#if not just rotten tbh

[hearth-of-olympus]

yes this is going to be a rant about the weather im sorry but im fighting for my fucking life here HOW CAN THERE BE THIS MUCH POLLEN IN THE AIR WHEN ITS BEEN CONSTANTLY RAINING FOR BASICALLY 11 MONTHS AND 13DEGREES CELSIUS OUT??????? ITS MIDJUNE WHY IS IT THIS COLD IM SO FUCKING SICK OF IT

[hinamie]

sympathy for cain

[wingfooted]

Kuroshitsuji -Public School Arc- OP ➺The Parade of Battlers, 音羽-otoha-

[moeblob]

They're soulmates in every single universe and I miss them at the most random times.

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

random but it struck me that age is just another parallel/anti-parallel that Jon and Jaime will share. Jaime was 16/17(?) when he made the fateful choice to kill Aerys, which forever besmirched his honor and caused him to be “the Kingslayer” (deragatory). Jon was about the same age, 17/18, when he made the fateful decision to march south against the Boltons, something that will undoubtedly dent his already shaky reputation and could cause him to be “the deserter” (also deragatory).

We always talk about how Jaime stagnated and wallowed in his nihilism after Aerys’ death, never growing or maturing past that point; in a way, he was always mentally stuck at 17. Jon could very well die given the wounds he received during the mutiny, and though he will be revived, he will be always be physically stuck at 17, never maturing past that point. But I think Jon has been more successful in a way that Jaime never was in that he figured out quite early (when he was 15) that though he may lose his honor, he must keep pushing for the greater good. He understood the concept of “a bastard’s honor”, and is even more fortunate to receive Tyrion’s lesson of using one’s lowly position/lack of honor to his advantage, which he has been doing to enact what he considers to be the moral goods (ref “bastard” “guilty of that, at least”). P.S: I also think it’s funny given Aemon’s advice to kill the boy in order for the man to be born. Ironic that Jon will always be a boy physically.

Jaime grew physically but not so much mentally. Jon grows mentally (it’s actually his strong suit as a character how much he matures with each book) but he will have sacrificed the ability to age normally as a boy would. Jaime lost his honor at ~17 and is characterized but years of (mental) inaction. I think Jon, on the other hand, will lose his honor but will be more and more prone to making decisions, because to hell with it all.

[msrosez]

The hourly switch from "I hate my mom" to "Class of 2013" is honestly scary

[zatna]

zatna voice claims except it's not just one. they're also all correct.

[alchemiclee]

been trying to figure out what exactly it is about aventurine that feels perhaps relatable, or what it is that makes me want to study him like a bug...

and camr to the thought that he's pretty pessimistic for am optimist...but also ob the other side of the same coin, he's optimiaric for a pessimist. kinda both at the same time,.or depending on the day or how you look at him maybe.

he's an optimist becuase he knows he's going to win. he always wins. he has always won his gambles. he knows it will happen again and again. his luck, or gift, or blessing, or whatever you want to call it ensures that. but he's also a pessimist becuase he knows that "win" also always comes with some kind of suffering for him. he wins all his gambles, but at what cost? a lot, actually. so is it really a win? he knows he will win, but he also knows he will be used, abused, sacrificed, broken, or in pain. he expects those to be a consequence of his winning luck, to the point of making sure it happens and becomes self-destructive because of it. he acts calmly like it's ok and is the outcome he wants and calls that a win because it's what he plans and expects. he bets on it and it happens.

but at the same time, he's slowly breaking and seems to want it to end. he tests the limits of his luck to see if it's a real "gift" or if it is all a coincidence and has an end. he probably wants to meet the end to end the pain and suffering, but knows his "luck" won't allow it. he wants to be against the luck and see if he can win. a whole contradiction it itself. his luck kept him alive so many times and continues to do so. it will always do so, unless perhaps his end is the goal. what if he bets on losing this time? bets in meeting his end? he needs to get lucky enough to achieve that goal. flip his lucky fate by turning his luck around, make his end the final lucky win.

but it seems like he either lost for once and didn't meet his end....maybe his luck truly does intend on keeping him alive...or he changed his mind in the end and got lucky enough to get out of meeting his end once again...

he's still a bit of an enigma to me and i'm not sure exactly what happened. but he's for sure a complex and amusing character (even if I still want to put him into a snow globe and shake it as hard as I can) and this whole penacony story is too complex for my soggy trashcan brain lmao but i'm enjoying the ride

[thegreatyin]

Hey what are your feelings on

1. lae'zel

2. Emperor

lae'zel is actually one of the best companions in the game and everyone who hates her or says she's just mean fundamentally doesn't understand her character. she's literally the nicest girl in the world given her usual environment and upbringing. she essentially has the exact same backstory as shadowheart in that she was raised in a controlling violent cult and has spent most of her life (including the start of the game) brainwashed by that cult into the person she is today. and yet despite it all she is trying her best to help people. she DID NOT have to save you on the nautiloid and she DID NOT have to promise to take you to what she had every reason to believe was a cure-all for the tadpoles and she goes so far as to defend you and the rest of the party to other gith despite her extremely xenophobic society pressuring her around every corner to do otherwise. over the course of the game she literally had her entire way of life and belief system uprooted from top to bottom and she ultimately decides to deal with it by becoming a hero and dedicating her life to saving others from the same situation she was in. her entire character, at its core, is so extremely dedicated to helping other people even at the cost of herself. she has the same trauma and should get the same treatment and sympathy as shadowheart and you guys just don't like her because she's not conventionally attractive and standoffish at the start of the game but when you actually follow her companion quest and/or romance her she is so sweet and trying her best and she is a TOP TIER companion and i am not going to pretend like she isn't.

the emperor is one of my favorite characters in all of bg3. i know i just went off about lae'zel but god the emperor is so good. he is a LIAR. he is a Bastard Capital B In Bold. he is the deceiver trope played straight from the very beginning and you can't trust a word he says and half of act 3 is practically dedicated to proving just how full of shit he is. he is an awful person who presents himself as a savior and a hero but at the first sign of resistance or hesitation he snaps and doubles down his manipulation in an attempt to control and corral the player into doing what he wants. his first reaction to the player turning down/questioning his sex scene in any way is to gaslight and accuse them so he can shift the blame and keep up his veil of heroism. he encourages them to let go of their humanity and turn themself into a cannibalistic monster while constantly swearing it's for the greater good. he literally runs off to join the netherbrain if you free orpheus. ansur was right all along. balduran died the minute that tadpole took over and transformed him into a mindflayer and the emperor is a shell of his former self masquerading around with the same gravitas and veil of kindness he used to have, but it's gone, if it ever existed to begin with. the emperor is a fascinating example of a manipulative piece of shit done right because even the fanbase can't agree wholeheartedly on if he's good or not but if you couldn't tell my money is wholly in the "he fucking sucks guys" camp. as a character i adore him though.

[fluffypotatey]

I love equating dragons to cats (and cats to dragons) for Modern AU Merlin fics, however it is also equally funny to keep them as actual reptiles.

Like, imagine going out with this cute geek you met, and you get invited back to his place, totally casual, no pressure, and you accept because why not? He's sweet and funny and very earnest about the "no pressure" part, he just likes his own coffee better.

At his place, he asks if you would like to meet his pet, Kilgharrah, because "he loves meeting new people." Again, you agree. Why not? This is the best quasi-date you've had in months. Kilgharrah is a strange name for a dog, so you're expecting a cat, with smaller possibilities for a turtle or a bird.

And this motherfucker. Comes out. With a fucking. Monitor lizard. The size of a small child. It has a harness. It's on a leash.

-

Merlin stares at the now-empty space on his sofa, then at the slightly ajar door, then finally back at Kilgharrah. "They didn't even meet Aithusa," he says, dismayed.

(Aithusa is a 6 foot albino ball python.)

(This is the fifth date he's lost like this. Still hasn't figured out what went wrong.)

Kilgharrah flits his tongue in reptilian judgement.

for anyone who isn't aware what these reptiles look like exactly (me), we got Kilgharrah the Monitor lizard

and Aithusa our beloved python

LOOK AT HER <33333 WHAT A CUTIE 😍 YES YOU ARE

rip to those dates but i'd date Merlin the second i see Aithusa

[la0hu]

man i just remembered the first time i learned in depth about transgender ppl was when in 7th grade we were asked to choose a "controversial topic" to practice writing a persuasive essay about, and i chose something i genuinely had zero opinion and prior knowledge about, which was about transgender athletes being tested for hormone levels and being allowed to compete in general. and i remember doing all this really intense research and it just seemed abundantly obvious to me that even the lines between the apparent two sexes weren't even readily provable, and on top of that, there was no evidence of a "biological advantage" being due to sex or gender, because cisgender athletes routinely had different hormone levels compared to the average person (duh). i remember the opinion pieces and news articles being vaguely biased and noting that, but the moment i actually dug into medical research and historical records and like, firsthand resources, i had to draw my own conclusion that being transgender or intersex was 1) difficult to define (and most of the time it seemed like the ppl demanding the testing didn't care about the big difference between the two), 2) intrusive to define, and 3) didn't even actually impact performance at all anyway.

and i was a straight A student and a bit of teacher's pet, and i hadn't gotten anything lower than a 90% on any major assignment my entire academic life at that point, and i got a B- on that paper. and i remember being absolutely dumbfounded and confused, bc i knew it was one of my better efforts. i had the chance to do a "revision" and submit for a higher grade, so i doubled down on my research and hammered in every single point, and i still barely got a B+ in the end, and i remember seething with anger because i knew i was RIGHT. like undoubtedly, this was a "controversial" topic but i had done all the due diligence and uncovered the incontrovertible truth at the bottom of it. literally one of the most significant moments in my life where i realized this was how the real world played the game of human rights through just sheer refusal

[soumic]

About once a day I go through the mental gymnastics of going "god I should probably make an art insta, for ~professional purposes~ and ~networking~ and ~cultivating an audience~"

And then I scrunch my face up so hard my features cave inside my skull thinking about conceding to using an algorithmic social media platform in 2023, let alone a facebook product

(please don't take this as a call to suggest alternative social medias to me sdlkfjs I mega super promise you I am aware of them)

[kobochajunkbox]

Copypasta'd a charming quote I saw from the Mad Max game (2015) to search the source and-

[placesyoucallhome]

Happy Summer to Q'ruhka. May the gorgeous cat get plenty of sun and beach time. He is worth it.

Well being worth it might be a stretch, he will take the sun and beach!

[thebluestbluewords]

More of the body swap fic I’m not writing:

(part one here)

Oh, evil. Mal's in Jay's body, Jay's in Evie's body, Evie's in Carlos's body, which means that Carlos is currently piloting Mal's body. 

"Where did you let Carlos take my body?" 

Evie winces. "Just down to your locker! We just let him pick up your spellbook, which was the right thing to do, and then, um." 

Oh no. 

"What happened." Mal manages, around the rock of dread sitting in her throat. Teachers, explosions, an adverse magical reaction with the spellbook leading to magical explosions…there’s so many things that could have gone wrong in the time she was asleep, and so few ways to fix them while she’s stuck in the wrong body. 

Evie goes to push her hair back, realizes mid-gesture that Carlos’s body doesn’t have long hair, and settles for tugging on her bangs instead. It’s the same gesture that Ben makes when he’s nervous, which is weirdly sweet to think about. It’s sort of neat that they share unconscious gestures with each other when they’re thrown out of their usual sets. 

 "He sort of ran into your boyfriend. I figure that we can’t really make things worse than they already are, what with the lying to him, and the magic, and the fact that you cooked up this plan to try and get us to double for you anyway, so we're just starting the doubling process a little bit early, that's all!"  

No. 

No no no. 

Evie leans forward. "Mal? Babe? What’s wrong?” 

Mal’s stomach drops like a stone. Weird. She usually feels dread in her chest, not her gut. Apparently emotional reactions are stored in the body, not the mind, or whatever they’ve swapped. "It's Friday night. Date night."

"It's fine!” Evie-as-Carlos says quickly, sitting back as her voice squeaks and cracks on the end of her words. Fascinating. Once they’re back in the correct bodies, Mal is going to have to take advantage of that. She didn't have nearly enough fun tormenting Jay while his voice was cracking, and Carlos is too good at hiding things from her to show such a potential weakness. But now that she knows the potential is there, there’s so much fun to be had in finding just the right ways to make him squeak. “Carlos knows how to go on a date, right?"

Oh, gods. 

The last time Mal saw either of their boys on a date, it was with each other, in their correct bodies, and the building they were last spotted in exploded under deeply suspicious circumstances the next morning. Well after they were in the clear, of course, but early enough that Mal couldn’t very well be fucked to wake up and snoop around after them. It’s possible that living in Auradon has changed them for the better, but Mal’s seen the sort of explosives that Carlos thinks are appropriate for flirting, and unless things have changed a lot more than she’s been told, they’ll be lucky if the school is still standing in an hour. 

"As me??" Mal squawks. “Really?” 

Evie considers this for all of three seconds, but it’s a very active sort of consideration. Or possibly it’s just that Evie’s used to being constantly aware of what her face is doing, and any micro-expression she makes looks big on Carlos’s face. Some of them, Mal is realizing, don’t have very many facial expressions. 

"Okay, maybe not,” Evie says slowly. “But they've been out there for… almost an hour at this point, and I haven't received any more texts about imminent danger, so it's probably fine."

“More?” Mal shrieks. It’s lower than expected. More of an enraged howl than a shriek of anger. Fascinating, says the part of her brain that isn’t occupied with the current issue at hand. She’ll have to try shouting more later, see what other stupid noises she can get out of Jay’s body before they swap back.  “More?? And what do you mean, probably? Evie, this isn’t just some random date that you can dip out on at the end of the night and never see again. This is my boyfriend, and our friend, and he knows all of us. He’s going to realize that something isn’t right, and there’s no way he’s going to let it go. He’s been asking me for weeks if I’m ‘okay’ and if I should be ‘talking to someone’ about the ‘stress in my life’, like talking to an adult has ever made somebody less stressed about things.” 

“You aren’t seeing a therapist?” 

“Not you too!” 

Evie goes for an exasperated look this time, which works surprisingly well. They should make a book, like one of the stupid emotional ones that the stupid school therapist had pulled out the one time Mal actually sat through a therapy session. Identifying Emotions on Your Friends, they could call it. It’d be useful, actually. A sort of reference guide for the next time she fucks up and switches their bodies around like the worst ever game of musical chairs. 

“M, I thought you were already going to therapy! You have a block in your calendar every week that literally says therapy, 4pm. I’m going to regret asking this, but what are you doing during that time if you’re not, y’know, going to your court-mandated therapy appointment?” 

Jay’s face is easy to set into a smile, and much harder to get into a workable sulky expression. Mal is persistent though, so she manages. “I’m throwing rocks at children.” 

Don’t tell don’t tell don’t tell, she sends psychically to Jay, just in case there’s a secret body-mind connection still at play here. Don’t tell or I’ll disembowel you. 

“She’s sneaking out to cause mayhem, obviously,” Jay says, letting a little half smile play at the corner of Evie’s mouth. He’s been putting the time they’ve been ignoring him to wicked use, and the expression is much more believable on Evie’s face than the first ones he tried. “C’mon, Eves. I leave therapy to go outside and hit shit all the time, it’s no big deal if Mal’s not going.” 

Evie’s eyes narrow, and she tries to put her hands on her hips. Unfortunately for her, Carlos’s body is about eighty pounds soaking wet, and doesn’t have much hip for her to work with. 

“Do the words court-mandated mean nothing to you?” Evie hisses, quickly crossing her arms instead in a shockingly decent recovery move. “Mal Bertha, once I’m back in my body I am going to drag you down there myself, and if you don’t cooperate I’m going to tie you up and carry you, and I’ll get Jordan to help me, so the ropes are going to be cute and glittery, and you’ll have cat hair on you the whole time.” 

“Do your worst, princess,” Mal coos. It works surprisingly well in a lower register. Performatively flirty is easy in Jay’s body, which really isn’t surprising. “I’d love for you to tie me up and have your wicked way with me.” 

[iwasthewind]

SETHOS IS AVOIDING ME AHHHHH

(I got clorinde tho)

STOP SETHOS IS AVOIDING ME TO QFEJDYWIDHEK AND I DIDN'T GET CLORINDE-

I keep getting Bennett after Bennett...