#if we're really at the point that you have to apologize for LITERALLY HAVING BONES.....

[inkskinned]

what is considered "beautiful" by society is inevitably sexist, racist, ableist, classist, transphobic, and bigoted. it targets and attacks any perceived difference, and it particularly villainizes women of color while co-opting aesthetics; as if features and cultural norms can be worn as accessories.

and the scary thing! you can see all of these things, know them to be true logically, and also know that you are treated better if you are perceived as beautiful. if you have ever been treated as "ugly", you know exactly how much society reviles you if you don't manage to scamper along and perform to their rules.

and how are you supposed to balance that? do you want a nose job to fix your broken nose, or have you just recently been seeing videos about how many people look better after nose jobs. do you want to lose weight to feel good, or is it that when you lose weight people treat you better. do you want to wear this outfit, or is it just the thing that's least likely to get you harassed. do you want to get lip injections for your reasons or is your whole reason that you don't feel beautiful unless you get those lip injections?

and the definitions shift. the goals get more specific. in the way that you only become aware of your tongue when someone mentions it; parts of your body are introduced as problems. i had never heard the term "hip dip" until about a year ago - and it was in the context of how to get rid of this. i'm 30, i know this shit is invented, and yet! i still find that strange voice saying but do you think someone is going to notice?

how the fuck am i supposed to say "this is my genuine choice i am making for my body" when i also know that years of my life have been spent socializing me to accept this as my inevitable fate? how do i know i'm actually doing this out of love for my body - or am i doing it for how i want others to see me, which will be lovely enough to feel loved? how am i supposed to recover when my unhealthy habits are seen as self-discipline but if i relax i'm openly mocked for "letting time win"? how the fuck am i supposed to say "i'm doing it for me" when i'm also very aware that i'm doing it to stop myself from being teased or demeaned? is it my choice if the other option is being bullied?

we are living in a hostage negotiation - either consent to the demands or spend the rest of your life being treated like you're a despicable person.

[imtrashraccoon]

This one turned out a bit different than I had planned but I think it's better. Yes, Scar is a good cook since he's had at least ten years to learn...

@starlikeswomen

First, Previous, & Next Day

Chapter 3: I Guess We're Roommates??

Word Count: 885

You woke up to an amazing smell. Were you dreaming? It had been ages since you had woken up like this. Thankfully, you had enough awareness to put on some actual clothes before venturing into the kitchen to investigate.

Scar was standing by the stove, busy flipping pancakes and transferring cooked ones onto a plate on the counter. He had rolled up his sleeves and his gloves were sitting on the table where he'd taken to sitting. This meant you got a good view of how sharp the tips of his phalanges were and the numerous little cracks in his bones. You also noticed that he was wearing the "Kiss The Cook" apron you had been gifted years ago as a joke.

Your footsteps must've given you away because he suddenly turned to look at you. His eye sockets widened ever so slightly and he made a sound of clearing his throat.

"My Apologies, Did I Wake You Up?"

You nodded, "Yeah, your cooking smelled too good to ignore I guess."

He grimaced slightly and scratched at his cervical vertebrae. "I Did Not Mean To Disturb You; I Am Just Used To Getting Up With The Sun."

"It's alright, really. If you want to get up early, feel free," you responded. "My sleep schedule is kind of all over the place but Pickle usually makes for a good alarm clock if I stay in bed too long."

"That Seems To Be A Common Characteristic With Owning Birds," he commented while bringing the pancakes to the table.

You weren't sure if that was a hint of irony in his voice or if he was speaking from experience. Maybe you'd ask about it later but for now, you wanted to enjoy breakfast together. Scar carefully folded the apron and set it on the counter. After putting his gloves back on, he joined you at the table.

The pancakes tasted even better than you'd been expecting. Not only were they super fluffy, but they also didn't fall apart before you managed to get them in your mouth. What you hadn't been expecting was how they seemed to literally melt in your mouth before you could even swallow.

Your surprise must've been evident because the corners of Scar's permanent sneer twitched and he quickly covered his mouth in an effort to muffle his snickers.

"How did you...?" you started to question.

"Magic." He chuckled quietly before adding, "I Did Not Expect You To Be So Surprised, Since I Know You Have Had Monster Food Before."

"I just wasn't expecting it, okay?" you huffed. "You're a really good cook."

Your compliment definitely pleased him if the way he squared his shoulders back was any indication. "Thank You, Human."

"No, seriously. You could probably become a professional chef or even open your own restaurant with your skills."

He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe You Are Right... I Had Not Considered The Idea Before."

You nodded before returning to your food. It was actually kind of amusing how easily affected he was by your flattery. Maybe you'd make a point about complimenting him more? He looked good when he was happy and it only made you want to do more to see him smile again.

"Maybe my opinion doesn't mean much since I'm a decent cook at best, but..."

He tilted his skull and gave you a curious look.

You did your best to keep a straight face before continuing, "I could kiss you, your cooking is that good."

For a moment, Scar seemed utterly bewildered. You could almost see the gears turning in his head as he tried to figure out if you were serious or just pulling his leg. At one point, his eyelights flickered to the apron that he'd left one the counter and that was when you broke.

You clamped a hand over your mouth in a futile effort to keep your laughter contained. That had been such a corny thing to say and the look on his face was absolutely priceless.

His cheekbones turned a bright scarlet colour when he realized that you had been teasing and he quickly looked away. He almost looked like he wanted to crawl into a ball and disappear, which made you start to feel bad.

You frowned and leaned closer to him. "Hey. I'm sorry, that was too far..."

Scar stayed silent and still couldn't seem to look at you.

"I have a weird sense of humour sometimes but that's no excuse for making you uncomfortable."

"It Is Fine." He took a deep breath in an effort to compose himself again.

You gave him a small smile. "I wasn't joking about how much I like your cooking though. You're very good and I don't mind if you want to use anything of mine, okay?"

He studied you for a moment before huffing, seemingly returning to his usual self. Crossing his arms over his ribcage, he leaned back in his chair with a slight smirk.

"Just Be Careful What You Joke About, Human."

You felt a shiver run down your spine at how his voice had taken on a gravely tone.

"Or Else You May End Up Eating Your Words One Of These Days..."

Well, now it was your turn to blush. Was that a threat or was he teasing you now?

[swifty-fox]

MOTA Hockey AU, so tell me about Buck and Bucky's first kiss! Or when they realize they're gonna date :D

OOO okay well this may be subject to change once i start writing (I dont control the characters they control me)

but I think that Bucky kinda makes a real ass of himself at first (SHOCKING)

As i've said, Gale kinda corners Bucky for a quick n dirty long before they're even friends and once they're in the same team Bucky is relentless in his teasing of Buck about it (in situations where he doesnt risk outing him) he's also REAL interested in that happening again please and thank you. Big Buck is pretty much like 'fuck off and fuck you (not sexy' for much of it.

Because it's a new team they do a lottery system for rooming together when traveling in hotels and Buck and Bucky by some weird twist of fate (author loving cliches) they draw straws to room together at least for the first season. This creates a lot of negative tension just due to their different game-day rituals as i went into but also because Bucky continues to hit on gale and try to tempt him into bed. It kinda has the opposite effect and kinda scares the fuck out of Buck and it kinda all comes to a head where a bit too drunk Bucky's trying all his moves in the book and he's kinda got Buck semi cornered in the room and while he isn't doing anything past the line of consent he DOES finally fucking realize "oh this isnt Gale playing a game or playing hard to get I am genuinely making him uncomfortable"

Cue him feeling awful. Cue him going to Curt to be like 'uh i really fucked up bad'

Cue curt threatening to knock Bucky's fake teeth in if he doesn't apologize and leave that boy alone because what the fuck Bucky.

and Bucky's a good guy he is and he genuinely feels so bad and slimy because he's like a dog with a bone and he let it go to far so next time he and Gale are in the hotel room he apologizes with his whole chest and promises he's done. "No more hitting on you. We're teammates and that's it. On my Ma's grave."

And Bucky keeps his word! He stops with the flirtation (past general hockey flirting you see between teammates) he stops propositioning him. He stops turning his music up louder during pre-game prep every time he sees Gale twitch with annoyance. And I think when he gives Gale that space he does the best thing he could have done and gives Gale the opportunity to actually know John. To work with him and bond with him and they start creating a really beautiful friendship out of it.

I think fast forward to their second year playing together. It's not a playoff game, the're well off from that but it has been an unusually rough game. Curt was ejected for a dirty hit and then mouthing off to the ref, Croz got pulled from second line to fill in Curts spot and he's honestly doing better than people expected but he doesnt play with Rosie and Buck usually and it's showing.

Buck lost a tooth after a nasty high-stick and his jaw is going to be BRUISED tomorrow. Both their first line D-men are down with injury so it's the rookies. They're fighting for their LIVES and man they somehow manage to eek out that win and it's just exhilerating. Buck and Bucky are in the middle of the celly pile and their masks are pressed together and they're just grinning and staring into eachothers eyes.

Later they're the last two in the locker room and Gale grabs John and pushes him against the wall in the deepest most passionate kiss that John literally almost goes weak at the knees. He's never been kissed like that before in his life.

I don't think after that they have like a "we are boyfriends" conversation. But they do end up together. They're rooming together at that point full time and slowly but surely Gale just starts spending every night in John's bed

[tosblogging]

TOS Blogging S1E2: The Man Trap

Other people have undoubtedly done this, but I've decided on a whim to watch my way through all of Star Trek: TOS in order through the rest of this year. And then blog about my thoughts, as one does.

Because I'm going in airdate order, and skipping The Cage (I don't want to have to effectively rewatch it when The Menagerie rolls around), we're starting with Season 1, Episode 2: The Man Trap.

Anyway, kicking it off, we've got Spock temporarily in command...

Uhura's on the console!

It's kind of interesting to me that they'd have a ship like the Enterprise doing routine medical checkups on other Starfleet operatives. The theme song goes big into the whole exploratory five-year-mission thing. It's weird to think that they're doing little side quests along the way for Starfleet while they're out there.

This is such a charming introduction to Kirk as a character, IDC. The first thing he does on screen is pick flowers for McCoy and tease him about visiting his 'old girlfriend'. This is a man who loves love and clearly has close friendships rather than just a professional relationship with his crew. And he's a little silly with it. You can see how tactile he is in the next scene, too, when he claps McCoy on the shoulder.

He has no business being this cute

McCoy's nervous hand gestures... get this man a Xanax!!!!!

I was going to say something about the weird changing appearances thing the lady in this episode has going on, but got immediately distracted by the fact that bringing up your trip to a pleasure planet in front of your commanding officers is kind of crazy

I love the way Kirk smiles when they start getting into the argument with Crater, like he knows McCoy is going to go off about it. He's so unwilling to play games when it comes to people's health.

Kirk is unwilling to let that 'Plum' nickname go! Their dynamic to me feels like old friends except Kirk won't stop flirting with him on the job. Also he's literally always making doe eyes at McCoy with the dopiest smile through the entire first ten minutes of this

McCoy trusting his intuition and experience over the technology of the scanner

First random crew member death and he's not even in a red shirt! I thought that was The Thing!

Everyone in this series is so sweaty

Uhura is so perfect, I adore her so much.

For a (technical) first episode, I feel as though this actually does a decent job telling us what we need to know about Spock - how he differs from the human crew members and his friendship with Kirk, and his logical viewpoint rather than emotional one.

You can really tell how much the death of a crewman affects Kirk here.

Something I've noticed about the conversations in this is how natural they feel. People interrupt and talk over each other frequently

Love the conversation between Kirk and McCoy and the little spat they have. When they talk again a couple scenes later McCoy calls him 'Sir' until Kirk asks if he's in the mood for an apology, then they seem to go back to normal.

The behavior of married men. To me.

I'm sorry Spock bb I forgot you were in the room I was so hyperfocused on Bones

Worth noting that this is the point in which my rooommate kept saying "this is just like Among Us" every time she walked through the living room as this was on

The awkwardly close camera angle as we followed Kirk into the turbolift? I feel like they almost hit Shatner in the face

I feel like those things are too small to properly film in, but what do I know.

JANICE RAND!!! Her hair is insane, no way she's getting up to do that every morning. I also love how casual and friendly she is towards the crew. Less keen on half of the men actively leering at her, though :/

Honestly I don't even like celery but I kind of want one of those celery sticks with the red stuff sticking out of it? It looks fire. Also, the infamous cubes

LOVING the vibes of the botany room. Also Sulu is here!! And LMAO the food was for him and she was just casually snacking on it the whole way here? Love that too

THEY NAME THE PLANTS I am in love with the entire Enterprise crew

Green / Nancy(?) struggling to figure out how the doors worked was a nice touch

Uhura's eye makeup is gorgeous! Everyone's is, honestly

I don't want to say anything but Bones in the black shirt... if I speak...

He was, like, writhing around right before this screencap, I just want y'all to know that

It's kind of absolutely wild that when Nancy is blatantly hitting on him he responds with "you're as bad as Jim Kirk". Like I'm sure it was in the context of pestering him about getting enough sleep but that's still like rule #1 of what not to do when a woman is flirting with you, Leonard

Girl... me too

THE CUT AWAY AND THEN WHEN IT PANS BACK SHE'S MCCOY? Oh shit

Female crew members in pants! Also there's so many mix-and-match type outfits in this scene lol you can really tell it was an early episode

I'm sorry but Spock and Kirk look so awkward crawling around in the dirt

Bugs when you lift up a rock or whatever

The "stone" pillars swaying when Shatner leans on it a little too hard lol

When they refer to the buffalo are they referring to the American buffalo? Were they extinct (or near extinct) when this episode was made? If anyone knows the answer I'd love to know

The fact that Spock is seemingly the only one who actively suspected that McCoy was the imposter is a good look at how much insight he has, but also (IMO) how well he knows him. Sulu and Uhura seemed suspicious when he was on the bridge, earlier, but didn't voice anything.

For a monster of the week type of episode it gives us a surprisingly empathetic view on the monster in question. I also think it's very telling that the technical first episode chose such specific traits to highlight when it comes to the main three. Kirk's devotion towards and friendship with crew, and how seriously he takes his sense of duty. Spock's logic and his view on emotions. McCoy's defense of life, his high emotions and sense of empathy. To end the episode with him asking forgiveness for killing what he knew wasn't Nancy but still held an attachment to all the same is... very pointed, I think. Pretty solemn ending, I felt.

All in all lots of good stuff here. The pacing felt pretty decent though it dragged a little bit once the monster was up on the ship, which was a shame because I thought the whole chameleon gimmick was interesting. The stakes just didn't feel as high as they should have, I think? Really solid introduction to every character, like I said, though I think we were actually missing some of the main cast... Chapel (not necessarily main) and Scotty, I believe? Though I think Scotty is in one (or both?) of the pilots, which I didn't watch, and I know Chekov doesn't show up until later than everybody else. So, interested to see what their introductions are later on.

[tenebriism]

okay but takumi and zag tho for that shipping meme

Send Me a Ship and I'll Tell You . . . [ ACCEPTING ] ;;

TAKUMI X ZAGREUS :

Who is more likely to hurt the other?

Not intentionally, by any means, but I could see Zagreus hurting Takumi on several occasions, just because of his situation alone.

Who is emotionally stronger?

For this one, I'm not sure. Takumi doesn't seem the type to let things get to him, but then, Zagreus is still up and kicking after being kicked down by his father and many others for so many centuries. I'll say they're equal on this.

Who is physically stronger?

Zagreus. Being part god has its advantages, ya know?

Who is more likely to break a bone? 

Zagreus. His father makes it absolute HELL ( lol, get it? ) to escape his domain, so Zagreus comes back with all sorts of scrapes and bruises and cuts more often than he'd like.

Who knows best what to say to upset the other? 

I don't think he'd ever do it on purpose, but probably Zagreus?

Who is most likely to apologize first after an argument? 

Probably Takumi. I don't think it's that Zagreus wouldn't WANT to, but he'd definitely stew for a bit before owning up to what he's done. He's a tad on the immature side.

Who treats whose wounds more often? 

Given Zagreus' recklessness, Takumi definitely has to patch him up more. Thankfully, Zagreus' body heals extremely quickly, so Takumi doesn't have to do much to get him right as rain again.

Who is in constant need of comfort? 

Again, Zagreus. Dude has a LOT of personal battles, physical and mental. He's, uh... gonna need a LOT of comfort.

Who gets more jealous? 

Zag. I mean, LOOK at Takumi... mans is beautiful. >:o Zag doesn't necessarily show it that much, but in the moments Takumi gets attention ( and he will -- again, he's gorgeous, and those in hell still have eyes and common sense ), there will be s i g n s.

Who’s most likely to walk out on the other? 

Sadly, Zagreus. I could see him getting to a point where he honestly, truly, wholeheartedly believes that Takumi is better off ( and, more importantly, SAFER ) without him, and he just straight up LEAVES.

Who will propose? 

:) I think Zagreus will propose to Takumi. That pure, beautiful man stuck by Zagreus, and even endangered HIMSELF to escape. Zagreus ain't lettin' that go.

Who has the most difficult parents?

Lawd, Zagreus, Zagreus, Zagreus, lmao.

Who initiates hand-holding when they’re out in public? 

I think they both do in equal amounts! Takumi is naturally affectionate, but then, so is Zag. It's a gesture of love, but also, of wanting to keep Takumi close so he can keep him safe.

Who hogs the blankets? 

Probably Zagreus. He just LOOKS like he sleeps erratically and pulls the covers off of poor Takumi at night. XD

Who gets more sad? 

Mm, Zag. Daddy Issues'll do that to ya.

Who is better at cheering the other up? 

Takumi is definitely better at cheering Zag up. I think Takumi would be good at cheering ANYONE up, really, but especially his partner.

Who’s the one that playfully slaps the other all the time after they make silly jokes?

I could see Zag doing this to Takumi? They're both extremely energetic, but Zagreus seems like the type to be a bit more... say, aggressive with it?

Who is more streetwise?

Probably Takumi, since he's had far more exposure to the mortal world than Zagreus. Now, if we're talkin' HELL streetwise, then Zagreus, obviously.

Who is more wise?

I'd say Takumi! Zagreus is still maturing, to some extent, and still extremely reckless. I think he could learn a lot from Takumi, in all honesty.

Who’s the shyest? 

Deeeeeefinitely Takumi, haha, and Zagreus thinks it's so cute.

Who boasts about the other more? 

Zagreus doesn't shut up about Takumi, and I do mean that literally. The moment they make things official, anybody that Zagreus trusts knows about Takumi, and how happy Takumi makes him, and how BEAUTIFUL Takumi is, and how lovely he smells, and---

Who sits on whose lap? 

I'd saaaay... Takumi is the lap sitter. :) And Zagreus welcomes him every single time without reservation.

@box-of-characters ;;

[haejjoon]

also, while we're pointing out the flaws of atlus's characterization choices in the game-

ugh. ryuji. i adore him, so much. and the game never decides what they really want for him. i always stood by the fact that the pervy cutscenes were a step too far, even for him- especially after what he knows about ann. i think it would've been interesting to explore how he did sorta believe the rumors about her, but apologized, and the game vaguelyyy does that but canon is still a disservice to the friendship i firmly believe ann and ryuji have.

and the way the other characters treat him. im not gonna even bring up the okumura arc here, it doesn't deserve mention. but sometimes it's hard to listen them insult the poor guy so much. yeah, he gets in over his head and says stuff a little too loud. but sometimes it just feels cruel. especially knowing what happens at the end of shido's palace.

ryuji's gobro's a jerk, but he apologized when he stepped out of line too far when they barely knew each other. he'd never let the post shido moment go down like it did.

my fav thing about third sem is that ryuji's the one that comes to the rescue first. that gets in front of akechi & akira and blocks the blast before everyone else. im glad my boy got a little moment to shine in p5r (rip ann and yusuke). and i love his friendship with akira. but i wish atlus felt less all over the place with him, with all of the thieves.

are we gna take turns dissecting all the characrers in persona 5 because im literally all for it. character dissection is my favorite. puts ryuji on the operating table

i absolutely agree with u anon atlus doesnt seem to know what the hell they want to do with my boy. he's introduced as the protagonist's loud dumbass friend who's got a heart of gold, and then he's reduced to the pervy guy who speaks before thinking, and then it's like atlus goes "oh shit wait we gotta wrap things up for him" and then toss him a moment in shido's ship. like... if ur gna make a decision stick by it atlus cmon.

im gonna assume the gobro moment you're talking about is when he says sorry for calling ryuji useless baggage pre-awakening and say THANK YOU FOR NOTICING...... GWTS ON HANDS AND KNEES AND BOWS HEAD TO THE FLOOR... ryuji deserved that apology and deserved that closure back at the ramen shop 100%, as he did with a lot of the ribbing from the thieves in the canon game. i've got a bone to pick with morgana specifically regarding this but thats another conversation

he's also never properly held accountable for all the moments he pervs on ann either. it's one thing to be like "my friend's rly hot yeah!!!" and it's nother to blatantly stare at her when she's practically getting heat stroke in that microwave of a cat-bus. little things like ryuji turning to akiren and going "dude . wasnt that girl.. like... fine???" about haru is perfectly okay, because he's a teenage boy and teenage boys are stupid, but i cannot believe he never gets anything said to him about how he treats ann. then again he is NOWHERE as bad as yosuke in p4 so it isnt the worst thing in the world. just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth

here have a little preview of chp5 where ryuji actually apologizes for his behavior

[starmotte]

What is the most influential/popular form of art in wamashi society as of now? Are they in art movement in particular by the times of cosmos and current?

Oh y'all are making me WORLDBUILD today huh.

Hm... so I can't give one total overarching answer to that because Albea is very, very big and has a lot of cultures and of course wamashi aren't going to have the exact same eras we do. However, I can list off equivalents that best describe the era each province is in - though of course its all blended together and not restricted to each province. So enough rambling.

We're gonna start with Isalka to the north. feel like they're very big fans of metalworking in their current era. Carefully molding scraps of metal into shape, whether in a forge or in their backyards, blacksmithing or welding. This is majorly in part because Isalka is the biggest exporter of metals and has So Much Of It. Isalka has a very Art Noveau-esque style - pragmatic and clean and ornamental.

On the COMPLETE OPPOSITE side of the spectrum, I feel liiiike in the Southern province of Asaiva especially there's a culture resembling Arte Povera - making art using "poor" materials such as rocks and rope and cloth, etc etc. And then mix that with a bit of surrealism.

However, this isn't because the South is poor (honestly it's the opposite) - these are simply very common materials for them, as Asaiva has a very fishing-and-seafaring culture. Ropes and rocks to tie oneself to land, cloth like from sails to guide yourself on the waters - it's a sort of reverence for the ocean and the deity inhabiting it.

Now Myretei to the east... Romanticism, but with gears and clocks. Down to earth but very methodical and mechanic, with art such as "paintings" made of metal scraps that routinely move in a set pattern. Basically a looping animation but powered by mechanisms instead of being drawn. Super SUPER steampunk.

Akaiyel... Akaiyel is a fun one, because the western province is a cultural mixing pot. Why wouldn't it be, it's the transport capital! Expressionism, futurism, pop art... and mix those in with all the other listed cultures. The rule there is "literally whatever you want".

And finally, Ryzatyl... the central province in the middle of all this. Moreso travelled through than travelled to, due to its ungodly temperatures and how there's literally parts of it that get too hot to live in comfortably for people, and the art that develops there can't really be put under one label - the art of survival, proudly displaying their love for a home others see as dangerous and wild in a way that almost seems violently alive, paints placed onto canvas with claws and tails instead of brushes. They'll even use bones or furs from livestock or hunted animals to emphasize this. If I had to name it... ars vivendi, or "the art of living" would be a fitting term. (Apologies if that's incorrect Latin - I am merely armed with google translate).

And that's all! Sorry Anon, you were probably expecting something short and sweet but the reality is wamashi are incredibly varied in their cultures and summarizing their culture to a simple point is a feat I have yet to achieve.

[angelsdean]

home always feels like an episode they should have waited a season or two to do to me, when the mythology and characters were a little more lived it. I don't know if this makes sense, but i think in any other season, or even this season in the backhalf, this set up would have lent itself to a classic Dean Studies episode, and it feels weird that once we're actually in the house, we're actually seeing Mary, we totally pull back on Dean. Honestly, outside of the phone call to John, he's very sidelined despite this being an easy set up to explore backstory for him as the only character there who has a memory of the fire. And even Sam as the POV character falls flat not because there isn't interesting tension there, it could have worked! but because it's so heavy unfolding the psychic plot point and it's clear that that's more important to the episode than the family mythology. It just feels like you could take the bones of the episode, drop into season 3, and get something that looks completely different. (You said this much more eloquently re: the narrative, but I'm on s2 of my own rewatch and i keep thinking about this, haha).

hii sorry i didn't answer this sooner, but yea that's def how i felt rewatching it like, it just feels like it comes too soon for it to really *do* anything. we haven't yet really felt the haunting absence of mary. their main plot focuses rn are 1.) finding john (and in conjunction w/ that, finding and killing azazel) and 2.) literally just starting in this ep, sam's psychic visions. the whole concept of going back home and being confronted w/ their mother's literal ghost who recognizes and can talk to them is a HUGE thing that deserved to be the main focus, not a footnote in an ep trying to introduce a major plot element, sam's visions.

literally like you said, there's IS tension from sam's POV but they just don't go anywhere with it, since the focus is more on his psychic visions. like the scene w/ sam and mary could've been so much more. and if this came later in the season, or even a few seasons later, mary's "i'm sorry" to sam would've held more weight and packed a punch bc she feels responsible for what's happened to sam !!! for the deal w/ azazel and causing sam to be infected w/ demon blood. but sitting in the 9th episode of s1 where we still barely know anything it just falls flat and feels like she's just apologizing for what? dying? of course we have the gift of knowing everything to come later, but i'm trying to put myself in the shoes of the 2005 audience. what would they have thought she was apologizing for? like up until s4 that audience doesn't even know about mary being a hunter or her deal. so like, for those early years, it would just seem like she was apologizing for i guess not getting to sam fast enough to stop azazel and for dying ??

but yea anyways i feel like dean should've been the central character for an episode like this and we already know mary's death was traumatic for him. he tells lucas in 1x03 how he stopped talking after mary died. he tells lucas he's scared all the time but tries his best to be brave bc he thinks it's what his mom would've wanted. mary is such a central figure in dean's life and memories and is thee anchor to the myth of the "perfect family" that never was that dean is constantly yearning for and why family is so important to him. also comments like dean saying he always wanted to be a firefighter when he was a kid reveal a lot abt how much the fire affected him and fueled his desire to save people. and then in 1x09 Home itself, we see dean go in to save the blonde mom while he tells sam to save the kids which is interesting bc in 1x03 dean immediately goes for the kid and lets sam save the mom. so, it feels like subconsciously there's something there with dean and his desire to save mary. and this would've been a great episode to explore that trauma and guilt he has for not being able to save her (and god it's so irrational and he must know it, he was literally 4 yrs old what could he have done !!!) but still.

anyways this is getting long but yea i think at the very least, home should've come later in the season and not have to share the plot w/ introducing sam's psychic powers. there's just SO much they could've done with the whole concept of going back home and seeing mary's ghost. i wanted them to feel haunted !!!! haunted by home and the myth of mary !!!!!

[fish-gutssz]

first post!! (its a lis rant)

Ok I've been watching and consuming a LOT of lis content lately and I'm suddenly conflicted on Chloe

now I have always been a bae over bay person for a lot of reasons

1: like my friend always says when asked bae or bay "I just spent all that time and effort im not just gonna go back and let her die"

2: shes hot

3: I know she can be very annoying (I haven't really realized HOW annoying till now) but I've always thought she redeems herself at the end of the game

I've always thought these reasons were great! good enough for me to love Chloe as she is. buuuuuuut recently I watched a WHOLE ENTIRE VIDEO on why a person does not like Chloe.

The video made me realize soooooo much about what I don't like about Chloe and made me start thinking if I should even be picking her over the whole of Arcadia Bay

SPOILERS FOR LIS AHEAD!!

Okay so I have also been seeing a lot of videos around tiktok like those "do you think we're soulmates in every universe?" and its either cute, funny, cute AND funny, or angsty. The life is strange ones are just HEARTBREAKING when I say heartbreaking I'm talking found family trope but then the entire found family DIES in front of the person (or somthing like that). I mean imagine getting your heart ripped out of your flesh, muscle, and bones then it just gets stomped on, set on fire, stabbed, ect. I'm explaining too much but you get the point

one I saw was max saying the "do you think we're soulmates in every universe?" and I go to the next slide and it is Chloe saying: "is Rachel dead in every universe?" WHAT THE FUCK. this brought me to the brink of tears.

Then I made the mistake of opening the comments.

THE FIRST COMMENT the VERY FIRST made a tear fall from my face. I took a ss and can fucking quote it.

"it breaks my heart that as max i destroyed Arcadia Bay for her, but she would destroy max and Arcadia Bay for Rachel."

Hence my soul shattering into a million pieces.

The saddest thing is that this is 100% true, and it had not crossed my mind once.

One of the things the video brought up is Chloe, throughout the entire game guilt trips Max, if you do somthing she doesn't like, she gets mad at you for it and brings it up constantly

Let's take the phonecall from Kate for example, as Max at this point we very much know Kate is struggling, she's getting bullied, stalked, and questioned by David, she's being RELENTLESSLY harassed by Victoria and her posse and also just like most of the school (btw I do not trust anyone who ships Kate and Victoria. its literally bully x victim and it is not ok.) she's also just generally upset and feeling a lot of shame because of her video.

So we know she is in a time of need, she needs freinds and a support system at her side, the obvious option is to call her. (it literally brings her closer to death if you do not answer the call) Max tells Chloe that she needs to answer a call from a freind, Chloe literally responds to this by guilt tripping Max. Basically saying "oh wah! but maaaxxx! you havnt had time for ME me ME for years! but now you have time for some blackwell hoe?! TRAITORRRR" which oh my gosh I mean yes Chloe, Max didn't talk to you for a very long time but she has taken accountability for it and apologized, you have her NOW and can spend way more time with her doing whatever and definitely talking longer that a call. One singular phonecall won't mess that up, ALSO you have no idea why she's calling what if her dad just died YOU KNOW A LOT ABOUT THAT HUH. there is just no reason to be a bitch about it and there's definitely no reason to scold your BEST FRIEND who has been NOTHING BUT NICE TO YOU SINCE YOU HAVE RECONNECTED.

The guilt tripping comes up a lot for frank, especially if you don't try and fail to shoot Frank in the junkyard she brings it up CONSTANTLY even though she is supposedly Max's best friend and anyone who even is acquainted with Max would probably be know by obvious hints how she feels about guns, Chloe isn't just an acquaintances with her she is her BEST FRIEND. Also Max littlerally tells Chloe that guns scare her and make her uncomfortable. Then Chloe expects her to littlerally SHOOT someone? she wants MAX a fucking kind and sweet person to potentially SHOOT somebody. Let me say this again she wants MAX to possibly take a LIFE and gets mad if she doesn't.

Thats not even the the beginning, she's just genuinely mean to Max the whole game when she doesn't get what she wants or hear what she wants to hear, then she lashes out at one of the only people trying to help her.

Although one thing I feel the video didn't touch on enough was the end, the end where Chloe DOESNT APOLOGIZE but she does show appreciation and genuine love for Max, although I feel even that then, she would still kill all of Arcadia Bay along with Max to bring Rachel back.

But also from a BTS perspective? We play as Chloe, She is still very much hurting still from her dads death, lowkey obsessed with Max but from her perspective (and I see why she's being irrational) Max has left her behind and she's all alone, then Rachel comes along and suddenly things get way more complicated BUT Chloe is happier, she isn't as lonley, and Rachel makes her feel complete. After the whole story thing is over the game implies that after that, Rachel and Chloe spend a LOT of time together. THEY ALSO HIT US WITH THAT GUT PUNCH OF THE PHONE IN THE DARK ROOM. So I'm just saying I SLIGHTLY understand Chloe perspective.

ty for reading :3

[snwusberry]

warning(s): none

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THIS IS FICTION AND DOESN'T DEPICT THE ACTUAL PEOPLE IRL

beomgyu's point of view

poor kaya is absolutely clueless of everything. she came back from her parents' house talking about some 'yeosang is going to vagas with the boys'

the boys being san, wooyoung and seonghwa. at least one sane one is there but judging how he is around them... i still have zero faith in this little sting operation.

"no offense but your brother is an idiot." taehyun tells me from his seat next to kai.

"please say that to his face with all the offense possible." i sigh. no i'm still not over this. "i mean, i would've been engaged by now, hmm? kaya would be wearing her customised ring and all would be fine but here i am thinking of ways to get her another ring. it won't have as much meaning but as long ad i propose to the woman i love most right?" haha... right?

"gyu are you crying?" kai loudly asks.

"don't be ridiculous."

"you're totally crying."

"i'm not. the dust level in here is high." i tell him, brushing him off.

"oh my apologies..."

we turn to the owner of the voice, not really expecting anyone else to be here other the three of us and there stands soobin with a feather duster in hand.

"mom was talking about this vase and how no one cleans it so, you know, i decided to, well, clean it." he sheepishly smiles.

"don't fucking lie, you wanted to listen in!" jongho shouts from the other room and we turn back to soobin.

"i'll go."

"wait. i need another opinion and i can't ask yeonjun because he's out with minji and i cant ask jongho because he's... jongho, you know."

"i heard that asshole!"

"i'm glad to be your third choice." he says walking in to sit down.

"it's a pleasure. i'm going through the motions for real."

"the ring?" he asks and i nod.

"san is going back to vagas to go look for the man who won the ring."

"and if he's not in the city?" he questions.

that's what i said...

"then he'll search the country."

"if he fled?" that's literally what i said...

"he'll scour around."

"and what if he's dead?" HE'S IN MY HEAD because i said the exact same thing.

"i don't know man. i'm tired of being mad at him, you know."

"then don't." taehyun interjects and i throw a cushion at him.

"stay out of it."

"it's his family's heirloom..." kai tells me and i pause.

"it is, isn't it?" taehyun raises his hands in surrender. "look i'm sorry about... lashing out. i won't use stress as an excuse so, i'm sorry. and also for the whole ring situation. i know saying that won't bring it back or anything but i feel terrible about it being lost because of my brother's carelessness. i don't even think he'll find the man, it's been two-three days and he probably knows he won't find it but he'll still go out there because he feels bad. i just... wanted this to be a special christmas for kaya and here i am with a lost ring and no back bone to tell your parents about everything. yeosang was probably right-"

i'm cut off with a loud yawn coming from soobin. way to ruin my pity party.

" i was having an emotional monolog here..." i tell him, turning to him with a raised eyebrow.

"beomgyu, yeosang wasn't saying all that shit because he meant it, granted, he wasn't wrong-" taehyun cuts in.

"hey!!"

"bottom line is, he knows you're gonna take care of kaya. he's known that from the start. he, just like me, was just keeping kaya's best interest in mind. we're her brothers, of course we'd have a lot to say. what i'm saying is, don't beat yourself up over this. you can still make this christmas special for her." taehyun adds, putting a hand on my shoulder.

they gave me a hard time when i first revealed my feelings for kaya to them. i mean, they had a field day not only teasing me about it but also talking shit about me to her. it was all in good fun, of course.

"group hug!!" kai yells out of nowhere and before i can even get a word out they've all come enveloping me in a group hug.

"thanks guys." i tell them, voice muffled and everything.

"it's a pleasure."

"i love you guys." we all pull apart, turning to the intruder in confusion. "what? a man can't love his brethren anymore? jeez." jongho says, walking away.

"is he okay?" kai asks and we just shrug.

who knows what goes on in his head.

"guess who's back family!!"

well hayoon and yeonjun are back. happily married couple with their happy little family.

"we brought gifts!!" yeonjun who had his perfect little engagemen-

"what did you bring us?" kai asks and yeonjun scans him up and down.

"no one told me we had extra mouths to feed. what a surprise."

" no need to be petty, we were on our way anyway." taehyun says, dragging kai along with him.

"okay first of all, not cool." hayoon tells yeonjun and he shrugs. "where's kaya?" she asks at not seeing her in the room with us.

"running errands with mom." i tell her and she nods.

"she's never here." she wipes a fake tear from her face.

"yeah seems like every december we never get to spend time with our partners!" yeonjun says out loud and earns a knock on the head from hayoon. "i mean, of course you'd all wanna catch up with each other and all that fun stuff right?"

i roll my eyes.

kaya's point of view

so like... we weren't supposed to get this much stuff. like at all but we got carried away shopping for this whole secret santa thing. i ain't forget.

so we're sitting in a café to warm up amd refuel, charge our phones eat...

"ma."

"hmm?"

"is it just me or is beomgyu avoiding me?" i ask her and she looks up from her phone to look at me in confusion.

"what do you mean?"

"we got here this week, everything was fine the day we arrived but then two days ago, he started acting different."

"different how my dear?"

"you know, like, distant, avoidant just overall different..." i trail off but then gasp almost a second later. "did he see bis childhood crush while i was out with the girls?"

"don't be ridiculous kaya. even if he did, he's long over her." she explains and i shrink in my seat. "as for how he's acting, you should really tell him this. you know, like what if he's not doing it on purpose? if that doesn't work then i'll drag him by the washing-"

"ma..." i cut her off, laughing at the image of her dragging a grown man by the sweater. "that won't be necessary. i'll talk to him." i reassure her.

it can't be anything too serious right? he wouldn't bring me here if he was planning on ending it so i don't have to worry about that...

"hmm washing, remember." she says, probably sensing my distant behavior.

"yes washing." i laugh.

[joyish-little-boy]

While I do think you're right on some of the strawhats being insensitive, I do want to offer my interpretation of the situation:

1. Usopp has a special connection with the Merry, but it's not the only thing he brought from home. In his introduction arc - it's kinda the opposite really. Luffy has his hat, Chopper his hat and medical bag, Sanji a small bag, Zoro his swords, and Nami her assorted stolen wallets, but Usopp leaves home with a comical amount of stuff, so much that he quite literally rolls down to the beach with it all. I'm not saying this to invalidate his connection with the Merry - I'm just pointing out that he has other stuff from his village.

2. His connection with the Merry is special/elevated for a few reasons - the ship is from Kaya, he's the one that's been taking care of her, and the Merry's spirit appeared to him.

3. Usopp is actually in the wrong, and while Luffy is right about the Merry, his fuck up in his delivery is intentional by Oda. It's an incredibly stressful/tense situation, and Luffy's always been a pretty blunt character. We're given a road map for how he should have responded in Usopp's conversation with Franky (who is also quite blunt and extreme at times as he starts demolishing the Merry) who's a bit more patient with him. Luffy does not have a patient bone in his body, and though it's not stated, he likely came to the same conclusion that Franky did - how would the Merry feel if they stopped adventuring because she sank, or worse, if they were killed because they set out with her. He's upset about it of course, but Luffy being Luffy wants to move forward, and puts on a cheerful tone when talking to Usopp, but that doesn't mean he doesn't care about Usopp or the Merry, it mostly means he made a mistake... which happens sometimes, especially when tempers are running high AND they have another missing crewmate to worry about. Something that kills me a little bit is Usopp actually KNOWS Luffy is right - that the Merry will sink soon, and fought him despite that, because he doesn't know how to grieve the Merry properly and give her a noble death. Yes, the Merry comes back to save them one last time, but she's clear that this is the last time and the end of her journey... which is so heartwrenching and bittersweet.

4. I have to be a Sanji defender for 5 seconds because my guy does really care for Usopp's situation, enough that he kicks Luffy in the face and tells him to watch his words, because what he says is so important. I really love melontree's video on Usopp which goes over this situation, because she points out how part of why Usopp is so upset is because he empathizes with the Merry. He's scared that if he's deemed worthless by his crewmates, he'll be discarded like the Merry is, and this is his insecurities playing at full force. The Merry being rejected is Usopp's greatest fear of what will happen to him, when his friend's see him for as worthless as he thinks he is. Which is why, scenes later, Sanji's line of "I'll do what you can't do, and you'll do what I can't do" is so important- because it reassures Usopp that he has strengths and is a vital member of the team. He wouldn't say things like that, if he didn't care about Usopp or understand what Usopp needed to hear, and it's quite fascinating how Oda writes the other strawhats caring for Usopp during this arc. Chopper is obvious with his care, he chases Usopp to the hotel to beg for him to come back, he tries to go treat Usopp after the duel, and he and Sanji warn Usopp about the Aqua Laguna in a way that won't hurt Usopp's pride. Zoro might seem harsh, but he's especially in tune with Usopp's pride - and when Chopper goes to treat Usopp, he tells him to think of how the pity would make Usopp feel. Zoro has been on the losing end of a duel before, he knows that pain of defeat. Nami tries telling Luffy to just apologize, and gets the others to keep their head in the game. And none of them reveal to Luffy who Sogeking is out of respect for Usopp's wishes/pride. And Luffy, despite winning the duel, and not wanting Usopp to really leave still gives Usopp the Merry (which to be fair, they were getting a new ship anyways), he's excited when he hears Usopp is coming back, it's Usopp's voice that brings him back from the brink, and when Usopp finally apologizes Luffy is ecstatic to welcome him back with open arms. They all care about him, and they all could have handled the situation better, but you have to remember they're all still teenagers, new to living with one another figuring things out - in terms of team development, they're in the storming phase here.

5. The reason Usopp has to apologize isn't for grieving the Merry it's for leaving the crew + challenging him to a duel where he genuinely tried to hurt Luffy (but mostly leaving the crew). The crew in general is a rowdy bunch, and they goof off a lot, but there's a clear distinction drawn between the goofing off and serious falling outs. And what's also important is that Usopp never truly accepted Luffy as captain until this apology. When he joined he said "I can be captain, right?" He constantly was joking and making light about he was actually captain, and while those were jokes, it wasn't exactly clear what his intentions were behind them. And so this apology is important, it holds so much weight, it's Usopp finally admitting that Luffy is his captain and joining properly as the Sniper rather than pretending he's captain. Usopp is a character who runs his mouth (and i love him for it) but he has to respect Luffy's authority as captain if they're going to be successful going forward. And he does try to weasel his way out of an apology at first, and I quite love the lines about them pretending not to hear him, because it shows the grace that Zoro's willing to extend to him even though he's demanded that Usopp respect the captain. Without respect the crew would crumble - look at Spamdam with the CP9, this dude doesn't deserve respect, nor is any given, and they're a lot less functional of a team because of it. At the end of the day, Luffy is the captain, and Water 7 cements the bond between them as captain and crew, while staying true to all of their characterizations.

Anyways sorry for the long reply but the scene is so godamn raw it made me cry while reading and just is genuinely such a wild ride. I'm like less arguing and more just like. Idk offering my two cents because I think the crew fucked up, but it's incomplete to leave it at that

side rant that probably nobody cares about or agrees with but I need to get this outta my brain. Water 7 made me genuinely upset for Usopp. he was so valid and so right and the rest of the Strawhats were so fucking insensitive and oblivious (except for maybe Nami and Chopper). but like if you seriously think about it, the Going Merry was the only part of his home that Usopp had left. everyone else had their pieces of home. Nami had her tangerine trees, Zoro has the wado ichimonji, Sanji is not only chasing his dream but also fulfilling Zeff's dream (who he owes his life to) in chasing after the All Blue, Chopper has his hat, and Luffy has his hat. you know damn well the rest of them would lose their minds if they lost any of those pieces of their lives and they would be valid in doing so. yet when it comes to Usopp and the only thing he was able to bring from home no one cares? not to mention Usopp ended up being lowkey right about the Merry. Usopp put his everything into that ship. he was the only one repairing her and treating the Merry like she was a real part of the crew and their home. without Usopp's (somewhat shitty) repairs the Merry would've been done with so much sooner than Water 7.

and I'm not saying that Luffy wasn't right about needing a new ship, but the way they went about telling him and how they treated him when he was just upset about it was plain ridiculous. I mean even Luffy was in denial about the leaving the Merry behind but they couldn't even allow Usopp time to grieve losing the last connection he had to his home?? despite all this what really pissed me off about the whole thing was Zoro saying that the only way Usopp could rejoin the crew was if he apologized first. like what??

when it comes to this I'm an usopp defender till I die. I think the crew was seriously effed up for this ngl.

however, I do agree that Usopp's insecurity problems were his own though, and he shoulda delt with that quietly and not projected his insecurities onto Luffy or the others.

[gay-salt-amber]

Moor on the hill incorrect quotes

Ravenpaw: I have a new hoodie.

Scourge: Wrong.

Scourge: We have a new hoodie

Flametail: Did Jayfeather just tell me they loved me for the first time?

Kestrelflight: Yeah, they did.

Flametail: And did I just do finger guns back?

Kestrelflight: Yeah, you did.

Antpelt: The best part of an oreo is the cookie part, not the frosting. Deal with it.

Breezepelt: Darkness without light is an abyss. Light without darkness is blinding. You cannot have a coin with one side.

Ivypool: YO SOCRATES! IT'S A FUCKING COOKIE!

Blackstar, sweating: Sol, there’s something I need to ask you-

Sol: Finally! You’re proposing!

Blackstar: How’d you know?

Sol: Blackstar, you’ve dropped the ring five times during dinner.

Sol: I even picked it up once.

Leona: What did you guys get in your yearbook?

Ruggie: 'Prettiest Smile'

Jack: 'Nicest Personality'

Epel: 'Most likely to start a bar fight'

Deuce: 'Least likely to start a bar fight, but most likely to win one'

Ruggie, to the other trainees: And remember, if I get harsh with you it is only because you’re doing it all wrong.

Breezepelt: Why are you on fire?

Ruggie: This is just how my day is going.

Mistberry: *eating a cinnamon roll*

Blossomfall: Cannibalism.

Mistberry: *confused chewing noises*

Snowtuft: I dare you to kiss the next person who walks into this room.

Frecklewish: Screw that, I’m not kissing any of you.

*Mapleshade walks in*

Frecklewish: Fine, I’ll do it. Rules are rules you know.

Ashfur: I still have no idea how I’m attracted to you...

Scourge: Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me, and no take backs, honey.

Dustpelt: Valentine’s day is just a consumerist holiday that holds no real value other than drive people insane buying heart shaped chocolates for their significant others and pos-

Firestar: I wrote you a poem.

Dustpelt, already crying: You did?

Antpelt: That was so hot, Breezepelt.

Breezepelt: I literally called the person who just flirted with you a degenterate dog and told them I hope they get dragged through the streets.

Antpelt: I'm so in love with you.

Breezepelt: What are you in the mood for?

Ivypool: World domination.

Breezepelt: That's a bit ambitious.

Ivypool: You are my world.

Breezepelt: Aww...

Ivypool:

Breezepelt:

Ivypool:

Breezepelt: OH

Jayfeather: Since we're in a relationship now, your clothes are my clothes too. Don't ask me why I have your shirt on, this is our shirt.

Flametail: Fine, but when I come strutting in with your fuzzy socks I don't want to hear shit.

Flametail: My future partner must be brave, strong, intelligent, successful and organized.

Kestrelflight: *steps on a caterpillar and proceeds to drop to their knees and sob while apologizing profusely*

Flametail: That one. I want that one.

Jayfeather: I’m in love with you.

Kestrelflight: We called off the prank war last night at midnight, dork.

Jayfeather: I know.

Kestrelflight: Ah. Okay. Um. Cool. Neat. Very cool. Cool. Cool. Coolcoolcool-

Epel, to Ruggie: We had a date!

Epel: *aggressively points to Hello Kitty Coloring Book*

*The gang's thoughts on stabbing*

Ravenpaw: Would never stab anyone.

Ashfur: Would stab someone in retaliation.

Brick: Yells "I won't hesitate, bitch!" first.

Bone: Would stab without warning.

Scourge: Would stab as a warning.

Snowtuft: Last night I found out Frecklewish is a sleep talker.

Mapleshade: Oh, really?

Snowtuft: "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell." Right. In. My. Ear. At 3am.

Maggottail: I love saying 'fuck me' because it can either be sexual or self-loathing and those are two things that describe me perfectly.

Darkstripe: Question. When they shot Bambi's mother, did you find that a sad moment...at all?

Tigerstar: I'm sure she's mounted on a nice wall in a fine home somewhere.

Antpelt: It's pretty cold outside.. wanna hold hands? We should stay close.

Ivypool, blushing: Okay.

Breezepelt: It's fucking summer.

Ashfur: Relationships should be 50/50. Bone cooks us dinner while I sit on the kitchen counter looking pretty.

Mistberry, throwing their head into Blossomfall's lap: Tell me I'm pretty!Blossomfall, lovingly stroking their hair: You're pretty fucking annoying, that's what you are.

[suga4mycoffee]

Coconuts Mafia Unforgotten Night Hate Watch - Episode 5

Prepare yourself for more Coconutty hilarity, because it's that time again.

Unforgotten Night, which we all wish we could forget.

You know the drill, let's go!

So, we're off to a marvelous start, with The Bitch Cherry... walking into a house that isn't hers, and that belongs to a man who wants nothing to do with her in his personal life (and not just because he's gay), and... giving lip to someone who is actually fucking living there? You turn up, unwanted and uninvited, and start demanding answers from someone who is welcome, invited, and basically living there? You fucking rude bitch?

After Cherry shit-talks Weepy, and one of the bodyguards, she tries to fucking call Fuckboy CEO, as if he's gonna be like "Oh! Of course that guy isn't my lover, you should absolutely tell him to get the fuck out of my house, as if you have any right to do so. By the way, why don't you move in instead, my darling?"

Seriously, what did she think was gonna happen? Is the delulu that strong with this bitch?

Anyway, moving on.

We get treated to an absolutely yawn-inducing 'sex scene', with more shots of that awful tattoo, more terrible 'kisses', candles that light themselves out of nowhere, chains that Mafia Man bought from the hardware store one time, zero fucking chemistry, and distinctly no diving nose-first into the asscrack.

Disappointed, but not surprised.

More Terrible Tattoo, and unethical treatment of animals, as you do. Sadly, the tigers did not manage to eat or maul Weepy Sub, which is a shame. That would have at least been exciting.

Doughy attempts to be angry and intimidating, and fails utterly. Which is tragic, because I'm told that the actor is actually good, just not in a role like this.

Cherry continues to shame women everywhere by acting like a screaming toddler throwing a tantrum because someone else has the doll she wants to play with. I'm really starting to hate this bitch.

Weepy Sub actually does some work, for once, only to get interrupted by an attempted apology. He just wants to get the fuck on with his work, but Doughy decides to lie his head in his fucking lap. Which is not only rude when he's trying to get shit done, but was also really fucking awkward. I genuinely don't know what we're watching anymore.

They go shopping, because of course they do, and Kim decides to be a moron and not grab Minted Mafia Man's fucking card and run up a fat bill. Which... why not? He's offering, bleed him fucking dry! It'd serve him right, after the way he's been acting, damn.

Our Stereotypical Villain comes on the scene, and continues to be greasy and over-exaggerated. Predictable, honestly.

Then we discovered we're fucking 'old', apparently. Bunch of cheeky cunts.

Cherry comes through with the Sulky Psycho Bitch routine, again. At this point, I've got a fucking headache, because not only is she tedious and childish, but it's making me fucking angry that the writing is so fucking lazy that they can't even pretend to give her even droplet of actual depth, or any personality beyond "I WANT THIS MAN OR I'LL GET HYSTERICAL AND THROW A TANTRUM LIKE ALL WOMEN WOULD."

Fuck off with that bullshit, before I throw my entire bed out the window in pure, unfiltered rage.

We establish that Weepy Sub could probably break every bone in Doughy Fuckboy's body, if he only put in a little effort, and then... that's it for this week.

We're treated to more of Cherry's bullshit in the preview, and by now I'm about ready to nail the bottle of whiskey I have sitting on my shelf.

I would absolutely fight Cherry, and I'd fucking win. Make it happen, somebody. I will literally destroy this whiny little hoe, and have a fucking great time doing it.

We lament the (obvious) lack of workshopping, the lack of prep (poor Kim, RIP your asshole), and also the lack of budget.

We finish with concern about Mafia Man's diet, ponder mouth size and how it impacts your ability to... eat food properly, and with that we have once again reached the end of this week's saga.

Thank god.

I'm gonna need to watch Doughy's actor in something he's actually well suited for, because this show is giving me a very bad impression of his ability as an actor.

I'm... going to lie down. This show makes my head hurt, my dudes.

See you next week, for yet another episode.

The fun we Coconuts have watching it together is the highlight of my week, despite how awful the actual show is. I genuinely couldn't get through this show without you, my beloveds.

[hexkids-au]

Dipper's Journal Entry: Hexside Day One

Today has been very eventful. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this.

When we first went through the portal, we ended up back on top of the Knee. It turns out, all of the Boiling Isles are built on the bones of a Titan. I still don't see how the little bone-headed dog-thing could grow to be that big, but hey, there are actual flying broomsticks staffs here, so what do I know?

Anyways, Luz and Amity, the two we met on our first visit to the Boiling Isles, were there to pick us up again. Mabel jumped to get on Luz's staff, I'm not sure if she likes Luz or if she's trying to get me to like Amity? From what I can tell, they're a couple, so maybe Mabel just wants to be Luz's friend? I really don't know anymore.

Moving on. We got to Hexside and Hilda, Marcy, and Kamala were already at the school waiting for us. After we dismounted, Danny showed up through a portal. He mentioned something about traffic in a ghost zone... I'm going to need to look into that a bit more.

Luz led us inside where we met a new witch, Gus, because Amity had to go to class. We all said our names, where we're from, and a fun fact about ourselves. I just said that Mabel was my twin sister. I have so many better facts about myself that I could've used! Ugh. Well, it turns out that the Marcy kid knows some talking frogs? I'll also be asking about that at some point.

Danny and Kamala are both definitely older than the rest of us by a year or two, but it seems like no one here is very amazed or scared by the magic and stuff. For me and Mabel and I, we dealt with the dream nightmare demon, Danny seems like he has ghost powers, and Marcy and the frog people, but I don't really know about Hilda or Kamala. Mabel, Marcy, and Danny were the only ones that talked, but even they didn't say much.

We were given a tour of the school and shown where most of our classes would be, but Luz and Gus mentioned that we're going to be in "special" classes for our glyph learning, which is an elective class for most witches. They didn't use the word special, but I know that's what they meant.

I am curious as to how the glyphs work. Can you draw them on/with anything? How do they channel magic? Where is their magic from? How many different glyphs will we learn? Of course, I didn't ask any questions. Not yet. I'm still trying to figure out how the social body works at Hexside and within the HEXkids before I get myself in too deep.

Finally, once the tour ended, we were taken to a stage and all of the Hexside students stared at us while Principal Bump told them all our names and welcomed us or something. Everyone says it was only ten minutes, but it felt like at least an hour or two. I froze up and Mabel had to help me get off of the stage. Once I could actually control myself, I bolted through the nearest door and went looking for a bathroom or at least a place to hide.

All I found was that the school is a literal maze, so I opted for a random hiding place instead. There weren't very many good ones, and I was still looking when the class bell rang. I freaked out and jumped into the nearest supply closet and tried to catch my breath.

It wasn't a normal-sized closet, at least by Earth standards. It seemed like it was for something much bigger, some sort of night creature that works as the school janitor would be my guess. Before I could figure out much more, I noticed that someone else was in the closet with me. I could hear breathing and found eyes staring at me from the floor.

Just then, the final bell rang. After the sounds of late students' running footsteps in the hall cleared out, I apologized for taking their hiding place and started towards the door. Instead of saying goodbye, though, she told me I could stay.

Other than this morning, during introductions, that was the first time I had heard them talk. I couldn't say no, so I sat down and she moved more into the dim light. There wasn't much else to do, so we started talking. It turned out that it was Hilda, and they managed to find this spot before I even let the auditorium. We started by talking about how we were both hiding from the stage and the giant crowd of unruly adolescents, but it moved to talking about our homes and families and how we got to Hexside.

Apparently, where Hilda's from, the Boiling Isles are known as "demon territory" and everyone that lives there is cursed. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised, but it can't be as bad as the second dimension where Bill used to live Ford was for a while.

AW, COME ON KID, ADMIT IT, YOU MISSED ME!

/\ \ / 👁️ \ / / >< \ I I

Oh no.

This is not good.

I need to find out what dimension this really is. Ford said we should be safe here, but we're not safe anywhere if he's still around.

RIGHT YOU ARE, PINE TREE. I'LL SEE YOU SOON!

I guess that's enough for today. It might be enough for any day.

[rakumel]

First of all, I would love some asks, any asks, even the freaky ones. How dare you. Just send them over here and I'll roast, befriend, or ignore as necessary.

Second of all, uh-oh. You asked for it. I don't just have one favorite game, y'see. Having said that, I actually haven't played a wide range of them, for cost reasons, time reasons, and brain reasons - I tend to latch onto a game and play the shit out of it before moving on.

I guess you could say any game that I like enough to actually buy or download is my favorite game. I don't really waste time with games I don't click with. Occasionally it's pretty obvious why I like a game (I bought Xenoverse 1 and 2 because watching DBZ Abridged relit a nostalgia pilot light in me that hadn't been touched in literal decades and boy howdy, did it ever fuckin' BURN after that). But most of the time, why I like a game is just as much a mystery to me as it is to you. Although I have noticed that a lot of my favorites have female leads, or give you the option to make one.

I already did a series of posts on the Pocky and Rocky SNES games, but in short I like them because they were unique (at the time and place where I lived, anyway) - charming graphics, lovely music, and yes - a protagonist who was a girl. A shrine maiden, to be exact. No love interest, just fun adventures with a bunch of monsters. And that meant a lot to a young girl who didn't have a whole lot of video game lady heroines to choose from.

Never in a million years dreamed they'd remake the first one, but they did, and it made me so happy!

Threads of Fate/Dewprism on the PS1 is another favorite. Outstanding soundtrack; I can still listen to Rasdan on a loop without getting sick of it. The game itself has the same low-polygon look as most PS1 games do, but please look up the artwork because it's awesome - or at least, I love the style.

I love the main characters: Rue (dude on the left) is a bit of a sap but not too much, and while I do like his story arc, it does get kind of overshadowed by Mint's. Mint is just badass. She's an absolute brat who - with a straight face - says she's going to take over the world, and at no point does she apologize or feel silly about it, and it's GREAT. Plus she can shoot magic and kick the shit out of people, so she can actually kind of back up her tough talk.

The supporting characters are fun, too. There just isn't enough love in the world for Belle and Duke ("Milady's only 30...if you round down!"), or Rod and his Pinto.

Shadow of the Colossus. I was so, so, so, SO thrilled when I first heard it was getting a remake because it abso-fucking-lutely deserved one. There was nothing like it then, I think there's still nothing like it even now. In a time when almost every game wants to add on, add on, here's more characters to unlock, here's more DLC to pay for, and so on - Shadow of the Colossus is an excellent example of just how much a bare-bones game can still do. There's not much told in the way of story, but in this case they don't really need to. There's a lot of showing and atmosphere over explaining; I like that the game assumes we're smart enough and/or creative enough to fill in the details ourselves.

Much of the game is silent and calm aside from ambient sounds and occasionally calling your horse. But when you enter a battle, then the music and the action ramp up, and suddenly you're trying to find the glowing weak spot on a massive behemoth before it smashes you to death. (And don't think Wander will get up super fast if he narrowly avoids getting smashed to death, either. He'll clumsily stand up, which is a nice realistic touch but kind of rage-inducing if you're trying to keep him from getting hit again.)

The contrast works: the calm makes you appreciate the battles, and the battles can often be so nerve-wracking you appreciate a break.

The world isn't super huge, but it's enough for me. All ruined and abandoned and desolate and slightly melancholy, yet calm and beautiful (especially with the remake).

Skyrim. Ah yes, let's be vanilla as hell, shall we Raku? Let's like that one game that everyone else and their brother and their cousin and their dog likes. This one probably does deserve its own post, though, because there's a lot to unpack. Are there problems surrounding it and Bethesda? Oh hell yes. Was it also a game that provided comfort and humor during a time when I desperately needed it? As well as fertile ground for characters I made and still love? Also yes. Sorrrr-y.

I'll be honest; I have no idea why Dark Cloud 2 is one of my favorites. I don't even remember how I heard of it or why I bought it. There's legit criticism to be had - a few of the voiced lines were clearly mismatched, the weapon upgrading system is fun at first but turns into an utter slog by the endgame, and in general the game tried to do way too much and got in over its head.

But Max and Monica here have good chemistry, the music's pretty good, you get to build your own towns and move people in them, the art style has its charm, and for a time travel plot it's not terrible. Overall the game mostly works, is pretty fun, and the story has its moments.

Okami!! The style, the music, the everything. Just...everything.

Heard there's a sequel in the works, but nothing else about it. But something I want to keep an eye on.

Ys 8. Dana, my beloved. Actually everything here is solid - some time in the future I should scrap the review I did and do another now that tumblr allows better quality pictures. (Plus my tone was...kind of weird in it, honestly. All over the place.)

I love her and the supporting characters - Sahad is best fisherman Dad ever, Ricotta's adorable without being annoying. I thought at first I'd hate Laxia, but she redeems herself pretty quickly, and Hummel's...well, okay, he's basically fine. Even the minor characters are interesting and endearing to me. Lady blacksmith! Gladiator grandma! And of course, as always, best buddy Dogi.

The twists and turns in the story, the graphics are gorgeous, the controls are smooth and feel great, Ys games almost always have excellent music and this one's no exception. Honestly I can't think of anything I dislike about it off the top of my-

Oh right, the fucking wasps in that one dungeon. Those sucked. But everything else? Amazing. 9.99/10.

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Picking a favorite Pokemon game is like asking me to pick a favorite child. Nope, I refuse.

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I'm going to force myself to stop here. Otherwise I'm pretty sure I'd hit the word limit halfway through talking about Death Road to Canada. (I'm assuming there IS a word limit.)

(Death Road to Canada is also very fun, by the way. As long as you're okay with dying a lot in the process.)

no more freaky asks..........tell me about your favorite video game in detail.............

[dylanobrienisbatman]

The main problem with the whole mal vs the darkling thing in regards to being possessive (or really when it comes to any of their traits) is the fact that throughout, the darkling is clearly framed as the villain and his actions reflect that, whereas Mal as supposed to be the good guy and best romantic partner for Alina, and yet he has all these awful character traits and tendencies. So its less about how awful the Bad Guy is (since he's supposed to be), and more about how awful the person that we're supposed to believe is the best option for Alina is. I don't ship either, just my two cents.

Okay well... two things. First, your comment about "its less about how awful the bad guy is, since he's supposed to be", takes every comment I've made about Darkles out of context, which seems fitting since everything Darklina's spout about Mal is out of context. Him being the Bad Guy is fine, and if you like him AS A VILLAIN, and acknowledge all the bad shit he does, then my posts aren't for you. I think he's a very interesting villain, and a lot of the terrible shit he does that I have to keep making posts about make him a good villain, the problem is when the terrible shit the "Bad Guy" does is romanticized and viewed as the reasons why Alina SHOULD have picked him. So, don't assume everyone gets that "hes supposed to be awful". The point my post was making is that Darklina's love to call Mal possessive, but then turn around and act like Darkles literally enslaving her in somehow sexy and romantic. It's fucking not, and it's transparent as hell that y'all romanticize and sexualize the actually possessive character, and then project false character traits onto Mal. It's so transparent, it's almost funny.

But, more importantly, to your second, very wrong point, I wonder how much of the narrative about Mal having "awful character traits and tendencies" is actually a commentary on Mal as a character, or is it just Darklina's lying about things Mal has done and everyone accepting that misinterpretation as canon. Because, if were making a list...

Fuck boy - False! Mal was not a fuck boy! He was an attractive teenager who hooked up with consenting girls his age when he could, and he was not in a relationship during that time. Alina had never told him how she felt, so he is not beholden to her. (Also, nobody seems to have an issue with the fact that Darkles hooked up with Zoya in the show, that doesn't make HIM a fuckboy... interesting) (also also, nobody seems to discuss Darkles literally sexually assaulting Alina, and lying and manipulating her to get her to be physically intimate with him so he can use her... double interesting).

Slut Shames Alina - FALSE! The ever favourite callout line from Darklina's "He's all over you" isn't him slut shaming her. First, he has no idea what their relationship is like at that point, but more importantly, he is making an observation of her status in the little palace and how she has become his tool. He has dressed her up in his colors, made her put on a show for his benefit, and has created a situation where Alina appears to be his. Mal is noting that after months of searching for her, believing she was being hurt, tortured, or worse, when he arrives to save her, she looks like the Darkling's pet. (and, even if he WAS angry because he perceived them to be romantically involved, boy just spent months fighting for his life, lost multiple friends, and almost died to find her, all while coming to the realisation that he was in love with her, and then he shows up, after not hearing from her for months... I'd be pissed as hell too.) Important Note: He even acknowledges that what he said was wrong and tries to apologise, before Alina tells him that he was right. (Shadow and Bone, pg. 286). He also then apologizes, completely unprompted, for what he said. (Shadow and Bone, pg. 297).

Fat Shames Alina - False! This one is particularly laughable to me, because its one of the Darklina arguments that falls apart the second you actually read the scene. They are running for their lives in the forest, and Mal has to hunt and gather to feed them. He is noting that Alina's appetite has increased since he last saw her, and he makes a joke (ya know, how you do with friends) about how it would be easier to keep her fed if she still had her more meager appetite from before. He makes no comment on her weight, or her size, and he is not actually commenting on her appetite in a negative way, he is just acknowledging that it's a lot more work for him now that she eats more. Right before he says the line, the quote even proves that he isn't shaming her or thinking badly of her: "With a bemused expression, he watched as I gobbled down my portion and then sighed, still hungry". He is noting a change in her, and complaining that its made more work for him. If you think thats the same as fat shaming, well... thats a you problem.

Hates Alina's Powers - FALSE!!!! How to begin... do we talk about it was Mal's idea to hunt the stag in S&B, because he knew she needed it to be more powerful so she could stop the darkling? Do we talk about how he vowed to find the firebird for her, even though he was terrified of what all that power would do to her? Do we talk about how he literally died so she could achieve the power she needed to save the world? Or maybe we could talk about how he believed in her power more than anyone else, like when everyone was making bets about her abilities with the Cut and he knew she'd go further and better than anyone else expected her too, or when he tells her that he was never afraid of her powers, only what seeking all that power would do to her (which is literally the theme of the books, that power corrupts and seeking unmatched power can destroy you)? Mal being afraid of what is going to happen to Alina, being protective of her and worrying over her, is not the same as him hating her powers. He exists to help remind Alina of the themes of the story, and to guide her into maintaining her humanity.

Abusive - ... Do I even need to explain this one? Must I deign an explanation as to why this favourite Darklina lie is so fucking stupid, and also totally hypocrisy? No? Because we all know Darkles is actually the abusive one and they're trying to project their own shit onto Mal to further their abuse apologist agenda? Cool. Moving on.

Possessive of Alina - False! Throughout the entire series, Mal is quite literally the opposite of possessive, but yall just cant read. Not only does he quite literally step out of the way and allow Nikolai to court Alina without argument, which is the most direct example of him not being possessive, he also spends two full books believing, and repeatedly saying over and over and over, that they can't be together because he is not good enough for her. Mal believes, fully, that Alina deserves more than him, better than him, because he's just a tracker and a soldier, just a regular man with nothing to offer her but his love and his protection, and she is a Saint and should be a Queen. Possessiveness is the wish to own and control someone, it is literally the opposite of Mal believing that he's not good enough and doing everything he can to ensure that Alina achieves everything and gets everything he believes she is owed. A possessive character would not tell her to tell him to leave because he has nothing he can offer her, no title or land or country or crown. A possessive character would not promise to be the blade in her hand, because he believed he had nothing but the blood he could spill to offer her.

Angry - True! Yeah, omg, you caught us, Mal is ANGRY! Heaven forbid a teenager who is traumatized beyond belief and has to give up everything in his life, his position in the military (he deserted for her), his friends and the job he loved (Mikhail and Dubrov died for him, and he can't be a tracker in the army... because he deserted... for Alina), and, most importantly, he has to give up Alina (she should be Queen, he believes, and he has to give up the future he imagined with the girl he loves, who he was pretty sure loved him back, because she's a saint and queen and he's just a man), and more, is ANGRY. He has to be the one to find the amplifiers that he knows will end up hurting her, because thats what she needs to save the world. He has to sit by while Nikolai treats him like the dirt on his shoe and tries to woo Alina for his own personal gain (because Nikoalai did not love Alina. Maybe he came to care for her, but he proposed and spent all of S&S trying to get her to marry him when it was obvious they were not in love. He straight up says its so that the next King of Ravka can be married to the Sun Summoner. It's a power grab.) and he can't do anything about it. So yeah, Mal is angry. And yeah, sometimes he's even angry at Alina, just like sometimes she's angry at him. But they always find their way back, always apologize and try to be better for each other, and if you think anger is a toxic trait, and not simply a natural human emotion, might I suggest touching some fucking grass?

Idk why you thought I'd stand for Mal slander on my blog, cuz I will not. So, I'm gonna stop there, because I have shit to do today, but I really do wonder how much of Mal's 'toxic' or 'terrible' traits, that make him such a 'bad' love interest for Alina, really comes from Darklina's who refuse to actually read the text critically at all, and instead take everything he does and says out of context to further their agenda that Alina should have ended up as the Darkling's fucking slave forever, because thats the "girl power feminist" ending somehow. Mal supports her, loves her, sacrifices for her at every turn, and does everything he can do, to the point of literally dying for her, to ensure that she can defeat Darkles and save the world. He protects her, and when they end up happy and safe together on the orphange that they've rebuilt to help the children that were victims of Darkles war and genocide, he spends his days bringing her tea and cakes and flowers, kissing her silly under the stairs in the view of all the teachers, and calling her names like beauty, beloved, cherished, my heart for the rest of their ordinary life together, if love can ever be called that.