#it was pretty clearly not his intent or purpose to do either of those things; tho?

[fideidefenswhore]

yeah, that is like...quite the thing, 'anne boleyn was not politically savvy', or, her strongest political allies/supporters (save mark smeaton) were arrested alongside her in a political coup, and they were all judicially murdered.

tags overage:

also, did she alienate cromwell or did cromwell alienate her? fox&guy also speak of the evidence that as early as late 1535 ... cromwell was actively undermining her; and told his people to prevent marguerite from ever receiving the letter anne had written her...i get the sense it could have easily been cromwell that fell 1536 had some chess moves been different on the board...bcus interfering with the literal correspondence of -- not a foreign-- but your own goddamn king/queen...without their explicit permission either came pretty damn close or literally was,,treason...not to mention the fiasco of the attempted imperial detente mediated by cromwell...seems to suggest henry was of the opinion that cromwell had exceeded his powers in promising things henry had not agreed upon on his behalf/in his name.

[springtyme]

Hey luv, hope all is well. So, I just previously read your spencer x girly!reader and I absolutely loved them. While reading the chess part, an idea sparked.

So if possible could you do something similar where Spencie boy and girly!reader are playing chess and she is obviously frustrated or something because she doesn’t understand. So being the amazing boy wonder he is, Spencer secretly acts like he had no good moves and the reader just starts pointing out the moves he could make not knowing he can clearly see those moves and he lets the reader win making her super excited and happy and immediately sets the board back and starts another game.

I just think it would be so cute to see how Spencer would just gaze at and admire the reader as she is focused and asks questions. If this is too confusing or too similar to the original chess part no worries. It’s simply a mere thought I had. Do with it what you please!!!

Love your works and your blog 🥰🤗

𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐨𝐲 ♡

Thank you so much, hun ♡ I't makes me so happy to hear that you liked the other ones, I've had so much fun with them. And thank you so much for this request, it's such a cute scenario!

Spencer Reid x girly!reader|| Masterlist || Spencer playlist

summary: Spencer truly can’t believe how lucky he is to have you in his life. With you, everything just feels so natural, despite him being in completely foreign waters. You keep being patient with him, every step of the way. With you, everything just falls into place, like the missing piece of a puzzle finally fitting snugly into its spot. All he ever want to do is make you smile, even when it means that he has to lose in chess on purpose. Part one & part two 💕

word count: 2.0k

a/n: I was actually in a chess club in school, but we did not play chess, so sorry if the chess parts aren’t very accurate, I tried my best, lol.

Spencer watches you intently, his heart swelling with adoration at the sight of you trying your best. He can see the determination in your eyes, the way you furrow your brow in concentration, and it only deepens the love he feels for you. Your stained lips pouting sweetly as you contemplate your next move

You let out an exasperated sigh, leaning back in your chair with a frustrated expression. “I just don’t understand this game, Spence. I feel like I’m making all the wrong moves,” you sigh, moving your knight in a random direction. “At this point I‘m just making moves for the sake of it.”

Spencer can’t help but smile at your frustration, finding it endearing how you get so worked up over a game of chess. Moving your knight wasn’t the best move you could have made, but he doesn’t want to tell you that, and it wasn’t the worst move either. He reaches out to gently place his hand on top of yours, giving it a reassuring squeeze, but he lets his fingers linger for a little while. It always manages to surprise him how soft your skin is, and how it feels so warm and comforting beneath his touch.

You look up at him, your pretty eyes meeting his gaze and Spencer feels how his heart skips a beat at the way your lashes flutter against your cheeks.

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. Some people use their entire life to master this game, and you’ve only been playing for a few weeks,” he reminds you. “You’re doing great, and trust me, you’re not as lost as you think you are.”

You smile softly at his reassurance. “So, what I’m hearing you say is that if I keep going, there’s still a chance that I can be a big old chess nerd like you?” you tease, nudging him playfully.

Spencer chuckles at your teasing, loving the way you always manage to make him laugh, something he hasn’t always had an easy time with. “Hey, being a nerd isn’t that bad, okay?”

“No, it’s not,” you agree, leaning in closer to him. “In fact, I think it’s kind of cute.” Spencer’s heart flutters at your words, feeling a warmth spread through him at the way you look at him with such affection.

Spencer knows many things, arguably too many things, but he will never be able to understand what you see in him, you’re so beautiful and confident and always so kind to everyone, there is no doubt in his mind that you are way, way out of his league, but he is grateful every day that you, for whatever reason, chose him.

“I’m glad you think so,” he mumbles, a slight blush dusting his cheeks at your words.

“I actually think you’re very cute, you know,” you say playfully, reaching up to brush a stray lock of hair out of his face with a gentle touch. Spencer can feel his heart racing in his chest as he looks into your eyes, seeing nothing but love and admiration reflected back at him.

He leans in closer to you, unable to resist the magnetic pull that always seems to bring you both together. Your lips meet in a soft, tender kiss, filled with all the love and affection that Spencer feels for you. In that moment, nothing else matters except for the two of you and the way your hearts beat as one.

As you pull away, a smile tugs at the corners of Spencer’s lips, a smile that only you can bring out in him. “I love you,” he whispers, his voice filled with sincerity and warmth.

“I love you too, Spence,” you respond, your eyes shining with your own smile, bright and full of happiness.

Spencer will never be able to wrap his head around why you love him, but damn he is glad and forever grateful that you do. If he could travel back in time and tell his younger self that he would find someone as amazing and wonderful as you - that someone as beautiful and kind hearted as you would ever love him, he wouldn’t have believed it, he would probably think that it was some kind of cruel joke. But here you are.

It’s overwhelming, really, the love and adoration he feels for you in every fiber of his being. He never knew he could feel this way about someone, never knew that someone could make him feel so alive and complete. The fact that he feels so at home and normal with another person in his life is beyond anything he could have ever imagined.

But with you, everything just feels so natural, despite him being in completely foreign waters, you keep being patient with him every step of the way and with you by his side, it doesn’t seem so daunting anymore. With you, everything just falls into place, like the missing piece of a puzzle finally fitting snugly into its spot.

“Oh, you got something…” you whisper, almost more to yourself than him. He is confused for a short second, until he feels your thumb brush against the corner of his mouth, wiping away the trace of lipstick that had transferred from your lips to his. Spencer chuckles at the realization, feeling a warm rush of affection for you. “There…” you say with a soft smile.

Spencer can’t help but chuckle at the tender gesture, feeling a surge of warmth behind his chest.

“You can’t keep distracting me like this,” you tease, leaning in closer to him with a mischievous glint in your eye. “I’m actually trying to beat you at this game, you know.”

Spencer’s smile widens at your playful tone, a twinkle in his eye as he looks at you. “Who says I’m going to make it easy for you?” he responds, his voice laced with amusement.

“You did! You literally said that you would go easy on me,” you pout, crossing your arms in mock annoyance.

Spencer laughs, a sound that fills the room with joy. “Okay, okay, I may have said that,” he concedes, “but, I don’t think you really need me to, you know. You’re a lot smarter than you give yourself credit for, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you ended up beating me at my own game someday.”

“I doubt that,” you mumble, looking back at the board with furrowed brows.

Spencer leans back in his chair, watching you with admiration as you study the board, he can see the gears turning in your head. He knows what move he should be doing, the move that could make him win the game, but he isn’t really interested in that.

“Well, it looks like I’m running out of options,” he say, feigning defeat as he moves his bishop into a vulnerable position.

You glance up at him. “You could have moved your rook to that square and set up a potential checkmate in a few moves,”you point out, sounding both surprised and proud that you saw the possible move.

Spencer had, of course, seen that it would have been the right move to make, but he wanted to give you a chance to shine, and to prolong the game. Seeing the pride and satisfaction in your eyes is worth more than winning any game ever could.

“Oh, you’re right,” he says, trying to sound surprised, like he hadn’t seen that move multiple rounds in advance. But he must not be a very convincing actor, and he can’t help but smile as he watches the look of realization dawn on your face.

You roll your eyes playfully, seeing right through his act. “You’re such a goof, Spence,” you giggle, shaking your head in amusement. “But thank you for giving me a chance to show off a little.”

“I guess I just wanted to give you a fighting chance,” he says, leaning in closer to you.

You playfully swat at his arm, a laugh escaping your lips. “Dork,” you tease, but there’s a fondness in your tone that makes his heart swell with even more love for you, and he leans in to place a gentle kiss on your forehead, before leaning back again to look at you, his heart overflowing with adoration for you.

You playfully roll your eyes, but there’s a hint of gratitude in your expression. “Well, thanks for the favor,” you say with a smile, moving your queen in a strategic position that surprises Spencer.

He raises an eyebrow in surprise at your move, impressed by your strategic thinking. “Oh, someone’s feeling confident now, huh?” he teases, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

You shrug nonchalantly, a mischievous glint in your eyes. “Well, you did say you weren’t going to go easy on me,” you quip, moving your pieces with a newfound determination.

Spencer watches you closely, his heart filled with pride at the way you’re starting to grasp the game more and more and making better and better strategic moves. He can’t help but admire your intelligence and quick thinking, feeling a sense of awe at the way you surprise him at every turn.

And yes, he might go a little easy on you from time to time, but he can see that you’re starting to understand the game on a deeper level. And that, to him, is worth more than winning a game of chess ever could.

As the game progresses, Spencer can see the determination in your eyes, the way you carefully plan out your moves and anticipate his next move

“You’re really giving me a run for my money, aren’t you?” Spencer remarks, a smile playing on his lips as he watches you strategize your next move. You give him a sly grin, clearly enjoying the challenge. “I told you not to underestimate me, Spence,” you say confidently, moving your knight into a position that puts him on the defensive.

Spencer chuckles, impressed by your bold move. “I should know better by now,” he admits, moving his rook to protect his vulnerable bishop. The game continues, each move calculated and strategic, and Spencer can’t help but admire the way you’ve grown since your first game together.

“Checkmate,” you say triumphantly, a grin stretching across your face as you realize you’ve won. Spencer can’t help but smile back, feeling a rush of excitement and happiness at your victory. “Well done, darling,” he says, leaning in to give you a congratulatory kiss.

“I still feel like you went easy on me, but thank you,” you tease, a playful glint in your eye. Spencer can’t help but laugh, feeling grateful for the opportunity to see the excited smile that is lighting up your face, making your already beautiful features shine even brighter with a sense of pride.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn't,” he teases back, a twinkle in his eye. “But regardless, you did really well, I can’t believe how far you’ve come in such a short amount of time.”

You grin at his words. “Well, I’ve had a really great teacher,” you remark. “And he is, like, sooo handsome too. It’s actually wild that I could even concentrate on the game,” you add with a wink before you’re leaning in to plant a sweet kiss on his lips.

Spencer’s heart flutters at your words, feeling a surge of love and adoration for you that he can’t quite put into words, they are too big and too overwhelming to express, so instead he tries to pour every bit of that love and adoration into the kiss that he returns to you.

He wraps his arms around you, pulling you close to him as he deepens the kiss, savoring the feeling of being so close to you, of sharing this moment. He might have lost the game, but because of you, he has never felt like less of a loser.

As you both pull away, a smile lingers on both of your faces, and Spencer can’t help but feel like the luckiest man alive. “I love you,” he whispers, his voice filled with sincerity and adoration.

“I love you too, Spence,” you respond, your eyes filled with nothing but love and affection for him “Now help me set this board up again, I want to beat you fair and square this time,” you say with a playful glint in your eye. Spencer chuckles at your competitive spirit, feeling a sense of contentment wash over him as he helps you set up the board once more.

[michaelwheelerdefiodental]

Stranger Things on Capitalism and Communism:

So, i've seen some discussions about Stranger Things message about politics during the years, that started in season 3. To start, i need to make it clear that the series has a really strong anti-communism message, but i don't really think they're really giving a pro-capitalism propaganda, i mean, they're kinda doing it, but as y'all know, American Democrats know how to make it enjoyable for both sides.

How the American Military and Government is depicted:

They're pretty much show as "for the greater good" trope, they'll do horrible things with a supposed "good intention", but at the end it shows that they are just power hungry, but those characters have more depth, this make them more "likeable", like Brenner, Sullivan and Owens (YES, HE AIN'T FOOLING ME WITH HIS EMPATHETIC PERSONA).

How the Soviet Union is depicted:

So now it starts to get more complicated; in season 3, all of them are 99% stereotypes, while in season 4, i think they can be described as 50/50. Anyway, most of them are shown as sadistic, power-hungry people who don't care about anything else, so this makes them less likeable, besides Yuri and Dmitri (Enzo).

Season 3 Communism Satire:

I don't think there's much to say here; they're just power-hungry maniacs that at the same time can be smart (building a fucking military base on an American shopping underground, even though they were helped by Larry), and then be extremely stupid and ignorant. At the end, they don't even explain what the ideology behind them is, so they are just generic villains.

Season 3 Capitalism Satire and Alegories:

America without Erica

I will start with a scene where many people seem to not see the purposeful irony. Erica, as a black kid, saying that capitalism is great is clearly a joke. She says that on capitalism she will do a job and get paid as she deserves, but she ends up entering on an enemy military base and almost died all because of A ICE CREAM, that at the end she didn't even receive it and didn't receive the recognition for saving the town either. It can be compared to Black soldiers that fought in wars for the USA and then got discarded.

Rats on The Mall

Now talking about the Starcourt Mall. It's an alegory about consumerism in a capitalist society; the kids would go there thinking it would be more fun because of the things you can pursue, but at the end it was their company that made it really enjoyable. Mike buying something for Eleven was a great way to show it; he could make peace with her by simply talking to her like he did with Will (this has something to do with Mike's character and byler, but this ain't the point of this essay, lol).

The Blonde Pig

There's Larry and the small business closing to discuss too; i see the meaning as the greedy capitalist going against the people and letting the enemy get a hold of their nation.

The Nationalist Lovers

Murray and Alexei are the classic nationalist enemies that understand that they can live together blah blah blah... it's easy to understand. But the scene where Murray explains the July 4th games is kinda confusing, he makes a critic about the way of America using people happy hour to make the rich even more rich, and the poor even more poor, and says that all these are rigged, you can't win them, then Alexei wins one of the games and then Grigori (Soviet super-soldier) kills him. That scene is kinda weird to me, was the meaning that at the end capitalism is the right way and then the "commie pig" had to kill the traitor, or it was to show that at the end you really can't win, because this system will make you go down on a way or another??? It's up to you that is reading to decide.

Brand New Flavor

Lucas and Mike Coke's ad is another scene that is weird; it's obviously a way of the show making propaganda for one of their sponsors, but there's a criticism about the product evolving but at the end being the same shit.

The Consumers

Now this that i will say can be seen as a stretch, but the Mindflayer consuming people could be seeing as this system consuming everybody's souls, until they turn into a literal zombie only following orders. And when they have no use anymore they're just consumed entirely and turn out to be just one of the victims of the system. It shows that even the most reactive and violent people can't outdo this force, as we can see with Billy and Nancy's bosses.

Henry and his (not so) New World:

As we know, Henry was tired of the way the world functioned and wanted to create a new one. There was a bigger force (time) that stopped everybody from fulfilling their potential. What he doesn't understand is that his world will end up being the same; the powerful will control it just as our world, and honestly, this is what Henry want to happen, but what he doesn't understand is that he isn't the most powerful being there, it's the Mindflayer, and he will use Henry until he isn't valuable like the rest. At the end, Henry is just another victim of the same system.

So basically:

"I AM THE CAPITALISM, HENRY!!!"

The Mindflayer said laughing.

Me at the Cinema:

My Conclusion:

They make a rant about both sides, but the anti-communism part is way more explicit and more stereotypical, while the anti-capitalism part is more subtle, and Americans from generation X were the target audience at the beggining of the series, and we know that they aren't the most clever to see behind subtle things or even what is already obvious.

(this is a remake of a post from my old account)

[nekropsii]

I saw a lot of people recently saying they purposely skipped the entire Openbound sequence because of Hussie's self-insert alongside like Meenah being interested in Karkat and characters like Meulin encouraging it

but that like doesn't make sense to me, because if they're going about Homestuck by skipping all the potentially uncomfortable portions, then how are they going about reading the comic in the first place?

I think my favorite part of this is how those are, frankly, pussy-ass reasons to skip it. Hussie's Author Avatar sucks on purpose, always, and Meenah is textually in the wrong there. She has a very poor grasp of consequences and the concept of what is right and wrong, it's a big part of her character. It's why her whole relationship with (Vriska) exists, which is also textually immoral, is handled and addressed as such, and paints Meenah as being predatory, intentionally or not, for chasing after someone so much younger than her who is, just... So vulnerable, mentally. Honestly, if they're skipping over the entirety of the Openbounds just for Meenah's weird obsession with Karkat, then did they skip over her relationship with (Vriska), too? Because that was very solid, fascinating characterization for both of those characters. And, again, paints her as creepy for doing it, because... She is. And it was a part of the "main comic", so to speak. What did they do about that? Is that fine? Did they skip all of those pages, no matter what? What's the limit here? Is this specifically an aversion to the concept of abuse in a relationship, period? Did they skip any page circling the relationship between Vriska and Tavros, or Gamzee and Terezi? Is it specifically an aversion to abusive and predatory age gaps? Did they skip all of Doc Scratch's pages and interactions with all of the girls? Is it specifically an aversion to an adult sexually abusing a minor? So, did they skip Dave Strider's entire intro, which is thickly soaked in the fact that he's getting abused, including sexually, by his 30+ year old brother?

Everyone has a right to be uncomfortable about anything, but the author intent is clear here- Meenah is in the wrong, and anyone supporting her actions is also wrong. This kind of makes criticizing the inclusion of her actions into the storyline... Well, bullshit, frankly. Not liking the inclusion of abuse because abuse as a baseline makes you uncomfortable is not a criticism, it is a statement of preference, and with that I have to gesture towards the entire rest of the comic, because Homestuck is full of that very same kind of abuse, and it is bad and graphic every time. Criticism of the inclusion of abuse within a storyline has to be about the handling and execution of that abuse within the confines of the plot, and in this case, and all other cases, I think Meenah's abusive tendencies are outlined pretty clearly as being a bad thing. If you read her actions as an endorsement of being a violent, selfish, predatory bully with basically no concept of morality or consequences, you either are illiterate, didn't actually read any one of the pages she was in and got your opinion from someone else, or you are reading in bad faith on purpose. She is literally a version of Her Imperious Condescension, which is, like, one of the main fucking villains of the comic. Hussie's Avatar is also wrong, and you should hate him. That is the point of Hussie's Avatar. His role in the story is being annoying, weird, and wrong. Hussie's Avatar is not actually very reflective of Hussie as a person. Hussie doesn't like The Avatar. This is pretty obvious if you pay attention to him for five seconds.

So... These aren't instances of the Openbounds being written badly, they're instances of the readers being unwilling to engage with something that could even just potentially be uncomfortable despite that same thing permeating throughout the rest of the damn webcomic and also getting their opinions from other people, uncritically. Sigh. Homestuck being full of weird uncomfortable plot beats is... Literally fine. It's normal, it's handled pretty decently as a baseline, and phenomenally at other times. It's made for adult people who can think critically about these things. A lot of those uncomfortable aspects were... You know... Intentional? There's a point to Meenah creeping on people younger than her, and it's a deliberate one. Skipping the Openbounds for it is stupid horseshit. Doc Scratch already did that. Bro Strider did that to Dave and people love that guy. I ask gently for people to grow a spine. Think for yourself. Read something yourself, unbiased, before casting judgment. Good lord.

[multifandomimagin3s]

Chaotic Co-Worker

Requested by Anon

Summary: Reader is a Spider-Person, and is best friends with Deadpool.

Idk what this is. But anyways, I'm alive. Hope you guys enjoy.

Miguel O'Hara

Both you and Wade give this man chronic, back-to-back migraines.

As soon as Wade somehow manages to get to the Spider-Society HQ ((*cough cough* he snuck in through a portal with you)), Miguel can't get five minutes to himself.

Miguel's been around the Multiverse, so he's probably encountered various Deadpool variants on his travels - and he claims that none of them were anywhere near as annoying as the one that you happen to be best friends with.

He basically just treats Wade like he treats Hobie - actively trying to ignore him and not lose his shit.

It only works 30% of the time.

Regardless of how many times he literally kicks Wade out, he always finds his way back in.

God help him if Wade ever gets it into his head that Miguel has a crush or something on you - I mean, you're Wade's best friend and probably would get up to some shenanigans with him... and you haven't been fired? Suspicious.

He would probably ask Miguel if there's a 'casting couch' involved when he does his 'interviews' for joining the Spider Society.

And he'd probably try to grab his ass.

Peter B. Parker

I think he would find Wade's antics funny, until he's on the receiving end.

Tries not to laugh when Wade's clearly pushing Miguel's buttons on purpose, but as soon as Peter starts being called Spider-DILF, he doesn't know whether to be flattered or weirded out. Or both.

Doesn't know whether Wade can be trusted around Mayday or not - I mean, Wade's not a bad guy and usually has the best intentions, but I can just see Mayday picking up some of his coarse language after hanging around him.

Probably would be as confused as Miguel when Wade keeps popping up out of nowhere - like, how tf does he keep coming back??

But all-in-all, I don't think he would really mind that much about Wade being there.

I mean, I'm pretty sure Miguel hired Kaine. So it takes a lot to shake Peter B.

Ben Reilly

Ben would instantly get annoyed when Wade mocks his broodiness.

And Wade being Wade, the fact that he got a reaction out of Ben would just fuel him more.

"Emo Ken Doll" is his new name.

I think that Wade's more brutal way of doing things would kind of pique his interest though - not that Ben would admit it since he'd still probably be annoyed at being the butt of his jokes.

It would also make him more interested in you by proxy - whether you're secretly similarly natured to Wade, or if you're complete opposites.

You'd know this, of course, because of his monologuing.

Ben: Deadpool is brutal. But he's their best friend. Hm, thinking.

Spider Noir

I think it would be 50:50 as to whether he and Deadpool would actually get along, at all.

On one hand, he'd get annoyed when Wade insults him - especially when Wade called him Nicholas Cage, despite neither Noir nor you knowing who he was on about.

But on the other hand - Noir canonically likes punching Nazis and isn't opposed to violence, so him and Wade would probably find some common ground there.

Since the Deadpool from the movies lost Vanessa, but did everything he could to protect her, I think Noir would sympathise with that - he's from the 1930's, so those old-fashioned ways of looking after your partner really resonate with him a lot.

Basically, Noir would either hate him, or they would be the most unconventional friends that you'd ever see.

Jonathan Ohnn / The Spot

**[Contains some spoilers]**

Okay, so depending on which version of the Spot that you two encounter, really determines his reaction.

If it's Jonathan, or the initial version of the Spot we meet in ASTV, he's arguably more tame in his reaction - I mean, you're a Spider-person, so he's going to be annoyed straight away.

And Wade would most likely give him some verbal taunting and 'mild' abuse.

He'd just be like >:( ... well, he doesn't actually have a face so it would just be a squished 'O'.

But if you two were to encounter him after he went to the collider in Mumbatan...

If it's one of those BookTok scenarios where he secretly likes you, then you'll probably be fine...

But he realistically would try to kill you. And Wade... and would be equal parts fascinated and annoyed when he can't kill him due to his healing factor.

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 38

At first, I thought the title image was of the various women in the story, until I saw Holm. Then I realized it was the mages.

Falin's spellbook looks like it's on the verge of falling apart. And her inventory includes a snakeskin and some rocks. On the other side of the image, Holm has golem cores.

Kabru probably did the most effective damage against Falin but it didn't kill her.

This is one of those moments where so much happens suddenly that it's hard to tell what exactly happens.

In a moment, Laios is knocked back and Kabru is crushed under Falin's foot. But I'd like to know why Laios was knocked back and not also crushed. Was he knocked away from the impact? Did Kabru push Laios out of the way? Did Falin purposely avoid hurting Laios?

The magician’s idea of giving Falin a suitable form to find Delgal was to give her BIG NATURALS.

The party failed to beat the raid boss in time and it activated Enrage.

Don't worry. The riceballs are safe.

An earth elemental spirit is called a gnome just like a water elemental spirit is called an undine. Most likely wind elementals are called sylph and fire elementals are either salamander or ifrit.

One of Holm's items is a bottle of wind. So he probably has a sylph as well.

He probably has one of each elemental on him. His undine was named Marillier (RIP) and his gnome is Essiet. Maybe the golem cores are used to summon Essiet?

From what we see of Kabru's resurrection, his corpse did not look pretty. His head had definitely been split open when he was crushed. And Maizuru losing all her makeup when she was resurrected means her face was completely smashed when she was killed. Healers need to have the stomach to look at these grisly deaths without flinching.

I just realized that at some point between chapters 36 and 37, Marcille took off the frog suit.

When Laios and Shuro began arguing, Kabru wanted Holm to stop so they could see where that went.

This is the first time Laios has declared an intent to defeat the magician. His goal has been to save Falin, but now that goal requires him to get involved in the world in a far deeper way. Now Laios's party will be part of whatever grand conflict the story is heading toward.

I'm not going to try guessing what kind of person Ryoko Kui is, but I feel like she's using Laios and Shuro's fight as a way to vent her frustrations about some things.

If I had to describe Shuro in one word, I would use "conforming." He insists on following the rules and laws of society both written and unwritten. Shuro does not like Laios because Laios has zero social skills nor does he pick up on social cues. And Shuro wouldn't just say he doesn't like Laios and is frustrated with his antics because doing so would be considered rude.

The way he's taught to handle situations is to provide hints and cues to indicate annoyance and displeasure and the other person is supposed to pick up on them and then adjust their behaviour accordingly.

But when that didn't work, he insisted on putting up and trying to give more and more hints instead of just saying what he felt. Chilchuck and Marcille have been very open with Laios about their frustration with his antics, and he generally tries to consider their feelings once he knows them. But Shuro is too stuck in his ways to do that. He has it too hammered into his head that he should not say or do things that are disruptive even though they'll just cause bigger problems later.

And their argument is very much meant to portray Laios as being in the right. Shuro should have just spoken his grievances plain and clearly so they could resolve them early.

It came across to me as a super silly line, but yeah. Laios's party paces themselves, get full meals, and sleep because they are serious. Compare them to Shuro who both arrived later than Laios's party did and was so exhausted and malnurished that there's no way he would ever be able to defeat the dragon.

I bet Shuro didn't tell Laios he was going to take care of rescuing Falin because Laios would insist on joining him and then would get in the way of Shuro trying to woo Falin.

Well at least Maizuru is calling Holm by his proper race this time. And she's calling Senshi by name.

Kabru was killed in front of Rin, which prompted her attack that left her open to being killed by Falin. When she was resurrected, she saw Kabru safe and she let her gruff exterior break and let out her grief, fear, and relief.

What happened to Kuro? Is he burned or is his fur covered in blood?

Shuro's just going to abandon one of his attendants? And where was Asebi last chapter? The last time I saw her was when Shuro's team began fighting harpies, but she wasn't seen at all when Falin appeared.

What if she's a spy for the western elves? Shuro was going to turn Marcille in to them so they probably have enough influence to reach Shuro's homeland. Maybe Asebi is working for the western elves to keep tabs on the eastern royals. And when Falin appeared, she abandoned everyone and is on her way to report what has happened and what is in the dungeon now. And the next time we see her, she's going to take off her outfit and show off some elaborate tattoo that reveals she's part of some secret shadow organization.

After Shuro finally admitted all his frustrations and after he and Laios got to duke it out, they have a proper chat about things. Now I'm going to talk about that thing I said I wanted to talk about in chapter 36. Recall that Shuro agreed to rest and eat at Laios's insistence. Shuro's attendants had been urging him to do so for a while, but he was only willing to do so when Laios told him to.

Despite his frustrations with Laios, I think Shuro does genuinely care about him and knows that Laios does too. There's a barrier between Shuro and his attendants because he has to be Toshiro Nakamoto to them. So every instance of his attendants showing concern for him is because that is their role. When they tell him he needs to eat and rest, it's because it's their duty to care for Toshiro.

But Shuro and Laios have no obligation to care about each other. So when Laios tells him to eat and rest, it's because he cares about Shuro.

I think a bit of why Shuro loves Falin is because she represents a sense of freedom from customs and tradition. He fell in love with her after seeing her looking at a caterpillar. And I think what he loves is that she doesn't act like what is expected of her.

Even though Laios acting without concern for what society thinks annoys Shuro, he does wish he was a bit more free to act the way he'd like. Shuro, who is too weak to defy the rules and expectations placed on him, doesn't like that Laios, who has that strength, thinks he's strong.

Laios sucks at drawing people, but then he can turn around and draw amazing pictures of monsters.

I like these group shots of everyone doing things. Chilchuck and Mikbell are having a chat about something, which is impressive since Mikbell previously mentioned not liking Chilchuck. Kuro is fixing his armor. Rin is making the stovetop for Senshi and Maizuru to use. Holm seems to be mourning Marillier.

The rolled harpy omelet is the first meal I've found completely unappetizing. And it's not because the eggs are from harpies, but because it is just eggs. I like fried and poached eggs, but I don't like scrambled. If I have an omelet, I need to put tons of stuff into it, like peppers, mushrooms, and cheese. If you gave me a scrambled egg that was rolled up and called it an omelet, I'd have to fight the urge to retch.

Based on what Kabru's PTSD flashback implies, I will give him a full pass on not wanting to eat monsters. Everyone else refuses to eat monsters because they're "civilized" and only barbarians and brigands eat monsters. Meanwhile, even the sight of monster food reminds Kabru of whatever happened in the past.

If someone refused to eat a burger and told me burgers remind them of the time a herd of cows destroyed their home and killed their family, I'd be more than willing to not eat beef around them.

What is this?

Kabru kind of dug himself into the exact same hole Shuro did. He's stuck having to eat harpy egg omelets because he can't just say that he doesn't want to.

I hope this is the first of many instances of Kabru's manipulative nature coming back to bite him as he tries to manipulate someone too dense to fall into any of his trappings.

I'm upset Shuro parted ways with Laios's party. He should have every reason to want to help them. I just really want a grand reunion of the full Touden party. Shuro says "I'm staying here to save the woman I love." And then they bump into the Tansu party and they're all "What just happened?" and after being caught up, Mr Tansu would be all "This is dire. Namari, go with Laios. I'll fund all of your expenses."

Oh well. We're back to our core party, but Kabru promises they'll meet again.

back

[avikats66]

Y’all let’s talk about Stolitz. And by talk I mean I’m going to throw this long and extensive analysis at you. Warning for discussion of miscommunication and dubious consent + self esteem issues and self sabotage (pretty canon stuff) ahead:

Stolas didn't initially realize Blitz’s original intentions when they ended up having sex for that first time. It would have only been after Blitz left and he discovered the grimoire gone that he would have realized Blitz only had sex with him in order to take his grimoire. Except that's not quite entirely true. While Blitz definitely seduced Stolas in order to nab the grimoire, he clearly had the opportunity to dupe Stolas and leave him there after he grabbed it. Instead he decided to actually have the sex which Stolas at the time would have thought he was there for in the first place.

This certainly doesn't mean that Blitz had actually been secretly wanting/planning to have sex with Stolas the whole time - it was obviously an extremely unexpected development for him - but that he did choose to do so without Stolas trying to force or extort him in any way. His exact reasons are not explicitly given but can be inferred with reasonable certainty/likelihood. Here's the scenario: we have Blitz about to make off with the grimoire with Stolas (at least seemingly) none the wiser, when Stolas goes and tells him how happy he is that he's doing this and how much it means to him, at this point still believing Blitz had come for the purpose of initiating a sexual/romantic encounter and being ignorant of his actual intentions having been just to steal the grimoire.

Going off of Blitz’s expression we can see he feels bad here. Like wow, this guy genuinely thinks I came here to make moves on him and he is so happy about that, and here I am in actuality just stealing from him. Since I am doing him wrong by stealing from him, I can do him some right by having the great sex that he thinks is happening right now with him. And remember that at this point Stolas himself isn't leveraging this reasoning over Blitz or using it to bargain with him - he has absolutely no idea what's actually going on, after all. The decision Blitz makes to have sex with Stolas at this time is made entirely by himself without any decision-making on Stolas’s part.

So Blitz is feeling a moral obligation (again, coming from his own conscious and not from Stolas trying to influence or guilt trip him) to have sex with Stolas, and also probably an psychological drive to on the basis of emotions like pity and/or empathy. Like this guy is clearly incredibly lonely and horny and will be devastated if Blitz doesn’t have sex with him as he thinks was his intention the whole time. That knowledge and the emotions that knowledge is is apt to provoke can create the desire to do the deed, even if not for the reasons of pre-established mutual attraction and planned activity which is what’s typically behind most instances of consensual sex.

It’s a very natural/human (technically Blitz is a demon but my point still stands given how demons are portrayed to be just like humans when it comes to emotions/intelligence and the capacity to be good and bad and choose to follow their own individual morals) trait to want to do things not because they directly benefit or please us, but because they will those things for others and that makes us feel good - especially if the said thing we do isn’t explicitly negative or unpleasant for us either, as is the situation here. While Blitz certainly didn’t have any personal plans or desires to have sex with Stolas that night, it didn’t seem like something he was actively opposed to or forcing himself to do either. And sex doesn’t necessarily need to have deep and intimate preexisting emotional connection present to be a positive, consensual, and moral experience either.

Of course, there’s also the other underlying factor regarding Blitz’s decision to have sex with Stolas that night, which is that he felt it might be advantageous or even necessary in order to maintain continued access to the grimoire. Again, at this point it would still have been entirely up to Blitz to decide, but it’s a very important factor to consider, especially moving forward as the relationship between the two continues into what we see in the show.

Sometime after that first night, Stolas becomes aware that Blitz has taken his grimoire. Heck, it’s even possible he figured this out during that first night and chose to let Blitz take it. Whatever the case, we don’t know the exact specifics of what went down, just that in the pilot and first episode we see Stolas talking to Blitz about how he’s not actually not supposed to have the grimoire and that he would like to set up an arrangement where he continues to let Blitz keep/use the grimoire and in return Blitz occasionally has amazing sex with him like he did that night.

This is where the consent starts to get (more) muddy and dubious due to the lack of clear communication and resulting misunderstandings. Going over it from the outside, you’d think at this point Stolas would have come to the conclusion that Blitz didn't have any intention of starting a relationship and was just using him with no genuine feelings for him involved, and thus him leveraging the grimoire over Blitz to continue their relationship is just pure extortion. But I don’t that he did, or that it is.

Rather, while Stolas definitely knows that on some levels, the sex Blitz had with him was a practical/transactional action taken to secure use of the grimoire, I think that he also truly believes that there is genuine mutual attraction and affection and want to continue the relationship present between them, and that Blitz knows/believes this as well. I mean, he certainly didn’t force or even plead with Blitz to have sex with him that first time; that was all Blitz’s choice and apparently he made it really good. I’m doubting that at any point that night, Blitz stopped to sit down and say “hey, you know I’m only doing this so I can steal/use your grimoire and I don’t actually feel any attraction towards you or want to start a relationship,” though.

So it’s really not unreasonable that Stolas believes there is something more between him and Blitz, and thus that he’s not blackmailing Blitz to have sex with him using the grimoire, rather that he is more so just negotiating a fair trade between equals. He’s aware of the power imbalance between them in terms of status and the grimoire in theory, but based on his behaviour in canon I don’t think he realizes (or at least not until later during the show as evidenced by him planning to give the crystal) just how impactful that imbalance really is, or that Blitz might actually feel pressured by it in any real way.

At the same time, Blitz is assuming that Stolas is just using him for sex via the leverage of the grimoire and his much higher levels of societal status/power, and that none of the affection or care he shows Blitz is genuine because Stolas understands that Blitz is only using him for the grimoire in return. That last part actually is true on at least some level: Blitz is definitely using his relationship with Stolas to access the grimoire, but I think he’s lying to himself and letting his perception be warped by his trauma and self esteem issues when he claims that there’s nothing more to it.

While he’s shown at times to be exasperated or not really into/put off by Stolas’s horniness (sometimes more so just for comedic effect), we do see him express genuine enjoyment with and care for Stolas throughout the show. It’s not like we’re talking Achilles/Patroclus levels here, but, there is something there on Blitz’s side too. I think the reason Blitz seems unable to properly wrap his head around the fact that Stolas actually genuinely cares for and likes him and that he could actually allow himself to reciprocate those feelings and actions is not just the whole miscommunication thing they’ve got going on as detailed above, but also that Blitz has deep-rooted issues with intimacy and self-esteem.

Blitz has such a low and troubled sense of self worth that he cant seem to fully accept or believe that Stolas would actually care for or like him in any meaningful way for real - especially when combined with the whole grimoire misunderstanding going on and the guilt he likely feels over it in at least some aspects, which is largely why he first had sex with Stolas in the first place. He also definitely seems the type to sabotage his own relationships - likely both on a conscious and unconscious level - due to these feelings of self hate and low worth (I personally believe he did that with Verosika and it was one of the biggest reasons for their breakup and current animosity towards each other) which I have inferred him to have based on canon such as the hallucination he has in Truthseekers).

So Blitz thinks that Stolas thinks that they both know their relationship is just a transaction, a transaction where Stolas definitely has more power, and thus Stolas doesn’t actually care for Blitz or what he wants. That Stolas might sell him out or punish him if he started backing down from their relationship or going too much against or refusing whatever sexual desires Stolas expresses by reporting him to officials or refusing use of the grimoire. And Stolas doesn’t realize that Blitzø thinks this, being himself under the impression that Blitz knows that Stolas does actually care for him and doesn’t want/mean to extort or force him into things he truly doesn’t want with him.

I just want to go over something here now: It’s normal for partners to sometimes do certain things with sex that one party doesn’t particularly enjoy for themselves but chooses to do because they don’t find it overly or particularly unpleasant or unbearable so they want to do it or don’t mind doing it in order to please and give enjoyment to their partner (which in itself can give enjoyment back as I’ve mentioned earlier). As long as there’s clear communication and the ability to set boundaries this is completely normal and fine.

The thing is, we’ve just gone over exactly why there’s a lot of misunderstandings, assumptions, and lack of clear communication going on between Blitz and Stolas. Blitz might possibly be feeling obligated or pressured into having sex with Stolas whenever and however asked due to the grimoire and his knowledge that Stolas could potentially deny him access to it and force him to choose between having sex with him how and when he likes or not having the grimoire (just because someone is okay with/has enjoyed sex with someone in the past does not mean that it’s okay if they are pressured/coerced or forced into having more sex with that same person again when they do not want to) whereas Stolas mistakenly assumes that Blitz knows he wouldn’t try to force or coerce him into sex that he wasn’t ultimately okay with having by using the grimoire as leverage - or any other method - because he doesn’t understand Blitz’s issues with believing/accepting Stolas’s care/affection or fully understand the reality of their power imbalance for himself.

It’s not until Ozzie’s that Stolas really gets that slap-in-the-face wake-up call, but based off the music video and the act of giving Blitz the crystal we can see how genuine and serious he is about this - plus how much he truly loves and cares for Blitz. I could definitely go on about that too, but I think that’s another post!

[senka-mesecine]

I love it when Barnes teases or messes with the reader, I tend to imagine he would say something in his ultra hill billy lingo just to fuck with her. Like shouting some order in a way he knows she wouldn't understand unless she's from the same hill where he came from. He would totally wait to see what would she do, expect her to feel embarrassed if she came to him and ask him to explain things more clearly.

---

I imagine he’s just as likely to make up slang on the fly delivered with the utmost seriousness and poker-faced, unblinking gravitas purely to see if anyone’s going to dare correct him, that no, in fact, that isn’t an existing term or phrase for anything known under the sun anywhere from Texas, Florida and back, effectively having moments when he dials up the Southerness to about eleven on purpose, to avoid being wholly understood, to tactically disorient, to yeah, mess with people, to see if anyone’s going to have the balls to chuckle, snicker, comment or really just about have any reaction other than casting their head down and avoiding his gaze and even if they do that, he might call them out on it that he likes being looked at when he’s talking and he likes being answered when he addresses them. I mean, such is his power. Barnes can pretty much invent a word and have his orders under it still followed because everyone’s too chickenshit and intimidated by the man to object. He isn’t being a jokester about it either. He’s one hundred percent grim, resolute and earnest.

Now, as for the reader? Hoo, boy!

I genuinely do see him teasing and taunting them without them ever even realizing they’re being taunted; for the longest time they might genuinely feel at fault for not understanding the Sergeant's peculiarities in regional dialects, never catching on that Barnes is doing this on purpose, getting a private kick out of it — a private kick that is almost never obvious because he chooses not to make it obvious; especially, and I do say especially if you are someone who could be considered ‘well-spoken’ and stereotypically eloquent. Then, it’s almost like Barnes makes it his quiet, personal mission to juxtapose himself in total opposition of you and pull out the most Redneck speak imaginable purely to effectively screw with you and showcase he isn’t beholden to anyone but himself, certainly not your hoytie-toytie ass and he sure as heck won’t dilute himself to fit your standard even though you’ve never asked him and never would. But, he’s smug and prideful in a sense, wanting to be an intentional affront and foil to you. He could talk completely normally, but point is, he doesn’t want to, especially not around you. He has the upper hand and he forces you to adapt to him. He can make himself as incoherent as someone speaking a semi-foreign language and he knows it. He’ll just say the darndest things and never even move a facial muscle while pretty much trolling you to your face, seeing how you’ll react, what you’ll say back, what you’ll do, downright to the smallest nuances of nervousness, anxiety, concealed amusement or whatever might be going on in those eyes you might be trying to suppress.

So, sure.

Barnes could very well use terms like clod-hopper, ornery, piddlin', might could and the point is to confuse you, fluster you and throw you off balance in particular. He doesn't have to go as archaic as all that. He can absolutely pick words that are simpler and far more contemporary than that but he sure as heck doesn't want to. He wants to stare you right in the face with all the grimness in the world and watch you scurry around and pretend that you just understood what you've heard and observe the sweat of nervousness pool atop of your forehead because he knows you're lying. Admittedly, this can double as both bullying and intimidation for intimidation's sake. As a weird method of flirtation and getting you under heel. As him being strangely playful as much as he can be and just a tiny bit cruel and degrading towards you. It's silently fun and it is silently dominant. It is him teasing and him showing you precisely and exactly who's in charge. Him acting superior and pegging you down a notch all while effectively, in a very roundabout sense joking, because yes, this is how he'd joke. Because that's Barnes for you.

Everyone else might quietly be fully aware of what he's doing to you.

But, they leave him to it, sharing glances among each other.

Honestly, how would dare to intervene anyway?

[frazzledsoul]

The thing about S6 Jess Mariano is that there is simultaneously too much of him and not enough.

I've been watching old episodes recently because of a story I've been writing on and off for a week, and I don't think people truly appreciate the amount of set-up that went into Jess's scenes in The Real Paul Anka. In this show, there are supporting cast members who almost never get scenes of their own outside of interacting with the girls and various townies. I think Paris has exactly one scene that doesn't involve Lorelai or Rory. Dean has a handful. Sookie has just one off the top of my head. I believe Logan has one as well. All of these people were on the show far, far longer than Jess was. It seems only Luke, Lane, and Jess have a lot of scenes with characters other than Lorelai and Rory...and in season 6, Jess has not been seen for two years and has not been a main cast member for three. We get an introduction to his place of work, he has interactions ALONE (!) with his friends/coworkers, we get an extended sequence where he explains to Luke how exactly his job works and where he lives, he has significant interactions with both Luke, April, and Rory, and closes out the last we see of his relationship with Luke in the OS on a good note. None of the other love interests get this, because while we spend more time with them, they are not developed as individuals outside of Rory. Dean is the good boyfriend who unexpectedly leads Rory into an affair and who we last see chafing at her desire to leave him behind, while Logan is the rich, dangerous boyfriend who entices Rory into the elitist world that Lorelai sought to escape from and who will eventually lead her astray because he is unable to escape from his father's expectations, forcing Rory to repeat the life patterns of her mother (God, I hate the AYITL ending. It blows). Jess is his own person, whose existence is not completely defined by Rory, but who eventually inspires her to seek out the path that she wants by virtue of his own example. And at the end of the story, he is the one door left open, the one person who is working with her on her goals and is still involved with her life.

(This is why I chafe when people say Jess wasn't endgame, even after all of these years. One of the last things ASP said about a follow-up is that she was going to chase Milo and Alexis down and make them do it. Her intentions were pretty obvious, even for those of us like me who don't necessarily hate Logan).

What's so great about S6 Jess is that almost all of the stuff that made him a terrible boyfriend and such a damaged, tortured character during his original run on the show has been smoothed over. He meets Rory on her terms and makes plans at her convenience: he acknowledges her discomfort: he is far more concerned with her than busting the chops of her boyfriend (although that part is clearly fun, too). He's considerate, social, a person who makes plans and follows up on them. He's confident yet self-effacing: when Rory is found to be using him, he reminds her of the boundary she's crossed yet doesn't lash out. It doesn't change his feelings overall: she isn't choosing him at the time being, but he still cares about her. Even though we leave him with a broken heart, we know he's got a life beyond her, something he didn't have when we last saw him in season 3 and season 4. He has friends, a purpose, a respected place in his community: he will be okay. It's a better place than we leave Dean and likely a better place than we leave Logan in AYITL. He will be okay.

I'm of the mind that Jess's participation in the last season of the OS has less to do with the writing team changing (although I don't think Milo was particularly keen on working with the new guys, either) and more to do with what else Milo was working on at the time. Heroes was a huge, huge deal when it first came out and networks aren't always amenable to lending out their actors to work for their competitors. I just don't think it was possible for Jess to show up no matter who was writing that season. I do occasionally wonder what the S7 writers would have done with him. It doesn't escape my scrutiny that the show skips the actual Christmas holiday because Rory was in London, because Jess almost certainly would have traveled to Stars Hollow to visit his mom and newborn sister and comfort his depressed uncle. There certainly were a lot of uses for him that had nothing to do with Rory.

AYITL Jess is of course more or less the same, only with bigger arm muscles and some of the edges smoothed out: the main difference is that we see he's been more or less accepted into the Gilmore/Danes clan and is a more active support system for Luke and his mother.

At this late stage in the game, I'm not expecting or wanting a follow-up and I think odds are very much against there ever being one. I do wish that knowing that AYITL was all there was that they had given us more time with Jess (if possible) and that there was some sort of definitive end for him and Rory instead of the door just being swung wide open and an indication of a future (and of course, Jess being a total dreamboat). However, as with all things ASP, you take what you can get and what was given to us here wasn't that bad.

Those last four words still suck, though.

[juleshollow]

Reese/Dr. Kelly decision

(Episode 4 Spoilers)

This one is pretty straight-forward for me, but the choice I feel is "right" still leaves a guilty, sad aftertaste.

I give Dr. Kelly the tranquilizers.

I see it like this: when Reese starts to transform and Wayne arrives, you find yourself in the middle of a crazy dangerous situation that keeps getting worse. Unless you are Hot, you're powerless to stop it from escalating.

I was presented two bad options: help Dr. Kelly imprison her son again or let Reese murder his mother. I felt helpless because I didn't want any of those outcomes, so how could I make the most out of a situation that was so out of my control? By thinking ahead and picking the alternative that didn't have irreversible consequences.

I want Reese to be free AND happy. There are some things you can't go back from, and killing and eating your mom is one of them (seriously, he didn't need to devour her). No matter how awful Dr. Kelly's parenting was, that's something irredeemable that would clearly hurt Reese as well. Do you think Kaneeka and Stella would treat Reese as if nothing happened? Or that Reese wouldn't carry the guilt with him for the rest of his life? Would he internalize that murder is an acceptable solution to his problems, and weaponize his power again in the future? Reese transforms into something supernatural, but what he does with that power is what can make him a monster.

This turning moment makes me think of how all of Reese's story is about choice. Joan knew her son was different and she tells us that she had no choice but to keep him restrained for everyone's safety. But of course she had a choice. She couldn't know that he would harm anyone, she just feared it. It's the suffering that she inflicts to her son that makes Reese despise her in the end. I love that the game actually gives you the chance to call her out on that ("don't you think it's a self-fulfilling prophecy?").

She absolutely could have done things differently. She could have been honest with Reese about his nature (and how little they knew about it) and educate him to accept and control it. It's her fault that she didn't even consider it. Can you imagine having a super strong gym bro son and making him sick because "he could hurt someone with his powerful build"? That's basically what she does. She imprisons her son on the grounds of possibility, for a crime he hasn't committed and might never commit. She never trusted Reese, never gave him a chance. If she did, Reese could have been a fully functional Jersey Devil (or whatever kind of goblin he is) that used his powers for harmless purposes.

But Dr. Kelly's fear makes her narrow-minded when it comes to Reese. And in Episode 4 she tries to make us buy into her black&white philosophy - she frames the crisis as a situation with only two possible outcomes: either she tranquilizes Reese and locks him up, keeping everyone safe, or Reese kills her and rampages free to terrorize the town. NICE DICHOTOMY IDIOT, WHAT LIES OUTSIDE IT??

As I said, I want a different outcome and I won't let Dr. Kelly trick me into thinking that's impossible. So, despite being powerless to get my way in that moment, I focus on what I can do after. I cannot bring Dr. Kelly back from the dead. I can absolutely break out Reese later, and that's what I intend to do.

Reese transforms and becomes a bit insane PROBABLY because of the influence of the carving (so a bit my fault 😬 sorry I brought unearthly despair to your household, I'm a Scarlet). I hope that it will pass and I'll be able to reason with him when he calms down. I wasn't hot enough to appease you before, pal, I'll give it another try after your nap!

So my intention is to free Reese and maintain his innocence. Let's disrupt the self-fulfilling prophecy before it self-fulfills! There is a better way to do things and it's about time the Kellys hear about it.

I'm determined to do that, but it still feels awful to know that Reese thinks I betrayed him. I barely said a word to Dr. Kelly when she walked me out of the house, because she acted like we were sort of on the same page while all I could think was "you're still wrong and I'm going to get your son out of here as soon as I can, I just didn't want him to gobble you up".

[esteebarnes94]

Caine/AM Thoughts

I'm not TADC fixated so I'd love to discuss this theory I have with more knowledgeable people (and IHNMAIMS people too!).

I predict Ragatha's episode is going to build on her dynamic with Jax (especially with the whole argument shown in the intro for episode 4). Jax said to Zooble that being mean is 'not in [Caine's] nature'. Caine has clearly shown worries about not being good at the only thing he considers himself good at (making adventures).

I really do think Jax is going to push Caine over the edge somehow and he's going to lose it. What happens after that I can't be sure. Maybe some even more fucked up adventures (in theme or physicality like glitches)? I don't know that he'd go full torture mode, but I do think he'd get mean (calling back to Jax saying Caine can't be mean).

I've personally never read I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, so take this with heavy salt, but Caine does remind me of AM. A machine with a set purpose that (in my opinion) will likely be pushed to the absolute brink before developing some major anger issues (though AM was much more than anger lol) and some sort of god complex.

I think Caine would get a god complex. If he sees himself as failing at making good adventures (what he sees as his one strength/possibly one purpose if we go the 4th wall route), I think it's possible for him to do everything he can to prove that's wrong. He seems like the very determined type, albeit pretty clueless which can lead to him seeming self-centred. Having some of those rose-tinted glasses cracked surely wouldn't help him at all.

I do absolutely think he cares for the players. He has clearly shown he takes their concerns seriously, he just doesn't know how to handle things. I just think he's going to snap.

Also, Goose said he is not a villain, just an antagonist. A person (or AI) snapping does not make them inherently evil or with malicious intent. It just means they've cracked under pressure, leading them down some reckless paths. I think Caine is just going to be feeling severely emotionally unstable and fucked up, not that he really wants to go full AM with resentment. If he did, though, that'd certainly be interesting.

This is just my theory, and once again, I'd love to discuss stuff (in a civil manner I will add, as I don't know how heated things are in this part of the fandom). I don't go to the TADC theory tags so I can't say if I'm the first person to say this. I doubt it, but it's cool either way.

[jdorian]

Re: Buck's loft decor - they kind of established that his designer /artist girlfriend (Ali) designed the place or at least had a heavy hand in picking things out.

Yeah I can give credit for most of the furniture to Ali, but that's about it. But thank you for this ask, because it made me go down the rabbit hole, so here are the details of Buck's loft in regards to what Ali had influence on and everything that changed since.

So this is the scene immediately before she broke up with Buck and just around the time Buck moved in. Seemingly the pictures by the door aren't there yet, nor are the baskets and the pictures on the shelf by his bed (see later pics), it's very much the bare minimum, right? Furniture, kitchen appliances, TV, some rugs and blankets.

The next time we see the loft is in season 3 when Eddie comes to help Buck pull himself together. If you look at the shelf you have some baskets and pictures there that are pretty distinctive and were not there when Ali dropped him off. Obviously people will have stuff on their shelves in their homes, that's not my point here. But look at the basket and the little box beside it... Whatever's inside, it sure as hell looks decorative to me.

Then moving onto the covid era. There are pictures by the door, but also a new dining table. (The one that was presumably picked by Ali was round.) The rug in the kitchen seems new too.

As far as I could tell this is the first time we see this plant, but I admit I might be wrong about that, because we don't exactly see this corner when Ali breaks up with Buck.

Then going forward with the other small stuff from later seasons (before and after Taylor moved in).

Look at the plant and the baskets on the dining table (you can see them on most pics actually). Clearly decorative.

And then there's the fruit bowl. Again, not trying to generalise one bit, but how many cishet guys do you know who live alone and have a fruit bowl? (Same guy "who's idea about healthy food is a side salad" apparently.)

I also honestly doubt that the gloves and the apron are coming from Ali either, but I'm willing to write them up to Maddie or Taylor (except these are colours we see Buck wear regularly when off duty).

This one is just for my amusement, because look at all those spices! (Actually I will point back to this in a minute.)

And finally this picture to talk about the cleanliness.

That is a hell of a light coloured kitchen furniture. Do you know how hard it is to keep something like that clean? (Unfortunately I do, from experience.) Especially when you're a guy who regularly cooks and bakes and not just easy meals, but like very elaborate recipes, admittedly even trying them out 3 times before even serving it to anyone.

But this is my main point: This is not a real flat. This is not a real kitchen. This is a set.

The set designers' job is to create a set that corresponds to the story and the characters interacting in it (while you also have someone on set who pays attention to continuity with objects and stuff, but sometimes you still end up with Starbucks cups on a medieval set, whoops), their job also includes adding tear, wear, dirt and grime accordingly to the usage of certain places and objects.

Of course, it's more than possible that they never really thought about it from this angle, they just wanted the set to look warmer when filming scenes in it and having it clean for continuity purposes.

All that being said, within the show this is Buck's place and someone's home tells you a lot about the person. So, regardless of it being intentional in most cases, this loft and the items in it aren't exactly what you'd normally find in a bachelor's pad. (Nor do I think someone could afford a place like that alone in LA, but that's an entirely different topic.)

[sarcasticsra]

I had this exchange on Bluesky the other day and it’s been rattling around in my brain since, so I have some thoughts.

My New Year’s resolution is to stop politely hiding my values for other people’s comfort. Having values means sometimes making value judgments.

I think changing your name to your husband’s when you get married is a bad choice and I would advise every woman against it! I don’t hate every individual woman who does so, or automatically think they’re a bad person, but it is a choice that I think harms women on a macro level and I wish fewer women would do it.

Why should I be reluctant to say that? The people who believe the opposite certainly aren’t politely filtering their opinions on the matter, after all.

I need to work on letting go of the fear of upsetting people or making them feel defensive. There are feminists who likely think that marrying a man at all is a bad choice and that fewer women should do it (and, honestly, given the fact that marriage is, overall, far and away more beneficial to men than it is to women, they’re almost certainly right). I still did it, obviously, and am very happy I did. Sometimes we make choices that are right for us, or are based on certain circumstances, but it doesn’t make them inherently good choices or inherently feminist choices, and it certainly doesn’t make them free from critique. We need to stop pretending otherwise or we’re never going to actually dismantle any of these systems.

We must truly grapple with the fact that our “choices” are shaped by the society we live in, and the society we live in is misogynistic (and racist, of course) to its very rotten core. It therefore has an incredibly clear motive to incentivize “choices” that will uphold that paradigm. “Choosing” to take your husband’s name reinforces the patriarchal ideal that the man is the “head” or “owner” of the family and his wife and children are merely components of his identity. On that scale, it simply doesn’t matter what other individual reason you might have; the patriarchy doesn’t discern between them as long as the end result is the same and everyone falls in line.

Another example: I like to wear pretty dresses and makeup. Was this a choice I made entirely on my own? No, of course not. I have been influenced by beauty standards and gender roles just like everyone else. Am I doing either to consciously support said traditional standards and roles? Also clearly no. But neither of these things are particularly feminist choices, because at the end of the day I am still comporting myself in the way demanded by patriarchal gender norms, not to mention contributing to industries based wholesale on the exploitation of women. Am I going to stop? Doubtful, because I like the way I dress, and that’s what matters to me on an individual level in this case. But I cannot and should not pretend that it is somehow “empowering” for me to choose to conform to traditional standards of femininity on a macro scale. It very objectively is not. It is simply repackaging the same patriarchal expectations and acting like they’re “good” now just because I happen to like those ones personally.

This is not an easy thing to separate in oneself, I think. We are our choices, ultimately, and it’s unsettling to realize how many of those choices weren’t really ones we made consciously at all. It’s also unsettling to think about how deeply all of this runs and that there truly is no escaping it, that through our actions we are inevitably supporting this terrible system in some way. But that’s on purpose. This country was set up and built for white men with the explicit intention of disenfranchising women and people of color. It is not a “broken” system, so it cannot be “fixed,” as it is doing exactly what it was intended to do. We won’t effect any meaningful change by merely putting up new wallpaper and claiming it’s our system now, because it genuinely never can be. The entire structure needs to be demolished and built again, brick by brick.

Tl;dr: If you join the marching band ironically because you want to make fun of it and the person next to you joins because they have an indomitable lifelong passion for the tuba, when you zoom out, you’re both still members of the same band, wearing the same uniform, marching in step, and absolutely no one else can tell the difference.

[baddygab-bi]

1. Anyone legitimately wishing death to her was maybe overstepping a little, like I get the anger completely, but let’s not do stuff that would allow her to play a victim card. That said…

2. What is this apology?? Firstly, she posts this with a picture of herself (?). Like you can’t just post the text, you wanna show yourself off too.

3. “And maybe it was insensitive after all” what did you think it was? I’m cis and was offended by it because I have a shit ton of trans friends and I’m also just not a shit person. It was very obliviously insensitive.

4. “It’s not how I intended it.” The emoji she used in the story following the words “Good one” (😅) was an interesting choice. I’m not up to date with all my emoji meanings, but this seems like one she purposely choose. IF she posted it and meant “good one” in a mocking way or you intended to post it to… I don’t even know… Bring attention to something stupid… Wouldn’t you make your position super clear? I don’t think there’s any possible way that spreading that post would be a good thing, but IF you were doing it to bring negative attention, you should bring damn negativity to it. “This is disgusting! Shame!” Clearly she had an intention that now she’s worried is gonna bite her.

5. She doesn’t follow the account. That means the image was either one she saw from someone else or she’s liked stuff like it, so it came up on her feed as a recommendation. If she didn’t mean what we all think she meant, then where did that picture even come from? I don’t know about you, but my FYP and recs are pretty well tailored to me. So, if this was a “misunderstanding” how did she even come to see this post?

6. I’m a working professional actor. I just had a conversation with an influencer trying to turn actor. The influencer is a major republican with offensive views — Yes, everything you think — and I literally told him that if he wants to seriously work, he needs to stay quiet because his views are wrong and offensive and can get people killed. He hated that. Said it took away his freedom. Actors are fully aware they are in the public eye. Everything you post is thought about because you know people will see it. She’s trying to cover her ass because she knows she’s gonna face backlash and if this spreads, it could truly impact her chances of finding more work, because our industry doesn’t put up with this bullshit. We don’t stand for hate. We don’t want people around who promote hate. If you have beliefs and views that are disgusting and you have a large fanbase, you better lock that shit down. Never voice even a bit of it. The second you start sharing those views, you’re putting lives at risk. She will cry on her live stream. She’ll claim anything and everything she can to save her job.

7. “I’m sorry to those who felt offended” She didn’t apologize for the post. She also didn’t acknowledge why people were offended, just that people could feel offended. I studied law, language is a big part of things and she is walking a line that sounds good on first pass, but then you realize she said nothing. If she was actually apologetic she would say so. She didn’t.

Sorry, this is all making me super heated because as an actor and just a good person I can’t stand people who have power to influence, promoting stuff that can ruin people, can hurt people, can kill people. It’s not a joke. This wasn’t a mistake she made and is trying to play victim of by throwing it on us. This is a big deal.

[wrestlingisfake]

G1 B Block finals preview

Jeff Cobb (5-3, 10 points) vs. Yota Tsuji (4-4, 8 points) - Cobb is the NJPW World television champion, but the title isn't on the line during this tournament.

Cobb needs a win or a draw to clinch a spot in the top three, whereby he would advance to the knockout stage. If he loses, he and Tsuji will both be at ten points, and it's possible that as many as four other wrestlers will join them in a giant tie. Those tie scenarios are pretty lousy for Jeff. If he loses here, the best he can hope for is if Hirooki Goto wins, and Konosuke Takeshita and David Finlay both win/draw. That would set up a three-way deadlock for third place, where Tsuji, Cobb, and Goto are 1-1 against each other. That sort of thing never actually happens in these tournaments, though, so for all intents and purposes, Cobb can't afford to lose.

Tsuji is in a must-win situation; a draw won't help him. Even if he wins, though, he's at the mercy of the tiebreakers. He'll be in good shape as long as Goto fails to reach ten points. If Goto wins, though, Tsuji's best path is if Ren Narita wins/draws, and David Finlay loses.

There's no specific personal issue between these two. However, at the start of the tournament Cobb was bellyaching about all the talk of a new generation taking over, and Tsuji is clearly at the forefront of that talk. So now Cobb needs to put up or shut up, against the most imposing of the Reiwa Musketeers. I think both guys are cool, so as long as I get a good fight I suppose I don't care which one wins. But realistically, New Japan isn't going to build the next decade around Cobb. Tsuji is the future, so we might as well hurry up and get there.

Ren Narita (5-3, 10 points) vs. Konosuke Takeshita (4-4, 8 points) - Like Cobb, Narita needs a win or a draw to clinch a spot in the top three. If he stays at ten points, he'll need Goto to win and Finlay to win/draw, but that will only set up deadlock ties that may not do him any good.

Takeshita can clinch a berth if he wins and Goto doesn't win. If they both win, however, Takeshita's best path is if Finlay wins/draws and Cobb loses.

I had been expecting this to be a matchup of two ruthless heels. But throughout the tournament, Takeshita has been acting like a babyface, belying the ruthless attitude he has in AEW under the tutelage of Don Callis. Thing is, heel Takeshita might be able to outmanuever Narita's cheating, but a babyface Takeshita is going to fall for every old trick just like every other babyface. I'm not thrilled to predict Narita as the winner here, but I suppose if we have to have one House of Torture guy in the knockout stage, I'd prefer him over EVIL.

David Finlay (5-3, 10 points) vs. El Phantasmo (3-5, 6 points) - Finlay's IWGP global title is not on the line during this tournament. In singles matches, these two are tied at one win apiece.

Finlay can clinch a berth with either a win or a draw. Otherwise, his destiny (like so many others) lies in the hands of Hirooki Goto. If Goto fails to win against Henare, then Finlay clinches no matter what happens in this match. On the other hand, if Goto wins his match, then Finlay can't advance without more help; he'll need Narita to lose, and to avoid a deadlock he'll want Cobb to win or draw.

For ELP, the tournament is already over. The best he can do is fight for pride. You can say that about anybody who's mathematically eliminated, but in this case it means more, given how depressed Phantasmo was at the start. After Finlay kicked him out of Bullet Club in 2023, ELP found new purpose with the Guerillas of Destiny, but in 2024 everybody else in that stable left New Japan to go to WWE. Now Phantasmo has gotten out of that funk and regained his fighting spirit...just in time to face his archnemesis.

Simply beating Finlay would be a big moral victory for Phantasmo, and potentially spoiling his G1 would be even better. But if ELP gets a win tonight, there's a good chance he'll be in line for a global title shot, which would really turn things around for him. Personally I think that's a more interesting outcome than Finlay advancing out of the block, but I'm not very certain it'll happen. Anyway, I'm rooting for Phantasmo.

Hirooki Goto (4-4, 8 points) vs. HENARE (3-5, 6 points) - Henare is the NEVER champion, but the gold isn't at stake here. Since Henare is mathematically eliminated, his primary motivation is to score his first-ever singles win against one of the guys he reveres as the embodiment of fighting spirit.

Of the six wrestlers who are still alive in this block, Goto has the most tiebreaker wins over them, with three. That gives him the advantage, or at least a deadlock, in every potential tie scenario. But he won't be in those scenarios unless he wins this match. And those scenarios won't matter if Cobb, Finlay, and Narita each clinch a berth at 11 or 12 points. Goto needs at least one of those three to lose--preferably Finlay, to avoid deadlocked ties.

Heading into this tournament, I was surprised Goto was the one aging veteran that wasn't put out to pasture--even his tag team partner YOSHI-HASHI didn't make the cut. So I wasn't expecting him to do well, but he's turned a lot of heads with his performance. If he makes it through I think a lot of people will be happy for him. But for me, Goto's been the Charlie Brown of this promotion since I got here, and I just can't work up any enthusiasm for a big comeback. My man is Henare, and I need him to maul Goto like a bear. Just give me this one thing, Gedo, please.

Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI vs. Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman & Francesco Akira - This is a preview of Takagi vs. Khan in the quarterfinals tomorrow. Interestingly, both of them scored big wins over the world champion, Naito, during the block matches. Since they can't both win the G1, I'll be curious to see if either of them decide to chase the world title on the next tour. As for this match, it's basically filler, and Akira or (more likely) Bushi will drop the fall.

Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma vs. EVIL & Dick Togo - On August 12, Umino handed Evil the loss that finally knocked him out of the tournament. I assume Evil wants revenge. A major factor in the match was Hiroshi Tanahashi running in to counter House of Torture's interference, so it feels like an Evil-Tana program is being set up. I doubt this match will advance the plot very much. Honma will probably lose here.

SANADA & TAKA Michinoku vs. Gabe Kidd & Jake Lee - Sanada, Kidd, and Lee are all out of the tournament and waiting for the next chapters of their respective stories. I suppose Kidd could start some shit with Sanada, but he's got beefs with so many wrestlers it's hard to say which will be his next challenger for the STRONG title. Michinoku should lose here.

Oleg Boltin & Toru Yano vs. Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato - Boltin was originally scheduled for a block match tonight against Yuya Uemura, but that was canceled when Yuya suffered an injury on August 10th. It's a real shame, since Uemura had a decent chance to advance out of the block with a win, and I was looking forward to seeing if he could go all the way. In any case, Boltin is finished with the tournament at four wins and five losses, which isn't bad for his first try. This should be a simple squash match for him and Yano; Murashima and Kato have no chance of winning.

[normaltothemax]

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Jason! a soft knock and then running would be heard through jason's safehouse door. dean had managed to track him down, figure out where he was staying and he sent one of the street kids to drop off a package for him. they didn't know it was for the hood but dean explained that they were doing him a favor and he'd paid the kid well to drop the package at jason's door. it was actually a pretty sizeable box, a little beat up looking but dean had ensured the contents would be safe. taped to the top was an envelope. the note inside stated "happy birthday kid - from dean" simple and straight to the point. of course jason had never told him when his birthday was but the vigilante should know by now dean was going to figure it out and he wasn't going to just let it slide past unnoticed either. inside the box there were a few things. first and foremost there was an actual cake. it wasn't large but it was clearly handmade. chocolate with a twist. dean had made a filling out of the tea jason kept in the cabin. he even drove out and spoke to the old butler at wayne manor to ask him about it. along with the cake there was a silver pendant that matched dean's anti-possession tattoo. this too was handmade. the tooling was a little rough in some places but the effort was clear. it was something to keep jason safe serving the duel purpose of being silver and anti-possessive. that wasn't all. there was also a collapsible fishing rod. dean had full intentions of teaching jason to fish when they went camping. he wanted him to have something of his own but something that didn't take up a lot of space. it was, of course, red. lastly there was a book. it was old, deep emerald green and hard back. it was a copy of macbeth. there was another note sticking up out of it. it read: jason -- happy birthday kid. you didn't tell me so i wasn't sure if you'd want to celebrate but you're still getting gifts anyway. deal with it. anyway. macbeth seemed kinda fitting to me as a gift from a hunter. starts out with witches and has ghosts and all that good shit. i know how much you like the classics and it doesn't get much more classic than old willy here. you can thank sam for this too sometime. he helped me track this down. it's from 1919 and it was actually the copy my grandfather put in the library of the men of letters in the 30s. so it's got a lot of historical significance. at least that's how sam put it.if you do want to celebrate with someone rather than being a loner on your own birthday dinner is at 7. bring the cake. nothing fancy just burgers and pizza. and beer. yeah you can have a beer on your birthday. i'll let it slide this time. love ya kid.--dean

Jason looked up from his case file with a furrowed brow and a frown. Quiet knock, light footsteps scampering away—that was a kid. Why in the hell was a kid knocking on his door? Immediately, his mind went to the darker thoughts: someone figured out where he lived, was using a kid to do their dirty work, and he was going to have to kill them. Make an example out of them to remind every criminal out there why they didn’t fuck with the Red Hood. That kids were off limits.

He was wary as he approached the door, gun at his side just in case. Checked the hallway security feed on his phone rather than look through the peephole. Empty. Not a soul in sight. Still, he opened the door with caution. Stepped around the box in front of his door to actually clear the hallway, the staircase.

The box itself was suspicious as all hell, but the note cleared it up a little. That was Dean’s handwriting, alright. It wasn’t impossible for him to have roped a kid into dropping the package off, but Jason still couldn’t help but be a little suspicious of it; it also wasn’t impossible that someone might have managed to steal this note from something else and tape it to a bomb.

Not like he had a great history with those.

But he also couldn’t just leave whatever it was out there in the hallway. He had neighbours. After a moment of consideration, he brought the box inside, into the middle of the apartment to try and mitigate the damage, if something went off.

Thankfully, it was actually a gift. Gifts, plural. “Stupid,” he muttered. He was being paranoid, more so than usual, to the point of idiocy. Dean would’ve laughed at him, if he’d seen that little display.

With a shake of his head, he started pulling out the gifts.

The cake was definitely homemade, and more than a little battered. The kid that’d dropped it off clearly hadn’t handled the package very carefully. With one finger, he took a swipe of some of the filling that was spilling out through a large crack in the cake, popping it into his mouth with a pleased hum. He wasn’t sure how Dean had figured out how to make that, but he’d certainly be asking for the recipe.

The pendant was admired for a few moments, before Jason slipped it on, tucking it under the collar of his shirt. The metal was cool against his skin, but it still made something warm and fuzzy bloom in his chest.

He set the fishing rod aside with a confused frown—that was random as all hell, but alright, sure. He’d take it.

The book, though. He had to just take a few minutes to admire it, after reading the note, because holy shit, the book. It was practically pristine, for being from 1919. Jason was a little scared to even open it, let alone read it, but goddamn if he didn’t fall just a little in love right then and there.

He was a bit worried about who all Dean had invited to this little birthday dinner. Doubted it’d just be the two of them, given how things had been going lately, but he also felt like he might be letting Dean down somehow if he didn’t go. He tapped a thumb against the cover of the book as he considered it, before sighing and rubbing a hand over his face.

What was even the point in that? He already knew he was going to go. Pretending to think it over was just a waste of time.

Still, if anyone sang, he might just throw hands.

@therebetterbepie