#how many acronyms for one show can there be!!!!

[stargirl230]

ghost of you

super quick Sua screencap redraw to celebrate the new video release - no I was not expecting it to be Like That and yes I was devastated

(no reposts; reblogs appreciated)

[incogrio]

西村力 - nishimura riki who…

riki bf hcs ~ gn!reader ~ genre: fluff, little bit of angst

jungwon, heeseung, jay, jake, sunghoon, sunoo, ni-ki

.nishimura riki who chooses your outfits for you, and somehow always convinces you to wear something of his

.nishimura riki who always has sweets in his pocket just for you, but pretends that he just so happened to have them whenever you ask for one

.nishimura riki who always sighs and rolls his eyes whenever you ask to cuddle, but always ends up being the one whining for you to stay in bed

.nishimura riki who invited you to come see enha practice and gets super shy and smiley whenever you cheer

.nishimura riki who never kisses you in front of his members, but when you bring them all food to the practice room he has to practice some restraint

.nishimura riki who has beef with any and all of your stuffed animals

.nishimura riki who loves your relationship with his members

.nishimura riki who loves hugs from behind, and always takes your hands and lifts them from his stomach to his chest just so he can feel you closer to his heart

.nishimura riki who brushes your teeth when you are too tired to

.nishimura riki who never lets you win at any video game you play, no matter how pouty you get

.nishimura riki who worries that you’ll leave him for an idol with more experience

.nishimura riki who comes crying to you, face buried in your neck after he gets harassed in airports

.nishimura riki who texts you with so many acronyms that you sometimes need urban dictionary pulled up along with his texts

.nishimura riki who curls up on your chest almost every night

.nishimura riki who only lets you sweep his hair out of his face

.the same nishimura riki who insists he’s tough whilst having his hair twirled into tiny braids

.nishimura riki who only shows you and his members his soft side ☹️💗

comment, dm or ask to be added to the taglist

requests are open!

don’t forget your daily click!

[lady-raziel]

It's time...we're edging the sleep

Link to the full pdf document HERE (includes links)

What This Is:

A collaborative, grassroots initiative for fans of Markiplier and The Edge of Sleep to promote the newly released TV show on Amazon Prime Video to raise awareness and generate attention that will drive supporters and casual viewers alike to watch the show.

Why This Exists:

Fans of the hit podcast and followers of Markiplier (Mark Fischbach) have been anticipating the TV adaptation for years since it was announced in 2021 and have been waiting to watch the show since then. However, after radio silence since nearly after filming completed, the long-awaited show is now being dropped on Amazon Prime early—before any official promotion starts.

Many fans disagree with the confusing treatment of an adaptation they have been wanting to watch for years, the haphazard amount of pre-release promotion for the show, and the increasingly high benchmarks of instant success placed on creative material, regardless of origin, that challenges the ability of new ideas and stories to thrive and grow.

This collection of suggested guiding materials is intended to serve as a starting point for fans and advocates in taking matters into our own hands and promoting the show we want to succeed, to open doors for future creative projects for all sorts of innovators, and to bring attention to the current challenging creative environment that stifles new projects before they have a chance to shine.

CRITICAL TAKEAWAY (if you read nothing else):

Stream The Edge of Sleep on Amazon Prime Video if you can and TALK ABOUT THE SHOW. Talk about it and anything else covered in this guide as much as you can, because every bit of chatter matters in allowing this project to succeed.

(More info on steps you can take to help under the page break, or check out the full doc linked above for everything!)

Most Important Steps To Take:

Stream The Edge of Sleep on Amazon Prime Video, as well as add it to your watchlist and like the show on the platform to enhance performance metrics.

The full pdf document has information later on detailing how to access Amazon Prime Video as well as information on low-cost pricing and deals for gaining access to Prime Video, and how to use “Watch Party” mode to stream with others.

You can “like” the show even if you don’t have Prime Video and just have a basic Amazon account! Even small metrics like this impact both the front and backend impressions viewed by corporate employees.

Use the hashtags #TheEdgeofSleep and #TheEdgeofSleeponPrime on social media sites where hashtags are applicable in sharing material about the show. Share or make anything you can—memes, art, discussions of the story, pictures, edits, or even just posts saying you’re watching the show. Truly, it all matters and helps!

It’s important to use both tags or at the very least, the second one indicating the streaming platform. It identifies WHAT the show is and WHERE to find it, which is helpful information for those stumbling across The Edge of Sleep for the first time. Additionally, using the name of the platform frequently attracts attention for Prime Video, which can reflect back positively on the show in the eyes of the company if The Edge of Sleep is the source of the discussion.

Although it can be laborious to type out “The Edge of Sleep” every time and thus impulse says to abbreviate in both discussion and hashtags to “TEOS/teos,” this can hinder effectiveness as it is not a recognizable acronym to non-fans and might impact the potential of the full “The Edge of Sleep” title to trend on any social platform.

Share the show with anyone and everyone you think would like it, offline and in person. A personal recommendation will always be more impactful than any ad—everyone is an “influencer” to someone! Also, be sure to rate the show or add it to your watchlist anywhere you can—including on Amazon Prime Video itself through the like function on the show page, as well as on third-party sites like IMDB or TV Guide.

Not sure how to recommend the show to someone? The brief synopsis, “fast facts,” and “pitch” suggestions in the HELPFUL REFERENCE section of the full pdf document might help, along with thoughts of enthusiasm for the show, original podcast, or any of Mark’s other projects mixed in!

Sites like IMDB allow you to rate shows and films for free, even if you haven’t gotten the chance to watch them yet.

Most Important Thing To Remember:

JUST HAVE FUN!!! This is about promoting the show we’ve waited for and want to succeed, opening the door for more projects we want to see, but also just about getting together as a community and making cool stuff!

Again, you can find all this info and more resources in the full Strategy doc linked here. Go forth and sleedge △

[yoredoesmore]

The Life of A Married Couple | Soshiro Hoshina | IDMCWBM

a/n: “I Drink My Coffee With Blueberry Milk” is my new mini series featuring a stoic and always serious reader and her funny and teasing husband (Soshiro)! “IDMCWBM” is a long acronym but we will live 

(I'm not dead guys, exam season is almost over please bear with me! > <)

Husband Soshiro who has multiple folders dedicated to different pictures of you. One is for funny pictures, one is for candid pictures, one for professionally taken images and so many more the list goes on!

You who pretends to not be affected by the fact that you haven't seen your husband in 12 hours but the second someone mentions his name you melt internally 

Husband Soshiro who leaves his office door unlocked at night because he knows that you like to take a nap in there. You act like its no big deal when he catches you but he absolutely loves it

You who once tried to make his favorite dish for him but you ended up creating something so gruesome and terrible that Hoshina lost his appetite that day and has ever since claimed a new dish as his new favorite (don't mention the old dish, he will get war flashbacks)

Husband Soshiro who buys you a cup of flan every month and places it in the exact same spot in the fridge every time, because during your first date you mentioned your love for flan. (You actually prefer pudding over flan but he got it mixed up but that is a secret you will take to the grave)

You who personally tends to his blades, fixes them up and polishes them whenever necessary, since you are the only person Soshiro trusts them with.

Husband Soshiro who once overheard a cadet make an inappropriate comment about you and later that day completely demolished him during the combat training session. He walked away smiling, not even bothering to help him up, which earned him many suspicious looks from the others. (Especially Kafka found himself freaked out by the Captain's roughness)

You who goes lengths to ease up your husbands work life. “Oh, these folders are supposed to be inspected by the Vice Captain? No worries, I will handle them myself.” No matter how much needs to be done in your own office, you will do anything so that Soshiro can rest a little more.

Husband Soshiro who agreed to a “no display of intimacy/PDA in public and especially not at work” rule but he can't help himself but pull you into an empty training room every now and then and show you just how much he needs you. You pretend to be upset but not so deep down you need this just as much as he does (you end up initiating round two)

a/n: I could write these for hours :>. To everyone who has send in a request, please bear with me I'm working on them !! > < for the time being please accept my crumbs

[does-it-introject]

... is an account dedicated to introjects, fictives, factives, faitives, songtives, ... tives!

Here's the basic idea: Each post includes a source and a poll; if your system has someone from the source you go 'YES', if not you go 'NO'. If you're not plural you go 'RESULTS'.

Why? Because I think this is fun. Don't take it serious! Don't think too hard about it! You can even use it to find source mates if you want? All up to you!

"Oh but [NAME] what counts as "from the source"?" "Do fictionkin count?" "Does ... count?" YES. Everything counts, if you want. Don't think! Just press little buttons and clarify or don't clarify in your reblog if you want! I'm not gonna limit your button pressing experience!

Is there a DNI? No! It's a poll account. Who cares about who interacts. Just don't go around being an asshole and we're fine!

Requests are always open! Unless they're closed!

Yes, the profile is the fictive flag, but this account is for all of you tiny beings; I just really love this flag so... yea man!

Small, growing QNA below the cut!!

"Can you add a button for 'unsure' / 'used to' / 'maybe' / 'not interacted with source'?" - I appreciate the questions, but I'd prefer to keep the polls limited to these options! I get the frustration though. Just click whichever option feels right to you, and if neither feels right you can always click 'RESULTS'.

"How many requests can we send it?" - Go crazy! Go wild! Send 100 requests in one ask or 100 requests in 100 single asks! I don't mind either way!

"Are there any requesting rules?" - My only condition is: do NOT expect me to know what "TIAEOWNTDLOL" means as an acronym. Write the full name, I beg of you, my oh so dear requester. I had to delete three asks because I had no idea what the letters meant. Extra Note: I give you a cookie if you write (game / show / band) in your request.

"Are there any forbidden sources?" - No, where's the fun in that? Request whichever! Also, yes, factive sources are absolutely welcome and appreciated here as well! Adult sources are okay as well, but will be tagged accordingly to keep the younger people safe!

"Can I request a source you already made a poll about?" - Yes, if the original poll is atleast a month old! I will let it rerun if people want it!

"Can singlet fictionkin / IRLs / ... vote in the polls?" - Sure, if you want! You guys are just as cool as everyone else so go ahead and press that little button!

"Can you post more polls a day?" - I do not want to spam the tags with polls that not everyone might want to see. 4 is the maximum posts a day. Okay? Yea!

"Why didn't you post trigger warnings for this media?" - I add trigger warnings to media I assume to possibly contain triggering content from the images / name or ones I am actively aware of. If you believe a media I posted should get TWs and be hidden under a cut, please let me know in my asks or dms and tell me which elements specifically so I can add them after posting.

[mayandjuly1811]

I DISLIKE HUNTER'S FAVORITISM

Lilith is so based for this. Hunter gets special treatment from not only in the Emperor's coven but also in the entire show, crew and fandom.

The crew also loves the idea of giving him more trauma and focus. During livestreams and talk shows, there are always questions about him, even more than King - one of the main characters.

In the show, many point out that the first letters of the episodes in which he appears with the Hexsquad is an acronym for H-E-A-L (Hunting Palismen, Eclipse Lake, Any Sports in A Storm, Labyrinth Runner). It means the Hexsquad, even Luz, the main character, is a plot device for his arc. I also knew that Hunter was written to stay at the Owl House after the whole event of Hollow Mind. Imagine him staying with the main characters of the show, having them comforting him, center around him. It will be the same with how the Hexsquad is written to be centered around him as his support system again, specifically Gus and Willow. Undoubtedly, the show intended to make him one of the main characters so obviously that it isn't subtle anymore.

- Luz: the main character of the show. In season 2B, Hunter replaces Luz as their new best friend in the trio. Like seriously? Even though Luz is dating Amity, she can still have spare time for her friends. But the writers don't care, so Hunter will have more time with Willow and Gus. It paints Luz in a bad light as someone who throws her friendship away once she finds love. It's OOC of Luz. Never thought a main character could get such bad writing treatment.

The nightmare sequence is also unreasonable. While others’ resentment towards Luz sounds more logical, Hunter's isn't, at least to me. I don't get why the writers wrote Luz thinking Hunter get mad of her like this “I lost him helping you.” Who helps who actually? He came to Luz's place first. He was the one asking Luz for help and not the other way around. He literally ran away first and intended to face Belos alone despite Luz's calling. Even though Luz is self-blaming, her interaction in the nightmare sequence with Hunter makes no sense.

- Next is Amity: I was expecting Amity to have more screen time with Willow, since I'm not satisfied with how their friendship is written. But alas, if Luz, the main character, doesn't even have any episodes ever since Hunter appears, how could Amity - a side character - can?

The writing flaw is obvious in her rekindled friendship with Willow. The way Amity views Willow's strength is negatively retconned. In Understanding Willow, she says that she didn't think of Willow as weak. In the next episode, she even cooperates with Willow and Luz to compete against Boscha. Grudgeby is a dangerous sport, and Boscha is a tough competitor who has won several cups. Obviously, Willow proves her strength there, shows her magic and even scores the last goal. Amity sees it all. In season 1, it's going in the right direction, Amity acknowledges that Willow isn't weak and even cooperates with her. She never tries to stop Willow from competing with the excuse of thinking her weak. But in Labyrinth Runner, she gets done dirty so bad. The writers intend to show that she's overprotective of Willow and wants to protect her, but by what way? Trying to make up for the times when she can't stand up for Willow in the past? No, by underestimating her. This makes no sense compared to how she's written in season 1. This scene, when Amity says that the guards are tough, and not anyone can stand up to them, her lines can be added up like “Willow, you just got kidnapped by them and I'm worried about you. I faced the Scouts before, and they were quite tough, so I got thrown down the pit by one.” It would be better than writing her as underestimating Willow's strength! Oh and I hate the irritating scene “Good luck, Willow”. They could have just written Amity asking Willow if she was okay.

Why Amity is retconned like that? I strongly believe that Amity is flanderized as someone who underestimates Willow's strength to uplift Hunter, who admires and appreciates her strength despite only meeting her once. I already saw “Willow forgives Hunter faster because he sees her as strong while Amity sees her as a weakling.”

- Willow: Any Sports in a storm is supposed to be a Willow's episode but it's a Hunter's one apparently. Willow is written to be hard-working, determined and strong from the start of the episode with her dream of being the first Flyer Derby captain. But it gets overshadowed by Hunter's new friendship and interaction with the group. From the middle till the end, there's barely any scenes of Willow being recognized as a good captain. There's no scene at least like other teammates praising her for her leadership and planning. And there's no scene of her interpersonal emotions like “I did it” or her fathers being proud of her. She wishes to be good at Flyer Derby and follow in her fathers’ footsteps. It's never mentioned again. It's not about her, it's only about developing Hunter and the ship tease Huntlow. Instead of writing how her newfound confidence and captain leadership are recognized, her old wound “half-a-witch” is brought up to develop Hunter and Huntlow, even though it's not the SAME thing Hunter and Willow have in common!! Hunter gets the spotlight in the Flyer Derby team, from praising, encouragement to the photo taking. He's the centre in the photo, just like how everyone is focused on his slow typing at the end of the episode.

Willow is also retconned as a forced girlboss stereotype from dragging Hunter when they first met to being insensitive of his trauma. Like why did she get done so dirty? Especially in Thanks to Them, Willow comforts Vee quite well. She said Vee didn't have to go to the museum if she was still afraid. But it's not the same in For the Future when she tries to comfort Hunter by bringing a Flapjack's photo right after he lost his palisman.

- Last but not least, Gus. Labyrinth Runner is a Gus episode that gets overshadowed. The breathing technique is something special in Gus and Willow's friendship. But it's used to develop Hunter again. It's used to develop his and Gus's friendship, and his relationship with Willow.

Gus, who has been friends with Willow for years, can't recognize the real Willow while Hunter can. It's reasonable if Willow gets scared of Hunter. Also, that he thinks Willow doesn't get scared of him isn't entirely convincing to me. Even though Willow isn't utterly scared, she would at least be wary of him. He kidnapped her and others, locked them up, took their Palismen and took them away from their families. He saved them at the end, but what they've been through was very traumatizing. Willow is insecure about her strength. Not to mention it doesn't make any sense when Hunter sees how Willow doubts her strength and calls herself half-a-witch. He stirs up her insecurity and how can he think she isn't afraid of him? Yet in Labyrinth Runner, he is written to be more understanding of her strength more than Gus?

If Hunter knows that the illusion isn't Willow, Gus should have known as well. Gus is the master of illusion, and he can't even recognize an illusionist? Also, his best friend? They could have written that Gus recognizes Willow through the breathing technique, which is the only thing they knew to solidify their friendship more.

In Labyrinth Runner, both Amity and Gus are done dirty in this episode in order to make Hunter outshine them. And most of all, Huntlow. Hunter is written to be more understanding and appreciating Willow's strength more than Gus and Amity, so Huntlow would be more convincing.

- Season 3 has only three episodes but more than half of the screen time is about Hunter, playing the main character role just like Luz. I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thinks Hunter's possessed scene and killing Flapjack are unnecessary. How does it benefit his character and the plot? Hunter can still defy and fight Belos without being possessed. The only effect from this is his ability to do magic and going through more trauma. According to what the crew says, they like to give him trauma. It makes me think that they're too focused on him and make him have more screen time and attention than others.

- The writer gives him too much trauma yet they can't handle it right. Hence, they shouldn't have added that in the show, especially in a cancelled one. In For the Future, Hunter has to shove his grief down to comfort Willow. Gus is sidelined like usual in favor of Hunter and Huntlow. He knows about Hunter's secret, what Belos did and it traumatizes him a lot, but his feelings are never mentioned during season 3. Oh great, it's only brought up again when it has something to do with Hunter.

- Why can only Hunter reach out to Willow when she has a breakdown? Why is Gus trapped and further away from her? And if I thought it can't get any worse, Willow only says thank you to Hunter then holds his pinky. What about Gus? He tried to comfort her too. Willow first met Gus when he was having a mental breakdown, she comforted him and understood him. That's the start of their friendship. It will be much more meaningful when Gus plays a more important part in helping Willow by the same breathing technique she taught him. Even though Willow and Gus usually stay together, their friendship is written on such a surface-level despite having a lot of potential.

- Willow and Gus are considered as the most powerful characters in the group. But the writers say “no, let Hunter shine”. First minute, both Willow and Gus are confident that they can take down Kikimora, but later, Hunter has to come to the rescue. Like, I'm not saying Hunter can't save her or Willow is weak but it doesn't fit right in this moment. Willow has just got her comfort and confidence back, yet she doesn't get to have the moments to show her strength and power. Give me Willow and Gus’s power combo that defeats Kikimora satisfyingly, not just boasting about their power, but failing and then getting rescued by Hunter. It feels like their power is nerfed out so Hunter has a chance to show off his new power (even though he's already done that).

- Lastly, Flapjack tattoo, another sign of Hunter favoritism to me, so feel free to agree to disagree about this. Tattoo is one of the most noticeable traits on one's body.

It's ingrained on the skin and noticeable on the characters’ designs. How on earth everyone else has to have the tattoo of his Palisman? I get that they want to respect Flapjack, but this seems like Hunter has main character favoritism in the show. The group doesn't even bond with Flapjack that much. They can show respect for the Palisman in other ways, making a carving, album and so on. If they tattooed it, it's mostly because of Hunter. I still prefer Luz to have flowery tattoos or something else related to her father. And I prefer others having their tattoos of their own Palismen rather than Hunter's.

- Not only the Hexsquad but another side character also suffers from this, Alador. In Clouds on the Horizon, Alador shows his clear doubt towards Hunter. It makes perfectly sense because he was the Emperor's right-hand man, everyone is doubtful of him, including people at Hexside. They even intend to send him back to the coven. But when Alador doubts him, instead of explaining himself like he has with the Hexside teachers and students, he chooses to criticize Alador. "At least I didn't build him an army." That's a weak counterback. Did Hunter forget that he was the one coming to the Blight factory and inform that Belos wants the Abomatons exclusively?Belos is the most powerful person on the Isles, so both Odalia and Alador can't defy him and can only build the Abomatons only for him. They can't sell their invention to others anymore. It's hypocritical of Hunter to say that to Alador when he was in the same position like them, unable to defy Belos's power and demand. Instead of saying that "I'm leaving Belos" "I'm not going back to him." "I realized he wasn't like how he actually is" to counter Alador's doubt, Hunter criticizes Alador for also helping Belos with such a weak counterpoint. People only attack others personally when they run out of excuses in an argument. The writing of their interaction makes no sense, and intends to make Hunter the victim and Alador the bad guy. Unfortunately, I only saw how hypocritical Hunter is.

In short, the favoritism in Hunter's writing did damage to other characters' writing, including Luz, the main character. He is written as the most sympathetic character, while some characters are nerfed and OOC to make him outshine them. If the show is written like that, no wonder the fandom centres around him too much and put other characters down in favour of him.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for making a joke about my sex life to a student? 😏🐓 Nsfw text obv i know the title sounds bad but please read everything

I (Transmasc, 25) work on a school, very open as being gay, pride pins and it all, not as a teacher but I take care of computers, textbooks and the library. The younger folk seem to like me, but it's in high school folks things get ugly. Most just don't care about me, which I can't judge, being a teen sucks. Some hate me for telling them to go back to class. The ones that like me (mostly queer/autistic folk) like me for real.

There's this one boy (he's either 16 or 17 so he's NOT a kid) that always makes fun of me, is always skipping classes, is mean to everyone, implied a old teacher she should be better off dead, bothers everyone, talk loudly and complains about everything on his sight.

And he is. Very bigoted. I saw him more than once hurting the girls he studies with (slapping/punching) and caling the whores and more, telling them to suck him off, ride his dick, gag on his cock, etc, saying very hurtful things on gay men/anyone he deemed gay, and principal can only call his parents so many times before the parents stop showing and taking the concerns seriously. This is an ongoing issue since 6th grade, as far as I know. He hates my guts since I've called the principal on him more than once for going off on me telling me to fuck myself for asking him to go back to class.

My main strategy with him is ignoring him and the second one is answering as I don't understand him. Perks of being autistic I guess, being able to do this with a straight face. So: he calls me a chicken, I tell him they're my favorite farm animal, how did he guess? They're so amazing and cute. He tells me the lunch is gross, I say they can buy their lunch to bring if they want to, school food isn't that good (not true, the school food is amazing. Most students eat more than one plate). The computers are too slow, I ask him to please be patient cause they're old men that don't like to work, be nice to them :(. Guy says that the classes sucks, I tell him that the complaint box is at (governor's address) but yea they suck but at least he has only one year left.

This is where I might be the asshole, because I hurt myself going up and down a chair to organize some textbooks and I already have severe hip/knee pain so this only made me hurt worse so I am already pretty grumpy. A teacher asks for a banner of a periodic table and I have to find the table and go up a chair to hang it, and in the process, I let out a moan of pain becaude my knees dream of my downfall, and the teacher asks me if I am okay, so I tell yea, my hips and knees just hurt like a bitch. And this one student tells me "why, are you beaten up from taking cock in your ass?" And I breath deeply and answer "If it was from fucking I would be damn happy, but it's only from working. Anyways teacher here you go (with the periodic table)" and the teacher looks me with a surprised expression and all the class is silent and uncomfortable so I just left. Now the student can't look in my eyes but at least they're not talking to me anymore and the teacher hasn't said anything. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

[mesetacadre]

Hi, I'm someone relatively new to communism and I wondered if you could help me with a question: what is it that the communist party can *do* to actually be a reliable ally of workers? I've heard many people say this is how workers will support the party -once they see both the bourgeois institutions and unions fail them, but I'm not entirely sure what, say, a modern party in Europe can actually do besides agitation. What are the practical steps, or one example of them? (I understand this might be highly dependable on context and therefore not have an easy answer, but I think even one example might be useful, because what I'm struggling to wrap my head around is how a party actually starts showing they're an ally of the workers BEFORE having the political power to change the workers' material conditions -other than by doing agitation)

It's organizing, but this is a relatively vague word if you've no experience with it. I'll first go through a hypothetical example and then get into the more theoretical weeds.

Say there's a new metro extension being built under a town, the government didn't pay attention to surveys and they built the tunnel through a section of ground which doesn't drain water that well, the tunnel begins to flood a few weeks after opening and this is seriously affecting the structural integrity of residential buildings' foundations. Massive cracks are spawning in these homes, and the government decides to evacuate all the affected streets to demolish the buildings, 600+ families, without providing adequate or even sufficient compensation and reaccomodation.

You'd first need to make contact with the affected, through whoever brought the situation to your party's attention. Maybe a militant is one of the affected, perhaps some of the affected contacted you directly, maybe they contacted a worker's union or a neighborhood association and made its way to you through the interpersonal networks that always exist between people involved in various social movements and platforms. You should see and ask what they need, inform yourself of the legislative process surrounding it, when evictions are happening, etc. And then put what the party can give towards supporting them; setting up supply drives and money collections, giving them strength if they want to resist the evictions and offer legal support, before and after, help them legalize protests in front of the responsible legislature and providing logistical support for what's needed (megaphones, materials and knowhow for banners, a cheap sticker printer, etc), in general, agitate about this and make the situation known. Work in earnest with them, you don't need to be self interested to put in mind and body to oppose such a negligent act.

I've glossed over a lot, and of course these things are always easier said than done. But this is in essence what organizing is, getting actually involved to put forward your political program, it's managing resources and people in such a way that you can continuously put in effort without burning people out. Notice how agitation was a small part of the example I gave, this is because for agitation to be worth it you must be agitating for something, and I know that sounds like I'm making a big deal out of something a 12 year old could tell you, but it really is easy to fall into the cycle of agitating for agitating's sake, becoming a sort of acronym spirit who never actually does anything but has a consistent presence in the form of impersonal agitation (social media, posters, banners, stickers, leaflets in some cases, etc). What gives agitation a purpose and what makes it effective is what it agitates, the organizing itself, what you're informing about, what you're trying to move people towards.

Most of the times a party that's in a context such as western Europe can't change the material conditions of worker's lives, that's what not having power is, but sometimes it can do it, through organizing. Sometimes you do get a win, and you can help stop a law before it passes, or you can generate enough pressure to stop the firing of a union delegate, or you can get the workers on the negotiating table for better conditions after a 1 week strike. But the failures don't necessarily mean that those workers will stop trusting you, because if you've actually accompanied them, and helped them in the struggle for a goal, those failures are also theirs, just as much as yours. So unless you flagrantlly vacillated in their support, or acted like an opportunist, etc, it's the course of these struggles themselves, and less their result, which build the confidence and referentiality a party needs. Of course, if you manage to get a win that's even better, but workers aren't stupid, and like I said, a failure after actual organizing is as much yours as it is theirs. But what actually matters, for the purposes of building that referent and trustworthy Party that we want, is the fight itself.

[hgeeky]

My year in books 2024 - book series

Over the year I managed to read 140 books (including audiobooks), not including the 4 I started and still have on the go, and 3 that I started and abandoned.

I read quite a few series, here are some thoughts on those (spoiler free). I'll probably follow up with another post or two for other fiction and non-fiction.

Rivers of London by Ben Aaranovitch

I've now read all 9 of the main novels (although I read the first two in 2023), plus Tales from the Folly and What Abigail Did That Summer, all as audiobooks.

Kobna Hollbrook-Smith is an incredible narrator

I absolutely adore the blend of magic, folklore and police bureaucracy. The acronyms and procedure are set out in a way that feels so true to life - with all the quirks that come with how these things translate into practice. And it makes the magic somehow more believable. Plus the characters are so often charming.

I'm looking forward to working my way through the novellas and graphic novels while I wait for the next instalment.

The Aubreyad/Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian

I managed all 20 of the completed novels, my first complete circumnavigation (at some point I'll try to get my hands on the unfinished 21st book)

This is very much thanks to @elodieunderglass posting about it here, which encouraged me to seek out the audiobooks (my library has the Ric Jerrom ones)

I had attempted Master & Commander once, many years ago, because a lot of my family like the books. My grandfather especially liked them, and I wish I had known him better (he died in 2000). But I couldn't cope with the naval jargon at the time and gave up.

I did enjoy the film, and I've enjoyed Hornblower on TV and the Sharpe books, so I do generally enjoy that sort of thing and the audiobooks turned out to be perfect for me.

Ric Jerrom does a wonderful job with the characters and I could let a lot of the naval jargon wash over me (occasionally I did look things up to try to get a better handle on things).

Jack and Stephen are now my blorbos for sure.

And I absoutely love how much O'Brian managed to fit into these books - the natural history, the mores of the time, even the politics, as well as the action, adventure and romance.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

I find these books rather moving, as well as fun

The combination works wonderfully for perking me up, helping me embrace life and find the joy in it, and that's always worth something

In fact it's remarkably impressive

The blend of characters is wonderful, the range of perspectives and personalities really helps me look at the world afresh, and not take things for granted so much.

Jackson Brodie by Kate Atkinson

I read the first one in 2023, and 2-5 in 2024

I've long adored Kate Atkinson's books, and I've read at least two of the Jackson Brodie books before (1 and 4) but thought I'd give the whole series a go

Perhaps not entirely as successful as some of her other books, I did still enjoy them all. I think Big Sky (number 5) was my favourite.

Phryne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood

I really enjoyed the TV adaptation a few years ago so I thought I'd give the audiobooks a go when I saw that my library has them

They are light and easy-going, with grate narration by Stephanie Daniel

I read the first one last year, and got through 2-8 this year. I particularly enjoyed 3 (Muder on the Ballarat Train), 4 (Death at Victoria Dock), 5 (The Green Mil Murder) and 8 (Urn Burial). I didn't mind a bit that I could remember some of the plots from the TV show.

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir

I gave Gideon the Ninth a go after seeing a lot of posts about it on here, and finding I could get it through Audible plus (which I get occasionally when I can get a discount)

It was an absolute headfuck of a fever dream for most of it and I loved it

Eventually I used some credits to get Harrow and Nona and loved them too. Harrow was also a headfuck but I think I'd got slightly more into the swing of things for Nona.

I went back to relisten to Gideon to see what I made of it, after having more context and it was good in a different way. I enjoyed having more things make sense and I appreciated many of the characters a lot more.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkein

When I found out my library had the audiobooks read by Andy Serkis, I thought it would be rude not to borrow them

I enjoyed The Hobbit the most.

I found Return of the King a bit of a slog. It all felt too ponderous when it was focused on humans, elves or dwarves, but fortunately the hobbits, ents and orcs gave it a lot more life and helped get me through.

Edit: Oops I forgot The World of the White Rat!

World of the White Rat - T Kingfisher

I didn't start at the beginning and I've not read everything

I gave the books a go thanks to Audible Plus and now I'm in love with them

Swordheart is my favourite, I've now listened to it twice

I've also covered the first 3 Saint of Steel books and have number 4 ready and waiting

I've also listened to quite a few other T Kingfisher books which aren't in the same world (or at least, not obviously) and loved those too - more on those in a separate post (if I manage it)

[bacondaddy]

If you are a Dead Boy Detective Blog that use #DBD, read this.

Your fandom is new and you guys are spamming an established tag. #DBD has been Dead by Daylight's tag for literal years. You guys are flooding it with your show and I, and many other DBD players and content creators, are trying to get you guys onto your own tag, #DBDShow. We literally cannot get to our own fandom without having to block and report your posts because it's either that, or constantly see "This post contains filtered tags". We don't care what came first, game, show, or comic. We care about the fact that two months ago everything was fine, and suddenly our entire tag is overrun by a show 99% of us has never heard of. None of us want a tag war, and that's what is most likely going to happen. Your fandom is new and I do hope it thrives. Genuinely. But we literally cannot have two fandoms in one tag. It throws off the feed algorithm, it upsets fans on both sides, and gods forbid there be discourse from either side that spills over because no one knows what the hell anyone is talking about. Dead by Daylight has 30 *thousand* players on at any given time. More during chapter drops and events.

Please tag your posts as DBDShow or DBDA. I even checked it myself, it's a fresh tag with few posts tied to it. DBD is taken, established, and known as Dead By Daylight's tumblr tag. It doesn't matter if they're the same acronym, it isn't how tumblr works. The more the tag gets used by DBDShow/DBDA, the more confusion it is going to cause, and the more fights break out. Actual fights, not just "get the hell off our tag" squabbles. (Also, if both sides can reblog this so DBDShow fandom can head to their own tag that'd be a massive help) EDIT: The Dead Boy Detective fandom tags are now #DBDA and #DBDShow!

[dropoutconfessions]

this is for the owner of this blog. why tf did you reblog plaidos. do you even know who she is and the kind of damage she's had on the trans community? she answered an anon about someone clearly pretending to be a trans woman working for dropout (because they use the language "members" (proven that dropout cast doesn't refer to themselves as that) and mentions a "dropout show" (... dropout is not a show. it's a host of multiple shows)) who had 0 proof. she's so reactionary and her logic is easily dismantled, she contradicts herself all the time (the post you reblogged she goes on about how "trans women aren't marketable" which is why they're not in dropout. there are so many other trans people in dropout, but in the comments of another plaidos post she said "persephone was so popular when she was in d20". literally took me 2 minutes to find the contradiction. not to mention the graph she reblogs with an elusive "tme vs tma rep in dropout" with no stats and no classification of what tme and tma means, no clear answer on where the many appearances and shows specifically made for and by drag queens, and then complained that lumping every genderqueer person who likely came out after being hired equaled to more than one subset of trans people.

i'm so disappointed. so much for this being a safe, apolitical space. plaidos has done irreperable harm to me and my transmasc brothers and to see a DROPOUT GIMMICK BLOG reblogging her baseless and clearly incorrect accusations proven by literally just KNOWING about dropout. but instead, you've made your blog an unsafe place for anyone who isn't a white transfem by showing you're in agreeance with plaidos.

you want links to posts? go to her blog and search the #dropout tag. there's your links.

Okay so I just would like to say a few things in response to this. first, I reblogged like, one post, and not even directly from her. I do not do an insane amount of research into people I reblog from to check if everything is kosher, which I assume no one else does.

If y'all expect me to check that much, stop sending me asks about how I haven't posted your asks yet. I know everyone assumes its because I dislike their post personally. It's not. It's cause i have a really really busy life rn. I mean this with all the kindness in my heart, I do not give enough of a fuck to block most of your opinions from making the stage short of you using slurs or straight up lying.

Regardless, she passes the tests. She's not anti-trans mascs and I feel like this is the result of bad faith readings and people assuming trans women are the enemy. Also taking any mention of oppression that doesn't apply to you as a personal attack.

I looked her up and the first thing i saw complaining about her called her a slur, so not a great start gotta say. If any of y'all use this word as an insult, stop, it's categorically not okay.

Also, there can be a lack of trans women, and also you can like persephone valentine. 3 trans women on a network with like a fuck ton of other queer people is also not very many, when you take into the fact that twice as many TME trans people have been on multiple episodes of dropout shows, that's not a contradiction. You can be popular and also unmarketable, that's like every remotely famous TMA, and honestly trans people in general have a harder time. That's not contradiction, that's us going "yippee a single fucking crumb of transfem rep" in 2021 and then being drip fed with game changer, um actually, and dirty laundry occasional appearances for the next 3 years.

If you want a definition for TMA and TME, like a formal one, not just what the acronyms mean, do your research on it. You wanna know how I learned about the fact that they refer to specifically institutional transmisogyny? FROM PLAIDOS'S BLOG. Do you actually, like, look at her posts? or just the ones cherrypicked to make her seem anti-transmasc because of bad faith interpretations? She's very clearly aware of the oppression trans mascs face, it's called transphobia. Transmisogyny is specifically the oppression trans women face given the fact we are seen as a subhuman third gender on an institutional level.

so much for this being a safe apolitical space

I never said it would be apolitical. In fact, safe and apolitical are contradictory. We're trans. Our very existence and identity and lives have been made political, and will be political for the entirety of our lifespans. I'm not going to lie down and pretend otherwise for the comfort of the world and I am honestly disappointed that you, as a fellow trans person, are encouraging that behavior in any way.

The entire "not an ask" tag, is for me to talk. It's mine. My space. You cannot divorce this blog from my influence because it's my goddamn blog. I am not a jukebox or a puppet for you to get your fandom stuff. I am a woman with her own damn opinions and a large enough follower count for my push for trans rights to largely get slightly less ignored than they do on main.

I have been following dropout / collegehumor since the All Nighters. The only subject I am more knowledgeable about is probably Alpharad or Paper Mario. I know dropout. I know statistics, I'm majoring in it. I've known about this issue for years now. But until this blog, until very recently, I didn't have a platform for it, so I just shut the fuck up. I'm not doing that this time. I'm going to be a very jaded women because some of the men who are supposed to be my brothers are acting like this. Like we need to shut up and not complain. No. Fuck that.

I do not think Dropout is the bad guy here. As of now, I'm holding out hope. I personally, am not boycotting them (yet). I am holding out hope that they respond, and then I'll wait a few months because I know things are recorded in advance and hiring and vetting processes take time. But I would like a change. Because outside of a spike in 2021 (when the seven was released), transfem appearances on dropout hasn't really changed for the better, at all.

but instead, you've made your blog an unsafe place for anyone who isn't a white transfem

Oh damn I guess I gotta leave, since my blog isn't safe for me. Since yk. I'm not white. I'm a stone cold desi bitch and I will live and die that way. Thanks for assuming I'm white tho, really showing that "white people are the default" world view you've got going there.

Do you want to know why, everyone assumes only white transfems have this take? Because so few of you, actually listen to transfems, ofc you don't notice, that transfems of color, have the same fucking opinion.

I want it to be clear. I love trans mascs. My partner is transmasc. Some of my best friends are transmascs. I don't hate trans mascs. I don't even hate you. I just kinda hate talking to you. And everyone, regardless of gender, like you. The type of people who heard, that transfems are oppressed in a way transmascs aren't, a way cis women aren't, and somehow turned that into a personal attack. You took a single fucking critic against Dropout, and decided to be guided by hatred.

This is my problem with the fandom. Transfems bring up one little thing: they'd like to be more represented. Nothing about Dropout being evil, nothing against Sam Reich or Brennan Lee Mulligan, just the fact that they are cis white men in positions of power being a valid part of the data. And you started attacking us. We're receiving death threats because people are whiteknighting a comedy company that is visibly entirely unaffected by our actions.

I have one question for all of you. Why aren't you in the comments and reblogs of all the confessions tagged negative dropout post? You want to defend this company, I better see an uptick in notes on those posts. Otherwise shut the fuck and let us beg for a bit more representation in peace.

If you have a problem with that. Leave. I don't want you following my blog if you so desperately need me to be silent on the matters that affect me and the people I love. And that includes you. The day the world comes for your throat, I'll be there. I have come to accept that I won't get that same treatment. But don't you fucking tell me not to stand up for myself. Cause I'm standing up for the both of us when any of us need it.

[smilepilled]

in light of all of these horrible things jappening to till, i would like to start a loveletter train to hir. i'll go first, and i'll tag some people under the cut. please try to be platonic and reasonably-far-yet-friendly if you're not close to hir, because im sure no one that does this wants to make void even more upset. let's show some love for a dear member of this community; show some kind words and support for hir

i'll go first...

@idwl, till. we are distant mutuals, and i wish i could utter these words in a private setting, but i will repeat them as many times as i can until you accept it as a undoubtable truth. i will say so much more than this when i can, and i truly apologize for not once expressing my heartfelt appreciation for you.

coin-related; you are brilliant. your terms shine upon mine eyes when i see them, and the geniosity of the majority of your terms brings me hope for a more unified queer community. you've created things that struck close to home for me, and im sure your terms have brought the same feeling of homeliness to many others. your creations arent just pretty labels with pretty flags— they are ways for people to feel unionship, a sense of belonging & hope for themselves. your creations may be mocked by the soulless minority, but you should ALWAYS remember that your terms have, do, and will reach into the hearts of people.

person-wise; i am not able to say much myself, but from all and any interactions i've seen from you, i can tell you are a lovely, dear person. you are cared for, people cherish your presence— and even if i'm a mere aunt (read: vibe of a "distant relative") for you in this case, i too partake in the appreciation of your presence here. regardless if you choose to move on from liomogai tumblr spaces or choose to remain, you will always have a place in the memoirs of the people. you may leave the scene, but you'll never ever be removed from the picture frames in the people's hearts. you are appreciated and folks will be willing to offer support for you, no matter how small or big they feel it is.

please, please count on us. don't isolate yourself or run away out of fear that you're "too much" or "evil" (for example?), or any other adjacent though you personally may have about asking for help. your friends and peers care about you, and i hope this old creature stending its hand to you can act even as little as being a symbol of that. you are valued and cared for, and even if you never coin again, people will still care for you — as a person, not a coiner. thank you, thank you & thank you for all you've done in here, and thank you for hanging in there as you are today (& have many other times). please dont be mean to yourself, hurt yourself, and instead go to your friends & watch a nice nature documentary with snacks instead.

your community's got your back, publicly and/or privately. you can reach out, and we do care. please be well, and take a bunch of breaks if you need to— play some games and get some snacks, you deserve it; especially now, but you always do.

i'm happy to spend time with you if you need a distraction, my discord is @\hackerbug if you wanna drop by. no need to ask or warn me beforehand, just airdrop yourself and i'll be glad to help. its not just me, either. please take care

additionally: i apologize if any of this is too much or too intense. i'm just really worried and i want to make sure you understand im offering myself to help you with a space to rant/vent and take your mind off this situation. thank you for being yourself

tagging: @radiomogai, @lunentity, @rwuffles, @kiruliom, @inknoidd, @h-halos, @puppfie, @gender-mailman, @hypnosiacon, @losergendered, @rabidbatboy, @acronym-chaos, @daybreakthing, @gengernoway, @local-maneater, @scr-ppup, @sevvys, @icwdtea, @floraeth, @nyrieve, @snugmutt, @starstruckdolly. — it's obviously okay to skip this, but i'd appreciate if you guys could drop some love for till. hi definitely needs some hearts right now. please focus on giving support to hir instead of attacking the harrassing party, for this.

[seriouslycromulent]

Now That I've Binged All of Mid-Century Modern ...

... here are just a few of my thoughts on the show.

Warning: Below, be spoilers! If you haven't finished the 10-episode season, please keep scrolling by. If you have watched all of it, then by all means, feel free to agree or argue with me in the comments.

Now on to my blatherings:

Here on Tumblr, we need an acronym or abbreviation for this series to use as a tag. Because if we put it under the #midcenturymodern or the #mid-centurymodern tag, we'll have to weed through all the posts about interior decor and Googie architecture. Not that I don't love Googie architecture. Might I suggest #midcmod. Although, I guess we can also use #desertqueens. I'm open to recommendations.

I love how quickly the actors on the series seemed to find their characters. Most new series take at least 3 or 4 episodes before the actors get comfortable in their characters and truly feel like they know who that person is (you can tell because it often shows in their performances). But with this cast, they pretty much found it after the 1st episode. Kudos!

God, I'm going to miss Linda Lavin. 😔 She was such a great balance to the cast. Not just in the form of estrogen or age, but in the form of perspective. Like in ep. 6 ("Maid Serviced"), where she checked the guys about hiring a housekeeper for his looks and not for his ability to do the job, I appreciated it when she said something to the effect: "At my age, you have to fight to be seen. And I'm not going to fight to be seen in my own house." Respect. You go, Mama!

At first, I wasn't really feeling Pamela Adlon as Nathan Lane's sister, Mindy, because I thought she was too young to play his sis. But it turns out she's only about 10 yrs younger, so it's not that weird at all. Plus, the more we saw them together, the more I liked them as a duo. Especially when he put her in a headlock in ep. 8 ("Sour Pickleball"). 😏

I saw some people here on Tumblr bristle at the portrayal of Jerry (played by Matt Bomer) as the dumb, handsome one. But I kind of love this for him. Bomer is usually pretty serious or sarcastic in most of the roles he's known for, so seeing him kind of play against type is a bit refreshing. And it's clear that his "stupidity" comes more so from being sheltered in his Mormon/ultra-conservative upbringing than from simply being not very bright. I say let him cook.

My favorite episode of the 10 so far was the one where they go to Fire Island. I think it's ep. 5 ("Hello, Fisty's"). I appreciated how that episode subverted our expectations. Instead of the guys enjoying an evening of sensual debauchery, they got to share a part of themselves that reflected the person underneath the façade. A sexual interaction was replaced with a heartfelt one. 🫂

I know it shouldn't have been as funny as it was, but when Mindy made Jerry cry at pickleball in ep. 8, I literally laughed out loud. I don't know what it was -- it could've been how Bomer chose to play the scene -- but that moment was absolutely hilarious. Again, I can see how this role is allowing us to see Bomer's skill at comedy a lot better than anything we've seen him do in the past.

Speaking of comedy, call me a filthy foul-mouthed radical, but I appreciate how the show doesn't tiptoe around swearing or sexual interactions. I'm sure some folks at home will be clutching their pearls when they hear the first f-bomb dropped on the series. And don't get me started when they openly brought up pegging like it was nothing. But I like that it's a series clearly intended for mature audiences in every sense of the word. In that respect, it reminds a little of Grace and Frankie.

I hope if we get more seasons where we get to see more guest stars that we know the cast has worked with in the past. I loved seeing Judd Hirsch, Rhea Perlman, Richard Kind, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson on the show. If they get another season, I can only imagine how many people will jump at the chance to guest star.

I pretty much knew I would like this series when I saw that James Burrows was an executive producer and director on the show. I don't think I've ever watched a TV series with his name attached where I didn't like it.

With that said, the one running theme/joke that I'm not a fan of is the mini-dance breaks the guys do every now and then. It was kind of cute in the pilot episode, but every time after that, I would kind of watch through my fingers. 🫣 Now, I don't have anything against characters dancing in TV shows or film, but far too often ... well ... they just aren't very good and I often wish they wouldn't. I know that seems bitchy, because everyone should be allowed to dance if they feel like it. And it's totally realistic that this group would dance around their own home if the spirit moves them. But ... they really aren't very good and I find myself desperately wanting them to be better so I don't have to cover my eyes. All of them have lovely singing voices. And of course, they're fantastic actors. But as dancers ... um, yeah 😬. Well, they're certainly dispelling the stereotype that all gay men can dance.

So now that I've nitpicked about the one thing I don't like about the show, let me share my thoughts on ep. 9. ("Here's to You, Mrs. Schneiderman"). I was really shocked that the writers included Lavin's death in the show in the first season. I'm sure they probably had to, but instead of just easing into it, they really faced it head on and I respect that a lot. And can we give it up to Nathan Lane for his performance in that episode? 👏🏽 He was genuinely heartbreaking to watch and he played every beat so brilliantly. I knew Lavin passed before the show could air, but I just assumed that she died after they had finished filming, and they were likely going to address it if they got a second season. So the shock that hit me when they dedicated an entire episode to her in the first season was 🤯. It was so wonderfully written and genuinely moving that it just made me adore the show even more. Certainly this episode is more sad and sentimental than the other episodes, but it was not without the right dose of humor at just the perfect moments to make it match the tone of the series. God, I'm going to miss her. 😔

Final thoughts:

Even though it's just a 30-min sitcom, I can't reiterate how much I think the show gave us the laugh so many of us need right now with everything else going on in the world. I know some folks feel like the world has stopped or should be stopping and every day should be about focusing on fighting the power and death to tyranny and all that.

But I know my anxiety and overall psyche appreciates a break from the constant fear of dread, doom, and despair that permeates my thoughts every day. A laugh, a harmless distraction, a moment to remind us of our collective humanity is very much appreciated right now -- at least by me.

Also, I can't speak for anyone else, but I like sitcoms that deliver laughs while also delivering a reflection of our flaws, quirks, and humanity back at us. And by the time you reach the 5th episode, I think the writers had clearly found that sweet spot where comedy, pathos and heart intersect. And I couldn't be more grateful. 🫶🏽

[envahisseurzim]

blingee tell us about prazr. please

blingee's 1,5k words prazr meta!

invader zim fun fact: when tallest purple and red tower over zim in the show's opening, their bodies form a heart around him. which might mean nothing

PRaZr (definition): acronym of Purple Red and Zim Romance, which is pretty self explanatory i think. i am indeed really passionate about their dynamic in the series! i do think about it a lot! thank you for asking me about it, i made sure to write down all my thoughts in a cohesive way ↓

I - the second R in PRaZr

the "Romance" is definitely the most derivative aspect of this fanon take on the three irkens, and naturally comes with lots of fanworks playing with various romantic tropes for these characters - good for them, good for them. but as you can guess, this is about MY preferred view of prazr, and so to get on the same page i have to define what exactly the word Romance means to me in this context.

even as i play around with my cartoon dolls, i like when my derivative self indulgent fanon resembles the original in tone or dynamic. because of this, my favorite prazr visions have always been agressively One Sided, for one, because at best Zim is an insignificant speck of dirt on the Tallest's robes, and at worst he's the Most Horrible Thing In the Whole Universe Ever... and then you have Zim, who i think is very aware of what the tallest represent to him, or at least cognizant of how much their opinion of him matters (regardless of how many times he'll ignore it for the sake of protecting his ego lol), but i don't think he'd describe it as romantic love ; and either way, his view of the tallest is so distorted and warped by his intense desire for approval, simply calling it romantic doesn't begin to encapsulate it.

rather, i believe zim glamorizes them the same way he glamorizes, well, himself. he tries to appeal to the tallest not just out of hierarchical deference to them, but because he wholefully believes they're the only ones great and worthy enough to see his genius. even when he rightfully reaps what he sows in the form of his old boss kidnapping him, or narrowly being publicly executed for his crimes, he's convinced the tallest will be on his side to bring him justice no matter what. it's always "the TALLEST will see to it!" or "you'll regret when the TALLEST hear of this" with this guy. it's a rose-tinted perspective, of course. he doesn't see the tallest as they are (stupid mean and gay), but as a projection that will hopefully reflect his own perceived greatness back at him.

still, the idea that zim's peculiar obsession for the tallest, disconnected from reality as it is, can present as romance-y isn't too far fetched. if the tallest were ever to make some grand romantic gesture towards him, i don't see why zim wouldn't respond to it positively - this is a guy who probably fantasizes about the tallest praising him the way a teenage girl daydreams about her school crush, who draws pictures of them saying they love him and everything. like many things about zim and irkens in general, there is no straight forward real world equivalent to what zim's relation to the tallest is. but passionate, obsessive parasocial infatuation... i think those are all fitting describers.

II - the magnification of it all

prazr is so good because it really elevates the endless torment the whole (gestures around) thing brings to all three of them.

i love how zim is somehow so confident, so assured that his tallest love him as much as he loves himself, yet simultaneously pathetically scraping for any kernel of approval at every corner like he's gonna die without it. the seesaw motion between adoring them both as familliar peers, and a sort of vague yet sharp looming presence all at once, almost divine in its scrutiny. their big eyes staring him down. the imagery seen at the beginning of every opening is very evocative to me, two shadows with barely any discernable features towering over an oblivious zim. it's funny then that, almighty and sinister as they appear, even they don't seem to know how to handle this guy.

i love how the tallest only have scorn and contempt for this horrible little thing when they're not completely blasé about him. they will comfortably mock him as they manage to sidestep him again, but all they're doing is buying time - because zim always manages to reinsert himself into their peripheral eventually. and so, they willingly trap themselves in this charade of making up yet another lie, another excuse, giving the guy Just enough leeway because its the only course of action that might not get them Literally Killed on the spot. it's like a game of Tug of War but where if one party loses they all lose, and one of the players is too delusional to even realize that's the kind of game they're playing. it being resolved by the Tallest doing a complete 180° and suddendly returning Zim's... adulation? is cute, but it's not that interesting to me. i want this struggle to end in their demise. i want zim's hunger for love to suck them in like a black hole. i want the tallest caught in zim's web and struggling against a prison of their own making. i want them tied to the train tracks and screaming in horror as zim excitedly approaches them on his shitty trolley, cognizant of the fact that they are also actors of their own misfortune. i want zim to get so neurotic about them to the point of self-destruction that he pulls them down with him as well. they're an absurd doomed greek tragedy to me.

a satirical romance.

a car crash in slow motion.

now, let's zoom in on some of those key moments together ↓

prazr top car crash moments !!!

4 - zim is funny

i wanted to put a gif there at first, but then i realized i actually love this whole scene, if only because seeing the tallest having so much fun brings a smile to my face. please enjoy this short clip of red and purple goofing off and being whimsical together :)

arguably the only positive the tallest can see in him. if zim is at a comfortable enough distance (at least as far as they're aware), they'll happily mock him, and i think them getting a kick or two out of some of zim's calls is a regular occurence (i showed battle of the planets as an example, but there's the tallest puppet call in tak's episode as well). anyways, congrats zim, the tallest think you're positively hilarious! ...well, they're definitely laughs at his expense, but you know. we're grasping at straws here

3 - having??? a normal conversation ??¿?¿¿¿

incroyable mais vrai. the tallest and zim are in fact able to have an actual conversation - discussing how humans are tall yet dumb. it's unknown how common this occurence is... for as little as the tallest care about zim's mission and his plans and so on, they do seem to show at least some interest when the subject of the report is specifically relevant to them. their height in that case. typical! well, red seems invested at least - as usual, he's the one most likely to entertain zim's little fads. purple's just along for the ride, adding his little comments here and there. it's kind of cute how he starts mimicking red's body language before the transmission cuts :)

2 - the kernel of approval that keeps you going

gif source

this kills me. this gif is like 4 seconds. the way he goes off erratically with uncontained excitement as the tallest look on completely static, probably stone-faced. just nothing going on. this is the kind of incident that, in addition to the tallest passively playing along with zim, really supplies him the love kernels fueling his delusions. how unfortunate. zim bringing up how he won't forget them when he rules not just the planet, but the UNIVERSE... i wonder if he's just saying that, or if he really would stay loyal to his tallest even if he were to surpass them. which won't ever happen. i wonder though... (he better for his own sake, or i'll kill him personally)

1 - this.

link to the full gifset because it's so glorious

this might be the worst scene of them together like of all time. what do you mean he's not only stalking his leaders, but admitting to it in front of them with a big smile on his face in the most cryptic way possible. "oh i know all kinds of things about you" what the fuck are you saying my guy. shut up. at least purple's telling it like it is. and this is without mentioning the fact that this moment comes right after zim excitedly yelling "MY TALLEST" for almost one whole minute (which red mentions was actually 3 hours) because he was just so eager to invite them to Earth, then is later followed by zim falling into a 1 hour long catatonic state after the tallest implicitly reject his proposal. awesome. incredible. and then he decides the best course of action is to organize what is effectively a glorified kidnapping to force his tallest to witness his awesomeness. not normal! and it's not even the scene in of itself either, it's also everything else around it too. years ago, i used to think the tallest were unfair to zim, but upon second thought this is actually more unfair to them. you decide to ghost him for once, and then he tries kidnapping you and almost gets you killed. i'd blow him up too. people need to get on the stalker zimcel shit immediately. i need to see the tallest ah heem heem whimper and holding each other when they see him like two shaking chihuahuas. anyways this has been invader zim and basically he fags it up out there

[thegreatyin]

Hi! I have a question about Fallen London - I've seen things about a fifth ambition called "seeking Mr Eaten's name" (with a lot of warnings that it is a very bad choice to make). It looks interesting, and something that would potentially be narratively fitting for one of my characters, but I can't find out if and how it clashes with other ambitions. I know you can't take, say, Light Fingers and Nemesis with the same character, but is Seeking Mr Eaten similarly exclusive?

^^^ my face when someone shows up in my inbox asking about seeking mr eaten's name (these are expressions of love and joy)

the extremely important thing to establish regarding SMEN (yes, that's the acronym we use, you get used to it) is that it is not an ambition, despite all evidence to the contrary. ambitions are a very specific, very exclusive category that applies to four storylines, and four storylines only: heart's desire, bag a legend, nemesis, and light fingers. anything not explicitly labeled as one of these four stories is not an ambition and therefore is not mutually exclusive with them.

to keep things short and simple and spoiler-free; your ambition is the thing that brought your character to the neath to begin with. it's the driving force of your journey, and it's vaguely halfway akin to your own personal Main Story Quest™. you can't have more than one ambition because you can't juggle two expansive near-impossible goals simultaneously- you won't have time to hunt the vake when you're uncovering the complicated string of murders at the core of your revenge scheme! you can't handle stealing a giant diamond whilst also betting your soul in a card game against an evil alien bat! you have to pick and choose your neathly priorities!

hence, the current system of ambition restrictions- a system SMEN falls outside of!! SMEN requires just as many items and actions as any proper ambition, but since the structure of it is quite different, it's not granted the rank of master despite remaining on the jedi council. nevertheless, it's very popular and very expansive, so some jokingly call it an honorary fifth ambition. said jokes are probably the source of your misconception (>ω•)

TLDR: yes, you can seek the name alongside any of the four ambitions. i even completed both earlier this year. if you need ideas, nemesis + SMEN and bag a legend + SMEN are two very popular combos, and i highly recommend them. one for character motivation, the other for lore tie-ins. feel free to pick your favorite.

aaaaaand all the standard SMEN warnings still apply. especially the permanent account bricking. that is not an exaggeration, not a joke, and not a thing to be taken lightly. i'll spare you the whole disclosure though, this is just a post about story eligibility (⁠^⁠～⁠^⁠;⁠)⁠ゞ

[rei-ismyname]

X-MEN #7 From The Ashes

Possibly the biggest downside to the circular, repetitive nature of X-Men comics is that real life is awful enough. Jettisoning the hope of the Krakoan age for the misery porn of From The Ashes feels kinda callous and depressing in a world where there are multiple ongoing genocides and the USA just said yes to fascism again. Nevertheless, join me in some light escapism - a little Magneto goes a long way. Spoilers for X-Men #7.

I've also been spelling Jed Mackay's name wrong. Sorry

Running throughout this issue is Magneto's flashback to The Iron Night. The 'this is Logan behaviour' exchange from the previews has been all over my dash and it's great to get more of this dynamic. It's fantastic to see someone in universe say it out loud - Logan is a whiny little bitch, often a hypocrite, and can be blind to his immortality privilege. Scott knows that better than anyone - his wife's boyfriend throws a tanty like no other. They love him, but it's another reason why he's not the best Wolverine. I hope 'Logan behaviour' sticks around in the fandom.

This is Logan behaviour, Idie

I appreciate the informal nature of the Piper discussion. For one, you don't want to scare the kid or make her feel unwelcome. Idie said that she 'couldn't wait for you (Cyclops) and Magneto' re: Idie - having Psylocke be the one to spell it out for her is effective. The X-Men IS a team and the stakes are incredibly high. Besides, as Beast said in my first screenshot they have a Cerebro. This test could have been done from afar without the risk, and it's implied that it was.

I'm enjoying seeing Idie behaving compassionately, but it looks like she's got some serious anger and mistrust of authority (both justified) from Krakoa. It's great she's getting this kind of character focus and I hope it's followed up on. So many threads and beats have been setup that are likely to be disrupted by the Raid on Graymalkin event kicking off next week, but I'll reserve my judgement on that for when this first arc is concluded.

This is Logan behaviour, wild sentinel.

Gotta love Max and Scott's friendship being shown as they drink crappy beers and bask in Magneto rhetoric. I don't want to question the expert, but is this sentinel Wild or wild? It's clearly not an ORCHIS Iron Man model, but Wild Sentinel has a very specific meaning.

Okay, clearly Wild. It's not attacking either of them, though. Kind of Cyclops to spell out the Star Trek Borg adaptive schtick they've got going on. This is the action scene of the issue, the mandated violence.

'Why is that leopard eating our faces?'

I don't mean that entirely pejoratively either. I'm just as susceptible to the Magneto and Cyclops power fantasy as the next person, though it's a bit of a dirty trick to wait until issue 7 to show it.

This is NOT Logan behaviour, Magneto.

Sigh. I love your sense of drama Magneto. Play to the crowd, old man. I hope your monologue doesn't become ironic. Oh wait, we already know it has. This could have been a clever moment.

Uh oh, looks like his knees are weak and arms are heavy. Vomit on his sweater already...

So we see the moment Mags' powers start to shit the bed, right after a Wild Sentinel attack. I'd be suspecting Cassandra Nova's involvement just off these two data points tbh. Which idiot resurrected her anyway?

Oh, fuck off. Logan behaviour, Mackay.

R-LDS sounds like horse shit to me. Scott says 'we don't know that for sure' so how does this speculative condition have an acronym already? Mags is speaking as if it's a fact, but he doesn't even have the same body The Five resurrected. Maybe he has Umari-Key-Waiting Room-Brashear Portal Syndrome. Obviously he's scared but this feels like an idiot ball moment, and a cynical jab at Krakoa. The Five was something they got right, even with Sinister in the mix. The implications would be insane. 16 million Genoshans were resurrected, 250k Krakoans (give or take), a whole bunch of vulnerable human children via The Phoenix Foundation, Captain America, and 1000 fucking years of Sinisterized clones etc that had nothing of the sort.

No, there's way too many data points that apply to Magneto alone to make seriously considering The Five's resurrections as the source of patient zero's malady. It would be scientifically irresponsible to get to the point of naming it and then an acronym for that. Mags is good enough at science to know this, and Beast is too. I'm no scientist, but it manifested during a fight with a Wild Sentinel. I assume they have better resources than the Marvel wiki I'm using, but that robot/Cassandra Nova is my prime suspect - the lady they know for certain to be involved in ongoing genetic fuckery - activating X-Genes. Though not Piper Cobb...

Or yes Piper Cobb? Smash cut cliffhangers aside, this would be a great time to retcon Homo Sapiens Superior right the fuck out of existence. It's never made sense, and not just the 'Superior' part. Again, I'm not a scientist but I'm certain that's not how phylogeny works. They're mutated humans, but I don't live in 616 which canonically operates on impossible physics, so idk. My fingers are crossed but my expectations are nil.

That is Logan behaviour, masked kidnapper

Okay, we'd known from solicits that Beast would be getting beat down in captivity at Graymalkin. I had speculated he'd give himself up to get inside, but the ol' bag over the head works too. I dig his outfit.

X-Men #7 is worth reading IMO, and it's one of the better ones based off Magneto content alone. Last issue I wrote that the formula was becoming easier to spot, and I stand by that. A handful of character moments, some new information about one of the ongoing mysteries but it piles more questions on top of half answers and speculation. For example, we get to see Scott and Max fight a sentinel and be friends. There's new information there but a LOT more questions. The characters are at the point of absurd speculation which raises tension but doesn't make them look very competent. To kick off the event 'Raid on Graymalkin' they went with a final page bag over the head instead of any choice and comic book events notoriously derail everything so friends can argue and punch each other.

All that said, it's only *just* acceptable in my opinion - and that's the best I can say for the rest of the line too. We know that there's been ongoing issues with writers simply not knowing major Krakoan plot points, though they probably have the excuse that they were writing before FOTHOX/ROTPOX ended. Surely there's someone in charge of overseeing all this, like Hickman was as Head of X. *Looks at the credits* Tom Brevoort - Conductor of X... That's a fancy way to say 'line editor/hatchet man.' I'll stop there and save it for the From The Ashes piece I'm doing, but spoilers: I'm not impressed with how this guy keeps failing upwards.

What did you think? Thanks for reading.