that?

(See also in the bug section: a planet-cracking weapon called a nova bomb!)

Plus I would feel remiss if I didn't show you some of the naming scheme for some ships in this world:

...I'm not sure how to end this one.

I have a movie to watch, so I can finally comment on it. (The movie is controversial. Fans of Starship Troopers who agreed with Heinlein hate it, people who recognize how bonkers Heinlein's ideas are appreciate that the movie seems to understand this just as well. I need to go see it for myself. It's on archive.org if you spend 2 seconds hunting, if you also want to.)

I also have an anime to watch.

DID YOU KNOW THERE WAS AN ANIME?

This thing got a six-episode OVA released in 1988, right after Heinlein died and nine years before the live action movie. (It's supposed to be a lot more faithful to the novel, so I Will Report Back On This.)

Anyway: idk, if you also want to poke around in a weird dead thing, the full text of Starship Troopers is incredibly easy to find. It's less than two-hundred pages long. It will make you feel like you're taking crazy pills.

[bonefall]

Ashfur: "Wait, you're leaving me for Brambleclaw...who you've been fighting with since before we arrived at the lakes and is being haunted by his dead demon dad...and you think nothing is going to go wrong with that plan?"

Squirrelflight: "Brambleclaw is a good cat, you don't know what he's gone through."

Ashfur: *blinks.* "Two weeks ago he woke up the entire warriors den screaming about Tigerstar and Hawkfrost and the Dark Forest. Cinderpelt has literally said darkness is surrounding him at all sides. I get you don't want to be with me, but girl, he is literally a walking red flag right now...well, actually now that I think about it, He's always been a walking red flag. Whatever. You do you." *walks away, calling for Birchpaw.*

Squirrelflight: "Did you hear him, Leafpaw?!? He blames Brambleclaw for things he can't help. It's not Brambleclaw's fault that Tigerstar is his dad."

Leafpaw: "....." =/

Ack, I dunno if I'd want to portray Petty Ashfur as being so much smarter than everyone else, or make Brambleclaw being so obviously bad that Squirrelflight looks blind to reality. Both of those options don't seem... great

Petty Ashfur's not about turning Ash into someone who's a perfect guy with all my opinions as a writer, it's about exploring the idea of him just being a petty asshole capable of growth.

I see Petty Ashfur still handling the breakup EXTREMELY personally, taking it out on Squilf in a very hurt and passive aggressive way, ruining their friendship because of it... at a time when she's going to need him most. Abuse is extremely isolating and a good friend is the best thing a person can have, but in his catty pity party he leaves her utterly alone

He really turns around at the Fire Scene, when he doubles back towards the blaze to save them, only to get attacked by Thornclaw attempting to kill the Three out of fear of the prophecy. After that, with the secret being revealed at the Gathering... it's sad.

Maybe not for NOBLE reasons, mind you, but Leafpool's his gossip rival and now teasing her is like kicking her while she's down. He haaaates Squilf for breaking up with him, but he's got a secret polycule now and the way the clans turned on her is... it's not what he saw in his fantasies. There's no joy in this. It makes him feel bad.

But in this AU, Petty Ashfur DOES seem to be a smart cookie... maybe in this version, he could work with Hawkfrost because his ulterior motive is exposing Brambleclaw? I could even toss in one of my favorite AU concepts and have Hawkfrost survive this? Hawkstar could be fun!

[eartheats]

[@champ-inthemaking] 7 13 20 21

7. whos yr best friend n how much money would it take for u to stab em (knife is complementary)

oh gosh...i mean, not counting all of the people on rotomblr (you could not pay me enough to stab caoimhe or miss bryony or any others!!), k?? madi's pretty close up there too but k and i used to get in trouble all the time together, and we kinda curse each other and owe each other a bit...

but probably?? 20,000 a day for life?? k would understand i think, but i'd probably have to share it for his hospital bills. which like, worth it??

13. most tempting forbidden food (revives soap pods lava that kinda thing)

honestly. there are so many things out there, but shout-out to the ability capsule?? i kind of wanna chew on one and see what happens. k said if i ever do that he needs to be there to record it tho

20. rank all the times u almost died from coolest to least cool

5. the recent mountain trip that i tripped and fell and nearly got frostbite from. 0/10 do not recommend 4. there was this kale tequila i bought that i drank and i heard someone say "pretty sure if you drank more of that you'd be dead" and i couldn't tell how serious they were??? anyway 1.5/10, the headache i got from it after was splitting and if i'm gonna die, i at least want it to be fun and fulla hubris!! 3. so i almost drowned once playing in cinnabar??? there's this weird water that's like, really close to the island and my parents told me no swimming, but lil me was like "but what if...swimming". anyway lulu had to fish me out but i saw some weird shit!! like these ultra weird staticy pokemon?? for that alone, 3/10. 2. so i don't know how close i came to dying but shout-out to the time lulu and i were playing in that old abandoned mansion and a buncha raticate decided they wanted to take a bite and lulu was like "uh, heck no!!". lulu just picked me up and i felt like i was flyin' for a while!! solid 7/10. 1. so one time i actually decided that i wanted to go to vermillion instead of our normal cinnabar trip?? just to kinda check it out. anyway the boat started movin' again and i decided to try and leap out from the top of the boat to try and get onto the vermillion dock but fell in the water and kept trying to swim. it took a while, a couple sailors had their water types bring me up and help me and i'm pretty sure the sailors were worried because i couldn't swim, but shortly after i just went and ran off into the city before bumpin' into this guy in green?? he stopped me, the sailors caught up and he and the sailors talked for a bit and the guy laughed and said something about me being pretty gutsy, bringing out a magnezone, which was the coolest thing i'd seen like, ever, and it helped plop me back on the boat!! my parents weren't too pleased, but man. i hope that guy's still around, he seemed cool and i wanna meet him again!! 9.5/10

21. bare minimum act of dipshittery that would provoke u to fistfight a stranger in a shopping mall

neil. i work in retail. i wanna do this on the daily.

but an~y~way, the second i see someone liter in a shopping mall or leave behind an awful or just easily clean-up-able mess?? it's on sight. cleaning workers are the backbone of all of our lives and i hate hate HAAAATE watching people act like "oh it's their job to clean it up! we don't have to care how messy we're being!!" TAUROS SHIT. CLEAN YOUR MESS UP OR I WILL BEAT YOU WITH MY FUTURE SICK CRUTCHES

[youngdumbnugly]

22yo Transgender female, with a question

The security guard of my workplace is a lesbian whos been thru a lot of stuff on her life, stuff that she has managed to get thru thanks to the divine power and massive love of G*d on the rehab center she was in. Heavily religious. Very unsavory stuff ive gotten to the point of asking her to stop telling me cuz as we get to work together she has to recall bad times, abuse and bigotry and gets me in not the bestest mood for the rest of the day, go as far as to call it overventing unprompted and clingy. So has been i been responding with some truma for while till all of my problems devolved for her for me to "not have G*d in my heart/being not loving enough to jesus". You can guess how this makes me feel to open up alon nd to be told this and rubbed on my face that shes clearly more divine than me.

thing is, she really hasnt make peaces with the fact shes a 50 year old woman who likes women, and she ask for forgivenness any time she gets when mentioning G*d for being so. Shes unhappy and lives constantly punishing herself for being lesbian cuz G*D doesnt appreciate that or something, adan and eve, biology, she talk to herself saying buzzwords like that. Once i responded that it was dumb to live ike that, and reached so far as to tell her G*d made her a lesbian and if he didnt accept it then he wouldnt create people whos gay or transgendered like me. That her G*d is love and love is all in all shapes, sizes and colors.

she looked at me disgusted amd called it blasphemy cuz G*d desnt accept gays cuz unnatural buzzword buzzword, the bible says so. "but the bible could have interpreted it wrong and fs G*d meant for people to love-" Seeminly G*d wrote it and he haaaates gays,thats why she lives crying and punishing herself for so on a daily basis, belittling me for not being as religious or guilty of being trangendered. how do people enjoy living like this.

[mischas]

First, merry Christmakuh & I hope you have a very happy new year! Second, what would R + M do on New Year's eve/day together? I feel like New Year's is really their holiday to shine!

Thank you! Same to you!

So in one future head canon where they're together in every way (married or almost married) I see them almost always spending NYE with SS. Chrismukkah is always in Newport so NYE is more free during college and afterward. Summer and Marissa still advocate more for going out than staying in but that's winding down as they get older. Seth and Ryan usually go along with whatever the girls want. RM live in NYC and SS live in Providence (though Sum wants to move to NYC) so the couples trade the travel every year. RM officially got together for good during NYE 2009 in Providence on a cold rooftop. But for NYE when they're not going to parties the couples like to go out to dinner then go back to the house/apartment to watch When Harry Met Sally before putting on one of the network NYE shows and some music as they catch up. Living in separate cities is something they've had to contend with for years and they're now used to it but the girls openly haaaate it and the boys are less vocal because masculinity but also hate it. When the ball finally drops, they toast with champagne (thanks to therapy Marissa has control over alcohol these days). The couples kiss and SS retreat to their designated room. If RM are in their NYC apartment then Ryan usually takes Marissa up to their building’s rooftop to watch the fireworks. They watch in contemplative silence before exchanging ILYs and kissing. Ryan tells her he loves her all the time now but the ILY on New Year's is always a little different. More shy and monumental. Their traditions are similar when they're in Providence or at a party but in their older age they start to prefer the coziness of staying in. Whatever they do involves a rooftop (or at least a private) escape and those small declarations.

In my other head canon where they're never officially together but occasionally hook up when the other is in town (college-era and a bit after that), NYE is still spent with SS but also interspersed with their college/work friends. And they always circle one another at parties, a hand on Marissa’s hip when they’re in group conversations, Marissa standing between Ryan’s legs when he sits atop someone’s desk. It gets increasingly flirty through the night and always ends with them ringing in the new year together. Rooftops become their favorite. The space and air mixed with their chemistry and NYE celebrations below them. One or both mention their first NYE sometime when they get one another alone and share a smoke on the roof. And depending on where they are they bring the other to their dorm/apartment for sexy times.

[aurumacadicus]

Tony's not even mad he just wants this stupid bird to let him work. "Stop trying to flare your wings at me you idiot and let me put this prosthetic on you DON'T FUCKING FLARE YOUR WINGS BRUCE HELP" and Bruce is so long-suffering but also it is a struggle not to laugh his guts out at how harried Tony is. (In my mind the harpy/human pairing isn't illegal it's just very weird because it's difficult for them to communicate and it can take decades to become "fluent" in the harpy language.)

Tony has never been attracted to a harpy in his life and he haaaates that Bucky is always going "flip flap I wanna make your cheeks clap" at him. It's making him notice things, like how muscular Bucky is, and how handsome he looks with the silver feathers tangling in his hair, and the naked want on Bucky's face while he's going through a dry spell is making him think about--no, he's not going to put a voice to those thoughts, the wet dreams he's been suffering through don't need help.

(Bucky sees how smart Tony is and is instantly in love. He doesn't even know if they have compatible genitals but he's willing to make things work through any means possible even if that includes jacking off alone so Tony never has to feel uncomfortable about their mismatched bottom halves.)

That bird that fell in love with its human keeper but it's harpy!Bucky at a rehabilitation center and Tony is the doctor trying to fit him with a prosthetic