#holly's got 100!

[fellsilver]

Do you ever look at a map or picture of Waterdeep and realize how big it is

[crafto2007]

anyways. pretty sure i just found the objectively worst midi file ever.

[raychromatic]

in 2022 i became a Twitch Affiliate and was apparently a top streamer of my favourite videogame Yakuza: Like a Dragon. epic gamer win

[poisonousquinzel]

@steaming-goblet-of-nutte-mylk

😭 except Joker's history with sexist behavior, his now over 3 decade long abusive dynamic with Harley, his gross obsession with Batman that has turned into SA before, the events of The Killing Joke & Barbara becoming paralyzed, are all significant and frankly Popular Joker plot points. It is consistent, it's his character at this point.

There's absolutely an issue in comics / their fandoms with inconsistency and back n fourth characterizations, as a Harley fan god I know skdjskd

But Joker is not a character who's greatly affected by it. Like at all.

He's very consistent being an abusive, sexist pig with an obsession towards Batman.

And there is someone who wrote a comic where he won't work with Nazis, that's why folks bring it up. Because 1 time he did a morally decent thing of doing the literal bare minimum & not working with scum of the earth Nazis.

But things like him being abusive or sexist or gross towards Batman aren't aren't rare Batshit Insane plots that happened here and there and Are Inconsistent. Him not being like that is inconsistent.

These aren't things that only people who Really read DC / Gotham related comics know about. Him sexually assaulting Batman maybe since that comic isn't a primary timeline one, but his obsession with Bats is quite literally these people's proof of him being queercoded. So, no.

Joker's actions in these plots are the foundation for his relationships with Batman & Harley, and Barbara no longer being Batgirl and becoming Oracle is directly tied to Joker's horrid actions when he paralyzed her, she's Oracle Right Now.

Sure, especially with Harley, I don't expect people to know every single horrendous thing he's done to her because frankly, there's a Fuck Ton, and I didn't even list it all, I didn't even list half. (Hell, I'm sure there's still moments that I haven't come across yet and that's saying something cause I've consumed just about every single piece of Harley media out there)

But The Killing Joke is a popular DC story, his unhinged obsession with Batman is like the only thing his character is, if you know he's obsessed with Batman, then you know the basics of his character.

And his relationship with Harley has Always been abusive. Like, if all these folks have seen of DC is BTAS, then they still know that. Joker not being abusive towards her is significantly more rare, inconsistent, and Batshit Insane tbf. And 9/10 times the "good moments" are clear as day love bombing to anyone consuming the content that's got more than 1 brain cell, it's just love bombing. It's called the cycle of abuse for a reason.

That's why I said "like y'all's only reference for him is the fucking Lego Movie and GOD it shows" because that's how they act he is all the time. It DOES show.

The Lego Batman Movie Joker is the outlier, he's the inconsistent one when compared to 99% of Joker's out there.

people in the replies of this keep mentioning Joker and him being queercoded n shit and it's just like 😭😭😭😭 y'all are so stupid I stg

Yeah the best example of a good villain whose not bigoted is *checks notes* the dude who violently abused his bisexual girlfriend, drugged her, pushed her into chemicals, ran her over with a car, infected her pet hyenas with rabies and had them attack her, hung her up by the neck with a chain, tried to forcefully impregnate her, pretended he was going to cut her face off to make her scared, made fun of her appearance to her face and to his goons, cut the side of her mouth open with a shaving blade, put a hit out on her, carved a J into her chest, pushed her out of a window 5 stories up, has kicked - punched - slapped - strangled more times than I could list individually,,,,, or has sexually assaulted Batman, and has sexually assaulted Barbara Gordon, is implied to have sexually assaulted someone in Joker (2008), oh and forced Harley to strip in a public crowded bar under threat of detonating the bombs in her and the squad's necks if she didn't. So ya know, also sa.

but hey !!! at least he's not said a slur! and he won't work with Nazis! as if that's not the literal bare minimum. Wow he won't work with Nazis, fucking NAZIS, do you want me to applaud him for doing the easiest thing that any person with even mildly decent or existent morals would decide? Ya know, not working with goddamn Nazis.

No one should be working with fucking nazis?? The bar is in hell.

Being an abusive borderline rapist with a sky high sexist streak is just casual Worst Villain behavior, he's not a bigot!

Everyone knows you're only a bigot of you 1. Say Slurs 2. Work with Nazis.

That's obviously the only qualifying criteria for being a bigot.

-

The Joker is a whole entire sexist with a history of severe in character abuse and sexual assault. but none of that matters to ((unfortunately large)) sections of the fandom or to locals cause some of y'all would rather just pretend he's an uwu messy gay dude who's just oh so in love with Batman and is not a sexist, abusive bigot cause fuck women and the suffering he enjoys putting them through right? like y'all's only reference for him is the fucking Lego Movie and GOD it shows

[will80sbyers]

Speculation about the teaser part 2

spoilers for stranger things 5

Nancy and Mike are having a heart-to-heart, they seem really shocked and sad and Nancy has the outfit of candy stripers so this must be I think in ep. 2 they probably go to the hospital because Karen get's attacked, behind them the lights make me think about the hospital for some reason but I'm not 100% sure on this, something really bad happened, I think Holly is gone too at this point

this is Hopper and I think he's pissed about something, no idea what's happening here tbh... he has a gun to defend himself

also forgot this but they are showing something with a projector in that scene in ep. 2 probably, maybe something Nancy took by pretending to be a candy striper (?) idk I think these are all the same scene

I LOVE HER!!!!!!!!!!!!

idk why Jancy seems distant here, I hope they didn't break up :((((

maybe Nancy in ep. 1 goes to steal whatever they are looking in this projector?

I think this is part of ep. 1 and it's a dream vision Will has of his time in the UD in season 1

Mike's basement either got remade completely or this is the hangout space, not yet sure on what's the answer, I hope they remade it lol

Dustin changed with the merch from the radio station which could mean he took a shirt from there after ep.2, this is before ep.4 or in ep. 4 right after they arrive in the UD I think? because there's UD stuff in the pavement + red flash of a lightning?

I think this is military being attacked by monsters

I think this is one of the shots at the beginning, intro shot of the school ? It looks like it's morning

and I think that's it for now! I'll see if I find other stuff when I stop being in a complete panic!!! :)

Part one

[sovpologist]

"While the exact details of Sony’s deal to acquire Bungie remain unknown to the public or employees, sources say they were told by leaders that the current split board structure is contingent on Bungie meeting certain financial goals. If Bungie falls short of certain financial thresholds by too great an amount, Sony is allowed to dissolve the existing board and take full control of the company."

"According to those still with the company, employee frustration and sadness in the days and weeks following the layoffs was met with a surprising amount of indifference or even outright flippancy or hostility from management. Several people we spoke to told us that leaders had reiterated, across multiple meetings, that they couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be more layoffs, with two specifically recalling chief people officer Holly Barbacovi outright stating that layoffs were a “lever” the company would pull again."

"Others said they were rebuffed repeatedly and discouraged from even discussing the layoffs whenever they tried to ask questions. Employees in one department recalled a post-layoffs Q&A session where a department head was asked if leadership taking salary cuts to prevent layoffs had been considered, only to respond that Bungie was 'not that type of company.'"

"Several people we spoke to expressed anger at the layoff of Bungie general counsel Don McGowan, who played a key role in Bungie winning an historic suit against a player who harassed a Bungie developer. Others laid off included a noticeable number of members of Bungie’s DE&I clubs, including co-heads of Pride@Bungie, Women@Bungie, and Accessibility@Bungie. When combined with other recent resource cuts, these dismissals have led to fears these clubs might be shut down."

"'I’m angry. I’m upset. This isn’t what I came here to do,' one person said. 'It feels like many higher ups aren’t listening to the data and are like, "We just need to win our fans back, they still like us." No. They don’t…We got rid of some of our most knowledgeable beloved folks who have been here for 20+ years. Everyday I walk in afraid that I or my friends are next. No one is safe.'"

[builtbybrokenbells]

Melodic Memories | JTK

In a tattered old box shoved deep down in the corner of an overfilled closet, a lifetimes worth of memories lie dormant at the bottom waiting to be rediscovered.

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x f!reader

Word Count: TBD

Warnings: SMUT 18+, drinking, swearing, smoking, breakups, high school relationships, unrequited love, sorry if I miss any!

DISCLAIMER: I do not know Greta Van Fleet or any of the members personally. This is all fiction and I will never claim otherwise. I attempt to keep all of my work 100% original, so please do not steal or take credit for my writing. As of right now, I aim to get chapters out on weekends, but it is not guaranteed as I do have a full time job and other responsibilities to attend to. Please be patient and kind to me. Do not mind any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, as I am the sole writer/editor for my blog and do miss things sometimes.

The Prelude

Prologue: Then

Track 1: Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones

Track 2: Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton

Track 3: I Need You - Lynyrd Skynyrd | pt. 2

Track 4: The Air That I Breathe - The Hollies

The Interlude

Track 5: If You Gotta Go, Go Now - Bob Dylan

Track 6: Ain’t No Sunshine - Bill Withers

Track 7: Romeo and Juliet - Dire Straits

Track 8: We’ve Got Tonight - Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

Epilogue: Now

The Outro

TAGLIST: if you would like to be added to the Melodic Memories taglist, please feel free to send me an ask, pm me, or respond on this or one of the above chapters. i promise i will see it, and if i happen to miss you, don’t be scared to ask again!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: I am incredibly grateful for all of the support, likes, reblogs and kind comments I receive from all of you. I would be nothing without your support, and I do take the time to read and appreciate every reply and message, even if I don’t respond. Thank you so much for all you do, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy this story as much as I do 🫶🏻

all things melodic memories:

playlist: apple music | spotify

moodboard:

[ezziefae]

i thinks this new undersea book holly is planning is going to be very interesting for many reasons. Specially if jude and cardan are going to be there.

Jurdan + Undersea = trauma?

1) Jude and Cardan don’t have great memories in the undersea. Specially Jude, being imprisoned in the wicked king where she was tortured, starved, and imprisoned. Whereas Cardan had a panicked reaction when he went to the undersea with nicasia in “How The King Of Elfhame Learned To Hate Stories.” He hated going to the undersea. There’s no dancing, no falling, darkness and coldness, and there’s heavy pressure on their chest from the heavy water. Cardan literally couldn’t stay too long at the bottom of the sea before he panicked. I wonder how after all of that jurdan will be comfortable going back to the sea, and i’m 100% jude’s past imprisonment will be brought up in this book.

2) Nicasia and Cardan

As we all know, Nicasia and Cardan have a history together. They were once bethroted to each other. They were expected to marry and become king and queen of the undersea. So there’s absolutely NO WAY jude or cardan won’t bring this up somehow in this book. Cardan is literally going to witness what could’ve been his life in the undersea with Nicasia by his side, and i’m sure there will be some teasing from jude about this, or some feelings about it from her. So far, we’ve known that Cardan has a strong loyalty to Nicasia as the Queen of the Undersea. Many times since TQON and TPT Cardan said that he will defend Nicasia and her kingdom despite of all the things she’s done to him and Jude in the past. So it’s clear he very much cares for Nicasia platonically and respects their treaty deeply.

Jude and Nicasia

After 10 years from the folk of the air, we still don’t know what nicasia and jude’s relationship is like. They’ve been at odds with each other and it wasn’t until the end of TQON where they finally worked together to save Cardan and kind of had an understanding of each other. In the prisoners throne, Jude goes on to call Nicasia “his ex-girlfriend” instead of “queen of the undersea” or “queen nicasia” It’s just interesting to me that jude chose to call nicasia “cardans ex” instead of her political title.

Why does Nicasia need Jurdan to witness this contest?

i’m still super confused as to why. i understand that if nicasia marrys someone that person will then rule along side Nicasia and need to be able to have a treaty with elfhame. So i guess jude and cardan need to meet nicasia’s consort to see what’s coming and who they’ll potentially be dealing with. but it’s kind of weird, specially for jude. Like imagine having to help your husbands ex girlfriend chose a partner? and your husband helping?

also it’s been stated many times throughout The Stolen Heir duology that the Undersea is extremely dangerous, we got a peek in the prisoners throne as to what that might look like when Oak and wren got attacked by the sea on ship as they were getting to Elfhame. I know Jude and Cardan have to respect the treaty with the undersea, but why in the world would they agree to even GO to the undersea. Going back to TWK, jude states that it’s hard to move around, and breathe from the pressure pressing on the chest, and that it’s very uncomfortable.

Whatever Holly Black is planning I'm very excited about! She's a genius. Can't wait to have more info on this future book!

[cythaeria]

People who don't view Jotaro as misogynistic are so annoying. I wanted to give these people the benefit of the doubt because "Oh what if they're just not educated enough on misogyny and how versatile it is." But no! We should be able to recognize misogyny in this day and age!!

You people can't recognize misogyny if it isn't in your face "Women should die" kind of bullshit and it's tiring!!

It's tiring to see people coddle Jotaro and treat people who think of him as misogynistic as unreasonable and media illiterate as if it doesn't 100% make sense why they'd think that.

Before I continue this sporadic ramble I need to say that I love Jotaro so damn much, he's my second favorite character in the entirety of Jojo! But I can accept that he has his faults and that's completely okay in my eyes, sometimes characters have unlikeable traits and are assholes and we just have to accept that. Your favorite character is fucked, accept it, and keep on going with your day.

This is none of that "gen z is trying to cancel eminem?" Shit. Accept him for who he is!!! Let him live his misogynistic truth!!!!

Jotaro stans truly do not wanna believe he's ever done anything wrong and I love him the most when he's doing wrongs! I loved you when you left your family and became a deadbeat just to protect them, I saw you and I loved you. Separate thing but. Whatever. Anyways.

"How can people call Jotaro a misogynist if the people he's done the most for are his mother, wife, and daughter?"

Does the misogyny suddenly disappear from men simply because they care for their family members who are women?? The men in my family would do anything to keep me safe but in the same breath, they'll apply stereotypes to me and make it known that I am not on the level of men just because I'm a woman. I'm sure this is the case for most people. Being a misogynist and loving the women in your life are things that coexist! It's their views on and behavior towards women overall that are fucked.

"People forget that he was just 17 when introduced and going through an edgy phase."

So suddenly that absolves him of the misogyny?? Just because he's a 17 year old boy?? And this is stated as if part 3 is the ONLY time he's misogynistic when in part 4 he's assuming Kira is unmarried because if he had a wife he wouldn't need to go to a tailor shop?? What the fuck does that mean Jotaro.

Like it's so clear to me that in his head the right way for women to exist is if they're the traditional housewife type that is submissive, modest, quiet, gentle, etc etc. And this is stated in his character bio! "Favorite type of women: traditional Japanese (hates women who don't shut up)" We can make so many educated guesses off of that And the way he treats women! But maybe I'm just looking at it from a limited point of view, maybe traditional means something completely different in Japan, which if it does, please let me know what it means exactly because I'm not Japanese so I don't know what "stereotypically Japanese girls" quite means.

"He's autistic and hates loud people."

He's autistic and his special interest is calling women bitches! And I'd argue that even when no noisy commotion is happening, he's still just...an asshole? Like when they were in that Café(?) After they got him out of jail and Holly is clinging to him, expressing her relief, he just calls her an annoying bitch?? And it seems like he isn't uncomfortable, he could've shoved her off if he was(as he does) so.....?

"He's gay."

Jojo fans will bring out 200 headcanons before just admitting that their favorite character is a misogynist. Little edit: :0!!! Someone in tags mentioned that gay men can be misogynistic and yes, that part! Just because you hc him as only liking men that means it's...suddenly ok for him to be an asshole towards women? I didn't go too much into detail originally bc I felt like I was repeating myself too much but yessss!

"He's mean to everyone."

So true but especially to women in particular. And like I said, misogyny comes in so many different forms and not just being "mean to girls". He thinks women are inherently weak and because of that, they should be protected.

"She's no mere woman." Jotaro stumbles upon a woman stronger than him and he just can't fucking. Comprehend it.

IT'S OKAY. It's okay to like a character who is misogynistic, I just think it's weird to act like "My Jotaro would never!! He's just a baby boy!!🥺🥺"

Personally, I like it? I really like the idea of building off of that. Jotaro later on in life becoming comfortable with femininity and possibly exploring his gender identity more and transfeming all over the place. A little Dave Strider moment.

There are some opinions that I disagree with though. I saw someone bring up the fact that he abandoned his wife and Jolyne as a counterpoint to him not being misogynistic and I just feel like that's clearly...something completely separate from him being a misogynist.

Also I'd add when he discovered Anne was a girl in here if I wasn't so on the fence about it buuuuuut thinking thoughts.

I dunno, it just upsets me little bit. Learn about the many ways the world oppresses women, be in the known, and all that before you go to war for Thee Jotaro Kujo.

Don't know if this is any good, it's very all over the place and badly written but I just needed to get it out and stuff. Maybe I'm in the wrong and I don't know Jojo like That. Anyways, if you have any thoughts and such, mayhaps reply, I'd like to read them!

[chasingcomets222]

I got bored and decided to decipher Rodrick Heffley's music taste to close this years-long debate once and for all.

This post will be on the lengthier side, but a TLDR is attached at the end of the post if you want the basic cliff-notes.

Disclaimer: this is a dissection of the film adaptation of Rodrick rather than his source material counterpart. Comparisons to the books are welcome but irrelevant to this analysis.

Soundtrack

During the roller-rink scene in the opening of Rodrick Rules, Rodrick and Bill take over the DJ table to sabotage Greg's moves on Holly. The song they play is "Cut Throat" by the all-female heavy metal band, Kittie. Aside from Löded Diper's music, this is the only song in the series explicitly used to establish Rodrick's music taste.

However, there's many songs off of the Rodrick Rules soundtrack alone that can be reasonably assumed to fit his music profile as well — for example, those used during the party sequence.

I wouldn't doubt if one or two tracks were intended solely as crowd pleasers, but let's not rule out the entire playlist.

In order of appearance, Rodrick's party mix includes: "Heart Heart Heartbreak" by Boys Like Girls, "Electric (feat. Miss Amani)" by The DNC, "Wait Up (Boots of Danger)" by Tokyo Police Club, "Shake" by Bikini Machine, "Move Like This" by Hammerwax, and "Jump In The Line" by Karl Zéro & The Wailers.

There's additionally three other, albeit more subtle, uses of background music to nod toward Rodrick's preferences.

The first instance is during the scene in Rodrick Rules in which Greg confides in Rodrick about his embarrassment from his failed "100 Years Ago" assignment. It's so quiet that it's easy to miss without a keen ear, but "Light Love" by Free Energy plays in the background, mixed to fit in with the ambience of Rodrick's bedroom.

The second is directly before the Löded Diper band rehearsal scene (somebody farted btw), in which Frank pulls into the Heffleys' driveway. "Rock and Roll Slob" by The Boneless Ones can be heard from the garage, once again mixed as part of the ambience.

The third again utilizes The Boneless Ones' discography, and is inserted during the opening sequence of Dog Days at the municipal pool. Rodrick explains it's "time to sell some CDs" for Löded Diper, and turns on his boombox (more on this later), blaring "Miss Fresno."

With the last two points in mind, one can assume the film universe is some twisted version where Löded Diper originally wrote and performed The Boneless Ones' discography (or something closely resembling it).

Band Tees

Rodrick mostly wears seemingly thrifted or upcycled shirts and graphic tees with witty/edgy prints, but there are outliers at times. For example, there's not one, not two, but potentially so much as five moments in Dog Days that he's seen wearing merch from Dead Kennedys, The Who, and Ramones.

While most of his band tees simply include the band's logo or iconography, the latter design takes it a step further by being specific to a particular song title: "Rock 'n' Roll High School" by Ramones.

There's another moment which this may be the case, but it's purely speculative on my end. The Ramones also have a song named "I Don't Care," which is a phrase featured on one of Rodrick's shirts. It's not an explicit reference, but likely a reference nonetheless.

Room Posters

Guns N' Roses, Brutal Truth (Evolution Through Revolution), Stars (The Five Ghosts), Buried Inside (Spoils of Failure), and Decibel are the most notable.

I assume Decibel is in relation to the 70's/80's Italian punk rock band, although I can't find any association between them and this particular artwork. If not connected to them, there's a possibility it may be to the metal magazine of the same name, but I have my doubts.

In this image giving an alternate perspective to Rodrick's room, just off-screen is a Metallica poster, based on the stylization of the ending A. Beside it is a Hanson Brothers poster, which was later replaced in Rodrick Rules with a duplicate of the Stars poster for some reason.

Among his collage of Löded Diper flyers, there's Danny Echo posters as well as Denounce and Billy Talent stickers receiving the Hidden Mickey treatment (also a cameo from the iconic cheeseburger phone on the table).

Of course, there are many other pieces of memorabilia scattered across Rodrick's room, but several of them are blurry from the camera's depth of field or are seen at angles which make them difficult to read or for reverse image sites to identify. So for now, this is the best possible analysis of Rodrick's room in regards to music.

Miscellaneous

An easy-to-miss detail lies in the infamous Löded Diper van. Within the final few moments of Rodrick Rules as Rodrick drops Greg off at school (01:31:52), there's a semi-clear shot of the van's dashboard. On it are a set of stickers, including one referencing Huevos Rancheros, an instrumental rock-and-roll group from Canada.

In Dog Days, Rodrick brings a personal boombox with him to the municipal pool. Along the top is a large sticker for Street Machine, a Czech hardcore/metal band.

Cut Content

In the second studio draft of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, on page 23, scene 43, more of Rodrick's favorite artists are revealed.

The nature of this may be written off as not canon, as it was added into the script while it was still a work in progress and the posters themselves didn't make it into the final product.

What sells it to me as remaining "silent" canon though is that TOOL and Slipknot are often lumped together with Kittie (previously mentioned) as they share an overlapping fanbase. This was more prevalent during the early 2000's within the mall goth subculture, but it's remained fairly consistent for other variants of metalheads over the years too.

TLDR

To recap, the various genres across all of the bands Rodrick is canonically into include indie rock, pop rock, punk rock, hardcore punk, hard rock, industrial, thrash metal, heavy metal, nu metal, death metal, sludge metal, and grindcore.

His musical preferences are punk, rock, and metal-centric but quite broad and inclusive of countries of origin and lesser-known underground artists (some don't break even 100 monthly listeners on Spotify). This leaves the door open for endless possibilities in terms of headcanons.

He's not emo despite popular fan belief, but I still think there's a chance some of his musical leanings could cross over with bands considered emo adjacent for their presence in the community. August Burns Red and The Devil Wears Prada come to mind with his music taste accounted for, but that's just my headcanon.

EDIT: 9/9/24

I've since made two Spotify playlists from my findings: one being what I imagine would be Rodrick's regular rotation, and the other being an extension of his party mix. I feel I've channeled him well, since a lot of his music taste is basically mine circa 2008/2009.

If you've read this far, thank you so much for your patience, and I appreciate any and all interactions left on this post. Happy listening!! <333

[m1d-45]

any chance of a part 2 of opportunities arisen? perhaps tighnari finds out who we are? or someone else comes after us? 👉👈 i love him sm and ur characterization of him is perfect, that fic is 100% canon in my mind for every imposter au now

prime fortune

a/n: hope this one didn’t absolutely destroy your expectations anon. it took a hard left turn halfway through and i couldn’t bring it back—

word count: 3.1k oh wow-

-> warnings: minor spoilers for sumeru archon quest (3.0-3.2), dubious medical facts that you should not follow, likely ooc cyno, excessive use of the word ‘something’ with little reasoning to show for it, cyno’s excellent humor

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie

<< part 1 || < masterlist >

adapting to life in the forest was easier said than done.

you’re often paired with collei, who’s in the middle of a bad eleazar flare that keeps her confined to the village, and though she teaches you the different salves and plants, a lot of it goes over your head.

you’re interested, you are! the liveliness with which she speaks, and the animated gestures from tighnari as he explains proper safety when preparing medicine easily capture your attention, but when she hands you two mushrooms and asks her to tell you which one is morchella….

by some strange luck, you often guess correctly, your intuition knowing more than you do, but when she nods with a smile and asks you to repeat the differences…

your mind falls blank.

something about the density of the fibers inside the mushroom floats through your mind, but you can’t remember whether the true or false mushroom is heavier.

collei’s smile falters, and yours turns sheepish. when she takes you out on walks, slowly walking up the paths so you don’t strain your ankle, you can point at the differences between portobello and death caps, you can pick out holly and honeysuckle and marigold, but here…

you pass the field practice with flying colors, but your basic by-the-books forest ranger tests always end in failure.

tighnari picks out two plants from a small case, holding them up in front of you.

“you come across amir sitting just off the side of a path, clutching his stomach. after some questioning, you determine he has a stomach cramp from dehydration, and spot these two plants nearby. you’re about a 15 minute walk from the village; what do you do?”

one of the plants has many flat white flowers blooming from the top, with yellow centers, while the other has orange petals that form a ball shape on top. you know one of them is yarrow, but not which one…

you pick the latter on a whim, spinning it between two fingers as you think. “pick the petals and crush them into a paste, taking care not to overwork them. give him about a spoonful, which should be most of it, then help him up. report to shirin once we return.”

the blank mask on his face falls into confusion. “how do you even mix up marigold and yarrow?” he asks, picking the flower—marigold, you now recognize—from your hand. “you got the procedure correct, at least, but marigold is bitter and will only worsen his aches. oh, and additionally, the leaves of yarrow—however small they-“

the door to the cottage slams open, jars rattling on their shelves, and tighnari whips around to face whoever it is, one hand steadying a stack of reports.

“and just what do you think you’re- w- collei? is everything alright?”

collei’s violet eyes were wide, her shoulders heaving with breath, when she spoke, exhaustion was evident. “m-master tighnari! the matra are here on behalf of the akademiya! i tried to tell them to wait so i could get you but they just-..”

emotions flashed over tighnari’s face faster than you could catch, eventually setting on a sharp determination. “alright collei, calm down. go find amir and do your best to delay them, but don’t seem too suspiscious, okay? just remember what we planned, i’ll take care of things here.”

her eyes flicked to you, worry evident, but she quickly turned away.

the moment the door closed, you and tighnari sprung into action. he collected the plants from your test and tucked them into their proper places, you standing to help return a mint plant back to its place.

he caught your wrist, taking the pot. “don’t. take your bag and go, don’t worry about this.”

you hesitate for longer than you should, then nod. he lets you go and returns to his case, and you move to crouch by the bed. feeling under it, your hand eventually brushes against a cloth handle, which you grab. you take a step to unlatch the window with one hand and sling the pack over your shoulder with the other, leaving with your good leg first. as you carefully close the window behind you, you can see tighnari moving to hide all the notes you’d taken, the only sign of his worry being his tail lashing behind him and the slightest flick of his ears.

with a soft smile, you turn away.

tighnari checked over his room once more, ensuring that every trace of your presence was scrubbed clean. your laundry was out and mixed with the rest of the rangers’, but your notes and records were carefully hidden under patrol logs and his own personal binders. he knew everything was tucked away, he had explanations lined up and answers to every conceivable question the akademiya could have, but his heart still beat frantically against his ribs. even as he pulled apart and neatened up a stack of patrol logs, repeating the action to look like he was doing something whenever the matra came to his hut, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he missed something crucial.

he had to fight to keep his tail from betraying his emotions, the energy not going into mussing up and then fixing the papers spent on hiding the symptoms of his distress. he knew he didn’t miss anything. the moment you told them the sages were on active lookout for you and he knew you weren’t a threat, he had memorized the plan. he was foolish to worry.

he hasn’t known you for long, barely over half a year, yet his mind is clouded with the same worry as when collei collapses out on patrol. the same numbing sort of adrenaline, the icy feeling in his bones even as his skin starts to burn up, the apprehension in every movement, as if at any moment-

somebody knocks on the door.

tighnari takes a steadying breath and fusses with the papers a final time. “come in!”

the door creaks open and he taps the papers on the table, turning slightly to speak over his shoulder. “sorry, you caught me in the middle of something.”

“no matter,” a familiar voice says, and he can’t stop the way his body freezes at the speaker.

he carefully tucked the papers into a folder, finally turning around. “general mahamatra. to what do i owe the honor?”

cyno crossed his arms, red eyes surveying the room. “oh, nothing at all. just somebody from vimara village reporting somebody that looked suspiciously like the primo fortuna walking around with collei when they’re supposed to be in liyue.”

tighnari stares. the primo fortuna…? he thought they were after you, but you couldn’t be…

“are… are you suggesting somebody is attempting to imitate the creator?”

sure, he wouldn’t deny you shared some features—you had the same shape of nose, you were around the same height and build—but for you to be the creator? no, it wasn’t possible. your eyes were much kinder, you stopped and helped nasrin when she couldn’t find the proper forms, you directed shirin to the area of the forest where you and collei found nilotpala lotuses, you were nothing like the creator he saw at pardis dhyai. you didn’t stare with glazed eyes as padisarahs and sumeru roses were brought forth, you listened in earnest when he spoke about the differences between the various kinds of ferns.

if anybody were to meet you, they’d know in an instant you were not the creator.

his heart itched within his chest. he ignored it as worry.

“that’s exactly what i’m implying. as i’m certain you know, their identity is hallowed, and anybody attempting to infringe upon it needs to meet justice.” the golden eye on his headpiece flashed, the sides beginning to narrow into eyes before he shook his head and it passed. “but in truth, that is not why i am here.”

tighnari stared. despite having a fondness for jokes, cyno was never one to laugh about his duties. “what do you mean? collei told me you were here on behalf of the akademiya.”

“the matra are here on behalf of the sages,” he clarified. “i… i am here for other reasons. personal ones.”

his eyes flicked around the room again, and tighnari’s narrowed. “well, don’t hide behind double meanings, then. what is it?”

cyno’s jaw flexed as he chewed at nothing, his arms uncrossing. his eyes focused somewhere around the bed, and he seemed lost in thought. whatever it was, it had to be a big deal, but for him to hijack the matra’s arrival instead of coming on his own time…

“the one on the throne is not our god.”

he said it with such conviction that tighnari found himself agreeing, waiting for whatever had gotten him worked up, and it was only when cyno’s eyes closed as he braced himself that it registered what he said.

“what?”

“i have gathered evidence across many sources, both academic and religious, common and exclusive, and i can’t bring myself to kneel at their feet any longer. i have been ignoring my own mind for too long for the sake of my conscience, and i am confiding in you now what has been brewing in my mind for months.”

in the silence that stretched, tighnari almost wished he hadn’t spoken.

the way he spoke, from his words to his tone, reminded tighnari of when he reported to the sages, like he wasn’t tighnari to him and was instead an authority.

“cyno, i don’t.. is this why you didn’t go when they were at pardis dhyai or sumeru city?”

he nodded. “i can’t be in a place where they’re being worshipped when i’m so conflicted. i thought about pulling you aside in the city, but…”

tighnari didn’t think he’d ever seen cyno so meek in his words, none of his normal power behind it. he’s… tired, a quality he knows he’s felt but has never seen on him, the almost nervous way he keeps glancing around the room edging on alarming.

“alright.. uh, moving past that for a moment, what does that have to do with why you’re in gandharva ville? wouldn’t you want to not be involved?”

cyno’s eyes dragged from where they were locked behind him with uncharacteristic slowness. “the person you’re hiding may be the real creator.”

the simplicity to his words had tighnari believing it, even as it didn’t fully register in his mind. he knew cyno attached a religious aspect to his work, to the point the people in sumeru city sometimes calling him an extension of their judgement—even as it was more like the akademiya’s, most time—so he knew that whatever he said on the topic was both well thought out and reliable.

which is why he was silent even after it clicked.

“what are you saying, cyno?”

“they’ve been staying here, haven’t they? in this room?”

“this is my and collei’s-“

“don’t tell me you haven’t been able to feel the difference in the air? the way it seems to flow slowly, lingering, like it has something to wait for? there’s no heavy blankets on the bed, and yet everybody else is talking of how cold the weather’s been lately.”

“that’s because this is an insulated room, and we’re right up against a cliff.”

the quick pace to his heart was back, this time less of worry and more of confusion. you couldn’t be the creator, not when you bore so little resemblance to the one on the throne. you were good at what you did, plants thriving under your care even if you forget to water them. call him selfish, but tighnari almost wished the creator could go back to wherever they’d been, since they’d been much kinder there, both to their vessels and the world.

you weren’t them. they weren’t even close to being you.

“you’re considering it.”

he crossed his arms, forcing himself to still. “i’ll admit—not that you didn’t already know it—that we have taken a refugee into the village, one the sages might call a criminal-“

“that’s not what i mean, tighnari, and you know it.”

“can you give me a minute? you can’t just drop a massive load of information on me like that and expect me to continue like it didn’t happen!”

“you’re reacting oddly.”

“well of course i am, you’re telling me the same person i took in and sheltered from your bosses is somebody you want to take away back to them, and that’s not even covering their injuries- they’ve barely been able to walk outside of the village, and you want to take them to the city?”

“when did i say anything about the sages?”

tighnari stopped, his chest heaving. his hands froze mid-air, his tail still flicking in a mix of irritation and stress, thoughts moving quicker than he could understand them.

“what?”

“i never said anything about the sages. i never said i would take them.”

“w- well it’s implied, if not in your words then-“

“i don’t deal in implications. you know this.”

he did.

he knew cyno. he knew how he spoke and acted, he knew that the small emotion in his eyes was indicative of empathy and not ruthless justice. he knew he held reasoning in high standards, he knew that if he stopped and thought about the words coming from his mouth then he would agree.

but he couldn’t think.

all of his usual composure had faltered and faded, leaving him grasping for a hold as his thoughts swam like a raging river around him, even standing a struggle amidst the tide. all he could do was watch, his head racing and hands shaking, as cyno stood on the bank of rationality, with his crossed arms and cool eyes that dared him to step forward and sink beneath the waves.

he had no real reason to fear so much for you. by now you were gone, by now you were safe and far past the statue of the seven by the chasm, hidden in a place where even cyno would struggle to find you. you were crafty, clever, and you had more than enough supplies to last until he could go to find you.

he had no reason to be afraid.

yet his heart still raced a rhythm he couldn’t follow, his mind tripping and skipping with worry.

why?

his tail wrapped around his side and he picked out a cluster of petals from it, mostly just to give his hands something to do.

as he did, he noticed it was a full flower, likely knocked off one of the samples on the desk. it was small, blue, with smooth petals, and he recognized it after a moment’s pause.

“this is a hydrangea. what is it used for?”

the flower quivered in your shaking hands. “root and stem are for… for medicine. petals are tea.”

collei nodded, smiling brightly. “exactly! you’re a quick learner, aren’t you?”

you smiled sheepishly, trying to hand her back the flower, but collei held up a hand, closing her pack with her other hand.

“no, you keep it. take it as a congratulations for all your progress!”

you were hesitant to accept it, that much was clear, and tighnari tied off the small parcel in his hands before speaking.

“you really have done well. you’ve only been here for a few weeks, but you’ve learned a lot.” he set down the packed herbs beside where he was leaning on the table, directing all of his attention to you. “i know it’s mostly for safety, and you’re not going to be a ranger-“ too much paperwork was required, he couldn’t risk it “-but still. i’m proud of you.”

you smiled.

it likely wasn’t the same flower—that ‘class’ was months ago, now—but it dragged a realization to the surface of his mind.

in the short, fleeting time he’d known you, he had come to care for you as he did collei.

even then, only after a week or two of you being there, a certain fondness had taken root in his chest. something bright, something that bloomed like a rose yet without any of the thorns. something that he watered every time you winced when you walked, something you fostered when you helped treat collei’s eleazar when he was out clearing a withering zone.

something that grew as he realized the poultice you had made had helped clear the pain faster than anything he’d made, even as you both used the same recipe, something that lashed out when kamran questioned your place in the village. something that spurred him to action when he thought you were in trouble, even if it was only cyno.

something that burned bright, something hot that blurred his reasoning even when he knew it was wrong, something that made him want to bare his teeth and keep you safe by his side.

something that should be impossible for him to feel towards you, as it was a golden and warm feeling that did not exist in teyvat, only ever glimpsed at altars.

tighnari looked up from the flower and into cyno’s knowing eyes.

“alright.”

relief washed onto his face, a small nod the only other sign that he’d heard.

“i’ll report nothing to the team—i trust you’ve gone over this, given your reaction?”

he let the comment slide. “yes, everybody here knows what to do in the case of the akademiya or the millelith coming here. it was collei’s idea, actually, and she took care to make sure that everybody had it memorized.”

cyno nodded, taking a step towards the door. “good. and if you ever need to collei matra, just get me instead.”

“…”

“do you get-?”

“i got it, cyno.”

[sedoretu]

Curious — how many are you familiar with? 🔥

Defined however you want, but ideally more than “have heard the name before”:

Harry Truman

Doris Day

Red China

Johnnie Ray

South Pacific

Walter Winchell

Joe DiMaggio

Joe McCarthy

Richard Nixon

Studebaker

Television

North Korea

South Korea

Marilyn Monroe

Rosenbergs

H-bomb

Sugar Ray

Panmunjom

Brando

"The King and I"

and "The Catcher in the Rye"

Eisenhower

Vaccine

England's got a new queen

Marciano

Liberace

Santayana (goodbye)

Joseph Stalin

Malenkov

Nasser

Prokofiev

Rockefeller

Campanella

Communist Bloc

Roy Cohn

Juan Peron

Toscanini

Dacron

Dien Bien Phu falls

"Rock Around the Clock"

Einstein

James Dean

Brooklyn's got a winning team

Davy Crockett

Peter Pan

Elvis Presley

Disneyland

Bardot

Budapest

Alabama

Krushchev

Princess Grace

Peyton Place

Trouble in the Suez

Little Rock

Pasternak

Mickey Mantle

Kerouac

Sputnik

Chou En-Lai

"Bridge on the River Kwai"

Lebanon

Charles de Gaulle

California baseball

Starkweather homicide

Children of Thalidomide

Buddy Holly

Ben Hur

Space monkey

Mafia

Hula hoops

Castro

Edsel is a no-go

U2

Syngman Rhee

Payola

Kennedy

Chubby Checker

Psycho

Belgians in the Congo

Hemingway

Eichmann

"Stranger in a Strange Land"

Dylan

Berlin

Bay of Pigs invasion

"Lawrence of Arabia"

British Beatlemania

Ole Miss

John Glenn

Liston beats Patterson

Pope Paul

Malcolm X

British politician sex

JFK (blown away, what else do I have to say?)

Birth control

Ho Chi Minh

Richard Nixon (back again)

Moonshot

Woodstock

Watergate

Punk rock

Begin

Reagan

Palestine

Terror on the airline

Ayatollah’s in Iran

Russians in Afghanistan

"Wheel of Fortune"

Sally Ride

heavy metal suicide

Foreign debts

Homeless vets

AIDS

Crack

Bernie Goetz

Hypodermics on the shore

China's under martial law

Rock and roller cola wars

I can’t take it anymore (free space)

[drakaripykiros130ac]

do you expect TG to be even more whitewashed in next seasons? I certainly do. And I think I've already got an idea how Condal will do it. 1. Alicunt goes to Rhaenyra to beg for ceasing the war and/or dividing the realm so both Rhaenyra and Aegon can be rulers. Alicunt will imploringly beseech Rhaenyra with tears in her Big Doe Eyes™ and Rhaenyra harshly answers "no". They'll make Rhaenyra look like a power hungry, vicious tyrant just to get their point across 2. Aemond. Most (if not all) of his actions will be excused as "he didn't know better/he's just hot blooded, young and naive". Just like with accidently murdering Luke. And how will they do it? Two words: Alys Rivers. Yes, I fully expect them to make her the mastermind behind Strongs house annihilation and nuking Riverlands. She'll whisper into Aemond's ear that Strongs are traitors (her own personal revenge bc they treated her oh so bad) that he should show Riverlands his might etc.

I'm 100% sure it will happen

I agree with absolutely everything you mentioned.

Alicent gets a pass for everything because she is played by Olivia Cooke and the showrunners are absolutely obsessed with her (and when I say that, I mean her looks). And because Emma D’Arcy is not considered a conventional beauty in comparison, Rhaenyra, as a character, has to suffer.

Yes, I am 100% convinced they will make Alicent all holly and desperate to end the war (after she started it) by trying to convince Rhaenyra to divide the Realm and have both her and Aegon rule different parts of it (which is book canon, but the real Alicent’s intentions were far from noble at that point). They will certainly ignore how in canon, Alicent said terrible things about Rhaenyra’s children, like how bastard blood doesn’t matter and all that.

The showrunners also have an obsession with Aemond, as you pointed out. And in order to make him look good, they have to make Daemon look bad.

They invented the “bullying” storyline and how he just “accidently” killed Lucerys. In book canon, Aemond was a bloodthirsty psychopath with zero redeeming qualities (unlike Daemon), he committed numerous war crimes as a result of his rage and turned Alys Rivers into his sex slave after he murdered her whole family. But true, I’m not going to be surprised if they make Alys the mastermind behind all of Aemond’s actions in this war, just to make him look like a “poor innocent baby”.

Basically, everything the Greens do is a misunderstanding or an accident. Everything the Blacks do is intentional and cruel: that’s the showrunners’ whole play (and I can’t believe GRRM is letting them do whatever they want and turning this whole Dance into their personal Wattpad story).

[madockisser]

You did amazing recap of Cardan's clothing! Can you do the same for his makeup?

cardans makeup analysis/recap!!

thank u so much anon! 🫶 i will try my best w the limited info abt his makeup

let’s start w the infamous kohl liner, which is also called kajal.

first off i’d like to say that kohl is used in different ways, and whether or not the kohl cardan uses is the traditional kind is not disclosed by holly black. for all we know the kohl that cardan uses could be very different (sorta like faerie style? would make sense) from the type i’m about to describe (which is traditionally from all over the world.)

now, if the kohl cardan uses is similar/inspired by traditional/ human kohl, then it would come in a bottle, and inside contains a powder called surma. to apply it, you open the bottle, from the top, pull out the brass/ivory/silver/glass/wooden stick and drag it between your waterlines (upper and lower) to wet it w your eye fluids. then, placing the stick back into the bottle, then pulling it out, will reveal the surma covered stick, and then drag it along the waterlines again. then boom. you’ve got kohl on 👅

kohl/kajal bottle^^^. now, kohl, to my knowledge is an eye protectant from sunlight, it is used on the lower and upper waterline usually, but it is very smeary(truly an emphasis on this, i own kohl and it gets EVERYWHERE) so it sorta can get all over the eyes. since cardan is rarely in the sun, the kohl is cosmetic. it was also usually made from minerals, but nowadays, it is made from soot from plants, roots, etc. so all natural.

he also wears sometimes silver or gold streaks across his cheeks, the gold could be never/nevermore (the drug) since he was seen w a gold flaked mouth atleast once.

the kohl he wears is described to run along his lashes. also it’s black usually, just so u get the visual lol

anyway, it’s the faerie way to be super extravagant and what not (within the high court), so the gold/silver streaks across his cheekbones makes sense.

just adding that his lashes are already super long, they touch his cheek when they’re closed.

anyway his makeup isn’t mentioned often, so this is a short one! thank you for the ask! feel free to add on bc i feel like missed a scene describing his makeup, either that or it rly isn’t mentioned that often at all! but even then if i missed a scene, it would most likely be the same old silver/ gold, or kohl.!

lastly, i am NOT sure if my information on kohl liner is 100% accurate, so please feel free to correct me if i’m wrong!! i got most of my information online from a kohl seller/advertiser 🫶🫶

[will80sbyers]

Mega recap post, today we got a video from the rainbow room:

They are also doing the vfx stuff for the season

We got Karen's stuff for when she takes her baths and the wine is non alcoholic for some reason ( tbh I think she's too old to get pregnant and it wouldn't make sense so idk what's going on - update no one is pregnant thankgod ) there's also something that kinda looks like a spyglass behind the red radio but I'm not sure

Ross at the Wheeler's house filming something, the painting in the corridor is the same that was in season 4 and not the one that was in season 1 so it should be the present, it also kinda looks like there's a hand in the shot on the left in the monitor but I'm not 100% sure that it's a hand... I'm not sure but it seems that maybe they are filming where the fireplace is because there's a color like flames there... idk maybe these are scenes with Holly?

[axilog14]

A while back I managed to find the mini Lalaloopsy Pet Pals, which were some of my longtime toy grails. I got them loose without their original accessories, and I'm not 100% sure but these might've been factory samples?

My full mini Lalaloopsy collection had been in storage for a while now. Sadly I never had the space to display them, especially given the unwieldy size of my collection in general.

By some miracle I managed to hold on to all their pets and accessories, plus some dolls still semi-mint in the original plastic trays.

There are a few "holy grail" minis I never got my hands on that I'm still looking for to this day. (I think mini Storm E. Sky was from the reboot? ) For some reason series 15 onward (including the music, fast food, and bug-themed minis) were never available in my country, so I have whole waves I need too.

I'm resigned to Scraps Stitched 'n' Sewn and Holly Sleighbells possibly costing a small fortune online. I'm not really a stickler for dolls being mint in package, as long as all their accessories are complete. I wish older toys were easier to find in my country.