#i've heard the line obviously but the context. eye

[ireneae]

"i dropped out in the fourth grade, to run drugs to support my nana."

"that means you haven't known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high school football."

[magentagalaxies]

i really want to start making a table collecting statistics on the audience demographics i'll perform my aubrey material for (like what generation most of the audience is, whether i'm performing in a predominantly queer space, etc.) and how well the jokes land bc like. i need to collect more data points before i can properly present my findings but the results so far have been fascinating

[batsplat]

greetings professor batsplat,

i recently heard somewhere about valentino having kicked someone else off the bike before the whole. sepang rosquez situation.

and i was wondering if you had any info on that / could shed light on the context? how it happened, what motivated him to do it perhaps etc.

thanks a lot <33

yeah I know why this gets brought up quite regularly, but tbh there's not much of a story behind it. valentino kicked someone, did not kick said someone 'off' the bike, didn't have complex motivations beyond venting some frustration. just the habitual problem of getting pissy about someone coasting on the racing line (x):

At the end of the 250 class qualifying, Italian Valentino Rossi, annoyed by a move by Yasu Hatakeyama, decided to practice kickboxing. Rossi "pressed" the Japanese rider against the edge of the track with his Aprilia and, bike to bike, threw a kick at the Japanese rider's thigh. The Italian, who had already hit his colleague's helmet at the Dutch GP, did not show the slightest remorse: "Every time I meet Hatakeyama, he closes me down. Today I was on the last lap and I could lower my time, and when I was going to pass him, he crossed the track and slowed down. I had to brake suddenly and I was very nervous. But I think that the next time I am about to pass him, he will not close me down." There were no penalties for Rossi, although both he and the Japanese rider received a verbal warning.

this was at argentina 1998 - here's the kick itself, courtesy of teenage valentino:

here's a HD clip of the kick as well as valentino's gesturing afterwards:

it's basically the exact same thing as casey kicking checa in 2007 or punching de puniet in 2011 (see here) for exactly the same reasons. or for a more recent example, take aleix slapping franky last year. riders are hotheads, they REALLY hate someone getting in their way when they're trying to do a lap, sometimes they lash out. this obviously does not mean it's a good idea and really should warrant some kind of penalty. neither valentino nor casey got penalties, but aleix got a six place grid drop. which, good! it's irresponsible and stupid, even if it's also admittedly kinda funny. still, it'd be pushing it to suggest there's much similarity between that and sepang 2015. although his description of the incident is fun (from oxley's vr files):

I got into a bit of trouble on Saturday for kicking the Japanese rider Yasu Hatakeyama at the end of the final qualifying session. I like to kick arse! I've had a lot of trouble with him all season - you go to pass him in practice and he shuts the door on you, even though he's going slow. I've spoken to him about it a few times and he always says "Sorry, sorry, sorry!" then goes and does it again at another race. It's very dangerous. On Saturday he took a short cut round the back of the circuit, and was going through this corner at about 20kph when I arrived on a very fast lap. It was really frightening, so I paid him back by kicking him as we returned to the pits.

how very casey of him

if you ARE looking for something a bit more relevant in terms of valentino using his body in the heat of battle, an even younger version of valentino might be able to help. this is all the way back in his rookie 1996 season - where he was known for his wild riding, especially in the early races that year, and on occasion did actually elbow AND knee his competitors in his determination to beat them. feral thing. in general, to my eyes valentino seems like he's quite good at using spatial awareness in w2w combat, of using the physical dimensions of his body to fight other riders... take for instance the finely judged knee retraction pass at catalunya 2009, how he immediately sticks his knee out again in front of jorge's line once he's past, that sort of thing

the most obvious example has to be the doctor's dangle - motogp urban legend ofc holds that it started in jerez 2005, where valentino wasn't actually using his leg to block sete, but since then? in popularising the habit of motogp riders of dangling their legs into corners, valentino also gave himself another nifty way of defending against opponents. sometimes it does look like he's using the dangled leg to quite literally block his rivals from passing... perhaps the most blatant examples of that come in motegi 2010, where he's willing to do whatever it takes to beat jorge. he does admittedly have plausible deniability in this race - the possibility that he was dangling his leg more excessively in order to help mitigate the shoulder injury. still, it's pretty comical at times

"When he does go through - if he does go through that corner, he's going to have to take Rossi's leg off!" "He is! Drag him along, I think."

I mean. come on. what is this. you cannot tell me this is ergonomically efficient. valentino did do this to some extent when he was behind jorge too, so I don't think the shoulder explanation is complete bullshit - but it does also feel like a bit of an opportunistic method of making his bike as broad as possible. jorge repeatedly almost rides into valentino's leg, including when he's finally had enough and makes the overtake that sets off the late battle between them. so yeah, valentino's definitely not a stranger in using his physicality to his advantage in conducting his wheel to wheel battles. one of the things that makes him so fun to watch

[dwreader]

Interview with the Vampire Episode 2 Podcast Transcript

Special Guests: Sam Reid and Jewelle Gomez

"Being a vampire is hard, its very difficult to endure and exist forever basically and you need to have quite a lot of strength and internal power to endure and Lestat recognizes that in Louis. When he sees him on the street and thinks that very very very beautiful man just pulled a knife on his brother in the middle of the street to look powerful to save his own skin and he has enough strength to do that and Lestat thinks this guy has enough strength to endure. And he's also got the hots for him really badly..." -Sam Reid

Sam Reid Interview

N: Sam Reid, thank you so much.

S: Thank you for having me.

N: Don't you be nice, I'm coming in here and I'm mad at you. My question is this- how dare you?

S: What are you referring to exactly?

N: Here's what I think of Lestat, I think Lestat is a messy bitch who lives for drama. What did you know about Lestat coming into the audition?

S: I know the books, I've known them for a very long time. I heard they were making it and I said I hoped I would get the chance to an audition for it. The thing that freaked me about the auditon was the majority of it was in French. It had all the lines in English but it said in paranthesis in French. I studied French in school and my sister speaks fluent French but I am not fluent so that was a bit stressful.

N: You and Jacob did your chemistry tests over Zoom, I mean does anyone have chemistry over Zoom? That must've been so tough.

S: Yeah,. I don't know what they were looking for or how to gauge chemistry from that cause it was really glitchy and speaking over each other and trying really hard to act into the camera which just wasn't really working. Jacob is such a lovely person and a fantastic actor and just an easy person to be around so I could tell he was gonna be a very easy person to fall in love with. It was fun, in fact I just came with having ice cream with Jacob. And he says hello

N: Omg I'm obsessed, give me this footage, I want ice cream footage, I want strolling the streets of downtown New Orleans footage.

S: And we hang out all the time, we've become very good friends. Cause it is a crazy journery we're on and its a crazy job so it's nice have a very good friend.

N: So Lestat has a life well before the show starts and he's been on this journey and you have the different versions of Lestat from the book and you have this amalgation. What sort of conversations did you have w/ the showrunner Rolin Jones about your version of Lestat?

S: The premise is for Louis to revisit the interview so Louis has a more nuanced way of describing Lestat so my question was how much of this is the real Lestat and how much of is Louis' version of Lestat? Because obviously this is a memory. This is all through Louis's eyes so is this actually how Lestat is like or is he different? and I think we play with that on and off. What's really important about this season is you're playing a character seen through somebody else's eyes.

N: Right right right, Gordian knot. It's a bit of a layer.

S: And everyone kept telling me stop thinking about it too much don't think about it and I didn't and I don't think about it too much when I'm doing. There will come a day when I think Lestat turns around and goes actually this is how it fucking happend.

N: Okay well Sam, you're just making me so mad cause you're too kind and too funny. cause I was coming in with hard hitting questions and I was livid at Lestat. This is what's so fun about the show and what its doing so right as a genre story, is the humor and the personality. [coffin scene plays] I mean Lestat is out here, it's such a funny monent for Lestat its like OK you wanna own a club? I was like Louis you have unlimited power and you want a club? Dream bigger!

S: I think it goes to show how in love Lestat is with Louis that he's gonna give him these things that mean absolutely nothing in the context of vampire world. But what Lestat doesn't understand is that what Louis needs is that power and is control over his life. There's a lesson for both of them and in this moment, Lestat doesn't understand.

N: Here's another question I have.. I just need you to tell me, where is Lestat's money coming from??

S: He's got investments and he's got bankers and lawyers in France. When he got turned into a vampire, he was given like the most ginormous amount of money like an entire room of treat.

N: You're giving us so much backstory, I didn't even know that.

S: If you think about inflation over the years  its just like an obscene obscene amount of money. And if you've lived through the centuries you're able to follow the trends of markets..

N: That's why I would be a vampire or travel through time, like people say they would kill Hitler and yes I would do that too but I would also get some good property, like get some good spaces like I'd go back to like 1899 when its cheap and buy it all up. One Park Ave apartment!

S: Thats why all vampires are pretty damn rich, like Louis in 2022 in Dubai he is really mega rich, he's got Francis Bacons.

N: I didn't even clock it. You also know he's rich cause his penthouse is so cold. Rich people really love stone floors and sharp edges, you know they want you to know if you're poor  you could die in here.

S: Exactly, and you're never comfortable..

N: Why do you think Lestat chose Louis cause as a viewer there's a question from moment one - do these men really love each other, are they just entangled, the whole time you're watching.. do I want them to be together?

S: Being a vampire is hard, its very difficult to endure and exist forever basically and you need to have quite a lot of strength and internal power to endure and Lestat recognizes that in Louis. When he sees him on the street and thinks that very very very beautiful man just pulled a knife on his brother in the middle of the street to look powerful to save his own skin and he has enough strength to do that and Lestat thinks this guy has enough strength to endure. And he's also got the hots for him really badly. He tries really hard to be a good normal guy as best as he can and I think when he has dinner with his familiy and he screws up, he does actually feel quite bad that he's made a mess of that cause he was trying really hard to be on his best behavior. Instead he hypnotizes his brother and makes a big scene. He's starts making innuendos and brings up God, which is never a good thing with Lestat. So he does his absolute best to pretend he's drinking wine and eating food.

N: What was it like to go from covid isolation to sex scenes?

S: Um, hmm. The sex scenes were kind of the easier part and we were all in the same bubble together and we were getting tested all the time like daily. It was a funny time cause we had these mad contacts on and they're quite cloudy. Jacob and I really clung to each other a lot of the time cause we couldn't really see, everyone else had masks on and you could only the person just in front of you. So it was this very comedic languid dream like place.

N: Can we talk more about the contacts, the makeup.. I cannot take the nails, the long nails, the cutting everyone.

S: The nails were a real process, originally they were press on / stick on nails and I had so many action I was always grabbing stuff and they were constantly popping off and so they said you should get acryllic. It took me a long long time to get used to acryllic nails and a lot of people would just come up and talk to me, like I would be in a restaurant and someone would just be like hey I love your nails. it was free reign for people to come up and chat so I became a nicer looking person with the nails.

N: It's like nails and hair. You always had short hair right?

S: Yeah it's usually always short. My hair was short when I first arrived in and it grew out over the course of the show, so we extended it with extensions and then it was my own hair. At first Rolin was like you know I think you could have short hair your hair looks good, I was like no no no no.. I think if you're gonna play a character like Lestat you kind of  have to have the nails and the hair. And he likes to accentuate things if he's really pissed off he'll flip it all the way back you know.

N: And there are time we are almost getting drag queen level drama from Lestat,  he wants you and everyone in a 10 mile radius to know when he's mad.

S: It's drama, he loves drama. I love him very dearly so I don't want to say anything bad about him but he wants to create a bit of drama he'll create a bit of drama. And if he wants to be really seductive in a moment and flip it and be really ugly, he will. He does what he wants whenever he wants and he'll make sure everyone's watching him do it cause he know he looks great doing it. He's a super vain guy but his heart is in the right place I would say.

N: Nope Sam, nope. Okay. Sam. I'm gonna have to push back. I know you played him but I'm saying you're wrong. .. One thing I think Rolin does so well that you and Jacob capture is this is now an interracial relationship, it charges these questions Anne was already asking - what is it to be human, what is power, what are relationships. [incinerator argument scene plays] Do you think that being a vampire being hundreds of years old, that Lestat think of himself as above race?

S: I don't know if he thinks of it like that, I think he definitely acknowledges the prejudices that exist, he acknolwedges it as soon as he meets Louis and I think once you become a vampire, that you can transcend that, thats what Lestat fully misunderstands about Louis' situation. I think he has a lot to learn in that regard.

N: Lestat is kinda like humans are trifles, we don't have time for it. Louis believes humanity is worthwhile and still wants to be apart of it.

S: I think he just doesn't understand yet, I think Louis at this point doesn't understand the enormity of living forever. He's just become a vampire, his family is still around, I think once you see everyone around you grow old die you see wars break outriots break out, you see the ages through the century, you see humanity is in this fucked up cycle that continues on the same hamster wheel. You're this fantastic creature that exists outside of humanity, why do you need to bother engaging with the small little fancies of these human beings. Then Lestat, there's his choice, I'm gonna live it up and have a good time and make a joke about it find it funny. He is very oscillating though so sometimes the joke is at his expense and sometimes the joke is at everyone else's expensve but he is the one who's always laughing. But what I will say is what Lestat feels about humanity is through art, like there is a beautiful pure expression and he really repsects and admires that and love musicians and artists. [opera scene plays] I mean what an amazing gift to read a scene like that I couldn't believe it when I was reading it and then it dawned on me that I would have to play the piano, sing, and speak Italian and kill somebody. Yeah, don't screw it up or you will die. But if you're a good musician in his eyes, he will make sure you're fully appreciated. If you're bad, yes you will die.

N: So the stakes are pretty chill. Either you're good and have a patron for life or you're bad and you die.

[teasing future episodes]

Jewelle Gomez Interview Highlights

N: In this episode, we learn a lot about vampires. I'm wondering how common these are in other vampire stories, like are they things Anne codified or have they been around. First, Lestat saying he had been so lonely, he says there are only about 100 other vampires in the world. What? I thought there were so many more?

J: I think the general idea has been vampires don't create much in the way of community that tehy are individualists in a great sense. No one ever really talks about the numbers but they seem to be very small so I think the tendency is to be inviduals.

N: They said the vampires can't drink the blood of the dead?

J: Yeah, thats a no no. You just don't be doing that. The heart has still got to be beating while you're taking the blood. Cause the blood from a dead person will draw you into death. That's pretty common, everyone knows that.

N: I thought maybe it was a taste issue like its a little sticky its a little coagulated that its not as good. But okay. Another tidbit we get is vampires can't read the minds of someone they've made. So like lestat can't read louis' mind?

J: I dont know if that is a general rule about makers. In general, vampires can read anybody's thoughts based on my extensive research/

N: Vampires live in coffins but do they need to sleep in coffins. I thought that was an old school idea like if you were a modern vampire you'd be like this is my studio apartment.

J: Every novel you read they sleep in coffins, although when I was writing a black lesbian vampire moving into the 20th century having escaped from slavery, she would not be sleeping in no coffin! I was like no no no no no. The big thing about coffin is the security, if you can get in there and lock it. In Dracula he carries his home soil so his coffin is lined with. In my books, I put her on a futon and its pretty uncomfortable but so is a coffin, behind a very thick door and she's good to go.

N: Alright thats the end of our lightning round, okay now Jewelle, what is your relationship with TVC and Anne Rice in general?

J: I read IWTV certainly when it first came out and I had written a single story a vampire story that got published in the Village Voice and then I thought I could write more of these cause people really liked it. Anne Rice's writing made me realize how sensual the vampire story could be and that meant the texture to a lot of my own writing of vampire stories.

N: What is it about vampires for you that you feel like lends itself to exploring queerness and sexuality more so than other monsters?

J: I think vampires have a natural sensuality. I mean the very act of taking blood is skin against skin, touching. The way that vampire interactions are set up is like a seduction in most cases. Bringing someone into vampire life involves an exchange of liquids, the lips touching, parts of the body, its sensual by its very nature. It draws in anyone who is interested in any sensual writing, queer writers allows us to create an outsider figure who's also the hero of the story. For we as queer people, being an outside being at the center our of own story.

N: Certainly this version of IWTV is doing its own thing but very much rooted in Anne's books. Before it was a little implicit, it was coded that Louis and Lestat had something going on. Here it's like this is what its about.

J: I think Louis and Lestat's relationship is core to the story and what moves the story and because its the 21st century we can now look at how two men come together and can find each other. What's really moving about this particular version is when Lestat talks about how lonely he has been for so long and I think he's giving voice to what a lot of queer people feel before they find their queer lover. So its very very moving to be able to experience that loneliness before he's able to find the lover he's been looking for.

N: There's so many ethical questions about being a vampire, like you're a vampire that doesn't wanna kill people. Do you think a vampire has to kill people in order to be really powerful?

J: I don't think so. A vampire has the power to take blood and not kill. To take small amounts from lots of people and not kill. And that's the way I wanted my character to go cause she's creating community, I think the idea that Louis could take blood and not kill, he does finally get to that when we see the interview w/ the older Molloy. I also know that all of us donate blood to the Red Cross we don't die when we give a pint of blood. So I think its possible to donate that amount of blood to a vampire and still live. That made more sense to me, that's how I created my vampires.

N: I love the idea that a vampire would take your blood and give you Orange Juice and cookies. Like here's a couple dried biscuits, take a seat for 10 minutes.

[polyhexian]

Murder drones pre-finale marathon begins. The new episode actually starts airing in two minutes but I wanted to wait until nightfall anyway. And also I want to be able to pause if like. I spill a drink or something. And my roommate left so now I have the house to myself. So it's time for a rewatch!!!

First thing is the same thing I always note when i watch the pilot again. It's incredible how MUCH the animation has improved over the last few years. And it was already great! I have also noted only the first episode has their eyes floating inside their visors rather than displayed on top, so when they turn their head to the side you can see both eyes. I definitely like the update.

The first episode also includes a lot of extra exaggerated subtle motion thats supposed to give it life but makes it look ever so slightly like motion capture rather than animation with intent behind it. The rigs improve so much along with the lipsync. And they were ALREADY good.

Tho, like future episodes, it can be a little too literally dark at times. That's why I want to watch it at night so badly; daytime screen glare really is a nuisance.

The humour is still perfect though. Absolutely incredible comedic timing. It's so SNAPPY and knows exactly how long to make a shot, how far to take a joke. And everyone's line delivery is positively incredible. Michael kovac is truly living for this role lol. He just sounds so delighted the entire time.

The score for MD is always great but they certainly have less diversity in episode one.

"sure. I love doing anything!" Is the single funniest line delivery I've ever heard in my life.

It's so funny seeing the v intro scene again because it's like. "Oh god, who are you?" Is so funny because. She can't see him. V knows exactly who he is because they've known each other forever. But she needs glasses lmfao. She's like oh god what the fuck who are you because he's a blob. Foreshadowing you don't know is foreshadowing!!

"I left an extremely dangerous we- excuse outside!" Fhjrjdjr

I love how n's legs look. They just have this extremely satisfying style the way they're designed. I actually like v and J's weird hips and legs but since there's only three murder drones anyway I think they should have given J something different. they fit V to a T but I think you could do something different for J that was more specifically her and offer some more design diversity! J should have feet. Maybe some smart Business Heels or something. Or, she's got kind of a very light gothic Lolita thing going on. Idk.

God I love when Khan abandons Uzi and even N is like damn that was fucked up wow.

Im hoping to get a bit of closure on this in the end but J's entire shtick is the whole business boss thing. But obviously we know now that earth has Exploded so. There isn't a company left sending orders. N notes SOMEONE was sending her orders and we know that was Cyn as Tessa and I suspect J does not know Tessa is Cyn, but technically that's not confirmed I think. But sort of. J's big ol business thing. I wonder if we may get further context on that personality trait.

It's VERY funny watching Doll in this episode like girl why ain't you doing anything

LOVE how N just picks her up like a cat and puts her on his shoulders. Just like it's nothing. Up you go, Uzi!

Love how the stinger at the end of uzi laughing maniacally about killing all humans never really comes to anything. Like it sets it up as if that's the plot, they're going to go attempt to do that. But no lol that's nothing

Next episode we go!

[jojodelaguerras-wooden-stick]

Here's me infodumpinf about my two favourite songs Let's Hear It for the Boy from Footloose and Chip On My Shoulder from Legally Blonde because they make me feel things

Let's Hear It for the Boy

First off I wanna say I heard the original song from the 1984 movie (I love the movie btw) and I love both the original song and the musical version

I'll ramble in context of the musical because it's easier

What makes me love this song so much is that it's basically rusty loving Willard so much, she doesn't care that Willard can't dance, she enjoys time with him and he does too and AHHHHH

Oh maybe he's no Romeo / But he's my lovin one -man show

the song is just her loving willard so much even tho hes not perfect or impressive. And she loves him so much she wants to show him off!! So let's hear it for the boy !!!!!

My baby he dont talk sweet / He ain't got much to say

But he loves me loves me loves me / I know that he loves me anyway

The mutual connection of I know you love me and you know I love you even tho they dont verbally say it

But he loves me loves me loves me / We always have a real good time

It's just this energy of I love you because of who you are and I love our relationship, our dynamic and the time we spend together I love all this so much I wanna make sure everyone else knows it too

What he does he does so well / It makes me wanna yell / Let's hear it for the boy

Cause every time he pulls me near / I just wanna cheer / Lets hear it for the boy

RAHHHHHHH IT MAKES ME WANT TO YELL

And Willard learns how to dance !!!!

Side note: Miles Teller and Christian Borle have both played the role of Willard and idk how to feel about that /pos

Chip On My Shoulder

I will be putting this song on repeat if it means I have an Emmett in my ear telling me we gotta be driven as hell for me to be motivated

This whole song makes me want to scream because it's Elle and Emmett's relationship developing from almost strangers to ultimate besties like YOU SEE THAT HANDSHAKE THEY HAVE ultimate besties goals

With the chance I've been given / I'm gonna be driven as hell

I'm gonna be playing this line in my head any time I want to give up Emmett my internal emotional supporter

Also Emmett is so sweet literally and he works so hard I wanna hug him

Out out / what are you angry? / Good so get angry / You may find a chip on your shoulder

I love this whole part because Emmett observes that elle obviously hasn't been studying and he's pushing her to start somewhere, clean up her table and "get to work" and he does it in a way to get her frustrated and motivated to study with this "chip" he judt gave her even if its as small as cleaning out her room when she doesn't want to

Idk I love that so much for some reason

They laughed at me like they're laughing at you/ We can't win if we don't follow through

'We' as in both of them like Emmett isn't leaving Elle alone in this journey he's gonna help her study and get up there in class. He also shows empathy towards her by sharing how he experienced being kicked out of class too, again showing shes not alone in this.

And the fact that even tho Elle is already able to pass the class, he still pushes her to work harder, knowing her potential is better than that.

also chewing gum isn't the law it's selling gum cuz someone stuck gum in the train door and caused problems anyway country mention MAJULAH

Let's not chase him away / Let's face him and say / Hey punk let's dance

Elle finally has something to drive her! And it's not just trying to prove Warner she's serious, it's looking him in the eyes and saying "Hey look at what I can do, not like before where i was dumbly chasing after you, I am facing you head on" like YES GIRL

I am reclaiming my pride

THIS Elle went all the way to Harvard to chase after Warner, not really thinking about anything other than get back with Warner. Then finally, she realises she needs to do more than that and becomes "smarter and bolder", she knows what to do now and that is to study and work hard !!!!!!

I also wonder if this is where she stops loving Warner but hasn't realised it until she verbalised it in So Much Better.

If you saw the proshot and you saw how excited Emmett was when Elle finally found her 'chip' like AHHHHHHHH

She was something to see there / I'm just happy I could be there / First big test and she aced it / She's so close she could taste it / She's got a chip on her shoulder

THIS PART I LOVE IT SO MUCH Emmett is so proud of Elle for winning the case exercise (idk if that's the right term) BUT AHHHHHH he's so proud of her and her journey through the past few months studying hard and staying with her along the way, helping and guiding her. I'd just imagine all the moments in those months where Elle struggled and finally she achieved something, Emmett must have been so!!! Happy and proud!!!! Someone also said this is like the part Emmett falls in love with Elle LIKE YESSSSSSSS AND THE GREEK CHORUS RUNNING AROUND HIM bros like a middle schooler falling in love with her omggg AND HIS LITTLE DANCE MANS SMITTEN

This is also me crushing on Emmett I need an Emmett in my life please I love him

^ me listening to these songs

These two songs basically show my view on love, romance and relationships

I also really love Playing with the Boys by Kenny Loggins because of the energy it has, it's just people having fun even the MV is a grp of people playing volleyball (*cough* and the beach scene in TG *cough*) its so underrated its such a good song to get people to have fun

Alright that's it

[nataliavega]

interrogations. task 004.

Nat was off her game. She probably had never really been on it in the first place, but today was a special kind of hell. Her time capsule video plagued her, found her jumping awake in the middle of the night in a panic.

That sense of panic and foreboding had followed her here, to where she now sat on one side of a table alone, three pairs of hard eyes staring back at her.

One of them, the decidedly personable one, smiled kindly and introduced himself as Agent Choi before introducing the other two agents on either side of him— Agent Brown and Agent Murray. Nat could only offer a squeak of acknowledgment in return, her heart hammering out a frantic beat against her ribcage.

"I understand it's finals week so we're going to make this as quick and painless as possible, alright?" Agent Choi's smile was still just as kind, but something about this whole thing felt sinister. It set Nat on edge. She only managed a stiff nod, but it was enough. Choi continued, “can you talk about your time capsule video? Give us some context for the clip that was leaked?”

Nat's teeth worried at her bottom lip, clasped hands on the table picking at the skin around her nails. "Um..." she started, voice shaky as the reminder of her current reality sent spears of ice through her guts. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Agent Murray's mouth tighten as she scribbled something in her legal pad. Nat's mouth went dry. "It was just a stupid, split-second decision, I can't really tell you why I did it. I didn't think anyone would be watching it for fifty years. I didn't— I wasn't—" She swallowed thickly, all her words suddenly caught in her throat. She held up her hands helplessly. "I don't know."

Nat was fairly certain Agent Brown hadn't blinked once since she'd sat down, sure that there was a hole in the side of her face where she could feel him staring, studying, daring her to step a toe out of line. He remained in her periphery, but there was something sickenly magnetic in the way he stared her down. She nearly turned to face him when Choi spoke up again. "Were you aware that Greer Morrison submitted a video at the end of last year?” 

The question caught her off guard and Nat visibly faltered, brows furrowed as she shook her head. "No? Greer and I weren't close." Hearing how that sounded as it came out of her mouth, Nat rushed to add, "we were different people, and we existed in different social circles."

Agent Murray continued to make notes on her notepad, and Nat readjusted in her chair uncomfortably. What could she possibly be writing? It wasn't a good thing that she was writing so much, right? Was she fumbling the bag so badly?

She hadn't realized she was staring at Murray until Choi was leaning back into her eye line, drawing her attention back to them. “Had you ever heard of anything regarding THE NAIVE NEWCOMER using steroids?”

Again, Nat's confusion shown on her face, brows pinched as she shook her head. "No. I've had one conversation with Kit my entire life and that's it."

Agent Choi's eyes seemed to narrow ever so slightly, and Nat's own eyes widened in alarm as she combed back over everything she'd said, to find where she was obviously bombing this and came up empty.

Silence hung like a guillotine overhead until Choi finally broke it, shifting forward in their seat a little. “Did Greer ever bring up breaking up with him ever? Or anything of the sort, like she did in her video?” 

"I already told you, Greer and I didn't talk. We weren't friends."

Murray scribbled away in her notepad, and Nat's eyes cut to her and back again. Unease felt a hell of a lot like nausea.

Choi nodded and Nat thought maybe he finally got it, but then he pressed, “Do you have any reason to believe THE GOLDEN GIRL would want to leave Ogden College?” 

Nat threw up her hands in frustration, eyes cutting to each and every one of them in disbelief. "I don't know what you want me to say. I didn't know Greer like that. We were not friends." She spoke each word slowly, as if enunciating might make them finally understand. Agent Brown only smirked in a way that put Nat on edge. All the while, Murray wrote her notes.

Her eyes finally settled on Choi, but the question came from Brown this time. He leaned forward in a move that was the antithesis of Choi's earlier friendly lean-in. "Some other students have brought up your relationship with Greer. Why do you think they thought it was relevant?"

Genuine confusion and true fear fought for dominance on her face. She hadn't had a relationship with Greer, but judging by the way Brown was staring her down, her doubling down on that fact could only sound suspicious now. "What? Who?" she asked before she could stop herself.

It was one of those horrifying moments where she was only aware of just how bad it sounded once it was already out of her mouth, and suddenly, heat prickled the back of her eyes, and she had to furiously blink back tears. God only knew they'd assume she was putting on a show. She was a theater student for God's sake!

"Sebastian Morrison seemed to think you had a bit of a rocky relationship. What was the word he used?" Brown nodded his head towards Choi but didn't break eye contact with Nat, who remained trapped inside his intense gaze. "Hostile." A heavy pause settled over the room, the only sound the scratching of pencil against paper. It might as well have been the ticking of a clock as it counted down to Nat's demise. Or maybe she just wished. "So," Brown said tightly, slicing through Nat's inner spiraling, "why don't you elaborate on what that relationship was?"

"I wasn't lying before," Nat insisted, but she could hear herself now the way they probably heard her. Her voice sounded shrill and tinny, the words sounding like a desperate plea of the dying. And yet, she couldn't seem to stop, as if saying enough words might eventually drown out the bad ones. "It's not a crime to not get along with someone. We don't have to pretend that just because she's rich and beautiful and popular that she couldn't also be mean sometimes. She didn't have to have a reason. I don't think she'd be the first person in the world to just decide she didn't like someone. We didn't have a relationship."

As if he didn't hear her, as if she didn't speak at all, Brown was on her immediately with another question, like some demented game of rapid fire. "Were you aware of Greer planning to travel to Portugal this summer?"

Nat blinked, stunned into silence. Both because what was the point of her answering any of these questions when it was so painfully clear that it didn't matter what she said— they'd already apparently decided what was truth and what wasn't. "Portugal? What does that have to do with any—" She cut herself off, shutting her eyes tight with a shake of her head before they opened again, cutting to Choi and searching their eyes for even a sliver of hope that she could turn this disastrous situation around. That there might still be one person left in the room that she might be able to win to her side. "No. I don't know how to make it any clearer. I didn't hang out with Greer. I wasn't part of her friend circle, I didn't even have any classes with her, I don't know."

Choi nodded, Brown remained unmoved, and Murray's pencil paused for just a heartbeat— Nat's world pausing with it— before Brown shattered the silence with one last question. "Is there anything you know that you’re not sharing?"

Her vision warped, and she knew if she couldn't manage to hold back the tears, she was going to damn herself. She shook her head, lips pressed tightly together until she could trust herself to speak. And even then, she only managed a meek "no."

Like a demented replay of the moment she first sat down, Nat sat on her side of the table alone while three pairs of eyes fixed on her. The silence stretched for a very long, very uncomfortable moment. And then Choi nodded again and stood, motioning toward the door. "Thank you for coming in, Miss Vega."

And that was it. Just like that, she was dismissed.

She blinked and stood in stiff, robotic movements as if she were in a daze. And then, once she'd stepped away from her chair, she scurried away like a roach from a kitchen light convinced that that could not have possibly gone worse.

[torchickentacos]

It’s one of your ContestShipping anons ✨🌹 and just wanted to be like,,, look if you haven’t listened to the song “Stray Italian Greyhound” by Vienna Teng before 11/10 if you have a moment and want to have feelings I recommend it cause it gives me hardcore yearning Drew POV vibes like maybe Battle Frontier Era roughly,,, ?? Like the lyrics “God I just want to lay down These colors make my eyes hurt This feeling calls for everything that I am Not” and “I’m so good at shooting down any notion This tired world could change … but you had to come along didn’t you Rev up the crowd, rewrite the rule book Where do I go when every ‘no’ turns into ‘maybe’ So what do I do with this?” It gives him, it gives blorbo. It’s given me some writing Inspo for them which who knows if it’ll come of something but wanted to share in case it might make you also see shrimp colors. Thank you for running a cool blog for us for are feral for these nerds again

Oh my god, I am in love with this song. I had never heard it before, but you're SO RIGHT. It just SCREAMS Late AG Drew to me. It DEFINITELY gives me shrimp colors!!!!!

I have MANY favorite lines from this song after many listens. I took a few days to answer this because I REALLY wanted to take time to digest this song, to fully immerse myself in it and understand it, eespecially when given the context of our favorite green dude. Under cut because all of my anons just get essays at this point. I imagine that's what you're here for though!!! If you guys are anything like me, you'll read SO MANY WORDS worth of analysis and opinions on these two. Ok let's go!!!

The biggest lyric that hit me like a truck:

So what do I do with this?

This sudden burst of sunlight, and me with my umbrella

cross-indexing every weatherman's report

I was ready for the downslide but not for spring to well up

OKAY. So, the biggest thing about this to me is this: Spring and Fall. May and Drew's japanese names reference spring and fall, respectively- May, a warm sunshiney prescence and Drew, a chilly autumn breeze bringing in rain with his umbrella (but under the chilly surface sits gorgeous autumnal leaves!). And obviously, this lyric reflects the spring to his autumn, spring that he didn't account for. (I have a theory on Harley and Solidad being summer and winter or vice versa, but this isn't about them and I'm still working on it).

The next set of lyrics that got me was this one.

I've just settled into the glass half empty, made myself at home

I think this lyric fits because Drew is someone who is very comfortable within his own walls, something I reference quite often with him. He puts up walls and they are very difficult to knock down- he settles into this guarded aloofness, this careful, precarious arrogance. Which fits the above quite well-settling into and making yourself at home in a guarded cynicism.

Until someone comes along and knocks it all down. Below lyrics, fragmented.

These inconvenient fireworks / this sudden burst of sunlight / a love that won't sit still.

GOSH anon your mind. it is large. May is this bright spot, this loud firework of heart-on-her-sleeve emotions, this juxtaposition to his cool and calm disposition. tv tropes red blue character symbolism and all that. She's that sun to his clouds, the wrecking ball to the walls he put up so carefully, knocking them over as if they were but dominoes precariously stacked. GOSH I think this song is perfect for him tbh.

Anyways, you have added another song to my contestshipping playlist. as if it needed another. but here we go ALSO GUYS SHARE YOUR CONTEST PLAYLISTS AND OTHER SONGS WITH ME I LOVE DOING THIS STUFF SO MUCH. I love that I ask you guys to send me anons and you actually do!!! I have a LOT of inbox activity for a blog my size and it fills me with SUCH joy, genuinely.

[c-is-for-circinate]

Wait, isn't "anti" stuff more like "anti-pedophilia" and stuff? Like, you have a point about anti-porn attitudes, but from what I've heard just "anti" on its own means against stuff like kid porn and incest porn and legitimately f*cked up sh*t like that.

Okay!  So this, I think, is actually a great example of what I was talking about, and a really useful thing to understand.  (CW rape, child abuse, etc)

Smarter people than me have written much better essays about why policing thoughtcrimes is a bad road to go down, and I will probably reblog some of them next time they cross my dash for more context.  What I want to talk about is the trigger mechanism, the ‘oh, this looks like danger!!!’ immune response in how we look at different kinds of porn, and how that applies to anti culture.

Here’s the thing: I am anti-pedophilia.  I think that, for most people, that’s a stance that largely goes without saying!  Adults who prey on children are bad.  I’m also against incest; relatives who prey on their family members are bad.  Above all I oppose rape.  Sexual predation of any kind is bad.  In fact, I’d say that’s the most important item on the list.  There is plenty of room to argue about where the lines are between ‘adult’ and ‘child’ and how teenagers fit in the middle, and there’s plenty of room to get historical about the lines between ethically terrible incest, distasteful-but-bearable “aristocratic inbreeding” between distant cousins, and the kind of consanguinity that tends to develop in a small town where everyone’s vaguely related to everyone else by now anyway.  The core of the issue is consent, and it has always been consent.  Pedophilia and incest are horrific because they are rape scenarios where the abuser has far more power and their victim far fewer resources to cope, both practically and emotionally; because harm to children is, to us as a culture, worse than harm to adults, for a lot of very valid reasons; and because they constitute betrayal of trust the victim should have been able to put in their abuser as well as rape--but they are all rape scenarios, and that’s why they’re awful. 

These things are bad.  It is good for us to have a social immune response system that recognizes these things when they’re happening and insists we step in.  That is a good thing to develop!  It helps us, as a society.  It can help the people being victimized.  It’s the same reason educators and childcare workers in the US are all mandated reporters, why we do background checks on people working near kids.  These things happen, and they’re terrible, and it’s good that we try to be aware and prepared for them.  (Though obviously studies show we’re a lot less good at protecting the vulnerable than we’d like to pretend we are.)

The question is: why does that same social immune response trigger, and trigger so angrily, in response to fiction?

Anti culture is fundamentally an expression of that social immune response.  Specifically, it’s that social immune response when it is set off by a situation that, while it has some similarities to the very bad real-life crime of sexual predation including pedophilia and incest, is in and of itself harmless.

If you’re instinct is to flare up in anger or dismissiveness because I’m calling these things harmless, I want to ask you to just take a deep breath and bear with me for a bit longer.  What you’re feeling right now is an allergic reaction.

Humans tell and read and listen to stories about “legitimately fucked up shit” all the time.  It’s part of the human condition.  It’s part of how we process those things happening, not just to use, but to other people in the world around us.  It’s part of how we process completely unrelated fucked-up shit, playing with fears and furies and insecurities that we all have, through so may layers of fiction that we don’t even recognize them any more, playing with power dynamics in metaphor and making characters suffer for fun.  Aside from the fact that literally all stories do this to some extent or another; aside from the fact that drawing lines between ‘ok that’s good storytelling’ and ‘that’s too fucked-up to write about’ is arbitrary, subjective, and dangerous in its own right; aside from all of that, these stories are stories.  All of them. 

Even the ones about rape, about incest, about pedophilia.  They’re words on a page.  No real children were harmed, touched, or even glanced at in the making of this work of fiction.  This story, pornographic though it may be, is part of a conversation between consenting adults.  (And if a teenager lies about their age to consent, that is a different problem altogether.)

Stories in and of themselves, no matter what they’re about, are no more dangerous than a crate full of oranges.  Which is to say: utterly harmless, unless all you have to eat is oranges, all day every day, and you find yourself dying slowly of nutrient deficiency--which is why representation matters.  Or unless someone wields one deliberately, violently, as a tool to cause harm, and someone gets acid in their eye--which is the fault of the person holding the orange. And unless you happen to be allergic to citrus.

The key here is this twofold understanding:  First, the thing that hurts you can also have value to others.  Real, legitimate value.  Whether you’ve undergone trauma and certain story elements are straight-up PTSD triggers or you just don’t like orange juice, that story, those tropes, that crate of oranges may be somewhere between icky and fundamentally abhorrent--but we understand that that is still your reaction.  Even if you don’t understand how anybody could ever enjoy it; even if every single person you surround yourself with is as sensitive and disgusted and itchy about this thing that makes your eyes hurt and your throat stop working as you; that doesn’t make it true for everyone.  That doesn’t make oranges poisonous.  No real children were involved in the writing of this story.  It is words on a page.

But, secondly: the thing that has value to others can also hurt you.  Just because a story isn’t inherently poison doesn’t mean it can’t cause you, personally, pain.  That’s what a PTSD trigger is: an allergic reaction, psychological anaphylaxis, a brain that’s trying so hard to protect its own from a threat that isn’t actually present (but was once, and the brain is trained to respond) that it causes far more harm and misery than the trigger itself possibly could.  And no, it’s not just people with PTSD who sometimes get hurt by stories.  There are many, many ways a story can poke the part of your brain that says, this is Bad, I don’t like this, I don’t want to be here.  The story is still, always, every time, pixels on a screen and ink on paper.  The story causes no physical harm.  But it can poke your brain into misery, it can stir up your emotions, it can make you want to cringe and run away.  It can make you want to scream and fight and go after the author who brought this thing into existence.  It can make you hurt.

This is an allergic reaction.  This is your brain and body, your reflexes and instincts, trying to protect you from something that isn’t really happening.  And just like a literal allergic reaction, it can do actual harm to you if it gets set off.  This is real.  The fact that stories can upset you to the point of pain and mental/emotional injury is real, even though it’s coming from your own brain and not the story itself.  There are stories you shouldn’t read.  There are stories I shouldn’t read, regret reading, will never read, because they hurt me.  That doesn’t mean they’re the same stories that would hurt you.  That doesn’t mean they don’t have value.

And, finally:

If getting upset about stories is fundamentally an individual person’s allergic reaction, their brain freaking out and firing off painful survival instincts in the face of a thing that isn’t, in and of itself, a threat?  Then the anti movement is a cultural allergic reaction.

Fandom as a whole has a pretty active immune system, which doesn’t mean we have a good immune system.  We try very hard to be aware of all the viruses and -isms and abuse and manipulation and cruelty, both systematic and individual, that exists around and within our community.  We’re primed and ready to shout about things at all times.  The anti movement is that system, that culture, screaming and shouting and fighting at a harmless thing on a grand scale.  It wants to stop that thing, that scary awful thing that trips all of its well-primed danger sensors, at all costs.  It’ll swell up and block off our airways (our archives) if it has to.  It’ll turn on the body it came from.  It’s scared and protective and trying to fight, and it’s ready to fight and destroy itself.

Luckily, fans and fanfic and fandom and fan culture are a lot bigger and older than they often get credit for, and it’s not like these cultural allergies are anything new.  We could talk about shippers and slashers in the X-Files fandom in the 90s.  We could talk about the birth of fandom in the days of Star Trek.  We could talk about censorship and book burning going back centuries.  We survived that and we’ll survive this, too.

But god, does the anti movement my throat and eyes itch.  Man is it irritating, and sometimes a little suffocating, to realize how many stories just aren’t getting told out of fear of what the antis will say.  And that’s the real danger, I think.  What are we losing that would have so much value to someone?  What are we missing out?

[ladyanput]

Ok so this is the third time that I'm sending you an ask tonight. (or is it night time in your country?) I'm being annoying right now but whatever. So I've been cackling about those salt fics you wrote because they are just amazing. I have a request, though it is up to you to write it or not. So, can you write a salt fic where someone got an interview with Ladybug (probably Aurore) and then they ask her why they replaced the old heroes like Rena Rouge, Carapace and etc. and LB is just like I don't work with dumb shits or somethin'. Then there is also a new Black Cat (Probably Luka, Felix, or Damian) because Adrien here is an asshole and this fic is saltier than salt water. Then LB also insults Alya's blog and their school. Those foolish mortals get some lawsuits and the rest is up to you. (This request is probably messed up since it's already midnight here and I can't sleep.)

You're never annoying, I just apologize that it took me so long to get to you. I do hope you don't hold it against me, darling.

A one on one interview with Ladybug was basically unheard of if you weren't the Ladyblog or Nadja Chadwick. Ladybug had made it firm that she wasn't a celebrity, she was a hero. She wasn't there for clout, for attention, for fame or fortune. She just wanted to keep Paris safe.

That's was Aurore admired about her. And why she felt queasy as she sat across from the heroine, who had given her of all people an interview. But she got ahold of herself, taking deep breaths as the cameraman began counting down. And when he hit 'one', she put on her best smile and straightened in her seat.

"Hello Paris! Welcome back to 'Latest Buzz'! I am your lovable host, Aurore Beauréal. Today I am here with a very, very special guest, our very own heroine of Paris; Ladybug!"

Ladybug beamed right at the camera, but gave a shy little wave, giving away the nerves she obviously had.

"Now, Ladybug, I'm so glad you requested to be on the show. You know, I initially thought I had misheard when Estelle told me. Usually you're not big on personal interviews." Aurore gave her full attention to Ladybug, but keeping the bright, friendly smile and perfect posture.

"Well, I tried a few times actually. But when I did, none of them were really great experiences." Ladybug admitted and both girls immediately thought of that disastrous Face-to-Face interview. It left a bitter taste in their mouths. "My issue is that misinformation has been spread around a lot recently. It's made me realize that I need to find more trustworthy sources."

"Ladybug. I vow on my integrity as a host and Estelle's reputation as a journalist that we are people who research facts. We don't ambush our guests, we respect them." She said, placing a hand on her heart. Ladybug saw an honesty in her eyes that she hadn't seen in such a long time. It honestly made her feel.. Respected. "Now, Ladybug.. We both know you have a lot of fans. A lot of admirers. False information can be spread so easily these days, which sources specifically are you telling people to avoid?"

"Well.. With Face-to-Face, I found that I was entirely ambushed in that interview. I wanted to speak about my hero work, but instead Nadja kept trying to needle her way into my personal life. That picture she had shown in largely out of context; when Dark Cupid attacked and Chat Noir was under his spell, it was the only way to get him free."

"Yes, I remember watching that. I'll be honest Ladybug, I felt bad for you." Aurore bit her lip, but smiled a bit when Ladybug nodded. "I mean, Chat Noir wasn't helping either. He seemed to be trying to push this narrative forward that you two are a couple."

"And we're not!" Ladybug burst out before she could stop herself. Everyone in that studio could hear the utter stress and frustration in her voice. "I've begged and begged Chat Noir to stop with the flirting, the 'telling people we're dating', everything! I just wanted him to focus and he couldn't seem to do that!"

"Is that why you replaced him? Because of his slacking off and refusing to take anything seriously?" Aurora sat up an bit straighter, her eyes going wide.

".. Not exactly, no. It was a bunch of issues that eventually piled up and boiled over." Ladybug made some gestures with her hands, trying her hardest to find the words but just letting out a long and pained sigh in the end. "I do enjoy my new partner now. He is more serious, more stable. I know he won't go off and pout if I deny something he wanted. I needed an entirely new team, as a matter of fact."

"Well I am going to say, on behalf of everyone here, that we're glad. We swear on our integrity as journalists that if such rumours were to ever surface again, we will do our proper research." Aurore beamed and many of the staff and crew behind the cameras nodded and gave Ladybug their thumbs up. Honestly, it warmed Ladybug's heart to see such support.

When had been the last time someone had supported her like this? Sure, her parents supported her, but her friends..? Her peers? No, none of them had supported her in a long time.

"Speaking of research, I'd say to stay away from the Ladyblog." It burned to say it but it had to be said. Alya had crossed so many lines it wasn't even forgivable at this point. She had gone too far, had betrayed too many.

"Wait, what?" Aurore nearly jumped out of her seat but quickly composed herself, taking a deep breath. "Pardon me Ladybug, but the Ladyblog has been a vital source of information since the very beginning."

"And I'm not denying that!" Ladybug quickly held up her hands, her eyes desperate now. "But please let me explain. The Ladyblog was amazing in the beginning, but like all things, it started to go astray. It was things like trying so hard to find out my identity. Trying to push that narrative of that whole superhero couple thing.. Ladyblogger Alya Césaire has proven time and time again that she is not trustworthy. I mean, I thought she was my biggest fan. Why does she keep pushing my words aside?"

Many people who watched the interview would agree. If you idolized someone, respected someone, truly looked up to them.. Why would you push aside their words, their wishes to try and push the narrative you're so convinced is true, but isn't there?

"And don't get me started on the whole Lila Rossi craze she seemed to be on now." At Ladybug's mention of Lila Rossi, both Estelle and Aurore had to keep from rolling their eyes. They knew all about the girl.

"You speak as if you are quite frustrated, Ladybug. What an odd reaction to your best friend." Aurore leaned forward a bit in her seat. Everyone else got to the edge of theirs. Ladybug only shook her head, looking utterly defeated.

"That's the thing, she isn't my best friend." It took everything to keep from satin that she hated her, that she had taken away her friends and her life. "The only times she's met Ladybug is when she's been akumatized, which has been around six or seven times at this point. And the other things she's claiming are so outlandish! Saving Jagged Stone's kitten from a airport runway? Clara Nightengale stealing her dance moves? And the Ladyblog just posts it out there, claiming every single story is true. I'm just scared that people are taking this one hundred percent seriously. That's why I had to drop Rena Rouge and Carapace from the team as they believed Lila Rossi over me. They didn't even try to confirm these rumours! And it hurts to think that one day, someone will take Lila's words seriously and get hurt. What if she says it's safe to dip strawberries in bleach? Or tells someone that she found a way to tame some kind of wild animal? Someone would get hurt because they believe her story and try it out for themselves!"

"My goodness, I can definitely see how that is a problem. Misinformation is very easy to spread thanks to the internet, so you being worried is a very relatable thing." Aurore nodded, then tilted her head ever so slightly. "Ladybug, do you know anyone who has taken her word seriously? This is besides the Ladyblog of course."

Ladybug closed her eyes briefly, mentally debating with herself before finally giving in. These things needed to be said.

"Collège François DuPont. Now I wasn't there personally, but I heard about this situation and looked into it. The entire situation was appalling. Apparently a student was found to have cheated, assaulted another student, and commited thievery. But the thing that stuck out is only one person saw her do all of these things; Lila Rossi. No investigation was done, no questioning other students. This student was then expelled immediately. Her teacher and her principal didn't even give her a chance. And from what people have been saying, Miss Rossi's behaviour is actively encouraged in that school. She misses countless days, no, months of school, claiming she's traveling. But when she was supposedly in Achu, doing whatever it was she was claiming with Prince Ali, I was fighting her akuma here in Paris on Heroes Day!"

"I was at school the day that happened. I knew the student that happened to. They're the nicest person in that school! Never a bad thing to say about anyone, always willing to help! I agree with you on how things were handled, it's a level of incompetence that is baffling." Aurore's hands slowly curled into fists as she remembered it all. She slowly shook her head. "The principal, their teacher, their class who backed up Rossi. It must have hurt them so much, made them feel so alone."

"That's why I want people to be more careful with what information they take as fact. It's so important, because stuff like that can lead people to a desperate place. They feel alone, like the entire world is against them. I wouldn't have let the principal and the teacher get away with that gross negligence in their jobs." Ladybug leveled her gaze directly to the camera. "People of Paris, please listen to what I am saying. I am here to be a hero, to protect you from the terror of Hawkmoth and to defeat him. But please, do not be like Principal Damocles, do not be like that teacher and her class at DuPont. Do your research, look up your facts. Do not let a liar lead you to do something dangerous and hurt yourself as well as others. Respect each other, talk and be honest. I swear on my life that I shall do the same. You are the people I swore to protect and I love. I am saying this all to protect you. And I'll hope you'll all forgive me for not protecting you sooner."

...

The interview rocked Paris. Ladybug speaking so openly about her frustrations, about the discrepancies in the Ladyblog and Lila Rossi had many people double checking the sources of everything they learned from that blog.

Alya could barely show her face as she made her way though the school hallways. Her reputation as a journalist had gone down the drain. People had basically started boycotting her blog, harrassing her, or trash talking her on other forums and sites. Even a lot of news outlets picked this up.

What hurt the most from that interview last night was Ladybug's words towards her, both as Rena Rouge and as Alya. Surely the heroine had to be mistaken, she had never beytrayed Ladybug! And that Oblivio incident, it was just to show Chat Noir and Ladybug that they were meant to be together!

Her family was upset with her. No, upset was too tame of a word. They were pissed.

"I can't believe she lied to us.."

"Well what do you expect from someone who keeps harrassing Ladybug?"

Alya flinched when she heard the whispers and rushed into Miss Buster's class. The entire class was there, all seated, all looking utterly miserable. Many of them looked as if they had been crying all night. A lot like she had.

"W-where's Miss Bustier?" Alya asked when she eyed the empty desk. Many of her classmates shot her glares, but didn't say anything about the interview last night. After all, they had no room to talk.

"She and Principal Damocles are with the school board now. We're getting a new teacher." Adrien was the one that spoke up. He looked utterly miserable. So unlike his usual self.

"Lila isn't coming back. She was pulled from school when her mother found out what happened." Alix muttered from her seat, arms crossed and shoulders hunched.

The class went quiet as they all internally contemplated how things had gotten like this. Their eyes focused on the door when it abruptly opened and Marinette came strolling in, carrying a box.

"Good morning everyone!" She said brightly, pretending not to notice the downcast expressions on their faces. She set the box on the teacher's desk before she turned towards them. "Oh? What's wrong everyone?"

".. Did you not watch the interview with Ladybug on 'Latest Buzz'?" Alya stared at Marinette, a bit dumbfounded by her friend's lack of awareness of the situation. She had been expecting Marinette to rush in with support and a fiery vengeance against those who had humiliated her best friend, maybe even a fresh pastry. But instead she was greeted with empty hands and a cheerful hello?

"Oh, well I haven't really had the time to watch much television. I mean, with my transfer papers, needing to plan out my new schedule with all of those new classes. Busy as a bee, that's me!" Marinette just beamed, giving Adrien a playful wink that had his stomach churning.

"Wait, transfering?" It was Rose that spoke up, her large eyes seeming impossibly large now. "Transfer what?"

"To my new school, of course." Marinette giggled and clasped her hands together. "I start on Monday."

"New school?!" Alya was on her feet and rushing towards Marinette. The others quickly followed, crowding around her. "What do you mean new school?! When did you ever say you were going to a new school?"

Marinette blinked, as if stunned, then tilted her head ever so slightly.

"I told you all last week, don't you remember?" Marinette tapped her lower lip, seeming to be wracking her brain before she abruptly snapped her fingers. "Oh! I forgot, you all were deep in conversation with Lila about her upcoming event with Jagged Stone and Clara Nightengale. You know, the one she said she'd be attending with Ladybug, since they're such good friends. Did she ever say how it went?"

All of the students shifted uneasily, suddenly seeming to refuse to meet her face.

Alix murmured something so barely audible, Marinette held a hand to her ear and leaned closer.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Lila was lying to us!" Alix snapped as her cheeks went a flaming red.

"About everything! She never knew Jagged Stone!" Juleka spat out in fury.

"Or Prince Ali!" Rose sniffled.

"And she wasn't friends with Ladybug? They were barely acquaintances!" Alya wailed out as tears welled up in her eyes.

But Marinette hardly reacted the way they were expecting. She just gave them a small smile and nodded.

"Oh, yeah. I know."

Alya sucked in a breath sharply.

"You knew..? But why did you never..?"

"Oh Alya, you silly forgetful thing. I told you the day she returned from her long 'trip', remember? I told you she was lying." Marinette gave Alya a smile that said 'oh you silly thing'. "But you told me that I should really check my sources. And I got tired of trying to bring up any lies, since that was always your response. So I decided to just stop. I mean, since you're such an inspiring, honest journalist you must double and triple check every source you come across and found every story to be true!"

Alya flinched and looked away, feeling the churning feeling in her gut again. No, the Ladyblog had been the only source for the stories. The. Only. One.

"And I'm sure all of you knew what you were doing! I mean, it makes sense; trusting the words of a complete stranger over someone you've known for a while now. Some of you since we were in diapers!" She focused her gaze on Nino and Kim, who had the grace to at least look ashamed.

"Marinette, you really should-" Adrien began, reaching out for the girl, but was cut off by her clapping her hands together.

"But it's alright! I decided that fighting with you all wasn't worth it, so I took Adrien's advice and took the high road! Don't bother exposing Lila, she isn't hurting anyone!" Marinette announced brightly, giving her hands a little wave.

The temperature in the classroom dropped by several degrees.

".. Adrien, she's kidding, right?" Nino glanced over at his friend, his eyes pleading for him to deny it all. But the sight of the blood draining from the model's face and the sweat starting to bead at his forehead told him everything he needed to know. "Dude.."

"How could you?! You knew this entire time and didn't even try to tell me?!" Alya rounded on Adrien, fury in her eyes.

"Now, now, don't get mad at Adrien. I'm sure he knew you all were going to do you research. Besides, it's not like this did anything bad for anyone." Marinette pressed a hand to her cheek, still grinning. "I mean, it's not like you all took her advice without doing any research. You didn't try the things she suggested without actually checking them out to be true, right? No one lost any scholarships or job opportunities. No one's relationships were ruined. No one was hurt."

The nauseous feeling spread to all of the class as the reality of everything caught up with them.

"I'm sure everything will go back to normal, right? I mean, I'm sure that that woman from the education bureau isn't here to fire Damocles and Bustier for their severe neglect in their duties. Expelling me with the most mediocre and shaky proof. Surely that's a school I should feel safe in! That I should be proud to be a part of. But alas, my preparations for my new school are already done, so oh well."

Marinette shrugged and adjusted her purse strap.

"Anyhow, I wish you all luck with the amazing things Lila has helped you to do! I know it must have been worth ignoring me and convincing me I was crazy. With all of the free time I've had, with you guys practically replacing me with Lila in the group, I've had tons of time to spend with my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?!" Alya's eyes went owlishly wide as she gaped at Marinette. "But what about Adrien?!"

"Oh Alya, I fell out of love with Adrien forever ago." Marinette shook her head in an almost patronizing way that had Alya's cheeks burning with embarrassment. They didn't even pay attention to Adrien's noises of surprise. "I mean, you claimed I was jealous of Lila getting close to Adrien, that I should let the jealousy go. And you know what? You were right! So I decided Adrien wasn't worth the stress, the embarrassment.. I mean, I couldn't even talk to him straight. I thought he was the most perfect guy in the world! Goodness, did I learn my lesson!"

She giggled as if she found the entire thing amusing. She then beamed at the class.

"Well, ta-ta! I need to get back home and make sure everything is ready to go. I wish you all the best, I really do!"

They all watched, shellshocked as Marinette breezed out of the classroom like it was nothing. Like she wasn't leaving her friends, her school, her life behind. And they all would wonder exactly how badly they screwed up, if she could walk away do easily, without a care.

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[recurringwriter]

Does Rodrigue ever show that he knows Felix pushing him away was his misguided attempt at protecting himself? Did he acknowledge that he knew the way he talked about Glenn upset Felix? /gen

Obviously Rodrigue doesn't have the luxury of support conversations so his development is kind of easy to miss, but basically, in Felix's paralogue we have him say:

..after felix berates him for talking about lambert in the context of protecting...the people of faerghus. felix storms off, and then you can say that you get where felix is coming from, to which rodrigue says

So like. He has tried to understand Felix, but they just don't see eye to eye pre timeskip. He's okay with it though, and understands that Felix needs space and is happy that he might have a like-minded friend in the Professor who shares his opinion.

Then, in Azure Moon there's a cutscene in the Cathedral where he outright says this:

So while there's really not much room for Rodrigue to grow, since he's not a major player, he does know that what he said hurt felix, and understands why felix 'hates' him. but does felix hate him? we know he's notoriously bad at saying anything else, when his actions all point towards him being very caring/protective. even him threatening Byleth about 'The Boar' comes off as a 'do something please! this scares me!'.

Anyway, maybe this is mostly my interpretation, but it seems to me that Rodrigue does get some perspective after fighting alongside Felix for 5 years, and the line from Yuri about him and Felix having a chat and 'much to work out between them' really implies to me that Rodrigue was waiting for Felix to be ready to talk and work towards fixing things between them. Which is the responsible thing to do, rather than bullying his way in and trying to convince Felix to forgive him. again, this is me--but Rodrigue is kind of steady, and there supporting Felix as he's able, giving him the Aegis Shield, handing over Moralta, communicating with letters in VW and White Clouds (he's heard about Byleth 'a lot' from felix).

I know that there's probably something i've missed or would have liked to add, but that's my interpretation, at the very least. in any case i don't see how you can read that and think 'rodrigue is neglectful' or worse 'rodrigue can't even remember his son's name'. Clearly, Rodrigue thinks about felix a lot.

[bluewinnerangel]

Hi! So I just wanted to share a thought about a line in Sunflower, Vol. 6.

I remembered the line 'my eyes, want you more than a melody' recently and I thought it could maybe be related to the line in If I Could Fly, 'I think I might give up everything, just ask me to.'

I was just wondering what if 'want you more than a melody' means he wants L more than his career, which is music, and how this links to the line in iicf which also seems to relate to the same thing.

Just a little thought I had :)

Hi! You had a just little innocent thought and what do I do, I turn it into brainpayne. Have fun with all this..

Of course I think a chunk of their songs all fit together like a puzzle, because it's autobiographical, and, you know, it all comes from the same place, the same story, their life, I mean, obviously. I thought about this too, and I remember reading something somewhere that I of course can't find back, that said something like this too, so you're definitely not the only one interpreting these lines as wanting this person more than his career in the sense that he's ready to give it up.

Another interpretation for "want you more than a melody" could be that he's being extra making the ultimate comparison: I want you that much I want you even more than the thing I want most in the world and not necessarily in the context of having to give that up. Because clearly, music is his life. And he loves to sing about it too, using it as a way to describe something being as amazing as hearing amazing music, or being so great there's music written about it:

Tastes like strawberries on a summer evenin', And it sounds just like a song, I want your belly and that summer feelin' -Watermelon Sugar

And I'm well aware I write too many songs about you - Falling

And if we're here long enough, They'll sing a song for us - TPWK

Tastes so sweet, looks so real, Sounds like something that I used to feel - Two Ghosts

She feels so good, I met her once and wrote a song about her, I wanna scream, yeah, I wanna shout it out - Carolina

She plays songs I've never heard, An old lover's hippie music, Pretends not to know the words - Canyon Moon [here I think he's using it to describe something being off, not his jam, not his music, in the same waters as "but there was something missing in her eyes", he's just thinking back to a time under the Canyon Moon, just waiting to go home, so he describes being somewhere that's not home as songs being played he doesn't know. It's a good ol reach here but with all the Canyon Moon / Home parallels this makes sense to me.]

Sunflower, Sunflower, My eyes, Want you more than a melody, Let me inside, Wish I could get to know you - Sunflower vol 6

But that link with the IICF line could be the case as well. Sunflower vol 6 is mostly just a happy sappy love song that yeah overcomes some struggles (its link with Two Ghosts giving that away even more) where that "want you more than a melody" line could imply being ready to just throw it all out the window and be together openly (as I interpret that line in IICF), maybe even more specifically reminiscing a time when that was a huge deal, maybe bigger than it is now (just going for pure speculation here sorry, just thinking, as it all relates back to a time before TG was written, but of course this is a persistent uh theme in their lives).

I'm also eyeing (see what I did there) that he goes "My eyes, want you more than a melody", because as I mentioned before (I'll link it below), IICF seems to be a Blaze Foley fanpiece, the songs If I Could Only Fly and Oooh Love, that second one pretty much exclusively going "you like my eyes and also I think you have pretty blue eyes", then he put that in the blender and went "If I could fly" + "for your eyes only". Maybe, maybe not. I mean we all only have 2 eyes and mentions of eyes don't mean links, it's like mentioning love or a heart or... a song really. But it could also be a little link to weave some songs together, as looking way too deep into his shit I'm convinced that's something he does often. Going down an eye spiral for absolutely no reason:

My eyes, want you more than a melody // Tired eyes are the death of me - Sunflower vol 6

I get so lost inside your eyes, Would you believe it? - Adore You

Same lips red, same eyes blue - Two Ghosts

I've been idolizing the light in your eyes - Olivia

For your eyes only, I show you my heart - If I Could Fly

Who's this man that's holding your hand, And talking about your eyes? - Stockholm Syndrome

Also a bunch of open eyes:

Golden, golden, golden, As I open my eyes, Hold it, focus, hoping, Take me back to the light - Golden

Open up your eyes, shut your mouth and see, That I'm still the only one who's been in love with me - Only Angel

I'll keep my eyes wide open, I'll keep my arms wide open - Don't let me go

Related readings for those in the mood:

My Sunflower vol 6 rabbit hole - @ialwaysknewyouwerepunk's Sunflower vol 6 close reading - If I Could Fly seems to be a Blaze Foley fanpiece - Defenceless seems to be an If I Could Fly fanpiece

[decodamalion]

Its Flash Fiction Friday organised by @flashfictionfridayofficial and I figured I'd share an exerpt from Sorcery's Hue that included this line because it made me cry when I wrote it.

For some context, Flax is the type of guy that doesn't let ANYTHING upset him.

Here's "It Doesn't Hurt"

I remember waking up from a nightmare in a strange calm manner.

"Is he ok?" I heard Flax's voice in a low whisper to Reilec.

"He's been better, obviously. You heard him just now... he's spiraling." He mumbled, his voice getting closer.

"Yeah... we need to help him somehow. Just look at his wrists. I... Dark Star, I'm sorry for not being able to help out as much as you needed. You're such a cool dude and it hurts that I've been letting all that happen." Flax whispered, laying his head on my mattress.

I curled myself farther into a ball, clutching the pillow closer to my chest. My mind swirled with questions. What had I said to give myself away like that?

"He's getting worse..." Reilec's tone was near sorrowful. I listened to Flax's movement and restrained my flinch when he started stroking my head. I closed my eyes and suddenly felt calm.

"At least this is a bit of a help. He'd hate me if I did this to him while awake. It's... its something, right?" Flax said softly. I waited for Reilec's reply, but all I heard was the cell door.

"I know this isn't fair... You're such a good guy, Vari... if there's a way you can understand this right now, please know that we're both here for you. We're best friends. We can all do this together. I love you, man. Just like I love Fin and Reilec. You're like family to me, ok? I'm not leaving Family behind." He said with a crack in his voice while he pressed his forehead against my back. He started to softly cry, but pulled himself together moments later.

"Hey Flax...?" My voice forced his head away from the sheets, "What did I say to upset you so much...?"

I turned towards him and sat up. He looked up with wide, glassy eyes and let out another sob.

"Can I hug you? Please can I hug you, man...?" I opened my arms and he lept into them and cried. He was so tiny. I held his quivering form close to mine and forced back my own emotions for him. For once I needed to be strong for someone else. For the two men I considered my best friends.

"Hey Flax? Please don't worry about me. It doesn't hurt." I tried to console him, though it only made him sob harder.

"That's what you said before, Vari..." Reilec's voice came from the doorway.

[someoneintheshadow456]

Valkyria Chronicles Meta

It's been a year since I first played VC and sure enough one of my mutuals has been compelled to play it and it brings back memories of the whole roller coaster ride that I went through then, and now he's going through the same thing.

It's also made me realise that a significant portion of the people playing this game seem to be missing one of its most revealing and important conversations - the cutscene with Selvaria and Maximilian just before Naggiar. At first glance, it looks like bad exposition, but deeper reading reveals a chilling level of manipulation on Maxie's part that went on offscreen. And this is the scene that changes the players' perception of Selvaria from "yandere henchwoman" to "victim of domestic violence."

And I've had it with going to each person and explaining so I'm making a breakdown of it.

Spoilers under the cut:

The game chooses to go with the most revealing line right off the gate - "I exist because you exist, one aside the other. You go with my trust."

Up until now, at this point, it was assumed Maximillian didn't know how Selvaria felt about him. So Selvaria's obsessive and very unsubtle romantic gestures thus far came across as just highlighting how unhinged and villainous she is.

However, the moment he said this... all the bets were off. This statement was way too carefully worded to be by accident. It's very evocative of marriage vows. In most cultures that have marriage vows, they always allude to the couple standing by each other's side through thick and thin, neither existing without the other, and complete and mutual trust.

If he truly had no idea how Selvaria felt, there would be no need for him to say something that beat by beat, alludes to marriage without even saying the word, especially in the context of giving orders to a subordinate.

At this instance, the player wonders if maybe Maximillian and Selvaria are lovers, and just don't show this relationship openly due to their positions and being at war.

And then we see Selvaria's reaction:

The change in expression is almost night and day - widened eyes, softer lines, and more submissive body language. Even her voice noticeably raises in pitch, and becomes more emotionally charged.

What's also notable is the shock when she heard it. If they had been mutually lovers, marriage would be a given, and alluding to it should not make her practically swoon. If it does, it means that praise and affection from Maxie are not given out freely.

Then you remember that "you go with my trust" was preceded by "you have never failed me in your loyalties thus far." And you realise, Maxie doesn't just not give affection freely... he gives it out conditionally. She only "goes with his trust" if she succeeds in her endeavors.

If you have played Selvaria's DLC before this, then you'd get even more context. You'd know that when not in Maxie's presence, Selvaria is an intelligent, competent, and powerful commander who is strict and caring with her soldiers. She isn't the unhinged, nuke-toting yandere that you thought her to be when you fought her at Barious. It's just that love causes her to behave irrationally, as love tends to do with all of us.

So then, you ask yourself, why would a woman like this put up with such cold treatment? Anyone with her level of competency, upon seeing that this is how she's valued, would obviously just leave, would she not?

But that thought leaves your head quickly, as your question is answered right that second.

And it is here where you realise that Selvaria has very good reason for her fanatical devotion to this man. It is well known that people with trauma in childhood have difficulty leaving abusive situations. Because while they know that their current situation is bad, what came before it was far worse.

But if Maxie rescued her from evil scientists in a corrupt research lab, it means he has a kind side to him, and isn't as evil as he seems. Sure, he's stringing her along, but it can't be much more than that. Well, the game unfortunately chooses to leave out this bit of information from the supplementary wiki that puts everything into perspective:

If it was indeed his own research facility where she hailed from, then "rescued" would be a poor term to describe what happened to her. It means that Maximilian was directly responsible for her situation to begin with. It's likely he knew he would need a Valkyria in his conquests, and kept a close eye on what was going on in this lab so that he could eventually purchase one.

Yes, purchase, as though she were a weapon sold by an arms dealer. Selvaria was bought and sold to her merchant's most wealthy patron, and lied to that she had been rescued. This means that if she so much as put a toe out of line, she would be reminded that Maximillian "saved her" from the evil scientists. That she "owed him" for "all that he has done for her." He could even threaten to send her back on a particularly bad day.

And sure enough, he ends up proving that with this:

Notice that when Selvaria described herself as "a worthless wretch" before she met Maxie, he did not correct her or reassure her as a loving partner normally would. He basically tells her that if she was truly grateful for having been "rescued" from the lab, she would awaken her powers for him. When she spews her backstory like this, you'd think this is lazy exposition. It's not. When you remember that Selvaria was purchased, it becomes clearer that she was indoctrinated to think this way about herself and parrot it back so that she would remain loyal.

Maxie also says that he has "betrayed the trust he placed in her." A lesser known tactic used by abusive spouses is to tacitly admit to having mistreated their partner so that they can offer reassurance and categorically deny it. By saying that he did not betray her trust, and that she awakened her powers because she wanted to, she is giving him exactly the reaction he expected of her.

(Continued...)

[mellometal]

Do we have ANOTHER Dhar Mann video to rip apart today? Yes, we do.

This one is a real specimen...a real treat, if you will. I'm gonna have a field day with this. Today, we'll be talking about how to actually treat disabled people! Specifically physically disabled people! This is something I have a bit of a specialty in, since I do work with disabled people for a living.

This is a VERY recent video, by the way. When I watched this, it made my blood boil seeing how this disabled woman was being treated. Reading some of the comments people were making took everything in me to not scream at them through my phone. Why? I had the shadow of a doubt that they were probably very young and have never been around disabled people before...even though they very well probably have, but didn't realize it.

Before I begin, there's A LOT of ableism that I'm going to talk about. If that triggers you or makes you uncomfortable in any way, feel free to scroll past this and consume content that sparks joy.

To sum up the video, a disabled woman was getting out of her truck in the parking lot, intending to do some grocery shopping. An able-bodied woman (Karen) comes up to this woman to ask her a whole bunch of questions, try to help her unload things out of her truck (when she didn't need any help in the first place), and "tried to relate" by saying that she was in a wheelchair for two weeks in high school. Please don't do that.

Karen touched this woman's wheelchair without her consent and attempted to push her when she never asked for any help.

NEVER touch a disabled person, their wheelchair, walker, motor scooter, cane, etc. (medical equipment, essentially), without their consent. Unless the disabled person cannot move around on their own, they give you their consent, you're their caretaker, family members, or a professional who works with disabled people, don't touch them or their equipment. Even then, it never hurts to ask them first, especially if you're a new caretaker or a new professional in their home and they don't know you very well. If they tell you "no" and/or the person/people with them say "no", it means "no" and you need to leave them alone. If they tell you that they don't need your help, to leave them alone, or anything else along those lines, those phrases also mean "no". If they say they need help or they ask for help, of course, help them.

(ETA: Wheelchairs, walkers, motor scooters, canes, etc., are part of the physically disabled person. These things are how they move around. I meant this in the, "Don't touch THEM." kind of sense. Just thought I'd clarify real quick.)

Karen then pulled out her phone to take a picture with the disabled woman, despite her saying she didn't want to have pictures being taken of her. Karen POSTED IT ON HER SOCIAL MEDIA. The disabled woman says to Karen to leave her alone, stop worrying about her, and that she doesn't need any help.

In the store, the disabled woman is just getting some groceries...like anyone else would. She gets her reaching tool out to grab an item off the top shelf behind Karen, who makes a tasteless joke about how she should give her a speeding ticket. The disabled woman makes a remark that her legs may not work, but her eyes do. She grabs a bottle of blue cheese dressing off the top shelf with her reaching tool, which Karen grabs for her without asking.

Karen crouches down to talk to the disabled woman, which makes the woman understandably uncomfortable. The woman tries to put her groceries on the counter to pay for them, which Karen butts in YET AGAIN. The woman is obviously fed up at this point, rightfully so. Karen then offers to pay for this woman's groceries, which wasn't necessary whatsoever. Why? Because she "felt bad" for her and has the assumption that disabled people "don't have a lot of money". She also asked the disabled woman what happened for her to be in a wheelchair, which is something that I've only heard of CHILDREN asking. (That's none of your business, by the way. It's up to that person to tell you.)

Listen, disabled people don't need to be pitied. They're disabled. It is what it is. Being disabled isn't a disease, so please stop treating it like it is. As far as disabled people not having a lot of money, that's not exactly true for every aspect of life. They're not allowed to have any more than $2,000 in assets each month along with their benefits. They do have money, and the amount all depends on the person. You cannot just bunch up all disabled people's income as the same. Some disabled people don't have SSI. If they get married, their income gets even lower or they lose benefits completely, which is extremely fucked up and makes them more vulnerable to being exploited, abused, and controlled. Marriage equality STILL doesn't exist because disabled people are STILL not being treated as equals in marriages. Some places only pay disabled employees like $3.34 an hour or something crazy like that (that's how much Goodwill pays disabled employees, by the way). The working conditions for disabled people NEED to change. Give them a livable wage. You CANNOT live off of $3.34 an hour. Make companies give necessary, legal accommodations to disabled people. They have a right to their assets and to keep them, regardless of whether they get married or not. Why would you reduce that or take that away from them? Do you even know what their benefits go towards? THEM BEING ABLE TO LIVE, IN LAYMAN'S TERMS. All in all, help make the world a better place for disabled people. (Edited for new information.)

She pulls out her phone AGAIN to take pictures with the disabled woman, who puts her hand up to the phone and says she doesn't want to have pictures being taken of her. Karen then says that she's "just trying to spread awareness"....disabled people aren't a disease. They're not a danger to you. All disabled people ask for is to be accepted, treated like everyone else, and to have accommodations readily available for them. People are already aware of the existence of disabled people.

The disabled woman is clearly very fed up and wants to get back to her truck and go to wherever she needs to be, Karen goes out to confront her "for being rude", and the disabled woman confronts Karen for being extremely rude to her and stomping all over her boundaries. This woman was VERY polite too. Actually, WAY too polite. A lot of people in the comments section seemed to misunderstand her justified anger and wrote it off as her being a bitch. If you were a disabled person who's completely independent, you had some stranger randomly come up to you to ask twenty questions, they were constantly harassing you, touching you without your consent, shoving their phone or camera in your face to take pictures of you even when you told them you weren't okay with that, belittled you, and boiled you down to your disability, YOU'D BE PISSED TOO.

This woman tells Karen to not assume that disabled people all are completely helpless and can't do anything for themselves, that she's more than her disability, and to respect people. Karen apologizes (finally) and briefly explains that she thought she was trying to do a good deed. The woman says that she knows people have good intentions, but they again, shouldn't assume that all disabled people need their help. Especially when they don't ask for it. Plot twist: she owns her own company and is rich! (There are/have been rich disabled people; however, I can only name a few off the top of my head.)

Only then does Karen FINALLY decide to delete the picture she posted of this woman that she took without her consent. And it ends there.

(Context: The disabled woman told Karen that she didn't need her to push her....and yet Karen tries to anyway.)

This isn't okay. Karen should have left this woman alone after she told Karen to do so.

Taking pictures of people, despite them telling you that they don't want to take pictures, and posting them on social media without their consent for clout! What's that called again? Hmmmm....I know! EXPLOITATION! And being an extremely disrespectful sack of shit.

Again....if they say "no" or anything else along those lines, IT MEANS NO.

Onto my response. Again, like usual, it's a long response.

This is pretty much what I've said earlier...but like, seriously. If you want to help disabled people, THAT'S GREAT! You can try getting a job at a place that helps disabled people! You can volunteer!

Just....don't be like Karen in this video. Enough said. I don't think I need to elaborate further on that.

[deathbydarkelves]

I decided to make playlists for Cathala and Tarinne plus explanations for why I chose each song because I entered one of those ADHD fugue states and if I didn't finish this task I would die

Anyway here are the two links (they're youtube playlists because I don't have spotify. I would obviously recommend using an adblocker if you're just gonna watch on youtube) and the explanations for each song are below the cut :) Each playlist is about an hour long.

For Tarinne’s:

1. Foggy Nights: I consider this her theme so putting it first as a sort of intro only makes sense.

2. Here’s a Health to the Company: I think this works as an example of her general disposition. She’s a people person, and always a fan of singing these sorts of songs in taverns, on ships, or what have you. It also kind of feels like a sendoff to soldiers, which I imagine symbolizes her joining the Sentinel Army and quickly thereafter fighting in the Third War.

3. Wartime Prayers: Somewhat self-explanatory, this is symbolizing her seeing war for the first time, but I also included it because the last line transitions SO WELL into the next song.

4. The Hollow: This song is an intro to an album I've never heard so I don't know the context, but I really love it because it sounds like someone praying to their deity and like I mean c'mon. Elune. Tarinne's praying to Elune to guide her through the war. Do I need to elabo-

5. Wave Walker: KILL DEATH MAIM AHAHAHAHA

6. Isil Elun’falo: Just a super rad fan-made night elf song that's basically "wow we sure do love Elune" said in twenty different ways for four and a half minutes. But it ROCKS and I LOVE it.

7. Chewing Cotton Wool: This song is about losing a loved one (I did have to check but yeah that's what it is) and I use it to symbolize Tarinne losing her mom during the war. The last line, which includes the song's title, I especially like. It's referring to how morticians (apparently) put cotton gauze in a corpse's throat and mouth to keep body fluids in and make the face look more natural. So there's a fun fact for you.

8. See U Soon (Song for Dad): Just a short lofi piece to rest a bit, and it was also chosen because the title's in reference to Tarinne growing closer to her dad after losing her mom. She still visits him at his leathers and furs shop in Stormwind fairly often, especially after dangerous adventures. She just wants to make sure he knows she's alright ;-;

9. No Lullaby: Right back into it with a song that I use to represent Tarinne's general feeling of not being able to go home because it's not there anymore. She's felt like this since the end of the Third War, but it's especially strong since the whole Teldrassil thing. But I like the ending, "who said you're on your own," because it contrasts the repeating of "alone" in the rest of the song. And it's kinda like "hey, listen, you're not the only one who feels like she can't go home." I mean that's probably how basically every single night elf feels right now skxnks

10. The Moss: This song juxtaposes classic fairy tales with scientific facts about the world and I love it to BITS. I'm using it here to represent both Tarinne's love for storytelling but also her sort of... part-time historian/archaeologist/conservator career.

11. Rasputin: I just associate this song with her for some reason and this was the best place to put it.

12. Electric Feel: Moving on to focus more on Tarinne's relationship with Cathala now. This is an extremely great and somewhat 😏 song that I also included because the electricity theme is appropriate because Cathala has lightning powers and y'know it's from Tarinne's perspective or whatever.

13. Bedroom Hymns: You know why this is here.

14. Movement: I can't talk about love songs without talking about Hozier, okay. This is just a nice, slower song to relax a bit with.

15. Never Let Me Go: I have an entire goddamn music video in my head with Cathala and Tarinne for this song and it’s very dramatic and emotional and I had to include this song or I’d die. Basically just listen to near the end of this song when she's repeating the title over and over, and imagine the two of them seeing each other at opposite ends of a battlefield after the dust settles and they rush towards each other and fall to their knees holding on as tightly as they can because they got separated early on and each thought the other was dead. Then you'll know how I feel when I listen to this song.

16. Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control: First of all I love the title, and second of all there's a big section in the middle (1:49 to 2:47) that I like to interpret as the two of them grappling with the fact that they're not really quite sure who or what they're fighting for anymore. Their people, yeah, but there's so many alliances and semi-permanent enemies and only-on-every-other-thursday-enemies all intertwined and the world is just so very confusing and they're trying to make the best of it. Elf school didn’t include international, interracial politics in its curriculum. It did however include how to properly plant trees, and AP calculus (this is a joke).

17. In Dreams: I like to imagine this song is something the two of them would say to each other, as a way of saying “even when everything we know is gone, even when the world ends, I will still be by your side. And if I’m not, don’t fear, for I will find you.” It makes a nice note to end on :)

For Cathala’s:

1. muse: Just a nice lofi intro to get us into things :) I don't see this song as her theme, like I do with Tarinne and the first song in her playlist, but I like it quite a bit. I don't actually really have a theme for Cathala yet, I'm currently going with a version of Way of the Monk from WoW's OST but I'm still looking for something better.

2. Frogs Singing: I included this because it's about just appreciating nature, which works because night elf and also mindfulness and meditation is a whole thing.

3. Tongues: This is a song about feeling distant from your peers which is like Cathala's whole existence! She's this weird mix of two cultures and ultimately she feels out of place regardless of where she is or who she's with. Also the theme with not understanding what people are saying works because the poor woman had to learn Pandaren from scratch and that shit ain't easy. I think blizz said somewhere probably that Common is just a language that EVERYONE knows inherently because Video Game but that's bullshit in my opinion. I'll allow spells that let you understand foreign languages to an extent (Comprehend Languages from D&D lets you understand the LITERAL meaning only, which I like), but every culture and species in the universe knowing Common is silly if you think about it for more than two seconds.

4. Kung Fu Fighting: I'm legally required to include this song. Also I prefer the Kung Fu Panda version, I'm sorry.

5. Harder Better Faster Stronger: I vicariously experience having a great work ethic through Cathala and that's why this song is here because she has 999 Determination and does Too Many push-ups every day or something idk. I was gonna say "every morning" but I have a headcanon that elves only need to sleep every couple of days (sort of a nod to "elves don't need to sleep at all" from D&D, and to explain why NIGHT elves are active at all hours of the day) so that doesn't work.

6. What's Up Danger: This song is Cathala's whole Vibe. Almost zero threat assessment skills in this woman's brain. If it can be punched, she will punch it.

7. Eye for an Eye: Fairly self-explanatory, it's a song about wanting revenge so... yeah. Checked that box. It was this or The Vengeful One by Disturbed but ultimately The Vengeful One's religious symbolism probably makes it fit better as a Tyrande theme lol ("I'm the hand of god, I'm the dark messiah." Did you mean: the Night Warrior)

8. Survivor: Cathala's survived a lot of shit and this could kinda be her making fun of herself for it because "Gods, man! Don't I deserve a break!"

9. Ashes: Really the reason I include this song is the last chunk (2:42 to the end) because holy shit. Listen, if I was gonna include a song with fire motifs, it was gonna be a somber one like this.

10. Into the West: This can kinda represent Cathala just trying to fucking breathe and recover from Teldrassil. Also works because I dunno it has stuff to do with the elves in LotR, I haven't seen those movies in a while. It sounds nice and is melancholy so I included it.

11. Like Real People Do: Cathala loves Tarinne a lot you guys have I ever menti-

12. Into the Wild: Tarinne changed Cathala's world for the better and she's super fucking grateful she has her by her side. Kinda goes without saying but you know.

13. Chasing the Moon: I have a vague music video in my head for this of them falling in love and it's very cute so there's that. Also it's in this specific spot because hey she may be deeply traumatized but she's still got a fair number of things/people in her life that make her happy so :)

14. Follow My Girl: I've got a theme going in my head that while Tarinne is fairly certain of her place in the world, Cathala is still trying to find hers. She outlived all her connections on Pandaria because Elf Lifespans(tm) and the only members of her family still alive are distant relatives she never knew very well.

15. Wish That You Were Here: This works both to represent Cathala on Pandaria feeling super homesick, and for more recently after Teldrassil. Either way, it's a message to her parents and sister.

16. Mr. Fear: She does her damnedest to hide it but she's absolutely terrified something like Teldrassil's gonna happen again! That fear drives her to do everything in her power to protect who and what she can. As long as they're not Forsaken, cause she's still got her biases, that compassion even extends across faction lines. She never really got the whole Alliance/Horde thing anyway. Innocent people shouldn't have to die, regardless of who or what they are.

17. Ordinary Day: Not to get super out there but I think this song works as symbolizing Cathala really trying to hold on to her faith in Elune, but ultimately feeling pretty abandoned. I mean she can clearly see Elune's influence everywhere. But Elune sure ain't doing Cathala any favors as far as she can tell! It also ends the whole playlist on maybe a bit of an uncertain/open-ended note, because this "losing faith" aspect is a new thing with her and will definitely be something she continues to struggle with for a while. On a related note, I should say Tarinne is still very much devout but she gets what Cathala's feeling and doesn't force anything on her, and vice versa. And Cathala wouldn't become atheist, the night elves aren't monotheistic and she still worships all the other deities, it's just specifically Elune she's a little :/ on.