#i also have no idea if meteor is the right term for it -- i think (and hope) it is but Who Is To Say

[tgcg]

argument

its a big one

TG: alright this is probably a bust

TG: more i think about it how the fuck do you even make a marinara

TG: can i even alchemise cheese or do i gotta like alchemise the milk and curdle it myself

TG: how do you even curdle

====================

TG: make a goddamn

TG: curgler

TG: whatever

TG: internet archive gonna pull through

====================

CG: ALRIGHT DAVE

TG: shit

====================

CG: YOU BETTER BACK THE FUCK OFF. I DON'T KNOW WHERE IN BULGEMUNCHING VIRULENT FUCK YOU GET THE IDEA YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD THINK ABOUT MY OWN GODDAMN PLANET. SORRY TO HAVE TO DEAL A BLOW TO YOUR IMPOSSIBLY INFLATED FUCKING EGO, BUT HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED THAT YOUR SIDE-EYE SLACKJAW HOPELESS DEADPAN BULLSHIT BEHAVIOUR IS ACTUALLY INCREDIBLY FUCKING CONTEMPTIBLE AND DOESN'T PUT YOU ABOVE OTHER PEOPLE? HAVE YOU CONSIDERED THAT?

CG: OR DID YOU JUST ASSUME FROM THE MOMENT YOU FOUND OUT I'M A REVOLTING FUCKING MUTANT LOWBLOOD FREAK THAT I'M SUDDENLY NOT ALLOWED TO LIKE THE IDEA OF MY LIFE MEANING SOMETHING AT SOME POINT?

TG: okay you are wildly misquoting me where the fuck did that come from

TG: also you scared the hell out of me

TG: im just trying to science some pizza here

====================

CG: OKAY THEN, DAVE! EXPLAIN TO ME AS WELL AS YOUR AMBLING ONE-NOTE SMOOTH EXCUSE FOR A 'THOUGHT'SPONGE CAN

CG: IN SOMEWHAT COHERENT TERMS, ALTHOUGH I KNOW THAT'S A TALL ORDER:

CG: HOW YOU SAYING MY ADOLESCENT DREAMS OF BECOMING A THRESHECUTIONER ARE "FUCKED UP AND IRONIC IN A NASTY ASS WAY" DOESN'T QUALIFY AS UNDERHANDEDLY KICKING ME IN THE MANDIBLE PRONGS!

CG: YOUR AUDIENCE AWAITS YOU WITH BATED BREATH! TAKE IT AWAY, M.C. BRAIN HEMORRHAGE.

====================

TG: okay i dont

TG: know how you got a hold of that phrasing because i said that shit in confidence

TG: get out of my business bro

CG: NEWSFLASH, ASSHOLE: THIS METEOR IS A PHYSICAL, LITERAL LOCATION WE'RE BOTH IN. IT'S NOT A FUCKING PRIVATE CHATROOM. THIS MIGHT BLOW YOUR PITIFUL MIND BUT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY HEAR OTHER PEOPLE TALK WHEN THEY HAVE TO SHARE A SPACE! BRO!

TG: ugh

====================

CG: AND IT'S VERY INTERESTING YOU ACCUSE ME OF MISQUOTING YOU, AND THEN SUDDENLY TURN AND SPOUT FROM THAT SHITTY DRONING GROANSHAFT OF YOURS THAT I'M INVADING YOUR PRIVACY WHEN I DIRECTLY QUOTE YOUR SMARMY LITTLE SHAMEGLOBES!

CG: WOW! TURNS OUT KARKAT IS ACTUALLY BEING GENUINELY FUCKING UPSET ABOUT SOMETHING — WHO KNEW, RIGHT? WHO WOULD'VE GUESSED THAT I ACTUALLY HAVE GENUINE COMPLAINTS TO LEVEL AGAINST THE PEOPLE WHO GO SPOUTING HOOFBEASTSHIT ABOUT ME BEHIND MY BACK TO THEIR ECTOSIBLINGS?

TG: no dude can you shut up a second

CG: I MOST CERTAINLY FUCKING WILL, THANKS FOR THE OFFER! I'M NEVER TELLING YOU A GODDAMN THING AGAIN, SO I HOPE YOU MANAGE TO GAIN SOME WRINKLES TO THAT VESTIGIAL FLAWLESS ORB FLOATING AROUND IN YOUR CAVERNOUS NUGBONE FROM ALL THIS. I HOPE IT WAS WORTH ALL THE EFFORT ON YOUR END.

TG: listen!!!!

====================

CG: MHM! MY AURICULAR CHAMBERS ARE WIDE OPEN!

TG: jegus

TG: okay

TG: i have no defense for my literal phrasing but how expeditiously did you shadowstep the fuck away after i said that

TG: because that is some shrek tier "princess and ugly dont go together" level misrepresentation of my sweet self

TG: like if this wasnt obviously a heated platonic argument we were having i would probably be digging what the reference even if it was a shitty trope

====================

TG: i just

TG: have been thinking about some things and none of those things have got an iota of a thing to do with you or your blood

TG: thing

TG: man

TG: i dont know why you think id be so pressed about your vein juice its like

TG: a normal ass color for a normal ass guy

TG: and obviously it was a major fucking deal from how you talk about it but it doesnt need to be anymore

====================

TG: the thing is i just dont like have the same attitude as you about fighting and stuff and thats not something i am getting into right now but i am gonna make it expressly clear

TG: that its just kind of fucked up for me to sit my ass down and listen to someone spew gold and medals and confetti colored shit going googoo all over tall and loathsome ass bloodletters he never knew

TG: and have him tell me he wants to be the best guy at combat since samurai fuckin jack

TG: and thats my capital B business believe me the emphasis is there

====================

CG: SO IS THIS ABOUT ME WANTING TO BE PART OF SOMETHING YOU DON'T AGREE WITH? BECAUSE THRESHECUTIONERS DON'T EVEN FUCKING EXIST ANYMORE. I LITERALLY COULD NOT DO THIS IF I TRIED AT THIS POINT, SO YOU CAN UNKNOT YOUR “KNIGHTY WHITIES” ABOUT IT.

TG: being anti-military is not my point but damn if it isnt a thing thats probably true anyways so good job sleuthing that out

CG: WHAT IS YOUR POINT, DAVE.

TG: bluh

TG: i just said i dont wanna talk about it man

====================

CG: OKAY,

====================

CG: OKAY.

CG: I MEAN. IT FEELS KIND OF IMPORTANT TO THE CONTEXT OF THIS WHOLE UNAMBIGUOUSLY PLATONIC ARGUMENT WE'VE BEEN HAVING

CG: WHICH I'M RELIEVED WE AGREE ON BY THE WAY

CG: BUT IF YOU DON'T WANT ME TO KNOW I'M NOT GOING TO WRING IT OUT OF YOU. IT'S FINE.

====================

CG: …IF YOU DECIDE AT SOME POINT THAT YOU WANT TO TELL ME THOUGH, MY RUMBLE VESSELS ARE STILL OPEN.

TG: i swear youre making those up on the spot at this point

CG: I'M KEEPING MY LANGUAGE'S ART ALIVE, DAVE. IT'S BASIC DECENCY TO THE PLANET THAT RAISED ME.

TG: heh

====================

TG: yknow we got these things called anatomical snuffboxes

TG: its got that right amount of vague nose wrinklage to it that i feel like youd be right at home saying that

TG: snug as a grub even

CG: WHAT PART IS THAT???

TG: its that little weird bone bit that sticks out on the back of your palm when you flex your thumb right

====================

TG: look

CG: HUH. LOOKING AT THAT IS KIND OF WIGGING ME OUT.

TG: yeah its kinda gross rose told me about it

TG: but anyways

====================

TG: are we cool

CG: I MEAN… I GUESS SO. YOU WEREN'T ACTUALLY INSULTING ME, RIGHT?

TG: hell no dude never

CG: OKAY. I COMPLETELY RESCIND THE MYRIAD OF WAYS I JUST INSULTED YOU. AND I'M SORRY.

TG: nah i know its just fluff at this point

====================

CG: I STILL DON'T APPRECIATE YOU TELLING ROSE THINGS I SAY TO YOU IN CONFIDENCE. THAT WAS BETWEEN YOU, ME, AND MY NOW NON-EXISTENT HOME PLANET ROTTING AWAY TO A CRATERED GRAY HUSK IN ANOTHER DEAD UNIVERSE.

TG: i swear that was like the only thing its just that she gets it and i cant keep my mouth from going on about the gettable stuff

TG: they call me the babbling brook the way my flows so audible

TG: i wont do it again

CG: NO,

====================

CG: I GET IT HONESTLY.

CG: I'M BASICALLY THE NUMBER ONE PROPRIETOR OF AIRED GRIEVANCES IN ALL OF PARADOX SPACE AND THEN SOME, AND I'D ALSO BECOME ITS BIGGEST HYPOCRITE IF I HELD IT AGAINST YOU.

TG: thanks

TG: but i mean

TG: at the gigantic risk of sounding uh

====================

TG: ………..

CG: ?

====================

TG: well

TG: i kinda just think youre better at being a guy to chill out and watch movies with than a guy to tangle fists with

TG: and i dont think theres anything wrong with being that

TG: i think its cool

====================

CG: …THAT'S AN ALARMINGLY BRAZEN OBSERVATION TO MAKE OF SOMEONE YOU'VE KNOWN FOR ABOUT THE SPAN OF SEVEN SEASONAL EQUINOXES, DAVE.

TG: i dont know what that means but it sure is probably

CG: AM I ALLOWED TO ASK WHAT EVEN GIVES YOU THAT IMPRESSION????

TG: i just got that inkling about you man

====================

TG: and you can do whatever you want with that info

TG: throw it in the load gaper or whatever if you want i dont really care

TG: give it a swirly and slam it in a locker call it a nerd break its glasses whatever

TG: but beyond this whole lord english thing weve got going on i am pretty content to never aggress my fellow man slash alien slash monster again if i can help it

TG: i think thats pretty fair given what thats been like so far

====================

TG: and yknow its cool to have some company when im waxing emotional over the narrative depth of click starring adam sandler which we are watching next by the way

CG: UGH, FIIIIIIIIINE. JUST TO MAKE UP FOR CALLING YOUR THINKPAN SMOOTH AND SUPERFLUOUS.

====================

TG: score

TG: we should argue all the time

CG: SNRK

[ashwii]

Celestial AU FAQ

Usually I prefer pinning my favorite artworks to the top of my profile, but over the last couple weeks I've gotten MANY repeat questions about my rottmnt celestial AU. I never mind answering questions, but I want to limit how many asks I answer to keep everyone else's dashboard's in mind [i.e. I don't want to clog up other people's tumblr with several asks that have been answered in the past.]

Below is a list of general frequently asked questions regarding my celestial au. Even more detailed information and questions can be found in the "#celestialFAQ" tag on my blog.

What is the Celestial AU?

It's a ROTTMNT au where Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey embody celetial bodies. Leo embodies the stars, Donnie embodies the Moon, Raph embodies the Sun, and Mikey embodies the comets.

Can you tell us more about what they are?

Leo is the stars — he overlooks the stars as a guardian figure. While he thinks of his stars as his children, he is also an embodiment of the stars — he IS the stars. They are one and the same.

The same goes for Mikey and his comets. Although, while Mikey specifically embodies and overlooks the comets, he also overlooks all them zippy lil' things in the galaxy [meteors, asteroids, etc.]

Donnie and Raph are a little different — Donnie specifically ONLY embodies Earth's moon, and is the overlooker of all the other moons in the universe. The same goes for Raph and Earth's Sun.

Are there any other characters in this AU [Splinter, April, Drax, Krang, etc]?

[As of writing this] The only other characters in this AU are April [an astronaut who works for NASA / an aspiring astronaut], and S.H.E.L.D.O.N. [a robot made of lost junk and lost space tech that Donnie found]. I do not plan for there to be any other characters in this au, as I mainly want to draw and focus on the turtles.

There have been lots of fun headcanons in the askbox about who else could be in the au and what they would embody, and I think that's great! I love all the fanart and creativity everyone is doing for this AU, I will never be mad at exploring fun ideas [I've even doodled some of these ideas for fun] — as for what is "canon" in the AU though, at the moment I'm going to keep it as the turtles, April, and S.H.E.L.D.O.N.

What's the lore behind this AU?

There is no real lore behind this AU, just a bunch of fun ideas in a fun concept. Lots of other people have had fun coming up with their own lore and ideas for this AU, and once again, I think that's great! There's so many ideas other people came up with that I love — but again, in terms of "canon" and what I'm willing to draw, there's no legitimate lore for this AU.

The Sun is also a star. Does that mean Sun!Raph has a special relation to Star!Leo in some way?

Yes! Leo and Raph have a very strong special connection in this AU because of this.

Do the celestials control what they embody?

Control isn't exactly the right word — say for Star!Leo, for example, he's more of a guardian figure to the stars. "Control" implies that the stars have no personality of their own whatsoever, but that's not exactly true. They almost have their own little life to them — like a healthy tree —that Leo can understand since the stars and Leo are one in the same.

What are Moon!Donnie's alternate phases?

Moon!Donnie's alters are Blood Moon, Harvest Moon, Blue Moon, and Super Moon. Moon!Donnie's design also changes some depending on the phase of the Moon [eg. During the Full Moon phase, Donnie has no shadow up his arms and legs. During the New Moon phase, Donnie is all encompassed in shadow].

Is there any more info about these phases?

During Donnie's Blood Moon phase, he tends to be a little more mischievous and violent. He's ready to kill, no questions asked.

During his Blue Moon phase, he's a little sadder than usual. He's not breaking down every minute or endlessly sobbing — he's more just a little blue (heh) and the unending river of tears just comes with the phase. He just needs some cuddles and comfort during this time <3

Harvest Moon Donnie is a happy lil guy! He's a little chipper and cuddly during this time, hapoy to help and talk with his brothers on end.

These phases don't COMPLETELY change his personality — he still the same Donnie, but just with little changes to his overall mood.

There are many more types/names for the Moon [Snow Moon, Worm Moon, Flower Moon, etc.] — will you be drawing those as designs for Moon!Donnie as well?

While I think I may sketch out some of them for fun, in terms of "canon" to the AU, I want to keep it limited to what I listed above in the previous question.

Are there any alternate versions of the other celestials?

Sun!Raph gets sun flares when he's upset, and I have a Nova!Leo design in the works. I haven't thought of any alternate versions for Comet!Mikey, but I don't think he needs one, haha.

What happens during an eclipse?

During a solar eclipse, Raph gives Donnie a hug from behind. During a lunar eclipse, I like to imagine that Donnie is hiding behind the earth because he ticked Raph off.

Can Star!Leo feel it when any stars die?

Yes, he does. I explained in much more detail in the "#celestialFAQ" tag, but when his stars die, it hurts him some emotionally and physically.

Whenever the Sun [Raph] would explode in the future, Star!Leo will be out of commission for a while because of how much it would hurt him.

What is Star!Leo's relationship with the stars?

Leo is the stars, point blank. He is the personification of them. He's all the stars, he is them, they are he. One and the same. BUT there's also a special relationship there — Leo looks at the stars like they're his children, almost. A very deep connection and love. The stars feel that deep love for Leo too, they see him as almost a guardian figure. They love him more than anything, and Leo knows that.

Now HOW can the idea that Leo looks at the stars like they're his children, and the idea that Leo is just straight up the personification of the stars (him being all of the stars) both be true at the same time? Ah — no real answer there. It just kind of is, and it's more of a feeling that I myself have. That's just the way that I personally feel Leo's relationship with the stars is, even if I'm never able to describe it quite perfectly, and even if it's confusing to everyone else lmao.

Do the celestial turtles still have their weapons like the canon turtles?

Yes they do — Star!Leo has katanas made of constellations, Moon!Donnie has his staff made of shadow, Sun!Raph's fists fire up, and Comet!Mikey's comets and meteors spin around him and he can shoot them where he pleased.

Is this AU meant to be accurate about how astrology and space works?

Not at all — there are a lot of inaccuracies in this AU. But what's the fun of making an au like this if I have to keep everything pinpoint accurate! This AU is for good, fun vibes, and it's ok if not everything matches up with exactly how space works.

Can I make fanart/fanfics for this au?

Yes, you can! If you do, please tag me and lmk, I'd absolutely love to see what you guys make. Oc's and fan characters are welcome as well.

[homestuckreplay]

JIP (Jest In Peace)

(p.246-247)

WELL.... GOODBYE JOHN I GUESS????

I've watched this like six times in a row and while not a lot happens, the not a lot also manages to be extremely ambiguous. The command is 'John: Take bite of apple' but we don't actually see him take the bite, and we know both he and Rose have refused commands before. So what happened? Was he simply not hungry? Paralyzed by fear? Not all that bothered about dying? Did he take a bite as the explosion happened and we didn't see it? Is he alive????

It would be a bold and shocking move to kill off the goofy main character at the end of act 1, and I hate the idea of it, simply because I think there's so many cool places John could go as a character. Plus it's hard to see what could happen next in the story without him - it makes so much more sense if this is the first 'level' of Sburb completed, and future acts deal with subsequent levels of increasing difficulty and danger.

The meteor impact definitely happened, but in the words of TG, "how big is it". Size comparisons to various geographical landmarks and my mom's dick aside, I have no sense of whether this destroyed John's house, John's neighborhood, the continent or the world - further complicated by how Sburb definitely has the ability to precisely target some things and exclude others. We saw the red circle around John's house that TT couldn't manipulate outside of, so I can fully believe that a meteor would just affect that part, and anyone watching from their windows would see John's house go up in a column of fire like the one on p.247.

Speaking of the neighborhood! We finally got a large scale establishing shot, and it is horrifically normal and depressingly uniform. There are about 400 identical houses on John's side of the river, and what looks like more on the other side. A lot of the yards have trees, there's a lot of lawn and green space around, a large concreted area like a parking lot in the top right, and a couple of roads out of town (though we don't see anyone outside and driving, which is kind of weird since I would have expected someone else to notice the meteor too and freak out and try to run away - unless only John can see if due to being the Sburb player)? Even weirder, we see John's dad's car in the driveway, but nobody else appears to have a car or a driveway to put one in. Is everyone homestuck except John's dad? Is driving the secret power of the clown?

On p.247, we see the curtains close on Act 1, evoking The Theater. Homestuck as a play is not something I've considered, but the theater is the origin of the term 'fourth wall', which has been directly referenced on p.61 and implied throughout with 'our' ability to give commands to the characters. Interestingly, we never saw the curtains open, like we arrived late to John's birthday. This makes me wonder if we missed anything that happened before p.1, and if the story might go back and fill some gaps.

I really hope there isn't too long of a break before Act 2 starts - it's killing me to (still) be uncertain about John's fate.

[vegetableharvester]

About Aisha Maximinius, profile #2.

---

About:

• Hair: "My hair is... Uh, what's the word, hazard, I think? Well, sometimes, it gets tangling that I broke many combs and uh, frizzy that my hair or something... Anyways, my hair's normal."

• Hats: "I love hats, especially the sturdy ones. Since the sturdy ones never get burn or get a hole from something, so yeah... Although I don't even know why did I love hats to begin with."

• Class: "I honestly can't decide where to focus on, all because I kept thinking about the pros and cons that I just, started to learn anything as much as possible... Truth to be told, I don't even know what I was doing."

• Food: "My favorites and least favorites? Well, I don't have any tastes when it comes to food, but as long as it's edible and parasite-free, I'll eat it. And I don't eat any food with poisons, because I don't want to get bedridden for another day and miss something else."

• Remembering things: "It's easy to forget, especially names. AND ESPECIALLY THOSE NAMES WITH COMPLICATED WORDS, like Ighar, uh, whatever it's pronunciation and I can't remember that much name, so I just nickname things, like Money-man and Tarsier Watcher. And one time, I mistook the name Beringer as Burger and said that infront of him, I never felt so embarrassed in my whole life... But at least, it's different than me accidentally ramming into some unknown islands and crashing my ship. Then getting scolded for many times."

• Ship: "My ships? Well, I only bought the Caravel and the rest are history. So long story short, pirates broke my ketch and nearly killing my crew in it, so in revenge, I killed the pirates and stole their brig then redecorated it as mine, and I kept their treasures, so thanks I guess..."

• Magic: "First things first, Earth Magic is the Best! Like I can create golems with it and then use it for exploration with a less hassles and also, it's great for defense since I could just build walls and I can make a fortress! But the downside is I lacked to much to do those that my dream of having a 300 army of golems were nearly impossible. And hey, at least I can mash people with flying rocks that looks like meteor, imagine the terror on their faces."

• Father Figure: "I was once asked that question, but I could only say nothing because I don't remember who's my parents so does my past. Then, if thinking someone who's nearly a father figure right now, is Edward. Well, he taught me some few things like ship navigation and gaining a sense of direction because I get lost easily, so for that question—that I looked at him as my answer. But someone said "Oh no, many maiden's behind my back said he's a Daddy, not a Father" and I was like "Huh?!" then that person disappeared and without a trace. Look! I get it, but please, don't think of him like that!"

• Romance: "I don't really have any time for those, since there are many things that needs to be dealt with. But, if we're talking about my personal standards to date with someone, he should be more stronger than me and richer than me, and also has more connections than me so I can do things easier. Plus, it'll be great if he's not my enemy or related to any of my enemies, since I don't want to be involved in some drama... Don't speak about my crimes in Ravenna though, I don't want to talk about it."

• Ruby Vermillion: "That woman, honestly, what's with her?! Like, in the middle of the daylight, she just attacked me for no reason at all. Girl! Lemme get that hat first because it's limited edition, girl! And, she just like "Where's my mother?" this and that with angry eyes, and I was like "HELLO?!" I mean, I don't even know her or her mother st all. Then, well, I just found out that she mistook me for having any connections with the Order, though it's true but more on—negative terms, since well, long story that I already forgot."

• 'Winter White': "I... Had no idea what's going in his mind. We barely met but I hated him already. Okay, first off, he attacked one of my crew then leave him in deep and grave injuries, then second, HOPPING into my boat and just told me "Edward is the Daddy" and OH BOY, he nearly—Nearly bomb the whole Sailor Lodge with me on it with many gunpowder stacked under the ports, but good thing someone intervened, I nearly died! So does everyone in it! And it's no wonder why the Grand Navy are on his trails everyday. Jeez, I hope he stop doing more trouble."

[rawmeknockout]

Your possessive Dadatron got into my brain with the cyberformed liason. While poor obsessed Rodimus is not being left alone with the Liason he's also one of the handful of bots outside of the medics that consistently remember the Liason was a wholeaft adult human and treat them as such, along with Rung, Swerve, Perceptor and Whirl.

This also leads to Megs and Mags being shocked when the Liason just matter-of-factly tells Rodimus, "I'm not opposed to the idea of a potential date in the future, but right now I don't have enough coordination in this body to try Meteor surfing. Worse the medics said Interfacing is out untill I have some concious control of my transformation sequence preferably after I've scanned an altmode."

Just two old Mechs clutching their pearls stunned In Horror while Rodimus is blithly is going on with the conversation.

"Wait you haven't scanned an alt yet?! I thought you'd checked all the potentials on the Lost Light?"Rodimus looked shocked.

"I did but nothing clicked or activated the sequence." The Liason shrugged helplessly. "It's not like this frame had one preloaded."

"Huh you should have told me. Next time we get off on a planet you should come with me and Drift and Ratchet. See if any of the wildlife triggers-"

"I forbid it! Ultra Magnus choked out. The other three mechs turned to look at him.

"Ultra Magnus," Megatron sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Please don't discourag Rodimus when he makes sensible seguestions."

"I, no." The Duely Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accords gathered his wits. "No Rodimus' seguestion regarding his alt mode acquisition was not the issue. The conversation with regarding Interfacing however-" The Liason cut him off voice flat with uncharacteristic frustration.

"I do not have the spoons to say this gracefully or diplomatically right now so I'm going to be blunt. I am an adult human, note the term adult, in the frame of cybertronian newbuild. I'm currently experiencing frame dysphoria and body dismorphia. And you can add gender disphoria because i have a gender and if this frame I'm in lined up with it I would be a femme!"

"I'm aware of what interfacing is. In the before times," the Liason gestured curtly at their frame, "I had quite a few lively slightly tipsy afterwork discussions at Swerve's compairing and contrasting human and cybertronian sexulity, sensuality, and romanticism. Which Rodimus took part in. Spark play, Plug and Play and feild play arent options for humans but Valve Plug is" Ultra Magnus' engine choked in shock. Megatron took a reflexive back in extreme discomfort.

"I dont think I need to hear about that!" Megatron cut her off hastily. It was a mark of his discomfort and Ultra Magnus's distraction they both missed Rodimus pulling a packet of Cesium Crisps out of his subspace.

"No Mechs, these are exactly some of the sorts of conversations that need to happen with anybot who steps up to Parent me if this is permanent. Be my Mentor," she added to clarify the twin looks of confusion. "I am a middle-aged parent of grown children with an ex-husband who remains a dear friend now that he's out of the closet. I know the two of you are both trying to parent me. God and Primus both forefend my body dies of old age before Brainstorm and Perceptod can fix me because the number of Mecha on this ship who are psychologically capable dealing with the complexities of mentoring a newbuild that is simultaneously a sentient organic who is of analagous to their devlopmental age are profoundly limited."

"How about Rang," Rodimus seguested just a bit too cheerfully around a mouthful of snacks.

"Rung, unfortunately, as my therapist has a professional conflict of interest. And since you guys have, between all your factions, a grand total of two therapists left alive it's not like switching providers-"

"Oh! Liason! There you are!" First Aid called out, cheerfully oblivious conversation he was saving Megatron and Ultra Magnus from. "Ratchet just commed me, he's looking for you. He's freed up his schedule to chaparone err moniter Brainstorm and Perceptor while they run some tests on you. Well mostly Brainstorm needs the monitering. If you could come down to the lab?"

"Oh best not keep them waiting then," Rodimus put in quickly husteling First Aid and the Liason off down the hall. "I'll walk with you, Mags and Megs have to go on shift on the Bridge."

Well this ended up longer than I expected. The characters that live in my brain just started talking and went for it.

How do you reckon Protective UM and Possessive Megatron are taking this conversation? Or this type given that Liason suddenly went from generic insert to proto-OC with a backstory while I was typing. I cant be the only one on here who's had a character grab the plot ball and run away with it for a bit.

Megatron is fine with them having a life before even tho it’s not preferred but they’re a MECH now and he knows better (this is a lie) than anyone what type of mentoring you need he’s completely ignoring this conversation bc that was your life as a human, this is your life now

Magnus is conflicted but ultimately he still keeps other mechs away. you may have some knowledge of Cybertronian sexuality, but it’s not just the interfacing that’s the problem. All the mechs on the lost light are fucked up and aren’t just looking for vanilla sex.

[yanderes-galore]

Romantic Gamzee Makara with human reader pls pls pls im begging... also dunno if it makes any difference in the hcs but the reader is also a mind aspect!

I think I'm going to focus on the human bit as idk if the aspect matters if that's fine? It may be easier but I briefly mentioned/implied you're in the Mind aspect. Either way, would love to write for Gamzee again.

With this concept I didn't make an AU, I tried to keep it close to canon.

Yandere! Gamzee Makara ♑️ with Human! Darling

(Mentioned at times you may be Mind Aspect)

Pairing: Matesprit ❤️

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Troll/Human pairing, Manipulation, Stalking, Delusional behavior, Mentioned mass murder/murder, Religious themes/worship yandere, Primarily sober Gamzee, PDA, Possessive behavior, Forced relationship, Forced affection, Blood mention, Sadism, Violence, Social isolation, Swearing.

I feel Gamzee would get along with a human faster than the other trolls.

For example, compared to his Moirail Karkat who dislikes the idea of flushed feelings with humans at first, Gamzee wouldn't mind it too much.

Humans may not understand quadrants all that well, but Gamzee's feelings in this concept are simple enough.

While Karkat is his Moirail, he wouldn't mind trying to make you his Matesprit.

That should be easy to understand, right?

Humans tend to have flushed feelings for each other, you'll figure it out he's sure of it.

Gamzee shouldn't be a yandere that's hard to deal with, when not sober.

When you speak with him or talk to him before he's sober he's actually really nice to be around.

Gamzee probably falls for you by watching your progress through the game and befriending you through the chat client.

He's somewhat invested in your life, enough to feel you mean something to him at least.

When he talks to you and gets to know you he's just so comforting and interested?

You don't have many issues when talking to him.

In fact, some of the other trolls have trouble tearing him away from the screen to speak with you.

It's great to know he's having fun trolling you... but there's other humans to talk to?

In terms of being a yandere it's not shown much when he talks to you.

He acts a bit delusional at times with you but nothing too bad.

You can usually overlook it.

By delusional behavior I mean he acts like the bond between you is closer than it actually is.

He also believes meeting you was fate due to his religion.

You often either get him asking if you're having trouble in your game session or him babbling about someday meeting you.

He's a bit... strange, but he becomes a presence you're used to through your session.

Honestly, by the time you meet Gamzee he may unfortunately be sober in this concept.

The moment you arrive on the meteor with Rose and Dave, you'll meet a Gamzee much different than the one you were speaking to in the chat client.

You were actually sort of excited to meet Gamzee when he talked about his friends and meeting you.

He admittedly hyped it up for you.

But the troll you meet isn't anything like the laid-back and helpful Gamzee you thought you knew.

No, when you meet Gamzee on the meteor, from what you heard he's crazy.

As a result you are no longer excited to meet him.

You choose to stick by Rose and Dave while on the meteor.

Karkat seems to be hesitant when he meets you but you manage to ask him what the hell happened.

According to Karkat, Gamzee was the cause of most of his friend's deaths.

Not only that but Karkat has developed a fear of being watched, especially when he's talking to you.

You ask why talking to you is such an issue...

You're told Gamzee has been obsessive about you ever since you started your session.

Even though you've reached your God-Tier, Gamzee can still be an issue.

He's strong, he's fast, he's insane in many ways.

Talking to Karkat only warns you that you may also be in danger.

Even in the Mind aspect, the stress may cause you to be indecisive and unsure what to do in the situation.

You still need to get used to the whole God-Tier thing like Rose and Dave.

Gamzee, surprisingly, is out of your sight for the most part.

When you roam the meteor he carefully stalks you like a predator.

He's so happy you've managed to make it this far... all with his past instructions.

Gamzee no doubt waits awhile to watch you before coming out of hiding and greeting you.

There's no need to be so scared... it's just him!

Gamzee thought you also wanted to meet him, no?

Damn, what has Karkat told you?

Did he paint him out as a monster?

His Moirail just doesn't understand that this is how things were meant to be....

Even in his more sadistic mindset, Gamzee still treat you as if you're close.

He looks at you with a smile and he's a bit too touchy.

You don't understand his intentions until he actually explains his idea.

You and him were meant to be Matesprits.

By now you'll know what this means.

It disturbs you greatly, especially with Gamzee giggling, singing the proposition in a giddy tone.

He tells you he's been waiting, he confesses he's loved you for awhile now.

You feel trapped when he closes in on you.

You look through your mind and try to find a decision, something to get you out of this.

Your mind draws a blank when Gamzee wraps himself around you.

The purple troll gleefully tells you about his murders, how he was so frustrated at the fact he didn't have you yet.

He tells you how he's felt so alone without you, how he's been wondering when he'll meet his Matesprit.

You fear to go against his wishes.

Sure, being a God-Tier means you may just come back if he kills you.

But Gamzee can't seem to die either?

You're forced to comply with his wishes once he closes in on you.

Gamzee is rough, too.

He kisses you roughly, probably is also the type to bite.

He doesn't care if others see his display of PDA.

What are they going to do if they see? Chastise him?

They've all seen what he's done, he could wipe them out rather quickly.

Plus, PDA just allows Gamzee to show that you're his.

He'd be possessive when sober and doesn't mind displaying the fact you're his Matesprit.

Regular Gamzee is a yandere for cuddles, sober Gamzee also falls into this category.

When Gamzee isn't busy he'll drag his Matesprit to a corner of the meteor and hold you tightly.

The corner is no doubt covered in blood but it doesn't affect the troll.

You, on the other hand, feel ill.

Gamzee is very unpredictable, which may be a reason you struggle picking an outcome with your aspect.

He seems to care deeply for you and Karkat despite his insanity, but he terrifies you.

He could brutally murder someone, be completely splattered in their blood, and run to you claiming it was all for you.

Speaking of which, Gamzee has potential to be a worship yandere.

He treats you like you're a divine gift and worships his Matesprit for that.

His Mirthful Messiahs, his Lord, has rewarded him.

As a result he praises you often and hates to leave your side.

He's frequently seen draped over you in some way, pressing his face into you and giggling like a deranged clown.

You make him happy, his human Matesprit.

Karkat may disapprove a little bit but he doesn't say anything.

If he shows any sort of dislike towards you, if he expresses dislike towards Gamzee's decisions, he could die.

Karkat doesn't HAVE God-Tier, he's only more terrified to be around you.

You can understand, right?

Anyone not a God-Tier has to deal with the equivalent of an angry guard dog threatening to tear their throat out when they talk to you.

As a result you prefer not to talk much to others.

It's hard to be yourself with Gamzee prowling somewhere close, waiting to strike.

Overall, Gamzee loves his human Matesprit no matter the aspect.

He doesn't care if others are scared to be around you or if you feel isolated... you only need him anyways...

You're HIS motherfuckin' Matesprit, HIS ONLY, is that clear?

[artbyblastweave]

So on balance I generally do enjoy Mark Millar, and a big part of why I enjoy Mark Millar is that a lot of his superhero stuff demonstrates the same awareness about the genre that Worm does- the sense of an unstable equilibrium, that the center cannot hold in the superhero universe as typically presented. Jupiter's Legacy, Super Crooks, Old Man Logan, Wanted, The Ultimates. Arguably Civil War. I have a whole other post buried in my drafts about how that bleak throughline keeps cropping up in his cape work. Specifically in his cape work, also- the man has written a lot of lighthearted, at times almost cloyingly sincere and optimistic one-off miniseries in other genres. Starlight: The Return Of Duke McQueen, Huck, Chrononauts, Beyond. In tension with this cynicism about the capes is the fact that he also clearly believes that superheroes are really cool, and on some fundamental level a really deeply noble and empowering idea. Even Wanted, which is probably the most thoroughly tasteless thing of his that I've read all the way through, I recall as having had this interesting subtext of anger over the fact that there's an audience for a superhero work as cynical and grotesque as Wanted. ("Fine. We took all the whimsy and wonder and derring-do you claim to have outgrown out back and shot it. The corpse is cooling. Are you happy yet? Dark enough yet? Mature enough yet? This is what you wanted right?") Anyway, I think Kick-Ass the comic suffers gigantically from a failure to break in one direction or another, in regard to that tension. It gets very, very close to saying useful and interesting things about the genre at several points but keeps undercutting itself by transforming back into the object of its own attack. There's this initial line of questioning, right, which is, "what kind of person, in real life, might actually try this? How would it go?" And the comic has some compellingly miserable answers to that question! Everyone in costume is chasing the same power fantasy, clinging to the idea of being somebody. Dave is, in his own words, motivated by "the right combination of loneliness and despair," and he's not competent. He alternates between minor wins and brutal hospitalizations, the first two issues and change is just the world punishing him for being dumb enough to try this, and for the most part he's a LARPer, a self-identified asshole. Red Mist is a rich kid playing with his father's money. Big Daddy and Hit-girl are framed as the "real deal", genuinely competent in their ability to dish out violence, and the comic to some extent has the self-awareness to recognize that people who were actually any good at this would be even more horrifying than the LARPers. The Reveal that Big Daddy was an accountant- that he made up a tragic backstory and made his daughter a human weapon in order to pursue an escapist fantasy- genuinely lands like a meteor! But it fucks it up, because it also needs to be cool, cool enough to keep our attention, and so it pulls an about face. The horror of Hit-girl gets subsumed by the realization that she's also the coolest thing in the whole book, almost loadbearing in terms of having actually cool and interesting things happen on-panel, and so the end of the book turns into the exact kind of superviolent revenge story it was initially skewering as unrealistic and disconnected from the much more grounded grief and loss Dave is experiencing at the start of the book. Dave's costumed escapades goes from being an obviously stupid and egotistical attempt to claw back control of his life to... an actual method by which he claws back control of his life, and not in a way that feels terribly well-earned!

The sequels double down on this- alternating between "in real life this would be cheap and stupid and tinged with anticlimax" and "woooo! Let's ape Tarantino until something cool happens!" and honestly, that feels less worthy of analysis because what I'm pretty sure happened there is that the movie blew up and created A Demand For More Kick-Ass. In general what it feels like fundamentally happened here is that you ask, "what if superheroes were real," you land on the answer of "they'd look stupid, be stupid and die badly," but what does that leave you with? It's not like that wasn't the obvious answer already and it's definitely not eight issues of material. He can't pull the trigger on having everyone involved die badly in meanspirited ways to drive the point home, and he never quite threads the needle back to the reconstructive middle ground he badly wants the book to inhabit, the "real heroes work in soup kitchens and look out for their neighbors" area. Things just happen.

That said, the gag about the astroturfed swear-word "Tunk" is fantastic. 10/10, no notes

[triptychgardener]

Do you have any headcanons about the characters youd like to share?

That is pretty broad but I'll see...

I like the idea of Kanaya and Jasprose on Earth-C referring to each other as ex-wives. It drives Rose insane.

Despite not being his biological kids, I think June and Jane inherited Dad's freak strength. It starts kicking in during their late teens, when they get very confused why the rest of their friends *can't* lift up an entire refrigerator.

Dirk when on Earth C gets really into fitness and "healthy eating." Lots of vegetables and real food. Unfortunately his taste buds are so flavor blasted from years of junk food that he hates it. He also does not know how to properly prepare vegetables. He still eats them though.

In terms of like Gender/Sexuality that hasnt really come up in Early June, I tend to HC Terezi as being on the ace/aro spectrum. The way she interacts with other people, especially Dave and Karkat, gives me the feeling that she really likes flirting and teasing way more than putting a label on a relationship. She acts frustrated when Karkat asks what they are romantically, her and Dave despite flirting during the game basically only refer to each other as friends on the meteor, and literally just looks like theyre hanging out together. She likes physical things if she's weirding people out but feels otherwise more reticent to touch. This is probably a part of why Vriska drives her kind of insane, being unable to quantify what she wants from Vriska. They settle into the pale quadrant in post-retcon, but I don't think that's entirely right for them either. It's one problem that the quadrant system most definitely cannot fix.

[kozykricket]

yknow what why dont i just put out my terraria build ideas that i havent quite gotten to (or some that ive gotten to a bit) out there?

so. ofc theres gonna be new furniture sets in 1.4.5, and i def wanna get building around those. those seem fun (fallen star set, aetherium set, etc) but theres also like. the lihzahrd furniture set exists and ... yknow, i think building an underground temple of my own for a jungle pylon seems quite fun. maybe it'd make the witch doctor feel a lil at home. could have an alchemy kinda area um, also i think it'd be awesome to make an iceberg with a home inside of it. like. im reminded of a certain iceberg you can swim inside of in subnautica below zero... has a cool interior. twists and turns, then u surface and . its like a cave ! i'd love to live in an iceberg heh i think a ghost pirate ship with the shimmered pirate would be a cool build ! could use lotsa fog machines and ofc gravestones for the graveyard biome i think meteor and sunplate furniture could really go together well if painted right, they both feel like. really unique "high tech yet in a fun way" vibes though speaking of high tech i think it'd be cool to build an abandoned overgrown laboratory in the jungle, for housing your planter boxes. if only i knew how to build metal stuff and make it look nice..

in terms of shimmer theres lotsa stuff i think u could do. ofc theres crystally hallow kinda place.. or clouds are also cool. but i think just making shimmer into more of like, a secret hotspring area would be cool. make it into like, pools that cascade down into each other.. maybe its even like some cave aquifer that opens up from a big ol tunnel in the ocean, and the further down into the oceans abyss you get, the more shimmery and ethereal (aethereal?) the vibes get

okay heres a real fun one: shimmer can change how NPCs look. so. have a seecret nightclub looking uh. neon... well. ig a fashion club of sorts with the clothier and stylist. tbh shimmered steampunker is very fashionable too. and just have like, a very Pool looking pool of shimmer in there. could store lots of vanity items there! call it the uhh Shimmer Salon or something. a ... mirage club. maybe the entrance to it is on the surface but only appears at night time bc . echo coating stuff. or something. disco balls ! and most recently, im thinking "yknow, granite caves look cool in the jungle. could contrast the jungle really interestingly with a granite elemental themed house, or a manmade detailed granite biome of sorts"

but also you could apply that to like... a mushroom surface build? have it be some weird granite-shroom grotto? you CAN paint glowing mushroom grass and do some funky stuff...

oh, and also you could do a yin yang kinda vibe for an underground base made of half marble and half granite. cus theyre like, opposites

in terms of places in games i think would be cool inspirations? area zero from pokemon SV, as well as any stage from the risk of rain series. and ... maybe some certain lategame areas in slime rancher. if you're bold, a rain world outskirts style place would be cool i think the best places to take from risk of rain could be a combination of both of the games' snowy places.. as well as ror1s temple of the elders and ror2s sky meadow. sundered grove is also very pretty but i think it'd be hard to really nail the vibes of oh and. minecraft ancient city? mayb..e...

...and now you see how i overwhelm myself ! lots of ideas! i think ill try and just focus on granite or maybe a hallowed crystal themed area (oh , and i have an unfinished TOTK sky island build. actually 2 of them. different takes on the idea. i think zonai stuff could be cool...)

FINALLY: what i want to do for my next world where i spawn inbetween 2 hills, is fill in the area between them with lotsa dirt and make a burrow like. rabbit burrow kinda vibe area. or a Mound . an anthill. a.. yea i think a Burrow like moles or rabbits make would be cool. just a big one. for people to live in. cool mega-spawnbase idea !

[8km-2]

YOU FINALLY ALLOWED ASKS BLESS YOU MAGIC 8-BALL AKSHD <3

Ok, do think Eileen and Gehrman ever met? Did they get along? What are your ideaaaasssssss

akdsjlhbf yeah figured i might finally open it, i mean it has been over a year and i don't see any porn bots sending asks... (if i jinx myself istg)

I'm assuming they had to have met in the hunter's dream at the very least right? Because Eileen talks about dreaming before you go and fight bloody crow.

Anyways during the hunter's dream, I don't think Gehrman really talked much about his personal life so whatever talks they had, it would be around the hunt. I mean Eileen doesn't talk much about herself either in the game... idk they both seem like pretty guarded people that don't show much vulnerability unless it's with someone they trust a lot. So i think if they only meet in the hunter's dream, it would be more like an acquaintanceship.

But I like to think if Eileen went into the dream before bloody crow betrayed her, she would've reached out to Gehrman and lead/start up a lot of their conversations. I do hc when Eileen grew close with bloody crow, she let herself be a lot more open with people like Gascoigne, Henryk and maybe Djura too (seeing them as friends instead of like coworkers). It's just when bloody crow breaks her trust she reverts back to her old ways becomes a lone wolf crow.

But if they met before the dream then I think they would've gotten along really well. Especially if they met after their kids managed to chip away at their frosty exteriors akjfhfd.

I thought maybe since both the burial blade and the blades of mercy were made with siderite they might have found the meteor together but that would imply she was the first hunter of hunters and that doesn't really fit with the lore... Idk it seems like the hunter of hunters existed way before Yharnam got hit with the beast scourge. This also kinda implies Gehrman wasn't really the first hunter but more like the first hunter of Yharnam... which yeah idk this timeline hurts my brain.

So I then thought maybe Eileen was first a doctor before becoming a hunter? I like to think she probably treated Gehrman so many times she gave him some sort of special discount (he was always up to no good back when he was younger ajksda).

But yeah that's all I've got so far in terms of ideas, thank you for the ask!

[slavonicrhapsody]

hello! I've been reading a lot of your posts about the Carian siblings, and I was wondering if you had any more thoughts on Radahn? If you ask Iji about Jerren, he actually talks about how Ranni is the first heir in the Carian royal line. I was curious if maybe the reason Ranni and Rykard are so close is that they're the two older siblings. There's also the whole thing with Radahn halting Ranni's fate (and thus her plans) by holding back the stars. He was taught Gravity magic by an Alabaster Lord (a race who came from space/a meteor), so maybe he uncovered the dangers of the monsters/outer gods in space that way? Rykard obviously cares for Radahn since he has a portrait, but Ranni never talks about him.

hi!! yes I have a lot of thoughts on Radahn, this turned out kind of long-winded oops

I generally read Radahn as being motivated by a desire to emulate Godfrey’s heroic ideal… so regarding his challenging of the stars, I think that he did discover the threats of space during his training, but that he simply saw the situation as an opportunity to play hero and prove his worth. I think that halting Ranni’s fate was merely a consequence he either did not consider, or considered and chose to move ahead anyway. While this must have damaged his relationship with Ranni, it also doesn’t seem like Radahn intended to ‘side against’ his Carian family. Jerren, Radahn’s right-hand man, explicitly works for the Carian royals, and Rykard was on good enough terms with Radahn to send him abductor virgins to help defend his castle. And while Radahn’s idolization of Godfrey puts him on the Golden Order side of things, he’s clearly no Erdtree zealot — his main decorative motif is LIONS, there isn’t a single Erdtree depicted in sight. This tells me that what he cares about is specifically Godfrey’s heroism, not the Erdtree system itself. Plus, I think any Erdtree zealot would balk at the idea of having an abductor virgin guarding their castle, aka the iconic weapon of the Lands Between’s most famous traitor and blasphemer lmao

I wonder if Radahn’s need to prove himself is a combination of him being the youngest (with an older sister who’s both heir and empyrean, and an older brother in a respected position of power), and Radagon (a father he looked up to as a champion) leaving him. Perhaps he’s compensating for the fact that he feels unworthy? There’s no direct evidence for any of this, but it does make a lot of sense… the quote on his armor description, "I was born a champion's cub. Now I am the Lord of the Battlefield's lion." …there’s a lot you could read into that

[dankusner]

Civil War Isn’t the Movie You Think It Is

Americans sure do love to see their institutions destroyed onscreen.

I remember back when it was sorta-kinda news that audiences applauded and cheered as aliens blew up the White House in Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996).

Since then, it’s been standard operating practice for blockbusters, particularly the disaster-y ones, to incinerate or otherwise defile a monument or an iconic government building.

(We took a brief recess after 9/11 — “too soon,” etc. — but went right back to it once the cultural all-clear sounded.)

Maybe because our institutions were deemed so secure and unchanging for so long, the idea that they might be ravaged by aliens, meteors, zombies, or Dylan McDermott became a naughty fantasy we were eager to see played out onscreen, over and over and over again.

A variation on this kind of chaos has become all too real over the past few years, with more than 40 percent of the country in a 2022 poll saying they think a civil war is likely within the next decade.

I’m not entirely convinced that the constant barrage of apocalyptic destruction on our screens is unrelated.

We’ve been spectators to the fantasy for so long that we’ve come to imagine we’re participants in it.

Here’s another truth about repeatedly indulging in our fantasies:

We become desensitized to them.

What makes Alex Garland’s Civil War so diabolically clever is the way that it both revels in and abhors our fascination with the idea of America as a battlefield.

No real monuments get done blowed up real good in this one.

The spectacle this time is coyer but somehow all-consuming.

What’s being incinerated in Civil War is the American idea itself.

The film is set in what appears to be the present, but in this version of the present a combination of strongman tactics and secessionist movements have fractured the United States into multiple armed, politically unspecified factions.

The president (Nick Offerman) has refused to give up power and is now serving his third term; he’s dissolved the FBI, bombed American cities, and made a point of killing journalists on sight, or so we’re told.

California and Texas have joined forces and become something called the Western Front.

There’s also the so-called Florida Alliance.

Smoke rises from the cities; the highways are filled with walls of wrecked cars; suicide bombers dive into crowds lined up for water rations; death squads, snipers, and mass graves dot the countryside.

How we got here, or what these people are fighting over, is mostly meaningless to Kirsten Dunst’s Lee and Wagner Moura’s Joel, two war journalists making the treacherous drive from New York City to Washington, D.C., for an exclusive, probably dangerous interview with the beleaguered president.

Tagging along for the ride in their van are Jessie, played by Cailee Spaeny, a young, inexperienced photographer who aspires to a career like Lee’s, and Sammy (Stephen McKinley Henderson), an aging reporter who wants to go to the front lines in Charlottesville.

Lee is vexed by both their presences.

Jessie’s too young, and Sammy’s too old.

The blood-soaked highways of the divided states of America are no place for either of them.

The journalists covering this war gather in hotel bars, get drunk, and loudly yuk it up with the jacked-up bonhomie we might recognize from movies set in foreign lands like The Killing Fields, Under Fire, and Salvador.

They’re mostly numb to the horrors they’re chronicling.

After the young Jessie is scarred by an early run-in with a man who threatens to shoot two unarmed, tortured, barely alive captives, Lee tells her that it’s not their job to ask questions or get involved:

“We take pictures so others can ask these questions.”

One of the reasons Lee is such a legend in her field is because she has grown a protective shell around herself.

She wants to get the picture.

That’s it.

She’s protective of Jessie but only to the extent that the girl will slow them down or upend their plans.

“Would you photograph that moment, if I got shot?” Jessie asks.

“What do you think?”

Lee responds, as if the answer is obviously yes.

But we also understand that Lee bears the psychological scars of what she’s seen.

At night, alone in her bath at a hotel, she covers her eyes and revisits the horrors she’s photographed all over the world.

“I thought I was sending a message home: Don’t do this,” she says of her earlier work. “But here we are.”

Garland can be clunky and obvious with his dialogue, but Dunst can also make just about any line sound true.

Her face tells one story, her words tell another; together, they bring this conflicted woman to life.

The film embodies Lee’s traumatized numbness to a degree.

Garland knows how to build suspense, and he depicts astonishing violence with the requisite horror, but he also moves his film along in playfully provocative ways.

After one ghastly sequence in which guerrillas shoot a weeping soldier, the director cuts to a montage set to De La Soul’s “Say No Go,” a song about a horrific subject that adds a peppy beat to the grisly images onscreen.

(I was reminded of the way Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket cut to the Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” right after a similar firefight.)

Even the film’s episodic quality — it’s really just a ghastly travelogue through the war-torn Eastern Seaboard, with our protagonists confronted at each stop with some upsetting new incident — feels like a provocation.

Part of shutting yourself off to such horrors involves being able to move past them, and Civil War, like its characters, glides past each monstrous vignette with unbothered brio.

This can make the film feel weirdly weightless at times.

Its characters are observers and nomads.

If anything, they feel less invested in what they’re witnessing as the movie goes on.

Civil War’s lack of a political point of view, as well as its refusal to really identify the positions of its warring parties, has come in for some understandable criticism.

But does any sane person really want a version of this film that attempts to spell out these people’s politics or, even worse, takes sides in its fictional conflict?

(That sounds like it would be the worst movie ever made.)

Garland does include flashes of real news footage from a variety of recent American disturbances, but he’s clearly done more research into media depictions of other countries’ war zones.

This is maybe his best idea, and why the film’s lack of political context feels more pointed than spineless:

The conceit here is to depict Americans acting the way we’ve seen people act in other international conflicts, be it Vietnam or Lebanon or the former Yugoslavia or Iraq or Gaza or … well, the list goes on.

In that sense, Civil War winds up becoming a movie about itself.

Beyond the plausibility of war in the United States or the tragedy of such an eventuality, it’s about the way we refuse to let images from wars like this get to us.

It’s more a call for reflection, an attempt to put us in the shoes of others, than a warning — not an It Can Happen Here movie, but a Here’s What It’s Like movie.

It doesn’t want to make us feel so much as it wants us to ask why we don’t feel anything.

[skips-is-asleep]

Pervailing Relationship Issues in Solkat

To clarify, what i mean by pervailing issues is what issues do i think sollux and karkat would consistly struggle with as a long term couple in adulthood, roadblocks they run into over and over. Really, it's more the rules I keep in mind when writing solkat

Im getting back to the roots of this account; jabbering about headcanons and my partner and my roommate have already heard me talk about this and im not done

The pink text is a very long tanget I went on to try and rationalize a point to make it easier to skip, and the purple text is clarifying a part of my tanget for people who are sticklers for details

BTW this is basically me analyzing my own fics about solkat (still based on canon) you can see the way i attempt to execute this through my longest running fic Space Solkat but also just how i view the pair in a general sense

TL;DR they both suck at communication and at different levels of emotional maturity

And im not gonna be mentioning self esteem issue bc first of all thats par for the course and also not really interesting for me to talk about tbh, i really wanted to talk about shit that i find meatier and more specific to them as people.

Ive been toying pretty regularly with the idea that i think Sollux doesn't view his own emotions as actual emotions, i think any time he feels a certain way, he views it as cold hard fact. Whereas when Karkat feels something, its almost always irrational and never rooted in reality.

Normally, this is fine, but Sollux also tends to view things in the short term, and just go with whatever happens, positive or negative (i interpret this from the way he just sort of Goes With Aradia asking him to recover/play the game and then goes along with playing even though he didn't really want to and even if he's contributing as little as possible. ((Although yeah there's no way he'd have known the game ended the world and that's also why he did what aradia told him to, he had no reason not to trust her word)) but he frequently makes decisions on the fly based off nothing and will just stick by them; see not talking to humans because he *thinks* they're stupid and pointless, and he's wrong in the grand scheme, the humans have massive impacts on their lives and the game, and after he's blind and meets John, he still doesn't want anything to do with them. He also chooses to leave the meteor after seeing an alive Aradia without talking or mulling the decision over at all. He just decides to leave and doesn't take into consideration how this would effect his relationship with Karkat, Terezi or Kanaya, even though Karkat begs him to stay. I think to someone else, having one of your closest friends show that kind of emotion at you leaving would make you hesitate on jumping ship, but he seemingly doesnt). Karkat sees things in the long term understanding cause and effect and gravity of situations and decisions, and they often fight about this. Karkat will try and show Sollux things that are actually objective, but because Sollux views Karkat as an unreliable narrator, he rarely listens, even when Karkat is actually right about something.

The thing is though, that Sollux will view Karkat's emotion as irrational, but at the same time does put some stock into them. Often times he "cant deal" with karkat when he's emotional, not because he cant handle emotion in general, but because he knows he'll be swayed by whatever Karkat is feeling and views this as corruption of his "facts." While he typically comes out of most topics with the correct opinion on things (see: not-bigoted) he still has the flaw of comparing emotional with unintelligent.

Sometimes its subliminal though, he'll be influenced by Karkat's emotion without realizing it and this only happens really when they *arent* fighting. Basically, if Karkat is trying to convince Sollux, he won't listen, but if Sollux is just listening to Karkat vent about something into the void, he takes note of that and it will subtly color his opinions about things.

He DOES view Karkat as intelligent though, so i think he'd be really frustrated by how little Karkat composes himself in times of stress, he's upset by Karkat's inability to be measured.

Even still, it's not any secret that sometimes Karkat will let his emotions get the better of him, sometimes his decisions are clouded by passion, but he almost always stands by decision even if he wasnt thinking clearly when he made them. Partially because you have to own up to what you say/do even if there is a situation in which you wouldnt do them, but also i think theres a tiny bit of stubbornness and pride in not wanting to admit to Sollux that he was right, he did let lose himself and his rationality.

Overall, I think a majority of the time, Karkat will cave to Sollux's emotions more often then vis versa, but when Karkat is right he's very obnoxious about it. This adds further pressure to Sollux not wanting to admit when the other is right/listen to what he has to say because he's going to lord it over him for the next week and Sollux is also stubborn and prideful albeit much quieter about it then Karkat is.

Their stubbornness and mutual pride also gets in the way of healthy communication though, especially with Sollux. Often times, he's too prideful to admit he needs help, admit he needs support and will drown in stress until he's about to crumble and *then* ask Karkat for help. This can easily be read as a lack of trust, and Karkat will often feel like he's doing everything he can, but the root of the issue is Sollux not communicating effectively about his needs.

Karkat is not innocent in this regard though, if something is bothering him a lot, but he recognizes it as a small thing, his long term thinking gets the better of him. "The tone he used with me when he woke up grouchy is not going to impact our relationship as a whole, I don't need to have a Talk with him about it." But it proceeds to bother him all day, the next day and the next until he's convinced that the relationship is falling apart and they need to sort everything out now.

I think that's everything I might add more but it'll be in reblogs

[scary-senpai]

speaking of giant meteors...

(not fandom-related by fandom adjacent, involves some writing stuff):

I'm in the writing program at Second City, and we're putting together our grad show (which is virtual! so in theory anybody can make it). The teacher selected the final sketches from all the work we've done over several terms. He selected two of my scenes:

one of my scenes was about a failed grocery shopping trip (which had unintentional but obvious OPM vibes), and that actually got used in our audition packet which was really cool

the second scene he selected was about a questionable medium and their "mystic fishbowl" that allegedly provided visions of the past and future. It has some Mob Psycho elements going, but it was mostly inspired by a Past Life Regressions workshop I attended with my mom. It was supposed to be about (white) people doing spiritualism badly, but the teacher really liked the idea of someone coming to a psychic for comfort and learning that all he's ever done was die in infancy, which was part of the original joke--assuming we did have accurate past life readings, most of them would be boring, and probably short. Anyway, I wrote the scene and I have mixed feelings about it, and also I needed a new ending (in the original version, the medium learns she can't actually communicate with ghosts, she just has co2 poisoning and the only message from beyond is 'check your fucking carbon monoxide detector!', but I think it would also be neat to do a reverse Scooby Doo, like 'you're right! I'm not a white, upper-class capitalist! I'm actually a ghost--and I would have gotten away with it, too, if not for you meddling kids!') anyway it doesn't matter because I have a new running joke, and the joke is "this character keeps dying" and if that's the joke, well, there's really only one way to end the scene. Oh, and also, this 'fishbowl of misery' psychic reading is all being done over Zoom--

[moved-2-coyotejone-s]

Odd Species - A Study of Alternian Trolls by Rose Lalonde

Trolls are an odd species.

Their skin is gray with undertones of their blood color, of which there are thirteen; rather, there are twelve, with the thirteenth being a candy-red colored mutation of lime blood. Their blood is very important to them; it determines their social standing, after all. Burgundy is the lowest class while fuschia is the highest. The higher one is on the blood caste, the rarer that type of troll is, and the longer they live. Fuschiabloods are the rarest of all, with only one being hatched every 100 generations and living for even longer. This is why they’re typically the rulers of trollkind. While typically looked down upon for their low class, lowbloods are powerful in their own right. Burgundybloods are telekinetic and goldbloods have psiionic powers of epic proportions when trained correctly. I’m so far unsure of what bronzebloods can do, as my sources seem to be unwilling to speak of them. I believe it has something to do with animals, though.

Trolls with the thirteenth blood mutation are typically culled immediately due to their perceived weakness. I have no idea why, as my source on this specific topic never seems to want to speak of it. Strange, as I could have sworn I heard him talking about it with my dear brother. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little jealous, but I shall let it slide for now.

Jadebloods are immune to the effects of the harsh sun of Alternia, which was the planet they lived on before it was destroyed. I like to think of it as reverse vampirism. Funnily enough, they have their own versions of vampires called “rainbowdrinkers��. It’s fascinating to me how similar some aspects of troll culture are to human culture. It seems that jadebloods are especially susceptible to becoming rainbowdrinkers, at least in my experience. Tangent aside, Alternia’s sun was reportedly so harsh that it would burn skin and hasten the development of cancers just from being outside during the day for less than an hour. It would blind one within minutes of eye contact, turning the entire eye bright red permanently. Sadly, along with Alternia, all studies on why jadebloods are immune to the harsh sun have been destroyed, a true loss for xenobiology indeed, though it can be inferred that jadebloods simply have more resilient skin and eyes than any other caste.

As stated before, certain castes are capable of psychic powers such as telekinesis, telepathy, and psiionics. However, while the first three blood castes are capable of such power, there’s one other caste much higher up on the spectrum that is also capable. This caste is the ceruleanbloods, who can control people from a great distance with their minds. It’s very confusing to me as to why there is such a massive gap between castes in terms of psychic ability, but, as there are no ceruleanbloods on the meteor currently, it seems I won’t be able to find out for quite some time.

Though it’s not been proven that they have any specific power, purplebloods in particular are typically incredibly violent if not intoxicated consistently. There is one on the meteor currently as I’m writing this, but I’ve been advised against searching for him. However, I’ve been told stories of his carnage. Apparently, shortly before Dave and I arrived on the meteor, he ruthlessly slaughtered or incited the slaughter of seven of the twelve trolls who had lived here. I would be lying if I said that this fact didn’t keep me up at night sometimes, listening closely to the sounds in the vents where he resides. Fear aside, it baffles me as to why purplebloods in particular are so violent, while the remaining two highblood castes are typically more docile.

In terms of physical appearance, trolls are mostly humanoid with some insectoid qualities, such as being able to both speak and chirp/trill like crickets. As stated before, their skin is gray with undertones depending on their blood color. They have yellow sclera and black irises, though their irises change color to match their blood as they get older starting from young adulthood. Their hair is soft when relaxed, but can harden into spikes much like a hedgehog’s spines. Most trolls have one to two pairs of horns, with the latter being mostly unique to goldbloods, though there have been some limebloods with this feature. They have an extensive zodiac compared to the human western or Chinese zodiacs, wearing their corresponding signs somewhere on their clothing or bodies.

Instead of only one type of love like humans, trolls have four. Karkat was very eager to speak on this topic, but, if I’ll be honest, I barely registered any of it. From what I did understand, they have flushed and caliguous quadrants, or red and black pairings. Each of those types has a pale variant. Pure flushed love is the closest to human romantic and/or sexual love that trolls have, called matespritship. The pale variant, called moirallegiance, is closer to platonic love, or a queerplatonic relationship. The pure black quadrant is called kismesissitude and it is equivalent to (pardon my language) hate-fucking. The pale version involves three trolls, auspisticism. It’s similar to kismesissitude, but there’s a third troll who keeps it from evolving into a full on black romance. If I’ll be honest again, this whole thing gives me a migraine to think about. I think I’ll stick with matespritship.

Something that has been continuously fascinating to me is troll culture. Trolls are a very volatile species, known for “culling” their own regularly. The culled are typically seen as weaker than everyone else, or else have no use to society. To put it basically, they practiced eugenics proudly. This treatment, though, would start before even exiting the hatching caves. Newly hatched trolls would have to literally fight to survive and emerge triumphant from the cave, having to prove their worth early on. It’s likely that this is why trolls as a whole are so desensitized to violence.

However, they also have a fascinating affinity for the arts. Troll films are typically described entirely in their titles, yet seemingly mimic human filmography closely, even in the names of the actors. Their famous artists also seem to mirror human artists. I wish any of this work was able to be saved, as I am highly interested in studying it further.

penis penis penis penis penis penis penis penis penis penis penis pe

Ah, well, this page is thoroughly ruined. Thank you, Dave, for preventing me from publishing this in the future. Perhaps I shall rewrite it another time, once I have learned more.

Probably not.

[prof-peach]

Heya, bit of a random question. I am currently working on a fangame featuring Eternatus as the major legend, and reading it's Bulbapedia page made me think of Peach. Namely, how do you think she would react to Eternatus' current treatment in the anime? That being, stuck in a Pokeball locked inside a vault. Eternatus is wicked powerful, dangerous, and alien, governing over no known force of nature, and having no known natural habitat. But, it is also still a living being. What would she do?

She’d be mortified but also, I mean that’s a Pokemon that I would argue isn’t even a Pokemon at all. It’s an alien, you’re right to use that term.

It’s said to have come to Earth inside a meteor around 20,000 years prior to the current timeline, so like send it back out to space.

Peach would heckle the Aether foundation to get their shit together and find a suitable place to put the thing, away from earth, and out of a poke ball. It obviously exists in a location where huge power sources are frequent, and seeing as their tech is pretty advanced, they can work this one out no doubt.

Peach would however be in agreement to keep it contained until the time when someone more capable finds a place to release it, where no one can get hurt. Her rational brain will conclude that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of one. To allow that Pokemon to roam free would cause chaos, so many would get hurt, and with global power outages, how can you treat the sick? Or help anything really, I mean seriously in terms of modern medicine. It’d be a kick to the dick, but she’s keep it contained and fight tooth and nail to get experts to find where it actually belonged. Once upon a time it must have had a home, no known place of origin doesn’t mean no origin at all, surely someone can find it.

Breaks her heart though, no living thing deserves that treatment, but it’d hurt so many it’d not be safe to do anything else YET. I wonder, if you could get close enough, would it have a heartbeat? Blood or body fluids? What of its organs and functionality. Is it truly alive if all it does is drain and destroy? There’s simply not enough information on it, but she would take one look at that whole mess and bail. Hates the idea of working with things like that, not even slightly her area of expertise, and she won’t pretend it is. A hoard of oddish? No problem. Chaotic dragons running rampant? Fine. That all consuming monster powerhouse? No way. Someone else would have way more knowledge to handle that thing, surely not something she needs to concern herself with. Would keep her up at night though. I Suppose the containment of it would keep her slightly detached. She really connects once she gets a look at a Pokemon, without seeing that thing, who knows. Perhaps it’d scare her, not demand her usual love and concern. The power it contains must leave you feeling like you’re full of lead.

Difficult ask.