#i'm going insane the parallels are almost too perfect

[wickedcoeur]

i think that we, as a community, need to talk about the parallels between the black brothers and tai lung and tigress from kung fu panda. i can (AND WILL) elaborate, but now i'm just lazy

oKAY, NOW I'M READY

so it all started when i went to watch kung fu panda 4 with my niece. first i was inconsolable bc the great lesbian icon tigress wasn't in the movie, but then, when i was out with some friends we started to look up fanarts of her at pinterest and there was this cute fanart of her and tai lung being siblings and playing togheter and IMMEDIATELY i thought about the black brothers

i need you guys to forget about the goodxbad stuff here bc that's not the point, the point is siblings angst. so tai lung, aka sirius, is the first son, the one to carry all the expectations, the one literally beign raised to become the dragon warrior/heir to the black house. and here they diverge a little bc tai lung tries, he gives all of him to achieve this, and all the love and attention from master shifu is conditioned to him beign the next dragon warrior but sirius is a rebel, he hates all that's linked to be a black and hates the person that his parents want him to be, so he do wathever is in his power to not be that person.

BUT THERE IS A BREAKING POINT FOR THE BOTH OF THEM: when their parents realized that they aren't and never will be what they want them to be. so tai lung goes insane bc not only he's beign denied everything that he fought for, the very thing that defines him as a person, but he can see that his father, whom he always though loved him, is starting to resent him bc he didin't get what he wanted from tai lung (this post is not a shade to master shifu, i love him, but i'm here for the drama). now with sirius his parents finally realized that he's not going to be the perfect little heir, so they torture him, and the last piece of hope that he had for his parents to love him is gone, THEIR LOVE AND ATTENTION WAS CONDITIONED JUST AS IT WAS WITH TAI LUNG AND MASTER SHIFU, now that he's to no use, he isn't valuable anymore. so they're both gone (tai lung go insane and ends up in jail and sirius go live with the potters)

meanwhile, we have tigress, aka regulus, the younger one, that is only there to fill the void that their older siblings left. regulus saw sirius with their parents, he (regulus) never received much attention from any of them, but he just knew that if sirius had been a good son they would've loved him, bc they tried, they tried to teach sirius the ways of the black family and there were moments, when they were satisfied with sirius behavior, that almost seemed that they loved him. so when sirius left and their focus turns to regulus he's ready to be the most obedient and well behaved son on this earth. now, tigress had never lived with tai lung, when she came to the temple he was already in jail, but she heard how master shifu adored him, and how broken he was that he was gone. she also knew that what caused them to drift apart was the whole "you're not the dragon warrior" thing, so the only way that she could gain the master's attention was to become the dragon warrior. but it didin't matter how hard they tried, how much they gave away to those people, they just weren't their siblings, they weren't enough.

i also like to think of the fact that tigress always felt like she was doing good, like, i'm not enough, my father doesn't really care about me, but this is my purpose and i'm actually helping people so at some point everything is going to be ok (when i become the dragon warrior), and i think that's kinda what regulus felt too, and i'm NOT excusing any bigotry behavior here, but he genuinely believed that he was doing some good for the wizard world by supporting his parents cause, so it's interesting when we think about "why reggie didn't leave??", because why would tigress leave???

i ALSO like to think about the skittles beign the furious five: tigress as reggie, monkey and crane as barty and evan (just two dorks who are superpowerfull), viper as pandora (i fell that there's no explanation needed) and mants as dorcas (c'mon, that little thing full of rage is very dorcas coded).

anyways, now i'm tired and won't be rereading nothing, so i don't know if it's understandable or if it's even english at this point, if you have any doubs fell free to ask

@morallyundefined

[furiroad]

Furiosa spoilers under the cut 🚗

It's actually staggering how much that movie did not need to exist. Gonna bullet point some thoughts

My sarcastic lol @ the lightning fast sisters cameo at the end where they're all played by completely different people. the quick flash of Cheedo's eyes bc they managed to get Courtney Eaton back for three seconds didn't appease me

I guess it technically passes the bechdel test bc right at the start Furiosa says "be still" to Valkyrie but iirc that's the only pass moment. I know not passing the bechdel test doesn't mean the movie is automatically bad I just think it's interesting considering it's following Fury Road

"she talks to her mother" I don't think they ever said her mum's name out loud

You know how mad max fury road could have a silent version w no dialogue + isolated soundtrack and it worked because you could tell what's going on anyway? This movie has the opposite problem. Way too much talking. They over-explain everything

The best bit was the prolonged torture scene at the end where Hemsworth explains Furiosa's entire character arc and the message of the movie out loud to her and also us

Even his teddy had an arm missing, replaced with a barbie arm. Thanks. We get it

Her arm made robot noises

Actually threw MY arms up in disgust when she went back for that boy she supposedly had a romance with despite the film never bothering to actually show/explain that. I'm calling it a romance because the actors did. I guess it was supposed to be a Capable/Nux parallel but it didn't work for me and not just because I'm a dyke and a hater OK, if you're gonna do a ROMANCE, DO A ROMANCE. don't leave me sitting there wondering why Furiosa is risking it all for some guy she's had ONE conversation with, especially after he offers to get her away from the Citadel and back to where she came from, WHICH IS HER ENTIRE MOTIVE EVER SINCE SHE WAS TAKEN

I DON'T GET IT

Them trying to emulate Max and Furiosa's instinctive, perfect we have to trust each other moment by having Jack and Furiosa... look at each other Meaningfully fifty times while they were supposed to be driving cars? Don't make me laugh! You will never be them!!

Max being there for a second wasn't cute! I rolled my eyes

Same at "remember me?" MAKE UP YOUR OWN STUFF

So many things happened because they needed to happen (plot demanded it) and didn't make any sense in context. My favourite was when Furiosa rode her motorcycle up a dune to get away after cutting off her arm and the biker gang couldn't follow her up there for some reason

So much Christian imagery... threw me off tbh

Considering it's Furiosa's movie it sure isn't about her + she doesn't speak at all for almost the first half

This movie was way too long

I called it about the peach seed

I called it that she cut her own arm off

George Miller read some of my blog but not all of it

You know how The People Eater rubbed his nipple that one time and it was delightfully weird and gross and got a good reaction? Well in this movie he's constantly rubbing it, the whole time. Really lessens the impact of the nipple rub

As you can see this movie has made me insane

Like this is not really about the nipple rub but do you get what I'm saying here

Furiosa spends most of the movie hiding her hair (because as we all know, having long hair immediately identifies you as a woman) and then when her head covering gets knocked off and her hair is revealed (omg she's a girl) she leaves it like that and becomes an Imperator. On what planet

The history man frames the entire movie for some reason. Do they show Miss Giddy? Take a wild guess

One of the coolest parts of fury road was that a gang of bikers ended up being hardcore wasteland grannies w guns and loose morals in response to people fucking around for far too long without finding out. Did this movie have anything like that for me? Take a wild guess for a second time

The car fight scenes weren't even that great. Couldn't remember hearing any good music under them (brother in arms truly lightning in a bottle) and they went on for too long which feels wild to say about suped up car battles in the australian wasteland: 2 but oh well. This is how I feel. Fury Road was so good at carefully measuring out high octane action and then downtime and careful, quiet character introspection and this movie had no idea what it was doing either way

Honestly I don't hate it but I feel like it was a waste of time and it doesn't need to exist at all. A real nothing experience. Am I going to see this movie ten times in cinemas? No I am not even going to see it twice in cinemas

I don't know what I was expecting.

oh my god also they played clips of Fury Road over the credits as if to say "remember how fucking good this is in comparison to the dumb shit you just watched"

[hrodvitnon]

YOU!!!!

Your series "Liebchen, Komm Zu Mir" and "Love is as Twin to Madness" together has managed to stick an extra layer of brainrot I wasn't aware was possible to apply on to my already Signalis brainrot.

I read through the Penrose series first so when I went through the other one and saw the parallels I got SO DAMN EXCITED.

Thank you for your service with wolfish Elster btw. If I was Ariane or Isa I'd go insane too fr fr

I have a ARAR Unit OC and I may or may not apply the predatory red eye glow to her. Absolutely perfect since they tend to be in dim vents and spaces y'know?

ME???

Oh, thank you so much for reading! I've been having a blast writing SIGNALIS fics and I just get so giddy whenever a comment like this pops up, I'm just- ahhhh! Also, wolfish Elster is best Elster. :3

Yes, please give your ARAR the predatory red eye glow!! It fits perfectly! In my own writing it's also based on how EULRs eyes never seem to go out in-game, and also how Elster's eyes are almost backlit during that one elevator ride into the mine, so I love Replikas with the glowing eye shine!

BEO AND THE STAR/EULE COUPLE ALWAYS BREAK MY HEART SO I HAD TO DO SOMETHING FOR THEM! I JUST WANT TO HEEEEEELP!!

(perhaps Frau Drache will make another appearance...?)

[lover-of-mine]

#anyone want to hear my season 7 buddie spec that has no basis besides the voices in my head? sdoaksoaksokasokasoak yes ! me i always like to read your metas and what you have in mind

thank you for the support oaksoaksoaks

okay, I'm gonna start this off by saying this whole thing hinges on whether or not the show is gonna keep mirroring Buck and Eddie's personal journeys and this is mostly about Buck, I have no idea what they're gonna do with Eddie lol. First of all, this set back when the finale aired about the similarities between Buck and Taylor and Buck and Natalia and that illustrates it beautifully, the whole she came back, they seem happy, are they really? and that's a point against Natalia lasting in my opinion. But the thing is, I think Bucktalia also mirrors Eddiana, and that's when things start to get interesting in my brand of insanity. You have Buck treating Natalia's hand, you have Eddie treating Ana's, Ana and Natalia being reduced to their jobs, the first date in broad daylight in a cafe of some sort, a second date at home being interrupted by the rest of their lives (if you push a bit and think about Kameron's pregnancy, both dates are interrupted by their children even if the baby isn't Buck's on the ways that matter), you have the picture-perfect ending at home after a near-death experience, so the parallels are there too. And that means one important parallel, Buck holding on for the wrong reasons the same way Eddie did, which could doom that relationship further, but also leave Buck spiraling. Because if we're comparing personal journeys, Buck is in a state that's a mix of season 4 Eddie trying to be happy through the trauma and outside looking in/fear-o-fobia Eddie. I think we can even directly parallel some stuff, like, I truly believe the cemetery is the way Buck would handle the outside looking in kitchen talk if that went the other way around.

But the thing is, Buck needs to deal with the shit that happened to him before getting together with Eddie so I'm choosing to look at these as fuel for my Buck Breakdown beliefs. Unlike Eddie, Buck actually died, so that changes the dynamic a little bit, there's also the way that Buck doesn't care about his own life enough to break over dying, but while Eddie's PTSD has many triggers, the thing that actually breaks him is the knowledge that he didn't save the people he thought he saved. So my grand theory here is something happening to Maddie, Bobby, or Christopher that makes Buck lose it. I don't really think they would do something to Chris, but using him would have a similar effect if it wasn't for the fact that it would also break Eddie. Eddie himself doesn't count in this situation unless is both Eddie and Chris, because Buck would be forced to keep it together if something happened to Eddie for Chris' sake. Or maybe if they like, killed off the Buckley parents and forced Buck to deal with that grief. But Maddie or Bobby, dangerous situation, close call, hospital stay, honestly, something that would leave them in enough danger to trigger Buck, low-key don't think you need much to trigger that man. But trigger, Buck losing it, Eddie talking Buck down (how would Eddie find out Buck is losing it? I don't know, plot convenience, I like the idea of divorced-era Buddie and Eddie storming the loft because he's tired of Buck's bullshit and finding him, or maybe someone from dispatch calls Eddie because there's been a call from Buck's address, I don't know, they can get creative there), Buck working towards working his own shit out. But we're in this weird season 4/season 5b mix, right? How do we end s4? Near-death experience that calls back to a previous trauma, big revelation, aborted love confession.

One thing I refuse to compromise on is the fact that Eddie had his oh! moment during the shooting (it's my truth I am not letting it go) so you can probably see where I'm going here, right? A Buck in a better mind space almost dying by chance, getting saved by Eddie, and realizing something. You see the vision? Current vision goes back and forth between equipment malfunctioning, Buck falling, and Eddie being the only one close enough to get to him, this usually goes around a cliff, a bridge, and Buck falling into water (I know the truck bombing is not technically equipment malfunction but equipment did try to kill him, and water is Buck's worst enemy lol), or Buck and Eddie stopping to help someone, and shit going to hell, this vision usually goes with Buck and Eddie seeing a car crash of some sort, again someone drove off a cliff or off a bridge, they go to help, Buck gets trapped in the car, Eddie needs to save him (trapped under a vehicle, water) or just straight up having them drive of a bridge. Because something really big about the shooting is the way that, one it happened by chance, two they weren't supposed to be there, three Buck didn't have anyone he trusted there so he did the saving alone, and four by having Eddie get shot, you're bringing up why he left the army. So with Buck, if they stick to this pattern, you need to drown him or trap him under something, or both. And you have the way the lightning parallels the well and the shooting, and the well triggered something for Eddie, you have the whole you need to keep fighting, find your own way out, the suffocation aspect for both of them when you realize Eddie is about to drown and Buck's lungs are not working, and also the way Buck is supposed to learn something during his coma that could lead to a conversation similar to the will reveal. This is when the vision gets cloudy. Because ideal world, the reveal is Buck's feelings and we don't have an aborted love confession, we have a plain old confession, but the aborted route is always a possibility with a see you in season 8 thing.

But yeah, Buck breakdown, Buck starting to deal with his shit, near-death experience, Eddie having to save him alone, tense conversation after. I'm also slightly obsessed with what could happen in a scene where Eddie is dragging Buck out of the water, cpr, mouth to mouth, "you're not doing this to me again", Buck coughing up water while sitting up, Eddie catching him, "I got you, I got you". The possibilities are ENDLESS. Just put Ryan's emotional power to work. All those fun things oskaoskaoskoaksas

Also, this mostly hinges on Buck doing something to change their relationship because considering Buck tripped into 4 relationships, he needs to start this one. I'm a firm Buck needs to do something first believer. Buck's endgame relationship needs to start with him making a move. Also, my whole Buck needs to choose thing is all about Shannon saying that Eddie keeps making all the choices, so Eddie needs to let go of control and Buck needs to go for what he wants.

[ashikarin]

Honkai's retconning of Self-Sacrifice

Can we talk about something that's been bothering me?

It's the complete retcon of Mei's character - and by proxy Kiana's - and the overturning of nearly all the buildup to this current arc.

When Kiamei find out that they can beat the Honkai by taking the power of Finality, but that it comes at the cost of one of them becoming the HoFi, why are they completely okay with that? There isn't a single protest from Mei when Kiana - unprompted, by the way - says that she's okay with it, and that she has resigned herself to her fate as the HoFi. And that's so disappointing.

The entire plot up to this point, if you think about it, really hinges on one thing. Himeko's sacrifice. Or, at the very least, everything from Diane's Sojourn (Ch. XI-1) to Thunders over Nagazora (Ch. XVII). That's a good solid chunk of the plot.

Kiana only goes to Arc City because of her guilt. Fu Hua had to stop her from putting a bullet through her skull because of that guilt, and even though Himeko's sacrifice is the catalyst for Kiana's eventual character growth and development (that was completely destroyed by the recent story), it has never been a good thing!

Mei only joins World Serpent because ultimately, she fails to show Kiana that there are other people who care about her and want the best for her. She only goes down this path of self-hatred and darkness and destruction because she couldn't save both the world and Kiana, and she chose Kiana over the world in the end.

"Kiana, you're always like this. Even when you're battered, you still force a smile. You saved me. You saved us all. Yet you shoulder everything alone, at the cost of your life."

Remember this line? Mei was so against Kiana's "mission" of self-sacrifice and attempt to atone for Himeko's death with her own life that she beat Kiana until she had to resort to her Herrscher form. She was absolutely serious about stopping her! You know, Ms.

"You're the most important person in my life. If rescuing you is a sin, I'll gladly become a sinner."

But I suppose that's been retconned now that Mei is "completely like Elysia." Which brings me to another topic. Mei's character building after meeting Elysia.

I'm not saying the destruction of the ER was a bad move - it was a completely fine plot point. But why, when Mei is said to care about Elysia so much, is she okay with how Elysia died? Why is she so positive about her experience in the ER and EE when she watched thirteen of her friends, who meant literally everything to her when she was there, die painfully and almost for nothing in front of her? She was absolutely devastated when Pardo died in her arms, and yet she's completely okay with it now?

The whole point of the ER and EE stories, to me, was that cold logic and keeping to oneself is what made the PE fail. The ER was never meant to be a hall for achievements and happiness. It was a place where the successors could learn where their predecessors failed! It was literally a collection of souls who were so fragmented in life and so cut off from each other that even though they were the "13 Flamechasers", they couldn't work together to muster a single attack against Finality. THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO BE ROLE MODELS.

And Elysia's story was never about "being happy all the time", it was about how she was so loving and determined that she literally changed fate. She wasn't a perfect being from the get go. And neither should Mei be, now.

Finally, Even Kiana's willingness to be self-sacrificial and turn into the HoFi is absolutely insane to me. She punched a hole in space and time to get Fu Hua back.

"Why is it always like this? Trading sacrifices for so-called victories. It's unacceptable. Give Fu Hua back to me!"

So in the end, this meant nothing, too? All the lessons the girls learned about relying on each other and not sacrificing one for the other, and Kiamei's entire arc from Thunders over Nagazora to them reuniting on the Moon Base? And for what?

The Power of Friendship? Ely/Mei parallels? Kiana HoFi? It's just all so badly done that it's almost laughable.

(big thanks goes to my babu @rainmarginals for ranting with me,,)

[dangerpronebuddie]

Hi, baby, hope you're having a good day 🩷

But about Buck, Actually, no, the newlyweds call is not the last one, it is see me Norman, gas station, newlyweds, and then Thomas and Mitchell, with bathena and madney intertwined in the middle. I will definitely write something in more detail depending on the types of shots we get from the bachelor party, but madney has the whole bar sequence, the karaoke of it all, then the scene in Chim's apartment with the food and what Buck says that will quite literally describe buddie too as of 706 once we see the karaoke, and bathena is about Athena accepting the changes in the family that come with Michael dating? Like there's the dinner with Michael and the boyfriend and the kids and bathena (and then bathena gets engaged the next episode lol) that I kinda wanna argue you can parallel to outside looking in but I will have to rewatch both scenes again to make sure lol and well, the episode is very much a madney begins in a sense, we see the friendship and they talk about Maddie not being ready yet and we have a lot of parallels to draw if they are going that direction, even more with the whole repeat names and the Thomas/Tommy thing yk? I have to watch 706 for the thoughts to fully form tho ksoskspskspskapka I am losing my mind a little about it ngl

Hi baby, hope you are too🩷

Okay, that's what I thought. So doing the trapped dads thing could definitely have a confession, and they could possibly combine the car crash and Thomas and Mitchell, at least in terms of how Buck sees love. And like you said, if Eddie's the one in worse condition, he's not going to tell Buck and let him live with that forever. Buck would tell Eddie, just so he'd know he died being loved (I didn't tear up writing that. At all).

Given the fact Buck, Actually had such a focus on Madney, it kinda makes sense for 7x06 to have a Buddie focus. We haven't even seen Chim at his own bachelor party yet! With Madney in 2x08, we get to see how they communicate (Chim spam texts lol), how well they know each other (her wine order), the karaoke, the buff-fridays thing, and Buck calling them out on being oblivious. The fact we're getting the same colors and the thing with their arms around each other is INSANITY. Even more so considering Maddie and Eddie have so many similarities. Still haven't figured out the point of Eddie in pink, we'll just have to see there. (I think I'm having thoughts on that but now I need to look at 7x01 again. Maybe the pink is tied to Eddie specifically right now. I need to find some coherent thoughts on that lol).

I just thought of something. Athena struggling with accepting changes in the family sounds oddly familiar... Chris broke a salad bowl over Eddie dating again. Would he have similar emotions to finding out Buck and Tommy are together? Or, a step further, if he somehow figures out how Buck and Eddie feel about each other? It's kind of a stretch but ¯⁠\⁠_���(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

With the Outside Looking In parallel, it's possible. I'd have to watch and see.

7x06 could be a Buddie begins in a sense. They're practically attached at the hip in all the promos, the karaoke thing, and God knows what else we'll see. I'm all for an *almost* happening, just not a cheating storyline, no thanks. The almost would push them to think whether or not they're ready, and they aren't- at least not Eddie considering Marisol and the whole guilt thing. OH! An almost would pile onto that!

And it's perfect for someone to point out their feelings. Anyone watching them could spot it, Maddie already has her suspicions, so does Tommy. Ideally, at least for me, I want Maddie to call Buck on it and Chim to Uno reverse and throw out "if you love him, tell him." It's not likely to happen in 7x06 specifically, but it could be very soon. Tommy's likely to mention something too, considering he barely knows them and still spotted it, but I would love for it to be Madney.

The Thomas/ Tommy thing is really bugging me. Are we going to see a Charlie or a Mitchell in the near future? I still haven't figured out Tommy's motives, it really makes no sense.

There's so many parallels we're getting, and probably A LOT more in 7x06. I already know it's gonna be one of those episodes that keepe me up all night lol.

[greensagephase]

Okay, so! Part 14? Amazing oh my god… Am I picking up that Harry might’ve played a roll in some previous parts or am I crazy? Stay tuned. Anyways, AAAA I love these two so much. Even the little hint about Peter looking at them almost like a family. You put so much imagery and psychology into these chapters and I eat it up every fricken time!!!

I was going to ask to possibly make a few suggestions for music to add to the playlist. Obviously music is subjective but like… Hear me out 🥹

Almost (Sweet Music) by Hozier:

So in the case you haven’t listened to this song, absolutely give it a go. It’s about a man slowly falling in love with someone who reminds him of an ex or a past lover(?) and how good it feels to slowly be himself again. Lowkey I relate this song to Y/N because there’s just certain aspects about Miguel in this fic that also align with their universes Peter. Especially the whole staring thing mentioned in this chapter, how Miguel always looks at Y/N like Peter did, and Y/N smiles the same way that they did with Peter about Miguel. These lyrics especially!

The same kind of music

Haunts her bedroom

I’m almost me again

She’s almost you

And

I wouldn’t know where to start

Sweet music playing in the dark

Be still my foolish heart

Don’t ruin this on me

—

Ghost of Chicago by Noah Floersch

So I feel like this one once it’s listened to kinda speaks for itself but it definitely kinda sounds like how I would imagine Miguel would feel falling into this friendship / situationship / relationship. Because it starts off as that slow and staccatoed tempo before building up to tempo and suddenly it’s like he sees this person everywhere, not literally but metaphorically. Being able to associate this person with so many little things in life.

—

Francesa by Hozier

Last one, and currently it’s a bit of a stretch. However, hear me out. This song if you don’t know (and I apologize for explaining so much but I wanna be thorough, I’m sure you’ve listened to Hozier but y’know) Is about a man being so in love that he would endure the struggles in life all over again if he could be with his lover once again, and that their love is so powerful it is not meant for a place like heaven. This to me is a perfect ending song for Miguel x Y/N because! There has been so much of a build up, in this whole process I feel like by the end of it, Miguel would absolutely live the life he was given once more if it meant being with Y/N once more. Every single tragic event would be worth the pain because of the sheer love he would experience in the end.

Anyways I’m done, this is way too long but AAAA I love you and your writing and I just had to yap about it 😭🤍

Hi, Rue!!!! I'm so happy you enjoyed part 14!! 🥹 About Harry… I can't say anything, but I'm seriously loving everyone's thoughts on him, hehe! 🤣 Omg, I'm glad you've mentioned the part where Peter B. looks at Miguel and reader with Mayday!!!!! I WAS HOPING SOMEONE WOULD PICK UP ON THIS!!! For a few seconds, Peter B. definitely saw them as a little family - maybe a potential future 😌- and I just, AHHHH!!! It was one of my favorite scenes to write for sure from part 14!! 😭 I want them together already but I have to control myself!

About the music - Rue, you killed me with these songs suggestions and I LOVE that two of them are Hozier's!! It's actually insane you've suggested songs by him because the other day I was literally thinking about looking into his music to discover new songs for the fic since I know he's recently dropped new music. I'm not a hardcore fan but I enjoy a few of his songs and I LOVE his voice and he seems like a really chill and sweet artist, but anyway, I got very busy last week and never got to it, so this is perfect!!!

I listened to them and can I just say I absolutely LOVE "Almost (Sweet Music)" ?!? This one is def so fitting for Y/N in regards to her past love with Peter and the parallels between him and Miguel, and the way Y/N herself will slowly show these little parallels like smiling at Miguel the way she used to for Peter, too! And then the part,

"I wouldn't know where to start Sweet music playing in the dark Be still my foolish heart Don’t ruin this on me"

This fits both of them so perfectly - I won't say much but you basically put it together based on your thoughts on "Ghost of Chicago" 😭😭 anyway, I LOVE THIS SONG and I've added it to the future songs playlist along with the other two (in my nonpublic personal Spotify account which is just growing longer each day with the new music I find lol) and be assured that they'll show up in the official playlist when the time is right!! 😌

And the last songs!!!! Yes, yes, yes to your thoughts!! I can't wait to use these songs for our future Miguel in which he loses sleep no longer because of nightmares, stress, or overworking, but rather because of matters of the heart and that's all I'm going to say about that!!

Thank you so much for making these song suggestions, Rue!! If you have more, send them my way! I love listening to songs you guys relate to the fic - it's one of my fav things ever seriously!!

I hope you're doing well and thank you for sending this wonderful ask!!! 🤍🫶🏼

[sang8262]

something clicked and i've been playing a lot better all of a sudden (climbing those ranks baybee), so it's a good time to rant and gush about what i love about JP in-game:

First, I'm just really having fun with the game lmao. I'm someone who'd force myself to learn the playstyle of the character I personally like, so it's quite fortunate that I do enjoy his zoning, and at times set play gameplan.

Obviously his design/ personality/ aesthetics are what got me into maining him in the first place, so that's not too surprising. This includes how his specials and animations parallel his characterization so well, such as him hiding his hand behind his back, or consistently using Psycho Powered moves with said hand, etc etc.

Specifically, I absolutely love the smaller details in how he holds his cane when he twirls it. His hands n all are animated so satisfyingly (the recovery frames on a lot of his moves showcase this well).

I believe the whole game is mo-capped, so I owe my life to everyone who made his beautiful kicking animations possible. 6HK where he balances on his cane for the donkey kick, absolutely amazing, leg so hot. And it's a godlike button I swear. Can antiair, cancels into specials, hits twice so it can break armor against some moves/ reacting with DI is a lot easier, and I think off DR it's a really good meaty too. Probably my favorite normal he has in general.

Idk why he has such a hurtbox on the 2nd part of this move where his crotch is. What are they implying with that. Hm.

Oh and shoutouts to 6MK as well, the overhead. It's such an elegant axe kick, and the arc it goes in is really satisfying. Also to j.LK. It's a cute looking kick and a fast overhead/ crossups. Look at him go.

Also also: 5HK. I don't need to explain.

Soeaking of very satisfying: his parry animations. I think the universal sfx they use for parry fits him real well, since he's using the cane to deflect and it would reasonably make such a sound. Looks particularly sick when parrying multi hit moves.

Specials wise, it's all the small motions he does and how he carries himself. Like the way he stands/ shifts his weight for the attacks are done soooo well. The way he spins for Stribog. The little foot tilt when sending out cmd grab ghost. Again all the hand animation, like the snapping on manually detonating Departure. How he waves away the remaining Psycho Power when Amnesia doesn't counter anything. The difference between gripping his hand to feint ghosts, versus sending them out with a flourish. I know this is almost his entire moveset but hey what can I say, they're all really great.

ONE THING tho, is that I kinda don't like his back throw animation. I get it's supposed to be based on bartitsu/ using the opponent's own weight against the cane to throw them, so I can appreciate the attentiom to realistic detail. But in practice, it's rather slow and looks like a huge fuss compared to how some other throws look.

This is made all the more noticeable when you consider his air throw, which is instant dopamine. Made all the better when you throw someone out of specials, or as a hard read. The way he slams them into the floor with a scoff is mwuah, perfect.

I love the frame they have on Supercombo lmao

Gameplay wise too, he really reflects so much of himself. Mentioned before but the hilarious intentionally unintentional teabagging from his 22 inputs, or how he's so often hated by fans for how he plays. Incites controversy indeed.

What inspired this whole rant is actually how insanely evil you feel for locking down the opponent full screen with projectiles. One aspect of it is against defensive or hesitant players, who'll let you get away with spamming full screen.

But the other, much cooler scenario, is shutting down every weasely attempt to close the distance. They can jump, shimmy, Drive Rush, or use specials to try and get in, but guessing right and countering everything is fun times. Sending them back to the other side of the screen despite all their efforts, and you can taste the salt through the screen.

It's also how he forces them to play JP's mini game, even outzoning characters like Guile and Dhalsim. Match up wise tho? Most pathetic moment is Honda ex headbutt ignoring every projectile. Very sad times, and I'm offended I need to defensively parry.

Silliest MU is the mirror for sure. I hate it. I love it. JP is weirdly vulnerable to his own gameplan, since Amnesia can't counter projectiles, and his DR is way slow. Spikes/ ghosts become a "who can parry and do ex spikes first" projectile wars. And you cannot distinguish between whose Departure portals are whose (they're angled a bit differently but in a match that's impossible to reasonably identify). You're both trying to out gimmick the other to get the edge which can get very scrambly or super one sided. Either way, a JP is winning no matter what, and please do remember to feed Cybele if you lose.

I was about to close out but I just remembered Drive Reversal!!! No wonder I forgot cause I keep forgetting about it in game too;; But if only for the animation I should press it more often. Love that they put in a golf swing motion for the cane wielder, and he's got form. And I have to thank them for deciding to give us the back view.

[i-feel-strange]

ATTENTION! In this... Fanfiction? There will be pronouns for leading she/her. Joseph/Jack will be pushy and those who don't like being molested should not read. The action takes place in 1980, before Joseph's death. And there may also be errors in the text, I still use the translator.

(I am a big fan of Leo Tolstoy, so there will be a lot of water here, stock up on life jacket)

Date

As far as you remember, you were friends with Joseph for a little over five months, but this charming gentleman has already asked you on a date several times. You gently and tactfully refused. The actor did not lose his resolve. And now you are already standing at the mirror and picking up a dress for the evening. Red, too bright, this dress is like your grandmother's, this is old, she's been wearing this for a week. You chose a modest, black dress, with gloves, all the same, we are going to a restaurant. I wonder what Joseph will wear?

My God! I didn’t think that sunshine was so easy to agree, she refused me for so long. I already thought about leaving it behind and stop bothering her. I'm about to burst with happiness! That's enough, pull yourself together Joseph Haberday! This date should go well, I've planned everything down to the smallest detail. We go to a restaurant, I hope my sun will not be embarrassed, I want her to remember this evening for a long time. A cozy room, with walls hung with paintings, spacious and bright, without insane prices, but true products. I would like to pay the bill in full, but if my ray of light wants, she can pay herself. I booked a table away from everyone, in the corner of the room so that no one would disturb us. Should I send flowers? Or a gift? No, it will be too much. Where are the cigarettes? Better smoke now, I hope I still have perfume left. I often smell of smoke, but the sunshine always smells perfect. When I arrive in the dressing room after rehearsal, my sun is already there and waiting for me. I sit down on a chair, and her light and gentle hands correct my makeup. I try not to stare at her body, but it's pretty hard.Once I was already caught red-handed, it was pretty embarrassing. We can talk for hours non-stop, somehow we started talking about films, we have the same taste, she told me about the recently released thriller, but I didn’t really listen to her. It was more interesting to watch her facial expressions, hands with which she "explained" the film in parallel, how she moves from side to side, captured by the story about maniacs. The most attractive thing was to look at her lips. Damn, when will I ever get a chance to get her a kiss. Each time she uses different lipsticks, mostly delicate and pearlescent shades. I wonder if she will choose a smoky rose or burgundy for a date? What time is it now?

Fuck, it's almost eight o'clock!

I hastily selected a plain white shirt and a black vest, with slightly visible vertical stripes. Black tie, black trousers, everything is strictly and ironed.

20:00. Restaurant "Parlaur"

Surprisingly, I was not late, but the sun lingers. Maybe something happened? Or is she... No, no. She can't do that, my sunshine wouldn't do that, right?

Ha ha ha, shit. Joseph has probably been waiting for you for a fucking hour. How could you fall asleep before such an exciting event, and Joseph told you to rest more. It's all from lack of sleep. That bucket of bolts can't move faster?! Finally! Are you here. And he's here too. Phew, thank God. It stands alone, like a beaten puppy. Damn, how do you go now? Okay, good boobs knead, you need to approach confidently and apologize for being late.

- Hey... Hey...I'm sorry I'm late, I-

- Sun, finally! Are you all right? Nothing happened? I was so worried! What happened?

He, like a caring folder, took your face in his hands and began to examine me. You took his wrists and tried to stop the flow of his incoherent words.

- Calm down Joseph! Everything is fine with me! We still have time to go to the restaurant, right?

He shook his head positively. He smiled softly and held out his hand to you. Your hand looked like a puppet in comparison to his. The gentle giant gently squeezed your hand in his and directed your duet to the restaurant. The place was amazing! You sat down at a table away from everyone, a little strange, but not important. You made an order and discussed all possible topics. The conversation did not last too long, your order was submitted. The dishes were wonderful, they recaptured their cost. Joseph, of course, offered to pay for everything, but you chose to split the bill in half. Time seemed to fly by and you both lacked some two hours! The young actor suggested that you go to the park, where there is a bridge that crosses a small river. The square was full of trees of different varieties. The moon shone through the branches, but the main source of light was the lanterns. Appearing at the bridge, both of you leaned on the stone indent and watched the river flow quietly. Your conversation has subsided a bit. You moved on to a more soulful discussion, which was accompanied by whispers.

- Actually, I'm very selfish. I've been climbing to you with this date for so long. I want to say I'm sorry you had to come with me...

-What are you, Joseph? This evening was wonderful! I'm glad you invited me, thank you very much. I wouldn't even mind going again.

You said the last sentence a little quieter, but he still caught your sweet words.

-Truth!? Is this an invitation?

-I think yes. I invite you on a date Joseph.

-Hmm. I don’t even know, I have so many things to do, all in worries.

He said it jokingly. You pushed him on the shoulder. Your laughter echoed throughout the garden. As the chuckles began to fade, you noticed him approaching you. Quietly and timidly, trying to test the waters, trying not to scare you. You did not resist and gave it to big, but such native hands to embrace you. You felt how his heart beats, how his chest rises and falls, how his perfume smells, and how tightly he presses you to his body, afraid to let go. You pulled away, Joseph was scared and pressed you harder, but you were not going to leave. Holding out your hands, you brought the clown's face closer to yours. He doesn't seem to be moving away, but you asked him before.

-May I..

-Of course sunshine, I beg you... Kiss me.

You immediately merged into a soft kiss.

-I love you Joseph...

-I love you too (Y/N)

You had to stand on your toes. Joseph did you a favor and lifted you up. His lips devoured yours and asked for more. You gave permission and the kiss got a little hungry and desperate? Kissing became more passionate and aggressive. Joseph moved from your lips to your neck. The kisses were frequent and with some pressure.In interruptions, he asked you. His hands wandered along your body. You were like prey in the hands of a predator.

-(Y/N), please, I've dreamed about this for so long.

He breathed loudly into your neck.

You pulled back a little, but you wanted the same thing.

-Joseph, someone can see us! Not here.

His low, needy moan was drowned out by your chest.

- There should be a hotel not far away, let's go there.

- As you wish sun.

Before leaving, he poured his lips into yours, as if to say that this will not end there.

The night was long and very passionate. Joseph impatiently hid clothes from you and casually threw them anywhere. He didn't want to let you go for so long. Called you the love of my life, promised never to leave you and take care of you. He seemed so insatiable, but you even liked it.

When you woke up in the morning, you went home and met again at work.

There was a 20-minute break and Joseph, as usual, went into the dressing room. It was surprisingly quiet. But when you finished with makeup, he asked:

- So... Umm.. Are we together now?

- I would like to continue, I would like to be with you together.

-I also want this.

He quietly approached your lips and gave a short kiss.

I hope our next date will be very soon.

- And you won't have time to blink an eye, as you will be in my bed.

He laughed slightly.

- Can't wait like that anymore?

[thekidsarentalright]

ok ok i’ve started to process the album but honestly cant stop yelling enough to write a coherent ask so here’s a whole bunch of stuff that has me going feral:

the title track. i think fob just released one of my fave songs ever, it went to my top 5 from them so fast!!! it reminds me of how much the pandemic fucked up for everyone… “thought we had it all” fr!! but like. the strings??? the choir at the end?! SUNSHINE OF MY LIFETIME REPRISE?!?! SHUT UP FOREVER!!!!! (also my bday is the “day after christmas past” so i nearly screamed when i heard that line lmaooooo… followed immediately by “my pain isn’t cool enough”?! literally almost fell over at that point. that felt like an accidental shoutout and then getting punched directly in the gut 😭)

flu game is absolutely my second fave!!! the “youuuu” in the chorus just hits my brain a certain way i’m obsessed!! also i relate to it a little too much 😭

what a time to be alive!!!!! soul punk vibes fr <3 also that bridge goes so hard i think screaming it live would fix me 😭 WHEN I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE THIS ISNT QUITE WHAT I MEANT!!!! GOT THE QUARANTINE BLUES BAD NEWS WHAT’S LEFT!!!!!

the strings in i am my own muse?!?! patrick is just flexing at this point (as he should) <3

my synesthesia went crazy with heaven iowa… it’s this beautiful deep blue/indigo/purple situation and i want to live in it <— totally normal thing to say abt a song

so good right now gave me whiplash right after heaven iowa but it’s so fun! i went from crying to dancing so fast lmao

in general i love space and this album delivered w the references!! i caved and bought the glow in the dark stars 😳

and the living even though it’s painful and scary, especially when it’s painful and scary vibes… fob always knows what we need to hear i swear!!! ur post abt the themes on this album is so so true <3

patrick dressed as a chicken playing the piano… i love him so much it’s stupid <3 also that music video nearly killed me. couldn’t see the screen super well when they were on fallon and didn’t process that the costume was like… a muscle suit for a solid minute. my brain literally shut down lmaooo 😭

ik there’s like… lyric parallels and stuff i got rlly excited abt but am totally forgetting rn! i’m sure it’ll come back when i listen to the album again (which i’m probably gonna go do rn) but… yeah!! so glad we get to be insane abt all this on here together lol <3 peace and love in fob world ☺️

- 🧋 anon

YESSSS the title track is INSANE with how good it is and how much is in it like. i swear every lyric hits Hard, the reprise absolutely breaks my heart it is so. Perfect. so so so valid for it being in your top 5 fob songs of all time already it is genuinely That Good!!! and made for you Clearly with that birthday shoutout!!! even with the gut punch after. every lyric feels like such a gut punch i swear kfgjdhfkjs

flu game is ALSO one of my top favs, i could not rank this album yet even if it would save my life kfjsdkfj but i know for Sure flu game is in like. top 5 territory. i'm obsessed w it for the same reasons fr it is. too relatable thanks pete (haha i said the thing!)

REAL i need them to perform what a time to be alive live SO bad literally just so i can scream that bridge i think that would fix me fr fr. also just love how dancey it is while having. incredibly depressing lyrics. vibe of all time fksjdhfks

patrick is flexing w his arranging skills all over this album but Esp in i am my own muse and i hope he keeps flexing forever bc it is. so good!!!!

OUGHHH heaven iowa being purpley blue it so pretty... to me it's like... idk a very warm song, orange/yellow/golden so. the opposite of you KFJDSK but still pretty i Also wanna live in it. we are So normal for that bff <3

they are literally sick for putting so good right now right after heaven, iowa it was Such an intense tone shift fsdkjfsh i Love so good right now tho it's slowly becoming one of my favs i think

i absolutely love how jam packed this album is w space references, i was anticipating it but Still am like. fuck yeah space fkjdshkfjs i'm still debating on getting the glow in the dark stars tbh... is u getting them a sign i should too... much to think about

but yeah the albums themes are SOOOO. like. i think what the world needed to hear right now, also what i needed to hear rn, what You needed to hear like. they always know!!!! it is just so cathartic to hear that things might not be okay or better but that you can still live and be fulfilled and have love Despite Despite Despite!!!!

and lastly fr i. didn't process it was a chestplate/muscle suit at first either so was like. ready to die over patrick looking like That lmao honestly i still am he pulls off that look way too well. also pulled off the chicken costume imo <3

[goodmorrowing]

Ttpd review?

NEW FAVORITE. may i present to you: meg's official ttpd ranking!

the tortured poets department. 138439343843/10 this song SPOKE TO ME. the bridge??!?!!?!?! as a habitual ring wearer it changed my life. this is like. life changing for me. i've listened 200+ times already. if i were still in college i'd write an essay about it. tbh i might still. i'm not even kidding. + lucy dacus mention!

the black dog. 10000000/10. the structure of this song is so pleasing to me and also the lyrics KILL ME. "i just don't understand how you don't miss me in the shower / and remember how my rain-soaked body was shaking / do you hate me?" ????!!! "I HOPE IT'S SHITTY IN THE BLACK DOG."

guilty as sin. 10/10 self explanatory. this is a BANGER and also? like? i love it i can't i vibe undeniably.

i can do it with a broken heart. 10/10. lyrics are tragic. beat is immaculate. feels like exactly how i have felt for the last few months! i feel very heard and seen! and am thankful i can bop to my depression! lights! camera! bitch! smile!!!

the alchemy. 10/10. i love a good trav song. and it's so catchy??? like yes please when i touch down call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team. the football references are peak. tbh i realllyyyy wanted the alchemy to be about joe (because of gold rush ofc) but i wasn't disappointed by this at alllll.

the smallest man who ever lived. 9.5/10. makes me cry! actually reminds me of my college ex... the parallels between this song and our relationship are kind of insane. also the bridge. without being too too personal, i was constantly paranoid in that relationship for several reasons and often felt like he maybe had an ulterior motive that involved ruining my reputation/hurting me for the pleasure of people who disliked me. which is kinda crazy but was a vvv real fear for me at the time. and this song gets it!

who's afraid of little old me? 9/10. high school meg would have loved this one. "you wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me" lol. also sidenote having all my teeth pulled was a recurring childhood nightmare i had!

down bad. 9/10 yeah sounds about right. fuck it if i can't have [her]! (funnily enough She & I were discussing it when it came out and she was like "fuck it if i can't have you... i mean him" and we had The Smirk Moment)

so long, london. 9/10. perfectly describes everything i've been feeling recently (so long [boston] lmao). gets a point knocked because i can't listen unless i want to cry! this song was everything i couldn't say. :) + the peace parallels? crazy.

thanK you aIMee. 9/10. this one gets a 9/10 just for the sheer pettiness. FUC(K) YOU A(IM)EE. + andrea mention!

how did it end? 8.5/10. i sob. every time. without fail. just! the death! the dying! (it did not end well.)

the bolter. 8/10. another little meg song. she did a lotta running. this song is about idina sackville but i feel it in my SOUL. all her fucking lives flashed before her eyessssssssssssssssssssss!

but daddy i love him. 8.5/10. lowkey SO FUN and i love it! there is a field not far from me with lots of flowers and i take a bunch of zyrtec and put on a pretty dress and just go sit there for a few hours on weekends. i love it.

loml. 8/10. this song makes me sob. love of my life to loss of my life. lmao this album came at the PERFECT TIME. i needed it. "you shit talked me under the table talking rings and talking cradles i wish i could unrecall how we almost had it all" !!!! "WHEN YOUR IMPRESSIONIST PAINTINGS OF HEAVEN TURNED OUT TO BE FAKES WELL YOU TOOK ME TO HELL TOO". anyways.

the manuscript. 8/10. yeah this sounds like a little meg song. and also a college meg song (who struggled through being a writer and heartbroken and lovestruck). and a current meg song (who rereads her manuscripts and wonders whose life she is seeing). "he said if the sex was half as good as the conversation was soon they'd be pushing strollers". :') rip.

my boy only breaks his favorite toys. 8/10. it's a bop! i get it!

chloe or sam or sophia or marcus. 8/10. when i listen to this one i kinda just sit there and zone out for a while. it's a moment. i can't listen while driving because i'd crash. but i feel this song on a spiritual level.

fresh out the slammer. 8/10. hehehe i like this song. i don't have a whole lot to say about it except i really like how consistent it is and also how it is Moving On.

robin. 8/10. this song is so sweet and so sad. i'd sing this to my children. i wish i'd heard this when i was a child. it heals some part of me? tbh?

imgonnagetyouback. 7.5/10. this is indeed the kind of psycho we love. imnotgonnagetyouback but it's okay! i will still listen and vibe! #supportingwomen

so high school. 7.5/10. look okay it's silly and it gets shitted on but i like it. it's adolescent and fun and hahahah i like itttt. truth??? dare?????? spin bottles?????? YOU KNOW HOW TO BALL I KNOW ARISTOTLE!!!! brand new! full throttle! TOUCH ME WHILE YOUR BROS PLAY GRAND THEFT AUTO. taylor is CRAZY for that and i love it for her. also the scouts honor line is WILD.

cassandra. 7.5/10. i love this song. i understand what they mean. poor cassandra. this is mad woman's older sister. i get it. women! women women!

the albatross. 7/10. i like this song but the albatross metaphor is one i am Too Familiar With. "cross your thoughtless heart / only liquor anoints you" is kinda genius though!

florida!!! 7/10. maybe this is just my florida hatred showing through or maybe i'm just not super into it yet. it comes above fortnight because of florence welch though. <3

fortnight. 7/10. i found it? kind of mid? still good but the lack of post malone and inherent appeal to mainstream pop media sold it for me. :( music video was immaculate though!

i can fix him (no really i can). 7/10. again, reminds me of little meg but in kind of a painful way. also.... she could not fix him lol. she could not fix any of them for that matter.

peter. 7/10. this one is kinda bittersweet. i enjoy this song but it's got that blue tinge to it. "never to keep"

i look in people's windows. 7/10. more supporting of women! taylor.... you're crazy. i love you. you are kind of a deranged weirdo, but it's okay. personally you could not pay me to admit to stalking people but i love that you do!

i hate it here. 6.5/10. ngl the beginning slaps and i like some of the lines but the song is erratic? i did not grow up precocious (i don't think) but i was hyperlexic and did read a lot. this one just didn't hit like i thought it would as a chronic reader. :(

clara bow. 6/10. i love clara bow and stevie nicks and taylor swift and i understand the importance of this song! i just can't get into it right now :(

the prophecy. 6/10. i don't know why i can't get behind this one! i want to so badly! i just can't!!!!

overall: 1029302848/10. this album was life changing and arrived just when i needed it. i love it.

[pangrams-n-palindromes]

I'm having a great time in this sandbox, thank you so much for the invitation to play in it!

Josh/Donna x Buddie is perfect- I have two parallels to add: 1) Josh throwing snowballs at Donna's window -> Eddie dragging Buck out of bed post-emoblism 2) "If you were in an accident, I wouldn't stop for red lights" -> Eddie driving the ambulance after the lightning strike [this one has haunted me for days]

Eddie as Josh is *muah!* perfection! I keep thinking about Josh turning down the card with the 'end of the world bunker instructions.' Eddie got every single member of his crew out of that helicopter after it was shot down. He is not leaving a man behind, dead or alive. Eddie would absolutely have turned that card down as well. The PTSD & shooting arc parallels are insane. Josh's punched window? Meet Eddie's baseball bat smashed bedroom wall.

Chim is SO CJ coded oh my god. My karaoke king was built for the Jackal. That man would be smacking some gum behind the podium and thriving while he unleashes his quick wit onto unsuspecting reporters. He can't keep a secret, and CJ isn't allowed to get let in on secrets because she can't know too much! I also fully believe he would get saddled with a goldfish from like Tatiana and would just be like okay, guess this is my Emotional Support Goldfish now. And then decorate its bowl for the holidays with the same enthusiasm he just gave the Firehouse Haunt Fest.

May I nominate my queen Karen Wilson to the position of Margaret? Now, I don't ship Leo/Margaret so HenRen doesn't quite line up that way. But they're both crazy smart (Margaret keeps Leo's entire office/life running and Karen is a literal rocket scientist) and they're both a little silly goofy. "I can sign the president's name" is basically the same energy as "where are we going?" "to catch a thief!"

Honorable mentions I haven't fully fleshed out:

Abby as Mandy. Where did the archetype of "love interest that only sticks around for the first season" start? Plus I cant stand either of them.

Josh & Linda as Ed & Larry? The vibes aren't quite the same but they're usually around Maddie/Leo and we don't really see them have their own plot lines

Other rambling thoughts:

I almost wanted Bobby as Leo, simply for the "a man falls down a hole" and alcoholism parallels but you are so right.

I absolutely picture an Eddie & Maddie friendship to be similar to Josh & Toby and I need it on my screen yesterday.

The West Wing got me through undergrad. And now, here I am, in grad school five years later... maybe it's time to get back into it.

Okay i am SO excited that people were interested so here it is. I need to preface this with the fact that it won't be totally 1-to-1.

9-1-1/The West Wing Fusion crossover AU thing

SO, i already said Bobby is the President. Not only does it make sense for his relationships with everyone else, but he is also very similar to Bartlett in a lot of ways: the Catholicism, the hidden illness (Jed's MS and Bobby's Alcoholism and PTSD), the strong moral compass and the way they are always everyone's go-to for advice. Also the way they deal with problems and conflict.

Athena is obviously FLOTUS. Unfortunately i suffer with Can't-Stand-Athena Disease, so i'm leaning on my love of Abbey for this one. But they're both very capable, intelligent women who can't be told what to do. Both are completely devoted to their families and are even self-destructive with that love sometimes. (Athena going after Amir (DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THAT - FUCKING ACAB) and Abby secretly treating Jed's MS and putting her lisence in question).

May and Harry should take on the roles of Zoey and Ellie respectively. May still being the older sibling, i just think they fit the personalities of the siblings better that way. Harry being distant and aloof until they have a breakthrough, May being close to the family and friendly with the other staffers. Also the Charlie/Zoey of it all.

Hen (my beloved) is Chief of Staff. This feels obvious. She's already Bobby's second in command, she's got the instict for it, and the respect of all the others. I also think she would still have a fire fighting background and she got into politics later. I just think that experience would be vital for her as COS, similar to Leo's military service. I also think a professional history like that would also commmand respect from strangers.

For Deputy Chief of Staff I'm (perhaps predictably) going with Eddie. I was toying with the idea of it being Chim but you'll see why i didn't got there when i explain his role. But yeah, Eddie's perfect for this one. Both he and Josh are dramatic about everything, they both have well-meaning hearts that sometimes results in them doing or saying stupid shit, they have deepseated issues that cause them to push people away. Also, need i say it? SHOOTING ARC! This also (again predictably i fear) allows for the EPIC ROMANCE of Josh and Donna to be mapped onto Buddie.

Which brings me of course to Buck. He's gotta be Donna. They've got the shared history of failed relationships with some not great people (but remain hopeless romantics anyway), Buck flitting from job to job and Donna not having much work experience go hand on hand too. Also they're both very capable and intelligent but hide it/don't realise that fully. I like to think that Maddie qas the one to get him his job amd Eddie was just a bit too scared to question her.

Now Maddie. This might be an unpopular decision because on the surface they are nothing alike, but I'm putting Maddie in Toby's spot. Not only does she suit Director of Communications perfectly – Maddie is the fucking QUEEN of coomunication (season 5 notwithstanding lol) but she and Toby share a lot of their values. Sure, Toby's a miserable, pessimistic asshole about it, but they both believe in a very black and white definition right and wrong. They are both loyal to a fault (even Toby's treason was an act of loyalty you can fight me on this but you will LOSE) and do everything they can to protect the people they love. Also i just love them both so much i want to fuse them into one because it makes me feel like a mad scientist in a lab trying to create the perfect character out of goo and slime and glitter.

Anyway! For Maddie's second, I'm really not sure. I was thinking maybe Linda or Josh but neither fit particularly well to me. Idk, let me know what you guys think.

Okay. Chim. Think how perfect he'd be as Press Sec. Please. That man is BORN to be on camera. He's charismatic and friendly and relatable, he comes across as approachable but fr who would cross him if he put his foot down? No one! Also. I IMPLORE you to please imagine him doing the Jackal. It was so hard to figure out who i'd trust to take up the mantel of CJ "baddest bitch around" Cregg because i love her so much but when i started to consider Chimney it felt obvious 😅 i also just think he'd love to have the opportunity to evicerate an asshole on live television, and he DESERVES that opportunity too. And if you were wondering: Yes I DO ship CJ and Toby. Hence Madney being their counterparts.

Now for my boy Charlie!!! It of course HAS to be Ravi!! Those boys are the sweetest loveliest boys on the planet! They pair up so well! I also have a headcanon that, similar to Charlie, Ravi has younger siblings he's always had to take care of because their mum died and their dad worked too much. So. Yeah. Also lowkey May x Ravi nation where are you please accept me into your ranks.

Anyway, i hope this is acceotable to everyone who was interested. I might write something in this AU one day but if you have ever interacted with me before you should know not to hold your breath lmao

Tagging @pangrams-n-palindromes from my other post so they see this, I hope that's okay!

[mangophone]

Concept, because I'm incapable of leaving two individual fixations alone: Mighty Nein retelling of Hands of the Emperor, with Caduceus as the main protagonist and Essek as the Emperor (one who was chosen by the Luxon). I've been craving Dunamantea for a while so this works for me. The rest of the M9 can fill in the roles of the palace staff... but also could be the Red Company? We'll see. It'll be interesting to rewrite this story with a stronger focus on spirituality rather than culture.

[fandomtrashhh]

With November the 5th almost upon us, I have compiled my 13 most favorite Destiel episodes that you can binge on Destiel day/the month as a whole + honorable mentions. It happened to end up being 13 but it's perfect because it can represent The Mixtape. They're all in order.

Season 4, Episode 1. "Lazarus Rising"

You can't have a Destiel watch-a-thon without going back to the night they met! 4x1 is a must watch.

Season 4, Episode 7. "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester"

In this episode, Cas pretty much begins to break the rules for Dean, and expresses to him that he has doubts. We have the iconic bench scene in this episode!

Season 4, Episode 16. "On the Head of a Pin" Cas says that his superiors think he's getting too close to Dean, and at the end of the episode, Dean and Cas have a heart to heart while Dean is in the hospital.

Season 4, Episode 22. "Lucifer Rising" The season 4 finale, and the point where Cas pretty much rebels entirely for Dean.

Season 5, Episode 3. "Free to Be You and Me"

A well known Destiel episode, this is a great bonding episode for Dean and Cas, and helps develop their friendship with one another.

Season 5, Episode 4. "The End" Another popular Destiel episode, Dean is taken 5 years into the future (2014) and meets the alternate future versions of himself and Cas, who I'm not alone in feeling like they were sleeping with each other.

Season 5, Episode 18. "The Point of No Return" This episode has some great interactions between Cas and Dean, and a lot of subtext.

Season 6, Episode 20. "The Man Who Would Be King"

A very popular episode amongst Destiel shippers, this episode was the episode that I, along with many others, were fully convinced of Destiel. One of my all time favorite SPN episodes, and greatly written, the focus is on Cas as he reveals what he's been up to the past year, and the episode where Dean is heartbroken to realize that Cas betrayed them.

Season 8, Episode 17. "Goodbye Stranger"

It's revealed that Cas has been being brainwashed by Naomi and unknowingly helping her. He is ordered to kill Dean, but his brainwashing breaks after Dean tells him that he needs him. (Which in the script was written as "I love you" instead of "I need you.")

Season 10, Episode 5. "Fanfiction" This episode isn't exactly a "Destiel Episode." Cas isn't even in it! It's a meta episode about a bunch of teenagers putting on an SPN play with their own interpretations of it, including Destiel, and even referencing it by name! A definite fan favorite, and one of my all time favorites. It's definitely a comfort episode of mine.

Season 12, Episode 10. "Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets" Throughout Season 12, there were many great Destiel moments, arguably some of the most out of any season. (They were opening the show up to the possibility of Destiel and were testing the waters while they did a market study.) I chose this episode to put on the list because this entire episode is basically one big parallel to Destiel, what more is there to say? SPN was especially insane for this one, and how blatant the parallels were. You can find many more s12 Destiel episodes, though.

Season 13, Episode 6. "Tombstone" The first episode after Cas is spit out of The Empty, Cas and Dean are on a hunt with Sam and Jack, and Dean and Cas dress up as cowboys. A pretty light hearted, fun episode where they all very much act like a family.

Season 15, Episode 18. "Despair" We all know what this one is. It's the reason why we celebrate November 5th, why I'm writing this. Destiel becomes (mostly) canon.

Honorable Mentions:

The Purgatory scenes from the beginning of Season 8. (Episodes 1-5.)

Way too much to add onto the main list, but some of the best and most intense Destiel scenes regardless. All they did was sacrifice themselves for each other there, with Cas leaving Dean to lead the monsters away from him, to Dean staying there for a year just to find his angel.

Season 8, Episode 7. "A Little Slice of Kevin" Cas comes back from Purgatory after Dean drives himself crazy thinking he's seeing Cas everywhere he looks, and the two have a heartfelt reunion.

Season 9, Episode 6. "Heaven Can't Wait" The first episode that Robert Berens, who wrote 15x18, wrote. A human Cas is working at a Gas-N-Sip when Dean comes to visit with him and work a case with him. Note that Misha was told to play Cas like a "jilted lover" towards Dean in this episode.

Parallels between Dean & Cas and Cain & Collette in Season 10. (Most predominantly in episodes 14 and 22. 14, where Dean and Cain have a showdown, and 22, where Dean beats up Cas badly, almost killing him before he makes himself stop.)

Season 15 certainly had a lot of Destiel (they knew what they were going to do with Cas in 15x18 at this point, and Misha played Cas as in love with Dean the entirety of s15) but two episodes besides 15x18 stand out to me:

Season 15, Episode 3. "The Rupture" Dean and Cas have been fighting and Dean has been very angry at Cas ever since Mary died. It finally comes to a head in this episode, and they pretty much "break up."

Season 15, Episode 9. "The Trap" Dean and Cas finally make up, and Dean forgives Cas. He falls to his knees crying while he prays to Cas for forgiveness and opens up to him more than he does to almost any other character.

There are many many more episodes I didn't mention, because there are just so many!! These are the episodes in my opinion that are important to Destiel and/or have a lot of good moments. Hope you enjoy this list!!

[bookshelfdreams]

i don’t even follow your blog (yet) but your self made outfit came up on my dash and!!!!! I LOVE THE PANTS I LOVE THEM!!!! like i haven’t even watched that show but your pants might convince me!!! the hell!!! those are the coolest damn pants i’ve ever seen and dear lord do i want a pair now.

you are insanely good, like how long did that outfit take??? how long have you been practicing your craft???

anyway have a lovely day (as lovely as your colorful pants 🤧💞)

Hello there!

First of all, THANK YOU for taking the time to reach out & tell me that I can't tell you how happy you've made me :D I have the biggest grin on my face rn

especially since you haven't even watched the stupid pirate show, I know how annoying it is when everyone suddenly becomes obsessed with one thing & you're not into it. Thanks ilu <3

The moment I noticed these dumb clown breeches I knew I wanted to make them and I'm honestly still surprised I managed to get there. I started the weaving in late April and finished sewing by mid August so it took me between 3.5 and 4 months. But I also made some other things parallel to working on those (for example, the shirt), I can't just work on 1 thing, that's too boring. I don't time myself when I do crafts so that's the only time frame I can give you, I'm afraid. Some days I worked for several hours on these, some days only a few minutes, some days not at all.

As for how long I've been doing this, not that long. I have experience with other fiber crafts, mainly knitting (have been doing that for idk 14 years or so), bit of crochet, and spinning, but that was my first time weaving with 2 heddles, first time weaving with linen, and I had almost no sewing experience (have gained a little since, but still far from an expert). If you could see the breeches in person, you would be able to see that they're not perfect at all, I made lots of mistakes, and someone more experienced could certainly have done a far better job than me both at the weaving and sewing. This isn't me refusing to take a compliment (which!! tysm again!!) but rather, me telling you that there's no reason to be intimidated by crafts, ever.

If you want to make yourself something that you'd just love to have but feel like it is out of your league, go for it. You can literally just make things and nobody can stop you. Experience mainly means having the confidence to just try shit out & see if it works.

Also, I really cannot recommend ofmd enough :)

You have a lovely evening as well!

[breezybeej]

Highly Abbreviated Plot Summary

So Lowen is hired to ghost write the rest of Verity's novels because she is in a coma now after a car accident. Before the accident, both of her daughters also died; one from an allergy, the other drowned. Lowen stays in Verity's house for a bit to study her notes and read her books as prep. In that time, she falls in love with Jeremy, Verity's husband who takes care of her and their only remaining child, five year old Crew. Jeremy also falls in love with Lowen.

Lowen finds a manuscript of Verity's autobiography. She starts reading it and is horrified to discover that Verity seems to be a twisted fucking cycle path. She claims to have drowned her daughter on purpose, she hates her kids, she is Obsessed with a capital Obsessed with Jeremy. It's kinda icky to read.

During all this time, Lowen is trying not to invade their marriage but is just too in love with this guy. She starts getting paranoid that maybe Verity is faking her coma because she hears noises, things move, locks lock. It's all spooky creepy. Also Lowen has a history of sleepwalking so she gets locks installed on the inside and outside of her bedroom (I don't know).

Eventually everything comes to a head when Lowen finishes reading the autobiography. She finally tells Jeremy that his wife killed their daughter and they go together to confront this allegedly comatose woman. She WAS faking it and Jeremy works with Lowen to make her aspirate some vomit so it looks like an accident.

After a few months, Lowen finds a hidden letter from Verity that reveals her autobiography wasn't what it seemed. She wrote in opposite land! She actually LOVED her kids and she LOVED her Husband and she DIDN'T kill ANYBODY. It was just a writing drill to help get into the villain headspace for her books. But it turns out Jeremy read the autobiography ages ago and already tried to kill Verity. In fact, he tried to strangle her and stopped because he didn't want to get arrested and leave his son alone so he staged the car accident. She recovered but she was so scared that she faked being in a coma until she could figure out how to fix this situation. SHE FAKED BEING IN A COMA FOR ALMOST A YEAR.

Lowen says "Oh shit, Jeremy can never know that we killed her for literally no reason since the autobiography was all fucked." and eats the letter, literally. and then she gets impregnated by Jeremy and they live happily ever after except for this secret she carries. THE END

Now. Let me copy paste the rant I dropped on my friend after I read that stupid fucking ending:

The only thing up there that mattered? Swallowing cum. And it is just to make the ending have a sour taste (like cum) when Lowen swallows the truth letter.

I'm truly in awe at how stupid the ending of this book is. This whole time, i was like okay, parallels between the three kids and the three adults. the repetition of intent not guiding sleepwalking. the sleepwalking being in the book at all. Jeremy being a literally perfect husband and dad. The 7 different locks that are discussed. The repetition of "swallowing." Cooking as connection.

I literally dont know how she wrote this story with all these elements and like. so few actually mean anything. For christ's sake, one daughter died of a peanut allergy and at the end, the son eats a huge dollop of peanut butter. But that doesnt send him to the hospital, no he's not allergic. He just bites a butterknife and it cuts so deep he needs 6 stitches. Why did you write three paragraphs about the peanut butter?

All of this served maybe the worst version of this plot twist. No one killed anybody on purpose until Jeremy kills Verity with Lowen's help. Verity was faking being comatose, literally shitting and pissing herself and not eating and not doing anything for almost a year. That's insane. That's not something a person can do. You would literally go insane from boredom i think.

There are so many locks in the book and i was going to keep track of them but anytime there was a question about if a door was locked, the answer was "i dont remember" from both Jeremy and Lowen.

Hoover also wrote about the basement door being impossible to open if your hands were full in a really confusing way (the door was installed backwards?? okay?). This literally doesnt come up. Lowen goes to the basement and encounters no difficulty with the door.

there are just. So many details in this book that are wasted space. Lowen, as a main character is so fucking annoying. She just automatically believes the last thing she heard even if it contradicts everything she knows. She just kind of drifts through events. She doesnt take action, she's just there to read verity's manuscript and also fuck her husband.

Speaking of the manuscript, I've never seen a plot device this wasted. I was asking the whole time: "Did Jeremy swap his name and Verity's in here? Did he write this?" because there are inconsistent details between life and the book but it turns out Verity just wrote about herself like an evil bitch because... her editor said it was a good idea. The manuscript really reads like a twisted fucking cyclepath writing about himself in third person while dunking on his whore wife.

Okay Colleen, you got me! I thought you were going to do something interesting and you didn't!

Verity's entire plan is also extremely stupid. "I'll pretend to be catatonic for MONTHS until i figure out how to prove i didnt kill our daughters and then i'll kidnap my son and run away from Jeremy" okay. So like, when Lowen threatened you with a knife, why did you just keep pretending. Why are you even here. Take the kid and go, you've had so many opportunities. I feel like i could keep going for another hour.

The twist renders the entire rest of the book stupid. Every hint and clue and theme and parallel ended up being NOTHING. This book PUNISHES a close reading. In my heart, Jeremy masterminded all this just to manufacture consent from an accomplice to help him kill his wife who actually was catatonic the whole time but he gaslit lowen into believing she was a threat until lowen ended it all

the fucking sleepwalking. I just don't understand I do not understand I don't understand. I do not. Why do they repeat the line intention does not guide sleepwalking so many times only for it to not be relevant at all

Why is the housemaid portrayed so creepy if her role is nothing. She hints that maybe she knows Verity is a faker. But like, she never does ANYTHING in the narrative. It paints her as being very staunchly in Verity's corner but nothing comes of that ever. Just a line here or there like "oh i dont want the maid to know we fucked" but like... Why. The maid doesnt know anything about the manuscript.She doesnt know where the big reveal letter is. She doesnt try to help Verity escape. She doesnt try to stop Lowen from doing anything. And all her previous hints were random because she doesnt actually know Verity is fine.

and man i just cannot get over this final sentence. just. woooow lowen has a new perspective on truth because now she's lying to protect jeremy just like Verity did wooooow. She still kind of just believes everything she hears and reads.

She faked her illness because her husband tried to kill her after finding her stupid fucking idiotic Antagonist Journal. The truth she manipulated was being severly ill. And guess what, she really was because NO ONE WOULD EVER DO WHAT SHE DID. SHE ACTUALLY IS CRAZY IT SEEMS

What do you mean which truth was she manipulating???

AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT COLLEEN SAID IN AN INTERVIEW? SHE THINK VERITY IS EVIL. SHE THINKS THE WOMAN WHO WAS STRANGLED TWICE BY HER OWN HUSBAND WAS EVIL.

SPEAKING OF HER STUPID ANTAGONIST JOURNAL if that is how she wrote her novels, they would suck too. There's nothing interesting about a villain protagonist who walks around saying "I'm fucked up and evil and i do bad things because I'm evil" The reason villains as protagonists are interesting is that they dont feel like they are doing the evil thing for evil reasons.

AND ANOTHER THING: Verity based the main character of her novel on Jeremy. So like. That's a huge flag for him being a villain SINCE SHE WRITES FROM A VILLAIN'S POV LIKE THEY SAY 800000 TIMES. and the reveal of Jeremy as the main character of the books is a throwaway line early in the book. So it's perfect as one of many little hints and clues.

I just dont get it. I just don't get why she'd do it like this. Even now i try to justify it like "well maybe im supposed to connect those dots and realize that maybe he is the mastermind and it's scary because Lowen thinks he's safe to be around and the book is over and no one can help her but like. That's not what the ending says. Jeremy is absolved of all sins and it is the two women who bear the weight? it's insane

What's crazy to me is that Colleen wrote his murder scene twice. He tried to kill her the same way twice and i think if i really wanted to i could ctrl+f and see that the scene was copy pasted and slightly altered. He pinned her arms to her side with his knees and "circled" her throat with his hands and the woman in the room thought "crew will lose his father if he does this"

Also, you know, kinda wild how she writes about conceiving babies. like. all you need is no condom and no birth control and it's always a 100% chance. I would have to double check but I know Lowen had just reached the end of her period at the start of her stay. Don't think she was ovulating when Jeremy did the ole cum dump But maybe since he drops a whole cup of semen every time he busts, he can overload that whole ovulation thing. He's very fertile and virile. Oh yeah, there's a blowjob scene where Verity says Jeremy cums so much that she was afraid she would be swallowing forever or something along those lines.

Also, Verity describes post partum depression at great length without calling it post partum depression. And since she writes in opposite land, she actually did love her kids. BUT LOWEN IS LIKE WOW WHAT KIND OF BITCH HATES HER BABIES RIGHT AFTER THEY ARE BORN. It's so wild. Like yes, shame 10% of mothers babe you got this.

I don't think I've ever been so frustrated by a book. The Big twist in Layla was just stupid. The thing that made it frustrating was just how many different times and ways she explained it and also that it was stupid this is stupid, ableist, misogynist, stupid, invalidates the main character, invalidates the love interest, stupid, pointless

it would literally be so easy to save this book by making Verity actually in a coma and making Jeremy actually a psychopath (i mean he kind of is for trying to kill his wife twice and then actually killing her once) but if it had turned out that he actually killed his daughters and then put his wife into a coma then at least all of the little clues would actually be clues instead of just nothing. instead of just one big fat nothing

as the book went on, I kept getting less and less sure of what the twist was going to be. at some point I was even like "Maybe the sleepwalking is another ghost situation like Layla" because I genuinely just could not see any other reason for it to be disscussed so much. she really has a problem actually developing clues

And she has a problem writing relationships she has a problem not being ableist she has a problem with internalized misogyny You know I think maybe she's just not a very good writer. Not that I am one, the most I've ever put into a text document was 30,000 words and this woman has published several books that are wildly popular.

but I don't think that means she's a good writer. she's just better than I am.

The Verity by Colleen Hoover Post

I want to put some of my highlights and notes here so I can reference them without needing the images on my phone. Warning: this book sucks and you will see some really stupid and weird shit in here.

This is the description of blood splashing on Lowen (the main character) after she witnessed a man get run over. I've seen some car accidents. I don't think it's very common at all for someone's head to pop like a water balloon in these circumstances.

What is cryptic here? He (Jeremy, the romance option) has seen worse than a man getting run over. I think it's pretty straight forward, babe.

This is from Verity (jeremy's wife, a comatose woman). Most of her stuff should be taken with a grain of salt for plot reasons but some of these are so ridiculous on their face that you can't really save them

Unlikely.

Licking someone's thumb like a postage stamp is just so FUCKing SExy

I cared, I heard, and I minded. Please don't talk about getting fingered at steak 'n shake

Meeting Jeremy makes you want to jump off a cliff????? Well, to be fair, me too, girl

Why is this how you describe it, Lowen. You are reading her autobiography but you are thinking about her underwear.

Okay, I love this one because there's a lot happening. 1. He walks backwards A LOT in the first half of this book and I don't know why. 2. He was on his way to the kitchen to heat up leftovers but they were already done when they arrived? 3. He pulls out a plate of pizza. So in one very short paragraph we have pizza said three times. I think this book wasn't carefully edited.

So what does that mean. If someone has a plate of peas and they do this, I imagine them poking and prodding and scooping but pizza? Is he like... picking it up and putting it down? Sliding it around the plate?

It's just SO weird to go with your wife to her first pregnancy appointment for the baby you squirted into her, isn't it.

So this is again Verity writing from opposite land but like. They very much do have sex constantly so does she feel this way or not.

This one really bugs me just because she flubbed the parallel structure on "with a broken wrist" and "covered in blood" like the reason we have mechanics for parallel structure is that the sentences feel clunky without it.

I lost count, I didn't highlight every one, but I think this is in the book at least 10 times. Colleen does NOT trust you to remember this.

Lowen, why is this a dammit. Why is that messed up. What.

Just like Layla in the other book, Layla, Lowen is a girl who knows how to eat and she's quirky for eating tacos

So why didn't she just list the vegetables. It would be faster. "He grabbed cilantro and onions." or "He grabbed onions and peppers." Like... Colleen, you live in texas and you write about tacos in your books more than once.

People hate me for suggesting Lowen is bi but..... i mean.... she was diggin through Verity's drawers too, you remember.

Why did anyone let her say epic burn in a book. Why does she use epic again moments later.

Ope, I got this one though.

Thankfully Verity has two breasts.

That's how I felt reading this book. You DO get a feeling that Colleen partially wrote this to call out her haters.

Don't say that

Here's another line that gets repeated like 6 times. I don't even know why. It doesn't play into the plot or the themes really.

God isn't that insane. Who does that. Also this is Verity Opposite land so... does she wear lingerie often?

Babe. What.

Someone pointed out that license picture are usually the worst pictures of you possible. That makes this so much funnier imo

When you say "He groans" as a single clause, it makes it sound like he's disappointed. "Ugh, babe you forgot your bra AGAIN?"