#im not sure why im talking about it now but it's especially important in regards to emma because she's one of the most frequent characters

[hershelwidget]

IT'S EMMA ANGST HOURS

you know, I've written an awful lot of female/feminine characters that are treated harshly or without respect from their male/masculine counterparts. Emma is probably the biggest example of this, where she, the "only girl" in her Gup group, is often scolded like she's a child or protected from the outside world because she's too "fragile" and "weak". boy I sure hope this doesn't mirror past experiences i've had as someone who's grown up as a girl and OH WAIT IT DOES

The most tragic part of it is, no matter how much Emma tries to hold her own, she's just not able to get to that level of independence that other characters like Rosemary and Polly have, or hell, even Dashi and Tweak from the actual source material

Emma's the most held-back character I've probably ever written, period, and ESPECIALLY the most held-back lady

She's held down by her own self-confidence some of the time, but most of that is direct result of the constant misogyny, babying, and general disrespect by the people she's closest to. Regardless of if them mean it or not, it's still disrespect

[soft-cristobalite]

Watched arcane season 2 act 1, thought abt it, so here are some of my thoughts in no particular order. Obvious spoilers.

Also, i watched in dub. Important to know when i am quoting charaters + when i am talking about their tone.

Starting of with something that is directly affected by dub — ukrainian Jayce is my Jayce. Ppl said he sounded condesending while talking to Ekko — not. at. alllll. true for my Jayce. My Jayce sounded tired, emotionaly burn out. "You drink tea, Ekko?" said with no though to it, in a context of continues talking of "Haha do i live here? Hahah....... Do you guys want tea? Want some tea? I'll make tea. Do you drink tea, Ekko?". But d-dub is supposed to stay true to the original— I DONT CAREEE. I love my blorbo almost-himbo Jayce, never changing his characterisation in my mind.

And i will hold Jayce's hand when i say this — you were. Just so gay for like... Essentialy going "Are you okay? Good, good" to lady Mel Medarda HERSELF and then seeing Victor and losing your mind. Sprinting with him in your hands to your lab. LIVING in your lab to monitor him. I just... I get it, you don't have many friends. But like...... Really dude. Reaally.

Give Mel and Ekko thirty minutes. I promise you they would work it out. Eternal piece would be achieved.

I know there are a lot of different opinions regarding Caitlyn. I will not be explaining in-depts what i think about her acr, because a) who cares and b) i like to see her go cray-cray. But like — why isnt anybody exept for Vi attempting to stop her??? Like why is Jayce mourning Victor's twink death instead of, yk, stopping his childhood-best-friend-kinda-younger-sister from killing ppl of Zaun, the last thing Victor wants btw? She and Vi are twenty-ish — WHYYYY are they going through it by themselves??? Why doesnt baby yoda guy with German name that i dont dare to write trying to stop the daughtrer of his ex-collegue? He is 600 or something, im sure he could've come up with advice.

Cait pointing her gun at a child is terrifying, it opens up the possibilities of her going even more blinded with anger, doing even more horrific things, and Vi is right to try and stop her. However... I know damn right i would've believe her when she said she will not miss 😭 Every single time she fired her gun she was very precise. Even in that scene she aimed at the gun the girl was holding like two seconds ago and got a perfect. fucking. score. Like i dont remember her missing at all, actually.

"Ohhhhh you're gonnnaaa haaaaaattteeee Maddie after act two—" says who? On that note, i hope both Cait AND Vi will sleep with a few random people. Good for them. Let them try to forget about each other only to realise just how down bad they are for one another. Let the scenes of Cait and Maddie hooking up intertwine with Vi's one night stand.

"Maddie is just gonna be a victim of comander Cait :(((" and i do not have any thing to say to that — we dont yet KNOW what will happen — but I dont think Cait will try to manipulate her into this. I think Maddie will flirt a bit, Cait will try and seek salvage and vulnerability in someone, especially since she is now constantly in public's eye and needs to project hope™ and stoicism™. It will be a genuine attempt to move on — not anybody's fault she can't.

But oh god, oh goooddd i cant wait for Maddie to loose the spark in her eyes due to lesbian situationship.

[jaylleoo14]

An Octopus's First Impression

I have so much brainrots but im not a good enough writer to put them into actual stories and stuff😭 AHHHH TEH PAIN (If it isnt obvious enough I have low confidence in myself with my writing ability TT) But yes, Hello! This is going to be my debut as a twst writer and perhaps for other fandoms too<3 for now I am most comfortable writing for twst though, but please do enjoy your visit on my page!

Azul has yet to make a proper introduction to you

Part II

>GN!ReaderxAzul

[disclaimer] A rather desperate and calculative Tako

[characters] Azul and the other sillies that get in his way X3

When you first arrived at NRC Azul was surely not one of the individuals you'd paid mind to. The first dorm leaders that made their appearances known to your acknowledgment first was Vil because of his striking awe-stunning and jaw dropping beauty, Kalim because of his outward friendliness and radiating-welcoming personality, and lastly Riddle because of his fierce strictness to follow the school rules accordingly (And along with other respective proper and prim mannerisms and clothing rules to abide by whenever your paths were crossed)

Idia of course did not make his presence known and you literally did not know of him only until later after meeting Orthro, and even then you've only heard of him and never actually seen him. I mean cmon, who has honestly?

Leona is always hiding away, lazing around somewhere as he naps away into his own comfort so you dont even encounter him until some magical fateful day, but thats a story for another time :)

Although perhaps meeting him already when everyone is asleep, you arent really formally introduced to Malleus. So until then, you technically havent met Malleus for multiple reasons that are rather lengthy to list.

And then there's Azul. oooooh boy. Despite how interested he is in you regarding your sudden magical predicament and trying to approach you, you somehow always seem to be going astray from your interactions with him

He's tried to approach you, ensuring he'd give a lasting impression on you as he's heading on over to greet you properly

though things dont go as planned when Lilia is suddenly snatching you away to go entertain a certain activity of his out of nowhere

Or when you're being chased by a random Savanaclaw student with a bread bun in your mouth and Grim buried in your side as your arm wraps around him securely, holding about 4x amount of food in his paws (Cater in the background taking pictures of this and posting it on his magicam #delinquent #hungry for some breadbunz #Getting chased #My junior is so cute and trouble some #Uh oh trouble!)

Perhaps if it weren't for those troublesome classmates of yours, ah yes - Ace and Deuce - then you wouldn't be stuck in a tree branch right now with that troubling huntsman below you trying to help you down and he would by now be shaking hands with you

Why are you just all over the place?! You've already met with that Lazy Lion when all he did was sleep on the floor and you miraculously tripped over him, resulting in him catching you in his arms before you fell face first into the hard cobblestoned floor! He didnt even do anything to try and approach you so why is it that despite all his meticulous planning on trying to approach you and make an appearance, it just never happens?! Not only that but you're now indebted to that second prince just for you to do him a solid and fetch him a meat sandwich. Seriously, what a waste of a perfect opportunity

Do you perhaps already know who he is? Is that it? Are you actively trying to avoid him?! You're stressing him out already here Prefect, hello?! Its very important for a business man to expand his connections, you know. You two have never even properly met! Now that wont do at all, he must make his appearance now. Especially when you can offer that lovely little dwelling of yours for a branch of his add on of the Mostro Lounge with some talking and persuasion of course :)

He's been carefully looking over your schedule, trying to figure out what classes you go to at what time and when; will we be able to cross paths here? What about when you head on over to your chem class? You have lunch with who and where? Noted, now he can definitely prepare to approach you now. Is he desperate? Of course not, he's just ought to give you a proper greeting is all! Its not weird that he's trying to remember your schedule and trying to talk to you and-

You're in the library, studying up on some topics you don't quite get in your history class. The library was rather quaint and tranquil, a nice aesthetically pleasing place to help you go over your lessons and to study. You had a test coming up in Professor Trein's class and that was something you did NOT want to fail in again. Failing once or perhaps twice or maybe even a possible third time but who knows was already enough to bring your grade down to get a harsh scolding from Riddle and a sympathetic look from Trey

Your face all in the book, your notes plastered and sprawled out on the side where they rest on the table, and your other needed stationary next to you, you were in a environment where no one was around for you to focus up and study hard

Well, no one around except for Azul

Perfect! This is a great opportunity to approach you now! No one is around and he can even talk up into having you indebted to him by helping you study! This situation is rather perfect if he says so himself

A confident look spreads across his face as he walks on over to you, a perfect and professional air surrounding him

"Good evening Prefect, It's a pleasure to finally meet your acquaintance. I do apologize on interrupting your study session here but I would like the humbling experience to introduce myself."

A nice and firm smile is sprawled on his face as his hand is outstretched towards yours to make a formal shake. You look up from your book and stare at his hand, soon taking it as you sit and ponder only for a second

"Oh, aren't you that guy who couldn't get above 10 inches off the floor while riding his broomstick?"

Crack. After finally being able to introduce himself for GOD KNOWS HOW LONG, you know him for THAT?! For sevens sake! Not as Octavinelle's Dorm leader, BUT "that guy who couldn't get above 10 inches off the floor"

God he wants to go curl away and hide now. His hand flinching as you mention so but you keep a firm hold on his to give him a proper shake, a little oblivious to his faltering demeanor

"I think Floyd mentioned you before too. You're that boss running Mostro Lounge he said right? I think he said your name was-"

"Azul Ashengrotto." Clearing his throat a little before he continues "It's a pleasure to meet you (y/n)" Azul is quick to regain his composure and returns the firm hold. How strong you grip and how long you shake is incredibly important in dealing with business, especially when wanting to make lasting impressions to expand your social networks

In his mind though he wants to quickly eradicate that impression you have about him, and thus he asks to join you - to which you complied - in hopes of overwriting and hopefully making you forget that horrific thing you witness regarding his flight skills

And of course Floyd just had to meet you before he did. Its not really surprising considering his boisterous personality and extroverted behavior when in the mood, but perhaps Jade has also met you then too. Considering that those two tend to be near one another

No, of course he's not feeling bitter that even those two slimy eels met you first. Of course he's not feeling a little irritated that they didnt try to strike you up into making a deal with him. Or maybe the fact that whatever those two were doing they'd at least try to make you two meet! Afterall, he did tell them to send you over once due to his interest in you. But he then adverts his attention back onto you when mention how you are currently studying for an upcoming test

You dont know him at all yet, so you let yourself be completely vulnerable. Looking like the smart and reliable gentleman that he is, you ask him to help you study. Oh how you make it so easy for him, he didnt even need to offer!

With a pleasant smile on his face, his slick and gloved fingers pushing up the frame of his glasses, he happily accepts with a sweet tone in his voice as you both sit together and go over the lessons together

[cadavpurr]

ok here’s why I think that molly and the tardigrade might actually be the same character. very very big spoilers under the cut

from the moment that the tardigrade is introduced to us, we are given the information that despite him being immortal, he has awful memory. he doesn’t remember anything beyond the fact that he’s the owner of the museum of everything, and he’s supposed to be documenting everything that’s ever existed, even through he’s also forgotten a lot of what he’s documented too… he’s not frustrated by being forgetful though, he’s just kind of accepting of it.

“yeah, but most of these books aren’t important. or, just unsorted or something. that’s why they’re in the junk pile. see, like this?… *why do I even have this? did I make this? who knows!*” - the tardigrade, chapter 41.

the tardigrade relatively lax demeanor towards his own flaws is something that he actually has in common with molly, especially how they act in the comics first and second arc. I don’t really think I need to elaborate on how little molly really thought of themself in the earlier comic because arc 2 really makes sure that you understand… something something “lazy idiot and im happy that way”.

it may seem like mollys issues regarding their memory didn’t appear until chapter 44, but in chapter 38, she talks to leaf about how she can’t remember anything about seeing her future selves from her pasts point of view. she refers to her life before working at the museum to be a blur together in her memory. that’s 26 years of not remembering anything from her personal life. molly and the tardigrades lapses in memory is actually the most important part of this theory, they’re the only two characters that have this trait brought up multiple times throughout the story… it’s almost weirdly emphasized in a way.

alright this next part is like. a REALLY big hypothetical, and it’s also kind of hard for me to explain properly but hear me out here. what if your physical appearance at the end of time is based solely on how you perceive yourself? i genuinely have no “real” evidence for this beyond the tardigrades height inconsistencies. check how tall he is in chapter 2 vs how he’s mollys height in chapter 46 it’s kind of funny. sorry that was mean LOL. but anyways im saying this because I had this thought: when Jo and leaf eventually die, mollys going to be left alone with the tardigrade for a nearly incomprehensible amount of time. there’s a line of dialogue or a post that peyton made, I can’t remember which but ill come back to update this later when I find it, where the tardigrade explains how they find more stuff to put in the museum. he just goes out into the end of time and wanders until he finds something, and sometimes it takes *years.* so what if one day he just goes out and doesn’t come back? without the tardigrade, Molly won’t have anyone to remind them about who they are, or where they came from. the only thing they’ll be able to remember is that they’re immortal, and they’re in charge of the museum. so they turn into the tardigrade… thus making the story a loop. fucked up ain’t it.

(you could also make the claim that the tardigrade was never an actual tardigrade to begin with and it’s just a weird costume from one of those remotes but idk i like this idea better.)

there’s plenty of other instances of Molly and the tardigrade being eerily similar to eachother though. probably more than I can currently remember (it’s been a second since I reread mfm in its entirety) but this is one that always comes to mind when I talk abt this

anyways that’s all I can think of for now. ill come back to this later im tired lol… I didn’t know where to put this panel below but hey wouldnt this be cool if it was foreshadowing

[edwad]

If you had to pick one book to give background on the political economy Capital is criticizing would you suggest Rubin's History of Economic Thought? Any major issues you have with it? Also wonder what you think of Catherine Colliot-Thélène's claim in the afterword that: "If the ‘naturalness’ of economic laws is definitely illusory, the critique of political economy must deny the very existence of the object of political economy"?

rubin's history is written from a pretty sophisticated/defensible marxian perspective so it definitely has a lot going for it in that regard, but that is also its primary limit because it treats marx as the chief authority on the history of economic thought. this might be helpful for thinking through marx's project as he understood it, but it's not as good when it comes to taking a step back and estimating marx's performance by any other standard (eg 100 years of HET scholarship since rubin's text, 150 years since marx's, etc)

as far as the afterword goes, this message pushed me to take another look at it. i tried to read it a few years ago and found it basically indecipherable lmfao but this time it was pretty easy sailing so im not sure if im just more comfortable with the language now or what but it seemed to hit a lot similar notes to the kinds of things ive said here. it is very clearly indebted to a lot of the same post-althusserian stuff that ive been talking about (MCCT is cited approvingly several times and really seems to be the chief text that colliot-thélène is working with), so im sympathetic to some of the broad stroke theoretical problems being posed, but i would quibble with some of the assumptions at play.

she acknowledges the changes to marxs plans for the CoPE and even some of the theoretical transformations, but i think she draws too generously from the pre-capital marx of the grundrisse and the 59 contribution (or sometimes even further back to his work in the 40s!). there are both valuable texts for illuminating certain elements of marxs work/thinking, but you have to be careful in how you use these texts to make claims about marxs later work. she also has a tendency to hone in on the word "equilibrium" which comes out of the secondary material she's working with (namely MCCT) and not from marx, which then turns into her spending a lot of time hammering on about marxian equilibrium that i think is less textually justifiable than she believes, although it's crucial to her argument. how this bleeds into the stuff on "capital in general" is especially confusing because, as she notes, rosdolsky is probably right to believe that this approach to the object is dropped by marx (so why does this get held against him here?) etc etc.

regardless, it has an obvious family resemblance to the species of critique im working through, because she shares the same concern over the object of critique itself, but it is much narrower and i think too bogged down in categories which more properly belong to 20th century economics and the particular style of post-sraffian ricardo interpretation which dominated the minds of intellectual historians in CSE circles around the time she wrote this.

the result is that i think she misses the mark in pretty important ways, even if i think the conceptual difficulties of marxs categories are worth pointing out. the problem however is that these are the same kinds of issues which have been pointed out by clever marx-reconstructionists since rubin himself. this might be interesting marx scholarship, but it's not necessarily damning to his project, as all of the attempts to salvage him have made relatively clear (some of them have been quite successful even!)

when it comes to her specific claim about the naturalness of economic laws, i think this basically forfeits the epistemological element that she herself tries to raise. her entire critique could basically be summarized as follows:

marxs categories are non-empirical, but their merit is supposedly in their interconnections akin to an organic whole, so that, like a biological process, the invisible mechanisms are demonstrated in the surface results (relative prices etc). marx does this because the bourgeois economics which he is critiquing is modeled after natural science (specifically physics, although this is never really named in her critique), however the economy is not like a natural science at all. therefore we have to ask why marx's assumptions take this naturalistic assumption for granted if he is trying to prove that these are not natural categories etc etc.

this basically poses the question which marx himself tries to account for, as if he is failing for beginning with the exact problem she wishes he had addressed. its a very confusing place for her to end up, and i wonder if her afterword was rushed to completion because she suddenly reaches this point in the last couple of pages (the main criticism as you've quoted belongs to the last paragraph) after what strikes me as a very carefully written and thought-through piece until maybe the last third of the text. to suggest "if economic laws aren't natural then they must be fake so why bother trying to study them unless you're guilty of the same thing" fails to ask why the political economists would ever begin to conceive of the phenomena in this way. she is disinterested in the plausibility of the bourgeois conception, as if it's simply an erroneous collective accident and the fact that so many people's beliefs are structured this way isn't noteworthy once we admit that it's wrong. the irony is that, unlike marx, the result is that she basically takes this for granted by simply dismissing marx's immanent critique of it as being more of the same.

[gyubby99]

Im sending an ask

You got it!

(also im writing this on a laptop cause why not?)

Emma had this day marked on her calendar. It was one of her most anticipated day, along with their anniversary, sinsmas, and Valentine's day. She never cared much about getting things for herself, she always had everything ever since she was "born" into this world. She always has the latest models and fashions of everything, thanks to the privilege she always had growing up as the heir of the most successful tech company, and all the close ties to different businessmen. Buying something for herself was like wanting more of everything that she could easily obtain herself for free-- so she decided to spend her money on more important matters, that being Theodore's birthday.

Emma had gone earlier. Thankfully, Theo didn’t suspect all that much on where she was going. It was now June 26th, but it was better to prepare earlier. She has everything under control so far, she just needs to be careful in keeping her surprise from him, because Satan forbids you spit out a single lie in front of his face. Wanting to surprise someone who can sense lies was like walking on eggshells every time, but she found herself liking a little challenge. The only issue when he finds out, is that he’s going to tell her that she’s wasting her money on him, and that he was fine. Of course, Emma won’t have any of that. For everything he’s done for her and is still doing for her, he deserves to be spoiled, especially on his birthday. 

Emma had decided to give him a new pair of shoes, a suit for formal occasions, and the latest Vwatch to match with his phone that her father got for him. She also has a bucket list of the things they would be doing while she occupies most of his time on that day. She figured they’d go to his favorite restaurant, shop at his favorite store, and she’s still on the fence of renting out the said restaurant for the whole night for dinner. She even talked to Aponi about the diner where they’d have a romantic, sweet little breakfast. She already agreed to babysit Peanut, Froggie, and their frog pond while they were away from home. Mal was going to take care of both her brothel and Aponi’s bar, which they liked to call, “Mal and ‘Poni’s performance center” as you will. Her father also promised to take care of the tech company for the day, and told her to send her husband greetings and regards.

She went to the mall first, looking down at her phone as she checked the list of things she would purchase today. 

“Okay.. shoes and.. Suit! I wonder how many suits I wanna buy for him..” She shrugs her shoulders. “Eh, depends how many I find him hot on.” she put her phone back in her pockets. ‘Nailed it, Em. Just use your imagination.’ She thought to herself before pondering on his foot size. 

“Wasn’t it nine inches?” she asks herself, before her eyes widened and she gasped. “Wrong foot size.”

She went to walk to the store anyway after remembering his actual foot size. She checked out all of the shoes in different sizes, styles and of course, he gets the most expensive one. The way she pictured him with a shiny black pair of shoes and the suit she’ll pick out for him was like she desired that man both romantically and carnally all at the same time. She can almost picture him opening the door for her in a dashing smile as he always did– only wider on this one specific day, because she was going to make sure everything was perfect. 

She picked it up and requested Theo’s shoe size, in which the assistant obliged and brought her one of his size. As she took and examined it closer, she realized how huge he really was. The size of her foot is the size of his hand! 

‘Alright.. He’s huge.’ Emma thought to herself. “I’ll take this, thank you very much, dear!” she exclaimed to the assistant. 

The camera flashes faster than she could blink, and at the moment she knew it was a paparazzi sneaking up on her– well what else could it be? It was nothing new! She sighs irritatedly, pulling her phone out as the store assistant started putting the shoes inside of its box. “Hello? Yeah, I need a favor, darling.. They’re out in the open again. Take the pictures down as soon as it surfaces the media. I want it gone, hm? Alright, lovely. That’s all, dear! I’ll give you a raise for that.” She ended the call and put her phone back into her pocket. 

“Here you go, miss Emilia..” the assistant said to her as she was handed the box in plastic. Emma smiled at her. “Thanks, darling! Say hi to Donovan for me?” she told the assistant, who nodded her head as she smiled. Emma smiled wider upon seeing this. “Have a good day, Leonor..” She said, before walking back to the counter to pay. 

She pulled out her credit card, and handed it to the cashier. She texted a few of her friends, agreeing to meet up at the mall after she buys everything she needed to. 

“Ma’am, your card has been declined.”

Emma stopped in her tracks. “Excuse me?”

“Your card has been declined.”

Now that was utter bullshit. Who do they think she is? Some girl who went shopping for her husband’s birthday? Technically, that’s what she’s doing, but other than that, she was the Emilia Hartfelt. Heir to the company of Voxtek, the tech princess herself! This is not right.

“Try it again.” She decided to give the person some grace and mercy before she snaps at this major offense. 

“I’m sorry, MIss. it didn’t work..”

That made a chuckle out of her. “What are you trying to say? That it’s my fault? Try it again.”

Another try.

It didn’t work.

“Miss–” Emma cut her off. “Miss? Miss?! Who in the nine circles do you think I am?! I own Voxtek! I haven’t even maxed out my credit card because– oh! Right! Because it’s never empty!”

“But it says–”

Emma’s eyes glowed red. “Do you think I give a shit what it says? I know the CEO’s son, and I could easily get you fired if you don’t fix whatever’s wrong with this fucking machine!”

“Ma’am-” 

Emma, wanting it over and done with, forcefully took her credit card from the man and pulled out her wallet, giving the cashier plain cash. She stared him down, before blinking twice, signaling that all information of this man had been obtained. “You have your warning.”

She walked out of the store with the shoes, before calling her assistant, Peppermint, over to go with her. She was already pissed off as it is.

[jolalibrary]

Hi there! 😊 I came across your comment regarding reblogging while dealing with social anxiety, and it got me thinking. I want to make sure I approach things correctly, especially considering the significance of reblogs for gif makers and writers. I hope it's alright to reach out and ask for some guidance?

omg of courseeee it's okay! (i've actually added a little inbox is open for chats thing to my masterlist so never fear, if that says open, we are gravy). anyway, let's give this a go.

although, firstly, i just want to preface this i am not an expert, this is just how i dealt with the early "reblog" panic.

so, you are right, reblogs are important. not just because of the algorithm, spreading the work etc etc etc, but also because it means you get to interact with the gifmaker/writer! (yay!). and for me, initiating that one-on-one contact is intimidating. but, one of the ways i first began to interact was through reblogs.

so, nowadays, i leave comments as part of the reblog. not just to say that i loved the story, but why. and the why is so important. why?(hehe) because that's personal to you.

you, you wonderful person.

no one can take that from you. not everyone is going to think as beautifully as you. you own that thought. and also you can't be wrong as to why you liked something. because that's your opinion (which is awesome in itself).

now when you're starting out reblogging it can feel super daunting to think up a comment, so when i started, i began in the hashtags (for some reason, this felt less scary? im not sure why, but it works).

i think earlier i said you could always start with "love this", but you could always add more (in my case, i get more and more unhinged).

for example, you could go:

#love this #X was written so well #my favourite trope #reread material ⬆️ btw, these are just examples, you dont have to use them

now the benefits of doing this are, yes, you are reblogging the work, therefore exposing it to others (and showcasing why you loved it to them). but, anon, you're also opening a dialogue with the gifmaker/writer. and they will notice (in my case, i do a little kick when i read them, true story).

while this doesn't mean automatic friendship, you are interacting. and look, there's also a chance they'll interact back. regardless if that happens, you have shared work (yay!) and you've likely made their day (and for us, socially anxious folk, also showed your brain whats what).

then, in time, when you grow more confident, you can experiment with moving from hashtags to comments (if you want). equally, your experience and comfort matter here, you don't have to use the hashtags at all, you could reblog and keep them generic like #frankie morales x reader (for example) at first.

i know from personal experience, sometimes i am staring at my reblog comment of someone else's work and i'm not sure WHAT to say. but then i remember talking to someone about a book and i just began explaining WHY i liked the book, and realised (in one of those weirdly earth-shattering moments) that is all i need to do when i reblog. i am just sharing out loud what it was about the thing that made me grin.

now, i will say, unless specified by the author/maker, do not give constructive criticism or point out things you didn't like in a reblog (especially if you don't know the person). just because without "tone", it can feel really impersonal and hurtful.

but other than that, have fun! fandom is only a beautiful place if those participating are having fun.

i hope this was helpful, in some capacity. love jo 🩷✨

[pennesloppy]

the magnus protocol is so good i cant

second episode's statement feels both like an expansion on the slaughter and its ties to music and arts / wild passion but it's also very focused on the flesh and the perfection of self and i'm not even at what I assume to be the big twist yet but this feels like mastery over your series' concepts. also martin and jon being the TTS is unspeakably cool but the fuckn Implications. like I'm pretty sure it's because they've opened the floodgates in MAG300 and they're like. a part of the eye now? maybe??? but I feel like it makes sense. I hope they show up in reports or something. and in person ofc

idk if sam trying to piece together the system hints to a gertrude equivalent of shtick being misfiled on purpose? colin definitely knows more about it though (hes got my name!!!!). lena definitely hits the elias vibe but feels very much less insidious. i feel like drawing parallels might be a reckless move but I can see so many of them. like, alice has the willingly skeptic vibe that jon had.

oh also I love the character focus. the original is definitely more of a slow burn in that regards which makes it very difficult for me to not gush about to the friends i'm introducing TMA to, but this is wonderful.

it feels significant that teddy is allowed to leave in the first episode. makes me think the OIAR isn't affiliated with the eye/ not as much as the archives, might be because of the lack of jonah magnus? also gwen wanting to take lena's place and stuff definitely foreshadows SOMETHING and I am scared as hell.

im still on the 'the archives failed their ritual due to the lightless flame' theory train but i'm very intrigued by the archives still fighting back against intruders.

canaries should stay above ground is very fucked, i love it, i think it's interesting the eye actually made someone STOP seeing for once though. also the dates of the posts built tension so efficiently I loved that so much. the different report formats and the heavy breach of privacy add so much flavor to the horror. also that box redcanary took is absolutely the web box thing right?

speaking of the web, the listening devices are so good. i doubt they're web-related this time, especially if the archives are not as important this time around, but the fact they're just following you is horrible.

i don't know to what extend the eye is 'stronger' because of the TMA ritual or if it's even canon to the TMP series but I feel like the eye is much more insidious and I don't know if it's because it's desperate due to the destruction of the archives or if it's a manifestation of it's dominance over the other fears? I do hope the TMP universe is one of the many made to be consumed after the fear in TMA world dried up completely though, that would be very cool and that is personally why I think martin and jon show up as text-to-speech.

i think I should do more unhinged rant posts tbh, i'm sorry it's disorganized to any hypothetical readers though, it's very much hastily typed thoughts I haven't exactly very much expanded upon. i've got doubts anyone is gonna actually see this but i do really wanna talk about it so if anything is confusing ask me about it or something. might clean this up later anyways

[spookyserenades]

OH DANA, you never fail to feed us so well ive gobbled everything up!!!! Namjoon moments, new domestic Jimin activities, OUR HOBI TRYING TO TALK US DOWN FROM THE LEDGE. like nice try babes but I wouldn't want to just take what that ghost said to me either, boutta throw hands with the entities. Sure they can call me a wh*re but mama didn't raise a COWARD. I'd also want to exorsice them out of pure spite (and for the safety of the family I guess) 😤 (also another hobi scenting scene? Yeah. Hot)

The second investigation was so cool and terrifying to read as well. My jaw dropped when I read the line saying we didn't notice our incense stick running out and the shadows around our ghost buster team. I was thoroughly spooked. However that got us JUNGKOOK TAT & PIERCING REVEAL! JUNGKOOK TAT & PIERCING REVEAL! I love bonding with our boys and looking respectfully.

HYBRID RIGHTS! HYBRID RIGHTS!!! WOOOOOO 🎉🎉🎉 loved the return of y/n's parents im forever in awe of the way you write the supporting characters as well. I really care for everyone in the trouville verse immensely. I like the intro of more opportunities for our boys as well with advancing hybrid rights! Really interested to see where this will go. (Considering our growing codependency to our hybrids im looking forward to different yearning opportunities lol)

Regarding the ending...

WE FUMBLED THE BAG SO HARD 😫 WHY AM I ACTUALLY UPSET ABOUT THIS WEEKS ENDING? I'm y/n fr fr my heart took a deep plunge into icy cold waters of REJECTION. Bestie really said you snooze you lose and WE LOST SO BAD. HOW WILL WE RECOVER???? 😫😭

( also I went back to read some asks on the blog and turns out there has been a new 🍒anon while I was gone, so I will now be signing off as 🧡anon! To avoid confusion for me lol)

-🧡

EEEE STOPPP THANK YOU 🥺🥺🥺 Honestly you guys feed me just as well when we chat about the story together, too 💕💕

You're so so soooo right about wanting to throw hands with the ghosts. Like first you corner me in a bedroom, call me a whore, then you have the balls to hurt one of the hybrids I love??? BYE! I'd be up in that house with holy oil, spell candles, and a goddamn sword on fire if I were Y/N!!!

Defff was time for another scenting, especially one from a hybrid she's not already romantically involved with! I like that it was a more tender, romantic moment between her and Hoseok, which things between the two of them have been pretty bestie/platonic aside from a few instances here and there. V HOT!

OOO I know like that was the first UH OH moment, when she forgot to light another stick of incense! She must have been so distracted by trying to protect Jeongguk and Namjoon from the shadows that she didn't notice it went out. But YEEEEEEEE GOTH JEONGGUK TATS! AND PIERCINGS!!! MY OBSESSION!!!! She also was NAWT looking respectfully 💀

WOOOOOOO HYBRID RIGHTS FUCKING FINALLY!!!!!!! AND stop 😭😭😭😭 I'm so happy you like the supporting characters, and not just the mains, it's important for Y/N to have others to lean on, not just her hybrids. I also love her mother's Jamie Lee Curtis vibes 🥰 I def think that a handful of the hybrids will either seek some kind of employment or maybe check out a uni class, Jimin and Hoseok in particular. I mean seriously, Jimin can't hang out with horses FOREVER 💀

fjkdaslfhasf IM KNOWN FOR THE MADDENING ENDINGS IM SORRYYY 💀 No seriously though that betrayal is gonna be brutal for her. I imagine Taehyung still feels a little betrayed that she hid her relationship with Yoongi from her, but like what was she supposed to do--- sit him down and go heyyyy I love Yoongi is that alright with you? Like imagine that conversation 💀 We WILL recover though I swear!!! Need some angst and obstacles to make everything more satisfying in the end 😉

OOP I'm sorry about the anon mixup lovebug!!! I love the orange heart too, though, so welcome back to our corner of Tumblr and sending you love 💜

[ninyard]

legally required to send you an ask? what if i pull a neil and lie to the fbi when they come to get me??? genuinely tho, tsc was so fucking good. jeremy and cat and lalia's dynamic has me chewing on walls, but so does the unrequited kevjean (fucked over by another pretty face??? jean teaching him french?????) and reading about the foxes's wins from jean's pov has me screaminf crying etc but I'd really love to hear if you have any theories on Jeremy's family?

Surprise I’m actually the FBI and I’m onto u now

But for real I’ve been going crazy thinking about TSC since I read it. The kevjean dynamic has me losing my mind like I got SHIVERS reading his asking Jean to teach him French. And the way my stomach FLIPPED reading “did you know I’ve never been skiing?” From Jeans POV. Puking vomitting screaming crying throwing up okay

Jeremy’s family. I have NO idea. It’s so vague they’re purely like random shots in the dark as to what it could be but here’s my thoughts as of rn:

1) Jeremy’s family are big investors in USC. It’s why he’s Captain, it’s why he has to show his face at Knox family events, public gatherings and all that, because he’s the proof that the money is worth it for the returns, and he’s the face of USC. They’re counting on his success to bring them more money.

2) Half of his family are homophobic. Maybe it’s just because he’s gay and his Political Old Money family seem to not get along with him very well that I think that, but also him bleaching his hair blond and then being unwelcome at dinners because of it. It seems like image is very important to them, and even if he’s quietly gay, dying his hair could be perceived as a Gay Thing To Do. His sister says to him “you destroyed the family,” what specifically could he have done to tear his family apart? Imagine your family investing (millions maybe) into your team, your sport, and then you put their image in jeopardy for being the out and proud gay kid that creates a negative talking point. He also quickly puts his phone away when he realises his sister is around which feels like a gay kid hiding from his family thing to do.

3) the banquet im at a loss for to be honest. I’ve been trying to rack my brain around what could’ve happened, but what we do know is a) whatever happened at the banquet tore their family apart b) his sister pretends Exy doesn’t exist because of it c) she’s never forgiven him for it. Gay Trauma brain of mine says maybe he took a man as his date and it caused a lot of problems in his home life, maybe they asked him not to and he said fuck you and did it anyway. But would that really destroy his family? The therapist thing too. Fight back against what???

4) there’s obviously some weird relationship problems in his family too. Doesn’t like to be called Knox, says his grandfather is not his grandfather, avoids his brother like the plague. The only person he seems to talk to is the butler. His sister barely regards him as well. He feels like the black sheep but I don’t know why!!! Also at some point it’s mentioned (I’m pretty sure anyway) that he doesn’t seem to be getting much in terms of monetary handouts from his family so he’s potentially having Allison type problems where he’s lost his inheritance or cut out of his grandfathers will or SOMETHING. He feels like the disappointment of his family but I can’t place my finger on why other than the fact that he’s gay. I don’t know. I’m going CRAZY not knowing tho.

Jeremy is fascinating me and it’s infuriating that I don’t know more. I know it’ll make the reveal in TCS2 much sweeter but damn can I pls get a little crumb of his backstory? His trauma? Just a little bit?

Anyways this an incoherent jumbled mess of thoughts about Jeremy but I am SO curious about his family. The banquet especially because it’s pretty intense, or seems to be at least from that little paragraph about it. I would die for you Jeremy Knox just tell me everything first pls!!!!!

[sunnynoki]

We don’t talk a lot - We haven’t talked in probably about a year or so now, since I left the fandom space we met in. I’ve changed usernames since then - I went by Wheat on discord. Sorry I’ve been so distant. I never knew how to talk to you since it’s been a while.

Even still, I want to tell you that you were important to me, and still are. I wish we could talk more. I want to talk about your new interests. What are you into these days? I’ve been getting into some older games these days, but I’ve been missing pokemon a bit. I want to get back into it. Do you still draw Sky? I never asked you about them with as much detail as I wanted to. I was always worried about being too intrusive, but I regret that now. Your OCs are really imaginative. I know you’re into tensura now, right? Season 3 is coming out soon. I’m excited for that.

I want to get to know you again. I don’t know what happened with whatever you left behind, and I don’t know if this is a weird message to send, but you’re important to me and I want to let you know that you are. I wouldn’t be who I am if you weren’t there in the beginning. Thank you for being you.

i dont know how to talk either. every sentence i say either feels fake or self centered, selfish. and dont worry about being distant; it happens, especially when interests change. i dont blame you.

youre important to me too. i wish we could talk more. im not into much right now. i just feel empty. i gave up su/bmas, after everything. it was too much, not knowing who i could trust not to fucking ship them, or think its ok in any circumstance. yet sometimes i still crawl back to the tag, despite blocking it a while ago. i dont touch anything though, just look. it doesnt bring me joy anymore. i think im finally letting it go. i dont know how i feel about po/kemon yet. its kinda just. there. maybe im just feeling particularly apathetic right now.

i don't really draw anything right now. i dont know if i can go back. it was my only hobby, yet my therapist said that it wasnt enough, even when i was at my lowest. well, at the time. ive set a new low score at this point. i dont want to draw. i don't know what id draw. i dont think i can. my computer is kinda a no mans land at this point. i don't really touch it anymore. im glad you liked sky though. i never understood why she garnered so much attention. i could never write a good enough character for her. she was a mary sue in that way, with no real character flaws, let alone the... everything else. either way, like i said, im glad you liked her regardless. it means a lot. the attention i got because of her made me really happy.

like i said, im not really into anything right now, but i guess tensura would be regarded as an "interest." im... looking forward to season 3. i read one of the light novels thats going to be adapted a month or two back though, so i guess its gonna be a moment before i get to "new" content.

i dont know if theres anyone to get to know anymore. i was already in a depressive episode before this disaster, now i dont know if theres any going back, if theres any way to recover. it isnt a weird message to send, and its appreciated that you care for me but. im not sure if i can trust anyone again. im not sure if i can even trust myself. even in the aftermath, the people i thought i could trust either no longer talk to me or still interact with those who hurt me. i guess its selfish to ask them to cut off those friends too. but ive always been selfish. self centered. egotistical.

regardless, im glad i had some positive impact despite my mess of a personality. thank you for your words

[rocksandboulders]

hey guys :) are you looking for more ways to manifest in your life and/or do you not have time to set aside for manifestations? even if you are not spiritual, these are great ways to build a healthier headspace for yourself.

my BIGGEST tip, which i use on a daily basis, is to turn your everyday tasks into a ritual. here are some examples to use or to find inspiration from:

1- CLEANING RITUALS (showering, bathing, brushing teeth, brushing hair, sweeping, dishes, etc.)

firstly, this is one of the easiest to come up with, and it makes large strides towards positivity, especially when it's something you dread doing. rather than thinking about how badly you want to be done with x task, take a breath and think about how you are doing x thing for y outcome. this can be something as simple as cleansing the space, both physically and energetically, but you can also get more complex with it if there's something with more steps irking you.

when i shower, for example, i use shampoo, conditioner, face wash, and body wash, and i use each item twice. this gets really tedious sometimes, but if i give a reason for why i am doing each thing, talking myself through the process, it slows my brain down, grounds me, and leaves me feeling much more fulfilled by the end. (ex: "i am washing my face to rid myself of any masks i put on that i dont wish to keep." "i am washing my hands to wash off any unsteadiness." "i am washing my chest to relieve my heart of stress.")

if you're interested in my very intricate shower routine, im absolutely happy to give a full outline of products, the intentions i use, the order in which i use them, etc.

2- FOOD AND BEVERAGE (herbs, teas, instant meals, restaurant meals, coffee, etc)

by preparing, ordering, or even grocery shopping, you create many, many different opportunities in which to manifest. in my personal life, i find it easiest to do when i prepare food or drinks for myself.

this can be something as simple as a singular ingredient, and as complicated as every ingredient and technique used! i think, most often, i use this when i make myself tea, because i can just think to myself a singular intention for the cup. "this tea is being made to comfort me." "this tea will slow down my racing thoughts." "this tea will make me sleep easier." etc.

i also like to ask my friends what they would like their intentions to be when i make them food or drinks. you can also set intentions if youre reheating something, re-seasoning something, or even just changing the plate or bowl it's served with.

3-ACTIVITIES (classes, friends, arts and crafts, music, sports, etc)

this is one that i think i overlook a lot, but im trying to make more space to manifest with in my life now. when in regards to activities, i personally spend a lot of time dreading the fact that i have to do anything (bc i would so love to just sit in my bed all day) (and im sure most of us would love that as well), but letting ourselves look at our opportunities negatively in the ways we do means that we push negative energy onto our experiences before they even happen. i, for one, have had my most fulfilling experiences when i have gone in with an intention of what it is for.

this does NOT mean the intention stays the same, or even stays at all. flexibility is key.

but i digress. if you friends are having a beach day and you spend the time leading up to it just dreading that it's going to happen, it's not going to go as well for you compared to if you spent your time being excited and happy. the flexibility comes in when your beach day is suddenly rained out. if youve been a party pooper, youre going to continue to complain, but if youve been optimistic and positive, youre going to work to find an alternative that is just as, if not even more fun.

this is also important in keeping you moving in classes. ("today i learn x." "i am going to x class because y." "my goal for today is to stay fully focused.")

CONCLUSION

this is so fun to me and if anyone wants to talk about it MESSAGE ME this is SO INTERESTING and i have SO MUCH MORE IWANT TO SAY

[razzmothazz]

okay, but what fob songs and lines for what characters, I want to know also, for autism reasons lmao.

IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED BUT ALSO I DONT WANNA GO TOO DEEP CAUSE I COULD TALK ABT IT FOR HOURS AAAA

i could take reqs for certains songs cause i have thoughts on nearly all of them, but im gonna ramble rn about how i feel so much (for) stardust [album, not the song specifically] is so vbs to me actually...

starting off strong with love from the other side

THIS IS SO AN TO ME !!! especially after her learning about how everyone hid the passing of someone SO important to her away for three god damn years.

this part is kinda self explanatory i feel? especially "what would you trade the pain for", refering to the pain of losing her role model of sorts of course. someone she looked up to so much and held in such high regard and she didnt even know theyve been gone.. she makes me SOB

this part refering to her feeling like the whole "city" [vivid street] pretty much lied to her and deceived her, everything feels wrong and off now. its not the same home it was before.

the feeling in this case would obviously be grief, anger and so many others tbh, she lets the feelings out and uses music as an outlet of sorts for it ?? not sure how to explain what i mean [im writing this at 3am sorry] the feelings are so overwhelming i dont think she could fight them if she wanted to, but why would you want to fight such justified feelings ?? i feel SO bad for her omg

this part works for all of vbs, but i feel like it especially applies to akito and an, obviously referencing surpassing rad weekend and how difficult it is considering their constant feeling of inferiority, with akitos being a pretty extreme case of it.

also just feels to me like something akito would actually say/sing

also haha funny hampster refering to kohane /j

i dont have words that can describe this line other than just imagine an singing it with the context of what i said before. that is all.

OFF TO HEARTBREAK FEELS SO GOOD

this is just very vbs to me, its easy to apply their stories and themes to these verses. they will surpass radweekend someday. they can do it, and they can do it together and go even further after, hopefully.

the pre-chorus reminded me of akitos situation with older musicians, how they mocked him etc. which at first obviously made him feel horrible, but he learned from that and now he alone is even better than some of them, and with all of vbs at his side hes even better.

dont have as much for this one, so moving on to

HOLD ME LIKE A GRUDGE

one word. AKITOYA.

cmon now. you see the vision.

this is SO akito talking to toya, how he motivates him to do better and better and helps him up any time he feels down.

they are soulmates, no matter how you look at it!! but theres also akito being a bit of a menace as well as often feeling like hes dragging toya down, yet despite that he wants to stay with him. akito doesnt want to do this without toya, and the feeling is obviously mutual [im actually so insane about them. they are SO important to me not even as a romantic couple just 2 guys meant to be together as partners UEUEUUEUEUEUEEE]

after all the hardships theyre still going strong, some dreams were crushed along the way but their main goal is always there.

the pressure bit makes me think about how each of them feels somewhat inferior to the others, [they need therapy istg] which makes them want to constantly keep pushing themselves to do better and better, and to keep going and going. they have what it takes, they just need to work to perfect it. they know they will do it but they still have a lot to figure out, obviously. they get a bit lost and stuck at times trying to get to their desired level but they will surpass rad weekend. someday.

OKAY IM GONNA STOP HERE BUT I COULD GO ON AND ON AAAAAAAAA I LOVE ASSOCIATING MUSIC I LOVE WITH CHARACTERS I LOVE!!!!!!

< 3333333333

[lucero-is-here]

Headcanons: Henry Liu

Requested by:

Should have included photo of him so-

I know little about him. But anyways…

- He has sleeping issues (insomnia). He takes sleeping pills to sleep sometimes. But the usual amount of sleep he gets is 5 hours by some miracle.

- he takes a lot of pride in his work, and spends most of his time working. His work is one of the most important things to him and he sees it (along with his abilities and knowledge) as a defining factor of his worth.

- he spends at least 15 minutes every morning making sure he looks presentable.

- He sometimes wears contact lenses, but still prefers glasses.

- majority of his tops are turtlenecks…With a few regular shirts.

- he likes monochrome colours the most. He likes neon colours the least.

- if he had a favourite animal, it’s cats.

- He cuts his nails often, after one time he broke a nail while working in his lab.

- his favourite subject is Science and Math.

- he isn’t the best at communicating with others (introverted), but will stray out his comfort zone to talk to other people regarding work or other matters.

- he doesn’t like jewellery. He takes off his wedding ring (since he’s canonly married in game) when working in the lab so as not to damage his wedding ring. The only jewellery he lets himself wearing while working is necklaces with small charms on them. So often times, he ties his wedding ring to a string and ties it around his neck.

- he wears black boots or loafers to work. He finds them most comfortable. He also has brown boots and loafers.

- he’s not the most athletic. When he was younger he didn’t like PE classes. He also got hit im the face by a soccer ball once unfortunately.

- when he sleeps, he usually stays on bed but sometimes you’ll find him falling off in the most weird positions ever. One time his wife saw him half falling off the bed.

- he can sleep anywhere. He fell asleep on the bed, a sofa, a chair, a wooden chair, the bus, the train, the floor, while standing, he fell asleep on a swing once somehow too-

- he’s scared of dogs. He got bit by one before and refuses to go near them ever again.

That’s all for now- I don’t think I have any other headcanons for this man especially since I don’t know him that well- part 2? (Not sure if there will actually be part 2 but hey- why not)

[oraclekleo]

I had so much to type so im sending another ask! Hope you don't mind Kleo!

At first while i read Seo Joon's kinky reading n my reading with him.. It felt very..vulnerable n soft? There was a reason i chose Blindfold with him and I'm 100% sure even if the roles were reversed, the reading would not have changed, at all!

I've been forced to be very very passive about myself n my own life, i am learning to assert myself in all areas, sexually n non sexually and your blog has been very open and liberating of sorts. I don't have any experience too and I agree very much with you! We must know ourselves first to have strong boundaries. To be open to intense experiences, you must know your own body n yourself too -esp if you have been shamed for how you look n how you feel. Which unfortunately happens to a Lot n lot of women. And it's so important to choose the right person in top of it to enjoy these stuffs. There is nothing to be ashamed of regarding these topics and I'm admiring you exactly cause of that.

Andd im excited for newer games🥰 i don't know if this game is possible but i was thinking "what would you be good at if you were a Dom" topic cause I was so curious about this!

Hello!

I'm always happy to receive long messages 😂

Seo Joon has that vulnerable vibe to him so you are very likely correct. 😊

I always support the idea of women being dom. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against women being submissive, as long as they consciously decided and know that that's how they feel comfortable, good for them, go for it. But sometimes it's like you say, women are traditionally, historically, culturally somewhat guided or even pushed into submission and it's what I have a problem with. I think every woman should have the choice, should be able to truly think it through or even try to be in a dominant position and then make the decision whether she feels better being sub, dom, switch or being just equal with partner with no power play involved whatsoever. And it's not easy to sort of step outside of the submissive woman narrative because we are pushed not only by traditions or customs and society but also by media production. It's pretty rare to see a female dom in movies, TV, in literature. It's getting better these years but for example when I was a teenager I was mostly exposed to all those rom-coms where the female heroin basically waited to be saved by man. It really made me feel like a weirdo when I was enjoying being responsible, making decisions on my own, living independently. I felt like I was in some way errored. 😂 I often listened to other girls how they talked about how they had to beg their boyfriends to do this and that and how they waited for them to do this and that and all I could think of was "For gods' sake, why you don't do it yourself?!" 🤣

At this point, I'm so much of a dom in my life that I'm pretty sure I would want to maintain that role in a romantic relationship, too, if I ever dated anyone. 😁

And I really like to support anyone to explore their comfort zones and boundaries when it comes to their life, be it in a sexual or non sexual area. Once you really know yourself, you can truly appreciate others and you can more naturally find common ground with them, especially when it comes to as sensitive topic as sex. You can hardly tell you lover you like this and that and dislike this and that if you don't know what you like and dislike. So! Self-discovery is the key. 😊

There's nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to sexuality, unless it's illegal. Consent is the top most important thing always. But being curious, fantasizing, exploring, learning, imagining, experimenting, discussing... that's all perfectly alright and healthy. I don't know why women are still somewhat taught not to focus on this aspect of their life, to be ashamed of their bodies and their desires. It's ridiculous. I'm always here to discuss any related topic. I have friends who never talked about sexual topics before and now they send me the horniest messages and while we do have a good laugh about it, it also builds an atmosphere of trust and support. 😊

Lastly but most importantly, you are a genius because the tarot reading you suggested is exactly the thing I like to do. Something like what kind of a dom you would be. I'm going to give it a serious thought. I also like the fact I could truly put all my erotic decks to a good use with this 🤣 Thank you for your suggestions 💖💖💖💖

Keep on fighting, love yourself because you are fabulous ✨

[pesterloglog]

Dave Strider, Dirk Strider, Jake English

Meat, page 5

DAVE: bro im watching you on the tube and i gotta say

DAVE: while the beatdown you just received was as thorough as it was humiliating im afraid as usual the solution to this problem should probably not involve your decapitation

DAVE: you fucking drama queen

DIRK: Damn.

DIRK: Are you sure?

DAVE: yeah

DAVE: jake just kicked your ass

DAVE: thats really all there is to say on the matter

DIRK: You’re probably right.

DIRK: But still not entirely sure we should be so quick to rule out my beheading as a catchall solution to any given problem.

DIRK: It really could save us all a lot of trouble in the future. Especially me.

DAVE: its really amazing how this meme we have going here continues to be exactly as funny as the day it was established

DIRK: Isn’t it always though?

DAVE: yeah

DAVE: by the way

DAVE: how DID you get your ass kicked so bad

DAVE: jake sucks and his raps are fucking awful

DAVE: please tell me this garbage show is as rigged as it looks

DIRK: Dave, there’s such a thing as showmanship.

DIRK: I’m sure I don’t need to explain this to you, of all people.

DAVE: ok cool its fake just making sure

DIRK: Sigh.

DIRK: We really don’t like to use that word.

DAVE: lmao ok

DIRK: Holding back a little to achieve certain results doesn’t necessarily mean you’re participating in a farce or rigging the event.

DIRK: We do this all the time. We hold back our thoughts, our true feelings, our full potential. We disguise how much we know about what and when, for many purposes. To ease relations, to let others behave naturally and make up their minds without undue intervention. To wait for the right moments to show our hands, to pick our battles.

DIRK: In life, there are many reasons to show restraint, which would never be regarded as an attempt to rig reality.

DAVE: oof

DAVE: my dog you are full of some SHIT today arent you

DIRK: Absolutely.

DIRK: And when it comes to theater, there are just as many reasons for restraint. To build tension. To set the stage. To give the people someone to root against.

DAVE: is that what youre doing now

DAVE: making people root against you

DIRK: What, by losing a round? No, man. That’s just standard pacing stuff when it comes to battlecraft.

DAVE: no i mean by holding up the whole fight by talking to me

DAVE: i can see you on tv

DAVE: theyre booing you dude

DIRK: Oh.

DIRK: Then yes, I guess that is what I’m doing.

JAKE: Dirk are you going to be much longer with your telephone call?

JAKE: The crowd is getting feisty... you didnt get too badly winded from our last scrum did you dirk?

DIRK: Haha, no Jake. I’m fine. I’ll just be a minute.

JAKE: What about the agitated rabble? Theyre starting to throw things.

DIRK: I don’t know. Do a dance or something. Sing a song.

DIRK: They love anything you do.

JAKE: Ummm.

JAKE: Ok sounds stupid but ill try.

DAVE: why do you want people to hate you so much

DAVE: its fucked up

DIRK: You’re reading way too much into it.

DIRK: If I wanted another round of embarrassingly indulgent and mutually masturbatory psychoanalysis, I would have called my daughter instead.

DAVE: hm

DAVE: do i need to point out how fucking weird what you just said was or can that start going without saying at this point

DIRK: I think it can go without saying.

DAVE: nice

DIRK: The point is, playing myself up as a villain figure in this hacky rap pageant has nothing to do with getting people to dislike me. Besides, everyone loves a good villain. When they boo, they don’t really mean it.

DIRK: I think you’d be surprised by how popular I actually am.

DAVE: i dunno man

DAVE: did...

DAVE: did someone just throw a diaper at you

DIRK: There’s gonna be some diapers, yeah.

DAVE: sounds bad

DIRK: The point is, this is much less about me, and more about providing a foil for Jake’s heroism and charisma.

DIRK: It’s very important that his popularity continues to be cultivated, to maximize his political capital.

DAVE: political capital

DAVE: what the fuck are...

DAVE: ok how long have you known about the jane thing

DAVE: i mean is this something you have been planning for like

DAVE: a long time or

DIRK: Planning is such an intense word.

DAVE: god damn it

DIRK: Look, let’s just say there have been some conversations.

DIRK: Does that meet with your approval?

DAVE: jane is a shitty candidate dude

DAVE: shes going to be so shitty

DIRK: I thought you’d feel that way.

DIRK: I respectfully disagree.

DAVE: i get shes a good friend of yours and all but even you have to admit how far up her own ass she is

DIRK: Of course. I consider it to be among her best qualifications for the job.

DAVE: christ

DAVE: ok if nothing else have you at least taken into account the DEVASTATION to the economy this will cause???

DIRK: You know perfectly well how much we differ on fiscal policy.

DIRK: Maybe this isn’t the best time for one of our epic debates on the subject?

DAVE: yeah what was i thinking

DAVE: wasting the time of the dude currently holding up a televised rap contest so bad hes gettin diapers thrown at him

DIRK: Dave, I think if you search your soul, you’ll come to the same conclusion I have. Jane is just what this planet needs.

DIRK: We’ve all had our fun here, but it’s easy to overlook the fact that civilization on Earth C is hardly a sustainable proposition.

DIRK: Just beneath the surface, it’s quite a dangerous and unstable place.

DAVE: i know that

DAVE: which is why actually i think it would be cool to have a president that is good instead of bad

DIRK: He’s not as great as you think.

DAVE: what

DAVE: who

DAVE: obama??

DAVE: how dare you

DIRK: No, fool.

DIRK: Karkat.

DAVE: oh

DIRK: I think your heart is in the right place, but the dude is a complete amateur.

DIRK: He’ll get eaten alive. I also have a hard time imagining he even wants the job.

DIRK: Really, it’s an awful idea for him to even run. Think about how much it’s going to inflame the interspecies tensions on this planet. Is that what you want?

DIRK: I’m happy for both of you, really. It’s nice that you encourage and support each other in this way. But you’re sending him on a fool’s errand which can only end badly.

DAVE: wait

DAVE: how do you even know hes entering the race

DAVE: we like just decided this

DIRK: A competent political operative has his ways.

DIRK: Besides, it was always pretty obvious to me you’d react this way the moment the announcement was made.

DAVE: ok thats kinda creepy i guess but it doesnt change anything

DAVE: hes running for president and hes going to fuckin win end of story

DIRK: Fair enough.

DAVE: though now im wondering

DAVE: since you and jane have been planning this for a while how many key endorsements have you locked up

DAVE: cause if youve already got jake on your side then i guess we might as well just fucking quit

DIRK: I wouldn’t worry about that.

DIRK: He and I don’t quite have the rapport we once did.

DIRK: He’s “over me” and doesn’t spare opportunities to make ostentatious demonstration of this claim.

DAVE: um

DIRK: Basically he doesn’t like being told what to do. Especially not by me.

DIRK: So it’s fair to say as of now, he’s still fully in play.

DIRK: Not that I should be encouraging you, really.

DAVE: you are one doubletalking son of a bitch you know that

DAVE: i cant tell if you dont want us to run or are reverse psychology mindfucking us into running

DIRK: Does it matter?

DAVE: i guess not

DAVE: not like i can just stand around and wait for president crocker to like

DAVE: write fucking grammar laws into the constitution

DIRK: Good.

DIRK: That’s a heroic attitude to have, which I’m pleased to hear. Even if your plan is stupid, which it is, and even if Karkat would be an atrocious president, which he would.

DAVE: nuh uh

DIRK: Sorry to cut this short, but diapers are starting to come down pretty hard right now, and some of them haven’t even had their babies removed.

DAVE: what

DIRK: That was a joke.

DIRK: Goodbye, Dave.

DIRK: Sorry for the momentary diversion, Jake. Now where were we?

JAKE: Momentary??? Gadzooks man you were on the phone for half a friggin hour!

JAKE: I know you like to get the crowd all hot and bothered but we are supposed to be professionals here!

DIRK: You’re right, my bad. Won’t happen again.

DIRK: How about you kick off the next round?

DIRK: I bet this crowd will settle its shit right down the moment you drop the latest rhymes you’ve been tinkering with.

DIRK: You know the ones.

JAKE: Gasp.

JAKE: You dont mean...

DIRK: Oh. But I DO.

JAKE: Tally ho its me, jake mcgee!

JAKE: Popping my pistols off, two shots and a kiss

JAKE: My aim is tops, i never miss

JAKE: One shot to the heart and the other to your lips

JAKE: Im heedless

JAKE: You cant impede this

JAKE: While these cads are all hat and very little cattle

JAKE: Cattle so weak one fears they might be feedless!

JAKE: As i prattle and digress you try to make your egress

JAKE: In the middle of the battle, but surely ye jest?

JAKE: FIDDLE FADDLE!

JAKE: My rhymes are known to bring the rattle

JAKE: I rattle those bones right down to the bit

JAKE: Im a mellifluous old chap who knows how to take a hit

JAKE: Im the tip...

JAKE: Tip top of the morning!

JAKE: A rip roaring halt to your snoring

JAKE: Like pouring butter on bacon

JAKE: Their hunger awakens!

JAKE: All the rascally scalawags

JAKE: And dastardly jackanapes

JAKE: Always ask of me, mate what is shaking?

JAKE: With golden gas pipes such as jake-eng’s

JAKE: Im dodging their shade and ducking their jape-slings

JAKE: While my rump stokes a thirst that my rhymes have been slaking!

JAKE: When the splendid lads and ladies ask me “how do you do?” i -

DIRK: Whoops. Jake, sorry to cut you off...

DIRK: Looks like I’m getting another call. Really need to take this one.

DIRK: Gonna have to wrap this battle up sooner than scheduled.

DIRK: Yo Rose, what’s up?